Ophelia Love – The Small God of Romantic Dreams

She drifts, in the place between sleep and waking, borne up by the tide and cradled by the rocking of the river.  She drifts but never drowns, for that is not her place in this story, and the flowers tangled in her hair vary with the river, but are most often roses.  Red roses, for the bright flame of love; coral pink, for sweet desire; yellow, for new beginnings.  She can find the romance in any moment, the sweet fulfillment in any hesitation, and the stories she tells herself are finer than any in the waking world.

In the running river, Ophelia dreams.

Her faithful say she comes when love has already taken seed and blossomed, even if the root is but one-sided; she nurtures, she does not inspire, and who better than her faithful to know her rites and rituals, her requirements for dedication?  All she asks of them is adoration, and not even necessarily for her—she is not unique among the small gods, but she is rare, in that she would rather they be joyous than be hers.  If they move into the domain of the Small God of Love Fulfilled or the domain of the Small God of Improbable Mathematics, in whose embrace the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts its made of, she will be ecstatic.  If they stay with her forever, she may be overjoyed, but she may also be concerned, for her domain is meant to be a temporary one.  Dreamers dream of love, lovers fall in love, and Ophelia drifts on, safe in the arms of her river as she will never be safe in the arms of her love.

For her dreams to become reality would be to deny her nature and undo her purpose.  Ophelia can love forever.  Ophelia can be loved.  But she can never make her romantic notions real, and that, too, is fine with her; she has found her place and her peace and her passage, and she will dream as long as lovers do, as long as love is both longed for and lusted after.

She will never drown.

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Artist Lee Moyer (The Doom That Came to Atlantic City, Starstruck) and author Seanan McGuire (Middlegame, Every Heart a Doorway) have joined forces to bring you icons and stories of the small deities who manage our modern world, from the God of Social Distancing to the God of Finding a Parking Space.

Join in each week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a guide to the many tiny divinities:

Tumblr: https://smallgodseries.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smallgodseries

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallgodseries/

Homepage: http://www.smallgodseries.com/

Uber Allium – The Small God of Garlic

Everybody loves him but no one wants to take him on a date.

That is the story of his life.

It might be nice, he thinks sometimes, to have someone ring his doorbell, open his car door, drive him to the nice restaurant (where he is anyway, in the sauce, in the seasoning, in the subtle dance of deep and desired flavors).  To have someone lean in for a lingering kiss goodnight, not shy away and make excuses about how they need to brush their teeth.

He knows he’s loved.  He’s welcome in almost every kitchen in the world, and when someone who serves Anna Phylaxis, small god of extreme allergies, has to bar their door against him, they do it with apologies and with sorrow.  He brings flavor to their feasts, savor to their suppers, and he is loved.  He knows he is loved.  Their worship is in every slice and spoonful, their prayers contained and commented upon in every outbreak of midnight flatulence, so heavy it spreads through the room like a blanket, so fragrant it seems to have a presence of its own.

He is loved, but he is so rarely wanted, and it wears on him.

There are so many ways to love and be loved, and wants to be savored, not only consumed.  He wants to be cradled close and treated as something delicate and precious.  He brings so much joy to the world.  Sometimes, he just wants the world to bring joy to him.

It is a lonely thing, to be the most beloved flavor in the culinary world.

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Artist Lee Moyer (The Doom That Came to Atlantic City, Starstruck) and author Seanan McGuire (Middlegame, Every Heart a Doorway) have joined forces to bring you icons and stories of the small deities who manage our modern world, from the God of Social Distancing to the God of Finding a Parking Space.

Join in each week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a guide to the many tiny divinities:

Tumblr: https://smallgodseries.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smallgodseries

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallgodseries/

Homepage: http://www.smallgodseries.com/

Month of Love

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross famously posited five stages of grief. The Month of Love has allowed me the privilege of positing five colors of courtship.

For all its many-splendored attributes – so well delineated by my brilliant colleagues, Love is… silly.

It’s goofy and it’s gooey, and if you’re not careful you may get some on you….

 

Here’s hoping!

Month of Love – Yellow

Yellow

by Lee Moyer

www.leemoyer.com and www.leemoyer.ninja

Done for the 2018 Month of Love challenge, “Yellow”

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do….

Month of Love – Red

Amore

by Lee Moyer

www.leemoyer.com and www.leemoyer.ninja

Done for the 2018 Month of Love challenge, “Red”

Red was delighted to share the Chianti, the breadsticks, and the Spaghetti.
But really, who wouldn’t be?

That’s Amore!

Month of Love – Something Blue

Something Blue

by Lee Moyer

www.leemoyer.com and www.leemoyer.ninja

Done for the 2018 Month of Love challenge, “Blue”

And anyone still in doubt as to my ‘Month of Love’ intentions should find those doubts put to rest.
This color-coded series strives to show that even long-time and fierce opposition can lead to love in time.

Here’s to the Power of Love!

Month of Love – Black

“Black”

by Lee Moyer

www.leemoyer.com and www.leemoyer.ninja

Done for the 2018 Month of Love challenge, “Black”.

This month’s prompts led me down a very dark and very strange alley.
It felt like Destiny and who am I to fight Destiny?

This first only hints at the grand design.
I hope you’ll share the love.