The setting of Lackadaisy: Bootleggers and speakeasies in Prohibition-era St. Louis! Also everyone is cats.

Cold War US mind control experiments

The 1990's, maybe? A lot of people point to that decade as "things were simpler back then".

The 1970's, in both fashion and music alike!

"Medieval French had two words, chevaleresse and chevalière, which were used in two ways: one was for the wife of a knight, and this usage goes back to the 14th century. The other was possibly for a female knight. Here is a quote from Ménestrier, a 17th-century writer on chivalry:

It was not always necessary to be the wife of a knight in order to take this title. Sometimes, when some male fiefs were conceded by special privilege to women, they took the rank of chevaleresse, as one sees plainly in Hemricourt where women who were not wives of knights are called chevaleresses."

lady knights :) - [source]

Pilots in the WASPs, the WAAF, or the Night Witches

"Although the majority of pirates in history have been men, there are around a hundred known examples of female pirates, about forty of whom were active in the Golden Age of Piracy. Some women have been pirate captains and some have commanded entire pirate fleets. Among the most powerful pirate women were figures such as Zheng Yi Sao (1775–1844) and Huang Bamei (1906–1982), both of whom led tens of thousands of pirates.
[...]
Women who became pirates at times disguised themselves as men in order to do so since they were otherwise rarely allowed on pirate ships. On many ships in the Golden Age of Piracy, women were prohibited by the ship's contract (required to be signed by all crew members) due to being seen as bad luck and due to fears that the male crew members would fight over the women. Many famous female pirates, such as Anne Bonny (disappeared after 28 November 1720) and Mary Read (died April 1721), accordingly dressed and acted as men."

lady pirates >:) - [source]

"In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse: valkyrja, lit. 'chooser of the slain') is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"). When the einherjar are not preparing for the cataclysmic events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses.

Valkyries are attested in the Poetic Edda (a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the Prose Edda, the Heimskringla (both by Snorri Sturluson) and the Njáls saga (one of the Sagas of Icelanders), all written—or compiled—in the 13th century. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century charm, and in various runic inscriptions."

valkyries :D - [source]

Riot grrrls!

"Some say a host of horsemen, others of infantry and others
of ships, is the most beautiful thing on the dark earth
but I say, it is what you love
Full easy it is to make this understood of one and all: for
she that far surpassed all mortals in beauty, Helen her
most noble husband
Deserted, and went sailing to Troy, with never a thought for
her daughter and dear parents."

— Sappho, fragment 16 (Voigt)

helen of troy? greek mythology? leaving a husband for a lover? sappho? lots to choose from :3c

Salem witch trials or any other old time witch hunting setting.

"Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻前, 玉藻の前, also 玉藻御前) is a legendary figure in Japanese mythology. One of the stories explaining the legend comes from Muromachi period (1336 to 1573) genre fiction called otogizōshi. In the otogizōshi Tamamo-no-Mae was a courtesan under the Japanese Emperor Konoe (who reigned from 1142 through 1155).

Tamamo-no-Mae is believed to have been based on the historical empress consort Fujiwara no Nariko (1117-1160), mother of Konoe, who participated in a number of succession struggles leading to the Hōgen rebellion and Heiji rebellion.

Stories of Tamamo-no-Mae being a legendary fox spirit appear during the Muromachi period as otogizōshi (prose narratives), and were also mentioned by Toriyama Sekien in Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. Edo period folklore then conflated the legend with similar foreign stories about fox spirits corrupting rulers, causing chaos in their territories."

kitsune, consort corrupting a ruler, or both? 🐾 - [source]

"After discovering documents recording the lives of Alice Brown and Emma Ainsworth, two 19th century American women who lived together for five decades and were buried next to one another in death, historians are pretty sure the pair were just close friends who just really cared about each other a lot.

“It’s so sweet to discover the remnants of such a beautiful friendship,” says historian Dr. Richard Hoff. “While neither of these women ever married, they still both seemed fulfilled by their existence living together in a one-bedroom home from around age 30 until they died of old age. Like a super sleepover!”"

what if history remembers us as very good friends?? 😳 [this is from the reductress but you get the idea]

Socialist leader/CIA spy sent to assassinate her

(we've all heard of the spy sent to kill Fidel Castro who ended up falling in love with him right?)

The Golden Age of Hollywood (1927–1960)

"The monastic idea spread to Europe in the 5th century CE where such figures as the Italian abbot Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-c. 543 CE) formed rules of monasterial conduct and established the Benedictine Order which would found monasteries across Europe. According to legend, Benedict had a twin sister, Saint Scholastica, and she founded monasteries for women.
[...]
Women joined a nunnery primarily because of piety and a desire to live a life which brought them closer to God but there were sometimes more practical considerations, especially concerning aristocratic women, who were the principal source of recruits (much more so than aristocratic men were a source for monks). A woman from the aristocracy, at least in most cases, really had only two options in life: marry a man who could support her or join a nunnery. For this reason, nunneries were never short of recruits and by the 12th century CE they were just as numerous as male monasteries."

what if we became gay nuns to remain unmarried and escape the patriarchy ⛪ [source]

Classic youtubers.

Minecraft/other game letsplayers, vloggers, reviewers, reply guys, comedy sketches, acoustic music covers, all that jazz.

"In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (/hɪˈpɒlɪtə/; Greek: Ἱππολύτη Hippolytē), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' zoster, the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning "war belt". Some English translations prefer "girdle". Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. The myths about her are so varied it is thought that they may be about different women. The name Hippolyta translates as "she who unleashes the horses", deriving from two Greek roots meaning "horse" and "let loose"."

"[The Amazons] were a group of female warriors and hunters who were known for their physical agility, strength, archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat. Their society was closed to men and they only raised their daughters and returned their sons to their fathers, with whom they would only socialize briefly in order to reproduce. Courageous and fiercely independent, the Amazons, commanded by their queen, regularly undertook extensive military expeditions into the far corners of the world, from Scythia to Thrace, Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands, reaching as far as Arabia and Egypt."

warrior women? matriarchal society? she who unleashes the horses?? interpret as you will 🦄 [wiki]

explore how history repeats itself; how do traces of history reveal themselves in the present?

Edited 2024-07-03 11:13 (UTC)

word count: 1024

pairing: winter schnee/cinder fall

fandom: RWBY

characters: winter schnee, cinder fall, mentioned salem

extra tags: spy x family au but i butcher the lore, mentions of violence, smoking

#

Cinder raises her eyebrows at Winter over the desk, turning a cigarette over in her fingers. There are, Winter notes, round burn marks all the way up her arm. “Well? You’re taking the case?”

She nods once. “That’s why I called you here. To be blunt, I need your permission to go digging.”

Her eyebrows shoot up further. “You’re asking for my permission? I thought you’d just get on with it, you know?”

Winter shrugs. “I like giving people a chance to hide the things they don’t want me to see. I figured you might like a little extra warning.”

Cinder’s expression melts a little — warmth, maybe? She’s unbelievably hard to read — as she leans over the desk, trailing ash in a straight line along the grain of the wood. “That’s very kind of you,” she says, “but don’t you think I would have done that before coming here anyway?”

“I do have a reputation,” Winter concedes. Being significantly nosy (and ex-military), she has a pattern of attracting extremely wealthy clients with extremely shitty histories that wind up coming out during the investigation. It’s been awful for business, but some people like the challenge. “So. I’ll start looking into the description you gave me.”

Cinder waves a hand airily. “Don’t bother. I can direct you to her.”

//

“You killed her.”

“I didn’t kill anyone,” Cinder says flatly.

“My target was found dead in her apartment with seventeen stab wounds and a calling card. She was more blood than person by the time the cops got there.” Winter presses her hands flat to her desk, fixing Cinder with a glare. “You know I work for Atlas. You took her out before they could get their hands on it.”

Cinder shrugs. Her suit is a little too big for her in the shoulders; the fabric ripples and shifts as she moves, cutting through the silence far too sharply. “What’s your evidence?”

Winter grits her teeth. She’s fucking annoying at the best of times. “Subject was found with seventeen stab wounds and a calling card. The only way the Fall Maiden knows how to kill people is by stabbing them seventeen times and dropping ash on their corpse. No offense.”

“You think I’m the Fall Maiden?”

“Your last name is Fall. You’re not subtle.”

Cinder grins at her, suddenly wolfish. “Pure coincidence, I assure you.”

“You’re being cocky about it because you like it when people recognise you.”

She sits down on the desk — particularly bold, considering how quick she knows Winter is — and reaches forward to draw Winter’s tie between her fingers, playing with the ends as she speaks. “Has anyone ever told you you’re really hot when you’re investigating?”

“That’s not even a — what?”

Cinder yanks a little on the tie. Winter blinks up at her, inexplicably overwhelmingly flustered all of a sudden, and doesn’t even think to lean back out of her range. “Seriously. You have this whole stern vigilante thing going on and it really works for you. I’m surprised more tearful clients aren’t throwing themselves on you.”

“Can you stop flirting with me while I’m accusing you of murder?”

It comes out hoarse, strangled. Cinder notes this, and she grins wider. “No. You know why I killed Salem, don’t you?”

Winter swallows thickly. “I told you. You know I work for Atlas. You knew I’d probably wind up taking the case to them, and you have a past with her, so you got rid of the evidence.”

Cinder leans closer, forcing Winter to sink back into her chair to avoid knocking their heads together. Her eyes burn amber in the shadow. Her voice is low — and fuck, Winter thinks, fuck, “I killed her because she was a huge bitch.”

Struck by the sudden urge to kiss her, Winter digs her fingers into the arms of her chair and waits for Cinder to withdraw before she replies. “Did you think I’d get rid of her for you when you hired me?”

She shrugs, looking thoroughly at home on her desk. “I don’t know what I thought. That you were the nicest-looking detective I’d seen in a while, maybe.”

“You know about my reputation.” Has her voice gone up an octave or two? She can’t tell. Cinder lets go of Winter’s tie and tilts her head back to take a sip of the drink she’s stolen from her desk, and the sight of the exposed column of her throat makes her swallow again, harder.

“Of course I do,” she says briskly. “I’m not an idiot. The positives outweighed the negatives.”

//

“Atlas are taking me on for their next Operation.”

Cinder is on her desk again. She takes a long drag of her cigarette, lets the smoke billow out through her lips before replying. “And you’re telling me this because…?”

“It’s confidential,” Winter says, “but I’m asking for your help. You should be honoured.”

Cinder snorts. “I don’t work for cops.”

“We aren’t cops. Believe me, I checked.” She rests her chin on her hand, looking up at Cinder and the smoke drifting up to the top of the room. “You’d need to pretend to be my wife.”

She coughs, nearly drops the cigarette. Winter pushes the ashtray towards her wordlessly. “You — what? Huh? You want us to play happy families while you, what, run around shooting at people with guns?”

“We’re infiltrating a school. So, yes, happy families. I have —” she pauses, looks away. “I’ve been assigned a daughter. Penny. You’d like her.”

“You’re only asking me because you know I’m wildly attracted to you,” Cinder says defensively.

“I’m asking you because when you put on the costume you’re terrifying,” Winter mutters.

“Oh, you think?”

“It’s not entirely a compliment. I’d probably need your assistance throughout the course of the mission.”

Cinder looks at her, really looks at her, haloed by the overhead light with smoke curling from her lips, and for a moment she seems almost deific — “Do I have to pretend to be a housewife?”

“You can do whatever you want. Within reason, obviously.”

She smiles. Winter’s breath catches in her throat. “Then I’m in. Mrs Schnee sounds nice, don’t you think?”

"Charmion (Greek: Χάρμιον; from Ancient Greek χάρμα (kharma) 'source of delight'), alternatively Charmian, was a trusted servant and advisor to Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Plutarch, in his Parallel Lives biography of Mark Antony, writes that Charmion managed the principal affairs of Cleopatra's government; therefore, she held an important position in Cleopatra's trusted circle."

"The messengers came at full speed, and found the guards apprehensive of nothing; but on opening the doors, they saw her [Cleopatra] stone-dead, lying upon a bed of gold, set out in all her royal ornaments. Iras, one of her women, lay dying at her feet, and Charmion, just ready to fall, scarce able to hold up her head, was adjusting her mistress's diadem. And when one that came in said angrily, "Was this well done of your lady, Charmion?" "Extremely well," she answered, "and as became the descendant of so many kings"; and as she said this, she fell down dead by the bedside." - Plutarch [Wiki]

what if i would rather die with you than live without you... fellas is it gay

"The Lady of the Lake (French: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, Welsh: Arglwyddes y Llyn, Cornish: Arloedhes an Lynn, Breton: Itron al Lenn, Italian: Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either mermaid or mermaid-like but human enchantresses in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. She plays several important roles in many stories, including providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating Merlin, raising Lancelot after the death of his father, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon. [...] Today, the Lady of the Lake is best known as the character called either Nimue, or several scribal variants of Ninianne and Viviane." - [Wiki]

literal arthurian au, or any mermaids/enchantresses out there?? 🌊 ~~strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government~~

"Onna-musha (女武者) is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan, who were members of the bushi (warrior) class. They were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war; many of them fought in battle alongside samurai men. Onna-musha also have an important presence in Japanese literature, with Tomoe Gozen and Hangaku Gozen being famous and influential examples.

The Genpei War (1180–1185) marked the war between the Taira (Heike) and Minamoto (Genji) clans, two very prominent Japanese clans of the late-Heian period. The epic The Tale of the Heike was composed in the early 13th century in order to commemorate the stories of courageous and devoted samurai. Among those was Tomoe Gozen, servant of Minamoto no Yoshinaka of the Minamoto clan."

[Of Tomoe Gozen:] "... especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman, she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors." -[Wiki]

heian era swordswomen, anyone?? 🔪

word count: 439

pairing: winter schnee/cinder fall

fandom: RWBY

characters: winter schnee, cinder fall, marrow mentioned. he's there

//

“We’re being boarded,” Marrow says tiredly. He sounds used to it.

They all are, by now. Winter nods as she ascends to the deck, feeling instinctually for the pistols at her side. They won’t do her much good — it’s the swords she’s relying on for combat, given the closeness of the deck and the amount of crew members on board — but it’s nice to have them.

The General should have known better than to send them out directly into pirate territory with a ship practically made of gold. She curses him under her breath as she emerges into the sunlight, curses him again when she turns and finds Cinder hanging off the mast, arms spread wide to catch the wind.

“Again? This is the third g-ddamn time this week, Fall,” she calls.

Cinder grins down at her. “I’m persistent.”

“You’re fucking annoying. Get down here and fight me like an adult.”

Her hand drifts towards the sword at her side, a lingering threat that doesn’t mean much any more. “If you gave yourself over to me I wouldn’t have to do all this.”

Winter scowls at her. “You love it. You’re dramatic.”

“Mm.” Cinder taps her fingers against the sword’s hilt, smiling. “The gunmen on the prow were a nice touch. Em and Merc took pretty good care of them this time, I think.”

“If you killed my gunmen —”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be stupid. They’re just unconscious, bit bloody, that sort of thing. I like the chase, you know? Besides, more people alive means more money for their return.”

“It was captives for your boss last time,” Winter mutters. She knows Cinder’s old speeches by heart. They’ve been playing this game for months now, back and forth across the deck of her fucking ship, and the excuses keep changing. “You don’t need to make up a different reason to come see me, you know. You could send me a letter.”

“In the middle of the ocean,” Cinder says.

“Or, you know, give it to me the next time you climb aboard my ship and pretend to pillage.”

“I’m an excellent pillager.” She hops down from her perch on the side of the mast, hands settling on the hilt of her blade. Winter sighs and draws her own, just so they’re even. If she insists on this stupid song and dance every single time she comes aboard, they might as well fight fairly.

“You’re a shit pillager. You don’t even take anything. What’s your goal, Cinder? Annoy us the whole way to Solitas?”

She grins, feral. “And back again.”

“Have it your way,” Winter says, and lunges forward.

"Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部, 'Lady Murasaki'; c. 973 – c. 1014 or 1025) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. [...] Heian women were traditionally excluded from learning Chinese, the written language of government, but Murasaki, raised in her erudite father's household, showed a precocious aptitude for the Chinese classics and managed to acquire fluency."

"In her diary she wrote, "When my brother ... was a young boy learning the Chinese classics, I was in the habit of listening to him and I became unusually proficient at understanding those passages that he found too difficult to understand and memorize. Father, a most learned man, was always regretting the fact: 'Just my luck,' he would say, 'What a pity she was not born a man!'" [...] Murasaki was aware that others saw her as "pretentious, awkward, difficult to approach, prickly, too fond of her tales, haughty, prone to versifying, disdainful, cantankerous and scornful". Asian literature scholar Thomas Inge believes she had "a forceful personality that seldom won her friends."" -[Wiki]

something about a person falling in love with your writing but hating your personality :,,) this could easily be adapted to modern fic writers, too

Edited 2024-07-02 23:36 (UTC)

YURI SHIPPING OLYMPICS 2024 - BONUS ROUND 4

PROMPT: Team Webcomics/Webtoons

PROMPT: Tokusatsu Yuri Ships United Front

Prompt: Team Tokusatsu Yuri Ships United Front

Prompt: Team Tokusatsu Yuri Ships United Front

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: Team Webcomics/Webtoons

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: Team Webcomics/Webtoons

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: TEAM OC MOON

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: Tokusatsu Yuri Ships United Front

PROMPT: TEAM OC MOON

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: Tokusatsu Yuri Ships United Front

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: Team Ace Attorney

FILL: Team Anime/Manga

#

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

FILL: Team Anime/Manga

PROMPT: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM