Oh, here's some other stuff that didn't make it to Tumblr yet for some reason.

From top:

A 4dopt Pixala named Spiritualism

Two Wajas, named Rivulet Scout and Subconscious

A Dappervolk Geodillo named Otra

Two of my Mycena Cave Ineki, Peacha and Bellflower, turned into plants duing the April Fools event

I also did a lot of housecleaning over the last week

Drawntlet Day Six: Sincere

There is no love more sincere than that of an emotionally stunted marshmallow and his mama (who is Greyson).

finally my most self indulgent ocs as virtual pets

mistya and sascha

In the last week I’ve signed up for Mycena Cave and Goatlings, and I really like them both in very different ways.

Crystalline Gala Cuisine

Been a bit since I made a festival cuisine, and since my old ones have been circulating, I guiltily figured I should make one for the Gala before it ends.  Gaolers and Tundras are both herbivores (though Gaolers also eat meat), but I headcanon that like most herbivores they will opportunistically eat fish, insects, and meat when given the chance. The dishes have a bit more mixing than the previous cuisine; in the Icefield you eat what you can and as much as you can to survive. Potato Onions are my replacement for potatos, because FR needs potatoes (and citrus and tomatoes and wheat and rice and spices).

Seeker Stew- originally a stew of necessity for traveling Seekers, it was made of dried Sea Grass, small Cragside Mussels, canned Common Minnows, Sour Elk milk, and spoiled Turnips. The dish was transformed back home, using fresh Spinach, meaty Olympia Oysters, Jumbo Shrimp, new Potato Onions, and…sour Snowfall Elk milk. Funk is flavor!

Shalefin in a Fur Coat- this uniquely named dish is a layered salad, like the layers of a Tundra fur coat. It is made of finely sliced pickled Shalefin fillets, grated Potato Onion, Gradish, and Honeycrisp Apple, and chopped hard-boiled Flecked Bushrunner eggs. The key binding ingredient is a flavorful mayonnaise made of Elk tallow, Dappled Clucker yolks, and dill.

Bear in a Cave Dumplings-a favorite of the Fae scholars of the Frozen Sanctum. It is a boiled or fried Potato Onion dumpling filled with fried Wooly Bear, Wild Onion, and Dryad's Saddle. It can be served with melted Elk milk butter and Winter’s Delight jam or a white sauce spiced with dried Dusky Mealworm and imported Golden Pepper.

Tundra Grub- a dish named after the main protein of the dish: a sausage filled with Tundra Grub meat, Longneck-grown oats, and Elk blood. The sausage is fried along with strips of Tundra Cactus before being added to an earthy brown sauce of Mycena Mushroom and Earthworms. It is typically served with an unleavened flatbread made of rye or Longneck oats, or a mash of Potato Onion.

Woodland Turkey Dinner- this was once a seasonal dish, but now is common year-round. While the star of the dinner is the roasted Woodland Turkey, the side dishes are just as essential. The most common is: Deep Sea Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp stuffing, roasted Winter Brussel Sprouts with a Superberry vinegarette, Tundra Grub and Potato Onion mash with Mycena Mushroom gravy, and Stonecorn rolls with Elk cheese and White Lace Honeybee honey. And last but not least, a Cinnamon and Honeycrisp Apple pie. A heavy dinner said to put even Sentinels to sleep!

Trunk Cheese- not actually cheese, but a cold meat dish made of fresh Bullephant Trunk (or Mammophant, though it is not as tasty).  The meat of the trunk is removed and cooked in a mix of spices and Wild Onion, and then poured and set with gelatin in the skin of the trunk. Slices are cut from the trunk and served upon rye bread with strong Wild Mustard and pickled Gradish.   

Edamame Soup and Pancakes- a popular yet odd combination of savory and sweet. This dish features a Chilled Edamame soup (heated of course, the chilled variety of plants grow better in the hot houses of Icefield) with large chunks of smokey Elk bacon, a sprinkle of thyme, and a dollop of Wild Mustard. The pancakes are made of nutty and mildly sweet Amaranth flour and served with Winter’s Delight jam. The soup is traditionally dished with a silver spoon, after a mighty Tundra king was poisoned by his favorite soup.

Warden’s Delight- a dessert, a snack, a spread upon rye bread, and a delight to every hatchie. It is a mix of Elk tallow, Spotted Seal or Wooly Walrus oil, fresh snow, and Winter’s Delight. As the mixture is whipped into fluffy peaks, it is traditional to sing “Warden’s Delight to fight off the night, no Shade or beast shall fill my sight. Drive away the hunger, drive away the cold, fill my belly and make me bold.”

Frozen Bouquet- flowers are rarity in the Southern Icefield, but this bouquet is made from flash-frozen flowers and fruits. After thawing they are quickly coated in a thin layer of crystalized maple syrup and then arranged into a bouquet. Often the bouquets have hidden meanings like Pretty Pink Mums for courting. Winterbelle for strength, and Wolfsbane for warning. But what every Tundra fears the most is a bouquet of Black Tulips.

 Crisp Morning Cider- Vodka is life to Ice Flight, the warmth in one’s chest in a land where winter never ends. And while most drink it “neat”, when rations are low then cocktails are the answer!  This drink is a common morning warmer and is a mix of White Lace Honeybee honey with hot water, Vodka, Honeycrisp Apple cider, and Cinnamon.

Boreal Brew-a tea made from the leaves of whatever green tree is available. Birch, Fir, Spruce, and Pine can all be brewed into an astringent tea with a citrus-y aftertaste. Unfortunately, Birch, Fir, and Spruce are typically harvested during Spring-Summer- but Pine is harvested during December. To help remove the bitter taste, Pine can be fermented with sugar for a week to a month (fermentation time depending on temperature) and then filtered and served as cold tea.

As Fate Would Have It

Patrochilles | Omegaverse | E | Ch. 6

Read on AO3 | Read from the beginning

Achilles doesn’t come back in the night. He doesn’t come back at dawn. A new day breaks, the sun rising golden and bright above the waters, but the room is still empty, Achilles' bed cold. 

A warm breeze blows through the window, making the curtains whisper. Patroclus left it open during the night; Achilles has a habit of hopping out of it and climbing down the branches of the olive tree when he's off to meet his mother, and then returning the same way. Patroclus slept lightly; even in the depths of his slumber, part of his awareness was alert of his surroundings, hoping he might catch a sight or sound of Achilles in the dark.

Dawn comes and goes, the day steadily ripening, and there’s no one there other than him. 

He pushes himself up off his pallet. There’s a crick in his neck and his head feels leaden; he didn’t even drink that much wine last night, but he still feels dazed and hungover. He can still taste the sweetness of Achilles' lips on his tongue and smell him on his chiton, and his heart throbs with a dull ache that's almost like longing, like sorrow.

But of course, it cannot be. Patroclus does not harbour any such sentiments for Achilles.

He stands before the open window by Achilles’ bed for a long while, gazing down at the beach and the city beyond it, searching for a golden form amidst the waves and the sand. Finally, he gives up, making his way to the mess hall. 

Peleus is there, and so is Phoenix. They’re talking about some faraway kingdom or other, their army and their naval power and the coin they must have in their coffers. Mycenae, they say, has grown in power, and so has Arisbe—allies to keep close, enemies to watch. Peleus only offers Patroclus the most cursory of acknowledgements as he greets them both, then takes his customary seat beside Achilles’ chair. It stands empty and silent in the crowded hall— and Patroclus has never felt more alone. 

He has his breakfast mechanically, eating his bread and cheese and olives without relish. His friends haven’t shown up yet, probably nursing hangovers of their own. Patroclus picks up his cup with a sigh and takes a generous sip of wine, hoping it might ease the knot in the pit of his stomach. 

Two cups later, and the wine hasn't had the desired effect. His head is heavy, and so is his heart, and even though he finishes the plate of food before him, he still feels a strange sort of hunger, of dissatisfaction. He knows not what might ease that craving—certainly not any kind of food or drink, but he still can’t figure out what it is that he's missing. The only thing he knows with alarming clarity is that had Achilles been there, he wouldn’t have felt as lost and despondent as he does now. 

Which is a strange thought, all on its own. Patroclus doesn’t even know him all that well, let alone like him. He really doesn't like him. He just… 

Patroclus sighs. His mind returns to the events of the previous night unbidden, and Patroclus curses himself anew, much more fervently than he did before going to sleep. He had tried going down to the beach after Achilles fled to look for him, but it had been far too dark for him to make anything out. He had returned to the palace soon after, and considered grabbing a torch and going down again, but he knew it was futile. Heavens knew where Achilles might be. Perhaps he had run to the far end of the beach, where the rocks and shallow caves lie; he might have dove straight into the waters to find his goddess mother. Calling out for him wouldn’t do, and would probably raise too much alarm in the palace. 

Patroclus had finally gone back to his room, where he had paced and fretted and worried well into the night. He had tried to devise a plan for the following day, how he might search for Achilles, where he might find him— and then his resolve had abandoned him completely. 

For even if he did find him, what would he do? What would he tell him? Would he apologise for his transgression? Ask for his forgiveness while accepting any punishment Achilles might exact? Beg him not to kick him out like a stray, knowing that if he stays by his side it will only be a matter of time before he wants to kiss him again?

Patroclus shudders at the implications, and all the grim possibilities. Perhaps it is best that he let things be for now, and he stop thinking about Achilles altogether.

His cup drained, Patroclus waves away the servants that try to fill it up; he pushes his plate away and stands up. Without even paying his respects to the King beside him, he makes his way to the training yard, where the men are already starting to gather. A few newcomers have shown up; Neokles, the master at arms, tasks Patroclus with training them, since he’s the most senior in the group right now. Patroclus jumps at the chance; whatever opportunity he has to take his mind away from Achilles and the events of last night, he will do it. 

He works the boys mercilessly until midday, ordering them through drills after drills until they can barely hold a spear up. Then, he dismisses them, but he doesn’t quite leave the yard. It is empty now, void of people, everyone having gone to have a quick meal and some rest before resuming their duties after the worst of the heat has passed. Patroclus takes advantage of the solitude to train, lifting the weights reserved for the most advanced athletes and practising his swords and his spears. The repetitive motions help him focus, and the exertion clears his head even if it doesn't ease the vice of worry that's still gripping his stomach.  

That is how Eurydamas finds him: sweaty and breathless yet still somehow wired and taut like a drawn bow string. 

Read the rest on AO3!

“The specific site for Hera's cult in the Argive plain seems to have- been chosen for two related reasons. First its location between Argos and Mycenae was well-suited for establishing what Francois de Polignac described as a "half way house" common cult for various communities of the region. 5 Furthermore, the site's surroundings were associated with Hera and the glorious Mycenaean past through the ancient cult of Hera practiced in Prosymna and the neighboring Mycenaean burial caves.

The building of the Heraion in this vicinity, where a cult for heroes had began to gain popularity in the 8th century, has to my mind important implications regarding the goddess' image and her political role in the Argive plain. Hera's sacred precinct in Prosymna shows that she had been worshipped there, not far from the burial caves, before the Heraion was built. 6 An examination of the dedications from the Heraion and from Prosymna reveals a similarity between the cult of Hera and that of the heroes.? This argument finds further support in the etymological associations of Hera's name. & In addition, references to heroes are found at the Heraion itself, in the form of representations of warriors, battle scenes painted on the jars and abundant images of mounted heroes painted on dedications. 9 These indicate that in the Argive plain, Hera was perceived as a war-goddess, a protector of heroes.”

-Marrying Hera: Incomplete Integration in the Making of the Pantheon

Neta Aloni-Ronen

Ok but if you think about it this site actively encourages hoarding potatoes with the interest system though. You might think 0.03% is very little but if you own tons of potatoes it adds up, and once you are passively making like 30kp a day just by sitting on your hoard all you want to do is hoard more and more potatoes. People having an iron grip on their currencies because of interests hurts the flow of currency in the economy leading to a depressed state where people feel discouraged to list things that sell so slowly or won't move at all unless you're asking for lowball prices that do not justify the effort going into getting them. Mycena Cave also had the interest system for years before demolishing it, replaced by a capped daily login bonus instead. Yes some rich users did throw fits, but ultimately people were fine with it because you guessed it, the rich were the minority. I'm just saying, maybe without the interest system people would be more willing to let their currencies move around.

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(Ancient chariots from the Yinxu site in China)

Six Archaeological Discoveries to Rival Tutankhamun's Tomb

From the Terracotta army to the Flores ‘Hobbit’, these are the discoveries that experts argue are more significant than the unearthing of Tutankhamun’s resting place.

Archaeologists have made many stunning discoveries down the years. These have changed our thinking on how our species became the only humans on the planet, how civilisations arose across the world and how international trade first began.

Mycenae Grave Circle

In the late 19th century, archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated a circle of six royal graves at the citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece. He found a hoard of golden treasures from the 16th century BC, including the “Mask of Agamemnon”, which Schliemann believed was worn by Mycenae’s mythological ruler, who fought in the Trojan war. That is unlikely, but the find “revolutionised our comprehension of the Mediterranean”, says Jack Davis at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, revealing the previously unknown Aegean civilisations that preceded historical Greece.

Terracotta Army and the Ancient Site of Yinxu

In 1974, workers digging near the city of Xi’an, China, uncovered a life-size clay soldier poised for battle. Archaeologists soon found an entire terracotta army, guarding the tomb of the 3rd-century-BC emperor Qin Shi Huang. Rowan Flad at Harvard University highlights the site along with Yinxu, the last capital of the Shang dynasty (see picture at the top of the page). This city, which dates to the late 2nd millennium BC and so is much older than the Terracotta army, revealed a golden age of early Chinese culture, including palaces, a flood-control system and inscribed oracle bones – the earliest evidence of the Chinese written language. Both “were true discoveries of things and stories that had been long forgotten”, says Flad.

Hand Axes of Hoxne

In 1797, antiquary John Frere wrote to colleagues describing sharpened flints uncovered by brickworkers in Hoxne, England. The stones lay 4 metres deep, alongside the bones of enormous, unknown animals and beneath layers apparently once at the bottom of the sea. Frere suggested they belonged “to a very remote period… even beyond that of the present world”. His discovery of what we now know are Palaeolithic hand axes “revealed for the first time the long-term, deep-time human past”, says Mike Parker Pearson at University College London, “challenging the biblical notion that the world was created in 4004 BC.”

Uluburun

This Bronze Age shipwreck, found off the coast of Turkey in 1982, stands as “one of the great underwater discoveries”, says Brendan Foley at Lund University in Sweden. Once described as “Wall Street in a ship“, it transformed historians’ understanding of the era by revealing an astonishing web of trade contacts. The wreck’s vast cargo represented at least 11 different cultures and included weapons, jewellery, ostrich eggs, resin, spices and copper ingots from as far afield as Egypt, Cyprus and Asia.

The Flores ‘Hobbit’

The shock discovery of diminutive humans who once lived on the Indonesian island of Flores was the “JFK moment” of modern archaeology, says Adam Brumm at Griffith University in Australia, in the sense that scientists in the field still remember where they were when they heard the news. The tiny bones, discovered in a cave in 2003, showed that individuals (subsequently dubbed Homo floresiensis) grew to just over 1 metre tall and lived alongside giant lizards. For Brumm, “it was an electrifying and totally unexpected find”.

I haven’t had the energy to write up a full recap for the 18th Feb show, but I had a great time! The audience was a lot less unruly than my last visit, which was a relief, as that had really ruined my previous visit. In summary:

Loop 1:

Followed Artemis for the first time and I am in love with her choreography, she dances in the way that I prefer to when I choreograph, and as such she’s risen to the top of my ‘dream roles’ list. Weirdly despite being transmasc, I found this portrayal of her to be especially Gender, and now I’m considering growing my hair out just like her. Her movements are so playful yet animalistic, and the stone table dance with Apollo is simply stunning, as is her choreo in the resurrection scene. I’m also obsessed with the costuming for her and Apollo, the way the silicone bodysuits shift under different lighting, and the way they enhance every tiny movement. Artemis’ cackling atop the girders is always a standout moment for me, it gives the performers a chance to really lean into their own interpretation of Artemis’ more cruel tendencies.

Loop 2:

Followed Iphigenia/Hecate for the first time, got her 1:1 at the end of the loop. I was enamoured by the lighting & sound design used in that tiny 1:1 space, plus her performance of a text that felt veeeery familiar as someone who’s seen SNM NY (if you know, you know). Combine that with the familiar red dress, and you have a great little crossover Easter egg for fans to pick up on. Finally got to see the fabled bear ritual, and it is so much weirder and more uncanny than I’d even imagined, I was having flashbacks to Midsommar the whole time. Iphigenia’s loop was even more heartbreaking after seeing Artemis’ first, knowing the whole time that this excited, innocent girl never had a chance at happiness. Even when she’s smiling and laughing, we know that it can never last, yet all the same we hope that maybe this time it’ll turn out differently. This loop combined with Artemis’ also leave me intrigued about the oracle, and they’ve now been added to the long list of characters I need to follow.

Loop 3:

Located the bar (for the first time in all 4 of my visits!!) and chugged a LOT of water before returning to Troy, and quickly found Askalaphos, following him through the streets and back to his florist shop, arriving in time to see Hecate & Patroclus pass through. Watched as he picked up the roses and then selected someone for a 1:1, leaving me alone in the shop. I wandered over to the sake bar and found Hades leaving, so I followed him to the Troy finale (which was a blast, as always) and then found myself at the front row of the circle for the Mycenae finale. I was being offered a walkout (not sure who by, I can almost never tell performers apart when they’re sans-costume lol) when someone walking out behind me accidentally tripped me over, and by the time I’d regained my bearings the actor had chosen another WM to escort out.

All in all a wonderful trip, and as the wiki is slowly but surely becoming more helpful for researching loops, I hope that I’ll find it easier to follow some more long-admired characters. My next visit is on the 5th of March, so I’m currently trying to figure out who I want to prioritise following. I never like to have any iron-clad plans, as I feel that tends to ruin some of the fun that spontaneous discoveries can bring, but I’m definitely leaning toward wanting to see some of Kronos, so perhaps I’ll follow Polymestor & Polydorus as well, and do another show of intertwining loops. Equally though, if I run into Hades or Persephone, I can’t promise that I won’t cave and spend a whole show with them. Or maybe I’ll finally catch all of Apollo’s loop, or see more than a glimpse of Kampe! At least I have another week or so to consider my many wonderful options.

Due to there being no under 25s tickets left in April or May, I’ll soon be facing a 2 month drought until my June show, and I’m already so sad at the thought of being without this beautiful dreamland for so long 😭 I’m genuinely listing “be closer to woolwich for shows” as one of the pros to potentially moving back to London (and not even solely because I’m still dreaming that one day I could work for Punchdrunk lmao).

I don’t really know anyone who’s a fan of TBC, so if you’d like to chat about the show and your experiences/theories/recommendations on things to look out for, I’d love that! My DMs are very much open for all things theatre and mythology :)

“Linear B tablets come from Mycenae, Thebes, and Pylos on the mainland, and from Knossos and Khania on Crete. A handful of divine names appear on tablets from both the mainland and the island: Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Dionysos, Drimios, Diwiya, Hermes, and Marineus (thought to be some manner of wool god) (Hägg 1997, 165). Otherwise, the deities mentioned were specific to either the Minoans or the Mycenaeans, and it is here where we derive some information about Minoan religion from the tablets. Names specific to the Knossos archive are Atana Potnija, Potnija Dapurito, Pade, Qerasija, Pipituna, Eluthia, Erinus, Enualios, and Paiawon (Hägg 1997, 165). In spite of the odd spellings, many of these names are familiar to the student of Greek mythology. Eluthia is probably Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth. According to the Linear B tablets, this goddess had a cave sanctuary near Amnissos, where she received, among other things, dedications of honey. Erinus may refer to the Erinyes, also known as the Furies, those dread goddesses who punished crimes against blood kin. Enualios is a later epithet for Ares, just as Paiawon becomes an epithet for Apollo in his healing aspect; both may have been Minoan deities absorbed/replaced by Greek gods. Potnija Dapurito is the Mistress of the Labyrinth, probably a goddess associated especially with Knossos. Atana Potnija is almost certainly Athena, the Mistress of Athens. Finding this goddess in Knossos but not on the mainland is particularly surprising, suggesting that there was probably more overlap between the deities of the island and the mainland than the tablets reveal.”

 - The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives, by Stephanie Lynn Budin

some cute profile images for my gw2 babies!

The Burnt City - Shows 16 & 17

The one show weekend (that turned into two).

If my last two shows were the ‘Andrea shows’, then this weekend was the ‘Milton shows’. Working in the area, I’d only planned on attending on Friday, but I caved into temptation and booked a last minute Saturday night ticket too.

I started the Friday show with a plan to follow Milton’s Kronos. I know he likes to start in the tenement square early, so a fellow WM was kind enough to swap their red ace with my black one. Sam has a 6th sense for these things, so naturally, he picked me out in the museum opening scene to stay behind and send me on my merry way to Mycenae! I sprinted through the museum, and arrived at tenement square, just as Milton emerged from room VIII, and followed him for a magical loop. I’ve seen Kronos a few times now, and in my opinion, no one else plays Kronos as well - the bits of his loop I’ve seen before were elevated and it was utterly fabulous. I was fortunate to get into both closed door interactions with my loop finishing with his incredibly intense 1:1 just after reset.

After a decompress and a stiff drink, I decided to have a wander around to fill in some of the gaps that I’ve previously missed. I’ve seen most of Iphigenia’s loop but never the start. So I picked her up after the invasion and followed her through the reset to the party. I’ve seen the party plenty - so went back over to Troy to pick up Louis’ PolyM. A couple of novel castings meant that everyone in the world was following Clytemnestra- and PolyM was almost deserted. Only two of us followed him leaving the club, and I was lucky to be picked for my second 1:1 of the night. As the blinding got underway, I headed over to Mycenae for the finale, leaving PolyM to the other white mask, who I was happy to see got the walk down(over).

Show 17 was an impulse buy, and when I arrived at Woolwich, I’d not looked at the cast list, nor really considered what I may do. I found out Ali had played Hades for the first time in forever in the matinee, and was, as such, swamped. Given he was so busy early on, I wondered whether this may be the night to get the first Hades 1:1, so I hung out in Mycenae with the boys for a while, before heading over to the greenhouse in time for Hades to arrive. When he got there, he already had a follower, but I joined them anyway…alas it was not meant to be!

So I just enjoyed the space, wandered about and waited for something to capture my attention…and what captured my attention was Jordan’s PolyD. His PolyD was my first Burnt City 1:1, way back near the start of the run, and I haven’t really done a PolyD loop since. I picked him up near the end of the 1st loop and then spent the 2nd loop with him. It’s amazing to see how this loop has developed, and his parkour elements are beautifully choreographed and delivered. No 1:1 this time, but you can’t win them all!

For my final loop, I decided to finish the way I started with a Milton masterclass, and oh, what a loop it was. For me Zagreus and Eury bring light to the City, and his loop was incredible. I’ve never felt quite so fortunate; by the end of the loop I had such a strong connection with the character, I felt a sense of grief to let him go. He gifted me with interaction after interaction and for just a small amount of time his world was my world.

I’m not due back again for a couple of months - but I don’t think I can last that long……

Jordan - Day 2

           We didn’t want to make too early a start today after our late night, but the hotel stopped serving breakfast at 10 so we got up at about 9. Breakfast was a pretty casual buffet affair, with a good range of pastries as well as fruit, cereal, eggs and other typical breakfast foods, with the obvious exceptions of anything with pork.

           Our first stop for the day was the Jordan Museum, but it wasn’t really in easy walking distance of the hotel so the receptionist arranged a taxi for us. He got us right to the main door in good time and we bought our tickets (5 Jordanian dinars each, pretty cheap for the size of the museum, I thought) and began to explore.

           The main entrance hall is currently given over to a sort of highlights exhibition, temporarily relocating artefacts from elsewhere in the museum to give a basic overview of human habitation in Jordan from the Palaeolithic all the way to the modern day. This included a lot of clay jars and flint handaxes, stuff you can really see in a lot of museums, but also an intriguing little box with design elements from many different cultures, including an Egyptian-style winged sun-disc and two lions on the lid that resembled the Lion Gate of Mycenae. It made for an interesting illustration of how many trade routes and influences have converged on Jordan over the centuries. Another highlight of the museum was the eerie plaster statues of Ain Ghazal, which sort of echo elements of Cycladic figures but are much, much older.

           The museum’s ground floor is mostly chronological, looking first at Stone Age finds then moving forwards in time through Egyptian influences, Romans, Nabataeans and so on. One thing I found interesting was how many names I’d recognised from the Bible cropped up, but not in their usual biblical context. Groups like Moab and Ammon tend to feature in the biblical narrative as – to put none too fine a point on it – the Bad Guys, and it was interesting to see them and their culture from a more neutral archaeological outlook rather than the more biased account of the Old Testament.

           The upper floor of the museum currently houses another temporary exhibit called ‘1001 Inventions’, dedicated to showcasing various great scientists and inventors from the Islamic Golden Age, featuring Ben Kingsley as the engineer Ismail al-Jazari. There weren’t as many actual artefacts on show, however, so we didn’t take as long to go around there.

           Finished at the museum, we set off on foot towards the Citadel. This led us along Hashemi Street, a busy shopping thoroughfare lined with little shops selling just about everything you could conceivably need or want from small bottles of decorative sand up to high-end horse tack and rifles, with small songbirds in cages outside a few of the shops. We didn’t stop to buy anything, however, and kept going until we reached the Roman Theatre. This is pretty stunning, not so much built as carved from the hillside and definitely worth a look, but we didn’t spend much time there and, after getting our bearings, began the climb up to the Citadel. Halfway up Yaqout al-Hamawi Street we ran into an elderly local who, on determining that we were from Scotland and not America, was keen to tell us about his numerous relatives who had gone to study in Britain.

           We got up to the Citadel eventually, and it is 100% worth the climb. The views out over the city are spectacular, including a gigantic Jordanian flag on a ridge to the north, and what remains of the Citadel itself is impressive. The site has been inhabited by a few different peoples, and while the highlights were probably the Umayyad palace complex and the colossal surviving columns of the Roman temple, smaller details like Bronze Age cave dwellings and old water cisterns and lime kilns were also interesting. The site is also home to a beautiful array of wildflowers, lots of small birds, bees, and a few stray cats, one of which lay down to use me as a sun shade for a few minutes as I sat on a step.

           After a quick snack in the Citadel café, we took an overpriced taxi back to the hotel – the driver really wanted us to visit the King Abdullah Mosque, but we managed to refuse – to wind down for a bit before meeting up with our tour group in the evening. They’re quite a multinational bunch, and our tour guide Reem is very friendly and helpful.

           Some of the group went back out into the city for a meal in the downtown area, but Mum and I were pretty tired by then so we just went for a burger in a sports bar next to the hotel, where we chatted a bit more with some others from the tour group. The burger was significantly bigger than expected, but was delicious and way cheaper than one of comparable size would have been at home.

           We have quite an early start tomorrow to reach Jerash before the crowds descend, but I’m interested to see the site.

Currently the pet sites I’m active on are:

Goatlings

Mycena Cave

Pixel Cat’s End

(I’m also logging into Chickensmoothie but mostly just to look for offsite trades.)

I’m looking for people to RP with on Mycena Cave. I also want to trade FR, DV, CS, and Goatlings stuff for Mycena Cave stuff. Hit me up if you’re interested in either of those things.

/whispers Anyone here on Mycena Cave?