Jamie hadn't set out to make a habit out of bringing Mr. Higgins tea. It just sort of happened on accident, on account of him needing a place to hide.
The episodes started when he'd been sent back to Manchester. Moments where his brain fuzzed out and his lungs felt like they were on fire and it felt like if someone bossed him around one more time, he'd scratch his eyes out and scream.
They hadn't been as bad when he was hiding on the island, and coming back to Richmond he'd thought he'd be free of them entirely. Wasn't any way for his dad to come crawling though his phone, was there? Except then the team hated him, and nothing Jamie tried to do to fix it seemed to work. Even Ted was being all weird. He'd yelled at them at practice — not just at Jamie, but at all of them, even Obisanya — and then, well.
Maybe Jamie was finally broken, but he couldn't handle it as well as he'd used to. After years of expertise, only a few weeks away and he was already as out of shape at being yelled at as he was at running around the pitch.
So the first time he'd stumbled in on Mr. Higgins in his little office-closet, he hadn't meant to startle the old man into spilling his tea everywhere, but startle him he had. And since Jamie was being accountable now, he'd popped off without being told and he'd gotten Mr. Higgins a fresh new cuppa from the canteen.
Mr. Higgins had thanked him something nice, looking pleased as punch over the cheap to-go cup. Jamie had thought that Directors of Football Operations got paid more than that, but what did he know? Mr. Higgins was nice about it, much nicer than a simple cup of tea deserved. He smiled the kind of smile that nice grandads probably taught each other over games of croquet, and he asked Jamie how he was settling in now that he was home. Dead nice of him to ask, even if Jamie had to lie to his face 'cause it was a fucking joke.
It wasn't until they were deep into chit-chat that Jamie realized he'd missed chit-chat. He didn't get a lot of talking these days; it was good to know he wasn't out of practice.
It took him even longer to realize that the original reason he'd stormed in -- the seizing, clawing his eyes out, throat squeezing dread -- hadn't made a peep since Mr. Higgins warmly asked him to have a seat (on a bucket).
Jamie did not sit on the bucket, but he did lean against the door making question-appropriate noises while Mr. Higgins pondered whether he should eat the lunch his wife packed him or if he should be a bit naughty and secretly order a scone when Ms. Welton sent him out to grab her lunch.
A bit naughty, that was always Jamie's vote.
Mr. Higgins smiled the nice-grandad smile and said he'd feed the sandwich to the ducks then. He even pulled out his phone to show Jamie pictures of the little waterfowls, their legs churning up a storm under the surface. It seemed like too many ducks for one lake, let alone one sandwich, but he guessed that was just one more way the world was unfair to everyone, even poor little ducks trying to scrape buy.
Richmond wasn't home anymore than Man City could ever be again, but now whenever the siren-wailing panic took over he had a backup plan. Jamie popped over to the canteen, grabbed Mr. Higgins a cuppa, and let the old man's chatter sooth the knot in his chest.
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Hi! The book you did for otnwas is SO BEAUTIFUL!! I was wondering if you have any tutorials on how do to your own book binding? I would love to turn my fave fanfics into real life books :DD
aww thank u so much !! i actually collated a few resources for my friends about bookbinding so u r in luck ⭐:)
but before all that, i want to mention the most important thing and it is to always get the permission of the author of the fic you're wanting to bind first and to never print any art related or not to that fic without the artist's permission !!!!! let's keep it respectful in these streets yeah? BUT printing your own art though.. that's a slay 🤞🏽
ok hehe to the fun stuff yippeeeee
bookbinding tools & materials (beginner friendly) - super helpful + in depth, i recommend starting with this one to really get a good idea of the entire process (she specializes in journals though so it doesn't include printing process or anything like that!)
14 helpful hints before getting started - very very useful hacks that will probably save you a lot of mistakes in the long run, also i love this man (one thing i have to mention though is that paper grain is not entirely important unless you're looking for a more advanced bind)
how to bind fanfic tiktok series - this is a good one that has a step by step guide which includes the typesetting + printing process
tutorial focused videos
DIY book press - very useful + efficient, but if you can't be bothered to make this (like me oops) you can just use really heavy books or weights
DIY binding cradle - essential tool to punch holes in your signatures, honestly saved me money and also my life, once again i love this man where would i be without this tutorial
french link stitch - easy to follow, has some good sewing tips too!
weaver’s knot - important hack, you don't want your thread to be too long when sewing it's a nightmare
hardcover case binding - good tutorial on hardcover but this one is flatback - it's still fine to follow though if you switch the spine to card stock to give it more flexibility especially if it's a thick book
whew, sorry for the long ask i hope this is helpful enough ;; another important thing is to be patient and have fun !! try to enjoy the process especially bc it takes SO long but trust it's very worth it <3 there's also a lot of materials and tools so pick whichever is the most accessible to you ok byeeee
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