#however I can't. so take this moodboard instead

[naivesilver]

actually, sorry, can I be annoying in your inbox one last time? IF you so fancy it (no pressure because I'm being especially self-indulgent here but), can I ask for 53 and any fake/real character/ship/mood/whatever? :^)

I honestly could NOT believe the song you pulled you had me SCREAMING I couldn't have made it funnier if I had tried on purpose akjfhdskhfgashhkah

Spotify Wrapped Game

53. Jabberwocky, Erutan

[dreamlandcreations]

A moment of peace

Feyd-Rautha x Reader

Summary: A soft moment before his fight in the arena...

Warnings: idk what is this, done in one sitting and not reread. soft Feyd. well, he's still killing people but you know, he is soft with reader. no dialogue. written with fem reader in mind but I think there's no indication of that (let me know if I'm wrong)

~ 450 words

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You were behind Feyd before he could move on to the next girl. The slave with the slit throat just started to drop to the floor when he felt a delicate touch on his back. The na-Baron didn't even tense up despite not sensing your approach, he never did, you were the only one who could sneak up on him because you were even more lethal than him. Not that anyone else knew or he'd ever admit that to you.

A ghost of a touch, fingertips slowly caressing along his spine, wordlessly asking him to stop the bloodshed even as he presses the blade to the throat of the weapons master.

After a few more seconds of tormenting the poor man, Feyd orders everyone to leave and as soon as they are out of the door your arms circle around his waist, careful not to ruin the marks they put on him.

He feels you press a featherlight, lingering kiss right to his paint-covered shoulder blade as he places his hands on yours. And he stays like that, taking a deep breath, enjoying your embrace just a second more.

Feyd turns, his face still firm and of an intimidating predator but he holds your hands with such care and there's a glint of amusement in his gaze as his eyes drop to your blackened lips that lets you know not to fear him. Not that you would ever have a reason to fear him.

He steps closer, returning your previous motion with a gentle stroke of his along your collarbone before he slides his hand up and circles your throat.

There's no pressure in his hold, his intent is not to hurt but a show of dominance, of possession. Which is followed by a soft gesture, the kind only you are privileged to have.

He leans down, resting his forehead on yours, your noses brushing against the other's as he nuzzles slightly into you. His hand sliding to your nape, his thumb drawing lazy circles into your skin.

Leaning back after a minute or so, Feyd contemplates kissing you but the paint marking your lips is just too perfect to ruin, especially knowing that you left your own mark on his back in the shape of your kiss. He smiles at that thought and presses a kiss to your forehead instead of claiming your mouth, he will do that later when he will have the time to indulge further because he can never get enough of you.

You help him with the rest of the preparation before parting ways so you could watch him fight, promising that you would wait for him after, as always, letting him celebrate his victory with you however he wishes.

He can't wait.

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[thesophistiicate]

I recently started following you after having read your post on upgrading one's personal items for ones of higher quality. Every post since that one has inspired me, more and more each day. Your recent one about "moving in public with a thoughtful brand" was something I felt compelled to write word-for-word in my journal as a constant reminder for myself and something I wanted to touch base on.

I got laid off from my job last fall but months before being let go, I was being given a hard time at my job. I know it has nothing to do with my performance, it's everything to do with how I carry myself. When I got let go, I unfortunately developed the fear of being seen and as a result, I watered myself down as a form of self-preservation (which I was only made aware of by taking some time to sit down with myself, look at images and how I longed for the girl I used to be in pictures a year or even months prior, and feeling disconnected with the person I saw in the mirror in the present). I chopped my hair off, went quiet on socials and going as far as starting new ones to regain my privacy, throwing myself into a hardcore workout regimen, and—for a while—disregarding the things that naturally tickle my brain. Though, in the last few weeks, I can feel myself reawakening. In the last year since being let go, I've gone through a few obstacles that were enough to water myself down further (if it's possible). But there was one major obstacle, which was the unexpected death of my senior dog, and a few back-to-back dead end interviews that awoke something in me. Rather than going further incognito, I've decided to make an appearance to the world again—sharing my passions and the things that make me tick, all without having to risk any boundaries being overstepped. After years of debate, I finally decided to start a blog and write what I know best: myself, and whether that's for myself, for a few or even thousands of subscribers. I'm no longer on hiatus for my moodboard account and have also started to fuse my own imagery/likeness with the collected content. I'm rebuilding my universe again, a brand. I was bullied into hiding, all for what though? I eventually found my way back to what I naturally gravitate towards and what naturally aligns with me. I no longer feel afraid, rather my guard is up but I now know what works for me and what doesn't. I've learned that I can't stop some people from feeling threatened by my presence and I shouldn't hide for that reason. Never say never but for now, I will not remain in hiding. I miss the universe, especially my own. I wanted to share this with you. Share it however you like. But know your words are complete magic.

oh thank you so so much, this message means so much to me! 🤍 i’m so sorry for your loss too.

your message reminds me of something i think of often, how so many extraordinary people i know have been subjected to things like bullying or abuse. it’s like the toxic people of the world see all the light and wonder and potential and want to take it away because it threatens them. i’ve often found people want to “consume” us, own us, have us, but don’t have the slightest idea of how to actually handle us, so break us down to their level instead.

it’s like two sides of a coin, if you learn to lean into who you are and building your own self esteem, getting in touch with your true self and expressing her, then there’s magic. but the dark side is that we can become lost in other people, our brilliance (and attention and energy) is often coveted by those who don’t know how to handle us and it can be profoundly harmful. like somebody buying some exquisite luxury piece in a material like cashmere or suede… when you don’t know how to take care of it, it will be ruined.

and every brilliant woman i’ve known has had phases of retreat, phases that felt like an undoing and a rebirth. in many ways i think it may be necessary for true excellence, when you are levelling up so much that the old life literally has to fall apart and be destroyed so that you can rise from the ashes, reborn. as i’ve gotten older i’ve learned to find the power and comfort in this pattern, i understand things are falling apart to come together and i don’t feel as scared or depressed when it happens.

anyway, i’m just so happy for you finding your way back to yourself and your passion and purpose. this is so powerful and truly exactly why i started this blog 😭🤍

[elvisabutler]

who's my princess?

fandom: austin butler rating: m pairing: austin butler x older female reader word count: 2169 warnings: jokes about being a sugar baby. heavy use of the nickname princess and baby boy. praise kink. faint d/s elements but not quite, you'll see in the fic. oral ( female receiving, attempted male receiving. ). public sex acts. no use of y/n. author’s note: welcome to day 4 of ally’s wet hot smut summer, praise kink with austin butler x older female reader. so here's the thing with this fic, i have been struggling to write it— and austin in general for the past week/two weeksa. to the point where i actually skipped ahead to rooster x reader titty fucking that i already posted on another account. i'll post it here once i finish my austin degradation kink day, promise. anyway what i ended up finally settling on with this fic was doing austin with an older female reader. you can read how much older however you like or if you want could ignore my reference to it being an older female reader. it also erred more toward plus size but can still be read a little more explicitly as not plus size. anyway, i hope y'all enjoy this fic even if it's a lil more niche for the fandom. as always, i do enjoy your comments and reblogs and tags and they are my writing life blood to be quite honest. there was also three different versions of this moodboard and i am still not sure i'm in love with this one. also i'm not completely back from my impromptu vacation but i wanted to post this before i tossed it in a fire or something.

"They think you're my sugar baby, you know," you murmur against the shell of Austin's ear, watching as his jaw muscle tenses just so at the implication.

His eyes slide across the room, taking in the looks people are giving the two of you. It's not that he isn't used to the looks, the slight judgment that people pass when they think he's merely just a kept boytoy but this time it hits different. For Vanessa, as much as he loved her and as much as he supposes she loved him there was always quite a kernel of truth there. It rubbed him the wrong way some days but at the same time it allowed him to slowly prove his acting chops without necessarily worrying about if he'd have a place to stay if things went horrendously wrong. But for you? For his gorgeous girlfriend? Oh, he wasn't a boytoy in the slightest. Sure, you could have made it so he was a kept man again. You could have allowed him to live in the lap of luxury and only come up for projects that were artsy and true cinema that he could sink his teeth into. No, instead he told himself he'd treat you, he'd make sure you were taken care of by him. You were older, you didn't need a partner to spoil you and cater to your every want and need. You didn't need these things but he was determined to give them to you. After all what sort of romantic partner would he be if he didn't spoil the love of his life.

"Hm," he hums softly, turning his head just enough to look you in the eyes. "Of course. They know I'm younger than you. They think I found another sugar mama to support me. If only they knew. Think they'd believe us if we told them?"

There's something so inviting and enrapturing about Austin's gaze that has you shivering just ever so slightly in delight and arousal. "About what?"

It's a dangerous game you're playing, teasing him like this but you can't help it. You want to rile Austin up in the same way he has with you on so many occasions. His tongue darts out to wet his lips before he bites his lower one. "Is my Princess playing dumb? Is she trying to be coy? Tease me?"

You smile softly and shrug, attempting to look as innocent as can be, "maybe. What are you going to do about it, baby?"

"Baby?" Austin moves to pull turn you around and pulls you closer to him, his hands settling on your plush hips and squeezing. "I think there's only one baby here, and it's not me, Princess. You don't have to tease to get what you want, you know that. My good girl knows that."

A shaky inhale is your only response for a moment as Austin smirks, his eyes dancing with a certain mixture of arousal and amusement that he only gets when he looks at you. Things between you are always a little playful, the joys of being old enough to not care about what other people think of you but it's still a delight to see after failed relationships before him. Maybe that's why you hadn't had a relationship that lasted this long before him. Maybe the universe was just having you wait for him. It takes you a moment to collect your thoughts even as you feel your arousal slowly dripping from your vagina, slowly dampening the underwear you're wearing.

"Your good girl does, but maybe I want to be bad today. Maybe I want you to show me and everyone else how desperate you always are for me," you practically purr out the last words and Austin's grip tightens just that little bit more as he moves one hand down to your behind and squeezes partially as a warning and partially as a promise.

"How desperate I am for you? How drenched are your panties? Would they stick to that pretty little pussy of yours? That pussy that was made for my cock? The one that could never be satisfied by any other cocks before mine?" His words are quiet but so deadly that you can't help the whine that leaves you even as your hand moves to cup the front of his slacks. You're in public but between the two of you, you're making your way to an empty corner with no one the wiser about what's happening. It should be mortifying the way Austin has you acting like a teenager and yet you remember that you're doing the same for him. You're both acting as if you don't have a care in the world, as if Austin and you both aren't at least partially in the public eye.

The thing is in this moment it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because all anyone is going to see is you and him having your hands all over each other because you're so in love and practically obsessed with one another that you're both needy. Even if the way you're needy is subtly different between the two of you.

"Somewhere private." The words tumble out of your mouth when you finally make it to that corner and realize that your hand is trying to undo his slacks and his hand is trying to lift of your dress as if no one would be watching. Austin looks at you with blown pupils and huffs out a breath of air from his nose before he nods, grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the room and into regrettably the nearest closet he can find.

You start to drop to your knees, thinking this has to be something quick between the two of you, a quick blowjob that'll ruin your panties that he'll steal and put in his pocket for the rest of the night until you can get home. Except Austin's grip on your arm stops you, pulls you back up into a standing position even as your eyebrow arches upward in a simple unspoken question.

"I didn't ask for you to suck my dick, Princess," he murmurs, leaning over you just enough that he practically pins you to the door. "You want to be good for me, don't you? Make up for how bad you just were?"

In another time and place you'd maybe be embarrassed about how quickly you nod. In another time before Austin you'd have scoffed and shook your head. As it is all you want is to hear Austin tell you how good you are with those plush lips of his. All you want to feel his lips upon your skin, sucking hickies on it, his teeth biting your skin and leaving small indentations. You merely want all of Austin in this moment. "What—what do you want then?"

A simple question and a request for direction. You can't be his good girl, his bestest girl, his flawless girl without direction. You might be accidentally bad.

His hand moves to cup your chin and pulls you in for a featherlight kiss before moving down to your neck kissing there. You don't realize what's happening until you feel his hands cup your breasts as he places kisses along the tops of them exposed by your dress. You see his body starting to inch closer and closer down to the floor as he trails kisses down your body, setting every inch of your skin they touch ablaze with a fire that burns starting from your aching vagina. It clenches around nothing, wanting something— anything— near it and being deprived even as his lips are so close to it that he could tongue you through the fabric of your dress.

"Aus—" you start to whisper his name only to be cut off with a shaky exhale as you feel his fingertips against your calves and against your knees. You feel his fingers press into your plush thighs and bite your lip to stop yourself from whining only to have Austin remove his hands from them. "What—"

"Good girls are loud for their boyfriends. For their baby boys," he smirks and you can tell even in the low light of the closet. Any other time and you might lightly tap his face to smack it off of him but right now it has your thighs clenching together and him laughing. "You're my good girl, aren't you, Princess? My goddess of a woman. The cougar who sunk her teeth into me? I just want to hear you. I want everyone to know that I'm bringing you such immense pleasure with my tongue that you can't help but scream."

You are about to say something before Austin's head is under your dress faster than the words can come out. They're quickly forgotten in the haze and loud groan that leaves your lipstick covered lips as his fingers— those long fingers you've sucked and nipped at before— find themselves buried in your pussy. Austin plays you like a musical instrument, earning sighs and whimpers and every noise in between to form a symphony that bounces off the walls of the closet. You feel your orgasm starting to inch closer and closer before he pulls out his fingers and you keen loud enough that you hear people on the other side of the door wondering what's going on.

Austin chuckles and if you could see his eyes you're certain you would see them blown with arousal but still somehow sparkling with pure mirth. His laughter is a warm gust of air against your thigh but somehow a cool balm against your dripping cunt. Your thighs are sticky with arousal but not release and you almost want to cry before you feel Austin's breath focusing closer and closer to where you want it. "It's like a fountain down here."

The words are said with a bit of awe before he continues, "this all for me pretty girl? All for me, ma'am? If breathe just right can I get another drop?" He teases even as he lets out the smallest puff of air against your clit. "Oh. I can. So responsive. Such a good responsive woman. Couldn't ask for anyone better to be on my arm and in my bed. Maybe I should marry you. Keep you all to myself."

"Austin, please." You plea as your hands move to his hair, ruining whatever hairstyle his stylist had crafted in one fell swoop of your hands clenching at the strands.

"What my Princess wants, my princess gets," he jokes before his tongue finds its way to your throbbing clit.

The noises between your legs sound obscene with his tongue and chin and everything sliding against the arousal between your legs. He eats you out like a starving man, one of his hands moving to curl inside you as his mouth sucks your clt. It's too much and too little all at once. Your thighs tighten around his head as your hands tighten in his hair and you hear Austin moan as he shifts just enough to have his cock press against your calf. He's in control but at the same time so are you. You're making him so desperate he needs to hump your leg to get relief and he has your cunt spasming even though you haven't come just yet. You're sure you're saying words or perhaps it's just gibberish as Austin's fingers curl just so, pressing against that spot that has the coil in your lower abdomen wounding tighter and tighter. His thrusts against your legs are becoming more stuttered and your hands yank at his hair to try and pull him away so you don't come all over his face only to have him use his one free hand to grab your ass and force you grind down on his face. Somehow the brush of his nose against your clit and the way his tongue moves just so in tandem with his fingers against that spot of yours has you shouting his name even as you try and muffle it just a little. Your body shakes with aftershocks, thighs twitching against his head and lower stomach feeling like it's pulsating from the intensity. It takes both of you far longer than you'd like to admit to catch your breath and even as you do, Austin looks every bit as wrecked as you do before he opens his mouth.

"Think they still think I'm just your sugar baby?" The joke comes easily and with a soft smile. "Because that was some loud screaming, Princess. I was proud of you for it."

You can't help but look off to the side in embarrassment before you feel Austin's hand on your chin, forcing you to look at him. You swear you smell your own scent on his hand and you can't help but lick your lips. "Maybe, but I don't— Let them. Because it doesn't change that I'm your good girl, does it?"

"Never."

taglist: @ab4eva, @blurredcolour, @butlersxbirdy, @precious-little-scoundrel, @eliseinmemphis, @prompted-wordsmith, @lookingforrainbows, @araxw, @thatbanditqueen, @ellie-24, @austinbutlersgirl67, @heartbrake-hotel, @ccab, @18lkpeters, @slutforsomegoodlettuce, @dkayfixates, @kendralavon7, @chasingwildflowers, @slowsweetlove, @kxnnxy, @meetmeatyourworst, @purejasmine, @stylespresleyhearted, @powerofelvis, @amydarcimarie, @thegettingbyp2, @austinswhitewolf, @richardslady121 and @mrs-butler

[voca-edits]

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[pens-swords-stuff]

Fanfiction writer here. How do you stop your writing from feeling stale? Like, a week ago I felt really hyped up about a certain scene that I was working on— now though, in retrospect, it doesn’t seem as exciting or weighty as I thought I was.

(TLDR; 4.5k words in, starting to feel stale.)

Do you cook at all?

Because if you do, I wonder if you've ever had the experience of spending a lot of time cooking something really delicious that you're excited for, but when you finally take a bite.... It's just not that good. But the people around you think it's amazing.

This is a pretty common experience among people who cook. One possible explanation of this phenomenon is that as we cook, we're tasting and smelling it a lot to the point where our nose and tastebuds get desensitized to it. When we finally eat it, it doesn't taste that good because our senses have dulled it. People who haven't cooked it however, think it tastes really good because it's their first time smelling and tasting it.

This applies to writing too.

As the writer of our stories, we are absolutely immersed in our projects all the time. We're thinking about it, planning it out, writing it, reading it over and over and over again... Because we're so heavily steeped in it, our senses also get a bit dulled and desensitized to it. That really cool scene that we were super hyped for, spent a lot of time thinking about it and finally writing it out, then reading it over multiple times? It doesn't taste as good anymore.

But just because we think that our writing has gone stale doesn't mean that it actually has. Whoever is reading it won't have that same reaction, simply because they're reading it for the first time.

Funnily enough, I think the advice for both cooking and writing is actually the same: You want to cleanse your palate.

Spend some time away from that particular project; work on another part, or something else entirely. Make some moodboards or playlists instead of writing. Read other books, watch some TV shows, play some video games. Go outside and take a walk. Take a break and breathe in something that's not that particular project or scene for a bit.

Once you've given it time to rest, and once your palate is cleansed, you'll be able to go back to your project with refreshed senses. Then, when we take that first bite back into our project again, we won't be desensitized to it anymore and can fully appreciate it.

We can't ever really stop our writing from feeling stale — it just happens as we spend a lot of time on it. Eventually, you'll run into this problem again. That's why it's important to take breaks every now and then, and fill your creative cup with other things instead of internalizing it and attributing it to our own skill (or lack thereof). When it begins to look boring, stale, or like there's nothing good about it, taking a break can be a lifesaver and make us fall in love with it all over again when we get back into it.

(I've also found that adding something new to a WIP can really spice it up. For me, it was attempting to write a sex scene for the first time, and it really transformed not only my project, but also my writing in general. It was ridiculously effective, but that's a post for another time.)

Remember, all advice is subjective! So don’t take this too seriously. This is just one person’s opinion.

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[bluestar22x]

You Had Me From Hello

The Writing Contest - Chapter 1: You Had Me From Hello

Summary: Unexpectedly, small town woman Nora Delaine wins a writing contest and is flown first class to Salinas Valley to meet her new screenwriting partner.

Pairing: Javi Gutierrez x Female!OC (Nora Delaine)

Rating: 18+ Series

Word Count: 5,500(ish)

Warnings: Second person POV, mentions of drug use/addiction/loss and troubles with unhealthy family dynamics.

Author’s Note: I took inspiration for Javi's new home from this moodboard made by @wildemaven.

xxx

This is insane. I can't believe I'm actually going through with this.

That's what you were thinking as you settled into your seat in first class on a Southwest Airline plane headed for the airport in Monterey, California where you would then take a taxi to Salinas Valley, arguably the capital of the wine industry in the United States. But that's not why you were headed there. Nope.

You were headed to one of the vineyards, but it wasn't to taste test wine and forget your troubles, it was to write with an apparently well known up-and-coming screenwriter named Javi Gutierrez, who up until last week you personally hadn't known existed. Your best friend, Sierra Washington, however, had apparently heard plenty of him.

x

"You didn't!" you gasped, letting the letter in your hands float down to your kitchen table.

"I did!" your friend Sierra confirmed, grinning ear to ear.

"You entered my short story into a writing contest without my permission?" you hissed. You didn't feel that it had been anywhere near ready to be seen by anyone outside Sierra. When you'd sent her the document to proof read you'd trusted her not to share it with anyone else, and she'd betrayed that trust. You were furious.

"Aw, Nora, you were never going to release that document to anyone else if I didn't do it myself," she argued, placing a hand on her hip. "How many stories have I proof read for you? I loved every bit of them, yet every single one eventually ended up hidden in a file on your laptop and forgotten."

"They weren't good enough," you told her.

"Nothing ever is," she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "You were stuck! You needed a little push. This is it. An opportunity to turn your story into a movie. Your dream!"

"I can't go to Salinas Valley for two months," you howled. "I haven't even found a new job yet!"

You'd recently been laid off from the pet magazine you'd been writing for since you turned twenty-five, nearly ten years ago, because of budget cuts a month ago and were having difficulty finding another job like it. You feared you might end up having to take a local job, instead of an online one, most likely waiting on tables. The thought of that made you cringe. You didn't like having to deal with the public. Even in a town as small as yours.

"Precisely!" Sierra exclaimed. "You need to work, and that's what this would be. You'd turn your story into a properly lengthy script with his help, and when it is bought you'll get money for it, along with some profits later on when the film is successful."

You snorted. "When?"

She narrowed her eyes at you. "When." Her tone was firm, certain.

You couldn't understand why she had so much faith in you when you'd spent most of your life failing. You'd struggled in college and you'd struggled to find a job and keep it for years. Writing for the pet magazine had felt mundane as far as writing went, but you'd been good at it and you'd finally felt like you had secured your future.

You should've known better with how the world was changing. Your generation and younger didn't read magazines anymore. You'd entered a dying industry that likely had an expiration date that would come before your retirement age.

"I can't afford to pay for another rent while I stay there," you continued.

She huffed. "Did you not read the part where it says all expenses will be paid? You'd be staying at his vineyard for free. You'd just need cash for extras. Like if you want take out or something."

"Staying at his vineyard..." You shook your head and met her copper brown eyes with your emerald green ones. "You really think I should be staying at a strange man's house, by myself?"

"He has tons of staff," she argued. "It's not much different from going on vacation and staying in a hotel by yourself."

You gave her an exasperated look. "That's way different! It's a private business and his staff aren't going to be there at night unless his runs it twenty-four seven."

"He knows Nic Cage," Sierra informed you, like that would make a difference to you. "They're friends. Javi's first screenplay was co-written with him."

You rolled your eyes. "Just cause you had a crush on Nic Cage in high school after you watched City of Angels and researched him, doesn't mean you know him and his friends."

"I did NOT have a crush on him," Sierra nearly shouted. "He's like three times my age."

"You did then."

"I did not."

You smirked and lifted your brows. "Thou protest too much."

She gritted her teeth, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able convince you otherwise. Because she had, in fact, had a celebrity crush on Nic Cage in high school.

She sighed. "Look. Sometimes you've got to take risks to gain the rewards. You can buy pepper spray when you land in California or something if it'll make you feel better. But I haven't heard anything about Javi Gutierrez that would suggest he'd be dangerous. And you wouldn't be sleeping in his mansion. You'd be in a guest house on the opposite side of the property. It overlooks some beautiful hills and valleys apparently. I did some research on Valley View Vineyard. That's his vineyard's name, fittingly. Anyway, it's apparently gorgeous in that area."

You had to admit to yourself a part of you was very tempted to say yes, not just to having help making a screenplay and selling it, but also to living in a California vacation destination for a while. You could use a break from your hometown.

"I can't," you said stubbornly. "I can't leave Buttercup and Tux with no one to watch them, and it wouldn't be fair to them to travel them out to California by plane. I wouldn't feel good about them being in cargo either. They're delicate creatures."

Buttercup and Tux were your two pet Lop rabbits, who you'd adopted as a bonded pair from a nearby animal shelter three years ago.

"I can watch them," Sierra offered. "I've done it for you before when you stayed in the hospital last year for food poisoning."

"Don't remind me," you groaned. That week had been the worst in your life and had put you off of salmon permanently.

She winced sympathetically. "Sorry."

"Look, even if I wanted to part from them for two freakin months," you started, sighing again, "Even if I wanted to go to California and write a script with a legit screenplay writer, my parents wouldn't approve. You know how worried they get."

"Yeah, I know," Sierra said with another huff. "I grew up with the product of their paranoia."

You couldn't help but laugh a little at that. Paranoia was a fitting word for it. Your parents were worry-warts. Especially since your older brother had died, leaving you as their only living child. Saying you were overprotected seemed to put it too simply. And you in turn were very wary of the world. Maybe too much. You'd turned down a lot of interesting parties and adventures with friends in favor of safety. You'd wanted to join your high school's travel club but had chickened out. Girls got kidnapped in foreign countries, after all.

The little voice in your head telling you such things sounded more like your mother's than yours.

"They'll say no," you added.

"Good thing you're a grown ass adult," Sierra reminded you firmly. "And you could lie and say you're staying at a rental to ease their minds."

You gave her a lopsided smile. "You're a bad influence on me, Ms. Washington."

"Somebody has to be!" she claimed.

You raked a hand through your shoulder length wavy brown hair as you silently debated over what choice to make. Stay or go. Safety or risk. You chewed your lip. "Fine. I'll do it."

Sierra jumped in spot and clapped like someone half her age. She squealed for you. "Oh my god, my girl's finally breaking rules and making her dreams come true."

You pursed your lips and silently hoped she was right. After all, there were no guarantees in life.

x

The next day you'd emailed Javi's manager, Walter, who was in charge of overseeing the contest and had helped Javi narrow all the submitted stories down to one. He'd immediately booked you a flight and told you to pack your bags, after reassuring you that Javi's intentions were good. He was going to co-write with you, but you'd be the top billing writer to the screenplay. He wasn't looking to take any credit that wasn't his.

Still, as you boarded the plane one week later, you found yourself nervous about the whole deal. You'd had to sign a contract, and part of that contract had protection for you and your script, saying you had all the rights, and therefore would have the final say over how it was written and what film company got to buy it. All nice things to ease your troubled mind, but you were worried now, a bit too late, over whether or not Javi would be a good fit as a writing partner. You'd seen his first film The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent the same night Sierra had handed you the letter, having wanted to make sure he'd be helpful and not be a bad influence instead when it came to your writing, and that had ended your concerns over his talent. The film was a little too out there for your liking, but you saw the heart behind it, and that was something you could work with.

The main concern you'd had since then was rooted in personality. You had no idea what he was like. He was clearly rich, anyone with a successful vineyard and a mansion was, and that concerned you, a child of two full time working parents who'd struggled to provide you with everything they'd wanted to give you. You'd been taught work ethic, you'd been taught to be polite to coworkers. What were the chances he'd been too? You shouldn't assume he'd be the typical rich person seen in media. You didn't know how most rich people actually behaved, and even if most were dramatic snobby leeches, that didn't mean he was.

That didn't stop you from thinking about how he might be during the entire time it took for the plane to take off.

"Would you like some wine?" a flight attendant asked some time later, drawing you from your inner thoughts.

You glanced up at her and blinked. This was new. You'd never been offered drinks on a plane, though this was only your second time in your life, the first time being when your family took a week long trip to Disneyland. "Is it on the house?"

"Of course," she replied with a knowing smile. "First time in first class?"

"You could probably guess that just by looking at my clothes," you reckoned. Most of the people seated around you were in suits or fancy business dresses, while you were dressed in a simple pair of light blue jeans, a bubble gum pink sweatshirt, and plain white sneakers.

The flight attendant shrugged. "We don't always get people in here who dress expensively. But most know about the complementary wine."

"I might as well take some," you said, "For the full experience. Don't know the next time someone will pay a ticket for me."

She laughed. "Would you be interested in a Pinot Noir?"

You had no idea what that meant, only really knowing wine as red or white, but decided to roll with it. "Sure."

As the flight attendant poured you a drink in a proper wine glass, you noticed the name on it. Valley View Vineyard. You wondered how widespread Javi's wine was as you accepted the drink and took a cautious sip.

It was good wine. Good was a lacking word. It was excellent. Smooth, flavorful. Better than any other wine you'd ever tasted. You could only guess that it was fairly expensive and aged well. You had to restrain yourself from downing the whole thing in under a minute. Wine wasn't meant for that, even a lower class small town girl like yourself who usually drank wine from a box knew that.

You did, however, make sure to have enough time for another glass before your flight landed.

x

Monterey Regional Airport, where you landed, was twelve miles from Salinas Valley, or around twenty-five minutes away. It took you an extra five minutes to actually get to Valley View Vineyard, totaling the cost of your taxi ride to nearly one hundred dollars, something that would've made you shudder if you hadn't just flown for free. You'd have had the ride for free if you had accepted the limousine Walter had offered you, but you hadn't been about to get in one of those things with what you'd been wearing for your flight. Besides, you didn't like feeling like you were leeching, having a real need to pay for some of your trip expenses. If you and Javi were successful, you'd get way more money back in profits anyway.

Salinas Valley was cooler than you'd expected, the temperature hovering around fifty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. It was a vast improvement from the thirty-two degree average in North Dakota, but not as hot as you'd imagined the middle of California would be, even though it was coastal.

They did have plenty of sun that day, something you knew your hometown wasn't going to get for the next a few days, a couple days of clouds and a severe snowstorm expected for most of the state.

On the way to the vineyard you cracked the widow to breath in the fresh air and you stared out at the landscape as the taxi drove by it at precisely the speed limit.

Salinas was gorgeous, as Sierra had promised. You passed many luscious green fields, farmed and unfarmed alike, several vineyards, and plenty of rolling hills and valleys, the latter expected, considering the name of the county.

You were excited by the time you arrived at Valley View Vineyard, anxious to see what the property itself looked like. You'd known it was fairly massive for a vineyard, sitting on one hundred and ten acres, but when you'd looked it up online the day after you'd gotten the letter, there wasn't much photos of the place anywhere, even on the official website. Mostly it had been photos of the grapes, the wine, and the wine making process, and mainly had detailed that process and how to get your hands on a bottle. You'd avoided looking at the history page, wanting to find out from Javi himself how he came to own it.

The vineyard was gated, with elegant iron bars, and your taxi driver had to press a speaker button on a fence post to be let in. Both sides of the tarred driveway was lined with bushes, leading up to the mansion, a Spanish styled home with arches you'd never seen before outside movies and TV shows that had taken place in Spain or South America. Beyond that were grape vines in every direction until they met the hills that bordered the area.

Walter was waiting for you on the front porch, a man in his sixties, with surprisingly thick gray hair and a considerably youthful face. You imagined he had several more decades left in him if his appearance was anything to go by. It was probably in spite of his job. You couldn't imagine a manager of any kind having it too easy.

The dark gray pinsuit he was wearing made you feel very under dressed, but he shook your hand and introduced himself without even twitching an eye, and helped you carry your belongings to a yellow Jeep in the corner of the driveway.

"Javi will be here soon to personally show you around," he informed you. "I'll drop your bags off inside the guest house."

"You don't need to do that," you proclaimed, not wanting to be a burden to anyone. You didn't think it was part of a talent manager's job to bring suitcases anywhere.

"It's no problem," Walter promised you, hopping into the Jeep's driver's seat. "We will talk more later, when you are done touring, to sort out some more paperwork. Legal stuff. Stick by the front porch. That's where Javi asked me to tell you to be."

"Okay," you said, waving at him. "Thanks."

He nodded at you, a warm smile spreading across his face. "You're welcome, Miss Delaine."

"Nora," you corrected him. "I don't like formalities."

"That's something you'll have to get used to if you want to take part in Hollywood," Walter warned you, "But I will call you Nora by default, when appropriate."

Then he was on his way, leaving you to kick pebbles off the tar by the porch. It was nearly ten minutes later when you spotted a man approaching at a brisk walk from a large industrial looking building to your left.

He was wearing sunglasses, a thick long sleeved orange button down shirt, dark blue jeans, and tan boat shoes. He appeared to be in his early forties, with limited gray hair in his patchy, but well trimmed beard. His dark brown hair was short, but wildly curled, and his skin was golden, tanned from spending most of his days out in the sun.

As he neared you and pulled off his sunglasses, you noticed his eyes were dark like his hair, and that he was at least a half a foot taller than you, probably just shy of six feet. Taller than most people you'd ever been around, especially family, but not untypically tall for someone in Hollywood.

He was worthy of Hollywood, you'd thought. He was handsome, and that was an understatement as far as you were concerned. No boy in your high school graduating class could've held up beside him and you felt your insides warm as you studied him.

Easy, you silently ordered yourself. You're just here to learn script writing from him, hopefully make a movie, and go back home. Besides, looks aren't everything.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," he apologized in a rush when he got within earshot of you, "I was helping my employees clean up a wine spill."

He spoke smoothly, with an accent that was far from any you'd heard before with your own ears. South American, maybe? Spaniard? You could definitely hear an infliction there that suggested he'd grown up speaking more Spanish than English.

"Oh no," you said earnestly. "Hope it wasn't too bad."

"Nothing we can't recover from," he assured you. He broke out into a bright smile and outstretched his right hand. "Javi Gutierrez."

You shook his offered hand and beamed back at him, putting on your best friendly demeanor. "Nora Delaine."

"It's so lovely to meet you, Nora," he said, covering your hand with his left one briefly before pulling both his hands away from you. His hold on you was long enough for you to notice how large his hands were in comparison to yours, and softer than you'd expected. You tried not to think about them too much.

"Let me show you around," he continued quickly, "It will give us a chance to get to know each other, no?"

"I'd like that," you replied honestly. "I've always been curious about how wine was made."

His lips tugged back even more, and in that moment he looked like a kid on Christmas morning. Excited and wide-eyed. You wondered if he was always this happy to meet guests. "Great! This way, then."

He guided you on a stroll around the main parts of the vineyard, showing you inside the buildings where the grapes were stored, turned into wine, and where the wine was aged in barrels. He also took you through rows of grapes in the fields behind his home, detailing the care that he and his staff had to put into them before they were ready to harvest in the autumn season.

"You know your stuff," you noted as you walked shoulder to shoulder with him. "I take you're not one to observe while your employees do all the work?"

"I used to be," Javi admitted, "But when I bought this place I decided I wanted to change that. Made a point to spend some spare time helping harvest the grapes and pour the wine into the barrels. I still have much to learn. Wine making is actually interesting to watch and inspired the last script I wrote, as you might tell."

You did not mention you'd only seen his first movie, afraid to insult him. You focused on the other tidbit in his confession. "You didn't grow up here?"

"No," Javi confirmed, in the way Spanish speaking people pronounce it. "I grew up on an olive estate in Mallorca, also called Majorca, it's an island off the coast of Spain."

"Why'd you move here?" you inquired. You'd seen pictures of islands in the Mediterranean Sea, watched movies that were filmed there. Who'd want to move away from that?

He hesitated for a second before answering, shoving one of his hands into a side pocket of his jeans. "I guess you could say I needed a fresh start. And this place being a lot closer to Hollywood, I thought the move could help my career."

"Has it?"

He hummed. "I think so. But even if not, I like it here."

"So how long have you owned this place?" you asked.

"A little over two years," Javi replied. "It was already a very successful vineyard when I bought it from the previous owner's daughter who wanted nothing to do with it after he died. I kept on most of the staff, including the manager, Enzo. He's the only reason it's still successful. I hardly know enough to dare participate in the business. He's taught me everything I have managed to learn about it and I'm very grateful. He's helped me gain financial independence from my family."

There was something about how humble Javi was being about his lack of experience that made it hard for you not to like him already. He definitely did not seem like he had a spoiled rich man's attitude.

"Does your family visit?"

Javi's brows knitted together and his smile fell. "No. We do not get along, unfortunately. Not anymore. My family...they are, as some people say, toxic."

"I'm sorry." You felt bad for being nosy about it. "My parents aren't easy either, they're a bit too overprotective. In fact, I had to lie about some of the details of this project to get here. Otherwise, they'd have talked me out of it. But at least we get along enough to still care about visiting each other."

"It's a shame you had to lie," he said, "But selfishly I am glad you did whatever it took to get here. When I read your script, it drew me in like witchcraft. The way you write...it's compelling. Poetic. And for such a simple premise, you made it exciting. It made me look at a so called average life with new appreciation I did not have in my youth."

"You can thank my friend Sierra for everything," you told him. "She submitted my work. She convinced me to come."

"I owe her a debt then," he concluded, and you blushed. You knew he was saying that because he was excited to work with you, but a part of your brain had jumped to the conclusion that he owed her for you. Not like you hadn't just met.

"If you want to repay it have Nic Cage send her a message or something," you suggested. "She's a big fan."

"No way!" he exclaimed giddily, halting suddenly. "I must meet her someday! I'm a huge fan myself."

"Aren't you and Nic friends?" you quizzed, confused.

"Being a friend now does not negate the appreciation I had of his work before," he declared. "But it does mean setting up a meeting between them would be fairly easy. She could even stay with us for a time."

Us. Oh, his choice of words. You ignored the flip of your stomach. It was absurd. Javi wasn't really your type. Rich and energetic. Earnest and puppy-eyed. Right? You frowned.

He led you out of the rows of grapes to the far corner of the property where beautiful rolling hills back dropped a cozy looking two story ranch styled house that had recently been painted white. It was far more modest than his mansion, but still twice as big as your childhood home.

"That is where you'll be staying," he declared. "Do you wish to see it first or the space we'll be working in?"

"House first," you decided quickly. "I want to grab a few things from my bag to put on my desk. Assuming I'll have one?"

"Of course!"

The inside of the house was rustic. It reminded you of home, minus the buck antlers your dad had hung up on the living room wall. Not that he'd hunted a day in his life. He'd found them while hiking through the forest with the family dog in the dead of winter, the pair having naturally shed off of the deer they had once been attached to.

"This is wonderful," you commented as your eyes fell on your bags by the staircase. Walter had dropped them off as promised.

Javi beamed at you. "I am glad you like it. I admit, it's not my style."

"It wouldn't be, would it?" you mused. "This is very western themed, not island."

"It was once a place for temporary employees to stay," he informed you. "It was remodeled and decorated this way before I bought it. I just haven't bothered to change it."

"There's nothing that needs changing," you told him surely. You weren't going to allow anyone to insult the taste of most of your hometown.

He chuckled. "Maybe not."

You reached for one of your smaller bags and pulled out a stuffed giraffe and a photo of your two rabbits, plus another of a man your age, military short hair and a wide grin on his face.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Javi inquired curiously.

You shook your head somberly. "No, this is Kip, my brother. Was, rather. He overdosed on opioids last April."

Javi expressed honest dismay. "Oh no. I am so sorry. Were you close?"

"Very," you answered, chewing your lip, remembering the last time when Kip was alive and truly happy. It was far too long ago to be comforting. "He was only older than me by a year. Was quite different than me though. Very independent. Whenever my parents told him to do something he did the opposite. That's how he ended up in the military. It's how he ended up a war veteran with a bad back, which led doctors to treating him with strong drugs and in turn got him addicted to them."

"There are no words," Javi said gently, squeezing your arm at the elbow. "Is he going on your desk?"

"The fire mantle," you told him, heading for the fireplace in the living room and placing the framed photo on the shelf above it, carefully setting it there. You returned to Javi's side after. "Now I'm ready to check out the office."

He must have sensed that you didn't want to discuss your brother anymore because he just nodded and followed you out of the house.

x

The inside of Javi's mansion was...excessive. Six bedrooms, six full sized bathrooms to go with them, another two basic bathrooms (one for each floor), a massive kitchen and living room, a dining room, a personal office, a game room, a movie theater, and a sun room. There was a double stairway of course, and the rooms were mostly white, with some gold and black accents.

While you weren't a huge fan of overly sized houses and lack of color, you had to admit it was impressive, and some of the rooms were charming, likely thanks to a talented interior decorator.

One of the most charming rooms was the sun room, with all of its natural light and green house plants in vases. There were even a few vines hanging from the walls. It was the last room on the tour.

"This is where we'll be working," Javi informed you, nodding at the two desks set up in a corner. "I like writing out here. Feels too stuffy in the office. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful in here," you commented, awe in your voice. "I'm sure I'll get plenty of inspiration from it."

"Great!" Javi exclaimed, clapping his hands together, startling you. "I'll give you some time to fix up your desk to your liking, the one closest to the door, and have you meet me out back for dinner when you're ready."

"Dinner?" you questioned, frowning.

"Is it supper where you're from?" Javi asked when he noticed your confusion.

"Yes, but it's not that," you replied, explaining, "I didn't know I'd be eating with you tonight."

"Is that a problem?"

"No," you said a little too fast, cheeks threatening to turn red. "I just didn't expect it."

"As long as you're on this property you will never need to cook unless you wish to," Javi told you. "The chef here is excellent and always cooks up way too much for me. You'd be doing me a favor by joining me. And I'd like to get to know you a little more before we start writing together tomorrow."

"Would it be rude to ask what's on the menu?" you inquired.

He grinned. "Not at all. It's shrimp scampi tonight. Though there are alternatives available if you are allergic or vegan."

"I'm not, and I would never say no to shrimp," you declared.

He chuckled at your enthusiasm. "Good. Dinner will be served in thirty minutes, until then -"

"You'll be out on the back patio area," you finished for him.

He nodded. "Just through the doors."

He backed out of the room through a pair of beautifully detailed white doors and you could see him sit down in one of the patio chairs. He pulled out his phone and made a call you could not hear from inside and you forced yourself to look away, not wanting to be caught staring like a creepy stalker.

You placed your stuffed toy giraffe on the center of your desk next to the tape and stapler, along with the framed photo of your rabbits, before plopping down in the chair behind it to open up the new laptop you'd been gifted.

It was sooo fast to start up, and the perfect size for you. You hoped at the end of the two months you were staying that you'd be able to keep it. Especially after you went on to spend the half hour Javi had given you setting up the laptop, which included adding giraffe wallpaper to the main screen.

Once you were done, with a few minutes to spare, you stepped outside.

The back patio was made of gorgeous red brick and covered with more plant vases. The standard pool and hot tub were beside a four person outdoor table with an umbrella for shade.

The area looked so peaceful and dreamy that you weren't sure a space could get better until you laid eyes on the mini pond a yard away from the glass table, and noticed the brightly colored fish swimming in it. Fish splattered and patched with reds, oranges, blues, and blacks on their white bodies.

"Koi fish?" you quizzed when Javi glanced up at you from reading an email on his phone.

"Came with the house," he told you. "But I kept them cause I decided I liked them. Do you like Koi?"

You nodded. "I always wanted to have some of my own someday. But North Dakota winters would be hard for them to combat and Koi are expensive."

"Well, you can come back here and watch them whenever you like while you're staying here," Javi said. "Maybe they'll inspire you."

"A sun room and a Koi pond." You smirked. "Careful, you might not be able to get rid of me."

Javi parted his lips and closed them like he was going to say something but decided not to, and you blinked curiously at him. What had he been wanting to say but thought was best not said?

"Dinner is served!" a woman who was most likely Javi's chef, shouted.

He beamed at you. "Prepare to have the best shrimp in your life."

x

Javi was right, the shrimp was amazing, and the company continued to be pleasant. It was just you and him for an hour, the chef checking in briefly on occasion to offer wine and water refills and several well spaced out courses of Mediterranean food. You were stuffed when you were finished, and you wanted to sit by the Koi pond and digest, but you thought it would be best not to overstay your welcome.

"Well, I'd better go," you announced, trying to sound casual, as you stood back up. You were about to fish for some answers to questions that had been dancing around in your head all day. "I'm sure your girlfriend - or boyfriend - will want me out of the house when they get here."

"Neither," Javi told you, smiling as if he knew you were digging for information. He probably did. You were rarely subtle. "I'm not dating anyone right now. My last girlfriend moved to America with me but after living together for a month we realized we were better just as friends and she went back to Spain."

You winced. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay," he assured you. "We're still friends."

Friends? The word shouldn't have made your stomach flip as it did.

"Good," you murmured, not sure what else to say to a statement like that. "Too many of my past relationships ended nasty or by ignoring each other awkwardly."

You sighed and stretched your right hand out. He stood and shook it again. "Goodnight, Nora."

"Goodnight, Javi."

With that, you left him physically, but your brain didn't. For half the night you couldn't help replaying the time you'd spent with him, committing it to memory.

It had been a great first day, but you feared that you were already tempted to enter a dangerous game.

The kind of game that could break your heart.

xxx

Tagged: @harriedandharassed

xxx

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

xxx

[crimsonscloud]

bunch of things about my lab rats oc because i have brainrot.

( will add a moodboard for him later )

name: adrien trevor abernathy

nicknames: dre, trevor

gender: male

birthdate: 1973. still have to give him a birth month

age: early forties. he just doesn't lie about it like donald does /j

hair color: dark brown, starting to gray

eye color: blue

faceclaim: pascal langdale

occupation: robotics engineer for davenport industries ( formerly; later reinstated )

i haven't had any time to rewatch and formulate anything so we're coasting on vibes only. prepare for word vomit and canon divergences

started working for davenport industries after college, was friends with both brothers. he and douglas had a crush on each other, but never said anything since they were both still in the closet at the time.

then the incident with douglas faking his death happens.

in my version of canon, donald finds the kids after douglas' "funeral" because... idk, i just like it better. hurts more that way.

[slightly related: daniel doesn't exist in my au.]

he doesn't tell adrien about them, but adrien figures out he's hiding something. combined with the grief over douglas (and adrien not believing he's dead, or thinking that donald had something to do with it because the brothers were fighting more just before it happened) they start drifting apart and fighting a lot.

adrien leaves the company at some point after this. i haven't figured out what he's up to in the space between here and the beginning of the show, but he pops back up at some point in the first two seasons (before the reveal that douglas is alive).

he's pissed (and hurt) that donald didn't tell him about abc because for god's sake donald, those are children and if you told me back then i'd at least have made an effort to treat them that way. it calls into question, for him, how much donald really trusted him. if donald ever trusted anybody but himself.

then he also has to find out that he was right -- douglas is alive. oh, yeah, and is also currently a villain. with another kid that is solely intended to help him get the other three back. that's a clusterfuck.

so much of this is just adrien going what the fuck davenport(s)

come season three (which i remember a little more of, yay) he hasn't forgiven either brother much for lying to him, but he can't fault the kids for that so he sticks around. he's sorta like the cool uncle.

he helps douglas sneak leo out of the hospital after his arm's crushed, and helps him work on the bionic arm. it's one of the first real opportunities they have to talk some things out.

rise of the secret soldiers- specific things, because there's a couple things here:

because adrien isn't bionic, he uses a pair of gauntlets he worked on pre-canon as a prototype and kept around. they're designed to absorb energy, so in practice they give him enhanced strength but he reworks them a bit (patterned after leo's bionics) so he can also generate laser spheres through nodes on the palms.

however, they have a limit to how much energy they can absorb before the user's body must take on some of the strain. krane overloads them, severely injuring adrien and putting him in the hospital (instead of donald).

everything else happens similarly to canon -- leo uses energy transference to save adrien, almost dies, the bionic soldiers save leo, etc. because of the gauntlets backfiring adrien now has scarring on his hands and experiences tremors / pain due to the nerve damage.

of course his response to this is i need to invent something better so he completely redesigns the gauntlets during season four / afterwards. the new design allows him to wear them all the time, disguised as simple bracelets when inactive.

other things about him:

not a power, but he can mimic voices. even if the voice is nowhere close to his. it's a disney show i don't care about logic, this is funnier /j. he and bree (since she has it but as an actual power) use it to prank the others by "switching" voices and leo is like "don't ever do that again"

douglas gave him a bracelet. initially adrien no longer wears it / doesn't mention it so douglas thinks he got rid of it, but after they talk during you posted what?! he starts to wear it again.

donald and leo both admit adrien (who is basically if ":) (threat)" was a person) scares them. leo had to clarify that it wasn't a compliment.

douglas, donald and adrien all have a habit of calling each other by their middle names when they're upset with each other / making fun of each other.

adrien's "dre" nickname comes from when he first met the brothers -- donald kept thinking his name was andre and adrien corrected him multiple times until he got it. douglas, however, thought this was hilarious and so the "dre" nickname stuck.

adrien and tasha friendship by virtue of being the mostly sane adults dealing with a davenport's nonsense is so real to me

gay as hell and definitely tells perry she's definitely barking up the wrong tree. and also no she can't have douglas, he was there first

[hanitrash]

Cap Bottom Bingo Masterpost!

Here are all the fics I posted for the @cabottombingo!

I can't believe how many I actually got done! I'd hoped to make a few more full lines, but I was sick in December and January and didn't get as much writing done as I'd hoped.

A3 - "til the end of the line" Soldat i Volkodav (The Fist and The Fang) (steve/bucky, 5k)

Summary:

While on a mission in Canada, the Asset suddenly finds himself free. He follows his partner, the giant wolfhound, because he doesn’t know what else to do. The two end up in the United States, and as his memories begin to return, his need for vengeance grows. Together, they take out hidden HYDRA bases and safehouses across North America. What they find in one base, however, will change everything Bucky ever thought he knew about his time in captivity.

A4 - "Starvation" Some Like It Hot (steve whump, 3k)

Summary:

Steve has been captured by HYDRA. The STRIKE team is having a fun time trying to break him.

Notes:

this is just trash, plain and simple. HTP, hurt no comfort, Steve whump.

A5 - "teleportation" Drastic Measures (steve/thor, 4k)

Summary:

Steve is a barren Omega in a world where his only purpose in life is to create more. In a last-ditch effort to heal himself where science has failed him, he summons the God of Fertility. What he gets, though, is much more than he ever could have hoped for.

B2 - "AU: Bakery" Dashing Through the Snow (steve/bucky, 7k)

Summary:

Steve hates Bucky. Bucky hates him, too, so that’s fine. But when they’re forced to work together and co-teach a class, that anger begins to fade as they slowly learn more about each other. A work trip gone wrong, though, forces them to become much closer than either one ever expected…(aka, the coffee shop college au enemies to lovers snowed in one bed a/b/o that Marv asked for…)

B3 - adopted prompt "truth serum" Careful What You Say (steve/bucky, moodboard + 700 words)

Summary:

Steve is captured and given a truth serum…but his captors get more than they bargained for with the results.

B4 - "Beta Steve" Leg Day (steve/bucky, moodboard + 300 words)

Summary:

Bucky posts some pictures online, creating quite a fuss

B5 - "Much needed hug" Mine (steve/bucky, 5.9k, co-write with @neonbat666)

Summary:

Steve is captured by Hydra while on a mission. Naturally, that doesn't sit very well with Bucky, and he makes every person involved pay dearly for hurting his Steve. Once Steve is safe at home and on the road to recovery, Bucky takes measures to ensure anyone else will think twice about touching what belongs to Bucky.

notes: htp, branding

C3 - free space Smooth Talker (steve/bucky, 7.7k)

Summary:

When Steve decided to try waxing instead of shaving to avoid catching his body hair in the Cap suit, things don't go quite the way he expected. Between misunderstanding the listing on the website and thirsting over the man doing the procedure, he's not sure he'll survive the appointment.

C5 - picture prompt, person restrained My Heart Has Teeth (steve/bucky, 4.7k, with art by @mxaether)

Summary:

During a mission gone wrong, Bucky gets captured. Whoever has him proves particularly hard to track down, and while Steve does his best to ignore how much he’s spiraling, Bucky tries to keep a thread of hope—and his sanity—alive.

Notes: Vampire Bucky

D2 - "Back Alley Fight" I Love Watching You (With Other Men) (chapter one) (steve/bucky, 6.6k total)

Summary:

During the heat wave of 1936, Bucky discovers a secret that Steve has been keeping from him.

He also discovers a few things about himself in the process.

In the future, they find new ways to recreate the past.

D3 - "Saliva" You Make This All Go Away (chapter two)

Summary:

Six months after the helicarrier fight, strange security breaches at the Smithsonian have Steve, Natasha, and Sam running stakeouts, hoping to catch the person responsible—the person they believe to be one very elusive Bucky Barnes.

In what is probably his most bizarre undercover op ever, Steve finally makes contact with the man he thought he’d lost forever.

What he’s not prepared for is what happens after, when Bucky appears in Steve’s apartment in the middle of the night.

D4 - "Creature: Has Tentacles" Into this night I wander (It's morning that I dread) (steve/bucky, steve/johann schmidt, 784 words)

Summary:

Steve gets captured by HYDRA and learns more about Johann Schmidt than he ever wanted to know

notes: htp, oviposition, hurt no comfort

D5 - "skinnydipping" Resurfacing (steve/bucky, moodboard + 1.8k)

Summary:

While Steve is visiting Bucky in Wakanda, Bucky takes Steve to his favorite swimming spot for a heart to heart conversation.

E1 - adopted prompt: "Tied to a Table" I Love Watching You (With Other Men) (chapter three) (steve/bucky, 6.6k total)

Summary:

During the heat wave of 1936, Bucky discovers a secret that Steve has been keeping from him.

He also discovers a few things about himself in the process.

In the future, they find new ways to recreate the past.

E5 - "Sexting" Nineteen Hours (and thirteen hundred miles) (steve/bucky, explicit moodboard + 614 words)

Summary:

Bucky and Nat are on their way home from a mission that has taken far too long for Steve's liking. He sends Bucky some incentive to move a little faster ;)

[hanzajesthanza]

Hi yes what is this about costuming for a hypothetical stage adaptation of the Witcher? My curiously has piqued and I would LOVE to learn more !!

😅 i'm flattered that you're interested!

the final artwork i'll post here. here, i will solely talk about the project premise and include more of the analysis and early work.

this was my final project from about two years ago, during the time i was still in school and taking an elective costume design class. the assignment was to adapt any kind of text to a performance-based adaptation (e.g., stage play, dance, live-action tv or film, opera, etc.), analyzing the text and coming up with a mandatory seven separate designs (i did an extra eighth one).

i chose to adapt chapter nine of lady of the lake (the assault on stygga castle chapter) as it's a fastly-paced, highly emotional chapter that's rich in themes. it both opens and wraps up very nicely, with a contained story arc suitable for a stage adaptation (heroes arrive, heroes die...).

first, i wrote out a description of the text and broke down each character:

i then combed the chapter and noted how the text is divided into scenes, each separated by a space and asterisk or dot (depending on the language/formatting). there were 35 sections in all, this is a chapter that cuts back and forth between the action a lot, so it was a bit of a challenge to consider the next part: reordering these scenes to be practical in a stage adaptation (where you have certain constraints; you can't cut back and forth between separate situations, because you only have one stage and have to have time to change scenery and stage setup).

however, i was adamant to not cut anything from the adaptation, because all of these scenes were necessary to tell the story.

(i think as it relates to milva and cahir's flashbacks, i would have the action pause, lights dim, and the characters from the flashback walk on stage, appearing as "ghosts" - thus not needing a scene change, just a pause in the action.)

then i did a character breakdown (not included) and a costume plot (below). this is basically planning out which costume each character would be wearing in which scene, and when (if at all) they would need a costume change.

then we did some moodboard work:

these were my preliminary sketches (NOT FINAL)

i was happy with how it turned out, but the unfortunate part is that this was a one-credit class and i was absolutely swamped with final projects for my four other four-credit classes at the time, so i didn't get to go "above and beyond" like i usually did with projects, and wasn't able to some of the things i wanted. my next steps would have included:

translate: thoroughly comb the translation for inaccuracies/localizations (i found just a couple things i'd want the casting and makeup to reflect)

adapt: adapt the entire text to a screenplay, note how actors should deliver their lines

stage and lighting design: i did a bit of this, but i had no idea what i was doing, so i just set it aside

choreograph: i said i wanted this to be a ballet, so i would vaguely script out the movements for fight/dance scenes

mechanics: my best idea during this project was to have regis' actor on a mechane. (if you don't know what that is, it's a device used in ancient greek theatre to raise an actor with wires to make them "fly" - medea at the end of euripides' medea, for instance. it's where the term deus ex machina, "god of the machine," comes from). but in order to hypothetically make this happen, i'd need to redesign his costume to allow for special harnesses and safety precautions.

oh, and i also dressed up as dandelion for the final presentation :) he was the one i didn't design, but manifested in real life instead. class was on a friday and the mood was pretty accepting and silly, so i went with it.

[georgieluz]

Hello I would LOVE to hear anything abt your BoB OCs if you're happy sharing them!

hello!! yes i'm more than happy to share them!! also sorry that i'm replying to this so late! i got sick like a day after i got this ask but i'm finally back and can talk about them a bit! i decided to attach some pre-war moodboards i made a while back of them as well, so i'll put everything under a read more in case it's too long

first up, we have: oliver hardwick

wealthy new yorker with your classic parental issues. likes to think of himself as fearlessly rebellious, especially regarding his sexuality and refusal to conform to the expectations of someone of his "class". however, his parents have connections spread wide across the city, which they use to dampen, and cover up, any of his attempts to shame their family. naturally, this frustrates him even more and he spends every second of his time trying to disappoint them. but they never let the mask slip, never let him win. it's cruel really. he knows they hate what he is, and they make sure he knows, but they never let on in public. they never make it obvious. they never let him win. he's been stuck in a perpetual loop of failure, both his intentional attempts and his inability to make his parents care, his entire life and it's made him resentful of control and irrationally short-tempered when anyone attempts to perceive him or claim to know him.

before the war, he was studying literature and latin at university, and most likely to be found in a nearby bar or the bed of an older man. when the war comes around, he doesn't want to give his parents the satisfaction of becoming an officer, knowing they would consider any rank or military achievement he gained a win in their war of conformity and respectability, and that they would continuously use it to shape the perception of who he is. so, instead, he chooses to enlist as a regular soldier. his parents have other ideas in mind though, and through their military connections, they ensure that he's placed in officer school, with no choice or input in the matter.

eventually he finds himself chosen as an intelligence officer, working under lewis nixon in easy company. having every decision about his position chosen for, and dictated to, him leaves oliver with a bitterness and anger about being controlled, leading to a huge disdain toward taking orders. emotionally unstable, provocative, and with absolutely no consideration for his own safety or life, nixon may have met his match for messiest officer in the company.

(he's basically my hot mess of an oc who i'm gonna hurt so bad)

next up, we have: tommy monet

also a new yorker! (EDIT: he's now from boston, sorry) from the other side of the tracks entirely. this boy is all hardshell exterior and repression and no one can hurt me if they can't get near me so i will build this wall so strong not a single person can break through. his childhood was complicated to say the least (if you'd like to hear more about that then i can talk more about that later since it's a bit long for an introduction post) and he blames himself for the state his family is in now. he has a little sister who he would kill for, she's the only person he trusts, but he also feels he has failed in his mission to protect her. he is remarkably good at making friends with the neighbourhood cats, which their owners despise, but his favourite is his own, his best friend, named badger.

he fell in love with books and poetry as a teenager, but refuses to admit it to anyone. not because he wants to act cool, but because he's scared that if he pursues that interest, or anything academic, he would fail. he refuses to look his insecurities in the eye and pushes them down, along with the trauma of his past, until they're nice and buried down deep. he didn't exactly fall in with the wrong crowd after high school, bc he was already there growing up as one of them. he and his friends are generally seen as troublemakers and nuisances, but outside of getting into fights and breaking into a few factories and warehouses, they don't actually do much wrong.

he ends up in easy company, and when he meets liebgott during training, they get along well enough, but when things start to get stressful, they start to rub each other up the wrong way. they're both scrappy and aren't afraid of a fight, and they both have anger inside of them. tommy's anger is toward himself, but he tells himself it's anger towards his father. even though they find themselves in each other's face sometimes, they recognise that anger in each other. it bonds them together like glue and they understand something unspeakable about the other. tommy's never had anyone who truly sees him before, someone who makes him feel like a real person, not just a passing breeze, because sometimes, he doesn't really believe he's anything more than an empty shell of a body. and slowly, just maybe, they start to open up to each other more.

(tommy is my repressed broken boy who i'm GONNA FIX I SWEAR I'M GONNA FIX HIM GUYS HONEST)

if you wanna know anything more about them feel free to ask, i'd love to talk about them more! maybe i'll do one of those oc ask games or something! i also have a few platonic band of brothers ocs (male, female and nonbinary) from my formula one au who i absolutely adore!! so if you'd like me to introduce them as well then i'd love to bc honestly they're like my besties at this point

[jellycat-cryptid]

This account is officially being re-branded!

As of 17 June 2024, this account is going through the process of being re-branded, rebooted and revamped. After a long hiatus, filled with the occasional reblog and text post, I have many plans to bring this blog back to life.

First of all, the name and theme will be changing, to a more gentle cottagecore vibe.

There will be regular posts of different jellycats like how the old blog operated, but focused more on personification of the jellycat and scenario, mood board and collage based posts, instead of the regular name and picture type favoured by some of my favourite blogs. I don't want to be a copycat, even if my special interests present in similar ways to others, through use of Tumblr.

There will be a weekly segment where you can send in asks with your jellycats, as a way to interact with the following of the blog and make some new friends along the way!

Another new weekly segment will be retired jellycat of the week, where I pick a random jellycat from any of the ones in let's say 2013 and post a moodboard and a little collage around that jellycat, as well as information about the jellycat from before their retirement, such as their blurb from their product page or some such.

I will still post regular jellycats, but with the new theme and format in mind. For example, I will post a cordy roy elephant, with a filter for effect, with a mood board and a who am I, telling you all about my personality I created for cordy roy elephant, as well as a mini collage of things I associate with cordy roy elephant.

As I start to get into the swing of making the who am I's and the moodboards and the collages, the posts may change in format. I have never made anything like this before. Previous experience is only with making a few basic collages with a phrase and some emojis, nothing so vast. I may struggle at first, primarily focussing on the other elements, such as the retired jellycats or reposting old jellycats with the new formats to help me get used to filling them out or creating them in general.

Content creation is a full time job and I am currently battling bone cancer full on, therefore my time is split between what I can gather up and what is left over after my "day" has ended. Spoon theory is a good analogy to what I'm dealing with. I'm already a chronically ill person, so I'm not unfamiliar to losing a spoon or two when trying to do something basic, but these are my special interests and they fulfill me as a person. I deserve to enjoy and be happy, it just takes some adapting.

I will not be posting everyday, every week, all the month, for all twelve months of the year. I will start out posting twice a week, weekly for the full month. I might transition over to four posts a week, however three may be the happy medium. I will take two weeks off at Christmas, I will take days off if I am with family. Life is busy and I don't intend to work around my creations, rather work my creations into my life, have them join and meld and wiggle around each other, like two people who can't get comfortable in a very small bed.

The revamping process will take time. As I said, I am fighting bone cancer, a very hard thing to maintain myself against day in day out. Your patience and understanding is appreciated as well as any help you can offer such as tips on how to do certain things, such as banner creation, moodboard websites, collage creators, good searches for good quality images or things like that.

I hope you have a good day, and I thank you for reading this post!

[bluezenzennie]

☾✧˖ | 𝓗𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓸 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼! 𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓮𝓪 𝓣𝓾𝓮𝓼𝓭𝓪𝔂 ~

A little something made by my friend Flora and I, where we share tea stories, poetry, recipes, moodboards and more!

All are allowed to come sit in the lounge and share some tea and cake, as we enjoy each other's presence. Last but not least, remember to tag Flora and I in your tea Tuesday posts! We'd love to see what you have in store for this Tuesday's tea time.

Today's theme is: The beauty of autumn |✧༊࿐⠀ִ

» [Willow tree march, the paper kites] « 0:00 〇────────── 3:47 ⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

I remember early autumn last year, how everything felt like such a battle to me. How I ran from tree to tree in the areas of my town where trees grow big and are nourished and hydrated, left alone to be by themselves.

It wasn't a good year, I was going horrible and everything was so new and scary. I feel, every autumn that passes and comes, I learn something new, I grow in wisdom. I see my progress and I take a moment to breathe.

Yes, it's intense. Yes I still fear.

However, if I could get out last time. I can do it this time, this month is one for finding peace as we watch the world explode into vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. We inhale the fresh aroma of tea or coffee, perhaps a hot chocolate.

All I know is, is that instead of considering september a long, harsh month, I see it as a month that brings an end to what was and then brings something entirely new and beautiful as it has passed.

O darlin'

Kiss me, hold me close and refrain from ever letting go.

I feel I can't breathe without you, bringing me a new and cold touch that sends chills against my warm body.

I need some cold to calm me.

O darlin' stay with me.

Tea Tuesday taglist: @a-world-of-whimsy-5-5 @barbedwireandfences @evander-fucklear @edensrose

And we will see you next Tea Tuesday <3 Next theme will be announced Friday!

[eyesofshan-if]

An update? I'm so happy!! Thank you and congrats on updating! ✨️

I read through it multiple times now and I really enjoyed it! Scarface was disgusting as always and I admire Hansol's restraint when talking to him, though I'm tempted to imagine how ??? would react when faced with that bandit

Also Commander being in charge is so cool? I love to see them do their job well and command so much respect (at least from those that matter). That contrasting with their origin is such a brilliant idea

Wooyoung's introduction was literally like if someone blew a bunch of flower petals to your face. Random, colorful and totally umpredictable. I love him!! And Hansol was so done with him (while also worried for him? what a nice and real touch).

The story itself has me really intrigued, the whole idea with selling eyes is very chilling and I can't wait for the Commander to stop those responsible and reveal what's going on.

Dalhwa's moodboard made me so excited to see her, I'm really looking forward to that. But somehow ??? keeps stealing my heart, I don't know how you do it since they haven't even been properly introduced yet.

This is truly one of the only IFs where I'll have MCs for every single RO 😄 Now I'm tempted to have my Commander romance ??? first instead of Hansol? What is this sorcery?!

Have a nice day and please take breaks! ♥️

You're writting so fast I'm amazed but also don't overwork yourself

oooh scarface... he's a little shit, but he's like a small fry compared to future enemies (no spoilers for now, though!!)

and you're right the commander is so cool!! i would 100% date my own commmander kjdbfkd... but as i said, things are fine and dandy when mc is in the palace. in the next update, however, they will be leaving the palace to go out into the big wide world... i'm really excited to write what will happen then

also WOOYOUNG!!! he really is like a whirlwind of chaotic energy and sunshine. hansol is a 100% done with him, but the relationship between the two cousins are a lot more complex, and we'll be exploring that as the story goes on!!

dalhwa and ????.... god both of them make me simp so hard for reasons that none of you know yet TT so i can't wait to get to those parts either. i'm glad you like all the ROs so much, as different as they are :D

[shesnotme]

my plans for summer ❦

i dunno about you but i always, always spend my summers absolutely depressed. it's not a matter of whether or not you i friends, because i always have, but rather it's an issue of all that fucking time on your hands. two whole months of just.. nothing. so what do you even do? my plans for summer mainly revolve around helping my future self. because once september rolls around, what good will it be if i spent the past 2 months lazing around in bed? i won't be benefited by that, quite the opposite, really. so instead i've figured out what i need for the new school year and to really reach the goals i have for this upcoming year (post on that soon !). nothing revolutionary, sure, but it'll definitely help out at least a couple of you wondering what to do this summer <3

self care. this means caring of my body both inside and out. inside, i'm working on self improvement by becoming a kinder, more feminine person. i'm getting over my failed situationships and getting more comfortable being alone. i'm practicing detachment and, of course, protecting my peace. outside, i'm working on my hair and my body. i don't think it's any help to work on my wardrobe, because in summer you make really shit decisions. i've begun working out 3 times a week with my friend who's more experienced in the gym, mainly working on my glutes, cardio and abs. i'm planning on investing in heatless curlers, because my hair's volume hasn't been great. <3 ways you could practice self care: inside, you could work on your gut health, diet (eating healthy, not practicing any restrictive eating!), mental health, social life, self confidence. outside, you could work on your physical health (gym, running, biking), skincare, hair health, wardrobe (if you trust your decision making during this season), posture.

hobbies. you're not gonna want to go to the gym or journal every day, so finding some ways to spend your time alone and having fun can be really beneficial. i've started watching a couple tv shows, in july i'll be watching a movie every day (hopefully), scrapbooking more, making bracelets, and cooking. these aren't necessarily beneficial to future me, however they are fun and beneficial to present me, and balance is really important! summer is the time to take on projects and begin passions for things you can't do during the school year. hobbies that could help you: if you want something beneficial, try learning a new language, practicing an art (music, painting, writing), learning to cook, taking up a new sport, learning touch typing, or reading. if you want something fun, try watching a new tv show (skins, gossip girl, pretty little liars), watching a movie a day (you could do movies all with the same actor, by the same director, in a series, etc), scrapbooking, keeping a journal, growing a garden, crocheting, or decorating your room.

jobs. i have a late birthday so i can't volunteer yet, so instead i've taken on a few "jobs", mainly babysitting and doing things for my parents. it's not the most fun but if you want the money for the new school year (especially new clothes), you should do it. put the money into savings. of course, if you're under 15 you likely can't do much, but it's worth a shot. jobs you could take on: getting your volunteer hours (summer camps!), babysitting, working at fast food, designing carrds, mowing lawns.

planning. lastly, i'm planning out my next school year. it's good to have things figured out so that september doesn't hit you too hard. i'm working on things like schedules, study guides, phone decluttering, and, most fun, moodboards. i'll make a bigger post about my plans in specific <3 this is also a really great way you could practice manifesting. make your intentions clear and assume that these things will happen, and they will, but this isn't the place to be learning about that. things you could plan: your daily schedule (by the hour), outfit ideas, lunch ideas, goals, the mood for this school year, a desk system.

[ga-industrial-brief]

Redesigning level 1

After building my 5th level, I realised I'm actually not awful at making bigger levels. This was something I tested in my redesigning of the level 1 as through my preparations for playtesting, I realised it wasn't fit for purpose and needed to be remade. I'd also realised that I can't plan levels - my best come from getting inspiration and going straight into building the levels.

Whilst looking through the team moodboard, I came across these images. For some reason, I really liked the vibe and what I figured I could probably do with them.

This was the first section of the level inspired by the reference images. Already it's a massive improvement - it introduces the player to the red paint naturally in the elevator shaft and gives them an obstacle that can only be overcome by using it. It was also here that I realised I didn't need to worry about textures - the wire mesh doors and concrete rubble have relatively high detail texture but since I couldn't find anything with enough noise for the concrete wall, I made a simple pixel texture and didn't apply the paper 2D settings after importing it. Despite the VAST quality difference, due to the filters they look coherent enough to work

After adding the opposite walkway that the player gets to after using both red and green paint to jump over the rubble, I realised that the rebar kept colliding with the player so I had to reorientate it

The rebar has been moved.

The next section has been added. I've started leaning into the industrial themes of my last level, partially because they're fun to make levels with and partially because they're easier to make levels with. I used pipes due to taking inspiration from my moodboard, and they should allow me to introduce environmental dynamism and also fill the distictly empty environment a little more.

Originally, I was going to have the fallen pipe that would have connected the two sections having broken through the walkway and suspended by cables or wires wrapped around the end, but I quickly realised that having something look like it's hanged itself in a game about mental health was an extremely poor choice.

As for the puzzles, I initially wanted a system where 3 pipes would have to be rearranged to flow into 3 nozzles via levers, but describing what I meant to Reece showed that this was a very flawed and overcomplicated idea. Instead we came to the conclusion that more typical style of pipe puzzles [using the same levers or switches] would be much more reasonable - and likely more fun

This was my initial sketch to give an idea of what we'd need to Reece and Louis.

This was the first draft - moveable pipes are in the red/orange. This is likely to change but it works for now. Overall, I'm fairly happy with how the pipes look [excluding red/orange] and I intend on having visual indicators at each of the copper blocks to signify when they're active. I considered making the pipes not actually power anything and instead the player has to use them to create a route forward, but I figured this would be far too difficult to design. Ultimately, I'm happy with this - it's functional and looks good enough.

Reece has since added working pipes and I've added walls and textures. Initially, the fog was in bubbles around the map. This worked, but it didn't look good. However, after some experimentation, it occured to me I could reduce the density and just have the fog encompass the map. You know, like how fog works. Once I did this, I saw a notable increase in how the map looked - the fog better obscured the extremes of the level, and was a lot smoother and less 'bubbled'.

This was how I TRIED to get the pipes to display when they were in the correct orientation

This was my code in the door. For whatever reason, it was registering 5 pipes instead of 4, and only the 1st, 3rd and 5th ever changed.

Once the pipes had been fixed [see post #30], I finished the level. I added a pipe running off to the side with the remnants of a walkway going into a building, the walkway to a shuttered door that will open once the puzzle is complete. I'm yet to attatch the pipes from the puzzle to this room, but I will.