#small critter living in your oven/fireplace

[newtafterdark]

As I am once again writing some things for my own original characters & the setting they're in, I am once again reminded how fuckin' furious it makes me that so many germanic countries can't look at their old (pre-christianity) culture with love & base their own creative work on it without nazis ruining it for everyone by claiming it for their rancid selves.

I personally only feel comfortable adding things from old urban tales from my birth state (Saxony-Anhalt), because they are very specific and have not been ruined for me yet.

To this day I am thankful that my mom held onto a lot of old library books that the local library got rid of. Without "Die Vergrabene Truhe" (a book with a big number of tales from a very small part of my state that I grew up in) I wouldn't have a good chunk of the wonderful untainted concepts for my own stories - Farmer's dragons, forest spirits that turn the body parts you attempt to harm them with to stone, pond/lake/river mermaids (who are equal to the danish Nøkken in concept), witches (of any gender) being extremely morally grey yet are still respected... just to name a few of these things.

Maybe one day I'll feel comfortable sharing all that writing with more folks than just my close friends.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

A Place Like This 2

Warnings: this short series will include dark elements including noncon, possible violence, mentions of mental illness, and other explicit content. I’m not your mother, curate your own consumption.

This is dark!Lumberjack!Andy Barber and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You start asking questions but you might not like the answers.

Note: I’m a filthy liar and this is gonna be obv more than two parts and I dunno what I’m doing.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

Your office was the room across the hall from Andy’s, just beside the bathroom and furthest from your mother’s.

You had a routine; it helped you keep on track. You woke up, had a coffee and a small breakfast, and climbed back upstairs to begin your work. At noon, you took a break, you went for a walk or just sat on the porch with your mother if she wasn’t in her room. You returned to work and later in the afternoon you came down to remind your mother about her pills. Then you started dinner as the day was in its final decline.

Andy only changed that slightly. He woke earlier than you did and was on his way out as you got up. He came home around dinner time and you left a plate for him in the oven if he was late. He was quiet, he ate, and went upstairs. The first week went by as such. You almost pitied him for living in what seemed a crowded isolation.

Then the weekend came. Like the other lumber workers, he had those two days to himself. It would be the first real test of your arrangement.

You woke at your usual time and went down to make your coffee. You only wrote for a couple hours on weekends. Breaks were good. You measured the grounds into the percolator and filled it with water. You turned on the decades old stove and turned as you heard the old stairs groan.

Andy appeared in the door. He wore jeans and a thick knitted sweater. His hair, overgrown and shaggy, was pushed away from his face, his beard a shade darker and starting to puff out from its length. You suspected that as a lawyer, he never looked so unkempt and yet even now, he still managed to look refined.

“Hate to be selfish but you think there’s enough for me?” He crossed to the table and sat. 

“Should be,” You rubbed your hands together. You wore an old sweatshirt with a grizzly on the front and your old faded jeans with the bleach stain on the knee. Unfashionable but warm. ‘“Cream, milk, sugar?”

“Black’s fine,” He said as he scratched his chin. “I was thinking today I could stock us up on wood for the fireplace. Since it’s snowing now, it’s better to get it done before the winter is really here.”

You squinted at him and played with the frayed cuff of your shirt. “So, you got a lot of snow in the city?”

“Not as much as here, I’m sure.” He let out a long breath and you saw the cloud in front of him. 

You paused and listened for the rattle of the furnace. “Fuck.” You pushed yourself away from the counter. “I gotta light the furnace.”

“Where is it? I’ll do it.” He offered. “Since you made the coffee.”

“You sure?”

“Think I can handle it,” He stood. “City boy and all.”

“Basement door’s outside. It’s a pain but this place is old and not very well put together.” You said. “There’s a lighter in the drawer.” You pointed at the counter. “Thanks. Oh, and the key too. Hanging by the door with the green tag.”

“Alright,” He crossed to the door. “Think I’ll figure it out.”

He disappeared down the hall and returned with his big boots. He put them on before the back door and unlocked it. He tramped down the steps as the door clattered behind him and you listened to his crisp footsteps. 

You wrung your hands as you thought. Nice enough, you surmised, but evasive. Maybe he wasn’t running from some heinous offense but he was trying to get away from something. You could tell by the way he always seemed to direct the conversation, especially when it turned on him.

You heard the sudden rumble of the furnace and the vents hissing. You turned as the percolator began to shake almost in tandem and the small glass knob bubbled with brown coffee. You took it off the burner as the basement door squeaked and the jingle of the key accompanied the snowy steps across the yard.

Andy kicked off his boots and slipped through the back door. He hung the key and he shook the snow from his hair and smoothed it back. He left his boots on the mat as you poured two mugs. He approached and you slid one to him. He took it with a soft thank you.

You added milk to yours and sat at the table as he did the same. You regretted it almost immediately. You should've taken it up with you and hid in your office. 

"Any plans today?" He asked. You blinked and he rested his palm against the hot mug. "Sorry, it's none of my business."

"Nah, nothing planned," You replied. "So you just plan on chopping wood on your day off?"

"Not much else to do up here. It's nice. Mindless." He shrugged.

"You have a lot you don't want to think about?" You wondered.

His jaw ticked as he eyed you and his lips curled slightly.

"Don't we all?"

"You'd have to to come all the way up here from wherever you're from." You commented. 

"Hmm," He chuckled under his breath. "You'd make a good prosecutor. You don't miss a lot."

"I'm a writer. I write about people, so I gotta study them closely."

"I thought you wrote about animals."

"That's what I'm paid to write about but… I have my own projects." You lifted your mug and tasted the rich brew.

He sucked his bottom lip in as his thoughts wrinkled on his forehead. "Uh huh," He uttered carefully. "Guess that's true then."

"So… is it too much to ask why you ditched being a lawyer?" You asked.

"You do anything long enough and you get bored."

"And you never did anything else? Never got married?" You prodded.

"Well, what about you?" He challenged as he hooked two finger through the handle of his mug. "Not many fish in this pond, huh."

"Touche," Your lips slanted, "You definitely are the lawyer type."

🍂

Later that day, after you gave your mother her second round of pills, you ventured out into the forest that skirt around the old property. The snow was only just past your ankles, the powder fell in spurts but didn’t seem to get much deeper. When you were met with a block or an impasse in your writing, you always came out to the trees to clear your mind. You were done for the day but you had a long week ahead of you.

You kicked the snow of a fallen tree by the river and listened to those critters not yet in hibernation in the blanket branches above. You thought about the man staying in the room next to yours and the answers he would give you; the questions you were too afraid to ask him. 

He wasn’t telling you everything, perhaps he didn’t owe you everything, but the lines in his forehead, the crinkles beside his eyes, the depth of his irises as they watched you. There were things you needed to know about a person and you feared you didn’t know enough about this stranger you’d invited in. You had been too intent on the money, on your own keeping.

Or maybe you were paranoid. You were starting to sound like your mother when she claimed the birds were listening to her and taking the messages back to the monsters of the forest. When she had barricaded herself in her room and refused to come out for fear you were one of them in disguise. The day it had all fallen apart.

Your nose was numb and tingling. You pulled your scarf up over your face and turned back. The snow was crisper now. The temperatures fell with the sun and that happened quickly in the winter. The sky was a dark grey as you came back to the house, the chimney billowed up toward the quarter moon and a soft amber light shone between the curtains of the front room.

You dusted your boots off before you stepped inside. The voice didn’t stop as you took off your coat, scarf, hat, and gloves. You slid your boots off and listened. The scene was unexpected as you peeked into the front room.

Your mother sat with her favourite blanket over her legs before the fire. A fresh stack of wood sat beside it, the basket full of split logs as well. Andy bent to poke at the embers and send up sparks as he got the fire going higher.

“So, this book you’re reading,” He said as he set the poker aside. “Did she get away yet?”

“I don’t think she’s gonna,” Your mother replied as Andy stood and brushed off his jeans. “I don’t think that’s what the story’s about.”

“That’s too bad.” He looked up and his eyes met yours. You moved so that you stood in the doorway. “But I guess that’s truer to life. Not everyone gets their happy ending.”

“Well, I’ve been taking my time because it doesn’t have an ending. Yet.” She explained. “I’m waiting for her to finish.”

Your blood went cold. You crossed your arms and cleared your throat.

“What book is this, ma?” You asked.

She looked around the chair at you and blanched. Andy sat on the sofa and you pushed yourself away from the door frame. Your mother shook her head. 

“I told you not to read my stuff.” You grimaced as you came closer. “It’s a first draft. Unfinished, unedited. It’s… personal.”

“From what she says, it’s pretty good regardless,” Andy offered. “Can’t blame her for her curiosity.”

You looked at him sharply and sighed as you dropped your arms.

“Whatever. Just don’t look at it again til I’m done.” You reprimanded. “Please. I’ll give you a look when I’m ready.”

“Dunno why it’s such a big deal. You write for the magazine all the time.” She grumbled.

“Because this isn’t an article on leaf fauna, ma,” You rubbed your cheek. “You already eat?”

“Just about to. Andy put a casserole in the oven.” She smiled. “Never knew a man who cooked. Your father, he couldn’t even salt his own eggs.”

“Mmm,” You sniffed as the smell of the burning wood melded with another more savoury scent. “Well, thank you, Andy. That was considerate. I’m sorry I waited so late, I was a bit distracted.”

“No problem,” He shrugged. “Really, the least I can do.”

You glanced between him and your mom. She hadn’t been this awake in ages. Her meds usually had her napping until dinnertime and asleep just as quickly after. She was vibrant and more friendly to this man than people she’d known for decades. You felt as if you’d walked in on something. 

“Well, let me know. I’ll be upstairs.” You backed up. “There’s some strudel left from yesterday we can have for dessert.”

You left them and stopped at the bottom of the stairs as you looked back into the front room. Andy’s voice droned as he spoke to your mom and as she chuckled his eyes found yours. They narrowed for just a moment before he turned back and smiled at the older woman. 

Nice enough, you presumed, but why didn’t you believe it?

🍂

The next day, you watched Andy through the window. The snow was thicker, a harbinger of the storm that had been brewing for over a week. He crossed to the trees, his boots barely higher than the blanket below. He sank down with each step. Only a fool would venture out as the windows billowed and flung the snow errantly.

You tore yourself away and pulled the curtain shut. You crept out into the hall and listened. Your mother slept late that day and when you gave her her pills, she’d just rolled over and fallen back to sleep. 

You neared the door of Andy’s room and your hand hesitated on the knob. You took a breath and twisted it. You entered and were struck by the man’s smell; of his sweat and the deodorant that always lingered around him. The bed was made and the room barely looked lived in. 

You walked slowly to the closet. Flannel shirts and jackets hung within above a single suitcase.

You felt a pang of guilt. Had you not just chided your mother for her snooping? You bent and unzipped the bag. It was empty. You checked the pockets; empty too. You stood and slid the door back into place. You went to the bed, the table next to it with the drawer that didn’t quite shut all the way and you wiggled it open.

The bible your mother left in there as if it were a hotel and pack of smokes. You’d never seen Andy smoke, never even smelled it on him. You took the carton and flipped open the top. Inside, a folded picture. You tiptoed to the window and looked out. His footprints faded into the trees.

You slid the photo out and opened it with shaky hands. It was Andy, shorter hair, trimmed beard, smiling, his arm around a dark-haired woman and a young boy in front of them. You folded it quickly and pushed it back behind the sticks in the pack. You placed it as you had found it and forced the drawer shut. 

Was he running from his own family? Or maybe, what had happened to them?

You fled his room and closed the door guiltily. You were only more confused than before. You descended the stairs and hastily pulled your coat from the hook. Your hat was pulled on carelessly and you tied your boots without thinking. You pushed your hands into your gloves and angled yourself out the door. It was fucking cold; the fleece lining of your coat made little difference.

You grunted as you forced your boots through the snow and followed Andy’s tracks as they filled with a new layer of powder. You weren’t sure what you were doing, why you were doing it. What could he be doing all the way out in the woods which would be incriminating?

You went on, even as the questions floated in your mind. You followed his large boot prints, placing your feet in them as you followed his path. You came to a stop before the river, the overturned tree showed where someone had brushed aside the snow. The tracks veered off away from the log and you looked around.

You were forced back into an upright trunk, the breath knocked out of you as Andy pinned you with his arm across your chest. His eyes seared into you as he leaned his weight into you and you gasped for air as you smacked his shoulder.

“Why are you following me?” He growled.

“What? Andy, let me--” You gasped, barely able to breathe, the snow clumping in your lashes. “And--”

“Hmm? I see you watching me. I see the way you look at me.” He hissed. “I help you, help your mother and what? What do you think I am?” He grabbed your chin, his hide glove rough against your skin. “Am I that villain you write about? Is that what you think?”

“No, I…” You smacked him again and again. “I was just---” He let off just a little as you gulped for air. “There’s a storm. You shouldn’t be out here--”

“You think I can’t handle a storm?” He snarled. “You’re not a very good liar and trust me, I’ve known a lot of liars.”

“Let go of me.” You pleaded. “Jesus Christ, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I followed you, okay? I was just… curious.”

“Uh huh,” He turned you and forced his arm around your neck as he bent you over. You kicked as he dragged you through the snow towards the river. “WHat do you think? I’m hiding some big secret like one of those books you read?”

“Let--go,” Your feet slid through the blanket below. “Stop! What are you--”

“You think I’m what? A criminal? A murderer!?” He pulled you up and spun you away from him. You stumbled backwards as you faced him. 

Your boots slid beneath you and you hearth the hard thunk of your sole against the the ice. Thick but not thick enough. You held out your hands as you looked down at the river coursing below the brittle surface. Your heart raced in your ears. You tried to take a step forward but he was at the bank, watching you.

“Ah ah,” He raised his hand. “You stay where you are.”

“What are you doing?” You pushed your feet apart. “Andy--”

“Terrible accident you falling through the ice like that. There’s just so much snow, you can’t really tell where the water begins.” He smiled and tucked his hands in his pocket as you heard the slow crack beneath you. “Your mother will be devastated.”

You swallowed as your eyes wetted and you looked between him and your feet. You lifted your boot and the snap below you had your heart in your throat. You plunged into the freezing water with a shrill shriek, your arms flying up to grab onto the ice. 

The frozen sheet broke as you tried to latch on and you kicked as the water soaked your coat and dragged you down into the depth further. You flapped helplessly and spun in circles in the waves. The water filled your lungs and you choked and you stared up through the frigid foam, the blurry shadow staring down at you.

The cold bit deep into your flesh and your limbs weakened the more you struggled. The water smothered you and your body spasmed in the thralls of finality. Your eyes rolled back and the dark water flowed around you in welcome.

[meadowmines]

WIP

The Shirogane house is full and everyone is happy. And then Adam notices a picture that makes things awkward. 

---

The house is full, all right, and it’s wonderful. There’s a hard rule that Curtis does not have to cook on his first night home, but this is an unusual situation and Shiro is glad to let him put the potatoes in the oven and throw the broccoli in the steamer and put the salad together. While they’re doing that, Adam sits on the couch with his parents and pulls some stuff out of his bag--a mug that looks handmade for his mom, and a little beaded leather pouch full of pretty rocks and animal teeth and stuff like that for his dad. He tells them all stories about the colony; about his friends there, and the little town they’d built, and the things he did to make a living there.

“Oh, you need to go visit your uncle, then,” Judy says when he mentions keeping little goatlike critters and making cheese. “He’ll just be tickled.”

“Is this the uncle that brought those brownies over?” Keith asks. “The ones you said weren’t for kids?”

Judy and A.J. crack up, and Adam just buries his face in his hands and shakes his head. Shiro can’t help laughing a little himself. He remembers that trip. That was the last winter break before he and Adam split up. The three of them went up for Christmas and Adam’s weird hipster uncle with the weed-and-dairy-goat farm brought a shit-ton of fancy goat cheese and a small tin of “special” brownies for the grownups. Adam wouldn’t touch them, as much because of the “brownie” part as the “special” part. Shiro declined as well for several reasons, not the least of which was uncertainty as to how they’d interact with his meds. Judy and A.J. ate one each, mostly just to be polite; Judy fell asleep in her recliner after dinner and A.J. went for the leftover turkey maybe a little earlier than he normally might, and that was about the only effect they seemed to have.

Adam’s parents were the closest thing to grandparents Keith ever had, and he didn’t get to see them again, didn’t even talk to them again until after the war.

(and whose fault was that? that sour little voice in the back of Shiro’s head pipes up again, and he gently shushes it again)

At least they’re getting to catch up now, and Shiro is glad it’s under these circumstances. It’s great to see them all together again, talking and laughing and happy. More than once, he finds himself pausing while he seasons the steaks to watch them all chat. So does Curtis, he notices.

But at one point, Adam’s gaze wanders over to the fireplace and he just kind of checks out of the conversation for a minute. He gets up, and Shiro knows exactly what he saw.

He’s not looking at the photo on the mantel, not yet. He’s looking at the smaller photos on either side of the fireplace.

“There’s...” A strange, wistful little smile creeps over his face. “There’s a lot of pictures of me here.”

“I told you,” Keith says. Shiro gets the feeling there’s a deeper meaning to that, but he lets it go. He puts down his steak-doctoring stuff and washes his hands, and Curtis lets the vegetables fend for themselves for a little while, and they both join Adam in the living room. Shiro isn’t sure what to say, and neither is Curtis. So they just stand there with him, watching him look at all the pictures.

His gaze catches on one of the newest ones. “Holy shit,” he half-laughs, “Takashi, is this--”

“Me and my parents in Osaka. Yeah.” Shiro chuckles a little. That picture is kind of awkward and stiff. Which, he supposes, means it’s a pretty good representation of the parts of that trip he and Curtis spent with them. “That was...” He clears his throat. “It went okay.”

“Huh.” Adam keeps looking over the pictures. He sees the one of himself and Curtis at Stampede, and the one of himself in a light jacket and Shiro in about twelve layers in front of the frozen Bow River, and the one of--

“Huh. Is this Prince’s Island Park? I don’t remember this statue... who is that?” He takes a closer look. He has to figure it out, Shiro thinks, he’s got to notice the glasses and the uniform and figure it out...

Curtis coughs softly into his fist and shoots Shiro a mild side-eye. Behind them, Shiro hears several strange noises--Keith stifling a weird choking laugh, and A.J. hissing in a little breath, and a moderately horrifying creaking grinding noise that Shiro suddenly realizes is coming from Judy’s teeth.

...is anybody going to answer that question?

Does Shiro have to do it? Okay. Fine. That’s fine. “It’s, uh,” he starts. Oh God. “It’s--” He clears his throat again. “It’s, um... it’s you?”

Adam slowly, ever so slowly turns to face him and gives him the weirdest, most pointed glare. “No it fucking isn’t!?”

A.J. looks like he’s about to die of secondhand embarrassment on the sculptor’s behalf. Keith is silently laughing himself sick. And Judy’s teeth keep on grinding.

“What he means is,” Curtis starts, and there’s that strained tone in his voice that means he’s half a second away from losing every last bit of his shit, “it’s supposed to be you.”

“It was nice of the city to put it up,” A.J. prompts, like he’s reading off a cue card, and he pats Judy on the shoulder. “Wasn’t it, honey?”

“Very nice,” Judy grates out, and Shiro swears he feels the room temperature drop about twenty degrees.

“So!” he claps his hands together. “I, uh... I think we’re ready to throw the steaks on the grill, if we want to move this outside?”

[pkstudiosindia]

Bryan Baeumler’s fall home maintenance guide – 34 things you have to do – The Bay Observer – Providing a (*34*) Perspective for Hamilton and Burlington

Featured Post in Water Filter India dot com - Water Filter India

With fall comes altering climate which might be actually powerful on our homes. Now is the PERFECT time to concentrate on home maintenance… to get your home prepared for the rain, snow, sleet, robust winds and colder temperatures that include your typical Canadian winter.

To assist defend your home from climate-associated annoyances, right here’s my useful fall home maintenance guidelines of 34 (sure 34) objects for your To Do checklist!

Roofs and gutters

•             Clean out gutters and downspouts for good drainage

•             Make positive your gutters are STRAIGHT and securely connected to your home.

•             Check the roof for unfastened shingles, wooden harm, gaps and holes.

•             Inspect the hearth and chimney for harm and critters.

•             Check your attic for critters and insulation protection.

Appliances

•             Check that each one your home home equipment are prepared for fall and winter.

•             Get a furnace tune-up and change the filter.

•             Winterize your air conditioner.

•             Prepare your snowblower.

•             Clean out range and dryer vents.

•             Wash the oven vary hood filter.

•             Check water softener and add salt if needed.

•             Check and clear your humidifier.

•             Vacuum fridge coils.

•             Test and tune up your storage door and door opener.

•             Check that circuit breakers work by turning them on and off.

Lawn and backyard

•             Fall is definitely a nice time to water your legislation – it helps it recuperate from summer time put on and achieve energy for the winter forward.

•             Rake and lower your garden brief – ideally 1.5 to 2 inches.

•             Aerate, fertilize and seed your garden – select a fertilizer that’s labeled 4-1-2. (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium within the fertilizer).

•             Drain and put away backyard hoses and tools (if you stay on the west coast you might want to put this off till winter really arrives in December!).

•             Drain outdoors taps (see above).

•             Check timber for interference with utility traces.

•             Remove weeds from driveway cracks, repair and reseal.

Porch, patio, and fencing

•             Prepare your deck with protecting waterproofing.

•             Clean and put away patio furnishings.

•             Clean your barbecue and cowl.

•             Fix broken or unfastened fencing and deck or porch rails.

Windows and doorways

•             Check and substitute climate-stripping round home windows and doorways.

•             Check caulking round your home windows and doorways.

•             Repaint out of doors windowsills and ledges for safety.

Paint storage

•             Might appear to be an odd one however many individuals neglect to correctly retailer the paint they use for common home maintenance – transfer your paint indoors when the temperature begins to drop.

Your home’s basis

•             Check for a repair any cracks, holes or gaps in your home’s basis.

Safety from fireplace and storms

•             Check your detectors – with furnaces lively and home windows and doorways closed, fall is a nice time to verify your smoke and CO detectors to make sure that they’re in working order.

•             Make positive you have flashlights and additional batteries available in case of energy outages.

And that’s it! Your home will now be prepared for no matter Mother Nature hits you with all through the fall and into the winter. Bring it on!

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You can simply ebook a trusted HeyBryan Expert who makes a speciality of handyman companies, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, portray, and extra, to assist with any variety of small home maintenance duties. Each Expert has been vetted, background checked, and permitted by the HeyBryan crew so you can really feel comfy having an Expert in or round your home to full your job safely and effectively.

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Click Here to View or Learn More - Bryan Baeumler’s fall home maintenance guide – 34 things you have to do – The Bay Observer – Providing a (*34*) Perspective for Hamilton and Burlington .........................For more Details,Please Visit our Water Filter India dot com - Home Page Link - Water Filter India

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