lohtulauluja

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my least favourite turn based strategy game is email

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It's reWoTch season.

But are we invited?

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Shimmering light

marie_skoven

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"The scene in the Indian restaurant... that's the moment where Ted completely cracks Trent open. It's there, you see it. If you could have heard what happened inside Trent, I think his heart just went [dramatic explosion]." — James Lance

trent's internal monologue, according to james lance TED LASSO 1.03 | Trent Crimm: The Independent

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Artist Rachel Parker

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On the subject of "Mary Did You Know," it always makes me think of this poem, which is thematically similar but more biblically accurate in that it's founded on the premise that yes, she did know all of that, and that's also kind of awful?

And yes, it is that Dorothy Parker. She contained multitudes.

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comfort myself with them

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dear people with OCD: the next time you have spiraling & intrusive thoughts, what-ifs, or catastrophizing scenarios, I am sending a cardigan-wearing 46-year old NYU professor directly into your brain and he says "Aaaaand scene!!!" and he claps his hands slowly. and he says "Wow. Wow. Powerful stuff. Evocative imagery. A little bit post-modern, a little bit hysterical realism in the vein of Don Delilo but let's pause right here." and you will recognize your thoughts as a perplexing avant-garde film shown to an audience of 15 liberal arts students who are now trying to get a good grade and sleep with their professor.

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Hey so that was a great date, yeah, but I don't think it's going to work out. Nono you didn't do anything wrong, and I have indeed had a crush on you since we started high school, it's just... well, I didn't want to bring it up at the time but we kinda got sucked into a portal fantasy midway through. We saved the kingdom over and over, relying on our knowledge of and trust in each other every time, throwing ourselves into the firing line to protect each other and using each others' conviction as a rock. We got married and lived a happy life together until the portal sucked us back mid-battle and you gave up all your memories of our journey in order to save my life right when we ended up back in the coffee shop. Yeah that was when I got a bit weird and went to the bathroom.

Anyway I thought we could push on and make the date work but I have all of these memories of secrets that this you never chose to share, decisions that this you never made, and intimacies that this you never experienced. And it's kind of screwing with the vibe yeah. Also on the date it was really, blatantly clear that you're sixteen whereas I have memories of ruling a fantasy kingdom for thirty years so like... that's a problem all on its own. Anyway this you just feels more like a daughter to me. A daughter with the woman I gave my heart and soul to over and over and received like in return, only to lose her forever on the journey home. On the plus side I can definitely help you with your math homework now.

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A thousand years have passed, and I am drawing from my books again. Prince Alexei in walking-hunting clothes) The costume is close to the historical originals, but with a fantasy twist.

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the author's barely disguised longing for a kinder world

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January’s fave short stories 🌾

Let’s Play Dead - Senaa Ahmad. What if Anne Boleyn can never die? What if she is killed again and again and comes back every time? 'Let's make it so she can't escape. Let's seal the bottle, and shake it, and shake until our hands fall off.'

Fuzhou Nighttime Feeling - Ling Ma. The descriptions of the city interwoven with the narrator's thoughts on their family is gorgeous.. so atmospheric! 'Fuzhou is so hot and sensuous all year-round, the kind of place, my grandma says, that breeds indolence.'

The House of Asterion and Borges and I - Jorge Luis Borges (translations). Both very short & very thought provoking! Highly recommend reading The House of Asterion without any prior knowledge (and then rereading it multiple times..), it's truly brilliant.

The Wind - Lauren Groff. This is very intense but it's so heartbreakingly beautifully written. Major CW for domestic violence and abuse.

Honorable mentions

Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers - Alyssa Wong

Attack Helicopter - Isabel Fall

The Story of the Avenger and the Archangel in the Palace of Sinners - Eduardo Galeano

Standard Loneliness Package - Charles Yu

Godmaker - J.A. Prentice

The Night Dance - Leah Cypess

Mother of Invention - Nnedi Okorafor

Going to try and make this a monthly thing this year as a way for me to reflect on what I've read! Discussion/recs welcome <3

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By Kohl Donnelly

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Kaoru Yamada, Japanese

'City Lights"

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Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan by asakara_11

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Onkohan Tumblrissa ketään suomalaisia kirjailijoita