Via @crysomemore

Chess in Concert

That’s it that’s the post

the uncanny valley between “this academic article doesn’t make sense because i’m an idiot” and “this academic article doesn’t make sense because the author is an idiot”

Thank you for your contributions to society... oh wait! You have done nothing! In fact you have probably made the earth a worse place. Congratulations!

Knowing for a fact I made at least a few million folk in this world smile is good enough for me <3

my mom bought me challah from the bakery today and said "i got you some of your 'chaw-luh' bread :)"

Nona the Ninth is one of my favorite books of all time. Not just because it's Locked Tomb, but it is the purest form of one of the big messages the series is trying to divulge.

The price of love is grief. We will never be free of it as long as we love anything at all. Our family, friends, our pets, even beloved media. Anything that connects that deeply to us that we love it will leave a gaping hole when it's gone.

But no one rejects loving to avoid grief. Every one of the characters holds on desperately to something they love, to levels that seem unhealthy to us. They want the perks without the cost.

John is holding on to a world and people that died 10k years ago.

The lyctors cling desperately to their cavaliers memories, to the point of being willing to end the 9 houses to honor them.

Cam held on to Pal, Pal held on to Dulcie. Harrow held on to Gideon so hard she disappeared her from her memory to avoid the grief she would pay for the privelege of caring for her.

But Nona loves indiscriminately. She loves the polluted sky, she loves the sad people, she loves the stray dogs and her friends and her teachers and Varun. She loves Pyrrhas lying ass, she loves Camilla and Palemedes, she loves crown and even cares about Judith. Nona isn't afraid of grief, because to her all that love balances it out. Nona is the only one in the end willing to pay the price for that 6 months of unconditional love. She knows from the beginning of the book that her own days are numbered, but she doesn't shy from it and avoid loving.

She loves all that much harder.

"If you could see your whole life, start to finish, would you change anything?" The movie Arrival (2016) approaches this same theme. If you knew what you'd lose, would you go back to avoid it? Would you keep away from the people and things you knew you'd lose? Would you shy away from experiencing love just because it hurts?

"Love and Freedom don't coexist, warden."

a few days ago a coworker asked me to explain Hanukkah and I asked her if she knew what a menorah was. She said, “like the Northern Lights?”

I’m simultaneously haunted by and wild about this concept now. instead of aurora borealis, menorah borealis. menorah borealis

Everyone agrees that if Merlin and Arthur were together, the entire kingdom would know and everyone would be chill with it, and I have no problem with Merthur (I mean have you seen the way they look at each other), HOWEVER I do think it would be a million times funnier if everyone assumed they were together (because Merlin totally gets mistress treatment) and they actually weren’t. I just think that would be really, really funny.

My something was a toothbrush...

Do you ever accidentally break something and regret it but also secretly think you're stronger than you ever knew possible???

takeaway from the notes of this post

Image description: the handshake meme, where one arm is labeled "people with corn allergies," the second arm is labeled "people with milk allergies or lactose intolerance," and their handshake is labeled "why is it in my fucking medications" with "medications" in all caps. End description.

Ahh he’s a terrible person who’s done terrible things but like??? He keeps people around for what they do, not what society says they should do???

Now I can’t stop thinking about my sweet child going through the entire journey to Fjerda not telling Kaz about how the leverage aspect of the plan won’t work. I know it was incredibly difficult and terrifying for Wylan to tell him in the first place (especially now that Kaz is being extra terrifying with him focusing on Inej’s injuries) but he had to go on the entire first part of the journey worrying about how he could be the weak link in this plan! Not only does he have to worry about his secret getting out, but he has to worry about Kaz possibly dismembering him or something equally horrible for not being the leverage they need! 

And in the end Kaz is just like “nah it’s cool”