june

24. simmer. currently working on the ultimate decades challenge and who knows what else! aylton family tree: https://plumtreesims.com/trees/67cf437ebd52ea996fa8166f

[ladydarling]

1317 ~ The Great Famine Intensifies

TW: Child Loss, Mental Illness

John's letter held heartbreaking news. Edith's sister, Ricard's aunt Maud, had lost her three youngest children to the famine and was driven nearly mad with grief. Unlike her sisters, Maud had never lost a child before, but her luck had at last run out.

Sela Talbot was seven years old.

Leofwin Talbot was four years old.

Matilda Talbot was only two months old.

[ladydarling]

The family was devastated by Edith's death. Cynethryth could barely leave her bed, leaving Ricard, now the head of the household, to provide for them all and keep them from starving.

He began using his father’s old woodworking tools and trying to sell his creations at the market, but no one was buying. With all his hard work, they still were scraping by on meager bowls of gruel.

Seeing his little brothers hungry made him feel ashamed. Symon, in particular, began getting very weak.

Ricard worked well into the wee morning hours every day, trying to make enough money to buy food. He could barely keep his eyes open.

And that's when he got a letter from his cousin John in Upper Bagley...

[ladydarling]

At the winter drew to a close, Edith Sterwynd's heart gave out from malnutrition. She was 36 years old. She died as she lived - protecting her children as best she could.

She left behind three surviving sons - Ricard, Everard, and Symon - as well as her beloved "life partner" Cynethryth Basset and honorary daughter, Cecily Basset.

And just like that, the Great Famine had claimed the first of its victims from the Aylton extended family.

[ladydarling]

As the year drew on, their stores began to run out. Edith had been so sure that the famine would be over by 1317. Winter raged on around them and Edith found, eventually, that all she had left to feed her family was gruel once a day.

Her children began going to bed hungry, their stomachs panging. Seeing their distress broke her heart.

No one noticed as Edith began eating less and less so her children could have more food. She hid her weight loss under her winter clothes.

[ladydarling]

1315 ~ The Great Famine Continues ~ TW: Infant Loss

One of the few homes wealthy enough to be completely unaffected by the famine, Oldecorn Estate continued to be a joyous place as they neared the birth of their firstborn child. Fulk, in particular, was enjoying his new life of luxury - something he had always craved. Elfrida never noticed that he didn't quite care for her as he once did - she was merely happy to be building a family of her own.

In late 1315, Elfrida and Fulk were surprised to welcome twin baby girls, Elysande and Elianora. But their joy was short-lived. Only a month after their birth, Elysande died after a swift illness overtook her. E

Fulk and Elfrida fell into a deep depression, though they tried their hardest to keep things together for their surviving daughter, Elianora.

[ladydarling]

1315 ~ The Great Famine Begins

As famine began to tighten its grip on the countryside, there were few families as utterly unaffected at the Sterwynd-Bassets. Edith and Cynethryth had, luckily, been saving up and had a good store of vegetables put away for when their crops inevitably failed.

The worst loss in the first year came when Edith had to make the difficult decision to sell Bluebell, the family's beloved cow and Everard's best friend, due to a lack of feed for her. Everard went very quiet the rest of the spring.

1316 began with our beloved Ricard sprouting into a handsome young lad of 13!

And dear Cecily became a beautiful, albeit still easily annoyed, girl of 13 not long after.

As the year wore on, meals became harder and harder to come by. Their stores were wearing low. They cut back to a single meal each day, which became a big family ordeal, with everyone helping prepare.

The family worked hard to survive the winter months and keep their spirits high, playing many games and being in camaraderie with one another.

[ladydarling]

Rule: Search 'me core' on Pinterest, choose and post 9 images.

Thanks for the tag, @lilacgatorsims !!!

Tagging anyone who wants to make a cute lil collage :)

[ladydarling]

The time had come for Fulk and Elfrida to tell their families. Elfrida refused to tell her stepfather and instead decided to go to her aunt Edith for help with getting married.

Edith was overjoyed to welcome Elfrida into her home, though she was curious about who this young man was. She called on Cynethryth to come out and meet them...

And Cynethryth was shocked to realize that the young man was none other than her own son, Fulk Basset, who had run away from his father's home to work at the mill.

She was further shocked when Fulk told her that he and Elfrida were to be married.

Edith pulled Elfrida aside and told her she was too young to marry. Elfrida broke down and told her that it was too late - she believed herself to be pregnant. She told her she would have no choice but to run away and marry Fulk if her marriage was forbidden.

Edith promised to help Elfrida and Fulk marry without the knowledge of Elfrida's stepfather, Martin, who would undoubtedly forbid the marriage.

Fulk and Elfrida were married in a quick backyard ceremony, witnessed by Edith and Cynethryth.

And just like that, Fulk Basset had inherited Oldecorn Estate through his marriage. And his grand plan was set into place.

[ladydarling]

Believing herself to be all grown up, Elfrida began sneaking into town, away from her stepfather and his new family, in search of excitement.

She began spending more of her time in lower Bagley and staying with her aunt Edith, who had become like a mother figure to her since Agatha's death.

This is where she met a charming, blond-haired boy who worked at the mill. They hit it off instantly. He introduced himself as sixteen-year-old Fulk, an out-of-towner who had moved to Bagley the year prior.

Almost immediately, Elfrida decided she was in love and would marry Fulk, no matter the cost.

Things progressed quickly, and within a matter of days, they were engaged, with their families none the wiser.

Elfrida was overjoyed.

But now it was time to tell their families, and neither of them were too excited about that.

[ladydarling]

Between 1313-1314, many changes happened in the family.

Symon sprouted up into a boy of six with his mother's hair and his father's eyes!

Elfrida turned 14 years old and officially inherited Oldecorn Estate.

Ricard became friends with Amya Clerke, daughter of wealthy local merchant Robin Clerke I.

Cecily attempted to hide her jealousy at Ricard's newfound friendship with Amya.

But their friendship continued to develop. Ricard realized he was experiencing his very first crush. He told his brother Everard that he would marry Amya Clerke one day.

Everard, meanwhile, ever the silent young boy, became best friends with the family's spotted brown cow, Bluebell.

Edith and Cynethryth finally felt comfortable not hiding their relationship from their children, who had grown up all their lives on the farm, not realizing that there were people who would consider their mothers' relationship "wrong."

For awhile, everything was perfect and happy.

[ladydarling]

~FALL OF 1313 in BAGLEY~

The Sterwynds:

Edith Aylton Sterwynd, her youngest son Symon, her close friend and "life partner" Cynethryth Basset, her eldest son Ricard, her middle son Everard, and Cynethryth's daughter Cecily. Edith's three surviving sons are her pride and joy.

Elfrida Oldecorn is the only surviving child of her late mother, Agatha Aylton Oldecorn (also known as Agatha Talbot in her final years). She currently lives with her stepfather Martin and his new wife and daughter, but she is the sole heiress to the Oldecorn estate, having lost her mother, father, and two baby brothers.

Maud Talbot, her husband Parys, and their five children: John, Peter, Colin, Sela, and Leofwin. Maud is the only one in her family to have not lost a single one of her children. She counts her blessings every day.

[ladydarling]

In 1311, Edith got word that her eldest sister, Agatha Oldecorn Talbot (pictured above), had died just months after the birth of her baby boy, Osbert.

Edith rushed to the other side of Bagley to see her now orphaned niece, Elfrida, the heiress to the Oldecorn estate. Elfrida fell into her aunt's arms and told her that her stepfather, Martin, had already found a new wife, Julianna Norgate. Edith confronted Martin, who told her the only reason he had taken a wife was to give Elfrida a mother, since had had no idea how to raise a young woman properly. Edith relented in her anger.

In her sadness, Edith finally went to visit her surviving sister Maud after a full year of not talking. They were both devastated from losing their big sister so suddenly.

Maud had just given birth to her fourth child and first daughter, Sela. She told Maud that life was too short and she forgave her. Edith held her baby niece, and finally, things began to feel hopeful again.

[ladydarling]

By summer of that year, Cynethryth and her daughter Cecily had moved in permanently with Edith and her three sons. Having her around eased the pain in Edith's heart considerably.

For the first time since she was courting her late husband all those years ago, Edith felt giddy. She had fallen in love.

Cecily, meanwhile, missed her big house and her real pony she'd had living with her father. She disliked the cows and chickens, the cramped quarters, and the smelly boys running around.

And, safe to say, Ric wasn't too sure about her, either. He missed his brother and his father. He liked Cynethryth fine but couldn't understand why she had to come live with their family, bringing her prissy, uptight daughter.

[ladydarling]

Shortly after the loss of her son, Edith went to visit her sister Maud and her family, the Talbots. She had not seen them since the death of her husband a year earlier.

The second she laid eyes on her now toddler-aged nephew Colin, Edith's heart began pounding. She would recognize those crystal blue eyes anywhere - the same eyes she'd once fell in love with. The eyes of her late husband, Thomas. She had had her suspicions, but now she knew for certain.

The second Maud's husband Parys stepped away, Edith confronted Maud, who denied having an affair with Thomas. Edith called her a liar, and Maud blew up, screaming at her in the yard. Edith went stone-faced. "You may deny it until your deathbed, but the truth of what you did is written clearly on that child's face."

As Maud stormed off to cool down, Edith waited patiently, watching her go with nothing but disdain burning in her heart.

[ladydarling]

In the winter of 1910, just as things were turning into some kind of normal for the Sterwynd family, tragedy struck.

9-year-old Tom Sterwynd, the firstborn son of Edith and her late husband Thomas, decided he had had enough of his cramped house. He set off into cold one night. He had not anticipated the first fall of snow.

Immediately after realizing that he has not in his bed, his mother set off to find him, following his footsteps into the woods before losing his trail. But she never found anything besides his winter cap, buried in a snowdrift.

They had no choice to accept that he had almost certainly died out there in the cold. By spring, a small tombstone was erected in his memory. Barely one year after the death of her husband, Edith lost her eldest son, too.

The one who took it the hardest was his brother, Ricard, who was now the man of the house at 8 years old. He had always been the more responsible brother and he felt immense guilt for not hearing Tom leaving their shared bedroom that night.

[simandy]

Commissioned by @paulmccblr !!

Thank you for commissioning me, friend! You've been a joy to work with! Hope you like it!

BGC

All Lods

Hat Chops

24 EA Colors + 1 extra color

40 Puppy Crow Colors (You will need the mesh with the EA colors)

The contrast of this hair have been toned down to match elderly people's hair density! ^^ fluffy

TOU

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[the-melancholy-maiden]

1920s Inspired Hair Set

Long time to see! I fell in love with the slick wavy hair from the latest expansion pack and felt it needed more variations. This is the first hair I've made in a while and I'm hoping to release a few more before the end of the year. Stay tuned!

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