#i just love this description of finding irish mythology

[caraecethrae]

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

Creative Writing Resources

Writing Tools:

🐝 ✎ OneLook: Thesaurus

Use: Enter a word, phrase, description, or pattern above to find synonyms, related words, and more.

Good For: Can't think of a word but can describe what you want it to mean, enter that description and it will give you words associated. Enter: "strong wind" -> gale, storm, tempest, tornado, etc

Cost: Free

✎ Word Hippo

Use: Thesaurus.

Good For: When you've over used a word and need to change it up.

Cost: Free

✎ Writing Realistic Injuries

Use: Seems kinda obvious, learning how to write proper and realistic injuries.

Good For: ...writing realistic injuries I guess? It's really helpful: minor injuries like emotional reactions, fainting, shock, broken bones, dislocated joints, burns, hostile environments, includes some normal ranges for things like blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature. Also has accurate blood loss amounts and what is considered normal, severe and maximum and from what body part.

Cost: Free

✎ Period Based Injuries (WWI, WW2, Regency, etc)

Use: Medical treatment based on timeline/era

Good For: When you want to know what medical treatments were used during WW1 or what kinds of medicines were used in regency times.

Cost: Free

✎ Charlotte Dillon: Information Links for Writers

Use: Information on everything!

Good For: Research for medicine during the Middle ages or learning about what phrases were used in the Old West. Castle terms, rigor mortis information, viking foodstuffs, supernatural lore, regency facts, Irish sayings, and even ancient gynecology facts (why? no idea but it must be useful for someone). This place has everything.

Cost: Free

✎ Color Names and Descriptions

Use: Self explanatory.

Good For: Find some nice names for black or orange without saying black or orange. Get my drift?

Cost: Free

✎ Writers Write: Traits

Use: Find traits for your characters

Good For: Negative, positive, ambivalent traits, you get the picture.

Cost: Free

✎ Writers Write: Body Language

Use: Body language descriptions

Good For: Micro-expressions, hand gestures, and posture.

Cost: Free

🐝 ✎ Describing Words

Use: Find words to describe things.

Good For: Want to describe a tree? Enter tree and the site will generate descriptive phrases of a tree.

Cost: Free

🐝 ✎ Descriptionari

Use: Finding examples for creative inspiration.

Good For: writing prompts, descriptions of scenes, and help with describing a scene such a kiss or fight scene.

Cost: Free

✎ Flower Meanings Dictionary (A to Z) and Color Meanings

Use: The language of flowers! Lists flowers and their meaning.

Good For: Flower symbolism in stories, good for regency & victorian AU when floriography was popular. Take it with a grain of salt, sometimes flowers can have several different meanings depending on where you source the floriography.

Cost: Free

✎ Pre-Modern Combat Weapons

✎ Medieval Weapons

✎ Superpowers

✎ List of Legendary Creatures by Type

✎ Gemstones A-Z

✎ THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY

✎ Black Market Information (Legally Attained)

✎ Forensic Pathology, Science, & Death (Use W/ Caution)

✎ Religions of the World

✎ Languages of the World

✎ Methods of Torture (Use W/ Caution)

✎ Methods of Execution (Death Penalty)

✎ Poisonous Plants

✎ Plants, Just Plants

✎ Stab Wounds

Naming Generators:

🐝 ✎ Fantasy Name Generator

Use: Generating names, generating appearances, generating maps.

Good For: Generating names for people, places, things, planets, diseases, etc. Has a wide selection of name generators for all different ethnicities from African (varied by location) to Asia and Historic. Also includes fantasy and folklore name generators. It's my go to name generator for everything. You can also generate a description of a character or design your own map.

Cost: Free

✎ The Story Shack

Use: Generating names, creating your own generator, writing exercises.

Good For: Generating names, obviously. But also practicing writing through offered exercises.

Cost: Free

✎ RanGen

Use: Generating plots, appearances, archetypes, love interests, cities, worlds, items, and more.

Good For: What I just said previously. Very helpful.

Cost: Free

✎ Generator Land: Titles

Use: Generating Titles!

Good For: Creating... titles....? This site also has many other generators to use.

Cost: Free

Images:

✎ Free Images for Commercial Use

Use: Pictures!

Good For: Whatever you want!

Cost: Free

Story Development, Plot, Character:

＄✎ E.A. Deverell Workshop & Worksheet Index

Use: Learn how to plot your stories and build your world.

Good For: Character building, world building, narration, plot formula, prompts, ideas, genres, development. You name it, Eva has it.

Cost: Paid Courses, Free Worksheets & Tips.

＄✎ Story Planner

Use: Planning your story. Obvs.

Good For: People who need a little guidance with outlining and implementing before they jump into their story. Takes yous sentence by sentence building summaries and such.

Cost: Paid & Free Planners

✎ Character Sheet to Build Your Character

Use: Build your character in detail!!

Good For: Um. Building a highly detailed character? Self explanatory really.

Cost: Free worksheet through google docks.

✎ Create Your Character

Use: Build your character visually.

Good For: Designing a visual representation of your character rather than just writing out details on paper. You can save final result as an SVG or PNG

Cost: Free

Map & World & RPG Building:

✎ Inkarnate: Map Making

Use: Build a map of your world or country.

Good For: Designing a map of your country or world with details such as oceans, mountain ranges, cities, towns, and waterways.

Cost: Free version and paid version

✎ DonJon: RPG Tool

Use: Map making, name generator, good for D & D resources/references.

Good For: Designing RPG.

Cost: Free

✎ Townscaper: Oskarstalberg

Use: Map making 3D.

Good For: Designing maps, obv (it's really interactive a cool. Link if above is broken: https://oskarstalberg.com/Townscaper

Cost: Free & Paid Versions

✎ Medieval City Map Making

Use: City Map Making.

Good For: Making maps of medieval cities. Link if above is broken: https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator

Cost: Free

✎ Fantasy Town Generator

Use: City Map Making.

Good For: Making maps of medieval cities. Link if above is broken: https://www.fantasytowngenerator.com/

Cost: Free + Paid Upgraded Accounts

🐝 ✎ Wonderdraft

Use: City & World Map Making.

Good For: Making maps of medieval cities and worlds. This app has labels and icons you can use to mark mountains, rivers, valleys, etc. It is a very good investment if you enjoy map making (particularly for D&D). Versatile, you can change map size (11"x 8.5", 9"x9", etc)

Cost: Paid, One time purchase of 29.99 USD.

🐝 ✎ Kanka

Use: RPG management and world building.

Good For: D & D related things (it's intended purpose)

Cost: Free + Upgraded Accounts (depends on how many "worlds" you create)

Search Engines:

✎ Search Engines

Use: Search Engines!

Good For: Researching topics for your writing! These website have an amalgamation of of different types of search engines depending on your need (Writing, Research, Reference, etc)

Cost: Free + Upgraded Accounts (depends on engine used but mostly free)

Writing Software:

✎ Pages (iOS)

Use: Mobile Word Processor

Good For: Tagging folder system for organization, export documents, good for apple pencil, multiple formats & templates. Sync's w/ iCloud.

Cost: Free

＄✎ Liquid Story Binder XE by Black Obelisk Software (Windows)

Use: Liquid Story Binder XE is a uniquely designed word processor for professional and aspiring authors, poets, and novelists. Writing software for those who require the editing ability of a commercial text editor as well as a document tracking system. It is for those who want the freedom to create, outline and revise but are tired of losing track of their work.

Good For: Keeping your writing in one place, organization, compiling into one document, no internet connection required.

Perks: Drop Box Compatible

Cost: $45.95 US, free trial, one payment.

🐝＄✎ Scrivener (Mac, Windows, iOS)

Use: Scrivener is a word-processing program and outliner designed for authors. Scrivener provides a management system for documents, notes and metadata. This allows the user to organize notes, concepts, research, and whole documents for easy access and reference.

Good For: Keeping your writing in one place, organization, compiling into one document, no internet connection required.

Perks: Drop Box Compatible

Cost: $59.99 US (50.99 students & academics), $23.99 US for iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, free trial, one payment

Editing & Grammar:

✎ Text to Speech

Use: Listen to your writing be read to you.

Good For: Editing, catching grammar and other mistakes. Also great for listening to the flow of your writing.

Cost: Free and paid versions

✎ Grammarly

Use: Editing.

Good For: editing your writing, catching spelling mistakes along with grammar mistakes.

Cost: Free and paid versions

Other:

burning text gif maker

heart locket gif maker

minecraft advancement maker

minecraft logo font text generator w/assorted textures and pride flags

windows error message maker (win1.0-win11)

FromSoftware image macro generator (elden ring Noun Verbed text)

image to 3d effect gif

vaporwave image generator

microsoft wordart maker (REALLY annoying to use on mobile)

Languages:

(Google Docs I made for my own references 🙂) IN PROGRESS!!

✎ Latin

✎ Greek

✎ Spanish

✎ Yucatec Maya

Creative Sources the 🐝 Uses:

Canva (I have pro)

Pinterest

Last Edit: 9/16/24

[breelandwalker]

basic witch question: how can i study and research folk magic and historical witchcraft?

I've been trying to search like this: "name of country/place +folk magic" on academic article sites but I haven't found much practical stuff and sometimes I don't find anything.

thank you for your attention

Good question!

The first thing you'll want to do is set aside the idea that you're going to find overt and accurate historical descriptions of witchcraft as we define it today. VERY few people who practiced some form of folk magic would have identified themselves as witches, because up until very recently, it was something you could be arrested, fined, and executed for doing. Even just the suspicion of such was enough to cause panics and widespread paranoia. What you're most likely to find is a collection of folk beliefs ABOUT witches and witchcraft, rather than actual witchcraft practices.

There are plenty of folk magic practices that resemble things we do in modern witchcraft, but they wouldn't have been called witchcraft by the people doing them back in the day. If you nailed a cluster of broomstraw over your door or scattered eggshells in your garden, it wasn't to cast a spell - it was just The Done Thing to keep trouble out of your home and help the crops grow.

Be prepared to find a lot of Christianity blended into the practices you do find. During the Christianization of Europe, new beliefs blended with older ones and created some very interesting regional amalgamations. So you'll often find invocations of saints or the Blessed Virgin, or particular psalms or prayers included as essential parts of certain charms. (It's also worth noting that the recitation of certain prayers was a method of short-term timekeeping, since they didn't exactly have clocks or timers.)

Be prepared also to find a lot of references to the Devil and devil-worship. For several centuries, the idea of witchcraft and demonolatry (consorting with and calling upon demons for power and supernatural aid) was synonymous across much of the Western world. It's very difficult to find a mention of witches in contemporary medieval or renaissance literature that is not immediately accompanied by some mention of devils or demons or familiars. This is a record of the superstitions of the day, NOT the practices of actual witches, no matter what Margaret Murray would have us believe.

To find the folk magic practices, if you can't find them by searching the term outright, study the regional folklore of the place you're interested in. Look particularly for anything to do with healers or spirits or fairies or ghosts or local superstitions. Where you find these, you will find whatever regional protection rituals the country people used to ward off trouble from ethereal beings, and possibly references to other related practices for love or luck.

Naturally, if you go back to classical antiquity (Greeks and Romans) or further, things will look very different. It all depends on the time and place.

It's important to note that most of the books we have which document these beliefs were written during the 19th-20th century spiritualism and occult fads, and while there is an earnest effort in most of them to record things academically from good sources, they should still be taken with a grain of salt.

Here are some titles I've found useful in my studies:

British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (Sikes, 1880)

Culpeper's Complete Herbal and English Physician (Culpeper, 1850 edition)

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (Yeats, 1888)

Magic and Husbandry: The Folk-Lore of Agriculture (Burdick, 1914)

Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (Folkard, 1884)

The History of Witchcraft and Demonology (Summers, 1926)

The Superstitions of Witchcraft (Williams, 1865)

You can find these and many similar titles on Project Gutenberg or Global Grey Ebooks. (And since they're in the public domain, they're free and legal to download!)

One final note - If you run into anything that mentions "folkish" traditions, bloodlines, or theosophy, put it down and walk away. That direction lies the pipeline to racist hate groups.

Hope this helps!

[clowninthecoffeehouse]

I WANNA HEAR ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE HISTORY

eeee. !!! my one true love is the lighthouses. i should talk about them here more often uhhhmm but yes. the main thing that is my interest about their history (AND inspo for ferryman’s dilemma aka original characters) is to do with the history of the like fictionalized/romanticized version of the isolation and mercury poisoning (the old fresnel lights in the lighthouses before people like. realized it was poisoning them were suspended in mercury) induced cliche of the lighthouse keepers decent into madness,,, paired with like general mythos around the ocean (irish mythology is my favourite because of selkies i was obsessed with them as a kid) but the whole decent into madness was a real thing that was not actually anything spooky happening (though fun to make stories).

the physical history stuff is crazy interesting but also a lot more wordy and harder to explain without drawing blueprints like a madman. but the symbolism of the lighthouse and its atmosphere and relationships to marine mythology is my favourite part anyways, the symbolism of the lighthouse is like so in your face it’s just a perfect place for a story. and because of the lapses in sanity of the keepers there’s ghosts stories galore. i promise i will make character references for my victorian lighthouse keeper ocs soon. but it’s a light that guides people in the dark water home, and lighthouses have existed since BCE. they’re so special and dear to my heart. there’s also a lot of specifically american lighthouse history that’s crazy interesting but i’ve already prattled on too much for a text post. uhm but this is one of my favourite video essays on the topic !! there’s also a lot of good articles mentioned in the description which is good because i am too lazy to find my favourites right now

[theeccentricraven]

Ten Tips to Naming Characters

I’ve seen many aspiring writers express both in person and on social media that they struggle to come up with names for characters. Some have even said, “Why is it so hard?” I, however, have never found it hard to come up with character names. I’ve even been told, “Lucky you!” I wouldn’t say my instinct is just luck. From a young age, names have been fascinating for me, partly because I’m from a big family that had baby name books hanging around. If you’re struggling with character names, there are ten tips that make coming up with a character name a breeze. 

Think of your favorite names

We all have favorite names. I sure do. Sometimes when coming up with a name for a character, especially the protagonist, I use a name that’s always been one of my favorite’s. Presto. My character has a name. 

2. Read baby name books and websites

Baby names books or websites can be your best friend. They can help you find names under certain languages, provide meanings, common associations, popular names by country and region, and a great list you can steal from. 

3. Study name symbolism and meaning in literature 

When you study names used in literature as well as popular entertainment, you can find interesting symbolism that describes the character. For example, in Nathanial Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter” there’s a character named Arthur Dimmsdale. “Dimmsdale” in Old English means “gloomy valley”, a description that fits his character. The TV series “Lost” had special meanings behind the name of each character, such as how Jack Shephard takes on the role to be the leader of the group.

4. Consider the vibes surrounding your character

Oftentimes when I come up with a character name, I think about what kind of vibes I feel with that character and ask myself what name goes with those vibes. There might be a feeling or emotion I feel goes with a name that suits the character. If I think of a character who I feel has a strong desire for justice, then I could give the name Justin.  If there is a character who I associate with love and affection or valiance, I might give the name Valerie.

5. For fantasy and sci-fi, mix and mash words

If you’re writing fantasy and sci-fi, you don’t need to be a full on linguist like Tolkien was, unless you passionately want to be. Coming up with elf names, magic names, alien names, etc. can be done just by mixing up existing words. Sometimes I take the halves of words, mix them up, and combine them. Animorphs author K.A. Applegate has said that she came up with the Andalite word “nothlit” by seeing a sign for Hilton Hotel and rearranging the letters. 

6. Name a character after someone you would like to pay homage to or mock

Sometimes I name characters after someone I knew in real life who deserves tribute. I’ve also come up with villain names by naming them after people I don’t like or notable people in real life. Be careful with this technique to avoid getting sued.

7. Study languages

Again, you don’t need to be a linguist like J.R.R. Tolkien, but if you learn another language or study linguistics in general, it’s interesting to learn the characteristics of languages. I’ve studied a lot of Spanish and Irish Gaelic that I like to use for my character name creation.  

8. Take names from other sources, like movies, books, mythology, religious books, history, places. 

In the end, you can just steal names from places, movies, books, the Bible, etc. You wouldn’t want to do this for a unique name the author invented or one that is heavily associated with an iconic character. There are plenty of names that are free for grabs. Maybe you would like to name your character after your favorite movie side character, favorite villain in a book, favorite Bible figure, favorite saint, favorite mythological hero, or favorite historical figure, etc. 

9. Use name generators

I haven’t used these myself, but I’ve seen there are a number of websites that can be helpful name generators. Examples:

www.fantasynamegenerators.com 

www.behindthename.com 

10. Don't overthink it

This might be the most important tip. I think the main reason why some writers struggle is that they overthink it. While the tips above are nice, they aren’t required. You don’t need to have literary symbolism behind the name or allude to some significant historical figure. In the end, it can be as simple as just using a name that you like or just randomly picking from the millions of names in baby name websites and Wikipedia.

I hope that helps. Have fun!  

Photo by Tatiana Syrikova: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-unrecognizable-freelancer-typing-on-laptop-during-tea-break-3975677/

[ashwin-the-artless]

Sarah and Goreth Ampersand

Cast of the Tunnel Apparati Diaries

Note: although the Vanderkemps chose to do so in their premature fanfic of our work, I'm not going to deadname Sarah and Goreth here.

In short, in the books we're writing, Sarah and Goreth are my hosts. And before they hosted me, they were hosts of Phage (@ohthatphage).

There is an alternate universe canon where we actually all live in a vessel originally owned by Jenifer and Eh, with a totally different backstory, different parents, everything. Though it still does hew pretty closely to Sarah and Goreth's story in some ways. But I'm not writing about that, I'm writing about The Tunnel Apparati Diaries and my book, The End of the Tunnel.

Sarah and Goreth Ampersand are an autistic transgender plural system who grew up in Tumwater, WA. They went to college at the UW, and moved down to Portland shortly afterward. This much can be learned from reading the book. There's actually a lot of autobiographical detail in there.

Instead, I'm going to use this post to tell you my impressions of my favorite two Earthlings.

This will be a little bit of a long post, but it should be fun to read.

And, I'm going to start with Sarah, because while they're effectively twins, of the two of them she spent more time closeted and not fronting.

Sarah Ampersand

Pictured here is Goreth's attempt at drawing how they see Sarah in their inworld, and a photo of the dress that Sarah likes to wear the most while inworld.

Ethnicity-wise, Sarah and Goreth are what they like to call Scermutch. Scottish, German, and Dutch. At least, their ancestors were. But Sarah adores Irish iconography and mythology, and really just loves that Irish wedding dress and wishes she could wear it in real life. She doesn't claim it to be her heritage, though. But it's become part of her 'residual self image' as the kids say.

I mean, they are both U.S. Americans and born and raised in Washington State. Their cultural upbringing is mochas and almond poppy seed muffins. But that dress is described in Goreth's upcoming book, and I thought it would be nice to include it here so that you can visualize it easier when you get to that part. And then I start feeling like I have to give it context.

Anyway, there's way more to Sarah than that dress.

But, that photo is useful in another way.

Probably due to a quirk of their brain, Sarah and Goreth's psyche tends to interpret the presences of other headmates in sensations of warmth, softness, smell, and colors. And when Sarah is coming toward the front to share it with me, I perceive her bubble of consciousness as having the range of colors of that photo. She even smells of linen and dandy lions, and has a sunny warmth to her, with the softness of a light breeze.

I think this description pleases her to no end, too.

You can usually tell when she's fronting when our voice becomes softer and lighter, and takes on the inflections of a Canadian radio hostess. She worked really hard to learn how to talk like that, too.

She's also a little bit more dour, demanding, and reluctant to accept things than Goreth. Which fine. Those are not actually negative traits, like Earthlings like to treat them. She's spent most of her life hiding from the world and watching Goreth adapt to their birth assignment of 'boy'.

In coming forward during their transition, she often had to deliberately carve out time and space for herself and assert who she was to family, friends, and classmates. And later, for the brief time that they worked, to coworkers and clients.

Legally, their system is now known under her name, Sarah Ampersand, and their extended family uses that name when they aren't deadnaming them.

And while, at the beginning of their transition, she was bright and cheerful and as girlish as she could be, that struggle to get respect - and then also their struggle to find accommodations for their disabilities and find a place to live in Portland - really took a toll. She developed new habits of behavior in the necessity to protect her system.

Both Phage and Goreth helped a lot, but because they were all doing it under her name she shouldered the most of the emotional burden.

She could really use a break, honestly. To find a time and place where she can actually be herself. And, by the time you get to the end of the whole trilogy, you'll see that maybe she has a chance at that.

Other things about her that our readers might be interested in?

Like Goreth, she's ace. Unlike Goreth, she's primarily attracted to men, but she's still technically bi-romantic. She doesn't pine for a relationship quite as heavily as Goreth does, perhaps because her cynicism gets in the way of that, but she does feel their touch starvation, and doesn't really know what to do about it.

At least, that's how it was when I first met the two of them. Over the following years, things kinda worked out. Maybe not how either of them hoped or expected, but in a comfortable way anyway.

Goreth Ampersand

Pictured here is Sarah's drawing of Goreth as they appear in their inworld, and a Blender rendering of Goreth flying in the Garden of the Sunspot done for the cover of Goreth's upcoming book, The Sun Also Hatches. (an explanation of that would be spoilers - you'll just have to speculate)

If you've been following my blog, and definitely if you've been following @fenmere, you've seen these before.

So, of the two of them, despite developing in parallel together since birth (they are twins), Goreth has fronted far more often than Sarah and is the one of them that people actually know best from their childhood and teen years.

People may think they knew Sarah as her pretransition self and persona, but that was actually mostly Goreth, with Sarah and Phage interjecting in moments of extreme safety or duress. Sarah tended to come out more often when they were safe, and Phage more often in danger or discomfort.

Goreth is a therian, and has known that they were a dragon since they were three years old. And has never, ever wavered from that identity and self image. Even when they thought their parents were right in calling them a boy and naming them their deadname.

These days, Goreth lists their gender as dragon and calls it maverique, sometimes using aporagender depending on mood and who they're talking to.

They take great pride in being a dragon, too, and have shaped their life and habits around it.

Now, there are about three words in Sunspotian culture that get translated to "dragon" (gerbesh'i, ktleteccete, and whatever it is that the Collective of the cuttlecrabs speak - I don't know how to render that word in any Earth typography as it uses flashes of color and dancing as well as vocalizations). And, I think Goreth and Sarah's linguistic cortex translates those words to "dragon" due to numerous superficial similarities, but also because the word "dragon" is such a broad category of things anyway.

Living with Goreth, however, has taught me a lot about the differences between their kind of dragon, and what gerbesh'i and kletaccete are (I'm a ktleteccete, not a gerbesh'i).

For instance, Goreth hoards things that they consider valuable to them, and makes a point of patrolling what they call their territory (which they don't actually own, but is a number of places they visit regularly and pretend belongs to them). They also, to my own chagrin, eat a considerable amount of meat.

Goreth's presence in our system smells coppery, is cool and metalic in feel, and to me is actually colored in oranges and reds, brassy and rusty, with a green tarnish around it. Sarah reports that, to her, they're all greens and blues.

Goreth is completely ace, but curious and needy enough about intimate physical contact that if someone close to them proposed something they'd probably try it out. But they are deeply, deeply bi-romantic and daydream constantly about the kinds of partners they might have someday. And fret about it, and get into spirals of self doubt and depression over their lack of prospects.

"Fortunately", ever since I came aboard, they've been able to be distracted by other things, such as how to manage an influx of alien beings barging into their psyche.

But they manage pretty well, and their astute nature has been integral to our survival on Earth.

---

If you want to read more about Sarah and Goreth Ampersand, we have a website for that where I'm telling their story:

You can skip right to the web serialization of my book, here:

And if you want to read it in its entirety right now, or invest in its archival preservation with a printed paperback, you can order it here:

[ghostgardn]

⭐️ Star of Fame: send me a description of yourself (hobbies, personality, etc.) include your gender + fandom preference and I'll ship you with someone! (my fandoms can be found in the "ghost" section of my navi!)

male preference and my fandom preference is criminal minds <3

i’m currently studying psychology, i’m hoping to be either a children’s or criminal psychologist but i also love english literature and history which i studied for a little bit too! <3

my favourite classic is Anna Karenina by Tolstoy but my favourite modern book is Tender is the Flesh. my favourite artist of all time is Taylor Swift but i also love lana del rey, mitski, pheobe bridgers, the 1975, radiohead and blur!

personality wise i’m very awkward but most people but when i talk i talk. i’m a hopeless romantic so i love princess treatment and my love language is mainly words of affirmation but idm physical touch if i’m very comfortable with someone! im also pretty smart but i’m clumsy and don’t get social queues often :/

i’m irish so i’m very interested in all the old celtic rituals and celebrations and also our mythology too!

my hobbies are pretty basic too, i just read, bake, write, listen to music, and that sort of stuff!

i’m also very girly! while i love grandpa sweaters and flare jeans i also love miniskirts, croptops, lipgloss, and anything pink! <3

thank you for requesting from my celebration event ☆!

a/n: you sound like such a fun person, can we be friends??? <3

your pairing is... *drumroll please*

Spencer Reid! I know it's a little predictable but hear me out.

You and Spencer being basically Pen and Morgan but actually together. He would play Taylor Swift on the rides to and from his mom. When it was your turn to drive he'd read some books out loud and sneak in some Tolstoy.

Whenever you had an untied shoe, Spencer was on his knees tying it for you. If you were cold, he's shed his jacket to lay over your shoulders. And you'd carry around hand sanitiser in your pockets or purse for him when anybody but you gets too touchy.

He'd look into your culture and find some nearby lectures, seminars, or events that pertain to it so you both could enjoy your ancestral history.

Spencer would probably play a dramatic piano piece (for the laughs) while you were baking or writing just to psych you out a bit. And you'd make sure to play some fancy orchestral "scramble-y" music to play while he does the same.

nsfw (slightly)

The amount of praise within and outside of the bedroom is crazy, it's Canon compliant that this guy is a smooth talker. And that does not stop in bed lol.

[anxiousqueenmarmaroth]

We Shall Remain: Ch.1

Chapter 1: To Madness

"Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard only by the one held captive." ~ Danielle Bernock, Emerging with Wings: A True Story of Lies, Pain, and the LOVE that Heals

  Human mythology was littered with stories of divine retribution, and Keeva grew up on them. Her mam grew up a staunch Irish Catholic, a literal choir boy, and often told her daughters about floods and divine wars and wild fae that asked for your name. She had been obsessed with making sure her girls grew up right, and, just in case there was actually some wild stuff going on out there, to not tempt fate.

  Perhaps if Momma had told them more Chippewa stories, she might have been able to sidestep whatever petty supernatural thing she managed to careen into. No one could deny the level of intervention in her life was nothing short of divine and, honestly, it seemed pretty pissed off.

  "It's beautiful," Shepard commented, the pictures of tropical beaches and thick jungle reminded her of the description Garrus gave her of the place where he was born, which seemed nothing like the Palaven outside of the hotel window. Named after the man who invented the modern pulse shot mechanism, Brugatus was originally a turian colony that opened its registers to refugees during the Reaper War. While not the first mixed-race colony in the galaxy, it was an astonishing leap for turians and a genuinely fresh turn in diplomacy on Victus' part.

  "It is." Solana perked up a little bit, "Listen, I know it's nothing major. Unidentified ship sightings are normal around new colonies, usually pirates. Concerning, sure, but something the militia or the local authorities should be able to deal with on their own. It’s just..."

  "You just can't shake the feeling." The shipping manifests and visitor logs seemed off in some way, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "What was your friends' name again?"

  "Dr. Culip Vozori. Salarian xenoneurobiologist. My father tells me I should probably wait at least a month before 'catastrophizing.'"

  Castis was a man that could make a whole room nervous enough to agree with him immediately. Perhaps it was his eyes and the tiny gold irises that fanned into a sea of black, always seeming to bear down on whatever they looked at. If her instincts were telling her something was so wrong she actively disagreed with him, then at the very least it was something that deserved a closer look.

  "When was the last time you heard from your friend?"

  Solana rolled her cup around her hands, "About three weeks ago, just after the sightings. She was really upset about it but I told her not to worry. I've seen a few veterans shaking after the whole Reaper thing so I thought it was just nerves. She kept saying that something was wrong, and then nothing. I'd think she was angry with me, but she's a salarian, you know? They get over things pretty quick."

  The check-ins, pulled using Garrus' security clearance, were little more than a collection of copied and pasted generic updates from the heads of the notable institutions. The pattern seemed fairly normal: Hectic during its first few months-- such is the way with colonies-- until it calmed down, supremely hectic during the Reaper invasion especially when it began accepting refugees, more calm, hectic again immediately after the mysterious sightings, and once again petering off into mundane dribble. Always sent at 14:31-- while a little odd turians were known to be obsessive and particular. Perhaps it was just the thought of Castis and his creepy eyes and his tone like he was forced to accept something that he didn't find all that impressive, but she was spurred on in the fog of a vindictive, childish war that only she was fighting. It probably wasn't fair to shove him in the same corner as Sparatus having barely exchanged more than a few words with him, but if he wanted to hate her then she was willing to hate him right back.

  "Did she say what the ships looked like?"

  "She said 'shimmering blue shadows' in the shape of an oca... octahyrix?.. octa... it looked like two pyramids stuck together." She tapped her fingers together as if she was trying to stick her exhibit together herself, much to Shepard's relief since her training didn't cover polyhedrons.

  "That doesn't sound like a batarian ship."

  "That's what's been bothering me. The closest thing I can think of is an asari heavy. Which didn't make me feel better." Asari didn't scrap their heavies, and stealing one required an organized and skilled force, if not a massive one.

  Desperate swipes to the right revealed only a black background before viscously recoiling her back to the previous page, like a dog in an old cartoon that had run full tilt towards a car only to be slingshot back towards where its leash was tied to a tree. There was nothing else, nothing to validate her suspicions in the slightest.

  "I take it Dr. Vozori specializes in Corpalis Syndome?" A splitting headache behind her eyes made her set the datapad down, defeated.

  "You must think I'm horrible." Her eyes darkened, but she didn't shrink away from the soft accusation.

  "I don't."

  "It's alright, I can be honest with myself. I know good people don't worry about their friends because they need something from them."

  "People do crazy things for love, but they do unspeakable things for hope." She gave her the softest, most understanding, pitiful smile a human face could make, "There are worse sins than wanting to save ."

  Solana was kind enough to keep her company for a few more hours, regaling her-- with a little strategic prodding-- with stories about Brugatus. She painted a picture of a tropical paradise, moving her hands to mime a container for each pocket of thought. The environment was perfect for growing crops for turian venery, and while it was still a large part of the business that came through the colony, the melting pot turned it into a hub of cultural and intellectual exchange-- food of all kinds was sold in stalls, fusion or otherwise, and it was known as the place to sign papers for interracial unions in marriage or business with its lax laws. Its criminal underbelly was well-organized and relatively well-behaved as long as there was no attempt to seize power, like a baby mafia, and provided food and blankets to those under its protection. While the colony touted equality, there were an awful lot of turian faces in the government, militia, and police forces which would no doubt cause problems later down the road, but racially-motivated crimes weren't common while the Vakarians had stayed there.

  Shepard stood dutifully in front of the window, already trying to formulate the softest way to tell her that her friend was dead. The ship manifests may have had a stink about them, but they were very clear that her friend left promptly for Omega after the sightings. There were many possibilities of where the doctor could be, but none of them looked hopeful after three weeks of no contact. With the krogan-heavy Blood Pack still in Omega, there wasn't much hope for a good outcome short of the vessel springing an eezo leak and diverting to a nearby port, or maybe an abandoned planet with enough edible food to fuel a salarian's high metabolism. They were more than likely only looking for a corpse, now.

  Garrus was 16 minutes late. It wasn't like him. Not that working harder than he should wasn't like him, but the politics were usually slow enough for him to return home a little early with red tape still clinging to his teeth. It was too early to worry, of course it was. He was just always home in time to watch the sunset.

  Palaven was beautiful. At least the view outside of the hotel window was, anyways. The sun shown on the bleached white sand that served as a barrier between the tree-infested city and the deep blue waves. A derelict Reaper crouched in the waves where it fell, its crevices stuffed with vegetation and all manner of living things and its plates smeared with the symbols of adventurous youths. The quietness of the hollow room gave the scene the reverence of a painting hanging in a museum. There was a tree outside of the window that they certainly didn't have back home. Its trunk twisted upon itself-- twisted, frayed, bloated black leather cords covered in green rust. She'd call it an oak if two oaks had ever been mummified in a horrific, vicious death embrace like twinned snakes. The next question was naturally if she could hang herself from it. The branches seemed sturdy enough and it would pass the time, at least.

   She smiled a little at the sudden, horribly dark thought that floated whimsically about the air like dust particles. There wasn’t any rope, anyways.

  Well, at least she was pretty sure she didn't have any rope. But this was a turian hotel. They could have all sorts of crazy things in here. A quick inspection of the room revealed several complimentary items that she had little use for once the curiosity wore off.

  The nightstand closest the window revealed a menu she gave some genuine thought to before following the asterisk down from the levo-safe options revealed it was only safe for asari and salarian consumption. The next nightstand wasn't much better, having only a handful of what she assumed were unmarked condoms. Cracking one open revealed nothing but more confusion at the slender, forearm-length tube.

  The bathroom had a deep, oval soaking tub large enough for two turians. One day, when her scars weren't as sensitive, she and Garrus would have to soak in the tub with all of the little unmarked potions that surrounded it. The rest of the bathroom included talon files so course they would take the skin off of her fingers if she tried them, surprisingly soft face towels, something like a perfectly round, course boar bristle brush, and a collection of little squeezy bottles that mostly smelled like tar. There was a whole drawer full of wooden sticks with differently shaped picks at the end.

  She once again returned to gaze out of the window after finding a bunch of pans that weren't at all comfortable to hold in the kitchenette. The curtains that framed the view were too thick to use. There was her belt, but Alliance regulations made sure it couldn't support more than 100 pounds. Then again, she had lost a significant amount of weight after getting her jaw wired. But 40 pounds? No, she couldn't have lost that much, besides she had been gaining some back.

  It was fine, she didn't really want to do it, she just wanted to pass the time. A glance at her omni-tool told her she managed to kill at least 10 minutes-- 26 minutes late and 10 minutes closer to coming home. There was the thought of putting on the environmental suit and the recon hood and going out, maybe buying some food that didn't come in a tube. Wait, couldn't use her credit chit because she was supposed to be dead. Could use Garrus'. And pay him back how? Maybe buy him a bottle of something. Wouldn't work, can't pay someone back with their own money. Maybe chalk it up to the boyfriend's archaic obligation to buy things for their girlfriends? Prostitution at best and sexism at worst. Could rob someone? No, robbing turians bad idea; metal shells... problematic.

  With a laugh that bordered on hysterical she realized she sounded a lot like Mordin. She rested her hands on the sill, trying her best to still enjoy the brilliant Palaven sunset through the pathetic ghost of the half-bald thing with sad, defeated eyes that always haunted her from the window.

  Garrus had to come home soon. Had to. If the universe wanted to take him without claw marks in him, it should have left more things for her to hold onto.

[aliens-grimoire]

∆ I won't accept dms from people I don't know or trust. If I don't know you and you dm me, I will remove the chat from my inbox. ∆

Heyya! I’m Alien, and I’m an Eclectic Witch. I decided to become a witch around February 2, 2021, so I’m still new to the craft. I have a Book of Shadows that I’m working on filling up with information. I found out I have Irish heritage and am trying to connect to that part of myself spiritually.

I’m Genderfae and go by three sets of pronouns. While my main pronouns are fi/fir, feel free to use any of the pronouns listed in my blog description! If you’re uncertain of my pronouns, feel free to just refer to me as Alien or Em. I’m also Asexual and Biromantic, and support everyone in our wonderful rainbow of a community!

I struggle with AuDHD, and am in the process of learning coping mechanisms that'll hopefully help me out. I love to read fantasy and adventure, with a little romance thrown in, and I’m always on the lookout for a good book! I’m also a big fan of music, art and animation.

Here's the kind of stuff you can expect to find on my blog!

✒ Celtic Mythology

✒ Kemeticism

✒ Pop Culture Practices

✒ Spirit Work

✒ Shadow Work

✒ Spell Work

✒ Sigils

✒ Crystal Magick

✒ Candle Magick

✒ Herbal Magick

✒ Pendulum Divination

✒ Rune Divination

✒ Tarot

✒ Astrology

My Tags:

#alien's spells → Spells I've made myself!

#alien's notes → Anything I've researched and found particularly interesting.

#alien's deities → Tag for the gods and goddesses in my Constructed Pantheon!

#alien speaks → Announcements, thoughts and other stuff can be found here.

#alien rb → Misc reblogs I found interesting or related to an entity I follow or something I hope to honor.

#witchcraft tag → All things witchcraft! More specific tags will be added to these posts to help you find what you're looking for.

#paganism tag → All things paganism! More specific tags will be added to these posts to help you find what you're looking for.

Glad to have you join me on my spiritual journey! Hope you'll find something interesting or helpful!

[gingersnappish]

KYLUX RECS 2020-2021

My Kylux Recs in the last year (Aug, 20 2020 - Aug 20 2021)

SO. MUCH. GOOD. FIC!!! We are really lucky in this fandom to have so much good stuff to read!

Fic is part of the lifeblood of fandom, in my opinion-it shares new ideas and AUs and fleshes out the characters and most of all it inspires and entertains us all and engenders all sorts of feels for the characters-it’s part of what keeps us shipping! So a big ‘thank you’ to all the fic authors out there who work so hard at their craft and are generous enough to share it with all of us!

The following list is by no means comprehensive-there are LOTS and lots more very good fics that have been published in the last year that I haven’t read. I just wanted to offer up a few recs from what I know I enjoyed so far! (I also have more than fits on one list to rec-I’ll try and do another list soon!) As always, I rec based on personal taste, and I highly encourage reading all the tags/warnings on any given work to make sure it’ll be to your taste! -

The Flirtation Of Flowers 

DaisyChainz

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771553

Words: 5,917

Rating: Teen

Summary:Kylo runs his farm's stall at the Farmer's Market every weekend. He has a new customer, a gorgeous redhead that is curious about the meanings of his bouquets. Kylo doesn't know anything about that, so he makes stuff up to keep the man coming back every week.

My thoughts on the rec: This is the cutest slice of a modern AU kylux-it really nails Kylo’s personality as a (slightly awkward) flirt who is trying his best and just really likes the redhead who keeps coming to buy flowers. Just a sweet little fic all ‘round!

all i have to do is dream

kyluxtrashcompactor

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18709426/chapters/44373613

Words: 11,456

Rating: Teen

Summary:Armitage Hux has been going to the same bar every Thursday for the last year, nursing a crush on the gorgeous, unobtainable bartender, Kylo Ren. He finally gets up the courage to ask him out, only to find out he has some unusual competition: the memory of a red-haired boy from Kylo's past, who Kylo swears is the soulmate that got away from him.A fill for this SoftKyluxKinks prompt:Anonymous asked: Benarmie with young Ben (around 11 years old) having a huge crush on Armitage (16). Hux finds it adorable but mostly ignores him because he's a kid. Flash forward a few years when Ben is all grown up and Hux is the one with a huge crush.

My thoughts on the rec: This is another really cute young modern AU! I like the idea that Ren has liked Hux forever, but this deals nicely with the age gap and that Hux really wouldn’t notice Ren back until they are both appropriately older. And they make such a cute couple-it’s a great progression from just ‘he’s hot’-like, there is a lot more to them than that in the end!

Homecoming 

sigo 

(really, read anything by sigo, it’s all my favorite)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27150808

Words: 13,450

Rating: Explicit

Summary:“We’re off the next two weeks, you know.”“Yes, I know.” There was emergency construction scheduled to fix cracking asphalt too near a pipe in the center of campus. The buses couldn’t run, and that phenomenon was the only thing that ever cancelled classes. Halloween was dead center in the unplanned time off school, and every bar within a fifteen mile radius would be untenable as the students celebrated. Hux was planning on staying home, catching up on grading. He was rather looking forward to an opportunity to reread his favorite novels. They were already stacked by the couch in preparation.“My family always throws a Halloween party and they got word that I could come this year,” Kylo said, shuffling his feet. He looked almost bashful.“Ren, it’s midnight,” Hux sighed at his infuriating coworker. “Get to it.”“I may have informed my entire family previously that we were dating.”

My thoughts on the rec: One of my all-around fav fics from the last year’s worth of my reading material! It’s got the modern AU vibes down pat without losing their personalities or making them too OOC, it’s got the fake-dating trope done REALLY well, it’s got a wonderful creepy vibe strung delicately throughout for the Halloween haunted setting, it’s got plot and make-outs (and more). Can’t recommend highly enough!

Thaw

thesevioletdelights

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557180/chapters/69982587

Words: 14,316

Rating: Explicit

Summary:They have managed cooperation - efficient cooperation, even - in these past months, which is more than enough. And already nothing short of a miracle for both of them.Still. Ren was a fool to think he could simply run off and keep Hux in the dark.-----When Ren goes missing on a mysterious planet, Hux sets out to find him. He doesn't yet know that he just might find himself.

My thoughts on the rec: This, like all of violet’s fic, is HOT! Like, scorching vibes between them! It’ll draw you in and not let you go ‘til after the boys are ‘done’! And, like all of violet’s fics, the character voices and personalities are also impeccable!

Rocks Break Gifts

elderbwrry

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25840237/chapters/62777839

Words: 16,706

Rating: Mature

Summary:The Rebellion has been crushed, a coup affected, and Supreme Leader Ren and his Grand Marshall Hux have settled into a domestic routine as the joint rulers of the Galaxy. Kylo wants nothing more, now, than to make his relationship with Hux official, but he can't seem to rise to Hux's challenge of a satisfactory proposal.Or, the five times Kylo proposes, and the one time Hux says yes.

My thoughts on the rec: Ahhhhh, the premise in this one is great! Like, I don’t wanna spoil the plot reveal at the end, so I can’t say too much, but there is a really good reason throughout the thing that this is a Five Times type fic and it works! It works so well and while we spend the fic ‘with’ Kylo, when we find out what Hux’s deal is, it is so satisfying! I Paint My Dreams

Marlon

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26685907/chapters/65090566

Words: 26,122

Rating: General Audiences

Summary:Kylo Ren is struggling to make a name for himself in the art world but as the grandson of the great Anakin Skywalker, a legendary pop artist of the 1950s and 60s, the weight of his famous family and his own expectations is a lot to bear.After he’s rejected from a prestigious exhibition because his installations “don’t fit the theme”, Kylo heads to the pub to drink away his disappointment. Later that night as he stumbles home, he’s set upon by some would-be thieves but before they can take what’s left of his money, he’s saved by a strange man with unbelievable Medusa-like powers. The ethereally beautiful man, Armitage Hux, is a visitor from Oweynagat and he has a simple proposition for Kylo - room and board in exchange for making all Kylo’s artistic dreams come true.Sounds easy - what could possibly go wrong?

My thoughts on the rec: Oh goodness, where to start? The Irish Mythology and Fae aspect of this fic is superbly woven throughout the whole thing and the author makes it work really well! Like, this is such a unique and original take on the kylux pair, I love them, especially Fae!Hux in this! And the plot is solid and you get invested really heavily in how they are gonna wind up-at least I did! There’s some beautiful language in this-descriptions and dialogue! And I have a soft spot for Artist!Kylo!

Dating a Monster

mysticmilks

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703904/chapters/65139415

Words: 30,401

Rating: Explicit

Summary:Ben Solo was raised to be a demon hunter, as everyone in his family has been before him. He wanted nothing more than to prove that he was worthy to his family. He lied to them and went on an unauthorized mission to catch and kill an elusive incubus. His search led him to Arkanis University, one of the most prestigious schools in the country.He was sure the mission was going to be easy, before he met the cute freshman Armitage Hux. This meeting would change the fate of both of them.

My thoughts on the rec: Add another really good one to the slightly-creepy-kylux subgenre filled with demons and dark powers! This is a great depiction of Kylo as a very determined demon hunter and Hux as a very unique quarry! I love the tension in parts of this too-well crafted! The Green Ribbon

xzombiexkittenx, Lilander (art)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630845/chapters/70176921

Words: 39,679

Rating: Explicit

Summary:When Ben was fifteen he left the Jedi temple and took extreme measures to prevent the shadowy creature that infiltrated his thoughts from dragging him to the dark side. What he did left him with a great deal of chronic pain and removed his most valuable weapon, but Ben got his stubbornness from every side of the family, even the adopted ones, and he was determined to find and kill the creature.Now Senator Amidala of Naboo, Ben uses his position to make the galaxy a less awful place when he can, but being senator also gave him very useful contacts in his search for the creature. When he met Major Hux of the First Order, Ben thought he could get game-changing information out of him, one way or another, but things rarely go Ben's way and it got complicated much faster than Ben had prepared for. It's never a good idea to mix sex and politics, but Ben takes his fun where he can get it.

My thoughts on the rec: I feel like this is a very original take on ‘Senator Amidala’ Ben, at least from the stuff I’ve read-many props to the author for such a fleshed out universe, filled with likeable, believable OCs, a wonderful plot, great character motivations and voices, and a take on our main man Ben that pulled me in from the get-go! He’s sorta magnetic (in universe and to the reader)! And the sexual tension and sexy bits are very well done! I’m rooting for Ben and Hux in this, on opposites sides though they may be! Comfort Zone

LydiaBSlade

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26783797/chapters/65338117

Words: 66,766

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Hux is running away. He meets a tall, dark, and somewhat annoying stranger at the airport.

My thoughts on the rec: Travel writing at its best; also kylux fic at it’s best! Young, modern them trying to find their places in the world and finding each other in the process is so cute and almost tenderly done in this! This is a gentle, friendly version of modern Kylo that I fell in love with, right along with Hux! And by the way, I’m not kidding when I say travel writing-the southeast asian setting is vivid and enchanting in it’s rich detail! Outnumbered, Outgunned, Outmanuevered, and Winning

Coriesocks, Ellalba (art)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28217253/chapters/69144672

Words: 80,372

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Hux’s plans for ridding the First Order of Kylo Ren are ruined when Ren discovers his deception. With no choice but to flee, Hux ends up in the hands of the Resistance. It’s not ideal, but at least he gets a break from Ren. Until he doesn’t.When Ren starts appearing in Hux’s dreams, Hux wonders if the stress of being a spy has taken more of a toll on his sanity than he’d previously thought. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he has to deal with constant pestering from Poe and a mildly inconvenient kidnapping. Of course, it’s Ren who saves him in the end. There’s clearly no getting away from him.

My thoughts on the rec: A really interesting take on something that is both a alternate rewrite of what could have happened instead of TROS and a TROS-fix-it of sorts! Hux is stellar in this, we really get a good look in his head and Coriesocks handles it masterfully! I really liked how their relationship develops gradually in this, it’s Enemies To Lovers at its best! Bloodlines and Brandy

EmperorsVornskr

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989934/chapters/54963601

Words: 130,785

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Sebastian Hux is a native of the Deep South who loathes his origins, and seeks to pull himself from the stifling quagmire, but his bloodlines call him back to the property that has blessed- and plagued- his family for centuries.Unspoken secrets fill his inheritance, skeletons fill every closet, and a monster lurks in the shadows, tied to two bloodlines joined by fate, greed and hatred that has spanned across generations.As Hux learns about his family’s tainted legacy that has now become his burden, he discovers there is more involved than just having to be the curator of property that the locals shun with hushed whispers, that he has inherited more than an estate- he also has a terrible and loathsome horror tied to his very blood.When curious young locals come calling, and Hux’s past tormentors come out of the woodwork to simper and scrabble for a piece of the newly rich, the body count begins to rise, the smell of blood in the old slaughterhouse is getting harder to hide, and Hux realises that he will need to find a better way to pacify the hulking shadow that perches on his roof every night before his hometown’s tiny population is completely decimated.

My thoughts on the rec: This one is EPIC! Like, in length (which it needs every word of for the story that is going on here) and in the great portrayal of Kylo and Hux and their relationship! It’s super original too-not just the plot but the depiction of Kylo as something ‘other’ and the Southern Gothic vibes, and Hux-this is a wonderful take on Hux! He loses none of his edge, in my opinion and yet the reader is ‘with’ him all the way through, rooting for him! The descriptions are killer too-EmperorsVornskr has a felicity of expression that kept me reading (albeit in more than one sitting). Also worth noting that this is a wonderful and carefully handled depiction of trans!Hux, in my admittedly cis opinion. The theme of finding your tribe/your people/and your special someone in this, albeit in sometimes unexpected places is warming! I enjoyed every moment of this fic! Gravity Well

kyluxtrashcompactor

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13062495/chapters/29879001

Words: 176,421

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Snoke is gone, but his death has solved nothing between Hux and Kylo Ren. The First Order's trust in their leaders wanes as they vie for power over one another, and if they cannot learn to work together, they may both lose everything they've worked for.Forging that alliance after years at each other's throats will not be as easy as letting the past die, however—they will face subterfuge, enemies in the shadows, treachery, and being stranded on a hostile planet with creatures out of nightmare, barely escaping constant danger with their lives while having only one another to rely on.And that is just the beginning.

My thoughts on the rec: I realize this one is very well known by now, but I’ll rec it again for good reason! It’s quality long-fic! I love how competent Hux is in this surival-style fic, even without the Force to save him! And Kylo is a badass! kyluxtrashcompactor is a master of the slow burn here and we’re even lucky enough to be getting a sequel (although Gravity Well will also stand perfectly on its own). The writing in this will draw you in and not let you go!

----

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did!  

[kuekyuuq]

What happened to Lena’s mother?

Here we go, me dissecting a fictional show again, to try and find meaning while its sixth season is on summer break, and because apparently everything may or may not be relevant again. So let’s cut to the chase:

What we've been told:

"We were visiting family she said. Somewhere by the water, a lake I think. It was... It was so green. It wasn't a very bright day, it was overcast, but my mom said that's where the magic was. It was the rain that made the green. So of course, she went swimming. She didn't come back. [...] I was with her on the shore, when she went in, and when she went under and I did nothing." 

[Lena Luthor - 4x07]

I don’t know about you all, but... this whole description always felt strange to me, like there was more going on than Lena’s mother just going for a swim while it was overcast and raining, the loving and devoted mother she’s described as leaving her little girl on the shore alone. In a show like Supergirl and with Lena’s mother’s fairy-tale connection, I find it hard to imagine that the woman just had a leg cramp and drowned... Not to undermine the tragic of it all. For any child a mother’s death and the sub-sequential uprooting would equal to, like, all of a sudden losing one’s whole world, only to be flown to what is essentially a whole new and entirely different world and to be put with a family of strangers...  Is it just me who sees the parallel here? ...where was I? Right. So let me dissect the wording and add my two cents:

Visiting family, huh?

Lena seems to have no other family but the Luthors, with Lionel being her ever absent bio-dad (until he died) and Lex being her half-brother.

Lena's mom said they’d visit family, went into a lake and [presumably] died.

So, was her mother suicidal? Went to 'join' her non-alive family?

If Lena's mother wasn't suicidal, but indeed referring to their family, then... who could she have been referring to?

The visiting part also may or may not imply something non-permanent.

I honestly don’t believe in the “suicidal” approach, as even Lex noted how sunny and light the woman was. She’s described as happy and carefree...

Lena (who according to Lex's journals was capable of remembering people and events from before she was 4 years old accurately) only remembers it was by the water, guesses it was a lake. Something about the location (or something at the location) stuck with Lena as "lake-like".

It was overcast and raining. (Young-)Lena concluded that was what made everything look green. I mean, we assume this happened in Ireland, so green should have been somewhat normal for her? Yet, this stood out to her... 

So... magic? 

Lena's mother was into that fairy-tale / folklore book, y'know, the one Lena used to find the Medallion of Acrata, that Andrea snagged (and which we seemingly will see a lot more of in s06). 

The medallion being real is a rather good indicator that whatever 'magic' is described in that book is at least to some degree rooted in (the show's) reality.

[Aside from “The Adventure of Acrata”, the set-designers inserted “Hans in Luck”, “The Fox's Brush” and “The Grateful Beasts” (Brothers Grimm) to the book’s pages. Oookay.]

Green, so green.

Most obvious thought would be Kryptonite. But I cannot find any reference of green Kryptonite doing something that could remotely fit the scene described. I was sorta hoping, maybe the rain tainting everything green could be a meteor shower, but this event happened in 1997. Kal's pod (and the accompanying Kryptonite shower) fell to Earth around 1979. Couldn't have been some greenK following in the wake of Kara's pod either, because that didn't arrive on Earth until 2003.

Also also, Lena's mother apparently knew where to go in advance. This leads me to believe it may have been a "natural" occurrence.

What else is green?

Well, the Arrowverse’s Temporal Vortex for one.

Or the sky (light) at the Dawn of Time.

Am I really alone in the belief, that maybe, just maybe, Lena’s mother searched and found a “magical” place that happened to be some sort of portal?  ...to “visit family”? Maybe? Possibly had intended to take Lena with her? Something went wrong (as things always do when magical stuff is involved)?

"So of course, she went swimming," she said in a sarcastic tone.

That can easily be adult-Lena's way of belittling the moment, distancing herself from her own pain by adding some sarcasm. Lena's mother clearly went into something (”lake-like”), and never came back, presumably in a good mood (at least not scared) and without hesitation. Lena thinks "lake" and her mother "going under", while she herself remained at the edge of the event. Remember: This whole narration is what her 4-yo self saw and understood, revisited through an (guilt-ridden, self-deprecating) adult’s lens.

Here's a little tidbit, that I found checks quite a lot of boxes:

In Celtic/Irish mythology there is this supernatural "Otherworld" (aka Avalon in the King Arthur Legend), a realm of the deities and possibly also of the dead / ancestors and/or heroes. Apparently it is similar to a parallel universe (or some sort of multiverse) and a happy place. This elusive place is reached by entering ancient burial mounds, caves or by going under the waters of pools, lakes or the sea (giving it one of its many other names, Tír fo Thuinn, "land under the wave") or by crossing the western sea. And/or it sorta connects (at certain times or random / aforementioned places), signaled by fog, mists, sudden changes in the weather, appearance of unusual animals or divine beings. In tales featuring this realm, sometimes the hero returns after what he believes is a short time, only to find that all his companions are dead and he has actually been away for hundreds of years.

You know where you'd learn about “Otherworld” (aside from wikipedia)? In a book of fairy-tales, folklores and myths.

Now, there’s currently this fan-theory that Nyxlygsptlnz could be ...Lena’s mother...

Alright, similar’ish hair-do. I give you that. And the way the clothing bunches at the shoulders looks similar... It’s possible, I guess. Visually, at least.

However, Nyxly shared her troubled past, and Miss “tried to cut my father's throat” seems to not have (had) nearly the care-free, loving, playful, free-spirited character Lena’s mother has been described with. Who sang an Irish lullaby to a 7 year old Lex. And worked with/for Lionel for several years... Plus, wasn’t Lena to look ‘exactly’ like her mother?  So... yeah, if the writers go there, I will have serious problems suspending my disbelief.  That’s all I have for the moment.  Thanks for reading and as always don’t feel shy to correct me or help me find more clues.

[imnotevenhere9]

If you're still doing Matchups, could I please get one for Lotr and The Hobbit please? Thanks so much!

🌱 She/They Nonbinary // Bisexual // Autistic and Chronically Ill with a bonus Anxiety Disorder // 18 years old at the moment

🌱 I know a lot of Home Remedies and Superstitions for like no reason. For instance, did you know that Raspberry Tea helps with Menstrual Pain, or that knocking on wood invokes the protection of the tree spirit and that’s why it’s said to give you luck? I don’t know why I know that, but I do.

🌱 Winning a fight is on my bucket list, but it has to be for a good reason. I’m not one to just pick fights for the sake of fighting, and I’m actually pretty conflict-averse, so I need to actually have a solid reason for throwing hands. But I’ve always wanted to do it for some reason.

🌱 I often get the inexplicable urge to bake something, so my loved ones just kinda end up with surprise brownies and zucchini bread at random. This habit has only worsened over Quarantine, of course.

🌱 I really like studying Witchcraft for some reason. The first spell I ever performed was a Healing Spell to help my friend who was sick with Crohn's Disease. Thirty minutes after performing the ritual, I got a text saying he felt a lot better and he was released from the hospital a couple days later, so I guess it must’ve worked. 😁

🌱 My love language is definitely gift giving. I’m pretty cheap, but I’m also an artist, so when push comes to shove I’ll just make something for someone when I like them. I pay very close attention to what people like because it gives me more ideas on how to interact with them. I’m essentially a large, flightless Crow. You were nice, so you get something shiny. But though I like giving gifts to others, I’m not very materialistic at all. I prefer to be practical when it comes to things, and I get very nervous when spending money.

🌱 I LOVE going outside and getting messy. Playing in the mud, getting soaked in the rain, I’m the type to go outside and come back home covered in dirt and twigs. It’s just really fun to me.

🌱My Dad’s a really good cook and I seem to have inherited that gene. He actually has me make dinner whenever we’re having eggs because I always cook them better than he does.

🌱 I’ve always wanted to be a really good gardener. My dream house is just covered in flowers and plants and such. I want to live in a Greenhouse, basically.

🌱 I have a habit of giggling to myself just by remembering something funny that happened, even if it was a couple years ago. I also laugh when I do something stupid, because I find my flaws and shortcomings funny for the most part. I love to laugh with people, but never at them.

🌱 You know the sort of “Girl Next Door” trope? That’s my type. Like the guy in the dorm just down the hall, or the girl in my neighborhood who I casually flirt with. I’m a sucker for cute little interactions like that, so it’s not too much of a surprise that I always fall for people like that. I never forget people I meet on the road, and often find myself hoping to meet up with them again someday.

🌱 I know way too much about Spirits and Fae. My favorite book is called ‘The Encyclopedia of Spirits’ and it shows you how to contact and interact with a ton of different deities and spirits, and I’m addicted to reading it. It’s the best.

🌱 I’m basically like a tiny, less-impressive Aragorn. I love travelling on foot, getting messy outside, I was kind of a Horse Girl as a kid ngl, I’ve always wanted to be a knight or king of some sort, chances are that I haven’t bathed in awhile, and I too would pine for a hot elf girl for literal years on end.

🌱 I always have to have some sort of weight on me to feel comfortable, because of my Autism. That usually takes the form of a large backpack stuffed with books and snacks, or a big jacket. However, my muscles are always pretty stiff and achy, so that does kinda backfire too.

🌱My closest friends say I give off “Dwobbit” vibes. That’s a ½ Dwarf and ½ Hobbit btw. I’m around 4’ 10” tall, I don’t shave, I love crafting and art, I live in the Mountains, I’m tomboyish but I also love gardening and can be a bit of a homebody, I love going barefoot, etc.

🌱 I really love History, Folklore, Mythology and Fairy Tales. My favorite is the Irish myth of Oisín in Tir Na Nog. Look it up if you don’t know it, it’s a fantastic story. But I also appreciate myths from all sorts of different cultures, like the myth of Annapurna in India or the tale of Princess Kaguya in Japan. Did you know that in Mesopotamian Mythology, Nonbinary People were said to be given the gift of prophecy and magic by the goddess Ishtar? And that a recurring figure in Slavic Folklore is the Snake King, who’s just a big ol’ snake with a doofy looking crown? I love it.

🌱 I’m an Aquarius, INFP and 4w5 if that means anything. For reference, characters who are also 4w5 INFPs include Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice), Wirt (Otgw), Frankenstein’s Monster, Luna Lovegood (HP), Napstablook (Undertale), The Phantom of the Opera, and Celeste from Animal Crossing. That kinda tells you a lot about me, doesn’t it?

🌱 I’ve been growing my hair out, so it’s getting pretty long too. It’s always messy, and I both use a lot of conditioner and it naturally curls when wet, so I basically end up having a very fluffy mane with a lot of stray hairs and weird curls. Also, fun fact, I never learned how to braid because I’ve only really made friends with boys and I have very poor hand-eye coordination when it comes to such things. And my hair is so thin and fluffy that it’s impossible to tame anyways, so the best I can do is put it in a ponytail, since I’m basically incapable of doing anything fancier than that. When worst comes to worse, I have plenty of hats though.

🌱 I have really pale skin that’s always covered in moles, freckles (especially on my arms) and lots of scabs. It’s also getting warmer out, so chances are that I have a farmer’s tan. I have blue eyes and glasses.

🌱 I have a habit of seeing shadows move out of the corners of my eyes, frequently mistaking them for people or animals, but when I turn to look there’s nothing there. I’ve gotten my eyesight checked multiple times, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary, so it’s either a lack of sleep, or the Fae are getting antsy with me. Probably the former of course, but part of me would like to believe the

Oof, sorry that description was so long! I really hope you don't mind. Thanks so much in advance!!

A/n: I made it really wholesome (at least in my eyes), so I hope you like it! ^_^

Masterlist • Prompts • S/o match ups • Taglist

S/o from The Hobbit: Kili! 

will take your hands and kiss all the moles and freckles when you two are alone

listens to you talking about Fairy Tales while hugging you from behind and plays with your hair

likes to fall asleep with you on his chest, so he can plent small kisses on your head

loves everything you bake, it doesn’t matter if he heard of it or not, he always gets so excited to try what you baked

gives the best massages. He will prepare a bubble bath, help you stretch, whatever makes your achy muscles hurt less

small peaks behind your shoulder when you're

S/o from LOTR: Arwen!

adores your hair. Like literally. She loves to braid them, brush them, run her fingers through them, basically everything you can think of

please share everything you know and learnes about Home Remedies and Superstitions. She loves listening to you talk, it doesn't matter if she already knows all of it, she just wants to listen to you talk about it

your random giggles? In her eyes the cutest thing ever. Just hearing you giggling brightens her day so much

will probably go outside and get messy with you, because she loves to see you happy

gets shy when you give her gifts, she loves them all so much tho

will get you different books about Witchcraft, so you can learn and practice more!

[jadelotusflower]

Roundup - January 2022

This month: An Offer from a Gentleman, Top End Girl, Celtic Myth, The Sin Eater, Being the Ricardos, The Beatles: Get Back, The Last Duel, Cobra Kai

Reading

An Offer from a Gentleman (Julia Quinn) - The third Bridgerton novel, this time dealing with the romance of the second Bridgerton son Benedict, a character thoroughly invisible to be on the show (I was quite a way into watching before I realised there in fact were four Bridgerton brothers). From what I recall, he was the one I thought was going to turn out to be gay, but apparently...just had a gay friend? Or something? Anyway, the object of his affection in this novel is Sophie Beckett, the illegitimate daughter of an Earl forced into a Cinderella situation after his death by her horrid step-mother, horrid step-sister, and other step-sister, who is kind of nice but weak-willed. Does the latter sound familiar? It should, the description and characterisation of the stepmother/stepdaughter combo appears to be wholesale lifted from Ever After, right down to the second stepdaughter being “chubby” and a masquerade ball to which Sophie wears her grandmother’s dress that was clearly inspired by Danielle de Barbarac’s iconic look. 

However the Cinderella narrative is quickly subverted with a time jump and change of circumstances, and the book was enjoyable enough even if Benedict was more overbearing and pushy than I like my romantic heroes. I did like Sophie, and the conflict of loving Benedict, knowing her can never marry her, but not willing to become his mistress was interesting, although would have been moreso without the last minute reprieve that wraps everything up neatly. I wonder if there are novels out there that that don’t take the easy way out?

I have to remind myself that these are romances and try to view it thorough those conventions, as I too often find myself clutching my pearls and “won’t someone please think of the PROPRIETY” every time a couple is kissing and feeling each other up within hours of meeting. It happened in the last book too, and it is hard to view the Bridgerton brothers, knowing the potential cost to the lady in question if they are seen, as the dreamy heroes they’re clearly meant to be when in this time period just being alone with a man could ruin your life. Look, I know these aren’t Austen and don’t claim to be, but I would prefer a bit more deference to the conventions of the time period.

Top End Girl (Miranda Tapsell) - A memoir from an actress I really enjoy (anyone who hasn’t watched The Sapphires, should), an enlightening look into the Australian arts, film and television industry, particularly Tapsell’s experience as an Aboriginal woman, racism, and the importance of representation. The bulk of the book is dedicated to the film she co-wrote and starred in, Top End Wedding (which I very much recommend), inspired by classic romcoms but told through an Indigenous lens, and in particular the Larrakia people and the Tiwi Islands (the “top end” of Australia). Tapsell has a breezy, engaging style and has some interesting things to say - particularly about the pressure of being a high profile person of an underrepresented minority, and the importance of engagement with local Indigenous people when filming on their land and telling their stories.

Celtic Myth (Kevin Eyres) - More of a basic introduction/reference guide - I have another book from the library that seems to go into more detail, but this was a good primer. Most of this was dedicated to Irish mythology (Fenian cycle etc), of which I knew some, but it was a good one to start with as an overview of the major players. stories, etc

The Sin Eater (Megan Campisi) - The title made me pick this off the shelf at the library, but it was the blurb that sold me: “they say there are only two stories - a man goes on a voyage and a stranger arrives in town. There is another - a woman breaks the rules.”

Folkloric son eaters - those paid to eat the sins of the dying - are reimagined in this alternate Tudor history, where Queen Bethany sits on the throne, God is the Maker, the Devil is Eve, Catholics are Euracaristian and England is Angland. Fourteen year old May is condemned to become a sin eater, shunned by society and her only purpose to hear the sins of the dying and eat the food to which the sin relates, in order to take the burden from them and place it on herself. She stumbles on a Royal murder mystery, but forbidden to speak, she must find solidarity with other outcasts - thieves, lepers, Jews - and lean into the power that comes with being considered cursed.

I really loved this book, it was such an engaging and original concept, within a history somewhat like ours but not quite, allowing Campisi to play with the characters and a world that has more of a sinister, mysterious edge. The resolution to the central mystery is hardly surprising, but who cares when the journey getting there is so compelling. I would have liked a bit more heft to the resolution - after the climax the book ends rather swiftly and I wanted a little more breathing room, but perhaps that’s a good thing.

I very much recommend this one!

Watching

Being the Ricardos (dir. Aaron Sorkin)

- You know what I hate most about Sorkin? Is the frequency in which characters, often on a walk and talk, will say to another character how funny/witty/good their comment was, which is just Sorkin writing a character complimenting his own dialogue! It drives me mad! Especially because the comment in question usually isn’t that good anyway!

But I digress, and admit to knowing not a lot about Lucille Ball beyond the basic cultural osmosis. To be honest, this film doesn’t reveal a lot, and seems like an excuse for Sorkin to write snippy 50’s repartee, and attempt to explain how he could fix what he sees as flaws in the mother of all sitcoms.

Nicole Kidman is actually very good in bringing her ice queen charisma to the behind the scenes take-no-shit character with a gravelly voice and occasionally good quip, as long as you forget she’s actually playing Lucille Ball. The illusion is however shattered the moment they get her in Lucy Ricardo mode (including facial prosthetics) and her performance becomes really very embarrassing. Javier Bardem is similarly unbelievable as Desi Arnaz, and while physical resemblance shouldn’t be the be all of a biopic, when you have a man who was famously a) younger than Lucy, and b) babyfaced handsome, Bardem seems like an odd fit. There’s just something that doesn’t ring true about the DesiLu dynamic as played by Kidman and Bardem. 

The film is framed around a week in the show’s run where Lucy was named as a communist, liberally peppered with flashbacks about the Ball-Arnaz relationship and beginning of the show. There’s also a bizarre, unnecessary framing device with the “older” supporting players as if they are being interviewed by a documentary, telling us what we’re about the see. Sorkin sure never did let what was happening show when he could tell it - often twice over!

There’s a scene at the end with the three main female characters - Lucy, co-star Vivian Vance, and writer Madelyn Pugh sitting on a bench that feels like Sorkin patting himself on the back writing all the women together, but it ultimately lacks substance, but I suppose credit for at least trying this time?

I think a far more interesting film (and more appropriate to Nicole Kidman’s age) would have been Lucy later on, divorced from Desi and running the studio, with the struggles of that and her successes such as taking gambles on shows like Star Trek (after the film I watched this documentary available on YouTube which was quite good).

On the other hand I wouldn’t trust Sorkin to write it, so maybe for the best.

The Last Duel (dir. Ridley Scott) - A grim film despite the ridiculous haircuts/facial hair and array of accents. I admit I’m not really a fan of much of Scott’s work (Kingdom of Heaven being the exception) but this falls squarely in his oeuvre. Set in 14th Century France, based on the true story of the duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris over the latter’s rape of the former’s wife Marguerite, with the winner “proving” whether it occurred or not.

It’s ultimately a treatise on rape culture (not that you would have known it from the marketing) and while it makes its point effectively (a crime perpetuated on Marguerite becomes All About the Men), to get there you have to watch a brutal rape twice, and while the film attempts to re-centre the story on Marguerite, in doing so it spends a good two thirds being All About the Men anyway. 

The film is told in three parts, a perspective of the events from each of the three, with context to the story revealed in each successive tale. In the first two there’s lots of tedious dick swinging between Jean and Jacques over land and position, and it’s only really compelling once we get to Marguerite’s version, which of course the film posits as “the truth.” It successfully skewers both the previous narratives, but the value of the Rashomon-style storytelling is seeing the subtle differences each perspective has on the same events, and while we do get that, it also means Marguerite’s narrative up to the rape is glossed over, and scenes I was waiting to see her side of are simply not presented.

We are given only a glimpse into Marguerite’s inner life, and I wonder if the film would have been better to dispense with the three-perspective structure for a linear narrative to give richness to her story. Of course the structure is to critique the he-said-she-said of public consumption, and there are some points that ring true - Marguerite’s mother in law asking why she had to make a fuss, when she and other women her age just bore it, for example.

Jodie Comer gives a truly great performance, and Adam Driver is appropriately odious, but Matt Damon is woefully miscast, and Ben Affleck seems to be acting in another film entirely.  

The costumes, set design, and attention to detail, however, are stunning.

The Beatles: Get Back (dir. Peter Jackson) - I’ve always been somewhat of a casual/moderate Beatles fan; this was the music of my father’s childhood that he always wanted to share with me and my sister - my childhood included many trips to cemeteries to research family history listening to the Beatles and other classic pop/rock in the car (or if we were unlucky, cassettes of The Goon Show, of which I understood not a single word).

In 1968, The Beatles are fracturing - John is deep in his relationship with Yoko Ono (and heroin), George is chaffing against his treatment as the “little brother” of the band and looking to branch out, Paul is overbearing in his attempts to lead the band and irritating the others, and Ringo...well, just seems to want to do his best. They have two weeks to write and rehearse songs ready for a filmed tv special, with cameras documenting their artistic process. The tv special will eventually become the famous rooftop concert, and the footage will form the documentary Let it Be.

This is a true fly-on-the-wall experience, Jackson’s team has incredibly restored this footage to mind boggling clarity, piecing it together with hundreds of hours of sound recordings, and the result is you almost feel like one of the hangers on watching the band collaborate, argue, mess around, and at one point break up (George just announcing he’s leaving the band) - it’s a fascinating glimpse into the creative process.

It’s easy to forget just how incredible The Beatles were in terms of output- releasing new albums every year (sometimes more than once a year) with dozens of some of the best songs of all time. And how young! In Get Back, near the end of their career as a band, John and Ringo were 28, Paul 26 and George just 25 years old, having created some of the greatest music of the 20th century. At one point we see Paul mess with the germ of an idea, a riff and a few nonsense lyrics, slowly turn into the song Get Back as one by one the others join in. We see the endless in jokes, the Beatles at their most self-referential, and in a moment of incredible prescience, Paul jokes about the obsessive media coverage: “It’s going to be such a comical thing in 50 years time. ‘They broke up ’cause Yoko sat on an amp.”

This is absolutely tailored to the mega-fan (I had to do quite a bit of wikipedia-ing about some of the minor players that show up) - and at a total of eight hours long it’s a massive time commitment to devote to behind the scenes footage, a lot of which is the band eating toast and messing around singing other people’s songs, but I still found it incredibly watchable.

Cobra Kai (seasons 1-4) - I watched the first season back when it first came out, but the fact that they made three more seems to have completely passed me by until now. I remember being rather worried when this was announced, that it would lean into the “Daniel is the real bully” nonsense, but thankfully they avoided that take, other than through Johnny’s obviously skewed pov. Of course, this is a complete nostalgia fest, I think this show more than any other revival/sequel has been so open and obvious with its incredible affection and reverence for the first three films - both Ralph Macchio and William Zabka being executive producers probably has a lot to do with that - this is very much a collaboration between the OGs and the fans-turned-filmmakers. In many ways, this really is Fan Service: The Series -  there is not a detail of the original films that does not get a callback at some point.

But it works! Cobra Kai threads the needle by evoking nostalgia, but it’s not entirely nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake (although there is a lot of that too) - it uses nostalgia to build a new story, rather than tearing down the originals to replace them with expys (looking at you, Star Wars sequel trilogy), it examines these characters as they have evolved (or not) with the issues that they would face at this later stage of their lives, and their conflict bleeding through to the next generation.

The kid characters are compelling with their own varied and often shifting narratives, although I was sad to see Aisha dropped after season 2, and would have liked to have been given more as to Sam’s own relationship with Miyagi (as per the death date given, she would have been around ten). I can understand the choice not to recast Pat Morita, but it would have been much better to have her talk about what she remembers of Miyagi, as opposed to stories about him and her father.

Yes, it’s over the top, oft-times silly, and you can see the story beats coming a mile away (including the inevitable, violent consequence in the season 2 finale), there’s overuse of flashbacks and original score motifs, but there’s so much interesting stuff here - the difficulty of moving past childhood/teenage trauma, violence begetting violence begetting violence and the cyclical nature of abuse. It’s not entirely villain apologia either - Johnny is unlearning the toxic masculinity that has ruined his life, and while there is a whiff of nothing is ever anyone’s fault, to be fair most of the characters are children so redemption is expected.

On the other side of the coin Daniel is still deeply affected by the trauma of his youth despite his successful career and family (it’s easy to forget that he could have easily been killed by Johnny and his gang before Miyagi swooped in, he almost was killed by Chozen, and then subjected to psychological and physical abuse by Kreese and Silver), resulting in bad decisions that perpetuate the cycle rather than end it - after losing his way following Miyagi’s death, he has to find balance again too, even if the shadow of his mentor (and surrogate father) looms large.

I mean, if you had said to me ten years ago that the Karate Kid sequels had gotten the characters spot on, while the Star Wars sequels were a character assassination shitshow, I would have laughed in your face. Daniel LaRusso turned out to be a better mentor than Luke Skywalker! Welcome to the Berenstain universe!

But honestly, it’s that return to the heart of the originals that I enjoyed most, and I don’t care if it’s melodrama, it was on point - nothing had prepared me for Daniel’s return to Okinawa and seeing Kumiko again (beautifully played by Tamlyn Tomita as living her best life), and her reading him the last letter Miyagi sent. I admit, I cried like a baby.

Elizabeth Shue also makes a great reappearance as Ali, redeeming how her character was written off in II and giving closure to her relationships with Johnny and Daniel. It’s really quite incredible that not a one of the actors has been recast - right down to the OG Cobra Kais (in another poignant episode) and the little girl Daniel saves in the hurricane. They are able to retroactively make Karate Kid III not completely terrible! These guys are wizards!

However, by the end of season 4 the show is really spinning it’s wheels, with endless contrivances and setbacks that are seriously straining credulity (and a massive suspension of belief is required to begin with). The planned fifth season really should be the last, because there is a natural conclusion to this narrative that probably should have already been reached, and must be achieved soon before the show really runs out of steam.

Writing

I’ve been working on a post-Matrix Resurrections one shot that I hope to be finished soon - 2603 words

I’ve also written 1200 words of my Smallville fic, which is going to be my main focus until it’s done.

3803 words for the year so far.

[astonishinglegends]

Ep 209: The Phantom Horse of Greensboro

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

– Revelation, Chapter 6, Verse 8, King James Version

Description:

Many of us have taken an adventurous expedition to check out some local, notorious spot to see if we could witness or sense some evidence of a past famous or infamous incident.  Most of the time, one only returns with a minor anecdote or pictures of an ordinary location bereft of anything noteworthy.  The more realistic purpose is not so much to find a ghoulish memento but to imagine what it must've been like to have been there when it happened.  But what if such an outing starts with strange coincidences and ends with the adventurers enduring a paranormal event seemingly unrelated to the original incident?  This is the sort of tale we'll hear from our good friend, graphic designer, and illustrator Tommy Beaver about the time some friends went to check out the scene of a horrific crime that happened in Summerfield, North Carolina, almost 13 miles northwest of Greensboro.  On June 3, 1985, the incident in question occurred when at the end of a murder spree and police pursuit, Fritz Klenner and his first cousin, lover, and accomplice, Susie Newsome Lynch, ended their standoff detonating a bomb in their Chevrolet Blazer.  Klenner and Lynch had blown themselves up along with Lynch's already deceased two sons who were in the vehicle rather than face arrest.  The site of this shocking finale was what the friends were hoping to explore, but their souvenir was an unsettling experience they'll never forget.  Strangely, a mysterious white horse suddenly appeared to encounter the group, except that this creature may not have been a horse at all.  Many people have claimed to see a spectral white horse, and the ancient Britons believed a sacred white horse was one's ride to the afterlife.  Yet these friends may forever wonder, as will we, what was the connection of this beast to the tragedy if there is one?  And if this wasn't a horse as we know it, what sort of monster haunts the location of one of North Carolina's most ghastly crimes?

Location:

The intersection of Strader Road & North Carolina State Road 150 in Summerfield, near where Fritz Klenner and Susie Newsom Lynch blew themselves up in their Chevy Blazer after a crime spree and police pursuit on June 3, 1985, and where Tommy’s friends saw the mysterious “horse.”

Location Video:

Reference Links:

Illustrator and Graphic Designer Tommy Beaver’s website, tommybeaverdesign.com

“Summerfield slaughter 30 years ago ended in deaths of couple, two sons” from the Greensboro News & Record

Bitter Blood: A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness, and Multiple Murder, a novel by Jerry Bledsoe, 1988

The púca, pooka, phouka of Irish/Celtic folklore

The kelpie of Scottish folklore

“Horses in Celtic Mythology” from Transceltic.com

“Have ghost HORSES been captured on video? Teenagers believe they spotted ethereal equine scene at one of Britain's most haunted sites” from DailyMail.co.uk

“Phantom Horses” on real-british-ghosts.com

Related Books:

Please help out our good friend Stan Gordon, by purchasing his books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble – you’re gonna love ‘em!

At Barnes & Noble:

Silent Invasion: The Pennsylvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook

Astonishing Encounters: Pennsylvania’s Unknown Creatures, Casebook 3

Really Mysterious Pennsylvania: UFOs, Bigfoot, and Other Weird Encounters, Casebook 1

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Credits:

Episode 209: The Phantom Horse of Greensboro. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel. Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2021 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[adapembroke]

Icelandic Sagas and Norse Culture: A Conversation with Jared Juckiewicz

There are some people who are so interesting and knowledgeable about a fascinating subject that I wish it was culturally acceptable to hand them a lectern and microphone in social settings and ask them to give an impromptu lecture. My friend Jared Juckiewicz is one of those people.

Jared’s knowledge of Norse history and culture is legendary in our circle, and it was a privilege to have the opportunity to chat with him about the Icelandic Sagas, Jared's class on the Sagas for Nameless Academy, and why you shouldn't carry a magical banner with a raven on it into battle if you value your life.

Ada: For those who are new to the subject, what are the Sagas? 

Jared: So Merriam-Webster defines a saga as “a prose narrative recorded in Iceland in the 12th and 13th centuries of historic or legendary figures and events of the heroic age of Norway and Iceland” which is actually bang on for my definition of the historical Icelandic sagas. (I’d class things like Beowulf and the Nibelungenlied as sagas as well, but epic sagas rather than historical ones.) Most of them are attributed to one writer, an Icelandic gentleman by the name of Snorri Sturlisson, who took advantage of his position in the Icelandic Diocese to record as much of Iceland’s Oral History as he could. Each one is basically the history of one of the important families in Iceland at the time, typically going back a generation or two or three before the settlement of Iceland.   

Ada: I’m surprised that the dictionary defines “saga” as Icelandic specifically. I always thought “saga” was a synonym for “very long poem.” I’m learning something already! 

Was there something about the settlement of Iceland that inspired the Icelanders to write down all of these stories, or is it more that more of the oral tradition survived than it otherwise would have because of Snorri? 

Jared: I mean, I would definitely quibble with the definition being specific to Iceland myself. But then again, I don’t work for Merriam-Webster, so you know. Not my say.

So, it’s definitely a case that more of the oral tradition survived thanks to Snorri than it otherwise would have. Admittedly, he did impart a lot of his biases to them, given that he was Christian, in fact being heavily involved in Iceland’s organised Church, and a lot of his subject matter predates the Christianisation of Iceland. But it’s less of an issue in the historical sagas than in things like the Eddas. I suspect a part of his motivation is that the 13th Century was around the time we start to see the emergence of true national identities in northern europe, and a recorded history tends to be a large part of those. 

Ada: What sorts of challenges do readers have to be aware of accounting for Snorri’s biases, and why are those biases less of an issue with the sagas?

Jared: So the sagas are more of a historical account than the Eddas, which are a record of the icelandic forms of Norse myth. Being a historical account, there’s less room for interpretation, whereas most scholars agree that Snorris Eddas were revised, by him, to make them more palatable to the Church. So when reading the Eddas, it helps to be aware that the person recording them was a Christian, had been raised Christian, and so had certain views regarding morality and cosmology that may have (Read almost certainly did) differ significantly from how the Norse viewed things. Less of an issue with the historical sagas because history is less open to interpretation. His biases may have coloured his description of people’s motivations, but the events are likely accurate, as are the depictions of things like cultural mores and the like. 

Ada: What is your story with the sagas? How did you get interested, and what fascinates you about them?

Jared: So, I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with history. When I was at University, a friend dragged me along to a meeting of what became our local Historical Reenactment Society by dint of showing up to class with a wooden shield on his arm and a wooden sword in his belt. 

Ada: Best. Marketing. Ever.

Jared: I was hooked. Still am. Anyway, I’m like, 5’7” and am lucky if I weigh more than 120lbs. To be effective on the field of battle, I have to go for a mix of speed, savagery and complete disregard for my own personal safety. Four years of getting referred to as ‘The littlest Berserker that could’ lead to finding out everything I could about said Berserkers, which lead to the Icelandic sagas. They’re great stories. Dry reads, cause, you know, the 13th Century wasn’t known for popular fiction. But they’re very… human. Stories. Like you read them and it’s like “I can understand why that person would respond that way.” The culture is at enough of a remove that it feels fantastical, but because we’re talking about real people, and their emotions and their triumphs and their failings, it’s easy to emphasize with them, I find. 

Ada: How did you get from berserkers to the sagas?

Jared: There are a number of sagas where major characters are berserkers, or berserkers are mentioned. Viga-Glums Saga mentions a Berserker who made a living challenging farmers to Holmgangr (a sort of duel where the victor took the losers property. Given they were generally to the death, the loser didn’t tend to object). The eponymous Egil Skallagrimsson is also described as being a Berserker in some translations. As well as a Skald (poet), Sorceror, and what passed for Nobility in his period of Iceland. Part of it is also a dearth of other sources. You have some mention in the Anglo-Saxon chronicle and in similar Scots and Irish records from the time, but they mostly complain about the Norse being evil pagans come to destroy the Christians (When they aren’t complaining that the Vikings only bathe so they can get laid). There’s Adam of Bremen, but he didn’t talk much about the military side of things, which is where berserkers come in, and there’s Ibn Fadhlan, but until recently translations of his manuscripts were a bugger to get a hold of. 

Ada: What is it about the sagas that feels fantastical to you?

Jared: Everything is so much… MORE. If that makes sense? Like, there’s an account of a trial in Njall’s Saga where the defense witness perjures himself by libeling one of the victims, and the prosecuting attorney (Who happened to be related to said victim. No conflict of interest, it’s how things were done at the time) responded by impaling the witness, fatally, with a spear throw. And got away with it. They solve their disputes, when talk fails, with broadswords and battle axes. 

Ada: It’s like they actually do the things we’re all imagining doing when someone does something that’s completely out of line.

Jared: Certainly the things I imagine doing.  Although, I now realise I could explain it easier. Tolkien was a scholar of the Norse Sagas, and drew heavily on some of Snorri’s other works (particularly the Eddas) for the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. So part of why they feel fantastical is that the definitive work for High Fantasy is based on them. 

Ada: Other than weapons, what Tolkienesque things can readers find in the sagas?

Jared: So the sagas are maybe less of an influence on his works than the Eddas, but he drew heavily on the mythology, and there are bits where that crops up in the sagas. There are also references to things like rune-carving as a means of casting spells, and at least one instance of a magic banner. Bear in mind that this was back when magic was an accepted fact of life (in fact at the time, the Catholic Church was heavily involved in magical research. There are guides on things like alchemy and necromancy and rune magic that were written in monasteries at the time). Poetry, I suppose. The Norse were big on poetry. 

Ada: I would love to dive into the intersection between history and mythology with you, but I’ll restrain myself. What’s an example of the intersection of history and myth in the sagas?

Jared: The above mentioned magic banner, actually. It crops up in Njall’s Saga and the Orkneyinga Saga, and belonged to the Jarl of Orkney. Jarl Sigurd of Orkney, to be precise. It was a Raven Banner, sewn by his mother, who was reputed to be a Volva, which was a Norse term for a female magic practitioner, particularly one who practiced fibre magics. It was, reputedly, enchanted to draw the attention of Odin and his aid, and whatever army carried it into battle would have victory, but the bearer of the banner would be slain. Well, the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 was particularly hard fought, and after he’d gone through several standard-bearers, none of Sigurd’s companions was willing to pick it up. He informed them that by spurning Odin’s gift, the battle was lost, tied it round his waist like a belt, and led his final charge. Sigurd’s side lost the battle, and the few of his immediate companions were hunted down shortly thereafter by Kari Solmundsson (admittedly for unrelated reasons).

Ada: One of the reasons I wanted to have this conversation with you is because you are going to be teaching a class on the sagas at the Nameless Academy in February. 

I’m really excited to have the chance to sit in on your class because you are a person who I regularly want to hand a lectern and microphone because you have so much knowledge and so many stories.

What is this class, and what will you be teaching?

Jared: So the class is called Íslendingasögur 101: Norse Polytheism and Medieval Culture in Icelandic Sagas.It’s a mouthful I know. Really, it’s just an introduction to pre-Christian Iceland. There’s a lot of misinformation floating about regarding the Norse. I’m not going to name any names. *Cough* Wagner *Cough* Victorian England *Cough* 

Ahem. Don’t worry, it’s not Covid, I promise. 

But no, there’s a lot of misinformation about the Norse out there, and it’s only in the past five or six decades that we’ve started to undo that. The thing is, the corrections started in Academia, and it took three or four decades before accurate information began to be easily available to the general public. So while we’re doing away with the popular image in peoples heads of the ravening barbarian with the horned helmet, it’s slow going. 

I’m hoping in future semesters to do guided self-study of some of the Icelandic studies, but because I do not want to spend all my time correcting common misconceptions, I decided to teach this first, so that anyone looking into the sagas themselves, either under the aegis of the Nameless Academy, or by themselves, is doing so with at least a basic understanding of the culture those sagas concern. 

Ada: Other than the horned helmet ridiculousness, what is a common misconception that tends to trip up newbies to the sagas?

Law. The Norse had the greatest respect for their Laws, even if they didn’t always follow them. Because of how sparsely settled Iceland was, and given the lack of urbanisation, they didn’t have permanent courthouses like you find nowadays. Instead they all met up at regular intervals at what was known as a ‘Thing’. No that is not a typo, it was actually called a Thing. The big one in Iceland was held at Thingvellir or “Place of the Thing”. “Field of the Thing”? I do not (yet) speak Old Norse and I’ve seen multiple translations. It was sort of a combination of court and county fair, that was opened by a member of the community, the Lawspeaker, reciting a portion of the legal code to all assembled. It was a great honour to be chosen as the Lawspeaker, even if it also meant moderating all the suits. 

One of the most famous Sagas (and my personal favourite) actually focuses heavily on the Laws and Legal matters. In fact, more attention is paid in most sagas to legal nitty-gritty than to pitched battles. 

Ada: Other than an interest in history, why might people want to take your class?

Jared: Perspective. People don’t change, even if the places and laws and the cultures do. It’s also a conversation piece. I mean, you can back me up on this. I can relate almost anything to the Sagas.

Ada: That is absolutely true. I feel sometimes when you're talking like they're stories that are happening now.

If people wanted to read the Sagas, where do you suggest they start?

Jared: So, if you prefer Dead Tree Editions, most of my hardcopies were released by either Penguin Classics or Oxford University Press. They tend to be older translations, but still very good, and I’ve never had a problem finding them at good second-hand bookstores or my local library. Well. Never had a major problem. And in this time of Covid, if you don’t want to go out or have someone bring a copy to your door. 13th Century is pretty much Public Domain now, so there are a few of the sagas available as ebooks through Project Gutenberg. Alternately, there’s an Icelandic Non-Profit that hosts a website, sagadb.org which hosts all the extant Icelandic sagas in a variety of languages and formats (although not all of them are available in English). If I do manage to lead some guided self-study it’s likely to be the SagaDB translations I use. Amongst other things, they’re free. 

Ada: Thank you so much for talking with me, Jared. 

How can people who are interested in learning more about you and your class find you?

Jared: So I’m on Tumblr. At present I’m A-Krogan-Skald-And-Bearsark, and if that changes, only the article and the first identifier will change. Admittedly, I don’t curate my Tumblr AT ALL. So there’s a bit of everything on it. 

I’m also on Discord, and you can reach me there on the Nameless Academy server as Jared, or on Polytheists or Diviners Anonymous as JehanCriec. Mind you, my internet access can be sporadic, so if you don’t hear back from me right away, don’t take it as a slight, I’m just on a boat and will respond as soon as I get a chance. 

[midearthwritings]

Could I please get an Lotr and The Hobbit Matchup, of you're still doing them? Thanks so much!

🌱 18 year old Woman // Bisexual // Autistic and Disabled with a bonus Anxiety Disorder

🌱 I have a litany of Chronic Illnesses including Autism, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Dyscalculia (Dyslexia for Math), Scoliosis, Sleep Apnea, Asthma, a Growth Hormone Deficiency, Insomnia, and a very bad Overbite. I also have a condition where my right leg is physically longer than my left, which causes pain in my hip and right leg, as well as trouble walking. My usual symptoms include Fatigue, Back Pain, Executive Dysfunction (struggle to get tasks done), Difficulty breathing and talking, Very short stature, and difficulties with my balance. I also stim by pacing around in circles and talking to myself.

🌱 I have a serious fear of heights, partially because of my balance issues. It's so bad that I can't even use stairs without holding onto the railing.

🌱 I know a lot of Home Remedies and Superstitions for like no reason. For instance, did you know that Raspberry Tea helps with Menstrual Pain, or that knocking on wood invokes the protection of the tree spirit and that’s why it’s said to give you luck? I don’t know why I know that, but I do.

🌱 Winning a fight is on my bucket list, but it has to be for a good reason. I’m not one to just pick fights for the sake of fighting, and I’m actually pretty conflict-averse due to trauma, so I need to actually have a solid reason for throwing hands. But I’ve always wanted to do it for some reason.

🌱 I really like studying Witchcraft for some reason. The first spell I ever performed was a Healing Spell to help my friend who was sick with Crohn's Disease. Thirty minutes after performing the ritual, I got a text saying he felt a lot better and he was released from the hospital a couple days later, so I guess it must’ve worked. 😁

🌱 My love language is definitely gift giving. I’m pretty cheap, but I’m also an artist, so when push comes to shove I’ll just make something for someone when I like them. I pay very close attention to what people like because it gives me more ideas on how to interact with them. I’m essentially a large, flightless Crow. You were nice, so you get something shiny. But though I like giving gifts to others, I’m not very materialistic at all. I prefer to be practical when it comes to things, and I get very nervous when spending money on myself.

🌱 I’m an avid writer and am actually planning on publishing a book this summer!

🌱 I LOVE going outside and getting messy. Playing in the mud, getting soaked in the rain, I’m the type to go outside and come back home covered in dirt and twigs. It’s just really fun to me.

🌱 I've been told that I'm a very good cook, and I can bake pretty well too.

🌱 I’ve always wanted to be a really good gardener. My dream house is just covered in flowers and plants and such. I want to live in a Greenhouse, basically.

🌱 I have a habit of giggling to myself just by remembering something funny that happened, even if it was a couple years ago. I also laugh when I do something stupid, because I find my flaws and shortcomings funny for the most part. I love to laugh with people, but never at them.

🌱 I know way too much about Spirits and Fae. My favorite book is called ‘The Encyclopedia of Spirits’ and it shows you how to contact and interact with a ton of different deities and spirits, and I’m addicted to reading it. It’s the best.

🌱 I’m basically like a tiny, less-impressive Aragorn. I love travelling on foot, getting messy outside, I was kind of a Horse Girl as a kid ngl, I’ve always wanted to be a knight or king of some sort, chances are that I haven’t bathed in awhile, and I too would pine for a hot elf girl for literal years on end.

🌱 My closest friends say I give off “Dwobbit” vibes. That’s a ½ Dwarf and ½ Hobbit btw. I’m around 4’ 10” tall, I don’t shave, I love crafting and art, I live in the Mountains, I’m tomboyish but I also love gardening and can be a bit of a homebody, I love going barefoot, etc.

🌱 I really love History, Folklore, Mythology and Fairy Tales. My favorite is the Irish myth of Oisín in Tir Na Nog. Look it up if you don’t know it, it’s a fantastic story. But I also appreciate myths from all sorts of different cultures, like the myth of Annapurna in India or the tale of Princess Kaguya in Japan.

🌱 I’m an Aquarius, INFP and 4w5 if that means anything. For reference, characters who are also 4w5 INFPs include Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice), Wirt (Otgw), Frankenstein’s Monster, Luna Lovegood (HP), Napstablook (Undertale), Erik The Phantom of the Opera, and Celeste from Animal Crossing. That kinda tells you a lot about me, doesn’t it?

🌱 I am naturally very shy and take awhile to open up to people. I also get flustered very easily and tend to avoid social interaction a lot. I’m a huge introvert, but I also really do love meeting interesting people, so I try to talk to them when I have the energy to.

🌱 I have very long Disheveled brown hair, that actually used to be blonde when I was little, so there’s a few lighter patches in there. It's essentially a fluffy mane at this point, but because of my poor hand-eye coordination I never learned how to braid it. I have really pale skin, with lots of moles, freckles and scabs. It’s also warmer out, so I almost certainly have a farmer’s tan. I have very light blue eyes and glasses.

🌱 I have a habit of seeing shadows move out of the corners of my eyes, frequently mistaking them for people or animals, but when I turn to look there’s nothing there. I’ve gotten my eyesight checked multiple times, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary, so it’s either a lack of sleep, or the Fae are getting antsy with me. Probably the former of course, but part of me would like to believe the latter too.

Sorry the description is so long, I can't wait to see my results! Thanks so much, wishing you the best!!

Hey darling! First, wow that was really long! Sorry for taking so long to make it, as I mentioned before, I'm a fucking procrastinator.

Aragorn

For LOTR, I'm pairing you up with Aragorn.

Aragorn had probably loved you for a really really long time.

But he's extremely patient and careful with you, so it took him a while to confess his love.

When he did, it was kind of overwhelming for you, and you were really doubting the whole thing. But again, he was really patient with you.

Aragorn doesn't cover you in gifts to show his love. He shows it by remembering all those little things that make you you.

The two of you can spend hours telling stories and tales to the other. It's your favorite thing to do together.

He loves that you write and always ask to read your work. Although, he never pushes you and respects you when you refuse.

He knows about every single one of your illnesses and makes sure that you always have what you need.

Bilbo Baggins

For the Hobbit, I picked Bilbo.

Bilbo loves you deeply and truly. He thinks all the things that are annoying to others are what make you the most unique being he has ever met.

He thinks listening to you tell tales is more fascinating than reading.

Most of all, he loves when you read to him the stories that you have created.

Sometimes, your illnesses are a bit complicated for him to understand, but he does his best and listens to your needs.

His favorite thing to do with you is cooking. Sometimes, you will even compete over who is the best cook. Although he admitted more than once that you were.

When you are out gardening, he sits outside with you and watches you. He thinks it's beautiful how hard you work to make his garden look so gorgeous.

He is often insecure about losing you. He is scared that he won't be able to provide you with what you need, or won't be able to show you how much he loves you.

As for you, you fear that one day he might grow tired of you.

But the communication in your relationship is great and your insecurities are even washed away by promises of eternal love.

Again, sorry for the wait! I hope you liked it!