#also would love iceland to get through of course!!

[ipswichtowns]

ngl i still do not understand the new euros playoff system but looking at the teams that could potentially get through i just want to say that i would absolutely love it if we somehow got kazakhstan and estonia qualifying

#euro 2024 #(feels weird tagging that so far before the tournament lol) #also would love iceland to get through of course!! #i am not sure they would do very well but i miss seeing them at international tournaments

[adarkrainbow]

Some scholarly notes about the Grimm fairytales (1)

Recently in France (well... for the last two dozen years), the publishing house José Corti has been specializing itself in scientific fairytales collections. While for the study of literary fairytales one would go towards Honoré Champion, when it comes to folktales and fairytales it is José Corti one must check. In their "Merveilleux" collection they have been publishing for the very first time in France or republishing out-of-prints collections of various European fairytales (from Denmark, Spain, Romania, and more) - with a few classics of the "literary" fairytales that marked deeply the evolution of the genre (such as Straparola's Facetious Nights or Ludwig Bechstein's fairytales).

All of that to say, José Corti has in 2009 published the most recent scientific (but for an all-public) edition of the brothers Grimm fairytales. The full collection of their fairytales, translated accurately in French, with annotations about their type/classification, their evolution throughout editions and their predecessors. I can't share all of these annotations with you, of course, but I can share a handful of them, about the most famous stories of the Grimm. They all come from the same person who translated the story in this edition: Natacha Rimasson-Fertin. (Of course my notes might be incomplete but hey, you'll have to buy the books to see the whole thing :p Or check them out at your local library)

The devil with three golden hairs (Der Teufel mit den dre goldenen Haaren)

This story is at the crossroa between the Aa-Th 461 "Three hair from the devil's beard" ; the AT 460B "The quest for fortune" and the AT 93à "Urie's letter/The prophecy".

In the 1812 edition, there were two different versions of this tale. Story number 29 "The story of the devil with three golden hair", told by Amalia Hassenpflug, and number 75, "The phenix", told by her sister Mary. In the second version the devil was replaced by a phoenix, and the hero had to get three feathers. In the 1819 edition the two stories disappeared and were replaced by the version we know today, told by Dorothea Viehmann. Another version that the Grimms had collected in 1812 had a princess falling in love with the woodsman that cuts a tree below her window.

The final episode, where the hero asks three questions to the devil through the old woman, echoes the Pentamerone's "The Seven Doves". Other versions of this story include Asbjörnsen-Moe's "The wealthy Peter Krämer", and Afanassiev's "Marco the Wealthy and Vassili the Unfortunate". The story of the brothers Grimm gathers several references to the Bible: the child throw in the water echoes Moses' abandonment, the letter meant to kill the hero is similar to the one David uses to kill Urie, finally the hair as holders of a being's wisdom and strength is linked to the legend of Samson and Dalila. But many other elements of the story evoke older faiths. The idea of a body of water as the frontier with the Otherworld can be found in the Classical Antiquity with the Greek Charon, and is found in other stories of the volume, such as "Frau Holle" and "The Iron Stove" - it as believed that water formed an obstacle spirits could not cross. The hero's mission recalls a tale of Saxo Grammaticus where Thorkill enters Utgard (the realm of supernatural beings) to steal a hair from the beard of Utgard-loki. The brothers Grimm had noted that the belief in the exceptional fate of a child born with a "hood" was also found in Iceland, where the "caul", called Glückshaut (skin of luck) was the home of a genie that would follow the child all of his life. And indeed, modern research has proven that the name given to this caul, the "fyljia" was also the name of a spiritual double, a tutlar spirit tied to a person or a family. This is why the tradition was to preserve and hide this "pileus naturalis" - in Belgium, it was called a "hem" and its color allowed for divination rituals about the child's future.

The girl without hands (Das Mädchen ohne Hände)

This fairytale is actually a cross between the AT type 706 "The maiden without hands" and the AT 930 "Urie's letter/The prophecy". The story was created by the brothers mixing two versions from Hesse, one told by Mary Hassenpflug, the other by Dorothea Viehmann. The second version lacks this story's introduction and begins with a father trying to marry his own daughter - when she refuses, he cuts off her hands and breasts, and chases her out of his house. It then follows the story. Meanwhile, the first version differs when the heroine is with her child in the forest: an old man tells her to hug three time a tree with her arms, which makes her hands grow again. He also tells her to only open the door of her house to one who will ask to enter "for the love of God" three times in a row - the king will be forced to do this before entering.

Outside of these two main versions, the brothers Grimm collected three additional ones. In the first, the angel that guides the girl is replaced by a small light that descends from the sky ; and the hands of the girl grow back when she plunges her arms in a stream after seeing a blind mouse enter its water to regain its sight. In the second version, a man is upset at his little girl praying for him day and night, but since she refuses to stop despite his demands, he cuts off her tongue. But she prays in thought and makes the sign of the cross, so he cuts off her right hand, then her arm all the way to the elbow, before banishing her. She is saved by a hunter that hides her in his master's domain and feeds her in secret with his master's dogs. When the master discovers this, he decides to raise the girl as his own child. One day she gives money to a poor man, who tells her she will regain her arm and tongue if she goes to drink of a certain stream, and he gives her a magical staff to protect her. When she returns at the lord's house, he marries her. The third version is about a queen banished by her husband with her two children, and is identical to the legend of saint Helen.

Other international versions of the tale include Zingerle's "The pretty daughter of the innkeeper", Basile's "Penta the one-armed girl" and Afanassiev's "The young girl without hands". There are some versions where it is a man that is mutlated, such as Afanassiev's "The brave without legs and the blind brave". The roots of this story date back to the end of the 12th century, and are located in southern England - this tale was the subject of numerous literary adaptations, the most famous being the verse romance of the 13th century "The Beautiful Helen of Constantinople".

The motif of the child sold to the devil is recurring among the Grimm fairytales - even though the character of the devil can be replaced by another supernatural being, such as in "Rapunzel" or "The Nixie of the Mill-Pond". The idea of offering the first thing one sees upon returning home is as old as the Ancient Testament (Judges). This story bears the signs of a heavy Christianiation, and was clearly inspired by the legend of Saint Genevieve of Brabant, falsefely accused of being unfaithful and condemned to death with her newborn child. The executioners take pity on her and she lives alone in the woods for seven years. As with other tales from the Grimm collection, this story mixes the Christian fantasy (the hands that regrow are treated as a Christian miracle) with pagan fantasy (there are several elements of folk-magic, such as the circle the girl draws around her to be protected from the devil, or the accusations of the queen giving birth to a changeling - a changeling also appears in the third story of "The Elves", KHM 39).

The Robber Bridegroom (Der Räuberbräutigam)

This story belongs to the fairytale type Aa-Th 955, named after it: "The robber bridegroom".

The tale was told to Jacob Grimm by Mary Hassenpflug, and was present as early as the 1810 manuscript. However this first version, that the brothers deemed "incomplete" was replaced from the 1812 edition onward by a new version which mixed two versions from Lower-Hesse. The brothers noted the existence of another version where the robber indicated the road to his house to a princess, by tying ribbons around the trees.

Ludwig Bechstein took inspiration from the brothers Grimm's tale to create his own "The Robber Bridegroom". This fairytale, like "Fichter's Bird", belongs to the "Bluebeard cycle" (several tales that the brothers removed from their first edition also belonged to this cycle).

Fitcher's Bird (Fitchers Vogel)

This tale is a variation of the Aa-Th 311 "The heroine rescues herself and her sisters", usually classified under the "Bluebeard" category.

The final text of the Grimms is actually a mix of two different versions of the same story that was told to the brothers by both Friedrike Mannel and Dortchen Wild. The Grimms noted the existence of a version from Hanovre which goes as follow: a poor woodcutter asks his daughter to bring him his meal in the forest, and to show them the way he places peas on the floor. However dwarves notice this, and change the emplacement of the pea so that their path leads to their grotto. The older girl follows the peas, and become the dwarves' slave. Then we have the Bluebeard "forbidden room" motif, and the story goes as the "Fitcher's Bird" goes, as the dwarves lure the two other sisters to their cave. The last sister sticks the feathers on her body by rolling herself in blood (presumably the blood of the dwarves' victims), and there is no resurrection of the sisters. Everybody that meets her on the way call her "geputzter Vogel". The dwarves hunt the girl down and almost catch her just as she reaches her father's house - she is so fast in closing the door that it cuts a piece of her heel. The Grimms also knew of a Dutch version of the story, translated in German, and that was identical to one of their first-editions tales, "The Murder-Castle".

The translation of the name of the "bird" always caused many problems, due to the difficulty of understanding the expression. The brothers Grimm themselves explained the name of the bird by the Icelandic "Fitfuglar", meaning "birds that swim" - as such, the girl would be called "Fitchers-Vogel" because she looks like a swan". However, other people do not agree with this etymology, some linking Fitcher with "Fitze", the thread. Rimasson-Fertin highlights that the expression "Fitchers Fitze", outside of a simple sonority game, might be two variations of the male name Fritz (the diminutive of Friedrich) - other usual diminutives were Fitze, Fitz and Fiete. The brothers Grimm noted that the motif of the blood that cannot be erased was much older than Perrault's Bluebeard - it could be found as early as the "Gesta Romanorum", where a mother who had murdered her child couldn't erase three blood-drops from her hand, forcing her to wear a glove. This story must be compared to the KHM 40, "The Robber Bridegroom".

The Juniper Tree (Von dem Machandelboom)

It is the AaTh 720 "My mother killed me, my father ate me".

Just like the tale of "The Fisherman and his wife", this story was written by the painter P. O. Runge, and the brothers Grimm used it as a model for how they should present their own fairy tales. In fact, we can note sentences almost identical between the two tales.

The brothers noted a variation of the story where the stepmother places her daughter near the pot where her brother cooks, and she forbids her from looking inside. But since the pot boils too much, the girl lifts the lid - then her brother's hand reaches out to her from the cauldron. There is yet another version noted by the Grimm where there are three children, not two, and the stepmother sends them pick up strawberries in the wood, promising an apple to whoever comes back first.

The cruelty of this fairytale earned the brothers a serious criticism from Achim von Arnim - who only tolerated such violence because it echoed the one present in Goethe's Faust. The description "red as blood, white as snow" of course echoes the tale of "Snow-White". The brothers Grimm mentionned in their notes that the juniper tree was a plant believed to have the power to bring back youth - and Rölleke noted that the juniper-tree's red berries were used in folk-magic. It seems to be a very ancient tale due to several very old motifs such as the soul returning in the shape of a bird, a resurrection out of bones, and cannibalism. This tale must be compared to "Brother Lustig", "The Singing Bone" and, of course, "The Fisherman and his wife".

Briar Rose (Dornröschen)

Of course, it is the AaTh 410 "Sleeping Beauty".

This fairytale was present as early as the 1810 manuscript, written by Jacob Grimm from a tale told by Marie Hassenpflug. Research has proven that this story is derived from Charles Perrault's own Sleeping Beauty. We also find back in the German story a motif coming from another famous French literary fairytale, madame d'Aulnoy's "The Hind in the Woods/The Doe in the Woods" (also known as the White Doe). In this story a Crayfish/Lobster fairy announces to the queen she will have a child, and later the same fairy curses the princess as she is born - and what a coincidence! In the first edition of "Briar Rose", the animal that announces the princess' birth is not a frog... but a crayfish. Proving that there is a direct link. As for the name of the princess n German, "Dornröschen", "small briar rose", it actually first appeared in the German translation of a 1730 fairytale by Anthony Hamilton (an Irish man who however spoke and wrote French), "Fleur d'épine" (Thorn flower/Briar flower) - it had been translated in 1790. Bolte and Polivka have also noted a comedy by Gryphius from 1660 whch was named "Die geliebte Dornrose", "The beloved briar rose".

In their notes about the fairytale, the Grimm brothers explicitely compare Briar Rose to the legend of Brunhild asleep behind a wall of fire, cursed into a magical slumber by Odin's "sleep-thorn" and woken up by Sigurd, the only one able to cross the wall of flames. The brothers Grimm were also aware of Basile's version of the story, "Thalia, Sun and Moon", which they compared to their own Briar Rose in their notes. The brothers were very fascinated by the consistant naming of the princess' children from Perrault (Dawn, Day) to Basile (Sun, Moon) and compared it to the occurences of "Day, Sun and Moon" as names within the Eddas. However we know that Perrault was heavily inspired by Basile's story when writing his own Sleeping Beauty, and only modified some parts so as to erase the more shocking and "unpleasant" parts (such as the married prince having sex with the sleeping girl). Of course, this story is also to be compared with the 14th century medieval tale of the Roman de Perceforest.

The wise women that appear in this story are the Germanic equivalent of the fairies. In fact, we know that the brothers Grimm carefully avoided (or erased) any mention of "Fee" (the German word for the English "fairy" and French "fée") from their tales, so as to better differentiate them from the French "fairy tales", "contes de fées". By turning the fairies into wise women making predictions at the child's birth, the Grimms notably opened an entire set of symbolism and interpretations linking them to the mythological figures of the Norns, Parcae and Moirai.

Snow White (Schneewittchen)

Of course, it is the AaTh 709 "Snow-White".

The full editing history of this tale was only "recently" recreated (the book was published in 2009, it was recent back then) in its entirety. We know that it begins in 1808 with a version collected by Ferdinand Grimm, brother of Jacob and Wilhelm, called "Schneeweibchen". It seems Ferdinand might have invented the story on his own. Wilhelm and Jacob then slowly modified it, by adding details from other collected versions, before publishing it in their first edition in 1810 (they did note at the time that it was a Lower-Germany story, and that in Upper-Germany the tale did exist but with the deformed name of "Schliwitchen". When the Grimms did their second edition, the main change they performed onto this story was the modification of the wicked mother into a wicked stepmother - something they also did for "Hansel and Gretel". In fact, from edition to edition the Grimms kept adding adjectives and expressons highlighting the opposition between the girl and the vain queen.

Th Grimms had collected several variations of the tale. One was much closer to the tale of "The Juniper Tree" and in it the queen, as she was with the king on a hunting sled, cut her finger while peeling an apple. In another variation the king and queen were walking by three mounts of snow, than went by three pools of blood, and finally saw three ravens in the sky, and each time the king wishes for a girl with the corresponding colors - soon afterward the couple encountered a little girl fitting this description. The king, immediately attached to her, takes her with him in their royal carriage, but the queen immediately hates her and tries to get rid of her - so she asks the girl to go seek a glove she threw out of the window, and while she is out of the carriage she asks the driver to leave as fast as he can. Then the little girl takes refuge at the seven dwarves' house.

The fairytale existed in German literature before the brothers Grimm published it. Indeed J. A. Musaüs had published in 1782 a fairytale called "Richilde" - and the Grimm were influenced by this tale, since in the margins of their first edition, they noted about Snow-White "It is Musaüs' Richilde". There was also a Snow-White story that had been published in 1809 in a fairytale book by A. L. Grimm (no relationship to the brothers Grimm). The Brothers Grimm did note the striking similarity between this story and the Norse pseudo-historical legend of Snäsridr, the beautiful wife of "Harald with fair hair", a wife that, when she died, stayed in her prime state so that it seemed she was still alive.

This fairy-tale has a very wide area of spreading, as it can be found from Ireland to Turkey passing by central Africa. It is especially present in the literary Italian compilations of fairytales. Basile has three variations of the story in his Pentamerone: "The raven", "Nennillo and Nennella" as well as "The she-cook".

The various virtues that Snow-White shows in this tale made her one of the big role models within the education of bourgeoisie girls in the 19th century - alongside Cinderella, of course. In fact, according to H-J Uther's analysis of the story, it is because of all her virtues that Snow-White's beauty does not fade away and stays undamaged even in death, unlike her wicked stepmother whose vices causes the fading of her charms. Finally, this fairytale is actually the proof that the brothers Grimm did not simply listed their fairytales one after the other in a random order, but deliberately created "bridges" and internal references to create a cohesive world within their book. Indeed, the mention of the snowflakes looking like feathers references "Frau Holle", while the glass coffin can be found back in, of course, "The Glass Coffin", and the blood-drops on the snow evokes "The Juniper Tree".

Rumpelstilzchen

Yes this story is the famous "Rumpelstilskin" (or Rumpelstiltskin? I never know how to write it in English). But why keep the German spelling? Because Rimasson-Fertin has some stuff to say about it: this name is the diminutive form of "Rumpelstilz", a term that Jacob Grimm defined in his "German Dictionary" as being synonymous with "poltergeist" (he noted a similarity between Poltergeist and Rumpelgeist, both designated a very loud spirit). While today "poltergeist" is mostly associated with ghosts, in a much broader way it designate a dwarf, a dead or a devil - or just any kind of phenomenon caused by witchcraft.

This story corresponds to the AaTh 500 "The name of the supernatural being". This fairytale has an interesting evolution history... Jacob Grimm had a version of it as early as 1808, named "Rumpenstünzchen", which was then slightly modified for the 1810 manuscript. This tale was actually the mix of two different versions - and one of these versions had a different ending. The queen didn't sent messengers searching for the dwarf's name, rather the king spotted the little man while returning from hunting on the third day. The Grimm also noted a variation where the initial situation was reversed: a young girl who had to spin hemp but could only manage to spin gold much to everybody's despair, and a small man appeared to promise her a wedding to a king's son in exchange for her firstborn child. It ended in such a way: the queen herself spotted the small man singing his name, jumping around a fire while riding a ladle like a horse. When she guessed his name, he flew out of the window and into the sky, riding the ladle like a witch's broom. We know that the episode of the spinning of the straw was only added by the Grimm in 1812 (it is not in the 1810 version), and that the final scene of the dwarf self-mutilating comes from a story of Lisette Wild and was added in 1819.

The first literary record of this story is a French fairytale published in 1705 and written by Mlle Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier de Villandon. It was "L'Histoire de Ricdin-Ricdon" (The Tale of Ricdin-Ricdon), published in her "La Tour ténébreuse et les jours lumineux" (The Shadowy tower and the luminous days). It had been translated in German by Johann Gottwert Müller in 1790, under the title "Straubfedern", "Ostrich feathers". As for the name "Rumpelstilzchen", it actually originates from Johann Fischart's Grman adaptation of the French "Gargantua", "Geschichtklitterung" (1584) - in it, Fischart lists various children game by name, and mentions a "Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart".

This fairytale type is very present in Western, Central and Northern Europe (British Isles and Ireland included), with also a few spottings in the Baltic countries, China and Japan. The name of the supernatural being always changes from one region or country to the next (in Swiss it is Hans-Öfeli, in Dutch Trillevip, in Swedish Titteliture, in Finnish Tuttirituli, in the Suffolk it is Tom Tit Tot, in Welsh Gnarwynathrot, in Irish it is Eve-Trot or Trit-a-Trot...). It is part of the enormous success of this tale-type: every country has to invent its own brand of nonsensical, un-guessable name. As for the rhymed song through which the dwarf betrays its name, it is found in England as "Nimmy nimmy not / My name is Tom Tit Tot", and in an Afro-American version of North Carolina "I'm so glad that she do not know / That my name is Tabutoe Tambutoe".

The brothers Grimm noted that in Germanic mythology it was typical for underground beings (aka dwarfs) to have names that are not usual among humankind, which is why, again according to them, the dwarf of this story would feel in perfect safety proposing the queen such a game. The rule according to which obtaining the name of a supernatural being means gaining a form of power over them is very common, and is even reused in another one of the Grimm stories: KHM 136, "Iron John". H. Rölleke did an analysis of the names the queen proposes at first: we have the three names of the Magi, aka the Three Wise Men, or King-Magi, which gives a Christian setting to the story, and could also serve as a metonymy for all the saint names found in the Christian calendar. As for "Heinz" and "Kunz", Rölleke sees in them the diminutives of the names of the medieval emperors Heinrich and Konrad, which used to be some of the most popular male names among German-speaking countries.

All-Kinds-of-Fur (Allerleirauh)

It corresponds to the AaTh 510B "The dresses of gold, silver and stars", also known as "Donkey Skin", after the famous Charles Perrault fairytales.

The story we read today was the one told to the Grimm by Dortchen Wild, but there was a variation of it told to the brothers by Jeannette Hassenpflug, "Princess Mouse-Skin", which was present in the 1812's edition of the volume (n°71) but was then moves to the annotations as a mere mention. The version of the story from the first draft (the 1810 manuscript) was called "Allerlei Rauch", "All Kinds of Smoke", and was heavily inspired by one of the tales present within the novel "Schilly" by Carl Nehrlich.

The line "God forbade a father from marrying his daughter. Nothing good can come from this sin which will cause the kingdom's decadence" was added in the 1819 edition, and references a tale of Albert Ludwig Grimm called "Brunnenhold und Brunnenstark". The brothers Grimm insisted even more on the condamnation of the sin of incest when rewriting the story for their "small collection" for kids, and also insisted heavily upon a political extension of such a decision, which would damage the state itself. It is actually an allussion to the failure of the Frankfort Parliament, which had been gathered in 1848 at the Paulskirche in an attempt to create a constitution for all of Germany - to which Jacob Grimm had taken part.

A variation of the story collected in Paderborn has the last coat made of all the furs of the kingdom, plus moss and various forest-related material. In this version, the heroine puts the cloak on top of her three beautiful dresses before fleeing, and she hides in an empty tree where she is discovered, not during a hunting party, but by woodsman that cut off the tree she was sleeping into, to bring wood to the king. All-Kinds-of-Fur works in the castle's kitchen but one day as she is preparing the soup, the king has her sit on his chair so she can delouse him (a motif also present in "The Devil with Three Golden Hair). As she does, the king glimpses the beautiful shining dress under the cloak's sleeve, and this is how he discovers the girl's true appearance. Another variation of the story yet, also collected in Paderborn, has the heroine pretending to be mute. One day the king hits her with a whip, it rips apart the coat, revealing the golden dress underneath.

Not all the German versions of the story include the incest motif. In Musaüs' take on the story, "Die Nymphe des Brunnens", "The Nymph of the Well", the heroine leaves her father's castle because it has been destroyed. Her godmother, an undine, gifts her a small magical box and when she leaves the ball she says "Night behind me and day before me / Might nobody see me!". As for the version of Hassenpflug, "Princess Mouse-Skin", it begins as the KHM 179, "The Goose-Girl at the Well": a king wants to know which of his three daughters love him the most, the first says she loves him more than the whole kingdom, the second more than pearls and precious stones, the third more than salt. The furious father has the last princess be sent into the woods to be killed, but the servant tasked with the execution spares her out of pity, and gives her, by her request, a coat made of mice skin. The rest of the story goes like within "All-Kinds-of-Fur", except for the final wedding, to which the father-king is invited. All the dishes served to him are without salt, and he ends up saying he prefers to die rather than continue eating without salt. The princess-daughter reveals herself and points out how he tried to had her killed for loving him more than salt. Her father begs her for forgiveness, and the tale ends with her accepting.

The motif of the incest can, however, be found back in a variation of the KHM 31 (The Girl Without Hands) that the Grimms collected, and where the father mutilates the daughter for refusing to marry him. The motif of the king trying to marry his own daughter has been attested in many, many European stories ever since the 12th century. As for the boots that are thrown in the heroine's face in the Grimm story, while in the final edition it has no follow-up, in the 1812 edition it was a recurring element forming a motif within the tale. Another German version of the story that preserved this structure that the Grimms erased is the story collected by Vernaleken, "Throw-Broom, Throw-Brush and Throw-Comb". In it the king throws out of anger at the face of the heroine (Adelaide) a broom, a brush and a comb. Every time she goes to the ball, she changes her pseudonym to fit which item hit her (one night she is "Throw-Broom", another she is "Throw-Brush", etc...). There are many, many variations of the story containing such a "name play".

Other famous examples of this variation, outside of Charles Perrault's Donkeyskin, include Straparola's "The maiden in the chest", Basile's "The She-Bear", Afanassiev's "Pig-Skin".

Jorinde and Joringel (Jorinde und Joringel)

It corresponds to the AaTH 405, named and created after this story, "Jorinde and Joringel".

The interesting thing with this story is that the brothers Grimm did not collect it from a direct source. Rather they lifted it, to the exact word, from the autobiography of Johann Heinrich Jung, "Jugend/Youth", published in 1779. The brothers deemed that the way Jung-Stilling had written the tale was the "perfect" way to tell the story, according to their definition of a fairytale. Though they did note the existence of a version of the story told in Schwalm - but which differs very little from the story of Jung-Stilling.

The brothers Grimm themselves noted a similarity between this story, and the KHM 123, "The Old Woman in the Wood". Rimasson-Fertin notes that the witch in this story is to be compared to the ones appearing in "Hansel and Gretel" and in "Little Brother and Little Sister". As for the name of the demon the witch invokes, "Zachiel", H. Rölleke identified it as a form of "Zachariel", a demon name coming from the very popular 17th century demonology grimoire "Clavicula Salomonis", "The Clavicles of Salomon".

#brothers grimm #grimm fairytales #brothers grimm fairytales #german fairytales #sleeping beauty #briar rose #snow-white #snow white #jorinde and joringel #all kinds of fur #the juniper tree #the devil with three golden hair #the three golden hair of the devil #the robber bridegroom #the maiden without hands #the girl without hands

[thatanimeramenchick]

Can I some yandere Nordics pls!!

Of course! Thank you for your patience, I've been in a bit of writing slump the last two years.

Since nothing specific was requested, I think I’ll just go with some personal head cannons that I have on how their personality works with their yandere-ness.

Denmark

I imagine Denmark as being very similar to America for some reason. He’d be loud, assertive, and maybe a bit delusional. Will loudly enter your life and try to hit on you. I feel like he’s a bit less obnoxious than America though (eh, maybe I just find him hotter) so he’s able to get you to put up with a lot more of his weirdness, and you won’t be scared off as easily.

He just laughs his way through their denials of love or just out right ignores their protests. You don’t love him? You’re so funny how you play hard to get! If you become too difficult though, he will use force to get you to comply.

He could become volatile if he has you in his grasp, and you are being quite nasty. If you manage to cut past that denial he has put up, his truly terrifying side will come out.

Norway

I have this weird feeling that Denmark and Norway have total opposite approaches to trying to seduce and keep their lover, but they are both the exactly the same in that they would be very domineering and controlling. Unlike Denmark, he doesn’t act delusional about your relationship, he is very aware that you don’t like him, he just doesn’t care.

Tries to entrap you in a subtle way. Like a fairy luring a naive child into the deep woods, he wishes to lure your heart to his own. If you respond positively to his affection, he’s never letting you go, even if that means locking you up. A negative reaction though will cause him to act in a more aggressive manner, though he dislikes it. Maybe he’ll knock you out with some tea and lock you in his basement. Once your “his” though, he will tend to dote on you in private, perhaps to a nagging obsessive degree.

Can be quite patient. No matter how much you protest that you hate him, he will wait it out. He's willing to play the long game in manipulation or even after obtaining you if you are being stubborn in reciprocating his affection.

Finland

Finland knows better than both Norway and Denmark: you catch way more flies with honey than with vinegar. I see Finland as being like Norway in that he tries to sweeten his “lover” into his arms, but unlike Norway he doesn’t do this through the excessive doting and nagging, as much as gently nudging and knowing just what the object of his affection needs.

He doesn’t stalk in the traditional sense, but he likes to study you. Pays close attention to everything you say, where you go, and what you do and holds it in his memory bank so he can take out the information whenever he needs it.

Also, I don’t think he’s the type who would prefer to kidnap. Rather, I feel like he’s the type to ruin the relationship you have with someone else or get you fired by pulling some behind the scene strings and then wait with open arms for you to come to him for comfort. He’ll make it look like he has the whole world offered to you on a silver platter. What you don’t know won’t hurt you, right?

Iceland

I feel like Iceland is still in that awkward stage where you like someone and have literally no idea how to express it like a human being. So he tries to overcompensate in a way that makes him seem desperate and sad.

Naturally, most people aren’t attracted to that, and he just as naturally freaks out like there’s no tomorrow and acts drastically. Depending on a lot of factors this acting drastically could range from him stalking you to full blown ruining your life and/or kidnapping you.

May have some "nobody loves or understands me" pity parties if you express genuine dislike or disgust towards him. He could be pulling this to be manipulative, but I think a bit of it is genuine.

Sweden

Also kind of socially awkward but more in the creepy way? It’s not intentional though! He just has this aura about him that makes people naturally fear for their lives. I feel like he expresses his affection for you in a way that just isn’t really effective and creeps the average person out, but it’s not meant to be taken that way.

Will bluntly try to win you over. He will announce to you that you two are going out on a date and when and where, and happily ignore any protests or looks of confusion.

He will also tell other people that you two are dating, regardless of whether its true or not, especially to anyone who may even show the slightest interest. If that doesn’t scare them off, the aforementioned creepy aura probably will.

#hetalia #yanderexreader #yandere nordics #yandere denmark #yandere norway #yandere finland #yandere sweden #yandere iceland #yandere hetalia

[leggerefiore]

🌙Cyllene General Romance HCs🌌

🌕 The Survey Corps Captain barely has a moment to herself. She is nearly drowning in paperwork and whatever tasks that end up across her desk. It is hard for her to truly engage with the bonds she has forged within the Galaxy Team unless they are people she regularly interacts with in her duties. That mostly leaves the commander and other captains. Mostly being the key word there. It was all too easy to find a strange bond with you, a stranger that fell from the sky.

🌕 That curiosity was only natural, but she tried to keep a healthy distance from you. Anything could happen, after all, and she was your superior within the Galaxy Team. Eventually, it was clear to even outside observers that something was going on between you both. Around the time, you seemed to spend your off days helping her with paperwork or meeting up at her private quarters.

🌕 She does not find PDA appropriate at all. Cyllene will acknowledge her feelings for you, but she is still your captain and does not want to make others think she has developed a bias in any way. At most, you get to stand or sit closer to her than she would allow most people. If you are sitting, you may be able to sneak some kind of touch, which also may gain you a glare depending on her mood. The more stressed she is feeling, the more likely she will accept the touch as something to ground her. Silently, she appreciates this greatly.

🌕 In private, she allows herself to be more open. No one else is around to judge or comment. Cyllene is still not the most affectionate type, but there is much more touching and subtle ways that her love is expressed. Eating with you is one, of course. Her hand will somehow always find a way to reach out to touch you. That simple connection grounds her. Rarely, she will embrace you herself. Moments where she feels like she is drowning in stress, all she wants is to be loved and close to someone who sees her for more than the stern captain and swordswoman she is.

🌕 You are free to do whatever to her, too, as long as she is not busy. In fact, you initiating is a relief to her. Your arms embracing her or pressing a kiss to her lips or cheek brings her to reality. Her heart has felt strangely full as of late with you at her side. She does find some of your mannerisms strange. Perhaps it was the culture from wherever you originated (the future), but she decides that she ultimately does not mind. Your arms hold her to you, and letting her feel your warmth in these cold lands is enough for her mind to cast aside any societal worries. She loves you. This she knows wholeheartedly.

🌕 In truth, there are not exactly dates to be had in Hisui, but somehow, you can find something to do with the captain that should not raise eyebrows or draw unwanted attention. Buying your captain a confectionery while discussing work is not odd. It is simply polite. (Of course, she understands your intentions drift away from professionalism. She bites her tongue against scolding you.) Or having her tag along on a "very important" survey. Laventon can only give a chuckle at the sight of you both sharing a walk through a particularly scenic area of Hisui. Your secret is more than safe with him, at least. Or, even, daringly, inviting her out to the icelands to join you in the hot springs present. The last one was a bit riskier, but it was disguised with worrying about her health. These odd moments are deeply cherished by her.

🌕 There is a strange domesticity shared between you both. Slowly, you grow to understand each other without needing words. A simple movement by her tells you that she is looking for a particular paper, or her seeing you make a certain pose tells her that you are overworked. You try to learn meals that she enjoys and make them for her as a surprise break away from the potato mochi. Granted, the Hoennian woman has preferences that are not easily satisfied by the cold of Hisui. The attempt does make her break a rare smile, though. It is these small changes that she adores most. You truly do care and understand her, not just respect and obey.

🌕 You will have to save her from bug pokemon every once in a while when one gets in. The poor woman is nearly out of her mind in panic while you carefully pick up the Wurmple or Spinarak that got in. She seems to both envy and praise your ability to handle them. She almost offers to take you up a rank for doing that but stops herself. Cyllene does apologise for making you see her in such a state and having to handle something like that. When you say that you do not mind doing that for her, you swore that her cheeks grew pink.

🌕 Jealousy is simply not a common thing for her. If she feels another captain, like, Sanqua is getting strangely close to you, she may suddenly find a reason to interrupt your conversation. It is rare that she acts out in such a way, however. She usually does not bother with those sorts of things. Cyllene is confident in her relationship with you and that you would never do anything adulterous. Yet, sometimes, she does fear losing you to someone that you could be more open with. Her insecurity is rare, but when you carefully address it, she does feel embarrassed about her behaviour. She is supposed to set an example for you, and she is acting in such a way.

🌕 Your relationship with Cyllene may be a more elusive and quiet one, but it is clearly important to you both. Somehow, you both manage to find a way to make it happen without causing any upset within Jubilife. You both understand that you love and care for one another, yet greater society would hold issues with any grand displays or actions that outwardly confirm it. When she one day offers an idea for you both to move to the coastlands, you feel excited by the idea. Perhaps it would finally give you both the room to be more open about things without risking the banishment of you again.

#pokemon x reader #cyllene x reader #pokemon cyllene x reader #cyllene/reader #pokemon/reader

[alotofpockets]

Back in her arms | Elizabeth Olsen

Pairing: Elizabeth Olsen x Reader

Request: May I request a fic with Elizabeth Olsen where reader reunites with her after Lizzie’s been away filming and it’s just lots of fluff?

masterlist | requests: open | taglist | words: 955

It's been nearly two months since you've last seen Lizzie and you have been missing her like crazy. She has been filming the upcoming Dr. Strange movie. They filmed in many countries, starting with the US and Canada, you stayed with her in her rental apartment for those months. Then they had to film the rest of the movie is England. Iceland, Norway and Italy. Because of their busy schedule and the amount of travel, you weren't able to join her on those.

Since you were able to work from home, usually you'd have the opportunity to go everywhere with Elizabeth, something you are very grateful for. Since you've always traveled and stayed with her, you hadn't been away from her for this long since the early stages of your relationship.

You had made it your goal to try and call at least once a day, even if it was just a short five minutes to check in. For most days you were able to, but there were some days that it didn't work out. Those were the days that you missed her the most.

Today the wait was finally over, you were currently on your way to pick her up from the airport. You parked the car, grabbed your bag, the flowers and donuts you bought for Lizzie and headed inside. Once you got inside and walked to the right gate, you found a place to sit down. It would be a while before Lizzie would land so you took out your laptop to get some work done.

You kept hearing whispers and felt like someone was looking at you. When you looked around to see what was going on you noticed two girls looking at you, once you looked up they seemed confident enough to come over. "Hi, you're y/n, Lizzie's wife right?"

You smile "Yes, that's me." You don't remember ever being noticed in public before without Lizzie by your side. "Wow that's so cool" one of the girls says, "are you picking her up? I heard they were done filming the new Dr. Strange movie."

You were always so fascinated by the knowledge of Marvel fans, sometimes it was a little bit creepy, but it was nice how much they cared. "Yeah I am, she should be landing any second now. What brings you guys to the airport?" They tell you they're also picking up someone, their friend should be landing in an hour.

"Can we take a picture with you maybe?" They ask. "Yeah, of course!" After you take the picture you say, "You know if you're waiting in this hall anyways, I'm sure Lizzie would love to meet you guys."

You see their eyes widen with excitement and the smiles on their faces growing. "That would be so cool! But we know you haven't seen her in a while, so I think you should definitely reunite with her first. We can hang back a bit." The other girl adds, "Yeah, we can even take some pictures of you reuniting, I bet it will be super cute!" You thank the girls for their thoughtfulness and part ways.

They sit a couple of chairs away and talk among themselves while you pack up your bag again, ready to welcome Lizzie home. As the first people start coming through with their bags, you move closer to the doors. The girls move with you, staying a couple steps behind you. Their camera's ready to capture the moment. One was filming and the other was taking pictures.

The moment you saw Lizzie go through the doors your heart started beating extra fast. You've been married for two years now, and she still was able to give you butterflies by just looking at you. Her green eyes met yours and a big smile appeared on her face.

Once she finally reached you she dropped her bags and ran the last couple steps into your arms. You shared a long hug, while whispering I missed you's and I love you's to each other. When you broke away from the hug you kissed her lips softly, both smiling into the kiss.

"I met some very nice fans, that would love to meet you. Do you think you're up for that? I know you must be tired." You ask Lizzie. "If they were nice to you, I will definitely meet up with them for a bit." She says with a smile. You pick up her bags and motion her over to the girls.

The four of you talk for a bit and take some pictures. A few with all four of you and a few with just them and Liz. When it was time to go you said, “Could you sent me those pictures on Instagram? I'll be sure to show them to Lizzie and post them. If you tell me your accounts too, I'll be sure to give you your well-deserved credit for them."  They promise to send them. With that you give both of them a hug, take Lizzie's hand and move to the car.

Once you've put all the bags in the car you hug Lizzie again, "I'm so glad to have you back in my arms." She hums in agreement and kisses your forehead. "Let's go home and catch up on some cuddles."

When you arrive home, you tell Lizzie to take her after travel shower while you bring in the bags and order some food. Meeting in your bedroom you crawl into bed with her. Your legs intertwined while you enjoy your dinner. After dinner you cuddle up to each other more. You've missed her touch so much. Her arms felt like home, and you were so happy to be back in them.

~

Main taglist: @yellowvxbes // @xxromanoffxx // @xxxtwilightaxelxxx // @wandanatvoid // @wandaswifeyforlifey // @marvelwomen-simp // @snooy245 // @peggycarter-steverogers // @wandas-slut-heart // @nats-dreamland // @annephobic // @laaurrel // @catasha // @t00manyfand0ms // @multifandomlesbianic // @bandit2029 // @avengerswriter4eva // @gigistylestomlinson // @snowdrop1026 // @sylvies4ever // @youreatotalposer // @mellowladyangel // @milfloverslut // @natasha-danvers // @lyak12 // @smallestavenger // @when-wolves-howl // @svftpetker // @la-reine-des-enfers // @official-chaotic-wandamaximoff // @b0r3d-s1mp1ng-b1tch // @bubblensqueak002 // @imabee-oralizard // @rafecameronswhore // @be-missed // @romaaa28 // @youresuchamom // @youralphawolf72 // @maia-lightwoood // @rootbeerfaygo // @elliesayshello869 // @vllowe // @princessprudy // @nightingalexx // @hallecarey1

#elizabeth olsen #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen fluff #elizabeth olsen x female reader #elizabeth olsen x you #marvel #marvel imagine #lizzie olsen #lizzie olsen imagine #lizzie olsen x reader

[mostmouse]

The One Chosen by Arceus

Chapter 6, Adaman x F!Reader (suggestive, 6,600 words)

You and Adaman enjoy a cozy night in.

The sounds of dishes and laughter surrounded both you and Adaman. He had come over shortly after you returned from the Alabaster Icelands, and part of you wondered if he was keeping track of you. You hadn’t had time to dwell on it however, as he had come bearing gifts - a recipe book he had been working on during his time as a student with Beni.

The cookbook was set up against the wall, the two of you collecting what you needed and standing side by side preparing the meal. You had worked previously to make noodles, and you couldn’t help how excited you were to finish and try everything. Adaman grinned next to you, bumping you with his hip, “C’mon, don’t let me catch you drooling in the food, you gotta be patient.”

You whined playfully, “It smells so good! I can’t believe you’ve studied with Beni enough to make a little cookbook! And you’re insanely good as a teacher, too!” You hummed happily, leaning over and breaching his personal space to sniff what he was working on. “It smells amazing… I’m so excited for it to be done already!”

The Diamond Clan leader laughed next to you, continuing to whisk the sauce before adding in more spices and oil. “No patience with you… You wouldn’t last two minutes in a lesson with Beni.” At that, the two of you bumped each other, grinning and snickering. Adaman had regaled you with somewhat unbelievable stories of studying with older man.

Apparently the two of them would forage for the ingredients, prepare some aspects of the meal, sit and have tea, finish preparing, and begin cooking. However, Beni apparently had strict rules while sharing his kitchen.

Adaman’s hair had to be tied back into a tight bun - understandable. He couldn’t wear his haori - understandable. No bindings on his arm and hands - odd, but understandable. He had to learn how to cut and prepare vegetables, roots, fruits, and berries while blindfolded, apparently to ‘feel’ the ingredients - dangerous, not exactly understandable. But worse of all, Adaman said, was that he had to watch Beni serve up all the food he had made and only let him have a tiny bit of it.

In the beginning it wasn’t so bad, since they hadn’t been masterpieces, but once he was really getting good at it in the months after the red sky, it became more and more painful to not be able to chow down on as much as he wanted. However, it had been an ego boost to see the people of Jubilife Village enjoy his creations with enthusiasm.

After learning and mastering some different dishes from Beni, Adaman had headed straight back to the Diamond settlement to teach everyone there. He, of course, didn’t adhere to some of the more bizarre rules Beni had enforced, but he was thankful for the lessons all the same, as it also taught him patience in the process of preparing food. Not to mention, he was incredibly talented with a knife now.

You were almost jealous watching him expertly cut up the materials, dicing and mincing as if it were second nature. He had yet to hurt himself as well. You couldn’t help the affection swelling in your heart, your partner was talented in so many ways you couldn’t hope to count them all. Smiling, you hummed quietly and continued your portion of the meal prepping.

Adaman had shown you how to shuck, husk, and peel apart a variety of produce and veggies, showing you how to utilize the side of the knife as well as the blade. You were thankful for his guidance, but had loved how he stood behind you, pressed tight to your back to show you. With your average knowledge from your time as well, you had thought it would be easier than it was.

However, to your disappointment, new aged foods were somehow softer and easier to work with, not to mention all the preprocessing they went through. You had to do a lot more work than you thought with the fruit and veg of this time. You had realized after his presentation, that your signature dish of stew could probably be a lot better. You had also realized that you had a new fear that your friends were only acting like they loved your food. You resolved to do better and knock their socks off the next time they came around.

Blinking your inner monologue away, you peered over at Adaman to see how he was doing. He was responsible for preparing the meat and sauce for tonight's meal. You hopped on the tips of your toes, unable to contain your excitement. It wasn’t the first time Adaman had made dinner for you, but it was the first time the two of you were doing it together.

You couldn’t help as the warmth of domestic intimacy flooded your body. You could see you and Adaman doing this every night, spending time together, preparing dinner, relaxing afterwards, then bathing and sleeping together. You smiled dreamily, humming louder.

Adaman turned slightly, watching you as you got lost in your own world, and smiled gently. You had enraptured his heart, the source of all his thoughts and dreams. There wasn’t a moment that went by in his life now that he didn’t think of you, either directly or just idly. Sighing contentedly, he moved to drop the fish into the pan of oil, frying it while he finished the sauce, moving it to a smaller bowl for easy use.

He admired your work while you grinned proudly. “Hey, this looks good! Thank you so much for helping.” Kissing your forehead, he collected your ingredients, placing them in another pan with less oil. Dumping in some of the excess sauce, he tossed them around a little. You leaned over the counter, openly admiring him with a lovestruck look on your face.

Catching your eye, Adaman blushed slightly, smirking as he made more of a show with his maneuvers. He wasn’t worried about losing any of it, or spilling it all as he worked. He had shown off plenty in the settlement, making all his mistakes there surrounded by his people. No, this show was to impress you, to make you fall in love with him, to realize how amazing it was to be here with him.

The seed of doubt that he had spoken aloud to Melli still haunted him. Once he had returned to his home, he had crafted a plan to make you stay in Hisui. He would love bomb you, show you how amazing everything was, how amazing he was, and how terrific the land was. You had explored every part of Hisui within close range, had gotten to know the people, and had begun a relationship with him.

Adaman needed you to stay when the time came, he needed you to choose him wholeheartedly, without a regret in your heart. With new resolve in his soul, he tilted his head towards you, “Could you hand me the noodles, please?” Watching you blink rapidly, he laughed, your cheeks warming at being caught up in his striking performance.

Grabbing the last ingredients, you held them in the bowl, “Can I put them in?” Smiling gently, he nodded. Easing the pan down, you dumped it over, pulling on the stuck strands so they all made it in. You laughed, resting your head on his shoulder as he used chopsticks to stir everything together. “It smells amazing… I can’t wait! Want me to flip the fish?”

The both of you looked towards the other pan before looking at each other again, Adaman smiled down at you, warmth in his brown eyes, “That would be great, thank you. Make sure you shake the pan up a little, in case the fish is stuck to the bottom.” You nodded, determined to not ruin the main part of the meal.

Once you had a hold of the handle, you looked over to your partner, “Like this?” You shifted it gently in your hands. Adaman smiled, motioning to his own pan.

“Here, watch me.” He gently shook the pan, the food curling up on the edges as he did so. You nodded, serious gaze now directed down at your own pan before imitating him. The fish slid easily, and Adaman inwardly sighed in relief. You looked up at him again, stars in your eyes and fist clenched.

“It's perfect!” Laughing together, he showed you how to pick it up and move it, how to be gentle with it so it didn’t fall apart. Once his demonstration was done, you easily picked it up and finished the dish. “You’re an amazing teacher, Adaman. Thank you for being so kind and patient with me. It means a lot to me.”

Your soft and genuine praise had his face on fire. Smiling, he leaned down to kiss your forehead, but you leaned up a bit higher and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. Breaking away, staying nose to nose, you simply watched each other's eyes, admiring each other. Leaning up, giving him another chaste peck, you pulled away and began setting the fish out on a plate.

Watching you still with a warmed chocolate gaze, Adaman watched you move. Sighing happily, he moved his own pan, finishing up the dish before plating it as well. He couldn’t deny the scent was absolutely mouthwatering. Licking his lips, he grabbed both his dish and the dish with the fish on it, and moved towards the sitting area.

As he moved away, you grabbed some smaller dishes for the two of you as well as some wine and water. Giddily, you followed after him, sitting beside him and setting everything down for the two of you. Bumping shoulders, the two of you served yourselves and chowed down.

You couldn’t help but moan aloud, ignoring Adaman’s blush, “This is so good! Oh my gosh… It’s amazing! Adaman!~” You happily slurped noodles, grabbing bits of veg and fish to quickly shove into your mouth as well.

Adaman sat stiffly, nodding robotically as he listened to your praises. If you were aware of the delicate sounds you were making, you paid them no mind as you wolfed down the meal. Finally relaxing, laughing sheepishly, Adaman also took a bite of his meal. Eyes widening, he exclaimed with a mouth full, “You’re right! Almighty Sinnoh… It's better than I thought it would be.”

You hummed happily next to him, speaking through your own cheeks full of food, “It’s cause it was made with love! We did an extra good job on it.” Your cheeks were flushed in pleasure, the food warming and filling your belly. Next to you, Adaman smiled gently.

“Made with love…” He pondered it, slowing down a bit and eating more carefully. He thought about everything the two of you did together. How you traveled across Hisui, battled, foraged, and swam in the ocean. Everything you two did, you did with love. Smiling in a love struck way, he rested his head on your shoulder, taking a moment to close his eyes.

You sighed happily, eating more carefully so that you didn’t jostle him too much. “So good… Are we gonna make everything in the book?” You felt him nod against you, quietly adding that his lessons with Beni weren’t completed, that he’d soon have even more dishes for the two of you to try and make together. You wiggled in your spot slightly, “I can’t wait! I’m gonna try all the new techniques you showed me with my stew too, I bet it’ll taste even better now!”

Sitting back up, he moved to sit on his rear instead of on his legs, stretching as he added more food to his plate. “I’m sure it’ll be divine, it’s already really good. You making that with different ingredients every time made me want to learn from Beni.” He kept the other reason to himself, that he wanted you to feel provided for by him as well. After all, every good husband should be able to care for their wife and children.

Blush racing down his neck and up to his ears had him coughing slightly, tapping his chest. He mentally admonished himself, it was much too early to be thinking about children with you. But he also couldn’t help it. Every moment he spent with the kids in the settlement, or with Sabi, had him imagining his own little pack with you. He hoped you’d be up to the idea of multiple children. He couldn’t help himself, growing up with just him - and then Mai and soon Melli, had him hoping to surround himself with his own children to love and fawn over him and vice versa.

He wished he could bring it up to you, but he didn’t want to feel like he was trapping you, or moving too fast. Sighing a bit dejectedly, he brought more food to his mouth before looking over at you. You were lost in your own world again, this time swaying in your spot, face perfectly happy as you ate dinner.

Adaman couldn’t help the pride that settled within him at that. He knew, no matter what the future held for the two of you, that you would face it together. If you two did end up marrying, and having children, he would provide for all of you to the best of his ability. He knew his clan would be thrilled as well, the moment he turned 18, they had all begun harassing him to marry, to have heirs who could potentially lead the clan.

Back then he couldn’t have cared less, turning down invites from other clan mates, proclamations of love, and hiding out in the Coronet Highlands with Melli or the Obsidian Fieldlands with Mai. Who could have known that after so long, he’d found himself a suitable partner. Smiling, he polished off another bowl. Sitting back, he sighed contentedly, rubbing his tummy with one hand. He heard you laugh, opening one eye to look at you.

You were grinning, gaze playful as you continued to eat. He watched as you filled your bowl, moving to sit on your bottom as well and scooted to be closer to him. Humming, he rested his cheek on your shoulder blade, body twisting to curve around you slightly. “You’re perfect, you know that? I feel like I could search all across Hisui and never find anyone who could hold a candle to you.”

You bit your lip, his genuine tone stopping you from countering with a joke. Instead, you placed your chopsticks down, holding his knee and stroking your fingers across his clothed skin. “I feel the same about you, Adaman. I don’t think there was anyone quite like you before I came here.”

Your soft admission had his heart pounding. Mentally, he reaffirmed himself in his original plan, to make you realize how happy you’d be in Hisui if Almighty Arceus gave you the option to go back to your own time. He wouldn’t let you slip through his fingers. Turning his face, he kissed your exposed shoulder softly before biting you loosely.

You squealed in his barely there hold, hand tightening your grip as you moved to hold his thigh. “You’re bad! I’m not even done with dinner!” He laughed softly, hot breath puffing over your skin.

“I just can’t help myself when I’m with you, what can I say?” His unapologetic tone had you giggling again, hand stroking his leg softly before returning to your bowl.

“Naughty man. After this you know we have to clean up?” Goaning comically loud behind you, the Diamond Clan leader flopped onto his back. “I know, I know. It's the worst part. But at least with a fridge, we can safely store all the leftovers!”

With a small ‘oh’ behind you, you quickly resumed wolfing down your delectable meal. You were relieved to have rotoms here, especially with the machinery that the Ginkgo Guild provided you with. Well, after you paid them ridiculous sums of money. You turned slightly, loudly slurping noodles as you admired Adaman’s prone body.

Even if he was splayed out, body relaxed with his eyes closed, you knew it was a trap. His strength was admirable, the control in which he exerted himself was something that never failed to make you hot under the collar. You had watched him forge tools in his settlement, lift children above his head, even the older ones, not to mention how he pulled much more than his own weight around his homestead.

Licking your lips, you continued to openly leer at his mostly clothed body, the only thing missing being his bulky haori. You smiled, watching his chest fall up and down as he relaxed, letting his food settle. Polishing off your bowl, you set it down before sidling up next to him, resting your head on his chest and bringing one of his legs between your own.

“I love spending time like this… Not a care in the world, not a rampaging nobel on the backs of our minds… Nothing at all, just us… Living in the moment.” Your words were dreamy, humming happily as one of his arms came to rest against your back, rubbing softly. “Let’s just lay here, yeah?”

He smiled at your sleepy tone, “Filled up and ready to sleep, my little snorlax?” You slapped his chest, laughing.

“‘Little’ snorlax? There’s no such thing!” The two of you laughed, laying there for a while longer in comfortable relaxation.

Feeling your partner move under you, you whined, holding onto his leg between your thighs tightly. He couldn’t deny he loved feeling the power in them, naughty thoughts bouncing around in his head. With a shaky laugh, he pulled away from you, his hands easily spreading your legs and slipping his own out. Ignoring all the other situations where he could be parting your thighs, he stood up and stretched.

“We’ve got to put everything away and clean up. C’mon, I know you still have the energy for it.” He held out his hands for you, and you pouted as you let him pull you up. “After this we can bathe, doesn’t that sound nice? I’m sure we could get your rapidash to warm the water for us.”

You grinned, pep in your step once more. You had used your pokemon to make a man made hot spring a ways from your home. After showing it to Iscan and Palina, you had made one by Iscan’s home as well. Explaining to her growlithe how to heat the water, you had left them to their own devices.

Filling it with fresh water was never a problem either, and soon enough, you had your own little personal hot spring. You had tried different additives to the water as well to make it seem more enriching, but you had yet to nail down something solid.

Moving about the kitchen with Adaman, you bashfully looked up at him. “So… You said ‘we’ could bathe… Does that mean you’d like to bathe together, or still just stay seperate?” Your words echoed in his head as he worked to clean the kitchen.

Mulling it over, you cut off his train of thoughts, “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I understand it’s a big step for us. I won’t be mad if you don’t want to, or if you decide not to once we get to the spring. I want whatever you’re comfortable with.” He pursed his lips in a tight line, still not facing you.

He had brought up once that you always deferred to what he wanted, if he was in the mood for something, or what he thought was appropriate. Asking you why you never said what you wanted, you had been bashful and didn’t meet his eye. Once he finally cornered you, holding your face and forcing you to look at him, you had admitted with a heavy blush and half lidded eyes that you were ready. Ready for anything, whatever he wanted to do with you.

You had also been expressly clear that you wouldn’t allow him to put himself in a precarious position just to satisfy you. And whenever it seemed he was pushing himself beyond what he was ready or comfortable with, you bodily removed yourself from him, telling him that you didn’t want to go further. He was touched that you cherished him so sweetly, that you’d do whatever you could to make him happy.

Adaman was reminded of this once more as you spoke. You gave him all the time he needed to reply, letting him think everything over carefully before he spoke up. “I think… I’d like to try. I mean… It would be casual intimacy. Like how tonight we were intimate in another way. I want to try it with you. But is it okay if we… Sit apart?” He clenched his jaw, feeling as if he were coming up short to what you so obviously desired of him.

However, he sucked in a tight breath as you looped your arms around his waist instead. “Of course, baby. I want us to be happy and comfortable with each other! I would still be happy if the spring was 50 feet long and we were both still on opposite ends!”

The two of you laughed together, his hands coming up to rest on the two of yours sitting on his belly. He smiled, rocking the two of you side to side as you rested your cheek on his back. “You’re amazing.” He felt unable to say more than that, his words stuck in his throat. He wanted to tell you how much he loved you, how badly he wanted you in his life for forever. Instead, he settled on squeezing your hands before turning in your hold.

You closed your eyes as his lips met yours, hands moving up to card through his hair. His hands rested on your hips, pulling you close to him as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. Sighing happily, you moved your mouth with his. Every time you seperated, it wasn’t but for a few seconds, if that, leaning back in and kissing once more.

You pressed your tongue against his, exploring his mouth and licking his teeth. He couldn’t help but moan, pulling you tighter against him as you tugged his hair. Finally breaking away, you swiped your tongue across his lips, grinning. “We’re almost done, I’ll go get samurott and rapidash to prepare the spring. Think you can handle it from here?”

Smirking, he kissed you softly, nibbling your lip, “Who do you think I am? Just some kid?” You both laughed, and as you turned to leave, you yelped as he smacked your ass.

“Pervert!” Sticking your tongue out at him, he lunged forward and snapped his teeth. Squealing, you rushed out to your pokemon, laughing the whole way outside and away from the house. Shaking his head, he laughed quietly, putting the food away and washing the small amount of dishes. You should be back in no time, it wasn’t the first time your pokemon had helped you with the spring.

Stacking the dishes on the counter, letting them air dry, he turned as he heard your footsteps on the porch. Panting slightly, you waved both hands at him, “Hi!” Laughing at your silliness, he waved a hand at you as well. “Ready to grab some towels and head out?”

Smirking, he followed you to the bedroom, “Gone just long enough to avoid the dishes, I see.” You bumped him with your hip, sticking your tongue out again at him. He leaned forward, grabbing the towels you handed to him and picking out loose clothes to change into once you were done.

On the way to the spring, you two held hands and spoke about nothing and everything. You pointed up at the stars, “Do you know any constellations?” He hummed as he peered up as well. Tilting his head, he thought back to all the stories his grandparents would tell him.

Hesitating slightly, he let go of your hand, considering the other was full of your shared clothes and towels, “I’m not sure I’m right, but I think that one there is Gaadi, it’s the shape of a Growlithe. My grandpa once said it represents new beginnings.” He smiled to himself, hand holding onto yours again as he peeked down at you, “I think it’s fitting that that’s the constellation for tonight. Moving ahead in our relationship and giving each other a little bit more trust, you know?”

You made big eyes up at him, holding his hand in yours in a vice. Smiling a bit worriedly, he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, before your watery eyes closed and you pulled him into a surprisingly crushing hug. Wheezing at the sudden force, he struggled to breathe for a moment. “Adaman! You’re the- the-” Your big eyes met his again, tearful and shining in the moonlight, “You’re fantastic! I see all the effort you’re making, how you hold true to your beliefs and traditions and also helping me fit into your life as well and teaching me so much. Thank you for being with me and thank you for saying that.”

You didn’t have to reach up far to kiss him as he was already leaning down to meet your lips with his own. He sighed softly, your lips remaining closed but still moving against each other in gentle motions. Breaking away, you pecked him one more time before meeting his gaze once more. Smiling, you kissed each cheek and then his forehead. Nuzzling your nose against his, you let go of him, and he tried to be subtle with the deep breath he took.

Spearheading your journey again, you practically dragged Adaman up the hill to the spring, bouncing with every step. He laughed behind you, taking his time to admire your body and the way you made him feel loved and cherished. Once you crested the small hill, the both of you melted at the sight of the steaming water, your pokemon back down towards the house. You knew if you called loud enough, you’d be able to get rapidash to come back and reheat the water again, but you didn’t anticipate being out here long enough.

You slowed to a stop, turning to face your partner. Smiling gently, you swung your connected hands and arms side to side, “Want me to turn around while you undress?” Chewing his bottom lip, Adaman thought hard. He had been obsessing over seeing you but wasn’t quite sure he was comfortable with you seeing him. Would that be wrong of him? Taking a deep breath, he smiled down at you.

“Would it be okay to see how far I can make it, and then if I get nervous I can ask you to close your eyes?” Relieved, he felt his shoulders relax as you smiled and nodded at him. “Do you mind if I went first?”

Grinning, you kissed the corner of his mouth and then the underside of his jaw. “Oh, I don’t mind at all.” Your smile softened as his cheeks turned from rosy to red. Laughing, you look a step back, sitting in the grass and trying to appear as nonchalant and relaxed as you could. Peering up at him from your spot, you tilted your head to the side and hummed softly.

Huffing a laugh, he looked off to the side. Without his haori, there were significantly less layers to shuffle through. Untying his flowy top, he shrugged it off his shoulders and nervously folded it, placing it on a strategically placed rock. Eyes darting to where you sat, he watched as you comfortably played with the grass, pulling strands out, and occasionally looking towards him.

Tense shoulders relaxing once more, he was silently thankful that you weren’t teasing him or making it much of a show. It had his racing heart calming down and he felt much more relaxed as he slowly began to unbind his arm. As you noticed his movement, you looked up at him. You couldn’t help your curiosity, you had never seen him with his wrappings off.

As you watched him, you realized how methodical he was being, almost as if he were in a trance as he moved. Smiling gently, you called out to him in a voice just above a whisper. “Adaman? Are you alright? You don’t have to take it off in front of me if you don’t want to.”

Blinking, he slowly turned his head to face you, an almost surprised look on his face. Peering down at his arm, which wasn’t uncovered much, he looked at you again. “I’m sorry, I guess I didn’t realize. I don’t actually take this off much. It’s not so much that I need it, but… It’s more like a security thing, I think. Like, it just… Makes me feel better when I have it on.”

Matching your soft smile, he walked up closer to you, sitting down in front of you, clothed knees touching yours. You were grateful he didn’t seem too embarrassed about not having a top on, it wasn’t often you got to see his naked chest. Especially out in the moonlight, you could see various scars. None looked too bad, and you hoped he would tell you about every single one of them someday.

Breaking you out of your train of thought, he offered his still bound arm to you, smirking as you met his gaze. “Like what you see?” Squealing, you covered your face with your hands, cheeks hot.

“So what if I like to admire my boyfriend! He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen!” You uncovered your face, cheeks still burning, “I’m allowed to appreciate what’s mine, after all I’m lucky enough that you’ve chosen me to be your partner.” You smiled bashfully, giggling slightly.

Soft laughter grew louder as you both sat together, grinning faces and warm cheeks reflecting each other’s expressions. Biting your lip, you reached out for his hand. His brown eyes warmed as you handled him as if he were made of glass. His soft voice greeted you as you turned over his hand to touch his palm gently. “Would you be okay unbinding it? It’s a little awkward with one hand.”

Your surprised face shot up before nodding enthusiastically, “I’d love to! You’re not hurt, are you? I’ll be as gentle as I can.” His other hand came up to rest against your cheek, his smile making your heart feel as if it were about to give out at any moment, pounding in your chest rapidly.

“I know you will. They’re all old wounds, you won’t hurt me. I promise.” Feeling your chest throb, you suddenly felt like screaming. Like grabbing him and rolling him like a feraligatr. Like no matter how close you brought him to your chest, you would still be bursting with so much love and adoration for him that you might pop.

The sudden realization had you biting your lip to keep from grinning like an idiot. You were so in love with Adaman you couldn’t stand it. Laughing softly, you leaned down and kissed his fingertips. Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, “Hey, c’mon now, you’re gonna make me blush.”

He looked away as you looked up at him, his cheeks already a rosy red. Your laughter died down, and you moved to be next to him as you gripped the bindings he had started to unwrap. “Sorry, I just think you’re amazing. Thank you for letting me do this.” Leaning up, you nuzzled him with your nose, smiling as he returned the gesture.

A comfortable silence surrounded the two of you, the only sounds being that of nature and pokemon around you. As you worked down his arm, you kept your questions to yourself. The scars that wrapped around his arm weren’t so thick, but there were a lot of them side by side and crossing over each other. A hoard of pokemon, maybe?

Getting closer to his palms, you cautioned a glance up at him, just to meet his gaze as he was staring down at you adoringly. Squeaking, you focused on his wrist and hand again. Laughing softly, he kissed the top of your head, admiring how you fumbled a bit with the bandages between the bases of his digits.

Gathering the now loose bandages in your hands, you licked your lips before meeting his gaze again. “There we go! I’ll just, uhm, wrap this up… Into a neat little… ball, I guess.” Your sentence fell flat as you struggled to wind the wrap back up, and instead just held it in a heap. Laughing, he offered you his other hand.

Smiling up at him, you gently unwound his hand as well, the process much faster. Finishing up, you moved to put the wrappings with his shirt but he stopped you. Taking them from your hands, he stood and set them down. Nibbling his lip, he didn’t turn to fully face you as his hands rested on the waistband of his baggy pants.

Sitting back down on your bottom, you put your hands in your lap, watching his profile closely before forcing yourself to look away periodically. He wouldn’t strip down if you were sitting there drooling over him, although you hoped for that to change one day, when the two of you were incredibly familiar with each others’ bodies.

Swallowing thickly, Adaman then cleared his throat, nervously looking at you before clenching his jaw. Tugging his pants off, he let them gather at his feet before stepping out of them. Looking at you again, he watched as you rapidly blinked and looked away, peering up at the sky then down towards the ground and everywhere that wasn’t him.

Laughing slightly, he hesitated a moment longer after folding and setting his pants down. Biting his lip, he looked towards you again, not looking away until you met his gaze. Realizing he was watching you closely, you tilted your head at him. “Want me to close my eyes? I don’t mind doing it. I want you to be enthusiastic and happy with how everything goes! You’ve already given me so much, you don’t have to push yourself even harder, my love.”

A small ‘oh’ fell from his lips as he looked back down where his hands had fisted the front of his boxer briefs. Swallowing thickly again, he sent you an apologetic smile. “Would you mind?” His heart warmed as you smiled softly at him, shaking your head and covering your eyes, then tilting your head down towards the grass.

With a small smile, he tugged off the last of his clothes, sitting on an adjacent rock, and tugging off his socks and shoes. Spinning slightly, he lowered himself into the heated cloudy water. Sighing happily, he moved to the other side of the artificial hot spring and sank lower so his shoulders were submerged. Groaning in content, he called out to you. “Okay, you can look now!”

Head popping up, you easily found him once again and smiled. “My turn!” You grinning, standing up and brushing any loose grass off your clothes. Shimmying up to the rock with all his clothes, you grabbed the hem of your top before looking at him again. “It’s okay if I strip down here, too, right?”

Coughing roughly, he looked away for a second before quickly peeking back. “Yeah!” Clearing his throat, he tried to sound less eager. “I mean, yeah, of course. Besides, this is your homestead, don’t let me tell you, uh, what to do, you know?” His sentence trailed off as his gaze wandered your still clothed body.

Laughing again, you tugged up your shirt, setting it down with his things. “I know, but I want you to be comfortable. I’m not gonna disregard you ‘cause it’s my house, Adaman. You know that.” You looked at him warmly, and he felt his cheeks heat up. Swallowing, he watched as you tugged off your undergarment. You had refused to use the bindings that people usually wore to keep their chests confined, instead opting to still use the garments you had arrived in.

Tugging off your bra, you sighed happily, rolling your shoulders back and stretching your arms up and out. You purposefully had your eyes closed as you did so, not wanting to spook your precious boyfriend. You wanted him to eye you up, to take you all in. While his hands had ventured under your clothing before, it was almost exclusively at night in the dark in the sheets. This would be the first time he actually got to see you.

Sighing happily, you peered down at your hands as you undid the ties around your pants. Tugging them down and off, you stepped out of them and tossed them on top of your other clothes. This time, you peered at your boyfriend as you stood up. Smirking as he jolted, he was soon licking his lips, letting his eyes rake over you in just your panties and slide on shoes.

Giggling, you winked at him, admiring the redness that reached down to his toned chest, though most of it was probably the spring water. Humming contentedly to yourself, you tugged off your last article of clothing, turning sideways so he’d have a profile view of your body.

You didn’t bother to look at him as you straightened up, shuffling to the edge of the pool of water as you tentatively stepped into it, careful of your step on the slick underwater rocks. Once you found your footing on the opposite side of Adaman, you sank down into the water, sighing happily. You didn’t look at him until you were comfortably seated, noticing how he was no longer watching you.

You couldn’t help but wonder if he only looked away at the last moment, or if he had given you some unneeded privacy. Giggling, you stretched out, leaning back and letting your ankles cross his. “Isn’t this nice?” Your voice was a whisper, taking in the relaxation of the heated water and medicinal and aromatic additives you had settled on for tonight. Swaying slightly, you opened your eyes, taking Adaman in as he relaxed in front of you.

He hummed in agreement, still submerged and breathing deeply. “Very nice. Thank you for letting me join you.” You giggled at his admission, he was always formally thanking you for everything. You figured it was a cultural thing. He would thank you for joining him somewhere, for greeting him once he got to your home, for all sorts of things.

Breaking the silence between the two of you, his low voice roused you from your relaxed state. “Do you have any plans regarding your work soon? If not, perhaps we can travel somewhere together.” Smiling, you peeked one eye open.

“Adaman… Are you asking me out on a date?” Humming in question, he picked his head up from where it was resting on the edge of the spring.

“Date?” You stared back at him, equally confused for a moment, before laughing.

“Sorry. I meant to say, are you asking me to join you for a romantic outing?” That had him blushing, but he grinned all the same.

“Yes. If you’d have me.” Sighing dreamily, you relaxed once again, halfway closing your eyes and looking up at the stars.

“How could I ever say no to you? You can take me anywhere you want, my love.” He smiled, kicking his legs slightly so you felt him against yours.

“Perfect. I’ll let you know what the plans are once I figure them out myself.” The two of you laughed, soaking in the heated water under the starry night sky, warm moonlight illuminating you both. You couldn’t help but look forward to whatever he had planned.

#adaman x reader #adaman pokemon #pokemon adaman #pokemon #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon arceus legends

[thehoneybuzz]

I got my first tattoo when I was 22 years old. My big brother came for a visit - we’d been best friends living on opposite coasts for 2 years by then. A giant Samoan gentleman named Buffalo kept the shop open late to bestow my first ink - a small elephant on my rib cage. Elephants communicate across continents, and it felt good to capture that kind of forever with my brother by my side. We’d always be there for each other - even if just through rumblings. My first tattoo meant “I love you” to my brother.

Just a year later I’d get the country of Iceland tattooed on my calf. I wanted to memorialize the trip I’d taken there. I had traveled by myself to a foreign country and scuba dived between the earth's tectonic plates in a glacial lake. I put the Icelandic word for love - “elska” in the outline of the continent because Iceland wasn’t just the setting of my first solo adventure. A boy named Ian Tanzer would show up 5 days into that trip and bend what he could of his broken knees. He proposed behind a waterfall. We celebrated in hot springs and by feeding Oreos to Icelandic horses. I felt I found my whole heart in Iceland. I found myself and my soul mate on its shores. My second tattoo meant “I love you” to me and the man I’d marry.

My third tattoo was a symbol from the Harry Potter series - the Deathly Hallows. I got it at 24 when my best friend, Reece, and I found ourselves back home together. Reece and I became best friends in the fifth grade when he was told to clean the chalkboard at recess. I offered to stay behind and help, a real Hermione Granger. Somehow our board cleaning devolved into a 409 war. We shot the cleaning material across the entire classroom, and when class resumed we were all but doused in bleach. Our friendship was born of mischief. He and I would wait in line together at every midnight release of the Potter series - at bookstores and movie theaters, alike. We’d be in Europe together, as sophomores in high school, for the release of the 5th movie. Not to spoil it for you - but Sirius Black dies. I sobbed into Reece’s shoulder outside the London theater. It wouldn’t be the last time I’d need that shoulder. My third tattoo - which later grew to read “mischief managed” meant “I love you” to my best friend.

That’s when it happened.

About 6 months later I was marrying my husband, and I couldn’t keep the secret anymore. I couldn’t walk into that next phase of my life without being honest. So. 3 days before my wedding I told my dad I had tattoos. I knew he wouldn’t like it. My brother's tattoos had strained their relationship - but my brother was also living under my fathers roof. I reasoned that since I was independent and doing well on my own (at 22, 23, and 24) that his usual arguments wouldn’t apply. I knew he’d be mad. I didn’t know it would be our last real conversation - that he wouldn’t attend my wedding. At 30 we are fully estranged.

And today is his birthday.

And five years after he’s turned his heart from me I still wish I could wish him a happy birthday. That’s grief.

I’ve got more tattoos now then I did five years ago. I added the flowers of my wedding bouquet to my rib cage. I covered my Iceland tattoo, but I love that it’s still almost there. It sits beneath Mount Rainier, a compass that points NorthWest, and a triangle outlined by lilacs. I missed my home more than I loved Iceland. Now I’ve climbed the mountain I honored on my skin. I got a bee on my ass that reminds me to “live one life” as an homage to a spirit quest taken solo in Peru. Not to mention the pilot I’ve got on my quad - I think that one might be more of a self-portrait than any of ‘em. Who I see myself as when I fly. The color wheel on my forearm is my favorite and most useful. Oh - and a few stars on my wrist as another nod to Harry Potter. I know. One Harry Potter tattoo is enough, but two felt better. Reece got a matching one within a week of mine, of course.

I wear myself on my skin, and at the site of it my creator turned from me. That hurts. It also gives you superpowers. I have been made stronger for this - so I have to be grateful for it. The last words I said to my father were this.

He asked if I would do it differently now. Knowing what I know - knowing how hurt he was - knowing that it would lead to (at that point) a year of not speaking - would I do it all the same?

I looked him in the eye and said, “I would not change the tenets of my character for you or anyone.” And that was that.

If someone turns from you in your power - they are not meant for you. And it’s not wrong for you to let them go. That’s the lesson I learned from my father. I don’t know why - but he could not see me. He likely never will. And that’s okay.

Because I am okay. I am healing and grieving. But - also - creating something beautiful.

So Happy Birthday, Dad. And fuck you

[nicegaai]

having nor/ice thoughtssssssssssssss sad sad whiny kitty cat noises. wahhhh. im thinking about them wahhhhhhhh. WAHHH

what if i took all my small canonverse ideas and compiled them into ONESHOTSSSSS........................................ and what if they were CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED ..... and showed RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSION over the course of 1000 years ...... and it wasnt that deep but i pretended it was and called it something like "i was meant to keep you warm" because i love to steal fox/i/ng lyrics. maybe even id find a way to make this a 5 times + 1 time format.

if i can wrestle my way into figuring out what goes on in nors head i could do it. ive figured that i want ice to never ever see him as a brother. my vision is that nor is iceladns hot babysitter fantasy and first crush that never goes away. he wants to marry him when he grows up but then his feelings stay that way and it never ever ever ever ever goes away and only gets worse. u understand? do u see it

and UNFORTUNATELY nor knows ic/eland likes him from the beginning. he can tell from like ice's adolescence onwards and is like yeah idk about all that...... but the attention is flattering and he loves this little guy so much and thinks its sweet. he doesnt get to visit often but ice writes him a lot because hes in love with him ykwim and nor loves him so much too (platonic) and always writes back.

and yeah they go through periods of living together for various reasons. sickness unions famines etc etc. not ever for long and nothing ever happens. if adolescent iceland pushed boundaries, nor would humor him a little with like...a kiss, bc he spoils him, but ultimately he hard-shuts it down. and ice would be traumatized forever and block the memory out / be eternally tormented at night by the time he did such and such so is the worst person alive etc

and ice begins teen life with the whole he will never love me and i am a tormented soul shtick. now he writes to him less, tries to put more distance between them... so it hurts less and all that. hes not GOOD at pretending he hates nor or whatever but its easy to lose connection when messages are rare and visits are rarer

he spends much more time at denmarks than with no.rway. he sees den.mark as a proper older brother / uncle / fatherly figure. hes closer emotionally to him and lives with him more and all that. his tutors are danish and he goes to boarding school in cop.enhagen in the 1800s. idk how this ties into the romance necessarily but its timeline relevant. whether or not denmark picks up on the crush , i dont know. i could go either way lol. also, den + nors relationship is strictly brotherly btw. ironically. because theres not enough fics where theyre platonic and i really do enjoy them that way too

nor and ice remain distant for several hundred years. its once ice gets into his pushing for independence mixed with modern technology for better communication ..... somewhere between say, the invention of the airplane and landline phones, nor and ice repair their relationship. iceland is coming into adulthood (independence) for real, and is SO mature about his international relationships. he can be so mature and normal about norway. he can sit down with him and have lunch and discuss business and norway wont talk down at him for being young at all (lie) and he'll be so chill about that and not yell at him (he only does it once) (he only has to do it once)

all this isnt to say n.orway himself didnt attempt to stay close over the years, but ic.eland wasnt reciprocating, and even if they saw each other every year at christmas (doubt) that doesnt make them really CLOSE. but i think iceland was always particularly special to him bc of how close they were as kids. and they WERE both kids back then. little icela.nd sent him letters while nor was like 14 at best. i believe in teen mom norway and his eldest sondaughter icey. at least from nors perspective. even tho hes so absent so much of the time. when he comes around he showers him in gifts as a love language even way back when

anyway, ice.land still has an obvious crush on nor and nor finds it SO cute. like he could just pinch his cheeks and coo at him for it. ice tries to keep a lid on his emotions but can only do so much. nor doesnt SAY anything to point sus behavior out. but as soon as he notices,,,, its like there was no time apart, to nor. ice is so closed off and stiff and weird around him and nor wishes he would relax so they can connect properly and he honestly CANT

the solution is to drink otgether i think. at some point. maybe not immediately but they'll get to it.

icela.nd isnt like oohg im too young to drink, i think hes just lived long enough that hes a bit Over It / doesnt want to act like an idiot / really doesnt want to act like an idiot in front of nor. but nor could peer pressure him into anything if he really tried so they finally get tipsy together and i think that goes a long way to repair their relationship.

they do this many times and as long as ice is careful to not drink a lot he'll be fine. hes gotta keep his wits about him and still be able to feel shame. one time he indulges a little hard and i think ice trauma dumps on him and they kiss to make up for the time nor pushed him away and nor didnt realize he was still hurting so much about that. nor is tipsy enough to do it (not even drunk) and afterwards he goes ohh wait i kind of enjoyed that. and do it a few more times then make out for a while and it doesnt go anywhere, they fall asleep

the next day they completely remember kissing and know the other remembers it and just mutually dont talk about it.

icelan.d is VISIBLY struggling even harder around him for at least a few days until he gets a handle on his emotions. and nor has a lot to think about. in general.

i dont know where the dna stuff comes in. im falling asleep while typeing this

but icelan.d obvioiusly is like wtf? we arent related. thats impossible. i cant even fathom this. and nor.way is like you are the closest i will ever have to family and i am your biological father and icel.and is like what the fuck ew you can say brother as much as you want but never say father again im begging you and nor is like Bet.

and then they test and they're first degree related. father or brother would be appropriate. and nor is like yeah obviously (already believed this when he kissed him) and ic.eland is like (max harlow voice) SUICIDE !! SUICIDE !!

icelan.d sits with that information for a while but his crush still doesnt go away. nor gives him space and also sits with the information. he never thought he'd end up here but he decides that hes into it. its kinda hot. I Do believe in slutty n.orway supremacy i thnk hes slept with most of europe and doesnt have a strong internal sense of familial boundaries considering he is a landmass and is like yeah id do that again we're both adults hes cute whatever

next time they see each other nor comes onto him. and ice is squeemish about it but this is also everything hes ever wanted. whats he gonna do, say no?

at this point i fell asleep but im awake again uhhhh

ic.eland gets to cope with being a creep a weirdo and getting what he wanted in the worst way possible and nor gets to torment him with the brother thing not as a kink but bcz it makes him uncomfortable and he thinks its funny.

i forgot to talk about the actual oneshot ideas that inspired this in the first place didnt i. oh well

aaaaaaaaaaaaand post

#p

[someone-you-do-not-know]

Hey 👋

I'm here with a random ask of the week 🌷

If dennor were on a vacation together, where would they go? Would they take someone with them? Like Iceland, bc you know, it's their kid-

Okay, it depends a little on how much time they have off and the season – so have waaaaay too many headcanons about this!

If they only have a few days off, like one or two, they drive or take the train, either to someplace fun in their own countries, Sweden, or Germany. Denmark really loves amusement parks, if they have a day off during a World Meeting, he will go to the nearest amusement park. His favourite amusement park is also the world's oldest – Bakken in Kalundborg, Denmark, but he loves all the ones in Denmark, of course. His favourite rollercoaster ride is really embarrassing though. It's this one called Wildfire, and it's been named the best in Europe and thirdbest in the world in 2018 – BUT IT'S IN KOLMÅRDEN, SWEDEN (I've tried it though, it really is great). If Norway gets to pick, they usually go out into nature, either hiking in the mountains, fishing, visit the beaches or forests, go kayaking, etc. That is, unless it's winter – then it's skiing every single time. Norway is great at skiing, obviously, especially cross-country skiing. They're very unlikely to visit any historical sites, since they already lived through it, and for these shorter trips, they're more likely to just be the two of them.

Now, if it's a week or more, the world IS THEIR OYSTER. So we need to divide these into seasons:

Spring: In spring, they both have a few days off for Easter, but this is family time, so usually they celebrate with a Easter Lunch together with the other Nordics and just hang out together at one of their homes all five of them. They also go visit other European countries (mostly their fellow protestants, because they think the catholics can get a little prickly around Easter – Denmark claims it's because of the whole Lent thing). If they have a bit more time off, they might also visit Iceland, The Faroe Islands, and Greenland (both should have their own representations, because their history and culture is very different from Denmark and they actually have self rule nowadays).

Summer: Now, you gotta understand. Europe has a lot of time off during summer and of course the nations would too. So there's a lot of options presenting themselves. A week in one of Denmark's many vacation houses near the beaches, going on a train trip through Europe, getting a house boat and sail the nearby seas, taking a plane to the south of Europe and becoming as red as a shrimp in 0.5 second ... The possibilities are endless. Iceland occasionally go with them, and if they're in a vacation house, they get a lot of visitors – especially Germany, Sweden and Finland (Iceland just moves in with them without asking). But they do as much as they can during summer

Autumn: In fall, there's only three options. Either, they go to South Europe or they go to either Thailand or the USA. But 7 out of 10 times, they go to Spain, and they often bring the other Nordics along. Spain is the tourist destination. If it's not mainland Spain, it's Gran Canaria or Mallorca. Spain is definitely their favourite vacation place. Spain isn't entirely sure how much he likes that they visit him year after year after year. Sure, he likes the money the tourism generates, but he's never really sure how much he should be around them and he needs vacation too! How else is he going to visit his favourite half of a nation?

Winter: Christmas and New Year's Eve are some more holidays all the nordics celebrate together, and here, they usually decide to stay near the mountains (meaning not in Denmark) – so they can go skiing! I mentioned skiing earlier, and it is an activity all Nordics enjoy – alpine, cross country, snowboard, you name it, they do it. Finland and Iceland especially like snowboarding, whereas Sweden and Norway are more likely to do cross country. Denmark really likes alpine, and is probably the weakest skier among them – which makes the others tease him endlessly, but he's still pretty good. Just wasn't born on skis like the rest of them. Norway is really good at off-piste – Sweden is too tall to do it as well as Norway, and Denmark is afraid he'll fall (and also tall), so that's one thing Norway, Finland, and Iceland does together.

As you can see, there really is a lot of different vacation types they like to do!

#thank you for the ask! <3 #prussianbluevanilla #I hope you like this! #hetalia #aph denmark #aph norway #THIS QUESTION HAS LAYERS #dennor #Prussia is not welcome in Danish vacation houses #Spain wants to hang with Romano of course #You know this #aph nordics

[docholligay]

Where would you rather take a vacation, Thailand or Iceland? New Zealand or Spain?

Good, fun question! Actually shockingly easy for me to answer!

Question one: I have stunning vistas, great hiking, and even geothermal features! Iceland is very expensive!

So Thailand, completely. I would happily go to Thailand, love to see a palace and hike through some jungle, get some street food, go to a muay thai fight, all of that. I'd probably find a good place to get a suit made. Also, in Thailand, five star accommodation comes pretty easy, as compared.

For question two: Question one: I have stunning vistas, great hiking, and even English spoken as a matter of course! New Zealand is very expensive!

So Spain, completely. I would love to go to Spain: For starters, it's the second language I actually fucking speak, so I could be of use in an actual way instead of the half way I've been in Germany or France, I don't need help or to stay near the tourist track. All kinds of regions of Spain have appeal to me. I'd love to see Toledo's Jewish quarter, or drink sidra in Asturia, The Tabernas desert where some of the old spaghetti westerns were filmed, the food markets in Madrid, a cattle show in Cantabria, really, the only place I'm not 100% thrilled to go is Barcelona, but I'd go if people wanted to. Spain all the way.

[slowroadtosantiago]

Day 6 Uterga to Cirauqui via Eunata

Just over 11 miles walked today.

It was a mixed night’s sleep last night. Jane let me have the bottom bunk again as I go to the loo more often in the night, but the bunk bed was rickety to say the least and if either of us rolled over it rocked!

You wake quite early, usually between 6 and half past, and everyone gets ready. Breakfast was at 7 - toast and coffee, and I was happy that they had decaf.

We set off about 8. It was a bit chilly first thing but there was no rain forecast. Within 10 minutes we came across a delightful bird singing to us who then followed us.

In the first town we took a detour off the main path to an iconic church called Santa Maria de Eunate. On the way we passed fields covered in rows of black plastic which we eventually worked out were for growing asparagus. We weren’t quite sure when the church would open so after taking pics took a roundabout route back to the main path in Óbanos.

Of course it was time for coffee and a second breakfast of a croissant. The cafe was full of locals meeting up to chat on a Sunday morning, and we really liked the village.

From there we travelled to Puente la Reina along delightful paths lined with Spring flowers and poppies.

As we walk along our minds drift to so many random things and we end up comparing notes. Usually it’s nothing deep and meaningful but a song going around your head, or how your digestive system is adjusting to the new regime, or whether you should stop and change shoes, or wondering how to deal with the chafing! (Probably shared too much there!)

Puente de Reina was a lovely old place, narrow streets and great huge wooden doors with amazing door knockers. The Puente was another old medieval bridge which we found out later we should have walked over in bare feet for good luck.

The next stretch started delightfully following a river. The birds were in full throttle and we stopped to listen several times. We then had a bit of a nasty pull uphill through a pine forest to Maneru.

Here we stopped for lunch, finding a local bar full of local people. We have started a liking for the Spanish lemonade which went down a treat, along with a huge wedge of tortilla slathered in aioli and chopped up cured meats. It was delicious but the garlic repeated itself for a few hours!

I had been hankering for an ice cream which the bar sold, so we had one each sat in a lovely square.

You overlap with other pilgrims, and as we were eating we were joined by Winona from South Africa who was in last night’s hostel. She was going on further than us but was struggling. We wished her well and carried on the last short stretch to where we are now, a beautiful village on top of a hill.

At the moment there are only 3 of us in a large 12 bed room so hopefully we’ll have a good night’s sleep. The only downer is the church opposite where the bell sounds every half hour.

Also staying are two others - Zoe and Jude - who we were with last night, as well as Simon from the UK, Greg from the US and ‘Godhand’ from Iceland, so it should be an interesting dinner tonight!

[nimblermortal]

What what what! What!

So I'm reading the technical vocabulary, and

SLAVE

slaves had the right to personal compensation (like direct payments if they were assaulted), the right to keep a wife, the right to kill on behalf of the wife (!), the right to acquire wealth

the penalty for lying with a slave woman was the ordinary fine of three marks, c.f. Intercourse

INTERCOURSE

Unlawful intercourse and fathering a child are separate charges with different penalties. The woman has to have a man standing for her, of course, women don't exist under the law. In some cases the man in question has the right to kill the transgressor!

I would eat his heart in the marketplace *ahem*

If a successful suit was brought, the penalty for the man was full outlawry (!) and liability for personal compensation. But the woman also has penalties. Her legal administrator could claim six marks from her - that's twice as much as a main ring wergild!

The penalty for rape or attempted rape was also full outlawry!

"Other kinds of behaviour deemed offensive to a woman (and her family), including composition of love poetry, were also liable at law."

poets better watch out (and honestly this makes sense - this is not a literate society, if you compose a poem to a lady and keep it to yourself no one will ever find out, if poems are being spread then it's because you declaimed them in public and it's uh. a direct attack on her honor, probably viewed something like revenge porn)

anyway.

SLAVES

So, raping a slave woman incurs the same punishment as a single main ring wergild payment (vs raping a free woman, where you're exiled from the country forever)

Slaves could be traded as payment, but they could also have their freedom given or bought. The notional value of a slave was perhaps three marks - so, that's a good reference for the future. (A dead slave, reminder, main ring payment is 24 bits, whatever that is.) A female slave (bondwoman, unless I find out later that the definition of bondwoman is different) is worth half that.

...it is worth mentioning that the owner could kill the slave whenever he wanted, as long as it wasn't Lent or a major feast day. The church may have had something to say about it, though.

A slave was not fully free until he had been "led into the law" - don't know what that means! I hope it involves a turf arch!

FREEDMAN

"except in certain circumstances the penalty for adultery with his wife was lesser, not full, outlawry" fascinating

(note this also makes a hierarchy for sleeping with a dude's wife - free -> freed -> slave it goes full outlawry -> lesser outlawry (3 years) -> 3 marks)

"If a freedman were killed, the case lay with his son (who was counted free, not free); failing him, with his freedom-giver" oh, neat - so giving a slave freedom is, in some edge cases, equivalent to adopting them. You are still considered responsible for them!

however, the freedom-giver had some claim to his property on his death (and more so if he tries to, uh, hide that property from the law/prevent this)

but the freedom-giver is required to provide maintenance of the freedman, if he cannot support himself. (It's not clear what this means from the appendix alone, but I suspect it's basic food/water/shelter.) Remember that per Saga Thing, slavery died out in Iceland because the responsibility for getting slaves through the winter wasn't worth it!

Tempting to start spelling it freeDman, just to be clear.

#long post #Gragas #is clearly going to need its own tag

[asterlearns]

Langblr Reactivation Challenge by @prepolyglot | 1.1

Create an introduction post about yourself. What's your name? What languages are you studying? What languages do you hope to study? What do you hope you'll get out of this challenge? Add whatever else you’d like to your introduction post! ___

Hello! I'm Aster (or at least that's what I go by online) and I've had a very long, on-again off-again relationship with language learning, including a couple years studying linguistics in college.

I'm currently a stay at home mom, and most of my studying these days is done while my one year old naps. Currently my full focus is on Japanese, but I have also spent a decent amount of time in the past studying Spanish and German. I've dabbled a bit in several others as well, including Croatian, French, Icelandic, Mandarin, and Korean (mostly just Hangul), but those were short lived and I've forgotten most of what I've learned. There was also a year where I became completely enamored with Esperanto, but I've forgotten most of that by now too. (I also apparently started the duolingo course for Danish at some point??)

While I'm planning to stick with Japanese for the rest of this year, I'm hoping to resume my Spanish and/or Croatian studies next year as well. Further in the future, German, French and Korean are high on my list, but I'm always falling for a new language, so we'll see what happens.

It's been a lifelong dream of mine to become a polyglot, but in the past I have struggled to maintain motivation over the long term, and I've failed to make it through the dreaded intermediate plateau for any language. This year I decided that I'm going to seriously go for it, and I'm hoping that participating in this challenge will help with motivation, and it would be nice to connect with others who love learning languages as well.

I'm not sure I'll be able to post daily, as I'm kind of strapped for time these days and, if I have to chose, I'd rather spend time learning languages than talking about learning them, but I hope to make my way through the entire challenge, even if it is at a reduced pace. Please feel free to message me though, as long as you can forgive me if I can't always respond right away!

#langblr reactivation challenge #japanese langblr

[deep-hearts-core]

2013 - semifinal 2

originally posted 5/31/20

Latvia This here, this, is my true guilty pleasure of the 2013 contest. Like I know it's a pair of Latvian dudes in sparkly clothes rapping and beatboxing and being not overwhelmingly great at either of those things, but it's really lighthearted and pure. It endears itself to me through its sheer enthusiasm. In short: it's fun. San Marino Okay, I can actually see how this one didn't qualify. It's really slow at the beginning, and I had forgotten how it really went before the tempo and meter change that kicks the song into the high gear that it's actually known for. Staging was pretty good, though. I don't actually like this as much as I used to, it might not be a qualifier for me anymore (of course, who knows) because of how little happens for the first 2/3 of the song.

North Macedonia This sure was something. I always feel obligated to like entries performed by a minority group, but this song was kind of a mess. There were two totally different songs going on here - Esma's and Lozano's - and while they're both pretty decent on their own, together they just don't mix. (Also, Lozano's parts are lowkey a Love Is Blind ripoff. There. I said it.) Azerbaijan Excellent staging here, by which I mean both the man in the box and the literal actual stage. That first verse had such amazing staging, and you know what, I'm not even as put off by the comphet girl in the red dress as I used to be. This is a firmly good song, but if I'm honest it doesn't really hold up for me when compared to the sheer amount of girl power going on here, between Denmark, Israel, Norway, Ukraine, Russia, etc etc. While the staging is impressive the song is only just good. Finland When I was younger, I specifically remember calling Krista's aesthetic here "trashy Vegas bride". I still think that's true. Finland went all out on the camp here, and it's deliciously good. It's active, and while the song is really cheesy the staging leans right into it and Krista sells it entirely. Marry Me is pure, good fun. Malta This is a really sweet song. Don't get why everyone's so crazy about it, but it's definitely cute and fun. It just really has a family vibe going to it, with the general sunshine-ness of Gianluca and everyone onstage with him - either they all really genuinely like each other and are glad to be there, or they're really good at acting.

Bulgaria There's a lot that's all over the place about this one, in the staging and the songwriting, but it's a refreshing song that's entirely different from the other songs in the semi. While I think this could have been done quite well, the stage here didn't quite lend to the success that Elitsa and Stoyan's previous entry had had. I really like the song though - I love super rhythmic stuff so this was fun to watch and to bop around to. Iceland The staging for this entry is pretty boring, but there's some good composition going on here. When I was younger, I used to make a cappella covers of Eurovision songs, and so as we get into the years where I know the songs well sometimes my judgement of the composition will come from how nice that arrangement was to make. Let me say that I hated this entry, until I covered it, and through doing that I realized that the composition here has a lot of room to be moving and beautiful. It's redeemed the song a lot for me.

Greece I seriously don't think this song would have worked without both the old guy and the band. In prior watches I know I thought the song would be better off without the folksy section at the beginning, but now I acknowledge that it serves a purpose, and it's actually kinda nice to listen to. This is another of those wild, fun ones that, while it's difficult to take seriously, is so lighthearted that I can't help liking it. It's not trying to be performance art or overly campy, it's just... fun. Israel This really was robbed. As a song, it's fantastic, and Moran has a great voice and amazing control over it. Sadly, though, these types of songs work best with something interesting happening in the background, and here there was nothing, so while I really, truly love this song, I understand why it didn't get through. Armenia Everyone always hates on this song, and for why? Like guys it's a soft rock song about climate change. It is in no way bad. I mean, it's nothing polarizing, but it's definitely enjoyable. I really like this style of music and I think that Gor, the lead singer here, is really dynamic and fun to watch. Hungary Firstly I just want to call attention to the fact that Hungary, apparently, only has one female backup singer, because I swear this exact same woman was backup for the 2012 entry. Anyway, Kedvesem is a song that polarizes a lot of people; I think it's just okay. Like, it's nice to listen to, Eurovision goes indie, whatever, but it's not a standout, especially in this year, and if I'm honest the dolls in the background were kinda creepy.

Norway [frantically googles to see if Frozen came out before this performance] Yeah, so this is clearly the success Norway was trying to emanate when they sent Agnete three years later. This song is really weird, but also really good. Lyrically, this song is absolutely fucking hilarious, it goes in so many different directions, but the instrumental is really really good and Margaret has a great voice for this song in particular that really distracts from the absurdity of the lyrics and lets you just watch and listen without thinking too hard. Albania Oh this one goes so fucking hard. The melodic themes in this are just SO GOOD and the main singer here has an awesome voice. Why everyone is jumping around onstage I don't know, but what I do know is that this song totally deserved to qualify. Everyone always complains about the FiK revamps every year but they forget that in years like this and 2011 when Albania didn't revamp their song they still didn't qualify, so like, forgive them for trying something new. Thankfully they've kept their songs the same and have had success with their 2018 and 2019 entries, but Identitet definitely merited that same qualification.

Georgia This song is totally jury bait, but I really like it. Those harmonies. It's not a super standout, but I think Nodi and Sophie's voices go great together and that the staging was inoffensive, dare I even say pretty. Like, it's typical G:son, but it's alright. Switzerland Not totally sure what Switzerland is trying to achieve here. This song sure is catchy, but a better performance certainly was possible, and I don't know how I feel about their matching Salvation Army polos. I mean, it's like sending the Mormons to Eurovision, and not the ones from the musical either. Romania Um, so this is not what I like to see at Eurovision. It drives the camp factor way up and that's not my thing, and neither is falsetto dubstep. Those dancers were also lowkey horrifying. Like they did not need to contort their bodies like that and they did not need to be mostly naked either. I do find it funny, though, that Moldova and Romania used the same "elevate the stage during the bridge" trick in the same year. Heh.

My personal qualifiers Norway Albania Azerbaijan Israel Georgia Armenia Greece Iceland Latvia Finland Miscellaneous thoughts One of the difficult things about this year is that there are a lot of songs that are really campy or otherwise just fun (the Babushki's influence, no doubt). While very wholesome, it does make it difficult to separate songs out from each other.

#esc reviews

[ctenvs3000w23]

Nature Interpretation Through Science

After thinking about what I wanted to share this week, the idea of my future plans, trips, and adventures came to mind. As an individual who loves to travel and is always seeking new adventures, the past few years were quite challenging due to the covid-19 pandemic. I can remember being in Florida at a Track and Field training camp when I heard the seemingly good news that we would be getting an extra two weeks off of school due to this virus called "covid-19". At the time, I was excited knowing that we would have an extra two weeks off of school, not realizing that the two weeks would actually turn into two years. From masks to lockdowns, to social distancing and being in isolation, the world began to feel like a ghost town. Businesses were closed, people were inside, and there was little to no social activity. When we left for Florida, I realized soon after that my training partners and I were on one of the last flights, as most flights and trips were cancelled less than a week later. Both my sister and mother were headed to Cuba for the March Break, about a day or two after I had left for Florida, however, their flight ended up being cancelled and they were sent home.

As restrictions have been lifted and the spreading of the virus has slowed down, my urge to travel and see more of the world has only grown stronger. This past summer my best friend and I took a spontaneous trip to Vermont, about a week before school began in the Fall. I'm so glad we took the chance and decided to go, as it was truly an eye-opening experience of what the world had to offer. Even though we only captured a glimpse of Vermont, as we were there for three days, I can honestly say it has inspired me in so many ways to plan new adventures, make more memories, and continue exploring! Since returning from Vermont, both my friend and I have made big plans, as to where we want to go next and what we want to do. As a student, going on trips can be expensive, however, I've realized that there are ways to properly budget and travel affordably!

This summer our plans are much more adventurous and in some ways daunting. We have narrowed it down to Iceland or Tanzania. In Iceland, we are thinking of going backpacking through a part of the country without a guide. We will pack enough food and water with us for a week, bring a small tent that can fit into one of our hiking backpacks, and set out into the wilderness. Of course, before attempting such a feat we will train for it and do smaller trips leading up to it. We will also plan out our seven-day hike beforehand and bring a marked-up map with us. After the seven-day trek, we are thinking of staying in a hostel or low-cost accommodation in one of the towns and being more of a tourist.

In terms of our possible plans to visit Tanzania, it may even be more adventurous. After doing some research, I found out that you can climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a guide for approximately 2000 dollars. This may seem like a lot, but the experience of summiting one of the world's highest mountains would totally be worth it! It takes about 5-9 days to summit the mountain and climb back down, so it is definitely possible within a two-week trip. As for the rest of the Tanzania trip, we haven't made further plans. Any suggestions? Let me know by reblogging my post or in the comment section below. I will definitely take your ideas into consideration when planning our summer trip.

In addition to our potential plans for the summer, I also wanted to highlight an interesting perspective in one of our readings this week, entitled, "Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education". In the final two paragraphs of the article, under the subheading, "Place and Identity", it states, "The reasons for the recently established disconnect between people and place that results from a preoccupation with and dependency on ICT (17) are underresearched, but there is some evidence that such technologies can actually reconnect people and places (18)." If you are unaware of the term ICT, as I was at first, it simply stands for "Information and Communications Technology". Overall, I found this perspective on technology and nature to be quite unique, and one that I haven't really thought of before. In the past, I have regularly viewed technology as something that has taken us away from and damaged our relationship with nature, rather than strengthening it. The article goes on to say, "Numerous examples exist of citizens monitoring changes in the environment (e.g., bird migration patterns and quality of water, soil, and air) using geographic information systems, cell phones, and specially designed monitoring applications (11). As such, ICT devices actually get people to go outdoors, even those who normally are not inclined to do so." I found the idea that current technology like our cell phones having the ability to enhance our connection with nature to be quite encouraging as scientists and engineers continue to innovate and find new ways to become more efficient.

P.S. Any suggestions concerning our summer trip would be much appreciated!

This is the mountain we may climb! I can only imagine how beautiful the view is from the top!

References

Wals, A. E., Brody, M., Dillon, J., & Stevenson, R. B. (2014). Convergence between science and environmental education. Science, 344(6184), 583–584. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1250515

[lindsaystravelblogs]

Friday

We made a late start today. By the time we got out of town (Egisstadir), it was after eleven and we set off to explore a place in the opposite direction to our final destination for the day. It was about 70 kilometres away, making it a long day - 399 kilometres: not far in Oz, but driving conditions aren’t quite as good here as in Australia.

We drove to Borgarfjiodur at the end of the road at the end of the fiord. It was an interesting drive out there, with some pretty awful roads, dodging some extensive roadworks and very confusing speed limits, climbing a long, very steep, winding road over a very high mountain in extremely thick fog, and down again into the very quaint fishing village. We passed lots of lovely scenery, including a series on small ponds near the road where we saw some birds, including some Red-necked Divers that we had only glimpsed very briefly 3 years ago. Our count for Iceland birds now stands at 47!

We walked around the village and took some photos and watched the birds - a wider variety than usual and some that we haven’t seen often. We ate our lunch in the car, out of the bitingly frigid gale that was blowing, before braving the same road back and continuing on the long drive south. It rained for at least half the day, never all that heavy, but we had the wipers going constantly for a few hours.

We stopped for fuel at a place that had an Olis service station - we have seen none of the familiar Shells, Mobils, Caltexes, etc. Hertz had told us that Olis and Ob stations were cheaper, but it didn’t appear to be so. We paid the same price there as elsewhere.

Other than that stop, we had few others on the day. The landscape here is a bit different than most of what we have seen. It still has lots of impressive rugged mountains rising directly above the road, sometimes cascading straight down too. All were partly hidden in cloud today but we also drove through areas that were pretty flat - wide expanses of grassland near the ocean. We drove quite a long way following the coast rather than fiords and with a good telescope, we could almost have seen Norway a few thousand kilometres away. The coastal drive had quite a different feel about it compared with the rugged interior.  And with the cloud cover and rain enclosing us a bit, it seemed almost a little spooky outside and wonderfully warm and cosy in the car.

There have been quite a few bikes (and several hitchhikers) on the road and we have passed them many kilometres from the nearest place of accommodation. Unless the riders have made arrangements to stay at farms, they must often be riding very wet and bedraggled until late into the night to get to a hotel or similar. Fortunately, it doesn’t even start to get dark until about 11pm but many of the hills are very steep with long climbs so anyone riding a bike here would have to be very fit. Of course, all the long steep climbs are rewarding with a long fast coast down the other side.  Interestingly, many of the riders appear to be middle aged rather than enthusiastic teenagers.

Our freebie mobile modem stopped working during the morning and nothing we can do will bring it back to life. It turns on and allows you to start connecting then just turns itself off. It is fully charged but will only stay on for about 30 seconds before shutting down again. No huge problem except it means we are solely reliant on hotel wifi at night.

There are more tourist busses on this side of Iceland too all commanding use of their half of the road as well as half a metre of ours – slow to a crawl and move to the extreme edge of the shoulder and pray!

Iceland is a colourful place – even if you ignore the frequent rainbow motifs in most towns.  Nothing at all seems to be pastel.  It is rich and vivid  - red or black mountains with brilliant green skirts, black rock under glaring snow, houses that compete with each other with stark blues, yellows, reds, green, even the oiled black ones with the green sod rooves or the blue sheep-shed with the yellow roof, black beaches and white rolling surf, fields of purple or yellow – nothing is insipid and your eye is unavoidably drawn to colour after colour after exciting colour – but shouldn’t I be watching the oncoming traffic?

Toward the end of the drive we saw a few swans – like, quite a few!  They were all Whooper Swans, very elegant and graceful white swans, but they filled the bay, and another bay, and the next, and a couple more.  Rough guess: ten thousand of them and the only place to stop for a photo was right near the end where the numbers were lower and they were further out to sea.  An amazing sight to state the obvious.

One interesting fact that we discovered at night is that we will hopefully soon be free of the foul taste that has been plaguing us for several days. We assumed that it was one of the effects of Covid, but it seems that it is a side-effect of the antiviral drugs we have been taking. Heather finished her course last night and I finish mine today so we hope we will soon be able to enjoy our food again.

We finally arrived at our digs in Hofn after 324 kilometres of fairly concentrated driving.  We ate in our room and crashed after dinner.  But what a beautiful day it had been!