August 4, 2025 – 12:31 AM
It didn’t surprise him that Anthony didn’t know his favorite ice cream right off the bat – (mature) adults didn’t tend to think about it, but if they were going to do a collaboration then Ritchie needed to know what he was up against. Did the man enjoy tooth rotting sweetness, or did he enjoy a more savory ice cream? Or was he more sweet and salty? There were so maybe ice cream combinations out in the world.
Blue eyes flickered over as he finally decided. Ritchie nodded, lips curling into an amused smile. “Pistachio is always a popular flavor, year round.” He’d done a humming hex on a few of his own creations, which always tended to drive people mad, especially when they couldn’t place where the tune was from. It amused Ritchie more than anything. “I’m guessing your sister doesn’t visit the shop much, then. Or maybe she’s made peace with mysterious humming spells?” He joked, leaning forward slightly as Anthony grinned.
But then a second later, the ice cream maker was standing, moving back into the kitchen. “Mine changes too, but tends to be the newest creation.” Ritchie tossed over his shoulder as he moved to scoop some ice cream into a bowl – a pale green with flecks of pistachio in it. Luckily it was in stock as a summer flavor. He grappled for his wand (thankful that for once he knew where it was), and gave it a little flick so bowls of several different toppings began to float over to where he was.
“You’re not just going to sit there and watch, are you?” Ritchie called, a playful lift in his voice. “Come over. We’re going to make you a bowl right now.” And if he was lucky, Anthony would have brought a sample of some wine he could use in the ice cream.
Bee made the lovely grey set<3
August 13, 2025 – 8:14 PM
Ritchie nodded, although without names (and faces, really), he would have no idea who his nephews were. Maybe they resembled Anthony just enough that next time they came in Ritchie might recognize them; maybe he’d even throw a little extra something special on their cones, like sprinkles or fudge, just because he could. Rather than answering, the man just tipped his head in a nod of agreement. Yes, he probably had seen them plenty.
Anthony followed him. Ritchie heard that a lot – I’m visiting you every time I’m in town. It didn’t stop him from grinning because he loved repeat customers, and well, if his ice cream was good enough for people to stop by more than once, he was doing his job well. “Every time, hm?” Ritchie echoed, flicking his wrist so a ribbon of sauce arced perfectly over the waiting bowl. “Careful, that sounds dangerously close to a promise. I’ll start holding you to it.” He winked before he stepped back.
“Alright Alderton, let’s see if wine, cream, and sugar play nice. If you brought a sample, give it a splash there.” He nodded toward the bowl. “You pour, I’ll fold. I’ll tell you when to stop.” Ritchie grappled for a large spatula, which he dug into the bowl before he glanced expectantly at the other man.
Bee made the lovely grey set<3
August 19, 2025 – 4:45 AM
Anthony Alderton — Played by Fox
Anthony watched, enraptured, as Fortescue managed to keep all the balls he had juggling in the air (quite literally) as he spoke. It was an admirable feat, one that Anthony was himself unsure he could replicate. But as with most things, it must have come at the expense of a lot of practice and a lot of mess, and that much he could respect.
Ritchie responded back to him in such a way then that Anthony felt his attention snag on the blonde. Something - he wasn’t exactly sure what - flipped like a small coin tossed in his belly. The sensation was gone as quickly as it had come however and Anthony laughed, despite himself. He wouldn’t mind Fortescue holding him to his promise. He was sure of that much.
They moved on as quickly from the moment and Anthony stepped forward as he was summoned. From the inner pocket of his coat he pulled out one, two, three, and four small glass vials each with a handwritten label and a date. He held them out for Ritchie to inspect with a flourish. “
Take your pick,” he grinned. “
I brought samples from all the latest vintages as well as an experimental batch we’re trying in a new type of barrel.” Then, plucking his own wand out of his back trouser pocket, Anthony placed the glass vials on the countertop beside Ritchie’s bowl and summoned four miniature tasting glasses.
He carefully poured out a decent serving of each into the glasses and placed the vial matching each glass directly behind it, all the while explaining a few tasting notes and the history of each as he went. “
Have a taste,” he encouraged once finished, gesturing towards the glasses.
"I'm sure you would know better than I which might suit best."
© ladybug for the gorgeous sig and matching (green) av & darling MJ for the rotating yellow avs!
August 22, 2025 – 7:18 PM
Bless Anthony Alderton and his ability to follow through because it made his job a lot easier when it wasn’t plucking teeth to get the ingredients he needed when doing a collaboration; Ritchie was already colored impressed as the man produced four vials of wine, nodding along as he explained the tastings of them as he poured them. It didn’t mean a lot to him, Ritchie was far from a wine connoisseur, but it was nice to know that the man knew what he was talking about.
Ritchie leaned forward toward the neat line of glasses, eyeing them carefully before he finally picked up the first glass and swirled it under his nose. “Mm,” he murmured after a taste.“That’s good on its own, but it’d be wasted against cream. The subtlety would vanish the moment it hit a churn.” Ritchie moved down the line, noting the second one was richer and deeper so it would mix well in a vanilla base, but probably not chocolate.
By the time he reached the third, a small grin had tugged at his mouth. He held the taste on his tongue. “This is the winner.” He declared, setting the glass down. Then he set to work, pulling over the bowl of pistachio ice cream so it rested in front of him. “Moment of truth.” He murmured, more to himself than Alderton as he poured a careless amount of the chosen vintage, (yes, careless, because Ritchie never measured anything), the color swirling through the pale green like a spell unwinding. Ritchie gave it a slow stir, watching the custard shift to a softer, earthier shade, then dipped a spoon and held it out toward Anthony.
“Go on,” he encouraged. Later on he’d consider accents, but right now he wanted opinions on just the base.
Bee made the lovely grey set<3
August 23, 2025 – 1:30 AM
Last modified: August 25, 2025 – 6:58 PM by Anthony Alderton.
Anthony Alderton — Played by Fox
Anthony watched, enraptured, as Fortescue went through each tasting. He nodded along to the other’s assessment and finally grinned as the third vial seemed to stand out. “
Excellent choice!” he agreed. “
This is our experimental batch. It’s a mix of a few different varieties of grapes and so far, from the limited audience that has yet sampled, it seems to be quite popular.” Anthony was pleased that this of the four had stood out to Fortescue; his only concern was the limitations of the stock they had available.
Reaching forward then as he was offered a taste of whatever was mixed, Anthony eyed the bowl greedily. He paused to look around for a spoon just briefly, knowing it would be good manners not to use his fingers, but in the end he couldn’t help himself. He very quickly dipped his right index finger in the ice cream and stuck it in his mouth.
Holy Merlin.
Exaggerating a bit (only to get the point across at how bloody
good this tasted) Anthony crossed his eyes and made a soft sound of appreciation. “
Wow,” was all he said as he nodded to himself. To be frank— he had been fully expecting to taste a slight bitterness from the cherries that had been thrown into the mix. That was his chief complaint about this little experimental batch— it had a slightly harsher aftertaste from the tannins that didn’t quite suite how delicately balanced the wine itself could be. Somehow Fortescue had managed to obscure that however and highlight only the sweetness of the cherry. It paired wonderfully with pistachio.
Nodding again, Anthony pulled his finger from his mouth and wiped it lazily on his trousers. “
Now that is excellent,” he elaborated. “I don’t know how you do it. If I wasn't before, I'm certainly convinced now to leave this partenership in your talented hands!”
© ladybug for the gorgeous sig and matching (green) av & darling MJ for the rotating yellow avs!
September 9, 2025 – 8:48 PM
A small laugh escaped Ritchie as Anthony crossed his eyes and made a small sound – it was enough to pull Ritchie’s attention that he had completely ignored the offered spoon and dipped his finger into the ice cream instead. “That’s the reaction I was hoping for,” he said, grinning as he leaned forward. “I wasn’t sure if the pistachio would smooth out the wine in the way I wanted, but I think it’s on the right track.”
He dipped the spoon he was holding into the ice cream to give it a try, although he merely nodded at the taste; it wasn’t perfect, but Ritchie knew that he could get it there. “Later on, maybe, I’ll consider accents. A ribbon of honey, a pinch of sea salt, although that I’m not convinced will play nice with the cherries.” It was all a balancing act, and he was already excited to spend hours in the kitchen trying out different combinations with the wine.
Then he straightened up, trying to temper his pride with a bit of humor. “It looks like we’ve got a partnership then, Anthony.” Ritchie smiled at him. “I was thinking of a couple small batches, perhaps in a few months? Not just one flavor, but a little sampler. A tray with a handful of different combinations, so people can taste them side by side.” Ritchie already had this planning out in his head, he just hoped that he wasn’t getting ahead of himself. “I’d love for you to offer your wine for sale too, so they could purchase it after deciding which one they liked best.” Although he wasn’t sure what logistics looked like on his side. Now was the time to ask though, before he got too ahead of himself.
Bee made the lovely grey set<3
October 5, 2025 – 10:07 PM
Anthony Alderton — Played by Fox
Anthony was still savoring the taste on his tongue when he realized Fortescue had been offering him a spoon the whole time and he’d completely missed it. Whoops. He must have seemed so rude but somehow, Anthony couldn’t find it within himself to care. He wiped his hand on his trousers discreetly and nodded along to what the other was saying with a grin.
“It’s certainly on the right track,” he agreed.
“In my humble, inexperienced opinion.” And the idea of adding accents was
wonderful! Once again he was realizing he’d come to exactly the right person for this sort of thing. Who knew; if this ice cream endeavor went well, maybe he could consider expanding into other areas too!
Fortescue grinned at him then and confirmed their partnership. Anthony liked that he hadn’t shied away from using his first name; there was something more intimate about it that made him more likely to trust Fortescue. As for that bit about batches, he nodded again.
“Host a joint event,” he clarified. Now there was an interesting idea. Anthony turned it over once, twice in his mind— brain already puzzling out a lot of the logistics. If it went well, he’d be able to expand into more local markets on a case by case basis… and the shipping costs could be subsidized privately. It was an investment but perhaps worth the risk.
“I like how you think, Ritchie,” he responded, still nodding. “
Let me mull over the idea and get you some thoughts in writing. What were you thinking, autumn or winter timeframe? This year or next?” Anthony was sure they could make either work; he wasn’t the one tasked with pulling together all new combinations. But he’d take it at whatever pace Fortescue needed. It was well worth the wait.
October 15, 2025 – 10:53 AM
Last modified: October 15, 2025 – 10:54 AM by Ritchie Fortescue.
Ritchie couldn’t help but grin. He loved when people complimented his flavors – honestly, there were few things someone could say that made him happier. (Maybe the rumors were right and he should focus less on the shop and more on finding someone, although they would have to be the perfect someone who would be right here next to him instead of trying to tear him away. Fortescue’s would be pried from his cold, dead fingers before he let that happen.)
His grin edged wider. “Autumn is always a favorite, but I think winter might be better.” Mostly because he did Hogwarts inspired flavors for September and spookier flavors for Halloween. That left November free, because December tended to be holiday adjacent flavors. Ritchie sure did spend a lot of time mapping out flavors. “We could aim to hard launch something in January. New year, new kinds of flavors, and all that jazz.”
He laughed then, a hand coming up to rub the back of neck. “But I’ll wait for your owl. Come, let me see you out.” Ritchie was actually getting really excited for this – hopefully Anthony wouldn’t change his mind and back out.
Bee made the lovely grey set<3
