#superb glasses

[whattfisausername]

Benoit “let Helen Brand go unhinged and blow up a mansion” Blanc would absolutely love maia arson crimew and everything it’s doing. He would also immediately start using “Holy fucking bingle”.

[matt-lifesage]

started reading Remake. I have been emotionally wrecked multiple times and I'm not even finished with the first day

[iron-niffler]

started playing another lego video game to avoid all my problems <3

[illogicalvulcans]

does anyone else remember watching henrys amazing animals as a kid

[draconic-desire]

💥 Take My Whiskey Neat 💥

Yandere Boothill x Reader

Again and again, you find a way to escape, and every time ends with you peering down the barrel of a gun.

Warnings: Yandere behaviors, forced relationship and captivity, implied kidnapping, some suggestive content but mostly sfw. Mild spoilers for his background story; I want to write him both as a super attentive and protective guy but also crazy for you???

You’ve become all too familiar with the sensation of a gun being pointed to your forehead.

“Aw, darlin’, why the long face? Took me two whole days to find ya this round! You should be proud’a yerself. I dare say our time together has taught you well,” he concludes with a wink.

Somehow, his praise feels more like a taunt.

That’s because it is. Obviously you never had a chance at escaping from him, a Galaxy Ranger with a bounty on his head worth more than your life a hundred times over. He was born and raised to hunt, to track, to kill. You’re just the unlucky target.

He leans the gun ever so slightly closer to you, mere inches before it can graze your skin, and waits for your response. Although you know he won’t pull the trigger, the sight of the 9 millimeter colt aimed directly between your eyes still sends goose flesh skittering down your arms.

You grit your teeth and pin him with a withering glare. The last thing you’ll relinquish is your pride—you’re not intimidated by him, and it is impressive that you evaded him for so long, relatively speaking. Your other escape attempts lasted mere hours.

Unfortunately, the fact that the Ranger has always traveled alone doesn’t help your chances—especially when lately, his only occupation has been you.

“What, no clap back today? No, ‘fudge you, ya son of a nice lady’ or ‘fork you, shirtbaggin’ bootlicker’? I’ve gotten so used to yer colorful language that I’m almost disappointed!” Boothill tilts the gun and juts his hips, his bullseye gaze locked on your own.

Ignoring the subtle look of longing, of hurt, within their depths is getting harder and harder. He’s superb at hiding it behind jokes and attempted curses, but you know that look. He’s clinging to you after all that’s been taken from him, seeking love after it was destroyed in flames. If only he still held onto his human emotions and didn’t rely on that neuro chip of his; then he’d know that what he’s showing you isn’t love, but obsession.

You wish you had never extended your kindness to him that fateful day, when he’d burst into your home, sparks flying and wires exposed. One of his arms was barely attached, completely torn through with bullet holes. A shootout, he’d said, and he’d caught wind of a handy ‘machine doctor’—a mechanic, you’d corrected him—in town who could fix him right up.

It had taken a full two weeks for you to get him back up and running functionally. Two weeks of evading IPC grunts knocking on your door in search of him, two weeks of tolerating (and fine, maybe even enjoying) his crude jokes, and two weeks of stories over a glass of whiskey, about your hope to one day travel among the stars and his of finding a companion to do so with.

That’s when he’d seemed the most human. Voice tinged with sorrow, yes, but lips curved into a morose smile, eyes looking up at the stars. Reminiscing about when he was still fully human, nothing but a cowboy on a seemingly insignificant planet, surrounded by his adopted parents and siblings, and even that little girl whom he never got to see grow up.

After he’d shared his story, you’d felt the sudden urge to be close to him. Without thinking, you’d brought your hand up to his cheek, wiping an invisible tear despite the fact that he lost his tear ducts long ago.

He’d sucked in a breath and gone deadly still; thinking you misjudged the situation and overstepped a boundary, you’d quickly started to jerk your hand back, only for him to lock it firmly against his face with his metal palm.

His voice, normally loud and clear through the synthesized distortion, had been quiet, low, wavering. “I—please, don’t stop. That feels…nice.”

You were sad to see him go after those two weeks. You honestly expected to never see him again—he was a Galaxy Ranger, after all, the definition of a lone wolf—but to your surprise, his visits didn’t end there. He kept returning again and again, and not just for repairs. Sometimes he’d bring you gifts or tell you stories of his hunt, and you’d cherish those moments when the galaxy felt just a bit less lonely with him.

Then the visits started to increase in their frequency—and intensity. He’d show up while you were working with a client and brazenly threaten them to leave so he could occupy your time instead, or he’d appear on your doorstep in the middle of the night with your favorite bottle of liquor, winking at the sight of your embarrassed form, still in your nightclothes. Your world suddenly seemed to revolve around the gunslinging cyborg.

You’d had to put your foot down—as much as you did enjoy his company, you wouldn’t allow him to interfere with your career. You’d worked hard to gain your skills, and even though you were barely scraping by and living in a tiny, modest home by yourself, you were still proud of what you’d achieved on your own.

His initial reaction was an uncharacteristic and frightening bout of silence, his pupils blown wide, locked onto yours. Just as quickly, his typical smirk returned as he laughed it off. “Just watch out, lil cutie, ‘cause I know you’ll be missin’ me soon.”

Apparently, soon was imminent, immediate. You were pouring yourself a drink after a long week of work when he finally kicked down your door and announced you’d be coming with him.

“I’ve been waiting a long while now to claim you, darlin’.”

“And if I refuse?”

That was the first time you witnessed his gun trained on you.

Now, Boothill drags you along everywhere, hopping from one planet or system to the next, living together as nomads. What you believed to be a serendipitous friendship, he thought was the start of your romance and life together.

It would be thrilling in any other circumstance, treading the path of The Hunt, evading the law, tracking down the IPC members who destroyed his family…except the cyborg transferred that need to protect, to save someone, onto you. You have no choice but to be his now, and he’ll be damned if he ever lets you go.

“You just want to hear me curse because you can’t,” you growl. What a stupid argument to be having with a pistol to your head. Yet you can’t help but siphon all of your anger into this dumb little game of cat and mouse, of shark and minnow, of hunter and bird.

He forgets you’re not the only one armed.

You flash him the most vulgar gesture you can make. “Go fuck yourself, Boothill.”

The cowboy throws his head back in a laugh. “Haha! There she is. Wild as a newborn colt.” He grins, flashing those shark teeth you’d groan to loathe. You’ve lost count of the number of puncture marks and scars they’ve littered across your flesh.

That’s something he can’t seem to get enough of—the feel of your warm, organic, human skin against his cold, steel shell.

“Lan shoot me with an arrow, do you ever shut the fuck up?” you grumble, looking up as if the Aeon will give you an answer.

“Think ya already know the answer to that,” he replies, lowering his weapon to sling his opposite arm around your shoulders. The gun hangs languidly from his other hand, as if he’s not the deadliest shot in the galaxy.

His breath brushes your neck as he leans in and nips at your ear. “Now, how ‘bout we take this back home, eh cutie? Two days without you has got me pretty…” His voice drops an octave. “…pent up, if ya know what I mean.”

The tooth marks along your skin flare. Oh, you know all too well.

~*~

Trying to find the solution to your imprisonment at the bottom of a bottle seems like a really clever idea, at least until the room starts spinning.

The empty glass cracks against the wooden table again as brown liquor burns down your throat. What did he call it? Rocket fuel? Damn right, and you’d lost count of the number of shots you’d taken.

Boothill’s normal smirk is contorted into a small frown. “Darlin’, I know it’s been a long couple’a days away for you, but I think we should retire the whiskey for the time being—”

“Shyut up!” you slur, jabbing a finger at the Ranger, your neck still throbbing from all the love bites and hickeys he’d given you. “Thiz is your fault.”

He reaches for the bottle, but you snatch it away and instead start to take pulls directly from it. A deep sigh reverberates behind you as you stand and begin to spin around, hands extended. “Aren’t we celebrating you catching me again? You got what you wanted, you…you mudder…fuuuu…” You sway and just barely catch yourself before you tumble—wait, no, that’s him steadying your shoulders.

“(Y/n).” You blink out of your haze momentarily; only on rare occasions does he use your name and not things like darling or cutie. His face is controlled, mouth tilted downward. “Put the bottle down. I know the feelin’ of wanting to drown in liquor, but it ain’t right.”

“I’m only like this because you took me from my life!”

He bares his teeth, and you know you hit a nerve. “That little shack you called a home? Was that really livin’? All those nights we talked, you said how you wanted grand adventure and risk! To travel and see the stars! To be with me!”

“I didn’t ask for you to put me in a moving cage,” you spit back, trying to shake out of his iron-clad grip. “But you never asked what I wanted, did you?”

“Why’s this all so hard for you to accept?” One hand moves to grab your chin, tilting your face towards his tall form. “It could be just us, ridin’ through the galaxy for all time.” His lips brush lightly against your own, and you feel a tinge of warmth run down your spine. “Just be mine.”

In your drunken stupor, your anger morphs into something else, something more carnal. He wants to be the predator? Well, even the hunted fight back sometimes.

The bottle drops from your hand, shattering against the floor, as you hook an arm around his neck and kiss him fervently, your tongue running along the edges of his pointed canines.

Before he can kiss you back, you pull away, wiping the back of your mouth with your forearm. “That’s what could have been if you hadn’t kidnapped me. If you’d asked me first.” Skipping over the remnants of the whiskey bottle, you flip him the finger over your shoulder as you walk away. “Too bad that’s all you’ll get. Fork you, Boothill.”

As soon as you leave the room, Boothill raises a metal digit to his lips, savoring the sensation of your warm mouth against his. So that’s what your willing kiss feels like. The true passion he knows is hidden deep in your soul, buried beneath the dirt like an unmarked grave. He releases a breathy laugh.

Well fork him sideways, but he wants more.

Taking his hat off, he sets it on the table and moves to pour himself a glass of sherry. He’s nearly positive he’ll find you passed out in bed if he goes to you now, and knows he shouldn’t, can’t be in the same room with you when his self control is so near to breaking. Better to let you sleep it off and tease you about the kiss in the morning.

Boothill kicks his feet up and takes a long sip. So, it turns out your drunken self may actually be harboring some attraction for him. Yeah, he can use that.

“I’ll have you someday,” he whispers, a promise to both you and himself. “Whiskey ain’t the only thing that’ll be on your lips, darlin’.”

[fashionsfromhistory]

Brooch

Marcus & Co. (New York City, New York)

c.1900

This exquisite brooch is one of the few extant examples of plique-à-jour jewelry made by the New York firm of Marcus & Co., whose reputation at its prime rivaled that of Tiffany & Co. Herman Marcus (1828–99), a German–born and Dresden–trained jeweler, arrived in New York in 1850 and worked for a number of prestigious firms before establishing Marcus & Co. in 1892. Following his death, the company continued under the direction of his two sons, George Elder Marcus and William Marcus.

The brooch is a superb example of Marcus & Co.’s work in plique-à-jour enameling, in which the "cells" of color have no backing, allowing light to shine through the transparent enamel, thereby creating the effect of stained glass. One of the only jewelry firms of its day to succeed at this challenging technique, Marcus & Co. followed the lead of such innovative French designers as René Lalique. The sensitive 3-dimensional sculpting of the sweet pea blossoms and leaves, as well as the naturalistic coloring of the enamels, reflects the Art Nouveau aesthetic that prevailed at the turn of the century. Indeed, close parallels can be drawn with the brilliant naturalistic work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose oeuvre is so well represented in the Met’s collection.

The MET (Accession Number: Accession Number: 2016.107)

[maplesyrupsainz]

˖⁺｡˚⋆˙rosé flowing l LN4˖⁺｡˚⋆˙

pairing: lando norris x nepo baby!reader y/n (she/her)

genre: social media au

warnings: a lot of fluff as always with me!! tiniest innuendo at the end lol but literally not srs !

summary: in which the grid's nepo baby bff tries to keep her new relationship on the low but is sabotaged by her friends

a/n: idk if this is good i kind of dnt like it?? let me know hahahhhh😭😭 i feel like it's too diff to my other nepo baby one

request!!!: If you're up for it then maybe a lando version of the nepo baby fic instead of lance (*HERE*)

fc: shira.klein

my masterlist

instagram ->

yourusername

liked by yourbff, lilymhe, and 512,097 others

yourusername night life 🪩..

view all 7,382 comments

yourbff hot hot hot

yourusername no u😘

user1 is that lando norris??

user2 yessssss the f1 drivers luv y/n

user3 who is she ??

user4 random rich nepo girl lol

user5 so pretty

maxverstappen1 im in your area

yourusername no way. let's go to dinner!!!!

maxverstappen1 👍

user6 rizz

landonorris 😘

user7 no response...

user8 he's not beating the norizz allegations anytime soon i fear ...

landonorris posted a story

liked by oscarpiastri, danielricciardo, and 282,023 others

user9 ??? who is she

user10 DATE night? first im hearing of this

user11 lando i cant cope with a soft launch rn

oscarpiastri 👀

landonorris 🤫

user12 lando u have RIZZ???? surely not

yourbff 💋💋

twitter ->

instagram ->

yourusername

liked by kellypiquet, maxverstappen1, and 771,684 others

yourusername 🍷

view all 11,029 comments

yourbff awww look at lil merlot 🐱

yourusername mr merlot said he wants a visit soon

yourbff of course anything for the baby

user18 the cat being named after a wine 😭

user19 MAX!?

user20 max verstappen superb rizz

user21 they're not dating guys kelly is in the likes

user22 booo

maxverstappen1 it was so good to see you!

yourusername 💘 always a pleasureee

kellypiquet pretty girl💋💋

yourusername love you sweet

pierregasly you're making the rounds y/n?

yourusername gotta make a point of seeing all my fav boys of courseee🏎️

yourusername posted a story

liked by pierregasly, yourbff, and 221,732 others

yourbff im gonna get so drunk

landonorris 😘

user23 drunk y/n incominggg

maxverstappen1 dont do anything i wouldn't do

user24 WYDDD Y/N

yourbff

liked by landonorris, yourusername, and 399,183 others

yourbff my best friend and her man are hot

tagged: yourusername, landonorris

view all 4,820 comments

user25 BEST FRIEND AND HER MAN???

user26 Y/N AND LANDO???

user27 is this y/n & lando dating confirmation

user28 omg it's happening guys

user29 how did lando norizz pull y/n y/l/n???!!!!

landonorris someone's in troubleeee

yourbff who? it aint me surely

landonorris 🤨

yourusername 😭 ur lucky tht i love u

yourbff aww i know im soo lucky i love you sooo much you're the prettiest girl in the world!

yourusername 🤡🤡

twitter ->

instagram ->

yourusername posted a story

liked by yourbff, charles_leclerc, and 301,832 others

user34 omg hi pierre

user35 OMGG y/n & pierre reunion

user36 fav friendshippp

charles_leclerc hanging out without me i see okay okay

yourusername YOU SAID YOU WERE BUSY

charles_leclerc yea but 🥺

user37 charles is crying rn

pierregasly

liked by yourusername, danielricciardo, and 829,174 others

pierregasly life the past few weeks

view all 12,924 comments

user38 omg is that y/n and her cat

user39 Y/N AND MERLOT

user40 are they dating ??

yourusername sending hugs from me & mr merlot 🐱

pierregasly i only want the ones from merlot

yourusername wow ok. i see

user41 wherever y/n is a full glass of wine follows

liked by yourusername

user42 waittt i kind of ship them

user43 imagine if they were dating 🥺

user44 some of these comments are so ick can a male & female not be friends anymore 💀

landonorris get u a man who looks at u like pierre looks at that ice cream

liked by pierregasly, yourusername, danielricciardo, charles_leclerc

yourbff posted a story

liked by landonorris, yourusername, and 96,914 others

yourusername STOP

user45 is that y/n

user46 is that y/n

user47 i swear that's y/n

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, landonorris, and 712,384 others

yourusername been a minute 🍓

view all 8,183 comments

user48 HII Y/N

user49 LANDO AND CHARLESSS?!!!!

user50 she prob didnt make a grid post for a bit coz u guys harass her on who she's dating now 💀

charles_leclerc omg it's me

yourusername yup hi charlie 👋

landonorris wow i look sexy ngl

yourusername 🤨

user51 i wish i was y/n

user52 ikr she's so perfect

lilymhe hello my favourite nepo baby

yourusername I MISS YOU!!

lilymhe i miss you moree

landonorris posted a story

liked by danielricciardo, yourusername, and 593,173 others

danielricciardo medium launch ?

landonorris 😝

user53 lando is it y/n or not plz tell us

user54 major y/n vibes

yourbff she's majestic how the hell did you manage this

landonorris i honestly got no idea im just here for the ride or whatever i guess

yourbff respect it. at least you're aware she's out of your league

landonorris oh absolutely i am

lilymhe i want her

landonorris back off

danielricciardo

liked by yourbff, charles_leclerc, and 873,013 others

danielricciardo beach day!! 🏖️

view all 14,238 comments

user55 omg

user56 that's literally lando & y/n

yourbff you've rly done it this time

danielricciardo dont know what you're talking about 😇

yourusername you're done

landonorris 😭

danielricciardo i wont be taking questions at this time

yourbff convenient

user57 oh they are definitely dating right ??

charles_leclerc 🤨

liked by yourbff

user58 wait is everyone trying to expose them for dating fr

yourusername posted a story

liked by danielricciardo, pierregasly, and 314,873 others

danielricciardo HAHAHA

danielricciardo this is basically a confirmation

yourusername i'll never trust you with a secret again

danielricciardo was worth it

user59 Y/N AND LANDO HAS TO BE REAL AFTER THIS

user60 suspicions confirmed

yourbff let the world know y/n!!

yourusername EASY FOR YOU TO SAY

landonorris 😘

lando.jpg

liked by daniel3.jpg, yourbff, and 365,927 others

lando.jpg 💛

tagged: yourusername

view all 8,173 comments

yourusername you are so obsessed with me

lando.jpg yes 🙌

user61 OMG 😨

user62 they're in love. fr

user63 that first pic omg

daniel3.jpg now do it again on main

lando.jpg all in good time 😃

user64 hardest launch of the century

user65 she's insanely gorgeous

yourbff freaking finally

yourusername 🤫

yourbff me & daniel take credit for this

danielricciardo 👍

landonorris you guys should focus on your own lives

landonorris posted a story

liked by yourusername, charles_leclerc, and 293,284 others

danielricciardo 👏👏👏

charles_leclerc 🥳🥳🥳

yourbff 🎉🎉🎉

pierregasly 🍾🍾🍾

maxverstappen1 🎊🎊🎊

user66 it's real

twitter ->

instagram ->

yourusername

liked by landonorris, danielricciardo, and 728,023 others

yourusername i wanna be defined by the things that i love

tagged: landonorris

view all 9,185 comments

user72 omg this is so much to take in

user73 her feet on him 🥹

user74 THIS IS SO CUTE I CANT HANDLE IT

user75 new fav wag for sure

danielricciardo look at my children go

yourusername we're grown up !

danielricciardo no more sneaking around 🫶

pierregasly cracking open a bottle as we speak

yourusername celebrating the only way i know how 🎉

landonorris you know other ways y/n 👀.

pierregasly WTF???

yourusername 🤨

landonorris i love You

yourusername i love you !!!

yourbff 🥹🥹🥹

THE END 🧡

[genshin-impact-updates]

The Peaks Resound, Golden Veins Gleaming

"Hey there, Xilonen! So, about the sunglasses you made me last time... Got a couple of details I'd like to adjust, especially with the temple tip patterning... Hmm? Where'd she go? It's not even time for her lunch break yet... Hey! Xilonen! You there? C'mon, let's go over the particulars of the glasses manufacturing process again—"

—Thus exclaimed Mavuika at a high volume in front of Xilonen's workshop

◆ Xilonen

◆ Ardent Flames Forge the Soul

◆ Nanatzcayan Smith

◆ Vision: Geo

◆ Constellation: Panthera Ocelota

Xilonen's skill with the forge is renowned throughout Natlan.

Many come from far and wide to pay homage to her superb skill. Some hope to commission her to forge them weapons, while others only seek to see the visage of this great smith, such that they might have information of great interest to talk about.

But Xilonen couldn't care less about what all her customers are thinking. No matter what kind of ridiculous, fancy titles others give her, before all the honors and accolades, she is first and foremost an artisan. All she need do is refine the ore, and surely and steadfastly hammer it into its final shape one blow at a time, in accordance with the customer's requirements.

Reputation will not strengthen the blows of her hammer upon the anvil, nor will slander cool the coals of her furnace.

However, when a customer steps into her workshop, it is not the heat of the furnace that welcomes them, but rather a long form filled with blanks needing to be filled in.

"I'm happy to take the commission. But first, we need to iron out the details."

"Effective communication means efficient work. Come on, let's talk about just what you want."

[moonstruckme]

hii omg I absolutely adore your blog!! i love the interactions between the guys and reader, the way you write them makes them feel so so real 💫 I was wondering, how do you think they'd react to reader having a horrible nightmare and not being able to fall asleep? you dont have to write it ofc, and sorry for my english it's not my first language 🥰

Hi, thank you lovely! Please don't worry about your english, it's amazing and it'd be no problem even if it weren't, and thanks for requesting <3

poly!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 1.2k words

You wake with a tear already slithering down your face from the injustice of it. Your chest feels empty and crushed, and you press your palm to your breastbone as if that will ease the hollow ache. You come to terms quickly with the fact that none of it was real, you’re okay, but there’s still evidence of your terror and indignation in your too-hot skin. You pull the sheets covering you to the side so that half your body is exposed to the cool air. 

“Hey.” The word is hardly more than a raspy exhale, Sirius’ voice slurred with sleep. You’d evidently slipped free of his arms at some point in the night. You distinctly remember falling asleep with his breath on your forehead, but now there’s nearly a foot of empty space between you. His face rubs against the pillowcase as he shifts to see you better. “Hey, what’s up?” 

“Nothing,” you say, though your voice is tight with unwanted tears. They keep squishing out of your eyes, like aftershocks of an earthquake that’s already fading from your memory. “Just a dream.” 

Sirius reaches for your face. His hand is pleasantly cool against your skin, but he makes a sleepy discontented sound at the wetness he finds. “You’re crying.” 

“Shh, you’ll wake them.” You cover his hand with yours, giving his fingers a reassuring squeeze. “I’m okay, go back to sleep.” 

Sheets rustle as James rolls over to face you. “Whas’ going on?” 

You sigh. “Nothing, sorry.” You turn your face from Sirius’ touch, moving one leg over the edge of the bed. “I’m going to go get some water.” 

“She’s crying,” Sirius tattles, though it’s hard to be too mad at him when his voice is still foggy with sleepy bemusement. He wraps his hand around your elbow. “Wait, stay.” 

You go to shush him again, but then you see that Remus already has his eyes open. He’s been watching you quietly for who knows how long. Superb. At least your crying has finally stopped. 

“What’s wrong, angel?” James says through a yawn, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he props himself up on his elbow to see you over Sirius. “Bad dream?” 

“Yeah, just a dream,” you reassure him softly. “Go back to sleep, I’m sorry I woke you.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he says, though he still looks like he’s got weights sewn into his eyelids. “Wanna talk about it?” 

“No, thank you,” you say as kindly as you can. “I just want to get a drink, then I’ll go back to sleep.” 

“I’ll get it for you, love.” Remus’ voice is rough. He rolls over and says warningly, “Light,” before turning on the lamp beside the bed. Sirius makes a low moan of protest, turning his face into the pillow, and you and James both squint your eyes. Remus passes James his glasses, sitting up to get out of bed. 

“I can get it,” you object. You go to mirror him, but Sirius holds fast to your elbow, preventing you from moving off the mattress. 

“No, I know better.” Remus steps into his slippers. “I’ve got it, you stay.” 

You watch guiltily as he plods out of the room, then turn to James and Sirius with a bemused look. He knows better?

James gives you a small smile, tinged with apology. “Whenever you say you’re going to get water in the middle of the night, you never come back,” he explains as Sirius wraps his arms around your waist, drawing you closer. “None of us wants you to deal with these things on your own, angel.” 

Your face starts heating again with the knowledge that they’ve found you out. You do often say you’re going for water after nightmares like these, so that your boyfriends will go back to sleep even though you can’t. You usually end up sitting in the living room, distracting yourself with sudoku or reading until it’s a reasonable hour to make breakfast and pretend you’ve only just woken up.

“Give ‘er here, Pads,” James says at your touched silence. “We can share.” 

Sirius holds you to his front and rolls over, situating you between him and James on the bed. James takes your face in his hands and sets about kissing your salty cheeks, lips wet and smooshed and more loving than you could ever deserve. You can’t help but smile as he does it, and Sirius makes a quiet sound of satisfaction, giving your middle an appreciative squeeze. 

“They’re just dreams,” you argue when James pauses. “I don’t need to be babied over something that didn’t really happen.” 

“They’re still upsetting,” Remus says as he comes in with a cup of water, “aren’t they?” 

“Sort of, I guess.” You sit up to take the cup from him, doing your best to convey your gratitude through a look. He gives you a tired smile as he gets back in bed beside James. “But it’s like, half the time I don’t even know what I’m upset about. I forget them.” 

Sirius disentangles his arms from you as you sit upright. He settles for rubbing your lower back instead. “But you can’t sleep afterward.” It’s not a question. 

You take a sip of water, speaking quietly into the cup. “I think I get too worked up.” 

“That’s alright, darling.” Remus’ voice is soft and smooth as butter. “Your body’s just still working through the emotions of it all, yeah? But maybe, instead of running off and staying up all night, you could let us help you.” 

You look over at him. The warm light from the lamp makes his mussed brown hair look golden as he watches you consideringly. “How?” you ask tentatively.

“Seems like all you need is to calm down,” James says, looking up at you from where his head rests on the pillow just beside your hip. You want to squirm at all the attention, but there’s nothing pitying in his gaze. “We can at least try to help with that.” 

You hesitate, and Remus reaches over, wrapping his hand around your cup. “Done with this, lovely?” He takes it when you nod and sets it down on the nightstand. “Alright, lie down.” 

You do as he says, shimmying beneath the covers. Remus shuts off the light. 

Sirius’ grip is solid as he turns you by your hips, setting your back to his front. “Still feeling too warm?” he asks softly. 

You blink into the darkness. “How’d you know?” 

He chuckles, and you feel his lips press against the back of your head a moment before his hands snake under your pajama shirt, cool palms pressed flat to your stomach. “Because I know you, sweet girl.” 

“Do you think taking some deep breaths would help?” Remus murmurs. 

You’re not sure, but you try, counting as your lungs expand and contract until they start to feel a bit more like their normal size. 

“There you go.” James’ lips press to the spot between your brows. “Does that feel better, angel?” 

“Yeah,” you admit. The word emerges like a sigh. Your voice is slipping away, quieting as you grow drowsy. Sirius can tell, and he begins to rub his palm slowly back and forth across your ribs. It grows warm against your skin, but you don’t mind so much anymore. “Thank you guys. Sorry for waking you.” 

“Don’t worry about it, darling.” Remus’ words start to slur as his own sleep finds him. “We’d always rather all be awake than leave you by yourself.”

[p0rk-guts]

Velvette if she served cunt

Design breakdown below 👇🏾(BEWARE IT'S VERY LONG)

Alright going into detail about my gripes and edits. Like Velvette but her design is just. Not good to me. None of her (main) outfit details look like they fit to me— pinstripe pants + long fur coat paired with black crop top and scene sleeves? Skull earrings? TINKERBELL HEELS????? Tell me how any of that meshes well or even makes SENSE for the social media influencer persona she's supposed to have going on. Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure she's supposed to be clown themed... But I'm just gonna toss that idea out bc being a revered social media influencer and a clown at the same time just seems a bit oxymoronic to me, and the "clown" details aren't adding shit for me.

And don't think I forgot about her features. Pale ash grey skin and wavy hair at best. If she was supposed to be some type of creature where a nonhuman skin tone would make sense then maybe I could let it go?? But as far as I can tell she doesn't have an object or creature or animal theme like the other V's and if she does I shouldn't need to do detective work to figure it out. There is no reason for *any* of these poc characters to have grey skin, especially since they don't have any other poc features at all.

Sorry that shit gets me heated anyways. Onto my redesign. Gave her a more obviously black skin tone and textured hair bc I love a 30 inch buss down as much as the next girl but considering how there are no significant poc cast members with visibly textured hair I think she deserves to flaunt some coils if no one else will.

Ngl I'm not. A fashion girlie. Idk what's trendy idk what screams "influencer" so a lot of this was just throwing shit at the wall that I've seen around recently but it looks cute enough to me. And there was a bit of inspiration taken from Aliyahcore and ghetto fabulous fashion ❤️

If you can't tell this is shamefully inspired by lovesart23's Velvette reimagining because imo they had some outstanding ideas for Vel. I low-key stole their idea for those floating eyes in her hair that follow her around and help her keep tabs on shit it was just a superb idea for a social media overlord to me. I also took some inspo from @furbtasticworksofart 's redesign because vampire influencer sucking up the souls of her followers in exchange for content??? Too good (also the eyes were supposed to have bat/vamp wings I just forgot 😭) So yeah she's a vampire demon now. Without the features she was looking too human anyhow. Maybe she also feeds off of the energy of her followers through tech like after Vox mind controls them or whatever... Idk idk is that anything

Speaking of Vox, the screen glasses are meant to connect her to him w/ their color and shape while serving the purpose of being like a second phone she can post and check the web with. Like lovesart said in their reimagining vid, Vel doesn't really do more than pose for selfies and scroll on her phone when it comes to social media so in my head she's constantly flipping her shades on and off, using them to scroll and stay active, and they can show when she's not paying attention or respect to something/someone bc scrolling is more worth her time in the moment.

The hearts everywhere are also supposed to kinda represent social media likes + connect her back to Val w/ his heart patterns. That might've been what the hearts in her og design were for but. I just didn't like their placement bc I'm a nitpicker and a hater❕

I have so much more I could say about possible ideas for Velvette because I love evil black girls and I only want them to succeed in my media and I could treat her so much BETTER but I'll refrain bc this is way too long anyway.

Alright for reading/scrolling through all that rambling I offer you the sketches + some alt hair ideas I had

P.S. I'm very open to constructive criticism but if I see anyone just dick riding in my replies or rb's I'm just blocking you on sight ✌🏾

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Thanks to m-33-pmeep for finding this fantastic 18th century French country farmhouse intertwined with a 19th century midwestern style barn and 21st century contemporary glass. It's in Grand Lake, CO, has 5bds, 5ba, and is listed for $3.95M.

The architectural design is superb. The glass surrounds the original historic stone home, so it's like bringing the outdoors in and you can enjoy the exterior, as well as the interior.

This is the kitchen on the ground level and of course, since it's a $4M home, I wouldn't expect anything less than a red AGA stove. This model is about $6,900.

Isn't the pizza oven fantastic?

Such a beautiful home.

There's a cozy sitting area with a door to the patio.

There's a lovely view of Grand Lake from the patio.

Going up to the next level.

There's another, smaller kitchen., and look at that original old floor.

This bedroom has a beautiful view of the lake and a terrace.

This bedroom is right on the loft over the main floor.

One of the baths, combining modern with the historic.

The stairs are incredible, going up to the glass roof.

Nice little place to chill at the top of the silo.

Continuing up to the top floor, there's a great bedroom with a large screen and pool table.

The 2 barns.

There are some cute features in the garden.

The lot is 1.11 acres.

Look at the boat slips- they're like garages.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2210-Grand-Ave-Grand-Lake-CO-80447/316879553_zpid/?

[fanaticsnail]

Blade Song

Another part of the Dance Series. Thank you to a beautiful anon who reached out to give me some thoughts and prompts to utilize to bring this piece together. Masterlist here. Also, thank you @sordidmusings for being an absolute legend and helping me with the tunes.

Word Count: 5,065

(First time writing for Zoro!)

The warm embers of an open fire glowed a vibrant shade of red against the sandy shore of the beach. The sun had only just started to become eclipsed by the vast coastline of the ocean, prompting the last rays to tint the air pink as its last farewell. Sounds of singular plucked guitar strings harmonised by the crackle of dried wood in the fire, many among the large troop had risen to their feet to sway their bodies in time to the rhythm; all the Straw-Hat pirates amongst the crowd.

Well, apart from one member.

Zoro lay reclined on his back, his arms cradling the back of his neck as he gazed at the purple hue of tinted clouds beginning to depart in favour of gentle starlight. Peaking out of the corner of his eye, he views Nami spinning amongst the dancers, linking arms with Luffy before laughing and plonking to the ground; becoming exhausted from the vigorous movements.

Shifting downwards onto your knees beside him, you release a gentle cough to alert him of your presence. He shifts his gaze up to meet your position, a wide smile welcoming you as you raise a large bottle of beer to indicate for him to take it from within your hands. You slid your hand to the bottom of the beer bottle to make it easier for him to take it from you without needlessly touching him.

“For me?” he asks, propping himself up onto his elbow, still partially reclining against the sand.

“Of course,” you smirked and nod your head to him, waving the bottle in front of him. He chuckles and grasps the neck of the bottle, nodding in thanks as he gently takes it from you and immediately swigs from it.

You giggle a little, turning your attention back to your troop dancing amongst the crowd; Sanji leaning down to Nami in a polite bow with his right hand extended to ask her to dance. She politely shakes her head to decline, prompting the blonde chef to seem slightly disappointed by the outcome.

“Oh, poor Sanji,” you raise your eyebrows upwards and fall your lips into a tight, thin line; tsking your lips in pity. Zoro looks up at your face, furrowing his brows before turning to look at the chef.

“Why ‘poor Sanji’?” he asked you, taking another swig from the bottle.

“Oh,” you gasped in surprise, not realising your pittance was released from your lips, “its just; he’s a really good dancer and finally has the opportunity to show off his skills and Nami just rejected him,” you shrug.

You turn your sights back to look at Sanji who appeared to be sulking a little more, going back to the food vendor and asking for a drink to drown his partial sorrow. Zoro furrowed his brows deeper in thought, looking between both you and the chef.

“You’ve danced with him, then?” Zoro asked you nonchalantly, again raising the neck of the glass beer bottle to his lips. You brought your attention back to the swordsman at your side, scrunching up your nose playfully at him.

“He’s actually yet to ask me,” you smiled at him, “but I’ve seen him dancing with a few of the women here, and he’s superb.”

Zoro grunted a little at your reply, his voice gruff as he drained the last of the contents of the amber liquid within the bottle. He sighed in contentment as the alcohol hit his stomach, enjoying the slight buzz it brought to him.

“Do you dance, Zoro?” you asked him curiously, arching up your eyebrow to him.

“No,” he replied immediately, without a semblance of hesitation from within. You giggled at his hasty reply, urging your body closer to his position on the sand.

“Not even for me?” you pouted playfully.

“Not even for you,” he nodded without looking at you, exhorting a crease in your brows in response.

“Oh,” you replied, shifting your body back away from the close proximity to the swordsmen.

Zoro was one of the Straw-Hats you found it the most difficult to build rapport with; his gruff exterior intimidating for the cheery and jovial attitude you brought to the crew. Luffy immediately took a shine to you, bouncing off each other’s perpetual warmness to spark joy throughout the crew. Nami began her relationship with you slightly more standoffish, but her exterior cracking the more you hyped her up with subtle jabs and challenges. Your favourite of the challenges you had put to her included: placing a wager on whether she could literally steal the pants off a marine without them noticing, which she absolutely could; a sight to see for the Straw-Hat crew to enjoy together.

Usopp enjoyed confiding in you with his insecurities, prompting a more mentor-mentee relationship to develop between the two of you as you navigated throughout his fears and worries in your travels. Sanji was different. He flirted hard with both Nami and you, as the only women on board. Nami would absolutely not entertain his flirtations in the slightest, whereas you would always reflect the flirtation back onto him; causing a red hue to rise upon his cheeks in response. Everything was always playful with him, never taken further than a brush of a lip upon your knuckles, or a warm rub of the shoulders to comfort your crewman.

That was your role: ships chief negotiator and guidance councillor, building rapport and comradery through playfulness and joy. Zoro was yet to crack under your cheery disposition, which prompted you to seek him out this evening; praying he would finally warm to you. Truthfully, you had begun to develop feelings of great fondness for the swordsman. The way he protected the ship as a loyal knight would to defend the honour of the crown drew you to him immediately.

Zoro sighed, placing down the bottle and fully rising to a seated position as he continued to face away from you. You turned your gaze away from him and looked off to the side, bringing your hands to rest on your bare upper arms to bring warmth back to your skin. The departure of the sun’s rays always brought a chill to your body, the sea breeze carrying the cold and pricking to raise your hair follicles in response to it.

“I, uh-,” you began, turning back to look at Zoro’s face once again, “-I’ll just go then. Sorry to disturb your night, swordsman.” He turned back his face towards you, the subtle orange glow from the fire highlighting his features. You nodded with a smile, rose to your feet and turned to bring yourself back to the merriment of dancers on the beachfront.

Zoro’s eyes trailed you as you extended your hand to one of the men among the beach goers, effortlessly swooping to the sandy dunes and maneuvering your body to sway with them to the beat. You were all smiles and all touches; drawing your hands to the necks, shoulders, forearms, waists and hands of those who you danced with. Zoro watched as the men would effortlessly spin you, grasping their hands and bodies to hold you closer to them and sway to the beat.

Nami approached Zoro, sitting herself down on a tall log next to him as they watched you entwine yourself now within the arms of your captain; his cheery laughter prompting you to radiate the warmth within yourself and join with his joy.

“Not dancing, swordsman?” Nami asked him, quirking her chin to the side to acknowledge him. Zoro grunted in response, continuing to watch as Luffy spun you in his arms, capturing you within his supernatural arm extension to constrict around your waist.

Nami kicked her right foot against Zoro’s left thigh, prompting the green-haired swordsman to frown up at her position next to him.

“You know she likes you, right?” she asked him, narrowing her eyes and smirking down at his sat position. He shook his head slightly, looking back to the captain and the councillor as they swayed their bodies close together to the beat.

“What are you talking about?” he murmured with a growl-like undertone. Nami rolled her eyes at the swordsman and angled her chin upwards at the interaction occurring between the two Straw-Hats engaging in a variety of twirls and sways to the music together.

“The ship’s councillor, Mr Oblivious,” she teased him, prompting his scowl to deepen, “surely you’ve noticed by now.”

Zoro shook his head at her, prompting Nami to roll her eyes with a long groan and maneuver herself to sit on the sand next to him; off the log she sat on prior.

“The way she is with you,” she commented, gesturing to you as you spun Luffy within your arms and trailed your hands to land on his waist, “the way she restrains herself with you.”

“Restrains herself?” Zoro asked, sitting upright and paying closer attention to the dance between you and Luffy, “what do you mean?”

Nami groans and sits closer to Zoro, nudging him with her shoulder, “watch them. Pay attention to her.”

Zoro rolled his eyes and began to narrow his gaze onto the way you were dancing with Luffy; all hands, swings and grazes: touches. Zoro’s eyes widened slightly as you laced your arms around the captain’s neck as he placed his arms around your waist, hoisting you into the air in a spin before you both collapsed onto the sand below; all smiles and laughter.

The swordsman shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch the interaction between you and Luffy; you placing your left hand on his right shoulder, he bringing his left hand over his front to clasp it around the back of your hand; both heads tilted back in laughter.

“Her hands?” Zoro asked, his monotonous tone raised in question.

“Yes,” Nami confirmed with a nod, “her hands, Zoro.”

Zoro shook his head, not quite understanding what the navigator was attempting to tell him.

“Look, Zoro. You are as clueless in navigating romance as you are in navigating a ship,” Nami groaned, placing her hand on Zoro’s left forearm, “she loves physically. She finds comfort in touch.”

“So?” Zoro asked, shaking his head, “what’s that got to do with me?”

“So,” Nami says slowly, rolling her head to lull back at the sky, “she doesn’t touch you, does she?”

Zoro furrows his brows in thought, shrugging off Nami’s grasp on his shoulder before trailing his eyes to zero-in on the Straw-Hat crew still dancing together. He recalls the way you have approached him so far; always with a small gift to present to him: a beer, a plate of food, a tool he required for maintaining his swords. You would sit close enough to him to be actively in his presence, but without making any physical contact with him. Praising his swordsmanship as he practices movements and motions above deck, you would watch him while notarising specific items you would need for the next upcoming adventure. All his thoughts falling back to you expressing your comradery with him in every way apart from physical.

He watched as Sanji returned from the vendor, an empty beer bottle clasped in his firm grip. He watched as Sanji placed the beer bottle on the sand next to him and extended his right hand out towards you as an invitation to dance while simultaneously hoisting you to your feet from your position on the floor. Zoro’s eyes widened before narrowing as you accepted the chef’s invitation with a wide smile and allowed yourself to be thrust flush against his body; legs lacing themselves together to join at the hips, swaying and tastefully gyrating to the rhythmic guitar.

The chef spun you in his arms, turning you to face away from him while circling both his and your arms around himself and continuing the sway. You both would take small steps to the left and right before Sanji effortlessly spun you twice to face against you once again. Zoro ignored the way his chest began to feel heavy under the weight of him viewing you both dance together, his breath hitching as Sanji’s hands wove themselves against your hips with a warm blush creeping up the chef’s face. Zoro couldn’t tear his eyes away from the movement of you reaching your hands up in the air and raking your fingertips against your forearm as you allowed Sanji to manipulate your body as an instrument of artistry.

“You’re an idiot,” Nami sighed, Zoro tearing his eyes away from the dance between you to scowl again at her.

“What are you talking about, Navigator?” he growled under his breath.

Nami smirked, turning her gaze to the captain as he waved her over towards him with a beckoning gesture. She placed her right hand on the dunes below, springing herself to her feet in a swift motion. Reaching an arm out towards the swordsman and grasping his left wrist, she pulled him to his feet and stepped into his intimidating proximity to utter in a low tone, “the sooner you realise you like her back, the easier it’s going to be for everyone.”

The navigator smirked, turning away from the standing swordsman to bring herself into the outstretched hands of her captain, laughing as he spun her into a dance again.

Zoro was left perplexed, not really certain what he should do with the nonsense spurted from the navigator. He found himself stalking the perimeter of the dancers slowly, keeping his eyes trained on the chef and the councillor as they continued to embrace one another.

He hadn’t given much thought to romantic encounters of late, training his body through strength and agility to become the world’s greatest swordsman to finally beat the title away from Dracule Mihawk. Seeing the way you swayed with the chef, now arching your back up into his torso and falling your hands slowly to find the back of the blonde’s neck with small shifts in your hips, he couldn’t help but picture you performing those movements with him.

You were always so careful with him; so cautious to not cause him any discomfort as he slept, ate or trained. The way you so cautiously and playfully asked him to dance, only for him to immediately shoot you down weighed heavy on his heart now, the pit growing stronger the longer you remained in the blonde’s arms.

Zoro found his teeth clenching as he watched Sanji lean his head against your neck, his lips almost meeting your clavicle as he raked his arms over your back and held you in a tight embrace, flush against his body as he spun and dipped you. You arched your back further, keeping the chef’s body against you as you leaned into him. The swordsman never felt the desire to study how to dance rise within him. He was now regretting never learning how at this very moment.

The tempo of the guitar began to slow, bringing the dance to a close. You and Sanji broke away from each other, laughing and applauding the musicians in appreciation of their craft. Zoro’s eyes beamed on the chef reaching his right hand out in search of your own, bringing your knuckles up to brush against his lips with a gentle caress. A melodical giggle presented itself through your lips, a coy smile drawn to your features as a small pink blush spread across your nose and cheeks.

Zoro needed to hit something; something that doesn’t matter to the performance and smooth sailing of his ship or crew. A growl released itself from his lips as he briskly began his descent towards the ocean shore, away from the view of the gathering of individuals dancing together around the fire.

“Thank you, Sanji,” you laughed as he released your hand from his grasp.

“Any time, love,” the chef replied, his yes falling on the ship’s navigator as she cheered for the musicians gleefully. You trailed your sites to follow his, looking at your orange-haired crewman.

“You going to try Nami again?” you quirked your head up at him, his eyes falling back to you in response to your question.

“After the bitter taste of rejection the first time?” he smirked with a light chuckle, “not in the slightest.” You scoffed at him, turning to view the crowd again; searching to locate your green-haired crewmate.

“He went down to the shore,” Sanji spoke beside you, a knowing smile drawing to his lips, “just in case you want to face your own rejection a second time.”

You rolled your eyes and lightly tapped Sanji’s shoulder to reprimand him, “I’ll tell you what, chef-.” His gaze softened in your addressal, nodding for you to continue on; “I’ll go get the swordsman and face my rejection, if you go to our navigator and face your own. Deal?”

You held out your right hand as indication for him to shake it. He clasped your hand within his own in a the perfect balance of a gentle but firm grip, uttering; “deal.”

As your pact was sealed, you turned from your blonde chef and walked down the dunes towards the shoreline as Sanji shook the hair away from his eyes and huffed out any inhibitions preventing him from approaching the navigator with an offer to dance.

Returning back to the log with your equipment laying against, you reequipped your cutlass and in its scabbard around your waist as you began your trek towards the foam of the ocean as it waded against the shore.

You brought your hand up to your brow as you narrowed your eyes in search for your green-haired, ear-pierced swordsman; falling your sights onto his as he effortlessly maneuvered himself while wielding three swords in a flowing movement. Your gaze softened as you watched him spin slowly with the blades, brandishing them with complete control and fluidity.

Gasping, you could almost see his movements slow in motion; focussing on his firm grip on the blades as his eyes bore down in complete concentration and control. You zeroed in on the flex of his forearms as he brandished his swords outwards, sweeping them throughout the air and halting them outwards, facing their tips to the sky.

Sitting yourself down on the dunes, you placed an elbow against your knee and cradled your face in your palm; watching the swordsman as he continued to flourish his skills with his blades outwards and inwards; the wave’s gentle crashing against the beach the soundtrack to his movements.

Time seemed to stop and slow as you watched him brandish his blades, spinning and turning with the perfect combination of control and ferocity. You couldn’t get enough of him, tilting your head and taking your bottom lip between your teeth as you unabashedly gawked at him.

“Don’t think I don’t see you there, Councillor,” Zoro called to you, his voice slightly muffled by the blade clutched between his teeth. You jolted your body back, unclenching your teeth from your lip as you looked down in shame.

“Apologies, Swordsman,” you spoke in a low tone, forlorn as you began to rise to your feet to turn back away from him. He took his third sword away from his lips and sheathed it at his side along with the other two in their scabbards.

“I didn’t say I minded your gaze,” he confessed with a smirk, trailing behind you in his approach.

You halted your retreat, turning back to face him once more with a furrow in your brows and a quirk in your jaw. His smirk softened a little as his eyes met with your own. You shook your head as you stepped closer to him, still remaining out of his reach and general proximity.

“I can’t get a read on you, Zoro,” you admitted with a small nod, “you either hate me more than anyone else among the crew or you’re completely indifferent towards me as one would be a complete stranger.”

Zoro took a step towards you once more, stalking forward and bringing his body fully into the sphere of your personal space. You chose to not budge or maneuver your body away from his, tilting your head to bring it upwards and quirking it to the side.

“Fight me,” he uttered, his eyes half lidded as he spoke in a low tone.

“What?” you furrowed your brows in question, shaking your head a little while floating your eyes between his two brown orbs through your eyelashes.

“Fight with me, I should say,” he smirked as he reached his left hand forward, initiating first contact between you as he clutched your right hand in his firm grip.

“Zoro-,” you began, trailing your gaze away from his eyes and looking at his hand placed against your wrist. He took a closer step into you, bringing his right hand up to clasp your wrist; dragging his left hand to lace themselves within your fingers.

“-I won’t dance,” he uttered in a low, monotonous tone; trailing his eyes to your fingers as he smoothed over your wrist, “but I can fight.”

He stooped his head downwards, his eyes closing at the proximity while smoothing over your skin with his thumb, rotating in gentle circles.

“If this be the only way I can draw you close to me,” you whispered lovingly up into his face, “I will gladly cross blades with you.”

A small smile draws itself to the side of Zoro’s lips as he reopens his eyes, seeking your own eyes to hold his attention and affection.

“Draw your cutlass, Councillor,” he murmured lowly, leading you down to the coastal shore by your hand to place your shoeless feet on firmer flat sand. He reluctantly released you from his grasp, turning away from you to retract his blades from their scabbards.

“I am no match for your skill, Swordsman,” you uttered while retracting your blade from its place against your hip and raising it, “but I will do my best to keep up with you in our dance.”

He quirked his head to the side with a smirk on his features, placing his third sword between his teeth once more. You drew your sword up to your face and held your non-dominant hand out to the side to ready yourself for his relentless attack.

Charging at you, his arms drawn back; you side-stepped him as he thrust his right sword at you. Continuing to avoid and evade his attacks, you circled to reach behind him to strike. He leapt within the air and spun his legs outwards to retreat from your advance.

Circling back around and side stepping your attacks, he brought his torso closer to you; the large gash from his dual with Mihawk pulling your attention to his chest. He followed your gaze, halting his next movement as you stopped your own.

He stepped closer to you, parting his lips to drop the white blade from his teeth and fall it to his open and awaiting hand. You flit your eyes up to search his as he spun and nudged his legs toward you, his swords now all clasped in his hands. You widened your eyes in shock as he began to sweep his blades at your feet, prompting you to flee from his advance towards the ocean away from him.

You jumped a little as your toes were met with the cool salted water, prompting you to lose your concentration slightly at the shock. You felt the blunt end of a blade snap itself against your dominant hand as a small reprimand at your action, bringing your sights away from the waves and back to the swordsman in front of you. He continued to trail you in a circle, lowering his body towards the ground as a predator would stalk its prey.

“See,” you said, flicking your sword down at your feet while circling your body away from the water, “I’m absolutely no match for you with blades.”

Stopping his relentless pursuit, he drew his body closer to you and swept his three blades off to the side.

“And I am no dancer,” he smirked before falling the small twinge of a smile from his lips.

You shook your head at him, a small smile pulling at your lips at the interaction. You continued to hold the distance between the pierced swordsman and yourself, raising the tip of your blade at him to halt his advance. He trailed his gaze, holding firm to your every movement in preparation for an oncoming attack.

“You can topple marine bases, slay enemy pirates, collect high bounties with ease,” you taunted him, narrowing your eyes as you gestured to his body with the tip of your steel, “but you cannot handle partnering a woman in dance?”

He growled in response, his eyes narrowing at your taunt; “if you want to be swept off your feet with crude gyrating and twirls, go back to the blonde chef you like so much.”

You dropped your smirk, widening your eyes at his comment and flourished your blade off to the side in a sweeping motion.

“Is that what you would like, Zoro?” you asked him, reducing your voice to little above a whisper, “to have me thrust into the arms of another?”

Zoro’s jaw tightened behind his lips, his teeth clenched firmly at the accusation. He offered no verbal response, prompting your brows to twinge a little in sorrow. You shook your head and flourished your cutlass, placing it back into your scabbard in a swift movement.

“So be it,” you said with a curt nod, bowing in a deep curtsey to the swordsman, “thank you for the invitation to cross my steel with yours, but I fear our little spar draws to an abrupt close.”

“We’re not done yet,” he uttered darkly, approaching you in a slow prowl.

You rose from your curtsey, a small smile pulling at your lips as your eyes met once more; “I will go and seek out someone else to join in crude gyrating to the music performed at the fire side-.”

Your words caught in your throat as the swordsman retracted his blades within his scabbards, closing the distance between your bodies in a swift motion and towering his body over yours. He stooped his body towards you, his face being a whisper away from colliding with your own. Your breath hitched in your throat at his proximity, feeling a heat pool over and rise within your chest and flood your cheeks with a rosy tinge.

“I said-,” he tilted his head while whispering intimately close to your lips, “-we’re not done yet.”

A shudder broke through your shoulders, a small whimper falling at his tone escaping from between your parted lips. He reached his hand up to brush some fallen strands of your hair behind your ear, you leant your body in to his touch with closed eyes. Trailing his fingertips down, he clasped your chin to firmly prompt you to reopen your eyes to look up at him through your eyelashes; his own brown orbs half-lidded as they bore down on you with intensity.

Flittering your gaze between his eyes, you arched your back up to him; no longer cowering away from his touch but embracing it.

“You no longer desire me to return to Sanji-?” you asked him in a breath under a whisper, trailing your gaze to stare at his lips.

“-I desire you,” he uttered in a low tone, bringing his lips to graze along your jaw alongside his fingertips. Your eyes fluttered closed as the brush of his lips trailed upwards towards your ear, breath hitching as you felt his mouth press down tenderly at your jaw.

You brought your hands up to circle around his neck and toy with the hair at the nape of his neck, your fingertips brushing against the long gold-drooped earrings hanging from his left earlobe.

“You desire me enough to dance with me by the fire?” you gasped as he increased the amount of pressure against your neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses back up towards your chin and the corner of your lip. You felt him smirk against the corner of your mouth before he broke away from his subtle trail.

He pressed his forehead against your own, closing his eyes as he whispered his response; “no.”

Your shoulders immediately dropped, your arms releasing the swordsman from your grasp. You broke from his embrace and stepped away from his close proximity.

“You toy with my feelings, swordsman-,” you began, only to have your words be halted by Zoro.

“-I don’t know how to dance,” he chuckled, shaking his head while trailing his left hand to rest behind his neck, “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Shock overcame you, your gaze trailing the open shirt of the swordsman down to his thighs and calves before bringing them back up to his torso and flittered down to his forearms.

“Let me show you how,” you uttered hastily, bringing your body back within its earlier intimate proximity; holding out your hand as an invitation for him to grasp it, “just take my hand.”

He turned his gaze down to the ground, muttering below his breath; “what am I doing?” before he reached out his left hand to clasp around your right, allowing you to pull him into a closer proximity.

“I am your sword,” you informed him, placing his hand to the small of your back, “and you are my master.”

Zoro released a small growl at the words you uttered, truly relishing in his title you bestowed him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself now, Swordsman,” you warned him playfully, placing your hands upon his shoulders with a small giggle. His grip settled on your waistline, smoothing his arms and hands over your hips.

Off in the distance by the side of the large bonfire, small plucked strings of the guitar trailed its way to melodically converge against the crashing of the waves to create a sweet harmony within each other. Both worlds began to collide; the ferocity of sword wielding against the subtlety of a gentle sway of your hips.

“Now,” you said, rolling your neck up to gaze into his half-lidded eyes as he held your attention, “wield me. Tell me with your body what you want me to do, and I’ll follow you anywhere.”

[fahye]

book recs sept/oct 2023

THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER by simon jiminez -- I have no idea how to describe this. best book I've read in a year. absolutely gutting and beautiful and intricately put-together fantasy about two young men escorting an escaped god-empress on a pilgrimage to bring down an empire. but actually it's so much more intimate than that. please please please read this book, it deserves the world. yes it's gay.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO by jessica dettmann -- an aussie romcom tailored specifically to me, someone who imprinted on the kenneth branagh much ado about nothing movie. very meta and genre aware, lively and touching, a heap of fun.

LOOKING GLASS SOUND by catriona ward -- also very meta! it's uhhh about a bisexual disaster teen's coming-of-age summer, and also about the decades-later fight over who gets to control the narrative of that summer. and hauntings. and serial killers. every single one of ward's books is its own unique thing and a wonder to behold.

THE NOBLEMAN'S GUIDE TO SEDUCING A SCOUNDREL by kj charles -- if i haven't made you read any kjc books by now then what are we doing here. I don't know how she keeps getting better and better and better. this one is another slippery liar/stubbornly goodhearted but bad-tempered lord pairing. I adored every word.

NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS by jodi mcalister (ARC) -- 3rd book in her series set on a bachelor-like tv show, and my hands-down favourite. friends to lovers but also make it schemer 4 schemer!! I would die for this ruthless tv villain and her sleep deprived gremlin producer and their intense, searing, incredible romance entirely free of conventional moral compasses.

THE HOLLOW PLACES by t. kingfisher -- how are her books both so hilarious and so wildly, skin-crawlingly unsettling?? I think it's because of how relatable the protagonist is. I would react EXACTLY like kara if I found an eerie alternate dimension nexus made of willow trees in the walls of my uncle's weird museum. superb and very readable horror.

THE GILDED CROWN by marianne gordon (ARC) -- fantasy with a sapphic romance between a death-witch and the assassinated princess she was hired to raise from the dead. yes you're right that DOES sound amazing. the writing is assured and smooth and propulsive; if you like stories with a heightened mythic/fairytale feel, you'll love this.

[artificial-absinthe]

These are my pieces for the tf big bang. I was paired with the talented @vsphelix , who wrote this absolutely fascinating story, worthy of the best sci fi genre and as complex and solid that would make for an admirable script. You cannot die without reading it!

Even in the relationship is not your glass of wine, don't let that dissuade you, it's only implied, distant and platonic *

(more pages and link to the writing below the cut)

Last to Follow (3011 words) by ARTificial_Absinthe, vsphelix

Chapters: 1/5

Fandom: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Megatron/Soundwave (Transformers)

Characters: Soundwave (Transformers), Tarn (Transformers), Megatron (Transformers), Decepticon Justice Division, Ravage (Transformers), Laserbeak (Transformers), Minicons (Transformers)

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Post-Cybertronian Civil War, Post-Predacons Rising (Prime Movie), RID2015 never happened, Fugitives, Major Illness, Flashbacks, Ideology, Illustrations

Summary:

The war is over. The Decepticons are no more. Megatron has fallen mortally ill, and the jaws of Autobot retribution are closing in.

Soundwave will never abandon his leader.

Tarn rejects the dissolution of his Cause.

When their paths intersect, Soundwave clashes with the DJD in the ultimate test of loyalty.

A last page of the prompt comic and additional art will be added in the following days with each superb chapter.

You'll have to have an ao3 account, since the work had to be locked due to scraping.

[ariadne-mouse]

Thrilled that Madam Cordelia Glask got her turn in the spotlight this last episode of Candela Obscura: Circle of Tide and Bone! The moment she connected with the young girl so similar to her past self was very emotional and Gina's acting was superb, and I felt compelled to capture it all somehow. Gina's pose was giving me holy saint vibes especially with her halo-like hair ornament and the sea glass pendant she had wrapped up in her hands, and so that's what I went with. Sometimes, your past hardships mean you're able to help someone else in the future.

A close-up and the screenshot I used for reference below the cut.

Reference:

[whencyclopedia]

20 Frescoes from Pompeii

In this gallery, we present 20 of the most striking frescoes found in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in Italy. These frescoes were once buried under a thick carpet of volcanic ash from the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE. Year after year, archaeologists continue to find such artistic treasures that never cease to fill us with wonder.

You can admire most of these superb frescoes at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Roman wall paintings were created using a painstaking build up of various layers of material... First, a rough coat of mortar is applied to the surface, sometimes three layers thick and composed of lime and sand (or volcanic pozzolana). Next, a further three coats were added, this time using a mixture of lime and fine crushed marble to give a smoother finish and then glass, marble and cloth were used to polish the surface and prepare it for painting. Colours were added when the surface was still wet (fresco) but details might also be added to a dried surface (tempera).

Continue reading...