What really gets me is (q)Bad last night being "I call dibs on Forever being on my team :D" regarding the possibility of Green being split into the other teams, but like. Buddy. Would (q)Forever wanna be on a team with you after what you and Pierre did to his team? Even if Green doesn't end up dead, Blue ended up 'killing' them fully knowing that death was the most likely outcome. From Green's pov, that's like. Super fucked up.

So, Bad, you want to team with your Not Crush, but would he want to team with you?

What time each driver would be into doing the deed? Are they a morning sex guy, night time, 1pm middle of the day broad daylight kinda guy?😂

daniel - morning sex, always. of course he’d never say no if you wanted to have sex at other times but he always had the most energy in the morning, and was therefore at his horniest. would wake you up with his hands groping your tits as he left sloppy kisses down the side of your neck.

charles - evening sex. he was so busy from the moment he woke up until he got home for dinner that he didn’t have much of an option. as soon as he got home his hands would be all over you, wanting to make up for the time you had missed during the day. it wouldn’t be uncommon for you to end up laying on the kitchen counter with his tongue swiping between your folds in the middle of making dinner.

pierre - let’s be honest, any time of the day. he would be happy to wake you up with his head between your legs, or blow your back out before cuddling to sleep. his favourite would definitely be at sunset on his balcony in Milan though, the gold or the sun making everything seem even more special.

lando - middle of the afternoon, broad daylight vibes. his mornings would be so busy that he wouldn’t have much time to have sex or even cuddle for long. when he had his breaks in the afternoon he would be glued to your side. it didn’t really matter where you were, he would happily fuck you wherever as long as he got to fuck you.

mick - morning sex 100%. he would be the absolute sweetest about it as well, waking you up super softly with the sweetest kisses. most of the time he wasn’t waking you up because he wanted to have sex, but the kisses would get longer and more passionate and he would end up with you sat on his face before he’d even put a foot out of bed.

carlos - afternoon sex for days, especially when you were at home in spain with him. having sex by the side of the pool in the afternoon sun, a thin sheen of sweat covering you both as you made love on one of the sun loungers. if not next to the pool then on the balcony, in the shower, it didn’t really matter, as long as he got to be inside you. there was just something about you in the afternoon sun that got him going.

seb - bed time sex. like everyone else, he was insanely busy during the day so it wasn’t until the evenings when you would be able to spend your time together. when you were cuddling in bed it would just escalate to having sweet, romantic sex before you eventually drifted off to sleep.

max - morning sex. but like, super early morning sex. his alarm always went off ridiculously early and he would feel bad about the fact that it woke you up as well, so he would make sure he made it up to you by making sure you were satisfied at least a couple of times before he left for training.

Okay can we talk about how sad little Pierre would be if little Yuki lost his favourite paci. He would be distraught because it’s the only one he likes, you try to give him an identical one but he knows the difference. He is sobbing. And poor Yuki was being the little menace he is thinking it was funny but now feels so bad because of how upset Pierre is

Can I claim 🩰

Hello there, 🩰! I added your emoji to the pinned post!

SO…

You knew this day was going to come, the day Yuki will actually upset someone with his mischievous deeds. You were hoping it wouldn’t be Pierre because little Pierre just cannot handle change and gets very distressed with the idea of a constant in his life going away irreparably.

Yuki comes to you with a very anxious expression. 

“What did you do this time?”

He shuffles his feet and can’t meet your eyes. You fear the worst.

“Did something happen, Yukino? Is everything alright?”

He finally looks up at you and mumbles.

“Is lost…”

“What is lost, darling?”

“Dummy…”

You mouth “fuck” (we don’t swear in littles’ presence because they copy it). It’s not the end of the world but it is close. You know Yuki is not talking about his dummy because he never uses it. And the last time you saw Yuki, he had Pierre's pacifier. You are royally fucked.

“Is Pierre awake, darling?”

“Yeah…”

Just wonderful. You look at Yuki and try to be mad but it is just too hard! He looks genuinely scared and upset, and somehow even younger than he normally is. 

“Wait here for a moment, darling!”

You rush to the room where Pierre was napping. He is definitely awake and looks very disoriented and lost. His hair looks like a bird’s nest and he is looking for something in his and Yuki’s crib (Yes they are sharing a big crib because Yuki refuses to sleep away from Pierre).

“Morning Pierre!! What’s up?”

“Maman, où est la tutute?

Fuck. He knows. You give him an identical one that you keep for dark days like this but he spits it out immediately! Now he is even more distressed!

“Je veux ma tutute!!”

“Tutute went on an adventure, mon chou. It will come back soon! ”

Pierre looks confused but he doesn’t start crying immediately. Somehow, he is 50% convinced that his pacifier will come back on its own. 

You call Seb immediately and ask him to bring little Charles to divert Pierre. Seb agrees once he understands the severity of the issue. While they are playing, you take little Yuki’s hand and try to make him remember where he might have dropped it. Yuki is already very distressed and he starts crying after his first three guesses turn out to be wrong. 

Little Pierre, having a special ability to hear Yuki cry no matter how far he is, barges into the room before Seb can do anything to stop him. Yuki runs and hugs him while sobbing.

“I lost your tutute ! Am sorry!!” 

And hell breaks loose. Pierre starts crying, Yuki sobs even more violently and somehow Charles who found his way into the middle of chaos is also on the verge of tears. With Seb’s help, you take the control of the situation and take them back to the playroom. While Seb is still taking care of them, you keep looking for that goddamn pacifier. Half an hour later, Yuki approaches you with big puffy eyes, something clutched in his fist. You think it is Pierre’s paci finally but no!

“Here, we can buy a new paci so Pierre won’t cry no more!”

He tucks a couple bucks into your hand and runs away, leaving you all emotional. When they are little, they usually don’t deal with money but you assume it is from the small exchanges that Yuki conducts with other littles. 

Late afternoon, you finally find the pacifier under their crib and sink on the floor with relief. After boiling it, you quietly enter the playroom, where littles are napping on top of each other in front of the tv and show Seb the pacifier with an expression of triumph. He gives you thumbs up with tired eyes. You put the pacifier in Pierre’s mouth who instinctively starts sucking on it. Crisis: halfway averted!

Bestie I heard that you need a distraction and you know how I love to hear people's thought processes for writing :) If you haven't talked about it before, I was curious about Alix's relationship with her brother? The way that his presence is still felt despite the fact that he's already gone is just woven into the story so effortlessly and I'm always in awe of how well you're able to connect multiple complex storylines 💕

Ooh thank you so much for the question, bestie!! 💖 I love exploring the nuances of things (it's the Creative Writing major in me-- "nothing ever means nothing" 🤭)

So a foundational theme for FOF is the concept of Grief & Loss:

What does it mean to lose someone?

We see that in the plot first romantically with Joe & Alix's situationship in limbo -- losing someone who isn't even yours. Grieving over something not quite dead but not quite alive either.

For several months, the only thing Alix had to cling to in order to tell herself that it wasn't just a dream were the memories she had with Joe and the fading smell of his cologne.

Then we see that echoed in a similar, but familial vein with Gio & Alix's family.

Because like Joe, Gio is both gone & present at the same time.

The Martinelli family never got a KIA notice. There's no corpse or ashes to bury.

Nobody has ever uttered the words "He's dead" out loud. He has just been erased like he was never there.

So Gio himself exists in limbo too, both as a sailor who's MIA and as an older brother with so much life left to live when he vanished.

Alix isn't home anymore so she can't even go sit in his room to feel close to him anymore.

While she is in Europe, he exists solely in her mind and those memories are fading more & more every day, as part of her struggles to hold on while the other part endeavors to forget.

Because one of her core struggles is the inability to let things rest. If Alix is around, she will try to do something about whatever is happening. It may not always make things better; on the contrary, sometimes it even makes things worse.

But the one thing she CANNOT do is remain inactive. Because when she's inactive, she feels helpless. And if she's helpless, then she has no control over the things around her & that TERRIFIES her. After so long feeling like she's been at the mercy of others, she NEEDS to be in-control to feel safe.

So even when she is able to have 1 moment to herself, she beats herself up with memories-- memories about Gio, about her father, about Jean-Pierre, Joe etc-- to feel like she's doing something because that is all she can do to feel in control in an out of control situation: even if the only thing she is in control of is her own suffering.

Gio was the exact opposite. He was laidback, not high-strung, always went to Mass every Sunday, was an altar boy, an exemplary sailor, the Perfect Son.

And as Alix said "Look where that got him."

Pearl Harbor just proved to her that if there was any justice in the world, if all of your good deeds actually gave you good karma & whatnot, if obeying all the rules was actually worth something, then Gio would still be alive.

Alix has always been the rebellious one out of necessity. She played the good girl for her parents but often ended up sneaking out & doing "bad things" just to feel something.

Gio had no need to rebel because he never felt trapped-- the status quo was comfortable for him.

Sorry this ended up being so long ?? This has been my TEDTalk on Giovanni Martinelli 🤭

Baby Boy Chapter 3 | Lando Norris

Summary: Milana Navratilova is the best friend of Victoria Verstappen, and is for lack of a better word, a minx. She can pull anyone into bed with her at any time. So when she attends the Austrian Grand Prix with Victoria, the drivers make for good bedfellows. Until she finds a man who makes her finally feel like herself. Her baby boy.

Warnings: smut, swearing, non-con kiss (will be a chapter warning for that one), look there’s a lando nipple

“Have you met Vic’s friend before today?” George questioned Max as he, Charles, Lando, Pierre Gasly, and Daniel Ricciardo all sat around a booth with drinks in their hands. Max immediately began shaking his head, swallowing his beer harshly before opening his mouth.

“You think she would have walked away from us without being fucked up against a wall if I had?” Max’s words were vulgar, he knew, but he also knew the same thoughts had travelled through the heads of the men who had met her.

“I’m sorry, little Maxie boy, did you just say you would have fucked her against a wall? Since when did you get so adventurous?” Daniel laughed, the infectious sound pulling chuckles out of the other men at the table. Max grumbled to himself, not having much to retort as he had always been a bit reserved when it came to actually doing the deed.

“In Max’s defence, even I would have done some seriously bad things to her.” George added, his mind filled with the thoughts of taking her from behind, her round ass perched up in the air.

“I think she already has her eyes on Lando though.” Charles laughed, seeing the immediate blush that covered the Brit’s features.

“What?” Daniel yelled, his voice joking but overflowing with curiosity.

“She said he was one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever met. Looked like she was going to jump his bones and fuck him in the middle of the paddock.” Charles continued, stunning Daniel, Pierre, and Lando himself. Sure, he had noticed she was checking him out, but certainly didn’t detect the desire Charles was describing.

“You’ll have to point her out for me. I’ll work my honey badger charm on her and she’ll forget about Lando.” Daniel chuckled, straightening his short sleeve button up. The six men decided that would be a good time to move throughout the room, mingling with other drivers and the guests each of them had brought along.

After a while, Max disappeared for a few minutes, coming back with two women in tow. One, a tall blonde with endless legs, the other, a short silver-haired girl with curves that made a gay man’s mouth water. Max escorted the women toward the bar, taking a shot of tequila with them before slowly taking them around the room and introducing them to his colleagues. Most of them knew who Victoria was, but had never actually conversed with.

Lando, standing by his biggest supporter of him actually finding a girlfriend (it was Carlos. he never fucking shut up about Lando getting a girlfriend and there were multiple times Lando wanted nothing more than to sack whack the man so hard his balls fell off), was shell shocked when he caught the silver flash of hair that unmistakably belonged to the Czech he had seen earlier that day. Her sharp curves, highlighted even further by the tight maroon dress that stretched so deliciously across her ass his mouth started watering.

A whistle stole his attention, the blush rising on his cheeks for the umpteenth time that night, and he turned to look at Carlos, the most devious smile on his face that Lan had ever seen.

“So, that’s the girl everyone’s talking about.” Carlos tutted, his fingers flexing around the glass in his hand. Lando looked at him with a furrowed brow, a possessiveness he had never felt before burrowing deep in his gut. Lando hummed a noncommittal noise from the back of his throat and took a few steps off toward the bar to order something stronger than the lemonade he had planned to sip on the rest of the night. He needed something to dull his heightened senses that followed Milana around the room.

“Victoria, lovely to see you again. And who’s this?” Lewis Hamilton had stepped toward the women whilst Max was at the bar. He had run into the young Verstappen in the paddock a few times and always made friendly conversation, but didn’t want her brother getting the wrong idea.

“This is Milana Navratilova, my other half.” Victoria introduced. Her arm was wrapped around her friend’s waist, her fingers occasionally drifting across her left hip.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Milana spoke, offering her hand to Lewis who took it with a kind smile.

“How long have the two of you been together?” Lewis smiled, and looked confusedly at the women as they began laughing.

“We’re just friends, Lew. Can’t hold this one down, that’s for sure.” Victoria teased, Milana pulling a mock-offended face at her friend before dramatically strutting off. She brushed her hand along Lewis’ shoulder as a silent goodbye and made her way toward the dance floor.

There, she found the rambunctious Daniel Ricciardo, who she had briefly met earlier in the night before being dragged away by her friend’s brother. With him were a few other drivers she didn’t know, along with a sea of gorgeous women. Daniel spotted her almost instantly, dancing his way through the crowd to grab a hold of one of her hands and pull her back into the throng of dancing bodies. The pulse of the bass drove deep into her chest, her body moving on its own accord as she let the music and alcohol take over her body. She felt Daniel’s presence behind her, one of his hands entwined with her own while the other gripped her hip with a strength that lit her core on fire.

Victoria watched Milana dance with the Australian, he was known to be a player, but Victoria was more worried for him than for her own friend. She was known to many of her friends as the ‘Queen of No-Strings-Attached’. Max soon returned to Victoria and Lewis, handing his sister her drink while awkwardly holding both his and Milana’s. His eyes quickly followed Victoria’s eyes and found the goddess grinding up against his ex-teammate. Max downed his drink quickly, and drank most of hers as well before marching toward the pair. Victoria’s eyes widened as she watched his confident, and slightly jealous, walk. She giggled quietly, knowing the night wouldn’t end how either of the men might have predicted.

Journey to Bosworth, conclusion. Why did Richard III lose?

Before starting, I have to say that this is my personal opinion. For me, this is why the last Plantagenet king falled. As you will see, I do not consider that it was the most probable outcome, far from it.

At Bosworth, Richard III lost while he had more men, more support and was an experienced commander with experienced lieutenants

Many argued that he lost because he was sold out by the magnates. After all, Northumberland and Lord Stanley didn't move to help him, and Sir William Stanley 'betrayed' him.

This explanation is helpful but reductive and simplistic. Betrayal was very common in the War of the Roses. Richard III had witnessed it all his life. In 1459, while Richard was seven years old, his father fled to Ireland because one of his lieutenants had defected to Henry VI. He saw his father's castle in Ludlow be stormed out by Lancastrians. Richard III also saw his closest ally, the duke of Buckingham, turn on him for little reason in 1483. He was used to it. Stanley and Northumberland's defection was utterly predictable Richard III knew that Northumberland intentionally brought as little troops as he could and Richard put so little faith toward lord Stanley that he took hostage his heir (a maneuver which did work at buying his neutrality).

As for Sir William Stanley's decisive defection, it wasn't even a surprise. Richard III branded him a traitor a few weeks before. He acted accordingly. Nor did Richard III lacked information about his enemies. Henry Tudor was openly his rival since the beginning of his reign. His chief commander, John de Vere, was known from Richard. He fought against him at Barnet, stole his lands, and tried to have him executed in 1484. He also knew that the french disliked him as well as he disliked them. Their investment in the Tudor cause is hardly surprising.

To sum it up: there was little asymmetry of information between Richard III and his rivals. Richard knew his friends, knew who wasn't reliable, and knew his enemies. True, he didn't know some key information such as where would Henry Tudor would land, just as some minor defections came out as a bitter surprise. Seeing Rhys ap Thomas defect to the Tudors after he pensioned him 10 marks a year was an unwelcome surprise, but hardly a fatal one.

Few contemporaries thought that Henry Tudor would actually win (partly because they didn't know the intentions of some key magnates). There are many examples of that. In 1484, Queen Elizabeth Woodville accepted to quit her sanctuary and made peace with her (alleged) brother-in-law in exchange for a correct treatment of her daughters. She did hand some of her daughters to him. Her brother Richard Woodville did make his peace with Richard III, and her son the Marquess of Dorset also attempted to run from France to make his personal peace before being stopped by the Tudors. Pierre Landais tried to sold-out Henry Tudor to Richard III in 1484, showing how little faith he had in a Tudor victory. After Henry landed and marched from Wales toward England, the city of Swhresbury obstinately refused to let him pass, fearing Richard's wrath (and possible lawlessness). Only Sir William Stanley's intervention would convince them.

In no way Henry Tudor had massive support. From his landing to the battle of Bosworth, defections to his side were few. Rhys ap Thomas, Sir John Savage, Sir Gilbert Talbot, and lesser noteworthy welsh were all local figures. Compared to the 1483 rebellion (ill-named Buckingham's rebellion) in which three different areas revolted with some major rebellious figures such as the duke of Buckingham, Sir Thomas Saint-Leger, and the Wydevilles, the defections during the invasion look marginal. Especially when one considers that Henry Tudor landed in Wales because he thought he had support there, and conversely Richard III had little.

Henry Tudor had little chance of winning. He tried because no compromise was possible with Richard III, who showed often his ruthlessness. Most of the surviving rebels in 1483 had joined Henry in exile and pressed him to act. Their lands were already forfeited and distributed to Richard's supporters, and only Richard's death could vindicate and restore their wealth completely. As Henry Tudor knew in the Britton court, foreign support to English pretenders was erratic and highly conjunctural at best. The Brittons supported him in 1483, and a court faction attempted to sell him out the very next year. So, when France proposed limited financial and military support during the summer of 1485, he couldn't hesitate. It was his best shot.

Richard III on the reverse had real reasons to quiet himself and be confident in his victory. Why he most certainly wasn't might be due to private reasons. His wife and son died during his brief reign. This might have awakened a sense of insecurity. At its core, Richard might have felt insecure about his legitimacy. He had parliamentary approval of his regal title with Titus Regulus, he had been sacred and anointed but was he legitimate? The allegation of bastardy toward his nephews was based on oral claims, which was weak evidence at best.

The best proof of his legitimacy, and that God approved his reign was a battle. A winning battle would re-assert his reputation as a martial ruler, and more importantly, showed that God favored his claim in an ordeal by combat. In a martial, zealously religious society, a battle would be the final seal of his legitimacy, just as his brother, who reasserted his claim during numerous victorious battles. This was a fitting narrative for him. He was one of the best English military commanders alive, with an undeniably good military record. He could surely win against a nobody with no military experience. His spiteful royal denunciation of Henry Tudor in 1484 might be evidence that Richard III viewed the Tudor challenge as highly personal. Henry itself was the threat, more than those that supported him or were propping him up. During Buckingham's rebellion, Richard III didn't fight despite rushing to the south where the rebels were. The Howards and Sir Humphrey Stafford put down the rebellion without him. And Henry Tudor could flee. So Richard III had a practical and a theological/theoretical reason to force combat between his and the Tudor. Reasserting and confirming his legitimacy was one, and making sure that Henry Tudor would cause no more trouble was the other.

A decay in mental health is also possible from Richard III. He was a man who was highly confident in his skills and his worth. However, the atmosphere of betrayal and the loss of his family in the last few years did pull a tool on him. His legendary 'bad dream' on the eve of Bosworth was the most remarkable example of that. So when the rebel army did come in England, Richard III rushed toward them. He had reinforcement still coming on the day of the battle. York men were on their way and more forces certainly were coming from elsewhere. Time was on his side. He rushed toward the enemy perhaps because, in a spike of paranoia, he didn't want more defections and more betrayal, or because he wanted to put an end to it. What if the rebels fled at the sight of his numerically larger army, like his father at Ludlow? He didn't want that, he didn't want to endure a decade-long pretender like Edward IV would endure with Henry VI or Henry Tudor with 'Richard' (Perkin Warbeck)

When Northumberland refused to support Howard against Oxford, it didn't matter for Richard III. He knew Northumberland's opportunism. Catesby proposed to retreat like his father at Ludlow, like his brother when key magnates turned on him in 1470. He refused. Richard III simply couldn't admit his defeat on the battlefield, even as a temporary setback. His desire for legitimacy, his pride forbid it. He told so to Diego de Valera, the Spanish Ambassador, who reported it to his masters about the battle: "Now when Salazar, your little vassal, who was there in King Richard's service, saw the treason of the king's people, he went up to him and said: 'Sire, take steps to put your person in safety without expecting to have the victory in today's battle, owing to the manifest treason in your following.' But the King replied: 'Salazar, God forbid I yield one step. This day I will die as King or win'. "

At the battle, he wanted personal physical contact. He wanted to perform the deed of a knight, personally slain the Tudor dragon. He was a proud man of action, and couldn't let Howard once again defeat the core of the rebels while he was on the fence. Hence his fateful charge. This decision, more than any other, was fatal.

Richard III wanted Bosworth, Richard III made Bosworth. He accepted every odds. He accepted the disloyalty of Northumberland instead of assuming its consequences and retreat to reorganize. He ignored Sir William Stanley on his rear when he charged because he wanted to stick to his narrative. He was supremely confident in his skills and his capacity to slain Henry Tudor before Stanley could destroy him. And he was too insecure and proud to run. Run would be admitting his illegitimacy.

In other words, Richard III never admitted retreat as an option. Richard III also desperately wanted personal challenges. It is no coincidence that the last Plantagenet was both the last English king to die in battle and the only one to do so since the dawn of the Norman era.

When Richard III, in his last instants, shout 'treason' it was partly because Sir William Stanley's betrayal was relatively fresh in his mind, and to him, it was an English subject killing their king. It might have also been a way to cope. He was losing, he couldn't perform his martial ability in a winning way. Putting his failure on betrayal and a rigged battle was simply a way to cope

In conclusion, Richard III consciously and unconsciously shut down options that didn't fit his preferred narrative. This dysfunctional decision-making was partly created from his personal identity and value, and partly due to his society's views. This makes us understand why he chooses options that didn't favor his self-preservation and why he didn't retreat or acted differently. And it destroyed him.

Top Five Favorite Books

TAGGED BY: @hmmm-what-am-i-doing​

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The other famous novel by Victor Hugo. Written in 1831, Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is a rich, meandering tale that addresses messy relationships, fate, and the future of architecture in 1482. The English title is a misnomer, since the protagonist of the story is Esmeralda, the original title being a metaphor on the cathedral who serves as the central location of the novel, and Esmeralda herself (though one could argue the cathedral is itself a character). Victor Hugo strongly protested against the English title, as it turns the focus from the cathedral onto the characters.

The hunchback is Quasimodo, the deaf, one-eyed, hunchbacked, monstrously ugly bell-ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Abandoned outside the church at the age of four, he was taken in out of kindness by the Archdeacon of Josas, Claude Frollo, who raised him in the church and introduced him to the bells. When the hitherto chaste Frollo sees the  romani girl Esmeralda dancing in the street one day, he finds himself stricken with lust, and doesn't know how to deal with it. So, sure as Love Makes You Evil, he grabs Quasimodo (for muscle) and tries to kidnap her. The attempt is foiled by Phoebus, Captain of the Archers. It is spectacularly not foiled by lovable slacker-poet Pierre Gringoire, who gets knocked out trying to save the girl.Later that night, however, Esmeralda temporarily marries the poet, to save his life from her friends at the Court of Miracles. That doesn't mean she's going to let her new "husband" touch her, mind you, or that she's going to give up her dreams of marrying Phoebus. Phoebus likes the look of her, himself, and although he's already engaged to his teenage cousin Fleur-de-Lys, he's not opposed to a bit on the side. Esmeralda's small kindness to Quasimodo when he is in the stocks for the kidnapping attempt (Frollo having let him take the fall) makes her an angel in Quasimodo's mind, and he is henceforth devoted to her. This eventually, and painfully, puts him in conflict with Frollo, whose combination of lust and loathing for Esmeralda makes him increasingly unstable. Amidst the drama and tragedy resulting from everybody's fatal obsessions, Hugo includes leisurely chapters on the architecture of Paris and the expected impact of the newly-developed printing press.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, usually abbreviated to Frankstein is a novel by Mary Shelley. It was originally published in 1818. It had a 1823 reprint without Shelley's involvement and a third edition in 1831, this time with significant edits from the author. Frankenstein is considered an Ur-Example of Science Fiction and inarguably has vast historical significance.

The novel tells of Dr. Victor Frankenstein who unlocks the secrets to Creating Life. He uses this knowledge to create an artificial man, larger and stronger than most mortals, by means which he chooses not to describe. While he is initially triumphant with his success, a few moments of observing the flailing and moaning patchwork being leaves Victor disgusted by and fearful of his creation. Realizing the ramifications of his success, he is horrified. He abandons the Creature and flees to his family's estate. In his absence, the Creature is forced to come to grips with suddenly finding itself alive and alone without explanation or guidance. He learns about humanity by watching a family cottage from afar, but is again driven off when he attempts to offer his friendship- one of many bad run-ins with humanity which leave the monster bitter and cynical. Eventually, the Creature comes to resent his creator, whom he views as his father, for abandoning the Creature to a life of torment, and decides to come home to seek vengeance against Frankenstein...

The subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, compares Victor Frankenstein to the Greek titan Prometheus, who brought the secret of fire from Mount Olympus to mortal men, reflecting on Frankenstein's spiritual would-be theft of the secret to creating life — but like Prometheus, Frankenstein also came to regret his transgression.note Many would say that Frankenstein was the ultimate warning of Science Is Bad, though similar stories were common throughout the industrial revolution and it is not even clear whether the act of creating the Monster was bad in itself, if the world wasn't ready for it, or Frankenstein was just a horrible and abusive parent.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a 1967 novel that won Gabriel García Márquez the Nobel Prize for Literature. It's become a staple of Spanish-speaking high school curricula everywhere.  Arguably one of the most important pieces of literature written in the 20th century, or to put in context, almost as important as Don Quixote to Spanish speaking literature. Famous, among other things, for using every conceivable trope one could ever hope to fit in 28.8 oz of paper.

The book follows the story of the Buendía family and the town they create, Macondo, from its foundation to its end. Of course, it is told in a non-linear fashion with every generation having the same few names, as well as the same basic attributes (except for a pair of twins whose names are thought to have been accidentally switched at some point). Alongside the story of the Buendía family, there are an abundance of vignettes recounting both the everyday and the supernatural occurrences that shape the lives of the inhabitants of Macondo. The themes range widely, incorporating legendary figures (such as the Wandering Jew), historical events (Sir Francis Drake’s bombing of Rioacha, the Massacre of the Banana growers), and short stories about the love of two minor characters who never get to interfere with the main action. Believe it or not the story takes place in a time span of a hundred years.

Netflix has announced that it will be adapting the story into a television series.

The Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights, correctly known as The Tales of One Thousand and One Nights (Farsi Hezār-o yek šab, Arabic Kitāb 'alf layla wa-layla), is a massive collection of Fairy Tales drawn from sources as far apart as the Middle East, North Africa, India, and, to an extent, even China and Greece. It has for centuries shaped the European view of the [relative to Europe] "(Near) East" or "Orient", even though only some of the stories are widely known. In fact, early Arabic-language versions only contain about 300 nights. The 701 others were added later; most of the additions were by Arab writers, but European translators added some other folktales they'd collected in their editions. Some of these additions were based on other Arabian sources, but others, including Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, were stolen by Antoine Galland (the French translator) from Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab, who recounted those tales to Galland and based them on various aspects of his own life. Diyab's autobiography was found in 1993 and greatly expanded our understanding of these stories.

The Framing  Device for the story cycle is the tale of King Shahryar and Shahrazad. The King's first wife had cheated on him, so he had her executed. Then, feeling that no woman could be trusted, he hit upon a plan only a powerful and insane tyrant could pull off: He'd marry a woman, spend the night with her, and then, in the morning, send her off to the royal Wazir (chancellor) to be executed. No woman would ever betray him again! After a great many wives were executed in this manner (Richard Burton's translation says the King did this for three years, which would be about 1,100 wives), the Wazir was running out of marriage prospects to present to the King. Then the Wazir's daughter, Shahrazad, came to him with a plan. Since her plan involved marrying the King, the Wazir objected in the strongest manner possible, but nothing would deter the girl, and finally he brought her to the King.

Come the wedding night, once he started putting the moves on her, she feigned becoming upset, and pleaded to see her younger sister one last time. The King acquiesced, and allowed Shahrazad's sister Dunyazad to stay in the room with them until dawn. Even while they consummated the marriage. Awkward. After that and the three of them went to sleep, the sisters woke up at midnight. Just as planned, Dunyazad asked Shahrazad to tell her a story, but by the morning she was not finished, and ended the story on a Cliffhanger. The awoken King was so hooked on the story that he postponed the execution for one night, in order to hear the rest. But after Scheherazade ended that story, it was still the middle of the night, and she started up another story, again ending on a cliffhanger in the morning. The nightly routine continued. Some of the stories were simple, some complex and multi-layered; sometimes a character in one story would begin to tell a second story, and sometimes the story was never actually ended because Scheherazade had gone on two or three layers and never returned to wrap up. Or sometimes she claimed she didn't know the ending, but had another tale that was even more intriguing than the unfinished one. But all of the stories were so compelling that the King could never bear to order her execution without hearing the ending. So Shahrazad kept up the stories for three years — in the meantime bearing Shahryar three sons — and finally, after 1,001 nights, she said that she had told all of her tales and was ready to die. But the King had fallen in love with her, and had been calmed by her entrancing stories. He declared that no woman in the kingdom was as wise as Shahrazad, and he made her his queen for keeps this time, and they lived Happily Ever After.

Unlike many legends which deal primarily with the deeds of the nobility (who after all were the ones who could afford to have a bard as a permanent resident at their palaces), Arabian Nights has the fascinating twist that it covers people from myriads of occupations in a highly-complex society.

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

A novel by Umberto Eco.

Yambo Bodoni has a problem. After suffering a stroke, he lost his episodic memory. Now he can't remember his name, family, or any aspects of his life. Thanks to a lifetime of work as an antiquarian book dealer in Milan, however, he can recall anything he's ever read. In order to rediscover his lost past, Yambo heads to his childhood hometown of Solara. As he pores through old newspapers, comics, and magazines, Yambo - and the reader - get glimpses into the often tragic and bittersweet reality of a boy coming of age in Italy during World War II.

14, 17, 26, 37, for izoldrei sorry about not reading it first

shipping headcanons // @intoxicatiing

Anything they both dread?

they both dread a lot of things tbh but i think one that is definitely shared between them ( and that neither are particularly good at talking about, bc communication?? izoldrei don’t know her ) is the awful, terrible combination of their other half needing emotional support in a really bad time and being afraid to be left alone, and at the same time wanting more than anything to be left alone. having that feeling is awful for both of them, and neither of shown any promise in helping the other through it, which means it is something to avoid —- for andrei for sure when izolda is in a dark place over something, he feels it very strongly, and gets that sort of knot in his stomach because he’s dreading how little he can do about it. they’re in general not doing great with having emotions, they gotta … work on that one.

What would make them break up? Would it be permanent?

oh heck. andrei leaving for a really long time certainly puts an ugly dent in their relationship in one au, that combined with his trauma from the war, and the trauma izolda endures through luken when andrei is away and can’t provide the moderate protection he had then. that doesn’t necessarily break them up, but it pulls them apart enough that getting back together is something the would probably never fully happened, as the two are both individually in places where they really can’t be the rock that the other needs.

i think things that would permanently break them up would be if either did anything to harm the other’s family —- if andrei did something that izolda perceived to be harmful to jane, or if izolda did something that andrei perceived to be harmful to marya or nikolenka. that, or if either intentionally harmed the other. though they might still be married, depending on whether arrangements for an annulment could be made, but after that? i don’t think they could actually be together in a meaningful way, and instead would just kind of live in the same house and avoid each other. of course, both of these seem really unlikely, and though there are fragile part of their relationship, in general they can be pretty strong, these things would end them for sure.

How do their friends feel about their relationship? Their families?

in general their relationship is not viewed very positively, and honestly, the only reason they probably don’t get more grief about it is because most people in society see it as an obligatory arranged marriage —- it would probably be eve worse if society knew that andrei had actually lowkey fallen in love with izolda. because of their difference in station, anyone in andrei’s circles will not only look down on izolda, but will view her marriage to andrei as sort of ruinous to the entire family —- a dark mark on the bolkonksy line, that they might even pity andrei for having the bear for the sake of important business dealings. that the two haven’t had children or publicly shown any of their connection is, if anything, a relief to andrei’s friends who might want to see him separated from someone who socially brings him down. the only exception i think might be with one of andrei’s closest friends ( like pierre ) who knew about andrei’s affection for his wife —- in which case, they might gain some very private support and approval.

the relationship of izolda and andrei’s family is … complicated. while andrei’s father strictly speaking approves of the union he arranged because it got him something, he doesn’t like izolda, and so he doesn’t like that she’s married to the son for whom he had once held very high hopes. andrei’s sister doesn’t approve the marriage at all ( though she might, if she knew how happy it made her brother ) because she has some very strong religious beliefs that certainly don’t go with izolda’s profession, and because she in general doens’t like people for petty reasons sometimes, and i have a feeling she wouldn’t love izolda. nikolenka might be the only one who does like izolda, from a somewhat guarded distance, but he’s like seven. all together, it just makes for some really awkward family dinners.

How much would they be willing to sacrifice for the other? Any lines they refuse to cross?

for andrei, at least, there’s not a lot that he wouldn’t sacrifice for izolda —- he wouldn’t give everything, and doesn’t realize the depths of his feelings, but the things he would choose before her are pretty limited. he would probably give his life and well being for her, and would put himself in danger if it meant protecting her in some way. he would give up a significant amount of what he owns for her —- but i’m not sure that he would give up everything, and this is because he needs the inheritance he has in order to pass it to his son. so the deeds to his estates, i think, he probably wouldn’t sacrifice if he had to, though it would be an extremely difficult and drawn out decision. 

as for lines that wouldn’t cross, similar to what would break them up, i think the line for what they might sacrifice for each other most definitely lies with their families —- for both of them, family comes before each other, and honestly i think both of them know that enough that they would understand that line if they ever happened to come to a situation that tested it.

Friday, 31 December 1830

7 20/60

1 35/60

Fahrenheit 46 1/2 and fine, soft, warm morning at 8 – out at 8 35/60 – walked in the Tuileries gardens, terrasse d’ eau for an hour – then (about 9 3/4) off to the palais royal to buy something by way of etrenne for Miss Hirriote and little Frederic de Hagemann – bought chez Ludoyen librairie palais royal galerie d‘Orleans no. 3 L’histoire de France en estampes – Lecerf graveur editeur Place St. André des arcs no. 11, and Histoire de France representée par des Tableaux synoptiques ….. par Monsieur Colart – chez Gosselin rue St. Germain des près no. 9 etc and then long while chez Bridoux palais royal galerie de Pierre no. 5, choosing something for Miss Hirriote – a boute aux gants – home at 12 1/2 – breakfast immediately – found kind long Letter (full 1/2 sheet and 1 page of the 1/2 sheet forming the envelope) from Lady Stuart, and a kind little letter from Lady Gordon 1/2 sheet nearly full offering me a piece of her own work – to be made up into a screen or footstool or something – she could not have it made up or no one would have taken it for her – hopes to send it by Lady Granville had just written the above of today at 2 – then wrote and sent a little note to Madame Galvain

“Madame Madame La Comtesse G– (Galvain) rue des Marais no. 15 Faubourg St. Germain” to say j’ai infiniment de regrets de ne pas pouvoir prendre ma leçon demain – toute à vous AL– (Anne Lister)” 

Had said not at home so when Monsieur Alphonse de Gisors called about 1/2 hour ago, left his card – will call again – and left (open) the note he had received from Antoine Clavet in which the man says, I have promised to him to “faire

obtenir quelque indemnité” – I promised no such thing – ‘tis 2 20/60 and I have just filled a little broad black edged 1/2 sheet of chit chat to Lady Gordon – I know not how it is I am stupider than ever and cannot get on at all with writing to her  this miserable little letter has taken me two hours studying about – 

“Paris. Friday 21 December 1830. My dear Lady Gordon – I was just sending off the almanacks, and putting in the pattern to shew how exact I had been, when Lady Stuart’s packet arrived, and, with and within it, their most amiable announcement of the screen or footstool – Screen I am resolved it shall be – It will delight me to have you perpetually under my eye; and il ne faut pas vous jeter au pied de personne – Had it been their daily study for the last 12 months wha to do to please me best, you could not have succeeded better – I always remember quite well; but it so little occurs to me to expect anybody else to do the same, that you have taken me most agreeably by surprise, and I am almost reconciled to the no you doomed me to at Schwalbach. Here’s a health to those “far away”, and to our travels in Spain! Miss Hobart told me how highly Sir Charles Gordon had spoken of Cosmo – what a comfort this must be to you! I hope he is more and more satisfied with the step he has taken – In these days of economy there will not be much to be got at home – I suppose the Granvilles will spend less than they did when here before – Surely they were wise to stay away till the danger was over – I hope we have nothing to fear now – the town has been perfectly quiet ever since the day the sentence was read – But for the national guard, we should have had pillage and all sorts of enormities – I believe there were not more than 2 or 3 lives lost – but you would be sure Lord Stuart was not very seriously alarmed, or he would not have taken a house here for the winter – His having just let his house in London, was really very provoking – you do not say anything about coming in the spring – perhaps you have given up the thought, tho’ you might do it safely enough, and would have the advantage of finding even the the best masters less occupied than usual – Perhaps the change of air would do you good – Miss Hobart gave me so bad an account of you the other day, I was really quite grieved, and was going to write to inquire after you – all this bleeding and blistering is terrible – you don't take exercise enough – Ever dear Lady Gordon, very truly yours AL– (Anne Lister)”  

it just took me quarter hour to copy the above – at 5 sent off my letter enclosed with the 2 almanacks bought on Tuesday forming a very large looking office-like letter to “Lady Duff Gordon 34 Hertford Street”  

By way of having one of Lady S–‘s (Stuart’s) letters vide the following��

“Hertford Street Monday 27th December I am very glad my dear Miss Lister, to see that all your Paris troubles have ended so quietly, they entirely did at one moment look very frightful but the conduct of the national guards, and the clever mode in which the prisoners were taken to Vincennes – has saved Paris – from bloodshed and renewed horrors! To change the subject to sublunary matters, do you remember now that you in a moment of sublimated sentiment at Schwalbach (beautiful alliteration!!) said “give me that canvas work I really now should like to have it” “No! said I firmly but sweetly – “no – but you shall have some thing better worked by these behemothian paws”? the deed is done – and I will send it to you by Lady Granville if possible – you will make it into screen – or footstool – or in short anything – I could not make it up before it was sent or no one would have taken it for me – so fragile so shabby a performance – and believe me dear Miss Lister yours always surely CDG (Caroline Duff Gordon) I don't say a word about our dear Lady Stuart – for we must only say and think how sorry we are!! – 

11 1/2 lines to 21 of mine! my hand is too small and close for common chit chat letters – I really must practise a hand exprès for these matters – Dressed now at 5 25/60 having sat all day as I walked out this morning – a thing I have hardly done since my return home – Dinner at 6 25/60 – came to my room at 8 1/2 – asleep – coffee at 9 25/60 shewing my aunt my purchases of this morning – and putting together the carte decoupée of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, really very amusing even to me – very fine mild day – Fahrenheit 42° now at 11 40/60 at which hour came to my room – thus hours passed away another year! till after 1 counting over my money and noting down my accounts and getting out money Etrennes for the servants and people tomorrow – Beautiful moonlight night now at 1 10/60 tonight –

(SH:7/ML/E/13/0131)(SH:7/ML/E/13/0132)

This is the history book Anne bought:

 L’histoire de France en estampes