Explain your YWS signature!

Here's a thread for explaining / sharing what the significance is to the quote / saying in your YWS signature! We're all writers here, so surely we put a little significance into the words we choose right?

Whether it's a silly inside-joke, a clarification of your identity, an inspirational quote, or a piece of poetry, I'd love to hear what it is, what it means to you, and why you chose it!

(Feel free to update as often as you update your signature as well as comment on other people's!)

mine is the louise gluck poem "eros"! (forgive the lack of umlaut) it's one of my favorite poems of all time and especially one of my favorites of hers. she's a poet who's influenced my style in so many ways as of late and i love to keep a bit of her work with me online!

i also occasionally will write the line "i needed nothing more; i was utterly sated" on my hand or arm - lol

Ooh this is fun!!
Mine is "I know my worth, nobody else opinion really matters" said by Peggy Carter from the show. Agent Carter. I actually also ended my graduation speech with this! Part of my subtle way of poking back at the system of grades and silly assignments. But generally it's my reminder that I know my worth, not anybody else.

I think at one point it was also(and is on discord) "now if you'll excuse me, I have to distract Joteheim" said by Loki in the first Thor movie.

this is such a cool thread!
since making this account, I hadn't really used my signature, so I very recently made a simple one.
of course "gigi" is what I choose to go by on YWS, and I love my <3's
"plus est en vous" is a quote from Tangled: The Series which means "there is more in you." it's a mantra in the show used for when someone begins to doubt their capabilities. I got it tattooed on my arm in 2020 for the 10 year release date of the movie Tangled. it's one of my favorite tattoos because it serves as a reminder to myself that even if I, or others, doubt me, I am more than what can be assumed.

I love philosophy, particularly continental philosophy -> Shūzō Kuki was a major figure in 20th century Japanese philosophy. his “big idea” was a uniquely Japanese concept of iki (often translated as chicness or sophistication). his time abroad in Europe influenced his work, which sought to combine Western philosophical methods with such Japanese concepts. neat stuff!

he ALSO wrote poetry, and the quote in my signature is from The Negative Dimension (Fugōryō):

In a shadow there is the blessing of a shadow,
It is not just that the shadow is not exposed to sunlight.

what seems “negative” is not merely the absence of something positive. a shadow is not simply “less light” - it has its own character, value, and reality. darkness, or absence, has qualities that cannot otherwise be provided without its existence.

“Pants are an illusion, and so is death,” is a quote from the character Huu from Avatar the Last Airbender. He is a swamp-bender, and makes this comment when someone remarks on his garb, which includes more of a loin-cloth than pants. The quote is a call-back to something more meaningful in the series - wherein the quote is: ”Time is an illusion, and so is death.”

The context for the quote is that the tree at the center of the swamp, for all its age and history, has a spiritual and literal element. It retains the memories of all who’ve entered the swamp. Anyone who’s interacted with it has left a mark on the living organism.

In discussion about the tree’s significance, Huu explains to Aang, the main character, that much like the swamp, the whole world is one big organism.

”You think you're any different from me, or your friends, or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together. You can feel everything growing. We are all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots, and we are all branches of the same tree.” - Huu

Aang and his party also experienced visions in the swamp of loved ones in the past, to which Huu remarks:

” In the swamp, we see visions of people we've lost, people we loved, folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to 'em. Time is an illusion, and so is death.” - Huu

I enjoyed the thoughtful commentary incorporated into the show and how it had a very visual metaphor for this concept. We are always connected to the ones we love through memories. Even greater than the ties of time, though — I’ve always read the quote through my own lens. My personal theological alignment regarding the afterlife (based on my own understanding of Biblical eschatology) is that, for those who are in Christ, we will all be raised to life again and see Jesus AND one another. This gives me hope that death is not the end. Not only because cherished memories will always tie us, but because Christ can also tie us, eternally, to himself, and through him there is power for a resurrected life.

In a way, the quote is a silly but sincere reminder to myself that death is an “illusion” — temporary, and inevitable, but just as inevitable as Christ’s return and the life he brings with him.

And also… what a boss retort to someone questioning your fashion. LMAO.

Mine is a quote from an SB I was in (Aether's Heart) from Chaser's character. The other is a quote from Grace Hopper who was a computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral during WWII.

I think both quotes speak for themselves XD

My current signature has the quote:

Who's to say that my light is better than your darkness? Who's to say death is better than your darkness? Who am I to say?

It is from the book Flowers for Algernon, which is one of my favourite books that I have read. I love this quote because it can apply to my life and others in many ways, in many situations, and at many times. What you define as being your “light”, “darkness”, or “death” is up to you, but the message is the same.

Then I listed my previous username and the : ) at the end links to my YouTube channel where I post some of my art and spoken word poetry!