#flora asks

Mia ! ! ! 💕💖💟💓💕💗💞 

fern: if you could turn to anyone for guidance, who would it be?

The lion turtle from AtLA!!! I find Aang’s character arc so, so compelling as someone who really struggles to maintain a balance of I think is right and what I fear is necessary. The idea of the lion turtle not only understanding Aang’s reluctance to take a life (which is a totally valid concern that too often gets dismissed and even ridiculed by the fandom!) but also equipping him to administer justice while still solidifying the value of his ideology, and the legacy of his people is just *chef’s kiss*

bonsai: what is something you could spend hours, even days doing?

I haven’t worked on language learning much in the past few months, but there have been stretches of weeks where I didn’t do anything in my free time but take grammar notes, make flashcards, and practice speaking alone in my room like boo boo the fool I’m hoping to take it back up during the schoolyear!

fir: which tropes/archetypes do you find the most and the least compelling?

I'm a simple girl who enjoys a good hero's journey, as well as a good corruption arc. Dorian Gray? Beautiful. Azula? Stunning. Anakin Skywalker? Here for it. I’m also a hoe for masculine men who are willing to be emotional with one another (RE: the Lord of the Rings). I know morally gray protagonists are super in right now but I’m such a slut for people who are flawed but genuinely always try to do the right thing (RE: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aragorn).

On the other hand I really despise the super badass woman who rejects all traditionally feminine things, as well as the bad boy -> sad boy trope. In my opinion the first isn't really a character, but a shallow reaction to the damsel in distress trope that was and is designed to give men a feeling of power and importance. So there came the badass fighter lady- but incidentally the only qualities that make up her character are qualities men will respect :/ I think AtLA's Suki best summed my feelings on it: "I am a warrior, but I'm a girl, too." I'm all for women being good fighters and mechanics and strategists! But when Hollywood writes them it's still for the male audience imo lmfao

Okay i started on the bad boy trope and then couldn’t stop so, trigger warning: rape and also I’m coming for Kylo Ren’s throat and also the whole ass sequel trilogy, y’all. Reylos, read at your peril. Mia, I am so, so sorry for hijacking this lovely ask :/

i had to look up some of these flowers! elanor is so pretty, i love it forever now.

willow: what do you find haunting, but beautiful?

i really love boxes of old vintage family photos in thrift stores, and i usually buy a handful of ones that stand out to me and hang them around my classroom. these people are probably gone and i don’t know anything about their story—not their name, or where they were from, or what they did with their life—but now i have this single preserved moment of time, usually of joy. them showing off a new fur coat. posing with their new baby. a candid of two women laughing at the kitchen table, a half-eaten pie between them. i also buy vintage postcards that people have written on. i just really like having a piece of someone else’s story that’s a mystery, but there is something haunting about the idea that these are mementos that have been abandoned, passed on, and forgotten by the living people closest to the people in the photographs.

flora asks

Thank you so much for these asks, Macy! I appreciate you sm! (I also miss you! - hope you’re doing well (as well as can be expected for everyone eheheh) 

CACTUS: In what kind of environments do you thrive?

Environments of healthy rivalry, man. I dig that. I like to make a friendly competition of a lot of things. I turned my freshman year seminar class into a competition between me and three of my friends to see who could get the best score on essays, and boy did I want to win that. We had a scoring system where first place got four points, second three points, third two points, fourth one point - so everyone was getting some kind of reward for at least finishing. Our professor thought it was awesome. I still think about that - like twice a week. (I also turned my best friend’s fun party game at her sixteenth birthday - the fun trivia game about the birthday girl - into a competition. I won hehehehe she is MY best friend) (Also when I was having a breakdown in astronomy senior year - and by breakdown I mean that whole class was one collective breakdown, I’m okay - I turned the roll call into a competition. How fast could this class get through roll? We played the Olympic theme song. I’m not kidding you can ask my friends and everyone who put up with my shenanigans). 

I need a healthy rival in my major, man. Not like we’re competing - but we’re both pushing each other to become better academics, better people, y’know? I feel like I’m in a weird place where I’m an undergraduate but I’m doing some things that the graduate students are doing as far as research is concerned, and it’s a weird and lonely place to be. I feel like I could be motivated to do a lot more if I had someone in my year (or a senior or sophomore) at my university who also was research motivated like me.  Academia is a space about sharing and equality, YES - but I also need a pal in my field of study, a study buddy if you will. (It’s not a rivalry about power - if you see what I mean. It’s like a work out buddy but we’re training our brains!). 

(This probably comes from the fact that I was a competitive swimmer for twelve years and these healthy rivalries happen all the time - you’re both pushing each other to become better and at the same time celebrating each other’s achievements. It’s kind of a lot of fun!) 

DOGWOOD: How do you feel about your hometown?

We’re going through a lot right now. I come from an incredibly privileged town in North Texas that has seen numerous incidents of racism, homophobia, antisemitism, the like. We have an incredible group of young people who have organized to implement antiracist change in our school system (which is MUCH NEEDED - our town has its reputation and fame nailed to this school system because we’re #1 in a lot of things and we’ve developed this language around being the best- damaging, yeah?). However, we have an obstinate (and incredibly privileged) school board who has voted against the measures. These young people have been in front of the administration building every day since, protesting, and they are my heroes. 

However, I still consider this town to be my home more than my university town - I don’t think I’m ever really going to settle where I’m at right now. As I’ve said a lot, I don’t love it here. There’s something familiar about my small town that I like, and I’m excited for these young people who are going to make it an even better place to live. 

LILY: What is your love language?

Healthy rivalry. Probably words of affirmation or gifts hehehe I love giving gifts. I always drain my bank account at Christmas time because I just love giving people things. My parents chastise me for it, but will I listen? no hehehehe. 

your only hobby is burning down cabins

Hey, Cristina!! 💕 💕 💕

forget-me-not: what is the memory you most cling to?

I’d just returned to college after Christmas break; my dad had come with me, and it was my birthday the next day (and he was flying back home). We made a whole almost-birthday evening of it and had one of the best hugs I’ve ever had in my life :)

wisteria: how do you define beauty?

idk if this will make any sense but I think it’s whatever strikes us as the perfect combination of the human and the beyond human, kind of like a veil of two entwined fabrics through which we see all of life. That’ll be different for everyone, of course- beauty is a subjective topic- but I do think we all desire and admire what’s familiar enough to keep us grounded and sure that it’s real, as well as what’s beyond our understanding and what hints of something greater that we can’t yet see.