paladinofchaos

[paladinofchaos]

summer kiss

Summary: Thomas hates summer, he always has.Jimmy loves summer. To Jimmy, there is no better time of year - how could there be?

Pairings: Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent

Warnings: none :) just fluff

Word count: 800

A/N: this is cross posted on AO3 and my main blog

~~~

Thomas hates summer, he always has.

The first memory he has of summer is of long grass and a warm breeze as he and his sister run through the fields until their legs are numb and it felt like they were flying. His second memory is of tears and bloody knees and raised voices. Since then summer mostly passed in a blur, all the way up until he started at Downton.

He had almost been excited for the first summer there - half formed dreams of lavish parties and weeks spent in London and weeks spent with family, and the reality had been a slap in the face. Summer at Downton was hardwork in the sweltering sun, sweating through his shirts and jackets and pounding headaches and days upon days upon days that left him feeling like he’s covered in a thin layer of grime he can’t wash away.

This year though, Thomas is hoping summer will be a little different. There’s still the gruelling work, the near unbearable heat, insects and picnics and on and on, but this year there’s Jimmy, too.

Jimmy loves summer. To Jimmy, there is no better time of year - how could there be? The flowers are blooming, in the mornings he sees rabbits and foxes running after their mothers, and lambs in the fields; there’re fairs and parties and late nights watching the sunset when he’s supposed to be clearing tables and polishing silver, but, mostly, he loves the feeling of the sun on his skin.

Since they had settled into their own routine, Jimmy had taught Thomas the beauty in summer.

It had started with Thomas waking earlier than usual one morning and nipping out for a fag. Jimmy joined his outside a few moments later and they stood in silence as the sun rose on the horizon. In the cool light, Jimmy spotted the rabbits scampering along a wall a little way away, and he began talking in a low voice.

“I was out here the other morning and there was these little rabbits, must be the same ones, and they-”

Thomas was only half listening, not because he was bored, rather because he couldn’t help but notice how Jimmy’s eyes seemed to twinkle a little in the morning sun.

~~~

The next time Thomas realised that summer might not be so bad was another seemingly mundane day.

Mrs Patmore had run out of something or other and sent Thomas into town, but the family was away and Mr Carson had let Jimmy tag along. The pair of them definitely took longer than necessary, meandering the narrow roads, browsing the comically over priced bits of tat in one of the shops and stopping for lunch.

The sun was getting low in the sky by the time they were making their way up the drive - they would definitely get a bollocking from Mr Carson - and Jimmy was telling a heavily embellished story from his childhood, complete with funny voices and dramatic re-enactment. His laughter carried lightly on the breeze - he could hardly go a few words without giggling and Thomas wasn’t even sure they were halfway through the story yet - and when he threw his head back, the sun bounced joyously off his curls and scattered around him like a glittering halo.

~~~

It was early September, the weird time of year where it was freezing and boiling simultaneously and even though the sky was always cloudy, the sun shone unrelentingly from when it rose to when it set; Thomas actually quite liked this weather.

By some miracle he and Jimmy had a coinciding afternoon off and decided to take a walk to the river with a small basket they had begged off Mrs Patmore. There was a small bend in the river that was protected by low hanging trees and high bushes - their own little world, just for today.

Thomas ended up sitting with his back against a tree, Jimmy’s head in his lap, running his fingers through his curls. As the sun came round and began to set it danced across the water and rained down through the trees, casting a warm orange glow across Jimmy’s face, illuminating his half smile and rosy cheeks.

Jimmy glowed. He glowed when he and Thomas woke up together, he glowed when they walked together in the afternoon, he glowed here, in their private get away…

It looked like the sun was kissing Jimmy. And Thomas couldn’t help but kiss him too.

[paladinofchaos]

Fic Update

Hey friends! Keep your eyes peeled for a trans!Sybbie fic coming soon. I was hoping to get it done in June for Pride, but ya know...real life struck.  It was supposed to just be a few thousand words total, but it’s already over 3k and just getting under way. Whoopsie.

[paladinofchaos]

More wholesome, smart animal shit. 

Smart doggy

[paladinofchaos]

This is the kind of shit I live for.

crow singing along to flute music

[paladinofchaos]

The TENDEREST moment!!

[paladinofchaos]

Otters holding things is my FAVORITE!!! It is only overshadowed by otters playing with a rock on their bellies.

his fav cone

[paladinofchaos]

Look. There’s a creek near where I live that has its own volunteer non-profit organization.

It’s just one creek. One trickle of water among millions. But people decided to care about that creek. A bunch of people, volunteers, got together and they cleaned several tons of trash out of the creek.

They got to work removing non-native plants from the creek banks and planting native trees.

They got a nearby water treatment plant to upgrade and stop polluting the creek.

They educate people and tell them about the fish and invertebrates that live in creeks and why they should care.

I think that it matters. I think that making sure your community has clean water matters. I think making sure one specific old lady’s house doesn’t flood matters. I think one stream where fish can live again matters. I think one patch of green space in a downtown area matters. If nothing else, it makes people’s lives less shitty, and that’s worthwhile in itself.

Stop asking “how do I save the world?” Start asking “can I get together several people to clean up that creek downtown?”

[paladinofchaos]

Sometimes escape plans are hard to follow! #Surreal #illustration by #jazzberryblue. Find it at http://bit.ly/escapeplan3

[paladinofchaos]

I’m BAAaaack!

Oh hey! Guess who magically remembered their password on the first try? Guess who’s super impressed because they haven’t logged in for at least a year??

You get three tries, and the first two don’t count.

[paladinofchaos]

Dog Time

My oldest baby had surgery again today. I've actually lost count. I think this was 5 or 6? Her first surgery was to get spayed, but the rest have been to remove tumors. Most have been benign fatty tumors, but one was cancer. Thankfully, removing it with good margins was considered curative for that type of cancer. The vet sent off the tumor they removed today, so we will find out next week what they find at the lab. I'm optimistic.

But today was the last proactive surgery that we have decided to put her through. She is 10 now, and starting to slow down. I have had a really hard time coming to accept that she will probably start declining in health. She came through with flying colors and doesn't seem to be in much pain, but the next time might be very different. And at this age, every time they go under anesthesia is more dangerous.

So I'll keep watching, and checking, and telling her "No more lumps!" But she doesn't seem to listen.

[paladinofchaos]

Milestone!

There’s a scene that I’ve been planning for the better part of a year, and I just finished writing it. It ended up being a little shorter than I originally thought, but it was just as epic and thorough. I’ll read through it later to verify :) In the meantime, this song just came up on a playlist, and it’s a pretty good representation of how happy I’m feeling right now.

Go listen to Meaning by Gavin DeGraw. Right now!

[paladinofchaos]

I just hit 50k words in my story!!! I guess I should start calling it a book now :)

[paladinofchaos]

After a three- or four-month hiatus from Tumblr and writing, I am back at it! I needed a break, and I got very sidetracked with Skyrim. I have so many ideas of characters I want to play. Silly adult responsibilities getting in the way of video gaming...

[paladinofchaos]

Attempted Painting

I reorganized my craft supplies into some new storage totes (holy shit, I have so many crochet patterns!), and I remembered that I have painting supplies. I decided to sketch and paint a glass dagger from Skyrim because that’s my favorite design. I finished the sketch, and while it’s far from perfect and symmetrical, I think it’s not too shabby. But my paints are all dried out :( I’ll have to buy some more sometime. I’m just bummed because the set I have had the perfect shades of metallic blue and gold.

[paladinofchaos]

Update: I'm out of kool aid, so now I'm drinking apple cider from my sippy cup. I contemplated putting alcohol in it. I decided against that.

I’m sick, my water got shut off before I had the chance to take a shower this morning, and I have to write two more assessment reports before I can play Skyrim Special Edition. How do I cope with this?

By drinking Kool Aid from a football sippy cup.

[paladinofchaos]

I'm sick, my water got shut off before I had the chance to take a shower this morning, and I have to write two more assessment reports before I can play Skyrim Special Edition. How do I cope with this?

By drinking Kool Aid from a football sippy cup.

[paladinofchaos]

Because everyone should see my adorable masterpiece! The only problem is there are supposed to be two teeth, and I accidentally cut them off :(