#folklore makes me feel so fragile

[writesleah]

august ✰ m. riddle

➻ pairing: mattheo riddle x reader

➻ genre: fluff/angst

➻ summary: a whirlwind summer with mattheo leaves your head spinning and craving more, but when he chooses to ignore you at school, you know there has to be something going on. you just didn’t expect it to crush you so much

➻ warnings: sex references, mentioned loss of virginity, swearing, cheating on a partner, slight toxicity if you squint (like really really squint), no war au, please message me if you think i’ve missed any so i can add them!

➻ word count: 2.2k

➻ a/n: I LOVE FOLKLORE i honestly might make this a little series and make a oneshot based on every song from the folkmore sister albums because it’s so fun lmao!!

mattheo riddle. a concoction of every terrible, addictive thing you could think of. a drug to your susceptible mind. the one person who ruined everything by giving you such happiness.

it all started back in the summer before 7th year. of course, most teenagers flee to the coast during the warmer summer months, a desperate attempt to absorb as much sun as possible before having to return to scotland's less than scorching weather for yet another year of classes at hogwarts. you were no different, and it seemed mattheo wasn't, either.

—

salty ocean air filled your nose as his lips met yours, a desperate action to be close to each other. he blindly searched for the rusty door handle of his hotel room behind you, wanting to get you out of the hall and into his bed as quickly as possible. sure, you’d had a couple of heated make-outs before, but nothing like this. it had never gotten to this point.

quickly pulling you down onto his sheets, he let his hand wander, beelining towards the plush of your ass, your hands searching through the chocolate curls atop his head.

“you sure you want this?” he whispered into your ear, planting sloppy kisses along your neck, his breath loud and heavy next to you, “i mean it. are you sure?”

you let your head fall back into the pale pillow, a place to rest whilst you tried to understand all of the new sensations pumping through you like blood from your heart, giving yourself a second to think.

“i’ve never done this before, matty,” you replied, your tone timid and weak compared to the rough husking of his voice swirling around your head, a constant memory of the boy you knew you’d never get over.

“it’s fine. you trust me, yeah?” mattheo pulled away for a moment, wanting to check before going any further with you.

“i want this,” you nodded, giving him all the reassurance he needed, prompting him to continue his journey down your body with the knowledge that you wanted to do this with him. you trusted him with something as fragile as your purity. that made him feel fucking insane.

his dark eyes took in the sight of you sprawled out across the white hotel bed, your soft lips and innocent eyes, your hair forming a halo around your head. his angel.

—

“red or white?” you smiled up at mattheo, your eyes darting to the bottle of wine in his hands as he handed it to you with a small shrug.

the two of you had decided to have a little picnic by the beach, a day to relax together as if that wasn’t what you did every day, anyway.

“not a clue,” he huffed, sitting down on the blanket you had set out on the sand, his hand instantly going for some cheese and crackers.

you slapped his hand away, a small pout on your face as he met your gaze, having absolutely no clue what you were stopping him for.

“wow, this looks fantastic! this is so good! thank you so much for getting all the food!” you mocked quietly, rolling your eyes. no matter how hard you tried to appear annoyed, you couldn’t hide the small smirk that crept its way onto your lips.

“oh, shut up,” he chuckled, tugging his shirt off and tossing it to the side, shaking his head, “thank you for putting it together. it looks really nice. you’re really nice, angel,” he added, his words playful, yet still a genuine thank you.

you poured each of you a glass of wine, laying down next to him, both of you on your stomachs, as he began to absolutely demolish the small buffet on the picnic blanket, your fingers lightly ghosting over his back. you couldn’t help but trace your own name, an invisible claim on the boy you adored more than anything.

“what are you doing?” he huffed quietly, turning his head to look directly at you and the way that a pink blush quickly spread across your cheeks as you got caught, your fingers pulling away, “i didn’t tell you to stop. i asked you what you were doing.”

“just… enjoying the moment,” you shrugged, shuffling close to him in an attempt to brush off the way you got flustered at his words.

his arm snuck around you almost instinctively, his lips planting a small kiss buried deep in your hair. a secret. a mark so important to you, but invisible to everyone else.

“i’m enjoying it, too,” he mumbled in reply, his free hand covering his mouth to hide all the food he’d shoved in it.

—

mattheo walked along the side of the road, watching the white-rimmed waves roll over on each other, bored of having nobody to speak to when you weren’t there.

he looked to the left as a car rolled around the corner, his head tilted slightly. he knew those sunglasses.

“no way,” he huffed, his jaw dropping as the car stopped next to him, “no fucking way. you passed?”

you looked up at him with a wide grin, absolutely ecstatic that you had not only taken your driving test whilst on holiday, but had passed, meaning you could drive anywhere you wanted. mattheo had already passed his a couple months before, so you’d been using him as your personal chauffeur for your time together, but you could finally go wherever you wanted on your own.

“get in, then,” you rolled your eyes playfully, nodding to the passenger seat of the convertible as he quickly made his way around to the other side, seeming just as excited as you were.

mattheo’s arms wrapped around you, pulling your head close to his chest as he smiled down at you.

“i’m so fucking proud of you, angel,” he muttered, planting wet kisses on your cheek, holding you tighter than ever before, “we should go out to celebrate. that italian behind the mall that you like? i’ll pay.”

you nodded, not wanting to turn down an opportunity to do anything with him, especially when you were already in such a good mood.

you drove to the restaurant, a regular place the pair of you went together since it was so small and intimate, yet never felt overcrowded.

—

you both got your meals and began eating, laughing and joking as normal, casually celebrating you passing your test.

“mattheo?” a girl’s voice came from behind you, his eyes immediately hardening as he glared up at whoever it was, “where’s-”

“don’t,” mattheo cut her off with a warning, your head craning around to see who it was.

pansy parkinson.

pansy was a fellow slytherin girl in your year; you knew her a little due to sharing some classes, but you were nowhere near being friends.

pansy just glanced between the two of you, her jaw slightly dropping further and further until she caught herself, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

“you’re fucked up, mattheo riddle,” she hissed as she walked past your table and out of the door, seeming not only shocked, but angry.

you turned your head back to the boy, your brows furrowing in confusion. it seemed that mattheo and pansy had a silent understanding of whatever it was they were talking about, and you were not part of it.

“what was she talking about?” you asked, but he completely ignored you, slamming his drink onto the table and walking out of the restaurant, leaving you even more bewildered.

you watched through the front window of the restaurant, watched them argue and shout at each other about something. it seemed as if pansy was calling him out for something, but you couldn’t think of what he could’ve done. sure, he was a bit of a troublemaker, but why would it affect pansy?

after a couple minutes, mattheo walked back into the restaurant, seeking incredibly annoyed about whatever the situation was.

“what was she talking about?” you repeated, your head tilting with not only confusion but concern.

“nothing, oh my fucking god,” he spat back, before checking himself on the way he was speaking to you, “sorry. it’s just… it’s nothing. it’s not going to ruin today. this is about celebrating you, not wasting time on whatever pansy parkinson has to say.”

you nodded and continued with your meal, though couldn’t help but feel there was more to it than he was letting on.

—

after the summer, you returned to hogwarts for your final year, everyone talking about their breaks incessantly. the issue was that mattheo had told you not to tell anyone about your involvement with him.

“let’s keep this as much of a secret as we possibly can, okay?” he’d muttered to you as you laid next to each other in bed, your head on his stomach and your body between his legs.

“why?” you’d asked, completely oblivious to why he wouldn’t want to share your feelings for each other with your friends and be happy in public, but he’d just shut you down every time it came up.

“i wanna keep this private, angel. there’s no need to have everyone else involved in whatever it is that we’re doing.”

if only you knew.

you’d spent the first week confined to your dorm, cancelling every plan anyone tried to make with you to wait for a single call or text from him, but nothing ever came. the second you got back to school, mattheo ghosted you.

—

you were sitting in your defence against the dark arts class, occasionally catching mattheo’s gaze every now and then. you’d always give him a small smile, but he would just look away or glance at you with a vague, unidentifiable expression. he showed no hint of compassion or knowledge of you in public past the odd conversation about the work you were doing in class when one of you were a bit lost and nobody else was willing to help. that had only happened once or twice. it was frustrating.

a small tap on the shoulder caused you to turn around, a girl sitting behind you with a sour expression on her face.

“did you fuck daphne’s boyfriend?” she spat, glaring at you with a look that could kill.

your cheeks instantly grew a little red. you’d only ever done anything with mattheo. who was daphne’s boyfriend?

“who?” you replied, your brows furrowing in pure confusion.

“don’t be fucking stupid,” the girl hissed, rolling her eyes, “mattheo riddle, daphne’s boyfriend.”

that one comment, that one single question seemed to bring the whole world to a stop.

you quickly asked your professor if you could go to toilet, a chance to escape the room that seemed to be clawing at your skin, ripping it raw. your eyes began to burn, a dangerous waterfall of tears threatening to spill down your face.

quickly rushing off, you brought a little attention to yourself, though it wouldn’t surprise you if everyone knew what it was about. pansy must’ve told them. it hurt more that he didn’t tell you.

it seemed that mattheo noticed, because, only seconds after you entered the prefect bathroom, he came rushing in after you, immediately trying to pull you into his chest, but you resisted.

“how could you do this to me?” you whispered, unable to stop yourself from crying as you looked up at him, “how could you do that to her? you’re… god, i should’ve listened when people said that you were out of control. this isn’t right, mattheo. you lied to me!”

he just stood there, seeming completely and utterly unbothered by your meltdown and rambling, his head tilting slightly.

“out of control? who told you that?” he scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes. it shocked you that the one comment he chose to pay any attention to was the one that was purely about him as a person, and not your words about how he affected everyone else.

“everyone, mattheo, everyone says it,” you huffed out, letting out a breath of shock at how he brushed it all off, “everyone always talks about the troublemaker that can’t keep himself away from a fight and can’t be nice to people. god, i thought they were so wrong. i thought that i had been the way to find a good side of you, but it wasn’t even real.”

he screwed up his face slightly at your words, but didn’t say anything, leaning against the wall as he mindlessly picking at his nails and giving you no attention whatsoever.

“i was so scared, y’know that?” you whispered, your voice quiet and soft now, your eyes pleading, begging with him to hear you out, “you were ignoring me. i thought i’d lost you and it turns out that you weren’t even mine to lose. do you even know how much that hurts? you could’ve told me, at least. yeah, i would’ve been upset, but at least you would’ve been honest,” you continued, watching his eyes flick up to you.

“it was just a summer fling, angel,” he muttered, realising that you weren’t going to stop crying. with that, he walked out of the bathroom, leaving you stranded with your own thoughts. your own reflection.

it was just a summer fling.

#fanfic #harry potter #benjamin wadsworth #harry potter fanfiction #taylor swift #mattheo riddle x y/n #mattheo riddle x reader #mattheo x you #mattheoxreader #mattheo x y/n #mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x you #hp fanfiction #fanfiction #hp #harry potter golden era #slytherin #august #folklore #folklore taylor swift #august taylor swift

[tswiftupdatess]

Aaron Dessner on writing folklore and evermore with Taylor Swift:

"It was quite surreal to be honest. When Taylor first texted me about writing remotely with her during the pandemic, I almost didn't believe it was her at first. And then as we were working on Folklore, we had almost no outside interaction with anyone on her team or label, much less the outside world of her millions and millions of fans. Taylor never made me feel any of the shadow of her previous work or success. There was no pressure at all. It was as though we were just making an album for ourselves and passing time during the pandemic. It felt like we were on our own private artistic life raft, just making songs to soothe our souls and get through such an uncertain and difficult time. When the album was finally shared with the world, and that feeling became something shared cathartically with millions and millions of people around the world, it was really something I will never forget.

We were on FaceTime at midnight on the night Folklore came out and the first reviews and responses started coming in and it was really one of the most exhilarating, life-affirming feelings I have ever had. The fragile songs we had made remotely during lockdown were suddenly becoming part of the fabric of so many people's lives."

source

#taylor swift #aaron dessner #folklore #evermore #taylorswift #interview #the eras tour #taylor swift folklore #taylor swift evermore #evermore era #behind the song

[tieronecrush]

exile

joel miller x reader

rating: M

word count: 3.1k

summary:

i think i've seen this film before / and i didn't like the ending / i'm not your problem anymore / so who am i offending now? / you were my crown / now i'm in exile, seein' you out / i think I've seen this film before / so i'm leavin' out the side door

warnings: break up, discussion about closure or lack there of, talk about grief, death, self-doubt, self-deprecation, idk man it’s just sad

a/n: second fic for the folklore anthology!! hope you all enjoy, sorry for the sadness lol <3

It’s an early start — the crisp early spring air swirls around in gusts while the fresh blanket of dew squishes under his boots as he walks over to the stables. Lilac skies watercolor above, the last of the winter dawn painting yellowed strokes across the horizon as the sun rises, reflecting against the thirst-quenched earth.

Billows of his tepid breath puff in front of him, walking through the warmth of each exhale as he makes his way forward and across the paddock to the stalls. Rubber soles scuff onto rough concrete under the cover of the roof, neighs of horses and huffs of their breath vibrating their lips the only sound that fills his ears when he looks down the aisle to see you. Standing in the pen that holds Shimmer, Ellie’s beloved mare, you brush her chestnut coat as you prep to saddle each animal for the incoming patrol shift.

Joel meanders down the walkway over to the stable across from you that holds his own horse, Old Beardy, which he bonded with over lengthy patrol shifts. After the horse that Tommy had loaned them to reach Colorado, Callus, was killed by David and his men, Joel had chosen a similarly colored one in Old Beardy. It was another painful reminder he forced upon himself of what he had gone through — what Ellie had gone through — and what he did to get her through it. He never wanted to forget, not that he thought he ever could, and this was a small piece that added up to keep him weighed down by his choices and guilt every day.

It was that same guilt that burrows into his chest now as he looks at you while he saddles his horse. Nothing is spoken, not even a glance sent his way; completely ignored, the cold shoulder chilling him more than the early morning temperature. 

You had left him a few weeks ago now — completely blindsided him when you sat him down in his living room and broke another crack into his heart. At that point, he didn’t think it was possible to feel any more fragmented than he did for the last twenty years, but you quickly became another piece of his heart destroyed by his actions. It had to have been something he did, what it was he doesn’t have a clue. But with the way you cared for him, loved him for that fleeting time, he would have never chosen to give that up and he couldn’t see a reason why you would either.

He had to know.

It was keeping him up at night — that and his nightmares that seem to have never ceased. Around here, he doesn’t have his knockout combination of pills and alcohol to keep his ghosts at bay, so he’s faced with them every evening, creeping in along with the midnight.

You would help him, talk him through, remind him of the good in him, even though he never fully believed you.

He misses you.

He loves you.

Crossing the aisle again after slipping out of the stable of his horse, he takes a breath before leaning his arms onto the walled gate that separates the two of you. Breaking the fragile silence that floated in the air for the last few minutes, Joel speaks lowly despite you two being the only ones around.

“Morning.”

Silence.

“Need any help with the horses?”

More silence, the thud of the leather saddle being thrown over Shimmer’s back clapping in the stale air. 

He persists.

“Now I know you probably don’t wanna hear anything from me, peach, but I just gotta ask you — what happened? To us. I’ve been wracking my brain to try to figure it out, but—but I gotta admit, darlin’, I thought things were alright. That we were starting a peaceful life together.”

He lifts his arms off of the gate, standing up straight as he waves one arm out in a gesture toward his house — the house that you used to spend every single night in, the pieces of you strewn throughout. Flowers on the kitchen table, dog-eared books on the couch, clothes thrown onto the floor and into his hamper, your favorite lavender soap from the apothecary withering away in his shower marking the time you two were together. It sits untouched now, still as full as the last time you used it, another reminder of your absence.

“But then, just out of the blue, you were gone. You took just five whole minutes to neatly pack up the loose ends of us, talkin’ to me as you grabbed all your things from my house, wiping the presence of you completely. And when you left me standin’ in the hall, you left me with it, that guilt. And all I could do was just stand there with all this love that I needed to give to you, watching you walk away without any goddamn clue as to why you were leaving. It wasn’t fucking fair.”

Joel crosses the threshold of the stall, standing only a few feet away from you as his frustrations begin to fully air, slithering out of him with venom laced behind his tone. He doesn’t want to feel this angry, this upset. But this hurt in his chest hasn’t been felt for years and it’s killing him, squeezing everything in him out.

“And now,” he nearly growls out, “Now I hear around town you got some other man around for you. That you got over us so quickly, found someone new to spend your time with. Did I really mean that little? To be able to tidy up real quick and move on?”

A laugh barks out at that — he can see it on your face how ridiculous you think whatever he said, something he said in all that was. It only fuels the fire inside of him, boiling up to his ears and over to the point he must have steam coming out of him.

What the fuck was so funny?

Here he was, being honest about his feelings and you were laughing.

The steel toe of one of his boots knocks against the wooden walls as he kicks it gently, turned away as he starts to listen to you open the floodgates. Your hands pause their work, turning away from the toasted brown horse to face him fully. Hands on your hips and head tilted to one side, your stare burns the back of his neck as he stands away.

“Really, Joel? There’s nothing you can understand about why I might have left you?” Your eyebrows furrow with your own fury, deep creases that he has only seen from concern for him, his wellbeing, and Ellie’s. Anger is a new look on you, and it isn’t one he is feeling fond of causing for you. That storm of guilt rumbles inside of him; another reason to hate himself for making you feel something you rarely do, making you into something you’re not — bitter.

“Also, I don’t really think you’ve got a right to be upset with me and bringing up that stupid shit bein’ said around town. I left the bar with one guy, one time. The rumor mill snatched up that story from the few people that saw us leave. Didn’t even go home with him cause I couldn’t stop seeing you like a fucking ghost. I left and you are still consuming my brain. I still wonder every day if you’re okay; if you’re still even here.”

That whips his head over his shoulder, the fracturing of his heart felt even deeper, a cut to his bones from your words. He never knew that you knew — what he had tried years ago. Admittedly, the thought crossed his mind again once, and only once. It quickly dissipated when you stepped into his room, your tender smile eager to tell him about your day. He loved listening to you, being a sounding board and an observer. How could he ever give that up? How could he ever hurt you?

Apparently, he didn’t need to wonder anymore. He did that without even realizing it.

Mouth agape as you continue, crease between his brows shadowed as he takes a step closer to you, the pull of your red-hot rage driving him nearer to your molten center. It was the one way to feel your warmth again, even if it was more like burning at that point.

“I can’t believe that you would even give that gossip a second thought. Must be grasping at straws there. But I guess that proves my point, the reason that I left.”

You turn away to handle the animal again, shaking your head wildly and rolling your eyes at yourself. His own frustrations bubble again, another step closer as he walks around your shoulder to your field of vision. A head tilt of his own, a nonchalant shrug.

“And how do you figure that, darlin’? Please, enlighten me,” his words cut into the air, attempting to antagonize you in a subconscious effort to keep you talking, to keep you around.

“God, that’s so fucking rich coming from you, Joel. Wanting explanations, wanting me to open up so you can understand. That’s why I left. I tried so hard to get you to open up to me, to let me in, and to be even the smallest bit vulnerable. I wanted you to show me that you trusted me. When I met you before you left with Ellie, things felt different. And when you came back, you had been getting more and more closed off the longer we were spending time together. I don’t know what happened out there if something happened between you and Ellie, and I don’t need all the details, but I needed something. And I gave you so many chances — second, third, hundredth chances to give me something that could show me you trust me or could even grow to trust me, but that didn’t come. All I wanted was to help you, Joel. I care about you so much. I loved you. But it didn’t seem like you felt the same. Never told me you felt the same.”

A step away from him, arms around your chest to protect your heart — from him? From breaking again? He didn’t know you needed the words; he tried to show you through his actions, his touch, the care he took of you. Words never came easy to him, actions did.

“And now, you’re being this fucking alpha, masculine man stomping in here and talkin’ to me about how you hear I was with some guy. Actin’ like I’m just trying to make you jealous like he was some understudy or rebound. Well, nothing happened like I said, so you can wipe off the face that looks like you’re gonna go get your knuckles bloody for me.”

The crease in his brow resolves, the sour twist of his lips relaxing as he drops his head in shame. You were right, always right. He would knock the lights out of the guy if you said one more word — if you said that you had moved on for real.

“All of it, still being around you and being reminded of you all the time, it feels like I’m trying to balance again on breaking branches. And every time I see you around, in person or in my head like a shadow following me around, those eyes — your stupid brown eyes pleading with me, they just add insult to injury.”

“I wanted to help you, Joel, to just be there to help you mend, even a little bit. But you never gave me a chance.”

A sigh slips from his lips, barely audible. You turn away as he steps toward you, tender eyes and gentle touch resting on your shoulder. When you don’t recoil, one of his rough, work-worn hands grabs your chin between his thumb and index finger, turning your head to meet his eyes as he quietly speaks, lower than the whole conversation has been.

“I never knew that is what you were worried about, darlin’. I’m fine, there wasn’t anything that happened between Ellie and I ‘cept that ambush at the hospital that I told you about. I didn’t think I was actin’ any differently than before.”

A scoff, shaking your head out of his grasp and pushing your hands against his chest to separate. You slip away, crossing the stall to grab more gear to dress the horse in.

“You are unbelievable.”

Now he’s really getting annoyed.

“What? What is so unbelievable?” His voice booms, echoing a bit in the empty horse barn, biting back his tongue as you close your eyes tightly. He opens his mouth to apologize for raising his voice, but your raised hand stops him.

“It’s obvious you are not fine, Joel, and you can’t even admit it now after I’ve told you that all I wanted was for you to be open. You can stop running. Slow down. Live. You don’t have to keep punishing yourself in silence.”

He scoffs and shakes his head, looking away as he works his jaw back and forth before he turns to you again, “I couldn’t read your mind! All this time, I never learned to read your mind. I can’t read Ellie’s mind — I can’t figure it out with either of you. Two of the most important people, two of the handful of people that I am still around for, have distanced themselves from me and I can’t seem to pull myself together to figure it out. I feel like I’m drowning out here on my own and I’m not even being thrown a fucking life raft. You never gave me time to turn things around, you never gave me a warning sign of what was goin’ on.”

The tightness in your shoulders falls, curling you smaller into yourself, and there goes another crack in his heart. Broken like old pavement when the Earth shifts, takes destroying it all to rebuild it.

Tired. You look so tired, and he aches with the thought that he’s exhausted you, even away. What is he going to do if he is open with you? Isn’t he going to be more of a burden?

No, he wouldn’t let himself. He would be honest with you. But there is no expectation that he could be fixed, that you could shoulder any of this weight he’s carried for twenty years. It’s lighter to him now, endurance built to keep himself under it without getting crushed.

“Joel…I gave so many signs. I checked in with you every day, I asked you directly how you were doing. A lot of the time, after long days, you’d be so short with me. Either annoyed or just brushing me off and changing the subject. So when asking you didn’t work, I tried to open up more myself to try to get you to feel comfortable talking to me about anything. You would just listen and move on. Nothing inspired you to give me even a little sliver of yourself, of your heart. I closed myself off more and more cause it felt like I was prying with someone who couldn’t even care less about me. You didn’t even notice that we didn’t touch, we didn’t kiss, we were barely intimate with each other in those last few weeks — we completely drifted, Joel. I tried to give you so many signs before I couldn’t take it anymore. You didn’t even see the signs.”

Thoughts and memories rewind in his head like an old tape, picking up patterns in himself and in you that he has been too blind to see. All he wanted was to move on, sweep it under the rug and live whatever life he could with you, with Ellie.

“I’m sorry, peach. I am so sorry. I swear on my fucking grave that I had no idea this was all happening for you — I was too in my own head. My heart is hurtin’ so much without you around; knowing I did something to push you away. And hearing what you were holdin’ in ‘cause I was bein’ too closed, too selfish to see what was wrong? It is destroyin’ me. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I really am.”

No response is given to him. He watches as you bend your arms, lifting them to press the backs against your eyes. They turn and run over your face, an ache in him to reach his own out to pull yours away, replace them with his own to hold your beautiful face again. When he speaks up again, he sounds like a child — soft, pleading for the punishment to end.

“Could you ever, I don’t know how to ask this really, but could you ever give me another chance? Would you?”

His eyes are glossing over, vision blurring slightly at the edges as you meet his gaze. A deep, exhausted sigh rolls from your chest, head shaking back and forth as your stare leaves him, running a million yards away somewhere.

“I—God, I don’t know, Joel. It felt like I was just there to give you comfort when you wanted it, when you thought you needed it, and that was it. That was my purpose to you. That you didn’t even want to try to open up, to build trust or anything between us. Things would really have to change for me to feel ready to try again.”

Another step brings him a foot away from you, the itch in his fingers too much to ignore anymore as he guides his hand up, caressing your cheek and brushing his thumb along the line of the high bone there.

“Sweetheart, honey, I’ll be better. If you give me another chance, I’m gonna do better by you. Gonna try more. I promise, peach. I’m not gonna fuck this up.”

Eyes flutter shut under his touch, the weight of your head falling into his gentle care a bit heavier.

When they open again, he can see resolve has been built. A defensive wall put back up after leaning in too much into the temptation of jumping back into the deep end.

“Can I have some time to think about it?”

Selfishly, he wishes you would just jump, dive into his waters with him so you can offer him a lifeline.

“Of course, peach. You come ‘round whenever you wanna talk. I’m gonna be there for you. Whenever.”

His lips press to your hairline, large hand stroking at the back of your head before he pulls away and exits the stall, crossing over to lead Old Beardy out of the stables to mount for patrol.

With his back to you, he doesn’t see the shaky breath you take, composure crumbling as you lean your head against the leather saddle, teardrops littering the surface.

taglist: @wannab-urs @atinylittlepain @bearsbeetsbeskar @serenaxpedro @casa-boiardi @rav3n-pascal22 @dinsdjrn @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @johnwatsn @amanitacowboy @leeeesahhh @isitmelookin4u @javiscigarette @mrsyixingunicorn10 @sugarspiceanthrax @orphanbird95 @space-cowboy-like-me @tuquoquebrute @rsquared31 @morning-star-joy @canseethebrushstrokes @atremises @sstarboy777 @undrthelights @butiknewyoudlinger @dayrdreaming @disassociation-daydreams @joelsversion @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mydailyhyperfixations @diamndx @mingiast @kdogreads @blxsphemy7 @marchai @littlevenicebitch69 @ghostofbrock @iwrotethissky @ladynightingale @jksprincess10 @swiftispunk @pr0ximamidnight @beskarandblasters @northernbluess

#writing #joel #folklore anthology #joel x reader #joel x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfic #joel miller fanfiction #tlou fic #tlou fanfiction #tlou fanfic

[captain-mj]

Okay okay okay, now that you have ventured into the territory of Ghost x König I finally have to find the courage to send you a request. I need more of this ship.

I don't have many specifics, enemies to lovers is always great, but Monster (any type, werewolf/bear, your avian soldiers, other unique folklore related creatures etc.) König and Handler Ghost? A combination/variation of the two? Ooooh, in general I am in love with your fantasy AUs. So whatever strikes your inspiration, if you have a completely different idea that comes up in regards to this ship I will probably eat it up, so feel free to venture away from the ideas provided.

If you do this I will kiss- oh wait I heard threats are the social norm in this ask box so uhm... yes... if you do this I will refrain from stealing your teeth. Yes, yes.

Werebear Koenig werebear Koenig werebear Koenig. I got you. Enemies to lovers? No problem! Also Ghost is a werewolf :)

I rewrote this six times before i liked it so pls... let me keep my teeth... I know it's short but I'll make a part 2 or something 😭

Ghost considered himself a selfish person generally. He also genuinely did not believe he was a good person. But with König, he tried to be better. König was polite and skilled, he saw no reason to be mean to him. They were only paired up because Ghost could overpower König, a feat not many people on base could boast. More accurately, no one but Ghost could boast. König was paired to him because Ghost didn't need a handler in the typical sense. It meant König didn't have to worry about it. He was new from KorTac, still adjusting to this. They both hated each other.

Ghost wasn't even sure he knew why. Neither had "punished" the other. They shared section of the base, a room, bathroom and hallway due to Ghost being a lieutenant and requesting the privacy, but they had quickly found rules that meant they never, ever saw each other unmasked unless it was on purpose. It meant they avoided each other pretty much constantly as a bonus.

Occasionally, when they did happen to be in the same area at the same time, it was a fragile truce. Their ranks were ignored and so was their work. Instead, they just continued doing what they were doing in as non awkward of a silence as they could manage.

But König slipped up. During a mission, he had shifted without being told and the wrong people got hurt. Luckily, the friendly fire was mostly just hurt egos and bruises, no casualties. He didn't think König would survive if he had genuinely hurt anyone.

Said shifter was angrily crossing his arms, looking at him with frustration. "They weren't moving fast enough. They needed to get to exfil and I didn't think they could make it at the pace we were going. I was trying to prevent anyone from getting hurt."

"I understand that. But you have to ask for permission, König. People could've gotten hurt." Ghost understood the frustration. Nonshifters could be annoyingly slow at times. Personally, he even agreed it was the right call, but he couldn't tell him that.

"Unlike you, I don't go feral when I shift." König hissed. "I'm in control. I was fine." Low fucking blow. It took a lot for Ghost to shove the initially angry reaction down.

Ghost stared at him and sighed. "I believe you. But the point still stands. You should've asked."

König scowled at him fiercely and Ghost just shook his head. "I know you're used to being a mercenary with no ru-"

"Fuck you, Riley." König suddenly got closer, towering over him. Ghost's heart did something funny that he blamed on fear. Nothing else. His breath moved the cloth over his face.

"König. Stand down."

"And what are you doing to do?" He growled at him.

Ghost growled back and stepped closer, ignoring the height difference. He hooked his ankle around König's knees and sent him to the floor, kneeling in front of him. "Don't ever. Ever."

"Ever what? Growl at you? Disrespect your authority?"

Ghost yanked König's hood up and guilt immediately flooded him. König shied away from him, all the fury going out of him. He looked away, ashamed. There were scars across his face, but they weren't too bad. It was the thick scarring around his throat, like he had been wearing a spiked collar or had almost been decapitated.

Ghost dropped his hood. The silence followed like a shroud. It ached and groaned between them.

König let out a shuddering breath. "I... I do not want you to do that again."

"I wont."

"I promise not to shift without your permission again, sir." Sir. ah.

Ghost wanted to apologize. It was funny. He did worse things to other people and never felt this problem and yet, he wanted to apologize. To König.

"Good. Don't let it." That's what he said instead.

König didn't look at him. The silence stayed. Neither slept.

#cod #cod mw2 #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare ii #simon ghost riley #ghost cod #König x ghost #König

[einloukrativesangebot]

March 2024 Destiel Fic Recs

My favourite fics written in March 2024. Please leave kudos and comments for the authors.

Baker Six by komodobits

Summer, 1944. Dean doesn’t think about First Lieutenant Novak.

Feel It All Around by egravis

With Cas newly fallen, a lot of things have changed. Like, for one, Cas has never appeared so fragile before.

I hate you when Sam sees it (and love you when he doesn't) feat Bobby Singer by FreyaBlackthorn

Dean and Cas love each other in the dark. They hate each other in front of a freshly soul-supplied Sam. It's that easy.

Except it's not easy, because Sam may be a Winchester, but even his stupidness knows bounds. So how can you make your little brother believe you are totally not interested in your feathered best friend (who is totally your boyfriend, for the record)?

Bobby makes a guest appearance because he's the best, and because he cannot be fooled.

Never Let Me Go by K_A_Mindin

Found the place to rest my head

Personal Jesus by GreenEnthusiast

Dean has made a nasty habit of calling out to Castiel in the dead of night, when he’s all alone. Repressed feelings and a case of beer are quite the duo, one the Winchester is no stranger to. All he wants is to love and be loved, but he’s not sure if he knows how.

The Space Between The Trees by birdyedwards

The point was that Cas fell out of that barn and right into Dean’s life like he’d always belonged there. Like there was a Castiel-shaped spot missing somewhere and he’d slotted right into it. Over the past several months, the two of them haven’t been apart for more than a couple hours and Dean wonders how he ever went on without him. How it was even possible that Cas hadn’t been there the entire time.

- + -

The thing no one tells you about hunting is that it’s surprisingly boring. Having Cas around helps.

touch and go by stayawake

Cas comes equipped with enough angelic strength to fling demons against the wall with a flick of his wrist, but still lets himself get pushed and pulled around by Dean like it's nothing.

a happy ending in the palm of your hands by all_american_hips

It has been three months since the world was saved.

-------

Everything is finally in its place, and Dean tries to get his shit together.

An angel walks into a flower shop... by FreyaBlackthorn

This is literally a pinterest post turned into a silly fic. What would happen if an almighty angel walked into a flower shop to buy his serial killer of a boyfriend flowers? (feat Sam, because let's be honest, he would probably be there and be a little gremlin about it).

love in messages by DeanIsABottomDamnit

The relationship between cas and dean seen through texts, through the years

inhuman/human by Xxcxreyxx

Stuck in Purgatory, Castiel has time to think.

devastating, apocalyptic, & utterly catastrophic by aalienbluezz

And that was it. Cas was done. So done. Why on Earth would he read this ridiculously inaccurate folklore when he could just look at Dean’s adorable face. And eyes. And his pretty, pretty mouth. Cas was about two minutes in to remapping out each atom of Dean’s devastating cupid’s bow when Dean finally piped up with that same strange look and a self-conscious laugh: “Uh, I got crumbs on my mouth or somethin’?”

or,

Cas introduces Dean to the wonders of Chapstick.

the gone fishin' fic by the_oncoming_stormageddon

Dean and Cas have been dating for three months, but Dean isn’t sure that he’s ready to come out yet. Meanwhile, Bobby’s known they’ve been dating for six months.

A Tough Nut To Crack by ImYourHoneyBee

The cold is worse, bad enough that their comfortable moss insulation and leaf doorway don’t keep it out, and despite his thick winter coat, Dean is freezing. On the other side of the nest, Cas is curled into a tight ball, his tail flipped over his nose like a blanket. Dean wonders if he’s cold too.

It’s dark inside their nest, almost pitch black with how the maple leaves block out the starlight. Cas is nothing but a lump, but Dean bets that if they were lumps together, they’d be warmer. It’s not gay if they’re huddling for warmth, right? It should also be taken into account that they’re squirrels, and he’s pretty sure it’s not gay if they’re squirrels, either.

Dean is suffering because he’d insisted that they be two squirrels sleeping on opposite sides of the nest, five inches apart because they’re not gay.

Morning After by lizleenimbus

Dean wakes up after a one-night stand only to find something - or rather someone - he didn't expect.

It's the first month of @deancaspinefest posting, so check those fics out here if you want some long fics of Dean and Cas pining for each other. And please do read my fic "Not our kind of thing" here.

Check out the other posts:

January, February

#destiel fic recs #destiel #fic recs #march #fanfiction

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

More Aaron Dessner!! Ignore the 🙄🙄🙄 headline because it’s super misleading and luxuriate in his wonderfulness. And his unabashed love for an admiration of our beloved Blondie.

Some banner quotes:

Do you have any memories from the studio or a writing session that stick out to you as an example of just why Taylor is so good at her craft?

“There are so many stories I could share. When I sent Taylor the music for our song "Willow" — I think she wrote the entire song from start to finish in less than 10 minutes and sent it back to me. It was like an earthquake. Then Taylor said, "I guess we are making another album."”

When you wrote Folklore and Evermore, it was peak pandemic and the world was different. What's it like for you now to see those albums that were written in solitude performed for tens of thousands of people?

“It was quite surreal to be honest. When Taylor first texted me about writing remotely with her during the pandemic, I almost didn't believe it was her at first. And then as we were working on Folklore, we had almost no outside interaction with anyone on her team or label, much less the outside world of her millions and millions of fans.

Taylor never made me feel any of the shadow of her previous work or success. There was no pressure at all. It was as though we were just making an album for ourselves and passing time during the pandemic. It felt like we were on our own private artistic life raft, just making songs to soothe our souls and get through such an uncertain and difficult time.

When the album was finally shared with the world, and that feeling became something shared cathartically with millions and millions of people around the world, it was really something I will never forget. We were on FaceTime at midnight on the night Folklore came out and the first reviews and responses started coming in and it was really one of the most exhilarating, life-affirming feelings I have ever had. The fragile songs we had made remotely during lockdown were suddenly becoming part of the fabric of so many people's lives.”

😭😭😭😭

Go read the whole thing. Swessner always.

[grandtheftaristotle]

Hey so I was inspired by @likeadevils's brilliant album reworkings to do one of my own cause I LOVE finding new ways to procrastinate on homework

I decided to do Speak Now cause it's one of my favourite Taylor albums and while I think the current order is great, it was a fun challenge to try and come up with something else. So here's what I have!

So first of all, I think I’m gonna call this rework The Story of Us. Not only is Speak Now the song not on this version, but The Story of Us fits these vibes better Each song is its own contained story that forms an overall narrative, kinda like folklore.

Timeless: It feels so much like a closing track that it gives off a nice ‘end at the beginning’ vibe. Also parallels nicely with the closing track.

Sparks Fly: I like the idea of the earliest written song on the record being track 2. Although she rewrote it to be less naive, I do like how Foolish One could be its answer. Also it leads into…

The Story of Us: ‘How we met and the sparks flew instantly’. Too obvious? Nahhhh. I like that it foreshadows the heartbreak of the later album but frames it in an upbeat way so as not to let us down too much. Plus the awkward party element leads us nicely into the next track.

Enchanted: Is it the same party? A later party? Not sure, but it continues the vibes of the last song, while also offering one last little piece of fairytale whimsy and romance before the latter half rips our hearts out.

Mean: As you can see, I am not adhering to the track 5 rule lol. But this is a set up for Castles Crumbling and Innocent, with the talk of fame and the different ways of responding to criticism.

When Emma Falls In Love: This song kinda makes me insane when I think about the context in which Taylor wrote it. She was dealing with everything surrounding JM when she wrote the line ‘she won’t lose herself in love the way that I did’. The last line (‘between me and you, sometimes I wish I was her’) is a GREAT set up for the next half of the album; it establishes everything Taylor didn’t do in these relationships and the person she wishes she had been. Part of me wants to do another rearrangement with this as the opening track, cause again, that last line.

Back to December: We have an excellent lead in with Emma; ‘I wish I was her’ and then a song about how badly she screwed up a relationship. Plus, the rest of the album is like an explanation of why she screwed it up. We’re slowly zooming in…

Last Kiss: Almost a flipped perspective of Back to December? I’m a little shaky on this placement, I almost feel like this song and the next could switch places, but idk how I feel about Last Kiss and Dear John back to back. Therefore, the next song is…

Ours: Getting into another relationship after heartbreak, one that others don’t approve of but that makes her happy. It’s a love song, but an understated one, not as bombastic as Sparks Fly or as sweepingly romantic as Enchanted. Cute, but careful.

Dear John: THE AFTERMATH. Christ. The parallel of Emma and the result of Ours and the events that led to Back to December. The fireworks line is a slight parallel to Sparks Fly and The Story of Us as well. It’s a moment of triumph amidst the heartbreak. ‘I lost you, but I’m still shining for the crowd. Oh wait…’

Castles Crumbling: AND NOW SHE’S LOSING THE CROWD. The formal demolition of her fairytale outlook and the parallel to Mean. She’s living in the big old city, but the big old city’s getting tired of her. It also looks ahead to the last track, where she hopes to be remembered regardless.

Haunted: I just like that we have Enchanted on the first half and Haunted on the flip side. She’s no longer enchanted by a stranger, she’s haunted by someone she thought she knew well. I also like how the word haunted works with Castles lol.

Innocent: Even on the OG record, I feel like this should’ve gone after Haunted if just for the ‘you and I walk a fragile line’ ‘lost your balance on a tightrope’ of it all. On some level I get why she didn’t cause it would’ve been this song and then Last Kiss, which, ouch. But anyway, I know this is about Kanye but FUCK that guy so now within the narrative it’s her talking to herself (just ignore the 32 part). Even after everything she’s been through she’s still an innocent, and it’s not too late to regain her balance.

Foolish One: Again, kinda shaky on this placement, I feel like it should be earlier in the second half. But as is, it’s a parallel to Sparks Fly where she’s cautiously optimistic about a guy; that song was sung by the voice in her head she talks about here. It’s also a follow up to Innocent; you may be innocent, but it doesn’t mean you have to be foolish. PLUS it’s a little bit of a hope spot after all the heartbreak (‘the day is gonna come for your confessions of love / he just wasn’t the one’). As an aside, I am fully convinced she added that line for the rerecord. She sings the rest of the song in a higher register matching her voice in 2010, but for that line she lowers her voice closer to her current register, making it seem like it’s her future self talking. Plus she recorded that when she was still with Joe; something something ‘this ain’t our fairytale’.

Long Live: Our moment of triumph!! After Castles Crumbling, this is where she says ‘hey, even if people run me off, we’ll still be remembered’. Parallels our opener both in title (Timeless / Long Live) and in subject matter; she and the guy weren’t timeless, but the legacy of her and her band will live forever.

BONUS TRACKS

Better Than Revenge: Really my only justification for this is that I couldn’t fit it on the main album but if she hadn’t released it in 2010 we NEVER would’ve gotten it. Plus it being a bonus track gives off the vibe of ‘oh you thought you were off the hook??? You thought I wasn’t gonna write about you??? Lmao fuck you’.

If This Was A Movie: Similar justification for this as with Better Than Revenge; since she kinda rebranded it as a Fearless song with the rerecord, if she didn’t put it out in 2010 we may not have gotten it at all (she wrote it in 2009 so I don’t think it could’ve been a Fearless vault track either). That said, it fits the ‘story’ themes of the album so I think it works. Plus I like how it interacts with BTR; from pure unfiltered rage to ‘BUT I’D TAKE IT ALL BACK NOW’.

Mine: It KILLED me to leave this off the main album, it really did. Maybe one of my all time favourite songs of hers. Part of me wants to switch this and Timeless, but I also like the idea of having Mine as the last track just because of how it rounds out the album. The narrator is very disillusioned with love at the beginning, so it could easily be taking place after this string of heartbreak she experienced throughout the record. I also love how it ends with ‘hold on, make it last’; after being burned so many times, she finally starts to believe in love again and the notion that they could be forever. The way it interacts with Timeless, which was a portrait of very idyllic fairytale romances that last forever (love letters during a war, forbidden lovers eloping, two people growing old together), this song focuses on the more mundane parts of life that still make up a beautiful relationship. Also if we’re thinking about this as part of her album timeline, the next album she puts out is Red, so we go from ‘there’s a drawer of my things at your place’ to ‘you’ve still got [my scarf] in your drawer even now’. OW.

And as vault tracks we have Speak Now, Superman, I Can See You, Never Grow Up, Electric Touch, and Battle. Because I’m still a little offended we never got an official version of that song :/

#taylor swift #speak now #ttpd prep #maybe?? doing this helped me to find interesting parallels between the songs so I think it counts

[ambiguouspuzuma]

Sandman

"Take only memories," the sign said. "Leave only footprints."

Well, that was fine with me. Of course, I'd have preferred not to leave any evidence at all, but the muddy fields make that impossible - they always kip in campsites off the beaten track, and I could barely see the pathways in the dark, even sneaking in as subtly as I could. In fact, there are probably all sorts of traces that I left behind, laid out to follow in the morning light; if only anyone had remembered to look for them.

At least the rest was easy. On a campsite there are no walls to climb, no windows to break, slipping into a bedroom filled with painful obstacles: you can simply unzip the tent, and they're just there, all laid out in their sleeping bags, like individually packaged bags of crisps inside a multipack. Sometimes they have one of those, too - fuel for a long weekend of picnics in the countryside - and I pick up some salt and carbs to line my stomach for the feast.

I feel that people are at their best when they're sleeping. Innocent. Fragile. I mostly stumble across families, but assume that even the most bloodthirsty warrior in history once twitched and smiled at gentle dreams, in the manner of a cat sweetly dreams of disembowelling rabbits. Those are my favourite prey. Not rabbits, or cats, but dreams: the stories that they tell themselves, remixed recollections concocted for their own amusement.

I have always taken memories. It started when I was small, and my caregivers began to leave me places, forgetting that they'd ever dropped me off - I was hungry then, still growing, and consumed more greedily than was wise. Like any child, I was fascinated by my own reflection, and loved to see myself through other people's eyes. Then, having taken their memory of me, I got to see that first impression made all over again.

It was only later, my appetite sated, that I looked back at them through my own eyes, and saw what I had done: I left a trail of absent-minded adults in my wake, a line of scatterbrained saps that I had heartlessly betrayed. The tragedy was that I could feel the depth of their love for me, enjoy its honeyed texture on my tongue, only as I tore them apart: my pleasure underlining my guilt, my tooth-marks in the hand that fed.

That was when I learnt the limitations of my power: I could take memories, but I didn't know how to put them back.

But enough of that; I also cannot cleanse my own memory, or shouldn't, or dare not try. The guilt serves as an anchor, or perhaps a lighthouse. I know that I am that which would be easily miscast, a fairy-tale monster, the devourer of souls; those lessons remind me of that possibility, the ease with which I might still stray from my new conscientious path, but also that I haven't - that I'm not that creature after all. I saw what I had done, and I stopped. I decided to be something else.

I allow them their mementos, their keepsakes and souvenirs; moments they'd look back on years from now. A first family holiday, the time a father taught a daughter how to fly a kite. The time a mother helped her son to build a castle in the sand. Memories to be shared, not taken. In a way, these times of joy would be the worst of all to steal, like leaving footprints through that castle rather than the mud.

My appetite survives, but now I fill it with the sweeter taste of dreams. I am the folklore sandman in reverse, drawing the magic dust from their eyes, taking the memories they will never know to miss; for dreams are still experienced, still seen behind closed lids, and always remembered. Unless, of course, I remember them first. You may recall the change yourself - how, when you were younger, dreams felt more solid in your waking grasp, when now they dissipate like so much sand between your fingertips. That is, if you recall that much at all.

They may be false in their confected wonder, filled with artificial flavours and impossible conceits, but they are all the sweeter for that fabrication. I have to work at night, but it is worth it for the way the colours dance against the dark; it is hard to believe that I ever gorged myself on the humdrum recollections of my daily life, just seen from alternate angles, when I could have flown and visited alien worlds, breathed deep under the ocean waves or transformed into a giraffe - that I ever settled for a mirror, when I could have held a kaleidoscope.

"Take only memories," the sign said. As if I could ever want for anything more.

#writing #short story #writeblr #creative writing #original writing

[v01dcha0s]

Spirit guides 101 - brief introduction to working with spirit guides

Working with spirit guides is probably one of the best (imo) way to start developing your spiritual self. They know you more then anyone and so, by building a relationship with them you can get a poverful insign on yourself and your everyday life stuff. Everyone has a higher being watching over and helping them, even if we don't acknowledge them.

When I first stated working with my spirit guides, there was so little information on them, that I had to simply try everything out on myself. Please, keep in mind that those informations are based on my own experiance and thus they may or may not be accurate to your own path.

What is a spirit guide?

To put it simply, it's a higher being that was a) assign to you since birth or b) assign to you for a period of time. They could come in many numbers, shapes, forms. They can be a part of some religious or spiritual practice. They could be a deity, daemon, ancestor, souls from your past life, angel, folklore spirit, elemental spirit, spirit animal or a simple spirit (honestly, I can't think of anymore types but there is probably more). Their type doesn't influence their work but you migh have to take some different approach to different beings while working with them. Do your reaserch as much as possible.

q: my spirit guide/s tell me that their are (insert type of higher being) and then they change their identity to (insert other type of higher being). Why?

That was my first ever "wall" I ancounter while starting to work with my spirit guides, and it came to my attention that many other people have the same issue. Determinating what type of spirit is never easy at the begining. It might feel like they're just messing with you and doesn't take you seriously (it felt like to me). The answer to it is simple. You get mixed signals becouse their energy is new to yours. Imagine it like this: you found a new radio with brand new funcions that you never had experiance with. You turn it on but the wave get's distorted so you can't understand many signals. You realize it's just that the handle for changing the wave fequancy is fragile so it takes you some time to get a feel to it. Take some time and don't sweat much. Talk to them and with development of your relationship the communication will become clearer.

How to meet your spirit guide/s?

There's few options to choose from and every single one is not better from the other. If you're a begginer, try everything a little bit if you can and want to but don't push yourself to do something because it's what this post tells you to do.

Meditation - you can try guided meditation or meditate without it; usually you meet your spirit guide/s in astral plane so take your time since astral projection is not easy at the begining (there's so much more to say abt astral projection so maybe I'll write a post about it)

Pendulum - quite easy to use, just use a pendulum board with it (then your answers will be more accurate). Just hold a pendulum above the board and then ask the yes or no type question. (The board doesn't have to be from wood. I use a piece of paper)

Tarot - this could take some time if you never did tarot readings (but don't let this discourage you). You could ask them for a card that represents them or that has the same energy as them (or similar)

How to communicate with spirit guide/s?

You can use methods from above, since they are quite universal. Communication with spirit guides is not so easy at the beginning but with time it gets better. What is the key to building a solid communication and relationship with your spirit guides is consistency. Try to talk to them once a day, if you have more time then meditate etc. Ask them questions (about you or them) or ask for help/clarification if you are in need of it. Be open minded and don't push anything. Be patient.

What spirit guides are for?

Clarification

Giving signs

Answering questions (only ones that concern your person)

Passing knowledge

Comfort

Help with decision making

Good companionship

Helping with witchcraft, spells etc.

Guidance for your spiritual path

If you have any questions regarding spirit guides my askbox is open :)

Lynxys

#witch tips #spirit guidance #spirit guides #witchcraft #spirituality #witchblr #spiritualjourney #magick

[leweebdepoche]

If pure love was an anime, it would be this one இ௰இ

TO THE FOREST OF FIREFLIES’ LIGHTS (Romance/Fantasy) 2011 – Movie

Takahiro Omori

Rating: 10/10

If we love romances with spirits so much, they always have that little touch of tragedy that makes us so fragile and human. This beauty makes us shiver and remains anchored in our hearts once the film is over... It is this emotion that Hotarubi no mori e makes us experience to perfection. Borrowed from Japanese folklore which makes it so mysterious, this anime is the perfect picture of the purity of love. But is pure love so utopian that it is doomed to be ephemeral?

Hotaru is just a little girl when she meets Gin in the forest of spirits next to her uncle's house. It takes her a while to understand that the boy is not human, but she eventually understands and refrains from touching him at all costs. At the slightest contact, the spell placed on him by the mountain god will break and Gin will evaporate into thin air, leaving only his clothes behind... This does not prevent them from spending summers filled with play and shared moments in the forest, despite the constant recommendations of the spirits towards Hotaru who risks making their protégé disappear.

Very quickly, expectation sets between the seasons, and the friendship that the spirit and the young human have formed quickly become something stronger. Another expectation quickly sets in: the need to touch the other... If they finally manage to bring their bodies together in the same way that their hearts already are, it is at a price that allows no turning back.

Following in the footsteps of a joyful Hotaru who is always in the clouds, from her childhood to her adolescence, it is a beautiful discovery of love that is made in a very gentle and poetic way. The contemplative aspect of the anime adds to the depth of feeling as does its traditional Japanese folklore of spirits. If both of them know the end that awaits them, their reunion is nonetheless very touching. And the determination with which Hotaru faces the situation despite his sadness and the forgiveness of the spirits to see their protégé disappear leaves a bittersweet taste that remains stuck in a corner of the mind. Hotarubi no mori is one of those anime that it would be a shame not to have in our suitcase of life…

« I feel like it will take me a long time before I long for summer to come again…” Hotaru

#hotarubi no mori e #manga anime #animes #manga #anime review #mangas #anime recommendation #i am a weeb #anime #weeb #animés #weeblog #to the forest of fireflies' light #takegawa hotaru #ginxhotaru #shojo romance #romance #romance manga #anime romance #shojo anime #shojo #shojo review #shojo reccomandation #fantasy #japanese folklore #spirits

[youshouldseemyotherusername]

Not a question more of a far fetched theory based on your post about Daylight. Midnight as a parallel to Lover makes sense if you look at the last few albums as one continuous story.

We start off with Reputation. An album about blossoming love that is believed to be end game. The start of that relationship is fragile and you want to do everything to protect it. Even though you haven’t been together long you want that person forever but you’re terrified of what will happen if someone finds out (specifically if you’re looking at it through a queer perspective. I mean why would it matter if someone found out about a low profile hetero relationship? Make it queer and now we’ve got a juicy story).

Moving onto Lover (where our story starts), the relationship has been established but the fear of losing the person you love so deeply has only deepened. This album is dripping with anxiety and the fear of losing them. Cracks are forming and you’re terrified (Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, The Archer, Daylight, etc.). After searching for the person you believe to be the one losing them would be detrimental. Truly the duality of love and melancholy.

*While folklore and evermore are described as fictional albums, folklores intro states the speculation over time becomes fact so bare with me*

Folklore explores the ending of that relationship you were so terrified to lose. It exposes the hurt and sorrow over having lost the one. Changing everything about yourself to fit in is heartbreaking and in the end wasn’t enough. It didn’t matter how much you tried, what you did, or how badly you wanted them to be the one that relationship is now over. Very much an album processing the grief of a relationship ending.

Evermore is the other stage of that grief. You’ve finally processed what happened and you’re trying your best to accept it (happiness fully embodies this sentiment). In evermore you’re still not okay but better. The other person is moving on wanting closure that you don’t accept.

Now this last part is even more speculation than the rest since we have yet to hear midnight. This album can be seen as a parallel to Lover, specifically Daylight. From the little blurb we got it it’s pretty safe to assume this album will be devastating lyrically. At the end of Daylight we hear Taylor saying that she doesn’t want to be defined by the things she hates or fears but by what she loves. I’m taking a wild guess that that didn’t end well and these 13 songs are going to define that fear, anger, and anxiety. No longer does she feel the warmth of daylight. The darkness that midnight brings has taken over.

Excuse me while I take my tin hat a hide in a corner.

COME OFF ANON AND LET ME JOIN YOU WITH YOUR TIN HAT!!!

There's so much of this I LOVE. Especially the dynamic between Folklore being fresher grief and Evermore being the stage past that, I think that sums up the feel of those albums together perfectly.

The thing about the "fictional" Folklore and Evermore, I think it was said how she was using fictional characters to explore herself through (I would need to find and confirm that again) which gives those albums that emotional connection.

I'm really happy you shared your thoughts with me, feel free to do so again any time x

#gaylor #lover #reputation #folklore #evermore #such a great view on the relationship of them all #anon #anyone who wants to share Gaylor theories they might not want to on their own blog please send me and i can share on your behalf!

[swiftieinlove91]

thank u taylor

hey taylor. hey tumblr.

this is my first tumblr account, and I made it because I know Taylor Swift lurks on here sometimes, and I hope this message finds her.

Taylor, I want to say thank you, and I didn't know of any way you might see it better than tumblr. You have been such a huge influence in my life - sometimes in ways I haven't always realized until years later. I remember the first time I heard one of your songs, and connected it to you, and realized I loved it. It was "Love Story," and my mom was driving me to Friendly's before school started that day to meet up with a bunch of fellow drama kids the morning of opening night of one of our plays (it was a tradition for us to meet for breakfast). I remember that the sky was a steely blue-grey, and that I was full of anticipation and nerves and hope for that night. I'd been homeschooled most of my life, and it was my first time joining in on this breakfast tradition. I hoped some of the other kids liked me. I had a crush on one of the stage crew boys. and Love Story came on the radio and something about it hit me in that moment - I was young, I was in love, I had hopes and fears and parents who I couldn't always count on to support me. your song affirmed and soothed all of that, and added to the young, naive, fragile, intense beauty of that moment.

later, i was in grad school and 1989 had just come out. i had the cd and it was the only thing i ever played in my car, just on repeat. from the joyfulness of "welcome to new york" (which i would play without fail every time i drove from grad school in maine to home to buffalo, NY, making sure to have it blasting at exactly the moment when I crossed into NY), the no-f's-given attitude of "shake it off," to the devastating, wrenching, cleansing sadness of "clean." I played that album so much that friends i carpooled with regularly inadvertently became swifties as a result of me driving them around xD

then, later, i was a young woman who had just ended an engagement, after a 6-year-long relationship that started when i was 19, in my mid-20s and feeling hot and vibrant and sexy and strong and powerful and untouchable for the first time ever. Reputation came out and i felt all the strong, sensual energy in every single song. It became the anthem to my being. you helped me, you showed me that it was possible and beautiful and completely okay to step into my power. i was single and i was living alone for the first time ever and i was so unsure and so scared but you helped me feel like i had power, and I would figure all those things out.

lover buoyed me as i tried to re-navigate love again after ending such a long and serious commitment. it provided both salve for the wounds, in terms of beautiful songs like "death by a thousand cuts," as well as hope for more and better, in songs like, of course, "lover."

and then the pandemic hit, and you literally saved my life. "folklore" and "evermore" were incredible, precious gifts. they felt so authentic - like less-planned, just loving gifts to your fans and the people who love you. they are what got me through 2020. i was living in Dakar, Senegal at the time the pandemic started, and in late march i was mandatorily evacuated by the US govt back to buffalo. i had nowhere to live, no car, no savings, no health insurance, no plan (my plan had been to continue to live and work abroad for a few years, then pursue a doctorate degree abroad). i watched everything i'd planned and worked so hard for fall apart in the matter of a week. and then folklore came along, and it helped soothe me, and helped me feel connected to everyone else in the world who was going through similar things - our lives and plans and dreams coming derailed by something none of us had planned for, could have possibly planned for.

this was also when i started to really reflect on myself and who i am (i had a lot of time lol). i finally felt free and strong and ready enough to step into my queer identity. i don't know if it was intentional or not, and i don't want to assume anything about your personal life, but songs like "seven" and "betty" and "august" helped me come into that truth about myself. again, i don't want to assume anything about you personally, but your songs helped me find and be okay with myself, and i want to thank you.

and then evermore was just icing on a gift-cake ;) i went through another really bad breakup in 2021, one that shook my perception of reality to its core. your songs kept me grounded.

and now, here we are, post-midnights. i met you there at midnight. i stayed up til 4 am on a worknight to listen to the full album, several times through, and then the bonus tracks. i SCREECHED at the beginning of "vigilante shit." i danced along to the full album. i cried during "question...?" and "sweet nothing."

in between all of this, for the last several years, I watch your "artist of the decade" performance and your live in paris performances from lover and your performance of "false god" on snl and your tiny desk concert and your interviews.

i don't know how you've managed to do it, but i feel like i've grown up with you, and i feel like every album you release is exactly what my heart needs at that moment in time. you've taught me so much about how to find oneself, how to overcome adversity with class and grace, how to tune out the haters, how to believe in myself and my power. thank you. thank you thank you thank you. your music and your words have been here with me throughout my life, buoying and affirming and teaching and loving and powerful. i am so incredibly grateful to be alive in a time and space where i've gotten to grow up alongside you, and so incredibly grateful that you have pushed through everything you have to be the shining light you are.

thank you, taylor <3

#taylor swift #swiftie #swifties #taylor #thank you taylor

[septembersghost]

That Evermore clip made me tear & think back of my dad & then later of my friend’s dad. The guys in my family are more tech savvy- my brother would assist with more newer tech, lol- my dad would reminisce about using a slide ruler (no calculators yet) when studying engineering. My friend’s dad would carpool us in grade school & treated us to cherry slushies a couple of times. He passed from Parkinson a few years before ours did from cancer. Take & make memories when you can… so TS did. Sigh.

these are really lovely memories, thank you for sharing them. i think they'd be honored that you remember them in this way, and you have my thoughts and sympathy on their losses. *hugs close*

there's quite a lot of grief and memorializing reflection on evermore, i know there's debate in the fandom about which album is heavier, but evermore is much more difficult for me (some of this could also be it being clouded by darker memories/a fragile emotional state at the time of its release), and yet the way it confronts loss does contain some catharsis and definitely can stir those emotions and reminiscences. marjorie speaks directly to that of course - i should've asked you questions, i should've asked you how to be; you're alive in my head - but i think little evermore itself contains quite a bit of that too. i couldn't be sure, i had a feeling so peculiar that this pain would be for evermore...and then slowly you breathe and the ice begins to crack and the pain fades away a bit. it doesn't mean it's gone, it isn't, but you realize that you survived it. whether weather be the frost or the violence of the dog days, whatever steps you're taking, whatever is real and good enough to get you through. it's a powerful thing, but often very quiet, and might go by unnoticed to others. i always feel that in that song. both folklore and evermore embody that quote from wandavision, which i still find very affecting - what is grief if not love persevering?

#anonymous #letterbox #❤❤❤ to you sweetheart #thrown out speeches #evermore #grief does not expire like a candle or the beacon on a lighthouse; it simply changes temperature #calamitous love and insurmountable grief #i don't think i've used that tag in a while

[jukemaid]

i have an "azem lived instead of emet-selch" au that i feel like blabbing about... it's very self-indulgent and gives me the opportunity to flex my overpowered oc and explore stuff about her.

so to start fate decided hestia lives instead of him, which leaves her totally isolated bc she's Not on team zodiark and can't fucking stand to face the survivors who she considers both traitors and murderers. same with venat. just not even gonna deal with that. which leads to her spending a very, very long time just... abiding by her role as azem and exploring the new worlds that were sundered. she's heartbroken at the state of it and its people, but over time begins to interact with the new mankind and eases herself into a semblance of normalcy within their societies. hestia's by no means foolish and knows how fragile and weak they are compared to her, and that she can't utilize even a fraction of her power lest she royally fuck up a great deal of things. but thankfully she's always valued traits unrelated to her vast reserves of strength (it's always been her personality putting others off and keeping her from becoming a legend lmao)

problem is that the other two survivors of her people WANT to fuck up everything. and while she initially doesn't want to interfere bc she just straight up doesn't care, time and healing make her care-- about all of these worlds and their people. and she feels sick with herself for even debating whether they were worth saving, because that never was an issue before and the fact she would hesitate means she's too far gone to continue living as she was. change must occur and she can't let these cruelties continue.

hestia is not an innately kind and merciful woman, is the thing. not like her dear soul-descendant tiamat. when she confronts what's become of lahabrea and elidibus, she does so with the full intention of stopping them by any means necessary. and their grief and lack of care (which she almost fell victim too as well) has made them sloppy. on the flipside, she's found something she must protect, because no one else is strong enough to face their biggest threat. but hestia? hestia is strong. she is the strongest of them all, and always has been, and she is no longer hesitating.

azem becomes the last living ancient in existence. whether this happens before any rejoinings do is up for debate. but the heartbreak returns full force and she once again self-isolates, numbly traveling the lands and unintentionally earning a reputation for herself all the while. hestia lives along the fringes of civilization, never quite connecting with anyone, but unable to stop herself from intervening during times of crisis. after all, that was her purpose as azem, which is the only thing really keeping her grounded. she helps as necessary, becoming a sort of guardian angel to mortals, if not somewhat of a deity in her own right.

stories are passed through generations of families saved from natural disasters by the inexplicable timing of a strange person in robes, who ushered the people to safety while wielding incredible magicks to tame the land itself, and stop its destruction. in some cases, she appears to do little more than be a comforting presence for those in pain and grieving. she gently leads lost children to safety, humming lullabies to soothe their fear, which they then pass down to their children, and children's children. the way hestia involves herself with humanity is sporadic and largely unknown in intent. she does nothing in times of war. she does not cure plagues. centuries pass without a sighting, and she becomes little more than folklore, though no less revered for it.

hestia laments on how clumsy she got in concealing herself. it's uncomfortable to be considered someone of such worship when all she used to be was a weird lady who liked to set fires and annoy her grouchy friend. she's only been tempered by time and loneliness, and acts when it's convenient and she doesn't have the heart to refuse. she can't be the one to solve society's problems and she can't be their savior. she's just a person who wants to do the right thing in a situation where doing so may lead to catastrophic consequences later down the line.

that said, she lives with them once again, and more permanently. her relationships are always fleeting, and she embraces jobs that allow her to learn the new systems (and adapted old ones) of the sundered universe in better detail. her intellect allows her to earn a living as a scholar more often than not, but her wanderlust sometimes rears its head and drives her into bouts of adventuring just for the sake of it. she lives "entire" human lives and invents new ones as needed, and moves from place to place as she does. it's not ideal, but hestia makes her peace and even becomes content with it, and all its small moments of joy it brings her.

it's once again convenience that leads her to act, this time in the fallout of war and exodus. she remains a passive bystander for the most part, secretly warding away hostile wildlife and encroaching blizzards from crossing paths with the refugees. if they happen across a recently abandoned, still fresh, elk carcass, that's neither here nor there. but hestia has another reason to stick to a particular group, bc in the midst of the people she recognizes the soul of her long-passed friends. she's seen the same phenomena countless times, of course, so it's not exactly new. it's a bittersweet thing, to know that the demise of those she cared for resulted in so many new lives coming into being. she never involves herself with them, since they're strangers regardless. trying to force the past onto a wildly different present is too dangerous of a thought to entertain.

the only reason this is different is because, after so much time passes that hestia creates a new identity on the fly to interact with the mortals, she finds out the familiar soul belongs to an orphaned child, damned to suffer lack of care and low priority against the rest. and this, she can act on, whether foolish or not.

and that's how hestia, formerly of the seat of azem and the last living ancient, has to suddenly figure out how to parent bc she couldn't leave a child to die, regardless of their soul, and not if she could do anything about it. and how a little boy gained a new family and mother in a strange woman who always feels like home, like a hearth, and sometimes embarrasses him in front of everyone by charming everyone she comes into contact with. she's weird, but they're happy.

[xxrevengeoftheswiftxx]

Do all just....hear the opening notes of a specific album and just descend into tears?

.....because that is exactly what happens when I listen to folklore

#literally the first piano notes of the 1 are a gut punch #my bottom lip quivers and its all over #folklore makes me feel so fragile #but in the best way and i love this album #taylor swift #taylor nation #folklore #folklore era #taylurking #ts8 #ts8 folklore

[crystalsenergy]

the primary archetypes and the 12 zodiac signs (and planets) #4

all images don't belong to me. credits to the appropriate authors.

10 - The Wise Old (Sage) - Saturn/Capricorn

The old sage archetype (or senex archetype). It's an archetype related to a person with profound knowledge about life, who has a lot to teach others precisely because she/has has learned a lot from life. Good for giving advice and showing the value of time and the importance of knowing how to make the right choices.

Capricorn is the sign of duties, often linked to being more rigid and hard on yourself for recognizing the need to say no to some things, in order to achieve others in life. It's the sign of what will be built and achieved in the course of life, and it usually relates to the lessons that life gives us, the need to learn from them. Capricorn has an aura of hardness, but at the same time it's melancholy. It seems to bring knowledge and certainties [of the more complicated side of life] that come from years ago. That's why they say Capricorns look old. In the soul they are indeed.

Saturn is very related to this archetype since it's the planet of karma, of what we must learn over time (and that we sometimes learn from difficulties). From difficulties we can build many learning that will serve as a basis for future experiences.

11 - The Trickster - Aquarius / Uranus

Rebel archetype. When searching, you find descriptions like: "A trickster is, in mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal that plays pranks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and norms of behavior". And that's right. The trickster energy that is within the rebel archetype is one that brings a certain pleasure to the person in disobeying the rules already imposed, in going against what is expected in certain patterns of behavior. It's the archetype of the person who criticizes, but of the person who also makes use of humor and her/his ability to deceive and make fun of others, going against what is expected of her/him. Possessing, many times, a noble objective behind this rebellious attitude. This is the case with Robin Hood.

No one better than Aquarius to represent these characteristics. We know they are very rebellious, they don't like to appear predictable to others. Some, because they like it, prefer to show themselves against others because they feel pleasure and sometimes because they really like it. Robin Hood definitely sounds very Aquarius: critical and aimed at social groups, especially the less fortunate.

Uranus is the planet that I usually call different, precisely because it has an unique originality with it, a desire to do something different in those matters it touches and influences.

12 - The Self - Pisces/Neptune

And finally we come to the end of the list of the main archetypes. The Self archetype is undoubtedly one of the most important as it deals with the one that dissolves all existing barriers between the Ego and the Self, making both create an axis so that the person not only lives attached to what her/his Ego says she/he is, but let it be the whole integrality of what she/he was born to be: the Self. The Self or self in Jungian psychology means the unification of the conscious (Ego) and the unconscious, presenting the psyche as a whole. It's what we must seek to know throughout our live, and for this to happen we must embrace all our sides - from the most fragile and vulnerable, to the most solidified and convinced. It's the archetype of the end of everything, the sensitivity and dissolution of the "ideal" personality to find its original personality.

(This image represents the way that a person connected to his Persona, and therefore to his Ego, ends up living).

In terms of personality development and reaching your Self, it's right to stay true to who you were born to be, rather than molding and getting lost in what is most predominant, what the crowd expects of you. And where are YOUR desires? And your fears, and your desires? Do you allow them to flow without repressing them for fear of what you will find through them? Would you rather be more you, or be what others expect of you?

What else does Pisces mean if not all these characteristics?! Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, and no wonder. Pisces closes the whole cycle because it's the one who has a little bit of everything inside, and it managed to develop enough empathy to transcend, enough ability to touch all of its sides and allow the vulnerability to also transcend and know who he really is. It's the sign that feels everything, but at the same time can't describe everything it feels - but knows how to play in these experiences like no one else. When Pisces decides to give in to deep self-knowledge, this sign has this ability to reach the Self like no one else.

Neptune, ahhh, Neptune... it's the planet who gives these characteristics to Pisces, Neptune ruler of the seas, of sensibility, of the unification of being.

#pisces #neptune #aquarius #uranus #capricorn #saturn #trickster archetype #self archetype #self #the wise old sage #senex archetype #senex #archetypes #psychology #astrology psychology #astrology psychological #psychological astrology #astrology and psychology