#growing old disgracefully

[stesichoreanpalinode]

Happy 75 years young Roger Taylor!

Never change you velvet and sparkle loving musical star 🌟 🥁🏎🪩😘🤗

[godblessyoublackemperor]

reached a point where i use "buddy" fully unironically, which my 25yr old self would be Mortified at

[versey21]

8th March

Warning by Jenny Joseph

Today is International Women’s Day, which celebrates the cause of female emancipation and empowerment across the globe. Joseph’s poem is not just a comical statement of intent by a woman to break conventions of social behaviour when she becomes old, but is also a very female cry of freedom from expectation and constraint.

Source: the IALS blog

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens

And learn to spit.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example to the children

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

With patriarchy, misogyny, rape, sexual abuse and FGM still so prevalent in the world, the cause of womankind has still, sadly, a very long way to go.

[jimvasta]

I am part of a demographic that often don't get the luxury of ageing so making it into my forties has been a huge fuck you to the system and the haters.

Revel in aging, enjoy the experience and take everything you can from it!

There is only one alternative, and living is so much better. Getting old doesn't have to be a sad experience.

the older i get and the closer i am to reaching 30, the more the people around me try to deny me my age. it’s a constant ‘oh you’re just turning 29 again teehee 🤭’ or ‘dont tell your SO that, he’ll leave you for a younger model 😉’ and i just???? hate it?????????

i spent my entire teenaged years fighting for my life. i crawled through the deepest pits of my depression to cling to the promise of a life beyond that pain. i was so convinced that i was going to die young, that i would never see the grace of my age starting with a 2, let alone 3.

so im going to turn 30, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do to stop me from loving it.

[namism]

zoro or law accidentally falling into readers chest 👀👀

(you can skip this req if this is to suggestive)

turbulent seas, turbulent confessions | trafalgar law

➳ categories: canonverse, afab reader

➳ warnings: suggestive

➳ word count: 952

➳ summary: Law decides that he doesn't want to enter the New Year sad and single, so he finally mans up and confesses to you. Unfortunately, chaos ensues.

➳ notes: thanks for the request, and happy new year! wrote it as a little suggestive scenario instead for law since i got too many zoro requests 😟

➳ cross-posted on ao3

"Would you please explain to me why you brought me to the janitor's closet 23 minutes before New Year's?"

If you told a young Trafalgar Law that he would grow up to be a single anxious man, he would believe you. That's why he was sweating buckets from the moment he asked to speak with you in private to the moment he weaved through crowds and locked the both of you inside the Polar Tang's janitor's closet, panting heavily and almost nauseous.

Law is currently wordless as he surmises a decent answer to your question. He was expecting it to begin with, so he prepared an answer beforehand—but the thing is, his nerves got the best of him so he doesn't remember what he even rehearsed in the first place.

"I have to tell you… something," he answers instead. "How do I say this?"

"If it's about Bepo's sweet tooth, don't even bother. I told Penguin to monitor his sugar intake."

"That... That wasn't it," he murmurs.

You blink. "Huh?"

Law sighs. His shoulders fall as he places his head in his hands in distress. You look at him worriedly.

"Captain?" You hold his arm. "What's the matter?"

"Ugh." He groans lowly. He can't believe he's doing this, but Law has a mission to accomplish. "What do you think of me liking someone, (Y/N)-ya?"

You freeze.

He likes someone? You think to yourself. A sharp pain shoots through your chest. Great.

Your hand drops to your side. Chuckling to yourself, you mask the hurt in your eyes.

"If you wanted to ask for advice, you could have just said so." You look around the dim room, nose scrunching up at the musty smell of age-old cleaning products and wet mops. "I would have appreciated it if you didn't take us to this stinking closet. It's so tight in here, and I can barely breathe."

Law grows sheepish at your complaints. He didn't think much about the venue of his confession. He's just had enough of waiting that he grew impatient and suddenly decided that today was the day. It was the final day of the year, and after 26 years of living, he grew tired of having zero luck in romance. If he can't ask you out, or worse, tell you what he truly feels today, he won't know what to do with himself.

"Sorry," he mumbles. "Well? What do you think?"

You lean on the wall across him. You like Law, but who doesn't find their charming crew Captain that way? You aren't deeply in love with him, but it does make you jealous that he's asking you things meant for someone else.

"I think... it's good for you," you answer simply. "Whoever it is, you should shoot your shot."

"Then what do you think of me liking you?"

You shake your head. "What?"

Law steps forward, almost leaning in.

"I like you." As he looks at you intently, his eyes dart from your eyes to your lips, then to your eyes again. "I'm into you, and I would like to take you out."

"U-Um..." you stammer. Law waits for an answer, but his stare pressures you. "Captain, I—"

Suddenly, the Polar Tang tips to the side as the sound of explosives ring about from the upper deck of the sub. Law jerks forward and stumbles into your smaller figure, the abrupt movement of the ship causing him to fall on his knees disgracefully. He tries to hold himself up, but buckets upon buckets scatter about in the closet, restricting his movement.

"Captain, you're, uh, you're pretty heavy—"

"I know, let me just—"

Law tries to stand on an empty bucket once he has a firm grip on the wall, but the submarine tilts a second time and he loses his balance. Your hands fly to his arms to catch him, but Law falls face first into your chest and groans. You moan, but it comes out as a combined sound of pleasure and disbelief as your body heats up in shame.

"Fuck," Law cusses under his breath as he kicks the buckets away and find some leg room in the tiny space. He scurries off you immediately and regains his balance.

"I-I'm going to kill them! What the hell are they doing outside?! It isn't even midnight yet!" you yell out of annoyance as you grip your chest protectively with your hands. You look at Law sheepishly. "Jeez, Captain. You got a free feel, but no offense, it kinda hurt my—"

"Enough!" Law hisses, covering his face with his hat. His cheeks are bright red, and you swear he's physically overheating.

He admits to himself that he enjoyed it. He secretly thanks the commotion outside for giving him an excuse to be that close to you, but he also feels disgusted that he's easy to please.

"I'm sorry. We should continue this another time," he eventually apologizes, deciding it's the best option at the moment. When you don't respond, Law reluctantly reaches for the door.

However, you stop him just in time. You splay your fingers across his broad shoulders, and standing on your tiptoes, you slowly kiss his cheek, then his jaw, then his neck, the skin closest to his Adam’s apple.

"I like you, too," looking up at him, you whisper. "I think it's great that we see eye to eye, Captain."

Law sucks in a deep breath, his mind going numb at your kisses and sincere eyes.

"My room, after we handle this," he orders. "We're going to talk. Got it?"

Smiling to yourself, you nod. You lead him out of the closet to handle the chaos outside, excited for what's to come afterward.

[bebeb29]

Growing old....disgracefully

[treason-and-plot]

OC QUESTIONNAIRE PART 6

I was tagged for the 6th and final time by the fabulous @frostedshore, thank you for thinking of me! This time I chose Anita's bff and Saffron's step-grandmother, Renee.

Name: Renee Valerie Woods Nickname: She used to be known as The Milf back in the day, and her husband still calls her Milfie as a term of endearment. Gender: Female Star sign: Leo Height: 5’6" Orientation: N/A Nationality/Ethnicity: Sim Favorite Fruit: Lychees Favorite Season: Summer Favorite Flower: Freesias Favorite Scent: Yves Saint Laurent's Black Opium Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate: Strong black coffee Average Hours of Sleep: 8 Dogs or Cats: Neither Dream Trip: A culinary tour of the world's top restaurants (Renee owns a successful catering business and fancies herself as a bit of a foodie) Number of Blankets: 25, and they are all made from the woven pubic hair of her ex-lovers. Random Fact: Renee's exact age is a mystery, but she could be aged anywhere from her mid 50s to late 60s. As she's fond of observing: "I don’t plan to grow old gracefully. I plan to grow old disgracefully, and have face-lifts until my ears meet.”

[the960writers]

the960writers page info

Hi I'm barbex! I live on the internet and I write a lot. This is the tumblr where I collect writing advice and sometimes write some of my own.

Why the name? This was meant to be a group project of three writers, committing to 960 words every day. But life got in the way and that collaboration never happened. I still like the name though.

⌨️ fantasy, scifi, fanfic, romance 🌈 🚫 no genAI 🌍 german, she/her

Bio: Growing old disgracefully. Angry engineer. barbex everywhere, she/her.

Not recommended for under 18. I'm not responsible for parenting other people's offspring. Adult conversations will not be filtered for children. Writers can write what they want and apart from content warnings are not responsible for what readers choose to read.

I'm @barbex, @the-wip-project, @fictober-event, @audiobarbex, @barbarabecc

All my fics, including original fiction, on AO3: AO3/barbex.

I helped publish a tumblr anthology in 2017: New Tales From Old Yarn

I wrote a sexy scifi short story for the Red Hots: A Valentine Anthology (discontinued) and republished it on amazon: Roses & Tails.

Other sites and popular posts under the cut.

Other sites: https://www.instagram.com/barbarabecc/, https://twitter.com/barbarabarbex, https://bsky.app/profile/barbex.bsky.social, https://www.threads.net/@barbarabecc

Check out recent popular posts:

A post about story structure in The Heroine's Journey

A collection of alternatives to google docs, also check out the reblogs with more suggestions on this one:

Here is my list of resources to learn and practice your writing:

[fantasy-harvest-rune]

Happy “Oh fuck - I’m old” Birthday to me

In most ways I am nowhere near mature enough to be 30 so I have every intention of growing old disgracefully and not giving a single shit

[barbex]

Starter Page

Apparently, just having pages in the header doesn't work? So here's all the stuff:

Growing old disgracefully. Angry engineer. German. Not recommended for under 18. I'm not responsible for parenting other people's offspring. Adult conversations will not be filtered for children.

barbex everywhere, she/her.

Dragon Age (Mage Rights! Anders was right! Fuck the Chantry! Also if you don't like fenders, I can't help you), Mass Effect, The Witcher, pretty art.

Fanfiction, gaming, feminism, lefty politics.

Let writers write what they want! Let people be cringe!

Always FIGHT FASCISM!

All my fics on AO3: AO3/barbex.

All my fics on this tumblr: /tagged/my writing

Prompts: https://barbex.tumblr.com/prompts

Other sites: https://barbex.dreamwidth.org/, https://www.instagram.com/barbarabecc/, https://twitter.com/barbarabarbex, https://bsky.app/profile/barbex.bsky.social, https://www.threads.net/@barbarabecc I run the960writers, the-wip-project, fictober-event, the-smut-cafe, startrekhasalwaysbeen, audiobarbex.

Header image by kemvee (post). Icon made with this picrew.

---

Oh, and just that you're warned:

and another

There you have it.

An explanation for those who don't know:

proshipping does not stand for "problematic shipping", it stands for being pro, in favor of, shipping.

learn your words.

proshipping means: ship and let ship

proshipping means: not harassing people over their choices of fictional pairings

proshipping means: not trying to apply arbitrary christian morality guidelines to what creators are allowed to depict in art and writing

proshipping means: not judging people for their kinks

proshipping means: expecting people to tag their content correctly and to avoid tags I don't enjoy

proshipping means: not forgetting what censorship in fandom leads to

proshipping means: enjoying fandom in all facets and curating my own online experience

That's why I'm a proshipper. This a stupid conversation. Fiction is not reality. Go out into the world and deal with real problems.

[educated-dumbass]

Books with Older Protagonists

Quick Key:

🍄= I’ve read and recommend

🥀= on my tbr list

Fantasy:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (42 year old MC)

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (Elderly Couple MC’s) 🥀

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson (55 year old MC) 🥀

The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst (Middle aged MC’s)

Mystery:

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (~70+ years old MC’s) 🥀

Vera Wongs Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (~60 years old MC)

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey (82 years old MC)

Horror:

Ghost Story by Peter Straub (Elderly MC’s) 🥀

Bone Harvest by James Brogden (Senior citizen MC)

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King (65 year old MC’s)

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (30-50 years old MC’s)

Fiction:

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (~70 years old MC)

How to Age Disgracefully by Claire Pooley (Senior Citizens)

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (59 years old MC)

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (39 year old, 87 year old, middle aged, and ~50 year old MC’s)

Graphic Novels:

Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto (76 year old MC)

Audubon on the Wings of the World

In by Will McPhail (millennial aged MC)

Poetry:

(About Aging and Growing)

Older, Wiser, Shorter: The Truth and Humor of Life After 65 by Jane Seskin

Old Stranger by Joan Larkin 🥀

Sunset Years: You’re still the one by Frank A. Lancione

Our Aching Bones, Our Breaking Hearts by Joel Savishinsky

Howling at the Moon by Darshana Suresh

Romance:

The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian (~80+ years old MC’s) (Already in a relationship)

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (79 and 81 years old MC’s) 🥀

Science Fiction:

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (~30-50 years old MC’s)

Greybeard by Brian W. Aldiss (50+ years old MC’s)

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon (70 year old MC)

[poetic-echoes]

I have been struggling this week...

I have been struggling this week, and I think I know why

It seems, to a part of my life, it is time to say goodbye

I'm not sure how to do it, and how to keep that way

But I know I have to do it, and that way it must stay

Everything will be absolutely fine, I know it will be

I need to learn how to be happy, a free spirit and to be me

I've done it before and I'll do it again

Although I'm not sure how and I'm not sure when

I can feel I am on the cusp of it though, all will be well

My life will be peachy, healed and I'll feel swell!

Of course, that last line, I do say in jest

But I will live my life the only way I know best

It is time to put the past behind me, to grow and to heal

This is only thing I really want to feel

Depression sucks, it's been over 30 years now

It's time for that part of my life to disappear and take a bow

I am fast approaching my 54th year on this Earth

Time for a new beginning, a new life, a rebirth

Of this I can be sure, damn right, it's my time to be happy

And to embarrass those who love me, with hugs, tears and being sappy!

It's time to age like fine wine, to grow old disgracefully

To accept who I am, all my weird traits and spirituality

It's time to be me, the real version of me

Happy, full of life, with more energy and free.

[stayspookymockingbirdlane]

RP Starters from "The Munsters" (2022)

Geez, conceited, much?

Simply dropping ice-cold facts.

Zombie problem solved.

You know, a man is more than the sum of his parts.

What do I look like, a moron?

Well, I suppose you have a better idea.

You'll kill us both!

I could have altered mankind's place in the universe.

I have pictures of my fuzzy little nuggets!

Cute little fella.

I'm gonna go...

I want a man who makes my blood run cold.

Let me guess... he's broke again.

That's not something you see everyday!

Don't you dare touch that dial!

Beauty goes skin-deep, but ugly goes down to the bone.

I'm looking for a vision... a queen.

Which dress says I'm very, very interested, but not miserable and depressed?

HEY, NUMBSKULL!

When they made me, they broke the mold!

We're dealing with some serious brain power here!

Dazzle me with your side-splitting wit.

I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that you were special.

I'm just a regular gal living a boring, normal life.

If there's one thing I know, it's that the rest of the world melted away as soon as you appeared in my life.

Perfect husband coming up!

Everybody's in a dancing mood tonight.

You know I never drink wine.

You're the hemlock in my veins.

My sweet pussycat.

All I ask is that we spend the rest of my lives growing disgracefully old together.

What a cream puff!

Can someone please call 911?

He's your bloody problem now, mate!

You know how wolves get after a few too many.

I would hate to think I just threw my life away marrying a blockhead!

I hate to say it, but old Paris is overrated.

You look so continental and suave!

And she swore she would get revenge on me.

Bottom's up!

Who's side are you on?

So manly!

Over my dead body.

You gotta get ahead of the curve if you wanna swerve.

Scram.

Have you fellas heard about the new glass coffins?

Don't argue with me.

Well... now what?

[beetlejuicesgraveyardrevue]

I'm so up and down

And I love what's not allowed

I was lost, now I see

And now I'm growing old disgracefully

Whatever happened to Mary?

[croucheris2017]

ANN

ANNWheel me out to whirl around,And feel the sunshine on my face.Take me to where lavender lives,Beyond both time and space.I need to know that I can go,Any time, any place, anywhere.I don’t need a stiff Martini,Just the wind on my face and in my hair.It’s great to be alive at any age,And especially grateful for every extra mile.But growing old disgracefully,Gives some of us good cause to smile.I…