#tricksy blog

[laurasimonsdaughter]

Happy Halloween! 🎃

If you send me an ask with "trick or treat" and a hint as to what kind of costume you're wearing I will answer with a treat!

a treat that is definitely not a trick, no need to worry about it

The tag for this game will be "tricksy treats" 🍬

Tagging myself so I can reblog my own unrebloggable post: @laurasimonsdaughter

[remyfire]

I think Leo Bardonaro is an anesthesiologist.

One, because an anesthesiologist's job is to take the 10 or 15 minutes max they have with a patient and essentially convince them to put their entire life in their hands. Other doctors and surgeons typically get a significantly longer chunk of time to interact with the patient and answer their questions, but at the end of the day, it is the anesthesiologist who will be keeping the patient alive, stable, and safe while the procedure is going on. For better or worse, Leo has the kind of relaxed, companionable personality that would not only be able to leave a patient laughing, but also to feel entirely at ease—he's confident, he's collected, and if he's not worried about this, why should they be?

Two, because I think he would've had way too much fun making jokes about laughing gas.

[gollancz]

I just stumbled into your beautiful editions and realized, you don't ship to the US?!? *sobbing* Love, love your Terry Pratchett covers.

Ah yes I'm sorry! Some books we can, but it all depends on the rights we managed to acquire. If we don't acquire US and Canadian rights, we legally can't distribute in North America, because those rights belong to someone else.

[crowholtz]

i so desperately want to talk about my CoS pc Helene and her desire to save and 'redeem' Strahd bc she loves him and they're so insanely compatible vs. her struggle with the fact that he's literally a soulless monster and has done terrible horrible things to so many people (and some terrible things to her too tbh)

Helene is in an constant eternal struggle with herself and what she wants, what her duty is, and what she is willing to accept. It drives me crazy

[merlinenilrem]

alright guys if i were to change my icon which one should it be to. ignore the different sizes & stuff i'm just asking about the style

[wolveswolves]

Thank you for crediting the works you post. I follow the wolf tag and it's starting to get flooded (by that I mean more than usual) by not only unsourced theft and misinformed folks but also by very tricksy AI pieces so I really appreciate you!

Of course! As an artist and creator, I understand the importance of giving proper credit (thought really, you don't need to be a creator yourself to get that, just a decent human being 🙄)

And as someone running an informative blog, I take the responsibility of sharing accurate information seriously.

I've been away from Tumblr for a while, but just the other day I came across my first piece of AI-generated wolf content, and it was such a strange moment to realise, "Oh, even in this topic now".

Misinformation can have deadly consequences, wolves’ lives are literally at stake. The thought that AI could fuel even more misinformation about these endangered animals was quite an unsettling realisation.

Anyway, thank you for your kind message and thanks for sticking around, I appreciate you! 💖

[markscherz]

i'm curious, when people ask you to identify frogs based on a picture, do you just look at it and immediately know which frog it is and the scientific name for it? or do your thoughts go through some sort of flow chart/process of elimination where you consider different aspects of the frog (colour, size, etc.) until you arrive at a conclusion? or is it a mix of both depending on how distinct the frog is (i'm assuming some are easier to identify than others, yeah?). and do you ever have to look it up to double check? either way, i'm very very impressed by your vast expanse of frowledge (frog knowledge) and i'm learning a lot from your blog!

It is a mixture. The first thing you do is see the whole animal, but get few details on the first pass. That can sometimes be enough. Some frogs are pretty instantly identifiable, even without any other information. But after that, things get a bit more deductive. Here, location is key. Knowing where a frog was seen is incredible helpful in narrowing down among the possibilities. Frogs are typically very range-restricted, so location helps me get to a list of possibilities.

Then there are a few more super obvious characters to look for. The 'habitus', i.e. how the frog sits, is important. The relative eye size. The length of the limbs. The fingers and toes, and the presence of webbing between them. Toads are almost always instantly identifiable by the parotid glands. Knowing these kinds of family-features makes things easier.

Colour is tricksy. It is very tempting to rely on colour to get to an ID, but frog colouration is IMMENSELY variable, and some species change dramatically by mood, or time of day, or ambient illumination. People like to use dorsal stripes to identify species, but they are almost always polymorphic (i.e. there are almost always individuals in the population without them). So, beware of colour.

To your last point, I almost always double check. Firstly, it is embarrassing to be wrong, and I hope that I lack the hubris to assume I am always right when it comes to these identifications (not least because I am really specialised on Madagascar, and the rest of the world's frogs are still comparatively unfamiliar to me). Secondly, I may have a rather broad overview of frog diversity, but I am far from a global expert, and there is always a chance that there are frogs that could be confused with a given one, of which I am not aware. I really want to fight the misinformation, so I try to only give species identifications if I can do so confidently, or otherwise couch my identification with caveats.

[negative-null-semiofficial]

All right here we go with @omegas-reincarnation ! Thanks for sending the ask, I hope you enjoy your nerdy version of a palm reading, basically, where I tell you your Magic the Gathering Commander, Warhammer 40k faction, and D&D character

This obviously is not legally binding, important, a call out to your character, or anything else. It's just for fun.

Now first things first, your MtG commander. Your answers definitely point me towards a blue commander. I mean, leave a fight rather than participate? Celebrate obnoxiously after winning? What a blue player mentality. Plus, flying is a color predominantly in blue, so it tracks.

Let's take a look at some blue legendary creatures that can fulfill the archetype that's being presented to me here. I feel like you'll want a deck that can mostly stay out of or redirect the fight, so that certainly directs us towards certain archetypes, such as pillow fort, enchantress, and political decks.

Of course, I would be remiss to not give the Doctor Who commanders some consideration here. Passing even a casual glance at your blog tells me everything I need to know and while I don't know too much about the good Doctor myself (the new season is on my to watch list next, I promise!) some of the commanders in there are quite good for these ideas.

First and foremost we have The Rani, who when she enters or attacks, gets to put an enchantment on someone else's creature to buff and goad them, forcing them to attack someone that's not you. This plays wonderfully into the ideas of letting someone *else* deal with that problem, or just speeding up the game so you can swoop in at the end and win spectacularly. This deck will probably play lots of ways to protect yourself, like Propaganda and Rivers Rebuke, and ways to make sure your opponents are hitting each other and not you, like Disrupt Decorum and Gix, Phyrexian Praetor. You might lean further into the enchantress theme and play cards like Doomwake Giant or Hateful Eidolon, or the artifacts she creates when goaded creatures deal combat damage and play things like Marionette Master and Reckless Fireweaver.

Honorable mention to the Second Doctor, with his more laid back political ability, and he can be paired with your favorite companion to get whatever color you like.

Outside of Doctor Who commanders, we have a number of commanders who can essentially nope out of the fight and do their own thing behind a wall of their own creation, whether that be a literal wall like Pramikon, Sky Rampart; a bunch of enchantments like Tuvasa the Sunlit; or the veneer of helpfulness like Ms. Bumbleflower. Personally, while you don't strike me as a pacifist, I don't think you would enjoy becoming a threat during a game.

A more out there but I feel accurate recommendation for you is Abuelo, Ancestral Echo. He's a flying spirit with ward, allowing him to stay safely out of danger most of the time, and can protect your other game pieces by exiling them and bringing them back, allowing you to slowly accrue value with cards like Solemn Simulacrum, protect yourself by bouncing creatures after they block, and swoop in at the end of the game with a game winning spell. I think you would enjoy playing this commander with a lot of protection and political pieces like I've described above.

For Warhammer 40k, the archetype we've kind of established for you seems to not fit in. The galaxy of 40k is famously in your face and violent, but we do have two factions that are just as famously good at saying "fuck no" when someone runs at them with a chainsword. I'm of course talking about the Tau Empire and my babies, the Craftworld Aeldari.

Both of these factions are somewhat squishy in relation to the armor clad giants of the 41st millennium, so they prefer to stay out of "being turned into hamburger" range as much as possible. The Aeldari do this by being tricksy and employing acrobatics, high strategy, and psychic mumbo jumbo to close the distance only when they want to be the ones doing the damage. The Tau do this by shooting you with a rail gun from across the map before you can draw your sword.

While I think both of these factions fit you, I lean more towards the Tau Empire, even if the Aeldari have their own version of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. The Tau, however, feel like they fit into the Doctor Who universe just a little bit, as an optimistic and hopeful vision of a possible future, being constantly beset by grimdark. Your theme song also feels like it supports this reading, that you would prefer to play the rising spark of hope finding its home rather than the dying, tragic empire. I also think you'd rather straightforwardly shoot someone's army to pieces before they can leave their deployment zone than fail a 6" charge and die to a stiff breeze but that may just be my latest game talking.

(Pictured: squishy boys. The ones with the big guns are probably your best bet)

And finally, who should you play as in your next (or first) D&D campaign? Well, as we've established some archetypes of staying out of the fight until the final blow and taking all the credit, I definitely see a rogue in you. Any rogue main will agree with me, that's how it usually works in combat. I think you would enjoy playing a character who thrives outside of combat, going heavily into skills, checks, and roleplay, which also steers us towards a rogue but also into certain bard classes, and of course any character who wants to play like that.

I really like your theme song (anyone else should give it a listen it's a jam) and it gives me vibes of finding a home after disappointment after disappointment. This is not too out of the box for a semi-edgy D&D character but I think the second verse of the song is especially interesting.

Were you safe and warm in your coat of arms

With your fingers in a fist?

Did you hear the notes all the static codes

In the radio abyss?

The strangers in this town

They raise you up just to cut you down

Oh Angela, it's a long time coming

Oh Angela, spent your whole life running away

Now that's interesting. A character who draws inward to protect themselves, who runs away from connection because they've been hurt too many times. Played well, that could be very, very cool.

Because of this idea, I think you should play a rogue. Play as an adventurer who left town after one too many times being "cut down," and has decided to make it on their own. You could go into any subclass but I would look most at the Thief or Arcane Trickster, letting your character work on becoming the best at their craft (use those expertise points well) so that maybe they can run far enough, climb high enough, sneak well enough to get away from the mocking in their past, to finally be good enough for the connection they need.

I don't feel like this ties into any race specifically, but a Tiefling would of course need to endure this kind of treatment if they grew up in a human dominated environment, while an Aasimar might have struggled more with internalized shame. A human or a halfling might be the most straightforward, giving them the Far Traveler or Outlander background, or possibly a different one to describe their life after they left.

Well, how'd I do? I at least had fun writing it. If you're someone else, send me an ask or a comment and get yours done, see my pinned post here for the questions

https://www.tumblr.com/negative-null-semiofficial/785226086814547968/im-bored-so-heres-an-askreblog-game-just-for

[just-a-carrot]

OMFG so I tried searching up and clicking your tumblr blog and for a sec it said that thing where it goes like “that isn’t anyone”(basically when the account doesn’t exist) and the way my heart DROPPED bro I got so scared for a sec 😭😭

LOL tumblr must have been playing a little halloween tricksy-trick on you

alas i am still, and will always be, here, in my eternal drudgery

[foxingpeculiar]

RE4R Blogging Part.... This one. Which is basically, chapters 11-13. So, spoilers and shit for that far.

Okay. So we pick up with meeting Luis, as Leon longs for the mines. Getting the TNT was a fun little side trip, although the first time I used it, I did not get sufficiently out of the way and was crushed by rocks. So, chalk one (more) death up to being a dumbass.

So then wandering out over the lava bath thing, and it's like "oh, hey, another giant." Beat. "Oh, hey, TWO more giants. Cool." It wasn't so bad though--I took out the not-armored one with some shotgun blasts to the back, then Luis blew up the armor on the other one and we took him down. AND I got some points or whatever for not dunking them in the lava bath. Not for lack of trying--fuckers just kept moving whenever I would grab the lever.

So okay. Then Luis mentions that "Las Plagas" was found in "ancient amber." So that's what Ada (and Wesker probably) is after. Because I played Village first, this feels like the whole secret, big, ancient, black mold thing was a callback to. But yeah, ancient fucked up parasite virus thing? That sounds like something Umbrella (or its remnants, at this point, I guess) would want.

Oh, the minecart bits. Oh dear. I did die once from a combination of crashing into a dynamite guy and getting chainsawed to the face. But thankfully, it checkpointed.

The whole "nest" thing was creepy and gross.

And then Luis gets murdered by Krauser and that fight happens. Which was tricksy, and that dude can hop. I was a little confused at first, cos he and Leon clearly know each other and I was like "Wait, I played RE2, did I miss something?" But no, I guess it's from Leon's badass-training days. They mentioned something about Operation Javier. I don't really know what that means, but it seems like something went down.

Then Luis has his tragic last cigarette and wonders if people can change and it's all very dramatic.

But okay. Time to get out of the hole. Ada shows up and tells Leon to go to the clock tower, cos some shit's going down there. Okay. Gondola time to get up there (a little bit of a set piece, but I was kind of expecting more, tbh).

And Ramon's back. What a little dick. But okay, I'll chase his ass up the clock tower. My notes on this bit consist of: "Flame throwing head. Great." and "And giant spike ball!?," followed immediately by "Who's got the spike ball now, bitches!?" So that's kind of how that went.

Then I have a note that says: "Well fuck, a lever. Okay. I guess let's pull it." This is then immediately followed by "Well, fuck." A lot of dudes trying to jump on my shit. A few of them succeeded, but I held my own okay.

The next time I saw the merchant, he did warn me about proceeding though, so I was like "Okay. Shit's gonna go down."

So, I get up just in time to see Ramon trade Ashley to Krauser. And then he's about to pontificate and shit but Leon is even more tired of his shit than I am and just shoots him, which I did not expect but was hilarious. Even though even as it happened, I was like "dude, you know that's gonna backfire." And it did. He turned into a weird flower monster thing. That was one of the tougher fights so far, but he--like many zombified creatures 'round these parts--does not do well with a shotgun to the face, so I managed.

(Also, "No Thanks, Bro" being the name of the achievement made me laugh, cos I have seen that meme.)

So then Krauser fucks off on a boat, but luckily there's another one, and who should show up with the keys but Ada. So she and Leon have a cool conversation as they have a little boat ride. I like her observation "You haven't changed, you just think you have." Like yeah, she's kinda got his number.

Okay, so then now we're at some sort of compound? Or something? What the fuck is this place? I dunno. It has a laser maze though, so that's fun. Then there's Ashley in a cage, but of course, getting there isn't gonna be that easy.

The guy on fire bursting out of the locker freaked me out, but that was not nearly as bad as the Regenerators. Oh, those fuckers were annoying. I did manage to kill the first two, before you get the bioscope, just out of sheer persistence. It drained some ammo for sure, but felt worth it. Then once I did get the scope, it's like "yeah, I only need to kill this one, cos it clearly has the wrench inside it for some reason. But you know what? Fuck these things." And I used to scope to two-shot all of them. Did I need to do that? Were they gonna burst out anyway? Better not to find out!

And so that playthrough session ended with finally getting to Ashley, who's looking rough from all the, y'know, ancient evil death fungus shit that's been shoved into her, but Leon gives her Luis's serum and that seems to help.

It feels like I'm getting pretty close to the end here. I'm not sure exactly how much longer there is, but it's like... the tension is starting to feel climactic. Got a score to settle with Krauser, and then presumably some kind of standoff with this Saddler fellow coming. Not sure what else there could be, but I guess we'll see on the next thrilling episiode, eh?

[the-case-book-of-fanfiction]

Tumblr is currently having posting issues, the next chapter of Love Bites will be up as soon as those issues are resolved

Thanks for your patience, loves!

— Case

(fic taglist under the cut to spread the word!)

Taglist: {comment and let me know if you'd like to be added to the Astarion taglist!} @wayward-hel @cheeslyy @ofmyth-andmagicart @neetheslayer @whispering-depths @freesidexjunkie @lightsinmycity @the0ldmann @gobbodoggo @oooof-ifellforyou @beeblisss @fangboner @aquaarietes @fiercest-eigengrau-skies @niqhtfell @call-me-nyxx @lueji-m @ceres-xiv @tricksy-trinity @graynstairs @rosa-rubus @ynisthatyou @thegoodwitchs-blog @catching-fire-in-the-wind @kiyastrf94 @vincemachina @silverfangmarks @ravenswritingroom @hinata7346 @hellethil @caramel-hufflepuff @beemiilk @mypainischronicbutmyassisiconic @starwatch77 @julianmarie @sadexistentialism

[laughterlust]

some fun facts for Finnean?

Yess!! Grumpy albino elf boye 🍃

He's a good cook! He's vegetarian, and knows very good recipes for potato and mushroom herbal stews.

His plant-manipulation is typically activated through playing his pan flute or other woodwind instruments. So odds are, if you're out in the Norwegian woods and you hear the faint echoes of a woodwind, you'd best be on your toes, or you'll get spirited away~

He warms up a bit faster to humans who enjoy being tickled. Even though he'll try to be condescending about it at first, flaunting his superiority as a Fae over his prisoner. But it'll become apparent over time that he truly just thinks they're adorable when they laugh :3c

I haven't quite figured out how or why yet, but Fritz and Clancy do bump into Finnean on their travels at some point. They all get along for the most part, but Finn can't wrap his head around why Clancy and Fritz trust humans. I'd imagine they get up to some tricksy Fae shenanigans together 👍

❌🔞MINORS AND NO AGE IN PROFILE DNI. This is a NSFW blog, you will be blocked on sight. (More DNIs in Pinned post.)🔞❌

[annabelle--cane]

You’ve hit 10k now deactivate & move to a new blog (silly, not hate anon)

alas I signed a deal with a tricksy fairy in the eighth grade and now I have to keep running this blog until the day my fingers can no longer type

[suzukiblu]

hi! happened across a post of yours someone reblogged and have promptly fallen down the rabbit-hole (your writing is AMAZING by the way oh my gosh) but I'm struggling a bit with finding like, all the snippets in one AU at once. do you have a taglist of your stories/AUs somewhere? if yes, please could you provide a link to it? thank you! I hope you have a great day

Thank you, glad to hear you're enjoying my stuff! ❤️ And I do have a taglist, yes, it's supposed to be linked on my blog's main page sidebar but apparently doesn't always show up because it's a custom layout, so THANKS for that, Tumblr, hah. The list can be found here, though!

Also in case the link decides to be tricksy because I know that's a thing sometimes at least on mobile:

https://suzukiblu.tumblr.com/assorted-aus

[sheydmade]

the Winter Ones: Folkloric Figures of Winter, Yule, & Christmas

by Keziah

The winter holidays are ebbing ever closer. With each passing year, more and more practitioners of witchcraft and/or followers of pagan paths have looked to taking up the customs of their ancestors or incorporating those customs into their practices in some way. Holidays have become a popular way of embracing such traditions, traditions that can make diasporic practitioners feel a little closer to home, traditions that can bring one nearer their ancestors, traditions that can aid in making one’s practice and customs truly unique to them.

Winter has many customs and traditions, and those practices differ from region to region. One of my favorite aspects of winter is the amount of figures associated with the season – folk figures unique to the regions from which they hail. For many people, if you ask them about figures they associate with winter, you’ll hear Father Christmas, Krampus, and maybe even a nod or two to Hans Trapp, but there are so many more winter figures out there! In this post, we’ll meet a variety of these folk spirits, and we’ll learn a bit about their tales. It’s my hope that readers of this blog may find a new way of incorporating beliefs or customs of their ancestors or of their homelands (for our readers who are members of diasporic populations), and that, in doing so, their winter holidays may be brighter for it. Now, shall we dive in? Who to meet first…

GRÝLA, JÓLASVEINAR, & JÓLAKÖTTURINN

Grýla, the Yule Lads, and the Yule Cat

(Icelandic Folklore)

A prominent feature in Icelandic Christmas and Yule folklore is the tale of a mountain-dwelling family that descends upon Icelandic communities during the Yule season, or during the 13 days leading up to Christmas. This family consists of –

Grýla – a large, frightening giantess, ogress, or half-troll/half-ogre (depending on what version of the tale you hear) who feasts upon naughty children;

Jólasveinar / the Yule Lads – Grýla’s thirteen thieving, tricksy sons;

and Jólakötturinn / the Yule Cat – Grýla’s pet cat, a massive, vicious, people-eating creature.

According to lore, throughout most of the year Grýla and her crew keep to themselves in some isolated mountainous area. If not in the mountains, it’s often said that Grýla and co. live in Dimmuborgir (lava formations in north Iceland). During the Yule or Christmas season, though, Grýla and her brood leave their domain behind to bring a bit of terror to the inhabitants of Iceland.

For thirteen nights, Grýla’s sons, the Yule Lads, will leave gifts for (and party with, play games with, and perform for) well-behaved children, and leave tricks or warnings for naughty children, but this version only came about after a shift in the tone of the tale. Most sources state that the Yule Lads were once purely horrible and simply wreaked havoc for the thirteen nights leading up to Christmas. Why the change? Well, apparently the original lore was so terrifying that the parliament of Iceland officially outlawed its use as a scare tactic against children. Thus, the brighter lore of playfully mischievous Yule Lads was born, differing greatly from the ‘creepy and revolting’ ways exhibited in the earlier tales.

As the stories go, one-by-one, the Yule Lads go into inhabited areas of Iceland and sow a little terror and chaos, each carrying out his own special form of mischief. They could only do their deeds at night, and were quite terrifying to behold – large, dirty, and ‘humanoid and bestial in equal measure’ (though now most depictions of the Yule Lads feature cheerful, bearded men with woolen clothes and pointed hats). The Yule Lads arrive (one per night) starting thirteen days before Christmas, and each continues their mischief spree for thirteen nights, only then departing (again, one per night).

The Yule Lads are:

Stekkjastaur ‘Sheep-Cote Clod’ – from the 12th - 25th of December, Stekkjastaur sneaks into pens and stables to harass sheep, attempting to suckle them all, though this is made difficult by his long, stiff, wooden legs, which don’t allow him to bend his knees and kneel on the ground.

Giljagaur ‘Gully-Gawk’ – from the 13th - 26th of December, Giljagaur hides in the gullies near homes until all the household has fallen asleep. Then, he makes his way to the cowsheds to steal milk.

Stúfur ‘Stubby’ –Stúfur will, from the 14th - 27th of December, steal into homes and nab anything leftover in the pans. Some versions say he steals the pan itself, for he likes to eat the ‘crust’ left behind on them from cooking.

Þvörusleikir ‘Spoon-Licker’ – from the 15th - 28th of December, Þvörusleikir sets about his diabolical task of breaking into homes and licking all the spoons (in particular, the wooden spoons).

Pottaskefill ‘Pot-Scraper’ – from 16th - 29th of December, Pottaskefill breaks into homes to steal unwashed pots so he can lick up all that’s left, be that the remnants of sauces, broths, and gravies, or leftover bits of food. He’s also said to eat any unfinished foods from plates.

Askasleikir ‘Bowl-Licker’ – from 17th - 30th of December, Askasleikir hides beneath beds, lying in wait for anyone to set their askur down. An askur is an Icelandic wooden bowl with a lid, which, according to these Yule tales, would sometimes be carried off to bed whilst one was enjoying a late-night snack. The bowl would then be placed on the floor beside the bed or just under the bed, where Askasleikir would be waiting to scarf down whatever is left in the askur.

Hurðaskellir ‘Door-Slammer’ – from 18th - 31st of December, Hurðaskellir starts his rounds, going around slamming doors. He finds it even more fun to do whilst everyone is sleeping.

Skyrgámur ‘Skyr-Gobbler’ – from 19th of December - 01st of January, Skygámur commits the heinous act of robbing any and every pantry or refrigerator he can find of skyr, a traditional Icelandic dairy food similar to yoghurt.

Bjúgnakrækir ‘Sausage-Swiper’ – as if Skyrgámur’s antics weren’t enough, Bjúgnakrækir is a rotten old sausage thief. He sits in the rafters of homes, waiting for everyone to go to bed or to look away. Then, he steals as many sausages as he can manage. Bjúgnakrækir makes his arrival on the 20th of December and leaves on the 02nd of January.

Gluggagægir ‘Window-Peeper’ – perhaps the creepiest of the lot thus far (though someone licking all the spoons is the stuff of nightmares), Gluggagægir makes his rounds from the 21st of December - 03rd of January, peeping through windows into homes, hoping to spy something to steal.

Gáttaþefur ‘Doorway-Sniffer’ – from the 22nd of December - 04th of January, Gáttaþefur, lured to your home by the scent of freshly baked laufabrauð (‘leaf bread,’ a traditional Icelandic Christmas bread), arrives to one’s doorway and will attempt to steal the laufabrauð.

Ketkrókur ‘Meat-Hook’ – from the 23rd of December to the 05th of January, Ketkrókur would find a way to steal the meat from your kitchen. He’d hide in the pantry, behind doorways, in the rafters, up the chimney, and he’d use his long, hooked staff, or meat hook, to quickly snatch away the meat either while it was being prepared or from the holiday table itself.

Kertasníkir ‘Candle-Stealer’ or ‘Candle-Beggar’ – from the 24th of December to the 06th of January, Kertasníker, the last of the Yule of Lads, steals candles, especially from children. Candles were once typically made from tallow and were edible, and some lore states that Kertasníker would steal the candles to snack on.

Nowadays, the Yule Lads are said to leave candies and small gifts for good children, placing the goods in the shoes that kids leave on their windowsills in hopes of finding them later filled with presents. Bad children, however, are said to be left nothing but rotten potatoes.

As for Grýla, well… Grýla comes and kidnaps naughty children, loading them into her sack and carrying them back to her husband, Leppalúði (who most sources say is quite lazy and prefers to stay in his cave than to go with Grýla and the Yule Lads to terrorize Icelandic children). Grýla and Leppalúði then eat the naughty children, cooking them up in Grýla’s giant pot or cauldron. Though Grýla and Leppalúði are known to have a particular fondness for eating children, some sources also warn that they’ll eat adults caught outdoors on their own during those long, dark winter nights.

If Grýla and her husband weren’t bad enough, you still have the Yule Cat to worry about, especially if you didn’t receive any gifts of new clothes for the holidays. It’s said that the Yule Cat, on Christmas night, eats anyone it catches that isn’t wearing at least one new item of clothing.

LA BEFANA

(Italian Folklore)

With particular association with Epiphany Eve (the night of the 05th of January), La Befana is witch in Italian folklore (sometimes called, fondly, the Christmas Witch). She’s said to fly around Italy on her broom on the night of Epiphany Eve, when she visits each household with children and fills each child’s stocking with gifts or punishments, depending on whether they were well or poorly behaved. Well-behaved children receive gifts and sweets, while those who were naughtier receive a coal lump, black rock candy, or a stick. Some tales also say that La Befana (who is obsessively tidy in some variations of her origin story) may sweep or clean your house before she leaves.

La Befana is said to be a very old woman with a cheerful, kindly disposition. She dresses simply, usually wearing a shawl either around her shoulders or tied over her hair (sometimes both), and her clothes are soot-covered, as the tales say she flies into each home via the chimney. She carries a wicker basket or cloth sack filled with all of the gifts and sweets she must deliver.

In some Italian regions, bonfires are burned on Epiphany, and those bonfires sometimes feature effigies of La Befana. Many people dress as La Befana at various Epiphany events and festivals in Italy.

ST. NICHOLAS & KRAMPUS

(Central European Folklore)

On Saint Nicholas Day (observed on the 5th or 6th of December, depending on the region), many children throughout Europe (and in diasporic communities around the world), wake up excited to check in their shoes or under their pillows for gifts from St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas, is a tall, lean, cheerful old man with a long white beard, usually depicted as being dressed in fine vestments, including a cape or chasuble, and almost always wearing an ornate miter atop his head. In Central European (and some Eastern European) folklore, though, jolly old St. Nicholas does not work alone.

The Krampus travels as Saint Nicholas’ companion. Usually depicted as a large red, black, or brown demon with cloven hooves and the legs and horns of a goat, pointed ears, a long, pointed or forked tongue, and a frightening, human face with a crazed or menacing expression, Krampus is truly the stuff of childhood nightmares. Saint Nicholas and Krampus make their rounds on Krampusnacht – the night of the 05th of December. While the well-behaved children received gifts from Saint Nicholas, naughty children meet punishment at the hands of Krampus. The punishment varies from one tale to the next – some say that Krampus switches the children with birch branches; some say that Krampus devours the children, often swallowing them whole; and still other tales say that Krampus nabs the children, loading them into the basket or pouch he wears upon his back and taking them to hell.

Despite attempts by the Catholic Church to ban Krampus, belief in the goat demon is very much still alive, with festivals and parades dedicated to Krampus, such as Krampuslauf, booming in popularity.

BELSNICKEL

(Germanic Folklore)

Belsnickel (also often spelled Belschnickel or Beltznickle) is a figure of Germanic folklore that finds its origins in Rheinpfalz, a historic region of Southwestern Germany. The belief in Belsnickel finds life still yet in some areas within this region, as well as in diasporic German peoples (and the descendants thereof) in Pennsylvania Dutch communities (birthed from settlers from the Rheinpfalz region) throughout the US.

Belsnickel is a man dressed in tattered, dirtied furs and clothes. In some versions, he also wears a mask with a long, pointed tongue. Belsnickel travels around at night (usually on the night of Christmas Eve), wielding a long switch in one hand and carrying a sack filled with cakes, candies, fruits, and nuts in the other hand or on his back. Poorly behaved children would receive a switching, while well-behaved children would be given sweets from the sack.

Brown’s Miscellaneous Writings features a first-hand account (having taken place around 1830) of one Beltznickel tradition from Maryland, USA –

‘One hand would scatter the goodies upon the floor, and then the scramble would begin by the delighted children, and the other hand would ply the switch upon the backs of the excited youngsters – who would not show a wince…’

In some Pennsylvania Dutch communities, it’s said that Belsnickel arrives one-to-two weeks before Christmas to ‘check in’ on how the children were behaving, punishing the bad children and serving as a frightening warning and reminder that they had better correct their ways before Christmas.

PERCHTA

(Alpine Folklore)

Known by many names, such as Pehta Baba (in Slovenian lore), Frau Perchta, and Frau Faste (in some Swiss and Slovenian lore), Perchta is a goddess associated with winter, spinning, and folk magic, particularly in Germany and Austria.

Perchta’s association with winter bears particular emphasis on midwinter and Twelfth Night. It’s said that Perchta would enter homes during the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, and she would dole out rewards and punishments. Children and servants of the home who had worked hard throughout the year and who had been good people would wake the next morning to find a small gift left by Perchta (usually a coin or trinket, though some modern customs say she may leave candies).

Her punishments, however, were far greater than her gifts. For children and servants who had been poorly behaved, unkind, and lazy, Perchta enters their bedrooms while they slumber, cuts them open, and replaces their stomach and guts with straw. Some tales say she does not replace one's entrails but simply fills the stomach with straw. It’s also said in some tales that Perchta delivers this same punishment to those who on the night of Perchta’s feast day eat something aside from the traditional foods of her feast day (those foods being fish and gruel).

Perchta’s association with spinning also comes into play in some variations of this tale, in which Perchta’s punishment is reserved for those who did not complete their spinning by the time of her visit. She was also said to trample or set fire to any half-spun fibers she discovered.

Perchta’s links to midwinter come from her ties to the legend of the Wild Hunt. Some tales of the Wild Hunt feature Perchta as the leader of the hunt.

As for Perchta’s appearance, there are two main versions. Perchta is sometimes described as a beautiful, young woman, with white or very pale hair and fair skin, usually dressed in white or silvery white hues. This Perchta differs greatly from that featured in some old depictions, which describe a hag woman dressed in rags, with a wrinkled face and a large beak-like nose made of iron. Some descriptions say this woman carries a cane, and many depictions feature her keeping a knife or blade beneath her skirts or robes.

The difference in these two depictions of Perchta is also reflected in the two variations of Perchten – a term that is used to apply to both the masks worn at festivals and processions honoring Perchta, as well as to figures associated with Perchta and seen as her subjects or helpers. Of these figures, there are two types –

Schönperchten: the beautiful, bright Perchten dressed in silvers and whites, said to deliver blessings of wealth and good luck during the Twelve Nights,

and Schiachperchten: the monstrously ugly Perchten with fangs and tusks, horns, tails, and beastly, fur-covered faces. The Schiachperchten are said to drive away evil spirits, ghosts, and demons.

SPILLAHOLLE

The Spillaholle – also known as Mickadrulle / Mickatrulle, Popelholle (‘Hooded Holle’), Zumpeldrulle –  is believed to be a regional variation of Frau Holle or Perchta. She is said to be a very short old woman dressed in ragged, tattered clothing and a hood, and is, in some tales, said to carry stinging nettles with her.

The Spillaholle appears in towns and villages during winter, especially nearing Christmas or during the Twelve Nights of Christmas. The Spillaholle, who is strongly associated with spinning, is said to travel through town, peeking in the windows of each house to check to see ‘if the children and spinsters are spinning diligently.’ If their spinning hasn’t been taken care of by evening or nightfall, it’s said that the Spillaholle will dole out punishments. It’s even said that the Spillaholle will take the lazy spinsters away, beating them with the stinging nettles she carries with her. As for those who have finished their spinning, instead of a punishment, the Spillaholle leaves a blessing of protection – a single nettle is left upon the stoop or at the threshold of the home, a nettle that shall protect the house from various misfortunes for the next year.

MARI LWYD

(Welsh Folklore)

The origins of the Christmas tradition of the parading of the Mari Lwyd are up for debate. Some say it’s an early Christian practice, while many others believe that it’s a surviving pre-Christian tradition that’s been Christianized throughout the years. Believed to have come from a wassailing custom, the Mari Lwyd (said by some to mean ‘Grey Mary,’ ‘Holy Mary,’ or ‘Blessed Mary,’ and by others to mean ‘Grey Mare’) is a hobby horse, puppet, doll, or effigy that is paraded through town, carried from door-to-door by wassail-singing groups. This is done during the Christmas season, often ‘between Christmas Day and Twelfth Night.’

The head of the Mari Lwyd is usually a skull of a hoarse (and in most cases, the same skull is to be used each year), though there have been accounts of a head being carved from wood or shaped from a pillow. The skull (or makeshift horse head) is beautifully decorated with flowers and ribbons (the ribbons usually making up the Mari Lwyd’s mane), and has lights, baubles, or bottle glass for eyes. A white cloth is draped from the horse’s head down over the base of the Mari Lwyd, concealing the carrier of the doll underneath. A spring or stick is usually attached to the lower jaw of the skull, so that the jaw can be made to open and snap shut.

The parade is to begin at dusk or sundown. Singing and dancing is to be enjoyed whilst the Mari Lwyd makes her way along. At each door, the Mari Lwyd procession would perform traditional songs, and the household was to reply (usually through the closed door) with improvised, taunting poetry, usually delivering some kind of funny insult. A competition then ensues, a back-and-forth between the Mari Lwyd party and the household (this is a ritual called pwnco), until one side was bested and gave up, having no reply. Should the Mari Lwyd procession singers lose, they leave empty-handed. Mari Lwyd winning and entering the house, though, is believed to be a blessing that will bring good fortune to the household for the coming year.

The Mari Lwyd is said to be mischievous as well – chasing people, gnashing her jaws to scare children, and even trying to steal things or knock things about when she enters a home.

DED MOROZ & SNEGUROCHKA

(Slavic Folklore)

Ded Moroz (also called Dedushka Moroz – and other variations of Grandfather Frost – and Morozko) is familiar to many as Russian Santa, but Ded Moroz is much, much more than that. Ded Moroz finds his origins in pre-Christian Slavic paganism and folklore as a great magician and wizard of winter. Belief in Ded Moroz and customs surrounding him were banned during the early Soviet era. Nevertheless, Ded Moroz not only lives on, but has become a winter icon in East Slavic culture and is now the main figure associated with Novy God, the secular Christmas-like Russian celebration of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Ded Moroz – a tall, old man with rosy cheeks and long white beard, who dresses in a floor-length fur coat and fur hat, and usually wields a magic staff – travels about (usually depicted travelling by a horse-drawn sleigh) delivering gifts to children. Some tales say that he delivers gifts all through December as well as on New Year’s Eve night, when he places the gifts under the New Year Tree whilst the household is sleeping.

One aspect of Ded Moroz’s tale that is rather unique is that of Snegurochka – Ded Moroz’s granddaughter who helps him make his deliveries. Snegurochka (also called Snegurka and the Snow Maiden), unlike Ded Moroz, doesn’t find her roots in pre-Christian Slavic lore, but rather in 19th century Russian fairytales. Snegurochka wasn’t depicted as Ded Moroz’s granddaughter until after 1935, when the holiday of Novy God was permitted by the Russia Federation. From then on, Snegurochka became Ded Moroz’s granddaughter and assistant, and has since been more commonly depicted as wearing wintery silver and blue cloaks and a fur hat (sometimes a crown made of glistening snowflakes).

SOURCES & FURTHER READING:

Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Collection of Folklore of Jón Árnason The Icelandic Yule Lads and their evil mother Gryla A Journey Around the Figure of the Befana – Manciocco, Claudia; Manciocco, Luigi Krampus | Definition, History, & Facts The Origin of Krampus, Europe's Evil Twist on Santa ‘the Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil’ – Ridenour, Al The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures: Folklore: Vol 95, No 2 ‘Deutsche Mythologie’ – Grimm, Jakob Holda: Between Folklore and Linguistics Who is Belsnickel in Pennsylvania German Christmas lore? ‘Brown’s Miscellaneous Writings’ – Brown, Jacob Yes Helen, there is a Belsnickel ‘A Dictionary of British Folk Customs’ – Hole, Christina The Mari Lwyd ‘Ritual Animal Disguise: A Historical and Geographical Study of Animal Disguise in the British Isles’ – Cawte, E.C. Mari Lwyd, a Welsh Christmas Tradition ‘A Tour Through Part of North Wales, in the Year 1798, and at Other Times’ – Evans, J. ‘Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments’ – Smith, John B. Felix und Ulrich Mueller - Percht und Krampus ‘the Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year’ – Raedisch, Linda "Дед Мороз и Снегурочка" (Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden) –Dushechkina, E. B. ‘Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic Myth and Legend’ – Dixon-Kennedy, Mike

[iviarellereads]

Wheel of Time full series spoiler thoughts on TSR 31-40

A probably semi-regular weekly bonus to my reread blog, since sometimes you realize things on reread that just make you need to yell in a full spoiler space.

"I am not so lost to custom yet as to bond a man against his will." YET.

In a strange way, I'm glad the show made Abell a shit dad, because him just being Tam Lite gets boring really quickly. Sets up Mat's arc better, too. Alas, a necessary character assassination, because RJ just… I'm gonna be kind about this one: he focused where he wanted to focus and didn't always think about the details he didn't want to think about. He let ta'veren and "idk the Pattern requires it" do more weightlifting than they really needed to.

Verin sees the hammer and then they raise the wolf banner, make no wonder she puts together the signs and asks him when he'll put aside the axe later. Tricksy double agent, you, I SEE YOU! <3<3

Laila, oh Laila. In another turning you are one of the most complicated story changes for all of us to have to deal with.

Luc-Isam-Slayer, properly on the scene. He's afraid of Perrin already, though? Probably not used to people his size who know how to navigate TAR, even though we know Perrin doesn't really know much yet. He'll fear him more before the end.

My eternal annoyance that Rand never got to speak to Galad after this on the page, honestly. Never got to tell him that he has a brother. Never got to tell him Tigraine regretted leaving, but had to save her people and the world. I like to think Galad would have liked to hear that even if it shattered some of his morality complex.

Asmo's fascination with Rhuidean and what might be found there is interesting in itself, too. Sliding past the mention of Avendesora because he knows from the AOL that there was no single tree of life, of course, they're just chora trees. And then showing up poking at the edges in TAR… Oh, Asmo.

I have to wonder how he picked up the songs of the post-Breaking era, though. Has he been in some city catching up on pop culture instead of ambitiously conquering or whatever?

I had totally forgotten that RJ test-ran the fucking list with Perrin first. That does take some of the wind out of the sails of Rand's list being so misogynist, not a lot, but credit where it's due.