crying over romantasy p*rn
also: neanderthal skeletons restoring our faith in humanity
welcome to brb crying, a newsletter where two thirty-something teenagers talk about what made them cry. laugh along as we dive into what moves us to tears (movies! books! personal stories! tbh anything is fair game!) and why crying helps us connect with ourselves and each other. check out the pod for more.
💌 dear diary reader
happy thursday! your girls have done it again. we laughed, we cried, we talked about it.
but before we get into it, some fun news: our TikTok went viral last week!! turns out sharing your raw and vulnerable thoughts on the internet is, like, relatable or something?? lol who knew???
ok we’re done bragging :’) in this week’s episode—032: ACOTAR reflections / nins luvs nandy—we remember we are so much more than our darkness, and so much more than our physical bodies. through both our stories, we call upon our inherent worth.
🔮 a glimpse into this week’s stories
✨ARNS READS A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES AND SOMEHOW CRIES
yes, A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) is a young adult fantasy series about faeries. yes, it’s basically porn. and yes, arns cried.
but in book 3—A Court of Wings and Ruin—our girl feyre takes a look in the mirror and sees something unexpected: a beast.
a snippet from arns’ segment:
it’s easy to love yourself when you like what you see…
but maybe this human experience—this entire journey—is about loving ourselves, even when what we see is less than ideal.
i don’t like feeling confused and broken. none of us do.
but each time i spiral—no matter how shitty i feel—that’s the universe letting me choose how i move forward. giving me a chance to show up for myself.
do i keep beating myself up? become a victim to my pain?
or do i welcome the chaos and the darkness as part of my journey?
✨NINS GETS EMOTIONAL OVER A NEANDERTHAL SKELETON
do you ever cry over anthropology? because we do.
this week, nins introduces us to neanderthal skeleton nandy (courtesy of TikTok user @oddpride). nandy was 35-45 years old when he died, which—at the time—was considered old age.
but the interesting piece: his skeleton showed numerous signs of deformities and trauma-related abnormalities. so how did he survive in a time where it was hunt or be hunted?
a snippet from nins’ segment:
nandy had a broken skull that left him partially blind, deaf, brain damaged, no hand, right-side paralysis and a persistent limp.
and yet, nandy died of old age.
during a time when it was hunt or be hunted, where every second is dedicated to survival…how did nandy do it? how was nandy able to live this long?
it could only mean one thing: someone was taking care of him.
someone or most likely a group of fellow neanderthals looked at nandy and decided that…
even though he couldn’t contribute by means of hunting or gathering or fighting, he was still meaningful. important. worthy of protection and preservation.
🧹 housekeeping
we got some fun events and surprises later this month. keep an eye out for updates on our IG!
but until then: send us a sob story. tell your friends about us. leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. spread the love!
that’s it. that’s all we got. we can’t wait to hear from you. ok bye love you!!!
in shambles,
nins & arns