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sarahwroteathing · 4 years

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Pretty Words: Marvel Writing Challenge

Because life is hard, words are pretty, and deadlines make writing easier sometimes.

All prompts are quotes from poems that made me smile, and I want to share that feeling! Let’s help spread some positivity together!

Deadline: December 1 - 10, 2020

Please tag me in and/or send me your finished work, so I can link your story on the challenge masterlist (and send you some love)!

Guidelines (Please Read Before Joining):

1. You don’t have to be following me to participate, but it would be nice!

2. Reader inserts only please (2nd or 3rd person, please. I can’t bring myself to read 1st person POV)

3. This is a Marvel challenge, so stick to those characters.

4. One shots are preferred, but if you feel yourself spiraling into series territory, more power to you. Only the first chapter will be expected as part of the writing challenge.

5. If your story exceeds 500 words, please use a “read more” link.

6. Tag your stories appropriately! That means posting warnings up top and tagging the correct main pairing on the bottom. Let people know what they’re getting into.

7. The purpose of this challenge is to spread joy, so please give me happy endings. You can knock me out with some angst if you wish, as long as everyone’s happy by the end.

8. Feel free to spice things up if you’re so inclined, but steer clear of graphic smut, please. Implied or vague/atmospheric is totally fine.

9. My Please Don’ts: no dark!fics, underage, non-con, a/b/o, or main pairing cheating.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

*Please send me an ask with your prompt and character to claim it. Two people may write for the same prompt only if they are writing for different characters.

*Prompts are intended as inspiration - jumping off points. Please place the prompt in the Author’s Note, but not the actual story. And have fun! There’s no pressure to directly interpret the quote you choose. Follow wherever it leads you.

Prompts:

1. “...No matter how stalled I seem, some crank in me tightens the whirly-spring each time I see your face so thank you for aiming it my way...” Dean Young, “Easy as Falling Down Stairs”

Then. Now. Always. by @gogolucky13 (Bucky Barnes)

2. “through late afternoon a bus journeys west, the windshield flashing pink, pink glancing off of metal, brushing the demented flank of blue, beat-up enamel;” Elizabeth Bishop, “The Moose”

3. “To keep me from melancholy (call it blues), I fill this stolen time with you.” Rita Dove, “Cozy Apologia”

@starlightbucky with Bucky Barnes

4. “in the evening, after the day has refused to testify, we shall be examined on love like students who don’t even recall signing up for the course and now must take their orals, forced to speak for once from the heart and not off the top of their heads.” Thomas Centolella, “In the Evening We Shall Be Examined on Love”

@absentmindeduniverse with Bucky Barnes

5. “...you had me at no duh.” Dora Malech, “Love Poem”

6. “Unarmed, now see me saunter past Ticking Baggage, Loaded Questions, Gangs of Doubt; my love equips me. I swear, ever since your cheeky face span round I trust this whole bloody world.” Caroline Bird, “The Amnesty”

@redrookrising with Bucky Barnes

7. “so i hope that you laugh and drink a little too much and kiss people who make you feel seen” Madisen Kuhn, “vanilla”

8. “For the years I lived on coffe and bread, Hungry all the time, walking to work on payday Like a woman journeying for water From a village without a well, then living One or two nights like everyone else On roast chicken and red wine.” Tracy K. Smith, “The Good Life”

9. “My thoughts about you are not exactly forbidden, but exalted because they are useless, not intended to get you because I have you & you love me.” Eileen Myles, “Peanut Butter”

10. “Hill-tops like hot iron glitter bright in the sun, And the river we’re eyeing burn to gold as they run; Burning hot is the ground, liquid gold is the air; Whoever looks round sees Eternity there.” John Clare, “Autumn”

Golden Hour by @indominusregina (Steve Rogers)

11. “I’d like to crack this safe, this cache of joy, Cramming my head with light, Dismembering every fraction like a toy. Then start, head-on and sure of being right, To make it all come true - This time, my way, and new.” Adrienne Rich, “Travail et Joie”

12. “open a book, turn to the story of a grand estate, a comet, a prince, and a woman who thinks she knows her own heart but is only looking through a window at a summer storm that might never end.” Barbara Hamby, “The Dream of the Dacha”

13. “Cheerful is the hearth, soft the matted floor; Not one shivering gust creeps through pane or door; The little lamp burns straight, its rays shoot strong and far: I trim it well, to be the wanderer’s guiding star.” Emily Brontë, “The Visionary”

14. “Sometimes when I’m lonely, Don’t know why, Keep thinkin’ I won’t be lonely By and by.” Langston Hughes, “Hope”

@captainchrisstan with Bucky Barnes

15. “you remind me of something like a firefly underneath my tongue with so much spark I am finally able to live out my dream of becoming some sort of lighthouse even though sometimes I fall back into a dark galaxy of faults.” Beyza Ozer, “To Summarize a Galaxy”

#marvel writing challenge #pretty words writing challenge #sarahwroteathing writing challenge

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mallowstep · 3 years

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I’m thinking about writing a short OC piece about Windclan and I’d love to see your notes about its culture and the hymns you’ve written so far, everything you’ve done for Windclan appreciation month has really inspired me :)

hello anon!

alright, first things first: please send me ur piece when ur done if you're comfortable doing so! i will publish it from you, or if you don't want to be associated with it in Any Way, i will also just read it and add it to the queue with no indication why it's there. or if you don't want me to share it at all, i'd still like to read it.

as for your ask,

hymns?

i'm working on it. however, underneath the read more, i'll include a few snippets for u.

culture

alright, i'm just going to post links with some commentary as i go. feel free to ask any more questions you have.

windclan (search) | windclan (tag) | wcam tag | five clans (narrative essays)

i would link the elders den, but there's no windclan stories in there ATM.

moving on, i'm just going to go through posts in reverse chronological order.

tallstar taking a mate admittedly, this is more about cats and sexuality than windclan, but i provide the commentary that windclan...has a particular view on sexuality and fluidity. one thing i haven't explored but should is the role visiting cats have in windclan.

whoops that's a code word, my plug for solacefruit has been activated. okay, as you may be aware, based on the fact that i have a whole tag for it, i'm obsessed with solacefruit. now, i love everything they do, but i would like to point you particularly to "make a mighty sound" for a fantastic exploration of this idea.

i don't want to spoil anything, but i do think windclan, and maybe cats as a whole, but windclan has a certain view towards relationships that very much breaks them into pieces. i'm a "love is a verb" person, so the idea that you can grow to love someone romantically by going through the actions of love makes sense. not to say you will, but you can.

(to be clear i'm not out advocating for arranged marriages just saying that they can work, they're not destined to be bad, and there's a difference between forced marriage and arranged marriage.)

anyway.

this was a lot of words to say, cats do not have a human (and particularly, western/american) understanding of relationships, which makes analyzing them in those terms difficult.

early hymn talk i'll probably say more below, but it is here.

general ibtwicm notes might get you into the headspace for some of my choices in ibtwicm.

i don't have a ton to say because this pretty much all holds, but uh, yeah.

poetry and language this isn't strictly about windclan, but it does explain some of what i think about when writing hymns.

obviously, i'm writing english translations, but these general themes are what i have in mind. it's also part of why i say i don't think i'll ever release a "full hymnal" for windclan, because i don't know if my weak worldbuilding heart could take it if i only had translations.

names part two very much not about windclan, but just some thoughts on names. as i've said before, i support all names and worldbuilding equally, but if you want my thoughts on names, go buckwild.

clan culture fic rec list just stuff i think does a good job, if you want other sources of inspiration.

general clan culture notes this is really old, but it mostly holds.

i've obviously expanded a lot on windclan since i wrote it, so shrug? idk man.

alright, i'm going to move into hymn discussion below the cut, but best of luck! and i hope u have a good time. it makes my brain shut down to read that i inspired you, straight up got brain juice pouring out of my ears, but i'm really, really happy to hear that.

windclan holds a special place in my heart. (i know my oc avatar is from skyclan shhh it's because of the backstory he sees ghosts.) but i grew up in this super sporty household as a lil asthmatic klutz, and running was a sport i couldn't mess up, so of course windclan appealed to me.

they're actually third on my list of favorite clans, but they. it's a special place in my heart that they hold, especially after reading dawn of the clans and moth flight's vision, where i got an asthmatic cat and an adhd cat, both in windclan.

god i should reread dotc it's good.

alright, here's the deal on hymns: i am not going to fight to get duets to post correctly. there's a 0% chance i can in tumblr's wonky ass new editor with no markdown, not to mention how difficult it would have been in the old editor. so i'm going to talk a lil about what i've got, and post some stanzas that i think don't get explored a lot in ibtwicm.

we're discussing these in the order that they go in. a reminder that these are all sections of one epic poem. that said, i don't know where the gaps are. like, i don't know what's between these, if that makes sense.

the wind

the wind, the very first hymn. this is an ode to, well, windclan. it's a song about everything that makes them them. it's filled with poetry about the wind, about the seasons, and it's just...well, it's a bit of a genesis, in a way.

The wind — like the rain, like the river — calls the name of each star in its breath. The wind — like the earth, like the stone — anchors us to our home. The wind — like the sun, like the sky — is knowable only by name.

i wanted to share this stanza because the last line doesn't show up in ibtwicm (at least so far, i cut the reference), and it really, really, makes a difference imo.

anyway, windclan is basically tying the wind in with every other fundamental part of their life here.

they are the wind, and that's that.

the hare

okay, this one has a line that comes up a lot in ch1, but i already talked about that, so instead, i'm going to talk about this stanza

Speak of the earth and the dens, and you will be answered: By the call of the howling gales, the open earth singing in response. But speak of that which grows above, of the grass and field, And you will be answered by the softness of the buds and the roots.

okay, we get deadfoot thinking about this when he's talking to yellowfang.

i like this stanza because it really tells us what the hare is about. now, hares are not something windclan catches. hares are huge, y'all, there's no way they take one down. i take liberties with ecology, but not that many.

(i.e., a team of cats definitely could take one down, but i know too much, and would prefer letting team hunting stay a plot thing, and not fundamentally alter the environment in the way it would.)

now anyway, all of these hymns come from the time of the tunnelers. and the point of this is, even though the work of tunnelers and moor runners is disconnected, they fundamentally affect each other.

a moor runner must trust the hollows of the earth beneath them won't collapse, and a tunneler must trust that the prey they chase up will be caught.

it's all very symbiotic and is, well, in a way, a love poem. plus i really like the line "the open earth singing in response"

of the warrens

so this has one line, one you might not even know is a hymn, in ch1, but i'll share the whole stanza.

And as for the subject of fallow fields: Fallowed fields make for hungry prey, Yet hungry prey makes desperate rabbits, Who leap into our claws.

and ig my big point is, the hymns are a cultural artifact. just like many of the rules in the old testament have to do with hygiene things being codified into religion, this whole hymn is about hunting advice.

the moon on the river

okay, out of all the hymns, this is the most complete, and because ashfoot and deadfoot sing it together, and deadfoot discusses it, i only have one stanza to share.

Under the coldness, you shine back at me, And I do everything to keep the clouds from threatening you.

now, this poem is about love, grief, and being separated. it's a particular kind of grief, and windclan discourages grief, so this is one of only a few ways to really, fully express it.

and this section, in particular, is about love in times of hardship.

i don't have. a lot to say here. but the way hardship changes how you love someone can be particular and intense.

(temporarily, this happens sometime before "Spare for my chosen few / All I have is given towards the distant ground.")

the gorse in the wind

oh shit! i have so fucking much to say okay first.

the series title does not come from this hymn.

second, this is a challenging hymn okay. fuck. i have so much to say. where to start so! moors are actually relatively wet. think british countryside, not, like, a cool desert.

this is something i always knew? i read the secret garden a lot as a kid. but. i've seen stuff about moors being dry, and it's just one of those things that really...starts to eat under your skin. anyway.

okay, so. gorse is a dry plant. it does not like rain. it grows in sandy soil, etc etc, and yet. aside from everything we know about gorse and warriors, it also grows in this moor. because i say so.

okay, so. so so so. the lines quotes here are really deceptive, and i bet no one understood why, and that makes me just a little sad, but i couldn't find a good way to explain it in text, so uh, yeah, anyway. there's an exchange between ashfoot and deadfoot: "THE GORSE: You called me the heather and I grew stronger. / THE WIND: I called you the heather and brought rain for you to grow."

so...so do you see? do you see the point? it's about communication, needs, challenging each other. fadskj;l i love this. okay, so. the point is that heather is fragile, soft, pretty, and gorse is the opposite. the part of the wind is trying to be kind and complimentary, but the gorse is saying, fuck that, you are not being kind to me by undercutting my strength.

anyway, this passage is sung by the gorse:

In what good company have I set down roots, That even through snow fall I flower. You called me the heather and yet I've weathered, Far more than your sweet-named love.

so uh, yeah, this adds context. gorse! gorse is a hardy plant that continues to flower basically all season round. it's cool. it's cool. gorse is super cool. fuuuck y'all it's such a small thing and i've contained talking about it until now, but now it's too much. the floodgates are open, and i thought about this small detail too much.

okay. deep breath. gorse is a really easy plant to grow, but it's still adapted for dry environments. so the "even through snow fall I flower" part is a little tongue in cheek: gorse itself will flower in the cold, but snow is a type of precipitation, which as we've covered, is not gorse friendly.

then we have some rhyming and puns in the next line, and finally, "yet I've weathered, / Far more than your sweet-named love." like. yes. love as a form of softness is not necessarily helpful.

i mean, consider the damaging "soft trans boi" problem. same energy.

right. okay. so we've got all that? now if you remember, this is sung when deadfoot thinks ashpaw doesn't respect him, and ashpaw says she'll sing with him if she can sing the gorse, so in essence, she's telling him...not to back off, per se, but that...she is the "hard part" of the relationship. like, okay, i refuse to even bring up gender roles in human relationships, but uh, her point is very much, "i am the gorse, and you are the wind," and it's a very monumental moment.

it's anchored, i believe, in the other scenes, but this is a small thing that matters a lot to me.

like a lot.

okay, now that i've talked about like four lines for the length of this entire post, moving on.

the heather and earth

okay, this is the last hymn i have in concrete terms, and i cut a bit of it from the latest chapter, so yeah. it's also, uh, okay everything i have for it is only a line or two, but i wanted to share this closing line (sung together):

Sing a song of forgiveness, of growing together, and we will make madness, And madness from hence will everything beautiful grow.

and i just like these lines. they got cut, it was initially part of an exchange between ashfoot and deadfoot, but i can't share the part of it they talk about, because i'm reusing it for a later chapter and i'll 100% spoil shit if i try to talk about it.

but these lines? mmm they speak to me.

i don't have a ton to say about them, but i just. i like it.

if we apply the same ecology discussion from the gorse and the wind, we see heather is a plant that grows in acidic, infertile soil, and heath (which is not the same as a heather, but also kind of is) is a defining quality of heathland, which is...i'm not kidding, it's hot discourse about the difference between moorland and heathland.

i'm not getting involved, but my point is, if the gorse in the wind is a hymn about finding a working relationship, about mutual respect, etc., then the heather and earth is a hymn about working well together in a terrible situation.

god.

uh, wow! can you tell i like plants? because while parts of my ecology are dubious (see: everything regarding the rabbits in ch1), the plants part are well thought out. this shit is carefully detailed metaphor.

and that's why i won't be releasing a full hymnal. it's hard to as on top of this as i want to be. i'm not kidding, writing even four lines of a hymn usually takes me about twenty minutes, because i pull up a lot of research about how things work, how they interact with each other, etc., and then there's wordsmithing, cat worldview filter, etc.

but i hope this overview of what i've got is a good insight into my general thoughts. and i will eventually release more and more of the hymns i've got written.

#ask #anon #mine #txt #windclan #wcam #essay #long #warriors #warriors worldbuilding #windclan hymn project #mateo fanboying over solacefruit again

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raendown · 3 years

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Simple Joys & Easy Smiles

Tagged by: @dimancheetoile who really is a star shining brighter than they could ever realize.

The goal of this tag is to spread some love and happiness in hard, stressful and depressing times. Here are the rules:

be as honest as you dare. If there’s something you don’t wish to answer, invent something so outlandish no one will believe it and it’ll get a laugh out of them. That way, you don’t have to answer and you’re still spreading laughter and smiles!

change one of the questions for the next round of people you tag, without saying which one you changed. eventually, all my questions will have disappeared and I’m excited to see what this tag will look like in a few days!

tag people you love who deserve a smile and a distraction

Tagging: @kitsunekage88 @officerjennie @writhingbeneathyou @antukini @rookie-d @mike-remington-hanson Oh just everyone, say I tagged you, y’all know the drill.

what is the last film that made you cry happy tears

The new disney film Soul is so fucking good, I loved every minute of it and I love the whole message it gives.

what song did you recently listen to that makes you feel like you could fight dragons (and give one line from it)

Giants - Dermot Kennedy

The hope and the hurt Has lived inside of me But there's gold in the dirt I never took the time to see

which video game have you lost yourself into recently (if you don’t play, pick a book or tv show)

Genshin Impact

name a tumblr person who brightens your life

@rookie-d always out here with positivity and support for anyone who needs it

describe your favourite colour without saying its name or naming a thing of this colour

Deep and elegant, a subtle kind of royalty and majesty. Growth after a deep rain. An often overlooked shade of the deep sea. Goodness and healing, a steady calm.

name another best tumblr friend

@writhingbeneathyou better fucking know how amazing she is or I swear I will beat her gremlin ass up

link the last tumblr post you reblogged that struck something deep inside of you

Made you look

recount a memory that made you believe that love exists in a way you understand

The whip of my partner’s hand, the flash of his movements, when I told him what my father had done. I remember how fast he reached for the phone to call my father and tell him exactly what he thought of a man who could ever blame his daughter for loving her mother. How soft and precious, to know in a single moment with perfect clarity that he really loves me, doesn’t he?

if you have children, tell me what little thing they did recently that shocked you up with how much you adore them (if you don’t have children, same but with another human)

Not really a deep or important moment but watching them both make funny faces and flail their arms without a hint of self-consciousness, it really makes me hope they don’t lose that freedom of self any time soon.

if you could cover your entire body with a tattoo, what poem(s), quote(s) or song lyric(s) would you use

“I'll keep a part of you with me, And everywhere I am there you'll be”

There You’ll Be - Faith Hill

what does it mean to you

These are the lyrics we had carved in to my brother’s gravestone.

name a person that inspires you

Bitch, I inspire myself.

which book do you always come back to

The Redwall series will always be like sinking back in to all the good parts of my childhood just for a while. I will never tire of rereading them all.

recount a memory that made you feel like you were worth the world

The look in my mother’s eyes when she all but scolded me for thinking I was going to pay even a cent for my own wedding dress.

name one item close to you that is precious and tell us why

I have a 3D printed model of a Watcher from Horizon: Zero Dawn that I consider precious because it was the gift that made me truly let go of any bad blood left between me and the one who made it. Such an unexpected present that made me stop and realize that he too had let go of everything.

what’s your comfort food?

Apple strudel inside of a turducken drizzled with spicy peanut sauce and a generous side of I don’t actually eat food for comfort but you can always ply me with chai tea or soda.

a fic you read recently that shook you to your core

Settle In Among The Raincoats

if it applies to you, what style, clothes, and/or makeup look makes you feel like you’re marching straight towards victory

Put me in a well fitted dress with a nice pair of heels, do my hair and get me some dark lipstick, I will be your motherfucking queen.

#simple joys & easy smiles #tag game #about me

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shatterthefragments · 3 years

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Questions Tag Game

Thank you for tagging me @catholicnicky!

Hmm I'm supposed to tag 20 but I'll tag:

@kiaya, @caffeinatedbraincell, @randofando-spoonie, @cowgaykermit, @boutiquetraveltravelboutique @rhubarbdreams

If you want to play :)

1. Name/Nickname: Shatters <3

2. Gender: *shrugs noncommitedly*/nonbinary fits best

3. Star sign: okay so I took a thing and I'm going to assume that "Sun in Pisces" is this? bc i have no clue any time i look at that :eek:

4. Height: it is to my delight that I can definitely say 5'3" and not actually 5'2"! Bc I'm only a couple inches shorter than a friend and that would mean I'm taller than 5'2"!

5. Time: at the time of this Q: 12:20... ah I should get ready for bed soon... (longer by the time I post this at a little past 1 am)

6. Birthday: Feb. 26

7. Favourite Band: Currently? Maybe Polyphia? Most played currently at least. I've been vibing with Nothing But Thieves, Daughtry (again), 3OH!3 (i know), Florence + The Machine (though I have yet to do a discography playthrough yet), (ok so I'm scrolling through my saved artists for this one), The Neighbourhood, some local bands, and The Pretty Reckless lately.

8. Favourite solo artist: oh dear god. Um. Loving and/or getting back into: Rina Sawayama, Toby Fox, Ichika Nito, Tim Henson, Lil Nas X, King Princess, Hayley Kiyoko? idk it could be a lot more. But for Reasons it currently has to be Lil Nas X <3

9. song stuck in my head: because I caved and got TikTok (derogatory) because of the Chocolate Potato Cake (from 1912!) [and if you didn't just hear that in Dylan's voice you should find it on Youtube it's great] it's Maneskin's Beggin. When that's not recently heard, it varies between many other songs. If I whistle, it's usually a simple march we played in band. Maybe Soda. Maybe the hook from The Worst. Who knows~ not me!

10. last movie: either Waves or Wolf it's been so long since I've watched something. But soon hopefully Hartenstraat!

11. last show: Leverage! When I rewatched it last year or something!

12. when I created this blog: perhaps 2012 or 2013? I deleted most of my blog and started over though at around 15k posts so it may have been before that? But I don't think it was much before 2012 if so.

13. what I post: please tell me fuck if i know aaaaah whatever I see when I pop on when I have the capacity to actually reblog or queue it i guess? mostly related to whatver i'm fixated on <3 (speaking of - draining my queue for the tumblr post+ strike so that'll suck to get filled again afterwards :P)

14. last thing I googled: "Sugar and spice makes everything nice quote"

15. other blogs: theoldguardinshatters is my tog sideblog! I have some other... rather inactive blogs... not really sure I want to share them. Some are straight up empty.

16. do i get asks? not often

17. why I chose my URL: I'm a poet! jk jk (or am I?) but I wrote a poem back in middle school... actually a few versions based off the same premise/line (i was going to see if I could find it but looking back That Far in my blog is like "yeah, there's no way I'm faking my mental illness even when I fear I might be" so I'm just. not. going there. like holy shit maybe i should purge my old posts again...) But if I remember maybe I'll put what I can remember under a cut?

18. following: after swearing I'd never follow more than 100: 304. But many aren't active anymore :( (also literally me 5 yrs ago: 'oh god I follow more than 30 people I'm freaking out, it's too many!')

19. followers: 234, but who knows how many are porn bots I never really kept up back in the day

20. average hours of sleep: ...that is a good question... idk. maybe 5ish when I work and maybe 9ish when I am just me on my own?

21. lucky number: culturally: 8, personally, also: 3,7,13,17,19,23

22. instruments: formerly flute and tenor sax. I haven't exactly kept up oops >.< (so i guess rn I just whistle or hum or sometimes sing)

23. what am I wearing: shorts and a t-shirt

24. dream job: bookbinder, or some other creative pursuit that allows me to work with my hands - cake decorator? other arts? idk. maybe secretary? maybe fancy ass barista/pastry decorator? editor? illustrator? i have no clue please send suggestions <3

25. dream trip: with friends. Not having to drive the entire time. Longer than what I'm currently able to do... maybe a couple months... maybe in europe or asia? maybe just road tripping across canada. idk. It sure would be nice to see them again <3 hopefully camping with one (maybe two?) mid august-ish though! :D

26. favourite food: dim sum (bc I really miss going out with family!), sushi, desserts, pies, quiche, eggs benny, Popcorn, I'm not sure. those are also safe foods texturally usually too though.

27. nationality: canadian, half chinese.

28. favourite song: *shrugs* right now perhaps Soda or The Worst

29. last book I read: ...i don't know... maybe a reread I did of What They Always Tell Us or Martin Wilson's other book We Now Return To Regular Life last year?

30. top 3 fictional universes I would like to live in: ...fuck. I don't know. Most of the fantasy universes I read are fanfic... Maybe.... Waves Cinematic Universe - now that Gabriele has a boat, we could boat! Some universe with wings! A universe with UBI *sideeyes gvmt* Stardew Valley universe! :D

from what I can remember maybe (again - Several Versions of this were written... back in middle school...)

Shatter the fragments to see what's left Release the weight That's on your chest

There's nothing left For you to see Nothing left But apathy

#tag game #tag games #this was fun but hard!#poem snippet under the cut #long post #kinda yeah

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broodingteen · 3 years

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The ever present, somewhat overdone, "Types of" post. Most of these have probably been thought of, but I still enjoyed writing this. Academics, I give you "Types of Academics".

The Classic: Academic in the most classic sense of the word. Loves school projects and education. Enjoys feeling smarter than others, not in a mean way but in an accomplished sort of way. Think Hermionie Granger vibes. Enjoys reading the classics, Shakespeare and Walden and Greek epics and long poetry. Nothing is more exciting than reciting a statistic that helps the situation.

The Thinker: Does the most academic activity inside their heads. Not necessarily one to get excited over schoolwork, or tests, or statistics, but an academic nonetheless. Almost a poet but closer related to a philosopher in nature. Spends long times "brooding" or thinking about anything and everything. Isnt a chatterbox, but sometimes blurt out random things ("enough ppl fell in love at first sight for it to be a cliche, so maybe there's hope for us all"). Underrated, prove me wrong.

The Thesaurus: Loves to know things solely because they enjoy knowing things. Knows random varieties of statistics and quotes. Ask them about a subject they enjoy, they can talk for hours and be happy the entire time. The first one to look up questions that someone asks (The Thinker). "One sec let me write this down polar bears are freaking clear man did you know???" Great to have around for a research project because they genuinely get people interested about things.

The Dysfunctionate: Enjoys education but is also a train wreck. We can all relate. Doesnt read the book for class until after the paper is due, because now they feel like they can do it (turns in the late paper, gets 100). Goes between writing 25/8 and refusing to pick up the pen for a week. Easily can go from straight A's to having sooo much missing work. Alternate name: The Swing Academic. Thoroughly enjoys learning when they have the bandwidth to do so.

The Actor: The theater is strong with this one. Saves scripts from all the shows they've been in, and rereads them when they get bored. Quotes consist entirely of plays and old movies. A wreck during shows, can be found mumbling lines to themselves with different syllabic stress("what CAN i do? WHAT can i do? what can i DO?"). Enjoys the work behind acting, learning new things about different people and situations. Could totally be a psychology expert, and probably is at this point.

The Heart: Probably an actor as well. Probably a little too emotional, but that's what makes them so cool. Feels everything in ALL CAPS. Very fun to be around happy, can be easily stressed though. Bipolar? Who knows. Loves to write, and act, and watch movies. Love everything really. The love of romanticism and classics puts them in the Academic vein. Get super excited over anything. "Oh my goodness a cloud!! Did you know...*insert excited rambling about clouds*")

The Poet: Think "Soft Romantic" with this one. Feels things like The Heart, but doesnt express them the same. Kind of a basket case, ngl. We love them though so it's ok. Can be found in one of these places: in their room crazy dancing by themselves, on their bed crying silently because they heard a song at the same time they were reading a poem and they were both sad, studying with their friends desperately (neil perry trying to understand math in DPS, think that. A Neil Perry.

The Shy: Feels like crying when they cant get work turned in on time. Doesnt want to make the teacher disappointed with them (dont worry, they always finish it even if its late). So nice and so sweet the other Academics always make them tag along. Just needs an excited friend to get them out of their shell. Enjoys being around other people because they can sort of feed off the strong vibes. Comforts the Poet when they hear that sad song again. Loves to read anything the others wrote, and even write their own poems to see if the others like them. Doing their best, God bless them.

There can also, in my mind, be variations of all these tropes. Such as; Shy Poet, Dysfunctionate Classic, Thesauras Heart, Poet Thinker, and so on. Choose your fighter!! I'm definitely a Shy Poet, leaning more towards the Poet side but with Shy features.

#dark academia #dead poets society #writing #light acadamia aesthetic #o captain my captain

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theloyaltyofthewolves · 4 years

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tag info!

hi lovelies! i’ve gotten quite a few questions abt my tagging system (for those of u who don’t pay attention to that sort of thing/only use mobile, this is my tags page) over the last few days + i thought i’d try to condense all of your questions into a single post to make it nice and convenient. pls feel free to reach out if i missed smth!

1. what are your tags from and what do they mean?

individual tags:

this is not your destruction bang chan

a tag for chan + the bravery + terror that must have accompanied his flight into stray kids. he has poured everything he has into them. they are his one shot, his only shot. his life, his blood, his greatest creation and sacrifice. this tag, which comes from nothing other than my brain, is a kind reminder to him that no matter how dark it gets, stray kids are an act of love and so will never be a mistake.

learn to dance; it is your birthright

a tag for minho. im a terrible person and can’t quite recall where or who i took it from, but i believe it was originally in french. minho came from nothing, built himself on nothing. the strength in his spine comes from suffering and endurance: living through all that life has thrown at you, getting up every single time it has knocked him down. and it has knocked him down over and over and over again. but each time, he gets back up. wipes the blood off his chin. dances. because he is owed this, this expression of love and life and control, one of the most fundamental parts of the human experience. minho dances because he is owed it, because he knows that it his right.

there is no sacrifice

my tag for changbin, from a longer piece by arianna reines. the original quote goes ‘there is no sacrifice. you have got to want to live. you have got to force yourself to want to.’ perhaps a little dark, but i believe it reflects the resolution with which changbin throws himself at life. there is no uncertainty in seo changbin. that’s why he’s stray kids’ anchor, their backbone. he’s uncompromising, devoted, resilient.

gutted and rising

for hyunjin, my very favorite embodiment of the fragility of being human. once again, his tag is from a much longer quote by katie ford: don’t say it’s the beautiful i praise. i praise the human, gutted and rising. quite honestly, it is one of my favorite lines of literature in the entire world for how vulnerable and honest it is in its devotion to the human spirit. and that’s of course what i love so much about hyunjin. he is beautiful yes, but he also breakable and delicate and sensitive and irrational and ridiculous and dramatic and sweet and so unbelievably human. such a gentle soul who has seen some of the very worst that humanity has to offer, who has been beaten down and forced to kneel. who has grown tall enough and strong enough to push himself up off the floor and keep going, scarred and gutted and soft and rising.

all you have is your fire

if uve spent a single second on this blog you will probably know that i have a serious love affair with what a walking contradiction han jisung is. he is so many impossibilities in so little physical form. fierce and shy and angry and brilliant and brave and scared and small and bright. han jisung is on fire all the time. it burns deep within him, burns him from the inside out. you can see it when he enters a room, walks on stage, opens his mouth. the core of him, all that he is, this burning burning burning energy, it flares around him, casts him in gold and red and orange. call it courage, call it fire, call it light, call it whatever you want. it is all that jisung has, just as it is all that small things have.

if there is a light im going to swallow it

this is for seungmin, and it comes from yet another one of my favorite pieces of literature. a poem called ‘blasphemies at the 5th street station’ by s. osborn and if there was ever a poem i would like you to read, it would be this one. seungmin’s particular tag comes from the final verse: ‘if there is a light, then i’m going to swallow it. if there is a god, then i’m going to eat him whole.’ appropriate for someone like seungmin who cannot be kept on his knees and who has always existed in a way that is uniquely his own. no authority, no god, no force of good or evil could bend seungmin to its will because he is simply not to be bound.

i have loved the stars too fondly

oh yongbokie. his tag fits him so well that it always makes me choke up just a little when i use it. it’s from a famous poem by sarah williams, most likely one that you have heard at least in passing. the poem details a message left by an astronomer on his deathbed to his pupil. “though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light. i have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” which, to be honest, is so incredibly lee yongbok that i’m not sure i could clarify it any further.

as above so below

jeongin’s tag comes from an age-old saying, one of those idioms that is so ancient, its originator has been long-forgotten. it is often attributed to religious or spiritual meanings, but i like it just find secular. at its essence, the quip describes the integral connection between everything small and big. the earth and the sun, the moon and the tides, the leaf and the cell wall. the way in which things that happen happen to all, no matter how big or small or young or old. befitting of the maknae, i think. an old quote for an old soul trapped in a young kid’s body.

relationship tags:

and now the loyalty of the wolves

my very general ot8 tag, for moments when i see that little bit of more that filters through stray kids and their unrepentant love for one another. yet another reference to their growth: looking at where they are versus where they once were. stray dogs, nothing more than street hounds, scrappy and feral and dismissed. they did not belong, nor have they ever belonged. but they have grown. now, when they stand on stage, they fill it out. they draw attention and turn heads. they’re still outsiders, still outcasts, still unpolished and raw and untamed. but where once were mutts are now wolves. and now the wolves. and now the loyalty of the wolves.

i will carry you home in my teeth

i’ve mentioned this previously, but this is my tag specifically for chan and his boys. it comes from a mountain goats’ song. it embodies chan’s sacrifice and devotion to his kids, his family, his lifeblood. come hell or high water, chan’s going to get them to that finish line.

do i look moderate to you?

this tag is from moderation, a trully excellent song by florence and the machine. ‘want me to love you in moderation, do i look moderate to you?’ what better pairing to fit this lyric than hyunjin and jisung? their love was born in violence and it has always been too much. the two of them have always been too much. too much anger, too much blood, too many teeth. the imprints of their fingers are pressed into each other’s chests. they have ripped each other apart, sewn each other back together. do i look moderate to you? do i look like someone who could be with you and not make you feel everything all at once?

our fate cannot be taken from us

going back to the ancients, this is a quote from dante. ‘do not be afraid. our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.’ something about it has always screamed seungbin to me, something about the impossibility of their relationship. a friendship, a love, a brotherhood that should not exist and yet it does anyway, because they are too goddamn stubborn to let any force, supernatural or otherwise, make their choices for them.

2. where do ur tags come from?

the very short answer to this question is: everywhere! movies, lyrics, poetry, tumblr posts. i have a pretty long and pretty comprehensive list of tiny pieces of writing that have stayed with me over the years. i look to it often for hope or writing advice or tattoo ideas.

3. can we see it?

nope. a, it’s too long to conveniently post on tumblr. b, it’s organized categorically in a way that works for my brain, but is unlikely to work for others. c, a lot of it is personal and Not For All Eyes. however, if you do want quotes or inspiration, you are always welcome to ask. give me an idea of what you’re looking for, a mood or an experience, a moment or an emotion, and i’ll do my best. (i also have a secret writing inspiration blog that, were there to be enough interest, i may make publicly available)

4. okay then, can we have at least a few recommendations for songs or other works that have inspired you?

it depends on what you’re looking for. what kind of feelings do you want to amass listening or reading to something? the end of the world? the free-fall of first love? bitter heartbreak? the insignificance of human kind? tell me what you want + i will do my best to get back to you.

#i hope this answers your questions #love how much y'all r interested in this #i am obsessed with the novel tag + will use it unapologetically until i die #kisses from belle #anons #replies

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starfleetdoesntfirefirst · 4 years

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Popping back into disco fandom after a busy week and decided to give my incomprehensible meta from earlier this week a reblog; however, discovered that this webbed site hid it and realized that, despite my scrupulously including no links, it very likely was hidden because of my tongue-in-cheek use of a certain phrase, so decided to just repost instead sans webbed site phrase. Anyway,

Thinking about the degree to which Cpt. Georgiou’s story is about kindness and integrity, and the degree to which that means that (long before the events of later in the season make this incredibly explicit) it is therefore about the enemy within.

Like any self-respecting Star Trek captain fangirl, I have firm opinions on Georgiou’s Coolest Moments, Most Underrated Qualities, etc. The moment that beats out of a hell of a lot of Cool Underrated Moments/Qualities to reach second-place, extremely-close-to-first place for me is the moment when she tells Burnham that retreat is not an option not only because they’re in Federation space but also because they are the only line of defense for the space station and the Andorian colony behind them.

It’s not really a quotable-quote, but to me, it’s one of her most awesome moments, because it’s what makes much of the rest of the pilot episodes an awesome story about a captain and her crew looking out for innocent people, rather than about a captain risking and ultimately losing her ship and multiple members of her crew for the sake of space!diplomatic posturing.

But my first-place Underrated Georgiou Moment is the one that it’s tempting to call that moment’s inverse: We don’t start shooting on a hunch, and we don’t take innocent lives, period.

Georgiou looks out for the people on the base behind her, and she looks out for people in the starship confronting hers, which is only the inverse of looking out for innocent people if you’re willing to stake their lives on the assumption that they are not innocent.

<food/diet talk> I once read an advice column where someone had written in to say that they wanted to eat more ‘healthy food,’ but that fast and processed food was faster, cheaper, and better-tasting. The advice columnist began their response with Well, you’re right–fast food is faster, cheaper, and better-tasting! At the time, having grown up with years of war-on-obesity type messages about how home-cooked fresh-vegetable-based meals were in fact Faster and Cheaper and More Delicious than fast food, I clutched my pearls at this.

What the advice columnist said was, of course, in many contexts, correct. We tell our children that fresh food is always cheap and easy to prepare and will save them, </food/diet talk> and that kindness feels good and pleasant and makes their lives better, and sometimes it does, but sometimes it’s brutal and painful and entirely capable of making things worse. I think one reason I find Georgiou’s Trek Captain StoryTM comforting is because of the way her story as a whole makes me feel less alone in not necessarily associating acting with kindness with feelings of softness or pleasure or fulfillment.

Acting with kindness is so often swallowing a grenade; wrapping your arms around it. Matter can’t be created or destroyed and even in the movies whose directors haven’t seen the Mythbusters episode about how jumping on a grenade probably wouldn’t work anyway, you can’t put the pin back into it. The pain has to go somewhere.

Kindness and integrity are about shouldering the pain–even though you don’t deserve it; even though the very act of taking the pain onto yourself not only hurts you but also might in turn hurt someone else. Or, sometimes, kindness and integrity and supporting someone else are about finding a way to offload some of the weight onto another, different someone-else who doesn’t deserve the pain either but maybe, in this moment, is more capable of shouldering it than the person you’re looking out for would be. Kindness is entirely capable of wounding its practitioners, or, to paraphrase Seven of Nine: It’s hopeless and pointless and exhausting, and the only thing worse would be giving up.

Despite all those poems about women being wolves (the idea of wolves), and letting our teeth drip with blood and thorns grow from our hair, much of the time the person in the path of our aching teeth is not the person who deserves to cut by them. Have you ever wished someone, a good person!, ‘Good morning,’ and gotten a perhaps-justified glare from their exhaustion-smudged eyes? Because they’re in such a bad mood, because they’re in so much pain, because of course they would have glared at anyone who spoke to them? Except that, of course, it turns out they were quite capable of warmly greeting their boss or their lover or the more valued–and less visibly disabled–person who walks into the room after you. Even justified rage and pain and desire, when released indiscriminately, often do discriminate.

Near the end of Discovery Season 1, I remember reading a review that encapsulated Mirror Georgiou as being mirror-universe-evil but also a better strategist than Prime Georgiou, because she was quicker on the uptake than Prime Georgiou had been when Burnham spoke with each of them, respectively, about the current relevant threats. But deciding who is better at threat assessment necessitates defining what is a threat.

There’s a piece of fan art I’ve always wanted to paint if a) I had significantly greater art skill, b) I had the literal weeks it would take to paint a multi-panel art piece, and c) art on the theme of ‘person protecting someone else with their body’ didn’t inevitably come across looking like the “this is so sad” poorly-scaled soldier protecting cartoon toddler meme: Captain Georgiou and a small Shenzhou, a la all those sick Janeway-chilling-with-small-floating-Voyager-in-space artworks, standing in space with the space station behind her and the Klingon fleet in front of her. She is protecting the space station behind her from war; in subsequent panels, the viewpoint revolves around her and the little Shenzhou, and the images behind her shift to show the people we know and love on the Discovery–Culber and Stamets kissing; Burnham and Stamets releasing the tardigrade back into space; everything we recognize from ST:DSC’s Federation as innocent and loveable and worth protecting.

But as we circle back around to the same viewpoint again, the images shift. Instead of the Klingon fleet in front of Georgiou and the Shenzhou, we see the innocent people living their lives on Qo’noS; behind her, we see Mirror Georgiou bombing the rebel base; Mirror Georgiou preparing to execute Burnham; Cornwell and Sarek working with Mirror Georgiou to destroy Qo’noS; Qo’noS exploding into fiery nothingness. Is Prime Georgiou defending what is behind her from what is in front of her, or holding back what is behind her to protect the rest of the universe?

What is a Star Trek captain’s coolest #Underrated Moment?

Would Captain Georgiou have been able to effect more net positive good in the universe if she’d been just a bit more ruthless, a bit less Captain Kirk and a bit more Chrisjen Avasarala from The Expanse, and had elbowed her way up in the ranks to become an admiral by the time of the war? Maybe! To quote another advice column: “Should” Éowyn have stayed behind in Edoras to be Queen? Probably.

(Because that one’s a complimentary quote and Tumblr will hide the post if I link: “Commander Logic tells you how to get unstuck,” captain awkward dot com, which I do not endorse entirely as an advice site but which definitely has its moments.)

But then, of course, there’s no woman-Hobbit tag team to kill the Witch-King of Angmar (who is most definitely not Innocent People), and then maybe Admiral Georgiou helps create a better Federation that flawlessly averts the war in the first place and buys all of its citizens a new puppy, or maybe a Georgiou who would make the choice to ruthlessly cut her way to the top is, in fact, the Georgiou we meet at the end of Season 1 who made the choice to ruthlessly cut her way to the top and now stands there, using a mirrored Starfleet to control a mirrored universe.

Here is the story we got instead: Georgiou was a captain and not an admiral, and she didn’t avert a war, and she lectured Burnham like a child and was space-racist about Saru and didn’t even always wrap her own indiscriminate cruelty and pain and desire safely in her arms.

(And yes, I’ll always be disappointed that we didn’t get seven seasons of Captain Georgiou, or one season of Captain Georgiou and six season of Captain Burnham and background Admiral Georgiou, or… Prime Georgiou isn’t just comforting and hopeful and inspiring; she has flaws and impulsiveness and ruthlessness herself. What would it be like to see the story where she grows?)

But she did not start shooting on a hunch, and she did not take innocent lives. She put her own ruthlessness into the service of holding back what was behind her as much as facing down what was in front of her. She changed the people who she served with and captained, like every other cliched metaphor of ripples in a pond, and when Starfleet became the enemy within, and partnered with her own mirrored enemy within to try to kill millions of innocent adults and babies and children, it was the woman who had been the Shenzhou’s first officer who was the first to stand and say No, and the woman who had been the Shenzhou’s pilot who was the second.

I enjoyed seeing Mirror Georgiou stab Mirror Lorca as much as I enjoyed seeing Éowyn stab the Witch-King of Angmar. I don’t have a problem with the power part of power fantasy. But sometimes the Underrated Moment looks uncool. Sometimes the only way to act with integrity is to give something up rather than to Stand Up For Yourself The Way You Deserve, and the only way to look out for someone else hurts you in a way that is painful and awful and unfair. Even the most satisfying power fantasy is still a fantasy.

I would have preferred to see Lorca live and stand trial for crimes against humanity not for his sake but because a Terran Empire that condoned death as a consequence for failure is only a mirror to a Federation that condoned life in prison as a consequence for mutiny.

What do you see as Starfleet’s greatest threat?

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my-heart-is-but-a-gentle-moon · 4 years

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42 tried and true love letter prompts:

1. Type out your earliest memories of each other.

2. Go back and re-send some of your earliest emails and texts or transcribe early notes and letters.

3. Word association. This one was our favorite. Open a book- the nearest one to you will work. Flip it open at random, close your eyes and point to a word on the page. Write down the word and a random memory or thought you have with or about your spouse associated with that word.**** (example at the bottom of this post) Pick another one if it’s a lame word like “and, but, the, it, in, etc”

4. If you had to make a marital bucket list what would be on it?

5. Provide a detailed description of how your spouse has made you a better person.

6. Write about a song that reminds you of your spouse when you hear it. Type out the lyrics.

7. Write about all the things you miss about having your spouse with you. Or if you’re together- what you have missed the most when you have been apart.

8: Describe various dream dates – a dream romantic date, fun date, expensive date, etc. (Rich did one where he described a dream laugh-so-hard-we-cry date with a few of our favorite comedians. We played board games with Amy Poehler and Kristin Wiig, went for some mini golf with Melissa McCarthy and Demitri Martin, dinner date with Mike Birbiglia and Tina Fey- we had ourselves a fantastic time with our imaginary best friends).

9.Write out your love story- blog post style (then consider emailing it to me so I can post it).

10. Ok, you know that part in Sleepless in Seattle when Tom Hanks is describing his dead wife to the radio host and he laughs and describes the way she used to peel an orange in all one piece? If you were describing your spouse to a radio host (they can be alive in this scenario) like that, what would be that weird, quirky thing about them you’d describe?

11. Write out a quote from a book that reminds you of your spouse (Rich and I conveniently both read A Fault In Our Stars during this trip, so this was easy 😉

12. Explain why you love your spouse now and why you loved them at the beginning of your relationship. Any differences? Similarities?

13. Describe little moments in the day when you missed them/thought of them/were grateful for them that day.

14. Play two truths and a lie.

15. List a few times in your life you wish you would have had your spouse with you.

16. Describe what you’ll be doing (ideally) in two years, five years, ten years, twenty years.

17. Talk about your favorite scripture or inspirational quote that makes you think of your spouse.

18. Pitch a movie about your love story complete with tag line and description. Rich pitched “An Engagement With China” “Boot. Scooter. Boogie.” And “Snow Way!”

19. Write an acrostic poem for your names.

20. You have a time machine. Which points in your spouse’s life would you go back and visit- just as an observer? I was flattered reading some of the random moments of my early life I’ve described to Rich that he actually remembered 🙂

21. Talk about a favorite trip you took together.

22. Write about times or things in your relationship/marriage that were disappointing or awful and then how you got over them or learned from them. I actually found this one to be very strengthening.

23. Plan out real future date nights.

24. Reminisce about the first time you said, “I love you.”

25. Write about how your spouse has changed you since you’ve met them. Be specific.

26. Talk about traits you think you’ve inherited from your parents and what traits your spouse has inherited from theirs. Their answers may surprise you 😉

27. Write poems to each other. (note: Rich could have been a poet. Seriously. And I never knew until love letters . . .)

28. Record all first impressions of each other you can remember.

29. Top 10 lists (Rich did top 10 reasons Celeste is awesome at Valentine’s day). Other Top 10 lists could include: Top 10 favorite memories together, Top 10 moments I loved you most, Top 10 events I’m looking forward to spending with you this year.

30. Post and talk about your favorite pictures of each other.

31. Google newly wed questions and answer them for both you and your spouse. Have your spouse do the same. Compare answers.

32. Write out your favorite things about your kids. Or, if you don’t have kids, what characteristics of your spouse you’d hope your hypothetical children would have.

33. Write about the funniest memory you have together. Or that might be too hard to pick just one, so write about some times when you deep-belly laughed together.

34. Tell your spouse something you honestly don’t think they know about you.

35. Since you’ve been married, has your spouse challenged any preconceptions you had about life?

36. If you had to commit a crime together, what would it be? Aliases encouraged.

37. What about your spouse do you feel you know the least about? What about yourself do you think your spouse knows the least about?

38. If you could go back and give yourself advice about marriage when you were dating, what would you say? What have you learned?

39. Transform your story into a Disney-esque fairy tale. Start with once upon a time . . .

40. What are the physical aspects of your spouse you find most attractive?

41. What do you think they’re greatest strengths and talents are?

42. Share a childhood memory you’ve never shared with them before.

#ask game #love letter prompt game #ask me please!! I’ll gladly ask you too!!!#selfship community #love prompt

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kaydeefalls · 4 years

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title meme

Tagged by @mienuxbleu - all right, let's do this! Look at the most recent 20 (or however many!) fanwork titles on your AO3 account and answer the questions below. So I've got:

When It Alteration Finds (Star Wars) Are We the Waiting (Star Wars) [vid] Let Me Go (Moana) The Tesseract's Wife (MCU) what a way to make a livin' (X-Men) [vid] This Is Your Life (Good Omens) The Conspirator's Gift (X-Men) some of us are looking at the stars (Good Omens) how much was mine to keep (MCU) [vid] none of this really matters (MCU) you don't have to go home (but you can't stay here) (QaF UK) [vid] Generals (multi) [vid] Drought (Mad Max) The Last of the American Girls (Ocean's 11) Selected Moments in Introductory Symbology (HDM) [vid] Shut Up and Drive (Speed) No Exit (Man from UNCLE) leave your life open (you don't have to hide) (MCU) [vid] Goodnight, Travel Well (Snowpiercer) 9 Strangely Arousing Things In Doctor Who (Cracked: After Hours) 1. How many are you happy with? Well, I'm a bit embarrassed that I had to go back five years to get a full list of 20 fanworks, but here we are. I'm happy with...most of them. I don't hate any of them. 2. How many are…not great? ...I wrote a whole answer for this and then realized these questions are specifically about the titles. Ahahaha, whoops. Eh, I like 'em all well enough, they're fine.

3. How many did you scramble for at the last minute? "Are We the Waiting" had NO title. None whatsoever. I was ready to post and just panicked and pulled up a few of my favorite musical artists, scanning through song titles in the hopes of finding something that fit. So Green Day it is. "what a way to make a livin'" was also a stretch. It popped into my head relatively early on, but I was in denial up till the last minute, thinking I'd come up with something better. Obviously I didn't. 4. How many did you know before you started writing/creating, or near the beginning? All the vids, though that feels like cheating. "The Last of the American Girls" was on repeat in my head the entire time I was writing it, so that was a foregone conclusion. "how much was mine to keep" came pretty early. "The Tesseract's Wife" was the FIRST thing I wrote in that doc, well before any of the fic itself. “When It Alteration Finds” has been the title from the beginning. 5. How many are quotes from songs or poems? Nearly all of them. That's just how I roll. (I mean, you can't really judge me for the vids, what the hell else am I supposed to call them?) Lemme do a quick count: 14 are specifically songs or poems, yeah. 6. How many are other quotes? Haha, caught me. Three. "No Exit" comes from the play by Sartre -- specifically, the sentiment expressed therein that hell is other people. "how much was mine to keep" is from a passage in Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. And "some of us are looking at the stars" is Oscar Wilde -- the full line is "we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." 7. Which best reflects the plot of the story/content of the fanwork? I'm fond of "The Conspirator's Gift", because it's simple but also works on multiple levels -- most of the characters in the mystery plot can be considered conspirators in some way, and their Gifts (mutant powers) are critical to the story, particularly the villain's, which ends up being the key to resolve the mystery. And, okay, I feel like vids are cheating in this category, but using "Shut Up and Drive" for a Speed vid made me really, really happy. 8. Which best reflects the theme of the story? "9 Strangely Arousing Things In Doctor Who" is exactly what it says on the tin, and also in keeping with all the Cracked: After Hours episode titles. And though it's more obscure, I really like "how much was mine to keep", thematically, dealing with Bucky and Steve in the aftermath of Endgame. 9. Which best reflects the character voice of the story/pov of the fanwork? And we're back to "9 Strangely Arousing Things In Doctor Who". Oh, After Hours, how I miss you, you weird little webseries. For vids, "none of this really matters", hands down. Steve is just SO DONE. 10. Which is your favourite title? Eh. I don't play favorites. "how much was mine to keep", again, I guess.

I always feel weird about tagging, so if you wanna play, go for it and pretend I tagged you!

#meme #ask me anything #tagged #mienuxbleu

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ladywhitetower · 5 years

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Damien is a monster and I will NOT be convinced otherwise

But I WILL convince you

I KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE I’M CRAZY BUT I SWEAR I AM NOT

You call all thank @chadarum for indulging my nonsense which I now set upon you

@podcastlimbo this is my main theory, @jakkubrat, @shorter-than-her-tbr-pile, @a-green-bean and @onesmoothassendoplasmicretilum, you all showed interest in this post, so now y’all get tagged. @cryptidie, this is the theory in full!

Long post because this is a hell of a ride.

Alright so basically:

Part 1- Damien has a sensitivity to the Other (divine/monstrous)

Part 2- The saints are all monsters, actually

Part 3- Damien himself is part monster

Part 4- Damien is connected/descended from SD himself

(Could I make several posts instead of the one? Yes. Will I? No. @chadarum, you have given me Too Much power.)

Now, let’s begin:

PART 1:

ABSOLUTELY NO ONE TALKS ABOUT HOW DAMIEN TALKED TO A LITERAL SAINT

AND PERFORMED A GODDAMN MIRACLE

BUT HE DID

AND THIS IS! IMPORTANT

Battle at World’s End Part 4 is The pinnacle of Damien’s conflicted dilemma, but the thing is. He talked to Saint Damien. Actually talked!!! SD was answering him!!!

We hear Rilla admitting to Sir Caroline that he thinks all the saints talk is nonsense, but it’s important to Damien so she doesn’t mind it in The Spiral Sage, Part 2, after being told by the Judge that there’s no rules in his court.

Sir Caroline thinks it’s all stupid bullshit in the same conversation

And no one else seems to really believe in them? The Queen makes a few “saints help us” comments but, for a city built on the principle of three saints building their citadel, why is Damien the only one who really seems to believe in them? He is the only one who actually prays

Battle at World’s End Part 4, from Damien’s monologue: In days when you spoke to me, in days when you didn’t leave me to linger, lonely at your heel.

He says “days”. Plural. P L U R A L. And we KNOW SD spoke to him that day at the river (SD ACTUALLY HELPED HIM) plus we Just heard them talking!!!

Damien also makes a big deal about SD forsaking him, and about losing his tranquility. Why, in Lady of the Lake he thinks SD just might drown him in the poisoned water.

Actually, let’s count the times Damien asks his saint for help and is delivered:

Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp, part 2: In part 1 we hear Damien saying the tranquility bit before striking Arum, but in part 2… while being chased by the rat monster, he asks SD for help, and the rat’s growls shift into the sound of waves!!!!!

Lady of the Lake: While drunk, Damien says he asked SD for guidance once he was about to drown, and the waves around him Stilled, lulling him to sleep

Battle at World’s End, part 4: THE PRAYER! HE PRAYS AND SD, IN HIS FIRST INTERFERENCE IN A WHILE, OPENS A WHOLE PORTAL TO THE KEEP, PRETTY FAR AWAY PLACE, INSIDE FORT TERMINUS. WHICH WAS SUPPOSEDLY IMPOSSIBLE

AND the conversation. SD helping him regain his tranquility at last.

May I bring up, “But isn’t that your way? No true wisdom can be told, only learned.” Damien has had several talks with SD, we all know and agree right? He knows well enough to know he won’t receive an answer. But the fact that he did not show ANY shock at hearing SD‘s voice, rather about hearing it in monster territory, means it has happened before

I am ALSO going to bring up “there’s something Human in his eyes” because while it is a very nice turn of phrase and all, isn’t it curious how he is the only one to say anything of the sort? Damien immediately notices this from bantering with Arum ONCE, and like. Arum hot. But Damien saw this and was Right. He is Perceptive!

So, Damien talks to SD several times and receives help, plus sees things in monsters that no one else does and is strangely sensitive to them (only one to hear the howling in LOTL, anyone? Only one to see it at first?)

PART 2:

THE SAINTS ARE ALL MONSTERS

LET US DISCUSS THIS

Let’s talk about how Damien’s explanation about monsters vs saints is shaky at best

Taken from his exchange with Talfryn in The Spiral Sage, part 2

Talfryn: But don’t monsters have that kind of power?

Damien: Monsters And Saints, my friend! It’s actually quite simple. Monsters break the divine rules that govern all things. Saints ask for permission from the powers above to bend those rules. And with that permission granted, they know their acts are good!

Talfryn: But… how are you supposed to tell the difference?

Damien: Faith, my friend.

But… there’s a few problems with this theory

The monsters have a court. They have their “anyone can do anything they want rule” and apparently things like censorship are taboo. And we Know “Judge Helicoid” was absolute bullshit but we Also know everyone took his word and genuinely thought he Was asking the universe for verdicts, and everyone followed and respected them.

This communication and dealings with the universe lead us to believe that…. actually, the monsters are more connected to the universe than the humans are

In their explanations, Quanyii and Arum BOTH say that magic is unpredictable and depends entirely on the universe. Rilla even calls Arum out on Not Knowing how the universe works exactly, and he disdains her desire to understand things completely.

Exchange from The Moonlit Hermit, part 2, after attempting to use it to heal Arum’s Keep:

Arum: ... that is how magic operates. When you reach for the cosmos, there are no guarantees. What didn’t work then may work now. We will not know unless we try.

Rilla: So magic is inconsistent.

Arum: Exactly.

The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, part 1, after Quanyii saves Sir Caroline:

Quanyii: And that, sweets, is how you make magic work for you. Magical spells, commands, etceteras and so-ons only feels like answering them.

Therefore, if monsters could Just break the rules of the universe… wouldn’t their magic be more reliable?

By Damien’s explanation, Arum and quite possibly Quanyii could be saints. The only difference is that they don’t care about their acts being good. Arum reaches for the impossible. Quanyii just… likes the power.

Because of this, we can dismiss his explanation being 100% accurate.

His tale of the Three, the one the whole citadel apparently tells, has them display abilities that make them either witches or monsters

But I’m gonna say monsters because of a few things:

The Spiral Sage debacle. Is he human? Is he monster? Is he… both?

Quanyii saying “No. No matter how hard I try” when asked by Rilla whether she is a monster after revealing she can change forma, implying there Could be a way for a human to become a monster, and possibly viceversa. (More on this later)

These two quotes:

Head of the Janus Beast, Talfryn to Marc: “SIR CAROLINE IS A JANUS BEAST?”

Lady of the Lake, Sir Damien to Sir Angelo: “Sir Angelo! She could be a monster herself!”

Those lines, plus the fact that BOTH the nymphs and the fungi monster could take human forms, both So accurate that everyone thought they were real at first (NO ONE realized the nymphs WEREN’T human until THEY said so!), outright make it evident that some monsters, at least, are capable of taking human forms. The Nymphs are the most relevant, obviously, because they didn’t take the forms as illusions or separate entities, they Wore those shapes and were comfortable with them.

Finally, the tapestries Damien sees in The Hallowed Halls of Helicoid, part 2, of monsters and humans “living together… lying together!” (Pix and David, anyone?)

(Actually Pix, David and the tapestries, including Spiral Sage’s, make it clear there was a time before the first citadel being destroyed where monsters and humans not only mingled, but lived peacefully… at least in some places) (On that note… I don’t think Fort Terminus really belonged to these monsters… I think they broke in, too.)

Also, from LOTL, “Knights… slay monsters, don’t they? Seems convenient. And there’s a witch right in front of you.” PLUS Rilla’s backstory, The Moonlit Hermit, part 1, with her parents being exiled and Quanyii’s presence in the court means that witches and monsters often associate or are lumped together.

SD PERFORMED A MIRACLE IN OLD MONSTER TERRITORY. HE IS A POWERFUL MONSTER. MAY HAVE KNOWN THE KEEP, BECAUSE HEY THAT WAS THE KEEP’S DIRT

I know I sound like a crazy person, but the saints are CLEARLY either monsters who took human form or monster/human descendants

But pray tell, Ria, why would they fight for the humans?

WELL MY DEAR, CAPTIVE READER: while we have Heard that the destruction of the first citadel was the only time the monsters unified, it isn’t difficult to believe that some, like Arum, were rather indifferent/on the outskirts of the conflict. I suspect some, also like Arum, may have forged connections with humans. Or perhaps they were horrified by how much destruction and death they caused. If they were monster descendants, the root might have been love.

PART 3:

(We’re almost near the end I promise)

Damien is a monster

Because I say so

Okay actual evidence:

SD’s constant interference

May I direct you to this exchange in The Caves of Discord, when Damien is late to the meeting (thank you, Sir Caroline)

Sir Angelo: Sir Damien? You’ve called Both of your greatest knights for one little monster?

Queen Mira: I never said there was a monster. Now, sit.

Sir Angelo: A monster that is not a monster? Intriguing.

FORESHADOWING, ANYONE?

Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp, part 1, Arum, upon being told by Damien there’s something human in his eyes: You’d never considered they might be something… monstrous in yours?

He isn’t saying it because he Sees anything, he’s saying it bc he’s cornered, but… Damien takes it pretty seriously.

Also from Knight of the Crown, Lord of the Swamp part 2, Damien to Angelo upon giving him his last poem for Rilla: After all, it’s easier, is it not? To mourn a man who was a monster all along.

If Damien is sensitive to the divine, and the divine is monstrous, then Damien is sensitive to the monstrous. I’m gonna say he is a monster, too. His arc is Way too full of that theme for there to be any other choice.

Damien was also the most sensitive to the Monster from the cocoon, and yes, we can attribute that solely to his anxiety and already rippling fear but… after Part 4, he stops being that sensitive. Rilla Screams and nearly dies from its impact, but Damien is…. strangely fine? He is sensitive but overcomes it anyway, and was at never point physically affected. Could just be tranquility… could also be… monster.

PART 4:

But Ria, you ask, How are SD and Damien connected? Well.

Did you notice NO ONE knew about the Spiral Sage?

Absolutely no one.

NO ONE

NOR DID THEY KNOW ABOUT THE WORLDS’ ENDS.

Literally the only reason Rilla knew was Because of Damien.

Everyone else was completely unfamiliar with these myths, br Sir Caroline who mentioned the South World’s End but had never seen the North, including the existence of Fort Terminus, and while we know Damien comes from a scholar family, at least from his father’s side…. couldn’t it be possible that his family is made of scholars Precisely because of that link to SD?

I mean Damien knew the Whole BAWE poem which was… so long.

They could have very well have kept these three thousand year old myths if they were SD descendants. Because it Has been about a long time? At least “centuries passed” (KotC, part 1) between the First Citadel and the Second Citadel as we know it. And in THHOH Part 1, Rilla confirms three thousand years have passed. How do they have access to such well preserved myths??

Even Sage Helicoid could be explained away as the family protecting themselves but still wanting to keep those myths.

Maybe Damien’s mother was a monster? I lean more on far descendants tho.

Plus, Quanyii, in the same episode, says the one time the monster attack was completely unified, it was “so bad it wiped out most of recorded history before that.” So… how does Damien know?

Plus, why Else would SD interfere so many times in Damien’s behalf? There’s no other instance of any character receiving saintly help, but several where Damien does.

Remember Damien’s prayer?

Damien: Saint Damien, we beg that you lend us your spear to pierce the veil that keeps this beast from home. If it be your will, if it be your will… as it is mine.

And that last line? THAT is when the portal stabilizes!!!

They are connected FIGHT ME.

Damien says SD had forsaken him and was looking for a reason, but SD kept interfering for him in minor ways when he was in serious peril, however stops talking to him entirely UNTIL Damien is questioning his purpose after opening the portal.

Damien also says, in LOTL, “It is our sworn duty to kill monsters. To cleanse the monsters’ blight upon this land.”

Could it be that SD, a monster, stopped outright talking to SD once his focus shifter from helping people into just. assuming he had changed enough and mindlessly killing monsters to the point where he saw it as a competition with Angelo? Then, he performed a miracle once Damien not only wanted to help someone else, but wanted to help a monster (that he loved, for his beloved Rilla). And finally, once he saw Damien could still be saved because he was doubting, talked to him and guided him back to tranquility?

AND ONE FINAL PIECE OF WHAT I AM CALLING EVIDENCE, from The Spiral Sage part 2

The Spiral Sage, Part 2, Quanyii introducing herself: [My name] is always Quanyii, no matter how much of my physical form I change, so pease don’t get confused. Oh, I know that sounds boring, sweets, but even when you’re trying to keep things fresh something has to stay the same or you might lose yourself entirely.

Notice how Damien is the only character to have a Saint as a namesake?

I’m not saying Damien is a reincarnation of Saint Damien or anything, but I Am writing fic about it and this tidbit is a Blessing to have.

But as to my is Damien a monster question?

I say Yes. Damien is a monster and connected to Saint Damien.

#tpp #the penumbra podcast #the penumbra #sir damien #quanyii #sir caroline #rilla #lord arum #sir damien the pious #tpp damien #second citadel #tpp season 3 #saint damien #I won't be majorly upset if this doesn't happen #but i Will write all the fanfic if it doesn´t #sirs angelo #queen mira

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azfellandco · 5 years

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Hey there, so your reply to my comment on the vampire AU, about Aziraphale and consumption and such, has been rattling around in my head since I read it, and I was hoping, if you have the time/energy/desire of course, to pick your brains about what kinds of meta/headcanons you've got? Because Aziraphale and food and softness and subversion give me LIFE and I have some thoughts of my own but I'd love to hear yours :D

I would love to talk about this some more, hell yeah. Thank you so much. Please do also tell me your headcanons, @dwarven-beard-spores, I definitely want to hear them. Here is the AU in question for anyone else who might be interested.

Anyway I’m going to have to put this under a read-more because this has become like… thesis level long. My apologies to anyone on mobile.

The thing I love about this book in general is that there’s such a rich vein of history of thought to explore baked into the premise. Angels and demons and god and the devil and satanic nuns and witches and the four horsemen and the antichrist and the Book of Revelation’s “capital A for Apocalypse” exist in this universe and because so much of it is played for humorous effect there’s a lot of wiggle room as to how these things actually interact with their real world theological equivalents. Which is all building up to say: I am absolutely fascinated with the dichotomy in popular conception between angels as good/holy and angels as monstrous, and how to a lot of people that really isn’t a dichotomy at all.

Here are some quotes I think about in conjunction with Aziraphale a lot.

“Did you ever notice how in the Bible, whenever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel?“ –The Prophecy

“Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the hierarchyof angels? and even if one of thempressed me against his heart: I would be consumedin that overwhelming existence. For beauty is nothingbut the beginning of terror, which we still are just able to endure,and we are so awed because it serenely disdainsto annihilate us. Every angel is terrifying.” –Rainer Maria Rilke

Every angel is terrifying. What? Whomst? Aziraphale, light of my life, in love with a demon who thinks bullet-hole window transfers and expensive divers’ watches are cool, calls said demon “my dear”, is terrifying? Excuse me?

I am utterly in love with the idea of Aziraphale as this potential force of nature, with the righteous fury and the wings and the sword and wait. What did Aziraphale do with that sword? He gave it away to the humans that got kicked out of paradise, because they looked cold.

The first thing Aziraphale does in the whole book is a renouncement of this particular idea of angels, and we see him sort of… butt up against it later, when he talks to the Metatron. Aziraphale doesn’t want the world to end, of course he doesn’t, but I just have… so many feelings about the way Aziraphale talks about the war versus the way the Metatron talks about the war.

The point is not to avoid the war, it is to win it. –the Metatron, pg. 242

The Metatron is the kind of angel above, blood and fury, and Aziraphale’s voice goes “flat and hopeless” in the face of it, “the bitterness in his voice would have soured milk”. Aziraphale doesn’t want this war to happen, and the way all his thoughts and feelings are tagged versus the sort of netural, descriptionless way the Metatron’s are (pretty much the only characterization the Metatron gets is “a well-educated voice” and “a shade testily”, the latter of which is in response to Aziraphale saying he has to delay returning to Heaven) has always struck me as like… the difference between Aziraphale and other angels is that Aziraphale cares so much. We talk a lot in this fandom about Crowley and “the truth was that Crowley rather liked humans. It was a major failing in a demon” but Aziraphale is the same, he’s just… subtler.

Where the heck was I going with this. I’m so fond.

Ah yes. Aziraphale is different from other angels because he cares, because he wants. I wrote a fic about this, too, actually. So it’s sort of interesting to me that it’s in the things Aziraphale wants that he is most an ”every angel is terrifying” angel, even though in some cases it’s a muted and complex kind of thing, a lot of which has been helped along for my by popular fandom and my love of gothic lit and isn’t necessarily comping from the book anymore, everything from here on out is my headcanons.

The most obvious example of Aziraphale’s desires being the most monstrous thing about him comes from that same conversation with the Metatron. I’m sure everybody here is aware of the good old “Aziraphale was willing to kill a child so he could stay on earth and keep eating sushi” post which, while reductive, is essentially what I’m getting at here. Aziraphale calls the Metatron with the specific intent of the Metatron killing Adam and stopping the ball rolling because he likes the world and he likes living there and I really do think, when it comes down to it, that’s a purely selfish decision on Aziraphale’s part. Crowley knows that the things about the world that will get Aziraphale on his side near the start of the book are all things Aziraphale likes.

“No more compact discs… no salt, no eggs. No gravlax with dill sauce. No more fascinating little restaurants where they know you. No Daily Telegraph crosswords. No small antique shops. No book shops either. No interesting first editions. No–” Crowley scraped the bottom of Aziraphale’s barrel of interests, “regency silver snuffboxes.” –pg. 46

It’s all well and good to like people and want to help them and want to save them, but in the end, for a certain kind of person (the kind of person I see Aziraphale as), you have to make it personal. And people, as I’m sure everyone is aware, will do truly awful things in the name of protecting what is personal to them.

I don’t know where to put this observation so it’s going here. That one line that’s like “Six millennia exposure to humans was having the same effect on Aziraphale as it was on Crowley, only in the opposite direction”? I’ve generally seen this taken to mean “six millennia had made them both more human-like by making Crowley less evil and Aziraphale less good” but personally I’ve always taken it to mean that exposure to humans has made Crowley like humans more and Aziraphale like humans less. My angel is antisocial and likes people in a general sense only, because it’s important to his self-image to love all of God’s creation or whatever.

On that slightly ominous note let’s move on to the point about consumption. There’s a sentiment in some feminist literature about desire, and sexual desire, and hunger, and how they overlap that is relevant here but I cannot find the exact quote I am thinking of so these will have to do.

For a woman who has learned to make herself physically and emotionally small, to live literally and figuratively on scraps, admitting that you have an appetite is a source of cavernous fear. Women are often on a diet of the body, but we are always on a diet of the heart. The low-maintenance woman, the ideal woman, has no appetite. This is not to say that she refuses food, sex, romance, emotional effort; to refuse is petulant, which is ironically more demanding. The woman without appetite politely finishes what’s on her plate, and declines seconds. She is satisfied and satisfiable. –Hunger Makes Me by Jess Zimmerman (if the contents of this meta i’m writing interest you then I suggest you read this article as well)

Please also see this “a softer world” fancomic which is a remix of the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe– “And we loved with a love that was more than love, I and my Annabel Lee.”

To want is to hunger and to hunger is to want and it’s extremely important to me that Aziraphale’s particular temptation, and one Crowley knows full well, is lunch. Wanting as selfishness, as monstrousness, is… how you say… my entire shit. The subgenre of gothic horror that is about women who want and the way this makes them feel, as though they’re destructive and dark and dangerous, is pretty much the reason I am the person I am today. Crimson Peak, Shirley Jackson’s work but especially The Haunting of Hill House (speaking of which i am going to personally eviscerate whoever approved that netflix series, how dare they), to some extent Karen Navidson’s story in House Of Leaves, probably lots of others but those are the main ones that come to mind. They’re all about women who want, and feel they shouldn’t, and how that disconnect makes them othered from themselves and the world around them.

I’ve always seen some overlap between this and the concept of queering the villain, because historically the idea of sexual desire has been made to look monstrous by bigots and assholes and that absolutely has not stopped us from grabbing these characters and archetypes and saying “mine now”. I’m never going to stop loving queer-coded villains as long as I live, because if society wants us to be evil we will damn well show them evil.

But of course, wanting isn’t actually evil. It’s just human. Aziraphale is not especially selfish, for a human, even when that selfishness manifests as disregard for his companion’s feelings or stubbornness about the big picture (”That only works, right, if you start everyone off equal… that’s the good bit. The lower you start the more opportunities you have. Crowley had said, that’s lunatic. No, said Aziraphale, it’s ineffable.”) it’s still just… human. People have a notoriously hard time caring about suffering beyond themselves, it’s why we invented morality. Wanting has no moral value, not really, just as hunger doesn’t.

But I can’t help but think that, if Aziraphale agrees with this assessment, it’s taken him thousands of years and certainly until after the apocalypse to arrive there. Aziraphale wants to be good, and he wants his side to be “the good side”, so much so that he’s deluded himself for ages into thinking he doesn’t care about or consider the validity of the stuff Crowley says and believes. There is no textual evidence to support the statement “Aziraphale feels guilty for wanting things and part of the reason he’s so attached to Crowley is that Crowley makes him feel less guilty”, but there it is.

Aziraphale wants, and other angels don’t, or at least, Aziraphale wants in a very concrete and specific sense that other angels don’t seem to–food, wine, books, snuffboxes, Crowley– in short, to be in the world and experience. Aziraphale wants sensual things, pretty things. Comfortable things. Aziraphale is such a soft and homey character despite all these little apparent sharp points, and I adore that about him.

Let me quote my own fic for a moment, the vampire fic that prompted this ask in the first place.

Everything about Aziraphale said “soft” to Crowley, it was something he’d always rather liked about his friend. Soft curls framing his round face, gentle hands, warm and unfashionable clothes covering his pudgy middle. There was absolutely nothing about Aziraphale that looked even slightly predatory, and Crowley had never been able to determine if this was intentional camouflage or just the way Aziraphale was [footnote: it was both].

Aziraphale is selfish and petty and can be inconsiderate and obtuse, but he gave away the thing that identified him as an angel because some humans were suffering and needed it. He loves wine, and books, and he’s fat goddammit, because of course he is. He’s nonthreatening because he’s chosen to be. He’s human because he’s chosen to be, just as Crowley is. It just took him longer to realize that’s what he’d done. He’s got the potential, by virtue of being an angel, to be this incredibly powerful and dangerous thing, and instead he owns a bookshop and feeds the ducks and goes to lunch with his friend.

I’m sure I’ll think of like ten additional things I want to say about this after I post it lmao prepare yourself for that, I guess.

#meta #aziraphale #dwarven-beard-spores #my writing

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the-prophet-lemonade · 5 years

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21, 44, 26 ❤️

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

it was very much an oc-insert fullmetal alchemist fanfiction that i wrote circa 2007 ... it was so full of ocs that it was barely recognizable as fma derivative ... literally the canon characters only had passing cameos and the rest was just my own characters in an alchemy-based universe lmfao

i can’t remember the plot ... the main character was an alchemist like edward who doesn’t need circles as they’ve seen the gate of truth, and the story started with her looking for her parents’ murderers, and along the way, collecting a rag tag bunch of misfits as her team ... very indulgent, but i was 12 years old and living my fantasy ya feel

it was about 120 chapters long (but each chapter was maybe 300 words max lol) and i think i got halfway through a sequel? i can’t remember. it was posted in a very obscure portion of the internet ...

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

i mainly borrow ideas from poetry and music for my fic titles/chapter titles ... richard siken, ocean vuong, and traci brimhall are my biggest inspirations at the moment. i put a lot of work and thought into my fic titles these days as i like to play around with meaning and symbolism a whole lot (even if 99% of people won’t know or understand my references lmfao)

breaking down some of my fic titles:

a cold night for good deeds: this is derivative of “a cold night for alligators”, which has absolutely nothing to do with the fic but i really like the sound and the symmetry of the words. there are a lot of interesting vowel sounds in this title too, especially the clipped “o” sounds, which has a particular pathetic fallacy to me (a cold city, a harsh wind, a storm, the drumbeat of rain etc).

droplets: one word punchy title is easy to market and easy to remember, and seeing as water is an extended metaphor in this fic ... and given That Line in chapter 19 when jean tells marco he loves him ... it works pretty well

whosoever’s is the storm: derivative of a latin proverb (”Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos.”), appropriate for the source material and its canonical themes

another lover hits the universe: derivative of an allen ginsberg quote (”Another lover hits the universe. The circle is broken. But with death comes rebirth. And like all lovers and sad people, I am a poet.”), especially appropriate given the themes of reincarnation in this fic

verdant night and unmet people: lifted from a phrase in an article i read about the folly of being 20-something, but also has a link to the green light at the end of gatsby’s pier, which is highly appropriate given the setting of this fic lol

as your sun sets (i know you in bleary-eyed 3am): two lines from a poem by naiche parker that i mashed together ... it presents the theme of the fic very succinctly, an intimacy stretched across two places at once, two different time zones.

after dark: named after my fave murakami novella which has very little to do with the themes of fic, but is written with the beautiful detached quality where individual moments that don’t always fit together seamlessly are stitched together into a story, which works nicely for a vignette-style piece

anaphora in the aftermath (of love and violence): i saw the word anaphora in a poem by ocean vuong and loved it, and the stylised the rest of the title a la richard siken. anaphora is repetition of a certain word/phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, and in this fic, the anaphora is alec’s “i love you” confession, and the central theme is how it ripples unspoken through the moments afterwords.

ghosts that we knew: named after a mumford & sons song ... it’s a fic about ghosts ... go figure

i like things that are aesthetically pleasing as well, so i am very particular with word choices, format, sound, and rhythm. for example, you will n e v e r see me titling a fic with an indefinite clause (e.g. “to [something]” or “of [something]”) as it makes me irrationally uncomfortable lmfao

i also always avoid vague nouns and pronoun-heavy titles, as i don’t think they make for eye-catching or memorable titles. you need something punchy or something beautiful and extravagant. i like to lead with a strong concept, particularly a visual/dynamic noun or verb (e.g. “as your sun sets (i know you in bleary-eyed 3am”, “droplets”, “whosoever’s is the storm”, “another lover hits the universe”, etc)

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

seeing as i’m in the depths of a got hyperfixation, let’s go for podsa!!!!!!

sansa has a plethora of ships (of varying quality lmfao) but one of my new faves is sansa and podrick! a lot of this emerged post-season 8 after pod became a knight and got me thinking about how sansa used to pray for the gods to send her a “noble and true knight to champion her” and like ... who is more noble ... than pod (well, besides ser brienne, but briensa is a god tier ship all of its own). anyway, sansa stark deserves a man who will love and respect her and defer to her at all costs, and pod would be good husband material.

they also have shared history, with both of them living in KL in seasons 2 & 3 and i love the idea that pod had a crush on sansa then, but she was beautiful and sad and unattainable, and obvs she was married to tyrion, who pod was squiring for ... THE ANGST POSSIBILITIES. sansa probably rarely noticed him, but i like to imagine, later, when pod and brienne rescue sansa from the boltons, sansa starts noticing what a fine young man pod has become, and then when he is a knight and she is a queen, she’s like ... “damn son u fill out that gold armour real nice” and then she gets her much deserved happily ever after and ... i guess i’ve thought about this a lot

ask me fanfiction questions

#lucy replies #ask me

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chaikittea · 6 years

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Rules: Shuffle your music and post the next 10 songs with your favorite lyrics.

Tagged by @thatoneonfire I'm always down to share music! (Also, love the songs you got. Not enough people listen to Bastille)

I shuffled my 2018 playlist instead of all my music together

She's Nothing Like a Child - Tuvaband

She’s nothing like a child

Not driven by her will driven by the others and addictions

She’d like to seem like she’s flawless and free

when she’s in captivity

Calpol - Cavetown

You're staring at your shoes again

It won't be long til these have holes in them too

From dragging your heels when

Your knees are too weak to elevate your thoughts

Why Are all the Dy'squiths Dying (reprise) - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

The family tree's been whittled down to size

(It's just a twig now!)

There's almost no one left to eulogize

(Except for you, dear)

Let us pray no other D'ysquith dies!

When We Met - Flatsound

I'm sorry for the time you spent waiting

For something that I knew I couldn't do

Watch me bury my secrets in a hole

Designed for me to fall into

The Song They Play Every Night - Little Green Cars

And every step I took

To take me further from the source

Just brought me closer, inward

And more lost than before

Don’t make me say it out loud anymore

Poison - Cavetown

Don't be afraid

I'm not insane just irrational

but isn't that the same?

Atlas: Two - Sleeping At Last

I just want to build you up

build you up until you're good as new

and maybe some day I'll get around to fixing myself too

If You're Thinking of Leaving, You Should - Social Repose

Hey there darling

You'll blink your life away

And he'll be waiting here wishing you had stayed

But if you stay here fearing the unknown

You'll regret not being alone

Travel far away, see the world and say

"Yes this is where I'd like to be"

Bird Song - Wailin' Jennys

I smell the flowers blooming, opening for spring

I’d like to be those flowers, open to everything

Blueprint - Shane Koyczan (I'm going to put a few quotes because I can't decide. He has such a way with words-I had like 10 quotes chosen from this song but narrowed it down to 3 because I'd nearly typed out the whole poem)

I want a week spent in silence so the next time we speak others will be ready to hear what we have to say

and the following day will not be so comprised of moments of silence but 24 hours of noise

noise for the toys we as children never wanted to let go

because we were raised in a world that told us to grow up

so we grew

growing up to know that noise is not enough

There will be times when noise is not enough and you must stand

so stand as if you believe the beliefs you believe in are worth standing for

as if every closed door is begging to be opened up

and each beggars cup is filled with the spare change need to change the minds of those who would have us think love is a missing link that we somewhere along the way misplaced

our life lines are traced by those not yet old enough to hold pencils

and there are no stencils for any alphabet that can be arranged to explain or articulate how we feel

because we feel so much more than we could ever voice because every choice we make takes us further from our fathers

Your blood will be the crazy glue that keeps you together on the eventual day that you must stand alone

so stand and make mountains jealous of how much you've grown

Tagging: @areallyshychopshop @vampire-meta-knight @gilbert-theloli-nightray @fyeahvanitasnocarte

#tag

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coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe · 2 years

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Superheroes with Secrets: Altar of Sin (Fic part 135) (Set in 2001)

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places.

please inform me if you wish to be tagged/untagged from posts.

Tags: @piratewithvigor

‘Giantess’ Kirby Roussimoff x Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms (Circa 2001)

Reference Posts: Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms

Kirby ‘The Blacklight Bandit’ Roussimoff

"Kirby, I'm not mad or offended. I'm sure the Hardys won't be either. The hotel will be fine. But you don't mind if we stay just one night so we don't have to pay the last minute rates, right?"

"Yeah, stay today, need you here today." She murmurs, burying her head in Show's chest.

"Need me? What's going on, what happened?"

"The tape dad left in the attic has my emotions all weird, one moment I'm glad I had him as my dad, the next I'm so, so sad that he's gone."

"You can feel both ways, K. You miss him, it's only natural."

"I'm not used to feeling so many emotions at the same time. I haven't even eaten anything since this morning." She murmurs, her mind going a mile a minute.

"That's hormones for you. You gotta calm down a bit."

"I know, I'm trying."

"Don't try. Just take some deep breaths. On my count, okay?"

"Okay."

Show takes a deep breath in, holds it for a few seconds, then lets it out. Kirby follows his lead, taking slow, deep breaths.

"There we go. Feel better?"

Kirby nods, "yeah, a little better."

"Good. Now, you're gonna need some food when you wake up, we'll get something easy ready for you. For now, I want you to rest... and dream of large women."

"Did ... did you seriously just quote the Princess Bride?"

"Yup. Proud of me?"

"Ya know what, yeah, I am."

"Thank you. But seriously, get some rest. I want my niece or nephew to be healthy."

"Never know, ya might get lucky and have both." She jokes as she walks back to the bed.

"For your and Helms' sake, I hope it's just one to start with."

"Good point, love you big brother." She murmurs, settling down on the bed.

"I love you too, Kirby."

Kirby makes a small happy noise, trying to find a good position to sleep in. It's about two hours later when Show tells Helms to wake Kirby up. He sneaks into the room softly and crawls into bed beside Kirby, practically burrowing like a mole. Kirby makes a couple small noises in response.

"Hi." He whispers.

Kirby wipes the sleep from her eyes, blinking a couple times as she wakes up.

"Love you."

"Hey sexy husband." Kirby murmurs as she kisses his forehead softly.

"Hey sexy wife."

"First time you've called me that."

"Is it? I gotta do it more often."

"Yeah, you usually just call me 'sweetheart'."

"You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't mind, a little variety would be nice once in a while, but I don't mind it."

"I'll try my best."

"Thank you... mon mari, I have these two lines of a poem or song stuck in my head. I've been planning on writing a poem or song for a while but I can't get past these two opening lines." She murmurs.

"Care to share?"

"Uhm, I just realised how sexual this may sound, but, 'I kneel at your altar of sin, and pray you'll let me kiss your skin. For, without you, there would be nothing of me but a soul drenched in tragedy'."

"You going through something I don't know about?" He chuckles lightly.

"I was thinking about you when the first line came to my head, after all 'I kneel at your altar of sin' is my polite twist on 'I kneel before your crotch'." She admits sheepishly.

"Definitely a polite way of saying it."

"Yeah, I didn't want to explicitly say 'I kneel before my naked husband and know that he's gonna let me suck his dick'." She chuckles.

"I don't think anyone would stop you."

"Also, don't start referring to your crotch as 'the altar of sin' or I'm never letting you out of the house."

"Understood."

"Mainly because if you do that I will actually tie you to the bed and fuck you for like a day straight." She whispers, mostly to herself.

"That's not much of a punishment."

"Didn't say I was gonna punish you." She purrs in his ear.

"It's not much of a deterrent to keep from calling my crotch an altar of sin."

"I will plant my ass on your altar of sin any chance I'm given, mon sauvage, just tell me what you want and I'll do as you demand."

"Maybe not now. I was sent to get you."

"Damn it, can't I just fuck my husband non-stop." She murmurs.

"Not when food is fooding."

The sounds of Matt and Jeff practicing their moves on each other downstairs catches Kirby's attention, "Shane, can you drag the boys outside so neither of them risks accidentally running into or punching me when I go downstairs?"

He goes into protective dad mode immediately. "Alright, boys, you heard Mom. Take it outside with your nonsense."

"Oh mon Dieu, don't call me 'Mom' until I'll given birth, or after for that matter, just, 'Mama' is fine, 'Mom' makes me feel like an old woman."

"Then Mama it'll be." He says gently before turning back to the Hardys. "I told you fuckheads to take it outside so you don't hit Mama."

Matt and Jeff reluctantly walk outside to continue their 'play' fighting, letting Kirby walk over to Show with Helms close behind her.

"Hope that was good parenting on my end."

"I think it was good practice at the very least, baby daddy."

"Practice is all I'm going for."

"Mon ange, weird question, but can I sit on your lap?"

"Sure."

Kirby kisses Helms gently as she sits on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck for stability, "I love you so much, Hurricane."

"I love you too, Bandit."

Show shakes his head a little as he slides over a bowl of salad, "eat, little sister, don't just kiss your husband for an hour straight."

"Fine." She sighs.

"I protest the phrasing, but I agree you need to eat. Baby's growing and you both need it."

Kirby gives Helms one last kiss before she gets off his lap to eat.

"Love you, my wife."

"Love you too, mon mari."

Kirby continues eating, aware that both Helms and Show are watching her. Show out of concern and Helms out of love.

"I feel like I'm being examined." She murmurs as she finishes her salad.

"If I were examining you, you'd be naked." Helms chuckles.

"You wanna take me upstairs and examine me, Hurricane?" She jokingly teases.

"You know me and my great scientific mind"

Kirby smirks, stifling a laugh as she pulls Helms into a gentle kiss, "you really wanna see me naked, Shane?"

"If I ever don't, assume I'm a clone and take me out."

"Noted, mon mari, you know... I gave you some 'lip service' earlier, would be nice if you returned the favour." She whispers as she kisses him gently.

"Planning on it"

Kirby leads Helms back to their bedroom, pushing him against the wall and kissing him deeply. He kisses her back hard. Kirby pulls away to get undressed before guiding his hands to her chest and pulling Helms into another heated kiss. He's groping her intently, his hands roaming happily.

"I like it when you get all touchy-feely, mon mari, reminds me that you don't care how I look." She whispers against his lips.

"I like touching you. I just also like getting consent when it's more than a butt tap."

"You always have my consent, Shane, I would never turn down a chance to make love to you."

"I know, but better safe than sorry."

"True," She nods, pressing her forehead against his, "so, my superhero, do you wanna make love or do you wanna talk to your baby?" She asks gently.

"I'd ask if I could do both, but it might be weird."

"Well, what do you want to do first?"

"Make love first. You always get first dibs over me."

"Oh really, I always get first dibs, huh?" She jokingly teases.

"I'm a husband first and a father second."

"Well, it's more like husband first, co-worker second and father third."

"Work comes third. If it's a question of my kids or my job, they take precedence."

"Thank you for correcting me on that, Shane, now can you tie me to the bed and make me scream your name, mon amour."

"Absolutely. Now lie down."

Kirby does as he says, laying down on the bed and spreading her legs a little. Helms quickly fetches the handcuffs from her bag and attaches her to the headboard.

"Shaney baby, I have another strange question for you, do you think it's ironic that for someone so emotionally cold at work, I have a heart tattooed as part of a sleeve?"

"No more ironic than it is for the Rock to have a bull."

"It's a bit weird to think about Dewey as The Rock, mainly because most of his catchphrases are things he's heard other people in the family say."

"I'm not surprised about that."

"Like he uses the word 'Jabroni' which is something Uncle Sheiky did in the eighties."

"I knew no one genuinely said that in Two-thousand-and-one."

"Yeah, Dewey's been taking pages out of our 'uncles' promo books, except for 'poontang pie', that one is entirely his creation."

"Well, at least Kane likes the poontang pie."

"Yeah, thought you liked it too, mon amour." She teases.

"I like your poontang pie."

"I'm pretty sure there's a can of whipped cream in the fridge, if you wanna get especially freaky."

"And I would if I didn't remember the horror stories of what happens when sugar gets into the pie, so to speak. Maybe for your tits though."

"Just giving you ideas, my love, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"More like what you might not want me to do. Do you know what happens when sugar gets in the pie?"

"I have no idea, Shane."

"Unsexy things. The most unsexy things."

"Okay, let's not focus on that, Hon, instead let's focus on making sweet loving, alright?"

"Yes please."

"So, Shaney baby, my sexy baby daddy, would you like to taste me?" She teases.

"Thought you'd never ask."

"Shane, can I make a request?"

"Absolutely"

"Eat me out, but don't make me cum, I wanna feel your dick inside me when I cum." She whispers.

"You want me to edge you?"

"Just for a minute or two, just so I can cum at the same time as you." She explains.

"That, I can do."

"Thank you, mon mari."

He scooches down and grasps her thighs as he begins licking. Kirby moans in response, her head falling back against the pillows. He's grinning in between her thighs, licking with gusto.

"Oh mon Dieu." Kirby murmurs through moans of pleasure

"Feeling close?"

"Oui, mon sauvage."

He backs away and licks his lips quickly.

"Do I taste good, mon mari?" She questions teasingly.

"Absolutely delicious"

"Really?"

"To me, you do."

"Shaney baby, I have a weird question for ya."

"Shoot"

"If you had to describe me to someone, like Shannon, before they met me, how would you describe me?"

"The greatest woman I've ever known."

Kirby blushes a deep red, "really?"

"Without a shadow of a doubt."

"Lemme kiss you, mon mari, please."

"I'll never deny you that." He chuckles, bending down to kiss her.

Kirby kisses Helms gently, tugging on the cuffs and sighing in defeat.

"Did you want me to untie you?"

"I would like to hold you close, my love." She nods.

He nods and unlocks the cuffs swiftly. Kirby wraps her arms around his waist, holding his body against hers as she kisses him deeply.

"Feel better?" He chuckles.

"Don't make fun of me for wanting to be close to you." She murmurs.

"Not making fun, my love. Just cute seeing you cuddly like that."

"You really think I'm cute, Shane?"

"I really do"

"Never thought a giant could be considered cute."

"You're more than just a giant, my love. A woman can be cute. A wrestler can be cute. My wife is definitely cute. You're all those things too."

#Kirby Roussimoff #Shane Hurricane Helms #Blacklight Bandit #Orange and green - the perfect team #Superheroes with Secrets

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mysticwiki · 6 years

Text

Poetry commissions!

I know I already have another commission post floating around, but I wanted to make a new one that has a few more things added in that my previous one doesn’t have.

As of May 20th, 2018, I will be a college undergrad graduate, which is going to open up a lot of free time for me this summer before I start grad school in the Fall! Besides working part time (until I quit my job before grad school starts up) and saving money, I figured I would also re-open my poetry commissions to make a few more extra dollars for myself + expand on my already big collection of original poetry.

So here’s the run down!

Commission Prices:

3-stanza poem: $6 USD

4-stanza poem: $7 USD

5-stanza poem: $8 USD

6-stanza poem: $9 USD

7-stanza poem: $10 USD

8-stanza poem: $11 USD

more than 8 stanzas: we can work out a price.

A note on stanzas: my stanza lengths are a little inconsistent, but I would consider anything that is 3 lines or more a stanza within my poetry. If you commission me, I may add an extra line or two if I feel like the poem might need it, but it won’t necessarily count as a stanza and it won’t change the price either!

Example commissioned poems: [x] [x] [x] My Tumblr tag of all my writing: [x] My Wordpress with my writing: [x]

How to commission me:

First, send me an email at [email protected] and include something along the lines of “poetry commission” in the email subject. I’ll use our emails as a way to contact you back and forth about your poem’s status! The contents of the email should include a few important things such as:

your tumblr URL so I can message you and link/tag you when I post your poem on my blog and my Wordpress (if you change your URL after emailing me and before I finish your poem, please let me know!)

The length of your poem - just let me know how many stanzas you want your poem to be. And as mentioned above, if it’s more than 8 then indicate that here and again, we’ll work out a price before you send me the payment!

The subject of your poem - it can be anything! whether it’s related to your favorite author or book, your OC’s, a particular feeling or mood, romance and friendship, or even something fandom related. You can be super specific about what I should write or just include a general subject. For example you can tell me to write about a mage’s journey or something and have it take place in a Very Specific fantasy land. Either way I’ll be excited to write about it no matter what it’s about!

How you want your poem to be formatted - I typically post my poetry in text or quote posts, but please let me know if you want it as a text post, a quote, or even picture format! I will still include your URL regardless of structure when I post it.

Second, please wait for me to reply to your email before going through with any payments and the like. As much as I love writing, sometimes there are other things like work, school, and family obligations that keep me busy, but I’ll try my best not to miss any emails sent. I’d rather we communicate first before you pay!

Third, after communicating with me, send me your payment to my PayPal. I will write your poem after payments are made.

The fourth and last step is: please be patient and wait for me to post your poem! I will email you your poem first before posting it on tumblr and wordpress and if you would like me to change or add anything, let me know! I will mention you in the post, tag your URL, and email/tumblr message you to let you know that your poem is ready.

A note on the commissioned poems: though it will be a poem for you, I would still really appreciate credit if you happen to share or post it somewhere! My name will be on all of these poems since they are written by me and will also, for the most part, be added into my creative portfolio for my own purposes (whether it’s personal or professional since publication is a thing I might wanna do but I dunno yet shhhh)

if you do have any questions please let me know!! you can either tumblr message me about anything or email me, anything is fine!! thank you in advance if you do commission me, it would mean so much to me and i really appreciate it! I also have a Ko-fi page you can donate to if you would like. Thank you again! ♡

#mari speaks #maria writes #commissions #poetry commissions #writers of tumblr #poetry #signal boost maybe?;;#free style poetry #ko-fi

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