#poetry for an heiress

[katniss-evermore]

going on linkedin and seeing everyone hyping up their new promotions when my company literally made it so no one could get a promotion this past year just really makes me feel so happy and fulfilled

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

From Lightsey Darst's book, The Heiress / Ghost Acres.

[two-white-butterflies]

F1 MASTERLIST

MAX VERSTAPPEN

that funny feeling - max verstappen soft-launches you.

do i wanna know? - max verstappen dates tony stark's daughter.

champion of the world - rumors spread around about you and max breaking up. (sainz!reader)

call it what you want - max verstappen proposes. (ricciardo!reader)

to keep me warm - he ends up dating a superstar. (singer!reader)

the last time - you wanted to be his priority, is that to much to ask? (indie-actress!reader)

invisible strong - (ex-driver!reader) (prema racing team principal!reader)

she's poison - your relationship is exposed and no one believes that max is dating you. (it-girl!reader)

down in florence, alabama - daniel ricciardo's sister gets cheated on by carlos sainz. she heals and dates max.

you won't forget me - max verstappen attends an event - coincidentally his ex girlfriend plays her new song.

monopoly go - he attacks you on monopoly. you find him on facebook. turns out he's hella famous.

blue bannisters - domestic bliss. (short)

imgonnagetyouback - he ends the relationship with a phone call

FERRARI BOYS

i love you in the morning - charles leclerc and his racer girlfriend.

violets for roses - you break up then get back again. (neurosurgeon!reader)

jasmine wind - toto doesn't approve of your boyfriend. (wolff!reader)

they don't know about us - charles gets online hate. (singer!reader)

foolish one - your relationship gets exposed in the weirdest way. (verstappen!reader)

tolerate it - you break up with charles and date max.

no time to die - after a messy breakup with charles leclerc. you resort to feuding with him online. in where, he hates your guts.

archer - after a series of instagram posts - your ex-friend fabricates screenshots that almost end your career. (singer!reader) (reputation themed)

nothing else matters - the internet hates you

is it over now? - you reminisce about a relationship that wasn't meant to be.

loss of my life - you are the biggest superstar. you break up with your longtime boyfriend. it's lonely at the top. (singer!reader)

who could ever leave me, darling? - carlos sainz supports you. (singer!reader)

lover boy - carlos gets jealous when someone hits on you. (lawyer!reader)

lucky one - you get attacked by paparazzi's and carlos goes into full protective mode. (actress!reader)

old money - carlos meets your parents, while twitter discovers your identity. (heiress!reader)

the last time - you date carlos after dating max. (actress!reader)

don't need no side chick - you release a song about him.

ibalik ang korona sa espanya - filipina reader who studies in UST.

we would've been - carlos sainz' childhood friend

smart sexy lacy - three years after that horrible breakup with charles leclerc; now you're dating his teammate. what happens when certain deals are levied upon you? will you follow through or go back to what you're used to?

three billion, you're the one - you create a song after breaking up with carlos. (singer!reader)

take her home - he meets a woman on the internet and dates her. (doctor!reader)

it was all yellow - hidden/secret baby trope

the city of love - your wedding ring falls into the seine river.

RANDOM

drug - toto wolff meets his girlfriend's parents. (horner!reader)

only a genius - toto wolff gets jealous. (actress!reader)

i love that man - toto wolff is dating an ex model.

what was i made for - you are toto wolff's ex wife, and the internet tries to push you back into each other's arms. (model!reader)

killer queen - the formula one grid love your food. (chef!reader)

i can see you - you try to keep the relationship a secret with daniel. (redbull-admin!reader)

mastermind - Ms. L/N turns to Mrs. L/N. In which, you ponder where you've been - and where you are now.

dress to impress - you are a dress to impress streamer.

she's random - kimi raikkonen is dating the most unhinged girl in existence. (singer!reader)

beat poetry - kimi raikkonen dates a girl who's basically lana del rey. (singer!reader)

the most beautiful girl - after a decade long hiatus, you return with kimi as your husband.

hectic inside - lando norris finds love in monaco.

best friend - lando has a crush on you, and everyone knows it.

feels impossible - lewis hamilton's wife is a filmmaker that belongs to a prominent film-making family. (coppola!reader)

Set in an au universe. I don't do smut in this, only fluff and blurbs. All scenes and blurbs that are written are not related to their real life - if by some reason, it seems related - that is coincidental. I don't tolerate sexualizing the f1 drivers.

I strictly do social media aus.

[saccharinescorpion]

4 Things You Can Try Now That You’ve Read THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR

(technically 5 things)

Mabel - a podcast by Becca De La Rosa and Maybell Marten.

Anna Limón is a home help worker currently looking after the elderly Sally Martin. When Sally has a bizarre and frightening reaction to a box of letters Anna finds in her attic one day, Anna attempts to seek answers by contacting Sally’s only known living relative: Mabel Martin.

“A podcast about ghosts, family secrets, strange houses, and missed connections,” Mabel is a story that is difficult to describe, but one of the most important points is that the vast majority of it is an epistolary narrative between Anna and Mabel, just like how This Is How You Lose The Time War is an epistolary narrative between Red and Blue. It also has a very distinct writing style- dramatic, flowery, and a little bit intimidating. However, if you loved the writing style of TIHYLTTW, I personally think that Mabel is a perfect match for you.

And I’m not just saying that because Mabel is a story about two extremely overdramatic women who are somehow both frighteningly caustic yet almost adorably useless.

The Honey Month - a book by Amal El-Mohtar 

I certainly hope I don’t have to tell you this, but Amal El-Mohtar is one of the authors of This Is How You Lose The Time War, and The Honey Month is a short book she wrote several years ago.

The Honey Month is almost more of an experiment than a book- in its introduction, a friend of El-Mohtar explains how she sent her several small samples of honey, leading El-Mohtar to use the gift as in a unique way. For one February, every day she used a different vial of honey as inspiration for a small piece of writing.

The Honey Month contains 28 short pieces of writing, poetry, prose, and some things in between. It’s a small book full of things with big impact, and contains the lyrical yet meaty writing I enjoyed from El-Mohtar in TIHYLTTW.

Otherside Picnic (裏世界ピクニック) - A series of novels by Iori Miyazawa (illustrated by Shirakaba)

College sophomore Sorawo Kamikoshi longs to find an escape from other people, and in trying to find it discovers the Otherside, a strangely beautiful yet unfathomably dangerous parallel world inhabited by the-once-fictional creatures she knows from net lore. She also meets Toriko Nishina, another young woman with a knowledge of firearms and a desire to find her missing mentor. Together, these two girls explore the Otherside and find themselves changing little by little, both due to their adventures, but also due to their relationship with each other.

If you know me you probably aren’t surprised at this reccomendation. Otherside Picnic is a truly odd beast- it’s sci-fi, it’s horror, it’s comedy, it’s yuri. It’s about trauma, it’s about Japanese creepypasta, it’s about useless lesbians, and it’s about how the scariest thing of all is being vulnerable with another human being. I think fans of  This Is How You Lose The Time War  will enjoy it- Otherside Picnic’s writing style will likely feel almost spartan compared to TIHYLTTW, but in my opinion there’s a similar level of poetry in it. There’s also a similar level of women who are “badass” yet kind of messes. You’ve heard of “Enemies to Lovers,” get ready for “Accomplices to Lovers”!

(there’s also a manga adaptation by Eita Mizuno, as well as an anime adaptation directed by Takuya Sato)

The Handmaiden (아가씨) - a movie directed by Park Chan-wook (written by Park and Chung Seo-kyung, based on the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters)

In Japan-occupied Korea, the pickpocket Sook-hee is recruited by a con-man to aide him in his scam of a Japanese heiress, Lady Hideko. While the con-man poses as “Count Fujiwara” and woos Hideko, Sook-hee will play the part of her maid and subtly push the heiress towards him. But as time passes, Sook-hee begins to realize there are things occuring in the mansion that are even more sinister than her and the Count’s scheme, and there is much, much more to Hideko than meets the eye.

This is a list of recommendations for “people who have finished “This Is How You Lose The Time War,” but I try to recommend The Handmaiden to as many people as I possibly can. I’ve described it in the past as the cinematic equivalent of running a marathon: with a 144 minute runtime full of gorgeous direction and set design, dark machinations, twisted yet romantic writing, often troubling themes, and so, so many plot twists, it’s a movie that nearly feels like too much of a good thing. But for fans of TIHYLTTW, I’m sure what will intrigue you most is the relationship between the two main characters, one so complicated that “Enemies to Lovers” can’t hope to capture the roiling feelings of pity, guilt, hatred, desire, annoyance, sympathy, and everything in between. 

It’s also just really hot.

The Handmaiden is a movie that is best enjoyed going in knowing as little as possible. That said, it is also a story with dark and often upsetting themes that are absolutely crucial to its narrative. If you are concerned about that statement,  I reccomend looking at the movies’ entry on DoesTheDogDie, which I have looked at and found to be a pretty comprehesive list of content warnings that can be examined in a way that doesn’t spoil the twists of the story.

Fingersmith - a novel by Sarah Waters

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I swear I’m going to get around to it!! I can’t technically recommend the book that inspired The Handmaiden since I haven’t read it yet, but I have at least one friend whose opinion I trust who sings its praises, so it’s good enough for me. Besides, if the recent popularity of This Is How You Lose The Time War has showed us anything, it’s that people constantly crave stories about complicated women, so it certainly can’t hurt, right?

[damagedintellect]

Fyodor x reader x Nikolai [Rich kids AU]

💌 Days of our Bungo : Part 2 💌  

Summary: All of your fathers made a pack that whenever they had kids they would marry each other. It sounded like a good idea at the time but when the Sigma family was the only family to have a girl, and everyone wanted a bloodborne heir, things seemed a little complicated. After many arguments it was decided they would wait to see which boy, she, would fall for. Everyone always ends up having a crush on their childhood friend right?

Notes: Guess who had another Bungo dream, it was me! This time around the dream sequence started in the middle and just kept going so ima just fill in the gaps and start from the top.

Tropes: Sigma is your twin, Fyodor x reader x Nikolai, Fyodor is endgame, royalty/rich kids, Childhood friends, Mutual pinning but reader thinks it's one-sided, Nikolai knows its unrequited but he still loves you & Fyodor, eventual 🍋

💌 Word count: 4,812 💌  Part 1 | Part 3

The following semester everyone at the academy would be spending their junior year studying abroad. It excited you greatly. You had always wanted to travel out of the country but never had the opportunity. Every summer you had been busy with Ballet plus you didn't want to be separated from Fyodor or Nikolai. Which reminded you that even Sigma would probably choose to study somewhere else this year. Your heart dropped at the thought. Everyone had a different study of interest. One day in the near future you would all end up going your separate ways. 

Being the Sigma family's heiress you weren’t expected to take over the family business. Unlike your brother you had a certain level of freedom in your choice. The feeling caused you to bite your lip. You liked things the way they were. How could you live without seeing Sigma, Fyodor and Nikolai everyday? You would all be making your choices by the end of the day and flying out as soon as the school could process your visas.

To your surprise Sigma, Ranpo and Dazai choose to study in England. You, Chuuya and Nikolai choose France and Fyodor was going to study in Russia. At the airport you were the only person who was teary-eyed. It was a new adventure and you knew it was going to be fun but you would miss your brother and your best friend. Of course you could alway write to them and they were only a phone call away but it would be different given the time zones and it wouldn't be the same.

The year went by faster than anticipated. You never expected Chuuya to take ballet with you and Nikolai but apparently outside of being there for poetry his brother pushed the idea on him. You would have never expected him to be such a strong dancer but he practically floated with every jump. The redhead even helped you through your French classes. In the end Chuuya ended up becoming a good friend and while Nikolai helped ease the homesickness you couldn't wait to be reunited with your family again. Despite Nikolai being with you in France he decided to take a little detour on the way back. He planned on going to Ukraine to visit his own family. So you flew back home with Chuuya but almost immediately parted ways after landing. Sigma would be returning in an hour or so, with that in mind you might as well wait for him. You sat on a bench zoning out as you heard someone ask you a question.

“дорогая, это место занято?”

You snapped your head around, mesmerized by the familiar voice. Softly you whispered the name of the man you missed so dearly.

“Fyodor?” 

You stood up astonished at how different he appeared. He had gotten taller in your time apart. His hair was also an inch longer than before but you've always liked that he kept his hair long. Fyodor cleared his throat realizing he was still speaking russian.

“My apologies, I forgot you are not familiar with my native tongue.” He set his bag down on the chair next to you and you took that as your opportunity to pull him into a hug while kissing his cheeks out of habit. Your French instructor wanted everyone to greet the people in your class with “La bise” and Nikolai would throw a fit if you didn’t greet him with kisses everyday while you were there. It's kind of been ingrained in your muscle memory for a year now. Fyodor's eyes widened as he tensed slightly but you didn’t notice.

“Fedya I've missed you so much!” You nuzzled into him. This was the best welcome home you could have imagined. “How? How did you know I would be here?”

“Nikolai sent me a letter. He wanted to be here for the reunion but his father wanted him to extend his trip. I had a feeling you would be lonely.” He pulled away smiling as he patted your hair. As you waited for Sigma you both talked about your adventures abroad. Right as Sigma's plane landed Fyodor pulled out a small box.

“In the excitement I nearly forgot. Merry Christmas.”

You stared back at the box frantically. You had forgotten to bring back gifts! Opening the box you revealed a gorgeous locket. “Oh Fyodor, it's beautiful but I don't have anything to give you.” That was something that had completely slipped your mind. You didn’t even think about getting souvenirs for everyone. Now you felt bad.

His hand delicately touched yours as he moved to put the necklace on you. “Well then in exchange for something equally as beautiful, you'll simply have to dance for me.”

You were taken aback by his words as he stood up to greet Sigma. Apparently you were so flustered Sigma even mentioned how red in the face you were. Fyodor only chuckled as you all made your way back to the manor.

After returning from the study abroad classes went back to normal. Only now you would often go out of your way to greet Chuuya since you were both good friends now. On Valentine’s day he asked if you could speak with him in private.

“I'm not one to beat around the bush so I'll just come out and say it.” Chuuya pulled out a box of chocolates and handed it to you. “I like you and after the study abroad I realized I miss hanging out with you all the time.”

You stared back at Chuuya like a deer in headlights. This was really unexpected. You got along just fine but you didn't think it was anything special. You thought Chuuya was a fine gentleman but you don't feel the same way. Ultimately it didn't feel like how you felt for Fyodor and that's not Chuuya’s fault. 

“Oh Chuuya I'm flattered but-”

He held up his hand. “I needed to confess for my sake even if you did return the feelings so don't be goin’ and apologizing for things out of your control.” Chuuya sighed in defeat “You already have a crush right?”

You didn’t know how to respond to that but you felt eyes burning a hole in your skull causing you to turn around. 

“You can come out of hiding now, I know you're there!”

When Fyodor didn’t want to be found he would climb on top of the roof's entryway and lay there watching the clouds. This was the first time anyone's found him out. He smiled of course you'd notice him. Fyodor was about to sit up when another voice joined the group.

“You found me!~” Dazai cheered in a sing-songy tune as he bounced over to the redhead's side.

Chuuya took a step back. “Hah!? Dazai what the hell? I told you not to follow me!”

“But Chuuya was hiding a box of chocolates. I thought they were for me. Plus it's not following If I showed up here first!” Dazai chimed in as he approached you. Swiftly he takes your hand to give it a kiss. “My sweet belladonna, when did you notice I was here?”

To be honest you were dumbstruck when it was Dazai who came out of hiding. “I didn't, I was actually talking about Nikolai. You outed yourself.” Whenever you had the unnerving feeling of being watched Nikolai was always somewhere close by. It was something you surprisingly became accustomed to. 

At first it scared the living daylights out of you. Someone had been following you and you didn’t know if it was a stalker, kidnapper or what. When you expressed your concerns to Nikolai he said that he'd been following you all day but he never saw anyone else watching you. You only laughed at the absurdity. That's when Nikolai started wearing a strong cologne that you swore could be smelled from a mile away. It was less unnerving knowing Kolya was just trying to make sure you were safe, in his own weird way. Bizarre, slightly creepy but ultimately sweet because he's one of your best friends and has come to your rescue once before.

Fyodor frowned, crossing his arms, he should have realized sooner what that smell was but it was fairly breezy and faint enough to disregard. Now that he thought about it he did recall the door opening twice before, but he assumed that the second time he heard the door it was someone leaving. He's relieved that he didn't make his presence known but he does wonder how the two taller men were hiding up until this point. He supposed it didn't matter as long as he stayed quiet but he fears his hiding spot may end up being compromised.

Nikolai ruffled your hair, appearing seemingly out of thin air. “As expected of my little dove,” He paused leaning down into your personal space “Although I was not expecting to hear you have a little crush. Should I be worried they'll steal you away from me.~” 

Nikolai teased you as you rolled your eyes pushing him away. Dazai looked up at the top of the entrance briefly before asking “It's Fyodor right? The one you have a crush on.”

You tensed. Stupid waste of bandages. Of course the person from the detective club would figure it out. You were about to deny the allegations when Nikolai grabbed your hands laughing. “Good luck with that! Knowing Dos-kun, I should be giving you my blessing!”

You groaned “I never said it was Fyodor.”

“You didn’t have to.” Dazai interjected “You always bring handmade chocolates for him each year even though no one can find him outside of class.” Dazai waved his hand around, flourishing his explanation.

Correction, every year, since middle school to be exact. You made chocolate for both Fyodor and Nikolai but while Kolya gladly received the offer you've never actually given it to Fyodor personally. Since this was your last year before university you were determined to find him but then Chuuya confronted you and it turned into this mess.

Dazai pulled out said box of chocolates from his blazer. “When did you!-” You cut yourself off to look through your belongings. Sure enough it was missing. “Whether or not those chocolates are for him is no one's business but mine.” You tried to grab for the box but Dazai held it up higher, smirking. 

Nikolai hugged you from behind resting his chin on your shoulder, preventing you from actually grabbing the chocolates. 

“Awwwww,” He pouted. “And here I thought I was special, I take back my blessing. I don't want to share you with Fyodor anymore!”

Turning your attention back to Nikolai you huffed. “That's a first, usually you're thrilled. Did you hit your head or something?” Brushing the hair out of his face you pressed your forehead against his. It was a little warm but not enough to cause concern but maybe you should bring him to the nurse just in case. Nikolai only stared back at you in disbelief. No witty remarks, no silly gags, just a far off stare. His shift in demeanor went unnoticed by you.

“Yeah maybe you should lay down for a bit.” You were still completely ignoring the fact that Dazai had your gift meant for Fyodor. 

You’ve personally never had many interactions with him but Sigma has complained about Dazai's antics about as much, if not more than Nikolai's. During the study abroad Chuuya would mention the other’s more aggravating qualities often despite the other not even being in the same country.

While Dazai's not a bad guy you still wonder what his goal was. As Fyodor's chronic chess partner there was probably no point trying to figure it out. You'd have to leave it be for now and wait to see if anything comes up later.

As Dazai watched you leave with a suddenly non verbal Nikolai. He grinned up at the rooftop. “It would be a shame for these to go to waste but with your name written on them? I'm afraid they might be too bitter for my tastes.”

Fyodor finally showed himself, leaning over the edge. “Then why get involved? I hardly see the merit in your little show.”

“Let's call it an intervention.” Dazai walked up to him waving the chocolate infront of the russian. “Why keep such a distance if the feelings are clearly mutual?”

Fyodor sighed, grabbing the box. “Again I fail to see why it is any of your concern.” 

His concern was not about the feelings being mutual, Fyodor was always thinking of what could possibly express his feelings on white day. After a lot of thought he determined that gifting you land or a country would be sufficient, but doing so for years in a row would ruin the sentiment and he's aware that you are the sentimental type. Not to mention with your current age and relationship status, it would be misconstrued. So why bother? Fyodor was a patient man and he wanted his profession of love to be perfect.

Dazai chuckled to himself. “I don't think you'd understand even if I told you but let's just say,” He hummed putting his hand under his chin “You're not the only one interested in the Sigma family.” He offered a cheeky grin to the other who was clearly uninterested.

Dazai is right. Fyodor doesn’t understand nor is he that concerned either. The plan has already been set in motion and he wouldn't need to wait much longer. Although like he predicted earlier his spot was now compromised. Which is somewhat troublesome. He'll need to find a new place to hide in the future. Fyodor sighed but didn’t say anything more and left the other two on the roof. He had no business with either of them anyways.

“Hey jackass, are we done here?” 

Chuuya crossed his arms walking up to his partner. When Dazai had approached him earlier even he wasn't sure what the mackerel's plans were but Chuuya wasn't too concerned. It's been hard for everyone in their grade level to watch (Y/N) pine after that anemic bastard for years. Honestly he felt bad but it's not his problem. He wondered if Dazai had the impulse to help or if he was plotting something else.

___

“I've talked it over with Dostoevsky, and after watching you over the years I can only assume you feel the same about this.” He chuckled  a little too giddy for your liking. “We’ve decided that you and Fyodor are to be betrothed and will marry upon graduation!” Your father said it with a big smile despite your clearly shocked expression. Your mind was going a mile a minute with the sudden news. This was probably the worst case scenario. Sure your dad’s heart was in the right place, you knew he would do anything for his little girl but this was pushing the envelope even for him. Did he really have to get involved with your love life? 

“We wanted to make the announcements at the beginning of the year but we thought it best to hold it off until finals were complete since they moved them up a great deal from past years. Although we’ve been mulling this decision over since you were kids, oh how the time flies. My little girl is all grown up now!”

He engulfed you in a hug but what you thought should have been warm comforting words only stirred the dread in your stomach. Since you were kids? Did Fyodor know about this? Is that why no one could ever find him on Valentine’s day, because he knew you were engaged. The more you think about it the more confused it makes you. If that was the case wouldn’t he have talked to you about it or does that mean he didn’t have a say in the engagement either? Would he even want to get married, let alone to you? 

It seemed your father was ignoring your visible distress and was continuing on about the wedding plans. All things you thought you would have a final say in but it seems he’s already done most of the work with that as well. A ring was placed in your hand and you were to start wearing it tomorrow as would Fyodor. This was really happening. By the time you left his office you were at a loss for words.

Sigma caught up to you as you were making your way through the halls and you showed him the ring on your finger.

“I’m engaged to Fyodor.” It was still sinking in and part of you wanted to scream with joy but only just. The other half of you knew that it didn’t matter since Fyodor clearly didn’t feel the same way. If he did want to marry you surely he would have proposed to you himself instead of letting your fathers’ make the declaration. Fyodor knows how much of a hopeless romantic you were for that kind of thing and you know how much the other craves control. Thinking back is that why he gave you his first kiss? Now you were even more embarrassed about that night. 

Sigma looked at you with an incredulous look. He’s known about your crush for years but hasn’t said anything because it’s really not his place to say. “I would say congratulations but you look like you're about to cry and that doesn’t exactly bode well for me at the moment. On either front.” He opened his arms for a hug as you flopped into them. “Why? Did father ask to see you as well?”

“Unfortunately yes and if that’s what he called you in for I can only imagine what business he has with me. For all I know I’ll be arranged to marry Nikolai.” He grimaced just thinking about it. Nothing against Nikolai but he tends to drive Sigma up a wall with his spontaneity. “But that’s not important, why is my dear sister upset? I thought you were madly in love with Fyodor?”

You froze. “Our fathers’ have apparently been planning this for years,” you grew quiet, exponentially embarrassed and flabbergasted that your family knew. “Are my feelings really that obvious?”

Sigma sighs rubbing your back “To everyone but Fyodor it seems. Either that or he doesn’t want to bring it up? You can never tell with him.” You pulled away. That wasn’t very reassuring but it was better, not, to think about it before you talk to the russian in question. Who knows your dad did say that after observing you both it seemed like a logical conclusion, maybe the feelings were mutual. Otherwise you were going to feel like shit knowing that you’re basically taking advantage of him and that your entire marriage would be a sham and just a front for your parents business ventures. 

Now that you’re no longer in the room groveling in embarrassment, you're pretty sure he said something about desiring an heir. Although you don’t want to think about that at all, in fact the thought mortifies you all together. It just makes you feel nauseous without confirming Fyodor’s feelings because what if he views you like a sister and you were expected to make a lovechild together. This was going to keep you up all night. Would Fyodor even bat an eye at the circumstances? You tried to ignore the train of thought pushing less than innocent images of your crush out of your head. It was only the beginning of the weekend but you were already dreading going back to class.

Sure enough when Monday came around it’s all you heard people talking about. Your engagement. The entire student body was in an uproar because you both came to school wearing matching rings. Well, it was that and an article about your family’s merger and that it was rumored to be due to the young love shared between you and Fyodor. Which was a bunch of bullshit that your fathers’ had planned for better business. Honestly you don’t know if it was smart or stupid of them. Although now many things from your childhood started to click into place beginning with your first playdate. You didn’t know what to make of it and you didn’t want to think about it anymore. It was too much for you and you wanted to rip the bandaid off.

When the bell rang you didn’t get up from your desk immediately, you were too tired from agonizing over what you would even say to Fyodor. You rested your head. Arriving at school had been a constant flood of peers congratulating you on your engagement. Girls were telling you that you were so lucky to be marrying one of the most handsome boys the school had to offer. It reminded you that despite Fyodor’s cold personality he seemed to garner a lot of popularity with the opposite gender. So many of these girls, who you've never seen before in your life, were coming up to you expressing their crushes for your fiance and how if they were to lose their chances it should be to you. This all felt like some elaborate prank.

You were dragged out of your thoughts when the murmurs from the hall fell silent. Slowly you turned your head to see Fyodor with a semi uncomfortable expression. It must be from all the attention the two of you were getting. His arm was extended as if he was about to pat your head but he continued to reach out offering to assist you out of your seat. Your eyes were trained on the ring on his finger. It suited him well and even matched your own despite the designs being different. Looking at your own, you only now realize how perfectly it was tailored to your personal liking. It matched the locket you've been wearing everyday. The one that Fyodor gave to you after returning from the study abroad. You wonder who picked out the ring if it matched the locket. Surely not your father. Maybe the Dostoevsky’s had a favorite jeweler they work with. Was that a mere coincidence?

Glancing up at Fyodor again you swallowed hard. This was the first time you've seen him since the engagement. You avoided his eyes directly as the heat started to spread to your face. In turn you didn’t get to witness how Fyodor’s expression softened immensely, finally being in your presence.

“How was your trip?” 

You had tried to get a hold of him when your father told you the news but Nikolai informed you that his father was taking him to attend a business conference out of town and you didn’t want to pester him because it sounded important.

“As expected of a last minute venture.” 

He frowned that you were hesitant to take his hand. Now that you were engaged, Fyodor didn’t feel the need to hold back some of his physical urges towards you. It baffled him that you weren't reciprocating like your usual persona. 

“You haven’t been sleeping well, shall I escort you to the nurse?”

His tone was indecipherable as always. You sighed, grabbing his hand flashing your matching ring to him as he gently brought it to his mouth to place a kiss to the silver band. The action made your heart jump as you looked at him with wide eyes. You could hear the chatter of your classmates resume in the distance. He must be playing it up for the audience but it still managed to fluster you. 

“That's  not necessary!” You exclaimed bashfully before calmly adding. “I-I haven’t been but it's not that important. I, uh, do you mind if we go somewhere else?”

“Of course not my dear. As you wish.”

Your hand burned as he ushered you away from the crowds to the roof. The term of endearment made your heart flutter again. Fyodor checked if there was anyone else around before he motioned for you to sit with him.

Without hesitation you blurted out the demand that has been on your mind. 

“You have to break the engagement.”

Fyodor blinked a few times before retaliating, wholeheartedly unsure as to why you would want him to do so. 

“My my, I've been gone for three days and my fiance has had enough of me.”

The words were exhilarating to say out loud. He had been waiting years to call you his fiance, even though at the moment you appeared distraught. Fyodor shook his head playfully, smiling at you as you huffed. 

“This isn't funny Fyodor, I'm being serious.”

“As am I. Why should I break the engagement? If you have a problem you should take that up with your father?” 

He was trying to avoid how hurt he was at the notion. What happened to your feelings for him? He couldn't possibly have misjudged those could he? Dazai even confirmed them to be mutual unless that was his angle all along. That rat bastard sticking his nose in other people's business. If it wasn't frowned upon he would have him shot, stabbed, drowned and then shot again but this time by Chuuya for meddling.

The way Fyodor spoke so nonchalantly was unnerving to you. How could he be so unbothered? “I tried but he's planned everything to the letter. I didn't even get to choose my dress! So you need to be the one to break it off.” It's bothered you all weekend and kept you up at night. The only way to find out Fyodor's true feelings for you was to see how he reacts to you trying to stop your inevitable marriage.

Fyodor raises an eyebrow before wearing a very careful expression. It was actually Fyodor who made most of those decisions for the wedding. In the back of his mind he was worried that his father would deny his proposal if he didn't see any promise. Nikolai never had a problem being openly affectionate towards you and he knows your father had noticed that as well. Fyodor wanted to make sure he still had a chance to be considered a valuable suitor. He was thinking that at some point you would get to weigh in on the final plans anyhow. He favored being meticulous about those kinds of details, however he must admit that maybe for this instance he might have gone overboard but you deserved the world and Fyodor wanted to provide as much as possible. 

“Is that why you haven't slept? You should try to rest while it's still free period. Our discussion can wait until you are in the right mind.” 

He sounded concerned as he started taking his blazer off while pulling you into his lap. For the first time he didn’t know what to say to make you feel better. His body more or less moved on its own craving the closeness to ease the sting of you not wanting to marry him. What happened while he was gone? Did Nikolai make a move or did someone else capture your heart? Again he immediately blames Dazai for getting involved. Fyodor kissed your forehead holding you possessively against his chest. Where did he go wrong? His plan to win over the adults worked out perfectly. Why were you suddenly giving so much push back?

You were awestruck at the action letting Fyodor move you as he draped his blazer around like a blanket. It felt like this was a dream like you would wake up from this fairytale that your brain knew you craved. The kiss to the forehead plus the way you were sitting, you've always wanted to sit with him like this but it was too good to be real. Since when was he so physically affectionate? It made your heart clench, it was all just an act. Your head was killing you from working overtime. Despite it all you still felt overwhelmingly safe in Fyodor's arms and your eyes fell closed as you got comfortable. You loved him but you hate this.

After a beat Fyodor spoke. “We couldn't break the engagement even if we wanted to, not without destroying the reputations of our family names while we're at it. Would it really be that torturous to be my wife?” 

His words were as logical as ever. At least some things never change.

You didn’t have the strength to reply but you knew he was right. Although his voice sounded strange, you couldn't put a finger on why. The wording was odd even for Fyodor but like he said earlier you probably weren't thinking straight. You nuzzled into him further, not thinking much of it and drifted off to sleep. You already got your answer anyhow. Fyodor doesn’t love you the same way you love him. That was the only explanation. He cares for you deeply but you doubt he loves you as more than friends. It would hurt you if you weren't already prepared for this outcome. You've known for years that he just wasn't the romantic type and maybe that’s why it was so easy to crush on him, because you knew you never had a chance. 

Love, romance, affection? Those were all ideas you wanted. Things you craved to have but the vulnerability that comes with it terrifies you. To lay yourself bare in another's trust. It's why you push Nikolai away as well. He loves you so much and you're mortified to take a leap of faith even though you know he would catch you. He always has.

___

Part 3

Tagslist: @skullyz1 , @tttttttf , @ayameshu

[bethanydelleman]

New Year's Resolutions for Jane Austen Characters (mid-novel) Part 2

George Wickham: Marry a heiress. Stop gambling lol, as if, that's what marrying the heiress is for.

Lady Catherine: Convince Darcy to follow through with his duty and honour of marrying my daughter Anne. Learn pianoforte

William Collins: Continue in the esteem of my patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh in order to secure additional livings. My wonderful partner in life joins me in this goal.

Charlotte Collins: Convince husband to spend as much time in the garden as possible. Secure extra livings in order to gain more Mr. Collins-free time.

Georgiana Darcy: Practice harp at 10am sharp every day until fingering improves

Mrs. Jennings: Marry off every eligible girl within sight, beginning with the Miss Dashwoods.

Fanny Dashwood: 1. Suck up to mom to secure inheritance 2. Keep Edward & Elinor apart at all costs, 3. Hang out with this Steele girl to make Elinor jealous

John Willoughby: 1. Marry an heiress before my entire life explodes 2. Worm my way back into Mrs. Smith's good graces. 3. Marianne???

Sir John Middleton: 1. Go hunting 2. Host parties and balls 3. Make sure my tenants in Barton cottage are happy (Not actually goals, just what he does anyway)

Lady Middleton: Maintain the propriety of my great house and title while spoiling my children

John Thorpe: 1. Marry that rich heiress I so cleverly secured 2. Buy and sell horses for extravagant prices 3. Attend Belle & James's wedding (If I have time)

Isabella Thorpe: ❤️❤️❤️ Marry Captain Frederick Tilney ❤️❤️❤️

Jane Fairfax: *hands back the paper blank and blushes*

Frank Churchill: MARRY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE JANE FAIRFAX um, some girl I know. Don't tell my aunt, please

Mr. Elton & Mrs. Elton: keep being the hottest couple in Highbury *high five*

Dr. Grant: Eat a lot of yummy dinners (same goal since he was born)

Julia Bertram: Catch a better husband than Maria Keep partying with Maria

Mrs. Price: hire better servants, have Rebecca fix that carpet... I really have the worst servants in Portsmouth, it's a tragedy... (we cut off her complaints here)

William Price: MAKE LIEUTENANT

Sir Thomas: Finally figure out how to make Tom stay at home and do his duty as the eldest son. All the other kids are doing very well so I have nothing to improve there.

Sir Walter: There is nothing I would ever change about the amazing person that is myself.

Elizabeth Elliot: Marry Mr. Elliot and reestablish myself as the mistress of Kellynch

Lady Russell: encourage Anne to marry Mr. Elliot, read all new poetry publications

Mr. Elliot: Keep Sir Walter from marrying that vile seductress so I stay in the line of succession

Mrs. Clay: Marry Sir Walter, at all costs

Part 1

[city-of-ladies]

A pioneering female composer, Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) defied the norms of her time. Unlike many women of her era, she was not a wife, a nun, or a courtesan; but an independent woman devoted to her music.

The heiress of the Muses

Barbara was immersed in music from an early age. Her father, Giulio Strozzi, an illegitimate member of the noble Strozzi family, played a significant role in Venetian musical life, writing librettos for major composers and poetry. Her mother, Isabella Garzoni, was Giulio’s longtime servant, possibly of Greek origin, as she was known as “La Griega” or “La Greghetta” (“The Little Greek”).

Unlike Nannerl Mozart, Barbara benefited from a supportive environment. Her father acknowledged her and provided her with a comprehensive education, allowing her to develop her talents from a young age. She trained with opera composer Francesco Cavalli, and by the age of 15, Barbara was already performing at gatherings in the Strozzi home. She possessed an impressive and flexible soprano voice, capable of singing complex compositions.

Her talent was widely recognized. In 1635 and 1636, composer Nicolò Fontei dedicated two volumes of solo songs to her. She also performed at meetings of her father’s intellectual circle, the Accademia degli Unisoni (“Academy of the Like-Minded”). Among the attendees was Giovanni Francesco Loredan, a supporter of feminist writer and nun Arcangela Tarabotti, who remarked that “had she been born in another era, surely she would have usurped or expanded the place of the muses.”

An extraordinary career

Barbara went on to publish her own compositions. In 1644, she released Il primo libro de madrigali (First Book of Madrigals, Opus 1), dedicated to Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, known for her patronage of female convents and musicians—a strategic choice on Barbara’s part.

Despite the dominance of opera, Barbara achieved recognition as a composer of chamber music. Her compositions showcased her vocal talent, though she sometimes wrote with other female voices in mind. Her songs explored themes of love, jealousy, joy, despair and sensuality. Most of her work was secular, but she also composed religious pieces in Latin—a unique accomplishment for a Catholic laywoman in early modern Europe.

Barbara’s work was more than just a portrayal of women as sensual temptresses; she also demonstrated a powerful and dramatic voice. An example of this is “Lagrime mie” (“My Tears”) from 1657, a poignant expression of a lover’s despair that fully utilized her vocal abilities.

Over her lifetime, Barbara published around 125 compositions across eight volumes, making her more prolific than any other female composer of her era. By 1656, her works were included alongside those of male composers in printed collections. While she did not perform publicly, her music has been preserved.

A troubled personal life

Barbara never married but had four children, at least three of whom were fathered by Giovanni Paolo Vidman, a friend of her father. Long-term concubinage relationships like theirs were not uncommon at the time.

The nature of their relationship remains unclear. An anonymous commentator wrote in 1677 that Giovanni Paolo had raped Barbara. This might seem contradictory given the length of their relationship, but societal norms of the time regarding female virginity sometimes forced women to remain with their aggressors to protect their reputations.

Through her work, Barbara was able to provide for her children. Giovanni Paolo died in 1648, leaving provisions for her and their children. Both of Barbara’s daughters entered convents, with the entrance fees paid by Giovanni Paolo’s wife, Camilla. Barbara rented a house from Giovanni Paolo’s brother until 1677 when she traveled to Padua, where she died of illness.

My Ko-Fi

Further reading

Kendrick Robert L., “Intent and textuality in Barbara Strozzi’s sacred music”

Magner Candace, “Barbara Strozzi, a brief history”

Ray Meredith K., Twenty-five women who shaped the Italian Renaissance 

[holycompendium]

Ascendants OC Masterlist ⛊ Pt. 1

⚔︎ quick context : ascendants is my upcoming descendants fic series centered around merlin academy. you can catch the first chapter of the first installment right here!

ADAM ST. ROSE

Fate : Become cursed to live as a beast & marry Belle. Face Claim : Maxwell Jenkins

ANA CRESTA

Legacy : Daughter of a Neverlandian mermaid. Face Claim : Daniela Avanzini

ARTHUR "ART" PENDRAGON II

Legacy : Son of King Arthur of Camelot. Face Claim : Joshua Bassett

ASTERIA CHARIS

Legacy : Adopted daughter of Erato, muse of lyrical poetry. Face Claim : Bailey Bass

AZRIEL INDIRA

Legacy : Son of the Blue Fairy. Face Claim : Omar Rudberg

BELLE BAPTISTE

Fate : Marry the beast king Adam & establish the United States of Auradon. Face Claim : Zoe Colletti

CASPIAN DELMAR

Legacy : Son of Arista, nephew to Ariel & Eric. Face Claim : Reece King

LYNN ORELLA

Fate : Become the all-powerful enchantress who curses Prince Adam. Face Claim : Choi Yunjin

CLAUDE FROLLO

Fate : Become the villainous archdeacon of Notre-Dame. Face Claim : Case Walker

CRUELLA DE VIL

Fate : Descend into madness and become a tyrannical heiress. Face Claim : Riele Downs

ELI LA BOUFF

Fate : Inherit his family's business and become a wealthy sugar baron. Face Claim : Maxwell Acee Donovan

EUGENE "FITZ" FITZHERBERT

Fate : Abandon his royal heritage and become the thief Flynn Rider. Face Claim : Aryan Simhadri

FINCH

Legacy : Illegitimate son of Robin Hood. Face Claim : Brandon Severs

GASTON LEGUME

Fate : Become an arrogant and selfish game hunter. Face Claim : Belmont Cameli

GRIMHILDE

Fate : Become the Evil Queen & stepmother to Snow White. Face Claim : Ariana Greenblatt

JAFAR

Fate : Become the scheming royal vizier of Agrabah. Face Claim : Jahed

KIRSTI LINDT

Legacy : Daughter of Anna & Kristoff, niece to Elsa. Face Claim : Shay Rudolph

LEAH ROSE

Fate : Marry King Stefan and give birth to Aurora. Face Claim : Dior GoodJohn

LOUIS FACILIER

Fate : Sell his own soul in exchange for the power of a Hodou bokor. Face Claim : Niles Fitch

MIMINA "MIMI" MIM

Legacy : Granddaughter of Mad Madam Mim. Face Claim : Avantika Vandanapu

MAI TREMAINE

Fate : Become the head of the house of Tremaine & become Cinderella's stepmother. Face Claim : Kang Haerin

MULAN FA

Fate : Defeat the Hun army and save the Imperial Kingdom. Face Claim : Zhou Xinyu

ODILE "ODIE" ARNAUD-CHRISTOPHE

Fate : Become an eccentric & benevolent Houdou priestess. Face Claim : Whitney Peak

SAM "SMEE" SMIEGEL

Fate : Serve as Captain Smith's boatswain and first loyal mate. Face Claim : Owen Joyner

STEFAN MOREAU

Fate : Marry Queen Leah & father Aurora. Face Claim : Kahlil Beth

URSULA

Fate : Become a fearsome sea witch. Face Claim : Chandler Kinney

ZEVON

Legacy : Son of Yzma. Face Claim : Charlie Bushnell

[ada-melodies]

Sulfur And Amethysts: Laurel and Raphael

Are you ready to meet these two infernal colleagues before the events on BG3? A young drow, the only heiress of a dark family tied with Hell and a fiendish warlock human with sweet brown eyes and a passion for poetry...

Soon you could read it on AO3 👀

[satansapostle6]

Anything But Time | Fred Weasley

Fred Weasley never thought he’d fall for a Slytherin girl. Nathalie Adams never thought she’d fall for the class clown.

Warning: Mature themes/language. Violence. Sexual content.

Chapter One

Chapter Two: Courting

Nathalie Adams was supposedly the most beautiful Slytherin girl in her year, or just the most beautiful girl in her year, or even the school. She looked like her mother, the glamorous blonde heiress, and dominated like her father, Gorgon, the convicted Death Eater.

Like some of the other students Sorted into Slytherin, Nathalie was forced to bear the legacy of a pureblood family that fought on the side of the Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. Although her parents weren’t quite as extreme as some of the other fanatics in the pureblood community, they still held old beliefs and practiced rather archaic traditions, which Nathalie was certainly growing to realize more and more.

Nathalie’s mother Irina was very much concerned with finding Nathalie a suitable husband, even long before she actually could even have a husband. From the moment Nathalie was born, her mother kept a close eye on every reputable pureblood family they knew or met, searching for a son good enough for Nathalie.

Until recently, Irina Adam’s’ fixation had been on one of the Slytherin boys in Nathalie’s year. This was naturally before Irina had gotten word of Cedric Diggory’s potential crush on Nathalie.

“You never told me that the Diggory boy was pursuing you,” Irina said in a petty tone, her face taking shape in the Slytherin common room fireplace.

Earlier that day, Nathalie had received a letter from her mother instructing her to wait alone in the Slytherin common room at 11 P.M., as she typically did when there was something pressing her mother wished to discuss with her. How this qualified as pressing, Nathalie had no idea.

“Mother. I’m not quite sure where you got that wild bit of misinformation, but I assure you, even if he were trying to pursue me, I have no intention of dating Cedric Diggory,” Nathalie scoffed at the idea.

“And might I ask why not?” Irina demanded.

“Because. I want to marry someone I have more in common with,” Nathalie sighed exhaustedly, “This might come as a shock to you, but I want to marry someone that I… Oh, yes. Want to marry!”

“Oh, get over yourself, Nathalie!” Irina rolled her eyes. “Cedric Diggory might be soft and folsky like his father, but he’s no less of a suitable bachelor than any of the boys born to Sacred 28 families. He’s talented, wealthy, handsome, and—”

“Pureblood?” Nathalie finished the sentence.

Irina frowned at the retort. “Reliable,” she corrected. “He would make a fine husband.”

“To some mousy brunette who reads poetry, maybe,” Nathalie agreed.

“Nathalie… Just humor the boy,” the woman sighed in exasperation.

“Yes, Mother,” Nathalie mocked her. “I’ll study with him. That’s it.”

“Good. Write me by the end of the week,” Irina instructed.

And before Nathalie could manage to get a word in, the fire consumed her mother’s image once again, leaving nothing but an ordinary fire as she just sighed, skulking back upstairs for bed.

*****

Nathalie made her way to the library, book bag slung over her shoulder as she smoothed out her blonde hair, a consistent habit that she had. Cedric spotted her in the corridor before she noticed him, a small moment in time which he captured the beauty of.

“Nathalie,” he called for her.

She turned to face him as she approached the library, smiling once she saw him standing by the doors.

“Cedric,” she breathed out.

He had the most innocent look as he stood there waiting, tall and kind-faced in his black sweater with the tiny Hufflepuff crest on it. Nathalie admitted that, were he more interesting, he’d be captivating.

“Shall we find a table?” he asked her as they walked in together.

“Sure,” she nodded.

Not only was Cedric Diggory the only person at Hogwarts she’d seen make it into the library without being shushed by Madam Pince, but she could’ve sworn that the woman even greeted him with a soft smile. Of course, Nathalie figured, even the ornery librarian can’t resist Cedric Diggory’s charms. But it didn’t take long for her to frown upon noticing Nathalie’s shorter emerald green plaid skirt.

“So. Where would you like to sit?” Cedric asked her pleasantly.

“Anywhere is fine,” she said indifferently.

Nathalie and Cedric found a table far enough from Madam Pince, near one of the windows. Soft light shone in from the window beside them, creating a sort of ambiance. Nathalie had to wonder if Cedric had considered this upon choosing somewhere to sit.

Nathalie and Cedric were both relatively quiet for the first half hour or so of their study session, only speaking when discussing their course work for History of Magic. It was only after they had finished the small amount of studying that needed to be completed when Cedric finally mustered up the courage to start a genuine conversation.

“Professor Binns really is quite thorough in his assignments for someone who spends the better part of classes asleep,” Cedric remarked.

Nathalie nodded in agreement. “I think he’s one of the few teachers who’d fail his own class,” she scoffed.

Cedric just chuckled, appreciating her wit.

“You know, my father said he slept through a week’s worth of the classes he had with him,” he shared with her. “He and his friends ran a wizard’s chess tournament.”

“He sounds like a funny man,” Nathalie thought.

“He definitely is,” Cedric agreed.

He took a moment before

“You know… I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but… you’re really quite beautiful,” he professed, looking at her in awe.

Nathalie just smiled, not surprised at all.

“That doesn’t make me uncomfortable,” she said softly.

She was amused to see the ‘popular Quidditch captain’ Cedric Diggory blushing as he tried to cover it up with a nervous chuckle.

“Good,” he remarked, as they carried on with their conversation.

*****

“Miss Adams,” Professor Snape said curtly as she entered the dungeons for Potions.

Everyone in the room turned as Nathalie arrived in class, thirty-seven minutes late, for the second time in a week despite it being a Tuesday. Any other student would have been given three detentions by now. But, there was no way Professor Snape was willing to publicly punish one of the Slytherin prefects, with some of the highest marks within his House.

“Sorry I’m late, Professor,” Nathalie said with poise, “Professor Flitwick asked me to stay behind and help.”

“Yes, I received his owl, now have a seat.”

Fred Weasley grinned as he turned to Lee Jordan beside him. “Any chance he also said to walk slowly past the back?”

The two boys chortled in amusement. 

“Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley!”

Nathalie shot a look towards the back room as she sat beside one of the other Slytherin girls, Macy Westfield.

“I hate classes with the Gryffindors,” she muttered under her breath.

“I don’t mind, really. Some of them aren’t altogether unpleasant to look at,” Nathalie shrugged.

“Who, like the Weasel twins?” the girl beside her questioned. “You can’t seriously mean them. They’re beneath you.”

“Not yet,” Nathalie pointed out with a smile. “Besides. That was my mother’s plan in hiring a house boy.”

“Fair point,” her classmate remarked as she returned her attention to her brew. 

After class had come to an end, Nathalie and Macy put away their Potions supplies and eagerly left the classroom, only to find Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins blocking their path. Macy and Nathalie exchanged looks as Macy just rolled her eyes. Nathalie stood there, crossing her arms irritably as she made her presence known.

“Excuse me.”

All three boys turned to look at her. Lee and Fred seemed especially pleased to find Nathalie standing behind them. Fred, of course, being the bolder and more brazen twin, shamelessly looked her up and down as she waited for him to move.

“What’s the hurry, little lady?” Fred asked Nathalie cheekily.

Macy’s patience was waning much faster than Nathalie’s.

“We need to find someone who can afford a pack of gum,” she retorted.

Lee couldn’t help but laugh as George just stood by and watched to see how this would play out.

“Now hold on. What’s with the aggression?” Fred attempted to flirt. “I’m just making conversation.”

“You’re making me dry,” Nathalie said in a deadpan sort of tone.

Lee and George were now both invested bystanders.

“I bet I could fix that,” Fred offered even more shamelessly, his face inches from hers as he bent down to speak to her.

“I bet you had ham for lunch,” Nathalie forced a sarcastic smile. “Now move.”

George laughed giddily at his brother as he just stood there, looking a bit disheartened as he reluctantly moved aside for the two girls to pass.

-

[queerasfact]

Queer Calendar 2023

We put together a calendar of key (mostly queer) dates at the start of the year to help us with scheduling - so I thought I’d share it around! Including pride and visibility days, some queer birthdays and anniversaries, and a few other bits and bobs. Click the links for more info - I dream one day of having a queer story for every day of the year!

This is obviously not an exhaustive list - if I’ve overlooked something important to you, feel free to add it in the reblogs!

January

3 - Bisexual American jazz-age heiress Henrietta Bingham born 1901

8 - Queer Australian bushranger Captain Moonlite born 1845; gay American art collector Ned Warren born 1860

11 - Pennsylvania celebrates Rosetta Tharpe Day in honour of bisexual musician Rosetta Tharpe

12 - Japanese lesbian author Nobuko Yoshiya born 1896

22 - Lunar New Year (Year of the Rabbit)

24 - Roman emperor Hadrian, famous for his relationship with Antinous, born 76CE; gay Prussian King Frederick the Great born 1712

27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day

February

LGBT+ History Month (UK, Hungary)

Black History Month (USA and Canada)

1 - Feast of St Brigid, a saint especially important to Irish queer women

5 - Operation Soap, a police raid on gay bathhouses in Toronto, Canada, spurs massive protests, 1981

7 - National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

18 - US Black lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde born 1934

12 - National Freedom to Marry Day (USA)

19-25 - Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

March

Women’s History Month

1 - Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day

8 - International Women’s Day

9 - Bi British writer David Garnett born 1892

12 - Bi Polish-Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky born 1889 or 1890

13 March-15 April - Deaf History Month

14 - American lesbian bookseller and publisher Sylvia Beach born 1887

16 - French lesbian artist Rosa Bonheur born 1822

20 - Bi US musician Rosetta Tharpe born 1915

21 - World Poetry Day

24 - The Wachowski sisters’ cyberpunk trans allegory The Matrix premiers 1999

April

Jazz Appreciation Month

Black Women’s History Month

National Poetry Month (USA)

3 - British lesbian diarist Anne Lister born 1791

8 - Trans British racing driver and fighter pilot Roberta Cowell born 1918

9 -  Bi Australia poet Lesbia Harford born 1891; Easter Sunday

10 - National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

14 - Day of Silence

15 - Queer Norwegian photographer and suffragist Marie Høeg born 1866

17 - Costa-Rican-Mexican lesbian singer Chavela Vargas born 1919

21-22 - Eid al-Fitr

25 - Gay English King Edward II born 1284

26 - Lesbian Day of Visibility; bi American blues singer Ma Rainey born 1886

29 - International Dance Day

30 - International Jazz Day

May

1 - Trans British doctor and Buddhist monk Michael Dillon born 1915

7 - International Family Equality Day

7 - Gay Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky born 1840

15 - Australian drag road-trip comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert premiers in 1994

 17 - IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia)

18 - International Museum Day

19 - Agender Pride Day

22 - US lesbian tailor and poet Charity Bryant born 1777

22 - Harvey Milk Day marks the birth of gay US politician Harvey Milk 1930

23 - Premier of Pride, telling the story of the 1980s British activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

24 - Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day; Queer Chinese-Japanese spy Kawashima Yoshiko born 1907

26 - queer American astronaut Sally Ride born 1951

29 - Taiwanese lesbian writer Qiu Miaojin born 1969

June

Pride Month

Indigenous History Month (Canada)

3 - Bisexual American-French performer, activist and WWII spy Josephine Baker born 1906

5 - Queer Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca born 1898; bi English economic John Maynard Keynes born 1883

8 - Mechanic and founder of Australia’s first all-female garage, Alice Anderson, born 1897

10 - Bisexual Israeli poet Yona Wallach born 1944

12 - Pulse Night of Remembrance, commemorating the 2012 shooting at the Pulse nightclub, Orlando

14 - Australian activists found the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands in 2004

18 - Sally Ride becomes the first know queer woman in space

24 - The first Sydney Mardi Gras 1978

25 - The rainbow flag first flown as a queer symbol in 1978

28 - Stonewall Riots, 1969

28 June-2 July - Eid al-Adha

30 - Gay German-Israeli activist, WWII resistance member and Holocaust survivor Gad Beck born 1923

July

1 - Gay Dutch WWII resistance fighter Willem Arondeus killed - his last words were “Tell the people homosexuals are no cowards”

2-9 - NAIDOC Week (Australia) celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

6 - Bi Mexican artist Frida Kahlo born 1907

12 or 13 - Roman emperor Julius Caesar born c.100BCE

14 - International Non-Binary People’s Day

23 - Shelly Bauman, owner of Seattle gay club Shelly’s Leg, born 1947; American lesbian cetenarian Ruth Ellis born 1899; gay American professor, tattooist and sex researcher Sam Steward born 1909

25 - Italian-Australian trans man Harry Crawford born 1875

August

8 - International Cat Day

9 - Queer Finnish artist, author and creator of Moomins Tove Jansson born 1914

9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

11 - Russian lesbian poet Sofya Parnok born 1885

12 - Queer American blues musician Gladys Bentley born 1907

13 - International Left-Handers Day

22 - Gay WWII Dutch resistance fight Willem Arondeus born 1894

24 - Trans American drag queen and activist Marsha P Johnson born 1945

26 - National Dog Day

30 - Bi British author Mary Shelley 1797

31 - Wear it Purple Day (Australia - queer youth awareness)

September

5 - Frontman of Queen Freddie Mercury born 1946

6 - Trans Scottish doctor and farmer Ewan Forbes born 1912

13 - 1990 documentary on New York’s ball culture Paris is Burning premiers

15-17 - Rosh Hashanah

16-23 - Bisexual Awareness Week

17 - Gay Prussian-American Inspector General of the US Army Baron von Steuben born 1730

23 - Celebrate Bisexuality Day

24 - Gay Australian artist William Dobell born 1889

30 - International Podcast Day

October

Black History Month (Europe)

4 - World Animal Day

5 - National Poetry Day (UK)

5 - Queer French diplomat and spy the Chevalière d’Éon born 1728

8 - International Lesbian Day

9 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day (USA)

11 - National Coming Out Day

16 - Irish writer Oscar Wilde born 1854

18 - International Pronouns Day

22-28 - Asexual Awareness Week

26 - Intersex Awareness Day

31 - American lesbian tailor Sylvia Drake born 1784

November

8 - Intersex Day of Remembrance

12 - Diwali; Queer Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz born c.1648

13-19 - Transgender Awareness Week

20 - Trans American writer, lawyer, activist and priest Pauli Murray born 1910; Transgender Day of Remembrance

27 - Antinous, lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian, born c.111; German lesbian drama Mädchen in Uniform premiers, 1931

29 - Queer American writer Louisa May Alcott born 1832

December

AIDS Awareness Month

1 - World AIDS Day

2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

8 - Pansexual Pride Day; queer Swedish monarch Christina of Sweden born 1626

10 - Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners host Pits and Perverts concern to raise mining for striking Welsh miners, 1984

14 - World Monkey Day

15 - Roman emperor Nero born 37CE

24 - American drag king and bouncer Stormé DeLarverie born 1920

25 - Christmas

29 - Trans American jazz musician Billy Tipton born 1914

[astrolocherry]

Birthday Jupiter in Pisces - I Dreamed this Genie...

written by #astrolocherry

Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces, so we have a ceremony of traditions when this pair come together. There's no place Jupiter would rather be than reuniting with infinity in Pisces where everything is possible. Jupiter in Pisces is gifted a crown at birth which may be invisible but feels inexplicably substantial, both to the individual and all those in presence. Often a lover of stories, especially as a child, letting her imagination run with wild delight, envisioning herself as the heroine, knowing one day she would be just as loved. With such powerful archetypes combined, the individual is often an heiress of intuitive gifts and closely affiliated with otherworlds. And these very often extend into the physical realm as the sense of 'feeling lucky' ascribing a string of fortune. There can be the ability to spot an opportunity and arrive at exactly the right time. She seems to be very fortuitous in terms of chance encounters and striking gold. As if the Gods are conspiring to make all of her wishes come true, she seems to be following a secret script that directs her with pure divine intention.

Jupiter in Pisces visions are previews of the world that she can co-create with the universe. The spiritual sovereignty and karmic credit of Jupiter in Pisces provides a degree of astrological affluence. She can create wealth if she wants. It's part of her Priestess that demands the luxury and comforts she knows she is worth and deserves. But in many cases, the deep wisdom that accompanies these old archetypes knows how to experience and capture organic rapture, and so discards such desires. The beauty, love, connections, and the creative Pisces delicacies make her feel rich in a way that the outside world cannot comprehend. There's a deep hunger for meaning and the metaphysical that materialism cannot fill. Art, music, poetry, and scenes of natural life transfix her in their magnificence. Her most important gift is this capacity for comprehending what most other people miss.

She is a searcher and a seeress who is called to travel by faraway places and large bodies of water. In her younger years, many years are spent under the teachings and guidance of an assigned gurus and spiritual practitioners. When she truly comes into alignment with her higher self and regains self-control, she promotes herself to the roles she gave away to others. The way she is looking for has been her own all along.

Individuals with the Jupiter in Pisces placement may suffer from issues related to fluid retention, especially in the lower extremities, and those to do with anaemia or excess iron. The feet may be abnormally large or misshaped. Immoderation and overconsumption can produce health effects in regards to an accumulation of toxins. In some cases, these behaviours can be escape measures. Due to the Pisces sign's expelling of physical energy into metaphysical realms, the individual may tire easy, sleep long hours, and require long periods in a strange reclusive recovery.

Cherry

[vintagestagehotties]

FINAL POLL Hot Vintage Stage Actress Round 4

Pola Negri: Anieli in Śluby panieńskie (1912 Warsaw); Hedvig in The Wild Duck (1914 Warsaw); Yannaia in Sumurun (1917 Berlin)

Marie Doro: Lady Millicent in Little Mary (1904 Broadway); Dora in Granny (1904 Broadway); Friquet in Friquet (1905 West End)

Propaganda under the cut.

Pola Negri:

A bisexual femme fatale sex symbol from Poland, we love to see it! She dated Valentino and Chaplin and spent like two decades living with her oil heiress girlfriend. She was living the life, the hottest catch, ten out of ten would marry her

Marie Doro:

I am so sad that she died long before I was born so now I don’t have a chance with her, she embodies everything my little lesbian heart looks for in a woman. Incredibly pretty? Check, intelligent and witty? Check, an expert on Shakespeare and Elizabethan poetry? Check, a literal occultist who hosted seances? Check, she’s got it all

I need you to know I literally read the entire Charlie Chaplin autobiography just to read the scraps of information about her in it. I’m obsessed

[scotianostra]

January *28th 1290 saw the death of Dervorguilla, Lady of Galloway.

*Dates for this, 21st and 20th of January, and one with a different year but most say this date, also spellings of her name differ.

The Lanercost states that Dervorguilla was the “widow of Lord John de Balliol” and that she “was a woman largely endowed with money and lands, both in England and in Scotland.” It also adds in her favour that “she had a much richer endowment in the nobility of her heart, being daughter and heiress of the magnificent Alan, the sometime Lord of Galloway.” Regarding her death, it states that “She passed from the world, full of years, at Castle Barnard, and was buried at Duquer, in Galloway, a Monastery of Cistercians, which she herself built and endowed.” Looks like ‘endowed’ was a well used term in those days; at least in the Lanercost.

Arguably the most famous fact about her, in Scotland at least, is that she was the mother of our erstwhile King John, it was through her that his legitimate claim to the Scottish crown came about, she was a great-great-granddaughter of King David I. Had she lived a wee whiles her lineage would have thrown up the possibility of her being named Queen of Scotland after the death of Margaret Maid of Norway in September 1290, this would have precluded that nasty Edward I interfering with our affairs, Queen Dervorguilla, how does that sound? This alternative timeline may have been the start of a Balliol dynasty, no Bruce’s or Stewarts such is the ifs and buts of history.

While a lot of marriages were arranged to form alliances and were loveless, that is not the case with that is certainly not the case with Lady Dervorguilla and John Balliol snr, on the death of her husband, in 1268, Dervorguilla had his heart embalmed and kept in a casket of ivory bound with silver. The casket travelled with her for the rest of her life.

Poetry has been written of the love shared between John Balliol and Dervorguilla of Galloway, the Lady also founded New Abbey in Dumfries & Galloway in honour of her husband, after her own death the Monks in the Abbey started calling it Dulce Cor, Latin for Sweet Heart, and so it became known as Sweetheart Abbey.

She was also the co-founder, with her husband of Balliol College, Oxford in 1263, even after John Balliol’s death Lady Dervorguilla continued to support it, securing its permanent endowment in 1282, as well as formal statutes, a seal, and a house to study in. It’s a shame that College did not allow women students until 1979!.

If you have ever visited Dumfries you will have no maybe crossed over the river Nth on Dervorguilla Bridge, built in 1426 and named in her honour.

She was buried in front of the high altar at Sweetheart Abbey. A stone slab in the floor marks the supposed site of her burial, the actually place being lost due to the mindless destruction during the Reformation, their lost graves lie amongst the ruins, which is described as a “shrine to human and divine love”.

An effigy found by archaeologists can be seen at the Abbey, sadly the head is missing, but it is thought to be the Lady and in 2017 it was named number 10 by VisitScotland in their 25 Objects That Shaped Scotland’s History.

You can find a lot more about the Lady on the excellent website Medievalists https://www.medievalists.net/2021/03/lady-dervorgilla-collection-books/

[fancyfeathers]

So I drew a little something for my And Then There Were None (Yandere William James Moriarty /w Author Darling) series, I said in these posts (1,2,3) that William’s darling is a part of a author’s club with many of her friends, all writing horror novels…

So I drew sketches of what I picture they look like and where they are from and what sorts of books they write…

Alex Pendel

(Manhattan) New York City, New York

Crime Thillers

A mysterious person for many reasons, from an new money family who has the city of New York in the palm of their hand, they loved to London to stay with some family to get new ideas for their novels and to also avoid their overbearing parents who want them to follow in their footsteps, and sometimes they think they might, think about it, the biggest city in the world in the palm of your hand… sounds fun even if done by not the most ethical means…

They have a habit of not following gender stereotypes for the times, often ostracizing themselves from the rest of society, but they don’t really care, the books still fly off the shelves and their pockets are deep.

Lady Charlotte Basset

York, England

Ghost Stories

The eldest child, an heiress, of a noble family, she has more money than she knows what to do it. She moved to London to find direction with her life but instead found strange happiness in her family’s estate there, so she wrote about it and it sold in the blink of an eye. When not at her desk or at the writer’s club, she is often seen taking her friends out on the town to spoil them or out with one of her tho her brothers, gambling and drinking.

She often takes her friends to visit haunted sites all around London so she can get inspiration for her books and scare off suitors with the gossip of the seances she holds in her own estate.

Rene Drew

Marseille, France

Gothic Horror

A young man with a rather charming personality, from a family who based their fortune in the wine and alcohol industry. He found himself originally writing poetry that shatter the illusion of humanity in a poignant wayby holding a mirror up to us and saying: look at what we truly are, and look at what we pretend to be, but that does not sell. Sohe transferred his story morals behind charming yet broken villains, who literally and figuratively hide behind the facade they create for the themselves.

He dresses more casually most of the time, especially compared to his colleagues. He is often found at the writer’s club or the theater, and if not there who knows where he might be, could have left the country for all they know or he could show up in the drawing room of his friend’s place in the middle of the night with a deck of cards, a smoke, and a bottle of wine as a gift for them.

Evelyn Jay

London, England

Body Horror

A young heiress from an old money family, titleless, and the youngest member of the club. She is a seemingly innocent and sweet young lady but the human mind can be a very dark place. She often asks when they are at the club, questions that truly terrify you, for example…

“Would hunting another person still be considered hunting an animal because humans are animals?”

“If you were being burnt alive would the smoke or flames kill you first?”

“I think there is a murderer in my neighborhood, I keep on seeing trances of blood by the park… do you think they are burying their victims there?”

She always had the sweetest smile and is honestly quite kind, if not a bit creepy. She was the one to notice the strange happenings and patterns around the disappearance of William’s darling when she is kidnapped and even figured it out before anyone else, she just didn’t say anything, it was fun to watch.

[uwmspeccoll]

It's Fine Press Friday!

On this Fine Press Friday we present a collection of poems by Sappho entitled Sappho Revocata, compiled and translated by poet, English classicist, and Cambridge lecturer J.M. Edmonds with two drawings printed in collotype by British artist Véra Willoughby, and published in 1928 by Peter Davies in an edition of 350 copies.

Sappho Revocata includes Sappho’s complete and fragmentary poems in two sections; the first half records her poetry in Greek, while the second half has the corresponding English versions of the same works. Sappho is particularly lauded in popular culture for her frequent discussion of romantic love between women. Her poetry was so admired in the ancient world that Plato referred to her as “the tenth muse” in his writings.

This book is the first to use Jan van Krimpen’s Greek type Antigone, with his Lutetia type for the preliminary pages and English section of the text. It was printed by the distinguished Dutch printing house of Joh. Enschedé en Zonen in Haarlem, Holland. The two illustrations by Véra Willoughby were printed at the Chiswick Press in London. 150 copies were reserved for the United States and distributed by Random House.

Our copy, another gift from our friend Jerry Buff, bears the bookplate of Joan Whitney. We're not sure who that may be, but we know this copy was acquired in New York, so we're hoping that it belonged to American heiress, art collector, and co-founder and former majority owner of the New York Mets, Joan Whitney Payson (1903-1975).

View more Fine Press Friday Posts.

– Sarah S., Special Collections Graduate Intern