#what’s this?? could it be a sonnet??

[apoemadaykeepsthehoesaway]

Storm

-Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

His face was charged with beauty as a cloud

With glimmering lightning. When it shadowed me,

I shook, and was uneasy as a tree

That draws the brilliant danger, tremulous, bowed.

-

So must I tempt that face to loose it’s lightning.

Great gods, whose beauty is death, will laugh above,

Who made his beauty lovelier than love.

I shall be bright with their unearthly brightening.

-

And happier were it if my sap consume;

Glorious will shine the opening of my heart;

The land shall freshen that was under gloom;

What matter if all men cry out and start,

And women hide their faces in their shawl,

At those hilarious thunders of my fall?

[princepestilence]

Seems to me that people on this site with little to no sexual experience (a speculation, but one I’m decently confident in) will harp on and on about the dangers of “romanticising” the most outlandish scenarios very earnestly, like whether you should be friends with a rehabiliated genocidal alien or 200+ year age gaps -- and to an extent, I get it, all art is metaphor on some level, there are kernals of real experience in everything and those readings can be discussed discursively. 

But frankly I feel like if you really cared about actual people’s well-being, the absolute primary target for the literary “stop romanticising” battle cry would be shower sex and how it’s not even good. 

[gayedmundo]

eddie being gay is vital for his arc to make sense because the majority of his queercoding hasn't been built on his attraction to men but rather his lack of attraction to women just btw

[softinvasions]

Hornet at Herrah's Altar • Dec. 2023

[lunasilvis]

I'm going to become such an amazing, caring, adventurous and consistently loving girlfriend to someone so good this year. I can feel it in my bones

[wildsaltair]

[ty-the-trainwreck]

robin buckley is the kind of gf to take every opportunity to talk about her partner its true

someone mentions the newspaper? oh! nancy works for the newspaper! did robin mention nancy is robin’s girlfriend?

the color pink? nancy loves the color pink! also nancy is robin’s girlfriend.

books? nancy loves reading books! robin loves reading books with nancy, who is robin’s girlfriend.

she just loves saying “nancy is my girlfriend!”

[winepresswrath]

I think it would be an improving experience for the writers who think surprising their audiences or leaving them sad and unsatisfied is the pinnacle of artistic achievement and have not noticed that the easiest way to bring that about is in fact to be bad at your job and the fans who think it should be illegal to write an ensemble or fail to clearly signpost the endgame couples or whether there's a happy ending to spend some time together, creatively speaking. Hand in unloveable hand.

[wambsgender]

thinking about richard barnfield this afternoon. ough

[nebulations]

YES YES ROMEO AND JULIET YESS. no one believes me when i say it’s a story about hope!!!! reckless foolish desperate hope!!!!!

Oh my god literally!!!! What else is love if not that!!!!!

[mycological-mariner]

If you asked “Why are you awake at 04.35 am in the morning” I really don’t feel that “Making audio recordings of Spanish translation Shakespeare sonnets” would really close down that line of questioning.

[stalinqrad]

*gasp* uni poetry contest??

[the-dalseum-duet]

cra-chea-ing out

i’m. actually tweaking.

also on my period so that’s probably why I’m on the fucking verge of tears over this shit.  funny pun title tag (brief Kai name drop tag too) : @svwhssftr

Adrienne Lenker is an indie artist who does very much sad soft teenage lesbian music. The Phoebe Bridgers type. But GOD. SHE IS A LYRICIST. They’re very simple but so damn effective which is what always gets me good. It will kill me every time. I haven’t heard a lot of her discography but rn. But Always is getting to me

I tend to focus on a lot of the very flashy and entertaining aspects of Dalseum and I do this on purpose. Because I physically cannot bring myself to think about the more domestic aspects without FUCKING CRASHING OUT. kai must be there to soften the blow or else i physically cannot finish writing it because i will break down. i will hysterically sob. but I heard the lyrics

“I don’t want to be the owner of your fantasy, I just want to be a part of your family”

 and I was just like “sonnit che…” so. here we are. a spiel abt sonnet and noeul’s relationship bc i do not write nearly enough abt them

and the rest of her songs are VERY sonnet coded I just cannot bring myself to write abt it. cannot. I will sob. anyway. I very violently paced circles in my room over “I could be a good mother, and I want to be your wife. so I hold you to my knife and I steal your letter”

NOT A LOT. JUST FOREVER. INTERTWINED. SEWN TOGETHER I’M CRASHING OUT OVER THESE TWO I’M CRASHING THE FUCK OUT 

so of course. we gotta start w sonnet’s past. grew up very sheltered in a monastery and went to an art school in Britain where they met Adam and realized all that was out there in the world. something abt sonnet choosing to abandon their monastic practices for the glamour of Dalseum… something abt becoming someone who could never return to your family without them seeing you as a moral failure… hashtag relatable. back to sonnet 

so they’re desperate for human connection with people their age. which is why I think they get so attached to Noeul. he makes them feel special and physically loved even though he treats them like shit outside of their hookup sessions. bc sonnet doesn’t understand this yet. they just see the part of him that cherishes what they offer him.

sonnet’s also definitely has some form of personality disorder. theeeeere is something VERY wrong with them. probably bpd if I’m being honest but I’m just not educated enough about it. their behavior toward noeul is very similar to having a favorite person though. 

and ofc the whole Blaire thing happens after Sonnet leaves the Council to focus on healing after what happened with Adam. this really gets me tbh. bc they tried to fix what was wrong with them. they knew they could do better. they TRIED to do better so fucking hard but the life of the council was too enticing. and they gave back in. and they just… do whatever noeul tells them bc it’s easy and they don’t have to worry about being a good person anymore. they don’t have to focus on healing when they can just keep destroying their self image because it feels so much better to indulge in whatever Noeul does and his praise than to face the implications of what they’re doing 

and Noeul knows sonnet is doing this. and he really doesn’t care because it’s easier for him, too. he doesn’t have to think about what might have been if he tried to better himself for Charlie. (SPOILER: SOMETHING HAPPENS APX. NINE MONTHS AFTER THIS THAT FORCES HIM TO DO EXACTLY THAT FOR FIFTEEN YEARS!) but people know Sonnet, and Sonnet knows how the Council works and all the ways they bullshit their way to seem prestigious. They were who a Sang man was meant to marry, and Noeul is no better than the thousands of men who came before him. No matter how much he tried to change that. They both gave in to the easiest option. 

But here’s the kicker. Neither of their strategies work. Sonnet doesn’t fill the void that Charlie was, and Sonnet fucking knows this. THEY KNOW THIS. THEY KNOW THIS. DO YOU HEAR ME RN THEY KNOW THIS. THEY KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER BE NOEUL’S FIRST CHOICE. SONNET KNOWS THAT NOEUL PRETENDS THEY’RE CHARLIE the shotgun is in my mouth right now actually 

And they know that everything they do is for show. they’re Charlie without the rough bits. without the arguments. without the social awkwardness. without the small, unimpressive body. without the longing for more. WITHOUT THE LONGING FOR MORE!!!

and Sonnet is fine playing this part for a few years until Marie starts getting a little older. they see her love for her family and her love for them. and suddenly Sonnet has a purpose again, and that’s to be Marie’s parent. like, they enjoyed taking care of Crow as a baby bc that’s just the way sonnet is. they’re naturally VERY empathetic. they ALWAYS put others above themselves. which is incredibly tragic considering they’re the main antagonist for half of the entire plot

but Marie was different because Marie was their daughter. ofc they don’t really have that initial biological connection the way Noeul connects with Crow (and i could absolutely talk abt sonnet’s distress over their own inability to carry children. for a very long time. but not now) but Marie is the closest thing they’ll ever get. and by God is she more than they could have ever wanted and hoped for. Marie makes Sonnet feel like Sonnet again and not just some stand-in for some girl Noeul never got over

and Noeul and Crow have this parallel connection for a while. Crow makes Noeul realize that he’s more than just his job and that he can have meaningful connections with others that are just. meaningful connections. and not just business transactions. even if that comes in the form of his illegitimate son

(and yeah I could also talk abt Noeul always seeing Charlie in Crow and Sonnet doing the same seeing how he connects with Crow more deeply than connects with Marie but the gist of that is self explanatory. very angsty! but age old trope there)

But this is the key difference between them:

Sonnet raises Marie to be Marie.

Noeul raises Crow to be Noeul.

And this is evident over the course of Blackbirds and how Sonnet and Noeul react to Crow betraying the Court’s values. Noeul thinks Crow is just being immature and isn’t a legitimate threat because he assumes Crow has the same thought process he did at that age. He only takes him seriously when he realizes Charlie is with him.

But Sonnet sees Crow for all he is. They see that yes, he is just a scared and confused kid, but they know he doesn’t want to inherit the role of his father. He sees how his loveless marriage and alcoholism has destroyed him. They know Crow’s smart and driven as hell. They know he’s just like his dad at that age. 

That’s why they only intervene when Marie gets involved. Because Marie is their heart and soul. Marie is the good they gave to Dalseum. As the Court proves to be less and less stable, they confine themselves to their sacred room just. to get high and play music and shit. because they know everything around them is collapsing and there’s nothing they can do because their role on the Court has been reduced to Noeul’s arm candy. Marie is the only person left who truly sees them for who they are. 

and once Noeul announces that Marie is going to become empress and Sonnet will no longer have any say on the Court, they disassociate entirely. like the entire week before Marie’s coronation they just get stoned out of their mind and. I’m actually debating having them attempt to overdose on Crow’s leftover pain meds bc damn that shit has to mentally kill someone. they just fully embrace their dehumanization. but after none of that works they launch Operation Doehunt with Gale and we all saw how that went (spoiler alert: gale had a closed casket funeral)

I had a point here. Oh yeah.

Sonnet didn’t care that Noeul didn’t find them specifically attractive. They just wanted someone that made them feel important. They jumped through the hoops he told them to jump through to prove to him that they were EVEN WORTHY of his time and attention… even though Sonnet was worth so much more than that. But, after all the dust settled, they just wanted Marie to be happy. That was all they cared about once their entire life as they knew it was jeopardized. 

They didn’t want to be a part of Noeul’s fantasy. They just wanted to be a part of his family. 

Tune in next time for a potential “not a lot, just forever” analysis. that’s it for now. 

update: wrote this like a day ago but you called me in the middle of my crashout so I had to put it on hold. so here is the finished product that’s literally unintelligible bro what does half of this mean

[artblueminecraftorchid]

Eclipse

May night descending be a mere eclipse;

Dim light hung close, but brushing harmless by

May shadows curl in sleep with softer curves

Til gleaming slivers wisp to brighter day

May sun’s bright rays ever ’round corners be

The lamps mere stopgap for the light to come

The cooling winds bring nothing but relief

To sweat-slick skin in summer’s sneaking burst

Between winter and spring. Stranger and friend

Alike shall pour onto the new-mow’d lawn,

Impromptu-picnic-party in full force.

Press safety glasses into your friends’ hand

Stare up towards the moon’s new waltzing dance-

The dark has passed. It’s alright. Go to class.

[heavysighing-dreamyeyes]

Overly Attached (and in love)

Short Headcanons ~600 words

Clingy!Jason Todd who just can't exist right if he's not in your space. It's not an exaggeration when he says his world revolves around you. He could wax ballads over how he'd pluck the stars from the sky for you and sing sonnets over how the sunlight brushes your skin in the haze of dawn.

Clingy!Jason Todd who always seems to have his hands on you. Fingers curled together, hands on hips, or palms on thighs, he always seems to be touching you in some way. He claims it's to keep you warm, and it's partly true, but really, he just likes feeling connected to you in some way.

Clingy!Jason Todd who somehow always gets you in one of his hoodies before you leave your apartment. This happens especially if he's not going out with you, because if he can't be next to you, at least something of his is. More often than not, it's something that'll match your outfit, but sometimes he likes tugging something horrendous over your head just to see if you'll go out in it.

Clingy!Jason Todd who jumps at the chance to run errands with you. He doesn't mind braving Gotham's public transport or traffic if it means he can be next to you, arms hooked together, and quiet laughter ringing between you. Groceries, clothes shopping, and whatever else needs to get done always seem to breeze by with you. But he really loves it when you stop by your favorite bookstore together at the end of it all, as a treat.

Clingy!Jason Todd who's always in the bathroom with you when you're taking a shower or a bath. He sits on the toilet seat just so he can hear you talk about your day and what's been on your mind. (He wouldn't mind joining you in the water either, if you asked)

Clingy!Jason Todd who understands the concept of boundaries, of course, but the idea of them doesn't exactly register unless you say them out loud. Yes, his hand is under your shirt in public so he can trace your hip with his thumb, and no, he does not see a problem with that.

Yes, you're going to sit in his lap the first time you meet his family and no, he does not understand why you're talking about making a good first impression when he's actually really comfortable like this?

Clingy!Jason Todd who would rather have you use him as a pillow than your actual, nice ones with the silk pillow cases. You can't convince him that his arm or his chest isn't more comfortable than anything you could buy from a store. And he'll wear his softest shirts for you to sleep on, unless you'd rather have his skin against yours.

Clingy!Jason Todd who has never really been good at sharing, so if you could keep your eyes on him instead of whoever else is vying for your attention, that would be great. It's not that he doesn't want you to have other friends or people in your life, it's just that he doesn't want you to forget he's there. But he's always easily placated with a smile or your hand tangling with his.

Clingy!Jason Todd who gets a little moony when you kiss his cheek. He always has to return the favor, and if you turn your head at the last minute to give him a slow, sweet kiss, you'll be lucky if you manage to get anything else done in the next hour.

You both have a way of convincing each other to linger in those fleeting, gentle moments, though it doesn't take much convincing on either side. (Jason just hasn't quite picked up on the fact that you can be just as clingy as he is)