#it should be at least THREE per shelf

[victorluvsalice]

Anyway -- after retrieving all their stuff from the fridge and making sure it came home with them, I set about doing the first thing that must always happen after they've been out and about -- getting all their various pictures and souvenirs out for public display! :p Because you know me and my love of putting stuff on their walls or their shelves. :p Here's how it all broke down this time --

Attic Chill-out Room: I of course updated the little photo collage behind the bubble blower as I indicated I would previously, putting the shots of Victor, Alice, and Smiler at the Humor and Hijinks festival off to the side and rearranging the other pictures so that the dual selfies from Granite Falls were on the left, the pictures from Geekcon in the middle, and the dual selfies from Sulani were on the right. So now the collage is balanced, yay~ It took me a while to decide what shot of Victor and Alice I wanted from the Sulani selfies, though -- and I ended up putting the "loser" of the contest on Victor and Alice's desk anyway. :p Guess I'll have to have Victor and Smiler take a selfie to go along with that!

Smiler's Party Barn: I did a little rearranging here, moving the cool sky/space shot Victor got from the Geekcon observatory over the stairs and arranging a collage of the two largest photos from the tripod session on the beach, along with two of my favorite of the medium photos, behind the ping-pong table. NOW you can kind of see the other fun poses I had them do! Alice's paintings, meanwhile, all went on the opposite wall behind the games table in a collage of their own, including her new flirty masterpiece. :) I like it!

Crafting Barn: Downstairs, meanwhile, I took a look at the mounted fish wall in the kitchen, looked at those fish that I wanted to keep and mount (Smiler's swordfish and celestial grouper, and Victor's parrotfish -- the minnow, guppy, and perch all got turned into plasma packs), and went "well, I have no more room in here -- let's move all these fish out into the barn!" And so I did, putting them on the same wall as the insect collection. :p Now, interestingly enough, I actually already HAD a swordfish on the wall -- but when I hovered over it, it didn't give me any stats on what it weighed or who had caught it. I'm guessing it might have lost that information during a move...or possibly it was a career reward from Smiler's old job and never had it at all. *shrug* Either way, I deleted it and replaced it with the new swordfish -- might as well have one that clearly says who caught it! I also ended up moving the shelf with all of Victor's woodworks out of the upstairs hallway to the barn (by the woodworking bench, of course) because I needed the space for something else...

Main House Upstairs: Namely, a shelf for everyone's shells! I really wanted to use the actual shelving unit that came with Island Living, but it was too big to have that and the woodworks in the same space. As Smiler already had a scallop shell from previous visits to Sulani (they used to do odd jobs, remember?), I deleted the duplicates of those, then lined up the original scallop shell, Alice's blue conch, Victor's green sea urchin, and Smiler's new purple abalone on the shelves. ...might be nice if each of those big shelves could hold more than ONE THING, EA, but still. This works for now!

Now, that scallop shell originally came from Smiler's shelves of Sulani goodies in their room -- fortunately, it was easily replaced with the second Eyes Of Sulani object they'd found. Yes, they already had one, but I liked the idea of having a set, and this one did show off a different color, so I figured it worked. I also stuck up one of the other beach shots on their wall -- the one with all of them in the silliest poses, as I figured that would be the one Smiler would want to keep the most. XD

Main House Downstairs: As for the first level -- well, did you know that Moschino Stuff comes with a picture frame that can hold three pictures at once? I recently discovered this, and so the picture session on the beach was carefully done so I could have the best chance of actually USING this freaking object! Specifically, I made sure to get at least one portrait-orientated small photo, one landscape-orientated small photo, and one portrait-orientated medium photo. :) So now they have three of their best pose sets all in one frame! I like it a lot, I just wish it came in other variants as to the slot types! We need more frames that hold multiple photos at once!

...and I personally need more places to put them, as I wasn't sure where the heck I was gonna stick this frame for a while. XD Fortunately I found some open wall space in that little notched corner by the kitchen, right above the potted plant. Maybe not the world's most visible place, but it'll definitely do, and fills in a blank bit of wall!

As for the studio, I had some blank space there too, along with Victor's painting of Alice and four shots of the general Sulani landscape. So I stuck the picture of Alice in the middle and arranged the various shots of the island around it! I'm -- not PRECISELY sure I'm sold on it, but it works for now!

The Aquarium: Now, if you've been paying attention, you'll have realized that, when I was mounting or plasma-packing the fish, there was one missing from the list -- Victor's fighting plakat that he caught during the fishing competition. THAT particular fish I decided I wanted to save as a pet, so I dropped that one in the aquarium to live with Chewy the gummy fish and Overthe the rainbow fish! I ended up going with "Punchy" for the name, as it is a FIGHTING plakat. :p Doesn't it look pretty in there? I think it'll be very happy living with the others.

[greyspirehollow]

MURDER AT THE HOSPITAL Chapter 7

warnings: swearing; serious/potentially triggering themes ; discussion of ongoing investigation ;

I would rate this chapter and the overall fic 16+

The silence was only broken by the distant sounds of phones ringing and chatter amongst colleagues. Vulgora flipped through the different boxes of files on the metallic shelf, trying to find somewhere, somehow, a list of the different employees at Tower. They had no name to help with their research per se, only this “Big Bill” nickname. They gnawed at their lower lip as they focused on their research. But then they paused and cursed under their breath: Tower was a private company, there was no way the office had anything about them that was easily accessible. Of course. They sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose, sitting down at a nearby table on which they had laid files already. If they wanted information about Tower and its employees, they were going to have to get a warrant, or some other permission to investigate. They would need to ask Volta for that, and they mentally noted they should ask permission to search Rick’s house too. Gods, all of this was so complicated for nothing… At least it was much simpler back in the army: you had a few superiors, they gave you directives, and that was it. Their fingers drummed on the table as they grabbed their phone, looking at the slightly broken screen. They hesitated, but ultimately decided to text Liam.

Vulgora sighed and rolled their eyes. Sure, they could look into small acts of vandalism in all of Vesuvia. If they had eternity. Looking into those that happened only around Tower wasn’t too bad of an idea, but they knew gangs’ territories could go much further than their working areas -besides, some groups had more than one zone-. But… at least it was better than nothing.

Vulgora wheezed quietly as they put their phone back in their pocket, trying to focus back on the task at hand: minor offenses in the zone surrounding the Tower concrete factory. Their shoulders still shook softly with silent laughter as they once again searched through the boxes of files, on a different metallic shelf this time.

They flipped through file after file, searching for those “little crimes” people might have committed around Heart District. Vandalism, car theft, nocturnal noise… Their brows furrowed, focused, as their eyes scanned all the culprits’ pictures. A few caught their attention, namely those who looked slightly disheveled or defiant in their mugshots, but eventually, finally, they found what seemed to be their guy. They grabbed the file and pushed the others aside, quickly scanning over the information written on the paper which was pinned to the front of the file… Emmanuel Biz, twenty-nine years old, five foot nine, initially from Prakra, more specifically the Pearl Isles. Moved in Vesuvia ten years ago, before he dropped out of college; he stayed in the city, however. Has been an employee at Tower for around five years now, and has previously been charged with multiple accounts of vandalism and destruction of property. Various store windows and three cars, the file said… Vulgora took the time to let the information they’d just gathered sink in. This man was nothing more than a small delinquent and was certainly not the author of the murder. However, there was a chance he did know the murderer, if he was truly part of that “gang” Miss Averton had mentioned. One thing was sure, the victim knew him, and was at least acquaintances with him, and that, was big. This Big Bill guy was the biggest piece of this case yet, and maybe they’d get all the answers from him… Or not. They sighed. True, there was still a chance that this man knew absolutely nothing and that the murderer was nowhere near him at all, but… They had to try. It’s all they had.

They closed the file and went to put it on their desk before putting back the other ones. They then sat down in their chair with a loud huff, leaning back and stretching briefly. They sighed and glanced at their phone – which they had lazily put down on the desk before sitting – and considered phoning Liam. They were supposed to keep him updated… Their eyes widened as they realized they needed to keep everyone updated! They cursed under their breath and looked at the time. It was going to be noon soon, and it was likely that the everyone in question were all busy… They sighed and nonetheless opened the message app, creating a group chat for the four of them.

Vulgora quit the app with a sigh and went to their contacts, looking for Volta’s. Once they got it, they tapped the call button…

Vulgora hurried out of their office at around 7:45 PM. They were running a little short but hopefully they would be able to get ready just in time. Their heart hammered nervously in their chest as they drove up to their house and quickly dashed in the master bedroom, opening their closet and quickly scanning over what was available. They picked out a simple red suit and quickly changed, trying not to overthink it. They adjusted their tie, but then decided to take it off completely, instead opting for an open shirt collar. Gods, this felt strange. This felt weird. Preparing for the occasion. They’d never been a romantic person and here they were, trying not to wrinkle their tuxedo like some sort of nervous lovesick teenager on a first date. They’d seen that man naked, dammit! It’s going to be fine!! They took a deep breath and caught a glimpse of their reflection in the mirror while turning around. They paused. They adjusted a thing or two here and there -their sleeve, their watch- and… Let their features soften a little. No need to be overly military tonight… Vulgora looked at themselves a little more and, slowly, hesitantly, let their hair loose from their usual low ponytail. They didn’t do that often. If… Ever, really. They watched as the red strands fell over their shoulder, and ran their fingers through it, giving it all just a little bit of volume. It… It looked good. Yes. They took a deep breath and just quickly sprayed on some cologne before dashing back towards their car, heading out in the center city.

They parked near the restaurant, steeling themselves and walking towards it. They told the receptionist they’d reserved a table for two, and the man pointed to the table in question. They felt their nervousness spike again as they saw Vultur was there already, and they made their way to the opposite seat as confidently as they could. Vultur looked at them once they sat, his crystal clear blue eyes meeting their gold hazel own. He looked at them fondly, and smiled. By the Arcana he smiled. Stay calm.

“Good evening.” He said softly, putting down the menu which he’d been looking over before they arrived. He too had dressed a little bit for the occasion, in an all black suit with subtle little darker patterns. They felt so awkward they almost forgot to respond. Gods, they weren’t used to this, were they? They cleared their throat.

“Good evening.” after a short pause, they felt as if they should add: “How… Was your day?” It sounded nervous. But they were trying.

Vultur hummed, leaning back in his chair. “It was alright, I guess. The doctor said my lungs were getting better but I was still on thin ice, so I shouldn’t push them too much.” he replied, his voice soft and a little tired. Vulgora nodded softly. Vultur asked as well: “How was yours?”

Vulgora took a deep breath. “It was ok, I guess. I’m making some progress, at least.”

It was Vultur’s turn to nod: “hm, that’s nice. A little bit is better than nothing, especially in cases like these…”

Vulgora had to agree with him there… They looked at his face again, noticing the subtle bags under his eyes and his sagging shoulders. “… Do they hurt?” the question slipped past their lips before they could stop it.

“Hm?”

“Your- your lungs.”

“oh. A little bit, but… It’s not as bad as before the operation.” Vultur smirked slightly, and leaned forward on the table. “I might just think you’re worried about me~”

Vulgora felt their cheeks flush: “Isn’t that what you want??” They bit down on their lip – the words had sounded much harsher than they intended – and tried to fix their tone, forcing their voice to soften a little: “I-I mean… Don’t you want me to care for you?”

Vultur’s head tilted slightly, as he contemplated their answer. His smirk faltered in a small smile, and his features relaxed. “… Do you want to care for me?”

Vulgora blinked, taken aback, the words getting stuck in their throat. Yes. That’s all their mind was screaming. But they weren’t ready to admit that, not yet… They swallowed nervously and looked down at the menu, fiddling with a button of their sleeve. Vultur smiled. Even if the lack of answer slightly pained him, he knew he had to be patient with them. He could see they were trying, and knew deep down they cared, and no matter how much they looked at that menu he saw it in their eyes. He observed the way strands of their long red hair slipped from their shoulder to come frame their face, drawing his attention to their cheek, their brow… His smile widened a little bit. He was really tempted to reach out and tuck the strands behind their ear, but he thought it was better to wait until they were back home. He knew they didn’t like publicly displaying affection. Vultur looked down as the menu as well, his eyes flickering over the different dishes proposed. He was familiar with all of them, of course – this was his favorite restaurant after all – but he doesn’t remember Vulgora having come here before. His smile faltered slightly as he read the wines list… “Hm. Valerius’ wines keep gaining in popularity, I see…”

Vulgora raised an eyebrow and looked back up at Vultur. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Vultur replied, pointing to the menu. “They replaced mine.”

Vulgora’s eyes widened. “This place used to serve your wines?”

“They did. Until a month or two ago, perhaps… I still have no idea how those wines got popular so fast…” Vultur sighed. “I guess I’ll try them out and take a glass.”

Vulgora was about to respond, but words failed them. What does one even say in such situations? They decided to try and keep the conversation going instead. “How… Are the vines? Did you go to see them today?”

Vultur chuckled. “They’re all fine. All very healthy, even with the weather getting colder. As usual, the production will be on hold during winter, and then when spring comes back around, the wine will as well.”

Vulgora nodded, looking between him and the menu, still trying to decide what to eat. “Uhm- how are wines made again? I don’t remember if you’ve told me.”

Vultur nodded, and proceeded to start explaining the process. And despite their best efforts, Vulgora… Didn’t care. They couldn’t bring themselves to listen. They tried, they really did, but the subject was… Boring to them. They looked at Vultur sheepishly when he paused.

“… You don’t care, do you?” He asked with a chuckle.

“I am so sorry.” Vulgora replied, hiding their face in their hands, embarrassed as ever – and feeling a little guilty as well – “I tried to listen, I just…”

Vultur laughed softly. “It’s alright. I get that a wine business isn’t as interesting as a murder case.”

Vulgora sighed, looking back at him, their gaze silently asking for forgiveness. When they were met with soft, fond amusement on his part, they tried to resist the urge to hide their face again, as they felt their cheeks burn. They cleared their throat and adjusted their tuxedo a bit.

Fortunately for them, the waiter arrived and took their orders. Vultur ordered one glass of wine to go with his plate, and Vulgora passed on any drinks. They spent the waiting-for-their-dishes time mainly in silence, much to Vulgora’s distress. They didn’t like silence. It was so awkward… Their eyes darted around the restaurant nervously and eventually they groaned slightly. Vultur, on his part, didn’t seem to mind the silence. He seemed to relax, even, and that made Vulgora want to settle down as well, to try and take in the present moment. Did they need to talk at all? Not really… But they liked to talk. Fortunately for them, Vultur spoke up and asked, calm and smiling, as usual: “So, are you allowed to tell me a little bit about the investigation?”

Vulgora sighed. “No, I can’t… I wish I could, I really do.”

Vultur nodded. “That’s alright. What about your colleagues, then? You rarely ever mention them, whether it’s at the station or somewhere else.”

Vulgora’s eyebrows raised in surprised. “I… don’t? Well. I was sure I did…” They awkwardly cleared their throat. “So there are currently four of us working on the case. Me and Liam are from the police and Julian and Valdemar are not.”

Vultur let out an intrigued hum: “Valdemar? The same you told me about?”

Vulgora huffed, slightly amused. “I’ll be damned if there’s two of ‘em. Yes, the weird one… And, well, we… Are trying our best to gather clues. I managed to fish out some info about a suspect this morning – that’s the minor progress I was talking about – and a day or two ago we found the site with Liam, my colleague from scientific police. It feels kind of weird to call him a colleague, he’s just some guy but, whatever.”

Vultur chuckled. “Just some guy?”

“Yeah, he’s… just there, being… Himself, I don’t know! He’s just a dude! I forget he has a life and a job sometimes…”

“Maybe it’s because you’re not that close to him.” Vultur commented, playing with the rim of his glass of wine which the waiter had just poured.

“Could be it… Hopefully he won’t be a pain in the ass.” Vulgora grumbled, crossing their arms. Vultur chuckled at that.

“What about the others? Are they a pain in the ass?”

Vulgora hummed in thought. “Surprisingly enough… No. Not yet. I hope I won’t have to fix anyone’s mess, is all…”

“It should be alright.” Vultur assured. “They’re adults, aren’t they?”

“I wonder, sometimes.” Vulgora commented, deadpan.

Vultur chuckled, before taking a sip of his wine. “Gods, it’s awful.” He said, still chuckling while looking down at his glass. Vulgora raised an eyebrow.

“Can I try it?” They extended a hand towards the glass.

“At your own peril.” Vultur said, handing them the glass.

Vulgora smelled the beverage briefly. It didn’t seem off or anything. They brought the deep crimson liquid to their lips and took a sip. They tried really hard not to make a face, but it tasted especially bitter. Their nose scrunched under the effort and they put the glass down. Vultur chuckled again, amused. It was a warm sound…

“I don’t remember wine tasting like that.” Vulgora commented, coughing discreetly before taking a big gulp out of their glass of water to wash the bitter taste away. Vultur seemed to laugh a little more heartily. Vulgora had a hard time suppressing a smile…

“The face you made-” Vultur commented quietly through his laughter.

Vulgora huffed, falsely offended: “What about my face?? You love my face and you know it.”

The man’s laughter subsided but he was still smiling. “I do love your face…”

Vulgora paused, flustered, and drank down their whole glass of water, hoping to drown out their reddening cheeks.

They finished eating around maybe 9:45 PM. The streets outside the restaurant were quiet, the sky was dark, and the electrical street lamps cast a strange greenish glow on the grey concrete around them. They had to admit, the food was good there. It was a little bit too fancy to their taste though. No wonder this was Vultur’s favorite restaurant, it’s almost as if he was part of the décor when he was there, as if he was in his natural environment. They looked at him from the corner of their eyes, an idea coursing through their head. They looked down at his hand as they walked… It was in his pocket, but… They took a deep breath and slipped their hand in to take his, their heart hammering in their chest as they intertwined their fingers together. They looked firmly ahead, cheeks burning hot, as Vultur curiously glanced at them, contemplating the sudden gesture of affection. It was such a small gesture but it was also enormous progress. He smiled…

“Woow, things are going fast between us~” He teased, feigning shock.

“SHUT UP.” Vulgora shouted back, their cheeks reddening even more, if that was possible.

Author's note: plz ignore the inconsistencies in the group chat's name I beg you the site is pretty tricky to use :') Again, please let me know if I missed any trigger warnings !

Hope you still enjoy <33

[sharpfamily]

Per Aspera Ad Astra

Happy Birthday to our favourite ex-auror potions professor! Three birthdays in the life of Aesop Sharp, brought to you by@tea-withjamandbread and @aesopsharpmybeloved. Part of collections A New Chance at Life as well as The Sharp Family Chronicles. Aesop Sharp x (adult) MC!reader

word count: 9.4 k

tw: mentions of alcohol abuse, depression, suggestive content, tooth-rotting fluff

July 1st 1881

It’s been a few days since he’s been released from St Mungo’s. Again. Dinah still had a few more days to attend to her responsibilities in Hogwarts, however, for the time being, she seemed to trust Aesop not to do anything too crazy until the term officially ended. Aesop soon discovered that all of his liquor bottles, both empty and full, had disappeared. Wonderful. There was not a single drop of alcohol left in his house. At first he felt annoyed. Irritated. Already trying to think of a way to get at least a single drink, just a little something to take the edge off. 

He didn’t have an owl, and he couldn’t exactly Floo, much less walk to some shop or pub. Not in his current state. Wiggenweld potion could only do so much, and while it did heal the smaller cuts and scrapes and helped with the pain, his hands were still bandaged in order to keep the healing balm applied to them from drying up while it restored his mangled hands. If he didn’t look miserable before his breakdown, he absolutely looked miserable now.

There was no way he could go anywhere like this… and there was no way anyone would be willing to bring him anything either. Aesop didn’t know how many people knew about his collapse - he was certain Dinah would make sure the number was minimal - but he was absolutely certain his mother knew. Abraham too, possibly. And the very thought of flooiong one of his (now former) colleagues to ask them to send him a drink? He shuddered. No. They’d ask questions. They’d possibly come over. They couldn’t see him like this.

Dinah was right. As she usually was, of course. He probably should lay off the booze for a while. Aesop wheeled himself throughout the downstairs of his childhood home. The mirror in the ground floor bathroom was left nothing more than a frame - Dinah probably vanished all of the broken glass. As he slowly rode through his kitchen, a picture frame caught his eye. In it was a photograph, and Aesop almost couldn't recognise his own face in it. 

He didn’t even know why Ashley would get a camera - probably to take photos of her son, first and foremost - but she had brought it to his birthday dinner last year. She wasn’t a particularly good photographer, but a few nice shots were taken that night a year ago. This was one of them - he was standing by the bar in the Leaky Cauldron, actually looking quite handsome and very confident, Dinah next to him and Abraham on the other side. The photograph was moving like they were moving back then - grinning, laughing, clinking their glasses together.

And then, suddenly, Ashley appeared, peeking out from the corner of the photo, wanting to be in the picture while taking it. She looked like she always did - carefree, optimistic, confident. Her wild streak has lowered somewhat since she and her wife got their little boy, but she was still the kind of person who walked into the room and lit it up with her mere presence.

He wheeled over to the photograph and placed it face down on the shelf where it stood. He couldn’t look at it anymore. Those happy memories had been his reality only a year ago. To him, though, it felt like a century had passed. The man whose birthday was being celebrated in that photograph was someone else. A happy man with his whole life ahead of him. A man with a successful career, who still struggled with his love life to be certain, but who hadn’t given up on his dream of settling down and raising a family in the home in which he himself had spent his entire life. 

A family? He wasn’t sure he could even… Not that anyone would ever want that from him anymore. Who could see him as any more than the cripple that he was. That dream of having a family of his own died the moment he stepped on to that godforsaken ship. It had vanished the very moment he had led his partner, his oldest friend, the one he was supposed to protect, to her death. His hubris having cost her all of her dreams and plans as well.

He decided that the birthday captured in the photograph Ashley had taken would be the last one he celebrated. He would have more birthdays, of course, Dinah having knocked some sense into him after his breakdown. He had already been the cause of enough pain and suffering for those he cared about the most. So he would make a point to survive, to continue existing, for them, but he saw no need to boast about having circled the sun one more time. Not when his partner hadn’t circled it with him.

Suddenly he heard the door open. He wasn't expecting company, in fact he had specifically requested that no one visit him today. He didn't want to worry anyone but he also didn't want to face their feeble attempts at cheering him up, at making him feel special on the anniversary of his birth. He didn't want to see the sadness and pity in their eyes. They did their best to hide it, of course, but he knew it was there. He was a pitiful sight indeed. He wheeled himself around as fast as he could manage and drew his wand, not that it would do him much good in his current state, the bandages on his hands making his grip awkward. If it came to it, he didn't know if he'd even be able to defend himself and his home in the event of an unsavory intruder.

He recognized the footsteps instantly and pocketed his wand.

Of course she'd show up anyways. The nerve.

Dinah bloody Hecat.

He heard the door close and wheeled himself to greet his guest. He'd at least give her that courtesy. When the younger, now older looking woman appeared in his line of sight, he saw she had come armed with a large bag of groceries. She looked at him.

"You look like hell."

"Lovely to see you too."

Dinah walked right past him, heading straight for the kitchen. Aesop thought she might have walked straight into him if he hadn’t quickly wheeled himself backwards. He supposed he still retained some of his Auror reflexes even after everything.

Dinah set down her bag and started unloading everything, pulling out potatoes, carrots, parsnips, various herbs, a jar of broth, some dried mushrooms and a large piece of meat out of the bag. Aesop knew instantly that she had come here on someone else’s errand. She had never been much of a cook herself after all. Aesop however, recognized his mother’s venison stew when he saw it, even in its currently disassembled state. 

��Mum sent you, didn’t she."

It wasn't a question.

“She’s worried about you, Aesop. Especially today of all days”

“There’s nothing special about today. It’s just… a day”

“It’s your birthday, Aesop”

“Why does that even ma-“

Dinah dind't give him the time to finish, fixing him with a stare so intense, he had to stifle a tremble.

“It matters because 34 years ago your mother labored for about the same number of hours in order to bring you into this world. She then raised you along with your father until he was gone. Then she somehow found the strength to raise you AND provide for you by herself while grieving her own husband. It matters because she made sure you had everything you needed for your education, because she saw you through your Auror training AND career and earlier this year, she thought she’d be laying you to rest next to her husband instead of the other way around. So today, on the anniversary of your birth, even though YOU don’t want to see her, she STILL wanted to make sure you got to eat your favorite meal, so I am here, Aesop Theodore Sharp, on HER errand and I WILL see this through, even if I have to bind you to that infernal chair of yours and force feed you myself.”

Aesop pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew his mother deserved better than the worry he had put her through not just this year, but during his entire career as an Auror. And as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Dinah could, and would follow through with her threat. Hell, the woman could have taken him down at his peak, let alone the sorry state he currently found himself in.

"Dinah-"

"As I was saying, I'm not here to celebrate. I’m here to make sure you don't starve to death. Also this house needs tidying up… you know I'm always afraid of tripping over something or another when I visit you nowadays. My balance isn't the worst for someone my…well for someone with the body I have, but it's not getting any better"

It was easy for Aesop to forget that Dinah, while exhibiting a strong facade and with her fierce personality, still hadn’t fully made peace with her own career-ending injury. Although she had remade herself as Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, he knew this was not her first choice. He would have to remake himself in due time, the pension he received from the Ministry barely covering his living expenses, but he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet at least.

Dinah busied herself browning the meat for the stew when she addressed her friend once more.

"You need to bathe, Aesop, you smell quite terrible."

"I… it's been a few days."

"I can tell. Do you need my help or can you manage on your own?"

"I think I can manage."

“Good."

Aesop wheeled himself to his bedroom where he carefully got undressed and discarded his clothes in the now overflowing laundry bin. Well, it wasn’t exactly his bedroom, the room had originally served as a study, however, following his injury, ascending the flight of stairs that led to his bedroom was no longer an option, so his mother had conjured a bed and had attempted to make the room as cozy as she could. He appreciated her efforts, but it just wasn’t the same. Nothing was, come to think about it. 

With a towel around his body for some semblance of privacy, he slowly made his way to the bathroom and took the bandages off his hands. They looked a little better today, but he would still need to reapply that healing balm for another week according to the Healers at St Mungo’s. He sat on the bench that had been conjured in the shower and turned the water on. He carefully went through the now considerably lengthy ritual of lathering his hair and body, being careful not to irritate his hands too much. 

The scars on his leg and face used to be excruciating, however the passage of time as well as rigorous desensitization as part of his shower routine had made them almost painless to the touch. If only his blasted leg would have improved in the same manner he’d maybe have a shot at a fulfilling life. However, he had been told to get used to it, to “learn to live” with his injury. He could never get used to this. He would never get used to it. Perhaps there was something out there that could help him.

He put those thoughts aside and shut the water off, dried himself and opened the door leading to his hopefully temporary bedroom. He instantly noticed that the windows had been opened, a warm summer breeze gently blowing in the large bedroom. His bed had been made, the overflowing laundry bin had been emptied and there were clean, comfortable clothes laid out on his bed, next to the armchair he sat on while getting dressed. 

That woman truly was incorrigible. As he got dressed though, he realized how nice it felt to breathe the fresh summer air that was cleansing the room, as opposed to the stale air he had been inhaling ever since he had been discharged from St Mungo’s. He hadn’t been opening the windows at night like he used to before his injury. In that moment, he remembered how much he enjoyed it, though. Tonight he’d make a point to open his bedroom windows before turning in. He also realized how his shower, how the simple turned not-so-simple act of washing his body had put him in a slightly better mood. He applied the healing balm to his hands and bandaged them before making his way towards the door.

As Aesop left his bedroom, he could already smell the stew Dinah had prepared, which had just started to simmer. He could also smell the freshly brewed tea she had prepared. As he approached her, seated at the dining room table, the chair that would normally be next to her having been vanished in what he assumed was an invitation to join her, he noticed she had already poured them both a cup, and that she was currently poring over his mail, which had accumulated over the past week. He hadn’t bothered to sort through any of it since returning home.

“Still only cream in your tea?”

“Of course”

Dinah handed him his cup as well as a pile of letters

“These require your immediate attention”

“I’ll… make sure I deal with them, then”

Dinah handed him a quill, barely looking up from her organizing.

“No time like the present, Aesop.”

Aesop took the quill without argument and started filling out the various forms Dinah had given him. Applications for additional disability pay from the Ministry, tax forms, appeal letters to send to the Ministry requesting they cover the various experimental treatments he had received to attempt to heal his injury sustained in the line of duty. Once in awhile Dinah added a form or two to his workload, while sorting out the mail she deemed as rubbish.

“This one appears to be an offer letter fo work for the Auror recruitment program”

“They told me to 'take all the time I need' but they’re really hoping I don’t need time at all don’t they. That I’ll just bounce back, so to speak.”

“It would appear so”

Aesop sighed. “I’m not ready, Dinah. I can barely take care of myself at the moment. I can barely even walk from here to the front door of my own house. How could I-”

Dinah placed her hand on his

“You don’t have to accept the position right now, Aesop. I read the letter and they appear willing to wait for you to recover more before you’d-”

“I’m not sure I even want that job. I don’t think it would be right for me to take it”

“You can think about it later. For now, let’s get us some fresh air.”

Dinah stood up and made her way towards the side door, past the kitchen, where the stew she had prepared was still simmering. Aesop followed her outside. She sat on the stone bench closest to the house, overlooking the now quite unkempt garden. Aesop wheeled himself right next to her, a difficult feat on the uneven terrain. He really ought to get walking again, lest he spend the rest of his life confined to his house. They sat in comfortable silence.

“That stew does smell delicious. You did a great job.”

“Well, your mother was very clear in her instructions. All I did was follow.”

“You did so much more than that.”

“I know you’d have done the same for me. You did, in fact, if I remember correctly.” Aesop had been there for her when Dinah had been wounded on the job. He had been there at the hospital, and had helped her tremendously when she moved back to her home. He had even offered for her to move back in with him. They were no longer romantically involved, but he had still been ready to put his life and plans on pause to help her in any way he could. She had declined his kind offer but appreciated it nonetheless.

“Yes, well… that’s what friends are for, I suppose.”

They had been through so much together. A failed romantic relationship turned friendship for the ages. They had each seen each other at their worst and would eventually make peace with their respective situations, and see themselves at their best once more. For now, though, the present moment was all that existed.

"You know, you told me I'd hate you come September… you're going to try a lot harder to get me to that point."

"Term just ended. I have plenty more time now to be a thorn in your side."

Aesop chuckled, perhaps for the first time in a long time

"Thank you for being here today."

July 1st 1893

The last week of school flew by in front of Aesop’s eyes. Exams were done, and both teachers and students could breathe a sigh of relief. He had helped his sweetheart settle into the little house she rented at the edge of Hogsmeade throughout the last few days, her various books and tomes, the majority of her clothes, the little knick knacks and memorabilia she collected during her three years at Hogwarts. 

And, of course, the beasts. Some would be released back into the wild, as the poachers throughout the Highlands severely lessened in numbers, following this insane (former) Ravenclaw student crashing into their operations. A few more vulnerable ones would be found new homes, as would be the girl’s new apprenticeship at Brood and Peck, and some she simply wished to keep and care for herself. With Aesop’s help, they transfigured the inside of a large chest into something of a Sanctuary for the beasts his love would be keeping. Deek aided in their relocation, having a hard time saying goodbye to them. (F/N) had promised the elf he was welcome to visit them whenever he wanted.

The Seventh year’s ball rolled around, then graduation, then the teary-eyed departure of most of the students on the Hogwarts express. Aesop wouldn’t admit it, but he too had shed a few tears all those years ago, when he boarded that train for the last time. 

Today, however, was not a day for tears. It was Saturday, which meant his sweetheart had two more days to settle in and get her bearings before officially beginning her adult life and her new job. She usually woke up before him, but it seemed the turbulent few days left the young woman in a state of exhaustion. It was the first time she spent the night in her new abode, and Aesop graciously agreed to help her find  out if the bed was any good. 

Well, it definitely wasn’t as good as the bed he slept in at Hogwarts, nor the one in his own house, being softer than he was used to. However, he noted that his back wasn’t troubling him upon waking up, which was a small victory. Much bigger victory currently craddled in his arms. His beautiful young lover was curled into his side, her breathing soft and even, her hair matted and messy with sleep, and a bit of drool was dried upon her jowl. The potions master thought she looked like a dream come true. 

He took in his surroundings, the room was unfamiliar and had yet to be lived in, but it had every bit the potential to become a very cozy bedroom. The floors were straight and firm, the wallpapers pleasant to the eyes, the windows let in a lot of natural light. Speaking of the windows, they were currently open to let the fresh summer morning air in, and Aesop could hear the wizarding village waking up and coming to life. In a few hours, the streets would be filled with people enjoying what was looking to be a sunny Saturday. Aesop closed his eyes again with a content little hum, burrowing further into the light smooth sheets and his sweetheart’s arms.

It all still felt rather surreal, really. Every single night he went to bed with the lovely Ravenclaw, he expected to wake alone and realize it's all been nothing but a dream. And while he did wake up alone on quite a few mornings, it took only a few seconds for him to know that it certainly hadn't been a dream. There was the faint floral scent of his lover's perfume clinging to his sheets, to his pillows, to him. It was all around him in this intoxicating vapor, mingling with the cool air around him. There was sometimes a note, carefully folded upon one of the seats of the large leather sofa, directly in his field of view from the bed. There was the absence of the shirt he wore the previous day…

Even now, when she was resting in his arms, soft, warm and absolutely real, Aesop bit into his bottom lip to make sure it wasn't a dream. He was startled then, as a sudden loud sound came from outside, followed by some more commotion and the frustrated voice of Zonko's shopkeeper. Probably a firework gone haywire. The young girl stirred against him, groaning quietly.

"Good morning, you," Aesop said softly, a smile appearing on his face on its own accord. His beloved tilted her head and her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Aesop, and he felt his heart throb, when her own face stretched in a smile, her sleepy eyes immediately filled with love and devotion. She looked around the room then, an adorable little line between her eyebrows as she slowly began to realise she wasn't in Aesop's chambers, nor was she in her dorm. 

And then it hit her. The young woman released a breathy chuckle and her legs curled around one of Aesop's own. The potions master felt her warm cheek on his collarbone, he felt her hands caress his furry torso. It was then he had a little realisation himself - his sweetheart was also making sure she wasn't dreaming. And it was this knowledge that made him drop his head back onto the pillow, his eyes closing in bliss. 

“Good morning, Aesop,” she whispered before raising her head a little to place a kiss between his jaw and his chin. She released a soft sigh then, gently resting her forehead against his collarbone once more. Aesop’s heart beat loudly in his chest, and he was certain she knew it was only for her. “Merlin, it's so strange… no homework, no essays, no studying… so strange to wake up and know that I don’t have to do anything...” On her mouth was a content smile, very much reminding Aesop of a kneazle that got the cream. “Oh, yes,” he answered, voice light and teasing, “for exactly two days. Then off to work with you!” The girl snorted against his skin, and when she lifted her head again, Aesop was nearly certain she was keeping herself back from sticking out her tongue at him.

“Besides,” he continued, his large hands stroking over her sides and back, relishing at the feeling of her silky soft skin under his calloused fingertips, “don’t forget that you’re not in Hogwarts anymore. There are no house elves - you cook for yourself, clean after yourself, the full deal.” She was lazily twirling strands of his chest hair around her index finger, her face absolutely relaxed: “I can do that. I think. I can cook a little, and I tend to keep things tidy. It’s just… Well, my household spells are still a bit shabby. I think I’m going to get frustrated trying to wash the dishes using magic, and will end up just doing it by hand anyway.” Aesop chuckled, the girl atop his chest bouncing softly with the motion. “All in good time,” he said, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and just like everything else, household spells need to be practiced in order to be perfected. I can help you with that.”

They lay in the girl’s bed, legs entwined, just enjoying the calm summer morning. “What will you be doing, by the way, now that you’ve no classes to teach and school work to grade for the next two months?” She inquired curiously. “Me? Oh, I’ll be staying in your bed every day, teasing you that you have to go to work!” the potions master grinned and promptly received a playful smack to the chest. “No, no. I still have some unfinished things at Hogwarts, not to mention my trunk’s still in my chambers, terribly unpacked, I'm afraid. There’s several teacher meetings during the summer as well. I’ll be brewing potions for the hospital wing throughout the two months so that it’s all stocked up for the following term. I'll be revising the curriculum - though I hardly ever make changes to it - and I also need to tidy up the house a bit. It does get dusty after ten months. However, that all can wait. It can definitely wait for the two free days.”

And so Aesop Sharp and (F/N)(L/N) spent the beautiful July day simply enjoying their freedom and their company. The young woman insisted on preparing their breakfast by hand, and while it was ‘just’ scrambled eggs and some toast, Aesop was certain they were the best scrambled eggs he’d ever eaten, simply because they were prepared by her and he was able to enjoy them in her company alone. 

Afterwards he showed her how to properly clean the dishes with magic, starting with a single teacup. They picked up and cleaned the singular dishes back and forth, until everything was clean. A single flick of Aesop’s wand summoned a towel from a hook, which promptly began drying the dishes clean. Another flick, and the dry ones floated to their respective spaces and stored themselves. With a smile, he observed his young lover’s awed expression. “No worries,” he promised, “you’ll have perfected it before the year is done.”

They decided to go for a little stroll along the banks of the Black lake later, talking softly, basking in the sunlight. Aesop, whose entire wardrobe was still at Hogwarts, chose to only wear his trousers, shirt and waistcoat, opting to leave his jacket and overcoat behind, as it was entirely too warm to wear them. He still applied a little cooling charm on all articles of his clothing for comfort. When his sweetheart got dressed, he realised that it really had not been often he saw her out of her uniform or her adventuring ensembles. He certainly couldn’t wait to remedy that, he thought, as he observed the dress she chose for their outing. It was light, sleek and simple, and it complimented all of her curves perfectly. She saw him staring and actually twirled for him with a wink. Little minx.

Aesop offered his arm to her, and his heart squeezed tightly at the display of emotion he saw in her eyes when she immediately accepted it. They walked all the way to the spot she brought him during their late night hippogriff flight. “You know, back then I had to use all of my energy not to just turn my head and kiss you,” (F/N) laughed quietly, a small blush on her cheeks. Aesop grinned and looked towards the dark, murky water, remembering that spring night. He could almost see the memory in front of his eyes. His sweetheart skipping stones at the shore, him standing behind her, longing.

A shuffle next to him brought him out of his thoughts. The young woman was currently pulling off her summer dress, baring the skin of her legs. “What are you doing?” he asked, eyes as big as saucers. Normally, her taking off her clothes would get nothing but positive feedback from him, however, seeing as they were out in the open, in broad daylight, he very much doubted the woman had some tender fun on her mind right now. She grinned at him giddily as she finally managed to escape the fabric and folded it haphazardly. She disposed of it on the same boulder he leaned against over a year ago, her shoes already sitting on it, and, with a wink, began running towards the water, in nothing but her chemise and drawers. 

“No way…” the potions master shook his head, even as the corners of his mouth began twitching. And then, with a single tiny squeal, (F/N) threw herself head first into the Black lake. He was smiling fully now, finding her youthful playfulness and unadulterated joy incredibly endearing. He walked closer to the water’s edge. His sweetheart emerged a second later, drenched from head to toe, grinning wildly. She was slightly flushed from the cold, but otherwise looked in utmost bliss.

“I hope you don’t expect me to jump in after you,” he said wryly, crossing his arms over his chest. The woman laughed with all the meriness of a child. She swam closer to the shore for a bit, so that she could stand while she pushed her wet hair out of her face: “Honestly, I was rather hoping you would, but I’m not going to force you. Although I’m telling you, you’re missing out!” And with that, she leaned back and began idly floating on her back. 

Aesop looked at her form. The white chemise was clinging to her body, her skin showing through the wet material. Dropping the cooling charm he put on his clothes, he noticed just how hot the day turned. Suddenly the water seemed all the more appealing. He admired the curves of his lover’s body, his hands already itching to trace them as he unconsciously pulled at his own clothes. He knew she was watching him out of the corner of her eye, actually saw her roll her eyes a little as he conjured a small leather holster for his wand and tied it around his bony ankle and shin. 

She rolled around to look at him fully when he took a step after step towards the water. Despite the hot weather, the water was cold, and it nipped at his skin, but Aesop didn’t let that stop him. Another step. The water was now at his calves, then knees, and getting higher. He winced slightly when he was half submerged, baling his hands into fists as he battled the cold. But then he saw her little smirk, the challenge still shining in her eyes. With a huff, Aesop dived under the water. The sudden shock his body experienced was quickly overcome when he saw his sweetheart’s legs underwater, kicking slowly to keep her afloat. 

He grabbed her just above her knees and rose above the surface. He faintly heard her little squeal before a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and her playful eyes connected with his own. Her legs found purchase around his waist and he released them in favour of curling his own arms around her waist. He stared triumphantly into her eyes for a moment, before chasing her lips in a very wet and a little cold kiss, prompting a happy humming sound from his beloved.

Aesop was done with missing out.

It was late afternoon when they returned to (F/N)'s new abode. They spent the better part of the day by the water, swimming, playing, and simply relaxing. While his sweetheart busied herself with conjuring up a blanket for them to sit on on the bank, Aesop cast just a few protective wards around them, so that they could enjoy themselves in solitude and safety. He couldn't even remember the last time he's had a day like this. They swam, they rested on the blanket, they swam some more. It was so simple, and yet Aesop's heart was fluttering with absolute contentment. Once they dried themselves, got dressed, vanished the blanket and dropped the wards, they simply apparated back to the little house. The potions master prepared a dinner for them with magic, since they were both starving by the time they arrived.

His sweetheart watched in amazement as some of the various food items she brought over to her new home the previous day floated about, cut themselves up perfectly and arranged themselves around a small baking dish. Chicken legs with roasted vegetables it was. Within just a few seconds, their food was ready, looking amazing and smelling even better. They ate their fill in a comfortable silence until: "You know, this is spectacular, and I'd surely like to learn how to do it," she said quietly, "however, I actually quite enjoy cooking by hand." Aesop chuckled, piercing a baked potato onto his fork: "So do I. Many people do, this is just quick and convenient. And while it tastes alright, you'd be moaning at the taste was I to prepare it by hand," he spoke confidently. His young lover giggled into her food: "You can still make me moan tonight, if you want to."

Aesop very much wanted to.

Later, as they were coming down from their highs, snuggled perfectly in each other's arms, the professor took some time to reflect. He really could not remember the last time he had such an amazing birthday… he tended to even forget he had one, not having celebrated it since that fateful day twelve years ago. But today, despite his sweetheart not knowing that on this day, 45 years ago, Aesop Theodore Sharp took his first breath, she very much made him feel like the birthday boy.

He cuddled up even closer to her, his strong arms squeezing her frame, still hot from their previous activity. His lips found hers in a deep kiss and afterwards, the professor rested his forehead against her own, breathing the same air as her. "I want to thank you…" he said quietly, only for her ears to hear, "this was the best birthday I've had in years."

He could feel her body tensing immediately. "Today's your birthday?" she asked, raising her head to look at him. Her beautiful eyes were wide and filled with panic: "Why didn't you tell me? I don't- I don't even have a present for you." He quickly pulled her up for a kiss, stroking her back in a calming matter. "I haven't celebrated my birthday for a long time... And as for a present - why, you already gave it to me!" His sweetheart fixed him with a curious gaze and Aesop sighed: "To be able to hold you, kiss you, love you… this entire day was the greatest gift I could've asked for. To have your heart in my hands, that is the most precious thing I've ever been given." 

The young woman sighed as well, and wrapped her delicate arms around him, nuzzling into his neck momentarily before raising her head up again, a brilliant smile on her face, a smile of love, devotion and incredible joy: "Still, we should celebrate. You deserve a day to be spoiled rotten!" 

"You are already spoiling me rotten!"

"Hah, I try to, but we should still celebrate. Let me take you to the Three Broomsticks tomorrow for a meal. We can have a good bite, champagne, who knows, perhaps Sirona will be able to get us a cake!"

Aesop chuckled, his cheeks warming up somewhat. It was strange - the idea of actually celebrating his birthday after he hadn't done so for so long. However, as strange as it felt, he could already feel the pleasurable tickling of anticipation. "Alright…" he breathed then, "if you want to. But know that I would've been happy enough to just spend the day in your company." 

His sweetheart fixed him with an intense gaze, her eyes sincere: "I want to. Because I finally can. We spent so much time sneaking around, I long to finally be able to show how I feel openly. I want to grab your hand in mine when we walk together, I yearn to be able to kiss and hold you whenever I wish. And I really want to celebrate that on this day, the most incredible man was born. I don't know what I'd do without you here. Perhaps I wouldn't be here myself, if you hadn't gone to the Astronomy tower that day. You are an exceptionally beautiful existence, Aesop Sharp, and your birthday should be celebrated."

The potions master swallowed heavily, willing away the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. Her confession shook him to his core, and, in that moment, there was nothing he wanted more than to hold her in his arms. Aesop truly did not think he'd ever celebrate his birthday again. Since Ashley's death, he really thought that he wasn't entitled to do so. But perhaps his sweetheart hadn't been entirely wrong. Perhaps him saving her life tipped the scales a little. If Ashley could see him now… well, she'd probably smack his shoulder very hard and tell him to pull his head out of his arse and seize the chance he's been given, like a proper Slytherin would. In that moment, he felt a sense of peace wash over him, and his breathing slowly evened out.

"Alright, my sweet," he said only, as her face once more nuzzled into his shoulder, more than content to stay there. Aesop breathed out slowly, his arms wrapping around the young woman's body in a protective manner.

The room was dark and Aesop could hear sounds of the village outside falling asleep. He could hear faint music coming from the Three Broomsticks, and he heard silent voices caught in a conversations, as their owners passed by the little house. The air smelled sweet with the sun having warmed it the entire day. Aesop closed his eyes, basking in the feeling of love, of comfort.

The next day, his sweetheart did exactly as she promised. She walked with him into the Three Broomsticks, hand in hand, looking proud and happy. She kissed him out in the open, before they even opened the door to the pub, absolutely uncaring to whoever saw them. The look she gave him afterwards… Aesop realised that she did want to do that for some time. That the fact that she was his own filled her with pride. That the young woman, who defeated a troll during the first week of her studies, willingly gave her heart to one ex-Auror potions professor. In a moment of giddy madness, Aesop grabbed her around the waist, dipped her ever so slightly, and snogged the living daylights out of her.

"Are you quite done? Your stew's getting cold," came the voice of Sirona Ryan, who was leaning against the doorframe with a mischievous look in her eyes. Aesop fixed his sweetheart with a curious look. 

"I may have written to professor Hecat to ask what's your favourite food when you were still sleeping," she admitted with a shy smile, "and I also may have written to Sirona, asking her to prepare it for you, as well as get us a cake afterwards." Sirona watched the scene unfold before her eyes, a big smile on her face: "Happy birthday, Professor Sharp." "Thank you, Sirona." 

It truly seemed his life was to be filled with strong-willed and strong-minded women. He was quite the lucky man.

July 1st 1908 

It was morning in the Sharp household and a summer breeze gently blew through the open window of Mr and Mrs Sharp's bedroom. The gentle sound of birds chirping could be heard but didn't wake the occupants of the bedroom, currently soundly asleep in each other's arms. A sound did manage to rouse Mrs Sharp though. The pitter patter of little feet and the creaking of floorboards. 

Someone was awake. Actually, judging by the sound of it, more than one of the children was on the move. She knew the children had been looking forward to surprising their father with breakfast in bed for his birthday, but she hadn't managed to piece together much more than that. She didn't know what they were planning to prepare, and thought it would probably be best if she made her way downstairs to assist or, at the very least, supervise.

As gently as she could, she tried to extricate herself from her husband's grip without waking him up. It was still early and she wanted to let him sleep for a little bit. Aesop had other plans though, having been woken by his wife's feeble attempt at leaving their shared bed. 

"Where do you think you're going, darling?"

He pulled her towards him and held her close, her back completely flush against his front. She could feel his morning arousal as he kissed her neck. 

"You weren't just going to leave me to wake up by myself, today of all days."

He continued gently nipping at her neck, his fingers drawing lazy patterns on her skin. With a sigh, she melted into his embrace and he took the opportunity to gently turn her on her back, moving his hands along her body and moving his kisses to her collarbones, her body semi-trapped underneath his large frame.

It had taken some number of years, but eventually (F/N) had managed to convince her husband that his birthday was a day that deserved to be celebrated, and he eventually got to enjoy being the center of attention for just this one day a year. Perhaps a little too much at times! It seemed as though he was already quite eager to unwrap his birthday present from her.

This morning, though, as much as she enjoyed the way his kisses and touch were slowly lighting her body on fire, as much as she wanted to give in and give him what he wanted, what they both wanted, she knew she needed to make her way downstairs, before their children would have the chance to set fire to the kitchen. However the feeling of her husband's very experienced hands making their way towards her more sensitive areas, the knowledge that his mouth would soon follow, was enough to make her momentarily forget about the possible disaster that she would find downstairs should she choose to indulge her husband.

"Aesop I-"

"Hmmm"

Aesop knew what he was doing. He trailed kisses down her abdomen and she knew then and there that she had lost the battle. She'd deal with the chaos later. Right now there was only one person that existed in the world and that person was about to…

CLANG!

The loud sound coming from the kitchen put an instant end to the couple's morning's activities, their arousal instantly replaced with concern. Concern for the structural integrity of their home, as well as the safety of its occupants. Aesop begrudgingly made his way back up to the head of the bed.

"I should go investigate that."

"Probably a good idea. Let's go see what the rascals are up to now."

"YOU are going to stay right here, sir, and act surprised when the children bring you whatever it is they planned on making you for your birthday breakfast. I will go downstairs and make sure we still have a house by the time they're done."

Aesop gave her a mock pout as his wife quickly got herself dressed for the morning.

"Don't worry, love. I'll make sure you get to unwrap your birthday present… after the rascals are in bed."

One quick kiss from his wife before she swiftly left the room and quietly closed the door.

Aesop heard his older son speak right outside the bedroom door, he had probably been on the way to ask for his mother's help with whatever it was the children had planned.

"Is he still asleep, Mum?"

His wife whispered

"Still sound asleep, dear."

"Brilliant!"

"Shhhhhh"

Eleazar lowered his voice

"Right. Quiet"

"Let's get downstairs"

Down they went and Aesop was left with his thoughts. He could hear the faint buzzing of his family in the kitchen, his wife no doubt deferring to their children's plans for his breakfast and letting them do as much as they were able to manage on their own. He remembered his birthday breakfast in bed from the previous year with fondness. A half burnt over-salted omelet along with biscuits (slightly undercooked), tea (weak) and a bowl of strawberries he ended up having to surrender to his 3 year old twins. It had been quite unpalatable, but seeing the pride in his children's eyes when they had told him they had cooked everything themselves had made the meal the best birthday breakfast he had ever had. He knew the children would outdo themselves this year.

He had been a father for a whole decade by now, but sometimes he still couldn't believe that the rambunctious bunch that was currently being supervised by his darling wife, those four bundles of joy and chaos, were his. That this was his life now. He had known as a young man that he wanted children and had given up on this dream at one point of his life. He had never expected though, that he could love these four little people as much as he did.

He was pulled out of his reverie by the smell of bacon. Wonderful, he thought, one can only mess up bacon so much! He knew his family would enter the bedroom any minute now to “wake him up” so Aesop laid down on his side of the bed, turned away from the door and closed his eyes. He heard the door creak open.

“He’s still sleeping”

“Shhhhh”

“Wait, no we need to wake him up!”

“I can do it!”

“Alright dear but be gentle”

“Okay Mum”

“Thedodore don’t jump on-”

Aesop felt the bed dip and braced himself for what he was sure was an incoming tackle from a rambunctious four year old.

“Hmphhh”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!”

“My birthday isn’t until next week Theodore”

The boy stood up and looked at his mother in confusion

“He’s just pulling your leg, dear”

“That’s right, I’m just” Aesop physically tugged at his son’s legs, causing him to land flat on his back on the soft bed and dissolve in a fit of giggles “messing with you!”

The former professor looked at his family. Everyone was still in their pajamas, some of his children's clothes bearing the proof of their efforts in making his breakfast, little spots of dried batter the most evident. Both his daughters' hair were still in the braids he had woven the previous evening, now with stray strands sticking out in odd directions from their slumber. Theodore obviously hadn't brushed his hair yet, while Eleazar looked as put together as he usually did, wearing a light dressing gown and bearing the least bits of Aesop's breakfast on his clothes. He caught his wife's eyes - they were shining with pride. She was, of course, completely clean, her silky dressing gown as pristine as it had been before she left the bedroom. 

Four pairs of his own brown eyes stared up at him with excitement and anticipation, and Aesop felt his heart swell when he saw the perfect mix of himself and his wife in each of their beautiful children.

Maggie approached her father with a tray.

“We made you breakfast in bed!”

Aesop took a look at the tray from his daughter and from what he could see, the children HAD outdone themselves. He was right about the bacon, there were also scrambled eggs, pancakes, a lovely fruit salad, a cup of tea, and a small bowl filled with chocolate chips. 

“I cooked the eggs and the bacon and I tried to flip the first pancake, but it didn’t turn out nice, so we tossed it, then Mum helped me make the second one but the one on top I did all by myself!”

“That’s wonderful Maggs.”

“And (F/N) and Theo were in charge of mixing the fruit salad and filling the chocolate chips.” 

“That salad looks expertly mixed, thank you. Eleazar, what did you do to help?”

“I measured out everything for the pancake batter AND I brewed the tea. I even used the scales like you taught me!” 

Eleazar spoke with great pride. Last year his father had started to teach him the basics of potionmaking and the lad had taken to the craft like a fish to water. Aesop took a sip of his tea.

“That’s some very good tea, Thank you Eleazar”

The boy beamed.

The twins each sat on one side of him and Aesop made sure to grab himself a handful of chocolate chips before the inevitable happened and he’d have to surrender the sweets to his youngest children. 

“Alright, everyone, let’s let Dad eat his breakfast in peace now. Then we can all have fun. Shop’s closed today so we get to keep Dad all to ourselves for the day.”

(F/N) herded the children out of the bedroom and handed Aesop what was left of his little bowl of sweets. 

“Enjoy your food, darling, I’ll get the little ones dressed then we can do whatever it is you’d like.”

She gave him a kiss before leaving the room. Aesop was pleased to find out that everything had been seasoned well this year, most likely due to Eleazar’s precise measurement of ingredients. Once his breakfast had been eaten, Aesop got dressed and did his morning hygiene before joining his family downstairs, empty tray in hand. The weather seemed nice, perhaps they could go to the beach for a picnic and a swim.

The potions master walked into the kitchen, which actually bore less signs of the breakfast preparation than his children's clothes did. No doubt his wife's prompt work with a wand. His eyes were caught by the sight of many moving photographs displayed on a shelf. Aesop stopped for a moment, looking at the pictures fondly. The photo with Ashley taken 28 years ago on this very day was proudly standing among other happy photos. There was a picture of him and his wife on their wedding day, grinning at each other,  both looking incredible as well as incredibly in love. His sweetheart still looked at him this way, even 12 years after that beautiful June day, and he knew he did as well. There were the newer pictures, his children at various ages, from mere babies and toddlers, to a very recent photo of Maggie holding a very fluffy Puffskein. And then, there were some older ones, too. A moving photo of young Aesop, taken the day he got into the Auror program, looking proud and confident, as well as a single completely still photo of his dear wife, taken by a Muggle camera.

Aesop deposited the tray into the sink and with a flick of his wand, the dishes got to cleaning themselves. His wife walked towards him and put her arms around his abdomen, pressing herself against his back.

“You’re not supposed to be doing any dishes today.”

“It’s nothing, besides you already have your hands full with the children.”

“They can take care of themselves… mostly.”

Aesop turned around to face his wife. They had circled the sun many times together but she still looked as young and beautiful as the day he married her.

“I was thinking I’d like to take everyone to the coast for lunch, let the children play in the water.”

“Only the children?”

“I suppose we could also go for a dip, for old time’s sake.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

He leaned in and captured her lips in a quick kiss, before being interrupted by Maggie and Eleazar. 

"Dad, how old are you turning?" Aesop decided not to volunteer that information. The former teacher in him made him want to make his children work for the answer.

"Well let's see. I was born in the year 1848 and this is the year 1908."

The children to looked at their mother "Don't look at me, you know how to subtract."

The two eldest rushed to find the nearest quill and parchment and got to work, eager to get an answer to their burning question. 

Aesop let out a sigh. He was hitting a milestone today. "Oh come on, dear. If it makes you feel any better you don't look a day over fifty."

Aesop chuckled and pulled his wife close. "Thank you. It's strange, though. I don't feel old. Merlin knows I feel better now than I did for most of my thirties. My life significantly improved in my forties"

“I wonder what happened then”

“I met this incredible woman, you see, got to know her, fell in love with her, somehow she decided she’d entrust her heart to me. Sometimes I still don’t understand what she saw in an old cripple but - don’t give me that look, that’s what I was at the time - in any case, loving her was what turned my life around for the better. And now we have these incredible-”

“SIXTY!”

Both parents chuckled. “Well done, you two.” “That’s… six times as old as I am!” “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that Magdala Dinah Sharp”

Later that day, the family of six found themselves at the beach, all four children playing in the water, both older siblings keeping an eye on the younger children whose swimwear had been enchanted to keep them afloat. Aesop and (F/N) sat on a blanket basking in the sunlight and taking in the scene.

The gentle rocking of waves filled the air around with a soft fizzing sound, broken by the cries of seagulls. Aesop could hear other birds singing from somewhere behind them in the trees. The sounds of nature combined with the giddy squeals and chattering of his children was like a symphony of absolute peace in Aesop's ears. He looked at his beloved, and saw her eyes reflecting the same utter contentment that was held in his own.

A thought crossed Aesop's mind and with a mischievous smile, he whispered in his wife’s ear “I’ll bet you a kiss I can beat you to the water”

She looked at him, her smile matching his own “Hmm I don't know… I wouldn't want to make you look bad on your birthday” she teased, but standing up as to indicate she accepted his challenge "We'll see about that…" the potions master teased back

The children watched with amusement as both their parents suddenly broke into a full blown sprint towards the sea when suddenly a faint “pop” was heard and Aesop disappeared, immediately appearing in the water, a few meters behind the children.

“You cheat!”

“We never said apparition wasn’t allowed” Aesop swam over to the children who were all giggling. (F/N) finished making her way towards the water before taking a few steps in. Once she was able to, she dove in and swam over to meet the rest of the family.

“I’ll be claiming that kiss now”

“You cheated. I think that kiss is mine to claim”

“As you wish”

Aesop made his way over to his wife, gently kissed her lips before moving around her and wrapping his arms around her waist, both of them watching the children resume their play, Eleazar and Maggie having apparently decided on a little swimming race of their own as the twins tried to keep up.

“Thank you.”

“Whatever for?”

“For today. For every day we get to spend together.”

A few days from then, Aesop and (F/N) would celebrate his birthday once more, sans children, in a private room at the Three Broomsticks surrounded by their close friends. Today, though, Aesop couldn’t imagine spending the day in better company. 

Years had passed since the incident that took his partner’s life and nearly took his own. Years had passed since the simple task of making it through the day appeared monumental. Years had passed since he had made the decision that another circle around the sun wasn’t something to celebrate but rather something to feel guilt over. Today however, he felt nothing but gratitude for those who had pulled him out of the abyss where he once dwelled, who had patiently walked beside him, and who had lifted him higher than he ever thought possible, so high, in fact, he swore he could touch the stars.

Fin.

@aesopsharpmybeloved: I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this story, and I'd especially like to thank @tea-withjamandbread who wrote with me. Being able to read the wonderful words she used and build this story (that I frankly love and will re-read many times myself) has meant so much to me and brought me a lot of joy. To everything we'll yet create together! &lt;3 -Tess

This story is also be available on AO3. We'll be very grateful for any feedback!

[skellebonez]

A Trip For Two?

The final fic for @lunar-wandering's Monkie Destiny Challenge! I WAS doing 8 prompts per "week", sometimes using both prompts per day and sometimes just one. This one includes:

... a lot fdkjgfdkslj. I was only able to implement a few random ones.

Happy Halloween!

AO3 Link!

“I can't believe you convinced me to do this,” Pigsy said with a grunt, hand held against the wall as he followed it toward their destination through the pitch black darkness.

“I can't believe you agreed to it only the second time I asked,” Tang countered, a soft excited but nervous laugh echoing softly.

To be fair, Pigsy had always wanted to try one of these escape rooms. He just never got around to finding the time or the right one close enough to give it a shot. Why Tang wanted to go to a murder mystery themed one specifically was easy enough, he wanted to give all his recent extra study focus a new target.

He’d been extra focused ever since the incident with Azure, no more cramming at the last second for anything. Granted, he DID change up his method of study from the one that Shifu Subodhi had him work with, but this new one seemed to work better for him in the long run when balancing the rest of his life duties. Heck, he’d even applied himself to helping Pigsy research different methods of cooking ingredients to elevate his noodles even further.

But he’d also been getting antsy. Not just because of any reason related to his studies, though he was getting more and more frustrated with not “having a better fitting challenge” every so often, antsy with all the stuff going on around them. The constant endangerment, new enemies at every corner, new powers he seemed to continue to need to master and experiment. He thought they needed something that Pigsy hadn’t had in decades.

A vacation.

So, of course, Tang figured he could kill two birds with one stone. An escape room meant a challenge he could meet head on. And this one was offering a prize to anyone who could beat it within a certain time limit. One romantic getaway for two in Guilin, where Tang promised to take him to the Yulong river when they win this.

Tang was overwhelmingly positive they would.

Pigsy had… reservations.

“Tang, you know I’ve never been good with riddles,” Pigsy protested with a snorting laugh.

“No, but you ARE good at problem solving in other ways!” Tang boasted as he looked their pamphlet over. “I’ve seen you somehow manage to Tetris in all those ingredients in your supply cabinet for the shop.”

“That’s just work brain.”

“Well your work brain and my school brain may be brilliant enough to solve this challenge and get us that romantic getaway prize.”

Pigsy couldn’t help the soft smile that crept on his face at Tang’s boasting. It was sweet, how much confidence he had in the two of them.

But Pigsy also knew that as brilliant as he knew Tang to be… he also got stuck on the crossword puzzle on the city’s homepage last week. Three letter word for mirthful.

The answer way “gay”.

They were, probably, doomed. But at least this would be fun!

Pigsy chose to believe that as they finally reached the doorway at the end of the hall, Tang eagerly opening the door to allow them inside the main escape room.

The room wasn't terribly big, all things considered. Roughly the size of the entire dining area and kitchen of Pigsy’s, it was styled like a typical western study one might see in a mansion in an American movie. If it was horribly ransacked and clearly burgled, and also meant to look possibly Haunted. If the old stains and spider webs and the creepy doll on a shelf by the exit were any indication.

So Pigsy had to give the Escape Room crew points for detail! Just crowded enough to look realistic, but not so crowded it would make the game too hard to complete at all. But it did make it clear why this room took over the prize time limit to complete for most participants. Even he was a little overwhelmed and wondering where they should start looking in all of the clutter around them.

It didn't take long for them to find the first clue, or to solve it. Ironically, it seemed like this particular one was timed and they just had to wait a moment for the TV to come on to find the next clue. In fact... most of the clues in the room seemed to come easy to them.

Right until the 6th clue, a note in a vase lead them to a riddle on the wall and, quite frankly, it made no sense.

“I made quick work of the mountain chicken to hide my motive.”

Pigsy didn’t know what the hell this clue could have meant. If a mountain chicken wasn’t a chicken… what the fuck was it? Some other kind of bird? A lizard? A salamander?

“It’s a frog,” Tang said confidently.

“How in the world did you know a mountain chicken is a frog?”

“I didn’t,” Tang said with a shrug. “But this reference book fell off the shelf and the bookmarked page was for that frog. It’s probably meant to be a clue for people who don’t know that already, it falling saved us a LOT of time!”

Yeah… just like how the TV coming on via a supposed timer gave them the clue earlier…

Was this game rigged?

... couldn't be.

But, somehow, it was right there. A broken statue of a frog that looked exactly like the Mountain Chicken in Tang's reference book. And hidden inside one of the cracks was a torn slip of newspaper, revealing who Pigsy assumed must have been the culprit and their motive for this little murder mystery.

“Hey Tang?”

“Yes, Pigsy?”

“Hasn't this seemed a little... too easy?” The chef asked, eyebrow raised in confusion.

“I think we've just gotten really lucky,” Tang said with a smile. “And we HAVE had to puzzle out all but two of the clues ourselves anyway. We're also still really close to the end time and we have one clue left...” Pigsy hummed, nodding as he realized Tang was right. They may have gotten everything pu t together, but they only had 5 minutes to put the clues together in the correct order in the little computer next to the exit door. They were still going to have to work fast to win this challenge.

As they rushed over to the computer he couldn't help but see Tang's wide smile. He was so EXCITED at the idea of winning this. Was he just happy that he could win something that he had to solve? Or was he happy that he was possibly going to win a romantic getaway with his husband? Pigsy didn't know...

But as long as Tang smiled like that? He found he didn't really care either way. He just wanted him to smile more.

“OK, so we have to put this together like... oh gosh, it's Cludo,” Tang said with a laugh. “We have to put all this stuff in like a Cludo answer but with more steps.”

“Well that's easy!” Pigsy said with a laugh. “Mr…uh… what was his name?”

“Chandler.”

“Yeah, Chandler!”

“AH, right, Mr. Chandler stole the study key and killed Mr. Doe -aka Mr. Bennet-, in the kitchen with poison and moved him to the study to make it look like the owner of the mansion did it since only he had the key!” Tang said triumphantly. “Great job, Pigsy!”

He smiled wide, turning around to grab Pigsy and plant a passionate kiss on his lips and-

Wait…

Pigsy pulled back from the kiss as the exit door opened, looking at Tang in confusion.

“I… I didn't remember his name,” he said softly.

“… I didn't either,” Tang admitted, looking around in confusion.

“Then who-”

“You're going to miss your deadline,” the mystery voice said again. From high up. And when they looked up they noticed the creepy doll on the shelf had moved, turning to stare down at them with blank glassy eyes. “… run.”

Pigsy and Tang ran faster out of that room than they ever had before. So fast they didn't notice the giggle and the soft whisper of “I hope they like their vacation” they emanated from the room before the door closed behind them.

They did, by the way.

Even if they were very cautious of escape rooms after that.

[benkyoutobentou]

31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day Two

Before: Alright, I think I should show you my manga tracking sheet. I don't actually have any organization for my unread Japanese novels, but I have a tbr shelf for my English novels and the aforementioned Sheet for my manga. Also, I should be going to pick up (guess what) (take a guess) (yeah okay you guessed it) more books today! I should have a package at the post office today, if I don't I'll cry because it should have been sitting there for a few days and that's way too much manga to lose in the mail. Yes you will be getting a haul photo. And how much did I spend on it total? Less than ten USD. I only paid shipping! The internet is a very wonderful place with many wonderful people.

I usually don’t have a whole lot of time to read on Saturdays because I’m running errands all day, but I’m hoping to finish another chapter of No. 6 (I did finish a chapter last night!). This next chapter is shorter than usual for this series (about thirty pages as opposed to around fifty) so hopefully I will be able to get some manga reading in today as well. I’m fully expecting to keep saying that and not reading any manga until I finish this book.

After: As expected and as usual, my reading time was pretty condensed today and have only read for a total of one hour and eight minutes. Like yesterday, though, I'm planning on reading for around another hour before bed to finish up this chapter. I'm about halfway through, so that puts me on track for that timeline.

As you saw, my manga did come in today! It’s the two stacks on their sides. Where you see them is where they’re staying. I planned to go to Ikea today to get height extensions for my bookcases, but they were out of stock. :') They were in stock last weekend and last time I bought a bookcase, I had to wait probably three weeks for it to come in. I love how the only Ikea in my area never stocks anything. Anyways, my new manga tracking sheet is so ridiculous, now you see why I need this challenge. If you see any favorites on the list that I should get to sooner rather than later, feel free to bully me into reading it :3c

I also had another package that was less expected; my Notebook Therapy notebook came in! I've been waiting on this for two weeks now, and I can finally start studying ASL now that I have it! Unfortunately, I doubt I actually will, because this upcoming week for me is going to be insanely busy.

The day’s final update: I didn’t end up finishing the chapter, but at this point I’d rather sleep. The next chapter is also on the shorter side so hopefully it won’t be too much of an issue to fit these extra pages in there. Also, as an established No. 6 fan, I know that this chapter is going to end with a hugely important revelation for Shion, so I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t have the time to finish it. But it’s something to look forward to for tomorrow!

For today’s totals, I read twenty pages in an hour and twenty seven minutes. That’s 4.3 minutes per page, which is pretty much exactly what I clocked yesterday as well. At least I’m consistent!

[echonidae]

a buncha headshot portraits! three out of five portraits, i'm finishing up the last two c: the sketches here are from way back in august/september, and i fiddled with them for some weeks on end trying to make Something out of them, then proceeded to frustratedly shelf the lot of them away. so it's nice to see at least these three all finished up now :') and they were really nice to work on too ;v;

but ohoho okay, this is a lot of announcements in one single post, so bear with me a moment :3c here's a tl;dr first: 1) headshot portraits as a new commission option maybe? :0ccc 2) commissions are opening again on monday, jan. 23rd! 3) separate commission info webpage for reading convenience (particularly for folks on mobile) 4) commission rules changes: payment in full & upfront, rather than half-and-half 5) two-slots-per-person rule will be no more and folks are free to send as many orders as they want, but any ones after the second will go into the queue instead 6) also a small change with unoccupied queue slots

the rest is under the readmore :')

so, i've been thinking about adding this sort of portrait as a commission option!! fairly simple compositions but fully rendered (because i darn love painting so much; cellshading is nice and all, but coloring it all in one layer is just... heart-eyes), on the big 2600px to 3800px canvases as well c: and i'm thinking of pricing commissions like these at 28 USD (feels like a good price but i'm accepting feedback on that — the point was to add something that's just straight up fully-rendered, but for the lower end of the pricetable, and the limitations of a headshot portrait feel fitting enough on both sides ;v; )

also portraits like these are fairly quick to draw, so the turnaround time would be fairly short! add to it that 1) these are fun, 2) i could use focusing on just the face and expressions rather than elaborate poses and all, 3) portraiture lighting my beloved, and 4) these are painted, and don't take forever to figure out or paint. :D but yeah, let me know what you think of the headshot portrait option!! would you folks be interested in something like this? :0c

and now hold on a moment, i have more things to say!! xD

commissions are reopening monday, jan. 23rd, at the usual 5pm BRT (UTC -3:00)!

6 active slots (previously known as regular slots; can't believe it's taken me years to figure out a better way of calling these orz), as well as another 24 slots on queue. these will remain open until further notice; money's tight right now, hence the lack of closing date :')

there should be plenty of slots either way tho, so no rush at all! but i apologize for the super short notice orz

also, i went and got all the commission info on a separate webpage on wix instead. here you go!

should be easier to access and read through stuff, particularly on mobile — or at least i sincerely hope it is, please leave me feedback if you can!!! let me know if you encounter Problems, i've looked and combed through every bit of these four (4) pages but i might have missed stuff still, pretty please let me know if you run into any Issues! ;-;

but yeah, the website has all the rules and info and all the different options as well, with extra examples and all. on monday, you'll also be able place orders directly through there, i made a little form and all c': technically the form is already there but pls don't send requests yet, i can't reserve slots ahead of time!

also also, and these are the last things i've got to say, i promise (and thank you if you've read this far!),

a couple commission rules are changing!

1) from this new batch onwards, i'll be charging commissions in full & upfront instead of the half-half system i'd been doing up until this point. the exception is if an order exceeds $80 USD; for those ones we'll return to the half-before-sketch + half-once-finished situation instead!

but how's that? :0c i hope this is alright, but please let me know if this would make commissions just... unaffordable ;o; i do really like the half-half system, and i'd rather keep it, but it's either this or raising prices, and i don't think i can do that yet :T either way, please let me know your thoughts on the matter!!

2) the only-two-slots-per-person rule will no longer be in effect, so go ham with multiple orders if you wish on monday — the caveat is that i'll still be working only on two orders at a time per person, so if you order three things, the third one will be placed at the end of the queue c:

looking back i could've... done this from the beginning. orz it should be more convenient to send multiple orders if you have 'em!

and finally, 3) if the queue list hits its closing date with slots still available, folks who have already ordered and would like to get in the queue again can go on and grab those empty queue slots if they want, instead of being limited to two slots per person per batch, and then having to wait for an entire new batch.

i opened this exception for the last round of commissions (thank you once again to the folks who wanted repeats ;-; ) so i thought i should just make it into a proper thing instead, since it does make sense to do it anyway — the queue list is purposefully filled with a ton of slots, then left open for weeks on end to make sure everyone interested can get their orders in, so letting folks claim those remaining slots after the deadline sounds fine ;v;

that being said, there won't be a deadline for this monday's batch, so this bit technically doesn't change anything xD but i thought i should mention the New Thing #6!

and that's it! that's all!

while i'm pretty set on most of these (specially the full-upfront-payment bit — again, money's tight orz), i'm still definitely open to feedback, and to change things if something doesn't work for you folks!! please do share your thoughts on it, or send a note if you'd rather!! and let me know if you have any questions too ;v; 

i apologize for the super short notice again (and for cramming all of this into a single post) orz i'll be sorting things out until 5pm on monday, and getting these last commissions posted as well c:

thank you again for reading all of this orz and please don't feel obligated to reply to all the points if you have thoughts on only a specific one, i'd rather hear a little feedback than none at all ;o;

all in all, hope at least these portraits look nice, they were fun to work on :') Oliver, Owen and Steffan (previously known as the Swordsman/the Warlock — yup he's got a name now!); i'll get the other two of Matthew and Coriander done and posted!

thanks again folks, have a nice friday! ;w;

[finiffy]

First draft of Kingson angst fic prologue.

About 2700 word, cw for some 4231 mentions and Clef having a mental breakdown off to the side.

~~~

King just needed to get this report done and he'll be free. Well, at least for a week.

He wasn't even aware how few days he took off within the year until administration asked him to fill out his vacation days for mandatory reasons. It would be nice to finally have a quiet day or as quiet as his curse and Edison would allow it. It was nice to have Edison back from Antarctica, hopefully he'd stay out of major trouble again. As much as Edison was to handle, King married the damn fool. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of how the florist took days off to join him for the first three of the seven days. In Edison's own weird way of saying things: the two of them might be side characters but at least they had each other in the background.

He just needed to get this data report signed off on before an apple seed materialized its way into his computer's hard drive again. Whoever was in charge of these percentage checks seemed to know almost nothing about how to do statistics, they were all wrong and he didn't even know how they would get these numbers. At this point he's beginning to wonder if it's part of this anomaly's effects or heaven forbid he just found a new one and would be put incharge of it. He was never really good at being the head of something, too difficult to keep all those people under him in check. Come to think of it, if he sends this off to anomalies testing with a checking request for abnormal behavior it would be faster than looking at everything and fixing the numbers himself, maybe the idiot that did these in the first place will get fired, he has just cause for reporting.

Hearing an apple seed drop down off a shelf to the tiled floor behind him he quickly sent the request in and logged out. On average seeds appear in his computer once per 5 hours, it's been around 4 hours since he last took one out from his keyboard and he didn't want to risk one in the motherboard. The vacation days might get pushed over if one did. That data no matter how wrong it was could be extremely important and out of his clearance to know why, it's better to scoot it over to someone else than have it stay on his plate.

He got up to walk out of the office feeling compelled to look back once more. It was a standard office, a cube of a room, with white floors and light gray painted walls. A long metal desk in the corner with the average monitor setup the Foundation required with a fax machine and a few antics calculators he placed around for show. A white board stroon with equations and sticky notes in the other corner. Two wooden tables next to the door for in-and-out paperwork. It was minimal and average just the way he liked it. This place found weird ways to make you feel like leaving the office for the day was like saying goodbye to your childhood home. Its work, he should want to go home, why did he feel this would be the last time he'd be here.

Everett found himself walking down the hallway, which is standard you just do that, but he felt like something was off. Old strings he thought he cut ages ago were finding their way back around him. The Narrative called again. No matter he's fought this battle before and won. A hallway to his issued dorm it is then.

The sound of the offices could be heard around him, clacking of keyboards, buzzing phone calls, fax machines trying not to die, murmuring from past doors though nothing could be made out from them, the like. Average 6pm it seemed. 

Or well it was until he heard a familiar voice call out from around the corner. "Someone, please, listen to me! Would you all stop ignoring me! This is urgent, I swear!"

The voice was deep and rattled with the more unique unmistakable bad southern accent, was that Clef? He sounded short of breath, pained and weak, almost sobbing. King was around the other enough to know that wasn't normal, well it's not normal for anyone, but it was most concerning wasn't here.

The aforementioned doctor came barreling past the corner. He looked absolutely like a disaster, well more than usual. His hat and lab coat were nowhere to be seen, his Hawaiian shirt tattered at the cuffs, soaked in his own sweat, and caked in... something, multiple somethings. Once dirrty ashy blond hair had faded to white in over a night, matted and cow licked somehow ever more and it stuck to his skin. All three of his eyes were open, King had barely seen Clef's third eye the entire time working here, but it stood out very clearly on his forehead as of right now, all looked to be dilated and sunken into his face. Panting and out of breath he looked to Dr King, fearing some unrighteous anger on their face he was met with the look of panic and urgency.

"King? KING! Everett my buddy old pal, you hear me don't you!?" He sounded relieved at that fact.

"Of course..." King trailed off in confusion.

"King, you need to listen to me." Clef in no time at all ran up and grabbed Everett by the lab coat. God he looks almost dead up close. "I know everyone thinks of me as a liar, w-which is true. But I-I need you to believe me, I'm telling the truth right now."

King didn't respond as he didn't even know what to say other than just letting them continue. He was in pure shock at this moment. 

"I think a ZK event is coming! 

I can feel reality, it is slim and weakening by the minute.  We-We're all in grave danger if it's in this state. We are all dead if it collapses. DEAD YOU HEAR."

"Calm down for a moment, why didn't you go to the O5s if this is happening."

"The council isn't listening to me! The MTFs aren't listening to me. No one you hear me. Not even Gears, Bright, Kondarki, or Glass. My own psychiatrist, Simon, he won't even give me the light of day! I even called the GOC and they can't even hear my voice over the radio!

Reality may be already doomed, i-its obviously started to fuck things up!

If it collapses, imma dead man or worse not and I rather not think of that right now."

"Okay. Okay. I get that part. What's causing the event." 

"What's causing it? FUCK! How do I explain this to you?

There's something from the past you hear.

Listen to me!

It's getting closer, I can feel it. It's coming back for me! I-I don't know how to stop it. 

Everett, you need to help me! You're the only one not currently affected by whatever's happening."

Oh, it's this call thing again isn't...

"Look Aut-"

"Alto."

"Alto, I can see you're in distress right now, but I'm just a mathematician. What could I possibly do to help?"

Clef's eyes opened wider, his pupils once taking up his irises strunk to small dots. His third eye began to rapidly blink. He became even more pale as he let go of King's coat, slowly stepping backward.

"Oh, no. No. Nononononono!

I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS!

I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER!

I WON'T LET YOU TAKE EDISON EITHER!

YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME LONG AGO,

I WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY WITHOUT A FIGHT!"

Clef screamed out in full terror as he ran back the other way calling out for Edison. King breathed out a sigh, it was indeed this again. Alto was going to rope Edison into this deeper than he already was. King just wanted a nice week off with his husband... he might even believe whatever Clef was going on about. 

He fought the Narrative before and he can do it again with Edison. Whatever it's  trying they will get through it, they are just two average people, and that's the way it will stay.

Finally making it to his apartment, he can just... there's apple seeds in the lock again isn't there. Giving the handle a violent stir before trying to open it again. Apple seed fibers fell out the nook in the door before the rest of the seeds fell out after it. Let's see one, two, three... five. There was five seeds he count this time. Not the worst he's found in there before, but up there in 'pretty bad.'

The light was already on and he was greeted by the smell of the greenhouse that was once the entrance and living room of the dorm apartment. He would have liked to still have a living room, but couldn't complain. It smells lovely in here every time he comes back after work. Lemon and orange, pine and palm, lavender and roses, a lot of other nice smelling plants he's never heard of nor could he pronounce. Barely even went into the botany wing of Site 19 so it had never bleed into the monotony of the Foundation's containment chamber and hallways. He moved a monstera leaf to the side as he walked it. 

To the side he could see his son was still healthy as it ever was. Well not really his son, but it's the closest he will get most likely. Edison had successfully grown one of the apple seeds that spawned out of thin air. Impressive it was, he thought they were all dead, but low and behold taking up a full coffee table was a bonsai apple tree, it had started to bud flowers too, having little clumps of white and pink. He hated all things having to do with apples except for that thing. Having to take care of it while the other got shipped off to Antarctica for the third time contributed to his begrudging acceptance of it in his life. Some of the wires looked like they needed to be tightened, but that could wait for tomorrow. He didn't know a thing about how to do those properly and didn't want to mess with whatever Edison did to get them to look like this.

He could hear an oven beep from the kitchen and a murmur of a swear word under someone's breath.

"Are you burning the house down?"

"No."

He never thought hearing a calm 'no' today would be relieving. Despite how low Clef's voice was usually it could shatter wine glasses if it pleases. Deafened it was.

"What are you trying to cook?" King asked as he wandered into the kitchen which thankfully the only plants in there were succulents and an aloe vera.

"The freezer BBQ chicken tenders. Didn't feel like ordering anything, so I went digging through the fridge. That okay?"

"Yeah. Don't feel like ordering more Chinese food." He needed to spit a seed into the trash can.

"We could probably go off site for dinner the next few days." Edison always sounded so perked up and excited when he spoke, it evened out nicely with King's more flat and calm voice. "It would be like all those romance stories with the candle lights and fancy waiters. We could even do that thing with the spaghetti! And you can bring roses!" 

"Do we not have enough roses? We have three bushes in the apartment. I don't know how many you've got in the on site greenhouse."

"I believe there are 12 different ones currently. You do have a point, 15 full bushes is a lot... Oh maybe we could!" He started to go through a whole laundry list of things from what King could only guess were tropes from romantic books, movies, and romcoms.

They ate dinner and headed to the bedroom to watch TV. It was the closing thing they substituted for a living room. The remote had broken a while ago and they'd never bothered to replace it so King went up to manually turn it on and switch channels.

"I wonder, what's on the Discovery Channel?" Edison questioned as he climbed up on the bed.

"Foundation blocked it for false information stated as fact."

"Wasn't that the History Channel?"

"Both." He set the TV to one of the late night drama shows they've been keeping up on. 

King wouldn't pay them much mind, but he was starting to remember some of the characters names from two of them, how the other kept tabs on exactly what was happening across 10 different ones was beyond him. 

Edison had shuffled his way under the blankets motioning for Everett to join them. The mattress creaked under the new weight. The smile on their face was contagious, they were alway optimistic, and a bit oblivious, to the world around them. Even working at the Foundation and being exiled to an ice desert for months at a time multiple times, he still looked on the bright side of this world. Most people loss it early on, he did especially when the apple curse showed it ugly head, but they didn't. 

"Hey, did Clef talk to you today?"

"He did. He looked like he hasn't slept in days, or a week, or month for that matter. I think he might need new medication."

"I think he needs to be institutionalized."

"Well I don't think he's that far gone. He has always been a bit... extraordinary."

"Did you not hear him, or is he fucking with me?"

"Umm... did he talk to you about reality dying?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then no, he's not messing with you personally."

"Did he say anything to you about me?"

"Yeessss..."

"I'm asking what he said about me, Edison?"

"Maybe he does need to be forcibly helped. He said you're not the same King... that my King was dead... and you would hurt me... and that I needed to run and hide."

"Okay I'll let Glass deal with him then."

"Deal how!?"

"Deal with Alto's mental state! I don't want to hurt you, that's preposterous. If reality is about to collapse we'd already be informed and we sure as hell wouldn't have days off."

...

"You know that trope where everything they said wouldn't happen happens?"

"Unfortunately yes, but don't be ridiculous. He's a liar through and through."

"Hasn't this whole day felt like it's foreshadowing something awful is going to happen over the week..."

"I hope not! I would like not to go back to the computer and stare at numbers because something breached containment."

"But, Everett, what if he's telling the truth this time for some reason..."

"Edison," he gently, as gently as he could, cupped his hands around their cheeks, he melted into them the moment they touched him, "I'd never hurt you. I know how much you look up to him, for whatever reason that may be, and I very much can see the distress he's in, he's obviously having a mental breakdown and I have no idea why no one's done anything about it. But he's crazy, or more crazy than on average. I love you, why would I ever do that?"

"I don't know, he seemed convincing."

King led in and placed a kiss on his lip. Something seemed to be getting through to him as he led it to it as well, so least that's a start. 

"Now Micheal could you tell me what Jessica's deal is with Mary again."

"Oh, that, well you see Mary killed her third removed cousin and wants his wrist watch so she..."

At least he got the other to think about something else. Should've never brought the topic up, curiosity makes fools out of everyone. Something was going to go wrong and he wasn't too excited to learn what that will be. Here's to hoping his days off won't be too hectic and it ends on a good note.

~~~

It might be a bit too meta currently and might need to add more fluff scenes in here. It's a start and it works for it's purpose.

~ Mold Anon

ASDASDHSAF AAAAAA HELL YEAH THIS WAS AN AMAZING READ!! THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS

If you could see me, I was just holding my phone and just wandering around in circle as I read this. God I really am dying with the King lore as in I am very obsessed with it and just King doing his damn hardest to fight the narrative off. Also poor Clef, panicking and out of his mind-atleast Edison is there

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2023-01-16

it's so warm

Listening: Billy Joel. I like Billy Joel. His songs are often what I want from music, which is a guy singing about being in or witnessing a situation. Billy Joel has, as all singers seem to have, songs about being in love or having a good time at a party or whatever but they come across more as like. Advice packaged up as a song, obvious examples being Vienna and Tell Her About It. My car's music player is usually somewhere in Billy Joel.

I have had independent lines from "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" stuck in my head all week.

There's like three songs in this song. That's a lot of song per song!

Reading: Finished Fugitive Telemetry earlier in the week, a Murderbot Murder Mystery that finally spends enough time on Preservation to really get into it.

Preservation reminds me of a setting an old friend came up with, although hers was more. Authoritarian. In a weird way that managed to weave in a strong sense of individual freedom and liberty with an extremely powerful and controlling state.

Murderbot really does work best as short stories, for me at least, the heavy use of descriptions of interacting with computer resources gets taxing after a while but in short bursts is really good at painting a vibrant and multifaceted information landscape as interesting as the physical spaces the story takes place in.

Also reading a Rane Audio Note I somehow missed when I read most of these a while ago, this one on low voltage circuit designs for audio, mostly centred on the problem statement "You've got a 1.5V alkaline cell, how do you get good audio out of this" and then very neatly and helpfully breaking down your possible concerns, specs to care about, matters of reference voltage creation, etc. Love industry application notes, fantastically handy pieces of documentation.

Watching: Nothing, nothing, nothing. I've got some evenings where the power's out where I should probably put some Shows on but I tend to end up browsing blogs instead.

Playing: Her Story, which was really good. I mentioned how it was going earlier but I'll put my extended discussion in rot13 for those who haven't played it.

V fhfcrpg zl qrfver gb rfgnoyvfu zl onpxtebhaq vasbezngvba xvaq bs fubeg-pvephvgrq gur tenqhny erirny gur tnzr unq sbe cynlref, orpnhfr V uvg gur gjva gjvfg nyzbfg vzzrqvngryl ol nppvqrag engure guna sbyybjvat gur onfvp zlfgrel bs Rir rfgnoyvfuvat ure nyvov naq fhccbegvat pnfg.

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Fgvyy n qnza svar zlfgrel tnzr, V qvq trg uhat hc sbe n juvyr ubcvat V pbhyq svther bhg jung zvtug unir unccrarq gb Unaanu nsgrejneqf, hagvy V purpxrq gur QO erpbeqf naq ernyvmrq V unq frra nyy gur ynfg ivqrbf.

V'yy cvpx hc Gryyvat Yvrf ng fbzr cbvag.

Making: more quilting.

Also whipped up rough cuts for round 2 of Galena's cases, there's more build log posts in the Galena tag that you can check out, but here's what those look like.

the old cases there are mitered white oak, which is nice but I way overdid the sizes, and I wanted to try my original idea, which was to cut the whole thing out of a solid chunk of wood. Rhodesian teak, in this case, super hard, super tough, unbelievably annoying to work with wood. Looks great.

Tools and Equipment: my usual non-water cleaning solvent is isopropyl alcohol, but I recently picked up some acetone for the first time in ages and it's really compelling for stubborn goo. For one thing, you can get 100% acetone off the shelf, and it's a really effective non-polar solvent. It is of course hideously flammable and very very volatile, so pick your fights.

[iseldomunderstand]

Locking in

Sometimes it's weird how you surprise yourself not having realized the time flew by while you were having fun. If I recall correctly it's called flow. When you're so focused on one sole activity that you forget about the notion of time. I would experience it all the time when I was younger, I'd play MarioKart on my DS, the grey kind, back in the days before the lite version was released, and I could spend a whole day not even having noticed the sun had set. Then I would feel very hungry because I'd been so focused I'd forgotten to eat.

Those days are behind me, now, I'm lucky if I can stay focused on one thing for more than thirty minutes. It's a weird change of pace. It feels like I get interested and need to know all about one thing for just a moment before the mere idea of it leaves me completely unmoved. I don't know when the shift happened but boy it sure is noticeable now! I'll play a videogame for some time, get bored, play another one, quit before I launch a run because suddenly it's not appealing anymore, so I log on YouTube and find a video to watch while I crochet and that keeps me busy but then I have to go to the restroom and then I feel hungry and then I cook lunch and then I do the dishes and then I get back on my computer... And I've lost interest in the video and the crochet! So my work will just sit in a corner of my desk or in an organizer before I suddenly get hyperfixated on it again in a month or so.

I have had a plushie of Mimikyu in the making for the past five years. It sits on a shelf above my head with pins in the embroidery's place as I write this. I can't for the life of me find the will to finish it. If I lay my hands on it, it takes all the strength in me to go and fetch my embroidery floss, my needle, my thread cutter and get to work, each stitch feels like agony, and then I think about how I'd much rather vacuum around the room, so I do that, and then I go and run a laundry cycle and then I dust up the shelves and then—

And the worst thing is, I would LOVE to have this plushie finished so I could properly hold it without fearing getting pins into my hands or even worse my forearms, and just for the sense of accomplishment alone, but I just CAN'T bring myself to finish it.

It's a ceaseless run for interest, I've got to get it while it's hot, if I'm not interested in my studies or my larger scale projects and plans I will just not progress them until I either get the sudden urge to do them or I get an adrenaline boost coupled with a flush of guilt for not doing it sooner and I do it last minute, and that's on a deadline, when I don't have one, we get Mimikyu. Everyday I'm thankful for not being this way with hygiene and housekeeping as well as social projects, but everyday I curse that I'm this way at all.

Lately, I haven't even had the time for entertainment, it's been all obligations, from rise to fall and dawn 'til dusk I eat the same bread, and the bread tastes like cheap copy paper. It oddly works for me because I certainly don't have any interest in the accursed thing but being immersed in one sole topic 24/7 at least during the work week keeps me into the grind, it's not painful to get into the flow if you never get out of it, which is bleak, but it works, and I don't have any alternatives to bring to the table so it will have to do for now.

My friends on the spectrum keep telling me that I should see a psychiatrist, get a diagnosis and start micro-dosing meth but if I had the strength to get into the months-long process of getting a mental health appointment I wouldn't need to take the funny focus pill in the first place so it's a vicious cycle. The problem is, it's happening for non mental health appointments as well and that's another can of worms, I could have a 30 minute attention span all my life, I'd make it work, but I have been wanting to see a dentist for three years and I never saw it through, the fact I have a grand total of 2 available hours for myself per week that are compatible with a dental appointment don't help.

So for now I'm just locked in for the following six months and I have just sort of accepted that I will essentially sit here in pain until I get weeks to myself and pray that I can pull it together and get help. Keeping the ball going once I get back in the grind will be another story altogether.

[craigbarnard-el]

A Look at American Exercise Habits

In a 2023 survey, nearly three out of five Americans said they exercise at least three times a week. However, the average individual’s physical activity falls far short of the minimum recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC names two categories of exercise: muscle strengthening and aerobic (activity that increases the heart rate and oxygen usage). The CDC, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, suggests that Americans take part in at least 150 minutes of aerobic (moderate intensity) exercise each week, which equates to about 20 minutes of brisk walking per day. Two days per week should also feature muscle-building activities.

Unfortunately, barely a quarter of the population meets CDC exercise guidelines of the minimum amount of physical activity. The CDC released its findings from a 2020 National Health Interview Survey in 2023, and admitted that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic may have skewed its findings.

Even so, the numbers were distressing. Just 16 percent of Americans living outside of cities met the standards for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Americans on the West Coast are the most active, while those in the South are the least active. Strength-building numbers were particularly concerning. According to a Journal of Preventive Medicine article, an estimated 58 percent of Americans do not engage in muscle-strengthening activities.

After analyzing the responses, the CDC concluded that local and national governments must heavily promote the importance of exercise, including refurbishing public exercise facilities and asking for philanthropic investments in related research.

Most Americans who do not exercise cite a lack of money, motivation, or time. Others feel self-conscious about working out in public, though most Americans who frequently exercise say they “always feel good” about their appearance, according to a Gallup poll. To reverse this trend of physical inactivity additional effort would need to be put into education, since improper technique and related habits can have a negative impact.

The impact of establishing and maintaining a proper exercise routine would be difficult to overstate. Regular strength-building alone can decrease the chance of developing diabetes, cancer, and other health problems. Additional benefits include improved brain health and stronger bones.

Americans who lack the money, motivation, or time to go to a gym can complete numerous simple exercises at home. Squats, lunges, and planks are examples of functional fitness exercises that can be completed in any room. These exercises require little to no equipment beyond an exercise mat and work out various parts of the body, from the legs up to the shoulders. Shoulder presses are a simple exercise for the back and core, though individuals should avoid using dumbbells, which can lead to injury.

A stacker is a simple exercise that provides a full body workout. Stackers are completed by standing with feet set slightly more than shoulder width apart and arms positioned as if holding a basketball out in front of the body. Individuals then bend at the waist and bring the imaginary ball down toward the left foot, touching the heel. Next, the ball is brought up and across the body to the right, as if placing the ball on a high shelf. As part of this motion, individuals should lift their left heel while pivoting their hips to the right.

Finally, a moderately paced 30-minute walk on weekdays is enough to meet CDC requirements for aerobic exercise, leaving the weekends open for a pair of muscle-building sessions.

[firstdegreefangirl]

January 2024 Reading Wrap-Up!

New year, same love of books, slightly different structure for things around here. I'm keeping the monthly tracker and the mini-reviews, but skipping the prompt-based challenges because I couldn't find any that looked like they'd suit my reading tastes.

Instead, I've invented a game of my own, to focus on reading down the hundreds of books I already own: Bookcase Roulette! The rules are simple: three bookcases, five shelves each, roughly 25 books per shelf. I'm using random number generators to pick at least two books a month, and reading whatever the bookcase gods pick for me. So those will be marked in the reviews, along with whether or not I enjoyed the book enough to justify keeping it.

Beyond that, you know the drill. Monthly stats incoming, reviews under the cut!

Total books read: 5 

Total pages read: 1,722 

Days read: 31/31 

Average star rating: 4.2 

Bookcase Roulette Books: 2 

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green  ⭐⭐⭐⭐(½)  I knocked this out in a day, on New Year’s Day, much to either the astonishment or frustration of housekeeping bestie ((I was reading at work most of the day, then a few hours later we saw each other outside of work and I mentioned that I’d finished the book. I ... don’t think he believed me?)) It was the first round of Bookcase Roulette for 2024, but something like 2/3 of the way through, I realized that I’ve read it before. It’s great, I loved it, but it wasn’t familiar, until I turned the page and was face-to-face with a scene I remembered so clearly. So I have no memory of the first read, but I’m completely positive that there was one at some point. 

That said, all of that is about me and my experience, and none of it is about the book. John Green’s books are always so captivating to me, and this was no exception. The MC’s OCD and anxiety are so intensely palpable; I could feel myself stressing out with her as much as I wanted to give her a big hug. This is a book you should check in with yourself before reading; I maybe should have kept a closer eye on my own illness anxiety as I read along, but sometimes I live on the edge?  

Never Wager With a Wallflower by Virginia Heath  ⭐⭐⭐(¼)  Here’s the thing: historical romance isn’t usually for me. But, as happened so often last year, it was in my library experience bag and I was curious. It wasn’t bad, by any means, but all of the things that usually pull me away from the genre were true here too. As for the story itself, and the characters, I loved most of that. Parts of it were laugh out loud funny, parts made my heart ache for the characters and everything they’d been through. The characters were compelling, and I wanted to be rooting for them. I did deduct a full star for the phrase “wedding vegetables,” which has haunted me every day since I first saw it, as it completely pulled me out of the story and ruined my experience of what was otherwise an excellent scene. If you like historical romance, you’ll probably like this, but I'm in no way compelled to read it again or to finish the series.  

Play With Me by Claire Wilder  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  If you’ve been here for a while, you know this series has read me through three different trips now (Denver, Houston, and now Orlando). They’re consistently knock-outs for me, but this was far and above better than the rest. I’d been SO excited to read Jude’s story, and Nora felt so relatable for me. Claire Wilder does such an incredible job balancing the romance stories with Eleanor Cleary’s murder, and that really ramped up in this book. The mysterious intrigue blended so well with the friends-to-lovers romance, and Cap is just the best little dude. I laughed out loud on an airplane, I cried in a botanical garden (because of the book; not just because the flowers were so pretty), but there’s not much I can else I can say without breaking down the full context of the entire series (which, trust me, I am HAPPY to do, if anyone is interested. That’s just ... not this). 

Mess With Me by Claire Wilder  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  ... And I finished out that Florida trip with the next/sort of last book in the Quince Valley series (there’s a future-set shorter story after this, but this was the last of the Kelly siblings). Griffin, the elusive “only shows up when he absolutely must” sibling, got his love story! I was really looking forward to this one because it felt like no one knows anything about Griff, and I was so eager to find out what/why. Especially after the truth he half-dropped on Jude in Play With Me, I knew this would be a good one. It picked up with the tail end of Eli’s story from Sing For Me, elaborated on Jude/Nora, and touched back with Cass and Chelsea too, so we heard from the whole Kelly clan. AND we got all the backstory on Griffin’s job and the mysterious love he told his brother he’d lost. THEN he fell in love again. Truly, the only down point was Chester, the old man who lives next door. I saw it coming, it served the plot well, I still cried. (Bonus points to the author for already announcing that her NEXT series is going to build off of where this one ended, which took a little bit of the sting away from the end of Quince Valley.) 

Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger  ⭐⭐⭐(¼)  This month’s second round of Bookcase Roulette! As I started reading, I realized it’s by the same author as The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash, which I LOVED when I read it. It also seems to be a companion piece, judging by namedropped characters and events, but I haven’t read B&B recently enough to say 100 percent. The plot was sweet – I like YA books that recognize that young adults can and do experience real-world, life-altering events. This is a book about grief, about young people grieving, about big and heavy topics. Too much YA is after-school clubs and kissing boys in the hallway, and while those stories can be great too, young people are capable of experiencing and comprehending so much more; this is truly a book for anyone who’s ever lost someone, regardless of age. Parts of the plot felt disjointed, especially early in the story, and especially with the voicemails and emails dividing Naima’s sections. I was usually able to figure out where things fit together, but it took more effort than I’d have liked and pulled me out of the story. There were some really powerful moments and quotes, and even though I don’t think I’m keeping it, I’m glad I finally picked this one up.  

[sandrachens-blog]

Survival Food Storage Tips: Ensuring Longevity and Safety

In a world where uncertainties loom, being prepared is not just a scout's motto but a necessity for many. One of the primary concerns for those preparing for emergencies is food storage. Properly stored food can be the difference between survival and disaster. Here are some essential tips to ensure that your survival food storage is both long-lasting and safe.

Choose the Right Foods:

Start by selecting non-perishable items. These include canned goods, dried fruits, grains, beans, pasta, powdered milk, and freeze-dried meals. These foods have a longer shelf life and are less likely to spoil. To learn more about survival food storage, click here - https://wildoaktrail.com/collections/nutrient-survival-food.

Rotate Your Stock:

It's essential to practice the "first in, first out" principle. Always use the oldest items first and replace them with new stock. This rotation ensures that your food remains fresh and reduces the risk of consuming expired items.

Optimal Storage Conditions:

Most foods should be stored in a cool, dark, and dry place. The ideal temperature range is between 50°F and 70°F. Avoid areas where temperatures fluctuate, as this can reduce the food's shelf life. Basements are often ideal, but if that's not an option, a dark closet or pantry will suffice.

Use Proper Containers:

Invest in food-grade storage containers. These containers are designed to prevent contamination and protect against pests. Vacuum-sealed bags, Mylar bags, and food-grade buckets with airtight lids are excellent choices. For added protection, consider using oxygen absorbers inside the containers, which can extend the food's shelf life.

Label Everything:

It's crucial to label all your food containers with both the contents and the storage date. This practice not only helps with rotation but also ensures you know exactly what you're consuming.

Protect Against Pests:

Rodents and insects can quickly ruin your food storage. Ensure that your storage area is free from holes or gaps where pests can enter. Regularly inspect your storage area for signs of pests and take immediate action if you find any.

Store Water:

While not food, water is essential for survival. Store at least one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days. Like food, water should be rotated regularly. Consider investing in water purification tablets or filters to ensure safe consumption.

Diversify Your Storage:

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. It's wise to have a mix of freeze-dried foods, canned goods, and basic staples. This diversification ensures that if one type of food becomes compromised, you'll have other options available.

Learn Preservation Techniques:

Understanding basic food preservation techniques, such as canning, dehydrating, and pickling, can be invaluable. These skills allow you to store fresh foods safely and extend their shelf life significantly.

Consider Special Dietary Needs:

If someone in your household has dietary restrictions or allergies, ensure that you store foods that they can safely consume. It's also wise to store vitamins and supplements, especially if your stored foods might not provide all the necessary nutrients over an extended period.

Regularly Check for Expiry:

Even non-perishable foods don't last forever. Regularly check the expiration dates on your stored items. If something is nearing its expiration date and you can't consume it in time, consider donating it and replacing it with a fresh supply.

Stay Informed:

Food storage guidelines and best practices can change based on new research and findings. Stay informed by regularly checking reputable sources and updating your storage methods accordingly.

Plan for Cooking:

Remember that many stored foods will require cooking or preparation. Ensure you have alternative cooking methods available, such as a solar oven or a portable propane stove, especially if you're preparing for situations where electricity might not be available.

Test and Taste:

Every once in a while, prepare meals using your stored foods. This practice not only helps you rotate your stock but also ensures you're familiar with cooking these items and that they're palatable.

In conclusion, proper food storage is a blend of choosing the right items, storing them correctly, and regularly maintaining your stockpile. By following these tips, you can ensure that in times of emergencies, your food supply will be a source of comfort and sustenance, rather than a cause for concern. Preparedness brings peace of mind, and with the right approach to food storage, you're one step closer to ensuring the safety and well-being of your loved ones.

[cowboystudies]

bungled 2 social interactions (one of which was my fault, the other wasn't). i have a headache, i am autistic-ed out, i have sooo much to do. this is my Big Six once I nap and play with MP a little

sign paperwork - needed for fall job. email back to the nice lady.

work on sub paperwork - probably try to finish AS MUCH ONLINE as possible. I want to be able to book my orientation/fingerprinting today

laundry - i need to do at least THREE loads, because hoooly balls i am behind. part of this is: making the bed, doing a hanger clearout, text GF about shirt.

redo peer educator test - apparently it didn't go through, so I need to make sure to send myself a copy of the results

work through daily routine stuff - obviously I can't do everything every day, but I want to see how much I can actually do, especially on a day where i'm not student teaching

finish job thing - i need to make sure to time, up my # of papers per week to 6, and then update hours based on time

other stuff I should probably do today:

email that student back

email about that job

email MT about absences

do bujo for tomorrow

look at weather / prep outfit for tomorrow (going to be warm...probably a dress)

do chewy order if the deal is still going on

do BP survey. i could win $500 so i might as well

shower

**put in cal: A quarters 10am sunday

stuff i WANT to do today:

watch new quentin reviews video!!

get rid of 3 articles of clothing (incl. WF t shirt)

find space in shelf for coloring books, they are taking up SO MUCH desk space

change that reddit flair for the ACNH thread

put in cal paydays for D (10/15 + 11/30)

[smokealarminstallation]

Smoke Alarm Batteries

Whether you have a battery-powered smoke alarm or one that is hardwired to the home’s electrical system, you need to replace its batteries regularly.

Smoke detectors that use 9-volt or AA batteries should be changed at least once per year. For alarms that use lithium batteries, it’s recommended that you change the whole unit every 10 years.

9V Batteries

Smoke alarm batteries typically use a 9V alkaline battery. However, some detectors will also use an AA battery. Check your manual to see if this is the case for your smoke alarm.

As a rule, you should change the batteries in your smoke alarms every six months to a year. Detectors that go off frequently at night will often need to be replaced sooner than this.

Most smoke alarms will have a button that you can press to test the battery. If it is faulty, you will need to replace it immediately.

AA Batteries

Smoke detectors often use two or three AA batteries. These have three times more energy than 9V batteries, so they can last much longer.

If you’re using AA batteries, make sure you check them regularly and replace them every six months. This helps ensure your smoke alarms work correctly and help keep your family safe.

AA batteries are cylindrical batteries with physical dimensions of 14.5 x 50.5 mm (0.57 x 1.99 inches). They are commonly used in smaller devices that require low power such as TV remote controls and kitchen timers.

AA Lithium Batteries

AA Lithium Batteries are a good alternative to standard alkaline AA batteries for smoke alarms and other devices. They offer longer shelf life, higher capacity and less weight than their alkaline counterparts.

Compared to alkaline AA batteries, lithium AA batteries offer a high voltage and can deliver up to 600 mA of current on demand. This makes them the ideal choice for smoke alarms that require frequent testing and short periods of high power demand.

Smoke detectors that use sealed, ten-year lithium batteries are becoming increasingly common. They’re typically located in hardwired units, but some areas are requiring battery-only photoelectric units for new construction.

AA Rechargeable Batteries

AA batteries are the most common type of cylindrical dry cell and are widely used in thousands of electronic devices. They come in a variety of chemistries including alkaline and lithium, with rechargeables gaining popularity lately.

Unless you have a non-replaceable 10-year smoke detector, the National Fire Protection Association recommends changing your smoke alarm batteries every 6 months. This is because smoke alarms use some current when in standby’ mode and when they are activated.

Rechargeable AA batteries measure their capacity in milliamp hours (mAh), with the higher the number, the longer they can run your device. They are also easier to recharge than their standard counterparts.

AA Specialty Batteries

AA Specialty Batteries pack a lot of power into a small space, giving your devices (like smoke detectors, watches or car alarms) long-lasting power. They are also commonly used for wireless doorbells, remotes, and medical devices.

Whether it’s a high voltage lithium coin cell battery or a nickel-zinc AA battery, specialty batteries offer long-lasting power that’s optimised for efficiency.

If your smoke alarm has a chirping sound or isn’t working, it’s time to replace its batteries. You can do this easily with a brand new GP lithium or alkaline battery.

AA Alkaline Batteries

Alkaline batteries are a great choice for smoke alarms because they produce a much longer “low battery” warning than lithium batteries. Unlike lithium, they also have a much more gradual voltage drop-off during use.

General use alkaline batteries are available in various sizes, including AA, AAA, C, D and 9V. They are used in a variety of applications such as clocks, remote controls and flashlights.

They offer a low replacement rate and excellent performance, particularly in low-drain devices such as flashlights, portable radios, clocks, alarm clocks and toys. They are also ideal for a wide range of electronics, such as digital cameras and wireless keyboards.

[minarqatar]

Main Types Of Pyrotechnics That Can Be Obtained Through Marine Services In Qatar

What are pyrotechnics? Pyrotechnics are the distress flares which are used at the time of abandoning the ship or used during the survival crafts which produce visual signals (light or smoke signals) to attract the attention of the other ships at sea.

The maritime distress signals are the ones which are used in the case of extreme emergency situations at sea. This is known as pyrotechnics. These emergency signals and flares are the best choice still today to inform a nearby ship for help. Though there are advanced ship navigation and communication systems, these are widely used till now.

Hence, the ships usually restock the pyrotechnic materials using the marine services in Qatar. The set of pyrotechnic materials generally used are hand flares, rocket parachute flares and smoke signals. Usually, a ship will verify whether it's restocked or not and if it's not available then the ship should get it from the pyrotechnic supplier in Qatar.

Types of pyrotechnics you can get through the marine services in Qatar:

1. Red hand flares – The red hand flares are self-ignitable handheld distress signals which will burn uniformly with the bright red colour at least for a minute. These are water-resistant to an extent of about 10 seconds in shallow depths of up to 100mm. The hand flares will be more useful in pinpointing the exact location of the ship or individual.

Hence it should be lighted when the rescue ship is within your sight. Hand flare should be held downwind while lighting it and away from the face and your clothes. Also, make sure that these hand flares obtained from the marine services in Qatar should not be stored near combustible material even after using the hand flare.

2. Rocket parachute flares – Rocket parachute flares are usually designed to reach a height of at least 300-350m when it is fired vertically, burning with the bright red light which indicates the ship’s location. You can obtain these easily from a pyrotechnic supplier in Qatar. The parachute which is attached to the flare usually opens at the top, slowing the flare’s descent so that it will be visible for a long time.

The self-ignitable design of the rocket parachute flare will be made in such a design that the parachute will not catch fire under any circumstances. Also, they will be made in such a design that has a maximum descent rate of 5 meters per second.

3. Smoke signals – Smoke signals in red or orange colour can be obtained from the pyrotechnic supplier in Qatar. They will function for up to 15 minutes in calm conditions. The smoke signals will not emit flames of any port or the spark in the hands of the holder. Hence these signals can be used to pinpoint the direction and location of the ship unless the weather condition doesn’t support it.

Know that these marine distress signals usually have a shelf life of about three years. Hence, you need to immediately replace it with the help of marine services in Qatar. Also, you have to dispose of it to avoid misuse or fraudulent tampering with the expiry date and for safety.

[prep4tomoro]

Simple Tips for Building an Emergency Food Supply:

Having tasty, nutritious and readily-available food is something we expect in everyday life under normal circumstances. When we go hiking or camping, we want the same food quality that is easy to transport and prepare. In an emergency situation, we would like to have the same food attributes but may not be able to buy from our local grocery store because of the emergency circumstances. We don't need to face running out of water or food, or food quality and taste, when we know our nutritional needs, what we like and prepare for the expected and unexpected within a designated time frame. The following information is intended to help with suggestions on what to buy, how much to buy, where to buy it and how to store it. First is to determine how much we need. On average, the human body requires 2000 calories of food per day and 32 ounces of drinking water. Knowing this helps calculate our basic quantities. For example, a one-week (7-day) supply for one person would be 14,000 calories [of food] and 224 ounces (just under 2 gallons) of drinking water. NOTE: An additional 96 ounces (2/3 gallon) of water (per day per person) is suggested for bathing/sanitation (another topic of discussion). Here are some general rules, for everyone, on buying and storing ememgency foods: #1: Take Your Time and Go Slow. Begin with a three day supply, gradually building up to a week. Add a little more with each grocery store visit. #2: Spend Your Money Wisely. Look for bargains. Use coupons. Buy in bulk. #3: Stick to the Basics. Beans, rice, oatmeal, and powdered milk are staples in the survival food pantry but follow Tip #4. #4: Don't store food you don't like. Obvious but if you have to eat the same food for a few weeks, make sure you like the taste. #5: Know the expiration date* or when (date) the product was manufactured to determine an approximate expiration date*. #6: Store food in multiple locations (upstairs, downstairs, etc.) in case access is not possible to one or more storage location(s). #7: Store liquids (water) to rehydrate dehydrated foods: Most emergency foods need water to prepare. #8: Dried (dehydrated) foods are better than canned, fresh or frozen when it comes to camping and long-term storage. They, generally, last longer, take less space to store, provide more servings per container, there is less nutritional loss and are not as heavy (which can be helpful if it's necessary to carry in a bug out situation). #9: Keep food reserves in a cool, dry place. Keeping food in the attic (or even at normal room temperature) severely shortens its storage life. Consider a Root Cellar or other non-electric cooling/refrigeration methods. Read Food Storage Made Easy Power outages, and emergencies that disrupt our routine lives, are unpredictable and can last an hour, a day, a week or more. Foods with a long shelf-life and don't require heat or cooking are ideal for stocking the pantry in case of a power outage. Here are some suggestions: Water: The essential element to survival and necessary in every emergency plan and emergency supplies kit. Generally, commercially-sealed/bottled water does not go bad but depends on how it was processed. Water you have "bottled" yourself has a recommended maximum shelf life of 6 months for consumption. Unless water is known to be, or obviously, contaminated, don't throw water away in an emergency situation; it may still be possible to purify through distilling but it can be used for washing, watering edible/medicinal plants and other things. Recommended water storage amounts are at least 1 gallon of [drinking and sanitation] water per day per person for a minimum of 3 days. More is better. Additional water should be considered for Pets and dehydrated foods to re-hydrate. Consider these things when calculating water storage needs. Powdered Milk, Drink Mixes and Beverages Healthy Energy Drink Alternatives: Energy drinks are a wonderful thing to have on hand in the pantry, bug out bag, or even a first aid kit. There's a reason everyone from elite athletes to 8-year-old soccer players relies upon energy drinks and electrolyte drinks for vitality, energy, or replenishing nutrients lost while sweating. But commercial energy drinks are not good on the body, especially for those with a low immune system. Stock up on these few ingredients for the same beneficial effects as energy drinks: Good Ol' Coffee, Coconut Water, Apple Cider Vinegar, Green Tea, Organic Maple Syrup and Raw Honey. Coffee: Of all the pleasures of camping, sipping a freshly brewed cup of joe around the morning fire is, as the old TV commercial hummed along, the best part of waking up. Watch the Video, Ya'll Canned & Dried Meats Canned & Dried Fruits & Vegetables Dry Breakfast Cereals Honey Raw Honey, stored in a sealed container, can remain stable for decades, even centuries. Commercial Honey last about 2 years. If it crystalizes, just warm it to liquify again. The Greeks had an uncanny ability when it came to healing the body, and the medicinal purposes of many of nature’s wonders and bees were at the top of the list when it came to natural wonders that also contained healing powers. Read more. Read about Beekeeping: The Sweetest Hobby of all, in maintaining a renewable food source. Peanut Butter (all-natural varieties have a shorter shelf life) Packaged Mixed Nuts, Granola, Trail Mix MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) [Civilian MRE Comparison] [MREs on Amazon - Link 1] [MREs on Amazon - Link 2] Commercial Camping and Long Term Food (usually requires water to rehydrate) - There are a number of commercial Camping and Long Term Food companies. Research and sample to find the one(s) that will suit your needs and tastes. Often, these companies will provide free samples. The point is that a long-term food storage plan should be part of your overall emergency plan. Top 10 Food Storage Companies Comparison Mountain House Products Nutritional Information Commercial Camping and Long Term Food on Amazon Long-term storage, freeze-dried foods need water to re-hydrate them. In my case, I have found that the amount of water recommended to re-hydrate the contents of a commercial long-term storage food product makes more of a soup than a dish so I usually use less water than recommended. Research Further: Search the P4T Blog for other posts on making your own dried (long term) foods, food organizing, expiration dates, food diversification, food alternatives, diet, preservation, refrigeration and more. [Reference Link]

[11-Cs Basic Emergency Kit] [14-Point Emergency Preps Checklist] [Immediate Steps to Take When Disaster Strikes] [Learn to be More Self-Sufficient] [The Ultimate Preparation] [P4T Main Menu]

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