Walter Crane
NASA

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@vitolielwrites
Walter Crane
this is advice I've given friends directly before and I've probably also posted it but I really like giving it so here it is potentially again: do not create something for an imaginary bad faith reader.
there will always be someone who finds fault in your work. there will be people who read the messages on it wrong. there will be people who will take every compelling aspect about your work off of it so they can put in their own.
you cannot make art for these people.
you will never write a story that is free from criticism. you will never draw a piece that everyone finds appealing. you will never compose a song that everyone enjoys hearing. you cannot, fundamentally, set out to create something and only think of how you can avoid someone not liking it.
because, and this is key, there will be someone who sees every angle of your story and feels its intent in their heart and gushes to their friends about it. you will draw someone's favorite art and they will make it their phone wallpaper because they want to see it every day. someone will fall in love with your song and loop it on their way to work because it gets them through the day. and THOSE are the people your work is for. THOSE are the people you have to care about, because they love what you make for what it is - because it's itself.
if you set out to create something and file off every sharp edge, prune every thorn, you will be left with something fragile and weak, and it will be fragile and weak for the sake of someone who does not exist but that you were scared of anyway.
sharing art is complex and tangled and powerful, and anything you care enough to create deserves to flourish as itself. get sillay.
Don't you sometimes get an absolutely extrodinary, mind blowing, such an awesome idea for a story, but you just don't have enough skill level to pull it off?
Write it anyway.
Write it anyway, write it anyway, write it anyway.
There are so, so, so many reasons:
You gain that skill level only through practice. So practice.
No matter what you’re writing, no matter how badly you think you’ve written it, there is ALWAYS some audience that will love it and cherish it.
You can use what you write the first time around as a first draft and just rewrite it again later when you feel like tackling the story again!
Rewriting the same story over and over is a valid writing process. It’s literally just creating new drafts. Each iteration will be better than the last, because each is building on your growing skill and experience.
If you love the story, it will always be worth telling simply for your own enjoyment. If no one else ever sees it, that’s okay! Your art should be for you first, anyway.
Write it anyway.
my writing fundamentally changed forever ten years ago when i realized you could use sentence structure to control people’s heart rates. is this still forbidden knowledge or does everyone know it now
?????? *raises hand* I’ve been writing for years and don’t know this trick by these words! do tell?
Okay, so a few people have asked for me to cite the dark magics at them, and i’m super happy to share because it’s my favorite thing ever.
so, let’s see if i can explain this the same way that i learned. read a sentence out loud. you come to a full stop when you hit the period, and you take a normal, breath. but, when you hit a comma, you take a slightly longer pause. and when you hit a dash - you take an even longer pause.
this is a natural rhythm that we pick up when we’re first taught to read; we do it without even thinking. but when you start to think about it, you realize that it can become a tool.
think of your heartbeat. a period is badump. a comma is badump-dump. and a dash is thump badump. one breath. a longer breath. two breaths.
that means what you read automatically affects the rhythm of your breathing and your heartrate. which means that you can control the amount of physical tension your reader feels… by altering your punction and your sentence structure.
for fast paced scenes, you use short sentences. a lot of hard stops. mostly periods, with just a few comma’s thrown in for the full breath. your reader’s heartrate accelerates. their breathing is slightly and unintentionally, on their end, quicker. you hit the dramatic ending of the scene - and your reader’s body phsyically feels the gasp, the breath of fresh air, of these longer sentences.
now, read that paragraph again ant take note of your natural pauses, and how it subtly affects your breathing.
the same thing can be said of comma’s and dashes. while they can be used as a breath of fresh air, they can also cause a new line of tension as they lead your reader to hold their breath. during this section, you should use longer sentences; breaking up the harshness of the pauses by using variations of punction. read this paragraph out loud from the start and take note of how long you go between pauses and full breaths.
and then, comes the biggest trick.
the hard stop.
the paragraph.
because while the periods, commas, and dashes are variations on a short stop, the paragraph is a hard stop. you take a full breath. you pause for a moment, then move to the start of the next paragraph.
which means you can create an entirely new sort of dramatic tension. read the sentences that are in bold. see how you take a naturally longer pause at the end of each paragraph?
see how it makes you feel?
how it makes you breath different?
how doing it once, twice, or three times creates a different line of tension?
this little magic trick can be used to cause a reader’s heartrate to speed up during a fight or chase scene. it can be used to cause their breathing to slow down during moments of dramatic tension, sorrow, or softness. and it can be used to create hard breaks that add a new level of physically felt emphasis to your written work.
i hope these examples make sense! it’s my favorite writing trick!
just had a flashback to me in 3rd grade absolutely blissed out just staring at this pic
Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.
Might I add:
The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed
The woman who raised the changeling alongside her biological child
The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship
The adventures of a space roomba
Cinderella finding Araura (and falling in love)
I don’t know a snappy description but the my nemesis cynthia story certainly lives in my head
hilariously, these are almost all in my fic tag. so, a compiled list from the notes (and some extras):
The God of Arepo (graphic novel 1 / 2 / 3) (ebook)
The Monster of Sentan
The Witch’s Cat
Raise Both Children
Stabby the Roomba (honorable mention)
Cinderella Marries the Prince (comic)
My Arch Nemesis Cynthia
Pirates and Mermaid
Eindred and the Witch
The Demon King
The Cornerwitch
Grandmother Beetroot
Apocalypse Daycare Worker
Grandmother Accidentally Summons a Demon
New Year Saga
A Story About Changelings
Ranger in the King’s Forest
The Difference Between a Hare and a Rabbit
Goblin Men (Canines)
I am in love with you /p
Adding Faceblind Prince Charming and Cinderella
21. The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship
22. The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed
adding the Doctors Without Borders one
I LOVE tumblr storytime, so here’s a bunch more your weekend reading. Enjoy!
24. The Queen with Three Cursed Children
25. Tiny Dragon with one coin hoard
26. Haunted house
27. Shark hero was about to go rogue
28. Grandma lives in the woods comic
29. A Different Aftermath comic
30. Battery (microstory but I love it so much)
31. It’s A Date comic
32. Supervillian kidnaps rival’s kid and they want to stay
33. Narrative Town
34. I have been hired to clean the wizard tower comic
35. Robot Apocalypse
36. The Statues That Do Not Weather
37. Kushiel
38. Tooth Fairy
39. Alien abduction
40. Felonious wish-granting
41. When humans met actual space orcs
42. Space cousins
WAIT REBLOG THIS VERSION INSTEAD
Characters being compared to dogs always use terriers or pitbulls or something for their metaphors. “They grab on and they don’t let go” “They keep worrying at it until it’s dead” etc.
Anyway, I want to see collies used as metaphors. Albert Payson Terhune style. “He was like an attack dog–making slash-and-run attacks, cutting them up worse every time, never staying in range long enough to get hurt but circling back over and over.”
@animatedamerican yes EXCELLENT.
“He was like a bloodhound–not actually that violent at all, but his reputation did the work for him.”
“He was like a corgi: by all signs unaware that a fight was even happening, just enthusiastic and delighted to be involved.”
“He was like a labrador– so known for being friendly and having a soft mouth that everyone forgot that he was actually quite large and had teeth.”
“He was like a poodle - much smarter than you’d expect for someone with such flamboyant hair ”
“He was like an Irish Wolfhound - he could do more damage being friendly than most people could do in a blind rage.”
He was like a beagle - AAAUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO *breath* AUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
y’all want some cool, muslim-made, modest fashion ideas for your hijabi characters?
absolutely nobody asked but here, have them anyway (all via the Islamic Fashion Institute):
Fantasy stories should have more "what do you mean you don't do X" things in compare and contrast of cultures. Like the differences between peoples aren't the stuff they show off as "These Are Our Culture :)" things, fucking everyone has food and music and folk tales, but the things they've always assumed that everyone has, and are baffled to discover that they don't.
The people who are always barefoot are baffled that humans don't have a wash basin at their front door where people can wash their feet before stepping inside?? Do they just walk in with their dirty feet? The fuck do you mean you take your shoes off?
Humans don't have small baby-sized spellbooks for toddlers who just learned to read, so they can safely learn to practice tiny cute and harmless, age-appropriate magic spells before progressing to more mature and demanding spells? What, do they just throw teenagers completely unprepared into the arcane - hold the fuck up, is that why human sorceror mortality is so fucking high?
Dwarves who have always wondered why the entrance to human residences is so fucking big, why do you need to take up such a large area for a door that's just there to lead downstairs to the underground halls? Are the timber walls really as thick as a human is tall? What for? And once one of them gets invited to a human house to stay and rest, nobody ever fucking believes her: That's not the entrance, that's the whole fucking house. 100% of the human house is aboveground, there is no tunnel to the underground levels. They might have a single storage room down there, but the aboveground section is so fucking big because that's the whole house.
This post was brought to you by: People who butter their bread and who had no idea that there are people who put mayonnaise on their bread, and people who put mayo on their bread and had no idea about people who put butter on their bread discovering that the other kind of people exist.
Food history has been so sanitized by the demonization of carbs. “Our ancestors only had fruits and veggies they didn’t have all these refined carbs” our ancestors drank beer 25/8 because the water was bad. Our ancestors drizzled honey on shit ever since we knew it existed. We’ve been making bread for our entire recorded history. It’s true that bleached sugars specifically are a new thing but high glycemic carbs are not new at all, we’ve been consuming them for thousands of years
Quick correction bc I see this myth everywhere.
People drank beer & fruit wine 25/8 because it was high in calories and also tasty and pretty cheap/easy to make in bulk.
IT WAS NOT USED TO REPLACE OR SANITIZE WATER! THEIR WATER WAS NOT BAD!
The alcohol content in beer/wine back then was too low to actually sanitize anything effectively, and beer/wine only lasts for 6 months (usually less) even while still sealed in a cask, due to oxidization. Oxidation turns fermented liquids into vinegar. Wine and beer wasn’t meant for long-term storage.
This is great, because vinegar is the great preserver! VINEGAR is what people used to store their foods long-term, along with SALT and DRYING and SMOKING.
“Pickling” can be done with pure vinegar if you don’t have any expensive salt around, and vinegar can be made by fermenting any fruit or grain with wild yeast! If you’re lucky, you can also get wine/beer treats out of it on the way.
Circling back around: beer/wine was NEVER a replacement for water. Humans have been drinking from ground springs, wells, rainwater, and clear running water since our ape ancestors got the instinct to avoid stagnant pools.
If you didn’t have immediate access to a source of clean water, you didn’t fucking build a town there!
That’s a big reason why, WORLDWIDE, settlements are ALL historically clustered around sources of water like springs, wells, and rivers. (Or utilized rainwater catchment & storage) And why “the town well is poisoned/dried up!” Is a huge and terrible thing that comes up in a ton of old stories. Losing your source of freshwater means everyone has to move somewhere else, or die.
Even in huge cities, you’d be surprised at how sophisticated freshwater delivery systems were in the middle-ages. London had the “great conduit.” - a man-made, underground channel that moved water directly from a freshwater spring to fill a water tank in the Cheapside marketplace, accessible to the public. This conduit was built in 1245.
Mesopotamians in the BRONZE AGE built clay pipes for sewage removal, and other pipes for rain water collection, and wells. In 4,000 BC.
Building Aqueducts to move spring water into towns was first attributed to the Minoans, who lived in 2,000 BC.
Sanskrit texts from 2,000 BC also detail how to purify water you’re not sure about: expose it to Sunlight, filter it through Charcoal, dip a piece of copper in it at least 7 times, and filter it again. (UV treatment kills bacteria, Charcoal catches many poisons and heavy metal, copper is also antibacterial) <- even if they didn’t know what germs were, prehistoric humans were great at recognizing patterns, and noticing when people DIDNT die.
Persians in 700 BC used ‘qanat’, or tunnels dug into hillsides to let gravity move (CLEAN!) groundwater to nearby towns + for agriculture irrigation. Qanats were still the main water supply for the entire Iranian capitol city until about 1933.
The Roman Empire (312 BC) also built aqueducts to move spring and groundwater across miles and miles.
The Incas (1450) built wondrous examples of hydraulic engineering. Their “stairway of fountains” supplied the entire city of Machu Picchu with fresh spring water from a pair of rain-fed springs atop the mountain. The fountain canals could carry about 80 gallons a minute.
Getting clean drinking water was just not an issue for normal people in MOST long-term settlements. They may not understand germ theory, but they knew clean water was important and would kick up a BIG fuss if those water sources were sabotaged.
In conclusion: people absolutely drank beer and wine with breakfast. They also drank water. It was not a replacement.
Poisons
Hello! I'm gonna share how I go about writing poisons and the things I think are helpful to keep in mind. Now, I have never actually poisoned someone - shocker - but I have done extensive research on the topic, so I would say I know a decent amount about how to effectively poison someone. Disclaimer: This is for writing purposes only, don't poison people. Thanks.
Keep In Mind:
Poisoners need little to no physical strength although they do need a strong sense of self control & nerves of steel. Shooting or stabbing someone takes a mere moment of consideration and is frequently the result of a split second decision, while position requires dedication. Many poisons require a certain amount of time to work and the poisoner usually must administer several doses of poison in order to work. The poisoner also usually must be within close proximity to their victim and often will have to look them in the eye and engage with the person while the person slowly dies.
Exotic poisons can be more trouble than they’re worth. Importing exotic poisons leaves a trail for authorities to follow, and they require more research to correctly use.
Smart poisoners work with what they’ve got. The clever killer looks for drugs that are already in the victim’s medicine cabinet and that could be deadly. Read medical warning labels to get an idea of how to use them.
Poison can be used in ways that aren’t deadly. If the goal isn’t death, you can render someone dizzy or dopey, making a character vulnerable to a bad influence.
Common Poisons
Hemlock: Poison hemlock comes from a large fern-like plant that bears a dangerous resemblance to the carrot plant. It was readily available for treating muscle spasms, ulcers, and swelling, but in large doses will cause paralysis and ultimately respiratory failure.
Mandrake: It was used as a sedative, hallucinogen and aphrodisiac. Superstition mediaeval denizens believes when the vaguely human-shaped root was pulled out that plant gave a piercing shriek that would drive anyone to madness or death - hence the harry potter scene.
Arsenic: Arsenic comes from a metalloid and not a plant, unlike the others but it’s easily the most famous and is still used today. instead of being distilled from a plant, chunks of arsenic and dug up or mined. It was once used as a treatment for STDs , and also for pest control and blacksmiths, which was how many poisoners got access to it. It was popular in the middle ages because it looked like cholera death, due to acute symptoms including stomach cramps, confusion, convulsions, vomiting and death. Slow poisoning looked more like a heart attack.
Nightshade: A single leaf or a few berries could cause hallucinations - a few more was a lethal dose. Mediaeval women used the juice of the berries to colour their cheeks, they would even put a few drops on their eyes to cause the pupils to dilate for a lovestruck look which is why Nightshade is also called ‘Belladonna’ or “Beautiful woman.” The symptoms include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium and convulsions.
Aconite: This toxic plant, also called Monkshood or Wolfsbane, was used by indigenous tribes around the world as arrow poison. The root is the most potent for distillation. Marked symptoms may appear almost immediately, usually not later than one hour, and with large doses death is near instantaneous. The initial signs are gastrointestinal including nausea, and vomiting. This is followed by a sensation of burning, tingling, and numbness in the mouth and face, and of burning in the abdomen. In severe poisonings pronounced motor weakness occurs and sensations of tingling and numbness spread to the limbs. The plant should be handled with gloves, as the poison can seep into the skin.
If someones poisoning another:
The character should analyse the daily life of the target well before attempting to poison them. Note what sort of medicines they take, at what moments they are most vulnerable, how attentive they are to their surroundings, and so on.
Choose a poison that suits your needs. You need to be as discreet as possible and not arouse suspicion. Too dramatic and people will know something is up. Choose poisons that are easy to slip into meals/don't have to be administered constantly, or you could simply frame it as an overdose by using the target's own medicines.
Think of how you want to administer the poison. Some take effect through touch while some require being swallowed. Based on that, come up with a plan to poison your target.
Make sure everything corresponds with the plot and characters, and nothing becomes a plot hole. Don't have a typically nervous character be perfectly calm when thinking of poisoning. Don't poison someone just for the sake of it. Have everything tie back to the plot, your characters rarely should be poisonings someone just for the "cool" effect. Trust me, it doesn't actually have that effect and just comes off like lazy writing. Have your characters act in accordance with their personalities.
Research time periods and history when choosing poisons. Not all poisons were popular during the same time periods, and not all of them are native to the same geographical areas.
really i think one of my favorite character dynamics is “i don’t actually like you but we’ve been through so much together that i’d trust you with my life and know that we will always back each others calls. but i still wouldn’t trust you with my car keys.” like “we aren’t really friends but we’ve been thrust into an intense situation where you are the only other person i know so now we’re besties.” and “if it weren’t for our years of history i would have literally nothing to talk to you about at this work dinner.” Enemies to lovers has NOTHING on general disinterest to begrudging acknowledgment to discovering that this person is now an inextricable part of your life
Quick sleeves style overview, a handy reference chart by Edo-lover Nadeshico Rin :D You can see from left to right, top to bottom:
Hirosode 広袖 - wide sleeves opened on their full lenght (cuff sometimes closed by drawstring). Inspired by Chinese attires, they started to be used by Japanese nobles during Nara era. Those can be found on court attires such as hô 袍, kariginu 狩衣, suikan 水干, hitatare 直垂, etc
Makisode 巻袖 - work clothes used by men and women alike, worn by farmers, fishermen etc. Sleeves are cut diagonally offering freedom of mouvement.
Zenimarusode 銭丸袖 - lit. “round coin” sleeve, a man style popular in second half of Edo period. Name come from the fact round part of the sleeves was made using shimonsen coins.
Tetsubôsode 鉄砲袖 - “gun barrel” sleeve, work clothes worn by men from Meiji period. Note the underarm gusset for freedom of mouvement.
Furisode 振袖 - long dangling sleeves, which became popular in early Edo period and got longer and longer as time went by. In the past, those sleeves were worn both by girls and boys (before their mariage/genpuku ceremonies). This style is now mainly worn by girls+young women.
Tomesode 留袖 - “cut” sleeves, style worn by married women during Edo. Name comes from the fact it was customary to shorten one’s furisode sleeves when married. This style is now the sleeve style found on women kimono
Tsutsusode 筒袖 - tight tubular sleeves, work clothes worn by men and women alike since Kofun period. Tightness means there is no tamoto 袂 (”pocket”/drop part of a kimono sleeve).
Funazokosode 舟底袖 - “hull” sleeve, a work clothes style found on men and women clothes. The lower part is nicely rounded like the bottom of a boat.
Genrokusode 元禄袖 - Genroku round sleeve. Early 20th brought back some Genroku era fashion including this sleeve style (compare with squarer tomesode).
A fantasy book where many characters have dramatic High Fantasy epithets, but for incredibly non-dramatic reasons.
An adventurer known as The Herald of Dawn, but it's because she tends to wake up naturally at 4 or 5 am and every single fucking time wakes up the whole damn camp before sunrise by banging pots and pans together while making herself breakfast.
A nobleman known as The Lord of Shadows, but it's because his land is shaded from all sides by cliffs and mountains and all the other nobility are roasting this guy for not being able to grow or farm anything on his shitty, shady, no-sunshine-having estates.
A courtesan known as The Emerald of [location], but it's because the county she was born in is known for manufacturing forged jewels and gemstones, and so far she is the fakest pretty thing to ever come from there.
An assassin known as The Kiss of Death, but it's because he has somehow acquired every single known and documented STD in his mouth.
The Dark Huntress, named so to distinguish her from The Blonde Huntress.
A prince known as The Raven Prince, but it's because he's autistic and can and WILL tell you everything that is known about ravens, for five hours straight.
I love that technically you could insert this retroactively into just so many settings.
Legends and deities tend to get those sorts of epithets, and it doesn't take much more than a few taboos about using a true name plus linguistic shifts for us to have something like the great hero "He Who Bares Himself to the World" come from a knight whose bard friend gave the nickname "Mr I'm Too Sexy for my Armour"...
Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.
Might I add:
The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed
The woman who raised the changeling alongside her biological child
The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship
The adventures of a space roomba
Cinderella finding Araura (and falling in love)
I don’t know a snappy description but the my nemesis cynthia story certainly lives in my head
hilariously, these are almost all in my fic tag. so, a compiled list from the notes (and some extras):
The God of Arepo (graphic novel 1 / 2 / 3) (ebook)
The Monster of Sentan
The Witch’s Cat
Raise Both Children
Stabby the Roomba (honorable mention)
Cinderella Marries the Prince (comic)
My Arch Nemesis Cynthia
Pirates and Mermaid
Eindred and the Witch
The Demon King
The Cornerwitch
Grandmother Beetroot
Apocalypse Daycare Worker
Grandmother Accidentally Summons a Demon
New Year Saga
A Story About Changelings
Ranger in the King’s Forest
The Difference Between a Hare and a Rabbit
Goblin Men (Canines)
I am in love with you /p
Adding Faceblind Prince Charming and Cinderella
21. The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship
22. The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed
adding the Doctors Without Borders one
I LOVE tumblr storytime, so here’s a bunch more your weekend reading. Enjoy!
24. The Queen with Three Cursed Children
25. Tiny Dragon with one coin hoard
26. Haunted house
27. Shark hero was about to go rogue
28. Grandma lives in the woods comic
29. A Different Aftermath comic
30. Battery (microstory but I love it so much)
31. It’s A Date comic
32. Supervillian kidnaps rival’s kid and they want to stay
33. Narrative Town
34. I have been hired to clean the wizard tower comic
35. Robot Apocalypse
36. The Statues That Do Not Weather
37. Kushiel
38. Tooth Fairy
39. Alien abduction
40. Felonious wish-granting
41. When humans met actual space orcs
42. Space cousins
WAIT REBLOG THIS VERSION INSTEAD
unrequited, unregretted
There is a bird that sits in my stomach Below my bellybutton, just under the cage of my ribs. I tried to capture it, to place it somewhere safer. I thought the heart might be a good resting place.
But the bird flits where it twill And when it landed on my heart I found That instead of a birdhouse my heart was made Of spanning ventricles and branches, aorta and veins. The bird made a nest where it could fly away unbothered From gut to chest to head, and therefore confuse me evermore.
To stop loving you should be as easy as assigning you a room and closing the door, To stop loving you would be easier if I could Catch the damn bird that flirts and flits and drives me wild With songs and flutters and whimsical swoops.
But free of the birdhouse, I find you in my thoughts my instincts, my heart.
You are in my very soul, said an obsessive man to his love And it was so cheesy at the time but feels so true now. If I could but snatch your canny bird in mid flight Perhaps I could chuck it out the window and leave you behind. I could admire you in your wild adventures out in the sun And not have a pesky sparrow making a nest in my aorta.
Instead, I find that my gut turns towards you. My instincts are honed for the turn of your hand, The twist of your smile, the warmth of your eye. If you are happy, I feel settled, when you are sad I feel it in the wind and my bones. A rushing Pulse of wing beats that the bird is not okay, that The wild bird needs seeds, needs a nest, needs rest.
Instead I find you in my mind, thinking of words you said Thinking of points you make and the way you made them. I want to find ways to make you laugh, I think of ways to make you Feel smart and wise and appreciated, where I can weave back Branches to give you a clear flight path to the Glens and woods you want to roam. I analyze your dreams and I come up with ways to give Them to you. And the thought of not doing so is Anathama.
Instead I feel you in my heart. Tugging me. Wooing me unintentionally. I know you mean Nothing in the way you look at me, the way you smile at me The way your hand touches mine. I know when you say “I love you” You mean something much less deep and complex than I do.
You are not a thing to be caged, you are not a thing to be possessed You are not a thing at all. You are splendid, and you make me See beauty just by how you brighten up when you speak Of the worlds you’re spinning. Your music, your poetry, Your philosophy and your common sense matter of fact living.
But truth of the matter is If I could catch you. If I could grab you. I would let you go. And let you fly where you would And endure the confusion And smile at the way my soul Tumbles in your wake.
For at least this way you are still here.
fictional kiss things that end me
being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward
one small kiss, pulling away for an instant, then devouring each other
pressing their foreheads together while kissing
speaking normally, then after the kiss their voice is hoarse
guys furrowing their brow when kissing passionately
staring at the other’s lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in
running their thumb over the other’s lips
when they lean forward a fraction as if to kiss the other person, then realize they shouldn’t and pull back to stop themselves
ripping the other away - “no we shouldn’t” - but when they kiss them again they moan and hold them close
one sliding their hand into the other’s hair slowly
their entire body freezing for a second when their love kisses them
accidentally being forced inches apart from each other, staring at each other’s lips, and just before they kiss someone pulls them back apart
when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more
a hoarse whisper “kiss me”
then licks their lips and says “please”
Also:
following the kiss with a series of kisses up to suckle an earlobe
following the kiss with a series of kisses down the neck
lightly running the very tip of the tongue around the outline of the lips with darting touches before actually kissing
raking a hand through the hair and getting a good handful to pull the other person closer (before or during the kiss)
starting with a kiss meant to be gentle, ending up in devout passion
softly moaning into the kiss
smiling just before or during the kiss
kissing tears away
kissing at laughlines/crow’s feet/frownlines
kissing pouty lips
lightly running fingers up along the neck while kissing
bringing up the hands to cup the other person’s face while kissing
slowly letting their fingers twine together while kissing softly
a huge smile on face(s) when the kiss ends
a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss
…. I like fictional kisses, mk?
also: •jawline kisses •when someone kisses the other person’s hand(s) •shoulder kisses •cheek kisses •when one person’s face is scrunched up, and the other one kisses their lips/nose/forehead •that thing where someone turns into an unexpected kiss, like there were turning around and the other person was just super close •accidental kisses that turn into a giggling fit •kissing eyelids to show reverence •top of head kisses •when one person says “move away if you don’t want this” and the other person moves in for the kiss •height difference kisses where one person has to bend do wn and the other is on their tippy toes •kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap •awkward fumbling kisses where their both so excited that it’s sloppy and teeth clash •kisses where a person punctuates every word with a chaste kiss •kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing •KISSES
breaking the kiss to say something, staying so close that you’re murmuring into each other’s mouths
moving around while kissing, stumbling over things, pushing each other back against the wall/onto the bed
hands in each others’ hair
kissing so desperately that their whole body curves into the other person’s
throwing their arms around the other person, holding them close while they kiss
hands on the other person’s back, fingertips pressing under their top, drawing gentle circles against that small strip of bare skin that make them break the kiss with a gasp
lazy morning kisses before they’ve even opened their eyes, still mumbling half-incoherently, not wanting to wake up
routine kisses where the other person presents their cheek/forehead for the hello/goodbye kiss without even looking up from what they’re doing