#i say having crocheted many bags this month

[milkweedman]

I am now washing my last raw fleece ! its the remaining half of the hampshire I bought last year. Man, its gross. I wonder if this part has some canary stains and wool rot...it looks pretty suspicious but I'll wash it and see.

So far this last week or so I've washed 1 jacob lambsfleece, 1 shetland/clun forest fleece, 1 massive shetland moorit fleece...about 10 pounds total. Also dyed several pieces of fleece. Was nervous about the jacob because its so fine and was so lanoliny, i was worried i might felt it or harsh it. but nope ! beautiful.

Of course I already have projects to work on, so I just put these all in bags and hung them on the wall.

[justkending]

It's just a hobby. (Drabble)

Summary: You took up a new hobby, and Dean likes to poke and tease you for it, but you feel the need to seek a little revenge for the constant joking. 

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 3300+

A/N: I started this during the summer when I started five different crocheting projects (ADHD carried my summer hobbies) and decided to finish it before school started back up. I am currently still writing Found Memories, but I have to put a pause on it as the first month of school tends to take a lot of my time away from hobbies like writing… I’m moving to teach 8th-grade English this year and could use all the energy you’re all willing to send my way! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this short story, and I’m happy to have the inspiration to write for Dean again :)

(Also, this is the closest to smut I think I've ever written...)

_______

“Seriously?” Dean grumbled as he looked in the rearview mirror seeing me pulling yarn to untangle a knot I had created. 

Knowing where he was going with his normal banter, I just laughed and continued to focus on the craft in front of me. 

“I pulled this out like 20 minutes ago. How are you just now noticing?”

“I’m watching the road,” he argued, and I rolled my eyes. As always, he had been sneaking glances to the back of the cab at me every other minute. “The hunt wasn’t even 40 minutes away from the bunker. Why did you bring that?” 

“Why do you listen to the same three Led Zeppelin songs when you're upset about a hunt?” I countered, and he opened his mouth to disagree, but I answered for him to skip the sarcastic conversation brewing. “Comfort Dean. It’s all about comfort.”

“Why are you so weirded out by a normal hobby?” Sam jumped in, smirking, and sporting one of the many beanies I had made him with said hobby, which he had come to love. He looked down at a newspaper in his lap, no doubt already scoping out a new hunt. 

“It’s not-” Dean stumbled on his answer. “I’m not weirded out by it. It’s just not a hobby I imagine someone like Y/N taking up.” 

“You just described why you’re weirded out by it,” Sam looked at him with a blank stare. 

He ignored him and rolled his eyes. 

“What kind of people do you imagine the crocheting community to be full of?” I smiled, still looking down at my hands and knowing his answer already. 

“Grandmas,” he replied almost immediately. 

“Hmm,” I hummed as if surprised by his confession, even if it was wrong. “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll stop wasting my talents on things for you.” 

I could see his eyes shoot up in the mirror and a look of regret ghost over his green orbs. 

Dean liked to make a big deal about this particular hobby I had started up a little over six months ago. I think a part of him just liked to tease me about it, but deep down, I knew he was proud of my growth. He was just bad at voicing it.

The first things I ever crocheted were just simple squares in different stitch work to learn a variety of them better. Those squares became washcloths and, surprisingly, were still used daily in the kitchen. 

I learned to make bags, socks, hats, sweaters, stuffed animals, and even a few blankets. 

“Just 30 minutes ago, you took down five security guards, wrestled three teenage vampires, and booby-trapped half of his nest. Now you’re crocheting a sweater for Charlie that says, ‘What’s up bitches?’ in the backseat. Mind you, with blood still smeared on your face,” he raised an eyebrow at me in the mirror. 

I looked up and leaned toward the front to get a better look at myself. 

“Oh, shit, I thought I got it all,” I groaned, seeing a smear on the side of my face I must have missed. 

“It doesn’t add up,” he shook his head, but I could see a joking smile on his lips. 

“Much to your surprise Dean, girls can have more than one personality trait. I know you boys are all, ‘Ugh, monsters! Kill, kill, kill! I need a scotch in my hand and The God Father playing on loop in the background to show how manly I-’

“Hey,” Sam cut me off and looked at me with his sad puppy dog eyes. “I’m on your side.”

“You’re right… You also like to read and share fun facts,” I winked, touseling his hair and getting a scoff of a laugh as he swatted my hand away. “See how hurtful it can be when you forget our brains have the capacity to do more than one thing?” I turned back to Dean with my arms crossed on the bench seat in front of me. 

“I don’t think you're incapable of having more than one interest in life; I just think it’s interesting that you chose a 90-year-old women's side gig as your hobby,” Dean countered, pulling into the garage. 

“Well, if you can’t appreciate it, then you can’t have the gifts my hard work creates,” I huffed, gathering my things and sliding back to the door as Dean parked the car.

Once the car was in park, I was the first out. I wasn’t actually mad at him, I was a hundred percent messing with him, but he deserved it for teasing me this long about it when I knew he loved everything I had made him this far. 

He had a favorite blanket that he preferred to sleep with now. He had a nice sweater he wore around the bunker when he was cold. He had a few pairs of socks he preferred over store-bought ones. He even had a miniature plush Batman figurine that sat on his desk that I had learned to crochet just for him.

“Y/N, you don’t mean that!” he called after me, standing in the door on the driver's side of the Impala and shouting over the roof of it where I was walking inside. 

“We'll find out soon,” I yelled back, never turning around. 

The next three days, I teased him like he had me about this whole ordeal, but in my own way. 

When we were cooking in the kitchen or doing dishes, if he grabbed one of the squares that now acted as our kitchen hand towels, I would steal it from his hands and say, “Sorry, merchandise can only be used by those who value it.” 

With which he would respond, “Wait! I need that!” with his hands drenched in water after washing his hands. 

Just for extra measure, I took all the towels and moved them to a new place only Sam and I knew. He was happy to join in on my little prank, and every time he had one, he made sure Dean saw him with it. 

“Where did you get that?” Dean would jump up from wherever he was and march over to him to try and steal it. 

“Only the VIP customers have access to these,” Sam would wave it above his head out of reach of Dean. 

Another time, after a hunt, it was freezing in our motel room, where the heater barely worked, and the hotel didn't have enough blankets. Luckily I had one packed in the trunk of Baby, and I used it for extra coverage.

Even though Dean and I shared a bed, I wrapped it around me as I slept and said, “Sucks that you hate this so much, or else I’d share with you…”

He stared at me with complete annoyance when I gave him an exaggerated “Oh well” face before stealing it all for myself. 

I did, however, wake up to sharing it, but only because he had stolen it, and I was too tired to fight him about it.

I think one of my favorite times I rebuked him of his privileges was when he was wearing a pair of socks I had made him for Christmas around the house. I may have gotten a little more intense than I needed to, but the look on his face made it worth it.

He had come into the movie room to binge a few episodes of a new series I got him hooked on, and after he called me in to watch with him, I noticed the specific socks he had on. 

I grinned once my brain had formulated a plan to make him regret ever giving me hell for a hobby he obviously loved himself.

“Claire said there was a show called Love Island we should watch. I have no clue what it’s about, but she said it was popular and what the kids are watching now,” Dean conversed as he grabbed the remote from the table and stood with a blanket (not one of mine, as I had relocated all of them so he couldn’t find them) around his shoulders. 

He was in the perfect position for my plan. 

I walked over and, instead of facing the TV, stood right in front of him and looked up at him. 

“You know what we could do?” I whispered in a low and sultry voice, bringing my hand up to his chest and inching my fingers up to the collar of his t-shirt before pulling at it gently. His eyes instantly darkened, and he was frozen in his place. 

“Wh-What, uh, what can we do?” he stammered out. Even after three years of dating, he still got nervous. I loved it. 

“I think you know what,” I said, tiptoeing upward to quietly say in his ear, bringing my hand from his chest to the back of his neck, softly pulling him closer to me. 

“I think I have an idea,” he replied more confidently, immediately bringing his free hand to my waist and squeezing it. 

I could have faltered there, but I held strong. I was going to make him pay for all his little ‘grandma’ jokes he had sent my way the last few months. 

I pulled back, sending him a smirk that I knew revved him up. He returned it with his own and started leaning down, forgetting his grip on the blanket and remote. Now both of his hands sat on my hips with a stronghold. 

Before he could lean down any further, I pushed him backward harshly on the couch, and at first, he was shocked, then he was excited. 

Slouched into the cushion, looking up at me, his tongue came out to lick his lips and ended with a bite to his lower lip as he eyed me up and down as I stood over him. 

“Dear God, Y/N,” he hummed under his breath. 

I guess it helped that I was wearing some of my shorter PJ shorts, ones he had told me were his favorites, and a shirt that was cropped and slightly falling off my shoulder.

He had a thing for me being in a disheveled manner like this. Reminded him of how I looked after we fucked around, and he held pride knowing he played a part in the kind of glow I gave off. 

I wasn’t sure how long I could do this without failing myself on the original mission. I came here to fuck with him, and now he was the fucker. Or at least he was going to be if I didn’t follow through with my plan in the next minute. 

“You know, you should be happy you were by the couch,” I smiled, stepping to him and strategically bringing my legs to straddle his hips teasingly. 

His breath hitched at that, and I knew I had regained the upper hand. 

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” he hummed as he admired my hands pressing into his chest as I leaned in, bringing myself closer to him. 

“I was about to take you wherever I found you,” I whispered, looking him dead in the eyes with a soft smile. I looked him up and down and bit the inside of my cheek. That seemed to trigger his hands back to my hips instantly. This time a much more possessive lock on them. 

“I don’t know where this is coming from, but I can’t complain,” he said lowly, and I knew he was hooked. Now it was time for revenge. 

“Can I ask you a question?” I hummed, running my finger lightly over his hair down to his jaw, using the tip of it to push his chin up so I could see his eyes better. 

“Please,” he buzzed, drunk with lust. 

“Hmm,” I hummed, smiling more, dropping my gaze to his lips, then back at his eyes where he was drowning in dopamine by our current position. “Those socks you have on?” He didn’t catch on immediately and just furrowed his eyes as he processed what I asked. “They look familiar.” 

I leaned back from my seat, still straddling his hips, but not with nearly as much pressure as before. 

“What-” Dean started, but it dawned on him mid-thought. His eyes went from ready to tear my clothes off to annoyed realization. “Seriously.” 

“What?” I feigned ignorance and stood up, repositioning myself between his legs, both hands on his knees as I looked at him and leaned over. 

He couldn’t tell which way this was going for him, and that was the point. I was still winning this little game. 

I eased myself lower, squatting with my knees going into the couch and in between his thighs. My hands went flat on his knees and slowly started working up his thighs. 

“I can’t tell what you’re doing here, Y/N,” he said in a breathy voice. I watched as he tried to control himself, looking up away from me but not being able to help react to my hands on him. 

“I’m not doing anything,” I said in a voice that made him lower his nervous wandering eyes back to me. The amount of green in his eyes disappeared slowly. 

“You’re teasing me,” he said shortly as if he was worried his voice would tremble if he didn’t get it out quickly. 

“Maybe, maybe not,” I shrugged with a pursed lip before bringing my hands slowly back down his legs. 

“You’re mad at me,” he stuttered the last word when my hands worked their way back up, but further up than before.

“Now, why would you think that?” I tutted, shaking my head with an exaggerated look of hurt. 

All he could do was take a slow, deep breath in as I tilted my head and smiled devilishly at him.

“Don’t.” 

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t play innocent.” 

I grinned.

“You and I both know I’m far from that…” My tone was darker than before but in a seductive and tempting manner. 

He couldn’t hold back anymore. He shot up from his slouched position and leaned forward, grabbing my forearms in his hands and pulling me up in his lap with his nose mere inches from my own. 

“If your goal was to make me suffer, you won,” he whispered so quietly; if I wasn't this close, I wouldn't have heard it. He tilted his head up just enough for our noses to brush before pulling back. 

“Keep it together, girl… Keep it fucking together,” I repeated in my head. 

“Did I? Or am I just getting started?” I snarked, and that caused the new grip on my thigh to tighten, and I almost groaned at the pressure. 

“Don’t start a war you can’t win,” he smirked, feeling as though he possessed the power. 

Two can play that game. 

I smiled, bringing my free hand up and tracing it behind his ear before wrapping it slowly around the back of his neck. I brought his face closer to mine but stopped right when I could feel the brush of his lips. 

Our chests were pressed into each other, and I could feel his heart rate pick up. Perfect. 

I nudged our noses again and smiled as his eyes closed, and he naturally and lazily chased my lips. 

I rocked my hips in a measured manner, placed perfectly in the middle of his lap, and he sucked in a breath at the friction.

“Women don’t start wars. They finish them,” I whispered before promptly standing up and, in a swift motion, yanking the socks he had on off and walking to the exit. 

“Y/N!” I could hear his shout from the couch from where I knew he was with a full hard-on, unable to move just yet. 

“This granny is going to bed!” I shouted, speed-walking to my room in case he decided to run after me. 

“You little-!” the shout still seemed far behind me, and I quickly shut my bedroom door and locked it. 

Thankfully, I think I left him incapacitated for a second, and he didn’t follow me immediately. 

I actually didn’t hear from him for the rest of the night. I hoped I didn’t upset him, but also, the whole reason I had done what I had was because he had become a little ass about my favorite hobby. I don’t mind the jokes, but after a while, you want a pat on the back for learning something new. Especially from someone you care about. 

I went ahead and did my normal nighttime routine and got into bed before I started to read a book. I must have dozed off while reading because I woke up to the lights out, my book on the end table, and Dean crawling into the other side of the bed. 

Before I could say anything, his arms came around my waist, and he pulled me to his core. He was in his boxers and one of his soft t-shirts I made him wear to bed. 

For the record, I was perfectly fine with him in no shirt (or pants, for that matter), but when he did wear a shirt, I made him put on a certain kind cause his band and certain graphic tee ones were itchy on me when we cuddled. 

He took a deep sigh and nuzzled his face into the crevice between my neck and shoulder, one of his favorite places. 

“Why’d you lock your door?” he asked, already knowing I had woken up. 

He had definitely picked the lock.

“I thought you were going to hunt me down, and I forgot to unlock it,” I replied sleepily. 

There was silence for a minute, and eventually, he spoke up, whispering in my ear his apology. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Why?” I sighed with a winning grin he couldn't see, knowing why but playing coy anyway. 

“I’m sorry I haven’t told you how much I appreciate your brain,” he answered. 

That was not what I expected, but I was intrigued. 

“Hmmm,” I smiled, moving my hands to his that were wrapped around my ribs and nuzzling my backside closer to him. “Don’t stop now; you’re on a roll.” 

He laughed and invited my attempt to fit into him like a puzzle piece.

“You’re ambitious with everything you want to learn to do, and I don’t tell you enough how much of a turn-on that is,” he hummed, rubbing his head into mine and peppering a kiss on my neck here and there. “And I know you know how much I love the skills you gain, but sometimes I’m bad about just saying how impressive you are to me.” 

“You like my crocheting skills, Winchester,” I chuckled, turning my body to face him now and throwing one of my legs over his hips, pulling back in some. “Just say it.” 

“I love your crocheting skills,” he replied with a wide grin and brought a hand up to move the stray hairs that fell on my face. “I love your baking and cooking. I love your impressive TV show-binging skills. I love the random facts you have stored in that beautiful brain of yours. I love your surprisingly nerdy side of Marvel and superheroes. I love your attempt at being a gardener.”

“Hey, I have three plants that are thriving right now!” I argued, poking a finger in his chest, which he grabbed and kissed the tip of. 

“I love everything you’re passionate about,” he finished off. “I don’t tell you enough, and sometimes I like to see that face you give me when I tease you.” I gave him a look. “Maybe more than sometimes… But! I do love all those things and more about you, Y/N.” 

“I don’t doubt it,” I replied, scooting in closer. “But it is nice to hear it from those captivating lips of yours.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

We started smiling at each other, and I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about earlier. 

“I’m sorry I teased you,” I sighed, moving to where I was embedded in his chest, and he wrapped himself back around me. 

“Don’t be. I deserved it,” he replied, chin on my head before he bent down and kissed the top of it. “I will say, though, I’ve never been mad about seeing that side of you.” 

“What side?” I looked up at him. 

“Don’t act like you didn’t know what you were doing,” he chuckled, pulling my head back to him. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” I agreed after a minute. “Hey.”

“Hm?” 

“You’re my favorite person. You know that, right?” 

“Feelings are very much mutual,” he answered, caressing a hand up and down my back. 

“Good. I’d have to kill you with one of my knitting needles if you said otherwise. Who said needleworking wasn’t dangerous, right?”

My Lovelies Forever:

@natura1phenomenon @lauravicente​ @kakakatey @traceyaudette @notyourtypicalrose  @laneygthememequeen @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @sandlee44 @thorne93 @thefaithfulwriter @marvelfansworld @essie1876 @greyeyedsmile14 @capsiclehan  @xostephanie @averyrogers83 @awesomenursingstudent @gh0stgurl @cs-please @carls1022 @jjlevin @rainbowkisses31 @carls1022 @anise-d-castle6 @deannotmoose @their-bibliophile @kitkatd7 @willowbleedsonpaper @mariaenchanted @snffbeebee @couldabeenamermaid @rebekahdawkins @alyispunk @drakelover78 @caruhleener

Supernatural Tags:

@flamencodiva @hobby27 @sucker-for-dean @deans-baby-momma @squirrelgirl67 @death-unbecomes-you @snffbeebee @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @spnbaby-67 @akshi8278 @musiclovinchic93 @vicmc624 @carryon-doctor-lock @perpetualabsurdity @herscrunchiehairtie @spnwoman @shamelesslydean @monkeymcpoopoo @winchestergirl82 @luciathewinchestergirl @deansyahtzee @thatgirl1456 @sucker-for-dean @atomicloverdonkeyperson @screechingartisancashbailiff @akshi8278 @supernatural3002

[cuntinies]

I loved your fic! And i was thinking if you can make a korra x reader enemies to lovers fic? Maybe the reader was an equalist? Or you can do something else with the idea. Thanks!

summary: settling in republic city has not been easy, especially with a nagging yet striking young woman who cant help but entertain you.

warnings - fem reader, cursing, not proofread. please let me know if i forgot anything else

you want to turn around and scream in this girl's face.

but you don't have to see her snarky ass smirk to know it was korra who decided to splash some water on you. 4 months ago, you decided to settle in republic city. dealing with your parents was one thing now that you were free from them, but at this moment dealing with this cocky, immature girl has hit your limit. you met korra right when you were dropped off at the dock.

heavy bags hauled on your shoulders and your sandals are barely hanging on a thread as you carefully walk down the dock into the city. bodies everywhere, not very used to so many people at once. back in the earth kingdom, everyone had their way but here, that was soon going to change for you.

"what's a pretty country girl doing over here in the city, hmm?" you hear a flirty feminine voice right next to you, matching your speed as you try your best to weave through the pushing bodies on this hot morning. you didn't have to time to glance at whoever was talking to you.

"look, i don't want to buy whatever you're selling-" you say, trying to quickly dismiss this woman and get to your next location. the woman makes her way in front of you, towering over you so that she covers the blazing sun from where she's standing. your eyes slowly rake up the woman's body, admiring how bold and strong she stood for a second, her biceps were built, and her face? her defined noses and lips, the way her eyebrows furrowed a teasing look. you took almost too long admiring her before you remembered that she was in your way.

"look here miss, i'm not trying to sell you anything. you people from the earth kingdom gotta start loosing up a bit." she snaps back at you, matching your energy. fuck, was it that noticeable? your dingy cloth overalls and your hair pushed back by a crochet bandana that your grandmother made you, made it obvious that you were from the earth kingdom.

"excuse me? your CITY PEOPLE are too pushy. now would you excuse me.." you say as you purposely elbow her as you walk by. you hear her wince, not daring to look back. "I'll see you around country girl!" is what you hear behind you, mixing in with the rest of the bustling noises of the city.

now here you were, working at a midnight food stall/bar that your landlord owned. she allowed you to stay if you worked for free. i mean the room you're staying in was the attic. It was hot as hell, and floorboards creaked so loud that you were worried that you were going to bring the whole house down, and would be so dusty. you didn't have a choice, so you decided to stay put. you and your landlord worked behind the counter at the food stall she owned for more than 30 years. you could tell she took pride in it, citizens trying to push in to find a seat at the full bar. she was mostly in the back preparing small noodle dishes for the workers who would come in after a night of drinking while you were to deal with the front, weird drunkards, nasty old men, and of course- korra.

"korra.." you say, turning around slowly, wiping your hands on your hand cloth, before meeting your gaze to korra. her arms crossed on the counter as she leaned on it, biting her bottom lip playfully as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"you know... you don't have to be such a bitch right?" she replies to you, taking a sip of her hot chai. even though korra was handsome, you wanted to slap her. why does she have such a huge ego? she would constantly pick at you and you two would bicker back and forth. the thing was that she always had a stupid smile on her face, teasing you. "you know you don’t have to be such a dick right?" you spit back, reaching over before the woman takes another sip, grabbing the small mug out of her hand. "hey!! what are you doing with my drink?" her voice heightened, upper body trying to reach over the counter to get the chai back. the mug clatters as you toss it in the basin, quickly turning around to face the desperate woman.

"im not doing this tonight korra. pick someone your size." you say through your teeth, trying your best to not let your guard down, but all you meet is her toothy grin. "im just waiting for the sweetest country girl to bite back," korra says with a quirk of her eyebrow.

korra always found a way to use her bending as an advantage. manipulating the rocky ground so you can trip in front of her, spritzing water on your face, pushing the wind to tussle your hair. she was waiting for you to do something to her, pinch her ear, or grab the collar of her top, but you did nothing. keeping that perfect zen earth kingdom attitude that she wanted to see crumble.

"oh, i will, don't you worry," you say, getting closer to her face, a mere 6 inches away from her nose. feeling her breathing increase as she got closer. her eyes widen in surprise but quickly replaced with a look of amusement.

"yeah? why don't you show me then babe?" korra smiled cheekily, biting her bottom lip as she looked down at your lips and then back to your eyes. you feel your face heat up instantly, blood rushing in your ears in embarrassment and rage. you scoff, whipping your head away from her to storm into the kitchen.

"so what time do you get off?!" korra yells as she watches you leave past the cloth that separates the bar to the kitchen.

a/n: thanks for all the love on my first post :'). here i give you a half ass request. idk if like this but lmk if yall want a pt2. inbox is open✉️

[thetravelerwrites]

Margaret and Rourke (Part 1)

Rating: Mature  Relationships: Female Human/Male Orc  Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Lovers, Interspecies Romance, Orcs, Older Man/Younger Woman Content Warnings: Mentions of Sexual Assault, Mentions of Physical Violence, Mentions of Torture, References to Sexual Assault Resulting in Pregnancy  Series:  Part 18 of Shelter Forest: The Towns  Words: 4,238

The reader's mother from Akjan's fic and her orc hubby get their own fic! After her daughter is taken away from her to be married to an orc chieftain she's never met, Margaret worries she'll never see her again. An orc arrives with news of her daughter and promises to help them reunite. Please leave feedback!

Your daughter had been gone for two months already. The count had ripped her from your arms in an instant on the day of her eighteenth birthday and gave you little to no time to say goodbye. You could only hope that she was well and being treated properly wherever she was, but you had no way to know for sure. You were anxious constantly, unaware if she was healthy or fed properly or even alive, but the idea that she could be somewhere out there, safe and happy, was the only comfort you found in your day to day life.

You were in a lot of pain at the moment. Moving around was difficult, and you struggled to complete your normal tasks. The madam had whipped you mercilessly just the day before for the unspeakable crime of passing in front of her when she was in a bad mood. She’d always been unkind to you, but since she discovered that your daughter, Catherine, was indeed the child of the Count, she had become the human embodiment of cruelty, turning the typical punishments she doled out onto you into nothing short of torture. You had no friends to turn to, since everyone in the manor knew you were the Countess’s favorite punching bag, so they would earn themselves no favors by being kind to you. Without Catherine there to lean on anymore, it was becoming harder to endure the beatings. 

As you were working, you saw David, a butler that had been hired recently. His face fell in sympathy as soon as he saw you, likely due to the bruising on your face and the split lip you were sporting. He was one of the few that treated you kindly. 

“Margaret, I’m glad I caught you,” He said. “I need your help.” 

“My help?” You asked. “I’ll do my best. What can I help with?” 

“The master has given me a task in town, but I don’t know my way around quite yet. Could you help me find the…” He consulted a piece of paper in his hand. “The Periwinkle Florist? The master is having guests later this evening and wants new flowers for the foyer and receiving room. Do you know where it is?” 

“Oh, yes, I do,” You told him. “It’s quite far, though. I’m surprised Master wants us to go so far out of the way for fresh flowers.”

“You know how the master is,” David said, rolling his eyes. “He wants what he wants.” 

Margaret laughed nervously. “Yes. Should we go now? It’ll take us at least an hour to get there and an hour back.” 

“That would be best, if we want to return before nightfall,” David agreed. “Are you ready to go as you are?” 

“Oh, I just need to grab my shawl and we can go,” You replied, taking a step toward the servants’ quarters. 

“Best be quick,” He said. “I’ll wait by the rear door.”

Nodding, you quick-stepped back to your tiny closet and grabbed your crocheted shawl, old and repaired many times. Something felt off about the room, like something was missing, but you figured it was just because Catherine was no longer there, so it felt terribly empty. 

You met David, who was carrying a large produce bag, by the back door that led out to the back of the estate, where there were the stables on one side and the tool sheds on the other. Between them was a road used exclusively by the servants into and out of the estate. The two of you set off down it, heading toward the middle ring of the city, where most of the shops were located. 

David was pleasant company, engaging you in light small talk to pass the time. He asked about your daughter, which you were only too happy to talk about, and told you about his wife and son, to whom he was sending all of his money. Hearing him fondly describe his son as a “tiny terror” made you smile. 

Finally, you arrived, but instead of entering the shop, David directed you to the back of the building. Confused, you followed him. Standing there was an orc whittling a small block of wood. He had long, single-braided dark hair and bright eyes, dressed in a simple tunic and trousers, and a rucksack was set against the wall next to him. He was more slender than most orcs you’d ever seen, though he was tall and had tight, strappy muscles on his arms. He looked up as you approached, though he paused momentarily when he saw you, staring and slack-jawed. His eyebrows drew down into a small frown briefly, gone instantly, though you weren’t sure what that was about. The sight of a man you’d never met before, a physically powerful one at that, filled you with no small amount of terror. Being alone with two men who could easily overpower you made you even less comfortable.

“Who…?” You asked, turning to David.

“Don’t be afraid, Ms. Margaret. This is an associate of mine, Rourke,” David said.

“I… I don’t… What are we doing here, David?” You asked him, becoming very worried and starting to back away.

The orc named Rourke approached the two of you slowly as if approaching a skittish animal. 

“Are you Ms. Margaret? Miss Catherine’s mother?” He asked you, and your heart jumped into your throat. Forgetting your fear momentarily, you reached out desperately to clutch his arm.

“Is she alright? Is she safe? Where is she?”  

“She’s fine,” Rourke said reassuringly. “She’s married to the chief of the Willowshield Stronghold and being given the respect she’s due as the chieftain’s wife, so you have no reason to worry. We’re here to take you to her.” 

“Take me… I…” You hesitated and looked backward in the general direction of the Count’s manor, though it wasn’t in view. “We’re leaving now?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Rourke said. “We have to move quickly. If we don’t leave now, we may not have another chance to leave without the Count knowing. I’m sure he’ll realize it sooner rather than later, but we can get a head start if we leave now.” 

Anxiety welled up in you, present at all times, but vastly more intense at the moment than normal. You’d never been outside of the city before and had no idea what to expect from the outside world, and you didn’t know these men at all nor have any reason to believe or trust them, but… your baby girl was out there. If there was any chance of seeing her again, you would have to place your trust in strangers.

“I didn’t bring my things,” You replied weakly. 

David reached into the large bag he’d brought with him and wrestled out a second smaller bag, which you recognized as your own carpet bag, where you kept your meager treasures. You had bought it ages ago when you first tried to leave the manor, but finding out you were with child had stopped you. As bad as the manor was, even though you were paid pennies, you were still paid. You were fed. There was a bed underneath you and a roof overhead. And… you didn’t know where else you could have gone, anyway. You had been there all your life.

Now… you had that chance. The chance to run. 

Looking up at the two men, tears of both fear and hope filling your eyes, and you nodded. 

“Alright.” 

The three of you managed to get out of the city wall before nightfall, but were forced to camp outside mere feet from it. The two men had set up a small but charming tent for you to use, though they themselves would be sleeping outside. As they went about setting up the camp, building the fire, and cooking an evening meal, you sat there for the first time with nothing in your hands, unsure of what to do. 

“Can I help with something?” You asked them. 

Rourke smiled at you kindly. “No, Ms. Margaret, we’ve got it well in hand. You rest your bones for a little while. We’ll take care of this.” 

Sitting still felt unnatural, but you sat and watched them bustle around. As David stirred the pot over the fire, Rourke retrieved a jar from his bags and came close. You resisted the urge to back away. 

“May I sit with you, Ms. Margaret?” He asked. When you nodded, he sat on an upturned log next to you. “This is an ointment our stronghold’s medicine woman made. It’s magic on bruises. Would you mind if I applied a little? That black eye looks nasty.”

“Oh,” You said, looking down to hide behind your hair a little. “Yes, alright.” 

“Look up for me, Ms. Margaret,” He said gently. 

Carefully, he pulled your hair away from your face and tucked it behind your ears. You looked up, surprised by how close he was. This close, you could see he had the prettiest deep brown eyes, glittering like stars in the flickering firelight. They were the same color as clean tilled earth, or savory soup that nourishes the body and soul, or a warm blanket of wool that keeps out the winter chill. They reminded you of every comforting thing you’d ever experienced in your lifetime. You found yourself blushing as those thoughts filled your head, trying to put them out of mind.

“I’m surprised you have a grown child, Ms. Margaret,” Rourke said. You assumed he was attempting to make small talk. 

“Why’s that?” 

“You look far too young. How old are you, if I might ask?” 

“Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a woman her age?”

“Is it?” He asked, tilting his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. That’s not something orc women care about. In fact, orc women like to brag about their age. Each year they live is a year they beat death. As much as we cherish the idea of dying honorably in battle, we also really like bragging.” 

You laughed. “I’m thirty-three.” 

“So young!” He said. “You were still just a girl when Mis Catherine was born, eh?” 

Your smile faded. “Fifteen, yes.” 

He clicked his tongue. “Far too young. I’m amazed you were able to raise a babe when you were hardly more than a babe yourself.” 

“Why, how old are you?” 

“Fifty-two.” 

You pulled back to look at his face. “You're one to talk about not looking one’s age! You barely look out of your thirties! I can’t believe you’re almost twenty years older than I am.” 

He laughed. “Well, thank you for the compliment. My daughter complains that we look much more like siblings than parent and child, but I don’t know if that’s a compliment for me or self-deprecation for her.” 

“You have a daughter?” 

“Oh, yes,” Rourke said. “Just about the same age as Miss Catherine, in fact. She’s my pride and joy. Lost her mother when she was young, so it’s just been me and her ever since then.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“It’s alright, Ms. Margaret. It was long ago now.” 

“Still. You have my sincerest sympathies.” 

“I appreciate it. This is pretty bad, by the way,” Rourke said, wincing in sympathy as he applied the ointment to your eye. “What happened?” 

“Oh, I…” You looked down and away, careful not to tilt your head out of his reach. “I… it… just happened.” 

He paused momentarily before continuing, regarding you soberly. 

“Does it ‘just happen’ often?” He asked softly.

“I… I’m a poor worker,” You said quietly. “I’m too slow and lazy, so… I require more… correction than the others do.”

He spread a little of the ointment on the split in your lip, his touch feather soft, before he sat back and gazed at you.

“I can’t claim you know you or your work ethic, Ms. Margaret,” He said. “But no one deserves this kind of punishment. That I do know.” 

You looked down and didn’t respond. 

Rourke sighed. “Do you know how to ride a horse?” 

You looked back up at him. “No.” 

“I thought so. We brought two horses with us, two of the fastest in the stronghold, but it seems like you’ll have to ride with one of us. Is that alright?” 

You nodded. “That’s fine. I just want to get back to my baby.” 

“She’s a lucky lady, to have a mother like you,” Rourke said with a smile. “She’ll be happy to see you. It’ll be a nice surprise.” 

“She doesn’t know I’m coming?” You asked. 

Rourke shook his head, his long ears waggling. “The Count tried to make Chief Akjan believe that Miss Catherine was a legitimate daughter of his, but Chief Akjan had a feeling there was more to the story than he was told, so he had us do some investigating.” He motioned at David. “David realized the true story from listening to the manor’s gossip. After observing you and sending word back, Akjan sent me to retrieve David and see if you were willing to make the journey with us. Although…” He glanced at your face again and sighed. “Seeing how bad things are, I shouldn’t have delayed so long. I should have been here sooner. I apologize for that.” Rourke took a bowl from David and handed it to you. “Here. David’s not a great cook, but it’ll be better than twigs, certainly.” 

“I cook better than you, you lout!” David said indignantly.

You couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure it’s fine.” 

Well, he hadn’t been lying: the meal was a little rough, basically just jerky boiled in water, but it was filling enough and made you feel warm inside. 

“We should sleep early,” Rourke said, holding his hand out to help you stand. “We’ll be getting up before dawn to go pick up the horses and start toward the stronghold.” 

“You didn’t have to put up a tent for me, I can sleep on the ground,” You told him, looking inside. It was just a bedroll on top of a riding blanket, but it looked charming and comfortable. 

“Nonsense!” Rourke said. “I’d never made a lady sleep on the cold, hard ground! No, no, you get in there and get comfy, I’ll be right outside keeping watch. Get yourself some rest, Ms. Margaret. Goodnight.” 

Ducking into the tent, you laid your tired body down on the bed and covered yourself, the aches in your body intensifying as you tried to relax. Once he saw that you were in the bed and down for the night, Rourke stationed himself at the mouth of the tent, his back to you, having a muted conversation with David that you couldn’t make sense of. Despite being outside of the city walls for the first time in your life and headed toward an uncertain future, seeing Rourke’s back blocking out the dangers of the world made you feel a strange sense of security. Almost immediately, you fell asleep. 

They managed to make a trip that would normally take two weeks in a mere five days. They rode pretty hard for the first few days, though Margaret needed several breaks throughout the days in order to recover, since horse riding when you weren’t used to it could be quite punishing on the body. She was eternally grateful for that bruise ointment, which Rourke had gifted her.

Margaret rode with Rourke for most of the trip, since his horse was larger, but being in close proximity with men made her wildly uncomfortable. She simply had to swallow down her discomfort to make it to the end. 

For Catherine, She kept telling herself. I can do it for Catherine.

They eventually arrived in a town bustling with activity. It wasn’t anywhere close to being as busy as the city, but it was more lively and less noisy. Riding straight up the middle lane, they reached a tall wall made of wooden pikes and a large gate with sentries patrolling the top. 

“Here we are,” Rouke said. “Welcome to the Willowshield stronghold.” 

“Catherine is inside?” You asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Rourke replied. “She’s just inside.” 

Hope and expectation welled up in your chest. “She’s just inside,” You repeated softly. 

Rourke chuckled a little, his breath stirring your hair. “Not long now.”

The doors of the gate opened slowly, and the interior of the stronghold revealed itself. There were cottages dotting the landscape, with two long bunkhouses to the left and right, a large building at the top of the hill, and in the very center right beyond the gates, a longhouse that seemed to serve as a town hall. The stronghold was just as bustling as the town outside, and despite being a closed community, it was far more inviting than any place you’d been yet. 

“We must report in to Chief Akjan,” Rourke said as he jumped down from the horse. He reached up to help you down, and then handed off the reins of the horse to a waiting horseboy. You were surprised that orcs had horseboys. “But you’ll be able to see your little girl right after.” 

You nodded and allowed Rourke to lead you into the longhouse. There, a large orc sat in the chair in the center of the room at the end of the fire trench. He wore a leather kilt, furs on his shoulders, and various leather straps. He was talking to David, who walked right up to an orc woman with a baby on her hip and gave her a long, deep kiss. You blushed.  

“Chief Akjan,” Rourke said. “She’s here.” 

“Ah, good,” Chief Akjan said, standing up and towering over you. Where Rourke was tall and lean as a whip, Chief Akjan was broad and massively muscled. “Are you Margaret?” 

You tried to answer, but your voice came out as a squeak. Clearing your throat, you replied, “Yes, I am.” 

Chief Akjan nodded. “Good. I’m glad you’re here. Catherine will be happy to see you.” 

“If you’ll pardon me, Sir,” You asked him shyly. “You’re the one married to Catherine, aren’t you?” 

Chief Akjan shrugged. “Yes and no,” He replied. “We have a contract, but it can be revoked at any moment. She’s under no obligation to stay with me, nor am I beholden to her. We may part ways as friends whenever we wish.” 

Your head rocked back in surprise; you’d never heard of an arrangement like that before. 

“Is she well?” 

“Better than she was at the Count’s estate, I’d wager,” He said, snorting, but upon seeing your anxious face, he answered more seriously. “She’s just fine, ma’am. We’ve been taking good care of her, I swear to you. Shall I fetch her for you?” 

“Oh, please do,” You begged. “I’m so anxious to see her.” 

“I’ll return shortly, then. Wait here.” 

Chief Akjan turned and exited through a side door, and you rung your hands in anticipation, resisting the urge to bounce on your heels like a child. 

“Excited?” Rourke asked, smiling. 

“I just want to be sure she’s alright,” You said. “I can endure anything if my child is happy.” 

Rourke’s smile widened in a fond way. “You’re a good mama.” 

You blushed and looked away. 

“Hopefully, you won’t have to endure anything from now on,” Rourke said, pointing. “Look alive.” 

“Mother!” 

You spun on your heel, elated. Catherine was standing there, looking healthier and brighter than you had ever seen her, wearing simple but well-made clothing, and every ounce of anxiety in your body evaporated. 

“My baby!” You exclaimed, running forward to throw your arms around her. “Oh, my darling, I’m so sorry!” 

She clutched you, quietly crying into your hair. Oh, you had missed her so.

“It’s alright, Mother. Are you alright?” She asked, pulling back to look at the fading bruises on your face. They were almost gone, but the presence of them surely made Catherine feel worried. You could see it on her face.

“I’m fine, honey, I’m just fine,” You insisted. “David and Rourke have been taking good care of me.”

She released you and looked at the men you had pointed to. “They have? What do you mean? How did you get here?”

“I sent them to collect her,” Akjan said, stepping forward. “I had a feeling there was more to the story that you and the Count hadn't told me, so I sent David to do some reconnaissance. It didn’t take long for the full story to reveal itself, so I sent Rourke to retrieve her. Problem solved.”

Catherine’s face showed worry, relief, and a little bit of disappointment. “Thank you, Akjan. I will be in your debt for as long as I live. Are you going to send us to Willowridge?”

He shook his head grimly, crossing his arms. “No. We know that the Count must be aware that your mother has disappeared by now and may have guessed the stronghold’s involvement. Our intelligence suggests he’s gathering soldiers to march on Willowshield to either get his horse deal or take you and your mother back. It’ll be safer for you and your mother to stay within the walls of the stronghold.”

Catherine’s hand went to her mouth in shock. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize the Count would cause this much trouble for you.”

Akjan shrugged, as though an invasion by a noble was no cause for concern.

“We’ve been attacked for far less. Don’t worry, it won’t be an issue.” He addressed you directly. “Welcome to Willowshield, madam.”

You bowed your head and nodded shyly. “Thank you very much, Chief Akjan.”

"Rourke, have the girls show Ms. Margaret to the bunkhouse."

Rourke nodded. “This way, Ms. Margaret. Miss Catherine will join you shortly. She and the Chief need to have a heart to heart.” He began guiding you toward the back door and outside.

“Is she in trouble?” You asked fretfully, allowing yourself to be led.

“Not at all! Just some husband and wife business, that’s all. Never you worry.” 

You weren’t sure about that, but you had no choice but to believe him. Rourke had been positively enthusiastic since the moment you met him, upfront and honest and the picture of gentlemanly chivalry. His open and friendly nature had gotten past your inner defenses, and you’d go so far as to consider him something of a friend. David was good natured and friendly as well, but you’d never felt as close to him as you ended up feeling to Rourke. There was just something about Rourke that wouldn’t allow you to ignore him.

Rourke led you to a communal pavilion where there were several women doing fiber arts, weaving and spinning and knitting. One of them, a tall woman in trousers, stood up and came close. 

“Ms. Margaret, this is Erin, Chief Akjan’s sister-in-law,” He said. “She’ll take care of you until Miss Catherine finishes up with the chief.” 

“Ah, you’re Miss Catherine’s mama!” Erin said, holding out her hand. “So good to meet you! We’ve been waiting for you.” 

You took her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Erin.” 

“Oh, she’s just like Miss Catherine,” Erin said. “Shy and sweet. They’ll love you around here.” 

“Hey!” Rourke said in a warning tone. Erin raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t respond. Clearing his throat, Rourke turned to you. “I have to give a debrief to the chief and report to my superior now. If you should ever need me for anything, my normal job is as a gate guard, so if you go down to the gate and ask for me, I’ll be at your disposal. Any time. Alright?” 

You nodded. “Alright.” 

He seemed reluctant to leave, but he started walking backwards. 

“Until then.” 

You smiled. “Until then.” 

With a bright parting grin, he turned and trotted off, his long braid swinging back and forth. 

“My goodness,” Erin said. “You and Miss Catherine certainly have a way about you, don’t you?” 

You tilted your head in confusion. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” 

Erin shook her head and laughed. “It’s nothing. Let’s get you set up with a bunk. Things are about to get… busy soon.” 

The way she phrased that made you feel a little tense, but she pulled you forward to meet the other women in the group, all of whom were welcoming and kind. Erin took you up to the bunkhouse, where you claimed two beds, one for you and one for Catherine. Erin informed you that, now that you had arrived and the Count had nothing to hold over her, Chief Akjan and Catherine no longer needed to keep up appearances and the marriage would be dissolved. Worried, you asked if that meant that she’d be kicked out, but Erin assured you that wasn’t the case. 

“The chief wouldn’t do that,” Erin said. She leaned in and whispered, “Between you and me, Akjan likes her too much to send her away. My prediction is that they won’t be apart for long.” 

“Oh,” You said, surprised. 

Erin laughed. “Come on, she’d be done with the chief now, let’s collect her and catch up. I’m sure she’s dying to tell you everything.” 

Allowing yourself to be dragged back to the pavilion, you saw Catherine standing there, looking around for you, and smiled. For the first time in your life, you felt like you were right where you were meant to be.

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My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[muldermuse]

please can we see more of jealous gator and maybe a pregnancy scare in two sinners?

i fuckin love these crazy kids

jealous gator is coming!!! i promise!!

pregnancy scare drabble below the cut

warnings: mentions of morning sickness, pregnancy terminations, slut shaming etc

part of the two sinners works

You’d been ill all week, unable to keep any food down and feeling a level of exhaustion that had settled deep in your bones. Gator had text to ask to meet up nearly every day but you honestly couldn’t think of anything worse than having a man near you right now. You’d called in sick and spent the week feeling very sorry for yourself whilst lying on the couch watching whatever trash was on the TV. Whenever you glanced in the mirror; you were taken aback by how awful you looked. Your eyes were dull with dark bags underneath and your skin was pale. Your stomach rumbled but the thought of food made you retch. A pang of raw pain struck your stomach and your nausea doubled as you thought, when was the last time you had a period?

Was it this month?

The month before?

The past few weeks had been a lot, your job becoming overwhelming and life had begun taking steady, yet hard, digs at you. First, you got a flat tyre, then you dropped your phone and smashed your screen. Later the same week, your favourite jeans ripped at the thigh seam and to top it all off, this new guy you’d been speaking to had got back with an ex. 

So yeah, it was fair to say that your focus had not been on your menstrual cycle.

Without getting changed or bothering to make yourself look more presentable, you grab your keys and head to your local store to buy a test.

***

Gator was bored. This was the kind of day shift where usually he’d drop by your place and grip his hands into the fact of your ass as you rode him. He’d been desperate to see you all week but you’d been too ill. The thought of your body and the things you could do to make him feel good plagued his mind. He’d spent every night this week fisting his cock in the shower to thoughts of you whilst Glenda was crocheting in the next room. A trill ring snaps him out of his thoughts and he groans before answering- it’s Glenda.

“Hi hon, everythin’ okay?” he sounds exasperated but he knows that Glenda won’t pick up on that. Sometimes, he thinks that Glenda calls him just to hear her own voice.

“Yeah yeah, all good hon. Hey, guess who I saw buying a pregnancy test at the store?”

He knows that it’s you before she even says your name.

He feels the blood drain from his face and Glenda’s voice fades into static in the background.

This cannot be fucking happening. 

When was the last time you had slept together? Would you keep it? Is he going to be a dad? He thinks that you’d be a great mom but before that thought can even embed itself further in his brain; he pushes it away.

He tunes back into Glenda’s voice as she continues to talk to herself, “well y’know hon it’s like I said, with that many guy friends she has- somethin’ like this was bound to happen, dontcha think?”.

“Yeah hon, listen I gotta go alright? I’ll uh- I’ll see you at home” She tells him that she loves him before he hangs but he doesn’t say it back.

He puts the sirens on the car as he races to your home. The thoughts in his head are spinning that quickly that he’s beginning to feel numb, becoming too overwhelmed to focus on anything but driving. He dumps his car on your front lawn and tries hard not to run into your home. He tries to take deep calming breaths with each step, he thinks of his father and how Roy would kill him if he ever found out. The door is unlocked so he lets himself inside.

***

The test is face down on your bathroom counter and so is your phone screen. The package promised instant results in ‘just three minutes’ and you’d set a timer on your phone. You know Gator’s footsteps, they’re always urgent and stomping on your stairs. His face is white as he walks through your bathroom door and makes eye contact with you.

You're sat on the rim of your bath, “Glenda?” you ask as he nods; his eyes wide in panic. You huff, “I fuckin’ knew I saw her at the store”.

He’s silent as he sits next to you, anxiety radiating off his body and his breath quick. Neither of you look at each other until the alarm rings out, you stop it with one tap and take a deep breath as you hold the test in your hand. It’s still turned face down so you don’t know the answer yet. 

Your voice is shaky and you can feel tears threatening to pour down your face, “I don’t wanna look”.

Gator’s warm hand settles on your knee, his thumb rubbing in a  calming motion; you don’t know if he’s doing this for you or for himself. “We don’t have to look yet”.

You’re both in limbo; unsure how much time has passed. It could be five minutes or it could be an hour. The sun is still high in the clear sky and shining through the small window in your bathroom. It’s becoming stiflingly hot but you feel paralysed with fear. You’ll have to research clinics where you can have a termination, are you going to have to travel out of state? You and Gator could never be a family but, maybe you could keep the child a secret. Maybe you could move out of state together and raise your baby together. Maybe, in another town, you could both start afresh. You could be young lovebirds who are looking forward to starting a family together. No one would have to know what you’d both run from. The baby would never have to know about their psychotic grandfather. You have options and you feel a wave of calm wash over you. 

Before you can overthink it; you turn the test in your hands.

Negative.

Not pregnant.

Thank.

Fuck.

You both let out a shaky breath of relief.

“I’ve uh- I bought a few more, just in case it’s like a false negative or whatever. I’ll probably do two more now and then do one tomorrow maybe” you can feel the confidence returning to your voice. 

“Yeah, of course, I’ll go sit downstairs just y’know- do what you gotta do” you both exchange a quick smile before Gator heads downstairs. 

His heart is still pounding as he sits down on your couch, he isn’t sure if he’s relieved or upset. What the fuck is he thinking? Of course, he’s relieved. The two of you having a baby is completely out of the question. Maybe this scare should make him more concerned about sleeping with you and he considers that it could be time to stop this. His daddy is starting to pressure him more about proposing to Glenda and she’s dropping hints about marriage basically every day at this point. All these thoughts evaporate when you walk into the room holding three negative pregnancy tests. You straddle him and his hands grab your hips. You both spend the rest of the afternoon making out and trying to push the fear of the past few hours to the back of your mind. 

He can’t stop this.

He can’t let go of you.

[being-addie]

Habits I've successfully developed since my first post🤍

If you've been here since the beginning, you'll know of my first and most popular post where I discuss developing certain habits to improve my life.

Here it is: https://www.tumblr.com/being-addie/714114582776610816/healthy-habits-im-developing-for-2023?source=share

So far, I've managed to do a lot and I'm so proud of myself. If you did some of them too, I'm really proud of you <3. It's difficult but we did it!

Here's what I managed to accomplish:

⭐Got my sleep schedule right: I FINALLY am sleeping 7-8 hours a night and it's so much better because I wake up at 5:30 am every morning and I'm more alert these days.

⭐Working out: Started going to the gym 5 days a week. I'm also looking into some hip-hop classes in the evenings.

⭐Water: I've tried drinking more water, and it's certainly working. I'm not perfect, but we're getting there!

⭐Digital detoxing: I did it. I successfully deleted social media and I'm so freaking proud of myself. It's 100% not easy and while I do get the occasional bursts of jealousy and FOMO, I'm getting better <3

⭐Creative work: I've started to learn how to crochet, and I'm planning on starting knitting soon. I also want to begin making my own jewellery (possibly try my hand at making clothes as well)

⭐Portfolio: I've begun work on my portfolio and I'm really excited with all the ideas I'm getting.

⭐Clean room: My room is so much cleaner now that I'm tidying up on a regular basis.

⭐Friendships: Currently in a really great place with two separate friend groups who value me, and I'm really grateful to past me for cutting out people I thought were my "friends".

Of course, I'm not perfect, I will be struggling with some things. I did particularly have problems with some of these:

💛My to-do list: More often than not, my to-do list lies incomplete because I just don't want to do it lol. Discipline is key, and I'm working on it.

💛Food: I've had to go out so much, and I've been consuming less-than-ideal healthy food. It's been difficult because I'm out so many hours due to classes that I literally need to buy those sugary protein bars to eat. 10 hours a day of nonstop commuting, sitting for 2-hour classes is no joke. We've also had a ton of birthdays and outings so I'm trying not to give into temptation and buy a bag of chips on a whim.

💛Self-care: I was so busy, I burned out, oof. I overworked myself to the point of a mental breakdown, and I'm still so busy, I'm finding it difficult to set aside time to even do my Everything Shower. I'm going to try and cut my day into manageable chunks so I can decompress.

Learning myself over the last few months has been interesting, to say the least. Paying attention to your mind and body's cues allows you to be more aware of what you're doing and WHY. Here's your sign to start implementing habits you've been sleeping on.

Don't wait, just start. xoxo

<3

[kirby-the-gorb]

reply roundup!

I guess vaguely once a month is just how these things work now, I do try to read everyone's tags and replies and stuff but a lot of them I just don't really have anything to reply with sorry! as always I appreciate the supportive words and well wishes and stuff <3

I also love the trifurcation of responses to [go to bed]: one group of people is like "yeah u right I sleep now thanks", one is like "sorry but I can't", and one is just like "no! I refuse!!!" lol

I did get two different "posts that have 10k to me" tags though, on [one] that actually passed 10k and [another] that is still barely triple digits and will probably stay there XD

anyway [chess kirb] was on the radar which is neat

also my birthday is this weekend :)

oh yeah and reminder that I also have a craft blog @sleepy-princess-craftery

on [the last roundup] @sacrasm said: oh the clonk'd is just my queued post tag! thr other one is self explanatory he is little he is pink and i affectionately call things freak sometimes (in combination with other words)

ohhhh that makes sense lol it was the clonk'd that I was baffled by thank you for explaining -u-

on [drowsy] @ceylonsilvergirl said: being laid up sick or injured is terrible, but I think we also need to acknowledge that it’s also boring as hell. can’t do anything fun. boring boring boring

it is!!! it's so boring!!! especially since I'm already baseline sick all the time so I have less options to start with, so to do even less than that is literally nothing!

anonymous asked: Gwah being sick sucks. I wish immune system upon you!

thank you! (I think I actually need less immune system? on account of the immune disorder. but either way I do not have an active infection anymore 👍)

on [tumble] @chefwhatnot said: get chucked idiot

where's that post like "'get (blank)ed idiot' is the funniest joke" cuz they're right

on [mask] @macro-microcosm said: glad you're feeling better! i agree that we should all still be masking up, it bothers me soooo much to see that so many people have stopped

like honestly, scientifically speaking it is way more effective and more accessible than just leaning on vaccines, and it protects people from all kinds of stuff not just covid! but nobody wants to wear masks and even people who think they're being cautious just want to lean on vaccine requirements, which is doubly inaccessible for me personally and probably millions of other people :( stresses me out too.

anonymous asked: Magicking you up some new containers

thanks! they didn't have what I wanted at target but we got some usable stuff from daiso, so at least it's not all still shoved in a ziploc bag.

@thewizardgnome asked: But what if I say bye

I mean yeah you can do that too if you want I guess lol

on [paper] @breathelifeintothatsoul said: Cool! I've always wanted to try and make my own (recycled) paper one time

it's fun! there's a lot of extra steps you can add in if you want to, but the absolute basics of it is just dump a bunch of paper strips into a bin, fill it with water, wait until it breaks up enough for your liking, then dunk some kind of stiff screen into it (horizontally) so you can pull out even layers of pulp to dry somewhere.

on [paper] @hermitfox said: oooo making your own paper is do much fun, I have fond memories from kindergarten doing that. ... actually what stops me from doing that as an adult. I should make paper again

do recommend, making things is fun and also good for you :) also the paper pulp is very Texture (affectionate) (to me) (I'm sure to others it can be very Texture (derogatory) but I like it)

on [yarn] @ceylonsilvergirl said: I am very envy of people who can follow a pattern, I can’t do that. I can do a friend being like “Oh this next one is two one two one’’, i can’t translate abbreviations into an idea in my mind. give me a diagram instead

I'm the opposite tbh, I find the abbreviations really easy to follow but looking at a diagram for knitting and crochet just turns into like, visual noise if it's more complex than like, a single fan stitch or whatever.

@my-life-is-a-bad-sitcom asked: You’re Kirby’s are so cool and I love your art style. Honestly awesome. Giving you a standing ovation. 👍

thank you! I love to draw a little guy

anonymous asked: I saw you on tumblr radar just now!! congrats!! -@secondbeatsongs

woah thanks sbs!

@darkchaogarden-blog asked: Tumblr's doing that dumb thing it's been doing lately where I can't reblog anything, so I'll just write to you personally that your art is excellent! Have a good day!

that sounds like such an irritating bug but thank you! I hope you had a good day too whenever this was :)

on [chess] @shiinteractsif said: dudes at the search thingy image. congrats

oh cool I wondered where the radar posts showed up on mobile!

on [chair] @mads-is-tired said: i’ve never played a kirby game but i desperately want to BECAUSE LOOK AT HIM

honestly so valid, he's basically a character brand to me (like hello kitty or rilakkuma). I'm probably biased, but I feel like the best games to start with are either forgotten land (the one that came out on switch last year) or crystal shards (originally for the n64, also available through the nintendo online vc). I think they're the most visually appealing (aside from epic yarn which is not a mainline game) and while they reward exploration they're not as complex as some of the handheld titles to fully explore, nor are they as hand-holdy as some of the other console titles. a good middle ground of feeling like you did the thing, without being frustrating.

on [soup] @give-soup-please said: ME #soupblogging #fucking same

how delightful that this post managed to find you :) these tags make me happy whenever I think of them

on [soup] @lord-chiopet said: me too bud. you too op hope the weather approved

good news, the weather has improved :) now it is overcast and drizzly, my favorite!

on [chess] @wealmostaneckbeard said: Neither of them know how to play so they made up some rules...

what a cute idea! I hope they are having fun with their new game.

on [baseball] @hutbug said: the teal color is called northwest green and we still wear it all the time!! its beautiful u did an amazing job

thank you for the info! before this season I hadn't really had access to baseball for the past like 8 years or something and a lot has changed lol so I didn't really trust my memory

on [blue] @ceylonsilvergirl [added] "I CAN TRY AGAIN TOMORROW! Or next week! or next month..."

that really is the vibe lately huh.

anonymous asked: Your kirbys bring me daily serotonin

aww good!

[butterflyintochains]

Bubble Playoff Boredom

In which Elias is in Edmonton for the 2020 Bubble playoffs, and his girlfriend is bored out of her mind.

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

Elias left yesterday for the return to play in Edmonton. He's been so bored over lockdown without being able to skate or play hockey, so she's glad he can get back to what he does best. Joanna, however, always had something to do. Studying, student union zoom meetings, the odd online chess tournament. They both have just moved into their first home together, a lovely condo roughly in between Rogers Arena and UBC, so have been constantly working on getting the place ship shape for their needs. Now, she's the one left at loose ends. Potentially two months without him, and unable to just hop in the car to visit her friends and family are going to fucking suck. Ever an early bird, Joanna is up at eight, and gets ready for her day. She eats her breakfast, and looks around the condo for anything that needs to be done. She hones in on the bookcase, and decides to rearrange it. Putting her university and non-fiction books on the bottom shelves, all arranged by author, and their novels closer to the top. She keeps the middle shelf for trinkets and pictures, as well as Elias' various hockey mementos. ''Much better.''

That takes her until just before lunch, she didn't know quite how many books she had until now. Next, she makes herself some lunch, and watches something on Netflix. Elias said he'd call her every night, so she has a bunch of time to kill. ''Right, what next?'' She says to herself. Eyeing up her knitting baskets, Joanna sorts through her projects, and places the finished ones in a separate basket. Her needles and crochet hooks are in a box in her desk drawer upstairs. Her unfinished projects are put in another basket, and she sorts her wools out, arranging them neatly into colours and types. She spends the rest of the day getting some of her projects finished, Elias' gloves for winter don't take long, neither do hers. A hat for her friend Jonathan is a quick finish as well, and goes in a special gift bag for him with Chelsea's scarf. Those take her until dinner. She eats, watches some tv, and goes to get ready for bed.

Finally, she gets her facetime with her boyfriend. She almost wants to cry at seeing him again. ''Hi, sweetheart, how are you?'' She asks, relaxing into her pillows. ''Bored senseless, alskling, you?'' Joanna sips her water. ''About the same, what did you do today? Surely there's something you guys can do, right?''

Elias says. ''Well; Brock, Thatch, Quinn, and I got a Mario Kart event going between ourselves. Finished that book you told me to read.'' She gave him her Dark Tower books by Stephen King for the bubble. ''Really? Did you like it?''

Elias nods, earnest as always. ''Yeah, I did. I'll crack open the next one tomorrow after training.'' He asks her, blue eyes sleepy. ''Now, what did you get up to today?''

Joanna says. ''Well, I sorted our bookcase out finally, and got my knitting stuff in order. My desk is a disaster, so that's tomorrow sorted.'' She pauses and sighs. ''I miss having you here, Lias, this place just doesn't feel like home without you.''

Elias sighs as well, running his free hand through his silver blond hair. ''I know, Anna, I know. Believe me, I'm no happier about this than you are. Just, try and sleep for me, okay?''

Joanna nods, swallowing past a tightening in her throat. ''Yeah, you too. I love you.''

Elias says. ''I love you too.'' They hang up, Joanna lies down, and almost forces herself to get some sleep.

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

A couple of days pass, and the Canucks have begun their qualifying campaign against Minnesota with a 3-0 loss. Joanna notices the day after that they need some groceries. So, she makes herself a list on her phone. Essential stores are open now, so she'll be fine. Her first time out of the condo since Elias left for Alberta. She grabs her purse, and jumps in her car. She drives down to the store, and heads inside, it is unfairly hot today. The store is all but empty, only staff and a few other shoppers milling about. She swings by the produce section for more fruits and veggies, then grabs some chicken breast and smoked salmon. Next, the dairy aisle for more milk and yoghurt. In the hygiene section, she bumps into her best friend. ''Tessa, oh my God, you are a sight for sore eyes.''

Theresa laughs behind her tiger print mask. ''Bored at home alone, Anna?'' They chat while six feet apart, the two little girls who lived in each other's pockets for two decades. ''God, yeah, with Elias out of town, I'm just counting the days until he's home. Cup or no Cup.''

Theresa says, eyes crinkling with a hidden smile. ''Nate and I had a little wager on, twenty bucks to me if you got bored before qualifying, twenty bucks to him if it happened after. Looks like I won.'' Joanna adds some pads and moisturizer to her cart, along with some of her favourite lip balm. ''Looks like you did.''

Theresa says. ''Anyway, I should get going, I love you, bestie.'' Joanna says, being a touchy person during a pandemic isn't fun. ''Love you too, Tessa.''

Joanna swings by the bakery section for some bread and some of their favourite cookies. Then, she grabs some ice cream. She picks up some cleaning products, and goes to a self checkout.

Once home, she chucks her mask in the laundry, and washes her hands before putting everything away. Then, she finds a knitting pattern for a cute teddy bear, and begins working on it.

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

The team go into August 6th having tied the series, and shutout the Wild 3-0, with Elias getting his first ever playoff goal! Joanna watches from home, having to dry her eyes all night. Her boyfriend's first playoff goal, and it was beautiful, and she couldn't see it in person. She quickly readies herself for bed, putting laundry on her to-do list for tomorrow, and jumps on facetime with Elias, who looks radiant. To add to the unfairness, his beard is coming in! Fuck you, Covid. Joanna groans. ''Hey, beautiful, did you see it?'' Elias asks, sounding justly proud of himself.

Joanna laughs, and says. ''Oh, I saw it, darling. I continue to be so proud of you, you know? Here's to many more.'' Elias chuckles, the same way he does when she tells him a joke. ''Your lips to God's ear, alskling.'' He takes a minute to scan her face, he knows her too well by now, when the calm sea hides a tsunami. ''Anna, are you okay? You look like you've been crying.''

Joanna purses her lips. ''Yeah, I'm just happy for you, love, that's all.'' He cocks an eyebrow. ''Anna, please, just tell me. It's okay, Quinn's asleep, it's just us.''

Joanna confesses, because he always knows how to unravel her. ''I'm just... pissed off. You scored, and it was amazing. But, here I am, stuck watching you from home. I pictured you finding me in the stands and blowing me a kiss after your first playoff goal.'' She pauses to collect herself. ''I know it's for safety, and people are dying, but, that's what I pictured.''

Elias sighs, and looks emotional himself. ''I know you did, so did I. Tell you what? That's my celly for my next goal, I'll find a camera, and kiss your rose pendant you gave me.''

Joanna beams at him, what stars aligned to give him to her? ''Sounds good to me.'' They say their goodnights, and hang up.

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

That gameday would come against the defending champions - St Louis. Game one of the best of seven. Joanna finishes a deep clean of the house brought about my nerves, but she doesn't miss the start of the game. Bo and Perron score in the first to hold things level at one goal apiece. Early in the second period, however, Elias hammers it to the back of the net, beating out Binnington with grace. He finds a camera close to the net, fishes the rose pendant out from his jersey, and presses a kiss to it for her. Elias mouths to the camera. ''I love you.''

Joanna, barely fighting tears, says. ''I love you too.'' Her phone rings, her dad. ''Hi, daddy, what's up?'' She sniffles.

Her dad asks. ''Was that for you, princess? That celly? Your mom thinks it was.'' Her parents got her the rose necklace for her fifteenth birthday, and she's only ever removed it to give it to Elias before he left for Alberta.

Joanna gleefully says. ''Yeah, dad, it was. I know we're still so young, dad, but he's it for me.'' She watches as Schwartz levels it up again. Her dad chuckles down the line. ''I think so too, princess.'' They talk for a bit, and hang up.

Troy, Bo, and JT lead the team to the win. As Joanna is readying for bed, she gets a text from Elias.

Beloved: Grab your laptop, I have an idea.

She smirks to herself, and replies.

Joanna Rose: Okay. 💓

They facetime each other to sleep that night. Talking about the game, his goal celebration, and the series to come.

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

The series trundles along nicely, it's tied by the 18th. Joanna decides to go for an early morning run that day, and showers once she's home. Things are a bit more bearable now that they have the routines down, but coming home to an empty condo is still depressing. Her younger siblings are locked down with her parents at the manor, her older siblings have their partners. Her friends are all living with their partners by now too. She finishes eating breakfast, and works on her teddy bear again. All it needs now is the finishing touches. She sews on some buttons for eyes and a nose, and knits a little bowtie from soft pink wool. Her niece's knitted duck plushie was a hit, Rose never sleeps without it according to Edward and Cassandra. But, this one will be staying here. She may be 21, but she is terribly touch starved.

After lunch, she plays some chess online against some other players, her elo is up to 1200 now, it was a bit higher when she was competing as a teenager. She was even competing against the boys, and winning most of her matches. None of her boys have ever beaten her, and only Elias came close, mostly because he kissed her mid-move to confuse her. And, there it is again, that ache in her heart. That ache that feels so good but so bad all at once. She breathes it in, and lets it go on the exhale, he'll be home soon enough, Cup or no Cup.

After dinner, she fills up the bird feeders she's hung on their balcony. Loading them with seeds, nuts, and dried berries for the little songbirds that come around here. She also fills the hummingbird feeder with fructose water. Joanna heads inside to fetch her book, and reads the evening away.

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

The Canucks take a 5-2 series lead over the Blues with a beautiful 4-3 win on the 19th. And, win the series two days later in a beatdown 6-2 game, knocking the defending champions out. Now, they face Vegas. The day before that series begins, Joanna comes onto her period. Always later in the month, so she runs to the store to stock up. Something she could usually ask Elias to do, but he's not here. Her back is killing her by the time she gets home. So, after washing up and binning her mask, she crashes on the couch with some cookies, tea, and Downton Abbey - always a comfort show for her. Life must have been similar for her family back then, an old money family needing to adapt to an evolving world. She's always wondered what her great-grandparents and their parents must have been experiencing. But, she'd say they've adapted pretty well.

She has her laptop facetime in bed with Elias that night. He looks so excited to have won the St Louis series, and a bit tired from training today as well. ''How are you guys holding up?'' She asks him.

Elias yawns. ''I think we're okay, Rouss has been getting extra physio, so has Motter. but, We're doing good, so far. How are you? It'll be that time of the month, won't it?''

Joanna smiles, placing a hand on her lower abdomen to calm a cramp down. ''Yeah, it started literally today.''

Elias tells her. ''The boys miss you too, Quinn and Brock especially.'' Joanna sniffles, hoping it's just her hormones acting up. ''I miss them too, it's so weird not having the gang together.''

Elias hums. ''I know, and we won't be able to have them over until at least next year too, with the way things are looking.'' Joanna gives her boyfriend a tired smile. ''At least we'll be back together.'' Elias nods, and yawns again. ''At least there's that, yeah. I love you, I'll see you soon.''

Joanna says, resting her head. ''I love you too, see you soon.'' They fall asleep on facetime again.

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

UBC sends Joanna some materials for junior year of her degree the day after the Canucks get shutout 5-0 by Vegas. The files get saved to her laptop, and the books go on the lower shelves of their bookcase. Still no real news on how semester is going to work yet, the dean and the board are working closely with the provincial government to evaluate things, and should be issuing an email to the student body in a couple of days. She's just fine to study from home, it's union meetings she's worried about. Online meetings sometimes give people excuses not to attend. The orcas right the ship the following day, winning 5-2 with yet another goal from Elias. The next day, Joanna is up early for some yoga before breakfast, and heads out to the store quickly. She spends the afternoon reading over her course materials, classes will be online until after christmas it appears.

Joanna watches some tennis highlights while she makes herself some spaghetti for dinner. Tennis is also back behind closed doors, and the sound of it is amazing, the ball is so much louder with the empty stadium. She's played to very few people on various ocassions, mostly in high school, and the sound is so familiar. She eats while watching tennis, and goes to bed at ten like she always does. She and Elias fall asleep together over zoom again, not knowing when they'll be back in the same bed together.

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

Vegas win two in a row to take the series lead over the coming days, Marc-Andre Fleury standing on his head in game four. Joanna spends the day of the 31st of August baking, muffins and cookies are in the oven, and she tidies up after setting a timer. There should be enough there for at least a week. She also goes over some notes for a Student Union meeting for the 9th of September, their first of the new year.

While she's cleaning up the living room, the timer dings, and she takes her muffins and cookies out of the oven to cool off. Everything is baked all the way through. She gets a call from her friend Genevieve. ''Hi, Genna, how are you?''

Genevieve says. ''Hi, Anna. I'm good, Natalia is bored out of her mind, we both are. She misses her soccer, and I miss my lacrosse. How are you, it's been what? Three weeks since Elias left?'' Joanna smiles sadly, her heart aching at hearing about her friends having each other through this. Genna and Nat are a sports couple UBC relies on for results. ''Yeah, it's been rough. This condo just doesn't feel like home without him, can I confess something to you?''

Genevieve says. ''Always, go ahead.''

Joanna fiddles with he hem of her dress. ''I don't care about that Cup, I just want my boyfriend home however he gets here.'' Genevieve says, an athlete herself. ''I know, I've felt that for you, girlie, his place is with you, Cup or no Cup.''

Her boys fight like orcas should the following day. Beating Vegas 2-1 with goals from both Brock and Elias. Then, do it all over again to level the series a dominant 4-0 shutout from Thatcher with the offense firing on all cylinders.

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

It's the following day, while she's cracking on with the first load of coursework for junior year, that the news reaches her that the boys will need to isolate for ten days upon return home whenever that is. She rolls her eyes, and accepts the news, it's for the best. At least Elias will be back in BC. They'll also need to return two negative Covid tests. She'll need to return one for Elias to return home. She takes her deep breath again, and gets back on with her work. She'd love to see her boyfriend lift that cup, she knows better than anyone does how much that weighs on this city. How 1994 and 2011 plague this team. But, the selfish part of her just wants him home now. Road trips are bearable, but this has been uniquely painful.

Joanna stops for a lunch hour, which she takes on the balcony, and goes to get back on with her work until four pm. She makes herself a small fish curry, something her friend on the union, Rajeev, turned her on to ages ago. It's since become one of her favourite dinners, she's tweaked his recipe to add salmon instead of haddock.

That night, in bed, she jumps on zoom as usual, and gets cozy. Elias looks just exhausted from it all, she's pretty tired herself right now. ''Hi, sweetheart, how are you holding up?'' She asks him.

Elias slowly blinks a few times, like a cat would, if only to keep himself awake. ''Hanging in there, how are you doing, beautiful?'' Joanna yawns, twirling the end of her braid around her finger. ''Getting back to university work, but looking forward to having you home.''

Elias also yawns, running a hand through his hair. ''I'm looking forward to being home, Quinn's a great room-mate, wouldn't trade him for anyone. But, that is our bed you're sleeping alone in, know what I mean?'' Joanna nods, putting her head down, she knows exactly what he means. ''Yeah, I do.'' The conversation trails off from there, until both fall into sleep together.

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

Game seven is a washout, the Canucks are eliminated 3-0 in a shutout from Robin Lehner. Ending their run in the second round, a good showing all things considered, and no one in the bubble got sick, which is nothing short of a miracle. So, the Canucks must clear out the following day, and fly home to BC. Then, the ten day isolation begins. Joanna receives a text from Elias on day five of BC isolation while she's working.

Beloved: Took my test today, all clear!

She smiles, clicking her pen a few times, and replies.

Joanna Rose: Great! Do you know when I should take my test?

He must be texting management, because his answer takes a few moments to come through.

Beloved: Day nine, same as us.

She nods, and makes a note on a pink post-it.

Joanna Rose: Cool, I guess I'll see you soon! 🌹

He replies quickly.

Beloved: See you soon! 💙

Five more days! Five! And, she can have her boyfriend back from hockey for a while. Still no news on next season, by rights it should start in october, next month, but she can't see that happening.

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

Day nine comes, and she takes her Covid test after dinner. The sting in her nose and throat is the most uncomfortable thing she's probably ever felt. This must be what taking a pregnancy test feels like, she thinks as she washes her hands. The test is done, and thankfully negative. She bins it, and texts Elias.

Joanna Rose: Took my test, negative!

Elias texts her back.

Beloved: Also negative!

She's so excited to hear that news, one more day then.

Joanna Rose: When are you being released?

Elias takes a moment to answer her this time, probably just checking with Benning.

Beloved: Tomorrow evening, just after dinner.

That's gonna be an agonizingly long day. She replies.

Joanna Rose: Cool, I'll be up. See you tomorrow!

He replies, seeming excited too.

Beloved: See you tomorrow!

Finally, she's getting him back, these past few weeks have sucked being here in their home without him.

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

She's up early to tidy the condo the next day, there isn't much to do, but she wants the place to look neat for Elias returning home. Once that's done, which takes her through a lunch break, she gets on with some homework while listening to some music. That takes her until dinner, the hours feeling like years all of a sudden. She eats a quick bowl of pasta with some fruit juice, then, she waits. Half-watching something on Netflix until she hears the familiar sound of a car outside, and footsteps on the stairs. The door clicks open and closed, Joanna springs up, and bolts through to the foyer to greet him. Elias laughs behind his team mask, and says. ''Hang on, I just need to wash up.''

He washes his hands, and chucks his mask in the laundry. Then, at long last, he can sweep her into his arms for real. He holds her close, and breathes her in, he's home, at long last, he's home. Joanna also inhales his scent, savouring the feel of him in her arms again. Her friends can never understand how this feels, her family can't either. This feeling is all theirs. ''I've missed you so fucking much, alskling.'' Elias says.

Joanna sniffles, overcome by it all. ''I've missed you too, darling.'' Finally, they kiss, brought back together after far too long apart. This is the best feeling on earth, it must be.

Joanna gets the kettle on, and makes them tea with her cookies. And, finally back together in their home, they talk late into the night like they always do.

[godkilling]

crochet roundup post for may/june...!

I don't have a blog for crafts despite my chronic interest categorisation so I'll just post em here For Now. Apologies for anyone who follows me on twitter as I've been posting on there sporadically. I might make this a bi-monthly little roundup to help motivate me to keep pursuing projects 😊

1. Granny square blanket

First ever project! Learnt how to crochet using this pattern. I bought a "crochet beginner" kit from an Etsy shop which included four yarn colours, a hook, a darning needle and an information booklet. I was supposed to get access to a facebook group which had tutorial videos but they were slow in adding me to the group, so I ended up turning to video tutorials on YouTube, with the one I used in the final project being BellaCoco's basic granny square.

Once I'd started making squares (upon squares upon squares) I decided that I wanted to make a patchwork blanket from the completed squares, rather than making one large granny square until it was blanket sized.

To this end, I bought two skeins of brown dk yarn (alas, in ever so slightly different colours 🫣) from a local fabric shop and crocheted an extra row around every. Single. Square (This took fooooorever). Then proceeded to sew the individuals into long rows of squares, which I eventually sewed together into the full blanket. I used a whip stitch to connect my squares which left the front side with a really pleasing ridge between the individual squares!

2. Alyssia Creates sun/moon/star squares

High on my granny square success, I wanted to pick up the project that originally inspired me to pick up crochet (I reblogged the post in question earlier today) I decided to attempt a slightly more complicated square design. I had to learn how to make a magic circle for this design and I picked up a bunch more interesting stitches, like a treble and half double crochet. This was also really good in terms of learning how to effectively change colours in a more seamless manner. I've made these designs in a few different colour schemes now; I'm planning on using some of them as coasters and stitching a few of them together to make dice bags for DND!!

3. Mushroom lighter holder

Does what it says on the tin. This ended up super messy but it was a successful attempt at a 3d object! Made for my lovely pal Jess! This was fun as I got to do some creative sewing to make the little spots on the mushroom head and I had to sew the strap into the body of the mushroom. Would make again and attempt to tidy up the stitches. Would also try a different pattern to see if I could make one to better fit the lighter in question. I think the design I ended up using was for chapsticks originally, so though I did amend it and add a few more rounds to the body and cap, it could be better proportions-wise!

Upcoming projects include a runner for our living room coffee table based on this granny square pattern (how gorge is it... I've bought new yarn for this project and I'm really excited to try a different brand for the first time...! And to finish up the sun/moon bags and a more finished version of the lighter pouch. After that... Who knows! If anyone would like me to send them some little items PLEASE let me know! I'd love to have a reason to crochet more and there are only so many people in my life who I can gift this stuff to. Ok thanks for reading!! Cya in a few months 😊

[the-fiction-witch]

23rd Hi Dolly

Media Phantom Halo

Character Samuel Emmerson

Couple Samuel X Reader

Rating Spooky

Halloween day 23

I sat myself on the little wooden rocking chair on our cold wooden porch, I couldn't help but smile as I looked across the fields of infinite stretching yellow and dark musky green, Broken up only by the small grey mismatched stone walls and the lines of tall trees in the sweetest fall colours, Orange, gold, marmalade and copper. I moved myself back and forth on the chair listening to the old wood creek and the wind whistle its way through. I did utterly love our little house it brought me such utter serenity after so long jumping from Ex-crack den to half-broken sheds owned by the shadiest or shady landlords. It wasn't an enjoyable time but it was the best we had then. Now dad's gone Becket and I had done our best to work our way in the world far from any stains our father had left even after his death. An utterly fresh start and we had made the most of it, he owns the laundrette and cafe in town nowadays. I worked there with him when we first came here but I didn't last long given without an education I struggled with a lot of basic things I found myself a job just outside of town doing work on a small egg farm for a very nice man. It wasn't much but honest work for honest money and as many eggs to take home as I wanted and when all the bills come out you don't get paid again for another two weeks, Believe me, there is a lot you can do with a few eggs.

"You ready to go Sammy?" Her sugary voice smiled as she closed the door and its screen I couldn't help my wide smile as I saw her she stood on the porch in her little brown boots, her long green skirt with some orange flower pattern, her little orange blouse top to match, her little crocheted bag over her shoulder, her hair up tight in a ballerina style bun very little makeup on her face but some eyeliner, a dusting of highlighter and the slight tint from her lip balm. I suppose it is a silly old story farm hand and the farmer's daughter but from the first moment I saw her across the hen shed I was utterly smitten and it didn't take us long to get chatting even if she, of course, was the first to speak up, we found we had a love for much of the same things, we'd spent our days off sneaking up into feed barn and reading comics for hours, she also had some insight as she had lost her mother to addiction so we had some similar horror stories that seemed to bond us to one another. It wasn't long until we were a couple, and soon after her father began to express his desire to retire mostly because he hated driving from their little house on the edge of town out to the farm every day. So after a few months of saving, I asked him if he would consider selling me the farm, and the old farmhouse that sat on the land. He was tentative at first but when he found out about me and y/n he agreed on the condition that... well I look after his daughter. Needless to say, we were married at the town hall about a month later and the farm was ours. The house was utterly wrecked but we slowly fixed it up room by room doing most of it ourselves with help where we needed it. Luckily we shared a similar frugality so many things had been thrifted, upcycled even dumpster driven for, suppose when you get used to having much every single coin feels so much more important and forty-five bucks for a rocking chair seems utterly scandalous when I can buy it for five bucks and a pie from the nursing home in town, just because someone died in it. it's fine we cleaned it. We had turned the place into our nice little home and it brought me so very much joy every day to think this is the life I have now.

"Course" I smiled getting up and fixing my shirt a little before taking her hand and giving her a soft little kiss "Ohh... that's not your normal taste?"

"I ran out of my normal lip balm I had to swap to the other one"

"Oh, but I like that you taste like oranges"

"Well now I taste like strawberries." she shrugs "I'm not buying a new one till this set is finished with"

"What's the next one?"

"Lime and lemon"

"Ohh, I'm excited"

"I'm excited for shopping day" she smiled

"Yeah me too"

We headed down from the porch and to the little garage opening it up to pull out my car We climbed in and headed into town parking up in our usual place. I held her hand again as we headed through town past the various little shops until we spotted the first little thrift store We both eagerly headed inside looking through various endless items of all styles, We separated as we looked through the many pictures in old dusty frames, the fraying cushions, old scratched jewellery. I spotted her waving across the store so I glanced up and saw her with a very nice wine glass,

"How many?" I mouthed she held up four fingers "Much?" I mouthed She held up six fingers I shrugged she did the little crystal test and she was unhappy and set them back. We didn't find anything so left empty "You sure those glasses aren't bad?" I asked her

"Chipped on the top I felt it"

"Ahh fair enough" I nodded "Next one?"

"Of course" she smiled so we headed through town to the next second-hand store doing much the same again digging through to see if they had anything we would want, need, or anything we could take for a good price and resell online. I was flicking through the pictures and I found a nice painting of some autumnal fields with a farmhouse in the background and a scarecrow in the foreground, it also had a very nice frame. it likely wasn't worth much but it would fit the style of our bedroom and it would look lovely above our bed. I gave her a wave and showed her the painting she smiled seeming excited

"Painting?" she mouthed and I nodded "How much?" I checked the tag and held up two fingers "Frame?" she mouthed and I nodded She came over and gave it a nice little check "Over our bed?"

"That's what I thought"

"Agreed" she smiled taking it "I'll pay, You go take it to the car?"

"I'll meet you in the next store"

She gave them the money for the painting and I happily kissed her and headed to the car making sure the painting was safe in the back, I headed back and met up with her in the next little store and I saw she had some items already a few balls of yawn they had bundled together for really cheap as they always did in this store and then -

"What the hell is that?" I asked

"Dolly," she says showing me the porcelain doll "She has a good mark on her she's a limited edition I checked online I can make a good profit on her," she says

"I'm pretty convinced that's haunted"

"Ehh free ghost? sell it on eBay" she shrugs

"Alright, but you're keeping it in your office,"

"Okay"

We went around to a few other places and found a few bits and bobs and we headed home.

I headed back to the house after the long day of dealing with the chickens and I saw that weird doll sitting on the rocking chair the chair gently moving "Y/n!" I yelled

"What is it Sammy?" she asks coming out flour on her dress from her cooking

"Did you move the doll?"

"What doll?"

"That doll," I told her

"Ohh, No. what are you doing here dolly? you should be upstairs in my office" she says

"You promise you didn't put it there?"

"Of course, I've been inside making dinner"

"Well I've been out in the shed all day and that chair was moving"

"Perhaps it was the wind" she shrugs

"Whatever just put her back in the office"

I sat with my comic often glancing up at y/n as she sat on the sofa doing her crochet, I heard a knock on the door so I got up put my comic down and kissed her head as I headed to the door, I pulled it open expecting the postman or something but I saw that fucking doll y/n bought sat on the porch. "Hell no!" I yelled

"What?" she asks coming to see "Ohh, Hi dolly"

"Nope. It's going in the pantry"

"Alright" she shrugs

I picked up the doll took it to the pantry and locked the door "Okay if I see that doll again other than when you post it to a buyer I'm drop-kicking it into the egg shed"

"That's fair Sammy" she smiled

I laid in bed very happily cuddling y/n in the sweet darkness half asleep already, But I don't know why all of a sudden I felt like I should move, I should put my hand up, I don't know why but I just felt like I should so I moved and put my hand up and immediately felt something hit it making me open my eyes seeing the painting from above out bed had fallen off the wall luckily I caught it but if I hadn't the large painting and its heavy metal frame would have hit both me and y/n in the head "What the hell?" I asked sitting up and putting the frame down by my table to put back tomorrow

"What is it?" she yawns waking up too

"Nothing, go back to sleep y/n," I told her but even in the darkness I saw that doll sitting on our dresser staring at our bed "What THE FUCK!" I yelled waking her much more and sitting up

"What is it?" she asks

"That fucking doll!" I yelled looking back but it was gone and our bedroom door slammed violently shut and loud feet ran down our stairs "Burn the doll?"

"Burn the doll" she nods 

[confusedkittensposts]

There is a silver pickup truck in bunkers garage. It has many things some of the most prominent ones being blanket and a the jacket that belong to Nephilim Jack. There are three chocolate wrappers littered in the cabin, near one of the wrappers there is a strap of a bag. the bag is carefully hidden under the seat away from everyone belongs to a angel of the lord who currently resides in heaven.

The contents of bag is as follows

A blue spiral notebook, a blue tie, few chocolates, a notepad, black leather bound journal two blue ball point pens, a graphite pencil, a packet of 7 colour pencils (I don't know what products you guys get in US but the smallest pack we get here has 7 pencils)  a huge handmade sweater of olive green colour, three knitting needles, two crochet needles, a pair of handknit black fingerless gloves, a ball of warm yellow and a ball of orange wool, a ball of remaining olive and black wool, a little box haphazardly warped in green gift wrapping paper, white envelope, two Ziplocs, and a bloody rag.(loose papers and photographs)

The contents of the bag have been collected over last 12 years however they range from 6 months old to billions of years old

Sam looked at the stuff from Castiel’s truck brought in by a new hunter named Riley. He looks up as his brother enters the room. Dean seems much more curious about the contents that Sam feels, still they go through the thigs together.

Sam pulls out the sweater, its soft and warm and easily his size.

Dean recognises the rock as one jack picked up when they were out, “its blue like my eyes.”

The small gift box has dean’s name on it making him feel less guilty about opening it, a necklace of rosemary beads, Sam tells him the beads are carved with Celtic symbols powered with angelic grace, Cas had given Sam a bracelet of the same to help with nightmares in honey Cas era. Sam thinks they give you a general calming effect too, It also has a note . (with the way his brothers hand shake and jaw tightens Sam doesn’t ask him what it says.)

Dean tries to open the leather journal only for a sigil to light up and send electric shock through him, it gets tossed aside easily.

One of the Ziplocs has needles and pens and chocolates, rest of the things that were scattered in the bag join them.

The rose gold and black feathers, not very hard to guess whose are collected in a small pile.

The notepad mostly has notes from cases Cas solved and some loose papers, with doddles or animal sketches.

The second Ziploc h neatly folded pages some of them have cute little doodles clearly made by jack and rest of the pages have sketches on them breath taking beautiful sketches.

Portraits of the brothers, of Jack, Claire, Crowley, Rovena, meg, Charlie, Bobby, Jo and Ellen, some people they don’t even recognise, all the pieces have different level of detailing. Its clear that between everything going on Cas did not get to finish them. Some sigils, and art work done in many styles that are identified by Sam to belong across cultures spanning centuries.

It takes the Winchesters all of 13 minutes to get over their internal debate the argument with each other and open the blue notebook. It was a cheap spiral-bound composition book with lined paper, the kind kids took notes in for school. It had the ruffled, wrinkled look of a notebook that had been carried around for a while and written in pretty often. It also had some photographs pressed between its pages

The book had been started sometime after a human Cas left the bunker, its written in many languages, whichever I felt could express him most at that time. It had Castiel’s questions, questions he had no one to ask, the ones no one cared to answer. It had his doubts, doubts about everything he had done, about his decision to keep going rather than putting his blade in himself. His fears, fears of the world around him, of what would come, of forgetting everything he knew... It had stories, of small towns he visited, of people he met, not just when he was human but even after that, towns he went to for a case, or stopped by, for refills or rest or just out if curiosity. It had random information about animals.

It had sketches too, kittens in a box, or a can longing on a wall, or a dog curled up, a baby they did not recognise, some flowers and birds, bees of course, and them of Sam and Dean, younger ones, the ones who had first met Cas, of themselves then.

There are some empty pages, and the last page of the book has a intricate sigils.

While gathering some papers that fall down  trying to put them back in Ziploc, Sam comes across A old folders piece od paper  with a drawing of him and Dean, standing shoulder to shoulder, defiantly from when they were much younger, towards the top of the page underneath the heavily shaded lead were lighter strokes, barely visible. And they looked like wings. Wings that were spread above Sam and Dean, tips curling down in a protective canopy. Sam keeps it. (pretty sure I read about it in a fic don’t remember which)

Dean keeps the box and its contents, Sam keeps the sweater.

The rest of the bag and its contens are given to Claire after Sam finds out Castiel visits her regularly

She is happy to learn that Cas knits and teases the seraph until he gives her a hat with cat ears.

[shayberri789]

I posted 15,968 times in 2022

That's 9,190 more posts than 2021!

64 posts created (0%)

15,904 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@rooftops-are-for-towels

@chuuyaphobic

@psychicshr00m

@injuries-in-dust

I tagged 3,574 of my posts in 2022

#cosmere - 477 posts

#stormlight - 273 posts

#tloz - 201 posts

#aftg - 184 posts

#trc - 145 posts

#dctf - 138 posts

#mistborn - 126 posts

#american politics - 123 posts

#linkeduniverse - 121 posts

#mha - 69 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i say as someone who’s joined basically every fandom after it’s existed for a good number of years & is no longer quite the media obsession

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I want a one shot about a child of Athena who shows up her second summer at CHB with the fluffiest fucking rabbit ever and an alpaca, and a truck full of spinning equipment.

She just keeps her fluffy pets at CHB (maybe she’s a year rounder) and combs their wool and spins it into yarn and threat and she knits/crochets jumpers and beanies for her friends.

She bullies the Demeter cabin to grow certain types of fibers and stuff so she can make her own threads and weave fabric on the loom and sew

I just want a child of Athena that embodies the “goddess of weaving/woven crafts” side of Athena, not just the wisdom and war. I like to think that the cloth and yarn she makes has magical properties, and maybe she has some kind of magic WITH it

Annabeth comes by one summer and sees all this and remembers her time on her quest in Rome, and asks her sister to teach her more. Soon, all of the cabin has enchanted clothing and bags they made themselves (with the aid of Demeter or Hecate’s cabins) and become even MORE deadly bc on top of their wisdom and battle tactics and strategy, they can weave a trap in 5 minutes and good luck getting out. They can make their own beanies that turn you invisible, or make you lighter, or blind you, gloves that enable them to throw liquid fire at you. The most “unmagical” cabin suddenly has an offensive magic akin to artificing but with wool, and with a little bit of brains and prep they are D E A D L Y.

Also also so many ugly sweaters

83 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#4

Ya know the number of times a friend or acquaintance after a breakup (bad or even good) has said to me "I am never dating again" or "I wish I was aromantic (or if they're more misinformed: ace) like you. [Gender of ex] are trouble" is no longer annoying it has passed straight into hilariousness like

I don't wanna perpetuate amatonormativity but experience has shown you're going to be simping after someone new in a couple months

105 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

#3

Is it just me or do these two passages have the same energy

172 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

#2

you ever see a post in a fandom tag or a fanon version of the characters and wonder if you and the op read the same book?

313 notes - Posted May 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Okay one thing I really really like about heartstopper are the hugs. Like every single hug looks genuine and close and real, not stiff and awkward, and EVERYONE hugs. Guys hug. Girls hug. Boys and girls hug. Partners hug. Parents and kids hug. Siblings hug. And they always give hugs when they’re needed and they all cling to each other like they’re afraid to let go or like they need the other person and…. It makes me really happy

384 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[vasquezsvendsen55]

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[grad604-nilam]

♡ Reasons behind each item

♡ Workout accessories (Gymshark wriststraps, dumbells, socks)

These wrist straps were given to me by my boyfriend around 2 years into my weight training. I got to a point where my legs were stronger than my grip, and it was holding me back, I expressed by concerns to my bf, and he bought me these. The most perfect pair of wrist straps. Therefore, to me, these represent many things, the endless support for my training from my bf, embracing femininity in the gym, with the pink and the progress I have made in the gym so far, enough so, where my strength has reached a level, where my leg strength isn't holding me back, it's just my grip strength.

♡ Paint accessories (brushes and paint)

My paint brushes and paints have allowed me to create any and everything I have ever painted. From gifts for other people, painting things for my room, or painting my own clay creations. Without my brushes, I would not have the means to enjoy this hobby. Not to mention that getting new brushes is always exciting.

♡ Headphones

I listen to music every single day. I wake up, and play music while I shower and get ready, in the car, in the train, while I work, while I work out, everything. These headphones I have gotten recently, and they make the music listening experience so much better, and allow me to feel as if I am in my own world. As crazy as it may sound, I would find it very difficult to get through the day, listening to busy streets, without music. I would go as far as to say, that if I didn't have my headphones in a situation in which I usually would, it would make the task I need to complete, 100 times as difficult, affecting my mood immensely.

♡ Indian accessories (bags, jewellery, evil eye keychain)

As I have gotten older, I have embraced my culture more and more. Being an indian girl, especially when I was younger, I felt myself falling victim to the westernised beauty standard, and felt as if I couldn't be considered even remotely attractive or pretty. These items I have displayed around my room, are me finally being proud of where I'm from and no longer feeling that it is something I should be feeling bad about.

♡ Hair accessories (hair gel, clip and brush)

In the last 5 months, I have started the process of embracing my natural hair texture after straightening it for 4 years straight. These products represent the effort that I now put towards looking after my hair. My hair has always been important to me, in terms of length, and although I still care about having long hair, the health of my hair is finally becoming a priority.

♡ Plushies and toys

These two plushies seem very superficial, however, the stories behind them are very important to me. Firstly, I have always been someone who loves collecting plushies. The cow plushy my Dad won for me at the Easter Show when I was so young, and the only thing I remember is him handing me the toy. The hello kitty toy I won recently, on a night out with my family at an arcade, and we have never all gone to an arcade together, just to play games. That night we play so many games, and lost so many times at the cranes. I was the only one who won something, it was this toy. That night meant a lot to me, because everyone was having genuine fun and my mum who is so hardworking and finds it hard to to relax, enjoyed herself, wants to go again and played like a kid. To me, this represents family time. The bubbles pop figure, is also a representation of family to me, particularly my sisters, and we consider ourselves the powerpuff girls, as theres three of us.

♡ Crochet bag

Maybe two weeks into me learning how to crochet, I made this bag, after spending around 10 hours on it, not including the charm. This bag is a representation that I am able to do whatever I set my mind to no matter what. I wanted to make a crochet bag, with only a few weeks of experience, and I now have a bag I actually use and love.

♡ Heart rose quartz and trinkets

When I was younger, a barbie movie that I loved, and in it, the two barbie best friends, made necklaces out of heart shaped stones. I remember even finding a rock that was kind of shaped like a heart that I treasures, but I don't have it anymore. After being older, and being the heart loving person I am, I had to have something similar. After a hunt for a rose quartz heart, I found this at crystal mountain in the gift shop. I feel a part of me is complete, once I bought it. It also goes along with the fact that collecting little trinkets, has always been something I loved. The two charms are over a decade old, and I believe belonged to my older sisters, and I now treasure them as little trinkets, being true pieces from the early 2000s. They are also pf motifs I love, that are seen all over my room, hearts and stars.

♡ Ball heels

These were my actual first pair of heels that I wore, and bought for myself, for ball. Ball was so important to me, and going all out was what I wanted. This was me finally embracing my feminine side, and having the opportunity in such a memorable way.

[atlanticcanada]

N.S. woman goes viral for Maud Lewis-inspired crocheted sweater

A Nova Scotia woman who found her passion for crocheting during the pandemic recently went viral for one of her creations.

Grace Tompkins, a biostatistics PhD candidate in Waterloo, Ont., is originally from Truro, N.S.

The 26-year-old took up crocheting as a quarantine hobby in 2021.

“I started doing something called ‘No Statistics Saturdays’ to kind of maintain a work-life balance. I always watched my mom knit, just dishcloths and stuff like that, and it was just too slow for me,” she says.

“So, I went into our little yarn cabinet and my sister had a crocheting hook laying around, I picked it up, tried it. I wasn’t horrible at it.”

She admits the first sweater she tried to make was “unwearable.”

“I just kept going at it and eventually I was making wearable things and getting better at it and it’s been such a good stress relief for me, as a student.”

From there “Grace’s Handmades” was born – social media accounts chronicling her crocheted bags, hats, tops, tapestry and more.

Tompkins says her sister Emma is also artistic and runs a successful Instagram page called “Housecat Arts.”

“It kind of overnight exploded. In December, when I posted a reel making actually her Christmas gift, I had to block her for a little bit so she wouldn’t see it,” she says. “It’s still not really a business, I don’t really know what I’m doing, to be completely honest, it’s more of like my creative outlet, but I’m kind of working on the business aspect of it.”

Tompkins’ latest sweater design was inspired by Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis’ famous 1955 “Three Black Cats” painting.

        View this post on Instagram

                      A post shared by Grace’s Handmades Crochet (@graces.handmades)

Tompkins says it was her most time-intensive project to date.

        View this post on Instagram

                      A post shared by Grace’s Handmades Crochet (@graces.handmades)

“I think, like many other Nova Scotians, I have just a love for Maud Lewis. I have a print of it in my living room and I look at it every day,” she says. “There’s been a lot of other crochet artists that have made famous paintings into different things, like tapestry crochets, bags, sweaters, and I thought, ‘Well I can do that.’ So this is kind of just what happened. I whipped up the sweater in about three months, posted it online and it went wild.”

Tompkins says she expected the sweater to get some attention, because she has many Nova Scotian followers, but not as much as it did.

“I kind of thought it would stay within the crochet community, but when I posted it on Twitter, there were people -- who I would say are not crafters -- that were just so drawn to it,” she says.

“People have been messaging me left, right and centre, saying, ‘Oh, I need one for so and so and I need one for myself and do you have a pattern?’ It’s been amazing, but overwhelming at the same time. The reach has been incredible.”

Tompkins says the final result was her first attempt at the sweater.

“I mean there was a lot of – I would do a row, undo it, redo it, stuff like that. But yeah, I completely freehanded it, there’s no pattern and it happened to fit me like a glove. I think it was meant to be.”

She adds that crocheting has been a bit of a distraction from her PhD, but she welcomes it.

“I do think it’s important to have balance, so I don’t mind that this kind of is happening. I think I’m kind of like statistician by day and a crocheter by night. It’s cool to have something to do in the evenings that is not math,” she says, laughing.

Tompkins says anyone looking to pick up crocheting should try to be patient.

“I have a reel that says your first project is going to flop – it’s so true. You can look at the first sweater I made, it’s horrendous. Rome wasn’t built in a day, this isn’t my first sweater,” she says. “Start simple, make some dishcloths, make some potholders, stuff like that. It’s such a good craft, I would be so happy if one person picked up a hook because they saw this sweater and thought it was cool.” 

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/W9IsPHo

[energywithshayrizzo]

I am grateful, I am worthy. I deserve ease…..this pictures makes me soooo happy on many layers. Thank you @terijowheeler - Soul-centered Coaching, Home Organizing & Education. | After one session with you I am feeling the momentum. 💕 Releasing 5 bags of ‘stuff’ from my art studio/office closet was therapeutic. 🙏🏼 I receive a lot of wonderful gifts and often feel obligated to keep them even when they are no longer serving me. 🙃 Can you relate? 🤔 they say, “When you release things that no longer serve you the universe brings in what you need. “ Allowing the release, sorting through my things, I came across this wonderful unfinished crocheted sweater top started by my grandmother on my father’s side. I put this in a box because I never met her and wanted to keep the project safe. I was not skilled enough at the time, 15 years ago, to complete this unfinished crocheted sweater. Coming across this now was divine! ☀️ I can finish the top! I have recently been exploring my crocheting skills over the last few months, just in time to finish our ( grandma Anna & me ) sweater. Thank you Teri Jo for this gift. I’m excited for our next sessions to see what treasures my past self put aside for me to find. #organizing #thenewme #crocheting #onthegowithrizzo #rizzoed #findyourhappyandstaythere #findyourhappy #stayinyourhappy #energywithshayrizzo #byshayrizzo I recommend Soul-centered Coaching, Home Organizing & Education . (at Amazing Fairy Garden) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNa6-orE9_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=