#fl. androgynous

[anomalouscorvid]

its vital that you can see/know about her rat tattoo

only just barely polished enough for use as a ref. i've been keeping her design enough the same that it's time for her to get a new one (for keeping colours and scar shapes consistent at least. that's mostly what this is for)

[neathyingenue]

New fits for my Fallen London OC!

My love of historical womenswear was how I first learned of FL in the first place. So of course I'm going all out when it comes to my OC Silvia's wardrobe!

When I first started playing, I opted for a late 1880s look, as I wasn't sure what year exactly the action took place in. Upon finding out that it's 1899 (and indeed, has been for some time), a redesign was in order.

Silvia's daytime suit is adapted from this 1899 fashion-plate from Le Costume Moderne, specifically the cut at the top left. I added a cravat-inspired neck bow to make it a bit more androgynous. And of course, Silvia's hat is adorned with fungi rather than flowers.

Silvia's evening gown is a loose interpretation of this 1899 French piece from the Met's Costume Institute. Irises are my favorite flower, and I love art nouveau nature motifs, so I couldn't resist!

Of course, these are much nicer garments than what a low-level character could afford--particularly the evening gown. Perhaps a patron at court lent Silvia the gown when she showed up to a ball in a ghastly item from the last decade?

[astarab1aze]

➥ Hedonistic Vampire

⸻Technical Information. // Face, Voice, etc.

01. Faceclaim. Ferid Bathory   [ Seraph of the End ] 04. Voice Claim. TBD

⸻Profile Information. // Name, Age, etc.

01. Name. Vayn Morteatum 02. Alias. V, Vini 03. Sex. Male 04. Gender. Male 05. Age. 70-something, 80? 06. Birth Date. October 3rd   [ Libra ] 07. Blood Type. Sub-type VA+ 08. Race. Vampire, American by nationality ; French-English by ethnicity. 09. Marital Status. Single   [ Multiship ] 10. Orientation. Homosexual   [ Homoromantic ] 11. Residence. Formerly the Underground of Salem’s Crossing, Miami, FL ; Currently nomadic.

⸻Physical Information. // Body, Equipment, Family, etc.

17. Physical Description. Vayn has medium-length silvery hair that is normally kept tied back in a ponytail, straight with his fringe parted down the left. It has a dull lilac hue to it in certain lights, as well as greenish and pinkish tones, and is well maintained. His eyes, clear and open, are pinkish red, or magenta, framed by long, almost feminine eyelashes. He stands at a short 5'4", sporting a narrow and slender frame, somewhat androgynous and angular - a bit bony. His skin is ghostly pale, belying the truth of his vampiric pedigree, and while it appears otherwise unblemished, the lashing scars littering his back are hidden by elegant (and old timey) European clothes, or business casual outfits on occasion. There are many, many more scars to join them, all caused by silver burns, long-term exposure to iron, magical burns, etc. Both lobes are pierced as well as his bellybutton. He has a small, ambiguously heart-shaped birthmark to the left of his sternum.  

13. Equipment. He keeps a vampiric palmseal made of his own crystallized blood, a travelling mirror, a small tin of Bloody Delights, a bottomless bag, and a beat up harlequin novel. 14. Occupation. Formerly a tortured performer at The Strychnine Theater, effectively enslaved by gambling duelists and forced to compete or perform depending on the event ; Currently, he is enjoying what he now knows of freedom, aiding Loux & Sortia in their search for the starcutter. 15. Job Performance. N/A 16. Parents. Arteryus Morteatum & Belladonna Minx - each of noble vampire blood, being members of the Red Hand, a tense coallition of vampire separatists.  17. Siblings. Arteryus’ proginy, Galfreja (247F), and blood Synoxia (162F) - older sisters, both allive and well, with one maintaining a position in the DRS where the other built a career in magical husbandry. 

⸻Personality Information. // Likes, Strengths, etc.

18. Likes. Reading, explicit art, money, giving and recieving gifts, cooking, adventuring, shopping, spending time with Sortia when she’s around, Bloody Delights, witch fingers, shapeshifter blood, watching movies, tending to his plants, etc.  19. Dislikes. Violence of any kind, being manhandled, closed-mindedness, enclosed spaces, most sorcerers, poachers, thieves, discussion of his family, metal, silver, being pushed to do anything he doesn’t want to do, literally anything Loux does with his spare time, etc.

20. Positive Traits. Gentle. Kindhearted. Generous. Thoughtful. Loyal. Friendly. Open-minded. Playful. Resilient. Talented healer. Polite. Romantic. Dreamy. Principled. Hopeful.  21. Negative Traits. Naive. Self-destructive. Jumpy. Anxious. Pushy. Dramatic. Hedonistic. Submissive. Gullible. Poor in combat. Has a hard time saying ‘no’ and respecting both his and other peoples’ boundaries. Extremely averse to violence, won’t even defend himself.  22. Goals. To enjoy his freedom to the fullest, experience love and heartbreak, countless sunsets and wine cocktails - to live. 23. Desires. Absolution, vindication, and peace, freedom from the horrific abuse he suffered following his capture as a fledgling, and all the comforts of what it means to be alive.  24. Alignment. Neutral Good 

25. Personality. Vayn can be described as quite a few things - pushy, overbearing, sickeningly sweet, and perhaps a bit too naive. Too trusting. Too kind for his own good, the sort to set himself on fire to keep others warm. Despite all he’d suffered, he held onto his hope and unwavering faith, carrying a certain pep in especially dire situations. He is soft of heart and gentle in how he treats people, giving and thoughtful, catalogging every new experience or bond and drinking them in. He’s hedonistic, selfishly diving head first into all that life has to offer - a kind soul he is, but rather blind to most boundaries. He oversteps, sometimes on purpose, looking for excuses to run away from difficult or uncomfortable situations and if he can’t find any, he makes them. That being said, he is tender and warm, shining a small but heartening light when all seems dark and hopeless. He’s small and ineffective in a fight, but he has such strength within him. If only things had been different.  

⸻Sorcery Information. // Element, Talent, etc.

26. Element. Flora & Water - moderate manipulation & control. 27. Shapeshifting. Innate bat-shifter - natural-born vampires are capable of shapeshifting into one of three animals, commonly discovered within 3 years of turning / birth. 28. Utility. Herbalism & Husbandry - mastered herbalism, beginner husbandry. 29. Specialization. Herbalism - although he dabbles in alchemy, too. quite the potions master, as the two go hand in hand. 30. Graduate School. Belegerande’s School for the Arcane, house La Fey ; the first of 11 total sorcery-centered schools established in North america in the 1500s; Quite a prestigious institution despite its current reputation. 31. Classification. Missing, Presumed Dead - If found, return to Deadeye.

⸻Background Information. // Past to Present. Warning for SA & enslavement.

Vayn was born in the lap of vampiric luxury, belonging to one of the oldest vampire houses as a blooded vampire, but this so-called luxury came at a steep price for he was born into the Red Hand, too. Loneliness and isolation, maltreatment and abuse behind closed doors, violent lessons to impart etiquette and good manners, murder plots and too early an introduction to sex, vile politics and desperate grabs for power - forced to fall in line and become a vampire worthy of sitting on the throne. Much of his youth was spent at the shit end of the stick until the soft-hearted child within him had been thoroughly beaten into a pulp just as miserable and cruel as everyone else.

    Yet, there was a flicker of himself that persisted - an incessantly leaky faucet. He’d never understood the Red Hand’s ideals, what they really wanted or why the supremacy of their species mattered at all, why they were as willing to go so far to achieve such an arrogant and offensive goal. He never wanted any part of it. He never wanted to bring anyone else any harm, never wanted to live up to the vampire stereotypes as a murderer, a glorified leech, a monster. But he did what he felt was necessary to spare himself the punishment given to heretics and betrayers, slinking through the shadows and doing as Agrivayne instructed him. He always did what he could justify as necessary, losing more and more of what little remained of him.

    In a twist of fate, one Cedric Montgomery, the true vampire befitting the crown, approached him in the night with a proposition. Cedric had always been flamboyant, ever the sort to make moves with unmatched regal ruthlessness, and so it was easy. Vayn, caught by surprise, was made privy to the secret movement against the current leaders of the Red Hand, a counter-revolution to the would-be revolutionaries. He joined Cedric, offering financial support to further their endeavors and keep them a secret. To be apart of something meaningful, to tear down pointless traditions and rid vampires of their hatred for others, had given him an avenue to make amends for all the horrible things he’d done - he could do nothing but jump at the chance to do good.

    Unfortunately for him, however, someone found out - the youngest member of the Morningstar family, Lilith - and he was dealt with swiftly. Vampires belonging to the other Red Hand families enacted a plan to capture, torture, and kill him, but it was Lilith who stopped them, though her alternative wasn’t the saving grace he hoped it would be. They took him to the underground of Salem’s Crossing and brokered a deal with Deadeye - one slave of highest pedigree in trade for five humans, a blackwyrm, and enough noxium to kill a thousand people - which he quickly accepted, stripping Vayn of his titles, his name, his clothes, and his dignity. He was kept like livestock among others who shared the same fate, shackled and chained to the bottom of death-touched oubliettes and starved of blood until he was too weak to fight back, where Deadeye and his men would have their way with him in as many contexts as could be imagined… Viciously beaten, sexually assaulted, forced to feed on his emaciated, dying fellows to satisfy Deadeye’s sadistic curiosities. They threw him into Strychnine, kept him anchored down by silver weights so he couldn’t shapeshift and fly away, and laughed and laughed and laughed as he lost every fight, gambling assholes of all sorts winning on the best losing horse. Deadeye, of course, had subjected him to much more and far worse than this.

    But the quiet, desperately kind person within him managed to survive where the cruelty could no longer. Delusion through his trauma? Perhaps, but it kept him aware, kept him awake, kept him alive, kept him moving forward. And he clung to that tiny glimmer of hope, praying that he’d finally be set free one day, doing what he could to alleviate the suffering of the others who shared his fate. One by one, many of them died, but even still…he held fast, weeping long into the morning hours for eleven years.

    Another chance meeting would come to pass, however. Dragged from the oubliette, he was set to perform for a flock of hundreds, but a nosy shapeshifter and a terrifying witch had weaseled their way behind the curtain. Deadeye’s only real competition had been the boy - Vayn recognized his face from old wanted posters - but he’d shown up with a sanguinaurum, and Deadeye had no counter to a legendary witch. Sortia and Loux, as he’d come to know them, had been the answer to his prayers, freeing him from the atrophy and agony of a life of servitude. Despite his relative dissociation, he was grateful beyond words, falling to his knees and bursting into a flurry of relieved wails.

    They took him in, dressed him, and offered him what he’d wanted most - freedom. Freedom from responsibility, freedom from sin, freedom from pain, from hatred, from guilt, from the burdens of backward thinking and needless cruelty. They asked for nothing in return, not even help in finding the magical item they sought. So he stayed with them, his new family, aiding them anyway. 

[brookston]

Holidays 4.22

Holidays

Ancestor’s Eve (Star Trek)

April Showers Day

Arbor Day (Nebraska)

Chemists Celebrate the Earth Day

Croatian Ustashi Genocide Remembrance Day (Croatia)

Day of Silence (a.k.a. GLSEN Day of Silence)

Discovery Day (Brazil)

Earth Day (UN)

Fern Day (French Republic)

Festival of Fabulous Androgynes

Fighter Aviation Day (Brazil)

Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day

Global Selfie Earth Day (NASA)

Hari Raya Puasa (Singapore)

Hollow Earth Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day (Serbia)

Inanimate Object Day

”In God We Trust” Day

Instant Book Day

International Lubricant Day

International Marconi Day

International Mother Earth Day

International Narwhal Appreciation Day

International Organ Day (UK)

Kurdish Journalism Day

Love Your Hair Day

National Baseball Day

National Beagle Day

National Donate Life Blue & Green Day

National Fast-Pitch Coaches Association Day

National Girl Scout Leader’s Day

National IT Service Provider Day

National No Email Day

National Pinup Day

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

National Robe Day

National Send Your Man Nudes Day

National Terry Day

Oklahoma Day (Oklahoma)

Order of the Garter Day

Pat Tillman Day

Record Store Day

Rokjesdag 2024 (Skirt Day; Netherlands) [Varies, Early Spring]

Queen Isabella Day (Spain)

Sniff-the-Breeze Day (Egypt)

Stephen Lawrence Commemoration Day (UK)

Tesla Autonomy Day

Unofficial Programmers’ Day (Russia)

Ustashi Genocide Remembrance Day (Croatia)

Walpurgis celebrations begin (Germanic, Norse, Scandinavian) [thru 5.1]

Zhabdrung Kuchhoe (Bhutan)

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Jelly Bean Day

4th Monday in April

Confederate Memorial Day (AL, FL, GA) [4th Monday]

Public Library Day [Monday of Library Week]

School Librarian Day [Monday of Library Week]

Weekly Holidays beginning April 22 (4th Week)

Earth Week (thru 4.26)

Every Kid Healthy Week [M-F of Last Full Week]

Fibroid Awareness Week (thru 4.27)

National Environmental Education Week (thru 4.26)

National Playground Safety Week (thru 4.26) [Last Full Week M-F]

National Youth Violence Prevention Week (thru 4.24)

Independence & Related Days

Aethodia (f.k.a. Theodia; Declared; 2010) [unrecognized]

Chen Dynasty (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Frăția Blocurilor Unite (FBU or Brotherhood of the United Blocks; Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

National Sovereignty Day (Turkey)

Pristinia (Declared; 2008) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning April 22, 2024

City Restaurant Week (Wilmington, Delaware) [thru 4.27]

Taste of Vernon (Vernon, New Jersey)

Feast Days

Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Catholic Church; Saints)

Agapitus I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Arwald (Christian; Saint)

Azades, Tharba, and other, in Persia (Christian; Martyrs)

Berezozol (Lela's Holiday; Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Bran the Blessed’s Head Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Caius, Pope (Christian; Martyr)

Day of Aradia (Pagan)

Earth Day (Pastafarian)

Epipodius and Alexander of Lyon (Christian; Martyrs)

Festival of Ishtar (Ancient Mesopotamia)

Festival of Jupiter and Juno (Ancient Rome)

Henry Fielding (Writerism)

Hudson Stuck (Episcopal Church)

Hunuman Jayanti (Hindu)

Joanie Jenkins (Muppetism)

John Muir (Episcopal Church)

Lela’s Holiday (Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Leonides, Father of Origen (Christian; Saint)

Opportuna of Montreuil (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Pliny the Elder (Positivist; Saint)

R. Crumb Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Richard Diebenkorn (Artology)

Rufus (a.k.a. Rufin) of Glendalough, Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Senorina (Christian; Saint)

Sham el-Nessim (First Day of Spring; Ancient Egypt)

Sidney Nolan (Artology)

Soter, Pope (Christian; Martyr)

Theodorus of Siceon (Christian; Saint)

Theravadin New Year (Buddhism)

Vladimir Nabokov (Writerism)

Yggdrasil Day (Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Passover [14-15 Nisan] (a.k.a. ... 

Erev Pesach

Exodus

Pesach

Pessach (erster Tag)

Pésaj

חַג הַפֶּסַח

Ta’anit Bechorot (Feast of the Firstborn) [14 Nisan]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

A Dangerous Day (Numerology) [#22 symbolized by a Good Man, blinded by the folly of others, with.a knapsack full of errors on his back.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [20 of 37]

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because it’s Nixon’s birthday.)

Premieres

Around the World in a Day, by Prince (Album; 1985)

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin (Novel; 1899)

The Bad Guys (Animated Film; 2022)

Bagdad Cafe (Film; 1987)

Baker Street, by Gerry Rafferty (Song; 1978)

Barney Blake, Police Reporter (TV Series; 1948)

Batty Baseball (MGM Cartoon; 1944)

Big House Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1950)

The Birds, The Bees & The Monkeys, by The Monks (Album; 1968)

The Bride of Frankenstein (Film; 1935)

Casual Sex? (Film; 1988)

Concrete Island, by J.G. Ballard (Novel; 1974)

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (WB MM Cartoon; 1939)

D’ Fightin’ Ones (WB MM Cartoon; 1961)

Earth (Documentary Film; 2009)

Easy Come, Easy Go (Film; 1967)

Elvis & Nixon (Film; 2016)

It’s a Small World (Disney Ride at New York World’s Fair; 1964

Jane-Eyre (Film; 2011)

Jeeves & Wooster (UK TV Series; 1990)

Jerry and the Lion (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1950)

Kallocain, by Karin Boye (Novel; 1940)

King Tut, by Steve Martin (Song; 1978)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Film; 1962)

Momofuku, by Elvis Costello (Album; 2008)

The Northman (Film; 2022)

Oceans (Documentary Film; 2010)

Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (Betty Boop Cartoon; 1932)

100 Pygmies and Any Panda (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1940)

The Passions of the Mind, by Irving Stone (Biography of Sigmund Freud; 1971)

peck of Trouble (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1968)

Plague Dogs, by Richard Adams (Novel; 1978)

Poland, by James A. Michener (Novel; 1984)

Seventeen Seconds, by The Cure (Album; 1980)

Something Rotten! (Broadway Musical; 2015)

Symphony No. 7 in D Minor, by Antonin Dvořák (Symphony; 1885)

Tommy (Broadway Play; 1993)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Film; 2022)

Veep (TV Series; 2012)

Water for Elephants (Film; 2011)

Wild Thing, by The Trigs (Song; 1966)

The Willoughby’s (Animated Film; 2020)

Today’s Name Days

Alfred, Kaj, Leonidas (Austria)

Kajo, Leonida, Soter, Vojmil (Croatia)

Evženie (Czech Republic)

Cajus (Denmark)

Meeri, Meri, Merike, Merje (Estonia)

Aida, Alina (Finland)

Alexandre (France)

Alfred, Kaj, Leonidas (Germany)

Nathanael, Nearhos (Greece)

Csilla, Noémi (Hungary)

Caio, Leonida, Sotero (Italy)

Armanda, Armands, Usins, Vitālijs (Latvia)

Leonas, Leonidas, Norvaidė, Visgailas (Lithuania)

Oddgeir, Oddny (Norway)

Heliodor, Kajus, Leonia, Leonid, Łukasz, Soter, Strzeżymir, Teodor (Poland)

Teodor (Romania)

Slavomír (Slovakia)

María, Sotero (Spain)

Allan, Glenn (Sweden)

Nathan, Nathaniel, Vitalia, Vitaliy (Ukraine)

Caia, Caissa, Kai, Kaila, Kaleigh, Kaley, Kay, Kayla, Kaylee, Kayleigh, Kayley, Kaylie, Kaylin, Kaylyn, Leonidas, Makayla, Mckayla (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 113 of 2024; 253 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 17 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 9 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 14 (Bing-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 14 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 13 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 23 Cyan; Twosday [22 of 30]

Julian: 9 April 2024

Moon: 99%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 1 Caesar (5th Month) [Miltiades]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 13 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 35 of 92)

Week: 4th Week of April

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 3 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 4.22

Holidays

Ancestor’s Eve (Star Trek)

April Showers Day

Arbor Day (Nebraska)

Chemists Celebrate the Earth Day

Croatian Ustashi Genocide Remembrance Day (Croatia)

Day of Silence (a.k.a. GLSEN Day of Silence)

Discovery Day (Brazil)

Earth Day (UN)

Fern Day (French Republic)

Festival of Fabulous Androgynes

Fighter Aviation Day (Brazil)

Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day

Global Selfie Earth Day (NASA)

Hari Raya Puasa (Singapore)

Hollow Earth Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day (Serbia)

Inanimate Object Day

”In God We Trust” Day

Instant Book Day

International Lubricant Day

International Marconi Day

International Mother Earth Day

International Narwhal Appreciation Day

International Organ Day (UK)

Kurdish Journalism Day

Love Your Hair Day

National Baseball Day

National Beagle Day

National Donate Life Blue & Green Day

National Fast-Pitch Coaches Association Day

National Girl Scout Leader’s Day

National IT Service Provider Day

National No Email Day

National Pinup Day

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

National Robe Day

National Send Your Man Nudes Day

National Terry Day

Oklahoma Day (Oklahoma)

Order of the Garter Day

Pat Tillman Day

Record Store Day

Rokjesdag 2024 (Skirt Day; Netherlands) [Varies, Early Spring]

Queen Isabella Day (Spain)

Sniff-the-Breeze Day (Egypt)

Stephen Lawrence Commemoration Day (UK)

Tesla Autonomy Day

Unofficial Programmers’ Day (Russia)

Ustashi Genocide Remembrance Day (Croatia)

Walpurgis celebrations begin (Germanic, Norse, Scandinavian) [thru 5.1]

Zhabdrung Kuchhoe (Bhutan)

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Jelly Bean Day

4th Monday in April

Confederate Memorial Day (AL, FL, GA) [4th Monday]

Public Library Day [Monday of Library Week]

School Librarian Day [Monday of Library Week]

Weekly Holidays beginning April 22 (4th Week)

Earth Week (thru 4.26)

Every Kid Healthy Week [M-F of Last Full Week]

Fibroid Awareness Week (thru 4.27)

National Environmental Education Week (thru 4.26)

National Playground Safety Week (thru 4.26) [Last Full Week M-F]

National Youth Violence Prevention Week (thru 4.24)

Independence & Related Days

Aethodia (f.k.a. Theodia; Declared; 2010) [unrecognized]

Chen Dynasty (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Frăția Blocurilor Unite (FBU or Brotherhood of the United Blocks; Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

National Sovereignty Day (Turkey)

Pristinia (Declared; 2008) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning April 22, 2024

City Restaurant Week (Wilmington, Delaware) [thru 4.27]

Taste of Vernon (Vernon, New Jersey)

Feast Days

Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Catholic Church; Saints)

Agapitus I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Arwald (Christian; Saint)

Azades, Tharba, and other, in Persia (Christian; Martyrs)

Berezozol (Lela's Holiday; Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Bran the Blessed’s Head Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Caius, Pope (Christian; Martyr)

Day of Aradia (Pagan)

Earth Day (Pastafarian)

Epipodius and Alexander of Lyon (Christian; Martyrs)

Festival of Ishtar (Ancient Mesopotamia)

Festival of Jupiter and Juno (Ancient Rome)

Henry Fielding (Writerism)

Hudson Stuck (Episcopal Church)

Hunuman Jayanti (Hindu)

Joanie Jenkins (Muppetism)

John Muir (Episcopal Church)

Lela’s Holiday (Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Leonides, Father of Origen (Christian; Saint)

Opportuna of Montreuil (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Pliny the Elder (Positivist; Saint)

R. Crumb Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Richard Diebenkorn (Artology)

Rufus (a.k.a. Rufin) of Glendalough, Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Senorina (Christian; Saint)

Sham el-Nessim (First Day of Spring; Ancient Egypt)

Sidney Nolan (Artology)

Soter, Pope (Christian; Martyr)

Theodorus of Siceon (Christian; Saint)

Theravadin New Year (Buddhism)

Vladimir Nabokov (Writerism)

Yggdrasil Day (Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays [Begins at Sundown Day Before]

Passover [14-15 Nisan] (a.k.a. ... 

Erev Pesach

Exodus

Pesach

Pessach (erster Tag)

Pésaj

חַג הַפֶּסַח

Ta’anit Bechorot (Feast of the Firstborn) [14 Nisan]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

A Dangerous Day (Numerology) [#22 symbolized by a Good Man, blinded by the folly of others, with.a knapsack full of errors on his back.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [20 of 37]

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because it’s Nixon’s birthday.)

Premieres

Around the World in a Day, by Prince (Album; 1985)

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin (Novel; 1899)

The Bad Guys (Animated Film; 2022)

Bagdad Cafe (Film; 1987)

Baker Street, by Gerry Rafferty (Song; 1978)

Barney Blake, Police Reporter (TV Series; 1948)

Batty Baseball (MGM Cartoon; 1944)

Big House Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1950)

The Birds, The Bees & The Monkeys, by The Monks (Album; 1968)

The Bride of Frankenstein (Film; 1935)

Casual Sex? (Film; 1988)

Concrete Island, by J.G. Ballard (Novel; 1974)

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (WB MM Cartoon; 1939)

D’ Fightin’ Ones (WB MM Cartoon; 1961)

Earth (Documentary Film; 2009)

Easy Come, Easy Go (Film; 1967)

Elvis & Nixon (Film; 2016)

It’s a Small World (Disney Ride at New York World’s Fair; 1964

Jane-Eyre (Film; 2011)

Jeeves & Wooster (UK TV Series; 1990)

Jerry and the Lion (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1950)

Kallocain, by Karin Boye (Novel; 1940)

King Tut, by Steve Martin (Song; 1978)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Film; 1962)

Momofuku, by Elvis Costello (Album; 2008)

The Northman (Film; 2022)

Oceans (Documentary Film; 2010)

Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (Betty Boop Cartoon; 1932)

100 Pygmies and Any Panda (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1940)

The Passions of the Mind, by Irving Stone (Biography of Sigmund Freud; 1971)

peck of Trouble (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1968)

Plague Dogs, by Richard Adams (Novel; 1978)

Poland, by James A. Michener (Novel; 1984)

Seventeen Seconds, by The Cure (Album; 1980)

Something Rotten! (Broadway Musical; 2015)

Symphony No. 7 in D Minor, by Antonin Dvořák (Symphony; 1885)

Tommy (Broadway Play; 1993)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Film; 2022)

Veep (TV Series; 2012)

Water for Elephants (Film; 2011)

Wild Thing, by The Trigs (Song; 1966)

The Willoughby’s (Animated Film; 2020)

Today’s Name Days

Alfred, Kaj, Leonidas (Austria)

Kajo, Leonida, Soter, Vojmil (Croatia)

Evženie (Czech Republic)

Cajus (Denmark)

Meeri, Meri, Merike, Merje (Estonia)

Aida, Alina (Finland)

Alexandre (France)

Alfred, Kaj, Leonidas (Germany)

Nathanael, Nearhos (Greece)

Csilla, Noémi (Hungary)

Caio, Leonida, Sotero (Italy)

Armanda, Armands, Usins, Vitālijs (Latvia)

Leonas, Leonidas, Norvaidė, Visgailas (Lithuania)

Oddgeir, Oddny (Norway)

Heliodor, Kajus, Leonia, Leonid, Łukasz, Soter, Strzeżymir, Teodor (Poland)

Teodor (Romania)

Slavomír (Slovakia)

María, Sotero (Spain)

Allan, Glenn (Sweden)

Nathan, Nathaniel, Vitalia, Vitaliy (Ukraine)

Caia, Caissa, Kai, Kaila, Kaleigh, Kaley, Kay, Kayla, Kaylee, Kayleigh, Kayley, Kaylie, Kaylin, Kaylyn, Leonidas, Makayla, Mckayla (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 113 of 2024; 253 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 17 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 9 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 14 (Bing-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 14 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 13 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 23 Cyan; Twosday [22 of 30]

Julian: 9 April 2024

Moon: 99%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 1 Caesar (5th Month) [Miltiades]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 13 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 35 of 92)

Week: 4th Week of April

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 3 of 31)

[shopofthemoment]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Vintage 90’s: High Speed ☻ Gold Letter Belt ☻ Bal Harbour Shops ☻ Black Leather.

[sweptawaytvnow]

Excited to share the latest addition to my #etsy shop: Green Carnation Stick Pin Oscar Wilde LGBTQ Pride Lapel. As seen on Harry Styles My Policeman red carpet. #harrystyles #lgbtq #oscarwilde #pride #flowerstickpin #lapelpin #rainbow #allgender #androgynous https://etsy.me/3M7PYtM

[microwaving-my-ocs]

i'm probably going to keep sammie though, and just transpose him into a new fantasy setting. his general settings/traits that make him him are:

backstory & angst over his sister and the tension between wanting to preserve her memory in a very tangible way (living AS her, or the live he thinks she would have wanted to live) and living for himself & in the present, where the past isnt a shackle but just a part of him

crossdressing / being androgynous. bc i want to draw a char like that

being generally smart in his late teens / adulthood (both IQ and EQ)

i also want to give him a romantic partner, but it becomes unnecessarily complicated in the original setting; where the FL is a disadvantaged noble who has to bow to society's demands, and sammie is influential enough to deflect judgement from her recent divorce but also not powerful enough to make the plot irrelevant.

sammie pretty much can only flourish outside the eyes of society's elites. if he's powerful enough to shrug off the disdain of any conceivable competition, then it's a situation like Hades/Aisha (Married the Male Lead's Dad) where it's a power fantasy. which can be a very satisfying story, but i don't think it's one i'm interested in telling.

i want sammie's story to be one about the past/present. about living in the past and living in the present. about being unable to get to know others bc of how guarded you are, about losing your faith in people, and gradually coming to trust at least a few people and having some faith in the future again.

i think i can probably do this while keeping his original story, just changing the FL's settings and how they meet. maybe sammie isn't trying to take over the duchy anymore. he isn't suave and he isn't ambitious, he just wanted his sister to live but she didn't, and now he has a new sister he never knew and he somehow needs to keep the both of them (and samantha's friends) alive.

altho tbh, one thing i will miss is the process of how FL discovered sammie's past in the original plot. i like the idea that you need to peel him like an onion. that the people you meet in adulthood have so much history to them that you usually are not privy to and may never know. that the people they lost and whom you never personally knew are also lost to you forever (the idea that we never see samantha's POV; we only see the other chars' recollections of her and their interpretations of her, and they all kind of conflict w each other in tiny ways)

i think i can possibly make FL a rival spy. maybe the one that was supposed to be sammie's bestie, but then i realised she had better chemistry w sammie than his supposed fiance. either way, i think their chemistry would be more important than the premise. which is quite funny, because my unhappiness w how the premise usually folds out is why i started writing this story in the first place and now i'm ditching the premise entirely

[writemarcus]

How An Obsession with Josephine Baker Became a Broadway-Bound Musical

According to her producer, Deborah Cox was born to play Josephine, but the recording artist knew she'd have to earn it.

BY MARCUS SCOTT

MAY 06, 2016

It’s a late Thursday afternoon and hours after news broke that Prince had passed away in his home at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, MN, at the age of 57. Like most of the world, Deborah Cox, the critically acclaimed Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and Broadway actress, is devastated. Across social media, Cox expressed that she was both “speechless” and “heartbroken” at the loss of the legendary rock musician, and when asked about it, she reiterates the significance of having theatre-makers revisit the stories of legends, past and present. Cox has grown rather adamant in recent months, especially as she prepares for the “first very first orchestra read-through” of a new musical, Josephine, which premieres at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL through May 29. Cox will play Josephine Baker, the world famous cabaret showgirl and Jazz Age fashion icon, notorious for her salacious gowns and show-stopping dance.

“She transcended race, she transcended gender. These icons, namely Prince, he was so androgynous and transcended sexuality, as well, and so brought so much of what is [considered] ‘taboo’ to his music and back then, Josephine Baker was breaking down barriers and doing the same thing. As a woman, which of is unheard of in her time, to be [that] fearless…it’s an honor to be performing at the Asolo doing this show,” Cox says. “This was a great vision that [producer] Ken [Waissman] had and it’s been a long time in the making and its ready now.”

Known for her opulent mezzo, Cox eventually expanded her horizons beyond the recording studio and made her Broadway debut in 2004 as the leading lady in Elton John-Tim Rice’s afro-pop musical, Aida. The Grammy-nominated singer returned to Broadway in the 2013 revival of Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse’s Jekyll & Hyde. Now Josephine, a project that has been in development for seven years, is likely bound for Broadway. The story focuses on Baker’s run as the star of Folies Bergère in Paris, her affair with Swedish Crown Prince Gustav VI, and her civil rights activism. With the piece, Cox originates a role for the first time.

“The idea of originating a role, it was so tantalizing, I had no choice. I literally just had my daughter like three months before and got this amazing Roberto Cavalli dress, got this little short wig and flew to New York. I didn’t rest on my laurels as a recording artist. I get it. I have to earn it,” Cox says.

“It started out where I had this idea long ago,” says Waissman, who saw Baker at the Palace Theatre two years before she passed away in 1975. “I read this biography by her [friend and former] manager Stephen Papich. Eventually, I decided to go forward with it as a musical, and then of course putting just the right the creative team together— Ellen Weston and Mark Hampton as the book writers—I put them together, they didn’t even know each other, I thought they would be a great combination. Finding composers took almost three years, really.”

“Then, we started to develop it. It’s harder to develop musicals today because nobody is in the same place long enough,” Waissman says.

Waissman declares Cox was born to play Baker. He knew it the moment she sang one of his favorite show tunes, “Look To The Rainbow” from the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow—the show that first inspired Waissman to become a producer at the age of six.

Cox’s career as a recording artist launched while singing backup for Celine Dion. In 1995, after being “discovered” by music mogul Clive Davis, Cox signed to Arista Records. She’s racked up 12 number one hit singles. Cox is set to perform in the U.S. premiere of the musical theatre adaptation of Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar-nominated film, The Bodyguard, in the role Whitney Houston originated at the Paper Mill Playhouse. While Cox has met legends like Houston, even recording a duet with the R&B icon, she says her obsession with Baker began with the viewing of The Josephine Baker Story, a 1991 biographical HBO drama film starring Lynn Whitfield. When the show was announced, she said she was terrified because she wanted it so much.

Nevertheless, she says this has been the most challenging role she’s taken on in her career.

“I’ve having the best time of my life because I am actually using all of my talents,” Cox says. “I’ve never been in a role where I danced, sang and acted. These dance scenes are completely different than anything I’ve ever done before. I’ve been in Pilates, ballet, gymnastics and African dance just to think and be like a dancer for the last six months. Singing is what comes the most naturally, but being able to use all of these muscles, I feel like a kid again; totally uninhibited. It’s also an emotional boot camp.”

[mandajiu]

Drama Question: What's your favorite age-gap romance with an older female?

Mandarin Question： CAN WE REALLY SAY 小奶狗？

My Name Is Kim-Sam Soon was my first KDrama and my first story about an older woman, younger man. It was so good except for the body humor which is always something I have to avert my eyes with in KDramas especially.

I am really looking forward to WL and ZYT new drama Nothing But Love. My own family life is similar. My mom was single raising two kids until my step-father came into our lives. I believe the age gap was 10 years or so; they were 22 and 32 when they started dating and 24 and 34 when they got married I believe. I'm dyscalculic, so don't quote me on numbers. I know it can work beautifully; I also know my dad was more mature in many ways and a super awesome father.

I am hoping Wu Lei and Zhou Yutong's drama Nothing But Love 《情爱而已》 will supplant Kim Sam Soon as the best age-gap romance with an older female, but this is a very tall order. I like ZYT's vibe. she has some similar androgynous aspects of my favorite actress Dilraba. Also, I think Nothing But Love will be more serious and have that sports energy which I have to admit I like. Who doesn't like an underdog story? I also enjoy seeing WL explore his angry, non-stoic side while also being carefree and playful. I know he will play his age well unlike the recent Falling into You drama where the ML was so cute and the FL not as wooden as usual, but he played the role too young for my watching standards and her character was just not believable (SPOILER we've been Meng Hua Lu'd again!).

Not sure you have read this far, but I have a big ask for Mandarin speakers. My goal is to do a small - very small - write-up about Nothing But You at some point in Mandarin for my own practice. As such, I would like some help with vocabulary. See the next post if you can help out.

如果说普通话, can you explain appropriate words to describe a "May-December" relationship w/ older woman, younger man?

Terms that are very casual that I know through interviews are:

姐狗 older sis/dog OK 没有?

小奶狗 - little milk dog

Is this more polite language?

年下剧？ or the more specific 姐弟罗曼？

How would you both casually and formally write about this kind of relationship?

[thishazeleyeddemon]

24. Here's my FL character, the Anarchistic Spy Alluring Detective with the Moth Mask!

Happy Hallowmas!

[brownqueertheist]

I made this in like an hour yesterday just chilling in the basement. Let me know what you guys think! I’m going to start posting more of my stuff. 

soundcloud ---> https://soundcloud.com/taylor-vance-505002303/guitar-lofi-taylor-original

[mourningmogaicrew]

New queer inclusion groups

These are all groups of people with certain queer identities who fight for inclusion, acceptance, and education on their identities and the identities of all other queer people. 

And because I don’t like the weapons theme (switchblade sapphics, army tank aces, longbow lesbians, blade bisexuals, etc)  the names are based off of other things.

I will hopefully manage to make versions of these flags with symbols someday. Also no flag IDs because I’m exhausted sorry.

Peach Plurarians- Because peaches are epic and so are plurarians. Flag is based on the plurarian flag and peaches.

Ocean Queerplatonics- Because the ocean is important but most people kind of ignore it, just like how most people ignore queerplatonic attraction/relationships. Flag is based on the queerplatonic flag, sand, and the ocean.

Marmalade Multigenders- Because each marmalade recipe looks different, and is made of  different ingredients, similar to how multigender people are different and experience gender in different ways. Flag is based on the (blue and orange) multigender flag and marmalade.

Nature Agenders- Because it’s only natural for agender people to be inclusive of other queer people. Flag is based on the agender flag and the color green for nature.

Apple Pie Aromantics- Because aromantics can be very sweet just like an apple pie. And by sweet, I mean inclusive. Flag is based on the aromantic flag, apples, and apple pie.

Sunshine Anattractionals- Because not experiencing attraction doesn’t make you grumpy or rude, and anattractionals can still be “sunny” (happy) without attraction. Flag is based on the (blue and purple) anattractional flag and the sun.

Chemical Demis- Because demisexuals and demiromantics are very cool and should form chemical-strong bonds with other queer people. Flag is based on the demisexual/demiromantic flags and radiation-associated colors.

Colorful Greys- Because some greysexuals and greyromantics like colorful pride flags and are inclusive. Flag is based on the greysexual/greyromantic flags with an emphasis on adding color.

Piercing Queers/Queer Guards- (piercing as in the adjective, not the noun.) Because us queer people should guard the vulnerable members of our community and intimidate exclusionists.

Kiwi Andros- Because androgynes and androgynous people are usually overlooked like the kiwis at the back of the supermarket unless someone specifically asks about them, but are actually very epic. Flag is based on the androgyne flag and kiwis.

Moonrise Transmascs- Because moonrise is blue like the transmasc flag. Rising also symbolizes transitioning, and new inclusive beginnings for the transmasc community. Flag is based on the transmasc flag, the moon, and the sky while the moon is rising.

Sunrise Transfems- Because sunrise is pink like the transmasc flag. Rising also symbolizes transitioning, and new inclusive beginnings for the transfem community. Flag is based on the transfem flag, the sun, and the sky while the sun is rising.

Enbians of the Serpent/Snake Enbians- Because the vincians and lesbians have inclusionist groups and the enbians shouldn’t be left out. Also because I think snakes/serpents and enbians are both cool. Flag is based on the enbian flag and snake/serpent iridescence.

Neon Polys- Because all the polysexual and polyromantic people I’ve ever met have been very inclusive and I think that’s a very good goal for all the other poly people too. Also because my one poly friend really likes bright colors. Flag is based on the polysexual/polyromantic flags and neon colors.

Gemstone Butches- Because butches don’t have to be rude just because they’re more masculine. (Toxic masculinity is bad y’all.) Gemstones are kind of like butches, because they look rough on the outside but are shiny when polished and very pretty on the inside (in this analogy, pretty inside means a good personality). Gemstones also are generally considered gender neutral because they’re literally stones. Flag is based on the (orange and yellow) butch flag and malachite.

Blush Femmes- (blush as in the makeup product, not the verb.) Because femmes don’t have to be uneducated just because they’re more feminine. (”Feminine things/people are stupid and don’t deserve respect” attitudes are bad y’all.) Wearing blush is sometimes associated with being “unnatural’’ but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, just like there’s nothing wrong with femmes. Blush and other makeup also is generally considered feminine (the british’s and catholics’ idea, even though makeup was originally for men). Flag is based on the (pink) femme flag and a blush set I saw at the store.

[utau-bowl]

Lance Lazor 5.0 CV English Review

Hello again, catching up on requests since a lot of them have gone unnoticed for some time. Thanks to everyone for being so patient.

This review was requested anonymously, but as is usual for requests on here was likely made by the UTAU’s creator. Support them on patreon or look at the song Database to get caught up with Lance.

*Art by Pink Squirel Games

Hear a Sample of Lance Lazor CV English

Bio

Gender: Genderfluid Age: varies (16-23) Image colors: Orange, Yellow

Lance is upbeat, energetic and easygoing. Lance tends to be a blank slate with very few defining characteristics. Lance is an alto, with some banks sounding a bit more masculine and others sounding a bit more feminine. Lance presents in all manners, though usually without a binder. 

Official Site

Lance has a website hosted on Weebly. Here is the link for the English CV vice directly, which can be downloaded on mediafire or itch.io. The voicebank is about 44 MB in size, but has no generated frq files. Since it uses a short CV reclist, it won’t take long to generate these frqs.

First Impressions

Lance has a soft and gentle voice with an American accent and an androgynous range. I made some USTs myself for this review and found they sounded way better in mezzo range despite being labeled an alto.

Configuration

You did not read the title wrong, yes CV English exists. It’s used to preserve the accents of British UTAU creators accurately. Sometimes VCCV and Arpasing Americanize the voice, which makes the UTAU not resemble the voice actor. Since Lance’s voice actor doesn’t appear to be British, it is an interesting choice to make. The reason why seems to be because Lance’s voicer is new to UTAU and didn’t want to record 300+ samples for CVVC or VCCV. This is not a voicebank that can be plug and played with your existing USTs. But if you’re using English UTAU, you probably already knew that didn’t ya? ;) The samples are overall very quiet and in lower ranges, Lance tends to not sound as good. It is difficult to find a resampler that sounds good with them. They do have a bit of a generic TTS voice, but it has quite a bit of charm in the same way old Microsoft synths tend to.

The recordings are supposed to be short, however some of the CV syllables are a bit too short and the vowels are pronounced strangely. Especially the “@” syllables, that phoneme is meant to sound like the “o” in cot but often sounds quite different for Lance. 

While making USTs, I found it quite inconvenient that there are no VC endings, so creating English words that end in consonants requires either using an end consonant or stretching it out into the next note. CV English took a lot for me to get used to, so if I’m just using it wrong, that’s on me. But it is difficult to make english words without being able to use vowels that have consonant endings attached. There are consonant clusters like br and fl, but these are intended to go in front of words, not between.

My recommended flags: H30Y100E20F3B0g-2

My recommended resamplers: EFB-GT, doppeltler

Final Thoughts

Lance is great first attempt at an UTAU. Making USTs with them is very fun and a nice way to dip your toes into English UTAU. Their design is also very cute and iconic.

Got any other UTAUs you want me to review? Send an ask!

[mosertone]

Susan Hauptman (1947–2015) was an American artist who worked exclusively on paper with charcoal, pastel and, later, other elements, such as gold leaf, wire mesh and thread. She is best known for her stark, enigmatic, often expressionless self-portraits in which she depicted herself with precise and candid detail in ways critics described as strikingly androgynous and that confronted cultural notions of beauty, reality, femininity and masculinity. She has had one-person shows in several museums including the Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, FL, the Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C

[sinnersleadtheway]

Messy Room