#leather hard pottery

[claypigeonpottery]

thank you!

I painted the shading on with watered down underglaze, after the piece had been bisque fired.

I was not excited for this piece at all after I decorated it, but once I saw it glazed it ended up being my favourite piece in that kiln load! funny how that happens with pottery sometimes. the last firing can change things so much.

that glaze around the rim is Amaco's Cosmic Tea Dust

my etsy

[coquettefrancaise]

the boy is mine

by Brandy, Monica

pair: Azriel x reader ~ 3k

warnings: lewd thoughts, a punch, self-deprecation, down bad shadowsinger

summary: only one person existed in Azriel's eye and it was you

author's note: this is the continuation of rock 'n' roll star! it’s more of an ‘az appreciating/adoring his mate’ story more than anything else lol this feels so all over the place but it felt...right

It was no secret that the Shadowsinger had a mate.

While he had been discreet about the past females he had taken to bed, when he met you, it was as if he suddenly enjoyed having someone to show off.

Something about your little quirks and the way you looked at him had him head over heels in no time.

Like how you hated peeling oranges because the skin dug under your nails and your fingers tended to smell like citrus the rest of the day. Or how you worried over the birds that he accidentally ran into mid-flight. Or-

"I need to think of some way to thank Mor."

Azriel was startled out of his reverie at the sound of your husky voice. He peered down at you where you rested, tucked into his side, fingers tracing the Illyrian tattoos etched onto his skin, warm from slumber.

You both enjoyed spending the mornings this way: waking up twenty minutes before he left for training, and either chatting and cuddling or getting some pre-exercise in.

It was his favorite part of the day. To wake you up with gentle kisses and then hold you close as you absorbed each other's warmth. You always opened your eyes with a pout, stretching your limbs while making precious noises before seeking to press as much of your skin against his.

And when it was time for him to head out, you'd snuggle into his side of the bed, intent on catching more rest. It was a struggle for Azriel to leave you but he knew Cassian would kick his ass if he wasn't in the training ring by dawn.

He had attempted to get you into joining but you quickly found that Valkyrie training hadn't been something you enjoyed. Instead, you preferred doing some pilates or yoga, intent on still toning your body but not by performing excruciating workouts. Preferably after the sunrise too.

"Why?" he asked, rubbing a hand over your arm.

You looked up at him under your lashes, softly illuminated by the dim twilight that crept through the lace curtains, finger climbing up his neck to twist the earring he wore. "Because she's an absolute gods-send and deserves the biggest fruit basket ever made."

Ah. He understood it now.

He didn't know what came over you after he acquired that particular accessory, but he couldn't say he was entirely put off by it. He was entirely put on by it, if anything.

Suddenly, your hands were always on him, whether it be fiddling with his ear, or roaming over his hard muscles, they were always on him.

Not to mention that you had become possessive, glaring at the people who dared a look at Azriel, twice once cursing out a female who had flirted with him.

And clocking one in the face.

You'd been interested in taking painting lessons by Feyre for a while now. Azriel knew how much you enjoyed finding new hobbies. First, it had been pottery, then archery, and now art. The first two had resulted in exploding ceramics and a nearly impaled foot but this one should be safer. Right?

Azriel leaned against the doorframe of the studio, admiring your hunched over form as you worked at your easel, tongue sticking out of your mouth in concentration, brow knitted deeply. He'd have to rub the tense lines out when you were finished to prevent a headache.

He had just returned from a fortnight-long mission in the human lands and arrived to Valeris not even ten minutes ago. He had refused to go home first thing, knowing you wouldn't be there.

It hadn't taken Azriel long to realize that he loathed being wherever you weren't.

His shadows clung to his leathers as he felt all the attention zero in on him. Don't get him wrong; he was used to being stared at but he rarely drew attention intentionally.

Even though most of the room's occupants were intent on Azriel, you and Feyre, who was up front, babbling on about shading, were oblivious to his presence.

He ignored everything else in favor of watching you. It took all that was in him not to walk to where you sat, pull you up into his arms, and take in your body being with his at last.

Cauldron. How had he managed being away from you for two weeks?

At last, the class wrapped up and everyone began washing their brushes, capping their paints, and gathering their belongings, brushing past Azriel on their way out with giggles and batted lahes.

Azriel watched as Feyre walked to where you still sat, pointing at the details of your art with a nod of consideration.

When there was only one fellow student straggling behind, Azriel pushed off the doorframe and strode to you, hand brushing along your bare shoulder in greeting.

Your eyes shot up to where he stood and in no time at all, your arms wrapped around his neck. He chuckled softly, pulling you tighter into his embrace as he took a deep breath of your skin.

"Missed you, baby," he sighed into your ear before pressing a kiss to the skin underneath. "How was class?"

You answered with a hum.

"When'd you get back?"

He opened his eyes to look at Feyre, who was grinning from ear to ear. "About twenty minutes ago."

"You know, Rhys always complains about how you go home to your mate first then write up your report."

Even though her words were meant to be a scold, her eyes shone with understanding.

"He's going to have to deal with it."

You detached yourself from Azriel, much to his dismay, but kept a hand looped around the small of his back and one on his stomach. "I usually have to feed this big guy as soon as he steps foot in Valeris so he doesn't tear off any heads."

Feyre's face scrunched in distaste. "I'd rather not hear about your bedroom activities b-"

Your face turned an adorable shade of red as you interrupted with, "Gods, Feyre! Not what I meant! At all!"

Azriel barely contained his smirk. "That's exactly what she meant."

You rolled your eyes and stepped out of his reach. "Both of you are impossible." You complained as you went about cleaning up your area.

Despite being easily flustered, you were in no way or form a prude. You climbed him like a tree every second you could.

"Could you step up onto the platform for me, Az?"

Azriel snapped out of staring at your ass as you bent over to retrieve a fallen paintbrush. "Hmm?"

Feyre gestured to the lifted platform in the middle of the room.

He hesitated, kissing his teeth before obeying. She was his high lady after all.

She then walked around him, finger tapping her chin as if in deep concentration. Azriel squinted, unused to the harsh glare of lights pointed directly at him. From the few times he'd observed the class, Feyre used this pedestal for the objects her students painted. Were it a bowl of fruit or a model.

Feyre continued to study him with a sharp eye before saying, "I've been thinking of offering a figure study course and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being the muse?"

Before he could ask what the hell a study figure course was, a strong hand gripped at his arm. You stood at his side- when did you get there? -a murderous glint in your eye. "No way!" you hissed.

Feyre opened her mouth to argue but Azriel intervened with, "First off, what is a study figure course?"

Feyre huffed, "It's a nude anatomy class."

Out of all the things, that was the last thing he thought of.

Your fingers dug deeper into his leathers, bringing him out of his surprise. You were obviously worried- rightly so -that'd he'd accept. He could tell as much by the worry pulsating down the bond, and tight features.

Azriel considered pulling your leg a little but decided against it when an unbidden image flashed in his mind.

There you stood, in a room full of males, clad in nothing but a silk robe, standing on the platform, lights illuminating your exposed skin in a pants-tightening manner. You wore a seductive smile, breasts accentuated by the tie underneath and nipples poking through the nearly see-through fabric.

The males were perched on the edge of their stools, white-knuckled grasps on their art supplies as they hungrily watched you untie your robe. The scant fabric slid off your shoulders until it hit the floor with barely a whisper.

"So?"

Azriel kept his face composed, a lot calmer than he felt inside. "I'm alright, but thank you, Feyre."

He heard the sigh of relief you emitted.

"It was worth a try." Feyre shrugged. "Cassian will be ecstatic to know the position is all his."

"He'll be thrilled." He agreed, leading you out of the room to head home where he could remind himself that you were nobody's but his.

As soon as you both stepped foot outside, Azriel felt his tense shoulders drop, the fresh air clearing his mind of murdering males of his own fabrication.

"For what it's worth, you would have made a hot muse."

The straggling student stepped out from behind Azriel, finger twirling around her hair as she perused him with appreciative eyes.

It seemed that she had overheard the conversation then.

He was going to brush her off politely, but just as Azriel blinked, a fist flew into the female's face, causing her to stumble back with a pained cry.

Holy shit.

Azriel's head whipped down to you, who was rubbing your tender knuckles with a sneer.

You shook with barely contained rage as you spat, "Scram before you have to pay for a nose job." Azriel felt his blood rush south at your display of dominance.

Without further prompting, she fled into the night, hand cupping her bleeding nose.

The streetlights illuminated your scowl ."Don't even think about chastising me ab-"

Your snarky words were cut off by his mouth pursuing yours. He pushed you up against the nearby brick wall, hand cupping the back of your head to take the brunt of the impact.

His tongue swept past your lips, tracing the letters of his name on the roof of your mouth. That action spurred you into moaning, grinding yourself against the knee he slotted between your legs.

You pulled away abruptly, voice thick with arousal. "What in the cauldron?"

Azriel laughed softly, "I've never seen you so violent before, baby."

"Did it turn you on?" your lips curved in a wicked smile.

He brought your hand to his crotch, letting you feel his hardness.

Judging by the heaviness of your eyes and the heat emanating from your body, he'd say you were turned on as well.

"You know I'll never let another female see my body, don't you?" his breath caught in his throat when you squeezed.

"You're mine."

He guessed this was the end of your exploration of the arts.

With how obsessed he had always been with you, it was nice to have it reciprocated. And he only said that because you managed to be a little more subtle with your affections towards him. It was daunting, you had once told him, to be mated to one of the most dangerous males in history, especially in public.

"You really like the earring, huh, baby?"

"I absolutely love it on you," you teased your nails across his abs, causing them to tense. "I love everything about you."

"Especially my body."

"Why do you say that?"

He laughed through his nose at the defensiveness that laced your tone. "You're always ogling me."

You clicked your tongue, "Gods forbid a female has hobbies."

Sweat-dotted, sinewy muscles bulged every time he straightened out of his crunches. Abs tightening with short, controlled breaths.

You were beginning to feel faint with awe-

Azriel couldn't help but falter in his workout at your projected thoughts.

A shadow snickered in his ear that you hadn't taken your eyes off him since the moment he brought you to the training ring.

He'd been unable to sleep, tossing and turning relentlessly, until he decided to sweat off his insomnia. Having felt his shifting off the bed, you begged to join him.

Now, twenty minutes later, he was finishing his warm-up and amused at your open side of the bond.

"Come over here a sec," he sat up, panting softly.

You stood in front of him, arms wrapped around your waist as you waited for him to speak again. He took a moment to admire the cool breeze shifting your tousled hair and the hem of your robe.

"Lay down, baby."

"What?"

"Listen to me," his voice brokered no room for complaints or refusals. "and lay down. Or do I have to-"

You situated yourself along the mat before he could finish his sentence.

"Good girl."

He hovered above you, hands pinned above your shoulders, toes beneath yours. One of the things he appreciated about being nearly two times your size, was that he could dominate you in any position.

"You've behaved well today, haven't you?"

You nodded eagerly.

He lowered himself down into a push-up and pecked your lips, causing you to giggle.

He continued the process, laughing himself at your excited wriggling.

"I saw myself through your eyes earlier and I have to admit that you've done wonderful for yourself, choosing me to spend the rest of your life with."

"Someone's cocky," you puckered your lips when he went down again. "But now you see what I have to compete for everyday."

"Compete?" he moved to sit on his knees, watching you in confusion.

You sat up as well, biting at the inside of your cheek. "Yes, all of Prythian knows you're my mate and husband. But do they keep their hands and eyes to themselves? Ha!"

Azriel never thought twice about anyone other than you, so he didn't know why you were feeling so insecure about his attention. He'd rather carve out his eyes with Truth-Teller than look at anyone else.

He crushed you to his chest, uncaring that you were being smothered in his sweat.

Apparently, neither did you, seeing as you nudged your nose into the space between his pecs. He thought he'd been fairly vocal about his adoration for you. Every morning began and every evening ended with his proclaimed love for you.

No matter. He would reassure you every second of the day if it meant he could keep those deprecating thoughts out of your mind.

He said against the crown of your head, "There is no competition. You're the one I choose every single time."

You melted in his embrace.

"Would I have pierced my damn ear for anybody else?"

You giggled into his chest.

"I'd get a damn tramp stamp if you so much as hinted at it, baby."

"You really love me."

"Why do you sound so surprised? Have I not done a thorough job of showing my love for the past decade?" doubts began creeping into his mind and he-

A warm hand cupped his cheek, and you brushed your thumb over his lips. "There's nothing you've done to make me think otherwise; it's just me"

He kissed the pad of your thumb, feeling his heart swell with all the overwhelming love he carried for you. "And I wouldn't wish you to be anyone else."

He grabbed a handful of your ass, hauling you up to straddle him, "I would never begrudge you your peeping Tom hobbies, baby. You know I keep this body hard for you."

You huffed an ironic laugh, "Not because you're one of the only Carynthian's and right-hand male to the high lord?"

He shook his head. "Just. For. You."

Azriel took a moment to admire you. He didn't mind that you refused to get rid of his tatty-old t-shirt you used as a nightshirt. Not when you paired it with a pair of panties and nothing else.

"You're telling me you spent five-hundred plus years training and working out just for me? The mate you didn't even know you had? Who wasn't even born until centuries later?"

Cheeky female.

"Somewhere, deep down in my old, decrepit heart, a fire had been kindling. I had no clue where it came from nor how it continued to stoke. All I knew was that it meant something wonderful and glorious. I spent my days burying myself in my work; killing evil people and reporting to Rhysand. Every night spent with a random fae left me feeling lonelier and empty. Until I saw the most beautiful female in all of the world.

"She had this glow about her, this unwavering kindness, that drew me in. So I offered to purchase her ice cream and thus began my understanding of that long-forgotten fire. Every moment I spent with you, building the relationship I knew was about to be my everything, helped the flames burn brighter. I felt alive, something I never thought possible considering the blood on my hands.

"And now, that female turned out to be my mate and I knew I would do anything—anything—to keep her safe. To ensure that she was happy. So, to answer your absolutely ridiculous question, yes. I have built this body, and this soul, for you."

You tilted your head, silver lining your eyes, as you took him in, completely, and willingly, at your mercy. "You could have just said yes."

He chuckled, flipping you over so he laid on top of you, "Do you understand now why I do everything I have for you?"

A tear slid down your cheek and he kissed it away.

"Because you give me meaning, baby."

Your lips met in a slow kiss, conveying the words and emotions too difficult to speak aloud. Azriel breathed you in like one would fresh air. As if he needed you to survive. And you met him in the middle, giving him all he looked for.

After a couple of minutes, before Cassian would come to collect Azriel's sorry ass, you said against Azriel's lips, "Does this mean you'll help me with that fruit basket?"

"I'll find the biggest, juiciest fruit for that fucking basket."

[ruesol]

Price is your best friend’s dad.

Notes: suggestive

main masterlist

You were tired of being alone in the city you just moved in to. The raise after being relocated was worth it but now you were starting to wonder if it was enough to terminate your social life as well.

Making friends in your 20s was hard. The existence of third spaces and forced proximity in high school made it easy to connect with people. But unlike teenagers, adults have to find and sometimes even create their own third spaces. Your pick of poison? Yoga.

Sure, you didn’t enjoy working out, but it was where you were going to find other women your age. The book club didn’t work out because most of the members were senior citizens that would go to a cafe to get away from their retirement homes for an hour. You could’ve joined a pottery class group but you didn’t have enough clothes to ruin because of the sticky clay (it was also very expensive).

You walked into the yoga studio, feeling meek. All the women there looked like they came in with their friends, placing their mats together in the front. At the back, you could see some people who liked to chat while working out so you didn’t have an in over there either.

All you had was a little corner. You placed your water bottle down and sighed. Every water bottle had another one next to it.

Great, even the bottles had more friends than you.

“Anyone gonna place their mat here?” You turned around to see a gorgeous brunette with striking blue eyes. She was so beautiful that it almost made you blush.

“No, go ahead.” She placed her mat down and began doing a few slow stretches before the instructor arrived. “I’m Jennifer by the way. You can call me Jen.” She said mid warrior pose.

“YN.” You replied with a small smile.

You finally knew someone other than your creepy neighbor! Ten points to you.

“So, you live around here?” It was your turn to initiate conversation. “Not really, I live with my dad in the suburbs right outside the city. Not too far from here. What about you?”

“Yeah, I live in this area. I only picked this spot because it wouldn’t need to use the train to get all the way here.” Jen laughed at your reply. “Ugh, I get you, I hate commuting to work. You got lucky with getting your own place.”

You nodded with a grin on your face. Maybe you could invite her over to hang out since you lived close by. You had barely said five sentences to this girl but your mind was running wild with all the fun things you could do if she became your friend.

The instructor entered the room and your conversation turned into whispers.

She told you about how she basically grew up with her mom but then moved in with her dad once he retired from the military. She didn’t say anything further so you assumed they must’ve divorced.

You told her about what brought you to the city and how you were trying to find fun things to do on Friday nights.

“No way, you should totally come out with me this weekend. One of my friends is dating a guy who manages a club.”

Score! The class wasn’t even over and you had managed to find a friend. This was a new high for you.

The two of you couldn’t stop chatting after class so you decided to take your conversation to a coffee shop. She showed you pictures of when she was a kid and how lonely she used to feel having a parent in the military. She then confirmed her parents were divorced. You could tell there was more to the story but didn’t pry out of respect.

You told her about your life back where you were from and Jen intently listened. When you’d say anything about being unfairly treated she would gasp and be angry on your behalf.

It’s like you had met your best friend.

The following weekend, you were assessing yourself in the mirror. You made sure you were wearing the right amount of eyeliner to go with your eye shadow.

Your outfit was beautiful. It was a simple black halter neck mini dress paired with a leather jacket. You wanted to look stylish but also prepared for the cold. By the time you wore your shoes, you got a text from Jen saying that she was waiting downstairs.

She introduced you to her friends who were in the car.

Maybe your new life in the city wasn’t going to be so lonely after all.

You all skipped the line and walked into the packed club. It had the same vibe as any other club- remix of a popular song playing while drunk people bounced around to it on the dance floor.

This was exactly what you needed though. It wasn’t what you usually did but you were open to new experiences. “Come on, let’s do shots!” Jen yelled as she dragged you to the bar.

-

You weren’t sure if Jen could walk straight. The two of you were sitting on a curb outside the club so she could get some fresh air. You held onto her as she slurred the lyrics of some random Justin Bieber song.

The girl was sloshed. You covered her with your leather jacket so she wouldn’t run cold. The rest of her friends wanted to stay at the club longer so you decided to get her home. There was no point in staying because Jen was the only person you knew that well at the moment anyway.

You were about to order an Uber when Jen’s phone began to ring in her purse. You fished it out and saw the word ‘dad�� flashing on it. You picked up the call.

“Hey, bean, everything alright so far?” A smooth British accent spoke from the other side of the line. His voice was so deep that you could almost feel its vibrations against your cheek.

“Hello, Mr. Price. I’m your daughter’s friend, YN. She’s a little too drunk right now so I’ll be sending her home via Uber.”

You could hear the faint sound of him clearing his throat through the speaker before he replied. “That’s alright, lass, I’ll come get the both of ya, I’m nearby.” You agreed to the older man’s suggestion and ended the call.

Ten minutes had passed and you were starting to get goosebumps all over your body. Jen had fallen asleep not too long ago on your right shoulder and your arm was beginning to fall asleep from being in one position.

Almost as if on cue, a large Chevrolet truck pulled up in front of you. A six foot tall man stepped out with a cigarette between his lips. You looked up at him with your eyes wide.

You had never thought of yourself as someone who’d be attracted to an older man but dear God, did he look majestic.

His beard had specks of silver in them. They complimented his strong jaw very well. The lights on the street were bright enough to let you see his eyes that were the same blue ones that Jen had.

“You must be YN.” His gruff voice called out. “Y-yes.” You stuttered out. The man was so handsome that you couldn’t help but get nervous.

“I’m John.” He smirked, cigarette still dangling between his lips. You could tell he was checking you out as well with how his eyes trailed down your bare legs.

He then walked towards you and Jen, leaned down close enough to wake his daughter up.

He was also close enough for you to smell him. Cigarettes and cologne with a hint of suede leather (courtesy of his jacket). His hand slightly brushed your shoulder as he stood his daughter up. “Come on, I’ll drop you home.” You shivered at his invitation.

John took notice and removed his jacket and placed it on your shoulders. “So you don’t get sick.”

Your heart was going to burst. You squeezed your legs together as you watched him drag his daughter to his car.

Soon you were sitting in the passenger seat of his car while Jen snored in the back. It was awkward to say the least. You had recently discovered that you may like older men and there was no music to buffer that thought.

“So how’d you meet my little Jennie?” You could get used to the rough edge in his voice. His accent just made things ten times better. “Yoga class.”

“Ah.” Silence followed again. In your peripheral view you could tell he would try to glance at your thighs. Usually you would’ve covered yourself up with your (his) jacket but surprisingly, you loved the fact that he couldn’t stop looking at you.

“You know anyone in the city?”

“Other than my coworkers, not really. Jen is the first person I’ve actually made friends with.”

“Well, I want you to know that even if I live far away, you can always count on me for any kind of help.”

He said he wanted to be of help. He didn’t mention Jen. “Thank you, Mr. Price.”

“Call me John. Mr. Price makes me feel old.” He chuckled.

You nervously mirrored his laugh to make the atmosphere less awkward.

Well, it mostly felt like there was some weird tension between you two. Sexual tension.

You reached your apartment complex and you began to take off his jacket to return to him but he grabbed your hand. Your skin felt like it was being pricked by a thousand tiny needles. Did a man’s touch always feel this electrifying?

“Keep it. Just give it to me next time.” You could only stare at him after he said that. What did he mean by next time? Did he mean that you were supposed to give it to Jen or did he want you to give it him specifically?

“Alright.” You whispered. You opened the door and waved a small goodbye to John as you walked into your building. You noticed that he didn’t leave until he saw you go inside.

‘What a gentleman.’ You blushed while you thought to yourself.

-

While driving back home, John could only imagine what the rest of your body looked like if just your thighs seemed so enticing.

His pants grew tighter as he remembered the doe eyed look you gave him when you first made eye contact. Your blush from the night’s cold air made you look like an elf. An attractive one at that. For a second he could hear his former subordinate’s voice in his head.

“Aye, captain, she could be the elf and you could be Santa in bed. All you need is the beard since you’re already on the way to getting the belly.”

You were ingrained in his mind. The main reason he gave you his jacket was because he noticed the outline of your nipples through your dress. He felt like a gross pervert but he couldn’t help but thank the winter air.

He was glad he left his jacket with you. It gave him an excuse to see you again.

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

Hi there! First, I wanna say I absolutely love your works; they are all great, and I enjoy reading every one of their reactions!

Can I request to see HLC (including professors) react to MC sniffing them (out for many reasons, but mainly they want to remember their smell)? Just genuinely curious about what they would usually smell like :) Thank you! And wish to see more works of yours!

A/N: laughing so hard the whole time writing this 🤣

HLC REACT TO MC SNIFFING THEM

SEBASTIAN SALLOW: Old books and smoke. He smells like a stack of forgotten tomes that were set on fire. He raises an eyebrow and laughs. "You're not going to lick me next, are you?"

OMINIS GAUNT: Clean linens and a touch of mint. "...did you just sniff me?" One would think he'd be used to MC's weird behavior by now. Alas, he is not.

ANNE SALLOW: Wild flowers. She smells like she's been laying out in a meadow in spring. She smells her own robes. "What? Do I smell bad?"

IMELDA REYES: Broom polish and various wood scents. She gives MC a strong side-eye glare. "What are you doing?"

NATSAI ONAI: Incense and fresh cut grass. She gives MC an unsure look but smiles anyway. "You're acting strange. Even by your standards."

GARRETH WEASLEY: He smells like an apothecary shop threw up on him, that also exploded. "What? Do I still smell like burnt rat hair? I thought I got that out."

LEANDER PREWETT: Cheap cologne that screams "try hard", but at the same time isn't overly offensive. He side steps away from MC. "Please, stop that."

AMIT THAKKAR: Parchment and spilled ink. He startles when MC sniffs him and he jumps away like a startled cat. "What was that about?"

EVERETT CLOPTON: Depends on the day. There is no consistency with him. Some days he smells like a pack of dung bombs, others he smells like a summer breeze. He sweats nervously, hoping that MC doesn't smell dung bombs.

POPPY SWEETING: Ever smelled a horse with feathers? That's her. She watches MC curiously. "What are you sniffing around like a niffler for?"

~~~

ELEAZAR FIG: A well kept library. Old leather and parchment. He sniffs MC back. "I'd say we're both due for a wash after all the running around we've been doing."

MATILDA WEASLEY: Orchids, her favorite floral scent. She gives MC an unsure glance. "You could just ask what perfume I use."

CHIYO KOGAWA: Leather and sweat. Even with quidditch canceled, she's always out and about the grounds. "Don't sniff. That's rather rude."

AESOP SHARP: The wizard equivalent of Old Spice and a hint of fire whiskey. He just rolls his eyes. He doesn't get paid enough for this.

ABRAHAM RONEN: Sugar and cinnamon. Always smells like he just came back from Honeydukes. "Oh my, do I smell bad?" He's genuinely concerned and smells his own robes.

MIRABEL GARLICK: A garden. Flowers, soil, pottery; the whole shabang. "I was repotting mandrakes with the third years today. Sorry if I smell a bit ripe." She laughs.

MUDIWA ONAI: Incense and palm oil. She offers MC some incense. "Would you like to burn some for your dorm? You smell like you could use it."

BAI HOWIN: She works in beast pens all day. Enough said. MC doesn't even need to get close to smell her on some days.

DINAH HECAT: Amazingly. Nothing. Her time as an unspeakable has taught her to be undetectable, even by smell. Old habits die hard.

CUTHBERT BINNS: He doesn't so much give off a scent, as he does a cold chill if MC gets too close.

SATYAVATI SHAH: VERY faint smell of cherry blossom. She's very guarded of her personal space, so MC will have a hard time catching it.

PHINEAS NIGELLUS BLACK: Expensive cologne and hair tonic. He steps away from MC. Ew. Students.

[wintfleur]

𓈒  ୭ৎ   ˖˙  ᰋ  ── ALRIGHTY APHRODITE

aka gwen's profile

au masterlist - everything for the AU is under #📷 ͡ ꒱ GwenCaufield

ꪆ୧ BASICS ! 

name: Gwendolyn Caufield 

nicknames:

gwen (everyone)

wendy (luke)

winnie (juraj)

winnie the pooh (cole) 

lyn (parents) 

dolly (jack, trevor and alex) 

birthday and zodiac: october 31st 2004, scorpio 

location:

mosinee, wisconsin (former)

montreal, quebec (currently) 

ꪆ୧ ABOUT ! 

personality: gwen is more on the quiet side in general, more reserved and calmer, especially around new people. But when she gets more comfortable, she's a lot like Cole, can be a little loud, playful, silly, teasing and sarcastic. She’s a really sweet girl but she's just not as expressive as others. She’s really good at keeping in her emotions, so it's rare to really see her angry. She has an infectious laugh and is honestly quite the nerd. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family but likes to be alone as well. She's an introvert. 

good traits: hard-working, passionate, trustful and reliable, a good listener, warm-hearted 

bad traits: her determination can turn into stubbornness, brutally honest, scared of commitment in relationships, 

quirks: lip biting, being fidgety, doodling on anything, getting lost in her thoughts, rambling when she's nervous 

likes: photography, horror movies, drawing, thunderstorms, reading, anything autumn, chapstick, jeans, halloween obviously, steve harrington, the canucks, music, the cinema, napping, sweaters, lockets, smiski’s, lollipops, her guitars 

dislikes: hot weather, driving, fireworks, the smell of grapefruit, wearing socks in bed, stand up comedy, doing the dishes, being compared to her brothers, rude fans, sad juraj, 

hobbies: drawing, pottery, journaling, scrapbooking, ballet, singing, playing the guitar and piano 

fears: heights, dying alone, being stuck in tight spaces, loud noises 

strengths: creative, attention to detail, determined, organized 

weaknesses: talking about her feelings, self critical, perfectionism, 

languages spoken: english (fluent) french (70%) slovak (20%) 

occupation/profession: photographer for the montreal canadiens nhl team  

ꪆ୧ RELATIONSHIPS ! 

parents:

paul caufield 

kelly caufield 

sibling(s): 

brock caufield 

cole caufield 

best friends: luke hughes, arber xhekaj, lily dao, mark estapa 

friends: kaiden guhle, the rest of the habs team, trevor zegras, jack hughes, quinn hughes, alex turcotte, tate mcrae + more 

love interest: juraj slafkovský

pet(s): none at the moment but she really wants a cat 

ꪆ୧ MORE ! 

outfits: gwen’s closet mostly has a lot of darker shades but she will wear any color really. She loves wearing jeans, fishnets/different patterned tights, short skirts, leather jackets, corset/vests, hoodies etc. She loves thrift shopping so she has a large range of different clothes, for shoes she mostly wears boots, sneakers etc. Link to her closet is right here. 

accessories: she mostly accessories with her large collection of sunglasses and bags, With her larger/medium bags she likes adding small addons to them, pins, sonny angel/smiski/ keychains, small plushie keychains, photocard holder keychains ect. With her small bags she likes tying ribbon boys to them and her sonny angel/smiski keychains. She will occasionally wear a fake pair of glasses, just to add something different to her outfit. For headwear she mostly wears earmuffs, headbands and beanies. Will sometimes wear scarfs, but really her accessories really just depend on the outfit she's wearing. 

jewelry: she's a big fan of necklaces and rings. For necklaces she loves lockets, she owns many. But the one she wears the most is the one Juraj got her. For rings she wears multiple at a time, mostly four and she's always changing them out. She’s always changing out her earrings and belly button and nose piercing, she likes having something new every once in a while, she gets bored with the same things. 

makeup: gwen doesn't really use a lot of makeup, mostly just her eyelashes, eyeliner, a little bit of eyeshadow and some blush and her lips. she will sometimes wear some highlighter on her nose, cheeks and in the corner of her eyes but not often. 

scars: has a few scars on her feet from the years of her doing ballet, but none othem are really that noticeable. 

sexuality: bisexual 

height: 5’5 

piercing(s): her bellybutton, two in each ear, nose 

tattoo(s): her chest, lower back (wants more) 

face claim: ugh_liza 

ꪆ୧ FAVORITES ! 

food(s): cereal, pasta, muffins, pomegranates, cherries, tomato soup, frozen yogurt, honey 

drink(s): hot chocolate, dr pepper, hot and cold tea, water 

color(s): black, reds, oranges, greens, browns 

animal(s): bears, bunnies, bats 

season(s): autumn, winter 

bands and artist: fleetwood mac, wallows, the smiths, florence + the machine, lana del rey, hozier, the strokes, paramore, avril lavigne 

show(s): supernatural, stranger things, survivor, gilmore girls, american horror story, 

movie(s): hocus pocus, halloweentown series, scream series, halloween series, the fear street series, the amazing spider man series 

person: her boyfriend juraj and her platonic soulmate luke hughes 

ꪆ୧ FUN FACTS ! 

Gwen’s Nickname from Cole is WInne the Pooh, she absolutely loves anything honey and bears!

She can play the piano and guitar

She was six when she received her first camera, it was a digital one that she got for her birthday and she never let it out of her sight.

Over the years, her parents noticed that her love for photography only got stronger, and the fact that she was really good helped with them deciding on buying her a canon.

Gwen was part of the newspaper for her school, taking pictures and helping write articles.

Gwen did ballet since she was a little girl, only stopping when she was 17 so she could focus more on photography.

Gwen was always the teachers favorite, something her brothers loved to tease her about

She was going to join luke at umich, but decided against it when she got a job offer in montreal

Her best friend is Luke Hughes, they are inseparable.

Her favorite holiday is Halloween, and it's only right since it's also her birthday!

She's very serious about Halloween, loving to dress up, watching horror movies, eating tons of candy, and pumpkin carving.

She loves watching old horror movies, she's a big nerd about it !!

When she gets overwhelmed she becomes very quiet and a little clingy.

She doesn't go anywhere without her headphones, music is her escape.

Quinn bought her a skateboard for her 16th birthday and she almost cried, she loves it so much!

She has a great relationship with the habs team, they all think of her as a little sister . . . besides Juraj of course.

Cole is her safeplace, she knows that no matter what, her big brother has her back!

Gwen's bisexual awakening was thorn from the hex girls! And taylor momsen

She has such a loud and contagious laugh that you can't help but join in.

She's very popular amongst the fans, and she has no clue why, she likes to keep to herself.

She has 3 million followers on TikTok, and Jack and Trevor like to tease her about her being a content creator, she refuses to call herself that.

Poor girl gets teased by Trevor and Jack a lot, but they do love her! She's their little sister they never asked for.

Out of all of Cole's teammates, she would say she's the closest to arber (besides juraj) they have a great friendship! If she's not sitting next to juraj on the plaine she's sitting next to him.

The love of her life is Steve Harrington . . .

Will forever be upset that she couldn't have her teenage years in the 2000’s

She has a wonderful voice but she's only comfortable singing in front of a few people!

She writes her own songs, but they are hidden in one of her journals.

She wants to get more tattoos but she's scared to give cole and brock another heart attack

a big resident evil girly

Has an internal debate everyday in her head if she should dye her hair, she's never done it!

As the youngest sibling, she's overly protected, by like everyone . . .

She's very soft tempered

She lives with Cole, and her room is her favorite place to be!

She loves going on walks

Gwen has trouble making friends, that's why she's so grateful to have luke in her life, he's really helped her get out of her shell and introduce her to his friends.

She loves art, she's excellent at drawing and painting, mostly with watercolors.

Her favorite flowers are tulips.

Juraj is her first boyfriend, she's only dated one other person besides him and that was her first girlfriend luna.

They dated for 2 years, but Gwen broke up with her in Their senior year when she found out that luna was cheating on her,

Poor Gwen was heartbroken after that, and became very distant from the thought of loving another.

Her baby is her record player, and every year Luke and Cole buy her a new record for her birthday.

Her favorite band is Paramore and she's been to 6 concerts!

She has a collection of a ton of different cameras she's gotten over the years!

She can be very sarcastic when she wants to, mostly when she's really tired or when Jack talks too much . . . so always.

Had the biggest and i mean biggest crush on quinn hughes, the only one who knows about it is luke and he loves to tease her about it.

She's the passenger princess . . . she cried during her drivers test, she hates driving.

Always has a book in her bag.

When she gets shy, her face and ears get all red

she’s secretly such a romantic

She’s a big cuddler

Secretly such a yapper omg

Gwen has two instagrams, her public one is @/gwendolyn_caufield and her private one is @/winnethepoohbear

Gwen is a sweet girl who's just more on the quiet side, she's fiercely loyal to the people she loves, and is just a great person to be around!

ꪆ୧ HER ROOM AESTHETIC ! 

ꪆ୧ HER CLOTHES AESTHETIC ! 

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( Gwen my love 🫶🏻 I’m actually in love with her , and I really hope you guys grow to love her as well !! Please feel free to send in as many asks as you want , and please let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist )

°. — taglist ( @lovings4turn @toasttt11 @cixrosie )

©️WINTFLEUR

[freak-attorney]

Do you have any school related (highschool and/or college) related AA headcanons? I'm not sure how schooling worked exactly for Mia, Maya, and Pearl given where they lived, so I dunno. Mainly Phoenix, Edgeworth, Franziska and Gumshoe

Ace Attorney HS/Uni Headcanons!

(I admittedly haven't thought about this much before but I'm happy to share!)

Phoenix Wright

High School

Really good at creative writing

Good at the humanities in general

Barely passed chemistry (started a fire in the lab and had to let his partner take over for the rest of the year)

Best friends with his Language Arts teacher

Got detention for being late to class too much

Did NOT pass the Presidential Fitness Test (he couldn't do a pull up)

On a first name basis with the lunch ladies

Applied to maybe 3 colleges

He was a band kid for sure... probably played the clarinet

University/College

Was really good friends with his roommate but they lost touch once he went to law school

Not great at pottery but still made little projects to give to his friends whenever he took a class

Rushed a few fraternities (he didn't get a bid to any of them)

Didn't learn how to talk to girls until Dahlia/Iris

Took a few philosophy classes and yapped in every discussion

Joined a debate club.. he lost most of the time but it made him want to get better!

Was very much oblivious to every girl that ever attempted to flirt with him

Had a group of 3-4 friends that he ate lunch with at the same time everyday

Got super wasted at a party and ended up in the front yard of a frat house off campus

Sweatpants + a hoodie were his go to fits

Miles Edgeworth

High School

Did not get along with many others

Went to public school up until high school where he went to a fancy private school

HATED group projects (asked the teachers if he could just do it himself)

It still haunts him that he got a "B" in Physics

Definitely took APUSH/any AP class he could

Did dual enrollment (completed his Associates)

Helped with the theatre program but only as part of the crew (probably stage manager or lead tech)

Valedictorian

Grade "A" instigator (he started a few fights)

Perfect attendance

Headphones in ALL THE TIME

Applied to at least 30 colleges

Scarily good at dodgeball whenever they played in phys ed

Threw up when they had to do frog dissections

College/University

Refused one of his top choices due to their communal showers

Never spoke a word to his roommate

Became a fan of women's rugby (introduced Franzi to it)

Thought Greek life was a waste of time and never even thought about rushing

Didn't go to a single party

Practically lived in the library

Took a class that introduced him to digital art and he really liked it (he didn't have time to continue it once the class ended)

Franziska von Karma

High School

Well-liked or feared?? Depends on who you ask

Fancy private schools her entire life. High school was no different.

Went through a phase of growing out her bangs but hated it

Full face of makeup every. single. day.

Straight A's (Papa would NOT be happy with anything less)

Extremely competitive with EVERYTHING (even the pacer test)

Excelled in the hard sciences but still went into law

She was the teacher's pet but no one dared to call her on it

Applied to every college she could find

Color coordinated notes for each class

Turned in assignments weeks before they were due

Dual enrollment/AP/IB is a given

She was in chorus (Alto)

Used a leather crossbody in place of a normal backpack

Valedictorian but she doesn't see it as a "real" achievement

College/University

Heavily involved with research

Knew her major the moment she applied (probably before then)

President of the debate team

Requested to not have a roommate

On the women's rugby team

Made out with one of the members of said rugby team and was too embarrassed afterwards to show up to practice for the next week (this one is so specific sorry)

Dressed well for class no matter how early

But she preferred late classes

Took many walks around campus at night

Got invited to Greek life formals (they were very bluntly turned down)

Overpacked for the school year every single time

Started the knitting club

Took ochem "for fun"

Godot/Diego

High School

Looked like a jock stereotype

Bullied the bullies

Public school all the way man

Kept photos of all his friends in his locker

On the track & field team (pole vaulting was his favorite)

Did swimming for a year (butterfly is his stroke)

Had several girlfriends before buckling down senior year and focusing on studying

Failed History

Took Spanish for his foreign language (he already knew it)

Applied to any college where he could get a scholarship

College/University

Involved in EVERYTHING

Didn't get along well with his roommate (Diego's side of the room was always messy)

Switched his major several times (started with music, then bio, then landed on polysci)

Definitely a tour guide

Continued playing sports throughout uni (including intramurals)

Joined 2 frats

Volunteered a lot (service distinction)

Got a job at a coffee shop near campus and that's where it all began...

Started growing out his facial hair sophomore year

Dick Gumshoe

High School

Not the smartest guy, but probably the nicest

Got along with everyone no problem

Found ways to skip phys ed

Friends with the nurse (very clumsy)

Excelled in trigonometry but not much else

Went to all the football games

Probably signed up to be the mascot

Did just enough to pass his classes

Fell asleep during class a lot

The chatty guy on the bus

Unintentional class clown

Spoke up in class a lot even if he was wrong

College/University

Only got into one college... but it was the one he really wanted!

Didn't do well in core classes but once he got to things he was interested in it was practically straight A's

Considered being a teacher for a long time but decided on detective

Signed up for a philosophy class but dropped it

Super interested in entomology

Joined club basketball (he wasn't super good but he had fun)

Kept the same roommate for all 4 years and still talks to him from time to time

Pretty well known on campus ("oh you mean the big, loud guy with the green jacket?")

Started wearing his iconic jacket at this time

Always wore jeans no matter the weather

Went to a few parties even though it's not his scene (some friends wanted him to go with them)

Received surprise bids from some fraternities but he declined

That's what I have for now! I hope you enjoyed, anon!!! I added Godot because I love him 🙂‍↕️

(feel free to request any other headcanons, I love making them! Other fandoms I'm in include Danganronpa (only played THH), Banana Fish, Haikyuu, Free, and Kakegurui!)

[chiki-chiki-ahh]

April 8th Reita & Ruki Interview snippets

(keep in mind that the pottery class was held last year (most likely around late autumn-winter time, considering how much ruki complained that it was cold in the workshop))

[about why Reita chose this particular piece of pottery as a winning prize in the contest]

REITA: Actually, this is the one I wanted the most to use at home (laughs). But I thought it would be better to give away the thing I wanted the most.

[regarding their working clothes and ruki chucking out leather pants like it was nothing and reita going full countryboy and accepting the dirt(tm)]

RUKI: Also, we were told to come dressed in something you don't mind getting dirty. So when we got there, the FC staff had prepared something like work clothes for us (*i'm guessing it was an apron). But we couldn't have our pictures taken while wearing those, right? [...] I put it on and thought, "This isn't right".

ー That's a visual kei thing to do (laughs). So you worked in your own clothes without any protective clothing.

RUKI: Yeah, it got pretty dirty so… I threw it away.

REITA: You threw it away!

RUKI: I threw it away! The dirt didn't come off at all! I was wearing leather pants and I thought the smooth material would help get the stains off easily.

ーSo what about REITA, who was conditioning his jeans? Did the stains come off safely?

REITA: Well, it didn't come off, but rather it disappeared when you left it alone. If you continued wearing them without worrying about the dirt, it was gone.

ーMaybe it dried and fell off naturally.

REITA: I think so.

[about ruki being too ambitious once again]

ーBut I suppose there may have been some fans who were hoping for an avant-garde piece.

RUKI: Avant-garde... Of course we wanted to make an avant-garde piece too! To be honest, the first thing I asked the teacher was "Can I make anything I want?". Then I was like "I just need give it a try first". But [eventually] it turned to "I'll have to do it for three years [to be able to make anything I want]"

[lastly, about the music making as of April 8th...]

ーFinally… while we're here, can you tell us about the progress of the new songs…? I think the fans are curious too. Isn't it about time for a song selection meeting?

REITA: It feels like we're getting to that stage soon… [...] Right now I'm writing songs. I'm sure I'm working on them properly!

ーIt seems like you're just creating every day. By the way, REITA, what is your favorite form of training [as of recently]?

REITA: No, no, I haven't been moving at all lately.

ーThat's crazy!

REITA: It is crazy indeed. So, once filming and such is decided, I feel like I'll start working hard from there.

[contentloadingandstuff]

Yae Miko, Ningguang and Yelan comforting Male!Reader after a nightmare!

A/N: That's right - you lived to see me post something. Enjoy!

CW: Description of the nightmare - images of destruction and raiding, non-canon monsters.

The scent of smoke reaches your nose. It's dark all around you. And hot, so hot. You feel around, trying to map out your surroundings. You touch a table, and soon move deeper towards the familiar wall of your house, and soon reach the front door. Though the door is stuck, a strong bash is enough to swing it open. Darkness greets you, but you run out into void regardless.

You turn, and witness your house, your home, your livelihood burning.

Fire already settled comfortably across the entire roof, the beautiful woodwork now a blazing ruin. The heat drips from the top, having long set fire to the walls and foundations as well. The facade of your house, once clean and pristine, is now covered in dark, oily soot. Even the flowers weren't spared - now, the only proof of their existence being a pile of dirt and pottery, broken by the hellish temperatures.

This isn't happening. This isn't…

Just then you turn around to face the inferno behind you.

The city is burning. Not a single building isn't damaged or alight with roaring fire. Debris litters the streets - scattered fruits, burning wood, torn lanterns and broken vessels add to the chaos. The figures you spot on the orange backdrop both make your blood boil and send shivers down your spine. Hulking figures drag themselves through the cobbled alleys, crude two handed axes in the iron grip of their rotting hands. The shoulder guards shine a blue hue upon your eyes, their faces blurred and unfocused. They go door to door, breaking in those yet unharmed. The cut off screams sounding out from the homes they enter make your fists clench.

You turn your head and see them. They stand across the street on the widest point in a line formation, overlooking all exits and entrances of the area. Soundlessly they float above the rubble, the purple smoke filling their legless torsos casting ominous shadows on the cobblestone below. They clutch the black javelins in their skeletal hands, ready to strike at the slightest que.

It's unreal. The bodies. The screams. The monsters, crawling across the city. They walk on all fours, both dog and humanlike in appearance. Filled with crooked teeth, their elongated mouths drool repulsively as they move from body to body, looking for loot with their clawed, malformed hands.

Your eyes dart across the image in front of you. Dead, dead, so many dead. Mauled corpses litter the street, not one recognisable in the dim light of the fire. Your head boils with fear and rage, and on instinct you run forward. The heaviness of the shield on your left arm and feeling of rough leather of your sword hilt give you a sense of comfort.

A swing approaches you from behind. You turn and block the axe, retaliating with a chop to the side of your attacker's midsection. Whatever is attacking you, you can't tell. All you know, all you feel is you have to fight. Fight this. Protect your home. Protect her. You can't let them do any more evil.

You swing wildly, hitting at most blurry silhouettes of threats. They retaliate with swords, spears, axes, cleavers. They maul your body, but you don't feel pain. You feel nothing, yet you can tell your body is shutting down. You strike, again and again, despite your limbs losing strength, one by one. You fall.

For a brief moment, you see clearly.

You see her face, pale, bloodied, lifeless.

Opening your eyes, blurry with tears, you feel not the hard stone below you, but a soft mattress instead.

Yae Miko

It's not the first time. Miko knows what to do. As soon as she comes to her senses from the sudden awakening, she will take charge and calm you down.

"Shh. I'm here. You're okay. Here, hold my hand. It's warm, isn't it? Nice, soft and real. Breathe, my dear. You're safe."

Miko will pull you into herself tightly so you can feel her presence. She'll speak to you slowly and gently, keeping her voice calm and steady.

As much as she hates seeing you in pain Miko can't help but admit that it's heartwarming. Seeing how much genuine distress the vision of her getting hurt brings you makes her feel like the most loved being in Teyvat.

She has a habit of teasing, true, but your own struggles will never be treated lightheartedly. As your wife, she is there to support, not ridicule.

Yae Miko will be there to bring you back to reality and straight into her arms no matter when it occurs, nor what you saw. She will do it once, twice, thrice and how many more times you need it.

Ningguang

At first, she was quite surprised, woken up to you clutching her tightly, thanking the Archons she's alright. 

Ningguang was fairly concerned at first - she doesn't usually see you this disturbed. Upon catching the fact that it's a nightmare, she immediately focused her attention on calming you down.

"Breathe in, breathe out. Just like that. You're doing great. I'm alright. There's no need to worry, darling. I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever."

Even the greatest of the greatest have moments of weakness. And the courage to show vulnerability? It's a value on its own, Ningguang thinks. 

Being able to comfort you in such a vulnerable moment is a true privilege, and she will show only the utmost care towards you. 

Yelan

Her vigilant ears picked up your muttering quite a while before the nightmare woke you up. When it did, you found your hand in hers, Yelan's eyes resting kindly on yours.

"Don't worry. I'm here, and I've never been better. What you saw wasn't real. It was just a dream, sweetheart."

She held you as you cried into her shoulder, your head hidden in her gentle arms. With her assurances, you soon fell back into a comforting slumber.

When you wake up in the morning, and if you agree, Yelan will gladly hear more about the dream. It might uncover some problems she could help you with. The last thing she wants to see is you struggling.

In her line of work, death or abduction is a constant risk. It's no wonder the thoughts of something happening to her are there. Although she can't guarantee that something like that won't ever happen, she will promise to be careful.

She's certainly going to make up all the anxiety she caused with gentle kisses and comforting touches.

Thanks for reading!

[jbbartram-illu]

hey!! i'm running a slips and sgrafitto workshop at my job this weekend and i'm wondering if I could use the pics you shared of the fish mugs in my examples slideshow. (and if so, an online shop or social media list that I could link to!) Found you through the marinebiologyshitposts account and am super in love with your work!!!

Hi @weirdshrimphours -- I would be 500% honoured to be included in your workshop, though I have to also note that my fish mugs don't involve any slip or sgraffito (it's more of a mishima technique, but the pieces are engraved while leather hard & bisque-fired, then I slop on watery underglaze & wipe back with a sponge before adding more underglaze details to the design).

If you're just using them as visual inspiration, that's super cool and thrilling (I'm simply the sort of pottery nerd who wants to be specific about technique all the dang time ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧ )

I do have some actual sgraffito pieces in my past as seen in my sgraffito tag & I want to do way more, but it requires more time & planning than I've been capable of the last few batches :(

Either way, super happy to have my work used as examples/inspiration & I appreciate you sharing my info with the workshop as well (my most active social media other than here is definitely insta, which I think I have linked)!

[gorgon-goddess-of-chaos]

Pottery

You cannot convince me that Actor isn't a prissy bitch who hates getting his hands dirty. So I'm making him get them covered in clay.

Actor Mark x GN!Reader, TW: snake imagery Words: 780

“But darling! I don’t want to get my hands dirty!”

Mark whines at you as you lead him into the pottery studio, pouting and dragging his feet. You simply roll your eyes, used to his shenanigans and half-hearted tantrums as part of his diva nature. At least you convinced him to wear something he doesn’t mind getting dirty, although that was an ordeal in and of itself. It’s a bit obvious he doesn’t feel entirely himself without all of the sparkles and furs, but he’ll live for a few hours. At least you didn’t tell him he can’t go full glam with his makeup. He’s head to toe in custom dyed red coveralls, with sparse bejeweling detailing on the legs and back pockets. It was yesterday’s crafting project in preparation for this, paired with a bandana keeping his curled hair protected.

“Oh hush, you’re fine. You are not too delicate to touch some fucking wet clay.”

“But my manicure!”

“You can wash your hands! Washing your hands is not illegal!”

He juts out his bottom lip at you, protesting by pulling you into a hug. It’s only now you realize he’s wearing heels, because of course he is. You turn around, letting him hold you to his chest as you listen to the instructor, who gives Mark a particular look. Perhaps not expecting to see such a famous face in her studio. She doesn’t draw attention to it, and brings you all over to a wheel for a demo. You’re shown several kinds of pottery making: slabs, coils, thrown, and you deliberate over which one you may try. Mark relaxes a bit, and you can tell he’s starting to get intrigued when he leans more over your shoulder. You pat his cheek, which he returns with a small kiss to your cheek. It takes a moment to realize that you most certainly have a lipstick print on you now, but you choose not to draw attention to it. 

When you’re all released to various stations with your wedges of clay, you try and get one next to Mark. You remove your ring, adding it to your necklace so it doesn’t get clay on it.

“Darling, could you take mine as well?”

He holds out his ring to you, a golden ring with scaly detailing. You take it, kissing it before adding it on the chain. He can’t help but look as it rests around your neck next to yours, and he melts a little bit. You remind him of the piece of clay in front of him, and his focus shifts back to creating. 

You decide you’re going to make a couple espresso mugs for the two of you to drink out of in the morning, making them with the slab method demonstrated. To get handle specifics, you take Mark’s hand when he’s not paying much attention, holding his fingers up to the strip of clay to make sure it’s big enough for him to hold comfortably. He freezes, a bit baffled as to what you’re doing.

When you look over at his project, you see several ropes rolled out, covered in score marks.

“What are you making, sweetheart?”

“I’m not sure yet, I got stuck in the loop of making snakes…”

“What about, a jewelry tray? Maybe one that we can put our rings into in the bathroom for bath time?”

“Oh, I like that idea. Do I have to get rid of the snakes?”

“I don’t think so. Maybe make them all squiggly together so it looks like a bunch of snakes. It’ll look cool once it’s glazed.”

Mark nods, squeezing your hand before taking it back, starting to curl the coils together to create his tray. Once your espresso mugs are to your desired measurements, you place them on the shelves to dry out to leather hard. After washing your hands, you go back to your shared bench and watch Mark, leaning into his space with dramatized intrigue.

“How’s the tray coming along?”

“I like it! And I made a spot where our rings should rest, like they’re the eggs being protected.”

Your heart warms at his sweetness, looking at the detailing he’s put into it. You help him get it over to the shelves, and slip his ring back on his finger when his hands are washed again. 

“Trying to marry me again, mi amor?”

“Maybe. We’ll have to come back tomorrow so I can do it again.”

The two of you walk out to his car, happily putting the top down for the ride back.

“So was pottery class the hell you thought it’d be?”

“No, but tomorrow I’m bringing moisturizer.”

Of course he is.

[claypigeonpottery]

thank you!

I’m sure it’ll come out great! 😊 what were you thinking of making?

for transporting pottery, I recommend cushioning it with dry-cleaning plastic. pretty much everything I make has to survive a 20 minute drive lol, so this is a crucial skill

a little hand built bowl

I used to not like the imperfect shapes of hand built pottery, but now I love them

[snoodls]

2024 art year in review ↫

Wow. Here we are again. Long time no see or speak, friends. Hope you have all been doing and keeping well!

This past year has been the strangest and most onerous yet for me yet. I'll get into it a bit in this post but fair warning that I may mention difficult, emotionally charged topics. If you're not in the headspace for that, no worries, you can skip to the other symbol. I'll see you next year.

∵

Art was extremely difficult this year. I really struggled even finding 12 pieces to throw into a collage like this. I tend to keep a steady pace of one medium-largeish, "postable" piece a month, interspersed with little doodles and sketchbook scribbles here and there. Therefore, it's usually fairly straightforward to compile these. I scroll through my digital art folder, pick out the best or my favorite piece I made within each designated month, sometimes sprinkling in mini works or traditional pieces when applicable. This year, I only made about 8 that I would consider posting--some of which are featured, most of which are actually not. Why? Why am I so hard on myself? (A rhetorical question, but one I ask myself every day and have yet to find an answer to.) Online platforms have become a formalized space for me--a "only the polished enter the portfolio" kind of mentality. I can't quite figure out if that is something to wrestle with or listen to. On top of the usual frustrating strain of perfectionism, I haven't felt the desire to post anything at all this year.

This reticence was mostly due to deep and inordinate amounts of interpersonal stress from changes in a community that I loved and had a huge part in building. I grew fearful to be perceived publicly online and to share any part of my art or life. February and March were black holes. I felt alienated from my identity. I didn't know who I was anymore. It got so bad, I was suicidal. Truthfully, the only thing that stopped me was knowing I had to live until April.

In April, thankfully, I went on a massive trip I had been planning with all of my best friends for four years. (vlpn, Kiire, 1ore, I love you so much!!!) I traveled out west to watch the eclipse and go on a road trip to a national park that I have always wanted to see. Better yet, I was surrounded by so much restorative, healing love. I sat on Kiire's warm leather couch soaking in the real, tangible community that I had built, and drew for the first time in ages. Kiire also gave me the most thoughtful gift--a little hand lino cutter and some vinyl squares. We all gathered at her kitchen table, carving away, laughing and sharing stories. Part of me is still in April, I think.

In May, I started a summer-long pottery class (turned residency, let's be real. I lived in the studio.). It was my first time working with real clay, after dabbling with oven-bake polymer clay and play-doh before that. Since it was focused on handbuilding, I didn't get the chance to use the wheel...which I desperately want to do this summer if I'm still in town. However, even if I was only making pinch pots and tiles, I felt myself grow by leaps and bounds as an artist. Not just in technique, but also in the conception. Why am I doing xyz? What does it mean? What does my medium add to my work? I enjoy working with my hands at a physical craft, but I still wrestle with creating stuff. I love physical objects, but have no space for them at the moment.

I lived more in my sketchbook this year, continuing the trend from last year. My former boss gifted me a shitty little 5.5 x 8.5" journal that I've been using as my work sketchbook. It helps keep me sane at my desk, and my creativity muscles exercised, but does not keep me from still drawing on lined notepads...lol. That work sketchbook has truly helped me break even further away from the trapping of art perfectionism. More and more I am embracing the messy, the ugly, the unfinished. I love drawing in ballpoint pen now, and have started Yet Another Sketchbook of pen plein airs. Okay, some pencil doodles here and there. But mostly pen.

Despite having an upward swing mid-year, my world kind of collapsed in on itself September onward. I don't want to go into too much detail about everything, because it's a little personal and frankly, there's too much to go over. From housing precarity, major random trauma-related panic attacks, a natural disaster, nasty people rearing their heads in my life, grief over losing family land, my grandma getting cancer, my job being so soul-crushingly frustrating and about to become much worse in the new year...it's been so much for me to handle. I'm tired, uncertain, quaking from what has and what may be. I'm creeping through the loamy undergrowth towards 2025, trying to drag myself towards what I love. I want to forge a better life for myself; I just want to live again.

Back to art, as all things seem to go--last year I wrote that I wanted to experiment with new mediums and techniques. Good news, bestie, you absolutely did. From linocut to pixel art to markers to to clay!!!, it has definitely been an experimental year at least. In 2025, hm...I think I want to keep at studies and focus on light and depth. I also want to keep up the trend of getting weirder and less literal with my work. I'm interested in trying out some interesting compositions and having patience with myself when stuff is not turning out. Turns out you can put down the pen and pick it back up. I also miss zines and want to make more...and also I want to keep up valuing my creative time and mini projects (like my tarot journal & my media journal).

I did hit some other interesting art milestones this year--I was rejected from some zines and even gallery openings. There's this great song off the new John Craigie live album that especially resonated with me. Listen to the whole song and whole album if you've got time. "If you haven't been failing, you haven't been trying." / "Maybe the cool thing was that even though [Van Gogh] wasn't successful, he still painted, every day, all the time, right up 'till the end. I wondered why. Probably for the same reason I was driving to these coffee shops. 'Cause it felt good to swing." / "As I passed under that sign, I could almost hear the tired voice of Jiffy Lube call down to me. "Oh Johnny. How long must we watch you fail?" And as I raced past into the unknown darkness, I called back, "Oh Jiffy, how long you got? We gon be up for a while."

∵

To close, I've never really done this before, but since I haven't posted much this year, I thought I'd go through everything pictured for some context. This is generally left -> right, top -> bottom...

A panel from my comic for Commander of your Heart zine, featuring Ximone and Sappho. I was also published in 2 others this year; very cool! A tiny doodle of Wideeyes from my mini sketchbook. A gift for my friend's birthday of his cat, Lily. Her muzzle really does look scrunkly like that. Ahku, sweet Ahku, from when I did a challenge to draw with your Least Favorite Brush. I still hate the brush. A linocut stamp I made of Xiyu using the aforementioned supplies. One of many stamps I carved this year.

A piece for Archalyte to gift a character to 1ore. Fletcher, my Wermz NPC and the mascot of the summer event I ran this year. Getting into pixel art! A goofy paintover of a guinea pig featuring Nickle. A study that I did using a tablet in the studio I helped build--my third time ever working with one! I think it came out alright. Work notebook doodles for a self-published zine I'm working on. Copic markers on trading cards, featuring two of my Neopets and a Werm of mine. Ora's was done freehanded with some leftover acrylic paint I had after painting a sculpture. Since this year has sucked so bad, I've been self-soothing in silly ways; namely, spending some time on Neopets and getting wildly back into Pokemon cards / into Battledome cards for the first time. I've been enjoying tiny scene compositions and collecting little art prints.

Daihei for Artfight for 1ore...I did this while on vacation with my family and it was my first digital painting on my computer in months. Tiles from my ceramics class; my first project! I wish I could show my final project, but it does not photograph well. Ceramic coaster I painted with The Archivist. Doodles of The Sphinx and The Archivist I unearthed today. Marker drawing of vlpn's character 6298.

Vent painting from October. Painted sculpture of Starrain. Ink painting of Ahku surrounded by stuff.

Onward, blinking towards the sun...

[freya-ulfsdottir]

In today's pottery studio saga, I became Goldilocks, trying to find the perfect wheel upon which to throw my clay. It was actually a pretty frustrating day in the studio. I've tried my hand at a couple of the wheels they have, but decided to try one I hadn't used before. I'd used another one that was the same model, but not that specific wheel. Well it was a pain in the ass.

I could not get my clay fully centered, no matter how hard I tried. I still managed to throw one wobbly ass pot, but in an effort save my sanity, I decided to switch wheels after attempting to center the next ball of clay. Once I examined the wheel, I found that the metal pegs that hold the plastic round plate that you work your clay on were not secured by anything. They were totally loose, so it would be practically impossible to fully center anything, because the whole rig itself had too much play.

So I cleaned that wheel up, and hopped over to a wheel that I had used for trimming pots, but hadn't used for wet clay yet. Trimming is the process of cleaning up the base of a thrown pot that has begun to dry. The clay is at a stage called "leather hard" and doesn't smoosh around anymore.

This wheel had it's own quirks. It sat up a bit higher, so when I leaned in to center my clay, the front of my apron dragged on the wheel. I am not skinny. I have a belly that gets in the way sometimes, and today was one of those days. I managed to throw the rest of my clay, but it was still frustrating. They were wobbly as hell, and a pain in the ass to work, but no catastrophic failures occurred.

I am an absolute amateur potter. I'm sure if I had more experience, these issues might not be so difficult to work around. And I'm not trying to use the quirky wheels to make excuses, I still got shit done, but I almost walked. I am proud of myself for staying calm and not letting my frustration get the better of me.

I also tried working with larger balls of clay that I have previously, like 3 pounds, and i learned that I should probably stick to 2-2.5 pounds for now. Especially if I'm on a wonky wheel 😜

I did manage to get some height on one of them, even though it was wobbly as hell, and got it into a vaguely vase-like shape (venti iced coffee for scale)

Anyway, behold, my pots!

[reneesrapp]

Anything For You - Chapter 3

(Renee x you)

Your POV

I tug open the driver side door of my lovely crap mobile, hoping Renee didn't laugh when she saw me pulling up in Martha. I did my best to keep the Subaru absolutely spotless, but 18 years and 2 owners later, nothing about the car was flawless.

I roll down all the windows, hoping the fresh air would help my anxious stomach settle down on my way to pick up the blonde. We had been texting back and forth for most of the day so far, just getting to know each other and flirting occasionally.

The singer definitely made me laugh, and I was hoping the date I had set up would bring a smile to her face. After the pottery studio, I made reservations at a restaurant that Jake said she loved. Not too far from the restaurant is a look out point over the city. In my trunk I had a blanket, pillows, and a cooler with champagne and dessert.

I could feel my hands starting to sweat as the distance on my GPS continued to drop. Renee only lived about 10 minutes from my place, but we were definitely in a nicer neighborhood. I pull up to the house, trying not to drop my jaw as I enter the driveway.

Before me was a massive modern house, white stucco exterior and black detailing all around. The simple but neat garden and yard certified the extensive money that was spent, as keeping plants and grass alive in LA was an expensive venture.

I take a deep breath, wiping my hands on my pants before getting out of the car. I grab the bouquet of roses from the back seat, and head towards the front door. I tried not to let my hand shake as I knocked on it lightly at first.

The door opens a few seconds later, and I see an unfamiliar face. She was way shorter than me, had big brown eyes and black braids cascading down her back. Her bright white teeth shined at me as she couldn't contain her huge smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have the wrong address," I say quickly, turning away from the door.

"No, no." I turn back around to see the girl has stepped out of the doorway and is gesturing me inside. "You're Y/n, right? I'm Aliyah, Renee's best friend," she explains, holding the door open with her hip. "I've heard a lot about you the past 48 hours," she laughs lightly. I smile back before entering the house, Aliyah following behind me closely. I spot the gorgeous blonde in the kitchen, her face in her phone as she takes a sip of what looks like some hard liquor on the rocks.

"Hey," I smile, Renee snapping her head up to me. Her face lights up with a smile as she stands to pull me in for a hug. I snake my arm around her waist as she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me close.

"I'm so happy to see you," she says softly in my ear, placing a light kiss on my cheek. I immediately smell the familiar coconut and vanilla, happy to be this close to the singer once again.

As we pull away, I take the time to scan her body, the blonde wearing a color block wool sweater and light wash jeans with black boots. She has her hair pinned back in a clip, her bangs and small glasses framing her face. The slight heel of the boot made us closer to the same height, but I was still slightly taller, just the way I like it.

"I brought you these," I say, showing Renee the flowers. She goes to take them out of my hand but I pull back. "No, I'll put them in a vase. I didn't get them for you so you could do work," I explain, Renee rolling her eyes.

"There's a vase under the sink." She points to the other side of the marble island, smirking at me as I walk over there. I had the florist cut the bottoms at an angle so I was able to just fill the glass with water and place them in the middle of the island. "I'm ready to roll," she smiles, reaching her hand out.

I grab her hand as we head towards the door, my heart beat immediately picking up speed. Renee says a quick goodbye to Aliyah before we go into the driveway. I pull open the passenger side door for the signer, as she plops into the beaten black leather seat. I slam it hard enough, causing a shock in the blonde's eyes as I get to other side of the car.

"You slammed that bitch in my face," she laughs as I buckle my seat belt. I can feel a blush creep onto my cheeks as I laugh along with the shorter girl.

"I'm sorry, she's so old and she takes just the right touch to get up and moving," I explain Renee nodding lightly as her eyes scan my features.

"I want that on my tombstone," she smiles. I laugh lightly along with her, rolling my eyes before putting my car in drive.

We head towards the pottery studio, a small silence falling over us as I pull out of the driveway. I spent almost an hour building the playlist for this car ride, hoping it would set the right tones and the very famous pop star would not mock my music taste.

"So, I had a few things planned. I made reservations at Casa Vega and then I have dessert in the back and we can drive to a lookout about 15 minutes from there," I say, the blonde grabbing my hand. I can feel the claminess from before returning, hoping Renee doesn't notice. I squeeze her hand lightly before she breaks the small silence.

"You're really thoughtful and sweet. That sounds like an awesome date," she smiles, pulling my hand onto her lap. For most of the ride we exchange light conversation or sit in a comfortable silence.

Pulling into the parking lot, Renee tries to open her door, but I lean over quickly pulling it shut. "Don't move," I say strongly, the blonde raising her eyebrow at me with a smirk. I quickly head to other side of the car, tugging open the door for Renee, the blonde still not moving with her arms crossed and the teasing smirk still on her face. "You can now move," I laugh lightly, extending my hand for Renee.

Inside the pottery studio, I quickly see Peter behind the counter, ringing up a couple. I take time to look around the large room, exposed brick and wooden bookshelves lined the wall with different pottery pieces to paint. In the middle were 3 long wooden tables, large benches accompanying them.

"Y/n! It's so good to see you. I'm glad you took me up on my offer," the artist smiles at me. He walks around the counter for a hug, causing me to drop Renee's hand. "And who is this?"

"Peter, this is Renee. My date. Nae, this is Peter. My coworker's husband," I explain, stepping out of the way so Renee and Peter can shake hands. "He owns the shop and has art shows here sometimes too."

"Nice to meet you, this place is awesome," Renee smiles, looking around the studio.

"Renee, I have to say, you have picked a great date. She saved my wife's life," Peter continues, going back behind the counter. He presses a few buttons on his computer before scribbling on two small pieces of paper.

I laugh lightly, while Renee looks at me with a smile. "I didn't save her life. She passed out at work and I caught her before she hit the ground. She probably wouldn't have even hit her head," I explain, Renee nodding.

"If the man says you saved her life, then you saved her life," she teases, wrapping her arms around my bicep, standing closer to me.

Peter hands me two sheets of paper before explaining that once we pick out our piece and paint it, bring this paper back so after it goes in the kiln he knows it belongs to us. We say a quick thank you before starting to look at our options.

"Do you have an idea of what you're doing?" I ask the blonde as I scan the plates, bowls, and mugs that sit before us. She grabs a small shallow bowl, looking around it. I can't help but stare at her profile, her soft lips parted slightly.

"It's Alexander's birthday next week, so I'm thinking of making an ash tray for him," she mumbles, very focused on the object in her hand. "This is ash tray-like, right?" She looks up at me, seeing the smile on my face, one crossing her features as well. "What?" She bites her lip softly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"You're just really beautiful," I say honestly, Renee's smile growing so I can see all of her teeth. "Yes, that's a good ashtray. I think I'm gonna make a mug for Jake to take his shots out of, because he always gets upset the rest of us have shot glasses from our sorority," I laugh lightly, Renee raising an eyebrow at me.

"You were in a sorority?" I grab a mug and we slide on opposite sides of a mostly empty table. I nod lightly as I start to look through the color options in front of me. "Was it hard being gay?" The blonde seemed very genuine in her questioning, her eyes finding mine as I look up from the paint.

"It was sometimes difficult at the frat parties once everyone knew I was gay. I definitely dressed the part a little more closely and didn't really embrace dressing more masculine until senior year, because everyone knew me by then," I explain, Renee nodding softly. I grab the colors of my sorority, and decided I was going to do my best to imitate the Greek Letters so the mug looks like the shot glasses.

"I have always wanted to go to college just for the parties, but not the school," Renee smiles, pushing her glasses up. I laugh lightly, handing Renee a pencil for us to sketch out the art.

Throughout our time painting, the conversation flowed endlessly. She was so easy to talk to and was so funny and understanding. I was really starting to like this girl, more than just being attracted to her. When talking with her, it felt like there was a deeper level of understanding than just talking to the average person.

We left our "art" (if you could call it that) with Peter and said our goodbyes before climbing back into Martha and heading to grab some of Renee's favorite Mexican food. Renee's piece obviously turned out significantly better than mine, as she drew a no smoking sign on the bottom of an ash tray. I think it was clear which one of us had more of an artistic side.

We are seated in a comfortable red booth, handed menus, and poured water before a comfortable silence falls between us as we scan the menus.

"So you clearly did some research for this date," Renee teases, taking a sip of her water. I gasp lightly, putting my hand to my chest, feigning offense.

"Well whatever do you mean, darling?" Rene laughs loudly, a few people turning to look at us.

"I have a feeling you built the playlist on songs you knew I liked from Spotify and researched my favorite restaurant," she says with a smile, giving me a pointed look. I take a sip of my water nodding slightly.

"I really wanted this to go well. I don't have a history of being the most romantic person, so I wasn't totally sure how to go about it. But I may have bugged Jake and Jules for 48 hours to help me with the playlist, outfit, and plan for today," I admit, Renee's smile as big as ever.

"That's really sweet of you. I appreciate you going to this length just for me. So now I owe you a date that I plan," the blonde says softly, trying to gauge my reaction. I feel a huge smile cross my features and butterflies enter my stomach when she says this. Knowing that she felt the same way about today, and that she was enjoying our time made me really want to never let tonight end.

"I would like that. I also like that we can be so blunt with each other, in dating it can be hard to get that sometimes." The waitress comes over with chips and salsa, taking our drink orders.

"Yeah, dating in LA sucks most of the time. It's so difficult to tell who is really here for the right reasons," Renee mumbles, continuing to look over the menu.

Throughout dinner, the tone of the conversation became more real and less goofy as we talked about subjects that had not come up yet. Renee told me about her family, her friends, and what she hopes to accomplish in the rest of the year. I avoided sharing about my family, but told her about work, some crazy stories about college, and that I was debating on applying to school to become a Nurse Practitioner. Like before at the studio, the conversation flowed so naturally, even on more serious topics.

We are now pulling into the look out, Renee's hand holding mine since we got settled into the car. I back into the spot and quickly run around to the other side of the car to open Renee's door. She smiles, getting out and adjusting her sweater. I open the trunk and Renee laughing softly as she scans all of the decorations.

"This is really cute," she says as I climb in. I had a green and blue plaid flannel blanket along with pillows from my room and the living room leaning against the back seats. I had placed two small fake candles on either side of the car, and the cooler was in the middle. I had a small speaker near one of the candles, and connected my phone to it since the car is turned off.

I climb into the back seat, leaning against the pillows, gesturing for Renee to join me. "Come on," I smile, Renee crawling next to me. The cooler sits between us, a heavy tension growing in the air now that we are in such a secluded space. "I have champagne and dessert."

I open the cooler handing Renee both glasses and placing the cookies in front of the cooler. I take out the bottle, and toss the small cooler into the middle row of seats behind us. "Are we celebrating? This is very fancy," the blonde teases as I open the bottle.

"Well. We are celebrating a great first date. And I also brought it incase it sucked and we needed to get drunk, but that's not the case," I explain, pouring us both a glass.

"Maybe that's the case for me," Renee smirks, as I hold up my glass to cheers. I roll my eyes, Renee letting out a small laugh. "Cheers to a great first date."

Our glasses clink and I can't help but feel the tension come back as we both take a sip and look out onto the city skyline, the fresh air blowing softly into the car. The sun had just set, so the sky was a mix of oranges and pinks. There was a full foot of space between Renee and myself, the cookies down by my knees.

"Shall we play a game?" I asked at the same time I moved closer to her, to try to not make it awkward. I'm sitting with my legs extended out in front of me, my shoulder lightly touching Renee's I place the cookies in my lap, opening the container. "To get a bite you have to answer a question."

"Ok, what kind of question?" The blonde asks skeptically, not being able to hide her smile as she moves her self closer to me as well. Now, her shoulder is behind mine, her right hand playing with the hem of her sweater and her left hand holding her drink.

"Whatever is on the other person's mind," I say honestly, holding up a cookie. Renee nods, smiling as she takes another sip of her drink. "What did you honestly think of me when you first saw me on Friday?"

Renee laughs loudly, looking up at the ceiling to think. "I remember being like, she looks like she's ready to die but is still willing to come out with her friends. I thought you were a trooper. And then when you came downstairs and dressed you looked like a whole new person," she laughs, placing her right hand softly just above my knee. I could feel my stomach flip and the familiar wetness arise in my boxers. I smile at her, bringing the cookie to her lips, Renee taking a bite without breaking eye contact.

"I was so mad nobody warned me you were there. I look like a zombie when I get off work." I take a sip of my drink, feeling a slight buzz from my margarita earlier as well. "Your turn," I say quietly, Renee taking the cookie from my hand. She turns so her back is against the wall of the car, and now her legs are draped over mine. I smile softly, placing my left hand on her upper thigh, running my thumb over it lightly.

"Do you have ragrets?" I can't help but really pause to think, not sure that I've ever thought of this question.

"I wish I had made a move on Friday," I laugh lightly, Renee smiling as I continue. "If I had known you were into me too I probably would have kissed you. But I didn't want you to think I was just trying to hook up, especially because we get along so well."

I look up to see Renee biting her lip, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Good thing I wouldn't think that now," she smiles softly, tilting her head. I can see in her eyes that she wants me to make a move here. This was the moment that if I didn't take it, I would once again be beating myself up about it.

"That is good," I mumble, my eyes stuck on Renee's soft pink lips. I quickly glance up to her eyes and see she's also staring at mine. I start to lean forward slightly, Renee doing the same.

I close the gap, connecting our lips in a soft kiss, capturing Renee's bottom lip between mine. I take my hand off her thigh and snake it around her back, our lips moving together slowly.

The wetness between my legs continue to grow as the blonde's lips move expertly against mine. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears and feel my cheeks get hot. The only thing I could think about was getting the singer impossibly closer to me.

The singer drops the cookie, wrapping an arm around my neck as I pull her onto my lap. She quickly straddles me, breaking the kiss. I let out a deep breath, Renee grabbing the champagne out of my hand, and quickly putting both glasses towards the back of the trunk.

I take the time to place both hands on Renee's waist, holding her on my lap. She turns around with a big smile on her face, pulling her glasses off and folding them gently. She leans forward, and right when I think she's about to reconnect our lips, she continues to reach past me, placing her glasses in the middle row. I can't help but let out a little groan, the blonde giggling.

Her neck and collar bone are right in front of my face, and it takes everything in me not to kiss and nibble the soft skin. "I was putting my glasses away. It looks like you were waiting for something else," the blonde teases, scratching my roots lightly with her nails as she settles back, hovering above my lap.

"Nope, no. Not at all. I actually wanted you to just sit here and look at me," I tease back, the blonde raising an eyebrow. She nods, sitting on my upper thighs, making direct flirty eye contact and not moving. She was calling my bluff. "If I admit that I want to keep kissing you, will you stop?"

Renee laughs lightly before leaning forward and lightly pushing on my nape so I meet her halfway. I smile into the kiss, happy to be connected once again to the blonde. Our lips move together a little move feverishly now, both of being a little more worked up. I wrap my arms tightly around her waist, pulling her hips forward so her entire torso is against mine. In this position she's a few inches above me, which I find impossibly hotter than before.

Renee's breath hitches as I slide my hands down her body, placing them on her prefect ass, trying to pull her closer. We both smile lightly as our lips continue to move together in perfect sync.

"Wait, can we talk about something?" Renee pulls away, concern written across her flushed cheeks and swollen lips.

"Is everything okay? Am I moving too fast?" I quickly move my hands off of her backside, and place them lightly above her knees. It felt like the blonde and I had been on the same page, but I really hoped I hadn't misread any signals.

"No, no not at all," she says quickly, moving to cup my cheek with one hand and running her thumb over the flushed flesh, a small smile gracing her features. "In the past, I have really rushed into a lot of stages of a relationship, and what ends up happening is my job becomes too stressful for the other person to handle. I travel, a lot. And I'm away from home more than I would like. I don't want you to feel like I'm leading you on. I leave for a European tour in 3 weeks, and I'm gone until March."

I can see the anxiety and concern in the singer's eyes as she scans my features trying to get a read. I can't help but lean forward and place a light kiss on her lips, Renee letting out a big breath as she wraps both arms around my neck again.

"I'm okay with that. I hear what you're saying, and I appreciate where you're coming from, but we don't have to rush this. We can take this day by day and make decisions that we feel are best," I mumble against Renee's lips, both of us not wanting to move from this position. She smiles before connecting our lips again, this time slow and gentle.

All of a sudden, Renee's phone goes off, causing both of us to jump a little. She pulls the device out of her back pocket, sitting on my legs, answering it quickly. "Hi Yaya. Yeah I'm fine, I'll be home soon. I love you too." Renee hangs up the phone, letting out a deep sigh as she turns back to me.

"It's okay, let go," I nod reassuringly, placing a quick peck on the blonde's lips before climbing out of the trunk.

A/n: long one this time! Almost 4,000 words, but I wanted to capture the date and development of the connection. Thank you so much for reading!

[estera-shirin]

Bowl with horned animals—Central Iran, 5500-4000 BCE

According to the Met: "Like much of the pottery from Iran in the Chalcolithic Period (ca. 5500-3000 B.C.), this piece is very skillfully made, with thin walls of very uniform thickness. Parallels with similar pottery excavated at the site of Tepe Sialk near Kashan allow it to be dated to 5000-4000 B.C. The bowl has been burnished to a glossy shine, a process in which a vessel that has dried to leather-like hardness is rubbed with a stone or bone tool in order to make the surface less permeable to liquids. This process may have been primarily functional, but the care and effort placed on the shaping and decoration of the bowl suggests that the aesthetic effects of the gleaming surface were also important. While the outside surface of the bowl is a uniform red color, the inside has been decorated with painted concentric circles connected by eight hatched zig-zag patterns arranged like the spokes of a wheel. Above the uppermost circle, four stylized ibexes with large horns are painted, their bodies indicated by outlines filled in by a crosshatched pattern, their heads facing in a clockwise direction and tilted slightly forward, as if in motion. The combination of the animals and the swirling pattern below them gives the impression of quick, spiraling movement, with the vertical zig-zag lines seeming to represent the flashing legs of the ibex in flight from a pursuer. As the bowl was decorated on the inside, it was probably meant to be seen primarily from above, perhaps as the person drinking from the bowl gradually emptied its contents, slowly revealing the design."

[bonefall]

Could a more advanced clan use tar as a glue replacement? It's made using wood from what I heard.

It's possible, but only for an advanced Clan. It might even be a little beyond what BB cats are capable of.

What you're thinking of is probably birch pitch, though pine can be used as well. Birch is better though, it makes a finer tar, but if you have English Clans they may want to use pine pitch because it's one of the few uses for the detested sitka.

(Also "pitch" tends to refer to more viscous material, where "tar" refers to thinner, more watery liquids.)

There's two things that makes it hard to collect. First, and most importantly,

TREE OIL IS FULL OF PHENOL. Your cats CANNOT breathe in the smoke or aroma that's going to be produced by making this. It is a deadly, toxic gas to cats. In humans, we're so resistant to this that we've used it as an antiseptic, dumped it right into our wounds. Cats CANNOT ingest or smell this without getting sick. Phenol causes a LOT of poisonings because of the popularity of essential oil.

Think of it as the kitty equivalent of lead paint. We used it for years because it's cheap, easy, and works good... and never realized that it was lead in the water and walls giving people brain damage.

And, secondly, what also keeps it hard to get is that it needs to undergo dry distillation. Basically, it needs to be sweated out of the wood, drained, and then processed a second time..

So only a Clan that has FIRE and POTTERY SKILLS will be able to do this. At bare minimum, you will need THREE POTS and CONTINUOUSLY BURNING KINDLE. Here's a basic diagram for you;

[ID: 3 pots, labelled and color coded. Pot 1, the green pot on top, has a lid. It rests inside of Pot 2, which is the largest one and has fire burning inside it. Pot 3 is purple and underground, below the others.]

Pot 1 and Pot 2 have holes cut in the bottom, for the liquid to leak out. This could work with just flowerpots, but historically, special structures are made for this purpose so you collect all the oil.

Also protip stand the bark upright and against the sides of the pot, not laying flat down. This isn't a sauna, stand up birch.

ONCE YOU'VE DONE THIS, YOU HAVE OIL. You do NOT have tar or pitch yet. The liquid you have collected is OIL.

Oil can be used as a water-repellant when applied to leather and wood, a heavy-duty cleaning agent (but watch out), and birch oil specifically can repel gastropods.

So now we need to turn that oil into pitch. This is the most dangerous part for a Clan cat, as it involves a LOT of smoke. If your Clan could make a gas mask, it would be helpful here

[ID: A cat with a gas mask sits next to a burning pit with toxic smoke rising out of it. Like the diagram above, Pot 1 is green and nestled within Pot 2, which is red and contains fire.]

Oil is reduced to pitch through evaporating the moisture out. Toxic fumes are BILLOWING out during this entire process, and there is a point in this process where you've gone too far and just burnt it into useless carbon.

So if your cats can create a gas mask then that's very helpful. Otherwise... you'd better do this on a windy day.

(I made this mask based on the P-helm of WW1 and Plague Doctor masks, feel free to run with it... but you will need Glassworking Skills unlocked for it, something BB cats don't have.)

Once you've done this, you have pitch or tar, depending on the thickness you reduced it to. This can be used for MANY things, and is the best adhesive that Clan cats could naturally access. It's especially useful for weaponry, keeping blades on shafts or sticking extenders to claws, but it's also VERY useful for preserving leather and wood as well.

So as you can see, this is a pretty high-tier process! BB Cats will very, very rarely do this. I imagine it was briefly popular while they were trading with BloodClan, but fell back into disuse. As a water-repellent, they prefer beeswax.