𝔞ᖱ𝒆l𝔞𝔦ᖱ𝒆 💞

𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝔦𝒏𝒈, 𝓔𝒏𝔠𝒉𝒂𝒏𝔱𝒆𝒅, ⅋ 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝔪𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝔠𝒖𝒍𝔦𝒂𝒓 𝓕𝒂𝔱𝒆.

[laperlina]

Visit Original Link

#𝖑ap𝖊r𝖑ina ˖﹒ ita𝖑ian ⁑ the 𝖑itt𝖑𝖊 𝕻ear𝖑 🌈𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒🧚🏻‍♀️ an  origina𝖑  character  adapted  from  the  𝖑itt𝖑e  𝕸ermaid,   inspired  by  su perisi,   the  water  fairies  of  Turkic folkore,   horror ⅋ dark fantasy genres, ⅋ Goth𝔦c  𝖑iterature ˖﹒ 𝓔st. 2012. 𝒲ritten by 𝒜qssa ( she / her, 30+,  desi ).

𝓒ar𝖗d𓂃﹒˖ 🍬 𝓦𝔦k𝔦𓂃˖﹒🐇 𝒫rom𝖕ts𓂃﹒˖🦋 𝒫𝔦n𝔰𓂃﹒˖💞 𝓣un𝔢s𓂃﹒˖🌛 𝓐𝖗t𓂃﹒˖🩸

i'll tell you a tale . . . of the bottomless 𝕭lue, of a girl hatched from a pearl -- of polliwog pipe dreams, too. Of lusters that wither, of evils that bite . . . of rumors of things that go bump in the night.

🌈 ♡ 𝒒𝒖𝔦𝒄𝒌 b𝔦ts𓂃﹒˖

𝒊. i am primarily interested in building long-term partnerships, plots, and threads over casual, one-off ones. no timeline / limits, i am slower myself lately as i am juggling a lot of responsibilities. just mutual effort and understanding that we’re here to create something that lasts.

𝒊𝒊. this is a deeply lore-based original character and i highly prioritize plot-based threads / character dynamics. if you approach me asking for plots or a thread, at minimum, i expect that you have read the material (rules + basic stuff + interaction guide) on my carrd and have your own ideas. i always do this for my partners! i also have an info blog @pearlywog for deeper details that will allow for more guided plot discussions, meaningful interactions, and stronger dynamics.

𝒊𝒊𝒊. adella is not a mermaid or siren, but a kindred fey creature called a su perisi. they're mythical water fairies from turkic regions that i've built my own biology, origin story, magic system, etc. around. it all came from my brain. so don't be boring and lift any of it. i will notice.

𝒊𝒗. adella is a chaotic evil character, a villain, and this blog is rated r. frequent themes and motifs include horror, violence, and death. all mature content will be tagged as ' ____ tw '.

𝒗. i always try to interact ooc and ic as much as i can, but i'm way more than the person you see briefly online. please don't follow if you will make assumptions about me, my availability, energy levels, interest, or experiences on my dash without communication. 𝒗𝒊. while you're here, if you can, please consider donating to palestine.

[laperlina]

it's june so let's talk sexuality! Is there anything resembling amatonormativity in perisi culture? How did Adella come to realize her own sexuality an gender?

it's JULY now and i know i'm answering this late but it's just cuz i have to gather my thoughts on this bc there's sooooo much to say !! it's kinda complicated, and actually maps to a larger meta i'm working on called "love, sex, and other deepwater follies" so lemme see what i can best distill some important info from that.

first off, it's worth mentioning that perisi relationships are not limited to other perisi; their peri (sky-dwelling, winged fairy) ancestors often took on humans and supernatural peoples as lovers and spouses -- modern perisi also do this, though human lovers in particular are very rare as they are now considered social taboo.

it is also worth noting that perisi reproduce asexually, and their ideas of childbearing / rearing didn't form around this idea that a reproductive couple is the primary caregiver of a child. rather, alloparental care and cooperative breeding form the most crucial foundations around perisi family life.

so, for this and many, many other reasons i won't get into for the sake of time, their sexuality is not linked to expectations on parenthood, marriage, how their household "should" form, and so on.

perisi culture doesn't combine sex, romance, marriage, reproduction, and family into one expected relationship. its structure therefore is not amatonormative; a single romantic bond isn't inherently expected to progress to exclusivity, lifelong partnership, etc.

perisi primarily have sex for pleasure, to express play, affection, curiosity, and companionship, and never, of course, for reproduction. as highly sensory beings, they are especially responsive to scent, touch, and voice, although libido varies greatly. some perisi are highly sexual, others may choose celibacy, and so on, but a perisi's sexual appetites do not necessarily create for them to some type of moral rank or assumed social identity (i.e., celibate perisi aren't seen as less "valuable", highly sexual perisi aren't labeled as promiscuous and "risky", and so on). many human concepts around one's sexuality / sexual expression leading to a certain rank or assumption in society causes a lot of friction with their way of thinking.

a perisi may have causal lovers, recurring partners, multiple simultaneous sexual relationships, intense romances without sex, or lifelong bonds without the exclusivity. a perisi would more often than not find it very strange that sex would inherently come with an expectation of deep love, commitment, courtship, or exclusivity, or that an amatonormative culture would view their behavior as something 'cold' or 'unloving' or 'unloyal' or 'detached'.

now, this doesn't mean that lifelong pairbonding with another perisi or supernatural sea people (such as a siren, rusalkyi, etc.) is completely unheard of among them -- an individual perisi can come to this feeling of wanting to pairbond of their own accord. it is, however, not as common -- but just because it is not as common doesn't mean it's necessarily looked down upon.

romantic or sexual dalliances, let alone lifelong pairbonding, with humans, however, is now considered a great social taboo. but, it's worth mentioning that this type of relationship was observed quite often during the times when perisi once mingled more openly with humans and surface-dwelling supernatural peoples (e.g., dryads, wizards and sorcerers, other fey, etc.). in those times, many thousands of years ago, many perisi-human pairbonds even lead to fey children being co-raised by their human partners (this practice died out over several generations … but i'll get to that in the meta).

in many ways, you can closely compare to nymphs and how they form attachments (i.e., they're long-lived beings that are capable of sincerely loving mortal beings while remaining fundamentally attached to another environment or person or whole way of life). i've already talked so much so i don't think i can talk about how some this maps and/or contradicts to adella's relationship to her own sexual expression, among other things, but ... maybe in a part two or in the meta itself !!

[laperlina]

get to know your mutuals ! answer and tag six people you want to know better.

favorite color: gweem the best color in the WOOORLD last song: knew better / forever boy by ariane grande WHO I'M SEEING LIVE IN 9 HRS BTWWWWW currently reading: my husband got me a fairy lore book for my birthday that i'm piecing through for adella research :3 currently watching:  desi bling (LMFAO) w my husband and it's all bullshit as i figured it was gonna be (we were rly into dubai bling at one point skmf), battlestar galactica (just started by im already in love) (w my friends), and 3-part true crime documentary called paradise lost by myself !! currently craving: by default i am ALWAYS craving pomegranates to the point that it's an insane joke w my friends that at any point in time when i don't have pomegranates in my house i'm miserable ksdmf.

tagged by: @riftward ty jaani !!! <3 tagging: @parieur @eterknows @stvampyr @blotgydja @apotheocis @sitheac :D

[laperlina]

mini updaaaaate !! new icon and header :3

[proditeur]

"—you're not meant to be enjoying this." his tone is dry but a rush of amusement remains well-buried. gods above, he can't go allowing the princess to think he may be endeared. they have batted incessantly at one another like brawling cats but regulus wonders how how differently he might feel if marzanna were otherwise than she is.

docile. prim. mutable. a true shining pearl with a gentle surface and nary a sharp edge to be found. how quickly he would tuck such a thing away in some dusty trunk, abandoned with all manner of other things entirely useless to him.

sharp. capricious. combatant. these things he can work with.

"you need an excuse for new slippers?" if he were a kinder and more generous man he'd gift her a hundred of them himself — but he hasn't quite unlocked the need to dote upon her just yet; and wonders if it might not be more wise and thrilling to keep her always wanting. "this has nothing to do with kindness—" regulus swats her hand away, "and as a show of bad faith, i insist that we move at the same time. because i don't think you can be trusted. and if you remove your muddied slippers before our guardians see them, and you leave me sopping wet like an arse on my own, i promise you'll regret it — my dearest marzanna."

[laperlina]

❝ I am not meant to be many things. ❞ Sharp, capricious, combatant, for example, since it is well-understood that the Men up here don't like a lot of blabber, and would rather much prefer for ladies not to say a word. ❝ Yet here I am, happy that you are unhappy. ❞

Marzanna spins the toothpick stem of her parasol between her fingers, reaping what remaining pleasure can be reaped from the look of him so grim and mean -- the fruit of his scowl, and other such things -- before it inevitably surrenders to a more bloodless (though some would say cordial) form once they are returned to the estate. One of the few great privileges of having known a boy since childhood is that you are privy to all his private, instinct expressions -- the kinds he ought never to make in front of a respectable family, or kings of the entire seas. What secrets could he possibly have left to keep from her? She wonders, while examining her glove as though his swatting had defiled forever its wondrous silk.

❝ Oh, I was so hoping it would be a one-after-the-other sort of thing, in the end. You know, like Romeo and Juliet, ❞ she says with an utterly unambitious monotone, never once looking up from the fabric she keeps pinching. ❝ But since I find your threats incredibly scary, you will have it your way. ❞ Here, she grins all to herself, freeing her picky fingers to instead gather up the hem of her dress, and warn her naked ankles of their upcoming misfortune. They stand now along the lip of the fountain, where the wet, stonework figure of Leucothea and her court of maidservants and swans loom over them expectantly. ❝ Count of three? ❞

[punk-sharkz-zero]

guy who says "FUCK!" to every minor inconvenience x guy who says "oopsie daisies" to earth shattering catastrophes

[zachrp]

ᝰ🚬 𝚉𝙰𝙲𝙷𝚁𝙿 .ᐟ RANDOM SUGGESTIVE DIALOGUE + ACTION PROMPTS. CHANGE ANY PRONOUNS IF NECESSARY. SOME MATURE THEMES MAY BE PRESENT. SEND "REVERSE" TO SWITCH THE ROLES OF SENDER AND RECEIVER.

DIALOGUE

come here, i just want you closer.

don't rush. i want to feel this.

you feel so good inside me.

i've been thinking about this all day.

tell me what you want.

you drive me absolutely insane.

i love it when you look at me like that.

don't stop, please.

i need you right here.

you're doing that on purpose, aren't you?

i can't stop touching you.

you feel perfect like this.

stay with me tonight.

i want all of you.

you make it hard to think straight.

look at me. keep your eyes on me.

i love the sounds you make.

you're being dangerous right now.

i missed you.. missed this part of you, too.

let me take my time with you.

you're warm. you're real.

i don't want this to end yet.

come closer. closer than that.

you feel like home.

don't tease me unless you mean it.

i like it when you lose control like this.

you're everything i want right now.

you're breathtaking when you're like this.

stay still, let me.

i love how responsive you are.

you're making this very difficult for me.

you don't know what you do to me.

say my name again.

can i come inside? please..

you feel even better than i imagined.

i want to hear you.

you're intoxicating.

i could touch you forever.

don't hide from me.

you're mine tonight.

you look incredible like this.

i love being this close to you.

you're shaking, i've got you.

you taste amazing.

i want you exactly like this.

i'm not letting you go yet.

you're taking me so well.

tell me if this feels good.

i love how soft you are.

breathe, you're doing so well.

i can feel your heartbeat.

i want to make you melt.

you're so beautiful it hurts.

stay right there.

i love when you get needy.

you don't have to be quiet with me.

you feel incredible under my hands.

i've wanted this longer than i'll admit.

you're all i can think about.

i want to savor you.

let me show you how much i want you.

you're making me weak.

i love being tangled up with you.

don't pull away.

i could get addicted to this.

you feel even better pressed against me.

you're driving me absolutely feral.

stay. just like that.

i love how you react to me.

i want to make you feel good.

you're mine in this moment.

you feel so right.

let me kiss you again.

you're intoxicating this close.

i love your hands on me.

you're impossible to resist.

don't stop touching me.

i love when you pull me closer.

you make me feel wanted.

i could stay like this forever.

you're everything i need right now.

i want to hear you come.

you're so warm.

let me take care of you.

i love when you relax into me.

you feel incredible against me.

i'm not done with you yet.

you're making this very tempting.

open up for me..

you're perfect right here.

i want you to remember this.

you're all mine tonight.

i love when you lean into me.

you make me ache.

don't hold back with me.

you feel amazing when you're like this.

i want to feel every part of you.

you're driving me crazy.

i love how close we are.

i don't want to stop touching you.

you're exactly where you belong.

let me feel you breathe.

you're making me lose focus.

stay with me a little longer.

you're everything i want right now.

i want you slow.

you feel incredible wrapped around me.

you're so responsive.

don't rush this.

i love when you look at me like that.

you make this feel so easy.

i want you close when you fall asleep.

you're intoxicating like this.

i love your warmth.

stay right here with me.

you make me feel wanted.

i want you to feel how much i want you.

don't go yet.

you're making me want more.

i love being like this with you.

you're everything in this moment.

let me hold you.

you feel so good against me.

i want to remember this.

you're breathtaking this close.

stay tangled up with me.

i love how you fit with me.

you're making me soft.

i want to stay right here.

don't stop touching me like that.

you're incredible.

i love how needy you get.

you feel perfect right now.

let me keep you here.

you're everything i want.

i want to make this last.

you're making me melt.

stay close.

i love your closeness.

you're intoxicating.

don't move.

i want you exactly like this.

you make me feel alive.

i love being wrapped up with you.

you're so easy to love like this.

you're everything to me right now.

i don't want to rush this moment.

you feel so right.

i want to fall asleep like this.

you're mine tonight.

ACTIONS

( fingers ) : for SENDER to lace their fingers with RECEIVER'S.

( lean ) : for SENDER to lean in until their breaths mingle.

( trail ) : for SENDER to trail their fingertips along RECEIVER'S arm.

( slow ) : for SENDER to press a slow kiss to RECEIVER'S mouth.

( waist ) : for SENDER to pull RECEIVER closer by the waist.

( body ) : for SENDER to press their body against RECEIVER'S.

( neck ) : for SENDER to nuzzle into RECEIVER'S neck.

( murmur ) : for SENDER to murmur softly against RECEIVER'S skin.

( cradle ) : for SENDER to cradle RECEIVER'S face in their hands.

( linger ) : for SENDER to linger close without speaking.

( back ) : for SENDER to stroke RECEIVER'S back slowly.

( firmly ) : for SENDER to hold RECEIVER'S firmly in their arms.

( guide ) : for SENDER to guide RECEIVER'S to their lap by the hips.

( forehead ) : for SENDER to rest their forehead against RECEIVER'S.

( sigh ) : for SENDER to sigh softly against RECEIVER'S mouth.

( cup ) : for SENDER to cup RECEIVER'S cheek gently.

( jaw ) : for SENDER to trail kisses along RECEIVER'S jawline.

( arms ) : for SENDER to wrap their arms around RECEIVER.

( tug ) : for SENDER to tug RECEIVER closer by their clothing.

( temple ) : for SENDER to press a kiss to RECEIVER'S temple.

( skin ) : for SENDER to linger with their lips against RECEIVER'S skin.

( chest ) : for SENDER to hold RECEIVER close against their chest.

( thumb ) : for SENDER to brush their thumb over RECEIVER'S lips.

( deep ) : for SENDER to kiss RECEIVER slowly and deeply.

( nudge ) : for SENDER to nudge RECEIVER closer with their knee.

( curl ) : for SENDER to curl around RECEIVER protectively.

( rest ) : for SENDER to rest their hand at RECEIVER'S lower back.

( lap ) : for SENDER to pull RECEIVER into their lap.

( collar ) : for SENDER to kiss along RECEIVER'S collarbone.

( hips ) : for SENDER to hold RECEIVER'S hips firmly.

( hair ) : for SENDER to brush hair away from RECEIVER'S face.

( press ) : for SENDER to press slow kisses along RECEIVER'S neck.

( nuzzle ) : for SENDER to nuzzle closer, seeking warmth.

( stroke ) : for SENDER to stroke RECEIVER'S thigh absently.

( still ) : for SENDER to hold RECEIVER still beneath their hands.

( kiss ) : for SENDER to kiss RECEIVER'S until they both breathless.

( trace ) : for SENDER to trace small circles on RECEIVER'S skin.

( heart ) : for SENDER to rest their hand over RECEIVER'S heart.

( brush ) : for SENDER to brush their nose against RECEIVER'S.

( wrap ) : for SENDER to wrap their legs around RECEIVER.

( hold ) : for SENDER to hold RECEIVER after climaxing.

( savor ) : for SENDER to kiss RECEIVER slowly, savoring it.

( cuddle ) : for SENDER to pull RECEIVER into a tight cuddle.

( cheek ) : for SENDER to rest their cheek against RECEIVER'S shoulder.

( pull ) : for SENDER to pull RECEIVER closer until there's no space left.

[laperlina]

goshhhhhh ... being a princess is so exhaustinnnnng ...

i was sitting on this drawing of miss perlina for couple wks i think realizing i never posted it JDFGMKDG. but have been forcing myself to "finish" drawings a bit more. and as we know i luuuuuv color so i actually had lots of fun !!! i hope you like it :'}

[laperlina]

hi ILY <3

ME EXPERIENCING LIFE NOW THAT VIA'S BACK

[laperlina]

hello everyone ~~ i have a BIG announcement !!

i've compleeeeeetely overhauled my carrd. it's why i've been kinda quiet these last couple days !! whether you're new here or been here since the beginning, pls pls pls review when you can ~ ~ cuz it's got:

new graphics, new layout, new colors, everything !! to suit my whole y2k, old barbie websites, lisa franky, fairytale acid trip @ sea aesthetic thing i got going on.

every page rewritten !!! rules, adella's dossier (which now includes a sparknotes ver. of all her magical abilities), story / cosmology (+ sparknotes version for that too), verses (with links to pin boards + playlists). i also fully rewrote her interaction guide to be more comprehensive, and clear, and full of ideas to make plotting / ideas go way faster (and also so i don't have to keep repeating basic information skdms) !!! there's a cheat sheet with settings and plot hook idea for main verse AND modern verse. plssssssss read this last one especially once you get the chance, especially if we don't have a plot already going.

most importantly, it features as its header img a BEAAAAAAAAAAUTIFUL commission of adella -- my first ever one !! -- that my dear friend hien @sluaghter got me for my birthday !! i'll post the full when the final details are done ... but i can't tell you enough how happy it makes me looking at a character i've had for 14 yrs come to life in this way. hien is truly an angel. ; o ;

come play around !! here's a sneak peek:

+ special shoutout tooooo @heliosphage for reading and vetting every single page and catching the tiniest typos @koschyei for dealing with my yapping as always @queenrumi who thought, when i was asking her to check my carrd, thought that i meant for her to give me her CREDIT CARD INFORMATION ??? and she asked 0 questions and started scrambling to get it for me ??? (true ride or die sdkm) and @jimseung. <3

[koschyei]

if we were both frogs would you sit on a lilypad with me. be honest.

where all somnolent incense and enchanted guslis might fail him, adella's regaling becomes the only sound that can hope to silence the tsar's mind. her voice turns his world and all its worrying to the gauzy softness of watercolors, lulling him to finally rest his eyes. still, she engages him enough that he remains with her in spirit — to a degree — interjecting when silence or a sigh cues from him a hum or grumble to urge her on. a long quiet comes, and one might assume adella had tired herself out too, but by koschei's tracking of the hour, it seemed about time her thoughts turn to the preposterous. in a timbre that's throaty and low from disuse, koschei answers her question honestly, if not a bit too plainly: ❛❛ i would not. ❜❜

though the hairs at his nape hackle, intuiting a threat to his safety, a smile edges from the corner of his mouth and his eye opens casually to meet hers. as suspected, those spider-legged jewels were blinking furiously at him, while his remain only curious to see what she will do. of course, she turns from him, whether to leave the downy padding of his bed forever or reach for something to murder him with, he would never come to know; he snatches her back into his arms before she gets too far. molds himself seamlessly against her tensed shoulders, until she accepts him as she would a tethered shadow or the folded wings missing from her back.

❛❛ be reasonable, adelinka, ❜❜ koschei soothes, ❛❛ you know i would have to be a toad. and given the average size of a lilypad, i would sink us both. ❜❜ resting his chin atop her head, koschei falls deathly still, pondering this and other such what-ifs only to come to echoes of the same conclusion. ❛❛ better to let you sunbathe and wait for you by the marsh's edge, i think. ❜❜

[laperlina]

𝓐𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂, 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘. Some in the sky are made up of candy ( that's what sea children say ) and some are just jewels that were loosed from the skirt of the Moon. What she hopes for in the searching is to land upon a rarer star, a wishing star, and beg for it the mercy of spiriting her far away from here -- Belovodye, perhaps, Sarzameen-e-Pariyaan -- escaped from the Tsar forever. Strange to rely on such impossible chances. Stranger still that her heart can change its tune so quickly, when it was beating to the rhythm of Koschei's humming and muttering just moments ago. When he urged her on, it was a spell to tether her here. When the backs of his fingers grazed idly the pearls of her bell sleeve, sometimes adrift along the saltburn of skin beneath, she felt herself bruised, in a deep and heavy way, and wondered how she might reward the trespassing while keeping her pride intact. And when she focused too longly on the shades of his voice, as no perisi ought to do, and found that that too was a handsome thing, she felt her blood hatch into a swarm of nervous, fairy wings -- some nothing, vestigial behavior, she thinks stubbornly, from the time when dragons were the only guardians of the world.

No sign of that anymore. The Adella kept in this cage can neither bear the sight of him, nor the knowledge that he remains among the living. Koschei is too smart to not know that princesses are above kings, the fey far greater than liches, and their appetites for affection and mischief require constant indulgence -- lest they starve to death, and want to kill you.

❝ Be reasonable, Adelinka, ❞ she mocks; the last few cries of a canaryfish wriggling in its net. ❝ Not unless you cobble together a piece of intelligence. Alatyr -- let me go -- Alatyr taught you nothing about the properties of magical buoyancy. Or it did, but you were too occupied with filling your ears with dandelion seeds and worms to listen. As you so often do. ❞

She kicks her feet, though it achieves nothing. ❝ And, it is not in your character to wait by the marsh's edge. I know that you would hop your way to the edge of the world instead, where there is no such thing as falcons, beautiful women, or intimacy of any kind. ❞ And the pot calls the kettle a mean and heartless toad, and the dish ran away with a spoon. Something like this. Koschei, astoundingly, only moves to cork her babbling by pressing his cheek to her own, proving to his Caspian witness, and the winking stars too, that -- contrary to popular belief -- he indeed has a death wish. ❝ Let me go, Kostya. You have failed my task spectacularly, and I want nothing to do with you. ❞

[heliosphage]

There's no need to be so dramatic. Why go to a nunnery? Put together a time travel machine and forcibly insert himself into the inner religious-guilt-machinations of a Victorian granny? He's already there. Granted, the chapel he's found himself in has been commandeered by the mortal-personification of Temptation, temptation into the superfluous, shapeless concepts of sharing Tuesday breakfast and protein shakes when she's finished her own, but he thinks the claustrophobic quality of her shoe closet would make for a chic confessional booth substitute.

"Mhm?" She's telling him to look at her. No. He keeps his eyes to the angels carved as vacant cobwebs by her doorway. He's a scientist anyway, and he knows better than to look too longly at the Sun at its zenith.

Martha's brow perks. Okay. She's gonna ask her why bother with pilates when that boy that came by can just bend her like a pretzel.

"Uhhhh. Yeah. I don't know if that's actually a good idea," says Grace, the pretzel man, Auntie Anne's best not-yet hire despite slipping into her home from behind her. He's warm, the sun licking red patterns into the back of his neck — tanned now lightly, like with dustings of summer kisses in half-baked freckles — and toes his shoes off like a proper civilized adult. He winces looking at the screen again and feels his joints pop. "I'm saying no. I'm not latex. I'm more the x in latex for the x-ray I'm gonna need snapping my bones if I do this. I mean, I don't even think it's realistic. The human body wasn't made to contort like that! You can't do that. Show me."

[laperlina]

𝓞𝒖𝒓 𝓕𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, keep my soul far, far away from the wilderness of the adversary -- the dark den of the defiler -- and suffer me not to be led astray by his subtle and most melted whispers that prowl for the secrets of my heart. And neither, of course, and above all else, leave me to yield to the peddling of his false miracle known as hot pilates.

Grace, the atheist, steps into her apartment.

It's not the Ritz Carlton, but it's not exactly humble dwellings, either. What do you call this sort of design sensibility? A bit Drakulechka? A bit crystal bat, bog witch -- fairy kaleidescope? Purple-pink glass beads hang by the doorway to the kitchen, bedroom, and bath -- bescattered in between with tiny wish vials stoppered with blue cork, each holding a tiny paper scroll, dried lavender, and black salts inside.

She walks with a purposeful, leisurely slowness that mixes with the humidity heaving through the air, causing time itself to dilate. Pretzeling orders are barked from inside the tv screen. Marzanna looks over her shoulder, glancing Grace up and down, nodding and yes-ing, mhming, accommodatingly as he chatters, before staunching his frantic curiosity for the wonders of human contortion with a prolonged pause of her own, only to ask, shortly after:

❝ ... You don't wear protection? ❞ And that too seems leisurely. She waits much longer than she should before tapping her cheek, adding, ❝ Sunscreen? ❞

[wordscanbeenough]

Anne Carson, The Beauty of the Husband

[literaryvein]

L. V., excerpts from a past life

[laperlina]

"#i know i tag so many ppl but i have a lot of love in my heart and want everyone to have excuse to have fun T ~ T" ily

LITERALYL L MYSELF. AND I LUV YOU.

[laperlina]

𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.

tagged by: @sanguinisa ty <3 tagging: @exitvelo @undeyth @veilmotel @saintsplanet @demonwebs @toheel @ozgog @lycaea @saintsdawn @lunarscorching @sluaghter @magusanima @intothewildsea @inthecemetery @lapinoires @brokenmagxc @fevyrroot @arbitratour @yharnum @wornkindness @ngc-6853 @proditeur @prophetyse @echosdeath @misericordiis @evincere @ophaleia @blightbloom @anoffering @eintraums @motheredearth @sinsuerte @bnjmin @maidmyth @burynot @rosewiltd AND YOU !!!

[heliosphage]

Yeah! Get if off your chest! And, heck, while they're on the subject of going against the grain, why stop at respecting those expectations surrounding seasonal dress? Well? Why not pineapple on pizza? Why not go dialing your ex when the girls are out clubbing? And why oh why not repurpose this table?

It's better for some Twister than holding his books.

Marzanna smiles. Grace's brows bunch up inquisitively. She's like the cat who's got the canary, but, no, not just the canary, but even the twittering blue finch, the cardinal, and, heck, an entire aviary in Brazil for the dying Amazon's parrots. She should be holding herself better, not batting her feathery lashes like she's hankering to bite. And they do hit a sea swell! A very little one! Good grief! Grace slams a hand against the wall by her head and grips tight around the knife.

"Marzanna!" Uh oh. His voice has changed. It's gone from 'Ryland with whom I eat breakfast with every morning' to 'Mr. Grace whom I should have for breakfast every morning of Grover Cleveland Middle' in the drop of a hat. And it isn't even the cool 'Mr. Grace of Grover Cleveland' but the profoundly more stern 'I'm still your teacher Mr. Grace of Grover Cleveland.' Which... Well, may actually do it for overachieving doctoral women with monumental daddy issues, but that's neither here nor there. Class is at attention. "Open your mouth. You'll choke."

He isn't having her die, darn her silly games. Grace waits, thumb and forefinger against that literal killing apparatus, his glasses gleaming pointedly against her impish gaze from beneath the valley of his chest, and-- Oh my gosh. "Are you--" He starts. He colors. He stammers. "Are you serious?!"

[laperlina]

The allosexual mind cannot possibly comprehend what is happening inside these four cramped walls. Nor what masterful innuendo can be achieved when you're determined to beat the innocence out of everyday words like Twister, and deep dive, and hard work, and open wide. Let the record show that Marzanna PhD, despite all rumor suggesting the contrary, (they say she hasn't had a real crush in years, and has an appetite for men like a black widow), is not immune to the effects of being talked to like she's a corrupt and naughty thing. That her willingness to think so pervertedly is at complete odds with her ex, well ... that's even more amusing. It explains rather beautifully how he keeps handing her double entendre after double entendre on a silver, gleaming platter, after all. Case in absolute point:

❝ Choke ? ❞ Oh my God. One should relish the thought. Marzanna, beside herself, pays close attention to the zappy feeling at her fingertips, and yields to two huffs of a very telling laugh. ❝ Promises, promises. ❞

Finally, Boy Scouts of America begins to catch on, seeing the subtext shift between the twinkling in her eyes, and reminding himself that being in your mid 30's doesn't necessarily protect you from the temptation of college humor. Good job, Ryland! She rewards his revelation by letting the knife slip. Her insistence on tonguing the serrations may have resulted in a small, fleshy casualty or two -- but she's a brave girl, pressure-tested by the Soviets, and his beet-red face is well worth the bit of ache.

❝ You are going to have to be more specific. I am serious about so many things. ❞ She cants her head, casually running the tip of her pointer finger along a tastebud, measuring its soreness. Only her gaze, which flits back to him every now and then, seems to challenge him. Use your words, Mr. Grace. Etcetera, etcetera.