#congressofspirits

[twinkubus]

As many odds on the book ask list as you feel interested in doing!

sick let's see how far this goes

book you’ve reread the most times?

okay so if we counted most times IN MY LIFE it would be something like hitchhiker's guide or maybe a geel naiman. i don't reread books AS often anymore but if i do it is any gay/trans book that i own. also the end of the affair by graham greene and mariette in ecstacy by ron hansen.

3. what is your favorite genre?

man...in my HEART it's fantasy but the books i have enjoyed the most recently have been contemporary fiction or horror!!

5. where do you buy books?

mostly i procure them from the library. but i have recently been gettign into (checks to make sure there isn't a guilty pleasure ask down the line) wh40k novels which are NOT at my library and many of them are even out of print, so those have been sourced from ebay/abebooks/thriftbooks.

7. is there a series/book that got you into reading?

i definitely don't remember back that far. but i also don't remember a time i wasn't "into" reading so it'd be like, one of those board books for 2 year olds.

9. when do you tend to read most?

on public transpo/at meals/before bed

11. what non-fiction books do you like if any?

the "if any" on this Q is so sad, RIP. can't really do an "all timer" on this one but recently have been reading about 1) eunuchs (a cultural history), eunuchs (in the byzantine empire); 2) tibetan buddhism; 3) permaculture/DIY home ec stuff; & 4) just picked up an ILL on mortuary and memorial practice in contemporary russia.

13. do you have a goodreads?

technically but i only track books via excel spreadsheet

skipping 15 bc i just did a lot of book recs here

17. top 5 children’s books?

was almost going to skip this one too but I must stan

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

anything by Bruce Coville (love a bi king)

...okay it has been a long time since I've read any children's books so I am going to stop there while I am still convinced of the quality of my recs

19. most disliked popular books?

this one will get me kicked off tumblr. you might have seen me post abt them on twitter a little bit? maybe? i don't HATE them hate them and reading some of the posts about it are fun. but i have several problems with the sf book series written by a certain homestuck bnf :P

[invizigothx]

OFMD FANZINE!

Hi all! I am SO excited to (finally!!) share this zine with y'all. It features five brilliant short stories and six pages of collage. You can get it via gumroad as either a free download or $5 purchase (to cover printing and mailing costs). Big thanks to my partner @congressofspirits for learning how to make a handstitched double folio book after we realized this zine was too chonky to simply fold and staple. One of the five stories is sexually explicit, all stories focus on Stede and Ed post-Season 1, and contain canon-typical violence. If you have a specific question about content, don't hesitate to send me a dm. :^)

[quadrupedalpotato]

10 Characters from 10 Fandoms

Tagged by @supposed-to-be-studying

Oh yay, this is fun! Loosely interpreting fandom here just because I'm not actively in 10 fandoms right now, and not sure if half of these are recent or big enough to count.

1. Pieck Finger (Attack on Titan)

2. Matt (Death Note)

3. Shorter Wong (Banana Fish)

4. Yuuri Katsuki (Yuri on Ice)

5. Kojiro Nanjo (Sk8 the Infinity)

6. Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Caribbean)

7. Rei Kashino (Mars)

8. Yasu Takagi (Nana)

9. Hatsuharu Sohma (Fruits Basket)

10. Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Tagging @beautifuleverevolvingmonster, @congressofspirits, and anyone else I follow who wants to.

[enbouton]

Ask meme! 1, 14, 27!

1. your favourite playlist (whether made by yourself or by someone else)

I stopped favouriting playlists around when 8tracks stopped serving non-US users, and now it’s gone completely, which is a real shame. Spotify is hit and miss for me because it only loads playlists about 25% of the time. I couldn’t get it to embed, but here’s a link to the last playlist I made to write to, and I’ll just post the track listing anyway:

Victor Jara - La Partida

Shook - Milestones

Ana Tijoux - Río Abajo

Selena - Que Creías

Dick Dale - Misirlou

Minor Mishap Marching Band - Track Suit

Los Jaivas - Todos Juntos

Manuel de Falla - El Amor Brujo

John Cale - Gun

Buena Vista Social Club - Black Chicken 37

Crocodiles - Stoned To Death

Run-D.M.C. - Walk This Way

14. an artist (of any kind) whose work you look forward to seeing

The photographer @robertalanclayton. I’ve followed him ever since I started working on That Project a couple of years ago; there’s a quiet, weathered feeling to his images that I love, and I’ve saved a lot of his prairie pictures for reference.

27. your favourite flavour and brand of tea

I’ll take basically any herbal tea, especially mint, chamomile and ginger (especially fresh mint or ginger, those are the best “teas”). Pukka's Night Time blend is pretty good. I don’t drink a lot of black tea, but my favourite is Lapsang Souchong, and I drink it black and unsweetened. I put soy milk in chamomile tea once, just out of curiosity, and it was awful.

[sin-lord]

congressofspirits replied to your post: congressofspirits replied to your post: ...

Ooohhh mygod that dude

you have no idea his girlfriend yelled at him one night it was fucking hilarious 

his previous character he wanted a mace and name it ‘all star’ so he could smash people in the mouth with allstar

hes a walking meme factory and its obnoxious 

[shop5]

This is Allen and Baedev @congressofspirits‘s OCs -- Line art commission from my YCH post

[midwesternson]

Hi everyone! There are a bunch of new (non-spam) followers on this blog. Really appreciate it! I run a few other blogs as well. If you're interested in brutalist architecture and post-Soviet European vibes, check out @galkechnia (disclaimer, it used to be a rp blog and I'm too lazy to remove those old pages.) If you're interested in zines, check out @cheapdatespress! I run it with my friend. And if you're interested in who runs this blog I'm at @congressofspirits. Take care!

[twinkubus]

tagged by @dovebeast for a writing project game!! tagging @congressofspirits @thebestestbat also sorry i just woke up from a nap but i KNOW i have other mutuals with wips so if you see this. no joking. i'm tagging you. if ur thinking "this doesn't apply to me" IT DOES!!!! sit down and answer🔽

1: what are you currently working on? 

have not been *writing* a lot recently + trying to be gentle with it. i have several short stories in the works, most of them are "contemporary fiction"? "surrealist"? idk

2: summarize your current project 

a couple of the short stories

butch desperately tries to find outlet for religious fervor

modern guy pledges knighthood to his senpai

boy lives in the real world but is only thinking about his wip 24/7

3: summarize your current project poorly 

read these like isekai titles

"EDs will not unlock angelic communication no matter how much you hope they do"

"i guess you CAN hero-worship your crush but does he even want the attention?!"

"a teen in an unlivable situation gets to have a little dissociation, as a treat"

4: describe your favorite character or characters

pedja is solicitous without being cloying. caring but not annoying. always a few years older than you & has an in everywhere. seems to know everyoone. you tag along in his wake. admitted to places you'd never be allowed on your own. the relationship is clearly defined--so you think--which makes it safe. no chance of sexuality mucking anything up so he can put a hand on your shoulder or give you a hug and it's fine to linger in it because it doesn't mean anything more. ok to stand shoulders pressed against each other, for him to tilt your chin up and say you are precious in the eyes of god. knowing that's what he believes. knowing he believes in you.

5: post a line from your current project without any context 

It seems undignified to slide the rat off the plate. She takes a breath and picks it up with one hand. Brings it to her face. Faint smell of freezerburn and Petco.

Squeezing it, without really knowing why. The fur prickling against her palm. She can imagine the organs squishing around in there, the meat. Her stomach growls again and she grimaces. Leans over the cage and slowly, slowly lowers the rat, so Billy won't think her hand is part of the dinner, then extracts it at the same speed.

It glistens, her hand, once it's out, glistens with rat-juice in the dim light. Doesn't smell like much of anything. Clouds of angelsmoke in her nose and ears, though, might be missing out on key perceptions, god's cig, maybe a fine cigar from the seventh heaven. 

She licks her hand. Slowly, the way she'd lick pussy. And is rewarded--taste buds flooding with richness, meat sensation, A5 wagyu, foie gras, bluefin tuna, new veal.

6: how do you get through writers block?

gotta be paticent!!! i'm kind of recovering from a few Years of writers block, the last stuff i really wrote b4 these short stories was in like, 2019. being understanding of myself even if it's frustrating. trying to acknowledge the frustration but not letting it put pressure on me to output stuff. and working on other creative projects if writing isn't going for whatever reason.

7: would you want to live in the world of your current work? 

i already dooooooo 😎

8: briefly discuss your outlining process, if you outline 

i write a bunch of stuff on a few pages and try to get specific lines/images that will ease me into writing the scene. a lot of the conceptualization happens in downtime/random time so i wanna try and capture that to use when i get it all out.

9: what is the aesthetic of your current project?

anime girl angel in a skimpy dress that she looks too young to be wearing, it makes you uncomfortable to look at even if she's technically ageless, she's carrying a gun and a cig. if she was a picture in your browser you'd close the tab but she'd reappear in a popup, she'd freeze your screen and be SO smug while she was doing it, you want her to go away but she's replicating endlessly now and even if you squeeze your eyes shut her afterimage is still burned into your skull. also see this tag

10: what song sums up your current work the best?

[twinkubus]

Odds for the oc questions - for whichever you want to answer them for. They all sound v cool!

What memory would your OC rather just forget? cop out buut i answered this for lace🤪 will be answering all these for diff chars so they each get some chances

What is your OC's fatal flaw? Are they aware of this flaw? obie- too hesitant/uncertain of themselves. they're semi-aware but mostly think their hesitancy is rational and they are just trying to be prepared. however there are some situations in which it is best to act!!

How far is your OC willing to go to get what they want? also answered for lace!!

What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them? all these guys are pretty new so....waiting on the answer! for prev guys tho i often love to change their gender and/or genre

Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC? sorry i have to say this for wilhelm & vega bc i have it on their spotify playlists: "I could have torn him limb from limb, as the lion rends the antelope. But my heart sunk within me as with bitter sickness, and I refrained." -- from Frankenstein (btw @congressofspirits specifically* if you would like to read wilhelm & vega DM me. i don't think i will ever finish it but i wrote most of it when i had just started hrt so like. 6 yrs ago now jeez. but it's kind of my gregory berrycone)

*(if we are mutuals you can also ask just ftr, but im not making it publically available)

What is your OC's weapon of choice? Have they ever actually used it? obie has a sword and HAS used it but prefers not to. would only do so if pressed. prince albert owns several pistols, his fave of which are [REDACTED bc author does not know enough about guns atm]

If you met your OC, would the two of you get along? i think i can generally "get along" with most people as long as they're not doing absolutely just wild or evil things. i think obie would annoy me irl. nile & nils i would be nervous to talk to since they're ALWAYS together and also always seem like they're in on some private joke. prince albert i would distrust but could work with as long as he asks civilly

Does your OC have a faceclaim? If so, who? prince albert:

nils:

will be drawing them all eventually haha i have some sketches lined up

What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise? answered for nile!

How does your OC behave when enraged? nils will just Retreat, if he gets really angry he will go so still and silent, every word precise and calculated. nile can tell when he's mad but it's hard for others to

lace gets really mouthy and also sloppy with it like sometimes she has trouble stringing sentences togther and in more than one occasion, that's resulted in the people she's mad at making fun of her, which THEN will result in them getting gored by a horn or two. she may have assault charges. all reasonably provoked though.

[enbouton]

Character meme! Kim, Gus, Lydia.

KIM

favorite thing about them

Where to begin? She’s so smart and determined and real. She’s reserved but loving. She’s serious and professional but has a dry, quirky sense of humour. And the show never lets us forget how hard she has to work.

least favorite thing about them

I’m trying to think of one and coming up with nothing. Kim isn’t perfect, but her flaws just make her more interesting to watch and root for.

favorite line

I have to acknowledge “I save me” and “let’s do it again”, but can we get some recognition for the absolute delight that is “I’m in the bar at Forque… and I’ve got a live one on the hook”? (And the implication that she kept up the Giselle act with Dale for the full hour it would have taken Jimmy to drive from Santa Fe to Albuquerque?)

brOTP

Kim and Paige!

OTP

McWexler, but, like, in a sad, “they’re doomed” way. Kim and Jimmy have such a strong bond, but I don’t love the idea of Kim staying with Jimmy after he becomes Saul. Ethical issues aside, I think it would be too painful for her— imagine watching the person you love embrace their worst qualities to the point of building a whole new identity around them.

nOTP

Kim x not getting the personal and professional fulfillment she deserves.

random headcanon

She’s been a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 ever since “keep circulating the tapes” referred to actual tapes. She likes the black-and-white sci-fi movies best and prefers Joel to Mike.

unpopular opinion

The only controversial Kim Opinion I have is that she’s from Kansas, not Nebraska. I don’t have any rationale for it— I was just looking at Google Maps for small towns near the state line, saw Bird City, KS, and went “oh, cool name!”.

song i associate with them

A year ago I, uh, wrote a shot-by-shot sketch of an entire animated dream sequence about Kim set to the Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”. I keep doing this with different ideas and characters even though I don’t know how to animate or have any music rights. It’s a problem.

But also, “Another Day of Sun” from La La Land. It’s superficially a bright, happy song about chasing your dreams and never giving up, but the lyrics are largely about frustration, alienation and fear.

favorite picture of them

Every picture of Kim is a good picture, but I had to pick one from the scene where she tells Jimmy she got Mesa Verde, because she’s just so happy it’s wonderful.

LYDIA

favorite thing about them

She’s brittle but strong! I also like that she’s socially awkward in a way that isn’t played as cute or attractive.

least favorite thing about them

She murdered a lot of people and was passive-aggressively rude to Delores. Also, chamomile tea with soy milk is a cursed drink.

favorite line

The entirety of her monologue about the train, because it implies that she just had all that stuff in her head ready to rattle it off at a moment’s notice, and/or she’d thought in depth about the logistics of train robbery before.

brOTP

Gus— I choose to believe (curt phone call notwithstanding) that they share a special bond. Also Mike, because they contrast each other so well. (Fun fact: in the Czech BrBa dub, Mike and Gus address each other using the formal “you”, but Mike and Lydia use the familiar “you”.)

OTP

It’s a dead heat between Skyler and Kim. I love Skyler/Lydia but most of the iterations I have in my head are really dark and bleak. Kim and Lydia would play off each other in some interesting ways, at least until Kim found out about Lydia’s unrepentant life of crime.

nOTP

Walt/Lydia, I guess?

random headcanon

She had a special interest in space as a child and probably wanted to work in mission control at the Johnson Space Center when she grew up. She still loves planetariums. 

unpopular opinion

I mean, I fully accept that the show portrayed Lydia’s poisoning as a murder, but ricin poisoning is more survivable than you might think. She lives!

song i associate with them

Muse - “The Second Law: Isolated System"

favorite picture of them

this is an awful screencap but it’s my favourite pic of her. ta-daaaaa~~

GUS

favorite thing about them

His calmness, particularly because he seems to have to work at it, as opposed to being naturally laid-back.

least favorite thing about them

His sadistic streak, and/or treatments of him that emphasise it.

favorite line

“I don’t think we’re alike at all, Mr. White.” IMHO, Gus is most compelling when we can see him shift between modes— the very first time he dropped the polite, mild-mannered businessman act was electrifying.

brOTP

Lydia— see above.

OTP

Gus/Max, of course.

nOTP

Gus/Anyone Other Than Max

random headcanon

He was born in Arica in far northern Chile, where his mother’s family was from, but grew up mostly in Santiago. His birthdate is March 24, 1956. His full birth name is Gustavo Fring Leyva. He washes his hands like a surgeon and smells of fine wool, soap and vetiver.

unpopular opinion

Gus himself was never involved with the Pinochet regime. I’m still hanging on to this one, although the coati monologue put paid to my headcanon that he was the sheltered scion of a high-ranking officer.

song i associate with them

I invite you all to put on “Head Over Heels” by Tears for Fears and think about young Gus and Max in love in the eighties. You’re welcome.

favorite picture of them

any picture where he wears this expression while nurturing one of his Crime Children

[sin-lord]

Odds for Nilen, evens for Dragonmom!

I JUST REALIZED that that was a post for Flight Rising dragons... oh well I’ll do these anyways lmao. Nilen is going to be answered as Modern AU Nilen.

3. What is the worst pain they’ve ever experienced?

Nilen: Probably her first transformation as a werewolf. Incredibly painful that is.Dragonmom: When her polymorph fucked up and she kept turning into grotesque abominations before Zevick stopped it.

5. List 3 fears; one “surface level” fear, one “repressed” fear, and one “deep dark” fear.

Nilen: Surface: Being around strange men & Heights. She is very uncomfortable with heights. Repressed: Losing those she loves because she can’t protect them. Deep Dark: Loss of Autonomy/Control.

Dragonmom: Surface: Losing her friends. Repressed: being contained/not in control.  Deep Dark: losing her children. [again....]

7. What feature (physical or otherwise) do they hate most about themselves?

Nilen: Face scars, she hates them but kinda has to deal with them.Dragonmom: She used to hate how weak she was, but not anymore. She is exactly how she wants to be right now.

9. What is their greatest physical weakness? [I’m a little confused by the question? Like physically with their body? or??]

Nilen: 

Dragonmom: Not anymore lmao.

11. Do they have any vices?

Nilen: SHE’S A THIEF.

Dragonmom: SHE’S A THIEF TOO. FUCKIN KLEPTOS

13. Which of the 7 Deadly Sins best describes them?

Nilen: Wrath

Dragonmom: Greed

15. Who do they hate the most?

Nilen: Probably stormcloak soldiers. She sees Stormcloaks with the same hatred that we see Nazi’s.

Dragonmom: Zen. He caused her so much grief and anger that even with the timeline “fixed” She still remembers everything that happened. She will never forgive him.

17. What sound always gives them a headache?

Nilen: The humming of fluorescent lights. 

Dragonmom: Her teammates being idiots or claiming honor and then doing something dishonorable. 

19. Do they consider themselves ugly?

Nilen: When she was younger, yes. She hated how she looked. Now she flaunts her beauty and uses it to her advantage. 

Dragonmom: Absolutely not!! She is prettiest dragon. She does not really care about beauty, but she does like to keep her scales shiny and healthy.

21. What is something that causes them great anxiety?

Nilen: Being alone around men she is not comfortable with. Not being in control of her body.

Dragonmom: If innocent children are in danger.

23. Have they ever been assaulted/abused/raped?

Nilen: Yes. When she was young she was raped by a group of stormcloak soldiers who held her captive for a while.

Dragonmom: Nah, if anyone thought about it, they’d see those teeth and probably thought ”u know what im nOT gonna stick my dick in that”

25. Have they ever been betrayed by someone they thought they could trust?

Nilen: A couple of times. They didn’t live.

Dragonmom: that time liliana didn’t bother to investigate further and told Zen that dragonmom killed her children and sold their souls to a god for her bow???

27. How many times have they been in the hospital?

Nilen: more than a normal person should

Dragonmom: what the fuck is a hospital we just have clerics

29. Does what they cannot see scare them?

Nilen: She can get nervous if she hears weird noises but cannot see them, but not scared.

Dragonmom: Her perception is off the fucking charts. She’ll see it one way or another. 

31. Do they have self-confidence or self-image issues?

Nilen: Sorta? She has her moments where she lacks self confidence but generally won’t show it.

Dragonmom: NAH she’s big, bulky, and proud.

33. Have they ever been in a relationship that didn’t work out so well?

Nilen: A couple that were abusive, but she either landed them in the hospital or outright killed them.

Dragonmom: YOU MEAN ZEN. YOU MEAN ZEN WHO STOLE HER CHILDREN AND WAS A FUCKING ASSHOLE TO HER.

35. If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

Nilen: She wouldn’t be dragonborn, it’s too much responsibility and trouble. 

Dragonmom: Nothin, she’s happy.

37. Have they ever had their freedom taken away?

Nilen: Yes, see #23.

Dragonmom: Yeah a couple of times but then she or someone else killed them.

39. Have they ever been accused of something they didn’t do?

Nilen: Allll the time.

Dragonmom: A couple of times during the campaign but it usually ended up being someone else’s fault. 

41. Do they get sick often?

Nilen: The night before a full moon like clockwork. Her body purges itself in preparation for the transformation. 

Dragonmom: WITCHER BITCHES SHE DON’T GET SICK

43. Do they wish that they could change their pasts?

Nilen: Yes. She doesn’t want to be dragonborn and she wishes that incident with the stormcloaks had never happened. 

Dragonmom: Would have never slept with Zen

45. What is the emotion they most commonly experience?

Nilen: Annoyance

Dragonmom: Doubt in her teammates abilities. Anger at Zen.

47. Have they ever gone so far as to attempt suicide?

Nilen: Yes, soon after the Stormcloak incident. She swallowed a bunch of poisonous herbs but her body purged itself because she accidentally swallowed one that forces the body to puke. Then she was sick for like, a week straight.

Dragonmom: Nah not really. 

Can’t really think of anything for #49

[twinkubus]

@congressofspirits Ty for the tag informing me that pasolini was 5′6″. Truly a delight.

[sin-lord]

congressofspirits replied to your post: “I watched REPO! The Genetic Opera the other night for the first time...”:

!! I've loved REPO since I was 14 I'm so glad you also love it omg

holy fuck dude like i gotta get that dvd it is so great

ive been wandering around the house singing parts of songs all fuckin day 

[sin-lord]

I went to the butterfly pavilion today with @congressofspirits and a butterfly landed on my tit and wouldn’t get off

[twinkubus]

got tagged by @danishprince for a song meme, thanks! my music interests have recently been about 70% vocaloid, so i’m excited to see how this goes 

rules: list ten songs you’re obsessed with at the moment and tag ten other blogs

PONPONPON- Len Kagamine cover

Dreaming Mechanical Doll- Kikuo 

ラ・ム・ネ - snail’s house 

Gateway- fusq

Judgement- Devilman Crybaby OST 

Vacation- Crying

YEARWOUNDS- rook&nomie 

Sakura Sakura Japanize Dream- Touhou 07 OST 

HEART ON WAVE- Slime Girls 

DUNE- Hatsune Miku cover (love the video with this one)

tagging @vitabreva @stonebutchdemon @ciscordian​ @retropunkangel​ @theo-dicy​ @congressofspirits @o-immaculata @bonecraft @dykeboots @harmalade if any of y’all are interested!