#favourite excerpts

[v-67]

Completed The cat who saved books by Sosuke Natsukawa and lemme tell you. This is such a beautiful book. It was so beautifully written and the labyrinths so amazingly portrayed.

It was very simple. It stated the obvious things. And it made a point to remind us that The obvious is no longer obvious in today's world. And these words deeply resonated with me.

I'm happy I read this book, and I'd recommend everyone to give it a read too.

Rintaro and his way through the grief, his personal journey, his finding himself, everything about this book has a personal touch. Because we're all humans and in whichever way we deal with things, sometimes things are just, stuck. This book reminds us of things that should be remembered.

I have a lot to say, and maybe what I've said above would not make much sense, but I'm okay with it. So here I'm sharing some of the lines that I loved from this beautiful book.

And some of the lines which deeply resonated with me and some which gave me a reality check.

But whatever it was, he had decided it was time to strike out on his own. There was no such thing as having no choice. Rintaro knew that now. There were many roads to choose from. What was important was not to let yourself roll along aimlessly, but to pick a road.

.

It’s all very well to read a book, but when you’ve finished, it’s time to set foot in the world.

.

Reading isn’t only for pleasure or entertainment. Sometimes you need to examine the same lines deeply, read the same sentences over again. Sometimes you sit there, head in hands, only progressing at a painstakingly slow pace. And the result of all this hard work and careful study is that suddenly you’re there and your field of vision expands. It’s like finding a great view at the end of a long climbing trail.

.

“If you’re going to climb, make it a tall mountain. The view will be so much better.”

.

In the end, chopped-up sentences were nothing more than fragments.

.

Hurrying means that you miss out on many things.

.

“This is the speed at which this song should be heard. Fast-forwarding sucks.”

.

In our stifling daily lives, we’re all so occupied with ourselves that we stop thinking about others. When a person loses their own heart, they can’t feel another’s pain. They lie, they hurt others, use weaker people as stepping-stones to get ahead—they stop feeling anything. The world has become full of those kinds of people.”

.

Don’t hurt anyone. Never bully people weaker than yourself. Help out those in need. Some would say that these rules are obvious. But the truth is, the obvious is no longer obvious in today’s world. What’s worse is that some people even ask why. They don’t understand why they shouldn’t hurt other people. It’s not a simple thing to explain. It’s not logical. But if they read books they will understand. It’s far more important than using logic to explain something. Human beings don’t live alone, and a book is a way to show them that.”

.

Empathy—that’s the power of books.

.

Walk with courage the path you have chosen. Don’t be one of those bystanders who complains that nothing ever changes. Continue your journey, just as Melos kept running to the end.

.

“If you find a book easy to read, that means it’s all stuff that you already know,” he went on. “That’s why it’s easy. If you find it difficult, then that’s proof it’s something brand new.”

.

How can I move on if I don’t believe in myself?

.

A yellow delivery bicycle went past, bright against the blue of the sky.

.

A gentle breeze brushed the doorbell, and it gave a cheerful ring.

.

offering readers a chance to encounter other lives and other points of view via the language of the imagination.

And I'm done, If you've read so far and have some lines from the book that are your favourite, would you like to share them?

I would love to hear them. (⁠^⁠^⁠)

[lotuslate]

“However, the colder his eyes were, the brighter the raging fire within his heart burned.”

[chandnihumai]

Mom you smell like all the sacrifices you made for me and compromises you don't even deserve to make. it makes me want to love you even more but also kills me from inside. I feel I die a little every time I see you cry. I am a part of you but you feel so distant at times. Will my love ever make it up for all of it? Are you happy I am yours? Or do I burden you even more? Mom you feel like my favourite pillow but my heart sinks every time I lie on your lap. Can you hug me a little tighter and look for me with the same fondness. Why do I feel guilty for the things I haven't done? I love you too much to let you go is it a sin or virtue? Maa can I cry with you a little today? Stop putting a brave face on. You are allowed to be weak at least with me

[deathlessathanasia]

"After he had lost possession of the sky, Saturn wandered in exile over the whole earth accompanied by Juno. So that she might not become fatigued by the tedium of the journey, he entrusted her to nymphs in Africa to be raised. Because of this, Juno always kept Carthage mighty."

- The First Vatican Mythographer, 211. The Story of Dido and the History of Saturn

[not-poignant]

Daily excerpt from chapter 91 of Underline the Black:

‘Can I wear this home?’ Efnisien asked. ‘The jeans, no. I’m going to alter them again. Everything else, yes. Of course. It’s yours.’ Efnisien pressed his lips together and shivered. He stared down at the gloves, felt the scarf warm and plush against his neck, and wanted to shrink into all the clothing. ‘Thank you,’ Efnisien said, his voice small. ‘That’s- It’s… Thank you.’ ‘You’re not used to presents, are you?’ Efnisien shook his head. ‘Mm. When’s your birthday?’ Efnisien shrugged. ‘Don’t know. That was like- I guess that was something I would have earned if I’d ever become a proper alpha to them, and then they would have gotten me a birth certificate.’ Flitmouse was silent for some time, his hazel eyes softening. ‘It’s all the worst omega experiences for you, isn’t it, darling?’ Efnisien didn’t know what to say.

[orcusnox]

Yes I know I have other fics I should and AM working on finishing... But here's a lil snippet of another new work (because I'm great at starting but not at finishing)

    Peter is confident in his skills. As Spiderman, he’s taught himself his limits. He knows how hard, where and when to hit people so they become less of a threat and more of a slightly inconvenient meat-bag. He has extensive notes on body language, changes in tonal pitch, even what people say.

    Peter is confident as Spiderman. He thinks he’s allowed to be – at this point, he’s been Spiderman for almost half his life.

    But Deadpool is not, and never has been, an opponent Peter is confident in dealing with.

[landwriter]

Throwing vague Hobrinthian inspiration your way. You'd write them so deliciously.

Thank you!! Back in January I wrote 8K of them - I think it's honestly my favourite thing I've written or close to it <3 Just Like Love. The Corinthian comes across Hob in a hotel bar after he's stood up in 1989. Things don't go as planned.

Here's an excerpt from the continuation of that 'verse:

---

Hob Gadling isn’t his boyfriend. Hob is better. He’s a soldier, a hunter, a haunted man, and it makes every grain of the Corinthian sing to know that one of the ghosts rattling around in there is him. Of course it is. He’s memorable. Doesn’t change how good it feels, though, to have been followed across the Atlantic by something almost as hungry as him.

Hob is holding a plastic bag, and the Corinthian can smell the meat from here.

“Fresh from Lancashire,” he says, all fucking casual-like.

The Corinthian walks over, hooks a finger into the bag and pulls it open to see what it is. Black pudding, he thinks. He’s standing close to Hob, close enough to feel how Hob notices it, how his pulse quickens a little. He still smells like airports. He thinks Hob will wrap an arm around him, pull him in. Kiss him filthy right here in his kitchen. Hob doesn’t do anything but let him inspect his gift. He looks up, and pretends he’s disappointed about the offering instead. He should be.

“I’m not a fucking reptile in a terrarium. You don’t need to buy me crickets.”

“Well. Thought this was more on the mice side of the scale.” And then his face does that hideous English thing, where he’s obviously hurt but smiles and pretends he isn’t, which isn’t half as fun when it’s just his feelings. “But you don’t have to-” he starts, all fake cheer, and the Corinthian grits his eyeteeth.

“Stop making that face,” he says, and snatches the bag away. Sees too late Hob smiling a little, and realizes he was playing at being injured, just to get him to come closer. He sets it on the counter, and feels Hob close right up behind him. There’s warm breath on the back of his neck for a moment before Hob speaks.

“You sure? Maybe it’s a bit like feeding wild foxes. Shouldn’t do that.”

The Corinthian turns and uses his height to bully Hob against the fridge, presses him there, then murmurs into Hob’s ear, threatening, just the way he likes. “You think I’ll forget how to feed myself?”

Hob is already hard against his thigh and he tilts his head up, to kiss the side of his neck. His heart is thumping so steady and strong the Corinthian wonders if he’s got a bigger heart working in there, one to power all his hunger. A horse heart, crushed into his ribcage.

“Maybe I’d like it if you forgot,” Hob says. “Maybe I’d like to spoil you. Maybe I’d like you to try eating out of my hand. See if you don’t like it better, to be fed by another.” He says it flirtatiously, covering up the tenderness there with hunger, because he knows the Corinthian’s mother tongue. But he hears the tenderness in it still, and it ripples over his instincts like a different kind of threat. A different kind of snare. Still wire-sharp. He knows he’d draw blood if he struggled in it, even if Hob would let him go the moment he really did. That’s why he stills, he figures. That’s why he goes all limp, submissive.

Hob feels it. Hob knows exactly what he’s done, and he runs a soft hand over the back of his neck, like he’s tamed him. The Corinthian finally twitches away roughly.

“Kinky.” He grabs the forgotten sausage and starts slicing it to be fried. And Hob just laughs, like it was the joke they were making together all along.

---

Twenty minutes later, he’s kneeling on the floor, still wearing his apron that says #1 Grill Dad, and Hob is feeding a cut-up piece of fried black pudding to him. It’s overcooked. They’d gotten distracted. He licks a stripe across Hob’s palm and feels the small muscles twitch under his tongue. Hob’s hand withdraws, and comes back a moment later to stroke the back of his head, dull nails scraping invisible tracks along him. It feels good. He hates it, he thinks.

He leans forward, and nuzzles against Hob’s crotch. The denim chafes his cheeks. Hob groans and ruts into him, his idle hand on his head turned greedy, knotting into his hair. Hob pulls him off, and he looks up, mouth hanging open.

“You going to bite it off if I let you?” he asks.

“Will it grow back?”

Hob sucks in air through his teeth and pretends like he’s considering it too. “You want to take the chance and find out that it doesn’t?”

“Nah,” he says, and Hob laughs and unbuttons his jeans.

---

He blames it on being fucked stupid for the first time in weeks. He blames it on being dark in the room. He blames it on Hob wrapped around him from behind, possessive. “You’d really care for me, huh?”

Hob scoffs, then seems to realize he’s not fucking around. His hand comes around and finds the Corinthian’s throat, and he strokes a line along where his pulse should be. “Yeah. Yeah, ‘course I would.”

“You can’t save me, Hob,” he says.

Hob huffs a laugh against his shoulder blades. “Well, then you won’t mind me trying, will you?”

[newvision]

“God I want you in some primal, wild way animals want each other. Untamed and full of teeth. God I want you, In some chaste, Victorian way. A glimpse of your ankle just kills me.”

— Clementine von Radics, Want

[the-five-oh-first]

Anakin's protective streak for Ahsoka is a well known and documented thing.

But I must admit I love it when I find fics that are centered about protective Rex and Ahsoka.

"So." Rex began a few minutes after walking into the training stall to watch his Commander go over some exercises. "Who's Lux?"

Ahsoka groaned, knowing for the next foreseeable future that this adamant Ori'vod would treat this conversation with the seriousness of interrogating a Seppie.

..Like, yeah, man. That's yo little sister! That's your Vod'ika!

[lizalfosrise]

You still think everything I touch

Falls to pieces

You still think I refuse to hear

The voice of reasonnnnn

(I like it that way and I ain’t never gonna change~)

Mmm, Arsonist is growing on me like slime mold on a Brachydios.

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Cozy end of year reading :) | My favourite writing of 2023

THE VIDEO IS HERE!!! I read my favourite writing I wrote this year (spoiler there is 20k worth of excerpts in here lol).

[purplecarseat]

Rereading Gideon the Ninth, it struck me again that Gideon really doesn’t talk like you’d expect a Niner to talk, at all (re: several people at Canaan commenting on this). While she probably tries very hard to not sound or act like the rest of them, that’s easier said than done when everyone she’s grown up around talks like Crux or Harrow. She’s never had anyone that’s not a Ninth penitent to learn slang from.

All this to say, Gideon’s probably quoting her comic book heroes’ corny catchphrases all the time.

[dorotheemadhaama]

Naina fixed Bunny!?

Actually, they fixed each other. Bunny taught her to love herself the way she is. He told her how cool and brave she is, to go on a trip with total strangers. He taught her things that even she didn't know about herself.

“Khud pe daya karna band karo, aur khud se pyaar karna seekho.”

Naina taught him to stop running to experience everything that this world can offer. Cause that's impossible. She taught him to live in the present, to enjoy whatever there is in the 'now'. Worrying about the near future, even if it's about making it to the light and sound show, may make us miss the beautiful sunset right in front of us.

“Life mein jitna bhi try karo, kuch na kuch toh chootega hi. Isliye yahin, isi pal ka mazza lete hain.”

Together, they kinda fixed me too. Here's to my favorite movie 💗

[archangel-7]

Midnight Rain

We were so different, nothing the same

She was sunshine, I was midnight rain

My heart was heavy, aching in vain

She wanted comfort, I wanted that pain

But I was drawn to her warmth, like a moth to a flame

Her sunshine brought life, my midnight brought shame

My darkness was deep, my sorrow to blame

All of me changed like midnight rain

My heart was aching for the love it could gain

Her light filled me up, my midnight drained

I could no longer hide in the shadows of pain

All of me changed like midnight rain

My heart was so different, it was no longer the same

Her sunshine found me, my midnight sustained

My heart was no longer in darkness and strain

All of me changed like midnight rain

s.c.

[hazybellarecs]

“The entire dorm reeks,” Remus offers, closing the door and sitting next to James along the cabinet, limbs overlapping.

James moves closer, presses his forehead to Remus’s neck and feels his pulse at his skin. He smells like parchment and the library and something like dog, something like wolf, it reminds James of the loamy smell of the forest at dawn, rebirth into flesh and the sun begging at the sky for its new day.

When he emerges from the warm cocoon of Remus’s neck, Sirius is watching, one knee propped up and his foot still on James. Remus smokes the joint and James looks to him, poking at his sternum until Remus grasps his wrist and holds it in his lap just as James was wanting all along.

“Prefect!” James chides.

Remus scoffs and knocks his shoulder under James’s chin and James is grinning and Remus is grinning even as he reminds, “Head boy.”

Sirius performs retching and they all collapse into lazy, weed-dry laughter. Remus’s arm is pressed against James’s torso and Sirius’s leg has nudged over his calf and it’s two points of contact that ground him to here, here, these two are all he needs.

the way we look like animals by dykesiriusblack (@dykefever)

[not-poignant]

Daily excerpt from chapter 15 of Underline the Blue:

‘Why are you treating him like that?’ Nate said, his voice weak. ‘Are you angry at him?’ Temsen’s eyes narrowed a little, and he tilted his head at Nate, then looked sidelong at Janusz. But then his expression cleared. ‘I’m frustrated,’ Temsen said. ‘His caution around you, while it comes from a very understandable place, hasn’t been helpful. Omegas tend to do better with firm guidance. Janusz hasn’t been trained to handle certain kinds of cases, including yours, and he can’t really help how he feels, but he also needs to step more firmly into the role he’s been hired to perform.’ Nate felt dizzy, and he stared at Janusz instead, because his head felt less foggy when he wasn’t trying to focus on a peak alpha. ‘Oh,’ Nate said all at once. ‘You’re mad because Janusz isn’t meaner to me.’ ‘No, baby,’ Janusz said, stepping forwards, walking past Temsen and talking across whatever he’d been about to say. ‘No. That’s not it at all. He’s mad because Hillview didn’t vet this process properly, and now you’re stuck with me, I’m afraid, because of the shortcomings of this organisation and those in charge of it.’