#working on a new piece but celebrating with this year's calendar piece too

[winchester-reload]

Happy Pride Month, everyone!!!

[finelinefae]

Could we please get a check in with the aviator? I love them like no other i swear

synopsis: y/n finds out she's pregnant with Aviator!Hs baby.

wordcount: 2.6 k

a/n: this isn't really a check-in more so something that happens a year into their relationship because i think about this moment a lot and i needed to write about it !!!!

also first one shot for the aviator whoop!!

. . .

It was the middle of the night. 

Y/N had been up since dinner, laying beside the toilet bowl so she could vomit the contents of her stomach every ten minutes. She’d stuck the thermometer under her armpit to check if she had a fever, only to find it at a completely normal temperature. 

She was tired and frustrated and her head hurt from throwing up so much. She hadn’t had a wink of sleep and she still had to get to work in the morning. 

The door swung open and Y/N lifted her tired eyes to find Nancy looking down at her, “You’ve been throwing up since dinner,” She held out a glass of cold water and Y/N gladly took it. 

“Sorry,” Y/N groaned, after taking a sip, “I’ve tried taking medicine but nothing seems to be working.”

Nancy sighed, “You don’t need to apologise, do you want me to call Harry?”

“No,” Y/N shook her head, “He’s been working all week, he’s probably exhausted.”

“Okay well you can’t just sit by the toilet all night, do you want me to warm you up some ginger ale?” Y/N sighed, considering her offer before pushing herself up from the floor and following Nancy to the kitchen.

She sat at the table, clutching her stomach and ignoring the nausea she felt. Nancy took out some ginger ale and began to heat in a saucepan over the stovetop. “I just don’t understand how I can feel like this but not even have a fever,” Y/N huffed. 

Nancy shrugged, “Are you due? Normally I feel pretty sick a week or so before my period starts,”

A dip forms between Y/N’s brows, “I don’t think so, I’m pretty sure-” Y/N paused, thinking back to the last time she had had her period. She had been waiting for it to arrive this week but one glance at the calendar on the kitchen refrigerator revealed that it was already a week late. 

Panic surged through her, “Nancy,” She gasped, looking up at her roommate and friend, “It’s late.”

Nancy’s eyes widened, “Are you sure?”

Y/N’s mind was racing to try and piece together the days but she knew that she was right and her period was over a week late.

Y/N didn’t have to say anything for Nancy to understand what she was thinking. “W-what am I going to do?” Y/N panicked as dread ensued her, “I-I can’t have a baby, I can’t.”

“Y/N, it’s okay,” Nancy crouched down on the floor in front of her and took her hands, “It’s going to be okay. Tomorrow morning we’ll go down to the clinic and ask them to take a test to make sure.”

Y/N shook her head, “Not the morning, Harry will know and he’ll-” She covered her mouth, “Oh God, Harry, what if he hates me?”

Nancy scoffed, “How could he possibly hate you? I’ve never seen someone as in love with somebody as he is with you,”

“But Nancy, a baby. It’s too soon and he’s still got Elise and-” Y/N’s mind was whirring with thoughts as she thought about how her life was about to change if she really was pregnant. Elise was only four and their relationship was still relatively new - they’d only celebrated their year anniversary a month ago which was more than likely to be the reason that got her in this predicament. 

“Y/N, calm down,” Nancy soothed her, “Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll deal with these things after we find out whether you really are pregnant or not. For now, we’ll go to bed and think about it in the morning, okay?”

Y/N nodded slowly, trying to digest the words she was hearing. Nancy was right, she needed to not worry until she had confirmation from the nurse that she really was pregnant. She tried to pause her worries until the morning but not a wink of sleep occurred when her mind was whirring with thoughts about how Harry would react to the possibility of it all. 

. . .

Y/N felt sick to her stomach as she walked to the hangar where she knew Harry would be working. She’d been so many times now that she knew exactly where to go, following the path through the doors and round the back.

“Evening Y/N,” One of the boys said as she walked past, tipping his hat. Y/N forced a smile onto her face in reply.

She walked through the back doors and found Harry outside smoking a cigarette on his own, the sun setting behind him. Unlike how she usually felt whenever she was around him, Y/N began to panic wondering whether she should turn back now before she told him something that would change both their lives forever. 

Harry’s head lifted and a smile carved onto his face when his eyes landed on her. He threw his cigarette on the ground and stubbed it with his foot, “Hi birdy,” He walked over and embraced her in a hug, pressing a kiss to her lips. 

Y/N knew Harry had sensed something was wrong from how stiff she felt in his embrace. He pulled back but his arms stayed looped around her, “Wha’s wrong?” He frowned, “Y’okay?” He cupped her face in his hands and looked her in the eye.

Y/N pulled away, “I’m okay,” She lied and Harry immediately knew something was wrong when she took a step away from him. Usually, whenever they were together there was barely any space between them.  

“Hey, when do y’ lie to me?” He forced a smile, a pit of dread forming in his stomach.

Y/N’s eyes glistened, she sniffled and scrunched her nose to try and prevent herself from crying. “I just missed you is all,” 

“Birdy,” A dip formed between his brows, “M always right here y’ know that. Did something happen at work today?” 

Y/N shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself, “No,” She replied, “I-I need to tell you something.”

This time Harry really did begin to panic. He thought back to the past few months and wondered if he had done anything wrong to upset her in that time but every day had been as blissfully sweet as the last. He was so in love with Y/N and that love continued to grow every passing day. She was the first person he woke up to in the morning and the last person he saw at night - every day it was Y/N, the love of his life. 

So he couldn’t understand what had currently gotten her so distant with him or why she was being so vague and secretive whenever she was with Nancy, “Are you…Are you breaking up with me?” Harry voiced his biggest concern out loud.

Y/N almost gasped, reaching for his hand and holding it to her chest, “God Harry, no. No, of course not.”

He relaxed slightly but still wondered what was going on in her head that was so difficult to tell, “Wha’s wrong then baby?”

Y/N released a shuddery breath, looking away from him and down at the hand she was currently holding. She twisted the ring on his pinkie finger, one lone tear rolling down her cheek that she quickly brushed away. “Harry, I'm pregnant.” She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. 

Her heart thudded against her chest when she felt his hand stiffen. She could barely look up at him as she waited for him to say something.

Two rough hands cupped her cheeks and lifted her head up. Her eyes met his, lips parting to see tears rolling down his cheeks and the biggest smile she had ever seen stretched across his face, “We’re havin’ a baby?” He whispered in disbelief.

Y/N nodded slowly, “I found out this afternoon.”

A laugh escaped his lips, “Holy shit,” He let go of her and ran his fingers through his hair before covering his face with his hands and smiling beneath them.

Y/N stood waiting, still a little tense until he took one step towards her and picked her up in his arms, her dress twirling as he spun them round, “Holy shit we’re having a baby.” 

A wave of relief washed over her, Y/N finally mirrored the smile on his face when she saw the excitement on his face. 

He set her back on her feet, “You’re not mad?” Y/N asked. 

“Why would I be mad? This is my dream, I’ve always wanted to be a dad.” Harry was unable to rid himself of the smile on his face.

“I know but we’ve been together a year and-” 

Harry silenced her by smashing their lips together in a messy kiss, “I love you bigger than the whole sky Birdy, there is not a single person in this entire world I would rather have as the mother of my child.”

Y/N’s eyes watered and tears began to fall as she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands fell to her tummy, “I can’t believe there’s a tiny human in there,” Harry chuckled in disbelief. 

“I love you so much Harry,” Y/N murmured, wondering why she was ever nervous to tell him in the first place. 

. . .

Safe to say, Harry had become somewhat even more obsessed with Y/N than he had ever been before.

“Tha’s my baby mama!” He whistled, wearing his grease-covered overalls as he slid off the wing of the plane and ran towards Y/N who was only a month pregnant.

Y/N’s cheeks heated, eyes darting around, “Shh, what if someone hears you?” 

They had yet to tell any of their friends or Harry’s brothers that Y/N was pregnant.  Nancy had been sworn to secrecy despite her boyfriend constantly pestering her over telling him what they were always whispering about whenever Y/N refused a drink at a party. Harry struggled to keep such a big secret from his siblings since he had always told them everything, but Y/N wanted to make sure everything was okay before they let the world know another baby would be entering their little family. 

“There’s no one around, don’t worry.” Harry smiled, a dimple carving into his cheek. 

She had the tiniest bump, barely even noticeable unless she was bloated, but he was obsessed all the same. His hands reached for her sides, feeling the small curve of her tiny bump as he held her. “Hi Harry,” Y/N grinned, “Thought we could walk to the clinic together.”

Today they would be having their first appointment together with their assigned midwife. Harry had been close to a kid at Christmas as he counted down the days until he got to hear his baby’s heartbeat. “Yeah, I’ll pack my stuff away and we’ll head on down,” He nodded but stopped to kiss her quickly, “Missed y’,” He murmured. 

Y/N laughed, “You saw me three hours ago,” 

“Much too long,” He countered, slipping away from her and going to pack his things away. 

He returned in a fresh white t-shirt and jeans, reaching for her hand and threading their fingers together as they walked down to the clinic. 

Harry could feel Y/N’s nerves bouncing off of her as they sat in the waiting room of the small office waiting for their midwife to call them in. She fiddled with her fingers in her lap, tapped her foot against the floor and chewed on her bottom lip. Every now and then her eyes would glance to the door like she was desperate to get out. 

He reached for her hand, holding it in his lap and playing with the small ring on her index finger. His thumb traced the mole in the middle of her wrist, her pulse fluttering beneath it. “Y’ okay?” He murmured.

“Jus’ nervous,” She admitted, “I don’t like doctor’s offices all that much.”

“Y’ not having second thoughts about the baby are you? Because if you were there are things we can do and talk about. I-I’d never force y’ to have a baby, y’know that right Birdy?” Harry said. 

Y/N’s eyes softened, she cupped his cheek in her hand, “I want this baby with you more than I want anything ever.”

Harry smiled, “Y’ mean that?” He needed that reassurance from her more than anything. 

“I mean it,” She kissed him quickly. 

The door clicked open and in walked the midwife, “Y/N Y/L/N?” 

Y/N took a deep breath, squeezing Harry’s hand as they stood up. The midwife, an older woman with kind eyes, gestured for them to follow her into a small room. There was a simple examination bed and a tall metal stand with a strange, trumpet-like device hanging from it.

“This is a fetal stethoscope,” the midwife explained, picking up the device. “It’s how we’ll listen to your baby’s heartbeat.”

Y/N climbed onto the bed, her heart racing. Harry stood by her side, never letting go of her hand. The midwife placed the wide end of the stethoscope on Y/N’s abdomen and pressed her ear to the other end.

The room was silent as the midwife concentrated. Then, her face lit up with a smile. “There it is,” she said, turning to the expectant parents. “Your baby’s heartbeat. Would you like to listen?”

Harry’s eyes widened as he nodded eagerly. The midwife handed him the earpiece, and he leaned down, his expression changing from nervousness to awe as he heard the rapid, steady thump of their baby’s heart.

“Our baby,” Harry whispered, his voice thick with emotion. 

Y/N could feel her eyes welling up as she watched him. Her hand reached out to thread through his curls as he pressed his ear to the earpiece once more and listened for the faint sound of a beating heart they had created, “Can y’ hear it?” Y/N smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

“Tha’s our baby,” He repeated like he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

“Tha’s right, H.” Y/N said softly.

Harry reached for her bump, placing both of his big, heavy palms on it. He lowered his head and pressed a small kiss to the spot above her belly button, “Hello baby,” He murmured, “How can I love you this much when all I can hear is y’ heart?” 

Y/N smiled, letting him have his moment, “Promise I’ll take such good care of it,” He continued to speak soft and slow, “Both yours and mamas,”

Harry reached for Y/N’s hand and held it in his own, his other palm resting right over her bump. He felt Y/N give his hand a gentle squeeze and wondered if she could hear just how fast his heart beat for her even without the earpiece.

“Don’t cry,” Harry smiled, reaching to wipe away Y/N’s tears. 

“I’m just happy,” Y/N sniffled, “You’re going to be such a good dad, Harry, I hope you know that.”

The words settled something in him. All his nerves seemed to melt away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of love and anticipation for the new life they were about to bring into the world together. 

A family of his own. 

“I love you birdy,” He leans down and speaks to the bump once more, “and I love you too, baby birdy.” Y/N laughed and watched as Harry continued in conversation with their baby, hearing nothing but a gentle heartbeat in reply to his voice.

[elbiotipo]

Workbuilding Fundamentalist question: when it comes to dates, times and calendars in a fantasy setting where do you stand? I'm always conflicted as a writer just because changing the length of a year or what all the months are called all makes sense given that most fantasy worlds aren't earth and because every month is named after a person or deity and our calendar has been changed like 7 times in the real world. And yet I don't want to throw all this extra work at the reader.

Example I have a gas dwarf planet with like, winderwaker islands poking out above the gaseous ocean what people live on. And there's only 4 months in a year there so a 64 year old is still a teenager and it just seems like a lot to make someone keep track of.

First of all, very cool setting, I love islands among the clouds! Now, this is actually something I've given a lot of thought into, and might become a real concern if humanity goes to other planets.

There's, for example, an opening line of a Heinlein novel (IIRC) where a girl says she's 10 years old and thus old enough to marry, which is true, on Mars (the year is 687 days there). There is no reason, if one is designing a new planet, or even finding one IRL, to expect it to have the same day and year lenght to Earth, not even close. Mars with 21 hours is pretty close, but the length of our year and day is really just a cosmic coincidence. You could easily have an reasonably earth-like planet with shorter years (because it's closer to its star, or just revolves faster), or longer days or years.

However, very few fictional settings bother with this, and it's not hard to see why, you can have all sorts of exotic additions to your setting, but to wrap our head through different lenghts of the year or the day is a bit too much. Even different week lenghts, which did exist on history, sound strange. There are all sorts of different fantasy and sci-fi calendars, but at the root, most authors operate with "Earth-time". I don't blame them, it is 'extra work' for some readers, and it's not easy to wrap our head around, it's easier to say "this is sort of an alternate Earth" and be done with it. Also, to lenghten or shortern the year or day might bring all sorts of consequences from ecology to climate that should be considered, otherwise it's just a lame gimmick in my opinion.

HOWEVER, it's still an interesting piece of worldbuilding to consider!

Calendars of a sort have existed since humans started to count seasons and days, but our current society where there are calendars and clocks everywhere is quite recent, actually. I'm sure you are aware of the different calendars besides the BCE-CE one was imposed as the standard, many cultures . But there are also different ways of counting years;. The classic one is seasons, farming societies of course need it the most but hunter-gatherers also follow and know the seasons. There is no reason at all for them to correspond to the "temperate" seasons (summer, fall, winter, spring). Dry and wet seasons, cold and summer, and other options are not only possible, but have actually been widespread on human history. I recommend reading on Wikipedia about seasons, especially the section about non-calendar based seasons.

Of course the above applies to pre-industrial civilizations where timekeeping isn't as widespread. But even in those, counting years and ages is treated differently. Birthdays, for example, don't exist in all cultures. Koreans still count age based on the Korean new year, not your birthday. Some medieval Christian celebrated on the feast of the saint they were named after (and there are lots of them) or IIRC, their baptism. And so, a culture as yours might use different ways of counting the age of a person, perhaps by more "qualitative" rituals than just counting the years (though I have a feeling they would quickly adapt to their own calendar). Much like I told you about different kinds of seasons for different climates, I imagine that in worlds where the years are too short (or too long) to really make sense for the average person, some other ways of counting time will prevail. For example, are there predictable climate cycles in your planet? Moons (lunar calendars are always fun)? I can assume your planet has shorter years because it's closer to your star (by any chance, did you base it on red-dwarf orbiting planets?), so perhaps you could use something regarding the very visible star to count time?

Like I said at the beginning, this will be a real concern when humanity expands through space, and there's even a bit of debate if the human body can adapt to such heavy changes on its circadian rhytm. In any case, my prediction is that there would be a "Earth time", that is, 24-hours day and 365 day year, that is kept as standard out of convenience and in spaceships and space habitats (in my own setting Campoestela, it's called "ship time" because human spaceships use it as standard) and lots of "local times" on different planets with all the quirks I mentioned above, with everyone going into space learning how to convert their own time to "Earth time". Or maybe, to make things even more fun and, admittedly, complicated to the reader, the time of another time is taken as a standard. There's lots to play with here.

DON'T even ask me about relativistic time (like in Interstellar) because it makes my head hurt, even if I did use it a couple times on my stories. But "ship time" might be a real thing. Some cultures might have completely different 'times', not calendars, actually *times*, depending on relativistic time delation.

BTW anon, sorry for using this to promote myself, but if anyone loved this rant and would like to see more, I would appreciate some tips on my ko-fi (given the situation down here, now more than ever) and suggestions for other topics to talk about!

[venicebitch00]

shiv roy x reader pls!! like i was thinking maybe angsty jealous shiv and then fluff at the end? i dont mind anything honestly i just want shiv x reader content

dress

shiv roy x reader

a/n: omg i was so worried that nobody would request shiv so i was so happy when i saw these!! i hope you don’t mind i combined the two!! kinda ended angstier than i intended too

1.4 k

Shiv Roy had a meticulous morning routine that she followed every day without fail. She woke up at 5:00 (exactly half an hour before Tom), got changed, brushed her teeth, and went on a run. After about 3 miles, and when she knew Tom had left for work, she returned home and ate breakfast while scrolling through work emails and current headlines. This morning, however, her usually peaceful routine was interrupted. By you. 

As the woman ate her breakfast bar and scrolled through various news articles she couldn't help but notice your name-making and appearance. At first, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, your family owned one of the biggest fashion houses in the country so it wasn’t a surprise that some blog would write an occasional fluff piece about the outfit you wore to fashion week or speculations about your relationship with some model or actor. And although she would never dare admit it, she would secretly save everyone to read later. But it wasn’t until she saw your name plastered on an article headline written by her very own family’s news company that her attention was caught. The article detailed that your father had announced his anticipated retirement and you would be inheriting the family company and sole CEO. 

You had met Shiv and college, you wish you could say the two of you hit it off instantly, but you both knew it was from the truth. You both came from wealthy families and were used to having to fight viciously to get a spot at the table, so naturally, an unspoken rivalry formed between you, and the constant need to outdo and impress the other grew. However as your professors began to notice this competition, the more they would pair up the two of you, and eventually over the four years, your rivalry melted into something some might call a friendship. However the passion and intensity remained and it wasn’t easy to forget the late nights spent together fueled by wine and lust, the exam that you were supposed to be helping each other study for long forgotten. 

But as graduation approached and the simplicity of the days on your college campus came to an end, so did your and Shiv’s complicated relationship. She met her prince charming, a wealthy boy from Minnesota named Tom, or as you liked to call him “farmer fuckface”. But Tom was doting, he put Shiv before everything and promised a life of stability. One that her father might be proud of. Tom was safe. Tom was everything you were not. This, however, still did not stop the twinge of hurt she felt reading about this news. She fucking the fact that she had to hear about your life in a newspaper instead of listening to you ramble and giggle endlessly while tangled in your sheets. 

And just like clockwork, as she was fighting the urge to call you your name appeared on her home screen. 

Hey, know it’s been a while but it would mean a lot if you came tonight. I miss you. 

Shiv tried not to read into the last sentence of the message and instead clicked on the attached link you sent. It was an invitation to some party your company was throwing to celebrate your new position as CEO. If it was anyone else, she would of already politely rejected the invitation and made other plans for the evening. But it wasn’t. It was you. So she began to draft her text back. 

I’ll check my calendar. 

Much to Shiv’s dismay Kendall and Roman had also received invitations and insisted on coming with her. Shiv knew of her two brothers' motivations, both had been wanting to get into your pants since she first introduced you to them all those years ago and despite all the rejections they still seemed persistent. 

Shiv Roy was not a naturally anxious person. You can’t be, not when you go into countless business meetings every day filled with dozens of perverted old men just waiting for you to screw up and more focused on your tits that the words coming out of your mouth. But tonight her stomach was erupting in butterflies. 

Right as they walked in, Roman b-lined to the open bar, and Kendall mumbled something about finding Stewy, which left Shiv standing in the middle of your party all by herself. 

“What’s a gorgeous lady like yourself standing here all alone?” 

she could recognize your teasing voice from miles away. Shiv practically snapped her head around to see you, looking as gorgeous as ever, except now more mature and adult than she remember. 

“Bonnie,” you breathed, Shiv’s heart surged at the nickname you gave her years ago after finding out her full name, Sibohan, “fuck I missed you”. You engaged the redhead in a tight hug, one that Shiv hesitantly accepted. 

Once you released, Shiv cleared her throat, “Yeah I..Fuck yeah I missed you too” 

“Come on let’s get you a drink” 

At the bar, Shiv was impressed when you still remembered her order.

“So, I’m surprised you came” 

“Oh yeah, why’s that?”

“You’ve been avoiding me”

Shiv scoffed “I have not been avoiding you”

“Come on, you have to, ever since the wedding” you, of course, referencing Shiv’s wedding to Tom. “Speak of the devil, where is farmer fuckface” 

Shiv chucked at your endearing nickname for her husband, “He’s you know, working” 

“I see” you took a sip from your martini “I’m surprised he let you come here by yourself” 

“What do you mean?”

“I think you know exactly what I mean” You peered up at her from your martini glass with a smirk. “Right well, I think I should make rounds” You fixed your hair and chugged the last bit of your drink. 

“Ah right you’re a busy CEO now aren't you” Shiv smiled, “I’ll see you later”.

Shiv watched you as you made your way around the room, greeting your guests and graciously thanking them for coming to your party. She couldn’t help a twinge of jealousy watching a bunch of strangers receiving your attention and loving praise. Her final straw was when she watched Kendall march up to you. You of course greeted him with a kind hug, one that lasted a bit too long for Shiv’s taste. She watched as he made you laugh and grazed your arm with his own. It used to be amusing to watch her brothers pathetically flirt with you all those years ago because she knew you were hers. But now it just made a pit form at the bottom of her stomach. 

Shiv chugged the last bit of the champagne she had been nursing and made her way to you. She abruptly grabbed your hand, muttering some lame excuse to Kendall about needing you for some “girl emergency” and dragged you to the nearest bathroom. 

Her lips were on yours the moment she locked the door, and your hands wasted no time getting lost in her short hair. 

“Aw what’s a matter Shivy, got a little jealous out there” you pouted her lip at her

“Oh fuck off” she murmured as you began to leave kissing down her neck, to her collarbone. 

“Missed this, missed you”. You felt Shiv’s hands begin to trail down your back, slowly unzipping your dress “Wait, fuck” you mumbled against her lips “What about Tom?”

“I’ve talked to him”

“About us?” you raised a brow.

“No, well, no not exactly. I’ve told him I want a more open relationship,” she stated matter-of-factly. 

“Wow, who knew Shiv Roy was so progressive” You started to kiss her again “What’s next, buying a van and starting a nomadic life?” 

“Oh shut up” you could practically feel her eyes rolling, “and since when did you ever care about Tom?” 

You looked up at her once more, “I just-” you paused, “Fuck, never mind”. You caved and reunited her lips with yours.

You realized this was a battle you were not going to win anytime soon. Before Shiv was your “Bonnie”, she was always going to be “Shiv Roy of Waystar Royco”, and your relationship just didn’t fit into that part of her life. Neither of you was ready to admit how much you meant to one another, so you would just pretend that it didn’t matter. And you figured if you got burned, at least you were electrified. 

[rabbitcruiser]

Ascension Day

We commemorate Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven (as per Christian belief) by celebrating Ascension Day, which occurs on the Thursday, which is 40 (or 39) days after Easter. This year, it will take place on May 9. Known by multiple names — The Feast of the Ascension, The Ascension of Jesus, Ascension Thursday, Holy Thursday, or Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord — this is a Christian holiday that doubles as a public holiday in many countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland and more.

History of Ascension Day

One of the earliest Christian festivals, Ascension Day marks the end of the Easter season. This event is celebrated primarily by Catholics and Anglican Christians; most Protestant churches do not follow this tradition anymore. The date, too, differs in different geographic locations. Western Churches prefer to use the Gregorian calendar for calculating this date, while many Eastern Orthodox Churches calculate this date according to the Julian calendar. As a result, their celebrations occur at a later date than the Western event.

As per the New Testament in the Bible, after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday, he was resurrected from the dead in three days, on the day we know as Easter Sunday. For 40 days after this, he stayed with his Apostles (the primary disciples of Christ) to instruct them on how to carry out his teachings. As the Bible says, at the end of day 40, Jesus Christ and his disciples went to Mount Olivet (or the Mount of Olives), near Jerusalem. After asking them to stay, Christ then ascended to heaven to take his seat at the right hand of God, under the gaze of his disciples. To Christians, the ascension signifies that Christ completed his work on Earth and allowed him to prepare a place for his followers in heaven.

Initially a part of Easter celebrations, this day was later separated from Easter, along with Pentecost. Celebration of Pentecost ends the cycle of Easter-related events in the Christian calendar.

Ascension Day timeline

68 A.D. The Tradition Begins

Ascension Day begins to be observed, albeit with two other holidays — Easter Sunday and Pentecost.

300 A.D. Ascension Day Develops As A Separate Tradition

A decree declares this celebration now must be observed separately — it is moved to 40 days after Easter.

385 A.D. First Written Evidence Appears

We see the very first piece of written evidence that the Ascension Day Feast is celebrated.

5th century Ascension Day Starts Appearing In Art

Christian art showcases this holiday.

6th century Art Begins To Reflect Different Versions

Syria develops a different version of the Ascension, which is later adopted by Byzantine art.

18th century Germany Celebrates Father's Day

Ascension Day coincides with Father's Day in Germany — they celebrate Jesus returning to the Holy Father.

19th century Germany Celebrates With Colourful Parades

To replicate the way the Apostles walked with Jesus, Christians begin to host colorful parades as a commemoration.

How To Observe Ascension Day

Go to church

Attend church processions

Listen to hymns

Learn how your local church celebrates this day. Take some time to attend a Mass or Christian church service. Clarify the details before you go, as these services differ based on whether the church is Protestant or Catholic.

Tradition says this holiday is observed by a three-day procession, then the feast itself, which includes a procession of torches and banners to symbolize Christ’s journey to the Mount of Olives and entry into heaven. While your local church might not have such grand festivities, find out if they are still carrying out a procession.

Listening to hymns is a traditional part of Ascension Day celebrations. A medley of these religious songs can have you humming along for days. Even popular artists have been known to hum a hymn or two over the years. Check out Carrie Underwood’s ‘Something In The Water,’ or U2’s ‘Where The Streets Have No Name,’ or even John Legend’s ‘Preach.’

Facts About Ascension Day

In Sweden, people go on early morning walks

The British celebrated by 'beating the willow'

Welsh people don’t work on this day

Portugal celebrates by keeping wheat in their houses

Indonesia has a public holiday on Ascension Day

Many people go out into the woods at 3 AM or 4 AM to hear the birds at sunrise, believing that hearing a cuckoo from the east or west brings them good luck — this activity is called ‘gökotta.’

In the olden days, as young boys were driven along the parish boundaries, they were beaten with willow branches to drive away evil.

It is more than a holiday celebration in Wales — Welsh people believe that it is unlucky to do any work on Ascension Day.

Traditionally, rural Portuguese households keep wheat in their homes throughout the coming year — this day is associated with peace and prosperity and, to them, wheat symbolizes prosperity.

Despite Christianity being a minor religion in Indonesia, Ascension Day is designated as a public holiday.

Why Ascension Day Is Important

It is an opportunity for reflection and to gain inner peace

We learn about Christian traditions

It helps us expand our cultural horizons

Instances, where we can simply sit, reflect, and learn the true meaning of peace, are rare in our busy worlds. This is why we recommend holding onto such chances with both hands. Ascension Day church services center around this theme. If you are not a religious or church person, simply take a moment to sit by yourself and reflect on your journey so far and how you would like to continue. There’s no better way to celebrate this day than by centering yourself and your thoughts.

Expanding our knowledge is good for us. Plus, learning about Ascension Day not only helps us expand our store of general knowledge, but also inspires us to observe some of the traditions.

Such traditions have been prevalent for a long time, and have taken on varying degrees of importance around the world. Even festivities change as per the customs of a certain region. Learning more about these traditions changes our views of cultures and gives us extended knowledge of people from other nations.

Source

[diggingupgrave]

Magnificently Cursed... the blog post ✨

🕰🍂🕯🌿📔🧣🌙

My writing log says it’s been exactly a year since I started writing Magnificently Cursed, my Dark Academia Inuokko Magic School AU! I find summer to be insufferable (my apologies to the sun) so I took an escape hatch to an early fall last year and immediately fell down this massive rabbit hole. Not only did I write the whole fic and make overly-intricate graphics for each chapter… I also made a ton of other content that I simply didn’t have enough time to post! (Fall is but one season… unless you’re me, and it’s two, because fuck summer) So as a little anniversary gift to me, I’m going back through the archives and finally putting everything in one place. 

Let’s start with the character mood boards, shall we? 

Toge Inumaki: 

I wanted Toge to have an earthy/natural, vintage-y feel, while Yuuta was all sleek and new. I’m still completely obsessed with this library-lizard aesthetic for Toge.

I low-key wound up buying a brown sweater after searching online for literal hours just like the one in the upper left so we could twin. That duffle coat still has my whole heart. Lavender mug inspired by Neara 🥺

Yuuta Okkotsu:

The lil ghostie patch 😭 I still think Yuuta would look hot as hell in all these clothes- especially the speckle-y fisherman sweater. Coat game is strong here as well. 

... so is it obvious that I spend too much time on Canva yet? 😅

The Timeline: 

My outline wasn’t outlining and I resorted to making an in-world calendar to make sure the dates were realistic. Each chapter is a different color, and the lines represent what days the chapters covered in-world. The corresponding stars represented each chapter’s posting dates… except the real life dates didn’t line up with the fictional dates (rude), so those thursdays were actually saturdays? I think? I'm actually not 100% sure what past me was up to here, to be totally honest 😅

(also, politely ignore that bit that says “epilogue - december” 💀i’ll get to it when i get to it. I don’t really like the idea of it being *over* so maybe i'll just gatekeep that bit forever)

⬆️ Example of aforementioned “outlining,” which, yes, is unfortunately littered with as many potential tweets as actual organization 💀

Not pictured: the outline for the first three chapters… when i thought this fic… would only *be* three chapters. 🪦

Writing Log:

I wrote all 92k between July 13th and September 13th (including 60k in August, nanowrimo style)!

Honestly would love to know what her regimen was because i immediately went back to being slow and undisciplined. I don’t foresee this coming august looking anything like this, lol.

Also, sidenote, hilarious that I took a break to work on it would make a whole in the middle of this? Because I literally just finished that piece this week and posted it today 😅

The Playlist:

Spotify proving that July 13th commitment! If you start a wip without procrastinating and making a playlist for two hours first... did you really start a new wip?

The playlist was three and a half hours and i would listen to it nearly every day, sometimes multiple times in a day 💀. Listen during a rainstorm for peak vibes.

(other favs not pictured: The Butterflly Effect’s cover of “Lay All Your Love on Me,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Decode,” Liz Longley’s “Rescue My Heart,” and "Nothing's Gonna Happen" by The Staves) 

Bonus:

(fall baking... toge's fav pumpkin muffins of course)

(my toge sweater knockoff)

(editing buddy... clearly working very hard)

(cider donut cider... for the ✨vibes✨)

(obsessively drinking massive pots of harney and son’s victorian london fog tea as i tried to interpret my own bullshit)

(me celebrating actual halloween like i didn't start in july)

.... ANYWAY (if you made it this far 😅) many thanks to anyone who read/kudos/commented/supported this fic, because (if you can't tell already) i had so much fun writing it.

Currently, working on another longfic rn that's also promising to destroy my life... but you never forget your first 😘

[shadowhuntersfemslashfebruary23]

Shadowhunters Ladies had it coming: presenting this year’s Femslash February prompt list.

Straight (or not so straight if you catch my drift) from the Shadow World, by @A_Taupe_Fox because they know what’s good for me (and you).

Here is how it works: you may have noticed the calendar with a list of prompts.

It is up to you (and me, I’m doing it too!) to create a brand new piece of fanwork for the Shadowhunters femslash pairing of your choice, interpreting the prompt however you see fit.

The only restriction is of course that every work you create must be femslash. Rule 63 is fine, and any character who identifies as a woman is welcome.

All kind of works (be it fanart, fanfic, fanmix, fanvids, fancraft…) are highly encouraged. You may create a reclist if you so wish, translate a work or make a podfic, as long as you tag responsibly.

Mature and/or dark content is allowed as long as you warn accordingly. Friendly reminder that the point of trigger warnings is that they need to be visible and understandable so people know what to avoid.

I’ll try my best to reblog everything through this tumblr as I’ll be tracking #SFF23, and I’ll be running an AO3 collection as well (Shadowhunters_Femslash_February_2023).

If you fill the entire calendar you may request a moodboard from me to celebrate, I’ll be happy to make one for your favorite pairing!

Minimum requirements

Fic and poetry: 500 words, unless you are specifically writing a drabble (exactly 100 words on AO3)

Art: 300x300 pixels if digital, 3”x3” if traditional

Moodboards: 3 images (+ optional blurb)

Playlist: 8 songs + cover art

Rec lists: 3 fanworks + reasons why you’re reccing them

Podfic: 5 minutes + clear permission from the author for you to use make it

Translations: the work it’s a translation of must fit the fic minimum requirements, whether new or pre-existing + clear permission from the author for you to translate it

Fanvids: 30 seconds

All other fanworks (gifs, crafts, edits, manips, anything else you can think of): as long as you think it’s complete and/or the best you can do right now, it counts

[tobiasdrake]

Makoto's being cryptic, Yomi's being fascist, we're neck-deep in enemy territory with no plan beyond "DO THE IMPOSSIBLE SOMEHOW", someone's PROBABLY dead by now, and I have to deal with these two chuckleheads?

Gonna go hang out with my bestie instead. For moral support.

This is why the family cut her off.

OH MY GOD ME TOO. They're an entire family of internationally-recognized chronomancers, carrying enough clout that the Unified Government grants them complete authority over maintaining time standards around the globe. They not only cut Fubuki off from the family for some reason but specifically banished her to the World Detective Organization.

I would play a spinoff game all about these people. The central gimmick could be solving mysteries through time travel in order to unwrite tragedies before they happen.

Let's start with how maintaining time standards works.

It does, yeah. Basically, Fubuki's saying that maintaining global standards of time sounds more complicated than it actually is. Time ticks itself away; All we have to do is observe it. The Clockfords' job is simply about keeping everyone's observation on the same level.

They just make sure everyone's abiding by the Time Zones and nobody's clocks have slipped.

In the real world, this is all decentralized efforts undertaken by individual countries. Everyone decides for themselves what calendar to use and what time it is right now. That's why the Time Zone map is this jagged piece of shit.

Look at that. Look at how ugly that is. Decentralized time zones are an utter disaster. By cleaning all of this up and providing neat, crisp lines and universal standards, the Clockfords are providing a public service to the world.

...is one interpretation. Of course, going along with the uncomfortable implications of the Unified Government, all of that "clean-up" means tearing the autonomy of sovereign peoples to decide what time it is right now from their hands.

A universal calendar standard accepted across the globe sounds cool, but it also means erasing cultural standards of individual civilizations. Chinese New Year? What Chinese New Year. China has to celebrate the same New Year as everybody else. The Chinese calendar is banned.

In the name of smooth, crisp global efficiency, the Clockford Family is engaged in temporal imperialism.

The Clockfords can dictate that it's 2013 right now, and then everyone around the world has to adjust because the Time Emperors have deemed it so? That's fucking terrifying.

Rain Code spinoff where the Clockfords decide to turn back the dial five years. The game features a guy who was about to go celebrate turning 21 by having his first (legal) bar trip, but the Time Emperors decided he's 16 now. No beer and he has to start high school all over again.

So, naturally, he's out for revenge and to liberate the time standards of the world from their iron grasp.

We have granted the Time Emperors an unbelievable level of control over the stability of civilization so we could charge them with one scared duty: To prevent the Time Emperors from abusing their unbelievable control and wreaking havoc across civilization. Only the Clockford Family can defend the world against potential abuses from the Clockford Family.

Wait, they banished you to go die as a Master Detective because they want you to lead the family?

Logic would then suggest that maybe you haven't been told officially because they don't want you as heir.

They realized they fucked up, so now they're using the WDO as a remedial education instructor. Which. Is. Not what the WDO's job is. *sigh* Shit, now I feel bad about that "This is why they cut her off" crack I made at the start of this hangout. That is, in fact, why they cut her off.

Wow, I hate your parents, Fubuki. With a violent passion. You should run away and follow your dreams of being an adventurer and coffee barista. What adventuring party couldn't use a coffee barista with time powers?

Sure, your absence would fuck up their plans for the future of their time empire but. That's a good thing. So it's win/win.

I hate that you think that, bestie. You are a diamond and you deserve the world.

[monozip]

JUST SOME THOUGHTS 💭 : the nine circles of loona hell.

After the very straining and soul-sucking battle that is BBC (although its not totally over! court-hearings are still due on August, it is still relieving knowing all 12 are out of BBC) new doors are opening up for the girls: as an odd eye circle comeback is right around the corner, a new wave of thrill and excitement is brewing up but, akin to the feeling of getting kicked on the stomach and as you stand up getting kicked again....orbits not only relive the feeling of euphoria to a new comeback, they'll also feel the same dread and annoyance at the piss poor management.

Modhaus choose to stray away from the usual path a company would do for promoting their artist, that being with NFTS and the benefit of voting for certain things due to said NFT. And it seems to be working for other group under Modhaus. I understand the need/or want for a uniform marketing scheme, but I wonder if Modhaus ever wondered or taken into consideration if the majority of OEC/Artms demographic and fans actually...gives a shit.

Although being a hot topic during 2021 (and years prior to that), it slowly started dwindling back in the shadows as other waves of trends came crashing in.But even then it seems as if NFT is just a rich mans toy that also happened to pack a punch at mother earth: the whole novelty about NFTs are the cha-ching linked to it, you'd just oggle and laugh at the cartoonishly high prices celebrities pay for ugly drawings of monkeys or even participate in it just for a quick buck.

Yet I don't see why it's necessary to even have NFTS in Artm's case considering how environmentally degrading it is. If they wanted to earn a quick buck out of these fans they could've just simply locked those photos on a paywall, there are many avenues and paths that can lead them to the same place. Also factor in the fact that majority or at least a good chunk of the fandom either don't care or vehemently hate it, so it just stirs a lot of negativity in forums or platforms where positivity is a better option— and yet Modhaus or any company really, never listens to the fandom's wishes/thoughts/feedback which is a big blunder due to the fact that fans are what feeds these companies, without an audience there is no place for their music to thrive.

But what about the albums? They're environmentally degrading too!

See, this is where my main gripe about NFTS actually formulate. I'm very much aware that everything I consume in my life can and will damage the environment one way or another, but there's actually a purpose behind those things. NFTS on the other hand...not so much. They are soulless pieces of merchandise, thats soul purpose starts and ends with it being a selfie whilst damaging the environment. Albums is a great garden to grow and see even a tiny speck of art. The inclusions are also another factor, it's a medium for art to flourish and has some real life uses to it (cd's).

Aside from the drift between fans and NFTS. Scheduling, lack of 'hype' is a big sore in the comeback, considering how the members themselves spoke about how they wish for a win. Why couldn't they manage their calendars correctly? Why aren't they hiring employees that can cater for a better outcome? Why are there dead zones of silence in between teasers? There's also overpricing of tour tickets (the announcement being before we even got the video teaser, me-thinks it would've worked out much better if they announced it in the middle of promotions as the hype may still be around).

Promoting Loona had always been a pleasure for orbits especially in their hayday before the great Armageddon, but now as the tides are shifting: there is now a realization that orbits antics may just backfire: Promoting the group is always the companies job, it's merely an option for the fans. And it's not as if Modhaus is a company majorly lacking in resources, so why can't they do it themselves? And the bare minimum is not to ghost fans leading up to the release date, there are ways to bring in hype and extra content without even straining or overworking the girls themselves. Posting hints about the comeback, interesting tidbits and trivia about it, even posting a little screencap of the mv is a decent way to generate curiosity regarding the comeback.

I do appreciate those little shortcuts video they post, content better than nothing at least.

It's just tiring seeing oec/artms re-living the same old issues under the hand of the same old man.

But that aside, I do genuinely look forward for this comeback (or re-debut maybe?). I dig the concept and especially the first few set of photo teasers as it was very interesting and alluring. It's wonderful that they choose to recall previous details for the sub-unit's comeback/re-debut as it really gives a rush to old fans and can create interest to the new ones. Tiny thing, but I really like the details they placed on the eyepatches like the laces and stuff. Love the thick bangs on Choerry too. The video teasers were also an amazing watch, just hearing OEC's old songs now as they are in a new chapter in their career, new company, new everything, is just thrilling and sweet. I wonder (delusions) if Haseul or Heejin will be a featured artists in their b-sides! That'll be fun for sure.

[valentinaharrington]

[ciswoman, she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [VALENTINA HARRINGTON]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [LAURA HARRIER]. You must be the [THIRTY] year old [ARTIST]. Word is you’re [LOYAL] but can also be a bit [STUBBORN] and your favorite song is [WHAT IT IS BY DOECHII]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [AURORA BAY DRIVE]. I’m sure you’ll love it! 

Full Name: Valentina Harrington  Nickname(s): V, Vivi, Baby V Gender: Cis woman (she/her) Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Birthday: August 15 (31) Religion: Spiritual Nationality: American Ethnicity: Black Hometown: New York, NY Current Residence: Aurora Bay Drive  Time in Aurora Bay: 10 years on and off throughout childhood, moved back 1 year ago.  Occupation: Freelance Artist  Education: Master of Fine Arts degree, Columbia University Languages: English 

TL;DR: Valentina Harrington is a 31-year-old professional artist and socialite who inherited a passion for all things artistic from her wealthy art collector parents, including a cushy trust fund. She quickly made a name for herself in the New York art scene, with art commissioned by high-profile celebrities and events like the Met. She is known for throwing lavish parties attended by New York's elite. She moved after her parents threatened to cut her off due to 'bad habits' and indulging too much at her parties. Despite her glamorous lifestyle, V takes her craft seriously and is deeply passionate about her art.

PERSONALITY.

Pos. Traits: Magnetic, risk-taker, affectionate, warm, vivacious, risk-taker, loving, creative Neg. Traits: Reckless, impulsive, naive, stubborn, overly-trusting  Likes: Painting, makeup, clubbing, sports, cooking, travel, nature walks, skinny dipping, the TV show Succession, staying in hotels, quick getaways, weight-lifting, bike riding, rollercoasters, Disney, getting drunk on cheap wine Dislikes: Anything that's not easy to have, lack of fashion sense, people who can't appreciate good art, being told what to do. 

Meet Valentina Harrington, a 31-year-old artist, and socialite born in Aurora Bay as a child but raised in the Upper East Side where she considers her home. She grew up surrounded by the city's high society. Her parents were wealthy art collectors, and Valentina inherited their passion for all things artistic from an early age, along with a hefty trust fund to fall back on.

After graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Fine Arts, Valentina quickly made a name for herself in the New York art scene. Her works are often inspired by the city's vibrant culture and iconic landmarks and have been exhibited in some of the most prestigious galleries in the city. Specifically being commissioned by the Met Gala to curate pieces throughout her college years - making her a popular favorite to be invited and it helps that she is constantly being asked to model for designers.

Despite her glamorous lifestyle, Vivi is deeply passionate about her art and takes her craft seriously. She spends long hours in her studio, working on new pieces and perfecting her technique. She is constantly seeking inspiration and is always looking for new ways to push the boundaries of her art. Valentina's social media presence is strong, with a large following on Instagram and TikTok, where she shares behind-the-scenes glimpses of her creative process and glamorous lifestyle. She is also a philanthropist, supporting various causes related to the arts and education.

At the young age of 30, she decided to fully move to Aurora Bay in search of a more peaceful lifestyle and was essentially forced by her parents to do so. She had grown up with her family visiting over summers and grew tired of consistently fast-paced nights out that dominated her social calendar in the city. In Aurora Bay, she found a tranquil and idyllic coastal town that allowed her to focus on her personal growth and creative pursuits.  That doesn't stop her from being her full self. She filled her wardrobes with carefully curated pieces that reflected her unique style and artistic sensibilities. Each outfit she wears is a statement-making masterpiece that blends vintage and modern elements in a way that only she could pull off. She pays close attention to the smallest details, always ensuring that every accessory and piece of jewelry is perfectly placed to complete the overall look.  Her love for classic films, books, and art continues to be a source of inspiration for her. 

[tw drug abuse] In addition to her artistic endeavors, Valentina is also a prominent figure in the city's social and fashion scene. She is known for throwing lavish parties and events, attended by New York's elite. Her charm and outgoing personality have earned her a reputation as a socialite and influencer, and she is often seen at fashion shows, charity events, and other high-profile gatherings. This lifestyle allows easy access to drugs of all kinds, and while she appears to have it put together on the outside she hides that side of her from her friends and family and indulges occasionally. Another major reason why she moved to Aurora Bay due to her parents threatening her trust fund and leaking her drug abuse to the press if she didn't get clean. She's been clean for 6 months, and is 'California Sober,' so she still lights up a j and drinks alcohol but can't help but feel tempted to return to that former lifestyle of more substances. But her love for her pristine image rests on her shoulders.

WANTED CONNECTIONS: 

Platonic - a fellow artist, best friend, high school bf/gf, childhood best friend Romantic - one-night stand, friend w/ benefits, more serious hookups, flirty friend

Happy for any and all connections  @aurorabayaesthetic

[darcylewisbingohq]

Welcome fans and friends of Darcy Lewis to Darcy Lewis Bingo Headquarters and our 2023 bingo round!

2023 Darcy Lewis Bingo Challenge Signup Form: link

Darcy Lewis Bingo 2023 custom card (5x5 squares) requests open today, January 7th! Signups will remain open until February 14th.

Please carefully read through the bingo guidelines below before signing up. We made some fun changes this year to help you customize your card all year long.

2023 Darcy Lewis Bingo Guidelines

We’re making a few exciting changes this round!

To begin, four different types of bingo cards will be available for you to choose from in 2023:

Custom Bingo Cards: These are traditional 5x5 grid cards available to everyone who signs up early during the initial entry period in January. Prompts are assigned on these cards based on a simple questionnaire to determine the kinds of fanworks you like to create and your preferred types of prompts. Participants can choose to have 24 prompts + 1 free space or 25 prompts with no free space on these cards as part of the customization process.

Premade Bingo Cards: NEW FOR 2023—these 5x5 grid cards are available to anyone who signs up later in the year, after custom cards are delivered, when late signups open in the spring. (Early entrants may also choose a premade card in the spring to work from in addition to their custom card if a particular premade card theme appeals to their muse.) Each of these cards will have 25 prompts with no free spaces. Prompts available on these cards will be fandom typical, such as tropes, AUs, exclusively nsfw prompts, Darcy multishipper/rare pairs, etc. If there is a particular prompt you’d like to see, we’re open to suggestions for future premade, late entry cards.

Mega Bingo Cards: ALSO NEW FOR 2023—These are a new size card available to all bingo players on our Discord. Mega bingo cards will come in a 10x10 grid size. Every mega bingo card will be identical with 100 prompts total and no free spaces. Each square will have a one-word prompt that can be used to inspire fanwork creations like every other Darcy Bingo prompt—however a creator sees fit to use it or finds inspiration in it. Special reward badges are available to anyone who gets a bingo or a blackout on a 2023 mega bingo card.

Limited Edition Event Cards: UPDATED FOR 2023—These are another new size card for the 2023 round. Limited edition event cards will be premade 1x5 cards created for special occasions, such as Valentine’s Day, Marvel special occasions, Pride 2023, Halloween, and Winter Holidays. These premade cards will each have five prompts with no free spaces and will be made available 2-3 months before each holiday or event month. You’ll be able to choose your limited edition card from a group of 5-10 premade cards based on related themes. Special, limited edition reward badges will be issued to anyone who completes all five prompts on a limited edition bingo card in the 2023 calendar year.

Limited Edition event bingo card signups will be available exclusively to Darcy Bingo Discord server members. MCU special occasions may also be celebrated with limited edition cards. Halloween, Hanukkah, and Christmas, for sure, but maybe Anniversary of the Battle of New York or Steve Rogers’ red, white, & blue birthday, too…? Who knows?!

The link to invite your friends to Darcy Lewis Bingo can be found through the ‘invite’ link at the top of the list of channels on our Discord server.

Please feel free to share it amongst your Darcyland and MCU fandom friends who wish to join this bingo.

As always, creators may write or create as few or as many fics or pieces of artwork as you would like for each prompt. This bingo writing challenge and the prompts provided on each card are meant to inspire, never to stifle your creativity.

When to Begin: You are welcome to begin creating as soon as you receive your card(s). Custom bingo cards should be emailed to you within 30 days of signup, so if you signup on January 1st, you can expect to have your card in hand by February 1st.

Remember, all mega bingo cards will be identical with no customization at the start. Every mega bingo card will have the exact same prompts, but prompts can be traded and swapped during Discord bingo parties this round just like any traditional custom bingo card. The 2023 mega bingo card will be made available in our Discord for creators to save for your records and to work from all round long.

Only one custom card per person will be issued at the start of this bingo event round. If you blackout your 5x5 custom card or your 10x10 mega bingo card, you are welcome to choose one of our 5x5 premade cards to continue creating Darcy Lewis content. However, only one badge each will be issued for 2023 participation, and one each for both the 5x5 and 10x10 cards’ bingo and blackout challenges this round.

Additional badges may also be announced and awarded. Check out our Discord server for future announcements on additional 2023 reward badges.

Bingo Deadlines: There continues to be no deadline for completing a Darcy Lewis 5x5 bingo card or 10x10 mega bingo card for 2023. Creators may take as long as you like to finish a 5x5 or 10x10 bingo card for this round, even well into the following year.

Limited Edition 2023 cards must be completed by the deadline issued in Discord for the event and masterlists submitted by the end of calendar year 2023 to qualify for limited edition reward badges.

As long as this bingo exists, old 5x5 and 10x10 Darcy Lewis Bingo HQ cards completed with new creations will be honored.

Swaps: NEW FOR 2023 Because Darcy Lewis Bingo hosts monthly bingo parties on our Discord, where bingo players have a minimum of 4 opportunities every single month to swap, adopt, or earn additional prompt swaps during bingo party game play, there will be no instant swaps available immediately after custom cards are issued to bingo players.

Weekly Challenges: ALSO NEW FOR 2023 In fact, our Discord Weekly Challenge will present each bingo creator at least 4-8 additional opportunities every month for creators to swap prompts. If you create something for our Discord Weekly Challenge in the seven allotted days for that challenge, you may swap that creation and prompt in for any prompt square on any of your 2023 round cards: 5x5, 10x10, or limited edition 1x5 cards. But the creation must be posted by the end of that challenge week to qualify for a swap and the date of that challenge week swap should appear on your masterlist at the end of the 2023 bingo round to indicate you swapped it with a weekly prompt and when. Weekly Challenge fills can be banked all year and saved to use as swaps as needed until the end of calendar year 2023. Players are responsible for keeping track of their own banked Weekly Challenges. They may alternately be used immediately as swaps, if the creator chooses not to save them for later, once the challenge fill has been posted by the weekly deadline.

By our count, this means every creator has the opportunity to swap up to about 144 prompts in the 2023 round.

That’s a lotta swaps and opportunities to customize your bingo cards. 😉

How to Use Prompts: Remember that no prompt is required to be used exactly as it appears on your card. If you can justify how the prompt inspires the creation, that’s good enough for us.

Masterlists: You will need to provide a masterlist for completed bingo and blackout reward badges in the masterposts channel on our Discord or mention us @darcylewisbingohq on tumblr. Masterlists may be posted at any time for rewards in the 2023 round.

Returning Bingo Players: We ask that bingo players returning from the previous round complete at least one line of bingo on the previous round’s custom card before requesting a new custom card be created for them in 2023.

Requesting reward badges for completing earlier bingo rounds: If you have a custom card from an earlier round of Darcy Lewis Bingo that you never got to finish, but you’d like to keep creating for, we will also honor those rounds with new rewards for creators who complete a bingo line. (New rewards will not be issued for bingo lines of 5 prompts all completed entirely for Darcy bingo cards issued before June 21, 2022, however. This is when Grimey made the handoff of Darcy Bingo to new bingo management, Mods Turtles & ChrissiHR.)

Tags & Trigger Warnings: Please include trigger warnings when you publish your creations. Warning appropriately builds trust with your readers in the long term. Tagging accurately is important for this reason, as well. If trigger warnings are spoilers, put a warning in the tags that spoilers are in the end notes and then actually include the spoilers in the end notes. Tagging builds trust and encourages readers to return to read more of your work. Trust us on this and tag like you want readers to return.

How to Get Reblogged: Mention @darcylewisbingohq in the A/N on tumblr and use the tag #dlbingohq (all one word!) in the first five tags on tumblr to be included in our bingo roundups. Include any tags you’d like us to tag your work with, as well.

Posting Creations: Share your fill in one of the bingo fill channels on our Discord. A brief outline of what to include in your post is pinned in each of the fill and weekly challenge channels.

Don’t forget:

Please use the ‘keep reading’ feature on tumblr when possible to abbreviate lengthy fills if you’d like them reblogged by the Darcy Lewis Bingo Headquarters account.

What Counts as a Fill?: Aesthetics, drabbles, one-shots, multichaptered fics, series, drawings, paintings, sculpture, social media AUs, gif edits, video edits, music video edits, moodboards, coloring pages, and playlists are all accepted fills.

What’s that? You craft or crochet?

That counts, too.

ANY CREATION inspired by your prompt counts.

Poetry? Yes.

Sidewalk chalk drawing? Yes.

Soap sculptures? Yes.

Bullet journal theming? Yes.

Watercolor? Yes.

Haiku written in glitter calligraphy? YES.

Peed in the snow creatively? As long as it’s inspired by a prompt on your bingo card, it counts. So yes. (We’re not your mom. Be weird, make stuff!)

One square = one bingo fill. If you write a multi-chaptered fic, each chapter can be considered a fill using a different prompt, or you may use just one prompt to inspire all your chapters.

You may use one prompt square per chapter or fill from up to two different Darcy Bingo cards at a time. Using two Darcy Bingo cards’ prompts on a single fill is permitted, but only if the prompts originate from two different cards. This includes custom cards (early signups), premade cards (late entries), mega cards, and limited edition cards. You also may combine up to two squares as long as they’re from two different Darcy Bingo cards in a single chapter.

When using prompts from two different Darcy Bingo cards, fill requirements still must be met for each prompt, so a 100-word minimum becomes 200 words minimum when stacking your two prompts from different cards into one fill—just like you’d stack your prompts for cross-fills with other bingos.

All characters, ships, reader inserts, OC’s, actors, crossovers, and AUs are permitted as long as Darcy Lewis is a substantive character contributing to the story or creation or part of a main pairing or polycule in your creation.

Your creation may include characters from other MCU movies or even other fandoms. Just remember it must include Darcy as a substantive character to count as a prompt fill.

If you don’t know what a particular prompt means, you can @ a mod at any time on tumblr or Discord, or DM us directly. We’re happy to help.

All works created for this bingo should be new or previously unpublished. You may add new chapters to old works, however. You may not use previously published chapters of existing works or previously posted one-shots or creations to fill the prompts on your new card.

Minimum prompt fill requirements:

• 100 words for written works or word art, with the exception of poetry with a specific word or syllable count format (such as haikus)

• 1 image for artwork or handcrafts of any kind

• 6 images for social media AUs

• 6 elements or images for moodboards

• 10 songs for playlists

What Counts as a Fill (an addendum)

Just like writing a multichaptered fic, there’s more than one way to fill additional prompts on your bingo card without going down the rabbit hole and writing 25 different stories for every single prompt. (That sounds exhausting to us!)

If you’ve already written a fic you love, go ahead and make a playlist for it, too. Ten songs on a playlist counts as a fill! So does a moodboard! Or an aesthetic board. You can do a social media AU with two or three different IG account pages. Each mock IG page could count as a fill if it contains a minimum of 6 images. There are so many ways to use your prompts and world-build for your stories.

Still not sure if yours meets the minimum requirement? @ a mod on our Discord or message one of us on tumblr! We’re @ibelieveinturtles & @chrissihr here on tumblr.

We wish you all luck with each and every one of your prompt fills in 2023!

Regarding Completion Rewards: Turtles and I have recently discovered a mutual love of giving bingo players extra bonuses and rewards along with reward badges, so bingo players participating in future Discord Limited Edition events, Discord Weekly Challenges, and bingos may receive additional rewards and bonuses above and beyond bingo & blackout reward badges—as dictated by our whims and fancies. These bonuses may include more Wild Cards or Free Space Tokens for participation in particular challenge weeks, opportunities to revisit earlier events and finish unpublished works as instant swaps, surprise adoptable prompt weekends—you name it. More monthly bingo writing and moodboard games will also qualify for instant swaps this year.

Keeping this bingo fun and dynamic all year long for all of you is our goal, but it’s fun for us, too, so expect more of that this round, as well. 😉

The Darcy Lewis Bingo Mod Duo,

Turtles & Chrissi

[the-travelling-witch]

Holly the new year is to soon I need to go back in time

i feel like i should mention this first: i’m not someone who makes a lot of fuss about holidays or special events (christmas, new years, my birthday etc) and i tend to keep my celebrations on the down-low but i can understand why other people place a lot of importance on them

but the way i see it, even if we didn’t accomplish everything we set out to do in the last year -i’d definitely say i could’ve done better- i think, rather than turn back time, we should acknowledge everything that we did accomplish and give ourselves a little (or a big) pat on the back

even if something didn’t work out, we can still learn and grow from it; new year’s doesn’t mean we reset to zero but that we continue what we started in 2023 also in 2024

for me, for example, i’m pretty sure i wanted to write more poetic and sophisticated pieces in 2023 but i think i stuck to my simplistic way of writing in most cases; still there were works here and there where i showed myself that i can do what i set out to do, where i used that kind of beautiful language

that’s not to say that you shouldn’t start anything new in 2024 of course, if the turn of the calendar helps you find the motivation to try your hand at sth new, that’s great!!

but there’s no need to get discouraged just because sth didn’t work out in the last year; most things are a progress that can’t be completed in one year, so just use that base and build on it in the coming one!!

and don’t push yourself too hard with any resolutions in the new year; dreaming big is nice, but it’s not like you’re an entirely new person just because we all struggle with the date for the next two months

so set your resolutions and pursue them but also make room for some silly ones that just bring happiness to your life without turning up the pressure and have an open mind for things you didn’t see coming <3

“Sometimes things you start on a whim end up becoming very important to you.” - Kiyoko Shimizu

“I am built upon the small things I do every day, and the end results are no more than a byproduct of that.” - Kita Shinsuke

of course, haikyuu quotes

[movedbywords]

SAT AUG 26@2PM Join Moved By Words & Frye Art Museum for New Voices Of Color 2023

Our Moved By Words fall event is coming up this weekend presented by the Frye Art Museum, if you have a minute please pass this information on! More information about our New Voices 2023 reading featuring Zaji Cox, author of 'Plum For Months' below (and for writers a chance to write with us in the beautiful Frye Art Museum on Saturday!)

MOVED BY WORDS: NEW VOICES OF COLOR READING — SAT AUG 26 2PM MORE INFO & FREE EVENT REGISTRATION FOR ATTENDEES: https://fryemuseum.org/calendar/event/moved-words-new-voices-color-reading

WRITE WITH US 

We still have spots for writers and volunteers for this Saturday. Please reply ASAP if you would like to get early entry to the museum, sit with the writers, read with us during the event, and have a space to put your books or art after the show then give us a shout. There will be tables available and we will have time to spend as a writing community together. We are going to write one short piece on "Remixing Identity" based on the Kelly Akashi exhibition at the Frye Art Museum: https://youtu.be/3pxw5pJw-E8  VOLUNTEER TO HELP

If all you want to. do is come early and support, help set up tables, and do a general vibe check that's fine too—just reply to this email ASAP and tell us you are interested in volunteering. Otherwise we hope to see you at the show~!

MOVED BY WORDS: NEW VOICES OF COLOR READING — SAT AUG 23 2PM Join the Frye and Moved by Words as we celebrate 10 years of poetry project New Voices of Color with a special reading at the Frye Art Museum, honoring both a decade of emerging talent and the closing of current exhibition Kelly Akashi: Formations. Headlining the program, Zaji Cox will offer a special reading from her recently published book of essays Plums for Months, which explores life growing up mixed race in the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. Other participating artists include Maryam Imam Gabriel, Stacy D Flood, Prashant Kakad, and more special guests!

New Voices of Color invites emerging authors and poets to workshop, connect, share works, and get inspired. Participating poets will have spent the day at the museum with Moved by Words founder Skyler Reed, touring the galleries to absorb Akashi’s work. Their responses will be shared during the reading, highlighting the special symbiosis between the visual and literary arts.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Zaji Cox wrote her first short story at age nine. A dancer, model, and artist, she has performed at the PDX Poetry Festival, Survival of the Feminist reading series, Corporeal Writing’s LOOP, and the Northwest Folklife Festival. She holds a bachelor's degree in English and her writing can be found in Pathos Literary Magazine, Entropy, The Portland Metrozine, Cultural Daily, CARE Covid Art REsource, and the anthology 2020: The Year of the Asterisk (University of Hell Press).

Skyler Reed (Skyler / Skylers / he / him / they / their) is a Sycan River Paiute (PIE-YOOT) artist, writer, and musician of the duo Lark & Raven currently living under the troll bridge in Sia’hl (SEE-AL-TH) on Duwamish (DOO-WAU-MISH) Tribal Lands. The founder of Moved By Words and a recipient of the Dean’s Residential Fellowship at the UW Information School, Skyler is the author of two chapbooks, And All Ampersands (2016) and Sex & Wikipedia (2017).

ABOUT MOVED BY WORDS

Founded by Skyler Reed, Moved By Words is a project dedicated to connecting new writers with writing workshops and community outreach. In 2020, Skyler hosted and organized the first ever free-of-charge women and queer folk of color writers' workshops and reading series, in community collaboration with the women and queer folk of Northwest Native Writers Circle and of the Whitenoise Reading Series community.

ABOUT KELLY AKASHI

Kelly Akashi: Formations is organized by the San José Museum of Art and curated by Lauren Schell Dickens, Chief Curator. The presentation at the Frye Art Museum is organized by Amanda Donnan, Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions.

Major support for Kelly Akashi: Formations provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Fellows of Contemporary Art. Generous support for the Frye’s installation provided by the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, the Frye Foundation, and Frye Members. Media sponsorship provided by The Stranger.

SKYLER REED

MOVED BY WORDS

[rabbitcruiser]

Ascension Day

We commemorate Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven (as per Christian belief) by celebrating Ascension Day, which occurs on the Thursday, which is 40 (or 39) days after Easter. This year, it will take place on May 18. Known by multiple names — The Feast of the Ascension, The Ascension of Jesus, Ascension Thursday, Holy Thursday, or Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord — this is a Christian holiday that doubles as a public holiday in many countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, France, and more.

History of Ascension Day

One of the earliest Christian festivals, Ascension Day marks the end of the Easter season. This event is celebrated primarily by Catholics and Anglican Christians; most Protestant churches do not follow this tradition anymore. The date, too, differs in different geographic locations. Western Churches prefer to use the Gregorian calendar for calculating this date, while many Eastern Orthodox Churches calculate this date according to the Julian calendar. As a result, their celebrations occur at a later date than the Western event.

As per the New Testament in the Bible, after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday, he was resurrected from the dead in three days, on the day we know as Easter Sunday. For 40 days after this, he stayed with his Apostles (the primary disciples of Christ) to instruct them on how to carry out his teachings. As the Bible says, at the end of day 40, Jesus Christ and his disciples went to Mount Olivet (or the Mount of Olives), near Jerusalem. After asking them to stay, Christ then ascended to heaven to take his seat at the right hand of God, under the gaze of his disciples. To Christians, the ascension signifies that Christ completed his work on Earth and allowed him to prepare a place for his followers in heaven.

Initially a part of Easter celebrations, this day was later separated from Easter, along with Pentecost. Celebration of Pentecost ends the cycle of Easter-related events in the Christian calendar.

Ascension Day timeline

68 A.D. The Tradition Begins

Ascension Day begins to be observed, albeit with two other holidays — Easter Sunday and Pentecost.

300 A.D. Ascension Day Develops As A Separate Tradition

A decree declares this celebration now must be observed separately — it is moved to 40 days after Easter.

385 A.D. First Written Evidence Appears

We see the very first piece of written evidence that the Ascension Day Feast is celebrated.

5th century Ascension Day Starts Appearing In Art

Christian art showcases this holiday.

6th century Art Begins To Reflect Different Versions

Syria develops a different version of the Ascension, which is later adopted by Byzantine art.

18th century Germany Celebrates Father's Day

Ascension Day coincides with Father's Day in Germany — they celebrate Jesus returning to the Holy Father.

19th century Germany Celebrates With Colourful Parades

To replicate the way the Apostles walked with Jesus, Christians begin to host colorful parades as a commemoration.

Ascension Day FAQs

Which countries observe Ascension Day?

Ascension Day is observed by Catholics around the world. It is a public holiday in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Indonesia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Vanuatu. This day is not a public holiday in the U.K., Canada, U.S., or Australia.

Why is Ascension 40 days after Easter?

The Bible says Jesus Christ met with his disciples for 40 days before his Ascension to teach them how to carry on his teachings.

What does Ascension Day mean?

As per Christian belief, Ascension Day marks day 40 after Jesus Christ’s Resurrection — counting Easter Day as day one — and is the day Christ ascended into heaven. This day is very important for Christians, ranking right up there with other Christian festivals like Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.

How To Observe Ascension Day

Go to church

Attend church processions

Listen to hymns

Learn how your local church celebrates this day. Take some time to attend a Mass or Christian church service. Clarify the details before you go, as these services differ based on whether the church is Protestant or Catholic.

Tradition says this holiday is observed by a three-day procession, then the feast itself, which includes a procession of torches and banners to symbolize Christ’s journey to the Mount of Olives and entry into heaven. While your local church might not have such grand festivities, find out if they are still carrying out a procession.

Listening to hymns is a traditional part of Ascension Day celebrations. A medley of these religious songs can have you humming along for days. Even popular artists have been known to hum a hymn or two over the years. Check out Carrie Underwood’s ‘Something In The Water,’ or U2’s ‘Where The Streets Have No Name,’ or even John Legend’s ‘Preach.’

Facts About Ascension Day

In Sweden, people go on early morning walks

The British celebrated by 'beating the willow'

Welsh people don’t work on this day

Portugal celebrates by keeping wheat in their houses

Indonesia has a public holiday on Ascension Day

Many people go out into the woods at 3 AM or 4 AM to hear the birds at sunrise, believing that hearing a cuckoo from the east or west brings them good luck — this activity is called ‘gökotta.’

In the olden days, as young boys were driven along the parish boundaries, they were beaten with willow branches to drive away evil.

It is more than a holiday celebration in Wales — Welsh people believe that it is unlucky to do any work on Ascension Day.

Traditionally, rural Portuguese households keep wheat in their homes throughout the coming year — this day is associated with peace and prosperity and, to them, wheat symbolizes prosperity.

Despite Christianity being a minor religion in Indonesia, Ascension Day is designated as a public holiday.

Why Ascension Day Is Important

It is an opportunity for reflection and to gain inner peace

We learn about Christian traditions

It helps us expand our cultural horizons

Instances, where we can simply sit, reflect, and learn the true meaning of peace, are rare in our busy worlds. This is why we recommend holding onto such chances with both hands. Ascension Day church services center around this theme. If you are not a religious or church person, simply take a moment to sit by yourself and reflect on your journey so far and how you would like to continue. There’s no better way to celebrate this day than by centering yourself and your thoughts.

Expanding our knowledge is good for us. Plus, learning about Ascension Day not only helps us expand our store of general knowledge, but also inspires us to observe some of the traditions.

Such traditions have been prevalent for a long time, and have taken on varying degrees of importance around the world. Even festivities change as per the customs of a certain region. Learning more about these traditions changes our views of cultures and gives us extended knowledge of people from other nations.

Source

[treknomads]

To Star Trails, Rajma-Chawal and Hikes!

How do you guys celebrate the coming of the new year?

Are you the party kind of person, or do you go on hikes or just sit at home and chill? The writer is more of the latter- the sit-at-home and chill and sometimes that becomes a significant disadvantage because if a blog needs to be written, then guess who is the one who gets caught?

However, this writer also loves all the happy messages you leave upon reading their pieces. Thus, every time an opportunity to write comes, this person jumps with happiness! Today is no different. The writer is delighted writing for you all but the glimmer of happiness today is extra!

Guess why?

Because TrekNomads’ calendar lists out the extended weekends and treks so well, with an extended weekend falling almost every month and the treks listed out next to them- the task immediately after writing this piece will be booking the tickets!

Now, if you haven’t downloaded your free copy, you can click on this link!!

In the meantime, let me list your extended weekends and the treks you can take during them.

Extended Weekend 1: January

Unfortunately, this year 1st Jan fell on a Sunday and killed a holiday for us. However, 26th Jan, i.e., Republic Day, is on Thursday, and honestly, no one expects you to work on a Friday after that. Yes, your teammates/bosses may give you some work, but deep down, we all know the truth.

Extended Weekend 2: February

Extended Weekend 3: March

Unless you are someone who loves Holi, you can make the respective weekend a fantastic trekking experience. So, Holi is on 8th March, which is a Wednesday. Add the 9th and 10th of March to it, and you’ll look at a 5-day weekend! 

Holi, for the audience that isn’t as versed with the concept is the festival of colours. Celebrated mostly in North India, the festival has a flavour of its own. If you are someone who is visiting India from any international location, we would suggest to couple your treks with a few sojourns to other cities as well. For instance, you must definitely visit the Holi at Barsana (near Mathura) which is on of it’s kind. 

Extended Weekend 4: April

Mahavir Jayanti is on the 4th of April, which is a Tuesday. Now, you and the writer both know that the Monday in between would be as good as “Why is it even there?”. So, instead of getting hit by the Monday Blues, soak in the pristine blues of the Goechala Trek, the Everest Base Camp Trek, or the Annapurna Circuit Trek. Believe us; you would be just out of the first quarter of the year and need this freshness to have a great 2nd quarter!

Extended Weekend 5: May

May is the month that sees many people undertaking the Annapurna Circuit Trek and the EBC trek (but through Gokyo Ri because of the exquisite beauty). Pangarchulla is another common trek undertaken during this period. The good thing is that with Buddha Purnima falling on the 5th, i.e., a Friday, just a Thursday (4th May) off will have you set for planning a trek to either of the locations mentioned above. May is the perfect season to go trekking since the pre-monsoon skies are just the right amount of cloudy to make them look like heaven. 

Extended Weekend 6: June

June marks the beginning of treks to the Valley of Flowers trek, paving the way for the Kashmir Great Lakes trek and the Tarsar Marsar trek in the upcoming months. 

No Weekend: July

We won’t write anything against this month because it is the birth month for some of our closest friends but seriously- how much would it have hurt to have an extended weekend in this month too? The United States celebrates its independence this month, how about we got some independence from our job too? Nevertheless, the next couple of months seem to be making up for this. Let’s see how!!

Extended Weekend 7: August

However, there are multiple weekend treks (one/two days) that you can take depending upon wherever you are. In case you are in Bangalore, well then, TrekNomads has you covered.

Extended Weekend 8 and 9: September

Extended Weekend 10 and 11: October

Extended Weekend 12 and 13: November

At this point, the writer has already let out an excited shriek. This is the third month in a row with two extended weekends- why would one not be SUPER HAPPY??!!

Extended Weekend 14: December

So, folks, this blog will serve as a quick reckoner for the amazing weekends ahead. Do book your treks in advance.

Meanwhile, the writer is booking one for themselves.

Have a Happy New Year Ahead!!

[an-isolated-lifeboat]

Planning Your Solo Winter Holidays Now

Ahoy! Very long post ahead. I like talking about holidays, what can I say? Apparently a lot....

I’m writing this at the tail end of August. Normally, I like to do my solo Christmas prep in July but this year I just had too much going on so September it is. 

Part of why I like planning my solo Christmas (and other winter holidays) in advance is because in the weeks actually leading up to them, I quickly get too depressed and unmotivated to do anything. It tends to be a time of particularly high conflict between me and my partner, things become more strained with my family, and friends are much too busy to give their usual support. So I’ve learned over the years to start really early for my personal celebrations. 

The additional benefit is that when I get myself stuff this far in advance, I usually forget what it is so it’s a genuine surprise to open in a few months!

This year, the winter holidays I’m planning solo activities for are: 

Advent

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Day

Epiphany

In this post I’m going to share what I’m doing in the hopes it gives you some ideas for what you can prep now to make your solo holidays a lot more enjoyable and meaningful. I know not everyone celebrates these so take it as a jumping off point. 

General Holiday Planning

Ideally when I plan a holiday I like it to have these four things: 

Holiday specific food

Spiritual activity

Mundane activity

Treat or present

I also generally like to have good music going, a nice scent (perfume, candle, diffuser, etc), and a nice but comfy outfit on but those tend to be less holiday specific and more preferences for holidays generally. For larger holidays, I like to include decoration. I’d like to do it for more holidays but I’m low on space and natural/found décor takes a fair bit of energy at a time when I have little. 

Advent

Since Advent is less of a singular holiday and more of a preparation period, it breaks my mold a little bit. 

Advent Traditions

An old Advent tradition that I’ve started to incorporate is, similar to Lent, I pick something to give up from the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas. This keeps me mindful the whole season long. Consider getting and lighting an advent wreath every night with dinner or just on Sunday evenings leading up to Christmas, either way. Some folks like to make Christmas puddings on Stir-up Sunday - you could go ahead and make sure you have the recipe and box up any shelf stable supplies so it’s all together. 

Advent Calendars

For Advent calendars, I used to like getting some candy and incorporating it into my personal advent calendar but my food allergies make that hard to navigate at the moment so I’ll probably leave that out personally but it’s fun and you should try it if you’re able. 

If when we can manage it, I like to do a compliment calendar with my partner. We cut up some stiff paper, make/number 25 little cards, and write compliments to each other in in them. When we’ve made them all we usually washi tape them up in the shape of a Christmas tree. One year when my partner was working longer hours, she kept them in a box in her desk at work and would open one each morning. If you don’t have a partner to swap with, ask a friend or family member. Can be done at a distance too. 

For my personal ones, I’ve tried the complimenting myself but it can feel...more odd than enjoyable so I usually pick something else. I’ve made some with quotes - that one really depends on the quotes you select. I tried jokes one year and enjoyed that one. Other ideas for written ones I’ve had are journaling prompts to fill out, fun facts/trivia questions, and paper puzzles like sudokus. 

One idea I might try is putting together one of my big puzzles (1000 piece), breaking it into 25 sections, bagging it up, and then doing each days section throughout December. Consider finding or making your own readalong, whether that’s a the Biblical Christmas Story, Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Story, or your favorite holiday cozy read. 

I wouldn’t worry too much about presentation. Something is better than nothing. Believe me, when you can just pull out a box of Advent goodies come December - you’re going to be glad regardless of how it looks.

Christmas Decorations

One year, I got a very small Christmas tree, decorated the whole thing, and put it back in the box until Christmas. I figured if I wanted to redecorated it come then, it wouldn’t be hard to take everything off and redo it. Come that Advent, I was so thankful I didn’t have to decorate the whole thing from scratch because I didn’t have it in me. 

So my advice is pick a few easy decorations and if you want to do more later, you can do more later. 

Grab a string of Christmas lights you can pin up in the shape of a Christmas tree. Grab some bulldog clips and maybe take a little time to make some origami Christmas ornaments, calligraphy some Christmas words, or collect some Christmas photos you can clip up on it. 

Pre-decorate your tree. Make a wreath from Dollar Tree supplies. Prep a little manger scene or Christmas village. Grab a Christmasy candle for your stove. 

--Whatever would make Christmas a little more fun and real to you, grab or make it now and make sure it’ll be easy and simple to put up come Advent (or whenever you put up your decorations. 

Advent/Christmas Bucket List

It might seem super early to make your winter bucket list but I know me and when the stress is piling up, I need at least one to-do list that’s fun. Bonus if I don’t have to use the executive functioning to make it. I’m always grateful to past me (so long as I kept it reasonable)

What movies would you like to watch?

What activities would you like to do? 

Any foods you’d particularly like to make?

Grab any supplies that won’t go bad before then and put them all together so you can just grab it when you’re ready to mark some items off. If you’d like to send cards but don’t have anyone to send them to or would just like to do a few extra - consider signing up for Letters Against Isolation and sending some seniors a few nice cards. 

Christmas

Christmas Eve

Food: Cookies and cider

Spiritual: Plate some cookies and cider for ancestors + spirits, leave somewhere with note; attend a Christmas Mass with partner if able (virtually these days)

Mundane: Eat cookies, drink cider, listen to Christmas lofi and read a book late into the night

Treat: Buy myself a new book on Kindle

I like to keep Christmas Eve pretty low key. The main prep I like to do here is come up with a list of possible books to buy myself cause if I don’t then I psych myself out and don’t buy one. Ideally I like to bake the cookies and steep the cider myself but if it’s getting close to Christmas and it’s seeming like that might not work out, I buy some cookies instead. Then I’ll microwave my cider and steep a mug for me and a mug for the spirits. 

Christmas Day

Food: Pizza with hot sauce; after years of low energy Christmases, this became our tradition - also in part because I usually put hot sauce in my partner’s stocking. If conflict is high, it’s still easy to make individually. 

Spiritual: Sometimes go to Christmas Day mass with partner, otherwise I try to get a meditation session in. Sometimes I’ll give the ancestors + spirits another round of food. 

Mundane: Go for a run or a hike, complete items from my Christmas bucket list, play solo rpgs and tabletop games - things that keep me off my phone; mini spa day - soak feet, paint nails, do a mask.

Treat: Open presents, if my partner has gotten some for me, we usually open those together but I always make sure to get myself some presents too because well, things happen. 

So the part that I prep now are my presents. I set a budget - this year is around $50 - and grab some things and wrap them. When I had less money, I’d go to the Dollar Tree and fill a stocking for myself with they set out Christmas stuff in like October. Their puzzles aren’t terrible for the money and they’ve really expanded their book and craft section. Consider looking at other bargain stores like Ollie’s and Gabe’s. You can wait until Black Friday deals roll around if you want but I’ve learned I’m usually burnout by then. 

I try to stay off of my phone and away from screens generally on Christmas because it’s too tempting to look on social media and it really really bums me out. I might make an exception to this if I ever get an-isolated-lifeboat discord server set up so I can hang out with fellow solo folks like myself but barring that I’ll likely stick to my screen fast. 

I’m also going to prep by putting in a reminder to prep the pizza stuff a week ahead of time because I can’t prep it this far out and I can’t eat frozen pizzas anymore thanks to my allergies. 

New Years

New Year’s Eve

Food: black eyed peas, greens, and cornbread; sparkling cider

Spiritual: year ahead tarot pulls and astrology forecasts

Mundane: gratitude jar, go through old photos, stay up and watch the countdown, hot tub?

Treat: bouquet of white roses

The gratitude jar is something I’m starting this year and it’s the main thing I’m prepping. For the rest of the year, I’m going to be writing down things I’m grateful for or really pleasant solo memories I made and sticking them in a jar. On New Years Eve, I’ll pull them out and relive them. 

Normally I would also prep stuff for a really nice long bath but my parent’s house has no bathtubs. So that’s out. They have an old hot tub that may or may not be useable then. Failing all that, I’ll at least do a nice long foot soak. 

I’ll be putting in a reminder to get roses a few day before. I usually let them dry and include them in rituals the whole year long.

New Year’s Day

Food: leftovers, I like to make sure I eat it both days

Spiritual: offering to spirits of fate and fortune, house spirits especially

Mundane: go for a walk/hike, work on themes/goals for the new year

Treat: still the bouquet; order my digital astrology 

I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way, but New Year’s Day always felt like a little bit of a let down after New Year’s Eve. I’m still trying to figure out how to make it feel like more of a moment but luckily none of it will require much prep. 

Epiphany

Food: spice cake, Indian or similarly spice forward food

Spiritual: chalk the door (20 + C + M + B + 23), ward the house

Mundane: put away Christmas decorations, write a note that I’ll open next advent when I get the decorations back out

Treat: spice cake

So I didn’t grow up celebrating Epiphany. I was introduced to it by my Catholic partner. It wasn’t big in her family but it was at least more of a thing. I’ve grown to really love it in the years since I began celebrating it. The Three Wise Men where always one of my favorite parts of the original Christmas Story. 

It’s still a pretty low key holiday but I like to bake some spice cake - or barring that buy some spice cookies - and make the blah task of putting decorations away a more festive and meaningful experience. 

Luckily it’s another one that doesn’t require much prep. I already have blessed chalk (well chalk pen), my go to spice cake recipe and box cake mix, and pen and paper.

Conclusion

So this post was really long but when I was first trying to figure out how to do holidays in a more solo oriented way it really took some thinking to come up with traditions that weren’t only fun with other people. I really recommend sticking to things you know you genuinely enjoy doing and not things you only do because it’s a given holiday. I hope this gives you a jumping off point. 

If you do nothing else, grab yourself some holiday treats now and wrap them up. You deserve nice things and future you will thank you!