#am i a bit cuckoo? absolutely.

[i-eat-deodorant]

Tell me about your onions.

here's an onion. i'm so funny.

ahem.

ok real talk though i've been doing a couple brief dives into the reincarnation aspect of buddhism/hinduism, which haven't been super applicable to COTL so far. which is a shame, bc it has such an interesting take on rebirth and resurrection within the nature of religion.

in COTL, death is seen as semi-permanent and a boon. lamb uses it to their advantage via the nature of game protagonists being able to restart from a save point when they died. the ritual of resurrection is groundbreaking for followers, and i headcanon that the ritual of rebirth is the main reason why TOWW got imprisoned. it is very much a loaded gun in the COTL world.

but buddhism treats rebirth as not only a nature of living, but something that needs to be escaped from. literally something that one must fight to be unshackled from, to break past samsara and reach ascension via nirvana. it's such an interesting viewpoint to consider and explore, especially bc my interpretation of lamb has them never being willing to become this resurrecting figure in the first place. as much as the red crown has been a boon for them, it's also acted as a bind. they will always have both their mortal and godly vices.

in both hinduism and buddhism there are multiple schools of thought that tackle the continuuity of resurrection, aka "what is carried over when one is reborn?"

now suppose narinder did not carry everything he had as TOWW to his mortal form. what is lost, and what is gained?

if i were to adapt samsara into my cotl fics i'd focus less on actual death and more on metaphorical ones. which, ok bear with me here, is a huge part of my personal philosophy.

humans are not static; we grow and develop, and in doing so we shed prior versions of ourselves like metamorphosis. a sort of ego death lite, if you will. when faced with a traumatic event, the person you once were is not the same as the person you are now. that is the kind of metaphorical death i'm talking about; the death of a former self.

but what exactly marks the new self and the old self? nothing, theoretically. we can make the boundary as low or as high as we want.

consider the ship of theseus: if a huge portion of my body is replaced every 7 years, can i definitely say i am who i was 7 years ago? what part of identity and self stays constant, when my personality's changed drastically? am i a stranger with the memories of someone else?

now narrow the boundary. if the self is physically static, then every time a cell dies, the self dies.

using that technical definition, technically i die and am reborn every single second. a metaphorical death and a metaphorical rebirth, and what gets carried over?

something something life and death are two sides of the coin of change.

that's why i kinda keep emphasizing lamb's impostor syndrome crisis about themselves dying in both soul and body during the execution. that's why i divide narinder's life into such stark epochs (mortal, bishop, imprisoned, mortal again). that's why i love treating their afterlife not as a continuity of their character development, but a second chance. ship of theseus, broken down and rebuilt anew.

it's not nirvana. but it's making the best out of your own personal samsara.

and just. there's something so poetic about narinder and lamb reincarnating as gods of death, because the only way to die repeatedly is to live again after each one. a taste of permanence in the impermanent, without ever reaching that finality that they embody as gods. they represent the very thing they are and aren't. it's a paradox that makes perfect sense the moment you remove the black-and-white boundary of life/death that dictates they must be opposites.

and this is what i love exploring. breaking down the barriers of identity and death in the metaphysical sense, in two characters who are defined by so much loss in their lives. (metaphorical) death, treated as redemption, treated as healing.

lamb, offering a hand up to a newly reborn narinder. i died, i got up, and i live.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Hi, if you're still doing cuddle prompts, could I request Mayday with hugging from behind?

If you want to, and have time, no pressure.

Life Day Comes but Once Each Year... but Mayday Doesn't

A/N: Happy Krampusnacht, Nika! My deepest apologies for the long delay on this fic, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. You can blame @cloned-eyes for my clone!Krampus obsession. Their Krampus Bad Batch art has been living rent-free in my head for a year, and I am definitely on the naughty list. Thanks for that.

Pairing: Krampus!Mayday x Reader (fem; has hair)

Rating: M (mature content intended for readers 18+; minors DNI)

Wordcount: 2.7k

Warnings and tags: established relationship but it’s complicated; fluff; domesticity; SMUT with the tiniest scrap of plot to explain how TF Mayday ended up as Krampus; allusions to spanking/flogging; monsterfucking but make it tender because it’s Mayday; oral sex; fingering; PIV; creampie; body worship; more fluff; crack treated seriously; Mayday wants to wife you up because it is literally impossible for me not to see this man as husband material; mention of wanting children; if horns not for grabbing, why handle-shaped? 

Summary: He’s a monstrous immortal who has carried out the duties of Krampus across the galaxy for a millennium. But for one night each year, just before Life Day, he’s yours.

Suggested Listening:

This fic smells like: Apres by Ellis Brooklyn (evergreen trees, snow-capped mountains, bourbon on a cold night)

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The cabin was dark, save for the soft, warm glow cast by the lights of the Life Day tree and the flickering illumination of the fire that blazed in the wood stove. Outside, the wind howled with menace as the snow whirled in a blinding flurry, but the cabin was sturdy, and the winter storm battered fruitlessly against the walls. 

On the caf table sat two empty schnapps glasses and a half-finished puzzle, abandoned with its incomplete pieces scattered across the tabletop and the floor around it. The Life Day album you’d been playing had long since ended, and now the only sounds in your living room were the faint crackle of the fire, the muffled roar of the wind, and the quiet ticking of your cuckoo chronometer.

The scene was disgustingly wholesome, considering the decidedly unwholesome activities that had occurred on top of that very caf table not much earlier, but you were too drowsy and comfortable to care. You were curled up across Mayday’s lap, with your head tucked into the crook of his neck and your hand resting flat against his chest, just over his heart. You could feel the beat of it, steady and warm beneath your palm, and for a moment, you closed your eyes, just to listen to the sound of his breathing.

“Tired, love?” he asked, pressing his lips to the top of your head. His fingers trailed over your shoulder, down your bare arm to your elbow, and back up, again and again, in a hypnotic rhythm.

“Hm-mmm,” you lied. “Wide awake.”

His quiet chuckle ruffled the fine hairs at your hairline. “You know liars go on the naughty list.” 

You smiled and tilted your face up to kiss his cheek, brushing your fingertips along the curling length of one of his horns. “I’m pretty sure at least half of the things we did earlier were enough to land me on the naughty list in perpetuity.”

“A permanent fixture,” he agreed. His solemn tone was belied by the smile that faintly creased the corners of his dark eyes that glimmered red in the dim light. “I have a special place on it, just for you.”

“I hope it’s at the top.”

“Is that where you want to be?” He grazed the tip of his nose down your cheek and then bit your lip softly.

“On top, underneath, on the floor, on my knees—anywhere you want.”

“Careful, darlin’. That kind of talk will get you in trouble.”

“Oh, no, I would absolutely hate it if you felt the need to punish me with those birch rods of yours,” you murmured.

He chuckled quietly as his hand stole up your thigh to massage over the fading red marks and gently squeeze your ass. “Did you not get enough earlier?”

His hands slid languidly up your body, gathering up your oversized knit sweater and pushing it up and over your head, leaving you completely nude.

“You know, there’s a snowstorm out there,” you teased. “I’m going to get hypothermia.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm.” His lips trailed down your throat as he leaned you back against the small mountain of throw pillows and began to kiss his way down your body. “Your sofa is much more comfortable than your caf table. We should have done this earlier. Take pity on an old man’s knees.”

“I wasn’t aware that immortal, mythical beings had joint problems—Oh, that’s nice, keep doing that.”

“With pleasure.”

He draped one of your legs over your shoulder, and the other he pinned between his body and the back of the sofa. He gripped your hips, holding you in place while he took you apart with meticulous thoroughness. Your fingers tunneled through his shaggy hair and then wrapped around his curling horns, shamelessly using them for leverage as you guided his head exactly where you needed him. 

“Just like that,” he murmured, his voice vibrating over your flesh, driving every thought from your mind as his lips moved softly against your cunt and his forked tongue swirled over and wrapped around your clit. “Do that again. Show me how you want me.”

His long tongue slid deeper, caressing insistently inside your body, focusing on the places he knew so well and working you with agonizing precision. Your hips twitched up off the couch, moving without your permission as you let out a sudden gasp. His strong hands tightened around you and pressed you back down.

“Liked that, did you?” 

His tongue slid back inside, repeating the exact motion until you were shaking and whimpering beneath him, desperate and balancing on the knife edge of pleasure.

And then he withdrew, the monster.

You swallowed a choked sound of protest and suppressed the urge to grab his horns and press him back down. He smiled wickedly up at you and licked his lips.

“I could feast on you all night, love,” he said.

Then why the kriff did you stop?! You wanted to scream, but you knew it would just make him more determined to draw out your torment.

“I’d let you,” you replied breathlessly, hoping that he’d take the karking hint and put that lovely tongue back to work.

No such luck. He dropped his head back down, but instead of going where you wanted him, he pressed a kiss just above your pussy, then another, a little higher, and another, higher still, until he had kissed a trail halfway up your abdomen. He buried his face against your belly, using you as a pillow, and you were just beginning to wonder exactly what the punishment would be for murdering your teasing godsdammned Krampus lover, when he spoke.

“I missed you this year.” His quiet, surprisingly vulnerable words melted away your irritation like snow in spring.

“I missed you, too.”

He tilted his head to look up at you with soft eyes. “What did you miss?”

“Your extremely long tongue,” you quipped, determined to keep things casual despite brushing painfully close to confessing the decidedly uncasual nature of your feelings for him. 

He laughed. “Anything else?”

“Your extremely thick—Oh!” Your words were cut off by your own gasp as he slid one of his big fingers into your cunt.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Let me hear you.”

You would have levitated off the couch if he hadn’t been holding you down. As it was, you let out a sound that would have been embarrassing if you’d been cogent enough for it to register. Instead, you writhed and whimpered, and when he slid a second finger in next to the first, it was all over for you. The orgasm he’d teased you with crashed into you, and your body thrashed beneath him as you cried out hoarsely. 

“There it is,” he growled. “There’s that beautiful sound I’ve been dreaming about all year.”

He watched you with voracious eyes, a subtle glimmer of red flashing in their depths as his clever fingers wrang every last drop of pleasure from your body, drawing out your climax until you felt as though your entire body was unraveling. Knelt between your thighs, with a sinful grin that flashed his sharp canines, he looked like the devil himself, come to steal your soul away.

Except he wasn’t satisfied with only your soul. He wanted all of you: heart, body, and mind, and damn him to the seven hells, because you’d given them all to him.

The sofa creaked under his shifting weight as he began to crawl up your body, still working his fingers inside you, his lips and tongue grazing softly over every curve, every freckle, every centimeter of your smooth, warm skin. 

“My sweet, perfect little one,” he murmured, withdrawing his fingers at last as he settled between your thighs.

It had been strange at first, all those years ago, to feel the thick, warm fur of his thighs when he moved inside you. You had long since grown accustomed to it, and you sighed luxuriously as he pressed into you. His hand glided down your thigh to wrap it around his hip, and suddenly, he paused.

“What’s this?”

He pulled his hand away and held up a puzzle piece he’d found stuck to your leg.

“That was definitely your fault,” you laughed.

“Guilty as charged.” He tossed the puzzle piece over his shoulder and captured your hand instead, drawing it up over your head and interlacing your fingers with his own as he held it in place. 

“Kriff, you’re so fucking tight,” he panted, his breath hot against your throat as he tucked his face against your shoulder, kissing and softly biting, careful not to break the skin but letting you feel the sharp points of his teeth nonetheless. “Your pussy is magic. You feel incredible. I missed you so much—I missed this.”

Your legs twined around his waist; your free hand tangled in his hair and then glided down the back of his neck to hold him close.

“Kiss me,” you said, and he did, without hesitation. 

His tongue swept between your lips, and you could taste the wild, heady flavor of your own body in his kiss. He began to move, setting a languid pace but thrusting hard. 

“Gonna fuck you so deep you’ll never forget me,” he whispered.

As if you could ever forget him when you felt him in every beat of your heart, every breath of your lungs, every pulse of blood in your veins. He owned you without ever staking a claim. He owned you, and he didn’t even know it.

“Yes,” you breathed. “Make me feel you for days.”

He took his time, savoring you as if every tick of the chronometer didn’t steal away another second of your dwindling moments with him. But he knew what he wanted, and he pursued it relentlessly, refusing to take his own pleasure until he’d built you inexorably to another climax. Only when he felt you clench around him and cry out his name did he finally let go. He pounded into you hard and fast, gripping your hip in one massive hand to hold you in place until at last he came with a silent snarl, flooding you with molten heat.

He collapsed onto you. You reveled in his weight and warmth, burying your face against him and inhaling his scent as if you could brand it on your memory. After a moment, he shifted off of you. He tucked you against the back of the sofa and stretched alongside you, resting his forehead against yours as he wrapped you in his arms.

“Magic, huh?” you murmured with a tiny smile.

“Magic,” he repeated. 

He tugged the throw blanket from its crumpled heap on the floor and settled it over the pair of you, and within seconds, you were asleep.

The cabin was cold when you woke, and Mayday built the fire back up while you brewed a pot of caf. It had been little more than a power nap, but still, you felt a pang of regret that you’d wasted even that much of your limited time with him in sleep. You could sleep after he left, after all. You would have a whole year to sleep.

You stood by the window, hands wrapped around your mug of hot, fragrant caf, silently observing the scene outside. The storm had exhausted itself overnight, and the resulting thick blanket of fresh snow was perfectly, eerily peaceful. It was dark yet, but the pale light of dawn had begun to outline the mountains in a narrow strip of gold.

“Sun is coming up,” you murmured. “You’ll need to leave soon.”

He came to stand behind you, slipping his hands around your waist and wrapping you in his arms as he pulled you back against his chest and rested his chin on your shoulder. “I don’t want to go.”

“I don’t want you to, either,” you confessed.

“Maybe I should stick around.”

Your heart panged, and it actually stung that he would even joke about something like that, but you refused to taint the last few moments you had with him this Life Day by getting weepy, or gods forbid, begging him to stay.

“How would that work? Considering you’re, you know…”

“An ageless, unkillable monster tasked with punishing evildoers each year before Life Day,” he supplied helpfully. “Or as I prefer to think of it, enforcing the naughty list.”

“Yeah, that.”

Your wry tone pulled a reluctant laugh from him, and he tightened his arms more securely around your body, pulling you close. “Because it’s the final year of my contract.” 

“Contract?”

“I died,” he explained quietly. “A long time ago, on a planet far, far away. In the bitter winter, under the pitiless gaze of a man who saw me as less than nothing.”

You sucked in a sharp breath, tamping down your rage at this unknown man, knowing that right now, he needed your understanding, not your righteous indignation. “What happened?”

“The Force saw it differently. I was offered a chance. An opportunity for another life.”

“And the catch was…” You reached up behind you to trace your fingertips along the curve of one of his horns. “... this?”

He nodded. “One thousand years of service.”

One thousand years. Gods.

“Was it worth it?”

He huffed softly, and his hand flattened against your belly and slid up your rib cage until it rested just below your breast. “Ten years ago, I would have said no. Ten years ago, I would have said it was a cosmic kriffin’ joke.”

“Ten years?” you whispered. “That was—”

“When I met you,” he finished. “Ten years is nothing to me. I was so close to the end of my contract that I could taste my freedom. But ten years is a hell of a long time for a mortal. I knew there was no way I could ask you to wait for a creature like me—someone you only saw once a year.”

You rested your palm over his hand and then lifted it to your lips to press a kiss against his wrist. “Good thing you didn’t have to ask.”

His hand curled around the side of your head, and he turned his head to kiss your temple. “I want to marry you.”

Your heart stuttered to a halt before giving a violent thump. “... What?”

 “I knew from the first time I saw you.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” you demanded.

“I never propose before the tenth date.”

“That’s not funny!” you exclaimed.

“They can’t all be zingers.”

“Be serious, Mayday.”

“I am serious,” he said softly. “I want you to be my wife. I want to wake up next to you every morning, instead of alone in an empty bed. I want you to be the mother of my little hellspawn babies.”

You snorted, and he smiled, pressing one last kiss to the side of your head. For a moment, you allowed yourself the indulgence of imagining a future of this: waking up with him, having these moments of quiet intimacy every day, instead of squeezing as many as possible into a single day each year. It was a lovely fantasy, but your pragmatic mind refused to let you dwell on it for long before logic started poking holes in the idea.

“But you’re immortal,” you protested, “and I’ll be gone in a blink of your eyes.”

“Not after this Life Day,” he replied. “Once my service is done, I’ll age like any other human.”

“But you’ll keep the horns, right?” you blurted out before you could stop the words.

He smirked. “I think that could be arranged.”

“And really, we’ve only known each other for ten days.”

“I’ve thought about you every single moment in between. I’ve crossed the galaxy more times than I care to count, and I have seen more things than you can possibly imagine. And in all my long life, I have never seen anyone more perfect for me. I was never meant to find anyone, but I found you, and I can’t imagine letting you go.”

Oh, that’s just… That’s just playing dirty. Damn him and his silver tongue. His lovely, long, forked—FOCUS! This isn’t the time to be making decisions with your ovaries!

“You’re just bewitched by my magic pussy.”

That startled a laugh out of him, and he tilted your jaw up for a kiss. “Stop talking like a degenerate and say you’ll marry me.”

“Fine. But if baby Krampuses come out with horns, we’re getting a divorce.”

If you haven’t seen @/cloned-eyes Krampus Bad Batch art, you need to. Wrecker, Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Echo, Wolffe.

More Mayday: Fluff and spice.

Taglist:

@523rdrebel @wings-and-beskar @merkitty49 @arcsimper5 @clio3kantarella

@cloneloverrrrr @goblininawig @ladytano420 @arctrooper69 @sunshinesdaydream

@littlemissmanga @stunkbiggu @marierg @idontgetanysleep @lonewolflupe

@moonlightwarriorqueen @dudewhynotthis @sleepycreativewriter @tcwmatchmakingau @littlemissbshine

@heavenseed76 @bobaprint @sweetcream-coldfoam

@skellymom @pickleprickle @trixie2023 @cw80831 @flyiingsly

@lightwise @swcowgal @vrycurious @thora-sniper

@reader6898 @cdblake1565 @epicy0n @starstofillmydream @msmeredithrose

@totallyunidentified @eclec-tech @euphoriacafe @hipwell @kimiheartblade

@dangraccoon @transactivecybermemory @etod @ivyyyyy @somewhere-on-kamino

@burningnerdchild @saneabandoned @heidnspeak @maniacalbooper @rebell-ious

[elodieunderglass]

🎀

Fanfic ask game: https://www.tumblr.com/elodieunderglass/769295248269705216?source=share

“🎀 how do you decide when something is done?”

That’s such a good question, thank you! I know where I’m going with my (recent) fics because they’re all mechanisms.

They’re like a little clockwork item that I hand to you, and when you wind it up, it Does Something. It opens up to show you something inside, or it unfolds to be something else. Or it’s a puzzle box with something exciting. Sometimes it mostly just shows you how it’s made. Sometimes it’s a jack-in-the-box and the surprise is just that it goes “pop” and makes you laugh.

It’s important that the construction be witty. In addition to the overall mechanism working properly, it’s important to me that it be done in a stylish way. Even if I don’t pull this off, I know it’s done if it’s managed to meet the goal of the mechanism and also be a bit collectible and stylish.

This is how the jokes are supposed to go off in your brain:

Anyway, I know they’re done when the mechanism works!

Sharpe’s Daemon is a very quick character study set up so the last line hits like a punch: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58673878 It’s supposed to be satisfying and funny and make you go OH NO. I knew it was done because it does this! All the writing before the punchline is there to make the punchline happen. It was written with the ending in mind: once the ending was achieved, the fic was done, and ready to be served!

The absurdly ambitious Strange Pilgrims (Good Omens) is many things, but one of them is “two interlocking spirals, one black and one white. It is about how the universe, the depicted ship, and all the small things are also in this shape - the love between the characters being the same geometry as the underpinning physics of the galaxy etc etc etc” https://archiveofourown.org/works/19368694/chapters/46082842 so it SLIGHTLY bothers me that the earlier-written chapters are weaker and unbalanced it! Also, when they announced there was going to be a Good Omens season 2, I was so disgusted that I had to scramble madly to finish the damned thing early ( it initially had a shape that could support the development of a sequel. They would have been very pretty next to each other but MY 123k baby is a Pratchett love letter, not advertisement for some other guy.) that’s why it has the absolutely unhinged Choose Your Own Adventure multiple-ending mechanism, where you select a glitchy tarot card to get “your” ending, and you can choose to stop there or interlock it further. I have not seen that done before and I CAN SEE WHY PEOPLE DONT DO IT.

His Delicious Materials (Dungeon Meshi) https://archiveofourown.org/works/56658973/chapters/144024799 is a work in progress and actually has me puzzled because the intention of the mechanism may have changed! It was scoped as a gift, but - I am so touched by this - other people like it too, and I may have to do one route for the original recipient and another for the other readers. Like the person it’s for would enjoy a cuckoo clock, but the people reading it are going “oh this is a GREAT music box” and I’m like oh dang, it WOULD be a very effective music box.

Weasel Heart in Defiance (Dungeon Meshi but as an argument with Tolkien) https://archiveofourown.org/works/60074548/chapters/153284221 is going to be 125k in order to set up an ending scene in which - having spent 125k with these idiots in their silly world - you cry. And you go THANK YOU ELODIE I GET IT. And it sets off a Halfling Revolution in your heart. That scene’s already written, and the rest of it is just colouring in. That one is already done, basically.

[milfswriter]

Innocent

Alma Peregrine x Reader

Request by @queerpersonified: Peculiars assuming reader is dangerous and shouldn’t be around kids, when in reality she’s a very loving, nurturing supportive wife and parent (I have a feeling that would get on Alma’s nerves REAL FAST)

Notes and warnings: reader's peculiarity is being able to show memories (like transform the room into that specific memory? get it? and no it can't be tampered with lol)

You walked into Ditch house after finishing a shift with Sharon to monitor who enters and exits the loop through the panloopticon, sighing as you saw the children from different loops disperse at the sight of you.

It wasn't anything new, you'd been living here for the past few weeks and you should've gotten used to the weird looks and Ymbrines hiding their children behind them at the sight of you already.

But how could you? They were judging you based on a lie that the peculiar press has been spreading for the past 30 years. you bit your lip nervously, looking around the house for Alma or anyone you knew but you couldn't find them. You brushed it off and sat on a couch, reading a book before hearing someone clearing their throat.

You looked up to see a boy you recognized to be from Miss Cuckoo's loop. "Who allowed you to sit here?"

You raised an eyebrow, "Do I need permission to sit? I thought we shared this house"

He scoffed, walking away before Enoch stopped him with a hand to his chest. "Don't ever talk to Y/n like that"

_________________

You tried to ignore the staring as you carried Claire around the house, their wary looks making you feel like they were about to snatch her from you any second.

Later that day, you were invited by Alma to join her in the council meeting to discuss dealing with the desolations Caul has been causing. As you reached the meeting room, you knocked on the door hesitantly before coming in, a flood of relief washing over you as the first thing you saw was Alma's soft smile.

"Now that we're all here, I'd like to-"

"What is she doing here?" You turned to see Miss Cuckoo grimace at you, her cane hitting the table.

You stayed in your place near the door, waiting for Alma to kick you back out.

"I beg your pardon" Alma's questioning tone made you feel the slightest of relief before Miss Cuckoo made her way to you, pointing at you with her cane.

"For all I know," she spat, her french accent thickening "she's working with Caul! She shouldn’t be in here!”

"Isabel!" Alma's tone was hard, a glare burning holes at her friend. She couldn't understand her fellow ymbrines, why would they treat you like you were a time bomb, about to explode any second.

"How. Dare You!" you yelled, the room falling into silence once again. Even Miss Avocet was too shocked to say anything.

You were always respectful, holding doors for Ymbrines and bowing your head to them whenever you saw one of them even when the look of disgust was apparent on their faces, so seeing you yell at one was nothing less of shocking.

"I..have been trying for DECADES to rectify my mistake! it was an accident! I DID NOT CONTROL THAT HOLLOW! I did not order the deaths of those children!" you were fuming, you had enough.

"Y/n. That is enough" Miss Avocet said, moving her wheelchair as if she was about to ask one of the ymbrines to escort you out.

"No, it is not. I am sick of this treatment which I absolutely do not deserve! I am not a monster, nor a killer" you caught your breath before turning to Miss Cuckoo.

"And you!" you pointed to her, her face contorted in surprise "how dare you accuse me of working with the one person who ruined my wife's life? hm? you dare say that so openly, too"

"ENOUGH!" Alma's voice echoed through the room, you were waiting for her to kick you out of the room, but she herself left the room after pulling your hand.

You were following her silently. "This! is Y/n Y/l/n! an innocent woman who had done nothing wrong in her entire life! whatever lie you've been told has to stop. NOW!" the children watched with horror, whispering to one another.

"Show us" she told you, looking back at you as you stood behind her shamefully.

"Alma, you don't have t-"

"Show. Us" you gulped, closing your eyes as you began to remember that wretched day, sighing as you felt the room change into that dark alley.

You watched your past self's hands tremble at the sight of the children behind that hollow, you didn't know what to do.

"get away! run!!" you yelled but they couldn't hear you from the hollow's growls. You kept on screaming for them to run since they couldn't see the damn thing, but they kept in their place, looking around for any sign of danger but found none other than the sounds of the hollows.

You didn't have any weapons, you couldn't have possibly fought the beast by hand but you still tried to run.

You fell on you knees as you saw the hollow scoop the three children up with its tongues, closing your eyes as their screams echoed through the alley.

The memory faded as you hid behind Alma, whose hands were shaking as she closed her eyes. She's never asked you to talk about any of that, let alone show it.

The room was silent and as you looked up Alma's shoulder, they were all staring at you. Ymbrines children and even Addison, who's always told you he believed your story.

You looked at Alma's still-frozen frame, you'd scared her, you shouldn't have shown this memory. Your thoughts were interrupted by your wife clearing her throat, turning to look at you with teary eyes.

Your lips trembled at her stare, gulping as the older woman pulled you into her embrace, which elicited a soft sob from you as you clung to her for dear life.

"oh, y/n/n" she whispered, "I'm sorry you had to witness that" You shook your head, letting go of the woman in front of you and looking at the others.

"I was a hollow hunter" you admitted, "just like Abe Portman, but one day, things went wrong and..those children died. It wasn't my fault and I would never work with Caul Bentham even if it cost my life" you felt a tug at your pants to see Olive with tears in her eyes as she hugged you.

"I know you would never do that to us" she hiccuped, making you sigh as you leaned down and picked her up. You shouldn't have shown the damn memory, now you scared your children for others' stupid opinions.

Alma cleared her throat after seconds of silence, her hand resting on your lower back.

“I believe you all owe miss y/l/n an apology”

Taglist:-

@ara-a-bird @mmemalwa @multifandomfix @thenazwife @mistysswampmud @yelenablshop @acornacre @yourfavdummy @jestercat28

[writing-for-life]

Thessaly, Johanna and a weird meta about musical motifs (amongst other things)

Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

As a little intro: A lot of people in the fandom want to see Thessaly cut from the TV adaptation, or at least see her changed substantially. I am not necessarily one of them because I don’t think it’s always necessary to blur the lines between fiction and reality that way, and I would be alright with portraying her in a similar way as in the Audible adaptation (where a lot of things have already been changed to make her character more palatable to 21st century audiences). It would also make Morpheus look a bit less morally grey (I mean, he falls in love with someone who is essentially a terrible person, knows it and doesn’t seem to give a shit. Then again, he often is morally grey, and people like to forget that ;)).

Having gotten that out of the road: I *do* think that “A Game of You” is hard to translate to the screen. I absolutely love it in the comics, but I think it’s one of those arcs that is tricky to do well for TV. I’d even go as far as saying it might be a dealbreaker for some people who haven’t read the comic/are show audience only, and it might jeopardise a potential S3. Not because of Thessaly or the plot as such, but because it operates on a similar plane as The Doll’s House, which was jarring to a lot of people in S1. And The Doll’s House has a far more straightforward arc and more Morpheus in it—AGoY has none of these things. I’d personally love to see it, but I would also love to see Morpheus’ full arc being brought to the screen, so I am a bit conflicted. I still think, and of course that’s just a personal opinion, that it would be best to just have little bits and bobs inserted into Season of Mists and do the whole Cuckoo arc as an animation, but that’s just me.

@tickldpnk8 and I already speculated wildly about S2, and sole speculation it is, but maybe you want to check out that post. I’m getting carried away here...

After that longwinded intro: Are we going to get Johanna instead of Thessaly?

What I actually wanted to write about is why the longer I think about it (and I’ve been thinking about it since S1, I'm really that sad), the more I can’t shake the feeling that they *will* replace Thessaly with Johanna. And the fandom is totally divided about it—some love the idea because they had undeniable chemistry in S1, others hate it for various reasons (doing Johanna dirty, keeping Thessaly "intact"--you name it).

I personally think it might actually elevate the story because it would make Morpheus look better (*if* that's what we want--I'm not really sure I do), and that’s what show-only-fans seemingly gravitate towards. As already hinted at, Thessaly/Murphy always seemed a rather unfathomable relationship, and it didn’t just make Murph look stupid, but also, as already mentioned, morally grey and not very discerning in his choice of women (hmm, maybe he just isn’t ;)).

Falling for Johanna wouldn’t be any of this. And it would be so easy to show why it went horribly wrong without making either of them look bad, and you could still feel for both of them. If we think about Johanna’s worst nightmare (literally), it’s what happened to Astra. So she would absolutely and unequivocally support someone like Lyta, who worries about her child. And she would do it for all the right reasons, and not because she’s a selfish bitch who just wants a longer life or is generally spiteful.

And it wouldn’t be hard for Morpheus and Johanna to hook up either. They could even leave the original idea intact: Thessaly just dreamed of him, and they started talking in dreams, bla bla bla. We already have the set-up for that in S1. Morpheus took away Johanna’s nightmare. She could just be grateful, relieved, whatever, and dream of him. Done. And we don’t even need to explain that at great length, because in the comics, we never really see them hook up anyway and just find things out after the deed. Although I personally *want* to see them get hot and heavy on screen, but that’s just me having my mind in the gutter because why would you not to show two sexy people with so much chemistry doing exactly that. However, I’ll survive the disappointment if they don’t—just 😂

But it’s not just the plot. It’s also everything we’ve seen in S1. I have already talked about this in other threads, most recently with @orionsangel86, but literally every shot with them in S1 was framed as a romance shot: the proximity, the play on height difference, the camera angles, the lighting. These are deliberate choices, either to hint at what’s to come, or to set up a distraction, MacGuffin, whatever.

Then the mention of “None of us can be trusted.”

Or the RAIN. I mean, I am so surprised no one has commented on that waterfall of RAIN when they say goodbye (or I’ve just not seen it). You cannot read the comics and ever believe again that Morpheus and rain, no matter where, doesn’t hint at terrible relationship outcomes.

Musical themes, oy!

But the thing that really got me was the use of musical motifs, and I am unfortunately showing my background from a former life here because I can never listen to a movie soundtrack without getting analytical about it. Johanna’s theme is called “Johanna & Rachel”, and it would be easy to just think of it as that. And yes, it is a love theme, but it doesn’t just play for Johanna and Rachel. It plays in Morpheus’ and Johanna’s last scene as well.

And here’s the kicker: Dream’s and her theme complete each other, as in: They both have what the other one is missing. They are musically extremely close, but not identical. Let me explain:

If you think of the opening lines of both of their motifs in scale degrees (like 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-(1)), they look/sound as follows:

Johanna (her motif begins right at the start, so I didn't timestamp it)

1-(minor3)-7-(2)-(1) | 1-(major3)-m7-1

If I put all of “her” scale degrees in a row, they are: 1-2-3-7

Dream (you actually hear his leitmotifs, and their subtle differences, best in his scenes with John Dee):

1-(7)-(6)-(5)-(4) | 1-(7)-(6)-2 (video is timestamped)

1-(7)-(6)-(5)-(aug4) | 1-(7)-(6)-2 (video is timestamped)

If I put all of “his” scale degrees in a row, they are: 1-2-4-5-6-7

Morpheus is missing the third (3). Missing the third, which s considered one of the most consonant intervals and DYNAMIC, also hints at his character, but that just as an aside.

Johanna has the third (both in its minor and major form). 

Johanna is missing the fourth, fifth and sixth.

Morpheus has them, in various forms (major and augmented—especially augmented intervals are highly unstable and create a lot of friction).

What they share/have in common are 1, 2 and 7:

The tonic (1) is what everything else hinges on. The supertonic (2) is musically fraught with tension and seeks to resolve into the tonic--back to base or a conclusion/resolution, if you will. The seventh (7), both as a leading note or subtonic, is also that: Tension that needs resolved.

So all they have in common is tension that needs to resolve into some sort of resolution.

(And before we are pointing out the obvious: of course both tunes have more notes in it respectively, but we are talking about the main motifs.)

What’s also super interesting is where their overall themes are going. Johanna’s is initially darker, but it actually has a lot of ascending lines and “light” before plunging back into darkness.

Morpheus’ seems a lot more regal (for lack of better term), but the lines are mostly descending. This becomes even more apparent when we are not just listening to the opening theme, but to the several variations of his theme (his presence can be felt literally everywhere, even in Desire's theme).

It just freaked me out majorly the moment I heard it for the first time in contrast. But I like to over-interpret musical stuff because I just hear it so clearly. I *do* believe that composers do these things on purpose, even if just subconsciously, because we can't separate what we know about a character from how we perceive them musically (I do it as well). Of course that doesn’t always mean that it’s exactly the purpose I am thinking of, or that it hints at whatever is to come. My brain tends to run away with these things.

But yes, musically, they are totally "on track", so let's run with it. I'll admit my embarrassment later when this all goes into a completely different direction ;)

(Also tagging @honeyteacakes in this since I encroached on your comments recently)

[mellarkably]

ur so right abt the way that scene between ben and devi was shot because every single moment when we see devi making out with someone (or about to have s*x) is so driven by her “horny side” only, for paxton and des she just wanted to have s*x and get over with it and with ethan she just was on her horny and active rush which is good but the ben/devi scene, yes it was framed with a sense of urgency between them but also so much care and love. the lighting, the touches, the hands, smiling at each other and just everything about it was beautiful.

and call me crazy but i am happy the show didn’t do the typical “devi only has s*x with ben” narrative because i was about sure they wouldn’t have her have s*x with ethan and they did and was surprised because most shows don’t do that. ben and devi lost their virginity together and that’s already special but they didn’t have devi pondering around waiting for ben. she got to experience a little bit of fun and discover her preferences and be comfortable with it (and maybe ben did so too with margot) and then they get to make love to each other and know what it means and the differences in that and now they can start a relationship when there’s some level of experience and they can just explore what they both want.

some shows tend to do the opposite for “romanticism” so i am glad they did not.

OH ANON HOW I LOVE YOU FOR THIS BECAUSE CAN. WE. TALK ABOUT IT!

i already predicted a while ago that the show would have ben and devi make love again but this time it would be much more natural and easy for them:

i agree with you. i think it was important to show benvi's first time as being awkward, and having it pale in comparison to her next time with ethan, who is far more experienced. it allowed devi to have fun (and im assuming its almost certain ben also had sex with margot) while embodying the whole, fun time NOT a long time thing. im sure they both learned a lot about their preferences like you said during those respective relationships.

but going back to what i loved most about 410's sex redo - how it was the ONLY sex scene in the show that wasn't shot like a high school steamy fling type of deal.

of course, there's that big damn kiss that's been building up for four years with more steam needed to be released than pati's rice cooker, BUT, the lighting. the song, the actors' natural chemistry. the tone itself already feels so much more serious than any other romantic scene in the show.

i honestly thought it would end here, so imagine my surprise when they continued - and i think this second part is what sets it apart from all the other intimate scenes in the show.

henna shot. i fucking died. ive talked enough about this on twitter and im sure other people are talking about this but it is just so symbolic for devi as an individual, her relationship with her culture and how she doesn't have to separate that from her romantic endeavours because she is desirable as she is! s1 devi would faint! she absolutely would!

and now this shot, which is what the tags you're referring to were about, has me still going cuckoo bananas like. pulling away to smile at each other. they're literally in fucking love. this is love. this is not the show trying to gain an audience using steamy scenes, or devi being horny - not that there is anything wrong with that either - but she is so visibly content and comfortable and happy and you can see it in her smile. both of their smiles in fact.

that small moment is what makes this scene for me.

anyway sorry for the huge rant. if you couldn't tell already i really love this scene! it was very well done.

[swordsandspectacles]

Having some thoughts about Aura’s hair and hair length through the years.

So like. Absolutely unrealistically long in the cuckoo era, I have had hair approaching this length and I know what a pain in the ass to have.

Consider however:

- I like it

- messing with your hair is a great way to NOT go stir crazy if you have a lot of time to yourself.

Aura had some mixed feelings about the hair- pride in that it’s something she knows how to maintain, frustration at all the maintenance required.

Post first escape, it gets braided/put in a bun/pinned up like. 85% of the time. Maybe she’d pull the whole shebang out and aquaint herself with a straightener for Halloween, but other than that it’s out of the way- though she refuses to cut it.

How does it work with the sidestep suit? POORLY next question-

(Seriously though. Can’t have it outside the suit bc identifiable + grabbable … but shoving your hair down the back of your shirt isn’t it either.)

Mixed feelings about the hair aside… obviously, having your head shaved is fucking miserable.

When it’s growing out post-escape she fucking hates it, has NO clue how to style it (‘shove that shit in a braid, comb your fringe and let gravity do the work’ is a valid stylising method).

Logically she knows ‘frequent trims will help the hair grow healthy’ but she cannot bring herself to cut it, so it winds up sorta- scraggly. It’s too short to effectively braid, so she throws it in a ponytail if she does anything, which she doesn’t really like.

I 100% don’t think Aura’s connected her own feelings about her hair to her choice to give Maneater a fucking mane of jellyfish-tendril looking nonsense. Like if you pointed it out to her she’d go “oh you motherfucker that’s brilliant, I’m so good, goddamn-“ but in reality/internally it’s “what the hell how do you do that unintentionally aura what the fuck-“

Anyway. That’s enough of that. Maybe I’ll do similar for Melly. Matty isn’t getting one that man ruffles his hair in the morning and goes ‘eh good enough’ and only cuts it once it gets in his eyes.

Also yeah I drew these at like 3 am but auras expressions are fun to exaggerate a bit

[ashermiss]

Cross Stitch 2024!

Finished 6 projects in 2024, 2 pretty big and 1 absolutely massive

As always, sorry for my terrible camera skills lol

Firstly, my most recent finish:

Personalized wedding gift, censored bits are just the names and wedding date. They ended up getting married on a random weekend an entire year earlier than they originally planned to, so this was gifted after the fact. Very happy with how it turned out and more importantly the couple was very happy with it as well. Framed it myself with supples from matboardhq.com. Pattern found here by oneofakindbabydesign

This one hasn't been framed, or even washed and ironed yet. This is the Haunted Cuckoo Clock by tinymodernist, pattern found here. I stitched this during the stitch-a-long and had a lot of fun with it! Stitch-a-longs kind of make me nervous, because typically you don't have the full pattern when you begin, but they also really motivate me to stitch, so I should probably so more of them

These 3 are the smaller projects that I stitched around May-July.

Avatar: The Last Airbender parody by sonovastitch found here. This was a super fun and easy stitch, and I think it looks great even just on 14 count aida

2. Wolf Silhouette by DMCrossStitch found here. Stitched this small one at work during breaks

3. Fallout - "First Recon Guy" by FischyCreations found here. Love this pattern, was really happy to find a good Fallout pattern to stitch

And finally, the behemoth:

This thing is 119,400 stitches and took me from 11/22/22 to 7/6/24 to fully stitch. It's a monstrosity of a pattern that I created using a picture to pattern converter. I'm glad I stitched it, it taught me a lot, but I am so extremely happy that it's DONE and I don't have to think about it any more lmao. The fucking thing is BLANKET SIZED.

This project was the second project that I ever started, and I did not fully realize what I was getting myself into. Not only is it huge, it has an obnoxious amount of colors and confetti stitches. If I was doing this project all over again, I would never have created a pattern this large and obnoxious.

All that said, I will definitely stitch something this big (or bigger!) again. It's just going to be something from a pattern that's a little bit more sane

Going into 2025, I have a few projects that I know I want to stitch. I'm going to stitch pet portraits for my sister's bday present, there's a sunflower field pattern that already has a place waiting for it in the hallway, and there's a 2025 stitch-a-long called Stitch4pride that I want to keep up with. I also want to stitch another Batman piece, something for Stardew Valley, and at least 1 blackwork pattern, since I haven't tried that yet.

Overall, a pretty good year of cross-stitching! I'm taking December off, but I can't wait to jump back into stitching in January

[lithuanianking]

[Long overdue intro post]

Sveikas! I'm illya

(not actually I just don't wanna use my real name and that would have been my name and I've always loved it)

-I was born in 2008

-my pronouns are he/him/his (not they/them do not refer to me as that only he/him or maybe it/its )

- I'm a Lithuanian-American (unfortunately the American part of me is southern and I've picked up a bit of a accent despite now living in the mid-west)

-I have cerebral palsy

-I've been acting since 2013

- I am absolutely obsessed with little shop of horrors

- otther than that I like villainous,newsies,ride the cyclone,tangled the series,the 25th annual putnam County spelling bee, one flew over the cuckoo's nest,the giver,drawing,acting, building Lego sets,Spiderman, and much more

I'd like to intract with people on here but I have some kind of social anxiety when it comes to talking to people online lol.

But yeah that's kinda it (I think)

[thehobbitsonbikes]

Day 16 - Phnom Penh

Well, I just realised I haven’t really said anything about the other 17 people on our tour group who are neither Kitherine, nor me, nor Paul and Sharon nor those loveable Carlyles. All Aussies our age and older - a couple of sisters from Shepparton straight out of the Granny mould (and the same age) and are great fun. The rest are made up of other married couples with the exception of the odd one out to make the odd number of 23. This oddity is Jeff and I have used the word odd because he seems to live down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and conversations with him invariably take a strange turn away from where you thought the conversation was heading into something from cloud cuckoo land. Most of the other people seem to have been brought up on the theory the word ‘exercise’ is actually two four letter words and hence is the be avoided. Five of these are chain smokers so the bus rides invariably have an aural soundtrack of hacking coughs as well as the chorus of ‘How far do we have to walk?!! I’m not f#%king doing that!’. They do a lot of whinging over relatively minor physical activity - but you can’t chose who you tour with - other than the six of us.

We are, of course, only one of many tour groups here, so we see many other groups staying at the same hotels. There are many German groups here, British as well and some French. The Germans seem to be determined to conform to a stereotype as they are mostly all very fat and take over the hotel. This hotel has a roof pool, and when we have been up there to check it out it was full of Germans straining the sun lounges to their absolute limit. And you should see them at breakfast! Since the Carlyles and Paul and Sharon (particularly!) like a good sleep in, we are invariably first of our group to breakfast. Below is a copy of the report from the frontline I sent to our mates warning them of the conditions in the breakfast room

“Just to give you an update on life at the front (of the breakfast buffet). The Germans attacked early and surrounded the egg and coffee strategic positions and sent continual reinforcements. Crucially, they left the pancakes unprotected and I was able to perform a raid and emerge relatively unscathed. The British attacked the hot food tureens and seemed intent on using the ‘scorched earth’ technique - they left nothing. Cereals were seen as important heritage artefacts and were left untouched, but surrounded by the coffee attackers so no one could get to them. Fruit was ransacked by all - except for the dragonfruit for some reason… and then, despite the intensity of the onslaught, a strategic withdrawal (presumably to the pool deck) occurred and a temporary ceasefire has been declared”.

Well, now I have got that off my chest, onto today’s events. This was an organised tour day, so it was onto the bus and first stop was the royal palace. Just to fill you in, Cambodia has always had a royal family, but the genocidal Pol Pot regime from 1975 to 1979 meant the royal family was in exile, and did not return until 1991, when Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy. The current king was in exile in France where he was a ballet dancer - and, no, I am not making this up. He is now 70 years old and lives in the royal palace with his 90 year old mother and has never married and has no direct heirs. His successor will have to be found from the royal relatives - the king can either nominate a successor or the relatives can hold a ballot amongst themselves to chose a successor. Perhaps I am reading between the lines a bit, but I rather think that an ex-ballet dancer ‘confirmed bachelor’ who still lives at home with his mum might be partial to a few show tunes, don’t you think?

Anyway, I mention all this because his digs were the first stop on our tour today. From there, we went to the Central Markets and then, in a slightly disturbing choice, to the city genocide museum. There is no escaping the evil murderous hand of Pol Pot in this country - and this is how they address it. The museum is in a former torture and execution camp in the middle of Phnom Penh that was formerly a school. Apparently the Khmer Rouge set up 167 of these camps all over the country. It is genuinely horrifying and distressing to view so no description will be forthcoming - the only takeaway is that you can never underestimate how low the evil human beings in a mob rule situation can stoop to. This was Cambodians killing fellow Cambodians for no valid reason at all.

Well, the brighten the mood a bit, the Carlyles and us took a Tuk Tuk down to the river to go on a Mekong sunset river cruise - and it was tremendous. A very well spent $5USD. Then it was a nighttime Tuk Tuk ride back to our hotel, dinner around the pool on the 10th floor and some blog writing. And that brings us up to date. Last full day tomorrow before we fly home.

[runescapegnome]

erasing my family from my childhood memories and making the bits leftover shiny and beautiful. I am in a house that looks very much like my great grandparent's house, except it is warm. there are loved ones over for morning coffee. somebody is playing the electronic organ from the 80s, and the walls are wood-paneled, and the cuckoo clock is chiming at 10 AM. there are silly trinkets all over the shelves. no one will teach them that being a dyke is a bad thing before they even know what it is and no one will ever tell them that they're going to hell. they are standing in the kitchen. the canary is singing in its cage, and the prism suncatchers in the window are covering absolutely everything in rainbows

[notvictorhugo]

EDIT: Okay guys turns out that the video I watched was from a horribly pirated version. I am watching the movie once more and none of those constant cuts are there it's much more straightforward please ignore all I said about it being hard to understand I'm gonna look like a moron

So I absolutely ADORED the Cuckoo movie and I can't stop thinking about it at all.

Here's the thing. I'm not a big fan of the horror genre, mainly because Im a coward, but lately I've been tipping my toes in, and although I'm enjoying the experience im still somewhat of a newbie. From what I gather, horror films tend to be either the ones with jumpscares and blood and people screaming, the ones with Dread in it (like Midsommar or Alien) and the ones that are sort-of-introspective, meaningful art (not to say that the others arent, but I think you know what I mean even if what I say is wrong. I'm thinking of stuff like Lake Mungo or I Saw the TV Glow).

So I started watching Cuckoo thinking it was gonna be one of the first ones, having seen hundreds of pics of Schaffer covered in blood, but as time went on it became clear it wasn't. Given that there was also the weird gimmick about the cuts and flashbacks, together with the dead mum, I thought it was gonna be the third one instead. I laid back on the couch and got ready to take in The Vibes, relaxed, becoming one with the movie and Feel It. It's probably one of those things where the point isn't understanding, but rather feeling the mystery and the confusion and the fear of the unexplained.

BOY. WAS. I. WRONG.

Im not sure when it happened exactly, but I believe it was about the time when Gretchen got locked in the science room by Creepy Guy, or perhaps when the scientist started saying things like "Homo Cuculus" or something. At that moment everything clicked: this wasn't an introspective film about loss, this was an X-Files episode! (minus the sexual tension)

That whiplash, for me, was what turned the movie from good to great, and I'm not sure if I would've liked it as much had I had that idea from the start. From then on the movie was a puzzle, the weird cuts were not just some stylistic choice but part of the difficulty, and I felt incredibly proud after figuring out what was going on and explaining it to the friend I'd been watching it with. I felt even prouder (although maybe a bit disappointed) when I started reading reviews to check my answers and found out that most said it was incoherent, or plotless, or pure vibes, because it most certainly was not, only on the surface, but oh well.

I can't wait to watch it a second time this Friday knowing everything from the start. ANYWAY!

[slowroadtosantiago]

Day 31 - Santa Catalina to Foncebadon

Today was just over 10 miles without backpacks.

It ended up as just me and Jane in the dorm last night, very unusual but we weren’t complaining. We woke at 7 and were on the road by half past. The morning light on the street and our albergue was lovely.

It was cold walking. The temperature has fallen and we’re climbing higher. At one point a week or so ago I was thinking of getting rid of my sleeping bag as I was too hot at night but now I’m glad I didn’t.

We could see on the map that there was a village about 4K away which indicated that it had cafes or albergues so we thought we’d have breakfast there. As we approached we could see tepees where pilgrims could stay. Unfortunately when we got there nothing was open! Calamity! How would Jane manage without her coffee?

There was nothing for it but to carry on, which we did until we found a picnic spot and dredged up the last of the slightly stale small pain au chocolats we had left over from the Airbnb and downed them with water.

The landscape has changed completely, we can see the mountains in the near distance and our path is flanked by some amazing colours and smells. We have lavender bushes, white broom, yellow gorse and lots of different coloured heathers, and even a few bluebells. The pine forest scent has been wonderful. As always we’ve been followed by the noise of cuckoos.

As we walked towards Rabanal we came across a long fence into which people had woven wooden crosses.

Finally reaching Rabanal after 7 miles we had an extended coffee stop with tostada. In fact we had two coffees just to make up for earlier disappointment.

In the compound of the place we stopped were donkeys and across the road a field of long-horned cows. Rabanal village itself was very pretty with one main street winding upwards. We stopped briefly to have a look inside the church with its ornate altar piece.

We then had 3-4 miles climbing steadily upwards. It was a lovely walk, mainly away from the roads. But the path was stony so Jane had to take extra care where she placed her feet.

We thought we had left the Cymru Am Byth vandals behind but it seems that their pen having run out they bought a can of spray paint and it looks even worse than their black pen did.

It wasn’t long before we reached Foncebadon, our stop for the night. The hostel is full this time, and modern inside. We did try to get two bottom bunks but weren’t allowed, so this time I’m on the top bunk. It’s a mixed room of 6 with a very swish en-suite. The only problem is that the walls are not very thick so you can hear everything and also the noise from other bathrooms. Oh well, earplugs will be in use tonight.

They did a set pilgrims’ menu so we had that for lunch. We both though the pudding was the best, it was like a deconstructed cheesecake.

It’s very windy outside so I had a shower, washed my smalls and got them and my towel on the line while Jane had a chill.

After a few hours a coffee and some delicious home made orange sponge cake was in order while we had a chat about tomorrow and what we would do when we finished in Santiago.

Tomorrow we’ll be climbing a little bit higher to the Cruz de Ferro, the cross at the highest point on the Camino. The next part down to Molinaseca will be a bit more tricky as it’s a steep scree path over 7 miles long and about 900m descent in total. We’ve both got walking poles to help us and if it gets too much for Jane then there’s a village halfway down that you can get a taxi from. However, in the past we’ve been given scare stories on previous parts of the Camino and they have all been absolutely fine. I keep telling Jane it’s like coming down Machen Mountain 3 times, we’ll be fine!

[flockofdoves]

im going fucking cuckoo bananas. why is it so hard to fill my schedule to be a full time student for my last semester when i am infamously the type of person who wants to learn about everything ever and jumps at any opportunity to take random classes

have really really really wanted to take advanced spanish grammar for so long but every fucking semester i have a necessary class during that time (due to the epidemic of every class in the world being in late morning on tuesday/thursday) and this semester my One Singular Class I Absolutely Need To Graduate is at that time

so then i was like. oh well. i'll take italian 1 instead since my grandfather has been trying to plan one last trip to where his family is from and if i get to go it will be good to practice italian in a formal context

but then that trip fell through and i just really really want to improve my spanish so i emailed a class for heritage speakers to see if it would be appropriate for me and the professor got back to me and said i was welcome to come to the first class and try it out

and so today i went to the spanish for heritage speakers class and it made me so so excited to be immersed in spanish again and going over the content of the course, with the exception of how i don't really need much writing help since when i was learning all the basics of how to read and write i did that as much in spanish as i did english, all the grammar topics were exactly what i needed and the idea of a class where everyone talks at a high level and theres no english but you still get into the basics of explaining different grammar topics is so so refreshing!!!

and at the end of class the professor was like your spanish is at a high enough level for this class so if you want to take it then see you monday! and it got me so excited

and then the italian class was just really extremely basic. i understand basically anything said to me in italian and know a decent amount of vocab i just have trouble speaking but throughout my life i have at least studied basics like past and present tense and articles and stuff. so my goals were to learn more grammar and make my pronunciation better (i always pronounce everything so spanish and dont have a good sense for what words have which e or o sound)

but this professor was like yeah basically this whole course is just present tense and well learn the sinple past tense right at the end. but i already know that!!! and also unfortunately she has a noticeable american accent while speaking so thats not much help for improving my accent either

so i was like well whatever that makes my decision easy ill drop italian and take the spanish class. but still just in case i asked her about if i could take an italian placement test (was nervous about that originally because the next level up was during my necessary class again) and she was like yeah ive never had to do that before but i can figure that out for next week. which is a little nervewracking bc add/drop ends on wednesday. but whatever i was excited about taking spanish now

but then when i got home today i saw an email from the spanish professor (technically a grad student) like ‘i talked to my colleagues and even if your spanish level is high enough since you are not a heritage speaker here are some classes better suited for you [classes where you write huge essays in spanish which i do not have the time or desire for rn]’

and that was upsetting because i just really most of anything wanted to take a spanish class but then i was feeling a bit better because it turned out there was a new section added of the italian 2 class that fit my schedule and looking through that classes textbook it seemed the exact mix of easy but not boring because ill still actually be learning stuff that i needed. and i even called my mom (who used to be an italian language professor) and read the textbook units and she agreed it seemed exactly right for me

so i went to start writing an email to that professor to be proactive even before taking the placement test but in the fucking half hour since i had last checked the page rhat section of the class filled up with no waitlist

so i looked through the entire search of classes in a certain block of time not on tuesday thursday for my giant university and literally rhe only thing that seemed both manageable and interesting was an intro to japanese class. and i was excited like wow! how did i miss this when i was first searching for classes! only to click on it and remember i did see it and the reason it wasnt on my backup class list was because it doesnt allow seniors to take it

[domjaehyun]

i am craving for a good fic ab hyucks big massive colossal huge dick not gonna lie, pretty exhausting even to think ab it. take ur time tho, theres absolutely no rush, we wait for u cuz we know damn well u always feed us a whole five-star course meal

-forgot my emoji but ill find it again [bear w my very oblivious ass pls]

why thank u omg and YEAH THINKING ABT HIM AND NOT WRITING ABT IT IS DRIVING ME CUCKOO JUST A LITTLE BIT 🤏 but thank you for ur patience while i figure out a new rhythm with work and stuff 🫡

[celtfather]

Kitty's Gone A-Milking #675

Songs of Ireland and more on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #675 . Subscribe now!

Tradify, High Octane, Sassenach, The Drowsy Lads, Altan, Brobdingnagian Bards, Louise Bichan, Hayley Griffiths, Toby Bresnahan, Natalie Padilla, Philippe Barnes, Tom Phelan, Jigjam, Lúnasa, River Driver

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VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2024

This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2024 episode. You have just three weeks to vote this year. Vote Now!

You can follow our playlist on Spotify to listen to those top voted tracks as they are added every 2 - 3 weeks. It also makes it easier for you to add these artists to your own playlists. You can also check out our Irish & Celtic Music Videos.

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:15 - Tradify "Molly Malone & Kitty's Gone a - Milking" from Take Flight

3:35 - WELCOME

7:12 - High Octane "Jurassic Reels" from High Octane

13:14 - Sassenach "A Chuachag Nam Beann/The Cuckoo of the Mountain" from Passages

16:30 - The Drowsy Lads "Up and About in the Morning (Jigs)" from Wide Awake

21:08 - Altan “Gabhaim Molta Bríde" from Donegal

25:32 - FEEDBACK

29:48 - Brobdingnagian Bards "Paddy McCollough" from Songs of Ireland

33:13 - Louise Bichan "Margaret's Walk to the Pier" from Out of My Own Light

39:36 - Hayley Griffiths "Loch Lomond" from Far from Here

43:45 - Toby Bresnahan "Crabs in the Skillet  -  Ten Penny Bit  -  Colerain Jig" from All In Good time

48:24 - THANKS

50:37 - Natalie Padilla "Immortal, Invisible" from Paths and Places

54:25 - Philippe Barnes and Tom Phelan "Midnight Accountant" from The Clearwater Sessions

58:10 - Jigjam "Bluebird" from Phoenix

1:02:23 - Lúnasa "Man from Moyasta" from Live in Kyoto

1:06:05 - CLOSING

1:06:53 - River Driver "Home" from Flanagan's Shenanigans! Live at The Celt

1:10:30 - CREDITS

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. Visit our website to follow the show. You’ll find links to all of the artists played in this episode.

Todd Wiley is the editor of the Celtic Music Magazine. Subscribe to get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you’ll get 7 weekly news items about what’s happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage.

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Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

WELCOME THE IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I’m a Celtic musician and podcaster. This podcast is for fans of Celtic music of all shapes and sizes. Not necessarily from Ireland or Scotland, but from around the globe. Because there is much great Celtic music from around the world.

We are here to build a diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you.

If you hear music you love, please email artists to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. Remember. Musicians depend on your generosity to keep making music. So please find a way to support them. Buy a CD, Album Pin, Shirt, Digital Download, or join their communities on Patreon.

You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com.

Today’s show is sponsored by Richard Trest of the Middle Tennessee Highland Games & Celtic Festival on Sept 7 - 8, 2024 at Sanders Ferry Park, Hendersonville. You’ll enjoy music from Tuatha Dea, Kris Colt, The Secret Commonwealth, The Devil’s Brigade, The Sternwheelers, Doon the Brae, Nosey Flynn, and Colin Grant - Adams. Plus, there’s a piping competition, Irish step dancing, highland dance competition, ceilidh dancing and so much more. Join Richard just outside of Nashville Sept 7 - 8. And find more details at www.midtenngames.com

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Listen to Celtic Christmas Music in a podcast and find out how you can support the show.

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!

You are amazing. It is because of your generosity that you get to hear so much great Celtic music each and every week.

Your kindness pays for our engineer, graphic designer, Celtic Music Magazine editor, promotion of the podcast, and allows me to buy the music I play here. It also pays for my time creating the show each and every week.

As a patron, you get ad - free and music - only episodes before regular listeners, vote in the Celtic Top 20, stand - alone stories, you get a private feed to listen to the show or you can listen through the Patreon app.  All that for as little as $1 per episode.

A special thanks to our Celtic Legends: Bruce, Brian McReynolds, Marti Meyers, Brenda, Alan Schindler, Karen DM Harris, Emma Bartholomew, Dan mcDade, Miranda Nelson, Nancie Barnett, Kevin Long, Gary R Hook, Lynda MacNeil, Kelly Garrod, Annie Lorkowski, Shawn Cali

HERE IS YOUR THREE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Go to our Patreon page.

Decide how much you want to pledge every week, $1, $5, $25. Make sure to cap how much you want to spend per month.

Keep listening to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to celebrate Celtic culture through music.

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TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos. Learn more about the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

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I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? Please email me. I’d love to see a  picture of what you're doing while listening or of a band that you saw recently.

Email me at follow@bestcelticmusic.

Jason Denen emailed this week: "Marc, I can't support the latest changes to Patreon, do you have a KoFi or PayPal I can use to send you some money."

Make a donation.

Éirinn O'Coscraigh (pron. pronounced Erin O - Cosgrove) emailed: "Dearest Celtfather and purveyor of fine Irish and Celtic music.

I and the Cosgroves have really enjoyed episode 660! I was cooking up a fine dinner with plenty of Irish stew while the episode was playing on the speakers... and the most common phrase we said was, "Who is this?" Wow. Eight debuts!!! from bands and performers never played on the show before and we have nearly never even heard of them before today!

The Low Kings, The Drowsy Lads, Fialla, The Crowfoot Rakes, Blackthorn, Conor Mallon, Fig for a Kiss, and Luas.... Love 'em all.

Thank you for turning us on to these and many others. We have a lot of favourites who are played regularly on the show.

We Cosgroves raise our glasses to you and yours.

Go raibh maith agat!"

Mattie Dalton emailed: "I am always trying but thank you for letting me know about July.

Yes  I want a CD. I have been out of the loop for awhile due to illness.  I am doing well in recovery, which is slow... Anyway...love you and family much! Oh, do you have the same number as before you moved? Take care!"

GEOFFREY HUFF emailed: "Been listening to your podcast for 18 years or so. Thank you for staying true."

Bill Arnold sent a photo:

  Check out this episode!