Time and Ghost.

“Ein Erntewagen schwankt durchs Feld. Im Garten riecht’s nach Minze und Kamille. Man sieht die Hitze. Und man hört die Stille. Wie klein ist heut die ganze Welt! Wie groß und grenzenlos ist die Idylle …“

Erich Kästners mind when he wrote this about August….

I'm Special - Brahms Heelshire x GN!Reader

Written for @brahmsheelshireshusband ((sorry this took so damn long. i had a shit ton of tech issues, because of course))

Brahms has severe anxiety around the idea of his birthday and hasn’t celebrated for 18 years until you show you actually care enough to give him a small celebration that doesn’t stress him out, and he gets very sappy. Very fluffy with heavy angst.

CW: abusive and neglectful childhood memories, trauma surrounding fire, panic attacks

5179 words (get comfortable lmao), quickly proof-read, quickly edited, first draft

I listened to this to set the mood while writing

take this quiz and find out what you will do this summer <3

relax

i want you to take a deep breath. when was the last time you took time for yourself? when was the last time you fell asleep and woke up not feeling tired? i know it all feels impossible. late stage capitalism is indeed a bitch. can you do something for me? can you get up and make yourself a cup of tea (the one with the good, fancy teabags if possible). then, i’d like you to go sit by the window, and look out. really look out. find three details you’ve never noticed. doesn’t the view look newer now? maybe tomorrow, you can visit those places. if it’s late, i’d like you to go to sleep after you’ve finished your tea. you deserve the rest. if it isn’t, do one thing you’ve been wanting to do for quite a while, just for yourself. eat a cupcake. go for a walk. finish the book you’ve been meaning to, and after that you can go back to what you were doing. if you ever need a bit of rest, come back to this quiz. i will always be here to give you a break. i hope you take more time for yourself this summer. it’ll be good for you.

Sometimes you just have to be there.

Is there anything that makes me happier than the Harry Potter cast basically saying "fuck you JKR" and speaking up against transphobia? The answer is no

Rupert Grint is not on any social media but he chose to speak out about it as well!

a lot of fic and discussion seems to center around this idea of crowley discovering how horrible the other angels are to aziraphale during the body swap and being so surprised and upset and taken aback by it. but i don’t think that’s really what’s going on here.

i think crowley knew all along what was going to happen to aziraphale in heaven.

that’s why crowley’s so patient with aziraphale. that’s why crowley’s so protective of aziraphale.

that’s why crowley’s so willing to pine from afar and to be aziraphale’s friend even though aziraphale won’t admit it. that’s why he’s so willing to do the song and dance of careful phrasing and rephrasing his requests until he hits on the one aziraphale can agree to. that’s why he’s there is 1793 and 1941 and 1800. oh, 1800 - textually, literally saving aziraphale from having to go back to heaven. that’s why crowley’s always circling him, literally watching his back. 

crowley understands all of aziraphale’s reluctance and dodging because crowley knows what heaven’s like. he knows first-hand how arbitrary and capricious it can be, how vindictive and how dictatorial - whether you read that as coming from god herself or just from the archangels who say they act in her name. he understands what it’s like to be under the thumb of an abusive, uncaring family that wants you to conform, because crowley was part of that family. and although the show focuses on crowley’s angst at having been cast out, i don’t think it’s confusion over why he was cast out - it’s confusion over why god cast him out. he was cast out for asking questions, maybe hanging out with the wrong crowd on the wrong day, but his confusion is what happened to god and to heaven that it became the sort of place that would cast him out for such a thing. 

crowley knows that aziraphale isn’t valued by heaven. crowley knows that aziraphale is mostly ignored by heaven. crowley knows that heaven doesn’t understand aziraphale, and that aziraphale aches to conform to heaven’s standards but can’t help that he just isn’t like them, and what aziraphale has to lose if he is caught failing to conform to heaven’s standards. crowley knows that heaven isn’t coming to save aziraphale, and he knows that aziraphale is afraid of heaven, of what heaven would do to crowley if they were caught, of what heaven would do to him. crowley knows all that in 537 and in 1601 and in 1941 and in 1793 and 1800 and 1861 and in 1967. he knows that. 

so, no. i don’t think crowley was surprised by the treatment aziraphale receives in heaven. i don’t think crowley is at all taken aback by their glee at finally pruning aziraphale from their ranks. i don’t think he’s unprepared for them to give the demon permission to punch aziraphale, and i don’t think he’s surprised to hear gabriel tell him to just shut up and die already. 

i think crowley knew all that was coming, and i think part of what he wanted, in body-swapping, was to protect aziraphale from it. 

of course they also want to survive their respective punishments, but they know they’re going to be punished, and crowley knows that aziraphale expects hell to be horrible. that’s easy to deal with, when you know what to expect. of course you expect your sworn enemies to treat you terribly. of course aziraphale knows that hell is dangerous and brutal and sure to be merciless in punishing crowley. aziraphale expects that. 

but aziraphale didn’t expect the angels to confront him on the street and punch him in the stomach and shove him around. he didn’t expect heaven to turn its back on humanity and choose to go to war over choosing to end it. he really thought that he’d be able to avert the war, and that heaven would want to avert the war. and crowley knew that. 

crowley’s not surprised that heaven is vindictive and hateful when he goes up wearing aziraphale’s body, and he can protect aziraphale from the reality of that. crowley’s ready for it. crowley knows its coming. and crowley’s protecting aziraphale from it, and at the same time, finally putting to rest his own demons about being cast out. it’s his confrontation of the family he was turned out from when he couldn’t understand why. he’s facing up to the fact that they don’t love him anymore, and that that’s not on him - it’s on them. he’s ready for them to be mean. he’s ready for them to be apathetic. they didn’t care what happened to crowley, and he knows they won’t care what’s happening to aziraphale. 

but crowley cares what’s happening to aziraphale. crowley is fierce in his protection of aziraphale and always has been. crowley is glorious in his love of aziraphale and always has been. crowley is calm, and he is centered, and he is sure that this is the right thing.

crowley isn’t surprised. crowley’s in love, and he’s certain of what he’s willing to give for it. he’s certain of the importance of saving it. he’s certain that aziraphale is everything heaven should be and isn’t and he’s willing to die to protect it, and it shows in every frame he wears aziraphale’s face. 

gosh but like we spent hundreds of years looking up at the stars and wondering “is there anybody out there” and hoping and guessing and imagining

because we as a species were so lonely and we wanted friends so bad, we wanted to meet other species and we wanted to talk to them and we wanted to learn from them and to stop being the only people in the universe

and we started realizing that things were maybe not going so good for us– we got scared that we were going to blow each other up, we got scared that we were going to break our planet permanently, we got scared that in a hundred years we were all going to be dead and gone and even if there were other people out there, we’d never get to meet them

and then

we built robots?

and we gave them names and we gave them brains made out of silicon and we pretended they were people and we told them hey you wanna go exploring, and of course they did, because we had made them in our own image

and maybe in a hundred years we won’t be around any more, maybe yeah the planet will be a mess and we’ll all be dead, and if other people come from the stars we won’t be around to meet them and say hi! how are you! we’re people, too! you’re not alone any more!, maybe we’ll be gone

but we built robots, who have beat-up hulls and metal brains, and who have names; and if the other people come and say, who were these people? what were they like?

the robots can say, when they made us, they called us discovery; they called us curiosity; they called us explorer; they called us spirit. they must have thought that was important.

and they told us to tell you hello.

So, I have to say something. 

This is my favorite post on this website. 

I’ve seen this post in screenshots before, and the first time I read it, I cried. Just sat there with tears running down my face. 

Because this, right here, is the best of us, we humans. That we hope, and dream of the stars, and we don’t want to be alone. That this is the best of our technology, not Terminators and Skynet, but our friends, our companions, our legacy. Our message to the stars. 

I’m flat out delighted, and maybe even a little honored, that I get to reblog this.

when they made us, they called us discovery; they called us curiosity; they called us explorer; they called us spirit.

i am straight up whimpering in an unmanly fashion

Wait a minute if elves take a hundred years to grow up that has some weird implications.

So… if we say a human comes of age in fantasy worlds at 16, that means it takes an elf 6.25 years to age one human year. If we say the age of maturity is 18 that’s 5.55 years.

So then… okay with people that live a long time have to see their human friends die and probably see them like pets yeah that’s been explored to death. But what about a human just seeing their friend not grow up?

An elf toddler and a human toddler become friends at a playdate. At the time the human is two and the elf is 13. Emotionally the elf is just a little older than the human. But then the human grows up. He grows up and as he grows up his friend doesn’t. Not much, anyways.

She’s still sucking her thumb and throwing tantrums the entire time that he grows up. When he reaches the age where he’d choose a trade or go to an academy he’s earning extra money by babysitting her. During his initiation into adulthood on his 18th birthday she’s there with her parents holding a stuffed animal. Later that afternoon he sees her being shown some colorful flashcards with letters of the elvish alphabet on it by her father.

The human gets older. He learns how to fight, he goes from town to town getting work. At some point he joins the army. Every time he visits his hometown he has at least one more scar and by the time he’s 30 and the elf girl is mentally seven by human standards she starts to understand that something is wrong. Even after he settles down to be a home maker for the local blacksmith something feels wrong.

And she watches him grow old. When she’s in her 80s she babysits his grandchildren for extra cash after school, coming over in her school robes and ruffling his hair. She doesn’t remember why she became friends with this human or when but a strange sense of jealousy fills her heart.

Now she realizes it. She realizes it too late, on the day her friend learns that he is dying. The first day of her 100th year and the start of his last. Humans’ lifetimes may only last for the childhood of an elf if they’re lucky, but they learn so fast. They do so much. They cram their days full of love and hate and learning and wonder.

He knew this was coming. He knew all of this decades before she did, because elves are slow. Not stupid, certainly not stupid, but very very slow. She holds her old friend’s hand as he lays down on his bed. A man that has led such an ordinary life but feels so extraordinary to her. Because he has always, always been there and now he just won’t. Because in her eyes he became so wise so fast and now he’s just gonna be gone.

On an elf’s 100th birthday they are allowed to choose a new name for themselves. It can be important, or not. Usually it will follow them until the end of time. She stands in front of her family’s elders and is asked what name she will be called from now on.

She names herself after him.

Yet more Good Omens/Harry Potter Crossover - Mildly sad edition

5-Year-Old Boy Has ‘Up’ Photoshoot With 90-Year-Old Great Grandparents

The fact that Snape is one of the youngest if not THE youngest professor is fucking hilarious.

Like how does he get away with half the shit he does like almost everyone there has taught him since he was 11 and they just see this 21 year old just walk back in like "Sup fuckers I'm a professor now by force better so you better start treating me like one."

7th years in the school are like probably "Didn't this fucker graduate 3 years ago?"

Imagine being a fourth year who has done /said something to your classmate Snape and then in your 7th year he's your TEACHER

THAT'S LOCKHART THAT'S LITERALLY LOCKHART LIKE

1. He Went to School with Snape

2. Got taught by Snape

3. Became part of the Staff like Snape

And the Fact that he's acting like he knew shit about potions is hilarious cause you just got Snape in the corner like

"Listen here you little shit . I taught you. I've seen your test scores. I graded those shits and you coming in here talking about being able to come up with an antidote?...Sit down."

The more people reblog this the more shock I am that they didnt know Snape started teaching at like 21 and he's like 30 first book

People in the tags for the past week having been confused and going bananas so like we gonna forget about the movies. Because the movies got it all wrong

Snape is 31

Hagrid is 63

Professor Mcgonagall is 56

Lupin and Sirius and Peter (3rd movie/book) 33

Dumbledore is 112

Do what you will with this info fam

You forgot Burbage. In the books, she's in her twenties.

Bringing this back around, when Snape started teaching in Aug/September 1981, he was 21

In Aug/September 1981, Lockhart was 17 :')

lockhart, 17, never fucking learned how to read: actually professor ;-)

snape, professorially, as if he hasn’t just had his last growth spurt: on god, i’ll smack the shit out you. put—your hand—down.

@cokeworthcauldrons , your tags are fantastic

“We all have wounds Severus” 😂😂😂

This implies that Lockhart somehow managed to make it into the NEWT Potions class... so I’m blaming him for the fact Snape only let in O students.

Not enough people realise this, but I've always found the fact hilarious. I mean, imagine how awkward it must have been in the beginning? Just not with the students but with the other teachers? He must have still been a kid to them.

The fact that Snape taught Lockhart just makes each and every one of their interactions so much better. Like when Severus knocked him on his ass. Imagine how sweet that must have felt? He also taught Nymphadora Tonks for seven years and I can only imagine how well that went.

I've always thought that the reason he was such a strict teacher (and frankly a dick) was because he had to teach former underclassmen and they all still saw him as that weak, weird and bullied poor kid no one really liked so he felt the need to assert himself and his authority. Also bc he's kind of a dick. But I think a lot of his dickishness is a defense mechanism that stems from his own insecurities.

Let's also keep in mind that Severus was probably a right mess those first few years? I mean, Lily died only 2 months after start of first term.

Imagine having to go to class every day like nothing is wrong and you're not dying inside.

Everyone is celebrating and he tries to be happy, but it feels like he's drowning. He feels like he should be happy, the Dark Lord is dead after all, but he's not. The other staffmembers notice but they thankfully don't pry. Good. He'd only push them away if they did.

He doesn't show up to class one day because he can't get up out of bed. When he tried he just rolled off and onto the floor.

Minerva storms down to the dungeons when she finds out, partly to check up on him and partly to lecture. She is ready to chew his ear off for skipping class but what she sees keeps her tongue still.

She sees a broken young man before her, damaged by war and strife, by grief and loss. More importantly, she sees the awkward and quiet little schoolboy she used to teach not that long ago. She remembers how that boy would light up whenever his friend, his only friend, was near. She sees his pain and she suddenly understands.

Minerva is still not sure what came over her when she knelt down and wrapped her arms around him. He tensed and she worried he'd push her off, that she'd crossed a line, but he slowly returned the embrace. That first hug was stilted, bony and rather uncomfortable. Neither one had had much practice, whether be by preference or lack of opportunity.

With time they learned.

Thanks, I'm crying 😢