auroras and sad prose

sara. 26. she/her. multifandom mess.

[butterflypeaflowertea]

sometimes… it is healthier and more fun to enjoy media without immersing yourself in its fandom. like making judgments and analyzing + interpreting things without having your opinions be shaped by the general fandom consensus is so sexy, and being a fan of a character without ever posting about them and just silently enjoying them on your own can be so nice

[thebittervampire]

2016 - 2031

[guiltyfixations]

This one started as a screencap redraw and then this happened. 

[joypendants]

“‘History was better when I re-wrote it.’ Blade in hand, you wage a warpath, your mantra upon your tongue. You are war and ruin and death, agony braided about your bones, tears turned to blood on your cheeks. 'History was better when I re-wrote it.’ It is a hymn, a battle-song (it is a cry for help). It is a broken child screaming at the world, screaming at a deity who does not care, wings torn off and suffering turned to rage. You were never an angel; you were never a saint. 'History was better when I re-wrote it.' You swallow your suffering, and you re-write your story, carving it into your skin with a dull sword. You are not your suffering, you are not your pain, you are not your mother. You are stronger, stronger, stronger–– 'History was better when I re-wrote it.’ You never tell your story. You re-write your history, spin your own tale, and you take your anger (your hurt) out on the world. You suffered, and you will make the world suffer too: They did this to you, but you will give it back tenfold.”

— oh, child, this is no way to mourn. (CNS)

[perrfectly]

[luntfontanne]

siri do my pets know i’m cleaning out their eye boogs or do they think i just like poking them in the corneas for fun all the time

[dictionaryofobscuresorrows]

midding

v. intr. feeling the tranquil pleasure of being near a gathering but not quite in it—hovering on the perimeter of a campfire, chatting outside a party while others dance inside, resting your head in the backseat of a car listening to your friends chatting up front—feeling blissfully invisible yet still fully included, safe in the knowledge that everyone is together and everyone is okay, with all the thrill of being there without the burden of having to be.

[evermore-fashion]

Favourite Designs: Christian Dior Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear Collection

[poinsciuri]

i dont really… WANT… to leave tumblr. ive been here since 2011

[poinsciuri]

no other platform has the right format for me to just randomly barf actual thoughts, joaks, and genuine creative content all in the same breath. i dont know how to compartmentalize

[rabnerd28]

every other platform you gotta be a real person. Here you are you’re icon and username and whatever your hyperfixation is at the current moment

[aclashofqueens]

five heartbeats, she counts.

inspired by @markedmage‘s short and (bitter)sweet fic, “i count to five (and life passes by)”. originally for @zkfanworkweek back in november (but life happened oof).

[yourbigsisnissi]

A part of being an adult is living with regret and not allowing it to consume you. The older you get, the more mistakes you’ve made, opportunities you’ve missed, people you’ve disappointed. And every day you have to remind yourself to be kind and forgiving of yourself. You accept and love the you from the past and understand that it’s all a part of the process. Then you move on and live your best life, knowing now as old as you feel today, you’ll never be this young again.

[romanhollliday]

Still life of roses, tulips, carnations and other flowers in an urn on a stone ledge, with peaches and grapes Pieter Faes (Flemish, 1750–1814)

[harbingerofjoy]

me writing fictional couples: oh wow…. the tenderness, the devotion, the romance

me irl:

[velmasdinkleys]

thinking about how much more powerful Potential Breakup Song by Aly & AJ would have been if they were allowed to say “except for the fact it was my birthday, my fucking birthday”

[velmasdinkleys]

this post is from april 2019. you’re welcome.

[anorable]

two characters: have a sun/moon dichotomy going on

me: (wheezing, grappling for breath) i am but a humble peddler, besotted by thy starlike metaphor,

[chinon]

i wish issues with daily hygiene due to mental illness were talked about more. i feel like it’s the elephant in the room when it comes to symptoms of debilitating disorders.

so i’m proud of everyone who brushed their teeth, washed their face, showered, and/or put on fresh underwear today. and it’s ok if you haven’t done all or any of those (i know i’ve only done the first two); i’m still so proud of you for managing and surviving another day. keep going you’re doin good.

[storybookprincess]

i see posts sometimes that say things like “wouldn’t it be cool if ao3 would recommend you fics similar to the one you just read?” or “wouldn’t it be cool if ao3 had a function similar to spotify wrapped that showed you your fic reading habits over the year?” etc. and while on one hand, yes, i can see how these functions might be neat & fun & helpful, i think the fact that ao3 *doesn’t* do any of these typical media website things is actually utterly spectacular

like, i enjoy looking at my spotify wrapped as much as the next person, but when you start to think about that, it is honestly pretty horrifying that spotify collects & stores all this data about its users & can produce it at a moment’s notice.  and netflix is not recommending you shows because it actually cares that you watch something you enjoy.  it’s recommending them because in the digital age, attention is money & every website is fighting for as much of yours as it can get.

the fact that a website hosting as much media as ao3 doesn’t try to analyze or predict or manipulate your content consumption in any way is truly an oasis in a landscape where user data is the most valuable commodity around.  ao3 gives all of the agency to its users & i don’t think we realize just how rare that is.  you go looking for the content you want.  you sort and filter based on your preferences.  you subscribe to the story or author updates you’d like to see.  so on and so forth.  nothing is recommended for you.  no algorithm is trying to maximize the time you spend on the website.  you engage with it completely on your own terms.  and given the way most media websites choose to operate, that is nothing short of a miracle.

[dynazty-deactivated20220106]

I THINK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME

after watching “the social network” a couple of weeks ago (which i highly urge you to do!!) it got me thinking about how incredibly lucky we are to have ao3. part of why a lot of people don’t use wattpad is because it’s extremely hard to search and filter things that fit your exact preferences without sifting through piles of “recommended for you” works that don’t actually meet your interests. algorithms that recommend things to you (like on facebook, instagram, tumblr, pinterest, spotify, netflix, youtube, etc) are all collecting and harvesting hoards & hoards personal data just so they can sell it to advertisers and make a profit. that’s literally the only reason. 

it’s also lot harder to control what you consume on a social media that has a “recommended for you” function, and because of that you can end up reading/watching things that are inappropriate, triggering, or just plain uninteresting. the number one piece of advice that was given in “the social network” was to only consume media that you seek out, not media that is handed to you. of course, this is much easier said than done, but not with ao3!! 

ao3 is the pinnacle of purity when it comes to consuming media. it’s essentially an online version of a huge, never-ending library that has designated sections and filters so you can choose where exactly you want to browse, and that’s so so so awesome. there are no bloodthirsty advertisements, no evil algorithms, no “recommended for you” section. there’s only content.

and you know what we have in place of that all evil stuff? fandom blogs! fic reccers! moderated fandom fests! chat rooms! ao3 is not a social media, yet it has prompted me to socialize/interact with people via fandom more than instagram or facebook ever has — all because of the absence of an algorithm. in the age of technology, that’s a beautiful thing.

tl;dr: the volunteers who run ao3 are angels and they deserve our utmost gratitude. give your local volunteer a big sloppy kiss on the cheek — they deserve it. 

[sirladysketch]

This keeps popping up on my radar so I thought I’d add my two cents:

If you guys want fic recs based on stuff you’ve read, there are multiple ways you can get recs for fics of a similar nature! These include but are not limited to:

Leave a comment for the author, saying what you liked about the fic and asking if they know of other fics of a similar vibe. They might not have anything specific, they might not even answer you, but if you liked what they wrote, chances are you’ll like some of the same fics they likes, too. Dig through their bookmarks and see if they have recs and notes– I’ve found some gems this way!

Check out writing groups on Tumblr in the fandom you wanna read for. I know there used to be Dragon Age writing group, and authors I followed had fic rec posts where they had links to stories they enjoyed (and sometimes mentioned what they liked about them, too!)

Similarly, there may be Discord groups or Twitters for your fandom where people talk about writing, but, more importantly, have links to fic recs. I know of two Kingdom Hearts accounts in particular that are ship-specific and give you a brief description of what the fics are like.

Click on the tags in the fic, see what else surfaces. You never know what you’ll find!

Honestly, just asking other fans in the community it one of the best ways to find tailored fic recs, because I’ve had fandom friends dm at 4 in the morning saying “OMG I READ THIS FIC YOU NEED TO TOO.”

You wouldn’t scream that in a library though– there are other fandom spaces where you can and *should* do that.