OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

izzy + looking at people’s lips

🪐 — muse edits  +  sarah fier              pls do not rblg !

🪐 — EDWARD TEAGUE​   for  calypso !

     “ They think that any culture or state that diverges is degenerate. That we are degenerate, until we speak, dress, act, and worship just like them. ”

    HER LAUGHTER CRACKS, a lightning strike that seems to reverberate through the strange objects in the small cluttered room. the humans all thought themselves so smart, so uniquely able to see the so-called big picture. she almost pitied them  — the blind fools had no idea how small their minds truly were.  ❝ &  how do you prove to yourself that you are above their rules then ?  by creating a book of your own  &  dedicating your entire life to upholding it ? ❞  the laughter comes again, but softer this time, tia dalma’s hand flicking at the empty air near her ear as though at some invisible annoyance.  ❝ have caution, teague, or you may find yourself becoming the very men you claim to hate so. ❞

“It’s alright to be scared. It’s what you do when you’re scared that matters.”

🪐 — MARIANNE SHERIDAN​  for  margaery !

in art galleries in italy, two trains over from her family’s second home, she is given a chance to disappear. she imagines how she looks from outside of her body, imagines a mysterious kind of elegance that sits on her shoulders, has created every inch of her into a design of what she wants to be in their conscience. sometimes, she thinks she doesn’t exist outside of their thoughts of her, though she has cultivated a lifetime pretending otherwise. 

@musecraft​ holds herself in a way that seems natural, a way marianne pretends to emulate, but always feels too sharp, like her bones are too splintered to fit that way. she has a habit of picking out people of interest, whether for good or bad reasons, finds herself gravitating to those who might bring something to her life. MARIANNE:     it’s a bit derivative, isn’t it ?  really she just likes saying the word derivative, one she practiced in front of the mirror when she learnt it, testing it on the tongue until it fell naturally, showing that she’s as smart as she’s always known she is.  MARIANNE:     i suppose some man just decided it was good once and no body thought to correct them.

     IF ONLY SHE KNEW  how carefully practiced her own posture was, hands folded neatly on front of her marianne might not think so highly of margaery.  but part of the carefully crafted facade was that it should appear natural, rather than manufactured. it should not be clear to those who looked upon either of them that their idyllic composure was more veneer than reality.  there was nothing more damaging to the illusion of poise than the idea that it was indeed falsified.  but margaery had been perfecting the steps for years now,  &  her artful appearance was now nearly impossible to break through.  she prided herself upon it, for it protected her well.                                              &  yet with marianne, moments of the truth creep in at the edges.  they are not perfect, neither of them, no matter how hard they might pretend.  &  her opinion, harsh  &  unapologetic as it was,  brought a smile to margaery’s lips.  a real one, not one crafted to curve elegantly across her lips without wrinkling her flawless skin.  no, this one was just a touch wider on the right side, leaving creases fanning out from the edge of her eyelids.  ❝ it’s not terrible i suppose —  art is subjective  &  the use of shadow adds nice depth. ❞  but she’s only fishing for something kind to say,  &  she gives up after a moment.  the pretense really wasn’t necessary; not around marianne.  ❝ but it’s certainly not in the running for my favorite piece in the exhibition. ❞

🪐 — JAMES BARNES​   for  birdie  !

❛  —

      [ … ]    hey,    thought i’d pick you up and steal the rest of your friday night. if you want, @musecraft​​​​​​?❜

       ❝ IS IT STILL STEALING  if i come willingly ? ❞  it was a question that she could ask of herself just as well as james.  birdie had long ago resigned herself to the absence of romance in her life, closed off the doors to that part of herself.  only james had been able to find the entrance  &  work it gently  &  patiently open so that he could slip inside.  ❝ where are we going ? ❞