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[givlietta]

"I fell in love with teasing you in the second grade, when I first discovered that I could turn your cheeks pink with just a word. Then I fell in love with you."

"I realized that Liz was a fucking Taylor Swift song. She was. Vibey and romantic, but with the uncanny ability to reach inside of you and grab your heart with her absolute specifity. Liz Buxbaum wasn't just a redhead; no, she was the color of the late September maple leaves that flutterd on the home base tree in her front yard."

- Wes Bennett, Better than the movies (Lynn Painter)

[biffhofosho]

Prisoner to Temptation | Chapter Seven

Word Count: 9.2k

A/N: First off, it’s actually crazy to me how vocal you cool kids are about this story considering how small my little third-person POV readership bubble is. Like, I think I’m in love with you people.

Second of all, since you’re so vocal, I hear tell that a few of you would like to file some grievances with your local HR rep regarding my babygirl’s gatekeeping of herself when it comes to her husband lmao. Let’s see what our darling prince might do this chapter to pry open those gates, hm? ;)

Cvr | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12

After their second night together, Naran had found things much more troubling for her than the first. It wasn’t just that everything in her bed smelled like Hyungwon now. It wasn’t just that, after one overnight, her body had already started keeping to one side of the bed. Most damningly, she had laid awake far too long dwelling on the way her body had almost compelled her to kiss him. She tried to forgive herself, to rationalize it away as human nature, but no matter what reason she settled on, it wasn’t good enough. She had made a promise to herself that her future would not be ruled by the passing fancies of men, and when Narangerel of Moghulikhan made a choice, she was resolute. She would not invite him into her bed so carelessly so soon.

But by the same token, she had also made a promise to her sister to include the girl’s new brother-in-law in their daily activities, and Naran was also a woman of her word. Over the next week that passed, she found small ways to appease Saran while safeguarding her peace of mind.

When the sisters went to the library, the prince tagged along. Luckily, once they were there, it was a solitary experience, which made it easy for Naran while Saran and her new brother reviewed books together.

Another day, Saran had wanted to paint in the gardens, so Naran had suggested the prince come along to be her sister’s subject. Unfortunately, that backfired since Naran was a dreadful painter, and her sister had ended up begging the crown princess to pose with the crown prince. Sharing a bench for hours with her husband under a shady maple hadn’t exactly been in her plans, especially when their sides had to be pressed together.

At least during the next day, when they had all taken tea together, Naran had finagled it so her sister sat between them, and the crown princess had gotten some much needed distance, save from his big-eyed, gentle-browed looks over his tea cup.

The most challenging day had seen Hyungwon teaching the sisters how to fish in one of the ponds. Fishing wasn’t much of a skill set for the ladies of the steppe, so it had required hands-on instruction, which the prince had been more than agreeable to offer, but the difference in his instruction between the two sisters was marked. Saran had received a side-by-side cast and reel tutorial; Naran, he informed, was a hopeless case, and the prince had taken to wrapping his wife in his arms and carefully positioning her hands and body for “the perfect cast.” She might have caught her first fish that way, but it had come at the high cost of a lingering kiss to her cheek after her success.

Thankfully, the next day saw the whole party of royal ladies on an excursion to an apple festival in town since the silk festival they had initially planned on was further away, and Queen Jigme was not keen on a full day’s ride. Though Naran had been looking for an excuse to get as far away from the palace as possible, the apple festival had turned out to be lovelier than she had dreamed. She had only had apples once in Urga, and they had been far too soft and mealy for her taste, but these were firm and honeyed and all together divine in ways she’d never dreamed.

“Your Royal Highness, please, I beg you take one home for your husband,” beseeched a peddler as she crammed a particularly shiny apple into the princess’s basket.

Now, the apple felt like an anvil in Naran’s hands on the ride home. She considered eating it herself—Hyungwon would never be the wiser—but the farmer had been so proud and so insistent, and the crown princess knew she had to honor her subject’s offering. In the end, she wished she hadn’t. The way her husband’s eyes lit up as he received his first gift from his wife made Naran sway the same way she had when she’d tasted fermented apple cider that morning.

The problem with lively days was how quickly the nights came. That first evening, Hyungwon had cornered the princess in an ill-lit hallway and asked with hopeful eyes if she would visit his chambers later. It had taken all of her strength to say no.

The intensity of their last encounter had frightened Naran. Though there had never been any hope of escaping how attractive she found the man, she thought at least that she might have some measure of control over that attraction, but it had become abundantly clear that, despite her rational mind, her body craved him. She figured if she limited his trespasses into her bed—or hers into his—in time, her mind could overcome her body. Obligations could stay obligations. They could be independent partners and friends—who sometimes had to sleep together for the sake of a nation.

Of course, the more she thought of it, the less reasonable it sounded. After their first night of cataclysmic experiences, Naran realized how quickly she’d become addicted to the pleasure Hyungwon had offered her. Without him, her bed felt too big and her sheets felt too cold, even after they’d been warmed by the servants.

A few more nights like that should have been easier. They weren’t. The knowledge that her husband’s door was a mere sprint across the parlor loomed large in her overactive imagination. Which was why after only an hour into her second night alone, she had retreated to Saran’s room and stayed there the rest of the week. That way, it was easy enough to turn down the prince’s offers for the time being.

Meanwhile, as if to spite her meticulous planning, the rest of their families got along surprisingly easily considering a few months ago, their countries were on the brink of unspoken war. The emperor and the khan, in particular, seemed to have formed some kind of a bond. Most nights, they retired to the emperor’s office to drink and joke so raucously that their laughter reverberated down the halls.

The empress and queen were not as free with one another, to the point that Naran thought they were simply trying to out-noble one another. By the end of the week, in Naran’s opinion, they were neck-and-neck in propriety, modesty, and poise, though Empress Indeok held the edge in sophisticated passive aggression and Queen Jigme surpassed in subtle coercion. Truly, they were a well-matched pair, and, indeed, after the apple festival, the sisters caught the mothers stolen away in a bath closet where they no doubt never expected to be found, giggling and sipping fermented cider straight from the bottle.

Which was why the next day came like a dust storm across the steppe—brutally and unpredictably.

Queen Jigme stood in the parlor before the princess, who thought she’d carved out a moment of peace for herself as Saran and Hyungwon had gone to the kitchen for a snack.

“I have come to tell you we intend to return to Urga tomorrow.”

Air fled the room, leaving an inescapable vacuum.

Naran gaped at her mother. “What? So soon? I thought everyone was getting along? You planned to stay at least two more weeks!”

She had to have heard the queen wrong. They were having fun together. There was no reason to leave!

“Yes, but your father’s health dictates it,” added Jigme, “and you know how the weather can be crossing the steppe this close to October. Every day we delay, we risk a snowstorm, and with your father—”

“Mother, don’t lie to me. October is weeks and weeks away, and you yourself said you had never seen Father in finer spirits.”

The queen stood a little taller now, and it was clear she’d shed her act. “You’re as shrewd as your accursed mother, my obstinate sun. Since we linger here, you are spending every waking moment with the people who have seen you every day for two decades yet hardly a whit of time with your new husband.”

“I'd rather spend it with you since our time is finite,” Naran protested bitterly.

“I will not have a princess of Moghulikan dishonor the country that took her in. Be a newlywed, dearest. Have a picnic. Host a party. Go horseback riding. I have heard your Prince Hyungwon looks very handsome on a horse.”

“Mother!”

“I dare say he will look handsome anywhere, especially in the evenings. I am sure candlelight frames his face well.”

“Are you trying to get me to push you out the door because it’s working?”

“Narangerel, let me speak plainly. I know you have spent every night this week in your sister’s room instead of your own.”

The princess scuffed the toe of her shoe along the floor as she shrugged. “What of it? I knew you’d be leaving soon. Why shouldn’t I?”

Jigme was unamused. “Are you or are you not the Princess Supreme of Goryeo?”

Naran rolled her eyes. “Oh, Mother…”

“My love, you will make such beautiful heirs! I can hardly wait to receive the news of my grandchildren.”

“Okay, there it is,” Naran shouted, pushing her mother toward the door. “Yes, please go! Travel safely and wait a long time to come back.”

Jigme laughed and, suddenly, so did Naran, and then just as suddenly, they were both weeping into each other’s arms.

“How I will miss arguing with you,” said the queen into her daughter’s hair.

“I’ll make sure to pick a fight with you in all my letters.”

“And I’ll be sure to scold you back.”

They laughed again through tears and hugged all the tighter. Maybe if Naran never let go, they couldn’t leave her after all.

“If you see an eagle in the sky, be sure to tell Altantsetseg I love her,” begged the princess.

“I will.”

“And give my favorite horse to someone who will ride her often and far. Not Khunbish in the stables. He’s a terrible rider and swears at the horses. You should really turn him out.”

The queen chuckled in agreement as she nodded. “Done, my sun.”

“And please write me often,” Naran said, though the words were getting gummier through her increasingly stuffy nose, “so I don’t forget how to read Moghul.”

“You will not forget who you are, dearest. Of that, I am most certain. You are the best of us.”

“I love you, Mother.”

The queen held her daughter’s face with her hands along with her gaze. Slowly, a smile lit up the corners of Jigme’s strong features. “I love you, too.”

Naran pulled back, wiped her eyes, and tried to stand as tall as her mother had always coached her to. With a bow for her goodnight, the princess turned begrudgingly back to her quarters before her mother’s voice caught her.

“Where are you going?” asked the queen.

“To my room, as you said?”

Jigme smirked. “Your sister’s quarters are the other way. I told her moments before coming here, so she will need you one last night. Come.”

Her mother stretched out her hand, and Naran took it. As they walked back to the guest wing, the princess wondered if this would be the last time she would ever hold her mother’s hand, and she squeezed just a little tighter for just a little longer.

It was a dark day. It wasn’t just that the Moghul royal caravan had been packed and readied, the horses champing at their bits before the gates, but the clouds were thick and heavy as they jostled over Namgyeong. The threat of rain was ever-present, but just as Naran held back her tears watching her family pack into their carriage, so, too, did the clouds hold back theirs. It was only a matter of time before the deluge.

With the khan and the queen already loaded in the carriage, Saran followed, but with only one foot in the cabin, she let out a wail and leapt back out, charging over to her sister.

“This is a mistake!” the young princess shouted. “We can’t leave you here! You belong in Moghulikhan!”

“Saran!” both the queen and the crown princess said in unison.

“Get back in this carriage this instant,” admonished their mother as she eyed the emperor and empress, who were waiting to bid their guests farewell. “You’re making a scene.”

Saran didn’t care as she buried her face in her sister’s hanbok. “I could never bear a move this far from home, so how can you? I know I said I was happy for you, but not when I know what you love most is Moghulikhan. You love it so much, and you are giving it up.”

Naran summoned all her poise and bravery to soothe her little sister’s hair and kiss her head. “It is not Moghulikhan I truly love, but you, my little fox. My match will ensure you find that one special person who brings you joy. You will marry someone who will rule Moghulikhan beside you, and you will be happy and loved, and our people will be forever grateful.”

“They should be grateful to you then,” Saran protested. “I know I am.”

“Thank me by being happy.”

The girl’s hands tightened around Naran’s back. “And what about you? Can you be happy here?”

The crown princess smiled. “I can be happy anywhere knowing you are safe and free.”

“Princess Sarangerel!” called the queen again from the carriage, this time far more desperately.

The sisters rolled their eyes at one another, burst into one final giggle, and hugged one last time. Naran stole the moment to whisper, “Kiss a few boys if you want. Be smart, be strong, be fearless, and never, ever settle. You are Crown Princess of Moghulikhan now, and you are a force to be reckoned with, Your Highness.”

“I love you, Naran!”

“I love you more. Now, go, before Mother has a heart attack or Father goes deaf."

Naran shooed her sister back toward the carriage, and with one final look back, her little sister climbed aboard. One of the servants shut the door, and the next thing Naran knew, the gates had opened and the front of the caravan had already disappeared through. The last thing she saw was the grumpy beak of the goose the prince had gifted them at the wedding ceremony, a ridiculous reminder of the day her life had irrevocably changed.

Naran was sure the clatter of hooves and the snap of the Moghul banners in the sudden gusts would weigh on her mind forever as she watched the last of the carts disappear behind the great wooden doors of Changdeokgung.

“I am sorry to see your family leave,” said the empress behind Naran, startling her. As alone as she felt, the princess had honestly forgotten that anyone else was there with her. “They are very good people.”

“I thank you for saying so,” the princess replied, though her words were hollow.

Hyungwon put his hand on her back in support, but she shrank away. She wasn’t in the mood for comfort or even acknowledgment.

“I never met a man who could hold his liquor as well as Delger Khan,” said Emperor Gongmin as though he hadn’t plotted to take everything away from the man mere months ago.

Naran felt sick.

“I should like to go inside now,” she said as she turned back toward the palace. The princess did not wait for them to follow, even as Hyungwon called out for her.

It started to rain just then. It was only a few fat drops at first, but then the heavens opened with a torrent, and as the other royals scattered under servants’ umbrellas, Naran pressed forward undeterred. At least the rain could hide her tears.

It was deep into a sleepless night when Naran heard a very soft knock on her door.

With a tremendous sigh, she clambered out of bed and wrapped her robe around herself before she shuffled over and rasped, “Who is it?”

“It’s Hyungwon.”

Her head drooped. She was not in the mood to entertain a bored prince, now more than ever.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Could you open the door please?”

Naran growled and swore under her breath, but she opened the door all the same. Waiting on the other side with the sweetest of smiles was the prince.

“Hi,” he said softly. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“You did not. What does his highness need at this late hour?” Truly, Naran had planned to be more polite, but her eyes were tired from crying and she didn’t have the energy.

Hyungwon gnawed on his bottom lip for a moment before he said, “I wanted to see if you would join me for a drink?”

He waggled two glasses along with a bottle of clear, sloshing liquid, and as much as the princess burned to drink herself into oblivion, she shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure, Princess? I know what today asked of you.”

Naran choked back a sob just before she could embarrass herself and instead offered a reluctant nod. Hyungwon echoed it and took a step forward, but she held out her hand to stop him.

“Not here,” she ordered. She wanted to be as far away from any place they could conceivably spend another night together and just as far away from the memories of the ones they already had spent.

“How about my study then? It’s quiet, and no one will bother us there.”

Another single nod from the princess.

“Shall I get dressed?” she asked.

“Come as you are,” Hyungwon answered. “There’s no need for pretenses between us.”

But Naran wasn’t so sure about that. She tugged her robe tighter and cinched the collar with her hand. Following the weak light of the prince’s candle, they walked down the corridor to a wing she had only visited on her initial palace tour. Here, the walls were dark, many draped in tapestries or heavy curtains. At night, it felt more like a brothel. She didn’t remember it looking this suggestive on her tour, yet now, the walls felt close, almost pressing against her.

“Are you okay, Princess?” asked Hyungwon. “You look like you’re going to jump out of your own skin.”

“I’m fine.”

The prince considered her words for a moment before he pushed ahead to a heavy door.

“My private study,” he said as he eased it open.

This room had been on her tour as well, but Naran had been too overwhelmed at the time to bother glancing at it. Now, she’d wished she had for the benefit of seeing it on a sunny day. As with every room in the palace, it was large with soaring ceilings, but swaddled in shadows, it was tantalizingly intimate.

Unlike most of the rooms in the palace, Hyungwon had designed his study with a Western influence. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined one wall while a long dresser anchored the other beneath an enormous mirror that no doubt cost more than the yearly salaries of all the servants back in Urga. When he lit the candelabra in front of it, the whole study glittered.

The prince’s desk commanded the space, however. It was huge and heavy, as though the tree it had once been had grown right there and they’d just built the room around it. Thick, smooth lacquer drew out the warmth in the wood like a magnifying glass while ornate carvings of tigers and dragons in eternal battle exemplified its strength. Short of the throne itself, there was no finer piece of furniture Naran had ever seen.

Hyungwon stood behind his desk, and even in his silk robes, his might was unquestionable. If he opened his lips to declare war on every kingdom in the six realms, Naran wasn’t sure she could stop even herself from kneeling.

But, instead, the prince pulled out his chair and gestured toward it. “Please sit, my lady.”

“I couldn’t possibly—”

“Please. You’ll be more comfortable here.”

Naran stared at the immaculate upholstery and overstuffed cushions before she looked back at her husband. “Are you sure?”

Hyungwon nodded and took the seat safely across the desk to make his stance on the issue crystal clear. At last, the princess sank into her chair, too, which was easily the most comfortable chair she’d ever sat in. He uncorked the bottle, and immediately, the pungent aroma of alcohol filled the study. The prince poured a draft of liquor into both shot glasses and passed one across the table.

When Naran had hers in hand, he said, “I promise, my lady, from here on out, it shall get better.”

Thinking it the toast, the princess raised her glass and knocked it back while Hyungwon followed suit with a smirk on his face. At first, Naran didn’t understand why.

Then she felt it.

Scorching agony blazed a trail down her throat to sit like lava in her stomach. For a second, she thought she might breathe fire.

“What the hell is that!” she wailed as she tried to scratch the taste of naphtha from her tongue.

“I told you it would only get better from here. You’ll like this a great deal more the second go-around.”

“I'm never drinking that again,” Naran swore.

Hyungwon smiled knowingly.

“Seriously, what is that rancid stuff?”

“A gift from the Emperor of Champa.”

“My mother was right then,” Naran mused with a slow smile, “Princess Binh was gunning for an alliance with Goryeo.”

“I wouldn't say the princess was,” Hyungwon informed. “Emperor Gia Long seemed more concerned with the match than his daughter. Princess Binh mostly just complained to me that the weather in Goryeo is too cold and that there are no beaches or coconuts here.”

“If I knew all it took to turn you off from a match was complaining about missing sand and sun, I would have spent more time talking about the Gobi.”

“It was too late by that point. I had already made up my mind about you,” said the prince. He poured another drink and offered it to her. “Again, my lady?”

She bit her lip as she considered, but the other alternative was chatting privately with her husband sober, and she didn’t have the strength left for such a thing after today. Naran downed the shot and grimaced.

“Better?” he asked.

“Still disgusting.”

“But better.”

The truth was, this time, her stomach felt warm and fuzzy instead of full of liquid fire, and her limbs were buzzing lightly. Thanks to the distracting sensations, she probed, “Were there any other princesses you considered that night?”

Hyungwon shrugged. “My father had given me a short list, but after meeting all of them, I knew I couldn’t marry any one of them.”

“Why not?”

“For starters, they were storybook princesses—all beautiful and sweet and perfect, to be sure, but completely one-dimensional.”

“That sounds perfect for you, are you crazy!” Naran retorted.

Hyungwon smiled. “Perfect for my kingdom, but you know me well enough now, my lady. I’m hardly perfect for my kingdom.”

“So, this is why I find myself sulking in the most expensive chair I’ve ever seen drinking the foulest drink I’ve ever tasted from a princess who hoped to wed my husband?”

The prince poured yet another round and said, “I’ll drink to that.”

Naran tipped back her glass, and this time, instead of a hiss as the liquid coated her throat, she hummed. “Better.”

“Told you,” said Hyungwon with two charming high eyebrows.

“That’s no reason to get cocky.”

The prince laughed, and on a day with no laughter at all, it sounded all the warmer. Or perhaps that was just the alcohol talking.

“You didn’t come to dinner,” Hyungwon said.

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“Maybe we should take the drinks slower then. This stuff is a lot stronger than soju.”

“Maybe you should stop making my decisions for me,” Naran challenged, tapping her empty glass on the table for a refill. “I might be Goryeon by title, but I'm Moghul by birth. Alcohol is already in our blood.”

With a stern eye, the prince poured a noticeably smaller portion this round, and she sighed but drank it all the same.

Hyungwon watched her lips pucker as it went down and then he said, “How are you faring today?”

“Great. Everything is going exactly as I always hoped and dreamed,” she said, the sarcasm extra biting thanks to the bitterness in the alcohol. “Another.”

Hyungwon repeated the same shallow pour and then sat across from his wife, watching her with gentle eyes. Either he did not know what to say or he was afraid of another blow to his self-esteem—or maybe it was neither of those things. Everything about him was so soft right now, borderline inviting, like something Naran could fall right into.

“I’m afraid that was the last time I shall ever see my father.” The words were out too fast for her greased lips to catch them as was the tear at the corner of her eye. She swiped it angrily away as she grumbled, “I should have married Prince Grigoriy like my grandfather wanted.”

Hyungwon blinked hard. “Grigoriy of Kazan?”

Naran nodded. “My grandfather had intended us practically, but he could not force my hand.”

“So that’s why he was staring at you all night…” said the prince, lost in a memory of the night they met in her grandfather’s ballroom.

Naran thought back to it, too. It was harder now to recall some of the details since most of the night had been overtaken by memories of Hyungwon, but she did recall avoiding every corner of the room the Kazan prince occupied just so she didn’t have to come up with another reason to refuse him.

“I should have just married him. At least then I would have been close to home.”

The prince pouted his lower lip, and Naran’s attention couldn’t help but shoot to it—her husband did have an unfairly pretty mouth.

“But,” Hyungwon objected, “all you would have for dinner every night is beets and cabbage. We eat much better in Goryeo.”

At that, Naran burst out laughing. “You truly do. Beets and cabbage… Never thought about that. I’ll drink to that.”

The princess tipped back her glass again, and Hyungwon drained his, too.

“You know,” she said, biting her lip and leaning farther across the table than she normally would have, “you’re way too pretty. I don’t like your face.”

The corner of his mouth quirked. “You don’t?”

“I do not! Even when I want to tell you to go far away from me, I cannot. It makes it very hard for me to hate you.”

“Why do you need to hate me?”

“Because if I don’t hate you, then I have to admit I have in some way accepted the man who took me away from everything I love.”

Hyungwon was quiet for a moment as he busied himself with two fresh pours. He downed his immediately while Naran watched him in confusion.

“I’m sorry, Princess.”

“There’s no point in apologizing now.”

The prince kept his head down though he shook it gently. “You misunderstand. I’m not sorry that you’re by my side now, but I am sorry for what it cost you. Maybe that’s what I’m sorrier about than anything. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to becoming my father, yet I can’t regret it because you’re here now… with me.”

Naran’s hand trembled, and she misjudged the desk when she reeled back and splashed liquor all over the wood, but there was no time to care, not when the prince was staring at her so openly with such flushed, wet lips.

“I should slap you for such an insulting apology,” she said.

Hyungwon waited, perhaps for the justified blow, but Naran’s hand didn’t move.

Instead, her voice dropped as her eyes slid to the mirror where their reflections danced in the candelabra flames.

“Why did you even need me anyway? If you wanted someone to be your friend, you had a line as long as your borders. Anyone would have been a better choice for you than I am. Why did you pick the one person who thinks of marriage as the forfeiture of all freedom?”

“What is so wrong with depending on someone? I've lived my whole life without it. It isn't freedom,” replied the prince, his eyes falling to his glass. “It's a prison of loneliness.”

He knocked back the drink without so much as a wince. Somehow, as he hunched over his desk, his smooth edges blurred even further and begged her to reach out.

Naran ran her fingertip around the lip of her glass as guilt and something even more intimidating rippled through her.

“Aren’t you lonely, too?” he asked in a gruff whisper.

“It's not loneliness I feel but bitterness.”

The prince scoffed. “Of course, it is... My father was right. I am a fool.”

“You could have had anyone, my lord. As grateful as I am for the protection of my people, you didn't owe Moghulikhan anything. Why did you have to choose me?”

“I guess you can't help how you feel,” he lamented.

Panic set her heart on fire. “How do you—”

The prince cut her off with a frantic look. “Which is why I know I'm asking for the impossible, but please, for my sake, Princess, can you tell me just one thing you like about me because I can’t stand another day thinking I married someone who despises me?”

“I don’t despise you,” Naran admitted softly. “I’m not sure anyone could.”

Flashes of adoring faces from every room he had ever entered stormed through her mind, the thin-eyed, bitten-lip women clinging most tenaciously to her memories. The princess downed her last shot to chase them away.

“But you don’t like me either,” Hyungwon finished.

The couple’s gazes could not waver from one another, no matter how hard Naran fought to sever their connection.

Your eyes talk to one another…

At the memory of Magda’s words, something uncoiled in the princess’s chest and snaked through her body.

There was much about her husband Naran admired. Hyungwon listened. He defended her. He upheld his promises. But he might interpret any one of those things to mean more than just appreciation for someone she respected. Best to stick to something superficial, she thought.

As desperate to fill the Moghulikhan-sized hole in her heart as she was to avoid the dejection in her husband’s voice, the princess reached across the ocean of his desk. She held her breath, her hand frozen as though anything further would trigger a trip wire that could fundamentally rearrange everything between them.

Naran bit her lip.

“I like this little freckle here,” she said as her fingertip glanced across the pinprick dot on the side of his nose.

Hyungwon stiffened at her touch though his mouth slackened.

“And this one, too,” she continued. This time, it was her thumb that pressed on the tawny freckle dead center on his bottom lip. “I like it a lot.”

In the end, she gave away too much of herself. The prince now knew how carefully she had mapped his face. Even though a wife didn’t need a reason to look at her husband, Naran thought that maybe she should have chosen anything else. His silky hair, his expressive eyes, his proud shoulders—

Only then Naran realized she was still touching his lips.

Hyungwon kissed the pad of her thumb and her breath hitched. She yanked back her hand and tried to quash its shaking by sitting on it, but she felt the vibrations all the way up her arm even then.

“Thank you,” he muttered as he looked away at last.

Naran’s skin was aflame as she busied herself divining shapes from the inky blobs on the prince’s blotter.

“How about one final drink?” he suggested.

“Okay.”

Hyungwon poured to the rim this time, but before they could drink, out came the things that had occupied the princess’s thoughts all day as she had stared blankly in her room. “So, what happens now that everyone has gone?”

“What do you mean?”

“I believe I’m supposed to spend my days apart from yours.”

“Oh…” His eyes fell to the liquid fire in his glass. “Yes, I’m sure a princess has as much to occupy her time as a prince does.”

“So, as far as ensuring heirs, shall we establish some kind of schedule then?”

At this, Hyungwon’s face soured as the princess had never seen before. “A schedule— Does it always have to be about heirs between us? Am I not allowed to just want you sometimes, too?”

Want me? Naran thought, absolutely incredulous. Beyond the bounds of our contract?

“It is best if we keep feelings out of these things, your highness,” she answered with an embarrassingly shaky voice.

“Who’s talking about feelings? Was it ever about love with any of the others you've been with?”

“No,” she admitted.

Both lovers had been handsome, forward, and uncomplicated. Words were rarely exchanged. They had taken her at first opportunity—in alleys or the stables and once in the grass. Before her wedding night, Naran had never even had sex in a bed. And the other thing those lovers had had in common? After a few meetings, they were gone from her life. But the princess could not outrun the prince. For better or worse, they were in each other’s lives forever.

Hyungwon looked as forthright as ever as he asked, “Then shouldn’t I be able to say that I desire you as a man desires a woman? If you let them, why can’t you let me?”

Naran downed her last drink, and in her rush, a bit wept from the corner of her mouth. She licked her lips and then the corner, and there was no missing the way the prince’s eyes followed her tongue.

“Do you think,” he said slowly, “you could ever desire me?”

In the perfect silence of the empty wing, the princess could hear her every breath. It was too fast, too ragged.

“Yes.”

The air was electrified. Every hair on her arms stood on end. Somewhere outside, a dog bayed at the late summer moon.

At once, Hyungwon sent the glasses and bottle tumbling to the carpet with a thud and a splash. He kicked back his chair as he shot up to circle the desk. Naran had to crane her head to look up at the towering frame of her husband until she found his heavy eyes. Without a word, he scooped her out of her chair. The princess yelped, her hands flinging around his neck as he spun the pair of them to the now-empty desk. The smell of alcohol and something spicier swirled around them. He leaned toward her lips before catching himself at the last second, and whatever gentleness had lingered in those eyes fled entirely.

The prince was nothing but dark lusts now.

To Naran’s surprise, Hyungwon sat her on the edge of his desk, and between the cold wood and the loss of his scorching body, she shivered. It only worsened when she felt his fingers at the knot of her belt, and seconds later, her robe fell open to expose the thin white silk of her nightgown.

Hyungwon didn’t say anything. He simply stooped over to kiss the column of her throat with ravenous lips. The princess gasped and tipped her head to the side to give him more skin to taste. He was quick to cover the new ground as his hand traced up her frame to her covered breast where he toyed with the soft mound beneath. Naran’s body responded with both a desperate moan and a tightening nipple aching for his fingers to shower it with attention.

It was easy to descend into hedonism with him. Though the alcohol had burned away her resentment, Naran was still heartbroken and angry and tired of feeling both. Hyungwon, though, was warm and real and determined to transport her out of the grayness she’d been mired in, as much for her as for himself evidently.

“Is this—ah—is this for the throne?” she said through her gasps, but Hyungwon shook his head.

“Not tonight. This is for my wife.”

The princess let out a little cry as she felt the familiar tingle between her thighs. In a matter of a few words, her body was tuned to his.

Before Naran could process it, Hyungwon had dropped to his knees. With the utmost care, he eased the satin slippers from each of her feet before his fingers played about her naked ankles. There, he traced the hills and valleys along her heels and, once they were mapped, his hands glided along the flare of her calves. With his every touch, little sparklers alighted in her head and heart.

The higher his hands climbed, so did the hem of her gown. Cold air rushed under the fabric, and by the time Hyungwon had bared her knees, the princess was begging for the relief from the rush of heat to her core. Leisurely, he parted her legs, and with every inch, the princess felt a little more frantic and a little more self-conscious. Once he had spread her knees as far as the desk would allow, they quivered and threatened to close again.

“Trust me, my princess,” said the prince in his rich velvet.

“I’ve never—” Against her will, Naran’s voice shook. “I’ve never had anyone so close to me there before.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

Naran held her breath. She was scared and overwhelmed and painfully aware of her body, but Hyungwon showed no sign of hesitation or second thoughts. With a shaky exhale, she admitted, “I don’t want you to.”

“Then I won’t. Not until you beg me to.”

Her husband turned his attention to one of her knees and placed his lips there. It wasn’t exactly a kiss, more like a caress with the tender skin of his mouth, back and forth in soothing waves. Occasionally, his tongue would gloss along her flesh and only then would he seal his ministration with a true kiss. With one knee bathed in his adoration, he switched to the other.

Just as Naran slouched against the desk, Hyungwon moved his mouth to her mid-thigh, and this time, he sucked the responsive skin there until she arched up with a howl. He released her, and when he pulled back, the princess saw a dark mark on the once-unblemished peachy flesh. Instantly, wanton desire trickled at her sex, begging for attention he wasn’t yet ready to give.

Hyungwon nudged his new brand with the tip of his nose before he kissed it and then placed a twin mark alongside it. He kept indulging her with his tongue until the princess was nearly ready to explode.

“Oh, please! More, my prince. Please,” Naran pleaded.

The prince broke his seal at last and shifted his gaze up to hers. He charted the sag of her jaw and the peek of her tongue lolling at the corner of her mouth, and he smiled. “More?”

“Higher!” she demanded.

Hyungwon gathered her nightgown at her hips, the fabric drooping in front of her center in a last-ditch effort of modesty but sparing nothing else for her prince’s imagination. Here, he kissed and nibbled every surrounding inch of virgin skin until Naran’s thighs shook with the foreplay and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She let out a sob of frustration, and it garnered all his attention.

Their eyes met, hers even heavier-lidded than his. Through the well of tears at her lashes, Hyungwon’s face splintered into a kaleidoscope of ethereal beauty.

“Don’t cry, my darling,” soothed the prince.

He hoisted up the last of the gown over her hips and exposed her core for him.

“Let me treat you like the princess you are.”

Naran held her breath and collapsed onto the desk, too embarrassed to watch.

She felt a kiss at the juncture of her thigh and lip followed by another mirrored on the opposite side. It was feather-light and unbearably sensual, but it was only the prelude to a new and unforgettable kind of kiss. With pulse-pounding pressure, Hyungwon raked his flush bottom lip up along her seam to kiss the hardening button peeking through, and as good as that felt, it only intensified with a second pass, this one featuring the flat of his tongue.

Naran’s moan made way for a pathetic whine. Her legs squeezed against the onslaught of pleasure, so Hyungwon curled his fingers around the meat of her thighs to keep her at his mercy.

He took his work seriously, keeping his rhythm consistent save for the swirl he would occasionally surprise her with around her straining bud. In those moments, the princess saw stars.

When her eyes finally opened, she found her head had lolled to the side, and there she found her husband’s reflection glowing, not just by tangerine flame but by something softer and even more shimmery. Hyungwon felt her gaze, and his mouth lifted from her only to be replaced by his middle finger easing deep into her pinkness. He turned toward the mirror to catch her eyes there, and slowly, he pressed a kiss to her inner thigh that deepened until she felt yet another delicious burn on her skin.

“How pretty my little star looks writhing on my desk,” Hyungwon murmured, and then suckled a little higher to adorn more of her skin with his black marks of desire.

His finger moved slowly in her walls, coaxing forth ripples of ecstasy Naran had never felt before. Each stroke was deliberate and far, far too measured to do anything but keep her on the precipice of climax. It was heaven. It was hell.

“So tight,” Hyungwon hummed, and she whimpered. “So delicious. You’re totally at my mercy now, aren’t you?"

Naran couldn’t answer, but she knew he wasn’t looking for that anyway. Her legs tightened at his illicit words. Between her husband’s praise and his intimacy, she squirmed for him.

He brought his lips back to the cherry blossom at her sex, and when they closed around it to suckle, the princess keened low and long. The pressure was relentless and just right to make her forget anything that wasn’t Chae Hyungwon. Her hips bucked, but he used his free hand to hold her down while the other continued to stoke the fire inside her.

“Do you like when I spoil you like this?” he asked as he came up for air.

“Yes… Yes, yes, yes!” Naran answered. “But I want more. Faster!”

“How many times have you called me lazy, hm? Maybe I just want to take my time, to feast on you and show you what a sweet indulgence laziness can be.”

To her horror, Hyungwon removed his finger, leaving her core seizing around nothing. Tears sprang to her eyes in desperation, and she sat up on her elbows to gape at the man who was abandoning her just as her addiction had mounted to frenetic levels.

“You can’t—” she protested, but he just smiled, smug and scheming all at once.

When he dove back in, he focused on one fold and then the other, with long strokes of his tongue before pulling each one at a time into his mouth. Every nerve ending tingled. Every inch of skin yearned for more of his attention.

“Put your hands in my hair,” he mumbled between her legs, and Naran’s fingers raced into his locks.

It felt so good to hold his head in her hands. Her nails raked against his scalp before she took to tugging on the glossy strands. Hyungwon purred contentedly as he licked up the mess continuously leaking from her sex, and the noisier he was, the harder it made the princess shake until she realized she was grinding herself on his face. Mortified, she unwound her fingers from his locks as she mumbled an apology.

“I didn’t tell you to let me go,” Hyungwon scolded, and when she opened her eyes, she found him looking up at her with a chin covered in arousal and eyes fixed with determination.

It was clear he had no intention of finishing the job unless she caved to his wishes, so Naran ran her hands back through his bangs to bare his smooth brow. The prince’s eyes closed as he leaned into her grip, and it was so tender, that she thought her heart might burst, but if she stopped, he would stop, and she couldn’t bear the thought again.

Hyungwon’s finger was back at her core now with the addition of another. Together, they traced her entrance, and every time she thought he would enter her again, he deprived her of the gratification. It was the purest torture of her life, and Naran could barely stand it. Her need for her husband had reached embarrassing levels too terrifying to admit.

At last, two fingers glided into her wet and ready indecency, sending her arching up from the desk with a wail.

“It's so much!” she said between heavy pants.

“Too much?”

“Not enough!”

Hyungwon smiled as he picked up speed at last, stretching her walls with every thrust to his knuckles. Luscious coos of gratitude spilled from Naran’s lips as she took his fingers greedily. He knew just how to reach the parts inside of her that responded most ferociously, and in moments, she was teetering over the edge she’d been standing on forever.

His fingers pistoned within her now, churning up filthy sounds that brought color to the princess’s cheeks and hunger to the prince’s eyes.

“I can’t—breathe,” Naran gasped pathetically. “I’m begging you please! Please. I want to let go!”

Hyungwon groaned and dove back to her heat again. His mouth sealed around her pulsing button now as he sucked and flicked his tongue against her until she thought she might go mad. He slipped both of her legs over his shoulders and pressed against her with single-minded resolve to make her forget everything that wasn’t him.

She risked a glance at him, and things got fuzzy fast. His elegant face was framed between the softness of her thighs, his nose bumping against her mound and his eyes shuttered with conviction. Her hand cupped the back of his head as her hips couldn’t stop themselves from driving into his mouth.

And then those wicked eyes opened, locking on hers.

Bliss ripped through Naran with catastrophic devastation. Every muscle within her shook as her lungs constricted and her walls pulsed. Her heels dug into her husband’s back as her thighs clamped around his head, nearly suffocating him.

Here, on a desk where armies were commanded and laws were enforced, the princess came undone with a racking cry.

But, true to his word, Hyungwon wasn’t done.

He kept his fingers thrusting into her quaking walls as one climax ended and another threatened, only this one felt unbearable and impossible. The pleasure was too intense, and her hips tried to run from him as though they were afraid of such unfathomable ecstasy.

Naran’s mind emptied. Even through winched eyes, tears slipped down her cheeks.

“I can’t take it, oh!” she wailed.

“Yes, you can, darling,” he assured. “Just a little more, I know you can.”

“My pr— Yes, I—”

The tip of his tongue flicked her swollen bud again, fast this time and with no restraint. As her vision whitened, Naran clawed the desk, no doubt leaving scratches in the impeccable veneer. There wasn’t a muscle in her body that didn’t seize then.

Another swirl of his tongue and a long, fierce suckle, and she was gone.

She thought she might have screamed, but she might have lost any senses that weren’t solely centered on the exquisite decadence between her thighs.

She collapsed then, whimpering, the last of her strength focusing on her heel to push him back by the shoulder.

“Please, no more,” she whimpered, absolutely deflated. “I beg you.”

“As you wish, my darling. Feel better?” he asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and pulled her gown back down her legs.

“You’re—wow,” Naran stammered. “You’re really good at that.”

Something fanged and slippery snaked through her chest at the thought of all the practice he had required to become so skilled, but with one glance at his eyes now buoyed by a soft smile, it tempered.

“Do you need help getting up?” he asked.

“You’re not going to—to take me?” the princess asked incredulously.

“I told you tonight wasn’t about the throne. All I wanted was to make you feel good, my lady. Was I successful?”

Naran narrowed her eyes at him. She could tell by the way his tongue probed his cheek and his chest puffed that the man was keenly aware of just how thoroughly he had devastated his wife. His smug confidence was as appealing as it was infuriating.

“You were,” she admitted carefully.

“It was a pleasure to serve you then, my lady. So, that’s a no to the help?”

“No,” she insisted, though as soon as she put her toes back to the ground, she wobbled and stumbled back against the desk. “Yes.”

Hyungwon snickered and helped guide Naran back into the chair, where she slumped instantly. Alcohol mixed with the chaser of ecstasy to keep the room spinning around her, so she closed her eyes while her breathing steadied. Images of her body writhing in the mirror while her husband kneeled between her legs insisted on flashing in her mind, and a sigh tumbled out of her to her absolute mortification.

“You all right?” he asked with a grin evident in his voice.

“Just fine,” she answered immediately, waving him off.

While Naran lounged in the chair, the prince picked up the glasses and bottle from the floor, and something surprisingly boastful of her own bubbled in her heart.

“I don’t think the Emperor of Champa would appreciate our use of his gift,” she laughed.

“Maybe I should write to him to thank him again?”

At the seriousness in the prince’s voice, the princess shot up in her seat. “Don’t you dare, sire!”

“And what are you going to do to stop me?”

This time, Hyungwon was unmistakably provoking her, and Naran bit her lip. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she held her liquor well, but when his playful side came out, it always made her feel drunker than she really was.

“You better not,” she warned, “or, next time, you drink alone.”

At this, Hyungwon pouted. “Didn’t I make this worth your while?”

Naran shrugged a shoulder as casually as she could manage. “Maybe this is slightly better than what I was doing…”

“And maybe this was a little for me, too,” he admitted, “because now I will think of you every time they force me in here to do work I don’t want to do. Instead, I’ll think of someone I’d rather be doing.”

“My lord!” Naran cried, indignant, as she cinched her robe tight to her throat again, and Hyungwon laughed in his carefree, spirit-lifting way.

“You’re very fun to tease, my lady.”

“And you’re very annoying, my lord.”

“How are you feeling? Are you ready to return to your room?”

Naran pressed her lips together as she considered more than just her husband’s question. When they had come here, she had been determined to keep him as far from her room as possible, but now, the understanding that she would be going back solo was more disheartening than she thought. Maybe she was lonelier than she realized.

“I think so,” she answered though.

“Then I shall see you back, Princess.”

Naran rose on still-shaky legs to join her husband in the hallway, and slowly, they made their way back toward their building. They chatted idly about their schedules for the week, his filled with meetings and diplomatic engagements while most of her obligations involved goodwill ambassadorship with the empress. It may not have been anything she had wanted for her life, but it was less onerous than she thought. Of course, maybe that was also colored by her tipsy, post-full body release daze.

Just then, Naran stumbled and caught herself against the wall. Hyungwon let out the briefest of chuckles before he stopped them both and swept her up into the basket of his arms to her yelp.

“I can manage on my own,” she protested, swatting at his arm behind her knees.

“Of course, my lady, but it's taking a very long time, and I would like to get to my room before sun-up.”

She scoffed. “Please. You're never in a hurry to get anywhere. You just wanted to show how strong you are.”

“You think I'm strong?” he echoed, but she could tell by the flex in his voice that she was on target.

Naran folded her hands defiantly in her lap even though she would have felt far stabler if she’d wrapped them behind the prince’s neck.

“You do not appreciate help, do you?” Hyungwon pressed.

“I would if I truly needed it. Are you sure you don't just like playing the savior?”

“I wouldn't say ‘just.’ Perhaps one day I hope you might need me back.”

Back?

“Besides,” he added, “I don’t mind an excuse to have your arms around me.”

“They're not—” With horror, Naran realized that her body had betrayed her, and, at some point, she had knotted her hands behind his neck after all, and worse yet, she could not will them back to her lap. “Don’t get used to it.”

“Too late,” said Hyungwon with a grin.

“After this, I feel rather badly about kicking you out of my room so quickly the other night,” she admitted reluctantly. “Perhaps next time I will not be so rash.”

“Thank you, Princess,” was all he said, though he was smiling smugly to himself again.

At last, they reached their wing, and the prince put his wife down at her doorstep, though he waited there awkwardly as neither of them seemed to know what to say.

“Thank you for coming out with me tonight,” he said into the silence. “I know you didn’t want to.”

Naran kept her eyes on her slippered feet as she replied, “Thank you for asking. Truly, I am glad I went.”

“You are?”

At the hope in his voice, her eyes shot up to find his waiting, dark as always but with none of his particular brand of blackness that made her wary of his designs. This time, the darkness was inviting—and in many ways, that made it all the more dangerous.

Hyungwon took a step forward. Naran took one back. Her spine was flush to her door, and she could feel the carvings digging through the thin fabric of her robe. His hand flattened on the panel beside her face as he leaned down.

His breath blazed in the shell of her ear as he whispered, “Please think well of me, my lady. After all, we only have each other now.”

With that, Hyungwon kissed his wife’s cheek and bid her goodnight before he disappeared through his own bedroom door.

[ewesie]

Climates of Hyrule: Hebra Through The Seasons pt.1

Summer

Hebra during Summer is the best time to visit. Mountaineers, painters, writers and people from all across the Kingdom enjoy Hebra. It is a respite from some of the other regions that are either inhospitable to delicate life of too humid to stomach. Many draw inspiration from its sprawling valleys and high reaching peaks.

Snow recedes from valleys and gentle slopes, revealing a wealth of life that has been hidden for a majority of the year.

In the lower altitudes like the Tabantha Snowfield, the snow melt has given way to alpine meadows. The short lush grasses are dotted with wildflowers in all shades of colors. From hues of vivid oranges to soft delicate violet, they peek out between the grasses. Some hang over small streams, carved away by the Spring melt.

As the snow from higher altitudes continues to melt under the Summer's warm embrace, streams, fed from cascading waterfalls, crisscross the valley meadows. Rivers carved over centuries and millennia flow freely thanks to the Summer melt and higher temperatures. It brings life along its currents.

Wildlife that would normally shy away from Hebra's intense winters emerge from their dens and nests. They enjoy the bounty of what Summer offers, even though it may be short. They sun themselves on boulders and outcroppings of rocks and they frolic among the trees that have awakened from their winter slumber.

Even in Summer, the air still has a bite to it as it flows down from the mountainous region and into the lowlands. The trees are hardy, unbending as they spread their broad leaves in the warm sun. Oaks, chestnut, birch and Hebra maple are among the few deciduous trees that call the region home.

Between the meadows and slopes are fields of boulders and outcroppings of rock. Goron are attracted to them, and they can be found in those fields and among rocky scrambles. They pick apart the boulders searching for the most delectable pieces of earth. Though they never stray too far into the mountains.

Despite the wealth of life during the Summer months, the higher altitudes refuse to shed their thick blankets of snow. Many alpinists take this opportunity to put their skills to the test. Camps full of adventurers and free spirits dot the high altitudes of Hebra.

It has been found that Rito make excellent porters and mountain guides. Where they really excel is in search and rescue. It is not uncommon to see teams of colorful Rito carrying the injured down from the peaks. Along with barely a handful of Hylians living in Hebra, they maintain and set up pathways of rope for climbers. Wooden bridges span deep crevasses, allowing those passage even deeper into the mountains.

Rito see an influx of visitors during the Summer months. Their village at times can be packed with curious Hylians and Gerudo who wish to try their hand at fletching or archery. Zora enjoy the cool waters of lake Totori, having gotten there from underground waterways only available during the warm weather.

Even though it is short, Summer is enjoyed to the fullest in Hebra. It brings joy and life during its brief moments until it is inevitably reclaimed by the snow that begins in Autumn.

[sempiternal-meridians]

“Over the last decade, I have learned to appreciate the textures and rhythms of the later months of the year. Russet is the color of November in Maine. The color that emerges when all the more spectacular leaves have fallen: the yellow coins of the white birch, the big, hand-shaped crimson leaves of the red maple, the papery pumpkin-hued spears of the beech trees. The oaks are always the last to shed their plumage, and their leaves are the dullest color. They’re the darkest, the closest to brown. But if you pay attention, you’ll see that they’re actually quite pretty. Russet is a subtle color, complicated by undertones of orange and purple. Indeed, according to some color wheel systems, “russet” is the name given to the tertiary color created by mixing those two secondary colors. Its only companions in this category are slate (made from purple and green) and citron (made from green and yellow). Like russet, citron and slate occur often in the natural world. Our Earth is a blue marble if you get far enough away, but from up close, it’s so very brown, so often gray. This may explain why many cultures think of russet and similar dull reds as neutral hues, akin to the monochrome scale of white, black, and the innumerable shades between. True reds, the crimsons and vermilions and scarlets, have historically been associated with fire, blood, and power. In Red: The History of a Color, Michel Pastoureau explains that, for thousands of years, red was “the only true color.” He continues, “as much on the chronological as hierarchical level, it outstripped all others.” In ancient Greece, high priests and priestesses dressed in crimson, as did (they imagined) the gods themselves. In contrast, the dull reds, the brown reds, have been understood as “emblematic of peasantry and impoverishment,” claims Victoria Finlay in An Atlas of Rare & Familiar Colour. Finlay files red ocher among the browns—the ruddy pigment used in the caves of Lascaux—which is perhaps where it belongs. Perhaps that’s where russet belongs, too. […] It seems likely that russet, as a word, is an offshoot of red (Old French rousset from Latin russus, “reddish”). But russet means more than red-like, red-adjacent. Russet also means rustic, homely, rough. It also evokes mottled, textured, coarse. The word describes a quality of being that can affect people as well as vegetables. Apples can be russet, when they have brown patches on their skin. Potatoes famously are russet; their skin often has that strange texture that makes it impossible to tell where the earth ends and the root begins. There are russet birds and russet horses—it’s an earthy word that fits comfortably on many creatures. For Shakespeare, it was a color of poverty and prudence, mourning and morning. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, Biron imagines a life without the finer things, without silks and taffeta, a life of sacrifice undertaken to prove his love. The color of his penance? Russet. “and I here protest, By this white glove;—how white the hand, God knows!— Henceforth my wooing mind shall be express’d In russet yeas and honest kersey noes: And, to begin, wench,—so God help me, la!— My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw.” Just a few decades after this was written, in a country not too far away, Peter Paul Rubens was painting with brilliant crimson and shocking vermilion. Rubens was a devout Roman Catholic, a religion that embraced sumptuous fabrics and rich colors. A generation later, another northern painter would rise to prominence: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. While Catholic Rubens loved shocking reds, rich blues, and even sunny yellows, Protestant Rembrandt painted with a far more restrained palette. Many of his most famous paintings (including his self portraits) are predominantly brown and gray. And when he did use color, Rembrandt very often reached for russet, auburn, fulvous, and tawny. Reds that leaned brown, and browns that leaned red. Sometimes, he brought in a splash of crimson to tell the viewer where they should focus (the vibrant sash in Night Watch, the cloaks in Prodigal Son), and sometimes he let soft, misty yellow light bathe his bucolic landscapes. His work was earthy, imbued with the quiet chill of early November […]” — Katy Kelleher, “Russet, the Color of Peasants, Fox Fur, and Penance” from The Paris Review

[sontextacousticpanel]

Installation Techniques for Wood Sound Panels: Best Practices in Homes

Wood sound panels are not only aesthetically pleasing but also serve a crucial role in improving acoustics within residential spaces. Whether you're enhancing the sound quality of a home theater, reducing noise in a bedroom, or creating a more productive home office environment, proper installation of wood sound panels is essential. This article delves into the best practices for installing wood sound panels in homes, covering everything from preparation and planning to mounting methods and maintenance.

Understanding Wood Sound Panels

Wood sound panels are designed to absorb sound waves effectively, reducing echoes and reverberations within a room. They are typically constructed from various types of wood, each with its own acoustic properties and aesthetic characteristics. These panels not only enhance sound quality but also add warmth and visual appeal to interiors, making them a popular choice for homeowners seeking both functionality and style.

Planning and Preparation

Before diving into the installation process, thorough planning and preparation are key to achieving optimal results with wood sound panels.

Assessing Acoustic Needs: Begin by evaluating the acoustic requirements of the space. Determine whether sound absorption, diffusion, or a combination of both is needed based on the room's purpose (e.g., home theater, music room, living room).

Selecting the Right Panels: Choose wood sound panels that match your aesthetic preferences and acoustic goals. Consider factors such as panel size, thickness, wood type (e.g., oak, maple, walnut), and finish (e.g., natural, stained, painted).

Measuring the Space: Accurate measurements of the installation area are crucial. Measure the height and width of the walls or ceiling where the panels will be installed to determine the quantity and size of panels required.

Calculating Coverage: Calculate the total surface area to be covered by the wood sound panels to ensure sufficient coverage for effective sound treatment. This calculation will also help in determining the spacing between panels for uniform sound absorption.

Installation Steps

Once you have planned and prepared adequately, follow these steps for successful installation of wood sound panels:

Step 1: Surface Preparation

Clean the Surface: Ensure that the walls or ceiling where the panels will be mounted are clean and free of dust, dirt, and debris. Use a dry cloth or vacuum cleaner to remove any particles that could affect adhesion.

Surface Inspection: Check for any imperfections or irregularities in the surface that may need to be addressed before installation. Smooth out bumps or fill in gaps as necessary to ensure a flat and even mounting surface.

Step 2: Panel Placement and Layout

Mock Installation: Before mounting the panels permanently, perform a mock installation by placing the panels against the wall or ceiling in the desired configuration. This allows you to visualize the layout and make adjustments if needed.

Spacing Considerations: Determine the optimal spacing between panels to achieve balanced sound absorption throughout the room. Generally, spacing of 1-2 inches between panels is recommended for effective acoustic performance.

Step 3: Mounting Methods

The method of mounting will depend on the type of wood sound panels and the surface they are being installed on (wall or ceiling).

Adhesive Mounting: For lightweight panels, adhesive mounting can be an effective and straightforward method. Use a high-quality construction adhesive suitable for wood and the specific surface material (e.g., drywall, concrete).

Apply the adhesive evenly to the back of the panel in a zigzag pattern or as recommended by the adhesive manufacturer.

Press the panel firmly against the wall or ceiling, ensuring it is level and properly aligned. Use painter's tape or temporary supports to hold the panel in place while the adhesive cures.

Mechanical Fastening: Heavier panels or those requiring more secure attachment may require mechanical fasteners such as screws and anchors.

Pre-drill pilot holes into the panels and the mounting surface to prevent splitting of the wood and facilitate easier installation.

Use screws and appropriate anchors (if needed) to securely fasten the panels to the wall or ceiling. Ensure screws are countersunk to maintain a flush finish.

Step 4: Finishing Touches

Seam Alignment: Pay attention to the alignment of seams between adjacent panels for a professional and cohesive look. Use a level to ensure panels are installed straight and parallel to each other.

Trim and Edging: Install trim or edging around the perimeter of the wood sound panels to provide a finished appearance. This can also help conceal any gaps between panels and the surrounding surfaces.

Step 5: Post-Installation Inspection and Adjustments

Check Stability: Once all panels are installed, gently tap or press on each panel to ensure they are securely attached and there are no loose spots.

Evaluate Acoustic Performance: Conduct a sound test to evaluate the effectiveness of the installed wood sound panels in improving room acoustics. Compare the sound quality before and after installation to assess any noticeable improvements.

Maintenance Tips

To maintain the beauty and functionality of wood sound panels over time, follow these maintenance tips:

Regular Cleaning: Dust panels regularly with a soft cloth or vacuum cleaner attachment to remove surface dust and dirt.

Avoid Moisture: Wood panels should be kept away from excessive moisture or humidity to prevent warping or damage.

Periodic Inspection: Periodically inspect panels for signs of wear or damage. Repair or replace any panels that have become loose or damaged to maintain optimal acoustic performance.

Conclusion

Proper installation of wood sound panels in homes requires careful planning, precise execution, and attention to detail. By following best practices from surface preparation to panel mounting and maintenance, homeowners can achieve enhanced acoustics and a visually appealing environment. Whether you're creating a home theater, music room, or simply improving the comfort of living spaces, wood sound panels offer a versatile solution that combines functionality with timeless elegance.

By investing time and effort into the installation process, homeowners can enjoy the benefits of improved sound quality and aesthetic enhancement that wood sound panels bring to their homes for years to come. For more information on wood sound panels and installation techniques, consult with acoustic specialists or trusted suppliers who can provide expert guidance tailored to your specific needs and preferences.

[nicolerxenee]

How to Buy a Sofa

Before you set out to buy your new sofa, decide on the style. Go online and do some research by visiting furniture store websites. This will help you get an idea of what you’d like and what is in style. Availability isn’t an issue at this point; it will just visit site here help point you in the right direction.

Take a look at the space where the sofa will go and determine the size that is right for the space.  Measure you existing sofa—including length, spread of arms, height at the highest back, and width of the seating area.  Do you have room for a large puffy sofa or do you only have room for a small scale love seat?  When you find a sofa you like, measure it and use painter’s tape to block out the size on your floor at home.  Check to see if all traffic ways still work and if it doesn’t overpower the room or seem too small.

Think of the function. How many people will use the sofa? How often will it be used? Are children going to be using the sofa?  Consider if a hide-a-bed or futon is suitable for your lifestyle. Also remember that it is easier and cheaper to paint the room than it is to buy a new sofa or to have it reupholstered.  Select a pattern or color that will stay current for the life of the sofa and will suit any décor.  Trends are fun but never last that long, so think long-term when buying a large piece of furniture.  You can add in accessories and pillows that easily change, to give a splash of color and update more regularly than getting a new sofa.

When you are ready to start shopping for your new sofa, keep these factors in mind:

1. The frame of the sofa should be strong.  Try to find a frame that is made from kiln-dried hardwood, such as, oak, maple, birch, or alder.  High quality hardwood, plywood, or marine plywood is also a durable substitute.  The corners of the sofa should also be reinforced with wooden blocks, which are blocks glued to the frame at various stress points to add strength.

2. When choosing your sofa ask about the springs.  The more springs there are, the cushier the sofa.  This comes with a cost but it also means quality and durability.  Also, ask if the springs are hand tied or machine tied—hand tied are stronger and tend to stay in place better.  Make sure the back of the sofa has springs as well.

3. The next step is the filling.  Look for a filling such as foam, cotton, polyester, down, fibre, or a combination of these, which will be the most comfortable; the denser the filling, the more comfortable the sofa.  Better quality foam will have a density rating of 1.8 to 2.5, which will be something you will have to ask the sales person.

4. Choose the upholstery that suits your family’s needs the best.  This is where you need to think of who will be using it.  If you have young children, grandchildren or pets, you need a fabric that will stand up to the wear and tear of everyday life.  Linen, cotton, wool, and silk are popular natural upholstery options.  Leather is the most durable and easy to maintain.  However, new synthetic materials are also great choices; they are durable and stain resistant.  Also, avoid sofas that use staples to attach fabric, as they will loosen or even rip over time—hot glue is a better choice.

5. Finally, sit and lie on the sofa and make sure it is comfortable.  When you test the sofa make sure you take your shoes and coat off—you will not be wearing these when you are at home. Make sure the sofa is not too narrow or short to lie down on, and proportioned to your body.

6. Some shopping tips: Wear comfortable shoes that you can easily slip off to test out the sofas.  Bring a notebook, measuring tape, and digital camera.  You can have a salesperson write down the details of the sofa you like on his or her business card.  Remember to ask about their delivery and return policies.

[journeydb]

May 18 2023 Boulder County

Happy First Birthday, Maple! She was delighted to receive this tricycle and I was happy that Katie sent me a picture of her riding it. We are grateful that our little granddaughter completed her first pass around the sun today with a history of a very healthy and happy life so far!

Bruce and I made a video that I sent to Katie saying Happy Birthday to Maple and we'll say it in person in a few days. Katie and Hobie wanted to spend today alone with her, which is understandable.

I really love my little study in the wing of our house on the other side of the meditation garden. It gives me my own space to work, write, ruminate, and meditate, and now it's also where Matilda lives because she still hasn't become comfortable with our "kittens", who have grown up to be pretty big cats.

While I'm not really much of a painter, there was a time when I took "Passion painting" classes and I loved the experience, which seemed more like art therapy than anything else. It was during one of the more challenging times of my life and the painting helped to keep me sane. I was also reading "My Geisha" at the time and that inspired the painting that hangs on the wall of my study, just above my grandmother's rocking chair, which is one of the only things of hers that I am lucky to still have.

I also had fun painting this jungle scene, with all the animals, including snakes, monkeys, butterlies, and spiders. The kangaroo mother represents me and the little joey in her pouch represents Hobie. It fits well with the wooden banana tree we brought back from Bali many years ago.

This afternoon my friend, Virginia, and I did a site visit to HomeAhead at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church and spent time with their Executive Director, Mary, and the chair of their board and founder of the organization, Joe. Virginia and I are on the Board Development Resource Team at Social Venture Partners and we signed up to help Mary and Joe by training their board on the responsibilities of board members and the best practices of effective boards.

HomeAhead is a truly unique nonprofit organization and I'm happy for the chance to work with them. They collect and provide household necessities to formerly unhoused residents of our community when they move into apartments provided by other organizations which work with this population. HomeAhead provides furniture, bedding, tableware, and other things which help turn the apartments into homes for their clients.

We toured the big storage space on the grounds of St. Andrews, which is only one of four they have in various locations and then we went into the church to see the rooms which were completely full of housewares.

Virginia and I will work on our presentation this week to be prepared to present it at the HomeAhead board meeting next week. I'm grateful for this opportunity to help build capacity at one of my now favorite nonprofits in Boulder County.

[gtahomeservice]

Easiest way to find Interior Home Painting Services Richmond Hill

Most of the time, people put off painting their homes until after festivals, holidays, or vacations. At GTA Home Service, we advise against expecting the unexpected and instead to cherish every moment spent at home. After all, home is where you go to find comfort and serenity after a busy and tiresome day. You allocate more time with your family at home than you do outside. The quickest, simplest, and least expensive way to change the entire appearance of your house is to paint the walls. Your house will look unique with a new coat of paint. Consequently, hiring professional painters to paint your house is the best thing to do for quality of work. Painting your house is another type of basic maintenance you can perform. The best thing you could do to restore the look of your interior is hiring interior home painting services Richmond Hill from the biggest portal for home service in Canada – GTA Home Service. For more details click: https://www.gtahomeservice.ca/services/interior-home-painting-services/

[wishyouweredead]

How to Buy a Sofa

Before you set out to buy your new sofa, decide on the style. Go online and do some research by visiting furniture store websites. This will help you get an idea of what you’d like click here to learn more and what is in style. Availability isn’t an issue at this point; it will just help point you in the right direction.

Take a look at the space where the sofa will go and determine the size that is right for the space.  Measure you existing sofa—including length,How to Buy a Sofa Articlesspread of arms, height at the highest back, and width of the seating area.  Do you have room for a large puffy sofa or do you only have room for a small scale love seat?  When you find a sofa you like, measure it and use painter’s tape to block out the size on your floor at home.  Check to see if all traffic ways still work and if it doesn’t overpower the room or seem too small.

Think of the function. How many people will use the sofa? How often will it be used? Are children going to be using the sofa?  Consider if a hide-a-bed or futon is suitable for your lifestyle. Also remember that it is easier and cheaper to paint the room than it is to buy a new sofa or to have it reupholstered.  Select a pattern or color that will stay current for the life of the sofa and will suit any décor.  Trends are fun but never last that long, so think long-term when buying a large piece of furniture.  You can add in accessories and pillows that easily change, to give a splash of color and update more regularly than getting a new sofa.

When you are ready to start shopping for your new sofa, keep these factors in mind:

1. The frame of the sofa should be strong.  Try to find a frame that is made from kiln-dried hardwood, such as, oak, maple, birch, or alder.  High quality hardwood, plywood, or marine plywood is also a durable substitute.  The corners of the sofa should also be reinforced with wooden blocks, which are blocks glued to the frame at various stress points to add strength.

2. When choosing your sofa ask about the springs.  The more springs there are, the cushier the sofa.  This comes with a cost but it also means quality and durability.  Also, ask if the springs are hand tied or machine tied—hand tied are stronger and tend to stay in place better.  Make sure the back of the sofa has springs as well.

3. The next step is the filling.  Look for a filling such as foam, cotton, polyester, down, fibre, or a combination of these, which will be the most comfortable; the denser the filling, the more comfortable the sofa.  Better quality foam will have a density rating of 1.8 to 2.5, which will be something you will have to ask the sales person.

4. Choose the upholstery that suits your family’s needs the best.  This is where you need to think of who will be using it.  If you have young children, grandchildren or pets, you need a fabric that will stand up to the wear and tear of everyday life.  Linen, cotton, wool, and silk are popular natural upholstery options.  Leather is the most durable and easy to maintain.  However, new synthetic materials are also great choices; they are durable and stain resistant.  Also, avoid sofas that use staples to attach fabric, as they will loosen or even rip over time—hot glue is a better choice.

[pressurewashingbc]

How to Find a Good Home Service Provider

A home is not just bricks and cement for the owners but it is a realization of their dreams and hopes. That is why, it is important for all of us to carry out home maintenance work or home improvement work regularly. A well maintained home is a tangible asset for us and if we do not find time to do home cleaning ourselves we must take the help of local service providers to do the job for us.

Local service providers offer almost all services that you require to maintain a good home and reduce your work load. Many local companies have sprung up in recent times as the need of the hour for most couples is to find someone who will take care of their home as if it's their own. These cleaning service providers not only arrange for maid service for your home but also arrange for plumbers, painters, electricians etc. Pressure Washing Near Me

The internet has made the hunt for local service providers easy. You can be anywhere, at home, in the office or at a café, all you have to do is go online and the net would help you with finding local help services in your area. Once you log on the net just go to any popular search engine, feed in the area name or zip code and search. You will get a list of local companies who will be ready to do the service for you. You can also read reviews of other people who have hired their services before deciding who will be the contractors of your choice. Reading reviews is a good idea since you will come to know how good that particular company is at the job. Some sites also rate businesses online. All this at the click of a mouse and bingo, your home will be as beautiful as it was earlier with their help. You can also check some local bureaus for any complaints that may have been registered for a particular cleaning service provider.

Apart from the search engines, there are other open forum sites which provide you with a comprehensive list of local service providers as these companies are able to list their services with these sites for free. This way you will have far more options to choose from. On these sites you can also get discounts or coupons on the service from the local companies. This way you get to save your precious money too.

Once you find a cleaning service provider, they will give you all the details about how they will go about doing their job and will also inform you of the rates that they will charge. Thus you can check prior to finalizing the deal whether the services offered are within your budget. Gutter Cleaning Maple Ridge

The services offered by the local companies will let you rest in comfort as you will have the confidence that your home is in safe hands. A good cleaning service will give you quality at affordable costs. So do your homework well before choosing any particular company.

[should-be-sleeping]

Just as we returned from the store our neighbor was just getting out of her car, so I went over to help her bring her things inside. She'd run out to get some donuts and a slushie. She was having a good day and was making the best of it. She'd managed to get out of the house twice before I arrived.

I carried her goods for her and gave her my arm to help her up the hill to her door. She said her hands weren't cooperating well today, so she gave me her keys and I unlocked her door for her. We went in and she wanted to put her slushie into the freezer as a treat for later. She'd gotten the biggest size so it was a little tall for the freezer, but I helped her get it in without spilling.

She offered me a donut but she'd only bought two, so I declined. As much as I love donuts, and maple bars in particular, I could not in good conscience rob her of such delights. We talked about our favorite donut places, and incidentally, ours was the same -- a local place not too far out of the way. There's an even better place I know of (award winning, in fact), but it's kind of far away. Perhaps I'll take a long detour to bring her a maple bar from there sometime.

She asks about the photo I'd sent her of the reusable zip tie in use, and if I had any other photos of my aquariums. I don't have any on hand but I do have a video I'd taken recently of the baby guppies eagerly swimming right into my open palm. She loves this.

She tells me about her favorite radio show and about how the hosts all know her and have dubbed her their community witch. She plays for me a download from their show in which they highlight one of her Wicked Witch impressions and it's so spot on it's uncanny. Then she suggests that I send them the video of my baby fish, because they do a pet segment on their website and "it's not just dogs!"

I ask her for more details and then agree to send it it. Learning her user name, I mention I'll be sure to give her a shout out as my friend who suggested I submit it and she loves this even more.

We discuss painting, as she is a painter too (or was before her hands stopped cooperating). She wanted to travel and paint the aurora borealis. She says there is a southern one, too, and tells me all about her plans in 2020 to visit New Zealand to see them. But then the pandemic happened.

"Now I'll never get to experience that..." she says, forlorn.

"Are there any videos of it, do you think?" I ask.

This fills her with hope, "Oh, Maybe?"

I decide it will be my mission to help her find them. They are apparently a totally different color than the Northern Lights. We'll have to see if this is true.

She tells me she's trying to find an amethyst for me. I assume because she saw my ring. I tell her I've been wearing it more than usual lately because it's my little brother's birthstone and he passed away last month. She hugs me and I am grateful. I've had a rough couple of months myself, before this. A lot of grief.

I show her my nails, painted in red and gold for the 49ers and she is almost giddy about that I actually did it. She gets up and goes to a nearby shelf and brings back a small fabric cosmetic bag. Inside is where she keeps all the stuff she used when she was able to do her nails regularly. She hands me 49er's decals and I eagerly accept them. This will complete the look for real.

We talk for a while longer and then her friend (the maintenance guy) calls. He asks if she's home and she asks me, jokingly so he can hear, if we're at her house. I respond in kind, "Last I checked, anyway!" He comes over right as I need to leave, so we basically swap places at the door. My neighbor hugs me and says life is easier when you have someone in it who gives a shit. Then she apologizes for swearing.

I remind her to text me any time at all, whether she needs or just wants something and she says she will. Later that evening I notice her car is gone. I assume she has gone to get dinner with aforementioned guy. Later yet she's still not home, I'm a little worried, as I know she has driven a city over before and not been able to get back home, but I give it a little time trusting she'd text me if she needed help.

By 10:00pm I poke my head out to check and thankfully her car is now there, parked in its usual spot. Right as I get back inside she texts me saying she had an INCREDIBLE night. I tell her I can't wait to hear the details and how remarkable her timing was as I had just thought to check on her. She gushes about how she had just gone for a drive in her little sports car but then wound up at the casino and even won a little money!

She tells me all about it and I'm so relieved to hear she was out having fun. She hadn't been able to do that last week. Or the one before that. She tells me she could die a happy woman tonight. I tell her I hope she doesn't, so she can tell me more about her adventures. She sends me an emoji filled post about how her best luck wasn't at the casino but in meeting me.

I tell her the feeling's mutual.

Tough day today... and friendly reminder that being human is easier when we help each other.

I saw one of our neighbors, an older woman we sometimes talk to in passing, sitting outside of her house. I don't know what exactly made me look twice, but on second glance as we drove by I realized her walker was in the grass. She was otherwise just sitting there, like she had a thousand times before, so it would have been easy to assume she was fine and go on with my life as normal but something told me to go check in on her anyway.

She was not fine. She was the polar opposite of fine. Just diagnosed with terminal cancer not fine. No next of kin not fine. A veteran facing eviction from her house for missing rent while in the hospital not fine. In constant debilitating pain not fine. Only semi-lucid not fine. She was extremely alone not fine.

I thought, at most, she might be bored while unable to pick up her walker not fine. A five minute detour from my day not fine. A help her back into her house and say "see you later!" not fine. Instead I spent the last three hours with her because she was so scared and alone and no one should be alone.

We talked a lot while I was there. She's actually two years younger than my mom (who also has cancer but slightly better luck, I guess). I helped her into her house and got her a drink and we talked about what all is going on with her. None of it was good. I was as reassuring as I could be, but there's only so much of this I can actually help her with.

"Why did you come?" she asked through tears.

"Because you looked like you might need some help."

She called me an angel. I told her I was just doing my best. I told her that kindness should never be rare. That we should all try to make the world just a little bit better than it was.

She offered to pay me but I told her I was just there as a friend. Before today we were basically strangers. No need to repay me with anything other than her company, I assured her. She cried, a lot. I managed not to somehow. Something tells me she had needed to cry long before this but in being Strong she never had the chance to.

She needed to get her mail, which is a long walk when you're disabled because it is not at all handicap accessible (across a parking lot, over a bridge, across a small field). So I helped her get her mail. We stopped every three feet because her pain was so bad, but she was determined to be able to go do this with me and not just send me on an errand. I patiently stayed with her and reminded her, through her apologies, it was fine to take our time: there was a nice breeze and birds were singing. She appreciated this. She loves nature.

Halfway back she said she wanted to go to the pool. To put her feet in the water. She loves water, and has not been able to even see the pool in a month. Neither of us were dressed for swimming, but I took her to the pool anyway. There is a stair leading down to it, meaning she couldn't bring her walker, so I offered her my arm.

We went to the pool. She put her feet in the water and then, with more energy and enthusiasm than I'd seen the whole time, she jumped in. In her fancy dress! She was instantly ten years younger at least, clear and happy, floating in the sun. Dress and all. She grew up with a pool and had been on a swim team.

I sat by the edge of the pool while she swam, keeping her company and also making sure she was okay. When she got tired I took her back home and then had to help her get undressed and redressed. I made sure she felt no shame. Getting out of wet clothes is hard for anyone, let alone someone with like twenty pounds of tumors racking them with constant pain.

She was so fucking happy to have gone swimming.

She is trying to "make everything right" before she goes. Trying to repay her debt to society and her debts in general. She couldn't understand why the corporation that owns our houses wouldn't take her money. She was genuinely distressed -- not to be homeless on her deathbed but to not leave this world with a clean slate. I told her intent matters. She can only do her best.

This company not letting her repay her debt was their fault, not hers.

When I finally needed to go, I told her to let me know any time she needed a hand or just wanted company. She told me she was going to die tonight. I told her I hoped not, so I could see her tomorrow. I offered her a hug, we hugged and she sobbed for a solid ten minutes into my shoulder. I told her she was okay. That it was okay.

When I got home I cried myself, because I could not believe she was going through all of that alone. I cannot even imagine how isolated she must have felt. Once I pulled myself back together I sent her a text reminding her to reach out any time and I'd do my best to come over. Like, any time at all.

I hope she is here tomorrow.

[thegracelessfaceless]

Masterlist

Hello and welcome to my Sally Face blog! Asks are open and I hope you find something you like!

If you are looking for creepypasta content, it is moving to @nursegracecreates and if you want to see the stuff I reblog, it's @graciefacereblogs

Started: April 29, 2021

Progress: Ongoing

Last Updated: February 1, 2024

Total Works: no idea 😅

Asks: Open

Requests: Open, but only for daily warmup ideas

Commissions: Open (inquire via DM or private ask)

Rules

Sally Face

Self Ship

Sal Fisher

Sal Fisher Hc's (Self Ship version (Sal x Grace)

He Has So Many Scars, And God, Are They Beautiful (with sketch sheet)

KISMET

STAY

Sal and Grace: Through the Years

Maple Cohen

Travis Phelps

Headcanons

Sal Fisher

Relationship Headcanons #1

A Night in the Woods with the Gang™

A Friend Coming Out to the Gang™ as Nonbinary

Sal with a Himbo S/O

Sal with a Muslim S/O on Ramadan

Smoking with Larry and Sal

Sal and Larry with an S/O with Horrific Allergies

Larry and Sal with a Mom Friend™ S/O

Sal Fisher with a Monster! S/O

Sal Fisher with a GN! S.O Who's Having a Depressive Episode

That One Time Sal Fisher Colored His Hair

Wintertime Headcanons for Sal and His Cold Natured SO

Sal Fisher and Reading

Late Night Channel Surfing With Sal

Coming Home From Work To Sal

Larry Johnson

Larry Johnson w/ a Chubby SO

A Night in the Woods with the Gang™

A Friend Coming Out to the Gang™ as Nonbinary

Smoking with Larry and Sal

Sal and Larry with an S/O with Horrific Allergies

Larry Johnson Fluff Alphabet #1

Larry Johnson Fluff Alphabet #2

Larry Johnson Fluff Alphabet #3

Larry and Sal With a Mom Friend™ S/O

Larry Finding Out His SO is Travis' Sister

Ashley Campbell

A Night in the Woods with the Gang™

A Friend Coming Out to the Gang™ as Nonbinary

Todd Morrison

A Night in the Woods with the Gang™

A Friend Coming Out to the Gang™ as Nonbinary

Chug Cohen

A Night in the Woods with the Gang™

Flying Too Close- A Chug Cohen Experience

Maple Cohen

A Night in the Woods with the Gang™

Maple Cohen Best Friend Headcanons

Travis Phelps

A Night in the Woods with the Gang™

Travis with a Really Big, Intimidating S/O

Travis Phelps Fluff Alphabet #1

Travis Phelps Has a Great Singing Voice?!

Larry Finding Out His SO Is Travis' Sister

Travis and BISO Make a Home

Travis' "Best Friend"

Robert Silva Headcanons

NSFW

Sal Fisher

NSFW Sal With a Chubby S/O

NSFW Sal With an Oblivious S/O

NSFW Sal With an Oblivious S/O

NSFW Poly Reader, Larry, Sal and Ash

Impatience

Fluff/NSFW Sal Fisher with a Twink Boyfriend

Sweet and Sour Subby!Sal Fisher Headcanons 🍋

Matanuska Thunder Fuck 🍋

Sal Fisher with a Super Sensitive SO

Sal Fisher, His (afab) SO, and Sex Toys 🍋🍋🍋

Reader's First Time With Sal Fisher 🍋

Sal Fisher and His Lady Love Have a Spa Day

Larry Johnson

NSFW Larry with an Oblivious S/O

NSFW Poly Reader, Larry, Sal and Ash

Flip the Switch (DomLarry with an AFAB SubSO)

Ashley Campbell

NSFW Poly Reader, Larry, Sal, and Ash

Todd Morrison

Chug Cohen

Maple Cohen

Travis Phelps

Bottom! Travis (featuring BISO)

Miscellaneous

Fluff Alphabet template

Emoji Ask Game

Series

Ressurection AU- 1

Memories Monday

05.17.2021- Mimi and Stevie

05.24.2021- Dink

Creepypasta

Southern Creeps Headcanons (Brian, Tim, Jane, and Kate)

Whump Prompts

Relationship and Fluff Prompts

Fluff Alphabet

Slenderverse

Mother

Slenderman Headcanons 1 2

Zalgo

Slenderman Ref Drawing

Brian Thomas/Hoody 🏃

Down By the River (Brian Thomas/Hoody x Fem!Reader

One

Two

Three

Eyeless Jack/EJ 👹

Dark Yan!Eyeless Jack Relationship Headcanons (nsfw)

Helen Otis/Bloody Painter 🖌🎨

General and Relationship Headcanons for Helen

NSFW Helen Otis Headcanons

On the Subject of Helen and Tattoos

One Shots

Hunting HeeHoo (A Markiplier Alter Tale)

My Drawings!!

Kinktober 2021

Salloween 2021

[tardis06]

Oh, to be a painter who lives on a cliffside lighthouse, with the smell of acrylics, wood, and home cooked food stained into one’s clothing.

To open a creeky window at dawn and feel the rising sun’s warmth across the way, to put last night’s mug of tea into the sink for washing, to work on one’s latest masterpiece, lightly hunched over the cork board desk.

To take only but a short summers bike ride to a small town where everyone knows one another, yet always seems to be the destination of a vacationing family or two.

To feel the sea-laced dusk breeze dance through one’s hair, to hear the laughter and chatter of children and teens lounging around the only ice cream shop, to smile and wave at cars passing through the bumpy streets.

To dance one’s toes about the calm water’s waves from an old but sturdy dock, to soak in the rustling of the weeping willows and maple trees, to slowly sway in a hammock as geese honk in the distance.

To explore creeks and rivers and unridden paths, to meander between the few shops with close friends, and to fall asleep next to one’s love; the calming wind in one ear and soft breaths in the next.

To scoff at the big world, always rushing from one point to the next without much more than a whim.

To live the peaceful life, one beautiful moment at a time.

[abirpothi]

Grandma Moses: Acclaimed Self-Taught ‘Primitive’ Artist Who Started Painting In Her Late Seventies

Grandma Moses: A journey shows that age is not a bar for learning. In her late seventies, she decided to take up painting which was easier on her hands, as compared to needlework. She made her first painting using house paint. Her work was later displayed in museums and gained appreciation and fame from well-known artists.

On this day, 7th of September, 1860, Anna Mary Robertson Moses was born in Greenwich, New York, US. She was the third of ten children born to Russell King Robertson, a farmer, and Margaret Shannahan. Due to the lack of warm clothes, Anna Moses attended school only in the summer. At the age of 12 she left home to work as a hired farm girl. At the age of 26, while working for James Family she met Thomas Moses in 1886. The two fell in love and got married the next year. The couple moved to Virginia where they rented farms and worked the land. Anna gave birth to ten children but five of them died as babies. After some years Thomas became homesick, so he asked his wife to move back towards the north. Eventually they returned to New York and bought a farm there. By this time, Anna was called Mother Moses. She was skilled at various tasks and enjoyed doing needlework such as sewing and embroidering. With needle and thread she would make pictures on fabric, but she had developed arthritis, which made it painful for her to push the needle with through the fabric. In her late seventies, she decided to take up painting which was easier on her hands, as compared to needlework. She made her first painting using house paint.

Due to the artist being self-taught her paintings display a lack of nuanced application of Western painting conventions. For this reason, she is categorized as a ‘primitive’ or ‘naïve’ painter under art scholarship, terms synonymous with ‘outsider artist’. Moses’s journey shows that age is not a bar for learning, and that if you’re truly passionate about something, you can reap the rewards of your efforts at any age. Many of Moses’s paintings drew directly from her own life — mainly scenes from the landscape around her. In 1938, her paintings were displayed at a local drug store where an art collector Louis J. Caldor saw them and bought them all for a few dollars each. He inquired about the painter, contacted Moses and bought ten more paintings directly from her. He then arranged to have three of them shown at the New York Museum of Modern Art at an exhibition titled ‘Contemporary Unknown American Painters’, where they attracted wide public attention, leading to her fame. The works were also spotted by the Austrian-American art historian Otto Kallir at the exhibition, and he was highly appreciative of their inherent folk quality. Pleased with her work, Otto curated first solo show titled, ‘What A Farm Wife Painted’ in 1940 at the Galerie St. Etienne in New York. It was at this show that a reporter gave her the nickname, ‘Grandma Moses’.

The New York Times said of her the following: “The simple realism, nostalgic atmosphere and luminous color with which Grandma Moses portrayed simple farm life and rural countryside won her a wide following. She was able to capture the excitement of winter’s first snow, Thanksgiving preparations and the new, young green of oncoming spring… In person, Grandma Moses charmed wherever she went. A tiny, lively woman with mischievous gray eyes and a quick wit, she could be sharp-tongued with a sycophant and stern with an errant grandchild.”

Most of the artist’s paintings depicted scenes from upstate New York and Vermont. Several paintings show a particular ’checkered house’. She painted many scenes depicting farm life. Her paintings told stories about making apple butter, making soap and maple syrup, husking corn, and making candles. ‘The Quilting Bee’ shows how women would meet and visit while they made quilts.

Grandma Moses was awarded two honorary doctoral degrees. The first was bestowed in 1949 by Russell Sage College and the second, two years later by the Moore College of Art and Design. She passed away on December 13, 1961, in a medical center in Hoosick Falls, New York. Her works are included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Bennington Museum in Vermont. Her work ‘Sugaring Off’ sold at Christie’s New York ‘Important American Paintings’ in 2006 for $1,360,000.

In her autobiographical book Grandma Moses: My Life’s History (1951), the artist testified to the incredible strength and determination to fulfill her own life. She said, “I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little yesterday, as I have thought of it, as I remember all the things from childhood on through the years, good ones, and unpleasant ones, that is how they come out and that is how we have to take them. I look back on my life like a good day’s work, it was done and I am satisfied with it. I was happy and content, I knew nothing better and made the best out of what life offered. And life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”

So, if you think you are too old to pursue your dreams, think of Grandma Moses, and know in your heart it may not be too late for you.