Smoke Rings and Cinder Sparks

Greetings munchkins! My name's Aoife and I have two tumblr settings: forget the site exists and wasting hours scrolling, so there will be dead stretches for this blog. Peruse as you wish! I'm also on AO3 and FF.net if you feel like a fic.

[important-animal-images]

[maroonracoon]

Drawings of my cat Darkly

[iwasarob0t]

lichen lycan. is this anything.

[mig-murgthenurg]

I had to do a double take, prev, that's too good for the tags.

[d1s4strous]

can you think of anything better than dragons. no you can't. this is because dragons are the best thing ever forever.

[bonkalore]

Colored this pic before the end of MerMay~

[dreidelsanddragons]

First my sister, now relentless Tumblr ads. Stop telling me to find Jesus! Im Jewish! I don't care that you lost him again, that's your problem!

[meshaamem-li]

[xenosaurus]

I turn 30 next month so here’s what I learned in my 20s:

—don’t work for startups, they’re always one ‘innovative idea’ away adding ‘sell your kidneys on the black market’ to your job description.

—keeping a collection of basic OTC medicine on you will save your life one day. I recommend Advil, Imodium, and TUMS.

—those little single-use glasses cleaning wipes are 1000% worth the money

—overly self-depreciating jokes just make people uncomfortable, wean yourself off of them

—you can buy dehydrated mini marshmallows in bulk online and they’re a godsend for hot cocoa

—people don’t care if you have fidget toys on your desk they just want to play with them

—try to go to bed BEFORE the existential ennui kicks in

[thelittleblackfox]

Also drink water and eat a plant

[liz-squids]

This is all GREAT. I turned 40 last week, so permit me to add what I learned in my 30s:

keep on not working for startups

sometimes there comes a point where the thing (fandom, hobby, friendship, romantic relationship) you loved no longer brings you joy. And that's okay. Try to mourn the loss, take joy in the memories, and don't burn any bridges in case ten years go by and you find yourself back in that fandom/hobby/relationship again

it turns out that (ugh) moderate regular exercise is (spit) good for you. The sooner you make it part of your life, the easier it'll be

related: if you throw yourself into a new exercise regime too hard and too fast, without stopping to rest or consider whether a particular move is good for you ... well, shoulder injuries are painful and consults with orthopedic surgeons are expensive

knees are bastards too

don't even get me started on ankles

there may come a time when your digestive system is too fragile for ibuprofin. I'm sorry

one day you're gonna wake up and realise you no longer give any fucks about some things that used to bother you

on the other hand, you might be alarmed to realise what you still give a fuck about

never get down on the floor without an exit strategy for getting back up

[covington-shenanigans]

I turn 50 this year. what I have learned in my 40s:

"loving yourself" is less of a feeling and more of an action. you can start doing it any time and it will make your life better and better as you go on

this will happen incrementally - be patient

along those lines, if you haven't started making an active effort to quit shit-talking yourself, suck it up and do it

no, shut up. do it. "but it's haaaaard!" don't care. do it.

whether you like it or not, you are mortal and you need to go to the doctor for an annual checkup

stretch regularly - your future self will thank you

at some point you will encounter people much younger than you arguing passionately and incorrectly about history you personally remember and experienced

this will be infuriating and annoying

otoh, most other things just... will not matter to you as much

at some point you will shift from wanting to go out to being like "eh" and deciding to stay in. this is okay.

you will have absolutely no idea what The Youth are talking about and you will not care

but if you keep your mind open to new ideas you'll never be irrelevant

your company still doesn't love you - don't give them more than they pay you for

get a fucking hobby, especially a hobby that involves physically creating/handling something and/or moving your body in physical space. it will do you more good than you can imagine

[atlinmerrick]

Just turned 60 and let me say:

Find joy, every kind, it's always worth it

I'm talking that massive, never-ending Discord chat with your bestie? The one that makes you giggle through the day? It's not a "waste of time," it's what time was made for

If that's fanfic for your favorite characters who never even met on screen celebrate that!

If that's building a tiny fleet of snake villagers for your snake town and they just cover your mantel hell yes!

If that's collecting pillows and making a fort of them every weekend I'll be right over

Feeling and sharing joy is the whole point

[cricketcat9]

This is too tempting…, so, I’m 74, and: don’t fund startups

Please keep stretching and exercise enough NOT to need an elaborate strategy to get up from the floor. IT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE

Say bye to your employer as early as you possibly can, unless you really love your job. You won’t be sorry.

Keep doing the annual checkups 🙏🏼

Enjoy that fucking hobby you’ve acquired in your 50, or find something new. Do try new things & adventures.

[andhumanslovedstories]

The other day on shift, I was walking down the hallway when a confused old man started yelling. This is fairly common in the hospital, so I ducked into his room and was like "hey dude what's up" and he's like "so sorry to yell but do you know where I am and what year it is" so I reoriented him to a bunch of stuff and explained why so many people were walking past his door, and he seemed much calmer and more oriented by the time we were done talking. And he says "and what's your name?" So I tell him "Sarah" and he stares at me so I repeat "Sarah" and he stares at me so I spell "S-A-R-A-H" and he stares at me so I show him my name badge and he stares at me and then he says "now forgive me for being so blunt. But I was under the impression that Sarah is a girls name. Is that no longer correct?"

Anyway y'all ever be so fucking gnc that you inadvertently gaslight a confused old man into thinking there's yet another part of the world he no longer understands?

[andhumanslovedstories]

Not to keep bragging about my masculine vibes, but another very pleasant dementia patient today called me nice young man. Assigned gender by Gladys.

[corvidsarecool]

[beatbizzle]

I overheard a woman at my job say "Your whole personality revolves around what you hate instead of what you love and thats an awful way to live." to the resident vocal Maga in the breakroom.

He was stunned into silence for at least 60 seconds so that was nice.

[nn-ee-zz]

Mobility aids in fantasy!

[i-seeaspaceshipinthe-sky]

For the first time in my life, I'm sober. And… happy. But most importantly, 100% poltergeist-free.

The Umbrella Academy: 1x04 | 2x07 | 3x07 | 4x01

[journalofabird]

What happened to the other 36 children that were born on October 1st 1989?

Why is Reginald Hargreeves an alien?

Why did Abigail say "Thanks for protecting me on the moon" to Luther?

Why was Jennifer inside a squid?

What happened to Sloane when all the others got to another timeline?

Without the comics, there are still so many questions left unanswered in the umbrella academy show itself.. and it's driving me crazyyy

[dcvina-claires]

i love when a character is a ghost but in a tragic way instead of a scary way. i love when a character has been dead from the beginning but is still holding on to stay in the narrative. i love when a character could choose to resent the living but ends up loving them instead. i love when a character drives the story but isn’t quite there enough to be at the center of it. i love when the ghosts are the protectors instead of the ones causing the harm. i love when a character is at the heart of the story because depending on where you began it, no matter how you told it, the story is about the ghost who struggled to keep their humanity

[redroses07]

the fuck was bro thinking?

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

it would have been CHEESY as all hell, but- I think I would've liked the group suicide ending a lot better if, instead of standing there slowly waiting to get absorbed, they went out dancing. like they're all upset and scared and as a callback to season 1, Luther puts on some music to try and make them feel better. or, fuck, Viktor starts playing the violin. and they're obviously still upset and crying but they're letting themselves feel a little joy at the end, dancing together with their family. it also would've been a gut-punch bc everyone was waiting for a siblings dance break all season. instead of just standing there going 'I'll miss you guys' until they get absorbed they just...vibe and dance out of existence. I think it would've been more fitting.

[dolche-tejada]

So in summary, after following deeply flawed but good-hearted characters during four seasons, after watching them struggle to overcome their traumas and become better people, the final message of Umbrella Academy is that if you're dysfunctional and your traumas affect those around you, the best thing you can do for them and the world is to never have been born.

Oh and also that your abusive asshole of a father was right to treat you like disposable trash your whole life.

Like wow, just wow… I'm honestly stunned right now cause I've seen plenty of shitty messages and show endings but I assure you that this is quite a performance.

[topperscumslut]

it’s literally him