#AND WRITE MY FINAL FOR HISTORY

[peapod20001]

Ppl point out the clean lineart on my traditional drawings and I’m like “huh...yea you’re right..hm, uh. I didn’t really notice to be completely honest with ya”

[samwisethewitch]

Book Review: Freya: Meeting the Norse Goddess of Magic by Morgan Daimler

I just finished a reread of this book and realized I've never talked about it on this blog, even though it ties into a lot of my content.

I've talked about my relationship with Freyja here before. She is the deity I have worked with most consistently in my personal practice, and she's been a strong presence in my life since I was a child. Even before I was interested in witchcraft or paganism, I was drawn to stories and images of Freyja.

Unfortunately, quality books about Freyja are hard to find in English. A lot of the wonderful work being done by Scandinavian scholars and heathens is only available in their native languages. A lot of English-language resources are either very academic and prohibitively expensive, or they are books about goddess worship more generally that only mention Freyja on a few pages. Freyja, Lady, Vanadis: An Introduction to the Goddess by Patricia M. Lafayllve is a pretty good beginner's resource, but it's only available in paperback, which can be a barrier for some readers.

All of this is to say, I was very excited when Morgan Daimler put out this book. I've talked about how much I love Daimler's work before on this blog -- I think they do really great research AND do a really good job of making all that information accessible for a beginner. I have several of Daimler's books on Norse and Irish deities, and all of them are resources I reference often in my practice.

This book follows a similar formula to Daimler's other books on deities, like Odin or the Morrigan. Daimler presents Freyja's mythology, folklore, associations, and relationships. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to Freyja's connection to seiðr, which explains what seiðr is and why it is important in a very straightforward way. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to connecting with Freyja as a modern worshiper.

I like that Daimler includes a section at the end of each chapter about their own experiences with Freyja. I also like that they talk about the importance of actually experiencing the gods and trusting our experiences. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that anything that doesn't match up with primary sources is wrong, and I like that Daimler takes time to shoot down that idea.

I also really like that Daimler does not tell you how to interpret the lore. Daimler presents a story, explains the different ways it could be interpreted, and leaves readers to make their own conclusions. This is a style of teaching I try to use in my own work, and I love seeing it done well here.

If you know next to nothing about Freyja, I think this book is an excellent place to start. Everything you need to make that initial connection is here.

Even as someone who has worked with Freyja for years and done lots of my own research, I found a few things I didn't know here. This book also gave me a new perspective on certain aspects of Freyja's lore. This is why it's always great to compare notes with other people.

If you're interested in connecting with Freyja or just learning more about her, I highly, highly recommend this book!

[skitskatdacat63]

Fernando Alonso & His Relationship With Cards

I'm sure we're all familar with the cards on the back of Fernando's Vegas GP helmet by now, but did you know his relationship with cards goes a lot deeper?

I. Magic Tricks

You've probably seen or heard someone at least mention Fernando's propensity for card tricks. As far as I can tell he was doing them(publically) as far back as 2003 all the way to as recently as 2018. Even once performing a card trick, with a condom and a teddy bear(!??!?!??!!), in front of Valentino Rossi who said "How was that possible?"(x)

But how did this start? According to James Allen, "Fernando admits to having been heavily influenced by his grandfather, a mercurial figure, who taught him magic and card tricks, still one of his passions away from the race track."(x) And I'm not sure the validity of this one, because I couldn't find an actual source, but apparently he once said: "My parents are responsible for the two things I like doing most - driving and magic tricks. They bought me my first go-kart and a magician's kit."

In several interviews he described it as his hobby off track, and that he loved learning new tricks and surprising others in the garage with them! So clearly cards are pretty important to him both as a hobby but also to who he is as a person since they've been with him just as long as racing has.

II. Card Symbolism in His Helmets

This is the reason I originally made this post, but I thought I should also explain the origins of his card fascination first. As I said, we probably all remember the cards on the back of his helmet in Vegas, but did you know that wasn't the first time he had cards on the back of his helmet?

From 2008-2013, he used to have a pair of cards on the back of his helmets. The symbolisms of the cards themselves as well as the evolution of their design is really fascinating to me! Even more so with the recent development of the card choice in 2023.

Fernando said he wanted to reference his two titles in some way on the back of his helmet and after his friend sent him several ideas, he decided on having two cards(an ace of clubs and an ace of hearts, sometimes pictured with 05 and 06 on them as well), saying: "I picked the cloverleaf [the ace of clubs - Ed] to give me luck, but the only pity is that it doesn't have four leaves!"(X)

2008.

Here's the very first appearance of the cards! They're displayed flat, with the 05 and 06 clearly visible

2009.

Very similar to 2008, but with a slightly different design, and they're maybe a bit more straight with less shadow?

2010.

This is the first major change! I was sad they didn't have the years on them anymore, but then I realized they're sparkly to match with his signature lightning bolts on the top of the helmet!!

2011.

Honestly I'm still somewhat unsure if this is the actual 2011 helmet? It's pretty difficult to find clear photos of the back of helmets from older seasons. It's easiest to find them on replica sites or auction sites so I'm not 100%? But anyways, I like that this has the championship years on the underside of the cards

2012.

This is when I started getting weirdly emotional about the helmets. Do you see how they've progressed from being a centerpoint to being curled up and sad at the bottom of the helmet? Not listing the year anymore??

2013.

Same thoughts as 2012. And after this season, they cease to exist (just like his ferrari chair in the garage, WOAH CALLBACK), until cards make a reeappearance in his Vegas helmet, albeit in a different form

2013 Monaco(Honorable Mention):

For some reason 2013 helmets were easier to find proper pictures of, so I happened to witness this absolute beauty. The creativity of this helmet genuinely blows me away??? Wanting to keep the card motif, but making sure to incorporate it into the rest of the puzzle piece design?? Mwah! There was another special 2013 helmet but they didn't change the cards at all so I really applaud this one

2023 Las Vegas(The Return of The King):

The magnificent return! But look! The cards are different cards! Instead of being two aces, it's now an ace of hearts, a four of hearts(his driver number of course!) and, the, now iconic, representation of himself as a Joker. I literally could not believe my eyes when this helmet was released and I saw the Joker card, what a fucking silly old man....I really wonder if he felt nostalgic having cards on his helmet again or if he didn't think about it all and was just like, "ah cards because Vegas!!!"

III. Why Does This Matter?

*The rest of the post was factual, this is moreso my personal thoughts on the symbolism of the cards/designs

This post spawned from me recently watching the 2010 Bahrain gp and noticing "hey wait a minute...are those CARDS ON THE BACK OF HIS HELMET!?" It's a really tiny detail that's unfortunately covered up by the HANS device pretty much whenever he's wearing the helmet, so it's really difficult to spot! But I became fascinated with the fact that he had cards on his helmet before that recent helmet, and now here we are!

There's something to me about how the design of the cards evolves over the course of six seasons from the cards being front and center to being smaller, more folded up and closer to the bottom of the helmet. As I said, the 2012-2013 ones genuinely made me depressed because it feels, symbolically, like his hopes for getting another Ace are becoming more and more unlikely and falling away until they eventually fall falt and fade away entirely after 2013 and disappear for basically a decade.

But when they return? They're not the same cards! Instead of representing Fernando's championships, they now represent him as a person, displaying his driver number and his persona of being a Joker!! Though I do think it's interesting he happened to keep the Ace of Hearts, even though he talked more about the Ace of Clubs before. I'm not sure it's actually this deep in reality, but I like to think that it's him not letting his championships(and the lack thereof) define him, but rather letting who he is as a person shine and be the centerpoint instead! But on a sadder note, as @suzuki-ecstar said to me, maybe the Aces aren't there anymore because he's lost all hope for a chance at a third Ace entirely :(

[polutrope]

"Wherefore dost thou of the uncouth race of Men endure to upbraid a king of the Eldalië? Lo! in Palisor my life began years uncounted before the first of Men awoke. Get thee gone, O Úrin..."

'Turambar and the Foalóke' in The Book of Lost Tales Part II. Written c. 1919.

"How do ye of uncouth race dare to demand aught of me, Elu Thingol, Lord of Beleriand, whose life began by the waters of Cuiviénen years uncounted ere the fathers of the stunted people awoke?"

'Of the Ruin of Doriath', The Silmarillion, ed. Christopher Tolkien. Published 1977.

So I think something that gets left out of the Thingol discourse (note: no Thingol bashing on this post please), is the textual history of the chapter 'Of the Ruin of Doriath'. Most of the published Silmarillion very closely follows drafts written by Tolkien. Not so this chapter, which Tolkien only ever got to in his first draft of the Silmarillion in the historical summary tradition as we know and love it, i.e., the 1930 Qenta Noldorinwa, where he wrote:

Thingol ... scanted his promised reward for their labour; and bitter words grew between them, and there was battle in Thingol's halls.

(Consider that the Thingol of the Narn i hin Hurin, often cited as a gentler and more complex character, was written in the 1950s.)

The only other time he touched it in more expansive prose format was in the late 1910s, when Doriath was Artanor and Thingol was Tinwelint and the Silmarils barely mattered. He again mentions these events in brief annalistic form in the Tales of Years, most lately revised in the 1950s.

502 The Nauglamir is wrought of the treasure of Glaurung, and the Silmaril is hung thereon. Thingol quarrels with the Dwarves who had wrought for him the necklace.

That's it. That's all Christopher Tolkien and Guy Gavriel Kay (hired to help write this gap in the narrative) had to work with. So they took Tolkien's words where they could get them, and here you can see they took a speech Tinwelint (later Thingol, but not the same character as he developed) spoke to Úrin (later Húrin, but also not the same character) and adapted it to another context, i.e., Thingol's conflict with the Dwarves over the Nauglamir.

In The War of the Jewels (HoMe 11), Christopher writes a revealing commentary on how he put together this chapter, and expresses regrets on how it was done. He admits, "How [my father] would have treated Thingol's behaviour towards the Dwarves is impossible to say."

Now, I really dislike the 'Christopher did him dirty' line of thinking. Working through HoMe, it's obvious Christopher did the best, most faithful-to-JRRT job anyone could have done putting his father's drafts into a cohesive narrative. But, in this case, Christopher (and Guy Kay) did tinker with Thingol's character in a way that, I think, he regretted, or at least questioned. And, unfortunately, the way Thingol speaks to the Dwarves here -- a speech Tolkien did not write -- has become a huge sticking point in fandom conversations.

Yes, it's canon that Naugrim means "stunted folk" in Sindarin. There's definitely tension and mutual disdain between Elves and Dwarves, no question about it. Does Thingol call the Dwarves an "uncouth race" and claim superiority as a lord of Elves in the published Silmarillion? Yes, he does. And so yes, it's canon and it's part of Thingol's character. But it's not the only part of Thingol's character, which is the point I always see the (shall we say) appreciators of nuance returning to.

But I've wanted to make this post about the textual history of what I would consider Thingol's worst moment for a while, since I've not seen it included in the conversation before.

"Canon" in Tolkien's legendarium is hard to define, as we know. (Personally, that's precisely what makes it so creatively inspiring to me.) But I think there are some places where it's harder to define than others, and this episode with Thingol and the Dwarves is one of them.

Take it as you will.

[shima-draws]

Grips my shirt and tears it apart so that all the buttons go flying and SCREAMS I love Law and Cora so much what the FUCK!!!!

[lemongogo]

why do i love the conflict more than anything else . the misery . the incompatibility that spreads like oil slick . wanting so desperately for resolution that never comes . hmmm

[sunnymoon-sunshine]

Another thought I’ve been having relates back to The Scorching, the history behind it, and how much of a good twist it was to throw out. I don’t know if it was planned or a convenient retcon, but it works on so many levels thanks to the themes already present. It also leads to some interesting theories.

Burn could never have been queen. The first action we see her do in the books is destroy an egg due to hatch within the next few nights. It’s cruel, and most of all, it sealed her fate. The kingdoms were founded on the blood and tears of furious mothers, broken hearted from losing their eggs and determined to keep their broods safe. Burn couldn’t have been queen, because that is not what a queen should be. Thorn takes the throne because she took over a city, created an army, and fought tooth and claw to find and save her lost dragonet, despite the odds.

Glory takes the throne because she is the dragonet who should have been cared for. She should have been seen, noticed, and saved. She wants to be queen not to have the nicest things, but because someone should care when a dragonet disappears. The first dragon she rescues is a dragonet. She is worthy because Grandeur gave up on her dragonets and her tribe, but Glory refused to give up.

Coral isn’t a good dragon; her abuses and her absolute classist nature are abhorrent. However, she is marked by her craze as she watched as so many of her daughters were crushed in their eggs. The horror of losing a child is what marks a queen, in some shape or form. Orca was not worthy of the throne, because before she even challenged her mother, she devised a way to kill every dragonet that could challenge her before they so much as crawled out of their egg.

What one truly has to wonder is when the rules changed. When did it become a rule that to become queen, there had to be a fight to the death? When did mothers find themselves pitted against daughters, sisters, nieces, all for the power of the throne she has? Who came up with the deadly challenge?

One can only wonder.

[oldfritz]

a family affair

july 1914. franz ferdinand is dead, a blank cheque is delivered, and war will be declared. whether erzsébet likes it or not.

[wasabikitcat]

community college is so funny because half of the teachers are like "For this class you need to use lockdown browser for all quizzes and tests. You need to buy this 70 dollar textbook, and all papers turned in must be in APA format with a title page even if they're only 500 words long. I will not accept late assignments. Also you have a minimum of 4 assignments a week." and the other half are like "you don't need proctoring for the final exam I trust you. here's a download link to a pirated copy of the textbook. as long as your writing is coherent and demonstrates an understanding of the material I literally could not care less what format you use. I can't figure out how canvas works so I'm not giving you due dates, just make sure it's turned in before the grading period ends. your only weekly assignment is a forum post with a minimum of 100 words."

[theteapotofdoom]

Going through something hella specific at the moment

[soulshards]

FFXIVWRITE 2024, PROMPT #23: ON CLOUD NINE tw: none • words: 892

extremely happy

It was infuriating, maddening, to be stuck in the same four ‘walls’ with no way to get out. It had filled him with rage, rage that had spilled out into trembling hands that destroyed anything he could touch. Walls with thick white cracks in them, as he desperately tried to tear down his own sanctuary - the sofa he would lounge upon torn to shreds.

He didn’t have the energy to fix it, as Daichi sat crouched upon his haunches, fingers pulling through rolanberry hair, digging into his skull.

It had been weeks, moons, at this point. His friends - if he could call them that - knew he would disappear frequently. They had no set schedules to meet up, merely passing by on occasion. They had no reason to come and fucking find him.

So he was stuck. He had been stuck for a long time, and snarling shouts had went unheard in his room. He stopped feeling the passage of time, he closed himself off from that sense. The man just beat his fists into the ground until skin peeled back to reveal more crackling light. He screamed and shouted every time his body would send him slamming against one of the ‘walls’ he had become trapped in, as it failed him, over and over. As his powers displayed themselves in erratic, uncontrolled ways.

He conversed with no one and everyone. It was the longest he had been alone like this, stuck. It was the longest he had gone without feeling the sun and the tingle of aether upon skin. It was the longest he had gone without seeing anyone - and it was making him lose the will to continue existing.

Maybe this was it, maybe he would just stay here and wither away, finally. Maybe he was already gone, and this was the life he was left with. Forever, and ever.

Daichi pushed himself up with a growl. “No!” He once more shouted at nothing. “I am NOT stuck here. I will get out. I WILL FUCKING GET OUT.”

He had said those words many times, and yet here he remained.

Feet stomped around the room, his pacing all but wearing away the floor in the familiar tracks around each portal; the trickly of water that was stuck behind a barrier. The golden coins that spilled out onto the floor, but he could not touch. The flowers crept into the room but he could not feel the life from them when he reached out. Every so often he stopped, trying, desperately to break through - only to cause his form to shudder and shift.

Many tails splayed out behind him, all of them flicking frantically in different directions - no cohesion, no unity, no balance.

He’d tried his usual tricks. Brute force. Breathing exercises. Meditating. Centering oneself to try and commune with his body - counting aimlessly, matching images and words in his mind. Anything. Just fucking anything to get out, and nothing was working.

Maybe he was just finally broken.

His pacing came to a stop, leaning against one of the cracked and broken walls, raising his trembling hands to peer at them with that mismatched gaze. “Just fucking work, please.” He was not beyond begging, at least when it came to begging with himself.

Daichi closed his eyes, the notqo’te pulling in a deep breath. Please. Please. Please.

His mind wandered, through the realm in which he had grown so comfortable in - to the many faces he had watched grow old and die, to the many many places he had ventured too. To the friends and enemies he had made along the way.

…not even getting sentimental would work, it seemed, as those cracks still gloved across his hands.

A frustrated cry left him, as he turned, fists clenching and slamming against the blue hued portal that led to the sea; the aether wobbled as he was not allowed passage. His fists came again, and again, and again - his shouts getting louder and louder with each punch, his skin falling away to leave nothing but light, before finally a crack.

Like glass shattering, his fist collided with the sheen of aether, breaking through and his hand soon felt wet.

He froze in place, ears perking up high as water began to pour out from the hole he had created around his arm.

Daichi laughed, a sound of pure disbelief as fingers uncurled in the warm ocean current, eyes sparkling with joy.

Then, without any more hesitation, he pushed the rest of his form through the portal and into the water. Fully clothed, barely resembling a person, but here - there were only the creatures of the sea who were to witness the man burst through into the ocean from nowhere.

Bubbles would rise to the surface as he laughed, a muffled manic sound as he would float beneath the water, enjoying the feeling of, well, feeling. Of warm waters, the light of the sun, the sky that lingered above the surface. Legs kicked him up, breaching through, wet hair and fur matting his skin as he just kept laughing.

The freedom he had finally gained felt like bliss, as he finally broke through to the waking world. He was elated, on cloud nine itself, as he splashed about in the water and just kept laughing.

He wasn’t going back in there any time soon.

[atomicradiogirl]

a hilson endgame finale rewrite of the house 6.22 ending

[Cut to House, just entering his apartment. He throws his keys down and limps down the hall and into his bathroom. Turning on the light, he stares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He pulls down the neck of his t-shirt and glances briefly at the bloody bandage there, then puts both hands on the sides of the mirror and bows his head in pain, both physical and emotional. He looks into the mirror again and sees a dying Hanna staring back at him. The music stops. He jerks the mirror off the wall and throws it into the bathtub, where it breaks. Behind the mirror is a hole in the drywall, and in that hole, are two bottles of Vicodin. House takes the bottles out of the hole and sits down on the floor, leaning against the tub, and breathing heavily]

[Shaking with pain, House stares at the bottles in his hands for quite a long time. He puts one bottle on the floor and clenches his fist around the other pill bottle, willing himself to resist. The music begins to build again as he struggles with the pain. He finally pops the lid off the bottle and spills two pills into his left hand. House turns away from the mirror, and in that moment, Wilson appears in the doorway. There's a quiet understanding between them as they share a glance. House, trying to mask his vulnerability, raises an eyebrow at Wilson.]

House: You here to give me a pep talk, or did you just miss my charming company?

Wilson: (smiling) You wish. I heard there was a limping genius in need of some supervision.

[House smirks, attempting to play it cool, but there's a subtle warmth in his eyes.]

House: Well, I'm at your service.

[Wilson steps closer, the air thick with unspoken words. There's a shared history and camaraderie that transcends the room. Wilson reaches out, gently placing a hand on House's uninjured shoulder.]

Wilson: You know, you don't always have to carry the weight alone.

[House, looking into Wilson's eyes, feels a moment of connection. The room falls into a contemplative quiet. The tension between them is palpable, and without another word, Wilson leans in, pressing his lips against House's. It's a tender kiss, filled with understanding and the unspoken acknowledgment of shared burdens.]

[As they part, House looks at Wilson, a rare vulnerability in his eyes. Wilson, with a soft smile, breaks the silence.]

Wilson: You're not alone in this, House.

[The moment lingers, the weight of their unspoken bond lingering in the air as they stand in the quiet embrace of understanding.]

[House, still caught in the gravity of the moment, lets a rare vulnerability slip through. He looks at Wilson, a mix of gratitude and something deeper in his eyes.]

House: Yeah, well, don't go getting all sentimental on me, Wilson. It's bad for your reputation.

[Wilson chuckles, his hand still resting on House's shoulder.]

Wilson: Too late for that, I suppose.

[The room is charged with a newfound closeness, and House, though uncomfortable with sentiment, appreciates the unspoken support. Wilson glances at the broken mirror and scattered shards on the floor.]

Wilson: Need a new mirror?

House: Nah, I'm considering a change in perspective.

[House and Wilson both look at the pills still in the palm of his left hand. House drops them on the floor.]

House: (smirking) Figured it was time to see things from a different angle.

[Wilson raises an eyebrow, recognizing the subtle admission.]

Wilson: Progress?

House: Let's not get carried away. But it's a start. (also smiling sweetly, yes, sweetly) Maybe we're the kind of messed up that can fix each other.

[House takes a step towards the doorway, Wilson by his side. The last shot captures their intertwined hands, a silent promise of navigating the unknown together. The door closes behind them, leaving the shattered mirror and the remnants of the past behind, as they step into an uncertain but hopeful future.]

THE END

[altschmerzes]

32k into 'history rhymes' gang-

[kazumasougi]

im gonna be real for a second. if fantasy can only be enjoyable to you when removed from any and all real world implications then is it even good

[river-of-wine]

A bonus Molly sketch from my gilded cage things! Given the circumstances for Molly in particular during chapter 4 and the fact that Dutch being the way he is would likely just use her as an accessory for the evening I can’t imagine her having a good time, but at least the dress is pretty

[oof-i-did-it-agaaiiin]

Romaine Brooks / 1874-1970

Peter (A Young English Girl) / At the Sea Side - Self-Portrait / The Cross of France