#it makes me want to know more about irish history but if i go down that rabbit hole i'm never coming out ;-;

[quatregats]

Interesting rereading M&C, I just hit Stephen and JD's first conversation and they read very differently to me than they did the first two times

[succumbtothenightmare]

The Coyotes Cry: Chapter Three Teaser #4

I've been working on it throughout the day and I'm SUPER excited for it! It's going to be a very long one and I would like not to split it up because there's a lot happening. Just a reminder, I will be writing a Crow one shot that takes place in this universe called The Grey. It will go more into the backstory on Eric Draven's character! It will be posted after Chapter Three of Coyotes Cry! You can read up on the synopsis and the prologue HERE.

I'm going to shoot for getting Chapter Three posted sometime next week!

Longer than normal snippet under the cut!

“So are you going to help us or not?” I questioned with my arms over my chest, my left hip cocked out. 

Eric Draven slowly licked his lips as he sat on the worn leather couch in his lair, mewling over what Matt and I had just asked him. He had no reason to help us, especially after the history between him and Noah yet I was, a woman who was about to get on her knees to beg. I was desperate and would do whatever it took to get Eric to help us. 

“Why would I help you two?” Eric pointed between me and Matt. 

“Trust me, Draven. This is the last place I wanted to be,” Matt snorted while standing tall behind me. “But we’re desperate.” 

He hummed while running a hand over his jaw, those illuminating eyes glancing over to the perch next to the couch where a single crow stood, cawing almost after everything we said. 

“My pet thinks it’s a bad idea to get involved,” Eric said while scratching the bird's head. 

I rolled my eyes and nearly stomped my foot in frustration. This entire evening had been a total fucking waste. It took us forever to find The Grey and now that we were here, its leader would barely give us the time of day. 

“This is a waste of time,” I groaned and looked over to Matt. “Let’s go. We can find him ourselves.”

Just as Matt opened his mouth to protest, Eric’s voice cut in. “You don’t remember me, do you?” 

I narrowed my eyes at him with a shrug. “Should I?” 

Something crossed over his features, an emotion or memory; I wasn’t too sure. Instead of explaining, he stood with a groan and craned his neck side to side, the bones echoing with a pop. 

“It might be-.” 

“Look, are you going to help us or not?” Matt suddenly interjected. “You owe Noah, remember that? Three years ago?” 

Eric’s eyes sliced over towards him, anger making his bare shoulders go tense. I felt this weird flutter in my chest at the sight of the vein in his neck pulsating but did my best to pay no mind to it, not wanting to move past whatever this thing was that Eric owed Noah. 

The entire time we were down in The Grey it had been hard to keep my eyes away from the muscles of Eric’s stomach and his tattoos. Guilt never filled me because of the conversation I had with Noah that night we shared with Matt. It was a memory I thought of often because it was one of the last times everything was perfect. 

Back when Noah was here. 

I took a tentative step forward towards Eric and rested a hand on his forearm, it jumping at my touch. Those wondrous eyes met mine and it was as if a portal of memories came flooding back for him. 

“Please, Eric. It’s been months and I’m tired of chasing cold leads. Rumor in The Concrete Jungle is you can find anyone, ghosts even. I know you don’t know me-.” 

“I know plenty, Saoirse,” he replied, voice quiet enough just for the two of us to hear. 

I gave him a small smile. “Then will you help me? If not for Noah or Matt, then for me? I’ll pay whatever amount you desire. Between OMNS and my links to the Irish Mafia, you’ll be set up for the rest of your life.” 

Eric chuckled. “I can’t die.” 

Oh, right. The rumors must have been true then. 

"I'll pay whatever you want, double or triple it," I repeated again. "You know what its like to lose someone you love."

Along with the rumors of his immortality, there were rumors everywhere that spoke of the love The Crow shared with a certain someone who went missing three years ago.

“I don’t want your money,” he continued, casting his eyes downward.

I raised a brow, still not removing my hand from his forearm. I could feel the tension radiating off of Matt as he stood off to the side, watching us intently. Not only on behalf of Noah, but himself as well. 

“Then what do you want?” I asked. 

Eric took a deep breath. “What you’re asking me to do is a huge thing, you know that right?” 

Matt took a step forward but I held up a hand to stop him, giving my attention back to Eric. Excitement began to fill me, knowing that we were so close, closer than we ever had been before. 

“I’ll double it. Whatever you want.” 

This seemed to please him because he removed himself from my grasp to sit on the couch again, pulling something out from behind the cushion. It was a worn folder, something that looked like he’d gone through it every single day for years. With it opened, he tossed it onto the table in front of me, showcasing a picture of a very familiar item causing me to gasp. 

“Something tells me you can get this amulet,” Eric observed while lighting a cigarette, blowing out the smoke. 

“This is bigger than what I asked of you,” I shook my head. “I haven't seen this in years. I don’t even know if it’s still in the same place.”

He blew out another puff of smoke, lingering in the air between us. “We both need each other to find something we're missing, right?” 

When I nodded, he continued. “You find me the amulet and I’ll find your husband.” 

“What do I get out of it in return? It seems like you’re getting a two for one special,” I dared to ask, feeling the sweat gather at the back of my neck. 

“Noah. You get Noah back,” Eric said bluntly. “And you get to close the door to a lot of questions that have gone unanswered since the night of your high school graduation.”

Swallowing thickly, I couldn’t help but wonder what he would want in return for when he found Noah for me. What I would owe him. 

“What would I owe you then?” 

Eric leaned back on the couch, his hips opening in an invitation and stretched those thick arms over the back of the couch, all while the cigarette dangled from a sinister smile that appeared on his lips. Those bright and wonderous eyes drinking me in from head to toe.

[charlottesbookclub]

should we talk about the interlace on gwayne's horse's armor?

since I spend altogether too much time looking at stills and gifs of gwayne anyway, I figured I might as well share some observations I have about the really interesting visuals that are happening with his horse's armor

this is part art historical analysis, part gwayne meta, and part "let's look at some gorgeous images under the guise of doing visual analysis" so if that's your thing, please read on! if not, that's also totally fine – I get that this is hyperspecific and also a symptom of my very serious gwayne brainrot, so I'm putting everything else below the cut! 💚💚 (also it's quite long – sorry! 😅)

okay I want to be upfront about my qualifications and my shortfalls here: I'm an art history phd student and so basically all I do is visual analysis of objects. I've studied a number of medieval manuscripts that feature interlace (which is where I'm going to draw most of my knowledge from here), and I've taken a seminar (an advanced graduate course) specifically on medieval manuscripts, for which I wrote a research paper entitled "From Kells to Celtic: The Aesthetics of the Book of Kells Illuminations as a Marker of Irish Identity." HOWEVER I am NOT a historian of armor, so I will be taking my knowledge of interlace on other objects and applying it to the armor we see in the show

a short intro

so, the first thing that struck me about gwayne's horse's armor is that it's really different than the other equestrian armor we see, even amongst the other men who came with him from oldtown. to be honest, my guess is that this was likely done in the show to help him stand out and also show that he is a special and precious princess (which he is btw 😌😌) who needs fancy armor for his horse. I'm not sure if further thought went into it than that (but maybe it did! I'm happy to stand corrected here!)

however, the catastrophic levels of brainrot I've developed over this man have compelled me to read much further into it than that, which I shall now proceed to do with great enthusiasm! ☺️

first, let's look at the armor:

it's hard to find really detailed close-ups, but it's clear that the armor is incredibly intricate. not only do we have this very complex interlacing, but certain designs are marked out with different colors and internal patterning, making the whole thing even more visually interesting and complex

while interlacing is used across a vast range of time, cultures, geographical regions, and artistic mediums, given both the visuality of this armor in particular and knowing that westeros is based on medieval europe, seeing this interlace instantly called to mind a style that we today call "insular fusion" (I'm not going to go into all the specifics of it here because that's a post all its own lol 😅). it's a style perhaps most famously exemplified by The Book of Kells, but it is found throughout many different objects of the same period (ca. 700-900 CE)

now let's look at some fucking interlace hell yeah!!!!!!

from The Book of Kells (ca. 750-810 CE)

from The Lindisfarne Gospels (ca. 698-721 CE)

and two non-manuscript examples:

Animal Head Post from a Viking Ship Burial (ca. 825 CE)

and a later example, but one of my favorites:

Wooden Portal of the Urnes Stave Church (ca. 1050-1070 CE)

do we see the vision??? are y'all picking up what I'm putting down???

"okay, charlotte, I see the similarities, but why does this matter?" you may be asking yourself (or maybe you aren't idk), and the answer is: this type of interlacing had some super fascinating meanings and uses, some of which I think we can apply to gwayne! 💚💚

let me break it down from least to most potentially related to gwayne:

the aesthetics of interlace as an identity marker

use of interlace in a religious context

interlace as a status symbol

the protective potential of interlace

and now let's go into detailllllllll!!!!!

the aesthetics of interlace as an identity marker

I bring this one up because it's what I focused on in my personal research on the topic of interlace, but I also think it's the least relevant to gwayne. my argument in my paper was that the aesthetics of the interlace in the Book of Kells have been thoughtfully and intentionally re-used throughout history and into the present as a clear visual marker of identity that draws a narrative back to the production of the Book of Kells. however, in terms of the show, we have very little indication that the particular style of interlacing we see on gwayne's horse is associated with any larger identity concepts. it doesn't seem to be associated with house hightower, as none of the other men with gwayne seem to borrow this motif, nor do we see it associated with alicent (as far as I can tell from the little looking I've done, but I'm more than happy to revise this!). for it to make sense as some form of identity marker, it would have to be clear what identity he's visually referencing, and since his use of interlace seems unique, I think it's doubtful that it's part of a larger visual invocation of identity

use of interlace in a religious context

part of what makes insular fusion so interesting as a style is that it is indeed a fusion of a number of different regional styles, including vine scrolls from the mediterranean, triskeles from the northern british isles, and zoomorphic (meaning "in the form of animals") interlace from northwestern mainland europe. although insular fusion is used to decorate christian objects (like gospel books and churches), its component parts are much much older and have connections to various pagan religions that significantly pre-date christianity. obviously it's impossible to be 100% certain of the exact significance of interlace in any of these religious contexts (there are no written records explaining it), but scholars have a few guesses

one suggestion is that interlace in some way represented the spirit world/the world of the gods, or perhaps even a point of connection between the human world and the world beyond. although the religion of westeros is obviously different than any of the real-world religions that used interlace in this manner, I do still wonder if there could be a religious connection here. it's pretty clear that gwayne's mother was quite religious, and alicent is as well. although we don't totally know gwayne's relationship with religion, we could certainly guess that it's at least a little bit important to him, given the beliefs of the women in his life. I know that the most common religious symbol in westeros tends to be the seven-pointed star, which is not something I see on the interlace on the armor, so I'm not sure how far I would want to take this hypothesis, but I did want to put it out there for anyone who might have further thoughts!

interlace as a status symbol

as I mentioned to in the beginning, I do think it's likely that this particular type of armor was chosen for gwayne's horse because it does come off as a bit ostentatious. the manuscripts with interlace that I mentioned above were hugely expensive and time-consuming projects, and only the most affluent religious communities could afford such luxurious gospel books. given the level of detail on the armor, I have to imagine that the same is true in the world of the show. in some ways, it's a mode of conspicuous consumption; a demonstration of the hightowers' wealth and influence. there's a reason gwayne's horse's armor stands out: because it's meant to. it's meant to set him apart, even from the other soldiers who came with him from oldtown

now this next part is just my own conjecture, but I also wonder if the armor is meant to speak to a more artistic sensibility on gwayne's part. after all, equestrian armor is a very functional object with a very clear goal: to protect the horse. from a purely functional standpoint, the interlace does nothing to serve this purpose (and may actually hinder it a little??), it simply adds a complex visuality to the armor. aside from just flaunting the wealth that must have been expended to commission such a piece, it also suggests that it was crafted by artisans who had both functional and aesthetic goals in mind while creating it. whether it was gwayne himself who directed the commission or not, it seems significant that he chose to use this armor that doubles as a kind of art piece. he does seem to be someone who enjoys the finer things in life, so it wouldn't surprise me if he had an artistic appreciation too, and was using this armor as a way to demonstrate that (or perhaps even just as a way to show his own personal artistic taste/preferences)

the protective potential of interlace

technically, I think "interlace as a status symbol" is the most likely reason for the armor being the way it is, but this one is my favorite theory, so I'm putting it at the top. circling back to the religious uses of interlace, another theory of its religious significance is as a mode of protection. some scholars think that its creators believed that the weaving, intertwined lines of the interlace would confuse and trap evil spirits. building on this theory is the fact that complex interlacing was often used at transitional or liminal points, such as the beginning pages of a gospel book or on the doors of churches. the idea here is that the interlace wields its protective powers at these key entry points against any evil entities that might try to enter sacred or protected spaces

interlace as apotropaic (a fancy technical term meaning "protective," often used in reference to magic or magical practices) seems particularly poignant for an object that was literally going to be worn into battle. now, I admit once again that there is little canon evidence to suggest that interlace is thought of in this way in the world of the show, so I'm running with this theory more because I like it rather than because I think it's legitimately based in canon. but I just think it's very sweet that gwayne's horse would be adorned with this complex interlace that seems to be woven with protective powers. even if gwayne (or others) didn't literally believe that interlace had those kind of powers, the fact that he still made the choice to invoke the idea of protection against harm and evil is a lovely thought. (it makes me think of how people today still might carry a rabbit's foot or have charms against the evil eye, even if they don't actually place stock in the beliefs surrounding those objects. I just think it's cool that generations of cultural belief still imbue these objects with a kind of magical aura). I just like the idea that he (or someone else?? otto? alicent? his mother?) chose armor that might have been associated with protection against harm

and now I'll finally wrap up!!

whew that was a lot! if you've read this far – thank you so much!! I'm honestly not even sure if these thoughts were coherent, but I kept thinking about this when I looked at that interlaced armor, and I just had to get the ideas out of my head lol

but I'd love to hear what others think about this topic! I'm certainly not an expert on the matter, and I'd be super open to hearing if others have different interpretations!

if nothing else, I hope you learned something cool about interlace! (and also just how far I have descended into madness over this man that I am writing pages-long analyses of his horse's armor 😅🤪)

[a-not-so-clean-blog]

Ratonhnhaké:ton x irish/native M reader (commission)

1050 words 🤍

You always looked up to Ratonhnhaké:ton, both physically and admirably. I mean what more could someone want? Tall, handsome, strong, protective, and sharp as a coyote. He was everything you dreamed of and more, and despite only knowing him for a few mere months he already occupied your dreams nearly nightly. Even your waking hours weren't immune to his visage in your wandering imagination during a hard days work on the homestead.

While Warren and Prudence took care of the farm and the livestock your job was to care for all the working animals. Train the guardian dogs, tend to the horses and plowing steer, even care for the sole messenger hawk that Achilles has. It's not particularly difficult but it does have you traveling around to different parts of the homestead all day. Plenty of travel means plenty of time to wistfully daydream about his beautiful black hair, strong build, and sunkissed skin. You could imagine him so well it felt like you could reach out and touch him.

“Good afternoon (Y/N).” Ratonhnhaké:tons voice ripped your attention from your imaginary paramore to the genuine article.

“Oh! Good afternoon Ratonhnhaké:ton!” You quickly reply, slightly startled by your lack of awareness. You looked down at him as you're perched on your horse. He looked irritated. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. The mission was a success at least.”

“You sure?”

“It's not a big deal.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his beaded armband, or at least what was left of it. The threads were cut and a good chunk of the beads were missing completely, the rest was barely holding together because of the weaving. “It got cut in a fight.”

“May I?” You held your hand out to Ratonhnhaké:ton and after a moment of hesitation he neatly dropped the broken beadwork into your palm.

“Do what you want with it. I can not mend it and it's too much trouble to return to my village to get it fixed.” Although his expression remains neutral there was a hint of sorrow in his voice. Knowing his history it wouldn't surprise you if whoever made the band has passed. It felt like a dart to the heart thinking about it, but you had an idea.

“When are you leaving the homestead again?”

“A few days at most. Why?”

“Come by my house tomorrow night if you have time. I'll make you a good meal before you go.” You smiled warmly and he simply nodded.

“If I am still here I will.” It was rare for him to actually accept any invitation from anyone on the homestead, but you had a good feeling about this time. You waved to each other as he began walking back to the manner and you rode to Warren's farm.

One day later and to your excitement there was a knock at the door. You almost tripped at you rushed to answer.

“Ratonhnhaké:ton, welcome!” You open the door and beckon him to come in.

“Thank you for having me.” He came in and stood in the foyer awkwardly, something clearly on his mind.

“It's my pleasure, really.” You tilt your head a little. “You look like you want to ask something though?” He stared at you for a long moment before responding.

“Why do you call me that.” His voice was quiet, almost cautious.

“Call you what? Ratonhnhaké:ton? Oh no, did I pronounce it wrong, I'm sorry!” He shook his head before you could continue.

“It's not that, it's just… you know you are the only one on the homestead that calls me by my name. Why? Why not call me Connor like everyone else?”

“Ratonhnhaké:ton is a good name. It would be a shame not to use it. I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable though.” In all honesty you liked being the only one to use his real name. It made you feel special, like you knew a piece of him that others didn't.

“...Do as you wish. I was just curious.” A slight tint of red kissed the tips of his ears. It was cute and made you smile.

“Oh! I have something for you!” You excitedly ran to the other room. Ratonhnhaké:ton followed but kept some distance between you two. A habit he picked up because people found his stature intimidating.

Grabbing something small off your workbench you returned and confidently closed the distance between you two. “Hold out your hand.” He complied and held out his hand with his palm upwards, his eyes widening when a familiar texture fell upon his fingers. There lies his beaded armband fully restored. His disbelief was clear but so was his gratitude.

“How did you do this?” He stared at the beads as he rolled them between his fingers. He could tell which ones were new but the color difference was minimal, almost undetectable.

“My great grandfather was native and he taught me when I was very young.” You smile fondly of the memories.

“You are native?” His eyes shifted from the armband to you.

You couldn't help but laugh at his question. Not that he was wrong to ask given your fair complexion, but you simply found it humorous he still thought he was the only native on the homestead. “I am. I know it's difficult to tell by looking at me but that is because the rest of my blood is Irish.”

“I didn't know.” He stared at the beadwork in his hand before reattaching it to his coat. “Thank you. This means a lot.”

Your smile spreads from ear to ear. “I'm happy I could help!” You shift your weight as a way to fidget. “I know you don't stay for long but will you stay for dinner? I made stew.”

“I would like that.” His expression softened slightly, he looks almost relieved. It's hard to imagine someone so big could be scared of anything, but as his eyes softened you realize that sometimes fear can take many faces and forms. You couldn't help but wonder if you could alleviate some of his anxieties, or if he would even let you. Perhaps with time, but for now you are content just being a little closer to him.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

One Little Thing

Sequel to One is the Loneliest Number, One on One

Warnings: none, Professor Steve (that’s a warning in itself)

Dunno if I’ll be doing an exhaustive drabble series but there’s at least this. Let me know if you’re enjoying it or not and any thoughts you have. Love you!

You and Inez venture down to Marge’s after Grammar class. You sit near the window, a table over from where you and Steve– Professor Rogers had been. As you sit, a cherry lime parfait tea before you, you inhale the scent eagerly. You had to come back to finally get a taste.

“You came here without me? You promised–” Inez accuses as she stirs her Irish Cream.

“I know, I’m sorry,” you cradle your cheeks guiltily, “I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, I’m just teasing,” she smiles, “they have so many flavours. We probably won’t even get through them all by the end of term.”

“Oh, well, depends, with Professor Laufeyson, we might need a few extra study sessions.”

“Why did we take history?” She sighs, “I hate it.”

“Stupid, why do we need all these electives to learn about Lit?” You roll your eyes.

“Ugh, I know, did you know we have to take statistics in second year?”

“What the heck?” You furrow your brow, “I’m so bad at math.”

“Why did we decide to go to uni?” She kids as a coat brushes against her shoulder.

“Excuse me,” the deep voice pardons as he pulls back the fabric.

You glance up at the dark-haired man as he passes close between the tables. You recognise him as a professor but you don’t know him. The man behind him is more familiar as he catches your eye.

“Hey,” Professor Rogers gives a small wave as he strides by.

“Hi, Professor,” you smile and lift your cup.

As you take a dainty sip, careful not to burn yourself, Inez scoffs and tilts her head at you, “hello to you too, professor. Damn. He didn’t even see me.”

“What?” You gulp, “I– maybe he didn’t recognise you?”

“Oh yes, me, the girl with the magenta hair, so ordinary,” she snorts, “girl, is there something… going on?”

“What? Going on?”

“With you and Professor Buff Body?” She leans over the table as she lowers his voice, “I mean, I don’t blame you but I can’t say I’m not surprised.”

“What? No, he just said hello.”

“Sure,” she squints at you, “but he had that tone, like,” she sits back and puts a hand to a chest, waving coyly with her other as she deepens her voice, “hey.”

“He’s our professor,” you say curtly, “Inez, please.”

Your cheeks burn and you shake your head at your cup. She snickers and curves her palm against her own.

“I’m kidding,” she says, “it was just… funny. Seriously. He’s friendly but usually, you know, it’s that hard ass sort of friendly. I don’t know about you but I’m scraping barely a seventy in classic lit.”

“Oh, uh, well, I went to book club, maybe that’s it,” you shrug, “I thought you were coming?”

“What are you talking about? It was canceled.”

“Canceled?”

“Uh, yeah, didn’t you get the email. Rescheduled for this week.”

“But I…” you stop yourself as your thoughts flurry.

You put your fingertips to your lip and hum as you think. Steve, or Professor Rogers, had been so disappointed but why would he lie? You’re confused. You look over your shoulder as the two professors sit in the corner by the book shelf, taking up the two leather chairs there. You’ll just have to ask him. You’re sure there’s something missing.

“Yeah, makes sense, must be why I was the only one to show up,” you hit your forehead dramatically.

“Oh, that’s so you,” she laughs, “you’re lucky I scooped you up at orientation or you’d be completely hopeless.”

“Hey,” you chide, though you can’t say she’s wrong.

“You know I’m just teasing,” she winks at you, “have you tried the pastries? I’m kinda feelin’ snackish.”

“No, I… had a cake pop. It was pretty good,” you offer as you cup your chin.

“Mmm, that sounds even better,” she turns in her chair to peruse the display from a distance, “oh, shut up, they have cheesecake, that’s it, I’m doing it.” She stands and pauses, “you want a piece? My treat?”

“No, I’m fine,” you answer, “I had that muffin in class.”

“Oh yes, with that loud ass wrapper,” she chortles, “pretty sure Laufeyson was about to come snatch it from you himself.”

“Ugh, I’m gonna fail,” you whine, “go, get your cheesecake.”

As she joins the short queue, you turn back to the table and take out your notebook. You flip it open to the day’s notes and review all the rules you went over. Why does English have to be such a complicated language?

You sift through your bag for a pen and shove it back under your chair. You fix a few missing words here and there as the buzzing cafe fades into the background. You give a start as you feel a light tap on your shoulder.

“You dropped this,” Steve, Professor Rogers, places the bookmark with the dangling tassel beside your notebook.

“Oh, thanks, Professor,” you pick it up and flip it over as you play with the braided string.

“I gotta thank you for showing me this place,” he says, “brought my buddy here to try it. Couldn’t sit in the office any longer.”

“Oh, yeah,” you turn in your chair to look over at the other professor, his thumb skittering over his phone, “does he teach English too?”

“History,” he corrects you, “I know, boring old men. But uh, I guess I just wanted to check in.”

“That’s so nice, uh,” you reach to rub the side of your neck, “erm, Professor can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” he watches you intently.

“Did you cancel book club last week?”

“What?”

“Inez said you sent an email but I don’t remember seeing it, so…”

“Oh, uh, that was after, you know, er, tryna play it off, you know?” He chuckles nervously as he spreads his hand across his chest and drags it down, “saving face, right? Didn’t want anyone to know it flopped.”

“Oh, oh, I guess that makes sense. Sorry I asked, I was just… confused.”

“Wednesday,” he declares as he taps two fingers on the table, “same time. Hopefully we get a few more bodies this time.”

“Sounds good,” you say, “thanks again, professor.”

“Anytime,” he smiles, lingering just a moment before dragging his hand away, “see ya in class.”

As you’re left alone, Inez comes back and puts down a slice of cheesecake before her. You glance up from your notes as she twirls the fork in excitement. She stops herself before she can stab the tines into the soft dessert, “so, you sure there isn’t anything going on with Dr. Blondie?”

“I was asking about book club,” you sigh, “jeez.”

“Uh huh,” she sinks the plastic into the cake, “start student, over here, I tell you.”

[the---hermit]

31|03|2023

In the past few months I have been feeling the weird urge to do stuff like getting piercings and new tattoos. I haven't acted on it yet, but I was thinking about it yesterday and I feel just like I did when I was younger and I had this need to, I don't even know how to put it, reclaim my body? Decorate myself? I definitely can tell where it's coming from, I've been going through a lot of changes and I feel again as if I have to find myself or get to know myself better. It's like for some reason my brain associates those things with this process, because the more I think about it the more I realize that when I went to my first wave of getting piercings and my first tattoos I was going through some similar things I am experiencing now. It's really weird and to be honest I haven't even really figured it out yet well myself, but everytime I look at myself in a mirror I just get this wave of excitement to get more ear piercings, and I want to get my septum done, and I want to get more ink on my skin. I haven't felt such a strong wave of this feeling in years now.

Productivity:

made a chronology line to help me with figuring out what happened when when studying protohistory (I am pretty sure I will make a couple more to write down the different archaeological facies, and that will be real messy)

studied for my history of libraries and reading exam

started to review my protohistory notes (special thanks to my dad who is helping me with this by listening to me speak and asking questions)

practiced Irish on duolingo

Self care:

read first thing in the morning

went to the bookstore with my dad (and note to self never do it again is has a bad influence and I bought two books, it was actually really nice we never really do that but I wasn't planning to buy books)

[misc-obeyme]

CIARAN O'MARA

CC's Obey Me MC

short, chubby human

likes: painting, plants, animals, and the ocean

dislikes: being bored, cooking, heat, and being teased

more below the cut (ETA: I will update this profile soon! You can also find a few picrews below the cut as well as some excellent art.)

Okay, here is Ciaran's moodboard, finally. All images were found on pinterest.

Basic Info

Ciaran is a short, chubby human with blue hair and green eyes. They are amab and use he/they pronouns. They're in their thirties. They're somewhat pale with a light scattering of freckles. Their natural hair color is black, but they're pretty good about keeping up the blue hair color. They like to wear sweaters and light colors, but sometimes will go really crazy with their fashion choices. Most of the time, though, they like to be cozy.

The name Ciaran is Irish and while the moodboard says it means "black," I think it really means something like "little dark one" or "dark haired." This has nothing to do with their name, I just chose Ciaran because I like it. The common English spelling is Kieran and it's pronounced that way, with the hard K sound.

History

Ciaran was born in some fictional New England town in the United States of America. They are the youngest of two with an older sister named Fiadh (pronounced fee-uh). Their parents moved to the US from Ireland before they had the kids. Their father died when Ciaran was very young. Their mother is a devout Irish Catholic and has no idea that Ciaran is in the Devildom because it'd probably kill her if she found out. (Despite being Catholic, she's very kind and accepting. It's just that finding out Ciaran lives with Lucifer might be a little too much.)

Ciaran is a painter. They like to paint with oils on large canvasses, but they will also do watercolor. They really enjoy doing small paintings on the go and for that, they use a little watercolor kit that they carry around with them. They mostly paint landscapes, occasionally abstracts. They used to do portraits, but they haven't in quite some time.

Before coming to the Devildom, Ciaran lived in an apartment with Fiadh and worked at an art gallery. They generally spent their time putting together art shows, but would occasionally sell one of their own works. When they were brought to the Devildom out of nowhere, Fiadh spent quite a bit of time tracking them down. She was unable to afford the rent on their apartment without Ciaran's contribution and had to move back in with their mother. It takes some time, but eventually, Fiadh finds her way to the Devildom just so she can complain to Ciaran (though it's also because she wanted to make sure he was okay).

Relationships

Ciaran is outgoing and likes people, but they are also feisty and have a short temper. They get into arguments with Lucifer and Satan a lot. They're nervous around Belphie for quite a while. They get into trouble with Mammon all the time, try to get Levi to go outside with them, love to do makeovers with Asmo, and is always up to go get food with Beel. They generally get along with all the brothers, they just have a slightly more rocky relationship with some of them.

They love Diavolo, feel comfortable with Barbatos, slightly intimidated by Simeon, and start out being annoyed by Solomon until they get to know him better.

Ciaran also finds Arsenios to be suspicious until they get to know him better. Then it's definitely a situation where they get annoyed with him because he tends to tease them a lot.

Ciaran's sister is their other main relationship, as detailed above. There are a couple other human world ones, but since Ciaran is mostly in the Devildom now I don't feel the need to write about them here lol.

Etc

I feel the need to mention that the cow in Ciaran's moodboard is because Ciaran likes animals, especially farm animals. Not because they love Belphie or anything lol! Though they eventually come to love Belphie, they're wary of him for quite some time after Lesson 16.

This is a general summary of the things I've talked about in the asks I've received about my MC. You can find them and all related posts under the tag "misc mc ciaran."

Ciaran isn't me or even really a self insert. I definitely gave them a lot of things that I wish I had, but otherwise they are their own person! Though I suppose one could argue that I put a little bit of myself in every character I create lol.

As with Arsenios, I love talking about Ciaran, so anyone is free to send me any asks they like about them! And as it's been asked before, you are also welcome to draw them if that is something you're interested in doing. I'm happy to answer any asks about their appearance or you can just interpret what I've posted how you like!

Thank you for showing an interest in my MC!

An adorable holiday chibi of Ciaran by the incredible @/starry-miki!

This amazing artwork of Ciaran by the talented @/opal0684!

Just a couple of picrews I felt like adding:

The middle one with Arsenios is probably most accurate, especially the height difference lol. I might add more in the future.

[denimbex1986]

'He's known around the world for his roles in Peaky Blinders, Dunkirk and now Christopher Nolan's highly praised Oppenheimer.

Yet Cillian Murphy, 47, is famously private - offering only a sliver of detail about himself throughout his years in the spotlight.

So just what do we know about the Irish star? Here, FEMAIL delves into the father-of-two's home life, early career and family as we take a look at the insights Cillian has shared with his fans.

The Tommy Shelby actor was born in Cork in 1976 to a mother who taught French, while his father, Brendan, worked as a schools inspector before moving to the Department of Education. His grandfather, aunts and uncles were also teachers.

But not wanting to follow the family tradition of working in education, Cillian pursued a career in the arts after getting a 'huge high' from his drama module at Catholic secondary school Presentation Brothers College.

However, his first performing love turned out not to be acting - instead he turned his talents toward music.

Cillian and his The Sons of Mr. Green Genes bandmates, which included his brother, were even offered a five-album record deal.

However, they were forced to turn down the opportunity by his parents, with the actor explaining: 'My brother was still in school. I was 18 and he was 16, the idea of losing two of us was just too outrageous and horrifying for them so it didn't happen and then everything just kind of fell apart.

'In retrospect, the music industry is just terrible. Unless you're super successful it's really hard to make a living. We’d have crashed and burned pretty quickly in that industry,' Cillian told the Armchair Expert podcast, via The Irish Examiner.

The Corkman went on to study law at University College Cork before he dropped out in an effort to break out into the world of acting

But recalling the moment he told his parents of his decision, he said: 'It wasn't a happy moment in our family history', reported The Independent.ie.

Cillian also discussed his 'pretty average upbringing' in a video with Vice, saying: 'I grew up in Cork, my parents are teachers.

'Pretty average, middle-class upbringing, you know? They were, I think, probably anxious that I did well at school and went to college, did all that stuff.

'I foolishly decided to pursue a law degree. But I was playing music. I was playing in a band, and I just started acting then.

'Those two things were happening and they became much more important than going to college. I didn't really go in at all, and I failed gloriously in the first year.'

But he soon found success as an actor, appearing in late 90s Irish film Disco Pigs and Danny Boyle's violent horror 28 Days Later in 2002.

He's also known for his appearance in director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy as the villainous Dr Jonathan Crane and his alter-ego Scarecrow.

Most famously, he played Birmingham gang boss Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders for six seasons from 2013 to 2022 - but said he couldn't have stuck to the work schedule without his 'amazing wife'.

He married Irish artist Yvonne McGuinness in 2004, after the pair first met at one of his rock band's shows in 1996. They went on to have two children together, Malachy, 17, and Aran, 16.

Cillian told GQ of his work schedule: 'I couldn't do this without [my wife] and her understanding. But it is a struggle.

'I think it is for any dad whose work takes him away, which it generally does, and which consumes him, which my work does.'

He added: 'I make sure that I try not to go from job to job to job, because that means you live in a bubble of set, hotel, set, hotel, plane, film festivals - which, to me, is not reality. So I just check out from that for six months a year.'

Cillian and his family now live in Dublin after he reportedly splashed out close to £1.7million on a Victorian townhouse.

The four-storey home, originally built in 1863, is located in Monkstown, south Co. Dublin, and has six double bedrooms as well as four receptions rooms.

However while the family are now based in Dublin, his sons were born in London and stayed there until 2015 before they all moved to Ireland, with the actor joking they moved because his sons were developing 'very posh English accents'.

'We were in London for 14 years, both our kids were born there. We only came back to Dublin in 2015,' he told the Armchair Expert podcast.

'It's kind of an Irish story, you know, to move away, do your thing and then come home. That seems to be a common narrative for Irish people.

'We wanted the kids to be Irish, and they were sort of at that age where they were preteens and they had very posh English accents and I wasn’t appreciating that too much. Our parents are a certain age and it was just a nice time to come home.'

The 5ft7 star also noted that his sons were almost taller than him.

It also seems he won't be following in the footsteps of the acting elite, claiming he 'couldn’t envisage' upping sticks to Los Angeles.

Cillian said: 'I love visiting and I love the food and I do love the weather. I don’t know, I just feel European, I just feel Irish. I’d feel like a bit of an interloper if I lived in California, I couldn’t envisage living there permanently.''

[cursedwithwords]

Sooooooo if jeddy were to get married who’s proposing to who how would the proposal go where would it be who’s taking who’s last name tell me everything, also jeddy moving in together how does that happen does one them ask or does it just happen gradually? And then them finding a house together do they build their own one or do they just buy one that’s already built? After Helena do they have more than one kid or no? Pets? Would jeddy be the type of couple where they would slow dance in the living room or kitchen to music or no music?(ugh I just find that so romantic) you know that quote “loving someone to the point of invention” or something like that does one of them do that?? Ugh I just need to know everything lol

I fucking love you omg. I've answered the proposal question before, but I am so so happy to answer it again just for you <3 Okay, so.

Just like their confession wasn't conventional, their proposal isn't either, because technically speaking there isn't a proposal, and they don't have a normal wedding. A few years into their relationship James is the one to go "what do you think of me changing my last name to Lupin?" by way of a proposal, and poor Teddy has to take a fuckin minute because he is exploding with shock and happiness. So they take Teddy's name, James is technically the one to propose. I think they'd want to elope, tbh, not make a big to-do about it.

At the time they decide it, they've been together so long already, and they've already talked about being together for their entire lives anyway, marriage is just an official piece of paper for other people's gratification, and being who they are a big wedding would just draw the papers and that's a whole big mess neither of them need. So they have a quiet ceremony, probably elope just to make it official. I think they already wear rings, so that's taken care of too. The main reason they do it is because James wants to take Teddy's name QwQ I think it would make sense for James to propose it after Helena because "well we gotta be an official family".

It's sort of like how JJ and Mel get married a few years after Joey is born, but anyway.

As for them moving in together, they technically are already living together. From here forward they're basically going to be following each other from place to place to stay together, though they spend most of their time in Fishguard with the Howell's, and in the future Fishguard is where they settle down to put down roots.

I really want them to buy a home in Fishguard that's already built, something with history. A really old cottage on the hill just outside of town overlooking the water, a short walk away from the Howell's. An old home that's been long abandoned so they buy it for a steal, and choose to fix it up instead of getting something brand new or building something from scratch. They build their own unique home on the bones of a house that had been loved before in the past and was merely waiting to be loved again.

They have two children <3 Helena was unplanned, but they consciously decided to have a second because they wanted her to have a sibling. Their second child is a son they name Dorian Lyall Lupin, he's a squib and his sister is very protective of him. I think they're a few years apart, but not hugely? Like 3-5 years apart.

They absolutely have pets. In addition to Moon and Snidge they have a cat named Cal (short for "Cat Albus" because he's an all black cat with green eyes and Jamie though it was very clever. Albus fucking hates it so much lmao), and I want them to have a dog but idk what breed or what his name is yet. Maybe an Irish Wolfhound because they are my personal favorite dog breed.

And yes they of course slow dance QwQ in the last chapter they slow danced to the sound of the ocean mixed with the muffled music from the parish, they don't need music at all. They just like being in each others arms.

Okay, so the loving someone to the point of invention thing. My headcanon is that James does an enormous amount of research regarding werewolves because of Teddy and Lyall. I don't think he finds a cure, obviously, but I think he invents a potion that works to curb the painful aftermath of their transformations to make their lives a little easier.

And I don't know if this counts, but Teddy gives his platinum ring to James in the future, but only after charming it with very powerful protection charms, so that when they're apart he can still be protected and safe. The charm is able to deflect certain spells and even hides James' presence from people (notably Caleb, which is why he doesn't know where James lives or works). James doesn't know the ring does that, he just thinks Teddy is being cute by giving it to him. It's also capable of making James throw up if he were to accidentally (or be tricked into) drinking something poisonous, can protect against curses, and probably does other cool stuff too.

Teddy is REALLY good at charms, though he utilizes other kinds of magic in order to charm it as well. I don't know if that counts? But he does it (and we get to see it in fic!).

Thank you so much for these asks, they were a fucking blast.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

Random Star Trek thoughts now that my parents and I are a decent ways in to the first season of the original series. (none of us has ever seen the full show from start to finish, despite them being born in the 60's)

How many godlike alien races who want to watch the human race struggle for funsies like a twisted TV program are there in this universe

How do people dislike Enterprise when season one of the original series exists? Like how do you justify that? Kirk makes more ridiculous mistakes than Archer ever did and Kirk is around when humans have been in space for 100+ years! Enterprise was the FIRST, of course they were naive and made stupid mistakes and offended random aliens. What's Kirk's excuse? (I know out of story it's because the ~lore~ and ~worldbuilding~ were still in the process of being created, but seriously. what is people's beef with Enterprise and how DO they justify it when ssn one of the original exists?)

I love that the godlike alien races who keep kidnapping the crew have been absolutely ridiculous. Like we had the guys who wanted humans to be an attraction in their zoo and were gonna breed them as slaves to fix up their planet for them, only to finally check out Earth's history and go "wholy crap you guys are VIOLENT when in captivity you know what never mind we are afraid of you now plz leave". And then the guys who owned the planet that made whatever you were thinking of real (including, but not limited to, Alice in Wonderland characters, a tiger, a medieval knight, Kirk's Irish nemesis from college, and a WW2 plane that started a strafing run on the poor souls who accidentally summoned it) but neglected to tell the humans what was going on until after Bones DIED. Allegedly. But they brought him back to life, so it's good, right? And then there was the dude who kidnapped Kirk to hunt him for sport based off ancient Earth customs he thought he knew and turned out to be a celestial kindergartner whose parents intervened and grounded him for not playing nice with the people he brought to his planet. And THEN there are the people with the AUDACITY to call humans primitive and violent when they arrested Kirk and the captain of the ship he was pursuing (this is the Gorn episode btw) and plonked them down on the planet to fight to the death and watched it like a tv show because Enterprise and the Gorns dared to enter the part of space NEAR their SOLAR SYSTEM. Not near their planet, their SOLAR SYSTEM. And that's only like, half of them, maybe, I can't keep up with this.

The objectively and unironically best part of every episode is the intro with the silly music and Enterprise flying at high speeds directly at the screen in the most 60's cheesy special effect way possible. I laugh every time.

So very very glad I have watched the movies because the character development is taking a LONG time to get anywhere (I know this is partially due to the fact that the episodes were filmed and aired at different times but wowie).

We found the story about how Martin Luther King Jr. convinced Nicole Nichols to stay on the show and it melted all our hearts and I love her character so much more now.

It took so long for actual ALIENS to be in this space show, seriously, the first like 10 episodes are just How Many Ways Can Humans Sabotage Themselves ~in SPACE~?

Love that humans are so unhinged in this. We cannot be stopped, we WILL improvise adapt and overcome. 10/10 space orc energy.

Actual conversation: My mom: I didn't know if maybe you needed a break from Star Trek. me: mom I used to binge watch classic Doctor Who. I'm fine.

Okay, I'll stop, I am really enjoying it for the most part, especially as the characters personalities start to come out more. As far as I can tell it only gets more enjoyable from season 1 so I'm looking forward to the other seasons!

[cto10121]

Twilight Clown Takes Special Edition - Stupid Romance Novel Focuses On Stupid Romance!1!!1

Another video whining about how great the Twilight lore is and how ~awful the romance is, and how to ~fix it. Well, I do know what needs to be fixed—clowns not understanding what romance is. And thus we feast, on nom nom nom

Bella Hate Dumb Round ♾️

I did not read thousands of pages of four books to be told this character, whom I know now like the back of my hand, has no personality. In fact—fuck it, homegirl has too much!!!! Plus a full on character arc from low self-worth and poverty to wealth and empowerment!!! Give me literally any situation and I could tell you, 100%, how Bella would react to it.

Clown OP: Bella is so selfish and narcissistic!!1!!1

Bella: *relieved that James tricked her and she is going to die instead of her mother* 😮‍💨

Also, Bella not wanting to live without Edward and doing reckless shit…is because she is in love with him. It’s literally passion. As soon as Edward comes back 99% of her reckless behaviors disappear. And of course she is not stupid enough to pick fights with actual vampires!!!

“I hate X about Twilight!!!1!!! I only saw the movies!!!” Not again…I’m not strong enough…

But the Lore!!! The Lore!!!!

If the upcoming show does this, that is the day it will be dead to me and pretty much all thinking audiences. There is literally no other plot in Twilight but the romance plot, and if you take that away and replace it with yet another vampire lore shit, then what is the difference between Twilight and, say, Vampire Diaries? Nothing, which would suck because VD was godawful trash (the books at least, but from what I’ve heard of the show…😒)

These clowns never realize that in many ways Bella and Edward’s relationship go against the religious paradigm as well and subvert typical gender roles and behaviors (the girl wanting sex, the boy wanting to abstain, the girl not wanting marriage, the boy wanting marriage).

Actually, had Meyer decided to go full-on lore and ditched the romance entirely that would have been more in line with her religion. Christianity of all kinds is savagely anti-sex and eroticism and adores magic, fantasy, and made-up histories. That is what it is made of, after all.

Oh, Clown OP. You just opened a big can of worms that is my detestation for how the utterly creepy purity culture shitshow that was the Buffy/Angel saga went down.

As far as I remember, Buffy/Angel started out okay, if not particularly inspiring—just your typical teen drama romance. But then Angel loses his soul after sleeping with Buffy and become evil. Because of course sex is dirty and nasty and evil, and if you sleep with someone you and/or your partner ~lose your morality and become depraved.

Now that subplot reeked of toxic purity culture and I will always hate, hate, hate Whedon for doing that bullshit. To this very day, I get so angry at this stupid plotline—they literally could have done anything else to separate the two and they chose this! Awful.

“I hate X about Twilight!!!1!!! I only saw the movies!!!” Reprise (Scherzo, petulante)

(As for the hybrid thing, technically Jacob is a hybrid as well. He and Renesmee both have supernatural and human characteristics! Definitely not bad in terms of a basis for a future relationship. But once again, the imprinting mechanism is biological.)

Jasper already turned his back to his violent (vampire) past and deserted the (vampire) war. That was his redemption arc—choosing peace over war. We don’t know his feelings towards his time as a Confederate, but given the parallels the narrative between the human war and the vampiric one—as well as the neutral and distant way he spoke of it—that his Confederate past is nothing he holds dear. Jasper out of all the Cullens is the most vampiric, so it makes little sense for him to still be the proud Confederate or remember his human life well.

Also. Breaking Dawn literally had Brazilian, Spanish, Russian, English, Irish, Romanian, and Middle Eastern vampires—on top of our American vampires, our Italian-Greek vampire royal family, and our Native American werewolves. Oh, and indigenous Latin American hybrids. You clearly have not read the books, Clown OP.

There are no other storylines. Alice’s story was over the moment James was killed. Rosalie already got revenge on her rapists. The Volturi are power-hungry opportunists, but they don’t act without provocation. James and Victoria and Laurent are random nomads. What other storyline, OP???

To Conclude, Once Again

Thank you.

[welcome-to-ratterrock]

imagine if the characters had access to Tiktok 😣

I Wonder what they would do on there, i think Sorcha would be an influencer ngl 🤷‍♀️

Oh, she absolutely would be an influencer, but a very specific kind of influencer - think Dita Von Teese as an influencer. Lots of Golden Hollywood glamour, exploring the world of theater and singing and burlesque, lots of Day In The Life Of A Chanteuse TikToks, shopping in high end boutiques and finding gorgeous vintage finds. One of her most famous TikTok’s is doing her makeup routine whilst handling her butterfly knife, singing an Irish cover of “Young and Beautiful.”

Lor would be all about Boxing/Gym Life, his matches and workout routines along with whatever trend tickles his fancy. LOTS of practical jokes and shenanigans directed at his siblings and his best mate Brig (“I DON’T WANNA BE ON BLOODY CAMARA, PISS OFF!”) and mixing of cocktails and bartending tricks.

Also lots of TikTok’s about his amazing, spectacular, gorgeous girlfriend. “Ain’t she the best? Rilla, show them your gorgeous smile, can’t believe a mug like me has this girlie on me arm…” The most popular TikTok of his featuring her is when he’s trying to teach her how to properly throw a punch. At the end Rilla leaps at the punching bag and holds onto it like a koala while Lorcan falls to the floor laughing.

Rilla’s TikToks are all about ballet and dancing and fashion, she had a huge following and she adores her fans. She loves to do TikTok’s of getting ready for her barre exercises whilst wearing a flower crown and telling about her latest adventure at the club, and is very big into promoting body positivity and body neutrality, and is always ready to be a cheerleader for anyone who is feeling down.

She also has countless ones about her sweet, loving, passionate boyfriend, “He’s as handsome as the devil but his heart is the kindest in the whole wide world! Look at those eyes! Oh, but they make me weak in the knees…!” The most popular TikTok of hers featuring him is when Rilla gave him a spa day, which meant a manicure, pedicure, a facial and massage and a full cosmetic makeover - Lorcan adored it.

Saoirse’s account is focused on activism, lots of marches and protests and lifting up grassroots movements and go fund me’s, showing ways to give back to the community and help those who don’t have housing or resources. She has to be careful with her TikTok’s because the police are aware enough about her and her influence to consider her a troublemaker…

Locke’s TikToks all about True Crime and whatever else he wants to info dump about - medieval executions and instruments of torture, the history of poisons, how the Victorians were obsessed with death, what it would take to actually reanimate dead tissue like in Frankenstein, et cetera.

He’s very confused by any attempts at flirting and is notorious about his beef with one Padraic Regal. And yet, he gets VERY bitchy to those who gush about Regal (“You’re NOT his type! Not…not that I…know about his - humph!- type…”) or insult him in anyway. Regal is his to insult, that’s all…

Padraic, meanwhile, holds off on posting anything on his account because he doesn’t want any kind of incriminating evidence that the police and or his rivals/competitors could use against him. But when he does, oh man…

Hashtags about him start going viral, people immediately falling over themselves about him. He becomes infamous for his cutting criticism of modern media, his witty observations and banter, his debonair fashion, his cultured charm, his flawless grooming/cosmetics, and Being That Bitch. Followers are quick to pick up on and note how he and Locke cross paths a lot despite their…tension. There’s a lot of teasing done, and some of Padraic’s more ardent supporters begin to harass Locke.

And then those followers disappear. And everyone learns that Padraic Regal is the only one allowed to fuck with Sage Locke.

[tiredspacedragon]

For that ask game thing you reblogged:

31 and 32. Three favorite male names and 3 favorite female names. I like hearing people's opinions on this.

Oof, these are both hard but for opposite reasons. There are so many women's names I think are gorgeous, so it's hard to narrow it down to 3 I like the most. Meanwhile men's names are just really, aggressively bland 95% of the time. I can't think up enough for them! Here we go though!

31: a) Conor. I like Conner and Connor as well, but I favour the Irish spelling in particular. I'm fond of the sound of this one in general, but part of why I like it is because it was almost my name. It didn't make the final cut of course (no actual name of mine will be appearing on this list for privacy reasons, but I do quite like my actual name), but in some alternate universe out there, my name is Conor, and I think that's neat.

b) Ambrose. This one has a long, complicated history that I honestly don't particularly want to get into, but suffice to say it's the name of an OC I've been carrying around for more than a few years now :P

c) Cal, or any variation thereupon. So Callum, Calvin, etc. I'm not crazy about this one, but it's one that I keep coming back to as one I solidly like. I'm just a sucker for hard C's I guess.

32: a) Forsythia, shortened to Thia or Thea. I don't honestly know why I like this name so much. The Forsythia bush is a very pretty plant, but I have no special connection to it outside my fondness for the name. I just really like the sound. If at any point in my life I have a daughter, this is what I would like to name her. I would love a little Thea.

b) Kira. Yet another where I can't articulate exactly why I like, but this one has always stuck with me since I first heard it. It has a good balance of elegance and sharpness to it, I suppose. And yeah, another hard C/K name, big surprise.

c) Any variant of Sab, so Sabrina, Sabine, Sabina, Sabryn, etc. Something about these is just striking to me. Maybe it's that it almost sounds like they were derived from saber, which I'm fairly certain they were not, but the point stands. I feel like they stand out.

[motherofmonstersao3]

First time making a political post, but I watched a creator who was newly recommended to me as "a good queer creator" after the whole, well...gestures broadly towards the recent plagiarism video...and I was lowkey kinda white-knuckling halfway through, and I'm just like...

Maybe this is just me, but this gatekeeping of blackness stuff just...this is just repackaged biphobia. This is unironically the same line of logic. The circumstances are different to an extent, and maybe it's even a pretty big extent! I know that there are people who think bi folk are straight-passing, and thus not in the line of fire to the same extent that others in the queer community are, and maybe there really are biracial/mixed race people who will try and claim some white privilege.

But the thing is, as a mixed-race person who was overtly separated from her own blackness or partaking in her own form of black identity (judged 'too white' in manner and speech, you know the drill), when it comes to white privilege, we have it until we don't. This is going to come out far more garbled than I had it in my head, but the problem with eschewing the 'one drop' rule as a means of solidarity and activism against racism and racial discrimination is that...we might eschew it, but the powers that be that wish us harm, that seek to keep the underclass 'in their place,' will do no such thing.

This is part of why I call this repackaged biphobia (again, slightly off the cuff here, so bear with me), because the counter to 'straight-passing' and 'white-passing' is about the same. Sure, we might slip under the radar every now and again, but by and large, when harm is brought against us, that one drop paints the target on our backs whether we want it there or not, similar to how a queerphobe of any denomination might see two girls out together and not care if one of them protests that they're bi. Within the context in which harm is perpetrated, it's a meaningless distinction. We all fit in the same grave. They lynched 'yellow n*ggers' just as surely as the dark-skinned.

If indeed there is a problem with white-passing biracial people distancing themselves from the black community, not showing up when it means something, the solution is not to ossify the division by gatekeeping, but to build all the bridges we can, because in every meaningful sense, we are absolutely in this together. Otherwise, we are accepting the wedge that is being driven between us, and making ourselves easier pickings.

It's genuinely shocking to me that I can be so estranged from any sense of black identity (and even then, the entire maternal side of my family abounds with their own experiences, and I've even gone to see the plantation where my family history begins because a cousin of mine went to the effort to track it down, which affects me in ways that sometimes genuinely take me off-guard) and yet still manage to see just how fragile any white privilege I might erroneously seek to claim, or that might benefit me in the moment, truly is, while that same fragility seems to be lost on others. And sure, maybe that doesn't mean anything to you if you've never been able to claim even that much. And that's a grounded perspective to have. But it's not one that's helpful or productive to act upon.

(Not to mention, the white side of my own family is Irish, and 'n*gger' and 'white n*gger' isn't exactly a winning combo)

[docholligay]

What's the three best and three worst places you've been?

I assume this is like, cities, and not, you know, prison.

Cities to which I very likely can and will return someday I enjoyed them so much:

London, UK

Boston, USA

Minneapolis, USA

Glasgow, UK (I know this is four I know I know shut up)

Cities where I am unlikely ever to darken their door except by absolute necessity:

St. Louis, USA

Cambridge, UK

Atlanta, USA

I enjoy so many more places than I do not enjoy, and this was shockingly hard for me in the positive to narrow it down to three. I have friends outside of London and Boston, and so I had to think carefully on whether or not that affected my answer. I enjoy seeing them, and so that's always a positive.

So, what cities would I return to outside of getting to see a single person I know? The other problem with this is I'll go almost fucking anywhere, I am a very adaptable person and find many ways to have a good time. Even NYC, which was very very hard for me the first time I went, I think I've figured out how to have a great time there. So even my bottom of the barrel, given a cheap and easy chance, I'd probably give another shot, just with knowing what I know now and trying to massage the things I didn't like.

London: Samuel Johnson said that when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, and that's remained true for me. Not only is there a lot to do--this is true of many big cities--but the vibe of the city is much more low to the ground is the only way I can think of to say it, compared to NYC and LA, both of which genuinely have a lot offer but feel extremely frenetic to me in a way London does not. Narrowly beat out Paris simply because the subway is better than Paris'. Also it is I think more chill than Paris, but I sort of like the ways Paris is out of its mind.

Boston: This is another one I would call "Low to the ground" in a way that I think makes no sense to anyone but me. It feels like people live in Boston. Also I eat my weight in oysters at least once a trip. Great food scene on both expensive and cheap ends.

Minneapolis: The whole world is sleeping on Minneapolis. They have a rapidly growing food scene, great craft beer scene, the sculpture park is immense amounts of fun even in winter (a/n: I am cold-hardy), and minnesota nice is a REAL thing. We walked into a brewery and were standing at the counter, I said something offhandedly to Jetty about how it was real wet and cold out that day, and the guy at the counter was like, "Oh you don't have to buy a beer just to get out of the cold! Go ahead." I wanted the beer, mind, but I thought the attitude was great. We went to a piano bar that made its own mini pop tarts that were shockingly great, also go to Black Sheep Coal Fired for pizza.

Glasgow: I will spend the rest of my natural life trying to talk people into going to Glasgow, and probably fail because everyone wants to go fucking Edinburgh because it's instagrammable and ~'arry Potter~ and whatever. Anyhow, I did not hate Edinburgh at all despite that bitter little screed, but much like Minneapolis, people are sleeping on Glasgow. Great boutique hotels at extremely fair prices, amazing Indian food (Dishoom did beat Mother India out, but damn is it close as fuck, and Ashoka won for me for casual Indian), and again, like Minneapolis: The people. Are so. Nice. Legit if I had left my passport on a bus in any other city I feel I would have been fucked, but on a weekend, the bus system and the extremely nice people at the coffee shop were all working to try and get it back to me (and we did!) And the gal at our little hotel took time to chat with us every evening (full disclosure: She was Irish, and when she found out we were from a rural part of America, she spent so so much time trying to talk us into rural Ireland for our next trip, because we'd love the vibe of it. Someday), and I had the ABSOLUTE WORST old fashioned of my life made by the most amazingly kind woman in history, and I drank the whole thing and thanked her profusely. The pub near our hotel was incredible and homey (little boutique hotels are in neighborhoods there. Fantastic.) Glaswegians GET THEIR PARTY ON EARLY, mind.

[finnlongman]

Do you have any reccommendations/advice/resources for people who want to go into studying medieval history?

I will be honest, I am primarily a literature person rather than a history person and my studies of history have mostly been incidental to my interest in literature rather than my main focus. So I'm not an expert on that front, and I don't have a huge amount of advice.

If you're looking at doing it for undergrad, you'll probably be looking for a general History degree, but you'll want to make your university choice based on the availability and content of medieval modules, so I advise looking through their course descriptions, working out what's compulsory and what's optional, and where would let you build a course that maximises the topics that interest you. In England, I would say that the older a university is, the more likely it is to have a fair amount of medieval content in the course (and medieval history in the town itself!) but I'm sure there are tons of exceptions to this -- old unis that focus on modern history and modern unis with tons of old stuff, so that's only a starting point, not a hard and fast rule.

On the resources front, depending on what area of medieval history you're interested in (since it's a huge field!), there are lots and lots of podcasts and blogs out there -- far more than there is for medieval Irish literature -- by reputable academics. I'm not really a podcast person, which makes it hard for me to give specific names, but I see them advertised on Twitter/Bluesky a fair bit. I recently came across "We're Not So Different", for example; I haven't listened to any of it (yet) but I'm familiar with one of the hosts' work. There's also one called "Gone Medieval" which gets a lot of guests to talk about their research.

My department also offers some "resources for schools" (which goes up to A-Level, so isn't aimed at little kids) exploring early medieval history in Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia, i.e. the areas covered by the ASNC course. This might be a useful starting point for some of those topics.

"Medieval history" is extremely broad since it can cover about a thousand years across a large geographical area, so my main piece of advice would be to start reading around the topic, listening to some podcasts or watching videos or whatever, and figuring out which aspects in particular you'd like to focus on (if you don't already know). That'll make it easier to find academics whose teaching focuses might match up to what you want to learn, and will help you narrow down what resources you're looking for, too.

Hope this helps a little!