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I’m obsessed with her

No, not her, the one with the tan skin from all those years ago

Not her, the stranger with the cargo jeans

I’m obsessed with her

the girl in my mind

she’s made of nothing but stars

drawn into constellations by my neurons

desperately trying to form an image

of a reality where i am loved

she is beautiful, this girl in my mind

her eyes contain worlds

and her soft hands never stop touching me

she is witty, and she thinks I am too

together we laugh until every last drop of air has squeezed out of our lungs

she traces my edges and says

“perfection”

and how quickly she melts me

but she, too, melts

into the black of my room

where i know any love for me

is universes away

#an original :) #if i don’t post it nobody will see it and i kinda wanna share #bc i’m a little proud of this one #poetry #poems

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If anyone from 2016 could hear thanK you aIMee they would die right there on the spot

#taylor swift #ttpd #the tortured poets department #miss swift did not HESITATE #well she did… about eight years #but still. goddamn.

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Initial TTPD listening thoughts

I think i hyped this one up too much in my head. Frankly, i’m feeling conflicted. This post is an attempt to explain why. Here’s an itemized list, starting with the negative.

1. The writing. Obviously, Taylor’s talented with a pen. She can create a song in her sleep. This album simply felt like it lacked the special something that makes her music exceptional. The repetitive choruses, self-indulgently haughty word choices, and excess of contemporary references and name drops take away from the message of the song entirely. When fans decided that TTPD was going to be “a breakup album”, I didn’t know that meant it would linger so heavily on the same few sentiments about Joe. We get it Taylor, he cheated. You wanted to marry him and end up feeling exploited. You said that already… Most tracks left me thinking that the writing was pretty, but not good. I think of the simplicity of “Red”, how something like color can make for a clean, impactful metaphor in two lines. This was the opposite- so many words, so little substance.

2. The “vibe” (notice im not saying production, because i don’t claim to know shit about how music gets made): Jack. babe. what are we doing? A lot of TTPD felt like the same song over… and over… over… just like how I made this point already. There was also no sonic balance, each track blended into the next and I wouldn’t have noticed songs changing if it weren’t for Taylor singing the song titles many times each.

3. THE TRACK FIVE: WHY WOULD YOU PUT THE WEAKEST SONG IN THIS COVETED POSITION??? WHY??? SO LONG LONDON WAS BORING, AND IM NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT!

4. “diaristic” or “unrefined”? - all of Taylor’s previous 10 eras have felt like they were nicely polished before release. This time, the filter was gone, and many of the tracks gave the impression of being frantically scratched on an envelope in the early hours. I can understand how this feeds into the Taylor Swift brand of connecting personally to fans, allowing us the impression of friendship with her. However, for me, it read as careless, and actually decreased the album’s relatability. Hyper specific descriptions of her own breakup experience were not enjoyable to listen to, nor did they serve to advance any overarching narratives in the album.

Now, none of what I said applied to every track. I have some positive things to say as well!

1. My favorite tracks: who’s afraid, but daddy I love him, the smallest man, and clara bow

2. I loved the album’s examination of fame and Taylor Swift as a spectacle. TTPD shined when it wasn’t just being “a breakup album”, because it’s clear that this time in Tay’s life was so much more than the end of a long term relationship. The start of the Eras tour saw Taylor on top of the world, subject to all the criticism that comes with it. I felt her pain, especially in the last section of Clara Bow. She’s part of a long history of famous women being treated as sources of entertainment instead of people.

3. Love love love the aesthetic of this era. Can’t wait to see how the lore is expanded in the Fortnight music video.

4. The Florence Welch feature was very well done. Their voices blended beautifully, and it was a nice median of their musical styles. As a former Floridian, the line “Florida’s a hell of a drug” made me collapse laughing.

So there we have it! A new era! Please don’t have my head for this post, but ofc feel free to disagree or share your own thoughts :)

* please note that these thoughts were written before the release of the Anthology *

#taylor swift #ttpd #the tortured poets department

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I’m so. I’m so emotional over how strong the bad kids are now. As soon as Kristen was in jeopardy they leaped on the chance to take the last stand, no questions asked, and they’re DESTROYING that test. I know it’s not that serious but as someone who had a horrible time getting through junior year, it’s a little healing to see characters work hard and get to reap the benefits. nobody can deny their experience and competency and i’m EATING THAT SHIT UP!!

#fantasy high #fhjy #dimension 20

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I wish I could get my shit together like brian murphy's dice left out in the moonlight by emily axford

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something about Brennan’s southern pastor voice for Bobby just SET ME OFF, i had to do a lap around the room like what in the louisiana racist was that

#dimension 20 #fhjy #fantasy high

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✨ Nat 1 ✨

#fhjy #fantasy high #dimension 20 #never seen murph so confident #loved this ep

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heaven, hell, or a secret third thing (vulture dimension)

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the fastest route to alcoholism is drinking every time Good Omens trends on tumblr

#good omens

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good work today, senators. see you next year 🔪

#ides of march #the ides of march #julius ceaser #ceaser #brutus

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adaine and fig helping gorgug with his barbarian classes means SO MUCH to me

rage is killing your dad with a spell named after your fury, rage is refusing to go to your first day of high school, rage is a teenage girl

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REVIEW: Babel by RF Kuang

A quick disclaimer before we start- this book impacted me very heavily, and because of those strong emotions I think I have to include some spoilers in this review to process what I felt in the book’s heaviest moments. You’ve been warned!

Robin Swift was taken from his homeland to become a scholar. Thanks to his powerful and mysterious guardian Richard Lovell, an 18 year old Robin becomes one of four new undergraduate students at the Royal Translation Institute, aka Babel. He meets his cohort- dazzling Ramiz Mirza, fierce Victoire Desgraves, and posh Letty Price. From there, an unbelievable, years-spanning epic of magic, academia, love and betrayal.

I’ll start by saying that I absolutely loved the magic system in Babel, because it’s so simple- words are power, just like they are in the real world. I think this works beautifully to illustrate Kuang’s main arguments about colonialism in the book, because it literalizes the way that empire depends heavily on those they exploit, even while proclaiming their colonies less than. I really appreciated the care that was taken to explore multiple schools of thought regarding the best way to fight oppression. None were explicitly “wrong” because both theories- Victoire and Anthony’s nonviolence and Griffin and Robin’s violence- were more than justified in the context of the book. Obviously, this mirrors real life. As someone who talks politics in leftist circles, I hear both ideas come up. Do we disobey quietly, lobby our politicians, and wait for slow incremental change? Or do we fight, scream, burn, demand to be seen as human? There’s no right answer, but I think the fictional environment of Babel is a good outlet to explore these questions, and Kaung does it expertly.

Ok, now that my academic, poli-sci major baggage has been laid out, I’m gonna get a bit sappy. This book WRECKED me. I cried. So. Much. In the style of a Shakespearean tragedy, just about every single character that you fall in love with through the first three hundred pages of this book will be taken away from you. (Spoiler time!) I want to write about Ramy’s death specifically. Just as Robin and Letty fall in love with him at the first hello, so did I. Ramy was a character that simply shone so brightly that it reached far off the page. Kind, passionate, brilliant. OF COURSE two of the three people around him were madly in love. Letty’s betrayal (especially Shakespearean) and her goddamn revolver took Ramy from us, and in the midst of my reading I felt like the world was ending. Even worse, the most emotional moments come dozens of pages later. Robin and Ramy clearly loved each other. It was perhaps unrealistic to believe that they could have a happily ever after in 1840, but I thought at least they would get to be honest with each other about how they felt. Instead, Robin is left alone to grieve, to wonder how Letty, who “loved him almost as Robin loved him”, could take away the person who defined his world. Kuang invokes Ramy’s name almost like prayer. Robin turns to it in his time of most need. It hurts, like, reaaaallly hurts. I’ll think of them every time i see a sunset now.

Last thoughts. This book is nothing if not a five star read. It’s somehow a love story, a dark academia fantasy, a Newsies-style tale of the underdog, and more. It’s a found family that could never last. I can safely say that it’s one of the best things I’ve ever read, despite how much pain it caused me. There’s so much more I could’ve said, but I’ll leave it here.

READ THIS BOOK!!

#babel #rf kuang #booklr #reviews #book reviews

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fig becoming a paladin for kristen. fig not being religious, but looking into the face of her friend and thinking i could know god for you.

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lofi sea shanty beats to study and relax to (studying at seacaster manor)(background ambiance)

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Riz Gugak: academic weapon. campaign manager. quiet presence at any club meeting you could possibly go to. runs on pure vibes (coffee) and is immune to stress. private investigator. certified hottie. a little bit (a lot) feral. will bite you.

absolutely no notes, perfect character

#fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #d20 #dimension 20 #riz gugak

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“Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.”

— Maya Angelou

#feeling this one today #quotes #poetry

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When I tell you that i cannot WAIT for fhjy ep7, I CANNOT WAIIITTT. this is gonna be the most roleplay that d20 has ever fucking roleplayed— personally i have already taken a stress token, perhaps i failed my academics roll

#d20 #dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #fantasy high #dropout