please make sure that wherever you’re at in life, you don’t treat it like a transitory period. don’t waste your college years wishing to already be graduated & have a job. don’t waste your single years wishing for someone to be in love with. if/when those things come, they will come in due time and they will be good. but there is nothing like looking back and feeling empty because you wasted literal years ignoring what you had because you were hoping for something better. while it’s important to better yourself and reach for your goals, don’t neglect the present because that’s where you are now and it’s your now that determines your future.
he’s too gracious to call out the shit they pulled on him, so i’ll do it instead: fuck genocide apologist bbc, fascist colonial land thieves. and free palestine.
Hi everyone! Here I come again with a new part of my Book Talk series! I hope you like it! This week, we're gonna talk about Oliver Twist, a British classic written by Charles Dickens in the 19th century.
To make sure it would upload to tumblr this time, I've split the episode into two parts, of 4 and 10 minutes (I might have found the way to upload longer files though, so I'll make some new experiments next week). Sorry if it bothers you, I'm trying to get around Tumblr stubborness!
Tell me what you think of this episode and this book! Have a nice day/evening :)
Here we go for the first chapter of my new Ben Barnes series! I hope you will like it! We have a Professor AU! right here, and I love this idea!
I have no idea if there is a theatre club in the university I chose to set the story in, and I don't care about accuracy on this part tbh…
No warnings to be applied here, we're setting the story into motion for now.
Pairing : Ben Barnes x reader
Word Count: 2140
The beginning of a new school year was always a stressful time. New students were still getting lost in the maze of corridors of the university, and teachers were trying to adapt to their new groups of students. There was also a booming in conferences for the teachers, and packing a suitcase was an exercise they had mastered because of that rush. Lots of plane tickets, lots of presentations prepared at the last minute in the shaky wagons of a train, many dark bags under their eyes. It was a rush for both students and teachers, that felt more like the beginning of a ten-months long marathon than a few-weeks long sprint.
To add to all this usual stress, professor Barnes had one more thing to worry about: the theatre club.
For 5 years now, Ben was responsible of the theatre club, along with one of his colleagues and close friends, professor Zacharia Miles. But this year, Miles was leaving for retirement, and now, Ben was finding himself on his own to organize the club. Or at least, until someone else would step up to help him, for he had no illusion concerning his ability to manage the club alone.
After all, the club required numerous tasks to tackle along the entire year. First and foremost, deciding what play would be studied, then the casting process began. Students from the club were part of the creating part of the project as well, but despite their best efforts to write the script and adapt the play, the teachers still needed to work on the texts and the production. Then came the repetitions, along finishing to write the script, and the costumes and the décor were the final steps to be taken before the play would be presented in front of the entire school. If there were no competitions or any trophy to be taken home, the representation was still staged in front of the whole school, and the pride of students and their teachers were at stake. A successful show also meant no trouble keeping the club open for the next year, and it was a tradition in the University of Leeds that Ben found both entertaining and educative. He was determined to keep the club going not only this year, despite his colleague leaving, but the year after too. Still, with all these steps to take and all these things to manage, it was a job for two teachers, and not one, and Ben was well aware of that fact. That's why he was so eager to reach the end of the meeting he was attending now, to find who would work with him at the club.
All teachers from the English department were indeed gathered for the traditional meeting set every year exactly a week before the classes would start again. Beyond a chance to reunite around some tea and biscuits and catch up on the funny stories each of them had gathered during the summer, it was the perfect opportunity to organize classes and clubs, along with the different activities of the department that would come to punctuate the year. It was also the final day at the university for Miles, although no one doubted that they would see him again rather sooner than later.
"My dear Benjamin, you know me, I'm incapable of staying away from my desk for too long," Miles laughed, making everyone around him smile.
He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, like he always did, along with some brown shorts, like he always did. No one in the department had ever seen him wear any other kind of clothes but his colourful shirts and brown shorts, even at the dead of winter, when he simply added some boots, a red scarf, a blue beanie and a very warm black coat.
And despite the buzzing energy in the room, everyone was quite sad to see their colourful colleague go, even if it wasn't a farewell they had to bid, but merely a goodbye.
"I know," Ben smiled, shaking his head in amusement. "Still, it's going to be strange to not have you bursting into my office with tea whenever you're bored."
Miles chuckled, but didn't try to deny Ben's claim.
"I'll stop by every once in a while, just to see how all of you are doing. Especially for the theatre club, I'm going to miss it…"
The head of the department then called for everyone to gather around the wooden tables set together in a large rectangle in the centre, and the teachers all took a sit.
It was one of the rooms that Ben found the most cliché of what someone would expect to find in a British University in the English department. Wooded walls and tall windows that were topped with a row of colourful stain glass painting odd shapes over the patterned floor. Bookshelves adorned every wall, at the exception of the one hosting the door, where a white board was hung. The room smelled of dusted books and wood, a smell that Ben found reassuring, if anything, although now that it was filled with so many at once, the scent had shifted to a more caffeinated and floral colour, from the beverages each teacher had brought with them. Everyone seemed to have brought a mug or cup, indeed, little puffs of warm water rising from the dishware.
Right across from Ben, you yourself were sitting with a cup of coffee in your hands, talking with another colleague. He quickly looked away though, feeling annoyance coursing through his veins at the mere sight of you.
It wasn't that the two of you had done something terrible towards each other, but the previous year, when you arrived at the university, Ben and you just kept on failing to get along. A few tensions appeared because of rooms booked by both of you, and a need for the same books at the library and other futile yet annoying events. You also had, in general, a different vision of literature and words. You both taught classes for English literature, but for different periods and genres, and the two of you had gotten into a few arguments around your favourite authors. Anyway, he found you too stubborn and not organized enough, and you found him too serious and rigid: you both ended up avoiding each other in a silent yet reciprocated understanding. And Ben intended to keep this agreement in place for this year as well, wanting to talk to you only when absolutely necessary, while he remained at a safe distance the rest of the time. Instead of looking at you, he thus chose to focus on the head of the department.
The meeting first dwelled on the events of the year, and the organisation of classes. The room was busy with work, with a chatter buzzing all around the rectangular tables, but there was after all a lot to discuss.
The subject of clubs and other activities bound to the university arose at last after all the cups of coffee in the room had been emptied and there was no more tea to ease the beginning of migraines. The subject that Ben was somehow dreading yet was the most impatient about was brought up, as well as Miles' departure. After all, Ben was a pragmatic man, and was perfectly aware that he would never have the time nor the energy to organize the theatre club on his own. He was both curious and anxious to discover who would volunteer to join him this year, as he was losing his partner.
Out of the twelve teachers gathered, he expected Paul to raise his hand immediately. They had talked about during the summer, and Paul seemed enthusiastic about it all.
Only, that was before the medievalist became a father, and went through the past month on an average of four hours of sleep per night.
He had reached such a level of exhaustion, despite his joy of being a new father, that joining a club this year was probably the last thing on his to-do list. So, when the subject emerged, Paul remained quiet.
Ben frowned, looking at his colleague.
"Paul, I thought you were interested," he encouraged him.
But the man shook his head.
"Sorry, Ben. But with the baby to manage, I don't have the time to take care of a club."
"On the contrary! It would give you some time for yourself!"
"Sorry, but… not this year. We'll see what happens next year, but not now."
"Anyone else?" Mary, the head of their department, asked.
It was easy to read on Ben's face how disappointed he was. After all, he liked Paul's company and had carried a few projects with him before with success. He was certain that their collaboration would work perfectly with the club too.
But no one rose their hand, and Ben felt quite uncomfortable all of a sudden.
He didn't think that it was because he was working on the project, after all; except for you, there was no one Ben didn't get along with. He could easily conceive that joining the club meant gaining new responsibilities and would be time-consuming. However, he hadn't expected that no one would want to join him. And now that he was looking around at all his colleagues, he was doubting his own value amongst the team. Maybe, after all, it was a little bit because of him…
"Well, let's see who doesn't have any club activities this year," Mary compromised, seeing Ben's disappointment growing upon his features with each second that flew by.
She looked for the right sheet of paper in the pile set in front of her, and quickly went through the list.
"Paul, you told us that you couldn't join this year," Mary mumbled as she scanned the paper, and her colleague shook his head. "We have… Jasmine…"
"I'm on the poetry…"
"Oh yes, sorry, my bad," Mary corrected herself as she noticed Jasmine's name on the list she was reading.
And the more she read, the faster your heart was beating.
Because you had not signed for any of the clubs and activities this year. You had enough on your plate already, after all. It was your second year at the University of Leeds, and you were still getting used to the place. You had some important research work to get done, you had your classes to manage… and, oh, of course, how did we almost forget that you had a pile of divorce papers to sign and a five-year old to raise single-handedly as your husband and you had decided to go your separate ways.
No, really, joining a club, especially with Ben, the only one of your co-workers you didn't like, was the last thing you had on your to-do list for this year.
No, thanks.
However, when Mary reached the bottom of the list, her inquiry left only you and Paul available for the task at hand.
Paul, once again, shook his head, a sheepish expression adorning his features.
"I'm sorry, but I can't handle that with the baby."
You had to heave a sigh and nod, defeated. After all, you were a mother yourself, and you were well aware of the trials that Paul now had to face with an infant to take care of every day. Even if your life was a mess, and you had a daughter yourself, at least your own baby had grown out of the age when she would wake up every two hours every night.
So, you accepted your fate.
"I'll do it, it's okay."
"Oh… are you sure?" Ben asked, and by the intonation of his voice, you could clearly guess that he hoped you would change your mind.
"Looks like we don't really have a choice," you shrugged, but any argument was useless, for Mary was already writing down your name right besides Ben's.
Even if Ben was aware that there wasn't really any other option, he couldn't refrain a wince. He tried his best to hide it though, not wanting to be impolite, but you didn't fail to notice his expression. You weren't upset though, you were far from happy with how this whole ordeal had turned out. Despite your loathing for each other though, Ben didn't have a choice. If he wanted for the club to still be a reality for this year - and more so, a success – he needed somebody's help. And you didn't have a choice either, you were simply the only one left available for the job. Both of you simply had to accept your fates, although, it didn't mean that you had to be happy about it.
You were officially part of the theatre club now, and Ben and you would have to work together this year.
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