October 25, 2020October 25, 2020 by Three Knots

Spiderweb

Once upon a time, she cast her wishes
Into the air like feathers from an owl.

Like feathers from an owl, they twirled and blew
And who knows why the sky accepted them
And who knows for what purpose wishes drop
The air itself turned thicker, that she felt
But nothing else revealed itself: not yet.

And so she made her slow and careful way
Past the teller’s house, and through the door
All made of books, the substance of her life.
Beyond that first door, something felt awry,
As different as her mind from yesterday.

Something felt awry, yes, out of placement,
She’d have said, if she’d been thinking clearly,
But she wasn’t. Just echoes of wishes
Occupied her mind: they were pervasive.
It was enough to make her think, Turn back.

Turn back, she thought, but only in her head.
And as the path grew darker, she could feel
A weight upon her back. It grew and grew
Until she was convinced she’d have a stoop
Forever; that’s how heavy this weight seemed.

She reached the Tree of Shadows just in time
To feel a finger tapping on her cheek.
Another finger tapped her shoulder, then
A rhythmic pulsing clear upon her back.
And so of course she turned to find the cause.

“I take them back!” she said. “Yes, every wish.
“I take them all back: I will keep them all!”
And from her back, the golden spider laughed.
“It’s good for you that I am not a cheat,”
The spider said. “You get one chance at this,
“No more. Are we agreed?” The spider clicked,
Then spoke no more with words. The wind went low,
As if the wood itself listened in then.

A close escape! She knew she’d made a deal
And felt the oath fix tight into her heart.
No more idle wishes: she’d have to work
At that one, but she knew she’d make the rule,
And keep it, if she wanted to survive
In her own space and keep her sanity.

Notes & Credits:
The Golden Back Tattoo: Nefekalum, Embed, Gilded. Available at Necrotize!
The Night Blue Skin: Wyrd, Alva, in special fantasy tone Frozen. Available at Trick Or Treat Lane through the first of November!
The Stunning Spider-Dress: Oubliette, Arachne Dress, Onyx. Available at Trick Or Treat Lane through the first of November! (comes with the leg ribbons as part of the dress panty)
The Equally Stunning Spider-Necklace: Oubliette, Arachne Necklace. Available at Trick Or Treat Lane through the first of November!
The Ice Blue Crown: Eve, Valindra’s Crown, Black Ice
The Multicoloured Eyes: Petrichor, Jamus Eyes
The Spider-Shoes: Sheba, Willow Heels
The Neatly Coiffed Hair: Magika, Midnight
The Spider: Salt & Pepper, Web Crawler Spider Companion, Gold
Environment:
Location: Awenia Faerie
Book Forest bits & Bobs:
Sign: 8f8, Storyteller’s Burrow, Sign
Background Books: Multiple creators; IM Gwen Enchanted in world if you want to know more!
Book Path, Una, Book Path
Creepy Tree with musical instruments: HarshLands, Cursed Tree
Instruments:
Violin: UnKindness, The Unveiling Violin
Cello & Harp, DRD, Victorian Music Room, Cello, Harp
Tuba: MadPea Cursed Collection, Tuba
Owl: MoonAmore+Cureless, Owlsome Owl
Spiderwebs: DDD, Dewdrop Cobwbs

I wanted to write something about the fickleness of wishes, and I remembered Joan Osborne’s song Spiderweb. It worked with a lot of great Halloween items, and the Nefekalum Tattoo gave our spider the perfect portal from which to emerge.

Spiderweb — Joan Osborne
I dreamed about Ray Charles last night
And he could see just fine
Dreamed about Ray Charles last night
And he could see just fine you know
I asked him for a lullaby
He said “Honey I don’t sing no more”
No more no more no more
Ray don’t sing no more
He said “Since I got my eyesight back
my voice has just deserted me.
No ‘Georgia On My Mind’ no more
I stay in bed with MTV.”
Then Ray took his glasses off
And I could look inside his head
Flashing like a thunderstorm
I saw a shining spider web
Spider web
Spider web
Spider web
In Ray Charles’ head
I dreamed about Ray Charles last night
He took me flying in the air
Showed my own spider webs
Said, “Honey, you had best take care.
The world is made of spider webs
The threads are stuck to me and you
Be careful what you’re wishing for
‘Cause when you gain you just might lose”
You just might lose your
Spider web
Spider web
Spider web
What Ray Charles said
When you’re feelin’ lonely
When you’re hidin’ in your bed
Don’t forget your string of pearls
Don’t forget your spider web
When I go to sleep tonight
Don’t let me dream of brother Ray
No, no, no, don’t
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he sees
Just like him best the other way
Spider web
Spider web
Spider web
What Ray Charles said
In Ray Charles head
All I got’s my spider web
Keepin’ me alive
c’mon Ray

https://youtu.be/Txu8tss7aJ4

October 6, 2020October 6, 2020 by Three Knots

PROM-PIT Spot, Take 1

A second life in pictures
Catwa, Exile, Maitreya, Nefekalum, Petrichor, Petrichor Discord Group, Senzafine, Sweet Thing, Venge, Wyrd, Yoshi
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Music swells, a romantic chord progression working up from the fifth to the one, and then, a calming….

VOICEOVER:

She’s always wanted this. Your little girl. Your princess. Your… angel.

But it’s her dream, to wear a beautiful gown, to have her hair done, to step out with all her friends….

Even if, for her own safety and the safety of others, you have had to have a pocket universe installed in your home and calling the entities with whom she associates friends is….

Musical riff

VO: well, it’s a bit of hyperbole really, isn’t it? But she wants this. She needs this.

She wants to feel like any other seventeen-year-old. Innocent, vulnerable, catching the eye of that cute…. um, well, being across a crowded room. It’s important to her development as a teenager—and as a demon.

That’s why we created PROM-PIT. It’s the best way for your demon child to experience that traditional coming-of-age celebration party, the high school prom, without making national news or feasting guiltily on the entrails of the junior class for weeks afterward.

PROM-PIT turns that pocket universe into a beautiful formal dance dreamscape. Popular themes include:

Come Sail Away
I Will Remember You
Don’t Stop Believin’
Born This Way
Frozen Frolic
Spring Fling
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Harvest Moon
Christmas Cotillion

First, we terraform and decorate! Don’t worry; we have safe holding spots in case your lovely one is a bit territorial!

Then, we’re there to document the occasion! Our photographers and videographers will take a few hours before the festivities begin so you and your loved ones will have a scrapbook to remember her the way she was on this beautiful night.

We include candid shots of your precious spawn having genuine fun! Because every teenager deserves to have this much fun, at least on this one special night.

We even know how to make sure we capture at least one photograph of her after she’s, well… broken a few rules and might be getting a bit too loud for the neighbours! Good thing those pocket universes are completely soundproof, isn’t it?

If your precious demon child is beginning to long for a “normal teenage experience,” whatever that is, why not give us a call? There’s no obligation, and our quotes are quick and reasonable.

These wonderful years are so fleeting, aren’t they? Our little darlings grow up so fast. They blood their first kills, mature, leave the nest (and maybe some survivors!), and move on into the world.

The most valuable thing in the world, in the universe, is a memory.

Make one this year, with PROM-PIT

When she’s on her own island, calling sailors to their dooms or luring the unwary in to her net of lust and lies, she’ll thank you for this beautiful scrapbook. You’ll each get a copy.

Call PROM-PIT today, and help her see the woman she could be. At least for a little while.

Notes and Credits:

The one-of-a kind demon skin: Wyrd, Anya, in special demon tone Blot (This will be at the Dark Style Fair, which opens on 9 October!)
The Stunning look-how-my-hooves-gleam-in-this-dress gown, Senzafine, Hecate Gown (You can get this right now at We Love Roleplay!)
Horns: Petrichor, Anathaema Bare Horns (Back at the Petrichor Main Store now!)
Gold Face Tattoo: Nefekalum, Guardian
Gold Body Tattoo: Nefekalum, Avalon’s Gift, Gold
Hair: Exile, Eri
Head: Catwa, HDPro Soft Mesh Head
Body: Maitreya
Wings, Tail & Hooves, Sweet Thing, Demon Wings, Demon Tail, Demon Hooves
Nails: Venge, Maitreya Stiletto Nails, “Flourish”
Eyes: Yoshi, Lee Eyes
Special thanks to Lucia Blackheart, Bu Lionheart, and Qyrsha, from the amazing and supportive Petrichor discord group, for help with finding just the right demon parts and being kind to me even though I’d never really put together a demon before. Thanks to all of you, she’s the perfect Demon Prom Queen!

September 11, 2020September 14, 2020 by Three Knots

What We Become

They tell you when you start the road
They tell you that the road is long
They don’t tell you it never ends
They don’t tell you that it’s all hills

It’s beautiful, it’s beautiful
It’s long, it’s hard, and I am tired
And here among these picture books
Perhaps I’ll rest a little while

They’re all well-kept, the picture books
Like someone reads them every day
Not overgrown, like my quarter,
With dead grass, and mushrooms, and moss.

It’s a stark difference, isn’t it?
From picture-book to literature,
Look how they throw their things away
And paint the wood in shades of grey

For all that rhyme and whimsy lost
Another suited mannequin
Can take its place among the rest
And lurch through life without a song

The thinning of the atmosphere,
I admit, makes the sky more clear
But does the moon make up for it?
I don’t think so. No; I do not.

My anger turns into an orb
My wings release me from the flames
You don’t respect this treasure trove?
I’ll burn the whole place to the ground.

Now, find me in a gallery
Called Weep for Alexandria
Some artist painted tears on me
And said I must have felt despair.

Despair? You fool. No: that is hate.
At what I watched you do to them,
My books, my scrolls, my poetry
And all the people who loved them.

I give and give, and every time
You answer me ungratefully
No more chances, children of earth
This time the fires will never end.

Notes and Credits:
Burn It All Down Gown: Senzafine, Maerwynn (Get it at We Love Roleplay!)
Weary As My Soul Skin: Poema, Metis (This is at The Darkness Event. Poema does an amazing job with skins that look middle aged and older; you should really check out her work)
Crystal Earrings Of Hope Still Surviving Despite All This Stuff: Mini A Chuu & ~MF~, Ticha Crystallic Earrings
Above It All Wings: Deviance, Sidhe Wings, Unseelie
Done With This Hair: Sintiklia, Tumelo
Seeing Red Circlet: Deviance, Erulisse Circlet, The Priestess
Blood On My Hands Tattoo: Nefekalum, Gilded (roses)
Pointy Like Knives Ears: Swallow, Elf Ears High Definition
Body: Maitreya; Head: Lelutka, Lake
Environment:
Location: Awenia Faerie, The Book Forest
Stunning Picture Books: Happy Mood, Pop Up Book, Your Story With Stuffed Animals
Moon & Stars: Landscapes Unlimited: Off Sim Starry Night
Tree With Green Sap: HarshLands, Magic Sap Tree
Winter Tree: The Looking Glass: Dead Wood, Large Tree
Burning Library: TRIIN, Ruined Castle

August 28, 2020September 3, 2020 by Three Knots

Val, Chapter Two: Why Don’t You Ever Write Your Äiti?

Myserie, Roleplaying, Val
BackBone, Bazar, Chez Moi, Eudora, Eudora 3D, Fourth Wall, Izzie's, Lelutka, Lumae, Maitreya, Merak, Myserie, Nefekalum, Neve, Punch, Shovelheads, Simple Bloom, Val, Venge, Wyrd
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Dear Mum,

I wanted to wait until at least two interesting things had happened so that I would not be writing you letters as short as text messages. That way you could not text me and say my letters were too short! Also, I wanted to have my flat as finished as possible before I wrote this first letter so you could have some pictures of where I am writing from. Then, in the next letter, I’ll send more pictures of the shop and pictures from around town. That way, you can get to know the town I’m living in.

So, I’ll kind of start from the end, because look! This is where I’m writing you from! I had the day off from the shop, and I’ve spent it putting this monstrosity together! Had to sweet-talk the landlord into opening the roof access panel so I could get the flatpack up here more easily: otherwise I’d have had to somehow hoist it out my window and up the ladder access. I mean, I could have done it obviously, but it would have been more difficult and I might have had to buy a stranger a pizza. Anyway, it all arrived yesterday, and after four hours of remembering enough school Swedish to curse IKEA in it, I have this very serviceable covered table. I added the string lights (and I’m slightly miffed they don’t call them fairy lights over here) myself.

Fun fact: Our elevation here in Myserie is 4,190 ft in weird American reckoning, which makes it 1,277 m. That is only 88 metres shorter than Ridnitšohkka! So you know what I had to do, right? I had to get a flat on what they call here the 7th floor because they don’t believe in the ground floor. I’ll measure it properly at some point, but if we assume that each living-space storey is roughly 3m and the commercial space storey is, say, 3.5m, I’m only 66.5m short of that summit when I’m in the flat, and up on the roof, you could subtract 3 more metres. No wonder I feel so dizzy all the time here: it’s not like I’m used to even hills where we live. I have more photographs from the roof, but I know what you want to see first, so I’ll show you the flat itself.

I took this picture really early in the morning with my iPhone on a tripod using my Apple Watch. You can see that I used the flash: I hate doing that, but it was really dim in the room. I like being far enough up that I won’t need curtains, and it’s not like they have three months of round the clock daylight here, anyway, so I won’t need blackout blinds. I’ve only met one witch so far with a familiar who can fly, and he likes me: I taught him how to say Perkele.

Look, I even moved the tripod closer so you can see my face: You always tell my can’t see my face in pictures. I promise I am getting enough to eat, even if mostly I am not cooking very much.

I like my little kitchen: Thank you for the Moomin poster. He is keeping me company every morning when I make my first cup of coffee before I go to the shop for my second cup of coffee. And yes, that’s the Eiffel Tower stool from my bedroom at home. I took it apart and brought it with me because I wanted something to be familiar here. I’ve had it for my whole life, and it just makes a place feel like home, you know? I know there’s not enough art on the walls yet, but I like that picture of the Aurora, makes me think of the elevation here at least. And you can’t see it in this picture, but there’s also a photo looking onto Pirkkala from the water.

You worried I would just sleep on a couch or something, but no, I got a proper bed and everything. It’s even on casters so I can turn it to face against the winter if I like. And a clock that doesn’t rely on scary technology, just electricity, see? I do listen, Äiti. I was going to put a rack on the wall to hang stuff, but somebody told me they charge you money if you put holes in the wall, so I didn’t do that and just went for those little containers there. I will get something bigger maybe in time. And look, there’s my Ukonvasara I made in uni. I’m glad we kept the print of it all this time. Maybe I will see about inking it differently and seeing about making some reproducible prints. There seem to be a lot of pagans here, though they are predictably mostly Wiccans. I wish First Nation culture had held on here a bit better, and maybe we will see it rise with some of the unmaskings lately made. I only hope that like so many other American risings it will not need to become contentious in order for sides to be heard and acknowledged and not erased.

And now for the pictures you’re going to hate!

You know I have to do this part, mum! Like that time I went zip-lining in north Wales and sent you the video without telling you what I’d done? Yes, well—the best thing about living up here is that I can do this!

Now, don’t be afraid: you know we have excellent balance, mother.

And here I’m even almost smiling! You always say I should smile more!

Hey—if you look down onto the street below me, you can see the coffee shop where I go for my second cup of the day. Too bad I didn’t catch the odd old guy who’s always wandering around there.

Do I miss you? Of course I miss you. I miss everybody. I miss Tampere. I even mis Ula. I miss Iivo and the Kalevala shop and I will miss going to Lapland for Midwinter if I can’t make it back. And I will miss the ice castle and the winter market, too. My path, though. Remember? My path. It’ll lead me back to you one day, and I know that every time my path leads me back to you, there will be song and camaraderie and the sharing of all things good.

Love,
The youngest of yours,
Valoisa

Notes & Credits

Val is a role-play character created for Myserie City RP. While I started roleplaying in Second Life something like nine years ago, I haven’t been on a straight-up role-play sim in a few years, and I’m having a lovely time enjoying just immersing myself in role-play and working with a new and different character for the first time in a long time. All these photos were taken on-sim, and I’ll take more inside the city itself once Val gets her bearings and I have a few more regular places where she hangs out.

Body: Maitreya
Head: Lelutka Evolution: Fleur
Skin: Wyrd, Alva in T1
Eyebrows: Simple Bloom, LivSpring Neutral
Chin Dimple: Izzie’s, Chin Dimples
Ears: Lumae: Leevi Medium Ears
Tattoo: Nefekalum, Embellishment, Titanium
Piercings: All From Lelutka, Fleur Facial Piercings, except
Septum: Venge, Kelpie Nosering; and
Forehead Crescent: Punch, Trine
Tank Top: Shovelheads, Women’s Viking Tank
Trousers: Neve, Minnie Pant
Boots: Eudora 3D, Thar Boots
Covered Table (on roof): Chez Moi, Applewood Picnic Table
Couch: Fourth Wall, Saga Sofa
Coffee Table: Fourth Wall, Hala Coffee Table
Kitchen: Merak: Happy Kitchen
Eiffel Tower Stool: BackBone, Breakfast In Paris Stool
Bed: Bazar: Stockholm Bed
Cabinet: Bazar, Stockholm Bedroom Cabinets
Lamp, Clock, Stool: Bazaar, Stockholm Bedroom

August 21, 2020 by Three Knots

Val, Chapter 1

I don’t really know what chapter this is, so we’ll start with one since that’s where everybody else starts and I might as well fit in in some way.

I am Valoisa Saga. I am from Tampere, in Finland. I am ninety, very young for an Elf, but you didn’t hear me say that. It is more fashionable on the Internet to say otherkin, but then that also translates to nerd, so I guess I can say that too.

But really, call me Val. It’s easier, and I guess it’s true that not even Finns all speak good Finnish.

Yesterday was my first day working at Immortal Ink in Myserie, Oregon. I’m glad I got a job in the Pacific Northwest. The rest of the USA seems a little too crazy. I mean, everybody back in Tampere thinks I’m crazy for wanting to come back here at all, but weed’s legal, and The Netherlands is a shithole. Just sayin’. OK, probably not all of The Netherlands. But definitely Amsterdam. Amster, Amster, dam, dam, dam, dam.

There’s plenty to hate about Immortal Ink, but I’ll improve it over time, and Old Jimbo (OK, he’s actually called Deadeye, but I’ve already named him Jimbo) is only an arse on days ending in ‘y’. Fact is, it’s nice to be the best artist in the shop. OK, the only artist in the shop. I’m laughing. But enough snark. Still laughing. There is never enough snark. History time!

So, this was my last day in Tampere. Iivo said he was sorry to see me go, but he also was sorry he didn’t have a place for me at the studio; since the old owner was packing up most of the operation and moving to Spain, he expected business to go down a bit. I like Iivo, but he’s a bit limp when it comes to taking chances. Then again, he’s got a full house for tattooists and I’m only just certified in body mod. I guess, given the area, it’s a buyer’s market.

Goodbye, Iivo. Goodbye, Kalevala, Goodbye, drunk Finnish boys who want bears inked on your arses.

My last day, and it was August, so it stood to reason: sataa kuin Esterin perseestä. That’s vulgar, so I’ll just say it was raining cats and dogs. I don’t mind the rain: I’m not a stupid film witch, and I never met any real ones who melt anyway.

Mum planned to take me, even though Iivo said he would if I wanted him to. Nearest portal is Kangasala; Tampere is a magical wasteland, which I guess is probably why so many fae businesses do well there. Half the coffee shops are run by us elves, and of course being Finland elves are the majority of the Fae population, with a pretty good divide between Lios and Svart, not that we make much of a distinction these days. It’s the stupid western colonials who continue with their uppity pomp and circumstance and Victorian made-up stories about Seelie and Unseelie courts. We laugh about this, you know. Brits, Americans, they all had so much great mythology to draw from, and they picked Scottish words from the North of Scotland, which OK, are at least derived from Scandinavia where we like to think the first elves came from (yeah; that’s probably cultural superiority; people think Santa Claus comes from here, too), but give me a break. Seelie and Unseelie. Just because I am prohibited by blood from outright lying to you doesn’t mean I won’t outright fuck you up if you give me reason to. Why not fucking you up for sport makes me part of some special and different clan, I have no idea. My older sister Ula will fuck you up for sport: does that make her Unseelie? No fucking clue.

Anyway, that’s what I was thinking about on the drive to Kangasala, because Mum had to give me a lecture reminding me that American Fae have this antiquated system, and I’m all, ‘Mum, I picked a place that doesn’t do that, I looked it up, they don’t do the stupid winter and summer court thing, there’s no Queen Of Air And Darkness,’ And I totally did the funny voice. The look she gave me!

I should have let Iivo take me. At least there would have been beer. Mum wasn’t even going to let me vape in the car.

“You call me the minute you get there,” she said.

“Mum,” I said. “It’s a portal. It takes seconds.”

“You still call me.” She started to tear up.

“Mum,” I said. “You can come visit.”

Her mouth opened, then closed. “I am not made for America,” she said. She walked round the back of the car and grabbed the big suitcase and a smaller bag. Oh paska, Mum, you did not. “Here. You’re taking it.”

“Mum.”

“You’re taking it.”

“Fuck’s sake, Mum.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “And you’re kissing me goodbye.”

You know what? My mum is sixteen hundred years old. I am her youngest child, her baby. She averages one child every other century or so. It occurred to me it was not wise to say no to her at this time. I opened my arms, palms out in the universal gesture of surrender. I put my arms around my mother and felt her arms around me. I kissed her goodbye.

And I took the suitcase, and the goddamn kantele, and I walked through the sithen gate, knowing she’d follow, knowing she’d watch, knowing she’d cry before and after, but not during, that all-important, “Yeah, mum, I made it,” phone call.

And that was the end of my last day in Tampere. And, I guess, the start of the new chapter.

Notes and Credits:

Val is a role-play character for Myserie, a Second Life roleplaying region. You can learn more about Myserie on the Myserie Role-play Site.
Val’s tank top has artwork designed by me, The Author, (Gwen Enchanted) and made into a lovely tank top by the amazing Mystie (Mystical Edenflower) who is MishMash Fusion. This tank top and some other tank tops inspired by Val’s journeys may be for sale soon. All artwork is original and designed by me. The translation of the Finnish text is, “My Hovercraft Is Full Of Eels”. I kid you not.
Body: Maitreya
Head: Lelutka Evolution, Fleur
Skin: Wyrd, Alva, in T1
Tattoo: Nefekalum, Embellishment, Titanium
Eyebrows: Simple Bloom, Liv Spring Neutral (tinted)
Ears: Swallow, Pixie Ears
Eyes: Arte: Skjoldmøy Eyes
Eyelashes: Cazimi, Tidy Lashes
Hair: Stealthic, Rebellion
Facial Piercings: All Lelutka piercings for Fleur head, except;
Septum piercing: Venge, Kelpie Nosering
Jeans: LaPointe & Bastchild, Swear Daisy Jeans
Boots: Eudora3D, Morgan Boots

August 13, 2020August 13, 2020 by Three Knots

The Moment It Happened

A second life in pictures, Enchantment
Amias, Diversion, Enchantment, Exile, HarshLands, Love, Madame Noir, Nefekalum, Pink Fuel, Poets Heart, Rivendale, Sleeping Beauty, Snowpaws, Swallow, Titans, Wyrd
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I think I said, ‘What’? Yes; it must have been

I think I said, ‘What’? Yes; it must have been
Unable as I was to think beyond
The stomach-fall, the tightness in my chest
Consideration left me and I stopped.

But context is important, we know this,
So I will tell you what transpired before
The moor-bell rang a message-bearer in
And made the thorn bush wrap me in a fist.

We, all of us, were having a good day

We, all of us, were having a good day
Before the envoy came to break my heart
Look, here we are preparing songs for plants
My little handmaids tuning up their throats

By singing silliness first each to each
And silliness to rhyme and rhyme to thought
And thought to word and word to magic wrought
Another round of flower-growing songs

We sing to them because it helps them grow

We sing to them because it helps them grow
And magic voices carry more than breath
So grow they do: we light them from within
With energy no mortal eye can see.

In summer, we sing softer than in spring
Because we know that soon they’ll go to sleep
And lullabies are such enchanted songs
They work beyond words, frequencies, and years.

And then at nightfall, it was story-time

Then, after singing, it was story-time
As it will always be when skies go dark
And just when they were making up their minds
Which tale to hear tonight, we heard the bell.

‘Moor Majesty, there is a messenger
‘With news from outside, far beyond the Realm.’
So foolishly I said, ‘Do let him in:
‘Despite the hour; I’m sure he’s due some cheer’.

The moment when I vowed to burn it down

The moment when I vowed to burn it down?
That moment lasted longer than some lives.
‘Moor Majesty, a new Princess is born
Beyond the wall; her Naming is today

And I am sent to tell you from the King
That you will be unwelcome. Stay away’.
An ember in my gut turned stone to fire
In seconds. I am sorry for the plants.

It is the contrast I remember now

It is the contrast I remember now
Like iron curtains drawn on a full moon.
I think I let him live, the messenger
But once the blood mist fell, all bets were off.

So I became the raven, or the swan
Black wings of death, a heart strangled by thorns
I salted all their earth. I cursed her palms
And learned how quickly grace to hate transforms.

Notes & Credits:
Almost all the items you see in these photographs are at Enchantment’s Sleeping Beauty event, which opened on the 8th of August and will close on the 31st. I can think of no more satisfying and engaging escape, whether dark or light, than to lose myself in a fairy tale, so that’s what I’ll be doing for the rest of August.
Avatar Items Featured at Enchantment:
Horns: Snowpaws, Luna Horns With Dead Leaves
Face Tattoo: Nefekalum, Uninvited
Dress: Poet’s Heart, Rosaura Gown
Staff: Skellybones, Scepter Of Thorns
Raven (really not as visible as he should be and you will see more of him later): Jinx, Animesh Raven Arm Pet
Poses: All from Diversion, Protector Of The Moors Poses
Setting Items Featured at Enchantment:
Bounding Rocks: Harshlands, The Moors Rocks
Throne: Harshlands, The Moors Throne (Aurora)
Animesh Faeries: Titans, The Aurora Fae
Magical Flowers: Simply Shelby, Mystical Fairy Flowers
Thorns: Love, Evil Thorns
Ground Roses & Petals, Rivendale, Ground Roses
Things Not Featured at Enchantment which are pictured here and pretty doggone cool:
Skin: Wyrd, Alva in T1
Ears: Swallow, Noldor Elf Ears
Hair: Exile, Something Wicked
Body Tattoo: Nefekalum, The Fair Ones, Sidhe Galaxy SOI
Lipstick: Pink Fuel, Dazzle Me Haunted
Eyes: Madame Noir, Lizz Eyes
Gloves: Amias, Embla Gloves

August 3, 2020August 3, 2020 by Three Knots

FaeWatch Interviews Wicked Fairy Carabosse At Last!

Cherish Gelato [CG]: Greetings to you, Wicked Fairy Carabosse! It’s so lovely to be able to visit you at your room on the Mystical Moors. I always love it when I can get a real sense of the fascinating beings we cover.

Carabosse [CB]: Of course you are welcome in my home: if you were not, your life would be worth little right now. Also, as we discussed in our pre-interview emails, I would prefer not to be described as “wicked”. In fact, every action I take, every gift I bestow, every wish or curse I grant, has a logical and discernible reason. Not to mention these things take an incredible amount of work! The word “wicked” belittles my skill, expertise, and accomplishments and taints any description with a connotation I’ve always associated with wilful children and reckless criminals.

CG: Noted. But isn’t it true you cursed Sleeping Beauty because you were not invited to her christening?

Misinformation spreads faster than a house fire in a wood elf village.

CB: Well, well, well. Misinformation spreads faster than a house fire in a wood elf village, doesn’t it? No; being disinvited to that wretched child’s christening was merely the last straw. I had performed some magical work for her parents, magic that was complex and cost me dearly in terms of time and effort, multiple times, and had not been paid adequately. They chose not to invite me to this event so they would not have to worry about some sort of public confrontation. And I can’t believe that after hundreds of years, we are still talking about this!

CG: I ask the questions my readers want to know the answers to! Stories have a way of staying alive, don’t they? For so much longer than we think. But let’s hear your side. Tell our readers about the work you did for Sleeping Beauty’s parents.

This is my potions kitchen.

CB: Potions, mostly. This is my potions kitchen, and I spend a lot of time and effort getting things just exactly right. Don’t mind the floating apples: those are left over from another job I did—coincidentally at around the same time this whole fiasco started. Potions require deep knowledge, precise measurement, and exactly the right magical energy and timing. They are not simple spells, and this whole notion of fairy-wand wish-craft is just hogwash, frankly, a myth perpetuated by fairy godmothers looking for work at any cost. Nobody ever tells you how much Cinderella paid in the end for those glass slippers, I’ll tell you that.

Each spell, each potion, requires incredible concentration.

CB: Each spell, each potion, requires incredible concentration, and my work does not come cheap. The King, whose name I’ve forgotten, and so has everybody else by this point, enlisted me to prepare two very difficult potions. First, he had enemies all over the place, so he needed potions for his warriors. That was the less difficult part. Secondly, and this is the real kicker, he and his wife, whose name I’ve also forgotten, had trouble conceiving a child. So, in fact, the most valuable and difficult potion I prepared for him was the potion that created the opportunity for Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose, Talia, whatever you want to call the little urchin, to be born at all! For months I reminded him that payment would be due, and for months he ignored my messages. And then, when the child was finally born, healthy and perfect as promised in our contract, he conveniently forgot to invite me to her christening. It was the last straw.

CG: And that’s when you became the evil fairy of myth and legend!

CB: And that’s when I turned my anger into action. What do you do when subscribers stop paying for your publication? You stop sending it to them! When writers stop writing? You relieve them of their jobs. His Majesty had not paid for services rendered. The service I rendered created the circumstances under which that little girl could be born at all. I gave them sixteen years: I think that was generous of me.

I gave them sixteen years: I think that was generous of me.

CG: But what about the other fairies, who modified the curse on Sleeping Beauty so that she would not die but merely sleep for a hundred years, or until True Love’s First Kiss broke the spell?

CB: Well, they chose their paths, didn’t they? We don’t really run in the same circles any more. But to answer the question I think you are actually asking, a curse modification requires nothing like the kind of preparation that the curse itself requires. So yes, this is simple fairy-wand wish magic, the kind you all wish existed every day. All little what’s her name had to do was have a little conversation with her wand.

Just a stern conversation, like ‘Don’t you let that happen’!

I have conversations with my wand all the time. I’d say, ‘Don’t you’? but obviously, if you have a wand it’s just for show. This is a spectacular wand, isn’t it? One of the finest I’ve ever had. But even it needs a stern talking-to from time to time. You just can’t let them get away with anything.

CG: Well, all right, then! So the other fairy merely modified your curse because she didn’t have the power to take it away: that’s in the stories.

CB: Is it? Well, they got at least that right. And yes; that’s what she did. I suppose she might have been doing both me and the king a favour: if he paid up in the ensuing sixteen years of course I’d have lifted the curse. But no; he chose to be offended and — why do I even still talk about this? It’s been hundreds of years!

CG: Tell you what! Let’s talk about something else. Tell me about the quote behind you on the wall there, about eternal sleep. Is that a saying from one of the stories in which you feature?

It’s not even from a fairy tale.

CB: No; it’s not even from a fairy tale! It’s from a silent film called A Poor Little Rich Girl. The poor little girl is given some medicine to make her sleep so the maid can go out, and she has hallucinations, and one of them is Death coming for her. I just like the rhyme. It’s comforting somehow.

CG: Comforting. OK, I can see that. What do you do to relax?

CB: Here; I’ll show you! waves her wand

I get comfy, I have a glass of wine, just like anybody else.

CG: Ooh! For our readers, Carabosse has just changed into a t-shirt and jeans! And I do like that t-shirt! Readers, the caption is, Everyone wants a fairytale wedding, but when I show up and curse their first born, suddenly I’m a jerk! So even though you don’t want to talk about that story, you wear a shirt like this to relax?

CB: I find it ironically funny. Do sit down and have a glass of wine, Miss Gelato, and perhaps we’ll read your Tarot.

CG: Ooh, don’t mind if I do! Readers, thank you for coming along with me as I speak with Fairy Carabosse. It’s been a lovely conversation, and I hope we can look forward to a few more int he future!

CB: It’s always good to get to tell my story. Do dismiss your photographer and let’s have a nice visit now.

Notes & Credits:
The Gorgeous Green Gown: Silvan Moon Designs, Lady Aliana Gown, in Olive (Get it at We Love Role-play, which opens on 4th August!)
The Moon Halo and Forehead Jewels: Petrichor, Lunaveina Halo, Moon Forehead (Get it at Wizarding Faire!)
The Spectacular Wand: Petrichor, Lunaveina Wand (Get it at Wizarding Faire!)
The Perfect Wicked Faery Skin: Wyrd, Alva
The Forehead Rune: Wyrd, Third Eye Rune
The Ears: Swallow, Noldor Elf Ears
The Dark Green Eyes: Madame Noir, Lizz Eyes
The I-Got-Taken-Over-By-My-Garden Body & Face Tattoos: Nefekalum, Gaia
The Red-Tipped Wings: Trap, Riven Wings
The Hair: Magika, Midnight
The Lipstick: Warpaint, My Favourite Lip Balm, Aubergine
The Eyeshadow: Gorsimi, Crow Shadows
The Ironically Funny T-Shirt: ZFG, Fairytale Shirt
The Jeans: Blueberry, Evie Jeans
The Boots, Eudora3D, Morgan Boots

Environment:
All Wall Art: Created By The Author. Ping me in world if you are interested in any of it.
House: Dragon Magick Wares, Soora Cottage
Floor Magic Circle: Pierce Design Studios, Magic Circle Wheel (runes)
Potion Table: Foxwood, Grandma’s Kitchen, Table
Book Stack: Raindale, Sparrownest, Stack Of Books (Get it at Wizarding Faire!)
Cauldron: Raindale, Sparrownest, Cauldron (Get it at Wizarding Faire!)
Couch & Living Room Furniture: Oubliette, Oracle Gacha (Cushion Sofa, Lamps, Table, Tea Set, Floor, Pillows, Cat Chair) (Get it at the Gacha Garden!)

Enchantment’s Sleeping Beauty round opens on the 8th of August! I can’t wait!

Three Twisted Knots

Not all those who wander are lost.

Tag / Nefekalum