#I mean Persuasion could work so well in a modern setting

[lily-s-world]

The fact that there are so many Jane Austen retellings and adaptations out there, but none of them is a sapphic version of Persuasion is downright criminal.

#And homophobic #I mean Persuasion could work so well in a modern setting #I need something like this #Persuasion #Jane Austen #jane austen persuasion #anne elliot #frederick wentworth #anne x frederick #Sapphic Jane Austen #Sapphic

[throwaway-yandere]

"Careful, He Bites." (Yandere!Kamisato Ayato/Reader)

A/n: Here ya go @busy-dadzawa-fish! I mean, this fic is technically a cat!ayato but, e h e. I hesitated on posting this tbh. Soldier, Poet, King seemed so light-hearted and nearly wholesome (especially Childe's POV), so I wanted to write a yandere story that had more of the Yan elements and not the Dere. (I also added a few details to make everyone miserable cause I need the s p i c e.) If you want a fluffy cat story please send another request! I'd be happy to do it! I promised I won't write some messed-up stuff lmao (I swear I'm not sadistic).

Unreliable synopsis: Cat ayato. But heavily based on nekomata myths and I've taken some major liberties after reading yokai.com over and over again--.

Cw: Yandere! Ayato. Signs of abuse. (Technically) Cannibalism. Japanese folklore in a modern setting. I doubt my writing is graphic and disturbing enough but if you find these topics sensitive please don't read the fic. Your mental health matters more, you matter more than some fic, kay? Please reach out if you are a victim of abuse.

Extra:

Itto's Side Story (happens before this fic)

---------

It's raining, and it's cold tonight.

The white cat's ears drooped. It wasn't fond of the rain. The rain often smeared the paws of its feet like spilled cyan ink. It didn't like how the mud sticks to its fur. The sound of raindrops wasn't all that pleasant for its ears either, especially when the place made it sound too loud for comfort.

Traveler...

The cat spoke in purrs. Not long ago, it broke free of its cage to pursue its beloved human. The human traveled a lot, but she was unable to take the cat with her. Unlike her, the cat cannot escape from its stifling responsibilities. It may provide the best services a domesticated cat could offer, but its heart ached for more. "A day in the life of a traveler" interested the cat, who wanted to know what it meant. The cat wished to know what "a day in the life of a traveler" meant. Her spirit was as free as the petals that travel into the wind, and the cat wanted to be blown away towards the path she threaded.

However, as expected, it only led the cat to an uncomfortable position. There is no shelter to be had in these half-abandoned urban streets. Barely any establishments considered adding covers above their sidewalks, instead, the only shade it could crawl under would be underneath the air conditioners.

It whined quietly. 

The only place which had a roof was the flower shop.

And it's the one place where it was told not to go to.

The "Sakura Bloom Flower Shop" stands out in its vibrant green and pink paint in contrast to the shallow and dilapidated stores around it. Not only does it outperform the competition in terms of appeal, but the floral scent also drowned out the smell of damp cement and trampled dirt. These two sensory factors were more persuasive than a sign or an advertisement, and the cat longed to enter. Depending on one's mood, this proud store amongst the rundown town could either bring hope or annoyance.

It heard a chime and looked up to see someone smiling.

... The cat seems to know you.

"Pssst, pssst. Come inside, little one." You called out with the door open. Raindrops began to move in splotches towards the store's entrance. You continued speaking under the assumption that it could understand you. "It's cold outside, is it not? Come, take shelter from the rain for the time being. Inside is warm, and I would not offer this if it were otherwise colder."

The feline arched its head. Your accent was quite a surprise to hear, especially in this area, and you pronounce words distinctly familiar to the Kansai dialect. Perhaps you were a village human who moved into the city-- judging how you managed the flower shop, it's easy to assume you worked the land as well.

... It wouldn't hurt to enter, right?

The cat reluctantly stepped inside.

You were an honest human. Your store was as warm as you made it out to be. It looked around and noticed a red beckoning cat figurine sitting on your counter instead of the usual gold one. Why would you bring a red maneki-neko to a store when gold figurines are typically considered charms for prosperous business?

"H-Here."

You gently placed a towel beside the cat. It stared, wondering why you wouldn't help the animal dry off and only observed it from afar.  

Even so, it appreciates your generosity. When it was smaller, humans refused to offer assistance to the cat since they believed white-furred cats harnessed the moon's spiritual energy for malicious intent. Humans are foolish most times, and perhaps it's biased to say you're not as bad--

The cat sneezed.

It was ashamed. Just right after you let it inside your cozy place, its body immediately did something involuntarily humiliating. It hoped that you wouldn't mind.

Instead, you covered your nose, mildly petrified. 

The cat shrank back. 

Oh no. Please don't kick it out. 

Did it just mess everything up?

It closed its eyes before you pulled something out of your bag.

The store bell rang once more.

"There you are, Himegimi."

A light-haired man entered the establishment. He shook and cast his soaked umbrella aside. You immediately recognized him upon first glance and gave him a shy wave, which he vaguely reciprocated. His eyes preyed on the cat that eased itself into the corner. 

His smile did not reach his eyes. 

"I've been looking everywhere for you, and this is where you chose to stay? After I told you to stay put?"

"G-Good evening, Ayato." You sniffed.

Like a mother dragging her kittens along, Kamisato Ayato scooped up the cat by the nape of its neck. You raised an eyebrow. You may be allergic, but you spent enough of your free time watching cat videos to know that that probably isn't the safest way to pick up a feline.

The cat went limp.

There is an array of things you didn't know about the "man" and his "pet" before you, and Ayato would most prefer for that to remain unchanged. He adores your naivety, and he will use it to his full advantage.

Nothing good will occur if you noticed the two anomalies behind his back. What you don't know can't hurt you.

"Allow me to extend my sincerest apologies, (Y/n)." His hand was elevated higher, and his eyes peered deeply into the cat's conscience. The cat dodged Ayato's cold glare as its small paws quivered a little.

The cat observed that you were carrying some tablets and tissue sheets after being raised higher. The cat was a little relieved because it had assumed you were bringing out a spray to scare it away before. Its anxieties didn't make sense. No kind human would shun a cat for sneezing.

"I didn't know my cat entered your establishment."

"T-This is your cat? A-Ah don't worry about it, Ayato." You laughed while dabbing a tissue on your runny nose. "The c-cah-cat isn't shedding, a-anyways. Your cat is well behaved, it's most definitely alright." 

"Oh no, I'll be sure she'll be on her best behavior from now on."

The small cat's eyes widened as it peered up at what was above your counter. A kagura bell wand was neatly tucked inside a wooden box. Based on how it was carelessly positioned on a table, you probably did not know about the catalyst's importance. You weren't aware it was a catalyst in the first place. 

Ayato hadn't noticed the bell yet and cooed. "This is no good. You're already having an allergic reaction."

You smiled softly back at the cat as if its presence was no danger to your wellbeing. 

You're allergic to cats? And you still let it inside?

Ayato pinched his nose and sighed. Someday, your indiscriminate kindness might kill you. "Seriously, (Y/N), I appreciate what you've done for this Himegimi but you ought to stop taking care of whatever poor animal you see. You didn't exactly win the genetic, err, bingo."

The cat, 'Himegimi', opened her mouth. Oh. That must be the reason why you had a red beckoning cat figurine instead. Prayers for good health matter more than gold.

"I took some antihistamines before I let it in, worry not." You folded the napkin nicely and threw it in the nearby trash can. Nobody commented on the large number of tissues hidden beneath the empty potato chip bag.

"In fact, I... feel rather drowsy at the moment because of it. Her name is Himegimi, right? Sorry, I must've mistaken that your cat was a boy. You spoke of it like it was handsome and elegant. I've forgotten that those words can complement a little princess."

Ayato smiled and his cheeks flared up. 

Handsome and Elegant.

"I have two cats... 'Yashiro' is my other cat. Is he not handsome?"

You chuckled and joked. "I cannot say. I've never met him."

Well, he's standing right in front of you.

"–I was not remotely aware you own two pets. You only ever talk about Yashi so quite the favoritism you have here. No wonder she ran away from home. Had my clan not been burdened with this illness I would've taken her in." You continued half-jokingly while averting your eyes. For someone who owns not one but two cats, you questioned how great of an owner Ayato is when he grabbed Himegimi by the nape moments ago.

Especially when Himegimi entered the store, limping.

He brought the cat closer to his face. Ayato nearly forgot "Himegimi" is hanging by his fingers.

Ayato deadpanned. "I'm actually a dog person."

"Sure. Cause you definitely smell like a dog person." You laughed again. Ayato grinned. He could never get enough of hearing that.

Ayato suddenly frowned. 

"But truly, (Y/n), I'm worried at how easily you animals and people things in. You know what happened to Kokomi."

"I'll be fine."

"You don't know that--"

"As I said," you rubbed the back of his unoccupied palm. "I'll be fine. You worry too much, Ayato."

It's a shame that these affectionate gestures are an expensive luxury. Every time you and Ayato shared a room you are required to take an allergy shot to ease some rashes since he's a self-proclaimed cat lover and he can't remove fur from his clothes no matter how hard he washes them. It's almost like he produces cat allergens himself. You teased about it before but he only gazed at you with glossy eyes. 

Ayato's breath hitched. Your hands. He never would've imagined it would be this warm. His face was heavy and overwhelmed, it was on the verge of melting away at any second. Your touch was incredibly delicate.

He wants to scratch and rip it to pieces–

Your gentle voice snapped him out of his trance. "If anything, I'm a bit embarrassed I cannot offer you anything for dinner. What I cooked tonight isn't the most palatable..."

Ayato hurriedly gulped and hoped that you haven't noticed that his human palms were sweating. He wished you wouldn't see past his platonic concern and notice his attraction towards you.

He looked up, tense. "Your signature too-salty ramen?"

You nodded bitterly.

Ayato slightly shrugged while he abruptly pulled his hand away. "I hate to brag but I'm a worse cook than you are."

The cat tilted her chin up and stared blankly at him. If he knew about his skills then he should stop forcing her and Thoma to play hotpot. 

"You sounded just like Itto." You shook your head.

The cat blinked.

Itto?

You sighed. "I suppose I'll act like Sara and insist that we should strive to be better at cooking instead."

"I doubt Ei and Miko were pleased to hear her lectures. Act like her and I'll be the same as them. You're better off being yourself. I like you for who you are." Ayato answered the last part earnestly, making you flustered over his shift in tone.

The cat's interest peaked. You naturally encountered a hinnagami, a kitsune, a tengu, and an oni? At this rate, you're most likely an onmyouji or at least someone who has the potential to become one. Onmyoujis can conjure divinations, therefore their fates are intertwined with the supernatural. No ordinary human would encounter yokai as though it's an everyday occurrence. Do you own a kagura bell wand for that reason?

Ayato noticed the cat staring at the table and their train of thought became one and the same. He grimaced.

"Why do you have that?"

Given that it is allegedly unusual for a florist to obtain a wand, the more reasonable queries would have been "where" or "how" did you get that, but Ayato panicked. Fortunately, you didn't seem to mind his somewhat insensitive question.

"Ah, this?" You unceremoniously picked up the bell. The bells chimed a melancholic tone as you shook them lightly.

The two flinched at the sound. The cat squeaked in pain before Ayato covered its mouth. 

"Yae gave it to me. She said it would help me dispel wraiths and unwanted yokai. I don't know where she gets such unfounded ideas, but I suppose her eccentric nature is part of her charm."

His elegant demeanor shattered. Ayato's hand slammed down the table while his knees bent back.

"T-That damn fox...!" Ayato's husky and frail voice spat at the bell in your hand.

Whoever gave that to you knows what they were doing. No ordinary human can use the bell as a catalyst. What on earth is that shrine maiden trying to accomplish?! He had suspicions that you're an onmyouji diviner and this confirmed it.

The best and worst part is that you still haven't noticed it yet.

You hummed. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"P-Put that down first." 

You flinched and did as commanded. "A-are you alright, Ayato? You sound ill."

Ayato whimpered and bit down his lip. Just hearing the bell drained him a month's worth of energy. Ayato needs to be fed. He paused and pondered over how he should react until he felt the cat yanking his shoulder.

Right, the "cats".

He grabbed the cat once more and gently patted her head. 

"I-I'm sorry, (Y/n). I have to go. I forgot the cats haven't eaten dinner yet." 

You pouted. "You look under the weather, my friend. Why don't you stay here a little wh--"

"I'm hungry."

He gritted his teeth and offered another cheap smile. It hurts for him to say it, but he needs to decline your offer.

"I'm very hungry."

Your will to look after him deterred. Your too-salty ramen isn't the best way to sate his and his cats' hunger, albeit it would probably give them health complications. Unbeknownst to you, that isn't what Ayato was worried about. You chuckled nervously.

"Understood." You opened the door and helped him carry his umbrella.

"Enjoy your dinner!"

Ayato grinned. "Y-You too!" 

You're so sweet. You didn't need to say it. He will. And he's growing impatient.

Especially when the cat dragged in quite a generously sizeable meal.

--------------

It's raining outside.

Shikanoin Heizou hated the rain.

Everything that happened in his life that was incredibly unlucky did so while it rained. When he said goodbye to his business partner Sango, it started to rain. When his companion admitted to being a phony, it started to rain.

And as his main suspect bashed him in the head from behind, it started to rain.

But it didn't rain when he first woke up inside a cramped cage. Perhaps the blow was harder than he thought because Heizou mistook the sounds he heard for drizzles. Reality was far crueler, however.

What woke him up was the echoing blood that dropped from hanged dissevered limbs.

Uncharacteristically, aspiring Detective Heizou did not jump for clues, instead, his attention was locked on the petrified girl beside him. He nearly failed to identify her.

So much had been deprived. Her commercial mermaid appearance aged to reflect a traditional deep sea siren, with gills and scales ripped apart. There was no vitality left in Sangonomiya Kokomi. His mind was plagued by the sight of her emaciated cheeks and fish-like eyes. Now, she looked like the shell of her former self. 

Kokomi was trapped in this eerie basement before Heizou arrived. She was exceedingly popular, especially among varsity men who applaud her sports tactics. Her connections don't matter anymore. Nobody will come. The sharp, burning sensation where her leg used to be is a painful reminder of that. Only false hope and confidence held her bones together.

At least when Heizou gazed away, the strong fragrance of wisteria drowned her amputated leg's foul odor. Your flowers smelled better than oxygenated blood. Heizou is unsure of whether he should consider that luck. He won't focus his senses with more forebodings of death. When Heizou saw a blue eyeball roll to the other side of the room after the corpse failed to keep it intact, he knew Kokomi didn't come without a friend.

It doesn't take a genius to piece out that the half-eaten limbs dripping down the table were Gorou's. He simply didn't dare to ask about the victim and culprit. And even if he did, he doubt Kokomi would give him an answer the great detective didn't already know.

They both sat motionless. They had no idea that their final moments would be spent together confined in a small dog cage. Gingerly, his stick fingers ran through her scalp while she rested on his shoulder. Kokomi's blood trickled down his pants, but he pretended not to feel it.  The dying girl felt relief under his tender touch. They had no sense of time, yet they still awaited this hard day's end. And Kokomi, hoarse and frail as her voice already is, spoke of the future brightly.

"This is not so bad..." Kokomi leaned her weight more on Heizou's arm. Her breathing is slow and far from deep, and her forceful grip on Heizou's arm grazed like a feather's. "Take heart... With (Y/n)'s flowers... We'll have a peaceful..." It pained for her to speak, so Heizou didn't let her finish.

Even in such a moment of despair, Kokomi still thought of her best friend with great endearment.

You have great friends.

You had great friends.

Bile rose to his throat. He lacked the courage to counter that his intuition screamed otherwise. Heizou, a criminal justice student, hoped he could strangle her to give her the sweet release of death. But to his anguish and relief, there was no need to taint his hands, and blood loss caught up to her like a broken hourglass.

Miss Sangonomiya Kokomi was gone. The future she predicted never came. And surely, her family would grieve for their daughter and her varsity team will miss their manager.

".... Man alive." He uttered his catchphrase. It was painfully ironic.

Heizou cradled her corpse for hours, denying the facts for his sanity. She was cold and damp. The stains in his pants reached oxidation until she also stopped bleeding out. The cage had never felt smaller and claustrophobic.

He waited for something to kill him. He waited for his turn.

And then he heard screaming from upstairs.

"I don't have to explain every little thing, Ayaka! You're old enough to know that you should just listen-- If you would JUST listen!" 

Heizou chuckled lifelessly. The voice belonged to Kamisato Ayato. Who else would it be?

It's regrettable that Heizou stepped right into his trap rather than catching his suspect. Heizou had suspicions about the individual because he had no presence in public records or social media, yet Kamisato Ayato appeared right at home within the campus' crowd. Heizou's intuition never lied.

But he didn't expect that his target was a yokai.

Heizou had a gut feeling, yet he willfully ignored it. The urge to devour human meat does not come naturally from sane people, but the same cannot be said for the supernatural. He initially thought you were responsible for the disappearances. The majority of the victims, including Gorou and Kokomi, who went missing were from your friend circle. But you were allergic to cats, Heizou saw your reactions first hand, and the pieces of evidence were usually embedded with--

The door to the basement opened. 

Ayato emerged from the shadows and dropped a white-haired cat without consideration. His volume was lower as he spoke. "Fine. If I must spell everything out for you, I will." 

Cat hair.

Heizou curiously watched the cat-- the bakeneko-- shudder in fear as her brother untactfully dragged something heavy across the floor. Ayato didn't seem to notice that Heizou was awake or that Kokomi had died. He didn't even care about the half-eaten Gorou sloppily decaying on his table. His human fingers were far more occupied wrapping around another deceased woman's high ponytail. 

The victim had blue-gray eyes underneath her light blue bangs. Heizou had never seen that woman on campus or in the basement before. The woman appeared to be younger than them-- likely a senior high school girl. Her girlish red ribbons gave it away. Her appearance is uncannily similar to Ayato's. One thing to note was that nekomatas can take the appearance of their former masters. And Heizou had a bad feeling that Ayato stole her brother's identity.

"Right after you eat."

He threw the corpse in front of the cat.

The cat, Himegimi or more truthfully "Kamisato Ayaka", breathed in sharply.

This was the second time her brother offered a woman's corpse. It wasn't as if bakenekos and nekomatas are unable to digest what regular cats eat. Her brother invites her to partake in human flesh, if only so that she will be able to shape-shift into one more easily. Ayaka is not particularly talented in transfiguration, it would take years to master without the proper diet. And this was the solution her brother offered. 

Human corpses.

"Don't worry, she was already dead when I found her."

Heizou and Ayaka didn't question him. The corpse was littered with month-old scars, and in the dark, their skin appeared discolored. Heizou assumed the woman had drowned, and Ayato had gone to retrieve her shortly after she died.

That was a scene Ayato liked. He grinned broadly when he observed the woman fumbling about in the hope that the boy on the bridge would reach for her hand. But honestly, was he ever obliged to set free what is essentially a great opportunity?

Based on her body's bruises, the deceased must've handled her brother's disappearance poorly. It must've been incredibly painful for her to see her missing brother in her final moments.  

If Ayaka could just master taking this woman's form, then they could abandon their yokai lives. They could live their lives as human siblings, and no one would bat an eye. If she could just do what she was been told, then Ayato would've had you in his arms.

The two yokai jolted as they heard Heizou banging inside his small cage.

"YOU BASTARD!!!"

Heizou screamed, raspy and full of hatred. It was all he can do. However, his emotions were foreign to them, and they did not reach yokai. The nekomata laughed.

"Ah, so you're finally awake. How marvelous. A pleasant evening to you, Detective Heizou." He replied sardonically. "Hah. From detective... to victim."

Heizou bit his tongue and let his anger simmer. There is nothing he can rebut with when the truth hurts more. Shikanoin Heizou ceased speaking for the remainder of the evening, for now.

Ayato caught a glimpse at the body beside him. "Hmm. It appears that she's already spoiled. Pity. I would've saved this woman from drowning if you just ate Miss Sangonomiya, my dearest sister. Wasting food... I'm almost sure that human mothers give punishment for that."

Ayaka gulped as she relives the pain of kneeling on salt in her most excruciating memories.

A bakeneko living with her nekomata sibling is torture.

He is doing this out of love. He would not be infuriated if that wasn't the case. This was the norm of their family's culture. Kamisato Ayato would not let two innocent women die if he didn't love his stupid, weak, little bakeneko sister.

He hissed. He did not like the pathetic look on her face.

Kamisato Ayato was normally not akin to a savage beast. He believes that he and his sister must carry themselves with elegance at all times, even when their actions are deemed immoral. When partaking in human flesh, he cuts and boils them into a nice pot with his handpicked eccentric seasonings. He refuses to eat until his friend Thoma had tenderized their meat and had their bones discarded. But he had grown hungry and impatient. 

After you carelessly chimed the kagura bells, Kamisato Ayato had grown more restless.

Everything that went down tonight is your fault.

"Did you not wish to walk at her pace? Did you not long to run and bury your head on top of that dandelion human's shoulder? Did you not wish to travel alongside her?"

She is aware that her brother is distorting events to make it appear as though she was the one who yearned to be a human. Because the love of his life, you, cannot survive around animals like her, Ayato took the whole truth and poured some out. She is a liability as a bakeneko, after all, and yet...

Ayaka sobbed. She sobbed because she knew the answers to these questions. She sobbed because she knew the lengths she would go through for her favorite human as well.

And she was repulsed by the whole truth.

Ayato violently grabbed his sister's face. Her snot ran down his palm whilst he pinched her mouth open. 

Ayaka resigned to her fate.

"You want to see Lumine again, don't you?"

... Yes.

"Then eat."

And she took a bite.

It's a major shame, truly, that Kamisato Ayaka never found out that the dandelion human was her brother's first meal.

#yandere genshin #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin x reader #yandere ayato #yandere fanfiction #yandere kamisato ayato #kamisato ayato x reader #yandere #yandere x reader #tag: careful he bites #yandere oneshot #yandere male #man i really did just add heizou to add more suffering huh? #after i finished writing my draft my friend pointed out that my version of yan!ayato seems to have a vendetta against anemo users #and i realized it too late lmao #after soldier poet king i needed to write something awful lmao #so uh maybe i got too creative with that request lmao #i shouldve learned from dont hug my im scared smh #ansy-writes

[triviareads]

i just finished a novel you recommended (bed me duke! excellent!) and moved on to my usual annual re-read of northanger abbey and do you have any recommendations for romance novels for each austen couple? i think that would be pretty cool!

I love that! the Bed Me series has never failed me so far, and I'm very excited for book 4, Bed Me, Baronet (the hero's a blond and possibly a virgin based on ALL his friends speculating about him in each of their books lol). As for romance novels based on Austen couples, I'm gonna be a little selective here because I haven't actually read Sense and Sensibility (but I vaguely remember watching the movie) or Mansfield Park:

Pride and Prejudice

There are lots of romance novel adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, and there are even more claiming to be inspired by the "enemies to lovers" aspect of P&P EVEN IF IT'S NOT AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS ROMANCE. So my best recommendation would be Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne; it's a modern adaptation set in Washington D.C.; Liza is a local radio DJ and activist who meets Dorsey (a Filipino adoptee) and realizes they're on opposite sides of the gentrification situation occurring in DC. I loved how the book dealt with the class difference along with the added layer of race. It also modernized the "proposal" aspect really well imo because randomly asking a gal to marry you without even dating wouldn't necessarily work in the modern era BUT the proposal Dorsey put out there still felt inherently degrading to Liza even if she'd hooked up with him already (another change from the original, and an appreciated one).

Persuasion

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas: I'll forever recommend this; McKenna and Aline were childhood sweethearts before they were separated by her father the earl, because McKenna was a stableboy. Now he's uber-wealthy and resentful about what happened all those years ago BACK for REVENGE and by revenge I mean he's going to seduce Aline and... that's about it lol. Never has a man come back with more loathing/self-loathing with a plan that's so half-baked even his drunk friend is like "but are you sure buddy".

Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez: Another second-chance romance; Gillian asked Nicky to take her virginity when they were teenagers and teach her about sex stuff before leaving for college. Now she's back and divorced, and they're skirting around each other and having multiple clandestine encounters even though they think it's all temporary. While there's not much of a class difference, you get the sense Nicky thought of himself as her bit o'rough and she was an unattainable princess-type to him.

The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long: Second chance romance with love at first sight; There were a couple aspects that really reminded me of Persuasion; there's very similar language to Anne where Olivia is described as having "withered away" since Lyon left, and she refuses all other suitors. And! Lyon is a sailor like Wentworth except, well, not on the legal side of things lol. It's also just super romantic when they do reunite years later.

Emma

Bed Me, Baron by Felicity Niven: George and Phoebe are long-time friends who've known each other since she was a baby. She asks him for sex lessons so she can help her please her future husband who she's engaged to (not George lol). While there's not much of an age gap in this one (4 years), George Danforth is daddy so that should square you away there.

Olivia and the Masked Duke by Grace Callaway: Here's an Emma/Knightley-ish age gap, plus, Ben and Livy were family friends/friends since she was a kid. Later on, she sees him having sex with another woman in the stables and it's basically her sexual and romantic awakening, so she spends a lot of the book chasing after him while he's running for his life.... until he isn't. Sex-wise the vibes are daddy dom/mildly bratty.

Sense and Sensibility

The closest I could think of in terms of Marianne/Col. Brandon was Rosalind and Torrington from A Recipe for a Rogue by Kathleen Ayers. Like Marianne, Rosalind is initially horrified that an *older man* like Torrington might want to marry her (the number of old man-girdle and secretly balding hair jokes.... hilarious) and Rosalind avoids every attempt her mother makes to match them. Torrington is attracted to her from the get-go and slowly woos her by way of exchanging recipes, baked goods, and licking food off her thighs.

tbh I have no idea who'd fit Elinor/Edward's vibe.

Northanger Abbey

It's actually very hard to find heroes who have Henry Tilney's playful irreverence paired with Catherine's sweet naivete so I'm holding off on this one for now!

#book recs #kathleen ayers #angelina m lopez #grace callaway #felicity niven #julie anne long #lisa kleypas #nikki payne #historical romance #romance novels #contemporary romance #ask #jane austen #pride and prejudice

[gothhabiba]

"Anne Eliot was wrong to let her desire to please others go too far and prevent herself and Captain Wentworth from achieving happiness; it would have been better for her to have insisted on marrying him from the beginning" is a very bad, wrong, shallow take on Persuasion... like in a way that's pretty clearly and explicitly explored within the text itself imo

In Persuasion I see Jane Austen continuing a concern that she had also developed in Emma--namely, a concern with knowledge and foreknowledge. Under what conditions can we be said to "know" something before the fact? Under what conditions after the fact can we be said to have "predicted" something? Is it enough for "knowledge" for your predictions and assumptions before the fact to be based on the evidence of your senses in a way that is unswayed by your desires, and for these predictions to seem to be born out after the fact? What if you take your best guess, and it is the best guess that you could possibly have made based on the information available at the time, and yet it "turns out" to have been wrong? What about the inverse situation, where someone makes a guess that is poorly reasoned or based on bad evidence badly interpreted, and yet it "turns out" to be vindicated by events?

What we see evidence of, as variations on these situations play out, is that it is not possible, even with the most chastened imagination and the broadest set of observations, to read others' minds or to predict the future. And yet, this fact does not make the effort to observe clearly and to predict as well as you can any less necessary or any less worthy. We certainly would not want to say that the only consideration is what turns out to be true after the fact--but reality is too complicated, and other people too ultimately unknowable, "human disclosure" (the quote is from Emma) too inherently flawed, to believe that the best guess of the most morally developed character must always be perfect. This is part of the moral realism and complexity of Austen's work.

At one point towards the end of Persuasion--usually the point in Austen's novels when the past is looked over again, and our understanding of it (and thus, the novel as a whole) adjusted--Anne says to Captain Wentworth:

"I have been thinking over the past, and trying impartially to judge of the right and wrong, I mean with regard to myself; and I must believe that I was right, much as I suffered from it, that I was perfectly right in being guided by the friend whom you will love better than you do now [i.e., Lady Russell]. To me, she was in the place of a parent. Do not mistake me, however. I am not saying that she did not err in her advice. It was, perhaps, one of those cases in which advice is good or bad only as the event decides; and for myself, I certainly never should, in any circumstance of tolerable similarity, give such advice. But I mean, that I was right in submitting to her, and that if I had done otherwise, I should have suffered more in continuing the engagement than I did even in giving it up, because I should have suffered in my conscience. I have now, as far as such a sentiment is allowable in human nature, nothing to reproach myself with; and if I mistake not, a strong sense of duty is no bad part of a woman's portion."

Now, that is, it is true that Wentworth has achieved a competency on which to marry--but it was not true at the time that Lady Russell gave her advice. It was by no means certain that he would ever be able to comfortably support a wife--and, even if he could in time, unhappiness may have arisen to Anne in the meanwhile, either from a protracted engagement or from the constant movement and frequent solitude demanded of the wives of soldiers. Lady Russell gave her advice in light of these considerations (it's been a while since I read the book so I don't remember if 'snobbery' in the modern sense played a role). The fact that it seems like 'bad' advice after the fact is surely impermissible as evidence of whether characters erred in giving or accepting advice at the time that they gave it. You could argue that Austen formed her plot (Wentworth's current wealth and standing, the couple's continued love) in order to vindicate what she perceived as uniquivocally the 'right' thing to do--but I think Austen is too sophisticated a writer at this point in her career to produce such a morality play as that, and the concern with what makes advice 'good' or 'bad' is too conscious and explicit in the text for me to think it likely.

And don't even get me started on the "Anne Eliot is a self-insert because Austen regretting refusing Tom what's-his-name" because that take sends me into a rage

#not to sound like a New Critic with 'within the text' but lol #Persuasion #Jane Austen #Anne Elliot #long post /

[grandhotelabyss]

Thoughts on Invisible Man? a little surprised you never reviewed it. And did you ever read any of Ellison’s other work?

I didn't review it because I read it before I started writing those and haven't reread it yet. But it's a masterpiece, one of the true Great American Novels, responding to and extending the prior entrants in what retrospectively appears to be a sequence (Moby-Dick, Huckleberry Finn, Absalom, Absalom!) and preparing the way for the later entrants (Gravity's Rainbow, Beloved, Underworld), while also ringing changes on international modernism and Existentialism, especially the works of Dostoevsky, Kafka, Eliot, Joyce, Sartre, Camus. The discursive passages are true Emersonian essays on the meaning of America. The great narrative passages—especially the two set pieces of the battle royal at the beginning and the paint factory in the middle—prove that something like genius has to exist, because you can't as a novelist will such scenes into being, scenes that seamlessly fuse symbolism and naturalism, allegory and realism, with an almost Dante-like compression, so beautifully and so powerfully that even he could never do it again.

The common complaint is that the second half is weaker than the first, which I think is true—my memories of the second half are a bit dim—but so what? A large book, a book whose size and scale are part of its meaning, will have its longeurs. The other common complaint, one also made about Ellison's friend, Saul Bellow, who wrote another Great American Novel with The Adventures of Augie March around the same time, concerns the novel's politics, its Cold War liberalism or incipient neoconservatism attacking both leftism and separatist identity politics as Soviet- and Nazi-like inner threats to the American experiment:

No indeed, the world is just as concrete, ornery, vile and sublimely wonderful as before, only now I better understand my relation to it and it to me. I've come a long way from those days when, full of illusion, I lived a public life and attempted to function under tbe assumption that the world was solid and all the relationships therein. Now I know men are different and that all life is divided and that only in division is there true health. Hence again I have stayed in my hole, because up above there's an increasing passion to make men conform to a pattern. Just as in my nightmare. Jack and the boys are waiting with their knives, looking for the slightest excuse to....well, to "ball the jack," and I do not refer to the old dance step, although what they're doing is making the old eagle rock dangerously.

Whence all this passion toward conformity anyway? — diversity is the word. Let man keep his many parts and you'll have no tyrant states. Why, if they follow this conformity business they'll end up by forcing me, an invisible man, to become white, which is not a color but the lack of one. Must I strive toward colorlessness? But seriously, and without snobbery, think of what the world would lose if that should happen. America is woven of many strands; I would recognize them and let it so remain. It's "winner take nothing" that is the great truth of our country or of any country. Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat. Our fate is to become one, and yet many— This is not prophecy, but description. Thus one of the greatest jokes in the world is the spectacle of the whites busy escaping blackness and becoming blacker every day, and the blacks striving toward whiteness, becoming quite dull and gray. None of us seems to know who he is or where he's going.

Ellison's later stances, such as his support for the Vietnam War, can certainly be questioned. But for the leftist critique of the novel's individualism and pluralism to be persuasive, communism and separatist identity politics would probably need to have a better historical record than they do.

Other work: I like Ellison's literary essays, especially "The World and the Jug" and "Twentieth Century Fiction and the Black Mask of Humanity," but I haven't read his other fiction (the whole Juneteenth/Shooting situation seems like the occasion for a graduate seminar, not one or two novels one sits down to read; sometimes I wish what writers didn't finish, what writers didn't intend to publish, wouldn't be published, speaking more here as writer than reader).

#ralph ellison #american literature #literary criticism

[exclsiormarketing]

What Good Design Can Do To Your Business?  

There's a question that gets thrown around a lot: "Does having a good design really matter for your business? Does it actually bring any value to the table?" Well, let me tell you, it's not just a matter of looking pretty; it's about working smart. Designers aren't just doodlers; they're the maestros of conveying a business's essence to its audience.  

The best web design companies in Bangalore don't just create visuals; they create a connection. They turn customers into die-hard fans. In a world where everyone's fighting for attention, having an amazing DESIGN is like having a secret sauce that keeps you one step ahead of the competition. So, let's not underestimate the power of design; it's not just about aesthetics – it's about making your business shine! 

Why Good Design is Good Business?  

Good Design Leaves a Lasting Impact 

Take yourself to that memorable first day at work, a day when you picked out your nicest attire and polished your shoes to a dazzling sheen. Perhaps you arrived at the office early to signify your unwavering commitment to your new job. In the realm of business, the same principle applies to design – a potent force that can either make or break a customer's initial perception of your identity, your purpose, and ultimately, their affinity for your enterprise. 

Design serves as a persuasive tool, a means to establish trust without uttering a single word. It communicates through the unspoken language of aesthetics, a language that swiftly connects people with your company based solely on your presentation. A mere glance at your design can trigger emotions, forge a sense of belonging, or extend a warm welcome through the careful selection of colors. In our shared human desire for connection, leaving a lasting positive impression significantly enhances the likelihood of strengthening the customer's trust in your business. 

Good Design Sets Your Business Apart From the Competition 

If you ever believed your business was sailing a solitary sea, consider this a wake-up call. 

In the vast ocean of industries, competition lurks in every shadow. 

The importance of good design cannot be overstated: 

If your designs are up-to-date, contemporary, and captivating, customers will naturally be drawn to your products. This is a fundamental truth. The next time you visit a grocery store, explore an unfamiliar aisle, and observe which items on the shelves immediately grab your attention. I assure you, it will be the products with outstanding design, branding, and modern packaging. 

Creating a successful product, service, or website hinges on attracting attention. What if you could achieve this with less expenditure by simply having a better design than your competitors? Wouldn't you invest more time and effort upfront to achieve such results? The beauty of good design is that it doesn't necessarily require more spending, but it automatically generates more attention. Design services company can do it for you.  

Good Design Ensures a User-Friendly Website 

In the world of design, true excellence goes beyond mere aesthetics. 

To truly excel, design must dance to a purposeful tune. 

It's not just about how something appears; it's about how it seamlessly functions. 

Consider a thoughtfully crafted website; its magic lies in its ability to transform visitors into loyal customers. 

In an era where attention spans rival those of goldfish (8 seconds versus 9 seconds), time is a precious commodity. 

Though the gap may appear slim, it wields significant impact. 

Quality design streamlines online landscapes, making navigation a breeze and reducing bounce rates. 

When users stumble upon poorly designed sites, frustration prevails, leading to premature exits due to the struggle to find desired information. 

User-friendly design is marked by simplicity, direct access to information, and an absence of unnecessary frills. 

The essence of good design and usability is not about inundating users with data or dazzling animations. It's about delivering the essentials while staying true to your brand's identity. 

An unintuitive website is more than a missed opportunity; it's detrimental to your business. This underscores that good design encompasses more than appealing visuals or elegant typography; it extends to the realm of enhancing user experiences and optimizing workflows. 

Good Design is the Cornerstone to Social Media Success 

If you believed that having a well-crafted website was sufficient for success, it's time to reconsider.  

Nowadays, digital marketing companies recommend that a significant portion of marketing efforts is channeled through various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. Social media serves as a potent avenue for connecting with customers, achieving virality, and establishing your company's reputation. 

However, in this era that values aesthetics, an inadequate design can hinder your social media strategy. It's not just customers who acknowledge the importance of good design in enhancing a company's presence on social media; marketers themselves have affirmed that design is a crucial component of their marketing strategies. 

When lacking in design, marketing messages essentially become plain text, and this approach rarely manages to capture people's attention. 

Conclusion  

Good design holds the potential to establish a positive connection with clients. What might seem daunting initially can evolve into an enjoyable aspect of business growth! Why not leverage the advantages of design for business? Exclsior, a design services company in Bangalore can help you. We can produce designs that will match the personality of your business and spin profits.  

#website development #digital marketing #web services #website design #lead generation #social media marketing #seo

[iamthenightcolormeblack]

My Experience with Jane Austen Part 2: Reading the Books

In part one I laid out which books I read, which ones were my favorites and least favorites, and the adaptations I've seen. Now I'd like to talk about my reading experience.

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, just a casual reader sharing some observations, feel free to correct me if I get some details wrong. Out of the books I’ve read I’m most familiar with Pride and Prejudice.

Let's face it. Reading Austen can be challenging and I understand why some people dislike Austen.

It's easy to perceive her novels as "boring" because on a surface level, not much happens. The characters are well-off people (in the upper half of society) who spend their time at home or traveling between social calls and it's easy to dismiss their conflicts as "first world issues." Settings are often indoors, reflecting how "confined and unvarying" the lives of the rich (especially women) were. The plots often move forward through dialogue or conversations rather than big dramatic events. The focus on marriage can also make the stories feel like antiquated relics of the past and can be hard to relate to.

The writing style is also different. There isn't much dialogue at times because Austen slips in lots of very subtle commentary or prefers to describe a character's external appearance or characteristics. Often big events like proposals are described briefly after they happen rather than during, which can make the story feel rather "dry." The books are narrated in third person and sometimes there is unreliable narration (Pride and Prejudice) where we get characters' multiple points of view, but all narrated in the third person as to give each one credibility and prove that it's hard to trust others. Austen's writing style means that readers have to fill in the blanks with their imagination. For example, she doesn't give exact physical descriptions of her characters, often relying on general characteristics like "tall," "handsome," or "amiable." In my previous reviews of Pride and Prejudice adaptations, I explored that intentional ambiguity as a big reason why the character of Mr. Darcy is alluring--because the reader forms a personal connection with the character by sketching his portrait alongside Elizabeth. The characters (their physical appearance and some of their motivations) are purposely mysterious and while it gives the reader lots of opportunities for engaging with the text, without historical/literary context for "filling in the blanks" it's easy to see the characters as stiff mannequins in strange clothing rather than human beings.

Austen as a romance writer: Her romances don't always match up with our perception of what a romance should be. Some people start Austen expecting intense emotions and outbursts of passion but become disappointed when presented with formal courting and stately dances instead. Emotions are often veiled behind dialogue and for a first-time reader it can be challenging to see a romance developing. Most of the time readers have to rely on the clues given by Austen (descriptions of characters "blushing," looking "pale," or losing their composure) to detect the stirrings of love, but on a first reading it's difficult to do so when one's trying to figure out the plot and the characters. Finally, the dialogue can't always be taken literally; lots of people, including me, were disturbed when Mr. Knightley said he loved Emma since she was 13, but it was actually a joke made in response to something she said.

Her books are products of their time, and I sure am not an expert in Regency era economics or social norms. Sometimes the implications of certain actions can be lost on a reader if they don't know about the social norms of the time (I had no idea that Darcy following Elizabeth around, alone, on her favorite walk at Rosings was a sign of his love for her). Differences in social class are also very subtle and while one can generalize the characters as all "well-off" people, they are separated by many levels of hierarchy and their ideas about social position and status affect how they interact with others outside of their station. Darcy looks down upon those whom he perceives to be below him, and while Emma wants to make an advantageous match for Harriet, Harriet's lower social position means that Emma's schemes are not likely to work.

Because of the unique quirks within the novels, the reader is required to go beyond the surface level of plot and appearance and read between the lines to understand character motivations and actions. Without historical context (Regency era society having little social mobility, women having few legal rights and needing to make good marriages to secure material comfort) or literary context (the Enlightenment, 18th century Gothic novels referred to in Northanger Abbey, the birth of the novel, early Romantic writers just to name a bit) reading between the lines is nearly impossible.

So why do we read Austen? Below are my personal reasons.

The novels feature female heroines that have dignity and self-respect. It's significant that the stories focus on women who are trying to live according to their own values and speaking their own minds rather than acquiescing to societal dictates. Elizabeth Bennet is revolutionary in part because she wants a marriage based on mutual admiration and respect between two partners who know each other well, rather than an economic arrangement for a home. One could go on forever about how Austen is a feminist, but, the characters don't act like modern day feminists--they are still people of their time. However, it's easy to assume "feminist" heroines have to have "aggressive" characteristics (rebelling, fighting, defiance) in order to be labeled as "feminist." Importantly, Austen's women are allowed to be vulnerable (they cry or struggle with their emotions) without that being a shameful thing. We also see different types of personalities celebrated: Jane Bennet, who is kind to everyone, is seen in a positive light rather than shamed for seeing good in everyone. Anne Elliot, who is regarded as "old," becomes more beautiful as she gets older and has a second chance of love. Emma Woodhouse is spoiled yet confident and assertive and "not likely to be well-loved" (paraphrase of Austen's commentary on Emma). Fanny Price is a shy person but still achieves her happy ending. Her heroines are real people who have flaws and get opportunities to learn and grow so that they can make their aspirations reality.

A unique take on the universal conflict of humans versus society: Austen's characters are bound by social norms of etiquette as well as a value system that idolizes wealth and connections above all else. Persuasion is a great story in part because it focuses on how Anne Elliot learns to follow her heart and avoid being "persuaded" by others (and by society) to follow a path that will not make her happy. She's had to live with the regret of following the well-intentioned but harmful advice of others (Austen notes that Lady Russell values social connections too highly) over her own feelings and judgment, nearly losing her chance to be with Wentworth. The romances are significant in that they reinforce the dignity and self-respect of the female heroines. To a certain extent, Austen's stories are realistic in that marriage is necessary for material well-being in a patriarchal society that provides few ways for women to provide for themselves. But most importantly, she also sees marriage as a means of affirming self-respect and dignity of the women. It's one of the few parts of their lives over which they have any control because they get to choose whom they marry (for the most part, unless the marriage is arranged). Their wish to marry for love is revolutionary because they dare to aspire for something more than wealth. They want their future partners to be their equals, someone who they can love and respect (or be totally honest with them) and who will provide the same in return. This line from Emma (the 2020 movie adaptation) sums it up: "I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry. Fame I do not want. Fortune I do not want. Consequence I do not want."

The difference between outward appearances and inner character is a fascinating theme that appears in several Austen novels, most notably Pride and Prejudice, where Wickham and Darcy are foils of each other ("one has got all the goodness, the other all the appearance of it"). A lot of the villains in Austen's novels are those who deceive others about their motivations or lie for their own advantage. A common trait these villains all have is that they have a charming outward appearance that masks their true natures; they don't look ugly nor are they unpleasant (ex. Wickham having great social skills, Willoughby following the trope of the knight rescuing Marianne as the damsel in distress but leaving behind many broken hearts, Mr. Elliott being charming and knowing exactly what to say and how to act but actually a swindler). In contrast, the "good" characters are honest, even at the cost of social displeasure, use manners/etiquette to show respect rather than deceive people, and act selflessly to prove their worth (actions speak louder than words). It can be summed up this way: "don't judge a book by its cover."

Psychology: Austen very effectively described hindsight bias when sarcastically commenting on how the village of Meryton turned on Wickham after the elopement with Lydia, when previously they regarded him as an "angel of light." She also understands how easy it is to manipulate peoples' minds through confirmation bias (Wickham telling Elizabeth all the dirt about Darcy, which she eagerly takes because she hates Darcy so much). She also knows that emotions can override people's judgment: "angry people are not always wise." It's fun seeing how her people are social animals who make flawed judgments based on first impressions/emotions.

The secondary characters: Mr. Collins the clergyman is the most famous and he's so funny because of his arrogance in spite of his low social position (he keeps worshiping Lady Catherine instead of respecting God). Another great one is Sir Walter Elliott, a nobleman who is vain and constantly checks himself in the mirror (the most obvious social criticism). Also Austen understood how women insult each other: through passive aggression (ex. Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst talking negatively about Elizabeth behind her back). Austen's female bullies use their talent and "good breeding" to intimidate or shame others.

The romance (no explanation needed): "You pierce my soul. I am half-agony, half-hope. I have loved none but you." I love how the couples learn about each other through many spirited conversations and become slowly fascinated with each other until they realize they are in love and then have a conflict between formality and their growing passion...or they fall back in love with each other...or they are friends who slowly realize that they are more than friends...okay I'll stop talking nonsense I've been trying so hard to be semi-scholarly

Tags: @talkaustentome @austengivesmeserotonin @austengeek @princesssarisa @appleinducedsleep @colonelfitzwilliams

#jane austen #pride and prejudice #sense and sensibility #northanger abbey #emma #mansfield park #persuasion #lady susan #elizabeth bennet #fitzwilliam darcy #mr darcy #mr bingley #colonel brandon #edward ferrars #elinor dashwood #marianne dashwood #fanny price #edmund bertram #emma woodhouse #mr knightley #catherine morland #henry tilney #anne elliot #captain wentworth #classic literature #in this essay i will #worth reading

[curriebelle]

An intriguing post has crossed my dash that says “don’t just recommend media to people solely because it has queer representation: make sure to give some kind of summary or context.” The idea is to flag if the movie/series/game has content that could be uncomfortable or trauma-related. For e.g., I won’t watch a movie with queer characters, no matter how good it is, if one of those characters commits suicide. That’s just one of my own rules for comfortable viewing. (I have heard a similar pattern of argumentation from black Americans: not all of them enjoy watching a movie with a majority black cast if the movie is about the visceral horrors of slavery, so I assume this discussion of tailored recommendation also has some intersectional potency as well.)

I do very much vibe with these requests, but there’s something else about it that I’ve been tossing around in my head for a while. When people mention to me that a piece of media has a) queer representation and b) no suicides (my one plot restriction), that doesn’t tend to be a persuasive recommendation to me. I also want to know If the Movie is Good.

There are lots of ways a movie can be Good, or at least The Kind of Good that Currie Likes. The Handmaiden is good in the traditional sense of quality cinema — extraordinary acting, lovely cinematography, extravagant sets, meticulously romantic plot, and it’s one of my favourite movies of all time ever. Rocky Horror Picture Show is none of those things (and can be uncomfortably transphobic in modern contexts, so it doesn’t really score high on the “representation” card any more) but to me it’s Good because it’s Gothic, campy, catchy, and deeply embedded in queer culture.

The reason I care about this is because I think evaluating movies purely on whether they have good representation will have a few inevitable pitfalls. The first is one discussed in the post I referenced earlier, which points out that “good queer fiction” tends to focus on coming-out narratives and leave genre films by the wayside. Furthermore, if we fall into this trap of assuming that “good” queer representation means good movies, we’re going to inevitably give bad (in the aesthetic sense) works of fiction a pass — of course, “bad” is very subjective, and queer has a long history of embracing camp and so-bad-it’s-good filmmaking. I have heard good things about the representation in Sense8, Black Sails, and Gentleman Jack, but I’ve never actually committed to watching any of them because all people talked about when recommending them to me was representation. The “is it good” question is doubly important for genre narratives, at least for me. Like, Black Sails is a pirate adventure, so while the queer storylines are great, I would also like to know if there are some cool cannon battles. The reason why The Handmaiden is one of my favourite movies ever is because it’s an amazing con movie that just so happens to have adorable lesbians as its centrepiece.

But I think the real problem here is more that if queer representation is “enough” for acclaim, we’re going to get a lot of rainbow-stickered corporate schlock pumped out to attract queer viewers (what I would call a subtler kind of queer baiting). Asking for queer representation and nothing else reduces the queer consumer to a market demographic: to people who will inevitably support massive studios so long as their boxes are checked. We aren’t demanding quality, imagination, surprise, or even appeal in our artistic products; we’re demanding a checklist of tokens. This is especially disappointing to me because queerness is often the inspiration for a lot of very imaginative and revolutionary art, and not all of it is exclusively about love or gender performance. We should be asking for more than representation — we should be asking for good shit!

#long post #currie academia #there is secret josémuñoz in here #queer art so imaginative so cool!!!! #demand cool shit!!!!

[beatricethecat2]

"Another day or two?" Helena gruffs.

"Yeah, um, sorry," Myka replies.

"That storm postponing your flight was one thing, but this? You are aware our rental is expiring eminently."

"Maybe we can extend?"

"I already inquired."

"And?"

Helena grimaces, nose wrinkling.

"I-I'll find us a new one."

"No, I shall, since I've clearly been left to my own devices."

"I'm coming soon, I promise!" Myka yelps. "I'll stay wherever you want. Extend the car rental, too."

"If I must swap it at the airport, I shall be cross."

"More cross than now? How is that even possible?" Myka jabs.

"I believe you know the answer," Helena says, deadpan. "What exactly is keeping you there?"

"I'm figuring something out but it's more complicated than I thought."

"And this 'something,' how long am I to remain in the dark?"

"Not long, but..." Myka's shoulders sag. "I might as well tell you."

"If it's such a burden—"

"No! I wanted to iron out the details first." Myka heaves a heavy sigh. "Ok, here it goes...I'm figuring out how to work remotely. Mostly."

Helena perks up. "This is something you truly wish to do?"

"I..." Myka pushes a hand through her hair, stopping halfway, looking off to the side. "I've been thinking about what you said, that the Warehouse needs to evolve, that it's stuck in the nineteenth century."

"Such a travesty; agents sequestered in a boarding house with modern communication and travel as they are."

"It's not so bad, having your friends there when you need them." Myka's hand drops to her side. "I do love my family here, but if I'm honest, it hasn't felt the same since Leena died." 

"May I say again how truly sorry I am for your loss. She was an extraordinary woman."

"She really was." Myka blinks back a tear and looks down. "But it's more than that. What you said about only traveling for work, of never really visiting a place, that stuck with me, too. How you want to take advantage of all this new world has to offer, things I take for granted, because you've been given a second chance." 

"I can be quite persuasive when I wish to," Helena says, lips turning up at the ends.

"And I love you for it." Myka's smile matches Helena's.

"But those are my wishes. What are your own?" Helena asks.

"I think it's worth fighting for change, even if making up rules as we go scares me."

"You are fond of protocol."

"And you're not. So we complement each other. Or cancel each other out," Myka says, lips lifting into a crooked grin.

Helena huffs a short laugh. "And Pete? How is he faring?"

"He's super bummed, but I think he understands." Myka shifts in her seat, sitting up straighter. "You might hear from him. He said he wants to have a chat."

"What about?"

"A 'big brother' kind of thing."

"I'm surprised he's waited this long."

"Me too."

The air quiets, each waiting for the other to continue.

"There is one other thing. An, um, 'condition," Myka says.

"Just the one?"

"Hey..."

"I'd expect nothing less. Go on."

"I can't go on missions alone."

"Nor would I allow you to."

"Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"While you're working, someone will join you."

"Yeah, you."

"But I'm no longer an—"

"They want to reinstate you."

"Myka..."

"I know, I know," Myka says, waving her hands in surrender. "It'd be on your terms. I'll make sure of that. And I'll keep you in check."

"That's a tall order."

"Believe me, I know."

Helena grasps at her locket and works a thumb over its smooth metal case.

"We'd have our autonomy, mostly. Be working part-time. We're already doing it unofficially anyway. And I think we work well together." Myka flashes a smug smile.

"And the distance from the Warehouse? How will you manage?"

"Abigail agreed to be our eyes in the archive. And we already have access to the database."

Helena stares at Myka for a long moment, fingers clutching her locket. "Can this truly be?"

"I think so. I'm hashing out details with Jane, but we need a few more days," Myka says, smiling. "Find us a place to stay for a couple of weeks. We can figure out what happens next from there."

"With pleasure," Helena says.

"So...can I tell them you're Agent Wells again?"

"I've further terms to discuss."

"Send them over. I'll make sure you get what you want."

Smiles grow wider as they hold each other's gazes.

"So...what'd you get up to yesterday?" Myka asks.

"I traveled by cable car up Hyde Street. The views were breathtaking."

"You did that without me?"

"I was tired of waiting."

"Do not go to Twin Peaks or Coit Tower. We're doing those together."

"I shant. Perhaps I'll peruse City Light Books again and linger in Jackson Square."

"That's where those buildings from the 1800's survived the earthquake."

"Indeed."

"Are you feeling a sense of closure, being there?"

"I believe we could have had quite a pleasant life here in my day. But closure, that may only truly begin upon your arrival."

"I can't wait," Myka says, grinning wildly.

-END SCENE-

------------------

Bering and Wells: New Horizons ("Warehouse 13" Season 5 replacement) Season 1: Episode 8 Title: San Francisco: The 415 Blues Summary: A freak storm delays Myka's flight to San Francisco. Helena learns Myka's taken on more while home than just dropping off an artifact. New paths are revealed while working through a difficult retrieval, as well as an ask that may take them to foreign shores.

Previously: Episodes 1-7 (look in my archive as adding links broke my post last time)

------------------

After assessing the scene of a retrieval, Myka and Helena duck into a coffee shop.

"That facade's massive! How would we know which one?" Myka asks.

"'It'll be obvious,' Artie said. Far from it," Helena snips.

"Maybe spray it with neutralizer and see what sparks?"

"It's a landmarked structure, too high-key."

"True," Myka says, frowning. "Artie said it was a chain reaction. One brick radiating into the others. Remove the source and the rest will calm down."

"Once one pinpoints the source."

"At least we know it's in arms reach," Myka says, sipping of her coffee. 

"Do we?"

"Someone almost burned their hand on it."

"Nothing felt even remotely hot to the touch today." Helena screws the cap onto her water bottle. "The brick responsible could be beaming down from the loftiest of places. We'd need scaffolding to check properly."

"And that hill is..." Myka motions with her hand at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Is it truly a risk if it's merely hot to the touch?" Helena says, leaning back in her chair.

"Artie's not sure. He thinks wildfire smoke is 'activating' the bricks, making them think they're in the fires after the 1906 earthquake. So it depends on which way the wind's blowing. Prolonged smoke contact equals hotter bricks, and hotter bricks mean the building might catch fire."

"Because these melted 'clicker bricks' were used in rebuilding after the earthquake?"

"Uh-huh. And Artie thinks they caused a previous fire."

"The one where those girls died trapped in the basement."

"So sad," Myka says, shaking her head. 

"I'd read it was arson, meant to discourage the Mission House staff from rescuing those poor immigrant girls from servitude."

"It probably was. But it might not have spread as fast without the clinkers."

"I see." Helena's hand tightens around her water bottle. "We cannot allow it burn again."

"We won't," Myka says, touching Helena's hand to reassure her. "Maybe we can monitor it with heat sensors. I bet Claudia has a gadget."

"I'm certain she shall," Helena says, looking as if she's combing through a catalog in her mind. "We must set up surveillance in the buildings across the street."

"Maybe we can pose as historians studying Julia Morgan, the architect," Myka says, perking up.

"What a blessing it shall be we're here for an indeterminate amount of time."

"Ooh! Maybe this can be our thing, traveling places and staying awhile, snagging difficult artifacts."

"I adore your ingenuity." Helena leans across the table, planting a kiss on Myka's lips.

"Mmm...thanks," Myka hums as Helena pulls back. She lifts her phone off the table, fingers working the keyboard, texting Claudia. "Maybe this is a good time to, um...tell you, there's a...a, um...something else the Warehouse's asked us to do."

"I knew they wouldn't release you that easily," Helena says, narrowing her eyes.

"This one's about you."

"Aren't they all, somehow?"

"Kinda?"

"Well, out with it then," Helena says, sitting back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The artifacts you hid, the Warehouse wants them."

"They believe there are more?"

"Oh, come on."

"They've shelved the Trident and Corsican Vest."

"And the Imperceptor."

"That was not an artifact."

"Fine. Artifacts and inventions," Myka snaps. "And they want us to follow up on cold cases you left behind."

Helena shifts in her chair and looks towards the bridge in the distance. "This is punishment for my unwillingness to interact with the Warehouse. You told them of my issues surrounding Christina."

"No. I said separating your body from your mind then sending it out as a lure for Sykes really pissed you off."

"This is not untrue."

"Pisses me off, too," Myka mumbles.

"They may threaten such a thing again should I not bow to their demands."

"We."

"Pardon?"

"Should we not bow. I'm part of this, too."

"Yes, as my 'handler.'"

"Maybe. But our definition of 'handling' can be kind of fun." Myka skims a finger down Helena's forearm, prying her fisted hand apart and threading their fingers together.

Helena lets out a heavy sigh. "I may not recall everything. I'll need my diaries."

"Do you know where they are?"

"At the Warehouse, of course."

"I meant the real ones."

Helena raises a brow.

"You know they know you hid them before you were bronzed."

Helena grimaces. "I once knew where they were. There's no guarantee they're still there."

"You've already looked."

"I may have, briefly."

"And?"

Helena shakes her head in the negative.

"Then let's start with what you remember."

"Or, start with the items I've hidden since?"

"Helena!"

"Punish me later, darling. We've a smoldering building to extinguish." Helena squeezes Myka's hand and brushes a thumb under her jacket cuff. "Did Claudia get back to you?"

"No," says, checking her phone. "Maybe we should get back to the apartment and do some research?"

"'Research' is our best course of action."

Both women smile in agreement, then rise and hastily take their leave.

-END SEASON ONE-

NOTES: NOTES: And this wraps up Season 1! As you can see, it's set up to transition to a second season, one fairly independent from the Warehouse. Who knows if that will ever materialize (but I do have a few ideas). Links broke my post last time, but look up Cameron House (formerly the Mission House) in San Francisco and Donaldina Cameron for more on that organization and the deadly fire. Clinker bricks are regarded as junk bricks - warped from being fired at too high a temperature, or in this case, mangled by building fires after the 1906 earthquake. Many older buildings in Chinatown contain them as the neighborhood scrambled to rebuild after the earthquake, because white real estate developers were poised to swoop in steal their land. In the Cameron House design, clinkers were also used decoratively in an Arts and Crafts style (there are other buildings in SF like this, like 45 Upper Terrace, also designed by a female architect, Ida McCain). I dedicate this episode to @blackfoxreddog !!

#BERING AND WELLS #Warehouse 13 #fanfiction #fan art #Myka Bering #Helena HG Wells #roadtrip!AU #canon divergent au #there is probably no cafe #with a view of the bridge like that #but it's a screenshot from the show #maybe next time around I'll simplify my format #because it's a doozy #but I loved making these manips! #and figuring out stories to go with them was fun #thanks again to deathtodickens for the B&W Show prompt all those months ago

[tinydooms]

I am so sorry to hear about your situation, I hope you are otherwise doing well. May I please request a prompt for Evie and Rick having a reading day (specifically set right after the first film, so they still are a little awkward around each other but still love and trust one another... I don't know, what ever you write, I love, so hopefully this gave you some inspiration but take it where you please :))

Thank you for your kind words! It's been a hell of a week, but I'm finally feeling better. Here is your fic: I hope you like it!

Cairo, October 1922

Evie woke up from her nap slowly, coming up out of deep sleep to find her Fort Brydon bedroom full of afternoon sunlight. The ceiling fan hummed overhead; the apartment was quiet save for the soft sound. Evie stretched, relishing the pull of her muscles and the softness of the bed beneath her. It was good to be back.

Her stomach gurgled and with a sigh, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Time for tea. Hot tea, and lots of it, and maybe a sandwich or three. She was starving. There was nothing like roughing it in the desert to bring one’s attention to the blessings of home and a fully-stocked larder. Would the men be hungry? Probably. She had left Rick and Jonathan to their own devices after Dr. Wilkinson had looked them all over earlier that day; he had prescribed plenty of water and rest after their long, hot trek back from Hamunaptra. Opening her bedroom door, Evie looked around for the men. Jonathan’s bedroom door was closed; he was probably napping. Rick was where Evie had left him earlier, lying on his cot by the window with a couple of ice packs soothing his cracked ribs, head cushioned on a stack of pillows, a book in hand. He looked up as she came into the room.

“Hey,” Rick said, flashing her that sideways smile. “Did you have a good sleep?”

“Yes, thanks,” Evie said. “What are you reading?”

Rick waved the book at her. “Ah, Persuasion. I went through your bookshelf; I hope you don’t mind.”

Evie blinked. “You’re reading Persuasion?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard it’s one of Austen’s best and I didn’t feel like reading anything related to ancient curses. I’d only read her other one--I don’t remember the title in English--Orgueil et préjugés--the one where they despise each other at first because her family is obnoxious and he’s really shy and arrogant.” Rick lifted an eyebrow at the look on Evie’s face. “I do know how to read, you know.”

She realized that she was gaping at him, open-mouthed. Shame boiled up in Evie; of course he knew how to read. “I’m sorry. I just meant, I didn’t have you down as the type to read social satire.”

She hadn’t had him down as the type to read, period, but then, Rick had mentioned liking Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes, hadn’t he? And there had been a couple of books in his suitcase last night, when she looked through it for clothes to lay out for him.

Rick grinned. "It’s okay, Evelyn. I know what I look like. We’re still getting to know each other.” He shifted, laying the book down on his stomach. “Actually, I really like reading. I’ve made it a point throughout my life to maintain membership at whatever public libraries are available.”

This was new and intriguing information. Evie sat down in the armchair and curled her legs under her.

“What sort of things do you like to read about?”

Rick cocked his head, thinking. “Honestly? I’ll read just about anything as long as I can understand it. I like detective novels and adventure stories, though I think I’m going to go off those for a while.” They grinned at each other. “I read a lot of art history books before the War, and I like a good popular history. I’m not educated; I only went to school through the eighth grade. Maybe if my mom hadn’t died, I’d have finished high school and gone to college, but, well…”

He shrugged. Life hadn’t worked out that way.

“But you read,” Evie said. “My mother used to say that anyone can learn anything they like if they are willing to read about it.”

Rick nodded. “My mom used to say something like that, too. She absolutely refused to let me quit school and get a job in a factory, even though it would have helped.” A shadow passed over his face; Evie saw him push it away. “Would you like something to eat?” he said, rising up on his elbows. “Your stomach is rumbling.”

“Oh! Yes, I’d come out for tea,” Evie said, scrambling to her feet. “Don’t get up; you’re supposed to be resting.”

Rick blinked. “I’ve been resting all day. It doesn’t hurt as bad as it did, you know.”

“Still.” Evie bustled off towards the kitchen. “You’ve looked after me so well these past weeks, it’s time for me to return the favor. Would you like a sandwich? How do you take your tea?”

Rick sat up, moving slowly. “Strong, with milk and a little honey, if you’ve got it. Thanks.”

Evie smiled at him; he smiled back. She bustled around the little kitchen, setting the kettle to boil and making up sandwiches, and when everything was ready she carried it through to the table and held out a hand to help Rick up. He took it, looking at her in a way that made her blush, and followed her to the table.

“Thank you,” he said, looking from the plate of sandwiches to Evie. “All this, I don’t-- Thank you.”

Evie smiled at him again; again, he smiled back, and for a moment they stood grinning foolishly at each other. It was all so new, this togetherness, this friendship. Funny how one could learn everything there was to know about a person’s character by their actions, and still know hardly anything about them as a person. Evie gestured for Rick to sit, and they fell on the sandwiches.

“So tell me,” Rick said after they had spent a few minutes quietly eating. “What’s your favorite book? Besides the Book of Amun-Ra. I’m sorry about that, by the way. Jonathan didn’t mean to drop it.”

“I know.” A pang flashed through Evie as she remembered the splash the book had made as it hit the water in the crypt’s brackish pool. “But we made it out with our lives, and we have all of the rubbings and sketches we made before we, er, raised him, so it’s not a complete loss. And as to your question…” She sipped her tea, thinking. “Do you mean favorite novel or favorite book? Because I’m not sure I can pick just one.”

“Top three, then.” Rick leaned on his elbow, watching her with the same interest he had shown at Hamunaptra. Evie felt herself blushing. She could get used to this.

“Well, then, I would probably have to say Professor Walter Emerson’s book on hieroglyphics, since it was a huge influence on me when I was a child; Flinders Petrie’s book Naukratis, and well, Persuasion.”

Rick grinned. “Which is why it was here, among all the books on Egyptology.”

“Quite.” Evie brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She hadn’t bothered to pin her hair up. “What about you?”

Rick sat back, cradling his teacup in his big, strong hands. “I’d say my favorite book is Around the World in Eighty Days. I have a sentimental attachment to it; it was my favorite as a kid. I’ve read it in the original French, but I like the English translation better. But if I had a top three…” He paused to sip, thinking. “I don’t know, actually. I really like Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and John Carter books, and I like Rudyard Kipling. I read a lot of Dickens after Gallipoli; they had his complete works at the hospital my regiment was sent to afterwards.”

“You were injured?”

“No.” A shadow passed through Rick’s eyes. “I mean, yes, I got shot in the side, but it was more a flesh wound than anything else. No, they sent us to rest and recuperate before going back to battle. It was a good break.”

He put the teacup down and reached for the pot. Evie hastened to lift it and refill. She brushed Rick’s hand as she scooted the milk jug towards him. He had such beautiful hands.

“I’ve never read Dickens,” she admitted, and he gave her a surprised look. “His writing never grabbed my attention,” she added. “I was much more interested in ancient stories than modern ones.”

“You don’t say.” Rick looked amused. “And you, a librarian. Is that what you got your degree in?”

“Library science? No, I did that afterwards. I, er, I studied Classics and Antiquity at university.”

Rick shifted his hands on the table, moving them close enough to tap the back of Evie’s hand. “Tell me.”

“You don’t mind that I went to university?”

The question leaped out before she could stop it, the tiny insecurity that Evie had always carried deep inside her and only rarely acknowledged. So many men were threatened by academic women. Rick looked astonished.

“Why would I mind that you went to university?” he asked. “Everybody should have the chance to go to university. I’d have loved to go to college. And anyway, of course you’re educated, I mean, look at you. With everything that’s happened the last few weeks, we’d all have died if you hadn’t known exactly what to do and how to read those hieroglyphs and all.”

“I know. It’s just...academic women are...frowned upon by society,” she said. “And I know we met in extraordinary circumstances, but I’ve never...You don’t think I’m ridiculous?”

Rick shook his head. “Nah, Evie, I’m crazy about you.”

And the little flame of her worry flickered and died. Evie smiled at him, folded her fingers around his. Rick squeezed her hand and raised it to his lips. They were going to be just fine.

#asks and answers #prompts #my fanfics #The Mummy #Rick and Evie #Rick O'Connell #Evelyn Carnahan #it amuses me to write Rick as a reader #I mean why not?

[dreamscapestars]

The Ultimate Reylo Fanfic List

* = highly recommend (aka if you’re going to read anything off this list read this)

Canonverse AUs

***All Our Days - E - 221k - "I can listen no longer in silence."The hologram projection of his strangely handsome face is cobalt blue, flickering, and full of static. "I must speak to you, Rey. You… you pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me that I am not too late.” He groans, runs his hands through his dark, silver-streaked hair, then refocuses his gaze on the holorecorder. “I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Do not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death."Here the recording of Ben takes a deep breath, and looks down at something outside the holorecorder’s field of view. Perhaps at his hands, Rey manages to think, through the veil of shock and timid, fluttering hope. She wishes she were there with him, so she could take them in her own, and offer him the confidence to carry on.But this is only a hologram, so she must wait. Eventually, when he looks up again, his features have settled. He looks… Fierce. Determined. Self-assured."I have loved none but you," he says. - canonverse jane austen au 

trillions of molecules - T - 11k - Fake papers forged, contract signed and a navy blue jumpsuit with his name printed on the chest supplied to him, the man who called himself Solo was hired by the Felucian Transit Corporation as shuttle operator number B414. - tros fix it au 

There Shall I Be - N/A - 50k -She remembers the first and only time she saw him smile like this before and how it didn’t touch his eyes at the time and how it broke her heart.Now it fills her heart and gives her life.She shoves him back onto their blanket and climbs on top of him. She pulls off her sweater and takes him inside her again and rides him into the night. - canonverse far from the madding crowd au

*landscape with a blur of conquerors - E - 362k - "While I share your contempt for this situation in which we find ourselves, do not mistake it as apathy," he hissed through gritted teeth, dark eyes burning. "I hardly expect your disposition to sweeten, but I will be damned if I allow my future Empress to behave in a manner that reflects poorly on me and on the First Order!""If you allow?" She wrenched her arm out of his viselike grasp, batting his hand away for good measure. "I don't belong to you. I don't belong to anyone.""That might have been the case back when you were a scavenger on that pitiful scrap heap of a planet, but now?" His sardonic gaze flickered over her silk robes and the jewels woven through her elaborate braids. "Now you are the Chume'da, and the Chume'da belongs to her people. Their fate is entirely in your hands. Should you cross the line, it is they who will suffer for it. Am I making myself clear?""I hate you," she said bitterly. He sneered at her. "See? Already you are acclimatizing so well to married life." - arranged marriage au

Modern AUs

*the man, the stallion, and the wind - E - 17k - Weary and alone, Rey barrels west on the Trans-Canada Hwy in her old pickup truck. Weary and in need of a lift, Ben Solo stands by the side of the road with his thumb out, in the hopes of hitching a ride.One hell of a winter storm’s about to roll in, leaving them stranded. What ever shall they do? - hitchhiker au 

The Mechanic - E - 122k - It's a magical midsummer night, just made for following a persuasive, dangerous-looking lawyer to a hotel across the road from the party. But then reality catches up to Rey. - mafia baby au

*Soul Searching - E - 205k - Sixteen-year-old Rey finds out she’s soulmates with her English teacher -- in front of her entire class. Now the school gossips won’t leave her alone, prying for tidbits that Rey wouldn’t give them even if she had any. And she doesn’t. Because Mr. Solo is too horrified at being soulmates with an underage girl to even talk to her. - soulmate au

Mitan, Midi - E - 83k - After a French notary contacts Rey to inform her she's inherited a house in the Drôme (France), she decides from one day to the next to quit her job and move there. The house is pretty secluded, there's no service, no internet, no way to reach other people aside from the landline in the living-room.Ideal conditions, by her standards, as those theoretically should allow her to be perfectly alone. Theoretically. - french country side au

*A Treehouse Covered in Salt - E - 34k -High school senior Rey Johnson has lived next door to Ben Solo her whole life. The two could not be more different and at school, Rey wouldn't be caught dead in his presence. That doesn't stop her from sneaking out to their treehouse every night. Despite her unwillingness to be friends with Ben in the light of day, he has always been there with her in the darkness. - high school au

Initial - M - 45k - A Soulmate AU in which you are born with the initials of your soulmate marked on the nape of your neck. Easy enough, right? Except for two people who don't use their real names. - soulmate au 

Killing Me Softly - M - 32k - Rey clings to the hope that her husband will regain his memories after he survived a car crash that left him with amnesia. During her monthly visits at a medical facility with Ben, who now calls himself Kylo, she struggles to cope as he tries to make her let go of the past, and in turn, him with it. - amnesia au 

only child of the universe - E - 98k - The first time Rey meets Ben, they're carefree strangers getting high at the fair, alight and in love for a night. The second time is different. The second time is in therapy— where the asshole won't even acknowledge her. - high school au 

a place to go - E - 52k - All Rey Johnson wanted was solitude. A place to go where she could escape from the daily stressors and mayhem of her job. A place where she could enjoy some peace and some quiet. Her mentor Luke Skywalker's small cabin up north seemed like the ideal place to do just that. A week of seclusion was just what she needed.And then Ben Solo arrived. - snowed in au 

into the great laughter of mankind - E - 30k - There is something about watching Rey put her mind to task. Ben can't put a name to this something, exactly— all he knows is that it fascinates him like nothing else has in a long, long time."Dr. Solo?" She glances over at him. "What do you think?"I think I'm doomed, he wants to say but doesn't. I think the curse of the pharaohs has nothing on you. I think you are my Egypt. - archaeologist au

(now it’s) Time to Learn - M - 86k - “You’re a teacher?” Ben doesn’t look like a teacher. At least not like any teacher Rey has ever had. - teacher au

For Now - E - 8k - There are plenty of things he could say, but he doesn’t. Buying you muffins makes me excited to get out of bed in the morning. I wish I could go back in time and be the kind of person you could like. I don’t remember my life before you. ---------- When Kylo finds his soulmate, she doesn’t know, and he doesn’t tell her. - soulmate au 

Cupcake Wars - E - 36k - Entirely by accident, Rey ends up fucking someone who works for Snoke's Cupcakery. She's just blowing off steam. It doesn't mean anything at all. It certainly won't come back to bite her in the ass. - bakery au

The Food of Love - E - 60k - Rey picked up her first violin at eleven, finding a mentor in conductor and former-violinist Luke Skywalker. With the First Chair up for grabs, Rey is thrust into the spotlight as the youngest violinist to take First Chair in the NY Pops. But Kylo Ren - former violinist, former NY Pops cellist, formerly Ben Solo child prodigy - may take issue with Rey Nobody sitting in his grandfather's chair. - orchestra au 

Orion - E - 14k - Rey Niima finds herself in the Saharan desert trying to heal wounds from her life, and Ben Solo is there too, fixing himself along the way. - roadtrip au

Embers - E - 34k - All the myriad things he’d been—someone who made her laugh; the warmth on the other side of the bed; her best friend—those things, Rey had buried. Rey left Ben two years, three months, and sixteen days ago. But who's counting? - getting back together au 

Gilded - M - 11k - Everyone had two marks, one for class and another to identify a soulmate. She only had one: green rings on her finger, proof she was part of the laboring class. It made matters lonely, but never unbearable.Until she met him. He had two sets of marks—had a soulmate—and she did not. - soulmate au

flutz - E - 27k - Rey was determined to have no distractions during her first season in Senior Ladies figure skating.She swore that Olympic medalist and figure skating legend Ben Solo was not going to change that, no matter how intent he seemed on proving her wrong. - ice skater au 

oh autumn, oh teakettle, oh grace - E - 30k - "So let me get this straight," he says. "You're a dryad.""Quite so," she cheerfully replies."Like an actual—" His hand rises to make a feeble gesture at the towering elms that surround them— "tree-dwelling, speaks-with-animals, has-magical-powers, frolics-through-the-woods-in-orgiastic-pagan-frenzy dryad?"She wrinkles her delicately freckled nose. "Well, I don't know about orgiastic frenzy, that's really more of a maenad type of deal."He looks her up and down, taking in her pretty face and her slender figure in the skimpy white dress."Too bad," he mumbles. - dryad roadtrip au

A Proposal by Any Other Name - E - 188k - Rey and Finn have been A Thing for a long time now. Since she was eighteen, to be exact. When Finn leaves on a trip to Europe for six months for work, Rey finally chases after him to Dublin to do what he seems to be putting off: propose.She wants a family, after all.The universe has different ideas. Her flights are delayed, storms hit, she loses her tickets and everything seems to be going horribly. To top it off, she ends up stranded around a rather irritating man by the name of Kylo Ren. It goes about as well as you'd expect. - leap year au

endless summer afternoon - E - 63k - “My son's room is always made up,” Han had said, hitting a light switch as Rey clung to a dirty backpack in the dark hallway, “he never comes home. Warm bed might as well get some use.”Rey spared Han some of the dignity of his own longing assessment of the space that clearly hadn’t been looked at in a long time. An empty room in a quiet house. As gruff as he was, handing it off to some runaway nobody just because she was helping him rebuild a car was one of the kindest gestures she’d ever experienced, and had a hidden weight that she knew needed a respectful amount of privacy. Mysteries were often about unresolved sadness, and were usually only solved by the people who didn’t feel it.Rey is offered a place to stay: a spare bedroom once belonging to the mysterious Ben Solo. What does she do when she wakes up with him wanting his bed back? - roommates au 

Dandelion - E - 45k - Rey's an ex con and orphan, just released from jail after killing Plutt. She follows advice from her former guardian, Maz, and finds a job at Luke's coffee shop. Ben's a lawyer who lost his job and moved back to his hometown. He falls for Rey, unaware of her dark past. - coffee shop au

A Few Small Repairs - E - 69k - Ben Solo is a ruthless property developer, and Rey Johnson is the lone holdout on the block. She does not intend to give up what's hers, not for anything. (Not even for a pair of pretty eyes.) - property developer au

Unbroken - E - 7k - He found her sleeping in the stables, curled up in the stall of his newest, unbroken colt...

Lockjaw - M - 106k - Kylo finds Rey unconscious and near death on the side of a road, surrounded by twitching, wretched things looking to her for their next meal. Ever the altruist, he picks them off and takes her with him, saving her life in the process. It's no wonder that when she wakes she feels she owes him, and agrees to become his travel companion as he crosses the United States in search of safety and a new home. - zombie apoclypse au 

Everything to Prove - M - 13k - “The show,” he says. “It’s probably best if they don’t—if we don’t—”And Rey follows his line of thought at once. For all the program is one that doesn’t seem melodramatic—the height of drama in previous seasons came from someone’s cake falling over and that was about it—she does not doubt that the producers and cameramen would leap at the opportunity to make there be something out of nothing in their relationship—especially if there was something out of something.“Yeah,” she agrees. “Yeah, probably. We can pick baking stations that are…” but she doesn’t want to complete the thought. She likes baking next to Ben.“Or we can just be careful?” he suggests, sounding quite as pained by the prospect as Rey feels.“Yeah, careful. I can do careful,” Rey says at once and her lips are on his again and he’s laughing now, and she’s laughing, and she didn’t think laughter would be part of all this. She didn’t think it could be. But here she is, laughing and kissing and holding a man who, at some point, she’s going to want to beat.She does her best not to think of that now.It’s a friendly competition, after all. It’s not life and death. It’s baking. - great british bake off au 

*In Bloom - E - 13k - The flowers that bedeck her skin don’t lie—ballet dancer Rey is in love with her partner, Ben. But the years go by and his skin stays resolutely, devastatingly blank.He doesn’t love her. But when his hands are on her body, she can pretend. - ballet soulmates au

By Blood and Flame - E - 10k - Rey can’t go to her professors with this spell. She needs help, though, needs someone to do the spell with her, and she needs the best because it’s tricky. Dangerous.There’s a boy on campus. Powerful. Mysterious. He’s admired and envied, feared and loathed, depending on who’s talking, but for all everyone knows his story, no one seems to really know him. And Rey… Rey has been curious about him for… well, for longer than she wants to admit.She’s not sure if it’s good or bad luck that he’s the perfect person to help cast her spell. - magic college au

count the rings - E - 63k - “Because you’re sitting there all comfy, not looking at all bridal-” “I’ll just fetch the veil out of my backpack, shall I?” “-when you could be, you know, making a move on that fine-ass tree.” In which camping comes with unexpected consequences. - accidental marriage au

(won’t you let me) walk you home from school - E - 129k - Ben, a counselor in the upper school at the legendary Alliance Academy, keeps finding himself interacting with the lower school art teacher, Rey. He definitely doesn’t like it. - teacher au

follow in your form - E - 23k - Ben Solo wakes up paralyzed and angry about it.A story about dealing with change, holding onto hope, and finding love. - quadriplegic ben au 

*screwdriver - M -101k - Rey is a bright-eyed intern on her first campaign trail, Ben is an irritated data analyst, and how difficult can it be to get a legacy senator elected president? Apparently fucking impossible. - political au

9 pints - E - 83k - She knew next to nothing, and Google was largely unhelpful. All of her searches (“vampire sex rules” and “vampire dos and don’ts” and one very self-indulgent “average vampire cock size big?”) linked her to dated top ten lists written by anyone other than an actual vampire.Twenty minutes of frustrated scrolling eventually led her to a supernatural dating forum. The website was horribly aged, but still active. Questions were tagged, which meant that it was easy to narrow down her search. Vampire, she clicked, and Sex.--In which Rey gets suckered into shooting porn with one of Poe's pickiest vampire actors. - magical porn stars au

fine young cannibals - E - 27k - Kylo raised his head to the sky as he inhaled, his broad chest expanding even wider. His eyes fluttered shut, savoring the scent like a sumptuous meal. He grinned.“Oh,” he murmured, so softly Rey wasn’t even sure it was meant for her ears. His eyes slid to meet hers, scarlet and violent and hungry. “You brought a snack.”And then all hell broke loose.About three things, Rey is absolutely positive:First, she is totally, completely, and madly in love with her vampire boyfriend, Poe.Second, there is another vampire—an older, evil, definitely-not-hot vampire—that thirsts for her blood and wants nothing more than to kill her.And third, she is maybe not absolutely positive about either of these things. - twilight au

Epithumia - E - 46k- ἐπιθυμία, ας, ἡ: epithumia : desire, passionate longing, lust *** “No extra credit.” He made a noise that might have been a laugh. “You ask that every time.” “Well, I have to try.” Rey said, weakly. “Can you make an exception?” A lone eyebrow ascended his lofty forehead into his hairline. “Try harder, Miss Kenobi.” - college teacher/student au

Historical AUs (ranging from medieval to the early 2000s)

light carries on endlessly - M - 6k - “Traitor,” he told Cerberus gruffly not too much later, using both hands to scratch behind the hound’s many ears. What appeared to be a rat tail lay nearby on a blood-stained bit of stone. “What did I tell you about women with pretty eyes?”One wet tongue lapped at his wrist, and he sighed. “Right. Nothing.” - Hades and Persephone au 

The Witch in the Wood - E - 138k - As a knight errant of the kingdom of Alderaan, Kylo Ren has traveled the country, completing quest after perilous quest in search of redemption for the dark deeds of his past. When an evil witch captures the princess of a neighboring kingdom, Kylo reluctantly accepts the burden of rescue with the assumption that it will be a simple task.It is not. For the creature that lives in the woods is not a monster at all.Since her mentor died, Rey has lived in the witch’s tree and uses magic to maintain the balance of the forest. Her life is practical, repetitive, and simple—at least, until a wrathful knight thunders through her door and levels a sword at her throat. Yet something within the knight calls to her, a buzz beneath his skin that she recognizes.Without a doubt, he is not who he appears to be. - medieval witch au

Black Knight, White Queen - E - 53k - Luke Skywalker wrote his sister a letter on his deathbed, revealing that his ward is the orphaned heir of a family long thought extinct - and politically powerful. That letter fell into the wrong hands, and the secret of Rey's heritage is secret no more. The Emperor has managed to unite the Kingdoms, but he is old, and his son is weak. Seeking to ensure his son's claim to his throne, he sends his most trusted captain to bring the girl - willing or not - to be his son's bride. Rey is taken from her far-flung home, and plunged into a world of court intrigue, arranged marriage, political rivals, and would-be assassins - the black knight her constant companion and bodyguard. But even he, her dark shadow and protector, she cannot know whether to trust... - medieval bodyguard au 

Days to Remember - E - 42k - A man heads home after years of estrangement. What do you need from me? A woman leaves her world behind, a bird in a gilded cage. When we get to New York, I need help running away. -- I'll bring you to Boston with me. - titanic au 

*what if the storm ends - E - 61k - As a child, Rey is evacuated from London to the Yorkshire Dales during the Blitz. She spends the war in the care of the Solos on their farm, wandering the moors with their son looking for a legendary family artifact long lost. When the war is over, she returns to a city she no longer recognizes, and she writes a popular series of children's fantasy books based on her childhood in the Dales. After amassing fame and fortune with her stories, tragedy brings her back to the farm to see Ben Solo, once her greatest inspiration and now a widower. - post WWII au 

Take Me - E - 39k - Every night, at 8:30 pm, Rey and Ben get on stage and pretend to be in love with each other. At 9:15, they walk off stage and the actual fireworks begin. - 60s country singers au

I could have been wild, I could have been free (but nature played a trick on me) - M - 61k - “Did you know that I did not even learn your name until yesterday, when I married you?”His face flushed a darker red than it had at breakfast, and he attempted to defend himself with incompetent stammering, “I—I regret that. The situation, of course, would have been,” he wrung his hands together and stared at her feet, “It would have been preferable if we had known one another more. On several occasions, I did attempt to make myself known to you, but you seemed to have other preoccupations.”Rey could feel her face contorting into a sneer to spit out her barbed words, “Perhaps that was your cue not to marry me!” - regency arranged marriage au 

Patch - M - 20k - He is nineteen when he first sees her.She comes to the rink alone, laces her skates alone, strokes warm-up circles alone...He looks at her, really looks her in the eye, and he decides he likes what he sees.She may be young, but she is hungry and angry, and for now? That’s enough for him.It’s not like he has a lot of options. - 80 russian ice skaters au 

*The Great Big No - E - 165k - Kylo Ren is third generation rock royalty, a reigning brat prince starting to feel the burn of the fame he reached for with both hands. Rey is an aspiring singer on the verge of a big break, provided her A&R guy still has a job by the time she reaches LA. Their paths have crossed briefly, disappointingly, before. What happens when they collide? - 90s rock au

***go I know not whither and fetch I know not what - E - 119k - The year is 1994. The Iron Curtain has come down, the oligarchs have begun their rise to power, and Kyril Ren, a powerful member of the infamous crime syndicate Solntsevskaya Bratva, has been given a job: hunt down an estranged uncle who has been snitching to the FBI.Irena, nicknamed Rey by her adoptive father Luke, is a Krav Maga instructor in New York who has finally been able to obtain her original birth certificate from Russia. Turns out she was born in a little village named Vershinino, but if she wants to know more than that… she’s going to have to go there herself. - 90s russian mafia au 

we could plant a house, we could build a tree - E -124k - Ben takes a deep breath. “It’s—it’s a project. Conceptual art. You wouldn’t get it.”Rey presses her lips together to keep from laughing. She plans her next words quickly and carefully, determining what will get her the best reaction. “Really? Looks like you ruined a bedsheet to me.”His reaction does not disappoint. “Get out.” ** Seven-year-old Rey decides it's her duty to annoy the crap out of Ben Solo every single day she's alive. - 90s growing up together artist au

#reylo #reylo fic rec #reylo ao3 #reylo fanfic #fanfic #fic rec #adam driver #daisy ridley #rey #kylo ren #kylo redemption #ben solo #star wars #star wars fanfiction #the grocery list

[dwellordream]

“The key method of transport throughout the period was walking. Although some contemporaries wrote about it, including in London, where there is a subset of picaresque and other accounts of walks, walking is largely ignored in scholarly works on transportation in the period. These works focus, instead, on turnpike roads, canals, and the early signs of railways. Unlike hot-air balloons, which made their appearance in Austen’s lifetime but on which she did not comment, these, notably the first two, were important. Nevertheless, although “respectable” people were not expected to walk long distances, as Karl Philipp Moritz discovered en route from London to Oxford in 1782, most people walked at the start of Austen’s life and the same at the close. 

Alongside change in transport facilities, there was much continuity—notably so at the local level, unlike the revolution in transportation that subsequently followed the development of the motor car. Trampsmen (peddlers, some of whom were women) expected to walk twenty miles per day. Most journeys, moreover, were not only done by walking but also were very local, whether daily journeys to work or weekly journeys to market, which, for many, were also a journey to work. The significance of walking as the sole or major option for many people was that socializing very much took place in the local context. This had an immediate effect on the possibilities for matrimony. 

Moreover, with walking, it was easy to move, meet others, and talk with them while moving. Walking was eased by the density of long-established tracks and paths, which was denser than in the more regulated modern world of public footpaths and linked all settlements. Many tracks and paths, however, were scarcely easy routes. Instead, they closely reflected the nature of the local terrain, in particular the topography, drainage, and soil type. In areas with a high water table, such as the heavy clay of the Midlands, south Essex, and the Vale of Berkeley, rainfall turned tracks into impassable quagmires, not least as water ran off the fields. 

The same is still the case in much of the West Country. Hilly and mountainous terrain made the situation far more difficult. Even in lowland areas, a small hill affected journeys. Moreover, steep climbs were hard. However, once a hill was ascended, walking downland was relatively easy because it was well drained and far drier than the valley floor, where, as Edward Ferrars points out, there was “dirt,” or mud, notably in winter. Downland also provided prospects. No one went far in winter if they could avoid it. 

Aside from difficulties with the weather, roads and ferries were also more difficult, and it was light for less of the day. Emma finds a late December in which the ground is “covered with snow, and the atmosphere in that unsettled state between frost and thaw, which is of all others the most unfriendly for exercise, every morning beginning in rain or snow, and every evening setting in to freeze,” such that “she was for many days a most honourable prisoner.” 

In Persuasion, dreadful weather means the Musgroves have no callers in the second half of January apart from the unwelcome curate, a local figure without connections who was dependent on the hospitality of neighbors. Snowmelt, moreover, ensured that the early months of the year could be very difficult. In February 1776, the thaw led to floods in Hampshire, which helped keep Austen’s mother in the house. In contrast, a fair April meant that in 1805, as Austen wrote, “We do nothing but walk about.” Local knowledge was very important in terms of the particular vulnerabilities of tracks to weather conditions. 

Some of the problems of walking are referred to in A Collection of Letters. Austen portrays the unpleasant Lady Greville telling Maria, whom she dislikes, “There will be no occasion for your being very fine for I shant send the Carriage—If it rains you may take an umbrella . . . you are used to be blown about by the wind Miss Maria and that is what has made your complexion so ruddy and coarse. You young Ladies who cannot often ride in a Carriage never mind what weather you trudge in, or how the wind shews your legs. . . . There will be no Moon—and You will have an horrid walk home.”

Austen’s characters frequently walk, as Elizabeth does in Pride and Prejudice, Anne in Persuasion, and Jane Fairfax in Emma. Indeed, it can be an aspect of their integrity and purpose, as with Elizabeth. In contrast to her sister Jane, she is “no horse-woman” and, instead, walks the three miles to Netherfield despite her mother commenting on “the dirt.” She jumps over stiles, springs over puddles, and arrives “with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise,” to the incredulity of the Bingley women. The walk makes her truly distinctive. Darcy admires “the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion,” but Miss Bingley finds it “an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country-town indifference to decorum.”

The clash is more generally true in the novels. Elizabeth also walks for pleasure, rather than simply to reach a destination, notably doing so rather than call on Lady Catherine at Rosings. Elizabeth’s sisters Catherine and Lydia usually walk the mile to the nearby town of Meryton (and the mile back): “When nothing better offered, a walk to Meryton was necessary to amuse their morning hours and furnish conversation for the evening.” So also with other characters. Thus, Catherine Morland walks up Beechen cliff, and Emma Woodhouse walks back from the Westons. 

The difficulty of much walking is underplayed in Austen’s novels, but, in Pride and Prejudice, the anticipation of the ball counters the dreariness of a patch of bad weather that prevents going out: “From the day of the invitation, to the day of the ball, there was such a succession of rain as prevented their walking to Meryton once.” Rain is a major problem for walkers, particularly for women given their clothes and expectations as to their appearance. Fanny Price is caught by a heavy shower en route to the village and is brought into the parsonage to dry. The walks and plans of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are affected by rain.

Walking certainly provides an opportunity for plot development, especially as each walk offers the options of company from the outset or the transition from solitary status to company or a mixture of the two. Thus, in her juvenilia—in Frederic and Elfrida, Austen’s mock romance—her protagonists and Charlotte swiftly go on a walk, where they meet two others, thus moving the plot forward. In Jack and Alice, the plot walk is also mocked: “Lady Williams called on Miss Johnson to propose a walk in a Citron [citrus] Grove which led from her Ladyship’s pigstye to Charles Adams’s Horsepond. Alice was too sensible of Lady Williams’s kindness in proposing such a walk and too much pleased with the prospect of seeing at the end of it, a Horsepond of Charles’s, not to accept it with visible delight.”

In The Three Sisters, Mary Stanhope walks to the village of Stoneham, her conversation entirely consisting “in abusing the man she is soon to marry and in longing for a blue chaise [carriage] spotted with silver.” Walking is also important in Austen’s mature novels. In Emma, the first conversation is interrupted by Mr. Knightley walking the mile to Highbury, where Emma tells him that she and the new Mrs. Weston had met Mr. Weston “in Broadway-Lane, when, because it began to mizzle [light rain], he darted away with so much gallantry, and borrowed two umbrellas for us from Farmer Mitchell’s.” 

Meeting while walking provides opportunities for sociability with less formal conventions than otherwise, including for private conversations that are not closely observed. This is seen in the artifice noted in Pride and Prejudice, when “Miss Lucas perceived him [Mr. Collins] from an upper window as he walked towards the house, and instantly set out to meet him accidently in the lane,” which led to their engagement. The pompous Collins does not understand that he is being played, which is an aspect of both his character and the plot. 

Walking was also very important in cities, particularly where pavements were planned and used, such as in many spas and notably in Bath. In London, distances encouraged the use of carriages, but walking was important in the West End—notably so if visiting a series of shops. After walking, the next most significant form of local travel was horseback, which also faced many of the problems already outlined, including the impacts of weather, terrain, and drainage. Moreover, there was a gender dimension. 

Women and girls were not generally expected to ride horses, but men and boys did. For example, Harriet Smith’s suitor, the honest and industrious farmer Mr. Martin, rides through every week on his way to the local market town, Kingston, which Austen herself went through on her way between Chawton and Kent. In going to Box Hill for their outing in Emma, the gentlemen go on horseback and the women by carriage. 

The problem of transport for women leads Augusta Hawkins to comment: “I wish we had a donkey. The thing would be for us all to come on donkies.  .  .  . I really must talk to him about purchasing a donkey. In a country life I conceive it to be a sort of necessary; for, let a women have ever so many resources, it is not possible for her to be always shut up at home;—and very long walks, you know—in summer there is dust, and in winter there is dirt.” 

However, in Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet, with her usual open eagerness to make arrangements, suggests to Jane that, when she goes to the Bingleys at Netherfield for dinner, she should not take the carriage, but rather “go on horseback, because it seems likely to rain; and then you must stay all night,” which would develop the desired social links. Jane indeed goes on horseback, getting wet through. The links develop, and Mrs. Bennet is vindicated, although that success is not matched with her other matchmaking. 

In Mansfield Park, Fanny Price has a “dear old grey pony,” the riding of which is good for her health, and Edmund gets her another horse when it dies. The opportunistic Mary Crawford learns to ride on this horse. In Persuasion, Mrs. Croft is a safer driver of their gig than her husband, the Admiral. In A Collection of Letters, in the juvenilia, riding is advised on medical grounds, and the “Young Lady crossed in Love” notes, “We have delightful Rides round us, I have a Charming horse, am uncommonly fond of the Amusement. . . . I ride a great deal,” only for “Miss Jane,” who was about thirty-five, to reveal that she has not ridden since she married. 

However, Austen’s poem “To the Memory of Mrs Lefroy” was a response to the death of her friend Anne Lefroy, wife of a rector near Steventon, in December 1804, four years earlier, which was caused by the horse bolting and Anne falling on hard ground. In the poem, Austen praises Anne’s “Christian spirit.” 

Horses could readily follow paths and tracks, but carriages had to be used on roads. The state of the latter was therefore important—notably the ability and determination of local communities to keep them in good repair—because, under the Statute for Mending of Highways of 1555, each parish was responsible for road upkeep. However, as the resistance of the surface, usually loose and rough, to bad weather or heavy use was limited, there was a need for frequent repair. 

Expensive in money and manpower, as it could not be mechanized, this duty was generally not adequately carried out. Only the largest holes were usually filled. Nevertheless, landlords could improve roads near their seats, as did Mr. Rushworth near Sotherton Court. Although local road systems were extensive, there were many problems that encouraged interest in improvement. In his play She Stoops to Conquer (1773), Oliver Goldsmith wrote of a rural journey: “It is a damned long, dark, boggy, dirty, dangerous way” (act 1, scene 2). In December 1782, Jeremy Lister wrote from Gainsborough: “The roads are exceeding bad, the road towards Lincoln being the only one that is anything tolerable, and that in general is through very deep sand.”

In The Watsons, Austen refers to the Watsons splashing along a “dirty lane,” and the arrogant Robert Watson complains to his sister: “Your road through the village is infamous . . . worse than ever it was. By heaven! I would endite it if I lived near you. Who is the surveyor now?” In Mansfield Park, Lady Bertram has “to go through ten miles of indifferent road, to pay a morning visit” on Mrs. Rushworth, and the problems of rural travel are a theme in the novel. 

Display, as well as comfort, are affected for narrow lanes can scratch the varnish off the carriage, while she continues: “If you had seen the state of the roads that day! I thought we should never have got through them, though we had the four horses of course . . . when we got into the rough lanes about Stoke, where what with frost and snow upon beds of stones, it was worse than any thing you can imagine. . . . And then the poor horses too!—To see them straining away! . . . when we got to the bottom of Sandcroft Hill . . . I got out and walked up.”

En route from Willingden to Sanditon, conversation in the carriage serves “to lighten the tediousness of a long hill, or a heavy bit of road.” Austen herself had her journey from Kent to Steventon in 1798 affected by bad weather. That journey, at least, greatly benefitted from turnpikes. In contrast, there were no turnpikes in many areas—for example, in parts of Devon, where, although there were twenty turnpike trusts by 1772, by 1800 there were still no turnpikes between Bideford and Launceston and from Ilfracombe to Lynton, and the district of the South Hams was poorly served. 

Carriages were an expression of social position and were seen in that light. “All the grandeur of the connection” of Mr. Elton with Augusta Hawkins “seemed dependent on the elder sister, who was very well married, to a gentleman in a great way, near Bristol, who kept two carriages!” This implied ownership of a carriage house and the relevant horses, grooms, drivers, and so on. Henry Crawford has a barouche, as does Mrs. Palmer, which Julia Bertram prefers for the visit to Sotherton over the smaller family post chaise. She competes successfully with her sister Maria to sit next to Henry in a social grasp for position that would have been well recognized. 

In turn, Maria proposes to get new carriages in London when married to Mr. Rushworth. Lucy Steele confides of her friends the Richardsons: “They are very genteel people. He makes a monstrous deal of money, and they keep their own coach.” Mrs. Perry wants her medical husband to get a carriage, which would be seen as a sign that he can afford one. Mrs. Norris is able to borrow Lady Bertram’s carriage and thus can mix “in society without having horses to hire.” Ambitious for her brother, Edward Ferrars, the unpleasant Mrs. John Dashwood wants to see him driving a barouche.

In Persuasion, the endlessly complaining Mary Musgrove whines: “It is so very uncomfortable, not having a carriage of one’s own. Mr and Mrs Musgrove took me, and we were so crowded! They are both so very large, and take up so much room!” Miss Denham “was immediately gnawed by the want of a handsomer equipage than the simple gig in which they travelled.” Austen was well aware of the issue of expense in the case of carriages and thus the cost of status. Having started maintaining a carriage the previous winter, George Austen has to give it up in late 1798 because he discovered he could not afford to keep it. He never took it up again. 

There was danger as well as expenditure in travel. Carriages were affected by deficiencies in the road surface such that moonlight, when the surface could more readily be seen at night, ensured there were more social engagements. Carriages were also affected by springs snapping and horses bolting. Going up and down steep hills could be particularly difficult and dangerous, and being on the roof of a coach was especially risky. Sanditon starts with a carriage overturning on a very rough lane, leading its owner, Mr. Parker, to determine to turn back to the turnpike, while the jovial Admiral and Mrs. Croft in Persuasion overturn their gig “very often,” although they do not mind.

Overturning, however, could be fatal. In Austen’s early and satirical story Love and Freindship, Edward and Augustus die as a result of a carriage overturning. Indeed, there was a craze for driving fast in the 1780s and 1790s. Even when not fast or fatal, there were accidents: in October 1812, Austen referred to the carriage from Alton in Hampshire overturned en route to London. This was not the sole type of accident. In Emma, a lame carriage horse delays the planned trip to Box Hill. Much improvement was brought by Turnpike Trusts, bodies established by groups of local businessmen and landowners who obtained individual Acts of Parliament as authorization to raise capital to repair and improve a road or network of local roads and charge tolls to those ends. Improvement was a key theme. 

Many turnpikes improved road maintenance and widened roads so they could take wheeled vehicles rapidly, which led to the spread of such traffic. In contrast, walkers turned to “turnpike tracks” in order to bypass the tolls, but that was essentially the recourse of the poor and was not a choice or experience that interested novelists, including Austen. Although trusts reflected local initiatives, the definition of necessary and profitable links ensured that a national system was established. By Austen’s birth, most of England was within twelve miles of a turnpike, and during her lifetime, a series of often quite small-scale changes expanded and improved the system. 

…Travel was made quicker by the crossbreeding of fast Arab horses while further improvements came from replacing leather straps with steel coach springs. Travel was also made easier by improving facilities. Across the country, alehouses or inns, such as The Three Jolly Pigeons in Goldsmith’s play She Stoops to Conquer, provided hospitality to travelers. During Austen’s lifetime, many old inns were rebuilt or extended, and new inns were built. Robert Ferrars and his new wife, Lucy, stop “in a chaise” at the New London Inn in Exeter en route from London to Dawlish. However, questionable conditions in many inns deterred some from sleeping there and, indeed, led the fictional Selina Suckling in Emma to travel with her own sheets.

Traveling certainly could involve delays, far more so than today, as Catherine Morland discovered en route from Bath to Northanger Abbey, when she had to wait at a posting stage where the horses were fed: “The tediousness of a two hours’ bait at Petty-France, in which there was nothing to be done but to eat without being hungry, and loiter about without any thing to see, next followed—and her admiration of the style in which they travelled, of the fashionable chaise-and-four—postilions handsomely liveried, rising so regularly in their stirrups, and numerous out-riders properly mounted, sunk a little under this consequent inconvenience.”

However, en route to Portsmouth, Fanny and William Price stop at Newbury and have a comfortable meal. Their uneventful journey advances by regular stages. On the return, nevertheless, Fanny, with her sister Susan and Edmund Bertram, go in one day from Portsmouth to Oxford, which is tiring: “their journey occupied a long day, and brought them almost knocked up, to Oxford.” Separately, Mrs. Jennings and the Dashwood girls are “glad to be released . . . from the confinement of a carriage” at the end of their three-day journey to London. Journeys became more regular as well as quicker. By 1783, there were twenty-five departures a week from Norwich to London. 

The following year, John Palmer’s prospectus for employing his stagecoaches to carry the post was vindicated when the Bristol-to-London journey was carried out in under sixteen hours. The use of stagecoaches for the post greatly improved services for the public as a whole. By 1788, the time required for a journey from London to Manchester had fallen to twenty-eight hours and from Exeter to London to thirty-two, and average speeds between London and Birmingham had risen to fifteen miles an hour. Colonel Brandon rides from Barton Park to Honiton and then goes post to London on the major road from the Southwest. Some routes, however, were slower. 

In 1787, the coach journey from Exeter to Barnstaple took over twelve hours. There was also a degree of unpredictability. John Lee, en route from London to Oxford in 1806, noted another issue with carriages: “Having in this stage from Hounslow to Slough two leaders very unequal to each other, their traces were observed to be crossed and the coachman informed us that they by that means would enable the horses to draw better together. I doubt it much.” Pressing on from Oxford to Worcester, he found the coach slower. Leaving Oxford at seven in the morning, he did not arrive in Worcester until a quarter to six in the evening.

Journeys could be affected by a willingness to “travel earlier, later, and quicker,” which was the case with Frank Churchill. In practice this tended to be a male prerogative. Leaving London at eight in the morning, John Willoughby, with his carriage drawn by four rather than two horses, is able to reach Cleveland in Somerset by eight at night: “The only ten minutes I have spent out of my chaise . . . procured me a noonchine [light meal] at Marlborough” of cold beef and beer. In a more leisurely fashion, also in Sense and Sensibility, Mrs. Jennings takes three days to go from Barton (a fictional place, probably the village of Upton Pyne) near Exeter to London in her own carriage.”

- Jeremy Black, “Transport and Industry.” in England in the Age of Austen

#regency #history #jeremy black #jane austen #english

[dc41896]

Winter Wonderland

Pairing: Ransom DrysdalexBlack Reader

⚠️: Ransom being a tiny bit of a jerk, the usual fluff

Sat on the couch comfortably wrapped in your boyfriend’s burnt orange throw blanket, your eyes stay glued to the meteorologist pointing to the map on the wide screen in front of you as you mindlessly bite your thumbnail.

“This again?,” Ransom asks returning from his shower to sit next to you. Forest green tee shirt over his black sweatpants, the scent of sandalwood wafting off his skin brings you closer eventually resting your head on his shoulder while you silently take in a couple deep breaths to savor the smell. “What, are you trying to be a weatherwoman now or something?”

“No, I’m just trying to stay updated. You know, watching to see if it’ll maybe rain or snow...”

Moving his laptop from the glass coffee table to his lap, soon his fingers tap away at the keyboard below as he tries to answer emails he missed while being away with you and your family for Thanksgiving.

“Hopefully it doesn’t. I’ve got too much to do for the power to be turning off.”

“...It would be nice to see though you know?”

“Mm,” he simply replies, mind still comprehending the email from his assistant with his schedule for the upcoming month.

“Snow covering the ground perfect to make snow angels or a snowman with a cute little scarf and carrot nose. Ooh and maybe a snowball fight-!”

“You sound like a kid who’s never seen snow before,” he chuckles. Noticing your extended silence, he sits up meeting your innocent eyes as you play with one of the tassels from the blanket. “You’ve never seen snow, have you?”

“I mean yeah in movies and pictures, but never in person. Remember, it doesn’t really get that cold where I live.”

Only four months in, your relationship was still fairly new. And most of that time he was flying to see you, which was slightly concerning at first. Once he told you about his dysfunctional family though, and you briefly heard it firsthand, it made sense why he wanted to get as far away as possible.

It was just a small mistake when some of his business documents were sent to his parents’ house, but of course they assumed it was his sly way of asking for money. Not even giving him a chance to explain, a shouting match soon ensued and hence why Thanksgiving was spent with your parents.

He still wanted you to come visit to show you his home, where he grew up, and some of his favorite places especially since you showed him yours. He’d just have to be extra careful to avoid any of his family members or those who worked at his grandfather’s home if the two of you went to town.

So far though, you two didn’t have to worry since you’d either been happily snuggled on the couch or in bed since you arrived.

“Well, it’s more of a pain than anything. You need the right tires to drive on the road and even then you have to worry about them being too slick. Then sometimes the snow is like mush that basically starts melting as soon as it falls, and don’t even get me started on the shoveling,” he rants as the small smile on your face slightly falls.

“Yea I’ve uh heard that it’s not so great once you get used to it,” you respond turning the channel to some random movie before handing him the remote. “Looks like it’s not gonna snow anyway though so no worries.”

“Good, I’ll be able to make all of my meetings then.”

As you sat in silence, Ransom could feel that you were disappointed about the sunny and clear forecast. He still stood by all the negative things he said earlier, but he also remembered how excited he’d get as a kid once it started to get colder. That meant snow would eventually come, bringing snow days from school and playing all day in the backyard. That is until his mother would yell at him from the back door not to mess up his clothes or send the nanny out to get him if she felt he wasn’t listening.

Hearing your soft snores, he carefully removes his phone from his pocket, moving his typing from his laptop to the smaller device in his hand as he sends a quick text to someone who might be able to help.

———

The soft chime of your alarm from the bedside table causes you to mentally groan as you reach to silence it before it could disturb Ransom. However feeling his arm tighten around your waist bringing you closer to his bare chest, you could see you were too late.

“Sorry babe. Go back to sleep, you still have time before your meeting,” you whisper.

“No,” he mumbles, face falling to the crook of your neck making you giggle from the sensation of his breathing paired with his pouted lips against your skin.

“Can you let go then? I have to log in for work.” Shaking his head, you roll your eyes at how clingy he could be under that tough, careless facade. “Ransom come on it’s my last workday before Christmas so I can’t call out. As soon as I’m done though you can have me all to yourself okay?”

His only response is silence as you try to escape his grip thinking he drifted back to sleep. You’re slightly startled as your body is turned to face your boyfriend with his eyes still closed and a tired yet playful smirk gracing his lips.

“I already took care of work for you,” he replies opening one eye while the other stayed pressed against the plush pillow.

“What do you mean?”

“That you don’t need to worry about work until the new year.”

“How? You just told my boss I wouldn’t be in for a while and she said okay?”

“Well darling as you know I can be very persuasive,” he cockily states with a wink. Sitting up with arms crossed over your chest, he chuckles at your unamused expression sitting up himself to lean against the headboard. “I told her how I had a secret trip planned for us and asked if you could be out until you were due to be back in January. She said you had the time so it was okay and for us to have fun. If you don’t believe me call her yourself.”

“How long have you had this planned? And where is this secret trip too?,” you finally speak trusting his words.

“A while now, and it wouldn’t be a secret anymore if I told you dear.”

“Then how am I supposed to pack for said trip honey?,” you ask matching his sarcasm.

“Already took care of that too. All you have to do is get ready so we can leave in a couple hours,” he smiles gently grabbing your chin to kiss your lips. “Unless you want to go to work then-,”

“No, I’ll get dressed!” Giving him one last peck as you crawl over his relaxed form, he chuckles watching you excitedly hurry to the bathroom to start your morning routine.

After both of you were dressed and Ransom placed your packed bags in the trunk of his newly rented Range Rover, his hand stops you from entering the passenger side slightly confusing you.

“It’s a surprise remember?,” he smirks pulling a black blind fold out of his jacket pocket.

“You know, this is how a handful of those lifetime movies start before the main character goes missing and her family then sets out to find the boyfriend even though he swears he’s innocent,” you state making him deeply chuckle as he finishes tying the cloth over your eyes.

“Relax, you’re fine. Plus how do I know this isn’t like those movies where the gorgeous girlfriend acts all innocent and sweet until she gets her boyfriend away so she can kill him and take all his stuff before moving on to her next victim?”

“Touché. I guess we’re gonna have to trust each other then.”

“I guess so,” he laughs kissing your cheek before carefully helping you in your seat and closing the door behind you. The drive there didn’t seem too long as you and Ransom talked about everything from each of your favorite vacations over the years to his new book ideas and what was soon to be published under his company. Of course you tried to get him to slip and say where you were going and what he had planned, but his lips remained sealed.

Every time you asked, he’d just chuckle telling you to be patient before kissing the back of your hand.

Soon enough your questions would be answered as the car slowed while it turned maintaining the same speed until coming to a complete stop. “Are we there? Can I take off the blindfold now?,” you excitedly ask.

“Go ahead before you bounce a hole in the seat.”

Removing the cloth, you blink your eyes adjusting to the brightness of the remaining daylight outside before they can focus on what was exactly in front of you. Dark brown wooden outside with a blue green roof and stone chimney, the modern looking cabin with wrap around porch peering into the surrounding woods on one side and the calm lake on the other.

“I hope your silence isn’t because you’re currently regretting coming with me,” he speaks peering at you with soft crystal blue eyes. Leaning over the middle console, your hand finds the back of his neck bringing him closer to connect your lips with his.

“It’s beautiful! The perfect Christmas getaway,” you smile.

“Well not perfect yet. This is just part one of your surprise.”

“Ransom, you don’t-,”

“I know, I don’t have to. As you see though, we’re here so are we gonna sit in the car and stare at it or go inside?,” he smirks before getting out to open your door.

You weren’t surprised to find the inside just as charming as it’s outside view. The modern, minimalistic aesthetic along with high vaulted ceiling and open concept made it seem as if there was no end in sight for the cozy cabin. From it’s overall inviting warmth enveloping you as soon as the both of you crossed the threshold, you weren’t sure if your boyfriend, or anyone, would get you to leave when the time eventually came.

Once settled and full of dinner made from what was in the fully stocked fridge and freezer, courtesy of his assistant, you could feel the day’s toll finally weighing on you as multiple yawns escaped your mouth and eyelids began to droop.

“Don’t fall asleep on me yet, you still have your last surprise to see,” he chuckles gently nudging your arm.

“Ransom seriously everything has been more than enough. What else could you possibly have planned?,” you sleepily smile peering up at him through partially opened lids. Gently pulling you up with him, he guides you to the porch with muscular, sweater covered arms wrapped on your chest just under your neck. He places a kiss on the top of your head as you lean back into his broad chest admiring the bright crescent moon along with the shimmering stars scattered behind it in the black sky.

“Although I do love gazing at the moon with you, and think this is a really nice surprise, it’s getting cold,” you speak feeling the vibrations of his quiet laugh through his chest.

“You really need to work on your patience dear,” he whispers, lips resting next to your ear. Watching the breath from your nose turn to smoke, you soon see something fall from above making you slightly lean forward to see if your eyes were deceiving you. Sure enough, a similar white speck descended with a small swirl as you gently gripped Ransom’s arm gasping. As more and more fell, you reach out over the banister feeling bits of cold ice touch your palm before melting into miniature puddles.

“Is this real?!”

“No, there’s a man on the roof with a wind machine. Yes, it’s real honey,” he chuckles kissing your cold cheek.

“But the forecast said there was none coming.”

“Yea for where we were. That’s why I brought you a bit further north where it usually snows around this time of year. Luckily it still happened or else everything would’ve been ruined.”

Turning to face him, your arms wrap around his neck as you reach on your tip toes to deeply kiss his lips. You prop your chin on his chest, adoringly looking up at your boyfriend with a soft smile.

“Yea no snow would’ve been a bit of a bummer, but everything would still be wonderful because I’m here with you.”

“Stop you’re gonna make me blush,” he dismisses with a dramatic wave making you giggle.

For the next few moments, you both comfortably stand in each other’s arms with your head now lying on his chest gazing at the steady falling flurries, and Ransom doing the same finding himself truly happy to see snow for the first time in a long while.

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicanawrites @honeychicana @lady-olive-oil @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @maxcullen @literaturefeen @damnitaa @curlyhairclub @plokyu23 @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy @scoop93535 @secretmysteriousperson

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for, or no longer wish to be tagged just let me know🤓!

#chrisxblackreader #chrisxwoc #chrisxreader #chris evans #ransomxwoc #ransomxblackreader #ransom drysdale #ransomxreader #knives out

[emersonfreepress]

okay so is there content that you had planned for the ROs and story in general but then scrapped cause there wasn’t a good place in the story to stick it in? and if so, can you share what it was? 👀 👀 👀

yes, definitely. *rubs hands together* oh man, you done asked THE question today xD I can't wait to get into this 😁

Academics. I almost decided to have classes and grades be a minor part of gameplay, but the more time I spent designing it the more I realized I wanted nothing to do with it 😂 I haven’t really enjoyed academic gameplay in other interactive fiction because I 1) hate having to choose between studying and interacting with awesome characters, 2) have terrible short term memory, and 3) hate school in general!! So instead I just opted to have the MC be really good at school, point blank period so I could focus on social drama and relationships instead! 😆

Physical skills. I spent literal months crafting the catering scene around setting up stats for stamina/endurance, dexterity, and strength instead of just magnetism, confidence, and persuasion. They had their own backstories with the MC’s parents being overly invested sports parents instead and I think the background choices were like... martial arts, gymnastics, and track? But yeah, I ended up scrapping it all because I was spending hours on research about those individual sports so I could integrate them into the MC’s narrative organically but like... when I tried to think of what use they would be in the actual story, I came up blank. Best decision yet, esp since it means a lot less coding!

Skin tone customization. For one, I noticed that a lot of my favorite IFs don’t offer that customization and it hasn’t impacted my experience at all. For two, I originally realized I might as well not implement it since I am striving real hard not to introduce any customization that won’t actually be mentioned in interesting or meaningful ways in-story. I don’t think it’s really all that common for real life friends (esp in high school?) to comment or compliment each other’s skin and like... when it comes from someone who doesn’t share a similar complexion or ethnic background, that type of commentary gets... d i c e y. So then I wanted to be sensitive to that but what’s the pay-off? An RO mentioning how they love your skin tone once? Awkward sentences with the MC referring to their own skin color? Idk, just wasn’t vibing with it. I’m open to revisiting it in beta or something but for now it’s scrapped.

Singing, Rapping, and Gaming as Hobbies/Talents. I feel bad about scrapping these, honestly 😂 They’re great and I really wanted to incorporate them but it just came down to already having a lot of stuff to code. Plus, I know I can write the Hobbies/Talents I stuck with far better. And for Book 2 purposes, as well!

Leo. as @sourandflightypeaches ​​ asked me about a long while ago, I had to scrap an entire RO 😢 His name is Leo, he was the nephew of wealthy west African diplomats residing in Emerson, and I love him dearly! His backstory was largely based on my mother’s childhood and the circumstances she lived through after immigrating to America. and... ok, i’m about to go on one hell of a tangent so buckle up and bear with me if you can 😅

my intention with this story, aside from writing things that I personally enjoy (graphic violence, spooky woods, social drama, romance, conspiracies 😚), is to explore greed, wealth, and how the ways people and families interact with those two things influence young people and who they grow up to be. here i go sounding pretentious af 😝 and here’s where I apply a cut for those who want to preserve a little mystery to the main characters!

With Gabe, we’ve got someone who grew up with very little stability or financial security but who has found unscrupulous methods to gain status and money, with both noble and selfish motivations.

Kile has some of that childhood experience in common with Gabe, having been in the foster care system since infancy, but they lucked out when they were adopted into massive wealth by a caring, loving couple—a couple that uses their wealth and privilege to be far more lenient and protective of Kile than is actually reasonable or responsible.

Jack comes from a prestigious wealthy family on his dad’s side who he loves dearly but there’s no getting around the fact that they love him back as much as they despise his working class mom.

Jessie is a spoiled sweet heiress (being the baby of her family and the only girl) and while she lives blissfully ignorant of the harmful source and impact of her father's income and career, she bears the weight of the expectation to fulfill very traditional gender roles, including her behavior and appearance, but also extending to her career and life plans.

Rain's wealth led to them growing up sheltered and isolated but also extremely accommodated, giving them maximum freedom and opportunity to discover and develop their personal talents and interests. However, they have almost no positive relationship with their parents who have essentially decided to give up on a kid that couldn't be exactly the accessory they tried to mold them to be—both in terms of their identity and personality.

Rupan/Rohan, at their very core, rejects everything about conformity, self-importance, and excessive luxury—which means they have never, ever truly fit in with their peers. Going full non-conformist, however, has resulted in them becoming alienated from much of their family, as well, despite them all loving each other very much. Their history with false friends and betrayals has led them to over-indulge in their vices and reckless behavior to compensate for that isolation. Sometimes, they just get in over their head and many times, they know better. Every time, it's just that the feeling of finally belonging is utterly intoxicating.

Vivian/Vincent has two extremely successful parents who didn't inherit but instead built up their wealth and they aspire to be just like them, to a degree that is well and truly unhealthy. Their mother specifically is an over-achiever and applies mountainous pressure for them to follow in her footsteps, especially academically. Vi is completely capable of achieving what their mom expects of them, but they were already an extremely sensitive perfectionist so this has made them intensely critical of themself. This is a large part of why they are such a rigid, no-nonsense person and that in turn has made them one of the most disliked people among their peers—which is a huge personal failure to them since their father is a very well-liked and socially successful person in town.

And the Emersons are peak privilege: inherent high social status, brains, looks, charisma, athleticism, and massive wealth. They could never have been anything less than extremely popular, just by virtue of their last name and the nature of the town's social dynamics and politics. And they do enjoy that privilege (esp Curt lol). However, it should go without saying that being so high profile, even (or maybe especially) just in the isolated scope of your hometown, isn't always a boon. Their family's and their own perceived failings are widely discussed and privately mocked and/or celebrated. Real friends are scarce while fake ones and snakes are plentiful. Plus their dad is a gigantic dickhead who sees his kids as extensions of his own status and reputation and not much else. Public shortcomings make for an unbearable time at home and the world outside the estate is at once overly accommodating, full of assumptions, and even subtly hostile at times—all unrelated to their own actions or character.

And with the MC, I think the narrative will make it clear there are several ways that story can go. You start off with irresponsible parents that have lost their wealth due to their own mismanagement and material ambitions—how that affects any individual MC should differ based on choices and consequences!

So why bring any of that up when I was supposed to be talking about my cut OC? 😂😂

Leo was going to be the unwelcome recent addition to his uncle’s household, the son of a brother his aunt hates for (petty af) Reasons, and she took that resentment out on him directly by restricting his access to nearly every aspect of the family's wealth. Especially material goods and living conditions. He was basically treated like the help, tasked with playing nanny for his many younger cousins and burdened with doing the homework and providing academic cover for his dumb as rocks cousin in the same grade as you all. To sum it up, he was basically a victim of trafficking at the hands of his own family with his uncle out of town enough to feign ignorance to how bad his wife was treating his nephew and his aunt going out of her way to keep him busy, at home, and isolated. This is sadly a super common form of trafficking in Francophone African cultures (although I don't think most people view it as trafficking. and I’m sure the same is true of other cultures but I don’t want to speak outside of my purview). And like I mentioned above, it’s how my own mom's (and idek how many cousins') child/teenhood went.

It’s a perspective on modern wealth, privilege and greed that I really, really wanted to tell. I am confident in saying it hasn't been explored in interactive fiction yet (though correct me—and direct me 👀—if I'm wrong) and out of all the wealth/greed explorations I came up with, it's the one I have the closest personal ties to and the strongest feelings about. The characters and plans I had for it were detailed and I'm proud of them but at the end of the day... I just couldn't find a place for Leo in the story at large.

Leo was, in fact, the last main character I came up with, when I had already designed and fleshed out the larger story and started crafting the timeline of major events. I think the worst thing I could have done for a story and perspective that I care about this much is shove it into a plot that didn't have room for it at the very base level, regardless of how well the character or his story is written. Shoe-horned characters always stick out. I didn’t want to disservice Leo by having him be the character that did nothing or could be removed from the main plot without affecting it at all, y’know? That’s so much worse than just forgoing the indulgence, imo :((

ugh.... Leooooo 😭 I'm so sorry bb, I failed youuu 😥

#lovely anon #answered #hotmess #ok I am truly so sorry for going on and on like this #writing #ch design #ty for this question it was really nice to revisit this stuff 😃 #and a nice reminder to not look back lol #scrapped

[ijustdragon]

Everything About The Moon in Magick

An Overview of The Moon Cycles

The Lunar Phase or Moon Phase is the shape we see of the moon, which is lit by the sun, when viewed from earth. The Lunar Phases gradually change over the period of a Synodic Month, which is around 29.53 days. This occurs due to the orbital positions of the Moon around Earth and the Earth around the Sun moving. The Moons location is tidally locked by Earth's gravity, this causes most of the same lunar side to always face earth.

Each of the main four "intermediate" lunar phases is around 7.4 days but this will vary slightly due to the elliptical shape of the moons orbit. There are four main principal lunar phases: • New Moon (0°) • First Quarter (90°) • Full Moon (180°) • Last Quarter (270°) The Degrees show the Moon's ecliptic longitude at the angle to the sun. All of these phases appear slightly different times at different locations on earth.

During the intervals between principal phases are intermediate phases, during which the Moon's apparent shape is either crescent or gibbous. The intermediate phases last one-quarter of a synodic month, or 7.38 days, on average. The descriptor waxing is used for an intermediate phase when the Moon's apparent shape is thickening, from new to full moon, and waning when the shape is thinning.

Full Moon of The Months

January Full Moon

The first Full Moon of the year is named after howling wolves, hence the name The Wolf Moon. In some cultures, it was known as Old Moon, Ice Moon, Snow Moon, and the Moon after Yule. In ancient times, it was common to track the changing seasons by following the lunar month rather than the solar year, which the 12 months in our modern calendar are based on. For millennia, people across Europe, as well as Native American tribes, named the months after features they associated with the Northern Hemisphere seasons, and many of these names are very similar or identical. This is the time for protection and strength, this time symbolizes both the beginning and the end.

February Full Moon

The Snow Moon is the Full Moon in February, named after the snow on the ground. Some North American tribes named it the Hunger Moon due to the scarce food sources and hard hunting conditions during mid-winter, while others named it the Storm Moon. Some sources also call it Chaste Moon, although most attribute this name to March Full Moon. About once every 19 years, February does not have a Full Moon, known as a Black Moon. In 2018, this was the case in most time zones. Instead, January and March have two Full Moons each, creating a double Blue Moon. This is the time to focus on magick for fertility and strength.

March Full Moon

The Full Moon in March is the Worm Moon, and it is usually considered the last Full Moon of winter. It is also called Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Chaste Moon, Sugar Moon, and Sap Moon. The Worm Moon got its name from the earthworms that emerge at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the time to plant plans in your mind, its also a period of purity and newness.

April Full Moon

The Full Moon in April is the Pink Moon, from the pink flowers – phlox – that bloom in the early spring. Other names for this Full Moon include Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Hare Moon, and the Old English/Anglo-Saxon name is Egg Moon. It is also known as the Paschal Moon because it is used to calculate the date for Easter. Now is the time to put your plans into action!

May Full Moon

The May Full Moon is known as Flower Moon to signify the flowers that bloom during this month. Other names for the Full Moon in May are Corn Planting Moon, and Milk Moon from Old English/Anglo-Saxon. Now is the time to focus on love, health, romance and wisdom. It’s time to rekindle your withering flames.

June Full Moon

June’s Full Moon is the Strawberry Moon as these little red berries ripen at this time. Other names are Hot Moon, Mead Moon, and Rose Moon. Now is the time to focus on love, marriage and success. June is the month of marriage!

July Full Moon

The Full Moon for the month of July is called Buck Moon to signify the new antlers that emerge on deer buck's foreheads around this time. This Full Moon is also known as Thunder Moon, Wort Moon, and Hay Moon from Old English/Anglo-Saxon. Now is the time to focus on enchantment, health, rebirth, strength and celebration. It’s a great time for prosperity magick and others of the sort.

August Full Moon

The Full Moon for August is called Sturgeon Moon because of the large number of fish in the lakes where the Algonquin tribes fished. Other names for this Full Moon include Green Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Fruit Moon, and Grain Moon from Old English/Anglo-Saxon. Technically, the Harvest Moon is the Full Moon closest to the September equinox around September 22. Most years it is in September, but around every three years, it is in October. The Harvest Moon is the only Full Moon name which is determined by the equinox rather than a month. Now is the time for abundance, agriculture and sharing. Enjoy the bounty of the earth but don’t forget to share with those who don’t feel the abundance like you do.

September Full Moon

The Full Moon in the month of September in the Old Farmer's Almanac is called Harvest Moon, which corresponds with the Old English/Anglo-Saxon name, while other names are Corn Moon or Full Corn Moon or Barley Moon. Now is the time for protection, prosperity and a continuation of abundance.

October Full Moon

Every three years, the Hunter's Moon is also the Harvest Moon. Traditionally, people in the Northern Hemisphere spent the month of October preparing for the coming winter by hunting, slaughtering and preserving meats for use as food. This led to October’s Full Moon being called the Hunter’s Moon, Dying Grass Moon, and Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon. However, this should not be confused with a Total Lunar Eclipse/Blood Moon. Now is the time for new goals, resolution and spirituality. Evaluate yourself, reflect, what could you do better, who could you be?

November Full Moon

According to folklore, the Full Moon in November is named after beavers who become active while preparing for the winter. It is also known as Frosty Moon, and along with the December Full Moon some called it Oak Moon. Traditionally, if the Beaver Moon is the last Full Moon before the winter solstice, it is also called the Mourning Moon. Now is the time for prosperity and your bonds with family and friends. Take this opportunity to use divination to show what your future holds.

December Full Moon

December is the month when winter begins for most of the Northern Hemisphere, and the Full Moon is called the Cold Moon. The Old English/Anglo-Saxon name is the Moon Before Yule, while another name is Wolf Moon, however, this is more common for the January Full Moon. Now is the time for hope and healing, let go. Start anew. This is your new self.

The Moon in Magick

Moon magic is associated with the Moon. There is a belief common to many cultures that working rituals at the time of different phases of the moon can bring about physical or psychological change or transformation. These rituals have historically occurred on or around the full moon and to a lesser extent the new moon. Such practices are common among adherents of neopagan and witchcraft systems such as Wicca. Witches in Greek and Roman literature, particularly those from Thessaly, were regularly accused of "drawing down the Moon" by use of a magic spell. The trick serves to demonstrate their powers, to perform a love spell or to extract a magical juice from the Moon. These beliefs would seem to be consistent with many other cultures traditions, for instance; casting of the i ching is often done during the full moon's apex.

The following are correspondences with the moon’s phases.

Phase 1: New Moon

The new moon is a fresh start. When the moon is in this phase, you can barely see it, and the sky can appear black. Sometimes magick can be quite literal, and with the moon out of sight, this can be an ideal time to do shadow work or acknowledge our dark sides, or shadow selves, that we typically like to keep hidden.

For instance, perhaps you have a manipulative side you tend to insist doesn't exist when called out. Are there healthy ways you could use these skills, such as to get ahead in your career without hurting others in the process? Or you could use your ability to read others to encourage your partner to communicate together rather than to control them? New moons are great for exploring our shadow sides and finding ways to work positively with them.

Additionally, as new moons are new beginnings, the new moon is a wonderful time to set goals and intentions for the forthcoming cycle. What do you want the next month to look like? Is there a toxic lover you're finally ready to cut out of your life to make room for the person of your dreams? The new moon is a great time to encourage beginnings, especially in love. And you know what beginnings require: letting go of the past. If you want to clear bad energy in your love life to attract an ideal mate, the new moon has your back.

Magick for this Time Includes;

Bath Magick

Cleansing Magick

Acquiring New Things Magick

Shadow Magick

Phase 2: Waxing Moon

The waxing moon phase is when the moon is visually getting bigger and brighter, shifting from a new moon to a full moon. During the waxing moon, the moon is growing, becoming brighter, and creating an ideal phase for sympathetic magick around growth. Sympathetic magick means magick that works through symbolic resemblance. The moon is getting brighter, so let's use that energy to make your career, self-esteem, and love life brighter, too.

Magick for this Time Includes;

Persuasion Magick

Intention Magick

Manifesting Magick

Seeking Magick

Candle Magick

Journal Magick

Love Magick

Phase 3: Full Moon

Emotions run high on full moons, and everything is extra intense. You can use this intensity and apply it to basically any spell you like, with the knowledge you'll have a bright ball of shining power to aid you. Many people charge their crystals during full moons by placing them somewhere they'll be exposed to the light. Another trick is to make full moon water, by placing a goblet of water under the light of the full moon on top of a letter of intention. Let the full moon charge the water, and then utilize it in potions or spells. Any magick can be done under a full moon with extra potency, but it's also a time in which psychic abilities are heightened. Trust your instincts under a full moon, even if emotions are running high. One of the simplest and best uses of full moon energy is to meditate in its light for clarity on a situation.

Magick for this Time Includes;

Sex Magick

Strength Magick

Confidence Magick

Physic Magick

Higher-self Magick

Tarot Magick

Familiar Magick

Spirit Guide Magick

Phase 4: Waning Moon

The waning moon is the time period in which the moon is getting darker again, moving from a full moon back to new. Remembering sympathetic magick, the waning moon is great for banishing work, or cutting cords with a past lover. However, you don't always need to banish a person from your life entirely — some of the most powerful banishing work you can do is spells to rid yourself of feelings for someone you know is bad for you, insecurity or self-doubt. Empowering yourself works better (and some would argue more ethical) than trying to change the will of another. Banish unfair treatment at work, banish your impostor syndrome. Remove unwanted negativeness that is keeping you from living the life you deserve.

Magick for this Time Includes;

Banishment Magick

Insecurity Magick

Positive Mentality Magick

Lunar Cheat Sheet (basic)

New Moon: Renew, Cleanse, Purify

Waxing Moon: Attract, Gain, Love

Full Moon: Manifest, Enlighten, Heal

Waning Moon: Banish, Negate

Blue Moon: Wish, Dream, Achieve

Lunar Cheat Sheet (advanced)

New Moon: 

Blank Page, New Beginnings, Planting Seeds of Intention, Money Spells, Manifestation For The Month, Blessing of a New Project

Crescent Moon: 

Fresh Energy, Form New Ideas, Focus on Details

First Quarter Moon: 

Momentum, Challenges, Paying Attention

Gibbons Moon: 

Patience, Edit, Refine

Full Moon: 

Peak Energy, Gratitude, Blossoming, Psychic Energy, Connection, Love/Soulmate Spells, Banishing Negative Energy or Influences, Divination, Protection Magick, Thanking Deities and The Universe

Disseminating Moon: 

Release, Receive, Harvest

Last Quarter Moon: 

Breakdown, Forgiveness, Let Go

Balsamic Moon:

Rest, Restoration, Reflection

Blue Moon:

Protection, Energy Boost, Positivity

Blood Moon:

Transformation, Banishing, Prophecy

A Halo Around The Moon (A Sign Of Disruption)

A Change in The Weather, A Fever To Come, A Streak of Bad Fortune

Alas a double ring means anything can happen, the more tangled it is the worst the outcome will be.

Uses of Moon Water

Moon water has many uses and is very common in spells that involve liquid or elixirs. The following are a few examples of their uses;

Bathing or Cleaning One Self, incorporating Moon Water into Bath Magick is a very expensive use of a large quantity of water but will undoubtedly boost the power of the magick in use.

Energizing/Charging and Cleaning Crystals, Moonlight can charge and clean your crystals but so can your water, although you do have to check if your crystals can go in water. Selenite is a brilliant example of one that cannot.

Tea’s or Beverages, this is a very direct way to empower yourself with the power of the moon for daily use. If you do intend on using your moon water as a drink please be sure to use clean water, prevent insects or animals of the like for coming into contact with it and make sure the container is clean.

Making Potions, Or sprays. It is very common to find Moon Water as an ingredient for cleansing sprays and potion bases. As a potion base Moon Water depends on the moon phase it’s associated with, meaning that the Moon Water is already imbued with the power and meaning of that specific Moon Phase. Make sure they correspond accordingly!

Watering Plants and Flowers, adding Moon Water to your plants can influence them to grow better and develop a further connection between the two of you.

Making Fragrances or Perfumes, Moon Water is extremely popular in Glamour spells and sprays, as it is a pure form of gentle power. The Moon is commonly associated with femininity and a boost of this can help influence your feminine side. Not to say that Men can’t use Moon Water, every person has a feminine side, no matter what’s in their pants!

Diffuser Water, placing Moon Water in your diffuser can help empower the fragrance and boost the Magickal energy of the area it’s placed by.

Being A Symbol of Your Moon Goddess/God. A jar or bottle of Moon Water on your altar can help symbolize your Moon related deities.

Moon Deities

In mythology, a lunar deity is a god or goddess of the Moon, sometimes as a personification. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Some form of Moon worship can be found in most ancient religions.

The following is a list of Moon related Deities I could find, if things are incorrect please let me know! I will be writing their name and then the mythology/religion they originate from.

African Moon Deities

Ala, Igbo

Gleti, Dahomean

Mawu, Dahomean

Iah, Egyptian

iNyanga, Zulu

Khonsu, Egyptian

Thoth, Egyptian

Ela-Opitan, Yoruba

European Moon Deities

Arianrhod, Welsh

Artemis, Greek

Artuma, Etruscan

Ataegina, Lusitanian

Bendis, Thracian

Cynthia, Greek and Roman

Diana, Roman

Elatha, Irish

Hecate, Greek

Hors, Slavic

Hjúki and Bil, Norse

Ilargi, Basque

Kuu, Finnish

Losna, Etruscan

Luna, Roman

Mano, Sámi

Máni, Norse

Meness, Lativan

Phoebe, Greek

Selene, Greek

Triple Goddess, Wicca

Asian Moon Deities

Kunnechup Kamui, Ainu

Kaskuh, Hittie

Men, Phrygian

Jie Lin, Chinese

Chang Xi, Chinese

Chang’e, Chinese

Tai yin xing jun, Chinese

Tu’er Ye, Chinese

Wu Gang, Chinese

Napir, Elamite

Chandra or Soma, Hindu

Kusuh, Hurrian

Selardi, Urartian

Ratih, Indonesian

Silewe Nazarate, Indonesian

Tsukuyomi, Japanese

Tõlze, Mari

Myeongwol, Korean

Bulan/Libulan, Visayan

Mayari, Philippine

Aglibol, Palmarene

Baal-hamon, Carthaginian

Sin, Mesopotamian

Ta’lab, Arabian

Wadd, Minaen

Yarikh, Canaanite

Ay Ata, Turkic

Austronesian Deities

Andriambahomanana, Malagasy

Lona, Hawaiian

Avatea, Polynesian

Fati, Polynesian

Hina, Polynesian

Mahina, Polynesian

Marama, Polynesian

Australian Deities

Bahloo, Australian Aboriginal

Kidili, Mandjindia

Ngalindi, Yolngu

American Deities

Coyolxauhqui, Aztec

Metztli, Aztec

Tecciztecatl, Aztec

Menily, Cahuilla

Muuya, Hopi

Mama Killa, Incan

Ka-Ata-Killa, Incan

Coniraya, Incan

Alignak, Inuit

Igaluk, Inuit

Tarqiup Inua, Inuit

Hanwi, Lakota

Awillix, Maya

Huitaca, Muisca

Chia, Muisca

Pah, Pawnee

Abaangui, Tupi Guarani

Arasy, Tupi Guarani

Jasy, Tupi Guarani

Kalfu, Voodoo

My apologies if I have missed any or spelled them incorrectly as my knowledge was limited to a few websites.

Spells That Use The Moon

A Spell To Increase Communication

Increase Psychic Abilities

Cleansing Spray

Filtering Moon Water

Glow Like The Moon

Simple Full Moon Ritual

Full Moon Tea

Sea Knot Magick: a Wish Bracelet Spell

Self-Love Moon Spell

Full Moon Attraction Jar Spell

Cleansing of The Mind Spell

Moon Cloud Meditation

New Moon Manifestation Ritual

A Spell To Increase Wealth

Strength and Luck Bath Spell

New Moon Jar Spell

Sailor Mercury Study Spell

Blood Moon Blood Spell

Moment of Peace Spell

Solitary Moon Ritual

Cold Moon Intuition Magic

Full Moon Release Spell

Full Moon Enchantment Spell

The Banishing Bottle: A Spell to Thrust Away Banes and Stresses

Divining by Clouds

Thank You For Reading!

-Blessed Be, Circe

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[exclsiormarketing]

What Good Design Can Do To Your Business?  

There's a question that gets thrown around a lot: "Does having a good design really matter for your business? Does it actually bring any value to the table?" Well, let me tell you, it's not just a matter of looking pretty; it's about working smart. Designers aren't just doodlers; they're the maestros of conveying a business's essence to its audience.  

The best web design companies in Bangalore don't just create visuals; they create a connection. They turn customers into die-hard fans. In a world where everyone's fighting for attention, having an amazing DESIGN is like having a secret sauce that keeps you one step ahead of the competition. So, let's not underestimate the power of design; it's not just about aesthetics – it's about making your business shine! 

Why Good Design is Good Business?  

Good Design Leaves a Lasting Impact 

Take yourself to that memorable first day at work, a day when you picked out your nicest attire and polished your shoes to a dazzling sheen. Perhaps you arrived at the office early to signify your unwavering commitment to your new job. In the realm of business, the same principle applies to design – a potent force that can either make or break a customer's initial perception of your identity, your purpose, and ultimately, their affinity for your enterprise. 

Design serves as a persuasive tool, a means to establish trust without uttering a single word. It communicates through the unspoken language of aesthetics, a language that swiftly connects people with your company based solely on your presentation. A mere glance at your design can trigger emotions, forge a sense of belonging, or extend a warm welcome through the careful selection of colors. In our shared human desire for connection, leaving a lasting positive impression significantly enhances the likelihood of strengthening the customer's trust in your business. 

Good Design Sets Your Business Apart From the Competition 

If you ever believed your business was sailing a solitary sea, consider this a wake-up call. 

In the vast ocean of industries, competition lurks in every shadow. 

The importance of good design cannot be overstated: 

If your designs are up-to-date, contemporary, and captivating, customers will naturally be drawn to your products. This is a fundamental truth. The next time you visit a grocery store, explore an unfamiliar aisle, and observe which items on the shelves immediately grab your attention. I assure you, it will be the products with outstanding design, branding, and modern packaging. 

Creating a successful product, service, or website hinges on attracting attention. What if you could achieve this with less expenditure by simply having a better design than your competitors? Wouldn't you invest more time and effort upfront to achieve such results? The beauty of good design is that it doesn't necessarily require more spending, but it automatically generates more attention. Design services company can do it for you.  

Good Design Ensures a User-Friendly Website 

In the world of design, true excellence goes beyond mere aesthetics. 

To truly excel, design must dance to a purposeful tune. 

It's not just about how something appears; it's about how it seamlessly functions. 

Consider a thoughtfully crafted website; its magic lies in its ability to transform visitors into loyal customers. 

In an era where attention spans rival those of goldfish (8 seconds versus 9 seconds), time is a precious commodity. 

Though the gap may appear slim, it wields significant impact. 

Quality design streamlines online landscapes, making navigation a breeze and reducing bounce rates. 

When users stumble upon poorly designed sites, frustration prevails, leading to premature exits due to the struggle to find desired information. 

User-friendly design is marked by simplicity, direct access to information, and an absence of unnecessary frills. 

The essence of good design and usability is not about inundating users with data or dazzling animations. It's about delivering the essentials while staying true to your brand's identity. 

An unintuitive website is more than a missed opportunity; it's detrimental to your business. This underscores that good design encompasses more than appealing visuals or elegant typography; it extends to the realm of enhancing user experiences and optimizing workflows. 

Good Design is the Cornerstone to Social Media Success 

If you believed that having a well-crafted website was sufficient for success, it's time to reconsider.  

Nowadays, digital marketing companies recommend that a significant portion of marketing efforts is channeled through various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and others. Social media serves as a potent avenue for connecting with customers, achieving virality, and establishing your company's reputation. 

However, in this era that values aesthetics, an inadequate design can hinder your social media strategy. It's not just customers who acknowledge the importance of good design in enhancing a company's presence on social media; marketers themselves have affirmed that design is a crucial component of their marketing strategies. 

When lacking in design, marketing messages essentially become plain text, and this approach rarely manages to capture people's attention. 

Conclusion  

Good design holds the potential to establish a positive connection with clients. What might seem daunting initially can evolve into an enjoyable aspect of business growth! Why not leverage the advantages of design for business? Exclsior, a design services company in Bangalore can help you. We can produce designs that will match the personality of your business and spin profits.  

#website design #website development #web services #lead generation #digital marketing