#i'll send queue a postcard

[hochmvt]

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT, MY LOVES

sorry i didn't get back to so many of y'all for the last days (and weeks even). work had me in a chokehold, working the longest shifts and not really having the time on my hands to tackle drafts, stories and especially DMs the way i wanted to. however, this handsome son of a gun has three weeks off and will spend 2½ weeks on vacation abroad. the new time zone, for the time being, will be pdt and y'all can't believe how excited and in dire need of some time off i am. i am currently working on all open threads and will queue them, so y'all don't miss me too much! the vacation queue starting on wednesday (will be tagged accordingly) – i'll check in from time to time, but mainly focus on getting some rest and all. much love your way, thank you for your patience and let's just all hope the next job, starting in january, will be much more chill and less debilitating. 

much love to y'all, i'll catch up to you eventually, i promise!

[samsaintjames]

I had one of the most "okay where's the camera haha" moments...

See, in my obsession with watercolor painting that I've been in recently, I did paint a few postcards. Nothing too fancy (or particularly pretty I guess, but whatev), that I thought to send out for easter.

So today I went to the post office to buy the stamps. (Because they tore down the stamp vending machine, which is hilarious because guess where you have to wait for forever in a queue to buy your stamps now... anyway I digress...)

So I hand over the three little postcards, and the lady is looking at them, and then is like "wait a moment, I need to talk to a colleague" and I'm thinking, I mean... I guess you do not see postcards that often, but damn, a postcard is 0,95€.

She comes back, and is like... "because the edges are rounded on the cards, they are 1,95€; I recommend just putting them in envelopes, then it's 0.95€, because the small A6 letters are the same price now". And for a moment I just stare at her blankly and speechless.

Because are you fucking kidding me??? A postcard with rounded edges is 1€ more expensive to send than a postcard without rounded endges???

Then I'm packing my stuff back again and leave.

No wonder nobody is sending postcards or letters anymore.

Next year I'll just snap a foto of the stuff I painted. That saves me a lot of trouble ffs.

[aroundtheworldinstamps]

Hi, I'm Ciarán! Welcome to my stamp blog!

I'm currently queueing up Stamps from my folder of personal favourites and after that will try to tackle my other folders. Original posts are from my collection, reblogged posts aren't, obviously.

Feel free to request Stamps! You can ask by Country or theme or anything, really, and I'll see what I have.

The kinds of stamps I have a preference for tend to feature traditional clothing, folklore, fishing and nautical life, dinosaurs, fungi and flags. There's a lot of historical stamps too, but stamps in themselves are little pieces of history. That being said, I'll have a stamp for nearly every theme.

Also, if people want, I might start featuring interesting postcards or keyrings from my other collections. I also have a lot of those.

I also have a fair few duplicates and would be willing to send them to good homes.

[romanovsonelastdance]

My queue is empty! I have one new thing that will post tomorrow, and I have some stuff coming in the mail but I don't expect them for another week or so.

So send me requests! It can be specific like, "do you have any postcards of the Swedish royal family?" or "Do you have any postcards of this particular person?" or it can be vague. "Something with horses!" "3 favorite postcards of this particular person."

Or if there's something you think I've posted before but can't find it, let me know and I'll post it again. :)

Send it in an ask or comment here!

[cookinguptales]

okay so it's about a week until I leave the country for over a month. I am dutifully filling up my queue so y'all will stay entertained while I am gone, but I should probably state for the record that I may not be easy to get ahold of while I'm gone. if you really want me to see something, send me a tumblr chat/ask so it'll show up in a separate inbox from my notifications.

I'll probably post about some travel stuff here, if I'm not too tired, but I suspect the lion's share will end up on twitter and especially instagram. if you would like to see travel posts, I am @iletaitunefois on twitter and @cookinguptales on IG.

if you do not want to see travel posts, please block '#the travel bug'.

I'm also gonna offer up postcards again. I'm not going to make any promises because I don't know how easy it'll be for me to find time/post offices everywhere I go in Japan -- and also because I may be cursed; I think like only half of my Christmas cards actually made their way to their destinations last year.

But! If you do want a postcard, send me a private message and I'll add you to my list. If you have any special requests (locations, nature, cityscapes, cute characters, whatever) lmk and I can see if I can make that work, but again, no promises. I usually keep track of nearby post offices in Japan because they're good places for foreigners to withdraw money, but like. I'm also not gonna take a ton of time out of my trip to find a post office, y'know? Certain legs of the trip will probably be easier than others for that.

FINALLY, if you want to know more about the trip before you decide to follow my IG or ask for a postcard (or, if like me, you are simply nosy) here's a vague overview of the trip:

The first couple weeks of the trip, I'll actually be on the ocean. There's this thing that cruise lines do called "repositioning cruises" where they literally just sail across the ocean. This is so a cruise company can use a ship in a different location, generally. Like if they usually use a boat in the Caribbean, but during another time of the year want to use it in the Pacific, they still need to get it over there. And why not let people ride it during the journey?

The trip is really more pragmatic than it is designed for tourists, though, so they tend to be very cheap. They're long, there aren't a lot of stops, they tend to be during unpopular travel times... So long story short, we can take a two week cruise to Japan for like... half the cost of a plane ticket to Japan. And my mother and I can work from wherever and my father and my aunt are retired, so. We'll just. be in the Pacific Ocean for two weeks. lmao

(I've moved around my work schedule so I probably won't have to do much work in Japan, but I'll have to work on the boat. ;;)

There will be one stop at the beginning of the trip (Alaska) and one at the end (Hokkaido!!!!!) so that'll be fun! But for the most part, I will mostly be working and writing and vegging out on the boat. I'm downloading a lot of tv now because boats tend to have minimal internet. lmao

(And don't worry, we chose a boat that has vax and testing requirements! Which... will probably make it safer than SEPTA here in Philly...)

Once we're in Japan, though, we're really gonna be putting our JR passes to the test. Here's a not exhaustive list of places we're going and things we're doing, in no particular order. (I... tend not to let people know exactly where I am until I've left that place lmao.)

Tokyo (obviously)

Kyoto

Osaka

Nara (to see the shosoin)

Yamagata

Two different onsen towns

Yokohama

Takarazuka 😎 iykyk

Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea

Wakayama

Kawagoe

Maybe Hakone depending on weather

various Halloween-themed meals in Tokyo and Halloween itself in Dotonbori

several very sacred mountains to learn about shugendo

castles!! and more shrines and temples than you can shake a stick at

Asahi tour (for dad haha)

sumo stable tour (also for dad)

Pokemon stuff (.... also for dad lmao)

seein some cute animals

a lot of interesting food!!!

tbh we're going to be exhausted, but there's a lot of train travel and easy days in there so we can rest then. (dad and I both love trains lmao) Dad actually hurt himself about a month ago, so I took out some of the stuff I was planning that involved more walking (like the old pilgrimage route in Wakayama, climbing Nokogiriyama, and the monkey park in Jigokudani) so that'll also prevent me from overdoing it too much.

part of me is like "wow this is too much you should scale back and save responsibly" but a lot of my trip is gonna be subsidized by my family in return for translating for them all and arranging everything, and we're gonna save money in lodging and such, so I'm just. gonna tell my brain to shut up and enjoy living before we die lmao.

(when you grew up really poor, it can be kind of hard to let go and allow yourself to enjoy nice things when you're older and more stable financially lmao. but I'm getting better at it!)

also, I'm gonna bring Glen! my little Tabikaeru frog! we'll go to Kusatsu Onsen together lmao.

[maxwelljacobfriedman]

(via fuckyeahstevierichards-blog)

[robertdowneyhiddlesbatch]

Soulmates

pairing: Fili/Kili; background Bagginshield.

characters: Fili/Willam, Kili/Karl, Bill/Bilbo, Thorne/Thorin

prompt: One of them is a tour guide, the other one is a tourist. And then war breaks out all around them.

aim: either digital or physical

The Arkenstone was the king's jewel, for whoever owned it, was granted a long life. Which was why Thror was in such fit and fighting form when even his grandson was well into his adult years. He'd lost it to the dragon, and then the dragon to the hobbit. And so on, and so forth.

Centuries later, some German expedition had come across the site of ancient Erebor and excavated its treasures, including the gem protected by three decimated mummies. Their forms were ash and bones, but there souls were survived in the stone.

Everywhere the stone went, the souls were released to new bodies, until they spent their casts and returned to the stone.

Overtime, the stone was broken, repurposed for its new owners. Into jewelry, or other such fine decor. Until finally there were but three pieces left.

By chance, two pieces happened to be in the same family. One piece was in the father's signet ring. The second fit into the son's timepiece.

It was September of 1939, and Karl Oakenshield just needed to go. Despite his father's fair warnings, the young man got his backpack, borrowed a car, and drove off. He traded his pocket watch with his father's ring upon his father's request.

Karl had just finished his studies, and wanted a bit of adventure before upper class duties tied him down. He didn't make his first stop until he was well beyond his father's lands.

He had a feeling people had become a bit more hostile since he last remembered. Not many landlords had willingly given him nightly lodge. Thankfully, he only needed a place to hide his head at night, because his mornings were busy backpacking around Europe.

Eventually, he'd driven all the way to Hamburg, a portside city full of cafes. It was a beautiful -and delicious- place, and he wanted to see it better.

"You are new to the city, yes?" His newest shop seller asked.

Karl laughed. "Is it so obvious?"

"Only to those who notice. You've bought once from almost every cart here this week."

Karl took the pastry he'd bought. "Well you can hardly blame me! Your fares are all so well done!"

"Where are you from, if I may ask?"

"The name's Karl. From Munchen," Karl reached out for a handshake. The boy returned a strong grip.

"Willam. From... here," he cheekily offered.

Karl laughed. "Well I suppose you know here better than I do. I'm in need of a guide."

Willam refocused on his busywork. "I suppose you could find many in the city. They're often-"

"They don't seem to be around. I could pay handsomely?" Karl offered, eagerly inclining his head.

Willam smiled, not looking up at his customer. "I imagine you could."

Karl didn't leave and customers started to queue. Willam sighed. "Come by around dawn tomorrow. Have breakfast from me and I'll show you around."

Karl liked that idea. That was the one time he retired early, saving the tours for the next days. He used the time to send his father a postcard; he would be in Hamburg for a while.

He got in a good night's sleep before waking up before the sun. There weren't even any bird tunes about when he had left the lodge, heading towards the portside stall.

"Good morning!" Karl announced, coming up behind his tour guide.

"Yes, it is!" Willam agreed, taking a look around at the lightening sky. "Though I think it may rain later."

"I brought coffee!" Karl said, placing the thermos on the window sill as Willam went behind the counter.

"And I have got the crumpets."

They had a quick breakfast, sharing their immediate backgrounds. Willam asked about the ring and Karl told him it was his father's, how it was his most prized possession at the moment, one he couldn't fathom parting with. After breakfast, they left for a tour of the city. They planned seeing the city starting from the inside out. Willam had quite the local stories to share about the rivers and boats and landmarks nearby. It was about to turn 8am when Willam left Karl, tasking him with exploring the noted landmarks more thoroughly.

Karl obliged and busied himself in informational tours of buildings and places, not realizing when it had gotten dark. He decided to share his findings with Willam and went back to the stall. He caught the boy just about walking away, shop closed for the night.

"Please, have dinner with me. There's so much I learned tonight I just have to tell you about!" Karl begged when Willam was resisting, and eventually managed to drag him to one of the finer dining establishments in the city.

At dinner, Karl told Willam all the official histories of the places and arts he'd seen, noting all the key characters and their backgrounds. Oddly, much of it seemed to be new for his local guide.

"You don't know this? It's all there in the books!" Karl haughtily announced as he bit into his comparatively fancier meal.

"I never read the books," Willam told him sheepishly.

Karl sobered up, internally taking account of his privileges. "You've not gone to school?"

"Well, I didn't really have the time or resources beyond primary school. What more do I need than to know how to read and write?"

"You must have interests. Hobbies? You bake real well."

Willam laughed at the compliment. "Yeah, well. I've been doing that since my mother put flour in my hands."

"If you could pursue any interest, any luxury, without cost. What would it be?"

"Music," Willam stated without half a thought. "I would learn music."

"Beautiful! What instrument?"

"I... haven't thought of it."

"Come on, you must! You answered music so quickly. You must have a preference?"

"Violin, then."

"Violin. Excellent. Then I must tell you about..." Karl told Willam about all the violin context he could remember experiencing in his rich life.

They talked all night about each other's interests before Karl walked Willam back to his stall. The next morning again they met early in the morning and picked up their tour of the city. Willam went back to his shop around 8, and this time Karl came back for lunch. And he didn't come alone.

"Who's your friend?" Willam asked.

"This is Elia. He was playing violin outside the cathedral, and then I remembered how you'd mentioned wanting to learn!"

"Karl, what are you doing?"

"Well wouldn't you know? Elia had the evening off, so I brought him along. He'd love to pass his skill on to you."

Willam laughed nervously. "Karl, I haven't the time. I've got to work."

"It's just shopkeeping. I can do that for you!"

"And my buns in the oven?" Willam protested.

"Well why don't you teach me the route, and I promise not to burn down your shop. If you promise to have a session with Elia. Please?" Karl's wounded eyes convinced him and Willam told him how to run the shop.

Elia took Willam to a spot across the road, sitting on the ledge as he taught the boy how to play. They had to end early that day, but Elia saw his hidden talent and scheduled to come by again tomorrow.

"That was embarrassing!" Willam whined as he hopped back into the stall.

"That wasn't half bad. You're learning. And I didn't burn down the shop. Call it a win!"

After some silly shenanigans, Karl helped Willam close up shop for the night. They were both tired and went home rather quietly.

The next two days were the same, early tours, then Karl at the shop and Willam practicing the violin nearby. Each day, the world around them progressively stilled. On the third night, Karl took him to dinner again, and this time pressed to walk Willam home. When the local started resisting much, Karl realized he didn't have a solid place to offer.

"Well, if we can't go to yours, you absolutely have to come with me!" And he dragged Willam to the guest room he'd rented.

"You can have the shower tonight," Karl offered as they settled around the room.

"Thank you," Willam had stopped being humble around Karl by now, figuring it was easier than him pestering. Karl smirked at Willam's frankness, and worked on getting a pair of sleeping pants out for himself and his guest.

Willam took a shower quick by Karl's upper class standards, and came out with a towel around his waist. Karl whistled.

"Are you sure you're a baker and not a builder?" He ran his hands over his guests well built arms. "How heavy are those buns of yours!"

Willam laughed as Karl messed with him. "Stop fooling around and give me my pants. I'll catch a cold!" Willam stepped towards the bed to grab the clothes but Karl got them first and swiped them away.

"I'll trade you, for a kiss!" Karl was joking, but Willam grabbed at his hand and pinned him to the wall behind him, kissing him. Willam had gotten his pants in his hand, but didn't step away as he smirked at Karl.

Heaving slightly, Karl pulled him in for a kiss again. Willam dropped the pants and placed his hands on Karl's front as they engaged in some passionate kissing. He even helped Karl out of his shirt, but a few moments later, Karl sneezed.

Willam laughed so hard, he was crouched over his knees, breathless. Karl pushed him and stepped around to put on his nightshirt while Willam put on his pants finally. After joking around, they got in the one bed together, Karl being the big spoon.

The distant bombings didn't as successfully wake them up as did the man shouting down at them.

"Father?" Karl asked confused, sleep half on his mind.

"Get up! We're leaving!" Thorne almost dragged Karl out of bed while his son reached back for his bed mate.

"He's coming with us!" Karl ordered, and his father didn't have the time to argue.

Thorne paced outside as the boys took a second longer to come out. Karl was half out the door before his father grabbed his hand and ran him to their car, Willam right behind. The door closed as bullets rained from the sky, but Willam suddenly remembered he'd forgotten something. Despite everyone's pleas, he escaped the car and went back into the guest house. The car had already begun driving before Willam came back out, and managed to just get in as Karl pulled him in.

"Have you lost your mind! What could possibly have been more important than your life!?" Thorne barked.

After catching his breath, Willam took his hand out his pocket and revealed what he'd saved: Thorne's ring.

Thorne was speechless.

"Worst night to take it off, yes?" Willam joked, and Karl immediately kissed him, not caring who looked.

The car drove them to the port where they boarded a ship out of Hamburg. The boys settled in their room while Thorne strolled the deck, coming across an Englishman named Bill, who was going to an old family safe house in New Zealand. 15 days later, he was convinced to have the Oakenshields and Willam join him.

They arrived in a countryside in Auckland 24 days since leaving Hamburg, and searched for whatever address Bill had written down. It was a hole in the ground, under one of the many green hills, fronted by a round port door. A sign said to use the knocker, but there wasn't one.

"You don't suppose this looks like one?" Bill asked, pulling out a chain hanging around his neck, with a gold ring fitted through it.

"You almost have it, but it looks like it needs studs."

"Could ours work?" Karl stepped forward, presenting his timepiece that he'd gotten back.

"That's one," Bill agreed, and Karl pulled the stone off the knob.

"Can't have one without the other," Thorne said, and pulled the stone out of his ring.

Bill took both the gems and fitted them into the space made in the ring, but they were still missing one.

"Could you imagine?" Willam laughed, at something only he knew.

"What is it, love?" Karl inquired.

"Well, it's my precious. It's my mother's brooch. I carry it with me everywhere." Willam unbuttoned his shirt and unpinned the brooch from his slip, handing the piece to Karl.

Karl scoffed. "Well, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be!" He took off the stone from the brooch and gave it to Bill, who put it on the gold ring.

"One ring to bind them," Bill said with a smirk, and hung the ring in the place of the knocker. He knocked three times and the door swung open, dark from inside.

One by one they stepped inside, Thorne first, then the boys, then Bill, and they immediately recognized the world they belonged to.

"Welcome home!" A familiar old voice invited them and they turned to see Gandalf coming out of the mountain.

"So? What adventures did you all have this time?"

Thorin turned to face Bilbo, the friend of 15 days now as familiar as the back of his hand. Fili and Kili stared at each other too as all their past lives came back to memory. Fili grabbed Kili's hand and began walking home.

"Well then, it began... Well, it began as you might expect...."

[justnerdystuffs]

I posted 8 422 times in 2021

381 posts created (5%)

8041 posts reblogged (95%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 21.1 posts.

I added 508 tags in 2021

#signal boost - 134 posts

#mutuals - 86 posts

#emma reads - 60 posts

#reblog bait - 58 posts

#emma rambles - 48 posts

#fandomchaosposts - 43 posts

#yes - 32 posts

#johnlock - 16 posts

#esc - 16 posts

#shades of greens - 15 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#he asked her to help him sit down in his chair bc 'i think i'll risk falling on my ass if not' i believe is how she recounted his words

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Umm so I absolutely didn't predict this happening /s

What's the Janeway/Chakotay ship name? 😅😅

43 notes • Posted 2021-04-28 12:34:33 GMT

#4

So y'all

Demi Lovato is non binary and uses they/them

I am so proud of them 💛🤍💜🖤

45 notes • Posted 2021-05-19 12:21:36 GMT

#3

Okay SO an idea struck me today:

John was trained to be a Kingsman. Sherlock had the option bc of his family but rejected it. He doesn't think about it again for years before he introduces John to his parents, thinking that it'll go okay bc everyone loves John. It goes PERFECTLY. Mummy loves him. Mr. Holmes is suspicious bc I mean the man HAS TO be a spy or something no one slips into a scene that perfectly without training

I'm talking John being his usual polite self

Multilingual conversations where Mycroft condecendingly tries to translate for him and John diplomatically retorts in perfect French

I'm talking ettiquette and being proper

I'm talking they start talking about Mrs. Holmes' work in science and John follows it quoting living with Sherlock as his largest source of knowledge

I'm talking Mr. Holmes and John going off about classical litterature

I'm talking they talk about John's time as an army medic and how he got into the army with perfect gun control and top physical condition (let's say he was recruited from med school?)

I'm talking they joke about Arthurian legend

Mycroft name-dropping 'Arthur' as is supposed to be a veiled threat and John replying saying he always preferred Merlin

I'm talking John gets a mysterious call after that night from Harry, informing him about Eggsy, who he sees not much later

I'm talking John quoting 'Manners maketh man' whenever someone is a prick and discretely getting back at them

I'm talking John talking affectionately about this dog he trained who died saving his life

I'm TALKING JOHN STARTING TO WEAR SUITS AND SHERLOCK LOSING HIS MIND BC DAAAAMN

I'm talking after the events of Kingsmen: The Secret Service, or The Golden Circle, John is invited to become a Kingsman

Queue John coming clean to Sherlock and Mycroft knowing nothing

Queue the Kingsmen, with help from Sherlock, stopping some terror act, and Sherlock and John walking into Mycroft's club, dropping a file on his desk.

He opens it, scans it, glances between the two of them, and John stating 'Compliments of the Kingsmen tailors.'

Nothing really changes in John and Sherlock's lives. John quits working as a doctor and occasionally works his own cases.

Sherlock stops calling him an idiot after the third time he prevents WW3 erupting

How could I forget: JOHN STARTS USING THE GLASSES (!!!)

51 notes • Posted 2021-08-23 16:01:53 GMT

#2

Fun visual for all of you

Imagine the Guard talking about all the things they've lived through.

Andy: 'I was worshipped as a Goddess in ancient Greece.'

Quyhn: 'I flirted with one of the first 'witches' during the Salem witch trials'

Joe and Nicky: 'Several rennaisance painters have painted us'

Booker: 'I had one of Napoleon's passports.'

Nile: 'The internet is older than me.'

Everyone but Nile: *Stunned silence as it sinks in exactly how young Nile is*

Nile: 'I've never gotten a physcial letter from anyone. Bills and notices yes. No letters.'

Nicky: 'What?'

And that's when everyone starts leaving notes to Nile whenever they're away from her on missions or vacations.

Booker sends her letters during his banishment. Postcards, full-lenght novels, small updates, inquiries, you name it. He starts them with 'Chère rivierette'. It's how Nile learns French. Her French accent is very american.

People assume she's from NO or Quebec. She just tells them she's learning.

Edit: I forgot the tags! *Shakes head* *mutters* 'plot bunnies my ass more like plot elephants'

90 notes • Posted 2021-07-29 09:42:30 GMT

#1

No but you know what I would LOVE to read in a Merthur fanfic once?

Arthur asking why not all sorcerers would come out after he legalizes magic, and Merlin is like 'Well you legalized same-sex relationships too, but you don't ask why they don't all come out because you know' and it just hits Arthur 'Emotionally repressed, light haired bisexual in love with his best friend' Pendragon like a tonne of bricks

And when Merlin tells him he's Emrys he's like 'Hold on a bloody second'

100 notes • Posted 2021-09-05 21:23:54 GMT

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