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Stronger than the
Stronger than the Sea: A Tale of a Fisherman and a Selkie
Here's the thread for my romance/fantasy short story - I'll start posting it once the thread's up. I hope y'all enjoy it! Feedback and comments are welcome :)
submitted by Poinsettia, age ?, kingdoms by the sea
(May 19, 2024 - 9:32 am)
(May 19, 2024 - 9:32 am)
*eco-friendly confetti* this was amazing!!!! I might come back later with feedback, but it was so fun reading this, thank you!!
(June 8, 2024 - 6:31 pm)
Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for reading along and commenting <3
(June 17, 2024 - 7:33 pm)
Oh, so tragic...but beautiful (and somehow almost happy?) at the same time...
It's so interesting how much attention is drawn to the old white towel next to the sink...I thought it was the coat at first lol
I wonder if I will ever see this in the magazine (either in the Letterbox or published) There was a selkie story there a few magazines back already (and i don't like to compare but I like yours better, honestly--partly bc it's just the right length and is just rich with details)
(June 11, 2024 - 6:27 pm)
Thank you so much :)) That's exactly the effect I was going for, tragic but beautiful. I'm really glad I managed to convey that.
I put in the white towel as a way to emphasize the atmosphere of the kitchen and the way things haven't changed there, even after so many years. Interesting to see your interpretation!
Ooh, I'd love to see this story published. Eventually, when I'm old enough, I want to submit stories to be published in Cricket, so perhaps...
Anyway, thank you for reading along and commenting! It means so much to me, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it <33
(June 17, 2024 - 7:39 pm)
first of all, i'm so sorry i didn't comment!! i promise i didn't forget about this - i was just really busy with school and family stuff, and i wanted to give this the time and attention it deserved <3
second of all, tHIS IS INCREDIBLE! i'm lowkey obsessed with your writing style - your descriptions and characterizations are so vivid and beautiful and the eMOTION is just incredible i don't even know what i'm saying but 10/10 amazing
i love the ending, too! like Lyric said - so tragic and bittersweet, but also beautiful <3 i feel like if Seleni got to stay with Dalriad it just wouldn't have been as impactful or meaningful <33
and i love the twist on the classic selkie story!! like the classic formula is there (selkie loses her cloak, is forced to live with a fisherman and start a family with him, and then finds her cloak and runs back to the sea), but all of the details and motives were different? and i feel like it made it that much more beautiful and vivid?
i'm just rambling now but my point is this is AMAZING!! like Lyric said, i would not be surprised to find this published in a magazine or anthology or something one day!! it's seriously amazing <3 thank you so much for sharing <33
(July 7, 2024 - 7:07 pm)
it's fine! school and family stuff can get very time-consuming, I know. and I really appeciate how you put so much thought into your feedback posts, so I definitely understand wanting to take time to do it properly :)
anyway, I'm so glad you liked the story :) Yeah, I got the basic plot from a retelling of a selkie fairy tale, which I'd read years ago in a collection of Celtic folktales. In that story, the selkie was basically forced by the fisherman to marry him, which I considered objectionable and sexist to a degree, but I thought that if it were changed around a bit, it had lots of potential to be a very romantic story. I really wanted to portray a girl falling in love with someone and then saving him from something, so after some writing and rewriting, I came up with this story :)
and thank you so much for telling me what you thought of it! it's always great to see what other people think of my writing, especially you - you always have very insightful comments on my work, and it means a lot to me that you've read and enjoyed this story <33
(July 8, 2024 - 8:09 pm)
wow this story was beautiful. Your writing is so skillful and breathtaking and amazing.
(July 8, 2024 - 9:41 pm)
Thank you!! It means a lot :)
(July 12, 2024 - 8:56 pm)
Hey guys, I wanted to make a playlist for this story, so I thought I'd post it here! It's just a list of songs that capture the magic and romance that the story has for me :)
-Eleni, by Kostas Mantzios, because it's the song the selkies sing when they're approaching Ardira Beach; and also, it's Greek, and the village in the story looks a little like a Greek village (white walls, narrow streets...), so it makes me think of the setting
-Que Viva La Noche, by Sonia y Selena (the first few seconds especially, which are just the sound of waves and happy guitar music, capture the atmosphere of Seleni and Dalriad's first meeting)
-Good Luck John, by Joe Crookshank - something about the sparseness and elegance of this song is sort of like the ocean, and just the sadness and dignity and yearning of it are sort of like the story, even though the lyrics have nothing to do with anything in the story
-Quien te quiere como yo, Te regalo, Amarte bien, and Loquitos de amor, all by Carlos Baute, because their beauty and romanticness and "color" and vibe are really like the happy parts of the story. Also "Te ofrezco todo lo que soy", because the love and unselfishness it expresses exactly match Dalriad and Seleni's love.
-Adelante, by Naiara - it has a sort of oceanlike vibe, and its determination and courage are like Seleni
(July 23, 2024 - 8:27 pm)
I'm actually not so sure anymore that "Good Luck John" really belongs there, but oh well...
(July 24, 2024 - 9:54 am)
ooh, this is so cool! i love making playlists for my writing projects! i haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but i'm excited to :D
(July 24, 2024 - 3:01 pm)