#B-PIU

[altamontpt]

O MOGA Festival regressou à Costa da Caparica com uma edição que confirmou o seu lugar de destaque no circuito europeu de música eletrónica

[kumkaniudaku]

A Lovely Night

Summary: Terry and Patrice prepare for prom and a new level of their relationship.

Pairing: Terry Richmond x Black!OC (Patrice Ellis)

Word Count: 8.8K

Warnings: None

At the tender age of 13, with braces still on her top row of teeth and dreams of marrying a pop star who didn't yet know her name, Patrice came to three conclusions: she was leaving St. Pius after 8th grade, she definitely did want to be a teacher someday, and she was going to have a prom date before she graduated high school. 

The third conclusion came as she sat by herself at the 8th-grade formal, watching throngs of white children dance to censored hip-hop music in pairs and large groups while she was but a beautiful wallflower without the pleasure of being asked to attend. If not for her mother preemptively purchasing a dress before Patrice could confirm a dance partner for the evening, she would've stayed home and wallowed in her room. Better to cry in private than to suffer the embarrassment of visible loneliness in public. But, while she fought incoming misty tears threatening to smudge the mascara her mother had so graciously allowed her to use, Patrice swore that things would be different by her senior year. Her luck would turn. Shit, she might even be prom queen. 

Years later, when dreams began to catch up to reality, Patrice's 8th-grade formal debacle seemed primed for a remix. One month until prom and still no prospect for a prom date was social status killer number one. She'd worked hard in her senior year to reinvent herself, shed the reputation she'd inadvertently received as Terry's cute but strange shadow friend, and step into a new image as the senior hottie she was destined to be. Becoming Homecoming Queen was step one in the plan. Step two was senior class president. Step three, the hardest of them all, was having a small army of young men vying for a chance to take her to the ball. So far, only the weird junior from AP Calc had stepped up. Everyone else had slowly split into pairs, preparing matching ensembles, limo rentals, and after-party plans, leaving Patrice as a lone wolf destined to repeat past failures. 

"Is Napheesa really going to prom with Nate? Like for real?" 

Wednesday evenings were set aside for family spaghetti night and Calc homework with Terry via ooVoo video chat. She'd completed her first task of sharing something sweet and sour from her day around the dinner table. After lying her way into something sour that didn't include her prom woes, math with Terry was a welcomed distraction.

Patrice wiped away wayward red sauce from her mouth with her hoodie sleeve before refocusing on Terry's face taking up her laptop screen. "Yeah. He asked her Sunday when they were hanging out. It was kinda cute, really. I think he sang a song or something." 

Terry snickered. "Nigga swear he Trey Songz." He mocked Nate and the R&B hearthob's singing voice in one go, sending him and Patrice into laughter. When they finally calmed down, Terry settled into a more serious temperament. "Corey's going with Jasmine. I think they're wearing red."

"I heard. He showed me his tux. You know he's planning to wear red shoes? I told him he was gonna look like a Mississippi pimp, but he don't listen. Is the answer to number six 375?" As quickly as she'd delivered more news, Patrice was already on to the next thing. 

Terry smiled at how her face scrunched in confusion. "No. I think you miscalculated somewhere." 

"Shit," she whispered. "Don't tell me. Let me figure it out." Terry watched in rapt silence, enamored by Patrice's prominent features, which were made more striking by a neat ponytail showcasing her face as the main attraction. 

He waited silently as she typed the expression into her calculator again, battling whether now or in person was a good time to ask his question. If he waited again, he risked chickening out like he did before they parted ways in the senior parking lot to beat the morning tardy bell. He decided to strike while she wasn't looking at him with those beautiful brown eyes. 

"So…uh…you going to prom with anyone?" 

She scoffed without looking up. "No. At least not yet. Usher still hasn't responded to my emails. I sent Chris Brown one, too, so maybe he'll come through." 

"Good luck with that," he chuckled. Nerves tried to caution him on moving forward. A rational, fully formed frontal lobe would've told him to quit while he was ahead. Teenage folly made him open his mouth to say, "Wanna go with me?" 

Patrice paused her work to look up and smile. "You sure? We don't have to. I wouldn't be mad if you asked someone else." 

"I'm asking who I want to go with. Unless you givin' me the run around like Phee did Cam." 

"No," Patrice cut in, rolling her eyes. "I was just saying!" 

Terry smiled. "So we're going to prom together? Me and you? In Carolina blue? You see how I made that happen? Creative writing really might be worth it."

A genuine, hearty laugh came from Patrice's mouth as she threw her head back in reaction to Terry's terrible attempt at an off-the-cuff poem. Or so Terry thought. Really, she'd released years of pent-up fear and expected disappointment. Finally, in the 11th hour, Patrice had a prom date. Sure, it was her best friend she'd been falling more in love with day by day with no indication they'd ever be together, but it was something. Dream realized. Victory. 

"Yeah, we're going to prom together," she confirmed after her giggle attack had ended. They stared at each other momentarily, basking in the implications of a night under makeshift stars in the swanky event space across town. Patrice fought to look back at her calculator and announce what had to be the correct answer this time. "It's 215. I multiplied by 23 instead of multiplying 2 and 3. Movin' too fast, I guess." 

Terry nodded proudly. "Yeah. You got it. Good job." 

As Patrice moved on to a new exam prep question and rolled through the math aloud, the bitter taste of dissatisfaction coated his tongue. The spark he expected from asking the girl he'd been falling deeper into what he knew of love with was nothing more than a quick flicker of excitement – fun but empty. He could do better. Especially if he wanted his true intentions of turning a friendship into something more substantial to stand a chance. 

Two mornings later, with a day separating Terry's promposal and the opportunity to back out before their paring was set in stone, Patrice bounced into Francis from a doctor's appointment with a new lease on life and big news to share with Napheesa. 

She opened her locker as usual before fourth-period English, looking for her orange class notebook and the assigned textbook. She found them both without issue and nearly pranced off to class with nothing but gossip on her mind until she noticed the index card taped to her locker mirror. 

Can you meet me in the library after school? 398.2. I'm sure you know what that means. 

The handwriting looked more feminine than Patrice was accustomed to, not matching what she'd seen from Napheesa's notes back and forth in class or from Corey, who'd mastered the forgery dark arts. Still, she tucked the instructions into her everything binder's inside pouch and kept it close until the final bell rang. 

Like a spy on a top-secret mission, Patrice dodged conversations from her classmates, threaded her body between students walking to and fro in the main hallway, and quietly ducked into the library on the hunt for the mysterious being requesting her presence. 

398.2. It took Patrice an entire class period to decipher what the collection of numbers meant. Too short for a phone number, obviously, she thought to herself. It wasn't a locker number or any other location in the school. Area codes didn't come with decimals. She thought long and hard, willing the answer into existence. Realization smacked her in the head with the full force of Mike Tyson on her way to Terry's locker to grab her sociology notebook. The Dewey Decimal System. More specifically, the section of the library dedicated to folk and fairytales. 

Led by an ironclad knowledge of the library's layout and excitement nearly pouring from her pores, Patrice speed-walked past the librarian's station at the front, waved hello to Ms. Wanamaker re-stocking returned library books from seniors trying to clear their outstanding balances before fines set in, and turned the corner onto her intended row. 

Snow White piqued her curiosity first. The book appeared to jut out from the rest, so she glanced around for any lookie-loos straggling nearby and pulled it off the shelf. Nothing. Patrice shrugged and put the book back before focusing on other possible answers. Fairy Tales from The Brothers Grimm turned up nothing. Some weird book of Greek myths briefly felt like cracking the code but ultimately fell flat. Patrice had been duped. Led astray. Lied to. She was sure someone was watching through shelves and laughing at how she'd been fooled in a scavenger hunt. 

Some hopeful part of her brain directed Patrice's annoyed attention to the book spine conspicuously sticking out amongst its neighbor. She thought about what she might do if she were to flip through another dud and settled on knocking everything down as she yanked the worn edition of Cinderella from its spot. Luckily, a quick flip to its front cover ended her search. 

I don't know if I'm your Prince Charming, but I want you to feel like a Cinderella for a night. Will you go with me to the ball? I'll have you home before the clock strikes 12.

She recognized this handwriting, slanted and slender, on another index card. Patrice ran her index finger over the words and gave them another full read, not noticing the tall young man slowly revealing himself at the end of the aisle with a smile on his face and the gleam of mischief in his eyes. 

"I should've done this the right way the first time," he spoke, startling Patrice. He lifted his hands in surrender and disarmed her with a smile. "My bad." 

Patrice smiled back. "Since when did you learn the decimal system?" 

"If I tell you, I can't take you to prom. So, you either gotta answer the question on the card or get the answer to yours. Which one is it?" 

"Give me your answer." 

Horrified confusion and feigned annoyance flashed across Terry's young, handsome face as he watched Patrice double over in stifled laughter. He chuckled and kissed his teeth as he stepped closer. "Patrice, be serious. Will you go to prom with me? I'm really asking." 

Terry's sincerity, both in his voice inflection and in how his brows knitted in anticipation of a response, made Patrice stand up to her full height and smile back at her best friend. 

"Of course, TJ. I will absolutely go to prom with you." 

A fist pump and smile in the back corner of the school library was as good as any contract signed in black ink with a felt-tipped pen and the appropriate amount of witnesses. It was official official. Terry and Patrice were going to prom together. 

News of the expected pairing spread through the halls like wildfire, the truth morphing into something of a fairytale itself as it passed from person to person. Terry had asked Patrice in the library on one knee or in the parking lot, and they kissed, or between classes, and Patrice cried. Actually, Patrice asked Terry! In one version of events, Terry had abruptly reneged on his promposal to Junior cheerleader Cierra and asked Patrice at the last minute. A messy affair in a messy love triangle between the messiest best-friend duo the school had ever known, according to some twisted version of events. 

Neither Patrice nor Terry cared to clear up rumors or refute gossip. They were too busy prepping for the best night of their young lives. 

Pin cushions and yards of organza covered Patrice's living room floor by Sunday afternoon, turning recently the replaced grey carpet into a sea of light blue as her Aunt Sybil eyeballed measurements and cut the fabric into careful shapes to match the pattern Patrice and Imani had agreed was perfect for a Cinderella-inspired gown. Glitter. She needed glitter tucked into every inch to turn an ordinary dress into one that sparkled in the right light. Rosalyn requested sleeves for modesty, and Patrice agreed, not because she wanted to, but because she knew compromise was her best friend. They settled on sparkling flower appliqué details on the bodice to bring in the event's garden theme, a dainty off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline with draped sleeves to satisfy her beaming mother, and a soft corset to create a ball gown illusion for the flowing, floor-length-skirt. A masterpiece in Patrice's eyes. Especially the hidden thigh-high split she and Imani schemed, plotted, and cried to have included when Rosalyn wasn't listening. 

Hair, makeup, nails, and fragrance were all Patrice thought about for days. She sat with Napheesa on Google for hours, looking for the perfect photos to show their beauty service providers when the time came. Every detail, down to the number of tendrils springing from her bun to add a little Princess Tiana into her Disney fantasy, was carefully crafted to fit the vision she'd had of herself since the 8th grade. 

Terry hadn't dived head-first off the prom prep cliff, but he was close. Marvin couldn't understand why his son was suddenly so hell-bent on switching to the younger barber and his creative cuts until Diedra pulled him aside for a quick update in the Richmond Girl saga. He couldn't have any old fade. He needed something to stop Patrice in her tracks and garner enough praise to fuel him until he was 21. He'd work every weekend until boot camp to pay off that extra $50 plus tip if it meant his haircut was precise. 

A trip to the tailor turned a baggy, hand-me-down wedding tux into something tailored for his brand new, 6'3" frame. Diedra watched with pride in her shining eyes as Terry stood tall and allowed the much smaller shop owner to stand on a step ladder and adjust the jacket's shoulders to Terry's proportions. Take in the waist here, lengthen that hem, get the fit of that cummerbund just right, not too shiny on the shoes or too dark on that blue – he's got a date with the prettiest girl in the world, and he can't get caught lacking. Another $150 withdrawn from his parent's bank account, another step closer to the best night of his short life. 

The final puzzle piece was the paramount matter of transportation. Terry's Explorer had been out of commission since October, both from punishment and mechanical issues. He'd improved his behavior, but the starter was still shot, and any indicator that his dad would fix it went away when Terry chose to sign his life away to the United States.

Terry knew the perfect set of wheels to act as a chariot for his princess. The creamy, off-white Cadillac with less than 40,000 miles and a sick interior parked in their garage would take him from best friend to boyfriend in 15 minutes flat. He just needed the permission. 

Slinking out of his room, Terry coached himself through a pre-planned script as he jogged down the front porch steps to the tall, greying, light-skinned man diligently trimming healthy green hedges per his wife's instructions. 

"Hey, Pop. You need some help?" 

Marvin looked up at his son, confusion sheening his blue-green eyes, and shrugged. "If you wanna, I won't stop you." A man of few words and enough brains in his head to know when his boy was about to ask for something.

Taking his father's half-hearted invitation, Terry slid on a pair of working gloves nearby, grabbed the garden hedge sheers lying in a pile of other tools, and began carefully chopping at his mama's award-winning bushes. 

They worked silently for several long minutes, two tall, slender Richmond men toiling away in the mid-April breeze until Terry mustered up enough courage to make his request known. "Dad, could I…maybe, um…drive your car for prom? Just that one night?" 

"The truck?" Marvin knew the answer but wanted to teach his only son a lesson in the type of directness that made boys into men. 

"No. The Cadillac. Our friends are doing the limo thing, but I want to – I'm just not trying to spend the whole night with them. It's easier if I can put the money for the limo towards dinner and really enjoy myself. With Patrice. Together for probably the last time." 

Marvin listened to his son's appeal without looking away from his task, mulling over the answer he already had in his head. He'd been in young love before and knew all of the fear and excitement from exploring matters of the heart. 

Terry watched his father continue to prune errant branches and leaves from the collection of perfectly green hedges, feeling the pieces of his plan for a magical night blow away in the wind. He'd already begun working through how to get $50 to Corey by the end of the night when Marvin set his shears down and started rifling through his coverall pockets. 

He pulled out a crisp $100 bill, allowed his neutral expression to brighten into a small smile, and extended his hand toward Terrence. "Hold that for dinner." Then he reached into another pocket to pull out a ring of keys to toss in Terry's direction. "And hold these for this evenin'. I gotta see you drive her before I let you off by yourself. You fuck up my Caddy, and you won't make it to Parris Island, Tybee Island, or Island Seafood down the street without a cane because I'm gon' need at least three toes for my car."

"I got it, Dad," Terry laughed. "I promise. I'll have it back a little after 12. Treece got a curfew.” 

"Mhmm. She got your little nose wide open, too. When y'all gon' stop all that playing and do the real thing?" 

Terry hoped he could return to his father triumphant by next Saturday night to proudly proclaim he and Patrice had finally decided to do "the real thing." He spent the whole week counting down the seconds until he could ask for her hand at the dinner table, confess his feelings, earn a big kiss, and walk into the event center as Francis Edwards High School's newest couple. 

Patrice considered the possibility of going from best friend to girlfriend all week but kept her fantasies locked inside her mind for fear of interrupting Napheesa's now 15-minute-long, one-sided conversation. 

The school week's events had long faded into vapors to make way for the dizzying sights and sounds of salon visits, light lunches to keep bellies flat, and gossip-filled chatter of prom preparation. Patrice and Napheesa sat side by side in massage chairs that made their bodies shake and jerk from an overzealous contraption while their feet soaked in bowls of bubbling lukewarm water. Their mothers had dropped them off for coordinated early morning nail appointments they both hoped would fit into 90 minutes. Napheesa had to be on time for her beautician or else she'd spend an extra hour at the hair salon. Patrice didn't have a fancy chair to sit in for her appointment. Still, Ms. Brenda's daughter liked to get off track in her kitchen studio, and she didn't have the time or patience for anyone to ruin her plans. 

Napheesa flipped through color swatches while she multitasked providing updates to her best friend and picking which shade of baby pink would match her dress best. "Corey said his after-party is invite-only, but you know how he gets when he get a crowd. Everybody and they mama gone be over there. You and Terry sure y'all don't wanna ride in the limo with us so you don't have to worry about finding a place to park in his neighborhood? I don't think he'll care about the money at this point." 

"Nope. Terry says he wants it to be just us, and I think he already got his dad to let him use the car." Patrice answered, smiling at the thought of being alone with him in a fancy whip. 

"Okay, then! You didn't tell me about the Cadillac, now! I'm jealous." Napheesa teased. She noticed her friend's bashful smirk and reached over to playfully push her shoulder. "How you feeling about tonight? You nervous? Excited? What?" 

All of that and then some, Patrice thought to herself before answering. "I don't know! I think I'm just ready to see him," she confessed. "We've never been, like, alone alone. What if I say something silly or trip and fall or something? Now the night is ruined, and I gotta come home by 8 o'clock." Patrice sighed and mentally settled on a classic French tip for her nails and feet. "I think it'll be fun. I'm just ready to skip to then."

"The way Terry acts like you're the second coming of Kevin Hart, I'm sure there's nothing silly you could do or say to make him end the night early. He might even fall down with you so you don't feel alone." The young ladies dissolved into laughter at the image of Terry's long, lanky body lowering to the ground just to make Patrice feel better about her blunder. "Just have fun, P. High school is almost over, and if you not with that boy by May, we not talking about his ass when we get on campus." 

Patrice feigned offense. "We'll still be friends! I can't talk about him at all?" 

"Not a peep. We only talking about fine college niggas after graduation. So, lock it down or get ready for orientatioooon." Napheesa's exaggerated body roll turned Patrice's giggling into a full-on cackle loud enough to eclipse the nearby whirring of an electric file. 

Patrice would've laughed herself into a stomach ache if not for the loud ringtone trilling in her purse. Napheesa didn't need to see who was awaiting an answer to their call. The slight smile on her friend's face and starry eyes were answer enough. 

"Hey, TJ," Patrice chirped as two nail techs rolled up to start their service. 

In his bedroom across town, Terry eyed his face in the bathroom mirror, trying to decide which parts of his facial hair to tell his barber to keep. "What's up, Treece. Wait, are you out already?" 

"Yeah. I didn't want to end up late, so me and Phee decided to get our nails done early." Patrice passed greetings between her two best friends before continuing. "What's up with you?"

"I'm on the way to the barbershop in a little bit. I just wanted to tell you I'll be by to pick you up at 5:30 so we can get to dinner on time. The food's gonna suck tonight and I don't want you to be hungry. Think you'll be ready by then?" 

Patrice smiled and softened her voice. "Yeah. I'll be ready." 

"Um…" Terry cut himself short, smiled at the fleeting thought of seeing his Cinderella float toward him in something spectacular, and then picked up his thought again. "I'm excited to see your dress tonight and hang out. I think it's gonna be a good night." 

"Me too. I get to see you in a tie for the first time." 

Terry chuckled. "And this stupid waist thing my mama's making me wear. They're gonna follow me to your place, by the way, so be ready to take pictures for forever." 

"That's okay. You just make sure you don't come over there looking better than me," Patrice joked. A clean-cut, suited and booted Terry could rival Hollywood's finest leading man. She'd put money on that. 

"I could never. You win that battle every time." His compliment settled on Patrice's ears and heart like light snow coating freezing cold lawns in those Hallmark Christmas movies her mom loved so much. Terry smiled at her silence before noting his father's second honk in as many minutes. "See you later, Treece. I gotta get out of here. Love you." 

Patrice looked to Napheesa pretending not to listen to every word of their conversation then tried to lower her voice. "Love you, too. See you later." 

Another velvety smooth goodbye left a young girl with dreams of locking more than arms with her occasionally brooding, often sweet prince swooning in a building full of strangers and her amused best friend. 

"Cute shit, mom and dad." The parents joke had gained traction in the school hallways and grown legs to follow Patrice into the world via a sniggering Naphessa. Patrice looked over at her friend with a sour look and received gut-busting laughter in return. "Damn, y'all sound like my parents." 

"Shut up!" 

-----

Staring at her daughter in the small vanity mirror tucked in the room's back corner, Rosalyn had never seen a more beautiful girl in all her life. The baby she'd spent hours of grueling labor to usher into the world, her first of three pregnancies and two births, had grown into a young woman preparing to enter the world as a free bird spreading its wings for the time. 

Tears gathered in the inner corners of her eyes, threatening to garner a groan and quiet complaints for it was the third time in an hour she'd felt like crying. Leon joked with her the first two times, remarking that Patrice's eventual wedding might send her to the upper room if this was how Rosalyn would act for prom. 

Rosalyn twirled a perfectly spiraled tendril from Patrice's bun around her finger after removing the perm rod giving it shape and smiled. "You're such a pretty girl, P. Don't let anyone tell you that you aren't. Alright?" 

"Yes ma'am," Patrice answered as she looked back at her mother through the mirror. She took careful stock of her appearance, trying to see what in her reflection her mother saw to say such a thing. 

Brown skin, smooth as luxury chocolate and covered in just enough makeup to highlight ancestral high cheekbones and youthful features, complemented shining eyes and mouth full of pearly whites her parents had paid a fortune for in middle school. She was pretty. Beautiful. A stunning amalgamation of her mother, and her mother, and her mother's mother long before she was a twinkle in the universe. 

A larger roller removed from the right side of her forehead unfurled a bouncing bang. Rosalyn kept it in place with a careful mist of spritz. "The next time I get to see you like this, you'll be getting a new last name." Patrice looked away bashfully, trying not to imagine wedding bells and a church full of family watching her walk down the aisle to the one she…loved? Loves. She did love him, she thought. She was sure of that much.

Rosalyn slowly slid the other large roller off Patrice's left side, giving it equal attention to the first. "Have fun tonight, alright. I know you'll be okay with Terry, but I'll tell you anyway: be safe. You know you can call whenever you need us. We'll come get you, no questions asked." 

"I know. I don't think I'll have to call. Terry knows to have me back by midnight, and we don't get into trouble." Partially true. They didn't get into much trouble. Nothing significant or life-changing. Not yet, anyway. 

"I'm not worried about it," Rosalyn said, fixing a small sparkling tiara to the base of Patrice's bun. "So…do you like him? From my vantage point, it seems like you like him, but I could be wrong. What's the scoop?" 

Patrice groaned. "Mamaaa!" An immediate desire to cover up the truth made her body hot with embarrassment. But something in her mother's knowing smile compelled her to come clean. "Yeah. I do. I like him a lot." 

"Ain't no crime in that. It's okay to like a boy. You know your daddy was a boy I liked at one point. We don't expect you not to like anyone. We just want you to be smart. Don't have no babies yet." 

"Maaa!" 

Rosalyn chuckled at Patrice's teenaged disgust and prepared to pour more on for fun's sake when two knocks rapped against the bedroom door before Leon poked his head inside. He took a sweeping look over his only daughter and smiled. "Look at my little girl. They should be putting you in the children's books, huh?" Patrice said thanks with a small, timid smile before Leon dropped off pressing news. "The Richmond boy and his folks are comin' in. Lookin' like it's time to make your entrance." 

"Thank you, Daddy. Can you tell him I'll be out in a little while?" 

Leon accepted his marching orders with a nod and smile, then disappeared to entertain the growing swell of voices filling the living room. 

Smiling, Rosalyn slid the cape shielding Patrice's glittering dress from debris off her daughter's chest and draped it over her arm. "Alright, pretty girl, it's your show now." She leaned down to press her cheek to Patrice's in a warm display of affection. "Knock his socks off, you hear? He's here to see you. Give him a show." 

Give him a show. While Patrice mentally unraveled what that meant, Terry stood in the living room rocking back and forth on his heels and checking his wristwatch for the time. Zorah and Zanah talked on the couch while Junior snuck glances at the two identically beautiful girls and tried to keep the camcorder upright to ensure he didn't get a slap on the back of the head from his mother. Diedra chattered a mile a minute to her husband and good friend, saying something about pictures and keepsakes that Terry didn't care to hear. 

He wanted to see Patrice. Weeks of waiting and dreaming every chance he got to let his mind wander came down to the soft tick, tick, tick of his silver link watch as the minute hand turned 5:29 pm into 5:30 pm—showtime. 

Terry heard a door close down the hall and listened for the footsteps moving in his direction before looking up to see Mrs. Rosalyn appear in the hallway's threshold. She smiled at him first then addressed the room. "She'll be out in a few. Just grabbing a few last things." 

"Oh my Gooood! I can't wait to see her. I know she'll be beautiful!" Diedra clasped her fingers at her chest as if it were her daughter preparing for a grand reveal. "Girls, come over here. I want you to see!" 

Zorah and Zanah moaned and groaned about their conversation being cut short but followed directions anyway to avoid what existed on the other side of disobedience. Junior tracked both girls with his eyes until a nervously rocking Terry cut off his sightline. He looked up at the young man confused. 

"Why you shakin' like that, Terry," he asked, genuinely unable to fathom why the boy might be nervous. "You seen Patrice a million times." 

But not like this. He'd seen her in sweats and a T-shirt or dressed up for school, but not like this. That fact became abundantly clear as her high heels tapped across the hardwood floor, stepping closer to reveal a modern marvel amongst mere pretenders. Whatever he'd dreamed up in the back of classrooms or while tucked in his bedroom at night paled compared to what stood before him. 

Shock. Awe. Amazement. Diedra squealed as if the Queen had walked into the room. His twin sisters whistled and gave praise like only pre-teen girls could. Even Junior had to nod in approval to give credit where credit was due. 

Terry could only see Patrice in all the noise. The way her dress shimmered in the sunlight streaming through the glass storm door at the front of the house. How her makeup made her look like a movie star in her greatest role to date. Heels helped her legs stand out from the hint of split peeking back at him. Her hair was beautiful, her nails were beautiful, her lips, shoulders, and eyes were beautiful – Patrice was beautiful.

Terry's hand was out beckoning for her hand before he knew what he was doing. "Wow," he breathed out as he gently pulled her closer. He had to will away the urge to know if the gloss coating her lipstick-covered pout had a flavor to say something coherent. "You look…wow." 

"You look like Cinderella! It's so cool!" Zanah said the most consecutive words she had spoken in ages at that moment, stunning Marvin. 

"Shoot, you really are something! You even got the mean one to talk!" 

All in the room laughed, leaving Terry and Patrice to admire each other openly. Patrice straightened the lapel of Terry's tux jacket, then moved on to his bowtie just to have a reason for stepping close enough to smell his cologne. 

He looked down at her, peering through thick lashes, and watched her go to work with a smile. Seeing her nervousness comforted him. They could figure things out together.

Patrice smoothed her hands over his shoulders and finally looked up to smile at Terry. "You look really handsome, TJ. Mean it." 

"You too." Terry immediately recognized his tongue-tied mistake and rushed to correct course. "I meant you look pretty. Beautiful! I'm sorry. You ready to get out of here?" 

They were more than ready. As they stood in front of the Ellis residence, pinning boutonnieres, sliding corsages on dainty wrists, and posing for more photos than they could count, all Patrice and Terry could think about was sliding into the front seat of their chariot for the evening and rolling off toward the sunset. They got their chance 40-odd grueling minutes later once their parents had done all their doting and laid down the rules. 

The first stop was dinner. Somehow, good fortune pushed Terry to pick the one Italian restaurant no other prom attendee in the city thought to cram into with their large parties clad in fluffy gowns and starched suits. That foresight got them a free dinner from a lovely Black couple enjoying a Saturday date night. 

His foresight also saved them from the disaster of a dinner at the venue once they'd wrapped up their make-believe date night and joined their friends for the last formal night of their high school lives. Luckily, the thrill of dancing and taking Facebook photos on a handheld digital camera removed the need to eat anything life-sustaining.

Together, they sang in each other's faces like maniacs, moved about the dance floor until their feet hurt, and forgot all the cares and problems of tomorrow. The only break came when the Prom King and Queen were announced after dinner service began. 

Terry and Patrice watched Corey accept his title like proud parents, recording him on their cell phones while hollering their support from across the room with the rest of the crew. All the work they'd collectively put into his campaign made his triumph feel like a win for the table, not counting Corey's angry date. She stormed off into the hallway moments after an innocent dance between the royal couple went from an innocent sway to Corey reveling in the attention of a young lady with at least six inches of height over him. 

The DJ for the night quickly cut "Slow Jam" by Usher and Monica off at a faculty advisor's request once Corey got a little overzealous and transitioned into Chris Brown's "Winner" to invite all who were willing to sway in each other's arms to the dancefloor. 

Patrice sat in her chair, watching couples slowly float to the dancefloor. She smiled at nothing in particular and bopped her head to the familiar song. Terry watched her like a hawk, suspended between being mesmerized and the pressure of knowing his time was quickly running out. 

Nerves at dinner convinced him to stay mum about his feelings and enjoy Patrice's fun facts about focaccia instead. When he rested his hand on her fingers in the car, and she didn't pull away, he thought about pulling over for his rehearsed speech, but they were already behind schedule. Part of him wanted to whisper how much he loved her into her ear as she pressed her back to his front for official photos. He let the feeling pass, though. 

Now, with the center of the dancefloor free for the taking and the time left before his princess needed to be returned to her home dwindling, he took a deep breath and scooched closer to her. 

Baby, you're a winner

Didn't even take you twelve rounds to do it

You got the title now

I'mma tell the whole world 

To give it up for my girl

"You wanna dance?" Terry meant for the question to sound more confident and less like a creep whispering into his date's ear. So, he scooched even closer, slid his hand around her waist, and tried again. "I'd really love to dance with you. Please." 

Patrice turned in her seat to look back at Terry's eyes pleading for the chance to take her out on the floor and felt goosebumps spring up on her forearms. How could she say no to such a perfectly handsome face? She wouldn't if given the chance. "I'm following your lead." 

Hand in hand, Terry and Patrice sauntered out into the center of an empty dancefloor, receiving applause and encouragement from people and friends who had caught wind of something special unfolding before them. They ignored the ruckus as best they could while arranging limbs around necks and waists. 

If he were being honest with his mind and body, Terry wanted Patrice closer than what school officials would deem appropriate for a sanctioned event. Having his fingers gently grip her sides while they swayed too slow for the music felt like torture, but he persisted for the sake of the moment. He'd have his chances one day soon. 

Patrice hoped Terry couldn't feel the wild thump of her pulse against her wrist as they draped near the nape of his neck. Being so close to him, smelling the residual mint of his gum mixed with whatever heavenly fragrance he'd borrowed from his father was enough to send her body into overdrive. So this was what attraction felt like? This was what all the Ebony and Cosmo articles meant when they discussed the scientific responses of women to men and vice versa. This was infatuation, unshakeable physical longing, and…love? Separately, they were manageable symptoms curable by time away and deep breaths. Together, in the confines of the small square they'd created with sync movements, they were too much and threatening to spill over into utterances she wasn't sure she was ready to release. 

Terry dragging his thumbs up and down along Patrice's waist snapped her out of a deluge of competing thoughts, forcing her to look up at him. He smiled. "What you thinkin' about?" 

"How bad a dancer I am," she joked, allowing self-deprecation to be her scapegoat for the nerves bubbling inside. 

"It's not you," he chuckled. "I wasn't really listening to how fast this song is. I just wanted to get you away from everybody else so we could talk." 

Patrice tilted her head in curiosity. "About what?" 

A quick scan of the immediate area to confirm there were no eavesdroppers or class gossipers helped Terry gather his thoughts. He had plans for something grand, something unforgettable for the rest of their lives. But when he looked back down at her brown eyes, waiting for his next move, he could only confess, "Patrice, I love you." 

"I love you, too, Terrence." 

For a split second, through the strobing neon lights creating shadows on their faces and hiding actual reactions, Terry thought he could see a flash of connection in Patrice's eyes – a hint of unspoken confirmation that what he'd shared was received in full without explanation. 

Patrice hoped he understood the added "I" or the addition of his entire first name to mean what she was too afraid to vocalize beyond a few simple words. 

They had more to say and share to ease the weight on their heavy hearts and minds. Things too sacred for the dancefloor, back at the table with their friends, or in the parking lot as everyone loosened their ties, switched out their shoes, and planned to reconvene for the party of the century. So, they left their I Love You's with Chris Brown and darted into the night for sweet treats separate from the group. 

Underneath real stars in a dark blue sky, they rambled on, recapping highlights over two cups of fresh churned Oreo ice cream, trying hard not to leave the evidence behind on his father's interior. 

"Corey lucky he around all them people, or Jasmine would've kicked his ass," Patrice laughed. "Oh, and did you see Chris and Diamond leave together. I knew they had something going on!" 

Terry chewed through a chunk of Oreo and shrugged. "People could say the same about us. Shit, people do say the same about us." 

"Yeah, but…this is different. We're friends. Right?" 

"We are right now, but…I don't know if I want to stay that way." Growing serious, Terry placed his half-empty cup of ice cream in the cup holder and turned in the driver's seat to face Patrice. He reached for her hand, and, for the second time that night, she didn't pull away. He took it as his sign to proceed. "I meant what I said back there. I love you. As more than my friend." 

Patrice nodded, understanding, and tried to wish away the tears pricking her eyes as she smiled. "I know. I did, too. I…I love you." 

That spark, the small burst of magic that had fought for centerstage all day, was back and bursting into fireworks above them, daring someone to make a move. Terry took the bait and brought Patrice's knuckles to his lips for a chaste kiss. She watched him close his eyes to savor the feeling of her skin on his mouth, thinking of all the ways she'd explain this to Napheesa when they had a moment to debrief. 

"I want to be your boyfriend. You know, if… that's cool with you." He chickened out in the end, but the sentiment remained the same. He wanted more than one-armed hugs and childish giggles with Patrice. He wanted a real relationship. As real as it could get for two people at the precipice of adulthood. 

Patrice sucked in a deep breath, unsure of how to force an answer through a throat tightening by the second. All she could mutter was a quiet "TJ…" 

"It's okay," he smiled. Breaching the center console between them, he leaned to kiss her cheek. Patrice's eyes fluttered closed and reopened in enough time to catch Terry returning to the driver's side, preparing to start the engine. "Just think about it, okay?"

Patrice thought about dating and a wedding, Terry's fingers threaded between hers, his thumb softly caressing her knuckles, the butterflies in her belly, and what it meant to be in love as he drove them through familiar streets. It was all she could think about. It was all she wanted to think about. 

Thoughts of finally letting go battled with the fear of what the end may look like and stuck with Patrice as they walked into Corey's "quiet" house party. Neither of them would ever understand how he could convince his parents to allow teenagers around the county to dance, scream, and be merry in their two-story home, but they didn't complain. 

Corey was the first to point out their joint arrival and holdholding, only to be shooed away to spread the news amongst the others. 

"Phee is in one of the rooms changing, I think. Or fucking with Nate. I don't know what's going on, bro, I'm not gon' lie to you." 

Terry shook his head at his friend's antics, then turned to Patrice. "You want a drink or something? Water?" 

"Water would be nice," she answered through a broad smile that Terry mirrored. "Can you grab a straw, too? I don't want to mess up my lip gloss." 

"Cool. I'll find you." 

Only God could pry their hands apart and send Terry on a mission for cold water and straw in a house where he could barely move without bumping into someone. Patrice watched him disappear around a corner before dashing down a hallway for sound counsel. 

She opened doors to coat closets, bathrooms, and bedrooms, which were occasionally filled with people sneaking sips of alcohol, but they came up empty. Panic settled into her bones as she frantically asked for Napheesa until some generous partygoer pointed her toward the family sunroom. 

There, she found Napheesa sipping something in a red cup and massaging her aching feet like a mother who'd had a long day at work. When she saw Patrice barrel through the threshold, her face brightened. "P! I was -" 

"Terry told me he loved me!" 

Napheesa choked on air as her eyes bugged out of her head. "What! Wait, wait, wait. Start from the top!" 

"We were dancing, and he said he loved me; I said it back because, like, I do love him, right! We say that all the time! You hear it! But then he said it again while we were eating ice cream and asked me to be his girlfriend! Well, really, he asked to be my boyfriend, which is like, somehow more romantic than the other way around, and Napheesa, I don't know what to do! What do I do?" 

Patrice spoke a mile a minute, not stopping for breaths or input until she'd unloaded her full stream of consciousness, like word vomit, all over the floor. Napheesa stared blankly and answered matter-of-factly. 

"Just say it back." Plain and without flowery language, she offered sage advice. "Say it back. You just said you love him. So, say it back to him. Why are you making this hard? Do you love him?" 

"Of course I do!" 

Napheesa laughed in confusion. "So say it back, crazy girl! Go ahead. Do it." 

"Okay. Alright," Patrice started. "I love Terry. I love him. I love Terrence Richmond. There. I said it." She listened to the words return to her and tried them out again. "I love you, Terry. I love you, Terry. I love you, Terry!" 

"See how easy that was? You really need to see somebody about all that worrying, girl. Want me to ask my mama who she goes to?" 

Patrice sighed and chuckled away her nerves. "No. I just-" 

When Napheesa's eyes flickered up to the sunroom entrance and stayed, Patrice turned around to find Terry caught like a deer in headlights with two cups and a straw in his hand. 

"They didn't have bottles, so I just put some ice water in these cups," he announced. "Am I interrupting girl talk? I can come back." 

"Nope. I was actually on my way to find Nate and get some water." Napheese looked back at Patrice, winked her encouragement, and then stood to brush past Terry and back into the action. She pulled one cup out of his hand on her way out. "Thanks for the water. See y'all later?" 

One cup down and thoroughly annoyed, Terry stepped into the sunroom and took Napheesa's previous spot opposite Patrice. He extended the cup and straw in her direction. "Here. This one's for you. Don't tell Corey I went through his mama's kitchen drawers." 

"Your secret's safe with me." 

Terry smiled as Patrice mimed a lock motion over her lips. She never dropped her smile or sipped from her cup, striking him as odd. "You okay?" he laughed. "Why you smiling so hard? Did Napheesa say something about me?" 

She shook her head no but answered, "Yes!" 

"Yes, what?" Terry questioned, confusion knitting his brows together. 

Patrice placed her cup on the ground and grabbed both his hands, threading their fingers together like he did in the car. He gripped them tighter, looking into her eyes like they held all the answers. 

"Yes, you can be my boyfriend. Because…I really, really want to be your girlfriend. You know…if that's cool with you." 

Shock kept Terry glued to his seat, disconnecting his body from a mind turning somersaults in triumph. Patrice watched in amusement as his eyes darted across her face before he shot up and pulled her along for the ride. 

They'd hugged each other plenty of times – to say goodbye and hello, for comfort when the other was feeling down, to be close for no reason at all – but they'd never embraced as more than friends. Patrice had never experienced how good it felt to be fully wrapped in his arm and pressed into a heart beating with love for her. Terry didn't know how having Patrice wrap herself around him would trigger a desire to shower her in never-ending affection. 

Terry tried the feeling on for size, pulling away to kiss her cheek and then her forehead. "I love you." If given the chance, he could say it a million more times. 

"I love you, too." Easy enough. Practice would make perfect, and Patrice was ready to put in the work. 

An unseen force, the same magnetism from their shared Christmas joy in Patrice's bedroom months ago, pulled them closer for another go at a kiss they'd been putting off for far too long. 

Eyes blinked closed. Tongues ran across lips to moisten them for an eventual meeting. Hands tried to wander south and close the gap between their hips. All their pining and preparation had come down to one mo- 

"Hell yeah, P! Kiss your man!" 

"Terry! Terry! Terry!" 

"I knew it! They almost kissed on the dancefloor, too!"

Thwarted again. A small crowd of familiar faces had gathered at the threshold, excited to see their favorite pair finally go the distance. Embarrassed, Patrice hid her face inside Terry's suit jacket, and he wrapped his arms around her as an act of protection. 

Laughing, he tried to shoo the onlookers away. "Man, get out of here! Y'all ain't ever heard of privacy?" 

"Nigga, this my house! Ain't no privacy," Corey laughed. "Go ahead and kiss. This everybody moment! We been waiting forever!" 

The small group agreed, but Patrice wasn't interested in the spectacle. She pulled away from Terry, slid her hand in his, and began leading them out of the room. "And you'll wait some more. This ain't a damn zoo! I thought we were here to have fun!" 

They were. And they did. Disappointment quickly faded, making room for more singing, dancing, and aching feet into the late hours of the night. 

Patrice had long ditched her heels for flats, extending the life of her party animal personal until a quick glance at a perfectly positioned wall clock indicated a quarter til midnight. She roughly pried Terry's drifting hands, trying to pull her backside closer to his front from her waist, and hurried him back to the car in hopes he could make up the distance with some expert driving. 

Both of them prayed all patrol units were busy elsewhere as Terry guided them down empty streets and quiet neighborhood rows to return Rosalyn and Leon's precious cargo by midnight. Terry pulled into Patrice's driveway, cutting time dangerously close, opened the passenger door in a flash, and hurried her to the front door like the Secret Service escorting the president. 

He watched Patrice shuffle through her purse for the housekey, wondering if now was a good time to return to that kiss. "Patrice, can I -" 

"Found it! I really need to put this on a ring." She looked up at Terry and smiled. "I'm sorry, what were you gonna say?" 

Terry shook his head free of previous plans and settled for a kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Treece. I'll text you when I'm home." 

"Good night, TJ." Patrice looked at the light turn on in the living room through the glass panels on the front door, then back at Terry. "I love you." 

"I love you, too. Go ahead. Don't get in trouble." 

A blown kiss and one more wave sent Patrice back into her humble abode and Terry to his horse and carriage for the night. As he backed out of the driveway, looking both ways for traffic that would never come, he noticed the heel of forgotten shoes in his back seat. 

Terry smiled to himself, recalling the story of the dazzling beauty and her lost slipper. Luckily, he didn't have to scour the city looking for the beautiful belle of the ball that stole his heart. He knew where to his Cinderella.

------

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[pomp-quio]

This is about brothers (and sisters): but this is about brothers who are trying to resurrect their brothers, this is about brothers who mourn, this is about brothers who drag the body of their dead brother around and plead, wait for me! don't go where I can't follow!

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[whinlatter]

The Ginny and Peter parallel though?? How have I never thought about that?? It‘s so horrifying and insanely compelling to me at the same time. I would love to hear (read?) you elaborate on that.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine…. I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen…. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me - " "Harry – oh, Harry – I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn’t say it in front of Percy. It was me, Harry – but I – I s-swear I d-didn’t mean to  - R-Riddle made me, he took me over..."

thank you so much for this question anon.  i have been thinking about this for a long time - about how ginny weasley might have made a really, really good traitor - and would love to talk more about my thinking behind it. a little meta on traitor talk - who flips, and why, and why ginny weasley might be the peter pettigrew to the trio's marauders after all - can be found below the cut (with spoilers for beasts chapter 14). 

hp, as a series, puts great moral emphasis on the concept of choice. after all, it’s about a world at war, where the question of whose side you're on is often a matter of life or death. double agents, deception, treachery, people serving the interests of others (either consensually or under duress): these are recurrent tropes, on both sides of the wizarding war. the plot begins the ultimate act of betrayal - that of lily and james potter by peter pettigrew - and the series concludes with the revelation of another (snape). throughout the books, there are all sorts of characters who spy, or flip, for all sorts of reasons. you have those who knowingly pretend to be serving the interests of one side when actually serving another, for principled reasons, either ideological motivation or out of selfless loyalty to another person: snape, peter, likely rookwood, quirrell, fake moody/barty crouch jr, both sirius and regulus black, kreacher, and narcissa in the forest. and then you have the group who betray either out of fear, or who are manipulated into acts of betrayal and deceit, sometimes through possession but otherwise through blackmail and intimidation, to varying degrees: xenophilius lovegood, mundungus fletcher, pius thicknesse, marietta edgecombe, bertha jorkins, bathilda bagshot, those types. (in a sign of jkr’s consistently dicked-up biases re gender in the series, women are never allowed to be interesting enough to actively betray anyone unless they’re doing it out of maternal love eg. narcissa - they can only ever actively be led astray or hoodwinked, whereas male characters can have a vast array of complex motivations and all sorts of shades of moral grey. we'll come back to that in a minute).

in chapter 14 of my postwar fic beasts, during the course of the hogwarts inquiry, augustus rookwood takes the stand and testifies of an attempt by him and his fellow death eaters to find someone who could play double agent to pass secrets about the resistance, the order and harry to the other side during the second wizarding war. rookwood - himself a former double agent - talks about how to make a traitor. he discusses the different motivations of traitors, how to find a target and how to exploit their existing vulnerabilities and weak-points to get them to come around to your side. he also reveals that, during the death eater seizure of the ministry and hogwarts school, he and his peers identified a would-be target in ginny weasley. in the fic, i have him describe the process of traitor-identification as ‘the pettigrew playbook’: finding someone who is connected, who knows the order’s secrets, who has the information you want, and who will flip less out of an ardent ideological commitment, but more because they are weak and scared but also disrespected and resentful and more inclined to save their own neck than act out of loyalty

i’ve always been very struck by peter pettigrew’s attempts to justify his betrayal of lily and james in PoA (see above). peter pettigrew is always a slippery and elusive character, rendered mostly through other people’s memories or descriptions of him. this is one of the very few times he explains something of his own worldview - though, as we know he is a liar, and in this instance errrr trying to save his own life as sirius threatens to kill him (slay), we have to take even these lines with a pinch of salt. we know pettigrew is a character that acts, at all times, out of a desire for self-preservation, trying to secure his own survival. he was tolerated but never respected by his schoolfriends, made the potters’ secret keeper as a ‘perfect bluff’ because he was a  ‘weak, talentless thing’ voldemort would never bother going after, a trait which ultimately made him the perfect and most vulnerable target. when outed as the real spy by sirius and remus here, he acknowledges he is aware of his deficiencies and weaknesses, and talks about his fear for his own life, his sense of how he did not live up to the principled bravery of his friends, and claims  that voldemort ‘forced him’ to surrender lily and james - presumably through the threat of terrible violence, suffering and death. 

pettigrew’s remarks are particularly interesting when put alongside the justifications and excuses of another character who has betrayed harry to voldemort, albeit under very different circumstances. like peter, ginny’s confession is given through floods of tears as a desperate plea to be believed and excused. in it, ginny begs harry to understand her own lack of culpability. just as wormtail does, she insists to harry she was forced by riddle to cause harm to others and to hand information about harry over to riddle, and to play an integral role in returning lord voldemort to life.  of course, the series always frames ginny’s actions in CoS as the behaviour of an entirely innocent person. but even these lines show a streak of self-preservation and a certain amount of weakness and cowardice that runs throughout ginny’s encounter with the diary. ‘I couldn’t say it in front of Percy’, she says, suggesting she feared getting in deep trouble with no proof of riddle’s hand in her actions. in fact throughout the diary episode, ginny shows real moments of acting to save herself rather than do the right thing and come forward with the truth. she tries to dispose of the diary, but doesn’t go to a teacher about what it has been making her do. she stole the diary back not to protect harry but to protect her own secrets and prevent him from discovering her complicity (at least by TMR’s telling). she even watches hagrid get falsely accused and sent to azkaban, and stays silent in the process, a distinctly pettigrew echo if ever i heard one. 

of course, we know ginny and peter pettigrew’s relationships with voldemort are not alike in dignity. it’s clear that, in so many ways, ginny’s encounter with the diary is much more clearly an experience of victimhood than of malicious intent. we know that ginny was possessed; we know she is not a character who would commit murder without that level of involuntary mental surrender. but there are more uncomfortable echoes of pettigrew in her experiences in CoS. we see them in the decisions of a character acting of fear and a desire to save their own skin in ginny’s experience of the diary than we might like to think. ginny ofc was targeted by lucius malfoy because of who her family was, as stalwarts of the anti-voldemort pro-muggle resistance during the first wizarding war, with powerful enemies determined to discredit and undermine them at every turn. but, as TMR makes clear, what makes ginny such a good target in the end, so vulnerable and so useful, was that she was weak. she was insecure, and lonely, teased and misunderstood and feeling inadequate. in all of that, there was a very rich opening for TMR to access her innermost fears and secrets and to use them to manipulate, pressure and threaten her into compliance, in addition to the active possession of her body to conduct deliberate acts of attempted murder. it’s not a perfect pettigrew parallel by any means. but there’s more than a little bit of pettigrew in that, too. 

maybe more parallels with ginny and peter pettigrew than meets the eye - particularly in ginny’s relationship to the trio. there are a few posts that periodically do the rounds on tumblr and reddit that talk about neville’s relationship to the trio as the parallel to peter pettigrew’s with the marauders - as this post compellingly puts it, ‘all who peter could have been’. neville, these posts usually point out, was a character who was weak and much less talented than his friends, an outsider who needed the protection and patience of cooler classmates, who was always on the outside looking in on a friend group that largely excluded him. what distinguished neville from peter was his approach to his own weakness, and how that approach drove him to heroism rather than betrayal and villainy. it’s an interesting idea, and there’s something to it. but the more i thought about it, the more i thought - is neville + the trio the only parallel with peter + the marauders? what about ginny? 

it’s remarkably under-appreciated in fandom that ginny is remarkably poorly treated by the trio for much of the series. ‘go away, ginny’ - that’s how ron banishes his sister at the start of PoA, because harry mutters to his two mates that he wants to talk to them in private and to ditch ginny. neither harry nor hermione object to it - hermione, though kind to ginny when the dementors arrive, makes no defence of her right to stay. ginny duly leaves, hurt, to go sit by herself on the train back to school, returning to hogwarts for the first time after her deeply traumatic experience in the chamber, dismissed and dispatched. not meaning to drag ron here - this is, ofc, how big brothers have behaved for time immemorial, as is their wont. but it’s kind of the statement for how the trio treat ginny for much of her school career really until HBP, harry and hermione included. ofc there are many textual/plot reasons ginny needs to be held at arms length from the trio. but it is striking that the effect of this plot habit for the reader is a usually unkind and sometimes even callous exclusion of ginny by the trio throughout many of the books.

in CoS itself, ginny is never invited to join the trio or spend any time with them: when she isn’t, you know, trying her hand at possessed attempted murder, she’s doing a light bit of potter hero worship that does recall a certain lakeside snitch-catching display of yore. it’s ginny who’s left feeling left out when the trio are swapping suspicious eyes and sirius secrets in GoF, ginny who is hermione’s back-up friend when the ron and harry showdown kicks off over the triwizard tournament, ginny who shoulders the role as harry’s consolation prize friend when ron and hermione go off to the prefects on the train in ootp (and takes him to neville and luna), ginny who goes defenceless when the trio are demanding to be included in order secrets and is physically removed from the room with no protest from the others, ginny who has to fight her case to be taken seriously and included in the department of mysteries plot to rescue a man she too is friends with (‘I care about Sirius as much as you do!’), being patronised by three friends who pick her up and put her down when they feel like it (always enjoy hermione being like ‘we need three thestrals!’ and ginny being like ffs we need four why won’t you show me an ounce of respect). in fact, when ginny is revealed to be becoming popular in a different social circle throughout ootp and hbp, it is something of a shock to harry and ron, who have spent a good six years making no effort to include her and now are finding she has built a much more successful social life beyond them (you reap what you sow, lads). i don’t say this to overstate the trio’s malice nor to overstate the pettigrew comparisons (ginny is clearly both conventionally attractive and much more socially adept).. but i do think it’s striking that  if there is a character with pettigrew echoes in the trio’s surround, always orbiting the trio, trying to feel included (and hero worshipping the potter at the heart of it), it’s more often young ginny than it is neville. so many of the things that made ginny vulnerable to TMR - her loneliness, her isolation, her insecurities and sense of inadequacy - are not helped by the trio in the years afterwards, and in some cases, actively reinforced.

(to briefly say something on gender - sometimes wonder if ginny were a male character if people would have made more of this. percy stans, for instance, go to great lengths to point out all the ways percy was bullied or teased by his family as an excuse for his errrrr war crimes. would people care more about many ginny's exclusions if she were a maligned misunderstood young man? probably? it's noticeable too that all traitors in hp are men lol, a classic example of jkr’s weird and fucked feminism striking again. women are led astray or hoodwinked - men get the complex motivations and agency arcs. but i digress).

why does any of this matter? we know ginny doesn't take the path of pettigrew, however much she might have good reason to. harry's endearingly naive line in DH ('I trust all of you, I don’t think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort’) ends up being borne out: there are no betrayals during the second wizarding war, and certainly not by ginny (though the sword heist almost ended up doing it on accident). but i found myself thinking a lot about this as i was sketching out the plotline for beasts and thinking about ginny’s war, and what is asked of ginny in it. i was particularly thinking about it relation to how the second wizarding war plays out, the unique position of danger ginny would have been in as a hogwarts student in the 1997-1998 academic year, and what a good target she would make for death eaters on the hunt for a spy within the order of the phoenix.

when i was reading DH for the first time, i remember thinking that it is absolutely bonkers that ginny weasley goes back to hogwarts in september ’97. by that summer, the weasleys are the order of the phoenix. no longer just the blood traitors’ blood traitor, they’re now the face of the wizarding resistance, both parents and (nearly) all sons in active combat, something the ministry certainly knows about even when trying to normalise death eater rule and allowing the facade of arthur et al going to go to work in the ministry/gringotts etc. ginny’s family home is order hq: she lives there all summer, and trots off to the hogwarts express straight from the kitchen table where order meetings take place. when death eaters descend on the wedding, she’s there alongside the rest of the rest of dumbledore stans. she is also famously in the DA, and fought death eaters alongside the trio in the department of mysteries, and again in the battle of the astronomy tower. and then there’s the obvious point that hinny shippers everywhere have pointed out is baffling since the dawn of time, which is that the world and his wife knows that ginny weasley is harry potter’s ex, something that might put a big fat target on her head for a death eater or two to have a pop at trying to get some secrets and intel out of her. 

of course, there’s a compelling case for why ginny has to go back. ron’s already used the splattergroit excuse, and arthur’s going to work, and so is bill, and the twins (at least for a bit), and the weasleys are going for normalisation and at least a fig leaf of compliance. so off ginny goes, into the belly of the beast, back to school, despite all the access she has to order secrets and intel, as well as information on harry and the trio. she is in a uniquely dangerous position of risk: it’s a fortress run by death eaters and her card is marked. she finds herself in an unenviable and unrivalled position as a very good person to go after if you’re a death eater fancying some intel about what the guerilla resistance - and harry potter - are up to. we know there are death eaters about who would like to claw themselves back into some level of relevance by working towards the big man and trying to curry favour (yaxley). we know there is a family intimately aware of ginny weasley's weakness and failings who are desperate to get back in voldemort's good books (the malfoys). we also know there are witnesses to ginny's exclusions both from the order and from the trio over the years - in particular, one witness that already sold secrets on the order to death eaters, namely kreacher.

the reason i came back to thinking about parallels between ginny and peter in beasts is because beasts is a story about ginny’s war, but also in part about morality in the wizarding world, about war and sides and choices. at various points in beasts, i’ve tried to play with ginny’s echoes with characters that waver morally - including regulus - or who find themselves drawn to or in some way embroiled in darkness, and who are at times governed by fear and cowardice and self-preservation in a moral universe that prizes bravery, loyalty, and self-sacrifice. so this plot came from putting all these pieces together - ginny's existing vulnerabilities and insecurities, her position of privilege and access, but also her alienation and mistreatment, and this interest in moral motivations and what experiences or traumas might lead a person, or even justify, a person's treachery, moral inaction, or active moral failing. it was even more interesting for me to play with the idea that other people might have noticed ginny weasley's weird position relative to the trio and the order too, people who want to know what she knows and who would be willing to exploit the cracks in those relationships for strategic wartime gain. and that's for chapters fifteen and sixteen!

[jh-newman-opn]

What are the SSPX? I've been seeing the conversation around them but am unfamiliar with any of their beliefs or anything (tho them being called "modernist" definitely makes me think their heretics ofc)

It's a truth universally acknowledged that at every major council, a group splits off. At Nicaea it was the Arians, at Trent it was the Protestants, at Vatican I it was the Old Catholics, and at Vatican II it was the SSPX.

SSPX stands for Society of St Pius X, and they basically rejected a lot of the ecumenical and liturgical reforms, and then consecrated a bunch of priests and bishops in direct defiance of the Holy See. Lots of excommunications all round, bad time for everyone. Then a group split off from them for not being traddy enough, and they called themselves the SSPV (Society of St Pius V). Not wholly sure what they're doing now, but they're still around. The Palmarians (super weird cult with their own pope) are also an offshoot of this "Lefebvrist" movement (Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre being the founder of the SSPX).

Currently they're in a "canonically irregular" situation, where they officially denounce sedevacantism and call themselves Catholic, but in practice they don't submit to the Pope's authority, they don't accept the Ordinary Form of the Mass, and they have an entirely parallel structure of priests, bishops, and dioceses. Their sacraments are valid, but illicit (mostly-- they can do confession, baptism and marriage). Basically JPII, Benedict XVI, and Francis have made various moves to get them back in by lifting excommunications, changing rules around the EF, and allowing certain sacraments to be celebrated, but they're still firmly one foot out the door and refusing to budge, which for orthodox Catholics is already too many feet.

SSPX apologists will make all sorts of arguments to say that their rebelliousness is justified and that they're not in schism, but the long and the short of it is that a) every heretic group thinks they're in the right and b) the attitude of non-obedience is really spiritually dangerous anyway.

The "modernist" label is probably better explained by the great labeller, @paula-of-christ, but it's basically in reference to the fact that they think the Church ought to conform to their beliefs, rather than conforming their beliefs to the Church's teachings. It doesn't really matter whether your beliefs are uber traddy and your chasubles are really shiny-- if you're out of step with Rome, you are the problem.

[dr-gaytorius]

Honestly, I would LOVE your thoughts on the "Jesus style" embalming of the Pope.

Why thank you! I appreciate your interest - I love talking about these kinds of things.

(Disclaimer: I have never researched this subject specifically, but I do know a small amount about the surrounding subjects)

TLDR; embalming is not practiced in the Jewish faith, and Jesus wouldn't have undergone any post-mortem care from the hands of Roman authorities since he was a victim of capital punishment, not to mention the tale of Jesus ends with him ascending to heaven, heavily indicating there would not have been a body to embalm at all if you are a member of the christian faith. It was just an utterly wild and baffling claim for Galeazzi-Lisi to make.

Full explanation under the cut!

Again, I don't really imagine that Jesus would have been embalmed at all. I'm no theologian and I don't know exactly how the Jewish faith and practices have changed over the centuries, but one of the funeral homes I work in primarily serves Jewish families of many kinds, and is directly attached to a Jewish cemetery. There are wonderfully beautiful rituals and practices around Jewish mourning, and I will be transparent - they really are actually my favorite. They're just very beautiful and poetic and loving in ways you don't see in the typical Christian practices (the funeral industry is overwhelmingly christian). But the important thing here is that they do not embalm. Generally, the body is washed and prayed over, shrouded (unbleached, organic material, often cotton or linen) and placed in an uncured, untreated wooden casket, and the family will bury their loved one within a Jewish cemetery - which is really very similar to a green burial cemetery, regulation-wise, as far as I understand it. It's all intentionally very natural.

It's important to note here that embalming originated in Ancient Egypt, and a great deal of their culture and knowledge were (in very general terms, this is something I learned about quite some time ago and there's some cobwebs in that area of my brain now, but I know that medical and bodily science were a major aspect of this cultural exchange) adopted and adapted by Greece, and thus naturally by Rome, from where these details were disseminated across the continent since Rome was a "multicultural epicenter" of the ancient world (read: colonized massive portions of the entire continent). So, I would assume Ancient Egyptian-style practices were used for Jesus's body- if he were embalmed at all. Again, Jewish tradition is adamant that body not be changed beyond washing, and I personally think it would be extremely unlikely his body would've been prepared in any way by Roman authorities who might have adopted embalming practice from Egypt, I imagine. Nonetheless even if he WERE embalmed "jesus-style," I am positive there would have at the very least been a dehydration process in the form of natron or some natron-inspired salt mixture, as this dehydration process combined with the extraction of internal organs were the primary elements at work in what actually facilitated preservation, as moisture is a primary facilitating factor of decomposition.

... So if Mr Pius XII wanted to keep his organs intact, that would really make preservation quite difficult, and some method of dehydration and temperature control would have been crucial to prevent decomposition to progress within days. And being that there was no temperature control and Mr Pius XII was not well ventilated, it meant he was basically festering in his own personal chamber of decomposition bacteria, which could only serve to actually accelerate the decomposition process. And it was very probably the worst smell any of those people would ever experience in their lives.

Which, technically, if Jesus really was brutalized to death via capital punishment and sealed within a cave to rot... well, yes, I suppose that would be a very similar post-mortem environment to what Pius XII underwent, being that it seems highly unlikely that either were actually embalmed at all and were sealed within their own personal decomposition chamber.

If I were Galeazzi-Lisi, I would be so humiliated no one would ever see me again lol.

[vladdocs]

Hello, thank you for your blog! do you know where I could find the full text of Vlad's letter to Matthias from February 1462?

Hi, Thank you for reading my blog. All Vlad's letters can be found in the Corpus Draculianum volumes CD vol 1,1 = All Vlad's documents inside the country (The one from 1462 is here) CD vol 1,2 = All external documents about Vlad CD vol 3 = All ottoman chronicles about Vlad Here is the letter and it entry copied from CD:

Vlad the Impaler, February 11, 1462, Uywar/[Bucharest] 23 [authenticity disputed] February 11, 1462, Uywar/[Bucharest]274 Vlad the Impaler, Voivode of Wallachia, reports to Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, that the Ottomans may have attempted an attack against him and that, as a result, he has risen to fight them. Describing the operations in detail, he asks Matthias to send an army to support him. This is followed by a meticulous count of the Turks and Bulgarians killed.

Diplomatic Preserved only in copies, this letter presents an unusual diplomatic format, largely reduced to exposition, preceded by a brief address and followed by the final protocol with topical and chronological dating. This atypical format led some historians to conclude that the letter might not be authentic, a thesis contradicted, however, by the mention of this document in the diplomatic correspondence of the time (cf. no. 114). The formal anomalies can be easily explained by the way this letter was transmitted. It was likely copied multiple times and thus transmitted to us as a partially literary text, leading to an adaptation of the initial formulations into a new format. The authenticity issue must therefore be clarified based on the different manuscripts, the circulation of this letter, and its internal characteristics.

On the other hand, the register attached to the letter as an annex is somewhat more problematic. Unlike the letter itself and except for the last sentence, it is written in the third person. Although the place of issuance in the title of the variants transmitted is indicated as "Turkey," this can only be the result of a scribe’s error. One possible explanation is that the letter and the register were conceived as separate texts. In the absence of other copies, it can only be suspected that the passages in the register written in the third person were interpolated at a later stage based on other letters of V., which, as Matthias Corvinus writes, arrived in Buda "almost daily" (cf. no. 74).

The oldest codex containing a copy of the letter along with the register is a miscellany from the second half of the 15th century, held in the Bavarian State Library (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek). Produced in the library of the Benedictine monastery of Tegernsee, it includes papal bulls, letters, speeches, theological and medical treatises by various authors such as Johann Capistrano, Pius II, Jean Gerson, Matthias von Worms, Jakob Paradyza, or Heinrich von Friemar.275 The second codex, which contains a second copy of the letter and the register, is preserved in the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel. Its provenance is accepted as the library of Johannes Melch. This codex is also a miscellany, but it has a more unified thematic focus, with all the texts being directly related to Pius II. The first part of the manuscript contains the papal treatise De curialium miseriis, and the second part contains several letters addressed to the pope or issued by him during the period between the fall of 1461 and the spring of 1462.276 The Wolfenbüttel codex thus provides a valuable clue about the spread and dating of copies of this letter. The copied text must therefore have been a copy originating from Italy, drafted at the papal court, and circulating along with the letters of Pius II from 1461-1462. This is supported by the proven circulation of this letter in Italy. The report by Pietro di Tommasi from March 4, 1462 (no. 114) was sent from Buda to Venice along with a copy of this letter, which reached Rome by the end of March and later Mantua (no. 156). The hypothesis of a modern forgery, as claimed by STOIDE in 1978, must be rejected based on the proven circulation of this letter in Italy in 1462 (cf. no. 114) as well as the manuscript from Wolfenbüttel discovered later.277 Corbea’s hypothesis, that the letter written by V. was significantly processed in Buda, where the register was also added, does not withstand critical examination. Detailed knowledge of the toponymy along the Danube suggests a Wallachian origin for the register, or at least for a significant portion of it. However, the letter and the register were copied by scribes who were completely unfamiliar with the political and geographic context, so their copies contain numerous errors, distortions, omissions, or insertions.

274 According to ȘLUȘANSCHI, the "new city/town" (Hung. Ujvár) on the Dâmbovița River is very likely the Bucharest attested under V. (cf. no. 21). 275 Cf. detailed description of the codex in Karl HALM, Friedrich KEINTZ, Wilhelm MEYER, Georg THOMAS: Catalogus codicum manu scriptorum Bibliothecae Regiae Monacensis. Vol. 4, part 3. Wiesbaden 1969, pp. 263-264. 276 For a detailed description see http://diglib.hab.de/?db=mss&list=ms&id=858-novi&catalog=Martin&lang=en.

Contextualization After stabilizing political relations with the people of Brașov, starting in the fall of 1460 (cf. no. 21 and 73), as well as the alliance with Matthias Corvinus (who was pushed to crusade by Pope Pius II) and his marriage to a member of the royal family (cf. no. 74 and 114), V. apparently felt secure enough to once again refuse to pay tribute to the Ottomans, a payment that had been suspended since 1459 (cf. Mihajlović in Corpus Draculianum vol. 3). Following his alliance with the Hungarian king and the peace treaty with the Transylvanians, V. abandoned the pretext used over the past three years to avoid Ottoman demands, namely the destabilization of the intra-Carpathian region by military incursions (cf. Tursun Beğ in Corpus Draculianum (Germ.) vol. 3, p. 121), actions that the sultan would have benefitted from as well.

The rejection of the Ottoman ultimatum, as well as the attempt to capture the voivode (cf. Chalkokondyles in ibid., p. 19-21), an action “sold” to Matthias as a direct attack on the security of the Kingdom of Hungary, led to the open outbreak of the conflict. V. attacks the main Ottoman strongholds along the Danube, with the exception of Vidin, the most important fortress in the region. The strategic motivation behind V.'s actions is difficult to reconstruct. One hypothesis is that geopolitical motives triggered the conflict, with V. wanting to prove his determination to engage in the crusade alongside the Catholic powers. Another points to military factors, as by destroying Ottoman bases and the infrastructure for crossing the Danube, he would have made the anticipated Ottoman attack more difficult. In addition to these, there may be internal political motives, such as stabilizing his rule through a significant military action.278 It is highly likely that the attack was motivated by military factors, considering that the largest cities attacked (Isaccea, Hârșova, Silistra, Tutrakan/Turtucaia, and Nicopolis) were the most important strongholds of the akıncı-i along the Danube. Five of the smaller neighboring settlements (Marotin, Batin, Novgrad, Ghighen, Oryahovo/Rahova) are recorded with military duties or associated tasks in Ottoman tax registers. One of them was even part of the ḥāṣṣ of the sancak-bey of Nicopolis. The complete absence of Ottoman registers for 15th-century Dobruja makes it impossible to create analogies for the settlements on its territory.

Carried out by several army corps, it was meticulously prepared, as evidenced by the register with the numbers of victims.279 In this letter to the court in Buda, V. describes the military operations and their consequences, detailing in the register the destroyed localities and the number of local inhabitants killed there. Whether it was processed in Buda or not, the purpose of the letter was to convince the king of the necessity of military support in the face of the inevitable confrontation with the Ottomans. V.'s strategy of argumentation was focused on presenting his actions south of the Danube as part of a larger conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, which in turn was seen as an expression of the struggle between Islam and Christianity. The most details presented in this letter align with this strategy: the Ottoman attempt to remove V. from his alliance with Hungary, the portrayal of the Wallachian attack as a defensive reaction to an alleged Ottoman plot against the Kingdom of Hungary itself, as well as the antemural rhetoric. However, the register presents certain interpretive issues, particularly regarding the numbers of victims and the inclusion of Orthodox Christians among them. V.'s uncertainty regarding the expected response from the Hungarian king is evident in the adjustment of his troop request. Initially, it was maximal, including the king’s personal participation at the head of the royal army, but by the end, it only referred to Transylvanian or Szekler troops.

Chronologically preceded by no. 22. Chronologically followed by no. 114.

Description:

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, clm. 19648 (Teg. 1648), fol. 169v-171r (M): quarto, 221 fol., miscellaneous manuscript, chancery minuscule, second half of the 15th century, possibly even the beginning of the next century, South German paper, possibly from Freising or Northern Italian, possibly Venice, from the late 14th or early 15th century; watermark: bull's head with a seven-pointed star between the horns.

Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Guelf. 858 Novi (manuscript title: Pius II. – Ludwig XI. – Vlad III.), fol. 31r-34r (W): quarto (20.5 x 14 cm), 44 fol., miscellaneous manuscript, chancery minuscule characteristic of the 14th-15th centuries. According to CORBEA, Italian paper from the second half of the 14th century; watermark: two tulips separated by a star.

Editions: BOGDAN: Vlad Țepeș, pp. 78-82 [after a copy of M made by Nicolae Iorga]; CORBEA: "Cu privire la corespondența," pp. 677-685 [critical edition of W; facsimiles of both copies; with commentary]. Translations: Gheorghe GHIBĂNESCU: "Vlad Țepeș." In: Arhiva 8 (1897), p. 403; Nicolae IORGA: Istoria românilor în chipuri și icoane. Vol. 2. Bucharest 1905, pp. 224-227 [without the register]; IDEM: Scrisori de domni, pp. 164-167; George MIHĂILĂ / Dan ZAMFIRESCU (ed.): Literatura română veche (1402-1647). Bucharest 1969, pp. 42-45; TREPTOW (ed.): Dracula, pp. 315-318. Literature: BOGDAN: Vlad Țepeș, pp. 76-82; Radu ROSETTI: Istoria artei militare a românilor până la mijlocul veacului al XVII-lea. Bucharest 1947, pp. 225-226; PASCU: Istoria medie, pp. 212-213; Petre Ș. NASTUREL: "De quelques toponymes danubiens." In: Studia Balcanica 1 (1970), pp. 123-128; Dinu C. GIURESCU: Țara Românească în secolele XIV și XV. Bucharest 1973, pp. 341, 394-396; Anca GHIAȚĂ: "Condițiile instaurării dominației otomane în Dobrogea." In: Studii istorice sud-est europene. Ed. by Eugen Stănescu. Bucharest 1974, pp. 43-126, here p. 112; STOICESCU, p. 94; Constantin A. STOIDE: "Luptele lui Vlad Țepeș cu turcii (1461-1462)." In: AIIAI 15 (1978), pp. 15-38, here p. 17; IDEM: "În legătură cu ‘scrisoarea’ datată 11 februarie 1462. Contribuții la cunoașterea izvoarelor domniei lui Vlad Țepeș." In: AIIAI 18 (1981), pp. 151-166; Radu LUNGU: "À propos de la campagne antiottomane de Vlad l’Empaleur au sud du Danube (hiver 1461-1462)."

Footnote: 279 It remains a mere hypothesis whether the attack was actually prepared in coordination with the royal court in Buda, but not for offensive purposes, rather defensively, as a reaction to a possible Ottoman attack on Belgrade. By attacking the eastern flank of the Empire, the Ottoman military system in Bulgaria would have suffered significant damage, affecting potential operations in Hungary. Some contemporaries were convinced that the attack had been ordered by the King of Hungary (cf. no. 123).

1462)". In: RRH 22 (1983), pp. 147-158; Dan SLUȘANȘCHI: "The Lower Danube and Vlad Țepeș' Campaign of Winter 1461-1462 (Philological Clarifications)." In: Revista Arhivelor 47 (1985), pp. 434-437; Tahsin GEMIL: Românii și otomanii în secolele XIV-XVI. Bucharest 1991, pp. 142-143; REZACHEVICI: Cronologia domnilor, p. 104; Achim PAPACOSTEA: "Vladi voivodae Valachiae Transalpinae litterrae ad Mathiam Corvinum, regem Hungariae, scriptae." In: Repertorium Fontium Historiae Medii Aevi. Vol. 10, part 3. Rome 2007, pp. 405-406; Ioan-Aurel POP: "Italian Testimonies on the Ottoman Assault of the Summer of 1462 on Christianity." In: In honorem Alexandru Moșanu: Studii de Istorie Medievală, Modernă și Contemporană a Românilor. Ed. by Nicolae Enciu. Cluj-Napoca 2012, pp. 19-28, here pp. 19-20; Sergiu IOSIPESCU: "At the Beginning of the Confrontation of Wallachia under Vlad Țepeș with the Ottoman Empire." In: Viam inveniam aut faciam. In honorem Ștefan Andreescu. Ed. by Ovidiu Cristea, Petronel Zahariuc, and Gheorghe Lazăr. Iași 2012, pp. 59-78, here pp. 71-75; COMAN: Putere și teritoriu, pp. 263-266; CRISTEA: Puterea cuvintelor, p. 19; ANDREESCU, pp. 104-107; WEBER: "Diplomatia Draculiana," p. 149; CAZACU, pp. 139-144; Tamás PALOSFALVI: From Nicopolis to Mohács. A History of Ottoman-Hungarian Warfare, 1389-1526. Leiden-Boston 2018, pp. 204-205.

Nota bene: The text has been edited based on M and W with the aim of reconstructing as closely as possible the original edition of the Wallachian chancery, assuming that this letter, like others from V., was grammatically and formally correct. Passages that appear in only one of the two copies were incorporated. Since W seems to be closer to the copied model, it was preferred as the basis for this critical edition. The editors of this volume wish to thank Dr. Gabriele Annas from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main for her collegial support in deciphering the text and preparing the critical apparatus.

{Copy280 of a letter written to the Illustrious Lord, the King of Hungary, by Vlad Voivode of the Transalpine regions, from the Turkish side.}

Most Illustrious Prince and our gracious Lord!281 Since in our previous letters we have written to your Illustrious Majesty regarding how the Turks, the terrible enemies of the cross of Christ, sent their distinguished envoys so that we would not maintain peace and unity between your Illustrious Majesty and us, which had been initiated and concluded, and that we should disregard the marriage proposal282 and instead join them to go to the Gate of this emperor of the Turks, who is called the Curia. If we do not abandon the peace and unity and the marriage of your Illustrious Majesty, ...

{Exemplum litterarum scriptarum Serenis- simo | domino Regi Vngarie per Vulnad | vaivodam* parcium Transalpinarum ex~ parte Turci}* | Serenissime princeps et domine* noster graciose | quia in prioribus nostris litteris scripseramus eidem Serenitati vestre, quomodo Turcj* seuissimi crucis χρristi inimici nunccios | ipsorum solemnes, eo quod pacem et vnionem inter vestram serenitatem | et nos initam et confederatam non tenere nupciasque | sperneremus celebrare transmiserunt sed quod ipsius solum ad|herere ad portamque ipsius Cesaris Turkorum* que | curia dicitur transiremus quod si pacem vnionemque || et nupcias vestre Serenitatj non derelinqueremus

5 10 15 3 M: vamodam. 4 M: Turcis. {...} missing in W. 5 M: then a second "dne". 8 W: Thurci. 9 BOGDAN: solennes. 13 M: sed ipsis. 15 W: Turckorum.

280 In the original "Exemplum litterarum," a term commonly used for copied documents. The same term is used for copies of Pietro di Tommasi's reports (no. 112).

281 Similar forms of address are found in letters from the Archbishop of Esztergom to Emperor Frederick III from 1444, as well as in a letter from Stephen the Great in 1490 (cf. IORGA: Notes et extraits, vol. 4, p. 36-37 and Alexandru SIMON: "The Lord of Moldavia and the Kings of Hungary in 1490. A Document from Stephen the Great." In: AIIAI 44 (2006), pp. 15-36, here pp. 31-32).

282 The identity of this wife, who is not the same as Jusztina Szilágyi (cf. no. 102), remains unknown (cf. no. 82, and also Alexandru SIMON: "Propaganda and Matrimony: Dracula between Hunyadi and Habsburg." In: Transylvanian Review 20 (2011), no. 4, pp. 80-90, here p. 83). The connection to the royal family of Hungary is recorded by Pietro di Tommasi (no. 114), the Russian Chronicles (Corpus Draculianum, vol. 2,1), and by Antonio Bonfini (ibid., vol. 2,2). Kinship with the Corvini family is explicitly claimed by Vlad’s descendants in the 16th century (cf. Pavel CHIHAIA: De la 'Negru vodă' la Neagoe Basarab. Bucharest 1976, pp. 120-129). Additionally, see András KUBINYI: Matthias Rex. Budapest 2008, pp. 17-18, 204.

At that time, these Turks would not want to maintain peace with us. They even sent a principal advisor to the Emperor of the Turks, named Hamza Beğ, the lord of Nicopolis, to set the borders beyond the Danube. So, if the same Hamza Beğ, by some means or through some deception, either by promise or by trickery, could somehow lead us to the Gate, it would certainly be good; but if not, then he must capture us and bring us once captured. But by divine mercy, meanwhile, as we were heading toward the said borders, we were warned of their deceit and trickery, and we captured the same Hamza Beğ in their territory and kingdom, near a certain fortress called Georgio. ex tunc* pacem | nobiscum ipsi Turci nollent tenere, qui et | quendam Consili- arium Cesaris Turkorum* principalem | nomine Hanzabech* domini* de Nicopoll ad metas super* danubium constituendas miserunt Sic quod si idem | Hanzabech nos aliquomodo per quasdam decepciones siue | super fidem* siue alia* fraude quoquomodo* posset ad por|tam* ducere bene quidem Si vero non apprehendere nos deberet | apprehensumque adducere* || Sed diuina volente clemencia | interim* quo ad dictas* metas iremus* de ipsorum, || fraude et astucia aduisabamur* et eundem Hanzabech283 | in~tenutam ipsorum et regnum sub quodam castro Ger|gio vocato apprehendimus

Footnotes: 284. Vlad does not mention the demand for tribute payment as the reason for the conflict (cf. Corpus Draculianum, vol. 1,2, no. 123). For the Ottomans, non-payment was one of the main reasons for declaring the voivode a rebel (cf. Tursun Beğ in ibid. (germ.), vol. 3, p. 121). Regarding the amount of this tribute, see ibid., p. 59 and Mihai BERZA: "The Tribute of Moldova and Wallachia in the 15th-19th Centuries." In: SMIM 2 (1957), p. 7-47, here p. 27-28. 285. Hamza Beğ; regarding his family connections, see Corpus Draculianum (germ.), vol. 3, p. 37, note 64. Vlad does not mention Thomas Katavolinos, the Greek secretary, who, according to Chalkokondyles (ibid., p. 19-21), took over the diplomatic role, while Hamza took the military role in the mission to capture the voivode. 286. Chalkokondyles (Corpus Draculianum (germ.), vol. 3, p. 21) provides a detailed report here: Vlad accompanied Katavolinos back toward the Danube when the attempt to capture was launched. Initially surprised, the voivode not only managed to repel the attackers but also captured Katavolinos and Hamza Beğ, who were later tortured and impaled.

At the shouts of our people, they opened the city gate so that their people could enter; our people, mixing with theirs, entered and took the city. Thus, soon we burned it down, and people of both sexes, both young and old, from the place called Oblisica and Novazel, where the Danube flows into the sea, to Rahoma, which is somewhat near Chilia, up to the place called Zemomt and Gigni, Turks and Bulgarians, were killed, totaling 23,889, apart from those who were burned in their houses or whose heads were not presented to our attendants.

In clamoribus autem hominum | nostrorum Castrum aperientes eo quod homines ipsorum intrarent, homines nostri in suos se miscentes* intrarunt acceperunt|que quamo- do et mox comburi* fecimus hominesque vtriusque sexus | parui et magni a loco Oblisica et Nouazel* voca|to vbi Danu- bium in mare cadit usque ad Rahoma* | qui locus infra versus Kiliam* parue distancie alicuius | existit, usque ad locum Zemouit* et Gigni nuncupatum287 | Turci et Bolgari288 interempti sunt in numero xxiiim viiic. et .l.x.x.x.viiii* Exceptis qui in domibus com|busti* sunt vel quorum Capita officialibus nostris non | sunt presentata

Footnotes:

The numbers given by the two manuscripts differ from each other, as well as between the actual letter and the register. This is in addition to a number of clear scribal errors. The total of 23,889 victims allows for the correction of the copyist errors as well as those in modern editions. The number of 410 victims from Svištov and the neighboring markets is too small, considering the size of the settlement. If the victims from other localities are subtracted from the total, it results in 4,100 victims for Svištov.

Uncommon in European sources, this method of counting victims is frequently reported with the appearance of the Mongols. According to Polish sources, after the battle of Liegnitz, the Mongol soldiers presented Batu Khan with nine sacks full of the ears of their defeated enemies (cf. George VERNADSKY: The Mongols and Russia. New Haven, London 1953, p. 55).

Let it be known to Your Enlightened Highness that we, this time, set ourselves against them, even though many, urging us, encouraged us to abandon Christianity and join them. Therefore, let Your Enlightened Highness know that we did not break the peace with them for our own sake, but for the honor of Your Enlightened Highness and your sacred crown, and for the preservation of all Christendom and the strengthening of the Catholic faith. For, having already seen what we have done, the disputes and disagreements they had everywhere until now, they have withdrawn, both those related to the kingdom of Your Enlightened Highness and the sacred crown, as well as those from other parts, and they have cast all their power over us, so that, with all their strength, when the time opens, undoubtedly in the spring, they plan to come with hostility. However, they have no passage, because we have burned and destroyed all their passages across the Danube and laid waste to them, except for Bodon.

Jsta vestra* Serenitas sciat pro hac*291 vicenos | in ipsos perpetrasse qui tamen pluribus nos rogatibus | hortabantur χρristianitatem deserere ipsisque adherere | Igitur sciat. e. vestra serenitas quod nos pacem

cum ipsis non propter | nos sed propter honorem || e. serenitatis vestre eiusque sacre Corone | tociusque χρistianitatis conserua- cionem fidei-que Catholice ro|boracionem violauimus quod ipsi jam nos fecisse vi|dentes, lites ipsorum ac discordias

vndique habitas | tam ad Regnum serenitatis

vestre sacramque Coronam pertinentes | quam eciam ad omnes alias partes quas hucusque habue|runt retraxerunt omnem

fauorem* super nos inicierunt*292 | qui toto

conamine ad aperitionem temporis videlicet in vere | hostiliter venire jntendunt, qui tamen vada non habent quoque omnia vada

ipsorum super Danubium excepto Bodon

com|buri fecimus et destruj | desolarique

Footnotes:

CORBEA, p. 674, argues that this passage was introduced at the court of Buda, as it contradicts the diplomatic formula. Indeed, the use of "sciat" instead of the plural "sciatis," which is common in diplomatic correspondence, is at least unusual, but still proves the authenticity of the text. A processor or manipulator at the royal court would certainly not have omitted the use of the pluralis majestatis in relation to Matthias Corvinus.

Another indication that M was not created after W.

Regardless of whether we have an edited form here or not, the rhetoric of antemurale is evident. Cf. SRODECKI: Antemurale Christianitatis, p. 358; Andrei PIPPIDI: "La croisade au Bas Danube: les Roumains comme ‘rempart de la chrétienté’". In: Histoire des idées politiques de l’Europe centrale. Ed. by Chantal Delsol and Michel Maslowski. Paris 1998, p. 77-89. For a similar formulation, defensio fidei catolicae, cf. no. 3.

Because through the Bodon passage they can cause little harm, they still plan to bring troops and ships from Constantinople and Gallipoli, from the sea to the Danube. Therefore, my merciful lord, if it is Your Enlightened Highness's will to face them, then [may you] gather all the passages and your army, both cavalry and infantry, to bring them to these Transalpine parts, and here you can decide and choose to face them. And if Your Enlightened Highness does not wish to come in person, then may you send your army to your Transalpine parts, already by the feast of Saint Gregory the Martyr.

quod per vada Bodon* | minime nocere possunt. Sed vada et naues ex Canstan- |tinopoli* et Galipoli* per mare* ad Danubium volunt | adducere et intendunt* Ob hoc domine mi Graciose si vestre serenitatis | voluntas est cum eidem* habere conflictum, extunc* omnia vada | vestra populumque vestrum exercitualem tam equestrem quam | pedestrem congregare id* hasque partes nostras transalpinas | conducere hicque cum ipsis conflictum habere dignemini et | velitis Si autem eadem vestra serenitas solus cum suo capite venire | nollet extunc suum populum exercitualem ad partes suas || transeruas || Iam ad festum sancti Gregorij*294 martiris

Footnotes:

A scribe's error in the Tegernsee manuscript: it is highly probable that the original, as in the W manuscript, referred to "Saint George" (April 23) instead of "Saint Gregory" (March 12), which would have given little time for gathering and sending the army. Additionally, on Saint George’s day (osm. Hızır İlyas), an old custom existed, even before the Ottoman conquest, for collecting tributes (harac) from vassals, as well as the capitulation (cizye) from the subjects (zimmi) of the empire.

V. notes that he was informed about the mobilization of Ottoman troops and the preparations for sending transport ships to the Danube. Cf. Chalkokondyles in Corpus Draculianum (German), vol. 3, p. 23, and the Wallachian attack that would follow a few weeks later on Ottoman ships on the Danube (no. 157 and Adrian GHEORGHE / Albert WEBER: "Cezar of Florence, the Calamari and the Wallachians. An unpublished source about an undocumented period of Vlad Țepeș's second reign." In: SMIM 34 (2016), p. 61-72). The Ottomans had to send ships from the Black Sea, not having a Danube fleet before the 16th century (cf. Anca POPESCU: “The Ottoman Danube Flotilla (16th century)” in SMIM 21 (2003), p. 151-160). V.'s statement that the Ottomans would not attack via Vidin/Calafat is important. Whether the voivode wanted to cover up the fact that the Vidin passage remained undestroyed, or this passage simply was not an option for the Ottomans, is unclear. Except for Firuz Beğ’s incursion at the end of the 14th century, which used provincial and border troops, Vidin did not play a role in the Ottoman-Wallachian conflicts of the following centuries (COMAN: Power and Territory, p. 286-287). The explanation likely lies in the fact that Ottoman interior armies had to march a significantly longer distance from the major communication routes to Vidin, and that it was further away from the Wallachian princely courts.

Which will be soon; Your Enlightened Highness should find it appropriate to arrange and send [it]. And if Your Enlightened Highness does not wish to give us all your people, then, as it is Your Enlightened Highness's will, please find it appropriate to offer us at least Transylvania and the lands of the Szeklers. If Your Enlightened Highness indeed wishes to give us any assistance, then Your Enlightened Highness should find it appropriate not to delay, but truly to make known to us your will, finding it appropriate to send our man, the bearer of this writing, without holding him back, but to send him back to us soon and quickly, because we in no way wish to abandon the work we have begun, but to see it through to the end. For if Almighty God listens to the prayers and petitions, inclining His gracious ears to the prayers of His humble Christian followers, He will grant such victories against the pagans, the enemies of the cross of Christ, just as He will do for Your Enlightened Highness and His sacred crown, and for the entire kingdom, the Christian faith will be honored and will bring the greatest benefit and spiritual gain.

proxime | affuturum* deputari et transmitti dignetur vestra. Si autem eadem | serenitas vestra totum suum populum dare nollet extunc* quantum serenitati vestre esset voluntas prebere dignaretur Saltim transfer- |uiam et siculorum partes Si vero serenitas vestra ullum* nobis dare | vellet subsidium tunc Serenitas vestra non aliqua proroga- |cione* tenere dignetur, sed veraciter nobis suam indicet | voluntatem hominem nostrum exhibitorem presentium hac vice | non retardare dignetur296 Serenitas vestra sed mox* et celeriter | remittere quoniam nullis modis rem inceptam derelinquere | sed ad finem volumus deducere, quod si deus omnipotens oracionibus | et suffragijs exauditis χρistianorum ad precesque suorum | humilium suas benignas inclinauerit aures nobisque | tales erga paganos crucis χρisti inimicos victorias prebu|erit eidem vestre Serenitati sueque sacre Corone totique regno | orthodoxe fidei χρistiane honor summus erit vtilitasque | et comodum spirituale,

Footnotes:

sed veraciter nobis suam indicet voluntatem hominem nostrum exhibitorem presentium hac vice non retardare dignetur – This missing phrase in W suggests that the original manuscript (likely more carefully written) may have left out this segment in the copy.

The distinction made by V. between the Transylvanians and the Szeklers reflects the military organization of the latter. The Szeklers formed a separate military corps from the Transylvanian army, led by their own comite (count). In exchange for fiscal immunity and privileges, the Szeklers were obliged to provide military services "from the first summons to arms until old age." During the reign of John Hunyadi and Matthias Corvinus, the position of comite of the Szeklers lost its autonomy, and in 1467, it was taken over by the voivode of Transylvania (cf. Zoltán KORDÉ: "The Office of Count of Székelys During the Reign of Sigismund of Luxembourg." In: Tortenelmi Szemle 46 (2004), no. 3-4, p. 193-239).

For we do not wish to flee from their cruelty, but in any way to have a confrontation with them. For if – God forbid! – something bad were to happen to us, and our small dominion (regniculum) were to perish in such a manner, Your Enlightened Highness would gain no benefit or profit from it, for it would be to the harm of all Christendom. Moreover, whatever this man of ours, Radiul Farma, will say, Your Enlightened Highness should believe it as if we ourselves had said it in your presence.

From the New Castle, on Thursday, at the feast of the Blessed Virgin Scholastica of Nursia, in the year of Our Lord fourteen hundred sixty-two.

Quum* non ipsorum* ferocitatem ipsorum fugere sed | conflictum modis* omnibus volumus cum ipsis habere Quod si | nobis quod deus auertat male successerit

regniculumque298 nostrum || jnterierit, neque idem. Serenitati vestre ex hoc* vtilitas | proueniet* et commodum quoniam toti* χρistianitati animati* esset in~detri|men- tum* Jnsuper quitquod* js homo noster radiul~farma* dictum | eidem Serenitati

tamquam in propria nostra persona cum

Serenitate vestra essemus | constituti. Ex Unigiuar* feria qujnta in festo beate | Scolastice virginis Anno domini millesimo quadringentesio sexagesimo secundo.*

Footnotes:

The use of the term regniculum (a diminutive of "kingdom") is often cited as an argument for the authenticity of this document. While this term is not recorded in the Hungarian royal chancery, its equivalent is found in the 15th-century Wallachian Slavic documents (COMAN, p. 25).

Radu Farma has been identified by Constantin Şerban as the secretary Radu (“Vlad Ţepeș's relations with Transylvania and Hungary,” Studii. Revista de Istorie 29 (1976), p. 1709); this identification is also proposed by IOSIPESCU, p. 75. Although a secretary by this name is indeed documented in Vlad's chancery in 1457, there is no proof connecting him with the envoy of 1462. The unusual surname has been used as an indication of the letter's potential falsity, arguing that Vlad would not have sent a modest official on one of his most important missions (STOIDE, p. 158). The uncertainty of the documentary situation makes it difficult to reliably identify Vlad’s most trusted men.

Bogdan identifies this location as Giurgiu, but a more convincing proposal comes from Şluşanschi, p. 437, who suggests that the name Wywar is derived from the Hungarian Ujvár, meaning "new castle" on the Dâmbovița River. Therefore, this toponym refers to the city of Bucharest, built in the previous years by Vlad (cf. also note 21: Wywar).

Note, register: in which places, how many people were killed, in this case, in Turkey, by Lord Vlad, Voivode of the Transalpine regions, Bulgarians and Turks, of both sexes. First, in the places called Oblisica and Novazok, 1,250 Turks and Bulgarians were killed, etc. Similarly, in Dârstor and in Kartal...

Nota* registrum in~quibus locis quot* homines pro hac vice | in Turcia per dominum Vnlaad* parcium transalpinarum | vaiuodam* vtriusque sexus Turcj et bolgari* inter|empti sunt | Primo in oblisica et in Nonazok* locis sic vocatis turci et belgari| interempti sunt .i.m .iic .l. etc. || Jtem in Drechtar301 et in Cartari302 et

Footnotes:

The explicit inclusion of Bulgarians among the victims raises some questions. It seems that Vlad did not view the anti-Ottoman war from a religious perspective (at least not Orthodox), despite using the rhetoric of the Crusades. It is possible that he assumed killing Bulgarian schismatics would not generate negative reactions from the Catholic recipient. Indeed, Vlad was accused of killing numerous Christians only after propaganda agitation and later literary demonization (cf. German Accounts in Corpus Draculianum, vol. 2,1).

Oblucița, the old name of Isaccea, the most important crossing on the trade route from Poland along the Siret River to the Ottoman Empire. Regarding the identification of Oblucița with Isaccea, cf. Marcel Dumitru Ciucă: “From the Relations of Moldavia with the Ottoman Empire during the Reign of Bogdan III,” RdI 31 (1978), p. 1259-1262. Also, cf. Oruc P in Corpus Draculianum (German), vol. 3, p. 153.

Bogdan discusses the possibility that this might refer to a Novoselo (Slavic for “new village”). Due to the large number of villages with this name in northern Bulgaria, the identification remains imprecise. It is possible that the Wallachian army attacked a larger village in the hinterland of Isaccea. According to Şluşanschi, p. 435, this must have been located either west of Oblucița or between the Danube's branches toward its mouth. Therefore, it could be Yeni Köy (Turkish for “new village”).

Aydemir and between the two rivers, 6,840. Similarly, 343 were killed in Hârșova. Similarly, 840 were killed in Vetren. Similarly, 630 were killed in Turkama. Likewise, surrounding, they took his fortress, and only one tower remained.

n Aldemir306 et inter do potroni307 | vim.viiic.v[x]l* | Jtem in Orzoma308 interempti sunt iijc xliii.* | Jtem* in Vetrem309 interempti sunt viiic xl. | Jtem* in Turkanna310 sunt interempti vic xxx. | Jtem Castra eciam* eiusdem circumferentis* acceperunt vna sola* turris | re|mansit*|

Footnotes:

In the Ottoman register from 1530, Aydemir/Ayademir is mentioned about 8 km from Silistra (cf. POPESCU: The Ottoman Imperial Integration, no. 24, p. 103). Today, Aydemir is located on the Danube’s bank.

A convincing toponym identified by ŞLUȘANSCHI, p. 436: inter dio potami = “between the two rivers,” meaning between the branches of the Danube.

NĂSTUREL, p. 127: Hârșova; also mentioned in Oruc P. (Corpus Draculianum (germ.), vol. 3, p. 153).

NĂSTUREL, p. 127, aligns with CAZACU’s proposal for identifying it with Vardim. However, it is more likely to be Vetrem (Ottoman Vetrene), in the Silistra district, mentioned in the first half of the 16th century in Ottoman registers (cf. 370 Numaralı Muhâsebe-i Vilâyet-i Rûm-İli Derfeteri (937/1530). Vol. 2. Ankara 2002, p. 383; POPESCU: The Ottoman Imperial Integration, no. 26, p. 103). The small village of Vetren is located on the Danube’s bank, about 18 km from Silistra and 40 km from Turtucaia (cf. infra), while Vardim is about 190 km from Silistra.

BOGDAN: Tutrakan (Romanian Turtucaia).

Nearly two decades earlier, in 1445, following a Wallachian attack led by Mircea, Vlad’s brother, and supported by the Burgundian and papal fleets, this tower was captured, and the Ottoman garrison was arrested and then executed (cf. the report by Jehan de Wavrin: Chroniques d’Angleterre. In: Colin IMBER (ed.): The Crusade of Varna, 1443-45. Burlington 2006, p. 144-147).

Similarly, 210 were killed in Maroten. Similarly, in Giurgiu, on both sides, 6,414 were killed. Similarly, the fortress on the other side of the Danube was conquered and taken. The commander of the fortress, the zabas, was undoubtedly killed, and Hamza Beğ was captured there. Also, the zabas of Nicopolis, the son of Firuz Beğ, was captured [and we] cut off their heads. All the Turks who were part of Nicopolis, the most important among them, perished together with him.

Jtem jn Maroten312 interempti sunt ijc.x. || Jtem* in Gregio313 ab ambabus partibus interempti sunt vjm.iiijc.xiiij.* | Jtem castrum que* ex altera* parte Danubij314 habitum expugnatum | est et receptum dominus castri videlicet zabas occisus* | est et Hanicabeg* ibidem apprehensus* est et zabas315 de Ni|copol* filius Phirnebug316 eciam apprehensus est et decolla|uimus; quotquot eciam turcj de pertinencijs* Nicopol fuerunt, po|ciores omnes cum eodem interierunt|

Footnotes:

Maroten (cf. COMAN, p. 275-277). In the Ottoman register from 1479 (OAK 45/29), this village is recorded in the sancak of Nicopolis as part of the hinterland of Giurgiu (tābiʾ-i Yerkökü). Of the 659 aspri (akçe), representing its total revenue, 500 were likely reserved for a military ocak (unit where an individual was an active soldier, and the others were assistants), probably akıncı-i, and the remaining 159 aspri were to be collected from the 5 households (hane) not belonging to this ocak. This indicates that the ocak consisted of 20 houses and that 25 households with at least 100 inhabitants were recorded for the entire village. The mention of the 500 aspri as exemption from the harac tax suggests that the inhabitants of this village were not Muslims. Cf. Turski Izvori za Bălgarskata Istorija. Ed. by Boris NEDKOV. Vol. 2. Sofia 1966, p. 198-199. In the 16th century, the village was in the district of Niğbolu (Nicopolis) (cf. BOA registers TD 370, p. 556 (Çerçin), TD 382, p. 81, and TD 467, p. 17).

Giurgiu. The identification by BOGDAN is widely accepted.

BOGDAN: Ruse.

This might refer to the military rank of subaşı, subordinate and deputy, as needed, to the city commander.

IORGA suggests reading it as Firuz Beğ. A certain Firuzoğlu (“son of Firuz”) Mehmed Beğ is attested in 1444 as sancak-beğ of Nicopolis. He was a holder of large estates in the Tarnovo region (cf. Stefka PARVEVA: Village, town and people in the Ottoman Balkans: 16th–mid 19th century, Istanbul 2009, p. 156). Since this "son of Firuz Beğ" is indicated to be the subaşı of Nicopolis, it is possible this refers to another member of the Firuzoğlu family. It is also possible to connect his name to Yunus Beğ, mentioned in Ottoman chronicles (cf. Enveri and (Pseudo)Ruhi Çelebi in Corpus Draculianum (germ.), vol. 3, p. 91 and 159).

Similarly, 384 were killed in Pirgos, Batin, and Nongrad. In Șiștov and in two towns within its area, 410 were killed.

Jtem in Pirgos317 et Batin318 & in Nou- grad319 interempti sunt iijc.lxxxiiij.* | Jn Finston320 et in duobus opidis eiusdem pertinentibus interempti sunt iiijc.x.

Footnotes:

The identification of Pirgos with Turnu, proposed by BOGDAN and accepted by most researchers, has been questioned by Leon Șimanschi, Alexandru Kuzev, and Gheorghe Cantacuzino, who prefer the village Pirgovo in Bulgaria (ȘLUȘANSCHI, p. 436, note 22, and CANTACUZINO: Cetăţile medievale, p. 73). This latter identification can be supported by two arguments. First, it explains why Pirgos/Pirgovo is listed next to Batin and Novgrad, all these villages being situated 10-15 km from the Bulgarian bank of the Danube. In contrast, Turnu is about 50 km away on the Romanian side. Secondly, in Pirgovo, between the 14th and 16th centuries, there was an important fortified tower mentioned in Ali Paşa's conquests in Mehmed Neşri's chronicle. It is also mentioned in 16th-century Ottoman sources under the name Despot Pirgoz (cf. Machiel KIEL: "Mevlana Neşri and the towns of medieval Bulgarian Historical and Topographical Notes." In: Studies in Ottoman History in Honour of Professor V. L. Ménage. Ed. by Colin HEYWOOD and Colin IMBER. Istanbul 1994, p. 165-187, here p. 182, and especially note 54). The village is listed as Desbot Berġoz in the 1479 register with 27 houses and a revenue of 5,089 aspri (Turski Izvori, vol. 2, p. 192-193). In the 16th century, it was part of the district of Çernovi (370 Numaralı, p. 556, cf. also the map on p. 152).

BOGDAN: The village Batin, now in the Ruse province. In 1479, 53 houses and 2 widows were recorded there, along with a total income of 5,400 aspri (akçe) (Turski Izvori, vol. 2, p. 326/327). Since the inhabitants are listed as exempt from taxes, it is likely that they performed military service in exchange. They probably belonged to Christian paramilitary units such as the voynuks. Regarding this institution, see Yavuz ERCAN: Osmanlı İmparatoluğunda Bulgarlar ve Voynuklar. Ankara 1989. In the 16th century, it was part of the Çernovi district (370 Numaralı, p. 557).

BOGDAN's identification of Novgrad is convincing, but there are multiple settlements with this name. POP: Ecouri italiene, p. 234: Ruse [Novigrad]. However, this hypothesis is contradicted by the geographical context of the enumeration, as Novgrad is mentioned next to Batin and Pirgos, as well as by the very small number of victims. Therefore, the only viable identification remains the village Novaġrād, recorded in the 1479 register with 5 houses and 1,260 akçe (Turski Izvori, vol. 2, p. 174/175). The remaining inhabitants were exempt from taxes, most likely in exchange for military service. In the 16th century, this village was part of the Tırnova district (370 Numaralı, p. 538; cf. the map on p. 152). See also KIEL: "Mevlana Neşri", p. 181. The village is located on the Yantrei River, a tributary of the Danube.

BOGDAN: Șvistov or Șiștov (Ottoman: Ziştova), between Ruse and Nicopolis. In 1479, 4 Muslim households (hane), 200 Christians, and 4 widows were recorded there, along with a total income of 33,996 akçe (Turski Izvori, vol. 2, p. 244-245). At the beginning of the 16th century, the settlement was also mentioned by Neşri (cf. Kiel: Mevlana Neşri, p. 182-183). Cf. 370 Numaralı, p. 512.

Similarly, the penises(?) were cut (?) and impaled. Similarly, the ford at Nicopolis was completely burned and destroyed. Similarly, in Somovid and Ghighen, 1,318 were killed. Similarly, in the town of Oratova, 1,560 were killed. Similarly, the ford there was completely burned.

labas autem de sinstos et in palum tractus* Jtem vadus de Nicopol combustus est omnio* & destructus || Jtem [in]* Zomonid321 et in Gingin322 interempti* sunt .jm.iijc.xviii.* | Jtem* in opido Oratona* interempti sunt .jm. vc. lx.* | Jtem vadum ibidem totaliter est combustum et

Footnotes:

BOGDAN proposes Zimnicea, but IORGA's suggestion is more convincing, as it is confirmed by Ottoman records. The village (ḳariye) Somovīd is recorded in 1479 as part of the hinterland of Nicopolis (tābiʾ-i Niğbolı) and the ḥāṣṣ of the sancakbey (ḥāṣṣ-i mīr-liva): 99 houses, 8 widows, and a total revenue of 15,103 akçe. In the 16th century, the village of Somovīt is mentioned in the Nicopolis district (370 Numaralı, p. 512). Today, it still carries the same name and is located on the banks of the Danube.

BOGDAN's identification with the village Ghighen (Ottoman: Gīgān), located between Nicopolis and Rahova, is confirmed by the 1479 register, which records 79 houses and 10 widows, as well as a total revenue of 12,762 aspri (Turski Izvori, vol. 2, p. 252-253). The fact that these revenues do not include ispence indicates that the inhabitants were not Muslims. The locality was part of the timar of the brothers Evrenos and Zaim, who provided military services in return. These details, as well as the exemption from ispence for the inhabitants, suggest that they provided soldiers for the military obligations of the timar holders. For the 16th century, see 370 Numaralı, p. 512.

During the campaign in Bosnia in the spring of 1476, V. personally cut off the limbs of Ottoman prisoners and impaled them (cf. note 89). For the use of impaling in Wallachia and other corporal punishments, see note 219.

The mention of the ford implies that V. did not attack the town itself, which, along with Vidin, represented the most important Ottoman base on the Danube, thus benefiting from appropriate fortifications. In 1479, the population recorded was 308 Muslim households, 446 Christians, as well as another 318 exempt from ispence and cizye, as they provided soldiers for the müsellem troops stationed in the garrison. According to KIEL's calculations, the total population must have been around 5,000. Cf. the Ottoman register with code OAK 45/29 published in Turski Izvori, vol. 2, p. 298-321 and KIEL: "Mevlana Neşri", p. 183.

Typically, the term oppidum in the chancery vocabulary referred to a small town without fortifications (cf. Laurenţiu RĂDVAN: At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities. Leiden 2010, p. 145-146).

There, Captain Nagoi of Oraoia was appointed by Prince Vlad. Similarly, in the aforementioned places, everywhere there were fords, these were all burned and destroyed, and people of both sexes, young and children and infants, were killed in the same way. Every mentioned place was left destroyed. These mentioned are, therefore, only those who were killed, whose heads and identifying marks were [shown] to our servants appointed in all the aforementioned areas. Otherwise, those who were not shown or were burned in their homes, we do not know their number because many died this way, etc.

ibidem capitaneus | fuit Nagoi* de Oraoia* per dominum Vulaad* constitutus | Jtem in suprascriptis* locis vbique vada fuerunt que omnia com|busta* sunt et destructa homines autem vtriusque | sexus juuenes et paruuli cum infantibus pariter | occisi sunt, omnisque locus suprascriptus destructus | remansit Jsta autem supra- scripta interemptorum | solum sunt quorum capita et signa* sunt officiali|bus nostris ad omnes* partes suprascriptas constitutis qui* | aliter non sint* ostensi aut in domibus combusti* quorum | numerum ignoramus quia quam plures sic* interierunt etc.*

Footnotes:

Surely an important person. Based on inscription no. 3 (→), an initial attempt at identification can be made. This Neagoe must have been Neagoe from Craiova, the ancestor of the Craiovești family, who was elevated together with his kin to the rank of vlastel by Vladislav II somewhere between 1447 and 1456. The fact that he is mentioned by name suggests that Neagoe must have been quite well known at the royal court in Hungary, and perhaps even part of a pro-Hungarian faction. An alternative identification, given the current documentary situation, is impossible. In Vlad's documents, no Neagoe is mentioned. The paharnic Neagoe from the council of Vladislav II is no longer attested after 1453 (DRH, B, vol. 1, no. 111, p. 193-194). The comis Neagoe as well as the vornic Neagoe from the council of Radu the Handsome are not mentioned before 1464 and 1466, respectively (DRH, B, vol. 1, no. 123, p. 208-209 and no. 130, p. 222-223). It cannot be proven if this Neagoe is identical with the commander of the army or the beglerbegi of Vlad sent to the eastern border of Wallachia during the Ottoman campaign of the summer of 1462 (cf. Ottoman chronicles, especially Tursun Beğ (Corpus Draculianum (germ.), vol. 3, p. 127).

This formulation suggests that the method of accounting was prepared in advance before the campaign started, which would explain the very detailed figures.

Postscript

Due to the special importance of the present document, a true unique in the history of Wallachia, a more in-depth historical commentary is necessary. A detailed reconstruction of the military operations during these incursions across the Danube has so far been made only by Marian Coman, who also created a map of these operations. The main weak point in previous reconstructions lies in the fact that they took into account very little, or nothing at all, of the chronicles, and especially the Ottoman registers (defterler), which provide valuable clues about the inhabitants of the affected settlements. Oruc's manuscript (Ms. P) accurately reports that Vlad divided his troops into six columns, ordering them to attack six different points across the Danube: Isaccea (osm. Saḳci), Hârşova (osm. Hırşova), Silistra, Turtucaia (osm. Tutrakan), Ruse, and Nicopole. This division explains how the Wallachian troops could operate over the impressive distance of 600 km without losing the element of surprise, thus preventing the mobilization of akıncı-i troops and the formation of significant resistance centers around them. That this was the case is confirmed by the report of Cezare of Florence (no. 157). From this, it follows that Vlad could personally command only one of the columns, most likely the one targeting the most important Ottoman settlement, Nicopole. Not far from him, in the immediately adjacent territory, was that mysterious "Nagoi" (Neagoe from Craiova?). Given the importance of his operation and the explicit mention by name in the letter to the King of Hungary, it is suspected that "Nagoi" was a key figure in Vlad's entourage, perhaps even that anonymous commander of his army sent against the Moldavian troops a few months later (cf. Chalkokondyles in Corpus Draculianum, vol. 3).

The Ottoman registers from the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century allow the following conclusions to be drawn: 1. the majority of fortified settlements, namely cities (Isaccea, Hârşova, Silistra, Turtucaia, Nicopole), were important hubs of akıncı-i, frequently recorded in the mühimme defterleri from the first half of the 16th century; 2. most villages and small settlements either fulfilled military duties and were largely inhabited by Christians (Marotin, Despot Pirgoz, Batin, Novgrad), or were under the possession of the local sancāk-beği (Somovid). Of the 21 mentioned settlements, half can with some certainty be associated with Ottoman military institutions. Regarding the others, especially those in modern Dobrogea, no useful data is available. The registers from the end of the 16th century do not allow conclusions to be drawn about realities from over a century earlier. This circumstance, along with the massive (re)colonizations in later centuries, complicates the identification of the Dobrogean settlements attacked by Vlad's forces. In contrast, settlements in Northern Bulgaria still exist today, almost all on the same sites as in the 15th century. A geographical contextualization of the mentioned places confirms this.

Map from CD:

I used ChatGPT to translate all of this so no doubt there are a lot of mistakes, If you know German or Romanian you should try the real books:

Or some videos from Corpus Draculianum channel:

[sunsnet]

pius and JD goals, huggy assist, petey equalizer. guys are we so b***

[aporeticelenchus]

Slightly More Opera Literate Summer 2024:

La Nozze di Figaro (aka The Marriage of Figaro; Mozart)

As part of Slightly More Opera Literate Summer 2024, I'm going to do write-ups with summaries + highlights of some of the operas I've seen. Join me in learning about stuff, or come see what I inevitably get wrong! (Apologies in advance for the fact that I Just Can't Handle adding correct diacritical marks; sorry, Italian.)

Let's start with famed comic opera La Nozze di Figaro, aka The Marriage of Figaro, aka Figaro. Music by Mozart, libretto by Da Ponte, and based off a play by Beaumarchais.

You can watch the whole opera subtitled in English on youtube here:

I haven't watched through this version and can't speak for it, but it looks good at a quick glance through!

Short Summary:

Opera Australia has a great 1 min summary I'm going to just post:

But if you prefer text, here we go.

Working class couple Figaro and Susanna are getting married, yay! Or maybe not yay, because Figaro's employer, Count Almaviva, wants to pressure Susanna into sleeping with him and is going to sabotage the wedding until she gives in.

Fortunately Susanna's lady, the Countess Rosina, is heartbroken by her husband's behavior and wants to help the happy couple. Figaro, Susanna and the Countess scheme to have the Countess catch the Count trying to cheat, so she can pressure him into letting the couple marry (and to be more faithful in future, maybe.).

At first they plan to have teen page Cherubino (who has a crush on every woman and is constantly getting caught in compromising locations) dress in drag and pretend to be Susanna. But when the jealous Count almost catches Cherubino half-dressed in the Countess rooms, they move to plan B. Susanna tells the Count she'll meet him in the garden that night, and she and the Countess secretly swap clothes so that the Count will have an assignation with his own wife.

IN B PLOT LAND, Figaro owes money to the lawyer Bartolo's somewhat elderly maidservant Marcellina, and he has to marry her if he can't pay up. But when Marcellina and Bartolo take Figaro to court it's revealed......that he's their long lost son! Marcellina and Bartolo recall their past love, and decide to have a double wedding with Figaro and Susanna.

Susanna and Figaro get married, but since she hasn't told him about the clothes-swap plan, he finds out just enough to think his wife is cheating on their wedding night. Fortunately he recognizes her when he approaches "the countess" - but the philandering Count, chasing "Susanna" through the garden, sees what looks like his wife embracing his servant. He flies into a rage...until his wife appears to join the chorus, and he realizes she was the "Susanna" he was wooing. He begs forgiveness and everyone decides to be happy. The end!

(Ok, that wasn't so short, but it's a four hour opera based on a play with a lot of moving parts!)

Fun fact! The original play was widely banned for having an aristocratic antagonist defeated by clever lower class heroes. Scandalous, class warfare, etc!

SOME HIGHLIGHTS: This is hard, because I honestly love almost all of this opera. But here are some of my favorite and/or the most famous bits. I've tried to pick out versions with English subtitles to make them easier to follow.

Cinque, Dieci, Venti (Act I)

In the opening number of the opera, we're introduced to Figaro and Susanna on the morning of their wedding day. Figaro is measuring out the space for their new bed while Susanna admires the cap she made for her wedding.

Get you a man who pick up your melody and sings with you about the sweet headdress you made.

Non So Piu Cosa Son (Act 1):

Pageboy Cherubino (traditionally a trouser role, i.e. a male character played by a woman) is having lots of confusing feelings! It's so hard to be a hormonal teen. He's flirting with Susanna, sighing about his adoration of the Countess, and asking for help after he got caught with the gardener's daughter by the Count. He pauses to condense all his Teen Feelings (tm) into an aria.

(The video quality on this one isn't great, but it's one of the few I found with subtitles and I love the singing).

Fun Fact! In episode 2 of the Jeeves and Wooster tv show, Tuppy Glossop drags Bertie to the opera to see the woman he's wooing. She's singing Cherubino, and we hear some of her Non So Piu.

Non Piu Andrai (Act I):

In a series of misunderstandings, the Count catches Cherubino hiding in Susanna's room...and realizes that he must have overheard the Count pressuring Susanna to sleep with him. The Count decides to get rid of Cherubino by giving him an army commission. Figaro secretly tells Cherubino to stay, then pretends to be very enthusiastic about Cherubino's future in the army.

Fun fact! This is the official march of multiple guard companies. Because it slaps.

Also fun fact: "Narcisetto" (diminutive of Narcisuss) makes me laugh.

Voi Che Sapete (Act II):

It's....Cherubino again! What can I say; he has the best arias. Cherubino reports to the Countess' rooms so that she and Susanna can give him a cross-dressing makeover. While he's there, the Countess asks him to sing the song she hears he's written. Similar themes to Non So Piu: Cherubino has Lots Of Feelings and wants to sing about them.

Fun Fact! In the 1996 Pride and Prejudice, Lizzie sings a bit of Voi Che Sapete, with English lyrics.

Sull'aria (Act III)

The Countess dictates a letter for Susanna to write to the Count, so that they can trap him with their clothes-swap scheme.

Fun Fact! This is the song that Andy Dufresne plays over the prison speakers in The Shawshank Redemption.

Crudel Perche Finora (Act III)

I feel like I should get something with the Count in here (plus Mozart composes great duets imo). Susanna approaches the Count to pretend she's given in to him. The Count wants to make sure Susanna really means it, while she struggles a bit playing along.

(General tw for any Count and Susanna scene; they all involve him being a creep while she has to kinda put up with it.)

Aaaaaaand no Act 4, sorry not sorry.

Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts!

[burningvelvet]

in honor of valentine's day, some poetry from the shelleys —

the manuscript and transcription of percy shelley's unfinished poem to mary shelley titled to mary:

as copied and edited by mary herself and published in his posthumous poems (1824):

"O Mary dear, that you were here

With your brown eyes bright and clear.

And your sweet voice, like a bird

Singing love to its lone mate

In the ivy bower disconsolate;

Voice the sweetest ever heard!

And your brow more . . .

Than the . . . sky

Of this azure Italy.

Mary dear, come to me soon,

I am not well whilst thou art far;

As sunset to the sphered moon,

As twilight to the western star,

Thou, beloved, art to me."

mary's poem "sadly borne across the waves":

"Tempo e' piu di Morire

lo ho tardato piu ch' i non vorrei

Sadly borne across the waves

Hark! a voice from many graves,

Whispers - Come!

We for thee too long have waited,

Haste, before thou art belated,

To our home!

And the voice of my life's Lord,

Voice heard soon & aye adored,

Cries still — Come!

Canst thou stay, my gentle Bride,

I no longer at thy side, In our home?

Dark was this wild world to thee,

Till I, in youthful extasy,

Cried — Come! Come!

Gladly we together fled

And across the sea we sped

To our home. Tender love & constancy

Formed our nuptial revelry

And welcome.

Ah! those days too quickly flew,

Till, enforced, I bade adieu

To our home.

Storm & Ocean bore me here,

Thou remainest, Mary dear,

Yet. Ah! Come!

Life is but a sickly dream,

Swiftly cross the turbid stream

To my home.

Never more will human love

Woes requite which thou must prove,

Why not come?

Never more in forest sweet

Will be built a fair retreat

For thy home."

mary's poem "fair italy! still shines thy sun as bright":

"Fair Italy! Still shines thy sun as bright

As when it shed love, hope, & joy on me!

But thy fair fields enfold the sacred clay.

The mortal part of the too early dead:

Beside his lowly bed I long to rest."

sources: b&w lifesized copy w/ transcription are my photos of the bodelian fascimile book; colored images via digital bodelian. mary shelley's poems from the complete poems by mary shelley, delphi classics.

[oftlunarialmoon]

SHOWS on YOUTUBE 

Animal Planet

Ruby Gloom

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Total Drama Rama

Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets | Season 1

Marble Hornets (found footage/scary themes)

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MPGIS (Swearing warning)

Randy Feltface Writes a Novel (Swearing warning)

Puppet History (Swearing warning)

Too Many Spirits (Swearing warning)

Ghost Files (Swearing warning and scary warning)

Are You Scared? (Swearing warning and scary warning)

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

My Melody English Sub 

1 HOUR COMPILATION 💖 Ever After High 💖ALL Chapters

Every Monster High Episode EVER! | 6 Hour Compilation | Monster High

6TEEN Special New Year Marathon | RETRO RERUN

A Big Discovery | Bratz Series Compilation

Frenemies | Bratz Series Compilation

2 Hours of the Ghoul Squad! | Monster High

ALL EPISODES Season 4 ✨ | DC Super Hero Girls

ALL EPISODES Season 2 Vol 1 ✨ | DC Super Hero Girls

Vampirina: Going Batty 🦇 / Scare B&B 👻 | S1 E1 | Full Episode

GUMBALL OUT OF CONTEXT MARATHON (3 hours)

Gravity Falls Funny Moments | Season 1

Molang and Piu Piu have lost their way 😱 | Compilation For Kids

Kid-E-Cats | NEW Episodes Compilation | Best cartoons for Kids 2023

Dora FULL EPISODES Marathon! ➡️ | 3 Full Episodes - 2 Hours | Dora the Explorer

Elmo's World: All Day With Elmo (2013 DVD)

[ilpianistasultetto]

NOI SIAMO VITTIME E NON CARNEFICI

Lisa, Marco e il cane Lino. Dalla primavera vivono in questo angolo di Cinecitta', fermata Lucio Sestio della metro. Il muretto e' il loro letto, la panchina di marmo il loro salotto. Quell'angolo a cielo aperto e' la loro casa in tutto e per tutto. Una valigia con qualche straccio di ricambio, le colonnine telecom a fare da mensola per saponi, deodoranti, zucchero, sale, qualche barattolo di vetro pieno di detersivo e un marciapiede- pavimemento sempre lindo e pinto da poterci mangiare sopra. E poi c'e' la loro storia. Buttati fuori dalla loro casa popolare da delinquenti mafiosi che poi quelle case le rivendono. Nessun aiuto, nessuna giustizia. Lisa si e' tagliata i capelli a zero per avere una testa piu' pulita. Cardiopatica, diabetica e altre mille complicanze. Marco, il giorno se ne sta spesso vicino al mercato con il suo bastardino nella speranza di rimediare qualche elemosina o qualcosa da mangiare, regalata da persone di cuore che tirano fuori cose dai loro carrelli della spesa per sostenere tutta quella pena comunicativa. Quando ci parli racconta poco di se' stesso. Tutto il suo fiume di parole lo regala per quella sua compagna cosi sfortunata e malconcia. Pero' non ne parla mai con rassegnazione. No! Sempre con spirito fiero, come avesse accanto una combattente nata. Lei dorme, ricoperta da un sacco a pelo, lui racconta e le carezza continuamente la testa, come a volerle dire: "dai, vedrai che insieme ce la faremo anche questa volta. Ce la caveremo come abbiamo fatto sempre". Quel "ce la caveremo" non pretende molto, anzi, quasi niente. Questa e' gente disperata dalla nascita, gente abituata a lottare ogni giorno con le unghie e con i denti. Gente che se riesce a mangiare e' come vincere una lotteria. Gente comunque fiera, dignitosa. Ci parli e sembra sempre vogliano scusarsi per il fastidio che potrebbero dare a chi ce l'ha fatta, scusarsi per quelle loro mani tese che chiedono aiuto: qualche spicciolo o una semplice mela. Quando passo davanti quella loro casa sotto le stelle mi fermo sempre. Chiedo come se la stanno passando. A volte do a lui qualche 20 o 50 euro. Li do sempre con un po' di vergogna, forse perche' non e' solo quello che a loro serve. Stamattina Marco m'ha commosso. M'ha chiesto se conoscevo qualche B&B in zona che potesse accettarli per un paio di giorni. Ha detto che Lisa doveva riposare, farsi una doccia perche' non puoi lavarti sempre alla fontanella. Questa estate e' stata durissima sotto quel sole cocente, quel caldo asfissiante. Lisa doveva riposare, ne aveva bisogno estremo e lui voleva accontentarla. Voleva solo vedere la sua Lisa almeno una notte dormire sopra un letto vero. Voleva farle almeno questo regalo. Un regalo enorme, come chi regala un brillante enorme alla sua donna.

Noi siamo abituati a vedere storie come queste in tv o a leggerle sui giornali. Abbiamo uno schermo che racconta, che fa vedere ma non tocchiamo mai con mano e invece le cose, per capirle, per capirle veramente le devi toccare, ci devi stare dentro. Per capire, come e' scritto in quel cartello che Marco ha messo in un angolo di quella sua casa, che loro sono vittime e non carnefici. @ilpianistasultetto

[ratguy-nico]

Geneuary prompt Crush / Birthday

This as a matter of fact was the firts Geneuary piece I drew, why? Cause... it was the first prompt that come to mind. yeah Im not that deep. At least not at thinking.

Scene from the movie Sixteen Candles, why? cause for me this movie combine perfectly the Crush prompt with the b-day prompt.

-ejem ejem- Starring in this piece not only my Genie Wieny Beanie but also co-starring as the romantic interest -dum duru dum- ALEXIS!!! oc, child of the awesome @golden--doodler also known as the person to whom we owe Geneuary @goldendoodlerlockerlove -fuegos artificiales, epic solo de guitarra, explosiones piu-piu piu-

fvk forget to mention draw Alexis heavily inspired in @drawthething commision with golden were they drew Alexis so kudos to them too. (love your drawings)

(more about the drawing down here)

... Yeah...

The thing is! As I said before this is a scene from the movie Sixteen Candles starring Molly Ringwald most known for The Breakfast Club movie that actually have an episode of Bob's Burgers dedicated to it. do you see the connection?

So yeah, don't remember if is actually mentioned but I'm totally sure Gene is a big Molly Ringwald fan, is just his type of girl icon.

The movie in itself is a movie that carries a lot of good memories for me. My mom loves to show me movies from her childhood and teen years.

I remember watching this movie with my mom we both laughing of all the craziest shit that this movie had, commenting how different movies were back then and crushing over Molly Ringwald.

And then just a couple of days ago as a way to find the inspiration again I decided to watch it again with my lil sis who almost cry in the end scene (not the romantic one, the one with the girl and her dad)

And we catch sight of a lesbian! Hunting lesbians in older movies since 2024

The thing is even though I love this movie I have to say is from the 80's, wich mean hella racist toward asian people, very misogynist, and it have boobs (that is not a real problem but since people on twit is trying to banned sex I added it) so yeah, watch carefully. But totally recommended.

There's a scene I would also draw with Tina and Bob from this movie.

Second fun fact. Even though this was the first drawing I made I didn't made the romantic interest until this wednesday.

Originally I though Alex, but I wasn't 100% convinced cause at that point I was heart broken at the realization they were probably discarding his character (note: I don't know if they are discarding the character) (read as a Mort situation) So yeah.

Then I though DAH! Courtney, but I don't ship them as a couple so that didn't seem quite right.

Then talking with Golden I got really fond of their OC Alexis and though, why not? I believed in signs.

The universe talk and I have to listen. The fact that Golden decided to tell me about their character right when I was starting to draw this piece was all I needed to know.

Also I though of just letting that spot blank and maybe made a dynamic were people put whoever they wanted with Gene. Which for me could been hella funny. But I don't think anyone would actually want to do that so yeah.

[lostinhistory]

Heritage News of the Week

Discoveries!

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Tios have uncovered a Roman necropolis featuring an avenue lined with sarcophagi. Recent excavations, led by Professor Şahin Yıldırım from Bartın University, have uncovered a large necropolis on the eastern side of the city. Archaeologists have so far unearthed 96 sarcophagi, 23 chamber burials, 7 cist graves, 60 frame tile graves, and over 1300 funerary objects.

Archaeologists excavate Gymnasium in Olympia

Archaeologists from the Ministry of Culture have recently conducted excavations of Olympia’s Gymnasium, a 2nd century construction located in the same complex as the palaestra (wrestling grounds).

Egyptian mummy with screaming expression ‘may have died in agony’, say researchers

She looks uncannily like The Scream painting by Edvard Munch, but just why an ancient Egyptian mummy has such a startling expression has long puzzled researchers. Now they say they may have the answer – suggesting the woman died crying out in agony.

However the cause of death remains unclear, while the researchers note other experts have proposed a screaming expression could be the result of burial procedures or changes after death. Dr Stuart Hamilton, a Home Office registered forensic pathologist, said there is debate over the very idea of cadaveric spasms, adding he has never seen a convincing case. “I’m open-minded to the idea it exists, although it is certainly controversial,” he said. But he added a complicated explanation isn’t required: “I would think that the mouth has just fallen open and it’s ended up staying that way.”

Co-pilot’s dog tag found at wreck site of WWII B-17 Flying Fortress

Archaeologists excavating the crash site of the B-17 “Little Boy Blue” have recovered a dog tag belonging to USAAF Co-Pilot Aaron Brinkoeter.

Traces of medieval life uncovered in England’s East Midlands

A construction project in England’s East Midlands town of Newark has uncovered medieval roof tiles, green-glazed pottery thought to have been part of a large jug, the bones of cows and sheep, and boar’s tusks.

Cache of Roman coins discovered in Poland

Metal detectorists discovered a cache of ancient coins in a field in eastern Poland, according to a CBS News report. Three of the coins are Roman dinars minted between A.D. 138 and 161. These coins bear an image of the face of the emperor Antoninus Pius (reigned A.D. 138 and 161). Another silver dinar is imprinted with the face of his wife, Faustina the Younger, dated to A.D. 141.

3,600-year-old jewelry and weapon hoard found under field in Czech Republic

The bronze objects — which include eight arm rings, two pins, eight axes and one spearhead — were found near Budyně nad Ohří, a town about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Prague

Evidence of violent attack on the Castrum Iudeorum Jewish quarter

Archaeologists from the University of León have discovered evidence of a violent attack on the Jewish quarter at Puente Castro, dating back to the 12th century AD.

Battlefield From Hungarian revolution of 1848 found in Romania

Koppány Bulcsú Ötvös of Romania’s Mureş County Museum and his colleagues found the location of the Battle of Segesvár, which concluded on July 31, 1849. The Russian army won the battle, while the Hungarian revolutionary army lost some 1,300 soldiers, including the Hungarian national poet, Sándor Petőfi.

After this defeat and several others, the Hungarians surrendered to the Russians on August 13, 1849. The search for the battlefield, conducted with metal detectors, uncovered some 400 cannonballs and other military equipment, and pinpointed the positions of the Russian and Hungarian armies.

Cult temple found in Etruscan necropolis of Sasso Pinzuto

The necropolis of Sasso Pinzuto is a large burial complex containing at least 120 chamber tombs from the 7th to 6th centuries BC. Based on the funerary objects recovered, archaeologists suggest that the necropolis was reserved for high status Etruscan elites.

17th-century home and silver spoon from 'affluent household' found in Colonial Williamsburg

The home, which was built around 1660, would have been owned by an affluent family based on the artifacts found there.

A new Picene prince tomb dating to the 7th century BC with two chariots discovered in Corinaldo, Italy

A recent discovery led by Dr. Cecilia Carlorosi and Ilaria Venanzoni consists of a princely tomb of notable magnitude. The excavation revealed a square pit approximately 3.80 meters by 2.20 meters, located within a large circular ditch originally with a diameter of 30 meters.

Marble head depicting Zeus found in ancient Aphrodisias

In a press statement by Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, excavations near the Sanctuary of Aphrodite Aphrodisias have uncovered a bearded marble head that was part of an architectural console.

3,000-year-old hazelnut shells discovered in the sacred Hittite city of Nerik

In the sacred Hittite city of Nerik, located in the northern Vezirköprü district of Samsun province in the Central Black Sea Region of Türkiye, 3,000-year-old hazelnut shells and pieces of wooden cut with bronze tools were found.

Pot overflowing with gold coins discovered in ancient Greek city in Turkey

The gold coins were found inside a room beneath a home in Notion, an ancient Greek city in western Turkey. They feature the figure of a kneeling archer, a design element used for the Persian daric, a gold coin issued by the Persian Empire.

3,000-year-old Bronze Age hoard discovered during house building project in Scotland

Recent laboratory investigations of the Rosemarkie find, unearthed during the Black Isle housing development at Greenside in Rosemarkie, Highland Scotland, have revealed rare organic plant remains intertwined with nine bronze bracelets and necklaces buried around 1000 BC.

Cannon from historic 17th-century warship found in Thames Estuary

According to a recent press statement by Historic England, divers have recently discovered a preserved bronze cannon hidden in thick clay and silt on the seabed. The cannon is believed to be a Commonwealth medium-sized 8 feet by 6 inches Demi-cannon, which would have been positioned on the lower gun deck.

Archaeologists discovered 7,000-years-old Neolithic settlement in the Czech Republic

The hitherto unknown settlement from the Early Stone Age was built more than 7,000 years ago by communities of the oldest farmers who came to the Czech territory from South-Eastern Europe. Archaeologists found floor plans of four long houses – typical buildings of their time. Although the houses as such have not survived to this day, it is possible to find pits after their columns during research.

Bronze Age burial mound found surrounded by Iron Age cremation burials

Archaeologists have uncovered a large Bronze Age burial mound surrounded by Iron Age cremation burials in Petershagen-Windheim, Germany.

A newly found 12,000-year-old burial in Türkiye may belong to a female ‘shaman’

A recently published study suggests that a woman buried in the upper reaches of the Tigris River in south-eastern Türkiye around 12,000 years ago may have been a shaman believed to have had a spiritual connection with wild animals.

Archaeologists discover dugout canoe near the Modlin Fortress

The discovery was made by members of the Triglav association, who noticed a section of the boat’s stern above the waterline. “At first, only a piece of the stern was visible and it was difficult to assess whether it was really a relic or just a simple log of wood”, said Sławomir Kaliński, president of the Triglav Association.

A first in Türkiye: ‘Pilgrim Dimitrakis’ inscribed skull found in Sinop

A male skull with the Greek inscription “Pilgrim Dimitrakis” was found during archaeological excavations at Balatlar Church in Sinop, on the Black Sea coast of Türkiye.

Museums

London Museum’s new logo is a clay statue of a white pigeon who has just done a glittery golden poop.

According to director Sharon Ament, “The pigeon and splat speak to a historic place full of dualities,” with the logo representing the capital’s age-old blend of “grit and glitter.”

The people criticizing this logo are wrong, it is amazing and I love it.

Heat waves and mega storms are creating new challenges for art storage and logistics

Fine art storage companies are hyper-aware of extreme temperatures and high humidity levels—not to mention hurricane conditions—due to strict industry standards, new climate-control systems, and the mounting expenses and logistical challenges from growing demand for client services.

Two volunteer-run museums in Nova Scotia targeted by thieves, police say

Nova Scotia RCMP are encouraging organizations that collect donations to empty donation bins regularly after two volunteer-run museums were targeted by thieves over the past week.

Repatriation

The repatriations include the ancestral remains of three individuals to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation. According to information published on the Federal Register, the remains were sold to the museum by James Terry in 1891 and Felix von Luschan in 1924.

B.C. museum returns chief's seat to Heiltsuk First Nation

Members of the Heiltsuk Nation on British Columbia's Central Coast are celebrating the first steps in the repatriation process for an elaborately carved chief's seat.

LA’s Fowler Museum returns 20 artifacts to Warumungu people of Australia

The University of California, Los Angeles’s Fowler Museum returned 20 objects “of significant cultural importance” to the Warumungu community of Australia’s Northern Territory on July 24, the university has announced.

Parthenon Museum in Nashville returns 500-year-old Mexican artifacts

The pre-Columbian tools, instruments, ceramic pots, and clay animal sculptures (including a grinning Mexican hairless dog) are being voluntarily returned to Mexico City by the museum following a special exhibition highlighting the effects of cultural looting in the art and antiquities trade.

Heritage at risk

UNESCO has added the ancient Saint Hilarion Monastery, also known as Tell Umm Amer, in Gaza to its endangered sites list as a result of the ongoing war with Israel. The decision was announced during the 46th iteration of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, India. One of the oldest, largest, and most complex monasteries, the monastery dates back to the 4th century CE. The site was home to the first monastic community in the Holy Land. Though it has been on the organization’s tentative heritage list since 2012, its status was fast-tracked using emergency procedures.

Stonehenge tunnel project halted by new Labour government as it tries to fill $2.5b fiscal black hole

Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the exchequer, told Parliament on Monday that the tunnel “would not move forward.” Scrapping the project, which had a proposed budget of $2.5 billion, is part of Labour’s mission to fill a fiscal hole that’s $30 billion deep.

Church and graves threatened by coastal erosion

A wall protecting a Grade I listed church needs replacing to stop its graveyard, or even the church itself, falling into the sea, a vicar has been told. St Bartholomew Church in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, is just a few metres from the coast, which has suffered increased erosion this year.

Odds and ends

Fadel al-Utol has worked in in Gaza for 30 years. He has witnessed the destruction of important archaeological sites – as well as his own home.

The Cape Ray shipwreck splits in the sun until officials navigate its origin

The small community of Cape Ray on the southwest coast of Newfoundland wants to capitalize on the shipwreck that washed ashore in January but needs more information from provincial archaeologists before it can move forward with signs and displaying the boat.

Golf course on Native American earthworks to move, ending a long-running legal battle

An Ohio golf course situated atop a set of Native American earthworks will close, bringing an end to a legal battle over the land that has stretched on for years.

Priceless George Washington tent fragment found on Goodwill’s website

In 2022, Richard “Dana” Moore, a history enthusiast and artifact collector, stumbled upon a framed fragment of canvas that was purported to have come from one of George Washington’s tents on Goodwill‘s online thrift store.

Ancient Egypt to Taylor Swift: The historic roots of the 'cat lady'

No other animal has arguably defined female sexuality in the Western male gaze to the extent that cats have. Sexually provocative women are called "sex kittens"; women "purr" seductively, and are described as having "feline" good looks. The flipside to this "sexy cat" stereotype, however, is the desexualised trope of the "cat lady". And as 2021 comments made by Donald Trump's running mate JD Vance resurfaced recently, it appears the "cat lady" trope is alive and well. Where did it originate?

A Roman road, sand dunes and gold mines: These are the 24 new UNESCO World Heritage Sites for 2024

Last month, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) named the new cultural and natural properties inscribed on its list of World Heritage Sites.

Love child of slug and hedgehog: fossils may shed light on early mollusc ancestors

Rare specimens found in China from 514m years ago thought to be remains of proto-mollusc

[buscandoelparaiso]

Teoria time: In realtà quello di Elodie doveva essere un EP come Red Lights,ma poi hanno pensato di allungare il brodo ed ecco perché è così...beh, brutto. No perché io devo ancora capire qual'è il filo conduttore tra Black Nirvana che è una canzone sulla falsa riga di Tribale,il pezzo R&B con Ferro,il pezzo Dance omonimo,e il resto dell'album.

ho cercato di ascoltare un po' tutte le canzoni ma il sound e' insopportabile (salvo due penso un po' piu decenti) dopo che ne hai ascoltata una le altre suonano tutte uguali e diventa tutto molto noioso....non c'è nessuna evoluzione del sound rispetto agli album precedenti anzi, oserei dire che gli album precedenti erano molto meglio. Inoltre, credo che etichetta e produttori vogliano spingerla come 'la dua lipa italiana' che esteticamente parlando ok ci può stare, ma a lungo andare rischia di diventare vittima del personaggio e risultare una mera imitazione. dua lipa non è chissà che artista straordinaria e memorabile, però ha una sua personalità artistica che l'ha resa quella che è, mentre elodie sembra scivolare sempre di più verso 'la copia' più che mostrare una sua identità. tra canzoni come 'vertigine' o 'tribale' e queste canzoni di adesso c'è un abisso e non in positivo, peccato.