#i have feels

[ladykf-writes]

Stories, starfish, and hope.

Not to be "political" on main because in my mind this is less about "politics" and more about, you know, surviving their aftermath. And I was getting really worked up before I was reminded of a comic -- it went around Tumblr for a while, you've probably seen it; googling around will find at least the first part of it. The story it told was about how a great storm washed hundreds, maybe thousands of starfish onto the beach. Unable to traverse the hot sand to reach the safety of the ocean, they were destined to die.

A man walked by and saw a child throwing starfish, one by one, back into the ocean where they would be safe to live another day. Now, there was no way this one child could get to them all before they died, and the man gently tried to tell them -- "You can't save them all. Don't trouble yourself standing out here day and night when you can't change anything. One person can't make a difference." And the child calmly tossed another starfish out into the ocean before saying, "I made a difference to that one."

I'll stop the illustration now to point out, that's where we are. We are the ones who have been trying so hard and things just. It feels like failure in the stark daylight, doesn't it? It feels like all that hard work doesn't matter. Didn't make a difference.

But that's what they're counting on. They're counting on this victory being the period at the end of a sentence at the start of a paragraph singing praises of red red red in warning flags and spilled blood and ugly, ugly hatred. They're assuming we'll give up. We'll make this easy.

No, my friend. No we will not. Take a breath. Take a little bit for self care, for reminding yourself what you fight for. There is a version of the comic that has one more panel:

The end of the comic had the man coming back later that day to find the child still on the beach. However, many others -- both children and adults -- had realized the danger and gathered together to help save these starfish.

There is power in community. There is power in taking a hand and holding on for dear life, of using the weight of a community to anchor yourself. Don't let someone tell you hope is dead. There were some significant battles lost, but this is just the beginning. Wiser folk than I can advise on that. But I just wanted to remind myself, to share the reminder, that this isn't the end. It's not hopeless.

What's a king to a mob?

Reach for that starfish. We'll pull each other up one at a time if we have to.

[thesmallgremlinofdeath]

Me : wants to watch an episode of cr to wind down after a long day.

Ep 49 : Nott & Caleb's full backstory with Sam & Liam not once dropping character and slowly ripping my heart out.

Me : oh well this is strangely not relaxing...

[pan-gya]

i feel so....empty.....

[lenzimanot]

I think a lot about how a big reason why fiyero loves both glinda & elphaba (although in different ways) is that they understand different aspects/parts of him. glinda understands the need to pretend, putting up a show to keep people from looking further. they both long for this perfect life, they both want to be loved & that’s what inevitably draws them towards each other. And then there’s elphaba, who sees the deeper parts fiyero doesn’t want to show: the part that feels like an outsider & also the part that isn’t shallow at all & desperately longs for justice & change.

[sleepycoffins-and-benhargreeves]

Guys, be honest. If in the Sparrow timeline, Ben wasn't there, do you guys think Klaus would have actually tried to kill himself because there's no Ben in his life? Or would he realize that Ben wasn't adopted and he would need to go to Korea to find his Ben?

[kira-nerys-rocks]

Just watched episode 5 of Star Trek Picard and all the wrong references make me so angry. Like THAT'S KIRA'S EARING FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!! Check your facts, writers! Look at one picture of Ro in TNG and don't go "oh, I know what a bajoran earring looks like" only to use the design of Kira's earring. You even changed the design of the Bajoran earrings this season. Which I found sad because I prefer the old design but okay. It would have been okay if Ro would have gotten a new one as well. It's okay for Bajorans to change their earring. BUT DON'T GIVE HER ONE FROM A DIFFERENT CHARACTER!!! URGH! Also don't bring her back for half an episode just to kill her. Please!! I really want to like Star Trek Picard but the writing of this season especially makes it hard.

[priscilla9993]

It's totally ouat brainrot of me to be forever thinking of Curious Archer/Madarcher, in the sense of these girlies that want to find a place to belong and people that allow them to grow.

Like when weighing out the pros of the curse, I can't help thinking about how nice it is that Alice and Robin got cursed to be the selves that they needed to grow through. By that I mean, Tilly got to be vulnerable and open up to others in ways that Alice never got to before with walls physically/mentally around her (very much headcanoning that this was her teenage/young adult era self at play), in ways she could communicate and sort through her trauma with people she strongly felt connected and safe with. Robin as Margot was the continuation of the new leaf Robin wished to express when she was in modern day Storybrooke, with the wish to travel the world (go on adventures at least) and be the cool kid through self assurance and being honest rather than the mean girl persona she had to put up in school environments and lonely unfitting teen in society.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

@high-pot-in-noose is a hero who helped me out with a bit of linguistic assistance for things in my new book idea.

[ilsaafaust]

ilsa faust & ethan hunt || villains

[freedthedark]

// Y'all make me feel so fuzzy inside!!

[ineedaname9]

.

[kyukicho]

I can't believe I take a nice nap and wake up to Madi sending me Mikey pain amvs.

[liveshauntedmoved]

like for LOTTTIE MATTHEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! if also a yj please state adult or teens!

[fenixburned]

some random little headcanons about Dominik's family that I've been thinking about a lot:

so Dominik's mother Leandri is from Novyi Zem & that's a whole story in itself: so Leandri's brother was zowa (an Inferni) & eventually got convinced to go to Ravka for training. Their parents weren't particularly happy about it, but allowed it. 16 year old Leandri dreamed of seeing more of the world too & together with the ache of her brother's absence it led to a fateful decision: She ran away & got on the next ship to Ravka. Surprisingly she did manage to get to Os Alta & started to work at a tavern to make a living. (She also did reunite with her brother, but he soon died in Ravka's wars)

at that tavern Leandri met the farmer Lev Kosyak & after a while he began courting her & they got married. It's a happy match and still remains so.

a big reason why Leandri wanted her son to become the prince's companion was also her wish to give him better chances in life, so he can travel & see the world, since she herself never could. (is it good to push your own dreams on your child? No certainly not)

Dominik is the forth of 8 siblings, he has two older brothers & 5 sisters.

it's a loving home but there's only so much attention parents can give you with 4 younger children needing them. Dominik never faults them for it, he learns to step back early on

He's closest do his oldest sister Valeriya @antigoneravki, she's also a heartrender hiding her abilities to stay with the family & Dominik is one of the few people who know

His older brothers are menances tbh, who like to make fun of Dominik mostly out of jealousy bc he got the chance to study at the palace & they didn't. especially his oldest brother fights vehemently against Nikolai joining them at the farm. (and he wasn't entirely wrong, we know it didn't end well)

when Dominik first brings the topic up his parents aren't thrilled either but he pleads with them until they eventually allow Nikolai to come. the early scepticism (at least when it comes to his parents) soon disappears & Nikolai is a welcomed guest at the dinner table.

until shit goes down & Dominik is banished. the loss of the income especially hits them hard with everyone struggling to make a living with the fields. his parents would never say anything about it (his brothers do though), but Dominik can sometimes feel their gazes on him. Or perhaps that's just an imagination of his own guilty conscience.

Leandri did stay in contact with her parents & siblings & while the whole family can't afford the journey some of the children (usually an older and a younger one) can sometimes spend the summer with them in Novyi Zem. Dominik has very fond memories of the time there.

Due to those visits & his mother sometimes speaking her native tongue with them, Zemeni is the language that comes to him most naturally during his studies. Dominik does his best to preserve this knowledge & he's still fluent without much effort.

tbh Dominik is not very religious, but he definitely grew up more with the zemeni influences than the ravkan saints.

[myblacknightworld]

Okay real talk here. Who amongst you nerds still remembers Gladiatori il torneo delle sette meraviglie