#leaf loves a lot Holland

[leafith]

After a lot of time and patience...

Now we present to you...

Some Fly Until You See The Light (Sky COTL) characters!

Two characters are missing that correspond to the name of Guide of the Passage and Martha, whose drawings will arrive in some time.

In the meantime, enjoy these drawings and some doodles!!

[trashmouth-richie]

Alright, babe. Let's do Angsty, and your words are: crunch and parking lot

xo -Amanda

@curiositydooropened you asked for angst and bby i’m delivering hot and ready in 30 minutes or less, like surfer boys pizza or a real horny boyfriend. 🍆💦

18+ HEAVY ANGST, upside down themes, s1 canon events with reader thrown into the mix. you’re dating eddie! yay!

<650 words

send me a prompt! from this post :)

A strong western wind bristled the leaves.

Wrestling colors of burnt persimmon and chestnut hues around in a whimsical swirl of a colorful tornado. Some stuck to the inky wet of the grass from the early morning rain. Others found their way like Magellan to a faraway land (a nearby leaf pile) or maybe into the yard of a lucky kid able to rake enough of them up to earn a few dimes in the pockets of their Levi’s. 

It was chilly for the unusual Indian Summer Hawkins was experiencing this fall. As if winter broke through the endless seams of  the late humid summer, demanding to be felt, to be seen.

Could you do that? Be seen? 

You heard the screech of the ailing boy nights before. The squeal of tires from the police station. His mother—you presumed, frantically called his name into the town, like a lone wolf howling into the harvest moon hung sky. 

Yet, the boy remained missing. 

Would you be missed…like the Byers’ boy? Who would call for you? Would he?

Flyers went up, crunching beneath the metallic thump of a steel staple. Into telephone posts, poked through cork boards around the school with colorful tacs. Taped to pay phones and called across radio stations. 

Eddie had assured you that he had probably run away, typical for kids that age who didn’t get what they wanted. But you felt something. Heard things in the night while curled into his chest. It spoke to you. Begged you to look for It.. 

Barbara Holland went missing. Last seen at a party of Harrington’s that you heard him loudly strutting around the hallways about to impress the quiet, pretty freshman girl. 

Again, you told your boyfriend of your worries. Cried to him about the lack of sleep you’d been getting, the nightmarish creatures you’d seen when your eyes were closed. He pulled you into him, forefinger hooked under your jaw, and like a fish on a line, you succumbed to him. It was hard not to when somebody loved you the way Eddie did. 

Had it been days? You couldn’t be sure. 

Street lights flickered. They always did at Eddie’s— it was normal. But maybe you should have been more self-aware. Maybe you would have noticed It. 

Long spindly arms clawed at your coat as you ran, bony fingers hooked into the belt around your waist, pulling you back, further and further towards the opening at the base of a tree. 

You fought, clawed at dirt and muck and shit to escape its clutches. Badly bleeding, injured, breaths away from death— until you weren’t. Until you were somehow nestled beneath foliage— safe, hiding, alone. 

The treeline behind the trailer park was where you laid. Unable to make a sound, caked with dried blood, colored dark on your body, the sharp stink of infection and decay permeated the chilly air, and you knew it was from you. 

Would he know how much you loved him? How proud of him you were for sticking up for kids who needed it?

You’d miss his smile, his dimples, that giddy dorky laugh he couldn’t hide when you tickled his sides. The way butterflies swarmed in your stomach when he kissed you.

Would he miss you…cry for you?

You lie in wait watching the leaves scatter across the dirt parking lot. Body cold and broken, blood trickling to the earth. Time ticking down to what could possibly be your inevitable end. 

[snek-panini]

At long last, it is Post Stuff I Made Time again. The last time I had a book to show off was in May and that's just too long. Not a fic (this time. I have them, they're coming) but a journal:

I made this as a dnd journal for my husband, and it was originally supposed to be a Christmas present, then a birthday present (in March), and finally it has reached its true potential as a Labor Day Week present. But it's gorgeous, he loves it and I'm proud of it. The cover is Allure book cloth (the color's called skylight), with the strip at the bottom in chiyogami (from ChibiJay; I got it in one of their assorted strip packs), and the flower is gold foil htv. The campaign is pirate/high seas themed, and his character's background has a distinct Fantasy Japan element, so a lot of the design choices followed from that.

More photos under the cut!

Close up on the cover. I thought I had a close up of the flower icon but I must not have taken it. Love how close the color match is between the blue in the waves and the book cloth. The gold htv came out a bit less smooth than I'd have liked, but it has a kind of gold leaf look to it that we both ended up really liking.

He requested a Coptic bind so it would lay flat when opened, and I did Coptic end bands for stability and because they look cool, especially with the exposed link stitches. I find the link stitches also add a bit of stability when you've got fewer Coptic stitches. I special ordered the pink thread (again, his choice) from Hollander's, and it was expensive and totally not worth the hassle. The only way to get this color was pre-waxed and there is SO MUCH WAX on it, it's ludicrous. I scraped a lot of it off on a blade and it was still too waxy, like handling a candle. It's also very stiff and thicker than I'm used to, to the extent that it was hard to thread the needle with it. I've ordered their unwaxed thread before and would do it again, but this is the last time I buy the waxed stuff. Embroidery floss is cheaper, easier to work with, and comes in more colors.

Please ignore the blurriness in the second photo; I have never claimed to be a photographer and didn't notice it till now. This is the doublure on the inside of the front cover, and it's more chiyogami from Chibijay. The wave pattern wraps around from the front to finish up under this paste-down; I wanted to do the same in the back but didn't have enough of the wave print, so the back is plain.

I thought I'd taken a photo of the pages but I guess I didn't because I can't find it now. Being a journal there was no typeset for this. I actually bought a pre-cut and pre-folded unsewn book block from Hollander's for this. They come in a couple of colors and you can get them blank, with lines, or with graph print for drawing, and Husband chose the graph paper for ease of drawing and making charts.

As a rule I don't normally make journals; books only become interesting to me after there is something in them. So I just skipped the part of the "learning to make books" process where most people make a bunch of sketchbooks. This is actually the first one I've ever made. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and Husband loves it, but I can't see them becoming a regular part of my output unless it's requests like this. However, I've got six finished fic binds to post, so stay tuned for those.

[hexagonspress]

you are (not) becket by @gyzym

Here, it's simple: you and me and your dead brother are all swimming in the sick stillness of the water after the storm.

Titles: Mrs. Eaves Body text: Garamond Case title: OCR A Extended

3,079 words | 108 pages

Binderary book 2 (these are absolutely not in order of when I finished them. This was a frantic ten-minute case-in on the morning of the 27th before being three minutes late to work because I was washing my glue brush.): Pacific Rim is a story that went inside my ribcage and my brainstem and won't ever leave. It was my first exposure to a character who's dead from the beginning and who haunts the story for the rest of it and I think about Yancy Becket every two days and I will for the rest of my life. And thus, from there, I get here, where "my name is Becket and I didn't ask to be your gravestone. Like I wanted this, Becket, I swear to fucking god" is just a line that is tattooed on my brain. I've cried over this fic a bunch of times. It makes me feel ice-cream-scooped out in the middle of my chest. I love it and it needed to be in printed form.

More pictures/design/process under the cut.

Design and Construction Case and covers: Flat-back case binding with bradel board covers and spine. This was my first time experimenting with layered materials for the case, because I wanted to mirror the missing pieces that are such a prominent part of the vibes of the fic to me, and oh boy. Layer 1 was on the front board, Hollander's Mango Leaf tissue in blue. Layer 2 was a full-cloth binding with Hollander's pearl linen cloth in charcoal grey, with the upper left half of the title text cut out using a Cricut. Layer 3 was again on the front board, Hollander's Lokta paper in natural. All of the title text was cut out with a Cricut and then I ripped the paper in half (an ordeal) and glued it down with a glue stick. I chose to tear the front because there's a lot of imagery of being torn free versus letting go in Pacific Rim in general, and this fic specifically, and yknow, it felt right.

Insides: No endbands; the book was too small for the pre-sewn ones to work. Endpapers are black cardstock and torn Lokta paper. The casing in was done with PVA, gluing a small tongue of the black cardstock to the case, and then I glued the torn Lokta paper over the rest of the bare board to create a faux endpaper. The torn papers are the same idea that I mentioned with the cover. The front paper is a torn piece of a whole - Raleigh, after Yancy. Mako, after her parents, after Stacker. Yancy. The back is a set of torn pieces pasted back together - Raleigh-and-Mako, without the people they've lost. Yancy, after. I don't know. I think about this a lot. (Also, I'll come clean. The black ink on the back endpaper is eyeliner. My deepest most sincere apologies to any archivists. I don't own black ink and it was three in the morning.)

Typesetting Typeset was done in InDesign. It's nothing fancy. Grief, in real life, and in the way that it is in Pacific Rim too, is a stark thing, and I wanted to reflect that. So, no headers, no page numbers even, and just plain black page breaks for each of the numbered sections. Garamond, my beloved.

We All Do It, or, the Mistakes Section Honestly, this was one enormous oops after another. Since the book's so small each page had to be cut out individually and I won't even get started on the number of mistakes I made doing that. Then I utility knife trimmed and sanded down the edges maybe six times because I couldn't achieve a straight line (I had to change my knife blade. This did not occur to me). The top margin is like 1.3 times bigger than the bottom margin. The Lokta paper faux endpapers were because I cut the original cardstock papers an inch too short and didn't feel like cutting them again. And then the big one...I measured for the case and then didn't write down which measurement was width and which was height. The case is literally the wrong orientation and I didn't realize until I put the block in and the top/bottom margins were wrong. I'm so fucking lucky that the margins were already so small that the block covered all the exposed board so I just cased in anyway but I did have to sit on my floor in despair for a good ten minutes.

Here's the French link in progress because I didn't want to end on my series of fuck-ups. This was incredibly fun but I never want to make a book this small again. That's a lie. It's going to happen again but better. <3

[adamwatchesmovies]

Legally Blondes (2009)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

Calling Legally Blondes an insult might sound like an overreaction, but hear me out. This film is cheap, badly acted and poorly written. It attempts to cash-in on the popularity of Legally Blonde while featuring none of the characters we fell in love with. Worst of all, it doesn't even understand the appeal of the series, meaning it had no chance of pleasing its intended audience.

Elle’s twin cousins, Annabelle “Annie” and Isabelle “Izzy” Woods (Camilla and Rebecca Rosso) move to America with their father to study at Pacific Preparatory. Their love of punk and family reputation draws the ire of Headmistress Elsa Higgins (Lisa Banes) while the school bully, Tiffany Donohugh (Brittany Curran), sets out to get them expelled.

This is clearly another script re-worked to be part of the Legally Blonde franchise. The twins are not attending law school, they’re given chihuahuas at the beginning but the dogs play no part in the story and there are no familiar faces to be found. Not even Elle. That’s right. Reese Witherspoon does not make an appearance. References to her character are made and the twins stay in her home while she’s away but if you sit through the end credits hoping to see a cameo, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, you’ll see something I’ve never seen before: the movie’s deleted scenes. They play while the names scroll. I guess director Savage Steve Holland knew no one would bother to check out this disaster’s special features but wanted us to see them nonetheless.

2001's Legally Blonde is not a perfect comedy but it has a lot of appeal. Although she didn’t fit initially, Elle had a good head on her shoulders. She had a few things to learn but ultimately, law school was where she belonged. The same can’t be said for the twins. It’s obvious to everyone watching that Tiffany hates them but every time the conniving brat approaches the sisters to give “helpful advice”, they accept it. Her true colours are first revealed when the girls show up at a party in inappropriate outfits. Sound familiar? I’d say spoiler but if you’ve seen Legally Blonde you saw that one coming. You’ll see everything coming, in fact. Izzy and Annie are introduced with title cards that describe what their character arcs will be. One can’t stand public speaking. The other is terrible at history. How profound.

You’ll be so bored you’ll want to stab yourself in the leg just to stay awake. Legally Blondes does nothing interesting until 2/3 of the way in when the plot FINALLY kicks off. It’s a school trial. Ah, so that’s where the title comes from. Took you long enough. This is where the film could have earned itself some points. At least now there’s a clear thread to follow. There are stakes and in theory, figuring out how our heroines will win the case should be fun. Too bad the screenplay by Chad Gomez Creasey and Dara Resnik Creasey can’t even do that right. The jokes are so terribly executed you won’t understand the punchlines until the movie is a distant memory and certain ideas introduced earlier that should be important turn out to be useless, making you feel like you're wasting your time paying attention.

Legally Blondes has no reason to exist. It won’t please fans of the series, it won’t win over anyone who didn’t like Elle previously. The apathy everyone had for the project is obvious. There are numerous logical gaps, the funny jokes are rarer than four-leaf clovers and there’s little to like. I’d say there’s nothing to like but it does get slightly better as it goes along. Not enough for me to recommend, mind you. Not to anyone. Not ever. (July 31, 2020)

[holdmytesseract]

A Shoulder to Lean On

Tom Hiddleston x fem!Reader

Request:

"You are one of my favorite writers and I saw you reopened your requests.

I was wondering if you could write a hiddles romance one were he falls for a tall lady about his height but is kinda shy and is extra fluffy (aka overweight) with mental health issues?

No worries if not!" - Requested by a nonny! 😄

Summary: You are a make-up artist, hired to work on the set of 'The Night Manager', where you meet Tom. You clicked immediately. One day, he decides to ask you out, what triggers something dark inside you...

Warnings: angst, fluff, mental health issues, mentions of abuse, swear words

Word Count: 1,5k

a/n: Thank you for requesting and especially for your kind words! It means the world to me! 😊❤ This turned out quite a bit darker than I intended to do, but yeah... I hope you don't mind! 😊🙈 I was struggling with that request a bit, honestly, but I hope I did you proud! 😊

Tagging: @lokisgoodgirl @lovingchoices14 @evelyn-kingsley @jennyggggrrr @acefeather2002 @lulubelle814 @vbecker10 @fictive-sl0th @lady-rose-moon @muddyorbs @kimanne723

If you want to be added to my Tom taglist, please let me know! 😄

MASTERLIST

It started off as normal co-workers. Colleagues. Nothing more. Hence, actually not even direct colleagues... More like... acquaintances through work. You never thought that it was possible to turn into something more...

You were a make-up artist and finally landed a big job. You got hired for a series called 'The Night Manager'. It was a big project with a lot of big names. Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander and Elizabeth Debicki. Just to name a few. But the biggest star on set was for you (and probably for a lot of other people as well) - without a doubt, Tom Hiddleston. You were looking forward to this, since you got that job. You secretly admired him and maybe, just maybe, he was your celebrity crush. You had never met him in person before, but you heard from other make-up artist colleagues that he was a dream to work with. Not that you didn't kind of know that already. Tom was a perfect example of a gentleman. You noticed that immediately on the day you finally met him. He was being utterly polite and kind. You liked working with him and being his make-up artist.

After a month on set you literally became his personal make-up artist. So, you got to spend with him several hours each day. You enjoyed it, just as Tom did. It seemed like you guys clicked from the beginning. The chemistry was amazing.

In the third month of filming, Tom decided to make a move. If he trusted the feeling inside his heart and the butterflies in his stomach, he had - without a doubt, positively fallen in love with you. You were an incredible woman in his eyes. So beautiful and kind. A ray of sunshine. His ray of sunshine.

What you didn't anticipate was that Tom could look after you... "Y/N?" His quiet, utterly gentle voice urged suddenly to your ears, causing you to flinch and hug yourself even more. You felt the movement beside you, as he sat down on the little stair as well. You flinched again, when you felt the weight of his big hand on your shoulder blade. "Are you okay? I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to scare you. D-Did I do something wrong?" Those words caused you to lift your head slightly; just enough to peek into his worried baby blues. Never... Never ever before asked you a man that question or was concerned about you. He had never been concerned about you. You quickly squeezed your eyes shut, trying to get those horrific memories locked behind that door again. Tom noticed immediately that something was indeed wrong, when he saw how troubled you became; how your breath quickened and how you started to shake like a leaf in the wind. In that moment, all Tom wanted was to somehow comfort you, make whatever was bothering you so much go away. So, he slowly wrapped an arm around your shoulders. When you didn't flinch this time and neither pulled away, he pulled you gently closer. That was all you needed in that moment. A shoulder to lean on; to cry on. Hesitatingly, you rested your head on the man's shoulder and cuddled closer against his warm body. Tom wrapped his other arm around you as well and just held you close. "It's okay, darling." He whispered in that deep, soothing voice, as you cried against his shoulder. "I'm here."

It was already dark outside, when Tom was on the verge of leaving your make-up trailer. The day had been a long one for all parties... "Thank you, Y/N." The man said and stood up from the chair. You just helped him remove his make-up - the fake blood, bruises and bandages. You smiled shyly at his words. He always did that. "It's my job, Tom." You'd always answer, whereupon he would reply every day: "Which doesn't mean I can't say thank you." You'd just give him another small smile and then you'd always say goodbye to each other and Tom would leave. Well... Not today...

There was a moment of silence between the two of you, as Tom looked down at his hands, fumbling with the hem of his green sweatshirt. Usually, he would wish you a good night now, but it didn't come. Instead, he said something completely different. Something that threw you completely off track. "I, uh, I know it's late and we have a long day behind us, but..." Tom looked up at you again, his beautiful oceanic orbs meeting yours. "I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me? If you want? We could go to the Chinese restaurant down the street, or grab a pizza. Whatever you like." A soft smile graced his lips, while you just stared at him. Had he just asked you out? On a date? Tom freaking Hiddleston had just asked you to have dinner with him. No. No, this couldn't be true. He couldn't mean this. He couldn't. A man like him and a woman like you? No, no, absolutely not. You felt those dark thoughts creeping up inside you. They consumed you, feasted upon your fears and doubts. And suddenly you felt like you couldn't breathe. You needed to get away from here. From him. "S-Sorry." You managed to stutter out, before you literally fled out of the trailer. "Y/N?" You heard Tom calling after you; audibly worried. "Are you okay?" But you didn't answer him and just continued to run. As soon as you reached your trailer, you broke down on the steps, crying. Silent tears were rolling down your cheeks and disappearing in the soft fabric of your blouse. You just hoped nobody saw you like this.

Tom held you, until you calmed down; your breathing returning to normal. Slowly, you pulled away from the comforting hug and wiped away the last stray tears. "T-Thank you." "Of course." He gave you a compassionate smile. "Do you want to talk about it? You don't have to, of course." You thought for a moment about his words. Usually, you were very reserved about this topic; about this part of your life, but then again... You felt like you could trust him - with your life. You felt so safe with Tom. A feeling you didn't have in a long time with a man. So, you took a deep breath and nodded softly. "I-It's... I..." Another deep breath. "My ex-boyfriend... He... He was abusive towards me. Physically and psychologically." Tom's eyes widened at your words. "H-He used me, beat me... Fucked with my mind..." You fumbled nervously with your hands. "It took me over a year to get away from him, a-and two years to get over the trauma. Although, I never got entirely over it. My mental health is damaged. Sometimes something triggers all the memories and well... I end up like this." You gestured towards your red and puffy eyes. Tom was shocked, of course and utterly disgusted by that man. How could someone do this to another human being? He asked himself. The man didn't want to dig deeper in your past, because he didn't want to put you through this. You've been through enough. He didn't need to trigger your memories again. "I-I'm so sorry, Y/N. If I had known, I wouldn't have-" You quickly shook your head, interrupting him. "No, no, this isn't your fault. It's actually mine. Ever since that, I lost trust in men. Whoever tried to get closer to me, I pushed him away. You couldn't know. It's okay, Tom, really." You gave him a small smile, which he returned. He understood now. Why you acted that way. There was just one question in his mind. One thing that he wanted to know. "Why, Y/N? Why was he doing this to you?" You shrugged your shoulder with a sniffle. "Because I'm kind. He... used my kindness. My heart of gold - like my mum used to say. I was – am, easy prey." You snorted out a laugh, shaking your head. "He never loved me. To him, I was the epitome of unattractiveness. A tall, fat bitch - that was the last thing he said to me, before I managed to break free from his grasp." Tom shook his head, couldn't believe what his ears just heard. "No." He shook his head and reached for your hand, gently taking it in his. "You're not, Y/N. You're the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon." Your eyes met his once again, frowning. "R-Really? Y-You don't care that I'm..." You looked insecurely down your body. "Not in the slightest. To me, you are beautiful - from the inside and the outside." You felt how your cheeks reddened; a few butterflies swirling through your belly. You didn't manage to answer something, except for the nervous giggle which left your lips. Tom found it utterly cute and smiled once again at you, before he gave your hand a soft squeeze. "My offer to take you out for dinner still stands. Whenever you feel ready, tell me. I'll be waiting right here for you. I'm not going anywhere." After those words, you were pretty sure, that Tom must be the kindest and sweetest man on earth. "Thank you."

[t-wordy-kk]

Fall Headcanons - Tom Holland

Day 6!! Thanks for all of the love you all have shown on the previous headcanons, it means a lot! 💜

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

Every year you would alternate between spending the fall season in the UK and the US

No matter which country you spent the season in, the scenery was spectacular. And the leaves changing was something you loved

Tom always got apple tarts from Sam, and they were undoubtedly your favorite seasonal treat

Tessa always ran through the leaf piles that you joined Tom in making

Hiking through the woods while the leaves changed was one of Tom’s favorite part of the season

You always joined the boys when they had a campfire and felt the need to share scary stories

While you ended up scared from their stories, yours were never all that scary, which Tom finds cute every time

When Halloween came around in the states, you would always sit outside and watch the kids with their costumes

Tom was more fond of trying to scare anyone who came to get candy, and he was relatively successful

Anytime Tom does that it plucks a nerve, but the more candy left over, the better

[ickle-ronniekins]

my absolute favorite person, III

A/N: hi everybody! (i’m going to put my longer a/n at the bottom because i've a lot to say!) i want to thank you all so much for all of the incredibly kind feedback on MAFP, parts one and two. the banter in italics at the end are a flashback to the scene of them at the lake during their sixth year, which you can find in part one. if i may make a suggestion: whilst reading this, listen to “we keep in touch, okay?” from the love, rosie soundtrack to evoke ALL of the emotions. if you’re new here and need the other parts, you can read part one here and part two here, loves x

pairing: george x reader

word count: 2k something

tag list: tag list: @mintlibri @georgeweasleyx @seppys-return-to-madness @fopdoodledane @fredd-weasley @iprobablyshipit91 @laneygthememequeen @lupinsx @keoghans @helloallthethingsilove @waschbiber @dreamer821 @feffffffy @the-hufflepuff-of-221b @62442-am @wtfweasleyy @obsessedwithrandomthings @thoseofgreatambition @harrysweasleys @sleep-i-ness @shadowsinger11 @haphazardhufflepuff @afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff @hood-and-horan @letsfightsomeorcs @theweasleysredhair @purpleskiesstorm @hxfflxpxffs @wand3ringr0s3 @finecole @angelinathebook @highly-acidic @purplefragile @90shermione @zreads @susceptible-but-siriusexual @hollands-weasley @andromedaa-tonks @bbstrawberry0421 @princessof-theuniverse @cappsikle

other tags: @jenniweaslee @thelittlewritingcorner @siriusblackisme @they-reblog-once-in-a-blue-moon @chaoticgirl04 @mytreec @potterverseimagine  @emcchi @godricsswords @tallyovie @msmimimerton @the-shattered-tea-cup @mischi3f-manag3d @quillsareforwriting @imseeinggred @i-am-kenz @verokela @imholeyfred-geddit @bralessandflawless

You were worried that returning to the place where you’d fallen in love all those long years ago would be a painful reminder of everything you’d lost. You were surprised that instead, it brought to you an inordinate feeling of comfort, and of home.

The golden leaves on the trees were reflecting beautifully off of the very still water in the Black Lake. You heard an excited yelp come from the forest -- surely due to Hagrid’s first Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the year. You were certain. You grinned to yourself.

You shoved your hands into your pockets, half expecting to feel the very worn parchment you knew all too well inside. Except, it wasn’t there. You’d lost it somewhere a few months ago. You’d panicked when you’d first noticed, because how could you have misplaced something that was seemingly attached at your hip? It was just another thing you’d lost, another reminder of what you couldn’t have back. Not that it mattered, not really. You’d memorized every word of it. You could recite it in your sleep. Everyone at his engagement party had heard everything on it, anyway. Well, everything except for what was written on the other side.

You’d fallen into a very deep type of misery following his wedding. Following your divorce. You’d ignored George’s constant letters asking you to grab lunch or dinner, to come stop by the shop. You’d pretend to not be at your flat whenever he’d stopped by and knocked on your door; you’d hide behind your curtains or underneath the covers of your bed. You’d begun to pick fights with Fred for no reason at all, except to evoke some emotion other than despondency. You’d wanted to feel anything other than discouragement. You’d yelled at him one day in your flat, If you knew how I felt all those years ago, why didn’t you tell me you knew? Why didn’t you do anything about it? Why didn’t you bloody tell him? And he’d yelled right back, I tried! I tried telling him, Y/N, and I tried telling you, but it was pretty bloody difficult to break the promise you’d forced me to make when we were young, to never reveal the very best of you to anyone. Did you really expect me to betray you like that, even when it came to my own brother?

The arguments were pointless, you’d found, because Fred wasn’t to blame. Neither was George. They weren’t mind-readers, no matter how much you wished they could be. The only person to blame was yourself, and yourself alone. You’d made this awful mess; now you had to live in it.

And yet, even through your brokenness, somehow, you still found yourself going back to to your story at the party -- when you’d said all you could say, you swore there had been a type of glimmer in his eye you’d never seen before. But were you being daft? Was it your eyes and mind playing tricks on you? He was in love with her, not with you. You were just seeing what you’d wanted to see.

There was one particularly horrid day, when you’d hadn’t moved from your bed and it was nearing four p.m.; you weren’t exactly sure what number sleeve of jaffa cakes you were on but you’d certainly eaten enough of them. Your hair was greasily plastered to the side of your face, and you desperately needed to change your socks. Actually, you’d desperately needed to change your entire life.

And so you’d taken up your prior Deputy Headmistresses’ offer, packed your bags, and moved to Scotland. Which is how you ended up here, now, on the Hogwarts grounds near the lake, having just finished your first ever Charms lesson with a rather exuberant class of second years.

The sound of students calling you ‘Professor’ hadn’t really given you the same warm feeling that one of George’s sparkling grins had always given you. But it would do. It would more than do. It was a new beginning, wasn’t it? One you’d never asked for, but didn’t know how much you needed.

And then a crunch of a leaf came, pulling you from your thoughts, and you whirled around, expecting to find a young, measly student skipping out on their lesson, or a fellow Professor coming in to check on you and how your first day had been. Except it was neither of those things. It was him.

His red hair was shorter than it was from the last time you’d seen him; it looked like he’d just gotten it freshly cut. He was clean-shaven with perfect posture. He was dressed in a pair of dark-wash jeans and a grey sweater, one that had most definitely been sewn with love and care by Molly -- it nothing compared to his dragonskin suits. There were slight bags underneath his eyes, and yet, he was still the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen.

Years ago, if this had happened, you’d have run into his arms, and he would’ve lifted you completely off of the ground and spun you in circles until you both fell to the ground, dizzy, and laughing. But now, you didn’t even know exactly what to say to him.

He started.

“Hi,”

You had to clear your throat a few times before any words were able to come from your mouth. “Hi,” you echoed him.

He placed his hands inside his pockets and glanced around the grounds, and you noticed a small grin lift his cheeks a bit. “Bloody hell -- Charms professor, eh? Who’d have thought?”

“Who’d have thought,” you echoed him again, carefully choosing every word to escape your lips. There was a considerable amount of distance between you both, and it felt strangely uneasy.

He met your gaze and furrowed his brow, as if to keep himself from crying. His lips were a thin, firm line. “Been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve missed you.”

The truth was, you didn’t know exactly how long it had been. Days had melted into weeks, weeks into months...you’re not entirely sure when the last time you’d spoken to him was. Not for lack of trying on his part, though. You knew this was all your own doing. You felt a sharp twang in your heart at the thought. “I -- I know. I’m sorry. Been really busy, as you can see --”

God, you were so daft. That sounded so bloody pretentious in your own ears, and you shook your head in hopes of erasing your words as they hung in the air between you both. No such luck. He walked toward you now, and stopped a few inches from you. You were certain that your feet were frozen solid into the soil and the leaves of the Earth. You were about to apologize again, when he beat you to it.

“Found something of yours,” he started, and you furrowed your brow in confusion. “Well, actually, Fred did. Somewhere in his flat. But he gave it to me.” George looked down and pulled from his pocket that piece of parchment you knew all too well, and you were certain your heart had skipped a beat. Maybe two. It looked strangely at home in his hands, as your eyes scanned the words that were engraved in your mind.

He fiddled with it delicately in his fingers, and your breath hitched in your throat as he gently turned the parchment over to the other side, to reveal those other words you’d written, but never, ever dare spoke aloud.

You swore you saw his lip wobble as you sucked in a breath. “Is -- is this how you’ve always felt?”

He handed you the parchment, and you traced your pointer finger gingerly across the words you could hardly see. The words you’d wanted so desperately to say that day, and other times, too, but couldn’t. Shouldn’t. But even so, you could still make them out, faded as they were:

I truly love you.

How utterly and painfully embarrassing. Here you were, life still somewhat in shambles, divorced, patching together the broken pieces of your mistakes, confronted by the man you’d been in love with for years about your own feelings you’d bloody written down on a bit of scrap parchment, and all you could bring yourself to do was trace your fingers over the words. You couldn’t even look at him. Ridiculous. But you shut your eyes tight, gritted your teeth, then looked up into his light brown eyes, and nodded.

You seemed to have lost your voice; but it was no matter, because George was fiddling with something else in his pocket. “Can’t believe you’ve kept it all this time,” he said, more-so to himself than to you, and he laughed lightly. He shook his head slowly, and then pulled out another bit of parchment. It was a bit yellowed, and more faded than yours, but he held it out to you. “I’ve kept mine, too.”

Of course. The speech he’d written for your wedding. An involuntary laugh escaped you, for you were immediately brought back to exactly that night, when he’d stood up and told one of the most embarrassing stories of your entire life, drunk on whiskey and friendship and fondness.

You chuckled lightly to yourself and sniffled a bit. “I remember,” you said softly, running your fingers across his handwriting. “How could I possibly forget when my best mate had embarrassed me in front of my entire family?”

A bright smile split your face for the first time in.. you didn’t even know how long, but when you looked up into George’s eyes, he wasn’t sharing that same brightness in his own grin. His was soft, and tired, and tears were glistening, glazing over his eyes. He took a deep breath and stood -- patient -- waiting for you to realize. He glanced down toward the parchment, and back up at you.

Something came over you in that moment; something from the look in his eye told you there was more you needed to know. And so you gingerly turned the delicate piece of parchment over in your hands, half expecting to see the same four words you’d written on your own, and half expecting to see nothing at all. What you didn’t expect, though, were the four words he’d written down:

Will you marry me?

Your heart stopped. You couldn’t feel your toes. Your tears froze in place and you looked quickly from the parchment to him, and back again. The ink was so beyond faded, so it’s not like he’d just scratched it down. Had he really written it down all that time ago? Had that truly been what he’d wanted to say to you before your own wedding? What he’d wanted to ask?

He took your hands in his then, your lip quivering more than you would have liked. His voice was a bit wobbly as he spoke, “It was true then,” he breathed, interlacing his fingers with yours, “and it’s true now. How I feel, I mean. And the question, I -- I wanted to ask you, after we’d finished school, even though we hadn’t ever really..” his voice drifted off, and he was swallowing down his own vulnerability. He took another deep breath before continuing, “And then the war happened and life got in the way and other people came and went and.. time got away from us, I’m afraid.”

And then he gingerly got down on one knee, and your breath caught in your throat at the sight of him kneeling in front of you, with his bright red hair and freckled nose and boyish charm that would never, ever fade. You noticed the tears in his eyes as he traced small circles onto your hands with his thumbs. “I shouldn’t have let you go that first time, and I’ll be damned if I let myself do it again,” you both began to laugh a bit, and you noticed his bare finger, void of his own wedding ring. You couldn’t believe this, you couldn’t possibly believe it. His voice was so beautifully broken and soft, “Marry me, and I promise to always bother you, always embarrass you, and to only ever help you with your work if you truly need it.”

A hearty laugh broke through your tears, and somehow you managed to say yes, and he placed a sparkling ring on your finger. And when, for the first time in all these years, his lips touched yours, it was a perfect piano piece resolving it’s melody, it was the quintessential blend of colours in a rainbow after a rainstorm, it was the incredibly nerve-wracking and freeing feeling of flying on a broomstick for the very first time and absolutely everything in between; there was nothing in this entire world that felt better, or more needed, or more right than the feeling of his lips moving slowly against yours.

You both parted, but you found it incredibly difficult to remove your hands from him. The colours of the leaves reflecting off of the water transported you back immediately to that day during your sixth year, when you’d realized how you felt..

“And to think,” you began to tease, sniffling slightly and pulling gently on the sleeves of his sweater, “all these years later, and somehow I still let myself hang around with the likes of you.”

He threw his head back in a laugh. He wiggled his eyebrows jokingly and said, “It’s because you love me.” He peered into your eyes now, and again around at the gorgeous autumnal grounds of Hogwarts, and shook his head. “I couldn’t live my life without you, no matter how bloody long it took us both,” he placed a piece of hair behind your ear before pressing his forehead gently to yours. He breathed, “I never stopped loving you,” and closed the gap between you both once again.

“Hey, George?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you always go around bothering people and distracting them from the work they’ve got to complete?”

“Almost exclusively.”

“Then promise me something.”

“For my absolute favorite person? Anything.”

“Promise to always bother me, for the rest of our lives. Take me away from my work and my thoughts and tell me stories and jokes like you did that night at the Yule Ball a few months ago, and make me laugh for as long as you’ll have me. Okay? Promise me.”

“Okay, darling. I promise.”

-- -

A/N (cont’d): aayyyyy my peeps! so idk how y’all feel but i like to imagine that after the ending, she and george stay at the lake, reminisce over all of their memories together, laughing and joking about all of these moments how many times the stars just hadn’t aligned for them both.

thanks again for reading, guys! i hope you feel completed and whole by the ending like i do. i didn’t realize just how much i was going to put into this -- i really came up with the idea on a whim and didn’t really expect to make it so emotional or even make it three parts, but hearing your incredibly kind words and responses to each part of this mini series has reminded me of why i ADORE writing for this fandom. I ADORE IT.

anywhoooo, please leave feedback, comments, reblog and share with your friends if you enjoy, and i'll be sure to link all of the pieces together :) thanks so much! x

[lewis-winters]

Hi! i really enjoy your daemon au and i-ve gone and watched the new his dark materials series because of it. i love your take on daemons and was wondering if you have nymore headcanons for the other boys? what's luz's daemon? liptons? how do you pick their names? are there any daemons who Re the same sex as their humans? you dont have to rwply if you dont want to i just wanted to tell you i enjoy your world very much!!

Oh, hi! I’m glad you’re watching the new His Dark Materials adaptation! It’s pretty good, huh?

I do have headcanons for not just most of the boys but for the world itself. Though I also call it His Dark Materials!AU alongside daemon!AU it’s actually more the latter than the former. The only things I carried over into this AU from the original world of His Dark Materials are the existence of daemons, the fact that daemons are made of Dust particles, and the existence of witches. The magisterium or any kind of theocracy doesn’t exist. The authority and the angels also do not carry over. Instead, our own religions exist, but there’s just as much emphasis on spiritualism and mysticism as there is on moralism, which I believe would be the natural development of religion in this world where your soul/daemon, the spiritual aspect of you, is literally there for everybody else to see.

All of the boys have small or medium sized daemons, the biggest probably belonging to that of Ron and Tab, who have an Ocelot daemon and a sheepdog daemon respectively. The reason for this being that small or medium sized daemons are easily carried and they, alongside bird or other kinds of flying daemons, are preferred by the airborne. You still gotta jump out of a perfectly good airplane largely undetected. Can’t do that with an elephant daemon. 

Ok. This got real long so I’m putting the rest under the cut. tw: mentions of death, trauma, and mutilation.

Some of the younger boys’ daemons haven’t settled. Miller, Hashey, Garcia, and Jackson. Hashey and Garcia’s settle in Hageneu. Miller and Jackson never get the chance.

Shifty’s daemon, Myrtle, is a Capybara. But he doesn’t know that. Every time somebody asked him what his daemon was, he’d shrug, say ‘Don’t rightly know,’ then leave it at that. What can he do? Capybara’s aren’t native to Virginia and he’s never been out of Virginia. Webster was the one to tell him that Myrtle was a Capybara because he’d read about them in a book somewhere that one time. Myrtle was startled by this and said; “I thought I was some kind of dog!” that was one of the few times she ever spoke out-loud during the whole war.

As I’ve said before in this post, Lew’s daemon is a chameleon named Amalthea. For all of the events of episode 9, Lew kept her in his pocket and that scared almost everybody shitless, because it made it seem like he was walking around without a daemon. The replacements assigned to them around that time, like O’Keefe, thought he didn’t have a soul. He never bothered to correct them because that meant letting Amalthea out, and the idea of her being in the open and vulnerable made him especially ill. He’d rather people thought he was soulless than allow himself and Amalthea to get hurt again. Which is so Lewis.

Skip has a hummingbird daemon named Ilaria, which is a name that means happiness and joy. This daemon-human duo wasn’t hard for me to figure out. It just fits.

Malarkey’s daemon is an artic hare with a summer coat named Felis. She’s settled, but after Foy and after losing Skip and Alex and Buck, she changes again. Subtlely, of course, and not wholely. She stays an artic hare, but instead of a summer coat, she permanently has a winter coat.

It’s not uncommon in this world for your daemon to change after severe trauma. I bet as the field of psychology expands, so does the understanding of trauma’s effects on the soul expand. There’s many studies on the changing of once settled daemons in relation to soldiers’ PTSD.

Buck’s daemon, a male bald eagle named Romulus, changes entirely. Still a bird, but instead of an eagle, he turns into a snowy owl. Before the war, he was a chatty daemon. After, he barely speaks and only does so to Buck and, very rarely, to those close to them.

Eugene Sledge’s male daemon, Daecon goes from a blood hound and gets turned into a Luzon bleeding heart-- which, I know is on the nose but it’s just. It’s such a cool bird, ya’ll. I’ve seen one up-close and ever since that day, I have not known any peace. The shift would be painful and would happen very slowly. It was actually horrific and was a trauma in and of itself. That was the last time they ever changed, though.

I also headcanon that the longer you’ve been settled, the harder and more painful the shift.

Merriell Shelton’s daemon settles in Gloucester. Into what, I’m not sure yet, but a part of me thinks she’s settled into some kind of big cat from the rain forests. Either a cloud leopard or a jaguar. Her name’s Charlotte but he calls her Lottie. Don’t ask me why. It just fits.

That being said, I have some Thoughts about people with big cat daemons. They’re usually aloof. Like, they make a very impactful first impression but they’re mostly solitary individuals who are weird af and difficult to get to know. It takes a really special person to tame a human with a big cat daemon. Once you earn their trust, that’s for life. They’re also really self-assured and are very secure in their sense of self. There is almost little to no tension between big cat daemons and their humans, and if there is, it gets explosive.

Ron Speirs has a big cat daemon, a female Ocelot named Aurele. She never talks, not even to Ron. They have this silent gaze/telepathy going on. Ron also takes on a couple of animalistic traits because of it. They could also... stretch their bond really far? Which is scary as fuck. People think he’s the son of a witch who, in her desperation to make him immortal, made him go through the ritual that allows a witch and her daemon to part for long periods of time and great distances. This is not true. Ron and Aurele just have really high pain tolerance.

Eugene Roe, on the other hand, is the son of a witch. His maman, however, did not make him go through the ritual because he’s not her first son. She knows the pain of outliving her sons well. She loves him all the same but understands that he will die well before her. Eugene’s daemon is a male kinkajou named Louis. Which is both a surprise and also not. For much of the war there’s a lot of tension there. Louis craves connection with others, Roe needs isolation to keep their sanity. It kind of turns into this thing where, if you wanted to comfort Roe or be close to him, you’d have to go through his daemon instead.

Babe’s daemon is a squirrel. A very chatty female russian squirrel named Abigail. They talk to each other a lot, and Abby talks to other people a lot too. Sometimes, she even answers in lieu of Babe. They’re both very blunt and very out there, no hiding with Babe and Abby. It used to get them into a lot of trouble with the nuns at school, who believed that daemons are only meant to be seen and not heard. A+ Catholic repression.

George’s daemon was a little tricky to me. I know his daemon is female and that her name is Thalia. I also know that she can fly. My first thought was: Parrot, either a hyacinth macaw or a white cockatoo. But, I also really like the idea of George having a Butterfly daemon. Particularly one that looks like a leaf when her wings are folded up but is brilliantly jewel toned when she opens them. In the end, I opted for George entering the army, having not settled just yet, and he and Thalia are this kind of double-act, where she shifts into whatever form is necessary for the punchline of the joke. She only settles into a parrot (idk still what kind) after their first jump and all the excitement in Carentan. A gradual thing. They don’t even notice until just before the jump in Holland. When they miss someone, Thalia will mimic that person’s voice. First, it was George’s mama and the voice of her daemon, both speaking in rapid fire portugese. Later on, in Austria, Thalia starts imitating all the friends they’ve lost. Sometimes she’ll sound like Skip. Other times, she’ll sound like Bill. It takes a very long time for her to break this habit. To the point wherein she and George don’t even remember what her real voice sounds like.

Lip’s daemon settled really early and is a female Bonobo named Jane. Has been since he was ten and made man of the house. This, like Skip and Ilaria, was very easy for me to figure out.

Dick’s daemon is a Caracara raptor bird. I’m still figuring out the specifics so she doesn’t have a name yet. Sorry.

As mentioned, Tab has a sheepdog daemon named Marisa who enjoys keeping him and everybody else in check. Have you met a sheepdog? They will literally herd you. It doesn’t matter if you are not a lamb or a sheep. They will nip at your heels until you go where they want to go. That’s Marisa. She’ll nip at Tab’s heels, she’ll nip at everybody else’s heels. If you are going somewhere she does not want you to go she will make sure you know her displeasure. 

It is also super funny when she looks Tab in the eye and goes “Down, boy.” It never fails to make Tab go red and make everybody else laugh. 

Harry’s daemon-- and don’t get mad at me-- but Harry’s daemon is a Scottish Terrier named Saoirse. He carries her around strapped to his chest during jumps. It’s fucking cute. Don’t say that to their faces though because they will lose all respect for you. It’s a daemon suited more to a teacher than it is to a soldier, that’s for sure.

Bill’s daemon is a pit-bull named Darla. Scary looking one, too, with a very bawdy sense of humor. She will growl at you and pretend to bite and you will be very scared but she only does it as a joke. She’s honestly really cool. When Bill and Babe are walking around together, Abby likes to perch on top of Darla’s head. It’s adorable. Sometimes, when Abby gets too much, Darla carries her around in her mouth. It’s still cute. But only to them, everybody else finds it vaguely horrifying.

I know there’s this taboo of humans not touching other humans’ daemons but it’s kinda difficult in such close-quarters like theirs. It is also heavily implied in the original text of Philip Pullman, that the no-touching thing is a cultural thing. Like, I think in religions that deal a lot in repression like Catholicism or Protestantism, the touching of another’s daemon is a no-no and is only reserved for the most intimate of relations (i.e. marriage). But I feel like religions such as Judaism, Wiccan, Paganism, or even some branches of Folk-Catholicism encourage touch/celebrate that connection between two humans. Neither of these two beliefs are wrong, of course. It’s just a cultural thing and they carry with them both pros and cons.

I bet Lieb grew up very used to his daemon being touched by his mother and father or older siblings. It’s not taboo to him, though he recognizes that it’s taboo to others. He doesn’t get it though, and is constantly rolling his eyes every time somebody gasps when they accidentally touch someone’s daemon.

A lot of the boys just kinda ignore the touching daemons thing until they get used to it.

I’m not sure what Lieb’s daemon is or what her name is, too. I know she’s a social kind of daemon-- not solitary like a big cat or a reptile (like snakes). I thought maybe a wolf, but a wolf daemon is too... large and there are a lot of connotations attached to it. I think Lieb’s daemon is something medium-sized and unassuming. Not a dog. Not a domestic cat either. A part of me thinks flightless bird, but no. Not that either. Give me time. I’ll figure her out. As of now, I’m thinking either a marsupial or a canidae/fox but not quite. She’s a mammal, that much I know. Just don’t know what kind.

Grant’s daemon is a male domestic cat named Saladin. He’s either an Abyssinian or a Bengal. Either way, he’s really cool. Like super cool. They’re both super duper cool.

And... that’s kinda it. That’s all I have for now. I’m really sorry it got so long, anon. I get really excited when talking about daemons. It’s character study but with animals! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to ramble. This is where I leave you.

[webslinger-holland]

The Royal Family | Chapter Two

Summary: When two royal family’s decide to conjoin their countries, they arrange a marriage between their eldest children. Once the two royals meet, it takes a lot of convincing before they are ready to begin their reign together...

Warning: touchy subjects (marriage)

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Type: The Royal Family Series

MASTERLIST

The small pond was a bold jewel of living turquoise, flowing with the gentle and soft breeze in the night sky. The pond was the source of water to the growing weeds surrounding the edges of the pond. The surface of the small rippling waves were black in the late hours of the night. The reflection of the numerous white speckles of starlight were shimmering on the waves. The sky had vanished almost completely, leaving only a few fragments of white starling to remain. The air was rich and course. 

The fragrance of the leaves was streaming through the atmosphere. The time of rain had passed many days ago. However, the rich brown soil had remained wet and damp. The sweet fragrance of wet dirt was lingering around the edge of the pond. The sound of the soft rippling waves of the water in the pond were creating a relaxing hypnotic melody. 

The numerous toads and frogs were croaking in tune with the calming melody in the night. The little green crickets were hopping over the taller steam of grass in the field, singing their own little tune. The fireflies were creating brief little specks of yellow light, flying over the surface of the water in the pond. The entire forest was basking in the awkward silence of the night.

The young princess was currently standing in front of the full length mirror in her quarters. She had changed out of her clothes way too many times to count. She had pinched her cheeks so hard that she was finally able to see the natural red blush on her cheekbones. She did not seem to like the way her hair was falling over her shoulders. She just couldn’t make it look perfect.

Meanwhile, the six men had been standing and waiting in the entrance hall to the grand dining room. The two princes were discussing the likelihood of starting a card game (after dinner). The eldest prince had been talking to his personal assistant who was named Harrison. The two of them were carefully watching the grand staircase, waiting for the princess’s arrival. The two kings were currently standing on the sidelines.

“I deeply apologize for my dear daughter,” the King of the East said. He had just briefly looked down at the pocket watch in his hands. He pursed his lips together in thought. He could only wonder where she might be. “She is not usually this late,” the King of the East confessed.

“I take no offense,” King Dominic laughed. He was quick to wave his hand in dismissal. Though the King of the North did not have any daughters of his own, he did have a wife who would always take her dear sweet time getting ready for various occasions. He knew what it was like to have to wait.

“I am afraid that since there are princes in the palace, she will take her dear sweet time to get ready,” the King of the East replied. He was unaware of the fact that the eldest prince was listening to their conversation. He had turned his head to look towards the three princes, tipping his head to gesture towards them. He smiled at them.

In the background, the young prince had been lingering near the bottom of the staircase. He wasn’t able to look away from the grand staircase standing in front him. He was just waiting for the princess to grace him with her presence. He didn’t want to miss the moment where she came into view.

With some hesitation, Prince Thomas had turned his head to look at his personal assistant standing beside him. He had opened his mouth to ask him a question, but he couldn’t seem to find the right words to phrase it. He closed his mouth again to ponder his thoughts.

“What do you know about the princess?” Thomas wondered. He had forced himself to look back towards the grand staircase in hopes that he didn’t miss the princess walking down the stairs. But he still didn’t see her.

“Her father—the king—is the business man who has always dealt with government matters,” Harrison explained. He had been ordered to find background information on the other royal family. “He didn’t have time to deal with the public. So he appointed his daughter to be the public figure or the people person,” Harrison concluded.

“She meddles in those matters?” Thomas questioned. He was almost shocked and surprised that the princess would be interested in such an issue. He had never heard of a princess that bothered herself with politics.

“And she listens to them. She has been able to bring many of their problems to parliament so that changes can be made. There are some monarchs that care so little about their people,” Harrison confessed. “But she is different. She cares them. She is very well-loved by her people,” Harrison said with a small smile on his face.

“Has she had any suitors?” Thomas changed the subject. His voice was laced with the strong sense of curiosity. He had lifted his hand towards the side of his head, scratching his neck to hide his awkwardness. He was almost afraid of the answer.

“Plenty,” Harrison said with a firm nod of the head. He opened his mouth to breath out one long sigh. “It seems like every season her father is trying to marry her off to a prince from some far away land. He has been trying since she was fifteen,” Harrison added.

“Why doesn’t she have a suitor then? She could easily have any man in the world. She could steal their heart without a second to spare,” Thomas suggested. He was thinking long and hard about this, but it still didn’t make any sense to him. “Why hasn’t she taken a husband yet?” He pondered.

“Because she won't have any of them,” Harrison confessed.

Upon hearing those words, Prince Thomas could feel his heart dropping in the confines of his chest. He found himself wondering if he would suffer the same fate as the other princes. He was starting to doubt himself. He didn’t believe that he would ever be good enough for the princess. He almost felt hopeless.

The young prince could feel this strong sense of nervousness coursing through his entire body. He had quickly grown self-conscious of his evening attire. He could only wonder if he would make a fool of himself at the dinner table. He could feel a heavy lump lingering at the back of his throat. He was fiddling with his fingers in a nervous manner.

At the given moment, Princess Y/N had been walking through the long hallways of the palace. She had stopped to stand at the corner of the staircase. She poked her head around the corner, staring at the six men standing in the entrance hall. She pushed her back into the stone wall, running her fingers over the smooth material of her dress. She cleared her throat.

Very slowly, the young princess had pushed herself off the side of the wall. She had shifted to stand in the center of the staircase, stepping forward in her place to begin her descent. She had placed her hand on the smooth wooden railing so she could keep her balance. 

Meanwhile, Prince Thomas had turned his head and looked towards the top of the staircase. He could feel his breath hitching in the back of his throat upon seeing the sight in front of him. His eyes had mindlessly scanned over the light pink material of her dress, basking in her beautiful appearance. His heart was fluttering at the sight of her, beating at a rapid pace. He couldn’t seem to look away from her.

Now Princess Y/N had shifted to stand at the bottom of the staircase. She had turned her head to look towards each of the princes and kings in her presence. She was quick to curtsy to them out of mere respect. She smiled at them.

“You look...” Prince Thomas’ voice had trailed off. He shook his head at her. He just couldn’t find the right words to express himself. He had opened his mouth again, but he was quickly cut off by the king’s remark.

“Absolutely beautiful,” the King of the East replied. He had found himself striding across the small stretch of the room, standing in front of his only daughter. He was sure to keep her at arms distance so that he could admire her beauty. He leaned forward to press one kiss to her cheek. “As always,” the King of the East claimed.

“I am so sorry to have kept you waiting,” Princess Y/N groaned. She was starting to feel that overwhelming sensation of embarrassment taking over her features. She had lifted her hand towards the side of her face, tucking a single strand of hair behind her ears timidly. She was blushing to herself.

“Nonsense,” King Dominic exclaimed. He was quick to wave his hand in dismissal. He didn’t seem to see any harm in her late arrival. He was just pleased that she showed up at all.

“Shall we?” The King of the East suggested. He had motioned towards the grand doors of the entrance hall with his hand, gesturing for his guests to enter the room. He had laced his arms with his dear daughter’s, leading her through the grand doors.

There were large silver platters holding fleshy pink strips of trout that had been garnished with dashings of green and brown herbs. There were large porcelain bowls filled with little clumps of white cheeses. A few platters of fowl were resting on the end of the long wooden table, emitting a savory smell throughout the entire room. There were a number of cooked oceanic creatures that had been drizzled into tones of warm sauces and spicy seasoning. The large gold pitchers were overflowing with the richest dark red wine in the land. 

There were many large bowls containing the different types of creamy soups with a few green herbs floating on the top of the gooey substance. A large bowl of red pudding was resting in the center of the four wooden tables. There were a few bowls of peanuts, almonds, and walnuts on the side. And there were many bowls of fresh fruits, containing little leafs of mint on the top of the sweet or sour fruit. 

The servants (footmen) were currently standing in a strict line. They had bowed their heads out of respect. The footmen were quick to step forward in their place, shifting to pull out the wood chairs for the royal family. However, at the very last second, Prince Tom had taken the place of one of the servants. The servant had awkwardly stepped back into the line (because he really didn’t know what else to do).

“Allow me,” Prince Thomas said. He stood behind the princess’s chair. He had pulled the wood chair out from underneath the table. He was quite the gentleman.

“Thank you,” Princess Y/N said with a small nod of the head. She had shifted to stand in front of the chair. She gripped the heavy skirt of her dress, gathering the material in her hands so that it was out of the way. She lowered herself into the chair without hesitation. She could feel him pushing the chair behind her.

Slowly, the young prince had made his way back to his own chair on the other side of the dinner table. He had tried to ignore the ‘all knowing’ looks coming from his two brothers. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks in slight embarrassment.

During the dinner, the two kings were able to discuss the matters of the peace treaty. The princess was eagerly listening to their conversation, but she wouldn’t dare say anything on the matter. She didn’t really like the whole concept of the peace treaty. She would be signing away her rights, land, and power to the other kingdom. And it was all because she was unable to inherit those things. It made her very sad to think about. 

“I hear you like politics, princess,” Prince Thomas said. He had pulled her out of her thoughts. She had turned her head to look across the small stretch of the table, taken back by his choice of words. She nodded her head slowly.

“Yes. I do,” Princess Y/N confirmed. She had lifted her glass towards her soft pink lips, drinking the rich dark liquid in the glass. She was slow to lower her glass back down to the surface of the table. She cleared her throat awkwardly. “You must think me very undignified,” Princess Y/N said.

“On the contrary, I hold a higher respect for you now,�� Prince Thomas claimed. He had lowered his gaze to stare down at the meat on his plate. He lifted the silver fork and knife to the tender meat, cutting through the meat with no effort. He sent a small smile towards her. 

“You don’t think me unladylike for meddling in those matters?” the princess wondered. She was really taken back by his remark. She did not expect that kind of response from him. It made her think differently. “That is what most princes says about me. They say that I have no business dealing with those things,” the princess remarked.

“I don’t believe that at all,” Princess Thomas confessed truthfully. He had shook his head at her statement. He had lifted his head to look across the table, locking his gaze with her’s. He sent her a playful wink and a smile. “And I am not like most princes,” Prince Thomas corrected.

“No,” Princess Y/N smiled. “I can see that you are not.”

It was the next day. The lake-side air was pungent with the fragrance of blooming flowers. It was no natural basin filled with meltwater, but the luxury addition to a formal garden by an earl with both copious leisure time and money. The garden was blossoming with flowers and trees. The gravel pathway stretched throughout the gardens, weaving its way underneath the canopy of trees. It was springtime. 

A small number of servants were ordered to maintain the garden nearly every other week. They picked out the various types of weeds, pruned the dead leaves from the trees, watered the growing flowers, and cleaned the pathway. In the end, the royal garden was flourishing with awestruck beauty. 

Every morning, the princess would walk through the gardens. She would admire the colorful flowers and growing trees and bushy shrubs. With a shawl wrapped around her shoulders, she would walk throughout the garden on its pathway. She liked to see every single little aspect of the gardens. She was able to name practically every plant. She often liked to pick a few pink or white roses, crafting them into a beautifully woven crown. This day was no different from the rest of them.

The princess was currently sitting on a nearby bench. She was overlooking the small lake in the distance. She dropped her gaze to stare down at her hands, bunching the small collection of white roses together to make a little bouquet for herself. She closed her eyes to breath in the fresh morning air.

Unbeknownst to her, the young prince found himself walking throughout the gardens. He had laced his arms behind his back, aimlessly and mindlessly wandering throughout the gardens. He turned his head to look towards the bright blue sky hanging about him. He continued walking on the gravel pathway, weaving his way between the tall trees. He did not hesitate to round the corner of a shrub, stopping in his tracks at the sight before him.

His soft brown eyes had seen the young princess sitting on the bench in the distance. He could clearly see that she was looking in the opposite direction, so she had not been informed of his presence. He looked down at his shiny shoes, shuffling on his feet. He cleared his throat awkwardly to grab her attention.

“I-I...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Prince Thomas said. He had almost struggled to find the right words for himself.

“It’s quite alright,” Princess Y/N claimed. She stood to her feet. She was still holding the small bouquet of wild daisies in her hands. The prince had politely dipped his head down in acknowledgment and the princess curtsied to him. When they had both straightened their backs in posture, they had only shared a small silent moment together.

"W-Would you like to walk with me?" Prince Thomas wondered. He had turned his head to gaze at her with a quizzical look on his face. He fiddled with his fingers behind his back. He could only hope that she would agree.

The princess was slightly taken back by the prince's questions. The corners of her lips lifted into a soft smile. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. She quickly turned her head, hoping to hide the evident blush on her face. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts. 

"I would love nothing more," the princess said with a small smile on her face.

In response, Prince Thomas had found himself straightening his back in posture. His shifted his forearm out to his side, offering his forearm for her to take.  Hesitantly, Princess Y/N had decided to take one single step forward in her place. She laced her am with the prince's. The two of them had started walking down the pathway.

“Do you...like gardens?” Prince Thomas wondered. He had turned his head to look down at the princess walking beside him, waiting eagerly to hear her response. She nodded her head in confirmation.

“Yes,” the young princess replied. “My mother always loved to sit in the gardens. She would braid my hair and place wild roses into my hair, weaving it all together. It made me feel like a fair,” she confessed with a small blush on her face.

“What happened to her?” Prince Thomas questioned. There was a moment of silence. The young princess had just briefly halted in her steps for a second. She tried to collect her thoughts together.

"S-She passed away ten years ago," Princess Y/N said. "She died of a disease. There was no cure. My father was forced to sit back and watch the life drain out of her body. I was young at the time, but I can still remember the look on his face when the doctors told us that she had passed,” Princess Y/N admitted sadly.

"I-I'm sorry for your loss. I apologize for bringing that up. It was wrong of me. It was very impolite for me to do so. I am so very sorry," Prince Thomas apologized profusely.

"It is not your fault. That is just the way of life. But I still have my father," the princess replied. She was trying to remain positive. She had turned her head to look up at him through the corner of her eye. She just watched him nod his head in agreement.

The two royals were continuing their walk together in utter silence. It was almost like they were afraid to talk to each other. Eventually, Prince Thomas had turned his head and looked at the young princess beside him. He had decided to change the subject, hopefully to something less touchy. He opened his mouth to speak, finding himself lost for words. 

"I-I suppose...you...have heard...about...the...arrangement," Prince Thomas said. He was afraid to say it. His voice was laced with the strong sense of uneasiness. He tried to turn his head to look down at her. He hoped to see some kind of reaction from her.

"What arrangement?" Princess Y/N asked dumbly. She didn’t even know why she had asked him that question. She already knew the answer to it. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

Hesitantly, the prince nodded his head in confirmation. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stopped in his steps, turning his body to face the small princess. They faced each other and looked into each other's eyes. 

"I speak of the arrangement that will unite our two kingdoms with an arranged marriage. It will seal our future together,” Prince Thomas said. He had forced himself to swallow the heavy lump lingering at the back of his throat, clearing his throat awkwardly. He waited for her to speak.

"In that case...I was informed of our arrangement," the princess said. She dropped her gaze to stare down at her own feet, feeling the small sense of fearfulness in regards to the topic. "My father believes that this is the only option we have left. He hopes that we will become a couple that our subjects can’t help but admire and be proud of,” the princess claimed.

“I see,” Prince Thomas replied. He nodded his head understandingly.

"H-He thinks we would make a good pair," Princess Y/N piped up. She didn’t mean to stumble over her words. She might have just been trying to get a positive reaction out of him. She could clearly see the prince looking ahead of himself, humming softly in acknowledgment. "D-Do you....” the princess's voice trailed off. 

"Do I what?" Prince Thomas wondered. He had turned his head to look down at the princess in question. The princess chewed the inside of her cheek nervously, contemplating on her next words. She was quick to lift her gaze to him, staring at him with hopeful eyes. 

"D-Do you...do you agree? Do you agree to all of this? The arrangement? Our future together? Are you going to go sign the peace treaty?" the princess couldn’t seem to stop the questions from flying out of her mouth.

“Now, now,” the prince said, stopping in his steps.

He turned his body and faced the young woman standing in front him. His arms fell to his side once again. He could tell that she was nervous by the way she was fiddling with her fingers and chewing on her bottom lip. He knew that she was thinking too hard about this. 

"I don't want to rush anything between us. If our fathers decide that we are to be married in order to save our kingdoms, then...then I will have to ask you to become my wife," Prince Thomas confirmed.

The young princess dropped her gaze to stare down at her feet, nodding her head understandingly. He breathed a small sigh under his breath. He had shifted to take one single step forward in his place, practically towering over the princess's small frame. They could tell that their faces were mere inches away from one another's.

“I care about my future kingdom. I care about the people and I care about the land. I want to rule the land and govern the people. If marrying you means that my kingdom will flourish, then I will not hesitate to get down on one knee,” the prince replied.

The princess was slightly taken back by the prince's comment. She found herself gazing at the prince in utter shock and surprise. In a way, the two of them were very similar. He was just as invested in the politics as she was. He was caring and sweet. He was worried about his future kingdom. He would do anything for his people group. He was loving and caring. It was something to admire in a future king. 

"You’re just like...” she had laughed. Her face had dropped in a split second. Her words had faded into absolutely nothing. She could see the small smile growing on his face. Her voice was soft and gentle, coming out like a whisper. “...me.”

“I do not think we are so different after all,” Prince Thomas agreed with a short shake of the head. He could practically hear the wheels turning in her head, thinking about him different now. 

“You care about your people group to an effect that you would not hesitate to marry a stranger. You...you would do anything for them,” Princess Y/N claimed with a look of confusion on her face.

"Yes," Prince Thomas said, nodding his head in agreement. "I-I am not a selfish prince."

"Nor will you be a selfish king,” Princess Y/N added. The prince took a small step forward until their chests were pressed together. The princess breathed a small gasp, marveling over the little distance between the two of them. 

"This isn't about us anymore," the prince said, shaking his head. "This arrangement is about our land and people. It is about saving them from the raiders of the west. I would do anything for them. I would sacrifice anything to ensure their freedom." 

“Even your own?"

There was a brief moment of silence. The prince could see the evident look of sadness in the princess’s shining eyes. He almost couldn’t respond to that question. He would give away everything with his answer. He blinked once. 

"Yes. Even my own freedom," Prince Thomas breathed out, nodding his head in confirmation. He was able to maintain eye contact the whole time. His heart clenched at his own choice of words. "I would sacrifice my own freedom and happiness for them,” Prince Thomas confessed.

“I admire you,” Princess Y/N said with a small smile on her face. She had dropped her gaze to stare down at her feet. She found herself continuing to walk down the pathway leading in the garden. She could only wonder if the prince would follow behind her. “It’s a noble thing to do,” Princess Y/N added.

The prince had found himself turning his head to watch her retreating figure. He shifted his hands towards his frontside, fiddling with his fingers from his nerves. He was trying to find the right words to say to explain himself.

"I...I understand how you are feeling. I do truly,” Prince Thomas called to her. He could see her stop in her place. “I understand that you do not want to be forced into a marriage unwillingly. I understand that you do not want to be married to a stranger. I understand that you do not want any of this," Prince Thomas replied.

In response, Prince Thomas could clearly see the young princess dipping her head downwards to stare at the solid ground. He saw her shoulders shake slightly. He did not hesitate to walk towards her. He had stopped to stand beside her. When the prince had gotten closer, he could hear the small sobs coming out of her mouth. She lifted her hand to cover her mouth, hoping to contain her cries. She was embarrassed to be seen like this. 

Slowly, Prince Thomas had shifted his hands to the sides of her arms. He turned her smaller body to face him, taking hold of her hands in his own. He held her hands close to their chests. She shook her head slightly, feeling the hot tears streaming down her face effortlessly. She couldn’t help the tears from coming. He had raised his hand, tapping her chin softly to gain her attention.

“It’s okay,” Prince Thomas said with a small smile on his face. He lifted his hands and cupped her cheeks. He used his thumbs to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. She smiled softly at his actions. “You don’t have to love me back,” Prince Thomas claimed.

"No..." the princess said, shaking her head in denial. "T-T...Thomas...it's not that. I-I-I didn't mean it like that. Please...don't say those kinds of things," she pleaded.

The corners of the prince's lips tugged into a soft smile. He rubbed his thumbs against her smooth cheeks reassuringly, wiping away the last of her tears. He was quick to capture her gaze once last time.

"I understand you," he said slowly.

Hesitantly, Prince Thomas had lowered his hands back down to his sides. He smiled softly at her. He leaned down to her height. He turned his head so that his lips were hovering right beside her ear. He softly whispered into her ear.

"Until our next meeting, my love.” the prince whispered. His voice was soft and gentle. His hot breath had sent shivers down her spine. He turned his head and pressed his lips against her cheek, kissing her softly. When he pulled away, he tipped his head down politely and saluted her farewell. 

In that given moment, Prince Thomas had turned around and started walking away from his future spouse. The young princess could only watch his figure retreat back into the gardens. She was quick to turn on the heels of her feet. She started walking back towards the palace, thinking bout the words the prince said to her. She mentally cursed to herself for being so emotional in front of a stranger. Then again...he wasn't a stranger. He was going to be her future spouse, whether she liked it or not. 

The table tops were filled with layers of the most delicious food and drinks, garnered to make ones mouth water in hunger. There were pheasants and goose, a bowl of roasted root vegetables, creamy sauces with garden herbs and best of all there are fresh tomatoes. They had huge platters of fowl stuffed with savoury fruit and nuts. There was a countless amount of different types of cheeses stretched across the table. 

There were plates of deer with sprigs of rosemary threaded through its meat to give it more flavor. They had marinated chicken, grilled trout with lemon, smoked sausages and a pineapple glazed ham. There were mounds of fragrant wild rice, potatoes and diced pumpkin smeared with butter and spices baked on hot stones. There were baskets of cheese and crackers with bread rolls shaped like seashells on the side. There were all sorts of varieties of salads and side dishes.

The two royal families were gathered around the table. They were consuming the various courses brought out to them on beautiful china dishes. The finest wine was poured into the delicate wine glasses. The servants were dressed in their best attire for the glorious occasion.

“Ah,” Prince Thomas said. He leaned over slightly for the servant to reach behind him to pour more wine into his glass. The servant finished pouring the wine, quickly shifting to stand back in the line of servants. “Thank you,” Prince Thomas said with a nod of the head.

The royal families’ voices had faded into absolute nothingness in the princess’s mind. She did not seem to care about the conversation tonight. She was sorrowfully looking down at her plate full of food, shifting some of the vegetables around aimlessly with her utensils. 

The prince lifted his head and looked at the young princess sitting on the other side of the table. His lips formed a tight lined smile as he gazed at her helplessly. The twin brothers of the prince leaned towards each other, whispering to each other discreetly. 

"Do you see how he is looking at her?" Prince Harry asked with a hinted smirk on his face. They sent each other a teasing look, smiling evilly to themselves. 

"He can't seem to look away from her," Prince Sam claimed. He had to force himself to stifle a laugh. The young princes had placed their hands over their mouths, stopping themselves from laughing out loud.

“Still,” Prince Harry said. He had just tipped his head to gesture to the young princess sitting across the table from them. “Have you seen her? You can’t really blame him. She is absolutely beautiful,” Prince Harry confessed. 

"D-Do you think they'd make a good pair? Do you think they would be good for each other? Do you think they could find a way to...even love each other?" Prince Sam questioned. He turned his head and looked at his brother with a thoughtful expression on his face. 

“They are not as different as you might think. They probably share some similar interests, thoughts, and ideas." Prince Harry said. "I am sure that—in given time—they might find a way to love each other. I cannot know for sure. We can only hope," Prince Harry added. 

"Hmm," Prince Sam said, humming in agreement. The two princes both leaned back in their chairs again. The two of them had turned their heads and looked across the small stretch of the table, locking their eyes on their older brother. He couldn’t seem to stop looking at her, gazing at her magnificent beauty in the candlelight.

When the young princess looked up, their gazes met for a brief second. In response, Tom quickly turned his head and looked away from the young woman sitting across the table from him. He could feel the blush creeping onto his face, heating his ears until they turned beet red. She had just caught him staring at her. She couldn’t deny that she felt a small blush creep onto her own face as well.

The kings stood to their feet. They placed their napkins onto the top of the table. The two of them had turned to head towards the sitting room. The others would follow behind them, standing to their feet and shifting towards the grand doors.

The young prince had stayed back. He waited for the others to leave the room. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed onto the princess’s forearm, stopping her. She whipped her head around to look at the young prince in question.

“W-Would you care to accompany me?” Prince Thomas wondered. His voice was laced with the strong sense of uncertainty, fearing her reaction. 

“I-I’m not sure,” Princess Y/N confessed. The prince released his grip on her arm. He dropped his hand back down to his side. He nodded his head understandingly, shifting to take a single step backwards so he could give the princess her much-wanted space.

“We are not so different after all. We have a lot in common with each other,” Prince Thomas said. He was trying to reason with her and trying to get on her good side. He didn’t want her thinking badly of him.

“I am sure we do,” Princess Y/N agreed wholeheartedly. 

“I think...that if we spend more time together, we might see eye to eye with each other. We might be able to relate to each other in a way that is no so bad. In time...you may find a way not to despise me so much,” Prince Thomas said.

“I do not despise you. I never had,” the princess claimed. She shook her head in denial. “And I do not hate you either. I believe that you are a good man. I think your intentions are clear. You want what is best for your people. I understand that now. And I do agree with you. Maybe if we spend some time together, we may grow to like each other a little more. In the end, this whole marriage may not be such a bad thing,” she said, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

“And maybe...in given time...you might be willing to learn lo...love me back,” Prince Thomas wondered. His dark brown eyes were sparkling with the strong sense of hopefulness. He could see the small smile growing at the corners of her lips. 

The princess would be willing to give this whole marriage a try. She was willing to try to work this out. She was willing to try and love her future spouse. She was willing to try and make their marriage work. She was willing to try altogether. And that would be enough for the young prince.

“I do really like you,” Prince Thomas confessed.

“You flatter me too much,” the princess said. She was fiddling with her fingers in a nervous manner. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. The corners of the prince’s lips tugged into a soft smile as he gazed down at her.

“I am certain that any man would be more than lucky to call you his wife. And I...I-I get to have that privilege. I get to have you all to myself. I get to call you my wife. I get to call you mine,” Prince Thomas said. His eyes were full of love and admiration.

They found themselves leaning closer and closer to each other until their faces were mere inches away from one another’s. The prince’s brown eyes had flickered between the princess’s shining eyes and pink lips. She swallowed the lump in her throat, gazing at the dashing man standing in front of her. Their noses gingerly brushed against one another’s. They breathed a small breath of air, preparing themselves for the next part. Until...

“Come on you two lovebirds. We are going to play cards together,” Prince Harry said. He had stepped into the middle of the hallway. The two royals were quick to pull away from each other. They could feel the heat rising to their cheeks as they turned away from one another. The other prince raised his eyebrows suspiciously. He glanced between the two of them. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No,” the princess blurted out. “No. You didn’t interrupt anything.”

“Alright. Should I deal you two in then,” Prince Harry wondered. He lifted his hand to show them a small stack of cards. The two of them had nodded their heads in response. The young prince had disappeared into the other room, dealing the cards between the separate guests.

The prince turned his head and looked down at the young princess standing at his side. She was quick to catch his line of sight, gazing into the prince’s dashing brown eyes. He lifted his forearm to her, offering it to her. She laced her arm with his. She smiled at him.

“Shall we?” Prince Thomas asked with a small smile on his face. He sent her a playful wink. She pushed her lips into her mouth, hiding the evident smile on her face. She nodded her head in agreement.

“We shall.”

[imanes]

Salam iman!!! Do you have any good tea recommendations from holland&barret? Could b anything you like! Im looking for new things since i usually always get the same things but i do love tea and want to try more. Also matcha?? Ive been dying to try it but how does it work? Do i buy the powder and add water or idk i dont get it jxjfjdbe thank you if you reply ily!

salam angel i’m so sad bc i typed this very long response and it’s all gone due to typical internet shenanigans! but also I guess it’s destiny bc I was talking about some herbal tea I got at h&b that worked really well for me after my meals so ajldjgdfkj let’s just do it again!

my number one fave tea (herbal, non-caffeinated) to get at h&b is the rooibos from de tuinen or celestial (the box with a lion on it), i’m such a big fan of rooibos and I usually have a cup or two every evening and converted many of my friends! 

the one (herbal) tea I was talking to my friend about is the heath and heather after dinner seed supreme tea which I drink sometimes right after a heavy lunch and it’s quite a different taste from the usual bc the base is star anis and it has fennel, coriander and fenugreek so it’s quite seedy and aromatic

nowadays I drink loose leaf tea that I buy at santos palace and it takes me ages to g through a bag so I haven’t been drinking any actual tea from h&b but as a rule of thumb I like pukka teas and avoid yogi teas lmao i’m sure there are some delicious yogi teas out there but so far i’ve only tasted duds... pukka on the other hand! pricier than others but they just get it right. love the wonder berry green and the lemon & ginger, wanna try the blackcurrant beauty next! but honestly if u are in Brussels and want to broaden your horizons, I highly recommend you go to santos palace and just smell a bunch of tea blends

as far as matcha is concerned i’d actually recommend that you try it at a café first bc not everyone likes the taste! there are some matcha tea bags and stuff but they’re super weak and don’t taste like matcha much bc they’re green tea-based to offset the price, as matcha is quite expensive. i bought a very small pack from an organic store many many moons ago and I am still not halfway through it because good quality matcha is potent and can be overpowering. there’s a whole paraphernalia u can develop around matcha, I think a lot of people use the special brush with the special bowl but for what it is i actually find it quite expensive, you’re better off with a handheld milk frother which does the trick and doubles as a milk frother so its actual original intent lmao. when it comes to matcha i actually never drink it as an actual regular shmegular tea but love making matcha lattes or matcha lemonades. if u are unsure as to how to make it lmk i can film a few clips for you, i love anything occasion that calls for me making myself a special drink thrown my way lmao

i hope this was helpful, as u said u were already a tea lover i didn’t include “basic” staples like a weak black tea like earl grey although i quite like it (even though i never buy it... what is the truth) or like a fragrant jasmine green tea but those are obviously excellent teas and u know my preferred brands from holland and Barrett so i hope they won’t disappoint you <3 have a nice evening!

[themonstrousarchives]

Hunt: Timbern

Apollo “Paul” Robbins [] [] [] [] [] [] [] HP, Armor: 2

Description: The Divine wishes to begin his ritual, but some obstacles are in his way, including a fellow Avatar of the Desolation. An owner of a logging company which is doing mining speculation on the company’s property.

Hook, Session goals: Set up the beginning of the end. Refocus on the Divine’s character goal of bringing about the apocalypse, and secure more resources or allies (or both, potentially) for the Ritual.

This session, the ‘monster’ is a boss.

Apollo “Paul” Robbins

9mm Pistol- 2-harm close loud

Monster Type: Queen (to possess and control)

Powers: Resistant to fire, melting and reforming at will. Can slowly raise the temperature in an area and cook people or things from the inside out without them noticing.

Attacks: 

Contact Burn- 1-harm ignore armor magic fire hand

Frog Boil- 4-harm area innocuous

Weaknesses: Burying him in his own mine, labor unionization, press exposure on the company’s license violations (and the legal consequence of the state enforcing replanting policy)

Minions:

Foreman- Ed Dominici: ([] [] [] [] [] HP, Armor: 1) Loyal to Paul and the company over his workers, about 75% are temporary. Of those 30% are undocumented.

Construction & Loggers ([] [] [] [] []  Armor: 1 for each NPC)- Mostly loyal to the company or at least are not willing to jeopardize their job. Most of them brag about how hard they work, intentionally forgoing breaks as a masculine competition of one-upmanship. A few sensitive souls do exist, and will privately be open to emotional pleas.

Lucas Taylor

Dylan Willis

Patrick Riley

Marvin Pena

Cesar Gould

Brody Hester

Owen Davidson

Kevin Holland

Eli MacGuire

Ramon Costa

Justin Villa

Ramón Cortés

Manuel Cabal

José Mariano

Joaquín Espiga

Ernesto Gallo

Rafael Ortiz

Jonatán Reyes

Countdown:

“Unskilled” workers are hired en masse to build and made to swear utmost secrecy about the mining project. Most workers are... legally vulnerable, and as such have little to no interest compromising their situation.

Robbins Logging Company builds a mine in a hidden corner of the company property. 

The mine opens into a cave system, gold (and pyrite) excavation begins.

Apollo begins arranging dealings with the extracted resources to enrich himself further, filling a bunker with gold bullion. Robbins Logging Company becomes financially intertwined with Lobos Ltd; their security services made necessary.

Due to corporate pressure, the state of California repeals many legal environmental protections to the area, and allows for wholesale destruction of the forest and surrounding biomes.

Entire animal populations collapse from habitat destruction. Dozens of vulnerable workers are killed in workplace accidents. This goes unreported.

Humboldt county, environmentally devastated, becomes an economic wasteland as well, as Lobos Ltd and Robbins Logging Co move elsewhere.

Bystanders:

Construction, Loggers, Miners ([] [] [] [] []  Armor: 1 for each NPC)- see above. Most will not be very helpful but the soft ones will.

William Hayes ([] [] [] [] []  Armor: 1)- a leftist, but is keeping his politics secret, more or less. He could be pushed to encourage the workers to organize but will need help with it by providing resources and cash for the workers to support their families while they strike or otherwise organize.

Locations:

Logging site- obstacles: Foreman (social rolls), the workers

Mine-

1. Rubble coats the ground here. Among the scattered rocks are rusted cans, the occasional pick or hammer, and other antique refuse.

2. More rubble here, but a crack in the wall allows a trickle of spring water through to a small pool in the top corner. There is a box of dynamite in the bottom right corner, farthest away from the corner with the water.

3. A long passageway that betrays many hundred year old footprints, shockingly still intact after so much time. The footprints lead past the cart to the rubble on the right side.

4. Behind the rubble is a Buried avatar, or perhaps Buried Avatars (the collective ghosts of a union who want to destroy and drown the bourgeois in their vengeance). Negotiating with them will be volatile depending on the PCs- if this were any other adventure they would be a full-fledged monster (powers: overwhelming and subsuming, trampling, destruction. weakness: division, separation, isolation, the government, leftist infighting).

5. This chamber has three entrances, and at the end of the center path is a modern mining drill that’s been assembled. To the left of it is an antique hand-crank drill. The modern drill requires some specialized knowledge or training to set it, which Apollo has. If he is killed, some of the construction workers will be able to set it.

Cold Open: 

An old Volkswagen bus, painted in psychedelic colors and shapes, jostles its passengers as it drives slowly through the redwood forest under cover of night. Inside, an ancient, distorted voice croons a melancholy tune over an equally distorted acoustic guitar. The driver and passenger however, don’t sing along- their faces are downcast, the wrinkles forming on their old visages incongruent with the laugh lines that have made their mark.

There’s a gravity to this drive, as if they know this will be the last time they do this. The driver- a long haired man with grey hair that’s yellowed over the years of rough living, puts the bus into park and looks at his partner in crime, love, free love, and cultural appropriation. She wears thick round glasses that magnify her eyes comically, and an old felt hat stained with moss with way, way too many ratty feathers tucked into its band. She pats his upper arm and smiles meekly, like a turtle trying to sell someone a crystal.

The pair step out of the bus, chains in hand, with weights attached and dragging in the leaf litter behind them. They stand before a large tree, marked for logging the next day, when someone steps out from behind them.

“Donna. Craig.“

“Is that you, Apollo? Our little boy...”

“It’s Paul. That isn’t my name anymore. It hasn’t been in a long time.”

“Dancer? Get the chains in place-”

“Donna you should stop where you are and go back to whatever parking lot will have you and your decrepit relic. If you know what’s good for your miserable little lives. What little life you have left.”

“Apoll- Paul, we know we made mistakes raising you, but this is beyond that. What you’re doing here, it’s been wrong since before we ever donned tie dye. You know that we can’t- even if you’re our son, we can’t look away.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say.” The tall man stares his parents down, unmoving.

Hours later, a pillar of smoke billows as Paul Robbins of Robbins Logging Company sits down at his desk and lights a cigar.

[imagination-is-key-in-my-world]

Chime

Authors Note: I am 100% a big fan of A Cinderella Story which is what had inspired me to write this piece. I know it has been a long time since I had written anything but a lot has been going on in my life. This story is inspired by my own mental health issues as well as my ultimate dream that Tom Holland would sweep me off my feet. [Do not tell my Fiancé that I told you guys that!] Also, I got a brand-new laptop that has made writing so much more efficient than my iPad. Hopefully, I will be more active on my page. Please feel free to contact me to share your thoughts.

Summary: So, you are currently struggling with anxiety which is not easy as a high school student. Things are not getting easier now that your best friend is leaving to go to another school, leaving you behind to deal with your senior year alone. That is how you feel every day – alone. But your life suddenly changes when you stumble across an app that allows people to chat anonymously with people who share similar interests without sharing too much. Only you did not expect that this new app would take over your life and provide you with someone who you no longer think you could cope without. But who is on the other end of the phone?

Warning: Possible swearing and mental health triggers.

Pairing: Reader x Tom Holland 

Word Count: 6,758

Counting the dew drops on the window was getting completely tedious at this point. There you sat in complete silence for what must have been a couple of minutes. But to you, it had felt like hours, if not days. Not that you were being dramatic at all.

You are not exactly the type of person who many people would typically associate with the nature of popularity. You did not have that many followers on your social media accounts. Therefore, it should not have been that surprising that your phone was not “blowing” up with notifications at this time of day.

Your best friend Cleo always told you that if you wanted to make something of your life, you needed to leave the house for more than just school.

“But!” You would always protest, “everything I need is right here.” Cleo was one member of a small social group that you bothered with both in and outside of school. When it came to forming groups in class, all your teachers knew that you needed to be put with a friend or you would be catastrophically unresponsive with a slight hint of a mini meltdown beginning to form.

The thing is you suffer with a high level of anxiety when it comes to meeting and conversing with people outside of your friendship circle. To make matters worse, the whole school was aware of this problem and would constantly tease and mimic the blubbering mess you turned into when you had to answer a question in the middle of class. There would be pointing as well as laughing as you would literally shake and break a sweat in front of everyone. Let us just say, this may have been one of the many reasons that your group only had 5 members and that includes you and queen Cleo.

The phone chimed and it shook you from your thoughts. When you finally unlocked it, you noticed that it was only Cleo cancelling on you yet again. Earlier that evening you had asked Cleo to come over and discuss the nature of Cleo moving schools in the fall. Both of you were meant to discuss how you personally were going to cope with the everyday torment and painful endeavours that was a big part of school life. But from that disappointed look on your face, it was obvious that Cleo was only blowing you off to spend more time with her new boyfriend.

“Knock knock” Your mother stated as she blatantly barged into your room. “Hey baby, I’m going to the store do you need anything at all?” As per usual you would shake your head and try not to make any eye contact with your mother at all. “Okay, well make sure that you feed the dog for me while I am gone and try and get some sun, you’re looking a little pale, baby.”

It was typical of your mother to attempt to force you out of your comfort zone. It was getting quite embarrassing for her at the teacher/parent evenings when she was called in to discuss another “issue.” It is not like you do not want to make more of an effort in class and with people, it just does not come as easy to you as it may for everyone else. The idea of people hearing you call out an answer in class and have it been wrong is absolutely devastating and crucifying for you.

You picked up your phone and decided that Facebook was worth one last scroll through before you decide that it was worthless and throw your phone back onto the bed for the 14th time that day. You were scrolling away half-heartedly, not really reading through the posts that people had shared as it was probably the same drama that it always was. It was as you thought, but suddenly your mind decided to switch back on when it reached a pop up that you would typically ignore. “Attention all Introverts.” Obviously, this caught your attention, it was in freaking bold print. You cannot ignore anything when it is in bold print! Clicking on the link, you decided to curiously read on.

“Attention all Introverts,

Have you ever felt lonely and isolated? Well this is the app for you. Become anyone you want to be, talk to anyone you would like – with total anonymity.

[This app gives you the confidence to express yourself to total strangers without the fear of judgements. If you are terrified of being vulnerable around other people while being your true self, then this is the app for you]”

Of course, you were sceptical at first but that was when you remembered how difficult it was to be your friend, relative and even teacher. Then before you could even stop yourself, you clicked onto the app and the download began. Nothing happened at all, other than the app appearing onto your phone’s home screen amongst other apps like Tumblr and Facebook. But you just thought there was going to be a sudden flash of lightning and you would be overwhelmed with confidence like you see in the movies. However, this was not the movies, this was your life and there you sat on the edge of your bed still shaking like a leaf.

It took you about half an hour to install all of your relevant information into the app. Mostly because you were trying to convince yourself that it was a stupid idea and that you should just delete it straight away. Although there was a faint voice in the back of your head telling you to do it. Part of it sounded like Cleo, while another part of the voice sounded like a stranger to you.

Once you had finished setting up the app, you left your phone on your dresser and walked into the lounge to watch that new episode of Ru Paul’s drag race that you had missed on Netflix. You managed to get through two episodes, a giant bag of Cheetos and a litre of Dr Pepper before crashing out on the sofa.

A loud chime from the bedroom woke you from your slumber. Your mother was sat on the edge of the sofa watching one of her true crime documentaries when she noticed you becoming startled.

“You okay honey?” You wipe your eyes and nod. “Do you want anything to eat or are you all set for bed?”

“Bed.” You mumble as you pick up the rubbish that had surrounded you on your makeshift bed for the afternoon.

“Okay, love you honey.” She called back as you threw away the rubbish into the trash and made your way into your bedroom. You practically fell onto your bed before you remembered the chime that had woken you in the first place. Grasping your phone, you unlocked it hesitantly, shielding your eyes from the brightness behind it to reveal a message from an unknown number. One word, one syllable and one emotion, fear.

‘Hey’

In your head these words kept rolling through your mind. What do I do now? Do I message back or do I leave it alone? Will they think I am ignoring them if I do not reply? Well of course they would, the app has probably notified them that it has been read. You started pacing in your bedroom chanting the words over and over in your head ‘What do I do? What do I do?’

It was almost like a reflex after a while as your fingers typed away.

‘HEY’ Too eager

‘Hiya’ Too girly

‘Hi’ Too blunt

Sup’ Too weird

Each message you typed your anxiety took over and criticised it, controlling your fingers to delete and retype.

‘Hey’ Was the message that you had settled for. It had been almost an hour and a half since you had received the message from Lonerboy101 and you had not even pressed send yet. The message was still sitting in your text box with the curser bouncing away at the end of the sentence.

There was a knock at your door which startled you, causing your fingers to slide across the phone’s screen. “I’m going to bed now Hun, goodnight.”

“Night.” You tried hard to sound cheery but as per usual failed to do so as your mother closed your bedroom door. ‘No, no, no’ you repeated in a small murmur. Fear washed over you as you regretted every minute that it took to write that message and the one milli second that it took to get sent out through the universe to reach this Lonerboy101.

You dropped the phone into your duvet and grabbed the pillow next to you. Bringing the plush cushion up to your face, burying it to let out a light scream.

*Chime*

Lonerboy101 - ‘How long did it take you to write that message. Mine took about 2 hours.’

You reread the message a couple of times because you couldn’t believe that although this person knew you were somewhat ignoring him off when you had initially received his message, he still replied to yours. Not only that but he had made a joke about how long it had taken to send a reply.

It took you a couple of minutes to decide whether you were going to go through with it and message this person back. Or whether you should just back out now and forget that this ever happened.

But that was your phone in your hand and those were your fingers typing a reply.

Hidingintheshadows - ‘About an hour and a half.’

You sent the reply off and almost felt a sudden pang of relief. That this was not as bad as you had originally perceived it to be. That it was almost the same as talking to Cleo or any of the other girls.

*Chime*

Lonerboy101 - ‘So, this is weird right?’

Before you knew it, the delays between the messages decreased quite significantly. There was the standard 3 minutes to think of a response and then another 5 to send the message but the conversation had felt a little less risky compared to how it did at the very start.

Hidingintheshadows - ‘It is a bit weird, I guess.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘So, are you an old creepy guy like me?

Hidingintheshadows - ‘That is a joke, right?’

Lonerboy101 - ‘Yeah it is a joke, sorry very dry sense of humour. Don’t have that many people to try my jokes out on.’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘That’s a relief.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘It’s a relief that I do not have many friends?’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘No! I did not mean that! I am so sorry.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘Another joke. Sorry when I am nervous, I tell bad jokes. I forget that I am not really good at them and text form is really hard to tell tone.’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘Sorry for not being able to tell when you’re joking.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be the first. Although you probably are, I only just downloaded this app today.’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘Same.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘You don’t say [type] much do you?’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘Not really, sorry.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘You know you don’t have to keep apologising to me all the time, right?’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘Oh sorry.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘[insert face palm emoji]’

The last message made you smile. Cleo had always been telling you that you apologise way too much and that it can get annoying. It would get to the point where you would apologise for things you did not do just because it sounded like the right thing to say.

Hidingintheshadows - ‘I will work on it.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘So what brings you to Introverted Conversions?’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘Fear of the world and everyone in it, basically.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘Oh my gosh same!’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘Really?’

Lonerboy101 - ‘No, but I am touched that you still cannot sense my sarcasm.’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘I’ll work on that too.’

Lonerboy101 - ‘Promise?’

Hidingintheshadows - ‘Promise!’

It had almost become a routine for you and Lonerboy101 to talk during the late afternoon and evening. Occasionally, you would get notified in the middle of the day, but he knew that you were not ignoring him and that you had school obligations. No one really knows about him at all, you have done well at keeping this away from Cleo as you knew she would only judge you for it.

‘You’re talking to a stranger online who had admitted he was an old creepy man.’ Even the thought made you laugh. Since the first night, you had discovered a lot about Lonerboy101. Nothing like names and addresses. But more personal stuff like how it feels having crippling anxiety and not having someone who really understands.

***

It was the last day before Cleo left for her new school and you woke up feeling quite comfortable for the first time in a long time. It was almost as if your body has finally gotten used to the idea that the day was going to come that you would need to stand up on your own. It was not a good feeling per say, but it was slightly empowering to know that you could become your own person, instead of being Cleo’s weird friend.

*Chime*

Your heart began to beat rapidly in your chest as you practically dove for the phone on your bed. Only to have it violently shoot back down when the name on your lock screen did not read Lonerboy101.

Cleo – ‘Hey, I am downstairs! Snag me a piece of toast considering you are not exactly going to eat it!’

Every morning your mum would make pancakes, French toast, and scrambled eggs that you could choose from to snack on during your walk to school. Only you are not exactly a French toast and scrambled eggs kind of person and she knows that. It is just her way of trying to make a connection with you early in the day.

You – ‘Be right down, pancakes or French toast?’

You replied as you waved to your mum who was sliding through her emails while nursing a hot mug of coffee. “Hey, Baby! Have a great day at school, okay?” The last part of this routine she does every morning always feels like she is questioning you, making sure that you are aware that a ‘great day at school’ depends 100% on you alone.

*Chime*

Lonerboy101 – ‘Pancakes please. Although, I don’t think they will be any good by the time I receive them!’

‘Oh no!’ You thought. You did not think really think to check the contact that you were on when you sent the message out. You had simply read the lock screen and the most recent person you were chatting to was the person that appeared on the screen.

Quickly you grabbed a pancake and your bags and sulked out the door.

Hidingintheshadows – ‘I am so sorry, that was meant for my friend.’

Lonerboy101 – ‘Are we not friends? I am offended’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘Wait no I mean yes you are, but I do not really know you. God I am sorry…’

Lonerboy101 – ‘Wow! What did I say about the apologising? And what about the whole sarcasm thing? You should now know when I am pulling your chain.’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘Sorry’

Lonerboy101 – ‘No. More. Sorry.’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘Damn, I didn’t mean to I swear.’

Lonerboy101 – ‘Calm, it is okay. Chain. Pulling. But going back to this pancake…’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘What about it?’

Lonerboy101 – ‘You have made me hungry. And now I need to go out and find me a pancake to soothe this carb craving I have going on.’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘Good luck with that.’

Lonerboy101 – ‘Good Luck with school today! Speak to you later! X’

What the heck is that? Fear washed over your face as you met Cleo at the bottom of the stairs to your apartment building.

“Y/N? Are you okay? You look a little pale?” It took everything you had to not blurt out every little secret that you had been keeping about Lonerboy101 to Cleo. To almost get some advice on how to handle this newfound “boy drama” in your life. You open your mouth to begin to spill the beans. “Oh, I know!” Cleo interrupted, “it is because today is my last day and you have no idea how you will survive without me!”

Not quite on the nose but nice to see that your friend really does care about you, while she makes every drama about herself. This was just another typical response from Cleo. One you have put up with for an exceptionally long time. Instead of arguing with your best friend on the beginning of her last day, you decide to just bite your lip and nod.

“It will be okay, sunshine!” A little nickname she gave you when you were both little and in Kindergarten. “We will still have Facetime and we can still meet up during the holidays.” Suddenly you were pulled into a tight embrace as an overexaggerated sigh left her lips. “Now come on mopey.” Yet another nickname that you were given because of your constant state of enthusiasm caused by your mental condition. “Let’s get to school before people forget that they will never see this face walk those halls again.”

Meanwhile in your head the little “X” at the end of Lonerboy101’s latest reply repeatedly flashed across your mind as Cleo droned on about how annoying packing up her extensive collection of shoes and makeup has been for her.

***

It did not matter what lesson you were in, if you were having “a moment” as your mother likes to call it, everything just seems to become pointless. Science was one of your favourite subjects mainly because of the unpredictable experiments that you can perform. But today it just seemed as though someone had placed a weighted scarf on top of your shoulders and told you to “deal with it.”

“Can anyone tell me their findings from their group’s chemical reaction?” All eyes went to you as everyone in the class knew that you were Mr King’s favourite pupil. Mr King was the only teacher that managed to get a response out of you in class. But today, he might as well have been talking to a brick wall.

“Y/N?” This would later be explained to you after class that it was the fifth attempt Mr King had made to pry your attention away from your notebook where you had been filling in the margins with your pen.

When you looked up, there were people gossiping and snickering about what they had just witnessed. “Can I see you after class?” Mr King had asked once he regained the focus of the class.

This was not the first time that a teacher had asked to speak with you after class. Especially Mr King. Not that he made a habit to discipline you outside of lesson, but because he was always concerned about how you were feeling after you had one of you “moments.”

“What is going on, Y/N? Do I need to call your mother?” He did not say it in a stern way that other teachers would have. But for him, it was more of a genuine question for your own personal well-being. “Some of the other teacher’s approached me today in the teacher’s lounge to discuss you. They said that you have been unresponsive all day. I heard that Cleo is leaving today, does that have anything to do with how you’re coping with today?”

You shook your head. “Cleo has nothing to do with it!” You snapped, and you never snap which startled Mr King. “I’m sorry.” You whispered when you saw how set back, he was from your reply. “I just do not know what to do anymore.”

“With what?” He perched on the edge of his desk. Holding his hand up to stop the next class from entering the classroom. “What is getting to you? I can see if I can help?” While most teachers would just shrug you off, Mr King tried to get down to the root problem to help you resolve any issue that you may be having during the day. This was because Mr King had made you aware that his daughter too suffers from major anxiety issues as well.

“It’s stupid, I should not have said anything. I will be okay, Mr King.” You gathered your books from the table and stuffed them into the oversized backpack that was now slung over your shoulder. “Can you quickly write me a note for Mrs Bateman? I do not want the teachers to have more of a reason to talk about me.”

Mr King picked up a pad and pen and began to write a note excusing you for your lateness. “It will get better, Y/N. I am here whenever you need a chat, okay?” He handed you the note and you basically bolted out of the room.

Although you felt bad for being short with Mr King, you could not quite help it. It was not as if you could simply come out and tell him that you were not upset because your best friend for 16 years was now leaving you behind. But it was all down to an “X” placed on the end of a text message from a boy you have not met but have been talking to for 3 weeks non-stop!

***

You slowly approached the lunch table that you and your friends sat at during every lunch since you had started at the school. They were all laughing and joking which did slightly lift your spirits. Cleo had turned to look over her shoulder and noticed your arrival. The smile on her face had sank and the laughing at the table had died along with it.

“Hey Y/N!” Cleo tried to sound pleased to see you but you knew something was up. Since when was Cleo being false with you? She normally reserved that type of “hey” for the girls that talk about how amazing they are.

Sinking down into the spare chair that has been yours for years at the table you tried to force a smile. “So, we were all thinking…” Instantly you hated where this was going. “That it would be really fun to all go to the dance tonight as a final farewell to Cleo!” The girls shrieked as Hannah finished her sentence. A dance was the last place you wanted to be. Today of all days.

The girls all looked at you for your response. “A dance?” The girls all squealed again in unison, practically bouncing in their seats.

“Don’t you think it would be fun.” Hannah stated rather than asked.

“Dances aren’t really my thing.” You said hesitantly. The last thing you wanted to do was to annoy any of the friends that you had left. Especially considering how they were going to be the ones you would now have to rely on once Cleo had left.

“Nothing is really your thing!” Elizabeth snickered. Cleo’s death stare shot over to Liz and her head instantly fell. So that’s why Cleo was so weird when you came over. It was because she knew that you were not exactly going to be over the moon with the new plan for Cleo’s last day celebration. Before lunch, the plan was to go bowling and then get pizza. A less daunting but still hard to stomach plan. This new plan involved dressing up and trying to socialise with people who were not exactly the nicest to you.

“Y/N, it is completely up to you. We can go to the dance and party it up like it is the last day we are going to be alive. Or we can just go and get pizza and knock over a couple of pins with an over weighted bowling ball.” When Cleo said it like that, neither sounded appealing. But it was obvious the way that she laid it out that the dance was the one event she was going to be happy attending tonight.

“Can I think about it?” The girls all sighed and Callum shook you by the shoulders. Literally shook you as if physically moving your body was somehow going to make you change your mind. “Ow!”

“Callum! Do not do that!” Cleo yelled at her boyfriend. At least she was still defending you even if she was trying to push you to do something that made you uncomfortable. It was almost as if she defended you to make you reconsider. “Just one little dance? We can go whenever you want and stay however long you want.” Her puppy dog eyes were out and her hands were clasped in front of her.

Along with your crippling fear of being around other people, your anxiety also made you hate disappointing those that you care about. “Fine.” Was all you managed to say before all the girls and Callum began to cheer. At least he did not try to shake you again otherwise you thought you may physically puke from excessive unwanted physical contact.  

While all the others were discussing what they were going to wear, you reached for your phone and began to contact the only person on the planet who didn’t make you feel like you were wrong for feeling this type of way.

Hidingintheshadows – ‘Have you ever been forced to do something you don’t really want do because your friends want you to?’

You debated for a couple of seconds before adding your own “X” onto the end of your text.

Your phone vibrated in your hand. Thank God you had turned the volume off when you got to school. Cleo would not have left you alone for one second if she knew you were texting a guy.

Lonerboy101 – ‘Who is making you do something? What something? Is it illegal? X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘1. Nothing illegal. 2. Friends and 3. Go to a stupid high school dance where I will be uncomfortable for the entire evening. X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘That wasn’t the order that I put my questions in. X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘I thought I would start with the one that could get me in a jail cell! X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘I’ve got this feeling that you’d rock an orange jumpsuit so you would be fine. Although the lack of our communication would be quite unsettling. X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘I think I will cope. X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘I was talking about me! I look forward to my Chime every day. X’

You could not help but blush when you read that last part of his message. You could not bring yourself to message him back stating that it was also your highlight of the day too. Lonerboy101 has become a big part of your life and that was quite hard to admit considering you did not know his name or what he even looked like. You barely even knew the boy and yet it felt as though you knew everything there was to know about him.

Lonerboy101 – ‘Sorry was that weird? Let us get back to the problem at hand… A party was not it? X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘No and my friend is leaving and I do not want to be mean and not turn up to her “leaving do” but I do not think I will be able to cope with that many people. Especially because they all think that I am a freak. X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘When is the party? You are not a freak by the way. Might I just add that is the longest text you have ever sent. X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘Tonight, at school. I do not want to go and be the joke of the party. X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘This is a tough one. I can be there if you want. For moral support. X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘You can’t obviously turn up to a school that you don’t go to just to attend a stupid dance. X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘I’ll be a virtual guest. You can text me whenever you think that it is getting too much and I will use my powers of persuasion to lift those spirits and put a smile on your beautiful face. X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘How can you say I am beautiful. You have never even seen me? X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘I see the beauty in everything. But you, you are something much more. X’

***

“You cannot wear that!” Cleo snapped when she saw the outdated and over worn outfit that you were wearing on your body. “No this will not do.” Lucky enough for her, your mother and Cleo are quite close. Closer than you are to your own mother. “Leanne! Come and tell your daughter that this is terrible and that she cannot wear this to a school dance.”

Within seconds your mother was in your room judging the clothes that she paid for that you were wearing. “No baby girl, this is your first dance. There is no way in hell I am going to let you leave this apartment building wearing that.”

Your mother’s hand was now grasped around your wrist and you were being dragged into your mother’s bedroom. “Now try this on.” In her hand she was holding a long black dress with a sequin detail at the top of the bust. She could tell that you were resistant so she pulled you in front of the wall length mirror and placed the garment up to your neck.

You could not deny that it was a very pretty dress. One that you would love to wear in a different circumstance. The whole idea of you attending a dance had still not sunk in yet. “Mum I couldn’t pull this off!” You exclaimed. Jeans and a tea shirt were more your speed.

“No Sunshine, you are most definitely wearing this now that I have seen it.” Cleo was practically foaming at the mouth the minute she saw this dress. You were sure that if your mother had not offered it to you first that she would have snagged the dress up for herself. “Right now, hair and makeup.” She slapped her hands together and both your mother and best friend stared at you with excitement in their eyes. Which only put the fear of God into yours.

***

The dance was as horrible as you thought it was going to be. There was loads of people staring at you. One of the girls from your English class even asked a friend of hers if you were a new student at the school. Shows how invisible you were before your boobs were pushed up to your neck and eyeliner was thickly applied to your eyes.

Although this was a new experience for you, to have all eyes on you for a different reason that being the weird girl from school. It was not an experience that you enjoyed at all. High school was nothing but a gossip forum where girls pick on other girls for being themselves or for being slightly different than them. For caring less about how much their bag cost and caring more about why their grade in English was lower than French.

Your friends were all on the dance floor which sadly left you on your lonesome at the back of the decked-out gym.

*Chime*

Lonerboy101 – ‘Please tell me you are having fun now? X’

You smiled. Seeing his name pop up on your screen was possibly the only thing that made you smile tonight.

Hidingintheshadows – ‘Nope. Everyone is staring at me. X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘They are only staring because they are jealous. X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘What could they possibly be jealous of? X’

Lonerboy101 – ‘Well I bet you look absolutely beautiful tonight. X’

Hidingintheshadows – ‘You couldn’t possibly know that? X’

There had been a couple of minutes since Lonerboy101 had messaged back and that smile you had previously been wearing was starting to fade. You glanced down to look at the time on your phone, 22:14. You let out a relieved sigh, at least you stuck around for over 2 hours.

Grabbing your bag, you began to sculk about the dance floor to try and find Cleo and the other girls to deliver the “bad news.” Cleo was locked onto Callum as they shared a slow dance to one of the most upbeat songs you have ever heard. This immediately made finding Cleo a hell of a lot easier.

“I am going to head off now.” You detached Cleo from her boyfriend which left him both grumpy and a little annoyed at you. Cleo gave you a less than enthusiastic hug before quickly turning back to Callum. “Bye then.” You said when she did not say anything back to you.

It was cold outside which instantly made you regret the dress and the heels made the idea of walking all the way home even more thrilling than you could imagine. Glancing down to check the time once again, you noticed a message featuring on your lock screen. You must have not heard it with all the music when you were saying goodbye to Cleo and the girls.

Lonerboy101 – ‘Wanna bet? X’

Everyone outside the gym began to suddenly gasp. All of them were looking in a similar direction. For once all the eyes were off you and that made you feel a hell of a lot better than you had all night.

Hidingintheshadows – ‘I will take that bet. You cannot comment on something you cannot see. X’

“Then maybe you should step out of the shadows and see what I can see right now.” This voice was strangely familiar but not familiar in a way that you had heard Mr King’s voice almost every day. It was familiar because you had heard it from somewhere, but you were unsure of where. “Because what I see is 100% beautiful just like I had predicted.”

The crowd of people started to open as the voice got nearer and nearer. There were girls practically peeing their pants with excitement. Cleo had appeared with the girls and practically everyone from whom were inside the gym. Suddenly, this voice had become the talk of the whole dance and now all the attention was right back on you again.

There was now a stunning familiar face to match the familiar voice standing right in front of you. One that you would never have believed to have been stood there. It was his smile that you caught first when he looked at you in that long black dress. His eyes lingered on you for a while before you both realised that it had been quite some time that slipped away since either one of you had spoken. 

“Lonerboy101?” You asked quietly. Not really wanting anyone to hear how speechless you really were.

“Guilty.” There in front of you stood the one and only Tom Holland. The freaking man who brought you Spiderman, Ian Lightfoot, and Lucas in the movie The Impossible. He was Lonerboy101, how was that even possible?

It suddenly dawned on you that everyone and that honestly was everyone was now staring at the pair of you who were staring at one another. “Maybe we should go over there?” Tom had suggested to get away from prying eyes.

Once you were both certain that there were not any lingering eyes, your protection walls started to drop ever so slightly. “You’re the person I have been talking to for 3 weeks? You’re Lonerboy101?”

“Yes. I am Lonerboy101, but if I am being quite honest, Tom will do fine.” He joked which did make you feel only a small degree better. For all this time you had been talking to Tom Holland and you had no inclination that it was happening. “I wanted to tell you who I was, but it was so amazing to have someone to talk to who didn’t see me as this guy who acts for a living and attends red carpet events, you know?”

You did not know of course. “I am not mad. But why would you tell me you have anxiety issues when you do not?” You sighed and started to look at the shine from the diamonds reflecting from your heels. “Was it a way to make fun of me?”

Quickly Tom grasped your hands without thinking. “No!” He spoke urgently but delicately as if he did not want to put his foot in his mouth and make the situation worse. Truth be told Tom was expecting this whole revelation to go a little differently. The sombre look on your face was not the result that he had wanted from showing up at your school. “I never did it to make fun of you or anyone who suffers with anxiety. Truth be told I do suffer with it. Not as bad as most people, but I have days where I wonder if my friends are my true friends because they like me or because they like what I can give them.”

“I want you to know that every message that I ever sent you, I was being the real me. None of it was an act or fake for me.” Tom’s head was not facing down, almost defeated. “From talking to you I knew that you were the most honest and kindest person that I could possibly ever get to know.”

“Can I ask you something?” Your voice was soft and shaky as if you were afraid of the response that you were going to receive.

“Anything.” He was almost pleading. His voice as shaky as your own.

“How did you know who I was and what I looked like?” Tom looked you dead in the eyes. You could see the sincerity in his eyes and how much he wanted this to go right. “You knew to come right up to me, out of all the girls in the world. You knew to come to my school and then up to me, how?”

Tom let out a little smile. “Well, you know that section on the app right at the beginning?” You nod keeping eye contact as he continued to speak. “Well when it asks you for a name, you can keep it blank and then put in a username instead. You actually put in all of your details and made them public.”

“Oh!” You stated feeling stupid for doing so. This entire time he knew exactly who you were while you had no clue that you were talking to a celebrity.

“No, it was a good thing.”

“How?” You question. Doubting that knowing who you were was ever a “good thing.”

“Because, I felt really lucky to be talking to you. I saw how beautiful you were and how smart you are as well as how kind you can be.” You were quiet. You were not used to guys calling you beautiful, and here he was saying it for what must have been the 3rd time since you met him. “If it makes you feel any better, I only looked you up yesterday. I was worried when you did not answer my message and temptation got the best of me and I peaked. Are you mad?”

“No. I am not mad.”

“Would it help if I said sorry?”

“What did you say about saying sorry?” You smiled which made the flash of panic rush from his face. The corners of his mouth started to turn up and his eyes sparkled.

“Yeah but on me it looks cute.” Both of you allow yourselves to laugh at the situation. Remembering some of your earlier messages. “Would it be too much to ask for a hug?” He looked down at your hands which were no longer scrunched into fists which proved that you were no longer as uncomfortable as you may have been from the first encounter.

You allow yourself to smile as he pulls you into his arms. “It is exactly how I imagined it.” Tom said into your hair as he held you close to him.

“What is?” You questioned

“That I would be only just taller than you when you’re wearing heels.” Both of you let out a controlled laugh at his terrible attempt at a joke. “You don’t actually want to go back in there do you?” Tom gestured towards the gym that probably did not hold any students inside due to his arrival.

“I am not going back inside there! But thanks for wearing a suit for me.” You pull away slightly to admire the suit that Tom was pulling off handsomely.

“Anything for my girl.”

[smalltowndetective]

“He’s really got you, doesn’t he?” for F x detective if it is not too late to request.

It’s never too late to request! Thank you for it anon! 

I am so sorry this took so long. I had 2k words written for this, scrapped that, started over, then I wrote 1k words, scrapped that, started over, but it looks like third time, may not be the charm, but it’s better then it was earlier. :D

I am so happy to finally get it done, even if that means posting it at almost midnight where I am haha!

But I really hope you like it! :)

Prompt- "He's really got you, doesn't he?"

Ao3 Link

Title: Haley’s Bakery

Pairing: Felix and Thea (Hints of it, at least)

Words: 1.1k

Summary (And Notes): I suppose this needs some explaining for a bit of context. Tina does not know about the supernatural in Felix and Thea’s route. We also don’t know if Tina/Verda know if the detective is dating either F or N at this point, but let’s pretend that they do for this at least haha

Tags: @lilyoffandoms

The early signs of summer had finally come to Wayhaven.

               The marigolds that adorned about in any spot where they could fit were starting to bloom, their bright yellow and orange hues contrasting brightly to the long green grass. Trees were fully leafed, and butterflies could be found in just about any spot with flowers. And during the cooler nights, the crickets came out to chirp, the noise almost comforting in the otherwise quiet nights.

               Summer was Thea’s favorite season, but with work, it had not been something that she had been actually been able to fully enjoy. The past month had been a constant cycle between work at the station and work at the warehouse, and there was not much time to really take even a few moments break to just enjoy the little things that were happening around her.

               Another thing that was also pulling down her spirits was the fact that her and Felix had barely had the chance to figure out their new relationship, and just be an actual couple. Not that she would take back the little times here and there, bottling each of them in order to look back at them later, a smile forming on her face every time she thought about them.

               Wayhaven had felt busier than it had for all of the time she had lived there, and even though there were some days where sometimes she wished that everything would calm down a bit, she was happy with the team being in here anywhere, instead of having to leave after the case like she thought they would have.

               That would have been awful if that happened.

               And I’m really glad it didn’t.

               It was not something that she would have wanted to dwell on, the “what ifs?” if they had gone to their next mission like they were supposed to, instead trying to focus on all of the positives that had resulted from them staying in the first place, even with the seemingly increased supernatural presence in Wayhaven.

               It’s certainly been interesting having them all around.

               Which I wouldn’t say is a bad thing.

               “Thea”, Tina suddenly said, and she looked up, realizing that she had been absentmindedly been running her fingers on the rim of her cup of tea.

               That morning, with the small amount of free time that she did have, her and Tina had gone to Haley’s for breakfast, but with her brain on overdrive from all of the thoughts in her head, she did not feel like the best companion.

               “Sorry”, she almost whispered.

               “Don’t be”, Tina shrugged, “I know you’ve been busy recently”

               “I had hoped it would quiet a little by now…”, she said, more to herself then to Tina.

               “I’m sure it will”, she replied, adding a small wink, “Wayhaven has always had that tendency”

               Thea laughed, “It sure has”

               “So”, Tina began, setting down her drink on the table, a hint of seriousness in her brown eyes, but it was almost drowned out by the normal mischievousness, “Do you want to know the real reason why I invited you this morning?”

               “Real reason?”

               “Yes, the real reason”, she repeated, holding an unblinking stare with her, “Because the audacity Thea, the audacity”

               She could feel her heart to race at the statement, her eyes growing wide, almost in panic, “What do you mean?”

               “Did you really think”, Tina continued, “That you could just text me, and say you were dating someone, and give me absolutely nothing else?”

               Thea could feel her face start to burn, but she tried to bite it back as best she could, “What else did you want me to say?”

               Tina playfully scoffed, “Uh, everything? How it happened? Every little last detail, don’t leave anything out”

               Her voice then got quiet, “It is that Agent with the golden eyes, right?”

               “Who else would it be?”, she responded, the whisper of a laugh in her words.

               “Just making sure”, Tina confirmed, “Now, we got about 30 minutes before we have to get back to the station, so start talking”

               Thea shook her head, but she smiled anyway, “Well, ever since he’s been back, I suppose there was always that hint? That we could move forward with something if we wanted to. But I wasn’t sure if he wanted to, and it was something that was stuck in my mind for a while”

               “Then, one night, he asked to kiss me”, she said, trying to ignore how Tina’s grin was somehow growing wider as she continued, “And well, we did. It was- pretty amazing. And it meant a lot. A whole lot to me”

               A smile so wide that it even could rival Tina’s formed on her face as she continued, “I was kind of worried that it was only a kiss to him. But it wasn’t. And that next morning, well, I suppose that’s when it really happened. When it became-official”

               She then looked back at Tina, who had surprisingly not said a word since she began.

               “I wish you could have seen just how much your face lit up just now”, she said, and even though her tone was joking, there was a tinge of seriousness to it as well”, “He’s really got you, doesn’t he?” 

               Thea could feel her face flush even more, and Tina let out a snort at the sight of it, “What? It’s really adorable”

               A softer, gentler, smile formed on her face, “It’s really good to see you happy. Like, truly, genuinely so”

               She was struck speechless at that, not knowing what she could possibly say to something like that.

               “Tina I- “, she stammered out without really thinking about it.

               “I’ve got to get to know this guy better though, especially if he’s going to be hanging around more”, she went on as she had not said anything, “So, what about, when everything quiets down a bit, we could go out to the bar. And now, I know that’s not really your scene, but it could be fun!”

               She laughed, “I’ll think about it” But a thought made her pause, “I don’t know if I really want to make you the third wheel though. It seems kind of unfair”

               “Thea Annaliese Holland”, Tina said flatly, and she could feel her eyes widen with the use of her full name, as if she back to being a kid again, “I will be the most fabulous third wheel there has ever been”

               Thea shook her head, but she was unable to hide a smile, thoughts of a night like that, even if it was really not something that she would normally want to do, making a new found hope fill in her.

               Maybe this the chance we’ve been waiting for.

               “Now”, she suddenly said, “As much as I would love to stay here and chat about this all day, we should probably get back”

               “Can’t argue with that”, Thea replied.

               The two of them then left Haley’s bakery, a new found spring in her step.

               The future is sure looking brighter then it’s ever been.

If you ever want to request anything from me, feel free to! I’m taking requests from this collection of lists, but I’ll take just random headcannons and the like as well! I’d love to try writing anything that you can send me! :)

[littleeyesofpallas]

Demon Slayer - Name Games

So ive been kinda getting into kimetsu no yaiba lately and on the one hand it hasn’t really hooked me or anything story-wise just yet, but boy oh boy am i loving the aesthetic and general design sensibilities.  The biggest motifs at work, at least from where I’ve read so far, that I really love are the use of some traditional Japanese fabric patterns and the use of hanafuda card motifs.

I don’t think I’ll get as into this all as I have with Bleach but I wanted to put some of these rambling thoughts somewhere, so here we go...

the most obvious hanafuda reference is in tanjiro’s earrings which are explicitly referenced as looking like hanafuda card.  ironically of all the hanafuda references though, his are actually the only modified ones.  His earrings are based on the Moon card in the suit of Silvergrass/August, and not the sun and crane card from the pine/janurary suit.  In Hanafuda, each of 12 suits has a core plant(usually flowering), an affiliated month, and within each suit 1 ribbon and 1 “animal” card. (although not all the animal cards are actual animals).

The whole Kamado family has an ichimatsu:”checker" pattern motif, although Nezuko also has an asanoha:”hemp leaf” pattern as well.  The checker pattern doesnt really have any overt meaning, as it’s a pretty universal pattern, but it does have associations with heroes and lead actors via kabuki theatre costuming.  The hemp leaf is a symbol of growth and good health, and is often used in baby clothes.

Also as usual i’m a sucker for name games.  Kamado[竈門]: "Hearth Gate" and  Tanjiro[炭治郎]: "Charcoal Regulate Son."  It's an irregular construction, as the name Tanjiro is a real name but the “charcoal” kanji isn’t how you’d normally write the Tan- part. (More conventional writings would probably be [丹治郎], which reads as [丹] "red-earth"/"rust-colored.") Both names play up his family trade as charcoal makers/sellers, if that wasn’t clear, which in turn plays into his overall sun and fire themes.

Nezuko[禰豆子]: "Ancestral-shrine bean child" is a neat name and also a homonym with Nezuko[鼠子]: "Rat child."  I assume the “rat” pun is there to evoke gnawing, as in her demon fang gag.  The bean, as a seed and as food are probably meant to evoke good health and growth, like the asanoha pattern.  

Zenitsu’s associated card is the Thunder card from the Willow/November suit.  The same suit’s animal card has a Sparrow on it.

His fabric pattern is an uroko:”scale,” pattern probably most recognized as the hojo family crest, which in turn is most recognized as being the same as the triforce in legend of zelda.  They are a stylized geometric pattern made to resemble fish or snake or even dragon scales.  They can have some implication of protection or warding, but are also commonly used in theatre costume where it evokes treachery and ambush by association with snakes waiting to strike.  probably meant as a play on his whole hidden sword skill gimmick.

His name reads, Agatsuma[我妻] "My Wife" and Zenitsu[善逸] "Good Evasion."  The latter is obvious but i dont know what to make of that surname.  Maybe a joke about him wanting to take a wife so he won’t die alone.

...

Inosuke’s associated card is the Boar card from the Bushclover/July suit.  His “fabric” is jokingly a non-fabric, as it’s just animal pelts, rather than anything manmade.

Name wise... Hashibira[嘴平] "Flat beak", Inosuke[伊之助] "That, This Assistant."  A pun on the "ino" of inoshishi[猪] meaning "boar," so his name sounds like it would be Inosuke[猪助] "Boar Assistant."  I don’t know what to make of the surname though....

Kanao and the Kocho sisters take their motif from the Butterfly card in the Peony/June suit.  The capes mimicking butterfly wings is pretty obvious but also not really a traditional pattern.  I haven’t gotten too far into their deal yet.

Tsuyuri[栗花落] "chestnut flower drop," Kanao [カナヲ].  I’m not super sure on this one, but chestnuts are probably more iconic for the nut than the flower, and the nut of course falls in its spiny shell.  They are also broadly associated with autumn as seasonal symbols.  I don’t think it was the intention but the use of “chestnut” and “fall/drop” together makes me think of scattering caltrops on the ground to slow pursuers, like a ninja. 

Kocho[胡蝶] is written “Foreign Butterfly” where the character for “foreign” is used in compounds circling around a core idea of “False” or ”Suspicious.”  But historically it can also read as “Barbarian” in reference to a particular time and place in China, but it’s the reason it also means “foreign.”  Either way it means her name can read “Barbarian Butterfly” which is just the coolest mashup of imagery.  Shinobu [しのぶ] is just written phonetically, as was Kanao.

But also Muzan has his motif of western style floral lace in stark juxtaposition to the recognizably japanese styles of most of the hunters.

I do really like the fact that the villain group is numbered according to an old timekeeping method that Japan doesn’t use anymore.  It’s a derivative of the borrowed Chinese time keeping system (which is mirrored by their zodiac cycle) and divides each day into 12 “hours”: 6 of day and 6 of night --a top six and a bottom six, just like Muzan’s 12 demons.

What’s really cool is that these units of time were actually relative to the season and the literal daylight.  So the 6 “hours” were always equal to one another, but the day hours and night hours shifted length inversely to one another during the summer and winter.  When western clocks were introduced via trade with Holland, it didnt take long for the Japanese to develop a unique clock mechanism of their own that let them turn a dial to shift the clock face around according to the season

And speaking of demons.... the fixation on Wisteria also ties back to the April suit in hanafuda, which has a wisteria motif.  There’s a family crest coopted into a design that shows up briefly modified from the Fujiwara family crest.

Anyway, like I said, I’m not super super into the series just yet, but these were just a bunch of little things that jumped out at me as I was going, and that I told myself I’d post about at some point, if i ever managed to hammer out any substantially sized blurbs about it all.  There’s a lot more going on too, even in just the handful of volumes i’ve picked through so far, but not all of it as consistent or reaching across multiple characters as a these were.

[william-nylander]

having a very rough day, do you have anymore top willy moments to gift us?

i am so sorry u are having a rough day pebble. i decided to go a bit rogue with this, in that it is instead a Top Willy Interviews On the Leafs Youtube Page listicle. i hope it makes ur day a teeny bit better.

idk if you’ve ever been to toronto BUT this look is very like. like this willy lives in the junction and hates the “noise” of the downtown and has waited 2 hours in line for bangbang ice cream in august. he likes to smoke weed in trinity bellwoods. he goes to poetry readings on bar roof tops and says shit about how everything north of dupont is “north york”. hes been known to sit at the piano in the common room at university college (uoft) and play scales. he can and has fucked ur boyfriend.

this willyum is your coworker at canadas wonderland one summer. he does not know what hes doing. he is either like :| or like :D depending on the moment. his nose gets sunburnt at the beginning of the summer but only ever in a charming way!!! u never see it peel. he works the stuffed animal stands and cannot understand why his has a line and none of the others do (hint: its bc every1 has a crush on him!!!!). before the park opens he wanders around with one of those velcro monkeys around his neck. he likes the mindbuster the best bc thats MY favourite ride and this is my listicle. 

also i miss willys gigantic front teeth gap. he used to have little tombstone teeth. what has he done to them. 

hey i love kyle dubas with my whole heart and all but there was something to be said about how when lou made them all be clean shaven and hair short it meant that willys hair was always kinda like a dragon ball z character and also his skin was all fleshy and elastic like a babys arm 

speaking of kyle dubas i found this choice shot of willy blinking while kyles prattling on about nothing and like has anything ever been more My Aesthetic 

god. has any1 ever been more iconic. this willy lives just north of bloor on dufferin and will tell anyone that the ossington strip is the “most underrated part of the city” (& hes right!!!!). they know his name at sugo. he takes all his out of town friends there and he gets tattoos at ink + water (thats at lansdowne right? now ive confused myself). he goes to the value village there and owns 29 pairs of sunglasses. he has his bed on the floor. he listens to a lot of better oblivion community centre. he long boards. he goes to bulk stores for groceries. he wants to start brewing his own kombucha. actually u know the more i typed this willy might just be me whoops.

this man is my next door neighbour for the summer in cottage country. he has a fishing boat but he doesnt fish because fish suck. i invite him over for bbq and telling stories around the campfire. we drink shitty beer. he is not interesting but he is hot. maybe we make out on the dock. willy looks weirdly good in green.

whenever someone has bracelets on their wrist my mind goes str8 to SUMMER CAMP. willyum is a camp counsellor at a camp maybe on like idk lake erie or some shit. he is a cabin leader and he loves his little sprouts/campers. frederik gauthier is the HEAD LIFEGUARD and willy thinks hes so funny and weird and sweet and cute and he doesnt realize!!! until the end of camp!!! that he has a big crush on freddie goat!!!! its the last night of camp and theres a big campfire and a camp dance and willy asks goat to sneak away with him. they go down to the beach and sit on the picnic table under the lifeguard tent and willy kisses goat and its very romantic. 

okay 1) love a man in a puffy coat & 2) there is something about “my father will hear about this” draco malfoy looking like He Was a Diplomats Son mp3 willy that just really gets my goat. he went to a boarding school in the swiss alps and fucked ur girlfriend. he has a closet for his shoes. he dated a member of the swedish royal family for a summer but broke up with him bc he was too clingy.

speaking of that bitch…..here he is again. this is after his tour after high school. he rented out an apartment in lisbon and would smoke cigarettes with beautiful people on the balcony. he spends a month in the south of france turning golden on the rocky beaches and buying dinner every night from the market on his way back to the hotel. this willy takes molly at a gay club in dresden and wakes up in an architect students bed and then he goes to the park to sweat off a hangover and pretend to read nietzsche  

this willy is absolutely the rapscallion son of the president. whats that movie with mandy moore (maybe???? oh no wait i just googled it its katie holmes) - that movie with katie holmes where the first daughter like falls in love or whatever?? this is willy. OOH IVE GOT IT. okay so this willy is absolutely a zoey barlett type from the west wing who is very cute and everyone loves him even though he is a spoiled brat sometimes/all the time. ENTER the assistant to the president - zach hyman - in a charlie young role. they fall in love over a pot of chilli. its the most beautiful thing u have ever s33n. 

okay so like willy is the new Legal Assistant at the office. kyle is a Partner in Law or whatever tf they’re called. willy and he are Working Late One Night and u know what that means…..they go to rol san bc its open until like 6am and they eat the FUCK out of some dumplings and then kyle drives willy back to his apartment (maybe in this one he lives in a shitty place at yonge & college???? like classic “roommate in the living room” toronto living??) and they KISS in the CAR and its ROMANTIC.

this willyumm is your date for thanksgiving dinner. he comes extremely bundled. my parents live north of toronto so i imagine this willy driving us north for the weekend. his scarf is very evan from skam and its sexi. he does not like the folk playlist that you have put on but its FALL and the TREES and OCTOBER MEANS HOZIER and hes like UGH FINE WHATEVER and is a bit grumpy but then u pass thru the holland marsh and he’s like “hm smells like onions” and its all fine again. his laugh confuses your extended family and he sucks at scrabble and is a pouty bitch about it but its a GOOD TIME.

god THIS WILLYAM is ur older brothers BEST FRIEND and he comes over to play video games ?? i guess ?? i never had a brother but i YEARNED to crush on a brothers best friend. he is very handsome like a lion. maybe you write some weird diary shit about it. every time he comes over ur SO WEIRD and he KNOWS ABOUT UR CRUSH and hes VERY NICE ABOUT IT.

also would a willy listicle be complete without me marvelling over his long straight nose??????????? look how straight it is!!!!!!

this will ham is in ur intro to gender studies class on friday mornings in sid smith. hes in one of ur projects and hes got no fucking clue whats going on. hes on the varsity blues hockey team and he thought that he clicked on “intro to geography”. despite the fact that he has no idea whats happening ever hes enthusiastic about listening. one time u go for coffee at mallo across from where honest eds used to be and he asks u what the male gaze is. 

okay. i hope u enjoyed this. it took me awhile and i enjoyed every second of it. to conclude, here is several screen shots from my favourite willy interview:

u ever see a man more beautiful

lil elastic face weirdo