#Pub Life. Historic Pubs

[melikemmm]

Famous Authors Who Found Inspiration in Pubs

Pubs have long been the heart and soul of communities, serving as gathering spots for camaraderie, conversation, and creativity. Many notable figures, from literary giants to historical leaders, have found inspiration in their favourite pubs throughout history. They also found solace within these cosy confines. Here, we highlight some famous patrons known to frequent pubs. We discuss the impact…

[pubgoer]

Famous Authors Who Found Inspiration in Pubs

Pubs have long been the heart and soul of communities, serving as gathering spots for camaraderie, conversation, and creativity. Many notable figures, from literary giants to historical leaders, have found inspiration in their favourite pubs throughout history. They also found solace within these cosy confines. Here, we highlight some famous patrons known to frequent pubs. We discuss the impact…

[rherlotshadow]

Christmas at the George Inn, Lacock. Wiltshire.

[privatedarius]

Classic Australian country pub. Coolamon Hotel, NSW 

[criscabo]

tep Back in Time at P.J. Clarke’s! 🍻

Discover the charm of New York City’s iconic pub, P.J. Clarke’s, located in the heart of Midtown East. Since 1884, this historic spot has been serving up legendary burgers, cold cocktails, and a slice of NYC history. Whether you’re here for the famous faces that have graced its booths or the unbeatable atmosphere, P.J. Clarke’s is a must-visit! 🌟

📍 Location: 915 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022

✨ Highlights:

Classic American fare 🍔

Rich history with famous patrons like Frank Sinatra and Jackie Onassis 🎤

Cozy, timeless ambiance 🕰

Come for the food, stay for the stories. See you at P.J. Clarke’s! 🍻

[thegeorgehathersage]

Experience the Charm of Hathersage Village Life at The George

Discover the charm of Hathersage in the Peak District with its rich history, stunning landscapes, and warm village life. Explore Stanage Edge, Hope Valley, and local attractions like St. Michael's Church and David Mellor Design Museum. Stay at The George for a memorable escape. Book your stay today and immerse yourself in Hathersage's beauty.

[tranquilwilds]

I like to think about non/alterhumans in their everyday lives.

There is a rabbit who made your sandwich.

An elderich being teaches a math course.

The local werewolf takes care of the elderly.

Rams make up the staff at a pub nearby.

Dragons make excellent library workers.

Your favorite cashier happens to be a lion.

Your overly punctual classmate is a moth, and your less than punctual classmate is a hummingbird.

A goldfinch shops at a gift shop.

A catfish tours you through a historical site.

Across the street is a banshee who is walking their dog.

Cats work on their computers in small cafes.

And you move through your life as you are.

We are unique but certainly not alone. Your community is around you, even if you do not see it outright.

Happy Howling!

[transmascpalamedessextus]

gideon the ninth characters and their 2025 jobs

harrow: the hardest one on this list tbh. nun’s too simple, religious studies scholar isn’t insane enough. chef is too funny, as is orthopedic surgeon. we’ll go with historic preservationist, specializing in religious architecture and artifacts.

gideon: barista employee of the month, every month, at an inclusive crossfit gym. moonlights at a bar down the street some nights and is known for making sure everyone gets home safe, no matter how many asses she has to kick to the curb (literally)

palamedes: PhD and research consultant with multiple published works (research under his real name, fiction under a pseudonym). what’s the phd in? yes.

camilla: that one friend who can do anything and has done everything. certified meditation instructor? check. semi-professional martial artist? check. volunteer park ranger? check. often credited in palamedes’ works, but you didn’t even know she had a degree. throws mugs and vases in her spare time but vows to never open an etsy store

ianthe: evil woman in STEM (you pick her crime) or chain-smoking actress with a scandalous reputation and horrible interviewing manner but unmistakable talent

naberius: instagram model who is literally always filming sponsored content for a new boutique european hotel or “experience”

corona: so torn on this. either a fellow instagram model that 50% of her audience thinks is fake and 50% thinks is “actually really sweet!” or like a famous marine biologist working to save the turtles or something

jeannemary: young record-breaking olympian/pro athlete. it’s not fencing or martial arts — it’s skateboarding

isaac: internet star with a rising pop punk music career, a la noahfinnce. jeannemary did a viral drop-in to one of his songs

abigail: every gay student’s favorite history (or maybe archaeology?) professor at a world-renowned college

magnus: owner and operator of a charming pub in the quaint town where said world-renowned college is. it’s overpriced but the atmosphere and food are genuinely great

“dulcinea”: chronic illness content creator (later revealed to be grifter)

dulcinea: content creator, artist (painter), and sometimes streamer. candid and humorous about her illness, but refuses to be inspiration porn

“protesilaus”: male podcaster, incel edition

protesilaus: beloved personal trainer who privately trains for american ninja warrior on the side

silas: idk, the cuntiest bitch at the monastery? do we still have monks? can someone be a combo of trust fund baby and monk?

colum: successful practitioner of an age-old craft like blacksmithing. always taking commissions but prefers to help at historic reenactments or even ren faires. exclusively makes historically accurate pieces

judith: cop

marta: cop wait she helped harrow in the bubble so i have to be nice hard-but-fair-and-well-respected fencing instructor at a private school. she might as well be a monk for how little everyone knows about her personal life, but suspicion is rife and all the baby lesbians hope she’s got a wife (bars)

bonus: teacher: cult leader is too easy so we’ll go with “local guy who runs a shop selling crystals he bought from china at a 500% markup. he pretends they’re sustainably/ethically/lovingly sourced and guaranteed to cure your depression/anxiety/adhd but you both know he’s full of it”

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 87 (Ghost Night at the Salty Paws Saloon)

Though rare for bars to welcome ghosts with discounted prices, the Salty Paws Saloon in Fisherman's Wharf wanted to embrace any form of sim who dared spend simoleons at their middling establishment.

Their new Ghost Night was an experiment promoted in the Ambrosia Society's final newsletter, and Heather and Conrad had come on a mission of their own.

"You really think it's possible the man you met outside the historical museum could be here?" wondered Heather. "At Ghost Night?"

Conrad shrugged. "I haven't seen or heard trace of him since that night, and without his name I don't know how to find him. Besides, you're the one who suggested he might be a ghost."

"Yeah, but I was kidding."

Brindleton Bay had little in the way of nightlife. The Calico Lounge and Yacht Club down the road was where higher society danced and socialized, but spending the night surrounded by ghosts in a dive bar was just fine for Heather and Conrad.

In the early days of their relationship, when Ash was still a baby, they'd come here after watching seals at the pier. They'd share a basket of fries and maybe watch a sportsball game or two on the big screen. It was even where Ash learned to pull himself up to stand, and would always be a sentimental place for them.

Now with busy careers, two kids, and the added stress Conrad tried to keep to himself, it had been too long since they'd been out together. Considering their laid-back dating style, it was unsurprising they'd chosen such an untraditional night out.

Conrad pulled out his phone so they could mug for a selfie. "After everything we've seen with the Ambrosia Society newsletters, are you not just a little curious?"

"Of course I am. I want you to find an answer to at least one mystery taking up space in your mind. You're so stressed lately with work, the kids, and now with George Brindleton, closing the book on something would be good. And I want to help you, like always. It's just...What are you going to do if you find out the old man is a ghost?"

"Find out what he wants, I guess? His unfinished business."

They were both a little hungry, but the food at the Salty Paw was usually terrible, so they settled for sharing a bowl of chips from seats at the bar. The place filled first with human patrons, but as the night wore on, several ethereal beings floated into the pub.

One took a seat at the empty barstool to Heather's right. He gave them both respectful nods, and they returned the polite greeting, unsure what to say next. What sort of small talk were you supposed to make with a ghost?

But this man took an immediate interest in Heather, taking care of the small talk on his own. "Good evening, miss. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My friends call me Felix Psyded, Esquire. Lawyer, entrepreneur, and founder of the University of Britechester."

Conrad smirked. "They call you all that? I think I remember reading urban legends about you when I was in college."

"I've read them. None are true. I haven't stayed haunting the halls of my own university. I've been trying to visit as many places as I could."

"As a ghost?"

Felix turned up his nose at Conrad's surprise. "And what do your friends call you?"

"My friends call me Conrad. Pretty much everyone else calls me Sargent Gordon."

"Well, Sargent, what brings you out to pay full price for drinks on a night for sims in my predicament? Are you here to remember lost souls in the spirit of the day? Maybe a war hero?"

"My fiancee, Heather, and I are on a date tonight."

"And we're looking for someone. He might be a ghost. If he is...maybe you know him?"

The ethereal lawyer nodded warmly. "Miss Heather, I've been a ghost for many years and I've met many like me. What's his name?"

"That's the thing, we don't know it. He said he's lived in Brindleton Bay all his life, came out of the museum and offered to show Conrad around the lighthouse after hours."

"It's hard to get far without a name, and I haven't spent that much time here over the years. What does he look like?"

"Well, he's not...translucent," said Conrad. "He's elderly, tanned skin, wavy hair, mustache...I met him once outside the historical museum but I haven't seen him since. I haven't been able to get out to Deadgrass Isle much lately, either, but no one at the museum knows him, and I'm starting to think if he's not a ghost, I imagined him completely."

Felix sniffed. "Sounds very generic. Maybe it is all in your head."

"Forget it. I don't see him here, anyway."

"I'm not saying I couldn't help you. I've become a bit of a ghost historian in the many, many years since I expired."

"Why haven't you crossed over?" asked Heather. "Do you have unfinished business?"

"I most certainly do! Today is the anniversary of my death - I died all the way back in 1915, before this day was even known as Remembrance Day. And I came here to drink myself into a stupor so I can forget how I died far too soon."

"Your unfinished business is to just drink your pain away every year?"

"No, Sargent. I pine for the life I could have lived! I had just opened the University of Britechester with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the linguistics professor told a very good joke. I laughed harder than I intended. You might say I became hysterical - very unbecoming in my day - and the next thing I knew, the Grim Reaper himself was offering to help me cross over. I told him thank you, but no thank you. Even if I couldn't live as a human, I wasn't going anywhere."

"That's a terrible reason to die, because something was funny," said Heather, as she and Conrad both took a drink of their cream colas in perfect sync. But Conrad finished his in a single gulp, and Heather noticed.

Felix sighed. "That's not even the saddest part. When I died, I lost my love. She remarried another man and had a family and all but forgot me, while I spent her years on earth unable to move on. She's spending her afterlife with her husband, and I can't say I blame her..."

"That's rough," acknowledged Conrad. "I'm sorry."

"I would be willing to keep helping you, if you can point me in the direction of someone who's here for the Ambrosia Society. I've heard the Watcher's put an end to emotional deaths, and I can laugh as hard as I like without keeling over a second time! I was hoping to finally meet someone who can make ambrosia."

Heather smiled. "I could do that. I've learned how! I haven't made it yet, but we have the ingredients. We took the society up on their challenge for our own reasons, but we could always get more ingredients later. Will you help us figure out the identity of the old man at the museum if I make you some ambrosia?"

"I would be honoured to help you, Miss Heather. Though I do have one more imposition to place on you. Would you allow me to stay in your home tonight? Brindleton Bay has little in the way of empty rooms, and I would only ask for a humble sofa to rest."

Conrad wavered. His phone beeped and he checked the call display, cringing when he recognized the San Myshuno area code in the unlisted number.

"Is that work?" asked Heather. "Do you need to answer that?"

Ximena had finally returned the call he'd placed yesterday in frustration, but she'd waited until the evening, when he was more likely to be with his family. He put the phone back in his pocket. Ximena would have to wait, and Rafa, too. Wherever he was.

"It's not work. It's an unlisted number, probably just spam." He turned to their new ghostly acquaintance with a frown. "Listen, we've got kids at home, Mr. Psyded."

"Esquire. Felix Psyded, Esquire," complained the apparition. "And I'm very good with children. I'd like to have one or two of my own someday, should I get to live again."

Heather and Conrad stood to speak quietly. "Ash and Lavender will both be in bed by the time we get home," she reasoned.

"And when the kids wake up in the morning?"

"Maybe...maybe meeting a real ghost is how I can start talking to Ash about life and death. He's so smart - too smart for his own good sometimes, I think. But if he learns about ambrosia and death flowers now, maybe one day if he ever hears about the curse, it'll all be easier to talk about."

Felix poked his head in with interest. "Who's curse?"

Conrad snapped his head back. "Just a minute, Felix Psyded, Esquire."

"You're not having a very good night. Are you, Sargent?"

"I did notice you kept giving moon eyes to my fiancee."

"Both of you, stop! We'd be happy to have you over tonight, Mr. Psyded. Esquire. But please don't get off on the wrong foot with Conrad or come home and scare our kids."

"You have my word, I won't possess a single piece of furniture!"

They spent a few more hours meeting several ghosts who made their way to the bar for cheap drinks, hoping against hope that the man from the museum might eventually turn up. But after midnight, they gave up waiting and settled their tab, bringing a giggling Felix with them.

"I'm so excited, I'm vibrating. Can you hear me?"

But Heather and Conrad were quieter. She knew something was bothering him, and she wanted to know what it was. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: I didn't initially set out to schedule this post on Remembrance Day. This is just where the last week of Reaper Rewards stuff fit in my existing storyline, but how fitting, in a way. 🌺

NOTE 2: On one hand, Conrad should be romancing her extra hard considering he's lying, but if he tries over-romancing unflirty Heather she'll know something's up even more strongly. So they get a dive bar date night to fulfill the last tasks of the Reaper Rewards challenge.

[scotianostra]

September 2nd 1724 Maggie Dickson climbed the gallows in Edinburgh's Grassmarket, ready to take “The last drop”

Her downfall came when she got pregnant and tried to conceal the fact. Maggie’s husband had deserted her to work in the Fisheries in Newcastle in Northern England.

Consequently she had to leave Edinburgh and moved to Kelso in the south of Scotland. Whilst there she had an affair with an innkeepers son.

As the Innkeeper was her employer she felt compelled to keep the pregnancy quiet as she would lose her job. Tragically the baby died after being born prematurely and she decided to dispose of the body. She intended to cast it into the River Tweed but instead left it on the riverbank. It was soon found and the authorities quickly determined that Maggie was the mother. At that time such an action in Scotland contravened the 'Concealment of Pregnancy Act' of 1690 which made it tantamount to murder.

"Her reason for concealing the birth of the child was for fear of being made a public example in the church, and a laughing-stock to all her neighbours The legal and religious institutions were severe on women concerning matters of their pregnancy. Even the natural occurrences of miscarriage or still-born infants could incur the wrath of the law.

And so it was, Maggie was tried, convicted and sentenced to hang. The execution took place on the 2nd September 1724 in the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh. This was the favoured location for hangings at that time and normally took place on market day to ensure a sizeable crowd.

Her body was then taken in a coffin for burial to the town of Musselburgh which was east of Edinburgh. Apparently this was only after an unseemly scuffle between her family and local medical students keen for a young body to dissect. The corpses of the condemned were regularly passed to the Schools of Anatomy in the name of science in the 18th century.

The family had their way and took possession of Maggie's remains for burial. They set off on the journey and on the way stopped off at a pub for some refreshments in the Peffer Mill area. All of a sudden there came a knocking and banging on the coffin lid from the inside. Astonished, they opened up the coffin to discover that she was not dead.

Miraculously it seemed that Maggie Dickson had not succumbed to the gallows but had cheated death at the hands of the law. She was alive and well as confirmed by a local gardener on the scene who cut a vein to check for a flow of blood. After spending a night to recover Maggie actually walked back to Musselburgh the next day.

But what would happen next? As the death certificate had already been issued it was impossible to re-execute Maggie. This was because Scots Law is based on Roman Pandects and in this case it prohibited further action. Therefore the King's Advocate could not pursue the matter any further.

Instead he filed against the Edinburgh Sheriff in the High Court of Justiciary for not efficiently conducting the public execution. The ruling also meant that as Maggie was technically dead then her marriage was dissolved.

Furthermore, the prevailing opinion amongst people in Edinburgh considered her survival to be the result of divine intervention. Local people believed it had been 'God's will' that had spared her from an early grave.

Rumours persist that she actually seduced the ropemaker and convinced him to make the noose weak enough not to kill her. We will never know if that's the truth.

Whatever the facts of her hanging Maggie lived for another 40 years and had many children. Her husband remarried her despite that fact that she now sported rope burns and her neck was permanently crooked for the rest of her life. She is said to have ran an alehouse in Musselburgh for the rest of her life.

If you have ever visited Edinburgh’s Grassmarket you will have no doubt seen the names of the bars have a historical connection, The White Hart connects with King David I and his encounter with a White Stag, The Last Drop is of course a nod to the execution place and Maggie Dickson is for our erstwhile subject today, who the people of Edinburgh remember as “ Half-hangit Maggie “

[ethicstownpod]

The show seems (please correct me if I’m wrong) to have been cast pretty gender blind. Talking of gender roles in the Q&A, was it ever a possibility that January was a woman/non binary?

You are indeed (pretty much) correct! The entire show was cast gender blind aside from January*. I don’t have the exact disclaimer on me, but the casting call said something like:

“Anyone who feels comfortable playing a character who identifies as a man and uses he/him pronouns is encouraged to audition for this role.”

January was always written to be a cishet white man from England. I was very open to people who didn’t match some, or any, of those characteristics playing the part (Rhys does not in fact have a wholly English accent, but unless you’ve spent a lot of time where his family’s from you’d never be able to tell. Also, straight? My brother??), but he was written to be a really stereotypical Bad Politician From A Small English Town**.

But, you cry, that was S1 January! If he can be a little homosexual, surely he could have transed his gender?

True! Ish… January potentially being played by a trans actor was always a ‘this is a conversation to be had post-casting’ kind of thing. It would entirely depend on what the actor was comfortable with.

Say, for example, January had been played by a trans masc person. That would be a difficult thing to bring up in a later season, after January has already robbed two women of their bodily autonomy and ruined a little girl’s life… Not really the commentary I was going for! And you don’t even know what he’s going to do in S3 yet…

So in that situation I would have suggested it just doesn’t get mentioned; nothing to confirm January is a cis man, but nothing to imply he’s trans either. Of course, had someone not been comfortable with that I’d have worked with it.

If he’d been played by a trans femme/nonbinary actor the above isn’t so much an issue. Obviously I’m not saying it’s okay to imply trans women steal from other women, but it would be much easier, with the way the narrative is designed, to say, “Well, January did those things because she was written to be a cis gender man and a villain. Now that’s she’s starting to develop a sense of self she’s still a villain, just in a cool and sexy way now.” (Obviously this is paraphrasing/a joke. Cisgender man January isn’t even really a villain). And then S2/3 January could have a fun little gender arc with Noah.

But honestly, everything in this hypothetical would depend on the actor. Rhys is amazing, obviously, and while we may not be getting 🏳️‍⚧️Trans Rep🏳️‍⚧️ from this specific character I don’t feel like January having any kind of queer arc is hindered at all by him being played by a (umbrella term) bisexual actor.

Much like what I was saying about January wrt gender roles in the Q&A, Rhys likes sewing and crafts and girly pop music and kids’ cartoons and baby animals and childcare and cooking and (once every 9 months when the planets align) talking about his feelings.

He also rides a motorbike, likes to make his own electronics, and talks really, really loudly in the pub even though everyone he’s talking to is within a half metre radius. Y’know, guy stuff.

It’s great that there are so many micro labels available to people who want them, but, “I don’t really feel like a very guyish guy, and that’s because straight men have historically set the standard for what it means to be a guy. I’m still a guy, I’m just having a queer guy experience,” is still a totally valid gender take, and I feel like that’s much more where January-played-by-a-cis-man sits. So, y’know, that’s actual January that we actually have.

At least, until he commits his next crime and totally forgets about being gay.

*At this point you may be thinking, “But if January was a heterosexual man, surely his spouse would have to be played by a woman?” Mayhaps! January’s spouse would have to be played by someone who was comfortable portraying a woman for ~1 episode. But there was absolutely no reason “Al” couldn’t have transitioned in any way shape or form in S2 onwards. It just so happened L killed it ridiculously hard and also uses she/her pronouns.

**There are absolutely bad female politicians from small English towns. There are also bad politicians of colour from small English towns. And bad queer politicians, usually not from small towns but sometimes. But statistically it is cishet white men. Currently, 68% of UK mayors are men. 88% are white. 60% are white men. And that’s in the year of our lord 2025.

[burningvelvet]

a post in honor of lord byron's 200th death anniversary —

the greeks were very fond of byron, who when he died in 1824 was a military commander and notable influence in their war of independence. as one of the most (if not the most) famous members of the philhellenist movement, byron used his poetic platform to try to remind people of greece's reputation as the source of western traditions in art and culture. the greeks then honored byron by decorating his coffin with a laurel wreath (below). they also erected statues for him, like this one below in athens depicting him being crowned with a laurel wreath (a symbol of greatness, especially in poetry/music [which historically overlapped]) by a female personification of greece. to this day, some statues of byron are annually wreathed in tradition, and the names byron/vyron/vyronas are still used in greece for roads, towns, and people in his honor.

"’Tis sweet to win, no matter how, one’s laurels,

By blood or ink; ’tis sweet to put an end

To strife; ’tis sometimes sweet to have our quarrels,

Particularly with a tiresome friend:

Sweet is old wine in bottles, ale in barrels;

Dear is the helpless creature we defend

Against the world; and dear the schoolboy spot

We ne’er forget, though there we are forgot.

But sweeter still than this, than these, than all,

Is first and passionate love — it stands alone,

Like Adam’s recollection of his fall;

The tree of knowledge has been pluck’d — all ’s known —

And life yields nothing further to recall

Worthy of this ambrosial sin, so shown,

No doubt in fable, as the unforgiven

Fire which Prometheus filch’d for us from heaven."

— excerpt from Lord Byron's Don Juan, Canto the First (writ 1818, pub. 1819).

"The mountains look on Marathon –

And Marathon looks on the sea;

And musing there an hour alone,

I dreamed that Greece might still be free;

For standing on the Persians' grave,

I could not deem myself a slave."

— excerpt from Lord Byron's Don Juan, Canto the Third (writ 1819, pub 1821) — this stanza is part of a section often published on its own under the title "The Isles of Greece."

"Byron was at once a romantic dreamer, who wanted life to square up to his illusions, and a satirical realist, who saw what was before him with unusual clarity and found its contradictoriness amusing. The clash between the two Byrons is nowhere more noticeable than in his last writings, done on Cephalonia and at Missolonghi during the months before his death. There we see the Greece he dreams of, and the Greece which, in different ways, destroys him."

— excerpt from Peter Cochran's "Byron's Writings in Greece, 1823-4."

"Oh, talk not to me of a name great in story;

The days of our youth are the days of our glory;

And the myrtle and ivy of sweet two and twenty

Are worth all your laurels, though ever so plenty.

What are garlands and crowns to the brow that is wrinkled?

'Tis but as a dead-flower with May-dew besprinkled.

Then away with all such from the head that is hoary!

What care I for the wreaths that can only give glory!

Oh FAME! - if I e'er took delight in thy praises,

'Twas less for the sake of thy high-sounding phrases,

Than to see the bright eyes of the dear one discover,

She thought that I was not unworthy to love her.

There chiefly I sought thee, there only I found thee;

Her glance was the best of the rays that surround thee;

When it sparkled o'er aught that was bright in my story,

I knew it was love, and I felt it was glory."

— Lord Byron's "Stanzas Written on the Road Between Florence and Pisa" (November, 1821). What is illustrated here, and what I try to illustrate all throughout this assortment, is Byron's conflation of love and glory, and the idea that poetry and politics are both ways to deserve and achieve — not fame, but what fame seems to promise — love.

"But 'tis not thus—and 'tis not here

Such thoughts should shake my Soul, nor now,

Where Glory decks the hero's bier,

Or binds his brow.

The Sword, the Banner, and the Field,

Glory and Greece around us see!

The Spartan borne upon his shield

Was not more free.

Awake (not Greece—she is awake!)

Awake, my Spirit! Think through whom

Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake

And then strike home!"

— excerpt from Lord Byron's "On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sxith Year" (1824).

"What are to me those honours and renown

Past or to come, a new-born people's cry

Albeit for such I could despise a crown

Of aught save Laurel, or for such could die;

I am the fool of passion, and a frown

Of thine to me is as an Adder's eye

To the poor bird whose pinion fluttering down

Wafts unto death the breast it bore so high –

Such is this maddening fascination grown –

So strong thy Magic - or so weak am I."

— although the much more popular and published "On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sxith Year" is often believed to be Byron's last poem, the above is likely Byron's actual last poem. Like the former, it wasn't solely written for Greece, but for his page Lukas Chalandritsanos who he was in unrequited love (or lust) with. It is sometimes titled "Last Words on Greece" (named so by his friend and sometimes-editor Hobhouse).

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Better Novel Scrivener Template

BTW, If you liked the Settings Template, this has that plus more...

The Current Novel Template is out of date, the templates aren't really doing much for you. And the variety of icons is rather thin. I set out to fix this.

The template as a whole is PG-13 as the Character Template mentions "dangerous" things like "Kinks" and "Safe Words" OMG. I know. So terrible. So if you don't want to explain those things to anyone underage, don't download it.

As I am NB, and generally queer otherwise, I have included things like Sexual Orientation, Romantic Orientation and a whole load of things to think about when building CHARACTER, SETTING, WORLDBUILDING. I included things that people often forget by using my Uni and College knowledge.

Please, please read the "Read Me First" file if you want to avoid having to load missing icons. I give instructions.

In case you still opened it despite my warnings or it doesn't work, you'll have to load in the icons manually. In which case this is a reference:

The New Icons are: Domestic Products, Imported Goods, Exported Goods, Laws, and Social Stratification. I added extra icons for Weapons and Warfare in case you're not writing Fantasy. Laser Guns and a Historical Pistol.

I did my best to make it CULTURALLY NEUTRAL. If you want them specific, you're on your own.

I also added if you'd like to load them

All these Icons to the folder so You can finally color code your manuscripts to your heart's content. (My unending frustration with Scrivener).

I added an SVG file so if there is an exact shade I missed on the Spiral Notebook Colors or the Hardcover Books, you can add it.

The Composition Notebook file isn't included as it contains a pattern. However, I made pains to make sure it matches real life colors that exist in Composition Notebooks. You wanted the Settings Template? There are 2. One for City/Towns. One general one.

Zero Organization or Clue on Querying or Self pubbing?

I put up Organization Folders for you.

Here are the Templates you get. Everything is beefed up for you. I spent forever on these Templates and testing them. I also cued Styles to them so it's easy to change the colors. If you want to change something, as the About document says, turn on invisibles.

The Default Styles aren't useless anymore.

If you need a more Definitive Guide, I also made one in the file:

Download the Scrivener Template. It is a ZIP FILE Win Zip or other Zip app should be able to handle it.

Warning: Direct Download https://www.kimyoonmi.com/BetterNovelScrivenerTemplate.zip If you want to Skip the Template completely, but are wishing to add the Icons to your Scrivener:

https://www.kimyoonmi.com/ScrivenerIcons.zip

This template itself is not for sale or profit nor are the icons. Also don’t be the person that lies that says you made it. It’s a Creative Commons License Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivatives by Yoonmi Kim 2024. You may change it for personal use only. Any problems can be addressed directly to me at https://www.kimyoonmiauthor.com. If you would like to translate this into other languages, let me know.

Don't be the ass that tries to sell my hard work, 'cause really, it's free. And I spent a lot of pains and time to make sure it's free and easy to use with a lot of subtle UX. Edit: I added even more stuff to the newest version.

Yes, a Pets Sketch, a Fauna Species Sketch a Flora Species Sketch, there is Literature added to the list of Art (I forgot it. lol I thought the mistake was silly, but yeah.)

And I added a Medicine Section with an icon to the technology section. There are two native icons already for Medicine--syringe and pill, but I kind of felt it didn't always give the feel of fantasy, so I made a Mortar and Pestle from scratch to add, but if you're doing sci-fi or contemporary, etc you can change to the syringe or pill.

I added explainers as well for the items to the guide.

Why?

'Cause. I would love to be able to see people put more thought into their worlds/worldbuilding, even if it doesn't show up. Maybe it won't be only horses for animals as pets. Or an occasional dog. Haha. Having a gay dog like Robin Williams would be great.

[wellbelesbian]

give them hope, give them strength, give them life

The lodge feels smaller than I remember. The last time we entered… I think it was 2014. Ten years ago. Bloody hell. We went in through the back to grab some old newspapers for an article Shep was writing. At some point, the lodge just fizzled away. Grew obsolete. The community didn’t need a place to band together anymore. Drinking is done at the pub now, and the banners are stored up in the local church.

All the shell of the building holds now are some low grade antiques and memories. There is talk of it being bought and demolished for housing, and then only our hearts will carry those memories…

read on ao3!

here's my fic for @carryonthroughtheages 2024! it's a little sequel to my big fic last year, and less historical, as it covers decades leading up to the modern day. i hope you all like it! i'll be adding a context chapter later on, with photos to do with my research for the fic.

[mermaidsirennikita]

In the year of 2025 when we're just saying what we wanna say, I'm gonna list off some romance pet peeves (which extend to pet peeves about the romance community):

—People who only read about virgin heroines. I think it's weird. If you prefer it over heroines who aren't virgins, fine, we all have preferences, but if it's a requirement for your reading experience, then what the actual fuck tbh.

—Books where the heroine just lies back and does nothing while the hero goes to town. It is not 1973. She can do things to him. She should do things to him.

—"Why choose", and especially those wherein the sword don't cross. It's not inherently bad as a concept, but I have yet to read a book with this angle that doesn't basically read as a female fantasy versus a romance. I think it is excessively difficult for people to write a poly book above a triad wherein all parties actually feel like equally well-drawn characters, and that is simply an understandably artistic limitation.

And it's not that you can't or shouldn't write that angle; I just think they often read more as erotica than romance. Which is a fine thing to write. I just don't buy the *love story*. It's about the heroine getting things (again, receiving) whereas the heroes are basically fantasy stand-ins. Frankly, when they are literally all together at all times (versus in a real-life poly sitch wherein this would often involve people having metas, separate homes, different degrees of commitment) and all the men are straight straight straight, it feels borderline homophobic to me lol. Like. It's not IMPOSSIBLE for this to exist without queerness, but why?

Also, it's painfully clear that a lot of them are written by monogamous women who probably don't even have poly friends...?

Basically: I love a good poly romance. I even think that a series like Sierra Simone's Thornchapel is a great example of a flexible poly sitch wherein it's MMF but the heroine does sleep with one other guy without actually bringing him into the relationship (or frankly, being in love with him). But when you try to brand something as this emotional romance with 4+ partners and you keep them alllll in this scenario where they're allllll together.... I have YET to see that feel emotionally deep.

—Yeah, romance should be well-written and even a one-handed read can be well-written. The goal should be good writing. The genre being about having a good time doesn't excuse poor writing. We can hold this genre to a standard, and if you want people to take it seriously, you kinda gotta. You can't complain about people denigrating your "spicy books" and then say the writing doesn't matter.

We may not all agree on what a good book looks like, and not everything you enjoy has to be solid gold, by any means. But the blanket "why are you critiquing this????" bullshit is invalid. This is not fanfic. People are making money off this. Critique is acceptable.

—It's okay to lament historical romance going out of vogue in traditional publishing. I do, too. But acting like it's entirely the fault of tradpub (and trust me, I'm holding them accountable for their part) doesn't help it grow.

—Indie pub is great and I love it and I'm for it but yes we can tell when a book wasn't properly edited and yes that is why a lot of older books do feel more well-written than a lot of newer books. You can be a good writer. You still need an editor, and it will show.

—Goodreads shouldn't be trusted, and I say this as someone who posts my reviews on Goodreads because it is what is best for the author in this current climate.

—Asking people to spoil a romance novel because it's "stressing you out" makes me roll my eyes. Asking to be spoiled re: triggers, etc, totally get it. Getting stressed out because the people in a book with a guaranteed HEA are fighting... come on now. Let us develop a thicker skin.

—Slow burns can be good. A lot of slow burns are also just an excuse to piddle around and fill up 700 pages full of interruptions. Smariana Shapata.

—There's absolutely nothing wrong with an alpha hero and I love them lots. If he doesn't get his ass kicked by love what is the point

—Calling romance "for women, by women" and using that as an excuse to get hostile towards men entering the space is *homophobic* and *transphobic* and kinda gives TERF vibes.

—Rejecting writers because they're fascist supporters is good, actually

—If you don't think what's happening in America is going to affect your access to romance novels because you're not American, you're wrong and you should do some quick googling about the dominance of the U.S. in the English-language publishing industry.

—Reading outside of your own experience is important in every genre and romance is no exception.

—r/romancebooks is an overall really good alternative to BookTok. r/historicalromance is... a more complex issue.

[suzannahnatters]

Historical inaccuracy is not bad, historical inaccuracy is not good, historical inaccuracy is a TOOL.

The reason you DON'T want to use historical inaccuracy? Is if it WEAKENS the story.

The reason you DO want to use historical inaccuracy? Is if it STRENGTHENS the story.

There are in fact a ton of ways that you can use anachronism and historical inaccuracy to strengthen a story!

Obviously, sometimes historical inaccuracy is a dramatic liberty necessary to fit a piece of history neatly into a book, movie, or television show. Sometimes characters, timelines, and events need to be consolidated or telescoped. Literally no one should complain about this.

But you can also use historical inaccuracy for fun! Stephen Sommers' THE MUMMY and VAN HELSING add mummies, vampires, Kate Beckinsale in a bustier and tight pants, flesh-eating scarabs, and fully automatic crossbows to nineteenth century history. Is this realistic? No. Is it a whole hecking lot of fun? You bet. I wrote multiple stories where Tsar Nicholas II of Russia is a failpire with a lisp, because I thought it would be hilarious, and it was. A huge part of why this works is because nobody is going to go away from these stories believing that a word in them is true. The bigger and sillier you get, the better off you are.

Use it for relatability! A KNIGHT'S TALE is a justly beloved classic that works better than almost any other movie I can think of at conveying a realistic flavour of actual medieval life. It does that despite being riddled with historical inaccuracies. I am pretty sure that medieval people did not party to David Bowie, for instance. But the music they did dance to would have been as much fun for them as David Bowie is for us. That's the point of the anachronism, and the same technique works gorgeously throughout the movie in a host of different ways, from dialogue to fashion.

Use it for the aesthetic! Anna Bright's beautiful book THE HEDGEWITCH OF FOXHALL is set in a version of early medieval Wales that definitely never existed, for example with modern style pubs in every village. This works because the story isn't meant to teach us history - it's a cosy adventure story that's meant to evoke a timeless, fairytale ideal of Welshness. Bright's inaccuracies aren't a mistake - they are a feature of the setting. And while badly handled historical inaccuracy will make a setting feel blurred, indistinct, or unconvincing, properly handled anachronisms like the ones in this book will sharpen and enhance the sense of setting.

I'm sure that this is not an exhaustive list - but the whole point is that historical inaccuracy is a FEATURE, something that can be used to achieve a desired artistic effect.

There's one kind of historical inaccuracy that I can't forgive, however. Let's talk about my nemesis, Ridley Scott. The reason I can't even with that man is that he so clearly imagines that he is making Serious Movies about Serious History. All his historical movies are pitched as the stories of great historical people whose lives created the world we live in today. The problem is that none of the stories he tells actually happened that way. His characters are imaginary. Middle Eastern nobleman Balian of Ibelin wasn't raised as a blacksmith in France. Legendarily faithful Queen Sibylla didn't cheat on her husband. Famed peasant hero Robin Hood wasn't a champion of BARONIAL rights. I could go on, but I won't. Ridley Scott wants us to think that he's teaching us Real History…and that's the one case where I really cannot excuse the rank historical inaccuracy.