#sorry ellwood

[warlordfelwinter]

oops

#the fuck is this? consequences? of my actions?? #sorry ellwood #looks like madison was tricking you after all #fel's fl #fallen london #oc: ellwood callan

[viimsical]

these boys will simply never leave my mind will they. ack

anyways guys give me ur theories for what they're looking at (subtle conversation starter)

#NEVER HAVE I EVER MADE THEM LOOK THOS GOOD #OHH I AM PROUD OF MYSELF #sorry that i dont dtaw anuonr else #theyre easy and fun and everything to me now #sorry!!!!! #henry gaunt #sidney ellwood #gauntwood #in memoriam #alice winn #in memoriam alice winn

[spineless-lobster]

The fact that Havers and Ellwood have the same shrapnel scar makes me so fucking feral like I am fucking biting everything VIOLENTLY the BLOROS from my SHOW and my BOOK are THE SAME every piece of media I consume is the SAME and I LOVE IT

Also weird or think that Gaunt and Elly are 1. older than both of them and 2. alive during the same time as them like what do you mean they’ve interacted before that’s so silly haha what *shaking violently and starts foaming at the mouth*

#‘​I FUCKING LOVE YOUR SHRAPNEL WOUND YOU WHORE!’ I yell from the distance #<- trixie and katya reference btw #god this whole post is catered to me is annoying lmao #anyways my boyos are gay and scarred and sad and it makes me feel things #sorry I’m tired rn I’m going to bed lol #bbc ghosts #bbc ghosts spoilers #lieutenant havers #in memoriam alice winn #sidney ellwood

[cloudyfacewithjam]

Anyway, Step 1: Read this quote from Alice Winn's In Memoriam

“I’m sorry. This is not what I intended to say. What I meant to say is this: You’ll write more poems. They are not lost. You are the poetry.”

Step 2: Think about Paddy and Eoin

Step 3: Cry

Step 4: Realize the novel is about a tragic lovestory between two young men caught up in WWI

Step 5: Cry harder

Oh, yeah, that's spot on! Speak as a person, who read "In Memoriam" recently and lost my mind over it and some parallels between Gaunt | Ellwood and Paddy | Eoin.

Also that ending… I twist it in my head and want to apply it in AU context for Paddy | Eoin.

#ask

[poppyellwoodao3]

Poppy Ellwood and the Werewolf Professor - Remus Lupin x OFC

She turned around and bumped into someone, she did not realise had entered the carriage.

“Oh sorry…” Poppy muttered, looking up and meeting a set of hazel eyes.

“I think I should have given you a warning,” he chuckled, taking a step back.

Poppy got a good look at him. He was wearing a set of shabby Wizards robes that were darned in a few places. He had light brown hair flecked with grey, though he was quite young. He looked a little ill and exhausted with a few scars on his face and neck.

“I was just giving them something to perk them up,” Poppy held up the other bar of chocolate smiling.

The man looked impressed. “Someone that knows their remedies,” he smiled.

“Well, I’d be a useless Healer if I didn’t know the basics,” she chuckled.

#remus lupin #sirius #harry potter #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #ao3 writer #ao3feed #ao3 link #ao3 tags #fanfiction #ao3 stuff #ao3 shenanigans #archive of our own #Mature #Remus x OFC #Poppy Ellwood

[wheretheresaway-theresawilliam]

Chapter 21: The Good Lord Taketh Away

Word Count: 606

TWs: Implied murder, food mentions

⛤⛤⛤

The stakes had risen in William’s quest for knowledge. Why waste the golden opportunity of the animatronics he already had on hand? It was a good thing two of them seemed so prone to issues, even with attempts to fix them swiftly and efficiently. When Chica was retired to the repairs room one day, William took his chance; another young girl, Alana Ellwood by name and a gullible brat by nature. The promise of toys and sweets just for her and no one else was more than enough to seal her fate.

By this point he had begun bringing SpringBonnie back into circulation as a walking character, to make things easier. He always kept the necessary tools on hand to make the suit appear presentable, even after messes of blood and tears.

Getting the soul to possess the animatronic was the least of William’s worries. He wouldn’t let Chica back on stage until he was sure it would perform as normal, even with the added consciousness. If this was a success, he could give all of the animatronics a bit of life. Alana would be the first Norman would come face-to-face with, as William let him stay late to help with assimilating her to her new life.

“This is incredible, William,” Norman gushed as he watched all three children play together from afar. “To think, if Michael hadn’t--”

“Oh please, I can’t bear to hear you give him credit for any of this,” William glared at him as he spoke. Norman cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry… but how else would you have discovered such a thing?” William didn’t answer.

He knew Chica would have to get back on stage eventually, lest people begin to question her absence, so he wasted absolutely no time in his experiments with electricity. Enough voltage and an animatronic could be rendered to its initial state, soulless, while the ghost inside would be temporarily rendered incapacitated. It wasn’t foolproof, of course, as there was no telling how long this unconscious state would last, but it would do for now. Chica returned to the stage within three days.

“Rough going on repairs, William?” Henry asked when they put her back. He had been stiff toward him for the past couple of weeks. William couldn’t fathom why.

“Just trying something different. I think I’ll do the same with Foxy, since he’s been giving us trouble.”

“What’s Michael been thinking about doing after he graduates?”

“How should I know, he doesn’t want to speak to me. Not like helping out around here would interest him, anyhow… can you believe there was a time when he thought what I did was ‘cool?’” He never dwelled on those days, when it had been just him and his son.

“Maybe it’s not that he doesn’t want to speak to you, but that you aren’t listening.”

By the time William had turned to retort, Henry had disappeared. If you only knew the half of it, my friend.

There was no rhyme or reason to the children William chose, not really. All that was required was that they were willing to follow the yellow rabbit away from prying eyes and helping hands. Lonely children, of course, were easier to convince, but bullies and brats followed just as complacently. Promises of cake and candy and toys were the lures behind which a shining hook waited to bleed the mortal shell dry in order to make way for a new vessel. The best part was that none of them remembered a thing. They all believed William was a saint who loved them like his own children. Perhaps he loved them even more.

#another short chapter sorry #fnaf #fnaf au #fnaf fic #william afton #accursed heritage au

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Sunday 16 June 1833

8 35

1 5

Rainy morning - breakfast with Marian at 9 25 then with my aunt - my father went to church in a gleam - Marian at home - my aunt and I read the morning prayers (without the liturgy or a sermon) in 25 minutes and I soon after took my leave merely saying good morning - not contradicting the thought of my being back for a little while before winter - Cordingley nervous last night at my going and ditto this morning - off at 12 - had sent John to Halifax to take care of the bags and my place in the mail as far as the Stump cross Inn where I meant to relieve him - sauntered along my walk all looking very pretty - ¼ hour walking up and down near the Stump Cross Inn and off from there at 1 - at Bradford in 40 minutes - ¼ at Leeds - had left 1 gentleman at Bradford another got out at Leeds and only 1 of the 1st set removed joined by Mr Brown (Jennings and Brown linen drapers York) from Leeds to York a rich man of much importance in his way, as well as his friend a rich Manchester man - ¼ hour at Leeds - then by Whitby, a nice neat little country town, flat but nice country around it traversed by the Wharf - never saw it before and reached the Black Swan York at 5 ¾ - Thomas not there - potheration - met him in Blake street just coming for me - annoyed - but he excused himself so tolerably about mistake of hours that I hoped it would be the last time and said no more - no! Eugenie at home - had to send for and wait for ½ hour - annoyed again - begged it might happen no more and she looked pale and was so sorry I said hoped it would be the last time - dressed - changed everything and at the Henry Belcombe’s at 8 - had cold meat and tea - old Mrs Belcombe came and I returned with her at 9 to the minster court - had tea again - told Mrs. Milne of my unsuccessful inquiries of Mr. Holmes respecting a mercantile situation at Hamburg for her son Hamlyn and sat talking till after 11 - home at 11 – had sent note to Miss Crompton to propose breakfasting with them – answer on my return very glad to see me at 9 ¼ or 9 ½ - Henrietta at home but going away at noon tomorrow and the rest to follow the next day – talking of Manchester, Mr. Brown said some land in market street had been sold at 20 guineas a yard – but generally disposed of at a ground (ground) or chief rent – some as high as 7/6 a yard in market street – and some 2 miles from Manchester at 1/6 a yard – his house in York about 200 yards out of Micklegate bar (called the mount belonging to the merchant tailors’ company) cost him some years ago 3d. a yard – he had 600 yards for which paid a chief rent of £7.10. a year – could have as much more at the same price now, but he must pay down a hundred pounds premium besides the 3d. per yard which would make it 5d. per yard – rainy morning till near 10, and afterwards till near noon – then fair and very fine afternoon and evening – F61° at 12 ½ tonight on the toilette table in my bedroom at Mrs. Lyons’ Blake street – the Misses Morritt and Goodricke came about an hour before me and took up the house, so that, not choosing to be Dr. Belcombes’ (more at liberty here) took Eugénies room, sent her into Thomas’s and sent him to sleep out – bought the 2 vols. of Mrs. Ellwoods’ India with me, and read from p. 114. to 140 vol. 2 while dressing and undressing under Eugénies’ hands

[finalvortex]

So... that hero's journey thing?

Hi anon! Sorry about taking such a long time to answer this, but I wanted to put the time in to make sure this response had the care it needed. Warning that this gets a little heavy towards the end.

(Word Count: 1,033)

To start with, we should talk about what the Hero’s Journey actually is.

The Hero’s Journey

In 1949, Joseph Campbell, a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, published his first major work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This book was a study of comparative mythology which analyses the journey of the archetypal hero across various myths, folklore, and narratives.

I initially opened this with a big breakdown of all the steps in the Hero’s Journey and what they involved, but honestly, it was kind of nothing. If you want a proper examination of them, here’s a good youtube video on the topic.

Suffice to say that in creating the Hero’s Journey, Campbell was attempting to define a monomyth, a template of ideas and tropes that could be applied to narratives universally. Although the full Hero’s Journey gets a lot more specific, Campbell summarized the narrative he identified like this:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Campbell wasn’t the first or only person who attempted to come up with a monomyth, but it’s his version that has stuck in the popular consciousness. And yes, these ideas are pretty common! It’s a structure that scholars have applied to a wide range of stories, including Lord of the Rings, Moby Dick, Jane Eyre, Huckleberry Finn, The Wizard of Oz, and so on. George Lucas even used them as a reference point when writing the original Star Wars trilogy.

The Problem

You may already be starting to see where the issue is here, but in case “a study of comparative mythology published in the 1940s” wasn’t raising red flags for you, let me explain. First of all, the idea that any single narrative structure can be applied universally across the board to all stories is patently ridiculous. I could probably name a half dozen stories that don’t fit this structure off-hand: Cinderella, for example, where the heroine doesn’t return from the world of wonder. Or any work of modernist literature that focuses exclusively on the ordinary. American folklorist Barre Tolkien wrote:

“Campbell could construct a monomyth of the hero only by citing those stories that fit his preconceived mold, and leaving out equally valid stories… which did not fit the pattern".

Similarly, the anthropologist Raymond Scupin said that “Joseph Campbell's theories have not been well received in anthropology because of his overgeneralizations,” and the author Robert S. Ellwood described Campbell as having a “tendency to make myth mean whatever he wanted it to mean.” In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell is only able to make his monomyth work by picking and choosing stories that already fit the mold. His monomyth fails, because, well, monomyth as a concept is inherently flawed.

Now, that doesn’t mean that the Hero’s Journey can’t still be a useful literary tool. Campbell has still identified a range of common tropes and narrative tools that, while not universal, occur frequently in literature. The Hero’s Journey can be an excellent reference point for exploring common ideas across a wide range of narratives. But there’s another, more insidious problem.

It’s fucking racist.

Comparative mythology

Comparative mythology is the branch of anthropology that examines myths from different cultures looking for shared themes and ideas, and I basically detest it. Now, there are legitimate anthropological reasons to look things that different cultures share in common. Looking for similarities in various people’s myths and stories isn’t inherently bad – we can trace the history of certain tales to see how cultures may have influenced each other, and languages may have developed, for example. But the field of comparative mythology has some major issues, all of which are abundantly clear in Campbell’s writing.

Perhaps the worst of these problems is that comparative mythology doesn’t limit itself to just fables and fairytales. It also seeks to compare religions. In The Hero With A Thousand Faces, Campbell draws on the stories of figures like Krishna, Buddha and Jesus as examples of his monomyth. I hope I don’t need to explain to you the issues with treating the key figures of major world religions as basically interchangeable – it’s not only reductive but outright offensive.

More generally, treating myths as universal takes away from the importance of their historical and cultural context. A field like this shouldn’t just be looking at the similarities between cultures, but the differences – instead of celebrating and championing diversity, treating every story as the same stifles and quashes it. Campbell has, at different times, been accused of racism, antisemitism, and fascism. Professor of Sanskrit Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson once said of him,

“When I met Campbell at a public gathering, he was quoting Sanskrit verses. He had no clue as to what he was talking about; he had the most superficial knowledge of India but he could use it for his own aggrandizement. I remember thinking: this man is corrupt. I know that he was simply lying about his understanding.”

None of these chargers ever really stuck, however, so I can’t say for certain that Campbell actually was racist – at least, it may have been a lack of care on his part rather than outright malice. Regardless, by taking a wide variety of myths and boiling them down to a single idea, by generalizing everything to force it to fit into a single narrative, Campbell erases and overlooks the important sociohistorical context of stories, treating the cultures they came from with little respect.

There’s more I could say on this – I could talk about how Jungian psychology influenced Campbell, for instance, and how that still has an effect on literary criticism even today, despite the fact that Jung’s theories have largely been discredited. But I think I’ve said enough. Campbell’s work, and its importance and influence on the history of literary criticism, can’t be understated, and the Hero’s Journey can provide a useful tool for literary analysis, but when people try to shoehorn every story into following this structure, it does more harm than good.

#hero's journey #narrative

[telltaleclerk]

Tell me the fandom deets on Macgyver, pretty please?

the first character i ever fell in love with: Jack Dalton - 100% - From the moment I first met him I was like: sassy ex Delta Force who loves everyone too much? MINE!

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Unpopular answer: Mac honestly. I love Mac. I love him a lot. I understand that he’s been through some shit. But some of his motivations in the last few seasons (fair warning: I’m not totally caught up on the show - this is one of the main reasons why I stopped watching) haven’t made a lot of sense to me. And the stuff with Nasha really made me mad... And I think if they would have given us the voice overs in S3 we would have been able to see more of his motivation and gotten into his head why he was doing/saying some of the things he was doing it would have helped. And from what I’ve seen... I don’t like who he is in a relationship with Desi (I don’t hate MacDesi, but I hate what they’ve done with it in the show from what I’ve seen)... so I just... I don’t know I feel like he’s not the same character from S1-2... and that’s my Mac honestly.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: I actually think I still love all of my ships from this show... there’s no ship that I don’t like anymore... Huh. But I don’t tend to give up on ships... I don’t know if I’ve ever changed my opinion drastically on a ship in a fandom like that ever.

my ultimate favourite character™: Jack Dalton again... I love him too much. He’s got the greatest lines... he’s charming and witty and loves all of his little found family so much it hurts.

prettiest character: I honestly have to say I think this is a tie between Riley and Mac. I have a bigger crush on Riley... but GAH they’re both so pretty. Like... ridiculously pretty.

my most hated character: James. He’s the worst. I even wrote an entire fic on the premise of Jack getting to punch him in the face. There was some other plot... but I honestly engineered the whole plot and everything around Jack getting to punch James in the face at the end. Worth it.

my OTP: MacDalton - I’m on this ship until it hits an iceberg and sinks. I love them so much. You go kaboom, I go kaboom?! Epic ship material. Coming back for another FUCKING TOUR IN AFGHANISTAN FOR MAC?! Epic ship material.

my NOTP: MacDesi (SORRY! This is not invalidating this ship for ANYONE ELSE - this is a personal opinion and I support you shipping them 100%) - again, fair warning that I’m not caught up on the series... but from everything I’ve seen... Desi is a very abusive SO. I think they had potential, but I really don’t like what they’ve done with it on the show. As for shipping outside of canon... I personally never saw the romantic connection based on their interactions before they got together. Very-Desi centric... the pink dress scene drove me crazy because I didn’t like the idea of Desi trying to win Mac over by doing something like that. Up to that point Desi struck me as the kind of woman to be herself and just wait for a man to make a move on her, or to just be bold and make a move on him. But strutting around in a revealing little dress and playing mating games - I was sad they took her character to that place... so I never really shipped them.

favourite episode: Mac + Jack (S2E12) - as a MacDalton shipped I love this for obvious reasons... but there’s just so much in this episode... I loved seeing Jack and Mac in the army... the way they first met and totally hated each other at first... fantastic. This episode also has my favourite line of all time... when Mac’s trying to defuse the bomb under the hummer... and Jack’s bothering him... Mac: Well, you know what, there is a quicker way to do this. Jack: Really? Mac: Yeah, it involves a loud boom and a bunch of shrapnel in your body. Close second place: Skull + Electromagnet (S2E5) - Harper Hayes is so awesome and badass. I love her a lot.

saddest death: Jill Morgan. I loved her so much. I remember sitting down to watch the S3 premiere and saying: As long as they don’t kill Jill, they really can’t let me down...

favourite season: 2 - I loved Cage. I loved all the dynamics. My favourite episodes are in this season. It’s solid from start to finish. I love this whole season.

least favourite season: I will say 3... because I didn’t watch enough of S4 to name it. But S3 really let me down. I hated the way things just faded away with Nasha. I wish they’d had a better end to that. I hated that we lost the voice overs, especially because some of the stuff Mac was doing and saying was obviously because he was messed up over what happened with Jill and Murdoc and all that, and if we’d had voice overs we could have understood what he was feeling. The same way we did in S1 when all the stuff with Nikki was going on. Jack left. Gross. And he left Mac behind with just that handshake. Before Jack left I hated the way he was treated - they made him into the comedic relief buffoon... and there were several episodes where Mac was making Jack the butt of jokes. Desi showed up and it was pretty obvious when she came on the scene that they were introducing her as a new love interest for Mac. I have 0 tolerance for female characters being introduced solely as a love interest - cause: gross. I hated the Riley/Billy breakup. I hated that they killed Jill.  I hated that Charlie died the way he did, and then that night when they got together for beers Mac was smiling and hitting on Desi And let’s not forget that DESI got a phone call from Jack when Charlie died... but Mac didn’t. WHY?! You really think Jack would find out that Charlie died the way he did and not immediately call his boy!? Bullshit Sorry for the rant... but there were a lot of things in this season I didn’t care for.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I guess Desi... though I wouldn’t say everyone else loves her. I just... there was so much potential with Desi as a character. Strong asian-American woman who’s the badass strong arm of their team... and they made her a love interest and made her kind of an abusive SO... and I just didn’t care for that. I think her and Mac as characters were both treated badly as a result. In conclusion: I really wanted to like her... I even have a huge crush on her... but I still just... don’t.

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: I guess Murdoc?... Cause I love Murdoc a lot. And I was sad that they ruined the dynamic between him and Mac when he killed Jill. Killing Jill made it so their dynamic can never be the same. Mac didn’t like Murdoc before, but now he hates him on a personal level and will never forgive him.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Riley - she deserved for Ellwood to stick around. She deserved for Jack to stick around. She deserved for Billy to STICK AROUND. And she deserves to have Mac treat her his found sister and not try to get into her pants the way he seems to every other woman he’s EVER around. (AGAIN: I am not in any way saying MacRiley isn’t a valid ship. I can see the potential - ship to your heart’s content). All this talk of love triangles upsets me... I think they’ve waited too long to pull the trigger on MacRiley... because they’ve always very much had sibling vibes to me.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: I had originally written that I didn’t have one, but I TOTALLY DO!!! Jack/Harper Hayes!!! I have this series of fics where she’s basically his Murdoc and is totally stalking him and stuff... and I just... everything I’ve written around their sexual tension is very non-con... but I love them a lot and I DON’T KNOW WHY.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Mac/Jill - I kinda love them. I love the idea of them being nerds together. I think they would be adorable. Jill is into the spy life but not a field agent so there wouldn’t be as much stress for Mac about losing his girl to the life... etc... So I love them. I think they could have been happy together. And seeing Mac have a happy little home with someone he can still talk about spy stuff with I think would have been great. And yet as much as I love them I just still sit back and dream about it, but I haven’t written much for them. Thank you for the ASK!!! I love doing these!

#macgyver #macdalton #jack dalton #angus macgyver #desi nguyen #riley davis

[olivedoesmagic]

Aaahhhhh so could I also use shifting to shift myself to people in other realities identical to ours who would know more about such things like the specific rituals I'd need to do to set up the cycle? I don't want to bother you too much with my shenanigans so I'd probably like do that. I can't really ask anyone else in this reality for shifting help.

I mean look like shifting shouldn’t be the solution to everything friend. You don’t need to shift to look for these answers. The fact of the matter is is that it’s advanced magick and if you don’t know how to do it you just- don’t know how to do it. Attempting to learn about it would just require a higher skillset in magick in general I’m afraid. It’d be semi redundent to shift just to find people who know how to teach you about it.

 I mean you could do that, but I think it’d be a tad bit redundent. I’m really sorry about this answer. I’m not trying to crush you or your shifting dreams but like when it comes down to it some stuff is just advanced you know?

I think it is best described in Taylor Ellwoods “Space Time Magick” which I own but seems is no longer available. Taylor Ellwood is a great source for popculture magick and general shenanigans btw. In the book he talks about how his friend did a ritual to change a key event of his past. But no where in the book does it state how to recreate the ritual to change your past which is why I picked up the book. The ritual inherently changed his friend because he messed with his history and everything that made his friend his friend. Thus changing his friend as a person.

Sometimes magick is just so advanced that it requires a proper skillset. Like rituals to change your past or change your future. Like what Ellwood describes in his book. When it comes to setting up reincarnation cycles I’d be careful and I’d show caution but most importantly I’d hone my craft because if you are not very very careful you may not like where you end up. I’d also in general advise against this. I don’t know your proper motivation for wanting to reincarnate in alternate realities but your home is here and your here whether by chance or reason so I suggest you stay.

-Olive Brimstone

[spineless-lobster]

2023 character wrap!

Share your top 9 characters of this year!

(Thanks for the tag @sonnet-of-anarchy!!!)

1. The Captain (BBC Ghosts)

Uhm… quite obviously

2. Lieutenant Havers (BBC Ghosts)

Also quite obviously… look the new series gave me a massive capvers kick lmao

3 + 4. Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood (In Memoriam by Alice Winn)

My top four are gay people who both served in the world wars I think this is saying something about me

(This book changed me forever omg if you love capvers or honestly anything captain related you’ll love this book okay sorry I’m spreading propaganda)

5 + 6. Achilles and Patroclus (The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller)

More war gays. I finished this book like a few weeks ago but it tore me in half thus they are ranking higher than they should be lmao

7. Sir Humphrey Bone (BBC Ghosts)

My darling my love my boy my son my heart my shining light in this world

8. Edward Teach (Our Flag Means Death)

MY BABYGIRL MY GIRLFRIEND MY POOKIE MY GENDER MY ONE AND ONLY

9. Julian Alfred “Jaskier” Pankratz (The Witcher)

CANON BI LETS GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Joey Batey’s portrayal is the only reason why I kept watching this trainwreck of a show lmao

I’ll tag @at-1800-hours @atleasttheyvegotstars @heftmanrhamm @louisthiccsexyglitteryass @pencil-case-watches @gaslightgatekeepmeepboss @limbowzo and anyone else who wants to join (no pressure ofc, sorry if you’ve been tagged before lol)

#tag game #bbc ghosts #in memoriam alice winn #the song of achilles #our flag means death #the witcher netflix

[marywardvvell]

Sorry I’m lost, is SW a ship? Who’s that?

S*ellwood

#answer #anonymous

[asmolboy]

Here are reviews of books but just my most common thought related to them:

Bitter sun by Beth Lewis: ah shit here we go again 5/5

The house on the lake by Nuala Ellwood: fuck you Lisa 2/5

Liar Liar by Lisa Jackson: I love these cats WITH MY LIFE 3/5

The taking of Annie Thorne by C. J Tudor: who the fuck comes up with these insults??? 5/5

An unwanted guest by Shari Lapena: CAN SOMEONE JUST DROP DEAD ALREADY??? 1/5

Percy Jackson Titan's curse by Rick Riordan: ah shit 4/5

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell: Betsy no please HAVE MERCY 5/5

In love and war by Lesley Lokko: I'm sorry what is this format?

The woman in the window by A. J Finn: Anna that sounds gay

#reading #reviews #dumb thoughts

[othermagic]

hello! i love your blog & i was wondering if you have any tips/resources for someone interested in magic but at a loss for where to start? ty!!

Sorry this took a bit to get to, I haven’t been on my computer lately and it’s harder to compile resources and answer asks on mobile. Starting out with a magical practice can honestly be as simple as finding something you like or find interesting, and learning as much as you can about it and putting the skills and ideas to practical use. However, it’s good to have a foundation, because that way you’ll have something to build off of rather than having to work backwards from more involved things.

Not everyone works with or sees magic as operating the same way, so I’d look into theory and practical skills first. Some of the most common (secular) ideas on how magic works are subtle energy, psychology, and a combination of the two. Some people will also focus on magic being something that comes from gods and spirits, and that by petitioning and working with them you can gain access to their power. I’d suggest taking a look at all of them and learning basic skills from each (such as learning how to feel and sense energy, visualization, neurolinguistic programming, invocation, evocation, meditation, etc.) to get a feel for what skills work well for you and which ones don’t sit right.

If you can get your hands on physical books, it could be worth checking out “Hands-On Chaos Magic” by Andrieh Vitimus, “Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters” by Mya Om, “Inner Alchemy” by Taylor Ellwood, “The Inner Temple of Witchcraft” by Christopher Penczak, “The Witch’s Book of Power” by Devin Hunter, and “The Psychic Vampire Codex” by Michelle Belanger. Unfortunately most of my recommendations are heavier on the energy model of magic, but they all take pretty different approaches from various traditions and ideas of magic so they’ll still give you a lot of different ideas.

A good skill to learn when building a practice is discernment and being able to sort the wheat from the chaff when looking into different resources. It takes time and practice to figure out what is useful, what is total bunk, what doesn’t work well for you, and what looks like BS but can be tweaked to be useful. Having other additional resources to help fact-check things against each other is important, because it’s easy to get swept up in something that’s just plain crazy when you’re first starting out.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but the way a lot of people tend to share their practice on Tumblr is very aesthetic, flashy, and presented in a way where you see the end result of a lot of behind-the-scenes work (particularly in reference to spirit communication). Don’t fall for it. The way you do magic will be unique to you, especially if you’re doing reconstructionist stuff like we focus on with the blog, so sometimes all you’ll get out of a resource is “well shit, that won’t work at all” so you move onto the next thing. Magic is about results and change, so if your method isn’t working or feels wrong, address what you need to do to make it better. 

Be realistic and honest with yourself, if the only reason you want a ritual blade and bones is because people on here make it seem necessary, don’t get ‘em. It doesn’t matter what tools people do and don’t say you need, unless you feel that you would work better with them. I have a wand and a scepter simply because sometimes I just need them, I worked for years without both because I thought I was just falling into a trend, but it turns out just because I don’t use them with every spell doesn’t mean I don’t need them at all.

In conclusion: the biggest tips I have are research, fact-check, test stuff out (but be careful, of course!), and keep tabs on what works and what doesn’t, and ignore the popular presentation and pressure to have your practice look a certain way. If you fit it, or it feels right, that’s one thing, but be honest about it. Don’t be too hard on yourself, either, too much doubt and fear can mess you up in some not-fun ways, so it’s important to learn to listen to yourself and your instincts and sometimes just have fun with things to see where it takes you.

If you need any more help or recommendations or clarifications, feel free to drop another ask~

Cloud

#asks #Anonymous

[spiritscraft]

How would you suggest I find a mentor? I want to be trained as a traditional witch, and I know there's a lot for me to do by myself, but I still would like a teacher, or at least another witch nearby to do rituals with. How were you trained? Sorry for the quantity of questions.

My training is like a collage! My family taught me basic new age magic. As a teen I had some pretty intense spiritual experiences that changed me. I took some university courses in Celtic studies and my teacher’s were a witch and a Druid and one of my classmates was in a coven. I explored other religions for a few years. When I came back to fairy faith and the craft, witch friends from roleplaying clubs I was in encouraged me to find a coven again and I looked in a pagan newsletter and found a Celtic coven and joined in it. I had started blogging and met more teachers though blogging and so I took some online classes, and more in person groups like Taylor Ellwood’s Magical Experiments group. My first major teacher Jack Darkhand who I had met at first online died in 2009 and so I was on the lookout for serious mentorship again. I had a bad experience where a woman pretended to be a linaeged Feri witch, but she was defrauding me and after about a year she was revealed as a fake by the Feri community. Always check that kind of claim!So I was looking for a teacher again and Ioqayin hit me up and told me about an online program, Heritage Witchcraft and I joined it. I learned so much my practice and skill had continued to grow through all my spiritual experiences. Grayson really connected me back to my ongoing familiar spirit experiences since my teens and taught me a ton of history.I hosted a couple classes from RJ Stewart in my town and was learning from him in weekend courses. That meant I found a group of people willing to pay for him to come to our area and teach us fairy faith practices.In the meantime I had figured out talking with other Feri students online which Feri teacher I wanted to have and actively pursued meeting Cornelia and it took a long time because she was very secluded out in the country. While I was working on getting her student to introduce me, I worked on a research project on something I knew she was interested in to impress her. The student of her’s who was vetting me decided he didn’t want to be Feri and wanted to be 1734 instead, so he had me over to talk about trust. So when I finally convinced her former student to bring me to her, I was so ready to ask her to teach me and we clicked right away and she needed a student since he was quitting. I have been training with Cornelia for three years and we made a book about Victor Anderson that included the research project I had done prior to meeting her. I am currently focused on the coven I am in with Ioqayin, VisardistofElphame and my Satyr and my Feri training with Cornelia. So as you can see, I have had like every kind of teacher and met them all kinds of ways. So I suggest going to pagan and witchy events in your area if there are any and looking for locals online. Write emails and letters to authors you like. Join Facebook groups for local witches. Go to meet ups. You can do it!

[angrygingerandfriends]

⚰️ (Joel)

Silence.

Horrible, deafening silence.

His blood felt like ice in his veins, and his mind was full of static.

It wasn’t true.  They were lying.  Those fucking bastards were lying.  She couldn’t be gone.  Not Juliette.  Never Juliette.  She knew how much this would break him.  She would never hurt him like that.  Not after she saw what Faith had done to him.  She wouldn’t.  Juliette wasn’t cruel.

So then why did he feel as though someone had stolen the air from his lungs?  Why were their families here together in this hospital, tears pouring down each of their faces unhindered, a crushing sense of grief suffocating each of them?  Why were Hope and August clinging to each other, sobbing violently into each others’ shoulders?  Why was he walking into her room at the ICU escorted by pained looking doctors?

Why was she so pale and still?He stood at the foot of her bed, staring down at her motionless form, desperately searching for the slightest movement of her chest, the tiniest flutter of her eyelids, the most minuscule hint that they were wrong.  But none came.  Unable to say a word, he crossed silently over to the side of her bed and wrapped her tiny hand in his.  It was so cold.

“Julie,” he whispered, squeezing her hand.  “Julie, wake up.”  Silence.  He saw the doctor and nurse look sadly at each other from the corner of his eye.  The nurse approached him and put a hand on his shoulder, clearly trying to hold back tears.

“Mr Ellwood, I’m sorry,” she said in a trembling voice.  “But she’s gone.”  Joel jerked out of her grasp, throwing her hand off of him without looking away from his wife.

“Julie, love,” he said louder, his voice cracking.  “Open your eyes.  They think you’re dead, show them they’re wrong.”  Still, silence.  He squeezed her hand harder, while the nurse and doctor looked on helplessly.

“Sir-”

“Juliette,” he was pleading now.  “Wake up!  You’re alive, wake up! Stop it!” 

“Mr Ellwood, please!”  The doctor put his hands on Joel’s shoulders, trying to coax him to his feet.  Joel pushed him away and clutched Juliette’s lifeless form.

“Get off of me!” he snarled, tears beginning to run down his cheeks, before turning back to her body.

“Help me!” the doctor commanded the nurse, and together they tried to pry him away from the bed, doing their best to calm him, insisting there was nothing that could be done .  He fought against their every effort, swinging his fists and kicking, until the frightened looking nurse called for security.

“Juliette!” he shouted, refusing to let her go.  “Please, you can’t do this to me!  Please, Julie, I’m begging you!  Just open your eyes!  You can’t leave me like this!  You can’t do this to me!  You can’t do this to our kids!  Juliette!”

Two strong sets of arms hooked around him and pried her as gently as they could from his grip, pulling him from the room as he continued to scream, cursing them out and making threats.

His mother leapt to her feet as they reentered the waiting room, and, tears pouring down her own freckled cheeks, joined the throng of medical staff trying to console him while his kids looked on with terrified and grief stricken expressions.  The security officer held him in a chair where he fought with every ounce of strength he had to get back to Juliette’s side, desperately convinced that she would wake again if only he could get her to hear him.  

Then, there was a sharp prick in his shoulder.  He swung his arm, a guttural noise of rage escaping him.  Within seconds, his body began to feel heavy, and his head swam.  Suddenly, all of his rage was gone, leaving behind only the suffocating grief.  Exhausted, he finally stopped fighting and allowed his mother to hug him, where he collapsed into her arms and sobbed brokenly into her chest much like he had when he was a boy.  She stroked his hair and cried with him, gently rocking him back to forth until he had nothing left to give and let the darkness consume him.———

He came to later that night in a spare bed, advised that the families had gone home, and his children were safe in the care of his mother.  He, too, should go home and try to get some rest, and do what he needed to in order to process his grief before dealing with everything that needed to come next.  He couldn’t speak as he simply nodded and left after a final evaluation by the doctor.  It was as if there was nothing left of him. As if she had taken everything in him when she went. He was staring blankly out his windshield while parked at a stoplight, looking past the rain that fell heavily against his windshield, the steady sound of the wipers moving across the glass fading into the background.  He was lost in his own head, still trying to understand why.  Why had this happened?  Why to Juliette?  What had they done wrong?  The crushing weight of the grief on his chest threatened to swallow him hole, and he clenched his fists around the steering wheel, breathing heavily.

The cars flew past in a blur of light, sending great tides of water everywhere as they sped through the intersection.  He rested his head against the steering wheel.

The loud sound of a transport passed by.

A loud, anguished cry ripped through his throat, and he slammed his foot into the gas pedal.

And the rain continued to fall.

#'ᵛᵉ ᵇᵉᵉᶰ ˢᶦᵗᵗᶦᶰ' ʷᵃᵗᶜʰᶦᶰᵍ ᶫᶦᶠᵉ ᵖᵃˢˢ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᶦᵈᵉᶫᶦᶰᵉˢ (Joel) #ᴵ ᵖʳᵒᵐᶦˢᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰᵉ ᵗʳᵘᵗʰ ᶜᵃᶰ'ᵗ ʰᵘʳᵗ ᵘˢ ᶰᵒʷ (joeliette angst) #death cw #implication of suicide #did he die? who knows #grief cw #ᵒᶰᵉ ᵐᵃᶰ'ˢ ᵗʳᵃˢʰ (inbox memes)