#grace vanderbilt

[corallapis]

Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries (Vol. 1), 1918-38, entry for 2nd July 1923

— Monday 2nd July In the evening we dined at Brook House some ninety strong with General and Mrs Vanderbilt.¹ Later there was a large ball, very fashionable and grand yet ‘kind’. Mrs Vanderbilt passed first into dinner with Paul of Serbia, which was correct but seemed to irritate Lord Curzon .... At midnight the P of W and the Yorks arrived ... her² first ball. Everyone was interested to see what would happen and what etiquette would be precedented and established. She was charming, dignified and blushing a little. Everyone ‘bobbed’ to the ground, if anything even lower than to the princes. Now that is settled. She brought no lady-in-waiting as Princess Mary³ frequently does ... — 1. Brigadier General Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873-1942), of New York, was a soldier and yachtsman: in 1896 he married, greatly against his father’s wishes, Grace Graham Wilson (1870-1953). 2. The former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. 3. Princess (Victoria Alexandra Alice) Mary (1897-1965), only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She married Henry George Charles Lascelles (1882-1947), by courtesy Viscount Lascelles, who in 1929 became the 6th Earl of Harewood. She was created Princess Royal in 1932.

[moratoirenoir]

[pwrn51]

What Patients Teach their Doctors about Life, Death

  Today’s guest is Dr. David Alfery Writer and Author of “SAVING GRACE, “What Patients Teach their Doctors about Life, Death, and the Balance in Between. Dr. Alfery served as Chief of Anesthesia, President of the Tennessee State Society of Anesthesiologists, and was a founding member of Anesthesia Medical Group, one of the largest anesthesia practices in the United States. Also, Dr. Alfery worked…

[luvly-writer]

"XOXO''

Ch. 9 Underneath the mask, there's a heart

---

Author's note: I had so much motivation to write these two chapters! I mean, these scenes did not get out of my brain and allow me to think of anything else this weekend. I have no idea when the next chapter will come out seeing as this week I have to deal with a few finals but I am so happy I got through with these two. Originally I was going to do ONE long ass chapter but decided to cut it into two. As always your feedback is welcomed! Enjoy <3

Warnings: Parental neglect

Taglist: @w31rdg1rl @mxtokko @loonymoonystuff @grandstrangerphanthom @1lellykins

if you’d like to be added to the taglist, just leave me a comment <3

Masterlist:

-•-

They went out of the hall and up a few stairs. Tim did not know where he was going, he just wanted to get the two of them away from her family as fast as possible. Finally, they got into a hall with a huge balcony. They entered and Tim closed the door. They stayed in a comfortable silence.

"When you said your family was unbearable, I was expecting snobby and classist, not a targeted interview and a blatant pedophile," he said finally turning to her. Yn leaned on the stone rails of the balcony breathing fresh air.

"I did tell you to expect anything" she answered softly. Tim walked closer to her. He said goosebumps rising on her arms and took off his suit jacket. He placed it on her and smiled when she snuggled in it.

"What was all of that?" he questioned looking at her, "You have been acting slightly out of it ever since I arrived. You don't quip back with my comments and you make yourself seem small around your family. What is going on, Yn? Where's the force to be reckoned with that I am constantly with?" he asked showing pure concern. Yn looked at him and he swore he would see tears welling up in her eyes.

"I..." she began and he took her hand in his.

"You can tell me anything, angel. We are friends, right?" he said and she nodded. She took a deep breathe and began.

"I'm... I'm not even sure where should I begin" she laughed, "Ever since we were little, my father has placed the unbelievable task of always being extraordinary. We needed to get the best grades, be top of our grades, get into the best colleges, surround ourselves with the best people, if we went into any extracurriculars, we had to stand out. He would say that we are representing the Vanderbilt name everywhere we go. It is better to be envied than to be related. Admiration has to be everything. Why be yourself when you can be a Vanderbilt triumph. As we grew older, his expectations rose.Aurora, the eldest, is the one who has taken it with the most grace out of the three. Everywhere she went, it was as if a line of gold followed her. Top of her grade, class president, multiple medals as a horse rider, abundant class and grace, motherly, warm, blinding smile, and neverending kindness. There has never been a moment when she has not made our father anything less than proud. Between the two of us, she has my vote as CEO. She is my mother's favorite. Mine too if we are honest. Then there's Charlisse. If Aurora is gold, she is shining silver. She is cunning, ambitious, quick-witted, ruthless, rough, strong, top of her grade as well, captain of her fencing team, who also owns a good amount of medals, and ruthless. Both queens of the school in their moment, beautiful and intelligent. Graduated from university magna cum laude and went straight into the family business. Where Aurora has always been more like mom, hence why she's her favorite; Charlisse is more like dad; meaning that she is the closest to becoming his favorite. And then..there's me" she said.

"Then there's you" Tim affirmed softly

"The black sheep of the family" corrected and Tim looked at her baffled.

"Impossible," he said and she shook her head.

"Not so impossible. I have tried everything to be like them, and no matter what, it has never been enough for the old man. In some ways, I am like them. Perfect grades, top of my year, captain of the tennis team, multiple medals... but to my father, and by association Charlisse as well, I lack character. Aurora is a natural-born leader and Charlisse will do whatever it takes to get to the top. Both of them have an ongoing unspoken competition that seems to never die. Hence our current problem. You see, according to the papers and the succession line, Aurora is supposed to be CEO, and Charlisse is supposed to be COO; but one day, a fight erupted, and Charlise was tired of feeling constantly second to Aurora so she demanded that father make her a runner up for CEO as well, and because she is his favorite, father approved. From then on, both were being trained to become CEOs. My father loves good competition and claims that it is always healthy for the best outcome. Only the best of the best wins. When that happened, in a sense, my father expected me to join the competition as well.."

"But you didn't" Tim finished and she nodded.

"I didn't and that angered my father. He said that I lacked character because of how coddled I was by Aurora and Mom and that I truly couldn't do anything worth noticing...that I was too soft for a family like ours. By then, I had been in the middle of middle school...and I sought out to prove him wrong." she continued and Tim nodded.

"So you became the ice queen" he deduced and she nodded.

"yea...it wasn't that hard, I mean coming from a highly rich and highly respected family where your older sisters were known as the social queens placed you in a certain advantage. So I became the Ice Queen. Instead of friendly and warm, serious and cold. People did anything to be in my favor and it began to feel nice"

"Being feared?"

"Being respected. Soon word got to my dad. He finally heard that his daughter had that spark he had been looking for. Everybody bowed down to her, everyone wanted to be around her, and people would do crazy things just to get her favor. It was the first time my father expressed he was proud of me. He had the three queens he needed. Gold, silver, and Ice. It's easy to put that front. If someone disrespected you, they were taken care of; if anyone tried to step out of line, blackmail; if someone wanted to defy the hierarchy, public humiliation; all of the control was in my hands...and I didn't like it but it was the only way to make my father proud. You see, excelling in grades and extracurriculars was the minimum, what matters is how you were. Finally, when I graduated high school, I thought it would be over because in my head a CEO would already be chosen, but their competition got worse. It involved the public eye. Who had the most beautiful wedding, who did the most charity, who spoke the most eloquently, it was a mess and my father wanted me to partake in it. When I expressed that I did not want to form part of this, he got angry for how could I turn my back on my family. And so as punishment, he signed that when he saw fit, I would become the next CMO. In order to do so, I have to be married. I proposed that I would do it, as long as he let me choose my husband and he agreed. That was when I was 18. Four years later, he decides that I have taken too long and strikes up a deal with Mr. Morris, a sick man with a good amount of money that my father can manipulate easily. That brings us to our current situation" she finishes.

Tim stayed quiet for a moment.

"I know how it feels" he finally speaks up. She looks at him and motions for him to proceed.

"There is no better person to sort of understand what you have gone through. I mean, Bruce doesn't actively send us to compete against each other. If he had his way, none of us would have to. You see, we compare ourselves to each other a lot, not just in our everyday lives, but in masks as well. Dick is the first son and first robin. He basically created the thing. Not only that, he has been the only one trusted to don the Batman cowl-"

"I knew it!" she said and Tim looked at her surprised.

"Oh sorry, it's just I knew it. I don't remember how long ago but I do remember being in my room's balcony and seeing Batman and he did NOT look like he did normally. He was leaner and shorter and I remember saying 'Batman looks different today' but I couldn't pin point exactly what it was. Then I told Satine and Clara and they made ME look insane for noticing the difference." she laughed lightly and Tim snorted a laugh. "Anyways, sorry for interrupting, continue," she said and scootched a little closer to him. They were still standing next to one another, but she had slowly gotten closer as he spoke. Looking for warmth or interested, Tim did not know.

"Let's go inside, angel, you will freeze to death here," he said pulling her inside and locking the balcony door. They sat beside each other on one of the sofas of the room and Tim continued what he was saying,

"As I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted me" Yn stuck her tongue out to him and he rolled his eyes at her, "He has basically become the vigilante blueprint for all of us. The Golden Boy Grayson. Good moral, great leader, strong character in a good way. Even with his strong and angsty temperament, which is not fun to deal with by the way, he still manages to be the best of us. Then there's Jason, the fallen and revived Robin, the only one to go the extra mile to do what's right. The one that justifies the means with its end. Once he finally started therapy and began healing, you could see the clear heart of gold that resides in the first place. Then you have the girls, each in their own right is amazing. Barbara's brain and compassion, Cassie's strive to be the best of herself and to bring the best out of us, Stephanie's charm, humor, and pure skill. Then there's Duke, who is I believe the true best of all of us and the most normal. He has a heart that is incomparable and he is never afraid to show it. Finally, there is Damian, who is all skill, mind, and power. Even as young as he is, that boy is one force of nature and he is the only one that is Bruce's biologica child. Not only was he the reason Robin no longer belongs to me but he could be the reason Wayne Enterprises might end for me as well.They are all great each to their own right and own up to it and they all came from some place shitty and grew from it...what's not to envy" Tim finishes.

Yn smiles at him and moves closer to him, laying her head on his shoulders.

"I think there is a lot to envy and admire in Tim Drake as well." she tells him softly

"Yeah?" he smiles looking at her.

"Yeah, I mean, you are the world's greatest detective. Second to only Batman, and some people might say even better. Plus, you also have a heart of gold, Tim. You are quite literally a genius. You, like your siblings, stay up every night to make this mess of a city a better place. You put your life in complete danger to help others. You are just as great to your own right as your siblings. Didn't you tell me you have been quite literally the only person to discover who Batman is and in what age?" she asks

"Age nine" he tells her and her jaw drops

"Holy....Tim, what the fuck? You are amazing!" she says and he just laughs. It felt good to receive some praise.

"Hey, this is the first time I have heard you curse! I am becoming a good influence on you" he points out and she hits his arm lightly

"More like a bad influence" she responds making him laugh harder, "My point is proven even more, Tim. You are brilliant. I'm pretty sure that Batman and Bruce and everyone in your family and team wouldn't be the same without you," she states taking his hand in hers and giving it a light squeeze. He takes his hand off hers and with that same arm, pulls her in for a hug.

"So how come you can see my worth, yet you can't see yours?" he asks her and she shrugs. They move a little and get into a more comfortable position, still cuddling.

"I guess it is difficult to try to have a mind of your own when your family is trying to control every aspect of your life to make it fit their idea of perfect" she says.

"What if that's why your father takes it out on you so much?" he asks and she looks at him curiously,

"Hate what you can't control so much that it becomes obedient against its will," he explains and she whispers lowly, "Might be"

They stay there cuddling for a while until Tim remembers something

"One more question," he says

"You seem to have an endless supply of them but go ahead" she replies

"Hey, I'm a detective, it's part of the job description"

"Ok, detective, what is your big query?"

"What's the big deal of the painting?" he asks and he can feel her tense up in his arms. She stays quiet for some time and Tim begins to panic. "You do not have to answer if you don't want to, angel. I won't push-"

"It's mine," she answers softly, "...when I was a child, my grandmother lived in Florence, Italy. I would stay with her every summer per her request and I loved it," she took a shuddering deep breath and continued, "I was so happy there you know. She would take me to museums, cafes, and road trips. I started to get a fixation on art and she got the best teachers to give me class every summer. From charcoals, to watercolors, to sketching, to symmetry, to abstract, to realism, I learned everything that there was possible to learn...and I loved it! It was my passion and it just so happens I had a really great hand for it. She would host a gala at the end of the summer and showcase my paintings. Most would have been sold by the end of the night. That money would go to a bank account she had for me and told me that I would be able to access it once I graduated from university, as a gift. One summer, I put my heart and soul into this painting. It was one of my favorite trees in my grandmother's estate, a weeping willow. To make it fancier, I titled it in French, Le Saule Pleureur. My grandparents loved it. Everyone loved the painting and wanted to buy it, yet it was the only painting they never sold. Later, that year, I went to the Met Museum and told my grandparents I would love to have my own creation placed there someday. So for my 16th birthday, they surprised me by having that painting placed in the Met. Now every time they would come visit us, they would stay in their apartment in New York and we would go to the Met and pay the painting a visit. None of my family members here knew I could paint, so imagine their surprise when they came with us one time and saw my creation there. It is a sacred painting to me and my father knows that...and now, he just threw it away for the sake of winning this twisted game we are playing..." she said and started to tear up. "...For once in my life, I had a taste of what it felt like to be my own person and have something of my own and he just ripped that away because of his stupid company" she said dejectedly.

"What do you mean?" Tim asked curiously

"My whole life has been controlled by that man. From the moment I was born, I had a role to play. Another perfect daughter to the perfect family of the Vanderbilts who would then go on to become part of the Vanderbilt Hotels company. I wasn't allowed to do certain things, watch certain things, act a certain way, be with certain people, eat certain things, or be anything that did not scream Vanderbilt...the worst part was that no one ever asked what I wanted to be, who I wanted to be...until I came to Florence. Sure, people knew who I was, but no one actually cared? And it was so refreshing to be no one and being no one granted you freedom. Not only that, it was the only place I was asked what I wanted to do, and what did I like. My father has no jurisdiction over my grandparents and it felt great! There I was allowed to be, to feel, to dream, and I noticed, I didn't want what everyone else wanted from me," she said with a soft sigh

"What did you want to be and do?" Tim asked, his tone sincere. He did not know it, but he had been added to the list of Yn's favorite people, because ever since they met, the one thing Tim never stopped doing, was ask about her and try to get to know her and it had nothing to do with the Vanderbilt name. It just had to do with Yn.

"I never wanted the CEO position, or the COO, or the CMO. I wanted to be a painter and open up my own gallery and cafe. I wanted to name it Margaret's" she said smiling.

"Why Margaret's?" Tim asked also smiling. He asked and listened.

"My grandmother's name is Margaret. I wanted to honor her." she answered.

"Why not name it after yourself?" he asked again and she turned to look at him "How so?" she asked.

"Name it something after you, Yn, and celebrate your individuality" he answered and she felt her heart warm up, "You have spent your entire life searching to please everyone else, so why not name it after you?" he asked and she stiffened.

"Oh no no no wait, this is just a dream, Timmy, I can't do that. My father will find a way to disown me or or shut the whole thing down. He is real serious about continuing his legacy...why do you think we are doing this entire thing? I know that the only thing I can escape is this marriage, not the life," she said dejectedly. Tim stayed quiet for a second. Even if sometimes he and his siblings hated their situation, they could recognize that they had some freedom. They had chosen this life as vigilantes, and Bruce had always given them the chance to do whatever they pleased with their civilian lives. They had always had a choice, weather its was continue or not, they had a choice. They would support each other no matter what.

"you know….you are passionate, you are kind, you are beautiful, you are intelligent, resourceful, you are unique, unlike your sisters, you were able to break free from that chain of control, Yn, you are someone worth seeing.……and I see you," Tim said.

“Thank you, Timmy,” she said looking up at him as he hugged her tighter, "And most importantly, you will be free from all of this. I don't know how we are doing it, but this small heist of ours just raised the stakes." he told her.

"what do you have in mind?" she asked curious to see where this is going.

"Not only are we going to set you free from this damn arranged marriage, but we are setting you free period. And I’m introducing you to a whole new world," he said standing up and pulling her with him, "Miss Y/n Vanderbilt, I am about to become the worst influence in your life and introducing you to all the things your father forbade" he finished mimicking a British accent her giggle.

"Where are we going, Mister Drake Wayne?" she asked mimicking the way of speaking of a period drama".

"Have you ever been to Batburger, my lady" he asked making a curtsy

"I have not, kind sir" she said doing a curtsy of her own

"Well, you are in luck, because tonight's most refined dinner is there, cause I can assure you those small ass portions of tonight's dinner did absolutely nothing to my stomach. I feel famished." he said making her laughs and nodd in agreance. They were nearing the door but before they went out, Yn pulled Tim's hand and stopped him.

"Wait...Tim" she said and he turned to look back at her, raising an eyebrow," I also see you….just wanted you to know that" she said sweety and Tim smiled.

"Thank you, angel, that means a lot" he said, placing a kiss on her forehead and pulling her along.

They ran out of the room, holding hands, laughing loudly. They kept on running, with Yn leading the way to the nearest exit. They would shush each other trying to not get caught and finally went out the back door, smiling really bright.

Watching their exit from above a few stairs were Yn's mother and Aurora.

"Should we say something?" asked Aurora, who was worried for her younger sister. "No," said their mother, "Yn deserves this. If your father has a problem with it, he will come to me," she said and both women smiled at each other. They approved of Tim for Yn.

-•-

[princess-polls]

A

Princess (The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince) VS Sapphia (High-Class Homos)

Lucina (Fire Emblem Awakening) VS Ace (Love Nikki)

Princess Pride (Mega Man Battle Network) VS Miranda Vanderbilt (Monster Prom)

Elodie (Long Live the Queen) VS Parasoul (Skullgirls)

Princess (Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier) VS Rapunzel (Tangled)

Starfire/Koriand'r (DC Comics) VS Coronabeth Tridentarius (The Locked Tomb)

Blaze the Cat (Sonic the Hedgehog) VS Midna (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

Eilonwy (The Black Cauldron) VS Nefertari Vivi (One Piece)

B

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) VS Merida (Brave)

Ariel (The Little Mermaid) VS Princess Peach (Mario Games)

Snow White (Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs) VS Shirahoshi (One Piece)

Nunnally vi Britannia (Code Geass) VS Ahiru/Princess Tutu (Princess Tutu)

Griselda (Ys: Memories of Celceta) VS Tsunami (Wings of Fire)

Priscilla Barielle (Re:Zero) VS Momo (Magical Princess Minky Momo)

Princess Luna (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) VS Stella (Winx Club)

Princess Iron Fan (Lego Monkie Kid) VS Elena (Elena of Avalor)

C

Gwendolyn (Cursed Princess Club) VS Amira (Princess Princess Ever After)

Tidy (The Little Trashmaid) VS Claudia (Romancing SaGa)

Ako Shirabe (Suite Precure) VS Alisha Diphda (Tales of Zestiria) VS Hime Shirayuki/Cure Princess (Happiness Charge Precure)

Timerra (Fire Emblem: Engage) VS Kozuki Hiyori (One Piece)

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) VS San (Princess Mononoke)

Morgana Pendragon (BBC Merlin) VS Anastasia/Anya (Anastasia)

Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess) VS Elayne Trakand (Wheel of Time)

Kida Nedakh (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) VS Zelda (The Legend of Zelda)

D

Lum (Urusei Yatsura) VS Frey (Rune Factory 4)

Urpina Julanius (SaGa Scarlet Grace) VS Anisphia Wynn Palettia (The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady)

Hornet (Hollow Knight) VS Winter Hayle (The Lunar Chronicles)

Laura (Fantasy Life) VS Prez/Calpernia (Cursed Princess Club)

Kaguya-hime (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya) VS Yona (Yona of the Dawn)

Cinderella (Cinderella) VS Odette (The Swan Princess)

Jasmine (Aladdin) VS Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Fiona (Shrek) VS Buttercup (The Princess Bride)

[royal-confessions]

“I was surprised to find out how many connections the Vanderbilt family had to royalty. Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt apparently had a lesbian relationship with Nadejda Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven and was engaged to Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria and of Tsar Alexander II. Her sister Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness was the mistress of Edward VIII and was the person to introduce him to Wallis Simpson. Grace Vanderbilt was the guardian of Lady Pamela Hicks when she was shipped off to New York and the Mounbattens became very close to family. Consuelo Vanderbilt was proposed to by Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg (who was the brother of Prince Henry Battenberg, who married Princess Beatrice, a daughter of Queen Victoria) but she turned him down. No wonder Prince Harry did an interview with Anderson Cooper 😅. I’m sure there’s many more connections but I just find that all so fascinating.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[fruitchouli]

perfumes of the.. how do u say .. week? omg should i do the thing i did last week and include the notes ok i love doing that

D.S. & Durga Vio-Volta (2017)

big stinker

Gloria Vanderbilt Vanderbilt (1982)

pineapple powdery floral confection..

Agent Provocateur Maîtresse (2006)

throwback white floral inspired by that bitch grace kelly 😒

Azzedine Alaïa Alaïa Blanche (2016)

hypnotic poison eau florale

Lush Ginger 🫚 (2003)

earthy yellow floral inspired by that queen ginger rogers

[secretly-a-catamount]

I’m Dreaming of a Circus Life

I wrote this on Ao3 under the account Beatty_About_Books, which can be found here.

Braeden Vanderbilt had always been lonely.

He was placed on a pedestal by the newspapers and their reporters. They were a sleepless pack of wolves always waiting for him to slip up, always hungering to spill his lifeblood, the most intimate moments of his life, across poorly-printed paper in ink.

He was merely tolerated by his aunt and uncle. They paraded him around like a prized show-dog when their friends were around but paid no attention to him when cameras weren’t turned their way.

He was the lover of a girl who made no secret of her indifference towards him. Rowena wore her elegance and her brutality as easily as she wore interest in the old war-veteran who dragged her across the dance floor, his mouth near her cheek, his hands on her waist. Braeden should have felt jealous at this, but as hard as he tried he couldn’t.

Was he lonely because of them? Or was he lonely in spite of them?

He didn’t know, but he grabbed a champagne flute and sipped it slowly, eyeing everyone and everything with the same amount of calculating interest.

And it was then — among the snow, and the lights dripping from the trees, and the people he would never really care about — that he met her.

She looked somewhat peculiar and wore nothing of note, but it was her eyes, those glorious yellow eyes, that ripped his soul from his breast and slammed it to the marble floor below — the same marble floor she was now crossing with a cat-like grace.

He’d heard hundreds of stories about love at first sight, and while he always listened politely, he never believed it, and even at the moment he didn’t think he was going to. Because it wasn’t love that the woman had in her eyes — something that was mirrored in his own — it was understanding, a sense of companionship, almost. Braeden had always been lonely, had always been caged. Was it too much to hope — too cruel to hope? — that she had had similar experiences?

“Are you lost?” Braeden blurted out, because his conversational skills were immaculate.

“As much as you are, I would think.” She made no curtsy, no introduction, she simply plucked the champagne flute from his hand and drank it.

Well-versed in the street-talk that men of his social-status scorned in public but let flow freely once doors were closed and a bottle of brandy emptied, Braeden waited for a pang of desire to spear his breast, and was both relieved and vaguely disappointed when his common-sense and critical thinking remind intact as he watched amber beads of the liquor cling to the woman’s lips before slowly trailing down her scarred jaw.

“I’m Serafina,” she said, without prompting of any sort, “dance with me.”

Serafina wiped her mouth with the back of her hand — still nothing, but maybe, Braeden realized, she liked this absence of physical want, maybe she liked that the first thought he had wasn’t one of her scarred face but of the scarred mind behind it — took his hand, and lead him onto the dance floor.

“I’m Braeden Vanderbilt.” He said in response to her introduction. When they twirled, Serafina’s skirt flared around bare feet and legs cloaked in men’s working pants.

“I know.”

“I am known by most of the people here,” Braeden admitted, smiling sheepishly, “one of the perks of your uncle paying off the law-enforcement for the largest gang leader in the city.”

“No, you misunderstand me.” Serafina said, eyes flickering like the matches he’d played with as a child, “I simply know most things about most people.”

“And how is that exactly, Serafina, you don’t seem the sociable type?” Braeden thought back to when Rowena and him had made their rounds of the party earlier, Rowena draping herself over him like stolen mink, Serafina nowhere to be found among those who were wealthy, those who were criminals, and those who were both.

“One does not have to be sociable to stay in the shadows, steal secrets, and slit throats.”

“You’re an assassin—“

She smiled at that, a quick flash of sharp teeth.

“—doesn’t that conflict with your religious views?” Braeden asked, unaware that this was a question that had led many to the end of a knife, to spilt blood and the frantic gasps of the dying.

“I see no reason it should, does not the Lord strike down sinners with the bladed-wings of angels?” She went on to ramble about her scars (a sign of her baptism) and how she only preyed when she was covered in the blood of her enemies, or rather, Uriah Pemberton’s enemies.

Braeden whispered in her ear as the music crescendoed — “I think you and I were meant to be friends.” — and from the way she laughed — which he loved, even if he couldn’t hear it — and squeezed his hand let him know she thought so too.

Perhaps they were destined to be friends. Perhaps they weren’t.

But in the end it didn’t matter.

Because with songbirds, particularly those a bit too smart, too feral, too bloodthirsty, it was always a matter of time before they broke free from their cages. Broke free, and killed those who had imprisoned them. Killed the fools who had tried to net a songbird and instead caught the storm.

[denerdnr]

Vanderbilt Triple Palace

The Triple Palace, also known as the William Henry Vanderbilt House, was a controversial mansion in New York City. Completed in 1882, it has belonged to several members of the Vanderbilt family.

It consisted of two wings: a single-family unit to the south, where William Henry lived, and a two-family unit to the north, where two of his daughters lived. Upon its completion, the mansion was generally criticized, either for bad taste or lack thereof. The interior decor was a mad mix of various artistic styles and periods, so much so that when Cornelius Vanderbilt III inherited the house, his wife Grace said: "Why, it's the back hole of Calcutta! I can't live here."

So Cornelius commissioned Horace Trumbauer to do an extensive renovation on the house in 1916. The interior was completely demolished and remodeled, and the exterior stripped of most of its decorative elements.

The northern section of the Triple Palace was demolished in 1927, while the southern section was destroyed in 1947; both sections have been replaced by skyscrapers.

In this version for The Sims 4, I only built the south wing. Originally, the mansion was clad in brownstone, but since I didn't have all the decorative elements in that color, I decided to do it in gray limestone.

[evita-shelby]

Hi !

Can you do one where tommy has an affair and falls in love with a very suductive and manipulative reader ?

@l1-l4 did one similar "devil is a woman" and its SO GOOD , like ...art siriously you need to read it

Dont feel pressured to write anything , thank you 🙂

Oh i love her fics, especially the one where Grace’s sister has an affair with Tommy.

I was going to make this set in like season 6, but them I'd have to write about Ruby, and he cheats on Lizzy in canon already, so this oneshot takes place in season 3 to make the reader way more evil lol

Venus

Gif by @retromafia

If you asked anyone, especially his insipid Irish wife, you’ll hear how Thomas Shelby never cheats.

That things between the two of you were over when she came back fat with his bastard.

If anyone asked his driver, the maid who washed his clothes and Polly, especially Polly who knew him better than anyone else, you’ll hear about the woman he loves who looks like Venus herself.

You met him as a nude model posing for Churchill, you had fucked him with your eyes as he agreed to kill whoever Churchill asked him to kill.

That led to drinks at his pub, a day at the races, a week shopping and fucking in London and all while you remained the chaste widow of some rich old man who died trying to consummate your week-long marriage. People even thought you were still a virgin waiting for her handsome nouveau riche boyfriend to make a move.

You were no angel, you were a demon straight from hell. And the world was just so blind to the fangs you hide beneath your pretty lipstick.

Even Tommy forgot how wicked you were until you unleashed hell after he fucked up with Grace.

Grace Shelby had one boy lost to her forever and a loveless marriage behind closed doors. You made sure everyone and their dog knew it on both sides of the Atlantic.

He married her out of duty, he hadn’t even touched in the two years he made her wait for the wedding he never wanted.

You see, she had assumed Tommy was the daddy, but when the dates didn’t add up, you tearfully told darling Clive’s bereaved mummy how Grace had claimed the little blonde cherub was the product of an affair with your boyfriend because she had never loved sweet, sweet Clive.

Her late husband’s parents had issued an ultimatum that same day, forget Thomas Shelby or forget Clive Junior. They were powerful, Clive’s mum was born a Vanderbilt and his paternal grandmother an Astor, even here no one would dare fuck with them.

But she chose a man over her own child, something no person rich or poor would ever forgive thanks to those tips you gave the tabloids.

You’d never liked Grace, not when you knew her from finishing school nor when the two of you had your court presentations together. You came to loathe her when you discovered your beloved Thomas had fucked her in the same sofa he had said he loved you.

But you still loved him, and he loved you, so you forgave him after punishing him for two years.

Your idiot lover had gotten the marriage license already when he believed the bun in the oven to be his and because of that General Curran had threatened to throw him and his family into prison if he didn’t marry his stupid niece.

You didn’t forgive him for his sins until you showed up at his wedding wearing white and stole the show.

You didn’t care about driving attention to yourself , you feigned innocence and said you assumed that because the bride wore such a garish shade of purple you were free to wear white.

Can you ever forgive me, Y/N? He had asked so sweetly as you led him to the master bedroom that bitch had no idea you decorated.

If she knew that everything had been done by you for you, she’d run for the hills.

You’d kill to see her destroyed, but revenge takes time, something your viper of a mother had taught you well.

He loved you, he felt alive when he was with you, and you knew he wasn’t lying as the two of you fucked on his marriage bed to prove it.

Grace is only here until I can get rid of her, he said when the two of you removed any trace of your affair and returned to the party downstairs.

“Doesn’t Mrs. Shelby look stunning?” your ‘friend’ asked another lady as Grace entered her gala looking like she wanted to cry.

Tommy had used Section D to get his divorce, a divorce that had hit Grace like a missile this morning.

"Pretty and ornamental like a statue.” You heard her companion titter. No one liked Mrs. Shelby, in fact no one cared about her. "A statue that should've been left in the attic, if you ask me."

Not her family, not her husband, not her so called friends. Society hated her, especially when ‘someone’ discovered a story about sweet and innocent romance she had destroyed like the wicked bitch everyone thinks she is.

The guests were only here because you shared the charity with her just as much as you shared the man who funded it.

They came as a favor to you, you who was so sweet and kind and would never abandon a child you bore for a man who didn't love you.

If Grace knew about it, she’d die.

You made a mental note to send an invitation for your wedding in Paris next month.

February 14, a Valentine’s Day wedding for two star-crossed lovers in the most romantic city in the world.

Tommy was yours, heart, soul and body. She could have his name and money for now, but even that would be taken away from her in a heartbeat.

You'll be generous of course, give her some cash and have her return to Northern Ireland where she'll die in obscurity like she deserved. It's not like you'll ever need your late husband’s country home now that you have Arrow House.

“I heard from the housekeeper that he had every trace of her removed today.” Polly gave you a knowing look. She hated Grace for what she did in 1919. “Apparently this is the last time she is appearing in society as his wife.”

“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” You quoted like the saintly women you pretend to be.

[moratoirenoir]

[the-institute-rpg]

EVENT : emergency lockdown

With the island still under attack, all civilians (students, faculty, and island residents) have been assigned a location on the island to shelter in. Location assignments have been sent to each phone. Characters receive only their own assignments, not the entire list.

Most guards have been summoned to fight the attackers; a handful of NPC guards have been assigned to find and deliver lost civilians to their assigned shelters; all player character guards have received orders to collect supplies from designated emergency locations and proceed to an assigned shelter to protect civilians. Guards assigned to the shelters have a list of all civilians assigned to their shelter and are expected to check each of them off on arrival.

Another explosion has left half of the dormitory building collapsed, and the other half quickly following. Characters may have been in the building when it collapsed, and escape plots/injury plots are allowed!

The island is under attack by Delphine Delecaille. While the protections were down, Delphine and many of her people made it onto the island. Among the attackers is a massive purple dragon--characters may witness the dragon flying over the island, breathing fire, but should not come up against it. They may, however, encounter as many NPC attackers of various species as you please on their way to their shelter. Characters can fight and kill NPC attackers without consulting the main and without fear of consequences!

Speaking of journeys to their shelters, your character may take any roundabout journey you like to arrive there, so long as they do, eventually, arrive there. Late arrivals are allowed. Characters may spend up to two (2) days outside of the shelter. After they arrive at the shelter, they will not be allowed out, though characters with teleportation will not be bound.

Characters will not be allowed into shelters they are not assigned to, even in the name of staying with their loved ones assigned there.

While the island is under attack, cell phones on the island are misbehaving. Texts and calls are failing 9 out of 10 times.

The protective spells have been restored, but the binding spell in particular is acting up. Bound slaves may find they have access to their powers in short spurts of up to ten or fifteen minutes at a time.

Keep your eyes peeled for plot drops throughout the event!

Lockdown locations & assignments are under the cut.

LOCKDOWN LOCATIONS

01. THE CAMPUS THEATER

ASSIGNED GUARDS: Ale Bolivar Vicente Sanchez & Liam Connolly

ASSIGNED CIVILIANS:

Alexander Black

Angelina Andrews

Belladonna Ivy

Clementine Astoria

Dakota Winters

Dominik Ruthingham

Donnie Miller

Dylan Altomare

Emmanuel Reyes

Evander Kasyade

Evelyn Stratford

Fayeth Araven

Finn Carlyle

Isabel Hai Phan

Jason Shaw

Jody Linnel

Jude Rigby

Judith Gilmore-Green

Layla DuBois

Leo Weatherington

Levi Matthews

Lucas Drake

Magnus Kusihamar

Malakai Nolan

Malon Savaris

Matthew Clarke

Nova Walker

Quinten Sawyer

Rowan Aubri

Sabrina Christiansen

Tessa Fuchs

02. THE CLINIC

ASSIGNED GUARDS: Uriel Zeriah & Milo Cole

ASSIGNED CIVILIANS:

Aiden Wentworth

Ava Montgomery

Chase Walker

Damien Black

Edmund Elofsen

Elijah Scott

Gabriel Mauchavant

Grace Carleton

Gulana Alim

Hunter Morrigan

James Donovan

Katell Brightwood

Keith Crane

Kylie Danvers

Lyssa Hudson

Margeaux Adkins

Orion Campbell

Qhuinn Fontenot

Sasha Bell

Sawyer Chambers

Scarlett McKnight

Stephen White

Sunshine Bunny

Tamara Von Uplnek

Tilly Beaumont

Tommy Heavyshield

Victor Hunt

Wat Fletcher

Theodora Wilson

Veritty Cailloux

Xavier Lennon

03. THE LIBRARY

ASSIGNED GUARDS: Kane Whelan & Raven Powers

ASSIGNED CIVILIANS:

Ace Kiran

Arthur Augustus

Atticus Carmine

Avery Fellhaven

Byron Christiansen

Charlotte Taylor

Ciaran O'Bryan

Clara Woodhouse

Daisy Lynch

Dhani Lyman

Dominick Winterford

Dougal McLeod

Elise Nyland

Elizabeth Garcia

Elliot Raws

Ethan Valdez

Everlasting

Felix Martin

Francesca Vanderbilt

Genevieve Wranmyer

James Storm

Kailor Grey

Leslie Stedeman

Lilim Morrigan

Noah Wright

Owen Jackson

Scott Landenberg

Skyler Campbell

Thalia Moore

Wade Jensen

Winter DuBois

[putah-creek]

This valley So long, flat, and wide Is graced by the Sacramento River Cold and quick Air that is like your first breath Air that holds your most private moments The earth here is as rich a Vanderbilt Or a Kennedy The crops are diamonds in the rough And the air and the soil grace each other The way that an angel might grace a child

James Lee Jobe

[rockislandadultreads]

Women’s History Month: More Nonfiction Recommendations

The Barbizon by Paulina Bren

Welcome to New York's legendary hotel for women.

Liberated from home and hearth by World War I, politically enfranchised and ready to work, women arrived to take their place in the dazzling new skyscrapers of Manhattan. But they did not want to stay in uncomfortable boarding houses. They wanted what men already had - exclusive residential hotels with maid service, workout rooms, and private dining.

Built in 1927, at the height of the Roaring Twenties, the Barbizon Hotel was designed as a luxurious safe haven for the "Modern Woman" hoping for a career in the arts. Over time, it became the place to stay for any ambitious young woman hoping for fame and fortune. Sylvia Plath fictionalized her time there in The Bell Jar, and, over the years, it's almost 700 tiny rooms with matching floral curtains and bedspreads housed, among many others, Titanic survivor Molly Brown; actresses Grace Kelly, Liza Minnelli, Ali MacGraw, Jaclyn Smith; and writers Joan Didion, Gael Greene, Diane Johnson, Meg Wolitzer. Mademoiselle magazine boarded its summer interns there, as did Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School its students and the Ford Modeling Agency its young models. Before the hotel's residents were household names, they were young women arriving at the Barbizon with a suitcase and a dream.

Not everyone who passed through the Barbizon's doors was destined for success - for some, it was a story of dashed hopes - but until 1981, when men were finally let in, the Barbizon offered its residents a room of their own and a life without family obligations. It gave women a chance to remake themselves however they pleased; it was the hotel that set them free. No place had existed like it before or has since.

D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose

In 1942, the Allies were losing, Germany seemed unstoppable, and every able man in England was on the front lines. To “set Europe ablaze,” in the words of Winston Churchill, the Special Operations Executive  (SOE), whose spies were trained in everything from demolition to sharpshooting, was forced to do something unprecedented: recruit women. Thirty-nine answered the call, leaving their lives and families to become saboteurs in France.

In D-Day Girls, Sarah Rose draws on recently de­classified files, diaries, and oral histories to tell the thrilling story of three of these remarkable women. There’s Andrée Borrel, a scrappy and streetwise Parisian who blew up power lines with the Gestapo hot on her heels; Odette Sansom, an unhappily married suburban mother who saw the SOE as her ticket out of domestic life and into a meaningful adventure; and Lise de Baissac, a fiercely independent member of French colonial high society and the SOE’s unflap­pable “queen.” Together, they destroyed train lines, ambushed Nazis, plotted prison breaks, and gathered crucial intelligence - laying the groundwork for the D-Day invasion that proved to be the turning point in the war.

Heiresses by Laura Thompson

Heiresses: surely they are among the luckiest women on earth. Are they not to be envied, with their private jets and Chanel wardrobes and endless funds? Yet all too often those gilded lives have been beset with trauma and despair. Before the 20th century a wife’s inheritance was the property of her husband, making her vulnerable to kidnap, forced marriages, even confinement in an asylum. And in modern times, heiresses fell victim to fortune-hunters who squandered their millions.

Heiresses tells the stories of these million dollar babies: Mary Davies, who inherited London’s most valuable real estate, and was bartered from the age of twelve; Consuelo Vanderbilt, the original American “Dollar Heiress”, forced into a loveless marriage; Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress who married seven times and died almost penniless; and Patty Hearst, heiress to a newspaper fortune who was arrested for terrorism. However, there are also stories of independence and achievement: Angela Burdett-Coutts, who became one of the greatest philanthropists of Victorian England; Nancy Cunard, who lived off her mother's fortune and became a pioneer of the civil rights movement; and Daisy Fellowes, elegant linchpin of interwar high society and noted fashion editor.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly 

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South’s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America’s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam’s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.

Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

[royal-confessions]

“Of all the American heirs who crossed the Atlantic to marry British aristocrats in the 19th century, I think Consuelo Vanderbilt was one of the most beautiful. Consuelo represented the grace and beauty of the Belle Époque. It is a pity that she suffered various physical and mental abuse from her mother during her childhood and adolescence.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[ourpickwickclub]

I just saw a comment about Lola being homeschooled. I thought she and kind went to the same school??

I could have this wrong, but I believe that her older brother commited to Brown, he then switched his commitment to Vanderbilt and Lola’s family all moved to Nashville and she and her brother were homeschooled for a year. During this time, King briefly posted about a new girlfriend named Grace, but that was pretty short lived. And then, Lola was back in CA and they were dating again.

- B