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colleendoran · 8 months

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I was curious how you manage to keep features consistent when you draw them? Do you use models? Is there a model for Crowley? He is very handsome.

I don't use models per se, but I sometimes keep files of photos or art that resembles the subject.

Crowley is based a bit on the French actor Alain Delon who was once considered the handsomest man in the world. He doesn't look exactly like Delon, but that is in my head when I draw him. I recall reading Neil and Mr. Pratchett once considered Peter Sellers for Crowley.

There is no reference for Aziraphale because he is entirely in my head and I can't really find anyone who looks exactly the way he does. I recall reading that Neil and Mr. Pratchett thought of Brian Dennehy at one point, but my head canon Aziraphale won. I think a Brian Dennehy Aziraphale would have been amazing, though. Anyway, he is actually kind of hard for me to draw because his facial structure is a bit outside my usual style. His face is a bit long and his eyes closer together than I normally do, and if I'm not careful, he slips away. He appears younger and more classically handsome as an angel than he does in his corporeal form, but I think he's quite fetching as a bookseller.

Michael Sheen is so perfect in this role it is really hard not to leak bits of his performance into the graphic novel edition, but I have to resist the impulse. I am not allowed to use any of the show actors as models.

I adore Michael Sheen. Who doesn't?

Adam is also a head canon character. He is a perfect young Greek God, so that's kind of drawing on a day with a Y in it for me.

The inspiration for Newt I'm keeping a secret. I submitted a number of sketches for Newt. The show Newt dug in deep and I had a hard time shaking him off.

The Them are based on kids I knew. They're in my head, I don't need any photos. They don't really look like the kinds in the show. The book version of Pepper, for example, is a freckled red-head.

Anathema is an amalgam of features that don't come from one person, which I think fits the description of the character. She's also unusual for me to draw but she's easier to draw than Aziraphale. I nail her every time.

Hastur is a caricature of the stereotypical English upper class you'd see in broadsheets 200 years ago. I have a file of pictures of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury for Hastur. I considered making Hastur more handsome in a Duke of Hell sort of way, but I think Hastur likes to be scary. I keep thinking of Peter O'Toole when I draw Hastur, too.

I feel kind of bad basing Hastur on Lord Ashley because he was a wonderful person and I'm sure he didn't go to Hell.

Ligur is a broad caricature of Danny Devito. I obviously can't use a DeVito portrait. That would be wrong. But I can tweak from there and come up with a general idea of the face I want to use.

Beelzebub and Metatron are head canon, and don't look a thing like they do in the show. I postulate some demons prefer to look like their angelic selves, and at other times prefer to be fearsome. Crowley can look fearsome when he wants, for example. In the book, Beelzebub appears as a young man in red flames.

Shadwell was drawn from reference at the direct suggestion of Neil.

Madame Tracy is based on a certain person, but no one you would have heard of. The original source might not be flattered, but I love Madam Tracy. She's really easy to draw because she's a bit over the top. I'm sketching around her scenes right now because I don't have final approval on some things yet. So she might need some changes later.

War is head canon, very easy to draw. She's a knockout. No reference required.

Famine looks a lot like Famine in the show, actually, but that's what Famine always looked like, pretty much. Except he has the grey eyes he has in the book.

Pollution is initially described as being a forgettable white guy, but later described as looking like a romantic poet, which strikes me as being memorable. Because he's only on one page in his forgettable white guy phase, I chose not to make major changes in his appearance between those panels and later when he appears as his true self, because that's a bit more confusing than it needs to be in the graphic novel edition. He's rather glamorous as the essence of Pollution, though. No reference needed.

Dog is a dog.

While I do give every detail a lot of thought, I am sure other people have other opinions. I understand that, and hope you enjoy what I do anyway.

Thanks for your question.

I'm still a bit under the weather, so may be stepping away from the net for awhile so I can concentrate on work. I have a lot of sick time to make up.

But don't think I don't appreciate your interest in the Good Omens graphic novel adaptation. Your wonderful support is acting on me like a tonic, let me tell you.

kickstarter

#good omens #good omens graphic novel #neil gaiman #terry pratchett

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lothcatthree · 4 months

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1. !!!! TELL ME ABOUT PASTRY CHEF CODY !!! Finally he has some peace.

AHHH sorry this took a few days, i was inundated with other WIP's (i'll be answering the other ones soon, too)

@insertmeaningfulusername and @merlyn-bane my darlings, were also interested in this one <3

basically, obi-wan is an exceptionally tired 30yo high school teacher and he begins frequenting a coffee/pastry shop run by cody and rex. ahsoka and anakin are younger adopted siblings (still working out the whole family dynamic). obi-wan gets flustered every time he talks to cody and ahsoka and rex finds it exceedingly hilarious.

this will be a classic strangers to friends to lovers fic and is meant to be fun and wholesome :)

here's a snippet of their meeting ft. gay disaster obi-wan (got a little carried away with it)

“Can I get you anything?”

Obi-Wan is vaguely aware of a voice speaking to him from the counter, but it’s helplessly bouncing around in his empty skull like a ping-pong ball. Any rational thought he had has been sucked out the airlock of his mouth as he’s cut off mid-sentence once he spots the man just behind the register, leaning over a table as he works.

The first thing that Obi-Wan notices is hands. Bronzed long fingers and structured tendons jumping as they knead a slab of dough and Obi-Wan suddenly wonders why he feels warm in the neck. There’s flour all over the man’s knuckles, up his wrists, dirtying the hem of the black sleeves.

Obi-Wan helplessly watches as the man rolls up his sleeves and grimaces in effort, entirely engrossed with breaking down this piece of dough and, subsequently, Obi-Wan. Rolling up the sleeves would be one thing (and it really is one thing), but there’s miles of black ink swirling around two muscular forearms.

Obi-Wan’s eyes follow the arms up to find broad shoulders and a face with smooth skin, a handsome nose, a jagged scar, and fuck, those eyes.

He’s just dropped his gaze to the man’s lips when he realizes, far too late, that they've moved.

A sharp elbow jabs into his side and he looks down at the perpetrator.

“What do you want?” Ahsoka asks him with an edge of teenaged irritation in her voice, but her eyes are slightly widened in concern.

Right. He’s supposed to order something.

Something that’s not the devastatingly beautiful man with devastatingly beautiful hands.

Still struggling to get his thoughts into order and feeling an awful blush overtake his pale skin, Obi-Wan stutters.

“Uh..”

“He wants a cup of earl grey and...,” Ahsoka trails off for a moment, scanning the pastry case, “A cinnamon roll.”

Obi-Wan would snort if he still weren’t so flustered and working on averting his gaze from the men behind the counter. The cinnamon roll is, in fact, not for him and entirely for her.

He finally looks up from the way he was burning a hole into the wooden counter and meets the eyes of the man working the register. This one is similarly pretty, though with blonde hair buzzed short and bare arms. Obi-Wan sends a silent thank you for the lack of tattoos, or else he’d be embarrassing himself all over again.

“It’ll be $7.36,” the man tells him and fuck if that isn’t an accent.

Obi-Wan begins to pull his wallet out of his pocket and distantly hopes the one behind the counter doesn’t have the same one because then Obi-Wan is sure he’d-

“Just charge ‘em for the tea, Rex. I don’t know how good the new recipe is for the roll,” the man at the table pipes up behind- Rex- with, indeed, the same accent and a deep, raspy voice. Obi-Wan promptly drops his wallet.

He curses under his breath and swoops down to grab it, feeling the redness on his skin take on a new, fiery shade. Obi-Wan opens the worn brown leather wallet and pulls out his debit card, thrusting it forward to Rex at a speed that’s certainly not normal.

“It’s alright, I can pay for it,” Obi-Wan clears his throat when his voice comes out weak.

Rex looks at him with a slight furrow to his brows, then he turns around to look at the other man. Obi-Wan follows his gaze and when he locks eyes with the pastry chef (what shade of brown is that and why does Obi-Wan want to bathe in it?), he swallows again.

“Really, it’s ok. These ones are for testing,” the man replies, offering a warm smile. Obi-Wan can’t stop from dropping his eyes to the soft-looking lips as the man shifts his gaze from Obi-Wan to Ahsoka, “As long as you tell me what’s wrong with it, yeah? I have a feeling you’re a professional.”

Obi-Wan turns to look at her and he’s half-shocked when her signature pubescent scowl is replaced with a genuine smile that she usually reserves for Obi-Wan or Anakin.

“I will,” Ahsoka nods and bounces on her heels.

Obi-Wan fondly smiles at her and resists the urge to ruffle the top of her hair (last time he did that, he received a bite mark on his hand that took a week to heal).

Rex clears his throat and says with a polite smile, “Alright, Cody says it’s $3.25, then.”

Cody. CodyCodyCody.

Obi-Wan hands him his card and darts his eyes to Cody just behind Rex’s shoulders.

“Thank you, Cody,” Obi-Wan says with a small smile, trying the name out on his tongue.

Cody gives him another dazzling grin that makes Obi-Wan’s stomach flip before he goes back to aggressively kneading the dough. Obi-Wan feels his mouth dry up again as he takes his card and receipt from Rex, allowing Ahsoka to not-so-lightly shove him away from the counter and towards a table.

"What is wrong with you?" Ahsoka mutters under her breath as she herds him into a chair.

Obi-Wan sets his bag on the table and helplessly looks over his shoulder to watch Cody begin separating the dough into chunks.

"A lot, I think."

#hhgggg this will be a much longer fic than I'm used to #dragging my feet but it IS number 1 on my docket #codywan #codywan ficlet #my writing

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stopthatfool · 10 months

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More headcanons! yahoo! (specifically icemav)

1. Ice drinks both coffee and tea, but actually prefers tea. He forced himself to drink coffee for the caffeine to help him stay awake and alert, so now he likes it because of how often he drinks it. (i don’t know that much about the military but i don’t know how many staff rooms are gonna have kettles next to their coffee machines and if military men are gonna openly admit to drinking tea lol)

2. I think a woman in his life, either his mom or grandmother, used to make him a cup of tea every night and it was a part of his nightly ritual. Whenever he gets the chance he tries to keep up that tradition and make himself a cup of tea whenever navy life allows.

3. Maybe I’m biased but i think Ice would drink any tea (as long as it’s good quality) but i think he would slightly prefer black teas. His mom or grandmother would always put honey and milk in it and he tended to drink green teas when he was sick so he associates them with an upset stomach, stuffy nose or a sleepless night. (or this could just be projecting onto fictional characters)

2. Mav on the other hand always hated tea. like hated it and he only ever drinks coffee. He never understood the appeal of it, if it’s not that caffeinated then what’s the point? And I think he probably only had tea like... made in the microwave, where someone puts the milk in first. No wonder he hates tea.

4. Mav hates tea until Ice makes him tea one night and makes him tea the right way. With an actual kettle and the milk added after the water and tea bags. And at first, Mav feels too bad to tell Ice the truth and say that he hates tea after he went through all the trouble to make him a cup. But Ice’s tea rocks Maverick’s world. he finishes the whole cup. Ice makes him a classic cup of english breakfast or earl grey with a little bit of honey and a dash of milk.

5. Mav will only drink tea when Ice makes it. It doesn’t matter if someone makes Mav the exact same brand of tea, with the same type of honey and milk, Mav only likes Ice’s tea.

6. I think after the DADT repeal it allowed them to actually finalize and re-establish the tradition that Ice’s family started. Ice makes them both a cup of tea each night while Mav puts on a record.

7. I feel it deep in my soul that Mav’s mom loved country music, like Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Glen Campbell, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton etc etc. Mav would never tell anyone willingly that he knows all the words to Stand By Your Man or the entirety of Dolly Parton’s album Just Because I’m a Woman. (he definitely thinks he should not be listening to them cuz its not “manly” or something)

8. But after the DADT repeal those are the records and artists Mav puts on as Ice makes the tea, just like Mav’s mom used to do when his dad was around. Mav used to watch his parents slow dance and sing along to Crazy by Patsy Cline. He just wants to share the thing his family used to do, just like Ice is doing as he makes them tea, regardless of how “unmanly” it may seem to himself and other men.

god im sick of these old men in love, they’re so stupid and controlled by gender stereotypes and expectations forced upon them. “Maverick is a rebel” my ass, bro can’t even listen to Dolly Parton without feeling guilty and ashamed. im SICK of them.

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impel-down-jailbreak · 2 months

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One Piece if the characters were music genres and only five of them existed because I get way too hyperfixated on specific characters and pairings to care about the rest

Buggy: hard rock and metal for sure. Man is screaming his deepest insecurities and trauma on the regular

Mr. 3 Galdino: classical music. Mmm, Sophisticated. Brilliant. Goes perfectly with some earl grey and an intellectual god complex. Almost everything about him centers around his perceived strategic abilities. I want to ask if he’s okay inside. Like hey, do you happen to have any all-natural self esteem in that big brain of yours, bud? Or is it all just artificially flavored?

Crocodile: I wanna say something funny like “flat fuck Friday”(***) but I think he’d want to kill me and that’s also not a legitimate music genre, so probably the suspenseful music they use in war scenes. Yea

Dracule Mihawk: Emo music emo music EMO EMO EMO. He’s the result you’d get if you mixed every My Chemical Romance song together and personified them in a lab run by Stephenie Myer istfg

Mr. 2 Bon Clay: he’s clearly early 2000s pop. I feel no need to elaborate on that one

***And I put a link to the flat fuck Friday meme if you’ve never seen it:

(Idk why it makes you sign in to watch it. It’s literally just a song that repeats the phrase “it’s flat fuck Friday, you fucking losers” with pictures of flattened crocodiles.)

youtube

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ladytesla · 3 months

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The Great Faerun Baking Show (part two)

I've decided I'm going to run with this anyway. It is a beautiful day in Faerun and I am a horrible goose fanfiction writer. There are several things I need to get done today, so obviously I'm going to not do them and write this instead.

For those of you who are just stopping by, I had a horrible idea a while ago and this is the result. I have no idea what's going to happen or who's going to win. I’m just going to roll a D20 ‘bake check’ for everyone and write out the results, including what everyone rolled so y’all know I’m not cheating just so my druid boyfriend can win. The person with the lowest total score (out of a possible score of 60) goes home.

We've got the main 6 companions, Jaheira, Halsin, Minsc (and Boo), Minthara, Dammon, and my tav Medora (who y'all can just pretend is Alfira if you don't want someone else's tav in the story, since they're both female bards)

Week One, Cake Week: Star baker was Karlach, Minthara went home

Week Two: Biscuit Week, or "Viconia's Walking Florentine"

Signature Challenge: Sandwich Biscuits

Astarion: Bourbon biscuits. He and Shadowheart took a shot right when the bake started. He took a few more shots after that just because he could, and ended up making a bunch of vampire jokes with Noel Fielding. Despite the alcohol handicap, his biscuits turned out quite nice.

Dammon: Dulce de leche and banana biscuits. The dulce de leche overpowered the banana a bit, but the texture of the biscuits themselves were great.

Gale: Tara's coffee biscuits. He really wanted to bring back the memories of caffeine-fueled all-nighters at Blackstaff Academy. He also used a cat-shaped cookie cutter. The biscuits weren't exactly identical, and the coffee cream was a bit too runny.

Halsin: Lavender and vanilla biscuits. He used a duck-shaped cookie cutter because he likes ducks. They were all perfectly identical and the flavors were incredible. He got a Hollywood Handshake for them.

Jaheira: Malted milk biscuits. She wasn't able to get them as identical as she would have liked, and some of the biscuits were a bit underdone.

Karlach: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich biscuits. She was determined to have Paul like something with peanut butter in it. Unfortunately he still doesn't. They were also a bit messy. They were adorable in their messiness though.

Lae'zel: Pistachio custard creams. They were messy, and the dragon cookie cutter she used was a bit too delicate, resulting in some dragons missing their tails.

Medora: Raspberry and almond linzer biscuits. They had a lovely classic flavor profile, and were nearly identical.

Minsc: Coconut biscuits. He tried to use chocolate designs to make them look like tiny coconuts, but it wasn't completely successful. The flavor, however, was nice.

Shadowheart: Blackberry and earl grey biscuits. She tried to shape them like night orchids, colored with activated charcoal. However, the color made it hard to judge whether or not the biscuits were overcooked, and several of them were burned. The earl grey was so faint it was overpowered by the blackberry and the, well, burn.

Wyll: Empire biscuits. He grew up sneaking them from the kitchen as a boy, and wanted to stick to his 'classics done right' style. Unfortunately the biscuits weren't as crisp as Paul and Prue would have liked. Noel still stuck one in his pocket for later though.

Technical Challenge: Coconut Macaroons

(I think I'm going to list them from worst to best from now on)

11. Dammon

10. Shadowheart

9. Medora

8. Karlach

7. Lae'zel or Wyll (they both rolled a 9)

6. Wyll or Lae'zel

5. Halsin

4. Astarion

3. Jaheira

2. Gale

Minsc (honestly how does he keep doing so well idk man)

Showstopper: Gingerbread Showpiece

Astarion: To keep with his Brand, he decided to make a graveyard with several little gingerbread mausoleums and monuments. His, of course, was the biggest and fanciest one, with the door open and a little paper cut-out of himself coming out. Very tongue-in-cheek. Some of the monuments were sloppy, because he had so many he didn't have time to make them all super polished.

Dammon: He did his best to make an anvil, a hammer and a little piece of pulled sugar as the metal to be forged. He then discovered that despite working with molten metal on a regular basis, molten sugar still burns just as much when hitting the skin, and dropped it. He spent so much time on a backup sugar piece that the presentation on his anvil and hammer suffered a tiny bit.

Gale: His scene was an open book with a little wizard casting Fireball standing on the pages. There were huge cracks in the gingerbread book, but the wizard and his fireball were nicely detailed. He wasted a lot of time because he needed the spell piped on to the gingerbread to be ACCURATE DAMMIT.

Halsin: He created a peaceful woodland scene with trees, a family of bears, and some mushrooms. The largest bear broke, but he was able to fix it somewhat and prop it up against a tree. Bears lean against trees all the time. He hoped the judges might think it was purposeful. They saw right through him, however.

Jaheira: Years of helping her children with various projects has paid off. She somehow in the time limit created Wyrm's Crossing and just for show a poured-sugar River Chionthar. That earned her a Hollywood Handshake.

Karlach: She made an impressive replica of her tent, complete with a small army of teddy bear cookies. She even took the time to make little bears shaped like her friends and the judges. When asked if she hadn't wanted to make something more badass, she shrugged and said she could like cracking skulls and teddy bears at the same time.

Lae'zel: Her red dragon looked more like a guinea pig, unfortunately, so she changed her answer last-minute and said it was a giant space hamster. Due to its red color, though, the judges saw right through her story.

Medora: She attempted to create a lute, a mandolin and a drum. The neck of the lute broke and the piping on the drum was far from precise, but it wasn't a complete disaster.

Minsc: He made a treasure chest mimic. Originally he'd wanted the lid to open, but the hinge broke. It was still beautiful regardless, and quite big. It nearly took up the entire counter.

Shadowheart: Her little gingerbread cottage was already precariously lopsided, and when she turned to grab another piping bag it fell completely off the bench and onto the floor.

Wyll: He replicated his favorite park in Baldur's Gate out of gingerbread, even sculpting a statue with modeling chocolate. It was very impressive.

The Results

Our star baker this week with a total of 45/60 is Halsin!

And unfortunately, with a score of 9/60, Shadowheart has to leave the tent.

Feel free to play along, roll bake checks, and comment with what your Tav would make! Yeah I can't be stopped we're on to bread week next.

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lokiforever · 8 months

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New teachers at school!!!!

Chapter 10

Series Masterlist

A/N: Greetings,midgardians!So,my lovely mortals as many of you know, following the results of the poll JK's role is now officially switched to a student. Tom will be teaching History and English.....

Nyt!💚

Y/N : Stay, please!

You said in a low, meek voice. His heart clenched at the sight of you so sad and troubled.

Tom : I'm right here, sweetheart.

He said and sat back down on the bed and once he was one hundred percent sure that you're back in your slumber , he got up and laid on the couch in the room . Just in case you get another nightmare, though he sincerely hoped you don't .

He had to admit ,this nightmare got him wondering that what so bad happened to you because of which you get those awful nightmares. He was pretty sure about the fact that they're connected.

-----------------------

You woke up by your mobile alarm, only to find ,Tom, peacefully sleeping on the couch. Always a gentleman. You didn't exactly remember what happened last night....but he was there with you,that much you could recall. You felt a bit bashful, now that you think of it ....he was your professor afterall 🤷🏻.

There was a text from Y/B/F/N....

" Hey!! I'll be staying at Jungkook's ..."

"Hey! Amazing!Sorry for replying late, At Tom's ..... 😅". You replied

You got up , as quietly as you could, didn't want to wake your professor up from his deep, peaceful slumber . As you tip-toed your way towards the door, you decided to make some breakfast for you two . So, you went down to the kitchen and started cooking.

You decided to make a proper English Breakfast with a cup of Earl grey. Humming a tune to yourself , you started cooking.

*After 20 minutes*

You felt a pair of hands on your waist and if it wasn't for the fact that you could recognise him just by his scent you'd have beaten the man up . 😅 Just a reflex after that incident because of which you get the nightmares.

"Good morning, darling!" You heard Tom's angelic voice, it sounded deeper as he just woke up.

He placed a kiss on your neck which made you smile.

"Good morning, sweetheart! Breakfast is almost done!"

His heart skipped a beat at the name , you never call him that.

"Mmmm.....I can already smell the delicacy you're whipping up ! What's on the menu?" " Classic english breakfast with a cup of your favourite Earl Grey tea !" you replied. "That sounds wonderful!! Let me help you set the table!" he offered politely. "Sure, thanks!"

As he helped you set the table up, you plated the breakfast.

"Bon appétit !!"

A contented moan escaped his lips as he took the first bite and hell if you wouldn't kill to hear that sound again....

" Mmmm ....you are an amazing cook , darling!! It's the best breakfast I've ever had! Scrumptious!!" He praised you with a heart warming smile.

" I'm glad you like it, Tom !! But hey - you yourself are a great cook !" you said . "Not as good as you!" He protested "Oh, come on!" you chuckled , a blush rising up your cheeks.

"Holy Shit!!! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE !!!!!" you said as you looked at the time. "Late to what, darling?" He said, totally clueless. "COLLEGE!" You replied. For some reason, he started laughing. " Why . Are. You. Laughing. Tom !!????" Somehow, this made him laugh even harder. " You didn't check the emails , did you?? " He said.

As you picked up the phone, you saw an email from your college informing that all the classes are cancelled for this week. "Ohh.......... sorry" you said , completely crimson from blushing. "It's perfectly fine, dear! Plus, do you know that you look cute when you're angry?"

This made you blush even harder, if that was possible......."Come on !!!" you said.."I'm merely stating what's true" said he . This made you chuckle, "Thank you, sweetheart!"

*After the breakfast*

"Y/N ??" He said while you were making a presentation on your laptop for a project ...so, you hummed in response. "Uhh.... If you don't mind me asking......" he trailed off, so you looked him in the eye and asked - " What is it that's bothering you, Tom ?" " It's just.....last night......as you were having that nightmare, you were asking me to tell someone to stay away....... who's that ?" he inquired, his voice full of concern.

You felt like your heart has stopped beating, your face went pale and you started sweating. "Uhh..........unmm...I-I .......i-it....." you tried to say something but failed as you felt a lump in your throat.

"Hey - Hey , it's fine, darling! You don't need to tell me if it troubles you ! " He got up and brought some water for you . "Here, have some water " ......

"I'm so sorry for the sudden outburst..... it's just - " you tried to explain, only to be interrupted by him "It's okay sweetheart, you don't need to explain!" He softly stated. "Wanna watch a movie?" he asked to distract you from that grief of the nightmare.

"Sure!" you said. Both of you then proceed towards the home theatre he had.

"Choose the genre, dear " he said. "Umm ....... what about a thriller or maybe even horror?" you suggested. "Up for a thrill , are we ?" said he .

You guys decided to go with "The Shining" a classic. He even made some popcorn and got a few cans of cold-drinks .

*Sometime into the movie*

You clutched onto Tom for dear life and hid your face against him as one of the scariest scenes came . The fact that you were watching it for the first time didn't help at all . "Do you want me to put something else?" He cooed slowly. "No, it's fine, thank you for asking!'

*After the movie*

"Good Lord , that was amazing, awfully scary.... but amazing!" You chimed in to which he chuckled, "I'm glad you like it, darling!" He said and kissed you on the cheeks which made you blush. You did not see that coming.

"Oh my ! It's 12:30pm !! I must go now!" you exclaimed. "Please stay for lunch..." said Tom. "Trust me, Tom ... I'd love to but I really have to go..." ofcourse, he did try to make you stay but you had to go .... " ........fine ! Let me drop you, at least!" "That would be a great help!" you said. " Oh come on, darling!"

*After the he dropped you off*

You were still sitting in his car , in front of your apartment...... which was apparently locked . Y/B/F/N must still be with JK.....

"Tom?" "Yes, darling.." "Would like to join me for lunch, please?" "I'd love to, darling, but as you know the weather conditions are rather.... harsh. I better get going before it gets worse." He said refering to the windy weather.. "But-" you were interrupted by his lips on yours ...."Some other day, darling, I promise" he said.

"Okay......." you said, not fully agreed. "Come on, like I said, it's a promise!" he said and chuckled. "Fine. I must go, then..." you replied. "What if you grab your essentials and stay at mine?" he suggested.

Chuckling, you said, "Tom, I..umm...you know, I....I can't...plus Y/B/F/N would be alone if I do so.... thanks though " you smiled ... "Okay......but text me if you need anything, no need to go out in this wheather" 'Okay, so it's official. He is the sweetest man in the universe.' you thought.

"You're so sweet !!!!!!!" you said, placing a kiss on his cheeks and you could swear you saw him blush. 'and the cutest too' you continued your previous thought.

"I'll get going, now . Bye, Tom" "Goodbye , darling!" You opened the gate of his car and stepped out, waving to him one last time before making your way towards the door of your apartment.

After a few minutes your best friend also returned.

"Y/N , I'm home !" she called out . "Oh, hey !! How did it go ?" you said. "AMAZING!!!!" She exclaimed. "Well, that's great. But I need the whole story" you said and chuckled. "Done!" said your best friend, chuckling.

The next few days went normally.

Time skip......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*MONDAY*

You were qurrently getting ready for the classes and the first one was English.

Outfit of the day👆🏻

You paired your dress with a black overcoat as it was cold outside.

"Let's go, shall we?" you asked your best friend. "Totally" she replied.

On your way, you guys grabbed a cup of coffee and headed towards your destination...

English Lecture

You sitting on one of the front benches with your best friend. You both were a bit early so no one else was there yet .....as you took a sip of your coffee, you heard the door open and what you saw made you choke on your drink.....

"Good morning, professor" said your best friend. "Good morning, Miss Carter. Um, Y/N you okay?"

You could almost sense a smirk on his face at your obvious reaction.

Okay!? The man literally changed his hair colour and then he's asking you if you're 'okay' ? As if he wasn't already enough he had to change his hair to Black didn't he? And the cherry on top was the outfit he chose.....a blue knitted sweater with a pair of black slacks.

( they could've been a bit less 'tight')

Holy Fuck.

" Y-yes I'm good, thanks!" you reply not so 'swiftly' . "Oh, that's better"....

"Mornin', d- Miss Y/L/N" he said after a slightly awkward stop....and you could tell that Y/B/F/N was trying her best not to laugh, roll her eyes or even grin.

"Good morning, professor!" you said blushing

You couldn't have been more grateful for the lack of audience .

As the students started entering and the class begun, you tired your best to not be distracted by the new change.

*Later in Tom's office*

"You seem to like this, huh?" he said refering to his new hair colour which was totally unexpected as he was the ever subtle one.

"I-I.....uhh...." you were more blushing than talking, earning a chuckle from him.

"Don't worry darling, I won't bite...... unless you ask me to, ofcourse" he said with a smirk and you could swear he winked.

Ok, so now it's official. He is acting a bit different today. You quite liked it, tbh.

You gulped. You just gulped.

"Anyways, my beloved what are your plans for Christmas?" he asked switching the topic like a light switch. "Uh....umm..well, Y/B/F/N is going out with her family so I guess I'll have to either go with her or spend it alone"

"You're not spending it with your family?" he asked "I never met my actual parents.....my aunt brought me up and she too passed a few years ago" you said, tears welling in your eyes but you quickly hide them. "...... I'm so sorry...... What if you stay with me?For Christmas?" he asked "Um...I beg your pardon"

"How about you spend Christmas with me?"

*********************

A/N : Hey mortals!! I know this chapter is a bit short.... sorry....I have a news for you guys,I won't be writing or posting anything for the next one month as I have a lot to work on...... again, I apologise.

Taglist: @holdmytesseract @dishahaldar @lotsoflokilove23 @jennyggggrrr @imlokisgloriouspurpose

#loki #loki x reader #hiddlesarmy #professor hiddleston x reader #professor hiddleston #professor x student #tom hiddleston #loki mcu #loki x you #marvel loki #tom hiddelston loki #tom hiddleston x reader #tomhiddleston #tom hiddleston x you #twhiddleston #tom hiddleston x reader insert

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pseudowho · 11 days

Note

Quick! Is nanami a tea person or a coffee person? What about Hiromi? ( Hiromi is definitely a coffee person in my mind)

For me : I love chai . what about you? Fav tea?

Zoom zoom

RAAAHHHH I'M HERE!

I think they're both coffee people. I think Nanami likes a flat white, but a good one. I could also see him being a cortado man. Saying that, I think he could be convinced on a pot of Earl Grey if he's sitting down to read in the evenings.

Hiromi is a coffee man, and he's rough, instant coffee, black. A core part of him thinks the cheaper the better, a hangover from his student days where he'd be burning the candle at both ends.

For me, I can be convinced on an iced coffee or a cold brew, but I'm really not coffee lover at all. I am, however, totally addicted to a very classic British "builders tea"; ideally Yorkshire Tea of Harrogate, with a splash of milk, and I usually put half a teaspoon of set honey in mine too. I quite honestly drink about 8 cups of this a day.

I also love a matcha latte with a little vanilla.

If I don't have time for a meal, I'll have two cups of tea in quick succession instead, and it will keep me happy.

-- Haitch xxx

#pseudowho #pseudowho answers you

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qzawhateverilike · 13 days

Text

Criminal minds Fic

TW: suicide thoughts.

Just a rough draft for a fic that's been running in my head for a bit. May post this to Ao3 eventually. Who knows. Anyways, enjoy.

It’s Tuesday night, they have the next couple of days off after a big case. He plans to jump. Derek asks if he needs a ride home, Reid says no. Asks that if anything ever happened to him, that Derek takes care of his fish. Morgan agrees to, asks what’s bringing this on/up, Reid says nothing, just “lost in his head.” Morgan is skeptical, kinda concerned, again asks “You sure you’re ok kid? I got nothing planned if you wanna come over and have dinner, maybe watch a new documentary? You talked about the new dolphin one on the way home.” “I’m fine, thanks Derek.” He pats Derek’s shoulder and goes home.

Derek, not one for letting things go. Pulls up a map. “Bridges near east D.C” and finds the closest one to Spencer’s apartment. It’s about 9 pm so it’s dark, slightly chilly in early March or April when he finds him. “I hate that I’m right,” He thinks as he spots Spencer across the bridge. Just staring into the water below. He’s not dressed well for the weather, just a stupid sweater vest and thin dress pants. His phone and wallet are beside him, a classic sign of suicide. The bridge is quiet tonight somehow. There’s construction a few miles north so apparently everyone is detouring around it tonight.

He slowly approaches Reid. Not wanting to startle the young man into jumping. “If you jump, I’ll jump too.” Even just the normal pitch and volume of Morgan’s voice startles the suicidal man. “Hey hey, relax, it’s just me.” Big brother mode: activate. “Spencer, what’s going on?” The younger man is silent, not processing anything, just frozen, terrified.

“What?” Reid breathlessly lets out. If Morgan hadn’t been so close, he may have missed it.

“Hey man, come here.” He pulls Reid into a bone crushing hug. Reid starts crying then. Derek brings them to the ground so they’re sitting with Reid in his lap, tucked up against him.

Neither man knows how long they sit there, hugging, thankful that the other is there. Reid’s still crying when he asks “how did you find me?”

“Closest bridge to your house. You said once you like walking there after a long case.” Morgan replies, still playing with Spencer’s hair to soothe him.

A few minutes later, “How did you know?”

“Your fish are your most prized possession.” The implicit meaning not lost on either man. The knowledge that his best friend, his brother cared about him starting a new cycle of tears to fall. Derek holds on to him even tighter. They both know they have to talk about this later. They both know this isn’t gonna fix him right away or make him realize his worth in an instance. But right now? They’re both safe.

Morgan drives Reid back to his place for a full meal and to talk. Morgan is all bro-y. No ship. Sits him down, tells him to talk to him before it gets this bad, asks if he has a therapist. Tells him he always has his back and his door is always open. Gives Reid a spare key. Tells Reid to stay the night and that he’s not a burden. Reid talks about everything over tea (“Tea?” “Last time you came over you made fun of me for not having tea so I bought some last week. I hope lemon and earl grey are ok.” Both men are smiling: Reid for the thought and kindness. Morgan is smiling at the memory and that Reid is still here, appreciating it.) He talks about how hard the last few cases have been, it’s around the anniversary of Hankel and how he’s still sober but it all feels like hell right now. How he usually talks to JJ about more of his feelings and stuff but that she yelled at him today for just asking “How are you?” Because the case hit everyone hard and he wanted to try and be there for JJ but she was so rude about turning him down that it felt like the dam of “self preservation” and “will to live” burst and he was hollow. That’s why he asked Derek about the fish. And Reid apologises so much throughout the whole story. He’s sorry for not talking with Derek more, for not talking to the other team members, for not taking care of himself in general (“Three hours a night isn’t enough pretty boy.” “It’s all I can get at a time these days. Between the nightmares, the weird noises outside, and cases.” he shrugs, “I’m lucky to even get sleep.” “Is that how the migraines started?” “Something like that,” he shrugs again, “the amount of stress and not getting enough time to heal made the existing problems in my brain worse. I used to only get the occasional migraine. Now, I get a couple a week at least.” “Spencer.” )

He apologizes for even wanting to die and leaving the team alone. How he knows on some level he’s valuable but on days like today, he feels worthless. They hug more, Derek promises to do better by him and to remind Spencer that he’s there for him. Even if he’s mad at Reid or stressed, Morgan still wants him in his life and he’s still valuable.

#mentioningmargins #criminal minds #derek morgan #spencer reid #bros #healing #helping each other #talking #story idea #first draft #writing #fanficiton #hopeful ending #bromance #love #depression #anxiety #tw depressing stuff

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noirineverysense · 7 months

Text

Claw's detective agency part eleven

masterlist

He had marched toward the office of a man who could do far worse than kill him without a plan. That was his first mistake.

His second was assuming the Professor would be alone. Like his designation states, he was a professor at a university. A professor of ethics of all things. He could have found people to work with, perhaps some staff or some post-grad students, no-one Claw thought should be worth worrying about if that man had managed to make friends.

Needless to say, he’d been surprised to find Rifle standing guard at the office door.

“Claw? What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same, Rifle. In fact, I demand it.”

Rifle barks out a laugh. “You don’t tell me shit about anything, even things I ought to know about and now you think you can ‘demand’ answers from me. I know you hate the Professor but you sure do sound a lot like him.”

“Fuck you.” Claw growls, surprising himself with the sudden venom in his voice.

“Touchy, are we?” Rifle’s lips purse and his voice is high and mocking. “But I don’t really care what you have it in for him. He told me he’ll tell me everything you hid from me if I work for him for a bit, which is a far better deal than you ever cut in for me.”

Claw lets out a heavy sigh. Perhaps part of this was his own doing. Still, he had hoped Rifle would have enough insight to not do something as dumb as this.

If anything, it proved him right. If telling Rifle even a bit about his past led to him going right back to the Professor, he was better off not knowing.

‘That’s not your decision to make!’ A voice that sounds like Talon yells in his mind. He ignores it.

“Rifle, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. You always were as stupid as you are tall.”

Rifle roared and threw his six foot and then some self at him and after a brief scuffle, Talon was always the better fighter out of the two of them, Rifle muscled him into a chair and pulled out some rope. Seemed like the Professor had known he was coming.

That was unfortunate and unsurprising.

There was some dust on the rope that wraps around him, it was an odd grey colour. Though he isn't given much time to ponder over it.

“You thought you could spring on me Isaiah,” the familiar, patronising tone carried itself through the doorway from the hall. “The classic catch a suspect off guard and they’ll be more likely to talk? You have a small mind and that makes you a wonderful pet, but a terrible detective.”

Claw shivered at the voice as he watches the man who had haunted him for so long stroll easily into the room while he struggled against the rope, helpless, like a fly that could see the spider coming but was already caught in the web. Rifle stood by the door, he supposed he couldn’t bet on any help arriving. Not yet anyway.

He hadn’t been thinking straight when he came here alone. He could admit that much.

“I just wanted a friendly chat that’s all. Maybe over tea? I think we could leave the unpleasantness until after some earl grey.”

The professor smiles with teeth, “And I think I prefer a more direct approach.”

Then he grips the armrests of the chair Claw was tied to and leans in slowly until they were face to face.

“Now, what was it you wanted to ask?”

Claw grits his teeth but keeps his tone even. “I don’t suppose you could tell me where Pewtree is being held could you?”

His captor scoffed, his hands thrown in the air in an exaggerated gesture. Claw notices the same grey dust on them.

“Well, you always were forward weren’t you, Isaiah? But no, it’s a little too early for that. I’ve invested a little too much to see this undone.”

Then he laughs a little, “You might be surprised that I’m admitting I’m involved but I’m sure you’ve deduced that much in your little detective game so I won’t offend you by pretending.”

Somehow, he didn’t believe that the Professor was particularly concerned with offending him. He could tell the play though; you give some information to hide the rest. Not that Claw was in any position to demand any information at all.

Still, arrogance was his specialty.

“Investment, you say? A financial one, I presume. As the one who previously was in charge of your finances, I’d wager you wouldn’t be involved with anything as risky as this unless you were expecting big returns.”

“You speak as though you were anything more to me than a pet gone astray. Believe me Isaiah, you weren’t.”

He did believe it, maybe a younger him had believed he was more, they were more. But nothing a man should learn more than when to know his loyalties are misplaced.

Perhaps he knew the truth but believed he could have always left if he wanted, even if he still felt like he was being suffocated for that decision all these years later.

“You speak as though this doesn’t say far more about your character than it does about mine.”

The Professor’s eyes narrow and there was a familar yet dangerous glint to them that Claw knew could only spell trouble.

“Still as insolent as ever. You forget your place. Though I am more than happy to remind you.”

He nods at Rifle and Claw’s brow furrow in confusion before his former friend steps in front of him with a hammer. A fucking hammer.

“If your legs don’t remind you of where you belong then you don’t need them.” The Professor’s smile is thin as he talks.

Rifle pulls up Claw’s pressed trouser leg before driving the hammer hard into where the brand was as if it was a nail, the pain was immediate and excruciating and Claw couldn’t bite back the scream.

Through the agony, he notices Rifle wincing when the bone shattered, well late sympathy was better than never he supposed.

The Professor starts to go on one of his long rants, Claw was aware that he was imagining himself more as a Shakespearian actor reciting a soliloquy for the pleasure of others than a man rambling to whoever was unfortunate enough to be nearby.

His head hung low, pain making him gasp and cough unable to catch his breath, but he refused his mind to shut. A skill that Talon might believe he didn’t possess was knowing when to shut up. Though there was a part of him that wanted to beg for help, he had a job to do. He needed to listen.

“-Tiger is an efficient worker even if he is an idiot, told the men to take everything they could find. The stolen loot is quite the-”

“Loot? Not Pewtree himself though?”

The professor stops talking and narrowed his eyes. Claw had got something and he wasn’t about to let go of his catch.

“And I suppose the painting of Argyll was a nice find, easy enough to get without entering the main halls.”

“What are you- ”

“Tiger is known for getting people to scrape gold out of old computer chips, yet the extensive gold and silver furnishings of the halls were remarkably untouched.”

The Professor grinds his teeth.

“They didn’t get in through the hallway, nor even through the door, did they? They went another way, that’s why they weren’t spotted. And this second passageway, would be a perfect place to store a kidnapping victim, wouldn’t it. You wouldn’t have to worry about transporting him out.”

The grey dust suddenly made sense. He can hear the click of information slotting together like a jigsaw.

The professor reaches for Claw, placing a hand on his neck as a warning. Claw’s heart races at the familiar gesture but continues regardless, “And if you left a singular person in charge of the victim, it was less likely that person would be caught because they wouldn’t leave the scene of the crime if no-one knew where it even was. Would be easy enough to sneak them in with the rest of the grunts and your business partner would be none the wiser.”

Claw made a show of humming in thought, “And this second passageway would be...” He could see veins bulging at the Professor’s temple. It was a satisfying sight even as the hand closed around his neck.

“Tell me Thomas, do you remember the fifth of November?”

The Professor snaps punching Claw in the jaw and Claw’s head whips back.

“How do you know that name?” The man growls out.

“Oh, that.” Claw answers boredly, head still tilted up to the white-tiled ceiling, quietly enjoying the other man finally losing his cool amidst the pain radiating from his chin.

“I looked through some files back when we worked together. I was keeping tabs on you too.”

He pulled his head forward, meeting the Professor’s eyes with a grin that made his chin hurt more, “Not such a bad detective, am I?”

The Professor roared and drove the hammer straight into Claw’s abdomen and bowled over with a grunt. The pain from his shattered leg seemed to intensify.

But through the pain, Claw knew he won.

#its cda time #the poll i did ages ago had the astronaut win but i need to rotate her in my head for longer-#-before i can finish the next chapter #also i dont believe in democracy #claw's detective agency #this one was a long time coming #whump #detectives #interrogation #oc fic

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apicturewithasmile · 4 months

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Already got the best Christmas gift in the form of Earl Grey classic man showing up at the shop and telling us he's moved back to Berlin 🥹 so glad I didn't find a new favourite customer in the one and a half years that he was gone.

#earl grey classic man #work in the the parlour #about me

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echantedtoon · 5 months

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Baxter x Alastor P3

WARNING: Fear of touch and panic attack mentioned

It's ok. Just breath in and out. Just like Charlie taught you. In. Out. In. Out. There ya go, ol boy. Just keep your nerves down and don't panic.

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself."

He froze before daring to make eye contact with the much taller demon sitting across from him. The red eyes gave him a curious look as he held the tea cup to his mouth. The fish demon was nervously shaking and smiling under that gaze. The contants of his own cup threatening to spill out from his shaking.

"W-Who me? N-N-No! No. I-I'm doing just f-fine. Hehe. Um...W-What tea is this?" She smiled wider while trying to change the subject off himself.

".....Earl grey. Can never go wrong with the classics I say. Now, about that little favor you still owe me.~"

Baxter choked on his drink and almost dropped the cup he was holding. He put his cup down forcefully and pounded on his chest to help get the drink down his throat. Alastor watched with a calm face as he got himself together and looked up to him in horror.

"B-B-But, I thought you j-just wanted t-t-to talk."

"And I do. But you seem very nervous. Tell me, do you really fear me like everyone else?"

That made the fish demon pause and meet his face with scared red eyes. Alastor slowly brought his teacup down from his mouth when Baxter didn't respond and met his eyes evenly.

"I see....If it's any comfort, I'm not about to snap and kill you. Oh, no no no. It would be very rude to shred apart guests, especially when I enjoy their company." He gave a wide mouthed grin...but it only seemed to put Baxter more on edge. "Tell me. How's those experiments coming along? You must be quite busy."

"...They're coming along fine." He made to reach for his cup again never loosing eye contact. "I-I'm not really done yet."

"Well it takes quite a while to do such things. While not a science man myself, I can understand many effects on one's body." Baxter flinched at that and Alastor quickly noticed. "But I promise I won't be harming anyone in the hotel anytime soon. I did promise Charlie and a true demon always keeps their promises."

Baxter nodded before looking down at his own cup, avoiding eye contact. This was not where he wanted to be right now. For f*cks sake! ! This was THE RADIO DEMON sitting across from him right now! Cannibal killer tyrant of hell with more power than any normal demon in the nine circles! And he just wanted to 'talk' in private? Yeah right. His mind briefly went back to Angel's comment about how Al wanted to 'get to know him' and how Al grabbed his cheek back in the lab, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. He was probably look for a seafood dish and wanted to get him alone and drop his guard. Well, lucky for him his guard was not easily pushed awa-

He suddenly froze.

"Baxter, lad. You look lost in that head of yours. What seems to be the problem?''

He didn't answer. There was a hand on his shoulder. He didn't want it there. He didn't want that touch. He hated being touched. It reminded him too much of those incidents. His cup dropped to the floor and shattered getting glass and tea everywhere. Alastor blinked in slight surprise at that before he felt Baxter shaking more under his hand. His smile faded slightly as he cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Baxter. Are you al-?"

SMACK!

A force quickly made his hand get off him and he stood up so quickly the entire tea set on the table went over or jingled. The smaller blue demon was now standing a few feet away from him with a look he could only describe as pure horror looking at him. His hand wasn't hurt, far from it. Baxter wasn't physically strong enough to hurt Nifty let alone him. But it did catch him completely off guard as he slowly looked at his hand before back at Baxter.

"....N-N-N-No. NO!," he forced out.

"No what, Lad? If you don't want me to grab your shoulder, you could have said so-"

"N-No! I mean no t-to this!" He threw his arms out gesturing towards the little set up and chairs. "ALL of this!"

"....I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'this'? Are you not a fan of the tea brand? That can be easily fixed-"

"No! I-I'm not s-stupid, Alastor! I-I'm not going to be fooled by y-your t-t-tea parties and 'talks'!" Tears of fear were threatening to fall now. "I-I can't take t-this! I-I won't be eaten by anyone y-you hear me! I'd rather be forced into one of A-Angel's l-lewd chats!"

An eerily calm silence filled the room other than Baxter's heavy breathing. Alastor continued to stare silently at him before silently standing up and staring down the smaller demon. At this point, he instantly regretted his words and his eyes got small at the shadow looming over him. Whelp! He had a decent run in the realm of the undead. Maybe there would be someone else to at least finish his work and he could get credit for it. Maybe he would taste bad and he would dismember him so much-

"Do you really think so lowly of me?," he asked in a calm but strange tone. Even for Alastor, "Even though I haven't even threatened you in the slightest? I think I made my intentions clear." He eyed the tea set and the mess Baxter made with a strange look in his eyes. "This is what Mimzy said men usually did when they expressed interest in her."

He froze. ".....I-Interest? W-Wha- ....I-I-I don't taste good I swear!" He immediately went into begging mode. A common survival tactic. "P-Please! I-I-"

"I am NOT going to eat any part of you," he interrupted his ramble, "I made that clear a while. I invited you here to express my infatuation towards you. Though maybe I should have asked Charlie instead of Mimzy for advice."

"....I-...Infatuation?"

Infatuation? As in...romantic feelings for another person? Or just interest in getting to know him better? A new fear made itself present when he realized his outburst may have just sealed his faint in getting eaten, or cursed if he was extremely lucky. His breathing got quicker and his mind fuzzed as he felt another panic attack coming. He wheezed and clutched at his chest, leaning onto the chair he was sitting in for support. Alastor must've noticed because he said something to him he couldn't make out. His body swayed slightly and black began to creep towards his vision.

All he could see as he fell over was a red blur grabbing towards him before he fell unconscious.

#hazbin hotel

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rosekillerismylife · 10 months

Text

happiness by Roger McGough

"Lying in bed of a weekday morning Autumn and the trees none the worse for it. Youve just got up to make tea toast and a bottle leaving pastures warm for me to stretch into

in his cot the little fella outsings the birds

Plenty of honey in the cupboard

Nice."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If we imagined Jegulily with this poem, it would be something like this:

He was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Sunlight was shining through the windows above the sink, painting the room in its bright light. He was watching him rummage through the cupboards. He was watching him make a can of tea. Earl Grey for himself, he supposed and something sweet for her. He noticed the pile of toast that was placed on top of a plate. He was mesmerized by how he moved through the kitchen, fully captured by the swift movements of his hips and the little tip taps of his feet while he was slightly dancing to the soft, barely audible classical music that was playing through the speaker. One strand of hair got into his face and he fiercely pushed it away. He noticed that the man (although one could easily say that he was just a boy in his teenage years) was wearing a pair of joggers and a shirt that he stole from him. It didn't fit him at all, especially on the shoulders. It hang loosely from his slim figure. Whenever he needed something from the upper cupboards, the shirt would free some of his stomach. He just wanted to hug him from behind and smell his hair. He was so lovely.

As he placed the toasts and the tea on the table, he noticed the child at the end of it. It was sitting there with its crooked glasses and the most adorable smile he'd ever seen. It was a boy with long brown locks, green eyes and full cheeks. Whenever the man passed the chair the child was sitting in, he would place a kiss on top of its head or ruffle through his locks which made the boy giggle. The sound was as adorable as watching those two interact. One could think that they were father and son but the boy was much more tanned than the man who had bright skin and defined cheekbones.

"Harry, do you want to eat your toast with coffee or milk?" The man asked the boy who only responds with some babbling and incomprehensible sounds. He had a slight french accent. Nevertheless, the man chuckled: "Milk it is, mon chérie." Simply seeing them interact made him smile brightly. The desire to wrap his arms around the man's slim waist and kiss his cheekbones was stronger than before.

Smiling, he took a few steps forward and tried to reach for the man but once he touched him, he faded away. And with him all the colours. The boy's laughter turned into loud crying. Where did he go? Where was he? Why did he disappear?

A warm hand touched his shoulder. Fastly, he turns around. Tears forming in his eyes. "James, honey, you okay?" Lily was kneeling in front of him. He didn't notice that he sank to the floor. There's pain in his chest. It felt as if it could burst any moment. "W-w-where is he? W-w-what h-happened?" James was breathing heavily and fast. He tried to speak between his cries. There was pity and sadness in Lily's eyes. Those damn green eyes. "Sshh, breathe, darling. Breathe." She wrapped her arms around him and engulfed him in her warm body. "W-w-where is he? W-w-why c-can't I see h-him anymore?" Single tears streamed down his face. "He-He was standing there. Where did h-he g-go?" He felt something wet in his neck. Lily was crying too. Silently, but still crying. Her grip around his body tightened as if her hands tried to grab something. "J-James, he...he's g-gone." "T-to w-where?"

"D-did you see h-him again?" "Y-yeah." His sobs calmed down. But the pain in his heart didn't stop. It was still very much present. "T-tell m-me what did he do?" "He was just st-standing there, m-making breakfast." More tears built behind his eyes. His head hurt. He must've been crying much lately. Lily took in a deep breath as if to get herself together. Then her grip around him loosened and she turned him around to face him. Her fingertips softly grazed his cheeks as she looked him in the eyes. "James, Reggie was found d-dead four days ago." She tried to sound strong but her voice cracked midway. James was frozen. He didn't move. He had known this. He had known that he was dead. One part of him was ripped away as the information sunk in.

Lily once again wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. They stayed like this for a while. They were in their own space, no noice coming in. Eventually, Harry's cries where very much audible. The child was bawling its eyes out while sitting in a chair at the table.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Lily asked while attempting to hide that she was crying too. It had affected the whole family. First, they searched everywhere for months to find their partner and next thing they knew, he was declared dead and his body was found just merely days after. Their baby was gone and the home would never feel the same again. Harry was crying while birds outside started singing. Regulus was missing. He would've got Harry to stop crying in less than a few seconds.

A home that once was as warm and comfortable as autumn now changed season. At this moment, it was pure winter: Cold, icy and sad. And this atmosphere would last for a while.

#jegulily #regulus black is dead #james potter #harry potter #lily evans #marauders #happiness by roger mcgough #poetry #i did not proofread this #imagine

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thewastelandwriter · 2 years

Text

Dragon Age Inquisition: Companions Favorite Starbucks Drinks

A/N: Hello, I’m back with my favorite series! This was fun for me to make, so I hope you enjoy! You don’t know how badly I wanted to give Solas the “Emperors Cloud and Mist” tea. The description fits him so well. “This gently smoky, softly sweet green tea—cultivated at 3,500 feet and shrouded in ethereal clouds and mist—is tasty no matter what language you say it in.” Beautiful! But alas, the man who loves to sleep hates tea. Wack. (P.S. I also plan on doing one for DAO and DA2! I’ll update this and my Masterlist once it’s done! In the mean time, if you play Apex Legends or Fallout 4 I have made one for them as well! :))

Cassandra: Iced Passion Tango Tea Lemonade

Our blend of hibiscus, lemongrass and apple, handshaken with ice, lemonade and, of course, passion.

Dorian: Earl Grey Tea

We take a strong black tea base and add the essence of bergamot, a citrus fruit with subtle lemon and floral lavender notes, to create this aromatically awesome tea flavor.

Iron Bull: Dragon Drink

This tropical-inspired pick-me-up—crafted with a refreshing combination of sweet mango and dragonfruit flavors—is handshaken with creamy coconutmilk, ice and a scoop of real diced dragonfruit.

Solas: Caramel Cloud Macchiato

Our Cloud Macchiato is light and airy with layers of fluffy foam, cascading espresso, vanilla-flavored syrup and a drizzle of caramel. It's a whole new way to love your macchiato.

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oswaldsleftbicep · 2 years

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I know this is weird but i need to know a very important question:

How do you think the boys would smell like?

what the boys would smell like

fun fact: i almost got a job at bath and body works. another fun fact: i kinda have a synesthesia where i can look at a photo or think about something and just,, be able to smell it?? usually it happens randomly and i can't control it :/

genre: other

cw: just my usual bs

Lucia

❧ cinnamon and apples,, maybe it's just the hair color but that's the vibe; definitely uses a crisp apple body wash or shampoo

❧ fresh linen; rich boy always has nice clean clothes, although he does the smell test sometimes to see if he can get away with wearing that same shirt for just one more day

❧ related to his clothes, his fancy coat thingy smells faintly of real leather, as do some of his accessories and his scabbard if he's wearing it

❧ again with the clothing but he smells like tide laundry detergent, the one all the college kids use; my first ex used it and he always smelled soooo good lmao

Levy

❧ old books,, you already know this, he spends so much time in the library he probably soaked up the scent lol

❧ saltwater; you know when you go to a coastal shore and there's that nice sea breeze that's so refreshing but also kinda musky?

❧ he's definitely got a lighter scent to him too, something that offsets his rough demeanor, like a light green apple or powder scent, probably from his shampoo or body wash

❧ horse stables, but not too strongly; i work around horses and yeah they can smell terrible, but when the arena is empty and clean and there's just the smell of sand and horses and hay, it doesn't smell too bad. i say this cuz he likes to ride his horse so i'd imagine the smell would linger a bit on his clothes

Mefy

❧ yankee candle's "midsummer's night"; i remember this smelling so good, like the vibes on a warm summer night, it also reminded me a lot of a cologne

❧ evergreen or pine trees, idk which is which but it's the one the always make candles for around the holidays

❧ candle smoke; do you see the candle theme here lmao, he gives witchy vibes and candle smoke would for sure be involved

❧ he definitely wears some kind of rich cologne, something along the lines of bath and body works' bourbon, something very "manly" and yummy smelling, but he only wears very little of it, enough so that when he walks past you're like "ooo yum" but it's not overpowering

Oswald

❧ soil and cut grass; mans works in a garden, you know he's got that earthy smell to him

❧ flowers; he always has a fresh bouquet of flowers in his cabin and he keeps the petals he plucks or the ones that fall of to make potpourri

❧ sweat obviously, he does manual labor for a living, he's gonna get sweaty; he also has a very faint metallic smell, it's probably his jewelry, but it could be something else too iykyk

❧ ofc he's gonna wash up to get any unpleasant smells off, and i feel like he'd use goat's milk soap, something natural and fragrance free

Kaim

❧ tea obviously, he drinks so much of it and makes it all the time; he prefers the more classic teas, like earl grey and black, over the more fruity ones, but he always ends up smelling like some kind of tea

❧ linen and wool; he keeps his clothes fresh and clean but he doesn't use any fancy detergents so they just smell like the materials they were made from

❧ wood and metal polish; he does a lot of cleaning and polishing things, ofc he's gonna carry the scent of his cleaning products

❧ he's not much of a sweet tooth, but he'll often pop a spearmint into his mouth, whether it's to freshen his breath, boost his blood sugar, or have something to moisten his throat, he'll go through at least five mints per day

Mikael

❧ merlot; it's a red wine i serve a lot at work and it smells very good, very grapey and classy. it's risky business drinking wine while wearing all white, but i could see mikael sipping this drink while lounging around

❧ he probably uses a body wash that's advertised as smelling like the ocean but it's not a saltwater smell but rather something kinda sweet smelling?

❧ menthol or mint tea; very soothing and healing scents but also very fresh and keeps you alert. it's most likely from him drinking mint tea or having some kind of essential oil noel made

❧ warm cotton textiles; ya know when you get your bed sheets out of the dryer or you've had a towel lying in the sun all day and it smells very warm and comfy, perfect for curling up in and relaxing for a nap? he's got that smell to him, which contrasts interestingly with the mint

Ricardo

❧ axe body spray a men's cologne that's very spice oriented, or just straight up spices. it's generally a very strong smell but on him it just works well??

❧ gunpowder, obviously, mans fires guns for fun, so the smell will definitely linger in his hair, hands, and clothes

❧ i don't see him as much of a tea drinker, but coffee on the other hand, i could totally see him drinking. it lingers on his breath in the mornings but in a not gross way ya feel?

❧ leather from his clothing and accessories, he doesn't use a fragrant laundry detergent so the leather smell is much more apparent

❧ an extra cuz i feel like these examples are too little, but he probably also smells like wood from an older bar, as well as whiskey or brandy, some alcohol with a bit of spice to it

Noel

❧ this one's gonna be super specific but ashland's "freshwater pearl" candle, it's a very sweet smelling candle, kinda like if you were on a beach and there was a candy factory right next to you with its windows open; it'd probably be his shampoo or something that smells like this

❧ a plain white candle, or beeswax, something non-fragrant but clean smelling? almost like goat's milk products; he'd need something not super strong smelling so he'd be able to be stealthy n stuff

❧ his clothes smell like he got them from a thrift store, you know how everything has its own scent and it all just blends together? like you got some stuff with strong detergent, you got some stuff that smells like a grandma's basement. it all smells very worn-in and a lil musty but that's part of the charm

❧ essential oils; he uses what he grows in his garden to make medicines and oils to be used in first aid or just as a daily thing. some days he'll have lavender, the next he'll have eucalyptus, and then maybe some citrus

Lucas

❧ honey. he just looks like he uses honey scented everything, or at least uses honey in his skin and hair care, and it's not an overly sugary smelling honey, just something natural and the slightest bit bitter

❧ bold rock cider, another drink i serve regularly. it just smells like apples, but not as sugary as apple juice. it's very crisp and fresh and makes me feel like i'm in an orchard in a flowy outfit having the time of my life

❧ he strikes me as someone who'd like to bake, and he'd have a bit of a sweet tooth, so he'd smell like sugar cookies and snickerdoodles, he smells like he's been working in a bakery all day but in reality he just got done making a batch of his famous soft sugar cookies yumyumyum

❧ this one's a bit abstract, but a meadow in the middle of nowhere. there's no air pollution, all you can smell is the grass and the trees and the pure, unobstructed nature around you

Kurt

❧ citrus oil; a lot of the birdseed i've used includes oils from oranges and lemons and since he likes birds i imagine he'd have that lingering smell to him

❧ butter cookies, or just baked sweets in general. he'd the kind of kid who cannot have his tea without some baked treat to go with it, in particular some cookies to dip in his tea

❧ dust and cleaning supplies; he does a lot of cleaning a tidying up, and although he's been doing this for a while, he's still a kid and is bound to get stuff all over him and his clothes. he's tried to clean a duster in the wrong direction and ended up with dust all over himself, he's held a bottle of cleaner the wrong way and ended up with half the contents all over his hands and sleeves

#my. hcs #i'm getting over a cold rn so my sense of smell is a little;;; not there #but i tried :')#nightmare harem #nightmare harem lucia #nightmare harem levy #nightmare harem mefy #nightmare harem oswald #nightmare harem kaim #nightmare harem mikael #nightmare harem ricardo #nightmare harem noel #nightmare harem lucas #nightmare harem kurt #otome games

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zacharybosch · 2 years

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Tasseomancy - chapter 2

🧁 in which ed and stede successfully treat themselves 🧁

chapter 1: tumblr / ao3

read chapter 2 of Tasseomancy below or on ao3!

They met again at the same time the following week. With nothing to do all day except wait for the time to pass, and feeling unsettled with some weird fizzy energy that he didn’t really understand, Ed had ended up arriving at Jackie’s way earlier than he needed to. He scuffed his feet around outside for a while, strangely reluctant to go in. It had been easy last time when he found Stede in the café, a little safe harbour in a confusing sea of aeropress and oolong. What if— what if he went in this time and picked something shit and they could tell that he didn’t know what he was doing? Or he said one of the weird drink names wrong and they laughed at him?

He could just get a black coffee. No funny milk or Italian names like fuckaccino or whatever. Coffee was easy, classic, everyone approved of coffee. But that tea he had last time was so much nicer than any shitty coffee he’d ever had in his life… What was it called again? It was a colour and a name or title or something. It wasn’t the Earl Grey that Stede was originally going to have. Earl black? No. Earl r— gr— br— blue! Okay, it was definitely blue. And what else? Maybe not earl. Blue man. Blue man man. Blue duke? No, come to think of it, it wasn’t a male name at all, was it? Blue queen? Fucking hell, maybe he should just get the cof— Blue Lady! Fucking Blue Lady tea, amazing, that was the one, Ed could walk into the café and order a Blue Lady tea and make everyone believe he knew what the fuck he was doing.

He ended up ordering a tea for Stede as well, and pastries too, since Stede had mentioned pastries last week. And then he also got muffins and some little fruit tart things, because they looked so cute and there were only a few left in the display case anyway so he might as well, right? It felt faintly ridiculous to be so charmed and excited by something as simple as buying tea and cakes, but he hadn’t been lying when he told Stede that he’d never had time for this kind of thing before. For Ed, buying food had always been greasy kebabs at one in the morning, cardboard-tasting lukewarm fast food between jobs, or handfuls of sticky sweets that were leftover at the end of another sweltering summer day working food carts on the beach. Hydration was cheap energy drinks, and bitter black coffee that tasted like pure shit.

Eating well, in a way that nourished and excited him rather than just begrudgingly enabled his continued existence, was one thing that Ed really and sincerely wanted to be better at. But food was— difficult. Or rather, food was confusing and complicated and there was so much to learn, and how embarrassing was it to be a whole grown adult who could only name about four vegetables and only remembered to eat roughly eight hours after waking up? Food had always been a necessary evil and nothing more; as a child, meal times were endured fearfully, because the longer he was around his dad the more likely it was that something would set him off. As an adult, eating was just a waste of time that could have been better spent working.

Food had never been a treat, but he was determined to make it one now.

The barista packed everything up in a paper bag and handed it over along with the cups, and then Ed went back outside to wait for Stede. Too late he realised that he probably shouldn’t have bought the drinks just yet and they would be cold by the time Stede arrived, and just as he was about to head back inside the café to ask for a tea towel or something to wrap around the cups to keep them warm, he saw Stede crossing the street and coming up towards him.

“Hi, Ed!” Stede called out with a cheerful wave.

“Just rolled outta bed,” he shot back. “How’s it going man, you good? I got us drinks already, more of that yummy tea, and some other stuff that was just getting lonely on the counter by itself. Cakey things.”

“Oh no, am I late? Sorry, I tried to leave work as early as I could—”

“Nah it’s all good, I just got here super early so I figured I’d sort us out.” It also felt really fucking nice to just be able to spend money and not think about it, especially when it was for someone else and he knew they’d love it and then they’d see how good Ed was, but admitting that felt a bit too personal.

The most endearing smile that Ed had ever seen bloomed across Stede’s face. “That’s very thoughtful of you Ed, thank you. I hope you’ll let me pay next time?”

“Yeah, totally,” he lied. Ed had already decided that if having his tea and cake paid for made Stede smile like that, then there was no way he was ever going to let Stede pay. And besides, Ed could fucking afford it and Stede couldn’t. “So what do we do now? How do we know when we’ve successfully treated ourselves?”

Stede took his cup from Ed, and they began a leisurely walk down to the seafront again. He made a thoughtful noise as he sipped his tea, and then said, “Well, I suppose we’ll know when we feel a nice little spark of contentment, joy, warmth… something like that. When we stop thinking about something bad that might’ve happened recently.”

“And how many times do we have to do it?” Ed asked, thinking about several unpleasant memories he’d very much like to erase with treats. “How many cups of tea does it take to get rid of bad thoughts?”

Stede gave him a funny look. “One has to be very careful not to fall into the trap of using treats as a replacement for therapy and self-reflection. Believe me, I speak from extensive experience.”

That was certainly interesting. Stede definitely didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would ever need therapy. “Is that why you’re counting the pennies now?” Ed asked. “Tried to spend all your bad thoughts away?”

Stede sighed, and looked a little forlornly at the cup in his hand. “Not exactly, no. It’s… well, it’s a long and probably quite boring story. I used to be wealthy, very wealthy, though I never did a thing to earn it. I was a name and a legacy, and was living the life that went along with that. It wasn’t my life though, and yes, I did try to make it easier to endure by spending… a lot… but when you feel like your very existence is out of place, there’s no amount of artisanal marmalade and silk scarves that can really make it any better.”

He paused then and looked hesitantly at Ed, lips pursed to say more but apparently unsure about whether it was okay to carry on. Ed got the distinct impression that Stede really wasn’t used to talking about himself this much, but he was intensely curious about Stede’s whole deal and so gave him an encouraging nod.

A ripple of relief crossed Stede’s face, there and gone again, and then he carried on: “All credit to my dear ex-wife Mary, she helped me to finally realise some fundamental truths about myself, and so when we got divorced I gave everything to her. The money, the land, the businesses, it’s all hers now. I just hope it went some small way to making up for the years of her life that I wasted.”

“Ex-wife, huh?” Ed said, trying his very best to sound completely neutral and not at all disappointed. They’d reached the promenade, and made their way down onto the beach proper, feet crunching over the pebbles. “I kinda just assumed you were gay, y’know, because of the whole…” he gestured vaguely at Stede and his outfit. No straight man wore that much gold trim.

“Oh I am, but it seems I was the very last person on Earth to figure that one out. I thought coming out to Mary would be the hardest thing I ever had to do, but she was so…” Stede’s mouth was starting to look dangerously downturned. Shit. Ed hadn’t meant to make the man cry. “I don’t deserve her kindness, I never have done. I wasn’t a good husband or a good father to our children.”

Ed knew a thing or two about bad husbands, bad fathers, and he also knew the difference between those who were genuinely bad and those who were just in the wrong job. “Hey, no, come on man. That’s not fair on you. You were struggling, I bet you did your best.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, Ed, but no. I shirked my responsibilities and hid away from all the difficult truths I couldn’t bear to face. I was a coward and my family suffered for it.”

What could Ed even say to that? He’d spent the last week thinking that Stede was a happy-go-lucky, glass-half-full kind of guy. Had the whole world sussed out and was just happy to be here and living in it… but he clearly wasn’t doing as well as Ed thought if this was how he viewed himself. He’d gone on and on about how important it was to treat yourself nicely last week, but apparently that advice applied to everyone except Stede himself. Ed might need a few pointers in learning how to be a man of means and leisure, but Stede definitely needed lessons in basic self-worth.

“I think we need to eat these muffins,” Ed said, stopping abruptly and plonking himself down on the pebbles, “before you slide any further down that shame spiral. You’re a cool guy Stede, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“I suppose,” Stede sighed, carefully arranging himself next to Ed and accepting the slightly squashed muffin that was handed to him. A few seagulls walked over and started eyeing them menacingly, no doubt plotting to grab a beakful of food. Ed chucked a handful of pebbles in their general direction and they flew off, squawking indignantly.

It was a little cooler on the beach than it had been the previous week, and the sunset was broken up by swells of pink and grey clouds. The waves crashed against the shoreline a little more forcefully, and the air felt thick and heavy. Ed’s hair was whipped around by the breeze, and it occurred to him suddenly that in all his years spent working on the coast, he’d never once come to the beach for pleasure. And what a waste that was; even now, perched on the brink of some rather questionable weather, it was a lovely place to be.

He could probably stand to make a few nice memories here. Overwrite some of the old ones.

Ed leaned back on his elbows, wiping muffin crumbs out of his moustache as he looked up at the sky. “Storm tonight, I reckon. Rain’ll probably come in soon.”

“Oh no, really?” Stede said, dismayed. “I don’t have my umbrella with me. I hope it won’t be too heavy a downpour, this bag isn’t suitable for the rain at all.”

“Where did you get that?” Ed asked, looking at Stede’s intriguing little tote bag. It was colourful and frilly and ridiculous and he’d never seen anything like it before.

“Oh, well, I made it actually,” Stede said, looking a little bashful. “From scratch.”

Ed grabbed the bag and peered at it more closely, running his fingers carefully over the fabric. Was that silk? It felt like silk. “No fuckin’ way man, that’s so cool. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this earlier. Is that what you do for your job? Design bags and stuff?”

“Ah, not really. I’d love to, one day. I do alterations and mending at a launderette and dry cleaning shop. I’m— not very good, if I’m being honest with you. They give me the simple stuff, but anything more complex than replacing a button or turning up a hem goes to John or Frenchie. They own the place.” Stede turned to look at Ed still fondling the bag, and smiled. “It’s not much, but I really enjoy it. I’m so much happier doing this than I ever was in board meetings and executive offices.”

“Can you make a bag for me?” Ed asked, wide-eyed, holding the bag up by its silky ribbon straps and twirling it back and forth.

“Um, my skills really aren’t up to that kind of standard yet. I had a lot of help with this one.”

“Okay, well, when you open your own fancy bag shop I’m gonna be first in line to buy one. That’ll be a really good treat for myself. Bonnet’s Bag Boutique. Can’t wait.”

“I think it’ll be a while before that happens. If you want to treat yourself with a nice new bag, though, I could take you to that luxury department store in town. They have a lot of fancy bags in there. I used to go there a lot, before, and I still have my membership card so—”

Ed’s face shuttered almost immediately. “Yeah, I uh, did already try going in there actually, couple weeks ago. Doorman wouldn’t let me through. Said the stuff in there wasn’t for me.”

Stede looked absolutely appalled. “Edward, I’m so sorry. Forget I ever suggested it. Let’s— I’m sure there are plenty of other better places we could go. I’ll find somewhere.”

Ed had never felt smaller in his life than when that doorman had turned him away. He’d known from a young age that a store like that wasn’t intended for people like him; as a young kid he’d drag his feet past the lavish window displays, desperately curious to know what else was inside the building but never wanting to admit it. In his innocent child’s brain, before he’d been taught some very hard lessons about the world and his place in it, he thought if he just worked hard enough, he’d be able to become the kind of person that the store was intended for.

Even as a world-weary and pessimistic adult, Ed had kept this thought tucked secretly in the back of his mind, hidden guiltily under layers of jadedness and cynicism. But the doorman had disabused him of the notion with one brutal remark and it was heartbreaking and humiliating, all the more so because the doorman had been about half his age and clearly took great pleasure in barring his way. Ed could still hear that smarmy fucking voice in the back of his head, recommending a shop across town that was more his level. Ed could probably afford to buy the deed to the whole damn building if he wanted to, but this guy had just looked at him and seen trash.

“No, fuck that guy. I want to go back there. There was a— a cool belt I saw online and that’s why I went there in the first place. I deserve to go buy that fuckin’ belt. And they can’t turn me away if I’m with you, right?”

“If they try, I will burn the place down,” Stede said, and the look in his eyes told Ed that he was being completely serious. How had it only been a week, and yet Stede was already vowing to commit crimes to defend Ed’s honour and dignity? And how was Ed utterly willing to let him? He’d been told many times in the past that he’d bend over for anyone if they showed him even the slightest crumb of affection, but he’d never really believed it until he looked at Stede, at the hard set of his jaw and the angry frown on his brow, and felt himself leaning in, just a little.

A fat, heavy drop of rain landed on Stede’s cheek, and he yelped. “Oh— shit! There’s the rain,” he said, putting a protective hand over his bag. “Should we find some cover?”

Ed would’ve been perfectly content to sit out in the rain and get a good drenching. There was nothing like a storm at the cusp of summer and autumn to invigorate you and get the blood pumping. But he could see Stede glancing anxiously between his bag and the ominously rolling clouds, so they grabbed the remainder of their food and jogged over to the awning of a beachfront gift shop.

And not a moment too soon, as within two seconds of getting under the awning, the heavens opened and the rain came pummelling down. Seagulls cried out and scattered, food cart operators started frantically packing up shop, and Ed and Stede looked at each other and laughed.

The rain smelled amazing, that fresh, hot smell that only came after days of warm and sticky weather. Ed closed his eyes and filled his lungs with a few deep breaths, sticking his hands out from under the awning to get splashed.

“Feels good, man,” he said with a smile. “I always liked the rain. ‘Specially after a summer like the one we’ve just had, fuckin’ sweaty and nasty every day.”

“I like to listen to it at night,” Stede said. “The bed is built into the bay window in my flat, so even if it’s soft and light I still hear the rain pattering against the glass. And when I open the windows I can hear the ocean. I love falling asleep like that.”

“That sounds— really nice. I should do that. Um, in my own bed. Obviously.” That fizzy feeling from earlier in the day was back again, so Ed quickly changed the subject. “Whereabouts do you live, anyway? The rain never stays this heavy for long, I think it’s already letting up a bit. You might be able to make a run for it if it’s not far.”

“I’m in the flats above the old shopping arcade, you know the art deco one? About fifteen minutes on foot, give or take. The building’s quite shabby now and you can hear it every time a neighbour so much as sneezes, but it still has most of its original signage and balustrades from the twenties, so I find it quite charming.” Stede looked down at his bag and started trying to shove it underneath his blazer. “I think I can make it.”

Before he could really think too hard about what he was doing or why he was doing it, Ed pulled his own ratty leather jacket off his shoulders and draped it over the bag in Stede’s arms. “More waterproof,” he said. “I’ll walk with you.”

“Won’t you get cold?”

“Nah, I run pretty hot. And the rain’s refreshing.”

The fifteen minute walk ended up taking thirty, as Stede kept on stopping to point out pretty little things in shop windows, and they also had to shelter from another particularly violent downpour. They ate soggy pastries in a shop doorway while they waited for it to pass, and Ed secretly hoped that it would just rain and rain all night long, so he’d have an excuse to stand next to Stede in this little doorway and let his mind (and maybe his hands, who knew) wander to some very silly places.

As they stood there, pressed up against each other, Ed had the absurd thought that maybe he was living in a romcom. For the vast majority of his life, he’d felt as though he was in one of those gritty and depressing movies that had a statement to make about society or capitalism or the inherently ugly nature of humanity or whatever — which, fair enough, his life had been pretty fucking shit, but his life was also so much more than just the bad parts. He didn’t belong in that movie, he’d been dropped into it by mistake and assumed the role because that’s all that was available for him, but the costume never fit. He played the part, rolled with all life’s punches and threw plenty of his own in turn, but it wasn’t him.

He fit here, in this romcom doorway, watching the rain with this endearing, earnest man next to him, feeling prickly in his fingers and bubbly in his chest.

Eventually they arrived at the entrance to Stede’s building, nestled between two shopfronts in the middle of the arcade. Stede dawdled, talking about this and that, absent-mindedly playing with the sleeve of Ed’s jacket where it was still draped over his bag. Ed nodded and smiled and looked at the damp ends of Stede’s hair curling over his forehead. His lungs were full of petrichor air and his tongue heavy under the weight of a hundred what-ifs.

“...well, anyway, I suppose I really should let you get on your way. Sorry the rain ruined the evening a bit.”

“It wasn’t ruined,” was all Ed said, reaching to take his jacket back. Stede was still holding on to the sleeve, and for a brief moment the leather was taught between them, and they just looked at each other for one breath, two, three. Then Stede let go, and the jacket flopped back against Ed’s body, and he slipped it on over his shoulders. “G’night Stede,” he said, softly. “See you soon.”

“See you, Edward.”

Stede disappeared behind the door, and Ed stepped out from under the cover of the arcade. Just then, the rain began yet again in earnest, and Ed stopped to let it wash over him. What the fuck was going on? Stede was such a weird little guy, with his outlandish homemade bag and his fervent promises of arson, and Ed was going absolutely googly over him. He was quick to fall in lust, sure, but this didn’t feel like that at all. Had he cracked? Did he finally have time now to have a mid-life crisis?

He was just about to start walking off when he heard the creak of a window opening and then a yell of, “Hey! Ed!”

He turned and looked up, shielding his eyes from the rain with his hands, and there was Stede hanging out of a window on the top floor of the building. “What the fuck are you doing, man?” Ed called back, and then immediately dodged as an umbrella came flying towards him, pointy end first.

“For your journey home! So you don’t get wet!”

Ed was already soaked to the bone, but he picked the umbrella up anyway and grinned. “You’re a fuckin’ lunatic, Stede!”

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd fic #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #edward teach #stede bonnet #my fic

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