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A little something for @karinamay , who just finished her Crows on Ice series ;)

Go read it if you haven't!

Bonus hair up version under the cut

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Between the Lines - Never

Mind the rating, this is the spicy one ;-) (I said I would do A Smut, so I did!)

Snippet:

When he rose to put the dishes in the sink, she followed, linking her arms around his neck as soon as both their hands were free.

“I mean it, Lucanis. You’re really not nearly as bad at this as you think,” she said softly, before leaning in to kiss him. His arms went around her almost automatically as he returned her kiss, enjoying the sensation of her warmth, gentle curves melting into his hard edges. Her touch made him feel welcome, wanted. Home.

“Did you just get up to kiss me?” he breathed, words ghosting over her lips.

“Maybe”, she said, her smile more felt than seen.

And just like that, it sunk in that they were alone, that they really did have time to themselves now. None of their companions had been in his apartment before; no one was going to disturb them. The realization quickened his pulse and tightened his arms around her, soft kisses turning heated, hungry.

He felt her breath hitch when he gently pulled her lower lip between his teeth, flicked his tongue over the edge of her mouth, kissed his way down her throat. Her warm breath tickled his ear as she pressed herself closer, hands clutching at his back.

“I swear I’m not drunk this time,” he mumbled against her skin, noting the frantic flutter of her pulse under his lips.

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Reblog for the evening crowd

Good morning! Have a stretch.

Let's call it a sneak-peek at next week's chapter ;)

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New chapter up! In which Rook and Lace made it safely down the mountain when they stumble into a curious bit of magic.

Snippet:

The smooth stone path merged into a gravel path cutting through a quaint little valley, filled with a few gnarly apple trees, a flowery meadow, and a tall tower that looked as if it had sprung straight out of a story book.

Rook was grinning from ear to ear. "If that is not a witches tower, I’m going to eat my own boots.” Lace blinked, trying to shake off the sense of wrongness that still tugged at her senses, telling her to leave. "What, not mine?" "I'm guessing you want to keep yours." That earned her a snort. “So what makes you think that thing belongs to a witch?” “Just look at it! Slightly crooked, wider at the top, covered in ivy and hidden in a secret valley behind a fake wall next to a waterfall? I may not be an expert in magic, but even I can see that there’s something afoot here. I bet there’s a princess locked up at the top of the tower.”

Lace scowled at her friend, wondering if there had been something in the water to make her hallucinate. “Maybe whoever lives here just likes their privacy, and it would be really horribly disrespectful to disturb them.” “But wouldn’t it be terribly inconsiderate not to at least check if there’s a poor soul held captive in that tower?” “If that tower actually does belong to a witch, then whatever princess is waiting up at the top is probably holding out for a brave knight or something. You know, someone who would know how to deal with an evil witch? All we can do is disappoint her and get ourselves killed.” “You’re far too fatalistic for someone your age, you know,” Rook teased. “Come on, we can at least knock and ask for directions.” “Knock where? I don’t even see a door!”

Rook shrugged. “It’s a round tower. Maybe the door is just on the other side of it.”

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Good morning! Have a stretch.

Let's call it a sneak-peek at next week's chapter ;)

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WIP Thursday

Thank you for the tag, @jenn2d2 :)

Because I'm not happy yet with the bit I just wrote for chapter 15 (yes) for the fairytale AU, you get a glimpse at Ceres moving in with Lucanis.

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“Is this ok?” “Yes. It’s your place too, now; I want you to make it yours.” His breath tickled her skin, lips far too close to her ear, voice rumbling through her back. “Mh-hm.” He was quiet for a moment. “This … doesn’t feel real yet, not really, but seeing your things on the shelves helps.” “I’m here.” “I know.”

His voice was barely above a whisper as he bent down to place a gentle kiss on her shoulder. Then another, at the base of her neck, and another, and another, kissing his way up to the spot just beneath her ear, and she shivered, tightening her grip on his arms. “You’re here.” Her breath caught when lips barely brushed the rim of her ear, warmth pooling at her core. “I can make it feel more real,” she murmured as she turned in his arms, tilting her head to capture his lips in a kiss while her hands found his neck, pulling him closer. His contented hum resonated through her throat as she felt him smile against her lips and his hands found her waist, tugging her with him as he began to move backwards, picking his way toward the bedroom without the need to see. Other needs were far more important now.

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Tagging people always makes me feel a little self-conscious, but have at it, @sageadvice, @kabsey and @dread-red-queen <3

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Words with Friends - June 16

Thank you for the tag, @kabsey ! And thank you for the word, @officialnostradamus, and the game, @hedwigoprah!

Rules: Use the challenge word to write a sentence or scene and then tag a few friends.

This week's word is: Assiduously

Showing great care, attention, and effort; marked by careful unremitting  attention or persistent application; constantly, ceaselessly.

No-pressure tags: @karinamay , @dreamywritingdragon , @himluv

———

„No Rook today?" Neve regarded him curiously as he stepped through her door. His note had said that he needed her help to locate a vendor for bespelled jewelery.

"No. The point of this whole endeavour is to surprise her." Lucanis had done his best to dress inconspicuously, but even without his ostentatious Crow leathers, the impeccable tailoring of his coat would stand out in the alleys of Dock Town.

Fortunately, the people of Dock Town usually didn't give a rat's ass about the origin of people meaning to leave coin in their pockets.

"Hmm … looking for a ring?" she needled, watching a faint blush creeping up his tanned skin.

"No, that won't be necessary." His eyes flickered to the side as hers narrowed, then widened.

"You already have one, don't you?"

A small smile played around the corner of his mouth, even as he ducked his head. "Perhaps."

"Sneaky," she smirked. "So what are we looking for, if not for a way to propose to your love?"

"I am looking for a pair of sending earrings. For Satinalia," he explained.

Neve nodded thoughfully. "I think I might have someone. You still get antsy when you're apart for more than a few hours, don't you?"

He grimaced, crossing his arms. "I know it's silly, and it's been months, but after her stint in Solas' Fade prison … It's not that I need to know where she is at all times, I just thought it would be nice if we could still talk."

"No, I get it. And I know she worries when you're out on a job without her, too."

She fell quiet for a moment, taking the time to really look at him. There were still circles under his eyes, but they were no comparison to the dark canyons that had graced his face while they were still hunting the gods. He'd put on a little weight, too, something he'd never properly managed when they had spent their days running all over Thedas. Being First Talon seemed to suit him, despite his misgivings - or maybe it was just living with Rook.

It felt good to see her friends doing well.

"I think she'll like it," she added with a smile. "Come on, we don't want to wait for my contact to close up for today. And maybe we can stop by Hal's on the way back - your treat."

He laughed. "It would be my pleasure."

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Between the Lines - new chapter up!

This is the drunken make-out chapter I've been promising ;)

Snippet:

She took a sip from her cup, because she had to do something with her lips other than throwing herself at him when he was clearly inebriated, humming happily at the taste. “You don’t drink much, do you?” he asked, somewhat abruptly. She had nursed that one glass of wine for quite a long time; shouldn’t be surprised that he’d noticed.

“Getting drunk isn’t the smartest idea when you can shoot lightning from your fingertips,” she smirked. “The last time I did, I accidentally set fire to a curtain.”

He blinked, and she really hoped he wasn’t reconsidering the merits of dating a mage.

“I guess it’s a good thing you’re careful then,” he remarked ruefully.

“With some things, at least,” she said with a wink, before putting her cup down.

He kept looking at her, dark brown eyes flickering down every so often, and she really wished he would kiss her. Nothing was stopping her from closing the distance, of course; but they had been taking it slow, and he was drunk, and she didn’t want to take advantage.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to share those qualms.

He leaned over, almost lurching, turning just enough to face her properly, and caught her lips in a kiss while his hand rose to cup her face. He was always so careful with her, calloused fingertips lightly brushing over her skin.

She sighed happily against his mouth, shifting to meet him, knees brushing against his thighs, and curled her hand into the hair at the nape of his neck. She really liked kissing him; it had taken them long enough to cross that bridge, but now that they had, she couldn’t get enough of it.

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Reblog because I can.

The art gods are demanding tribute before they will let me write again.

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The art gods are demanding tribute before they will let me write again.

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Screenshot redraw! Because I wanted to draw something, but wasn't feeling inspired.

Artistically boring, but very satisfying on a technical level, and I always learn something.

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/65843734/chapters/171652564

Welcome to chapter 4, Prisoner, in which we learn what Lucanis has been up to while Rook was traveling and playing goose maid.

Snippet:

Today marked the 367th day of his captivity; a little over a year spent imprisoned in the witch's tower, with no means of escape. 

Not that he would know quite what to do with himself if he did manage to get out; they had spent months looking for a cure, trying every tincture Viago could think of and enticing every renowned healer, alchemist and mage within a hundred miles to visit the castle, to no avail. 

There was no cure to his curse, except for one that was utterly beyond his reach. And he was not going to stoop to kissing every queen-hopeful to wander across his doorstep; the mere idea was both distasteful and pointless.

He never should have killed that dragon.

The face staring back at him when he walked over to the magically refilling basin became less recognizable each day, unkempt hair and fuzzy beard making him look like a vagabond well beyond his years.

Easier to break the reflection than ponder its shape.

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Re-blogging for the evening crowd 😉

Little quicky of domestic bliss because I needed something soft.

Edit: Sorry for the double post folks. Tumblr noped out the first time I tried to post this, and then apparently remembered my first attempt 6h later 🙃

Someone tell me how I make tumblr stop compressing my art so much, I'm already being careful with the file size >_<

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Little quicky of domestic bliss because I needed something soft.

Edit: Sorry for the double post folks. Tumblr noped out the first time I tried to post this, and then apparently remembered my first attempt 6h later 🙃

Someone tell me how I make tumblr stop compressing my art so much, I'm already being careful with the file size >_<

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Renoir and his Axons

Thinking again about how Renoir depicted his loved ones, and how he is so focused on finding meaning to infuse his art that he forgets to see what is there vs. what he wants to see. (All personal interpretation, of course.)

He wants Alicia to reach for the starts, ignoring that she has terrible vertigo, focusing more on his idea of her than on the person she was/is.

He portraits Aline as this gracefol dancer who 'paints with wonder', showing everyone the thing they love most, ignoring that she chose to isolate herself in her dead son's canvas to play house with a make-belief family while ignoring her very real, very much also grieving family.

He paints Verso as this mysterious figure always hiding behind maska, never showing his true emotions, when showing his true emotions is probably something that Verso was discouraged from doing by his parents. (He wasn't the kind of artist they wanted him to be, favouring music over painting, probably preferring the friends he painted for himself over people from the real world when he was little.)

He made Clea carry the world on her shoulders, because she was the eldest and that was her role, one she fulfilled dutifully even after her parents disappeared into the canvas in the aftermath of Verso's death, leaving her to deal with the fallout. Little Clea liked to have adventures inside the canvas and sing to a talking rock; did she ever ask to be made to shoulder all that burden?

He loves them all, but does he really see them?

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Between the Lines - New Chapter!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66424822

Kiss is here to expand on A Moment's Peace, because cutting the scene at that awkward standing around moment was a crime. Lucanis can do better than that.

Snippet:

Silence descended upon them once more, the thoughtful kind, like a cool breezy ruffling their musings. Rook found herself watching the dancers in the far corner of the courtyard, spinning in circles and tapping their feet to a lively melody. There were no choreographed steps there, no particular order to their movements, nothing like the courtly dances she had watched time and again while she was still working for Dorian. It looked fun though, happiness expressed in motion, and she wondered what that felt like. Lucanis must have noticed the direction of her focus, for he rose in one fluid move before turning around to face her, extending his hand with a flourish and a gallant bow. “May I have this dance?”, he asked with an impish smile, and she found herself smiling back as she let him pull her to her feet and over to the troupe of dancers. His hand was steady on her waist, leading her through the first stumbling steps before they found their rhythm, letting the music guide their movements. She laughed as he twirled her around, heart thumping when he pulled her close, his grip on her hand never faltering. And just for a little while, she forgot about the gods, the impending end of the world, and the need to be the valiant leader. Just for a little while, she was just Ceres, enjoying Lucanis’ full attention, eyes glued to her face and hands holding her close. As the evening wore on, the music eventually slowed, inviting the remaining dancers to move closer, lively steps transforming into softly swaying hips, and Ceres found herself leaning against Lucanis chest, his breath ghosting over her ear to make her shiver, warmth from more than dancing spreading through her chest. By the time the music stopped, they were barely moving at all, his hand on the small of her back and hers between his shoulder blades, gently swaying from one foot to the other as they tried to leave no air between their bodies. She didn’t want their dance to end.

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Had this one on my WIP folder for ages and decided to finally finish it after all. Click on it to make it less horribly pixelated ^^°

I still hate his armor. I need to find more excuses to draw him shirtless.