#actualmermaid

[sallysavestheday]

Masterlist (2023 Update)

My own work (all Tolkien):

The Flower and the Fountain (series: Glorfindel/Ecthelion, across two lives)

The Importance of Peer Review (series: crack academia featuring Finrod Felagund, Arda’s least ethical -- but most stylish -- anthropologist)

Beloved, Forsaken, Redeemed (series: Celegorm/Oromë)

Silmarillion Works of Many Flavors: Angst, Humor, Fluff, Worldbuilding, wide variety of characters, ficlets, Gen to T

Lord of the Rings Grab Bag: Angst, Fluff, Humor, Worldbuilding, all the usual suspects and some extra Celeborn, ficlets, Gen to T

Selected Tolkien fandom favorites from other people’s wonderful writing (updated periodically). Mind the tags!

To Build a House from the Ground Up by @actualmermaid

a gentle conspiracy by @marvelruinedmyspirit

The Undying by Angela

A Web of Stars by @idrilsscribe

numberless the ways, and imperceptible by @elljayvee

The Splintered Light (series) by @thearrogantemu

yanasenesse/brief sanctuary by @curuwen

The Diver by @clothonono

Shall These Bones Live by @undercat-overdog

the fire’s toll by @arrivisting

The Right Tree by @roselightfairy and TAFKAB

easily sever what never was one by vauquelin (elftrash)

words for the lost, the captive beautiful, the wives, those less fortunate than we (series) by @dialux and rainforezt

A reason to live (a reason it is not permissible to die) by chestnut_pod

even so my sun one morn did shine by @welcomingdisaster

The Valiant by whyyesindeed

Anekdota (a secret history of Ereinion Gil-galad) by dorkangel

The Filth of Saruman by @tathrin

Grief in All Her Guises by @eilinelsghost

seven years of holidays by @jouissants

#my fic #fic recs #tolkien fanfiction

[isabellehemlock]

Hi everyone,

In honor of my TOG fic “Their souls were knit together (and he loved him as himself)” reaching 10k (thank you readers!!) I wanted to compile my (80+) resource links I used during the plotting stage and throughout the fic - divided by category as best as I could manage.

In case you’d like additional resources, please check out @actualmermaid historical resource upload here, and/or the The Old Guard Character Resource Hub.  Here’s a list of books as well:

Genoa & the Genoese 958-1528 ( x )

The Crusade Indulgence: Spiritual Rewards and the Theology of the Crusades, c. 1095-1216 ( x ) - a post with excerpts linked below

Housing the Stranger in the Mediterranean World: Lodging, Trade, and Travel in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages ( x ) 

The rest under the cut in case you’d like to avoid potential spoilers (nothing descriptive) 

For Genoa

San Siro ( x )

San Lorenzo ( x ) & St. John the Baptist ( x )

The Mahdia Campaign of 1087 ( x )

Nicolò as a Genovese crossbowman ( x ) ( x )

For Mahdia

Yusuf’s potential backstory with Mahdia ( x ) ( x ) and the Zirid dynasty ( x ) 

And his family’s intergenerational trauma in relation to the Battle of Haydaran in 1052 ( x )

For the Crusades

Some other ways a non noble Nicolò might have found himself in the Crusades ( x ) ( x ) ( x )

General timeline of the first crusade ( x ) 

The Siege of Antioch ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) 

The Siege of Jerusalem ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) 

Visual maps of the city of Jerusalem and surrounding area ( x ) and general climate ( x )

For Constantinople

Daily life in the city ( x ) ( x ) ( x )

Procession of the Theotokos icon ( x ) 

Maps of the city from that time ( x ) ( x ) 

Their apartment and general housing ( x ) 

Little Hagia Sophia ( x )

Church of Sts Sergius and Bacchus ( x ) - and why that would have been meaningful to Nicolò ( x ) as the setting for their Adelphopoiesis ( x ) & here are the Byzantine instructions for it ( x ) 

For Islamic spiritual practices

Barzakh ( x ) & Jinn ( x ) (both referred to in a blink and you’d miss it sort of way)

Qur’an scroll ( x ) - technically a 19th century copy, but was using it as a visual reference

Islamic calendar for that year ( x ) & the significance of Yusuf’s first death of rajab ( x ) 

The verse Yusuf reflects on when he internally refers to Nicolò as his dearest ( x ) 

The verse Nicolò inscribed on Yusuf’s wedding present ( x ) 

For Catholic spiritual practices

Lay Orders (what used to be called Third Order) for Nicolò to be an oblate ( x )

Eleusa icon (a gift he received from Brother Gabriel) ( x ) - here’s a 12th century version ( x )

The cross necklace gift Nicolò received before leaving Genoa ( x ) 

Excerpts from the book linked above about how indulgences played a part in the Crusades ( x )

Lenten practices in the middle ages ( x ) 

Some Bible verses Nicolò reflects on during his love confession ( x ) ( x ) 

For some interfaith dialogue moments

The Canticle of Zechariah in the Liturgy of Hours ( x ) & Verse 95 for corresponding references to the dawn ( x )

Why Zechariah is important in both faiths ( x ) 

Encouragement for open dialogue and friendliness ( x ) the rights of Non-Muslims as laid out in the Constitution of Medina ( x ) and protection via the Testament of Muhammed ( x ) though there are some doubts to the authenticity 

Lent & Ramadan similarities ( x ) ( x ) 

Interfaith marriage rights between Christians and Muslims from Muhammed ( x ) 

For some other historical context 

Context for same sex attraction in the middle ages ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x )

Some LGTB+ historical figures and Saints Nicolò might have been aware of ( x ) ( x )

Brother Gabriel from chapter two was based on Marina the Monk ( x ) 

Wiki about illiterate popes ( x )

11th-12th century trade maps ( x ) 

Tunisian Arabic ( x ) 

The Great Schism of 1054 ( x ) 

The Seljuk Empire ( x ) 

The Byzantine-Venetian treaty of 1082 ( x )

A poem by Abu Nawas that Yusuf reflects on before the love confession ( x ) 

For the Biblical references and significance to Nicolò of Gortyn/Crete ( x ) and some visual references ( x )

Why Chandax as a honeymoon site would have been comfortable for them both ( x ) & ruled by the Byzantine Empire at the time of their visit ( x ) 

The book Yusuf gave to Nicolò as a wedding present ( x ) & some context ( x )

#thank you readers! #their souls were knit together fic #tog fic #tog #the old guard #the old guard fic #tog resource #the old guard resource #immortal husbands #joe x nicky #yusuf x nicolo #tog joe #tog nicky #yusuf al kaysani #nicolò di genova #for queue

[the-library-alcove]

Hey! What do you think of this post from ActualMermaid? There are mainly Christians reblogging it and there are no Jewish people speaking on it. I am not surprised as she seems to be a White Christian speaking over marginalized people to prove that a person in her worship isn't antisemetic.

Also, I wanna add something here.

"It wasn't in the Bible" doesn't excuse the fact that centuries, especially before white christian america was formed, that early Christian Leaders executed gay men, took the rights away from Jewish people, made women inferior to men (Paul, looking at you).

"The Bible said it was fake Jews, not real Jews". Okay okay. Who would FAKE being Jewish at the time? And did we forget about the Khazar myth?

"It was talking about pedophilia". Okay, so Mary wasn't impregnated by a billion year old God or Angel, and just had the baby on her own. Not to mention Joseph was a young adult when they married, and the "Carpenter Jesus" story is fallable.

Don't forget what Theo, Justinian I, Justinian, Valentinian, and Constantantes did. The 1946 translation theory is bullshit when even in Colonial America LGBTQ people were being harmed from a Bible scripture.

Even then if it didn't say it, Christian LGBTQ people, especialy white ones like to speak over Jewish people and deny history. You are still privledged if you are LGBTQ and not of a marginalized group and it was "never in the Bible".

The word "Gentile" appears so many times in the New Testament, which most Christians follow, which explicitly says "Jesus went to preach to the Gentiles", which mainly were...you guessed it. Roman. And Romans and Jewish people at the time were NOT friends. Jesus is explicitly said to leave the Jewish people because they rejected him. "But the Romans executed him!!!!!!!!", So? They later adopted his faith, and many writers of the Bible were Roman, there's even a book in the Bible that says "ROMANS", how can people be so fucking dumb and gullible. Now, I would like your take on the Jesus being executed by Romans thing and why they did it, because that's my take.

I just saw @didyoumeanxianity's own takedown of that antisemitic post by a self-admitted non-expert in history speaking over Jews, and I have a headcold that is kicking my ass, so I'll just link to their post, and cosign their conclusions:

[comradevo]

Rules: Tag people you would like to know/catch up with.

Tagged by @le-veilleur

Last Song(s): Lanterns Lit by Son Lux ;____; every time I listen to this song I need to go lie down. 

Last Movie: The Northman, by Robert Eggers, ft. Alexander Skarsgård. it was really, really good! and weird. really fucking weird. 

Currently Reading: I wish I were fucking reading. supposedly I’m still reading Dune.

tagging: @actualmermaid @clannfearrunt

#🎶🎶 I'LL KEEP MY LANTERNS LIT 🎶🎶 #tag game

[vardasvapors]

🌻

Probably my least favorite thing about Silm Discourse is the fact that there seems to be very few people on the side of ‘consider: bitter silm-era enemies, by the end of the 3rd age, have become awkward vaguely disoriented and unfazable uncles like Barbossa from Pirates of the Carribean — there is no better character arc for any random Noldo than going from “Glowing-eyed paradise-fed Valkirie weaponsmith murdering their way out of Aman while calling themself a destined savior of the pitiful nocturnal savages in Cuivienen” to “grumpy ex-refugee gardener who hates commotion picking apples in Rivendell while shooing 7-year-old Aragorn out of the orchard trees.” I have yet to encounter a full fandom contingent with a satisfactory appreciation of immortality!

#this hypothetical elf is my fav tolkien character #actualmermaid #vaporous answers #the silmarillion #lord of the rings #immortality and mortality #meta etc

[cupcakesandtv]

Since we share a fandom for the first time ever, Joe/Nicky. #3, because lol

3) Who is more into taking showers/baths together? Who tries to make it relaxing and who tries to make it sexy time? AMANDA I LITERALLY SAW THIS AND WAS LIKE OH NO SOMEONE IS GOING TO ASK THIS ONE I JUST KNOW IT. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN IT WOULD BE YOU!!!!!

LISTEN OKAY they’re immortal and they definitely long for the days of the huge baths in bath houses and all the SPACE that affords people for doing what they will!!!!! Nicky is always suggesting moving things to a sexier level and Joe is game but listen one time he DID slip and it hurt so he’s cautious!!!!! But INTERESTED!!!! 

Send a ship to my ask box and some numbers! 

#amanda asking me a shower sex one just to irk me wow this is truly friendship we truly do share a fandom now #the old guard #joe x nicky #ask game #actualmermaid #shower sex psa #pardon me for not being SUPER into their voices yet it's still new

[valarhalla]

actualmermaid replied to your post: actualmermaid replied to your post : ...

I almost never trust the amounts on written recipes, unless it’s for something baked. Chicken, potatoes, lentils, starches always need more seasoning than called for, so use the recipe as a guide and then adjust until it tastes nice to you

Ah ok. I figured with Indian food you should trust the quantities, but maybe not...?

This was the recipe, I can taste the salt and the amchoor, but nothing else seems to have contributed any flavour. Maybe the oil wasn’t hot enough, though it seemed pretty hot?

#actualmermaid

[l33tsaber]

actualmermaid replied to your post “There’s a part of my brain that’s almost tempted to want to give up on...”

Sports bra?

I’ve been trying and still haven’t found The One™.  Freya Sonic wasn’t it (underwire owwie); I had high hopes for the Panache Wirefree but my underarms have been so tender from the Sinus Infection (?) That Keeps Giving that I can’t handle the way the sides cut into my underarm tissue.  I’ve been kind of surviving with my Parfait Dalis bralette but I have to take it off as soon as I get home.  I can’t quite articulate why it starts to bug me after a few hours, but I think it has something to do with the way the band sits.

Which I suppose is a big part of the dilemma- a wider band is (allegedly) better for back problems, but it also digs more readily into that little bastard bit of breast tissue that extends up into the armpit or rubs on the ribs in a way that trips my sensory issues.

just... bras.

why are bras.

make them stop.

#actualmermaid #having a unicorn size (30 ff/g-ish?) doesn't help either

[gurthang]

actualmermaid replied to your post “raisingcain-onceagain replied to your post “quiet hot take maedhros...”

Maedhros/Azaghal is a rare and intriguing pairing

OH YOU’RE CORRECT

I forgot about this but yes Maedhros/Azaghal: good. Good!

#actualmermaid #for me this falls under the maedhros/powerfigures Umbrella but i'd Forgotten about this one #this one is Nice and Nonfucky #in this house we love TEAMWORK #and LEADERSHIP #also we love azaghal getting to know maedhros and wondering if all elves are this fucked up

[nelyafinwe]

I’m also slightly alcoholized. What are you drinking, I have a can of rosé because I’m a late-20s white woman

im drinking goddamn heineken bc its the cheapest around here but i did have a traded la chouffe earlier for a some cereal so i guess the step down is entirely my fault

#actualmermaid

[isabellehemlock]

10 Songs / 10 People Tag Game

Thank you to the kind @boutiquetraveltravelboutique for tagging me 🤗

Let's see, I'll tag (though no pressure implied of course) @mostlyimmortal @beepbeepsan @energievie @pollyatsea @shatterthefragments @chinchillinator @werebearbearbar @nicolos @nerdysuperchick @actualmermaid

As for songs, hm, let me share a collage of the full trip my brain can make in one week:

Both Cups/Freedom Mash Up and Radio Ga Ga cut off when I attempted to screenshot whoops 🫠

#music tag game #thanks sarah!

[bookofmormonmemes]

Tumblr can be so negative about religion and it’s amazing to find a blog that’s uplifting about spirituality!! Your followers are always so civil and positive and your posts are incredibly wholesome!

thank you so much!! i love my followers so much too, theyre amazingggg

except for right now when they’re saying stuff like this

@wiserosenpanther is halfway valid though that arrangement is awesome and it’s hard to go back after. but the only one who really knows how it be is @pagesofkenna

#led #ask #anonymous #pagesofkenna #wiserosenpanther #actualmermaid #i feel like a nerd getting shoved in a locker over this hymn #I LOVE YOU ALL REGARDLESS #[in baby tears] i wike this tune #its okay though im a big boy i can take the disagreements #[loud sniffling] i CAN TAKE IT #i thought there would be more discourse over which hymns are better not just focusing on this one melody fsdkfjghf

[comradevo]

this is a callout post

yeah you BET I’m calling out @actualmermaid

mostly for this

if you’re not convinced, her other crimes include:

being an adult woman on tumblr (unforgivable really, speaks for itself)

being an adult in general, with a house and a soon-to-be spouse and more or less her shit together (a personal attack on me)

her fiancee is too cute

is into fandoms I’m not in but is too likable, interesting, and genuinely insightful for me to unfollow

half the time I’m not really sure what she’s going on about

sometimes posts cursed things from the frontier territory she lives in and doesn’t seem to realize isn’t a real state

#actualmermaid #callout #remember when i stalked you for TES content and we both never mentioned it again #lmao happy wedding/marriage #also i cant remember what state youre in but i think it starts w an i and is in the middle of nowhere

[daywillcomeagain]

@actualmermaid replied to your post “i wonder how much of my sympathy for fëanor comes from my issues with...”

Cosigned as a gay kinda-Mormon ��

eyyyyy religious gay solidarity!!! it can be real rough and i can only imagine that child!feanor, hearing that his birth was a fault/taint/marring, felt the same. in fact, it was probably way worse for him than it is for me (though probably not for you)--i’m a convert, i chose this as a teenager with full knowledge that it would involve Dealing With Some Shit, i got choices along the way as to who i want to be out to, etc., whereas with him it was just. kind of something he had to deal with upon being born, which The Entire City probably had an opinion on. anyway if you ever want to talk about stuff, just hmu

softshvrks replied to your post “i wonder how much of my sympathy for fëanor comes from my issues with...”

certain individuals have tolkien characters moral superiority complexes..... don't let them get to you, sympathizing with morally grey tolkien chars, even fëanor, is valid.

don’t worry! i wasn’t upset or trying to justify myself while writing the OP or anything, just kind of navel-gazing at my reasons. c: if i wasn’t comfortable sympathizing with morally gray tolkien characters at this point, this blog wouldn’t exist, lol. thanks for the support though <3 !! it means a lot to me

#softshvrks #actualmermaid

[vardasvapors]

crocordile replied to your post “hey are you an anti-anti?”

Andie I feel so privileged that I get to see your blogging, did you know? It's just good and makes me feel sane when I'm having a bad time, bless u, bless the fics you're reading

THANK YOU JU, ILU, this is my life goal, to make people feel sane, by the badness of my blogging, i also bless the fics i’m reading down in ff.net

actualmermaid replied to your post  “hey are you an anti-anti?”

                       This is so valid. Especially the Linkin park titles                    

Yes they are so good and unadulteratedly themself, like god, and kingdom hearts. in fact i desperately want to get a linkin park cd now (itunes won’t do)

#actualmermaid #crocordile #athrabething

[cupcakesandtv]

actualmermaid replied to your post: I couldn't think of three issues because one kept...

HOW COULD I FORGET SHOWER SEX

idk how you could because you changed me view so that now i’m VERY specific about p in v like anything else is probably safe 

#actualmermaid