the sweet primroses: traditional songs of springtime

Tracks: 

1. may song - waterson:carthy ◦ 2. the sweet primroses - shirley collins ◦ 3. i sowed some seeds - martin carthy ◦ 4. estampie yr ehedydd (the lark’s estampie) - anne marie summers and helen wilding ◦ 5. may carol - shira kammen ◦ 6. one may morning early - bellowhead ◦ 7. the cuckoo - custer larue ◦ 8. the month of may - the copper family ◦ 9. spotted cow - steeleye span ◦ 10. may morning - waterson:carthy ◦ 11. heather down the moor - june tabor ◦ 12. staines morris - fairport convention ◦ 13. derreen day - brocelïande ◦ 14. swinton may song - the watersons ◦ 15. the gardener - offa rex ◦ 16. searching for lambs - peter bellamy ◦ 17. ce mois de mai - pyewackett ◦ 18. the snow it melts the soonest - eliza carthy ◦ 19. padstow - steeleye span ◦ 20. cambridgeshire may carol - shirley collins ◦ 21. belle rose - june tabor ◦ 22. the new mown hay - martin carthy with dave swarbrick ◦ 23. sheepshearing - the watersons ◦ 24. the nightingale - custer larue ◦ 25. when i was in my prime - pentangle ◦ 26. hal-an-tow - oysterband 

Realistic: I like to picture Mina as a redhead because Becky Cloonan draws her that way, and I’m a redhead so I like that.  I also like the idea that, given her similarities to the heroine of Lair of the White Worm, she has Indian heritage.

Unrealistic but funny: Mina lived long enough to read Atlas Shrugged- “A book about trains!  How delightful!”- and was left disappointed.

Sad: I think there were probably some unspoken romantic feelings between Mina and Lucy.  She was very much in love with Jonathan, of course, but something else might have been…

i regret to inform you that you are gay and your girlfriend is W O N D E R F U L

*cracks knuckles* So I am a fan of both the traditional, it’s a seal in Ireland selkie, but I also like to go further afield - say, the elephant seal - or to change species altogether. What’s great about a selkie is that you can get a real FISH OUT OF WATER dynamic with it. Like, granted the ability to be a human can make things slightly less xeno spicy that your mermaid situation, but I’m such a sucker for shapeshifters!!!! Particularly when there’s no dramatic choice of land or sea like with a mermaid. Selkies can live on land and in water! Yeah!!!

Also selkies that do not look quite human are one of the best kinds, yes. I also like when a selkie chooses to come on land and have fun rather than having their skin stole by some asshole, BUT accidental skin-stealing can lead to comedy or horror, both of which are quite good. 

ok so favored types (all types are favorites so this is me just flinging ideas at the wall):

obviously the Greenland Shark selkie. If you check my AO3 gifts, you can see that I’ve received a WIDE VARIETY of greenland shark selkie gifts. Still a top selkie.

Did you know that some of the more famous ukiyo-e artists were women? Have you considered that maybe this female artist asked for a whole octopus to use for some like, sexy drawing and then IT TURNED OUT THE OCTOPUS WAS ALSO A HOT LADY? incredible. 

let’s get absurd. a flounder selkie that only looks at you from the side. 

an electric eel selkie. 

albatross selkie

A HUMPBACK WHALE SELKIE

leopard seal selkie. they’re Big

Actually I’m gonna be real and say that also an appeal of the selkie is their different lifespans! Like they’re generally pretty long-lived in folklore (selkies don’t seem to age like normal women before they finally get the chance to fuck off back to the sea) and there are lots of sea critters that live for longer than humans. Except, sadly, the Giant Pacific Octopus, who only gets to age 4-5. 

:((((((( 

1985:

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

Peter Vincent is love, Peter Vincent is life.

2011:

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

2. Favorite shipfic

They Will Not Be Safe, my big post-movie Brides of Dracula story of Van Helsing and Marianne.  They’re both trying to heal from what Baron Meinster did to them, and slowly getting around to acting on their shared sexual tension.  I love these character to death, especially Peter Cushing’s kindhearted Van Helsing, and I enjoyed writing what I thought him courting his beloved would look like.

6. Favorite underrated fic

I have complex thoughts on noir AUs! Here’s the thoughts:

1) I enjoy them quite a lot but 

2) Sometimes they can get a little too lost in their setting? Like they get more preoccupied with ~noir rather than telling a story

3) I once tried to write a noir AU and I didn’t even get to the end of the paragraph before I realized, oh shit I can’t do this oh god I have to change my plans immediately