I MOVED HOUSE!!!! as such, i have been entirely neglecting my writing. however, i did manage to write a little more for roses and lavender (which also has a rough plan for the next five chapters sketched out in my notebook, up until the ball!!)

from chapter 15:

“Just that it might be prudent to leave a note, so that Miss Elena knows what we’re planning.”

Isabelle sat motionless in the saddle for the briefest of seconds, before rifling through her saddlebags for paper and pencil. Kit kept his ears metaphorically pricked for any signs of people approaching as she wrote. However, the only sounds were that of leaves rustling in the wind, and Isabelle’s pencil scratching against the paper. She finished quickly, folding the note up and hiding it underneath a rock. He was hit with an unmistakable sense of deja-vu, and when he caught sight of her red eyes as she remounted her horse, Kit knew to say nothing.

i refuse to buy into 'blue monday' as anything other than a marketing scheme to get people to buy cheap flights, but i do have to be honest and say that i'm feeling the blues this month again. probably mostly just because there's a lot of changes happening - you remember that i mentioned i was going to a house viewing in this post? well - I ONLY WENT AND GOT THE BLOODY HOUSE!! so now i am in the position of needing to wrangle mortgage applications and lawyers and all sorts of things that i never expected to be dealing with aged 26, and only 15 months into my first post-university job. it's entirely because the inheritance from my auntie was more than enough for a deposit, and like i said last time, there are . . . mixed emotions. the guilt's becoming more difficult to deal with - the sort of, no-specific-source guilt of 'how dare i (almost) have a house and a well-paying job when other people (like my stepsister and my mum+stepdad) struggle with their mortgages and overdrafts'.

i think this time of year in general is just shitty for me. it never was before my auntie died - at least, not in a way that sticks out - but now . . . i was never one for seasonal depression, but i can't really think of another explanation. i'm just generally pretty lonely, too, though - my uni friends are flung to the proverbial four winds, although i just saw my dearest freddie (who lives down south in englandshire) yesterday, and i'm planning on going back to london in june to meet up with them then (due to the nature of their job). my other dearest friend, who is geographically the next closest, i also saw yesterday and had a wonderful time being silly with them - i think i really do need to work on actively meeting up with them more often. i don't like being a nuisance, but i have to remember that it's not being a nuisance to want to see your friends.

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i had a lovely christmas day at work, and was all set to do it again tomorrow when my manager texted the group chat: ‘who wants names in a hat for annual leave tomorrow?’

well, reader, i jumped at the chance. the way things stood i would only have an overnight with my dad between my shifts, and nothing ventured nothing gained. and my name was taken out the hat!! i was careful to keep my hopes low in case work needed me to come in today after all, but i was texted this morning and confirmed that i had the day off.

that meant that i had to get my ass in gear this morning, of course. the trains were still off because of boxing day, so i had to get a coach ticket asap; following that, a speed-wrapping session as i ate my breakfast and the quickest shower known to man. i taxi'd to the bus station, and once on the bus knitted for my life — because no, i still haven’t finished my gran’s socks yet. once in [city redacted], i got another taxi over to my dad’s house, and asked the guy to drop me off around the corner so they didn’t see me coming. (all of this, i add, was done without me even hinting to my family that anything strange or unexpected was going on)

it was completely and utterly worth it. my dad’s side of the family is small — just him, my stepmum, and my grandparents. they were so surprised to see me, and so pleased that i had an extra day with them. it was a real boxing day miracle.

i ended nanowrimo with 6.8k of my 10k goal, which is 6.8k more than i would have written otherwise! have a fun snippet from Roses and Lavender, which features Our Heroes finally meeting up for the first time. (well. three out of four of Our Heroes. ella is indisposed.)

Isabelle snapped her eyes from the Beast to Christoph. She shifted her feet, looking suddenly wary. “What of it?” she asked.

“So you’re the friend Miss Ella was looking for,” he said. “I promised her I’d help to find you – that was before you found her yourself, of course.”

The Beast, to whom this was new information, found himself doing a double-take before looking back for Isabelle’s reaction.

Roses and Lavender (53756 words) by TheTeaIsAddictive

Chapters: 14/?

Fandom: Beauty and the Beast (2017), Cinderella (2015)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Belle/Ella, Adam/Kit, ao3 doesn't recognise either of those ships WE'RE OFF THE GRID LADS

Characters: Belle (Disney), Adam (Disney), Maurice (Disney), Gaston (Disney), Cinderella (Disney), Prince Charming (Disney), (specifically), Kit, King (Disney: Cinderella), Anastasia Tremaine (Disney), Drizella Tremaine (Disney), (except she's not called drizella here), Lady Tremaine (Disney), Grand Duke (Disney: Cinderella), Fairy Godmother (Disney), Enchantress (Disney), Captain (Disney: Cinderella)

Additional Tags: Crossover, it's twice the gay u for twice the fun!, and tbh all 4 of the mains are gay disasters, Coming Out, a surprisngly democratic monarchy, the forest as a metaphor for gay self-acceptance and queer solidarity/friendship, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, simultaneously speedrunning and slowburning the beast's character arc, kit is a Polite Boy at all times, character arcs sprouting up left right and centre, if canon doesn't have enough female characters genderswapped is fine, speedrunning U-hauling, idiots to lovers, having a full-on anastasia (1997) moment to progress the plot, Panic Attacks, Threats of Violence, Assault, Internalized Homophobia, Minor Character Death

Series: Part 1 of Roses and Lavender

Chapter 13: Make it Through

In which Belle has a bad week, and Kit receives some news.

what luxury, i had four whole days off in a row from work! it even extended into the actual weekend, which is also a rarity for me. i didn't have a single full weekend off for the entirety of october (although i did some swaps that helped me get another saturday), and my only weekend off in december is hogmanay weekend. i'm only working one sunday in the whole of november, so i suppose i can't really complain about working the weekends the other two months - but that certainly won't stop me.

i had a grand old time with my days off, though. soup season is back upon us, so i dug out the copy of the covent garden soup recipe book that my mum gave me before going to uni. i did a repeat of a soup i made a few weeks ago, honey-glazed chantenay carrot. although i don't have chantenay carrots, so i just used normal tesco ones. still turned out well, and extremely carrot-y. i also spied a handy recipe for root vegetable soup, and butternut squash, orange, and ginger soup. once i can find the butternut squashes again, i'll be on that - i made several helpings of their butternut squash and sweet potato soup last year, and it was delightful every time.

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