#patron saint: aaron

[themetaphorgirl]

I hope you’re doing okay today Darling!!

I’ve been craving a soft Aaron and Spencer Drabble, I’m not even sure of the circumstances but just Spencer absolutely refusing everyone any sort of interaction or affection, he just want to be with his bubba, only wants him to cuddle him, carry him, all that fun stuff - maybe it’s at like a weird stage in the future where Spencer is acknowledging Alex and James getting together and wanting to give Alex some space so his focus just moves to Aaron in the meantime?? But also Aaron low-key loves it… idk, do with that what you will!!

Sending love always! 💙

This blended with wanting to write some Hotchley, so please enjoy this very squishy and sweet drabble.

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Being invited to the Lincoln House Saturday movie night was a huge deal. 

It wasn’t like Aaron’s friends didn’t approve of her or anything- Haley knew they liked her, and she and Penelope were definitely friends. But there was a specific kind of closeness that the nine of them shared, an inner circle that she didn’t belong to. And that was okay. 

(Also, if she was honest, Aaron’s twin sister made her a little nervous. Alex was unfailingly kind and nice, but Haley couldn’t help but feel intimidated by a girl with straight As, fluency in multiple languages, and a ballet scholarship. And she knew that Alex would not hesitate if she did anything at all to break Aaron’s heart.)

But she had caught Aaron’s eye in the hallway during a passing period on Friday, and he had crossed through the crowd to catch up to her. “Hi,” she said, a little breathless, hugging her books to her chest. 

“Hey, I was hoping I would run into you,” he said. 

He said something else but she didn’t quite catch it. She was too busy staring at him. Aaron was beautiful, with his serious dark eyes and his high sharp cheekbones and the cut line of his jaw. His hair was swept back from his forehead, not a strand out of place, and his uniform fit him perfectly. 

“Oh, yeah,” she said, hoping she answered him correctly and wondering if he would ever feel as thunderstruck looking at her as she did when she looked at him. 

“Yeah, it’s my turn to pick the movie for movie night this Saturday, and Penelope suggested I ask you to come hang out with us,” Aaron said. “We’ll probably start around four o’clock. Would that be okay?”

“Yes!” she said. “I mean…yes, yeah, that sounds like fun.”

“Great,” he said, and when he smiled at her his eyes lit up. “You can text me if you need to. Or Penelope, uh…you have her number too, right?”

“Yeah, I do, don’t worry,” she said. 

“Hey, Hotch, I have a question for you!” a kid in a red Lincoln tie called, and Aaron walked away, his expression falling back in serious lines. Haley resisted the urge to sigh dreamily. It wasn’t a date, but she was going to spend more time with him, at least. 

She tried on half a dozen outfits before she decided on exactly what she was going to wear. “Aren’t you just hanging out with the angry Lincoln kid and his weirdo friends?” Harper said as she lounged on her bed and scrolled idly through TikTok. “You really don’t have to dress up.”

“I’m not dressing up, I just want to look nice,” Haley objected. “And Aaron isn’t angry. He’s just…serious.”

Harper snorted. “Could’ve fooled me,” she said. “He looks like the human version of a thundercloud. I think his face would crack if he smiled.”

“He’s nothing like that, he’s so sweet,” Haley said. She looked herself up and down in the mirror. “This is cute but not trying too hard, right?”

“Yeah, you like fine,” Harper said. She glanced over her shoulder. “Somebody’s texting you.” Haley picked it up and smiled. “Ooh, what’s that face for?”

“Aaron wants to meet me early at the Honeybean for a coffee run,” she said. “I’m going to go right now?”

“Oh, an actual date?”

“No, no, we’re just hanging out,” Haley said. She spritzed on her favorite perfume and immediately second guessed herself, maybe it was too much. “And I won’t say no to getting coffee with a cute boy.”

“He’s not that cute, he’s just tall!” Harper called after as she left the room. Haley rolled her eyes. Aaron was cute, she’d heard the other girls in theatre club talking about him. But Harper was right, he was always so serious and solemn. She wondered what it would take to get him out of his shell.

It was a chilly day, on the verge of drizzling, and she regretted not grabbing a jacket on the way out. I’ll get a hot coffee and that’ll fix it, she thought. Her heart skipped a beat as she opened the door to the coffee shop. Be cool, Brooks. You’re just hanging out with Aaron and his friends. 

She caught sight of him immediately. His dark hair was unstyled, falling soft and floppy over his forehead, and he was dressed in jeans and a dark blue zipup hoodie she’d seen him wear to rehearsals. But to her surprise, he wasn’t alone. 

“Hi!” Aaron said, his eyes lighting up. 

“Hi!” Spencer echoed happily. He held Aaron’s hand and smiled up at her. 

“Sorry, he just really wanted to come with me,” Aaron said, absently running his hand over Spencer’s tousled hair. 

“No, no, it’s fine!” Haley said. “Hi, Spencer.”

“We’ve been sent to pick up everyone’s coffee orders,” Spencer informed her. “Emily hasn’t had caffeine yet today and there’s a distinct chance she might murder Dave without it.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Haley laughed. 

She stood next to Aaron in line, close enough to smell the spicy clean scent of his body wash. “So are you going to auditions for the black box show?” she asked. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “One musical might be enough for me.”

“Oh, no, you have to!” she said. “You were so good. And I could totally see you in this show.”

His ears turned faintly pink as he ducked his head, almost shy. “I think you’re just desperate for more guys to audition,” he said. 

She elbowed him lightly. “I mean, yeah, but also you’re really talented,” she teased. 

Spencer tugged on the hem of Aaron’s hoodie. “Hotch, I can’t see what’s in the case,” he said. “Could you pick me up, please?”

Aaron picked him up easily and set him on his hip. “Better?” he asked. 

“Yes, thank you,” Spencer said. He wrapped his arms around Aaron’s neck. “Can we get something for Alex?”

Aaron laughed. “Yeah, I think we can do that, if you see something you think she’d like,” he said. 

Haley smiled at the sight of them. She still wasn’t exactly sure how Aaron’s family worked- she was starting to get the sneaking suspicion that neither Alex nor Spencer were actually related to him- but he was clearly fond of the little boy, and Spencer clearly adored him. They were so sweet. 

“Hi, you ready to order?” the barista at the register asked. 

Aaron dug his phone out of his pocket. “Yeah, hi,” he said. He balanced Spencer comfortably on his hip as he pulled up his list. “I need a large cold brew with light iced, nothing in it, and a large strawberry green tea…”

He wasn’t kidding when he said he’d been sent on the coffee run; he ordered half a dozen drinks as he read off his list. “Bubba, can we get Birdy a coffee cake? She likes those,” Spencer said. 

“Yeah, of course,” Aaron said. He bounced him lightly. “And do you want a cake pop?”

“Yes, thank you!” Spencer said.

Aaron turned to Haley. “What would you like?” he asked. 

She blinked. “Oh!” she said. “Oh, you don’t need to get me anything.”

He smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling up. “But I want to,” he said. He leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Besides, Emily sent me with her black Amex, so the sky’s the limit.”

“Oh, well, in that case,” she laughed. “A hot caramel macchiato, please.” 

“Did you know that in Italian macchiato means ‘stained milk’?” Spencer said. 

“No, I actually didn’t,” Haley said. 

Aaron set Spencer down carefully. “Here, Bug, you can carry these,” he said, handing him the snacks. He brushed his dark hair back from his eyes, almost nervously. “Do you mind helping me carry these?”

She nodded and he held out one of the drink carriers. Her fingertips trailed over his as she took it. “Thanks,” she said, and he smiled at her, a little bashfully. 

“We should, um…we should probably go,” Aaron said. “We need to get the movies started.”

“Movies, plural?”

“We’re going to watch the Indiana Jones trilogy!” Spencer piped up. “I’m excited. I’m not well-versed in pop culture but I like Stephen Spielberg’s works so far.”

“Oh, really?” Haley said. She was never sure what was going to come out of Spencer’s mouth next, but she did have a mental list of questions a mile long. “What’s been your favorite so far?”

“Jaws, I think.”

“Jaws gave you nightmares,” Aaron pointed out, holding the door open with his hip as they walked out of the shop. 

“So did ET!” Spencer objected. “And everyone promised me it was a kid’s movie!”

“ET gave me nightmares when I was a kid too,” Haley said. “The scene when he’s all wrinkled up and dying? Terrifying.”

Aaron laughed. She smiled up at him, and this time when she brushed her hand against his their fingers intertwined, just long enough for him to squeeze and then let go. “I was scared of Snow White,” he admitted. “When I was like three. The whole hag thing.”

“When the film premiered in 1937, movie theaters kept having to replace their seats because kids were getting so scared of the evil queen that they would wet their pants,” Spencer said. 

“I didn’t get that scared,” Aaron said wryly. He glanced up at the rapidly darkening sky. “Jesus, it’s going to pour today, isn’t it?”

Spencer slipped his hand into Aaron’s. “It never rains like this in Las Vegas,” he said. 

“You’ll get used to it, Bug,” Aaron said, squeezing his hand. “For now let’s just get back to Lincoln, okay?”

The rain held off just long enough for them to make it into the lobby; Haley shook a couple of raindrops from her hair. She has never actually been inside Lincoln House before, and she tried not to make her gawking too obvious as they climbed the stairs. Everyone knew Lincoln was for the “troubled kids,” kids that were on the edge of getting expelled from their own schools but had some kind of exceptional academic or athletic or artistic talent that made them desirable enough to St. Thaddeus to offer them a scholarship. The building certainly didn’t look as nice and and new as her own dorm did- the paint was peeling in places and the architecture was shabby and outdated- but there was a kind of warmth and coziness to it, especially when they made it to the common room. 

“Hotch, thank god, I need caffeine,” a girl in ripped jeans and a vintage tee shirt said. Haley had seen her around multiple times before; she had never seen her in correct dress code once. “Which one’s mine?”

“Jesus, Emily, give us a second,” Hotch said. He set his drink carrier down on the table and took Haley’s from her. “Everybody can figure out their own.”

Spencer zipped over to where Alex was sitting and held out one of the paper packets as the rest of the kids swarmed the drinks, bickering as they searched through them. “Aaron said we could get you a coffee cake,” he said. 

Alex beamed at him. “Thank you, dearest,” she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

“I got a cake pop!” he said happily. 

A tall boy with soft sandy brown hair leaned over the back of the couch and held out a cup for Alex. “Chai latte?” he said. Alex tilted her head back to be kissed and he happily obliged before handing her the cup. Haley hid a smile. She’d heard the rumors, but they were cute to see in person. 

“Who ordered a macchiato?” JJ called. “None of us ever get macchiatos.”

Haley raised her hand. “That’s mine,” she said, and half the assembled group whipped around to look at her. 

“Oh damn, Haley, when did you get here?” Derek said, grinning at her. 

“I came with Aaron,” she said. 

Penelope made a face. “Who’s Aaron…oh! Hotch!” she said. “I always forget he has a first name.”

“He, um, he asked me to help him with the coffee run,” she said. She glanced around; he wasn’t in the common room and she felt a little awkward. “He invited me for movie night.”

“Oh yeah, we know,” the girl in the ripped jeans said, smirking. Alex shot her a look from across the room and she shrugged. 

“Okay, I’m here, we can start now,” Aaron said as he walked back into the room. He had changed from his jeans to a pair of joggers, and he held a stack of DVDs in his hand. Penelope zipped over to take it from him. “Everybody’s met Haley, right?”

“No, no, not everybody,” Penelope said as she popped the first disc into the DVD player. 

Aaron pointed them out. “That’s Emily, that’s Dave, that’s James,” he said. “You know Penelope and Derek, I think you’ve met JJ…and you definitely know Alex and Spencer.”

JJ handed Haley her coffee. “Hopefully we don’t scare you off,” she said. 

“What do you mean? We’re delightful,” Dave said dryly from behind his laptop. 

“Okay, I’ve got it, movie’s starting,” Penelope announced. She found her spot on the floor between Spencer and JJ; the younger kids had made a nest of blankets and pillows. “Everybody find a place to sit.”

Haley glanced around. Aaron beckoned to her; he’d claimed a seat on the couch and there was enough space for her. She sat down gingerly next to him and smiled. 

Rain started tapping against the windows ten minutes into the movie, and pouring hard by thirty. She sipped her coffee and scooted herself a little closer to Aaron’s warmth, as close as she dared. Snuggling would probably be too bold, but she wouldn’t be mad at all if it happened. 

Spencer scrambled up from the floor. “Bubba, I’m cold,” he said. 

“You want my hoodie?” Aaron asked. He unzipped it, and as he pulled it up it rucked up the hem of his shirt, just enough for Haley to catch a little glimpse of his stomach. “There. Better?”

“Yes, thank you,” Spencer beamed. The hoodie hung down to his knobby little knees. “Can I sit next to you?”

Aaron blinked. “Uh…you don’t want to sit with the girls?” he asked. 

Alex sat up a little; she had been leaning back against James and skimming a book while the movie played. “You can come sit with me,” she said. 

“No, thank you, I want to sit with Bubba,” Spencer said, clambering up to Aaron’s other side. Aaron glanced over at her, almost apologetically. But it was so cute, she couldn’t be put out. Spencer tucked himself against Aaron’s side, his knees drawn up to his chest, and Aaron draped an arm around him. 

“Okay, I’m ordering pizza, last call for any special requests,” Dave announced. Derek sat up eagerly. “I’m not ordering a whole pizza just for you, Morgan. Haley, anything you’d like? We’re getting cheese, pepperoni, sausage…and Hawaiian, because Penelope makes wild choices.”

“Hawaiian pizza is delicious,” Penelope announced. 

“I’m good, those all sound great,” Haley laughed. 

Aaron leaned closer to her. “Oh, watch this, this is my favorite part of the first movie,” he whispered in her ear. 

Haley shivered happily. He was close enough that his breath could warm her skin, and she hoped she didn’t actually blush. 

So far, though, movie night was going well. Aaron’s friends were fun, they bantered and bickered with each other and commented on what was happening in the movie. She just wished she could have a little more one on one time with Aaron, but she couldn’t blame him for being distracted by his little brother. The storm was getting louder and louder outside, and Spencer was leaning heavily into the protection of Aaron’s side. 

“Pizza’s here!” Dave announced as the credits started to roll, and immediately the nine of them were up and moving like a well oiled machine, setting out plates and napkins and drinks. Haley got up too, even though she wasn’t sure what she should be doing. 

Alex handed her a plate. “Having fun?” she asked. 

“Oh! Yes, I’m having a great time,” Haley said. 

Alex smiled at her. The older girl was more dressed-down than Haley had ever seen her; her long red hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she wore leggings and an oversized flannel shirt that Haley suspected belonged to her new boyfriend. “Aaron has been so excited,” she said. “We’ve been telling him he should invite you for ages, but he’s been nervous.”

“Really?” Haley said. 

“Really, but you didn’t hear it from me,” Alex said. “Sorry about Spencer, though. He’s been having a little trouble adjusting to James and I dating and he’s been a little clingy with Aaron lately.”

“No, it’s fine, it’s adorable,” Haley said. “It’s really cute that they’re so close.”

Heavy footsteps thundered up the stairs. “Jesus, those stairs suck,” Dave panted. “Okay, come get your pizza.” Derek bounded past him. “Quick, somebody stop Derek before he takes a whole one for himself!”

“And everybody go quick so we can start the next movie, I want to know what happens,” Emily said.

Haley got herself a piece and sat back down; Aaron took his seat next to her with a plastic to go container of salad. “Aren’t you hungry?” Haley asked. 

“No, just not much of a pizza guy,” Aaron said, dumping a truly insane amount of ranch dressing over the salad. “What did you think of the first movie?”

“It’s great, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to watch them,” she said. 

Aaron grinned, one corner of his mouth tilting up more than the other. “They’re my favorites,” he confessed. “I’ve seen them a million times and I never get sick of them.”

She leaned closer to him, her arm bumping up against his. “That’s how I am with Cinderella, I’ve seen it so many times I could probably quote it in my sleep,” she said. 

Suddenly Spencer popped up and they jumped apart. “Did you know Cinderella’s glass slipper is probably a mistranslation? The original French text actually indicated it was a fur slipper,” he said. 

“I didn’t know that, that’s so interesting,” Haley said. 

Alex leaned forward from her seat. “Spencer, do you want to come sit with me?” she asked. 

“No, thank you,” he said, climbing in between Penelope and JJ in their blanket nest again. 

Emily stood up, wiping pizza sauce off her chin. “All right, let’s start the second one, let’s go,” she announced. 

The second movie was definitely a little more intense than the first. It wasn’t like Saw 5 or anything, but it was still more than she usually liked to watch…but on the other hand, when she jumped and squeaked in surprise at what was happening on the screen, Aaron wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

She tried to play it cool but she had a feeling she was failing miserably. They both sat stiffly for a bit, but eventually she relaxed against him and he did too, his hand curling around her shoulder and his thumb rubbing her upper arm lightly. 

It didn’t last. 

Spencer scrambled to his feet as Penelope and JJ shrieked at the screen. “Aaron, can I sit with you?” he asked, glancing briefly back over his shoulder at the TV and immediately turning back. “It’s scary. I don’t think I like it.”

“Yeah, yeah, c’mere,” Aaron said. Haley missed the warm weight of his arm, but Aaron picked up his little brother and settled him on his lap. “You’re okay, Bug. It’s just a movie, you’re safe.”

“It’s scary,” Spencer mumbled into his chest. 

Haley couldn’t possibly be mad that they were interrupted. Aaron held Spencer on his lap for the rest of the movie, patting his back and talking to him softly during the scariest bits. It was so sweet. Most boys she knew hated their little brothers, but Aaron was so kind and so gentle. 

By the time they finished the second movie Derek had brought out a massive bag of candy to pass around, and Spencer was yawning heavily. “Bug, go get your pajamas on,” Alex said. “You look like you’re about to fall asleep.”

“I’m not tired,” he whined, nuzzling his cheek against Aaron’s chest. 

Aaron kissed the top of his head and set him on his feet. “Birdy’s right,” he said. 

Spencer rolled his eyes. “I’m going to stay awake, you know,” he said, but he headed down the hall. 

“My money’s on him falling asleep before Sean Connery shows up,” Derek said. 

“How do you know he’s in it?” Emily said. 

“I roomed with Hotch last year, he watches these movies on repeat.”

Haley raised an eyebrow at Aaron, her lips quirking up. He shrugged. “I wasn’t lying, I’ve seen these a lot,” he said, half laughing. 

Spencer made it back just as the third movie started, dressed in his pajamas with a soft ivory colored blanket clutched in his hand, and he made a beeline for Aaron. He lifted him back into his lap and snuggled him close, wrapping the blanket around him. It didn’t take long for the little boy to drop off, his breathing slowing down and deepening. Aaron rocked him a little absently as he slept, patting his hip. 

By the time the movie finished all the kids were a little sleepy, and Spencer was out like a light in Aaron’s arms. “Oh, those were fucking great,” Emily said. “I can see why Hotchner is obsessed with them.”

“Yeah, they’re just so long,” Penelope yawned. 

Alex got up from James’s side. “Here, I’ll put him to bed,” she told Aaron. “You should walk Haley back.”

“Are you sure?” Aaron said. “I can always just-“ But Spencer had woken up just enough to stretch his arms towards Alex, and she picked him up easily. “All right, well…I’ll be back soon.” He turned to Haley. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty late,” she said. “Bye everybody, thanks for letting me join.”

They said goodbye in a happy flurry, with plenty of offers for her to come back any time. That was encouraging, she knew enough that if they didn’t like her they wouldn’t ask her back. 

The rain had stopped but the night was damp and cool, the cobblestones slick under her shoes. She slipped a little and Aaron grabbed her hand, and after the initial shock they kept walking hand-in-hand. 

“Thanks for coming over,” Aaron said. “Sorry Spencer was taking so much of my attention.”

“No, it’s fine, he’s so cute,” Haley said. “It’s sweet to watch you two. He loves you so much.”

Aaron smiled. “Yeah?” he said. “I hope so.”

He walked her to the front door and reluctantly let go of her hand. “That was a lot of fun,” she said. 

“Yeah, it, uh…it was,” he said, ducking his head as if he was suddenly shy. 

Before she could talk herself out of it, she raised herself up on tiptoes, squeezed his arm to brace herself, and kissed his cheek. “Goodnight, Aaron,” she said. 

Even in the dim light she could see him turning red. “Goodnight, Haley,” he said, his voice squeaking a little as he smiled at her dopily. She squeezed his arm one last time and then ran inside, her heart skipping excited little beats. 

#au: patron saint of lost causes #caitlin writes things #patron saint: spencer #patron saint: hotch #patron saint: alex #patron saint: hotchley #patron saint: jalex #patron saint: dave #patron saint: james #patron saint: emily #patron saint: aaron #patron saint: jj #patron saint: derek #patron saint: penelope #patron saint: haley

[scribble-stars]

i’m a sucker for the stoic characters having a silly little mental breakdown, and this scene from chapter 23 of @themetaphorgirl ‘s PSOLC au has been stuck in my brain ever since i re-read the fic in order to read the most recent chapter. i love me some hotch angst, and apparently this fic is what i needed to get out of my art block haha

#au: patron saint of lost causes #patron saint: aaron #fanart #patron saint: hotch #i hope you like this i haven’t drawn anything for like 2 years #and nothing digital in even longer

[criminalmindsgonewrong]

Hotch, driving Morgan and Emily: So how was your day?

Morgan: We almost got surprise adopted!

Hotch: What?

Emily: We almost got kidnapped.

Hotch: Oh, okay.

Hotch: *slams on the breaks* WAIT WHAT?!

#criminal minds #incorrect criminal minds quotes #criminal minds gone wrong #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #emily prentiss #ba-queue #patron saint vibes

[aceofwhump]

I just found out that today is the Ashmore twins birthday, feels appropriately that whumptober falls on their birthday month 🎉

It is!??! Oh that's awesome! Happy birthday to fellow my October birthdays and our whump patron saints Aaron and Shawn Ashmore!!! 🥳

#its very appropriate that they keep showing up in my whumptober sets then isnt it lol #mod post #mod replies #ask #anon #aaron ashmore #shawn ashmore #ashmore twins #patron saint of whump #thats technically aaron but shawn can be too

[calabria-mediterranea]

Santa Caterina dello Ionio, Calabria, Italy

The town of Santa Caterina sits about 450m high 6km from its newest part on the sea built to catch the tourist trade coming down coast.

This old town is over a thousand years old.

It should come as no surprise that the patron saint of Santa Caterina is Santa Caterina though she hails from Alexandria she also visits the town when needed.

Pictured here is the church dedicated to her on the location where it is said she appeared sword in hand to drive out attacking Saracens in the 12th century. A small church on the location of her appearance was built in the 12th century and was rebuilt in its present form in the 17th century.

They say when the bells ring here for her feast day on the second Sunday in July they can be heard in Alexandria. Something seems to be encouraging the residents to move to the coast. In the past 100 years there have been a steady flow of earthquakes, floods and fires all forcing the relocation of displaced citizens to the marina area where it is much easier to rebuild.

Photos by Aaron Peterson

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

#santa caterina dello ionio #calabria #italy #italia #south italy #southern italy #mediterranean #santa caterina dello jonio #italian #europe #landscape #architecture #church #nature #italian landscape #nature photography #italian landscapes #landscapes

[actualbird]

i finally blocked off some time to read the mushroom luke card (ssr prosperous shade) and GODDDDD IT WAS SO SO SWEET AND HEARTWARMING ;-; !!! lukerosa continues to be a relationship hinged on mutual bravery, growth, and protecting-of-each-other, and to that i say //soft weeping

i wanna just highlight this bit though because it made me lose it

I AM OBSESSED. aaron didnt just tell kelvin, the guy who runs the B&B no no, peep that plural pronoun. told "THEM", MORE THAN ONE PERSON

aaron the moment luke and mc become official busting into the grpchat of nsb colleagues: GUYS GUESS WHAT FINALLY HAPPENED 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

and to make this even better

KEY DETAILS

aaron's been telling them about luke and mc since the BEGINNING OF THE WHOLE SPHYNX DEBACLE

they were MAKING PLANS TOGETHER

kelvin used the word "group" which im taking to mean that the group chat i said as a joke a few lines back is actually true LITERALLY

this is everything to me. thank you to aaron yishmir, patron saint of lukerosa, with special thanks to the groupchat that i can only assume was named something along the lines of "HELP AGENT RAVEN BE LESS MISERABLE" or perhaps "SO THERE'S SOMETHING RAVEN ISN'T GOOD AT: SUPPORT GROUP"

they all better get invites to the wedding

#on a sincere note though it makes me emotional to see how many people have been in luke's corner. rooting for him #and then dunking on him and teasing him the moment theyve got a chance HAHAHA #luke pearce #lukerosa #tears of themis

[dustedmagazine]

Aaron Troyer — Shatter the Fantasy (No Coast)

Aaron Troyer is an indie rock lifer, best known for his Columbus Ohio-based Day Creeper, but now working in Austin with a different, rootsier cadre of collaborators. His songs foreground clear, liquid guitar and creaky cowpunk vocals, walking a tightrope line between rock and twang with occasional lurches to either side. He can remind of you John Hiatt in one song, Paul Westerberg in another, Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz the next. It’s a meat and potatoes variety of rock, nothing flashy, few electronics or recording tricks.

His songs view middle American vistas in a not entirely cynical way, and they get better and more complicated as the record proceeds. I like the late album run that starts with “Citizen Protector,” a country blues meditation on the “good guy with a gun” myth, neither wholly buying in or wholly dismissing it. “Discount Trip to Heaven,” is even better, full of shape-shifting power chords and stately rhythms and working man’s melancholy, where pleasures are to be had where they come. That’s a twanger, but “Nuclear Vista” which comes right after, shimmers with psychedelic overtones, gathering itself for a flaming guitar solo about halfway through.

Indeed, the best songs flare with wild, arcing guitar sounds, as in the single “Moonlight Painter,” where layered Television-like play elevates a plain spoken song about art and suffering. In it, Troyer seems to understand that he’s not re-inventing the wheel, but rather making what’s come before fresh and personal. “Slip into the subtle pattern familiar and mundane,” he sings, “Open up the landscape let it pull you through the pain.”

Troyer comes from punk, but this is slow-jamming country rock, a genre whose patron saint is Neil Young. He’s not as subtle and fine a songwriter, nor as fiery a player as Young, but the feeling of ragged, rugged defiance, of noisy rage against a stacked deck, is much the same. Rock and roll may not be healthy, but it’s not dead yet. Here’s Aaron Troyer pushing it forward with an old-fashioned fervor.

Jennifer Kelly

#aaron troyer #shatter the fantasy #no coast #jennifer kelly #albumreview #dusted magazine #rock #country #neil young #Bandcamp

[simshousewindsor]

The Royal House of Windsor: A Royal Look Back

Albert II, King of Windenburg and Brindleton Bay

REIGN: 1828/1832 - 1886

Albert II was the first child of King Albert I and Queen Isabella. Albert II ascended the throne at age 17 but, due to royal law at the time, was not coronated until age 21. His mother, Queen Isabella ruled as Regent from 1828 to 1832.

His Majesty was a jovial child and known to be extremely close to his mother. Queen Isabella instilled a deep love of country in her children which drove Albert II to establish the Royal Navy in 1839 and eventually conquer all of Windenburg.

Albert II is most notable for winning The Battle of Boats against Sulani Emperor Kaleo Boulle in 1840, ending a long territorial dispute to gain control over San Myshuno. The victory solidified UK’s power, gave Albert II rule over all of Windenburg and crippled the Sulani Empire’s sea-based defense. Pictured above [L to R] are Captain Douglas, Albert II and Captain Hawkins; 1st Captains in the Windenburg Royal Navy.

To ease tensions between the two nations, Albert II’s younger brother, Prince Edward, Earl of Mayfield wed Princess Kehlani, only daughter of Emperor Kaleo. The union forever joined the two nations and further expanded the monarchy’s influence.

Albert II was so inspired by tales of his father, Albert I and the chivalry of the Knights of the Great War, that in 1852 he set up his own group of honorable knights called the Order of the Garter.

The Most Noble Order of the Garter is the most senior order of knighthood in the Windenburg honors system. The Order of the Garter is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint Aaron, Windenburg’s patron saint. Over 100 years later, the Order of the Garter is still an active honors system within the Windenburg monarchy.

At the urging of his mother, Albert II married Lady Adaline in 1831 at 20 years of age, before being crowned King. Queen Adaline birthed Albert II three sons. Her Majesty battled with what we now know as postpartum depression. She died at age 37 leaving Albert II, who was off to war at the time, a young widowed King alone to raise three sons and rule a kingdom.

Albert II never remarried and died in his sleep at age 74. His Majesty was succeeded by his first born son, William I, who abdicated to his younger brother, Edward I in 1888.

A Royal Look Back Collection

#simshousewindsor history #simshousewindsor #ts4 legacy #sims 4 legacy #simshousewindsor Albert II #TS4 #ts4 royal simblr #ts4 royalty #ts4 royal family #simshousewindsor look back #the sims 4 #sims 4 royalty #the sims 4 royalty #sims 4 monarchy #sims 4 royal family #ts4 history #simshousewindsor ts4

[waltj]

bryan cranston and aaron paul patron saints of being so committed to the bit that it becomes gay

#t.

[jamescheetham]

Aaron Burr is the patron Saint of Murphy's Law

[shellyscribbles]

Names meaning tag

Thank you for the tag @talesofsorrowandofruin!

Rules: list the meanings of your OCs’ names.

Okay, so I spend an absurd about of time finding the names for my characters that have the right sound and meaning. There are some stories I intentionally didn't do this with (The Elker Rex being one).

So here are the names and meanings of the main characters from The Shadow of Vale.

Aaron/Zuriel - Exalted or strong. Mountain of Strength. / The Lord and My Rock.

Ray / Halvar - Wise protector / Guardian of the rock.

Aila - Bringer of light or from the strong place.

Agur - Stranger, gathered together or Collector, gatherer.

Cyrus - Sun.

Samael - Venom or poison of God. In lore a figure who is the accuser or adversary (Satan as mentioned in the book of Job).

Jedrek - A strong man/ Warrior

Michael - Who is like God? (name of archangel. Patron saint of soldiers)

And a few of the more minor characters whose names I still picked carefully:

Chiron - Skilled with hands.

Rafael- God has healed.

Lonan - Blackbird or cloud.

Tovi - Goodness of God.

and of course while not a direct character, the basically deified nymph who built Vale:

Abner - Father of light.

This was way fun. :)

No pressure tag for: @writeanapocalae, @axl-ul, @tailoroffates, @andromeda-grace and an Open tag for anyone else who would be as excited about this one as me but hasn't been tagged, here is your invite.

#tag game #name meaning tag #writeblr #writing community #open tag #TSoV #my ocs #Zuriel #Aila #Halvar

[themetaphorgirl]

Psolc prompt - spencer and hotch having a heart to heart about their shitty home lifes.

So this went in a direction that I didn't expect, but I made myself real sad, oops!!

tw for parental abuse

----------

The funny thing about trauma was that it spilled out when you least expected it.

Hotch liked to think that he’d handled it well. Not that he’d ever gotten to go to therapy or anything, but he’d learned to deal with it. To pack it up in a neat labeled box and set it to the back of his mind, everpresent but out of sight on a daily basis.

Sometimes, though, the lid would rattle and the box would shake open no matter how tightly he packed it up or how far he pushed it back.

He’d never been a deep sleeper, but even a coma patient would have woken from the sound. Someone was yelling and banging on the thin walls of the hall, fists threatening to break through drywall and plaster.

His heart leapt into his throat, no longer beating. Sean, his sleep-addled brain thought wildly. Sean, I have to get Sean.

His baby brother slept down the hall from him. He needed to move fast enough to grab him out of his crib and run to the bathroom. That was always the plan, to hide in the bathroom and lock the door, hiding behind the shower curtain with the fan running to block out the sound of his father screaming. The muscle memory surged in his body, the rapidfire beat of his heart and the cold sweat running down his temples, the ache in his thighs as he crouched himself small and the pressure of Sean’s warm sleeping weight in his arms. 

I have to get him first, I have to get to him first before Dad-

He was out of bed and stumbling to the door when his rational thought caught up to his wild memories. Dad isn’t here, he remembered. Neither is Sean. You’re at school. You’re at school, you moron, you’re fine.

Bile rose in his throat and he fought it down as he opened the door to his room, squinting in the light of the hallway. “What the hell is going on?” he said, hoping his voice sounded firm and authoritative instead of scared and shaking. Half a dozen doors had opened,the other boys in the hall trying to find the source of the commotion.

“I’m looking for Mitchell!” a broad shouldered kid he vaguely recognized from his English class said. “He fucking took my laptop charger and I need it back! I gotta paper due in like five hours!”

Hotch dragged a hand over his face, breathing slow and deep to keep from throwing up. “Mitchell isn’t on this floor, he’s on fifth,” he said. “And that’s no reason to throw a temper tantrum like that during quiet hours. Shut up and go back to your room, and maybe I won’t talk to your RA about this.”

“But-”

“Keep it up, and I’ll talk to Gideon too,” Hotch snapped. “Out. No.”

The kid swore, kicking at the tattered hallway carpet, and trudged away, muttering under his breath. Hotch took another slow, deep breath. “Everybody back to bed, it’s fine,” he said.

He waited for the doors to close one by one, willing his hands to stop shaking and his knees not to wobble. You’re fucking fine, he told himself sternly. That was just some dumbass teenager, not…not him.

He forced himself to walk a circuit down the hall, checking to see that the boys under his watch were settling back down. His heart was still beating far too fast, making him dizzy. He made his strides purposeful, his mouth in a grim line. It was fine. He was in charge. Everyone was safe.

He passed by Derek and Spencer’s room and the door was still open. “Go back to bed, Derek,” he said.

Derek glanced over his shoulder, then back to him. “He’s scared,” he said in a low voice. “I was about to take him to you anyways.”

Hotch reached over Derek’s shoulder and tapped the door open. The light from the hallway slanted into the room, casting shadows over Spencer’s bed and catching his wide hazel eyes in the glow. Even in the dimnness he could see the hunch of the younger boy’s shoulders, the shake in his slight frame, the way his small hands clutched at his heaving chest.

Fight or flight, and he’d choose flight, Hotch thought.

“It’s all right, Bug,” he said. Spencer shrank back. “No, no, it’s me. It’s Aaron. Everything’s fine, it was just a big kid from another floor mad about somebody borrowing his laptop charger. It’s okay.”

A flashback rose in his mind unbidden, of throwing the door to Sean’s nursery open and seeing those big blue eyes, their mother’s eyes, staring up at him in fear as their father shouted and shattered glass in the kitchen below. Hotch swayed a little on his feet, nearly bumping into Derek, and then in a split second he pushed past him, crossing to Spencer’s side of the room in a few quick strides.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, and when he picked up Spencer he remembered picking up Sean, clutching him to his chest and trying to get a good grip on him before he had to run. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

He grabbed Spencer’s blanket and draped it over his head like a protective cloak before carrying him down the hall to his room. Spencer wrapped his arms tight around his neck, burying his face in his shoulder. Hotch could feel his heart thumping wildly against his chest, even fast than his own.

He carried him into his room, closed the door, and switched on the nightstand lamp before settling down on the bed with Spencer on his lap. “You’re okay, Bug,” he murmured. “You’re okay.” He rocked him a little bit. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, and I won’t let anyone hurt you. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, I’ll make sure of it.”

Spencer clutched the front of his sleep shirt in a death grip, his face pressed into his chest. Hotch adjusted to cradle him better, making sure his blanket was tight and snug around him. “She did that sometimes,” he said, his voice small and soft and wheezing. “When…when she was really…really sick. She would yell and break things and chase after me and-”

Spencer’s voice broke off and Hotch hugged him tighter, pressing his hand to the back of his head. “I know,” he soothed. “I know, baby. But you’re safe now. I’m right here with you. We’re both safer than we’ve ever been.”

He held him close, rocking his slight weight against his chest. It took more than an hour before Spencer dropped into exhausted sleep, his hands loosening their death grip on his shirt. Hotch rested his cheek against his soft hair and stared at the wall in a daze until the first hint of morning light began to peek through the blinds, drifting somewhere between the cozy safe reality of his own bed and the memory of a little boy hiding in the cold ceramic of a drained bathtub, holding his breath until his vision blurred.

#au: patron saint of lost causes #patron saint: aaron #patron saint: hotch #patron saint: spencer #patron saint: derek #caitlin writes things #tw: abuse

[loretranscripts]

Episode 142: Reflections

11th May, 2020

Trigger warnings: Child death, slavery.

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous editing on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

The gods had abandoned them; at least, that was how the ancient Greeks interpreted the signs in the sky. Earlier in the day, everything had seemed normal and fine, but hours later the sun had grown dark, as if covered by a great disk. The Greeks referred to this as a great abandonment, when their greatest fears had come to life: the gods had forsaken them. It was a sign that great disaster was about to arrive, either from war, or disease, or even the death of their king; and the word for it, ekleípō (ἔκλειψις), is still with us today. We just call it an eclipse. 

The Greeks weren’t alone in how they interpreted rare natural events. Over four thousand years ago in China, the royal astronomers failed to predict an eclipse and the emperor had them executed for the error. Why? Because the ancient Chinese believed that an eclipse happened when a dragon ate the sun, and predicting it meant having a chance to get ready. Interestingly, the earliest word for eclipse in Chinese is shí (蚀), which means “to eat”. And the list goes on and on. In Ancient Egypt, the event signified a battle between Apep, the serpent of death and chaos, and Ra, the sun god. Thankfully, Ra always won, and the sun would return. In the mythology of a number of Native American tribes, an eclipse happened when a little boy trapped the sun in a fishing net; it was only freed when wild animals chewed the ropes away. 

For thousands of years, humans have built deep superstition around rarity. When something happened so infrequently that its occurrence felt otherworldly, stories would be crafted around it. These rare occurrences were miracles, after all, at least in the minds of those who witnessed them. When they happened, it had the potential to be a frightening, life-changing event, and few outliers captured that reverence and fear more fully than when it happened right in our midst, when the very people who told the stories experienced those miracles first hand. Because folklore wasn’t always an invention of the mind, just some clever story invented and then passed along. Sometimes, it was more tangible, more… physical, and more real. Because in the world of the unusual and unexpected, nothing was more powerful than the birth of twins.

I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

Those that visit the village are always struck by its beauty. Tucked away in the south-eastern tip of England in the wield of Kent, the village of Biddenden is a snapshot of another time. Latticed windows adorn ancient Flemish cottages, field stones and thatched rooves and whitewashed plaster cut up by blackened oak beams. Honestly, it’s a crime how stereotypical the place looks, and I’m not going to fault them for it at all; it is a thing of beauty. But that’s not all that’s wonderful about Biddenden. It seems that every year, on Easter, the local church gives out food to the most needy in the region. It is often a meal of tea and cheese and loaves of bread. Funding for that ongoing charity comes from the revenue earned by a plot of farmland now known as the “Bread and Cheese Lands,” land that was a gift from a set of conjoined twins. Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst were born to wealthy parents in the year 1100, but passed away in 1134. In their will, they deeded twenty acres of land to be used as a source for future charity, and ever since, the sisters have been sort of the patron saints of the town. In fact, the cakes that are given out each year, now known as Biddenden cakes, bare their image: the figure of two women, literally joined at the hip. 

But it’s not the only town to revere twins. In south-western Nigeria, there’s a group of people known as the Yoruba. One of the things that sets this group apart from a lot of others is their definition of what a family is. For them, it’s more than just parents, children and siblings, and because of that flexibility, each clan can often grow to over 100 members. The biggest aid to that growth, however, just might be their people’s almost supernatural ability to give birth to twins. While it’s still a relatively low percentage, the Yoruba’s ratio of one set of twins out of every twenty births puts them at the top of the list across the globe, and when those twins arrive, the people there practically worship them. They refer to them as “spirit children”, believing that their births hint at great power, either for good or for evil. 

But that reverence isn’t anything new. For thousands of years, twins have been capturing the imagination of cultures all around the globe. In fact, we can see it in their foundation stories, like the Egyptian tales of Iris and Osiris, or the Greek mythology of Castor and Pollux. Twins are also found in the ancient stories of the Norse, the Jewish, and the Chinese, among many others, and everywhere we find them, these stories highlight just how much twins were both feared and respected. In Greek mythology, for example, Artemis and Apollo were powerful twins, one being in charge of the sun, and the other the moon. Roman mythology claims that it was a set of twins, Remus and Romulus, who founded Rome itself. So it should come as no surprise that when the pharaoh Cleopatra and her husband, the Roman general Mark Anthony, had twins roughly two thousand years ago, they named them appropriately: Alexander Helios, for the sun, and Cleopatra Selene, for the moon. 

And that ancient fascination with twins has never really gone away. In fact, as we’ve grown in our understanding of human biology, that obsession has only deepened. A lot of that can be traced back to an English scientist named Francis Galten. He was the first to publish a paper back in 1875 on how physical traits were passed down from generation to generation. But it opened the door for more questions. One of the age-old debates in psychology has always been nature versus nurture; the question of what makes us who we are. Is it our biology and the traits we inherited genetically from our parents, or is it more about the world we grew up in, and the behaviour and attitudes that were modelled for us. Decades of research have given us a frustrating answer: according to one study that wrapped up in 2015, one that looked at almost 18,000 traits, not just things like eye colour and personality type, the line fell right down the middle. The answer to the question “nature versus nurture” seemed to be both. But whether its ancient cultures treating twins as if they’re powerful beings, or modern scientists looking for truth in the human genome, these quests can only take us so far. As the centuries have gone by, twin studies have yielded us just as many questions as answers, and they’ve taught us something else. There are some things that science can’t explain. 

It's easy to make assumptions. It’s something humans have been very good at for a very long time. If a culture can assume that the sun went dark because a dragon ate it, then the birth of identical twins when only one child was expected must seem even more magical; and if they look the same, surely they must act the same. Of course, you and I know that every person is unique, no matter how much they look alike. I, personally, know twins and triplets, and even if they all dressed the same you would just need to spend about thirty seconds in their company to realise that they are each very unique individuals. But still, we allow appearances to fool us. 

Of course, there are those that buck that trend. Take the Grimes brothers, for example. Ray and Roy were born in Ohio in 1893, and both of the men started careers as major league baseball players in 1920. Ray played for the Boston Red Sox and Roy for the New York Giants, decades before that team moved to San Francisco. Things weren’t all the same for them, though. Ray played six seasons in the major leagues, but his twin, Roy, only managed the one. And then there were the Cray brothers. Ronnie and Reggie were born in October of 1933 in London’s East End. But rather than excel at sports, these twins were good at something else: organised crime. In fact, no gang in the 1950s or 60s was more powerful than their own, affectionally named “The Firm.” Over the course of their career, these twins worked together to commit all sorts of crime. In the public eye, they were the rough owners of a London nightclub, a club that put them in contact with superstars like Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. But in the shadows, they were the puppeteers behind murder, assault, and armed robbery. 

But few twins in history shared as much in common as one pair, and honestly, this is the stuff that science just can’t explain, and it all started in Ohio, in 1940. That was the year that an unknown mother gave birth to a set of twins, and then placed them both up for adoption. When a young couple named the Lewises arrived at the hospital three weeks later, they said that they didn’t want two infants to care for, so they only took one home. They named him James, and raised him in the city of Lima, Ohio, in the north-western corner of the state. James, who went by Jim, grew up with a dog named Toy, and seems to have done alright in school. He hated spelling but he loved math, and woodworking, and it was a passion that he would carry with him into adulthood. By the time Jim Lewis was “discovered” in the 1970s, he had a laundry list of quirks. He drove a chevy to work every day, where he was a deputy sheriff. He married a woman named Linda earlier in life, but they divorced years later. After that, Jim married Betty, and together they raised his son, James Allen. The family would even drive south to Florida each year, and spend their vacation on the beach, which must have been a wonderful thing. It was a normal life, and one that sounds like countless others. On the surface, at least.

But Jim Lewis’s mother had occasionally mentioned that when he was adopted, there was a twin brother, and as Jim grew older, he started to wonder if that twin was out there somewhere, maybe even looking for him. So, in 1979, at the age of 39, he called the courthouse that had his adoption records, and asked for more information. What he learned was that a family named the Springers had taken his twin brother home that very same week. After digging around some more, he managed to find a phone number for that family, and I can’t pretend to know what Jim Lewis was thinking, or how he felt. He was about to make contact with a long-lost sibling, and that had to have felt exciting and frightening all at the same time. But what he discovered was something more unbelievable. You see, the Springers had taken their infant boy home and named him James, and James, who also went by Jim, grew up with a dog named Toy. He hated spelling in school, but did alright with math and woodworking, a hobby that he still dabbled with in adulthood, and every day he climbed behind the wheel of his chevy and drove to work, where he served as a deputy sheriff. Jim Springer married a woman named Linda, but they divorced after a number of years and he eventually remarried to a woman named Betty. Together they raised their son, James Allen, and took annual family vacation trips to a beach in Florida; the very same beach, in fact, that the Lewises visited each year. Twins, separated at birth, and raised by two very different sets of parents, and yet their path through life was practically identical: the same jobs, the same names for all their spouses, and even their sons, the same car and cigarette brand and vacation spot. On paper, without their last names, Jim and Jim were essentially the same person. But as difficult as it is to believe, the Jim twins are not the oddest case of twins on record. No, that honour goes to an unusual pair of siblings who gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “nature versus nurture”, and if the details of their story are completely true, they bring us face to face with a frightening realisation: there are some bonds that even death can’t break. 

It was a parent’s worst nightmare. John and Florence lived in the little town of Hexham in northern England, where they ran a service delivering milk and other groceries to customers all over town, and their two daughters, Johanna and Jacqueline, spent their time either in school or in the care of their grandmother. But on May 7th of 1957, all of that changed. That’s when a tragic care accident took both of their children from them forever. It seems that a local woman had lost control of her vehicle the very same moment that Johanna and Jacqueline were walking to church, and they were both struck and instantly killed. I’m not going to pretend to understand what John and Florence went through as a result of their loss; as a parent myself, this is one of those topics that’s difficult to comprehend, and touches on very deep fears, and I think any parent would feel the same, but it’s essential to our story today to explain what they went through, because it helps the road before them make more sense. Clearly, this was the sort of trauma that puts a strain on a marriage, and John and Florence dealt with a lot over the coming months. From what I’ve been able to find, Florence understandably retreated deeper and deeper into depression, while John looked for peace through religion. But they worked through it all the best they could, and in early 1958, they received happy news: they were pregnant.

In October of that year, John and Florence went to the hospital expecting to deliver a healthy baby. The heartbeat had been strong all through the summer, and they were both excited for a new beginning, but there were surprises in store for them. Somehow, the doctors had missed a second heartbeat, and now suddenly they were the parents of twins. But not just twins, but twin girls, and for John, who had been looking for hope and some sort of sign that life could return to normal, this was it. His daughters had returned. Florence, though, did not share in her husband’s belief. Either way, they had two brand new babies to take care of, and life very quickly became busy. Shortly after the twins were born, the family moved out of Hexham to Whitley Bay, a coastal town about fifty miles to the east, and then life flew by. Before long, the twins were talking, and that’s when the first mystery occurred. Even though the girls had never seen the old dolls that were in a box in the attic, Christmas gifts that had once belonged to the sisters they had never met, they began to ask for those dolls by name. So, John and Florence brought the toys out of storage, and gave them to the girls. Amazingly, within moments of the box being opened and dumped on the floor in front of them, the girls separated them into two groups, groups that their parents recognised as the division between Johanna’s toys, and her sister Jacqueline’s. And when one of the toddler’s said the words “Santa’s gifts”, it sent a chill down their parents’ spines, and the oddities continued from there. The twins, Jennifer and Gillian, apparently showed a dislike for the same foods that Johanna and Jacqueline had hated. They shared similar gestures and physical behaviour with their older sisters, and as they grew older they even began to look like them, which was odd considering Jennifer and Gillian were identical twins, and yet Gillian grew tall and slender like Johanna, and Jennifer was more stout, like Jacqueline. Perhaps most frightening of all for John and Florence was the innate fear both girls seemed to have for cars. The sound of an engine or a quickly moving vehicle were all it took to cause deep anxiety for the young girls, who would reach out for each other until the noise was gone. Once, Florence overheard the girls discussing a car accident. She peered into the room to see Jennifer laying with her head in Gillian’s lap, who was whispering: “the blood, it’s coming out of your eyes.” And there was simply no explanation for that behaviour, considering Florence and John had never told the girls about that accident, let alone the specific details like that. When the twins were four, John and Florence decided to take a trip back to Hexham for the first time since their older daughters had been killed, but when they arrived, Gillian and Jennifer made it clear that they knew their way around town. They were both able to name specific locations, like the school and shops in the downtown area. They even told their parents they wanted to play at the park, and then began to lead them in the correct direction. Taken as a whole, the coincidences were more than eerie; it was beyond explanation, and yet John and Florence watched things like this happen every day. Eventually, the girls were taken to a child psychologist, to see if there was something that the parents were missing, but those sessions only revealed more unusual connections to the past.

For whatever reason, though, as the girls grew older, those connections began to fade. By the time the twins were five years old, very little of those echoes of the past remained with them. Maybe it was a result of their world getting bigger every day, or the beginning of life at school and all the lessons that came with it, or perhaps time had a way of putting more distance between them and the sisters they had never met. By the time the twins were in their twenties, all of those unusual memories were gone. The only time visions of the past returned to them were in occasional dreams, but even those grew less and less common over the years. But what hasn’t faded is the fascination surrounding their story. Was it an eerie case of reincarnation, as their child psychologist proposed in the years after their meetings, or was it something in their genetic code, a memory of lost siblings, and a deep awareness of their parents’ unspoken grief? They are challenging questions and ones we may never be able to answer. What’s clear, though, is a simple truth that most of us probably don’t need pointed out to us: that we, as humans, are part of a larger community, one that extends outwards around us, yes, but also backwards in time. We are a product of those who came before us, but our unique identity is also, somehow, communal, a reflection of our family, our clan, and our culture, and so its one of the rare moments when our intuition matches perfectly with years of scientific study. Are we a product of nature, or of nurture? The answer, it seems, is perfectly clear: yes.

There’s magic in the unexplainable, isn’t there? I know it feels uncivilised to hear stories about ancient cultures dreaming up wild explanations for natural events that we’ve all grown used to, but those stories make a powerful point: the unexpected and unusual has always been attractive to us, and I think it always will. I know that we’ve conquered a lot of it over the centuries. Through science and exploration, we’ve put the earth into a proper perspective, we’ve broadened our understanding of the universe, and we’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the world we live in, but no matter how far and wide we search, there will always be things that defy our assumptions. And that’s what’s so alluring about the story of the twin girls raised by John and Florence Pollock. Despite no prior knowledge of the sisters who lived and died before they were born, these twins seemed to break the mould. It wasn’t so much about what they had in common with each other, as we might expect, but what they had in common with the past, and that commonality has caused researchers to scratch their heads for decades. At the centre of much of that research was the child psychologist that the Pollocks hired, back in the early 60s. Dr. Ian Stevenson visited the family at home on numerous occasions, and spent hundreds of hours with the girls in an attempt to find the logical explanations behind their eerie connections to the past. He even studied them later in life, after they’d grown into adulthood. Over the course of his career, he would go on to study many more children who demonstrated similar characteristics. He dove deep into the world of reincarnation, and published at least a dozen books on his research before his death in 2007, and to this day, the final chapter is still unwritten; the explanation he had searched for is still alluding us. But he did uncover one unique bit of information during his time with the Pollock twins; it seems that in the larger conversation about behaviour and words and memories of places or toys the girls had never experienced before, Stevenson went looking for proof that was more tangible, and he found it. You see, for a long while, Gillian and Jennifer were thought to be physically identical: same hair colour, same eye colour, same smile and laugh and everything else you would expect from monozygotic twins (that is, twins born from the same egg.) They were, as they should be, mirror images of each other. But not quite – because Dr. Stevenson noticed something that John and Florence had failed to point out: a small birthmark, just outside Jennifer’s right eye, and another around her waist. They weren’t visible on Gillian, but they did have a connection to another member of her family. They were the very same locations on the body where her sister Jacqueline received her mortal wounds. 

The world of twins is a fascinating, mysterious place, and I hope you’ve enjoyed your brief tour through some of the more unexplainable parts of it. But we’re not quite finished; there’s one more tale of the intertwined that I think is a wonderful addition to our journey so far, and if you stick around after this brief sponsor break, I’ll tell you all about it.

[Sponsor break]

I’m going to be upfront with you, you’ve probably heard parts of this tale before. It’s fascinating and unusual and the sort of story that kids love to read, but I promise you, there’s more to it than you might expect, and I think a little journey is in order. In 1824, a British merchant named Robert Hunter was travelling in Thailand, although back then it was known as Siam. According to his retelling of the events, he was out near the water around sunset, watching the locals go about the last tasks of their day, when he noticed a group of children playing at the water’s edge, and that’s when he saw it. Well, “it” was the best he could do at the time. According to Robert Hunter, what he spotted from a distance looked like an unknown creature, at least to his untrained eyes. After he moved in for a closer look, he realised that he had been way off target. It wasn’t a strange animal after all; it was a pair of twins, brothers, permanently joined at the side. Now, we have to be honest about what happened next. Hunter didn’t see human beings so much as profit. He would later spin the story by telling people that the king of Siam had ordered the execution of these brothers, and that what he did next was an effort to save them, but all you really have to do is read about the years that would follow to understand Hunter’s true purpose, whether or not the king had actually done that. Hunter worked at it for five long years, but eventually managed to secure the brothers for a journey out of the country. Maybe he had to get their parents’ permission, or perhaps he had to win the king over, but soon enough the seventeen-year-old brothers, Chang and Eng, were on their way to America. Upon arrival in Boston, the conjoined twins were presented to a collection of physicians, who spent time examining them. Local newspapers published articles about them, and then, after putting plans together, Hunter took them on tour. Those tours worked as you might expect. The route would be planned out, and then ads would be placed in newspapers of all the towns they planned to stop in. Then, Chang and Eng would board a train and, city by city, they would get a small tour of America, while giving America a glimpse of themselves. Hunter, of course, made money every step of the way. From what I can tell, tickets to see the brothers typically cost a quarter, equivalent to about $7 today. Their shows made heavy use of Asian stereotypes and clothing, and of course highlighted the physical uniqueness that the brothers shared, and for just about everyone, it was the first time in their lives they had ever witnessed conjoined twins first hand.

Chang and Eng did alright for themselves, too. They didn’t earn as much as Hunter, of course, but they saved up. A decade after their tour began, they settled into the American Dream. Well, the American Dream of the south, in the decades before the civil war. They bought neighbouring farms in North Carolina, and while their bodies were permanently joined together, they managed to divide their time between the two homes. They also married, to a pair of sisters, in fact – not twins, mind you, but honestly that might have been a bit too on the nose. And between the two of them, they fathered twenty-one children, which of course opens up a lot of questions, but I’ll let you ponder those on your own. In 1860, the brothers signed a deal with legendary promoter P. T. Barnum. The tour he took them on was brief, though, because the rumblings of war were beginning to spread throughout the nation. Soon enough, the civil war erupted, and when it was over, Chang and Eng’s lives were in disarray. Part of it was simply the economy; war had brought much of the country to a standstill for years, and it made it hard for farmers everywhere, but the bigger problem that the brothers faced was the same one that thousands of others did across the south as well. You see, they had operated their farms through slave labour, and when the war was over, that forced help was gone. Desperate to rebuild their fortunes, they went on tour again, and even travelled to Europe to see new audiences, but they were older by then, and the travelling life was a lot harder on their bodies, even more of a challenge because of their unique condition. So, after about a decade of touring, they headed home to call it quits.

But it was on that trip home from Europe that Chang suffered a stroke, and as a result, he found himself completely paralysed, which is a challenge for anyone, but when you’re permanently joined to your brother’s side, that’s a bigger problem, and then problems began to compound. In January of 1874, he contracted Bronchitis and was put on bedrest, but that meant that Eng was right there with him for it all. Still, they were brothers, and while they didn’t always get along, they faced challenges together as a team, so Eng patiently waited for Chang to recover, spending most of that time at Chang’s farmhouse. On January 15th, feeling much improved, the brothers made the short trip to Eng’s house, and spent their first night there sitting upright in front of the fire. The following night, Eng convinced his brother to sleep in the bed, and the pair dozed off. But when the morning arrived, it was discovered that Chang had passed away in his sleep. He had been sixty-two years old. Eng would hold on for a couple more hours, but soon passed away himself. It’s said that upon learning about Chang’s death, Eng sighed, and declared “well, then I am going too.” And that he did. But even in death, the journey wasn’t over for the brothers. It seems they had one last tour to take. Thanks to the freezing temperatures of January, their bodies remained intact long enough for the college of physicians in Philadelphia to secure permission to conduct their autopsy, so they were placed on a train and sent north, arriving in the middle of February, and that autopsy answered many questions. It provided doctors with enough evidence to suggest that the brothers might have survived separation, although in the 1870s, that surgery would still have been pretty risky, and they learned that it was a blood clot that had taken Chang’s life. But what they weren’t able to learn was what ultimately killed Eng. The brothers shared a liver, and the prevailing theories centred around that, and the risk of blood poisoning when a living person is connected to decaying tissue, but nothing definitive was ever nailed down. Chang and Eng Bunker were superstars, but they were also brothers, and in the end that’s the preferred explanation for Eng’s death so soon after Chang’s. They spent sixty-two years together, side by side, every step of the way. They went everywhere together, and apparently that included death. 

#lore podcast #aaron mahnke #transcripts

[hotchley]

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Okay so there's a few...

Because I am nothing if not predictable:

I'd want to do a Minimal Loss AU (@whump-town) sequel purely because I'd want to see what happens a few months down the line when he can't even defend anyone from Foyet since he's not allowed to carry a gun. Is he even a member of the BAU? What does he do in the alleyway following the bus?

Also, something to do with the bi!Hotch/Charlie verse so essentially a sequel to If The Lord Don't Forgive Me, but I would want it to be wedding planning shenanigans (arguing over the flower arrangements, suit fittings, threats from Charlie to eat strawberries moments before the ceremony if Hotch doesn't accept he deserves it) as well as a few moments of light angst (Hotch freaking out over combining their surnames, worrying that he's going to ruin Charlie, being terrified that some of their guests won't come, a few nightmares about everything going wrong, maybe Charlie gets targetted by an unsub and Hotch thinks he's been stood up...)

I know we're going to get it sprinkled in and explained however, a prequel for @themetaphorgirl's Patron Saint of Lost Causes that covers the whole of Hotch's Life Until Patron Saint starts would be great because the angst impact, his aunt and uncle, Sean, his parents, the years when he's getting into fights and being labelled as the bad kid...

A sequel to quítate ese miedo by @olivinesea would have so much angst potential. Hotch learning to drive, but having already had a minor incident and being terrified. Going with Roy and knowing that he's not his father but still being terrified of making mistakes. The amount of cursing Roy would do at Aaron's father but that Aaron would assume was about him, and the tears that would fall. Also even just being in a car may make him uncomfortable, and everyone would be so encouraging but would it be enough? And what happens if he fails his test?

So yeah! There a probably more, but this is already long enough lol

#people talk to me #ask game

[aceofwhump]

Just letting you know that there's a new Canadian show out with Aaron Ashmore (who plays a bit of a smaller role) called SkyMed, which is basically like a budget 911 set in northern Manitoba but with planes. Aaron gets whumped in the first episode and then theres some emotional whump passed around the other characters. The actor that plays Hamish in The Order is in the show too! Only one episode is out in Canada rn but paramount has all of the episodes on demand and it's definitely worth a watch (I binged it all in one night lol)

Oh I hadn't heard of that!!! Aaron Ashmore is in it?! It sounds great! Like a combo of 911 and Arctic Air? I'm very interested in that. And there's Aaron whump in episode 1!? Amazing! I DEFINITELY have to check that out! I haven't had my fic of whump for our patron saint in some time. I might have to make some gifs 👀 (even with this stupid gif into mp4 thing tumblr is doing). Thank you so much for the heads up! Canada you guys make some great tv shows.

#whump #mod post #whump recs #mod replies #ask #anon #aaron ashmore #skymed #patron saint of whump #our patron saint has returned to the whump scene

[playhanafuda]

3. How did you choose their name? (all of them)

Questions about Creating Your OCs.

Sit tight for another doozy.

We'll start with Ayumu and Eriko, since they're sisters (and, coincidentally, Ayumu's first name comes first alphabetically) and were the first two OCs I made. Their last name Király is a common Hungarian surname which translates to "King," a name that fits them, as they are both avid chess players. Of course, the reason their last name is Hungarian is that their father is Hungarian; and the reason that their first names are Japanese is that their mother is Japanese.

In one sense, Ayumu is named after Ayumu Kasuga, better known as Osaka, from Azumanga Daioh, always one of my favorite manga and anime. It also happens that Ayumu's and Osaka's name are written 歩, which happens to be the short form of the shōgi piece 歩兵, which translates to "foot soldier," or more commonly, "Pawn."

Eriko's name, on the other hand, just happened to be a Japanese name that I found rather pretty. I cannot think of a character from an anime or manga with that name, which may be part of the reason that I chose it.

Once again, I will speak of Giacomo Martini and Chiara Rossi together. More detail here. Both characters were developed out of a silly desire of mine to have an Italian duo named Martini & Rossi, after the famous brand of vermouth and wine (which I do quite enjoy).

Chiara's name simply came from the most popular fan name for Nyo!South Italy (or Nyo!Romano, most commonly) from Hetalia.

Giacomo's name evinces a common pattern you'll see henceforth: Biblical names. Specifically, St. Joachim, husband of St. Anne and father of Mary. Another pattern: my specific reason may just be, "It came to mind first, and it sounded good." Being able to bestow the nickname "Jack" upon him (given that he currently studies in Scotland [where they speak English, allegedly]) is a bonus; it can be a reference to my family's first pet, as well as to the playing card (and you know how much of an enthusiast I am for gambling).

Chunying Su's name probably just came from a quick lookup of common Chinese names. It helps that we can nickname her "Sue," the name of one of my favorite Fire Emblem characters.

Elizabeth Collins, of course, is named for St. Elizabeth, relative of Mary and mother of John the Baptist. Collins, I thought, would be sufficient to mark her as Irish without having to go into "Mc" or "O'" (or even "Fitz"!) territory, lel. That may still be on the cards, however.

I've always liked the name Erin, it's quite pretty. As for Staunton, that comes from Howard Staunton, one of the great chess players of the 19th century, and namesake of the Staunton chess set, which the vast majority of chess tournaments, from club to the world stage, use exclusively.

Fernando Vicente Olivares y López just sounds decently Hispanic enough. Any other names could have worked, probably, as long as they weren't Raúl. (Remember him?) On closer evaluation, Fernando Vicente probably comes straight from Vicente Fernández, the late, great Mexican musician.

Judyta Fiszer... named after Judith from the Bible, of course! As for Fischer, being named for Bobby Fischer obviously comes to mind. Perhaps I was really trying hard to go for a Jewish-sounding Polish name.

Katarina is a cute name, and is used decently enough in Norway. Håland was just the first Norwegian surname to come to mind that didn’t end in “-sen.”

Kazimieras, of course, is named for St. Casimir, patron saint of Lithuania. I believe that the surname Lukša is derived from Lukas, Lithuanian for Luke.

Kōichi is named after Inspector Zenigata from Lupin III. His last name, Uehara, like Katarina’s, was simply the first surname to come to mind.

Madeleine is named for St. Mary Magdelene, of course. I don't quite remember where Métraux comes from, but it is a common French surname (probably).

Miriam is named after the sister of Moses and Aaron. Löwenheim comes from the character of Lorens Löwenhielm from the Danish novel and film Babette's Feast. It just stuck out to me.

Peter August MacGregor sounded phonetic enough. I knew that, when I made a Scottish character, he had to be named MacGregor. Got to represent. His nickname “Wally” also rolls easily off the tongue, and is based off the Scottish slang phrase “you look peely-wally,” or “you seem unwell.”

Rafael Domingo de Guadalupe-Pérez... finally, someone named after someone in my family. Rafael was the name of my paternal great-grandfather, whose last name is my family name. Domingo, Sunday, the Lord's Day, good enough. And de Guadalupe, how much more Mexican can you get? Pérez is probably lifted straight from Sergio Pérez, the F1 driver from Mexico.

Reina María Ramos-San Martín... If you meet a young girl in the future whose first and middle names are María Reina, that's probably my kid. For some reason I want to name my daughter that. On the silliest side, if I have a son and daughter, their names will be José María and María José. (I'm mostly being tongue-in-cheek.) But, more seriously, I've always liked the name Reina. It helps that Mary is Queen of Heaven. As for Ramos, it's just a common Hispanic surname, while San Martín might be less so. I believe that Martin de Porres, the Peruvian saint whose patronage includes mixed-race people and racial harmony, as well as innkeepers and the poor, is the specific namesake.

Sara Hernández y Ortiz. Again, Sara is a cute name that I like. Hernández and Ortiz are also common Hispanic surnames.

Sayaka Asakura. Sayaka is definitely named for Sayaka Yumi, the female protagonist of Mazinger Z, one of the anime that my dad watched growing up in El Salvador. Asakura probably comes from Akio Asakura, protagonist of Wangan Midnight.

Vittoria Savio. Another name I like, Victoria. Savio comes from St. Dominic Savio, of course.

Last, but not least, Yuliya Serhiivna Bonarchuk. Yet again, Julia is a name I like. Her father is Serhii, so she will often be addressed as Yuliya Serhiivna. Now for Bonarchuk: that's the name of one of my favorite teachers in high school, who happens to have Ukrainian parents and no love for Lenin or Stalin.

Hopefully that was a fun read. It was quite fun writing this answer.

#answered #munday #thank you! #long post