#medieval holiday cards

[vooruitmariek]

New set of medieval-inspired holiday cards available in my Etsy shop ✨

[vigilskeep]

How do you think the Thedas holidays are celebrated in the circles?

because they’re andrastian holidays and circles are an andrastian institution, i would be very surprised if they weren’t celebrated! but a little differently, due to the circumstances. more sermons than getting out and celebrating, i fear. nevertheless, good plentiful food and a break from work are the typical markers of a medieval-ish holiday. i would certainly expect a day off from studies and a feast in the great hall for circle mages! perhaps performances and displays of their work... here’s a great canon letter from a retired knight-commander to his knight-templar grandson that gives us some insight:

“My Dear Boy,

Your pious outrage might earn you some approval with your knight-lieutenant, but I beg you to join the rest of us in the real world, lad. Do you have any idea just how wealthy the Circle of Magi can be? The amount of gold the nobility pays for enchanted goods would overflow a well. Many mages—particularly Lucrosians—are from good families, used to entertainments and the finer things in life... and Maker knows they can afford them. So why shouldn’t they indulge a little?

Besides, a few musicians and dancers and an elaborate dinner is nothing. There are a dozen acting troupes in Val Royeaux and Halamshiral who specialise in bringing plays and stories into Circle Towers. A little collapsible scenery, the right costumes, a sprinkle of artfully chosen scent, and they can transform a workshop into an enchanted forest, a cold courtyard into a war tent on the eve of battle, or a dining hall into a darkspawn lair.

It does the mages good, too. When you see the same dreary walls day after day, a change to the familiar is a taste of freedom.

When mages entertain themselves, now, that’s a sight. No mere “tricks” there. I’ve seen ones who could juggle fire into ice or breathe a word into one hand and release a song from the other. I once saw a mage build a cathedral out of playing cards, upside down, yet it was impossible to knock it over! Even a game of battledore and shuttlecock takes on a new dimension when the players can move objects with their minds.

It isn’t all idle entertainment, either; most mages I know are eager to put their hands to useful work. Those gorgeous wooden panels in the teyrn’s castle at Ostwick? The ones that show the Qunari Wars on the Waking Sea? All carved by an enchanter at the city’s Circle, over the ten years he spent there. More than a few palaces have benefited from the artistry of mages: tapestries, stained glass, anything that takes time and patience.

In some day, some knight-captains frowned on mages spending their time and magical power for “frivolous ends.” Frivolous? Any mage with enough fine control to keep an audience enthralled, or to build a mosaic of Andraste, has better mastery of their magic than one who only uses it to destroy. Leave the moralising to the revered mothers, my boy. It’s not for us to say how a person should stay occupied in their own home.”

as for the more specific festival traditions, i wouldn’t be surprised if city-based circle mages were asked to send talent to perform magic for some festivals. the fires on funalis, perhaps. and i wonder if the most lenient circles ever have some kind of templar mage role swap for the day on satinalia lmao. or at the very least have a little apprentice be first enchanter for the day. i wouldn’t imagine they have much of a coming of age for summerday because maturity is much more marked by your harrowing

[ashleywool]

health update/diatribe/infodump BUT THERE'S A CAT VIDEO AT THE END

Dearest reader: This should be a simple health update, but instead, it's an obnoxiously detailed info-dump written by the kind of person who knows more than most people about American health insurance but is still surprised at how it continues to find new and innovative ways to suck. If this is not the type of thing your brain or nervous system wants to wrap itself around, I don't blame you one bit, but if it is, I hope you'll at least walk away having learned something or being at least mildly entertained. If not, feel free to

SCROLL TO THE END FOR A HTDIO-ADJACENT CAT VIDEO!

When last we left our third-or-fourth-favorite mildly niche-famous T-list Broadway person, she was finally on the brink of getting a brain and pituitary MRI. This was supposed to happen on Friday.

But I wasn't allowed to get the MRI on Friday because Cigna's pre-authorization was still pending and there was nothing my doctor could do to escalate its urgency, nor could they withdraw the order. They couldn't do anything at all until the third-party organization that approves the pre-authorizations signed off on its medical necessity.

Look, I get it. This is an expensive and labor-intensive procedure, so they have to be thorough. I mean, sure, my doctor said it was medically necessary, and sure, they sent the additional clinical information to confirm its medically necessity, and sure, every order at every stage was marked as urgently medically necessary, and it was sent for processing on Monday, but how can they REALLY be sure it's medically necessary until my case is also reviewed by doctors who have NEVER seen me, and don't work weekends or holidays, and will get around to reviewing it at their own leisure? The folks at the radiology clinic rescheduled me in their next available spot and maintained that they'd contact me as soon as possible to fill any upcoming cancellation spots.

A ridiculous mildly annoying setback was that their next available appointment wasn't until July 26. They couldn't attempt to book me at any of the other dozens of clinics affiliated with this hospital network, because the pre-authorization is site-specific, which is like buying someone a gift card from the Starbucks on my block only to find out that they won't honor it at the Starbucks two blocks down perfectly reasonable, because I'm sure every site has differences that can't be perceived from a patient perspective.

Oh, and the existence of a pending pre-authorization prevented them from doing the MRI that day even if I'd had $8K in cash to pay out of pocket for the procedure. Which is perfectly reasonable, because why shouldn't American healthcare policy punish rich people too? I'm sure it's many flavors of unethical for one doctor to do something without the approval of another doctor even though the doctor whose approval it hangs on has NEVER SEEN ME.

One fellow in particular--I'll call him Quincy--gave me some insider info on how to prepare for the types of advocacy he's had to do in the past with this particular pre-authorization team, and which numbers to call and questions to ask. He isn't technically supposed to know this stuff and also isn't technically supposed to share it, but says he does it all the time anyway--hence why I'm keeping him anonymous. Quincy isn't his real name, but Quincy is a real one, and I took in his information like a medieval warrior selecting the choicest armor to prepare for battle the informed and fully compliant patient I strive to be.

Anyway, a few persistent phone calls later, a Cigna rep informed me that the middlemen would approve the pre-authorization for the MRI on the condition that I get the procedure done at a standalone radiology facility instead of a hospital-affiliated facility. Which is like buying someone a gift card that could only be honored at Starbucks kiosks located inside Target stores, but not at a standalone Starbucks or anywhere else in Target perfectly reasonable, I know the insurance companies don't wanna have to spend hospital prices any more than I do. So I spent a great deal of time yesterday looking up non-hospital-affiliated radiology clinics that were in-network.

I made an appointment with one clinic for Thursday. But I also made an appointment request at a different clinic for Monday morning, just in case they could see me sooner--because I knew this clinic didn't accept Medicare or Medicaid, and were therefore exempt from the requirement of third-party pre-authorization. (Pro-tip: even if you do have Medicare or Medicaid, always try to bypass pre-authorization for diagnostic procedures, especially if you have a particularly high in-network deductible--it's entirely possible that paying out of pocket for a service at an out-of-network provider could cost less than the amount you'd have to pay towards your deductible at at in-network facility. American math.)

THIS MORNING, I woke up at 8am to a phone call from the latter clinic, saying that if I sent them the doctor's prescription, they could pre-authorize the procedure and see me tomorrow. So that's what I did...and then I got an email saying that they couldn't accept a prescription for an MRI with and without contrast because they don't have contrast at that facility. Which is like finally securing a coveted reservation at an elite steakhouse only to find out they don't season their steak or even have steak sauce perfectly reasonable, because not everyone needs contrast, but I do, so that place was out.

But as far as I've been told, Thursday's appointment should go off without a hitch as long as I call EviCore (the pre-authorization middlemen) tomorrow morning to tell them all about the not-hospital that will be giving me a not-hospital-priced MRI, so that they can grant the pre-authorization at long last.

Perhaps if I plead my case and bat my eyes at them real cute-like through the phone, they'll give me some other reason why it's actually not medically necessary for me to know definitively whether or not I have a literal brain tumor I can get seen even sooner than Thursday.

FUNNY STORY THOUGH...

A couple weeks ago I was talking to a friend from church who was going through a lot of the same stuff as I was, and I was like "idk, maybe get your cortisol checked?" and lo and behold, he messaged me back a few days ago saying that he'd found a new doctor and asked him to do just that, and WITHIN A DAY his doctor ordered ALL the labs I'd fought for (serum blood cortisol, low-dose dexamethasone suppression test, 24-hour urine, saliva, etc.) AND an MRI for suspected Cushing's.

And he completed ALL OF THAT within a week.

Although he did have to suffer for quite a while before I floated the possibility of Cushing's, just like my friend Alan had to suffer for years before his own endocrinologists floated the possibility of Cushing's. Still, they both got that MRI the second it WAS floated, without a fight, and I'm genuinely happy for them.

But I can't help wondering how much quicker and easier this whole process would have been for me if I were a man. Or if I was neurotypical. Or if I still had a choice about whether or not to disclose being autistic. But mostly if I were a man.

THIS IS THE END! HERE IS THE HTDIO-ADJACENT CAT VIDEO YOU WERE PROMISED!

I'm fostering my friends' exquisite tuxedo princessfloof for a few weeks. Chevy and Tex are being very accommodating foster siblings, but she's much younger and is used to being the only pet, so naturally it took her a while to acclimate.

But there was one thing she took to immediately: the How to Dance in Ohio fidget spinner.

[d34dpulse]

Official BakuDeku content because the brain rot is rotting

This is 4 silly funsies btw so if u don't ship bakudeku plz don't jump me :(

Official Ship Art

One of Horikoshi's assistants Noguchi (@/nstime23) posts A LOT of bakudeku art on their twt which, since she publicly works on the manga and Horikoshi follows her account, he definitely knows she makes this.

In BNHA Smash, an official spin-off of BNHA that's approved by Horikoshi and made by another one of his assistants, Hirofumi Neda, there's a running joke that Deku is a yandere who stalks Katsuki and is obsessed with him "noticing him", even blushing when Katsuki praises him.

To promote the new movie, Horikoshi drew Katsuki dressed as Godzilla and Izuku dressed as Mothra. In the Godzilla series, Godzilla and Mothra are a couple and are referred to as the king and queen of monsters.

Katsuki calls himself Kacchan before killing himself for him... Speaks for itself.

When Tomura kills Katsuki, he specifically said that he did it because of Izuku's "sheer fury" when he nearly killed him, funny since Tomura not only hurt but killed other people Izuku was close to.

In a set of official licensed poker cards for the series. Izuku represents the Ace of Hearts, Katsuki represents the Ace of Diamonds and together, they represent the King of Hearts.

Medieval AU

In the outro song for the second season of the anime (Datte Atashi no Hero), the songwriter Risa Oribe said that the lyrics are Izuku’s true feelings for Katsuki and with lyrics like “If you're facing a monumental effort, one that comes once in a lifetime, I want to be there to see it” and “No matter how many fools there are in this world, I'll always be by your foolish side” it sorta speaks for itself lol.

Also, in the cover page of Chapter 214, it shows that All Mights buster sword from the original fantasy spread has been split in two, and that Katsuki and Izuku are each wielding the two halves.

Steampunk AU

In the mobile game, they celebrated the 3rd anniversary of the game by having a plot with Izuku convincing Katsuki to celebrate their anniversary. Doing this event would give you a bunch of heart balloons and flowers with a number 3 balloon.

For the 2020 Steampunk-themed popularity poll art (the cover of Chapter 293), Izuku and Katsuki seem to be wearing each other's shoes for some reason.

Sakura Season Stuff 🌸

For the first image, there's a superstition in Japan that if you catch three sakura petals while they're falling, your wish for love will come true, but you need to be with your crush at the time for it to work.

For the second image, cherry blossoms generally represent new beginnings which makes perfect sense with these two, because after years of rivalry, they're now friends and deeply care for each other, especially since this came out around the same time as chapter 424, where the war they fought together in is now officially over and they're starting their second year of UA together.

White Day

For anyone like me who has never heard of this, White Day is a holiday in Japan that takes place on the day after Valentine's Day, where you're supposed to give someone you love gifts to repay them for giving you gifts on Valentine's Day. Now, with this context, look at their matching white day cards where one has a bag of cookies and the other has a tray of them.

[yiddishknights]

Please allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite Renaissance manuscripts, BnF Hébreu 586. It's a Yiddish Sefer minhagim, or book of religious customs, created in Italy in the early 16th century. The book describes the customs and traditions associated with various Jewish holidays. Although such Yiddish-language books were not uncommon in the medieval and Renaissance periods, this one is unique for its illustrations, which were clearly done by an amateur artist and cover 94 of the manuscript's 120 folios. While many 19th and 20th century scholars were dismissive of the artwork, which they described as ugly or crude, I think they give the manuscript a lot of its charm.

Art historian Diane Wolfthal notes that, while many of the illustrations depict the actions described in the text, this is not always the case. Sometimes, as with the card game pictured above, the illustrations are not directly related to the text. It seems that the scribe/illustrator chose to focus on the most joyous and vibrant aspects of Jewish ritual. As Wolfthal writes, the illustrations "envision Jewish customs from the scribe’s viewpoint and construct an idyllic vision of Jewish society."

A Hebrew list of names and important dates at the back of the book suggests that it was probably privately owned and passed down through generations of a family. The scribe/illustrator may have been a member of the family and produced it for personal use.

Above is a selection of a few of my favorite illustrations which have clearly legible captions. These read, from top to bottom:

fol. 1r: "דיא שפילן קרטן אם ראש חדש" ["They play cards on Rosh Chodesh."]

fol. 4r: "דיא געבן סדר" ["They are giving a seder."]

fol. 8r: "דיא לײאן אין דער ספר תורה" ["They are reading the Torah."]

fol. 22r: "דיא מכן הבדלה" ["They are making havdalah."]

fol. 73r: "דער אישט אין דער סוכה" ["He is in the sukkah."]

There are so many more interesting illustrations in this book that I could not include, so I highly recommend flipping through it yourself!

Sources

Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Héb. 586

Diane Wolfthal, Picturing Yiddish: Gender, Identity, and Memory in the Illustrated Yiddish Books of Renaissance Italy, Brill, 2004.

[polizwrites]

PoliZ's WIP Update - 30 Oct 2024

Another slower writing week - I touched three  fics (2 new & 1 WIPs)  for a total  of  1788  words, about 1200 of which were on a single fic - a WIP–on-hiatus that I’m getting some traction on.   

On Ao3, I posted: 

Better Served Cold - pseudo-Regency WinterIron Vampire AU one shot

On Tumblr I posted: 

 A Dark and Stormy Knight -  WinterIron Medieval AU double drabble

Dark Dreams Doubled -  Stucky angsty drabble

Bait and Switch - Stucky (Stuckony) ficlet that lives up to its name.

Looking High and Low - domestic WinterIron fluff

I’m juggling  20+  active/semi-active WIPs with my current  deadline being the Fictober, Flufftober and Whumptober writing challenges that run til the end of the month, along with the Build a Bucky Bingo. 

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

WinterIron Gets It Done Bingo [WIGID] 

This new WinterIron Discord server event runs on a monthly basis as a flash bingo with a content creation card and an engagement card - working on filling squares for both! 

* Classic1 - "Oops"   Posted Love Potion Number φ - a WinterIron Magic AU  double drabble that crosses over with the FltT prompt 11. Ingredients & Spells as well as my TSB S3 - KINK: Aphrodisiacs square.  It came in at 200 words exactly and will get added to Ao3 at some point. 

* Classic_2 - Scary Movie - posted The Old Dark House  on Friday - a  WinterIron domestic fluff drabble that crossed over with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF274 Empty House] and will get posted to Ao3 at some point. 

* Classic_3 - FREE - posted the final chapter of Love is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong - my (eventual) WinterIron Reality Show AU fic from this summer.  The final episode of Courting a Royal has James choosing his potential partner - and he throws a wrench into things with his choice.  It came in at 1092 words and filled the BaBB October: Formal Wear prompt and my  TSB:  R1 - WinterIron square.  

* Classic_4 - Fortune Teller - Posted   Madame Prophetrona Knows All yesterday - a true 100-word drabble that incorporates the Fictober prompt  22 - “Why are we doing this again?” with a bit of friendship (or established relationship) fluff.   

* Classic_5 - Dark and Stormy - Posted  Better Served Cold on Friday - a quasi-Regency vampire AU (vamp!Bucky and human!Tony) that crosses over with the Whumptober prompt  No. 18: REVENGE  + Loss of Identity,  the Fictober Day 25 prompt:  “it consumes me” and the BaBB October: Vampire AU prompt.  It came in at 1007 words.  

* Engagement_1 - Post A Prompt:  I shared the following prompt in the party thread: 

Prompt for this month's  Bingo:    Tony and Bucky work opposite shifts at a coffee shop.  They start leaving notes for each other - originally work related (malfunctioning equipment, cranky customers, etc)  but then start sharing bits from their lives  (acing a test,  making a therapy breakthru [physical or mental])  and become penpal friends.    They finally meet at the shop's  holiday party only to discover they already had met  (at the gym, shared class... one night stand?)

A couple of people in the thread are already taking the idea and running with it - can’t wait to see what they’ll do! 

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1] (Ends 31 Oct 2024)

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!  At thirty-six  fills and one month to go, I think I’ve gone a bit overboard …. 😁 

* October: Formal Wear - see WIGID Classic_3 - FREE above. 

* October: Vampire AU - see WIGID Classic_5 - Dark & Stormy  above.  

* October: Alpine - posted Looking High and Low on Tumblr last Saturday - a domestic fluff WinterIron fic that crossed over with the Flufftober Day 26 prompt “I can’t find it.” and Fictober Day 10 prompt “Is this normal?”  It came in at 395 words and will get posted to Ao3 at some point. 

Flufftober 2024  [FlfT_24] (Runs 1-31 Oct)

This writing challenge hosted by @flufftober  runs for the month of October.  My goal is to write one fic a week that incorporates these prompts: ended up posting seven - and I’m happy with that.   Check back next week for a masterpost.   

* 5. Acorn, Chestnut, Pine Cone - Posted  Up, Down, North, South, East and West  last Saturday.  Combined this with R3 - AU: adventurers/explorers  for some Tony  & Morgan fluff. It came in at  347 words and will get posted to Ao3 at some point.

* 11. Ingredients & Spells - see WIGID Classic_1 - “Oops” above. 

* 12 - “This is spooky.” - “Really?” -- Posted Digging Into the Past as a crossover with the  Fictober prompt  - 12 “Did you hear that?” and my BBB B3 - "Anyone out there?"  square  for a pre-war Steve & Bucky fic where they venture into the creepy cellar of their apartment building. It came in at 577  words and will get posted to Ao3 eventually.  

* 18. Bewitched - Posted  Pussyfooting Around on the 18th.  It crosses over with my  BBB B1 - Magic  square and the Fictober 19. “This is getting ridiculous.”  for a  WinterIron ficlet  where something odd (and adorable) is going on with Bucky.  It came in at  at 272 words and will get added to Ao3 at some point. 

* 22 - Heirloom - Posted Chapter 10 of A Sugar-Coated Pill on the 18th.  It crossed over with my WIB G2 - Edwin Jarvis &  TSB T2 - Wedding squares - after  jumping forward in time,  Tony gifts a tie bar to Bucky as his ‘something old’ for their wedding.  It came in 1433 words and finished off the fic!  

* 26 -  “I can’t find it.” -  see BaBB October: Alpine prompt above

* FlfT Alt7 - Getting Revenge - Posted Bait and Switch on the 27th - crossing over with  Whumptober: Alt13 - Used as Bait  and Fictober 27. “let me remind you”  prompts, plus my  BBB Y2 - Kidnapped!  square for a Stucky (Stuckony) fic that is true to its title; it came in at 441 words.  

Whumptober 2024 [WmpT_24] (Runs 1-31 Oct)

This writing challenge hosted by @whumptober  runs for the month of October. My goal was to write two fics (whump isn’t normally my bag)   that incorporates these prompts. Ended up with four fics; check in next week for a masterpost.   

* No. 4: HALLUCINATIONS + “You’re still alive in my head”. Combined this with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt   [#FFF273 Invisible Guest]  for  Having the Last Word   where Tony confronts an imaginary (but still dead) Obadiah Stane.  It came in at 310 words and will get posted to Ao3 at some point.  

* No. 18: REVENGE  - see WIGID Classic_5 - Dark and Stormy above. 

*Alt9 - Secrets Revealed - This fits very well into what will probably be the final chapter of  My Love is Vengeance - part of my long-running WinterIron series  where the Winter Soldier gets assigned as a young Tony Stark’s bodyguard, with the mission of convincing him to join HYDRA.  But affection (plus a cognitive recalibration) leads Bucky to rebel.  It’s coming in at 1123 words and will probably post on the 31st so I can squeeze it into this event.  

* Alt13 - Used as Bait -  see  FlfT Alt7 - Getting Revenge

Fictober 2024 [FicT_24] (Runs 1-31 Oct)

Another October writing challenge with daily prompts - all of which are dialogue. Go check out @fictober-event  for details!  I was targeting one fic a week on this as well and ended up with seven - stay tuned for a masterpost.  Might keep this prompt list around for future inspiration.  

* 10   “Is this normal?” - see BaBB October: Alpine

* 12 “Did you hear that?”  - see FlfT 12 - “This is spooky.” - “Really?”

* 19. “This is getting ridiculous.” - see FlfT 18. Bewitched 

* 22 - “Why are we doing this again?” - see WIGID Classic_4: Fortune Teller 

* 25 -  “It consumes me.” - see WIGID Classic_5 - Dark and Stormy above.

* 27 - “Let me remind you.” - see  FlfT Alt7 - Getting Revenge

WinterIron Bingo 2  [WIB_R2] (Ends 16 Dec 2024)

Signups are still open for pre-made cards for Round Two of this super-fun bingo event! I have twenty  fills and zero WIPs at the moment - setting this aside for the moment, as I have other time-sensitive events going.  

* Iron Soldier (One Bingo, One Fill) - looking at combining my Column B prompts: Matchmaker, Bucky Riding Tony, Stark Gala, Inside Joke and Threesome.  Still working on a plot - if you have any suggestions/want-to-sees - let me know! 

* I3 - Car Sex -  Have a fun ficlet in mind for this - some of the dialogue & such already worked out in my head.  

* N5 - "I'm here for you."  - Possibly the next chapter of  Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion ?  

Marvelous Yahtzee [MY_24] (Ends 31 Dec)

Another writing challenge that I kind of forgot I signed up for!  This one is a bit complicated - check out the Tumblr blog for more info.   Hopefully I can pick up a few lines and put something together before the event ends.  

Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round Six [BBB - R6]  (Ends 31 Mar)

This amazing bingo event from the folks over at @buckybarnesbingo is back!  I have twenty  fills (but somehow only one bingo) with one WIPs at the moment, and a couple  more crossovers planned. 

* B1 - Magic - see FlfT 18 - Bewitched above.

* U3 - Yelena Belova  - Magica and I are circling back around to Peresmešnik, (aka Three Avengers and a Baby) - with the next chapter featuring Tony’s interactions with Mirriam, and a revelation about her parentage. I’ve written 313 of the 560 words in this chapter so far - it needs about 500 more words before we’ll be ready to post - maybe sometime  this month?   

*  K2 - IMAGE: Bucky and Steve in Siberian silo hallway (CA:CW)  - Combined this with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt  [#FFF269 Living Weapon]  for  Reconstruction - a fix-it/canon divergent ficlet where Steve, Bucky and Tony team up instead of fighting.   It came in at 268 words and will get posted  to Ao3 before the event is over.   

* Y2 - Kidnapped!  -  see  FlfT Alt7 - Getting Revenge

Tony Stark Bingo - Mark VIII [TSB_R8]  (Ends 31 May)

This amazing bingo event from the folks over at @tonystarkbingo is back! Late signups should start this month  if you want to join in on the fun!  I have  seventeen squares filled, one bingo and one WIPs - with more crossovers planned! 

* S1 - Bodyguard - filled this with A Dark and Stormy Knight - a vaguely medieval AU WinterIron AU double drabble which crossed over with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF276 Dark and Stormy Night]. It came in at 200 words and will get posted on Ao3 at some point.  

* S3 - KINK: Aphrodisiacs - see WIGID  Classic1 - "Oops" above 

* T1 - Watching Helplessly -  Posted Stranded Among the Stars  to Tumblr as a crossover with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF265 Galaxies Away]. It’s a Nebula & Tony ficlet set on the ship - it came in at 345 words and will get posted to Ao3 before the event ends. 

* T2 - Wedding - see Flufftober 22. Heirloom prompt above

* R1 - WinterIron - see WIGID - Classic_3 - FREE above

* R3 - AU: adventurers/explorers - see FlfT 5. Acorn, Chestnut, Pine Cone above.  

* K4 - backstory - see Whumptober *Alt9 - Secrets Revealed 

Post July Break Bingo 2024  [pJBB_24] (Ends 30 Jun 2025)

I requested two 2x3 cards for this  Discord-server only event from @julybreakbingo  – so if you want to join in the fun, let me know and I’ll try to get you an invite!  I have four  fics posted & 0 WIPs - need to figure out some more crossovers.

* C2_B1 - Courting/courted in a different way than they're familiar with -  posted A Symbol of Devotion on Tumblr as a crossover with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF267 Gifted Violets] - a bit of Stony fluff with Tony  buying Steve little things for his apartment.   It came in at 374 words and will get posted to Ao3 before this event is over. 

* C2_B2 - Being there for someone after a traumatic event -  posted Melting Down  to Ao3 - a  post IM3 Pepperony ficlet where Pepper’s struggling with Extremis.  It crossed over with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF271 Tantrum Entrance] and came in at 416 words. 

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  [WFB]   (no end date)

Eight fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two!

————

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on a Mothra figure for a custom commission  and have seven figures to create for my two Marvel Trumps Hate 2024 auctions.  I’ve been in touch with my winners and they’re still deciding on who they want.  

If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[scarfacemarston]

I went No Contact from my birth family a loooong time ago and we live pretty distantly from the most conservative in-laws so I'm personally doing fine this particular holiday weekend, but I saw your post and I'm *trying* to interact more with folks when I'm free and have the spoons, and I'd love to help distract if you're stuck with unpleasant company--I remember how holidays with toxic family are. You are not alone!

So for asks... I remembered those traditional "anniversary gift" themes recently and I think they would have been a thing in the early 1900s in America if I understand the history correctly? (I am not a historian so apologies if I am way off base.) Either way, I was wondering if you think Abigail and John would like to partake in those sort of things, whatever was established tradition, or do you think they'd prefer to have less-traditional celebrations or gifts?

I'm so sorry you've had family struggles. It sounds like you're doing better now, but that doesn't erase the pain of it happening in the first place. Thank you for reaching out. It's so appreciated. <3 As for your question:

It took a while for me to look this up because there is so little information on the topic! I even went academic and went through sites like JSTOR. (It's a vast database.)

So we have a problem to start with. This is a question about social history, which is essentially any history that is not about a rich, white, Christian man. They were written about in "traditional history." The problem is that social history is difficult to study as the "other" (that's the legitimate term) does not leave as many records. Suppose you want to write about another race, gender, working class, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. In that case, you have to be prepared to research outside of the box and go against the grain, as historians call it. Therefore, researching anything about the RDR gang can be super challenging. Abigail and John are from the "Wild West" and were working class, so there isn't much information on people like them. However, we do have shopping trends from middle-class people to give us clues.

Anniversaries, as we know them, didn't seem to be widely celebrated until around 1910. Hallmark, a really popular card company, helped boost anniversaries with their cards. They opened up in the 1920s. The jewelry boom of the 1940s also encouraged people to buy jewelry for people's anniversaries.

That is not to say that no one ever celebrated anniversaries. Multiple sites mention Medieval people celebrating it, but it does not appear as prevalent an event until very late in the Victorian era/early Edwardian era. Abigail and John were on the cusp of that timeline, with John dying in 1911.

Now, Valentine's Day seemed to be a far larger ordeal. Many Valentine's Day cards and ads for Valentine's Day gifts exist. That has a long history and was celebrated at that time. I'd be shocked if John and Arthur didn't see Bessie and Hosea celebrate it. (They could have also celebrated their anniversary, who knows.) Same with Dutch if he was super serious with Anabelle. I think Jake and Sadie could have celebrated something similar; it just seems to be in Jake's personality. I think it's possible that Arthur celebrated Valentine's Day with Mary and later John with Abigail. (Of course, Dutch with Anabelle or Molly, Bessie and Hosea, and Jake and Sadie.)

I know that may not be the answer you were looking for, but it was what I could find. Let me know if you want links to my sources. They're nothing fancy.

[oxygenbefore1775]

AoT Warriors At A Christmas Market

a/n: i dont know if christmas markets are a thing in the us, they are in europe, though

Annie

likes to wander the rows with shops and often buys either a christmas ornament or a candle to remember this holiday season by

sometimes, if annie's cravings act up, she may enjoy a gingerbread, she always buys the one in the shape of a heart (no sentiments here, it's just the biggest one available)

if there's a belltower nearby, annie would climb it up to enjoy the view of the christmas market splayed out beneath her

Bertholdt

eggnogg is bert's beverage of choice at a christmas market - he often likes to hold the mug with both of his hands to warm his fingers

when he accidentally gets drunk (which happens quite often), in his ramblings bert would often slander the commercialization of christmas and how shitty it is how you need to buy stuff in order to feel the spirit of christmas

invites annie to the ice rink for totally-not-a-date but while skating bert collapses on the ice so much with annie having to pick him up so the "date" ends up ruined

Colt

never skips the day when they light up the christmas tree on the town square

too broke to buy anything for himself or falco so he just substitutes it with staring at the rows of christmas goods

is coaxed into drinking together with bert and pieck and colt agrees, mainly because he wants to be like cool kids and mingle with the people he respects

Pieck

takes every type of beverage sold at the market but doesn't return the mugs under the deposit - pieck has her own collection of christmas themed cups and she adds to it every holiday season

takes pictures with all of the warriors making wear them silly headbands so she later could make a christmas card out of the photos (or use them as blackmail, who knows)

can distinguish between the mulled wine from different kiosks and can tell whether or not a certain kiosk sells wine from diluted store-bought mulled wine concentrate

Porco

steals an ornament from the town square christmas tree

does most of the gift-shopping at christmas markets because otherwise in day-to-day life he would forget

passive-agressively challenges reiner as to who can drink a mug of mulled wine the fastest (reiner accepts only because he wants porco off of him); ends up losing because he constantly chokes on the giant hot gulps of mulled wine

Reiner

reiner likes to watch the play - mainly because gabi and falco are often the part of the performance

the kids convince him to go on the carousel (cuz all that it takes to be happy is a carousel ride, apparently) but he's too heavy for any of the horses so he ends up awkwardly standing next to one

drinks solely alchohol-free mulled wine (aka Kinderpunsch) since it's sweeter and mulled wine makes him light-headed too quickly

Zeke

themed christmas markets are zeke's cup of tea - especially the ones with medieval aesthetic

wears the ugliest sweater for the outing - he and Pieck have a competition for wearing a sweater with the most obnoxious pattern

little kids often mistake him for Weihnachtsmann (or Santa if you speak english); he's happy to ruin their childhood for them and say that santa is not real

[grimvestige]

Mixed Grab Bag of OC Asks!

Let's do this!! Send a number + an OC to my ask box and I'll answer!

I'll tag a few of my OCs I want to talk about, but you can ask about any of mine!

If you're going to reblog an ask meme be nice and send one or two to the person you reblogged it from <3

---

What is their gender/sexuality/pronouns? How did that come about for them?

What event has shaped their present view of the world the most?

What is their most important personal value/ethos? (I.e. do they value strength, determination, etc etc)

If they're not aro, how do/did they fall in love? Quickly? In and out? Drawn to a specific trait?

What are their flaws and do you want to see them work through them?

Share a song from their playlist and talk about how it reminds you of them/interpret the lyrics/etc! Drop the whole playlist link too if you're comfy >:]

Who is the most important person in the world to them?

What are your character's pet peeves?

What kind of clothing are they most comfortable in?

What does your OC do to relax or take care of themselves?

What can lead/tempt them to making poor decisions?

Gamer AU time! What do they play? How are they at it?

Modern/Medieval AU time! (Take the opposite of whatever they currently are) What is their job? How are they living?

Which deadly sin are they most guilty of? (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth)

Which virtue do they demonstrate the most? (chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility)

Assign them a tarot or other divination card! Talk about why!

What is your character's go to meal on a busy day?

Do they like/dislike the holidays? Why?

What do they like to read? If they don't like to read, what do they prefer and why?

What's one wrong assumption people make about this character a lot? Either IRL or in their world.

[vooruitmariek]

Holiday card designs In love with the medieval manuscript creatures (need to draw more of them)

[a-world-of-whimsy-5]

And that's a wrap! From the 27th to the 30h of December I have a set of Dead Dove fics and taboo relationship fics lined up for posting. Enjoy your holidays, and have a virtual hug from me if it's not turning out the way you hoped it would be. Cheers!

Minors DNI/🔞

Christmas fic requests:

12th December – Aegon the Conqueror x Fem. Reader: Gift giving/part 1

13th December – Aemon the Dragonknight x Fem. Reader: The first snowfall

14th December – Balerion (the deity) x Fem. Reader: Gift giving/part 2

15th December – Modern! Beleg x Fem. Reader: Christmas morning breakfast

16th December – Modern! Celebrimbor x Reader: Secret Santa

17th December – Elrond x Fem. Reader: Snowball fight

18th December – Modern! Eönwë x Modern! Tulkas: Mistletoe

19th December – Fëanor x Fem. Reader : Twas the night before Christmas

20th December – Modern! Fingon x Reader: Hot chocolate and marshmallows

21st December – Glorfindel x Ecthelion: Winter Solstice

22ndDecember – Modern! Mairon x Fem. Reader: Baking

23rd December – Modern! Thranduil x Reader: Snowman

Winter Prompts for the @ainursecretsanta side event, and inspired by these prompts created by @cilil

12th December – Candles and light: Varda x Uinen

13th December – Decorating: Tevildo x Thû

14th December – Gift giving: Makar x Meássë

15th December – Hope: Estë x Elrond | Elrond x Celebrian

16th December – Letters and cards: Eönwë x Arien

17th December – Memories: Medieval! Melkor x Medieval! Manwë

18th December – Mistletoe: Aulë x Yavanna

19th December – Regrets and resolutions: Maedhros x Tulkas

20th December – Reindeer and sleighs: Vána x Nessa

21st December – Songs and carols: Gothmog and the Balrogs

23rd December – Ugly sweaters: Modern! Námo x Modern! Vairë

Whimsy's Christmas pick-a-gift special

[griled-chese]

top 5 sandwiches as a fellow sandwich fan? i’d also like your top five magic arts but i’m giving the sandwich question preference due to your url

okay okay yayyyyy! sandwiches are so divine to me thank you for the question.

#5. tomato and mayo.

real simple to start off, but sometimes simplicity is the key. the scant ingredients make each flavor all the more clear, playing in beautiful harmony. makes summer time bearable.

#4. PP&J+

still in the realm of simplicity, but with an added twist I learned from my father. a couple of dill pickles, which lend both a saltiness and slight sourness which honest to god perfectly compliments both the fruity sweetness of the jelly and the nuttiness of the peanut butter. I don't have PB&Js often, but when I do they're bepickled through and through.

#3. breakfast sandwich

I'm talking egg and chicken fillet type thing on a toasted bagel. the details don't really matter, long as it has breakfast flavors, as breakfast is the most hedonistic meal of the day and sandwiches are objects of pure hedonism for me. I like to put a lil ranch on em too.

#2. the thanksgiving leftovers sandwich

as mentioned before I love a good hedonistic meal, and as such thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday. the family aspect I could take or leave, but the feasting? makes me feel like a medieval king. but the true feast comes not on thanksgiving day but the day after the day after, when my stomach's empty and the leftovers are starting to get just a little delectably stale. I reheat all the leftovers I can find and shove them on the two biggest slices of bread. a true indulgence of mankind's deepest gluttony, this sammy should ideally leave you immobile.

#1. grilled cheese sandwich

it was obvious, there is no other sane choice in my mind, frankly there is little else in my mind except the perfection of the grilled cheese. the grilled cheese has a simplicity to its base form but with that comes an unrivaled versatility, it comes to us in one thousand forms each aligned perfectly with every single cell in my body. there's the simple white bread american cheese, best when paired with a simple soda of some kind. or a barebones approach served with warm soup, a combination that is so good it's literally yuri. you can use different breads, sourdoughs being a certain favorite of mine. you can use mayo instead of butter, but be careful with porous breads lest ye end up with little mayo pockets. there's a veritable menagerie of additions you can add, my favorite being hummus and tomatoes. hell even in just the cheese there's infinite possibilities. every grilled cheese is beautiful and every grilled cheese may sing to us in angelic voices in the few moments of savoring them after every bite, if we allow them to.

god I love sandwiches, thank you for letting me be a sandwich freak for all too long. it was admittedly a bit of a hard list to make since most of the sammies I make don't really fit into rigid categories and are more just whatever I have on hand that I feel like adding in the moment. anyway I'm going to go eat a sandwich and then after I'll do too 5 magic card arts.

[poupeesdecirque]

Travel Blog - Lübeck & Travemünde (15.-17. December 2023)

Last little weekend vacation before the holidays. It was mainly a trip to attend the last concert for the year and we went on the plenty of christmas markets in Lübeck and briefly visited Travemünde on our way back on sunday.

Mainly some cozy traveling, some rants, lots of foods and impressions here.

Friday - 15. December

After avoiding the demonstration of the farmers against the newest political discourse we arrived in Lübeck, Mom had another figth with the navigation system as she was like "I knew the place" but in the end I basically had to tell her to FORGET what she think she knows and just trust me as navigator. We eventually arrived at our hotel.

In before I had a bit of a trouble with the booking process... we had booked another hotel but the service contacted me in June that we can't go there we had to change the hotel. It was a back and forth with the customer service as the callcenter agents can't access the e-mail customer service and vice versa and both sides tried to contact me and told me over and over again I have to change everything. As stuff was settled the old hotel contacted me a month later that I HAVE TO CHANGE THE HOTEL. It was super stressfull.

Well as we arrived Mom went in to check in as my anxious ass hates that and I needed to calm down after the little discourse about the route. Then she came and said "They don't accept me you have to as you booked the hotel", fine. We were able to check in but then... Mom's card was declined. First I thought it was just because it's her EC and not her CC. ... her EC got declined. Because she thought it was smart to keep her invalid one while she got a newer one (AND ALREADY USED THAT) and ... in the end I had to pay for the super expensive hotel she wanted as the old one got canceled OTL what a way to start the weekend. She luckily transfered me the money back but being her piggy bank for cash the whole weekend truly got on my nerves.

Anyways I needed comfort food, we headed out to Café Niederegger and enjoyed some cake, shopped a bit at their store and then went to the christmas markets.

Lübeck has several markets and while I am not a christmas person I somehow love the markets there, they have a certain vibe. The main market is in the historical centre, then you have a medieval themed one, some booths around the shopping district, a fairytale themed one, international, little elf houses, a martime one and one at the harbour along some more.

We also went to a few stores as I wanted to get some ornaments for my christmas tree as I want to decorate it rather traditional this time with more natural material, candy and just things that have a memorial value for me.

And I finally got my crepe filled with Kinderschokolade and the waffle as plate, I love that idea still. Here you can see the tiny elf village and the ferris wheel of the maritime market. Last year I took photos with Allen here but I decided against bringing Red along this day as I was quite done and didn't want to stress myself with doll photos.

We had dinner at a burger place (I had one with oat based patty, fig chutney and walnuts), we decided to have dinner at a restaurant for friday and then just snack on stuff the next one. It was quite dark as we went back. Oh and I had a chocolate covered apple for dessert as I somehow wanted something fresh but that was .. as fresh as it got. You can see my little haul from that day on the last photo.

Saturday - 16. December

The day started early for me, I'm an early bird. I went out for photos with Red, but was a bit miffed as this year they turned off the lights in the morning, the last years they still had them on for quite a while. I took a little walk with Red but the lightning was really awful... and I lost the reflector, went back the whole way, and back again and then finally found it.

I have to say Mom is truly not trying to compromise with some things, I was super hangry as she finally got up (I was awake for over 3 hours by then and usually I have breakfast 1 1/2 hours after I get up the LATEST), and pissed at the world and the overpriced buffet but it was food at least.

We then headed out again but the markets were still closed, we took a turn through the city to check some of the smaller streets and met a man who told us a bit about the street he lives in.

We went on a little shopping spree but the stores were badly ventilated I felt the overstimulation coming with a terrible headache, as Mom wanted to go into H&M I just told her 'nope' and waited outside.

Funny enough she said the store was super horrible and we continued to sightsee the other markets like the fairytale themed one and the handcrafter market (that one was inside a church and you had to pay a small fee), the stuff there was amazing but also super expensive, we didn't buy anything there but it was interesting to see.

Weirdly I still had a super hard headache going on .... until I noticed it was 12 already my body was like "hey gimme food", I'm so into my eating routine its horrible. Anyways I got a Baumstriezel with nuts, which resulted in Mom not wanting any as she was like "I want cinnamon&sugar!" but my brain was like "NUTS"... way to keep her off my food, lol.

As told in before Saturday was to be snack day and we had a lot of snacks while going back and forth the markets, we visited some other Marzipan stores and had some relax time at the hotel before fetching more food. And I got new tree ornaments at the tourists information store and my first ever Cinnamonroll! It was a gingerbread one and I am not sure if I like them, maybe a normal cinnamon roll will more my thing but I have to say it was .. too much cinnamon in the centre for me.

After cooling down a bit we got dinner-ish which was .. a lot. But as we walked around almost the whole day I felt I needed just more. And I got more, a flammkuchen (the toppings weren't much, so little mushrooms T_T), Mutzen (a fried pastry) and a falafel wrap. Back to the hotel we went for sitting down a bit before heading out for the concert.

To our surprise we ... walked into the christmas farmer's parade. It's not a usual thing here, and I researched it they do this for the children in the hospitals in Lübeck, to bring them something joyful during this time, I think that's really cute.

For the concert I can tell it was a blast, I had a super nice talk with some of the regulars there and the whole band was so thankful for everyone being there, it was like coming home. I just adore this band and I am glad I already have two tickets to see them next year again :)

I will post more pics from the concert in a seperate entry later on!

Sunday 17 December

Sunday started early for me as well, but as I had little sleep after the concert and my left ear being half deaf I was really done for. Mom decided to sleep even longer, she had promised me to get to breakfast earlier but... it didn't happen. I went on a little walk to let the time pass and she was still asleep as I got back ... sigh. Took the time and took some pics of the stuff I bought the day prior.

I was quite pissed and even was miffed at everything in the hotel at this point, don't mess with me when I lack sleep and am hungry.

As we checked out we went to Travemünde where I took some photos with Nachti & Red.

Then we went onto the small christmas market there. It truly is just a small one but cute anways. Lunch was at the Café Niederegger where I had waffles and ice cream, I bought some more smoll things to bring with me for christmas and then we headed home. The drive back home was long but no happenings this time, that was .. nice for a change.

After dinner (I had Udon soup, noms) and unpacking a bit we went to see our local christmas parade. The parade was more a demonstration against... yep, the current political discourse. The whole thing was created during the pandemic to bring some light into the dark while everything was cancelled but now it all has a different meaning. The kids in the village enjoyed it though.

For me the trip was overall positive but I got an ear infection from not wearing a beanie on saturday (that's why my ear acted up) and I needed some time to regain. I'm working through my todolist but am trying to not to do everything at once. There is a lot I have to edit and put into the queue still, but I aim to have it all done soon that I can start on new things.

[jargonautical]

Domesday

MANOR HILL HOTEL and Day Spa sits up past Alfriscombe’s headland, a decorative shell formed gradually over the centuries around the core of the original medieval manor house. For centuries this was the family home of the Vernons, able to trace their noble line back to the Norman conquest and beyond, but a combination of expensive tastes, a series of disastrous investments and a few unlucky runs at cards forced them to sell up and retreat long ago.

It still has the air of a grand house, if you can overlook the Michelin star plaques screwed to the stonework beside the main entrance and the ‘[NO] Vacancies’ sign creaking on its gibbet down by the main road. The sweeping carriage drive still follows the curve of the manor’s boundary wall, taking new arrivals past well-kept gardens and grand views over the bay before dropping them at the front door. The frontage is all late Regency, clean and white in the spring sunshine with row upon row of identically sized sash windows, while newer extensions at the rear house guest bedrooms overlooking the back lawn, neatly clipped evergreens, and beyond that ancient woodland with the crown of Fairy Hill rising up out of the trees in the distance. In short, picturesque as all hell from every possible angle. Little wonder the first Baron Vernon chose this spot to cement his triumphant land grab post-Conquest.

The grand ballroom jutting off the south-east side is a Victorian addition from the family that owned it briefly until their only son was lost in the Great War. One of the bedrooms is still preserved as a shrine to his memory, the life’s work of his grieving parents, even his uniform laid out as if ready for him to return and don it before he heads off to victory. Mainder struggles to remember that family’s name, to his occasional shame. Not Vernon, certainly, and he had nothing to do with their misfortunes, but still. Maybe he’ll drop by the display later and remind himself. It feels like the right thing to do.

The only visible remnant of the medieval hall in these modern times is a wide Gothic arch just inside the front door. The old lord’s motto just manages to assert its presence if not its meaning, shallow scratches in the fragile sandstone barely legible now; HABEMVS TENEMVS, it used to say. A brief smirk ghosts across his face as he passes under the inscription and wipes his muddy feet thoroughly on the logo woven into the doormat. Initially dismayed when the hotel decided to adopt the Vernon coat of arms as part of their branding, between the threat of lawsuits and the enthusiasm of the fancy graphic designer they hired it ended up almost unrecognisable, with details like the lion passant the Vernons were once so peacock-proud of replaced by nothing more than a stylised scribble beneath the shield. The absolute cherry on the cake is knowing that it appears not just on doormats, not just printed on restaurant menus and crockery and the tiny guest soaps in the rooms, it’s even embossed on the luxury quilted toilet paper. Odds are that someone at that very moment is wiping their arse on the Vernon crest, and he couldn’t have devised a more fitting use for it if he’d tried.

This early in the year it’s sparse business, with the Valentine’s Day offers over and done with and the Spring Bank Holiday trade yet to materialise, but those guests who do make the trip tend to be heavily susceptible to impulse buys from the trinkets displayed at the treatment centre desk. He stops to admire, as he always does, the sheer artistry at work in arranging the showcase, each shelf in the display containing precisely the correct number of tempting items, not too crowded and not too sparse, all angled to sparkle just so under the cabinet lights.

Looking more closely though there are a few gaps. “You managed to shift that geode.”, he remarks, reaching into his coat pocket and flipping open his notebook. “Want me to send up another? Anything else you’re out of?”.

He’s left hanging when the young woman at the desk holds up a ‘wait’ finger and darts into the tiny office behind the desk. “All of the rose quartz.”, her voice echoes back to him. “Most of the pendants …”. She reappears with a handwritten list which she pushes across the desk for him to review. “Pretty much all of the fossils. Here you go. We had a big rush on over Valentine’s Day.”.

He raises his eyebrows, scribbling swift notes as he works his way down the extensive list. “No kidding. Who says romance is dead?”.

“Certainly not me!”.

The cheeky smile she shoots at him doesn’t go unnoticed, but he lets her flirting pass without comment. Gratifying as it was when he overheard that the young ladies at the spa reception desk ‘totally would’ even if he is ‘like, really old’, the days are long gone that he’d consider taking them up on it.

Back before the Closing his two chief duties were monitoring the Fold for strays and wanderers, and keeping track of the yasim, the half-bloods seeded year on year by the constant traffic between the two sides. He’d barely had to stir himself on that front in the last two centuries. Maybe there are more green eyes in Alfriscombe than you’d expect in such a small population, a bit more luck on the scratch cards or the horses. Realm blood leaves its mark. But these days there isn’t one that he could pick out of a crowd, the aura about them that says they’re someone he needs to watch over. Certainly there are none of his get. He hasn’t even had a relationship on this side for how long he can’t even remember for precisely that reason, and he’s not about to start now.

Business concluded, he ducks down the corridor in the direction of the events suite. Hotel management chose to decorate this section with a selection of tasteful prints in unfussy dark wood frames showing scenes from the history of Alfriscombe. He stops to admire what’s in his opinion the best of the lot, delicate ink lines and cross-hatching showing a view of the town from, if he remembers correctly, 1857. Yes, that’d be right; the pier hadn’t been built yet, and the old Abbey schoolhouse, one of the only victims of the fire of 1860, is still standing. Memory supplies the scene - the blaze and its aftermath, nobody hurt but the building itself reduced to smoking rubble - handwringing from the diocese and mutterings from the vicar about God’s mysterious ways. In truth God had very little to do with it, but he’s confident She would have approved of the outcome, if not the methods. No more kids being singled out at the teachers’ whim, mysterious discipline delivered behind closed doors strictly one on one leaving boys pale and tearful and resolutely silent. Not in his town. He still counts that as one of his better days’ work.

A couple of steps onward he halts again, head cocked as if listening to an unseen navigator, and apparently on impulse takes a sharp right into Hotel Staff Only territory, a service corridor providing hidden access to the function rooms and the restaurant. As such it’s an unloved, undecorated space designed for actual work to get done, safely out of sight of paying guests. Plush carpet underfoot gives way to easy-to-mop vinyl in dull blue. Utilitarian plastic skirting protects the bare plaster walls from the heavy catering trolleys, inclined to rumble on unchecked if you let go even for a moment. One such appears as he reaches the bend, and he stops close into the wall to let it go rattling past. The tiny young woman struggling to steer the beast nods breathless thanks and carries on her way.

Further down there’s the murmur of voices from an event in progress. More of the staff are in full action mode here, smartly kicking open the kitchen doors to bustle past and around him with water jugs and trays of coffee cups, but they pay him no attention beyond the occasional nod of greeting. They all know him, local kids grown up playing hopscotch or bulldog in the alley behind his shop, and for all his many faults he never could bring himself to be a dick to children. It works out nicely; they have nothing but positive associations with him, and this wouldn’t be the first time he’s taken advantage of that fact to use their domain as a shortcut.

He emerges precisely where he needs to be, the atrium at the centre of the function rooms. They're busy laying it up for the first break, and he drifts aside to keep out of the way, helpfully picking up a discarded lanyard from the floor. A sign propped on the easel by the other door proclaims that today’s series of seminars are on the subject of ‘Alfriscombe: Past, Present and Future’, and are kindly sponsored by the Warrington Institute.

He barely glances at it. There’s news to be had here today, but that isn’t it.

[thenightling]

Over the Garden Wall (Fit for three Holidays)

I am posting this as an argument in favor of Over the Garden Wall being a holiday special fit for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There will be mild spoilers. Over The Garden Wall is an animated fantasy mini-series about two boys lost in a strange forest called The Unknown. It is very similar to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz but it has a very autumnal feel to it. All the visuals are based on vintage Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas postcards. Though the story can be very surreal and spooky it is also sweet and wholesome and has a happy ending for the boys and all those they interacted with in The Unknown. Now here's why I feel Over the Garden Wall is fit for three holidays (Possibly four) despite the obvious fact that all the visuals are based on vintage Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Postcards. ___________________________________ First the Halloween content. The mini-series (which is roughly movie length) is divided into ten episodes or ten "chapters." Halloween parts: Episode 2 deals with a harvest on November 1st. Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. You don't learn that this is set on November 1st until later but the visuals are there. There skeletons dressing up in early twentieth century style Jack-o-lanterns and vegetable (mostly pumpkin) bodies to hide their bones. And they are being lead by a mysterious entity called Enoch (later shown to be a talking black cat). This is the most Halloween (or Day of the Dead) content you get until episode 9. Into the Unknown.

In episode 9 you learn that the boys' adventure actually started on Halloween night. And that it was Halloween candy Gregory had in his pockets in chapter 1. I only did not mention the candy before because in the context of the mini-series you don't learn it was Halloween candy until chapter 9.

________________________

Thanksgiving Parts: First, Over the Garden Wall originally aired in November. In fact the phases of the moon through the mini-series matched the phases of the moon through the month of November in 2014, when Over the Garden Wall first aired. In chapter 2 you see some giant turkeys just roaming around. And later pulling a pumpkin cart being driven by Enoch The Cat.

In episode 3 Greg makes up the song "Potatoes and Molasses" which is mostly about how good mashed potatoes are when topped with molasses. This seems like an odd combination but the surreal setting is partly that of imagination and this could be how thanksgiving mashed potatoes with dark gravy looked to Greg.

The song was a homage to Shirley Temple's "Animal Crackers in my Soup." And the visual of the happy animals eating came from old Thanksgiving postcards among other things. You will also notice the fine Thanksgiving style food at at the inn in Chapter 4. In this chapter most of the characters are dressed like eighteenth century American colonists with some medieval European overtones. Admittedly colonial America often seemed like medieval Europe from an historical behavior perspective. In chapter 5, the banquet Quincey Endicott has laid out for the boys very much resembles a Thanksgiving supper.

In Chapter 7, we meet Lorna and Auntie Whispers, who are dressed in Puritan woman's clothing or Pilgrim woman's clothing inspired by traditional American Thanksgiving decorations. They even speak like seventeenth century colonists.

_____________________________ Christmas: First we have the antagonist known as The Beast, singing his song "Come Wayward Souls" which (creepily) is to the melody of O' Holy Night. Chapter 8 is entirely a homage to 1930s cartoons and makes subtle references to some old holiday animated shorts. The cherubs in Gregory's dream world were directly from vintage Christmas cards. The beautiful and atmospherically cold, wintery, scenes in chapter 10 are based on vintage Christmas postcards.

The original plan for the mini-series was that the boys would return to the "real world" on Christmas, but at the last second it was changed so that it seems they woke up on what was still Halloween night. I actually think it would have been better if they had woken up at Christmas. The only tell-tale sign that it is still Halloween is their friends are still in costume. If they had changed that one detail I would say it is Christmas. ______________________________________________ There. It's for these reasons that I feel that Over The Garden Wall is fit for all three holidays, though I'd personally watch it any time of year.

[samkat10423]

Back to Cape Garner

I was playing in Dragon Valley, changing most of the locals into supernaturals, because any modern person who thinks living in Medieval times is a “good” thing, is a bit short of gray matter. (And this from someone who was a card-carrying member of SCA!) So, I figured while I was “fixing” all the lots and giving the elven sims different skins to look more like Peter Jackson’s, I might as well make the locals into werewolves, fairies, and such. But now we’re entering the Christmas season, and I’ve decided that this is the year I will finally celebrate the holiday in my game. And where better to do it, than Cape Garner. 

I’ve been redoing all the lots - because that’s what I do. Replacing some with ones that @deelightfuldelights shared with me, when we were both over on The Sims Daily. I think I posted them on here before, but I’ll dig them up and share them again. 

Anyway, this town comes with a generic cemetery - which means that while it has a bunch of tombstones, they don’t generate any ghosts. And since I hate generic cemeteries, I’ve been busy making Sims to kill. Go, me! Well, I’ve also been making Sims to live here too, since the world is unpopulated. But today it’s all about dead Sims!

As you can see, my dead Sims are a diverse group. Since this island was settled back in the 1800s, I decided to have dead Sims from different eras. Those 2 in the 18th century garb are refugees from the French Revolution, clinging to their past - hence the old-fashioned dress. The next one is supposed to be one of the indigenous natives - but there really isn’t any really good Native American clothing in-game, so she got stuck with this. (I probably could have tracked down some stuff, but since she’s a ghost, I didn’t bother). And next to her is an outlaw. 

Then we have this group. The first “lady” ran the town brothel during the time of that outlaw dude. Next to her is EA’s idea of a Native American outfit, and then finally, a pirate dude. The guy in the green sweater gets to live. He’s a remake of Christopher Steele, who’s moved to town as the new orchestra conductor. 

In my town history I will have the Garner family - complete with their own set of ghosts - along with the Chou family, whom the Garner’s hate. The Chou’s like to tell everyone that they are among the original settlers - which they were in a sense. Just not the way they like to “remember” it. Like many Asian Americans they came over as cheap labor - not part of their plan, but that’s the way it was back then when the railroads were exploiting non-natives. Well, they exploited natives as well, but that’s another story. Actually, my German ancestors were told that the roads were paved with gold before they immigrated here in the late 1800s. What they found was no roads - but that they were expected to help build them.

But back to my history. The Chous have always been a hard-working family and as such, have made a success of themselves. They have reached level 10 in both the business and political careers for the last few generations, which has made them the richest family in town, while the Garners are on the downward slide. So yes, there’s envy which leads to hate. Because the Garners want things to be as they were, with them being the top dogs. They also hate the Singleton brothers - who bought an estate from another formerly wealthy family who lost everything and left town in disgrace. (The Garner daughter-in-law was from that family). The brothers made their money in tech and could care less about the past. Then there’s the Weatherby family - nouveau riche, who like to flaunt their wealth. (Think the Altos). Plus, they could care less about the environment, which doesn’t sit well with my Native Americans or my Greenies. And finally, there’s my Showtime Sims - also known by the Garners as “those” Sims. (Notice a trend here with my founding family?) 

Anyway, today, I have to make some Sims from the Roaring 20s to kill. Maybe I’ll just grab some from Roaring whatever it’s called.