#a game of ninepins

[dubiousdoctors]

'whatever it is, it's all in your head' yes darn right it's in my head that's where the illness lives

[swaps55]

Mass Effect Vanguard Guide

Other Guides: Guide to Basic Infiltrating | Shield Gate and YOU | Adept Guide | Sentinel Guide | Soldier Guide |

First and foremost, this is exactly what it says: a guide. It is not the right way to play this class; it is a way that I have found very effective after well over a thousand hours spent running different builds and different classes in campaign and ME3 Multiplayer. If you build it differently and like your style better, great! If you are having fun, you’re doing it right.

But if you are struggling at all with the Vanguard class or don’t click with it, this guide might help you. The build, loadout, and strategy are designed with higher difficulties in mind. This kit can easily make quick work of insanity and is a lot of fun if you enjoy using your face as a weapon.

THE BUILD

Shepard has 8 skill trees + a Bonus Power. At Rank 60, you can max out 8 skills and have enough points leftover to take the 9th to level 4. For this build, I recommend only taking Cryo Ammo to rank 4 (or skipping it entirely), and maxing everything else. 

Prioritize Charge, Nova, Incendiary Ammo, Assault Mastery, and probably a few points in Fitness here and there.  

Breakdown under the cut! 

Incendiary Ammo: Incendiary ammo might be one of the most brokenly overpowered skills in the game. The explosive evolution adds a flat damage value vs. a percentage on every other shot, which is insane. On rapid fire weapons that do less damage per shot, like the Tempest or the Typhoon, you're basically doubling the amount of damage you're doing. Add the area of effect you get with the explosion? You're now inflicting this chaos on anyone else who’s nearby. Are you using a piercing mod (the answer should be yes)? You now have a shot at another roll for another explosion, because the damage call can pass through the armored target and torment the cannon fodder behind it. A piercing mod reduces the damage on your bullet, but not the explosion. This is super insane on shotguns, because you get a shot at the extra damage roll per pellet, not per shot. Shotgun blasts have multiple pellets per shot.

Have I mentioned that this is affected by increases in power damage? So any power damage increases you take in Assault Mastery make incendiary ammo better.

Rank 4 – Damage. To hell with your squad. I mean, your squad is amazing. But trust me, you want to be selfish with incendiary ammo. You can do so much more with it than your squad can.

Rank 5 – Are you handy with headshots? Take Headshot damage. Would you rather have more ammo capacity? Take Ammo Capacity. Whatever makes you happy.

Rank 6 – Explosive Burst. Always take explosive burst. There is no universe in which you want anything other than explosive burst.

Cryo Ammo: This is your dump stat. I don’t even put my leftover points in cryo ammo, because the circumstances in which you would choose cryo ammo over incendiary ammo do not exist, if you are going for maximizing damage. Cryo ammo is really nothing more than a debuff, and you know what’s better than a debuff? Killing it. Now, if you just want to snicker at enemies with a health bar freezing solid and toppling over, that’s different. 😊 But when it comes to higher difficulties, cryo ammo just doesn’t stand up to the effectiveness of other ammo powers.  

Pull: Pull doesn’t provide nearly as much benefit as your other skills, so I suggest speccing into it last. It can, however, be a fun way to toy with mooks if you’re bored of scattering them like ninepins, and offer an alternative for dealing with Guardians if emptying a shotgun full of fire into their mail slot doesn’t quite do it for you. Pull will also prime biotic explosions. It’s not elegant, but you can do it.

Rank 4: Duration vs. Radius: I go for Radius, because as a Vanguard nothing stays alive long enough for duration to matter. But if you are having trouble with timing to get biotic explosions, you can choose Duration here.

Rank 5: Lift Damage vs. Expose: Go for Expose, which increases all damage to the target, including biotic detonations. Again, things don’t stay alive long enough for lift damage to do much for you.  

Rank 6: Recharge Speed vs. Double Pull. DOUBLE PULL. Why would you choose one pull when you can have two? This skill already has one of the fastest recharge speeds in the game, so choosing recharge speed doesn’t gain you anything.

Biotic Charge: Biotic charge, of course, is the signature skill of the vanguard, and while there are plenty of playstyles you can use that don’t hinge on charge…why would you? Charge is stupidly fun. You can be reckless, silly, and stupid, and no one can stop you. You’ll make so many things explode you can hear colors. There isn’t a problem your face can’t solve, unless the problem is on a platform out of bounds.

Charge is also a detonator power, which means you can set up biotic explosions by painting a target with warp, reave, dark channel, and even pull, and then slamming your face into it. Charge will also create a fire explosion when you ram your face into something that’s on fire from incinerate or….incendiary ammo. Hey, who has incendiary ammo and can make their own fire explosions? VANGUARDS. 

Rank 4: Force & Damage vs. Radius. Dealer’s choice. Do you want to smash for face against one thing with all the force? Or smash your face against all the things with less force? ME3 tends to emphasize cannon fodder over high tier enemies, so if you’re a little shy about running straight into the arms of a banshee and prefer to use yourself as a bowling ball into a pile of husks, go for radius. Otherwise, go for damage.

Rank 5: Weapon Synergy vs. Power Synergy. For most playstyles, power synergy is what you want here, especially if you like to spam Nova, as power synergy makes your nova hit harder. However, if you prefer to charge into something and then stick your shotgun down its throat to set it on fire with fire bullets, take weapon synergy.

Rank 6: Bonus Power vs. Barrier: I recommend barrier here, because the number one problem vanguards have is not giving a fuck, and having charge give you your shields back when not giving a fuck lands you in a sticky situation will generally save your life. Also, the cooldowns on this kit are so fast you really don’t benefit that much from randomly getting a free one to justify giving up those shields you really need because nova.

Shockwave: Shockwave is another detonator for biotic explosions, and it’s a handy mid-range attack when you’re stuck in cover or don’t want ravager goo all over your face.

Rank 4: Force & Damage vs. Radius: Shockwave’s biggest weakness is its short reach, so I choose radius here. NOTE: In the Original Trilogy, this skill is bugged on PC. Choosing radius actually causes this skill to do ZERO damage. So if you are playing OT on PC, choose Force. This bug appeared to be fixed in LE when I tested it.

Rank 5: Detonate vs. Reach: While reach would be great, because again, range is this skill’s biggest shortcoming, detonating combos is what makes shockwave so good. I recommend detonate, unless you find yourself not using it for explosions.

Rank 6: Recharge vs. Lifting Shockwave: Either one will work here, really. Lifted shockwave is cute, and can help you set up explosions, so I tend to choose it.

Nova: The companion skill to Charge! A lot of people are afraid of Nova because it depletes your shields. But I encourage you to practice with it, because if you get comfortable with the pattern of charge + nova + shoot it on fire until it’s dead, there isn’t much of anything a vanguard can’t handle.

Yes, even banshees.

Rank 4:  Force and Damage vs. Radius: You can choose either here, though I will give the lean towards force and damage. If something manages to evade the radius, stick a fire shotgun down their throat to make them think about what they’ve done.

Rank 5: Power Recharge vs. Half Blast: I recommend power recharge here, because decreasing the effectiveness of nova means it dies slower, and Power Recharge speed increases your recharge speed by 25% across the board for 15 seconds. That means CHARGE recharges faster. Which means you can lock yourself in a continuous loop of faster recharge by charging and nova-ing until everything is dead. Remember, this kit does not have a grenade power because SHEPARD is the grenade. Realize your full potential and blow everything up.  

Rank 6: Pierce vs. Sustain: Don’t be tempted by Sustain, and the allure of sometimes not using up your barrier. Choose Pierce. Not only does this make you more effective vs. Armor and Barriers, but also shields, which is something biotics aren’t great at. If you feel naked without your shields, remember you have a FIRE GUN that can protect you until Charge is primed and ready to give you your shields back, and Rank 5 means that recharge is faster.

Assault Mastery: Here’s where things get stupid. Assault Mastery makes all your badass shit even more badass.

Rank 4: Damage vs. Influence & Force: I understand that the Influence bonus is really attractive here, but we’re focusing a build that services combat, not story, and Damage brings you to a 20% power bonus vs. the 10% if you choose I&F. Remember, power damage not only affects your biotic powers, but also your ammo power. Remember how stupid Incendiary Ammo is? This makes it stupider.

Rank 5: Squad Bonus vs. Weight Capacity: Be selfish. Your squad is great, but Shepard is a god, and do you know how your make gods even more badass? Let them bring heavier guns.

Rank 6: Shotgun Damage vs. Power Intensity: Even if you primarily use a shotgun and don’t rely heavily on powers, the 20% power damage bonus from Power Intensity is better, because it also applies to Incendiary Ammo. And it gives you the freedom to use other guns if you want to.

Fitness: Let’s make this short and sweet: As a vanguard, you are not punching things with your fists, you are punching things with your face, so for ranks 4, 5, & 6, go Durability, Barrier Recharge, and Durability.

Bonus Power: I recommend any biotic power that sets up combos, since setting up combos is what Vanguards are not great at. Between Reave and Dark Channel, I prefer reave, because you can paint multiple targets, it staggers the target, it stacks, and it gives you damage reduction. I do NOT recommend Flare. While it is a really cool power, it has a painfully slow recharge speed, and vanguards need to move fast.

Reave:

Rank 4: Duration vs. Radius: I choose radius, to paint more targets. It’s not gonna live long enough for duration to matter.

Rank 5: Damage Reduction vs. Recharge Speed: The recharge speed is a little painful, so if you aren’t having trouble staying alive, you can choose it. If you’re dying, damage reduction will help.

Barriers & Armor vs. Damage & Duration: You can go either way here, but I prefer Barriers & Armor, because you can fire a reave at a banshee and then ignore her while you go bowling with the cannon fodder. When all your toys are dead, you can then ram your face into the banshee so she explodes.     

The Weapons

The weight capacity bonus you can get from Assault Mastery means Shepard can be this powerful and carry some REALLY good guns. I recommend weapons with a high rate of fire to take advantage of Incendiary Ammo. Shotguns are the obvious choice, but any weapon with a high rate of fire that keeps you close to or at a 200% cooldown is good.

My favorites are the Piranha and the Hurricane, the latter of which can take advantage of a power mag bonus. But since you are already giving up a valuable mod slot for the power mag, if you need a stabilizer to use it comfortably, I’d recommend going with something else. The Talon is a good choice because it is lightweight, fires quickly enough, and it has a damage bonus to shields and barriers. Basically, it’s a pocket shotgun. The Reegar is a weapon that can be REALLY dumb, since it melts shields, and it benefits from a piercing mod, but its drawback is that it is very short range on a class that already struggles at range. If you want to use it, I suggest the piercing and thermal clip mods.

Speaking of the range issue. I have two words for you: The Indra.

The Indra is an automatic sniper rifle, one of the absolute best weapons in the game, and Shepard can carry it and STILL HAVE A 200% COOLDOWN. Also? It costs 10k credits on the Citadel at the beginning of the game. Is it counterintuitive to carry a sniper rifle on a Vanguard? Yup. Is it immersion breaking? Possibly. But remember, this is a combat guide, not a story guide. Put the Indra on Shepard with Incendiary Ammo, and congrats! You are now invincible.

How to Play

Vanguard is a high risk/high reward class. It’s designed to play fast and at close range, so if you are trying to play it like an adept, you might not get good results. Get comfortable playing with your shields down (you’ll get them back with the next charge), don’t be stingy with medigel, and don’t fret too much about top tier enemies like phantoms and banshees. You might occasionally get sync killed, but truthfully, your damage output is so high you can often stagger them out of their murderous intent. Even turrets can’t stand up to this kit:

Turn on incendiary ammo the moment you load into a mission and leave it on. I suggest mapping charge, nova, and reave (if it’s your bonus power) to the hotkeys so you don’t have to use the power wheel for each, and make it a muscle memory. Charge everything. Nova with impunity. Shoot everything that isn’t dead until they’re on so much fire they wish they were. Use the power wheel to pause the game and get your bearings or figure out what’s shooting you. Use your squadmates to either strip shields or set up biotic explosions. Use and abuse combat roll to get out of trouble if charge is on cooldown. If you’re about to die, charge first, then medigel. Reload canceling is your friend. (If you are not familiar with reload canceling, I plan to make a post about it.)

A vanguard should rarely stop moving, except for the occasional stint behind cover to regroup, reload your gun, or set up an explosion. If you stop charging, you’ll probably die.

This class is a hell of a lot of fun if you let it off the chain and go hog wild. Don’t be afraid to die. Taking the risk – even if it doesn’t pay off all the time – helps you get comfortable with the batshit playstyle if it’s not something you’re used to.

I love all the Mass Effect classes, but this one is my favorite because this is how I really love to play the game. I hope this guide helps!  

[classiqals]

open starter !!

setting -> the main covered courtyard

" what, are YOU going to be courageous enough to put challenge to my record score? " the prince's lips pulled back nonchalantly, an eyebrow quirking up poised over a brow, and a glimmer in oceanic eyes as he regarded the other. a game had been set up of ninepins, parchment with script marking down those who had played, succeed; and those who had failed. " alright, here, give it a shot. " with that, ruby handed over the rolling ball, taking a step back with curious eyes, and crossed arms, hoping to yet secure his place as victor in the playful championship. " let us make things more interesting - shall we? best me in a round, and i'll put you up 10 rupees. "

[burningvelvet]

On June 23rd, 1816, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron got a boat together and set out on a sailing trip around Lake Geneva while sightseeing and reading Rousseau’s famous novel Julie, which takes place there. Percy chronicles this in his and Mary’s joint publication (her first publication), History of a Six Weeks’ Tour. They don’t name-drop Byron for privacy, but call him their “companion.”

Day 1, June 23rd, 1816 —

Percy Shelley, History of a Six Weeks' Tour:

“It is nearly a fortnight since I have returned from Vevai. This journey has been on every account delightful, but most especially, because then I first knew the divine beauty of Rousseau's imagination, as it exhibits itself in Julie. It is inconceivable what an enchantment the scene itself lends to those delineations, from which its own most touching charm arises. But I will give you an abstract of our voyage, which lasted eight days, and if you have a map of Switzerland, you can follow me.

We left Montalegre at half past two on the 23d of June. The lake was calm, and after three hours of rowing we arrived at Hermance, a beautiful little village, containing a ruined tower, built, the villagers say, by Julius Cæsar. There were three other towers similar to it, which the Genevese destroyed for their own fortifications in 1560. We got into the tower by a kind of window. The walls are immensely solid, and the stone of which it is built so hard, that it yet retained the mark of chisels. The boatmen said, that this tower was once three times higher than it is now. There are two staircases in the thickness of the walls, one of which is entirely demolished, and the other half ruined, and only accessible by a ladder. The town itself, now an inconsiderable village inhabited by a few fishermen, was built by a Queen of Burgundy, and reduced to its present state by the inhabitants of Berne, who burnt and ravaged every thing they could find.

Leaving Hermance, we arrived at sunset at the village of Nerni. After looking at our lodgings, which were gloomy and dirty, we walked out by the side of the lake. It was beautiful to see the vast expanse of these purple and misty waters broken by the craggy islets near to its slant and ‘beached margin.’ There were many fish sporting in the lake, and multitudes were collected close to the rocks to catch the flies which inhabited them.

On returning to the village, we sat on a wall beside the lake, looking at some children who were playing at a game like ninepins. The children here appeared in an extraordinary way deformed and diseased. Most of them were crooked, and with enlarged throats; but one little boy had such exquisite grace in his mien and motions, as I never before saw equalled in a child. His countenance was beautiful for the expression with which it overflowed. There was a mixture of pride and gentleness in his eyes and lips, the indications of sensibility, which his education will probably pervert to misery or seduce to crime; but there was more of gentleness than of pride, and it seemed that the pride was tamed from its original wildness by the habitual exercise of milder feelings. My companion gave him a piece of money, which he took without speaking, with a sweet smile of easy thankfulness, and then with an unembarrassed air turned to his play. All this might scarcely be; but the imagination surely could not forbear to breathe into the most inanimate forms some likeness of its own visions, on such a serene and glowing evening, in this remote and romantic village, beside the calm lake that bore us hither.

On returning to our inn, we found that the servant had arranged our rooms, and deprived them of the greater portion of their former disconsolate appearance. They reminded my companion of Greece: it was five years, he said, since he had slept in such beds. The influence of the recollections excited by this circumstance on our conversation gradually faded, and I retired to rest with no unpleasant sensations, thinking of our journey tomorrow, and of the pleasure of recounting the little adventures of it when we return.”

UPDATE: I took my dates from Shelley, but his dates must have been confused and Byron's must be more accurate. Because I'd been confused by Byron's dates in the past, since he often wrote past midnight (thus often referring his prior day as "today"), I had assumed Shelley was more trustworthy. According to Shelley and His Circle vol. 4 pp. 700-701, they left on June 22nd which was a Saturday, and so I believe each day of their trip would be one earlier than I and Shelley stated in these posts.

Taken from Shelley and His Circle:

"TIMETABLE OF THE LAKE GENEVA TOUR

June 22, Saturday: Sailed from Montalègre, slept at Nernier.

June 23, Sunday: Sailed from Nernier, slept at Evian.

June 24, Monday: Sailed from Evian, encountered storm off Meillerie, slept at St. Gingolph.

June 25, Tuesday: Sailed from St. Gingolph, saw the mouths of the Rhone, visited Chillon Castle, landed at Clarens, visited bosquet de Julie, slept at Mme. Pauly's house (Place Gambetta) at Clarens.

June 26, Wednesday: Visited Le Châtelard, and the bosquet de Julie, sailed from Clarens, visited Vevey, slept at the Hotel de l'Ancre at Ouchy.

June 27, Thursday: Visited Gibbon's house at Lausanne, slept at Ouchy.

June 28, Friday: Remained at Ouchy.

June 29, Saturday: Sailed from Ouchy, slept at [?Rolle].

June 30, Sunday: Sailed from [?Rolle], arrived at Montalègre."

[art-bigotti]

“Are you sure this is legal?” (to Alan from Rev Gilbert)

Alan gave a nervous chuckle, grinning that grin that only a man who was lying through his teeth could grin. "Of course it's - would I mislead you, Reverend? It's a nice, pleasant game of Ninepin, and all you do is just... pay a little fee. And if you win, you get your fee back, times however many people you participated against. Doesn't that sound perfectly legal?"

[degloved]

18, 20, 22, 24 <3

thank you for sending these on your own volition bc i definitely didn't ask you to. or anything. (+ you think you're being slick with the numbers but i see you with my own two eyes)

this one goes under 'read more' it's kinda long ngl.

18. what was the hardest fic to title?

ok so that's an interesting question and i've got two candidates. they were both drabble reqs (checks out, as those had me stepping far out of my comfort zone a lot as far as ships went. also i'm still taking them btw.) one is 500 and the other 1500 words respectively, so i'll give this honor to the longer of the two: falling like ninepins, the hoffheight fic. it's a cute little number, though i stressed over it a fair bit.

20. share your favorite ending line

believe it or not, this was a little challenging! mostly because i love ending things on short, choppy, punchy notes. two-to-four-line sentences that both satiate my penchant for dramatics and wrap everything up neatly and abruptly. that said, one work stood out to me. a short little thing i put together during an emotional mandy moment. the line is as follows: They buried Amanda Young at the Hoffman family plot. Wasn’t that nice?

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

picking up rocks off the ground and chewing them and swallowing. i've been waiting for this moment. chapter five of blood, drying: ruby. “You know, Dr Lecter,” Will slowly leaned forward in his seat, clasping his hands together and interlacing his own fingers. Hannibal’s eyes bore into his, but Will didn’t waver; he didn’t know what he was trying to accomplish. Truthfully, he was only making himself increasingly uncomfortable and antsy—and his stare most certainly did not have the desired effect on Hannibal, who persisted in his ambivalence to Will’s efforts. “You’ve always had a penchant for… peppering thinly-veiled digs and carefully constructed verbal parries throughout conversations. I wonder that this doesn’t count as rude in your book.” Hannibal had the gall to chuckle. “Are you calling me rude, Will?” Will tilted his head, a mirroring and a mockery, as though taking his turn to assess the other. “Do you think you’re not?” A beat. “What fate would you have me suffer for it?” “You invite retribution?” “I do so hope borrowing from your own vocabulary is acceptable,” Hannibal leaned back once more, at ease when he shouldn’t be (when Will didn’t want him to be), “Not retribution, no. Merely tit for tat.” Will’s lips stretched into a sneer, all derision. “Tit for tat? Well, then, your fate would seem crystal clear to me.”

24. what's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

feel like a dummy saying this, but i don't think so??? in a technical sense, perhaps—the amount of writing i can get done in one sitting, the amount of writing i can get down on some abysmally little sleep, the way my motivation can shoot up with one little comment and—on the flip side—the way i can find myself so enthralled by my own concept that external motivation/validation is the last thing on my mind. but plot-wise and such (as this question seems to imply), no!

[ask game]

[brinefathomcaves]

Jan 11: Game Room

A human bandit and a half-orc thug are playing darts in here. They’re using a decapitated zombie head as a target and bragging to each other about how they’d give the risen dead what-for if ol’ Vertin would let them. Not automatically hostile, but annoyed at having their game interrupted.

This room also contains two other dart boards (normal cork ones), a disorganized ninepin skittles lane, and a square table ringed by stools. Peanut shells litter the floor, taken from a sack by the eastern entrance.

The walls are scrawled with yet more graffiti, including "HIT THE FISH" written in Orcish (see Area 1.48).

[rumor-weed]

Star of Christmas Character List

My non-canon characters for Star of Christmas AU:

Art Bigotti = Alan Burdick, runs a Ninepin Bowling gambling ring. Trying to tempt Reverend Gilbert into participating in the game, but desperately hiding the fact that they're participating in gambling.

Tom Grape = Thomas Gutherie Schwenk, Seymour's adult son who is fairly annoyed by his dad's antics and inventions, but helps out when needed.

Goliath Gottik = Jabez Gosset, a retired boxer who left the sport to work at a local pub.

Phil Winkelstein = Silas Whisenhunt, a guy who just tends to hang around where all the action is. Wants to be included and tries to get involved in every group activity or club he can find. You'll just see him pop up a lot.

Bartlebey - a Butler who hasn't butlered in a long time, who spends a lot of time writing letters to Charles Pincher while he's in jail. He probably only sends about 1/4 of what he's actually written.

Lovey = Lizzie Hollingshead, maiden name Lovett. Arthur Hollingshead's wife. The two are not divorced in this AU, and seem to get along just fine in this incarnation. They gossip quite a bit.

Rumor "Audrey" Weed = Rumer Ada Wood - newsie/town crier type character who mostly hangs around and exists to announce news of what's going on. She's nosy, bothersome, and mischevious, and enjoys causing drama by spilling secrets.

- Canon Characters in Star of Christmas:

Nebby K. Nezzer = Ebenezer Nezzer. He owns the theater that he lets his nephew Milward and his nephew's business partner Cavis use for their big musical. He also owns an Easter egg factory.

Pa Grape = Seymour Schwenk. An inventor. Father of Thomas Gutherie Schwenk.

Scooter Carrot = Moyer the Destroyer. A dangerous man, who might also be dead. Nobody knows.

Semi-Canon (liberties taken):

Uno = Cedric the "I'll Eat Anything Star Shaped". A man who wants to taste the stars, hungers for them, so much that even the mere mention of "the Star of Christmas" has him salivating. According to Moyer (Arthur Hollingshead?), the Star was once hidden from him during his reign in 1803. This might have been in error, as this is 81 years later, and surely there's no way this scallion was some immortal being consuming stars and terrorizing small communities! Right? Either way, he spends his days traveling and seeking out the most delicious star-shaped items, a gourmet of obsession, and finds himself in town for Christmas yet again, just when he hears tell of the Star being unveiled again.

Egg Boy = A small carrot boy who likes eggs. We don't know him yet.

Laura Carrot = Still Laura, but an orphan. Did she run over her parents with a carriage in the Victorian Hot Topic? Well, we hope not, but you never know with this mischievous orphan. Her British accent comes and goes, and she usually acts very sweet, though she enjoys playing pranks on people. Without the hope of Easter, the orphanage would never exist.

[washed-up-wurmcoil]

Literally always thinking about Glorianna of Phoebus... she really did bet it all on a game of ninepins.

[edwardslovelyelizabeth]

I think Elizabeth Woodwell is a very strict person with etiquette? When recording her eating, does the maid kneel? Do other queens also have such rules?

I guess you are reffering to Elizabeth's coronation banquet which was described in detail by an eye witness. Court etiquette is not something that queens would be wrtitng themselves or imposing, at least not in the medieval times. Other than bearing royal children the Queen was to be expected to be at the King's side during great state occasions and participate in the ceremonies in appropriate manner. The future royal brides would be educated in the etiquette of royal ceremonies from an early age, but since Elizabeth Woodville was a commoner and was not expected to be a queen nobody would have enticiapted of her knowing the rules and customes of these ceremonies. Beginning in the 15th century, the ceremonial of the royal courts became so complicated that a special position of the master of ceremonies was required - a person who monitors the fulfillment of all complex requirements of behavior and knows all these rules. Elizabeth and the other participants no doubt would be instructed how to behave accorting to the ceremony. Elizabeth's maid would be kneeling as well her own mother Jacquetta and the kings sisters because after the coronation they were lower in rank to Elizabeth, who would be Queen Consort and according to the court rules. Elizabeth did not personally insist on any of these things, nor could she dispense with or modify them, she followed the protocol as the a Queen befitting her status.

Here is the description of the banquet after her coronation in David Balwdwin's biography:

"The Queen sat alone at table on a costly golden chair. The Queen’s mother and the King’s sister had to stand some distance away. When the Queen spoke with her mother or the King’s sister, they knelt down before her until she had drunk water. Not until the first dish was set before the Queen could the Queen’s mother and the King’s sister be seated. The ladies and maidens and all who served the Queen at table were all of noble birth and had to kneel so long as the Queen was eating. The meal lasted for three hours. The food which was served to the Queen, the Queen’s mother and the King’s sister and the others was most costly. Much might be written of it. Everyone was silent and not a word was spoken."

There is no indication that Elizabeth was a strict person privatly, in fact that is an account from Louis de Gruthuyse, who had sheltered King Edward during his exile in Holland, was invited to England and created Earl of Winchester in September 1472, "King Edward took him to Elizabeth’s private chamber, ‘where she sat playing with her ladies at the morteaulx [a game resembling bowls]’, while others played ‘closheys [closh, or ninepins] and divers other games’ or danced." So in private Elizabeth seems to be on good terms with her ladies in waiting playing games with them and dancing, having fun.

[willtheweaver]

Catskills complaint

Ninepins! Ninepins! Ninepins! Argh!

To hear the thunderous roars

Of the rolling ball

Swift down the lane

To strike the pins

With a clatter and bang

Echoing through every

Peak and dale

Enough to drive the most disciplined mad

When the bowler’s throw

Goes anywhere but the gutter.

A storm of sound to kill sleep

From hidden vale where still to this day

The crew of Hudson go at their game

Thundering ninepins in the dead of night.

[marketingstrategy1]

"It seemed like a cycle stand"

“It seemed like a cycle stand”

Aakash Chopra has highlighted that the Sri Lankan batters fell like ninepins after the opening partnership was broken in the third T20I against India in Rajkot on Saturday, January 7. The Men in Blue set a mammoth 229-run target for the Lankan Lions on the back of a blazing unbeaten century from Suryakumar Yadav. Dasun Shanaka and Co. were then bowled out for 137 to lose the game by 91 runs and…

[egoschwank]

al things considered — when i post my masterpiece #995

first posted in facebook august 7, 2021

pieter de hooch -- "a game of ninepins" (ca. 1665)

"thank god you can flee, can escape from that massy five-foot-thick maggot-cheesy solidarity which overlays the earth, in which men and women in couples are ranked like ninepins" ... william faulkner

"the purpose of a man is to love a woman and the purpose of a woman is to love a man so come on, baby let's start today come on, baby let's play the game of love (love) la, la, la, la, la love" ... clint ballard jr.

"a little place around a little place around a little bit from town a little bit from town there's a path it's not a road no traffic through no noisy highway where i can walk between the trees a strip of green that's rolling my way" ... curt kirkwood

"of course, the game of bowling (or even love) can be played many ways ... in chicago we use larger pins ... and have bigger balls" ... al janik

[frodo-with-glasses]

I don't know if you're still taking recommendations for things to draw, but there's that line in the Hobbit about Bilbo being good at throwing stones, and "even grownup he had still spent a deal of his time at quoits, dart-throwing, shooting at the wand, bowls, ninepins and other quiet games of the aiming and throwing sort"

Can I get Bilbo hustling some elves and Rangers at darts or something?

My first thought when I read that was “why hustle just any Rangers when you can hustle THE Ranger??”

SEND IN YOUR SUGGESTIONS!

[thirdarchive]

Psychographia

Psychographia is a play-by-mail deduction game for two t̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶b̶j̶e̶c̶t̶s̶ players, which I co-designed with my friend Andrew McAlpine. To play, you hide secret messages in pages torn from old books and magazines. Color illustrations by Andrew Cothren. Available in print and PDF from Phantom Mill Games / Ninepin Press.

[whattolearntoday]

September 3rd is...

Bring Your Manners To Work Day - This day was created by The Protocol School of Washington to remind people of the importance of treating people with courtesy and respect in the workplace.

Chianti Day - Recognizes the most-recognized red wines from the Tuscany region of Italy.  As essential to Italian cuisine as olive oil, Chianti Classico is a dry red wine that is medium to full-bodied. It shows red cherry and herbaceous notes, making it flexible with many cuisines and pairing particularly well with robust dishes like barbeque and grilled meats. And because Chianti Classico is the authentic taste of Tuscany and the ultimate expression of the region, the wines have a natural affinity to Italian dishes like pasta, carbonara, or pizza.

College Colors Day - Encourages everyone to display their team spirit. Across the United States students, parents, family, fans, and alumni will be wearing their team colors.

Food Bank Day - Encourages you to commit to contributing to the cause that believes no one should go to bed hungry.  Food banks across the country help some of the 42 million men, women, and children who struggle with putting food on the table. The reasons range from illness to job loss and a general change in circumstances – circumstances that can happen to anyone of us.

Lazy Mom’s Day -  Busy moms know that the work of being a parent is never done. However, occasionally parents need to recharge. The laundry and the dishes will be there later. When possible, finding someone to watch the children for a few hours is worth it. Sometimes all a mom needs is a nap.

Skyscraper Day -  The construction of tall buildings has become so commonplace in cities around the globe that the general public gives little thought to the visionaries responsible for creating a city’s unique skyline. Skyscraper day provides the opportunity to learn more about the architects who commit a dream to paper and the construction crews that make it reality.

U.S. Bowling League Day - Primarily an outdoor sport until around 1840, the game was called ninepins and was popular with gamblers. To snuff out the gambling, the state of Connecticut banned the game in 1841. As a result, indoor lane owners added one pin to their alleys to circumvent the law. Clubs tried organizing and creating set rules. However, it wasn’t until 1895 when the American Bowling Congress came together at Beethoven Hall in New York City. The American Bowling Congress established a maximum score of 300 which still stands today. They also determined other rules, such as lane length, widths, and distances between pins. 

Welsh Rarebit Day -  The cheesy toast was originally called Rabbit in a tongue-in-cheek way in the Welsh language because there is no rabbit in the meal. Similar to mock turtle soup having no turtle in it, Welsh rarebit does not contain rabbit. Instead, this dish is made with toast that has hot cheese poured over it.