#maybe a little too much about me

[missroserose]

so Friday night I took my husband to see the ballet of Frankenstein

we got all dressed up and everything and the show was just as phenomenal as opening night

but midway through the second act he got a work call and we had to leave at intermission so he missed all the really spectacular dances

said work call had him up until 1:30 in the morning

which meant he was sleep-deprived when he drove to St. Charles for a robot event the next day and left our garage door open

so some asshole happened by and carted off (literally, it was sitting on the cart) my massage table and supplies

and on the one hand, it was eight years old and starting to show some wear, so having to replace it isn’t the worst. But on the other, that’s $730 I could really have stood not to spend right now

also I’m headed up to Alaska to visit my mother…just in time for her mother to be put on final stage palliative care (morphine, no food or water unless she asks for it, which is unlikely as she’s very rarely aware)

so what was going to be a chill writing retreat is looking increasingly like it’ll involve a lot of emotional support and possibly family drama depending on how my aunt is(n’t) coping

meantime our car’s developed a slow leak in one of the tires so Brian’s off to try and find someone to patch it…in the middle of winter tire changeover season

all in all, not the best weekend

(It hasn’t all been shitty—pole class on Saturday was a particularly fun one, Brian had a great time at his robot event, and he and I are both actively making progress on creative projects that we enjoy but had been burned out on earlier in the year. But damn, this has been a bit of a “can we get a goddamn break please” weekend.)

#about me #maybe a little too much about me #life goes on

[plulp]

IM NOT A DOCTOR BUT I THINK I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP

#my art #dol #harper the doctor #HIIIIIIIIIIII HI EVERYONE 👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋 #its a little bit off so that makes me kinda upset :( but ill figure something out. it might be the colors :( #or maybe the spacing? i left a lot in the top left :( but its fine #and im going to use every lyric of that song for every harper piece i make so that i dont have to think about making captions okay? #but HERE. a HARPER PIECE YOU CAN REBLOG #i give them the stupid messy sidebun because its cute. to me. #im so sorry about the radio silence but i DID warn you all i get artblock often #but!!!!!! i was also accepted into a zine despite my lack of internet presence :) so ive also been busy with that and other stuff too #accidentally made this while practicing for the piece because i couldnt get the style right :( but hopefully ill get a better hold on it #anyways. harper is not a doctor and i love them so much it makes me sick #harper my EVERYTHING. hes my PRINCESS. #MY ANGEL. #i want you all to remember this isnt just an art blog. its a harper fanblog #ohhh but i do have a few few few announcements to make in my next post okay? so dont ignore it alright? kiss kiss love you #IM GONNA BE FUCKING SICK HES HOLDING THE SYRINGE WRONG. AND I CANT FIX IT NOW BECAUSE ITS BEEN RBED

[mylovelookup]

Cattonquick boarding school sweethearts/romeo & Juliet AU

In which Oliver also comes from old money and he and Felix fall in love in boarding school(?). The Quicks and the Cattons have been business partners since Queen Victoria was still kicking so Ollie and Felix have known each other their whole lives (summers and holidays always spent together) but when their family ties are suddenly severed after a hostile fight between their fathers, the boys’ last year at Eton is irrevocably ruined. As a reaction they decide (it was Felix’s idea and he succeeded in cajoling Oliver to agree) to elope run away on the first day of the Christmas holidays (imagine their respective chauffeurs endlessly waiting for them at the school gates lmao) and get married on a whim (also Felix’s idea to somehow "fix" things like ta-da! Can’t separate us now dad, we’re fucking married. Oliver is now a Catton. Family peace restored! No, not really Felix lmao.)

#needless to say they get caught the very next day #maybe they didn’t have much cash left and the only -pace they could’ve slept in for free was the hotel in the area that the Cattons owned #the reception prolly snitched but they both knew they would get caught eventually #also it doesn’t help that they’re the heirs of the richest aristocratic families in England #maybe they keep their marriage secret?it would be smarter to considering the repercussions but also maybe Felix it out first thing? #bc its Felix duh #as a consequence to their little escapade Oliver is pulled out of Eton for the rest of the year and the two of them only get to meet #the next year at Oxford where they have to keep things on the down low since Oliver’s father has threatened to transfer him to Cambridge if #if he’s seen frolicking about with Felix. it’s also difficult when Farleigh is acting as a (well-paid) spy for both parties #although both Jeff and James had sprinkled other eyes on the campus #oooh imagine them trying to hide in the back of the club. making out whilst crouching down behind dumpsters lmaooo #or or or! Felix attempting to throw them off by hooking up with indiabel and Oliver is so jealous he ends up doing the same thing #even tho he prolly knows about Felix’s intentions. (Farleigh doesn’t help with his catty comments about ephemeral love) #highlighting Felix’s well known shallowness. and then Felix gets jealous too so it’s a vicious cycle of pointing fingers at each other hehe #anyway they prolly end up like Romeo and Juliet #I was only supposed to do ONE canvas but got carried away and this shit developed a plot! sedate me #also this layout sucks wtf #saltburn #fanart #my art #felix catton #cattonquick #Saltburn fanart #oliver quick #felix x oliver #cattonquick fanart

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know this is just a silly bad quality random screencap of a screencap that I found on facebook lol, BUT it's a succinct enough image to easily describe the concept in a quick/accessible way hopefully :

-

(and of course, feel free to elaborate in tags, etc.! (especially elaborating about other senses as well.. can you "hear" in your mind just as well as you can "see"? taste? etc.) It's an interesting topic to me, as someone who's like a 4.5 at MOST lol. I'm curious what option will be the most common :0c )

#tumblr polls #hrmm... a little poll perhaps.. about a subject I find interesting.. since this image came across my facebook today #still really not feeling that well. no longer shaking violently and such but I still feel weird and weak much more than usual #They did say my markers for like infection or inflammation were elevated but that they werent sure of the cause so hopefully #it's nothing too serious. they did also say a lot of different things can cause that thing to be higher than normal but didn't go into spec #fics of what. maybe some of them are relatively benign or something. I still havent felt much back to normal since #I got really sick that one time though. I feel fine on and off but then little bouts of feeling weird and sick happen. hrmmm #ANYWAY.. looking for small ways to be productive. such as little doodles on evil ipad or editing game videos #or posting polls or cat pictures or some other like not very labor intensive things #I WISH I COULD FOCUS on writing HHRGGhh... I need to finish my game.. it would be so freeing.. a project that's been looming #over my head for like 5 years even though througouht that 5yrs I've probably spent a total of 3 months working on it lo.. ANYWAY #I still partially really cannot beleive that people CAN see stuff in their heads. There's always part of me that's thinking like. well mayb #e everyone DOES see the same exact thing but we just describe/conceptualize it so differently that we think we're talking about #different things when we're really not. But I have been assured by people I've talked to about it that they can GENUINELY really see #stuff in their heads like as vivid as an actual picture in real life or something. And the other senses are neat too. Like for exmaple I #can hear in my head much better than I can see imagery. I still CANNOT hear vividly like as if I were listening to actual music out loud.. #but I think it's developed more than my sight. AND interesting how this varies the creative process. a friend I was talking to on the phone #said they write by literally just watching stuff play before them like a movie. where my process is COMPLETELY different. AND that affects #the content/what details we focus on as well as our individual styles of writing have differences that can be traced back to that.. hrmm

[forcedhesitation]

astarion origin playthrough worth it just for all the extra moments where he does the "sad wet cat" face

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #thoughts about media #astarion #*kisses his forehead* my awful little bastard man... i love you and your big sad watery eyes. #IT'S SO FUCKING QUIET THOUGH IF YOU YOURSELF ARE PLAYING HIM GOOD LORD #I'M SO USE TO HIM COMPLAINING TO MY TAV!!!! #OR BANTERING WITH HIM OR KARLACH OR WYLL!!! #I MISS HIS THEATRICS!!!!!!! #not that it's ENTIRELY quiet. until i found karlach i was travelling with shadowheart lae'zel and gale. #and let me tell you. gale and lae'zel do NOT shut the fuck up if they are together. #they were literally having an entire tinder date while we were trecking through the woods to go get karlach. #i NEVER knew they talk so much because while i've travelled with them individually in past saves... #...i've NEVER had them in my party at the same time! #gale is actually pretty nice to lae'zel! he asks a lot of questions but doesn't condescend her as he does others sometimes. #that's probably because he's afraid of her though. I would be too were I nothing more than a wizard with 8 strength. #I do like how you can look at pretty much any two companions and get a well written and generally enjoyable dynamic! #It feels like they considered that a lot of people would want to maybe pair off the companions they didn't romance with each other! #and wanted it to be easy for really any pairing to work... if a person just paid attention to their shared interactions.

[taikk0]

STOP INHUMANE FURBY BREEDING PRACTICES

#taikko talks 2 much #WHAT HAPPENED #im not that into the furby fandom but oh my god #i dont necessarily hate it with a burning passion and rage i just cant believe the difference between the old and new furbies #i dont like it and its not for me but that's about it #something about overly cute kids toys like these make me a little nauseous #back in the 90s things were cute but in the modest way it was simple living cute it was pleasing in the comforting way #cute things now are too hyper to me if that makes sense #things r too eye catching hyper cute instead of homey simplicity cute #or maybe thats just me idk #furby #furby love #furby 1998 #furby community #furby fandom #furblr

[lunarharp]

What led to this (orufrey comic, cw an uncomfortable/creepy scene)

#witch hat tag #orufrey #er.... i'm too tired to have anything to say..i worked several days on this. #wait.. didn't i say just recently here that i probably wouldn't ever depict 'what if alaira is qifrey's sort-of ex'. What's going on #i don't even remember deciding to draw this..it's all a blur..i'm not sure why i WOULD decide to draw delicate scenes in my head #that i wouldn't really want to share with anyone/discuss so why did i draw it... #some part of me really really wants to draw things that are more and more true to myself... #maybe because of my alienation with most romance/shipping/dynamics the rest of the world depicts. #orufrey really is perfectly suited to me - what i read in the text and what is in my head. well anyway #i am TIRED of drawing poses and angles and..maybe now i will actually take a break from drawing bc of the tediousness of Angles #btw it really is a 'stretch of time' . . . assuming witches graduate age 18-20 #well orufrey are canonically 30-ish. they've only had agott around for presumably about TWO years (?) bc she took the test age 10 #and it feels like oru moving in/unknown atelier acquisition/building (?) .. i guess that could be a year or so before agott at most #(she was the first disciple) so... ????????? What about the other 7 or so years ?!?!?!!?!?! Unemployed Brimhat Hatred era #that time is very nebulous. after qifrey went to the tower i feel like it's been implied he and oru drifted apart a little. #certainly they didn't live together at first... no way. that doesn't feel like how it is based on things oru has said about becoming Eye #idk. I'm tired now. i don't usually think of alaira as necessarily qifrey's ex and this being how things went in that 'sliver of time'. #i usually prefer the idea that they have their first kiss with each other in their 30s cause That's Just The Orufrey Lifestyle #just felt like making a more relatable alternative view of my own Cai Orufrey Canon one time. btw im a big monoshipper and it hurt a bit #let's leave it there. this is surely the most i've worked on a 'single' art - though now i realise just how much longer the fic took :')

[420technoblazeit]

in my mind dean was always supposed to get older and become the new bobby. like ok you're a hunter, maybe a little new to the scene and still figuring things out. and you're tracking down a werewolf, easy case. except some things don't line up quite right and now you're thinking it might not actually be a werewolf. so you ask around a hunter's bar and they all say the same thing. go to this one bunker in the middle of nowhere in kansas

and you're like sure what the hell. you're stumped anyway, might as well check it out. maybe it's a weapons storehouse or something. but then you get there and there's a doorbell and a bee-shaped welcome mat out front and you're starting to think you've got the wrong place. the door swings open and there's this middle aged guy with a robe and batman pyjama bottoms. and he laughs at the look on your face and tells you to come in, he doesn't bite. not since he got that vampire cure, anyway. you're not sure what to make of that last part but he winks at you when he says it so you figure he's joking. maybe.

he gives great advice about hunting everything under the sun and if you stick around long enough he'll go on and on about how he saved the world at least five times. ok sure. you don't want to be rude so you just sit there and sip your coffee politely while he talks about some guy called chuck and how much of a bitch he is. and another guy who's aged a little more gracefully comes padding down the hallway in a metallica t-shirt and rolls his eyes. has he told you about tvland yet? ('i was just getting to that part!')

if you go to the basement you'll find shotguns filled with salt, wooden stakes, holy water, and demon-killing bullets for sale. and if you're lucky the witch who sells hex bags might be around. low-grade curses only, of course. you better leave the powerful stuff to the professionals. and she'll get in trouble if she gives you anything stronger, not that she can't be persuaded. a girl's gotta make a living after all and she's always encouraged eager new witches. it's worked out pretty well for her so far. and then a guy you swear is twice your height will raise an eyebrow at her and insist she only sell the weaker hex bags, please. you don't need any more witches in your coven, rowena. you've got plenty

pagan god giving you trouble? there's a man who swings by every once in a while who knows how to deal with those. give him some candy or a fun magic relic and he might help you out. it depends. he's a little picky about dishing out advice and he likes to play favorites. and if you've got a demon problem they can give you the number of a guy who swears up and down that he used to be the king of hell. but you've seen him walking around with a purse-sized terrier tucked under his arm and a dozen more following him so you're not really sure if you believe him

idk i like to think that dean got to grow old and retire. that doesn't mean he stops helping people, it just means he hangs up his coat and becomes an old man who rambles on and on about 'back in my day' and makes a dent in his leather armchair. there's a foosball table where the dungeon used to be and sam complains about beer bottles being everywhere and it becomes a safe haven for anyone still fighting the good fight. it's just that for dean and the rest of team free will the fight is over. they're done hunting now

#THIS GOT AWAY FROM ME BUT. i was thinkign about the spn finale and what i'd picture as a happy ending for tfw (mostly dean sorry. samgirls) #adn like. i dont think dean would ever give up helping people but i also think at some poitn in time he'd recognize that the way he views #hunting really does hurt him. n maybe eventually he coudl be convinced to take a step back yk? and be a little more hands off like bobby wa #and YES im givign rowena gabe adn crowley happy endings too. up to you to decide if htey live in the bunker now. (i think crowley does at #least once he abdicates the throne. he went full will graham and has like a hundred dogs n dean complains about how much mud they track in) #supernatural #dean winchester #castiel #rowena macleod #sam winchester #gabriel spn #crowley macleod #crowley spn #the pig squeals

[dyketubbo]

ik some people dont like considering the fact that minecraft is a game into their interpretation of lore but tbh i really like lore that acknowledges that their lives adhere to video game mechanics and thats a part of why i like that tubbo doesnt shy away from including his knowledge of game mechanics in his roleplay. it adds to his character and story and tubbos knowledge of how the game works directly translates to his character being extremely intelligent and skilled

and i think a big part of why people dont like acknowledging that tubbo isnt fail rping by using the game mechanics to his advantage is because they dont like admitting that hes intelligent. they dont like him being more than just the dumb bee boy. they dont like him being able to get a one up on their faves even though their faves are using game mechanics to their advantage too, hell because their faves are doing it too.

using game mechanics to his advantage isnt fail rp. being intelligent and skilled in his own way isnt fail rp. the admins keep him in line when they need to and when they dont they let him do his thing because no matter how many people get upset about it, tubbos knowledge of how the game works is fun and its cool to see.

a good roleplayer knows how to use the medium to their advantage. tubbo isnt failing rp or breaking the no metagaming rules in any way that actually ruins anyone elses enjoyment. hes just using the medium to his advantage. minecraft is a video game and there are literally plot points that depend on acknowledging that. tubbo is intelligent and on top of that he is a good roleplayer and its fine that he roleplays in a different way than some other ccs do because that makes him interesting. if you dont like it then theres a very easy solution: dont watch him

#mask mews #qsmp #tubbo #trust me i hate ccs breaking rp etiquette as much as the next purrson. maybe even more #but i dont think tubbo is breaking rp etiquette whatsoever hes just playing the game in a way thats fun for him #and considering things like how he saved dapper through knowing how to prevent forever from warping #i think its actually good that the admins let him get away with being a little meta #it keeps things interesting and in some cases it actually helps to keep things fair #to have someone who knows intimately how to play the game and isnt afraid to be open about it and share that knowledge with others #bc tubbo doesnt just make it into a big joke nor does he keep it to himself #he helps others with this knowledge and informs them of it too so theyre on the same playing field. and imo thats cool of him

[bluebirbbb]

little arthur malevolent lester portrait because my brain is full of him

#WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME I MISSPELLED ARTHUR (edited now) #I KNOW THAT'S AN ESSAY IN THE TAGS BUT I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS #i love him #i need to make him look more pathethic and sad next time #and more scrawny maybe #he's just too presentable #i dont have time for more art recently so have this at least as my little break from uni work #i actually like how it turned out tho #i need to paint more loosely like this in the future #also ive been staring at leyendecker when drawing this can you tell by the shading on the cheek #and yes he has white hairs!!!! #and eyebags and a little bit of wrinkles in the corners of his eyes #i need to draw it better next time but that's how i see the guy #i really want to draw his lighter too because i've been thinking too much about its design and also i want to render some objects #arthur lester #arthur malevolent #malevolent podcast #malevolent fanart #poor sad british man #myartstuff

[missroserose]

Anyone want to guess who twisted their ankle on a broken patch of sidewalk downtown and had to pay $35 for a Lyft home this afternoon? And is facing the prospect of having to postpone several massage bookings? All while operating on a severely reduced budget due to significant vet bills that have a hard deadline to pay them off?

Anyone?

#I would like the Things to stop happening please #just for a few weeks #so I can get my feet under me #(literally) #at least the little bean seems better #we still don’t know what’s up #but he’s eating on his own again #augh. why is life. #like this #about me #maybe a little too much about me

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Horse Yaoi trotted so Horsegirl Yuri could fly.

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #equineswap au #wei wuxian #lan wangji #little apple #xiao pingguo #lan wunian #This is the first and second kiss I've ever drawn. And its horse yaoi and horsegirl yuri. Wouldn't want it any other way tbh. #And with that...Horse week has come to a close #Not the end of this AU mind you; I'll still throw some doodles in here & there and reblog any fanart #The concept behind this was to make something with the vibes of that one picture with the guys holding girls up on their shoulders #so the girls can kiss. And the guys are kissing too. I hope someone knows what I'm talking about. #Maybe one day I'll draw the unswapped version. Ill flip a coin to decide whether or not wangxian are carrying their equines or riding them #Thank you all so much for the extremely enthusiastic reception to my equineswap AU #The love for both sides of the swap has blow me away. These designs have been sitting around for a while and I wasn't sure I'd post them. #In the end it became a way to celebrate a follower milestone *and* this blog's 3 month anniversary #also...It has been a hard few weeks and I needed something light and fun. I really mean it when I say “you guys helped me pull through” #Love you all B'*)

[elcucurucho]

if missing qcellbit is a job then brother I’ve just passed the 40 hour per week scheduling limit and am now owed time and a half pay due to working overtime

#before it was okay because I still got regular cellbit streams. these last couple weeks have been testing me. #been having a bit of a radiohead moment lately too which is Not Helping #it’s not my fault every song radiohead has ever put out is qcellbit coded. I don’t make the rules I just see the truth #maybe I’m losing it a little. but I MISS HIM!!!!! I MISS HIM!!!!!!! #I’ve simply been avoiding thinking about it too much which is HARDER when my streamer doesn’t STREAM!!!

[zer0point5ive]

it’s the picture of diana in lawrence’s wallet with her arms wrapped around a dog, it’s the horse riding awards in her bedroom and and the snake toy she has draped over her headboard .. it’s adam who wanted so badly to be a vet, adam who loves cats and brings them saucers of milk despite there being barely anything in his fridge .. it’s them bonding over their love of animals, diana showing adam her amazing animal facts book and adam asking for one every time he sees her, it’s adam saving up his own money so he can surprise her with a trip to the zoo for their next adam-and-diana day when lawrence and alison are at work and need someone to watch her, it’s him taking his camera, getting pictures of her with her favorite animals and developing them, it’s diana telling adam she wants to be a vet when she grows up and him getting excited, grabbing lawrence’s stethoscope when diana says she wants to play vets and taking his job oh so seriously when diana says that he’s gotta be her assistant, it’s .. its ..

#sorry for getting a little sick in the head about adam being the best stepdad ever as if its my fault #ohhhhhhhhhhh. its all a little too much for me #starts sobbing in a terrible nd agonising sort of way right after pressing post #good god man. talking to self #get a grip #chainshipping #diana gordon #adam faulkner stanheight #📹 #no way in hell lawrence dr gordon md has a dog they do not have pets. maybe hed be ok w a rabbit #uhoh motifs cant stop wont stop #that dog is definitely an uncles or an aunts i just dont see in any universe lawrence having a dog or even a cat unless adam is involved #unless in some sort of fun au lawence finds a cat nd takes it to vet adam for the plot but otherwise no #n e way ! #amazing animal facts was published in 2003 so it checks out actually #i checked for the post nd everything i take this all very seriously you know

[whitestnoise]

#the fall of the house of usher #mike flanagan #tfothou #tfothouedit #flanaverse #(mine) #(i was looking for a generic gif set to put my little thoughties in the tags but there aren't any???) #(or not yet maybe??? hrmpff so i'll do it myself then!) #it really is becoming a flanaverse - again there were little things and phrasings carried over from the other shows #i can only remember the carcass of a house right now but there were more #i can't wait to see everybody's little posts and theories and comparisons!!! 😻 #what i haven't seen yet and will come up probably is the angle of the opiod epidemic #some speeches sounded like they came right our of the other netflix series painkiller #which makes me think those quotes might be verbatim lifted from real life although they are so out there that they sound made up (?) #i don't know enough about it but it struck me as too much of a coincidence #spoilers

[hwaitham]

⸝⸝ ˙˳ ⑅ first piece of marginalia ( of many , hopefully :3 ) about eremite!al haitham && akademiya student!reader ♥︎ f!reader + not proofread + subtly implied trauma on both reader n haitham's end

you first meet the eremite who's to serve as your bodyguard throughout your research expedition on the day of your departure, at your designated meeting spot under the pavilion in pardis dhyai. its stone pillars cascade with vines of sumeru roses that shine a sweet lavender hue under the morning sun— one of which you've plucked and tucked into your hair earlier, leaning over the railing to gaze at your reflection in the pond and smile at the beauty of it.

(and a petal which has unknowingly slipped off and fallen to rest ever so delicately within the dip of your clavicle.)

“al haitham, yes? um, hello!” you greet the eremite as he walks into the pavilion with a quiet waver to your voice, bow respectfully, try to still the timid pitter-patters of your heart that only seem to worsen the longer you're in his presence.

because this man standing before you is large— tall, broad, as stunning as the pale blue moon. his upper body is strapped with tough sinew and yet his waist remains lean, torso mostly bare save for the pashmina shawl draped about his neck and the worn leather holster slung across his chest.

and he's silent. offering you only a small bow in return before giving you a quick once over, gait unhurried as he takes one, two long strides to stand by your side. it's an arduous task to bring yourself to look up at his face, but you do— lips parting in awe when you realise he's unlike any other desert eremite you've met before.

the trimmed red silk tied around his head shelters only one of his eyes.

how interesting, you think to yourself, for what you know of desert eremites is that they are convinced all things betray, even their own sight.

you bite your tongue to stop the questions that bubble and ebb at the forefront of your throat from tumbling past your lips, the innate scholarly need to learn and dissect and digest and know. a surprised little squeak escapes you instead when he turns his head and catches you staring, meeting your curious eyes with technicoloured cyan.

“is something the matter?”

“no, not at all! i'm sorry, i didn't mean to stare,” you flush hot under the intensity of his gaze, play with the flouncy sleeve of your blouse while you giggle nervously. you're unsure whether it's his size, or his beauty, or his quiet dominance that makes you feel much more shy than you'd like to feel, far too giddy— as if you're a little girl back in grade school.

“alright. shall we get going then? we're losing daylight with each second that passes.” al haitham holds a hand out in front of you, waiting expectantly.

you tilt your head in confusion and pout. what's he asking for? a tip? your hand?

“your bags?” he heaves a sigh, rests his other hand on his hip. you feel a hint of irritation in his words, and your heart wilts a little, “did you want me to carry them?”

“oh!” you exclaim in realisation before hoisting your travel bags further up your shoulders, force a reassuring smile on your lips. “it's okay, i couldn't possibly ask that of you. i can handle it myself, really!”

that couldn't be further from the truth, and al haitham sees right through it, with your shoulders hunched forward from the leaden weight of your bags slung atop them, the wince in your step as you walk towards the pathway, how you nearly topple over when you lose the slightest bit of balance.

“hey,” he pinches his brow, a certain roughness in his voice when he calls out to you that withers into something more gentle, tender after you turn to look at him. sweet and innocent and dewy-eyed. like a flower too frail, one whose stem may snap clean off if looked at the wrong way. “let me take them.”

al haitham doesn't allow you to protest, swiftly lifting your bags from your shoulders and holding onto them with ease, their weight nothing compared to what he's had to endure throughout the entirety of his life.

“it's my job to take care of you these next few weeks, and i intend to do it well.” he walks ahead of you, the longer mint strands of his hair swaying with the wind, the air around him lifting into something lighter— even if it's only by the most minute amount. “besides, you'll tip me generously if i do, won't you?"

his voice lilts mischievously, and you can only bring yourself to watch on in awe. nerves melting into excitement, cheeks warming not from timidness, but anticipation of what lies ahead in the next month— for your research, yes, but also for something closer to your heart.

a companion, a friend.

you smile a smile that reaches far past your eyes, bounding up to him with those clumsy fawn legs as you try to match his pace. two of your steps for one of his own. “of course i will, thank you so, so much! and i'll do my best to keep from making trouble for you— it'll make your job easier too, i hope!”

al haitham hesitates for a brief moment when you thank him so earnestly, so wholeheartedly, so unlike any of the other scholars he'd been commissioned to act as a guard for. with your smile so cloyingly sweet and your kindness so childishly naive, he can't help but feel a bit grim.

how much violence did it take for you to become this gentle?

the faintest of smiles— honeysuckle soft— curls up on his lips and he gives your head a single pat, sweeps the spare rose petal off of your clavicle, quietly wonders what he's gotten himself into by accepting this commission.

“silly girl. come, let's get going.”

#haitham ❤︎ #&(*^&@)*(&& hieeee ! ! omgeeb so 🥺 this is how i imagine reader n haitham to meet in this au . . #i rllie like imagining alhaitham w someone who is more . . . gentle n naive n almost timid ?? like despite all The Horrors they are still #not worn down by it all ( or so it seems C; ) n remain tender towards the world #bcos . as we know . alhaitham is . . not exactly that . he is much more guarded n cautious after experiences frm his own life #+ also seeing what happens to others #so putting him with his ' diametric antithesis ' jus sounds rllie precious in my eyes 🥺🥺 #how they cn learn frm each other ! show each other something they've never seen before 🥺 #maybe fall a little in love in the process . . . WAAAH #anws :3 anywhosies :3 this is what this au is all about :3 n i hope ! ! ! i hope #if / when i continue to post lil blurbs about it #this is what u envision too :3 #WAH ! #um um um ! ! 🥺 if u like this au or wnt to see more of it . . . then may i selfishly ask u to interact with this post ?? #even a like is fine ! ! or u can tell me too ! #'s just to gauge interest bcos rn i dont weally knowwww if anyone is interested in this besides like . #Me ><