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bluekaddis · 5 years ago

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Today is 11/11 which marks 101 years of Poland regaining independence and I thought it is a perfect time to publish a post that I’ve been working on for a while.

Ferelden from Polish Perspective aka Why We Can Relate to Dog Lords So Much.

This is a sort of compilation of my own thoughts I had while playing the games and various talks with my Polish friends. It is not supposed to force any ideas or teach others how to interpret the game. I just thought it could be entertaining for anyone interested in history and culture. I was trying not to elaborate too much on the subject here but it still ended up being A Very Long Post TM. To make this post a little neater to read, I divided this post into 4 sections:

1. History

2. Fashion and Food

3. Politics

4. Relationships with Other Countries

I will be very happy if you find a minute or two to read some of my points. If you have any additional questions or comments feel free to leave me a message :)

And once again - enormous thanks to @aeducanka for proofreading. I would be a poor mess without you.

DISCLAIMERS

1. Yes, I know that Ferelden is based mostly on Anglo-Saxon England and I have no problem with that. True, I may be a little disappointed that the game includes references to so many European cultures and countries (France, Byzantine Empire, Venice, Roma culture etc.) and yet practically ignores Central and Eastern Europe completely, BUT this post is not meant to be a “Where is my representation?!” rant. If I wanted a game with Slavic culture vibes, I could always play the Witcher trilogy again. We are doing alright.

2. I am in no way an academic specialist on culture or history, even these of my own country. I did some research, but most of facts and figures can be easily found on wikipedia. You can treat this as just some observations and headcanons of a 29 y/o Polish woman, who has grown up and lives in Poland.

3. The main focus of this post is Poland in different moments of history. However, when talking about fashion and political system I will mostly refer to Polish culture between the 16th and 18th century. During that time Poland and Lithuania formed a dual state known as The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. So, whenever I refer to this particular period, I will use the term “Commonwealth” instead of “Poland”.

PART 1 – HISTORY

The country’s name origin

Ferelden means „fertile valley” in Alamarri tongue [WoT vol. 1], Poland most probably comes from the Slavic word „pole” meaning „field”. They both refer to land that can be cultivated.

History of unification

Ferelden lands were divided between many tribes until they were unified by Calenhad Theirin. He fought and defeated other Alamarri tribes’ leaders, proclaimed Andrastianism as the new official religion of his kingdom and started the Theirin dynasty.

A similar story can be told about Mieszko I of Poland – the leader of the Polans tribe (one of many Slavic tribes of that time) who, by means of war and diplomacy, united many Slavic tribes and created the Polish country in 965. In the same year he was baptised, abandoning native paganism in favour of Christianity. Mieszko started the Piast dynasty which ruled Poland for over 400 years. He never officially became a king, though – his son, Bolesław, was crowned king in 1025.

Also, Ferelden is a relatively young country compared to countries like Orlais or Tevinter. Even if Poland has over 1000 years of history as a country, it has to be noted that some Western European countries have a longer history (eg. the Carolingian Empire or the Visigothic Kingdom). Polish lands have also never been a part of the Roman Empire.

Fun fact – the half-legendary sword of the first king of Poland, Szczerbiec, was stolen by Prussian troops during their invasion on Poland in 1795. Calenhad’s sword, Nemetos,was lost during the Orlesian invasion on Ferelden [WoT vol. 1].

Ostagar

Now, I will tell you a story. It is about a young king (in his twenties), a little reckless, wanting to be the leader who stood against the great invading threat to his country, a little blinded by the perspective of glorious victory. Just before the battle one of his allied forces betrayed him and did not provide the promised aid. The enemy army was too strong, too large. The king’s army was defeated, the king was killed in battle and his body was taken by the enemy. The king did not have children and his younger brother had succeeded him.

No, I’m not talking about Cailan, this is the story of Władysław III of Poland.

PART 2 – FASHION AND FOOD

Fashion

All cultures in Thedas have their own style and fashion. Ferelden is supposed to be this “We like fur and warm fabrics” culture, opposite to the extravagant Orlesian style. However, I have few problems with how Fereldan fashion is shown in the game.

1. It is too early-medieval looking. I know, it is a fantasy, you can mix ancient Egypt with steampunk and nobody should care. But we see, from cultural and technological perspective, that Thedas in Dragon Age is more renaissance/baroque than your typical medieval. Heck, some elements, like the infamous Formal Attire, look like clothes from 18th or even 19th century! In comparison, outfits like Arms of Mac Tir or Robes of the Pretender (though good looking) look like something from the Vikings era.

2. We do not see many good looking Fereldan outfits in the games. I like Alistair’s royal outfit and some of Fereldan armors and clothes from DA:2 but remember this?

Or this?

Yeah, Dog Lords can do better :/

And that’s why I like to headcanon Fereldan fashion as something more resembling the Commonwealth fashion between the 16th and 18th century. It was an interesting mix of European and Asian influences and I think it would work perfectly with canon Ferelden because:

1. People LOVED fur elements in their clothing. Fur lining on coats, fur caps decorated with feathers, pelts of wild carnivores (lions, wolves, bears, etc.) on armour - fur was everywhere.

2. It is simple but regal. The quality of materials and patterns were more important than volume and the number of layers. A typical male noble outfit consisted of a long garment (żupan), a long, ornate sash, one of two types of cloak (delia or kontusz) and a fur cap decorated with feathers and jewels. If you compare it with the baroque fashion from France it is less extravagant and more practical. No wigs, no flounces, no man tights.

Compare these two dudes – the older one is dressed Commonwealth style, the younger – in French style.

The Deluge, 1974

Of course some wealthy noblemen who spent a lot of time in France or other Western countries tended to adapt their style, but from what I know it was not that common. Women, on the other hand, tended to dress more similar to their Western counterparts (especially when they wanted to look fashionable) but their everyday dresses were not that much elaborate. They also wore kontusz (though the female version was shorter) and fur caps when outside.

Below I post some more costumes to better illustrate my point. They all come from Polish movie adaptations of H. Sienkiewicz’s novels (I looove both the books and the movies).

With Fire and Sword, 1999

The Deluge, 1974

Fire in the Steppe, 1968

And I could not NOT to mention the wonderful interpretation of Fereldan armor and clothing for my OCs drawn by @ankalime - I still can’t get over how beautiful they look :3

Food

From what we know, Fereldan food is very similar to traditional English cuisine (lamb and pea anyone?), HOWEVER, I can totally see some traditional Polish dishes on Fereldan tables. Let us look at this part of Alistair’s banter with Leliana:

“Now here in Ferelden, we do things right. We take our ingredients, throw them into the largest pot we can find, and cook them for as long as possible until everything is a uniform grey color. As soon as it looks completely bland and unappetizing, that's when I know it's done.”

Dishes like bigos, flaki or goulash (mostly associated with Hungary but also present in various forms in Slavic countries) totally fit this description. Tasty and hearty but I know some foreigners see them as totally unappetizing :P

Poland is also culturally more into beer than wine (high five, British Isles!), so Fereldan ale fits this image, too.

PART 3. POLITICS

When I first played DA:O and heard about choosing the new queen/king on Landsmeet I was like “omg, they have wolna elekcja!”

The canon Ferelden is a feudal country, however, there seems to be less focus on the king's absolute power – instead, the nobles can choose the king they like, the hierarchy inside this particular social class is also less striking than one can expect.

And this brings me to the concept of Golden Liberty. (I will quote Wikipedia here, I am not that smart to explain this well in English on my own).

The Golden Liberty was a unique political system of the Commonwealth – a mixture of monarchy, oligarchy and democracy. The most distinctive elements of that systems were:

- All nobles regardless of rank or economic status, were considered to have equal legal rights (and you did not have to own a town or two to be considered a noble – a large part of the nobility owned nothing more than a farm, often little different from a peasant's dwelling, and some did not even have that much). The rights were, for example:

- Neminem captivabimus ("We shall not arrest anyone without a court verdict").

- right to vote – every nobleman, whether rich or poor, could vote. Of course if someone was rich, they could bribe others to gain more political influence, but it is the same as today.

- religious freedom – unlike many other European countries of the time, people in Commonwealth were legally free to follow any religion. The Commonwealth became a common refuge for people who were persecuted for religion in their homelands. The religious freedom was not restricted to nobility but to all social classes.

- rokosz - the right to form a legal rebellion against a king who violated nobility freedoms.

- the monarchy was elective, not hereditary, and the king was elected by the nobility. That “democracy” was not, of course, perfect, as only male noblemen had the right to vote and elect the king. However, it was still between 10-15% of the population who could vote. In comparison, “in 1831 in France only about 1% of the population had the right to vote”

The Landsmeet in DA:O is basically the free election (well, maybe minus the duel :D) and I would say the Fereldan nobility does not feel obliged to be obedient 100% of the time.

PART 4. RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES

Orlesian occupation

We know from the game that Orlais invaded Ferelden in 8:24 Blessed and occupied it for decades. The Fereldan forces were rebelling against the occupant and finally, under the command of Maric Theirin, they won their freedom.

Again, it is a huge topic, so to summarize: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth suffered a similar fate in 1795 as it was conquered and divided between Habsburg Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Russian Empire. For 123 years Poles have been trying to regain their country, have started several uprisings and lost many lives in their fight for independence. Finally, at the end of WW1, independent Poland reappeared on the map of the world. Then came the WW2, probably the most tragic event in Polish history – the cities were razed to the ground, a vast part of national heritage destroyed or stolen, and over 6 million people (1/5 of the pre-war population) were killed.

So yeah, a country invaded and occupied for decades by its neighbour sounds way too familiar to be ignored.

Ferelden in the eyes of Orlesians

The Fereldans are a puzzle. As a people, they are one bad day away from reverting to barbarism. (...) They are the coarse, wilful, dirty, disorganized people [DA:O Codex Entry: Culture of Ferelden].

Yeah... this, unfortunately, sounds familiar. I fear that the stereotype of a drunk, stupid, poor, thieving Poles (and other Slavic nations), which originated from WW2 propaganda, is somehow still alive in the West. I will not dive deeper in this subject because I want to believe my followers have their own brain cells and I do not need to explain how hurtful and offensive those stereotypes are.

My point is – I could identify easily with a fantasy country that is located east from the “centre of culture and civilisation” and is unfairly believed to be more barbaric.

So – for all two of you who bothered to read the whole thing - thanks for coming to my TED talk.I really appreciate the time you spent here :)

#dragon age #my writing #ferelden #headcanon #heavy slavic breathing #finally!#it took so long #but i am really happy i can post it here

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imaginethebeautifulworld · 5 years ago

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i would kill for some fail bros headcanons

[Hey, Anon! I'm kind of passionate about these three, so I'm giving you a heads up that this one is kind of long. Hope you enjoy~]

From a “nation” standpoint, England is the eldest of the three. He recognized his spark of sovereignty when King Ecgberht ascended to the throne of Wessex in 802, who would later go on to claim Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Essex as part of his kingdom; Ecgberht is often regarded as the “first king of England.”

For Denmark, his sovereignty came with the crowning of King Harald Bluetooth around 950, who completed the goal of unifying the region into a single state. Before that point, Denmark existed more or less as a smattering of small communities led predominantly by local chieftains.

Prussia didn’t fully recognize his sovereignty or nationhood until around 997, when the Aesti- Old Prussians- slayed Adalbert of Prague, a missionary who had been sent by Polans to try to convert the “heathens” to Christianity. It was only one of many attempts to conquer the Prussians, but with Adalbert earning a martyrdom, and such a blatant show of sedulous autonomy, the first spark of nationalism truly ignited.

Not that much of this mattered in regards to their friendship though.

Through the Saxons, Arthur and Gilbert had been friends since the 700s at least, and Arthur and Mathius had known each other for even longer, the Jutes having first made an appearance on the Isles around late 400, when Arthur was still part of Rome’s territories. Mati and Gil were practically next door neighbors; I wouldn’t be surprised if Germania had pretty much raised them together.

Despite a lot of shifting borders and conflicts of interest- like Denmark ruling England from 1013-1042, or how Denmark lost both Holstein and Scleswig to Prussia in 1864, and England and Prussia’s on-again, off-again alliance- they’ve remained fast, firm friends for centuries.

Truth be told, I think Mati was the one to get Artie so addicted to sailing, most likely dragging him on a few coastal raids back in the day.

Hamburg is one of their favorite meeting places. Initially, it was more convenient for Gil and Artie, as it was one of the central cities in the Hanseatic League, but the real draw came with the 1500s, when there were over 500 breweries for them to sample. These days, it’s more nostalgia that keeps drawing them back.

Actually, this is part of a tradition that still stands to date; with some rare exceptions (like this one tavern on Bornholm that’s been serving the same Brennivin recipe for the past 463 years), they rarely go to the same pub, distillery, or brewery twice. There are just so many of them.

These three try to meet up at least one weekend a month, if not more. Gil has it a lot easier working out his schedule these days, for obvious reasons, so normally he will crash with either Mati or Artie and the other will show up when they can.

Friday nights are usually their “drink nights,” and they’ll usually bicker for a good hour about which pub or club they want to try; all of these nerds had lists ready of venues they had looked up in advance. They also spend another hour or so bickering about which of them has the best beer.

When they’re together, they completely shrug off their more responsible images- Arthur in particular seems almost a 180 degree shift in personality. Around most nations, he tries to keep that prim and proper persona, but… Mathius and Gilbert are not most nations.

These three have crusaded to the Holy Lands together, harassed most of Northern Europe together, even spent a few precious months pretending to be humans and traveling the world together. They’ve sworn blood oaths under scarlet skies, literally sewn each other back together on occasion.

They really share most everything with one another- from matters of the heart to political problems to those dark desires they really can’t tell anyone else about- knowing that anything shared among them will never be discussed outside of their circle.

Usually, they don’t let themselves get drunk. But really- They don’t need alcohol to become total hooligans. Mathius is naturally high energy, and with Gilbert’s simmering competitiveness and Arthur’s pride keeping him from ever backing down from a challenge…

The shenanigans these three get up to can range from pranking Mati and Artie’s former colonies to strip karaoke to sometimes, quite literally, painting the town, and then some.

They have a few reprimands for breaking and entering, and perhaps there were one or two cases of arson, or a few protests that got a tad chaotic…

Despite having more than enough beds for each of them, they usually end up falling asleep in a giant heap.

Arthur is loath to ever actually admit how safe he feels knowing the other two are there to watch his back, though Mathius is always very open about actually expressing the exact same sentiment.

Gilbert is usually the last one to drift off and always the first to wake up; he mastered some killer hangover remedies a few decades ago, and while he knows the others are perfectly capable of making breakfast without burning the house down, it’s his way of showing how much he cares.

Sometime after they’ve nursed the remnants of their hangovers, they usually go shopping for food together, all of them chipping in on a big dinner for that night.

Said shopping trips go about as well as you’d expect: Artie usually pretends he has no idea who Gil and Mati are as they piggyback through the aisles, Arthur and Mathius bicker constantly about the proper ways to eat eel (which always traumatizes Gilbert), and Prussia constantly is making bad puns with England about the different brand names, much to Denmark’s irritation because he can’t quite keep up.

Just fucking getting to the store was a quest on its on; buying themselves actual food before getting kicked out is another challenge entirely.

They absolutely are down for cultural and music fests, theatre, boating, or even just reading together.

They totally do LARPing together, and try to attend either ConQuest or Drachenfest each summer.

There is often an attempt to play football when they have an hour or so to kill, though it typically ends up as a brawl with two of them (usually Mati and Gil) starting a giant game of keep away against the other (usually Artie). They’ve lost count of how many grass stains they gained in the process.

They’re each hella supportive of the others’ interests, and often you can find them laying on the grass or a roof somewhere having long-winded discussions about the arts, literature, science, philosophy, and on one particularly snowy night in 1989- what happens when they die.

In fact, the only two people Gil ever really confides in about his fears are Artie and Mati. With Ludbug, he just can’t risk the thought of hurting him or burdening him, and with Fran and Toni, he’s scared they’ll- He can’t always handle how open those two are with their worry for him.

He knows that Mathius and Arthur won’t pity him, per say. Bleeding hearts the three of them, but they know when, and when not, to show it.

Arthur and Mathius made it their goal through the entirety of the 1990s to make sure Gilbert understood just how damn important he was to them, stealing him away as often as they could get away with, doing everything from a sailing trip around the Orkneys (and annoying Alisdair to no end) to camping in Scharbeutz for two weeks straight to trying (and horribly failing) to form a band around ‘94.

The band didn’t work out mostly because they all have different music tastes- Artie fell deep into the punk scene and never climbed back out, Gil’s taste falls somewhere between heavy and folk rock, and Mati is very passionate about symphonic and alternative rock. Also, meeting up for practices as frequently as they needed was nigh on impossible. Still, sometimes they do get together just to jam for a bit.

Mati and Gil are the only two people actually allowed to call Arthur by “Iggy" and not get a black eye.

They love playing board games with each other, everything from Cards Against Humanity to Crazy Cat Lady to Risk. They tend to avoid the latter however as they all get rather… intense with their gameplay.

Really though, all they need is a deck of cards and they’ll easily get invested into a game of Slap Jack or Go Fish.

I am willing to bet they swapped parenting tips through the ages, each of them freaking out because "holy fuck I am not qualified for this!"

They have several dozen inside jokes at this point, the kind that if one says anything they all eventually will succumb to tears of laughter.

No one else really makes Arthur laugh as quickly as those two, no one else really sees Mathius as pensive and philosophical, and no one else really sees Gilbert completely letting his guard down.

With each other, they are, have been, and always will be Arthur, Mathius, and Gilbert.

They trust each other unconditionally, and know that, no matter the politics, they’ll always be there to support one another, no matter how silly the shenanigans or serious the situation may be.

[This was so long, omg. Thanks for the ask, Lovely!

If anyone is interested in any sources for further reading on their own, let me know! I got quite a lot of this from textbooks, articles, and encyclopedias ^_^; ]

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lavender--cake · 5 years ago

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Quarantine Q&A

I’ve been tagged by @pauletta-00 thank you ^^

Not gonna tag people, who wants to do it consider yourself tagged

Are you staying home from work/school?

Yeah, from school.

If you’re staying home, who’s there with you?

Mom, brother, dad. My mom still works though so not really staying home.

What movies have you watched recently? What shows are you watching?

I’ve watched new season of TCW, currently also rewatching it. Watching Tangled the series slowly and also I’m polanning to watch Birds of Prey soon.

Are you a homebody?

Yup, I’ll take staying home anyday

An event you were looking forward to that got cancelled?

Hmmm Pyrkon, but it just had changed dates so not really cancelled. I was supposed to stay at my gf’s place for weekends and now I can’t even go see them so there’s that. If that counts as an event.

What music are you listening to?

My Spotify favourites, Discover Weekly and mine and my partner’s otp playlists for our agents ^^

What are you reading?

Fanfiction. Rereading Accursed Ones from Dragon Age fandom (i recommend it by the way, even to non-ds fans). Should be reading books for school and exams but I can’t bring myself to care about those.

What are you doing for self-care?

Playing games, taking long baths and lighting up incenses. Going out with my dog for walks, sleeping.

#asks #quarantine asks #pauletta-00

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dandelionwineshop · 6 years ago

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THURSDAY NIGHT TASTING 6-8PM:

CHILLING WITH SOME FRENCH FAVES

We looked last week at perhaps the oldest tradition of aging wine, in Qvevri in Georgia. This week we’re focusing on the country that has the longest, deepest fine wine tradition, the place that has been making most of the best wine in the world over the last five centuries, which is to say FRANCE. A wise man once said “Burgundy is the North Star,” and it’s really true – the history of this most storied, most complex of all wine regions, in some important way illuminates all the rest, guides our way along the wine route… And France as a whole is like that as well. And whether we’re talking about Burgundy, Bordeaux or the Rhône, these days we get a lot of our very favorite French wines fromPolaner Selections. It’s our old pal Alvaro behind the Lions Club Bar, slinging the fresh French your way! Did I mention BREAD,CHEESE and VINYL?

Maison Foucher, Crémant de Loire Brut Cuvée de Roys de Naples NV

Champagne is sparkling wine from Champagne, a sub-region of Burgundy. But there is much other sparkling French wine made in the same way – secondary fermentation occurs in bottle with "Methode Traditionelle" (or Methode Champenoise). These wines are usually known as Crémants, and they’re significantly more affordable. We try to keep a good amount of them in stock and cold. This one, from the Loire, is made from Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, all hand harvested from vineyards located in Montlouis-sur-Loire and Lissault-sur-Loire. Classic dry French bubbles at a reasonable price are what I (and you) need in the fridge – always! $17!

Lucien Muzard et Fils, Santenay Champs Claude Blanc 2016

White Burgundy is one of life’s richest treasures. Usually Chardonnay, from it’s native home in the Cote d’Or, it can be deep and wide, sandy and snappy, long and wild – there are truly a thousand variations and the sooner you start to explore them the better. Start here! This organic offering from Muzard offers a classic – and delicious – example of a more opulent, fleshy style with brassy ochre fruit, serious length, and the steely minerality that only very good Chardonnay can produce, all at an excellent price. Thanks again, Santenay! $36

Antoine Sunier, Régnié 2017

Still our favorite current Cru Beaujolais available, the Antoine Sunier is widely considered the best Regnié available at the moment. There’s not a lot left in the city but we have some. And we don’t know what 2018 will taste like yet so get down here and taste it while you can. Fermented whole-cluster with indigenous yeast and vinified in the classic Burgundian method, there are vibrant fresh red fruit and seriously mineral notes here, with a long finish that’s rare in Beaujolais. Aged 8 months on the lees, unfined and unfiltered, bottled with minimal nsulfur. Maximal deliciousness. $32

Champagne Laherte Frères, Champagne Extra Brut Rosé de Meunier NV

Now just because we might not drink Champagne every day doesn’t mean anyone should ignore Champagne. In an excellent example of how France has led the world in wine, we can safely say that Champagne is fundamental! And we can also say that Laherte Frères kick a$$. This 50% 2012, 50% 2013 Rose de Meunier is a blend of 30% macerated Meunier, 60% white wine (immediately pressed Meunier) and 10% still red Meunier. Still with us? It is simultaneously racy and rich, focused and full, with a long, dry finish. An exciting new wine especially for Meunier lovers. Not sure what a “Meunier” lover is? Come find out! $58

#drinkwine #frenchwine #france #burgundy #chardonnay #beaujolais #gamay #loire #cremant #chenin #champagne #pinotmeunier #meunier #francophile #maisoui #winetasting #greenpoint

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solanachain · 3 years ago

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Coinmeca AMA Recap

BSCDaily.com hosts Coinmeca: The DeFi a hybrid of DEX and CEX with fast and low fees through Solana the high-performance blockchain. BSCdaily – Admin: Hello and welcome, @mecanova How are you today? Polan: Great Polan: Thanks for inviting us. Much excitement to present us to a great community. BSCdaily – Admin: The pleasure is ours. BSCdaily – Admin: Ready to start our…

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revasnaslan · 7 years ago

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Flower Crowns | Ao3 Link

Just a short ficlet I posted over on ao3 a couple of days ago and forgot to crosspost over here <3

Trying to find Thace in the maze the Blade of Marmora called a base was easier said than done. And wherever Thace was, Keith wasn’t usually far off, as the cub had a habit of following his father around like a kara chick following its mother. Ulaz didn’t know where they could have gone. Normally, they were in his and Thace’s room around this time, since it was around dinner. Sometimes, though, they would head down to the Archives or to the obstacle course on the training deck, as Keith loved trying to climb the rock wall. Both places had been devoid of any signs of his bondmate or cub.

And they weren’t in the kitchens. Ulaz had made sure to check there because he had heard there had been a new shipment of polan fruit come in, and Thace had a penchant for snagging one or two for him and Keith on occasion.

The last place he ended up checking was the small garden that was on base. It housed only a couple of specimens, and Ulaz didn’t know when it had been built. However, he could remember Chief Medical Officer Kellun mentioning that being in contact with nature on occasion was supposed to be good for their health. His ears perked as he approached the door to the garden, as it had been left slightly ajar, allowing a sliver of pale purple light to flow through into the dimly lit corridor. He could hear soft voices too, one sounding much older than the other two.

“I made one! I made one!” That was Keith—judging by his tone, he was likely excitedly bouncing up and down on his toes.

“Yes, thank you, kitling… it’s beautiful.” And there was Thace, chuckling softly.

“I made one too!” The third voice belonged to Regris. From outside the door, Ulaz could hear the little cub’s tail lightly swishing in excitement through the grass.

“How lovely,” Thace assured the second cub. “Now, how about you go and collect some more flowers?”

Ulaz lightly shouldered the door open to keep from startling them, and as he entered, he saw Regris rushing over to a large bush which was covered in light blue blossoms on the other side of the garden—a plant called Weblum’s Tongue, if Ulaz wasn’t mistaken. Thace was sitting cross-legged on the ground, wearing two haphazardly made flower crowns—one for each cub—on top of his head. Keith was sitting in Thace’s lap, trying to make another flower crown. The tip of his tongue was sticking out of his mouth as he tried to concentrate.

“Having fun?” Ulaz asked.

Thace’s ears flicked in surprised, turning in Ulaz’s direction before his gaze followed. Keith gasped excitedly, visibly perking up.

“Laz!” Keith said, tumbling out of Thace’s lap and tearing off across the grass. The half-made flower crown was forgotten as Keith latched onto Ulaz’s leg, laughing happily. “We’re making flower crowns!”

“Yes, I can see that,” Ulaz assured him, reaching down to lightly ruffled Keith’s headfur.

“Kitling, how about you go and find more flowers to finish this flower crown,” Thace suggested, lightly patting the half-finished crown that sat on the grass. “So that Laz can have one?”

Keith visibly perked up, bouncing up and down on his toes before he released Ulaz’s leg and bounded over to the other side of the garden where Regris was still picking more flowers.

“I could just take one of yours?” Ulaz pointed out, ears twitching in amusement.

Thace frowned half-heartedly at him. “Keith and Regris made these for me,” he retorted, sounding just a touch amused. “Wait your turn… the boys will make you your own.”

Ulaz chuckled softly, as he settled down in the grass beside Thace. “Alright, I will,” he said as he nudged his nose against Thace’s temple, and earned a delighted purr in return.

#thulaz #thace (voltron)#ulaz (voltron)#dads of marmora #voltron #rev's writing again #*shrug* i had some ficlets that needed finishing

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johnboothus · 4 years ago

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VinePair Podcast: Giving Thanks in a Difficult Year for the Drinks Industry

2020 has been the hardest year in the drinks industry in living memory. The incredible damage that Covid-19 has wrought on bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, and more can’t be overstated — not just putting businesses at risk, but leading to massive unemployment in the service industry and forcing many others to risk their health to keep their jobs. In addition, devastating fires struck most of the West Coast, the U.S. government continued to impose senseless tariffs on many imported wines and spirits, and, in many cases, state and local governments were slow to provide flexible outdoor options for both business owners and consumers alike.

Yet with all that, there are some genuine reasons to be thankful in 2020, and those are what Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe explore on this week’s episode of the VinePair Podcast.

Listen Online

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Or Check out the conversation here

Adam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is a version of the OG VinePair Podcast, because we have no guest hosts today, Zach.

Z: Just you and me, man. Just like back when we were young whippersnappers, trying to plant our flag in this whole podcasting space.

A: I feel like people are gonna be like, “Oh God, I don’t want to just listen to Adam and Zach.”

Z: I mean, that is a lot what a lot of them said back in the day too, to be fair.

A: Hey, so what’s going on, man? I mean, I know we had banter, we also talked drinks. What have you been drinking recently?

Z: Well, my favorite fun story lately was I got an email from my mother, who I do see on occasion. She takes care of my son once a week, and she comes down here and usually has dinner with us. And she emailed me and basically said, “Oh, a friend of mine was telling me about this thing called ‘orange wine.’ Do you know anything about this? Or can you tell me a little about it?”And I was like, “well, yeah. And if you’re interested, I have some, we can try one when you’re down here.” So, she was down here last night for dinner and she tried her first orange wine, which was from a producer here in Washington called Two Vintners, and it’s an orange wine made from Gewürztraminer that I quite like, actually. And, I wasn’t sure what to expect but, yeah, Mom was into it, which was cool. She wasn’t like “buy me a case,” but she was like, “I would drink it again” which is great. So yeah, that was kind of fun. And, I don’t get the opportunity to pour something new for people ever anymore ’cause you know, here I am locked in my house. But once in a while, I get that opportunity, at least with my mom, and occasionally my wife, but my wife has definitely tried more wine in her life than my mom has. How about you?

A: So I had a really cool — have we run the Popina interview yet?

Z: We have not, that’ll be out for those of you listening to this on Monday, it’ll be out Wednesday and it’s very fun.

A: Yeah. So, I interviewed James O’Brien, who owns Popina, which is a great restaurant in Brooklyn. So he basically has like the tiniest indoor space, like it’s very small. And then in New York before Covid times you would call it cozy and you’d love it, because you’d basically have to make sure the other table knew you were getting up and you were going to squeeze by their’s and maybe your butt would like bump their glass or plate, but you loved it. Right? But then he has this massive outdoor space. I mean, so big that it’s crazy. I’m like, “This exists in Brooklyn?” It’s just a huge backyard. He used to have a bocce court back there now there’s tables on the bocce court and then like a driveway. And so I interviewed him just about what’s going on for him. And then he invited me to come by on Friday of last week and have a glass of wine. And so I went with him and then a friend of mine, Dave, who I’ve actually also interviewed on the podcast who owns Lalou in Brooklyn, as well. And it’s funny, I got to try a wine that you and I have talked about before, but I’ve actually never had before. So there’s a wine that I think we’ve chatted about, Zach, that has blown up in New York. That doesn’t seem to have really expanded much outside of New York, but in New York, it’s like a very hard Barolo to get. And it’s Roagna Pajé, so sorry if I butchered that, and in the city it sells for $150 to $200 a bottle easily, and it’s very heavily allocated. I think it’s either brought in by Polaner or Skurnik, one of the two. And it’s just very prized by somms here. And I’d never had it before. And because, sadly, there’s been restaurants that have closed, some of these wines that were allocated are now easier to find again. And so, James had a few bottles and I just was mentioning that I’d never had it before, because the way he’s now doing his whole restaurant is obviously a counter service. And you can see all the wines on these beautiful racks, across the counter. And I saw it, I was like, I’ve never had that before. And he’s like, well, do you want to pop it? And so we did. And it was a really delicious Barbaresco. I thought it was great. I’ve had other really amazing wines from other Barbaresco and Barolo producers that I think are as good, if not better. But I did think it was a really beautiful bottle of wine and so then I just tried to chat with them about why it has become “the thing.” And it just seems to have become the thing in the way that a lot of things become a thing. Right? Initially this was a producer that obviously is, I think they’re organic and biodynamic, but about 10, 12 years ago, they were more affordable on the market. And so a lot of somms are discovering this one, ‘cause it was a producer they could afford. And then everyone in New York got more and more excited about it, and it became “a thing” because everyone was drinking it. And so then it became more and more allocated and that’s what drove the price up. But there wasn’t a random piece of press that came out about it or a big collector that had a huge collection of it. Again, it was a bunch of people in the industry in New York who got so excited about it that everyone just started buying it. And so it got more and more and more expensive. And originally they were just excited about it because they were originally able to like sell a glass of, I think he was saying their Dolcetto, which is delicious, for $8 a glass. And that’s how people got into the producer, and then it drove from there. And I think that’s really interesting how that can happen in wine markets. Beer markets, too, spirits, too, but especially in these little pockets ‘cause I remember when I was talking to you about it when we were in Italy and you were like, “What producer?” And you know Italian wine. So it was very funny. And that happened to me, too, with a well-known somm from D.C. I said the same thing and I’m like, “Wow, we’re only four hours from you.” And it just proves it. Yeah. It’s just like a weird phenomenon here in New York that has always been funny, but it was fun to try it. And I’m glad that I had the opportunity to. So this is coming out right before Thanksgiving. We thought we’d take the time to have an episode about what we’re thankful for this year. And I know that it feels like for most of us, there’s not a lot to be thankful for. This has been a really insane year. Probably one of the most insane years of most of our lives. Not to discount anything that anyone might’ve gone through personally, that probably could have been just as hard if not harder than this year. But this has been a year of collective hardship for everyone around the world, but there are still some things to be thankful for. And so Zach, I thought I’d kick it off to you first to just ask what are some things that you’ve thought about as we’ve reflected on this episode that you’ve been thankful for this year?

Z: Yeah, well, it’s actually interesting. One of the things that was on my list, and it’s such a natural transition from what you were just talking about is that one thing that I think has really been nice in a sense as a side effect or silver lining of Covid, and unfortunately all the harm that it caused the restaurant and bar industry, is that it has reset the wine allocation market. And I think that we’ve talked about this a little bit in past episodes and at least in passing about one of the real unfortunate elements of the way that wine wholesaling tends to work in this country is that there is a lot of wine that you would think that as a restaurant or as a bar, or even as a retail shop that you’re willing to pay whatever the wholesaler wants for it, but because you don’t have a long track record of buying it, or you haven’t been around for a while, or your sales rep isn’t super well connected, or who knows what — you have a really hard time getting those wines. And it can be a long process to work your way onto those lists. And you know, that isn’t a thing that’s unique to wine or unique to the wholesale business. Obviously there are certainly wine clubs out there that if you as a consumer want to join, you might have to wait on the list for years for but I think that one thing that’s been kind of nice, as I think you’re seeing, some distributors and the importers start to reconsider whether a model where these wines that are considered “some of the prize gems” in their collection, does it really do them good in the long run? Does it do the producer good? Does it do the importer and distributor good to have those wines keep going through the same few accounts over and over again? And that in the end, if you’re an importer, producer, or distributor who wants to both get more people drinking your wine and frankly, eventually be able to sell it for more. It actually probably behooves you to have it a few more places. And I think that you’re going to see, even as we move back to a slightly more normal restaurant and bar situation, whatever that looks like in 2021, or whatever. I do think that I will be curious to see and I suspect that a lot of these wines that were so difficult to get are — for one, there’s going to be just more of them out there because people aren’t going to have as much capital to invest in very high-end wines. But also, I really do think people are going to say, you know what, maybe it is better for us if we have a little bit more presence in various different restaurants, instead of only high-end retail shops, instead of only selling to a few because they’re the longstanding partners.

A: Yeah, man, I agree with you. I think that’s something that I’ve been thankful for as well as there have been just a lot of really cool wines that I’ve now been able to get at places close to me that they’ve all told me they never would have been able to have before. And that’s been great. And I get the allocation market. I get why it exists. There’s just producers that don’t produce a lot of stuff, but it’s cool right now to see that there’s people who are getting that access to wines that they might not normally have been able to have access to because they’re not the friends of the person normally selling the wine or whatever. And so they don’t get first dibs. So that’s been great. I’m really thankful for the fact that I think a lot of us have rediscovered how pleasurable it is to make cocktails at home. I think I have really challenged myself and watched my friends challenge themselves as well, to make really delicious drinks in the comfort of their own home. I discovered the Daiquiri this year. I mean, it’s always been a drink that I liked, but never thought enough to make often. And in the summer, I think we talked about it, I made it every Friday evening. I discovered why you should alway have a bottle of simple syrup in your fridge. I challenged myself, making really interesting whiskey cocktails and things I wouldn’t normally make and looked up recipes from bars I used to love. And I think that that experimentation has made me actually a stronger appreciator of cocktails when I go out, because I actually understand what’s going into the drinks more. And I understand the craft that it takes to make really high-quality drinks, but it’s also made me really enjoy being home and whipping something up as well. That has been a really nice thing and an excuse. ‘Cause I don’t think I would ever have delved as deeply into making cocktails at home as I have had we not been in quarantine for the months we’ve been in quarantine.

Z: Yeah. And I think that in general, cocktails are the biggest example, I think for sure, but in some ways I think one of the things I’ve been thankful for this year is like just remembering how nice it can be to just have a drink at home, period. Whether that’s a cocktail, glass of wine, a beer, whatever. There are things I love about going out and I miss desperately, but because it’s been all that most of us have had, or the main thing that most of us have had, I have had to remember, yeah, it can be really nice to not have the stress and pressure that goes with being out and even something as simple, which is probably not as big a consideration for you as it is for me in Seattle, but yeah it’s nice to be able to have that third drink and be like, I literally just have to walk up a flight of stairs. I don’t have to do any more to get home. I wonder, I’m curious about this, Adam, do you sense that for you or maybe for people more broadly, that when hopefully we move — whether there’s a more widespread vaccine distribution or whatever in the six to 12 months down the road — do you anticipate being more willing to entertain and have cocktail parties? Is this newfound knowledge or at least expanded knowledge and comfort gonna translate into sharing with people? ‘Cause to me, that’s the one thing that I do miss, really, is being able to have drinks with people besides my immediate family.

A: So, yeah, I think that the first time I get to entertain, I’m probably going to go crazy. We have one friend who’s in our pod. She lives alone and is really close friends with Naomi and I, she’s been coming over, and even when she comes over, like every other week and she’ll stay over for the night in our spare bedroom, I go crazy. ‘Cause it’s another person, and I get to entertain. I think I will do that to like the thousandth degree. And I definitely think I will be more likely than I used to, to have a cocktail when people arrive. Like I used to always be like, “Oh, I’m already cooking and stuff.” And you know what I mean? When Naomi and I are busy getting ready we would have people over for dinner and say “Oh, here’s a bottle of bubbly,” and don’t get me wrong. I love a bottle of bubbly, but now I feel like I’ve gotten really good at making cocktails, I want to show that off. Right? So it’s like, I’ll have cocktails ready to go, which is super fun and exciting and something that I didn’t used to do that often. But I think I’m really thankful for, and I think we’re talking about entertaining, but the perspective that this has given. And I’ve seen you on Instagram doing this as well, and I love that we’ve realized that we just need to open shit that we think is delicious. There used to be so many bottles of wine that I had gotten and I’d been saving, and these past nine months, I’ve just opened so many of those, and it’s been awesome. And I’ve always thought, “Why was I saving this?” Like, this made Friday night even better. And so Saturday night, Naomi and I are obviously having another night in, but someone, a good friend of ours, sent me some truffles. And so I’m just going to make fresh pasta with butter and open one of these really amazing bottles of Nebbiolo I have. And, it’s Cigliuti, one of my favorite producers. I’m going to open her Barbaresco. And I’m really excited about it. And I think, again, that was a bottle of wine that I would’ve saved for a dinner party probably, and I’m like, no, no. The best thing is to make fresh pasta with butter and truffles and eat it with Naomi. Like, why would I not want to do that? You know? So I think those are things that we’ve all kind of realized we should be doing more of and has been something to reconnect with in all of this.

Z: I’m going to switch gears a little bit and talk about something else that I’ve been really pleased by, which is that you’re and it’s again by necessity, not necessarily by choice, but I think we’re seeing a really interesting shift among craft brewers to really canning and bottling almost all of their production. And I say this as someone who lives around a lot of craft breweries, one of the downsides for me about that in the last couple of years is that with a young kid, pre-Covid, we would sometimes go hang out at a brewery and have a beer or two, but like, he’s not super happy to do that and wants to be entertained. And I don’t want to ruin other people’s experience if they’re not out with kids, which is a challenging thing. But the problem is with a lot of these breweries, yeah, you can buy a bottle or a 6-pack or 4-pack or whatever of some of their core beers, but most of the things that they’re doing that are really interesting were only on draft. And I totally get why. For one, in many of these cases, the beer itself is maybe slightly better when it comes off draft, as opposed to out of a can or a bottle. And I also understand that the margin is much better on a draft beer and they don’t have to pay for canning and all that. But I will say, selfishly, as someone who does most of his drinking as previously mentioned at home, and we’ll probably be doing that even when Covid is not as big a concern, I really love being able to go get really cool, interesting beers from breweries around me and there’s more than ever before, from breweries all over the place in distribution now. And I think that’s hopefully something that persists. I get it, I won’t fault breweries for returning to the previous model of saving a lot of their special beers for taproom-only, draft-only release, but I really hope that there’s a recognition that they’re missing certain bits of their potential customer base, who just can’t go to a brewery all the time. You know, they just don’t have that ability for whatever set of reasons.

A: I agree, man, that’s been super cool. I think we’ve talked about this before, but all of a sudden, the grocery store two or three blocks away from me, that’s not a Whole Foods and not a Trader Joe’s, it’s one of these corner grocery stores, one of these local chains that we have in New York. It’s not an Associated, but it’s kind of an Associated for those of you that are New Yorkers that also kind of get what I’m going with. And all of a sudden their beer selection has just gotten way better. And they have Threes, and KCBC and all these really great beers, and they are beers that, you’re right, I wouldn’t have been able to get unless I’d gone to the brewery. And now they’re there, and it’s cool. And I also, a lot of breweries have started really getting heavily into delivery and that’s also been awesome. So I’ve been able to do cool beer deliveries from places like Torch and Crown, and there’s so many. I want to say KCBC again, ‘cause that’s what I just did recently. But, all these really great breweries in New York City, Other Half, that you just normally wouldn’t have been able to do, you would have had to go to the brewery to get them, and I think delivery has been dope for that, and for cocktails, to be honest. There’s been really cool cocktail bars that have done really great delivery menus that have really added to my weekends, you know? So those are things that I’ve been really, really excited about as we’ve continued to watch people innovate. I think that’s my overall thing I’m thankful for, is that the restaurant and bar world never fail to disappoint when it comes to innovation. It’s always pushing forward. And that’s what I think makes this industry so exciting to you, me, and everyone that listens, is that it’s an industry that’s never stagnant. There’s always people trying to do new things. Always people who are pushing the envelope and even in Covid-19, when and I know we talk about this every week, but it’s true: Please write your congresspeople. Even when Congress has failed to provide restaurant relief, the people who work in these businesses are still pushing forward, and they are still trying to figure out how to have the most amazing experiences for their guests outside. They’re trying to figure out what menus look like. They’re changing their models. They are creating incredible cocktails that you can take to-go. They are figuring out how to turn their restaurants into hybrid wine shops, they’re creating to-go cocktail bars on wheels, like we talked about the company in L.A. that created an ice cream truck that was also a cocktail bar. Like people were just doing the most amazing things. It just proves that there’s a special kind of person that goes into this industry and cannot be held down by anything, even when the government is not wanting to support them at all, which, what the f*** is happening. So that to me has been really awesome to watch, and to watch how much the industry is supporting each other. We talked about it in one of these other interviews that I did recently. I think it was with Ruffian or Popina, there’s just not the competition. Everyone just wants to help each other succeed. And everyone’s really sad when they see something go out and I think that’s just awesome. And it proves that there’s just a special kind of individual that goes into the world of restaurants and bars. And I think it’s great that the other side of the business, the producers, have been supportive. I would encourage the producers to be more supportive. This is not me on my soapbox, but I’m seeing a lot of restaurant people who were very vocal when they were trying to help a lot of the producers stop the tariffs. And were trying to help a lot of the producers make sure that the prices were the way that they should be. I’m not seeing as many producers, to be very honest, being as vocal on social media and things like that in helping the restaurants and pushing Congress to pass relief. And I understand that’s because a lot of producers are making a lot of money right now because your channels just change to off-premise, but it’d be great to see that same kind of support that the industry gives when there’s wildfires and things like that for the producers, that the producers give the restaurant industry. I’m not saying it’s all producers, let’s be clear, but I do think that there should be a much louder voice than people like Bobby Stuckey always on Instagram and Twitter and whatever, reminding people to constantly call their congresspeople and elected officials and say, look, like we gotta help the restaurant industry because if we don’t, we’re going to be screwed come January. And this has got to happen before then. So, I’m thankful for the amazing camaraderie and resilience the restaurant business has, and the people, and I’m a little disappointed in some of the other stuff.

Z: Well, we’ll try and keep things on the positive note. I think actually to that effect, a thing that as someone who spent a long time working in restaurants, I have felt a lot during this year is that one, I think it’s a positive thing for me is that the “reality” of the restaurant industry is being examined and explored in a way that it just had not previously. And that’s in part about just the financial realities of the industry and how precarious it is, even in good times, and how unsustainable in some ways a lot of the things that we took for granted pre-Covid were. It also goes to some really, really painful and hard conversations about representation, and frankly, discrimination, and abuse and all these things in the industry. And again, these things coming to light are painful, for sure. They’re painful for most of all the people who have suffered in these situations, but also for people who generally love the industry and love things about it. It’s never fun to have this stuff come to light, but it’s so essential to moving forward as an industry, moving forward as a broader conversation about drinks and their place in society. And so I do think that one of the great things, in addition to all the innovation you talked about, Adam, with service and delivery and even how drinks are made and designed, and all that, there’s also been some real incredible forums created, conversations started around inclusion and equality and fairness in these industries. And there’s a long way to go. I don’t mean to say we have arrived, but 2020 feels like a year that we will remember for a lot of reasons. And I hope that this is one of them.

A: I agree. I completely agree. I feel like there’s a lot to be thankful for, to be honest. There has been some really good stuff that’s happened this year in a year that has been also really shitty. And these are just a few of them. But I don’t want to have an hour of us rallying off all things we are thankful for. I think we could. But I think these are a good amount of things that we feel really good about and that we think are things that will continue to persist moving forward. I just think we have to have perspective and support each other and continue to enjoy the things we’re enjoying and don’t be precious about those bottles that you’ve been holding. And if you’ve got a beer or a Bourbon County Stout, pop it now, and just enjoy yourself.

Z: Yeah. And let us know what you’re thankful for. We would love to hear. Is it these things? Is it other things? Is it this podcast? That would be delightful.

A: We’ll just give ourselves a little compliment there.

Z: I mean, you know, gotta kind of look out for the home team on occasion.

A: Yeah. As always, shoot us an email at [email protected], and let us know what you’re thankful for. We’d love to hear it. And we’ll read some of those off on a future episode, ‘cause it’d be great to share with everyone who’s been listening to the podcast since Covid, pre-Covid, et cetera to know what you’ve been thankful for this year as we continue to push forward as a beverage industry. Zach, you’ll be here next week. We’ll be talking about Bubbly Week, which is one of my favorite weeks of the year. And for everyone else, thanks for listening. We’ll see you back next week.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair Podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits, VinePair produced by myself and Zach. It is also mixed and edited by him. Yeah, Zach, we know you do a lot. I’d also like to thank the entire VinePair team, including my co-founder, Josh, and our associate editor, Cat. Thanks so much for listening. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: Giving Thanks in a Difficult Year for the Drinks Industry appeared first on VinePair.

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years ago

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Giving Thanks in a Difficult Year for the Drinks Industry