38 - Aftertaste

Blueberry You, Chocolate undertones, Bittersweet like mocha Richer than cocoa Marshmallow skin Eyes intoxicating Like syrup-soaked cherries Too sophisticated for my pallette Yet still I want a taste Of that fruit forbidden; Imparting to me knowledge Of the deepest parts of you.

It all turns to dust on the tip of my tongue, The kirsch of your lips burns acrid, metallic. Chocolate-coated secrets Sit like stones in the stomach; Sticky-sweet dissolving Like sugar in the bloodstream. Your facade cracks like toffee on the teeth, Exposing the fermenting apple within. Oh innocence lost, a fantasy fleeting, Flavour-faded like gum overchewed; Now the banquet is over, cup drained to the dregs, And now I know I never truly knew you.

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The Dark Menagerie No. 38

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Haley, courtesy of the non-weirdest ad I’ve gotten on tumblr

The ad in question:

Which DND class suits your personality?

Cleric of the Twilight Domain

You’re dedicated, caring, and probably a sucker for happy endings. You spend so much time helping other people that you might forget to take care of yourself. You’re very idealistic and have a strong sense of faith in your beliefs, which may be actual religious beliefs or just your personal moral code. You like to be prepared for a variety of situations and you may have a bit of a protective side. The twilit transition from light into darkness often brings calm and even joy, as the day's labors end and the hours of rest begin. The darkness can also bring terrors, but the gods of twilight guard against the horrors of the night. Clerics who serve these deities bring comfort to those who seek rest and protect them by venturing into the encroaching darkness to ensure that the dark is a comfort, not a terror. You’re not the type of person to fear the dark or the night. You’re comfortable with a little uncertainty you might find yourself drawn to the mysterious or the unknown. You have a quiet bravery that you may use to help inspire others to overcome their fears. You’re a protective person but you protect not by force or physical strength, but through inspiration and keeping a watchful eye out for potential danger.

the only real major difference between rgg and y7 arakawa's wardrobe is how he wears his coat + bling and the scarf but it's such a difference

in some nebulous post canon where no one I like dies I want a fic where like. In an attempt to establish that he’s not as grossly possessive of james as sarcean was of anharion will is like yeah I totally wouldn’t mind if james wanted to fuck someone else... i could be flexible like that. cue disbelieving side eyes but for some bullshit reason this blatant lie is put to the test and the ot4 has to be consummated….. will and violet & will and cyprian have no chemistry to me sexually but every other configuration would maybe work? james and cyprian can have miserable pseudo-incestous last of their kind sex. violet and james can have weird slantways sex where they are both acutely aware of being will's creatures. i think this would be cathartic to them. will can seethe in the corner while desperately trying to hide how worked up and jealous he feels until he figures out some way to get over it and into it

tv show recs please?

Oh, Nonny, are you asking me to talk about my favourite thing(s)? 'CAUSE I WILL GLADLY DO SO.

Ahem.

Headless: A Sleepy Hollow Story. I know I'm probably obnoxious about it at this point but it really is that good. Based off of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, it's funny and smart and emotional with amazing characters and twists that are so very earned. Please check it out on Youtube! (Shipwrecked Comedy)

Casualty 1900s/London Hospital. This series follows a hospital in the Edwardian era in London's east end. It's got a great ensemble cast and interesting storylines about both medical practices and the doctors and nurses that work there. (BBC)

Jericho (2016). It's kind of like a Western but set in Victorian England. It's about a widow and her two children who are forced to make a fresh start in a town set up around the building of a viaduct for a railway. Jessica Raine and Hans Matheson are so great to watch, and I wish the show was given a second season. (ITV)

Business Proposal. This K-drama is full of rom-com sweetness! A woman agrees to go on a blind date for her friend and shenanigans ensue as the guy turns out to be her boss. It's a bit fake-relationship, a bit enemies-to-lovers, and it's a lot of fun. I especially love the main character's friend and her relationship. (Netflix)

American Gods. This is based on Neil Gaiman's book and is definitely darker in tone. After the death of his wife, a man finds himself in the middle of a battle between the old gods and the new as they fight to stay relevant in the modern world. (I really enjoyed the book and I wish the show had been able to finish the story, but it does drag a bit in seasons two and three...) (Starz/Amazon?)

These are a few that come to mind that might be lesser-known, but I've got tonnes more recommendations where those came from! I'm curious to know what genre you like. I also have a tag meme that I need to post my answer for that lists a bunch of my favourite shows so I figured I wouldn't talk about all of them here, too.

urgh this fandom in particular is making me learn new things about myself. I wish there was a way to like. blacklist a fic from yourself on ao3

✒️

Send me a ✒️ and I'll pick a poem I think you'd like

Okay Jayden I'm going to be honest you were very difficult here. As I flipped through I didn't see any poems that really jumped out at me strongly, and the ones that did stick out more were pretty subtle (both in the poems themself and how much i thought they seemed like you) so there's a chance I'm way off base here. BUT for you I ended up picking "Grammar" by Tony Hoagland. This is a poem that almost didn't make it into my collection, but the unique metaphor used really hooked me in both how unrelated it seems and how it really works.

Other poems that vaguely stuck out were

"A Ghazal of Oranges" by Jan-Henry Gray

"My Dead Friends" by Marie Howe

"Tenebris Interlucentem" by James Elroy Flecker

"Snow" by David Berman

"This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams

Edit: also "When I Tell My Husband I Miss the Sun, He Knows" by Paige Lewis

I also maybe got a bit of a feeling that you would like some stuff by W. H. Auden? But none of his stuff I had seemed right at all and it can be a bit on the longer side of things (in relation to short/mid length poems) so I didn't include any. Some Auden poems I like are "Funeral Blues" "In Memory of W. B. Yeats", and "A Summer Night"* but none of those struck me as quite right while flipping through.

*conflicting feelings abt the last 2 stanzas here, pretty dated to when it was written in 1934

Anyways, thanks for the ask! (And humoring me about poetry!) I very much had a difficult time putting this guess together so don't be surprised if it's way off the mark. I was mostly running off of vague vibes and feelings here

6/11/28!! for the asks

6) 3 characters that inspire you: Jo March in Little Women, Anne Shirley in AOGG, Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton

11) 3 books that you would recommend everyone to read: oooh that's a hard one, since I don't truly believe in the 'books to read before you die' since everyone has different tastes, but I'd recommend If You Could See The Sun by Jandy Nelson, The Giver by Louis Lowry, and Animal Farm by George Orwell (special mentions are Pachinko by Min-Jin Lee, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Hosseini, and My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell)

28) 3 things you love cooking/baking: chicken soup, stir fry, and cookies <3

3 things asks

PARAGON 😭😭😭😭😭😭 no

ONCE AGAIN:

“Do not ever engage with The Bad Fiction Things for any reason because interacting with it automatically reflects who you are as a person because it means that this fictional, not real thing is actually you” IS DIRECTLY. ANTITHETICAL. TO RECOVERY. FROM THE THING. THAT I SUFFER FROM.

.

i’m so tired of people misunderstanding this oh my gooooood okay i’m not saying books shouldn’t explore dark themes or whatever i’m SAYING that i WONT READ A BOOK THAT ROMANTICES ABUSE AND SA AND SO ON AND SO FORTH

people who prefer ivvw to tsh because its less problematic are entertaining to me because like .. thats it! thats the secret sauce that makes it better!!!!!

I LOVE HOW YOU TAG PARAGRAPHS THEYRE FUN TO READ!! /gen

Thank you!!! I love to ramble!!!

i need to pick up prairie song again. im still at the part with the casino that's also an indentured servant camp or something