#I love gaelic storm so much

[imagining-in-the-margins]

🏖️ Summer Sunshine Fics

Hey everyone! I want to start by saying thank you so much to everyone who participated - it was so much fun to write alongside you all, and I can’t wait to share everyone’s hard work. You are so appreciated, and the diversity only makes these events better.

Without further ado, here are all of the entries + recs for the Summer Sunshine Challenge! ☀️

☀️ SFW S.R./Reader ☀️

Sleepy Sunshine by @ssahopelessly: [Fem] After time in the sun, Reader wants a nap, but Spencer is more concerned about the signs of heat exhaustion.

Check You for Ticks by @andiebeaword: [Fem] Reader gets set up to share a tent (and a sleeping bag) with Spencer.

Embarrassed by @babymetaldoll: [Fem] The annual FBI beach trip could be the perfect place to make things even more awkward between Spencer and Reader.

Little Miss Reid, Entrepreneur by @/babymetaldoll: [Fem] Spencer and Reader help their daughter with her lemonade stand. So does the BAU.

Heat Stroke by @0and0its0doctor0: [Fem] Reader is self-conscious about the scars on her arms so she wear long sleeves in the heat.

Beach by @c-m-stuff: [Fem] Reader and Spencer are married. They have a beautiful daughter, and they all are going on vacation.

Pyrotechnics by me: [GN] Reader has a hard time on Fourth of July, and Spencer helps them fall in love with fireworks again.

Summer Nights by @foxy-eva: [GN] Summer may come to an end but the kisses Spencer shares with you will not.

Check below for more Spencer Reid fics, as well as Hotchgan, Penemily, Temily, and several Gen fics!

☀️ NSFW S.R./Reader ☀️

Sunscreen & Statistics by me: [Fem] Reader asks for Spencer’s help putting on sunscreen (and rinsing off). 

Lost Time by me: [Fem] Reader and Spencer spend mandatory leave on the vacation Spencer never had.

Nude Beach by @foxy-eva: [Fem] Reader finally convinces Spencer to go to the beach with her. Turns out it's a nude beach. 

Summer in the City by @/foxy-eva: [Fem] Having a nearly naked roommate made the heatwave much more tolerable for Spencer.

In This Diary by @fortheloveofwonderland: [Fem] Spencer was hoping to relax before his started his new job at the BAU, but best laid plans often go awry.

Summer Heat by @/fortheloveofwonderland: [Fem] The BAU must undertake a team building hike in the woods. Reader and Spencer get themselves lost and have to find a way to pass the time.

Summertime Service by @pinkiceee-prose: [Fem] Reader throws the BAU team a summer barbeque feast. Spencer is moved by her hard work and decides to show his gratitude.

Popsicle Love by @reidmotif: [Fem] Reader and Spencer are at a ridiculously hot precinct and getting on each other's nerves. Reader realizes she can get back at him using a certain sweet treat.

Spencer Reid Doesn't Know How to Swim by @reidsfav: No one knows that Spencer doesn't know how to swim and Reader is willing to help him keep it that way.

Just Hanging Out by @reiderwriter: [Fem] Reader finds herself at Rossi's mansion for a big summer barbeque. A hammock catches Reader's eye.

Everyone Looks Better in a Sundress by @/reiderwriter: [GN!AFAB] The AC at the BAU breaks during a heatwave, and Reader decides the FBI’s dress code is merely a suggestion.

☀️ Other Pairings ☀️

The Shape You Take by @masterwords: Hotchgan. Hotch is dwelling on an empty nest. Morgan has just the ticket: sea, sand, food and naps. While exploring a nude beach one night they find a little more than they bargained for.

July by @gaelic-symphony: Temily. The couple takes a trip to the beach.

August by @/gaelic-symphony: Temily. The couple rides out a summer storm.

Watermelon Sugar by @putting-the-bi-in-bau: [NSFW] Penemily. Emily has spent her vacation trying - and failing - to keep her eyes off Penelope while she walks around the house in nothing but her underwear.

Pool Parties and Secrets by @alicewonderao3: Spencer/Fem!OC. Swimming can be both fun and scary all at the same time.

☀️ Gen/Platonic ☀️

A Very Serious Fight by @alluring-andraya: Platonic. The team is very lighthearted, but one thing they do take seriously other than their jobs, is water gun/balloon fights.

Scars by @codename-mom: Hotch. Jessica offered Aaron to come to the beach with her and Jack, but there is something she doesn't know that stops him.

Baseball and Barbecue by @writing-till-i-run-out-of-time: Everyone went over to Rossi's for a family fun day of barbecue. Then something happens to Spencer.

Lemon-aide to the Rescue by @/PandorasDreaming [Ao3]: Henry, Michael, and Jack make their first lemonade stand but disaster strikes. They have some pretty important friends backing their first business investment!

Happy reading!

[15-lizards]

I to am obsessed with the stormlands and I want to hear all of your thoughts on it. Environment, fashion, clothing, everything!!! Please share your thoughts

Since there's no real-world culture George specifically assigned to the stormlands, I've always thought of them as a mix between welsh and the Scottish highlands (even though I also have some Scottish ideas for the north too whoops). Welsh and Scottish Gaelic are both insular Celtic languages and have some similarities, and I love the way they sound, all the consonants clumped together. So thus new headcanon that stormlanders have the common tongue as a second language, speaking some type of Celtic mashup at home and leading to very heavy accents. No one can ever understand Robert when he speaks this is real and true to me.

Rural Scottish and Welsh landscapes and environmental inspos for the stormlands...stunning beautiful gorgeous show stopping never been done before. Rainy and muggy and constantly damp. Cows everywhere in the greenery and waves crashing onto cliffsides. You know how those victorian novel heroines always go to the seaside for their health...I would be cured of every mental problem I've ever had if I lived in the stormlands. The salt air is a cure all.

And same thing with the Scottish and Welsh inspiration for the castles and keeps. They're all rounded which could be for practical purpose to bear the storms or just make them look sturdier, both of which are perfect to me. Love how they are all comparatively simple as well, and they are just so ancient which I adore soooo much

early medieval Celtic and Anglo Saxon peasant houses my beloveds

[1800naveen]

One of my book Roman empires is Tamlin's family.

His dad is a literal tyrant (not surprised if he was a dictator) and is stated to be worse than Beron. BERON who tortured his son, tortured his own fucking wife after he found out about her affair, and made Lucien watch as Jesminda was killed.

His mom who I like to think is a sweetheart, an absolute delight to be around. She loved her mate so much that she would look to the side when it came to his behavior. I like to think her name would be Arduinna, it's such a beautiful name and I like the vibe of it for her. In Celtic mythology, Arduinna is the Goddess of hunting and forests, fits with the whole Spring shtick.

His older brothers. Tamlin said that they would've killed him before he reached adolescence if he ever wanted to be a High Lord. They're also worse than Lucien's brothers (you can exclude Eris out of this if you like) who made Lucien watch his lover getting killed.

It's no wonder the guy's all fucked up in the head, look at his mess of a family 😶.

Here's a beautiful art of this family!

🎨: Art done by @copypastus , check them out and give a follow!

(Little Tamlin and Mama Spring are so cute ☺️)

If they had names, it would relate to Scottish/Celtic origins, mythology, or folklores. Here are my headcannons for their names because Sarah didn't give them any (What's up with the nameless characters)?

Tamlin's dad: Taranis. He's the Celtic god of thunder, lightning, and storms. He's associated with a celestial wheel or the Wheel of Taranis. This wheel is also associated with weather but I'm not too sure.

Tamlin's older brother: Cian. It means ancient, enduring one. In Celtic mythology, Cian is the son of Dian Cecht, Celtic god of healing. He's also a part of Tuatha Dé Danann, a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They also represent the deities of pre Christian Gaelic Ireland.

Tamlin's second older brother: Weylin. It means wayside land, crafting one, brave in battle, and son of the wolf. There's also a similar name which is Wayland the Smith, a master blacksmith and apparently a lord of elves. (The name is picked on purpose to be similar to Tamlin's. The thought came to me and I liked it).

[grogusmum]

Seven Tears part 6

SELKIE!EZRA X F!READER

WORD COUNT: 2500ish

SERIES SUMMARY: Months after being abandoned, she does something rash and summons a selkie, who wishes to bring her comfort and maybe more.

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Summer moves quickly on Roan Inish, Pearl and Cee grow close and the baby is born, but the fall brings the annulment at last, and with it there is retaliation and a choice is made.

WARNING: Olde Timey gender norms and sexism, though set in mid-20th century Ireland, and Ireland's predominantly white, Reader is physically undescribed, as are her blood relatives, her missing spouse, and his family are white, reader gives birth (not described), Cee in peril, ANGST, Colin and Jamie continue to be horrible people, Ezra is a selkie, yes, it deserves its own warning, excessive use of pet names, painful cliffhanger - its going to be okay, I promise! (as always see something say something. please let me know in my DMs if there is a warning I missed)

A/N: Welp, at 364 days since the last update- it hasn't been a literal year since the last chapter... After I finally got it down and started editing I realized why I had such a block. At least part of it anyway... This is a tough one. I understand why I kept diverting to writing side fics with sexytimes, new-fangled doodads, flashbacks of shenanigans, and so forth. While I was figuring out this chapter, and well into writing it, I spent most of the time saying to Ezra, can we just make breakfast and snuggle??? Of course, he's no help because he says yes let's. Like so many of my penultimate chapters, it's a cliffhanger and a painful one, and I am so very sorry. But I am not stopping and taking a break to do other fics. I will be writing part 7 this weekend.

Gaelic Translation (with a dash of history)

Móra dhuit ar maidin: good morning, is a twist on the traditional Dia dhuit ar maidin which means God (be) with you. Some believe this is where the infamous “Top of the Morning” Mor meaning big, Mora believed to be a “lost word”. However, it was discovered that in fact, this is one of the quite rare surviving pagan blessings. Mór was a significant goddess (note: attributes quite different to the Morrigan or Mór Ríon, even if sometimes mixed together) with many avatars. Of course, this all can be debated to the end of time, when one’s religion and language are made illegal so much is lost.

Gaeilge translation

A ghrá: love

Mo stór: Literally translating to “My treasure,” this phrase is often used to mean “my darling.”

Part 5

Series Masterlist

‘You would have to become a selkie yourself.’

Ezra stopped further conversation that night about it. “Today has been long and arduous, and not the hour for decisions of this magnitude, Moonbeam.” He had said, then unfairly distracted you as only he can.

Your time on the island was magical. You cleaned out the other cottages and your parents brought some basic furniture. The cottages were sparse but appointed with the necessaries to visit comfortably. The visits from your family and Tilda and Fergus were lovely. Because your relocation was for your safety and protection, no one knew beyond that circle. You knew you would miss your friends and cousins. But for now, you were distracted from missing them too badly because Cee came to visit, often. It was new to her, and she found it great fun. She would look at her human feet or hands and laugh with wonder, she would tell you later ‘wonder at their ridiculousness’. You noted fondly that she had a little bit of her father’s laugh.

The first time she came up out of the water you got to see the transformation firsthand. Her flippers felt for the seam under her snout, invisible to the eye. She then pulled it apart and a blonde teenager emerged. 

Blonde. You looked at Ezra, flabbergasted. To which he said-

 “There is a saying, my Pearl, all toads are frogs but not all frogs are indeed toads. Uncommon it may be, but one needs only look for the sea storm in her eyes to know.”

Cee came and went from the shoals, and Ezra reminded you not to worry, that as your belly rounded with every week that passed, he would be the worrier in the family.

Spending the morning fishing with your Da and Thomas, Ezra is gone when you wake. This is his way of thanking them as they usually have other supplies for you. Cee emerges from her bed which is curtained off in one corner of the great room, as you set out two bowls of porridge. 

“Móra dhuit ar maidin (MOR-uhg(w)itch air MA-jin), Cee”

“Móra dhuit ar ma–” Cee yawns openly, “jin. Where is me Da?” 

She, then, sniffs the oats hopefully.

“Fishing,” You tell her. “Why don' you cut some apples, dear.” 

“With hooks and a line?” Cee chuffs as she sets to the task. You can not help joining her mirth. 

You are with Cee on your own for the first time-

“You must have missed Ezr- your Da. I did not know I was keeping him from anyone- I would have encouraged him to visit. I am truly sorry, Cee.”

“‘tis the nature of things,” Cee says, mouth full of apples and oats, “besides if he were to slip back into his pelt and visit, he could not return to you for seven years. He has loved you a long time- everyone knows that!”

You are taken aback, you hardly register the sweet knowledge that she and others in his pod knew his love for you, thinking about the fact that if he goes in he can not return for seven years. Seeing her come and go, you assumed, with no small amount of relief, that bit was a myth, and you tell her so.

“Oh, I can come and go, because I am a natural-born selkie. Da was turned.”

“How was he turned?”

“Well,” Cee starts, “ehm, that is probably a story he ought tell you. Though he don' really like to tell that tale.”

By the time of Ezra return, Cee’s words were pushed out of your mind. For the pair of you had gathered seaweed and dug clams for luncheon, and you had felt your first real kick from the baby.

“Pearl! Come sit,” Ezra pulls you into the house. “You need to rest.”

Sitting you down by the fireplace, he settles on his knees, splaying a large warm hand on your lower belly, soft brown eyes on you, hoping to feel another kick. 

“How does everyone?”

“Very well, Moonbeam,” Ezra absently runs his hand over the expanse of your middle, then drops his head on your lap. “Patrick had some supplies for us as well.”

“Any news?”

“Well…”

“What, a ghrá (uh GHRAH)?”

“Colin and his brother are still ragin’. Dierdre is making progress with the annulment, tis not sitting too well, it seems.”

“Pity sake”

“He deserves none," Ezra's eyes darken and you see his selkie nature for just a moment.

On the longest day, your water breaks at 4 a.m. The gift of midsummer's day is that daylight is already breaking, and Ezra can take the currach out right away and fetch your mam. The whole of the family comes back with Ezra and waits outside the cottage as Deirdre and Felicia help you bring young Rory into the world, with Ezra attached to your side. 

When Rory's shoulder breaches its final barrier with your last mighty push, he slips like a seal into your mother’s waiting arms. 

Ezra kisses your glistening brow and with a whoop, he runs to the window to shout to kin both seal and man-

“Tis a boy! With a shock of red hair from who knows where!” To which everyone whooped and laughed hardily.

“It’s midsummer! That’d be the faeries doing!” Hugh calls.

“Someone tell that boy to hush,” Deirdre says to no one in particular, shaking her head and crossing herself. She hands off the swaddled babe to Felicia, who brings him to you. Your Mam goes to the fireplace takes up an iron poker and draws talismans into the ash, muttering about faeries, calling St. Bridget to protect the home and all dwelling within.

You, Ezra, Rory, and Cee grow more in love with every passing day. There is nothing Cee enjoys more than when Rory is in his boat cradle, being lulled in the shallows tethered to a rope you hold fast to. During his fussy times, it is the only thing that calms him. She swims round and round it, bobbing up to check on him. Ezra barks his laugh at Cee’s antics and in the evenings he holds his son close, nosing his cheek and murmuring in the old way. And of course, any chance he gets, he brings you closer to him than many would find humanly possible. Nights are spent worshipful, in one another's arms. When the babe is wakeful, Ezra brings him to you, and when Rory is fed and dozing he silently takes him back to his cradle.

Summer rushes past as it has a habit of doing and autumn comes. Plans are set for this morning to go to the mainland to sign papers for your annulment. 

“Tis finally here,” you sigh, kissing Ezra, the baby dressed and ready for a boat ride. “I’ll go to the church and get this settled at long last and meet you at the pub?”

“Agreed, mo stór (mu store)” Ezra says as he carries out a basket to the currach, he sets it in the boat and then helps you aboard, as you hold Rory. 

The tide is with you as is the wind, so your trip is uneventful and swift. Ezra kisses your cheek and takes the baby for Tilda and Fergus to see and you head up to St Bridget’s to finally wash your hands of Colin. You smile as you walk the familiar cobbled road, excited butterflies in your belly. You remember to be watchful, knowing Colin and Jamie, this day is sure to stir up a hornet's nest. All is quiet, but you start to feel as though it is too quiet.

Ezra brings Rory into the pub, head up, bursting with fatherly pride, and Tilda comes round the board, hand on her heart. She takes up the baby as she gives Ezra a peck on the cheek. 

“You may never get the wee one back,” Fergus laughs. 

“Look how big you’ve gotten!” She coos.

“He is but a weed of a thing, growing faster-” No sooner does Ezra sit to catch up with his friends, does Hugh run into the bar, holding a stitch in his side. Ezra stands, his nostrils flaring as his eyes go dark, as if the barometer just fell and he could feel a dangerous storm brewing.

“I was- I was down at the docks-” he gasps trying to catch his breath. “Cee was there, knew it was the- the big day. But Colin-” 

Ezra was on him, hands like vices on his shoulders. 

“Ezra!” Tilda commands. He let go but the huff of his breathing bristles his mustache.

“What about Colin,” Ezra’s voice is like nothing they have ever heard. Rory fusses.

“He’s got Cee in a net, started dragging her out. Da -.”

Ezra bellows. 

“Watch over Rory, Tilda. Hugh, does she know?”

“No, I came here first. Thomas has a boat- one with a motor-” 

“Good lad,” Ezra breathes and storms from the pub, Hugh following behind.

At the dock, Ezra prowles up and down, until Thomas comes into view.

“Over there!”

Ezra looks at the small vessel with an outboard motor, mildly distrustful. 

“Hugh stay at the dock and keep watch. We will get to the boa-”

“No. Go back to the island.”

“Wh-”

“I need my pelt.”

Cee twists and bites at the net, angry at herself for getting caught. Knowing this was to get to you and Ezra. Other seals surround her, trying to help.

She barks, nostrils flaring, pointing with her nose behind her. Two seals peel off and go in the direction she indicates, while one stays with Cee.

Soon enough two gray seals like torpedoes reach Ezra, flanking the port and starboard bows. Their heads come above the surface and one barks.

"Go on ahead to the island, in the hamper at the end of the big bed. Fast. Meet me back at this boat. Mind the propeller," Ezra shouts over the wind and motor.

The seals put out a burst of speed, porpoising in and out of the water. 

"What are you going to do?"

"You have to tell her," Ezra's voice breaks, eyes rimmed red. "Tell her,  I will return even if she can't bring herself to come to me. I will-"

"Ezra?"

"I promised," he wails, "I have never promised anyone anything- only she! But I can't let Cee-"

"She'll understand."

"I'm deserting her!"

"I will tell her."

"Is there anything to write with?"

Thomas rummages a bit and pulls from his pack, a small notebook with a pen tucked in its spine.

Ezra takes it and begins scribbling frantically.

Jamie’s boat speeds along, gulls scold them, and seals chase. Colin and Jamie jeer at them, determined to take their offense out on the young selkie. Heedless of the long-held taboo and the consequences that can befall entire villages, for harming a seal. Whether or not they know Cee was a selkie or a seal, they laughed in bad humor and wondered if one of them would make wife of her. They are both quite lucky Cee could not hear their base chatter. 

After chewing at the net for some time, Cee finally breaks through the net, barking a laugh of triumph. When she slips free, she rolls and tumbles with her companion in celebration. When she has had her fill, she bobs in the water watching as the craft continues east. Cee barks at the other seal and sets after the boat at top speed. Only after she chews the netting that held her captive to shreds, does she make way to the mainland. But it is not long before she is faced with her mistake. 

You arrive at the pub in good spirits, but your relaxed smile is wiped clean off at the sight of the faces within. Your face falls further seeing Tilda with Rory, and Ezra nowhere to be found.

"Where-"

For the second time today, Hugh bursts in like the devil is at his heels-

"C-cee-"

"Is she alright?" Tilda says standing.

"She is! She- she got away, but she's ragin' on the stand!"

The lot of you pour out of the pub. Fergus tosses out a lone customer and locks up behind. Hugh hastily explains what he knows, as your eyes become saucers. At the beach Cee is half out of her coat,  as she is covered with the blanket that Tilda had the forethought to bring, she seethes-

"Da went after 'em. He didn’ know I broke free on me own until after he’d done it! He's angrier than I have ever seen!"

"Are you alright? Are you hurt at all?" Your eyes search her.

"He's not mad at that- well he is bu' he's fit to be tied because-" Cee's words pull up short, she looks like she might cry. "He thought- he- put on his pelt. I- I'm sorry."

You look as though you've been struck in the face, but you rub her shoulder absently hoping she knows you do not blame her. 

"He's gone after the boat, he wi- he'll sink it," Cee finishes.

"Where's Thomas?" Asks Hugh.

"I'm here!" Thomas runs down the rocky steps, and hands you the note.

My shining Pearl,

I am loath to break my promise and beg your forgiveness.

Do I dare remind you that we spoke of you coming with me? 

Though I admit that conversation was far from over.

Do I presume to ask for this gift? 

Would you don a silken seal coat, mo ghrá? 

Would you do this for me though I hardly deserve it? 

Yours forever,

Ezra

When you finish reading, you find yourself turning a lost circle, pebbles shifting underfoot. 

"I- he-" You look down at the note again, eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"He didn't want to!" Thomas says, beside himself.

"Of course, he didn't," Dierdre soothes. 

Trembling, you rush to Tilda grasping her hands. Blinded by the tears that refuse to fall, you don't see what everyone else can see plain, she knows your question and hates the answer.

"The Maiden and the Seal-lord! She- she was able to take her grandmother's pelt! You have one from yours, yes? Please yes!"

The waves crash, as though very ocean can not abide your tears.

"Darlin, my seal gran has too many greats in front of it to tell us, even if I could dig it up and give it to you," Tilda holds your panicked face in her worn hands. " Which I would, I most surely would. But it would not transform you- for no matter how close I hold you as kin, you must be a blood relation. Your way… if you wish it, it will be harder." 

Your wail breaks her heart, gulls echo your cry. 

You take Rory in your arms, the note crushed in your hand, and climb Widow’s Rock.

"Ez-ra!" 

Deirdre sends everyone back to the house and carefully climbs the rock. She wraps her arms around you and Rory. 

"For right or wrong, God forgive him. He will sink that boat and come back to you, even if he can't take off his coat."

You nod in response, eyes on the open water-

"I need to talk to Cee.”

Part 7

💚THANK YOU FOR READING💚REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED💚

If you care to read more of my stories you can find my masterlist here and if you would like to be tagged for any of my fics you can find my handy dandy taglist form here.

[neondiamond]

🌻 Recently Read Fics - September 2023 🌻

These are all the amazing fics I read over the past month (from shortest to longest). Don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to show the authors your appreciation if you read any of these! 💛

🌻 I Want To Sea by @tommokat (198, G)

Dorks in love being dorks in love, featuring two bad pick up lines and one good one.

🌻 Stable and Steady by @tommokat (496, G)

A tutoring lesson about stability with Tutor Marcel and his crush, Louis.

🌻 Team Gaelic FTW by @lululawrence (611, NR)

Just another Scrabble Game Night at the Stylinson House...

🌻 It’s a rush inside I can’t control by @beardyboyzx (764, G)

Wind is hitting him in the face as Louis runs, freely and carelessly, through the woods.

There’s no one chasing him for once, and he’s got all the time in the world to enjoy how the soil feels under his feet.

🌻 Glasgow by @hellolovers13 (859, T)

Louis' first moments with his newborn daughter.

🌻 I’ll Run (Run To You) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (1k, M)

What do people need after running a marathon?

Louis remembers the first time he Googled that, about 2.8 minutes after saying goodbye to Harry during a round of speed dating. It was probably a bit of a dickish move, considering he was already sat opposite another, presumably lovely, boy, but all it had taken was one look at Harry and he'd known.

🌻 Orange Blossoms by @red-pandaaa (1k, T)

Louis runs Harry a bath

🌻 It’s human to break, it’s human to fall by @larry-hiatus (1k, T)

A wobbly ladder and a stubborn Louis don’t make for a good combination, and now he’s left to deal with the painful consequences. His boyfriend Harry can’t help but be annoyed that Louis didn’t listen to him, but he quickly puts aside his irritation when he realizes something else is wrong.

🌻 Enemies to Lovers by @londonfoginacup (1k, G)

There's something happening

at Styles' place.

Louis can sense it. He's good like that.

🌻 Fly To You by @babyhoneyheslt (1k, G)

On the way to their honeymoon, Harry and Louis find out the pilot is ill. With Louis being a pilot, he offers to fly the plane there, and it turns out to make the start of their honeymoon extra special.

🌻 Were You There On That Christmas Night? By @lululawrence (2k, NR)

the one where Harry has some fears regarding the animals present in the school's nativity play.

🌻 Accomodate This by @londonfoginacup (2k, T)

Harry's a professor just trying to get proper accommodations.

🌻 Eyes So Blue, Shorts So Red by @absoloutenonsense (2k, G)

Harry isn't like any roommate Louis has had before. For one, he doesn't know what a poem is (or skee-ball, for that matter), but luckily for him, Louis doesn't mind answering any and all of his questions.

Or Alien Harry discovers poetry.

🌻 No (Birth) Control by @haztobegood (2k, E)

An unfortunate situation left Harry without contraceptives a day before his heat.

🌻 Love Is In The Air by @justahappycloud (3k, G)

When Louis gets stuck in an airport during a snow storm, he mentally prepared for his already bad day to turn into something even worse.

What he wasn't counting on was a certain green-eyed boy who would come to light candles in the dark of his bad mood.

🌻 there his charming nest doth lay series by @bottomhaztoplou (3k, T)

Louis reads poetry to Harry, his upset mate, as he nests in their bed.

🌻 Stand Not in Front or Behind by @londonfoginacup (4k, NR)

Harry Styles always knew his purpose in life was to be a pawn in an arranged marriage to assure allegiances.

He never actually put much thought into his future partner.

🌻 The Doppel Effect by @uhoh-but-yeah-alright (6k, T)

In a future where the rich and famous can use lifelike android doppelgangers to increase their reach and expand their fortunes, unauthorized use of the technology by enterprising criminals results in a sub-class of doppelgangers referred to as Forgeries.

Harry Styles lives a simple life, far from the luxurious and nefarious worlds occupied by Dops and Forgeries. At least, he's never had a reason to think otherwise. Until a mysterious stranger shows up and threatens to turn Harry's world upside down.

🌻 like a bridge over troubled water (I will lay me down) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (6k, T)

Zayn loves all of his friends. He just might love Liam in a different way.

Or: a love letter from Zayn to his friends, written in 4+1.

🌻 Sink Through Your Skin by @ireallysawanangel (6k, M)

It’s tough work being a detective. Long hours on the job, grueling cases that keep you up at night, but it’s especially hard to be a detective when you’re married to a serial killer.

🌻 To A Higher Place by @ireallysawanangel (8k, E)

Louis arrives home during his break from tour just in time for Harry’s rut.

🌻 Ace of Hearts by @allwaswell16 (10k, E)

Louis Tomlinson, the alpha Duke of Yorkshire, had returned to England to stay now that he’d married and mated. But since his husband was also the omega he’d once held captive aboard his half-brother’s pirate ship, he held back from pushing Harry into parenthood.

With the Ace of Spades now docked in London, Harry spent time with his friends from the crew and remained a bit oblivious to his alpha’s deepest desires. What he was aware of was his best friend’s hurt and his mother-in-law’s wish for more than friendship with her oldest friend.

A sequel to Ace of Spades

🌻 The Princess and the Pea by @absoloutenonsense (12k, NR)

A brutal storm finds Harry and Niall seeking shelter at the nearest place they can find - a rather grand manor, with some peculiar people of the house. At least Harry has made a friend in one of the servants there.

[verdemoun]

Wait if Sean can have Darragh back can Kieran have his parents or old gang back 🙏

yeah fun fact if you ask me about my blorbo i will accidentally fast track you in the inbox queue. two parter question! kieran and his parents here, kieran's gang here.

Kieran and his parents:

Kieran would have been mortified because he feels unrecognizable. His childhood memories are so pure and happy and he just doesn't know if he's capable of that anymore so when his mammy and pappy run over overjoyed to see him he has a slight internalized meltdown panic over the guilt of being 'different'.

Arthur being with him and also overwhelmed with the situation would have tried to explain 'I know you're real happy I can understand that but he um really needs his space' only to be silenced by the most intense glare to ever grace a little elderly irish woman's face because who the fuck are you and what are you doing with my darling boy.

Recognizing that she would very much eat him alive Arthur just backs off and surrenders while Kieran, who is significantly taller than both his parents, is crushed in hugs and motherly kisses and all the usual 'lord you're so tall now what a relief it is to know you're here and okay we've been so worried about you'.

Arthur still trying to awkwardly butt in explaining 'he doesn't talk much and he's been through a lot so he doesn't really like people touching him too much' and Mammy Duffy just rolls her eyes because ffs that is her baby of course the first time they heard the term autism they both immediately pictured their son (and she firmly believes it runs in her husband's side of the family, meanwhile he insists he likes fishing the average amount and just doesn't believe in wasting conversation on idiots)

Kieran is obviously slightly confused because he is pretty confident he remembers being a very 'normal' kid, which Mammy Duffy mvp insists of course he was a normal kid just a normal happy kid who never made eye contact, did not attempt to speak until he was 7 to the point they thought he was deaf mute, would constantly try to crawl underneath or between his parents because he liked being squished/crushed in hugs and would become so excited doing activities he enjoyed he would literally jump up and down or clench his hands so fast it sounded like clapping.

They love him unconditionally. He was their rainbow baby, their precious only child, he could have been the most evil bastard in the world and they would still love him. But it wasn't that they couldn't afford to send him to school so he could learn to read, which would be a first in the family - they just knew a 19th century school environment would kill him. People wouldn't understand his 'peculiarities' like refusing to eat apples that weren't uniformly red unless they were cut and peeled.

If the gang thought Sean and Molly were too Irish, the Duffys are the most obnoxiously Irish people they have ever met. Mammy Duffy is constantly trying to kidnap Sean and claim him as her own son. Still speak fluent colloquial irish gaelic and talk so fast not even Molly can keep up with them in their native language. Devout catholics, crosses everywhere at Mammy Duffy's insistence. Invites everyone over for Sunday dinner and still manages to cook too much despite the whole gang attending.

Darragh, who is much more level-headed and unnaturally calm than his outlawing past would suggest, and Mammy Duffy, who is a fierce, impulsive, wears the pants traditional irish woman, often joke about trading children (they both laugh only to glower at each other because they are both very protective of their boys and would never).

Kieran is simultaneously a mommy's boy and daddy's boy. He just loves his parents so much. Big old gathering hosted by Mammy Duffy and she's storming around trying to find her damned husband and son who both went down to the office/hobby room basement and got distracted making fishing lures and checking out the bait freezer.

Pappy Duffy also knows his son is gay and has since before timewarp (Mammy Duffy still doesn't know) and has been caught squinting at assorted VDLs in the early days just trying to figure out if any were his son's type because obviously Kieran wouldn't just introduce a man to his parents lest Mammy have a heart attack.

Upon meeting Javier and just watching their interactions he would have figured it out and had the no filter response of 'ah, a short mexican' to Kieran's absolute horror. Javier tried to assure Kieran that considering the number of slurs applicable in the situation, it was a pretty decent response for a 19th century Irishman. Javier immediately won Pappy Duffy over with his fishing knowledge and got his blessings. Kieran and Javier were both surprised with how emotional they both got over having Pappy Duffy's blessings.

Mammy Duffy might be blissfully unaware that is her son's significant other, but also adores Javier because he knew to dial up the charm. 90% of this charm was dropping the fact he is also Catholic, the remaining 10% was complimenting her cooking. He always gets an invitation to family dinner. In Mammy's mind it's just the typical dinner with her husband, her son and her son's close good friend/housemate. She will gladly slave away in the kitchen (love language: feeding people) while 'the men' talk at length about fishing.

Pappy Duffy is still trying to convince Kieran to actually introduce Javier to Mammy as his husband*. If anything the fact he's male is a vote in their favor because Lord knows she would never think any woman was good enough for her son. Pappy Duffy also assumes they are married because who cares if it's gay sex but his good Catholic son would never, ever have sex before marriage because that is a sin and they are too intimate (they stood beside one another in his presence) to have not had sex.

Kieran has made it clear to Javier they will be fleeing to Mexico before he ever has a conversation about sex with his parents.

[welcome-to-ratterrock]

i wonder what music artists they would listen to!

i know DAMN well that Sorcha would listen to Lana del ray, Saorise would listen to chapell roan and i think that Rilla would listen to Laufey

GOODNESS, this took a while. Both Baji and I are ardent music lovers and aficionados, so music is veryimportant to us and to this story and these characters. So I wanted to make sure I got everything in order before answering these asks! 

Sorcha loves jazz and music that’s heavily influenced by soul and movement, so she loves hip-hop, pop soul, R&B, club music - stuff that’s sexy and feminine and full of confidence, like Janelle Monae, Rihanna, Beyoncé, HER, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish. 

She’s absolutely a Lana Del Rey fan, also loves Amy Winehouse, Paloma Faith, Clairy Browne, April Smith and the Great Picture Show, Laura Mvula. For more old school stuff she goes for Irma Thomas, Nina Simone, Peggy Lee, Julie London. 

Rilla loves fun energetic pop that she can dance to but also makes her feel free to - Kesha (the Rainbow album was DEEPLY important to her), Doja Cat, Dimie Cat, Sabrina Carpenter, Chapelle Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Brittany Spears. She loves Laufey for a softer, romantic vibe, and even though she doesn’t listen to a ton of alternative she LOVES Molotov Jukebox. 

Also, girl ADORES Dolly Parton. She’s dressed up as her for Halloween, loves her endlessly. She got into Kacey Musgraves too, but Dolly has her heart. She likes some of Taylor Swift’s stuff, but she’s definitely not a die hard Swiftie. 

Lorcan unironically adores Kesha, very happy to jam with Rilla whenever their girlie’s music is on. In general he loves music that would be perfect for a barroom brawl - Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, IDLES. Loves rock in general, especially Def Leppard and AC/DC, the Clash and the Black Keys. Likes Gaelic Storm and the Beatles for softer moods. 

Brig listens to a lot of metal and punk and rock music - she and Lorcan would definitely jam to AC/DC and the Black Keys. Also loves blues music, definitely a fan of Johnny Cash. Also likes Gin Wigmore a lot. 

Luella loves soft indie core songs and groups - the Wailin’ Jennys, the Oh Hellos, the Crane Wives, the Jane Austen Argument, the Hush Sound, Brandi Carlisle, Cat Power, Paris Paloma. She and Rilla both love Laufey. She listens to Florence + the Machine and P!nk when she wants to feel empowered. 

Locke is also into soft indie, lots of underground bands no one has ever heard of but have very intense poetic lyrics - Hozier, the National, Cigarettes After Sex, Florence + the Machine, Nicole Dollanganger, the Oh Hellos. There’s a lot of overlap between him and Lu, actually! He also loves viola music, he plays it and it’s a very healing, therapeutic passion of his. 

Regal…whoo boy, his taste in music covers such a wide and diverse spectrum. He loves operas and classic musicals, very much a devotee to classical music by artists like Debussy and Puccini and Bizet. One of his absolute favorite songs is “Danse Macabre”…

He’s a virtuoso with the piano and has described himself as his own favorite musician. 

But he does like some more modern music, he’s just VERY snobby about what he wants to listen to. Marina and the Diamonds (“Bubblegum Bitch” is a favorite), Queen (he is very fond of Freddy), Voltaire, Fish in a Birdcage, the Real Tuesday Weld are some examples.  

Bogdan is even more a snob than Regal, and stays away from most modern music. He’d much rather focus on composing his own music than polluting his ears with the dreck that passes for songs nowadays. Sorcha has her work cut out with him, but she’s more than up to the task…

Casimir, sadly, probably doesn’t listen to a lot of music because of his injury - it’s too much stimulation and he suffers from horrible headaches to begin with. Not all music does it, but too much stress and sounds would very likely trigger an episode. It’s incredibly tragic because music is such an important and treasured facet of his and Bogdan’s culture…

[raccoonfallsharder]

i spent too much time today outlining all of cicatrix .⋆☁︎ :･꧂

it should be forty chapters long (give or take if i need to split something up). i have over half of them drafted.

and friends....it's like... good, i think? lots of smutty commentary so not for everyone but it's maybe almost an actual space opera. and the plot points are tight, even if the writing isn't always.

i don't know. it's no Window Across the Galaxy *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ but i'm kind excited about it???

major themes:

chapter seventeen. keyframe. a moment that felt innocuous at the time but ended up marking a diversion into a strange new era of your life—a chance meeting you’d think back on for years, a harmless comment that sparked an ongoing feud, an idle musing that would come to define your entire career—a monumental shift secretly buried among the tiny imperceptible differences between one ordinary day and the next. In video compression, a key frame defines major changes in a scene. Most frames in compressed video are in-betweens, marking subtle incremental changes, but key frames depict a whole new scene. This technique allows you to move forward without stopping to buffer, even if it makes it harder to rewind.

chapter eighteen. attriage.  the state of having lost all control over how you feel about someone— not even trying to quench the flames anymore, but lighting other fires around your head just hoping to contain the damage. From atria, the chambers of the heart + triage, the sorting of patients in hospital admissions, factoring in the urgency of their illness or injury.

chapter nineteen. tiris. the bittersweet awareness that all things must end. The way you’re still only settling into vacation while mentally preboarding your flight home, or how soon after starting a new relationship you start to wonder exactly how this one ends. Even before you’ve purchased the carton of milk in your hands, you’re already turning it over, looking for the expiration date. In the end, all goods are perishable. Everything is transient. From Tír na nÓg, the land of everlasting youth in Irish folklore + hubris, excessive pride or arrogance, especially toward a god.

chapter twenty. foilsick. feeling ashamed after revealing a little too much of yourself to someone—allowing them too clear a view of your pettiness, your anger, your cowardice, your childlike vulnerability—wishing you could somehow take back the moment, discreetly bolting the door after a storm had already blown it off its hinges. Scottish Gaelic foillsich, to expose.

chapter twenty-one. puntkick. a quiet jolt of recognition that it’s time to become a better version of yourself, sensing that all the strategies that brought you this far are no longer working—that it’s not enough anymore to be cute or nice or righteous or tough—as if you’ve now entered a new phase in the game of life, moving forward with a completely different token. Dutch puntstuk, railway frog, which is the part of a railway switch where two rails intersect. Sometimes you can feel a little kick when your train passes over it, as if the world is trying to signal you’re missing a turn, having traveled too far on the same old track.

chapter twenty-two. falesia. the disquieting awareness that someone’s importance to you and your importance to them may not necessarily match—that your best friend might only think of you as a buddy, that someone you barely know might consider you a mentor, that someone you love unconditionally might have one or two conditions. Portuguese falésia, cliff. A cliff is a dizzying meeting point between high ground and low ground.

chapter twenty-three. xeno.  the smallest measurable unit of human connection, typically exchanged between passing strangers—a warm smile, a sympathetic nod, a shared laugh about some odd coincidence—moments that are fleeting and random but still contain powerful emotional nutrients that can alleviate the symptoms of feeling alone. Ancient Greek ξένος (xénos), alien, stranger.

chapter twenty-four. nodrophobia.  the fear of irrevocable actions and irreversible processes—knowing that a colorful shirt will fade a little more with every wash, that your tooth enamel is wearing away molecule by molecule, never to grow back. Greek μονόδρομος (monódromos), one-way street + -φοβία (-phobía), fear. Pronounced “noh-droh-foh-bee-uh.”

chapter twenty-five. la gaudière. a glint of goodness you notice in someone that you wouldn’t expect, which is often only detectable by sloshing them back and forth in your mind until everything dark and gray and common falls away, leaving something shining at the bottom of the pan—a rare element hidden deep in the bedrock, that must’ve been washed there by a storm somewhere upstream. French la gaudière, from Latin gaudere, to find joy.

chapter twenty-six. thrapt. anderance. anderance. the awareness that your partner perceives the relationship from a totally different angle than you—spending years looking at a different face across the table, listening for cues in a different voice—an odd reminder that no matter how much you have in common, you’re still in love with different people. Dutch ander, another person, someone else. Pronounced “an-der-uhns.”thrapt. awed at the impact someone has had on your life, feeling intimidated by how profoundly they helped shape your identity, having served as a ghostwriter of a work that nevertheless only appears under your name. From thrapped, drawn tight, as with nautical ropes + rapt, carried away with emotion.

chapter twenty-seven. dolorblindness. the frustration that you’ll never be able to understand another person’s pain, only ever searching their face for some faint evocation of it, then rifling through your own experiences for some slapdash comparison, wishing you could tell them truthfully, “I know exactly how you feel.” Latin dolor, pain + colorblindness. Pronounced “doh-ler-blahynd-nis.”

chapter twenty-eight. amoransia. the melodramatic thrill of unrequited love; the longing to pine for someone you can never have, wallowing in devotion to some impossible person who could give your life meaning by their very absence. Portuguese amor, love + ânsia, craving. Pronounced “ah-moh-ran-see-uh.”

chapter twenty-nine. mauerbauertraurigkeit. the inexplicable urge to push people away, even close friends whose company you generally enjoy—like a poker player who keeps folding a promising hand in order to avoid the pain of losing, or tamp down the urge to go all-in. German Mauerbauer, wall-builder + Traurigkeit, sadness. 

chapter thirty. holiette. heartmoor. holiette. a place that seems to hold profound significance to everyone else but you—the sacred temple of some other faith, a random fence post festooned with flowers, a crowd cheering for a team you’ve never heard of—which leaves you trying to coax yourself into feeling something anyway, like inserting your house key into a random lock just to feel if something clicks. From holy, sacred or religiously revered + -ette, denoting an imitation of the real thing. Pronounced “hoh-lee-et.”heartmoor.  the primal longing for a home village to return to, a place that no longer exists, if it ever did; the fantasy of finding your way back home before nightfall, hustling to bring in the cattle before the rains come; picturing a cluster of lanterns glowing on the edge of a tangled wood, hearing the rattle and hiss of meals cooking over a communal fire, finding your place in a crowded longhouse made of clay-packed thatch, where you’d sit and listen to the voices of four generations layered into a canon, telling stories of a time when people could still melt into a collective personality and weren’t just floating around alone. From heart + moor, to tie a boat to an anchor. Pronounced “hahrt-moor.”

chapter thirty-one. heartworm. a relationship or friendship that you can’t get out of your head, which you thought had faded long ago but is still somehow alive and unfinished, like an abandoned campsite whose smoldering embers still have the power to start a forest fire. From heart + earworm, a catchy piece of music that compulsively loops inside your head.

chapter thirty-two. etherness. the wistful feeling of looking around a gathering of loved ones, all too aware that even though the room is filled with warmth and laughter now, it won’t always be this way—that the coming years will steadily break people away into their own families, or see them pass away one by one, until there comes a time when you’ll look back and try to imagine what it felt like to have everyone together in the same place. From ether, an intoxicating compound that evaporates very quickly + togetherness. 

chapter thirty-three. evertheless. the fear that this is ultimately as good as your life is ever going to get—that the ebb and flow of your fortunes is actually just now hitting its high-water mark, and soon enough you’ll sense the tide of life slowly begin to recede. From ever + nevertheless. Pronounced “ev-er-thuh-les.”

chapter thirty-four. funkenzwangsvorstellung. immerensis. funkenzwangsvorstellung. the primal trance of watching a campfire in the dark. German Funken, spark + Zwangsvorstellung, obsession. Pronounced “foon-ken-tsvang-svohr-stel- oong.”immerensis. the maddening inability to understand the reasons why someone loves you—almost as if you’re selling them a used car that you know has a ton of problems and requires daily tinkering just to get it to run normally, but no matter how much you try to warn them, they seem all the more eager to hop behind the wheel and see where this puppy can go. Latin immerens, undeserving.

chapter thirty-five. fellchaser. a long-forgotten mistake from your past that could reappear at any time and rip your life apart, like a boomerang you tossed away years ago that’s only just now looping back around, which you’d have no idea how to handle because you have no idea what it is. From fell, to cause to fall by delivering a blow + molechaser, a low swooping throw of a boomerang.

chapter thirty-six. hubilance. the quiet poignance of your own responsibility for someone, with a mix of pride and fear and love and humility—feeling a baby fall asleep on your chest, or driving at night surrounded by loved ones fast asleep, who trust you implicitly with their lives—a responsibility that wasn’t talked about or assigned to you, it was assumed to be yours without question. From hub, the central part of the wheel that bears the weight + jubilance.

chapter thirty-seven. moriturism. antiophobia. moriturism. a tiny jolt of awareness that someday you will die, which leaves you lying awake in bed whispering silently to yourself, Oh, right, this is it; an unsettling reminder that your life is not just a game you’re playing or a story you’ll be telling later, but your one and only glimpse of what the universe has to offer, like a kid waking up in the back seat of the family car at night, having just pulled into a bright neon gas station, looking around for a moment or two, before settling back in for the long road trip, sleeping for miles and miles off into the dark. Latin morituri, “we who are about to die.” antiophobia. a fear you sometimes experience while leaving a loved one, wondering if this will turn out to be the last time you’ll ever see them, and whatever slapdash good-bye you toss their way might have to serve as your final farewell. Greek αντίο (antío), farewell + -φοβία (-phobía), fear. Pronounced “an-tee-uh-foh-bee-uh.”

chapter thirty-eight. tillid. humbled by how readily you place your life into the hands of random strangers, often without a second thought—trusting a restaurant to check its expiration dates, trusting a construction crew not to cheap out on materials, trusting thousands of other drivers to stay in their lane —people who you may never meet but whose well-being you’re deeply invested in, whether you know it or not. Danish tillid, trust. 

chapter thirty-nine. suente.  the state of being so familiar with someone that you can be in a room with them without thinking, without holding anything back, or without having to say a word—to the extent that you have to remind yourself that they’re a different being entirely, that brushing hair away from their eyes won’t help you see any better. Southwest English dialect suent, easy, peaceful, smooth. 

chapter forty. suerza. beloiter. suerza. a feeling of quiet amazement that you exist at all; a sense of gratitude that you were even born in the first place, that you somehow emerged alive and breathing despite all odds, having won an unbroken streak of reproductive lotteries that stretches all the way back to the beginning of life itself. Spanish suerte, luck + fuerza, force. beloiter. to look around in a state of mild astonishment that your life is somehow still going, as if a part of you had just assumed that your allotment of days would’ve been used up by now, standing there like a player at a slot machine, perpetually surprised that your winnings continue to trickle out, but not sure what you’re supposed to do now. From to be + to loiter, to hang around someplace with no particular agenda.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Do ypu have HR with the hero having this animalistic MINE MINE MINEEEE!!! I know all of them have them but there are some taking it to the next level

Weeeellll lol not all of them tbh. Because we are surrounded by pearl clutchers as of late.......

ANYWAY.

I'm obviously relistening to Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas, her most underrated banger imo, and when Kev finally gets with the program and sneaks into Win's bedroom all he does is cover her mouth with his hand and go "YOU'RE MINE" and she realizes it is THE FUCK. ON. And then he rails her for like 48 hours in his little fuck cottage, yay!

The Bride by Julie Garwood is the quintessentially MINE MINE MINE romance novel. Medieval border marriage book. Alec Kincaid literally drags Jamie up to a window so his people can look at her, and when someone asks him in Gaelic "what do we call her?" He goes "YOU CALL HER MINE". (He does not realize that Jamie also speaks Gaelic, which is embarrassing for him, but also beneficial because she's like "OH".)

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin... I forget how much the hero says "mine", but he does tattoo the heroine with his symbol (consensually!) and it's soooooo possessive and erotic and emotional. And he's a villainous hero, so he's very like "YOU BELONG TO ME NOW"

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale has a very alpha hero who suffers a stroke at the beginning of the book. The heroine helps him as he recovers (after some big asylum trauma) and he's always calling her like "my maddgirly" (her name is Maddy) and he's SUPER territorial over her and I love it.

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale is also a very "MINE" romance, but it's mutual because Allegreto is a horrible villainous alpha who happens to like it when Elena gets rough in bed. However, he also gets his "MUAHAHAHAHAHA YOU'RE ALL MINE NOW" moment. Allegreto is crazy. *Obligatory Shadowheart's First Sex Scene is Noncon Warning*

The Wolf and The Wildflower by Stacy Reid! Wolf Duke is VERY possessive. Because he spent years in the Yukon living with wolves. (Really.) (He sniffs her crotch a lot.) (Shouldn't work but it sure does.)

Stephanie Laurens writes super possessive heroes because they have THE CONQUEROR'S BLOOD and are very alpha as a result. Scandal's Bride is my favorite I've read of hers thus far *obligatory "she drugs him for the first encounter" note* and Richard, lunatic of my heart, literally refers to Catriona as his snack (which he must have every morning or he will be very annoyed, and then he needs like a follow up snack thrice more throughout the day). But like. EVERY Cynster hero is a mine mine mine guy.

Elizabeth Hoyt knows how to write a mine mine mine. The Leopard Prince is an underrated one imo, because like Seduce Me at Sunrise it's one where the hero almost forces himself to give her up but at the last minute he's like "OH NO NO NOOOOOOOOO" and snaps and like, fucks her until she's screaming within earshot of her brothers and the guy who wanted to marry her.

Duke of Midnight proooobably has her most possessive hero, Everyone's (My) Favorite Douchecanoe Maximus Batten. I don't know that there are many romance heroes who get quite as MINE as Maximus fucking Artemis while talking about how he's gonna keep her trapped in like a special hunting lodge and kill elk for her and feed her the tastiest morsels, and it's honestly a real "oh girl it's like that huh" moment because she's a vERY rational woman and she's like "yeah tell me more about it keep going" lmao. Some of my favorite deranged dirty talk of all time.

Jennifer Ashley's Mackenzie brothers are super possessive. Like, even the "oh ho we have a fun time" ones (Mac from Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage and Cameron from The Many Sins of Lord Cameron") are still very "ALRIGHT NOW. CALM TF DOWN" if someone looks at their wives for too long lol. Ian (The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie) literally needs Beth around to feel complete and Hart from The Duke's Perfect Wife, another "Everyone Else Thinks He's Too Much But Iiiiiiiiiii Like 'Im" hero is sooooo possessive of Eleanor. Wasn't even in his own book yet and he still made time to put money down her bodice to remind her that DADDY STILL HAS CASH.

Monica McCarty's Highland Guard series is basically entire made up of "mine mine mine" heroes lol. The Chief has a MAJOR alpha hero. The Recruit is big on it too, especially since she tries to keep her accidental pregnancy from him and he feels the baby bump by accident and goes all *INFANT. DETECTED.* and is like "NO BABY OF MINE IS GONNA BE A BASTARD!!!!"

Though it's a funny moment, I still think the hero of Tessa Dare's Any Duchess Will Do making the heroine recite his courtesy titles while he bends her over his desk is both hilarious and ridic dumb possessive hot.

The Earl I Ruined by Scarlett Peckham has a very consciously dominant, "whose pussy is this?" type hero, which we love to see.

Joanna Shupe has very possessive heroes--Preston from The Bride Goes Rogue comes to mind, especially when mY BOY the Duke of Lockwood is like, vaguely making friends with Katherine, because Lockwood is so hot that every other hero in the series is like "You wouldn't fuck him??? OH PLEASE DON'T LIE TO ME I WOULD FUCK HIM" and gets very jealous lmao. Fwiw, Lockwood is possessive of Nellie in The Duke Gets Even. He's always like "I'm keeping you" and biting her tits to leave bruises and shit. Which is what Joanna Shupe is allowed to get away with in a trad historical in 2023 lmao.

Obviously. Derek Craven from Dreaming of You. McKenna from Again the Magic.

If you're up for something dark and angsty, A Rose at Midnight by Anne Stuart has a very intense YOU'RE MINE NOW YOU WENCH thing, but uhhh check your triggers. I loved it!

[fryingpan1234567]

That Hermitcraft hero AU list I promised

yeah. here you go (:

edit: no art for y’all lol if you saw the original post congrats, but if you happened to have aphantasia or are just not good at visualizing, sorry! no art, it doesn’t go over well lmao

happy reading!

Impulse: SV

powers: electricity + thunder

info: he’s really good with press lol he usually goes on missions with kids because they all love him- during the day, the iDimpy factory ‘bought’ the Hermit Compound and ‘converted it to a chocolate factory’ and Impulse runs it lol (dw it’s still for superheroes, the bottom couple levels were just edited a bit HE MAKES REALLY GOOD CANDY)

appearance: MR. IMPULSE AS WILLY WONKA MY BELOVED (his super suit is metal like Iron Man and has a glowing yellow i in the middle)

Zed: Worm Man

powers: sheep [: (NO HIS NAME DOESN’T MAKE SENSE IT’S FOR THE MEME)

info: fs a mad scientist- he teaches middle school science during the day XD

appearance: blond, blue eyes, ram horns that he tells his students is just a headband, lab coat + goggles even when not in the lab lol- his super suit is just. Worm Man. you know

Tango: Blaze

powers: fire + can change back and forth between super form and civilian 

info: he’s super funny lol 

appearance: yellow hair that looks like fire (it is actually on fire in super form), red eyes, sharp teeth in super form, if you’ve seen @lunarcrown ‘s Tango art that’s the fit style I’m thinking for the super suit

Keralis: Cyclopes

powers: siren Keralis my beloved

info: he loves kids but has kind of a spooky look to him- don’t worry, they warm up to him eventually and even call him Papa K!!

appearance: larger than average eyes but is otherwise basically normal lol his super fit is just like Aquaman style yk lots of scales

Bdubs: Apollo

powers: photokinesis

info: shreepy boi, moss hoodie, short (don’t tell him)

appearance: floofy brown hair held back w/ a red bandana, Latino, super fit is just a Greek chiton lol (he’s glowing bright enough you can’t even see him most of the time)

Ren: Red King

powers: werewolf

info: he can control which form and how he acts in said forms pretty much always- scary wolf hulk for bad guys and fluffy puppy for kids

appearance: in human form he has ears and a tail :DD

• Doc: 77

powers: let’s imagine a cross between the Hulk, the Winter Soldier, and a creeper

info: he is very good at fighting (: he’s cyborg and has green in super form

appearance: literally like seven feet tall

Scar: the Wizard

powers: telekinesis, magic

info: he is actually disabled, he just uses telekinesis to walk around as a super lol (HE HAS A MASSIVE MAGIC CAT THAT HE DISGUISES AS A NORMAL ONE DURING THE DAY)

appearance: covered in scars (obvi), bright green eyes, suit is Hot Guy fit

Cub: Bear

powers: Vex wings, skulk

info: he’s very friendly, but his super state is, uh… possessed. by the Deep Dark. I’m sure it’s fine

appearance: dark curly hair, galaxy eyes in super form but otherwise normal blue, super fit is just him covered in skulk- I’m thinking Venom vibes (SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS CONCEPT)

Grian: Evo

powers: BIGASS PARROT WINGS (and advanced sight)

info: pesky bird boy lmao he does the Jurassic Park claw tap thing when he’s hunting + on stealth missions

appearance: yeah he’s got bird feet lol he doesn’t leave the compound very much bc he can’t really disguise or lie about that

Pearl: Moth

powers: moth wings + antennae

info: she is in fact an alien but it’s okay she’s very nice unless she’s hunting with her dogs

appearance: again wings and antennae, brown hair with lighter streaks, purple eyes, super fit is like Storm/ Starfire

Gem: Dawn

powers: fire but in sunset yellow/ orange/ red/ purple colors lol

info: she’s actually descended from Gaelic royalty lmao

appearance: deer horns, orange hair which in super form turns to a fire ombré like Starfire, suit has pink honeycomb patterns

• Cleo: Medusa

powers: necromancy and turning people to stone (:

info: she died in Ancient Greece and rose as a zombie after Hades, who fell in love with her, granted her “life”. she is immortal 

appearance: a zombie lol (but a hot one I promise you) with orange snakes for hair

Stress: Monster

powers: flower queennn

info: she doesn’t like dark/ stealth missions as much, but she’s all for patrol whenever

appearance: always has a flower crown for some reason?? eyes glow pink when she uses her powers and the suit is like that one fanart of Isabella from Encanto as Spider-Man

Iskall: Doom

powers: lmao they’re just a cyborg

info: a very nice person, they just can’t seem to say hello correctly

appearance: brown hair, cyber eye, tol, they pretty much wear the suit everywhere and tells people it’s cosplay and they’re their own biggest fan

Etho: Kitsune

powers: snow/ ice/ illusion mist

info: he may have accidentally adopted the New York Governer lmao whoops (he hates kids except for this one)

appearance: white hair, mask to cover scars, one red eye damaged by redstone, really tall, white fox ears and nine tails in super form

xB: Crafted

powers: Black Widow style with a big white wolf (he and Jellie get along I promise)

info: we love him but he’s an antisocial dork

appearance: black hair, blue eyes, literally just. a guy. he’s a guy. he wears fins behind his ears so people think he’s more dangerous lol

Hypno: Memorizd

powers: memory wipe + telepathy

info: he’s the main one who deals with civilians lol especially if they saw something they weren’t supposed to 

appearance: aaaalways wears the black bandana over their hair, tol, emo /j- the suit is like a ninja

Wels: the Knight

powers: lmao he’s a knight idk what to tell you

info: he’s a knight with standard knight principles, but he’s chill about it. he likes theater but makes fun of the fact that he likes theater lol

appearance: blond, blue eyes, tol, he fights in a modern-looking suit of armor that keeps most of its medieval design

• Jevin: Slimer

powers: slime boi (like Frozone x Honey Lemon but slime yk)

info: he’s in the same boat as Grian- there’s really no disguising being made entirely of slime

appearance: teal slime lol (it runs in the family) supposedly he’s got a way to turn more human-looking but he hasn’t quite figured it out yet

Xisuma: Void

powers: time, space, and interdimensional portals!!

info: he and his twin are the leaders of their own groups, and they’re actually from another dimension and can’t breathe oxygen

appearance: that’s why he always wears a helmet! it’s his bones suit :DD

False

powers: superstrength, but she doesn’t use it very often

info: she’s like the Hermits’ resident suit maker that’s what she does lol

appearance: blonde choppy hair held back with welding goggles, brown eyes, covered in freckles

Mumbo

powers: none unless you count exceptional redstone skills

info: tech guy!! when someone busts something, they go straight to Mumbo

appearance: black hair, mustache (because of course), tol??, suit. always. Mumbo what

Joe

powers: none

info: the medic, because lord knows they need one

appearance: green hair lol

Beef

powers: none, but he’s really good with knives 

info: he makes the food and potions, but the Hermits keep telling him not to wear that bloodstained apron around everywhere. it’s suspicious

appearance: again with the apron, and he’s scarily buff. kids are scared of him but he’s very nice really

~~~~~

Impulse had known for a very long time that he wasn’t exactly… normal.

Which isn’t a bad thing! But, the static shock people got when they touched him while he didn’t feel a thing, storms brewing when he had less-than-ideal days, and really mostly the fact that his phone never died when he held it- the charge almost seemed to be going up- all that did not seem ordinary.

So when he was recruited for a hero team because everyone at his school had apparently reported his strangeness, he wasn’t exactly surprised. But he was definitely ready to make a difference.

~

So Zed was some kind of sheep/ human hybrid. Did that make life a lot more difficult? In some ways, yes, but mostly no.

See, he had really good hearing. And he never had to worry about riding his skateboard, because his balance was always perfect and his skull was uncrackable. Plus he can jump like five feet on solid ground, which is pretty sick.

But people still thought he was weird. They all knew he’d grow up to be a hero… or a villain. So there was always a thin line of separation from the rest of the world, like they wanted to treat him like a fragile thing that could potentially attempt to end the world in the near future.

He would never, of course. But the only place he could really find contentment was with the Hermits.

~

Tango had discovered his powers in a… less pleasant manner.

Basically all he remembered was yelling. It was scary, he was seven years old, and… something just broke.

Then there was fire.

His parents, as far from that title as they were, did not make it out. Somehow, he managed to escape unscathed. Physically, anyways.

Foster care was pretty lame, but it was better than his old home life. Still, the only people he views as family are his team.

~

Keralis had loved singing for as long as he could remember. Especially because everyone loved to listen!

His mother had come from the sea, and his father was a fisherman. Keralis liked that his parents were sort of like a fairy tale. His mother taught him how to sing when he was young, but especially to control what he sang. She said he could really hurt people, and while at the time he didn’t know what that meant, he went along with it.

Until one day at a summer camp, they had a screaming contest (they were middle schoolers, don’t question it). Every window in the camp shattered, and six kids had to go home with ruptured eardrums.

He was immediately handed over to the American Hero Monitoring compound. There, he met X and Bdubs, and they didn’t mind his voice. Plus his parents visited on weekends! The only thing he loves more than singing is being a hero.

~

Bdubs and his brother had learned early on that not everyone likes heroes.

Maybe they shouldn’t have shown people that the two of them could play catch with a ball made of actual light, because they were then immediately accused of witchcraft. Witchcraft, really? Is this the sixteenth century?

Their family was forced to move to New York, and the AHM got ahold of both boys not long after. Because they bragged once, to a bunch of classmates in a small-town school that they’d been going to their entire lives. Bdubs opted to be a hero; show people that he can be good, but Puncenge wasn’t quite ready to forgive them all. He promised he wouldn’t ever use his powers for bad, but when he broke out of the compound with X’s twin, Bdubs didn’t go with.

The rest of the Hermits would probably kill him if they found out he was still in contact with one of America’s biggest supervillains.

~

There was a famous werewolf cryptid in Britain, and a lot of people were after him.

The original Hermit Initiative Program, with only Keralis, Xisuma, Tango, and Bdubs- well, their first mission was to capture him. Luckily, it wasn’t all that difficult.

See, Ren was not a monster. Most of the time he lived in town and was just… a normal dude. On the days where he was too sore or lazy to put a hat on and hide his tail somewhere inconvenient, he just let people believe he was a furry, because he couldn’t give less of a fuck.

So tracking down a guy with literal wolf ears and a tail wasn’t difficult, especially when he wasn’t doing much to hide. Ren was more than happy to get away from the hunters and to a place where he could just live and be normal.

~

Doc was the result of several government experiments- none of them good.

When scientists had discovered a new species of what looked like furry green things that walked on three legs and looked sad all the time, they figured whatever it was should be kept hidden from the public.

Especially after one of them blew a crater in the side of a mountain and killed three people. 

A recently convicted scientist himself was selected to be, uh… tested on. It was a lot of blood and pain, but hey, that’s not a bad exchange for immortality and infinite explosive material.

~

Scar lost mobility in his legs thanks to a particularly risky mission in his rookie days- he got every civilian out, but there was definitely a cost.

It’s okay though!! His telekinesis allows him to move freely when he’s super-ing, and he has a big magical cat to keep him company at home. He was more than thrilled when there was an offer extended to him to be a Hermit, although he found it funny that it took them so long to locate him (a disabled person could never be a hero! *cough* Daredevil haters *cough*)

~

Cub was a scientist who… may have flown a little too close to the sun. See, he wanted powers, and he was successfully able to give himself wings! Unfortunately for him, he was too curious to stop there.

See, he’d found something called skulk deep, deep underground, in a buried city he and his team were excavating. Something big and very, very loud kept killing them whenever they took more than a few steps in, though, so the site was declared off-limits to everyone.

But Cub snuck in by himself, all the way to the center of the city. There was a portal there, and when he stepped through it… well, he either met God or Satan. Either way, now he’s basically Venom but with a much better color scheme, and he can no longer die! The only catch is that he’s a little bit possessed when using his powers, but the Hermits are there to look out for him.

~

Grian learned how to hunt very quickly and very suddenly, on the day superheroes were made illegal around the world.

Because, well, the best of the best were after him.

A bird boy! And a pesky one at that! Who used to be a hero! Everyone wanted to get their hands on Evo, and unfortunately, Grian was forced into hiding. Not that it was difficult- he had wings and razor sharp talons, so it wasn’t like anyone non-super could really get to him, but that didn’t stop people from trying.

He’s all for staying in the Hermit compound all day. It means he can lay out pranks while all the normal people are at work.

~

So maybe Pearl was born in Area 51. That didn’t exactly make her an alien. Maybe. Probably. 

Listen. She has wings and antennae, plus a big pretty spaceship DNA-encoded to her, but did that mean she wasn’t from Earth? Of course not! There are plenty of weird people there. Plus, her ancestors were worshiped by the people of Sanctuary. It’s like… fine.

She’s happy to be a hero, of course. When she got an in on the most prestigious hero group in America (Australia was totally dominated by some clown who looked like a gingerbread man), she was absolutely all in. Hermits are better than some lazer beam, anyways.

~

When Gem transitioned, she didn’t think it would come with fire powers. But hey, bonus.

She kept her antlers, but she actually liked that part. Her people didn’t see her as any less of a princess or priestess, if anything they loved her more for bringing that kind of power to their city, Dawn, which she took for her hero alias.

She had two groups she was a part of, actually, plus with the business of being Gaelic royalty to a group of people previously thought to be extinct, she had a full schedule. But she of course wouldn’t trade it for the world.

~

Cleo lived in Locri, Italy, way back in Ancient Greek times. She loved her patron goddess, Persephone, and didn’t actually mind Hades. She worked in the city’s mausoleum and crypt, so she got used to death pretty quick.

Well, Hades took a particular interest in her. Not that he could do anything, of course, she was a priestess of both him and his wife. But he harbored a crush of sorts all the way through her life.

She did die. She was mortal, after all. But she was so gorgeous, Hades couldn’t bear that loss, so… he granted her eternal ‘life’. She was green and missing a few pieces and was messily sewn together, plus her fiery orange hair had turned to snakes like Medusa’s, but she walked the earth again.

She never died again. She can’t, which makes her the ideal hero, although she won’t hesitate to paralyze you for a comment about her hourglass shape-

~

Honestly, Stress didn’t even want to be a hero, mostly. She owned a flower shop and she’d gotten there with the help of exactly zero men, and she didn’t have an interest in changing the world or anything.

Only problem- she had superpowers, and they were sort of hard to contain. Whenever she got antsy, cacti started to grow out of her carpet under her feet, and after getting those stupid invisible thorns stuck between her toes one too many times, she decided to get out and do things with her powers.

The Hermits were happy to have her, and she’s happy to report that she and the other girls are almost their own little team within the big group- and they’re fine-tuned to perfection.

~

Iskall’s modifications were actually their choice. There was an offer by some mysterious guy in a suit to be rich and powerful beyond belief, and since they were sick of living on the street, they took it.

So they ripped an arm and an eye out. Was it worth it? Definitely. 

No one makes fun of them anymore, for being NB or anything else, and they did pay them a lot. The only catch was singing onto a government sanctioned hero organization, and they were happy to go with their girlfriend to the Hermits. She slapped them for being an idiot and allowing themself to be experimented on, but she was happy to have them along.

~

If you don’t know what a Kitsune is, it’s a Japanese mythical creature that has two forms: fox and human (usually female). They’re kind of like sirens, and they’re absolutely stunning, but very manipulative and usually malicious.

Etho picked the name for the fact that he’s like half fox lol not that he’s evil; his ears and nine tails match the color of his hair. He is in fact immortal, but he doesn’t find that out until someone tries to off him and it just… doesn’t work. He can scar and be wounded, yeah, but death can never catch him.

~

There are a number of ways to become an assassin. Maybe you were raised since you were a kid. Maybe you were drafted by the government to cut back your sentence Suicide Squad-style. xB signed on in high school for extra credit.

Yeah, his history teacher was secretly a hitman, and students could sign a contract of silence to go on missions for extra credit. Sounds sketch, but it wasn’t terrible. He learned how to kill a man in over a hundred ways just with his hands and didn’t have to learn a thing about the Cold War through all of high school.

He decided just killing people was sort of immoral… although mostly that if he got good enough heroes would start to notice him. He figured if he couldn’t outrun them, he’d better join. And it was a good thing he did- he got his car-sized dog because of it.

~

Hypno was the most popular kid in his school for one reason: he had control over people’s memories. When someone asked him to make their teacher forget a due date, it magically happened. If an admin found out and tried to stop him, he wiped that as well.

Maybe he got a little carried away. He panicked one day and used it on his parents, only he put in too much effort in his lack of control, and… next thing he knew they were asking who he was and why he was in their house.

He hid from the AHM for as long as he could, thinking he’d be arrested. When they finally did track him down, they agreed to not throw him in a cell on one condition: join the Hermits. Honestly, not a bad deal.

~

In high school, Wels was… a huge nerd.

Yeah, he was on the varsity football team. But all his real passion went into theater and larping.

He and his twin brother, who was in the same boat, were exploring an abandoned excavation site behind their house one night, when the floor caved and they fell into the depths of what looked like an old buried building.

There were voices. The boys were knighted by ghosts and gifted unbreakable suits of armor. They left that site and had to pretend like everything was normal and fine with their lives. It came with a dope sword though, so who’s complaining?

~

Being made entirely of slime was cool because you couldn’t really be injured, but not as great because of how plain weird that made you.

Jevin and his cousin Charlie, who was also a hero, were in fact made of slime, as is their whole family. It’s just a weird gene that no one will specify on, but Jev doesn’t really mind.

The thing is, he’s resistant/ immune to pretty much everything. Extreme temperatures just sort of make him slower, and everything else goes through him or gets stuck in him. Not all that convenient, but it’s a nice perk when saving people. He doesn’t have to worry about himself.

~

Xisuma and his twin are the most powerful beings to ever exist.

Both of them can open portals through space, time, and other dimensions. They’re the only recorded people with that kind of power, ever. It makes them good leaders, but when one is constantly trying to destroy the world while the other is always trying to stop that from happening, scales balance out. If they were on the same side, there would be zero crime anywhere. Ever.

~

False started her business building little robots to make people’s lives easier, like a Roomba modified for carpet or a drone that pathfinds from your fridge to your living room to deliver drinks, and then it evolved from there. 

When it started to get a bit too big to handle, that’s when she conveniently met Mumbo.

The two of them had been working on something highly illegal- a weaponized drone in the shape of a person to be piloted around like a dummy hero- when Evo and Medusa fell right through their warehouse roof, singed around the edges and badly hurt.

Mumbo and  False’s service was so highly rated, the Hermits decided to officially adopt them into their team.

~

Joe and Beef share a kitchen/ lab, which is a good thing, because they’re kind of in the same field. Beef makes potions and food, and Joe is the healer. They’ve always been Hermits, as in assigned by the AHM always.

When various Hermits come in to steal food Beef usually throws either the nearest piece of fruit or a knife, whichever is closest to his hand. Everyone knows you don’t touch the cookies until you have express permission.

And Joe has patched up so many burns, bullet wounds, and stabs, that stitches are literally a no-brainer and he can be watching a movie in the background without a problem. It’s much more fun when heroes are made legal again so he can actually repair real damage made by supervillains.

The Hermits love them, don’t worry, no matter how many needles or knives are pointed their way.

~~~~~

so! there you go! please, PLEASE ask me to write stuff for this au, because I’m more than happy to do any hero scenario you can think of! if you want a villain list I’m sure that can be achieved, and although they’re mostly just Helsmits, it’s a fun concept.

so you know, think up a mission and send it my way. I’m so ready. what did you think?

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Hi! I really loved a post you made earlier about how society is only now returning to a variety of religious beliefs and was wondering if you could talk more about it. Any thoughts on countries taking up their original religions? Magnus and asatru? Rhys or his siblings with druidism?

TW discussions of religion, religious skepticism and fictional depictions of religion in historical fantasy. I feel like they pick up things they themselves remember but the modern human iteration is... Meh. No shade to believers, I did some time with the Nordic pantheon before the Nazis took it over but the modern iterations of almost all European pre-Christian religions are unfortunately mostly constructed between the 18th and 20th centuries. Almost none of it dates back further than revivals during the enlightenment. Would they see echoes of their lived experience in these revivals? Sure. I just don't know if they'd be adherents to the modern form when they can remember at least some of the real thing, otherwise now dead and gone. So I do think there's things in them that survive but they can't quite look at modern paganism as a belief system.

But two parts I think would really feel important to them: a lot of the pagan revivals are about a rejection of the Calvinist themes of Reformation and counter-reformation Christianity that emphasize individuality, created the belief of the elect who are saved by god and stripped Christianity of a lot of its older emphasis on community and mutual aid and responsibility. I think a lot of the pagan revivalism would very much appeal there and in its counter-culture themes.

And second, because I'm a weirdo who uses hetalia to get into really niche topics and practice writing historical fiction I want to publish when I'm grown, I try to stick to what we actually know. I want to replicate the perspectives of history. The fantastical aspects are often just adaptations of what magic was actually believed in, as far as I can adapt from a very limited pool of knowledge. I have written Alasdair carving the symbols we have from some Pictish standing stones and Ogham, a Gaelic form of literacy into objects and sacred trees to make them into portals and protective objects. I have written Arthur's primary contact with their mother as being not when he visits the site of her barrow and the Kirk that gives them their name that was later built on he same site, but after he drowns or is caught in a storm, because we know the Britons of prehistory and the Roman era and even into the early medieval believed water was a kind of portal between this world and the sacred. I gave Rhys their mother's bronze age sword because magic swords are everywhere in every flavor of Celtic Mythology. Arthur keeps Cromwell's head on the mantel partially because he's a stubborn fuck who can hold a grudge for centuries but also because we know that the ancient Celts believed the head specifically to be a very powerful magical object.

Norse paganism as we know it today is based on things like the Icelandic Sagas and the descriptions of the temple of Uppsala by Adam of Bremen. Those are fantastic documents but they only come into being centuries after the end of the Viking age and are written by Christians, usually clerics, and usually men. Our heads are full of images of powerful priestesses, shield maidens and goddesses, but more than a third of human women were starved as children compared to under ten percent of boys. Every Norse grave is different, with only general categories being able to be sussed put based on grave goods, the style of inhumation or cremation and marking ships or stones. We just don't know fuck all about the specifics what the people of this era really believed.

Or with the British celts. We know what the Romans said. That they burned criminals in wicker men, committed human sacrifice, that the Romans slaughtered the druids on Anglesey in Wales. We know the names of their gods when they are twinned with Roman ones or archaeologists find inscriptions. But so many of them are only known by one or two inscriptions. There are only eight for Brigantia and she was the patron goddess for the largest tribe by territory in Iron Age Britain. We know they offered sacrifices of value to bodies of water, we know from medieval Irish sources, also written by Christians, that they had 4 holidays aligning with the seasons and divided the year into half light half dark. But we don't know shit about songs or prayers or even how much the Romans made the fuck up. Which was likely most of it but we'll never know. What the Picts in Scotland may have believed is especially lost, we don't even have most of their language or even sheep counting like Cumbrian.

There's been a lot of push back against terms prehistory and dark ages and rightly so in that they conjure images of a filthy past, people living in their own shit and grim misery. But on a historical level, on an archival level, there really are such things as dark ages and prehistory where we just do not know the details and when discussing and writing religion I err towards what we know the most about, especially where archaeology and history can support each other.

[it-happened-one-fic]

500 Followers Playlist Starter Pack: The Genshin Impact Version!

Thank you so much!!! As I said in the Twisted Wonderland version of this post, I'm afraid I don't have time to do a full event (Christmas and all that jazz) but I did want to say thank you to everyone. Since I have a habit of listening to music while writing, I used few songs (I aimed for four each but didn't always make it) from my playlists to form sort of a starter pack under the cut! Again, thank you so much!!!

(NOTE: The links go to Youtube. Songs only for characters I have written [though the fic may not yet be posted]!)

Twisted Wonderland Playlist Starter Pack

Venti:

Tubthumping - Chumbawamba (cursing)

Fly Away - TheFatRat & Anjulie

Scalliwag - Gaelic Storm

Run - Jasmine Thompson

Kaeya:

Honey Whiskey - Nothing But Thieves

Skeletons - Dihaj

Night Moves - Lissie

Break The Ice - Britney Spears

Diluc:

Going Crazy - Goo Goo Dolls (cursing)

Natural - Imagine Dragons

I Will Not Bow - Breaking Benjamin

Life After You - Daughtry

Zhongli:

Centuries - Fall Out Boy

House of Memories - Panic At the Disco

Pompeii - Bastille

Yours Forever (Reprise) - Phillipa Soo & Conrad Ricamora (From Over The Moon film)

Xiao:

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross

Sound the Bugle - Bryan Adams (From Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron film)

All The King’s Horses - Karmina

My Demons - Starset

Baizhu:

Icarus - Bastille

Cure For Me - AURORA

Die For You - The Weeknd

Kamisato Ayato:

Feeling Good - Michael Buble

Million Dollar Baby - Ava Max

The Greatest - Sia

Arataki Itto:

All Star - Smash Mouth

I Like it, I Love it - Tim McGraw

Let’s Get it Started - Black Eyed Peas

Good Time - Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen

Thoma

Safe and Sound - Capital Cities

Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars

Our Song - Taylor Swift

Fallin For You - Colbie Caillat

Kazuha:

I’m Like a Bird - Nelly Furtado

North Star - Tyler Shaw

Butterfly - SMiLE.dk

Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant

Heizou:

Sherlock (CLUE + NOTE) - SHINee

I Think We’re Alone Now - Tiffany 

Troublemaker - Olly Murs (feat. Flo Rida) 

Alhaitham:

Blow Your Mind (Mwah) - Dua Lipa

(This Ain’t) No Thinkin Thing - Trace Adkins

DJ Gimi-O Habibi Albanian Remix (Slowed and Reverb) - Ricky Rich 

4 Minutes - Madonna, Justin Timberlake, & Timbaland

Kaveh:

Treat Her Like a Lady - The Temptations

There Was Sun - Nothing But Thieves

Let’s Stay Together - Al Green

Money, Money, Money - ABBA

Cyno:

Never Give Up - Sia

Arabian Nights - Will Smith (Disney Aladdin 2019)

Desert Rose - Sting & Cheb Mami

Whenever, Wherever  - Shakira

Wanderer:

How Far We’ve Come - Matchbox Twenty

17 Crimes - AFI

Please, Don’t Leave me - P!nk

Don’t You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds

Neuvillette:

Love Story - Indila

Don’t Turn Around - Ace of Base

Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics

Ocean Eyes - Billie Eilish

Wriothesley:

Bones - Imagine Dragons 

Warriors - Imagine Dragons

Daydream - The Aces

Animal - Neon Trees

Il Dottore;

Black Sea - Natasha Blume

The Wolf - SIAMES

Everything Black - UNLIKE PLUTO & Mike Taylor

One Hell of a Team - AmaLee & Divide Music

Childe:

Rasputin - Boney M.

Irresistible - Fall Out Boy

Don’t Blame Me - Taylor Swift

Hold Me Like a Grudge - Fall Out Boy

Dainsleif:

You and I - PVRIS

Never Really Over - Katy Perry

Die For You - Starset

Willow - Jasmine Thompson

[gloriousncss]

{katherine mcnamara, 28, cis woman, she/her} We are so glad to see you safe, QUEEN CLAIRE STUART of SCOTLAND! It’s dangerous out in the world these days, but I hear that you are GRACEFUL and WITTY enough to handle it. Just don’t let your CYNICAL NATURE bring you down! Stay on your guard, because with your secret being at risk for exposure, you wouldn’t want everyone to find out YOU WISH TO ALIGN YOURSELF WITH YOUR GREATEST ENEMY TO ENSURE PEACE.

Basics:

Name: Claire Alexandra StuartForbes Title: Queen of Scotland Age: 28 Birthday: October 1st (Libra) Sexuality: Heterosexual Marital Status: Widow of Laird James Forbes Positive Traits: Graceful, intellectual, witty, empathetic, outdoorsy Negative Traits: Cynical, logical, sassy, emotional. Hobbies: Horseback riding, tending to flowers and plants, archery Aesthetics: Whispering to plants in the window, long and elegant words that no one can pronounce, a sunny summer afternoon, journals filled with scribblings Family: High Rulers of Scotland (elder siblings), Ruler of Scotland (younger sibling)

Physical Attributes:

Height: 5 feet 4 inches Hair Color: Red/Ginger Hair Length: Just a bit down past the shoulders Hair texture: Light and wavy Eye Color: Moss Green Markings/Tattoos: None Accent: Modified English Accent (think Mary Queen of Scots from Reign) Languages Spoken: English, Gaelic, French, German Skin Texture: Smooth and soft

Prologue: (tw; illness, death)

It is often foretold by the greatest of historians that nothing is impossible... but those historians never tried to bring little Princess Claire out of the sunlight as a child. Inner walls and shadows were utterly boring, and terribly cold (as she often did), but the sun and the stars, the flowers and trees, the wind and the fresh smell of the day, always invigorated her. Were her tutors not so accommodating for the princess's desires to study outside, she would not have grown to carry such vastly intelligent vocabulary like she does now. Often, Claire's desires for big words leave her peers stunned and confused, which makes it oh-so-very difficult to have a stimulating conversation with, well, anyone. But she always held her frustrations to herself, keeping her hands folded, her smile sweet, and her manner genteel for the greater good of her nation, and the family, she loved. It was the very love in her heart that drove her to be the most dutiful and obedient daughter. There was even a time where Claire believed that obedience was rewarded when her betrothal came about to Laird James Forbes of Aberdeenshire. He was gracious, kind, a profound listener, and a scholar, just as she was. He appreciated her passion for nature (despite being allergic to pollen), her steadfast vegetarian diet, and shared her love of words. He would write her letters filled from corner to corner with illustrious phrases that were etched in her heart. It was by the age of six and twenty that they were married in the Summer with the cathedral windows wide open. They moved into the humble Craigievar Castle, famous for its pink tone. She tended to the gardens with her own two hands, encouraging the ivy to grow all the way up the walls. The libraries, kitchens, and her private studies were filled to the brim with fresh flowers and plants. They spent their evenings reading history together by the fire, practicing new languages, laughing over riddles and antic dotes. It was their perfect little paradise. The storm cloud came in the form of the Croup. It began with a small cough that persisted long enough to make his voice sound less like the sweet tone that soothed her nightmares. When his breathing turned to whistles, the physicians began to set up a separate room to hide his contagious condition, but Claire insisted on staying by his side. It was only when he knew his dying breaths were approaching that he whispered his final wish to her; love again, marry again, but be greater and be remembered so that history will love her just as much as he did. James Forbes, Laird of Craigievar, died peacefully with his loving, grieving wife weeping by his side. They were married only but 10 months. Everyone expected Claire to lose hope and catch the Croup as well, but for some mysterious reason... she never did. She lived.

Chapter 1: While everyone was at Lal Qila...

In the months after his husband's passing, Claire grieved in the walls of Inverness Castle. The town surrounding it was silent, as well, mourning with their dear princess. It was the support of her people that made Claire realize that she could, possibly, gain support to win herself the crown over her eldest siblings. Only then would James's request to be remembered throughout history would be honored. When her father, at last, found his eternal rest, the conflict began.

After The Reckoning:

Thankfully, the conflict did not last long when her and her three siblings agreed to create the Royal Regency of four regents together. It worked out, seemingly, perfectly; keeping peace with her family while also honoring James's final wish. Claire vowed to her siblings that she would never marry again, as to maintain the regency they shared, but she's far too smart to see they were headed down a dark path. In her mind, the only solution is to create a constitutional monarchy... the same government as their greatest enemy; France. Surely, without it, the conflict would arise again between her and her family, would it not? And so Claire has to find a way to end a generations-old feud in order to save her family from ruin.

TLDR: Claire is 100% a flower child, vegetarian, plant mom who loves learning and using big words (she's the type that would read your text, correct your grammar, and then go "sorry, I had to") and loves her family and country, willing to do anything for them. Thankfully, the match her family made for her was actually PERFECT?? Laird James Forbes was a bookworm with a pollen allergy who loved to listen and she LOVED HIM. They lived in a literal pink castle for about 10 months before he died of the Croup. His final wish for her was to love again and for her to be remembered so that history will love her as much as he did. Now, after a year and some months since he died, the system of the four royal regents has offered her an opportunity to always be remembered... but also to never marry again, so that she will always hold James in her heart. But it won't last forever, and Claire knows that. France seems to be doing fine with their constitutional monarchy, so now she must find a way to make peace with them in order to adopt their government and save her family.

SIMILAR CHARACTERS: Jane Clayton (Legend of Tarzan), Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia), Mary Queen of Scots (Reign), Fawn (Tinker Bell), Pocahontas (Pocahontas), Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables), Jane Villanueva (Jane the Virgin), Danielle (Ever After).

[balteren]

{Jessie Mei Li, 26, demi-female, she/they} We are so glad to see you safe,  ADVISOR OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ELEONORA ADLERBERG of SCOTLAND (SWEDEN)! It’s dangerous out in the world these days, but I hear that you are RESOURCEFUL and UNWAVERING enough to handle it. Just don’t let your WARINESS bring you down! Stay on your guard, because with your secret being at risk for exposure, you wouldn’t want everyone to find out YOU WERE SENT AWAY AFTER ELOPING WITH A STABLEHAND.

the basics Name: lady eleonora adlerberg Aliases: nell Country: scotland and sweden Gender/Pronouns: demi-female, she/they Sexual/Romantic Orientation: bisexual, biromantic Age: 26 Occupation: advisor of foreign affairs to the scottish crown Faceclaim: jessie mei li Marital Status: Technically married to Ulrich Siggurdson (see: her secret), publicly single Loyalties: princess claire stuart, possibly the scottish rebellion, the swedish crown  Pets: a black hanoverian gelding named hamlet 

aesthetics Inspiration: sansa stark (game of thrones), remus lupin (harry potter)  Animal: moose Tarot Card: the hanged man Zodiac: taurus Element: earth

tldr; Nell has a sweet, accommodating exterior, but her walls are incredibly high. She is hesitant to let most people in, but once she considers you a trusted friend, she will be loyal to you for life. They are intelligent and tactical, making them a good ally in politics and business. Their recent past has hardened them, and they are not the happy-go-lucky child they once were, but there are rare moments when her old self still shines through. She is often found outside, gardening, reading or riding her horse.  backstory: Eleonora Adlerberg was born on the wettest day Sweden had seen in twenty-five years. Her mother would often remark how they could hardly hear the newborn’s cries over the drumming of rain on the roof and the whistle of wind in the cracks of the windows. The storm melted the last of the snow and gave way to Spring, but the subsequent flooding delayed the start of the growing season by nearly two months.  Count Gustaf Adlerberg and Countess Mary MacLachlan were kind and loving parents to Eleonora, who they affectionately called ‘Nell’. She was a precocious and gentle child, blissfully unaware that she was being groomed to inherit her father’s estate and responsibilities. She devoured the history books in her father’s library, and took quickly to political philosophy. Her mother taught her Gaelic and English, and her father taught her how to ride horses as soon as she could walk. When they weren’t taking lessons or sleeping, you could find Nell exploring the grounds of the estate on horseback. The long Swedish summer days were spent swimming, collecting wildflowers, and galloping through the countryside. Even in the winter months she could be found outside, bundled in furs.  As long as she was excelling in her studies and staying on top of her duties as heir, her father was more than happy to allow her this kind of freedom.  One day in late spring, she walked to the stables to introduce herself to their new stablehand. She had expected an older man, much like their previous stablehand, but she was confronted with a young man, not much older than her. Almost immediately, he was making her laugh. Over the course of the summer, the two spent as many hours as they could spare together, taking long rides in the forest and sneaking picnics in a secluded meadow. They started as friends, but when autumn came, it was clear they were much more than that. When he asked her to elope, it did not take much convincing. Unbeknownst to Nell, her father had been informed of her plan. The same night they were married, she was captured by her father and sent to Scotland, where she would stay until her father died and she inherited his land and title, or until she had secured a high-status betrothal. As far as Nell knows, their husband was killed that night. They heard a musket fire in the distance, and from that moment forward there was a thick wall built around Them. She knows she was betrayed by someone in her family, but she does not know who, but she is intent on finding out. Watching the shores of Sweden slowly slip under the horizon, she made a silent vow to find escape or revenge- whichever came first. 

time at lal qila: Despite her grief, Nell found refuge in the Scottish Court. They created close connections with the people around them, and managed to create a sense of safety around them. During a siege, she was caught fleeing the palace and was imprisoned, but was released after a day. She managed to keep her secret hidden, and was able to begin healing, even if the healing was slow.  now:  Nell’s father fell gravely ill following her return from Lal Qila, and she was forced to go home to take her place as head of the Adlerberg family and to maintain the family’s estate until her father recovered. Following his unlikely recovery, Count Gustaf Alderberg told Nell she was no longer expected to return to Scotland and was relieved of her duties as a lady-in-waiting. Not wanting to remain in Sweden while her father was still alive, Nell accepted a job in Scotland as the advisor on foreign affairs. 

[grogusmum]

APRIL: Budding Moon

SELKIE!EZRA X F!READER

WORD COUNT: 800ish

RATED: T

SUMMARY: Ezra tells his precious pearl about his first love, a young sailor. This takes place after part 5 series masterlist

WARNING: EXCESSIVE USE OF NICKNAMES Selkie Ezra can't be stopped, he is a menace to my heart. mentions of pregnancy. That's about it.

A/N: Here is the April installment of The Wheel of the Year, my theme for @yearofcreation2023, in May, many apologies! May's installment will be posted before the month is out.

Organized by the effervescent @oonajaeadira and @writeforfandoms According to some European folklore, April’s full moon is a time of transformation and metamorphosis. It is said that during this time, witches and other magical creatures were able to shape-shift and take on new forms. Well, I couldn't resist playing in that sandbox!

Gaelic translations

Mo stór - my treasure

Mo stóirín - my little treasure

Mo fhíorghrá – my true love

Mo ghrá – my love

Mo mhuirnín dílis - “my own true love” or “my faithful darling

“Tell me of your first love, Ezra.”

“So young were we, my moonbeam. I was seven years in my seal coat, and he was so beautiful, a sailor… our time together was short but full.”

“Will you tell me?” You snuggle beside Ezra in your soft bed, your new home on Roan Inish, like a cocoon.

Yes, you have visits from family and you love nothing more than your time with Cee, but there are days on end where it is just the two of you, growing closer as new life grows within your belly.

“It is an age-old tale, mo stór (mu store), saved him from drowning, his boat tossed by the sea, caught in a storm to beat all. When I got him on land, I could not leave him. I took off my pelt for the first time since my transformation. It didn hurt. It never hurts, but I was quite overwhelmed. I hollered and near cried at the sight of my human form. I was just a boy, barely 14 when I was changed and then I was suddenly a man. The seal pays much less mind of such things, my Pearl.”

"My own? How did-" Confusion etches your features, "the tears? He didn't call you."

"So young and impetuous! Offered one transformation without tears. Used it up first chance I got. I wonder how things might have been different if I had waited..."

You look at one another, mapping what could have been-

"What was he called?"

“Angus," Ezra smiles fondly.

You hummed your approval-

"A handsome sailor named Angus? Didn't stand a chance. I would have taken my pelt off too."

"Not a ghost of a chance!" Ezra chuckles, kissing your forehead, pleased you understand. "Well, this fine sailor lay prone in the sand while I had myself a right fit, and when I tired myself out, I laid myself right down next to him and fell asleep. When I woke, he had covered my vulnerable person in his peacoat. But he was gone. My pelt safely tucked under me," Ezra pauses here to allow for the weight to settle.

"Good man," you nod.

"I soon found myself clothes to cover my wicked nakedness," Ezra cheekily nudges. "And went to return his coat. It took some time to find him. He was son of the lighthouse operator.”

“Did he know what you were? Did he know what you had done for him?”

“Slow down a tick, mo ghrá (mu graw) – It was not he who came to the door but his mother, I told her my intention to return his coat. Now then, as much as today, a young man calling on another with smitten eyes is sorely frowned upon, to say the least. And I don know if you have noticed this about me, Moonbeam, but I have great difficulty keeping my feelings under wraps.”

Ezrs noses your cheek with a smile. You curve further into him, hooking a leg around his and scoff lovingly-

“You?”

“Hard to believe, I know. She saw right through me, like I was made of onion skin. Ran me off. But my sailor saw the exchange from his window and found me later.”

“He didn’t”

“He did.”

“Did he love you as quickly as I loved you?”

Ezra looks at you with hesitation.

“When did you know you loved him?”

“Moonbeam.”

“It’s alright, I want to know. I know you have a big heart, and that you have loved others as much as you love me.”

Ezra gently takes your chin between his thumb and first finger, leveling your eyes with his.

“I have loved. Tis true, but my shining pearl, I have loved none as I love you.”

“Not even your beautiful sailor, Angus?”

“He was close, I dare not deny it. He was a close second. He took me to a boat house to talk. Yes, he knew what I was the moment he saw me on the beach. And twas I who pulled him from Lir’s fathoms. He kissed me in thanks. And I dare say to stop was an arduous task, once we started. We continued to meet surreptitiously.”

“Is it the same, loving a man? As loving a woman?”

“Love is love, of course, mo stóirín (mu storeen). But if I were to consider it the same, I would be guilty of being woefully inattentive to so many wonderments. Though putting a finger on it is no easy thing. There is a particular beauty and energy that men display and the same for women, and of course, there are those that defy those expectations and, well, that is just thrilling…”

“Our feelings grew, we would steal away, charting one anothers vestiges, discovering the bliss each location had to offer," Ezra runs his deft fingers along the dips and swells of your body, eyes on yours, searching for any sign discomfort in hearing about his past lover. He finds only interest and warmth and rubs his cheek on yours. Suddenly, his eyes turn sad-

"By and by, it became difficult for him to explain his disappearances. And of course a sailor must return to the sea.”

“So must a selkie,” your voice is smaller than you intended.

"Mo mhuirnín dílis (mu voor-neen deelish) I will convince you yet..."

Ezra wraps around you, pulling you impossibly close, filling in any space between you. The firelight flickering in his soft eyes. "There is no power that could pull us asunder, save were you ever to wish it."

You lay there quietly, fingers skating his cheek, chin, his brow, the slope of his nose.

"Never, Mo fhíorghrá (moh hear-graw), never, I sooner turn selkie myself."

THANK YOU FOR READING 💚

For more selkie Ezra or any of my writing, you can find my masterlist here, and if you care to be tagged for future fics, follow this link to my handy dandy taglist form!