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let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
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occasionally subtle
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@wearethenoname
– I was staunch in my defense when your own troth was doubted. – Yes, and I thank you for this, among many other things. But all eyes look to me now. Perhaps one day when there is not so much scrutiny. – You are ashamed. – Well... It is a matter of legitimacy.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S03E03 Rhaenyra Triumphant
i genuinely don't consider rhaenyra getting her period in that episode to be misogynist or that it shows her to become a hysterical woman because of it. i think it's just an acknowledgement of yet another situation rhaenyra finds herself in where she's trying to hold a traditionally masculine position and feels betrayed by the physical reminder that she wasn't born a man, similarly to the scene in season 1 where she goes into premature labor while all the men in her council are discussing plans for war without her. the reality of being someone who menstruates is that it can happen at inconvenient times when you're trying to do something important!
Menstruating, halucinating only one of her dead sons, surrounded by rats, unable to sleep since that's presumably the bed her mother died in, husbuncle wants to kill her little brother who is actually just some kid, girlfriend wants a worker's revolution, 3/6 kids of her kids are dead and one of her step daughters is unaccounted for, drunken gay ex-husband's father is comparing his whoring around to her and Laenor having a sperm donor/poly situation and then throwing a tantrum in public, head of the church won't even crown her until they procure her brother's remains. Terrible day to be Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
Bless My Haunted Home 🎃🖤
Avon - Vintage Jack-O-Lantern Basket 🎃
Halloween Magic (that isn't just Samhain with the Irish serial numbers filed off)
It's no secret that Halloween is related to an ancient Gaelic harvest festival called Samhain. (That's “SOW-en,” not “Sam-hane,” thank you very much.) But Halloween really has become its own thing in our modern culture, especially in the United States. Halloween still shares some of Samhain's associations with death and the dead, but it's expanded to include all manners of flirting with the supernatural, plus a general sense of mischievous fun.
Witches who don't feel inclined to celebrate Samhain can use modern Halloween traditions for ritual inspiration instead. Take inspiration from kids in costumes and pumpkin-flavored everything to create your own magical traditions.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started on brainstorming for your Halloween rituals and spells:
Connect with your inner child. I strongly associate Halloween with the inner child, probably because it's one of the few holidays where children are at the center of most public celebrations. Halloween is a great time for inner child work, especially reclaiming your childlike sense of wonder. Dress up in a costume, watch your favorite spooky childhood movie, read your favorite spooky kids' books, or buy yourself a bucket of Halloween candy. Let yourself have fun with it. Afterwards, meditate on your inner child and open yourself up to the unique wisdom that comes from our younger selves.
Try a historic Halloween divination ritual. Halloween has long been associated with fortune telling, especially love fortunes. In the Victorian era and the early 20th century, this was one of the main things Halloween was known for in popular culture! One famous fortune telling game involved walking backwards and looking into a mirror on Halloween night to see an image of your future spouse. Another involved plucking a hair from your head and letting it go outside on Halloween night -- supposedly, it would fly in the direction where your future spouse lived. Recreating one of these old-time fortune telling games can be a fun way to celebrate Halloween, and to switch it up from your usual tarot deck or runes.
Make a ritual out of doing something that scares you. Halloween is strongly associated with facing our fears. For kids, this often takes the form of ghost stories and haunted houses. For adults, it can take the form of finally doing something we've been putting off because it scares us or makes us nervous. This may include things like having a difficult conversation about boundaries with a loved one, leaving a situation that is making you miserable, or finally talking to a doctor about that weird medical symptom you've been shrugging off for months. You can turn this fear-facing into a ritual to help you find the courage to do the thing.
Connect with the spirit world. Halloween is deeply connected to death and the dead, and especially to the idea of connecting with deceased loved ones. A full, dramatic, old-school seance can be fun, but this can also be an opportunity to connect in more subtle ways. You could spend an evening reconnecting with loved ones who have passed on, going through old photos and telling stories of your time together. You could visit a cemetery and pick up litter. If you're curious about mediumship, you could even plan a time to flex your psychic muscles. (Ellen Dugan's book, The Natural Psychic, has lots of helpful exercises for this!) And of course, if you'd like to host a Victorian-style seance, more power to you.
Carve a jack ‘o lantern. Okay, this one may have some overlap with Samhain, but to be fair: 1.) Jack o' lanterns and Halloween are inseparable in modern secular culture, and 2.) It's unclear if this tradition started before or after the Christian conversion in Ireland and the switch from Samhain to Halloween. Jack o' lanterns are traditionally associated with protection, but you could carve different symbols into your pumpkin to represent different qualities you want to attract. For an added plant magic boost, sprinkle some cinnamon powder inside your pumpkin before adding a candle and lighting it. (This has the added benefit of smelling really nice.)
Celebrating with kids or with non-witchy friends? Here are some ideas inspired by the history of this spooky holiday:
Share a harvest feast. We might not think about it today, but in the Middle Ages, Halloween was a harvest festival. For a fun throwback to medieval celebrations, host your own harvest feast with loved ones. Why not have a potluck and invite each guest to bring their favorite fall food? You can also load up on Halloween goodies to share. If you're in the southern hemisphere (meaning October falls in the spring, not the fall), you can ditch the fall treats and serve your favorite springtime foods instead. And of course, if you can't cook, a store-bought meal is totally fine.
Host a Victorian-style Halloween party. In the 19th century, Halloween was actually a much more adult-oriented holiday. We've already talked about Halloween love divination, but the Victorians also established some of the traditions we still see today. Wealthy families went all out on the decorations (mostly in shades of red and brown, but this is also when we first see the orange and black combo we associate with Halloween today). Costumes were a big deal for adults and kids, although Victorian folks usually created their costumes using clothing they already owned. Sweet treats at these 19th century Halloween parties usually included nuts and candy apples. The evening entertainment was ghost stories and parlor games. To celebrate a modern, Victorian-inspired Halloween, try making your own costume and gather some loved ones to eat candy apples (or other apple-flavored treats), tell spooky stories, and play classic Halloween games like bobbing for apples.
Take part in some light-hearted mischief. Another part of Halloween's history that doesn't come up much anymore is the tradition of "Mischief Night." During Mischief Night (either Halloween night or the night before, depending on the community), kids and teenagers would run around and cause mischief, ranging from lighthearted pranks to actual theft and destruction of property. Modern kid-centric Halloween traditions were apparently originally a response to this and a way to keep kids busy so they didn't hurt or steal from their neighbors! For a modern-day Mischief Night, see if some of your loved ones would be down for an evening of lighthearted pranks. (April Fools rules apply here: no actual harm and no public humiliation, please!)
Go retro with a midcentury Halloween. After World War II, Halloween began to look more like something we would recognize today, complete with sugary candy, mass-produced costumes, and orange-and-black everything. If you want to celebrate in a way that feels familiar and nostalgic while still letting you try something new, try taking inspiration from 20th century Halloweens. A great way to do this is by searching your local library or an online archive for vintage homemaker's magazines -- the October issues are filled with recipes, DIY tips, and advertisements for retro Halloween products. Use this inspiration to come up with your own DIY celebration, and enjoy a vintage Halloween without vintage values. (Yes to popcorn balls and paper-mache decorations. No to racism and misogyny.)
Embrace the modern form of the holiday. Not everything needs to be a history project. Sometimes it's better to live in the moment. I personally love modern Halloween celebrations, and I try to fit in as many of them as I can every October. Enjoy this modern, spooky, candy-coated holiday on its own terms. Go to a haunted house or a corn maze. Bake pumpkin cookies and eat them while watching your favorite scary movie. Go see a parade or a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Enjoy the rest of the world matching your witchy energy for once.
Sources:
"Century-old Tricks for Finding Your True Love on Halloween" by Peter Armenti, posted on the Library of Congress website: https://blogs.loc.gov/catbird/2015/10/century-old-tricks-for-finding-your-true-love-on-halloween/
"Historical Halloween Divination Games and Spells" by Evvie of Interrobang Tarot: https://www.interrobangtarot.com/blog/historical-halloween-divination-games-and-spells
"How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth" of History.com: https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins
"The History of Halloween, From Mysticism to Mayhem" by Christina Pérez of Vogue: https://www.vogue.com/article/halloween-history
"Halloween in the Middle Ages" by Paul Watts of Medieval History: https://medievalhistory.info/halloween-in-the-middle-ages/
"Halloween" by the Victorian Historian: https://thevictorianhistorian.com/halloween/
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Halloween preorders are now live! There's also restocks of lots of my other spooky goodies 👻🧡
✨ Shop the collection here! ✨
Getting excited, my spooky preorders will be launching next week!! 👻🧡
I'll have a new shirt, tea towel, tote bag, and the Parade of Paws finally returns! 🐾✨ Also fresh restocks of all my past items!
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Art by Ann-Sofie Vejs
Art by Maggie Vandewalle
Park not being able to stop thinking about the NICU baby.
He may have been consulted for the issues with her bones, but a plethora of things remained wrong with the little thing.
It was only a short elevator ride up to the NICU, but he still worried for her. The little baby had been surrendered to the state, and the nurses were already strained as it was.
The baby probably wasn't held at all, poor thing.
The elevator dings, and he walks onto the floor with the same confidence he has in everything. The walk is short and brisk, bringing him to the
A window that oversees all the little ones snoozing away in their bassinets.
A nurse is tending to the babies who are fussy, but his focus is on the little baby who lies awake, alert, and open-eyed in her bed.
You see him standing there, watching with the same look you've seen concerned fathers hold. This is so unlike the man your coworkers had warned you about.
"Would you like to hold her?" you ask quietly, breaking the routine he'd held for the week.
His eyes snap to yours, almost looking like a kid caught coveting something he should've known better than to desire. Then he nods, slowly and hesitantly, like he's unsure if you're joking or not.
You scan in and sit him in a rocking chair in the corner. "Do you know how to hold a baby?" You ask quietly, so as not to wake the sleeping infants.
"In theory." he holds his arms out as you pull the clear bassinet over and lift the baby.
"support its head..." you mutter as you hold the baby. "hug its body closer to you... Yeah."
When you're okay with the position, you back away, letting him have his moment.
You quietly tend to the other children there, listening to him murmur and coo at the little bundle in his arms
Halloween was the best night of the year, not only for trick-or-treating and parties, but for the many horror movies that bring customers in. Closing shift was for the theater was a-lot. Bunches of candy and cups to restock, paired with much more popcorn to clean up. It was such a small town, the crew expected people to be out doing their own thing, not all gathering at the run down dollar theater.
The team finally gets to lock the doors, beginning the closing process. Caleb is counting the candies as Ivy comes from the back with a basket full of drink cups and popcorn buckets in her arms.
Her brown hair is cut in a choppy wolf cut, bangs just barely skimming her eyebrows. She ducks down and pulls some cups out of the sleeve.
“Busy night, yeah?” she says.
“Busiest it’s been since *Forrest Gump*,” Caleb sighs. He’s got the same style as James—who's currently behind the concession counter pouring liquid into the popper—baggy jeans, rising star hoodie, sleeves shoved up his forearms—but he’s shorter, a little more compact. Like a younger brother.
She laughs. “God, remember the lady who came in five times that week just to cry in row C?”
“She bought popcorn every time too, I don't think the boss is complaining.”
Ivy tosses a broken cup into the trash with a perfect arc. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many costumes in one night. Did you catch the guy in the scarecrow mask?”
Caleb pauses, eyebrows knitting.
“The tall guy…? Didn’t buy a ticket. Just kinda… stood in the hallway.”
He stops counting. “I thought he was with the guy in the Michael Myers getup.”
“Nope. I asked. That guy came alone.”
They exchange a glance.
“Whatever… nothing can scare me these days,” he says.
“Sure,” she giggles.
A thud sounds behind them. They turn to look.
James is behind them rubbing his head with a scrubby in his free hand. He’s got short, messy brown hair slicked with sweat from working, his hoodie darkened at the pits.
“You guys! I’m *trying* to focus,” he groans, face half-lit by the dim overhead bulbs. “This machine is stupid. This oil is never coming off.”
Caleb chuckles, not looking up from his candy count. “Luckily I never have to touch the damn thing.”
“I swear there’s a whole layer of popcorn just… fossilized back here,” James mutters.
“Focus,” Ivy calls, putting the last of the drink cups into the holder. “It's the last thing you have to do tonight, you know, besides changing and getting ready for the party.”
That gets James’s attention. He tousles his hair again.
“Did someone bring the good radio this time? Because if I have to dance to that old Boombox again, I’m walking out.”
“I’ve got it covered,” Ivy says, grinning. “And Naomi’s bringing the blacklight balloons.”
As if on cue, the front doors rattle with a sharp knock. Caleb runs up to let them in. Naomi and Theo push through, arms full of bags and props.
Naomi’s a shorter Hispanic girl with bright eyes and glittery horns atop her head, her mesh cape fluttering behind her. Theo—also hispanic—tall and skinny, wears sunglasses over his skeleton face paint.
“We’re late, but we brought everything Tessa asked for!” Naomi announces, lifting a tote full of decorations and snacks.
“And drinks,” Theo adds, holding up a box of juice.
James steps back from the popcorn machine, dramatically flinging his cleaning rag aside. “My shift is over. Morning shift can worry about filling the seeds. Let's go.”
He slips into the ‘Employees Only’ door, disappearing from sight.
Music switches from the overhead radio to a Halloween mix—bassy, weird, and perfect. Ivy flicks on the orange string lights around the counter. Theo starts unpacking glow sticks while Naomi sticks plastic candy apples onto the concession counter.
Neveiah arrives from the back hallway still in her uniform, red frizzy hair piled high on her head and her signature tired smirk in place.
“You guys are early,” she says, pushing herself up on the concession counter, kicking her feet lightly against the cabinet below.
“Well we gotta start setting up!” Ivy says, stringing up the last of the blacklight balloons. “Ten minutes early is basically fashionably late in theater hours.”
Caleb tosses Neveiah a bag of candy. “Welcome to chaos. Your costume is ‘exhausted usher,’ I assume?”
Neveiah shrugs and tears open the bag. “Honestly? Most authentic thing I’ve got.”
“Okay but are we actually watching a movie tonight or just going full dance floor in the aisles?”
“Both,” Caleb says. “Movie plays in the background. Party happens wherever there’s floor space.”
More of the crew trickles in—Nora in a devil onesie, her anxious eyes darting to every flickering light but her nervous energy softens when someone smiles at her. Miles, a bigger black man, lumbers in behind her, a soft nod, his greeting, as he surveys the scene.
The lights in the lobby go dimmer, replaced by the soft purple pulse of the blacklights and the flicker of candles (fake, of course) scattered across the counter.
James reappears from the back, dawning a baseball player outfit covered in blood, climbs up onto the refill fridge and lifts a Capri Sun like a trophy, before ripping the straw off the container and poking it through the bag.
“Alright, team. We survived the busiest night of the year. No fires, no crying kids, no broken projectors.”
“No *actual* ghosts,” Ivy adds.
“Not yet,” Caleb mutters, already digging in a pizza roll bag, aligning them on a tray.
James grins. “So tonight, we party like we’re not all back here for morning shift tomorrow.”
A round of groans and laughter fills the room, but nobody’s arguing.
A bass-heavy remix of "*Somebody’s Watching Me*" starts playing, echoing down the empty hallways. Blacklight balloons bob along the ceiling tiles as the crew spreads out, some moving the party to the back. Propping the door open, they start rearranging chairs and tossing bean bags into the corners of Theater 8.
Soon Mya and Adrian arrive—both in matching ghost t-shirts, though they definitely didn’t coordinate. Mya, with her streaked green-and-blonde hair and Victorian brooch. Adrian’s a geeky, sharp-eyed girl, quietly excited, hyper-focused on the nachos in her hand.
“Don’t judge us,” Mya says. “I'm not sure pizza rolls are going to fill all our bellies.”
Naomi waves them in. “Put the nachos on the table. Hopefully someone doesn't eat them all in one go.”
As they move to set up, the side door to the staff hallway opens again.
Jasper strolls in, trench coat flapping, holding a fog machine under his right arm. He’s definitely high out of his mind, but he brings a chill vibe to all the other chaotic coworkers. Clara skips in behind him, cheeks smeared with glow-in-the-dark body paint, glitter in her blond hair. She’s the newest hire, though she and Neveiah go way back.
“Prepare to transcend,” Jasper says, plugging in the fog machine near the screen. “We’re making this place *cinematic*.”
“I did my eyeliner in the break room,” Clara adds.
From the auditorium doors, the sound of jingling keys and a clearing throat cuts through the music.
“Please tell me no one’s lighting anything flammable,” says Tessa, the general manager. She’s around forty, with thin blonde hair always pulled into a ponytail, and the kind of voice that’s both tired and sharp. She wears a button-up shirt with tiny pumpkins on it and carries herself like a chaperone to a sleepover she didn’t want to host.
“Just fog,” Ivy says sweetly.
“And nachos,” Neveiah offers.
Tessa surveys the theater—blacklights, vampire teeth, soda cans, staff strewn across seats like they own the place—and sighs.
“I’m turning a blind eye for two hours. After that, if someone’s asleep where the cameras can see them, i’m writing them up.”
A cheer goes up from the crew as Tessa drops her keys into her tote and pulls a Diet Coke from the cooler—also drug in by Jasper.
James and Caleb finally arrive. Caleb now dressed in jeans and a hoodie, a bloody handprint covering the left side of his face.
“He didn't bring a costume so I felt it was appropriate to make him fit in just a little bit.” James says holding up his right hand, stained a red tint.
Following them, Lillian and Olivia appear from the main hallway. Lillian is tiny—barely over five feet—with a bob and bangs and a permanently glittery aesthetic. Olivia wears a curtain-turned-toga and adjusts her glasses, geeky charm radiating as she pushes her curly hair out of her face.
“Are we late?” Lillian asks.
“Perfect timing,” Caleb says. “We were about to break out the gummy worm roulette.”
Olivia blinks. “Wait—roulette?”
“With consequences,” Theo smirks.
The final figure to arrive is Lila. She enters the theater with a soft, almost hesitant gait, her white lab coat billowing around her as if she’s just stepped out of some cheesy mad scientist movie. Her glasses are a little crooked, her short blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, and mismatched socks peek from under her boots. Lila’s the kind of person everyone loves—realistic, funny, and effortlessly cool in a way that makes the chaos feel safer.
“Did someone say gummy worm roulette?” She asks with a half-smile, and the room falls silent for a beat, before the laughter starts again.
“She’s here for the best part,” Caleb says with a smirk.
Lila sets her purse down on the table and unbuttoned her coat to reveal an old “Mad Scientist” t-shirt underneath. “So, we got all the gummy worms?”
“We’re about to start!” Ivy calls, already taking her seat. “Let’s get this party started before my feet turn into jelly.”
Caleb plops down next to Lila, tilting the bowl of pizza rolls toward her. “So, what’s the deal with this roulette? It’s gotta be spooky, right?”
Theo grins. “Think of it as Russian roulette, but with gummy worms and questionable consequences. Worst case scenario, you’ll have a sugar high for days.”
Lila raises an eyebrow but shrugs, pulling her jacket tighter around her. “I can handle a little sugar.”
“Don’t say that until you’re eating the habanero worm,” Neveiah teases.
The group starts to gather, some already sprawled out in beanbags while others hover around the table, eyes on the nachos. The glow from the blacklight balloons and fog machine bathing the room in an eerie purple haze.
Tessa takes a long look at her team—somehow both exhausted and thrilled to be here. She steps to the side, watching as the gang gets comfortable.
“No fires, no broken projectors, and no one died tonight,” Tessa mutters to herself, the slightest smile curling at the corner of her mouth. She leans against the wall, a silent guardian to their madness, for now.
“All right! Let’s get this thang going!” Ivy says. She hands out a handful of gummy worms to each team member. The rules are simple: one’s a regular, one’s super sour, one’s spicy—whoever gets the weird one, well, they pay the price. It’s a fun tradition no one can resist.
The large theater speakers changing to the opening theme of *The Thing*, sound too quiet for everyone to really pay attention, and the room goes quiet for a moment, everyone settling into their spots. The theater is filled with a quiet hum of contentment, the hum of a small-town crew who have spent so many hours working together, but tonight, for once, they get to just be.
James lifts his Capri Sun again. “To surviving the night,” he says, his voice louder now, and everyone joins in with a chorus of cheers.
“To surviving the night!” they echo, laughter rising again. The first gummy worm disappears into someone’s mouth with a dramatic wince, and the group bursts into fits of laughter.
Tessa, watching all of them with a hint of fondness, takes a quiet sip of her Diet Coke and looks up at the screen.
This—this was their place.
Their night.
And for now, it was enough.
\(๑ -`. '- ๑)/✩₊˚.⋆👻⋆⁺₊✧
Alvin & The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (1999) 🧟
\(๑ -`. '- ๑)/✩₊˚.⋆👻⋆⁺₊✧
Da Pitt Tweets 1/?
