#Russian State Library

[finiteness-of-photos]

Russian State Library, Moscow, Russia, autumn 2023

Camera iPhone 14 Pro

[green-ann]

Russian State Library

The largest library in Russia and continental Europe and one of the largest in the world, with more than 47 million books.

And yet I only needed one 19-page book, which I read with pleasure right there in the far reading room of the department of books for official use.

I will definitely come again ❤️

A report on a business trip to the USA, 1976, curious book, should I write a post about interesting facts that I learned from this book?

@fuerst-von-argot @elenatria @johnlockismyreligion @legasovas @leonaevelyn

[halommosatlan]

"People whose job is to preserve books are very likely to preserve everything else."

Russian State Library

The biggest library in Russia and one of the biggest in the world. It was designed in late 1920s, soon after the birth of the new Soviet state, and fully finished in the 1950s. In includes 4 buildings and one 19-floor book repository. There are several reading halls, a cafe, and a whole bunch of book-filled nooks and crannies.

I'm writing this post sitting in the library's biggest reading hall - Reading Hall No. 3. It was opened in 1957 and still retains most of the original furniture and design (only there are now individual power sockets in every desk). Most of the tables are occupied by people with books and laptops. It's very quiet.

The book depository is a huge building that rises high above everything else in this historical area. It had 10 floors originally, each 5m high, but later it was divided into 19 smaller floors. We visited one of the floors. I was impressed to see that the windows are made out of Falconnier glass blocks (made specially for the library in Gus Khrustalny).

There are two automated delivery systems in the library: one delivers readers' orders into the depository (pneumatic tubes) and the other delivers books back to the reader (monorail). We had a chance to see both of them in action, very impressive! They also kept a bit of the old book delivery system that worked from 1953 and 2015. I saw it on pictures before, and it was great to see the granny in real life. :) There are a lot of "grannies" in the library, from the green lamps to rotary phones to wall clocks. The pneumatic tube system has been in place since 1975. People whose job is to preserve books are very likely to preserve everything else.

I loved this anecdote. In one of the reading halls, there's a big painting of Lenin (pictured below). Apparently it was put in place in mid-1950s to cover the bas-relief that was there originally. On the bas-relief there are Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death in 1953 and debunking the cult of personality, images of him were quickly removed from everywhere. The library, being true preservers of history, kept theirs but covered it up. It just shows what kind of people librarians are. :)

Although the library is working on running a full digital catalogue of all their 48 million items, if you want access to older editions you'll probably need to use the old paper card catalogue. The room gave me major nostalgy - I remember using this kind of catalogue in my local library when I was a kid. The sound of pulling out a narrow box, then the little built-in table, going through the cards one by one, writing down what you need on library cards. It was a whole process! Of course, the local library's catalogue was WAY smaller.

A few more shots of interiors. Although the building itself was designed in 1920s (during the era of avantgarde and art deco), the interiors were mostly done in 1950s when the main design style was neo classicism.

I enjoyed this tour immensely, so much so that I had to go back and get a library card so I can see more of it, sit in every reading hall and drink a cup of tea in the marble hall cafeteria. Also, the idea of 48 million books at the tip of my fingers makes me giddy. Thank you to my followers for the monetary support and making this real for me: K. T., H. W., T. B., m., @depetium, @transarkadydzyubin, S. R.

[romanov-ramblings]

Photographic views of the apartments of the Governor's Mansion in Mogilev - Stavka, or GHQ (General Headquarters) during the Great War - when His Majesty, Tsar Nicholas II was in residence. Spartan at first, the Emperor made use of what he was given. The first two photographs show the state rooms where social functions were held. The Reception Hall was not only used for functions but also for showing moving pictures - as evidenced by the screen infront of the corner firestove. The second photograph depicts the State Dining-Room where His Majesty would entertain visiting officials, and the like. What furniture that you see in the photographs such as his working-study (third, first row) and his more private apartment - the bed-room had furniture from around the mansion brought in. The camp-bed naturally travelled with His Majesty where ever he went. The second photograph, second row shows a corner of the bed-room where the Tsar's dressing-table can be seen, and then the last photograph shows the Tsesarevich Alexei's own camp-bed next to his father's. Alexei's camp-bed specifically came from Tsarskoe Selo and would travel back home with him when he would return. These photographic views, which are illustration plates come from the publication entitled: "Его Императорское Величество государь император Николай Александрович в действующей армии." "His Imperial Majesty Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich in the army." Edited by Dmitry N. Dubensky, and published in 1916, this, like many other war-time publications featured stories and articles about the war effort, and photographs and illustrations of the Tsar and Tsesarevich, as well as, other members of the Imperial Family - used to boost morale of the men who were fighting on the front lines. It is an interesting glimpse into the world of Russia during this period - the Great War. ______________________________ Photographs: 1. Reception Hall at Mogilev, Stavka. 2. State Dining-Room at Mogilev, Stavka. 3. Working-Study of His Majesty. 4. Bed-Room of His Majesty. 5. Bed-Room of His Majesty. 6. Bed-Room of His Majesty. Source: http://elib.shpl.ru/ru/nodes/13680-iyul-1915-fevral-1916-g-1916 ______________________________ Please enjoy the information, as well as, the photographs! Also, if you’d like to share and/or re-post these photographs elsewhere PLEASE credit The State Public Historical Library or Государ��твенная публичная историческая библиотека, accordingly. Thank-you!

[coffeewithacold]

it's a bit funny to be a student bibliographer. But it's a bit of a pity that because of my targeted training I won't be able to take a term paper on the history of librarianship, my supervisor gave me a topic on bibliographic work of the library and inventory

[homiesexuallaj]

Settling Down

Pairing: Bucharest! Bucky Barnes x reader/Winter Soldier! Bucky Barnes x reader

Genre/Warnings: Bucky’s first name “James” is used a lot, Bucharest! Bucky Barnes, Civil War! Bucky Barnes, canon divergent au, takes place before Part Two, fluff, smut, friends with benefits core, nightmares, slowly figuring out life, genitalia against genitalia, grinding, thigh fucking, fingering, unprotected p in v, aftercare <3, HYDRA mention

———

Part One || Part Two

———

It's been about five months since your initial escape from the Siberian HYDRA facility. Most of those months had been spent traveling through the Russian city-states and slowly moving down south before finally settling down in Romania. You and Bucky milled about in Romania, trying to find somewhere quiet enough to settle down but busy enough to blend into. That somewhere was Bucharest. You'd found a little corner in the city to settle down in, somewhere that wouldn't overwhelm your senses but would hide you from the vast majority if someone came looking.

Settling down was... hard, at times. There were pros and cons at the beginning of your new life. Pros such as how easy it was to find a rather affordable apartment based on what little you and Bucky had between the both of you, and how easy it was to find jobs that suited both your needs and your wants. You yourself had gotten a job at a local library as a receptionist and occasionally putting books back in their shelves. Bucky had gotten a job somewhere stocking things in the back, leaving him to have the daily minimum of contact with other people.

Cons of settling down and living somewhere new, somewhere not in the middle of a forest, was how loud it really was. With no carpet, rugs, or really any furniture at first, there was nothing to soften the sounds from outside. Cars were constantly driving through the streets below, the loud and occasional honks scaring you both. The voices of people walking the sidewalks below and the stomps and thumps from your surrounding neighbors left you both constantly on edge, fearing that HYDRA had found your hiding spot.

Both of you dealt with nightmares as well, reliving the torture and fear that was inflicted upon you in the underground base. Bucky often awoke with a start, sitting up and holding out the knife that he kept holstered around his right thigh. When he came to, his heart thundering in his chest, he looked around to see no one there. The only other person in the bare bedroom was you, looking up at him with wide eyes. When you were startled awake from your own nightmares, you didn’t have such a defensive approach. You often woke with a stuttering heartbeat and adrenaline coursing through your veins, tears streaming down your face. In your fearful, primal state, you forgot where you were and scrambled up from your sleep spot on the floor to a nearby corner. You shuddered and sobbed, holding your knees close and covering your head with your arms. Upon hearing approaching footsteps, you’d hold your palms up, begging for mercy, please.

Bucky, thankfully, knew how to approach the situation. He knew how you felt in those moments, as he both helped you out of this state many times and experienced the situation himself often. He’d get your attention and bring you into his arms, whispering how it’s okay, you’re safe. When you stopped shaking, Bucky would bring you back into your combined blankets and pillows and lay you down. He kept a hand on you as you settled down, promising to stay up and keep watch.

Dealing with weather was hard too. There weren’t windows in the Siberian base and it was underground so no weather. No rain. No snow. No thunder. So your first thunderstorm was quite the experience. It happened in the middle of the night. Loud, window rattling booms startled you both awake at the same time. Bucky sat up, hand splaying across your chest to keep you down. After making a round, or three, around the apartment, Bucky figured out the sound was coming from outside. He vaguely remembered storms from his past, the way the thunder would rattle his childhood home’s windows and how he would watch the rain streak down the windows. Bucky, calm now, would show you his discovery. He’d hold you up to a window and show you the outside, pointing out things he remembered.

Despite showing you that weather was a normal and okay thing, you didn’t get a wink of sleep during your first few thunderstorms or heavy rainstorms.

You both settled down slowly, so slowly. But it was easy with the semi-normal routine of a job. Slowly, the apartment became a new safe space as you added the necessary furniture, copying things you’d seen in magazines or from passing glances into your neighbors’ open apartments. Your shared apartment was no longer blank walls or empty floors, now there were actual places to sit instead of the floor and stuff to use instead of whatever you found around. And the bed was nice, even if you still thought it was too soft. It was like you and Bucky discovered a miracle after sleeping on the bed the first night. Neither of you had to stretch away the aches and pains every morning after sleeping. Like woah! Is this how everyone feels?

Along with sharing the singular, new bed in the only bedroom in the apartment, you and Bucky shared a lot more other things. Like food, drinks, blankets, pillows, clothes, the bathroom, and even sometimes showers (cause water conservation and all). All off which slowly evolved into sharing something a little more. Something more… primal, intimate even.

It had started when you’d accidentally cut your finger while chopping something up for dinner. Just a small cut. Nothing too bad. But Bucky had insisted that he help patch you up. So you found yourself sitting on the bathroom counter, finger cleaned and wrapped, with Bucky standing between your parted legs. He held your injured hand with his flesh one and your cheek with his metal one. You watched as his eyes flickered between yours before he leaned in, connecting your lips. Bucky pulled away abruptly, apologies building up on his vocal cords, but you pulled him back in for more.

That’s how you ended up in bed with Bucky more than once. Despite sharing a shower and seeing each other naked before, both your hands shook as you pulled up shirts and unbuttoned jeans. This was new territory, figuring out what made each other tick and what didn’t. It was easy, but nerve wracking. Especially since you kept avoiding the topic of sex. You’d almost gotten there a few times, but always held back as you and Bucky shared nervous glances before backing away with heated cheeks. The idea of the action of sex, of your genitalia touching, was a boundary neither of you really knew how to cross (because grinding didn’t really count, right?).

Thankfully, the intimacy never impacted your relationship and comfort in each other. If anything, it allowed you two to grow closer and trust each other more. The ability and trust to take what you needed, when you needed, was something you could give each other. It was nice.

Even now.

Home alone and you can’t stop thinking of Bucky, or as you knew him, James. James was always on your mind, no matter the time of day. Which had led you to make two mugs of tea on this chilly, Romanian day. You knew a nice, warm cup of tea would help Bucky relax after a day of heavy lifting.

You didn’t hear the front door squeak open over the whistling of the tea kettle on the stove, nor the almost silent latch of the deadbolt locking into place. But as you poured the steaming water into two mugs, your ears picked up on the soft thudding of boots walking down the short foyer and into the living room. You listened as something slid against fabric and then thudded to the ground, and then as the footsteps came closer.

Two arms wrapped around your midsection, startling you a bit.

“Well, hello to you too, James,” You greeted, unwrapping the tea leaf packets from the paper that held them.

James grumbled out a quiet “hello” as he moved the hair from the right side of your neck. The graze of his gloved hand caused goosebumps to erupt on your skin. Before you could continue greeting him, James shoved his very cold face into your very warm neck.

You shrieked and jumped away, or tried to as his arms kept you in place, and you dropped the tea leaf packets onto the counter.

“James!” You scolded as he buried his face deeper into your skin. “Your face is cold!!”

“Quit squirming,” James mumbled lowly, voice vibrating against your skin.

You gave up, knowing your chances of escape are futile. You picked up the discarded tea packets and dropped them into the two mugs, watching as the clear water took on a green hue. You dropped a hand down to one of James’ forearms and gave it a comforting squeeze, rubbing your thumb over the fabric of his jacket.

“How was work?” You asked, glancing to the side at his face but his black baseball cap blocked your view.

He grumbled something, pressing both his body and face closer to you.

You hummed in response, giving James his seemingly mandatory cuddle time.

“Missed you,” James said after a minute, pulling away from your neck just a fraction but coming back in to pepper kisses against your skin.

“I missed you too,” You responded, still rubbing your thumb over his covered forearm. “I- oh!”

Just as you started to speak, James both pulled you into him and pressed into you more for just a second. It was just enough to feel the stiffness that pressed against the zipper of James’ jeans.

You gripped his forearm as James’ peppered kisses against your neck turned into open-mouthed ones, leaving your neck cold and wet. You bit your lip as heat started to bubble under your skin. Your hold on your own composure crumbled as James added teeth and tongue, a whimper passing through your lips.

“Need you,” James mumbled between bites.

He unwrapped his hands from your midsection and you watched as he peeled off his leather gloves and set them on the counter. His hands were back on you, making their way down your hips and under your shirt, goosebumps erupting on your skin in their wake as the man’s hands smoothed up your sides. James’ hands found your breasts instantly, thumbing your hardening nipples over the soft fabric of your bra.

“Need me, Sergeant?” You asked, voice tilting a little bit.

You learned awhile back that James was in a war. He didn’t remember which one, but he remembered he was a Sergeant. This memory had earned your companion a new nickname, one he very much liked hearing from your lips.

James growled, pinching your nipples in retort, making your cry out. He dragged his large hands back down your sides and around to your front.

You felt a tug at your jeans and the sound of the zipper being pulled down. A few more tugs and the waist of your jeans slackened as they were unbuttoned. You felt your companion’s hands dip down under both your jeans and underwear, and your skin tightened with goosebumps as the fabric was pushed down to your mid-thighs. You whimpered again as you felt two, warm, fleshy fingers dip between your thighs and part your sensitive folds, dragging up from your entrance to your clit.

“So wet already,” James murmured, sucking down on a spot on your neck.

You sucked in a breath as James’ two fingers circled your clit slowly. You gripped the wrist of his left hand, which settled on your waist. Tight whines escapes your vocal cords, head growing dizzy as you forgot to breathe.

“Breathe, sweetheart,” James reminded you, knowing that you got caught up in the moment too much sometimes.

You let out your breath, throwing your head back to rest against James’ shoulder. You moaned and whined as James continued his ministrations, still kissing the skin of your exposed neck as well. Heat rolled and boiled underneath your skin, simmering hot in your lower abdomen.

“Fuck- James,” You moaned as your companion sped up his fingers.

You could feel the hot stickiness leak down from your center and make a mess between the tops of your thighs. You never could figure out how James made such a mess of you when you couldn’t even do it yourself. It was your world’s biggest mystery.

Your legs shook as your body temperature rose. In an effort to ground yourself, you reached your right hand up and back to grasp at James, smooshing his face into your skin, and your left still gripped his left wrist.

Just as tension began to build in your lower abdomen, James pulled away.

You whined at the loss of contact and opened your mouth to protest but paused as you heard the familiar and exciting clink of a belt being undone. Your mouth started to water with excitement and you moved to turn around-

“Stay,” James ordered gruffly.

You obeyed.

James’ belt jingled as he undid the rest of his jeans and shoved them down just enough to get his stiff cock out. He placed his cooling, left hand on your hip and with his right he maneuvered his cock to settled between your thighs.

You both groaned at the contact, the feeling of him sliding against and bullying his way between your soaked lips. You gasped out as the head of his cock nudged and glided over your clit.

Once James’ pelvis was pressed right up your ass did he then sink his body back into yours, stuffing his face back in your neck and hugging around your midsection with his strong arms.

He pulled his hips back as much as he could in this position before sinking back in between your thighs. James started off with a slow pace, groaning at the feel of your warmness. He licked and nipped at your neck, soothing the area with open-mouthed kisses. Then he sped up, setting a steady pace that had your hips knocking against the countertop.

You held your right arm against the cabinets at your head, guarding yourself from knocking your head into the wood. And your left hand grasped at James’ jacket, desperate to hold on to him in some way.

Steadily, the tightness in your lower abdomen built up again. And oh so desperate for release, you ground your hips back into him, moaning and cussing from how good it felt.

Just before your peak, you managed to squeak, “fuck- James- James, I’m close. So close. I’m-”

With another thrust and nudge against your throbbing clit, the tension in your lower abdomen snapped. You came with a cry and James’ name repeatedly on your tongue.

James rode you through it, squeezing you closer to him as he sucked yet another mark into your neck. He didn’t relent as you started twitching from oversensitivity, chasing after his own pleasure now.

“James, I-“ You stuttered out, tongue heavy and brain foggy.

“No, you can take it,” James growled against you, keeping up his pace.

“No, James, I- I need more,” You managed to get out through your ragged breaths.

“More?” James asked, almost teasingly. “Doll, I’ll make you cum as many times as you want. I-“

You cut him off, “No. James. I need you inside.”

“Inside?” His hips stuttered, knowing what you meant.

“Please,” You turned your head to the side to catch James’ blue eyes that shone underneath his black baseball cap. “Please. I- I need you to fuck me, Sergeant.”

There was that nickname again. The nickname that made his chest feel light and that caused his dick to pulse. He couldn’t deny you now.

With barely any hesitation, if any at all, James picked you up from where he had you around your midsection and carried you to your shared bedroom. He dropped you on the bed, the springs protesting cause of the sudden weight.

You turned around, watching as James shoved his jeans down more and stepped out of them. You eyed his cock, shiny with your slick and the red head dripping with precum. You mouth watered and you almost thought about taking back your demand to have James’ cock in your mouth instead. But you didn’t have much of a choice as James pulled your jeans and underwear off you, shoving them to the ground to join his pair.

“Up,” James ordered with a tilt of his head.

You obeyed, backing up the bed until you reached the pillows.

You watched as James shed his jacket and hat, and practically tore off his two shirts, leaving his full body on display. You observed his scars and watched as his muscles rippled as his moved. As he crawled up to you, his metal arm’s plates clicked against each other. You thought about begging him to turn you around and put you in a chokehold with his metal arm, smiling as he squeezed only enough to make you light-headed. But your thought was interrupted as James undressed the rest of you, throwing your remaining clothes to the side of the bed.

He pushed you to lay down, his large, right hand splayed between your breasts. James sat between your spread legs and dragged his fleshy pointed and middle fingers against your center, gathering up your messy slick. He trailed down, eyeing you before pressing a finger into your entrance.

“James, I want-“ You try.

“Gotta open you up, doll,” James reasoned. “I’m too big for this small cunt.”

He sunk down to his knuckle, pulling out before easing back in.

James had fingered you before, so it wasn’t anything you weren’t used to. But he was right. If he didn’t open you up with his fingers first, he might split you in two.

You gripped the sheets below you, moaning as your lower muscles sucked James’ finger in.

“More please,” You begged once you’d gotten used to the one finger.

James pulled out and lined up his middle finger and slowly sunk both fingers in, knowing that this was always a stretch.

You screwed your eyes shut and gripped the sheets harder at the stretch of two fingers that sunk down to the knuckle. As James began to move, the sting of the stretch turned into pleasure.

James watched as you took his two fingers well, gripping your squishy thigh with his left hand. The plates of his medal arm shifted and clinked as if they had a mind of their own, as if they anticipated the future events.

Once you’d relaxed under his touch and responded well to any subtle change in his fingers, James deemed you ready.

“You ready?” James asked, still pumping his fingers inside of you.

You opened your eyes and focused on James thick cock, its head still dripping precum down onto the sheets. You felt a shy heat burrow into your cheeks and you looked up at James with apprehensive eyes.

“Nervous?” James could tell. He could read you like a book.

You nodded.

“It’s just me, sweet thing,” James purred, his fingers slowing down. “I got you. And hey, I’m nervous too.”

“Really?” You asked, breath stuttering in time with the soft thrusts of James’ fingers.

“Really,” James nodded. “I’m only ready if you’re ready though, doll.”

“I’m- I’m ready,” You decided, heart hammering behind your ribcage.

“Okay,” James nodded.

He pulled his two fingers out slowly, moving that same hand to rub your slick against the taut skin of his cock. James moved closer to rub himself against your sensitive center, eyes flickering between your face and where you two touched. Once his cock head notched against your entrance, he looked at you, waiting.

You nodded.

Before he moved, he gave you his left hand to grab onto.

You did with both of your hands, which shook with nervousness.

Then, with his right hand gripping the base of himself, James moved forward just enough until the head of his cock popped in.

You hissed, squeezing his hand tighter.

“Okay?” James asked.

“Hurts,” You whimpered, a shake to your voice.

“It’s gonna hurt,” James told you. “I’m sorry. You wanna keep going?”

You nodded.

Slowly, ever so slowly, James sunk in. It took a couple of stops, check-ins, and reassurances before James was buried to the hilt in you. His chest moved with even breaths as his right hand gripped your hip. You were both pelvis to pelvis now.

“The hardest part is over, doll,” James murmured, sitting up as he watched you. “I’ll move when you’re ready.”

You gave yourself a few moments, waiting as the sting of the stretch died down into something a little better. Your breath was still a little ragged due to both nervousness and the situation. You still held onto James’ left hand and listened as the metal plates of his left arm shifted and adjusted against themselves.

“Okay,” You finally breathed out. “Ready.”

James nodded and moved to hover over you. He shifted inside you a bit, causing you to flinch. His blue eyes watched for face, looking for any apparent sign to stop.

“You’re alright,” James murmured, his lips grazing against yours. “I’ve got you.”

James started with a slow pace, getting you used to the unnatural feeling of being as close as humanly possible. His lips connected with yours and he drank in your whimpers and whines.

At the feeling of his tongue making its way over your bottom lip, you opened your mouth and let him in. You groaned at the taste of him, letting go of the sheets below you to wrap your arms around his shoulders, gripping your companion as best you could. You could feel yourself relaxing against James, moans finally slipping past your lips as you let go.

James sped up a bit. He gripped your thigh with his flesh hand, moving them to wrap around his waist so he had more leverage to move. Your companion leaned down more, moving to hold you close with his right arm and bury his face in your neck. He breathed you in, breath stuttering with each of his thrusts. James couldn’t help but moan at the feel of you, how your short nails dug into his skin and how the stickiness coated his pelvis with every push into you. He set a steady pace, but couldn’t help to grip the pillow your head laid on with his left hand cause he knew if he went any faster it might be too much for you.

“Oh fuck, James,” You moaned out, stuffing your face into his neck.

“Doing so good, doll,” James reassured you, biting his own tongue as he felt a pressure build. “You feel so good.”

James kept the steady pace, listening as your skin clapped against each other. He groaned, nipping at the skin of your neck and gripping your ribcage from behind with his right hand, as that arm was wrapped around your back.

The heat spiked in your lower abdomen at the feeling of your companion’s large hand gripping you. You nails dug into his back, catching on the rippling muscles.

The tension still built in James’ lower abdomen, building until the point where it was almost too much. His thrusts sped up just a tid-bit, growing sloppy as he tried to hold his limited composure.

“Fuck- doll- my sweet thing- I’m gonna-” James sputtered out, his grip on your side tightening. “Inside or out?”

Despite your fuzzy brain, you barely heard his question. It took a moment before it fully registered in your brain.

“Inside,” You told him, tightening the grip your legs had around his waist.

“You sure?” James checked, barely hanging on.

You nodded, holding him close.

Just like that, James’ composure crumpled. He thrusted roughly into you, groaning out as his teeth clamped down on your neck. He practically sobbed out, breath catching in his throat as he cussed through his teeth.

You could feel him throbbing inside you, spilling thick seed into your deepest part.

James slowed down little by little, finally coming down from his orgasmic high. He stayed inside you, jerking with overstimulation and sensitivity. He held you close, unclamping his teeth from your neck. He gave the area a couple soothing kisses before pulling away and out of you.

You could feel fluid slipping out of you, no doubt making a mess down on the sheets.

“Messy,” You mumbled, glancing down to James’ softening, cum covered cock before closing your eyes and relaxing down into your pillow.

James settled down beside you on his back before pulling you over into your side and into him. He let out a content grumble, rubbing his hand over your back.

“You okay?” He asked, voice rumbly in his chest under your ear.

“I’m okay,” You told him, settling against his cold metal arm and wrapping your own arm around his abdomen.

James went quiet for a moments before speaking again, “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” You reassured, patting his chest. “You know that.”

“Yeah,” He let out a small chuckle. “But I still gotta say thank you, doll.”

You only hummed in response, snuggling into your large soldier. But with a start, you sat up as you remembered something.

“Your tea!” You met James’ startled blue eyes, but they danced with amusement when he realized what you were talking about.

“Doll, we can worry about that later,” James shook his head as he pulled you back down. “Just let me hold you.”

“Okay,” You relented, letting James pull you back into his warm body.

You two laid there for who knows how long, just basking in each other’s presence as the sun slowly slid down the sky.

[heaven4lostgirls]

Can I request a Regulus x Reader where they both get into a fight and he starts saying something in French which, normally ends the fight but, she's extremely pissed and instead of the argument ending she retorts back and continues on in another language(preferably Russian), while crying (bc she gets worked up easily) and he doesn't think anything of it bc she does this quite often, and at the end of pouring her heart out in another language she storms off. Regulus is shocked but, doesn't think much of it till he can't find her for several days which turns out, she's avoiding him bc she's genuinely upset. He gets a hold of her in the library a week later and talks things out with her calmly and she does end up breaking down again but in his arms this time.

I don't have a specific thing that the argument if over but maybe something along the lines of him lying/being secretive to her or maybe him not being completely open and kinda cold which is making her feel bad and slightly unloved.

pairing: regulus black x fem!reader

summary: request above!

warnings: mentions of blood purity, sirius running away and regulus being traumatized, also all translations were done using google translate (sorry)

word count: 2.1K

a/n: loved this ask, hope it measures up to what you wanted!

“Why won’t you just talk to me!” you plead as you rush after Regulus. Something had been off the past couple of days, he was pulling away from you and you had no idea why.

You knew what Regulus was like when he self-isolated, and this was exactly that. He was closed off, cold and frankly not the boy you knew.

He seemed to start walking faster at the sound of your voice as his hands clenched around his textbooks.

“Regulus!” you pleaded as your grasped onto his robes to pull him to stop outside of the Slytherin common room.

“Don’t touch me!” he spun around and hissed at you. You gasped in shock at the cold glare on his face as you pulled your hand back shakily.

“Sorry” you murmured as you looked at your feet, “I needed to get you attention” you added.

You could see a flicker of pain pass through his eyes before his emotionless mask was put back in place.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” He simply stated and you just blinked at him.

“…Okay.” You acquiesced before looking at him straight, “Why?”

He fixed you with an unbothered upturn of his chin, “Why? Why what?”

You took a deep breath before answering, he really was staring to piss you off.

“Why don’t you want to talk to me?” you ask through gritted teeth.

“I’m busy” he replied impatiently, and you couldn’t believe it.

Busy? Since when? He hadn’t spoken to you in over 3 days and his only reply was that he was ‘busy’. Bullshit.

“Bullshit.” You scoff and watch as shock graces his features.

“Too busy to let your own sodding girlfriend know you’re alright?” you ask as you jab a finger into his chest.

He only maintains his unbothered façade as he watches you uninterestedly.

“Fucking say something then!” you yell.

All he can do is roll his eyes.

“You’re being emotional Y/N. it’s unbecoming of a pureblood lady, did your mother teach you anything?” he scoffs snidely, and you can feel the tears welling in your eyes.

“You’re being mean Regulus.” You say with a quiver in your voice and watch as his face falls a bit at the tears in your eyes.

“Mon amour-” Regulus starts as he lifts his hand to cup your face, but you can only shake your head as you push him away as you wipe your own eyes.

Regulus’ heart aches at the sight of your tears and you refusing his affection, so he reverts to his roots, something he knows you have a weak spot for.

“Désolé mon amour, pouvons-nous en finir avec ça s'il te plaît ? Je n'avais pas l'intention de te faire pleurer.” Regulus says softly and waits for your tears to dry and for you to lift your head with that shy smile he loves so much. [I’m sorry my love, can we be done with this please? I didn’t mean to make you cry]

Only, you don’t. You seem to freeze at the sound of his French and your gaze grows cold and despondent.

You drop your hands from your cheeks as you straighten and look at him. The anger in your eyes has him double checking, he’s so used to his French being able to get through to you.

You always enjoyed the fact that the both of you were bilingual, a commonality between each other that was cherished.

But you had grown tired of Regulus using it against you to sweet talk you into forgiving him for every misgiving.

“Иди на хуй” you hiss and watch as shock spreads over his features. [fuck you.]

“Ты не можешь просто так сидеть там и сладко разговаривать со мной по-французски после каждой ссоры. Особенно после того, как я провела последние три дня, думая, что ты всё еще меня любишь. Ты не имеешь права мне в лицо говорить, что я чистокровная. Кстати, спойлер: ты тоже! Не думай, что я твоя песочница, которая будет молчать и терпеть твои истерики только потому, что ты Блэк.” You speak sharply and unwavering as he looks at you dumbfoundedly. [You don't get to sit there and sweet talk me in French after every argument. Not after I've spent the last three days wondering if you still love me. you don't get to throw it in my face that I'm a pureblood. which, spoiler alert! so are you! Don't mistake me for one your lapdogs that will sit back and take your temper tantrums just because you're a Black.]

He tries to reach for you but all you can do is push him away as you walk through the door of the Slytherin common room and into your dorm where you lay in your bed and sob.

The following days are monotonous at best, you get up, go to your classes, avoid Regulus at any given chance and go back to your dorm.

People have clearly picked up  that something had happened between the two of you. Besides the fact that Regulus had tried looking for you anytime he was outside of his dorm, asking everyone you knew if they knew where you were, Barty and Evan had stopped by your dorm to ask why they had stopped seeing you around.

You had politely told them a shortened version of what had gone on and waved them out of the dorm before they could utter another word, only catching a glimpse of their sympathetic expressions.

Regulus had thus figured out that you were ignoring him, purposefully. Barty and Evan had given him shit as soon as they had walked into the dorms that same evening after having talked with you.

They watched in live time as Regulus’ already deathly pale face drained even more. Sure, he thought the fight was bad, but he had never not been given the chance to apologise and make it right with you.

The fight hadn’t really been weighing on his mind until now. Most couples fought, and this fight was just another one your lovers’ spats right? He’d apologise and you’d forgive him, like you always did…right?

That also proved wrong as Regulus couldn’t seem to find you anywhere for the next days, and by Merlin did he try. He waited outside of your classes until he had to be threatened by professors or prefects with detention.

He tried to catch your gaze during lessons, but you had pointedly decided to not look away from your textbooks.

He had tried to walk up to you and your friends at lunch but had been met with multiple wands to the face and threats of hexes he doubted were actually real the more he thought about it.

All until it finally culminated to the highest form of desperation, asking his brother for help. To the shock of Regulus, his brother had actually been somewhat of a genius as he  leant Regulus two very invaluable items.

“Of course, you have one of the deathly hallows” Regulus sighed as he grasped the cloak Sirius held out to him with a shit eating grin as he opened his mouth to begin to explain.

“I do not care to know of where you got it from, I only care that you have it and that it helps me accomplish what I need” Regulus says simply and watches delightfully as Sirius’ smile drops into a pitiful pout.

Regulus tilts his head towards the blank parchment in his brother’s hand which brings back the smile on his face as he shows Regulus how the map works.

Regulus is unfortunately impressed with the magic, not that he would ever admit it. He haphazardly expressed his gratitude in a simple “Thank you” and a hug that lasts too long in Regulus’ opinion.

He uses the map the next day to find you in the library, fortunately alone and in a secluded section. He quickly throws the cloak over his form as he walks briskly towards the library.

His exhales shakily as he glances at the map multiple times to make sure you don’t leave.

As he reaches the door to the library, he waits for a student to walk out as he sneaks past and towards the seating area where you sit.

His heart flutters as he catches sight of you, even focused and clearly sleep-deprived he thinks you may be an angel sent just for him.

He walks quietly towards you as he stops right behind you. He takes a quick look around and notices everyone else in the library conveniently far enough away that they would not be distracted about his next actions.

In an uncoordinated movement he grasps your hand and tugs you out of your chair. You yelp and try to tug your arm out the invisible force holding you captive.

“Merlin and Morgana both!” you hear being hissed in front of you as you’re pulled towards a secluded corner in the library by the force. You push your heels into the carpeted floor of the library and hear a grunt and what sounds like a “fucking hell” before you reach the corner.

Regulus quickly whips the cloak off his body and watches as shock passes through your face before you compose yourself and turn to walk off.

“Wait!” Regulus pleads and tugs at your hand again. You turn back to fix your gaze on where his hand rests and he pulls it off immediately.

You turn back to him and make a motion with your hand for him to ‘get on with it.’ He nods before starting to talk.

“I wanted to apologise, I didn’t realise I had hurt you- no, Well I did. I just didn’t really care- Wait! That’s not what I meant, I just meant that I’m a dick, and I hurt you which is not what I meant and I understand that you’re upset-” he rambles and you have to conceal your snort of laughter with a cough as he looks up in embarrassment

“Regulus”  you interrupt him, and he stops immediately, back straightening and looking at you with a kicked puppy expression.

“What are you doing?” you sigh.

He looks confused, “Apologising?” he asks.

You shake your head, “do you even know why I’m upset?” you ask tiredly.

“I was being rude to you which, okay, yes but-” he starts again, and you can only shake your head again.

“I’m upset because you made me feel unloved” you state and watch as he gapes for a bit before shutting his jaw with a click.

“What?” he asks.

“You were ignoring me” you start, and you can feel your eyes beginning to burn again as you look up and try to blink your tears away before continuing.

“You stopped talking to me Regulus. I spent three days waiting and waiting and waiting for you to come to me, I kept asking you to talk to me, to tell me what was wrong you just didn’t” you say helplessly as tears fall down your face.

You wrap your arms around your middle as you watch him look at you with a heartbroken expression.

“Y/N” he pleads, and you can only shake your head.

“Y-you threw my blood purity in my face when you know it doesn’t matter to me. You were so cold, and so m-mean” you sniffle and wipe your tears as they cascade down your face.

Regulus lets out a wounded sound and goes to wrap his arms around you before thinking better and letting them fall limply to his sides.

“You were so mean; I was just trying to help, and you made me think I was stupid for caring about you!” you say, and you watch as tears well in Regulus’ eyes.

“So yes you were rude” you say with a sniff before adding, “but you made me feel so inferior” you whisper as you cry.

You don’t hear Regulus move but when you start to blink blearily, there’s Slytherin robes in front of you and the smell of Regulus’ expensive cologne in your nostrils.

“Can I hold you?” he whispers, and you throw yourself into his arms as you cry into his sweater.

He holds you tightly as he runs his hands through your hair, “I know, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry” he murmurs into your hair as he rubs your back.

As your crying reduces to small sniffled, you pull back with an embarrassed smile.

“Hi love” Regulus murmurs as he cups your face, you go to speak but Regulus just shakes his head, “my turn now, please?” he asks softly and all you can do is nod.

“I’m sorry Y/N, I was having a bad day- week, rather- but that doesn’t excuse how I treated you, I’ve never had someone to talk to, especially since, well, since Sirius left home really. It’s always been easier to shut down and isolate than talk about what’s going on, and I guess Barty and Evan have never been those friends to talk about emotions either so I never realised that I could with you?” he says ashamedly and all you can do is nod softly.

“I’ll do better, I promise, I’ll try to talk to you, it won’t be easy but I need you to know that I’m willing to try if you’re willing to let me make it up to you?” he asks hopefully.

You smile softly before letting out a small, “Yeah”

He opens his mouth to talk again and all you can do is hug him.

“It’s okay, well, not how you spoke to me, but us, we’re okay” you murmur into his neck, and you can feel his smile as he squeezes you tighter.

“Yeah?” he asks softly.

“yeah” you reply as you snuggle into him.

“You’re still a bitch for sneaking up on me though” you add.

[chase-solidago]

Paintings of Caucasus wild apples and wild pears collected by Russian botanists By Lawson, J. S.

"Presented to Professor Richard Wellington of this Station [New York State Agricultural Experiment Station] in 1932 by Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov at the time of the International Genetics Congress in Ithaca, N.Y. He said they would never be published in Russia. He was arrested in 1940 and died a few years later in a Siberian village."

[sweetwolfcupcake]

Gaze (II)

Secret Garden

Category: Drabble

Yandere John Wick x Reader

Part 2 of this drabble

Part III

Warning: Implied stalking

The GIF does not belong to me; credit goes to the original owner.

Unedited

Your fears turn out to be true, after all.

Days after the party, where you had enough stolen glances and locked gazes to make anyone suspect that you two are long-lost lovers, you still see him. You see him every time you close your eyes, see him from the corner of your eye, and feel him like he is just a few steps behind, but when you turn around, you see no trace of him as if he were a ghost haunting you. 

But you know that it is a trick of your mind, it has to be.

Why would he reach out from his glimmering world to your mundane one? Why would the hand that seems to be more accustomed to holding women clad in diamonds, offer itself for you to take? 

He belongs to the glitter and gold, and you do not. It was painfully obvious at the party. He is that classic art, somewhat dark with the tinge of danger and enigma exuding from it, but no less beautiful, one to be admired from afar and then move on.

Maybe that is why you are stunned to see him in the public library. Between rows of shelves, like a quiet shadow, his fingers run through the expensive cover of a book that itself would weigh as much as ‘War and Peace’. Maybe it is the same book after all, you cannot tell, for the title is in Russian.

You do not know how long you have been staring, but when he turns to you, the dark eyes you have been yearning for lock with yours like magnets. You realise that you are both relieved and intimidated.

He probably doesn’t even remember you.

It has been a month.

And yet something akin to heat flashes in his eyes. Turns out to be recognition, though.

“At the…party?”

“Eh–yes, I was wondering...too.” 

A blatant lie.

He has never left your mind. 

He seems to have stepped right from your dreams, especially those you get, swinging between wakefulness and sleep. When you see him standing over your bed, walking through your room, silent as a predator in the dead of the night. In your dreams, you feel the weight of his hand right next to your pillow. In your dreams, you feel the warmth of his breath over your eyes, nose, and lips. He smells like heat and longing there. Your dreams are so real, you feel you can almost taste them, and the air around you lingers with his presence.

But you know that is simply your mind playing its little tricks. They are just dreams. Impossible dreams. Maybe if they had not been dreams, you would be terrified. But since they are, you let yourself indulge.

You hear his voice for the first time. Technically the second time, but it is the first time that it is addressed to you. And pathetically, you feel special. This feeling, though, you snip out as soon as you feel it, reminding yourself that you are not special. You are a nobody.

Yet you let yourself bask in his presence—the low rumble in his voice strikes a chord each time he speaks, making your heart thud slightly faster. You are enthralled and spellbound, so you decide that a cup of coffee with him will not hurt when he offers it. Never noticing that he is close enough for you to smell him for real.

The rosy haze suddenly sizzles into a cold awakening when his cologne hits your senses. You are not sure if it is the universe working in its twisted, mysterious calculations or if you are suddenly a psychic, but you know this smell. It is familiar because it is the smell that surrounds you in your half-asleep state, where dreams merge with your hazy reality—a different kind of world, you float in between, and he grounds you. You have smelt something familiar and lingering in your room every time you wake up in the middle of the night for some water or before the crack of dawn with a start, as if your body knows something your mind fails to pinpoint.

You blink and look at him, the haze dissipating as you realise how he towers over you and how close he truly is for you to slip out. Dark eyes observe you as if you are the art. But unlike you, he can reach the art whenever he chooses to.

****

@johnwickb1tsch, thanks for the fuel; I am at your service.

[saintmelangell]

Do you have recommendations for books on Jewish anarchism? Pretty please?

general literature

revolutionary yiddishland: a history of jewish radicalism by alain brossat and sylvie klingberg

east end jewish radicals, 1875-1914 by william j. fishman

there is nothing so whole as a broken heart: mending the world as jewish anarchists, ed. cindy milstein

no masters but god: portraits of anarcho-judaism by hayyim rothman

with freedom in our ears: histories of jewish anarchism by anna elena torres and kenyon zimmer

the jewish anarchist movement in america: a historical overview and personal reminiscences by joseph cohen

horizons blossom, borders vanish: anarchism and yiddish literature by anna elena torres

crisis, revolution and russian jews by jonathan frankel

yiddish revolutionaries in migration: the transnational history of the jewish labour bund by frank wolff

immigrants against the state: yiddish and italian anarchism in america by kenyon zimmer

memoirs, biography, and primary sources

forty years in the struggle: the memoirs of a jewish anarchist by chaim leib weinberg

twenty years with the jewish labor bund: a memoir of interwar poland by bernard goldstein

gustav landauer: anarchist and jew, ed. paul mendes-flohr and anya mali

anarcho-syndicalism by rudolf rocker

the london years by rudolf rocker

anarchism and other essays by emma goldman

an anarchist rabbi: the life and teachings of rudolf rocker by mina graur

emma goldman: revolution as a way of life by vivian gornick

articles

'principled diasporism': folkists, zionists, and the meaning of doikayt by michael casper (this one is hard to find- i can supply a pdf)

"the other invisible hand: jews and anarchists in london before the first world war" by paul knepper (2008)

"zionism and its jewish 'assimilationist' critics (1897-1948)" by robert s. wistrich

"from diaspora natioalism to radical diasporism" by allan arkush

"the bund abroad in the postwar jewish world" by david slucki

"the invitation of doikayt: mystical anarchism and the jewish left" by andy izenson

"retrieving tradition? the secular-religious ambiguity in nineteenth century german-jewish anarchism by carolin kosuch in the book negotiating the secular and the religious in the german empire

this by no means comprehensive, in part because my scholarship on the subject focuses on british and american contexts; this is compiled from the work i have in my own library. bold/italic marks a work i especially like, is especially important, or that makes a good introduction to the topic.

[sovietpostcards]

For February Monthly Postcards I sent out these bold space Mayakovskys. I bought them in the Russian State Library's souvenir shop when I was there for a behind-the-scenes library tour.

[redgoldsparks]

March Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Before I get to the reviews this month, I have to bring up the fact that the current fascist, book-hating administration is trying to defund/destroy the The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The IMLS is an independent federal agency that provides grants to libraries and museums across the country. According to the American Library Association, the IMLS provides "the majority of federal library funds." The IMLS says it awarded $266 million in grants and research funding to cultural institutions last year. This money goes to help staff, fund maintenance, and create new programs. And as of March 31, every single member of its approximately 70 person staff has been put on administrative leave. This could have devastating effects to libraries across the country. (source)

Please! Write or call your state governor and state reps about this. Here's the sample email I sent, which I modified from a template sent out by Authors Against Book Bans:

I am writing to express my support for federal museum and library funding, and to urge you to stand against President Trump's recent Executive Order against the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

As I'm sure you know, the IMLS provides important support for local libraries and museums across the state and the country. IMLS makes grants that bridge funding gaps in local libraries and museums allowing them to better serve our communities by targeting each community's unique needs. These grants improve internet access to rural areas, support tribal libraries, ensure that libraries offer interlibrary loans, fund language programs, subsidize programs for veterans, businesses, and entrepreneurs, and so much more.

As an author, libraries directly support my career. As a reader, I check out over 100 books a year from the library for reading and research, way more than I could ever afford to buy or have space to store. Libraries personally benefit my life in so many ways. Please stand against cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and ensure museums and libraries can continue to benefit communities across the United States.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End vol 1 by Kanehito Yamada, art by Tsukasa Abe, translated by Misa

I had already watched a few episodes of the anime, so the set up of this story was familiar to me. Frieren is an elf mage who traveled with the adventuring band who killed the demon king decades ago. She has not visibly aged, but her traveling companions are all old men how. 50 years after their big victory, she returns to travel with them again. That's the last time she seems one of them alive. She realizes she had not processed how short human lives are in comparison to her own, and vows to do a better job getting to know the next group of humans whose lives touch her own. This is a contemplative and slow burn story, but with a lot of tenderness. I definitely want to keep reading more of this rambling adventure!

I Think Our Son is Gay vol 1 by Okura translated by Leo McDonagh 

A very gentle slice of life story, told from the POV of a mother of two teen boys. She suspects her older son, in high school, is probably gay and has a crush on one of his classmates. She begins trying to support him in subtle ways and slowly educates herself more about the queer community, while wondering how to share this information with her husband (who is often away on work trips and sees their children less often than she does). The chapters are very short and often silly, giving the book overall a very light tone.

Survival of the Friendliest by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods read by Rene Ruiz 

The majority of this book outlines some very interesting animal research on the effects of domestication, specifically self-domestication, over time. The Russian "friendly foxes" project, a silver fox breeding program where the only trait selected for was friendliness/openness to humans, is one of the main studies discussed and I enjoyed learning more about it. Over generations, the foxes selected for friendliness started to show surprising physical changes- wider variety of coat colors, curlier tails, smaller teeth, and increased social communication skills. The authors combine this with studies on bonobo monkeys, chimpanzees, dogs, and human fossil skulls, to present an argument that it was friendliness and cooperation, not strength or "fitness", that lead to humans dominance over other early human species such as neanderthals. The last quarter of the book then tries to turn this research into an explanation on how and why humans also dehumanize each other and how in-groups give rise to fascism. I wasn't as sold on the contemporary political theorizing, but I still think this book is worth a read.

Homesick: Stories by Nino Cipri 

This is a WONDERFUL short story collection, nine stories, each with some kind of speculative or fantasy element, and nearly all with a queer or trans main character. The stories gained momentum as they went a long, many of them making me exclaim "how did you think of that?" A few of the longer pieces are particular standouts- "The Shape of My Name", in which a trans man recons with his family's history of time travel; "Presque Vu", in which the inhabitants of a town connect over their shared personal hauntings (the main character coughs up old keys); and "Before We Disperse Like Star Stuff" in which a queer friend group of academics deals with the fall out of a massive archeological discovery, and the way one of them ran away with the story to publish without the other two, leading a breakup and also a Smithsonian documentary. Nino Cipri is on my immediate-read list!

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat vol 5 by Sakaomi Yuzaki translated by Caleb Cook

This serious continues to be SO CHARMING! Nomoto and Kasuga continue to house hunt, but run into difficulties on renting together as a same sex couple. Their friends are there to cheer lead, and offer resources and support. I love these foodie lesbians!

Sea Legs by Jules Bakes and Niki Smith 

Set in 1993, and heavily based on the author's lived experience, this graphic novel follows Janey's very unusual fourth grade year. Her parents own and live on a 40-foot steel sailing ship. They've been mooring in Miami, Florida, and Janey has been attending a regular public school where she has made a best friend, Rae. But Janey's parents want to set to sea again, so Janey and her cat Sassa are off to the Caribbean. There are many wonderful things about sailing- new islands, new food, new views every morning- but it's lonely too. Janey sends letters to Rae but can only receive them when the family stays in a port long enough to get a PO box. She's often bored, doesn't want to do her homework, wishes she had any friends near by. Finally the family's boat, the Merrimaid, stops St Thomas for a while, where her parents get part time jobs. Janey spots a girl only a little older living on another boat in the harbor. Astrid is aloof, challenging, mysterious, and knows a lot of places on the island where kids can get into trouble. Janey is entranced by her, but too young to see the precarious and potentially abusive situation Astrid is living in. This book is BEAUTIFULLY drawn, bright and sharp. I was completely drawn in to Janey's world and the struggles she faces with her parents and her two very different friends, Rae and Astrid. This book brought back how hard it was to maintain a long distance friendship in the 90s, and also pointed out how easy it is for kids without responsible adults in their lives to disappear off the map. It's more challenging and dark than the colorful cover suggests but I HIGHLY recommend it.

I Think Our Son is Gay vol 2 by Okura translated by Leo McDonagh 

This gentle slice of life story continues. Tomoko, mother of two sons, one or both of whom might be queer, borrows a gay manga series to read from a friend and leaves it in the living room for her possibly queer teen to find. She also learns that one of her co-works at work is gay, and open to answering some questions. I really enjoy the slow, realistic journey of a parent figuring out how to be supportive of her kids.

I Think Our Son is Gay vol 3 by Okura translated by Leo McDonagh 

The cast of characters is slowly expanding! A neighbor, who probably has a crush on her gay son Hiroki, starts at Hiroki's high school. I like that we are starting to learn more about Hiroki's younger brother Yuri, who at the moment reads like a very aro-ace character. The main tension point is Tomoko's husband, who has some really basic homophobic beliefs and occasionally says shitty things without seeming to realize they might be hurtful. Tomoko is more patient with him that I would be.

I Think Our Son is Gay vol 4 by Okura translated by Leo McDonagh 

Tomoko is such a wonderful and loving parent to her two probably queer sons. The elder son is dealing with the very normal high school rejection of his crush starting to date someone else, and the younger feels more and more aro-ace and maybe even agender. This is such a gentle, soft parenting story with a lot of sweetness and humor.

Mickey7 by Edward Ashton read by John Pirhalla and Katherine Chin 

The plot of this book is engaging, but the prose is bad. Mickey Barnes is an "expendable" on a terraforming human colony mission on a cold, icy planet. Before the mission left, his entire consciousness was scanned and uploaded to a server, and his biology encoded so the mission can print new versions of him as needed. He is the only member of the roughly 200 person colony who has received this treatment, and it's his duty to do jobs that require a human but will likely get them killed, such as fixing the nuclear reactor, testing out medical procedures, or exploring the system of crevasses and caves below the ice- which happen to be full of insect-like alien species of unknown intelligence levels. This book has some very fun world building and clever twists, but the main character himself is an idiot who regularly makes mistakes that could have been easily avoided with even just a modicum of advanced planning. I would describe the writing as workman-like, just competent enough to get the story told, but often undercutting the emotional impact of the events with quips and fairly shallow character work. I haven't seen the movie but I have a feeling it might be better than the book, a rarity.

I Think Our Son is Gay vol 5 by Okura translated by Leo McDonagh

I'm so glad the main character finally confronted her husband on his careless homophobic remarks! Also I loved the story like of Hiroki getting into a girl idol group named Soup=Soup, what a perfect name for a group. If this is the last book of the series I am satisfied :) If there are more I will read them!

Paladin of Souls by Lois Mcmaster Bujold read by Kate Reading 

Ista is now the Dowager Royina of all Chalion, but she's having trouble shaking the titles she's been known by for most the past two decades: Mad Ista, hysterical Ista, Ista who needs to be watched because she is danger to herself. In her mid-40s, Ista despairs that the family curse, now broken, might define the rest of her life as well. Then inspiration strikes: perhaps a pilgrimage under an assumed name could prove the vehicle to travel, see some more of the world, breath some clearer air, and spend company with some young, adventurous people less defined by their dark pasts. And so Ista takes to the road with just one young lady's maid, two travel wardens, a small trope of soldiers dedicated to the Daughter and one a divine of the Bastard's order as her spiritual advisor. In truth, Ista wants nothing more to do with the gods. But the gods, it seems, are not yet done with her. The simple pilgrimage quickly runs into demons, secret conspiracies, death magic, and a danger that might strike all the way to the heart of the kingdom. And Ista finds that she still has the capacity for both sweetness and steal when the world demands them. This was my second time reading this book, but the first as an adult, and I absolutely LOVED it this go around. The audiobook reader is excellent and I am living for middle-aged fantasy protagonists these days. Give me a character who has seen some shit and nevertheless persists!

Private Rites by Julia Armfield 

Set in a near future world which is drowning under decades of torrential rains, this lyrical, tense family drama follows three estranged sisters after the death of their patriarch father. Isla, the oldest, is a therapist in middle of a divorce; she feels the most pulled to manage the family tragedy of the death, funeral, will, and her more unruly sisters' emotions. Irene, the middle sister, struggles to throw off her teen role as "the angry one", though a very loving partner has softened her rough edges over time. And their half sister, Agnes, younger by 11 years, wants nothing to do with any of this and doesn't feel she owes alliance or family feeling to the others. But all of them are haunted by the ghosts of their dead or missing parents, the abuse and neglect they suffered during a disrupted childhood. Plus there's the matter of the family home to deal with: a cold and luxurious house built on stilts which hold it above the rising water. I enjoyed the lovely prose, the fact that all three sisters are queer, and the exploration of how traumatized people try or fail to build and maintain relationships under many pressures, including climate crisis. The ending is a bit rushed and leaves as many questions open as answered. I might later lower my rating to 3.75, but I rounded up because I enjoyed my book club discussion about it so much.

Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold read by Grover Gardener

Lord Penric is on the way to his betrothal to a local cheese maker's daughter when he comes upon an elderly divine of the Bastard's order collapsed on the side of the road, surrounded by her anxious retinue. He stops to offer aid; he doesn't realized that he will end up becoming the host of the centuries old demon she carried. Suddenly the path of his small and certain future is thrown askew, and the road under his feet leads to places he hardly dared imagine. If, that is, he can figure out how to co-exist with a demonic being. I'm excited to start in on this novella series! I'm such a fan of Bujold's writing and very pleased to find many of these books are available in audio.

Coming Back by Jessi Zabarsky

Preet is the most powerful magic user in her island community; her wife Valissa can't use even the most basic powers. But when the island is threatened by a dangerous withering fog, Valissa is the one who volunteers to try and discover its source. In her absence, Preet does a work of magic which is forbidden by the community to do alone; she and her child are exiled from the island and must find a new place to live safely. Will the two women be able to find other another again, and reconcile their believes about tradition, family, and power? This is a very beautiful and ultimately gentle story, mysterious, but compelling.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach read by Helen Laser

Phoebe Stone, a deeply depressed and recently divorced adjunct English professor, checks in at a beautiful hotel by the sea with the intent of killing herself after the end of one decadent night. But she starts to run into roadblocks immediately, including the fact that the entire rest of the hotel is fully booked for a 6 day wedding. Phoebe strikes up a blunt and unlikely friendship with the bride, and after a failed attempt at her own life, lets herself be pulled into the whirlwind of drama in the bridal party. The humor in this book is often dark, but it is also very funny and very human. I was impressed that the author made this kind of wild premise work as well as it did. I became invested in Phoebe's relationships with the bride, the groom, the groom's preteen daughter from a previous relationship, and various other attendees. I loved that part of Phoebe's decision to stick around and see what else life had to offer was breaking out a creative block and a decision to completely change everything about how she'd lived in the previous version of life. Big content warning for suicide; but I think it was handled thoughtfully.

Stories are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz read by Alexandra Cohler 

This audiobook was by turns informative, engaging, and deeply upsetting. Newitz spells out the history of the use of propaganda in American warfare, including as far back as the war for independence, and the many wars against Indian nations in the attempt to empty the West of its original people to make the land available for white settlers. During the years around WWII, several key thinkers penned books on physiological operations; some also wrote science fiction under other pen names. The same tactics that fed military thought on propaganda was also used by early advertisers. The book also lays out the Cambridge Analytica project and how clearly it falls into the use of psychological weapons by American corporations against American citizens, and tactic which is supposed to be illegal. I listened to this on audio during the Trans Rights Readaton ] and I'm glad I got to it but some chapters on the 2016 election and current targeting of books, libraries, and queer people were not a fun time to listen to. Newitz ends with a short chapter on "Psy-Ops disarmament" and of course it points to all of the things the current administration is trying to destroy: public educations, a robust library system, trusted new sources, and free movement of citizens across borders.

World Heist by Linnea Sterte 

Two thieves, one a cursed child and the other with the face of a cat, set out to steal things as rare and difficult to obtain as a whole magical pocket realm and the lover of a god. Dreamy, brief, and gorgeously illustrated. Linnea Sterte is doing comics on a whole other level!

Penric and The Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold read by Grover Gardener

Lord Penric and his demon, Desdemona, have completed their temple training in a record three years and are now in service to the Princess-Archdivine of Martin's Bridge. He spends much of his time translating and copying manuscripts, but every now and then the Princess sends him out on a more interesting errand. So it happens that when a Locator of the Father's Order arrives on the tail of a runaway shaman who murdered a nobleman before fleeing, Penric is set to join the chase. But of course the case is more complicated than it seems, and more than one lost soul hangs in the balance. I had a great time with this second novella in the series; I finished it on a long drive just as the sun was rising over the Richmond bridge and it set a wonderful tone for my whole day.

Penric’s Fox by Lois McMaster Bujold read by Grover Gardener

I am continuing to devour these audiobooks at a ferocious rate! In this third adventure, Penric's vacation is rudely interrupted by a murder; he is pulled into the investigation because of his particular demon-given talents. The victim herself was a temple sorcerer; but who killed her, and why, and where her demon fled after her death are all obscure. This is a clever little bottle episode in the series. I look forward to reading more!

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (re-read for bookclub)

This was exceptional. Mags, a recent high school graduate, lives a carefully controlled life. She cares for her aging grandmother, she works her restaurant shifts, she doesn't party, she doesn't let anyone get too close, even the girl she's sleeping with, who has a boyfriend. Also, she's feeding a dangerous secret, something fanged and strange that lives in the dark. Then Mags' careful routine is disrupted when a friend from childhood, Nessa, turns to the little town outside Joshua Tree where they both grew up. Nessa is being chased by a darkness of her own, and wants answers about a confusing childhood memory. The storytelling, the page layouts, the mixed use of color and black and white, all combined to build such delicious tension in this queer horror tale. Highly recommend!

Added in 2025: I re-read this for book club and on the second pass caught some clever foreshading and paid more attention to the elegant use of visual storytelling tools. This book is worth reading and worth re-reading!

Spent by Alison Bechdel 

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of Bechdel's newest, and most meta, comic. I was genuinely unsure if the premise of this one would work for me, but oh, it did. The main character of this book, Alison, is a cartoonist living in Vermont on a rescue pygmy goat farm. She is the author of a popular memoir about her relationship with her father, a troubled taxidermist who spent time in prison before his death. This book is currently being adapted into a multi-season TV show which is straying increasing farther and farther from reality. Alison's partner, Holly, does the majority of the work around the farm; that is, until one of her wood chopping videos goes viral and she starts dabbling as an influencer instead. Meanwhile, in town, Al and Hol's friends- Sparrow, Stuart, Ginger, and Lois- all live together in an experimental communal home. Yes, that's right, many of the old gang from Dykes to Watch Out For are back, with grayer hair, but just as much wit and spark as ever. JR is a nonbinary, asexual, poly freshman at Oberlin who runs a podcast and participates in campus protests for Gaza. Ginger is still teaching and in a long distance relationship. Sparrow and Stuart are contemplating opening their relationship up. Lois is organizing local events, some of which, unfortunately, turn into covid parties. I have no idea if this book will land for readers who haven't read Dykes to Watch Out For, but hopefully those who have will enjoy this return to the old cast as much as I did. 

All but 5 of the books I read this month were courtesy of the library.

[staraste]

You know how languages that have literally nothing to do with each other still may have overlapping words? The strongest example to me is latvian to frech ko=quoi. French and russian also have a bunch of overlapping words (kauchemar=кошмар even though i dont remember many rn theres soooo much). These languages do share a common root (proto-indo-european) but its very interesting how many words russian has in common with french, even if theyre further apart linguistically. Haven't studied history, i know its geographical and political as well, but i digress.

So i imagine vaugardian could have like One word that siffrin hears and suddenly theres neuron activation and he zeroes in on this one word and goes. Say that again. And for the life of him he cant remember what this word means, just that its familiar and known and maybe he has a breakdown. Or maybe mirabelle sits with him and explains what this word means in vaugardian instead, slowly patting his shoulder and talking over siffrins thoughts until he can relax again.

And of course siffrin gets curious about it. So the party gets some unreadable books from the library and start very slowly. Theres book club and theres reading bonnie to sleep and theres odile asking questions and with siffrins help making a dictionary (even though she cant read the words siffrin wrote and it gives her a headache. She stops trying to after a while, but it still makes her frustrated)

Saying the words is hard, since reading is very different from speaking. Siffrin doubts they can even remember how to speak, but the accent is there, and if they focus on the mouth shapes enough, eventually saying the word in vaugardian morphs into something else that Probably sounds like the word hes reading.

Loop is doing this too, of course. Its kind of uncomfortably intimate between siffrin and loop, especially when they try speaking in this language without reading from a book. It gives them a headache quickly and they "dont want to be doing this in the first place", so they stop early.

But overtime it gets easier, if not the "getting a headache" part, then at least talking to each other part. Siffrin laying on their belly, listening to loop talk and when loop canr remember the word they want, siffrin helps with this dictionary theyve made. And they switch and do it again.

Once theyre pretty sure what the pronounciation is, odile is very eager to have them teach her it. Tirns out it's hard to even hear the forgotten language and after she tries to speak the first single word, she comes down with a horrible migraine for the whole day. That doesn't stop her though.

Isabeau loves listening to loop and siffrin speak, and he really tries to tough it out as much as possible, and it always ends at the two lovingly making fun of his miserable state and giving his tense neck a massage.

Siffin and loop tried to remember any fairytales or children's stories, but of course it caused two breakdowns and a half, so they settled for making up new ones, talking bonnie to sleep. At least bonnie was honest about when they need to stop talking.

Mirabelle, of course, curiously listens in to siffrin and loops efforts during book club reading time, and gladly takes over the conversation during sharing time if the two are too spent to talk. Lately she does more listening than talking and she's SO excited she doesn't even notice the headaches until the talk is over.

Turns out headaches cannot be helped with any amount of healing craft, so the local pharmacy sees an increase of sales on painkillers for the forseeable future.

[milfstalin]

There is also a second theory. Stalin’s secret police chief Genrikh Yagoda — a pornography aficionado whose apartment reportedly held a dildo collection — is said to have enjoyed viewing Skorodumov’s holdings. Librarians believe that he personally ensured the latter’s safety.

the gooner strikes again

Safely ensconced in the spetskhran, the erotica collection became available for viewing by top Stalinist henchmen. According to legend, they included the mustachioed cavalry officer and civil war hero Semyon Budyonny and grandfatherly Mikhail Kalinin, the longtime figurehead of the Soviet state.

“They were supposedly interested in the visual stuff — postcards, photos,” Chestnykh said. A Politburo member did not need a pass: “No one could refuse them.”

LMAO

[sonozakisisterssims4]

The belly in pregnancy depends on the number of babies

If you thought that sims takes into account the number of babies during pregnancy, I hasten to disappoint you: the belly is affected only by the constitution. There's good news too - I've written a mod that fixes this!

Now at each trimester of pregnancy, when it becomes visible (including in labor stage), the pregnant belly adjusts to the number of babies.

This is a steady state, meaning you can go to another area with your sim, send her somewhere, go into CAS - the belly won't change.

A couple exceptions: if you do a sim reset, it will reset. If you change the number of babies (for example, through the MCCC), the belly will not automatically update. For such cases, I added a cheat code that will put everything back in place:

Basically, if suddenly something reset, then calmly use this cheat.

Keep in mind that when you switch to a new trimester, the belly is updated within a few seconds (usually 2-3). This is to make sure the sims don't overwrite the belly size after working off this mod.

Plus, I made several versions so you can choose a more appropriate size for your needs. I wrote more about the modifications below in the installation section.

Compatible with 105-108 Base Game.

REQUIRED lot51 Core Library version at least 1.19! TRANSLATION Russian translation is built in

CONFLICTS I spent most of my time writing this mod without conflicts. So this mod really doesn't cause any error when working with other mods including Command Center, Relationships and Pregnancy Overhaul and Realistic Childbirth.

However! If you are using the Relationships and Realistic Pregnancy mod, you need the additional file SonozakiSisters_Belly_Size_Injector_Lumpinou_RPO

Also! This mod does not conflict with LittleMsSam's Pregnancy Overhaul Belly Part mod in the sense that it does not cause an error. But it will overwrite the values of the mod from LittleMsSam.

Because of this, I wrote the same four belly versions as LittleMsSam, taking her values as the basis for a one-child pregnancy. That is, for a one-child pregnancy, the same values as LittleMsSam will be used. If you need those values, use one of the versions below. In addition to her four versions, there is my basic one (I recommend using it) and one based on EA values.

INSTALLATION Place the files SonozakiSisters_Belly_Size_Based_On_Babies_Count_Version, SonozakiSisters_Belly_Size_Injector_EA, SonozakiSisters_pregnant_progress_script and SonozakiSisters_Belly_Size_Injector_Lumpinou_RPO (when using the "Relationships and Pregnancy Overhaul" mod) together and no deeper than one subfolder in Mods! You can only have ONE version of the SonozakiSisters_Belly_Size_Based_On_Babies_Count_Version file

HOW TO CHOOSE BELLY SIZE VERSION

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Reading

For @idontliketomatoesleavemealone! It’s kind of short but I hope you’ll like it anyway <3

„Sam!“ Sammy Smee looks up from Harriet’s papers.

„Sam!“

„Yes, Marya?“ they say, „Come in.“

She opens the door and bounces in, then, the medic of Scattered Hope. She’s smiling and holding a book to her chest – yellowy and obviously used, but a modern one, with the careful Auradon print on the cover. Not one of the pretentious tomes in the Hooks’ library, not that Marya Rasputin is all that interested in those.

…To be absolutely clear, the only books she’s interested in are those with pictures inside. Sammy doesn’t have enough energy to argue with her.

Still, they smile at her, and ask, what did she want?

„New book!“ she beams, before slamming it in front of them (correct side down): „Read me it!“

„Read it to me, Marya, not read me it,“ they correct gently as they look over the book – a medical textbook, it seems. It might be more latin than english, but hey, they don’t really care. And Marya – unfortunately – knows some latin too.

„Yes, read it to me, Sammy,“ she repeats the correct phrase at them, nodding decisively.

Already decided, Sammy pushes away their papers and stationery, „You could read it yourself,“ they note, ignoring Marya furiously shaking her head no, „Harriet said she had taught you.“

„Harriet’s bad teacher!“ protests Marya, and, believe them, Sammy knows. Their Captain has barely any patience on a good day, and the russian medic who calls the letters by wrong names is really fucking stretching it. So, yeah, most of the port heard that one lesson.

„You read.“

„Come on, Marya, it’d be good if you could read.“

„I can read,“ pouts Marya, pushing the book closer to them, insistent, „You are reading now.“

„…Not how present continuous is used,“ sighs Sammy, „And I mean, read english.“

„English is mean.“

„Did CJ tell you that?“

„No?“

Really, Sammy thinks they should never have let the girl learning to speak english hang out with CJ Hook that much, however, it is too late now.

And so they occasionally get distressed crewmembers, being informed that them bleeding out after a wound is a „skill issue“.

Which is NOT helped by Marya freaking Rasputin casually popping off her hand at her wrist to prove her point.

Speaking of Marya Rasputin, she’s still standing in front of them and tapping the book with her finger. Fortunately not a dismembered one.

„Please? Read?“ she repeats the request with puppy eyes that should frankly be illegal.

…Though, given they’re already in prison, they kinda are.

„Fine,“ they allow finally. It’s not like they’re in any haste to actually work right now.

„Yes!“ Marya exclaims and drags them upwards with strength that would be frightening if Sammy were not utterly used to it.

„Sit on the bed.“

She’s already dragging them there anyway, when Sammy affirms that yes, they can sit on the bed.

They sit down and take the book, smile a little as Marya settles right next to them, putting her head on their shoulder.

They shrug their shoulders to tease her:

„Come on, Marya, at least read along with me. Imagine if you could read it on your own one day.“

She is completely unmoved.

„No,“ she states, „Want– Want you to read to me.“

„Hmm, at least the first page, look. Try the title?“

„Sammy–“ she whines theatrically. Letting her hang out with CJ was definitely a mistake.

„I don’t like this letters. And!“ she adds with a lilt in their voice that makes Sammy think they won’t like whatever she is about to say, „Ginny borrowed it to me. Wants it back, quick.“

„Ginny lent it to you,“ they correct, but Marya just waves it away, clearly impatient to start reading the book with the helpful descriptions of crippled bodies and vivid illustrations of the injuries.

Figures Ginny Gothel would give Marya that kind of book to practice reading on.

„Fine, I’m reading, I’m reading,“ they say, setting the book on their knees.

„Thank you,“ says Marya, putting her head on their shoulder again.