#except it’s not dry because it rains and snows and hails

[ssolessurvivor]

Headcanon

Since there was no weather on Mimas, except the occasional ice storm due to the moon's travel patterns, Logan has come to absolutely adore all weather changes. Sunshine, rain, storms, snow, hail, sleet, muggy heat, dry heat.

Any and all of it he loves because he missed it for so long. But his absolute favorite weather is rain.

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

how're you doing today?

Craving the ocean and am currently making potentially consequential life plans to chase that good salty water

[sibylsleaves]

The 911 fic writer’s guide to LA

I asked if anyone would be interested in a short little guide to LA for fic-writing reference, and surprisingly I got a lot of replies. I lived in LA for 20 years so while I’m not an EXPERT per se I thought there might be some knowledge I could share for people who want more info about the city of Los Angeles to add a bit of realism to their fics. I can’t cover everything, so this is just a sampling of stuff that may or may not be useful. I got some additional help from @swiftiesisters14​ who added some great insights and details. YMMV of course! 

Weather and climate: for the most part, yes, it is very warm and sunny in L.A. the majority of the year. Rain is very uncommon, especially from May - October, and when it does come it usually lasts a couple days up to maybe a week on and off. Rainstorms and thunderstorms are very rare. It does not snow but it does, very rarely, hail. Within a few miles of the ocean, mornings will be quite cold and cloudy thanks the marine layer–this is true even in the summer. “June Gloom” is a phenomenon in LA where we get a lot of cloudy weather in May/June (usually just in the morning although it can sometimes last all day). It can get fairly cold at night during the winter (though almost never below freezing). Even during the summer, nights aren’t as warm as you might imagine, as the dry air makes temperatures drop quicker once the sun goes down (if your characters are going anywhere during a warm day and expect to be there until night, they will most likely bring a jacket). 

There’s a HUGE difference in weather/temperature between the coastal parts of the city and areas further east (and especially into the Valley, where it is frequently over 100 F degrees in the summer). Closer to the ocean, highs typically don’t break 90 unless there’s a heat wave, lows typically stay above 50 except for some nights in the winter. September is often the hottest month of the year (this surprises a lot of people). This also coincides with wildfire season, which used to be roughly September-October, but has started earlier and earlier and lasts later and later into the fall (hello climate change).

Most people from LA are fairly sensitive to the cold and will definitely wear jackets and such the minute it drops below 68 degrees. Many Angelenos do not own a proper winter coat or snow boots or rain boots. Air conditioning is very common in homes and businesses, so hot days are less of an issue if you’re staying indoors. The heat here is DRY, so if you’re used to sticky East Coast heat, this is a totally different beast. Hot weekend days result in swamped beaches and tons of beach traffic. When it DOES rain, even just a little drizzle, the entire city tends to go fucking nuts, and everyone forgets how to drive (a stereotype that is unfortunately very accurate). I imagine the 118 gets LOTS of calls on rainy days because Angelenos just do not understand how to deal with rain. 

Santa Ana winds: you may have heard of these. they suck. Basically an extremely hot, extremely dry, extremely high-speed wind that blows into LA for a week/up to a few weeks at a time and make your allergies go crazy. Trust me, it’s miserable. It usually happens in fall, although they can happen at other times of the year (and doesn’t necessarily happen every year. They’re unpredictable). A weather advisory will go out discouraging from making outdoor fires/doing fire-related activities during this time, as fires can spread extremely rapidly in these conditions. The Santa Anas have a somewhat mythological status in LA, because people sort of think they make people crazy and unpredictable (i mean, it’s not hard to see why--who wouldn’t be irritable in these conditions?) In addition to the Santa Anas, wind storms in general are not uncommon, especially in fall, and winds can cause a lot of damage to powerlines/trees/etc.

Wildfire season: Usually at its peak in September/October, can last all the way into December some years. Areas that are susceptible to burning are the hilly/mountainous areas that surround LA, including Topanga Canyon, the Santa Monica mountains, the San Gabriel Mountains, Malibu, etc. Even if there is a fire that’s miles and miles away, depending on winds it can cause the air in LA to be very smoky and dangerous to breathe. There can sometimes be ash literally falling from the sky...like you go to your car and it’s just coated in ash. Again, this doesn’t happen every year but it’s becoming more and more frequent. 2020 was a particularly bad wildfire year.

Water: California has basically been in one giant drought for the past two decades. Water conservation is a big deal, especially in LA which literally imports a lot of its water. There’s restrictions on when/how long/how you water your lawn. When conditions get really bad, they will place restrictions on commercial water features (fountains and the like) and do stuff like make it so that restaurants only serve you water if you ask for it. There’s always stuff about shortening showers/washing dishes more efficiently/etc. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily something Angelenos think about on a day-to-day basis but it is part of living in LA.

Earthquakes: small earthquakes happen fairly frequently and most people won’t even notice them (what often happens is you’ll be sitting there and you’ll be like was that an earthquake? And then you google whether there was an earthquake nearby). Occasionally a small-to-medium earthquake might wake you up in the middle of the night. Larger earthquakes that actually cause injuries/fatalities are much rarer. 

Driving and Traffic: traffic in L.A. is no joke. If your characters are driving virtually anywhere during the afternoon, they WILL be stuck in traffic or they will worry about getting stuck in traffic. Fridays are the absolute worst traffic days. Something can be “10 minutes away” and take half an hour to actually drive. (For instance, Buck’s drive to get to Eddie’s? during peak traffic hours that could take easily 30-40 minutes). Traffic is a huge consideration in most Angelenos daily lives–-there are certain places you just DO NOT GO during certain hours of the day if you can avoid it, or you have to budget in extra time in case there’s bad traffic. Gridlock in main arteries of the city is extremely common.

LA drivers are known to be aggressive, decisive, and rude. If you display a single second of hesitation or indecisiveness on the road (whether thats making a turn or changing lanes or running a yellow) you WILL get honked at. Maybe this is why Eddie prefers to have Buck drive him around. Pedestrians on the other hand are incredibly timid and cautious. You will almost never see people in LA jaywalking the way they do in East Coast cities. 

A common topic of conversation in LA is various driving routes (yes, it’s a stereotype, but at least when I lived there it was true). Why? Because it is essential to know multiple routes to get from place to place because one or more of them will be congested, and knowing alternate routes can be a lifesaver (although everyone uses apps now, but that is its own topic of discussion amongst Angelenos.)

Freeways are referred to as “the ___” (so the 10, the 405, the 101, the 5, etc. Although the Pacific Coast Highway is just PCH--almost no one calls it the 1). There are very few toll roads in LA--in fact, I don’t know of any.

Parking in L.A. also sucks, and knowledge of little-known, cheap and/or questionably legal places to park in popular neighborhoods is social capital. Restaurants with valet parking outside are very common in certain upscale neighborhoods (Cher Horowitz was right about that).

Public Transportation: has improved somewhat over the past decade when they built out the Metro a little, but is still pretty paltry and inconvenient given the size of the city. L.A. remains a very driving-heavy city. Truthfully, in my 20 years of living in LA i almost never took public transportation except when I was too young to drive and took the bus. LA is also not a very bike-friendly city, and there are only a few streets with dedicated bike lanes. BUT you will often see people biking on dedicated bike paths near the beach.

Geography of the city: It’s hard to fathom just how big and sprawling LA actually is unless you’ve lived here or another geographically huge city like it. You can spend your whole life living in L.A. and there will be parts of the city you have never set foot in and know virtually nothing about (and that is partially because traffic makes getting around to these different enclaves extremely arduous). It is a sprawling behemoth, like six or seven cities smushed into one. And actually, there ARE in fact five other cities/unincorporated communities that exist within the borders of Los Angeles: Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Marina del Rey, as well as surrounding municipalities that many people consider “L.A.” (such as Compton, Pasadena, Santa Clarita, Malibu, Long Beach, Burbank, Glendale, etc. etc.) As it would be impossible to run through every neighborhood in L.A., here are just a few popular areas near the downtown area where the 118 firehouse is (apparently) located. This is roughly moving east-west but you can look at a map for more precise geography:

Downtown: definitely the most dense “urban-y” part of L.A. with tons of skyscrapers, high-rises, etc. Downtown LA is huge, with lots of sub-neighborhoods and districts, including the Fashion district, Chinatown, Skid Row, and Little Tokyo. Like any downtown, there are a lot of attractions here, like the convention center, sports arenas, theaters and music venues, nightlife etc. This is where Buck’s loft is according to this helpful guide and based on the establishing shot they use, which includes the East Columbia building, a notable Art Deco building that is smack downtown. (It’s the greenish building with the clock on it that you can see in many episodes). To the southwest of downtown is where you’ll find the University of Southern California (USC) where May is starting college.

Silverlake/LA River area: includes Silver Lake, Echo Park (home to Dodger Stadium), Los Feliz, Little Armenia, Westlake and the Griffith Park area (home to the LA Zoo). To be honest I don’t know this area very well because I lived in West LA and didn’t spend a lot of time over here, and also it has gentrified quite a bit. Silver Lake is pretty artsy and trendy, with a lot of small local businesses, and also has historical ties to the LGBT community so there are lots of queer-friendly bars and community spaces. 

Koreatown (aka K-Town): pretty cool/trendy neighborhood that was historically home to L.A.’s large Korean immigrant population. The makeup of this neighborhood now is actually a majority Latine, but you’ll still find a lot of Korean food and markets in K-Town. A very commercial area with lots of bars, restaurants, clubs, and shops as well as apartments. Koreatown has an extremely fascinating history, which I will not go into here.

Hollywood: super touristy, this is where you can find the walk of fame (the stars with celebrities names on them), the Chinese Theater, and like, Ripley’s Believe or Not museum. Used to be where most of the major film studios had their studios, but most of them have moved. Best place in Hollywood in MY opinion is the Hollywood Bowl, which is a beautiful outdoor concert venue tucked into the hills.

West Hollywood: a fairly upscale residential and shopping area, but not a bougie as Beverly Hills and not as touristy as Hollywood. West Hollywood is actually its own city/town (although Hollywood is NOT), and is well-known as a historically LGBT+ village/district (historically much of L.A.’s gay population lived here...these days it’s a bit more complicated thanks to gentrification.) As such it’s got a little more of an “alternative” reputation than Hollywood and Beverly Hills, although to be honest it’s lost a lot of its “edge” so to speak. This is where you’ll find the Sunset Strip (historic nightlife area on Sunset Blvd--I would say its more touristy nightlife). Nearby you’ll also find The Grove shopping center, and the La Brea tarpits and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), both of which are popular field trip destinations.

Beverly Hills: actually a separate city from LA but it’s kind of right in the middle of it. Very upscale. Home to Rodeo Drive, Lots of upscale shopping, big beautiful houses, luxury hotels, trendy restaurants, etc. It’s basically where all the rich people live and hang out and it’s very, like, bougie and curated. Parts of Beverly Hills are in fact hilly, but most of the commercial areas are flat.

West LA: Lots of smaller residential neighborhoods interspersed with commercial corridors (this is where I’m from). You’ll find Sawtelle Japantown here (kind of a smaller Little Tokyo with Japanese markets and shops), as well as “Little Tehran”/Tehrangeles (lots of Persian markets, shops and restaurants. There’s a large community of Iranian-Americans in this part of the city and you’ll definitely see signs in Persian/Farsi.) Brentwood is another upperclass/rich people neighborhood around here, as well as UCLA’s campus in Westwood. I believe according to this guide that Eddie, Bobby and Athena, and potentially Hen and Karen all live near West LA (looks like Athena and Bobby’s house might be in Culver City? idk)

Culver City: another city within LA. Culturally speaking I’d say Culver city is pretty much like West LA and it has gentrified a LOT in the past decade or so. Idk what else to say about Culver City...it has a romance-centered independent bookstore called The Ripped Bodice. And an ice rink!

Santa Monica: this is slightly further afield but still significant because Santa Monica is where the closest beaches are located, and is obviously home to the Santa Monica Pier (RIP). Parts of Santa Monica are pretty trendy and upscale, and is also kind of “business-y” because a lot of entertainment companies are headquartered here. 3rd Street Promenade is a pedestrian-only shopping district that’s quite popular, with 3 blocks of shops, restaurants, movie theaters, and more. Lots of buskers and street performers. A popular hangout for families and youths (or at least it was when I was a youth). There’s also a huge mall at one end of it. 

Other beach communities: Venice Beach (has a very weed and art and hippies vibe, and is where you’ll find the boardwalk with lots of artisan stalls and shops), Marina Del Rey (lots of restaurants and boats and water-based activities), the Palisades (beautiful oceanside cliffy/hilly neighborhood where lots of rich people live), Malibu (very bougie, touristy, and upscale.)

LAX: not a neighborhood, but I thought I’d include the infamous airport of Los Angeles. (There are actually something like 4-5 other nearby airports, but LAX is the biggest). LAX is kind of infamously terrible, because it’s huge, often congested, annoying to navigate, and not very well-planned. Getting in and out during peak travel times can be a nightmare. Driving someone to/from LAX is a true act of love (I only do it for my most beloved family members and friends). The best thing I can say about LAX is that there’s an iconic art installation as you drive in/out, which are these pillars that light up in different colors. 

The Valley: directly north of the other areas I just covered. Referred to as one entity by people who don’t live there, but the Valley is actually comprised of many different cities, including LA, Burbank, Calabasas, and San Fernando. It is MUCH hotter here than the rest of LA and a little more suburban-y. My experience of the Valley as someone who does NOT live there is mainly “ugh I have to drive to the Valley.” AKA, it’s to be avoided. Burbank has its own airport and a lot of the film studios are headquartered there.

Demographics: L.A. is one of the most diverse cities in the world. About a quarter of residents of Los Angeles are white (non-hispanic). Latine people make up about half the population (mainly Mexican and Mexican-Americans). There are also sizable Black, East Asian (mainly Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), Arabic, and South Asian populations. Additionally, LA is home to the largest concentration of Armenians and Iranians outside of Armenia and Iran, respectively. There is a significant and diverse Jewish population.

Food: as you might imagine, the huge amount of diversity in L.A. means the food is equally diverse (and extremely delicious). You can find almost any kind of cuisine in L.A., but common types of cuisine include: sushi,  thai, Persian (my personal favorite food to get in LA), chinese, pizza, Jewish delis, shawarma, pho, Korean BBQ (particularly in K-Town) and of course, tacos and other Mexican food, along with your standard “American” fare like burgers (you might find yourself wondering why everyone is so obsessed with In-N-Out even though their french fries are such garbage....), seafood (lots of nice-ish seafood places near the beach where the food is overpriced bc you’re really paying for the view), sandwiches (Bay Cities my beloved <3), etc. as well as lots of trendy fusion cuisine. Additionally, everyone who lives in LA has gone to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles at least once their life--it is an institution. 

Housing: Expensive. I mean, what did you expect? Single-family homes are quite common in LA vs. apartment buildings and condos. In addition, there is a HUGE population of unhoused people in Los Angeles (in fact it ranks No. 2 for the highest number of people experiencing homelessness in the US). I won’t go into all the political hows and whys here, but this is a huge humanitarian crisis and a powder-keg issue amongst LA residents.

Most houses have a backyard and a front lawn and may or may not have a fence/gate. Few houses have basements. I don’t really know why that is. 

Lots of houses and apartment complexes have pools, but mainly in richer/upper-class neighborhoods who can afford the upkeep. Many LA parks have a community pool. Some schools even do, too.

Trees and flowers: I personally like knowing what kind of plants there are in any given setting, so here are some noteworthy trees and flowers found in LA:

Palm trees -- of course. The classic. Particularly common to the Venice, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills areas, but you can find them all over. There are actually a lot of different types, but the most common is the extremely tall skinny Mexican fan palm variety.

Jacarandas -- certain neighborhoods in LA will burst into furious purple bloom during jacaranda season (usually April-June) and the sidewalks will be littered with squished flowers for weeks

Ficus trees -- idk maybe these were specific to my neighborhood but we had a LOT of them

Birds of paradise -- I think this is the official flower of LA. Found in a lot of gardens.

Bougainvillea

Night-blooming jasmine -- smells incredible

Other notes: trees don’t really change color in the fall--you might see a few here and there with orange leaves, but for the most part we don’t get that nice fall foliage (nor do we really...have a fall season...). Grass lawns are common in residential areas (sadly) but more and more people are replacing them with succulent gardens and native gardens (yay!).

School: Public schools in LA go Grades K-5 for elementary, 6-8 for Middle School, and 9-12 for High School. The school year starts mid-August and ends mid-June (evidently they changed this since I was in school). Kids get three weeks of vacation for winter break (usually the week before Christmas - week after New Years) and one week for Spring Break (around Easter). 

Sports: there are TOO many sports teams for one city, even one as big as ours (absurdly, four of them share the same arena). They are as follows:

Baseball: the Dodgers are the main L.A. team (who are doing EXTREMELY well this season). They play at Dodger Stadium in Echo Park, and their fans tend to be more die-hard and stalwart. There’s also the Anaheim Angels, which some Angelenos root for, who play...idk somewhere in Anaheim.

Basketball: the Lakers, of course, and the Clippers. They both play at Staples Center which is located downtown (and as of last year is called Crypto.com Arena, ugh). In my experience Lakers fans are the most fair-weather of LA sports fans--they get super intense when the Lakers are good, and when they’re not, well... Clippers fans tend to be more die-hard and less fair-weather because, well, they have to be (sorry). The Sparks are the WNBA team. They ALSO play at the Staples Center (aka Crypto.com Arena but I refuse to call it that).

Hockey: the Kings. They ALSO play at The Stadium Formerly Known as Staples Center. I don’t follow hockey so idk anything else about them.

Football: the Rams and the Chargers. They both play at SoFi stadium in Inglewood (near the airport). Both are recent additions (2016 and 2017 respectively I think). When I lived in LA we had zero football teams and now we have two so I have no idea whats going on there.

Soccer: LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club) who play at the Banc of California Stadium near downtown and LA Galaxy who play at Dignity Health Sports Club near Compton. There is also a women’s team, Angel City FC, who also play at Banc of California Stadium. I know virtually nothing about soccer but hey, the stadium is going to feature heavily in the season 6 premiere!

Hollywood/celebrities/the Film Industry: you will absolutely see celebrities roaming around L.A. from time to time, especially if you frequent certain trendy areas like West Hollywood/Melrose, Santa Monica, Brentwood, etc. I wouldn’t say it’s common, but it’s not super rare. (I’ve seen like a handful of celebrities in the 20 years I lived there.)

You will DEFINITELY see filming happening all around the city. Usually you’ll see signs posted (usually with code names for whatever project it is), trucks, and tons of crewmembers walking around. Occasionally a street or other location might be blocked off for filming, but usually not anything too disruptive.

You will also see those “star-watchers” bus tours (where people go on a tour bus and they like drive around celebrity neighborhoods and look at celebrity houses) in and around the Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and West Hollywood areas. I use to see these tour buses every single day on my commute through Beverly Hills. 

There’s also, of course, many people living in LA who work in the industry or are trying to make it as an actor or writer or what have you. There are disproportionately attractive waiters/baristas in certain parts of LA because many of them are waiting tables to support acting careers. This is a stereotype but it’s also pretty true in my experience.

Studios are kind of sprinkled all over the city--there are some in West LA, some in West Hollywood, but the biggest concentration of studios is in Burbank, which is actually its own city in the Valley.

Places to go: in case you want some ideas for fun outings for fic purposes, here’s a list of places in or within reasonable distance of LA (not an exhaustive list obviously):

Disneyland

Universal Studios

Knott’s Berry Farm (this is a small-ish theme park, not an actual berry farm in case that’s unclear)

Six Flags

The Long Beach Aquarium

The LA Zoo (of course)

The Griffith’s Observatory (and Griffith Park in general)

The Getty Museum (very beautiful museum up in the hills with a gorgeous view of the city)

The Getty Villa (different place, also a museum)

Huntington Gardens/Library/Museum

Walt Disney Concert Hall 

Echo Park Lake (they have SWAN BOATS 🦢)

LA Science Center/Museum of Natural History

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab): this is where Karen works. Located in Pasadena. Once or twice a year they’ll do an open house where you can go and learn all about the types of stuff they’re doing. It’s very cool!

Catalina Island

Various beaches--closest would be Santa Monica, Venice, Will Rogers (Pacific Palisades), Playa Del Rey, Dockweiler (to my knowledge this is the only beach that allows bonfires). A bit further: Hermosa Beach, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Malibu, Huntington Beach

San Diego! Technically close enough for a day trip, but due to traffic you’d most likely want to stay the night.

Palm Springs (same kind of deal, although I’ve done it as a day trip)

If there’s anything I left out that you want to know about, please shoot me a message and I’ll add it! If you spot any errors, please also let me know. This is based mostly on my knowledge/experience of living in LA, but I did some additional research for stuff I wasn’t sure about or just needed a little more detail on (shout out to @swiftiesisters14 for her help!)

The geography might be a little generalized and I left out a LOT of the city, mostly because I just don’t think anyone wants to read a twenty-page paper on LA neighborhoods. If you want any additional details on a certain area/topic feel free to shoot me a message and I’ll do my best to help.

In general, if you ever have questions about LA while writing fic, I am happy to answer to them (if I can). 

[feitanswife]

how to write a horror/mystery/gothic novel that takes place in Washington State:

General:

Kent is a shithole, no one goes to Seattle unless they absolutely have to, the beaches are not for swimming really it’s almost always too cold, and Yakima calls itself the Palm Springs of Washington and whoever decided that should be shot. It’s not the Palm Springs of anything. Palm Springs of depression and murder maybe.

our weather is moody and unpredictable, use that. The other day it went from brilliantly sunny to hailing in a few minutes. It just does that. Monday can be 75 degrees, Tuesday it could snow. Especially in spring.

Western half:

It doesn’t matter where your characters live, if it’s not the absolute heart of a big city your characters WILL have convenient access to woods. Maybe not a lot, but there will be, within fifteen minutes of brisk walking or eight minutes of driving, there will be trees and bushes enough to explore. There are narrow walking trails in green belts between suburban housing developments, undeveloped awkwardly shaped plots of land between grocery stores parking lots, and woods at the edge of parks that may or may not be part of the park.

1 in every 8 houses in the average shitty suburb is full of cultists. The cults have splinter fringe cults. It’s cults all the way down. If your neighbors go to ANY church that isn’t like, one of the big well known branches of Christianity, it’s generally assumed you should cut contact with them cause they’re not worth trying to save. My town had people who pretended to be Mormons to get away with even worse shit. If your characters are in high school, they WILL be accosted by people holding signs and spouting slurs outside the school gates at least once a year. It’s just a thing that happens.

Conversely: everyone knows a couple witches. It’s just a thing. If you go to a community college there’s like a 1 in 10 chance any student you talk to practices witchcraft, and the chance goes up exponentially if they look gay. In my friend group there’s only one non witch, somehow. Stick with the witches, they’re usually pretty cool.

Other gothic genres would have you believe that forests and fields and wild places are scary, don’t be fooled into believing that’s always the case here. It’s not. In fact, the forest is often a place of refuge from, yanno, the weirdos outside of it.

You may think I’m exaggerating but I had neighbors who boarded up their own house and tried to poison the rest of our street when they moved in and spent all Halloween trying to Indoctrinate children. And there was a group of like ten people who faked being from a nearby church as an excuse to harass high schoolers and nobody knew they were fakes until I accidentally told the story to someone who ACTUALLY WENT TO THE CHURCH and was like “uh no we don’t do that wtf???” And that’s how we found of that there were people to fucked up for even the Mormons, and got kicked out and started their own operation! So what did we all do? We started walking home through the woods behind the highschool!

Basically tl:dr if you’re writing on the western half of the state, frame it like there’s scary paranormal goings on in the woods only to plot twist that the villains are humans and the forest’s paranormal activities are helpful, not harmful. Nothing in the woods is scarier than what’s outside of it. Except like, bears and stuff. But usually bears aren’t actively trying to fuck your day up.

Eastern half:

FUN GEOGRAPHY LESSON: rain shadows! We got MOUNTAINS! And when you go over the mountains there’s a huge closet wasteland cause the water gets trapped in the west side! But, between the mountains and the wasteland there’s this beautiful strip of pine forest and meadows called Central Washington it’s beautiful, it’s heaven on earth, once you go there you’ll never want to leave.... except the people there are horrible. It’s like you took a chunk of the Deep South, shook all the actual good stuff out of it, and plopped it in the PNW. Everyone is so up their own asses with politics. trump signs everywhere. So many of them are those godawful rich people who think they’re not rich cause their four story log mansion happens to be in a rural area. I can’t believe I’ve never been hatecrimed over there for how damn gay I look. THE EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE is Ellensburg. Ellensburg my beloved. It’s the best town on earth. Most pedestrian friendly location I’ve ever lived, everyone is super nice, and it’s a college town so there’s always something fun going on!

Tri cities has a bunch of nuclear plant related stuff, do with that what you will.

Back to the fact that half this state is uninhabited due to being completely dry and barren: holy shit the east is scary. It’s just nothing. Rolling hills of nothing. A three hour drive of nothing, then you get to nothing (Idaho edition).

Wine country is its own beast and I would have to make a whole post waxing poetic about how much a vineyard has to give as a gothic setting but here’s the cliff notes:

very isolated, far outside a small town where all the locals know each other, lots of big machines, old dusty barns with cluttered lofts, for straight lines of grapes you can EASILY get lost in the fields, sometimes they scare crows with LOUD AIR CANNONS, hot as hell all the time, people are on the verge between “your cool uncle with money” and “this person has never existed on the same plane of reality as you”, every house has trained hunting dogs for some reason, there’s weird mysterious birds, possibly venomous snakes, and SWARMS of bees and wasps. Oh and everybody and their brother does vineyard weddings. I’m sick to death of vineyard weddings.

Don’t let the maps deceive you. There may be a bunch of town names out there, but that doesn’t mean anything’s there. One time to go camping we drove out into the middle of the state on I-90, took an exit and turned left and kept driving for another hour on completely abandoned roads with no sign of life (but dozens of abandoned rotting houses in the distance) just to get to a “town” that reeked of “we’re getting murdered here cause half of us aren’t white and one of the 3 white people has neon pink hair”. If people wanted to go anywhere they’d have to drive an hour just to get to the interstate. They had one school building for k-12. One gas station, one tiny store, one restaurant. I could lap the entire town in thirty minutes walking. And the first building we saw was a church. Just one. As if the townsfolk weren’t given much of a choice. And there are probably 50 identical towns scattered across the east of the state. Completely isolated.

Tl:dr: want a fresh spin on the “small town full of weirdos” story? Don’t set it in the rural south! Set it in Washington, where you get all the same archetypal weirdness except they think because they’re not in the south they have some kind of moral superiority, and also your lead has nowhere to run cause the landscape is so barren you can damn near see the curve of the earth, where are you gonna hide when the tallest plant goes up to your ankles?

[jutebagsblog]

The Benefits of Jute Bags to Your Health and the Environment

Have you ever wondered why jute bags are so popular around the world? The simple answer is that they are eco-friendly and very easy to produce. They are strong and can be used to carry just about anything, although they do tend to come up short when it comes to packing density. In this article we'll go over some of the other benefits and advantages related to canvas tote bags, which are far superior to their jute counterparts.

Canvas tote bags are produced from a completely natural resource: jute fibers. The material used to produce jute bags is primarily a woody plant stem and skin, which makes for a very durable, weather-resistant material, and as such is often used to create rope and burlap bags. While these bags are very strong and long-lasting, they are not particularly environmentally friendly, as jute fibers must be processed to become processed into a form that can be woven into a canvas bag. The resulting canvas bags are not only low-energy recyclable but also comfortable, meaning they can be turned into fertilizer.

Canvas tote bags, as well as their jute counterparts, are excellent choices for carrying groceries and heavy loads. Since they are made from natural materials, canvas tote bags are very durable and tough. As a result, they can resist intense weather conditions like rain, snow, hail, wind, and heat, which make them especially useful when it comes to transporting food. In addition, they are sturdy and can hold up to the weight of several kilograms of fresh produce or even a full-size load of household goods, which is perfect for those who need to carry heavy items around campus, office, or home. They are available in several colors, including natural earth tones like brown and gray, as well as more colorful options like turquoise and hot pink, so that they can match any wardrobe and can fit in with many different color schemes.

The natural material from which jute bags are made, Hessian, is also high in quality, as it is very durable. It has been used for hundreds of years as a material for constructing clothing because of its exceptional strength and water resistance qualities. Hessian has the ability to withstand extreme temperatures of up to minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it a great material to use when it comes to providing maximum protection from the elements. Its ability to repel water will ensure that your bags and clothing remain dry and free from mildew, making it a low-energy recyclable product. This is the major environmental benefit of using Hessian as raw material for canvas tote bags.

Another major environmental benefit of jute bags, which makes them a greener choice than cotton or polyester, is that they are one of the few sustainable fibers that are available. Jute, unlike cotton and polyester, does not produce any new greenhouse gases during production. This means that using jute to produce eco-friendly bags reduces the carbon footprint we all have to live with. Less carbon emissions means less pollution, and that's not something we want to be doing as we approach Earth Day, which is set annually between the months of January to February. A jute bag is also a very sustainable fibre, meaning that it will not deplete the natural resources of the planet or of the earth itself.

Jute tote bags are also one of the most durable products you can buy, which makes them a great product to purchase for a number of different reasons. For example, they are extremely strong, which means that you can carry them for long periods of time before any wear and tear occurs. They are also very tough, which means that they won't tear easily, so you can use them multiple times before having to replace them. In addition, jute bags are very sturdy and hard wearing, meaning that you can leave them outdoors without worrying about it being damaged or torn by the harsh wind or rain. Their durability also means that you can use them over again without having to worry about damaging them and causing yourself to buy a whole new set of tote bags.

A third benefit of using jute bags to transport your belongings, is that they are completely biodegradable and sustainable. It is estimated that approximately fifteen thousand trees are needed to make one jute bag. Jute obtained from sustainable sources can be turned into long strips of fiber to weave into pillows, bolster covers, and even mattress covers, further reducing our impact on the environment.

If you want to reduce your impact on the environment, but are worried about the cost of purchasing jute bags in Bangladesh, you can instead purchase reusable ones made out of polypropylene. These come in the form of T-shirts, sweatshirts and fleece blankets. While they are not as thick as their plastic counterparts, they are very durable and will last for years. They are made out of natural fibers and so cannot be harmful to the environment. They can also be washed in the washing machine without causing any damage to the fabric. And, they are much more inexpensive than their plastic cousins, coming in a range of prices starting from around ten to twenty pounds for a single jute bag.

[naitiaclo960writings]

Day 9 - Baby

Castiel had more or less experienced every natural or meteorological disaster on Earth. He had experienced showers, storms, tornadoes, snow, hail and even witnessed several volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. He had seen whole torrents ran down the streets of a city and its inhabitants moved by boat to help their neighbors. Although these events had been terrible for humans, Castiel had come to appreciate one thing: he did not undergo the weather. He could stay for hours in the rain without catching cold and not feeling the water drops pounding on his skull, and if he got wet, he just had to think about it to dry instantly. The tropical jungles or the ice floe didn’t bother him either way, the snow was boring only because it slowed him down, the sun did not burn his skin… Castiel really liked to stay in the middle of nature without moving and simply observe.

However, now that he had lost his grace and was feeling things, the weather had become an annoying factor to take into account, as well as food, sleep, pain or bladder relief. Castiel was currently in the middle of one of those big storms in Florida and he hated it.

His Continentale had broken down on the side of a long road that seemed to stretch for miles in front and behind him. Castiel sighed from his seat. He already had trouble understanding human needs, so he was far from understanding how to properly maintain his car. How many times did he have to call a tow truck, just because he forgot to put gas in the guts of his Continentale? Too many. But, with the heavy rain that was currently falling, no tow truck would want to make the trip to help him. The weather was so bad that no more than a few meters could be seen, the rain forming a thick haze of mist engulfing the surrounding landscape. The rain was falling on the asphalt in a deafening cacophony, erasing all the surrounding noises except for the thunderclaps that preceded the lightnings gasping the sky, illuminating the world for a brief second. Outside, everything was nothing but chaos and dampness.

Castiel sighed again. He really did not want to stay here, victim of a storm that was probably gone to last long. In addition, the meeting place which had been agreed with the Winchesters were only about twenty kilometers away and he would much prefer to rush into the heat of a motel room rather than stay in a car whose heating had stopped working. The rain outside considerably cooled the atmosphere and he gently moved his toes in his shoes to stretch them. His car just stopped and he had no idea why, again. He had already filled the tank last week, that should have been enough. No? He had no idea what a car’s fuel consumption was…

Looking up, he spent several minutes gathering his courage and decided to go out and examine the vehicle. Maybe, for once, he could take care of it by himself. He really needed to get out of here and find a safe place.

Castiel ends up pinching his lips and opening his door, throwing himself out like someone diving into a pool. Immediately, the rain hung on to his clothes and soaked his hair. The noise was even louder outside and he groped up to the hood of his car before opening it with difficulty, his fingers slipping on the wet metal. He spent several minutes observing the interior of the engine, regularly repelling strands of soaked hair that fell on his face. The water ran down on him and within a short time, he found himself as wet as if he had taken a fully clothed bath. Inside the Continentale were meters of colored cables and heaps of metal, intertwining without any logic to the man. Castiel bit the inside of his cheek, furious as himself. He had absolutely no idea about mechanics, why did he even think for a moment that he would be able to fix his car on his own? It seemed so simple when Dean did it, he had foolishly believed that it took two or three manipulations to improvise as a mechanic. Once again, the hunter’s talents was blindingly obvious to Castiel.

Closing the hood of the car in a thud that was swallowed by the storm, he hurried back inside the car, now soaked in water and crippled by cold. He knew what to do if he wanted to get out of this situation, but the prospect of asking for help again frustrated him. While wiping his face with a trembling hand, he plunged the second one into the pocket of his trench coat and took out his cell phone, wet as well. He was relieved to see that he was still functioning and scrolled through the list of his contacts.

He pressed the button and brought his phone to his ear. It was barely if he could hear the tones with the noisy rain outside. After the fourth ring, Dean picked up.

- "Hey Cas. Everything okay?" Immediately asked the hunter. "We’ve already made it.

- Dean?" Castiel called, raising his voice because of the rain doubling in intensity outside if it was still possible. "I’m stuck on the road. My car stopped and I don’t know why. I think that… do we have to put gas on every day? 'Cause I already filled the tank last week and-

- Cas? I can’t hear you, where are you?" Dean interrupted while raising his voice as well.

Castiel sighed and closed his eyes.

- "On the ninety-three, 22 kilometers from the motel. I am broken down." He confessed while remembering a sign he had passed earlier on the road before his car stopped.

Castiel heard a rustle in the phone and muffled voices. He reached out to try to understand what was going on, but could only hear the deafened intonations of Sam and Dean’s voices. When Dean resumed speaking in the mobile, it was to throw a "I’m on my way" to Castiel, then he hung up.

- "Dean?" He called, confused. Only the tone of the dead line replied.

He sighed once more. Great, not only did he have to admit his negligence of a simple thing, but now Dean was forced to come and get him like a child held by the hand. He threw his cell phone into the passenger seat, filled with frustration. There were times when he missed his grace more than others.

A good half-hour elapsed during which the rain did not lose its intensity and thunderstorms multiplied. Castiel simply stared at the few meters of road in front of him, his arms and head leaning on the steering wheel, ignoring as well as he could his clothes sticking to his skin and the chills on his back. Suddenly, he saw two luminous spheres materialized away and piercing the haze of water that spread before him. A minute later, the Impala’s tires were squeaking on the bitumen while its black body was parked behind him. A short horn blast echoed in the middle of the storm and Castiel did not wait another second in his Continentale. He opened his door again and confronted the tumult from the outside.

Dean had taken care to park as close as possible so that Castiel could easily reach him, but when he arrives at the door of the Impala, he was already soaked again. The significant creaking of Baby’s door rings out and the echo of the rain outside invades the small cabin. Castiel quickly slipped into the car and closed the door straight back, his hair pressed against his forehead and face defeated.

- "Well, son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed, looking at him with amazement, a light laugh shaking his voice. "You picked a good time to run out of gas Cas."

Castiel grunted back and shaken himself as best he could under Dean’s protests.

- "Hey, hey! I’d appreciate not to take a shower as well, and neither would Baby, thank you! Wait, come here…" Dean said, signaling him to approach.

Castiel bowed meekly to him and tilted his head to the side. Immediately, Dean’s fingers landed on the parts of his trench coat and began to hurry him to remove it. Castiel followed the movement with an interrogative look at the hunter, helping him to remove the coat.

- "You’re entirely soaked and I would like to avoid turning the car into a pool." Explained Dean, blushing slightly. "On top of that… You’re human now. You’re gonna get sick if you stay in wet clothes and that’s not what you want, trust me. On the other hand, don’t expect me to go back to the motel right now. We can barely see from 20 feet, so I guess we’ll have to stay here until the storm settles out. Man, I hate tropical climates." He mumbled, throwing the coat now curled up into a ball in the back seat.

As Castiel began to unbutton his shirt, as wet as the rest, he looked down. Dean obviously wasn’t particularly thrilled to have to come and picked him up, which he could understand. He hated the idea of being so dependent on the rest of the world when, before that, he would go around the world without a split seconde.

- "I’m sorry Dean…" He muttered, always looking at the buttons of his shirt. "I really don’t understand why my car stopped." And his voice sounded truly desperate.

Dean stopped his movements to take a surprised look at Castiel’s profile. Realizing that his words had no doubt been misinterpreted, he blushed a little more and looked down, his hands still needlessly reproducing Castiel’s movements. As if the man in front of him did not know how to undress himself. As if he could not keep himself from touching him. - "Nah, It’s okay." He shrugged and when Castiel looked at him, he smiled more softly. "It’s probably the gas, I looked at your car last weekend and I didn’t find anything suspect. We will go to a gas station when the storm has passed. Refueling is really a pain in the ass, I get it, it can happen. Oh, and take your pants off, too. I’ve got it all figured out."

Castiel tilted his head a little more. Dean did not give him time to ask questions and plunged under the seats in the back seat, searching for a few seconds before pulling out a large grey blanket. The Winchesters were often forced to sleep in the Impala — the vehicle being like a second home for them — so the car was full of necessities. In no time at all, Castiel found himself in his underwear and socks on the passenger seat while Dean wrapped him in the warmth of the blanket. He docilely let himself be pushed around, his astonished gaze not leaving Dean’s face, the hunter visibly embarrassed to be the center of so much attention but continuing to cover Castiel with meticulous attention anyway.

- "Here you go." Said Dean, giving a last pat on Castiel’s shoulder without taking his hand back.

A strange silence settled in the car during which their eyes hooked once more. The rain outside was still in full swing and the thunder was roaring in the distance. The Impala was there, braving alone the elements, constituting a warm bubble for the two fragile beings inside. It was a space almost out of time that protected them while Castiel let a small smile bloom on his face.

- "Thank you." He simply said, his gaze filled with a certain warmth that seemed to come directly from his chest and spreading gently in the rest of his body.

Dean made a gesture of the hand as if to say that it was nothing. Castiel relaxed considerably, unable to break eye contact and prevent this feeling of well-being from invading him, as if he has finally found his niche. He tightened the blanket against him a little more, and when Dean finally removed his hand from his shoulder — an awkward expression on his face and his gaze now fleeting — he caught him up with his fingertips. He decided to push his luck by intertwining their fingers and letting their hands rest on the seat of the Impala. Dean’s surprised expression turned into a softened face, but he didn’t say anything and just appreciated Castiel’s skin against his.

Dean ended up slipping a cassette tape into Baby’s audio player and they both listened to a classic rock compilation while waiting for the storm to pass, Castiel warming up gradually alongside Dean, their hands intertwined. At least they had their small universe to themselves until the sky cleared. * * * I really hesitated with a sexy car scene but, meh, here’s some fluffiness instead xD. Hope you enjoyed it! @winchester-reload

You can check my masterlist for the Suptober 2019 here

Tagging peoples cause why not :

@echooz @aliceollormusic @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @styggtroll @thanks-tacos @petrichoravellichor @iamcharliebradburylevelperfect @ladywaywarddsc @hellfire37 @didnt-survive-twist-and-shout @destiel-221b-sabriel @aloha-cowgirl @alexia-kline-winchester @destielhoneybee @mylifeisbrulette @dysfunctional-destiel @ozonecologne @doofcas @castielrisingabove @zoerayne2426 @tibbinswrites @naomishamiga

[katcadecascade]

Snow Much Fun With You

Basically Qrow sends his kids out to play in the snow.

Ao3

If there’s one thing about Atlas is known for, it’s for its perfect snow days.

One would think that the tundra would have blizzards or hail but the elite just love to have everything according to their taste, including the weather. They just have the money and the means to get what they want.

So come morning, Atlas is frosted with flawless white snow.

As a bird faunus born and raised in Mistral then later Vale, Qrow is still not used to seeing weather so utterly peaceful. Rain and wind still chill his bones and the slightest amount of ice brings a great discomfort to his wings.

Still, even he knows a good thing when he sees it and so does his kids.

Usually all the kids are lined up at the two coffee machines or tea kettle as Ren cooks up a quick breakfast before morning briefings. Not today as Nora, Ren, Oscar, and Ruby are practically pressing their noses against the glass windows, eyeing up the winter wonderland beyond the academy walls.

“It’s so pretty,” Oscar awed.

The farm boy probably only seen snow in his books so actually feeling the gentle cold is drastic change in scenery compared to their trip to Argus.

One other Mistral kid is currently drooling.

“I wanna eat it,” Nora said.

“Don’t,” Ren instantly forbade.

“But it looks like ice cream!”

Ruby shook her head, “Trust me, it’s not worth it.”

Oscar snickered, “Wait, did you eat snow before?”

“In my defense I was little and Patch’s snow days were more hail than snow so it all looked like little balls of ice cream.” She snorted at her own memory, “At least I didn’t pull a Yang.”

“You better stop right now Ruby,” her sister warned, setting down her mug of tea next to Blake’s. Yang glare moves to Qrow when he starts cackling too.

Qrow grinned maliciously at his niece, “I nearly forgot about that day, still don’t know what possessed you to lick that street pole.”

To nearly everyone’s surprise, Jaune is the first to laugh at that anecdote. Besides him, Weiss can’t eat her toast, far too disgusted at her teammate’s old hijinks.

“You licked a street pole?” Weiss cringed. “That’s so unhygienic!”

“That’s one way to describe their childhood,” Qrow muttered, recounting the many messes Tai’s girls caused.

“Ewe,” commented the ice princess.

Back with the four snow gazers, they all stare longingly to the cold lawns below, probably wishing to skip out on the meeting or for Oscar’s case, school. As for the three kids seated with Qrow, he can see how their training daze is wearing off, leaving everyone’s excitement dwindling down.

Yeah, Qrow needs to fix this.

“You know,” he begins, gaining everyone’s curiosity, “the garden’s field should be piled up with snow.” Slowly, temptation sparks into the kids’ eyes. “And usually the meetings are just about announcing the mission roster, not a big deal.”

Blake tilts her head, “I don’t think the General or the others would think that.”

“True,” he nods, “but Jimmy owes us one for arresting us.”

“Welp,” Nora perks up, “I don’t need any more convincing!” Her hands are instantly holding onto Ren and Oscar, “Let’s go!”

Her sprint triggers Ruby’s competiveness so red rose petals are blazing out of the kitchen. Jaune jumped out of his seat to follow the rest of his team while Blake and Yang just shared a grin before heading out too.

Weiss frowns at Qrow, “Are you sure about this?”

She acts exactly like her sister except for the way her fingers tap on the table and how her eyes flicker to the door. Qrow sort of expected this from her, stubbornness for her career but the bone deep need of defiance for her own worth or character.

Qrow always seen her as a caged bird, freer and more at ease with her friends out in the world. But she’s back in Atlas, a place she escaped from and had to return for the sake of the world.

His feathers bristle at her fate, large black wings flaring out a little as he places a hand on Weiss’ shoulder, “You deserve all the snow in the world, snowflake, know that.”

Her shoulders lose its tension and she smiles gratefully. Weiss stands up and is about to run out until she freezes up. Qrow is about to reassure her again until Weiss tugs at his arm, dragging him away too.

Huh, little snowflake is stronger than she looks.

In no time they make it to the academy’s garden, which is basically the size of the average park because this is Atlas and Atlas is rich and lives for the aesthetic.

True as Qrow’s word, the entire landscape is blanketed with snow. Some lumps of it are in the open field while the flower beds and bushes are dusted nicely and snow packed trees are lined evenly down the pathways. The kids are already running wild in the snow, feral even as Nora and Ruby do cartwheels and Yang just chucks herself at Jaune, sending them both down.

Oscar, despite shivering, has an almost manic grin as he rolls in the snow. Near him, Blake laughs and lets herself fall into a snow pile. Ren appears to be building the foundations of a snowman.

The moment they enter the garden, Weiss lets go of Qrow to chase after Ruby. There’s no grace or charm in her run, tripping as she reaches the red hooded girl.

Qrow simply leans against the doorway and takes out his scroll to snap a few pictures too. Oh right, he sends a text to Clover about their delay. He switches back over to the camera function, about to press the recording button but coldness smacks his face.

All of his kids are a chorus of laughs and cackles as Qrow whips the snowball off his face. Worst part is, he has no idea who his attacker is. Instincts tell him it’s Ruby though.

He trusts his gut fast as the winds, he beats his wings in one smooth motion to launch himself forwards. Scooping an armful of snow, he charges at his niece to land his ammunition in her face.

Ruby falls on her butt, her hair messier than usual with the snow clinging to each strand. Her gritted teeth and fire in her eyes could probably melt the weather, “This is war old man!”

And thus, the war begins.

Alliances are tedious, what with everyone betraying everyone.

Jaune shoves snow down the backs of Weiss and Nora. Oscar lands a solid hit on Jaune’s forehead. Qrow gets a nasty combo attack from Blake and Ren, both too sneaky for their own good. At some point Qrow gives into old habits to shield Ruby with his wings right as Yang pulls a Taiyang, the signature move of just tearing chunks of snow off the ground and flinging it.

Ruby pops her head out of the feathery shield to stick her tongue out. He has to shove her head back down when the rest of her team decide to aim at their leader.

As she laughs against Qrow’s chest, he can’t help but think how it’s like she hasn’t grown up at all. She’s budding warmth in his life, cradled in his arms and wings and Qrow tussles out the remaining snow out of her hair.

“Having fun kiddo?”

“Yep,” she grins widely and proud, “Thank you for this.”

Qrow doesn’t have an excuse in mind to deflect, too roped up in the snowball fight. Honestly, he’s having fun too.

His kids are just really special, aren’t they?

Ruby gives him one last smile right before she drops a handful of snow on his head. Apparently, that’s a signal for the rest of them to toss snow to rain on top of them.

Never mind, they’re all brats.

Qrow flings his wings out to their full span, scattering lose snow off. He wraps his warms around Ruby’s waist to hoist her up and pins her arms to her side.

He commands to the others, “Get her!”

“NOOO!” She wails as her friends betray her.

It’s a bombardment of coldness, most are targeted on Ruby but she’s a small human shield so Qrow still gets hit too. As long as the brat gets the majority of it, he’s fine.

After that, everyone is tuckered out and snow ridden. While their clothes are designed as water and snow proof, Yang and Jaune did manage to shuck snow underneath because they’re jerks like that.

A loud whistle has everyone facing the doorway to the academy.

Clover sends them all a wryly smirk, his arms full of towels, “Sorry to break this up but we still got work to do.”

Behind the captain, Marrow carries a tray of hot steaming mugs. He asks Clovers with a frown, “Seriously? That’s all you’re going to say about this?”

“You’re just sad you didn’t get invited.”

“I am not!”

Eventually the kids are lined up, grateful for the dry towels and hot chocolate. Qrow lets his kids go before him, so he’s glad that Clover saved the largest towel for him. His wings shiver underneath the cloth, trying to contain as much warmth as possible as all enter the hallway.

“Thanks,” Qrow offers Clover a small smile but he’s a little preoccupied with picking out ice stuck to his wings.

He shivers and twitches a bit. Now that he’s away from the cold weather, it’s easier to feel the small snow pieces stuck between his feathers.

“Are you okay?” Clover halts their walk to examine him.

His gaze is full of genuine worry and care and Qrow can’t help it when his feathers puff up at the tenderness of it all. Many people only see the wings and care for the aesthetic of it rather than who it is attracted to.

Or so Qrow had always told himself. Most of the time his assumptions are correct but it took a while for him to process that people like Tai or Summer actually do look pass the wings and sees Qrow.

Yet there’s something about the way Clover peers into Qrow that disarms him, something that asks for all of his walls to fall down. Qrow can’t help but want to let Clover in.

The kids are already walking ahead but Ruby glances back before urging everyone around the corner, leaving Qrow and Clover in the hallway, the morning sun lights the frosty garden beyond the windows and the quiet atmosphere settling between the two men.

“Just got some snow stuck here and there,” Qrow removes the towel off his wings, lettings them pan out and shake off lingering snow. “I’ll probably have to groom them again. Some parts feel tangled after Nora sent me crashing.”

“That sounds painful, the Nora part that is,” Clover said, knowing from training experience at how enthusiastic Nora is.

“Yeah,” he nods and he can’t help but watch how teal eyes wander over the expanse of his wings.

There’s a soft, gentle look in Clover’s expression, almost dazed yet concentrated on memorizing the individual feathers. None of it felt securitizing or overly analyzing Qrow like he’s an abnormality.

Far from it, he felt safe around Clover. Maybe it’s from how easily they pair up in missions or how pleasant his company is. Qrow wants more of this, whatever this even is.

So biting down his hesitance, Qrow asks, “Would help me later, with my wings?”

Clover’s eyes goes back up to his red ones, both holding onto each other as something unspoken falls between them.

It was always Clover saying that if Qrow ever needs to talk that he’ll be here for him. Qrow has yet to take up that offer, settling for easy silence or card games to entirely avoid his issues.

Now he’s reaching out, trusting something very intimate to share with Clover just because Qrow desires the touch of Clover on him.

If Qrow crumbles from just Clover’s words and eyes, what will happen underneath his hands?

That honestly sends a shiver down his spine. It has been so long since Qrow trusted someone to groom his wings.

“Of course, Qrow,” he promises because yes, it sounds as weighty as devotion.

That realization blooms into Qrow, watching how his own wants and needs reflect in Clover’s eyes. Everything Qrow thought he was imaging or second guessing, the lingering touches and the flirts and the way Clover just watches Qrow in the corner of his eyes, it was all little details that piled together into something big.

And just like with snow, Qrow wants to fall into it.

“Come on, lucky charm,” Qrow doesn’t stop the smile tugging onto his lips as he takes Clover’s hand, “Everyone’s is probably waiting on us.”

He nearly has to pull Clover as he leads them to the meeting room but like always, Clover finds his footing to be at Qrow’s side.

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Everything Money Can Buy (2/12)

Summary: The Greatest Store in the World AU. When misfortune strikes and leaves Emma Swan and her son homeless just before Christmas, the ever-resourceful Emma has a ready solution. They’ll move into Mills Department Store, a place they can only dream of affording to buy from. It’s not easy, having to deal with a perpetually grumpy doorman, a nasty assistant manager, and an extremely suspect Santa, but Emma and Henry soon learn that the kindness of strangers is something money can’t buy.

Swan Believer centric, with eventual Swan Queen and background Rumbelle and Dwarf Star.

Rated: G

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[One] [AO3]

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Two

When Emma woke up the next morning, she almost couldn’t remember where she was. It had been a long time since she’d slept in a bed this luxurious – if she ever had. She reached under her pillow to silence the alarm on her phone. As tempting as it was to go for five more minutes, especially under a genuine goose feather duvet and soft wool blankets, the entire reason that they were in such sumptuous surroundings in the first place meant that they were going to have to make a move sharpish, before it became obvious that they had been in there all night.

She sat up and leaned down to the other end of the bed to wake Henry, who groaned and pulled the covers up over this head.

“What time is it?” he mumbled.

“It’s nearly six. Come on, Henry, we have to move.”

“But it’s a Saturday!”

“I know, but the cleaners will be coming in soon and we need to be ready to sneak out with them before the shop opens. Believe me, I’ve cleaned enough shops before opening hours in my time to know how this works.”

Truth be told, Henry had cleaned enough shops to know how it worked too. Well, usually he’d been sitting in a corner on a step stool out of the way whilst she’d done the cleaning, but he’d certainly been around. It was hard enough holding down a job when she had no qualifications and no fixed abode; trying to hold one down with a small child was almost impossible, and Henry had ended up coming to work with her more often than not.

They got up and set the bed back to as pristine a showroom condition as they could manage, and soon enough, the sound of hoovers and the chatter of cleaning staff could be heard on the floors below them. Emma rushed back to the cleaning cupboard that they’d hidden in the previous evening; it had been during that fraught period at closing time that she’d come up with the plan to disguise their exit this morning. She grabbed a roll of bin bags and a pair of rubber gloves, and with Henry’s help, she tossed all of their baggage into a black sack and started dragging it towards the stairs. It was slow going, but at least they weren’t quite as conspicuous as they could have been.

They were almost in the clear when the cleaning team got up to beds and bed linen, and their progress was hindered even further by the appearance of the assistant manager. Emma cursed and shoved the bin bag full of their belongings in a corner, instructing Henry to guard it and not look anyone in the eye. She was going to have to keep up the cleaning façade for a little longer in order to make it look legit. Thank God she had enough experience to know what she was doing.

In all the time that Emma had been perusing the shelves of Mills without any intention of buying anything, the assistant manager, a Miss Zelena West, had been the bane of Emma’s window-shopping happiness. Like Gold the doorman, she was an institution at the department store, but unlike Gold, there was absolutely nothing likeable about her. Gold was scary, but he did at least smile on occasion and his broad Glasgow accent betrayed roots far from the bright lights and luxury of Mills; so, for that reason, Emma trusted him even if she could feel his eyes boring into her sometimes when they were sitting on their bench across the street, watching him.

Zelena, on the other hand, was always annoying and never smiled so much as leered, her eyes never quite matching what her mouth was doing. There were always too many teeth in her smile, and Emma always got the distinct impression that there was more to her than met the eye. If there was one person whom she absolutely did not want to meet whilst attempting to leave the store having been trespassing in it all night, then it was Zelena. She would definitely be the type to haul them both straight off to the owner’s office and get as many charges as possible pressed against them.

What was she doing here so early anyway? Surely no one could be so paranoid about their place of work that they decided to supervise the cleaning staff, but apparently so. She was stalking in and out of all the display racks, hunting for dust in nooks and crannies and finger marks on any and all mirrored surfaces. Emma showed willing with a duster for a bit, and one of the other ladies caught her eye. She could barely have been out of her teens, if that, and she was so pregnant she could barely fit down between the aisles. Emma felt a pang of sympathy; that had been her ten years ago, still working up until her due date because she had no other choice.

The girl grimaced, rubbing her back.

“When’s it due?” Emma asked, coming over to pick up her dropped feather duster and save unnecessary bending down.

“New Year’s Day. Thanks.” The girl took the duster back with a grateful smile. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you new?”

“Yeah, first day on the job.” She nodded over to Zelena, still on the prowl. “Is she always like that?”

“Yep. Nothing’s ever good enough for the wicked witch.”

Emma had to laugh at the nickname; considering Zelena was almost always dressed in some shade of green, it certainly suited her.

“I’m Ashley, by the way. Just let me know if you need any help finding your way round. It’s a huge place; I got lost in kitchenware on my first day. I thought I was going to be stuck in an endless loop of saucepans and lasagne dishes for the rest of my life.”

“I’m Emma. Thanks for the offer.”

“Hey!” Zelena had noticed them talking, and Emma quickly turned so that the other woman wouldn’t see her face. “Less gossiping and more dusting! These beds won’t clean themselves!”

“It might help if she picked up a duster once in her life,” Ashley muttered. Emma gave a snort and made her excuses to leave Ashley alone, slipping away when Zelena’s back was turned again and making her way back to Henry.

“You were gone ages!” he hissed. “I was getting worried!”

Emma grabbed the bin bag and started banging it down the stairs. “I got trapped by the wicked witch. I’ll explain later,” she added quickly on seeing Henry’s confused expression. “Did anyone see you?”

“No. No one came past except the customer services lady and she didn’t say anything. Maybe bringing your kid to work isn’t so rare after all.”

Emma thought of Ashley, and she wondered what would happen after New Year’s Day.

Down on the ground floor, Emma hit a slight flaw in her plan. She’d spent enough time in Mills over the years to know its layout pretty well, but that was only the parts that the public got to see. They were now in the backstage area, so to speak. Staff only. And she had no idea where to find the exit.

People were coming and going, the cleaners and the regular staff coming in to set up their departments; but no one paid her and Henry any mind. They were cleaners after all, lugging a huge bag of rubbish out to the bins. They came in this way, so they must know their way out again.

Emma pushed Henry down behind the bag and dropped into a crouch beside him as she heard a very familiar and very angry voice.

“If Zelena’s held my coat to ransom in the dry-cleaning cupboard again, I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

Gold came down the corridor past them, and Emma had to double take at his appearance. She’d only ever seen him resplendent in his uniform, and to see him now, wearing an obviously hand-knitted jumper with a penguin wearing earmuffs on it, was a jarring reminder that he did have a life outside of the store.

“It’s ok, I rescued it for you.”

Gold stopped at the end of the corridor before he could crash into the lady from the customer services desk. She was new this year; Emma had not seen her working on the desk before. She held up Gold’s uniform coat in its plastic dry-cleaning bag, and Emma couldn’t help but notice the slight little red blush that rose in her cheeks when Gold grabbed it with a smile.

“Belle, you are a lifesaver. What would I do without you?”

“Oh, you’d manage, I’m sure.”

“Mum!”

Henry was gesturing frantically down the corridor to where the other cleaners were taking rubbish bags, and Emma knew that it was time to move on and not watch the sweet little scene taking place between Gold and Belle any longer. She hauled up their bin bag and followed Henry down the corridor and out into the yard, whereupon they ducked behind a bin and grabbed all their luggage.

They were out of the woods, and their night of camping out in the store was over.

“Come on, Henry. Let’s go and get our van back.”

X

Someone wise once said that it never rains but it pours. If they had been a bit wiser still, they would have said that it never rains but it pours and thunders and hails and snows all at the same time, and less than a week before Christmas to boot.

Emma was sitting in the cramped office of the DVLA impound trying very hard not to swear, since Henry was sitting only a foot away, pretending to be absorbed in a newspaper and not paying any attention to what the adults were doing, but in reality, he was taking absolutely everything in and he knew that things were going from bad to worse to even worse with every passing moment.

She also knew that she really couldn’t take it out on the poor clerk who was dealing with her case. When the van had been towed in the first place and she’d made it clear that she wouldn’t be able to pay the fine; he’d offered to try and get her a payment plan of sorts. As it was, Emma had pawned some of her mother’s jewellery to make up the cash; the sentimental value was nothing compared to actually having somewhere to call home that wasn’t a department store’s bed section.

She had come to the impound ready to pay, only for the incredibly apologetic and nervous-looking clerk to tell her that he couldn’t release the van to her because it had failed so many safety inspections that it had been deemed dangerous to drive. He was going through the list of all its failings with her now, and every time he faltered, Emma could tell that there was more bad news to come but that he’d already given her so much that he didn’t have the heart to continue.

Eventually, they came to the end of the list, and he looked up at her with an expression that could only be described as a cringe.

“I’m really sorry,” he said. “But I just can’t let you drive away in it.”

Emma sat back in her chair and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. There was no way that she would be able to afford all the repairs that the agency had said would be needed before the van would be road legal again. She had barely scraped together enough for the fine in the first place. This was just the icing on the cake of a really terrible year. Every year, she was determined that things were going to get better and that they might finally stop living out of a van.

She’d got her wish all right. They were definitely not living out of a van anymore. They weren’t living out of anywhere.

“To be honest, it might be more economical to write it off,” the clerk said. “I’m not sure how much you’d get for its scrap value, but it would be better than nothing.”

Emma nodded. “Yeah. You’re probably right. How do I go about doing that, then?”

“Well, we won’t be able to do anything until after Christmas, I’m afraid. Everywhere is shut down for the holidays.”

Emma threw her hands up in the air and let them drop down to her sides. “Fantastic. Fan-bloody-tastic.”

There was nothing more that she could do here. All she could hope was that the emergency housing office had somewhere available for them.

“Come on, Henry.” She sighed and hefted up their bags again. “Let’s go.”

“We’re not getting the van back, are we?”

“No.”

They walked on through the town in silence. The van was pretty much the only home that Henry had ever known, and now it had been taken from him in a finger snap, and just before Christmas as well. Henry was used to not receiving Christmas presents, but at least he’d never yet had something taken away from him at Christmas. This was the opposite of the Christmas spirit, and his desolation was palpable.

“We’ll find somewhere else,” Emma said, trying to keep his spirits up, but it was clear that Henry didn’t believe her, and she didn’t quite believe herself. “I’m sure that there are other vans out there.” That said, maybe it would be better to put some roots down somewhere and start living between four walls instead of on four wheels. Maybe this would be the year that they stopped living in the van in a good way after all.

The housing office was open this time, but as they walked in, took the slip of paper from the machine with their number on it, and sat down to wait, Emma didn’t hold out much hope. There were at least six other families in front of them, and all of them were more than just a single mum and her son. On the one hand, being just the two of them, they needed less room and would hopefully be easier to place somewhere, but on the other, bigger families with much younger children had much more urgent need of shelter. Emma remembered with a shiver her first couple of homeless years after Henry had been born, a constant fear of losing him to the bitter cold, burying him under so many blankets as she curled up around him in the back of her car that he could barely be seen. As desperate as she and Henry were, she would never wish that on anyone. Besides, she and Henry had a back-up plan if necessary. Living out of Mills wasn’t exactly ideal, but they’d made it work last night. Surely they could make it work again. All they had to do was stay out of Zelena’s way.

The morning wore on, and Emma’s hopes were getting stretched extremely thin by the time her number was called. She had seen the apologetic shakes of the head that all of the other applicants had been getting, and she knew that things weren’t exactly looking great. It came as absolutely no surprise when she was told that there would be no accommodation available until the new year. If she could just find somewhere to stay over the holidays, then everything would be all right, but all resources were stretched at this time of year, et cetera, et cetera. The woman was telling her in all but the most blatant terms that her best bet would be to go to the nuns at the homeless shelter over the Christmas period and to come back in January.

Emma shook her head. No, she would never go back to the shelter, not after she’d nearly come to blows with the Mother Superior after finding the head nun going through all her and Henry’s belongings, looking for items of monetary value as a ‘voluntary donation’ towards their stay at the shelter. No one had believed her when she’d tried to report it to the authorities. Considering that they were nuns who did regular work in the community and Emma had several shoplifting cautions and convictions under her belt, she wasn’t surprised, but the injustice of it all still stung.

“What are we going to do, Mum?” Henry asked. He had been so good about the whole thing, never once complaining or whining about a very boring day spent in various offices, or the fact that for once in her life, Emma didn’t have a cunning plan to get them out of their latest scrape. Her son was old beyond his years, and Emma felt a huge wave of guilt wash over her that his early life had been so hard. She had done the best for him that she could with what little she had, and she loved him more than life itself, but sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she had taken the advice of everyone around her and given him up for adoption when he was born. Maybe he would have had a better life; he might have been adopted and been living in a comfortable house with central heating and proper beds.

Or he might have had a childhood like hers after her parents were killed and she’d been shoved unceremoniously into the foster system; never to be loved and only to be kicked out to fend for herself as soon as she aged out.

She continued in silence, trying to think of an answer to Henry’s question that wouldn’t leave them both in despair, trudging along the street with aching arms from carrying all the bags all day, until the familiar bright lights of Mills came into view. It was tempting fate to spend another night there, but this time Emma had a much better plan.

“We’ll go camping.”

[the-depressed-shiny-buneary]

Pokemon Next Gen (Mentally Challenged Kids): Yuki Suzuna

Yuki is the daughter of Zoey and Candice. She was conceived by a male doner while Candice carried her, she does visit her doner father at times but she mostly spends time with both of her moms. When she was a child, Zoey and Candice noticed that Yuki would have repetitive and restricted behavior, they also noticed that she didn’t seem to have an interest in talking with other kids and she would end up playing on her own if they decided to take her to a park. When they took her to a doctor they learned that she was Autistic, nothing changed between the mothers and their daughter, they would do their best to satisfy her repetitive behavior, mostly by learning what her traits are. Yuki soon joined a child therapy group where she met Autumn, Frances, Pearl, Stella, Alika, Hiroki, and Ginger though it took a while for her to warm up to them, she does hang out with them after she got used to seeing them. Yuki’s main trait is that she has a specific way of doing things and will get upset if any of those ways aren’t met, it’s mostly dealt with when it comes to food. Like how she’ll like her sandwiches with the crusts cut off and cut into quarters instead of halves. She also has fixations on only one item, mostly her Eevee plush as it’s always seen by her side and she only really plays with that one plush. Yuki is also hyper-sensitive and has extreme reactions to simple things such as multiple people talking in a room, for that reason, she always has headphones on to dull the volume of the voices so she doesn’t get uncomfortable. 

Her main colors are pink and turquoise. From pink, she has unconditional love towards her Pokemon, her moms, and her close friends. She’s also sweet and nurturing to anyone she’s close to, however, she’s also over emotional and has some unrealistic expectations. She can be immature and girly as well. From turquoise, Yuki is creative and turquoise helps her with communicating with others, it also represents how she’s self-sufficient when it comes to finding her own needs, a small representation of her repetitive behavior. It also helps her with keeping the balance of her emotions and her keeping a clear head.

Her Pokemon:

Coco the Skitty- Yuki had caught Coco with the help of Zoey’s Glameow. Coco is very much like her trainer, she’s playful and is quick to fix her attention to something new or keep her attention on one item. Coco can play with anything and gets excited when she does find something to play with, even her own tail. She’s also energetic to the point she’ll tire herself out after one full day of playing and will spend the rest of the day resting, despite being full of energy she does still like taking things easy when she finds something that can calm her down which is mostly with the help of aromatherapy. When taking part in aromatherapy she’ll curl up on Yuki’s lap or on anything soft and will fall asleep soundly, then she’ll wake up and go back to playing.

Caught in a Luxury Ball.

Ability is Cute Charm.

Held Item is a Silk Scarf.

Moves are Return, Assist, Sing, Zen Headbutt, Thunderbolt, Blizzard, Copycat, Round, Double Slap and Wish.

Whinter the Glaceon- Yuki caught Whinter when he was an Eevee along with his sister who also was an Eevee. Whinter is more mature than his more cheerful and playful sister, Yuki quickly realized that Whinter liked playing in the snow than playing in the grass so he gave Whinter an Ice Stone which made him evolve into the Glaceon he is now. Whinter is calm and mature, he prefers to stay clean and will get very angry should he get dirty. Despite that, he still cares about his trainer and will freeze anyone who insults or belittles his trainer. He also cares deeply about his younger sister and while he still dislikes being dirty he will make an exception to get dirty to play with his sister in the grass and mud, so long as he doesn’t get too dirty and he’ll get cleaned up after they were done playing together. He wears a blue bandanna with a snowflake pattern on it that’s tied around his neck, it means a lot to him as it was a gift from Yuki.

Caught in a Pokeball.

Ability is Ice Body.

Moves are Hail, Swift, Copycat, Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry, Rain Dance, Weather Ball, Ice Fang, Double Team, and Frost Breath.

Summer the Leafeon- Yuki caught Summer when she was an Eevee along with her brother. Summer is more carefree, cheerful and playful than her older brother who’s more mature. Yuki quickly noticed that Summer liked playing in the grass or in a forest than playing in the snow with her brother, so she gave Summer a Leaf Stone which made her evolve into Leafeon. Summer is cheerful and playful, she’s always happy to play with Yuki as well as help Yuki with whatever she might need. Like most Leafeons, she’s a pacifist and doesn’t like solving any problems by fighting but if the situation calls for it she will fight alongside her brother and her trainer. She has no issues getting dirty and will at times roll around in dirt simply because it’s fun. Summer looks up to Zoey’s Leafeon and wishes to battle in a contest like her one day. She wears a green bandanna with a red flower pattern on it that’s tied around her neck, it means a lot to her as it was a gift from Yuki.

Caught in a Pokeball.

Ability is Chlorophyll.

Moves are Razor Leaf, Leaf Blade, Sunny Day, Solar Beam, Weather Ball, Double Team, Attract, Swift, Helping Hand, and Giga Drain.

[adventuresofalgy]

It was spring at last. Algy’s home in the wild West Highlands was still being blasted by an icy wind carrying battering showers of rain mixed with hail or sleet, but it was undoubtedly spring at last, and there were times between the showers when the sky turned blue and the bright new flowers revelled in the sunshine.

Algy loved the early spring because there were so many flowers which shared his own sunny colours. Waiting for an auspicious moment when the wind seemed to have dropped to a tolerable level for a wee while and the clouds had dispersed, temporarily at least, he settled himself into a sunny forsythia bush and thought of a poem he had once read... and of you, all his friends around the world...

You said, take a few dry sticks, cut the ends slantwise to let in water, stick them in the old silver cup on the dresser in the spare room and wait for the touch of Easter. But a cold wave protected the snow, and the sap’s pulse beat so low underground I felt no answer in myself except silence. You said, winter breaks out in flowers for the faithful and today when I opened the door the dry sticks spoke in little yellow stars and I thought of you.

[Algy is quoting the poem Forsythia by the 20th century American poet and philosopher, James Hearst.]

[pudding-parade]

OK, so I lied. :) I thought I'd release an Australian preset next, but then I remembered that I had this one that I made when playing a castaway scenario on a desert island, and it didn't really need updating, so I figured I'd share it. It's a weird one, though, so do please read all the details below (Sorry!) before you decide whether or not you want to download and use it.

Aruba is an island in the southeastern Caribbean, not far off the coast of Venezuela in South America. Yes, I know I made/released a general Caribbean preset based on Jamaica, but this one is different because Aruba is different. It is one of the Leeward Antilles, which basically means that rather than receiving a lot of rain like most Caribbean islands, Aruba receives very little and so is classified as an arid (but not Mediterranean) climate. Cacti and scrubby plants and shrubs grow on Aruba, not lush green foliage. Most of the rain Aruba receives falls between September and January with the heaviest rainfall in October, November, and December. In its rainiest month (November), Aruba receives on average 95mm/3.7in of rain while in its driest months (March and April) it receives 10mm/0.4in, so there's quite a difference between months.

As I said, this preset is an odd one, so here we go. Because I made this preset for a castaway scenario, I wanted to be able to grow food year-round, without dealing with that annoying plant fruiting dormancy that the game enforces from mid-autumn to mid-spring. To accomplish that, this preset has only one season, which is summer. However, this is NOT a default that will pick up however long you set your summer to be. You MUST have your summer set to 36 days long to use this. (Because of this, if you do not already have one, you will need a mod to allow for longer seasons than the vanilla game's 28-day max.) You should also disable the other seasons in the in-game options.

The reason for this is that within the preset I've divided that 36-day-long "summer" into twelve 3-day-long "months," in order to more accurately simulate Aruba's yearly rainfall pattern, at least as much as is possible within the game's limitations. With this preset in play, the temperature will hover around 80F/27C regardless of time of day, never going above 85F/29C and never going below 75F/24C, but the chance of rain vs. sun varies depending on which section of the 36-day-long "summer" is currently active. Although hail very rarely happens in the real Aruba, there is no hail, fog, or (obviously) snow in this preset, just to keep things simple.

When you start a save with this preset in play, the "year" will start in "January" (So, a bit rainier), which will last for three days, and then every three days after that a new "month" with a new chance of rain vs. sun (which may or may not be very different from the "month" before it), will be in effect. "February" through "August" (21 days total) are all varying levels of dry. "September" will be similar to "January." "October" through "December" (9 days total) will have a decent amount of rain. That said, periods of rain are set to be short and of only light or medium intensity for most of the year. The exception is the 9-day period representing October, November, and December, which have longer periods of rain with a chance of heavy intensity.

For this upload, I have reinstated the standard summer "Leisure Day" holiday, and that's it. It will happen on the next-to-last day of the "season." (When I originally made the preset, I disabled the holiday, because it was for a castaway scenario, so no one was working a standard job to have a day off from.) If you want to get fancy and you want more than one holiday in your one-season year, you can add custom holidays by fiddling around with the holiday settings in the preset. Instructions for that can be found in this part of the ridiculously-huge how-to-use-Tempest tutorial that I made.

Perhaps obviously, this preset will work best, IMO, if you play with lifestage lengths proportional to a 36-day-long year as well as changing human pregnancy length to 27 days/648 hours (via Retuner), so that the three-day-long "months" built into the preset will represent actual months. That's what I had in mind when I made this and what I did when I played my scenario, but it isn't necessary to do the same if you don't want to. If you do want to do that, though, you will need an altered Options.ini file in your user folder, since the lifestage length sliders aren't long enough in the game. It's easy to do, and instructions as to how to set up this sort of thing are on the NRaas site here.

All that said, if you want this one, you can download it here. If you don't, then another more normal preset will be along soon...ish.

[rememberthattime]

Chapter 59. Cornwall, Charleston, and Chicago

Well we’re into our final chapters. It’s nearly time for Chelsay & I to head home… The end of our time as expats.  

The preceding post, our EuRoad Trip, may go down as our last big adventure abroad. That’s not how we planned it but, if it turns out that way, it’d be a helluva last hurrah.  We have this “on-again-off-again” thing Egypt initially scheduled for November, then delayed to December, and now delayed again until January… but an escalation in Covid cases makes that trip less & less likely.

Regardless of whether Egypt comes through, our last few months abroad will be anything but boring. This post is going to cover December alone, where in just four weeks, Chelsay & I enjoyed TWO winter retreats in Cornwall, and visited Charleston & Chicago for prospective neighborhood tours.

As mentioned, we’d been planning an early winter trip to Egypt. I had the flights, hotels, itinerary, visas… everything was arranged. I even had a dog sitter for Indy. But Covid infections had been rising since the summer, so Chelsay & I always knew this trip was a long shot.

Sure enough, just a few weeks before the trip, our flights were cancelled. We were prepared though and already had a back-up.

3.5 years ago, the same week the Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky, Chelsay & I took a four-day trip to Cornwall. There were two surprises. One turned out to be a good surprise, the other was bad…

The bad surprise was Mitch. As I wrote in our 2017 Cornwall post (Chapter 20), he wasn’t good in college and the Bears passed on so many safer prospects. Fast forward to today, where Mitch is likely in his last season with the Bears while the two quarterbacks drafter after him, Pat Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, are future Hall of Famers.

Well, at least that 2017 Cornwall trip was blast. It’d been a few years though, and with winter surfing a possibility, we decided to use our now-cancelled Egypt vacations days for a return to the Cornish coast.

It seemed like we arrived at our small cottage, Scilly Stack, in the middle of the night. It was actually just dinner time, but the sun sets at 3 pm these days so everything feels like midnight. That first evening, we enjoyed homemade Bolognese and Planes, Trains, & Automobiles. …This cosiness would be a theme.

The trip really began the next morning, with the Cornish wind being our wake-up call. We were visiting the nearby Crown Mines, abandoned for 70 years but still bracing along the Atlantic coastline. I don’t know how they’re still standing: essentially at land’s end, there is no hiding from the elements. Gusting gales, salty mist from the crashing waves… even hail.  Still, Chelsay, Indy, and I were stirred by the wind, and bounced around the craggily coast.

The next stop was one of our primary draws to Cornwall: the beach. It’d been a year since we left Manly, and I missed the water. I keep telling Chelsay that my outdoor activities are limited in London: all I can do is go to the park – no surfing, swimming, or running along the beach. Later in this post, I’ll get into our house tours in Charleston & Chicago… It isn’t a coincidence those cities are both waterfront.

Cornish beaches are unique though: at low tide, the beach seems to be a million football feeds wide. Boats moored in the harbour gradually sink and settle in the sand. The winter crowds are sparse, so Chelsay, Indy, and I had miles to roam. We raced around the beach, threw his ball, played in the waves, and dashed through the surrounding dunes. After wind and hail earlier in the morning, the extreme weather continued: we raced through snow and rainbows in our few hours on the beach.

Afterwards, we warmed up with lunch at a beachside cafe in nearby St Ives. I went a bit risky with the Korean fried cauliflower, which I thought was ambitious for a beachside cafe. This place knew what they were doing though: lunch was delicious, and Chelsay said it was her favorite fish & chips thanks to a special tartar sauce. The town was quiet in the winter, and while we ate, Chelsay and I watched as a lone surfer catching a few waves. I distinctly remember us saying: “We can do that.”

We wrapped up lunch, but with the sun was quickly setting AT 2 PM!, we quickly made our way to the day’s final stop: the Wheal Coates mines.

As a refresher, we’d been here before. We visited in our last trip to Cornwall, but only thanks to a bit of luck. We’d lost cell service so our GPS couldn’t find the mines, and to complicate things, Chelsay had to pee. Somehow, the solution to both problems was the same. We pulled off at a public restroom, where a cartoon map led us directly to the mines.

This time around, I downloaded ‘offline maps’ beforehand, so finding the mines was much. That said, the setting sun made the coastal setting just as special as our previous visit.

Just as we’d done the previous evening, we closed the night with a homemade pasta. This time amatriciana.

We pretty much only had one goal for our second day in Cornwall: surf. It’d been a full year since Chelsay & I left Manly, and we were so anxious to get back in the water. So anxious, in fact, that we were willing to go in the winter.

That morning, we had some serious doubt as we picked up our rental boards & wetsuits boards in Sennan. Literal gale force winds over 40 mph were battering the shoreline. And as if the speed of the wind wasn’t enough, it was directly onshore and killing any chance of wave formation.

That said, the great thing about Cornwall is that it’s a peninsula. If you’ve got onshore winds on one side, just go to the other and you’ll find perfect offshore conditions. Gnarly green faces. Rad rollers. Clean barrels. Smooth breaks. SETS. OUT. THE. BACK.

The surf shop recommended Praa Sands, where a surrounding cove funnelled the south-easterly winds offshore from the beach.  We knew it was the right call when, as we pulled up, noticed Cornwall’s dedicated (though small) surf crowd had also chosen Praa.  

Because it was too cold, windy, and rainy to be outside, we awkwardly changed into our 5mm wetsuits in the car. This was awkward… Not only were the steering wheel and limited space difficult, but anyone passing can look in. Have you ever pulled 6 muscles all at once, while shirtless, while making direct eye contact with someone?  I have now.  

The wetties (and accompanying boots) were critical for this surf session. Just the day before, it had both snowed AND hailed on us. Today there were gale force winds and spots of rain. 5mm of neoprene and incalculable adrenaline were the only things keeping us warm as we plunged into the water.

I specifically remember trying to keep my head high as we paddled out, attempting to stay dry and well above the water. This was one of our strategies to stay warm, with the other being our “get in-go hard-and-get-out-quickly” strategy... Rather than wait for the right wave, we’d paddle hard and take whatever came first.

Luckily there was a pretty solid wave as soon as we hit the lineup: a four foot face that, based on our Manly riding, was perfect for our skillset.

We quickly turned our boards and paddled hard to match the wave’s speed. This was it. Our return. After 12 months, we were going to catch our first wave - Let’s gooooo-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Chelsay and I both flipped directly over the front of our boards, tumbling through the churning wave. Adding injury to insult, each of our boards popped out of the water and landed on the other person’s head.

No return to surfing glory: just a face-first dive into the frigid water, resurfacing only be whacked in the head by each other’s boards.

This was pathetically unathletic, but also hilarious. Chelsay and I both popped out of the water laughing. We’d now been submerged in the winter water, but survived and actually weren’t *that* cold. Chelsay thinks I’m crazy, but I really think I had colder swims in Manly.  

We needed to reset our wave-riding expectations. The biggest problem was that we were out of surfing shape. Our back & arms lacked both the power and stamina we’d built in Australia, so we never had enough speed to keep up with the waves.

After several misses, we ultimately decided to settle for white water (the wave post-crash), and caught a few beginner sets. Like, true novice waves. The kinds you’d see the kids surf school handle in Manly.

We were probably in the water for just 30 minutes, but our arms were already wrecked. Little did we know, our upper body workout was far from over.  The same offshore wind that built up perfect waves was now standing between us & the car.

The combination of these 40 mph winds, our soft surfboards, and utter exhaustion created the funniest scene of the trip. Chelsay and I were fighting for every inch as we made our way up the beach… If our boards even slightly opened to the wind, gusts would catch the board like a sail, punching us back several steps. We’d torque around, trying to get the board into an aerodynamic position, but the heavy wind wouldn’t let up. We’d twist and turn, completely out of control and hyperventilating from laughter. It genuinely looked like Chelsay might fly away with her board, before she eventually gave up and collapsed in the sand.

Needless to say, our Cornwall surf day was very different from the sunny, guacamole-on-the-beach days in Manly. We still had a blast though.

After the most necessary showers ever, and coffee to energize our depleted muscles (and egos), Chelsay and I returned to Penzance to visit St Michael’s Mount. We let Indy play on the beach with other dogs (all collies, which seems to be a UK theme everywhere except London), while Chelsay & I searched for critters until the tide pools were once again flooded.

The sun set by 4 pm, and I don’t need to tell you our dinner that evening: pasta, along with the Mariah Carey Christmas Special.

The next and last day was another highlight.  Although Cornish weather is turbulent, the forecast said our clearest day would be the last. I was so excited about this hike that I initially planned it for our first day, but reschedule to ensure it coincided with the best chance for sunshine.

Well, we got more than just sunshine. It was mild, almost warm. Light breeze. Dry. Absolutely perfect for our hike from Lizard Pointe to Kynance Cove.  

The Lizard Peninsula is known for its craggily coast, where its countless coves were popular for pirates hiding their treasure. Chelsay, Indy, and I didn’t find any treasure, but we felt very lucky to enjoy the seaside setting in essentially summer conditions. To complete the sunny scene, we enjoyed ice cream cones once we arrived in Kynance Cove’s, playing fetch with Indy along the beach. You can’t ask for any better in December.

These few days in Cornwall were excellent. Very different from the Egypt trip they replaced, but somehow both relaxing and adventurous.  We had a such a great time that we booked a return visit just three weeks later.

This return Cornwall visit was entirely intended to decompress. You’ll see when I write about it later: we did nothing.

Why was an ‘exhale’ trip necessary? Well, between our two Cornish holidays, we were visiting Charleston & Chicago, evaluating if either were right for Chelsay & I’s eventual return to the US.  

These visits were mostly Chelsay and I independently exploring each city, gauging “What’s Possible” in terms of neighborhood and home quality, outdoor activities, community values …and, as mentioned earlier, access to the water.

I won’t go into too many details here, but a few memories worth noting:  

That first sunrise in Charleston. It felt like we hadn’t seen a single sunrise since we moved to London… because we hadn’t.

Biscuits and gravy to start the day, followed by walks along the large beaches on Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms.

The charming homes of Charleston, which Chelsay and I agreed, made this the prettiest city we’d visited in the US.

Soups, sandwiches, and warm waterfront views at Kiawah Island’s Freshfields Market.

The unbelievable size of American grocery stores. They’re like airplane hangars, with an entire aisle for cereal. We counted 12 unique flavors of Oreos alone! It wasn’t until we browsed these snack aisles that we realized how much we missed all this variety and convenience.

The views from my parents’ 14th floor condo, including surrounding skyscrapers, sunrises over Lake Michigan, and the general city buzz.

Portillos!

The smell of heavy incenses and grilled cabeza steak in La Chaparrita Taqueria.  

Our no-nonsense realtor Greg, who handled our four house tours with the militaristic precision of D-Day. This style was in direct contrast to the selling agents, who were all very kind but far too affable for Greg. There was one agent that couldn’t answer a single question without sprawling in a million directions: “Well the first thing is location… Wait did I tell you about the… Actually my oldest daughter lives down… Oh, where was I?”.  The question we asked was the difference between Winnetka & Wilmette.

The safety measures necessary to make this trip work. This was our first time flying since the start of the pandemic, and we were as careful as possible throughout.  Our extra precautions included getting tested, paying extra attention to social distancing, and even investing in hospital-grade KN95 masks.  

The trip was extremely informative, and we enjoyed envisioning what our lives would be like when we eventually return to the US.  That said, it was a sprint and, especially considering our jet lag, we were exhausted.  This is precisely why we’d booked another 5 days in Cornwall upon our return.

After our overnight flight into London, we picked up our rental car, stopped by the house to grab Indy (and a shower), then started our five-hour drive to Newquay.

This Christmas Eve trip was surprisingly easy. I was nervous beforehand, anticipating minimal sleep on the plane followed immediately by five hours on the road. Just think of how extreme a trip Chicago-to-London-to-Cornwall is in under 15 hours… Although my fears about plane rest turned out to be accurate, the drive was made immeasurably calmer thanks to Obama’s A Promised Land audiobook. Something about having an empathetic, logical President was reassuring. The good ol’ days.

The calm vibes would continue in Cornwall. Round two was nothing like the round one I previously wrote about. In fact, it was unlike any trip Chelsay & I have taken: we did nothing. No itinerary. No plans. No sight-seeing.

This was our opportunity to exhale, and we took full advantage.  We slept in until 10:30 several days, hardly leaving the house and never driving more than 30 minutes from our accommodation. Some of the most memorable highlights:

The accommodation itself, a four-bedroom cottage overlooking Mawgan Porth Beach. 

Our Christmas calls with family, where we opened presents with all the nieces and nephews. Miles got a dragon toy, Orly a stuffed pony, and Jeff & Liv’s couch got leather care formula.

Christmas Day with Chelsay, where we made Beef Wellington and gingerbread cookies, and watched Home Alone 1 & 2.

Our daily beach walks with Indy. After our Cornwall trip earlier in the month, we knew to expect turbulent weather. In just a few days, round two provided a mix of every kind of winter weather: rain, hail, sunshine, gale force winds… Regardless of the weather, we enjoyed beach time with Indy as the tides shifted.

I need to re-emphasize just how windy the beach was. I’ve never seen anything like it. As we walked, the sand kicked up by our boots would catch the wind and shoot 15 feet away. 

Playful walks along the Cornish coastal paths, including stops at the Bedruthan Steps and Port Isaac.  

Teaching Chelsay to play chess. Although she was skeptical at first, we both enjoyed the light competition in an otherwise relaxing few days.

Stealing a line from Jeff & Liv, “Well, that’s Christmas.” …That was December 2020.

I’m actually writing this post on January 1, 2021, which I’m sure I’ll look back on as a significant day. Not only is today a celebratory end to one of the worst years in history (pandemic, economic decline, racial tensions, Trump…), but it’s also excitingly the beginning of what will likely be Chelsay & I’s biggest year yet.

Our December 2020 was actually reflective of today’s mixed New Year’s Day emotions. Our two Cornish holidays represented closing chapters to our international travels, which have consumed our past five years. Meanwhile, our tours of Charleston & Chicago foreshadowed our exciting return to the US. Our past & future look bright …and filled with dozens of different types of Oreos.

[dominicklfjm816-blog]

Forget Roofers near me: 10 Reasons Why You No Longer Need It

Homeowners comprehend that terrific roofing is the most exceptional safeguard for a home. A roof assists to keep out wind, rain, snow, hail, and the sun's rays. On the other hand, comprehending when to restore a roof and with what sort of roofing material is typically a intricate choice.

A new roof is a big property and it's one of the most substantial things you can produce the shelter and total worth of your residence. To attain this, a roof's exterior must be leak-proof and difficult in addition to versatile adequate to adjust to heat modifications without any cracking or otherwise losing its stability. Shingles come in many designs and are made of many varied products. They differ in their finish materials and style, however the large majority roofs are comprised of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface roofing material. Lots of houses presently have modern asphalt shingles that are readily available in lots of variations that offer different looks in the shape of architectural shingles. There are likewise accessible from roofing manufacturers different roof such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roof.

A excellent deal of property owners prefer metal roofing, which uses impressive long-lasting protection, or slate roofing, which provides a enjoyable creative outside. Most homeowner just want to acquire a roof Roofers near me that is long lasting, safe, long-term and needs little to none maintenance. A bulk of the roofs are changed or fixed every ten years. In spite of the reality that this is so, after studying and thoroughly choosing your house's roofing material, you can reduce costs and expenditure by decreasing the cost of replacement and repair work. Not only is this advantageous, but discovering the exceptional type of roofing materials, you'll take in less structure material, fill less landfill space with unwanted material, and put less need on our tired natural resources.

An additional option that you are going to want to take into aspect when selecting roofing materials is how well they will fully withstand the aspects. Every single roof covering is going to endure the elements differently so it is vital to pick products that will tolerate the climate that they will be utilized in. Metal roofing materials are typically utilized on homes in locations that get a great deal of snow because they allow the snow to slide off the roof, decreasing the risk of the roof collapsing. Corrugated fiberglass roofing is also a outstanding choice for snowy environments, nevertheless for houses in really dry or desert locations it might not be the finest choice due to the fact that it tends to wear down faster when utilized in these types of environments.

Whether you wind up using metal roofing products, corrugated, tin, or some other kind of material you make certain to end up with a roof that will be long and resistant long lasting as long as you do your research when picking roofing materials. Each special system has actually got its own list of cons and pros and only you can choose on which product is going to be the most proper for the project that you are trying to begin

They differ in their coating products and design, however the huge majority roofs are made up of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface area roofing material. There are likewise available from roofing makers various roofing systems such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roofing systems.

A great deal of homeowners choose metal roofing, which provides impressive long-lasting defense, or slate roofing, which provides a pleasant artistic exterior.

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10 Wrong Answers to Common Roofing Contractor Questions: Do You Know the Right Ones?

Property owners comprehend that great roofing is the most exceptional protect for a house. A roof helps to keep out wind, rain, snow, hail, and the sun's rays. On the other hand, understanding when to restore a roof and with what type of roofing product is normally a intricate choice.

A brand-new roof is a big property and it's one of the most considerable things you can produce the shelter and total worth of your house. To attain this, a roof's outside should be leak-proof and difficult in addition to versatile sufficient to adjust to heat modifications without any breaking or otherwise losing its stability. Shingles can be found in various styles and are made from many varied materials. They vary in their coating materials and design, but the huge majority roofings are made up of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface roofing material. Many houses currently have contemporary asphalt shingles that are available in lots of versions that offer various looks in the shape of architectural shingles. There are likewise available from roofing makers different roofing systems such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roofing systems.

A bargain of house owners prefer metal roofing, which provides impressive long-term defense, or slate roofing, which provides a pleasant artistic outside. A lot of property owners only want to purchase a roof that is long lasting, safe, long-term and requires little to none maintenance. A bulk of the roofs are replaced or repaired every ten years. In spite of the fact that this is so, after studying and thoroughly selecting your home's roofing product, you can minimize costs and expense by reducing the cost of replacement and repair. Not just is this beneficial, however finding the exceptional kind of roofing materials, you'll consume less building material, fill less landfill space with undesirable product, and put less need on our tired natural resources.

When deciding on roofing products is how well they will totally stand up to the components, an extra alternative that you are going to desire to take into aspect. Every roof covering is going to tolerate the elements differently so it is important to pick products that will tolerate the environment that they will be used in. Metal roofing products are frequently utilized on homes in areas that get a great deal of snow because they allow the snow to move off the roof, decreasing the danger of the roof collapsing. Corrugated fiberglass roofing is likewise a exceptional option for snowy environments, Roof Leak Repair nevertheless for houses in very dry or desert areas it may not be the best option due to the fact that it tends to wear down faster when utilized in these types of environments.

Whether you end up utilizing metal roofing materials, corrugated, tin, or some other type of product you make certain to wind up with a roof that will be long and durable lasting as long as you do your research study when picking roofing materials. Each unique system has actually got its own list of pros and cons and just you can choose on which product is going to be the most correct for the job that you are attempting to begin

They vary in their covering products and design, however the huge majority roofing systems are made up of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface area roofing material. There are also accessible from roofing makers different roofing systems such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roofing systems.

A good offer of house owners prefer metal roofing, which provides impressive long-term defense, or slate roofing, which gives a pleasant creative outside.

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A Roof Leak Repair Success Story You'll Never Believe

House owners understand that excellent roofing is the most exceptional protect for a house. A roof helps to stay out wind, rain, snow, hail, and the sun's rays. On the other hand, comprehending when to bring back a roof and with what kind of roofing material is typically a complex option.

A brand-new roof is a substantial property and it is among the most substantial things you can make for the shelter and general worth of your home. To attain this, a roof's exterior must be leak-proof and hard in addition to versatile adequate to adapt to heat changes without any cracking or otherwise losing its stability. Shingles been available in many styles and are made from numerous diverse materials. They differ in their coating products and style, however the vast majority roofings are made up of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface roofing material. Numerous homes presently have contemporary asphalt shingles that are readily available in lots of versions that provide different looks in the shape of architectural shingles. There are also accessible from roofing makers various roof such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roof.

A good offer of homeowners choose metal roofing, which uses outstanding long-term protection, or slate roofing, which gives a enjoyable artistic exterior. Many home owners just wish to purchase a roof that is durable, safe, long enduring and needs little to none upkeep. However, a bulk of the roofing systems are changed or fixed every 10 years. Despite the truth that this is so, after studying and thoroughly choosing your house's roofing product, you can lower expenses and expense by decreasing the expense of replacement and repair work. Not just is this useful, however discovering the exceptional kind of roofing products, you'll consume less structure product, fill up less garbage dump area with unwanted material, and put less demand on our exhausted natural deposits.

An additional Roof Repair option that you are going to want to take into aspect when choosing on roofing materials is how well they will completely stand up to the components. Each and every single roof covering is going to tolerate the components in a different way so it is important to pick products that will endure the environment that they will be utilized in. Metal roofing products are frequently used on homes in locations that get a great deal of snow because they allow the snow to slide off the roof, reducing the risk of the roof collapsing. Corrugated fiberglass roofing is also a exceptional option for snowy environments, however for homes in extremely dry or desert areas it might not be the finest choice because it tends to wear down faster when used in these types of environments.

Whether you wind up utilizing metal roofing products, corrugated, tin, or some other kind of material you are sure to end up with a roof that will be long and durable lasting as long as you do your research study when choosing roofing products. Each distinct system has got its own list of pros and cons and only you can pick which material is going to be the most appropriate for the task that you are attempting to start

They differ in their coating products and style, but the huge bulk roofings are made up of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface area roofing material. There are also available from roofing makers various roofing systems such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roofing systems.

A great offer of property owners choose metal roofing, which offers impressive long-term security, or slate roofing, which offers a enjoyable artistic outside.

[erickbdoa011-blog]

10 Wrong Answers to Common Roofing Contractor Questions: Do You Know the Right Ones?

Property owners comprehend that terrific roofing is the most outstanding secure for a home. A roof helps to stay out wind, rain, snow, hail, and the sun's rays. On the other hand, comprehending when to restore a roof and with what kind of roofing material is usually a complicated choice.

A new roof is a big property and it is among the most substantial things you can produce the shelter and general worth of your home. To accomplish this, a roof's outside should be tough and leak-proof in addition to versatile enough to adapt to heat changes without any splitting or otherwise losing its stability. Shingles been available in numerous styles and are made of many diverse products. They differ in their covering materials and design, however the large bulk roofs are comprised of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface roofing material. Numerous houses presently have contemporary asphalt shingles that are available in numerous versions that give numerous appearances in the shape of architectural shingles. There are also accessible from roofing manufacturers different roof such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roof.

A bargain of property owners choose metal roofing, which provides impressive long-term protection, or slate roofing, which gives a pleasant creative outside. Many homeowner just want to acquire a roof that is durable, safe, long enduring and requires little to none maintenance. A majority of the roofings are changed or repaired every ten years. In spite of the truth that this is so, after studying and thoroughly selecting your home's roofing product, you can decrease expenses and cost by reducing the cost of replacement and repair. Not only is this beneficial, but discovering the excellent type of roofing materials, you'll take in less structure product, fill less land fill area with unwanted material, and put less need on our exhausted natural deposits.

When deciding on roofing materials is how well they will totally stand up to the elements, an additional option that you are going to want to take into factor. Every roof covering is going to endure the elements differently so it is necessary to pick materials that will endure the climate that they will be utilized in. Metal roofing products are frequently utilized on homes in locations that get a lot of snow because they permit the snow to slide off the roof, reducing the risk of the roof collapsing. Corrugated fiberglass roofing is likewise a exceptional option for snowy climates, nevertheless for homes in really dry or desert locations it may not be the very best choice because it has a propensity to use down faster when used in these kinds of environments.

Whether you end up using metal roofing materials, corrugated, tin, or some other kind of material you are sure to wind up with a roof that will be long and resilient long lasting as long as you do your research study when choosing roofing Roofing Contractor materials. Each distinct system has actually got its own list of cons and pros and only you can pick which material is going to be the most proper for the task that you are attempting to get begun

They differ in their finishing products and design, but the vast bulk roofing systems are made up of wood framing, flashing wood, roofing felt, and the surface area roofing product. There are also accessible from roofing makers various roofing systems such as steel roofing, copper roofing, slate roofing and composite roofing systems.

A excellent deal of house owners choose metal roofing, which provides outstanding long-lasting defense, or slate roofing, which offers a enjoyable artistic exterior.