#golden goose by ace

[owlisbuffering]

The Name Game

Yuu has taken to using whatever nickname comes to mind when talking to the TWST boys, most of them puns or references to pop culture from their home world that no one understands. No one is safe and it's getting out of hand. Selections include:

Grim: Grimlin, Grimothy, Grimotheus, Fire and Grimstone, Grim Burton, Grim and Tonic, Grim and Bear It, Tiny Grim

(Dorms after the cut)

Heartslabyul

or The House of Cards

Ace: Aces, Ace of Base, Arsenic and Old Ace, DumbAce, SmartAce, Aceassin, Ace-mmetry, Acemmetrical, Crappola, It's a Trap!pola, All About That Ace

Deuce: Deuce Goose, Loosey Deucey (that one was a mistake; immediate regret), Deuces Wild, Deuce on the Loose, What the Deuce, Pas de Deuce, Mother Deuce

Trey: Trey Table, Tea Trey, Muffin Man, Treytor Tot, Great ExpecTreytions, Treytrix Reloaded, Cloverfield, Treytor, Treylor Swift

Cater: C8r Boi, Cater to My Whims, Caterer, Whip and Cay Cay, Diamonds are Forever, Cater-ina, Diamond Jubilee, Kiss Me Cate-r

Riddle: Riddle Me This, McRiddle, Hey Riddle Riddle, Kissed by a Rosehearts, Meet Me in the Riddle, Riddleculous

Savanaclaw

or The Watering Hole

Leona: Leona 500, Lion Sleeps Tonight, Aweem Away, Cat Nap, Comatose, Rip Van Winkle, Lambert

Ruggie: Ruginald, Teach Me How to Ruggie, Rug Doctor, Artful Dodger,

Jack: Jack Be Nimble, Jack Sprat, Jack and the Beanstalk, House that Jack Built, Jumping Jack, Hungry Like the Wolf, Big Bad Wolf, Team Jacob

Octavinelle

or 3 Fish Mafia

Jade: Thing 1, Jaderade, Made in the Jade, Nephrite

Floyd: Thing 2, Vicegrip, Personal Space Invader, Pink Floyd

Azul: Tako Time, Tako Tuesday, Octillery

Scarabia

or The Cave of Wonders

Jamil: Snek, Danger Noodle, Hissy-fit, Peanut Butter and Jam-il

Kalim: Mr Golden Sun, Kalim Me Maybe

Pomefiore

or Sephora

Epel: Epel Juice, Epel-sauce, Epel Pie, Fizzgig, Stufful, Pancham, Sour Epel, Incred-Epel Hulk

Rook: Rook Nook, Rookery, Lumiere, Corvus Christi, Murkrow, Rookadoodle

Vil: Queen V, Beyoncé, Potato Queen,  Madame Peacock

Ignihyde

or Best Buy

Ortho: Orthopedic, Orthodontic, Mr. Roboto, Robotnik, XJ9, Jenny, How to Build a Better Boy

Idia: Ghost Rider, My Good Hotman, Shroud of Darkness, Your Most Lugubriousness

Diasomnia

or Shadow Castle

Sebek: How Doth the Little Crocodile, Coccodrillo, Schnappi, Spinal Tap (because his vol goes up to 11), Totodile

Silver: Sleeping Beauty, Narcolepsy, Poker Face, Woodland Whisperer, Snorlax, Sleeper Cell

Lilia: Lils, Batty, Batman, Stellaluna, Littlest Vampire, Gramps, Lil' Guy, Woobat, Team Edward

Malleus: Toothless, Drag-on, Falcor, Mushu, Spike, Dragon Tales, Malleable, Malnutrition, Malfeasance, Malodrama

[rottenpumpkin13]

I'm trying to make myself feel better by imagining fluffy scenarios. Maybe someone else needs them too?

• Angeal is feeling under the weather and unfortunately can't cook, so Sephiroth, Zack and Genesis join forces to cook him his favorite dish. It's not one any of them are particularly fond of, but the smile on Angeal's face is enough for all of them.

• Genesis's hair is finally long enough to play with, so Sephiroth takes his time brushing the tangles out of his hair and tying it up for him.

• Angeal had a golden star sticker in his pocket one day that he had gotten in a magazine and had nowhere to put. After his training session with Zack, he stuck it onto Zack's uniform for laughs. He notices Zack still has the sticker the following day, and keeps bragging about it to anyone who will listen. He's so happy. Angeal goes out and buys a full sticker sheet. He frequently sticks them all over Zack's uniform, sometimes for the most random reasons too. Zack has received golden stars simply for being himself.

• Angeal and Genesis waiting for Sephiroth outside Hojo's lab. They're ready to take him in either arms and guide him back to his apartment to take care of him. Sephiroth is surprised and in disbelief the first time this happens. It eventually becomes routine, with Zack and even Cloud eventually joining in on it.

• Zack gets cold during a meeting. The AC temperature is lower than he's comfortable with. He doesn't want to say anything, but he's fidgeting and his goose-flecked skin is a dead giveaway. He feels something warm drape over his shoulder. He looks up and sees Genesis placing his coat on him while still maintaining his conversation with Lazard at the front of the room.

• Angeal doesn't let anyone touch the buster sword—not Genesis nor Sephiroth, and definitely not Zack. But Cloud is so gentle with it, careful not to damage Angeal's most prized possession. He's the only one Angeal lets use the sword. He has Cloud use it to spar with him, wanting the younger boy to get the feel of fighting with a heavier sword because he knows Cloud is talented. When they're done, he ruffles Cloud's hair and offers to buy him dinner.

"Do you usually buy Zack dinner after training?" Cloud asks.

Angeal laughs. "No, and he cannot know I'm doing this—he won't let me hear the end of it."

Cloud nods, laughing along. "You'll owe him pizza for a year."

• Zack bought Sephiroth these really childish-looking hot dog socks as a joke. Sephiroth impulsively wears them one day. He pulls Zack into a corner, rips off his boot and shows how his foot looks like a giant hot dog. Zack has an uncontrollable fit of laughter that cannot be surpressed. He has to go the rest of the day coming up with excuses for why he's giggling, and absolutely loses it every time he sees Sephiroth.

• Genesis teaches Angeal how to fold origami creatures. The result is a small joke between the two where Genesis now finds origami friends in the oddest places. After a really hard day, he comes home, pulls back his comforter and finds four origami animals hidden underneath it—a chocobo, a cat, a puppy and an eagle. There's a small note in Angeal's handwriting that reads: "In case you're feeling down, call one or more of these to your place. They're all waiting to help you."

• They regularly steal each other's clothes. Angeal tends to have the coziest hoodies, which Sephiroth adores. Sephiroth has a wide range of long winter coats—or at least had. Angeal has stolen half of them. Cloud steals Zack's T-shirts, and Genesis steals Cloud's knitted items and scarves.

[prof-ramses]

Helluva Boss's official twitter just showed off a new pride art piece depicting Mammon as AroAce, your thoughts?

What thoughts are you expecting exactly?

I still ship Golden Goose and always will, also this might just be my general ignorance of pride flags, but as far as I understand, the flag he's wearing is just ace, not strictly aroace, I may not know everything on this subject but I know it's possible to be one without the other.

So if you're worried that my Golden Goose content is going away don't worry. On the other hand, if you were hoping this would mean the end of me shipping it, tough luck.

I will say though that it's a really fun art piece and gets the characters well.

Also, apologies if this came off harsh, I've just had bad experiences regarding ship policing and things like this set me off a little.

[dreamy-selkie]

My Time at Sandrock: Pokemon Team (Bachelorette Edition)

Bachelor version [LINK]

And finally a follow-up to the previous post, here's what the bachelorettes Pokemon team would be:

~~~

With Amirah I think about going with the similar theme of her profession as a pottery artist; so her team would be Polteageist, Minum, and Cufant. Since he doesn't like to fight Amirah wouldn't have an ace Pokemon like Arvio but she does have a Minum to match his Plusle, she would also have an authentic Polteageist that she didn't know about until she caught a glimpse of the mark under the kettle, and the Cufant she took in during the first month of living in Sandrock; it would remind her of her pottery.

Catori not only runs a museum but also a gaming center picking Pokemon that would blend both her occupations was interesting; so I think her team would be an Aegislash, Archaeops, and Dedenne. Aegislash, her ace, is one of the perfect Pokemon since not only it looks like it came from the Old World but Catori's main weapon is the sword, Archaeops would be one of the Pokemon that accidentally gets revived and manages to tame... but it still causes mayhem when she's not looking, and Dedenne is her little mascot over at the Golden Goose; who doesn't like cute mascots?

Elsie's team would definitely be the Pokemon from her ranch; that being Kantonian Tauros, Mudsdale, her top ace, and Dubwool, but she does end up befriending a Watchog (based on the meerkat from her questline).

Grace is also interesting since she's also into combat but still loves to cook, so I think her team would be Liepard, Lopunny, her top ace, and a Mienshao; however she is also has a Munchlax that she ended up taking in much to Owen's dismay.

Heidi I thought was pretty simple given her work; so I feel like her team would be Duraludon, Conkeldurr, and Tinkaton. Duraludon was from during her time at Atara and immediately caught it when it reminded her of buildings, with Conkeldurr being her muscle and her ace Tinkaton being her assistant.

I haven't seen Jane yet, but from what I read about her I think small Pokemon to assist in her teachings and, like Amirah, she doesn't have an ace. Her team would be Indeedee, Herdier, and an Eevee she would have as an emotional support Pokemon for her students.

For Mi-an a hardworking builder deserves some hard-working Pokemon; Those Pokemon being Ambipom, Boltund, and Dunsparce. Ambipom, her ace, would be extra pair of hands, while Dunsparce she caught during one of her relic diving aids with breaking rocks, and Boltund walks with Mi-an while the two search around the outskirts.

Nia's love and profession for botany made me think of her having a flowery Pokemon theme; that being Bellossom, Sunflora, and Lilligant. No ace Pokemon, but will act as the support if needed.

And finally as a miner Venti would have ground-type Pokemon and isn't afraid to get a little dirt on her jeans; that being Excadrill, her ace, Kantonian Sandslash, and Dugtrio.

[alphadisaster]

Rules - shuffle your 'on repeat' playlist and post the first ten tracks, then tag ten people.

I was tagged by @septicrebel and @svintsandghosts! Thank you so much! 💜

Topline by SKZ

Wake Up by Ateez

Drive by SKZ

Wolf by Boy Epic

Advantage by Daniel Di Angelo

Lilith by Halsey

Tonight by Dxvn, Daniel Di Angelo

Golden Goose by ACE

Killing Butterflies by Lewis Blissett

Cheerleader by Ashnikko

Tagging for fun, no pressure. Feel free to ignore: @linosnoot, @haenglixie, @inkybird, @nymeriaaa, @hwxnghyynjin, @binstitsweat @mythixprincess, @hijirikaww, @multiwreckedmess, @therhythmafterthesummer + anyone that wants to do this. I always find new music when people do this and I love it.

[alarrytale]

What is your theory on the Larry situation? Do you believe they were together and broke up? Or were together and broke up multiple times? Or just stayed together? I’m trying to get the bigger picture. I’ve seen a lot of different theories on the Larry relationship and they all have good points.

Hi, anon!

I assume you don’t read my blog since you're asking this question. I answered something similar just days ago.

In short. They got together at the x factor and have been together since then. No breaks or break ups. Their relationship is drama free. Sony have been trying to have them break up since day 1. They refuse. They want to come out but are restricted by contracts and clauses. Sony is behind it because they want to protect their golden goose H and control his image. They control the larry rumours from hurting H's image through bg and stunting. H and L aren’t private about their relationship, they're just closeted and contractually obliged to appear straight.

Since there is no way out of the contracts at the moment, they've both decided to focus on furthering their careers (no choice really). That means that they spend long periods physically apart. They're still together and are planning on settling down when the hype around them dies down. H has an unustainable career and is a fast burning star, his heartthrob/womaniser image can't last forever. I think they'll both come out as soon as they're allowed to. That might not be until H's career is over the hill. Sony believes H has the best chance of being a superstar and making them money if he's straight. We can only hope Sony changes their mind and see how lucrative and famous H and L could be as an out gay power couple. I believe that's an ace up their sleeve that they're blind to. I have thought this since i came into the fandom.

[justicegundam82]

5E D&D to Pathfinder 1E Conversion: Golden Goose

I'm back with a new creature for all those who might be interested. This time, after taking a look at the 5E expansion book "Bigby Presents: Glory Of The Giants", I was intrigued by several of the new critters, especially by the Giant Goose. So I decided I might as well try to convert it to Pathfinder First Edition, and this is the result. I changed the name somewhat because "Giant Goose" sounded a little unoriginal to me...

Again, if anyone wants to point out mistakes or imbalances I've made, I would be very grateful, since I'm still kind of inexperienced at writing new monsters.

That said, I hope you will enjoy this conversion.

GOLDEN GOOSE

Image (c) Cynthia Sheppard, for Wizards of the Coast

This goose is large enough that a person could ride comfortably on its back, and has a pleasant golden sheen to its plumage.

GOLDEN GOOSE CR 3

XP 800

N Large Magical Beast

Init+3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +13

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural, -1 size)

hp 30 (4d10+8)

Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2

ATTACK

Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (average)

Melee bite +6 (1d6+3), 2 wings +1 (1d4+1)

Special Attacks thunderous honk

STATISTICS

Str 17, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 6

Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 21

Feats Dodge, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Fly +7, Perception +13, Swim +7; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception

Languages Giant, Sylvan (cannot speak)

Special Qualities golden egg

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate or cold lakes and rivers

Organization solitary, pair, gaggle (3-8) or plump (9-16)

Treasure incidental plus golden egg (see below)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Golden Egg (Ex): Once per month, as a full-round action and only when commanded by its keeper, a golden goose can lay a golden egg, an hollow shell of gold, 1 foot long and weighing about 2 pounds. The shell is worth 100-400 (1d4 x 100) gp. Sometimes, the egg inexplicably contains some kind of small trinket or minor magic item. The GM can determine the contents of a golden egg by rolling 1d12 and confronting the result with the table below.

1-6 : The egg is empty.

7: The egg is empty, but the inside of the shell is inscribed with a poem or an intricate illustration.

8: A candy egg.

9: A small toy goose that makes a loud honking noise when squeezed.

10: A potion of cure light wounds

11: A scroll of bless

12: An elixir of love

At the GM’s discretion, a golden goose’s egg can be also used to give characters an item that’s important to the story of an adventure or a campaign.

Thunderous Honk (Sp): Once every 1d4+1 rounds, a golden goose can honk with ear-splitting volume. Each creature within 20 feet of the goose (other than the goose itself) takes 2d6 points of sonic damage and is deafened for 1 round. A successful Fortitude save (DC 14) halves the damage and negates the deafened condition. The save DC is Constitution-based.

A magical, oversized version of common, harmless waterfowl, golden geese are rumored to have originated in lands ruled by the faerie. They are often kept by giants as livestock, both for their eggs and because they make for excellent sentries. A golden goose has keen sight and hearing, which allows them to locate unfamiliar creatures with ease, and are capable of emitting loud warning honks that are easily heard in a wide radius. Making them even more valuable is the golden geese’s ability to lay eggs made of pure gold. While the creature is unable to produce more than a single golden egg in a month’s time, gaggles of golden geese kept in captivity can produce a remarkable amount of gold, sometimes even accompanied by a minor magic item or two. However, a golden goose is sapient and will only produce a golden egg if ordered to by a creature it recognizes as its master – at the GM’s discretion, a series of Bluff, Intimidate or Diplomacy checks might be needed in order to be accepted as such by the strong-willed and often unruly creature.

Despite their heightened intelligence, the behavior of golden geese is not much different from that of mundane waterfowl, being gregarious birds that form flocks for mutual protection. They are mostly herbivores, feeding on aquatic plants, weed, roots and grains, but may occasionally integrate their diet with small animals like mice or snakes. Particularly caring masters, usually cloud or storm giants, have been known to share their meals with their favorite golden goose. They tend to pair-bond in long-term monogamous relationships, involving elaborate courtship and displays of affection, and homosexual pairs are not unheard of. A fertile female lays an average of four to six eggs at a time, but fewer eggs or larger numbers are not unusual. Both parents are involved in parental care.

In combat, a golden goose is aggressive and straightforward, opening up with a supernaturally loud honk that will weaken and disorient its victims. Then, it will usually close in on the least-armored opponent and batter it with its beak and wings, honking again as soon as it is able to. Golden geese are not immune to each other’s thunderous honks, and they are smart enough to know that. When more than a single golden goose is met at a time, they will try to position out of their companions’ range and catch opponents in the radius of multiple thunderous honks.

A golden goose is about 9 feet tall, with a wingspan for 16 feet from tip to tip. Their plumage varies in coloration just as much as that of regular geese, but their feathers are always tipped with gold.

[deathsmallcaps]

Queer tales here!

Orange often replaces yellow, and a bold red will separate pride colors

Links are on the main post, I may add them here someday but tumblr gets funny about cutting and pasting after a while.

Be warned: there are no explicitly ace characters, because at the beginning of the project (I was 16 and less informed) I didn’t know how to include it. And by the time I did start just explicitly saying queer label types in some of my stories, I had already mapped out exactly what I wanted to draw and write. But an IRL friend pointed out that two of the stories spoke to them as an ace person, and suggested I include these here.

Story with an Intersex man character

The Acacia Tree

Aro tales (more non-romantic stories can be found sorted here)

The Princess Who Never Laughed / The Golden Goose

The Eyrie

Ace Stories

Sleeping Beauty

The Twelve Dancing Princesses & The Snow Queen (the same pairing appears in both)

Tales with Trans Characters

Mulan

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

The Nose Tree*

The Youth Who Went Forth to Learn the Shivers

Puss in Boots

The Snow Queen

West of the Sun, East of the Moon

The Acacia Tree

*One character is a Wigudun person, and while they don’t have a flag, their society emblem are these colors

Stories with Same Gender Attraction

The Frog Princess

The White Snake

Godmother Death

The Nose Tree

The Youth Who Went Forth to Learn the Shivers

Puss In Boots

The Eyrie

The Snow Queen

West of the Sun, East of the Moon

Polyamory (some are mere set-up)

The Nose Tree

The Snow Queen

[cookinguptales]

I missed the flurry of readings because I've been hungover all day from my brother's wedding, haha! But I'd love a silly reading from a deck of your choice

It's all good! I hope you had fun!

My movie's having Technical Difficulties rn so it's a good time to take a break and do some more readings. lmao

I decided to go back to the Pulp Tarot for this, our second silly reading. All of those cards seem to be telling a gorgeous little story, so I thought it'd be fun for a silly reading.

(Ace of Wands, Temperance, Queen of Cups)

Once upon a time, there was a giant and a beanstalk, and y'all already know that story. This giant was not a bad guy, for all that he ate humans every now and then. Everyone eats, after all, and it's not a crime to be at the top of the food chain. Besides which, humans had a strange tendency to climb up beanstalks and steal from him.

Genuinely, what the fuck?

So after having, like, his goose stolen and his harp stolen and his bag of gold stolen, the giant was like. Dude! No! And he got himself a really big stick.

"FEE FI FO FUM,"

the giant said.

oh jesus christ,

not this again,

thought the townsfolk.

"IF YOU CLIMB THAT BEANSTALK AGAIN, YOU'LL GET FUCKING WRECKED."

And truthfully, that was actually kind of fair. But the villagers below had seen how rich and famous that Jack guy had become and they were actually kind of assholes, so they decided to enlist the help of A Hero to help them steal from that giant again.

The hero was temperance itself, part man and part woman, part land and part sea, something beautiful and winged and glistening with scales. And this hero, they thought that probably there could be a nonviolent solution to all this.

They flew up to where the giant lived and had a nice long talk over a cup of tea. The giant told the hero his point of view, and the hero had to admit that he had a point. It wasn't kind to eat your neighbors, perhaps, but it didn't help matters when they were fucking thieves.

"Hey," the hero said, flying down once again to the town. "Maybe you should just leave him alone."

"No," said the townsfolk. "That sounds really boring. We'd rather steal."

Then the townsfolk threw a rock at them.

"Right, then," said the hero. "Fuck this. I'm going home."

The hero's home was betwixt and between, up and down, somewhere not land and not sea but the mist between them both. That sounds an awful lot like a cloud, though, and so for now, the hero went to go hang out with the giant.

That night, the hero found out that golden eggs make pretty good omelets. Not only that, apparently the bones of Englishmen make pretty good bread.

The end.

--------------------

The moral of this reading is that British people steal too much. Also, Jack and the Beanstalk is a weird story.

Don't steal, and maybe practice temperance when you can. When you can't, I guess eating people is okay, too.

[dojae-huh]

To anon, dont get you fooled. Funny idols =/= variety king, doing high note all the time =/= super vocalist, being center/ace/screentime king all the time =/= they are stand out, these all are company made. Doyoung dont have all of the privilege at the beginning simply cuz he isnt company's choice and he is very aware, BUT he is working on it by himself. He made his own portfolio on social medias even before he had personal sns and he got a lot opportunities past few years than his peer.

Well, I'll disagree with you, anon (as I always do, heh). Trying to prove Doyoung's worth you did a mistake of using the underdog card. Doyoung was always pushed by SM. As an MC, as a vocalist, as a variety idol. You think ShowChampion asked for him? Or Lipstick Prince?

All neos were given opportunities in the past pre-debut and post-debut, SM is interested in pushing everyone because the producers don't know who will become the real golden goose and who will avoid scandals. Not really.

It is true though that Doyoung was able to use those opportunities and profit, and true that he works extra to create even more of them. SM gives the initial push, it is an idol's job to keep on paddling.

[stylesurrender]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Qupid | Red Ankle Bootie.

[pocji]

I love ace so much with all my heart truly but if they don’t make another song like golden goose again soon I might actually pass on

[undefined-humanoid]

There is ONE THING

Only one

That I want

A big man, big big boy. In all black. And a mask. And like he's so big and so man and deeeeeep voice like a demon but deeper with the fucking r a s p sent from hell and like he hates everyone. And like he's scary. And he's also the most kind person and he tells me I'm his pretty girl, his good girl, I'm so funny and cute and he loves me so so much. And his hands are like a bears paw, and his favorite place to put them is in my hair, or my neck, or my chin. To make me look at him while he tells me he loves me so so much. And he's strong, stronger than me stronger than all the gods and all the mountains and he's so gentle. And he's so very gentle with me. He's so scared he might hurt me. Because to him I'm precious and idk ig I've never been precious to anyone before. I mean I'm 5'6" and I'm big and im strong and I can take care of myself because I'm an independent woman. But sometimes independent women want to be taken care of too. But I want to take care of him, I want him to lay his head on my chest or in my lap during a movie and I want to play with his hair that he's always complaining about being in his eyes even though I think it's gorgeous. I want to cook him food and no matter how bad it is he smiles and tells me it's amazing. I want to make him stupid little beaded bracelets that say "#1 sharter" with rainbow beads and I want him to love it just as much as I love him. He wears it even though it does n o t match his outfit. I want to need him and I want him to need me, I don't want to be to clingy anymore and I don't want to be to stupid or to loud. I wanna get kicked out of an ace hardware with him cause we walked around laughing at nothing, and everything, for two hours. I want him to make me a ring out of soda tabs and propose to me in a waffle house at three in the morning. And I wanna elope that same day. He insists I wear that little pink dress I always thought looked awful on me but ever since he came around I feel a whole lot prettier in it. I wanna get matching tattoos with him. Of a goose holding a knife. And I want to hold his hand in the tattoo place while the artist is working on me and I want him to tell me "you're doing so good, I'm so proud of you" because it's my first tat even though hes covered in them. And I want to take him to the mall and show him off to everyone because he is my dream. And I want to be his dream. I want to be everything he's ever wanted. I also want him to exist. Sometimes I want to exist less just to think about him. I want to sink into the walls of my room, and wonder, and imagine and make stories about him. This impossible perfect man.

This man that even if he did exist would never look at a girl like me. If he existed he'd look at the pretty girls. Not me. He'd look at the dainty little things with their waist length hair bleached from root to tipped into a perfect platinum blonde, who's shirts are always so perfectly fitting. He wouldn't look at me, I'm not dainty. I'm not pretty. And I'm not blonde.

But I don't want to be dainty, and I don't want to be blonde. I like being strong, I like being able to take care of myself. I don't want to be skinny, I'd get cold to easily and if I wasn't strong who would keep my guy friends' egos in check. And blonde? Not with my skin tone, I'm perfectly happy with my dark honey brown hair with the golden bits bleached ever so slightly from the sun and my streaks of neon pink. And what if I didn't want to wear a tight shirt or that stupid fucking pink dress. A hoodie has never done me wrong. But then why, even if I know I'm pretty, do I feel like a abomination. Girls are supposed to be short and small, and please sir can you help me carry this, it's a bit to heavy for me. Girls are supposed to wear that cute little white sundress that drives all the boys wild. And heels never hurt to a real girl. A real girl has clear skin and no double chin and no fat on her tummy. She's perfect and fragile and thin and I would kill to be her. But I'm not so I suppose I'll continue with my meandering thoughts and let my mind tell me that no. You're not ugly, you're not fat you're not gross you're just as perfect and pretty as those blondes. But I'm not. And no matter how much I tell myself that the impossible man is real, and I just need to find him. He's not either.

[tewwor]

It all makes sense now. There hadn't been an account of anyone in their sect that needed medical assistance. At least, not from Cruor. Vector, himself, had to tend to a few just based on proximity. Typically, it's suggested that they keep to their own when it comes to this kind of service. Less questions to deal with in the long run. But if there happens to be someone at death's door.. Well, he can't fault the newbie entirely.

Iris sucks his teeth. "Hate it when that happens. I know it's hard to get foolproof info most of the time— no one can predict the future completely, but it's still a pain to deal with more than you signed up for." Speaking from experience, clearly. Doesn't help that he's the laziest out of this bunch. Sure, it helps to reach his quota, but at what cost? Too much time and effort's what.

"Case of a having a good heart, I fear," Seojun answers, just a touch somber. "Tends to push himself too far just to make sure someone else is okay."

"Mm.. Maybe he's trying to prove something to himself. "

"Could be, but it's not our place to say..."

"Honk," chimes the goose, just before she goes to nibble at one of Cruor's fingers. To Ace's credit, it does elicit a small groan from him. Then another a moment later as his face reanimates by scrunching.

Iris snickers as he coaxes the goose further back into his arms. "Oh, look who decided to join the conversation. Hey, Sleeping Beauty, rest well?"

"Whu-huh?" Groggy and disorientated, Cruor barely cracks an eye open and she's seeing stars. Or, wait, no — that's just a frame of golden hair. "How long's I.. Out?"

"Exactly. Dogs are so passe." Hartley grins, appreciating that Iris sits with her, puts himself on her level - even if his own pants were going to be covered in dirt, after this. Maybe, given the nature of what he does, he doesn't care as much as she does in her fancy clothes.

Hartley shifts slightly, a hand keeping Amine comfortable. "I was coming off a job of my own that had gone less than spectacularly. There were more inside than my intel indicated, and as a one-woman show I'm pretty good, but I'm not that good. I ran into Amine as I was making my exit. Covered in blood, a big old gash right about here," she indicates her ribs. "He healed me up before he passed out so I stuck around and got him home."

Sounds, actually, like their overstuffed leeches situation, from the comment. "Why does he do this, then?" Hartley asks, though she doesn't really expect to get an answer. Not their story to tell, maybe. She just would have thought that anyone who reacted to blood like he did would stay far away from it."

Gaze swings back up to Seojun. "You're welcome. But you don't have to thank me. He's sweet, and there's worse ways to pass an afternoon than with a man in my lap." To Ilseul, "I would absolutely take you up on that, but it might need to be another time. Designer skirts don't exactly mix well with greenhouse floors in terms of being seen in public."

[possession1981-moving]

Top 3 ace choreographies 👀

ahhhhhhhh spontaneously i wanna say baby tonight, jindo arirang and goblin but like shoutout to golden goose as well she's real close to making it

[anamedblog]

Holidays and History

Lora Ellen Webb, ANAMED Post-Doctoral Fellow (2022–2023)

Figure 1. Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present who sits atop the foods and decorations of the season, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (Hurst, 1951).

My family has a reliable routine when it comes to our Christmas celebration. Food often takes center stage: waffles for breakfast and—except for a misguided and disastrous dalliance with a turducken—for dinner we always have the same menu of goose, stuffing, and rice pudding. There are plentiful gingerbread men and a gorgeous stollen bread from our talented neighbor. In preparation for the feast, every Christmas Eve we have a lighter charcuterie-based dinner and watch Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (the 1951 version directed by Brian Desmond Hurst starring Alastair Sim).

In the film and in Dickens’ parable, Ebenezer Scrooge recovers his generous spirit through the visits of three ghosts: Christmas past, present, and future. Given the particularly dire state of Scrooge’s miserly soul, it is striking that his deceased colleague Jacob Marley waited for seven years to enlist the phantoms’ aid on the anniversary of his death, Christmas Eve. It is as if the holiday is a weak point in the flow of time where spirits might enter, and happy memories might become tangible once again. Scrooge relives his own past, pleasant and otherwise, and learns how to “keep Christmas.” And as a song (“Barbara Allen”) featured in the film worms its way into my ear for its annual winter residence, I am reminded that holidays are circular periods where the same tastes and sights and sounds recur, bringing the present in harmony with the past.

As the season of winter festivities approaches, I want to offer a taste of how the Byzantines (specifically the imperial household) celebrated holidays. As a kid I bemoaned the innovation of the turducken, and as an adult, I keep this egregious breach of protocol in living memory by recalling it at least once during Christmas dinner. I am, thus, very sympathetic towards Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, who in the mid-tenth century assembled a collection of directions for court ceremonial in the hope that they would always be carried out properly. The Book of Ceremonies details many different ceremonies, from court appointments to funerals. It also records what should be done for church feasts and holidays. For example, the Byzantine emperors celebrated the Twelve Days of Christmas (the period that runs from Christmas day to Epiphany) with twelve full days of feasting. The Kletorologion, an earlier text included in Constantine’s collection, directs who should come to dinner and where they should sit, or more accurately, where they should recline.[1]Liudprand of Cremona, an ambassador to Constantine VII’s court, records that during the Christmas feasts, guests in the Hall of Nineteen Couches reclined for their meal. He describes the use of golden platters so heavy that they had to be lifted onto the table with a pulley system.[2] Harun Ibn Yahya, a Syrian hostage living in the court in the late ninth or earlytenth century, also mentions golden platters so large they had to be wheeled in.[3]

Figure 2. For a sense of the luxurious table settings used in the palace, we might look at the collection of liturgical chalices from the Attarouthi Treasure (silver and gilt silver, 500–650, The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

The feasts also included entertainment. Harun recounts the playing of the organ, which was used in many imperial acclamations.[1]Liudprand details acrobats climbing up and moving around a pole balanced on a man’s forehead.[2] The Book of Ceremonies directs that on the ninth day of Christmas, the “Gothic Game” should be played after the jugglers depart. The game consisted of members of the chariot racing factions, the Blues and Greens, dressed as “Goths” (in furs turned inside out so that hair faced outward). The “Goths” ran in circles shouting “Toultoul!”and in turn the declaimers of the factionsrecited an acrostic in honor of the emperor. The words used by both the “Goths” and the poets included a mix of Latin and Germanic words that gave the game its name.[3] Though the instructions for the Gothic Game are impenetrable to me, the yearly dance between Latin and Germanic syllables reinscribes Constantinople’s connection to Rome.

Figure 3. This image of the Last Supper from Sant’ApollinareNuovo (sixth century, Ravenna) gives us an idea of the Roman form of dining while reclined. The Byzantines continued this tradition on certain festive occasions like Christmas.

The great feasts of the major holidays may have included raucous acclamations, acrobats, and an impressive spread of delicacies, but the Byzantine elites also marked days with simpler commemorations. On the Thursday before Easter, for instance, the emperor visited the homes for the aged and then, after the liturgy, he gave high-level courtiers two apples and a stick of cinnamon.[1] During my research on court ceremonial, I have often been struck by this offering, which appears simple in contrast to more typical distribution of imperial largess through gold or sumptuous fabrics. Cinnamon was a highly valued spice, but such a small amount, along with two apples, resists an easy transformation into the showy displays of status enabled by gold and silks. The gift seems meant for private, personal consumption, and therefore, it appears more intimate. Though I do not know what the courtiers did with their gifts, apple and cinnamon also evokes a combination of flavors with which we are familiar today. It is a taste and scent that I associate with warm social occasions throughout the colder months.

The Book of Ceremonies also records more idiosyncratic celebrations. It notes that for the Triumph of Orthodoxy (celebrating the end of Iconoclasm), the patriarch Theophylact would add incense to the celebration. He also had sweetmeats at the chapel of St. Theophylact with the ruler and his invited guests.[1] Among the often-impersonal directions, this record stands out as a moment of personalized commemoration—one that the patriarch shared with others through sweet treats. A similar tradition is kept at ANAMED, where fellows often leave small delicacies near the coffee and tea station after research trips or in celebration of the holidays of our many countries.

Beyond my admiration for his employment of good smells and tastes, Theophylact’s efforts to enrich the commemoration of a historical moment speak to me. As an art historian, I often visit the objects or places that I study. Sometimes I do so with friends or colleagues, and we discuss what we are seeing. For instance, two intrepid fellows and I made a trip to the monastery and likely burial site of another patriarch, Ignatios, on his feast day (October 23).

Figure 4. Fellows visit the KüçükyalıArkeopark on October 23, the feast day of Patriarch Ignatios. Photo by Artemis Papatheodorou.

At the Satyros Monastery, now KüçükyalıArkeopark, we were amazed by the size of the complex as we walked around its border. We told stories about Ignatios, informally recounting his life. I left purple flowers. I cannot quite articulate why it seemed important to me to go on the day of Ignatios’ feast. Nothing magical happened. We were the only ones there. I think perhaps it stems from the desire to allow the past to guide our steps a bit, in this case through the choice of a date. The choice transformed the trip into something of a small pilgrimage that devoted a little time in the present to a long-dead saint. Even when not commemorating a specific day or person, looking closely at objects and spaces and the stories and histories we tell each other in their company would seem to bear an invitation for the ghost of the past to pay us a visit. After all, Jacob Marley first appeared through a door knocker.

Figure 5. Jacob Marley in Scrooge’s door knocker, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (Hurst, 1951).

[1]Ann Moffatt and Maxeme Tall, eds., The Book of Ceremonies: With the Greek edition of the Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae (Bonn, 1829), vol. 2 (Canberra: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 2012; reprint, paperback by Leiden: Brill, 2017), Bk. 2, ch. 52, 741–759.

[2]Bishop of Cremona Liudprand, The Complete Works of Liudprand of Cremona, trans. Paolo Squatriti (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2007), Bk. 6, ch. 8, pp. 199–200.

[3]Alexei Vasiliev, "Harun-Ibn-Yahya and His Description of Constantinople," Seminarium Kondakovianum V(1932): 157; Andrew Dalby, Flavours of Byzantium  (Totnes: Prospect, 2003), 116–119.

[4]Vasiliev, "Harun-Ibn-Yahya and His Description of Constantinople," 157–158.

[5]Liudprand, Complete Works, Bk. 6, ch. 9, p. 200.

[6]Moffatt and Tall, Book of Ceremonies, vol. 1, Bk. 1, ch. 83, pp. 381–386.

[7]Book of Ceremonies, vol. 1, Bk. 1, ch. 33, pp. 177–178. [1]Book of Ceremonies, vol. 1, Bk. 1, ch. 28, pp. 160.