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Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

My poem "on choosing crushes" is in Pulse Zine issue 03! Give it a read 🖤🖤

Shoutout to all the queerdos like me who never really *got* crushes in school bc they just weren't into the gender they thought they were "supposed" to like (or maybe into no gender at all) 🌸

July 14, 2025 at 7:18 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

My poem "go on, just say it" is in this issue of The Anti Misogyny Club! Go grab a digital or print copy 🥰

July 8, 2025 at 2:23 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

If u ever wanted too much information about me ... hit me with a number 🤙 (NSFW, so MDNI! 🔞)

June 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

I'd like to report a serious case of spicy sass in my drafts

June 7, 2025 at 11:58 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

I have 3 types of WIP titles
1) beautiful, poetic, probably indpired by prompt
2) vague topic + optional ship/character
3) topic X number Y (for series)

See exhibt A (screenshot) 😂 How do you title your WIPs? I'm curious 👀

June 7, 2025 at 11:57 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

I recently got my printed copy of Moss Puppy Magazine Issue 08 in the mail! Absolutely magical to see my name and words in an actual piece of print media 🥰 Will be showing off some more print copies soon 😍

June 6, 2025 at 10:27 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

i uhhh. am being called out xD

May 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

Another acceptance mail omg 😭🎉🎉🎉

Angela Gonzalez 03:19 an mich
Zielsprache: Deutsch
Dear Irina Verene,
I am pleased to announce that your submissions (in the name of satan / if it's any consolation) have been accepted into our magazine!
Unfortunately, I don't have an estimate when the issue will be published right now. I will do my best to inform of updates. I have opened submissions indefinitely to create a beautiful and full collection of works. So feel free to share our page to the creatives in your life.
Best regards,
Weirdhotartgurlsmag

May 14, 2025 at 1:46 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

🥳🥳🥳

Simmer Zine Decision Email
Posteingang
the simmer zine 16:19 an mich
Zielsprache: Deutsch
Dear Irina Verene I hope this letter finds you in good health. We are pleased to inform you that The Simmer Zine has accepted your piece, "goddamn, it's been fun!" to be featured in our debut issue!! We believe that your work perfectly encapsulates the keywords given: Warmth, Life, Hearty. We are very honored to get the chance to publish and showcase your masterpiece.
Great news, ever yone!!! thesimmerzine

May 13, 2025 at 3:14 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

My first featured piece as a staff writer at Violet Desires! 💜 Our first submission call is open til May 18th 2025 with the theme LETTERS TO SAPPHO. Head over to Instagram (violet.desires) & check it out.

#submissionsopen #submissioncall #magazine #writers #sapphic

Staff Writer - Irina

AWAKENING TO
DOWNFALL

dear sappho,
i was your awakening
one blush pink morning,
all sunflower joy
and orange peel softness.
one day,
when you grace me
with your lavender kiss
in our forget-me-not dusk,
i'll glady let you be
my downfall.

May 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

just tried the demo of "craft craft: fantasy merchant simulator" with @ravanas.bsky.social and loooved it 💜 the graphics are SO cute and the attention to detail is GOLD. gameplay and character creation was very fun. highly recommend checking it out!! #gaming #gamingsky #gamerec

May 4, 2025 at 9:17 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

My poems "ripe for surrender" and "dental records" have just been published in Frenetic Magazine Issue 01!! Go check it out via their Ko-Fi ($3) 💜 #writerlife #poetry

Contents

Editor's Introduction

heart star flower moon - Taylor Colimore

What The "L" In "Natural" Stands For - Astha

I miss the love we never had - Hameedah-Onize

Still Statuettes - Myth Deck

our coats were always too big - Rachel Choi

lovelooks - Megan Slater

Dear Land - Bea Carmona

Love is everywhere - Ariadna Avendaño Gomez

ripe for surrender - Irina Verene

Adieu la fếte - Jules Bezengon

Someday I'll teve forgive Cally Lim - Cally Lim

Debris of the Night - Geetanjali Roy

Pretending - Stefania Giannetto

17:19; 26.4.25. (or nature follows) - Naomi Olivia

To the girl I was - JL Howson

One Body - Cecile Gonneau

Sayang- Leya Kuan

God Don't Make 'Em Like You No More - Arun Jeetoo

The Smell on His Sweatshirt - Danielle Patino

Hearth Chested - Cora Marie

ifeel, therefore i am. - Aster Xoi Blex

dental records - Irina Verene

Healing Hands - Kedrianna Griffin Hiltonen

heathrow dirt - Linda Worden

Fluid-JL Howson

Community

May 4, 2025 at 12:07 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

recently shared a little soft f€md0m piece inspired by VANA lyrics. check it out on AO3 if you'd like 👀

archiveofourown.org/works/63288661

been dreaming 'bout your hands around my neck [Flash Fiction]
IRINA 7. APRIL AT 15:05
Statistiken ansehen
I recently wrote a piece of flash fiction about a young couple's first joint foray into kink (Femdom dynamic). It was inspired by a lyrics snippet from PRETTYBOY! by Vana.

been dreaming 'bout your 2 Feb 2025 hands around my neck by herzblutballade (tears_into_wine)

May 2, 2025 at 10:08 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

love this certificate from @slothandenvy.com / @toadshadezine.bsky.social 😂🖤 also i got paid feedback for the first time ever and it was really helpful! especially since i was trying out an entirely new genre 🙈

SLOTH & ENVY PRESS

This is to certify that IRINA VÉRÈNE has paid some amount of money for feedback on a short story submilled to Toad Shade Zine, which was both an act of bravery and good faith. By taking this bold action, you're directly supporting artists and writers.
Once you have printed this certificate, write your name in the space provided and display your certificate in a conspicuous location so everyone can see what a wonderful person you are. You can nonchalantly downplay your grealness when someone stops to ask about your certificate. Basically, this certificate will change your whole life. Please, for our sake, let your newfound power go directly to your head.

May 2, 2025 at 5:18 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ Mikrowellenteller der Jahreszeiten ◇ #escapril2025 day 30

prompt: the cycle

wrote this during depribuddy's (Insta) Schreibwerkstatt 🥰 swipe for the english translation!

Photo by Erik Mclean: unsplash.com/de/fotos/wei...

#escapril #poetry #poetrychallenge #haiku

Das Leben rotiert— / ein Mikrowellenteller / der Jahreszeiten

life is rotating— / a spinning microwave plate / of all the seasons

May 1, 2025 at 1:27 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ etliche einzelne leben ◇ #escapril2025 day 29

prompt: a resemblance

wrote this during depribuddy (Insta) Schreibwerkstatt with the additional prompt "perspective" 🥰 german & english version!

Photo by Chris Yang: unsplash.com/de/fotos/fot...

#escapril #poem #poetry #poetrychallenge

menschenmengen / schwarz und grau und braun und beige / durchsetzt mit farbklecksen / züge und anzeigetafeln / in fremden städten aus / asphalt, beton, metall / was sonst eine masse ist / undefinierbar und vage / zieht melancholieverschwommen / am zugfenster vorbei / und sieht dabei fast aus / wie etliche / einzelne / leben

crowds of people / black and gray and brown and beige / speckled with splashes of color / trains and display panels / in foreign cities made of / asphalt, concrete, metal / what usually appears as one mass / indefinable and vague / passes by the train window / melancholy-blurred / and almost looks / like countless / individual / lives

May 1, 2025 at 12:07 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ bright neon spirals ◇ #escapril2025 day 28

prompt: keep it short

depribuddy (Insta) Schreibwerkstatt inspired me to give haikus a try again 🥰 english & german version!

Photo by Thaís Silva: www.pexels.com/photo/lying-...

#haiku #poetry #poetrychallenge #escapril

blurry city lights / compete with far-off stars in / bright n e o n spirals

verschwommenes licht / wetteifert mit sternen in / n e o n s p i r a l e n

April 30, 2025 at 10:09 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ everything to lose ◇ #escapril2025 day 27

CN: metaphorical blood, wounds & persecution of crimes; mental illness

prompt: what are you doing?

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski: unsplash.com/de/fotos/ein...

#poem #poetry #poetrychallenge #escapril

i hate to tell you / to calm down, / but we don’t need / another bloodbath, / do we? /// come on— / we've seen enough / blades driven through / flesh and tendons / till tears flow, / fluids rush / where they don't belong. /// please— / we don’t have enough tissue / to stop a heart from spilling / until we've gathered enough / sensitive-skin band aids / to patch it up. /// what are you doing? / untangle the noose now. / put down the knife, / and s h a t t e r / the magnifying glass / m i r r o r, too. / the evidence / you hope to find / by torturing yourself / was never there at all. / no crime, no guilt— / just accusations. / you and me / at a foggy crossroad / with no deal in sight / and everything to lose.

April 30, 2025 at 9:29 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ lingering serenade dreams ◇ #escapril2025 day 26

prompt: visual

catching up with the missed escapril days! couldn’t resist that topic for that prompt 💜

Photo by MART PRODUCTION: www.pexels.com/photo/suspen...

#escapril #poem #poetry #poetrychallenge

the world turns pale again, i / try to sleep, but i am / too exhausted. /// i followed a rabbit / down winding paths / on my bicycle, / chased it breathlessly / all the way / into its dimension: /// the cheshire cat cackled / as i stood in awe, / wallowing in whimsy / i hoped would never wash away. /// humpty and dumpty coaxed / laugh after laugh from me, / showering me with / otherworldly strangeness, / the delicious differences / i always crave in reality. /// the mad hatter reminded me / to drink tea every now and then, / sip after sip, / my reflection rippling / in the warmth of my cup. /// the red queen i evaded / quite masterfully; / i stole her guards’ schedule / from a kind stranger’s notes, / letters formed from moonlight / and universe ink. /// the white queen kindly / showed me out / once i had grown giant / and shrunk to ant-size / often enough. /// now i have only / flickering echoes left; / vestige visuals of / stars serenely dancing / in the window to my / wicked wonderland / s e r e n a d e.

April 29, 2025 at 7:24 PM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

Shoot!

April 26, 2025 at 3:20 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ on choosing crushes ◇ #escapril2025 day 25

prompt: make believe

shoutout to the queerdos like me who never got crushes in school bc they weren't into the gender they thought they were supposed to (or no gender)

Photo by Kaboompics: www.pexels.com/photo/ribbon-and-flowers-near-envelope-5705962/

i don’t have a crush, / but i sure can choose one! / every girl needs one, right? / i want to swoon and sigh, too; / spend my teenage years chasing / after true love like i always imagined. / my eyes scan the room— / who’s the prettiest boy / in my class? /// imagining is easy, / i’ve always been good at it: / his name in my diary, / my number in his phone. / his hand in mine, / my lips on his. / i know how romance goes, / i’ve read all about it.

i pass a piece of paper to my friend, / torn from my loyal notepad, / his name scribbled in secret. / “no! him?”, she shrieks. / i giggle. did i do it wrong? / maybe i picked the wrong boy— / i tell her to destroy the note / so no one will know / i apparently have bad taste. /// it’s okay. / i don’t have to act on it, do i? / i don’t really want to, anyway. / it can just be a tragic crush. / everyone knows i’m shy like that.

i don’t feel attraction like they do, / but maybe i can create it? / obsess over the concept of him / until my heart gets the memo, / plant pink flowers in my belly / to lure the butterflies / where they belong. /// i’ve always liked the idea / of being in love, but / sometimes i wonder / if it feels like make-believe / to everyone. /// or is that just me?

April 26, 2025 at 12:45 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ the stardust you stitched ◇ #escapril2025 day 24

CN: grief

prompt: out there, in the vastness

(if ghost you is not too cool for instagram, you'll know who you are. i miss you everyday.)

Photo by Aperture Vintage: unsplash.com/de/fotos/ste...

#poetry #escapril #poetrychallenge

we met so long before my prime— / we were m a s t e r p i e c e s in the making, / still missing our final touches. /// you knew not to try and mend / what was never broken in me. / you trusted the process, / frayed edges and dye spills / and ink smears and all. / you let me unfold before you / in all the serene chaos / and cautious peace / i could manage. /// you were a silver lining / silently weaving yourself / into my fabric. /// sometimes, / i still tug at your threads, / gentle fingers and wistful eyes / m a r v e l i n g at their shimmer— / your life's light captured / in the drape of our memories. / i wear them on my body / like finest silk / wherever i go.

i hope the moon beams / f o r e v e r, / and keeps bringing me / its bittersweet presents: / dreams of you, / tragic trinkets collected / in my consciousness cabinet / and beyond. /// i hope i never forget your favorite poem, / the nose shape you liked best, / the soft drawl of your voice over a guitar. / i hope i’ll always have your smile in mind / when antique store atmosphere / soothes my aching heart. /// i tried to carry you with me / e v e r y w h e r e, / to all the moments / we still wanted to share— / i hope i've kept you close / enough for your lingering ghost / to accept a cordial invitation / to my wedding / one day.

i hope you're safe out there, / thriving in the vastness. / i hope time isn’t real / wherever you are, / and you still get to perfect / your own portrait / the way you did mine / without being aware. /// when i follow someday, / i’ll leave no star unturned / to find you. /// when we meet again, / i want to wrap you / in the cashmere comfort / you completed me with, / warm your bones with the sun / you painted into my december sky. /// i hope you'll remember me, too. / i hope you’ll still recognize / the stardust you stitched / along the haphazard hems / of my handicraft heart.

April 24, 2025 at 6:23 AM

Iri

@herzblutballade.bsky.social

◇ summer vacation blues ◇ #escapril2025 day 22

CN: childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, implied bullying, s*icid*l ideation

prompt: dichotomy

Photo by Pixabay: www.pexels.com/photo/sunflo...

#escapril #poem #poetry #poetrychallenge