[ID: A digital drawing of characters Zolf Smith and Oscar Wilde from the AP Podcast Rusty Quill Gaming. The drawing is fully coloured and square in format. Both characters are shown roughly from the chest up. Oscar takes up the left half of the painting. He is a white human man with long white hair, wearing a paisley patterned cream coloured jacket. His eyes are closed and his head is lifted as he laughs happily, a flush on his cheeks and nose. Zolf, a white dwarf, is leaning against his chest, hiding his face in Oscar’s throat. He has short white hair and a full, white beard. Zolf is wearing a matching, though unpatterned cream jacket over a green shirt. Zolf’s eyes are closed and he too is laughing softly, blushing beneath his freckles. Both characters are wearing golden accessories: Zolf’s beard is gathered by a slim bold ring and he also wears an ring around the upper curve of his ear shell. Oscar is wearing multiple matching rings, gathering one thick strand of his hair at the side of his face. In the background, fairylights and the shadows of dancing people are visible. /end ID]
Ok so a friend send me this meme and i have definitly seen it circle around on tumblr in a similar manner as well so i decided to use the sweet, sweet free time I have to…. actually draw it.
[ID: A digital drawing of Zolf Smith and Cel Sidebottom from the AP Podcast Rusty Quill Gaming. The characters are fully coloured and set against a plain beige background. Cel is a tall, thin, white half-elf with blond hair that’s sticking up, kept in place by a set of goggles, and pointy ears - one of which is half blown-off. Cel is wearing a dark coat, grey shirt, and amo belt with potion vials. Cel, hands in their pockets, is looking sideways at Zolf who is a ruddy faced, white dwarf with short white hair and a braided beard. He is wearring a grey coat over his breastplate and holding his glaive which is longer than Cel is tall. Cel asks “Why does Wilde call you babygirl?” to which Zolf, with a blank face, replies “How about we stop talking for a little while.” The Artit’s signature, reading “Ängry Duck Time Machine” is visible between the two speech bubbles. /end ID]
Since the finale is approaching and since we all know the position these two idiots are in, I thought I’d repost these bad boys all together hoping it’ll bring good luck
Gosh I’m gonna miss them so much
(tap on the pics for high quality and please do not repost without credit)
[Image description: A traditionally inked comic of Oscar Wilde and Zolf Smith from Rusty Quill Gaming. Wilde is a thin white man with dark wavy hair in a fur coat. Zolf is a white dwarf with mid length white hair and a braided beard wearing a blue jacket.
Zolf says “Look,” and reaches up to grab Wilde by the lapels and drags him down to his height. He stares Wilde in the eyes and says, “When this is all done. We’ll go on holiday or somethin’.”
There’s a beat, and then Wilde says, “Where?” Zolf lets go of his lapel to gesture frustratedly, “I don’t know!” he shouts. Wilde smiles as Zolf fusses. “I don’t where is gonna be beleft when all this is done! Somewhere Nice!”
Wilde smirks, leaning into Zolf until their foreheads are touching, “Zolf, I’m not going with you until you tell me where we’re going to go on holiday together.” Zolf Scowls and says, “You’re such a dick.” End description.]
If I had a nickel for every time a Rusty Quill podcast had an episode where the repressed, grumpy biromantic asexual had to save a sarcastic gay poet played by Alexander J. Newall from the comforting grips of a lifeless netherworld with the power of heavily implied queer love and holidays I’d only have 10 cents but it is wild that it happened twice.
Figured out I’m not really a fan of enemies to lovers but I’m a HUGE fan of annoyances to lovers
Enemies to lovers too often for me has BIG interpersonal conflicts and like. Legitimate reasons they hate each other in a way that I don’t particularly enjoy that romances. Annoyances to lovers rules tho because that tells me that the only divide between love and hate in these characters is petty bullshit and I LOVE petty bullshit. Hell yeah you’d be head over heels in love with her if she just stopped fucking taking your yogurt from the company fridge
[ID: digital painting of zolf smith and oscar wilde from rusty quill gaming, a profile view in warm-toned greyscale with stark rim light seen from the shoulders up. zolf is a stocky white dwarf with short white hair, a braided beard, and a scar on his right temple, wearing a shirt with rolled up sleeves. wilde is a thin white human man with chin-length wavy white hair wearing a thick dark coat. zolf is pulling him in by the back of his neck to rest wilde’s forehead against his own, without looking into his eyes. his face is somber. wilde looks at him with wide eyes in an expression somewhere between curiosity and worry. end ID]
sketchbook doodle before bed made me catch An Emotion and stay up way too late to paint it. you know how it is
APRIL 2021 EDIT: fixed a few things that were bothering me
timelapse under the cut:
I would like to thank csp for capturing this absolute mess of an art process
Wilde could hardly believe it. It was years in the making, between the world falling apart, magic disappearing, and their various coping methods thereafter. But now, there they were, he and Zolf, in front of their new house. They weren’t staying in Wilde’s apartment anymore, no – this was theirs, together.
The crew of the Venga had helped build it. There was no way Wilde and Zolf could build a whole house on their own, and, once Cel learned about a construction project, there was no way to keep them from lending a hand and taking over. The kitchen counters had levers to adjust the height, depending on whether Wilde or Zolf wanted to use them, there was a lift to the attic, and Cel installed a strange cannon-like device that would fire a blanket at someone if they stayed stationary in the living room too long, since both Wilde and Zolf had a penchant for staying up late with their work and falling asleep there.
And now, it was done. Their furniture was in place, the walls had been painted, and the front door was open, waiting for them.
“Ready?” Wilde asked.
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t already been inside while building it, but this was different. This was their first proper entrance to the life they’d thought was out of reach for so long.
“Ready,” Zolf replied. “Come here.”
Wilde stepped closer, not entirely sure what Zolf had planned. The curiosity didn’t last long, however, as Zolf immediately scooped him up into his lap, and then began to wheel his way down the front walk and through the door.
Once they were inside, however, Wilde didn’t abandon his position, and Zolf made no effort to remove him. Instead, Wilde shifted so that he sat sideways in Zolf’s lap and was able to look him in the eye.
“I’m pretty sure that carrying someone over the threshold is something married couples do,” Wilde said, a smirk on his lips.
“Oh, I thought it was just when a couple moved into a new house together.”
“I mean, I’m sure it works like that too.”
Before Wilde could say anything more, Zolf casually added, “Well, when we get married, it’ll be your turn to carry me over the threshold. Then we’re even.”
Wilde’s coy expression faded in an instant as his jaw dropped. Some days he scarcely believed that Zolf had come back to him at all, and that he was still there, still with him after so much time had passed. They still had their bad days, of course, and occasionally Zolf needed significant periods of time to himself, but he never disappeared so drastically anymore. And he always came home.
It had been Wilde’s idea to get a house together in the first place, and part of him still feared that he pushed Zolf too hard with that, even though it had been a vague suggestion at best until Zolf started drawing out shaky designs. He wanted Zolf to always feel welcome, and they needed a place that belonged to both of them, not just to Wilde, if that were to be the case.
But he never considered marriage. Last time he thought about it was when he was a boy, before he started working constant overtime for the Meritocrats, before the world went to pieces, before they had to try and put those pieces back together one by one. He was happy just to have Zolf in his life, someone that would hold him tight when the nightmares came back and who cooked him meals that were seasoned with devotion.
Marriage, though…
Wilde knew when Zolf was teasing, could recognize the glint in his eye and the faintest rise at the corner of his lips, but this was a sincere comment, said without hidden humor or prodding.
“You alright?” Zolf questioned, shaking Wilde from his thoughts.
“Yes!” He answered, a little too readily. “Sorry, I just…” He didn’t want to press this issue, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. “‘When we get married’?”
Zolf hesitated. “Is that… bad?”
With a wide smile, Wilde breathed, “Not at all. I didn’t expect it, though, I guess.”
“Yeah, it’s not really something we’ve ever talked about. I don’t know. It doesn’t have to mean anything. I just… I’m finally thinking about my future, believing that I’ll have a future. And when I think about it, you’re always there. It’s taken me a lot longer than it probably should have to realize it and allow myself to realize it, but… I want to stay with you. And not for a couple of months, but as long as you’ll have me. And if one day, you would want me as your husband, then… Yeah, I want that too.”
Wilde couldn’t manage any words. All he could do was bridge the little space between them and wrap his arms around Zolf’s shoulders. He breathed him in and held him tight, so overwhelmed in the best kind of way.
“I would really like that,” he murmured as he drew back from the embrace, meeting Zolf’s nervous gaze and forcing him to look at him.
“It’s not like we have to do anything now,” Zolf added. “We still have things to unpack.”
Wilde chuckled. “Always the pragmatist.” After a pause, he continued, “You’re right though. We should get settled here first, and then maybe we can talk about marriage again later?”
“Yeah.” Despite himself, Zolf smiled, a contagious sight to Wilde.
“Besides, you know I have to put on an extravagant proposal. A simple chat simply won’t do,” he teased, and Zolf let out a laugh.
“Of course you do. Now, get off my lap before you crush what’s left of my legs, you insufferable…”
He couldn’t finish his joking retort. Wilde removed himself from Zolf’s lap, but Zolf stopped him soon after by gently grabbing his hand. Instead of more teasing, he spoke again with sincerity.
“Thank you, Wilde. For being there for me.”
“Always.”
“I want to be there for you. I haven’t always been, but I want to be better.”
Wilde bent down so that he could press a kiss to Zolf’s knuckles.
“We’re both still working on it,” he replied. “We both still have our bad days. You wheel off, I throw myself into my work. But what matters is that we sort it out together, yeah?”
Zolf smiled and gave Wilde’s hand a squeeze. “Yeah. Together.”
The morning after the reunion, Zolf wheeled himself out of his room in the back of the inn next to The Soggy Captain, attempting to open and close the door as quietly as possible. He knew it was early. Not like he’d been having much luck sleeping since, well, everything started, and even before then. He wanted to get some time to himself and roll around the city a bit before the ominous looking rain clouds decided to drench them.
However, he rolled out of his room and immediately saw Wilde, stepping out of his own room a few doors down the hall.
“Oh, good morning, Zolf,” he said with a smile. A sincere smile, though his eyes betrayed the myriad of emotions fluctuating beneath the surface.
“Yeah, ‘morning. Didn’t realize you were staying here.”
“Well, I figured it was best to find a room close by in case the festivities got bit toofestive.”
Zolf nodded. “Fair.” He paused for a moment, during which time he and Wilde could only look over the other, really taking them in for the first time in years.
“We didn’t get to talk too much last night,” Zolf continued, looking at his lap. “And there’s a lot I want to say. You know I’m not good with words, but-”
“It’s okay, Zolf.”
“No, it’s not, I left. Leaving is all I seem to be good at.”
Wilde moved toward him, hand outstretched as if to comfort him, but he stopped a few steps short. He still held out his hand, as if unsure of what to do.
“The short version is: I’m sorry,” Zolf said. He made sure to meet Wilde’s gaze this time, even as tears began to roll down his cheeks. “The long version is-”
“We don’t have to do that now if you don’t want,” Wilde interjected. “We’ll have time for that later. I forgive you. And, like I said, the door is always open for you.”
“I don’t want you to have to wait for me.”
“I don’t know how much choice either of us have in that.”
Zolf looked over Wilde again, grateful at least that the man seemed to be taking better care of himself now. And this was without Zolf making use of his kitchen and crafting him a variety of meals.
“There is one thing for right now. Can I… We didn’t… Can I hug you?” Zolf felt so small as he asked that, and he hated the way his voice quivered with the question.
Wilde smiled wide, his own tears starting to fall. He knelt down next to Zolf’s chair and pulled him into a tight embrace. Zolf hugged him back, burying his face in Wilde’s neck and letting the tears fall freely.
After what could only barely begin to make up for the embraces they missed in their years apart, they separated, though Wilde still remained on his knees as he wiped Zolf’s tear-stained cheeks.
“It really is good to see you again,” Zolf whispered, holding onto Wilde’s arm as if it was the only thing keeping him from being rolled away and never coming back.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Before they could say anything more, a loud “Hello!” erupted from the main area of the inn, followed quickly by a scream and the hasty movement of some furniture.
“You don’t think… is Einstein staying here too?” Zolf asked.
Wilde shook his head. “How long do you think he was hiding in thatcupboard?”
“Do you think he slept there?”
With a faint chuckle, Wilde stood. “Shall we go see what he’s done now?”
“Yeah, let’s go. And, Wilde?”
“Hm?”
“Thank you. For everything. You’re… You’re better than I deserve.”
“I don’t care about ‘deserve.’ I want you around, I want you in my life. And that’s more than good enough for me.”
Wilde sees Guivres break free from Apophis’ grasp, sees her fly toward the tower, sees her ascend so that Zolf and Babbage are directly in front of her.
No one can survive fire breath at that close range, not even Zolf, who thinks himself both invulnerable and expendable all at once.
He sees Zolf stare down Guivres, recognizing the resolve in his gaze even from so far away, and he knows that this is the end.
In an instant, he flies upwards. In the seconds before fire consumes them, he hovers next to Zolf and puts his hands on his shoulders.
“We’ve got this.”
Wilde has been dead before. It was peaceful in its way, with no one pestering him for another job to do, no persona to play or airs to put on. But it was lonely.
And as the fire consumes them in burning light, at least Wilde takes solace that this time he won’t be alone.
