#eighty five

[masters-house]

Teema kneels before me for her portrait. She looks up at me with a passive, adoring smile. What have I done to deserve her? My beautiful childhood friend.

[redmulyacuties]

[nopeemi]

thinking about late nights with the amis

[r7inyz]

happy mci day *breakdances*

(this drawing is so ugly and i literally drew it in like 2 hours but OH WELL happy june 26th guys)

[kambingterhebat]

putting jerma in my calculator for jermotivation #slay

[onehundredflamingos]

2 / fire / 512 words

@jegulus-microfic

I forgot to post this on the second, oops

“Is there a reason you’re staring at me, James?” Regulus asked from across the table, not bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading.

James swallowed hard, not realizing how obvious he was about it — that regulus could sense his gaze.

“You’re just pretty, is all,” James said, and he tried to say it in jest, like he was teasing Regulus, but it came out in a whisper. Something reverent and adoring, and that was not what he intended.

Regulus hummed, finally looking up at James. “Is that why you watched me take every bite of my breakfast this morning?”

James felt his face flush, again unaware at how obvious he had been. He nodded his head weakly, clearing his throat. “Pretty mouth,” he said stupidly.

Really stupidly, because who the fuck would say something like that?

“You think so?” Regulus asked, pushing the newspaper away from himself. “Do you want to kiss me, James?”

Yes.

Absolutely, yes.

“What?” James asked instead, a bit baffled by the question, if he was being honest.

“Do you want to keep staring at my pretty mouth, or do you want to kiss me?”

Regulus looked expectant, so James stood up and made his way around the table, willing this not to be some kind of trick.

Trusting that Regulus wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t want it too.

The second James was standing in front of Regulus, he dipped down and pressed a kiss to his lips, something soft and gentle in a way that completely betrayed how hungry the touch made him.

James made to pull away, respectful in spite of himself, but Regulus was deepening the kiss, pressing his lips more firmly against James’ and holding him in place.

The intensity sent fire through James’ veins, want coursing through him instantly at the press of Regulus’ tongue against his own, before the feel of Regulus’ hand on his chest sent him back a few inches.

James reluctantly pulled back and looked at Regulus, unsure about what was happening, unhappy about the distance.

“Now leave me to read the paper,” Regulus huffed, reaching for the newspaper on the table once more, but James knew now that the desire wasn’t one sided. That his pining wasn’t in vain as he had always thought.

James placed a hand atop the newspaper, tutting softly as he continued to look over at Regulus. “I think you want my pretty mouth just as badly,” James said, grinning.

“Is that so?” Regulus asked, looking down at James’ mouth. One side of his mouth was tipped up in a secret smile, and James knew he wouldn’t turn his proposition down.

“Do you want to keep staring at my pretty mouth, or do you want to kiss me?” James asked, throwing Regulus words back at him.

Regulus let a soft laugh slip past his lips, one that James was immediately diving in and capturing with his own, content to spend the entirety of the morning doing just that.

Regulus seemed to have no qualms about doing just that, newspaper be damned.

[aru-art]

jack black u would love the fnaf movie

[overthegardenwirtt]

top ten books I read this year, ranked:

10. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (pub 1939)

Honestly this wasn't the most mind-blowing or memorable book, but it was my first Christie and my introduction to this genre. It got me out of a slump too which was great. Christie's style is so very british but I thoroughly enjoyed this as my introduction to this kind of mystery, and I found the reveal to be surprising and well done! This book definitely made me want to pick up more Agatha Christie in the future, but I'm not in any particular hurry to do so.

9. Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood (pub 1939)

This was actually my most recent read. I picked up this book knowing that it was the inspiration behind the musical (and film) Cabaret. This book feels much more of a piece of creative nonfiction/memoir than a novel, but it tells different stories in vignettes of people in Berlin in the 1930s. Between dancers and artists like Sally Bowles, queer people in Berlin, and Jewish people living through the rise of the Nazi party, these true stories were incredibly touching and really made me think about the way we talk about fascism today. The modern way in which people spoke in Weimer Germany, and the extent to which they knew what was going on in Germany at this time and still just let the Nazi takeover happen, is terrifying and all too real, and I am glad this book exists to highlight that.

8. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin (pub 1953)

My first Baldwin of the year and third Baldwin book overall. I really enjoyed this book, as it was an exploration of a Black family in Harlem, and each family members' relationship with one another and with God. I loved the way the story was told, through flashbacks and memories of each character as they sat to pray in a church. Each story was both incredibly humanizing and devastating, and the ending was surprisingly somewhat hopeful.

7. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (pub 1976)

I read this after the second season of the amc show aired. Honestly, this book was so much better than I was expecting it to be, given what I know about where Anne Rice takes the series in the future. In this novel, the prose is so beautiful and breathtaking. Anne Rice also delves into such deep and thought-provoking discussions about God and religion, goodness and evil and monstrousness, through her characters and their philosophies, and how they deal with their vampirism. I fully feel that this book deserves to be called the modern Frankenstein.

6. Babel by RF Kuang (pub 2022)

The youngest book on here by far. I am often weary of the trendy new books and the 'booktok' books, especially those that seem to be fulfilling some kind of aesthetic. So, my expectations going into this weren't the highest, I was expecting, as is true with most 'dark academia' books, a rip-off of The Secret History. However, I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! This book is an anti-colonialist response to The Secret History and the like, and explores how academia always serves the institutions in power, and how specifically British academia has driven, and continues to drive, imperialism. This book was also very science-fictiony, and completely deserves its Nebula award. The magic system in this book is so interesting and novel to me, and i truly think Kuang is a genius. Also, I personally loved the footnotes. It's so clear how much work and research went into this book, and it adds so much to the quality of the book.

5. Animal Farm by George Orwell (pub 1945)

This was technically a re-read, since I read Animal Farm with my mom in elementary school and didn't understand it at all. So, I finally got back around to reading this and it was great. Just so perfectly told, the story of revolt from one authoritarian regime and the decline into another, arguably worse regime. It was also incredibly heartbreaking, and made even more so by making the characters farm animals. It is truly a perfect book and I know it sounds cliche, but everyone should read it. George Orwell is well-known for a reason.

4. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (pub 1969)

This one was unexpected! I have owned Slaughterhouse-Five for years, I think it has been sitting on by bookshelf for over five years untouched. I finally got around to reading it a few months ago and it was incredible. Kurt Vonnegut has a witty and to-the-point writing style that was difficult to get used to at first, but I definitely believe it worked in this book's favor. The childlike, simple way of writing and speaking, combined with the grim topic of WWII and PTSD, really highlight the sadness of Kurt Vonnegut's situation and how young he, and Billy Pilgrim, and all these soldiers really were. I absolutely loved the sci-fi interludes as well. It worked both creatively, to provide an allegory for war and PTSD, and literally to show just how dissociative Billy Pilgrim would get after the war. This book left me feeling incredibly sad, and I know that was just the point.

3. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin (pub 1969)

And the book that beat Slaughterhouse-Five for both the Hugo and the Nebula! This book is not one that I would typically read, but I am so glad that I did. It is considered a seminal work of feminist science fiction, and tells the story of a human man named Genly who goes to a planet where all the people are genderless. It is a beautiful story of finding love and understanding with other people, and learning that there are strengths in our differences, and those differences can bring us together. This is a truly great novel, and left me feeling the way the protagonist felt, having gained a new empathy and love for human beings, no matter how different we may be.

2. Another Country by James Baldwin (pub 1962)

My fourth and final James Baldwin novel to date. I absolutely loved this book. The writing style, the beautiful vibes, and the beautiful and devastating story of a group of friends in Greenwich Village, New York was so compelling. This was one of those books that I could not just put away after I finished it. I had to read and reread the book, go over it in my mind for a while afterwards. This book explores Black masculinity and Black womanhood in America, it explores queerness, and specifically Black queerness during this time, and it explores the complicated dynamics between a multiracial group of friends in 1960s America. It feels so shockingly ahead of its time.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (pub 1949)

yeah yeah, this is cliche, but it's so well-known, and so spoken about, for a good reason. This book, outside of its talk about authoritarianism, was actually just a thoroughly enjoyable and effective work of psychological horror. The way that language and history can shape our current really was so brilliantly done that it had me questioning whether O'Brien was telling the truth to Winston at times. I feel like this is a controversial opinion, but I felt that many of the characters, including Winston, Julia, Syme, and even O'Brien to a lesser extent, were humanized in a way that I felt terrible for these characters. This book had such incredible world-building that I would have been okay with reading 300 full pages of Winston's day-to-day life, that's how interested I was in this horrifying world Orwell created. However, the plot was equally as compelling! I truly felt like I was there with Winston through every step of his journey, and that made this novel feel so sickeningly horrific, and so effective.

[swan2swan]

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020)

[menlove]

just saw one hand clapping. linda 🫶

[daily-pearl-doodles]

Wanted to try drawing drawing with an eraser today

(day eighty five)

[redmulyacuties]

[crepesuzette2023]

I know: Linda. But just look at the outline of his legs.

[lynchianightmare]

So which one is it?

[i-am-the-oyster]

My headcanon based on this lyric, is that Paul didn't cop on that he was in love with John until Linda did. She explained it to him, he didn't believe it, and then she proved to him how much he loved being pegged.

And then he had some kind of fucking premonition

[vanillayoteart]

85% Cooler

Something for radtoast from my weekly streams! 85% and counting heck yeah! Mirror Post