Girlhaus!

[hammerbearer]

I'm absolutely garbage at montage pictures. So please enjoy this aborted attempt at montage now turned aesthetic page while descriptions of stuff abound! This is an OOC summary to be adjusted to a more IC writeup.

The House! [Location: Feed]

Gaia set out to find a place after arriving in the bitter months of winter. The she had what she believed was a practical plan in mind; find a house that is sturdy and made of stone but not too much in ruins. Clean it up and fix it to make it liveable.

But Gaia also has sensibilities and not a solid grasp on what sort of undertaking that is. This meant Crenshaw was too cramped, a lot of places were too 'gross' (Lumenwood) or smelled terrible (Darcmouth). And while Cellar Door was 'fancy', it was definitely a bit too much old Eulmore for the woman she wanted to become. Also kind of shady.

So she decided a countryside place would be pleasant. Feed was closer than Ache (also the cold was really making her rush). But she found a place with sturdy stone walls. Very rectangular but importantly sturdy and what looked like a good solid fireplace then started to hunker down.

She learned that farmlife animals are really gross when butchered. Also discovered that sturdy stone walls did not mean insulation or sturdy stone roofs. And a good fireplace was not 'unblocked chimney'. With a mix of help from her Omen keeping her alive, nearby Trenchies to barter with and possibly Lahabrea (posing as Thancred)[?? tb discussed with Rune!, probably did a lot of asking for advice here though.] she managed to barter to get the chimney unblocked and the kitchen hearth set up. With a canvas tent, lots of blankets and a random variety of cooking untensils she's scrounged (from December's ships or later trading with people for the things she actually needed) she has been managing to stay warm.

The roof still leaks a bit but is best in the kitchen area. There is a canvas tent that could probably snugly fit four people (very snugly) or three people with some room. This is set up in a haphazard but at least stable and sturdy way near what is obviously a multifunction hearth. Gaia is a bit proud of herself for cleaning up the kitchen area she 'lives' in now. Most of the decorating is also her work but it's... well not much. Things like an old metal pot with a hole in it being used to keep firewood at ready or stringing up dried herbs for 'decoration' or setting out the over-abundant set of tools she somehow collected to make it look more homey. A huge part of the house has been boarded up (windows, doors, etc) or shored with something temporary until spring comes and it'll be easier and less dangerous. Gaia is currently (as of beginning of Feb) whether she will stay here but she's determined to make it work until Spring and the easier weather.

Well she hopes it'll be easier weather. Gods only know it probably rains frogs or blood or something. Anyway because of this she hasn't set down a Lamp Friend (she currently walks the distance from the nearest beacon to her home). But with the right direction and new companionship she can certainly be convinced to give this all another go
and work at fixing this place rather than going to find another.

The aesthetic is currently simple. Rectangular german colonial house from the 1600s era in appearance. Leaky, broken roof. Lots of areas boarded up rooms/sections that make it look like it will be a seriously good idea to gut the thing out to the stone walls and refurbish. This was definitely not a project for one person, much less someone clueless about a lot of basic livelihood skills. Expect animal corpses and other creepy things lurking under trash for the unsuspecting. They're probably not undead.

There is pastureland as part of the property (it is Feed after all!) but it's in danger of being lost to overgrowth and there's weird shapes and mounds out in the furthest areas that worry Gaia. She and her Omen keep an eye on them but doesn't approach. As long as they don't move closer she's fine with leaving matters lie until she can figure a way to heck them out. Maybe it's paranoia but she sometimes feels she sees some of those snow-covered mounds breathe. (She seriously needs companionship. But she could also be correct.).

There was probably a barn somewhere but given the state of the house it's probably going to be unsurprising that it was either salvaged by the locals or fell apart and is lost in the overgrowth. Why the excellent supply of stone of the house itself hasn't been salvaged is a good question! Maybe Gaia was lucky on the timing. Maybe not. People have been willing to help her shore up things and fix the chimney after all.

As far as filling in the blanks I welcome ideas and thoughts! The only real 'static' things I've put into IC are the state of the kitchen and the general overview of the house itself. Consider the pictures above mostly the aesthetic rather. Well except maybe the hearth and the house outside itself.