#orkney springs

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 21 May 2024

In my developing meadow Tulipa 'Go Go Red' (tulip) provides a splash of colour. This cultivar has narrow petals that remind me of the elegant Tulipa acuminata which is much more challenging to grow and achieve repeating flowering.

Jill Raggett

[technofinch]

i haven't posted about it here bc i hate posting about things i genuinely care about in case im Doing Something Wrong™ but guys... last week i got the most sweet beautiful baby corn snake and his name is Gawain Teocinte and today i saw him do a lil lopsided yawn and i love him so very much

[scotianostra]

May 17th is Norwegian Constitution Day or Syttende Mai as its known in Norway.

A wonderful spring holiday celebrated with red, white and blue ribbons, national costumes and waving of the Norwegian flag, the three colours are everywhere in Norway at this time of year.

It’s a day Norwegians all over the world take off to celebrate and marks the historic signing of the Constitution in 1814, the year Norway gained its independence from Sweden, which was fully realized in 1905.

In every city, town and village in Norway, children and adults alike express their cultural pride by marching to the bright music of school bands, celebrating the joy of springtime and honoring of those citizens who created Norway’s constitutional government, founding her independence.

Especially popular is the Children’s Procession that brings every child out in their best clothes or national costume.

In Edinburgh the Norwegian community celebrate Syttende Mai too.

Edinburgh’s celebrations include the Norwegian Scottish Society dinner, after a reception at the Norwegian Consulate’s residence.

Each year Norwegian students in Edinburgh hold a breakfast at Prestonfield House followed by a parade along Waterloo Place and onto Princes Street. At the boom of Edinburgh Castle’s One o’ clock gun, the pigeons fly and the parade begins!

Tonight expats and guests gather at The Royal Scots Club Abercromby Place for a celebration dinner held by the Norwegian Scottish Association. The association was founded in Edinburgh in 1966, and has enjoyed over 50 years of Norwegian-Scottish friendship.

Norwegian Scottish Association roots lie in a much older friendly society, one rooted in the shared experience of Norwegians and Scots during the Second World War. Founded in Dumfries in 1941, the Scottish Norwegian Society brought Scots and Norwegians together in difficult times. Having escaped the German occupation of their homeland in 1940, around a thousand Norwegians had come to be stationed at various times in Dumfries, and it was not long before the idea of a formal society was begun.

Of course our history with Norway goes back centuries, Northern Scotland, was, at one time, a Norse domain and the Northern Isles experienced the most long-lasting Norse influence. Almost half of the people on Shetland today have Viking ancestry, and around 30% of Orkney residents.

Many agree that there are many points of commonality between the Norse character and the Scottish one that leads to a sense of kinship between the two countries, even for those living much further south in Scotland, where Viking influence did not reach. Words like bairn and muckle made their way into Scot’s language via the Norwegians.

I touched upon the links during the second world war earlier and have posted before about the Shetland bus which provided a transport link between the Shetland Islands and occupied Norway. Many Norwegian refugees fled their occupied home with the help of Norwegian sailors who undertook daring, high-risk trips across the North Sea. The whole episode became emblematic of the friendship across the seas.

More recently Edinburgh’s Zoo also has a strong connection to Norway as it is home to a very special resident. Sir Nils Olav III is the mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King’s Guard. The king penguin’s rank has been passed down through three generations since 1972. Knighted in 2008, he even received a military promotion in 2016 with the brigadier title bestowed upon him in a special ceremony at the zoo.

The Zoo’s link with Norway originated in 1913 when arctic explorer Roald Amundsen presented a penguin to them on their opening. Once a year the penguin inspects soldiers from Norway’s King’s Guard.

Edinburgh's Syttende mai parade – the 17th May or Norwegian Constitution Day parade traditionally takes place along the capital's main thoroughfare, Princes Street. At the boom of Edinburgh Castle's 'one o' clock gun', the pigeons fly and the parade begins!

Pics are from last ears parade.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #90: Hogwarts Legacy, but make it time travel

One of my absolute favorite WIPs at the moment is A Different Legacy by Finexs, in which a female!Harry Potter travels through time and becomes the MC of Hogwarts Legacy. It's an absolutely brilliant fic for a variety of reasons, the most relevant being that it tickled my own brain and brought back a fic idea I had when I first played the game a year ago...

Or: What if the Hogwarts Legacy MC traveled through time to become the competent adult Harry so desperately needs?

Bear with me:

There is absolutely no reason why the governments of the UK and the wizarding UK should be contiguous - or really any reason for there to be a wizarding UK at all. The Treaty of Union came into effect in 1707, whereas the Statue of Secrecy became law in 1692. And since muggle and wizard seemed to have gone their own way long before this... why not take it to the logical conclusion?

For the sake of this AU: Wizarding Ireland has always been its own place, ruled by Irish Wizards, separate from anything going on in Great Britain. Wizarding England is largely made up of a combination of the old Anglo-Saxon states and the Danelaw, while wizarding Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, and Strathclyde all do their own thing. Most import to this fic: the Orkney Islands still belong to the unified wizarding kingdom of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Wizarding Orkney, as part of wizarding Denmark, contains the Orkney and Shetland Islands. The culture reflects their stronger Norse background, and Norn is still the mother tongue - though Scots and English are common second or third languages.

These two archipelagos are ruled by a wizarding earldom, the House of Magnusson, from their seat at Stonybreck Castle on Fair Isle. Prior to her death in 1887, the countess was Eydis Magnusson. When she died the earldom fell to her 12-year-old daughter, Freya - though her muggleborn father, Joseph Evans, does a lot of the heavy lifting at first.

Just imagine it:

Freya Magnusson is a witch who was trained by tutors her entire life. In the spring of 1890 she begins showing signs of a rare magical ability that requires further training, the only teacher of which is a professor at Hogwarts who won't be tempted away for love or money. And so, with great reluctance, Freya begins attending Hogwarts in the fall of 1890 as a Fifth Year.

She proves to be a consummate Ravenclaw with some decidedly Slytherin tendencies whose greatest interests are DADA and Ancient Runes, and if she didn't have an earldom to run the Danish version of Unspeakables would be snapping her up in a heartbeat.

Events of Hogwarts Legacy follow canon. Freya kills Victor Rookwood, defeats Ranrok, and contains the ancient magic.

More importantly for the purposes of this fic, after the skirmish at the Feldcroft catacomb, Freya convinces Anne and Ominis not to turn in Sebastian for killing his uncle... and convinces him to stay with her at Stonybreck Castle during the summer of 1891, to get away from all the reminders and start afresh. This kicks the slow burn they'd been dealing with since almost the moment they met into full gear, and by the end of the summer they're dating.

Sixth and Seventh Year pass without nearly as much excitement. Freya and Sebastian graduate in May 1892. They marry the following year and by late 1894 have a daughter, Ingrid.

Fast forward to the summer of 1898.

By this point, Sebastian has made a name for himself on the professional dueling circuit, winning the European Championships 3 years in a row.

Freya, meanwhile, throws herself into running her earldom, but still finds time to research runes and Ancient Magic. Though she's keen to recreate the mirror-portals she came across in her adventures, Freya takes all the precautions she can... including sending her 3-year-old daughter out of the castle with her father whenever she's testing something particularly dangerous.

...but something still goes wrong, and the magic seems to be pulled out of her, and the castle fills with light...

To the outside world, Stonybreck Castle appears to be caught in a time bubble.

No one can enter, no one can leave, and the goblin nation - more thankful to Freya for stopping Ranrok than any of the human ministries - takes up a watchful vigil over the castle. (Think The Still Ruins in DA:I's Western Approach.)

As the years pass, the mystery of Stonybreck Castle is largely forgotten by everyone except the goblins, who are present when the bubble dissipates in the summer of 1993, revealing a Freya and Sebastian who show no signs that any time has passed for them at all.

They're taken to Gringotts. Once their identities are verified, one of their old goblin friends - now very old indeed - has the unfortunate task of explaining to them just how much time has passed. And just how much the wars took from them.

(Natty died fighting Grindelwald; so did Ominis, though his death was originally thought to be an accident after Grindelwald came looking for his family's Hollow and was only later found to be otherwise. Poppy was maimed fighting poachers and later fell during Voldemort's rise... and so on. Their daughter Ingrid died in 1979, alone, of Dragon Pox, the wars having taken her husband and children long before.)

Their first day in 1993 is spent mourning.

Their second day might well have been spent the same if not for the fact that Harry Potter, freshly escaped from the Dursleys, comes to the bank that morning... and for the first time ever the magical guardians portion of his paperwork is not obfuscated - and reads Countess Freya Magnusson of Orkney and her consort, Sebastian Sallow of Feldcroft.

It eventually comes out that Freya's muggleborn father, Joseph Evans, is the brother of Harry's mother's great-great-grandfather, Samuel Evans, making them first cousins four times removed. Regardless of the details, Freya is Harry's closest magical blood relative, making her and her husband automatically his magical guardians.

This proves to be just the thing Freya needs to pull herself of the depression she might otherwise have fallen into (the guilt over leaving her daughter alone is crushing, and while Ingrid had Freya's father to take care of her... Harry has not been so lucky).

Freya is a one-woman war machine, bulldozing over any and all who stand in her way. Who placed Harry with his aunt and uncle? Why were his parents' ignored? Why did no one check on the boy? Why did no one realize he was being abused? How did the headmaster not realize Voldemort was possessing one of this teachers? Why did it fall to a 12-year-old child to save a classmate from a basilisk stalking the school halls? - She sets out to solve all these problems and more.

Sebastian is equally incensed by all of this, but views a large part of it as Hogwart's failing - after all, if the school had done a better job of teaching why it's such a bad idea to delve into the Dark Arts rather than just saying, Dark Magic bad, they wouldn't be in this position. Some of it is also the Ministry's fault for being so incompetent, but the only way to keep more people from losing themselves to the Dark Arts like he almost did (and more people dying because of those Dark wizards) is education.

And so Sebastian becomes the DADA teacher for the 1993 school year, because even a man 95 years out of time is still preferable to werewolf to the school board. (Or, since Lupin's status as a werewolf is not widely known, a pureblood a century out of time is far preferable to a poor half-blood mated to a man in Azkaban for life.)

Canon does not so much proceed apace as nosedive into AU.

Sebastian is nearly fired within his first month for sitting down with all his classes, explaining what Dark magic really is, why it's dangerous, and why some parts of it can be safely used but why it's very easy to get lost in it. The takeaway is basically: if you want to learn, find yourself a reputable teacher after you graduate, but until then you'll find yourself in detention if I catch you dabbling in it... which is still entirely too pro-Dark for Dumbledore. Although Dumbledore attempts to chide him on it, Sebastian comes back with - among other things - I remember you as a tetchy first year and telling kids why they shouldn't do something works better than a simple no, that's parenting 101.

He goes on to catch Sirius during his Halloween break-in by the simple expedient of having been on his way outside the wards to apparate back to Stonybreck Castle to visit his wife, but by this point they've realized that the MoM has never given him a trial, so rather than tell anyone he takes Sirius home with him, where Freya offers him legal sanctuary on behalf of the Danish government.

Third Year ends up being remarkably peaceful for Harry despite the Dementors, but even they are gone by Easter once the Danish government makes it known they've offered Sirius sanctuary.

Fourth Year has the Triwizard Tournament, but since Sebastian is still DADA professor, he's the one who insists on casting the age lines around the Goblet of Fire and makes it so someone can only put their own name in if they're between 17 and 20. And so Harry is never a part of it - and is too protected by Sebastian and Freya to be easily kidnapped.

Voldemort finally manages to resurrect himself during Halloween 1995 using the blood of Mad-Eye Moody. He slowly gathers forces, staying quiet until he manages a big attack on Platform 9 3/4 on the last day of Harry's Fifth Year. Several students are killed - especially the younger ones - but several more are able to fight back, having had 3 years of DADA under a competent professor.

It quickly becomes undeniable that Voldemort is back - or, as the MoM spins it, someone is pretending to be him to gain power.

Sixth Year is spent with Voldemort on the offensive. Dumbledore tries to counter with the Order, but after 3 years of seeing Freya gradually erode his power base for failing so badly in the aftermath of the war - and 3 years of seeing a DADA teacher teach their children and stand up for them for the first time in living memory - it's to Freya and Sebastian most turn.

Between Freya's Ancient Magic and Sebastian's knowledge of the Dark Arts, they're able to determine Voldemort made Horcruxes without having to wait for Dumbledore to cough up the knowledge. They're able to use runes to track the others down and Ancient Magic to destroy them. When they face Voldie during his attack on Hogwarts in May 1997, he is mortal.

Though they both fight, Sebastian is the one who casts the final blow this time, and he's hailed as the wizarding world's latest savior.

Sebastian goes on to hold the DADA post for 25 more years before going on to replace McGonagall as Hogwarts Headmaster. He holds that post for half-a-century before retiring as one of the most beloved headmasters in Hogwarts history.

Freya continues her research into runes and Ancient Magic, eventually succeeding in making the mirror-portal she so desired. These come to replace long-distance portkeys, with mirror-portal "airports" set up in each of the largest wizarding cities to facilitate travel. She remains a strong political force as Countess of Orkney, but largely stays out of British wizarding affairs after Harry comes of age...

...and Harry, following her example, goes on to use the training they gave him and his own political power as the Boy-Who-Lived to reform the MoM from the inside - starting with the Aurors. It's a long a difficult journey, but by the time he steps down after his third term as Minister of Magic, the MoM utterly unrecognizable. And actually worthy of being called a competent wizarding government.

Bonuses include:

It never being clear what caused the time bubble that catapulted Freya and Sebastian from 1898 to 1993, although Freya comes to suspect it has something to do with having been approximately 4 weeks pregnant at the time. Twins Aleksander and Irene are born 1 February, 1994 - nearly a full century after their sister Ingrid - and both start showing proficiency in Ancient Magic upon reaching their 15th birthdays;

Harry spending nearly his entire Third Year being confused by kind, loving guardians who sweep in and care for him in a way no one ever has before. It's overwhelming and would be oppressive if they didn't also realize that he's a teenager who's been taking care of himself most of his life and therefore try to take his opinions into account. (He also proves to be the best big brother ever to Alek and Irene after they're born);

Harry himself is never a Horcrux, as Horcruxes cannot be made accidentally. Dumbledore's whole plan to have him sacrifice himself is predicated on a misunderstanding of how the Dark Arts work and thus unnecessary. Whatever connection the two share is because of prophesy, not magic;

At least a third of this fic being about the differences between the muggle world and the wizarding - not just national borders, but culture, language, religion, clothing, food, and everything. The wizarding world does not exist in isolation from the muggles, but it is largely self-contained with only marginal influences from the muggleborns who join each year (who, for the most part, adapt to wizarding ways). This should have a variety of cascading effects beyond what we see in canon and should be most obvious with Freya, who is very much a Nordic Witch despite being from what in the muggle world is a British island. It should also create all sorts of political tensions as the wizarding various powers within the British Isles brush against each other (perhaps the English MoM bulled the Scottish MoM into allowing Dementors at Hogwarts in Third Year and the Scots hold a grudge? &c); and

Freya Magnusson and Sebastian Sallow being the example of love among magicals for the next two hundred years. He respects her power and influence, never begrudging her the time she must spend dealing with her earldom or resenting the power she or their children have. She loves and respects him in turn, never judging him for his occasional slips into the darkest of Dark Arts, and trusts him in all things. They are a BAMF battle couple - and loving parents. They care for Harry as much as they for for any children of their blood, and want to make a world a better place for all of them.

As you can tell, I have a lot of ideas for this plot bunny, most of which is background information. Although the hopping off point for this fic was giving Harry a responsible adult, most of the action centers around Freya and Sebastian, and it shows. As always, feel free to borrow this bun. Just link back if you do anything with it.

More HP Ideas | More Terrible Fic Ideas

[superconductivebean]

#954: imelda headcanons post - 4

Imelda headcanons: >>>1 (sfw) || >>>2 (nsfw) || >>>3 (sfw)

Once again raising my head from the Brainrot fog to share some character headcanons with the world. Brainrot is a fic I’m working on.

Tagging @myokk !!

Brainrot: Imelda's family lives in Orkney, Scotland, and in Seville, Spain. They never lost contact, not to mention they're visiting each other as often as they can (prompting reunion-separation drama nearly every time), but the elderly members noticed a shift in the relationships in the family. Nothing too drastic yet, but the Reyes family are avid Quidditch aficionados, the family's vie showing up on the real Quidditch Pitches across Europe is an eventuality;

Brainrot: Imelda has a cousin, also a chaser, playing for the Beauxbatons School Team in the Triwizard Tournament Arc;

Brainrot: Some of Imelda's relatives are spell-crafters and potion-inventors, in particular, they are hired to make moving azulejos;

Imelda has never quite adjusted to neither biting cold of the North Sea and Scottish highlands, nor scorching sun of Andalusia, but she loves both, can't live without either, and thinks it all builds a character;

If she's out of Spain for too long, she becomes miserable about its sweet fragrance filling the air, especially in the spring. Likewise, she can't let go of the cold tickle Scottish wind carries;

Perhaps, it was the influence of a nearly-Toyohashi-Tengu-player, Madam Kogawa. Imelda became her favourite student for a very good reason, besides, hat lead to Kogawa getting acquainted with Imelda's family;

How to become a dear friend to the Reyes: tell them your blood is wind, your mind is an open field, your eyes are locked on the snitch, your hand is grabbing it. It's a little long-winded and poetic, just tell them you can't live without a good broom ride in the morning;

Despite people think ill of her most of the time, many are curious about her family, Spain, foods, and culture. Teachers are hardly different, noting that of her and encouraging to take trips to the Library for a very specific book recommendations. Imelda later noticed it helped her to if not come into a better mood, then build more connections with her Spanish relatives and subsequently, learn something new about magic, too;

Brainrot: After Imelda learned Julia is Faroese, she took a mental note: somehow both of them, a Faroese and an Orcadian, nordics you could say, were not neglectful or inconsiderate of the other half of their humble origins but taking it as something personal, innerly dear even. For Julia, Faroe was a place where her parents met, the beginning of them and the beginning of her. For Imelda, Orkney is the childhood and the childhood home, a cosy retreat she can always return to but might feel tad afraid to learn more about in order not to stain the memories.

[blairstales]

Historic Halloween: Predicting the Future

"Love charms, indeed, form an important group of wishing superstitions. To this class belong Hallow E’en rites, such as eating an apple before a mirror, and sowing hemp seed." “Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs” by James M MacKinlay (1893)

While it might seem strange now, predicting the future was once an important part of Halloween festivities. In fact, it was a tradition that was absolutely expected at gatherings.

"As the evening wore on, the young people gathered to one house, and an almost endless variety of games (cleasan) were resorted to, with the object in every case of divining the future lot of the company." “Witchcraft & Second Sight in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland” by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

Some of these even carried over to America, such as the tradition of bobbing for apples (dooking for apples). While very much so also a game, the reason for it was to foretell who would have the best luck.

"Apples and a silver sixpence were put in a tub of water. The apples floated on the top, but the coin lay close to the bottom. Whoever was able to lift either in his mouth, and without using his teeth, was counted very lucky, and got the prize to himself." “Witchcraft & Second Sight in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland” by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

Other traditions might not be recognizable now, but were done with much laughter and teasing.

"A dish of milk and meal (fuarag, Scot. crowdie), or of beat potatoes, was made, and a ring was concealed in it. Spoons were given to the company, and a vigorous attack was made on the dish. Whoever got the ring would prove to be the first married. This was an excellent way of making the taking of food part of the evening’s merriment." “Witchcraft & Second Sight in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland” by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

There were many different customs to predict the future, and some were designed to be done with the group.

Burning the Nut:

Amongst the spells practiced inside the house was burning the nuts. As the company sat around the fireside, they named a lad or lass to each nut as it was laid on the fire, and according to the behavior of the nuts, so would the course and issue of the courtship be." “Primitive Beliefs in the North-East of Scotland” by Joseph McKenzie McPherson (1929)

While others were specifically for a girl to sneak away and perform while alone.

Sowing Lint-seed:

"When the shades of evening were falling, the maiden had to steal out quietly with a handful of lint-seed, and walk across the ridges of a field, sowing the seed, and repeating the words: “Lint-seed I saw ye, Lint-seed I saw ye; Lat him it’s to be my lad Come after me, and pu’ me.” On looking over the left shoulder she saw the apparition of him who was to be her mate crossing the ridges, as it were, in the act of pulling flax.” “Folklore of the North East of Scotland” by Walter Gregor (1881)

All in all, these “future telling” customs were a fun way to tease friends or family, or a way to (maybe) secretly see something that would make you hopeful for the future.

Historic Audio Recordings:

(link) 1974 — A Halloween divination custom.

(link) 1978 — Halloween divination; an instance when it came true.

(link) 1977 — Orkney Halloween customs, including divination; tricks at Halloween and other times

[skippyv20]

Skip, Julie here. I wonder if I can ask your UK based Anons for some guidance please. We are off to UK next week. Just a whistle stop really. 2 August London area for couple of days then up through York and Durham. Scotland for a week from 5 August in the Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh triangle. We are not going up around Thurso or to the Orkneys.

Return along the coast via Windermere, Liverpool to Holyhead then 14 August the Limerick, Galway, Dublin triangle for less than a week. So 14 to 20 August.

I need help with packing so I don’t overpack (again) or have all wrong season things (again). I can buy warmer socks and things if I need but don’t want to take stuff that is not required. The weather channel is not much help.

I have 2 short sleeve dresses and 2 long. Warm undershirts and leggings. 3 pair summer weight pants, 3 more autumn weight. All with light short or long sleeve tops. I puffer jacket. 2 regular weight jackets (more spring weight). I rain jacket. Umbrella.

3 pairs of sneakers. Warm socks, regular socks.

I have plenty of clothes to choose from but I hate being cold and super hot.

I am in Queensland Australia and it’s middle winter so about 8 to 21 each day and sunny. We have been to Uk a few times but the weather always surprises me. I am trying to limit my clothes choices this time. Usually I’m a 1 outfit per day person but I’m getting better at it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have packed and repackaged several times.

Sounds fantastic Julie…. @sandiedog3 and UK Anons…can you help our dear Julie?  Thank you😁❤️

[the-kings-chambers]

The King’s Chambers - March 2023 Recs

Hello,

With spring almost upon us, it’s time for another of our monthly rec lists of fanworks recommended by some of our members!

All of the recs are top/dom!Arthur with bottom/sub!Merlin unless stated otherwise.

Fic

Promise of a New Day | sffan | Explicit | 5,986w

Summary: It starts off like any other day, but in a twenty-four hour period, everything changes.

Hey little sister, what have you done? | MyKingdomComeUndone | Explicit | 1,495w

Summary: “There is no other option,” Uther Pendragon, Duke of Camelot, told his children, his face giving away none of his feelings. “Morgana will marry the Earl of Orkney.”

Love Me Not | ificouldwrite | Gen | 3,235w

Summary: Sometimes, Merlin wonders if he’s somehow harder to love than Gwen was.

~~~~~~

Where, after the magic reveal, Merlin and Arthur are in a relationship, but Arthur is repressed as always. He treats Merlin very differently than he had treated Gwen, and Merlin begins to wonder whether or not he's worth being loved in the same way. Whether Arthur even loves him at all.

(A 5+1 of Arthur being a prat and giving mixed signals, and then Arthur being a prat but giving Merlin a signal he can't miss) (no sex, kissing, established relationship)

The border of painful | Tossukka | Explicit | 3,690w

Summary: Arthur pulled the glove on, and Merlin felt his mouth go dry. (Warnings for background Arwen and therefore infidelity)

It’s quite a list | Fletcher | Mature | 13,129w

Summary: Merlin has a list of reasons why it’s a bad idea to have a crush on Arthur Pendragon. It’s a long list with very valid reasons.

Sadly, his heart doesn’t listen to reason.

Be My Mistake | justiceformerthur | Explicit | 10,185w

Summary: Arthur sees something he shouldn’t and begins to question just how well he knows his manservant.

Witchy Business | death_of_a_phangirl | Gen | 12,084w

Summary: Arthur is constantly getting bruises and muscle pain from his job as a knight at a medieval show. He's tried normal painkillers and other treatments, but they don't help. His sister suggests seeking out a magical remedy, which leads him to a little magic shop. He's not sure what to expect, but an adorable warlock with a smile that made his heart swell was certainly not it. (Kissing, falling in love)

Diamonds and Gems | Val_Creative | Explicit | 240w

Summary: Arthur's crown suits Merlin.

Art

Thunder | funkiemoon | Teen and Up | Digital Art

Summary: Simply fixed the lineart :) 

(Also replaced the image on the actual fic on ao3 with this one) (Hugging, no sex)

“So there's no chance that we could have a hug?” | east-winddd | Mature | Digital Art

Summary: “So there's no chance that we could have a hug?” (Arthur pressing Merlin into a wall)

If you enjoyed these recs and want to see more, or talk about top Arthur/bottom Merlin, we would love to welcome you in our discord server. If you’re interested and of age 18 or older, please message us and we will send you an invitation.

Also, feel free to send us a message to let us know your fave top Arthur/bottom Merlin fanworks! 💕  

[daniwritessometimes]

It Is Not Proud - Love Never Fails 5

This is the 5th book of the Osborne series. I actually have never written a single word of this one until now. Sebastian has evolved over the years, so this one should be interesting.

....

Sebastian slowly opened his eyes. His head was pounding and his throat was scratchy. He looked up at an unfamiliar wooden ceiling.

“You’re awake!” An excited female voice said.

He looked over to see a young blonde girl poke her head out the open door and call for someone to fetch the doctor. She came back and smiled down at him.

“We thought you’d never wake again,” the young woman said. Her accent was hard to follow and his head was pounding just trying. “The doctor said your heart was strong and your lungs weren’t full of water–”

Sebastian interrupted, “Where am I?” His voice was so raspy.

“Lamb Head Broch.” [Orkney Island; placeholder for now]

“Water, please?”

She poured some water into a tin cup and handed it over and helped him to sit up. “I’m Elizabeth.”

“Sebastian.” He drank the water down and then collapsed on the bed once more. “What happened to me?”

“All we know is you washed up on the beach last week. You have a broken leg and there was a very nasty gash to your head. You kept asking for your mama, but we couldn’t get anything else.”

A young man with a pronounced limp came into the room. “Hello, I’m Doctor Smythe.” He put down his bag and started pulling out instruments. “And you are?”

“Sebastian Osborne.”

“Ah, a Londoner! I got my medical license there.” He looked over Sebastian and examined his head.

As the doctor poked and prodded, he could finally feel the concentration of the pain just at his temple. He hissed at the doctor’s fingers poking at the wound.

A gruff voice said from the doorway, “You know how you got here?”

Sebastian tried to shake his head, but it hurt too much. “Last I remember, I was on a ship headed north from Liverpool.” He squinted out the window. “It’s winter.”

“A keen eye, that one has,” the gruff man said.

“Pay my father no mind,” Elizabeth said, “Does winter hold significance?”

“It was the end of spring when we set sail,” Sebastian explained.

The doctor looked him over. “Royal Navy?”

“Yes.”

The doctor nodded. “I’ll send word. They’ll have listed you as missing.”

**

Tagging all the lovely people who were previously tagged and adding any extras who have interacted with the other posts:

@lemonluvgirl @mollywog @b-boop5 @sudenmorsian @ldyglfr62 @bfinleyb @alexandramo24 @wizardwix @kyloknightren @broken-everlark 

If I tagged you and you don’t want to be tagged, please tell me and I will take you off. If you do read this and want to be added to tags, let me know.

[feather-dancer]

Directors’ commentary on the lore used in Sea Salt?

Oh my god there is so much

The concept of Beithir is based on three different pieces of folklore, Beithir himself is Scottish, the stoor worm is Orkney and the breathing in and out over six hours forming the tide is from Shetland. There's a big thing in mythos of chopping up snakes that will rejoin if you're not careful so that still happened they just kinda ended up in the sea here.

To seafarers the moon is believed to be his eye lost during this period and nathair believe their ancestors sprang from his blood thus seeing him as their patron. He's down at the very bottom in an ouroboros fashion, his head will show up wherever someone is speaking to him and should he need to reply he'll bite the tail in his mouth to do so. Part of a murúch's creation from a recently deceased involves a prayer to him so no matter who raised them if he calls them they'll obey.

The name murúch is Irish coming from their mermaid myth called merrow and while these guys don't have a little cap that lets them go into the sea/onto land they do stitch their legs together to form a tail and vice versa. Just like them they're always one or the other though will be drawn to the sea.

Ceasg meanwhile is a Scottish mermaid! While this generally refers to a singular lady here it's adapted to an entire species who are mammalian instead of salmon tailed though the half tails still reflect their origins. The finfolk they're often mistakeningly called within fic are actually Orkney who are believed to be what selkies sprang from at some point down the line which merrow have similar. For fun irony finfolk supposedly do wander between land and sea so in universe humans just kinda applied it to two different seafarers thinking they were the same thing. Marc references Finfolkaheem, the supposed home of finfolk, and ceasg as a whole share the same ! about silver.

The Sea Mither is an Orkney legend who subdued the terrible nuckelavee to the depths and lives in the sea herself during the spring/summer. Teran pops up in autumn wearing her down in a fight until she flees to land and takes over until she comes back renewed in spring. Seafarers revere her though not many on land seem to do the same though there are pockets of exceptions such as Félix who sometimes mentions her by name.

Cailleach who pops up in multiple places around the isles and is not in fact her sister and was smooshed for fic reasons. She's generally associated with making the landscape, wilderness, weather and winter which is the same here. During that time of year might occasionally hear someone mention the Mither fled to her side to ride out that shit while recovering from more folklore conscious seafarers.

Unlike Beithir there's certainly no proof either lady or Teran are really out there but most decide it better not to piss them off, just to be safe.

Really all it boils down to we have cool shit on these islands and an alarming amount of bastard horses that should be used more.

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 20 February 2024

In my local community garden the snowdrops are heralding the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Most of the bulbs have single flowers but there are some clumps of Galanthus nivalis f. pleniflorus 'Flore Pleno' (double snowdrop).

Jill Raggett

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Monday 9 December 1833

1 ¼ pm

11 ¼

terrible night - tremendous window and rain could not sleep for the noise of these and the water dashing against my head and the vessel striking every now and then against the wooden breakwater - the wind still high and rain continued till just before I got up - so late, had no breakfast - washed a little the first time save dipping my hands yesterday - a turn or 2 on deck and then dinner from 2 20 to 3 20 - R.N. lieutenants  and midshipmen know nothing about managing vessels - the master always manages a man of war (i.e. works the ship) - the naval officers are only for frightening - all the steamers lost, were commanded by R.N lieutenants  or midshipman except the Erin (commanded by an East India company’s officer) which founded in the Bristol channel - our captain (Corbin) was on board of her the night before she sailed from the Thames - an E. Indian of 1400 tons had sometime before run against her and struck off 10ft. of her stern which had been temporary repaired for her to go to another voyage before being laid up for thorough repair - probably this temporary work had given away – 510 miles English from Hamburg to London – 64 miles from H- to Cuxhaven – 30 miles from C- to the sea – 600 miles from Harwich (government sailing packets with the mails every Saturday) to Gothenburg – voyage ordinary of 4 or 5 days – longest known in 3 weeks – worst weather often in the spring in April – 20 hours by steam from Gothenburg to Copenhagen – speaking of my liking to go to Iceland, the captain said the Copenhagen vessels were a long time in going – did not care how – best hire an English fishing smack, fishing for cod between there and Newfoundland in winter – accustomed to those seas – but having little to do in May June and July (there no night in Iceland) and he knew of a very nice one, the Sarah Mary, 60 or 70 tons, of Deptford, for £80 or £90 per month crew about 7 men – I should be as safe in  [?] as in my own house – should besides have to provisions to find for myself and servants and perhaps £10 or £12 to lay out in making the cabin comfortable – it might hold 4 or 5 ladies – but I should find myself and servants enough – In this way, for £300, in 3 months might [visit] the Orkneys, Zetland islands, Faroe ditto and sail round Iceland – the smack would come round for me to Hull, and I must allow her for time back to England if I was left anywhere else – Captain John P. Corbin always to be found at the general steam packet office 69 Lombard street London and would be glad to arrange for me about the smack or do anything for me he could – he knows a gentleman Mr. Seebright [Sebright] (son of Sir John Seebright [Sebright]) and now in Sweden whom he has also advised to hire a smack for Iceland instead of going in another way – only 2 steamers since they began to run on this station have put into the Texel because no coals there - we (the Columbine) can carry 75 tons of coal exclusive of cargo - took in 6 tons yesterday - in fine weather burn a ton an hour - in bad weather (because of resistance so great the engines cannot make so many revolutions) ¼ ton an hour (25 cwt. = 1 chaldron) - the Columbine draws 10 ft water - cost £22000 building - about 5pm the Harlequin (Captain Corbin’s elder brother commanded by) came into the roads from London and threw up a blue light to announce her arrival it being almost dark - the steward says the voyage from London here is generally better than from here to London because westerly winds prevail 9 months out of the 12 - walking on deck from 3 ½ to 6 - the deck wet and my shoes wet thro’ - looking at maps and reading a little - tea from 6 ¾ to 7 ¾ for our American gentleman passenger and I talked for the 1st time and the captain seemed more communicative – American money is dollars (=4/. English) and cents i.e. a dollar/100 – our Captain says our P. office must gain a great deal by this last arrangements (since last August) that the Rotterdam and Hamburg mails are conveyed by the steam company’s boats for £13000 a year for letters which used to be 10d. are now 1/8., and the P.O. saves the overland from London to Harwich, the packets at £1000 a year each from Harwich to [Helvoetshirs] and the overland from there to Rotterdam, and the packets from there to here (Cuxhaven) and the overland from here to Hamburg – tho’ now thro’ the interest of the corporation of Harwich there are 6 sinecurists (all Harwich men?) on board there steamers in the persons of 6 mail-guards at £100 a year each who have nothing in the world to do but take care of the mail-bags – nothing to do with the captains nor the captains with them – Before this arrangement the captains were allowed to bring letters, as ship-letters, at 2d. each (much paid then better than they are paid now) and were capable of taking care of these in an open and of perhaps ½ a million of property entrusted to them (for the mails often went without a single letter) but now that the government seal is put on the bags, there must be a man a guard on  purpose to take charge of them – on board the Kings’ packets (from Dover etc.) there is no guard – our captains’ salary is £160 a year and he finds his own provisions – the captains of the government packets have £500 a year – till ten years ago, the Falmouth packets were contracted for from the mercantile interest who built vessels in purpose conveyed the mails for 1/3 of the present expense and there never was an instance of a packet being lost – now that the government has taken this in hand and made it a naval establishment, 4 vessels (16 gun brigs – long vessels for speed, that have gone straight down and foremost) and all hands have been lost – our American has been in all the W. India islands except Jamaica, St. Croix (Santa Cruz, he calls it) the finest – St. Thomas’s likewise belonging to Denmark a free port – passage to America 30 guineas and thence to India £100 – Captain Corbin says we shall get from London to India for £100 after next April when the trade is thrown open – and says one may go in a merchant man from London to Cadiz provisions and everything found for £20 (packet passage from Falmouth £40)

say once a fortnight every voyage of the Columbine to Hamburg and back costs about £300.

crew = 21 at £50 a week wages exclusive of the captains’ £160 per annum

carpenter has 28/. a week and men 21/. a week – find themselves which costs them 5/. a week Don Pedro paid the company £50 a day for the use of each steamer

from 8 to 9 ¼ wrote all the above of today - fair this afternoon and wind abated a good deal this evening - some hope of better weather - F47 ½° now at 9 ¼ in my cool cabin - terribly rainy and stormy till about 1 pm today – our captain went on board the Harlequin – she left English land at five am yesterday – and was here at 5pm today i.e. in 35 hours – very heavy gale last night – saw the Sir Edward Bankes (that left Hamburg last Wednesday and that I was too late for) at 70 miles from England (from Lowestoff) yesterday – the chances are she will reach London – if she has not coal enough must return here or to Heligoland [Helgoland] where the steam co. has also a depot - wrote 13 or 14 lines more to M- (small and close dated tonight) saying we had broke from our moorings and lost our bowsprit on Saturday night (at midnight) etc - raining again now at 10pm till 11 reading the times newspaper of Friday the 6th inst. - do not hear it raining now,  and there does not seem to be very much wind.

[scotianostra]

March 17th 1969 Longhope lifeboat sank in the Pentland Firth with the loss of eight men on board, all from the small island of Hoy.

The lifeboat TGB capsized on 17 March, 1969, after setting out from Hoy in Orkney, to help a cargo ship adrift in a fierce storm.The next day, it was found floating upside down in the Pentland Firth. No-one survived.

On the night of the tragedy, the Liberian-registered Irene had sent out a mayday reporting it was in trouble. A Force 9 gale, coupled with a spring tide, led to waves 60ft high. The TGB, a 47ft Watson-class lifeboat constructed of wood, went to its aid in conditions of near-zero visibility.

Radio contact was later lost. The lifeboat is believed to have been overturned by a freak wave, possibly 100ft (30.5m) high.When the boat was recovered, the bodies of all but one of the crew were inside the hull. The coxswain was still at the helm. The disaster was a terrible blow for the community of Brims. Thirty people lived here and the disaster had taken a man from every home.

It later emerged the Irene was closer to shore than initially reported, and its crew were brought ashore safely.

[blairstales]

Nuckelavee | Scottish Folklore

The Nuckelavee is certainly unsettling. It is a horse with the upper body of a human sticking out of it’s back, as if a rider, but the human has no lower half, and instead is fused there.

To make it worse, this sea-dwelling creature is often described as having no skin, and breathing out death.

"The lower part of this terrible monster, as seen by Tammie, was like a great horse with flappers like fins about his legs, with a mouth as wide as a whale’s, from whence came breath like steam from a brewing-kettle. He had but one eye, and that as red as fire. On him sat, or rather seemed to grow from his back, a huge man with no legs, and arms that reached nearly to the ground. His head was as big as a clue of simmons (a clue of straw ropes, generally about three feet in diameter), and this huge head kept rolling from one shoulder to the other as if it meant to tumble off. But what to Tammie appeared most horrible of all, was that the monster was skinless; this utter want of skin adding much to the terrific appearance of the creature’s naked body,–the whole surface of it showing only red raw flesh, in which Tammie saw blood, black as tar, running through yellow veins, and great white sinews, thick as horse tethers, twisting, stretching, and contracting as the monster moved." Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales, by George Douglas, 1901

In the story where that is quoted, a man named Tammie found himself face-to-face with one of these creatures. He made a run for it, and the Nuckleave was right behind him. Quick-thinking Tammie jumped across a stream of running fresh water, and saved himself.

“As he reached the near bank another clutch was made at him by the long arms. Tammie made a desperate spring and reached the other side, leaving his bonnet in the monster’s clutches. Nuckelavee gave a wild unearthly yell of disappointed rage as Tammie fell senseless on the safe side of the water.” Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales: Sir George Douglas, 1901

For whatever reason, the Nuckelavee seems to only target the Orkney Islands. Blights, droughts, and epidemics were all blamed on the Nuckelavee, and he was so feared that islanders were said to never utter his name without including a prayer right after.

[brookston]

Holidays 4.16

Holidays

Anemone Day (French Republic)

Battle of Culloden Day (UK)

Charlie Chaplin Day

Day of the Badger (Wisconsin)

Dronningens Fodelsdag (Denmark)

Emancipation Day (DC)

Flat Stomach Appreciation Day

Foursquare Day

Frühjahrsbierfest begins (modern festival) [thru 5.8]

Good Deeds Day

International 4p-/Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome Awareness Day

Jimmy Buffet Day (Florida)

Jim Thorpe Day

Jose de Diego Day (Puerto Rico)

Lawyers’ Day (Bulgaria)

Liberating the Rainbow Lost in White Light Festival

Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Hungary)

Militiamen Day (Cuba)

National Advance Care Planning Day (Canada)

National Angel Day

National Auctioneers Day

National Bean Counters’ Day

National Cash Day

National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day

National CPA's Goof-Off Day [Day after Tax Day]

National Healthcare Decisions Day

National Horny Day

National Joseph Day

National Librarian Day

National OK Day

National Orchid Day

National Reveal the Genius Within Day

National Selena Day

National Slip-On Shoes Day

National Stress Awareness Day

National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day

Orkney Day

Police Day (Armenia)

Queen Margrethe II Day (Denmark)

Remembrance of the Chemical Attack on Balisan and Sheikh Was (Iraqi Kurdistan)

Royalty Day

Save the Elephant Day

Teach Your Daughter to Volunteer Day

Totoro Day

Vadai Day (India)

World Day of Entrepreneurship

World Entrepreneurship Day

World Semicolon Day

World Shoes by Flora Day (Nigeria)

World Voice Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Brown Sugar Day

Dagwood Sandwich Day

Day of Mushroom Encouragement (a.k.a. Day of the Mushroom)

Eggs Benedict Day

Mushroom Day

National Baked Ham with Pineapple Day

National Eggs Benedict Day

Raw-Milk Cheese Appreciation Day

3rd Tuesday in April

Transportation Tuesday [3rd Tuesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning April 16 (3rd Week)

National Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week [thru 4.22]

Independence & Related Days

Cyrillic Federal Republic (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning April 16, 2024

Cartagena Film Festival (Cartagena, Colombia) [thru 4.21]

Charlotte Wine and Food Week (Charlotte, North Carolina) [thru 4.21]

Cheese Expo (Madison, Wisconsin) [thru 4.18]

Food + Beverage Environmental Conference (Miramar, Florida) [thru 4.19]

Grifton Shad Festival (Grafton, North Carolina) [thru 4.20]

South Bohemian International Beer Festival (Zlatá Pivni Pečet; České Budějovice, Czech Republic) [thru 4.20]

Feast Days

All Hookers’ Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Anatole France (Writerism)

Baby Natasha (Muppetism)

Benedict Joseph Labre (Christian; Saint)

Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes (Christian; Saint)

Bundling Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Contardo (Christian; Saint)

Days of Mushroom Encouragement (Shamanism)

Dimon (Christian; Saint)

Drogo (Christian; Saint)

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun (Artology)

Encratis (Christian; Martyr & Virgin)

Feast of the Divine Mercy

Ford Madox Brown (Artology)

Fructuosus of Braga (Christian; Saint)

Hiketeria (Festival to Apollo; Ancient Greece; Everyday Wicca)

Holiday of Ra (Ancient Egypt)

Iduna’s Blot (Pagan)

Isabella Gilmore (Church of England)

Joachim of Sienna (Christian; Saint)

Joseph Labre (Christian; Saint)

Kingsley Amis (Writerism)

Magnus of Orkney (Christian; Saint)

Martyrs of Zaragoza (a.k.a. 18 Martyrs of Saragossa; Christian)

Messalina Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Miss Corner (Muppetism)

Molly Brant (Konwatsijayenni) (Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church)

Offering to Demeter Khloe (Goddess of Green Shoots; Ancient Greece)

Optatos and Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Padarn (Christian; Saint)

Paternus (Christian; Saint)

Ridvan begins (Baha’i)

Sapho, by Charles Gounod (Opera; 1851)

Sea Monkey Soup Day (Pastafarian)

Spring Cleaning Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Turibius of Astorga (Christian; Saint)

Varro (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [15 of 53]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [16 of 37]

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [21 of 60]

Premieres

Antboy (Film; 2014)

Benny & Joon (Film; 1993)

The Best and the Brightest, by David Halberstam (Book; 1973)

Book of the Month Club (Bookselling Subscription; 1926)

Brown Sugar, by The Rolling Stones (Song; 1971)

Bug Carnival (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Bulletproof Monk (Film; 2003)

Daddy Duck (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

Death at a Funeral (Film; 2010)

Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet (Anime Film; 2021)

Everybody Loves Somebody, recorded by Dean Martin (Song; 1964)

Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safron Foer (Novel; 2002)

Fibber McGee and Molly (Radio Series; 1935)

The Foolish Bunny (Color Rhapsody; 1938)

The Ginger Bread Boy (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1934)

Goopy Geer (WB MM Cartoon; 1932)

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

The Hole Idea (WB LT Cartoon; 1955)

Horrible Histories (TV Series; 2009)

Hospitaliky (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1937)

The House That Jack Built (Color Rhapsody; 1939)

It Don’t Come Easy, by Ringo Starr (Song; 1971)

James Paul McCartney, by Paul McCartney (TV Special; 1973)

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Film; 2004)

Kiss-Ass (Film; 2010)

Le Prophète, by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Opera; 1849)

Life During Wartime (Film; 1998)

Love & Basketball (Film; 2000)

A Mighty Wind (Film; 2003)

Mother Goose Melodies (Silly Symphony Cartoon; 1931)

The Music Box (Short Film; 1932)

My Neighbor Totoro (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 1988)

The Organization Man, by William H. Whyte Jr. (Book; 1957)

Porky’s Five & Ten (WB LT Cartoon; 1938)

Poultry Pirates (MGM Cartoon; 1938)

The Punisher (Film; 2004)

The Rolling Stones, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1964)

Romeo and Juliet (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

The Sound of the Mountain, by Yasunari Kawabata (Novel; 1954)

The Spy Who Loved Me, by Ian Fleming (Novel; 1959) [James Bond #10]

Spy x Family (Anime TV Series; 2022)

The Sunlight Dialogues, by John Gardner (Novel; 1973)

Temple of the Dog, by Temple of the Dog (Album; 1991)

This Land is Your Land, recorded by Woody Guthrie (Song; 1944)

The White Princess (TV Series; 2017)

Wide Sargasso Sea (Film; 1993)

Zooey, by J.D. Salinger (Novella; 1957) [Collected in Franny & Zooey in 1961]

Today’s Name Days

Bernadette, Magnus (Austria)

Velichka, Velichko, Velin, Velina (Bulgaria)

Bernardica, Leonida (Croatia)

Irena (Czech Republic)

Mariane (Denmark)

Olivia, Olve, Olvi (Estonia)

Jalo, Patrik (Finland)

Benoît-Joseph, Rameaux (France)

Bernadette, Joachim, Magnus (Germany)

Anastasios, Calis, Galini, Galinos, Hionia, Lambros, Niki, Paschalis (Greece)

Csongor (Hungary)

Bernadette, Giuditta, Grazia, Lamberto, Maria (Italy)

Alfs, Mindaugs, Mintauts (Latvia)

Algedė, Gražvydas, Kalikstas (Lithuania)

Magnus, Mons (Norway)

Benedykt, Bernadetta, Cecyl, Cecylian, Charyzjusz, Erwin, Erwina, Julia, Ksenia, Lambert, Lamberta, Nikita, Nosisław, Patrycy, Urban (Poland)

Agapi, Hionia, Irina (Romania)

Dana, Danica (Slovakia)

Engracia, Fructuoso, Toribio (Spain)

Patricia, Patrik (Sweden)

Irene, Oryna, Orysia (Ukraine)

Kareem, Magnus, Malvin, Malvina, Melva, Melvin, Melvina (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 107 of 2024; 259 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 16 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 8 (Getg-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 7 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 7 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 17 Cyan; Threesday [17 of 30]

Julian: 3 April 2024

Moon: 58%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 23 Archimedes (4th Month) [Columella]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 29 of 92)

Week: 3rd Week of April

Zodiac: Aries (Day 27 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 4.16

Holidays

Anemone Day (French Republic)

Battle of Culloden Day (UK)

Charlie Chaplin Day

Day of the Badger (Wisconsin)

Dronningens Fodelsdag (Denmark)

Emancipation Day (DC)

Flat Stomach Appreciation Day

Foursquare Day

Frühjahrsbierfest begins (modern festival) [thru 5.8]

Good Deeds Day

International 4p-/Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome Awareness Day

Jimmy Buffet Day (Florida)

Jim Thorpe Day

Jose de Diego Day (Puerto Rico)

Lawyers’ Day (Bulgaria)

Liberating the Rainbow Lost in White Light Festival

Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Hungary)

Militiamen Day (Cuba)

National Advance Care Planning Day (Canada)

National Angel Day

National Auctioneers Day

National Bean Counters’ Day

National Cash Day

National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day

National CPA's Goof-Off Day [Day after Tax Day]

National Healthcare Decisions Day

National Horny Day

National Joseph Day

National Librarian Day

National OK Day

National Orchid Day

National Reveal the Genius Within Day

National Selena Day

National Slip-On Shoes Day

National Stress Awareness Day

National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day

Orkney Day

Police Day (Armenia)

Queen Margrethe II Day (Denmark)

Remembrance of the Chemical Attack on Balisan and Sheikh Was (Iraqi Kurdistan)

Royalty Day

Save the Elephant Day

Teach Your Daughter to Volunteer Day

Totoro Day

Vadai Day (India)

World Day of Entrepreneurship

World Entrepreneurship Day

World Semicolon Day

World Shoes by Flora Day (Nigeria)

World Voice Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Brown Sugar Day

Dagwood Sandwich Day

Day of Mushroom Encouragement (a.k.a. Day of the Mushroom)

Eggs Benedict Day

Mushroom Day

National Baked Ham with Pineapple Day

National Eggs Benedict Day

Raw-Milk Cheese Appreciation Day

3rd Tuesday in April

Transportation Tuesday [3rd Tuesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning April 16 (3rd Week)

National Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week [thru 4.22]

Independence & Related Days

Cyrillic Federal Republic (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning April 16, 2024

Cartagena Film Festival (Cartagena, Colombia) [thru 4.21]

Charlotte Wine and Food Week (Charlotte, North Carolina) [thru 4.21]

Cheese Expo (Madison, Wisconsin) [thru 4.18]

Food + Beverage Environmental Conference (Miramar, Florida) [thru 4.19]

Grifton Shad Festival (Grafton, North Carolina) [thru 4.20]

South Bohemian International Beer Festival (Zlatá Pivni Pečet; České Budějovice, Czech Republic) [thru 4.20]

Feast Days

All Hookers’ Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Anatole France (Writerism)

Baby Natasha (Muppetism)

Benedict Joseph Labre (Christian; Saint)

Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes (Christian; Saint)

Bundling Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Contardo (Christian; Saint)

Days of Mushroom Encouragement (Shamanism)

Dimon (Christian; Saint)

Drogo (Christian; Saint)

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun (Artology)

Encratis (Christian; Martyr & Virgin)

Feast of the Divine Mercy

Ford Madox Brown (Artology)

Fructuosus of Braga (Christian; Saint)

Hiketeria (Festival to Apollo; Ancient Greece; Everyday Wicca)

Holiday of Ra (Ancient Egypt)

Iduna’s Blot (Pagan)

Isabella Gilmore (Church of England)

Joachim of Sienna (Christian; Saint)

Joseph Labre (Christian; Saint)

Kingsley Amis (Writerism)

Magnus of Orkney (Christian; Saint)

Martyrs of Zaragoza (a.k.a. 18 Martyrs of Saragossa; Christian)

Messalina Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Miss Corner (Muppetism)

Molly Brant (Konwatsijayenni) (Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church)

Offering to Demeter Khloe (Goddess of Green Shoots; Ancient Greece)

Optatos and Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Padarn (Christian; Saint)

Paternus (Christian; Saint)

Ridvan begins (Baha’i)

Sapho, by Charles Gounod (Opera; 1851)

Sea Monkey Soup Day (Pastafarian)

Spring Cleaning Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Turibius of Astorga (Christian; Saint)

Varro (Positivist; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [15 of 53]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [16 of 37]

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [21 of 60]

Premieres

Antboy (Film; 2014)

Benny & Joon (Film; 1993)

The Best and the Brightest, by David Halberstam (Book; 1973)

Book of the Month Club (Bookselling Subscription; 1926)

Brown Sugar, by The Rolling Stones (Song; 1971)

Bug Carnival (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Bulletproof Monk (Film; 2003)

Daddy Duck (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

Death at a Funeral (Film; 2010)

Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet (Anime Film; 2021)

Everybody Loves Somebody, recorded by Dean Martin (Song; 1964)

Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safron Foer (Novel; 2002)

Fibber McGee and Molly (Radio Series; 1935)

The Foolish Bunny (Color Rhapsody; 1938)

The Ginger Bread Boy (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1934)

Goopy Geer (WB MM Cartoon; 1932)

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

The Hole Idea (WB LT Cartoon; 1955)

Horrible Histories (TV Series; 2009)

Hospitaliky (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1937)

The House That Jack Built (Color Rhapsody; 1939)

It Don’t Come Easy, by Ringo Starr (Song; 1971)

James Paul McCartney, by Paul McCartney (TV Special; 1973)

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Film; 2004)

Kiss-Ass (Film; 2010)

Le Prophète, by Giacomo Meyerbeer (Opera; 1849)

Life During Wartime (Film; 1998)

Love & Basketball (Film; 2000)

A Mighty Wind (Film; 2003)

Mother Goose Melodies (Silly Symphony Cartoon; 1931)

The Music Box (Short Film; 1932)

My Neighbor Totoro (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 1988)

The Organization Man, by William H. Whyte Jr. (Book; 1957)

Porky’s Five & Ten (WB LT Cartoon; 1938)

Poultry Pirates (MGM Cartoon; 1938)

The Punisher (Film; 2004)

The Rolling Stones, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1964)

Romeo and Juliet (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

The Sound of the Mountain, by Yasunari Kawabata (Novel; 1954)

The Spy Who Loved Me, by Ian Fleming (Novel; 1959) [James Bond #10]

Spy x Family (Anime TV Series; 2022)

The Sunlight Dialogues, by John Gardner (Novel; 1973)

Temple of the Dog, by Temple of the Dog (Album; 1991)

This Land is Your Land, recorded by Woody Guthrie (Song; 1944)

The White Princess (TV Series; 2017)

Wide Sargasso Sea (Film; 1993)

Zooey, by J.D. Salinger (Novella; 1957) [Collected in Franny & Zooey in 1961]

Today’s Name Days

Bernadette, Magnus (Austria)

Velichka, Velichko, Velin, Velina (Bulgaria)

Bernardica, Leonida (Croatia)

Irena (Czech Republic)

Mariane (Denmark)

Olivia, Olve, Olvi (Estonia)

Jalo, Patrik (Finland)

Benoît-Joseph, Rameaux (France)

Bernadette, Joachim, Magnus (Germany)

Anastasios, Calis, Galini, Galinos, Hionia, Lambros, Niki, Paschalis (Greece)

Csongor (Hungary)

Bernadette, Giuditta, Grazia, Lamberto, Maria (Italy)

Alfs, Mindaugs, Mintauts (Latvia)

Algedė, Gražvydas, Kalikstas (Lithuania)

Magnus, Mons (Norway)

Benedykt, Bernadetta, Cecyl, Cecylian, Charyzjusz, Erwin, Erwina, Julia, Ksenia, Lambert, Lamberta, Nikita, Nosisław, Patrycy, Urban (Poland)

Agapi, Hionia, Irina (Romania)

Dana, Danica (Slovakia)

Engracia, Fructuoso, Toribio (Spain)

Patricia, Patrik (Sweden)

Irene, Oryna, Orysia (Ukraine)

Kareem, Magnus, Malvin, Malvina, Melva, Melvin, Melvina (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 107 of 2024; 259 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 16 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 8 (Getg-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 7 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 7 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 17 Cyan; Threesday [17 of 30]

Julian: 3 April 2024

Moon: 58%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 23 Archimedes (4th Month) [Columella]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 29 of 92)

Week: 3rd Week of April

Zodiac: Aries (Day 27 of 31)