#ooc : it's actually canon that he likes candy apples!!!!!!!

[appleasks]

I have a question for the king himself. We know you like apples or at least theme your belongings around them sometimes.

What is your favorite way to have apples? (Candy apples, apple pie, apple chips, ect)

"i  used  to  really  like  apples,  but,  you  know,  it's  ...  complicated  now.  i  do  still  eat  them,  though.  and  i  really  like  apple  pies  and  i  just  love  candy  apples!"

[bensonnstabler]

okay so i came across a buzzfeed article from like three years ago about tv couples that never got together but who fans wanted to which had the audacity to leave out elliot and olivia. thankfully one of the top comments underneath made buzzfeed’s pop-culture faux par very clear and it soothed my soul briefly. BRIEFLY.

(if this was a podcast i'd insert at this point that abby lee miller audio about who i assume was kathy from candy apples disturbing the peace. yes the irony is sending me)

one person, however, decided to comment the following

“Um, no. And it's gross that fans think they've been pining away for each other even though he was married to Kathy. And just because Kathy is dead now I don't think Olivia would be that disrespectful to his kids.”

and since it was over three years ago and i cbf making a buzzfeed account thought i’d subject y’all to my reply

firstly, calling any harmless fandom opinion “gross” is what is truly gross here. did i vomit in my mouth a little when i saw one of the entries being barney and lily from himym? yes. do i think the people who do ship those two are gross? absolutely not. i thought we left ship-shaming in the TLJC and destiel cesspools tyvm.

secondly, i am the first in line to get mad at the fact kathy just straight up died. it’s a waste of a perfectly good character (letter notwithstanding) and sends the message once again female characters on primetime are ten times more dispensable than their male counterparts. also i'm willing to give partial credit for it being said that it would be ooc for olivia to want to get together and that it brings up relevant issues of elliot never truly “choosing” olivia. but they have imo jumped over that hurdle (and some) and after an actual decent conversation i think with the way liv is now (can we hear a little commotion for the boundaries chat in the trial of richard wheatly ep) it would be perfectly within her arc to allow herself to fall romantically for elliot.

am i concerned that its dragged on too long? yes

am i fucking frustrated at the lack of momentum from s23 to s24? also yes

but i think we need to accept that what we have is a product of circumstance. both good (extensive evidence of one of the most chemistry-laden tv partnerships on and off-screen) and bad (CM leaving suddenly and WL jumping in to reinvent the wheel with so much force it might as well have been that scene from Cars)

with the latter we were always going to get the bare minimum of stabler references. under different creative influences yet the same chris circumstance – i totally think there could have been some like “he’s deep UC” or “last i heard he’s in rome and unable to communicate” moments which would have made the no contact one hundred percent more digestible

which puts me back on my kathy bs; i am wholeheartedly on team  “they should have split up in rome and had to come back to NYC at the same time” or at least team “if you must kill her off at least have them separate them first". thus either way, i guarantee we still would have gotten the same grief dynamics and the initial (and current - let’s be honest) hesitancy we did in ROTPS (...and almost every moment thereafter)

TLDR; lets all be friends but if eo doesn't become canon i will sue

[romera-rp]

Come one, come all to the glorious days o’ pumpkins! To continue the joviality of the end of summer, the unofficial period of silliness and merrymaking across Hegaehend has been dubbed “The Pumpkin Days.” Throughout the country there will be Autumnal themed activities for you to participate in to your hearts desire. Do you like pumpkins? Fire colored nature? Long nights sitting by a campfire? Cinnamon? Alcoholic and non-alcoholic apple juice? How about woolen sweaters? If not, then this will be an aggravating time for you. 

IN CHARACTER DETAILS

This event will take place from 1st October to 12th October and your threads may take place anywhere and anytime during those dates. Like the Autumn Equinox festival, this is a time of calm and happiness when the war seems like a far-off dream and no danger could possibly be lurking around the corner. Below there are activities in which your character can participate in, witness, or completely scorn and ignore. 

ACTIVITIES

Pumpkin Boat Racing

Head over to Pineridge for their annual pumpkin boat racing. Join an existing armada (the Hegaehend archers, knights, and clerics all have their own teams) or form your own in an attempt to carve and decorate the best giant pumpkin boat the country has ever seen! Perhaps you just want to watch and cheer on your favourites in which case apple cider, honey mead, and pumpkin-themed foods will be served throughout the vicinity. Midday, many times throughout the month, when the sun is highest, all those who have entered in the race will row their pumpkin boat down the river just north of Pineridge to the finish line. The first there wins 25gp and a handknit sweater with a pumpkin on it. 

Zombie Kitten Curing

No kittens were harmed in the making of the zombie kittens. Instead there has been an overabundance in new kitten litters in Khaggon and in an effort to redistribute the population of felines, many shops owners, farmers, and citizens who do not want twelve cats have come together to offer this adoption event. You are put in a small arena near Tarjtier Farmer’s Market full of lively kittens who have been colored green. Some, like the white kittens and tabbies, are remarkably green while the black and grey kittens are more murky. If you manage to catch a kitten (three animal handling rolls above 18) you have the option to adopt the kitten. Please note, it not advisable for those without a permanent residence to adopt. 

Tommen Haus’ Haunted House

Someplace intriguing and odd in Khaggon there is an old house. It is a fancy house. It’s an agéd house. And for this month only, it’s a haunted house! Step right up, step right up to Tommen Haus’ Haunted House. Inside you will find aberrations (stuffed), ghouls (fake), nightmares beyond your very own nightmares (rented), and all manner of goo and gore and grit and also glitter (available for purchase at the gift shop at the end). So brave adventurer, will you step foot into Tommen Haus’ horror mansion? Entrance is 15cp and at the end of the month the house will be put up for purchase (decorations not included).

Ghost Hunting

Have you ever noticed bloodied movement out of the corner of your eye in Khaggon’s fight club? Movement too smooth or too stilted to truly be alive? Or perhaps deep in the archives of the Academy of the Arcane… sometimes the library stacks become oddly cold, don’t you think? No one can prove that ghosts aren’t voyeurs and the spooks of La Roche Moussue, the Runswick bathhouse, definitely are. Maybe they’re disgruntled patrons? Perhaps they slipped on the bubbles. The Blackmore Lady, an abandoned ship in Arx’s Whale Water port, creaks and shrieks and howls with the best of them! If there are ghosts to be found anywhere, it’d be that loud, obnoxious boat. Oh, and the entirety of Myrefall is just… well, you know. 

Lord Horcryn’s Autumnal Bonanza

If you luck out and receive an invitation, head over to join the spooky, saucy, severely salacious parties of Lord Horcryn at the Heartfire Quarter in Runswick. Parties will take place all night 5th October and 12th October. All the alcohol possible will be served alongside phenomenal and amazing delicacies. The company will be sparkling, the booze spilling, and anything that can be pumpkin shaped will be pumpkin shaped. Spare bedrooms are in abundance in the large manor for anyone with desire to get more private during the evening. Unfortunately, these private rooms are not pumpkin shaped. 

Lord Horcryn is also looking for a new host. His normal host, Mapel Simsees, hasn’t shown up for work in several days. He’s reported her missing, and prays she’ll return, but in the meantime needs help.

OOC DETAILS FOR ACTIVITIES

While this event will in canon take place between 1st October to 12th October, but you do not need to end your threads come 12th October. 

There will be a second event dropping on that day and that event will run until 9th November. 

You’re welcome to continue your Pumpkin Days threads until then as well. 

Feel free to continue your storylines throughout this event, however, if you plan on having event-independent threads taking place, but wish to participate in the second event, don’t have them take place after October 12th. This will become clear later, but any threads will be in conflict with the event if you take part. 

Make sure you tag your posts with romevent as well as “Pumpkin Days.” 

CONTESTS

Here’s a fun chance to win something from Periwinkleton’s Keep of Shops regardless of your accumulated points! Head on over to Isla’s favourite place anytime during the month of October for a chance to win something fantabulous, miraculous, funky, ridiculous, maybe helpful, and random! 

Isla Periwinkleton’s First Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest

Note: Carved squash are also permissible. Free candy to all that participate. Enter your carved pumpkin masterpiece for a chance to win a random item (except for real estate) from Periwinkleton’s Keep of Shops!

No need to get an actual pumpkin or squash unless you want to. This can be a doodle of a Jack o’ Lantern on a sticky note, a full blown portrait of a pumpkin, a pixel art rendition of a seasonal squash, or really anything squash-like and also “carved.” The goal is for the dash to be covered in mismatched pumpkin art. 

You may make as many as you like, but only the first submission will be counted towards the contest. 

To keep it totally mysterious, the item is not currently in stock.

Suri Schneider’s Costume Contest

Come garbed in your loveliest lace, your cookiest couture, and you’re most likeable lingerie—wait, no, don’t do that… Unless it’s halloween themed in which case by all means. Enter for a chance to win a breathtakingly constructed mystery item from Suri Schneider’s garment shop Fine Fineries & Great Garments. (Written by Felipe at the behest of Suri.)

Post what your character would wear for Halloween! This can be what they would be in Romera, meaning more fantasy and medieval based costumes, and/or can be a more modern rendition.

These posts are like the outfit posts we did for the Masyarakat Ball. 

To keep it totally mysterious, the item is not currently in stock.

Felipe’s Fantabulous Flambé Trick Bounty: Open to all.

Play a lovely little tricksy-wicksy on a friend, foe, or fiend and write-in to Felipe’s shop with the glorious and gloomy details for a chance to win a mystery item from Felipe’s joke shop.

This entry can be a drabble/self-para about your character playing a prank or trick on someone or a thread between two or more people playing a prank/pranking one another. 

Everyone involved in a thread will have a submission counted towards the contest.

To keep it totally mysterious, the item is not currently in stock.

Please note that nothing is flambed unless you make it so, Felipe just ran out of ‘F’ words for the title.

OOC DETAILS FOR CONTESTS

You can participate in each contest as many times as you like, but only your first submission will be counted. 

You may also enter in all of the contests, but cannot win more than one of them. 

You have until 31st October to enter and at the end of the month all of the entries will be counted and the winner shall be announced on the Keep of Shop’s page by the respective shop owner.

In order to enter, please submit to the Keep blog with a link to your submission post just like you would your weekly points. These don’t need to be in character, but feel free to do so in character.

Remember to tag your submissions with the appropriate contest name. As an example, if Efrain enters the costume contest, his entry post will be tagged with: “romevent,” and “Suri Schneider’s Costume Contest.”

EXTRA WAYS TO EARN POINTS THIS OCTOBER

10gp - Participate in any or all of the contests. Receive the reward for each one you enter.

20 gp - Write a self-para about your character getting frightened, either through true trauma or a from spider appearing next to them and giving them the willies. 

20gp -Write a self-para or do a thread involving the Missing Persons Warnings.

30 gp - Go ghost hunting! Or… get ghost hunted.

15gp - Participate in the kitten competition or the pumpkin boat races either in a self-para or in a thread with someone also participating. 

30gp - Attend one of Lord Horcryn’s parties either as a guest or an employee. (Runswick)

20gp - Take a wander through Tommen Haus’ Haunted House with a friend or several. (Khaggon)