You're quite right about the comma; I sincerely hope there originally was one and it got lost, but who knows. At any rate, it's in there now. Thank you.

And yes, the double 'and' is intentional.

Glad you enjoyed! And glad to hear you always enjoy! That's nice to hear :)

~Z

Though yeah, even this post was nice to get. Also, it's entirely possible that actual detailed feedback is now hard to give without rereading, so don't feel obligated. Glad you liked it!

~Z

...is a Jewish holiday. It celebrates the salvation of the Jews of the 4th century BCE's Persian empire, and of the Jews of the capital city Shushan (often written as Susa in English). King Ahasuerus' advisor, Haman, had plotted to destroy them all on a specific day; in the end, the actions of the secretly (until that point) Jewish Queen Esther saved them. There's a good deal more detail than that, which can be found in the biblical Scroll of Esther or in various summaries online.

Today, Purim is still celebrated all over the world. Its name comes from the word for 'lots', which were cast on Haman's orders to tell him which day to choose. The requirements are to hear the Megillah (scroll) read, to give gifts to friends and to the poor (generally food items for the first and just about anything for the second), and to have a festive meal. Traditions include dressing up (as anything remotely appropriate, with the Purim story's characters being popular especially with children--basically, anything goes but it's not generally like Halloween with its rash of "sexy ____" costumes), eating three-cornered cookies with filing which are called hamantaschen in English (via Yiddish...), and drinking until you can't tell Haman, the villain, from Mordechai, a hero (Esther's uncle who raised her after her parents died and saved the king's life once and--well, for all that he has two recorded bits of dialogue, he's quite important). The drinking is "ein ohNESS"--not obligatory. (The wording comes from a feast in the first chapter of the scroll--basically, there's plenty to drink but no one is forced to drink it.)

In the PPC... basically, it becomes a themed party RP. Somewhere, someone in the PPC is throwing an annual Purim party. And everyone is invited! Including Boarders, if they're a bit discreet--not that the agents know that. Permission is not required. Costumes are highly encouraged. Refreshments are provided. I keep meaning to put in a bit of personally recorded megillah reading--it's sung, as all Jewish biblical texts are--but haven't gotten past making the recording to date. Maybe I'll post it in the next one.

Hope that answers some questions! Past that--go forth and learn, if you so choose! (Or ask me more questions, I guess. That's a thing too.)

~Z