#flannan

[unseeliethot]

Mwah!

[eurydice-khthonios]

Now kiss

Wonder who he's thinking about?

[mango512]

So there’s this gorgeous up-and-coming dating sim game called The Good People created by @moiraimyths that just released a new revamped demo!! The art is beautiful, the writing is thoughtful and engaging, and man oh man is this bisexual enjoying all the love interests 😳 It’s based off Irish mythology! And the story takes place in Tír na nÓg where the Seelie and Unseelie are divided and at war with each other. This gorgeous long haired fella is Flannán, king of the Unseelie!! He’s got such a great calm, but powerful feel about him.

[toadjunkie]

man so pretty and for what, so i can fall in love with him??!!!

well it worked

[bella-daonna]

NDM in Tarot Cards

5/7

Flannán

Today is a bit of a silly choice, but I feel like it works :)

For the Unseelie King, I picked The Barcana by Calion Smith.

This one might be a bit self-explanatory!

Doggies: come on. this man LOVES dogs!!!! and look at that 3 of cups, doesn't that remind you of the boys? He loves it.

Traditional Art: Flannán just gives me traditional art vibes instead of digital art. These cards are each illustrated with a traditional watercolour painting.

Lighthearted: I really really can't see Flannán actually believing in tarot or anything too strongly, so I think that this kind of deck is something he'd "get" better than a more traditional tarot deck.

Hope: The artist has said that, while it still uses traditional symbols, this deck is meant to be a bit more hopeful/positive/uplifting than standard decks. I think Flannán could use a bit of that energy!

If you click the tag “NDM in tarot” you’ll see my other posts in this series :)

[scotianostra]

15th December 1900. An investigation subsequently concluded that it was on this day, probably in the afternoon that the three Keepers of the year old Flannan Isles Lighthouse disappeared.

On December 7th, 1900, Donald MacArthur, Thomas Marshall, and James Ducat arrived at the Flannan Isles lighthouse to begin their two-week rotation as keepers of the lighthouse. The Superintendent of Lighthouses, Robert Muirhead came with them to do a routine check of the lighthouse and speak to the men. He made certain that everything was in working order. He then spoke with James Ducat about some difficulties they were having with the heavy mist that commonly surrounded the island. The men then said goodbye to the Superintendent and he left.

The lighthouse was regularly monitored from the mainland by telescope. This way, if there were an emergency, the men could signal for help. Unfortunately, there was the problem of the mist. The lighthouse was seen on December 7 and December 12th. The lighthouse was also seen on December 15, by a passing ship. The crew noted that the light was not shining, as it should have been. It was not seen from land again until the 29th, well after the men should have ended their rotation.

The ship that was to deliver the men’s relief and bring them home from the Flannan Isles lighthouse was delayed until December 21st, because of a run of bad weather. When the ship, the SS Hesperus, arrived at Eilean Mor, the men on board expected to see a flag flying to indicate that the keepers had noted their arrival and would be deploying a rowboat to retrieve their relief. However, the flag was not flying, nor did the men respond to a siren. A landing craft with two men on board was launched from the SS Hesperus with two men on board.

When the two men reached Eilean Mor, one man, Joseph Moore, went up to check the lighthouse for the three missing men. He found the entrance locked. He unlocked the door and entered to find the Flannan Isles lighthouse unmanned. The clock on the wall had stopped. No fire was in the grate, nor had one been there for a few days. Oddly, there was a meal sitting at the table. It looked like someone had set it down with the intention of eating it soon, but left it untouched.

Whatever had happened to the men, it happened to them suddenly. There was nothing anyone could do about it with so few clues. So four men, including Moore, stayed on the island to operate the lighthouse while everyone else left.

The records of the three Flannan Isles Lighthouse Keepers were subsequently inspected. It was discovered that Eilean Mor was hit with a strong storm on December 14. The last entry was made on the afternoon of December 15. It simply stated:

“Storm ended, sea calm. God is over all.”

Superintendent Muirhead concluded that the men must have been taken by nature when they left the lighthouse to repair storm damage to a storage container outside. One of his theories (the most likely) was that a large wave came upon the men while they were working and swept all three of them into the Atlantic Ocean, where they died. This the story my Uncle Eric believes to be true, he worked on Flannan and many other lighthouses during the work to automate them all in the 1980′.  Muirhead, wrote in his official report:

“I am of the opinion that the most likely explanation of this disappearance of the men is that they had all gone down on the afternoon of Saturday, 15 December to the proximity of the West landing, to secure the box with the mooring ropes, etc and that an unexpectedly large roller had come up on the island, and a large body of water going up higher than where they were and coming down upon them had swept them away with resistless force.

I visited them as lately as 7th December and have the melancholy recollection that I was the last person to shake hands with them and bid them adieu”.

Muirhead’s theory is largely regarded as truth. The only other alternatives seem to be that the men left of their own accord, they were kidnapped, or some other ludicrous speculation. Unfortunately, the bodies were ever recovered, so there is no way to be sure.

In the years following, other keepers claimed to hear voices in the salty air screaming out the names of Thomas Marshall, James Ducat, and Donald McArthur.

In “Mysterious Celtic Mythology in American Folklore”, author Bob Curran writes: “For many local people, there was little doubt that they had been spirited into the otherworld.”

[maistiruin]

I know you don't do HCs but I like your theories so I wondered if you had any ideas what their weddings might be like 👀

anon i am so sorry because I kept forgetting about this in the drafts

planning fictional weddings may be one of my favorite things to do ever. Everyone else under the cut. This is arranged by who I had ideas for first. Lengths and details may vary.

Shae

You and Shae avoid getting married the whole time somehow, despite doing married people things your entire relationship. And then it's tax time and you realize it would be way more convenient to do these if you were married. Now you're married.

OK, tax joke aside, one night after a long time of marriage-esque domesticity, you just wake up bolt upright and ask, "Should we get married?"

Shae's still a little sleepy so they just grumpily tell you to ask again in the morning. They wrestle you back into a cuddle position. You are soft putty and cannot win.

Before you can wake up and ask again, Shae is up first and beats you to it. You should have proposed first!

You send out invitations—not a lot, just the people who matter. Shae's family, the friends you've made, small group only. You specifically tell everyone that it's because you're getting married in a few days, but everyone still brings food to the outpost like it's some kind of potluck.

The ceremony takes place three days later in the garden. Under the trellis, where some berry plants are tied to prevent them from falling over. It smells like it's about to rain, and you have to act fast.

It starts as a light drizzle that becomes a whole shower just in time for the final kiss. Everybody rushes inside before the rain gets any worse, but all in all, it was a great day.

Maeve

You and Maeve do get engaged and all, but in the spirit of her U-Haul Lesbian vibes (...U-Haul Bisexual?), one weekend in the heat of wedding planning, you spirit away and just elope.

It's a private affair with just you and the crows (ravens?) as your only guests. You come back to the capital two days later and dive back into the wedding planning whirlwind.

You still go through with the public wedding, but now it's more fun for you both. A lil wink to each other as you repeat your wedding vows. No one else gets the joke.

No one will ever know the wedding was just for show, except maybe three people (Flannán included?) and this knowledge will stay secret until at least your 10th wedding anniversary.

Robin

Robin canonically cannot got to a church, so you have a destination wedding instead.

First stop, the trash heap. You have to pick out your wedding rings. There's a lot to choose from.

Next stop, wherever the hell you want. It doesn't matter, they can take you there.

If you can't decide immediately, Robin will cycle between a few places, including but not limited to: Shae's outpost, the forests of Murias, literally right at the Seelie-Unseelie border, the throne room at the People's Castle, and the hoard he calls home.

What follows next may be romantically stupid or stupidly romantic, depending on which end you are so inclined. You exchange vows at the location of your choice.

Part of me wants to say Robin splits their wedding vows into sentences and each one is said in a different location, but I don't know how great teleportation is for either party.

Robin is as Robin does, the last line they say is "We're married now, buck-o."

Seems legit enough. Now let's go pick the honeymoon location.

Flannán

Married and engaged in the same day.

You wake up one morning to see Flannán trying to fit a ring over your finger, and he tries to make you go back to sleep and pretend like nothing happened, but eventually relents and proposes.

As soon as you step out of the bedroom, you find people rushing around the castle covering every inch of it with winter blossoms. Flannán looks as surprised as you.

He flags someone down to say that the proposal is off. He's bright red as he explains that he already proposed to you on accident.

Turns out this isn't for the proposal.

Apparently, no one trusts you or Flannán to plan your own wedding in a timely or easy manner. You are now getting married.

Talk about overwhelming. You just got engaged less than an hour ago. To be fair, it doesn't matter how you got married. Just that you finally do.

Also Flannán's dogs are chewing on the decorations the whole time. If this were a wedding with a photographer, they would feature in every single shot.

Not because the photographer was too focused on the dogs (valid but not the case). It's because they want to be included in everything.

Aífe

OBVIOUSLY a massive ceremony. All of the Seelie court is invited. I'm torn between having it in the palace gardens or the throne room. Both seem like great ideas.

Aífe's wedding will be loaded with outfit changes like nobody's business. She has at least ten gowns for herself, and then ten outfits for you so you match with her every single time.

The ceremony would be simple if not for the break taken for every outfit change. Aífe made all these dresses, she MUST get to use them.

Outfit changes extend to the reception, too.

Aífe sings you a lovely ballad and you just have to stand there and take it and how in love you are with her. And you need to let her finish the song or else she'll be very cross with you, and that's no way to start your marriage.

Unless, of course... you would like to sing with her? She does love it when you duet.

The wedding reception is truly equal parts reception and equal parts recital. People (mainly Aífe) showing off their talents and having fun, celebrating.

Keagan

Full disclosure, it is impossible for me to think of Keagan wedding HCs without thinking of my Arranged Marriage AU at the same time. And that's a very different wedding than what I imagine Keagan would normally have. Probably still similar enough though.

Sorry for talking about the Arranged Marriage AU (not sorry actually :P)

Anyway, garden wedding for sure. Aífe wouldn't say no to lending the royal gardens for her dearest friends' wedding.

It may also be next to one of those super cool waterfalls in the royal gardens but I have my personal reasons for wanting that.

It's a bad idea though because waterfalls are Loud, so maybe we'll keep it to that nice gazebo by the water.

There have been spring showers every day leading up to the wedding so the two of you are rightly worried about wedding plans, but when the day comes, it's nice and sunny.

It's actually too nice and sunny.

If you turn around at any point during the ceremony, you'll see people holding up things over their faces so that the glare from the sun isn't bothering them.

There's a tiny part of you that's actually upset that it didn't rain because you two planned this whole affair around the idea that it would be raining, and now it's not.

The wedding goes off without a hitch. Not a single dry eye when Keagan is done with his vows, made worse when it's your turn.

The reception is not much different from Aífe's (though significantly less of a talent show).

I imagine it's a bit more of a game. You and Keagan can be playful that way.

From the audience, all that can be seen is Keagan turning to you and whispering something in your ear that makes you smile.

From where you're sitting, he is trying to get you to break so you two can leave the reception early.

He is trying very well.

You both leave the reception early.

[earthstory]

Original caption:

Video of seabirds from remote Scottish islands including the Shiant isles and the Atlantic outliers of (North) Rona, Sula Sgeir and the Flannan Isles. Taken in July 2019 on a cruise with Northern Light Cruising Co.

Each of these islands has a unique and special character. The Shiants is an incredible haven for life and the sight of all the birds constantly coming on going and the sounds of the colony echoing from the boulder fields are incredible. Part of Rona’s quality comes from its remoteness. In addition to the puffins it’s also home to Leach’s Storm petrels which return at night to their burrows in the ancient village ruins. Sula Sgeir is home to thousands of gannets and the destination for the men of Ness who travel from Lewis to stay on the island for two weeks each year to harvest the young gannets, known as ‘gugas’. The Flannans are probably best known for the mysterious disappearance of the three lighthouse keepers in 1900. I’d never seen such a concentration of puffins as I saw there.