“Go And Love Someone Exactly As They Are. Then, Watch How They Transform Into The Greatest Truest Version

Lauren Ernwein by Szilveszter Mako for Vogue Hong Kong March 2022. Lisa Jarvis and Sean Kunjambu (Fashion Editors/Stylists), Massimo Di Stefano (Hair Stylist), Vanessa Icareg (Makeup Artist).

Lets say, hypothetically, my lover's got humor and for the sake of debate... lets say, she's the giggle at a funeral.

A father warns his daughter about men's intentions, their shallowness and crudeness; a father thereby warns his daughter about himself, his past self, too. I am a man, I know what it is to be a man; I was like them, and now I must warn you about them. I am warning you about myself; be careful.

Katherine Angel, Daddy Issues

Ewan Fernie, The Demonic: Literature and Experience

And also when Edgar Allan Poe said— "Tell me every terrible thing you did, and let me love you anyway."

My favourite character: smokes, drinks, reads greek and other dead languages, keeps a latin diary, kills someone by punching their collarbone, weaves an intricate web of lies and plot to escape jail, kisses his unrequited love and then shoots himself.

Me: now I know what Wilde meant when he said 'You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.'

“I think women like to read about murderous mothers and lost little girls because it’s our only mainstream outlet to even begin discussing female violence on a personal level. Female violence is a specific brand of ferocity. It’s invasive. A girlfight is all teeth and hair, spit and nails — a much more fearsome thing to watch than two dudes clobbering each other. And the mental violence is positively gory. Women entwine. Some of the most disturbing, sick relationships I’ve witnessed are between long-time friends, and especially mothers and daughters. Innuendo, backspin, false encouragement, punishing withdrawal, sexual jealousy, garden-variety jealousy — watching women go to work on each other is a horrific bit of pageantry that can stretch on for years. Libraries are filled with stories on generations of brutal men, trapped in a cycle of aggression. I wanted to write about the violence of women. […] I particularly mourn the lack of female villains — good, potent female villains…I’m talking violent, wicked women. Scary women. Don’t tell me you don’t know some. The point is, women have spent so many years girl-powering ourselves — to the point of almost parodic encouragement — we’ve left no room to acknowledge our dark side. Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids.”

— Gillian Flynn, “I Was Not a Nice Little Girl”

Request: Queer love as something holy. Being alienated from religion and finding your own way of worship.

Jorge Luis Borges, The Meeting in a Dream

Taylor Swift, False God

Ziggy Marley, Love Is My Religion

Frank Ocean, Bad Religion

Stephen Adly Guirgis, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

Jake Wesley Rogers, Jacob from the Bible

John Keats to Fanny Brawne, 13th October 1819

Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, WAP

Semler, Bethlehem

Wrabel, The Village

Tosca, Ho Amato Tutto

Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

Fall Out Boy, Church

Lord Alfred Douglas, Two Loves

Semler, Bethlehem

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Lana del Rey, Tulsa Jesus Freak

Hozier, Take Me To Church

Mary Lambert, She Keeps Me Warm

Tyler Glenn, Midnight

Sappho (attrib.)

Wrabel, The Village

The Aces, Lovin’ Is Bible

Jake Wesley Rogers, Jacob from the Bible

Louis Tomlinson, Only The Brave

Lana del Rey, Religion

Richard Siken, Litany in Which Certain Things are Crossed Out

  ― Pablo Neruda, One Hundred Love Sonnets

[text ID: I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, / in secret, between the shadow and the soul.]

That best feeling where you’re like, “I love books. I wanna read all the books. I just wanna spend all my time immersed in all of the books.” And then you inhale and just get that feeling of peace and anticipation and slight anxiety but it’s okay, because you love the books and no one can take that away from you.

Wish I was wandering the snow dusted grounds of a crumbling manor right now, wrapped in a velvet cloak