#i've been using the watercolour brushes on them a lot lately

[jugacolours]

[alicenpai]

princess tutu: die jahreszeiten 🌸

kind of a companion piece to my 2022 ptutu drawing | it's on inprnt

this print was at anime north; next con is otakuthon!

oops so my hand slipped and i made another princess tutu drawing. i admittedly don't watch that much anime so my catalogue of work is gonna be the same 5 animes LMAO. what can i say, i love "dark" fairy tales, and i've been really enjoying the more fine art approach to a lot of my drawings as of late (and the watercolour brush i've been using has been so perfect for that...!)

as my first princess tutu drawing is now 2 years old, there are some areas i've grown to have ... qualms with... although both drawings as a whole are pretty much exactly what i envisioned, and that's always satisfying!

both of these were drawn in roughly a week's time (yes really...) for con crunch period (and i went back to this drawing after the con to touch up some areas that were a bit rough!). i wanted a different approach to this new pt drawing, with the focus on the line work, rather than on colours and lighting in the 2022 drawing.

this drawing had 2 goals: to continue the style i adopted in my witch hat atelier "lantern bearers" drawing (which i promise i'll post in full soon as soon as all of the zine artists get their go-ahead to post their pieces!), and to emulate the art nouveau movement's heavy emphasis on line work, albeit not a 1:1 style replication of course.

the seasons also aren't a 1:1 representation, as i didn't necessarily pick flowers or colours that are most strongly associated with the season (e.g. summer being a dark tone is a bold choice?). but it's kinda whatever, as i said before i drew this in a week, there may be more appropriate flowers with better meanings. i couldn't spend too too much time drafting and researching.

FLOWER SYMBOLISM:

- spring: apple blossoms, tulips - the apple blossom is a quintessential spring flower, and thus symbolize the arrival of spring. spring is a season of change, which ahiru/princess tutu is a force of, instigating change in her friends and unravelling the story around her. the flowers below her are tulips, and there are many meanings to tulips depending on the colour, due to their ubiquitous nature. i narrowed on one, and intended for them to symbolize happiness. princess tutu's pose is one in which that is open, inviting, and warm - reflecting her nurturing nature in the series, and her willingness to help others achieve happiness.

- summer: deadly nightshade flower, yellow rose - i chose for rue/princess kraehe to symbolize a fiery summer's night instead of the typical dazzling heat of a summer's day, a rather bold and unusual choice. the warmth of sunshine didn't quite fit, as the character is quite dramatic and passionate, with her intentions often hidden in shadow. next, the deadly nightshade - atropa belladonna - has a lot of mythological associations, a lot to do with poisoning, as the flower is toxic. the flowers bloom at night (another reason why i picked a nighttime backdrop for "summer") and also outwardly match rue's dark design scheme, as the cherry on top. yellow roses, at the bottom of her frame, are the archetypal flower depicting jealousy (as with many yellow flowers are), and at one point in the story, rue only wished for her own happiness at the misfortune of others.

- autumn: douglas fir needles, orange calla lily - autumn is another season of change - although much more tumultuous, as this season is traditionally taken to prepare for a long winter ahead - fitting for fakir as the role of the storyteller. the douglas fir is not a flower of course, but is a tree - with many different parts of this tree offering many benefits in advance of the winter season. i wanted the versatile nature of the douglas fir to reflect on fakir's dependable personality. next up, the calla lily is a flower with a dual meaning - on one hand you have life, on the other you have death. a storyteller quite literally can grant both at the tip of their fingers.

- winter: birch tree, snowdrop - winter is a rather still and unchanging season, a lull in the passage of time. this symbolizes mytho's passive nature at the start of the series, especially with his doleful pose here, as if almost in hibernation. to contrast, mytho is perched on the branches of a birch tree, which means new beginnings and renewal - as mytho is one of the characters that undergo the most change throughout the series (i'd argue the most?), regaining pieces of his heart. under mytho's frame is the snowdrop flower - and if you've read my witch hat atelier: seasons piece symbolisms, one of the snowdrop's meanings is rebirth, with connotations to the bible, bringing hope, when all had forsaken eve. the snowdrop is one of the first flowers to bloom even when the snow has not yet fully melted, further echoing mytho as an analogy for rebirth.

[sanhatipal]

"Noble d'Apchier"

A little watercolor painting of Chloe,with the Zorn palette! I found out about this palette a while ago and I really wanted to try it out! (More on that below )

Chloe's hair is something I adore, it's gotta be one of my absolute favourite character designs ever,I love how swirly and fluffy it is,very fun to draw. I've drawn her normally before,I wanted to do one with her vampire eyes and fangs too. I decided to try to draw a white fuzzy rim around the foreground against the plain background,for a change,like in some of the VnC panels.

The Zorn palette,or Apelles Palette was a colour scheme used by Anders Zorn in the late Victorian/Early Edwardian era. It ,or something similar,might have been used by artists of old civilizations too, because it avoids the use of blue and green entirely: which would eliminate the need for rare pigments . It's essentially a colour mixing challenge,to draw the entire paintings with 4 pigments,2 basic colours: Ochre yellow, Vermillion,and Black and white,which can be mixed into different shades. It can be an excellent exercise and means for portrait painting

Modern artists use red instead of vermillion,but the essence is the same. So that's what I did too. I considered using vermillion,but I realised that it would introduce a lot of yellow tint, making the picture very warm. Which is usually something I prefer honestly,but not what I was going for here. Also,I need to consider the fact that I'm a watercolour artist,which is very different from the original intended palette. Zorn used oil paints,but other artists use it fine for gouache and acrylic too, however,that too is different from watercolor, because instead of mixing with white, I'll be diluting with water,which changes the composition of the palette considerably. So I went with these supplies: ochre yellow and red watercolor pencils (for me, basically watercolor pigments,I don't use them to draw,I grind and dissolve them in water),white and black watercolor tubes,and white ink. In addition: lineart with sepia,grey and black brush pens,which are well within the bounds of the palette

To be honest,I ended up not using the white paint tube at all,water makes more sense to me. I didn't use anything else though,and stuck with the original materials.And the results:

Does it work? Hell yeah. It's not perfect,but I'm happy with how she turned out

Was it restricting? That's kind of the point,to paint with some limitations

Was it hard? Honestly? No. Not at all. It's definitely very different from what I'm used to,I use a lot of colours both as is and mixed,but this was surprisingly easy. Perhaps because of my subject,which didn't have much colour to begin with

Do I recommend it? If you want a small challenge,or to experiment or practice colour mixing,definitely

Will I do it again ? Absolutely. I feel like I haven't utilised much of the potential of this palette. I ended up using mainly red and black, hardly any yellow at all. So I'd like to do something more colourful with this palette, perhaps a sunny painting of a gingerhead girl with flowers,and for this I'll probably use vermillion,not red

Anyways, that's all! If you read all this,thank you for your time!!

[moonchild-in-blue]

Okay first of all I'm glad I found you in my notifications because I love your blog!! And your art is amazing!! I am in looove.

Also what type of watercolours are you using? And do you like it?

I'm looking into getting a new palette because mine is almost empty but I've only ever used this one palette I still have from highschool art class...

Okay, I'm a slut for compliments so, thank you SO much for that. Million kissies for you, sweet friend 😚💕🎨

As for the watercolours, I'm assuming you're asking because of my little whales. Technically, those were actually made with acrylics! More specifically, the leftover water from when you clean your brushes?

I'm working on a little ST illustration project, and I'm using acrylics (which is my main medium). The whales were just a quick little something to decompress/not let the water go to waste - it was a such nice shade of blue!

That being said, I actually do use watercolours (not that much lately but need to get back into it). I use the 30 colours pallete from Sakura. I've been using them for years, all throughout uni, and I really like them! They're nicely pigmented, very soft, and blend really beautifully.

(I have a few more recommendations, so I'll put a cut here - don't want to clog anyone's dash, oops.)

I will say though, I use a lot of coloured pencils, and the ones I use are water-soluble. I use the original Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils, and the Derwent Inktense - these are my favourites, they're incredibly pigmented and are veery smooth. I usually prefer to use pencils because they're fast drying, easier to carry around, and just plain convenient.

But yeah - Sakura Watercolour pallete, can't recommend it enough. It's super nice quality, nice compact design should you need to store/carry with you, and quite affordable. I've had mine for nearly a decade and never had any issues.

If you're willing and able to spend a bit of money though, the Windsor & Newton watercolours are my dreamies (I'm writing this with heart eyes). There's this quite famous artist, Agnes Cecile, who is their embassador, so maybe take a look at her Instagram page? W&N also have plenty of videos on their pages with demos/swatches, should you want to see as well. They're really unmatchable when it comes to pigment making.

Thank you so much for asking me, and feel to reach out whenever! I'm always, always willing to talk art with anyone. I hope this helped, and happy paintings! 🎨

[helloalycia]

The Wrong Lifetime – Five // Wanda Maximoff

chapter four | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter six

author’s note: dying of cramps but didn��t wanna leave y’all hanging, so enjoy! x

Taking Wanda to Blackpool was something I couldn't stop thinking about for the past three days.

I kept telling myself that I had to remain calm, not make her feel uncomfortable with my obvious attraction to her, and to give her the best day out considering she'd never been before. It wasn't anything more than a girl spending time with her soon-to-be sister-in-law, and I had to keep reminding myself that whenever I'd feel a stir of desire in my chest at the thought her pretty smile or intoxicating gaze.

My family were thrilled when they heard of my plans with Wanda. My parents were glad I was actually making an effort to get on with her, whilst my brother was excited I was becoming 'best friends', as he put it, with his fiancé. That one stung a little, the guilt pricking my insides, but I convinced myself that that was exactly what I was doing. It wasn't wrong if I didn't think of Wanda in any way but what she was. Right?

The weekend came around quickly enough, and on Saturday morning, I met with Wanda at the train station where she waiting for me with an enthusiastic smile.

"I brought my watercolours and sketchbook so I can paint what's there," she explained as we boarded the train. "I also bought a lot of pencils in case some snap. I'm gonna draw everything I see so I don't forget a single thing."

We slid into our seats and I smiled with admiration as she continued to ramble about all of the things she wanted to do today. She looked so lively when she spoke, her hands moving about frantically to express her excitement, and her lips permanently etched into a smile when she wittered on. I didn't mean to stare, but God, she looked beautiful.

"Thank you again for doing this," she finished, head turning to mine.

Now, I'd read and written many clich��s of someone falling for someone else, particularly the moment they knew they were too far gone. It was hard to believe if they were true depictions of liking someone, but I liked reading and writing them.

It was now that I learnt that they were no exaggeration, for when she looked my way with a beaming smile and glowing green eyes, I knew it was too late. There was no going back for my attraction to Wanda.

"No need to thank me," I spoke slowly, surprised I could speak at all since she'd knocked the breath from my lungs. "I'm glad you're excited."

The journey was a few hours long and we made conversation the whole way. It was the longest I'd spent alone with her since meeting her and I was intrigued by everything she had to say, hanging onto every word with all of my attention. If that wasn't enough, her accent only made everything she said sound so much better. She was naturally soft-spoken, but syllables rolled off her tongue in a silky, raspy way with her accent entwined in her words. I loved it.

At one point, the topic of our families came up and I felt like my brother came up in almost every conversation I'd had with anyone who discussed family, so I took this as my opportunity to get to know hers instead.

"What's it like to have a twin?" I asked, leaning on my elbow as I watched her attentively.

She mirrored my action playfully, though answered my question. "It's just like having a normal sibling, except they're way more annoying."

I smiled, imaging just how annoying Pietro could be as a sibling.

"I love Pietro, but he's very frustrating at times," she spoke with a hint of endearment. "He constantly throws it in my face that's he's older than me by twelve minutes. As if that makes a difference."

A chuckle flew from my lips as she pouted at her own words.

"But he's also my best friend," she said with a sigh, like that fact was irritating in itself. "He knows me better than anyone and he's the easiest person for me to talk to. I don't have to hide anything from him." She paused, glancing upwards in thought. "Well, almost anything."

Pursing my lips, I wondered what she meant as she mumbled the last part, but didn't question it. Everyone was entitled to their secrets.

"So, you and your family moved to England when you were kids, right?" I tried to recall what my parents had told me of them. "From Sokovia."

"Yes, we were about..." She scrunched up her nose as she tried to remember. "Eight years old, I think?"

"Wow, that's young," I realised.

She hummed in agreement, smile fading as her eyes fell to her hands. "Yeah... I don't remember much, but there was a lot of unrest at the time. A war. It was dangerous for everyone and my parents were lucky to get us out when they did."

I frowned, knowing some of this already, but it was sadder to hear when it was coming from Wanda herself.

"Our extended family didn't make it out," she continued to explain, voice quieter. "I didn't know them much, my parents' siblings, so it's not that sad for me. Pietro, too. But it's strange to think, you know? Especially when all of your family are around with this wedding and–" She sighed, shaking her head and looking to me with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

I straightened up, reassuring her instantly. "Wanda, you don't need to apologise. It's okay. I... I didn't know any of that. I'm glad you told me."

She nodded, though the regret was still present in her gaze.

"I'm sorry all of that happened," I expressed honestly, not looking away. "But I'm glad you're here, if it makes a difference. You– your family are good people."

A small, appreciative smile graced her lips. "Thank you."

I shrugged, trying to brush it off so she wouldn't notice the heat rising up my neck. "It's nothing... so Sokovia. You speak Russian and English. That's pretty bloody cool."

She laughed wholeheartedly and any hint of sadness disappeared from her face, reassuring me completely. I didn't like to see her sad, especially when there was nothing I could do to make her feel better that I knew of.

"I promise to teach you some Russian today," she said with amusement. "A few words, just to diversify your vocabulary."

"Gee, thanks."

Another laugh escaped her and I chewed on my lip to contain my grin. I could get used to that sound.

—

When we reached Blackpool, Wanda was radiating with excitement. We couldn't make it two steps anywhere before she whipped out her sketchbook and began to sketch. She wasn't kidding when she said she was going to capture everything she saw.

I was patient, since the reason we came was for her, and watched as she worked. It was cute, seeing her concentrate and trying to stop dancing around with excitement every time I showed her something new.

We walked along the promenade and dipped in and out of the shops, looking at the gifts and clothes they sold. We bought a few things to commemorate the trip, but then Wanda was quick to drag me back outside so she could sketch the view of the beach from where we were stood. The grin on her face was convincing enough for me to let her drag me wherever she wanted. She looked so happy and I didn't care about anything else.

Eventually, around lunchtime, we headed to a café to have a break from all the excitement. Or rather, a break from running around. For Wanda, it was a better opportunity to sit still and sketch some more.

"So, you're drinking what, Y/N?" she asked, not looking up from her sketches as she worked.

I looked at my tea and lowered the cup. "Er, tea?"

"In Russian," she instructed.

"Oh." I cleared my throat, remembering what she taught me earlier. "Chay."

"And what's in the chay?" she asked, lifting her eyes to meet mine patiently. "The milk?"

"Moloko," I remembered, and the proud smile on her face reassured me I was correct. My shoulders relaxed as I returned her smile. "Thanks."

"You're a natural," she assured me, before looking back to her sketchbook. "I only taught you the words. You remembered it yourself. And before you know it, ty budesh' govorit' polnymi predlozheniyami na russkom."

My mouth opened with confusion, not knowing what she said. She seemed to realise as she chuckled at my expression.

"Never mind, milaya (darling)," she said with humoured eyes, before resuming her sketching.

I breathed out, taking another sip of my tea before grabbing a fork to dig into my pasta. As I chewed, I watched Wanda move her pencil effortlessly, creating lines that somehow resulted in a perfect drawing of the horizon.

"Do you only draw and paint landscapes?" I asked curiously.

"I can do portraits, too," she answered with a nod, glancing at me. "But they're never as good."

I gave her a knowing look. "I doubt that."

She merely smiled in response, eyes meeting mine for a moment, before shaking her head with amusement and looking back to her sketches. I chuckled, leaving her to it as I enjoyed my lunch and read the newspaper.

It was nice to just sit and enjoy each other's company as we did our own thing. I'd occasionally glance up to see Wanda focused on her drawing and smile, allowing myself to appreciate the sight, before looking back down to the paper and enjoying my pasta.

By the time I finished my food, as had Wanda, she straightened up and tore a page from her sketchbook. The noise pulled me from my reading and I looked up to see her holding the paper towards me.

I quirked a brow, but she simply shook the paper, signalling for me to take it. With confusion, I took it and became speechless when I saw what she'd drawn. It was me reading the paper, the exact view she must have had from being sat opposite me. It looked exactly like me, probably better since I knew I didn't look that good, and I was amazed at her talent all over again.

"You did this just now?" I asked with disbelief, looking up at her.

She shrugged and distracted herself with her pencil. "Yeah, it's not much. It's not my specialty."

I scoffed. "You're kidding. Wanda, this is amazing!"

Bashful smile on her lips, she glanced up at me. "Maybe it's the best portrait I've done. But I think that's down to my subject."

Even when she was embarrassed, she was still capable of turning the tables on me, leaving me a flustered mess. It was like her superpower. A very annoyingly cute superpower.

"That's what you look like y'know," she continued, nodding to the paper in my hand. "When you're focused on reading. You chew your lip with thought. And you get this little crease–" she pointed between her brows with a laugh, "–right here, and you seem to forget that anything else exists."

A sweet smile spread on her face as she tilted her head, watching me with intimidating eyes, very much aware of the effect her words had on me.

"You're very observant," I said, trying not to stutter, her gaze making me nervous. "Perfect skill for an artist."

She hummed in agreement, though didn't look away. "Mere artistic observation, right?"

My heart was hammering in her chest the longer she stared, especially when her words dawned on me. I'd said the exact same thing after she confronted me about picking her ring. I wondered if she could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

Just like the first time I saw her, I was at a loss for words and couldn't look away. She was compelling, beautiful and remarkable all at once.

—

"Nebo," I said, hoping it was the correct word for 'sky' in Russian, as Wanda had taught me.

She grinned. "Yes! And horizon?"

I pulled a face as I thought carefully. "Er...gorizont?"

"The student is soon to become the master," she said, and I rolled my eyes, knowing that was anything but the truth. I appreciated her encouragement though.

"Okay, before we head to the beach, we have to buy some rock," I told her, leading her to the stall on the promenade. "I got it last time and it's so good."

She furrowed her brows. "What's that?"

I smiled at her expression. "It's a sweet. Kind of like boiled sugar that's formed into a stick of, well, rock."

She didn't seem convinced. "If you say it's good, I trust you, I guess..."

I laughed, grabbing her hand and tugging her to the stall. "You'll love it."

After getting two sticks of rock for Wanda and I, we began to walk to the sand. I glanced at the brunette, wanting to see her reaction. She eyed the hard candy before attempting to bite it, a small piece breaking off at the top. Crunching on it, she scrunched her nose up.

"It's hard," she noted, swallowing the piece. "Tasty, though."

"It's better if you suck on it, love," I let her know with a hidden smile. "Tastes much better."

She did as I said, beginning to suck on the top, and seemed to enjoy it more. Giving me a thumbs up as she sucked it, I couldn't help but laugh again. She looked adorable, so I left her to it and did the same as we walked along the sand and towards the benches in the distance.

Like a child experiencing something for the first time, she began to point excitedly at Blackpool Tower and the ferris wheel in the distance and I just kept nodding along, letting her get excited because it made my heart skip a beat every time she flashed me a smile.

When we reached the benches, I was glad that today wasn't a busy day. It wasn't exactly tourist season, so the beach was scarce of anyone but residents of the town. And even then, our side of the beach was pretty empty, giving us first dibs on a bench that wasn't broken or uncomfortable.

Settling on it, Wanda pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged so she could lean on them and pull out her watercolours. I sat beside her and leaned back, inhaling the salty air and exhaling peacefully. I never had much reason to visit here apart from when my parents took my brother and I on the occasional trip, but it was nice to appreciate the sound of the ocean washing over the sand and the seagulls squawking in the sky. A big difference compared to back home.

Another silence formed between us as she painted the water ahead, and I couldn't help but glance her way, watching her pucker her lips with concentration. All she'd wanted was this and I was glad I could finally give it to her.

So she wouldn't notice, I looked away and stared out at the blue expanse of ocean before me. I should have been appreciating its beauty, but all I could think about was how it was no contest to the girl sat beside me.

"I'm really glad you brought me here today," she said out of the blue after a while, "but I wouldn't have said yes if I'd known you would be bored."

I looked to her and saw she was still preoccupied by her painting. "I'm not bored. We came here so you could see the water and find some new subjects to paint. And that's exactly what we're doing."

She sighed, looking up at me with a questioning glance.

Smiling reassuringly, I said, "I like the quiet. And I like watching you work. You look happy. It's good to see."

She tensed her jaw, stifling a smile, but her eyes said it all. She was grateful. Of course, her eyes were also very easy to get lost in, even if she didn't mean for me to. And right now, under the sun, I found myself drowning in pools of blue.

"What are you thinking?" she asked quietly, a hint of a smile on her face.

Stupidly, I felt compelled to tell her the truth. "I'm thinking about how you have really pretty eyes."

Attempting to make me flustered yet again, her favourite hobby by now I was guessing, she raised a brow teasingly. "Oh, really?"

It didn't bother me this time though, as I maintained eye contact and felt my heart swelling with adoration. "Yes. It's like you hold all the elements in a single gaze."

Her smile faded and that's when I realised what I'd said, my heart dropping to my stomach in an instant. Swallowing hard, I looked away and shook my head. An apology was waiting on the tip of my tongue when she spoke with realisation.

"It was you."

I glanced her way nervously. "What was?"

She was staring like her mind was working something out and I was the missing piece. "The letter that Y/B/N gave me last week. He wrote the exact same thing. What you just said."

My brows knitted together with confusion, then it hit me. The love letter Y/B/N wrote. The one he assured me was for his own eyes. He'd given it to her. And I'd just gone and said the exact thing he'd written on it, no doubt passing it off as is his own words.

"Th–that wasn't me," I got out, shaking my head slowly. "I didn't even know he gave you a letter, Wanda."

She continued to watch me, eyes squinting with scepticism. I swallowed hard under her gaze, trying to think of how I could come back from this. But apparently I didn't have to, because she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine.

My mind was foggy when her fingers rested behind my neck, tugging me closer. I closed my eyes, melting at her touch, and began to kiss her back, moving my lips against hers. She was slow and gentle with me, her lips as soft as they looked and sending the butterflies in my stomach into a frenzy. I could have kissed her forever and been content, but my brain finally caught up to my actions and I reluctantly pulled away, stunned.

Glancing around to make sure nobody saw us – there was literally nobody here – I caught my breath and looked back to Wanda. Her eyes were drawn to my lips before they flickered to meet mine, darkened with desire.

"Why did you do that?" was all I could think to ask, and I was acutely aware of her fingers still grasping my neck, the skin burning where her tips grazed.

She licked her swollen lips, expression softening. "I think I've been falling for the wrong Y/L/N."

My lips pressed together, missing the feeling of hers against them. Never in a million years did I expect her to say something like that. I thought she'd been teasing me this whole time, but now, maybe there was truth to her actions.

"Did you really mean what you said?" she asked apprehensively.

"What?"

She swallowed. "What you said about my eyes. Did you mean it?"

Well, she'd kissed me, so there was no going back now.

I nodded, noticing the hesitance in her eyes. "Yes... you're beautiful, Wanda."

She didn't say anything and the silence was deafening. I almost wanted to run back home and pretend this never happened, but that was the cowardly side of me. The other side, the disbelieving side, wanted to stay here with her and keep living in this little bubble we'd created.

"Can I kiss you again?" she finally spoke, eyes flickering between mine for confirmation.

Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded slowly, and she didn't waste another second as she leaned in once again. This time, I wasn't so surprised, so I kissed her back quickly, trying not to think about how wrong this was. How I'd been taught that this was wrong. Because I refused to believe this was wrong, that it was a sin, when it felt so damn right.

Wanda felt right.

—

When I got home later that afternoon, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

Wanda was all that was on my mind. Everything about her was floating around up there – the contagiousness of her smile, the brightness of her eyes, the taste of her lips. When I left this morning, I wasn't expecting to return with– well, I wasn't sure what we were, but we'd decided to give whatever this was a go.

Of course, she was still engaged to my brother, but I tried not to think about that. She made me happy and maybe in a different lifetime we could have been together, but this was the wrong lifetime which meant I'd have to make some wrong decisions, this possibly being one of them.

The guilt was still present, but the adoration I had for Wanda overpowered it. The fact that she actually liked me back was too thrilling for me to even concern myself with the lack of future this relationship would have. I just wanted to enjoy what we had whilst we had it, even if it meant being together in secret.

"So, how did your trip go?" my mum asked me when I returned, looking up from her knitting.

I stifled my grin the best I could. "It was fun. Wanda loved the seaside."

My mother seemed pleased as she smiled my way. "Y/N, that's great. You know, I'm really proud of you for making an effort with her. It means a lot to everyone."

"Mhm."

"She's going to be your sister-in-law after all," she continued knowingly, "so it's good you're spending time with her. Maybe you could do it more."

I hummed in agreement, my heart fluttering at the possibility of spending more time with Wanda. "Yeah, that could be good."

"Go on upstairs, you must be tired from the travelling," she said after a moment, noticing my distant headspace. "I'm glad you had fun today."

Wanda's smile appeared in my mind again, her lips ghosting my own. I sighed contently.

"Me, too."

[warren-lauren]

Gwilym Lee! Brian May x F!reader

Don't panic! Yes, this has been posted on Wattpad but it's my page that is linked to @i-have-a-wonky-eye-too I fancied writing something different since I've had mega writers block and came up with this little thing. Might turn it into something. I dunno. Let me know...

Fate...

A long drawn out breath left your mouth as you leaned against the phone box as your father lectured you about 'finishing what you started'. What started out as a bollocking for quitting your boring job stacking shelves, turned into 'I'm not mad, just disappointed' lecture after you said you were thinking of changing your studies.

"Dad, can- please, dad, just- Dad. Dad! DAD!" you let out a small scream as you slammed the phone back on the hook repeatedly. "FUCK YOU!" you huffed, kicking the door to the phone box open.

"FUCK!" You spun round at the pain filled cry from behind you to find a tall boy holding his face where, obviously the door you had kicked open, had smacked him.

"Oh, MY GOD! I am so, sorry." you gasped, your eyes wide with fear. He shook his head as he held his hand out that wasn't covering his face.

"No, it's fine... it's not like you, did it on purpose... I hope." he let out a dry chuckle as he moved his hand from his face, turning to look at his reflection in the phone box. The side of his face had a slight pink mark covering it from where it had been hit. Thankfully you hadn't done much damage to his, if you were being honest, quite handsome face.

"No, but still, I just twatted you with a bloody door." you frowned a little, noticing his face was getting redder.

"It's fine." he sighed into the small glass window of the phone box as he looked at his face. "Honestly, I'll be-" Brian's words died in his mouth the moment he laid eyes on you. "I- hmm-" he cleared his throat, trying to get his mouth and brain to work.

"It's getting redder." you began to panic. "Shit! I'm sorry."

"It's fin-"

"It might bruise if you don't put something on it... My flat is just down the road, you can come and put a bag of peas on it... if you like?" you offered a small smile.

"Brian." he suddenly spat surprising you.

"I'm sorry?"

He shook his head as he closed his eyes, mentally scolding himself for letting his brain turn to mush. "My name, it-it's... Brian." he whispered his name, blushing as he nervously ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Oh-" you let out a small giggle; a sound Brian desperately wanted to hear more of. "-of course, why else would you say it. Sorry." you let out a little nervous laugh.

Brian shook his head, a small smile adoring his lips as he thought about the most beautiful sound he'd just heard leave your lips. "It's fine. I just, thought, since you were offering to put your peas on my face, we should, know each others name first." he shrugged, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure... I'm, hmm, Y/N." you giggled. "Nice to meet you." you blushed as you held your hand out to Brian, all of a sudden shy. Brian grinned as he took your hand in his.

"And you."

----------

The peas were long forgotten and completely defrosted by now on your coffee table, as you and Brian faced each other on the sofa, fully engrossed in whatever topic had popped up between the pair of you. The two of you were, somehow, just clicking. At first when the two of you entered your apartment there was a lot of nerves and shyness but after you explained the reason for you kicking the door (and apologising again), the pair of you slowly fell into a comfortable rhythm of chatter.

"We're, uh- hmm, we're actually playing, this weekend. You should, uh- come." Brian smiled at you, a light blush colouring his cheeks.

"Yeah-" you nodded, smiling at him. "-sounds fun.

Brian's face lit up a little. "Great!" he began blushing. "I mean, we're not, brilliant or anything, just, you know-" he shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair. "-three guys, playing after college. Nothing special-"

"Are you kidding? You can play an instrument. That's more than I can do." you smiled at him.

Brian's head fell back as he let out a short laugh. "More than- Y/N, have you not seen your paintings?" he said as he raised his hand and thumbed at the watercolour painting of a sunflower hung on the wall behind him. You blushed a little, lowering your gaze to your hands that were folded on your lap. There was a moments silence between the two of you before Brian sifted in his seat. "I should, hmm, it's late."

You quickly looked over your shoulder to the clock, only just noticing the time. "Oh, God. M'sorry. I hope I haven't kept you from anything?"

"No, not at all. I... I've enjoyed, talking to you, Y/N." Brian smiled, something that once again caused a funny feeling in your stomach.

You bobbed your head as you brushed a strand of your hair back behind your ear. "Yeah, me too, Brian."

"Good."

"Yeah."

Suddenly the shyness and awkwardness from before was back. You cleared your throat before standing up quickly, followed by Brian. The pair of you stared at each other, desperate to say something but not quite having the words, so you just nodded at each other before slowly making your way to your front door.

With a heavy heart you pulled your door open and let Brian walk past. It was strange. You'd only know Brian a handful of hours, yet, you felt so comfortable with him.

"Oh, hang on-" he turned back to face you as he dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out  crumpled up receipt along with a worn down pencil. "I forgot to tell you where we're playing." he let out a chuckle as he wrote down the place. "Here you go." he smiled at you as he handed you the piece of paper. "Hmm, see you there?"

You nodded glancing down at his writing. "Definitely."

Brian's smile grew, nodded as he stepped back from the door. "Great." he nodded again. "Great... Hmm, bye." he raised his hand shyly, a blush filling his cheeks.

"Goodbye, Brian."

With one last smile Brian turned on his heels and left. Once you'd shut the door you let out a deep sigh, letting your forehead fall against the door as you closed your eyes.

What the fuck?

----------

You slowly pushed your way through the crowd as you made your way towards the front. All week you had been looking forward to not only seeing him again but hearing him play the guitar. You'd hoped to have gotten there for the beginning but seemed the paint you had been using for a new painting had grown quite attached to your skin and wouldn't come off, therefore putting you behind getting ready.

A smile broke out on your face as soon as your eyes landed on Brian, until you saw the slight bruising on his face. Your chest tightened as you stared at him, guilt flooding your brain as you thought about what pain he must be in.

If it wasn't for Brian making direct eye contact with you when he looked up, smiling as he did, you probably wouldn't have realised you were staring at him. He sent you a wink, his smile growing as he watched you blush and drop his gaze, too embarrassed to look at him because he'd caught you staring at him. It filled him with an odd feeling, knowing he could make such a pretty little thing act like that. Brian was usually the one like that.

Each song started and ended, surprising you even more the more you heard. Brian sang. Good. Not a lot what with him being back up, but when he did, he was good, great even.

The band said goodbye to everyone, thanking them before they began to leave the stage. A sudden feeling of nerves hit you as you watched Brian remove his guitar, gently placing it down before he turned back and jumped off the stage, his gaze fixed on you in the middle of the moving crowd. He raised his hand in the air slightly as a greeting. "You made it." he smiled down at you.

You nodded biting your lip before you began grinning. "I did."

"Good." he nodded. "I was, hmm, worried.. you weren't, hmm, going to, when, you know-" he began to trip over his word, a little nervous himself.

You shook your head quickly. "Definitely not!" you smiled. "I just had a small paint malfunction that took longer to tidy up, that's all." you blushed slightly.

Brian raised his eyebrows as he quickly worked out what the green smudge was on your chin and the white spray that was in your ear. He began grinning, nodding as reached up and brushed back a strand of hair that had yellow paint covering it. "Ah! That explains why your very colourful tonight then." he winked with a chuckle, making your eyes widened as you grabbed the piece of hair and pulled it in front of you so you could see it, gasping when you saw the paint.

"For fuck sake. I was in the bath for like an hour." you whined.

Brian tried not to think about that as he watched your lips pout, your fingers playing with your hair, your eyes focused on the yellow paint-

"OY! BRI! C'mon, move your shit!" Roger shouted from the stage, clearly pissed the guitarist was taking forever.

Brian rolled his eyes before nodding. "Yeah, just a second." he sighed looking back at you. "Can you give me like, five minutes and then-"

"Brian-" Roger walked up to where the pair of you stood, tapping Brian's arm. "-not that I'm not happy you're about to lose your virginity and all but, band stuff first, yeah?" he winked at you before he walked off laughing.

You bit back your laugh as you saw Brian's face redden. "I'll wait over in that booth whilst you twat him." you winked at him before walking off to where you had said, laughing to yourself when you heard Brian's annoyed voice tell someone to 'shut the fuck up'.

----------

"I'm sorry about tonight, Y/N. I really didn't intend on Roger and Tim to interrupt." Brian sighed as the pair of you walked towards yours. Brian had his hands in his pockets as you had your arm linked with his so neither of you stumbled. You were a tad drunk.

You shook your head with a small laugh. "And tell me, Doctor May-" you missed the way Brian rolled his eyes and grinned as you called him that, a small joke that had built through-out the night. "-what were they interrupting?" you asked, desperate to know if tonight was what you'd been hoping.

"Our date." Brian simply said, nodding. "I hope."

You turned your head so you were looking up at him, smiling as your eyes met. "Funny that. That's what I was hoping." you giggled, almost tripping because you hadn't been paying attention.

Brian laughed loudly as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer. There was a beat of silence between you as the two of you lost yourselves in each other, smiling drunkenly at one another until your eyes flicked up to the sky.

"Will you teach me about the stars, Doctor May?"

Brian nodded slowly as he took a deep breath, his eyes staying on yours that stared up at the night sky. "It might take a few years." he whispered, reaching up to cup to your face, smiling as your eyes met once more. "That okay?"

You nodded biting your lip. "Yes..." you whispered before you leaned in to him.

Your lips softly moulded to his like they were made for one another, sealing your fate with a kiss.