#LiveD

[liquidlightandrunningtrees]

The feeling that she had never really lived in this world caught her by surprise. It was a fact. She had never lived. Even as a child, as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure. She had believed in her own inherent goodness, her humanity, and lived accordingly, never causing anyone harm. Her devotion to doing things the right way had been unflagging, all her successes had depended on it, and she would have gone on like that indefinitely. She didn’t understand why, but faced with those decaying buildings and straggling grasses, she was nothing but a child who had never lived.

Han Kang, The Vegetarian

[silvercaptain24]

I need more good Boromir lives fics

[cainrizquez-blog]

[runningfromadream]

At night, I woke up to whisper: yes, we lived. We lived, yes, don't say it was a dream.

Ilya Kaminsky

[albertayebisackey]

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Gone Forever

Barriss Mills

Halfway through shaving, it came –

the word for a poem.

I should have scribbled it

on the mirror with a soapy finger,

or shouted it to my wife in the kitchen,

or muttered it to myself till it ran

in my head like a tune.

But now it's gone with the whiskers

down the drain. Gone forever,

like the girls I never kissed,

and the places I never visited –

the lost lives I never lived.

"Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle... And Other Modern Verse" - compiled by Stephen Dunning, Edward Lueders, and Hugh Smith

[lunarphoenix2]

you all wouldn't recognize me anymore

[drly-ma]

Oneus Korean Albums Template

[cantankerouscatfish]

was setting up hooks for hanging baskets in the mist tent the other day. complained out loud to no one about how the condensation on the sheet plastic was making my outer shirt all soggy. immediately the misters (right at eye level, since I was standing on the bench) kicked on and got the whole side of my stupid face soaked. nearly fell into the aisle in my rush to get outside the plastic as quickly as possible. :I

[monriatitans]

PRIDE MONTH QUOTE 7 OF 9 Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Two dudes met. They fell in love. They lived. That's our story. - Adam Silvera, They Both Die at the End

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check out The Trevor Project for educational resources! The image was made with and, initially, shared via the Quotes Creator App to Instagram; check it out here! Interested in seeing where the quote came from? If so, click here! Watch MonriaTitans on Twitch and YouTube!

[asbestieos]

i fuckinfg done my shift

[runningfromadream]

If I relaxed my body now, I'd fall apart. I've always lived like this, and it's the only way I know how to go on living. If I relaxed for a second, I'd never find my way back. I'd go to pieces, and the pieces would be blown away.

Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

What you once lived through now returns in your dreams.

Baptism of Fire (Andrzej Sapkowski)

[jelly1799]

Lived

By making a deal with the devil, for a certain amount of time you can gain immense power. In exchange when the time is up, the devil claims your life.

A good person would never make a deal with the devil. That's why he goes after people who have hit rock bottom...

"Get out of here, Low!" Kookie whispers handing me my stuff and pushing me into the right direction. "I'll meet you in our usual spot."

I'm scared as hell, I can hear the looming steps approaching, the smell of grape black and mild filling my nose, as my heart starts to race and my hands shake as I grip the stair railing making my way down carefully.

The top stairwell door opens with a loud bang just as I slip out the bottom one. There's a soft mist being blown by the wind, but not enough to drench my clothes. I'm making record time down the road, my feet automatically knowing the route I've taken so many times.

It's when my feet step on the cracked raised sidewalk that I know I need to turn left, my heart starts to relax when I hear the hum of the giant electro box, I pull the bag off my back and sit down on the cool slightly damp grass as I wait.

Only the sound of the bugs and trees rustling can be heard as I wait for my only friend. I've counted to 60 at least 120 times trying to keep track of how long I've been waiting. Kookie never takes this long he's always been able to escape our foster parents with ease.

I had been with them for years alone before they took him in for another check. He was a small scared boy and never spoke to me despite my best efforts, but it all changed when he got caught sneaking food in the kitchen and I took the blame. They beat me hard that night to teach me a lesson and scare him, but that night he finally spoke to me and crawled into my bed saying that's the first time someone ever looked out for him.

As we grew older we both received our fair share of beatings, but we grew closer. Two peas in a pod, there was never a time we weren't together looking out for each other. He got bigger and stronger and stopped allowing them to hit me, he would often step in taking the brunt of everything so I could escape.

Kookie had been working a part-time job, and I'd been begging on the street for a year saving up everything we could get. Today was the day, we would take all we had earned, hope on the first bus out of here, and never look back.

If only I didn't get lost on the way home, Kookie wouldn't have had to come looking for me. Our foster father wouldn't have caught us in the middle of packing and we would have made it out before they were the wiser.

I hear rustling and the snapping of twigs. "Kookie?"

The loud stomping is a dead giveaway that is not Kookie and the smell of whiskey and grape is enough to make my stomach turn. I scramble trying to tug on my backpack and get to my feet but my hair is yanked harshly and I can feel his hot breath on my face.

"You fucking useless piece of shit! Low you thought you could just leave with him?!" he shouts and I recoil as his hand grips onto my arm his nails digging into my tender flesh.

"Where is he?" I ask scared when he starts laughing.

"Gone," just one word is uttered and I feel my soul break.

I go numb, his beating, I don't feel it; his ugly words, I don't hear them. I wish they would just kill me too as I lay on the floor of the cold room. I don't even know how many days have passed, there's no one left to tell me, no one left to protect me.

We were supposed to get out of here, we were going to travel the world, he was going to be my eyes for the outside world, but now he's gone and it's my fault. I brought him down, if he didn't have to look out for me, he would have made it out.

I can give you eyes.

His honeyed voice sounds from inside my skull. Surprisingly, I'm not scared, what could be worse than the hell I'm already living?

"You'll make it so my eyes can see?" I speak out loud, but the voice I hear sounds nothing like my own. It's hoarse, barely a sound at all, devoid of all emotion.

Yeah. If you make a deal with me, I'll become your eyes.

"Nothing in life is for free. What's the catch?"

Is it not obvious? Your life in exchange for ten years of me being your eyes.

What's my life worth, honestly? I'd rather have ten years of being free than the rest of my life stuck in this hell.

"I'll do it, I'll take the deal!" I say quickly, afraid to lose this opportunity.

There's a loud pop in my ears and my eyes sting, I clench them closed.

Open your eyes, Harlow.

I'm greeted by the darkness, nothing has changed, it didn't work.

Get up and open the curtain.

I slowly stand and all the joints in my legs pop and snap as I try to pull my measly weight up. It takes me a few moments, my body aches with each step, but I get up and walk slowly to the window. I push the curtain aside and I inhale a breath, it's beautiful, a perfect midnight velvet under stars the twinkle so brightly before my new eyes.

I'm pulled back from my trance when I hear them fighting in the living room, things are being thrown around, and then the loud bang of their bedroom door. I know what's going to follow, they won't be leaving the room for some hours. Now is my chance.

I quietly make it to the corner of the room where the bag Kookie had packed for me lay. My eyes well up as I finally glimpse it, he had told me it was purple, as I listened to the etching sounds the markers made against the fabric of the backpack.

We would lay for hours when they would lock us in the room, Kookie had bought two fabric pens and would describe each and every planet and constellation he drew. He was used to spending time in the school library, reading and memorizing the history and order of the stars.

I blink away my tears and sling the backpack to my front. Creaking open the door, I tiptoe into the kitchen. I try to keep my rustling to a minimum as I fill the bag with whatever snacks would fit along with the few clothes I had.

What are you doing in the middle of the night?

"I'm getting out of here. I'm going to go somewhere far, far away," I whisper.

I sneak out of the house and follow my usual route.

┈┈┈┈ Ψ ┈┈┈┈•

"Let's make camp here today!" I say out loud and place my hands on my waist impressed with the distance I've covered.

It's been a few weeks and I've somehow found myself on the Pacific Crest Trail. I've acquired more items to be able to survive out on this trail and have been trying to make it to the end for weeks now. My mind buddy is awfully silent during the day, but late at night, he tends to chat a little more.

"What should I call you?" I asked pulling out the small sketchbook and pencils I bought at the last outpost.

I have been called several names, but the most common would be Devil.

"I don't think that suits you. You're my angel, you gave me a chance at life," I ponder names for him as I start to haphazardly draw the mountains I can make out in front of me.

I was an angel long ago.

"You're still my angel, Lived."

Lived?

"It's your new name! Since devil backwards is Lived!" I say cheerily as I try and capture the shading the setting sun is casting on the mountains.

Such foolishness...

"You allow me to live, I think it suits you a lot," I say placing my book down and starting a campfire.

Hmm.

He goes silent while I cook and eat my food. The stars are outshining their best once the night falls. I recognize a few that are drawn on my tattered backpack. I pull my book onto my lap, letting the orange hue of the firelight up my blank page as I start trying to capture the night sky.

What a terrible drawing.

"Drawing is so fun though..." I say holding the pencil in my fist trying to keep steady.

"I'm so happy now that I can see."

Being able to see does nothing for your drawing skills, Harlow.

I chuckle at his insult but don't take it to heart. He's absolutely right, I'm a terrible drawer, but I want to capture everything I can finally see.

"I've decided on something, Lived."

What's that?

"I'm going to see all sorts of places around the world with these eyes! Then I'm going to draw it all!"

Even if your drawings are never appreciated by anyone?

"Even then, I'm not drawing for anyone else but myself," I say as I smile down at my haphazard drawing.

I like your terrible drawings, Harlow.

"Would you describe yourself to me some time? So I can draw you?"

Maybe if your skills improve drastically.

"It's a deal then!" I say as I snuggle into my bedroll.

┈┈┈┈ Ψ ┈┈┈┈•

You sure had a lot of fun, these past ten years. I say as I finally leave Harlow's body taking our sight with me.

"That wasn't ten years, you liar..." she laughs trying to keep her breathing steady.

She's absolutely right, it has been 72 years since we have made our deal. I traveled all over the world with her, we saw the pyramids in Egypt, the waterfalls in Rio, the Han River in Seoul. We saw everything and everywhere she could think of and it was wonderful.

We saw her finally lay her long-lost friend to rest, we saw her heal and become stronger. We saw her drawing skills improve steadily and become loved around the world. We saw her fall in love with a young man named Taehyung. Then we saw how her world changed, from the places around her to the people around her...

The world I saw as your eyes, Harlow...was truly beautiful. I'll keep on watching till the end so you just take a nice long break.

"Thank you for letting me see the world till the end, Lived," she gasps out as her frail body starts to shut down.

You may call me Jimin.

I lean down and press a kiss to her wrinkled lips taking the life I was promised.

I pull away and see the drawing framed beside her hospital bed. It's a picture of us she drew after I described my features to her, she was most into my wings, which were the same as a crow's.

"Come on, Jimin!" her voice sounds from behind me.

"Now you can show me your world," I take her hand and lead her out of the room completing our deal.

┈┈┈┈ Ψ ┈┈┈┈•

[albertayebisackey]

Thursday 28th December 2023 - "He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." - Clarence Budington Kelland

[pastnotfuture]

We have lived too much inside our love for each other.

A Fairly Honourable Defeat. Iris Murdoch