I will find you in every life (threat)

I am forever fascinated by the arms race between coelurosaurs and ceratopsians. Among the most famous rivals in palaeomedia growing up was Velociraptor and Protoceratops, Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, and of course I had to add two of my faves, Gorgosaurus and Styracosaurus!

[Thorvald Hollow-Throat] came from a long line of individuals with excellent nicknames, being the grandchild of Bjorn Butter-Box, the great-grandchild of Hroald Spine, the great-great-grandchild of Bjorn Ironside and the great-great-great-grandchild of Ragnar Hairy-Breeches

Ulf the Quarrelsome: A guy known for brutally murdering someone in Njal's Saga. Lovely use of understatement.

Alli the Pale: imagine living in Scandinavia, where people are generally Rather Pale, and still being markedly pale enough that it becomes your defining feature. (perhaps a historical occurrence of albinism?)

Harald Tanglehair: original nickname of Harald Fairhair. he apparently swore to never brush his hair until he had all of Norway under his rule. real shame for him that he lived before the invention of modern hair conditioners and detanglers 😔

Ulf the Crow: yes, this one is cool as fuck. It also means "Wolf the Crow". Dude's parents named him after a wolf at birth but everyone around him went "actually, you're more of a crow." Reverse nominative determinism.

And, the best of them all:

tell someone "congratulations!" tell them "I'm so happy for you. I know you've been trying for a really long time." ask them "do you need help with anything?" throw them a party with loved ones where you all give them some gifts in acknowledgement of how expensive it is. celebrate how far along they are. take photos with them so they have a record of being loved while their body changes. allow them to voice fears and doubts and anxieties about how it'll go, and reassure them that they'll get through the intense medical procedure coming up & you'll be there for support no matter what. let them tell you about the gross parts and laugh together. really listen to them when they talk about how amazing and profound it is that the human body can do this. share in their excitement for beginning a new stage of their life.