#dark existence

[mosscollector]

—You lay down in your bed  for ten years, and after ten years you got up. The room was full of weak color but there was an interesting little hill of rich life from which all things streamed; and you saw between existence and the fringe of your quotes non- being on the wall an active shadow that could not reconcile itself to earth and was not ironical, that is, not split; but nothing could be done without some cooperation between this shadow and whatever refused it in this world so you invited it in— dark existence that comforts and terrifies— bright existence that could not stay—

Brenda Hillman, Dark Existence

[starseneyes]

Heart-Warmed and Teary-Eyed: Kindness Matters

I have a P.O. Box that I check once a week. Right now, I mostly use it for letter correspondence with my friend @always-coffee—a tremendous published poet and beautiful human I met by chance online.

Monday she said she mailed her latest letter. So, I stopped by the Post Office on the way home from dropping the kids at school on the off-chance it made it through USPS faster than normal.

I found no letter inside, but a flyer from the Post Office saying they were holding something for me that wouldn't fit in the box. I wondered if Ali had sent a letter that was too tall (because she has such amazing stationary). I had no idea what was about to happen.

I glimpsed the package as they pulled it from a cabinet and wondered what on earth Ali sent me. That was not a letter.

Then I saw The Golden Notebook Bookstore label and knew it was something @neil-gaiman related.

For those who don't know (normal people who don't follow Neil on social media, for example), that is the local bookstore near Neil's home in New York. He periodically signs books for them that are sold with zero markup.

I am a fan of Neil as a writer, but also as a human. I don't follow many celebrities—a side effect of my set-kid youth—but I did follow Neil last year during the WGA Strike. Been a fan of his for ages, and Neverwhere is my favorite book.

Ali knows all this, and I just knew she had done something sneakily sweet.

I rushed home with a smile on my face, trying desperately not to set off the speed-trap on the road back. Let me tell you, driving speed limit when excited is not easy for me!

When I finally whipped into my driveway and sprinted into my house, I carefully opened the package (more excruciating slowness) and tried not to cry happy tears when I saw what was inside. Wrapped tenderly in bubble-wrap rested... a book.

What You Need to be Warm is a poem Neil wrote that features illustrations from some of the best artists in the industry. That in itself is wonderful. But the mission of this little book is what is so amazing.

See, the sale of every copy supports UNHCR—the UN Refugee Agency. This book literally helps people when you buy it.

I have wanted to buy a copy for ages, but you all know I thrift and buy books secondhand. I didn't want to do that with this book.

I wanted to buy it outright to ensure the maximum amount of money went to support the cause. So, I have been waiting until we were a little more stable so I could buy it full-price, outright.

Thanks to Ali, I have a copy that was purchased outright (so it helps people in need) and it is signed!

Yes, it's a signed copy with pen bleed on the opposite page, and all.

I would never do something like this for myself. You all know I am woefully practical and doing things for myself isn't second-nature. I’m working on it, but it is slow coming reprogramming a lifetime of behavior. So gifts like this... oh, they mean everything.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude that such a kind soul would do something like this for me. Thank you, Ali.

[theterry]

DUrge FLAYING themselves (according to a book in Orin's chambers) over their alliance with "the other chosen",

DUrge pleading on paper with the iconographic "forgive me father (for I have sinned)" over admiring Gortash,

Orin calling us a liar if we dare answer her "could you kill one you loved / could you turn your weapons against those closest to you" with "without hesitation",

The way Gortash beams when he learns we live, his expression when it's DUrge he sees (opposed to Tav) at the coronation, calling us nearest and dearest and after a successful insight check it's clear he's genuine about being our equal in power. An act that contradicts his conduct of tyranny/domination as a Baneite.

Gortash's name being "Sickenly familiar" when we first hear it, all while DUrge cannot recall anything else, even their own name. But Gortash, his name they remember.

Whether they were acted upon or not there's no convincing me there weren't romantic feelings between the chosen of Bhaal and Bane.

[kawareo]

Durgetash fluff

I just really like them being domestic, to the point where they're trusting eachother with blades

[anna-scribbles]

they should've been at the club(infertility treatment centers)

[nelkcats]

Garage Sale

Well, when the Fentons decided to have a garage sale Danny didn't expect many to be interested. His parents were looking for a way to get money quickly to build more stuff, and he jokingly suggested they could sell some inventions, they took it seriously (Jazz made sure to remove all the lethal inventions, she tried with the ones that might be risky but then they wouldn't sell anything).

Danny knew his parents were strange yes, but he wasn't sure that justified millionaires in his backyard. Millionaires, he'd like to clarify, had never set foot in Amity Park before. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Bruce Wayne and his sons checking out the appliances. None of them seemed to be interested in the "ghosts" but they hadn't backed down from taking some things either.

So yes, Danny was suspicious. Of course he had made sure the inventions in the sale were safe (although unlike Jazz, he simply decided to make them safe, a few modifications here and there), but the fact that they looked genuinely interested made him uneasy.

Were the Waynes interested in hunting ghosts?

He decided to try something, he crossed eyes with one of them and let his green eyes show before looking away, the boy looked alarmed. He approached him and asked, but Danny feigned ignorance, commenting that all the inventions were green and maybe he had been confused by the reflection (to be fair, most of his parents' inventions were green because of the ecto).

For his part, Bruce had received an alert from Justice League Dark, it seemed they had detected a strange energy, similar to magic, so the bats set out to investigate. They didn't expect to find a garage sale in a house in the middle of nowhere (Amity Park wasn't even marked on the fucking map). Nor did they expect advanced technology or mad scientists.

Bruce decided to pretend he had stumbled into town as "Brucie Wayne" and buy a few things. He shuddered to see that many inventions worked with Lazarus water. Jason, who had strangely agreed to come along, was also upset about the son of the scientists.

Bruce questioned whether he had found a family of villains in the making.

[typewriter-worries]

wendy cope - the orange

[akanemnon]

What a deal!

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[chronurgy]

Gortash designs and builds mechanisms so I imagine he has to be able to sketch fairly decently in order to sketch his projects and designs. And I'm imagining a pile of charcoal sketches of Durge, done over their entire acquaintance, starting out with sketches of them in battle and then slowly becoming more detailed and intimate and as they do, the titles changing from things like "The Bhaalspawn" and "Bhaal's Chosen at Their Bloody Work" to "The Chosen in Contemplation" and finally just Durge's name

[bloodbroox]

it’s (attempted) murder on the dance floor

[obliviatedlemondrop]

someone please take me on bookstore dates, and talk with me about books, and our futures and aspirations, and then at the end we exchange our favorite books with each other, and drive home listening to music.

[learnelle]

Last minute study for my French Literature exam ! (From my boyfriends balcony - my fav place to do work.) This semester we analysed Cœur du Sahel by Djaïli Amadou Amal and it was surprisingly my favourite read of this year :)

[zu-is-here]

<– • –>

[flowersforfrancis]

Don't we all?

(Amélie)

[fairydrowning]

– Sam Sax

TEXT ID: [there's a theory / that says you don't exist / unless someone calls / and you respond]

[climbdraws]

im so so sick of the infantalizing takes of "this children's media is soooo dark its not for kids!!!" and it's just a millennial recounting scene for scene what happens like this