#Mistletoe and Murder

[thebeaniemartineau]

Not me completely freaking out because I just got my prize from winning the MMU 10 year anniversary costume comp! I feel like I’m sitting with Daisy and Hazel in Fitzbillies. This is so so so generous (and absolutely delicious, the brownies are sublime). Thank you so much @redbreastedbird!!!

[control-z-my-decisions]

Some Mistletoe and Murder art for the season

(Accidentally ended up giving their clothes Big Dog Little Dog colors)

[deepdeanvsweston]

RIP Daisy you would have loved Garfield

[detectivewatson]

I've been enjoying drawing the Wells siblings currently and as it's festive season enjoy some Mistletoe and Murder inspired drawings :)

@redbreastedbird

[redbreastedbird]

Opinion on Henry/Amanda?

I believe that you can and should make it happen.

[fruity-phrog]

This is how that scene at the end of MaM went, right? (Can you tell I have no idea what 1930s clothes looked like?)

[arsenic-for-tea]

to help myself get back into digital art i decided to redesign the cover of my favorite book in the murder most unladylike series—Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens/@redbreastedbird—in the style of an Agatha Christie novel

reference images ⬇️

[junewongapologia]

Extremely underrated part of MaM is Alfred Cheng being an arsehole like what an icon of sass.

[julilovesmmu]

anyone else remember when hazel fell off a wall in MAM? 😭

[detectivesocietyfan]

Anyone else remember that time in MAM when George, Daisy and Alexander all want wine and Hazel was just like “what…wHaT…WHAT?!?!”

Bear in mind that apart from Alex (who is only just 15), they’re all 14

[ah0yh0y]

character picrew game!!

was tagged by @quotidian-oblivion like 6 months ago thx for the TAG

Rules: Make a couple characters (or just one! as many as you want/have time for) from your WIP. Use whatever Picrew suits the vibe best—just make sure to link it. Tag a couple people to do the same.

I used the same template Quo did. This one

im doing this for my murder most unladylike wip which is untitled at the moment , ACTUALLY DONE!!! (also like 4 months ago i forgot i did this) it is called spreading our ashes in the sun and you can check it out of ao3 by clicking on the title just here!

It features my favourite people - the cambridge crew! (specifically Harold and Bertie) [includes exam mental breakdown and tea]

now this fic takes place right after an exam and like in the 1930s (technically, I did my best) so theres not much room for fun costumes and such so ill be making two versions . 1 - as in how they appear in fic and 2- another version which is just how the characters mentally would dress (excluding stephen and alfred which only have the latter) (i have included analysis to go along with the picrews as well)

this is going to be long bc i like extracting meaning from the smallest things and like referencing my fic obvi so its under the cut!! also spoilers for the fic as well

Harold

fic picrew

Harold has not thought of changing his clothing since coming out of that exam, he is only clenching his teeth so hard it might explode which is why he is wearing a plain jumper over a shirt. the circular glasses are the most south asian thing ever (for me at least) , so thats a reference to that. he is very much trying very hard not to express his emotions, because he knows in the grand scheme of things it is only a "small issue" it doesnt really matter , the past is in the past and he should be done with it. but really he cannot stop thinking about it (shown through how there are stars in the background like explosions you can say but are faint). the white i think was also a reference to the "hot white breathe" of panic. green in regards to this references bile. he is somewhat disgusted with himself i think, and also haven't not eaten his stomach is not feeling great. the scars i think were references to his "night climbing" pasttime , but also in my notes i mention a doorway - who knows what that was about but.

feeling picrew

HE IS EXHAUSTED that is the crux. he is mentally lying on his bed , drifting and then crying into his pillow and curling into his blanket. i always imagine harold with frog-esque things becuase he is very cottage core to me (and also like part of the me thinks he really loves the creatures living in the bottom of the garden), (also gardening is a theme within the family ala my bad gardener george headcanon ,as those on the discord know) . but on another level it is also Harold trying to cling onto comfort, which he cannot get in the actual fic , because he is denying himself it. the scars on his face match up with the actual fic version , his hair is messier from mushing his face into a pillow and he is wearing a cardigan because i think of him as a knitter or that sort of craft aligned and when he is stressed he creates clothing (but thats technically not in this). there was additional purpose behind the sepia filter as well, that i cannot remember at the moment. but right now it reminds me of how harold feels somewhat like a faded photograph destined to a dusty cupboard past his prime (as i say in the additional tags it is much like the outro of olivia rodrigo's teenage dream - "they all say that it gets better/ it gets better the more you grow/ they all say it gets better/ it gets better but what if i dont?")

Bertie

fic picrew

Bertie here is trying to give a comforting smile at Harold, however his smile is wobbly, becuase he has also have other things on his mind (reeling from a letter from stephen, terrifed of hurting harold and on another level making him more upset (its bc of stephen) but also just being "urgently concerned" , bertie is full of multitudes). this is also referenced by the background in which according to my old notes before finishing this fic is a reference to now Bertie is also exploding with emotion , except with worry instead of panic.

with new eyes however , i think it also reflects how Bertie is also hiding his emotions as well (colour choice to me blends into the background more) because he is so focused on the task at hand, it is natural to him that his other emotions are set to the side in the background so to speak.

onto more miscellaneous details

-he has a scrape across the mouth from a childhood accident and has a cut across his cheek from his shared night climbing pastime. ---he also has sticky outy ears because i say so -he has the twinkle in his eyes because it is goddam Bertie Wells and he is full of charm and charisma, it is the same twinkle somewhat of the one that Felix, his uncle is reported to have. (he has been trying for years to have it , he has not noticed he kind of already does. nobody has told him)

another note: the green is bertie colour (because his "green trousers" and the blue harold but they have each others because they care for oneanother alot and are focusing on the others concern . harold feels like a very blue person to me (also besties)

feeling picrew

literally not much here other than a more visual manifestation of what he is actually feeling. background is darker bc he has also the holdover from being whipped up wiht emotion since reading the letter form stephen. brighter stars is a "fizzing like a rocket" reference

the moustache change is an oversight, but now i like to think that its a manifestation of how much he feels like hes aged since the events of arsenic for tea and his relationship with stephen (this is like literally pulling stuff out of nothing but like still). the heart breaking , kinda goes two ways: breaking for harold as shown in the fic and also somewhat breaking from stephens letter (also referenced through the picrew through the shooting stars on his shirt like their relationship which was actively not really healthy, and very quickly crashing and burnt through)

although that isnt explicitly shown throughout the fic i did want Bertie's inner turmoil to be an undercurrent throughout.

the pjama shirt according to my old notes has soemthing to do with how raw Bertie is feeling throughout the fic besides him just being worn

Stephen

Stephen is interesting, as although he's very much explicitly not in the fic he is very much guides Bertie's actions throughout. i honestly dont know why i decided to create him as a picrew as he isnt in the fic but i guess i wanted 4 picrews.

background is a grid bc mans in JAIL LIKE HE DESERVES.

hair is two coloured because i always thought stephen with black hair but the in the books hes got brown? so now hes got two coloured hair bc i wanted to pay homage to that.

stephen was always the type of person to be somewhat perpetually upset with Bertie or actually something or rather , and in Bertie's mind that is the image that is left of him, which is why he looks like hes sulking.

he's sweating because he actually does feel quite guilty and Bertie cannot find in himself a way to fully hold a grudge against him at least thats what it says in my old notes

now, i actually have no idea why he would be sweating maybe prison is hot

clothing - couldnt find prision clothes and wanted some sort of variation so orange on orange is what you get

Alfred

i have no notes post this point so we are in the vast deadlands now.

jacket literally just feels like a jacket alfred would wear in a modern au, same with the shirt also the eyebrow he would have a slit eyebrow

the heart i think is something to do with the fact that alfred actually really cares for harold (whether harold knows it or not)

only thing i truely remember is for the spotlight background its yellow because he's the one who goes "why the hell are you in the dark" and makes them turn on the light

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and thats done i guess hoped you enjoyed this

[detective-society]

iykyk

[deepdeanvsweston]

This bit from Top Marks For Murder reminded me of another moment in Mistletoe And Murder

And this is gonna come out all rambly and likely NOT make sense but "Alexander dislikes lying more than anyone else I know" and the fact Hazel recognises and records this is so important for Halexander's relationship as Daisy goes on to say "all marriages are essentially two people lying" which ofc coming from Daisy who's Hazel's best friend would be really impactful,,, Alex would never lie to Hazel and we know this and the books are telling us theyre perfect for each other!!!

In conclusion ig: Hazel and Alex break against Daisy's beliefs that all marriages are all lies because we KNOW he hates lying and so by breaking against a belief held by an Important Character we know they're going to make it through!!!

[random-deepdeanite]

randomly generated incorrect quotes that i selected because they actually fit the characters cambridge crew edition

Amanda: Good morning! Alfred, checking their watch: Correct.

Alfred: I only have two emotions: exhaustion and stress. And I’m somehow always feeling both simultaneously.

Amanda, slamming pots and pans together to the rhythm of "Give it to me, I'm worth it": I didn't get no sleep cause a' y'all! Y'all never gonna sleep cause a' me!

Harold: Hello, I'm Harold. I work at a shop now. Here to help. Look, they gave me a badge with my name on it in case I forget it. Very helpful, as that does happen.

Henry:If I was married to you I would put poison in your coffee. Amanda: If I was married to you I’d drink it.

Harold: Would you like your pizza cut into six or eight slices, Bertie? Bertie: Oh just six, I don’t think I could eat eight.

Bertie: I’ve never smoked marijuana. I ate a brownie once at a party. It was intense. It was kind of indescribable. I felt like I was floating. Turns out there was no pot in the brownie. It was just an insanely good brownie.

Henry: I thought you were going to give me a book recommendation or something. Bertie: *laughs* Book recommendation? I can’t read!

Bertie: You know what bothers me? Bats. Why can bats fly? Amanda: Not again! Bertie: No. Seriously, who gave them the right? They're mammals! Mammals walk on land, no exceptions. Alfred: Just wait until you hear about whales. Bertie: What now?

Alfred: fast-forwards all the way through the movie Harold: You can't just skip to the happy ending! Alfred: I don't have time for their problems.

Alfred: If looking good was a crime, you’d be a law abiding citizen.

Amanda: How was your day, Alfred? Alfred: Yeah, fine, it's anti-bullying week at school. Amanda: Oh? And what does that mean? Alfred: It means I can't bully anyone for a whole week.

Amanda: Any idiot would know that. Bertie: I knew that! Amanda: See?

Harold: Why are you like this?? Alfred: I used too much "No More Tears" shampoo as a kid and I haven't felt a single emotion since.

Bertie: I just had a long talk with Henry and Amanda about hitting and now they are yelling “it’s my turn to perpetuate the cycle of violence” before hitting each other.

Amanda: My aesthetic is "would be suspected of witchcraft by small town citizens."

Bertie: Sleep is the body’s best safety mechanism. Harold: How so? Bertie: It keeps you from screwing up for 8 hours.

Bertie: Yeah, well I've never died so how do I know that god is real.

Bertie: I'm naturally funny because my life is a joke.

[redbreastedbird]

i just found out there’s hazel and daisys first meeting from daisys pov in the special edition of mmu. is there extra content like that for all the special editions? if so i’m going to need to rebuy them all omg

There is! I wrote it for the 5th anniversary edition. We’re currently looking at ways to bring it back somewhere else in future as it was such a fun story and it only ever appeared in that limited print run hardback.

None of the other books have special material apart from Mistletoe and Murder, which had a short story from Beanie’s POV that got collected up in the Cream Buns anthology. So you’re good! Although I do think that the new editions with their sprayed edges look very nice.