#Hardy household

[kfvarela]

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[caitlynscat]

Aunty Yoko visits the Sinclair-Addams household

The vampire stands in front of the door of Enid and Wednesday’s new house. Before she can even knock, the door swings open. There to greet her is a tall, beautiful blonde woman eager to see her best friend.

Enid: YOKO! It’s been so long!

The werewolf throws herself at the vampire almost knocking her over. The two embrace each other.

Yoko: Wow, Sinclair. I say you’ve aged pretty gracefully.

Enid: Awww, thank you, darling. And you….. haven’t changed a bit. How old are you now?

Yoko: Hardy har har. What about you? Thirty looks good on you.

Enid: Oh god I hope so. Come on in.

The two girls walk into the house. The interior was, surprisingly colorful. Full of pastel pink, blue and purple. As bright and flamboyant as it is, it doesn’t clash. Really throws Yoko off.

Yoko: Holy shit. Are you and Wednesday still married?

Enid: Yoko! Don’t even joke about that!

Yoko: I’m just asking! I mean look at this place. Your gothic princess wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this.

Enid: Oh you know I have my ways, Tanaka.

Yoko: She can’t say no to you, can she?

Enid: Of course! She loves me too much!

The two girls enter the living room where they sit on the couch together.

Yoko: Where is she anyway?

Enid: Oh she’s upstairs. She’s just taking care of one of our little ones.

Yoko: Oh yeah! I still haven’t seen your child yet! Wait ones? How many do you have?

Enid: Oh we have…… six.

Yoko: SIX KIDS?!

Enid: Six…. girls…. and four boys.

Yoko: YOU HAVE TEN CHILDREN?!

Right as Yoko yells, one of their little ones runs down to greet Yoko and Enid. She can’t be more than ten years old, has black hair with white streaks and bright ember eyes.

Yoko: Oh hello little one.

Enid: Baby, why don’t you tell aunty Yoko your name?

Daughter 1: Hello. My name is [NAME]

Yoko: Awww. What a nice name. You really look like your mother. I mean Wednesday.

Daughter 1: *turns to Enid* mother, may I please play some music in the living room?

Enid: Yes, go ahead sweetie.

The little one runs off.

Yoko: Wow, she’s literally like Wednesday.

The little one chooses her music and plays it. Loud, blaring, rock and roll music play. It catches Yoko completely off guard.

Daughter 1: I will just be here to read if that’s okay.

Enid: That’s totally fine, dear!

Yoko: Okay never mind! She’s not like Wednesday at all!

The vampire watches as the little one sits on the couch across from them, silently reading a book.

Yoko: How can she possibly read with music that loud?

Enid: It just helps her!

The two escape the living room to the kitchen.

Enid: Do you want to see the other children? Wednesday’s upstairs with them.

Yoko: The other nine? Oh god. That’s a lot of kids.

Enid: I know it’s a lot but thank you for taking your time to babysit them.

Yoko: BABYSIT?! WAIT HOLD ON-

Enid: Yeah! You said you could babysit for our kids!

Yoko: I thought you had one! Two at most not TEN! Enid, wait-

Enid, already running up the stairs: I’m gonna go tell Wednesday! Thank you for doing this for us!

Yoko:

Yoko: Ten kids….. I have to call Divina.

[chaos-bites]

⚡ Subtle Thorr Worship ⚒️

Fall asleep/meditate to the sound of rain/thunderstorms

Taking care of yourself physically

Exercising; making sure to stretch/move your body in general

Spending time with loved ones, especially any younger relatives you feel close with

Supporting human rights, abuse survivors, or homeless care organizations

Cook a warm meal for someone in need; give bottled/warm drinks to someone in need

Have a candle that reminds you of him (no altar needed)

Keep a picture of him in your wallet

Wear jewelry that reminds you of him

Donate food, clothes, umbrellas, raincoats, winter clothes, and general supplies to a homeless shelter

Have imagery of Mjölnir, lightning/storms, or the Helm of Awe symbol around

Have a stuffed animal goat

Participate in a protest for something you believe in

Engage in activities that you're passionate about

Eat a hardy meal, especially with meats or filling foods

Drink mead, coffee with honey, tea with honey, etc.; raise a glass to Thorr

Make a list of your personal strengths; acknowledge all that you've overcome

Ground yourself often, decompress after a tough day

Play in the rain (safely please)

Work hard on something, especially with your hands; crafting, wood-carving, building, etc.

Be kind to your fellow humans; practice compassion and generosity

Honor your ancestors; learn about your family history

Keep your space clean; make it your own

Help with household chores or errands

Support local farmers

Volunteer at a homeless shelter

Take responsibility for yourself and your actions

Be kind to retail/customer service workers; leave good tips when you can

Learn to trust yourself more; trust that you can protect yourself, listen to yourself, and have faith in yourself

Be patient with yourself, especially if you struggle physically

Hold the door for someone; offer help to anyone who seems to need it

Collect rain water (feel free to use it to water plants)

Start a garden; tend to plants, especially produce and herbs

Listen to music that empowers you; dance to it

Practice venting your anger through healthy avenues; be comfortable with any of your negative feelings/emotions

Take a walk outside with a cloudy sky or during a rainstorm (be safe with this please)

Pour a drink for someone else; pour a drink in honor of your ancestors

Stand up for yourself and others

Celebrate your accomplishments often; celebrate your loved ones, too

-

I'll add more to this later! For now, this is my list of discreet ways to worship Thorr. I hope this helped, and please take care, everyone! May your cups never be empty. ❤️

Link to Subtle Worship Master list

[definitelydailydocm77]

Finally got out a proper finished Doc doodle! The Daily Poem that inspired this one is “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy, which is under the cut.

I leant upon a coppice gate       When Frost was spectre-grey, And Winter's dregs made desolate       The weakening eye of day. The tangled bine-stems scored the sky       Like strings of broken lyres, And all mankind that haunted nigh       Had sought their household fires. The land's sharp features seemed to be       The Century's corpse outleant, His crypt the cloudy canopy,       The wind his death-lament. The ancient pulse of germ and birth       Was shrunken hard and dry, And every spirit upon earth       Seemed fervourless as I. At once a voice arose among       The bleak twigs overhead In a full-hearted evensong       Of joy illimited; An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,       In blast-beruffled plume, Had chosen thus to fling his soul       Upon the growing gloom. So little cause for carolings       Of such ecstatic sound Was written on terrestrial things       Afar or nigh around, That I could think there trembled through       His happy good-night air Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew       And I was unaware.

The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy

[dabiconcordia]

"The Darkling Thrush"

I leant upon a coppice gate     When Frost was spectre-gray, And Winter's dregs made desolate     The weakening eye of day. The tangled bine-stems scored the sky     Like strings of broken lyres, And all mankind that haunted nigh     Had sought their household fires.

The land's sharp features seemed to be     The Century's corpse outleant, His crypt the cloudy canopy,     The wind his death-lament. The ancient pulse of germ and birth     Was shrunken hard and dry, And every spirit upon earth     Seemed fervorless as I.

At once a voice arose among     The bleak twigs overhead In a full-hearted evensong     Of joy illimited; An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small     In blast-beruffled plume, Had chosen thus to fling his soul     Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings     Of such ecstatic sound Was written on terrestrial things     Afar or nigh around, That I could think there trembled through     His happy good-night air Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew     And I was unaware. By Thomas Hardy

[chubbycelebs]

Harry’s Chubby Boyfriend Louis

Harry was quickly becoming a household name. Now with three sold out albums and constantly touring the world, the man was at the top of his game. Harry hadn’t taken a break since the end of the 2020 lockdowns. Constantly on your, doing press, releasing music and videos all the time. However in the occasional free time he had, he has rekindled an old friendship with Louis Tomlinson.

The two boys had a past back in the band but decided to move past that and become close once again. The two met at a new year’s party back in 2021. When midnight struck the two shared a kiss and many other things later that night. Over the course of 2022 Harry was still a very busy man but he now had his boyfriend Louis to be busy with as well. The two enjoyed everything about each other and could hardly leave each others sights.

With the half way point of 2023 now coming up, Harry decided to wrap up his tour and music and take a long, well deserved break from it all and spend time with his boyfriend. Whilst Harry has been busy with tour though, Louis has been quite the opposite. He hasn’t been busy with anything. He's been sat around waiting for his boyfriend to return from his shows. All this sitting around lead to Louis becoming very bored so to fill that time he would cook and eat. He would try new recipes and different cooking techniques to see which was the best. He had to admit he had gotten very good at cooking now with all the free time. However the down side was he didn’t have anyone to feed his amazing meals to as Harry was always busy. So Louis would spend evenings stuffing his face with the food he’d spend hours cooking. All this eating of amazing foods had left a dent on Louis waist.

On one of Harry’s very few afternoons off, him and Louis decided to go mini golfing. It was nice day and it was something they both had wanted to do for a while. When Louis was having his go, Harry stepped back and watched his boyfriend. Harry hadn’t really paid much attention to Louis body recently but he finally noticed something was different.

Harry could now see that Louis had gotten a chubby belly. A nice round plump belly that picked outwards quite a bit. His thighs and ass had also gotten much bigger Harry had noticed. But he didn’t mind it. In fact Harry liked how the extra weight sat on Louis. The roundness of his belly resembled that of his round arse which he very much enjoyed. Louis turned back at Harry and shouted “HOLE IN ONE!” snapped Harry out of his belly trance. “I won Harry I won” Louis taunted jabbing Harry in the chest.

“Alright alright whatever. Let’s go get some food then winner” Hardy replied giving Louis ass a firm victory slap. It was, indeed, much softer and much bigger than it used to be. Harry felt a twitch in his trousers at the thought of his fatter ass. Harry and Louis sat down at a fast food restaurant just down the road hoping to enjoy a meal before Harry’s show that evening. The owner of the place ran up to their table. “Oh Harry Styles it’s an honour to have you come here. You can have anything you want anything it’s on us.” Harry sat and thought for a while. He doesn’t usually eat big before a concert however the thought of his boyfriends jelly belly shot to his mind. “I’ll take two of everything then please for me and my boyfriend here”. Louis looked at him shocked with how much food he just ordered. “I thought you didn’t usually eat much before a concert?” Louis said confused.

“I guess i’m just feeling hungry today babes. All that golf built up an appetite”

Harry grinned as trays after trays came to his table filled with food. Both of the boys dug straight into the food. After about 15 minutes Harry looked up at Louis. “Louis, I wanna stop touring soon and spend the next year just with you”

Louis looked up from his food, mouth covered in sauce and started smiling. “Really Harry? I would love that so much” Louis was so happy he leaned over the table and kissed Harry.

“I can’t wait to spend so much more time with you.” Harry said taking his final bite of his burger. “Also I think my eyes were bigger than my belly. I’m stuffed. Do you mind finishing the rest off for me Lou?” Harry said patting his abs.

Louis didn’t even reply he just kept eating and eating. No longer than 15 minutes later both trays were cleared. Louis lent back and stretched upwards groaning at how full he was. Harry looked as he saw Louis shirt ride up past his belly button. Harry felt the same twitch in his trousers and he knew in that moment he loved Louis bigger jiggly body

With Harry now ending his tour and putting a pause on his music, he had all the time in the world for his big boyfriend now. On their first night together Louis decided to cook Harry one of his best dishes: a massive roast dinner followed with a triple chocolate cake. Louis was so excited to be able to cook for his boyfriend finally and no longer having to eat several portions of food in one night.

Louis had noticed his own weight gain and at first he was ashamed of it. Dating one of the hottest men in the world and he was some chubby no one however that day at mini golf Louis couldn’t help but notice Harry staring at his full belly. He wasn’t sure if anything until Harry made Louis stuff his belly with tones of food at the fast food place. As Louis was eating he noticed how excited Harry was at his expanding belly. Seeing how excited Harry got with his plump body, Louis decided to keep the belly but maybe slow down a bit with the eating.

Louis dished up the roast and made sure to pile high Harry’s plate as to make sure he gets to enjoy every aspect of his cooking. He put down both Harry’s and his plate and sat down across from Harry. “I hope you enjoy. I’ve put a lot of time into this!”

The two boys then sat in silence as they both tucked into their meal. Louis had become quite a quick eater so was done before Harry. Louis looked over at the table, arms crossed over his belly and saw Harry shovelling fork fuller of food into his mouth, groaning with pleasure at how amazing it tasted. When he finished his plate he looked over at Louis. “Babe that was absolutely amazing. Best meal i’ve ever had. But are there any left overs? it’s soo good I just need more!” Louis was shocked by this. He’s never seen his boyfriend eat so much in his life. Harry’s second plate was almost as big as his first. Louis was shocked but also enjoyed seeing Harry love his food. It was so much better having someone enjoy your food then just stuffing your self with your own food.

When Harry had polished off his second plate , he lent back and patted his bloated belly. “Oh god that was amazing babes so good but i’m stuffed now. Might go lie down for a bit” Harry said trying to get up from his chair.

“Oh but babe what about dessert? I’ve spend ages on this cake i couldn’t wanting it going to waste now” Harry looked over at the triple chocolate cake. It was oozing with chocolate and looked amazing but his belly was so full. But what harm could it be if he had a slice? He hasn’t got anywhere to be over the next few days he’ll be fine.

Harry and Louis polished off their slices both now full, Harry more full now than he’d ever been in his life. He collapsed onto his bed and immediately passed out. Louis decided to take a shower before bed and as he entered into the bedroom noticed his bloated boyfriend passed out on the bed. Louis went over and patted Harry on his exposed belly to wake him up. Harry reluctantly got up and changed and then passed out straight away again. Louis got into bed next to him and couldn’t help but get turned on at the sight of his bloated boyfriend. He looked so full and round and that was all Louis doing. He had made his boyfriend like this and that got him excited.

Over the next few months Louis kept on cooking amazing meals and Harry kept eating them without a fuss. Louis noticed how Harry could eat more and more every week putting away more food than he’d ever seen him do before. To accommodate this Louis made bigger portions of food to keep up with his boyfriends growing appetite. Along with Louis cooking, Harry also kept trying to feed Louis at every moment he could. When they were having sex Harry would ask if he could feed Louis left over cakes and pies. As Louis would ride Harry, he would stuff Louis face with cakes and pastries and pies bloating his already round soft belly. Safe to say they had the best sex whenever he did this. After about a six month break from performing, Harry arranged a one night special performance in New York. He was excited to get back on stage and it was such an exciting night. Harry loved being on stage again and seeing all the fans scream for him and enjoy all his music. Harry was very happy with his performance until the next day where he saw photos of it.

All the photos of last nights show showcased Harry with a belly. But he hasn’t eaten anything before so it was a bloated gut. Harry ran to the bathroom and ripped his shirt off and was shocked to see where his abs once were was now a soft gut. Harry played with it out of shock. Squishing and patting his belly even rubbing it seeing if it would vanish but nothing. His once strong pecs jiggle when he played with it and when he turned around he noticed how his ass had gotten flabby too. Harry was in shock. He was one of the hottest men on the planet and now he was just some chubby lard arse. Louis walked into the bathroom to see Harry hunched over the sink looking saddened. “Are you okay babes?” He asked approaching his boyfriend.

“No! Look at me!” Harry said standing up right shaking his belly. “I’m some fat loser now.” He gave his belly a hit which left it jiggling for much longer than he would like to admit. Louis looked at his boyfriend as he collapsed onto the toilet, his belly turning into rolls. Louis decided the best way to make him feel better was show him someone he thinks is hot and fat. Louis took off his top and trousers and stood in front of Harry. Harry looked up and saw Louis, his belly much bigger than it was back when they played golf. His legs thicker and his neck started to join with his chins. “Why are you naked?”

“Am i hot?” Louis asked

“What do you mean? Of course you are babes. The sexist man i know!”

“Even with all this?” Louis then grabbed his belly and shook it. Grabbed his thighs and started slapping them showing just how big he’d gotten.

“Yes Louis. I like all of that. You look handsome and big” Harry said standing up from the toilet.

“Well then. You look handsome and big and sexy with your belly and tits and big ass” Louis said grabbing his boyfriends belly.

Harry looked down Louis body and saw how turned on he was. This made Harry relax more and he even got hard not long after. Harry stepped forward and pressed his and Louis belly together. “I like you fat Lou. I like you big.”

“I like you big Harry too. But i want you bigger. I want you to catch me up”

“I’ll do it Lou. I’ll eat whatever you want me to and more. I’ll be as big as you want”

Louis then pulled Harry to the bedroom and started passionately making out. Just as Harry was starting to put his cock in Louis, Louis stopped him. “I’ll be back” he said running off. He came back with a huge cake. “You can only fuck me once you’ve eaten every last bit of this cake” Harry agreed and the two had the piggiest and best sex ever.

Harry continued to do the odd tour here and there still wearing his same clothes he’d always worn just now with his big belly added. He enjoyed every second being stage parading around with his big gut hanging out.

Some fans disapproved of the fatter Harry and some actually stopped being his fans whilst others loved it and went crazy for when he jumped around on stage seeing his belly jiggle and moobs shake. But non of that mattered. He was truly happy being stuffed and fed by his sexy big boyfriend Louis. He enjoyed it so much that announced that he was retiring from music.

Now fatter then ever Harry couldn’t wait to grow even bigger with his boyfriend. The two had a large fattening life ahead of them and they couldn’t wait to grow into it

Decided to write another story inspired by a request. I really loved making this one. Editing all the photos together to go to the story was so much fun so i hope you guys enjoy this one as much as i did!

[blackhairedjjun]

flowers of every color | 7. striped carnations

overall summary: when your father is assigned as the new head gardener to the royal family, you are also tasked with helping him maintain the castle's many gardens and extensive floral arrangements. by chance you find yourself crossing paths with the "ice-cold" crown prince, choi yeonjun... who turns out to be not as ice-cold as everyone says he is.

chapter summary: as you are confronted with stigma from the court after your punishment as well as the reality of yeonjun's engagement, you send him one last message -- and make a decision that you regret.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: angst angst angst, confrontations, exactly one (1) swear word

notes: i am posting this earlier than planned bc i got a sudden burst of inspiration over the last few days and i've been writing more! same as last chapter, there are OCs here to fill out the other kingdom so that i don't depict others' faves as the "villain" of the story

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by the time you are released from your punishment, the ongoing efforts to secure a marriage for the crown prince are no longer a secret. the whole castle seems to be abuzz with preparations for the first of several meetings with the prospective bride, princess ajin, and her mother, queen hwayoung. everywhere you go, you see the castle spruced up for them, from new velvet curtains hanging from the windows to the rarely-used porcelain dinnerware placed in the dining hall.

to aid the preparations, you and your father have been assigned to make floral arrangements that are both welcoming and hardy. today you are planting some marigolds by the front entrance; you know that the bright orange blooms will both cheer the guests up and ward off pests. the skies are thankfully clear as you work.

while you are crouched down making sure that each plant is positioned well enough without overcrowding, you overhear two servants chatting as they each carry a stack of cream-colored linen. you’ve been part of the castle long enough to recognize that this particular linen is reserved only for the most important guests.

“...if it will be a good match,” one of them says to the other.

“princess ajin is going to have a hell of a time with his majesty,” the other replies with a snicker. “let’s see if her charms are enough to thaw an ice-cold prince’s heart!”

“oh no, i heard the princess is pretty ice-cold herself. she had to be dragged to come here and won’t look anyone in the eye, like she thinks she’s better than everyone else.”

“they’re perfect for each other, then! you couldn’t arrange a better match.”

they both burst into laughter. you ball your gloved hands into fists and grit your teeth, fighting the urge to stand up and tell them off that yeonjun is not the cold-hearted prince they think he is. but before your anger rises too much, one of them spots you from the corner of his eye. he gives his companion a light shove with his elbow and they both move away from you, their voices becoming more hushed. still, the other servant can’t help but stare at you with wide eyes before turning away.

you swallow hard and turn back to your marigolds, sighing to yourself as you secure the soil around each plant. you’re in no position to defend yeonjun from the servants’ rumors, not when you yourself are also the target of gossip; what more for preventing something as important as his marriage?

you pause in the middle of your gardening to wonder why yeonjun’s arranged marriage bothered you so much in the first place. you always assumed that he would stop being friends with you when he got married, but why? surely the royal household would benefit in keeping you and your father as long as you didn’t cause trouble; capable staff are hard to replace, after all. aside from that, yeonjun liked you well enough to actively seek out your company, and he would probably do so as long as he could squeeze out free time. 

so why are you so afraid of this marriage? 

you try to delve deeper into the question, but you hit a wall of emotions that you dare not climb over. perhaps you could climb it if you want to, but whenever you try to, you are overcome with a strange dread. a feeling settles over you that whatever is on the other side of the wall will make things much more complicated than they already are.

instead of climbing the wall then, you step away from it and resume planting the marigolds.

一

you spend the next few days avoiding yeonjun and, to some extent, soobin and beomgyu. while you are busy planting more marigolds in the western gardens, a servant passes by and asks if you can deliver some fresh flowers to the tearoom, and you politely decline. “i can prepare them if you like, but i’m too busy with other things to personally deliver them,” you say. the servant simply nods and leaves, but you still catch her shaking her head and muttering to herself.

you decline a few more of these errand-invitations, and you find yourself avoiding parts of the castle that you know yeonjun frequents: the tea house, the horseback riding grounds, even the portion of the castle grounds overlooking the library where he has his lessons. you stop delivering flower vases to his room altogether. the preparations for the princess’ arrival even provide you with convenient excuses: i’m busy replanting some flowers at the southern gardens, or i’m making the floral decor for the dining hall. even if you do want to see them, the work you’ve been assigned is just too much.

still, you catch glimpses of yeonjun or soobin or beomgyu from time to time as they carry on with their duties. you deliver flowers to the castle and pass by a study room where yeonjun is practicing etiquette (for the princess, maybe — you don’t dwell on it), or you’re on your way back to the greenhouse and hear excited screaming, only to see that soobin and beomgyu are playing a badminton game that has gotten a little too heated.

on arrival day you’re at the southern gardens on watering duty. with the days getting warmer, you need to make sure that the soil doesn’t get too dry, and you’re more than willing to distract yourself with the job. you’re so immersed in your work that you don’t even see the small party strolling by; you only notice them because of the sound of a familiar voice.

“your majesty should not rely on me too much, because i won’t…”

you look up before you can stop yourself. yeonjun is walking some distance away, flanked by queen hwayoung on one side and princess ajin the other. you notice that the princess’ arm is linked with yeonjun’s, just as he used to do with you, and you feel a sting in your heart.

as soon as the princess walks close enough, your insides freeze. she looks absolutely beautiful, her dress studded with tiny rubies against wine-colored silk and her updo emphasizing her sharp features. but as beautiful as she looks, you can’t read her face at all. her lips show no trace of pleasure or displeasure, and her eyes seem to be empty of all feeling. the servants were right too; she faces straight ahead, not even bothering to look at either yeonjun or her mother during their conversation. you wonder if she really is as cold-hearted as they say.

the trio passes you by. neither princess ajin nor queen hwayoung seems to notice you, but yeonjun turns his head ever so slightly to face the princess 一 then he sees you.

to those who know him less, the change in his expression would be imperceptible. but you see the way his eyes soften, the way his lips part by a sliver, the way the stern tone of his voice mid-conversation loses a bit of its edge. his eyes meet yours for a moment, sending an unspoken message, until queen hwayoung turns toward him and his attention is taken elsewhere.

you feel… heavy. the old sudden warmth in your chest comes back, but this time it never settles comfortably in you, filling you with a sinking feeling instead. you turn away and look down at the flowers you’ve been watering and shake your head as if to shake off the unpleasant feelings.

you need to put a stop to things, you think. as much as you want to cling to him again like old times, it makes your heart ache too much — and you know it makes his heart ache too much as well.

the next day you prepare a flower vase for yeonjun’s room for the first time in who knows how long. your hands tremble the whole time as you fuss over the arrangement, and once you make the journey to his quarters, you feel the heaviness in you again. you head up the steps and down the hallways as quietly as possible, ducking into a room whenever you pass by a servant or a court official; it’s a miracle that no one sees you or the vase held snugly in your arms. your heartbeat quickens the closer you get to his room, and though part of it is from the adrenaline of trying to stay hidden, much of it is from something else entirely.

as you make your trip, all sorts of images flash in your mind. one moment you see princess ajin staring blankly ahead, arm firmly linked with yeonjun’s; the next you see yeonjun facing you inside the gazebo on ball night and gazing at you with fondness. you see the yellow roses you delivered to his bedroom when you declared that you’d be friends, then you see the ornate arrangements of zinnias you made for his prospective bride and her mother. with each step you the images feel sharper, and you feel yourself closing in on that dreaded wall of emotions again.

when you enter the prince’s quarters, each footstep feels heavier than the last; when you finally reach the ledge for his vase, you have to position yourself and screw your eyes shut before setting the vase down with trembling hands. once the vase is in position, you slip out the door and nearly run all the way down back the way you came. you don’t allow yourself to think, and instead pray to whatever gods are listening that you made the right choice.

you leave behind a vase of striped carnations: frilly white flowers with crimson staining the edges of each petal. a beautiful sight, but their stems hide a solemn message.

i can’t be around you anymore. i’m sorry and thank you for everything.

一

you fill the next few days with work, taking even the portions of work for your father or the other servants. you water and fertilize both the western and southern gardens, you replant and tend to dozens of plants in the greenhouse, you run to and from the castle to provide fresh flowers and herbs 一 as long as the assigned area is in the opposite side of the castle as yeonjun’s bedroom, at least. the work takes your mind off the thoughts that were plaguing you, and if you focus on them enough you could tune the worries out. it’s easy for you to ignore the stares of the court officials or the whispers of the servants when you are too busy pulling weeds out of the bed of daisies or trimming off rose cuttings in the greenhouse for planting.

yet no matter how much you trick yourself into believing that you can work your worries away, they eventually catch up to you one day as you head to the kitchen to deliver a fresh batch of herbs. as you round the corner, you spot a familiar figure walking towards you.

“y/n!” you hear yeonjun call out.

 you pretend not to notice him and try to walk past, but he steps in front of you.

“y/n, please!” yeonjun moves closer and looks at you with desperation in his eyes. “can we talk for once? you’ve been avoiding me for a week. what’s going on with you?”

“i’m busy,” you say, and you try not to look him in the eye. “i have to bring these to the kitchen.”

“don’t do this to me, please. you can spare a few minutes to talk.”

“no, i really can’t.” you try to step past him but he only moves in front of you again.

“you can at least explain what you meant by your message. what do you mean, you can’t be around me anymore? is something wrong? none of the staff have told me anything. i’ll do anything in my power to make things work for you. i can talk to the chamberlain, the servants, anything一”

you swallow and stare at the bag of herbs in your hands. “there’s nothing to explain,” you lie. “just... don’t be around me, okay? it’s not good for either of us, yeonjun. it’ll get us into more trouble. i’m sorry.”

“‘not good for either of us’?! don’t tell me you really believe that!” he’s half-shouting now, but there seems to be more fear than anger in his voice. “i don’t understand why you’re being so stubborn! why won’t you let me help you? there has to be a way to make things work!”

“there really isn’t, okay?! it wasn’t meant to end up like this in the first place! that’s what got us in trouble!”

 “end up like what? end up as friends? but we一” you try to ignore the crack in his voice一 “we said we’d be friends. can’t we act like friends just this one time then, at least? or do you seriously believe that it’s not good for either of us?”

“i said what i said, okay?! maybe we shouldn’t be friends!”

you regret the words as soon as they leave your mouth. now they hang in the air as silence fills the space between you and yeonjun.

he stares at you and opens his mouth to speak, but only lets out a pained whimper. you see his eyes start to water and you look away.

“that’s how you really feel, huh?” he barely manages to string the words together. “fine, then. if that’s what you think is good for us, then maybe we shouldn’t.”

he turns on his heel and leaves.

“yeonjun, wait一” you run after him, but as soon as you turn a corner he seems to have diseappeared.

you curse yourself and bite your lip to keep yourself from screaming in the middle of the hallway. you stare at the bag of herbs you’re still holding and feel the urge to throw them onto the ground, but instead you let out a long exhale and focus your gaze on a still life of fruits hanging on the wall. your attention falls on one of the painted oranges, and whenever your frustration starts to build up again, you stare at the orange as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

it’s a miracle that you manage to calm down long enough to deliver the herbs to the kitchen. when one of the chefs asks you what’s wrong, you ignore her and head straight back to your quarters.

in your room you lie in bed, staring up at the ceiling, realizing just how badly you fucked up. in your attempt to protect yourself from punishment and yeonjun from abandoning his duties, and especially in your attempt to get away from the wall of emotions that you can’t confront, you ended up breaking the one thing you cherished most in the whole castle: his friendship.

you curl the blankets around yourself and try to sleep, hoping that you’ve simply ended up in a bad dream.

end notes: hehe i love angst :) also princess ajin was originally not part of this chapter in the original outline, but after seeing the feedback from ch6 + thinking about the setup for her from there, i decided that i should probably introduce her here

taglist (open!) @seosalad @lilplilplilp @yeonboy @pyuae @hyuneyeon @strawbrinkofdeath @yushiu @mazeinthemoon @banggyu0308 @shytubatu @kyaneosprincess

[star-anise]

i see you have discovered history professor bret deveraux, my beloved. i highly recommend his battle of helm's deep and pelennor fields series if you want to learn about historical battlefield tactics (and operations and strategies) and his fremen mirage series if you want to learn about the facist view of history and why it's complete and utter bullshit. his series on sparta is also phenomenal

I'm having such a good time working through his back catalogue. AGreatDivorce on Youtube has recorded audio versions of many of his posts, which is a godsend for me.

The Fremen Mirage series was a balm to my soul after having to deal with SO many "military history buffs" and SFF reply guys who think that violence is the pinnacle of human achievement, and therefore acknowledging the personhood of anyone but the apex warriors is like, taking resources away from the war effort or something.

For the uninitiated, the "Fremen Mirage" is what Devereaux calls a "pop theory of history" that believes:

that a lack of wealth and sophistication leads to moral purity, which in turn leads to military prowess, which consequently produces a cycle of history wherein rich and decadent societies are forever being overthrown by poor, but hardy ‘Fremen’ who then become rich and decadent in their turn. Or, as the meme, originally coined by G. Michael Hopf puts it, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times.”

And then in his series he applies rigorous historical analysis to this idea, and takes it apart like Christmas wrapping. It's almost as fun as the Sparta series, where he demonstrates that Spartans would hate their modern fanboys, and also aren't actually as special or amazing as they're made out to be.

After a while, though, I got tired of the military side of things, and gone wandering. What I've found most refreshing this week were posts that take a step back from direct pop culture criticism and just simply lay out the material realities of life in the past. The really basic building blocks that help us get in tune with the daily life of the past. Stuff like the Lonely City series.

Or the clothing series! I said that I've been trying to figure out just how rare or common looms were, and while I've been looking at archeological evidence of loom types, he's just found the numbers that let me calculate it.

I'm using a base unit of 5 yards of cloth, which is, with a generous hand wiggle, enough to make one person's outfit, maybe two.

According to these estimates:

In the early middle ages, using a hand spindle and warp-weighted loom, that might take about 70 hours of weaving and, at a low estimate, 500 hours of spinning. If someone devoted eight hours a day to nothing but spinning yarn, it would take them over two months to have enough to weave with.

In the Late Middle Ages, with the invention of the spinning wheel and horizontal loom, that figure would go down to 180 hours of spinning and 30 hours of weaving. The change in technology reduces the time down to almost a third of what it was before!

This really settles for me the question I had about my early-medieval fantasy setting, which is that there would be a lot of looms, a loom in every household, and that it would not at all be out of place for even aristocratic women to spin and weave on a regular basis.

Which like, to be cranky about fantasy heroines who hate sewing: In that kind of world, embroidery is a luxury. Weavers and spinners have to bust their butts just to put clothes on everybody's backs. Spinning and weaving that much is gruelling work that I would absolutely understand hating. However, it is not stupid, silly, or useless. Being able to embroider—to do something primarily decorative and artistic, just because it looks good and feels nice—is likely to be more of an escape from drudgery than the drudgery itself.

It really can't be overstated, how much the Industrial Revolution was a textile revolution. Our relationship to cloth and clothing has transformed out of all recognition over the last 300 years. There are undeniable advantages to this, because it frees us to do so many other things with our time. But it also makes it tough to look back into the past clearly, because it's so easy to forget that the burdens we've shed still existed back then.

[mattzerella-sticks]

halloween, 2024. (ao3 link)

Athena and Bobby host a Halloween party this year and Buck offers to help them get ready for it and tells Eddie he will see him and Chris there. However they're late, and Buck's costume doesn't quite work without the Diazes. When will they arrive? And, when they do, will Buck be happy to see them?

Buck slips mitts over his hands as Bobby’s oven dings over the soft, spectral music pumping throughout the house.

            “I got it!”

A blast of hot air escapes the oven as he opens its door that he doesn’t brace for, that smacks him in the face like an oncoming wave while he takes out trays of finger foods and sets them aside to cool. Pigs in blankets. Pizza muffins. Spanakopita and Chicken tenders.

He spies Chimney out the corner of his eye reaching for a pig in a blanket.

            “No.” He smacks his hand away. “Not until they’re plated.”

            Chimney hisses and clutches his stinging hand to his chest. “I was just getting one for Jee,” he tells Buck. “You know. Your niece. Your hungry, starving niece who’s… wasting away because her cruel uncle took forever getting the food ready?”

Buck looks past Chimney and further into the Grant-Nash household, spotting his sister dressed in the neon pinks, limes, and blues of her Barbie leotard, similar to the Ken one Chimney wears, kneeling as she adjusts the ears of Jee’s Bluey costume.

            “I think Jee doesn’t mind having to wait.”

            “Then what about me?”

            “I think you should take a note or two from your daughter.”

Chimney huffs. He snags a pig in a blanket despite Buck’s warnings and scurries off to hide behind Maddie before Buck slaps him with a mitt.

Hen wanders in a moment later and lifts the brim of her Indiana Jones-style fedora as she scans the crowded counterspace.

She whistles. “Damn Buckley. You feeding a small army here or what?”

“The way our crew packs it in? This won’t even be enough...”

They chuckle while stepping around each other towards opposite ends of the kitchen. Hen grabs another soda from the fridge. He slides chicken tenders onto a waiting serving platter.

She asks if he’s thirsty and Buck shakes his head ‘no’.

            “Sure you don’t want something?” She snaps the tab of her Coke can, tosses it into the recycling bin. “Not even water?”

            “I’ll grab something when I’m done.”

            “When will that be, once the last person’s gone home?”

            “Hardy-har-har.” Buck ducks away, avoiding her attempt to muss up his hair. “I’ll be done in a second, once I’ve restocked the snacks.”

            “You’ve hardly left the kitchen since I got here. It’s not even your party.”

            “No, but I don’t mind helping out,” he says. “Sides, not like Bobby can do much of anything with the costume he’s in.”

Bobby stands, surrounded by a few of their coworkers undoubtedly entranced by his detailed Batman suit. It looks exactly like what Michael Keaton wore in his films with the foam pointed ears, thick latex cowlneck, the black neoprene layered over his body. Athena creeps up behind him in her complementary Catwoman suit, stitched together from an assortment of shiny leather, and drags her nails across Bobby’s bat symbol.

            “Would any of you believe it if I said his first choice in costume was George Clooney’s Batman?”

            “Except I couldn’t find anywhere that would ship a codpiece here in time.”

Nearby laughter startles Buck and, in his shock, he drops a spanakopita. He curses under breath as he bends to pick it up and, without thinking about it for too long, shoves it in his mouth.

Hen sees it all. She arches her brow at him.

            “I’m fine,” he reiterates.

            She snatches the tray from his hands and places it back on the counter. “Go.”

            “But –“

            “No buts. I don’t want to see you in here for the rest of the party.” Then she tags his hip with the butt of her whip. “And go put your damn costume on, too.”

            “My costume is on.”

She scoffs and drags her critical gaze up and down his body in excruciating silence.

            Buck crosses his arms. “It’ll make more sense when Chris and Eddie finally get here.”

            “I’m sure it will,” she says, sarcastically.

He rolls his eyes in response, which earns him a thwack from her whip as she chases him out the kitchen to mingle with the crowd.

It’s not like he had been avoiding this the entire evening, had been preparing more and more fixings and snacks to pass the time since Eddie texted him five minutes after the party started, three hours after Buck left to help Bobby and Athena with party preparations, warning that he would be late, that – despite them being roommates and spending weeks discussing their Halloween costumes, arguing about them, compromising – there was an issue with Christopher’s. But maybe Buck was conscious of everyone’s eyes on him, how their faces scrunched in confusion trying to guess his costume, wondering if he even had a costume on like Hen had, and when he finally explained their expressions went blank. They then muddled through some short reply before lapsing into an awkward silence as both thought of some new topic for conversation. Maybe it was easier staying in the kitchen until Eddie and Chris arrived.

Hen won’t let him.

She corrals him over towards Karen, May, and the crew’s latest probie Fernanda chatting near the staircase. Karen spots him first and deftly draws a toy blaster from its holster and aims for him. She fires. It whirls and trills and lights up.

            “I shot first.”

            “Don’t you always.” Hen wraps her arm around Karen’s shoulders and kisses the crown of her head. “My sweet Nerf herder.”

            “Oh Doctor Jones…”

Buck trades glances with May and Fernanda, all three of them biting back smiles. When they’ve calmed down, Buck turns to better face them.

            May lifts her glass in greeting. “Nice to finally see you out of kitchen, Buck.”

            “Well, someone has to make sure everyone’s fed.”

            “I thought that was Bobby’s job,” Fernanda asks.

            May leans in close and whispers, badly, “Dad wanted to cook, but Buck booted him from the kitchen the fourth time he tripped over his cape.”

            “It’s a walking fire hazard and he should know better.”

            “It’s a good costume, though,” Fernanda says. “Makes me feel like I didn’t put in enough effort…”

May disagrees. She tells Fernanda her witch costume is amazing, much better than her witch costume. Fernanda says the opposite. Buck wants to ask if they had planned to both be witches for tonight’s party, or if it was coincidental they wore (what seemed like almost exact from the traffic cone hat right down to the cobweb skirt) costumes.

He doesn’t say anything about their costumes in hopes they don’t mention his.

He’s not that lucky.

            “What about your costume Buck?” May asks. “Are you going to go put it on?”

            “Oh – well… about that.” Buck regrets not taking a drink now, so his hands could fiddle with it rather than dance around lamely in the air, off-beat to the music. “I’m kinda in my costume.”

            “You are?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Who are you supposed to be?”

            “I’m –“

Buck’s phone vibrates. He reaches for it as there’s a knock on the door. He unlocks it and reads Eddie’s message while Ravi, closest to the door, moves to open it. Buck hears Ravi greet Eddie and Christopher and lets his tension melt away in his next breath.

            “One sec,” he says, “you’ll totally get it once I’m standing next to Eddie.”

Eddie is not wearing the costume they agreed he’d wear.

            “What happened?” a scowling Buck asks, “Why are you in the trench coat and wings?”

            “Long story.”

Ravi lifts his shades, glancing between them. He hitches his boogie board underarm and jerks his thumb inside.

            “I’m just gonna go… get back to the party.”

They release him. Eddie maneuvers the tiny wings through the threshold and shuts the door behind him. The black crepe paper and glitter feathers look ridiculous on him, because they weren’t meant for Eddie. Buck made them with Christopher in mind.

            “We both agreed,” Buck says, stepping into Eddie’s orbit to deny prying ears any chance of overhearing them, “that since neither of us could agree who’d be Cas, neither of us gets to be Cas.”

            “I know.” Eddie lets loose a long-drawn sigh that sounds far too rehearsed for Buck’s liking. “But at the last second Chris said he wanted to be Sam.”

            “Is that true?” Buck looks to Chris. “Did you want to be Sam?”

Chris grins past a curtain of cheap bangs off the dollar-store wig Eddie was supposed to have worn.

            “He really wanted to be Sam,” Eddie insists.

            “Did you?”

            “Dad said if I let him be Cas, he’d buy me the new Battle Royale game.”

            “Chris!”

            “What? You didn’t say I couldn’t tell him…”

Buck pins Eddie to the door with his glare, its heat burning stronger than the ovens. Eddie flushes almost instantly, a noticeable sheen of sweat dripping from his forehead, down his face, and into the collar of his starched white Oxford shirt.

            “That’s a dirty trick you pulled there, Diaz. I thought you were better than that.”

            “Look, I was desperate. I didn’t want to be Sam.”

            “You lost the coin toss fair and square. That meant you had to be Sam!”

            “I don’t see what the big deal is,” Eddie says. He presses his hands to Buck’s chest, as if to push him away, only he runs them across the wrinkles of Buck’s plaid shirt. “You like Dean. You should be thrilled to be Dean.”

            “Yeah, I like Dean,” Buck says. “But I like Cas more.”

            “I like Cas more than you,” he argues. “I should get to be him. Besides, I’m more like him anyway.”

            “The hell you are!”

Chris ambles down the staircase while Buck and Eddie argue in front of the entire party.

Hen and Karen drift closer to Chimney and Maddie for a better view of their friends’ spat.

            “What does this make it now?” he asks her, “Their fourth or their fifth couple’s costume?”

            “Sixth. They dressed as Crockett and Tubbs for your bachelor party.”

            “Did they?”

            “It wasn’t that cute,” Karen says. “Buck’s jacket didn’t fit, and the shoulder blades made it look like he had no neck.”

            Maddie agrees. “It’s a good thing it got ruined.”

Fernanda softly gasps from behind them as she recognizes their costumes.

            “Oh, they’re those guys from that CW show. The boyfriends.”

[mister-eames]

Hi! I don't know if you already answered this before, but I'm curious to know if you have any headcanons about Arthur and Eames families and how they grew up? Thanks :)

Hello lovely!!! Yes I certainly do, thank you so much for dropping by!

For Arthur I have really only have one headcanon for him. He grew up in a single-parent household with his mum. No other siblings but as close enough to an older cousin to consider them one. Dad either long passed or out of the picture. Definitely didn't grow up with a silver spoon, if you know what I mean, government schools, government housing, foodstamps, second-hand or hand-me-down clothes, learned how to make food stretch as far as it could kinda thing. Lots of challenges with himself and his mum, was sometimes her caretaker, but he otherwise grew to be a good kid.

Eames' headcanons do vary for me - but there is one constant I am going to yank from canon - 'the relationship with the father' thank you Mister Tom Hardy for delivering the line in such a way it couldn't be anything but personal. Daddy issues. And a hundred thousand iterations of them, they all work for me - i.e. big mean dad, cold and distant dad, disapproving but supportive dad, had-a-big-fight-with-dad-before-i-left-the-country-and-he-died dad, dad works for interpol, etc etc. Love it when he grows up in a super rich household as much as I love the idea of a middle class upbringing. He definitely gives me middle child energy, so at least two siblings. Lots of turmoil within the family -- not so much family dysfunction, but just series of unfortunate events -- sibling had a serious illness, childhood friend passed away young, both sides of the parents family didn't get along etc etc. Also had to learn how to be resourceful, but in terms of navigating people and not putting his hand in fire lest he be burned.

Thank you for your ask, nonnie!!! <3

[todaysdocument]

Copy of affidavit of W.R. Rutland filed in case of United States v. Columbus C. Nash, etal

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United StatesSeries: Case FilesFile Unit: 12: United States v. Columbus Nash, et. al.

State of Louisiana vs ..li H. Flowers et al Affidavit of W. R. Rutland Copy Copy State of Louisiana Parish of Grant Personally appeared before me the undersigned authority, W. R. Rutland, who after being by me duly sworn, deposes and says That on Tueday 1st day of April he was violently and forcibly driven from his house in Colfax of this Parish and that he barely escaped with his life by flight in the woods. He further deposes and says, After he was driven from his house and in the night time of said day, one Eli H. Flowers together with Ethan Ellsey, James Williams, Lit Sadler, Lewis Michen, Edmond Ware, Baptiste Ellsey, William Ward, Reason Michen, aided and assisted by R. C. Register, Green D. Branbly, Thomas Railey, W. L. Calhoun, Kinared Harvey and numerous other persons not now known to affiant, forcibly broke open and entered his house and carried away therefrom, household furniture, clothes, provisions, bed and bedclothes, one piano, one guitar, one sewing machine, money and valuable papers and books to the value of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars, and converted the same to their own use contrary to law and the Peace and dignity of the State. Wherefore he prays for a Warrant for issue commanding the Sheriff or Constable or any of their lawful deputies to apprehend the said persons and cause them to appear before the Hon'l Daniel Kelly Parish Judge for the Parish of Winn, there to be dealt with as Law and Justice may require because the Civil Authority in this Parish is not able to enforce the Laws by reason of violence and lawlessness. Signed W. R. Rutland Sworn and Subscribed Before me on this 4th day of April A.D. 1873 Signed A. V. Ragan Justice of the Peace Parish of Grant State of Louisiana Parish of Grant I, David Hardy, a Notary Public in and for the Parish and State above written duly Commissioned and Sworn, do Certify that the above and foregoing is a true Copy of the Affidavit of W. R. Rutland, and signed and written by him, before A. V. Ragan, Known by me to be an acting Justice of the Peace in and for the Parish of Grant, duly Commissioned and entitled to be respected as such. In witness whereof I have signed this officially and affixed the stamp of my Seal, on the 14th Day of February A. D. 1874 David Hardy Notary Public [seal]

[kfvarela]

Next

[nnon-but-cwnancydrew]

Secret Sleuth Exchange (@secretsleuthexchange) for @katmichail13

Merry Sleuthmas Kat! I was honoured to be your Secret Sleuth this year. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season and I wish a wonderful 2024 for you.

I'm so sorry that the initial fanvid gift fell through. Rest assured I'm still working on it but I'm starting completely from scratch so I wouldn't have had the time to finish before the dateline. Instead, I hope you'll enjoy a Christmassy version of your icon, a playlist, a couple of mood boards depicting AUs of our favorite platonic soulmates, and a few ficlets to go along with it.

And the playlist is here

Without furthur ado, let's begin:

1) Princess and Knight

AU Concept: Nancy "Crown Princess" Drew-Hudson and Ace "First Knight" Hardy  Tropes: Forbidden Romance, Childhood Acquaintances to Lovers, Slow Burn, Princess x Body Guard Dynamic, Royal AU Theme Songs: King (Florence + The Machine), Icarus (The Crane Wives), YOUTH (Troye Sivan), False God (Taylor Swift), Afterglow (Ed Sheeran), Fool's Gold (Niall Horan), King and Lionheart (Monsters and Men), Long Live (Taylor Swift)

Plot: Growing up, Ace's father was King Carson's First Knight until a wartime injury forced him to resign lest he wanted to forfeit his life. Thom started training Ace to become a knight after that, the exercises taking up Ace's time and slowly distancing himself from his friends.

Before Thom's injury, Ace and Nancy would play together with the children inside the palace walls, including George Fan, the cook's apprentice. The children would wreak havoc all around the castle, no one was safe; servants would spring it if their way, nobles would learn to fear when things got too quiet and the kitchens gave up trying to stop them from stealing a bun or ten.

Alas, good things never last and when Thom's injury happened, the group began to disband. Ace was taught in the ways of the sword, the bow and more. When Thom taught him all he could, Ace was gifted his own horse, a dappled brown mare, which he named Florence and was sent off to squirehood.

Nancy was saddled with more responsibilities and lessons, etiquette and diplomacy, languages and conversation, politics and household organisations (who said being a princess was easy?). George worked longer hours at the kitchen to earn better wages, needing to feed three younger sisters at home.

Things started to liven up when Bess Marvin, Marchioness Diana Marvin's long lost niece turned up at their citadel. Then, Duke Ned Nickerson, a distant cousin of Queen Consort Tiffany Hudson, appeared from the far south and started to court Nancy. The crown princess, equally besotted, returned his affection. And for a while, that was enough.

Then Queen Consort Tiffany Hudson was murdered.

Nancy didn't particularly care for her stepmother, but Tiffany was always kind to her. Setting out on a harebrained journey to find Tiffany's murderer, she would soon find a trustworthy band of friends in Sir Ace Hardy, Lady Bess Marvin, Ms George Fan and Duke Ned Nickerson. They'll go in to fight witches, evil within the kingdom and anyone that wishes them harm.

Three years later, she would find something even more precious than friendship in Ace, her heart, her love. When he proposes, it as at their secret glade, hidden from the burdens of Crown Princess and First Knight, becoming just Nancy and just Ace.

"Will you solve this part of the mystery with me?" he asks, the golden light reflecting off the water into his blue eyes, Kate Drew's diamond ring in his hands.

Her voice is watery when she says, "Yes", and she moves him until he's standing again, for she doesn't want him to be kneeling to her for this part. "Always. Forever." And she hugs him and kisses him and it's like the first time all over again but it's better and she can't help but laugh with joy.

Her Ace, His Nancy, together in the song of the afternoon. She couldn't think of anything else that sounded more right.

Other Tidbits of this AU:

Nick and Nancy break it off mutually then he has a whirlwind romance with George that ends in disaster. they both do their own thing for a while as friends before coming back together because they realize there's no one else for them romantically.

Bess falls for a couple of women, including Lisbeth the castle guard (they weren't right for each other), Odette Lamar the foreign businesswoman (before she found out Odette had a wife back home named Mary), and Addy Soctomah the small town of Horseshoe Bay's elected mayor (third time's the charm).

Other Tidbits of this AU: Nick and Nancy break it off mutually then he has a whirlwind romance with George that ends in disaster. they both do their own thing for a while as friends before coming back together because they realize there's no one else for them romantically. Bess falls for a couple of women, including Lisbeth the castle guard (they weren't right for each other), Odette Lamar the foreign businesswoman (before she found out Odette had a wife back home named Mary), and Addy Soctomah the small town of Horseshoe Bay's elected mayor (third time's the charm). Ace never became a physician, but he did invest a lot into their kingdom's medical research, helping the industry prosper and saving them from an unknown plague that other kingdoms fell victim to.

And they all lived happily ever after.

2) Ice Skater and Boxer

AU Concept: Bess "Figure Skater" Marvin and George "Hockey Player" Fan

Tropes: Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Kinda Instalove, (Just a Soft Little Fic)

Theme Songs: Silk Chiffon (MUNA, Phoebe Bridgers), Tis the Damn Season (Taylor Swift), Girls Like Girls (Hayley Kiyoko), Friday I'm in Love (Twenty One Two), Enchanted (Taylor Swift), Slow Dancing (Aly & AJ), Ashes (Celine Dion), Daylight (Taylor Swift)

Plot: Girl I'm sorry I tried but I can't really view them from a romantic lens and so for Georgess I'm just gonna leave you with the vibes. I'm thinking a soft dreamy winter love in the big city.

If anyone wants to take a crack at this AU (or any of the others) please feel free. Just tag and credit me because I would love to read it!

3) CEO and Bodyguard

AU Concept: George "Spy/Bodyguard" Fan and Ned "Businessman/Inventor" Nickerson

Tropes: Strangers to Lovers, Spies AU, Forbidden Romance, Ballroom Scene, Making Out to Avoid Being Caught

Theme Songs: I Can See You (Taylor Swift), Plastic Hearts (Miley Cyrus), Weapon (Against the Current), Teeth (5SOS), Delicate (Taylor Swift), Roman Holiday (Halsey), Perfect (One Direction), New Year's Day (Taylor Swift)

Plot: Ned Nickerson thinks he’s done well in his life. Accepted into MIT on the honors roll, top intern at tech billionaire Tom Swift’s R&D department then branching off to start a very successful tech company of his own with the help of Tom and socialite and rich heiress Tiffany Hudson; all before the age of 28. Sure, his life is a little bland and his assistant Addy Soctomah had a bit of a point when she said that he was the most vanilla Black man she ever met but boring was good in the business world.

Then, the universe remembered he existed and made him the sole witness of Tiffany’s murder (which, was very traumatic, thanks for asking) by some terrorist company called the Road Back. Now, he was on the hit list of said terrorist company and had to be assigned a bodyguard (who very clearly did not want to be his bodyguard) that was maybe sorta cute when she wasn’t ignoring him like crazy. George said it wasn’t personal but it didn’t seem like the case to him when she stared at him unblinkingly when he was trying to close a business deal.

The mantra of ‘Fuck Drew’ was all that ran through George’s head when she had to protect Mr “Call me Nick”, rags to riches wonder boy and media darling, every day. She could be out chasing the Road Back with her team right now if Nancy had pulled the pin on that grenade 5 seconds later. 5 seconds and Owen wouldn’t have died; 5 more seconds and her foot wouldn’t have gotten pinned under all that rubble, and she could have lifted that column off Owen before he suffocated to death while their friends tried to get to them in time. 

The thought that it took four minutes without oxygen for a person to sustain permanent brain damage was all that ran through her brain as she listened to the harsh wheezing from the person underneath the column slowly stop. George had never really seen the fragile process of human to corpse before, never sticking around after her bullets left their chamber, but she could swear that it took hours for Owen to flatline. 

It took three minutes. The brain damage would happen after four minutes. The team took eight minutes to get to them and they were the longest eight minutes of any of their lives. 

The team fell apart: Nancy blamed herself bitterly, Bess mourned her cousin, Ace kicked himself for sending them into a trap and George- George was numb. Then she became angry. Claw Superiors kicked their team into mandatory leave and psych eval after 2 months. Guess Carson didn’t want his only daughter to crack mentally even more than she already had. 

2 weeks in and George begged Carson for any assignment, after barely passing her psych eval. She snatched the first case he held in his hands from him, not even looking into the file and just showing up at Ned Nickerson’s company the next day. Boy did she regret not negotiating more. Turns out Nick witnessed the murder of Tiffany, the woman whose husband cheated on with George years ago, and now he was the Road Back’s No. 1 target. Talk about awkward. 

It took spending 3 days in Nick’s presence to figure out that 1) He had a ridiculously good moral compass, 2) He and Tiffany were super close and 3) Telling him about her past history with Tiffany would make him hate her. So she kept quiet and kept her walls up, not wanting to get close to another person so soon after Owen’s death, not she was just starting to bond with him. 

But it’s difficult to spend day in day out with someone and not get close to them at some point. Nick was gentle and persistent with her, prying personal details from George like she was one of the machines he was experienced with. How she was the eldest of four sisters, how she almost went into law school, how her favourite colour was green. In return, he told her about wanting to help troubled kids find a community, how he was discovered by Tom Swift (and had a brief fling with him), how his mother taught him piano because they couldn’t afford it at the time and for her last birthday he’d bought her a grand piano to play to her heart’s content. It wasn’t her favourite mission by far, but Nick wasn’t bad company, and there was little chance of her PTSD triggering in civilian bodyguard life while the rest of her team recovered. 

Then Nick caught wind of a Road Back operative that was gonna be at a major social function that’s being hosted by Nick’s dickhead rival companies’ CEO: Everett Hudson. George hatched a harebrained dream of capturing the person to win back the grace her team lost at their agency. Nick offered to be her date so she could sneak in and around but she has to help him find dirt on Everett about the Bonny Scott which can bring justice to 12 innocent people and send Everett to jail. George accepts, which was a horrible idea for them both because now they’re catching feelings for a colleague-ish person.

(As long as you save me a dance, Fan.

You're on, Nickerson.)

At the party, there’s a point where they’re in Everett’s office digging through his files and they hear footsteps coming so they panic. There’s nowhere to hide in the office, and George grips Nick’s arm tightly. 

‘Do you trust me?’ she says, urgency coating her words.

There’s a beat of hesitation when they look into each other’s eyes, George begging Nick to say yes. Still, looking, he nods, and she spins him around to pin him against the wall.

‘I’m sorry about this,’ she says quietly, before kissing him. 

For a moment, everything in the world narrows to his back against the wall, the girl he likes pressed up against him, her lips on his, her hands on him. Realising his hands are just hanging dumbly by his side, he moves one to run through her hair and the other to cup her cheek.

‘OI! You’re not supposed to be in here!’ A loud voice cut through the air, and he remembers why he shouldn’t be doing this. They spring apart, and he’s sheepish when he addresses the person who caught them.

‘Sorry sir. Won’t happen again.’

‘Not today anyway.’ George’s coy face and satisfied smirk makes him blush and he finds he can’t look at the security guard for more than a second without looking away in embarrassment.

‘I don’t care what you do and where you do it as long as it isn’t in here. Now get going before I change my mind.'

'Got it, sir.' He blocks George from view as she surreptitiously swipes the hard drive that had finished downloading information in the time they were caught by the guard. He repeats, 'Won't happen again.'

Outside, George apologises and they go home but there's still an air of awkwardness. She hands the drive over to Claw Agency superiors and is called back in the week to pursue Road Back members with her old team. Since the Road Back is disbanded, Nick doesn't need a bodyguard anymore and they part ways, both thinking this is the last time they'll see each other again.

Three months later, they round up the last of the Road Back members, and George hands in her resignation form. She makes her team promise to keep in touch, thanks the Claw superiors for giving her a lifeline back then, and shows up at Nick's house to confess her feelings.

'You know,' she says, after the heavy emotional talk. 'We never did get that dance.'

'Never too late,' says Nick. He holds out his hand. 'May I?'

'But there's no music,' she laughs, taking his hand anyway.

He smiles at the sound. 'Don't need music. Your laugh is the most beautiful sound of all.' And she proves him right by laughing again.

When they have their first dance at the wedding, they're laughing merrily through the whole thing, calling each other Mr Fan and Mrs Nickerson.

Other Tidbits of this AU: Everyone on the team is field cleared but George and Owen were the only true field agents so they were closer because they have to trust each other's back in the field. Ace is the Hacker, Nancy is the scientist with a focus on biochem and Bess is the pilot/driver/etc. George and Nick play chess but George is more logical and Nick is more passionate. They're equally skilled. Bess meets Addy while the team visits George and they start talking and start dating just before Fanson's wedding. Nace dance around each other for years before everyone locks them in a small room and they come with messy hair and red lips to a chorus of "Finally"s

In every universe, the Drew Crew wishes Kat Michail a very Merry Christmas and hopes that she enjoys her gift. In this universe, Shannon wishes Kat a Happy New Year too. I hope you liked your gift Kat!

[vintage-tech]

further thoughts on old sewing machines

I've read the replies and comments on the thing I reblogged about sewing machines and planned obsolescence / "they don't make 'em like they used to." You know me, I have more words to offer, and the basis here is the people saying "damn, I want one", "wow, how can I get one for reasonable?" and "you can get parts?" Read on...

First, let me show you what my friend sent me yesterday in a text. She was so jazzed that she wanted me to see it, and she doesn't even know I run a blog like this.

So here you see a White trundle sewing machine from the late 1910s to early 1920s. You can also see that it was either taken very good care of or completely restored, or both, and you have little doubt in looking at the first picture that it'll put together a prom dress or hem your cuffs at a moment's notice, and this isn't just a museum piece. In the below, I'm not just talking about the big ol' centagenarians, I mean pre-1990 Singers and everything inbetween.

You ask: Where can I find a hardy old sewing machine? The obvious answer of antique stores aside, you can find them in thrifts. Not necessarily Goodwill because they're capitalists who have tried to get away from furniture and heavy stuff, but most of the others have them and I warn you that you may have to cut a bitch (or be cut) if one shows up at Deseret Industries. I wish I still had the photo of the time a now-departed St. Vincent de Paul near me had TWO different White models on the floor, each for less than what some people pay for Starbucks in a week, and my memory says that if they didn't spin like a top right that second a couple hours with household products and maybe a Google search plus shipping time would have these things in a functional state your great-grandmother would approve of. It's a regular thing that I go into thrifts and there's a sewing machine case on a low shelf near the electronics that is older than your mother and twice as reliable.

You ask: How much will this set me back? Depends upon where you're shopping. Obviously antique stores will have them for more than thrifts, and sometimes you find them at estate sales (again, expect to cut a bitch) for either an antique price or a "take it away" solid price. Consider it a great day if you spend $10-$25 to get this off someone's shelf and out of someone's life.

You ask: Repairs and maintenance, what about that? I don't know a lot about the mechanics but the older they are, the simpler they get. Resources are out there on how to fix problems (books and YouTube videos) and obtain parts, and professionals exist who live to do both. You probably know someone who has machine sewed for decades; you could ask them for insight on how to get things back into shape. People in comments on that post named some sources for replacement parts after others said they were stymied by trying to find the doodad they needed.

You didn't ask: You seem to have some passion about this despite not being a sewing machine owner or user. What machines did you grow up with? My sainted grandmother had a 1960s Singer 401A. (Photos are NOT of her machine, I nabbed them from teh interweb.)

My mother still has and uses periodically her 1970s Singer 758. (Again, not my photo and I haven't seen hers out when I've visited lately.)

[rederiswrites]

I've been potting up all my trimmings and thinnings of succulents, and thinking about doing more of the same, and starting to get into local plant sales next year, or put stuff on FB Marketplace, for "egg money" as it were. Just looking for ways to up household income a little.

I also thought that maybe next year I could grow patches of flax, kinda like a CSA subscription--talking to living history fiber nerds in advance, and have them "invest" in like, a ten foot square of flax, which I could grow and harvest and then let them have a chance to process flax. Because lots of people are interested in trying that, but a lot fewer have fields to grow it in. Jacob thought I could also sell just...bundles of flax. Begs the question of whether I should ret them first. I mean, not everyone can just sacrifice a bathtub in their apartment to rotting plant material.

Still really think getting into growing dye plants at scale could be an awesome way to use my land. Also think it would be extremely cool to specialize in hardy succulents, since I'm already collecting them and have quite a few that aren't locally available. They also mostly grow faster than less hardy succulents. I mean, sure, I'd love to grow haworthias but that's just...this is not an efficient climate for that and I can't afford a greenhouse.

Just thinking out loud. Growing plants = my thing. Getting up at four am to harvest veggies and go to market = fuck the fuck no.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

🥺 i know you said the traveler would give death reader a birthday in her story quest but what if childe and his family gave her a birthday instead? like he manages to convince her to come with him to snezhnaya and meet his family and teucer asks when's her birthday and she says she doesn't know so childe suggests they come up with a birthday for her then

that's actually so cute???

it's with a lot of reluctance on your part since you ultimately hope ajax will let go of his fascination with you, but you cede and agree to return with him to snezhnaya to meet his family who has undoubtedly been told that you're his lover in his letters. he probably even introduced you to his underlings as his lover when they inquired as to who you were and why you were returning to the motherland with them

and his family is quite kind, very kind souls that you think are extremely warm in contrast to their cold homeland. you wounder if those smiles would still remain on their faces if they knew your true identity, not simply an ordinary woman who has enraptured their son

ajax's father has a booming hardy laugh, regaling tale after tale about his troublesome third son whom he asks you to care for. someone has to look after him and he is pleased to hear that even if ajax has his fair share of battle scars, you are always there to tend to them

his mother dotes on you frequently, fretting about the bags under your eyes and how you're cold to the touch despite how many layers she has dressed you in. she complains to her son as much, stating that he should look after you better. "don't be shy, dear, here take this coat as well. we have to warm you up. what was my son thinking not noticing your state?"

all the while, you sit by the fire with anthon, tonia and teucer who ask you plenty of questions between the many games they drag you into. where are you from? ("i'm simply a wanderer in my own right") where are you going next? ("wherever the currents take me") when are you going to marry their big brother? ("hopefully soon," ajax cheerfully interjects) when finally they ask the question of the hour, "when's your birthday?"

truthfully, you have no idea. you don't even know how old you are, you never really kept track of the years as they all bled together day after day, year after year, death after death. as death incarnate, you've existed since the very beginning of teyvat and a birthday isn't necessary for your role in nature

of course, to the family hosting you while their son is visiting home for a few weeks, you simply smile sadly and say "i don't know myself" which only brings more questionsー didn't your family tell you? ("i have no family, so ") how do you know how old you turn each year? ("i suppose i've never really counted")

the mood of the household shifts into one of puzzled sadness and before you can attempt to smooth things over, ajax throws an arm over your shoulders. "we'll just have to give her a birthday then, won't we?" and the atmosphere changes into one buzzing with excitement as suggestions fly throughout the room ranging from dates coinciding with holidays, a generous offer from anthon to share his birthday with you to ultimately choosing a day that falls within the timeline of your visit that way they can celebrate your first birthday with you and and by all meaning of the word, your celebration is a feast full of traditional snezhnayan foods

there's borsch, pelmeni, pirozhki, shashlik among many other things his family went all out on making. and your birthday cake? the largest sharlotka ajax's mother has ever baked. all complete with some last minute birthday gift purchases, all with a heartfelt note that reads that you now have a family to claim as your own

to say you're moved is quite an understatement. your tears can range from misty eyes to a few drops to buckets but in either scenario, you accept a hug from his equally teary-eyed mother and the rest of his extremely warm family

when ajax moves to kiss you when you have a private moment to yourselves later in the evening, it's the first time you don't stop him. perhaps that kiss was a mistake, ajax certainly won't stop chasing after you now. you can tell in the way he kisses you again and again like a man starved, unsure as to when a moment like this will drop at his feet. if anything, all you have done is cement your relationship in his eyes. a bond transcendent to the laws of this world and one that will continue after death comes for him once and for all

but at the very least, you can say it was nice playing human for a few weeks (even if behind the scenes, you performed your never ending duties. death never sleeps after all)