#holoxam

[dainesanddaffodils]

trick or treat :3

hiiiii :D

you get... peanut butter m&ms!!

Happy Halloween!!

[queercore-curriculum]

Love in a Time of Hardship: An Anthology of Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde Fanfiction

Binding, cover design, and layout by me. Bound with hand-dyed variegated linen thread using a variation on a long stitch binding I designed myself. Here’s what’s inside:

At Your Convenience by @holoxam​​

A really lovely, intimate post-campaign fic in which Zolf and Wilde are in a QPR and don’t need to talk about it, thank you very much. I love this fic, it’s such a wonderful little slice of life and captures their dynamic so perfectly.

Would You Cast Me to the Wayside by lily_rainn

An incredibly thoughtful and humane depiction of Zolf and Wilde negotiating the beginning of their relationship. Neither of them have the vocabulary to fully understand what’s happening, but they’re trying so hard because they care so much about each other, and it’s just great.

The most dangerous thing is to love by @makesometime 

An ancient Greek gods AU that’s just unbelievably good. makesometime seamlessly weaves Greek mythology into the RQG world all while not just maintaining perfect characterization, but actually elevating these characters to match the beautiful world she created. 

Wake up by @makesometime​​

Zolf waiting for Wilde to wake up post-ep.177. This was the first RQG fic I ever read, and it’s very, very special to me. Zolf is so painfully tender and anxious, and it makes my heart ache every time.

Inevitable by Miri1984 / @icescrabblerjerky 

“Post 177 Zolf and Wilde have sex and feelings,” really the most succinct way of putting it. Such an intense distillation of all my feelings about Zoscar!

What We Worship by Miri1984 / @icescrabblerjerky​​

AU where Wilde dies in the airship crash and doesn’t get better. Really wonderful worldbuilding for the RQG-universe afterlife, and so beautifully written and poignant.  

The Right Questions by @newsbypostcard

Just two complicated and emotionally-repressed dudes negotiating their relationship after one of them rescues the other from death. Fuck, the characterization in this fic is so good. A prime example of why fic is so often better than canon. 

Small Intimacies by @newsbypostcard​​

Zolf and Wilde go to bed and have a conversation. That’s it, that’s the fic, and it’s the single greatest “mortifying ordeal of being known” fic I have ever read. It's the kind of story I dream about finding, one that teaches me more about characters I love and illustrates exactly why they mean so much to me. A perfect fic, easily one of my favorite fics of all time.

Until We Meet Again by @queercore-curriculum​

Zolf and Wilde cross paths after Zolf leaves Prague and while Wilde is still on the run from La Gourmand. Eh, I feel weird reccing my own fic, but I’m pretty proud of this one, actually.

Warm and Dry by @queercore-curriculum​

Caf​é AU where baker!Zolf teaches writer!Wilde how to bake bread. I had a lot of fun writing this, and if I can get my shit together I’ll finish writing the extended version, Coriander.

find your feet by @starstrung​

Zolf and Wilde hide their relationship from Earhart aboard the Vengeance. I. LOVE. THIS. FIC. starstrung writes one of my all-time favorite Wildes, and this is an absolute delight to read. Zolf and Wilde often live in dark, angsty places, but this is just so joyful and fun and hot while still staying so true to character. I promise this fic will make your day brighter.

love is a sacrament by @starstrung​

An 18-month time gap fic that’s just fucking perfect. Feat. an extra guarded Wilde (again, one of my all-time favorites) and an extra tender Zolf, and it’s so, so, so wonderful. 

Woven Up by tuesdaycoming

A deep dive into Zolf’s backstory and his layers upon layers of grief. This fic just blew me away, brilliant worldbuilding and an absolute masterclass in showing-not-telling. 

Absolutely Unlike Harrison Campbell by ZaliaChimera / @zalia​

Zolf is bored and propositions Wilde to pass the time. This fic is very hot, but I also found it incredibly moving. ZaliaChimera takes a really unflinching look at these two very emotionally-repressed dudes that don’t particularly like one another and shows a different kind of intimacy than we often see in fic, one that’s a little rough around the edges and brutally honest. 

Look, I may need to make a second Zoscar anthology, and another anthology of RQG mixed-bag ships--the RQG fandom is just so fucking talented. If you have any recs of your own, please send them my way!

More pics below the cut!

My Rusty Quill ficbinding shelf :D

[phenomenice]

This is also for @holoxam for the @pilesofnonsense Rusty Quill Winter Exchange! Creator reveals were today so I wanted to post it here -- I cannot resist a good Zolf-Cleric-of-Sasha concept so ... HAD to do it. 😭😭😭

[Image ID: A digital drawing of Zolf Smith (left) and Sasha Racket (right). Zolf is a dwarf with a braided beard and a scar on his temple. He has short hair and holds his glaive in front of him, about to smite a monster (as seen in RQG 208). Sasha is an older woman in Roman dress, with her hand on Zolf's shoulder. /end ID]

[strangeandworthit]

I was delighted this year to be able to participate in the Rusty Quill Big Bang creating art for @makesometime​ (Ao3) & Jomipay (@halfofmysoulistrees​, Ao3) with my co-artist @holoxam​ (Ao3). The absolutely brilliant fic can be found here: A Safe Place to Land

It’s been so much fun and here's a SFW preview of my work, the rest (which includes NSFW work) can be found (along with Holo’s) here: [Art] A Safe Place to Land

With thanks to @pilesofnonsense​ for making it all happen!

Description below the cut

Image 1: [Acrylic painting of Oscar and Zolf sat opposite each other on a red and white checkered picnic blanket. Oscar sits with one leg up, bracing his hand on the floor to lean in to bite a strawberry held in Zolf's outstretched hand. Zolf braces on Oscar's lower leg, his own legs tucked up underneath him. Oscar is wearing a hot pink shirt with tiny pineapples, a straw boater and cream linen trousers. Zolf wears blue shorts and a black t-shirt, he has extensive tattoos on his arms. In the background is a red brick building with a colonade running along the left hand side. There is grass between the blanket and the building. In the foreground sits a small punnet of strawberries and a plate]

Image 2: [A pencil sketch of Zolf Smith lying on his side asleep. One hand is tucked under his head, the other grips his pillow loosely. His arms are heavily tattoed.]

[dwarven-beard-spores]

RQG asks 1 and 2! ❤️

HELLO FRIENDE

1. What is that one moment from the show that you will find yourself thinking back to, intermittently, for years to come?

Two answers are in a previous answer, but I will give you some more:

EPISODE 103 WHERE EVERYONE BUT HAMID JUMPS OUT A CARRIAGE FOR NO REASON!!!!

Also? The super awkward scene where Zolf needs to check Cel for blue veins and I feel like the cast and the characters all handle it really well and really genuinely and idk I think about it a lot.

2. What has been your favourite relationship to see (well, hear) develop?

it's still cheating to say ben's characters and lydia's characters

I'm gonna say here, Zolf and Sasha, because, I mean, they've got such a lovely awkward start, looking out for each other, and then it becomes such a good friendship and then they split apart... but the thing is, the thing that is great, is that Sasha is still SO MUCH A PART OF THE STORY even now she's gone, you can feel her presence so much in so much of Zolf. Anyway. I have feelings.

[makesometime]

hand-asks, 40 and/or 37? 🥺🥺🥺

(I went Zoscar with this darling, I hope that’s okay)

The forest doesn’t get less unsettling the longer they walk through it, quiet as they can, but not quiet enough.

Zolf’s heart leaps in unexpected ways as they move. There are moments where each step feels steady and sure, and then there are times when the bottom falls out of his stomach and he thinks he might stumble… only to catch himself, contented once more.

He looks up at the man beside him. He’s still not sure he’s quite over the satisfaction of seeing Wilde fight, nor the fear of potentially losing the idiot man again. It’s a battle not to keep checking, to make sure that Wilde’s still there, still whole. Each time they have to part around a tree or a tangle of roots his heart starts to stall, like it’s about to leave his body to crumple… and then everything is alright, he’s steady, he’s still.

Zolf catches sight of Azu smiling over at him and frowns back at her, asking a question without speaking any words. All he gets in return is a tender, knowing look and then she’s concentrating on softening her steps once more.

They stop at the edge of a clearing to catch their breath. Slow progress is draining in a way that doesn’t pair well with the adrenaline in their bodies, and he takes a few moments to centre himself. He notices Cel glance his way and smile, then Hamid does the same; he feels Wilde’s confusion at whatever all this is and purses his lips.

What? he mouths at them, gesturing widely with his right hand.

Hamid presses a hand to his mouth to stifle a smile, then points quietly at the space between him and Wilde’s bodies. Zolf looks, only to startle at the fact that his fingers are twined with the man’s, their grip solid and sure.

Oh.

Right.

That would explain… well, everything, really.

Zolf looks up to see Wilde with a lovely little pink flush on his cheeks that stands out so starkly now with his newly-white hair. He feels a heat in his own face, and figures the same must be reflected on his cheeks as well.

Eventually, Wilde quirks an eyebrow and grins and Zolf falls back into a reassuring scowl and somehow all feels right with the world as they pick up their feet and move on.

But he doesn’t stop holding Wilde’s hand.

[illusemywords]

Hiiiiiiii ! "Smth smth Zoscar" is, I gotta say, a valid title. :D

Smth smth Zoscar is i think one of the first things i started writing, back when i was like ‘haha surely i wont write more than one thing for this pairing it doesnt need a better title’

it’s a tiny little scene that takes place at the inn sometime after hamid and azu show up

“Did you want something, or were you just going to stare at me?”

Zolf starts at the sound of Wilde’s voice, lost in his own thoughts. “Just wanted to get some fresh air,” he says finally, closing the distance between them and carefully lowering himself to sit next to Wilde on the porch steps. “It’s getting kind of crowded in there.”

Wilde hums in agreement, taking a careful sip of his tea. “You’re certainly right about that. To be honest, I was thinking the same thing. Things haven’t exactly been the easiest around here, lately, and it’s nice to have a few moments alone before it all starts all over again.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude –“ Zolf starts to get up, but is halted by a hand on his arm.

“No, stay,” Wilde says, turning towards him.

[rqgwildeweek]

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