sand-box-castle

[sand-box-castle]

How will I know you? You'll feel warm between my palms and I'll cup you like a handful of holy water.

Roisin Kelly, "Oranges"

[sand-box-castle]

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

— Franz Kafka

[sand-box-castle]

My heart is a sunflower and my palms are twin moons. Your shaking hands are carving cracks in the spine of my earth, but my roots have never felt deeper.

Worry is not something I ever learned how to turn off,  to turn away from, to live and let die. You are flawed and make me beautiful in your arms. I have nothing but my fingertips and snapped heartstrings to give you in return.

Stay with me. I want to keep you warm. 

[sand-box-castle]

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy

[sand-box-castle]

I’m paying to force seven thousand strangers to see a photo of my late husband having fun with his dog. Tumblr Blaze is totally worth it. XD

[sand-box-castle]

"The Kiss", a 12,000-year-old rock painting at Pedra Furada in Brazil

[sand-box-castle]

Quote Prompt

“I don’t understand why she’s so obsessed with me. We dated for six years, and I never made her orgasm once.”

[sand-box-castle]

Your touch grazes my body

I pray your lips will mark me as yours

Gentle teeth and hands draw me closer

I press myself into you hoping we'll become one

I gasp as my nerves settle under your fingers

Never settling where we both know will undo us

I trace the curves of your body slowly

Hoping it is a spell that will draw you closer

You hope I don't notice your reactions

Yet for us I purposefully ignore the aftermath

I only wish we could hold each other

For the night until the rise of the sun.

- e.

[sand-box-castle]

woke up and someone spilled vanilla extract all over my dash, so as punishment you strange little beasties are getting all the VANILLA FACTS i know:

vanilla is the 2nd most expensive spice in the world (2nd to saffron)

which is why more than 99% of what we call "vanilla extract" is actually vanillin (vanilla's dominant flavor compound) and is not extracted from real vanilla.

luckily, even professionals struggle to tell the difference when it comes to things like baked goods. but there is a distinct difference in non-heat treated products like vanilla ice cream. real vanilla has a more complex, individualized flavor profile.

why is vanilla so expensive? because it is a ridiculously delicate & demanding crop. complete primadonna.

vanilla beans come from vanilla orchids. these crazy flowers bloom for A SINGLE DAY and have to be HAND-POLLINATED in a process that is exhausting, delicate, and requires specialist knowledge passed down over generations.

then, if you're lucky, you get vanilla beans.

which then require months of further specialized treatment.

the entire process takes about a year and can go wrong at any stage

vanilla has been cultivated for over 800 years (possibly much longer). the first known cultivators are the Totonac, an indigenous people of Mexico.

the Aztecs used it as a sweetener to balance out the bitter taste of cocoa. it was popular in a drink called xocolatl--the precursor to modern hot chocolate!

it is only pollinated by a very specific orchid bee!!!

which is why no fruit could be grown outside of Mexico until the 1800s

Edmond Albius, born into slavery, invented the pollination method we still use today--launching a global industry when he was just 12 years old.

today, the majority of the world's vanilla is grown in Madagascar

if you want real vanilla, read the labels carefully--it's harder to find than you think!

in conclusion, those tiny black specks you see in fancy vanilla ice cream? those are vanilla bean seeds! itty bitty orchid seeds!!! they are delicious and also a PRISSY BITCH!

(src)

[sand-box-castle]

this is the saddest fucking thing. wheres that post about when you cant even write a poem about it because its just there already

[sand-box-castle]

Language Isn't Always Verbal

I want to teach you The language of my hands For they can at times Be so very much more eloquent than I More subtle than my sometimes clumsy tongue Less prone to stumbling or misstep.

Every touch can be a poem There are volumes written Upon the lines of palms Comfort in the creases, reassurance Love, desire, solace, all find voice Buried in fingerprints.

All that I cannot speak In the space where words fail Or have not the proper definition Let my hands tell you By caress or grasp Variations of pressure or attitude In perfect, silent eloquence.

That way, even the simple Lacing of fingers twining In knots of flesh and bone and nerve Can be a conversation Between our pulse The unsayable become known Described perfectly As a slight squeeze.

[sand-box-castle]

the virgin loss.jpg versus the chad xkcd Seven Years

[sand-box-castle]

i LOVE the idea of "i can't win, but you can lose" in fictional confrontations it is SO fucking tasty. the human nature to self destruct and the human nature to survive by any means necessary combined at its finest.

[sand-box-castle]

Jihyun Yun, from Some Are Always Hungry; “Reversal”

[Text ID: “I so want to survive this. Please lead me whole into another season so I may dare begin again.”]

[sand-box-castle]

Aching creaking heart

She weeps at what is lost

Shaking heaving body

Searching for her feelings

No longer the will to beg silently

Instead torn in half

Her grief fills the air and he sees

She has been breaking

She can't find how she feels

Let alone for him

This sorrow is all consuming

And she's lost in its wind

He holds her close

Weeping for her wounds

And asks her forgiveness

At not seeing so soon

The pain remains

And she's aches still

But they both believe

That it can be saved and it will

-e.a.

[sand-box-castle]

yes & no by natalie wee

[sand-box-castle]

The Nine Alignments Unexplained Using Near-Incomprehensible Metaphors

Lawful Good: The alignment of the average head of state if you ignore literally everything they've ever done, said, or believed.

Neutral Good: Imagine a small child, then get drunk until your head child is 50% an actual child and 50% your deep emotional hangups over having wasted your youth, then consider the trolley problem.

Chaotic Good: Whatever moral advice the reanimated skeleton of Tony Hawk would give you between kick flips and rap battles.

Lawful Neutral: This one's easy, this is the alignment your spleen has.

True Neutral: Release an angry bear into a philosophy seminar, whichever side wins the subsequent spirited debate is True Neutral

Chaotic Neutral: Like if that weird carpet pattern that only existed in early 90s bowling alleys was capable of complex ethical stances.

Lawful Evil: What would happen if you taped a knife to the King of England

Neutral Evil: If the color gray felt emotions this would be the ethical nature of all its emotions

Chaotic Evil: You know how people used to think bad luck was caused by mischievous goblins? Like that if instead of "bad luck" it was "esoteric metaphysical arguments on the nature of existence"

I hope this antihelps!