Look on my works, ye mighty

i guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. but your kids are gonna love it.

this staged affection, a mix of theatricality and intimacy, the couple holding still for a couple of moments and now immortalised in a very set sequence of embraces and kisses. there is a charm to it even when I can’t tell whether this was a genuine couple portait or just actors hired by the photographer.

let us start with the kiss on the cheek (eyes averted! oh the pose! these were taken between 1910-1940)

or the nearly opposite energy (how daring!) of the kiss or caress with direct eye contact (1910-1930)

and then the innocent – yet so flirty – classic of the park encounter! (1890-1920)

and oh, I am not done, look at this – the adoration of the woman! look at this expression, this pose, this decorum! (1910-1940)

and then some of my favourites from the more playful or direct category, enjoy (1910-1930):

And there was this one guy I talked with who seemed super sharp, but had virtually zero experience writing software. When it came time to do the show-n-tell part of the interview he whips out his laptop, brings up a website, and spins it around to show me what he made.

A website of tiny ceramic frogs.

Not for sale. Just… all these ceramic frogs, organized into categories. Frogs on bicycles, frogs with hats, frogs sitting on lily pads. It was a virtual museum of ceramic frogs in web form.

I scrolled through his online collection of frogs, slightly baffled.

“This is your website?” I asked finally.

“Yep!”

“You coded this yourself?” I popped into view-source mode and poked around some incredibly well-formatted, well-commented html. I nodded slowly. This guy was meticulous.

“Yep!”

“So… where’d all the frogs come from?”

“I made those too,” he says, beaming. 

And while I’m processing this he rummages in his bag and pulls out a little ceramic frog working at a computer terminal. He places it on the table before us, next to the laptop.

“And THIS one,” he says, “I made for you! As a thank you for the interview.”

It was adorable. I hired him on the spot. I mean, why not? Worst case he’d wash out in 90 days and we’d hire somebody else. He turned out to be one of the best developers on our team. 

Tagged by the lovely @hellfre - thank you!!!

(I skipped my compilations and just listed full fics in this selection)

An Offering to Krakoa

Today is Charles’ wedding day.

What’s A Little Sex Between Friends

Erik’s been nursing the same glass of wine for the past twenty minutes, absently rolling the crystal stem between his palms and studiously avoiding the elephant in the room.

Stolen Treasure

Their plan had been meticulously mapped out for weeks before the arrival of the Spring Ball, where all of Westchester’s elite would be congregating at the Summers House for an evening with their peers.

A Surprise Visit

It’s been almost a month since his arrival here in Genosha, and Charles doesn’t know if he’ll ever get used to it; the litany of warm sunny days rolling into endless, balmy nights.

Peace Is Finally An Option

The aftermath at least is a familiar thing, as Charles wades through the wreckage that’s left behind, the task falling on his shoulders once again to deal with the humans and get his people home.

The Definition of Insanity

The definition of insanity, Charles thinks, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

“There is a sex scene in the movie and doing that with the female director is completely different…Lisa [Joy] said: “I watched every single sex scene that has ever been done in the Hollywood, literally every one in 100 years, and I cant see one where I could  actually imagine a woman having an orgasm. Every position, it’s not working. So, that’s my goal». I don’t want to spoil the scene, but here you go.” - Hugh Jackman on shooting a sex scene in “Reminiscence”.

1920s, A/O AU, Cherik, Erik/Shaw, Erik/Winston Frost

Former jazz club singer/piano player (and omega) Erik Lehnsherr is married to wealthy alpha tycoon Winston Frost, much to the chagrin of Winston’s grown daughter and heir. Emma thinks Erik married her father solely for his money (he did, though Winston clearly knows and doesn’t care, because he likes the company and having a pretty young omega on his arm) and isn’t worthy of the Frost name. For his part, Erik mostly just stays out of Emma’s way, content to enjoy the luxuries available to him now after a lifetime of poverty. And because Winston is both loose with his purse strings and busy running his business empire, Erik has a lot of money and free time to do as he pleases. This includes occasionally (and very discreetly) taking a lover on the side, which Winston turns a blind eye to since Erik’s dalliances are only ever fleeting at best.

That changes when he meets Charles Xavier.

Scion of the Xavier fortune and old friends with Emma, Charles is young (younger than Erik), witty and devastatingly handsome. He’s also an incorrigible flirt and notorious for being a heartbreaker, warming the beds of omegas of all ages, single and married. And even though he knows better than to get swept up by the irrepressible playboy, Erik gives in to Charles’ blatant and persistent seduction, and sleeps with him multiple times - first at parties and social events, and then in clandestine meetings at Xavier’s apartment in the city. Erik finds himself feeling something real for Charles and even imagines leaving Winston to be with him, only to find out that Charles has plans to head to Oxford to pursue a doctorate degree. This leads to an argument that takes an ugly turn, with Erik accusing Charles of misleading/lying to him in order to get him into bed. Charles doesn’t really understand why Erik is so angry, and points to the fact that Charles is just one in a series of lovers he’s taken since he got married, and why did it matter if they were bound to end eventually? Hurt and humiliated by the reply (because he’s clearly misread Charles completely, even as he realizes that he’s gone and fallen in love), Erik storms out and vows never to lay eyes on Charles Xavier again.

Then, two things happen in rapid succession, only weeks after Charles leaves for England.

First - Winston dies unexpectedly of a heart attack, leaving the bulk of his fortune to Emma and a small but generous sum to Erik that allows him to live independently for the rest of his days.

Second - Erik finds out that he’s pregnant, and that Emma knows exactly who the father is, since she’s been having him followed since he married into the family.

She’s not particularly angry about Erik’s infidelity (and she might even understand how/why it happened, given how well she knows Charles) but she is NOT going to let him claim the baby as Winston’s since she has no interest in sharing her inheritance. She threatens him with a blood test to prove that Winston isn’t the father, and to take away the money her father left to Erik if he doesn’t comply with her wishes - which is to leave quietly and then claim another alpha as the baby’s father (with the lie that the baby was conceived after Winston’s death, to preserve the Frosts’ reputation). She even offers to contact Charles and let him know about Erik’s pregnancy, but Erik is too angry and too proud (and too afraid of being rejected) to agree. He ends up going to an ex-lover for help, and is relieved when the alpha consents to being named the baby’s father, as long as Erik agrees to be with him again (and maybe eventually marry him).

—-

Five years later, Charles returns to New York with his degree, older, wiser and with a better understanding of his true feelings for Erik. Of course things have changed a lot since he’s been away, and Charles is shocked to discover that Erik is now parent to a four year old son named David, and that he’s the live-in lover of crime lord Sebastian Shaw…

The Questing Beast was said to have a head and neck of a snake (long neck), body of leopard (coat pattern), hind legs of a lion (tufted tail) and feet of a deer (”hooves:).

*music starts back up*

Here you go Anon! I hope you enjoy these XMA related fics :D

(There are probably a lot of Dadneto centric fics that didn't make it on this list - you should be able to find lots on Ao3 using the filters!)

On Ao3:

Windows Without Glass by Yahtzee

Let Yourself Fall Ill by valancysnaith

take two by goodmorningbeloved (3799steps)

Regrets by Unforgotten

If he wanted you, he'd ask for you by TurtleTotem

Come Back Again by Unforgotten

Heartbeat (Leave It for Another Night Remix) by bocje_ce_ustu

Uncover by lavenderlotion

Years, and linger by RageSeptember

Post-XMA by TurtleTotem

On Tumblr:

as it arcs towards the sun by @pearlo

night by night by @pearlo

things worth fearing by @pearlo

Drunk kiss by @turtletotem

Mistakes by @turtletotem

Ficlets by @ikeracity here and here

XMA Ficlet: Erik by @lachatblanche

XMA Ficlet: Raven by @lachatblanche

XMA fics by yours truly:

third time's the charm by Gerec

Denial (Regrets Remix) by Gerec

The Cottage by Gerec

and at the end of EVERY episode he says “okay, i’ve helped you; now will you please tell me where to find [insert quest of the season here]”

and every time the rando who he will now die for says “well actually……i don’t know where it is……but i know a guy who does!”

and every. fucking. episode. din just sighs, looks at the ground, looks at the sky, looks at the kid, then turns around and walks back to his ship, his clown shoes honking sadly the whole way, because this motherfucker knows it’s going to happen again and he also knows he has no choice but to help every sad little stiff he comes across and every single one is playing him for a fool and adopting him against his will into this giant found family that is slowly spreading from planet to planet and consuming the entire galaxy like an amoeba of friendship.

I started this fantasy au for @lachatblanche ‘s prompt for Rare Pairs Fest 2020 but didn’t finish it on time, and sadly it’s been languishing in my WIPs since. The basic premise is that Charles rescues and takes 8 year old Jean in after her village tries to burn her at the stake, and as she grows older (and she becomes increasingly more powerful with her Gift) her feelings for him also become more and more possessive. She’s jealous of Charles’ love for his sister Raven (who Jean doesn’t feel is worthy of his devotion, given the way she throws his kindness in his face) and for his lover Erik (who disagrees with Charles constantly and undermines his authority with their tribe). After a particularly vicious argument (where Raven sides with Erik against him), Charles is despondent, and breaks down a bit in front of Jean over his greatest fear - that Erik will leave and take Raven with him. Jean takes this information in and mulls it over, and decides she’s going to read Erik and Raven’s minds to see if there’s any truth to his fears. As it turns out, Raven is thinking of leaving, and she has her own issues with jealousy as she wants to be with Erik and think they’re a better fit together than him and Charles. And Jean finds that while Erik is devoted to Charles, he also questions Charles’ leadership of their tribe, and thinks there might be a time when he’ll be forced to go against him for the good of their people. That basically is more than enough for Jean to decide that she needs to get rid of these untrustworthy people from Charles side, but in such a way that he’ll turn from them forever. So she plants a suggestion into Raven’s mind to seduce Erik, making her believe it’s her own idea, and then gently nudges Erik into accepting Raven without question. This happens a few times until Raven is pregnant, and then of course the cat is out of the bag. Charles is too hurt to think rationally and only too willing to believe the worst, and Erik and Raven are too proud and too guilty to beg for forgiveness, and all the while Jean is subtly manipulating their emotions with her powers until Charles banishes Erik and Raven for good...