#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.

[kindest-little-fella-in-town]

starl-high-t expreeesssss

aka. some doodles from a slowburn greased lightning/hydrusty highschool au me and my friend have been cooking up… explanations included :^]

⭐️

mx. electra is a polite & solitary compsci teacher who’s really damn good at their job, to the point that they have a gang made up of of 2020s-style neurodivergent teenagers from broken homes who stay in their classroom long after school is over to pick their brain about stuff and generally just hang out.

mr. greaseball is this big buff physed teacher who ALSO has a gang of teenage boy jocks that worship the ground he walks on. he’s macho as all hell and spends most of his free time in the school’s gym. whenever he’s not doing that, he’s off flirting with dinner ladies.

they do their best not to interact when they can help it. greaseball’s boisterous nature irritates electra. electra’s effortless charisma irritates greaseball. greaseball’s jocks probably shove electra’s nerds into lockers, and electra’s nerds probably give greaseball’s jocks 0% whenever they mark their tests. it’s slowburn for a reason!

⭐️

onto other folks. cb is a super senior who sells drugs to kids in the hallways, and slick is his protégé. she’s an a-grade student who uses her grades and Thrifty Siblings to cover for her crimes, because cb doesn’t really gaf about potential expulsion/grades slipping… he doesn’t even want to graduate. he’s just doing it for the love of the game…

(also, yes, control is the headmaster. yes, he is still, like, 7 years old. it’s funny to imagine ok)

hydra is a good kid. he is semi-involved in the Family Drug Business but doesn’t commit as hard, in part because he is far too busy angsting over the guy he has a crush on (who himself, poor oblivious idiot, is too busy angsting over the popular girl he thinks he has a crush on). he cries about it to mx. electra’s cult; in turn, they all try and wingman him in the stupidest ways possible.

also really random bonus but i wanted to draw it. greasebear Exists, as he does in most of my aus, because i feel like a stuffed animal would fix at least 50% of gb’s attitude problems (and also cause it’s really fucking funny). he keeps losing it around the building and has to find increasingly complicated ways to smuggle it back without people finding out it’s his (because every teacher thinks it belongs to a student, and it would destroy his manly image!). sakaki-azumanga-type shenanigans ensue…

⭐️

perhaps i will draw more doodles of other characters if anyone else fucks with this, or write some fic maybe. for now i’m just tossing niche self indulgence in ur faces lol,,,, enjoy🙏‼️:D

[grainsofexcellence]

What happens when Agatha goes looking for a fake date on the buy nothing group? Let's find outttttt ;P

Agatha opened the first group that came up for her, her local buy nothing group. Because while she had left behind her poverty years ago – she was still that thrifty little poor kid at heart. She scanned the page and debated giving away her extra blankets to a woman collecting for a local animal shelter that had just had a fire. She had always loved animals, but the only ones she was allowed to have were the outside dogs, cats and horses on her family's broken farm. She made a quick note of the woman’s post and a reminder to collect some blankets for her that weekend.

She opened a new post and let her cursor blink at her while she thought about how to go about this. She knew this space probably wouldn’t be the avenue for this endeavor, but maybe she could get a good laugh out of the post.

“Greetings All, I seek someone to follow me on the road home for the holidays as somewhat of a stand-in woman in my life, to piss off my deranged mother. I can promise you front row seats to a family drama more interesting than reality shows and Christmas movies combined. An all expenses paid trip to my hometown with me for a week. I know this is last minute, but if you want to do something interesting with your holidays – give me a shout.”

She rolled her eyes – it wasn’t her best work, and yet, she hit post. She let herself pick up her laptop as she decided some hot chocolate and some very strong alcohol must be in order for reading through the comments that were sure to come. 

She tilted her head as she found the expensive chocolate powder in the kitchen and wondered if this was more of a weed situation. She shrugged and continued on with her drink, grabbing a bottle of bourbon – she could get crossed, that seemed like a good evening plan. She had done it before with a good amount of success.

She stirred her drink and placed it in the microwave, her eyes moving back to her laptop that sat on her island counter. A man had responded – because of course one had. She leaned over as if she was luring her chest in his face, fucking with him. Well, if he could have seen her. She let her eyes take in his photo. Ah, so not even a man that would have been in her league. 

She snorted and ignored the message. She heard the ding of her microwave and returned to get her drink, grabbing her laptop. She wandered into her living room and pulled out a blunt from her cabinet drawer. She sat in her recliner and set her laptop on her lap, took a sip of her drink and set her mug back down, staring at her weed. Her eyes landed on the lighter she needed across the room. She rolled her eyes. A ping had them drifting down to the post, a new man, better looking this time, was shooting his shot.

“You’re stunning, Gorgeous. I would love to accompany you home for the holidays.”

She groaned. “Well, apparently literacy is dead.” But what had she expected? That there might be some woman, some hot woman, that would want to accompany her home just to help her piss off her mother? Maybe she could settle for a stupid man, maybe there would be one that could piss off her mother, even if for a brief moment Evanora would think that Agatha had been “Cured”.

She moved her laptop and went to retrieve her lighter. Upon lighting up, she walked over to her window, cracking it open with force. She held the smoke in her lungs for as long as she could before she let it trickle out slowly. She let her eyes follow the trail of smoke as it blew towards her neighbor’s window, her lips ticking upwards into a smirk. 

Mrs. Heart was going to have a field day when she figured out what the smell was and where it was coming from – but Agatha knew the woman would give it a good two hours before she would be able to identify the smell and come stomping over in the snow to confront her about her life choices. She swore it was as if her mother were around sometimes.

She smiled as she saw Mrs. Heart’s nose scrunch up in disgust through her partially open kitchen window. Coughing quickly as the smell must have hit her. Her voice growing frantic as she shouted for her husband to come quickly, a skunk must be outside! Her desires firm that he needed to go chase it away before it got in the house. 

Agatha chuckled as she heard the man complaining loudly about how he didn’t want to get sprayed either. As they argued, Agatha took another long drag of the blunt and closed her eyes, letting the smoke fill her lungs and relax her body… and her mind. Both enjoying the moment of stillness.

A ping had her eyes flashing open, the smoke leaving her mouth in a whoosh that sent a cloud billowing from her window. She turned and set her joint down on an incense tray, as she made her way back to her computer. Her eyes ready to pop out of her head when she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen respond with a large photo of herself in a revealing black swimsuit. 

“Oh, I’m all for pissing off mother’s. Give me a call. (or like a DM).”

Blue eyes scanned for a name. Rio Vidal. Ah, Spanish, she loved a bilingual girl.

She snorted after her eyes had devoured the picture. Had this woman really just posted a photo like that on the Buy Nothing page? She moved to hover her cursor over her name and hesitated before clicking on messaging her. Her self preservation attempting to kick in.

What if she was a psycho? Is this how she wanted to die?

She looked at the woman’s photo once more, and raised an eyebrow, happy with what she saw.

Honestly, how could she be mad at it? What a way to go.

Continue 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

[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.

[tianalaurence1]

The Princess Royal

Cheltenham 2022 Cheltenham 2024

[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!

[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! 🥰

[dollycas]

I am delighted to welcome Barabara Early to Escape with Dollycas today: I was in college in 1984 when the first episode of Murder, She Wrote aired, and to be honest, I may have been a couple of years late in joining the party. I recall Remington Steele(‘82) and Scarecrow and Mrs. King(‘83), leading the way by introducing strong female characters, known for their intelligence more than their jiggle. I remember I was hooked on MSW by ‘86, because I vividly recall struggling to stay up to watch it on a Sunday night—when I had to be at work the next morning at 6am, after an hour-long commute. I suppose, from the point of view of an early 20-something at the time, that what initially attracted me was that I saw in Jessica Fletcher a hint of one of my favorite mystery protagonists, Miss Jane Marple. While I can now better appreciate the difference in age between the two, they shared the experience of being undervalued and underestimated. Instead of being angry and bitter over this, they proved their worth over and over again, with a brilliance that surprised their antagonists--and yet they both maintained a steady humility, friendly disposition, and good temper. Well, most of the time. When I was first approached as to whether I’d be interested in joining Terrie Moran in writing Murder, She Wrote books, I had mixed feelings. Not as to whether I wanted to write them—it’s a dream job! My question was whether I could do the character justice. It’s a heady thing writing dialogue knowing that readers will “hear” it in Dame Angela Lansbury’s voice. What convinced me to try (I still had to submit a proposal for the editor) was a combination of Terrie’s encouragement and the recognition that I was now a fifty-something female former English teacher turned mystery writer, and Jessica and I had something in common! It can also be intimidating to try to follow in the footsteps of the treasure-trove of authors who have written this character in the past: Donald and Renee-Paley Bain, Jon Land, Terrie Farley Moran, and those who originated the television character in the first place: Fisher, Levinson, Link, and the many episode writers. While I have yet to see how readers receive my efforts to chronicle Jessica’s latest adventure, I hope that my age, experience, and hard work will lend that ring of authenticity to her voice. Meanwhile, I’m having a lot of fun. It’s hard not to really enjoy a job that starts with a leisurely cup of coffee or two and a couple of hours of television watching to ensure that I get the voices just right, but it’s also a part of the job I take very seriously. The series left us with some well-drawn and beloved main characters. Dr. Seth Hazlitt, the thrifty curmudgeon on the outside, is full of compassion and wisdom for those who care to see it. Sheriff Metzger, the streetwise NYC cop who retired to Cabot Cove thinking it would be simpler and relaxing, started out as a bit of an antagonist in those early episodes, but later grew to be one of Jessica’s closest friends. “Mrs. F,” as he chose to call her, has become almost a term of endearment. As for Jessica herself, her manner of speaking is precise, crisp, and a notch or two more formal than my natural voice, with--perhaps because of her years spent teaching English--more literary and poetic allusions and a huge active vocabulary, yet her tone is nearly always friendly and gracious and never snooty. Writing her spoken and internal dialogue, for me, involves layers and multiple editing passes, first putting on paper what Jessica is trying to say, then tweaking it to better resemble how I think she would actually phrase that idea. And then doing it again, until I hear it in Jessica’s voice myself. Forty years have passed since Murder, She Wrote introduced us to Jessica, and I’m happy to see that enthusiasm for the series hasn’t waned much. Episodes can be found on multiple channels and streaming services and there’s talk of a movie. Clothing and giftware can still be purchased and a new Jessica Fletcher action figure was just released. (Yes, of course, I got one! It has a little typewriter and everything!) I almost feel like I got to play with mine early—and not just her, but Seth and Mort and all the rest of the finely-drawn characters from both the television run and the fifty-nine books that have been released prior to this one—and move them around the big, gorgeous doll house that is Cabot Cove, Maine. Thank you, Barabra for visiting with us today! Keep reading for more information about Barbara's new book... Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Barbara Early About Snowy with a Chance of Murder Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder Cozy Mystery 60th in Series Setting - Maine Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (March 18, 2025) Language ‏ : ‎ English Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593820045 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593820049 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D7G8TTLR In a nod to Rear Window, this newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series finds Jessica Fletcher coping with an injury that leaves her homebound—and a murder just outside her window! Jessica Fletcher has taken a nasty spill on the ice, leaving her in a wheelchair for several weeks. She tries to work on her latest manuscript but finds herself distracted by a new neighbor moving in across the street. There’s good reason for her to be distracted, because soon after unpacking his sparse belongings, Mr. Rymer is out in the front yard, building somewhat risqué (read: naked) snow sculptures. While Cabot Cove debates whether the sculptures are a protected form of art or a public display of lewdness, someone starts destroying them at night. Rymer doesn’t seem upset. He just makes new ones. No need to get the police involved over a little snow, he says. Especially when there’s plenty more of it and a blizzard in the forecast. The morning after the storm, Jessica looks out the window to see a new sculpture across the street—and the body of Mr. Rymer half-buried in the snow. Can Jessica catch a cold-blooded killer from her chair by the window? About the Authors Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but after four years of doing nothing but math, developed a sudden allergy to the subject and decided to choose another occupation. Before she settled on murdering fictional people, she was a secretary, a schoolteacher, a pastor’s wife, and an amateur puppeteer. She lives in Western New York State (Go Bills!), where she enjoys cooking, crafts, classic movies and campy seventies television, board games, and spending time with her granddaughters. ​Before teaming up with Jessica Fletcher, she previously wrote the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series and the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries (as Beverly Allen). 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