#Kitchen Garden Plan For 2024

[askwhatsforlunch]

Kitchen Garden Plan For 2024 (Part II)

And here is the second part of my Kitchen Garden Plan For 2024 (Part I is here).

Since I was away in March, I only started sowing, in egg-box trays and pots (for garden herbs) this month, but the tomatoes have sprouted very quickly and so have the cosmos. I should be able to transfer them to small pots to grow strong seedlings soon!

Back in December, I kept a mango pit after eating the fruit, soaked it, cut it and after a bit of an effort, managed to extract its seed. I sowed it in a mixture of good soil and compost, and kept it in The Nursery all over the Winter, watering it when the soil got dry to the touch. It now has a sturdy little stalk and two beautiful and glossy leaves! It needs to grow a bit, and for the weather to get warmer before I can take it outside; but I'm quite happy with it already.

And I hope the avocado pit Ava planted last Spring, my little Ava-cado, which had grown in the Summer, lost it leaves in Autumn, stayed outside in the Winter, will grow again this year!

Naturally, I shall tell you how my garden grows, what fails, what succeeds, and share recipes with all (hopefully heaps!) the fruit, vegetable, herbs and flowers I will harvest!

[breelandwalker]

Buck Moon - July 20-21, 2024

Put on your flower crowns and your walking shoes - it’s time for the Buck Moon!

Buck Moon 🦌

The Buck Moon is the name given to the full moon in the month of July and is called this because at this time of year, the rack of antlers previously shed by male deer are beginning to regrow and harden in preparation for the fall rutting season. 

Other North American Indigenous names for this moon include Salmon Moon (Tlingit), Berry Moon (Anishinaabe), Month of the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee), and Raspberry Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe). The West Abenaki also call this the Thunder Moon in reference to the often-stormy summer weather. (This one is my personal favorite and the name appears in lunar calendars just as often as the Buck Moon.)

European names for the July moon include Hay Moon and Wort Moon, and it should be noted that the name Stag Moon does appear in some European sources as well.

This year's Buck Moon will be at peak illumination at 6:17am EST on July 21st, so the moon will appear to be full on both the 20th and 21st. Also, it's a weekend, so plan your festivities accordingly!

What Does It Mean For Witches? 🦌

The July full moon continues June’s template of planning for the future, this time with a focus on your passions and ambitions. Reflect on what you’ve accomplished so far this year and plan your next step.

Dream big and plan big, but don’t give in to reckless urgency. Summer (and capitalist grind culture) gives us the urge to Go Go Go. Despite all this, it’s important to take time to rest and recharge, lest we find ourselves burning out and losing our motivation.

What Witchy Things Can We Do? 🦌

Celebrate your victories and revel in the abundance of the summer season. If you’re inclined to do so, take a page from the deer and do a bit of prancing around a bonfire or your favorite flower arbor with some festive flowery headgear.

Go exploring! Find a local park or garden and take a stroll among the greenery, or use TV and the internet to explore and learn about faraway places. This is another opportune time to go and check out pick-your-own farms and farmers markets as well. Sharpen your foraging and plant identification skills while you’re out and about!

If you’re tending a garden, harvest some herbs and investigate what you can make with them. Whether it’s seasoning for meals, homemade botanical products, or just helpful spell ingredients, many herbs and flowers have a plethora of uses. As an exercise, select three plants growing in your yard or garden, research their magical correspondences and botanical properties, and try to think of as many ways as possible to use each one for witchcraft and for practical purposes. For extra credit, pick something native to your area that doesn't appear in the western magical canon and use its' physical, folkloric, and historical associations to create something new!

(Safety Note: Always clean and prepare home-harvested herbs properly before using them for kitchen, bath, or medical preparations. Always be sure to properly identify any wildcrafted or foraged plants. Always consult a doctor before trying an herbal treatment and take all allergies, medications, and pre-existing conditions into account. Please also note that while herbal treatments can be helpful, it can have negative interactions and side effects just like any other medication, and it is not meant to be a replacement for modern medical care.)

Apart from the usual full-moon festivities, I’ve always found this is an excellent time for weather-witching. Summer weather is notoriously fickle, but it is also highly malleable - one recalls that old American Southern epithet of, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”

If you’re hoping to bring some rain to water your garden or break the back of a heat wave, this may be the time to do it. My personal favorite folk magic ritual for rain-calling involves going outside with a broom and a bucket of water, using the broom to scatter drops of water over your yard, and shouting up to the clouds, “SEE? IT’S NOT HARD!”

Make sure you take local weather patterns into account and try to draw on existing fronts and nearby precipitation to get the desired result. And keep in mind that with weather magic, less is more and one casting is enough. Asking for too much or asking too often can produce undesirable results. And if you manage to make it rain, be sure to collect some for moon water!

If you’re interested in weather-witching, I highly recommend checking out this masterpost by @stormbornwitch for a number of excellent articles and suggestions.

Happy Buck Moon, witches! 🌕🦌

Sources and Further Reading:

Bree’s Lunar Calendar Series

Bree’s Secular Celebrations Series

Witchcraft Exercise - Creating Correspondences

Buck Moon: Full Moon in July 2024, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Buck Moon Bonanza: Embrace July’s Massive Energy!, The Peculiar Brunette.

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison.

(If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Help Stop a Clearcut - Deadline May 17, 2024! Reblogs appreciated!

Hey, folks, got a time-sensitive request for y'all--even if you aren't a PNW resident, can you please put in a word to save the legacy/mature forest on Mothball Hill just outside Astoria, OR? Comments to NOT clearcut the forest on Mothball Hill can be sent to odf.sfcomments@odf.oregon.gov and need to be received by 5pm Pacific Standard Time on May 17. Reblogs ALSO help!

As per this article:

"North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection requests your consideration and immediate action to help safeguard drinking water and residents’ health in rural neighborhoods east of Astoria. Written comments are needed by Friday, May 17, regarding ongoing and upcoming Oregon Department of Forestry timber harvests in Clatsop County. Anybody may submit a comment to ODF; you do not need to be a resident of Clatsop County. Please see below for more details.

Currently, the NCCWP Astoria Chapter is working to notify residents whose property is in close proximity to proposed 2025 ODF timber harvests in Clatsop County. On May 5, we surveyed Unit 2 of the Mothball Hill Harvest and met some of the concerned residents whose property is immediately adjacent to the timber sale. We are working with them closely.

Leading up to the May 17 deadline for comments about the ODF Annual Operations Plan (AOP), we are hoping to visit as many of these sites as possible — knocking on people’s doors directly adjacent to these potential timber harvests. Many people who live in these houses may not be aware that the forestland near their homes is scheduled to be clearcut and sprayed with a “cocktail” of pesticides. Our goal is to notify these homeowners and provide them with appropriate resources and support so that they can get involved and comment on the AOP before the opportunity ends. These clearcuts and pesticide applications may directly affect people’s health, livelihoods, recreational activities, and property values. Ultimately, they will adversely affect the quality and quantity of coastal drinking water by exacerbating the climate crisis, perpetuating drought, and increasing the risk of wildfires, landslides, and the runoff of sediment and pesticides into waterways.

Here’s a letter sent to community members, ODF, BoF, and Clatsop Co. officials from Darren Orange, a resident neighboring the Mothball Hill Harvest: 

A request for your consideration and action,

The Oregon Department Of Forestry released their 2024 Annual Operations Plan and has selected a previously unmanaged, non-intentionally planted, natural “Legacy Forest” for CLEARCUT AND AERIAL SPRAY. The location is in Clatsop Forest Astoria District on “Mothball Hill” east of Astoria in the John Day estuary. This proposed clearcut will impact a previously unmanaged biodiverse forest with trees, and mycorrhizal networks well over 100 years old. The geographical location is extremely steep and the boundaries for cutting would push into the Columbia River at its northernmost point. Slide potential is high, threatening the railroad, and homes both on private drive Phil Rd., Highway 30, and Deer Valley Rd. 

Located between Astoria, (2 miles to the west) and the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary (2 miles to the east) this rich habitat and watershed is home for bald eagles, beaver, blue heron, cougar, bobcat, coyotes, and waterways for native salmon.  The year-round streams run directly into the John Day and Columbia Rivers. The location will be seen on Highway 30, and visible from both rivers as a monstrous scab. 

The home and hobby garden I share with my wife borders 300′ of Clatsop Forest. Neon survey markers now weigh heavily, glaring at us 20′ from our kitchen window. Trees marked for cut purposely planted by homeowners over 50 years ago as property lines now marked for harvest. We watch: protected migratory birds, marine birds, bald eagles, blue heron, osprey, and others. We’ve listened to the call of bobcats and coyotes from their resting and breeding dens. We’ve seen beavers in the estuary. Salmon and crayfish are commercially harvested here. The rich native flora and mycelium network show the health of the forest and offer many plant medicines. This is just a window of the species we see everyday. 

The impact and damage on this ecosystem is vast. The unintended consequences of aerial spray, blowdown due to compromised forest integrity, slides, and aesthetic harm to private property value, boating/kayaking and tourism, commercial and recreational fishing are all part of the cost vs minimal $1.1 million dollar profit.

PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED, AND CLOSE VERY SOON ON MAY 17TH!

I’m asking the greater community to please write and pass along your concerns to the Oregon Department of Forestry about this clearcut timber sale in one of the oldest stands in the area. This stand has not been managed or replanted so it represents a key forest in its health and history. I ask that ODF look into alternative locations such as managed/planted forests with less impactful methods that follow the soon to be Federal Habitat Conservation Act that would preserve older stands. I ask that ODF follow their own Key Performance Measures of complex layered forest structure. I ask ODF NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS TIMBER SALE.

Sincerely, 

Darren Orange

local resident of 25 years

business owner

property owner

Email – odf.sfcomments@odf.oregon.gov

interactive map

[isa-ghost]

do u have death family headcanons....

NO FUCKING MAMES I HAD 14 OUT OF 15 DONE FOR THIS ASK AND THEN TUMBLR YEETED THEM. I'M GONNA SCREAM AND COMMIT MURDER, IDR THEM ALL. FUCK.

ANYWAY YOU BET YOUR GAY ASS I HAVE DEATH FAMILY HCS.

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Family walks, Chayanne on Phil's shoulders and Lullah on Missa's. Or they do that thing where there's one kid between them and they take either hand and lift/swing them together.

Family gardening. Missa using his reaper scythe to harvest things, Chayanne and Lullah replanting seeds, Phil going full crow brain and hoarding all the harvested crops in crates.

The kids are Phil & Missa's biggest wingmen. Lullah will lead them somewhere and then be like "Oh. Oh nooo, oh noooo my asthmaaaa" and teleport away. And then suddenly there's Chayanne with a table for 2 and an entire kitchen setup with a dinner in progress.

They'll plot "relaxation" days for Phil and Missa too. It's a toss-up if either of them actually relax though. Missa's better at it than Phil at least.

No one cheered harder about the prison kisses than Chayanne and Lullah. They wish their dads a very "do it again. Often."

Phil and Missa are constantly conspiring together about cool things to do with/for the kids. Even when they're away from each other they'll write books leaving the other a message like "shhh don't tell the kids :)"

They'll also plan days Just for one of the kids where whatever the family does is centered around their interests. It's nice for them, because although they have mutual interests and are more than willing to do whatever the other wants, they still have unique interests and it can naturally get tiring being a package deal. Especially when so many of the other eggs are only children and get doted on by their parents with undivided attention

They get separation sadness a lot bc reaper duties and Phil's extremely deep sleep/vivid dreams keep them apart so often, but their little system of leaving gifts (Missa his paintings, Phil misc trinkets) for each other works. It's not as good as a hug or quality time though :(

Everyone's passing each other's accents to one another. Missa finds himself slipping up saying "bewk" (book) or some shit, meanwhile Phil keeps saying stuff with a Spanish accent because of Missa and Lullah and everyone keeps adopting German words into their vocabulary because of Chayanne.

Phil and Missa are both good at pvp, they love sparring with each other and teaching the kids. Chayanne is way more into it than Lullah, but Lullah loves to learn regardless, and she loves hearing Phil infodump about strategy and timing and whatnot.

Missa and the kids will team up and get Phil on one of his Philzaing rants. They'll be like "what do you MEAN you couldn't physically carry all three of us on a flight? :(" and there Phil goes, raving about how weight matters with flying and safety and blah blah blah. And he KNOWS they're getting a rise out of him most of the time. Yet he falls for it every time.

One day,, one day we'll get a 4/4 family build project,,, They want to do it do bad,, So far it's just been 3/4 make it and the 4th is delighted to be shown it by the kids whenever they're around again. (August 2024 Edit: KILLS MYSELF)

Phil and the kids have started half-purposely obtaining as many birds as they have bc it's funny to see Missa come back from reaper duties to MORE birds that he just has to accept live there now.

The kids love Phil's crow murder to death (pun intended) and are used to interacting with them. Missa not so much. Which has made for countless funny moments. He's still bewildered that they're so attuned to throwing something shiny at him and then aggressively cawing. He doesn't understand them like Phil can.

Something something the four of them having a seance together where Lullah taps into her medium abilities to communicate with Kristin bc Goddess of Death is part of the Death Family. She loves to tease Missa (usually about Phil) and she ADORES the kids.

[shantismurf]

"The Mushroom Mine" sign by @shantismurf, with assistance from @tickles-ivory

As part of the celebration of the one year anniversary of the Bagginshield Book Club, we asked the lovely @chrononautintraining a few questions about this wonderful work.

June 2024 Author Q&A with Chrononautical

Q1. What name would you like us to use and what are your pronouns?

A1. Chrononautical or Chrono, She/Her

Q2. How many years have you been writing? 

A2. Most of my life, but posting publicly for about 15 years.

Q3. What do you think of as your writing style - are you a plotter or pantster?

A3. Pantster, primarily, though I've learned my lessons and do like to know where a story is going to end when I start it these days so I try to plot. 

Q4. What’s your favorite genre/trope to write? 

A4. Speculative fiction: stories about magic or science fiction, primarily. 

Q5. Is there a genre/trope you haven't written as much of yet that you're excited about for future writing?

A5. I'd like to do more comedy.

Q6. Was there an idea or scene that inspired A Passion for Mushrooms?

A6. Passion for Mushrooms is one hundred percent inspired by the quote I used for an epigraph: "Hobbits have a passion for mushrooms, surpassing even the greediest likings of Big People." - The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien. 

When I decided to write it, the fandom already had more than a few stories about Bilbo planting gardens and deciding to stay in Erebor with a miraculously alive Thorin. I was completely here for all of that, of course, but I wanted a story where the garden wasn't special because of gold or rare plants bought with gold. I wanted there to be a treasure that Bilbo could appreciate with the Baggins half of his heart, as well as the Tookish bit. And I know next to nothing about mountains, but I do know mushrooms do okay in caves, so... 

Q7. Did you do any special research before writing the work?

A7. If you're asking this because I go deep on How To Pluck A Chicken In A Medieval Kitchen during the cooking scenes, you're right and you should say it. I am a middling cook, but all of my ingredients come from grocery stores. I had to do a fair bit of research on the cooking aspects of the story that were furthest from my own experience. Fortunately, the professor already put tomatoes and potatoes in Middle-earth, so I didn't have to go Full Historical. 

Q8. Did the story change from how you originally envisioned it? Were there scenes or plot elements you had to cut out?

A8. It absolutely did. Because I am, as previously said, a pantster. I wanted a bigger bang for the ending of the story than I was set up to get. I could have stopped with Bilbo and Thorin getting together and had some simple falling action, but that didn't perfectly tie the subplot of Dis and Tauriel back to the main pairing, which I knew I wanted. Having Doron try to poison Bilbo was actually a late in the game choice. If I'd planned that from the start, I would have threaded him into more of the middle sections of the novel. 

As for cutting things out, the additional stories in the series started as deleted scenes/reader requests that I couldn't find use for. So most of what I cut didn't end up in the rubbish bin. Anything that wound up there really wasn't worth posting. 

Q9. Do you have a favorite moment from the entire series?

A9. I still really like "A Spy In The Shire" a lot. I know it's so self-indulgent to say that about a story focusing on an OC, but if the point of the Battle of Five Armies is to reclaim Erebor for the dwarves, then I want that to mean something. I want the average dwarf to be in a bad place. I want the average dwarf to need Erebor the way Thorin needs Erebor, to be willing to do anything to get back to the Lonely Mountain. Because if that's the case, then all the sacrifice means something. When I talk about this one luckless dwarf on the world's silliest quest to figure out how to help the king hook up with a hobbit, I'm talking about hope for the future. I'm talking about all the people who long for and dream of the home that Thorin was willing to die to reclaim. I think about them going back there and living better lives. It brings me peace.

[boldlyvoid]

Where There is Love, There is Life | Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Clandestine Meetings | for @elriel-month 2024

Summary: Elain finally takes matters into her own hands, tending to her life as carefully as she would her garden.

Warnings: requited love, mutual pining, love confessions, Smut!! Oral (fem receiving), wing play, teasing, multiple orgasms

Word Count: 6.1k | Masterlist

Dinner is weird. 

She sits across from Rhys and bites her tongue. Which isn’t abnormal for her; she’s not talkative around him. They’re friendly, they’re family, but they’re not talkative. Part of her wants to yell at him. The rest of her knows that Feyre will handle it. But the part that wants to yell is bigger. 

So, as Feyre picks up Nyx from his high chair and brings him out of the room to bathe him before bed, Elain takes her chance. 

“I know what you did,” she announces. 

The wraiths, her best friends, hear the seriousness of her tone and leave. Abandoning the dirty dishes for the safety and solitude of the kitchen. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“That night with Azriel, you made him stop,” she explains. You stepped in, you pulled him away from me. You made a decision for me, thinking it would benefit the court without considering my feelings. How many times are you going to do this? To Feyre and her family?” 

He’s shocked. He never expected her to take such a tone with him, to stand up for herself. It’s evident by the way he blinks and pulls back, thinking about what he’s done and realizing how wrong he was. Before he can speak, she continues.

“I do not like Lucien. He is a good male, sure. He’s handsome, whatever? But do I love him? No. Would you force me to marry Lucien to benefit this court? What good does he really bring to you? He’s close to Vassa and Jurian, but do you know who else? Feyre, Nesta and myself. Jurian helped Azriel save me. My father made the deal that broke Vassa away from Koschei. Lucien is just a cog in the machine; he’s there for help, but he is not the reason it works.” 

“I’m—

“And furthermore!” She cuts him off. “did you ever wonder why he spends so much time with Vassa instead of me? Have you ever considered he also doesn’t want this? If he did, he’d be here. You couldn’t stay away from Feyre, and Cassian couldn’t stay away from Nesta. No matter how much she pissed him off, he kept coming back. You fought for love. Lucien and I don’t like each other, the cauldron made a mistake, and I am sick and fucking tired of letting other people, other beings, make decisions for me. I have been controlled, kidnapped and changed all against my will. Do not force me into being unhappy for the rest of my life because it’s convenient to you.” 

Rhys takes a deep breath at the same time that she does. They just stare at each other for a moment. He asks with his eyes if it’s his turn to speak, and she motions with her hand for him to go ahead. 

“I didn’t think. Not about you,” he confirms. “My first fear wasn’t that we’d lose Lucien as emissary. It was that I could lose Azriel if he asked to fight to the death for your hand. Lucien was sleeping upstairs. If I could smell your arousal... if it had gone further and we heard you… gods know how it would’ve ended.” 

“We would’ve gone somewhere else,” she assures. “And I don’t think Lucien would do that. Seeing what his mother went through, the way he aches for standing by while Feyre dealt with Tamlin, he wouldn’t force me into something I don’t want.” 

“Azriel is my brother; I love him more than I can describe, I want him to be happy, yes, but I want him to live more than anything,” Rhys bows his head with a sigh. “How can I make this right?” 

“Turn a blind eye to us for the time being.” 

“Are you together?” 

“I’m meeting him later, hopefully. I need him to know I am in love with him. That I want him. That my choice, the biggest choice I could ever make, is to choose him as my forever. I’ll deal with Lucien later; Feyre and I have a plan for that, which she will fill you in on later tonight. It will be fine. It’s not the first time a mating bond hasn’t been the end all be all, look at Luciens own mother. She is mated to Helion and married to Baron, and they’ve never fought over it… I like to think Lucien, no matter which father he takes after more, he’d let me be in control of this because he’s seen how much control his mother lacks.” 

“So, get married.” 

“What?” Elain’s eyes almost pop out of her skull; she can’t believe what he said. 

“Marriage is as serious as a bond. I knew that once Feyre said I do to Tamlin, I wasn’t able to interfere; the bond would be there, but it would never happen. Helion does nothing because she’s married. Not because he’s afraid of Baron or because he enjoys keeping a secret. It’s something most males respect. So marry Azriel, make it official, and no one can interfere.” 

“H-how?” She asks, still reeling from the idea. 

“Feyre and I got married right before we went to get the cauldron, right before you were changed,” he explains with a solemn look on his face. Taking another deep breath, he says, “I knew no matter what happened, by marrying her and making her our high lady, my court would be taken care of, and if I died, I died a happy, married man. But it came in handy when she went back with Tamlin.” 

Elain nods. “So… what? We just walk into a temple, and a priestess marries us? We don’t need anyone there to witness it? It just becomes official?” 

“They will have a second priestess there to witness it,” Rhys assures. You can do it alone, in the middle of the night… or you can do it here, in the garden, with your closest friends and family, and we will keep it a secret until you want to tell Lucien.” 

She nods along, slowly taking it all in. “I think… I think I want to talk to Az first. Make sure we’re on the same page.” 

“You are,” Rhys smiles, that genuine, toothy, Rhys smile. “He almost beat the shit out of me because I told him to stay away. He put rocks in the fucking snowballs the next day.”

 Elain laughs, blushing slightly as she shakes her head, “I love him so much; if you hadn’t stepped in, I was going to tell him that night.” 

“I’m sorry. Truly sorry. You happiness, your future, your love, that’s all up to you. I won’t step in again, unless you need me, because we’re family,” he reminds her. “It’s been so long since I had a sister— and don’t tell Nesta I said this, but— I love you both, even if I have a weird way of showing it.” 

Elain laughs, “You and Nesta butt heads like you’ve been siblings for 500 years. You both love so strongly, and you’re so afraid of people you love thinking the worst of you that it comes out in screaming matches and shoves. But she loves you; I know she does. If not because of Feyre, because of Cassian and how you kept him safe as a boy.” 

“If I could go back in time and do it all again, I’d simply go find him sooner.” 

It breaks her heart what the boys went through before meeting Rhys. Even if they hated each other for the first little bit, they saved each other—again and again and again. 

“I, uh, I’m going to go settle down for the night,” she announces as she stands up. “Thank you for understanding and for the advice.” 

He nods, “I’m always here for you, Elain. For anything.” 

—

He gets there early. 

He winnows to the townhouse garden. Sitting at the little picnic table in the dark, he contemplates bringing out some candles and making the garden brighter, but he also doesn’t want to draw attention to the townhouse. It’s known to be unoccupied currently, and the last thing he wants is for someone to ask Rhys why the lights were on tonight. 

He sends the shadows out to watch the house and alert him when Elain is at the front door. She has a key, she’s allowed in the warding, and she’ll be here as quickly as she can walk over from the river house. So he sends another shadow to watch the path she would take to ensure her safety. 

He can tell it's midnight from the moon's position; he stares up at the stars, wanting to memorize where they were the day he finally told Elain the truth—that he loves her more than he could ever properly explain, but he’ll try. He’ll tell her everything tonight, even if it’s almost a year too late.

Elain clears her throat, alerting him that she’s arrived and startling him. “How did you—

“I can winnow,” she shrugs. “How do you think I was able to stab that asshole so fast?” 

He lets out a small laugh, shaking his head before taking her in. He looks her up and down, and his heart skips a beat. In her deep blue dress, it might even be purple in daylight, but in the moonlight, it’s blue—his favourite shade of blue on his favourite person in the whole world. 

He smiles then, “I figured it was a heat of the moment power serge… Feyre had the same problem with her powers when she was learning; if she got too excited, angry, or… lustful, she could freeze, burn, blind, or disappear.” 

She nods, stepping closer to the table. " It was a shock that first time, but I kept learning. Nuala and Cerridwen helped me; they’ve taught me a lot." 

He smirks, shaking his head slightly, “I should’ve known you 3 would be dangerous together.” 

She giggles that beautiful, miraculous giggle. She sits across from him, “Yeah, well, I’m going to have to learn how to be dangerous if I’m going to be married to you, shadowsinger.” 

Everything stops. His breathing, his heart, the noise of the night in the city—it’s all gone. 

“Excuse me?” It falls out of him. 

She just smiles, big and toothy, her head slightly cocked to the side her eyes gleaming. It’s the same smile Feyre gives Rhys. He knows it well. She’s in love with him. 

“I gave Rhysand a talking to for stepping in last year. I… I want to make the choice of who I end up with, who I love. And while the cauldron was right for my sisters, the choice it made for me wasn’t right. I don’t agree, and I am putting my foot down. I’m taking my future into my own hands.” 

He nods along, “Okay.” 

“I love you. I want you. I need you.” Her voice lowers on the last line. She looks at him through her lashes and smirks slightly. “So marry me. Make me yours as much as you are mine, and together, we can deal with whatever that brings.” 

That was the last thing he expected tonight. However, he had dreamed about this moment… just a little differently. He was going to ask her about the continent during a trip to the Botanical Garden in Vallahan, somewhere she’d talked about visiting since she learned of it 2 years ago. 

“Tonight?” He asks, “Alone?” 

She shrugs, “If you want that. Rhys also suggested we do it in the garden at their house, with just a small group of us, so that it can stay a secret until we can tell Lucien.” 

“What if he—

“He’ll take it well. I think he’ll be just as relieved to know I don’t want him as I will be to know he doesn’t want me either,” she explains. “I have a feeling he stays with Vassa for more reasons than just that she understands him. I think he fell in love with her.” 

“That… that would make sense,” Azriel agrees. “He is very opinionated about breaking her curse and he would do anything for her the same way I would for you.” 

Her eyes light right up again, so big the stars reflect in her pupils. “So you love me?”

He lets out a deep breath, staring deeply into her eyes. Reaching out over the table, he takes her beautiful hands. “So much that it feels like my heart could explode. I never, ever thought I could feel like this and I’ve been alive—

“Forever?” She teases, squeezing his hand. 

He laughs, “a long time, yes. And in all those years I’ve never believed it could happen to me. To be loved the way I love someone, to feel like I deserve it… you make me feel worthy. You make me feel good. I just hope that my love brings something as meaningful to you as yours has brought to me.” 

“Oh, Az,” she drops his hand and rushes around the table; he meets her halfway. “You make me feel so powerful and strong and… and me. I’ve never felt more like myself than when I’m with you. You don’t make decisions for me, you don’t talk over me, you don’t talk down to me… you’re so wonderful and strong and powerful, yet you respect me as if I’m exactly as powerful. You respect me, you care for me, you are an extension of me at this point. I love you with my whole soul.” 

He cups her jaw and pulls her back to look down at her; every hair on his body stands up with anticipation as he stares into her eyes. The last time they were this close he fucked it all up. “I never meant what I said that night. You weren’t a mistake; Rhys made me feel like I was making one… You’d never be a mistake.” 

“I know,” she whispers softly, looking from his eyes to his lips. “Kissing you wouldn’t have been the mistake, trying to pretend we weren’t together behind everyones backs would’ve been. Loving you proudly, out loud and in front of everyone is what you deserve. What we deserve.” 

“What we both deserve,” he agrees before pulling her in and pressing his lips against hers. 

—

The second his lips touch hers, the world stops. Her eyes close in an instant. She wraps herself around him just as his big hands grasp her back and tug her in so they’re chest to chest. She hums against him, safe and content, where she’s always wanted to be—where she’s always meant to be. 

This is what she wanted last solstice; all those same feelings come rushing back. Her arousal coursed through her; she wanted him more than air, and as she took in a deep breath from her nose, she could tell he wanted her just as bad. His tongue slides over her bottom lip, begging for access to more of her mouth, so she lets him in. Tasting his tongue, exploring his mouth, feeling up his back as he cradles her head and holds her so carefully like she could break. Pressed against him, his leg juts out between her legs just right for her to gently grind upon. 

His hands slip down to her ass as he pulls her hips closer until she feels the outline of his cock pressed against her. She moans into his mouth and that heady and delicious scent comes pouring from him in response. He wants her just as badly as she wants him. Heat floods her body; she lifts a leg to wrap around him and pull him in even closer and to her surprise, he pushes the material of her dress up to grip her bare leg right under the knee and hold her there. 

He kisses down the side of her neck, growling lightly, “fuck, Elain, your scent is going to be the death of me.” 

She tilts her head to the side, holding onto his massive shoulders for dear life as he nips and sucks at her skin. “Az,” she moans his name. “It’s all for you. Always you.” 

He licks from her collarbone up to her ear, “you even taste like jasmine and honey.” 

“More,” she breathes out. “Taste me more?” 

He groans again, “let's get you to a bed—

“No!” she stops him, staring back into his eyes. “I want to do it here, where I fell in love with you.” 

“Right here?” 

She nods, “In the garden where you healed me… I have some blankets.” She waves her hand, and suddenly, there’s a pile of quilts and furs laid upon the ground, surrounded by lanterns and candles. “All I want is for you to take me in the flowers we planted together.” 

“Elain,” he cups her face. “Anything you want, from now until forever, I will give it to you.” 

“Then come on,” she smirks, taking his hand to lead him to the blankets. 

She makes him sit first, leaning back on his hands with his wings slightly spread— enough to show off but not enough to knock anything over and set the garden ablaze. She hikes up her dress just enough to straddle his lap. The light, satin fabric pools around her hips, cascading over them. She cups his face once more as he wraps his arms gently around her. 

“Are you sure?” He worries. 

She nods, “I took the tonic this morning after breakfast, I’ve wanted to do this for a while— tell you that is, not... you know? Well…” 

He smirks, “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, too.” 

“How long has it been for you?” She wonders, almost regretting it. 

“Since I met you… even before that. I think it might be five years now. Near the end of Amarantha’s reign, my shadows alerted me to what was happening all over, and I was too nervous to partake in anything fun.” 

She nods, " As much as I hate her, I’m grateful she brought us together.” 

He brushes her hair back behind her ear and cups her cheek, “I would’ve waited 500 more years for you.” 

“And I would’ve come back, again and again and again, until our paths crossed.” 

He gently cups her body and flips them around, resting her against the blankets and hovering over her. “I know something else you can do again and again for me.” 

She knows exactly what he means, “Oh, please?” She begs. “I’ve never… but I want to.” 

“Never?” His eyes widen in shock. 

“Never…”

“Well then, at least we get to share at least 1 first each tonight.” She looks at him, confused. “You’ll get to cum, and I get to be loved. Truly loved.” 

“Oh,” she swoons. “I do love you; I love you so much.” 

“Let me show you just how much I love you,” he coos, leaning back in to kiss her lips. 

With her dress still hiked up, the bulge in his pants pressed directly against her underclothes. He feels so remarkable, both against her and as his tongue reenters her mouth. 

Before she can get into it again, he kisses her lips one last time, and he shuffles down between her legs even more. He kisses her neck, shoulder, and collarbones, “can I?” He whispers against her skin, hand tracing the bodice of her dress, over her pebbled nipples and up towards the straps. 

“Yes,” she moans. “Touch me, Azriel.” 

He makes a pleased sound, almost a purr against her, as he pushes her straps off her shoulders and pulls the dress down to her middle. Watching as her breasts become free from their silky prison and fall away from each other with the weight of them. He takes two handfuls, his scared hands carefully gripping them as she arches towards his touch. She never thought too much about her breasts, thinking they were a fine size, not too big and not too small… looking at them now, in his hands, she realized they were made for this. To fit perfectly in the palms of her lover's hands, her one true love's hands. 

Then, he grips her tits, pushing them together, and kisses her right nipple, then the left and then he lets them go. Gravity separates them enough for him to kiss the centre of her chest and down her stomach until he’s lying between her legs. Tugging at the dress once more, she lifts her hips to help him slide it off of her, down her legs and abandoned on the blankets beside them. 

He kisses her stomach again, hands sliding along her thighs as he pushes them apart even more. Resting between them, he presses a kiss right to the fabric in the centre of her underwear. “Are you 100% positive you want this?” 

“Yes, Azriel,” she breathes out, assuring him one last time before he starts to pull her panties right off. 

She’d dreamed about this moment, the way he’d look up at her with greedy, lust-blown eyes just as he kissed the most sensitive part of her.

She’s had the unfortunate experience of hearing her sisters with their mates, thinking they were overexaggerating their noises just to stroke their Illyrian egos. She had no idea it was this good. 

His tongue glides along her quim, slowly savouring the taste of her slick. She reached for him, resting on one elbow as her free hand ran through his hair. He looked up into her eyes, smirking as he sucked on her, causing her to gasp. “Oh gods,” she whined, just as he growled against her. The vibration radiates through her body. 

She had never felt like this. The heat in her veins danced through her body, sparking like her favourite wine. She arched off the bed, pushing herself closer to him; she wanted more. She wanted all of it—all of him. 

The way his hands gripped her thighs, holding her open as he dragged his tongue over her once more before plunging his tongue right into her. She gasped, not expecting it. She had read about this, having stolen one of Nesta’s books when she was a teenager… but this, this was far more intimate, more intense than she expected. His nose brushed against that bundle of nerves as his tongue turned inside her. Fucking her with his tongue, reaching a place inside of her that no one else had. 

She swore she closed her eyes at the feeling, yet she could still see stars. Whining and moaning as her hips undulated to meet his movements, she didn’t care if the whole city heard them. The world should know that the shadow singer of the night court was hers, dedicated to her pleasure, and had promised himself to her for the rest of his life. 

If this was anything to go by, she knew a good half of that remaining lifespan would be spent here. In her bed, between her thighs, inside her. Where he belonged. 

Pressing a hand to her stomach, he held her down as he withdrew his tongue, going back up to her clit to flick his tongue against it. She cried out, feeling bubbling in her gut, lower than that… in her womb. Closer than she’d ever been in her life, she knew she was close to experiencing her first orgasm. Giving it to him would be a blessing— without any warning, he slipped a finger into her. 

Breathing against her, he looked up to see her reaction as she looked down at him with pure shock on her face. “I’m going to need to stretch you,” he explained. “You’ll need to be prepared for me.” 

She tossed her head back, “sweet fuck,” she moaned. “I knew it…” 

He chuckled against her, “knew what?” 

“Illyrian wingspans…” she tried to explain as he fucked her with his finger, kissing her clit over and over as he watched her. “They—gods— they’re indicators of size in other— other places.” 

He hums, “That they are.” 

She moaned again as he curled his finger, gently rubbing a spot inside of her that made those stars behind her eyes explode into blinding white light. That moan became a scream of pleasure as something foreign coursed through her body, making her shake and writhe against the blankets. 

He coaxed her through it; behind the ringing in her ears, she could tell he was praising her. “Good girl, there it is; let it go.” 

She couldn’t catch her breath, panting with her hand gripped to her breast, her chest heaved. “Was that?” She asked, not able to use any more words; her brain felt like it melted in her skull. 

He hums against her thigh, pressing kisses there as she calms down, finger still inside her. “It was… you look beautiful when you cum.” 

She just lay there, looking up at the stars again. “Holy fuck.” 

He withdrew his finger then, and she felt his tongue back on her hole, lapping up her release. He groaned, “You taste even better.” 

Her legs still quaked as she sat up slightly, looking down at him again. His eyes were blown out with lust, so impossibly dark… his wings spread out, fluttering and twitching every now and then as he kept licking at her. “Are you… are you sure I need more stretching?” 

He nods, “Just 2 more fingers… give me 5 minutes?” 

“Okay,” she smiles. “I can’t wait to have you back up here.” 

“Oh,” he softens at that. “Here,” he offers; getting to his knees, he crawls over her. Keeping her thighs apart with a knee, his fingers dance over her sensitive clit and down to her hole. Leaning over her, he’s so close to her now. She can smell herself on his face; a husky jasmine essence covers him. “I can multitask.” 

She wraps her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down into a kiss. Tasting herself… he wasn’t wrong. She hums in his mouth; she could get used to this. And then there are two fingers working their way into her. Slowly, knuckle by knuckle, he was right about needing to stretch her because even this is a lot. She has to stop the kiss, breathing against him, “How in the world are your fingers so big?” 

He laughs against her, dropping his forehead to her shoulder. He rests on his elbow, yet he’s still able to brush her hair off her face. All of him is huge, actually. He makes her feel so small, not in a bad way. She likes it. She likes how delicate she feels under him, knowing she’ll always be protected, especially as his big wings stretch out and hide them from the world. 

She reaches out for his wings, brushing her fingers from the talon and down along the membrane. He shutters, bucking his hips against her legs. “You did that on purpose,” he groans. 

She smirks, “oh, does it feel good?” She teases. “I had no idea.” 

He bites her shoulder, making her yelp. He drags his tongue over the bite mark and then blows on it lightly, sending shivers down her entire body. Her nipples get even harder, somehow. He kisses from her shoulder to her chest, sucking her nipple into his mouth and sucking gently. He pumps his fingers in and out of her with more fervour, his thumb ghosting over her clit to see if she’s still too sensitive for more. She isn’t. She’s craving more of him all over again. 

Curling his fingers again, his rhythm changed ever so slightly to rub that spot inside of her as he thrusts. She can hear how wet she is and feel it slipping out of her to pool on the sheets. When it all starts to feel a bit too much again, he slows down, withdraws all the way and starts to work in another finger. 

She hisses; it’s more than she’s ever had inside of her. Her first time wasn’t anything too spectacular; Greyson was a typical, average human man. Nothing, absolutely nothing compared to Azriel. With his wings and his fingers… oh, she was in for a world of pleasure after the hurt subsided. 

“You can take it,” he whispers in her ear, cooking her through it. Sucking on her neck gently, he presses his thumb into her clit for added pleasure. Knowing exactly what he’s doing, she eases up and relaxes just enough to let him in all the way. “Good girl.” 

The phrase makes her brain fuzzy. She reels in the praise; it’s not often she’s complimented like this. She brushes a hand over his wing again, “Az…” 

Deep from within, he purrs against her again, “Yes, sweetheart?” 

“I’m good— ready, I’m ready,” she rushes out. “Please?” 

He smiles, pulling away from her breasts, hovering over her; he keeps pumping into her. Scissoring his fingers slightly, stretching her even more before he pulls out. “Are you sure?” 

She nods like her head is on a spring,  “yes, Az, please?” 

“Say it,” he orders, grinning like a devil, still fucking her with his fingers. “Tell what you want.” 

“Fuck me,” she breathes out. “I want you to fuck me.” 

“I can do that,” he teases, pulling out of her and sitting up on his knees. He’s quick to suck her juices off each one. Savouring the taste, his eyes roll back in his head slightly. He groans, pulling them out with a pop sound, “I’m never going to get enough of how you taste.” 

She props herself up on her elbows, staring at him with her head cocked to the side. Her eyes drag over his body, over his tight black shirt and down towards the strain in his pants. “Are you going to stay clothed all night?” 

With the snap of his fingers, he’s naked in front of her. So, so naked… her jaw drops at the sight of him. She’d seen him shirtless many times when he was working out on top of the house of wind or resting with Cassian in the backyard… she’d daydreamed about what he’d look like under the belt, but nothing compares to the real thing. 

She quickly closed her mouth, swallowing before she could drool and embarrass herself. She reaches out for him, hand on his abs, she follows the bumps and ridges with her fingers, tracing over his skin causing him to breakout in goosebumps. She stops at the tuft of hair that usually peaks out of his training leathers. “Wow…” 

His cock twitches, standing tall and pointing towards her, head gleaming as a pearl of precum dribbles out of him. Her hand drifts further down, tentatively gripping him at the base as she makes eye contact. Her fingers barely meet her thumb. He’s that thick and long… holy gods, she would take this. Again and again and again for the rest of her life. 

She gets to her knees, still not as tall as him, stroking him lightly. Looking into his eyes, she deeply breathes, “Make love to me, Azriel.”

He lunges for her, kissing her hard, passionately. Hand at the nape of her neck, he caresses her with his thumb as his tongue meets hers once more. She would never tire of how he kissed her and savoured her, as if every kiss would be their last. His other hand rests on her lower back, pulling her in closer so their bare chests touch. She settles against him, letting go of his cock so she can wrap her arms around him and feel his back muscles, tracing gently around where his wings meet skin. 

He whimpers into her mouth, nipping at her lip before pulling back, “lay back.” 

She listens, quickly finding the most comfortable spot against the blankets, her head resting on a makeshift pillow of folded fur. With her legs spread, she watches him kneel between her legs once more, dropping over her, hands on either side of her, and caging her in. He looks at her like a meal, like he’s been starving for half a millennium. 

Which, in a way, he has been.

Starved for love. 

“I love you,” she whispers, reaching for him again. She cups his face. “I love you so much, Azriel.”

Fighting back what looks to be tears, he smiles, “I love you, Elain Archeron.” 

“I’m ready when you are?” 

“Okay,” he whispers; reaching between them, he gathers some of her wetness and rubs her clit for good measure. She bites her lip with a moan, still relaxed and happy and okay… so he slips in slowly. Inch by inch, watching himself disappear inside of her. It’s intoxicating to watch him watch her, but the feeling, the stretch… it’s far too good to stay focused. 

He’s just hovering over her, completely inside of her, staring into her eyes while they take in the moment together. “You’re inside of me,” she whispers with a smile. 

“I am,” he can’t help but laugh slightly, entirely in love with her. “Can I move?” 

“Please?” she grips his shoulders for good measure, pulling out just enough to push back in again and again and again until he builds a beautiful rhythm that she adores. With her head lulled back, he kisses her neck and jaw, using everything in his power not to completely cover her in marks where the whole city could see tomorrow. 

“Can you, can—“ she tries to talk, feeling too much to string much along. “Touch me… in that spot?” she begs, not wanting to say such a crude word out loud. 

“Your clit?” He teases. “Of course.” Using his thumb, he rubs her clit while the rest of his flat hand rests on her pubic bone. He can almost feel himself with each trust, and it’s just as intense for her. 

It’s everything she ever wanted and then some, more beautiful than any experience she could read in a book or imagine late at night… and usually he was the star of those dreams that felt like this. And now he’s real, and here and between her legs, making her feel more than ever before; she’s so fucking close again. 

“Az,” she whispers, getting his attention back, “kiss me?” 

She doesn’t have to ask twice; he kisses her hard and passionately, thrusting into her with precision and dedication to make sure she has a good time. He would be damned if he came before her, so he rubs her clit faster and fucks her deeper and kisses her harder. It’s all so much, her thighs are trebling again and she knows it’s going to happen, she wants to warn him but it feels too good to kiss him and hold him while he takes her there. And he feels it too, she knows he does by the way he whimpers against her mouth, “close?” He mumbles. 

She nods, “please?” 

“Cum baby,” he encourages her, feeling her clench around him, pulsing around his cock as she releases, just like she did on his fingers. “Good girl,” he praises, bucking his hips into her and withdrawing his hand from her clit. He wraps his arms around her, fucking her gently and with intent as he chases his own high. His wings spread wide, splayed out so fast that all the candles are extinguished by the gust of wind. 

“Oh Elain,” he whispers, “oh, I love you, I love you so fucking much,” he groans as he cums, shaking on top of her. 

She runs her hands over his back, touching that spot where his skin meets his wing—where she now knows he likes it—coaxing him through it all. It feels so much more intense than either of them expected. 

He still’s inside of her, panting in her ear gently between each kiss to her neck. He just wants to hold her, he could fall asleep after how incredible it was, but then she starts to shake again, and it’s not because she’s cumming. 

She’s crying, holding him tightly with her cheek pressed to the side of his head, “I love you.” 

“I love you, sweetheart,” he lifts himself up enough to look down at her, feeling himself start to tear up as well. “So, so much,” he feels the tear trickle down his cheek and land on her chest. 

She pulls him into another kiss, holding his cheeks in her hands. She breathes him in deeply. “Thank you,” she whispers afterward. 

“We’re even,” he teases with a smile, wiping her tears. “Thank you.” 

@greenleaf777 @lostvillainess

General Taglist 

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @squishyturtle @katsukis1wife @buckleyhans @mrs-ssa-hotch @ssavanessa22

[reticulating-splines]

WIP

Le Federaliste - 1790s-1810 french-influenced federalist mansion w/outbuildings, CC

Exterior progress- 2024

So although I've been working on this build off-and-on since 2022 and I'm sure it looks very finished on the outside, I'd still only consider it about 45% done overall. The lot itself is too small for the outbuildings I'd planned (a stables and separated kitchen), so it has to be moved again. I've procrastinated this essential task by working on the details of the main house instead, and this is the result.

I added a second row of dormers and a clocktower with a belfry for the fourth floor. The dormers and clocktower all have glass roofs and act as lightwells for the third floor servant's dormitories, the tower being a staff lounge of sorts. The new dormers under the clocktower add light to the servant's washrooms. And of course the third floor also has access to an open air terrace on each end of the house for gardening.

[knightsistersblog]

Tyler makes nice with Kate's mom, Javi comes to apologize, and Kate's plan comes to fruition

“In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.” ― Rose Tremain

The kitchen was bright, and welcoming. She saw her mother first, seated at the table, a fresh brewed coffee warmed between her palms. “Mmmhm, morning, smells fantastic,” she glanced out the window, noticing how the flowers in the garden seemed to be in full bloom, their colors so vivid and cheerful. “Thanks, mom,” Kate gave her mom a light kiss.

“Oh, don’t thank me,” Cathy said with a grin, as she lifted the cup of coffee to her lips and tilted it back.

Tyler turned away from the stove, hot skillet in hand, and that’s when Kate noticed; “Well hell-o there, Sleeping Beauty,” he panned out two over-medium eggs onto Cathy’s plate, flashed a wide-toothed smile at Kate, and turned back to the stove, “Grab yourself a plate. Hey, how do you like your eggs?”

Kate chuckled and moved to grab a plate from the cupboard, “Scrambled, please,” she replied, sinking into a chair on the other side of the table; her stomach rumbled.

[thequeenofterror]

Dear SONG SUNYOUNG,

You are cordially invited to a private gathering this Sunday, the 21st of July. It is a dinner among old friends, and it will be just like old times. The dinner will be held at Shin Junpyo’s mansion on Jeju Island. Dinner will be served strictly at 7.30pm. Your attendance is expected by 6pm.

Don’t be late.

P.S. Do yourself a favor and burn this letter once you have read and understood the terms. We don’t want to piss the alums off, now do we?

Best regards,

YOUR KING, 2016

tch.

she quickly walks across her apartment as her eyes take in each word in the letter once again. as per custom, once she has memorized every detail, she first shreds the paper, then hurries to the kitchen where she burns it in the same particular bowl, and finally sets it aside to be used by the family gardener in making compost. simple and ritualistic.

sunyoung makes some green tea and sits by the large window next to the paper shredder, but it’s the afterthought that leaves a bitter taste in her mouth instead. your king, 2016. out of all club members, why him? and why such a pompous invitation? just like old times, she almost laughs to herself. as if they were a lovely bunch of misfits who had done nothing more than gone through the ups and downs of college life together. as if there are that many nice memories to reminisce about. as if the chessmasters are friends. 

despite already being irritated by the mere notion of seeing them all again in one room, she clears her schedule to make sure she can make it. of course. it might be a stupid idea to attend, but it would be even worse to let them make decisions behind her back.

she sits and sulks for a while longer, then rolls her eyes at herself and gets up to go about the rest of her day. we don’t want to piss the alums off, now do we? she scoffs. why is no one ever worried about pissing her off anymore? 

[ ooc : headcanons / possible thread points for the 2024 part of the event! ]

sunyoung knows shin junpyo and she’d been to the mansion once, years before, where she had a chance to get to know her nominee jung yoojin better. this all hits particularly close to home for her.

sunyoung was already annoyed about the whole thing before even arriving in jeju - there aren’t that many good memories for her from her time as a chessmaster and she dreads having to see everybody together again in the same room.

on top of that, her letter came signed as “your king, 2016”, her ex-fiancé. needless to say, that didn’t exactly make things better.

once arriving at the mansion and seeing all the similarities to the 2016 event, she is fully pissed off and will pick arguments with any and everyone and so much as looks her sort of wrong. for context, when hyungseo drowned and everyone blamed yoojin for the accident, some of that blame also fell on her as the one who nominated yoojin for the club; she lost alliances that day for standing up for yoojin, and it still haunts her to this day.

she is going to maybe possibly make tian fall in the pool right before dinner after accusing him of planning this entire ordeal (and she won’t be sorry for it)

she is definitely going to get into more fights during dinner time so if you want a screaming match with her, hit me up!

[spyxfamilyanalysis]

Spy × Family analysis (English)

Analyzing the anime's all episodes with English subtitles~

I decided to do an observation & analysis of the currently famous anime Spring 2022 SPY × FAMILY. After my previous-of-previous-of-whatever-previous post, I continued watching the episodes, started thinking about analyzing them, and see if there are any spoilers or interesting facts.

This main post consists of: analysis of full episodes; facts & opinions about chapters & series, characters, ships (if possible); forms to support blog's activity (currently closed); my arts including my OCs, S×F characters (if possible); answers for ask box; help requests & instructions, and other stuffs.

Spy × Family: Season 1, 2, and Movie

Episodes/ Missions:

Season 1: 25 episodes: 1-25

Season 2: 12 episodes: 26-37

Operation Strix [part 1] [part 2.1] [part 2.2] [part 2.3]

Secure a Wife [part 1] [part 2.1] [part 2.2]

Prepare for the Entrance Exam

Interview for the Prestigious School

Pass or Fail

Operation Buddy-Buddy

Target: The Second son

The Counter-Secret Police Cover Operation

Show Off How in Love You Are

The Great Dodgeball Plan

Stella

Penguin Park

Project Apple

Disarm the Time Bomb

A New Family Member

Yor's Kitchen/ The Informant's Great Romance Plan

Carry Out the Griffin Plan/ Fullmetal Lady/ Omelet Rice ❤️

Uncle the Private Tutor/ Daybreak

A Revenge Plot Against Desmond/ Mother Becomes the Wind

Investigate the General Hospital/ Decipher the Perplexing Code

Nightfall/ First Fit of Jealousy

Underground Tennis Tournament: The Campbelldon

The Unwavering Path

The Role of a Mother and Wife/ Shopping with Friends

First Contact

Follow Mama and Papa

Bond's Strategy to Stay Alive/ Damian's Field Research Trip

Mission and Family

The Pastry of Knowledge/ The Informant's Great Romance Plan II

Plan to Cross the Border

The Fearsome Luxury Cruise Ship

Who Is This Mission For?

The Symphony Upon the Ship

The Hand That Connects to the Future

Enjoy the Resort to the Fullest/ Bragging About Vacation

Berlint in Love/ Nightfall's Daily Life

Part of the Family

Movie: Spy × Family Code: White (Japan: December 22, 2023, theatrical release in the United States (and the rest of North America): April 19, 2024)

Facts & Opinion: first announcement, second announcement, (1), (2), (3), (4), spoilers for (5), (5) Twilight/ Loid Forger (Part 1), (6), (7) Twilight/Loid Forger (Part 2), Chapter 96 opinion, Chapter 97 & 98 (Part 1), Chapter 103

Google forms: Spy x Family analysis: A small survey, SPY x FAMILY: Questions of choices~

Arts: Christmas 2022 Thank you 37 followers, Christmas 2023 (main blog), Update my OC as spies (Spoilers), Spoilers OCs: hair colors, Post before official art coming out, OC art spies+Bonus, (Not art) funny meme (?), Happy birthday to me (18), OC doodles

Votes: Anya Forger or the Garden, OC art spy edition, Spoilers OCs: hair colors

Help request: Drafts posts & Art collaborations!!!

Instructions if you can't click the links above, Sh*tpost abt the instruction

Ask box: The Desmonds and Project + addition in reblog

Some important news that might affect my future

I have added the link of the posts above so you can look for them much easier. Moreover, please check other reblog posts from other Spy × Family fans as they also go deep in the anime and manga and "contribute" to the Anime World of Art with amazing artworks of Spy × Family.

Thank you for 105 followers everyone!~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author(me)'s words: Don't worry, I don't change anything much from the pin post. I just remake it, since there are some weird errors (?) when I tried to update and change the pin post (I posted it on June 21 2022)

-> Pin post Vietnamese version

[esconpanache]

Discover Modern Living at Escon Panache Smart Luxury Villas in Greater Noida

Welcome to Escon Panache Smart Luxury Villas in Greater Noida, where luxury living meets modern convenience. These exquisite 4 BHK villas are thoughtfully designed to provide a perfect blend of sophistication and comfort, making them an ideal choice for discerning families.

One of the most appealing aspects of Escon Panache is the array of modern amenities available to residents. Each villa is equipped with a state-of-the-art smart home automation system, allowing you to control lighting, security, and climate settings effortlessly from your Smartphone. This advanced technology ensures your home is not only luxurious but also highly functional.

The villas feature spacious, open-plan living areas that are perfect for family gatherings and entertaining guests. The modern kitchen boasts high-end appliances and generous storage, ensuring effortless meal preparation. The bedrooms are crafted as serene sanctuaries, featuring expansive windows that bathe the spaces in natural light and provide breathtaking views.

Fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the fully equipped gym, which features the latest exercise machines and free weights, allowing you to maintain your fitness routine without leaving the community. The swimming pool offers a refreshing escape on warm days, and the beautifully landscaped gardens provide a tranquil setting for morning walks or evening relaxation.

Escon Panache places a strong emphasis on security, with 24/7 surveillance and a dedicated security team ensuring the safety of all residents. The gated community offers peace of mind and privacy, making it an ideal place to raise a family.

In addition to its luxurious amenities, Escon Panache boasts excellent location connectivity. Situated in Greater Noida, the villas offer easy access to major highways, schools, shopping centers, and healthcare facilities. This prime location ensures that all your daily needs are within easy reach, while also providing quick connections to the bustling city life of Delhi and Noida.

Experience the ultimate in modern living at Escon Panache Smart LuxuryVillas – where luxury, convenience, and connectivity come together seamlessly.

Visit:-https://esconpanache.com/

Ref:-https://esconpanachevilla.blogspot.com/2024/07/discover-modern-living-at-escon-panache.html

Location: Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

[askwhatsforlunch]

Kitchen Garden Plan For 2024 (Part I)

Here is my Kitchen Garden Plan For 2024! As usual, I started dreaming about it since Mid-Winter!

I actually planted the overgrown, sprouted potatoes much earlier this time, in November! I was so chuffed with the delicious Potato Harvest I had last year, I could not wait to repeat the experiment. And now, in late April, there is a beautifully green and leafy patch in the Lasagna Garden [(Update One) (Update Two) (Update Three) (Update Four)], almost ready for a New Potato harvest!

On late Winter days, when the weather held, I worked a bit on the Veg Patch Extension, tilling. I've been away in New Zealand for most of March, but since returning on the 1st of April, I've generously fed it compost, wood ashes and Leaf Mould. And appropriately, there is a kūmara (sweet potato) growing in the middle of it! Kūmara, which the first Māori who settled in Aotearoa (New Zealand) had brought from their Polynesian Islands and successfully grown in a very different climate is historically and culturally important to Māori iwi, as well as being delicious!

I remain as ambitious as ever, and have decided to try growing courgettes, and more varieties of tomatoes (Marmande and Pineapple).  Whilst last year's purple Beans were a resounding success, the aubergines were not! I have thus sowed them inside, and shall plant their seedlings in a sunnier spot alongside Marigolds and calendula to repel aphids and other pests, and to attract bees and pollinators and make the Patch look pretty!

I have sowed a bunch of other seeds inside this month, in egg boxes, both from packets I bought and seeds I collected (from Red Kuri Squash, Bell Peppers, Chilli Peppers, Butternut Squash and Cantaloupes!)  and I am watching them grow, watering them and tending to them, until it’s warm enough  to plant seedlings and sow seeds in the Kitchen Garden.

This is the Veg Patch part of my Kitchen Garden Plan for 2024. In black, are fruits, herbs, flowers and vegetables grown from seeds (either sown inside and planted as seedlings, or sown directly in the Patch), in blue, vegetables I am growing from scraps, and in red, the date I planted or sowed them outside.

Happy Gardening, friends!

[gard3nias]

02 | Ying Yang

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wc: 4.28k

date: 27/04/2024

quick summary: oc and cleo hang out all day at a field; oc meets cleo's cats; oc and cleo childhood flashback

mdi // masterlist // playlist

—Now Playing: Fuel To Fire by Agnes Obel✫

Dogs barked. Whether it was Loki, Luke or some other dog was unknown to Daphne. Stones crunched underneath her shoes as she closed the gate behind herself.

She was heading to Cleo's place, a few steps away from her house, on the left side of the neighbourhood. As she proceeded on the road, the place gradually got more silent enhancing the crunching sound of stones. Birds tweeted, wind chimes rang and the breeze softly blew between her hair strokes, underneath her wide shirt, against her skin. 

Everything was so perfect. Did nature plan it? Plan that this day, the exact day she'd move here, the weather was going to be this beautiful, the people were going to be this nice and everything was going to be this fucking perfect?

The ambience was a blessing in all ways possible. Not to talk about how she felt like strolling on the road in the countryside with the privilege of silence. From when she stepped foot here, her smile has never vanished. It was always there and would only increase or decrease but never disappear. It seemed like it wouldn't leave even if she'd go to bed.

As far as Daphne was involved, the house in front of her was the second biggest if not the biggest house in the neighbourhood. The area was dead silent as if the house wasn't in the same neighbourhood as hers.

The two-story edifice was set in the centre of a wide green land. The frontage was split in two by the front door; on either side were wide arched windows. The top floor had a wide arched window only in the centre while on either side were casement windows. All were as brown as the roof contrasting with the white exterior walls.

A wide green space between the gate and the house was traced in the middle by a stone path. The left and the right were gardens—the latter was more flourished than the other.

Since Cleo only had cats, no dogs were running up to the gate like Loki and Luke do so there was nothing that interrupted the silence as Daphne rang the bell. She slipped her hands into her pockets, squeezing her shoulders in not because of the cold but because of the usual shyness that overwhelms her whenever she's somewhere she doesn't know.

As she turned right to glimpse around, the breeze blew a bit stronger, moving the hair off her face, messing her shirt a bit more, and shaking the swing hanging by the tall tree in Cleo's compound. Her attention was soon carried back to the house from where Cleo came out, hurrying to the gate.

"Hey!" she cheerfully spoke. Daphne shily waved back before she went in. No more stone crunching sounds as she walked on the wide flat stones that paved the way to the front door. 

Leaving the shoes by the door, they went in and closed the door behind them. The interior was very bright, lit by the tall windows. The walls were the same as the exterior ones. The pavement was light brown. Just like Daphne's home, the bottom floor was a singular wide space where the kitchen, dining room and living room coexisted. The kitchen was on the left—the light colours of the furnishing made it shine brighter; in between the latter and the dining room was the living room composed of three detached sofas enclosing the fireplace upon which the TV was hanging.

As Daphne went down the two steps at the entrance, a cat immediately came into her view—a brown cat with big dark eyes and a delicate walk. It stood next to the sofa staring at her intently. "Her name's Lily. She's an adorable little kitten. Don't mind her inquisitive eyes that make her seem suspicious of everything. In no time she'll be making biscuits on your lap," Daphne smiled listening while looking at the little animal. As the girls proceeded into the living room, the cat moved backwards a little only to rush over to Cleo once she called and now, with Lily between her arms, Cleo directed her friend upstairs. 

The top floor was another wide space shared into two—between a long hallway ending with the wide arched window from before. In front of the stairs, taking a pretty wide space was a little living room that accommodated a swing chair, an armchair, a short bookshelf and, against the left, the cats' little beds. One of them was occupied by a little Siamese sleeping cat. This one was a little bigger than Lily but still a baby.

"That's Cinnamon, a sleepy head. I don't think you'll get to see her awake today. She usually sleeps during the day and stays awake at night. Don't ask 'cause I don't know why either," Cleo whisper-yelled before proceeding. The last door on the right was to her bedroom. 

It was a not-so-big room which, just like the rest of the house, was bright. Walls covered in vintage floral wallpaper, floor in laminated wood. On the right was a French bed covered in white pillows, bedsheets and a white blanket. Opposite the bed was a little nook on the left that welcomed a square window and a bench covered in little pillows. On them was the third cat peacefully sleeping.

"Oh come on," Cleo silently exclaimed. Dropping Lily on the bed, she hastily approached the other cat. Daphne's smile wouldn't go away. All these little beings were filling her up with serotonin. Gently carrying the cat in her arms, Cleo excused herself for a moment and invited Daphne to make herself comfortable in the meantime. 

Eyeing the little cat, Daphne sat on the bed who, like before, was keeping a distance and its big eyes on her. Daphne tried greeting it, waving and smiling but didn't force it too much besides, she was a dog person and she wasn't sure about how she should deal with the situation.

"Okay, sleepy cat's been put to her bed so now we can have all the fun," Cleo's enthusiastic voice was back to its normal volume. She shut the door and scurried over to her bed, jumping on it precisely, causing Lily to hiss at her for almost jumping on her.

"Hey! How dare you hiss at me? You little adorable fur ball," Cleo squeezed the cat's cheeks before kissing it. Daphne softly laughed. "Cats are adorable," she confessed, "I know right? I love kittens specifically. I know they're so difficult to keep because they're delicate and sensitive to temperature, but they're adorable... like all the work pays off. I'm surely going to be that one old lady who lives alone with twelve cats," Daphne laughed again.

"Yeah, I agree but I just can't explain why I prefer dogs. We don't have any in the city because of space but here we do and I feel like I'm going to adopt another one. When it comes to this, more certainly doesn't hurt," Cleo eagerly nodded in agreement.

On the right of the bed, below the casement window, was Cleo's desk, a glass surface that welcomed a laptop, a cup of pencils, books in a corner and a flower pot in another. Below this surface was a minor one. In front of the desk was a simple chair. Hanging by the windows were short soft curtains that moved with the waft that blew through the ajar window.

The little slots on either side of the desk were occupied, one by a slim and tall bookshelf and the other by two storage boxes, the smaller one on the bigger one. On each side of the bed was a bedside table, one covered in personal objects, the other by a single lamp.

Crowning the end of the bed was a circular rug. At the foot of the bed was a bench with sandals, slippers and a backpack underneath. Other than with white pillows, the bed was decorated with handmade plushies. "Ooh, nice! Are these the kind of toys you crochet?" Daphne asked studying one up close. Cleo agreed as she lowered the kitten and leapt off the bed.

— Now Playing: Sis by Clairo✫

"Here are the rest I told you about. I have about a ton of them. Crocheting is therapeutic, trust me. You should try it," dropping the small storage box on her desk, she carried the bigger one and sat on the bench in front of the window. Daphne followed right after. "I don't know. Reading is better for me," Cleo shook her head in disapproval, "Reading simply feeds into your fantasies, it gives a sensation of almost absent-mindedness that keeps you away from earth when the sole end of therapy is having people be mentally brought back to earth so, no, reading is not really it."

Daphne puffed in surprise, certainly not ready for such an analysis but the following moment, she was hailing and congratulating Cleo for her handwork.

"You like this one? It's a little cow. I made it while— Ouch! Lily!" by her feet, Lily was struggling to get on the bench next to her owner so she mistakenly scratched her. The latter immediately dropped the toys and caught the kitten, cuddling her up in her arms. "As I was saying, I made it while lying down in the grass. Did you know that not so far away from here is a vast field of tall green grass? With a nice blanket, on a sunny day, you'd have the best time of your life, the best read of your life"—she gasped—"Let's go there today. The weather is so nice. I have two-thirds of my cats asleep so we can't play with them but we surely can take a walk around the neighbourhood. Ooh, yes! Let's do it! We could go with your dogs too," she offered the idea and she agreed to it, all by herself. Daphne couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah, let's do it," she said, trying to ignore the fact that she'd just arrived.

"Ooh, while we're at it, let me just change my shirt. Have you ever had that feeling of when you rediscover an old shirt that went missing or that you never thought you had?" Daphne nodded, "The same happened to me but this morning. Look! I found these two shirts, two shirts goddamn, and they're so cute. How the fuck did I just find them eludes me because if I saw this in a clothes store I'd do anything to have it but, anyway, which one do you prefer?" one was a strapless top, the other was a longer one similar to a white summer dress. "The second one,"

"I know right? I like love, love the wind so this dress-like shirt will have me hopping on the hills like little Heidi. Do you know Heidi?" another nod from the other side, "An adorable cartoon. I think I identify myself with her a bit, you know? Living in the mountains, playing with farm animals, loving nature? You know what I'm saying. Do I give off those vibes though?"

"Yes, you do. You completely match your appearance, maybe you're even bubblier," a little dramatic gasp came from Cleo as she checked herself in the mirror, "I'm going to need a pair of shorts for this one— so wait, I give off bubbly?"—nod—"Interesting. I get called crazy and childish most of the time,"

"W-what? Why?" Cleo shrugged her shoulders. She too didn't know the motive. "Trust me, Cleo, they simply don't match your vibe and they wanted to make you feel bad about it, okay? You're just a very energetic person and instead of saying that, they called you crazy which is, in all honesty, a very different and dramatic thing to label it with. We're not meant to get along with everyone and it's fine, perfectly normal. Don't let them bother you and besides... I'm here,"

Cleo's face gradually morphed into a broader smile, "Ooh, girl, you are so good with words. I told my brother about this before but he explained it in such a psychological manner that he left me with more questions and no answers," the two laughed before they finally placed the toys back in the box but Cleo didn't forget to give Daphne at least three toys and even promised to give her more. 

As clarified before, while Daphne waited for Cleo to place her things back in order, Lily walked back and forth between Daphne's ankles rubbing her fur against the girl's skin only to then look up. When finally Daphne's attention was on her, she sat by her feet and started meowing. 

Daphne could've sworn her chest was about to burst and scatter into millions of flowers then and there. She crouched and took the kitten in her arms facing no resistance. "Ooh, you see? She already loves you. Tries to play hard to get so bad but needs attention more than food. Am I wrong Lily?" the cat simply meowed in reply. Cleo was back-facing them as she braided her hair in the mirror. With two little while bows at the end of each and a little bag of personal objects in her hand, she was ready to go. "Let's go. I'll grab a few things we can eat".

As they went downstairs, Daphne asked about Cleo's brother and father—the house was too silent for them to be around. Cleo replied that the dad was in his shop and the brother was studying in the garden. Exactly, once they'd put their shoes on, sitting in the garden, glasses on and deep into his book, was Cole. He was so focused he didn't even hear them until Cleo yelled at him that they were heading out. By his quick nod, the girls both knew he was not to be disturbed any further.

As all of this unfolded, Lily peacefully rested between Daphne's arms.

—Now Playing: Monolithic by Cults✫

"Hey, girls. How are you doing?" Granny was dressed in tall farm boots with long gloves covering her up to her forearms, flowers in her hands and a summer hat on. The girls cheerfully replied, specifying that they were there to take the two dogs for a walk and that they'd be back before dinner.

"Do you mind if we take the bike? The roads are accessible right?" Cleo eagerly nodded before Daphne excused herself, giving her back the kitten. Rushing inside and hastily taking her shoes off, she ran upstairs to prepare a little bag of personal necessities. A blanket as Cleo had said before, sunscreen, handkerchiefs, a little water bottle, lip balm, a few hair pins and a book obviously.

Once downstairs, she too grabbed a few snacks before heading out again. By the garage, parked against the wall, were the bicycles. "Let's take these 'cause they have baskets."

And that was how a few minutes later, with Cleo leading the way, the dogs running by their side and Lily in her owner's basket, the girls were on their way to the vast green field.

They rode out of the compound and out of the neighbourhood past Cleo's house. The tyres rolling on the stone pavement were enough to break Cole's attention span as he waved at them. They waved back. The dogs barked too.

As Daphne had noticed earlier, the further they get into the neighbourhood on Cleo's side, the more it gets silent and gradually, crunching stones and their chatter were the only background sounds. The wind was as crazy as they were as they sped through, laughing and shouting in happiness whenever they rode fast down a hill. Loki and Luke were happy too.

Hair to the wind, shirts expanding backwards, legs clenching the more they sped up but fingers ready to press on the brakes.

—Now Playing: Mary by Agnes Obel✫

"Guess where we get our milk from?" Cleo asked. They were now riding slowly on a wider road that allowed them to be side by side. Loki and Luke tried to keep up without getting distracted by nature. "I don't know. You probably buy enough at the town centre like once a week or something,"

"Yeah, kinda... but not exactly. And besides, we like our stuff fresh," Lily was fast asleep, cuddled up in the basket. "Well, that means— Oh! On my way here today, I saw a huge farmhouse by the road," as Daphne came to the right conclusion, Cleo nodded and proceeded to talk about how she's a friend with a little lamb that's always excited to see her whenever she goes buy milk.

"Heidi indeed, huh?" Cleo laughed, "I know right? I really like farm animals too, like cows, goats and, most especially horses," Daphne's nods meant she firmly agreed with her friend "I'd love to learn to go horseriding. Wanted to do that this summer but the news of your arrival changed my plans." Daphne smiled. Her arrival was so anticipated that Cleo had to postpone learning how to go horseriding and, by the way she sounded, Daphne could tell she really wanted to do that knowing her love for farm animals. 

"Since I'm here to stay we could try it together next summer, yeah?"

"Yeah." The two girls had smiles across their faces as they proceeded along the curvy road. They were now riding along a road that slid through a forest. The sun's rays penetrated through the leaves as the breeze made itself a bit colder due to the shade. They took various turns in pure silence. A comfortable silence that was just perfect for the atmosphere. Daphne checked on her dogs, turning her head to find them right behind her before facing forward and closing her eyes for a brief moment. She took a deep breath in. Her omnipresent smile widened.

Cleo watched her with a grin, "You can't find an environment as nice as this in the city. Am I wrong?"

"No," Daphne replied, coming back to Earth. "We're here," Cleo notified, nodding her head forward where the forest finished, showing an expanse of just green grass. Daphne tried holding herself back from verbally showing her amazement. "Damn, this place is heavenly,"

"I know right? I call it the Garden of Eden". 

A bit of pedalling later and they were hopping down their bicycles and into the field. The grass was indeed tall, tall till mid-thigh. 

"There are no snakes here, right?"

"No, silly. We aren't in a field of corn," Cleo couldn't help but laugh while Daphne simply rolled her eyes, "I was just being cautious".

They dropped their bikes aside and started setting their spot up: Daphne took the blanket out of her bag and with the help of Cleo, after struggling a bit because of the wind, they laid it out and pinned it down with their bags and shoes at the corners. 

"I've been missing out on so much truly," Cleo simply chuckled as she took her crocheting kit out. "This is the place the greatest artists of all time come up with the most show-stopping ideas ever," Daphne tilted her head, looking for truth in Cleo's eyes, "Oh, you know I wasn't serious. It was just a hyperbole,"

"Don't be angered. I looked at you because a part of me believed it. I mean, who wouldn't? This place would bestow peace upon anything and anyone,"

"Oh, my god. Do you like... read the bible too? But like the 17th century version?" Daphne laughed out loud. "What? Just because of the verb 'bestow'? Never heard of it out of a Christian context?"

"No— Like— I mean— I just never heard of anyone using it in a conversation as casual as this one. I don't know. To me, it sounds like using things like 'thee', 'thou' and adding 'eth' at the end of every verb," she replied laughing but not as hard as Daphne who was laying flat on the blanket clutching her tummy. "You can't be serious,"

"For once that I am, you think I'm not," meanwhile, Daphne kept laughing. "Like how often do you read a book?"

"Whenever my teacher assigns it," it was Daphne's turn to gasp and feign fainting and having convulsions dramatically. "Oh, no! Daphne, please don't die on me! I shall read more often so thou shall not die for life offereth pulchritudinous things one would never liveth in death for in death lays no life!" now Daphne's body visibly shook but because of how hard she laughed. It was the kind of laugh that's silent, a tummy killer. She believed she was going to get six packs after this.

Cleo soon joined her, laughing both because of her dramatic words and because of Daphne's state. 

"Oh, my god!" Daphne tried stopping and taking a deep breath but just couldn't. The more she looked at Cleo, the worse it'd get. "Sorry I'm not a bookworm,"

Daphne coughed a bit and regained herself only to correct her, "I wouldn't say 'bookworm'. That word is too vile to describe such a peace-inducing activity,"

"Oh, please. Peace-inducing? You find peace in constantly having your brain work?"

"I'd rather say 'bibliophile'. See? Such a nice and sweet-sounding word. Besides, there's not one moment your brain doesn't work... other than in death... where lays no life," Daphne laughed again as Cleo playfully hit her.

"No, but really, I just can't read that much and I envy you for that... just as much as I envy my brother. You saw him today, sat in the garden, deep in his book? Yeah, now picture me in the same state. Yeah, no. You could never because it's rather you don't have the resources enough to form such sort of imagination or it's so bizarre, it scares you," Cleo's words were too hilarious for Daphne who watched her in disbelief, "Reading is that much of a hassle?"

"Hassle? 'Hassle' is an understatement. A very nice word to sugarcoat and chocolate-coat the matter. I hate reading... just as I hate studying and school in general but— guess who's the top in PE class?" Cleo proudly winked at Daphne whose tummy was hurting again already. "Oh, my god, Cleo. You're out of this world," and the respondent proudly nodded in agreement.

"But hey, I can crochet and that's the calmest activity I can do. The only activity that can keep me still," and as she said that, she brought her kit forward. "I'm going to crochet mini Luke and Loki. Small enough to be keychains. How adorable right?"

"And I'll immerse myself into this wonderful book that makes me fall into a calming and therapeutic atmosphere as I escape this mere world to a fantastical one," she laughed seeing the dislike on Cleo's face. An expression that quickly went away, "Fantastical? You read fantasy?"

"I read anything that's written."

"Oh. I thought you'd read philosophical or psychological shit like my brother does". She was ready to start crocheting but before anything, she had to give Lily a few scratches on the head because she couldn't overlook the cuteness. "I do sometimes but my top genres are romance and thriller,"

"Ooh, I love thrillers... but like in the movies," they both chuckled.

—Now Playing: Ceilings by Beabadoobee✫

✬Spring, 2005✬

"Wow! Look at that butterfly!" Cleo shouted before her little legs immediately took off in its direction. 

"Cleo! Running after butterflies is what animals do because they don't know they can't catch it!" Cleo stopped in her tracks and angrily placed her hands on her waist, "And what makes you think that I can't catch it?"

"I just know that. Everybody knows that," Daphne asserted. Cleo ignored her and, with a frowny face, she turned around and went back to her butterfly-chasing attempt.

"You know what we can do? Collect flowers. Granny has a lot of pretty flowers at home. Flowers are very pretty and they don't fly away,"

"I know that flowers are very pretty but when I take them they die so soon," frowny face and whiny voice, "Not if you take care of them. Come let me show you. Granny taught me how," and immediately the frown disappeared as Cleo rushed over to Daphne who was crouched next a daisy.

"This is a daisy. Granny said that if you want to collect flowers, you should take them from the roots so you can plant them at home," Cleo awed in curiosity. "Nice but let's do it with a prettier flower,"

"All flowers are pretty!" Daphne shouted, offended by her friend's statement. Cleo frowned once more before she didn't mean to, "I said 'prettier'. I never said it was ugly," Daphne shrugged her shoulders before standing up, "Okay, then. Let's look for another flower".

And they went different ways, looking for pretty flowers in the field until Cleo stumbled upon a little creature that caught her curiosity. "Oh. Look at you," Daphne saw Cleo being so focused so she went closer to inspect, "Did you find a pretty flower?"

"No, I found this," and Daphne screamed before running the opposite way. Immediately the parents rushed out of their homes in shock. "What happened Daphne?"

"A bee! Cleo has a bee on her finger!" she exclaimed stretching upward so her dad could carry her. The dad did and calmed her down saying that it was just a little bee. On the other hand, Cleo was observing, admiring in fact, the little fly and was soon joined by Daphne's sister, Dyanne. "Yeah, it's just a bee. It's adorable—"

"No, it's not!" Daphne shouted at the two, startling her father who reminded her to calm down and took her inside.

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[evelynrosewood]

❝we write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect❞

evelyn rosewood was born in leeds, uk. she works as an author and columist. she has been in kismet harbor since january 2024 and lives in cresthill meadows.

↳ penned by sky (she/her ; gmt ; no triggers)

basics

• full name:  evelyn daphne rosewood

• nicknames: eve ; evie ; lynnie

• gender:  cis female

• pronouns:  she/her

• age:  54

• date of birth:  13th july 1970

• zodiac sign:  cancer

• sexuality:  bisexual (male leaning)

• place of birth: leeds, england, uk

• residence:  a two bedroom house in cresthill meadows, kismet harbor — one bedroom is for sleeping in and the other is a study/library ; there is also a little garden, a spacious open plan living room/kitchen/dining room, and two bathrooms (a main one and an en suite)

• occupation:  author (novels and short stories) ; columnist (for literary magazines and her own online blog) ; former english literature lecturer

• aesthetics:  thick cream-coloured jumpers, fruit tea in china cups, new book smell, vases filled with flowers, the beach at sunrise, leisurely wandering through art galleries, journals filled with scribbles, writing late at night, suede block heels, spring meadows, dainty jewellery

• town activities: read between the wines, trivia nights, budding minds, and hands on kismet harbour

appearance

• faceclaim:  naomi watts

• height:  5’ 6”

• build:  average

• eyes: blue

• hair:  dirty blonde

• piercings: both earlobes ; left helix

• tattoos: a water lily on her outer left ankle (her birth flower- both of her sisters have tattoos of their birth flowers on their ankles too) ; minimalist wrap around tattoo of leaves on her right arm ; her dog's pawprint on her inner left bicep

• style:

personality

• positive traits:  articulate, confident, kind, compassionate, creative, selfless, thoughtful, empathetic

• negative traits:  reserved, meticulous, impatient, critical (mainly of herself)

• mbti: infp - the mediator

• likes:  listening to music, collecting vintage books, watching films, spicy food, parties

• dislikes: bitter foods, extreme temperatures, beer, prejudice and discrimination, peanuts, heavy metal & rap music

• fears:  losing her family

• phobias:  entomophobia, arachnophobia

• hobbies:  reading, singing, gardening, baking, embroidery, watching films/tv, going for walks with her dog

• skills: is fluent in british sign langauge and can speak conversational dutch, talented singer, speed reader and typer, embroiderer

• pet peeves:  loud chewing, being interrupted, poor grammar, writers block

family

• mother:  miriam diana rosewood (née carter)

• father:  finnegan callum rosewood

• sisters:  celeste emilia rosewood ; lillian ginevra rosewood

• pets: a five year old miniature schnauzer called edgar

favourites

• food:  strawberries dipped in melted chocolate

• drink: homemade lemonade

• time of the day:  evening

• weather:  dry and warm

• colours:  blue, red, silver, white

• music:  alternative, film scores, classical, pop

bio

— evelyn was born at 12:03pm on 13th july 1970 in leeds, uk, to finnegan rosewood, an archaeology researcher, and miriam rosewood, an art history lecturer. she also has two younger sisters, celeste and lillian.

— evelyn is very close with her family. her parents led busy lives with their work, but always made time for their daughters and the five of them would travel to a different country every summer for their holidays. and like the rest of her family, evelyn grew up as a bookworm. she was always an advanced reader and spent most of her free time with her head in a book. she loved it most when her mother would read her a story before bedtime, which her sisters were later included in when they got a bit older. they also often visited museums and galleries on educational trips and went to as many as they could across the uk.

— all throughout her educational career, evelyn was a top student and something of a teacher's pet. she always went above and beyond with essays, projects, and presentations to ensure the best grades possible to make her parents proud and be a role model to her sisters. she loved art, history, home economics, and was passionate about english ever since she learned to read and write; she later pursued english literature when she attended university, firstly in london for her bachelor of arts and then in her hometown of leeds to complete both her masters and phd.

— evelyn never intended to go into lecturing, but after several years of writing research papers specifically on historical ghost stories and gothic literature, it came naturally, especially after both of her parents were involved in the academic world. knowing she had her parents' support and wisdom, evelyn was confident that she could excel in her role. at the age of 29, the opportunity arose for her to teach in the netherlands, which she couldn’t pass up, even if it meant being apart from her family.

— she settled in well, living in a cosy apartment a short distance from the university, and began to pick up the language, which was a relief to say the least. she also became good friends with her turkish neighbours and was more than happy to help out with anything they needed, including watching the three children if the parents needed to work, do errands, or if they needed time out.

— to cope with the massive change in her life, evelyn found solace in writing. she began writing short stories at first, but her ultimate goal was a novel. after some thought and planning, she started drafting her first novel entitled ‘the secrets we bury’: a dark academia story set in her home city during the victorian period.

— during the summer of her sixth year in the netherlands, just after her 35th birthday, evelyn took a trip to the pacific northwest of the usa: somewhere she always wanted to visit. she had dreamt of the rugged landscape, the crashing waves, the quaint towns, the vast forests, and what inspiration she could find there. she flew out to seattle, spent a week there (which, as a fan of the tv show frasier, was incredibly exciting) before renting a car and driving down the coast. by chance she ended up in kismet harbour and completely fell in love with the place. it proved successful in giving her inspiration for her second novel, a mystery story with elements of the supernatural entitled 'hold the dark', which she initially began writing in tandem with the first, but not publishing until three years after her trip.

— returning to the university in the new academic year, she found that the literature department had a new lecturer. he was charming, kind, enthusiastic, and they both warmed to each other very quickly. they would eat lunch with each other on most days, discuss the university modules, talk about their favourite books, and eventually he asked evelyn out on a date. they went to dinner in a restaurant that was perhaps a little too expensive, made constant and jovial conversation over a delicious meal, and he walked evelyn home. after that night, she found herself falling in love with him and every time they were together she fell that bit further. after three dates in total, they became an official couple and two years later they were engaged.

— however, it wasn't long until they decided to call off the wedding. most of the planning was complete and there was only two months to go before the big day when evelyn's fiancé told her that he couldn't marry her. she was heartbroken and when she asked what had made him change his mind, he admitted that he felt as though they were growing apart, both becoming engulfed in their work and wanting different things out of life and so much so that he didn't think he could see them compromising. he could see how much it had hurt evelyn, but he still assured her that he loved her very much and insisted that she kept her engagement ring.

— she soon began to focus more and more on her own writing, dreaming up more ideas for novels, and realised that was what she wanted to do with her life, so reluctantly she gave up teaching. she also realised that, even though she loved the place very much, the netherlands wasn’t home and now had too many bad memories associated with it. she ended up moving back to leeds to stay with her parents for a while before figuring out what to do next.

— at the of 37, evelyn returned home and during this emotional slump, evelyn began writing an bi-monthly column for fellow bookworms and those interested in literary theory. she still does it to this day, writing about up and coming authors, new books she's read, how literary theory is and can be applied to specific novels, and even writes reviews. it gave her back her confidence and allowed to express herself whilst also getting other people involved in something they all loved.

— evelyn eventually found her own flat in the city centre to move in to after spending several months with her parents. in that time her blog became incredibly popular and she adopted a miniature schnauzer puppy and named him edgar. she remained there until sixth months ago, eventually ending up an author of seven books, when she decided to move to kismet harbour, which she had always thought about moving too, feeling as though it would be a perfect place to call home.

— despite still having mixed feelings about living alone in a different country that’s even further away from her family, evelyn loves kismet harbour and is glad she made the decision to move. she has even pushed herself to join some local activities to feel more apart of the community and to keep her mind on more positive things. she joined read between the wines, trivia nights, budding minds, and hands on kismet harbour.

wanted connections

— ex-fiancé: your muse is the english lecturer (although i’d be happy to let the mun change the subject if they wish!) that evelyn first met when she returned from america to the netherlands. he’s equally passionate as her about his chosen subject, has a heart of gold, and came looking for evelyn to try and make amends. he loves her dearly and has missed her ever since they broke up, but the feeling is mutual. he, too, could have been from the uk or the usa or even elsewhere, but he would be between 52-58 years old and fc suggestions include: billy crudup, timothy olyphant, ethan hawke, paul rudd, nikolaj coster-waldau, keanu reeves, raúl esparza, ewan mcgregor, matthew mcconaughey, arjun rampal, patrick dempsey, and toby stephens.

— new romance: as an alternative option to the aforementioned connection, i would love for evelyn to find somebody that help her to get over her relationship and commitment anxiety and for this person to be super down to earth, really understanding, and just a general ray of sunshine who can pick her up when she’s feeling down and to help her come out of her shell. i imagine he may also become something of a muse and an inspiration to her when it comes to writing her next big bestseller (the age range and fc suggestions above would fit for this connection too!).

— younger sisters: evelyn has always been close to celeste and lillian (i'd be more happy to let muns change their names if they wish to pick up either connection!) and so it was hard to leave them behind when she moved to america. maybe one or both couldn't bare to be so far apart from their eldest sister and decided to make the leap, joining evelyn in kismet harbour. (evelyn's sisters' ages aren't set in stone, but i imagine celeste would be around 4-5 years younger than her and lillian would be between 5-10 years younger, so some suggested faces are: cate blanchett, jodie whittaker, rachel mcadams, vera farmiga, nicole kidman, january jones, lauren german, but anyone you think would be suitable would be welcome!).

— pen pal: during her first stay in kismet harbour, evelyn befriended a local and she spent some time hearing their stories about the town and its history. the two got along very well and saw each other often; evelyn was sad to leave them when she had to return to the netherlands, so the two decided to become pen pals. the write to each other at least once a month, sometimes more, and had a wonderful reunion when evelyn moved to kismet harbour permanently. they’re still really close and do different activities together, like dine and drink out, watch films, go for walks, etc. (this muse can be of any fc and gender and preferably (but not necessarily) be a kismet harbour native, but has to be at least ten years younger than evelyn and have been in the town for a good number of years before they first met).

[fletchervanhall]

Aftermath | Para

Featuring: Fletcher Van Hall with mentions of Xavier Mitchell & several others Location: En route from SF to NYC Time Frame: Late afternoon/early evening, June 23, 2024 Notes: The happenings for Fletcher following the call he received from DJ.

Fletcher felt like he was having an out-of-body experience.

Previously, he was in the kitchen cooking dinner, knowing that Henry and Winter were in the backyard gardening with Drew while Phoebe napped. He'd seasoned a salmon to go on the grill and was preparing some couscous and green beans on the stove when the call came in from DJ.

"Hey D-"

"It's Xavier," she'd said, causing Fletcher to instantly tense, his focus zeroing in on whatever was going to come through the phone next.

"He's... it's a car accident."

Fletcher felt like in the span of a single heartbeat, his entire 6'1" frame filled with panic. Several thoughts flooded his mind another beat later.

"What happened? Is he okay?" he stupidly asked. Of fuckin' course he's not okay, dipshit, he scolded himself. He could hear it in DJ's voice that Xavier was not okay.

"I'm going to the hospital. I don't know which. I'll let you know when I get there." Just as he was about to repeat the second question, DJ said, "It's... it's not good, Fletcher."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. If you can, tell him that for me. Tell him the kids and I love him and... yeah." He couldn't form a clear-cut thought and even hearing DJ's promise that she'd tell him sounded like it was coming from under water.

When the call ended, he was trying to figure out what to do next.

I have to book a flight. I have to tell Henry, Winter and Drew. Would the kids come with me? Was Xavier in a state for any of them to see him? Should they have to deal with that? He's their dad, newly so. What even happened? What about Phoebe and Drew? I should call Emiliana. And Rodrigo. How long will I be gone? How can I drop everything and leave Phoebe and Drew? Maybe I should bring them too. How the hell am I going to tell the kids? Who fucking hurt Xavier of all people? How soon can I get a flight out? Can I swing it to get flights for the kids and himself? Fuck it, I have the funds. I'll use my credit card. I've got to. I'll worry about the rest later. Does Riley know? Does his family overseas know? Shit, I should've asked DJ. I should call them. But the flight needed to be booked. How soon can I get there? Goddammit, the grill's lit and everything on the stove's half-done. I need to get things squared away here first. But if I wait too long, flights out of here will pass us by and--

"Fletcher?"

The tat artist snapped out of his mental spiraling and looked up to see his uncle standing in the kitchen entrance. Fletcher noticed his fingers were lightly dusted with dirt as he leaned on his cane.

"What is it, son?" Drew asked, his expression immediately hardening with concern.

Fletcher's gaze darted all over the place like he was trying to chase the most linear response. "It's Xavier. There was a car accident. It's not... he's being taken to a hospital. I need to go to him but I don't know what the fuck to do."

He harshly pushed a hand through his hair, unlocking his phone screen and trying to figure out if he should search flights first or call Emiliana and Rodrigo first.

"You do know what to do," Drew pushed back, approaching his nephew. "Listen to me, Fletcher. You book the fastest flight there and get your ass to New York. Don't worry about the cost or that dumb shit. And I know I've got this stupid-ass disease but I'm not completely helpless, alright? I can make calls, and hold down the fort here."

Fletcher nodded and at his uncle's insistence, he took a deep breath and then got to searching for nonstop flights out of SFO. Eventually, plans were falling into place and movement was happening. He and Drew had the tough conversation with Henry and Winter to tell them what little was known about their dad's well-being at this time. Fletcher and Drew both comforted them and then helped them pack some of the clothes they had there at the Van Hall home. Drew had called Emiliana while Fletcher called Rodrigo and then Khamani, asking them both about taking turns coming by to give Emiliana relief and helping with Phoebe and Drew. The decision for both Drew and Phoebe to stay behind had been a difficult one for Fletcher but he'd been urged on by his uncle that it was for the best right now. On the way to the airport, he called Xavier's assistant and asked her to let whoever else needed to know what was going on.

In about 2 hours, he, Winter and Henry were on a plane, taking off for a nonstop flight to NYC. He'd sat in the middle seat, frequently glancing at both kids throughout the flight and doing his best to keep them calm and comforted. There was some small grace in Henry falling asleep mid-flight as he could imagine the mental and emotional exhaust taking its toll. Winter had been quiet but Fletcher was almost certain she was trying to maintain her resolve for her little brother's sake and possibly a default for her own self-preservation. He understood this all too well with his own thoughts still racing and hadn't pushed for her to let her guard down.

By the time they landed at La Guardia, Fletcher received the hospital info from DJ. He searched for the nearest hotel to the hospital and called ahead to one. While on the call, however, he received an incoming call from DJ. She'd told him that Xavier's friend, Salvador was putting them all up at a hotel located half a mile from the hospital. After thanking her, he gave the Lyft driver the address as an added stop. DJ texted the reservation information to him and he sent back a "Got it. Thanks," to her.

Some 15 minutes later, the driver pulled up as close to the curb as possible and turned on their hazard lights. While Winter and Henry grabbed their bags from the back of the vehicle, Fletcher told the driver they'd be back down in about 10 minutes. The driver looked a little annoyed and Fletcher narrowed his eyes. He waited for the kids to head into the lobby ahead of him before rounding on the driver.

"Listen, I dunno what kind of shitty night you're having but I promise you--I promise you it's nothing compared to what we're dealing with. If you can't wait 10 goddamn minutes for us to get checked in, drop their luggage off and come back so that they can see their dad in the fucking hospital then just tell me right goddamn now and I'll cancel the rest of the ride."

The driver looked affronted but nodded, "I'll wait."

"Good. We'll be back."

He opened the passenger door with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder and intentionally slammed the door on his way to the lobby.

After a relatively seamless check-in and an elevator ride up to drop off the kids' belongings, the 3 returned outside. The Lyft driver was still there, somewhat surprising Fletcher. But the last part of their ride was extremely short, and if they were lucky, they wouldn't have to deal with this driver ever again.

After getting to the floor DJ instructed and finding her in the waiting room, he thanked her again in person for everything--the updates when possible and, he suspected she reached out to Salvador about the hotel accommodations. DJ reciprocated Henry and Winter's hugs and then all of them went to the nurse's station. They didn't have anything new to share since Fletcher and the kids landed, but the nurse said that he could, at the present, have 2 visitors at a time. Teeth grinding, Fletcher pushed for 3 without sharing a lot of detail on the kids' journey with the foster system and how important Xavier was to all of them. One of the nurses seemed to take pity or at the very least, sympathized and allowed the 3 of them to go in at once.

[saldanhomes]

Top Custom Home Design Trends Of 2024 

The demand for custom home design is booming across Canada. People seeking more modern concepts and styles that are geared to change how they live and engage with their homes. 

Saldan Homes are committed to staying at the forefront of these trends and building custom homes that capture our clients’ distinct tastes and lives. Let’s look at the top trends in custom home design for 2024 and see how Saldan Homes is implementing them in our projects.

Living Indoors and Outside in Harmony

Homeowners want their interior and outdoor areas to flow together naturally. Saldan Homes are setting the standard for building homes that achieve this. 

With all the conveniences of contemporary living, our houses embrace the beauty of nature via the use of professionally planned outdoor kitchens and lounges. As well as large sliding glass doors that open out to lush gardens.

Solutions for Sustainable Living

Saldan Homes are dedicated to incorporating green building techniques into our unique designs. Because there is an increasing focus on sustainability and eco-conscious living. 

Our Custom homes design are built with environmentally friendly materials and rainwater collection systems, energy-efficient appliances, solar panels, and eco-friendly building appliances. All without compromising comfort or style.

Technology for Smart Homes

In today’s era, smart home technology is a need rather than a luxury. 

Modern smart home technologies are being incorporated into Saldan Homes’ designs to give homeowners remote button or voice command control over everything from temperature and lighting to security and entertainment.

Personalized Elegance

Every homeowner has a different idea of what their ideal home looks like, and we are dedicated to making those ideas come to life.

Whether our clients want personalized entertainment areas, cozy spa retreats, a wine cellar, a gym, or a rooftop oasis, our designs are carefully planned to suit their unique needs and choices.

This custom approach ensures that every feature of the home reflects the client’s distinct taste and style. While perfectly blending in with the newest design trends for 2024.

Design and Architechture

Timeless design is always in style, even with the passing of trends. Saldan Homes focuses on building homes with a timeless appeal by combining traditional architectural features and elegant lines. And quality construction that endures over time. 

Our residences, whether they are classic estates or modern masterpieces, radiate sophistication and elegance that future generations will find appealing.

Experience the Saldan Difference

At Saldan Homes, we believe that your home should be a reflection of who you are – a sanctuary that inspires, comforts, and empowers you to live your best life. With our dedication to innovation, sustainability, and personalized luxury. We’re redefining the standard for custom home design in 2024 and beyond. Contact us today to learn more about how we can turn your vision into reality.