Neon’s A Doll A Day… Again (2020)

[davidd]

I hope typing out all that interesting historical information is not what triggered the migraine.

That said, this is another visually interesting migraine pic. Do you keep track of the migraine pics in your spreadsheet? You could do a Migraine Retrospective at the end of the year.

"... it was elimination of anything that differed from what the Party set as a standard even just a little bit, through all accessible means from psychological manipulation, brainwashing through media, to actual physical elimination. Everybody was put into their place, and those who dared to stick out were dealt with accordingly."

What is scary... terrifying... to me is that this is happening in the States right now and people think it's a good thing!

But... okay, I won't go all ranty right now.

When I lived in Hawaii, the adage "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down" was actually repeated fairly often by administrators in the school system in which I worked.

[Alliecat]

They look a bit spooky.  Hope you feel better.

"the nail that sticks up gets hammered down"

This made me think immediately of all the winters that began with me doing the first snow-shovelling of the year on the deteriorating old back porch, with a hammer.  Because the shovel would fetch up every few feet on all the nails that had worked up during the summer.  Scrape, bang, scrape, bang.  Fortunately the old porch was replaced.
So "the nail that sticks up is not doing its job and is getting in the way too".  
...just stirring the pot...

[neon_jellyfish]

Thanks guys!


Day 266

There's so much to celebrate today, I'm having troubles getting it all in one photo! You see, aside from autumnal equinox, it's also Doodle Day, and most importantly, a major Oddliday - Her Insane Majesty's birthday! Doodle Day it's the easiest one to celebrate, as it fell on tuesday, so I'd be posting a doodle anyway. That being said, it was a busy day and the doodle isn't as detailed as I wanted it to be.

***

Royal Birthday means that the whole Oddwickshire turns into one big party. You'll see most people wear a dark red rose somewhere on their outfit, as that's what Her Insane Majesty likes to decorate her gowns with.

The recipe for royal birthday cake is revealed a week before the big day, and everyone bakes or buys it so that they can eat the same one as the Queen. Before Her Insane Majesty acceded to the throne, it was a tradition that the birthday-monarch shared actual cake with the people, but Her Insane Majesty became so popular, the crowds wanting to get a bite grew too big and it was no longer possible to bake enough cake for all of them. So instead, the recipe is published and everyone can bake their own.

The Queen gives a speech that mostly consists of various riddles and nonsensical short poems. Oddlings love these speeches, they remind them how wise and enlightened ruler Her Insane Majesty is.

Parties, concerts and all other sorts of events take place, for example Rose Exhibition, which includes competition for the best new cultivar. Florianne always wins, because her roses can always do something special in addition to looking and smelling gorgeous, like glow, knock one out or cause hallucinations... This year's winner has one specifically shaped, very shiny and very sharp thorn right under the blossom, which makes the rose look like miniature scythe. It's great for opening envelopes or cutting off fingers.

The two following days are also official holidays, so that people have time to recover from hangovers. If they get even more drunk instead, it's their problem.

As for the birthday-queen herself, she usually leaves the official birthday party in the afternoon, to 'celebrate privately with family and close friends' (or a similar excuse), and she and Rosamunda then go to the town disguised as comonners, and celebrate incognito among the people. This is her favorite part of the day.


***

In this part of multiverse, I want to celebrate autumnal equinox. I'm probably the only one on this forum, but I love autumn. It's my favorite season. I love the colors, I love the fogs, I love the sky full of bird flocks, I love hoodies and sweaters, I love the crunching of dry leaves under my shoes, I love coming home from the cold outside and eating or drinking something warm, I love lighting candles (which never works for me in summer, because the days are so long) I love waiting for winter ravens and then finally seeing them arrive in a flock so big it looks like a giant black cloud. My favorite holidays, Halloween and All Souls Day, take place in autumn. My kitty came to me in October and her birthday is in November. And, of course, it's Her Insane Majesty's birthday. For me, autumn is a season of good things, so I'm happy it's finally here!

I'm aware that it doesn't make much sense celebrating it here, because most people here hate this season, but I can't help it. I'm quite good at throwing one-woman-and-her-cat parties, so nevermind me, I'm just being happy for a bit

(I'm also aware that this part of the post is very hemisphere-specific. Sorry, Aussies, I hope you're having a great spring!)

(This is ADAW #37, by the way)

[werepuppy]

Happy birthday to Her Internal Majesty! Also the doodle is gorgeous!

[davidd]

I'm aware that it doesn't make much sense celebrating it here, because most people here hate this season, but I can't help it. I'm quite good at throwing one-woman-and-her-cat parties, so nevermind me, I'm just being happy for a bit

I think "hate" is perhaps too strong a word. At least a couple or three of us live in places that get very, very cold in winter. It is not that we dislike autumn, per se, but rather, it is a harbinger of bitter cold and lengthy stretches of winter darkness.

Autumn, however: everything you mention is appealing. I used to love autumn when I was a kid, as it meant Hallowe'en was fast approaching. School was starting, and back when I was a kid, the beginning of each school year seemed filled with potential. I loved the smells of the new school supplies: pencils, erasers, and especially the crayons!

I'm glad you're being happy, and I would love to join your woman-and-a-cat party... but, y'know, current circumstances would make that challenging.

Today's doodle is so wonderfully magical I do not even have words. That picture made me feel happy today. You have infused your drawing with your Autumn equinox joy.

The 22nd of September is Her Royal Lunacy's official birthday? I must make a note of that! I would love for this Oddwickshire Oddliday to become "a thing" here in our world.

I hope next year you are able to share the Queen's cake recipe in advance. I think it would be fun if all of us could celebrate along with the citizens and denizens of Oddwickshire.

How wonderful it must be to live in a kingdom where the ruler is so universally beloved.

Her Majestic Madness looks particularly fetching in this year's Official Birthday Portrait.

[Alliecat]

Celebrate away... don't let the haters ruin your fun.
Pretty much what davidd said... it's the beginning of the 9 months of the year where it's too cold for me And the last quarter of the year has been unhappy for me too many times.
Your description of the joys of autumn is very eloquent and poetic, and I know those are things autumn-lovers really enjoy.
Cordial birthday wishes to Her Majesty from the PTFCo crew. They especially like the idea of cake. And I think her celebrating in disguise among the people is a great idea.
Oh, and your doodle is really neat!

[Elfy]

What an amazing Oddliday. If I could travel I think I’d try to find Oddwickshire just to celebrate Her Majesty’s birthday.

[Lejays17]

Happy Birthday to Her Insane Majesty - it sounds like an amazing celebration for everyone to enjoy.

I particularly like the idea of everyone being able to enjoy the offical birthday cake by making their own.

[neon_jellyfish]

Thank you very much, everyone!

Her Insane Majesty loves the idea of conquering this part of the wolrd using cakes.


Day 267

Aside from various special days, there are also weeks, fortnights and months that are dedicated to something. September is, among many other things, the Read a New Book Month. So I did the sensible thing and instead of taking one from Mt. Toberead, I bought a new book (at the end of august, but it only arrived now, because corona shipping times). I'm having a headache (not migraine, though, just a normal headache. Ah, what a blessingrrrnghgh), so the focus is not very focused. But it's a horror, so out of focus might be alright in this case.



Unfiltered pic:

[werepuppy]

Ooh the flitered picture does look properly spooky. I hope you enjoy the book!

[Elfy]

The filtered picture does make it look appropriately haunted.

[davidd]

You make absolutely the best use of the Monster High circus backdrop! You have shown it to be quite versatile.

Read a New Book Month... is almost over, I suppose. But I, too, recently purchased (ordered online) a new book, because yeah, who wants to read an unread book you already have on hand. It should arrive today or tomorrow... or the next day (what you said about shipping), so maybe I can read at least one new book before the end of the month.

The little bat pendant is ador... I mean, eerie and unsettling.

[neon_jellyfish]

Ooh the flitered picture does look properly spooky. I hope you enjoy the book!

Thank you!!!

The filtered picture does make it look appropriately haunted.

Since there is 'haunting' in the title, I felt like the whole photo should look the part.

You make absolutely the best use of the Monster High circus backdrop! You have shown it to be quite versatile.

Read a New Book Month... is almost over, I suppose. But I, too, recently purchased (ordered online) a new book, because yeah, who wants to read an unread book you already have on hand. It should arrive today or tomorrow... or the next day (what you said about shipping), so maybe I can read at least one new book before the end of the month.

The little bat pendant is ador... I mean, eerie and unsettling.

Haha, I was just thinking about that - specifically, that when I do 'the most photographed dolls of 2020' recap either at the end of the year or at the beginning of the next one (because there's no escaping next year's photochallenge, is there? Though I'd still like to try switching to the weekly mode), I need to feature the playset, because it's the most photographed dolly thing by a large margin. Part of me says 'seriously girl, this isn't cool anymore, you need to get your lazy bum to work and make some backdrops' but the rest of me is like 'nah, too much work'...


Day 268

These beauties don't get nearly as much photolove as they deserve, so I'm giving them some now.



And a spooky filter version!

[werepuppy]

Ah, the two I want the most because your photos make them look stunning!

[davidd]

Steampunk Cheshire Cat is such a cutie... in everyone else's pictures! I couldn't get anything near the same effect during the brief time she joined us here in the Dollie Dungeon, so she moved on to a new home.

"Part of me says 'seriously girl, this isn't cool anymore, you need to get your lazy bum to work and make some backdrops' but the rest of me is like 'nah, too much work'..."
– Still cool, always cool. As if the circus backdrop weren't sufficiently cool on its own, your photos make it even more cool! So no worries there!