#thrifty Mrs

[cattewife]

it has been brought up before but. y'know the little details in tissue use that tell you something about a character. like whether they use the same one(s) until they are totally useless or if they pull a new one for each and every sneeze or blow. or if they use a handkerchief instead. just thinking about it.

[tianalaurence1]

From birthday photo shoot to State Gala

Princess Anne attending the South Korean State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, wearing a gown she's previously worn for her 70th birthday portrait, on 21 November 2023.

[wilwheaton]

do you like MAD magazine much, Mr. Wheaton?

When I was a kid, it was my favorite thing in the world. We'd go up to the Thrifty Drugs for 10 cent ice cream, and I would go straight to the spinning rack where they kept the comics, and MAD magazine.

The irreverent humor, the satire, the unwavering commitment to mock the powerful and just have fun ... it spoke to me. I'm sure I was not the only kid in the 80s who felt like adults were so serious and boring, and MAD magazine sort of said, "Oh yeah, kid, you are so right. Adults suck and don't have any idea how to have fun. Anyway, here's Spy vs. Spy."

I remember that MAD did a parody of Stand By Me in like 1986 or early 1987, and it was just the coolest thing, ever, to see myself drawn by Mort Drucker or whoever did that.

I don't know if there is the same appetite for MAD that there was 40 years ago, but I hope that today's weird kids are finding it, or its 21st century equivalent, so they can ZORP BLATT SPROING just like we did.

[hollowtones]

my month-late PAX West post (& a catalogue of some things I saw and did and bought in September / late August)

PAX West was very fun this year. It was my first ever PAX and it was my first convention at all in maybe a decade. Any excuse to see friends is a good one & I love hanging out with the RTVS crew whenever I have the time and money to travel. ^_^ I even got to see some friends I've never seen in person before!!! (Thank you to Jill and Evan for the "Petal Crash" pin & thank you to Taxi for stealing my name tag by accident.)

I am very shy, and I have very severe social anxiety that causes me a lot of problems in my day-to-day life, so I almost didn't go to the RTVS meetup. People there were very sweet, though, so I'm glad I did. It feels very heartening to have people come up to you and tell you what the things you've made have meant to them. It was very hard to not cry. LOL

If you stopped by to say hi, thank you very much. I've been thinking about it through all of September and smiling a lot about it. ^_^

The rest of this post is largely pics of things Puzz and I picked up for ourselves. (And a little bit of talking about some other things we did.) I thought it would be fun to catalogue them. I tend to be a little thrifty, so I got to splurge on my wife. LOL

These were mostly things we got for Puzz because I didn't want to worry about lugging things home in a suitcase. But she keeps telling me they're our things, which makes me smile every time I think about it. Some of the pins are for me. I'd like to put them on my backpack... Hopefully they don't fall off. Jackie and Dodogama are friends.

The "Chicory" bag is a bit of a funny story. Puzz and I saw the "Beastieball" booth in the corner of the indie section. Very fun demo. Very cute booth. They have cool merch! I thought I saw Lena Raine working the booth, and I got really shy & nervous about making a poor impression, so I just kind of hid behind my partner. (I wish I had said hi, in retrospect... but we live and we learn...) So we just kind of shuffle off to the merch desk and talk to a very nice man there while we pick up some things. I work up the guts to say that I really like these games and that they mean a lot to me!! The guy says, well thank you, that means a lot to me and the team. Wow! Real swell guy, I'm thinking to myself. A day or two later Puzz and I are out to lunch with some friends and I just suddenly go eyes wide & mouth agape because I put two and two together in my head and realize Oh holy shit that was Greg Lobanov wasn't it. LOL

Puzz found a cheap copy of "999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors" for the DS at a retro game store's pop-up. They also had "A Bug's Life" for Game Boy Colour and a strategy guide for "Gex 3", both of which I wish I had picked up.

Mr. Basculin was a gift from Jake. Good news! Mr. Basculin is still alive.

This is all stuff that was given to me as gifts. (Aside from the con badges. They make you pay for those.) You've probably already seen the Bibi that Jake made me. "Chicken Run" was also from him. "Zapper" was from Puzz and the Gumby game (& the Bad Boe sticker) was from Scorpy. These games fuckin suck asshole!!!!!!!!! I'm obsessed with them & I'll cherish them forever. I also got a little rock and a human dog keychain.

I think Scorpy said a fan gave this to him at PAX East to pass to me eventually. I'm having a hard time reading the @ on it, but on the off-chance you see this: thank you so much. Every time I think about it I get a little teary-eyed. I want to get myself a little picture frame for it. (This is the first time someone's given me fanart like this before, and it made me very emotional. LOL)

Puzz and I only got 2-day passes for PAX, so we spent the rest of our time in Seattle hanging out with friends and seeing the sights. I don't feel like digging all the photos out right now, but we went to a really fucking nice jazz club (Dimitriou's Jazz Alley - great ambience, really good food, we saw Keiko Matsui live which was life-changing), we visited MoPOP (I hadn't been in years! It was alright! Puzz had some capital-t Thoughts about the whole place which was fun to listen to!), we rode the trains, I got a big bag of Dicks, we walked around downtown. There was this really nice coffee shop that I keep having dreams about, so I hope I can go back to Seattle soon. (Or at least eventually, next year.) Then we went to Portland for a day to say hi to a friend because the state was nearby.

Then we went back to Puzz's place in California. Then there was a major heatwave & a bunch of wildfires nearby... So we didn't have the chance to get out much in September. But that's okay. We've both been tired lately & I think we both badly needed some dedicated Not Doing Things time. It's just a shame that it was enforced by Dangerous Weather Conditions.

We got to visit some local friends and I got to try out more Bog-Standard Mediocre American Food. (Dunkin Donuts is just Tim Hortons. Olive Garden is kind of scary but the salad was really good and the breadsticks were fine. I had a middling hamburger from Jack In The Box tonight. Their milkshake was very good. I'm sure I'm forgetting others.) I went to a Macy's for the first time and the layout of the store made me have a panic attack. We went for nice walks and saw lots of nice critters and plants. I got to swim! I watched a mediocre PlayStation presentation! I turned 30 years old! Puzz took me to a very fancy and really nice Italian place for my birthday, in case you were worried that I was only eating garbage here. LOL

We got a lot of books.

Maybe too many. Also a Miles Davis vinyl for myself & some Gunpla as an early birthday gift for Puzz. And also the cookbook was a gift from family. But I'm very excited to tuck into more of these, hopefully soon. Some were for me and some were for Puzz but knowing us we're going to go "hey, I liked this one, you check it out" or "hey, I didn't like this one, but maybe you will" for a lot of them. I'm gonna start with "Annihilation" and the game essays book. ("House of Leaves" is a second copy for us, because my copy was originally Puzz's and I wanted them to be able to read it too.) I don't have room in my bags for much more than what I came here with, so we're gonna ship some of the books to each other when we're done reading.

It's been a very nice month... I feel very thankful to have a life full of love like this. I don't think I have anything else to add to this post! Thanks for reading.

[flamen1801]

The relationship between Pavel the First and Arakcheev, part 2: the corporal's shoals and short anger

In the first part, I talked about the good part of Pavel and Alexei's relationship, but there is never a perfect relationship. Pavel was very demanding, and Arakcheev did not always manage to perform everything perfectly.

Pavel was so passionate about artillery that the slightest violation of any order in it led him to displeasure, or even just anger. Arakcheev also did not avoid mistakes in the service. On December 11, 1794, the Tsarevich burst into the following note addressed to him: "What you sent, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel Arakcheev, is a special case today, being current, and beyond that, in its essence, and not deserving of any research, then I wonder why you sent a special Cossack with it, and did not wait for the established in The Gatchina post office, especially since there is nothing under your command except artillery, and in order for you to beware of such cases ahead. However, considering the non-compliance with the form of the investigation performed on furleyt Egorov, which is returned, because you should know that we have the name of seconds- and an example-majors do not exist, then I cannot, so as not to let you know about my surprise, recommending that you try to avoid such news in the future."

Once, almost in his first year of service in Gatchina, Arakcheev, being a guard officer, made some minor mistake. Pavel became angry and cursed him with the last words. Poor Alexey fell into a state of the deepest grief. And from the feeling of his innocence, from the thought that he was forever deprived of the mercy of the heir to the throne, he really sobbed. Shaken by grief to the depths of his soul, he ran to seek solace in the church. At that hour it was already empty, only the sexton was extinguishing candles in it. Rushing into the church hall, Alexei fell to his knees and began to pray desperately in complete silence. Suddenly, footsteps with the sound of spurs were heard behind him. He jumped up in surprise, wiped his eyes from tears and turned around: Tsarevich Pavel was standing in front of him.

— What are you crying about?- he asked the officer, who was wet with tears, affectionately.

— It pains me to lose the grace of Your Imperial Highness.

-"You didn't lose her at all!" Pavel replied and, putting his hand on Alexei's shoulder, continued: "And you will never lose it when you behave and serve as you have until now. Pray to God and serve faithfully, and you know that prayer is for God, and service is not for the king.

Alexey threw himself on his knees in front of Pavel and, overwhelmed with feelings, exclaimed:

— All I have is God and you!His Highness told him to get up and follow him. They left the church in silence and walked some distance. Pavel stopped, looked at Arakcheev and said:

—Go home… In time, I will make a man out of you!

Later, Alexey Andreevich would claim, recalling his service under Pavel, that he showered him with favors "not according to his merits, but according to his goodness."

Despite all his poverty, Alexei never turned to Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich with a request for a salary increase or the allocation of some one-time sum to him. Pavel was an extremely thrifty person, especially in monetary expenses, however, knowing his attitude towards the "servant" Arakcheev, it can be assumed that he would hardly refuse to provide him with assistance. But Alexey not only did not ask for money, but even managed to evade receiving the few benefits that were due to him according to his positions.

In December 1794, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich granted Lieutenant Colonel Arakcheev a leave of absence. Alexey himself asked for it. He stayed at his parents' house for two and a half months. Andrey Andreevich was already in his seventh decade and he perceived every date with Alexei as his last. That's why I wanted my son to stay at home longer. But Alexey was eager to join the service. Saying goodbye to his son, who was leaving for Gatchina, Andrei Andreevich said in his heart: "Alexey is like a wolf: no matter how you feed him, he looks into the forest!"

In 1795, Andrei Andreevich visited his Alexei in Gatchina and, apparently, it was then that he had the opportunity to meet Tsarevich Pavel.On July 29, 1796, Andrei Andreevich passed away, not having lived three and a half months before such a rise in the career of his eldest son, which he, a poor nobleman and a retired lieutenant, could hardly imagine in his wildest fantasies.Alexey received the news of his father's death a few days later. The Tsarevich hastened to comfort him. "Now I have learned about the sad news you have received," Pavel wrote to Alexey in his note. — Knowing my disposition towards yourself, you cannot doubt my participation, especially since I knew him, and there was a man of the old schlag (training). God, comfort you."

Unfortunately, there is very little information about the relationship between Arakcheev and Pavel during the latter's reign. I dare to assume that they remained the same as they were in Gatchina.

In early October 1822, the wife of Paul I, Empress Maria Feodorovna, invited Arakcheev to Gatchina for the consecration of a new church church. The Count will respond to this invitation immediately: "Having been honored at this hour to receive Your gracious Imperial Majesty's Rescript, I hasten before my arrival to bring my sincere and true loyal gratitude for allowing me to be at the consecration of the Temple of God in Gatchina, to this place of the beginning of my happiness, where I was brought up and instructed in the service and all my the concepts of my late benefactor, Sovereign and father, whose memory will forever remain in my heart, truly devoted to your August House."

The end

[butmakeitgayblog]

How was Clarke and Lexa's first time together in AWTR? Was it bittersweet knowing they have a limited time to experience this

Not bittersweet, but only because Lexa's illness was almost the last thing on either of their minds 😅

It's after a rather special and sweet date night.

Clarke takes Lexa to the town movie night, one of those things where they set up a big projector and play a movie in the park for anyone who wants to show up.

She packs them a couple picnic blankets and brings the bug spray, while Lexa's self-appointedly in charge of smuggling in the popcorn and lemonade instead of letting Clarke buy them from the stand Mr. Goodel puts up every year because, as Lexa had decreed with chin held loftily in the air, "His prices are exorbitant, Clarke. It isn't even for charity or a fund drive, it's just a racket. We are not paying six dollars for junk food." (Clarke's heart squeezes a little tighter at being one half of their thrifty-minded 'we'. So she just nods goes with it). It's an evening she knows she'll always remember. Watching the movie cuddled together under a blanket of stars. Soaking up the feeling of Lexa nestled in the space between her legs, relaxing peacefully back against her chest, safe and cozy in her arms. Kissing the intricate little braids that decorate her temple for every one of Lexa's sighs at the lovers on screen because Clarke knows she must've taken extra time to look pretty for her that night.

They get a few odd looks and side-eyes from a few choice townfolk and old friends, what with being so wrapped up in each other, but being the respective daughters of Take-No-Shit Gus and the only doctor in town, they go the whole evening without being bothered.

And Clarke fully thinks that's it.

Another successful date night in the books.

Except...

When they climb back into her car, Lexa seems to have other plans.

Because as soon as she's looked around to see if they're alone, Lexa reaches over and captures Clarke into a kiss. Deepens it. Coaxes Clarke to open up to her with a flick of her tongue. Runs her hands all over every bit of Clarke she can get. It's a little clumsy, but what she lacks in experience and grace she more than makes up for in enthusiasm. And it takes Lexa swiftly climbing over the gearshift and accidentally beeping the steering wheel's horn with her ass as she straddles Clarke's lap for her brain to finally catch up to what's happening.

The girl is like a tornado. A limber one, Clarke gives her credit for. And once she gets something into her mind it becomes damn near impossible to change it.

But also? Messy and quick in the driver's seat of her honda civic is not how Clarke pictured making love to Lexa for the first time. Lexa deserves better. And she's headstrong enough that she'll be damned if she'll allow it to play out like this no matter how persuasive the feel of Lexa's mouth sucking marks along her neck is.

So. Her girlfriend may be stubborn, but so she is.

They're a good match like that.

Because even Lexa's kiss-plumped lips panting a deliciously humid, "I want you," against Clarke's mouth isn't enough to deter her. It's not enough to stop her from slowing things down and checking that Lexa really wants what she's saying.

Lexa's sighed, "I've thought about being with you since I was 17, Clarke. I think I've waited long enough," is pretty convincing.

And also,,, very eye opening.

But she'll circle back to that at a later date.

It's a, ahem, a rough ride out to the city. Clarke struggling to keep her eyes on the road and the speedometer under 80. Because, fuck, Lexa is apparently determined to take them both out with the way she keeps leaning over to press kisses along the hinge of Clarke's neck and nibble at her ear. Her hand rubbing along Clarke's thigh is just plain unnecessary and distracting.

But she gets them there in one piece when they pull up to the nicest hotel her credit card limit would allow (not that she'd specifically researched nearby hotel prices and drive times and had them all bookmarked in descending in her tabs or anything weird and desperately horny like that) Their room is nice. Clean sheets and the air smells like a sweet, floral perfume. The bed is bigger than anything Clarke's ever slept in and honestly it's all a little intimidating.

But then there's Lexa.

Sweet, defiant Lexa, who she can tell is trying very hard to look entirely unaffected, save for the nervous little fingers plucking her sweater's bottom hem.

"I'm realizing I never considered how to get from A to B," is her contemplative response when Clarke asks what that beautiful brain is thinking. And unfortunately, despite slowly becoming an expert in the subject over the past several weeks, Clarke has to admit that she has no idea what that means in Lexa-ese. "In my head," Lexa elaborates as the tips of her ears spike a delicate shade of pink, "It was always me kissing you, and us agreeing that we wanted to have—... But, now I'm realizing I always mentally jumped to the middle. When we're already... naked in bed."

It's so adorably innocent. Or, it would be, if it weren't for the dark, ravenous look in Lexa's eyes as she basically tells Clarke without telling her that she'd very much fantasized about fucking her at some point in the past.

The thought makes Clarke's mouth go dry.

Tucking that piece of information away for a rainy day, Clarke stepped up and took the reins. Didn't make a production out of it, scared of making this precious thing feel foolish when all she wanted in the world to was to make her feel as blissful, worshiped, and cared for as she possibly could. So she shows that it's not that hard, the whole "getting from A to B" part, as she kisses her and slowly undresses them piece by piece until they're bare.

And there's something devastating about seeing her like that, about laying Lexa down on the white sheets that contrast so beautifully with the pale rose of her skin. Clarke doesn't comment on the bruises. Takes Lexa's hands and slips into the gaps between her fingers when Lexa instinctively moves to cover them up. Instead she kisses each and every one. Loves them as thoroughly as she loves every other part of Lexa's body. All the purpled blooms marking hips, biceps, and belly; little reminders of the truth that refuses to wait for them speckled across the hourglass of Lexa's body.

She makes love to Lexa as tenderly as she can with vows to go slow and be gentle. Which she does. But "not too gentle," as Lexa had breathlessly requested when Clarke coaxed her legs open and settled into the warmth there. She nibbles lines down Lexa's neck and licks the sweat dappled valley between her breasts, tastes the cherry of her nipples and leaves her own sweet lip shaped bruises there too. Clarke kisses her deeply as she makes Lexa come on the swirls of her fingers, and then again after Lexa spills over the insistent lapping of her tongue between her thighs. There's something divine in the way those thighs clamp around her head when Lexa's chest rises and falls, back bowing off the bed as she shakes apart with the force of her pleasure.

And Lexa's a spent pile of very sexy bones and sweat when Clarke manages to crawl her way back up, dropping kisses wherever she feels like, just because she knows she can. Just because Lexa sleepily moans with each and every one, and it's impossible to stop the buck of her hips when Lexa sucks the taste of herself from Clarke's tongue.

To think, she once believed this girl was incapable of any kind of sensuality. Which is so painfully untrue when Lexa finds a second wind and flips them over. In the way green eyes sparkle with lust and want. Clarke's already so worked up she doesn't think it'll take much, but Lexa seems determined to enjoy giving just as much as she did recieving.

That sweetly earnest face asking Clarke to tell her when something feels good makes Clarke feel like she's the one who might meet her maker first from the swell of love she feels for this girl, in all her pure 'adorable-mess' overload. But she just smiles and nods. Reaches up and tucks back some of that wild volume of freshly-fucked-curls that curtains her face and lets Lexa know in no uncertain terms, "Believe me, baby. You'll know."

And Lexa takes her with meticulous hands and lips, just the same as she does with everything else in her life. Resolutely. Fearlessly. Like she's making love to Clarke mind, body, and soul.

She spends an inordinate amount of time lavishing attention on Clarke's breasts. Which, just going off their previously handsy makeouts among the stacks of the bookshop? Really is no surpise there. Bites to the undersides leave rosy blooms in her wake. You'd think Lexa was the one being worshipped with the way her eyes close in ecstasy every time her tongue laps languid circles around Clarke's nipple.

They go until the sun crests over the trees that blot the city below. More orgasms and shared sighs and love-drunk bouts of laughter than either cares to count. All that matters the sweet exhaustion as they lay wrapped up in each other. Lexa streched out on her stomach across sweat and arousal soaked sheets, drifting somewhere between awake and a twilight snooze in the orange-bronzed blaze of the morning sun. Her claims of not being able to move slurred half into her pillow make Clarke smile as she mouths sleep-mussed kisses over her shoulders, neck, and spine.

It may not be everything poetic and whimsically magic as Clarke had dreamed of for Lexa in the weeks she'd spent falling in love with her, but in the moment, in the quiet of nothing but listening to each other breathe and luxuriating in skin against skin, it all feels too perfect to imagine anything else.

[bethanydelleman]

There is much discussion about Charlotte marrying Mr Collins, or if it would be better had Mary married him... But most of the time these only taking in consideration the effects on the lady and her family. (And a misguided notion that Mary was in love with him?) It made me curious. Which option do you think is best for Mr. Collins: Charlotte, Mary, or someone else?

Going to quickly address the Mary liking Collins myth. She does not accompany Mr. Collins and her sisters on the walk to Meryton and "Mary might have been prevailed on to accept him" is very far from in love!

Anyway, I do think Mr. Collins got the best possible wife for him. He will probably never have Charlotte's love or admiration, but she is on board with his flattery of Lady Catherine, manages his house, and doesn't mock him. He won the wife lottery.

I do think he would do fine with Mary, she could play piano as much as Lady Catherine desired and study theology. They would both be insufferable and oblivious of that fact, but they'd be insufferable together.

As for a more compatible woman, Mrs. Clay may be a good contender. She's an expert in flattery and doesn't mind playing deference to those more powerful than her. Lucy Steele would be great, she's absolutely shameless and would suck up to Lady Catherine masterfully. I also think both of these women would be thrifty enough to not get into debt before inheriting Longbourn. Isabella Thorpe would be a bad choice for that reason.

Mrs. Elton would also be a bad fit, I think Lady Catherine would hate her. Lydia would be a hilarious disaster. Kitty would probably do *okay*... Mary Elliot would never marry so low but she would make another very funny choice.

All the other good options, like Miss Taylor/Mrs. Weston, have higher standards.

[sim-ply-lilacs]

To her great surprise, Bea found that between Josef and herself, she was the far superior negotiator of the two and thus took over the marketing duties. Each week, Josef would hitch up the team and load the wagon with the produce they'd harvested, and Bea would drive to nearby Henford-on-Bagley, and would bargain with the shopkeepers there for the best prices on the literal fruits of their labor.

Bea loved this time. Idyllwind Farm was the dearest place on earth to her, but she found that if she didn't get away from there and socialize every once in a while, she'd grow too withdrawn and cross and become a snappish mess that would cause even Josef and her mother to look at her askance. Besides, she liked the hustle and bustle of the market. From the conversations she'd have with the other women in town, to the rich aromas emanating from the pubs, to the satisfaction of a good haggle, marketing day was Bea's favorite day of the week easily.

Which was why, when something happened to mar it, she wasn't at all prepared for it.

"Another wedge of cheese, if you please, and a length of that green ribbon for Mother's dress, Miss Goldbloom. She's decided to come out of mourning at last, and Mr. Moody and I have decided to do whatever we can to encourage her reintegration to society."

"How lovely," Miss Goldbloom demurred. "Green will go so nicely with Mrs. Fenton's coloring. Is she having the dress made up here in town? Or perhaps over in Brindleton? I ask only because a sister of mine is a seamstress and if it were the same shop I'd be happy to run it over for you free of charge."

Beatrice laughed. "My, doesn't that sound lovely! No, just Mother and me, I'm afraid. We're thrifty creatures by nature and couldn't dream of paying for something we're adequate at ourselves. I've only ever worn one boughten dress in my life, and that was the wedding dress I borrowed from Mrs. Landgraab."

"We're much the same, then!" Miss Goldbloom smiled with unhidden camaraderie. "Much to my sister's chagrin, I've only ever bought from the shop what I can't make myself. It helps to have so many ladies about. My people recently returned from the west where it's much harder to get up a sewing party out there, what with how far apart the homesteads are. You should join us sometime! We meet at a different house every week or so, so the burden of hosting does not fall on any lady unevenly."

Bea grinned at this. "Oh," she said, clasping her hands together, "I'd be thrilled to. Thank you, I do believe I'll take you up on that offer! When do you next meet?"

"In about half an hour," Miss Goldbloom replied, and Beatrice noticed all at once that Miss Goldbloom had been slowly packing the contents of her stand away as they spoke. Miss Goldbloom pulled a sewing basket that carried with it the cloyingly sweet aroma of whatever potpourri she used to keep her basket from smelling stale out from a little cubby in the stand. The scent itched Bea's nose. Her stomach lurched in protest. As Miss Goldbloom, pulled on a hat and shawl, the shopkeep spoke again, "I'm 'bout to head that way myself, if you'd like to walk over together?"

Beatrice opened her mouth to answer to the affirmative, but to her horror, found that her breakfast threatened to rise up with her answer. She swallowed. "I...thank you, Miss Goldbloom, but I'm afraid I don't have any of my mending with me. Next week?" Bea offered weakly.

If she noticed Beatrice's discomfort, Miss Goldbloom did not outwardly show it. "Of course!" she chirped, "I'll be seeing ya, Mrs. Moody!"

Beatrice offered a pale flutter of a smile, waited for her new friend's back to turn, and promptly ran with a speed unbecoming the matron of Idyllwind Farm to the water closet of the nearby pub. She proceeded to vomit up everything she'd ever eaten.

The new, electric lit, flush toilet water closets at the Galloping Mare Pub were the pride of the establishment. Second only to the town hall in running Mr. Edison's new incandescent lamps as a public building, and first to boast running water, they drew just as many patrons as the bar—often leading to an increase in customers for both. The staff were under strict orders to polish and scrub the rooms to perfection every evening. It was no good if the crown jewel of the establishment left visitors unimpressed, the proprietor insisted. The manager didn't see the point. Half the barflies went in the street, anyway.

Still, knowing this, Bea felt horribly guilty. It wasn't bad enough that she was so violently ill, but to add to the troubles of the kind waitstaff that always slid an extra Yorkshire pudding onto her plate had her working herself into an anxious mess.

By the time she exited the water closet, she was thoroughly convinced that not only were the staff of the pub going to hate her as long as she lived, but that she was soon to shuffle off the mortal coil as well. Why else would she be so sick with no other symptoms? With her emotions flying every which way? Either she was the victim of some horrible disease, soon to be snatched away from her beloved husband and their life together, or she was going as mad as Mr. Rochester's wife in the attic. Oh, she'd known she shouldn't have gotten so used to happiness. Of course it was so soon broken. Wasn't it always?

Beatrice forced herself into a semblance of composure. If she was losing her health, then she must be strong. For Mama and Josef, at the least. After all, if her fears were true, they were the ones who would truly suffer the consequences. For, while her body would lie in the churchyard of the wee rocky church where she'd been married, her soul would be in heaven with God, and with Papa. They would be the ones to truly suffer.

And they would suffer, wouldn't they? Mama would go back into her mourning and never come out, probably dying of grief, and Josef would be devastated. He didn't have many left who loved him. Probably, he would return to Prussia. He'd move back to his brother's farm, Idyllwind would fall to seed, marry some Prussian girl, and she'd give him the family Beatrice and Josef had so often dreamt of. She must be strong then, to spare them whatever pain she could. There could not be much joy left otherwise, could there?

All at once, a shock ran through Beatrice. Working out some quick math in her head, she gasped. Unless...unless perhaps, she was not sick at all. Unless her dearest dream had come true. Unless...

Prev ~ Next ~ Beginning

Lovelies, I'm back! Power and wi-fi outages have been sorted through, personal crises have ended, and the future is looking bright for our dear Moodys! Look for the tour of Idyllwind Farm just after this.

[moraygrotto]

whoops i meant 🧋with azul. either works 😭😭 my bad

- bubblotl two error correction boogaloo

u get two!!!! :D

🧋 Your character gets a big fancy beverage, and it cost way too much for them to give up on it when they get full. They know it won't save well, so even as their tummy starts feeling taut and strained, they're determined to finish.

-

Azul looks at his soda glass. He should never have agreed to negotiate a deal with these people, at least not on their home turf. They've invited the Mostro Lounge to collaborate with their restaurant, a small place with what Azul might politely call a welcoming atmosphere. The food is greasy, and the drinks are monstrously large.

His stomach has found an inopportune moment to cramp up; his professional smile was already straining, and the deal is coming to a head.

Azul can't help it; his brow twitches, and the tiniest groan escapes his throat.

"Mr. Ashengrotto? You alright there?"

Azul nods, dabs his mouth with a napkin, as his stomach shifts with a loud glorp. "More than alright," he simpers, then takes a resolute pull from his straw.

"You don't have to finish it," they tell him, voice gratingly jovial for the way Azul can feel their fare crowding his stomach, lining his guts with grease, his latest sip settling like oil upon a fire.

"After all," they say, and wink. "Our portions do run large."

"Nonsense," chuckles Azul. "I paid for it. I pride myself on being a thrifty man, even the very nemesis of waste. It's a principle of industry too often ignored." He tents his hands on the table, and leans forward, affectedly conspiratorial. He's doing excellent, he assures himself as much. "But," he says, "you mustn't take my word for it."

[zoomar]

Mr. Ice Cube Says: Tasty iced tea invigorates as it cools. It's nature's own heat - chaser- nothing artificial. Ice tea is the ideal family cooler all through the day. Thrifty - around 200 glasses to the pound of good black tea!

America's natural drink TEA keeps you cool!

[tianalaurence1]

The Princess Royal

Cheltenham 2022 Cheltenham 2024

[frankenhxmie]

   　　     　　    　　　  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚢   𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛

timothy turner is based on timmy from the fairly odd parents. he is a 22 year old human, superhero headquarters employee, and uses he/him pronouns. he has no powers.

penned by HARPER

reflection

face claim: jaren lewison sexuality: heterosexual height: 6'1 eye color: blue hair color: brown piercings: n/a tattoos: n/a

attitude

positive traits: adventurous, adaptable, extroverted, imaginative, sentimental, thrifty, passionate negative traits: childish, compulsive, takes almost everything at surface-level, yet simultaneously overthinks constantly, irresponsible at times, scatterbrained likes: comic books, nostalgia, collecting vhs tapes, vans, baseball caps, writing in blue pen, old cartoons, scott pilgrim universe, dad rock, drawing in the margins, go karts, talking a lot dislikes: babysitters, reality television, superman (he is the worst superhero and his mun agrees), not being appreciated, denzel crocker, oranges, clowns, sauerkraut (he's allergic) phobias: coulrophobia ( fear of clowns ) hobbies:  reading and talking about comic books, attempting to make his own comic books, watching tv/movie adaptations of comic books, trying to learn the guitar, forcing his godparents to hang out with him, making mix tapes on actual cassette tapes, trying to come up with the weirdest pizza toppings combination, serial crushing, avoiding talking about the neglect on behalf of his parents. aesthetic: red caps, a well loved graphic lovel, the cartoons on the backside of the sunday newspaper, the crack of a redbull can at random hours of the day, the sound of a guitar tuning, taking the wish you make on your birthday whilst blowing out the candles EXTRA seriously, being alone in a crowded room,

relations

mother: mrs. turner father:  mr. turner god parent(s):  cosmo and wanda cosma sibling(s):  n/a pet(s): two gold fish named poof and foop

headcanons

timmy has RAGING adhd, and due to his parents hardly knowing him, it wasn’t until his late teens that he was able to figure out he had it thanks to the assistance of cosmo and wanda. it heavily impacted his grades in school and made it difficult for him to sit still and focus, something he still struggles with heavily to this day despite being on medication.

timmy really loves the scott pilgrim graphic novel series, and he has the entire hardcover collection on display in his bedroom. in light of that, the movie is also a comfort one of his and he is pretty obsessed with it and any medium scott pilgrim comes in. he sees himself in scott pilgrim and identifies with him.

cosmo and wanda really replaced his absent parents and he looks to them as one would a mother and father. he truly values their opinions and judgements of him and is beyond grateful for everything they had done for him. that isn’t to say he doesn’t get moody or bratty with them sometimes, but they spoiled him when no one else would even hold eye contact. he is constantly trying to find a way to repay them for that.

timmy is a bit of a … serial crusher. when he develops a crush on someone its DEBILITATING. it becomes 50% of his personality and anyone who is in his close circle will know more about timmy’s crush than his own interests or hobbies. it’s embarrassing but timmy just wants to love and be loved. can you blame him??

timmy was the kind of kid who would hide under the covers with a flashlight after bedtime, staying up late into the evening just diving into the worlds of his heroes and their adventures, using their stories to lull him into a dream where he was just as adored and admired as the characters in his comics. comics truly were a support system for him before cosmo and wanda and they still are to this day.

sometimes, timmy gets mad he couldn’t keep cosmo and wanda as his god parents. he feels a ridiculous sense of jealousy if they ever talk about other kids and is devastated by even the CONCEPT of having to share them. there have been many times where timmy has just sat down on his bed and pleaded with the universe to turn time back so he can go back to the times he spent with them, having every wish he could imagine granted, having not a care in the world.

he actually... doesn't know the names of his parents. they never talked to him about himself or themselves enough for any sort of conversation regarding their names to even be brought up. so, he simply doesn't know their names- not that it matters much now.

[choco-bean405]

Welcome Home Ocs

Heyo guys! I'm gonna introduce to you 4 of my original characters for the Arg "Welcome Home"!

Starting off with our resident fitness girl, Marie!

(i have her current design(digital) and her old design(traditional))

She's 16 and the town's resident peppy roller derby girl! Though, she helps out with another one of the neighbors to deliver the weekly newspapers to everyone around the neighborhood. She's a bright, enthusiastic kid that's full of energy and she would have been a partial main character that appears in a few episodes. Weither it be teaching children how to exercise, or showing them how to have fun with the most minimal of items!

Though, she doesn't live alone. She has her big brother, Michael!

He's 18 and the Handyman of the neighborhood! Whilst being the more Quiet and less talkative sibling, he's a sweetheart who loves to tinker and fix things, and building things such as a fence, new flower planters, model sets (e.g. planes & cars). Anything he gets his hands on, he'll be mumbling to himself on how he could improve it or what he could build using said item.

He would have been a similar case to his sister, showing children how working hard is rewarding, teaching people different ways of communicating, and probably showing up in an arts and crafts segment along side Eddie sometimes.

Noww,these kids do have a parental figure they live with, and it's the resident Milk delivery man, Daniel the Dragonfly!

Noww, this sweetheart will greet every person he meets with a smile, Often being considered a time keeper, as he sticks to a time schedule and will often be considered a people pleaser, finding it hard to say no to things at times, so he'll be reminded of that from time to time.

He would be a reoccurring character in the show, teaching kids it's ok to say no to things you don't want to do, possibly health care segments showing how important it is to drink milk. Maybe being included in time related segments, playing "What's the time mr wolf?" With the kids that hang around the place. He loves looking after marie and michael, often asking marie to help with news paper rounds whilst he does his job, whilst occasionally helping Howdy out in his shop as an assistant.

Noww finally, Is our resident jewelry maker, Natalie Barkson!

This sassy squirrel lady is the most thrifty character you will meet in the neighborhood. Often being seen with any sort of bag as she collects her "crafting supplies" from around the town. She may hoard things she finds, but she manages to make the most wonderful things from them. "Another man's trash is another man's treasure" after all.

She would have appeared in the same arts and craft segments that michael would have been in, meanwhile acting as a side character that assists the others where she can can, whilst teaching the young children watching how to reduce, reuse ,recycle.

I hope you all like them! Enjoy! 🥰

[faustiandevil]

Found the article where the Film Archive got the photos from and decided to translate it. Please note that I’m no translator by any means and I left notes where I struggled.

“I don’t get why such a good kid always plays villains in Hollywood?” – asks Peter Lorre’s father in Budapest

Warner Oland’s Charlie Chan got an interesting rival in the form of Mr. Moto. Mr. Moto the Japanese master detective is the hero of a new novel and movie series, and is played by our old friend, Peter Lorre, who few may know is actually Hungarian and his family still resides in Pest.

- He was my most serious son, I never would have expected him to become an actor – tells us Mr. Löwenstein, Peter Lorre’s papa. �� He graduated in Vienna with honors and I enrolled him into the academy (it says keresekedelmi akadémia, which is for trade, merchant academy, but I couldn’t find like the correct translation for it so I just left it as academy). This is the first time when Lacika (this is Peter Lorre’s nickname at home) tells me that he wants to become an actor. I replied, that at least work in a civilian field for two years, and if you don’t like it, then I don’t mind…

- Lord, Laci was a genius banker – continues the papa his story – after six months he became the head of the foreign exchange branch in the English-Austria bank. There were ten phones in his room, he was headed of such a great career, but when the two years were over, he took his hat and left the bank. He didn’t even take his last month’s salary… Then he became an actor. For long years he fought, and acted in smaller German stages (again the translation is not precise, because it says vidéki which is like village, but can be used for smaller towns as well, so I just opted for smaller stages instead), until he was discovered. He had great successes in Berlin when he started in movies. His first success came from the movie “Bombs on Monte Carlo”, for me – for his father – I liked him best in “F.P.1”.

Mr. Löwenstein also said that Laci got married in London and together with his wife set out to Hollywood. I also have to tell him stories, as Peter Lorre very seldom writes back home. He doesn’t like to write, once a year he does and for the papa’s birthday. But with cable he isn’t thrifty, and phones very often.

- I just don’t get – ponders Mr. Löwenstein – that how can such a good kid always play villains in Hollywood?

Peter Lorre finally got rid of the villainous roles. Instead he became Mr. Moto, the Japanese master detective, a master of jiu-jitsu, and the enemy of all bad guys. The character only lived in books so far. In America the adventures of Mr. Moto are currently rivaling the popularity of the Sherlock Holmes books. From the book series the first movie was completed. It’s title: “Think Fast, Mr. Moto”.

Peter Lorre has such success in the role, that each month they are filming a new Mr. Moto movie with him. After this he will have even less time to write, for the birthdays of Mr. Löwenstein he will probably start phoning instead as well.

Original article by Emil Balázs.

Text under images:

Peter Lorre with his father. The picture was taken in 1921, when the Hungarian Hollywood star was last in Pest.

Childhood picture from the family album: Laci (on the right) and his three siblings.

Thomas Beck, Virginia Field and Peter Lorre in “Think Fast, Mr. Moto”.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) helps his Chinese acting partner out of a Shanghai rickshaw.

(Source: Színházi Élet 1937, 46)

[vulturesouls]

Here is the text of the second page:

THESE Gossips, being pretty near Neighbours, in summer-time at their doors for a little Gape-seed, one has got a Stocking to Knit, another has got a Clout to stitch, another stands with a Child in her arms at noon day in its blankets bare-legg'd, the turd and piss running down her Apron: so that six of these thrifty wives being got together, they all fall into discourse about some secret Geneva-shop, and call for half a quartern a piece, and for to discourse about says Mrs. Chitchat, my friend Bristle the Cobler's-wife, I have got a very secret story to tell you, but I desire before I tell you that it may go no further.

Ruth Keep-council, starts up with a solemn protestation of secresy, protesting to keep it in her breast.

Why then said Mrs. Chitchat, my Husband was up very late on Saturday Night last about a pair of Shoes, so desir'd me to fetch him a Pint of Purl, but sure such a sight did I see at my Neighbour's-house, it was surprising, but I'll say no more now.

But says the other, since you have gone so far pray let's have it out. Well then, to be sure tell no body, will ye. No says the other, if I do I will shew you my Arse.

Why then to be plain, as I told you before, I went for a Pint of Purl, but perceiving no body in the house, I push'd open the door of a little box, and there catch'd my neighbour D. Kissing of my Landlady. Why Ruth, you can't think what a concern I was in about it, nay I won't degrade the Woman neither, but faith they were at it, nay and merrily too.

Well says Ruth, I never had the faith to believe it; but we'll keep it to ourselves as a secret, however Ruth Keep-council, having unriddl'd the story, away she goes simpering to think she had got it and as she was going, Madam prate-a-pace perceiving her to simper, she makes up to her and cries, well Ruth I protest you are full of business.

I am so, but it's best known to myself what it is, why Ruth, says the other if you tell me it shall go no further from me. If I thought that, reply'd Ruth, I would tell you, but I would not for the world it should go any further, besides my Husband may come into trouble about it for what I know. But in short she told her the story. O Lord, says Prate-a-pace who would have thought it, there's a sly bitch. Oh the Devil take honesty.

(Simper = smile in a foolish way)

(Geneva-shop = gin shop)

Today I found out that that alleged 18th Century woodcut of a woman saying "come out you bitch, I'll maul you" that's been doing the rounds is apparently 100% legitimate, and the reason nobody could source it is because the screenshot gets the title wrong. It's evidently from The new art and mystery of gossiping (the popularly circulated screenshot misspells "mystery" as "mastery"), and the full text is available here: