A single crystal with deep shade of purple juts out of the palm of your hand. It's beautiful. Symmetrical, without a single flaw, polished and clear.
With your other hand, you try and pick it up, but it clings onto your palm. You adjust your position as familiar frustration gnaws at your insides, gripping it firmly and yanking it off - but not without taking off the top layer of skin as you finally rip it away, the yelp in your throat strangled as you try to suppress it.
Well, flawless besides that.
Another failure. You toss this one off the side of the boat as well, joining the rest of the disappointments that you've created today at the bottom of the lake. Both palms now raw and on the verge of bleeding, the pain is too much for you to continue, and you finally collapse on the deck and stare up at the clear sky.
'You have the same sort of powers as our ancestor! She can make all kinds of things with these.' Aelynn had explained when you first started finding crystal formations growing out of your hands, back when the world was truly ending, although she was able to simply brush them away into dust without painfully ripping them off.
She had tried to hide it behind excitement on your behalf, but you heard the jealousy in her voice anyway, the undeniable proof that she didn't have the same abilities. She had continued, explaining all of the wonderful things that this 'Creator Ceremiré' was able to make, things that weren't even crystal anymore, 'that was just the base of it all'... But she hadn't understood the explanation at all, and so she wasn't able to pass that information on.
You did get some half-baked explanation about needing a deep understanding of molecular structure, but nothing more than that. And that's helped you make these perfect crystals, but it's useless without more to go off.
It wasn't intentional on her part, you know she would have shared if she could, even if she did carry any latent anger towards you, frustrated that she had only gotten half of the powers, the half that caused the fissures in her skin trailing up her arms, the shattering of her surroundings...
But it still makes your guts twist, knowing that you could be so close to finally being able to do something useful, having great untapped potential, but it was just out of reach.
Suits Carnival. The same one that had stolen your sister all those sweeps ago, but it wasn't the same either, now led by a Nostam, like yourself... But she didn't even know you existed.
'I don't know if it's a good idea for you to meet her. She doesn't like the fleet, and she's got an interesting temper - she's still a clown, she's unpredictable.' Aelynn's caution echoes in your memory. You knew there was more to this story that she wasn't telling you, but you knew from experience that your twin was not keen on talking about the things that had hurt her.
At the very least, you didn't think that she was trying to keep some sort of 'great destiny' away from you, she seemed to loathe the idea of going to see her herself; as you knew from her increasing anxiety about the constant invitations she was receiving.
Even so... you sigh deeply, your breath forming a dense cloud in the air. So what, should you simply give up on the one thing you could call your own power? It doesn't sit right.
You won't wonder what the worst that could happen would be, visiting that place, but surely, it's better than never knowing. Surely. Surely?
Queen of Hearts, Ceremiré Nostam of Suits Carnival. Would she be okay with someone like you as her descendant? Would she tolerate you at least so you could observe her? You had to know.
You have to find out.
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Can we PULEASE, pull the LWYMMD mv back into discussion.
Like this music video was undoubtedly her most generous offering to the Gaylor community.
Let’s run through this shall we?
Here we have her 8 beards…
The 8 beards that hold her in a Gold cage, hostage to [her] feelings.
And stand around looking eerily like secret service men- you know, men that are paid to be there..
Not to mention when she’s dancing with her beards, they all are wearing the same “I <3 ts” shirt that Tom Hiddleston wore out on a stunt with Taylor seen here:
The men paid to be there are wearing the same shirt as our most beloved beard Tom hiddleston.
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It's Fine Press Friday!
For today’s Fine Press Friday post, our subject is Bound for the Goldfields, published by the Australia-based Wayzgoose Press in 1990 in an edition of 55 copies, another gift from the estate of book artist and collector Dennis Bayuzick. The original story was written by Charles Dickens for his weekly journal Household Words in June 1855 and the Wayzgoose edition was designed and illustrated with linocuts and wood engravings by Wayzgoose founder Mike Hudson (1939-2021). Ours is a review copy, meaning that this specific book was originally sent out to someone to be reviewed for publication before it was actually distributed.
According to the title page, the story told in this book is a “true account of a journey from Melbourne to Castlemaine by a carrier of supplies to the goldfields.” A journey like this was long and harrowing, as described in the book’s text, which is printed vertically as part of the grassy landscape, and the wood/linocuts provide an excellent visualization of where the traveler physically is within the story being told. Readers will see many trees as the subject walks through forests, sees the night sky, and even the destination of the traveler as he arrives: the tents of those working in the gold fields.
This book was hand-set by Hudson's long-time partner and Wayzgoose Press co-founder Jadwiga Jarvis (1947-2021) in 14pt Monotype Baskerville and was printed on a Western Proof Press using Mohawk Letterpress Paper. Mike Hudson Bound the edition, 46 copies of which were in printed hessian fabric with leather thongs, as shown here.
View other books from the collection of Dennis Bayuzick.
View more Fine Press Friday Posts.
-- Sarah S., Special Collections Graduate Intern
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Financial advice that sounds like a shitpost, isn't: Machine guns are a better investment than gold
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