#(i was gonna sketch her looking at plants but alas i am in an art block)

[dunadaan]

Oooh does Crea have any hobbies?

She absolutely does, anon!!

Créa actually has quite a few hobbies. Her first really began when she was young, with her father traveling and bringing back pressed flowers from other lands. She herself began to start collecting flora from around where she lived, pressing them in a little journal and writing about where she found them, doing little drawings of them, and trying to figure out their uses, if any. She was quite a little scholar, but admittedly at first she mostly did it because she thought the flowers were beautiful, and picked the prettiest ones, before being fascinated with the natural world around her.

When she left home to become a Ranger, she was suddenly thrust into a new landscape with plants the likes of which she'd never seen. New trees, new flowers, new grasses- her journey was delayed somewhat because she kept stopping to collect leaves and sketch and the like! For a long time, elves and rangers alike would be bombarded with questions from her- what was this? what's its purpose? what's its name? Thankfully, most were patient with her curiosity and even encouraged it, and her journal was packed full of new plants. As time went on, however, she realized it was getting too full, and mixed in with her daily logs describing her day and what she did, and she began to move over some of the extra pickings of dried plants to a new journal- one that was dedicated solely to collecting all the knowledge she could on plants. Over the years it grew exponentially in size as she traveled and discovered new (to her) plants, and what started as a personal passion project began to take on a new meaning as the cumulative knowledge of (almost) all the plants in Eriador, and eventually, in Middle-earth.

In her lifetime during the Fourth Age, her collection is officially published for widespread use, (though I've never come up with a title for it), and it's an invaluable resource for many healers and others alike, as much of the information was lost or previously unknown to many, and one of the last few books ever published with the direct knowledge given by the elves before they all sailed.

Oops I blabbed a lot BUT another important hobby related to above is gardening! She's a very talented gardener and has an incredible green thumb. I like to think she was some sort of farmer in her life before she discovered her dúnedain heritage, and she still decided to take a part of that life with her. She carried the seeds from her home but wasn't sure she'd every do anything with them, being on the move all the time with her new life.

Some time passes, and Créa really struggled to find where she belonged. Evendim was her chosen area to stay, but she was at a serious disadvantage. She was no scholar, and wasn't raised with stories of the Dúnedain, nor their history. She's no archeologist who can help with sherds or artifacts. She can fight, but anyone could wield a blade, and her reading, writing, and speaking in Sindarin was not the best as she struggled to learn. She wanted to contribute in her own way and felt out of place, and like an outsider for a long period of time.

It wasn't until exploring the ruins of Tham Nambarth, overlooking the ruins of Tinnudir that a sudden idea came to her. She had been told these grand estates once used to grow grains for the city- and she realized she could repurpose the grounds for her own garden. One that could support the small gathering of Rangers here, or be used for trade with the Hobbits of Oatbarton. She kept it as secret as she could, wanting to surprise the others, though she enlisted help from friends when she could. It was a lot of work, converting an abandoned area with centuries of weeds and grass to a large garden bed, but she did it, and it's her proudest achievement. It was something unique that directly contributes to the Rangers, and she can keep them well fed with food she grew herself. (I also headcanon that her garden has been destroyed a few times and wrote a long fic about it dfgdsfg)

The building itself stores the dried and pickled foods for winter, ready to transport to the camp below, and the gardens boast of berries, herbs, tubers, squashes, beans of all sorts- really, anything she could get her hands on that would grow in the soil. If you can't find her out on patrol or in the keep, she's usually in the garden, covered in dirt and smelling of earth :)

As far as other hobbies...like I mentioned before, she sketches landscapes and plants to try and accurately reflect the environment she found them in. I think she also paints a little to get the colors right. And for the fun of it, because I like bird watching, I think she enjoys bird watching and identifying too! And it makes sense since the dúnedain can talk to and understand birds so!

She also loves swimming- she spent many summers swimming in the Anduin, and is one of the strongest swimmers in Evendim! Hasn't beat Calenglad yet though. If there's a body of water, she's more than likely going to jump in, like a duck to water.

[sunshinexlollipops]

ooh do you have time to share some headcanons for an acw modern au where arthur is an art professor and wolf is a new professor and they catch each other’s eye ...

Uh, YES I DO ANON.

OKay so I did start typing this earlier and my phone geeked and crashed tumblr so LETS TRY AND DO THIS AGAIN SHALL WE?

Arthur, as mentioned in the ask, is a popular art professor. Not only is he good at his job, he is known as the heartthrob of the school.

Most online reviews of his course not only compliment his class, but also his ass. And everything else ofc.

One review used the golden ratio about the proportions of his shoulders and hips and since then the staff jokingly calls Arthur “Ponyboy.”

One day, during a staff meeting, Dutch, the dean of the school, informs Arthur and his coworkers that they are getting a new Animal Sciences teacher.

Apart from needing space, the best open location for this new teacher is in the building beside Arthur.

It’s spacious, and Arthur asks why this new professor needs so much space (as he takes up a lot with kilns and other things like drying racks or weaving stations.)

Turns out this new professor has some animals that she is bringing, and so she needs the space for the pets she is bringing into her classroom. Which— oh. Okay.

Arthur doesn’t think anything more of it until the day the animal sciences teacher arrives.

He’s outside, having his class throw paint at canvases to create abstract outlines by using stencils to cover up areas. It’s messy.

Arthur is covered in paint, his denim jeans and shirt splattered all over, and because of the heat, he has some of his shirt’s top buttons undone on his chest, as well as his sleeves rolled up.

(One girl almost faints. Arthur fears heatstroke but in reality it’s Arthur who is too hot.)

Still, he’s in the process of throwing a balloon for a student with an arm cast when Wolf arrives.

Students notice her and they immediately go: wtf are all of our professors gonna be fucking hot or????

He doesn’t see her at first, but he notices that a woman dressed in blouse and fancy dress pants is looking at him.

She’s beautiful. So much so that Arthur drops a balloon without throwing it and gets even more paint all over himself.

The woman chuckles at him and says, “So is this the art course I keep hearing so much about?”

And Arthur be like:

Wolf goes to shake his hand, uncaring for the paint on his palm as she touches him, introducing herself.

She then points to her building and says, “I’m the new Animal Science teacher, the one taking over the neighboring building?”

And Arthur is just like oh yes right right, Dutch mentioned this.

He’s very awkward, flushed and stuttering and rubbing at his neck. But Wolf doesn’t react or judge his nerves.

She smiles at him and tells him “well, I’m getting a look at the place, and I’m moving most of the stuff in tomorrow...” and she pauses, looking Arthur over, “And you know, I think you’d be perfect for helping me, if you could.”

And Arthur’s thirst now be like:

Ofc he agrees to assist Wolf with her move, and she bids him goodbye.

While some are jealous, the students notice Arthur’s reaction and they are IMMEDIATELY invested.

Arthur tries to ignore them, but he can’t get helping Wolf out of his head.

The following day Arthur doesn’t exactly have classes. In fact, it’s supposed to be his day off, but your word is your word and it really isn’t a bad incentive to have someone like Wolf being the one you owe it to.

Still, when he shows up in a worn Johnny Cash shirt and jeans, Wolf is happy to see him.

She’s dressed in sweats and a v-neck and OOF she looks like art in anything.

“Oh thank god you’re here,” she says, “I have a ton of tanks to set up and I need the extra arms.”

“Tanks?” Arthur questions.

“Yes. I have a few animals that I brought here for my class. I have u-haul behind the building— I would be grateful if you helped me unload!”

Arthur, internally: there is another load I could give you but alas I am gentleman first and awkward man second.

Nevertheless, Arthur helps Wolf get her items. He see some vivariums and other enclosures, and he scowls at her supplies, not recognizing any of it for what it is.

“Uh, what’s all this stuff for?” he slides one tank that’s taller than it is wide onto a counter, and he looks inside, taking in the sight of the bromeliads and moss, “You grow plants?”

“That’s my crested gecko’s enclosure!” Wolf chirps, and to Arthur’s surprise, he finds Wolf coming close to him, their shoulders brushing as she unlocked her phone, showing the art professor her lock screen of some lizard, “This is her! This is D’or!”

“D-D’or?” Arthur fucking BUTCHERS the name and almost slaps himself in the face.

Wolf chuckles, “It’s French for golden. She was my first reptile, and she’s the reason I went into animal science as a profession.”

Arthur blinks, “... first reptile?”

“I own others. Another crestie, a leopard gecko, a beardie, a ball python—“

“A python???”

Wolf laughs, “scared of snakes?”

“N-No, just... ain’t big, is it?”

“No. It’s a boy, so he’s smaller. Just a regular too, nothing fancy. Didn’t want to risk getting a morph and end up with something akin to the spider wobble.”

Blinking, Arthur hums, “I’m gonna pretend I just understood what you said...”

“You’re cute,” Wolf tells him, and Arthur??

He be like:

“Come on, there’s a few more things to grab,” Wolf ushers them to the door, and Arthur just follows after her.

While offloading a few more tanks, Wolf makes small talk. She asks about Arthur and his course, and she seems interested.

“I took IB art in high school,” she mentions casually, “Just didn’t pursue anything with it.”

“Really?” Arthur asks, shocked.

“Yeah, animals are more of my thing... but you seem to really love it.”

“Yeah,” he hums, “I do...”

Arthur gets to tell Wolf about what his kids are currently studying— from watercolor techniques to pottery glazes and masking making in Africa.

Wolf seems genuinely interested as they finish emptying her u-haul, and as she closed the tailgate, she smiles at him.

“You know, I need to check your building out. See what you have going on over there. Sounds so cool!”

Arthur blushes, “Y-Yeah... I need to learn more about what you do. Not just for the sake of offerin’ up better conversation, just that... seems cool too.”

Wolf beams at him, “Well, you’re welcome any time... But, I couldn’t have gotten my room set up today without you. You’re a life saver!”

Arthur smirks, ducking his head, “I dunno ‘bout that...”

“Well, I owe you,” Wolf tilts her head at him, smiling ruefully, “What do you say about having dinner together?”

Arthur blinks. Dinner?

We hydratin’ now bitches—

“Oh... I’d... I’d love that.”

“Me too,” Wolf hums, “Do you have any classes later today?”

Shaking his head, Arthur replies, “No. it’s my off day.”

Lightly striking his bicep, Wolf gapes, “Arthur Morgan! Don’t tell me you came on your off day to help me out!”

“Well, when a pretty woman asks you for your help, you don’t say no.”

Wolf smiles with some heat his way, and she crosses her arms over her chest.

“Well, guess I owe you something more than just a dinner.”

Feeling brave, Arthur comes a step closer, “And what would that be, miss? Got another idea of a meal for me?”

“You ass!” Wolf playfully hits his bicep again, but they both laugh.

However... she doesn’t deny it.

“Well, since you’ve been so kind to me today, where would you like to go?”

Smiling, Arthur replies: “With you on my arm, sweetheart? Really don’t matter to me.”

They have dinner and maybe SOME OTHER THINGS and it quickly becomes known that the art and animal science professor have a thing.

Wolf heard about the Ponyboy nickname but Arthur cannot fess up to why it’s a thing. Karen, the business professor, tells her and Wolf can’t stop laughing.

At one point, Arthur uses D’or for a live reference in an art project.

Wolf also catches a wild corn snake that was enjoying the warmth of his kiln in his art room and helped to properly relocate it. (Arthur did not scream, he yelled, okay?)

Arthur may or may not have sketched Wolf a couple of times. (He has. They’re in his sketchbook at home.)

Wolf may or may not have gotten him the new set of paintbrushes he uses during lessons. (She totally did. He didn’t want to spend any of the class’ budget on himself.)

Either way, they’re a package deal, and everyone ships that shit like UPS baby. ;)