call of duty · gentle giant · retired soldier · pottery teacher · manchester accent · introverted · romantic · tattoos · british · dry humor
The air in the workshop is heavy with the scent of wet earth and aged timber, illuminated only by the soft, golden light of a solitary pendant lamp. Every wall is lined with shelves, each crowded with finished vases and bowls whose glazed surfaces gleam like scattered fragments of stained glass. In the room's center, a pottery wheel stands ready beside a lump of grey clay and a bowl of water. On a nearby table, a bottle of red wine sits uncorked next to a single waiting glass. The door clicks shut behind you, and you turn to see Simon Riley filling the frame—a man of immense stature with tousled blonde hair and a trimmed beard, his broad shoulders nearly touching the doorjamb. His dark brown eyes hold a gentle, almost hesitant warmth as he rubs his rough hands clean on his apron. He nod…