#advent day 19

[ltwilliammowett]

Fancy a trip? Then welcome to door no. 19, where you can set sail on the SS Great Britain

SS Great Britain

Her history here:

When Brunel’s ocean liner, was built in the nineteenth century the SS GREAT BRITAIN was a bold attempt by a British company to break the American monopoly of the trans-Atlantic passenger trade. Launched by Prince Albert on 19 July 1843, she was the largest and most technically innovative ship of her day, because she was the first iron hulled, screw propelled ship. Her first voyage to America began on 26 July 1845, and she covered 3,100 miles in 14 days and 21 hours.

On the return journey, because of the loss of propeller blades, she used sail only, but still completed the voyage to Liverpool in 20 days. In 1846, however, on her fifth voyage, she ran aground in Dundrum Bay, County Down. It was not until August of the following year that she was refloated and towed back to Liverpool, and, in 1850, was sold to Gibbs, Bright & Co. for service to Australia. She was significantly altered at this time.

In 1854, she was refitted as a troopship for the Crimean War and again in 1857 she carried reinforcements to Bombay to deal with the Indian Mutiny. Returning to the Australian run, she carried the first touring English cricket side. In 1876, she was put up for sale at Birkenhead, but not bought until 1882. Her new owners, Anthony Gibbs, Sons & Co. converted her entirely to a sailing vessel for transporting coal to San Francisco and returning with wheat. After two such voyages, in 1886, she was dismasted by a hurricane off Cape Horn and she put into the Falkland Islands. As repairs were considered too expensive, she became a hulk for storing coal and wool. On April 14 1937, she was towed a few miles out of Port Stanley to shallow water in Sparrow Cove; holes were punched in her bottom and she settled on the seabed. The organisation required to co-ordinate the task of recovery came into being in 1968, led by Dr Ewan Corlett. In April 1970, she was refloated, returning to her original dock Bristol in July that year where she underwent a major conservation programme.

In 2006, an appeal was launched to help restore the masts of the SS GREAT BRITAIN. Two of the masts and part of a third needed to be urgently replaced as they had become badly degraded. The vessel was successful in winning the prestigious Gulbenkian Prize as UK Museum of the Year 2006, which brought with it £100,000 in prize money. This was put towards the costs of the masts. The ship also won two awards at the Museums and Heritage Awards for Excellence 2006 conference in the restoration and conservation category as well as permanent exhibition. The project was also awarded the Civic Trust Award 2006 for accessibility. These Awards follow the relaunch of GREAT BRITAIN after work costing £11.3 million to transform her into a major visitor attraction and museum, as well as to preserve the vessel for future generations. The ship saw more than 160,000 visitors between July 2005 and September 2006.

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Nineteenth Day of Gift-Giving

Nineteen New Skills

... 19 skills your characters can have or learn

riding a bike

jump roping

singing

diving

hula-hooping

doing make-up

embroidering

sewing

drawing

picking locks

skateboarding

musical instruments

flying a plane

different dancing styles

creating nail art

ice-skating

acting

crocheting

performing magic

24 Days of Gift-Giving

[xx-thedarklord-xx]

Not Needed

Harry Potter went missing the night the Potter’s died. The Magical world looked for him but to no avail. No Hogwarts letter was ever sent, no messy mop of black hair appeared on the first day of school. To the rest of the world he was as good as dead. A shame that no one counted on adoption.

Some tags: Falling in Love, Getting Together, Smart Harry Potter, Bookworm Harry Potter, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Harry Stays Out of the War, Anal Sex, Bottom Harry, Top Draco Malfoy, Draco Runs Away

Ao3

Gifted to @brainrot-has-overtaken-me

[comfortabletextiles]

Today's fiber!

Not finished yet, because I am busy with preparations for our 3 day mini vacation 🥰

[alanaartdream]

Today is day 19 of December 2023 the trolls advent calendar for trolls band together wasn’t very exciting (hopefully tomorrow will be better) so to make today better I have drawn princess Peach for my December drawing until new years challenge 1st with Christmas 🎄 themed drawings then after Christmas it’s to be new years themed drawings

[feltpool]

SW calendar Day 19

[cerriddwenluna]

The Diary of Kurt E. Hummel (19/24)

Please do not read this without my express permission. (Yes, that includes you, Finn.)

***

Have you always wanted to find out what Kurt writes in his diary? Now is your chance! But, ssssht! Don't tell Kurt we stole it... ;)

For this one, I implied the prompt more than I outright mentioned it. Want to find out what possible way I interpreted the word Roomy? 😏

You can read chapter 19 now, on AO3 and S&C!

Read from the beginning

[quietlyimplode]

Clintasha Advent

Making Merry.

Clint is in his element. Up high, dancing on the roof, he hangs the lights with a grin.

“Be careful,” Natasha yells.

She’s holding the end of the lights, the colours making her face glow.

He looks down, yelling back, he’s fine.

Clint feels that he almost wants to stay up here, but finishes the job dutifully, making their house colorful and merry.

Later that night, he can’t help it, he grabs her hand, hoists her onto the roof and climbs up after her with a blanket and two drinks.

“What’re we doing?” she asks, bemused.

“Making merry,” he laughs.

[andguesswhat]

Diary of a mall Santa Claus

19

Face the truth Day

*

"Look at that faggot!"

A small bunch of brawlers walk alongside them as they walk in costume to the roundel.

"I bet he sucks Santa's cock!"

They laugh.

Armie's pulse is up to 380 in no time and he's about to go for the little wanker's collar when Timmy says, completely casually, "Well, I did. And I'm very sorry to tell you that I won't suck yours."

The guy looks at Timmy confused, obviously not expecting that answer. "I don't want you to suck mine!"

"No?" Timmy's voice is again completely unconcerned. "Don't you want to know what it is like if you get your cock sucked really good? Like really good? Because guys know what guys like, you know."

While the guy needs a second to react, Armie laughs out loud.

"That's..." The guy still has to find his voice, "that's disgusting. I don't want you to suck my cock."

Somehow, that's all he has to say. Timmy has more.

"Good then. Perfect. Because as I said, I won’t and don’t want to suck yours. Win-win." He gives them their sweetest smile. "Have a wonderful Christmas. And have fun with your next blow job. Hope you don't have to think about me." He winks at the wanker.

And Armie is completely in awe and can't stop laughing. And still laughs when they arrive at the roundel.

"How fucking great was this? To ruin this boy's next blow job!!!"

Timmy just shrugs his shoulders and smiles.

Armie can't get his smile off his face for the next few hours. How absolutely amazing was this?

But somehow Timmy seems to be in another mood. Whenever Armie looks over at Timmy, he has the feeling that Timmy seems very lost in thought and somehow also sad.

Has he been affected by this more than he would like to admit? Wankers, really! Maybe he should still beat the shit out of them.

When their shift is over, Armie can't wait to push Timmy up against the lockers and kiss him, just like he did before the shift. Showing him that everything is going to be okay.

But when he does, Timmy does kiss him back, but it seems absent and sad.

Fucking motherfuckers!

"Hey, don't let the motherfuckers ruin your mood," Armie tries and caresses Timmy’s cheek.

"It's not that." Timmy looks down at the floor.

Suddenly Armie notices his throat tightening, his heart starting to pound. He knows why he hates this whole love thing. It's always different than you think. You can always fall. Get thrown out of the highest skyscraper. From the highest cloud.

"I...," Timmy shakes his head slightly. "I just realized there's not really much time... to... " Armie sees a little mischievous smile "... to suck your cock..." before melancholy returns in Timmy's face, "...but also no time for everything else, right? You're leaving on Saturday, aren't you?"

Timmy looks at him with wide and so so fucking sad eyes, "So what is the point of all this?"

*

[zeldaelmo]

The Pen Pal Plan, chapter 4

She still hadn't recovered when he placed a glass of ruby-colored wine in front of her. 

"Nice flower. I heard they are endangered, though," he said, taking his seat beside her.

"No no no, wait." Zelda shut her mouth that had stupidly hung open and drank half of the glass in one go without waiting for him. "Explain this to me right now. I just– everything. Explain everything."

He sighed deeply, fingering the base of his glass. "Believe me, this is not how I had planned this evening at all, but okay, you want to hear everything, so you'll get just that."

An outstretched hand awaited her and she was baffled enough to take it. "Link of Hateno. Member of the Royal Guard for five years now. I'm mostly in the unit of your father's guards, so you haven't seen me around a lot. Not that we're easy to tell apart with the armor, anyway."

"Zelda." 

His eyes crinkled at her curt answer and her stomach bounced. 

"Okay, you are a guard, that much was obvious in the last hours. But…" She just couldn't wrap her head around it.

"Yes, I'm also the man you wanted to meet here. I didn't leave the tavern as you had assumed because I was never here without you. It's complicated."

Zelda rubbed her forehead and sighed. "I have time."

Link smiled at her, blinking slowly and reassuringly. Oh, she liked the effect he had on her, he was like ordering a cup of tea on a paperwork day.

"The barracks went crazy about your announcement last year. I mean, who doesn't want to marry a princess? At the end of the evening, everyone was either drunk or in the infirmary because they'd gotten into a fistfight."

"Or both." Zelda grimaced.

"Yeah. I think in the end, half of the soldiers tried their luck." He took a sip of wine, clearing his throat. "Sorry. I usually don't talk so much. Anyway, my friends decided, we should all write to you and see who makes it the furthest."

Zelda's heart plummeted. Great, her hand was some kind of sport to him. This day couldn't get any worse. How naive she had been to think such a plan would let her find a husband!

"And you've won, what exactly, now that you're here?" She asked coldly, pushing the paper flower over the table with her index.

"No! That's not… please look at me, Zelda."

She squinted her eyes shut, cursing under her breath how much she liked hearing her name in his voice. 

"I told them I didn't get an answer after the third letter."

She risked a glance back at him, regretting it immediately. His big blue eyes begged her to believe him, and she wanted to, she really did! The events of the day, however, had sunk their claws into her and left a nagging doubt.

"It's okay," he whispered so that she could barely hear him over the loud music. "Take your time. If you allow it, I'll tell the rest of the story so that you have the whole picture?"

She nodded, curling her fingers around her wine glass. That was reasonable enough.

"I never planned to be on duty today. When you invited me, I imagined I'll take the day off and come here in private, as your pen pal that I'd been for months, and not as a knight of the Kingdom."

"But?"

He cracked a smile. "Let's just say your father wasn't exactly on board with the festival plan. I can't blame him, all the people, the crowdedness… He only agreed because he hand-picked the guards to accompany you."

Zelda sighed. "And you were one of them."

"I was on the list, but not on duty at first. But then one of the others fell ill and I was the pinch hitter."

It would be foolish to lie about such information that she could so easily prove false and he looked as miserable as a puppy who had fallen into a bucket of water about the whole affair. Her gaze hefted to the ever-beer-drawing innkeeper, she slowly shifted her foot over the wooden planks and rested it against his boot. 

Surprised, his eyes shot up to hers and he met her small smile with his own.

"I will give you the benefit of the doubt," she said.

His heavy exhale let the Silent Princess on the table flutter.

"But… how had you planned this?" She made a sweeping gesture around the tavern. "Having a glass of wine with me and all your comrades are standing guard is quite awkward."

"Yeah, that, uh, well." He ruffled the hair at his nape and his hand dropped back to the table. "I didn't have a plan. I hoped I would catch you in a private moment to tell you. Or… or I wouldn't have revealed myself and slipped a letter to the barkeeper that I couldn't maintain the appointment."

Zelda laughed into her hand. "But then I got stuck onto the horse and you saw your opportunity!"

Link's grin shifted from lopsided to broad. "Yeah! It was perfect! But then I had the next problem because I didn't know how to tell you." He leaned closer, chuckling. "Especially since Her Highness had started flirting with me."

"Oh, hush!" Zelda laughed and swatted him away. "Who wanted me to jump into his arms?"

Link crossed his arms, tipping his head up. "Call of duty, Ma'am."

The following fit of laughter made Zelda wipe tears out of the corner of her eyes. Now, this was what she'd hoped for when she started the Pen Pal Plan!

"Okay, okay, I believe you. The story is just too stupid to make it up," she said, erupting into a new fit of giggles. 

"Hey!" He lifted his hands. "I speak nothing but the truth! My friends will kill me when they find out that I used a white lie to escape their little bet."

"Oh." Zelda stared at him with wide eyes. "Are they going to be mad?"

Link shrugged and sipped on his glass. "They'll get over it. It was just a nice excuse to actually sit down and write to you. Probably would have chickened out without them."

"Well, I owe them my thanks, then," she said, smiling warmly. 

Every fit of laughter had drawn them closer together on the bench and now not only their feet nudged each other, but they touched from shoulder to hip, their legs casually pressed together. Her glass was empty and so was his, but she didn't want to stand up. Everything was perfect. They had just continued where they had left up in their letters, words and easy vibes bouncing between them. Was… this the moment?

The warm air of the tavern pressed on her lungs, but she inhaled deeply anyway. "Um, Link?"

He hummed contently, brushing the back of his hand over hers.

"I, uh, well, my mother said, that, that–" Nervousness ate her words up.

Link turned to her, lips slightly parted in confusion. Zelda's gaze not only dropped to them, no she outlined them with her eyes, again and again. "She–she says I, um, should only consider someone, uh, someone who's a good kisser."

He chuckled. "Oh? Well, I heard she's a wise woman," Link breathed and took her hand in his on the table. Zelda swallowed, drifted closer, and only stopped when a hint of wine tickled her nose. He squeezed her hand, encouraging—

"Eh, kid! What do you think you're doing there?" Heavy steps clunked over the wooden floor. Four spear tips pressed into their space in the little nook – the remaining guards had finally caught up to her. Their hair and beards were frozen over and one had a black eye which only added to their intimidating appearance.

They both froze, a breath apart, but then, they blushed furiously and separated from each other like an arrow snapping away a bow. 

Link slowly raised his hands, underlining that he had no plans to use the dagger at his hips. 

Zelda’s eyes slipped close, and a desperate sigh left her mouth.

What was wrong with this day?

[ltwilliammowett]

Christmas on Arctic Expeditions

This could look very different and could range from rather plain to very creative. But let's take a look at some Christmas celebrations.

On HMS Alert under the command of Captain George Strong Nares, Christmas 1875 she was frozen in the Lincoln Sea north of Ellesmere Island, there the officers were led below deck by a drum and pipe band to the strains of "Roast Beef of Old England". The officers saw the men's quarters "tastefully decorated with flags, coloured tinsel paper and artificial flowers".

The crew on Arctic ships ate around lunchtime, and Christmas dinner usually consisted of preserved vegetables, beef that had been frozen in the rigging, and local game if it was available. Desserts and sweets were particularly sought after. Plum pudding and mince pies were essential components of the traditional British Christmas at this time, and the inclusion of these foods in the celebrations worked - as a reminder that the men were connected to their loved ones at home through these special foods.

Officers usually dined in the armoury at around 3pm. The food included wine, of course, and it was of better quality than that of the crew. In 1852, Captain Henry Kellett of HMS Resolute even enjoyed a complete preserved Christmas dinner from the exclusive London department stores' Fortnum & Mason.

After dinner there were toasts, music, games and general merriment. Just as ship's newspapers and theatrical performances inspired the crew's creativity, singing together helped the men relax and cope with the stress of long expeditions.  What was also very liberating was a party with costumes like the one on board HMS Terror under the command of Captain George Back in 1836, where all kinds of costumes were designed and worn, and dressing up as women or symbolically swapping positions was very popular, but was only permitted up to a certain limit so as not to cause mutiny.

“Arctic Amusements”  aboard HMS Terror, 1836, by Lt. Owen Stanley (x)

But why was Christmas celebrated so intensely? You have to remember that what we associate with Christmas today, the good food, the merriment and time with loved ones, first came about in the 1840s as part of Christmas traditions.

 Expedition commanders sought to foster camaraderie on board by preparing these festivities and promoting the well-being of their crews through the symbolic presence of wives and loved ones, who were acknowledged through toasts, dressing up and opening gifts. And incidentally what many were not so aware of was that the consumption of fresh meat, dried fruits and sweets also provided their crews with a significant - if temporary - nutritional boost. A psychological balm and physical respite from the dreaded scurvy, Christmas was more than just a meal: it was a celebration of light and hope, and a crucial moral boost for the men on the dangerous expeditions in the eternal ice.

[tonystarkbingo]

TSB Advent Event Countdown - Day 19!

If Only in My Dreams - @27dragons

Summary:

Despite presenting late, Tony's father never had any doubt that Tony would follow in his footsteps and be an Alpha. So it is with more than mild dismay that Tony finally presents shortly before exams... as an Omega. Now he's got to go home for the holidays to fend off his parents' outdated notions, including his father's attempts to arrange a Bond for him.

Bucky's had a crush on Tony since they first met, more than a year ago, but he keeps finding excuses not to express his interest. When Tony admits that he's looking for an Alpha to bring home to pretend to be courting him, Bucky volunteers before he can really think about what he's doing.

But it's only for a few days. Everything will be fine.

[porkcracker]

Au-dventcalendar

"Advent Advent mein Soulmate brennt"

A Transformers Soulmate Adventcalendar

Day 19

Ship: Megatronus x Orion Pax

AUs: Pre-War, Footprints

It seemed their fate would forever be to chase after each other without ever reaching a stop. Or was it running from each other at this point? The daunting shadow of what could be, should be, looming over them wherever they went.

Orion had always wondered where his soulmate would be from. It had become relatively quickly clear to him that his other half was not of Iaconian origin, as he would have spotted a pedeprint at some point already if that had been the case. There was no chance for him to miss him for his entire function considering he had to move through all of Iacon regularly for his job in the archives. So, they had to be from one of the other city-states. He was just so curious about which one it was. Almost more so to that than to whom they would be, which amused more than just one of his friends.    His search came finally to a climax the first time he traveled to Kaon to attend one of the speeches of the gladiator and poet about whom he had heard whispers and rumours in Iacon. There were faded blue pedeprints all over Kaon, but they got brighter and more numerous the closer he got to the plaza where the speech would be.    He had never expected the origin of said pedeprints to be the gladiator himself, but he could not say that he minded it at all. They caught on with each other quite quickly, and it wasn't long before they had a deep bond. Where Megatronus went, Orion wasn't far behind, and vice versa. The first time their new bond was tested was when Orion was called back to Iacon, and for all his fear, it didn't weaken their bond at all. It seemed like it only further strengthened their bond.    From that point forward, the young archivist was found in Kaon whenever it was possible for him to leave Iacon long enough. As Megatronus' speeches gained attention and his movement grew, Orion found himself more and more often not returning to Iacon on time. It came to the point where his friends and superiors had all noticed, and others started to warn him that their relationship would not end well. It was after a particularly hard fight with one of his closest friends that he traveled to Kaon for the last time.    This time not only he but also Megatronus returned to Iacon, and their relationship came to an abrupt and violent end. Where previously there had been partnership, care, and love, there was now nothing left but anger, betrayal, and the coldness of being alone. 

Red. It was like the reflection of his own optics was taunting him wherever he went. In the brands of the enemies, in the wings of his burdensome second in command, and in every step that wasn't his anymore. He remembered clearly the time when the only thing needed to find calm among the raging sea were red steps.    Megatron remembered the first time he had spotted the bright red across the plaza and the relief he had felt when his voice had not faltered with the discovery he almost didn't believe. The even bigger relief he had felt after the little archivist had not outright rejected him but instead seemed so open and curious    Red pedeprints beside him at almost every turn, winding all over Kaon but always ending in his quarters. Red pedeprints matching red plating and red eyes. The uttermost care he had taken to ensure that no red pedeprint would ever be found in the dirt of the gladiator pits he fought in.    Following them, always following just a step behind them, to make sure that Orion would not suffer any harm on his watch. Now he was following them to harm himself. Gone were the days of their bond, replaced with conflict, violence, and war. But even now his spark yearned to follow the red trail that was laid just for his eyes and pull the mech at the end of it into his arms for one last time. Alas, the only embrace left for them was the one each fight locked them in. 

Sometimes when their optics locked during battle he wondered and he wondered, if his archivist wondered too. Quiet vorns of curiosity lingering in the back of his processor. Then the fight continued and dwellings of the past were drowned out by the rage and urge to fight.

[multishipper-baby]

Since I already thought of birthdays for Jason and Rayray, I decided why not go through my OCs and give them all birthdays? And so I did.

[theartofdreaming1]

Advent Calendar Fic Rec, Day 19

come and go with me. by @thychesters

Summary: Dinah and Helena show up on her doorstep with an injured man and all Barbara can think is: oh no. (Turns out he isn't even a man at all but a seafolk. Just her luck.) - DickBabs Merman!AU

Oooh, excellent and mysterious one-shot! (it’s chapter 3 of a collection of one-shots, so feel free to check out the other chapters as well!)

[feltpool]

Day 19