elitheaceofalltrades

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Fanfiction Work-In-Progress Guessing Game

Send me a word, if it’s in my wip document I’ll answer your ask with the sentence that it appears in

[elitheaceofalltrades]

These people kill me,

I'm laughing but I'm crying too.

Cause it's fine for him,

Apparently,

To be spitting hatred all over the place.

Backing bigotry,

Genocide,

And the erasure of peoples.

It's no problem,

That's all fine in the family chat, love.

But your god forbid,

I drop a single vulgarity in the midst of all this insanity.

And on your same god,

That's why I don't talk to this fucking family.

Cause my cuz?

He can spread misinformation and hatred,

And they all good,

But my "chill the fuck out my guy",

Is where they draw the line.

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Dad

My dad was born in the late 60s to two highly religious, moderately conservative parents.

My dad could cook and he could clean.

My dad did all the grocery shopping.

My dad chaperoned school trips and attended PTA.

My dad watched me while my mom went to meetings and no one ever called it babysitting.

My dad had no sons but he never limited his daughter.

Growing up, I did not know about absent fathers as I'd only had a active one.

He is not a perfect man, he is not a perfect father.

But now that I'm grown up, I do not take excuses or have low expectations because I know what a good man is.

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Tom Brown, a 79-year-old from Clemmons, North Carolina, has spent over 20 years of his retirement tracking down rare, nearly extinct apple varieties that once flourished across Appalachia. Driven by his passion for rediscovering these heirlooms, Brown has revived more than 1,200 unique apple types with whimsical names like Brushy Mountain Limbertwig, Mule Face, and Tucker’s Everbearing.

His journey began in 1998 after encountering heritage apples at a farmers’ market, inspiring him to search for “lost” apples that hadn’t been tasted in over a century. Stretching across the Appalachian region—from southern New York to northern Alabama—Brown scours old maps, orchard catalogs, and historical records, often driving hours and knocking on doors to find forgotten orchards or lone trees tucked in remote areas.

When he finds a lost variety, Brown grafts clippings onto trees in his own orchard, where he cultivates and sells them for just $15 to encourage others to create “mini preservation orchards.” Despite the challenge of aging trees and a dwindling population of local knowledge keepers, Brown remains determined, calling the work both fun and fulfilling.

“It’s a thrill to rediscover them,” he says. “I’m happy as a lark.” Brown’s mission not only preserves these apples but also honors the heritage of the region, where generations of families once prided themselves on cultivating unique varieties in their backyards.

[elitheaceofalltrades]

figuring out how to get rid of screen addiction is like trying to figure out how to stop a nicotine addiction while also having a job centered around smoking cigarettes and having half your social life be in smoke breaks

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Great Men Excerpt

Yoshinobu is the only one not surprised when Osamu does not come down to breakfast with “角名”  printed on his skin. She had felt in her gut that this was going to go wrong the moment her family decided Rintarou should go against the rules and pick his soulmate instead of waiting. The rest of the family pauses in confusion before the horror starts dawning after Rin quietly explains but Yoshinobu immediately feels her stomach drop and heart break the moment she sees Onii-san’s face. The only reason she doesn’t cry is that she has no right. She’s not Sumu, waking up today completely blindsided. She has no clue what he’s going to do(Sumu can be erratic on a good day and this is anything but) but she thinks he’s allowed to do whatever he wants. 

Even something drastic. 

Like rejecting the bond. 

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Great Men Excerpt

As far as Atsumu was concerned, he didn’t need to think about the world or their opinions cause he’d always have his brother. As far as Osamu was concerned, he was free to go out and explore the world and their opinions, cause he’d always have his brother. Somewhere along the line, they’d had a breakdown in communication, Osamu wanting different but saying nothing, Atsumu expecting the same and not noticing the changes. It’d blown up back in January, when Osamu declared he wasn’t going pro. Aran hadn’t actually been worried then, he knew they’d be fine with time, and they had been back on less shaky ground before this. Now though, Aran looks at Atsumu and wonders, “is this the end of the Miya twins?”.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Great Men Excerpt

"I can slightly sympathise with Osamu, if your best friend says you’re soulmates it’d be awkward to disagree. But if Suna had just waited 3 and a half months Atsumu wouldn’t have to go through this” Ren’s message buzzes in Aran’s brain “3 and a half months” blending with “it hurts”, “unlovable” and “when given the choice”.

Sixteen weeks, if Suna Rintaro had waited just sixteen weeks, then Aran would never know what Atsumu looks like falling apart, spilling self loathing like truth, sobbing himself to sleep. It makes him want to punch him. 

He has to consciously relax his hold so he doesn’t accidentally hurt Atsumu (he cannot be another person who hurts atsumu).

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Great Men Excerpt

Aran always pitied whatever fool would cause Sakusa to unleash his full wrath on them. Witnessing it indirectly now he feels like he should pray for Osamu because when Sakusa finds a way to talk to him (and Sakusa will talk to him, will go down to Hyogo himself to talk to him. He does not know Sakusa Kiyoomi well but even he knows this), it won’t be pretty but he doesn’t particularly want to. Osamu brought this on himself. (he does even want to think about Suna right now, not with Atsumu’s voice still echoing in his head, Am I such a fuck up?)

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Great Men Excerpt

"Atsumu, Sumu, no no I promise no” Aran didn’t think he was enough to fix this but gods he couldn’t standby and let Atsumu of all people talk about himself this way. He sat on his couch pulling Atsumu into his lap like a child and whispered over and over that he wasn’t a fuck up or unlovable or too much. He’s not sure how long they sat like that before Sumu sobbed himself to sleep.

He took a deep breath, looking at his ceiling hoping it would tell him what to do next. Unfortunately, the universe can shatter Miya fucking Atsumu but it apparently can’t help Aran put him back together. He takes another breath and gently manoeuvres his phone out of his pocket, glad he shoved it there when he was woken up. It’s fine, the universe might not help but he knows some people who will. He silences his phone (eventually Osamu will call him, he has no idea what he’ll do but he won’t let him wake up Sumu) then opens his messaging app. He adds Shinsuke, Ren and, after a bit of searching, Sakusa (he’s glad Atsumu was obnoxious and swapped their contacts for them since “it’d be helpful to know someone in Tokyo”. Komori-kun was definitely the more helpful cousin but it was coming in handy now) to a group, aptly naming it “Duct Tape and Superglue” and saying “I’m not sure we can fix this but gods, we can try''. Now that he’s gotten that out of the way he’s not even sure where to start. He sees Shinsuke has sent a query as to what happened and he honestly has no idea how to summarise the events of his morning. Deciding that seeing is believing he hits video call, quickly muting the sound when he remembers both Sumu and Komori talking about how Sakusa is decidedly not a morning person. Shinsuke answers immediately, Ren shortly after and a minute later a very irritated Sakusa Kiyomi joins mouth moving in a way that Aran’s sure would make sailors faint. He raises a finger to quietly shush Sakusa before tilting his phone down enough for them to see a sleeping Atsumu, eyes swollen and tear tracks visible.

It’s enough to halt Sakusa mid-tirade, eyes widening in concern, proving that Atsumu was telling the truth about them being real friends. He can see them speak and assuming they’re asking what happened he gently shifts, lifting Atsumu’s shirt enough and angling his phone so they can see the mark on his skin. Covering it back, he looks back at them to see Shinsuke’s shock, Ren’s fear and Sakusa’s dawning horror. “He showed up round 6, guess he took the soul-train” he explains in a whisper. Atsumu shifts, so he ends the call and switches back to text to be on the safe side. 

“He sobbed himself to sleep. It was horrible.” he sends. Shin sends back a single “fuck” and he doesn’t even have it in him to be shocked. This is the universe he lives in now, Shinsuke swears, Atsumu shatters and Osamu breaks his brother’s heart twice in one year.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

[elitheaceofalltrades]

"im tired of living through major historical events" is now "dear lord please let me witness a high profile political assassination in the next 1-2 years. amen"

[elitheaceofalltrades]

I'm alive!

Hey so I'm not dead. I've had a lot going on, moved, started a new job and then seasonal depression and well, have you seen the news recently? I haven't taken part in any hobby except reading in over 6 months and even that has been spotty. I'm trying to get back into taking time for myself to do things I like so hopefully you'll be seeing updates from me soon. Maybe not every day like before but once a week maybe? hopefully?

The goals for the year are to finish Aphrodite Areia, make some progress on Great Men and start back on book reviews. You might get some other stuff cause aside from reading, writing is going to be my easiest hobby for now.

If you've read this far, drop a heart in comments and let me know how you're surviving 💛

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

[elitheaceofalltrades]

tumblr users love reading. you literally stopped for this post just because it has words in it

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Aki is tired.

Tired of her mother's disgust and her father's disappointment. No matter what she does, they stay constant. A fog shrouding her vision and a weight on her shoulders.

She used to plow through the day, only to tremble and fall apart at night. Then, the trembling followed her into the daylight; leaving her constantly shaky and ill. Now, she's just...numb.

She drags through the day to day, a haze of exhaustion settled around her. She can't see a future past it, but she hasn't the energy or care to try to change it.

And then, she meets Shay.

~Eli

Ace of All Trades, Pro at None😆

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Another thing I've noticed working as a children's librarian is like... kids get so Paralyzed By Choice and the adults in their lives never really register why. Like, for example, we have little scavenger hunt sheets in the children's section and when a kid completes it, they get to pick out a cute eraser from our prize basket. We also have a little toy prize chest as part of our "1000 books before Kindergarten" challenge for when kids complete 100 books--and kids will spend minutes carefully picking through everything while their parents are shooting us anxious looks like "sorry they're taking so long! I know this is silly and it's completely ridiculous that my child is taking so long to choose between a bath toy and a cube puzzle because these are cheap and arbitrary objects! Hurry up, Harper! Just pick something! You're embarrassing me!!" But in the kids' perspective, they already have so little control over what objects come into their lives, and in this case, the object represents labor and effort on their end, so of course they feel they must choose very carefully. I've always been an anxious and indecisive person, so it's striking to see how being rushed really doesn't help that and really only makes it harder for kids to figure out what they want.

[elitheaceofalltrades]

Not all men

But it's always a man.

And everyone,

Man, woman, human,

Has a story to tell.

How many songs have been sung,

How many books and poems written,

How many tales have been told,

For all who hear and see to relate to.

Violence, betrayal, heartbreak.

Look how many chose the beast.

Not safe.

Not safe.

Never safe.

Look how many millions agree.

I love men,

I do,

I love their smiles and their laughs and their smell.

But men don't love each other.

For how can you love a friend,

But not trust them alone with your daughter.

How can you love a friend,

Yet say nothing when they choose violence.

How can you love a friend,

Yet not act when they head down the wrong path.

How can you call that love?

There is no love without trust,

No love in silence,

No love in watching a friend destroy themselves and others.

Love is not limited to romance,

Philia - from the greeks,

Brothers, comrades, friends

"to want good for him, for his own sake"

There is no good in hatred.

Nor in harm nor bigotry.

Don't you want good for him?

Him - Your brother, your friend?

Men don't you want better for one another?

Maybe not all men,

But what about you?

[elitheaceofalltrades]

the default way for things to taste is good. we know this because "tasty" means something tastes good. conversely, from the words "smelly" and "noisy" we can conclude that the default way for things to smell and sound is bad. interestingly there are no corresponding adjectives for the senses of sight and touch. the inescapable conclusion is that the most ordinary object possible is invisible and intangible, produces a hideous cacophony, smells terrible, but tastes delicious. and yet this description matches no object or phenomenon known to science or human experience. so what the fuck