FAN-FREAKIN-FICTION!!!

#he knows what he’s doing

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Chibird store | Positive pin club | Webtoon

Modern Glasgow AU

(set about 1.5 years after the wedding)

Claire closed her eyes, took a deep breath, counted to ten, and pressed the palms of her hands on the cool, flat surface of her desk.

Jamie had left their flat ten minutes before – to give her the quiet and space she needed today. Today was Saturday, and it was eight-thirty AM, and Claire Fraser, medical student, had studying to do.

She rolled her shoulders and opened her anatomy textbook. Set it to her left.

She fanned out her notebooks – each turned to a different page – and a few photocopied handouts. Set it to her right.

Undid the rubber band holding the ever-growing pile of homemade flashcards. Set them in front of her.

Glanced over at the framed photograph of her and Jamie – a snapshot taken by Murtagh a few months back, grinning in a field at Kelvingrove Park.

Picked up her pen. Flexed the muscle at the base of her thumb – and the tattooed “J” inked on her skin.

Began to write.

--

“It’s verra kind of ye to help an auld man wi’ his plumbing.”

Jamie’s legs shifted a bit, sticking out from the cabinet beneath the sink in Murtagh’s kitchen. “I havenae fixed it yet. You’re not too old. And besides, Claire is studying this morning.”

“Ach.” Murtagh handed his godson a wrench, and watched him disappear back under the sink. “How is it going for her, wi’ the schooling?”

“I think it’s more difficult than she lets on.” Jamie’s legs twisted – boots squeaking against the wood floors – as he tried to get a better angle. “She’s verra clever, so it’s no’ a matter of remembering everything. It’s some of the other students who are a problem.”

Murtagh warily eyed the drain in the sink. “How so?”

“It’s a maturity thing. She’s the only marrit student. Many of them focus on partying all the time, and some of the men are real arseholes. Making passes at her and such. Blind to the ring she wears.”

Something popped in the sink – and slowly the two inches of water began to recede down the train.

“Ye’ve got it!” Murtagh exclaimed.

Carefully Jamie unfolded himself from the cabinet and sat on the floor, twisting his back and neck. “Do I need to remind ye again to scrape yer plate before ye wash it?”

Murtagh huffed. “The building is old, laddybuck. The pipes always need tending. Besides – tell me more about Claire’s classmates. Is it a problem? Have ye had to get involved?”

Jamie snorted. “You ken my wife, aye? She can mind herself no problem. Swats them away like the insects they are. Only – it does bother her, that she may continue to be around such men even when she does become a doctor. She kens she’s verra beautiful, but she wants people to…to no’ write her off as just a pretty face. Which motivates her to work extra hard.”

Jamie pulled his mobile phone from his shirt pocket and fired off a quick text.

Murtagh skeptically raised a shaggy eyebrow. “I thought ye said she was studying?”

He continued to tap out a message. “She is. She puts her phone on ‘do not disturb’ so she doesnae get any notifications. Only if I call her, does it go through.”

“So when she turns off the block, all she gets are texts from you?”

Jamie smiled. “Aye.”

Murtagh shook his head. “Lovesick fools, the both of you. Now – let’s decide what to do for lunch. My treat.”

--

“And what about you, lad?”

Jamie wiped a bit of curry from his chin. “What do ye mean?”

“Claire has her next few years mapped out, wi’ the medical school. What about you?”

Jamie’s brow furrowed. “I was promoted about six months back. I have a whole shift of men working for me now at the printshop. And I’m cultivating a few relationships wi’ writers, who I may bring in for book deals.”

Murtagh set down his spoon. “What’s next, then? And how will ye get there?”

“Weel – I’d like to move out of the printing entirely, and focus only on working wi’ the writers. But it will happen at its own pace, Murtagh. I willnae ask Colum or Dougal for a hand up.”

“There’s no shame in doing that, lad – especially for the tuition bills. If ye need.”

Jamie pursed his lips. “That’s verra kind. But Claire and me are fine. I can cover our expenses now. And she has money saved up from when she worked as a nurse. The rent on our flat isnae too dear. Claire volunteers at the clinic to defray some of her tuition.”

“I want ye to know that if ye ever need anything, ye only need to ask.” Murtagh held his godson’s gaze. “I mean it. And if ye dinnae make it to the next rung of the ladder at that company – weel, they dinnae deserve ye.”

Jamie reached across the table – careful of the curry spattered on the tablecloth – and gripped his godfather’s hand. “Thank you. Truly.”

“It’s the least I can do. Now – ”

Jamie’s phone chimed from his pocket. Quickly he fished it out and answered the call –

“Are ye done, then?”

Murtagh watched Jamie’s face utterly transform with joy.

“Come meet us. Yes, at his favorite spot. We’re just finishing up, but we can always order more. All right. Love you.”

Murtagh turned and beckoned a waiter to the table. “Another menu, please?”

Claire breezed in about five minutes later. She bent down to give Murtagh a quick hug, then slid beside her husband and greeted him with a long kiss.

“What were ye studying today, then?”

She glanced over the menu. “Bones and tendons of the foot.”

Murtagh harrumphed. “Sounds complicated.”

“It is – but you should be glad that people like me know all the ins and outs, in case you ever need it.”

“I want to show you some verra particular ins and outs,” Jamie breathed into her ear, grinning.

Playfully she swatted him away and settled her hand on his thigh, safely beneath the table. “Hush. Later. I’m hungry.”

--

“Thank you.”

Jamie frowned. “For what?”

Gently Claire reached across the pillow, tracing the rise of his eyebrow with her thumb. “For being you. For being so thoughtful, and so supportive.”

Quietly he shifted so that his arm – tracing abstract shapes on her bare back – pulled her even closer to his chest. “How could I not be?”

Her eyes clouded with memory. “You know why I ask.”

He kissed her swollen lips – for the twentieth or thirtieth time in the past hour. “I worry about you. You are working so hard.”

A soft rush of cool air from the open window beside their bed. The trees rustled outside, in the dark. She shivered. He kissed her shoulder.

“It means the world to me, that you think of me always. Your messages throughout the day.” Now it was her turn to kiss him – slow and deep. “I love what I’m doing, Jamie. I really love it, and I love what I’m learning, and I love that I’m doing it. I love that you love that I’m doing it.”

“It’s important to you. It’s your calling, Claire – and it’s such a rare thing to have that calling. To know it about yourself.”

She smiled. “You know what my other calling is, though?”

She rolled them, and he happily complied – laying flat on his back, watching her rise above him in the candlelight. Feeling their love, a tangible thing, in the shadows.

“Tell me,” he gasped as she rolled her hips.

“It’s the same as your calling.” She found his hand, and brought it to her lips – kissing the C tattooed at the base of his left thumb.

“To be one,” he sputtered. “Oh, Claire. I love you.”

She smiled. “Not nearly as much as I love you. Now hold still.”

Reblogging for the evening crowd!!

Aaaaahhh ♥️♥️ Modern Glasgow always and forever!

positivelypresent ~ Instagram

By @psych2go

I never thought I was mentally exhausted

Oh….

This is…. oh

Feeling a bit like this lately. Got a new position at work, and it takes so much energy. Don’t have much when I get home.

Yep, that’s me, currently

Well… that explains it

At the end of the meal, Higgins makes a brief speech, listing the players’ hometowns — the actual cities the actors are from. “I know you’d prefer to have been with them, but it was truly an honor to have you with us to share our traditions and help make a few new ones,” he tells them. “To the family we’re born with, and to the family we make along the way.” ❄ ☃

Cinematic moments

this movie is just everything

i need to watch it again

INSTAGRAM

I like this “best of” compilation

I laughed too much at some of these

Resources for Mending Clothes

We toss out over 80 pounds of textiles each year. These textiles are often made of plastic materials (polyester, nylon), made in unethical conditions, dyed with harsh dyes that often get put into the rivers, etc. Even a single cotton shirt releases carbon emissions and uses tons of water. 

So the best thing to prevent the unsustainable growth of the fashion industry is to make sure that your clothing lasts as long as possible. To do so, mending clothing is a must. So here are some resources to help you learn how to do various things, such as sewing a button, to tailoring clothes, or even upcycling old clothing into new styles. 

* How to sew on three different types of button

* How to hand sew on a patch on a torn pair of jeans

* How to sew up a hole in an old shirt

* How to sew a simple T-shirt

* How to upcycle old clothing into new clothing

* More upcycle and sewing techniques

* How to repair a damaged sock

* How to do an invisible stitch

* 3 different stitches to work with for different results

* How to make a T-shirt smaller so it fits you better

* How to make repairs to your shoes

These are just a few of the things that you can do in order to make sure that your clothing lasts for a long time. Nobody wants to keep buying new clothing, as it is expensive and wasteful. 

So making alterations to your clothing, or fixing small holes hen you see them can be hugely beneficial to your wallet, to garment workers, and to the environment in the long term. 

If you like what I write, consider buying from:

My Etsy shop for upcycled bags, jewelry, and crafting supplies.

Or

My poshmark for reclaimed clothing.

Many people have asked questions, so I decided that I should answer them to the best of my ability!  So let’s see what people are asking!

How to make small clothes bigger, or short clothes longer

This question was asked a lot, for instance, Celestriankle and Drachenstocther are at least two users who asked this, and this is a great question! Often you see how to make large clothing smaller, but not the other way around.

Here are some resources on that:

Shirts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isy2xwFYihQ

Jeans/pants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s4TnNcbgEU

Mostly this is done by just adding a wedge of extra fabric between the seams, and this can make youtr clothes last and fit you, even if you fluctuate in your weight.

Here is a resource about adding more butt to your pants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG_QnEL9xYI

When it comes to repairing the crotch of jeans, which is what anyone with thick thighs know all too well the irritation of, there are a few ways that you can do that. For instance:

Patching:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h90nYzbDFdE

Darning:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMsm6wyjF8E

This question was asked by user CleanLinens and Bovel.

One person, OnYourGoat, asked about resources for people who cannot thread a needles, The good news with this, is that there are needles out there that you do not have to thread if you have vision issues. These are called Self Threading needles.

Also, there were a few tips by users on how to make your sewing more sustainable. User SaveATruckRideAnOptimus-Prime states that you can get blankets and table-cloths from the thrift shop (something I often do myself) in order to have fabric to make your own clothing.

This is even more sustainable if you are choosing cotton, wool, or linen fabrics.

The last thing to mention is that user AssassinationTipsForLadies says:

“there is a great sewing instructor on YouTube called Evelyn Wood who has a whole bunch of videos on mending and the construction of old clothes.“

Let me know if you have any more questions or tips!

If you don’t have a sewing machine and done want to buy one, do check with your local library as it’s becoming more and more common for libraries to rent out things like sewing machines and other expensive but useful items. If yours doesn’t, expressing interest in a “library of things” could well be the motivation your library needs to get one going.

Fabric stores sometimes rent out machines too so check if you have one near by.

And if you’ve got any sewing/knitting clubs or places like the WI that are popular with old women, you will absolutely be able to find someone who will gladly let you use their machine and teach you how.

If you have older family members ask them about sewing cause chances are they’d love to teach you

If you need supplies on the cheap, check out local estate sales.  I will never have to buy new hand stitching needles thanks to someone’s sweet grandmother who loved to quilt.

For lessons on hand-stitching, you can also check out the Society for Creative Anachronism (www.sca.org), aka the medieval society (or at least one of ‘em).  They have a lot of local areas and regions across the US & Canada, as well as Australia, New Zealand, members in some of the nations of Europe, and other places.  Every single kingdom has a sewing guild or costumer’s guild, as well as plenty of people who deal in other fiber arts (lace-making, spinning, weaving, embroidery, etc), and many of those actually teach how to make medieval through renaissance clothes, and how to repair them.  This definitely translates over into making your own clothes and/or repairing them.

I mention the SCA’s sewing guilds and fiber arts enthusiasts in particular because one of the things earlier period medieval folks did was create patterns that used up as MUCH material as possible.  Hand-spinning and hand-looming fabric was a process that could take all year, and was something nobody wanted to have to do in excess.  So they developed patterns that had very little waste or leftover material.  A lot of the earlier construction patterns are based on the T-tunic or T-dress shape, and add clever gores (triangular wedges or inserts) that can add fullness and body-shaping.  It’s simple to make, very comfortable to wear, and there are tricks to make it flattering and/or fancy.

If this sounds interesting, you’ll want to see if there’s a branch near you by looking up your nation, state, county/city, etc–if there’s not someone local to your area available to help, there might be someone in the barony or shire next door to where you live who could help.  While COVID restrictions are still in effect in many areas, you can meet masked in a well-ventillated area (if the weather’s nice, outdoors?), or you can see if a webcam / zoom style demonstration could be arranged for a virtual one-on-one learning session.

And if it turns out that you can’t quite manage the sewing for whatever reason (which happens; I loathe sewing by hand, myself), then many SCAdian sewing enthusiasts may be willing to charge only a modest fee for doing it for you, or perhaps in bartering for something you can do for them.  (Some I know would trade their darning socks skills for a meal they don’t have to cook for themselves!)

So true

😂😂😂😂😂 On point!!!

Ohoho now let's get into this shit, shall we? Time for some numbers!

Estimates actually put the death toll between 30 to 60 percent of the European population, there were so many dead and so much variation from area to area you can't accurately estimate how many it really was

People who got infected by the "Black Death" were to 80% dead within 3 to 5 days, the population was reduced so dramatically that it took between 80 to 150 years to regrow to where it was before, varying from location to location

Some places were almost entirely depopulated. Over 60% of Norway died within two years, China's population was reduced from around 125 million to 65 million in the late 14th century, at its peak Damascus reported around 1000 dead every day, between 75 and 200 million people died overall in a time where the world population didn't even reach 500 million.

And let's not even get into the persecution the Jewish had to face. No wait, let's do that actually. "The Jews are poisoning our wells" was something people liked to say because they couldn't think of anything else and hey, why not blame the Jewish? The Jewish communities in Mainz and Cologne were completely annihilated (not a lot of character development happening in Germany, hmm) and about 2000 more people were killed in the Strasbourg massacre. Simply because they couldn't figure out where the disease came from and hated the Jewish enough to blame them without evidence

Fun fact, the word quarantine originated in the time of the first global outbreak. It comes from the Italian word for 40, which was the period of time people were isolated if they came from infected areas.

The world didn't survive the Black Death, too many people died for the disease to spread effectively

And then it came back several more times, including two more major pandemics and many more outbreaks. The most deadly one in modern times was, buckle up, 2017 in Madagascar where it killed 170 people and thousands more were infected.

Now, before someone starts worrying, here's the good news: thanks to modern medicine the fatality rate was pushed down to around 10%. I think we can all agree significantly better than before.

So next time someone says "the plague went away without vaccines", now you have numbers. Have fun.

Your child literally reads smut with a straight face while eating breakfast like it's the morning paper.