Hi, Tumblr. My reach is small and I am but a poor archivist who can't afford Blaze, so please boost this.
The west coast of the US is flooding, and while it might seem unimportant in the face of people dying, getting stranded, and being without power, a lot of people are also going to lose personal history to flooding. This gets talked about a lot in the context of hurricanes, but we should all know what to do to save our pictures and documents, too.
FEMA has a good cultural heritage rescue guide here: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/recover/save-family-treasures
You can contact emergency conservators for advice here: [email protected]
The Northeast Document Conservation Center is also invaluable: https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/overview (check out the Emergency Management section)
Knowing what to do before it happens is crucial to actually saving things. Read this stuff now! Like to save! Bookmark it! Screen cap it! Idc but keep it handy (and remember you might not have online access when you need it)!
The FEMA guide does a really good job at explaining how to dry things, but the basics are:
Separate, separate, separate. While it's still wet if you can do so without causing further damage. Salvage color photos before black and white, paper backing before plastic film. Pre-gelatin silver (black and white on paper) photographs (collodion, ambrotype, cyanotype, etc.) get priority, but most people don't have those. Remove items from frames if they show signs of water damage. Take off dust jackets, unfolder documents, etc.
Rinse with clean, bottled water if there is mud or other debris. Use a dish pan, fill it with a little water, and slip photos in carefully for a short little bath. Dip, dip, dip if you need a little agitation to remove mud, but don't wipe or swish (unless it's REALLY stuck and you're okay with the possibility of damage). Change your water often, and try to avoid agitating things or touching the image side. It is recommended to hold books closed to protect the textblock from more water when you rinse. Obviously, don't soak things. Photos are probably your most fragile material and can be submerged for up to 48 hours before it gets really hard to save them, so you don't want to add to that time.
Spread it all out. Get creative with how you keep things apart. Hang things if they can take the strain, but remember that the corners are the weakest points of paper and photos. Books can be tented on clotheslines if the binding is still sturdy (pages aren't coming loose. If they are, see the next point)
Interleave books with paper towels every 1/4 inch of pages or so. If you can, fan them out and stand them upright. Change the paper towels as they get damp (and idk, use them for cleaning tasks.)
Get air moving. Indirect airflow from a fan is best. Avoid fluttering. I face my fan into a wall or upwards to diffuse the air flow.
Some staining is likely. Dried mud can be brushed from paper like book textblocks but shouldn't be brushed from photographs, so rinse photos first.
Photograph materials while they're wet and still intact. If you should lose something while salvaging, at least you have a photograph of it so it's not lost forever.
If you cannot dry things immediately, wrap individual items or small clumps that are stuck together in wax paper (ideally. Parchment can work, plastic wrap or ziplocs if you have to) and PUT IT IN A FREEZER. Not an ice chest. The goal is to freeze the water, and ice chests will soak it. Freezing buys you time. It halts water damage until you can deal with things. When it's time to dry, unwrap your items and allow them to fully thaw before even thinking about separating them.
If you find mold, quarantine those materials in sealed plastic bags and freeze. You need professional help. It is not worth getting sick because you tried to clean mold without appropriate protection!
ETA: These techniques also work on that book you dropped in the bathtub or spilled a soda on, just sayin'.
Again please feel free to share this! Fellow conservators, GLAM professionals, or those who have been there, done that, feel free to add to this! Thank you!
Edits:
This was hiding in the tags and is also a good practice! Preparation is key to reducing damage. Which reminds me--store the good stuff on your highest shelves. It won't help in cases like Hurricane Katrina, but a minor-to-medium flood probably won't reach!
** all images made by me. prompt credits go to the makers of the lists I used which can be found [ here ] [here] [ here ] [ here ] [ here ] [ here ] [ here ] [here] [here]and [here] - a huge thanks to all the wicked talented creators of these prompt lists. **
𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎 - 𝚑𝚊𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎
↪ summary
--- a hayride with Gareth Emerson + his/your brother/sisters. [ a lowkey pilot for a series I want to write sooner or later, btw.]
↪ pairing / fandom
--- heavily characterized fem!reader x Gareth Emerson - Stranger Things.
↪ warnings
--- tooth rotting fluff. awkward first meetings + awkward and clumsy subtle flirting. Chance makes an appearance because jocks are assholes. Family friendly aside from swearing and a little touching, purely by accident.
↪ taglist, babes
--- my taglist is [here] if you'd like to be on it. huge hug to my bestie @tbmunson because i love her and without our talk, this idea wouldn't have come together as well as it has.
All around you are kids in costume with their parents chasing along after them. Happy shouts fill the night air as you hug yourself and wish you’d at least thought about grabbing your favorite heavy cardigan instead of opting for your favorite cream colored thin sweater.
“Sweetie, watch your brother and your sisters, ‘kay? I think I see Dana.”
You nod at your mother’s request, your eyes scanning the crowd of festival goers in search of your mom’s childhood best friend. Your mother must have spotted her for sure because the next thing you know, she’s running through the crowd, pushing her way towards a curvy woman with dirty blonde curls who is flanked by two little girls around your little sisters’ ages both dressed in princess costumes and carrying another younger little girl dressed as a fairy on her hip. Then your eyes settle on the taller teenage boy standing awkwardly beside her just as he picks up one of the two little girls and adjusts her on his own hip.
The two of you lock eyes around the same time that your younger brother Dylan tugs at the sleeve of your favorite v neck sweater. “Sissy!”
“What’s up, lil pirate?” you ask the question while you study the boy holding his little sister intently. Your lips curve upward just slightly, a hint of what you hope is a polite smile. He gives you a weak smile, as if he’s unsure whether doing so is a good idea or not. You raise a hand and drag your fingers through wild and thick curls, letting your hand rest against your head for a moment and in that moment, you’re lost in his eyes and you can’t seem to look away.
They’re magnetic. Baby blue and when he laughs at something his little sister’s just said, they dance.
“Sissy!” your little brother’s annoyed shout breaks through your daze and you manage to make yourself look away from the guy nearby, squatting down to look your little brother in the eyes. You adjust his pirate patch. Dylan is laughing and pointing and you glance over your shoulder for just a second to try and figure out what his attention has been caught by. You spot the hayride around the same time that your mother and the other woman as well as the guy and the three little girls make their way up to where you stand with your three little sisters and your little brother.
Dylan finally answers your question. “I wann go on th’ hayride, sissy.. Maybe it’s like th’ one at our old house!”
You’re about to open your mouth to object but before you can, your mother is grinning. And the woman with her is grinning too.
“Actually, that’s a really good idea. Sweetie, do you remember Ms. Dana?” your mother has brown eyes fixed on you and you shake your head no, curls bouncing as your head moves. The guy with magnetic blue eyes is staring at you again and you can feel your entire body heat under the weight of his gaze.
The woman laughs and smiles. “The last time I saw you, why you were no bigger than my youngest, sweetie. I’m one of your mom’s old friends.”
“She’s practically my sister.” your mother explains, giving Dana Emerson a fond grin. Dana grins back and laughs softly. “Time really does fly, doesn’t it, Dinah?”
Your mom nods to you. “She’s graduating this year. My oldest two are moved off, livin their own lives. Scarlet is in Minnesota, her husband owns a farm, I think? And you remember Roxy, right?” your mom asks Dana. Dana nods.
“She’s off to cosmetology school. Wants to open up ‘er own salon and everything.” your mother remarks. Then she nods to you. “I think you’re going to be in the same school as Dana’s son, sweetie.”
Dana speaks up, smiling. Nudging the boy you’ve been playing peek a boo with -for lack of a better term, all night out a little closer to you. “I remember the way you two used to chase each other all over my living room. Sweetie, this is Gareth.”
You can’t remember him and you find yourself thinking this is definitely unfortunate because he just doesn’t feel like a person you’d ever want to forget. He just barely towers over you, but it’s enough that you find yourself tilting your head just slightly as you gaze up at him, cheeks all flushed as you shuffle your favorite pair of boots against the pavement. “Hi.”
He chuckles quietly. “Hey.”
You swallow down the lump in your throat and you make yourself keep eye contact even though you know you have to be blushing really bad and it’s just hard to do for whatever reason. “So uh… You go to Hawkins High?” you ask.
“Mhm.”
“Cool.” you mumble the word, trying again to give him another smile.
“Maybe you two can take your sisters and brother on the hayride?” your mom suggests and Dana Emerson agrees, smiling as she glances from you back to her son. “And you can take Alice, Anna and Aurora.” she grins as she gazes at her son, Gareth. Gareth nods and like you, he swallows hard. Shuffles his feet awkwardly, his free hand resting in thick curls against the back of his head. “Yeah, okay. Alright.”
“Well? Go on, sweetie, if you guys don’t get in line now, the truck is gonna leave ya.” your mother speaks up, giving you a little smile and a nod, encouraging you. You glance at her as if you’re unsure because you’re starting to think that maybe Gareth has other things he’d like to do and you feel bad that your mothers are collectively roping you both into this. You start to protest but Dylan takes off as if he’s been launched from a rocket and naturally, your sisters take off right after him. Which leads to Gareth’s sisters doing the same. The two of you share a look and a shrug and make your way over.
“You uh.. You didn’t have to do this, Gareth.. I mean, if you had somewhere else you’d rather be.”
Gareth shrugs. “It’s fine. My mom, she kinda dragged me here tonight. It’s not awkward, right?”
You knit your brows as you look up at him. You’ve grabbed Dylan’s hands and your sisters are leaning against either side of you, bouncing up and down, talking excitedly with Gareth’s little sisters back and forth. You finally ask him what he means.
“That I don’t remember you at all?”
You laugh and shrug. Pop a bubble with cinnamon flavored gum as you answer him. “Nope, not at all. I don’t remember you either? So it’s fine. I mean we couldn’t have been much older than my brother when we met, right?”
Gareth laughs and the sound might as well be music to your ears. The sound of it has you laughing too, smiling a little because it sounds so real and like it came from deep inside him. Like it’s something he doesn’t really do a lot and you can totally relate to that. A few seconds pass and he speaks up again. “Probably even younger. All I know is what Mom told me.”
“Me too.” you laugh softly. The two of you are staring at each other again, wordless and unmoving until the line in front of you starts to shift. Gareth notices and before he can stop and think about it, he’s placed a hand on your lower back and he’s moving you forward with him as his cheeks darken and he glances at two of his sisters and your little brother and two sisters who are standing in line in front of you both. They’re all laughing and talking in hushed tones, his sisters telling yours about how fun the hayride is.
You barely stop a gasp at the way his hand lingers on the small of your back and nodding to your brother and two sisters, you laugh softly again. “This isn’t even all of us. My baby brother is at home with my grandma and one of my older sisters is married and lives in her own place. The other one was busy or just didn’t want to come tonight.”
“Wow.” Gareth chuckles and you smile, shrugging. The wind picks up a little and you hug yourself. “Is it always this cold? In the fall, I mean.” you ask the question and he snickers to himself.
Your accent is a distraction to him, he’d die before admitting it, but it’s one of the sexiest sounds he’s ever heard in his whole life. It’s enough of a distraction to him that he actually takes a few seconds to answer the question you’ve asked. Your little brother is grumbling about the cold too and he’s hugged himself against you. Your little sisters are snuggled down into matching leopard print ski parkas and Gareth can see you shivering just a little. It’s not cold at all to him, he’s used to the chill in the air right now. You’re pouting as the wind picks up just a little more. This is when he leans in a little closer and mumbles soft against the shell of your ear, “You can have my jacket if you want it.”
You’re beyond tempted to take him up on the offer, but you don’t want him to get cold either. You shake your head politely and after getting lost in the blue of his eyes again, you manage to mumble a quiet “You need your jacket, Gareth.” and you don’t see it, but he frowns to himself for a minute or two.
Are you already tired of being seen with him? He is one of the freaks at Hawkins High, after all. He’s honestly surprised you’ve kept talking to him this long, let alone that you’re going to ride the hayride with him.
But then it happens. Some of the jocks from Hawkins High get into line behind you both and they’re shoving back and forth, just being loud. He can see you shrink down a little out of the corner of his eye, he can feel the tension form in your body and when you grumble about jocks being ‘thicker than molasses and just as slow,’ or how they always make you nervous, he chuckles quietly. The sound dies as it leaves his lips and you’re leaned against him, smooshing yourself into his side.
“Mmm.” you mumble softly a few seconds later without thinking, “You’re so warm.” It goes without saying that he smells really, really nice, just a hint of cigarette smoke and smoke from the bonfire they had going earlier on in the evening at the carnival mixed with some kind of woody and clean cologne that’s faint. Gareth’s cheeks darken again and he grumbles to himself when he can hear the jocks talking about him as they stand in line. His fist clenches at his side and you can feel the tension as it forms in his body. You know it’s probably due to you crowding him and encroaching his personal space and you also know you should probably move but the problem here is that you just can’t. You don’t want to and no matter how hard you try making yourself, it’s like your feet are rooted to the ground.
Headlights cut through the night and the truck pulling the trailer filled with hay behind it comes to a stop in front of where you’re all standing. You grab your brother and sisters hands and Gareth grabs his sisters hands, shifting his youngest sister around in his arm to resettle her against his hips.
As you go to step on the trailer after helping your brother and little sisters onto it, Gareth reaches up to steady you and help you on the trailer. Once you’re on, you hold out your hand to him and laughing, he takes hold and lets you think you’ve pulled him into the trailer. You wind up sitting between his knees when the four rowdy jocks file onto the ride and almost the second you’re done wiggling around just a little, Gareth takes a few shaky breaths. And when he notices Chance staring at you, he gives Chance a death glare and rolls his eyes.
You’re aware of the jerk nearby staring and the one time you happen to glance his way, you roll your eyes in disdain. Boys like the one in the green and orange lettermans jacket nearby are only good at being jerks. They’re the boys who will pick on you in public and try to butter you up in private if they think they can get in your panties. Your older sister’s preferred type, not yours at all.
No, your ‘type’ is sitting behind you, forced into close proximity because the ride is crowded and both of you made the conscious decision to let your younger siblings have actual seats and more space because it’s safer for them. You shiver a little and Gareth isn’t sure why he feels the need to do it, but he slips off the jacket he’s wearing and drapes it around your shoulders as he leans into you from behind and whispers quietly, “You’re cold. Just take my jacket, okay?”
You glance at him over your shoulder, your cheeks reddening, suddenly unable to keep yourself from giggling. You snuggle into the jacket and you think that he doesn’t notice that you’ve done it, but he does. And he’s shifting the way he sits and taking several deep breaths to compose himself when you’ve turned away again. For added warmth -or this is what he tells himself anyway, he slips his arms around you gingerly. “I,uh.. I’ll move my arms.” he questions against the shell of your ear.
You glance over at him and bite your lip as you shake your head no. “No, no. No, this is fine.” you smile shyly and it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen and he instantly wants to kick himself because he’s jaded enough to ‘know’ that this is never going to go anywhere.
We've been sitting on MCR tickets since February 2020 (oh, how hopeful we were) and tonight was the show and just... Screaming I'm Not Okay with the entire goddamn Forum was healing for my inner teenager.
