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stxleslyds · 3 years

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Can you please do the list of Jason's and Dick's skills and how good they are at it compared to other skilled people? Of course only if you want to.

Hi! Thank you for the ask anon! I am sorry that it took me so long to answer your ask, I found myself going back and forth with how I wanted to write this out.

Just a heads up, the skills that I will depict here are the ones that I remember and found are attributed to each character in the current timeline. I think it’s important for me to say this because this current Dick Grayson has been nerfed greatly compared to his pre-New 52 counterpart. As for Jason, he has had many things incorporated into his training and some others have been completely erased (even though some of Jason’s training was erased he hasn’t been nerfed by any means).

When I say that Dick has been nerfed, I mean that some of his abilities have been erased in canon and some others have been washed down as the reboots happened.

Now, let me do a little ranting before I jump into listing Dick and Jason’s skills.

If you search for Jason’s skill set in wikis and other places, they might include his Lost Days training as something that he still has but as of New 52 and Rebirth that training has been erased and replaced with Talia sending Jason to the All-Castle right after he came out of the Lazarus Pit.

Also, while many places say that the Lazarus Pit has granted Jason regeneration and the ability to not age, I can safely say that those things aren’t true. As far as I know, the Lazarus Pit can only heal injuries, physical and mental (to a certain extent for the last one).

I assume that the concept of Jason “not being able to age” comes from the fact that Ra’s Al Ghul has the ‘longevity ability’ because “through the use of the Lazarus Pit, Ra's has acquired a greatly extended lifespan, allowing him to live a near-immortal life for centuries”, the thing with this is that Ra’s uses the Lazarus Pit fairly often, Jason only used it once.

So, just to be clear, Jason can age just like any other human character, and the regeneration ability is also untrue because Jason spent a long time recovering from his injuries after the “Death of the Family” event and RHatO vol.2 #25.

Also, there has been no proof of Jason actually having magical abilities (after being submerged in the Lazarus Pit). The All-Blades are summoned through his soul but he doesn’t do magic with them and the summoning was mastered after non-magical training. And the “Magic Negation” move is an arcane martial art move.

Wow, sorry I spent so much time explaining my line of thinking. But I can be confusing when I talk so I thought it would be better if I explained my thought process a bit. I promise I am done though; I will now start listing Dick and Jason’s abilities.

Let’s start with Dick!

Acrobatics.

Aviation.

Criminology.

Espionage.

Genius Level Intellect.

Disguise (Acting).

Escapology.

Leadership.

Multilingualism (12 Languages).

Indomitable Will.

Martial Arts (Boxing, Eskrima, Ninjitsu, Stick Fighting)

Peak Human Condition (Strength, Speed, Stamina, Agility, Reflexes, Durability).

Throwing (Escrima sticks, Wingdings)

Weaponry (Escrima sticks, Firearms, Swords)

Abilities learnt with Batman:

Eidetic Memory.

Forensic Science.

Investigation.

Tactical Analysis.

Tracking.

Interrogation.

Intimidation.

Stealth.

Surveillance.

Jason’s Turn!

Aviation.

Computer Hacking.

Genius Level Intellect.

Indomitable Will.

Martial Arts (Dim Mak, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun).

Multilingualism.

Occultism.

Peak Human Condition (Strength, Speed, Stamina, Agility, Reflexes, Durability).

Weaponry (Firearms, Master Swordsman)

Abilities learnt with Batman:

Investigation.

Tracking.

Interrogation.

Intimidation.

Stealth.

Surveillance.

Abilities learnt with the All-Castle:

Summoning of the All-Blades.

Abilities learnt with Talia Al Ghul:

Magic Negation (a martial arts move)

All in all, both of them are incredibly well trained. There are abilities that one of them has and the other doesn’t. Jason has had more training outside of Batman’s teachings due to Talia having taken Jason to the All-Castle after he was submerged in the Lazarus Pit. And he was also trained by some of the members of the League of Assassins, like Lady Shiva.

If I were to compare Jason and Dick’s abilities with, let’s say, Barbara, Tim, Stephanie, and Damian, I would say that Jason and Dick are far more well trained and knowledgeable than them. Cass could beat both of them in hand-to-hand combat but I feel like it would still be a long fight for Dick and Cass or Jason and Cass, maybe Jason would have a harder time with her because he is so big compared to her.

I would even go as far as to say that both Jason and Dick could take down Batman if they really wanted to. Let’s say that for some reason Dick and Bruce or Jason and Bruce decide to battle it out with everything they have got, then I would say that the odds are in Dick and Jason’s favour.

Now, those comparisons that I just made, I did them with uncertainty because I don’t keep up with any of those characters. When it comes to DC I really don’t go beyond Dick and Jason centred content. I don’t even read Batman (I only read it if there is an event that has Dick or Jason as a major player).

So, I don’t really feel comfortable comparing their skill sets with other people, what I don’t know I prefer to not talk about. I was being a little cheeky with those comparisons that I made before; they are very surface level.

I can talk about what has actually happened in comics though. From a combat perspective I can say this:

Jason was able to master the “Magic Negation” move with little training from Talia, and she hadn’t even mastered it way back when she was training him before he became Robin (yeah, that was a thing that happened in zero year, RHatO vol.1 #25). So that would give you a little insight on how overpowered Jason has been written in the past 10 years.

The second time that he did that move he used it against Ra’s al Ghul, that Ra’s was charged up with the power of the Untitled but in reality, the power wasn’t strong at all because Ra’s didn’t have enough “soul” for the Untitled to latch on to. Jason, however, was able to channel that power and the All-Blades against him. All that should have drained Jason pretty quickly but he had the whole “chosen one” thing going on for him. Here is where the magic aspect of Jason would come from but I am still not sure that Jason can actually manipulate or do magic, I feel like it’s more like letting something like the All-Blades or the Untitled latch on to you like a parasite (that will kill you if it does it for too long) to get a boost in power. Maybe you or somebody else sees that as magic but I don’t.

So, overall, I would say that Jason is a very strong opponent. But you have to take into consideration that weapons like the All-Blades aren’t accessible to him at all times, they only can be summoned when true evil is presenting itself as a threat to Jason and they consume/corrupt his soul, so their power isn’t unlimited either.

Dick is a very strange case because while he was able to fight and defeat a proper Talon and a ‘second-hand’ Talon (that was still a notable opponent) in the New 52 run and he was able to defeat his enemies just fine, in Rebirth things took a dark turn, all of his skills were either gone or watered down by a lot, he was everyone’s punching bag.

As time went on though Dick seemed to be written better and he fought Cheshire and some LoA people fairly easily and so on. But then… Ric happened and the whole manipulation and being played with as if he were a toy happened and that set his characterization on fire again. He defeated Jason easily when he was under Joker’s control but he was sloppy against Barbara so, there isn’t really a lot of rhyme or reason in that one.

After he regained his memories mid-way Joker War, he was an excellent fighter all of the sudden and everything was easy for him. When the event ended and he was Nightwing again he didn’t only beat KGBeast (the one that had shot him) but he absolutely humiliated him, it was like Dick snapped.

Now, under Tom Taylor’s writing, Dick is… I don’t want to say dumb because he isn’t, but I will just say that Taylor isn’t doing Dick any favours. He promised us a lot of things, like giving Dick the respect and level of expertise that he deserves but so far, I have seen none of it.

Something that has to be taken into consideration is that Dick isn’t fully recovered from his head injury, so, he is written as not as skilled as he is supposed to be and he is also making decisions that aren’t good for his health because if you run the risk of falling unconscious in the middle of a fight, you shouldn’t be fighting at all.

From Batman’s training’s perspective, I can say this:

Dick has always given me the “mentee surpasses his mentor” vibes. He is a better detective and he is also overall better than Batman in what he taught him and also at being Batman. Sadly, just like his combat, his detective skills along with all the other Bat training have been watered down for Dick. It’s absolutely awful, DC has been doing Dick dirty for far too long.

I wish I could say that things are picking up for Dick now, but Tom Taylor put “drama” as his priority instead of giving Dick back the skill-set that he once had (I know, I complained about Tom Taylor’s lack of action before but I really needed to do it again).

Jason has been done dirty too when it comes to his detective skills and other Bat training, mostly in Urban Legends: Cheer but quite honestly it wasn’t as bad as what they did to Dick. Jason has never really been as good as a detective as Bruce or Dick so yeah. But there is a clear difference between the Jason that we have now and the one that appeared in UtRH.

So, I would say that as of now Jason and Dick are treated as if they were on the same level detective/bat training-wise, which I think isn’t fair to Dick. Because he should be better in those aspects than Jason (or, at least, that’s how I see it).

I really don’t know if this answer is what you wanted or if it is good at all but I hope that if you read this you don’t end up feeling like I wasted your time.

I promise I will get better at answering asks! And I hope you have a wonderful day anon!

#dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #dc comics #asksss #Jason Nation

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flickeringart · 3 years

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Thinking and Feeling - What keeps you civilized?

In order to be able to live in a civilized manner, a person has to align with certain values and standards that enable behavior that doesn’t threaten, disturb or cause disruption in social interactions. The air signs in astrology represents the thinking function, the ability to formulate ideals and communicate with the environment. The air element is the function of deductive reasoning and it allows for a certain detachment from the emotional-physical reality. The thinking function allows us to interact with the world on an intangible level, through sublimating actual experience to conceptual reality. “Communication” is only possible when there’s separation present – where there’s a subject and an object present.

The air element is often referred to as the basis for “civilization”. It is uniquely human; it is what sets us apart from the animals. Without thinking, there are no ideas, no conceptual ideal to strive for. This is not to say that thinking on its own is productive – there needs to be a physical- emotional reality in order for thinking to have something to conceptualize of in the first place. As humans, we are only partly thinking creatures, and we can hardly be said be defined solely by our thoughts. Even though air dominant types might be more justified in basing their identity on their capacity to think and navigating conceptual reality, there is so much going on at a denser, subtler level, a feeling level that might or might not fit into pre-conceived conceptual framework, that might not be understood through concepts.

Thinking is undoubtedly powerful. In a “civilized” society the pen is mightier than the sword, if used skillfully. A lot can be done with a sharp intellect and a quick mind. However, thinking is not responsive, it is a conscious construction. Powerful emotion or overwhelming instinctual reactions are more organic and dynamic. People can hold values and ideals that are perfectly in line with civilized society, but it doesn’t mean that the instinct is ever “tamed” because it can’t be constructed. Thinking can’t hold emotion back and the thinking function can’t ever perfectly define or describe what is felt simply because emotion is subjective and not objective. No person can completely act and behave in accordance with ideas and ideals. Emotions prevent this from happening – they are immediate responses that are personal – not impersonal. This is why, on an intellectual level one can say, “it’s wrong to kill”, but it won’t prevent the person from affectively responding to a situation in a way that results in a killing. Reversely, on an intellectual level one can say, “I have to kill”, but it won’t prevent the emotions from moving in a different direction.

Does thinking really keep us civilized in a real sense then? It seems not; it only creates a façade of civilization, a light façade of connectivity and communion, a light façade of love that stems from detachment from actuality and idealization of potential. The intellectual ideal is impersonal, seemingly more pure than the ambiguous and powerfully primitive emotional response, but in a sense, also inhuman (superhuman?) and inorganic. The thinking function is indispensable, but it is shallow in its own way, less potent and less alive than emotion. Words only have true power in connection to emotion; on their own they are simply tools, empty and dead. Perhaps it is accurate to say that civilization cannot manifest without alignment of the soul and the mind. Thinking can’t control feeling and feeling can’t control thinking, inevitably one is operating separately from the other but they can align. Thinking and feeling are unable to reduce each other to nothing. Thinking doesn’t cancel out feeling and vice versa. Strong emotion might call for intellectual justification socially, yet, since thinking didn’t cause feeling in the first place (at least not consciously), one can only speculate as to what the emotion is or was in response to – why it was so intense and if it was reasonable and so on… In a sense, trying to conceptualize of emotion is like trying to conceptualize of life and it’s never productive because it won’t make the feeling nature be different than it is or prevent it from expressing itself.

Generally speaking, emotions don’t “fit in” socially and societally because they are strictly personal and untamed – often impossible to fit into a conceptual framework that everyone can understand and make sense of. There is no logic behind emotions because they are immediately experienced and are not part of some pre-conceived conceptual construct. In fact, many people find it insulting when others try to make sense of their reactions and responses, to make them fit into a neat intellectual-conceptual “box”. Emotions demands acceptance no matter what – they essentially reflects organic truth rather than conceptual truth. The feeling function is often devalued and deemed “less evolved”, but without it, we would lack deeper “personal truth”.

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On a separate note, albeit connected to the text above,

Some claim that thought creates reality and emotional experience is a direct result of subconscious thought patterns and programming. I believe this is true in the sense that there’s a universal blueprint that is set up for us, however, I don’t think that thought creates reality in our own personal lives in the sense that we can separate ourselves from our personal blueprint (reflected by our birth chart) by “working on ourselves”. It is true that one can become more conscious of components and facets of the psyche, but it’s too presumptuous to believe that one could “change” the self for the better to fit a preferred mold. Some people seem to work well with the “law of attraction”, they are able to positively focus and manifest the personal reality they want. This ability is undoubtedly reflected in the birth chart of these people – optimism, a propensity to believe and receive effortlessly. Not everyone is set up that way, which is quite evident considering the struggles and hardships that people face, despite the effort to look on the bright side of life. Some charts are set up in order for the individual to experience pain and crises in order to discover something of value through the death and rebirth process. This is a valid path, although it might not seem blissful or peaceful in the least. For these types it is not realistic or rewarding to soar on the surface of life.

Take Esther Hicks for example, a famous channel, author and public speaker. She helps people to close the gap between their desires and the manifestation of them. She is channeling a “collective thought stream” (called Abraham) in her talks that is concerned with seeing humanity actualize its desires and dreams. Her chart, as shown below (from astrotheme.com) has a grand fire trine with Jupiter, Venus and Mars. This trine blesses her with a certain fundamental and natural faith in her own ability to receive what she wants from life. Her chart is not void of friction and trouble, but this grand trine has her back when the going gets tough. She would have a natural propensity for generosity and an “abundance mindset” as they call it.

The conjunction of Pluto-Saturn-Mars (all in retrograde which makes the energy experienced internally) in Leo points to a charged desire nature, a concentrated and powerful drive that is, for lack of a better word, ruthless and almost painful. As Mars is the fighter of the personality, this kind of configuration makes me think of an insatiable, prideful yet painfully contained fighter who can’t admit to any personal passions without feeling weakened, but at the same time can’t let go and has to have at all. It makes sense, that a person who helps people to get what they want through mental-emotional alignment would understand the pain and dissatisfaction caused by not being able to control life. The conjunction opposes Mercury, which is interesting since she writes and speaks for a living, or rather speaks for an autonomous “entity” of sorts. She lends her communicative ability to something other than herself. When she channels, she’s not in her Pluto-Saturn-Mars mode. Venus and Jupiter, the two benefics, and Uranus nicely support Mercury. She can convey ideas that are revolutionary and speak of happiness and abundance. It strikes me that when she speaks, she speaks to people with frustrated desires (Mercury opposite Pluto-Saturn-Mars) – it is as if she projects this cluster of energy and experiences it through her audience. I’m sure she avoids identifying with it and meets it through others that she encounters. The Pluto-Saturn-Mars conjunction is highly uncomfortable and the person would likely attempt to work around it in any way possible if the chart allows for it. In Esther’s case, she has a lot to lean on in order to avoid its harshness - the trine certainly helps and the Mercury opposition allows detachment. Nonetheless she meets it in her life because it’s part of her blueprint.

My point with all of this is to illustrate that certain “philosophies” and belief systems come easier to others because of the personal astrological setup and it being backed by experience in accordance with the planets. It always makes sense why a person thinks and feels a certain way from looking at the natal chart. Nobody’s wrong and nobody’s right, there’s only the chart and what it allows for and doesn’t allow for. I do believe that no one can act outside of his or her chart. All paths are ultimately valid from a universal perspective. Work with your own blueprint because that is the only way to live anyway.

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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Mongul

Wanted to chat about another Superman Rogue who has been around a while: Mongul.

Background

Now this guy enjoys something of a mixed reputation. On one hand he, unlike many other Superman classic Rogues, has actually been in some good stories. There’s the iconic For The Man Who Has Everything by Alan Moore which is the perfect encapsulation of his core character traits. There he’s a hulking brute, with enough raw power to go toe to toe with Superman and actually hurt him with physical force alone. He’s crude, making misogynistic comments to Wonder Woman, and gleefully reveling in the conquest he plans. Yet he’s also clever, using the Black Mercy to incapacitate his foe, and has an air of faux affability to him that only adds to his menace.

It should come as no surprise that an Alan Moore story is still Mongul’s best showing, but there are other stories worth mentioning as well. There’s Superman: Exile, the first meeting between the Post-Crisis Superman and Mongul and personally one of my favorite Post-Crisis Superman stories. There’s Mongul’s debut Pre-Crisis issue where he and Warworld first appear. There’s his attempt to hijack the Sinestro Corps during the Johns era of Green Lantern. Finally there’s his usage in Bendis Superman, which has been the first time in ages he’s been treated as a serious threat, and given an interesting way to serve as a contrast as Superman.

So why does he suffer from a mixed reputation? Well...

He sure does look familiar doesn’t he? He was created by Len Wein and Jim Starlin, and Starlin you might recall was the creator of Thanos, who was a ripoff of Darkseid. So Mongul is a copy of a copy, lacking the grandeur of Darkseid and the ambition of Thanos. He and Apocalypse are both cast in Darkseid’s mold, and have both gotten one really great and iconic storyline that guarantees they’ll stick around, but have also not traditionally fared well outside that one story. Also like Apocalypse:

He has a really bad habit of jobbing and being used by writers to prop up their characters. Jurgens used him to prop up Hank Henshaw in Reign of the Supermen and Henshaw again along with Zod in the Rebirth arc Revenge!, giving him a reputation as a joke. He also got killed by Sinestro pretty easily during his coup attempt.

Besides that he’s also unfortunately been treated as a generic tyrant for Superman to beat up, lacking much in the way of characterization, or in being a meaningful contrast to Superman beyond “Superman uses his strength to serve others, Mongul uses his to oppress them”. For a while I kind of wrote him off as a lost cause, someone that really didn’t offer anything as a Superman opponent beyond that one Alan Moore story. But recently I’ve changed my opinion; I’ve come to believe Mongul does in fact serve an important purpose and should be treated as an essential part of the Superman Rogues Gallery. Part of this turnabout was caused by really enjoying his usage in Bendis’ Superman run, which caused me to do a reread of Mongul stories, and got me thinking about who Mongul is, what he’s about, and what role he plays.

What Role Mongul Plays

A crucial realization hit me while I was rereading Mongul stories: Mongul is The Bully of the Supermythos.

He’s the guy who doesn’t delude himself into thinking he’s the hero like Lex does. He doesn’t consider himself above petty emotions or notions of right and wrong like Brainiac. He doesn’t have a sympathetic background like General Zod does. He’s the guy who enjoys pounding people into the dirt, who doesn’t mask his desire to lord over the populace behind pretenses of noble intentions. He’s gleeful as he crushes his enemies beneath his heel, he’s petty in that he enjoys forcing people to fight for his amusement, he’s dangerous in that while Darkseid can be bargained with, Mongul is always going to prefer to take what he wants via force and is powerful enough to do just that. In other words, he’s the exact kind of guy Superman started out wanting to take down, just living in the cosmic space where Superman can actually kick his ass without it feeling like punching down.

That core ethos, beautifully summed up in All-Star Superman, is in direct opposition to Mongul’s entire lifestyle. When the United Planets starts to form in Bendis’ Superman, Mongul is outraged, not just because it may pose a threat to him, but because the very idea of the “weak” uniting into a stronger whole downright offends him. He runs Warworld to cull the “weak and unfit” of the universe for his own amusement and entertainment, the petty schoolyard bully who has turned a planet-sized Death Star into his own playground, and he climbed to the top via crushing anyone that stood against him with his own two hands or outwitting them with his brain. He’s got no time for others who think they can rise above their station in life without the physical/mental power to back that desire up. If Superman believes that everyone is capable of greatness, Mongul is a firm believer that greatness is the sole purview of the very few (and really only himself).

This core conflict allows writers to bring back the bully hunter of the Golden Age and early New 52 t-shirt and jeans Supermen. Here’s a guy, a foreign ruler no less, who is actively oppressing people. We get to enjoy seeing Superman taking on a foreign dictator because he’s off in space instead of doing so here on Earth where thorny parallels to American interventionism abroad would be raised. Superman can be the Champion of the Oppressed again, and that’s always something I enjoy seeing.

I’d also like to bring up why Mongul was originally created. Len Wein wanted a foe for Superman who could match him physically. In other words, Mongul is like Doomsday if Doomsday actually had a personality. Mongul offers the opportunity for deeper exploration of Superman that Doomsday can’t. We know this literally because Mongul’s best story isn’t just a slugfest between the two the way Doomsday’s is. For The Man Who Has Everything is one of the best explorations of just how damn lonely being the Last Son of Krypton is for Kal. Exile explores the ethics of Superman’s no kill rule, his belief in the sanctity of life, his struggles to hold onto that belief in the face of the cruelty of others. His usage in Bendis’ run is to illustrate just how fragile the United Planets is, how easily it can break apart, and how hard Superman is going to have to strive to make it work. PKJ used Mongul in his Future State Superman: Worlds of War stories to show the lengths Superman will go to liberate others, his defiance in the face of Mongul’s attempts to break him. There’s an opportunity for psychological evaluation of Superman when Mongul shows up that just isn’t there with Doomsday. That alone is reason to keep him around, but he also brings a bunch of cool shit in addition.

Cool Aspects Mongul Brings to the Supermythos

He’s got a Death Star that doubles as a gladiator coliseum, where we get to see Superman compete with other gladiators from across the cosmos. Mongul lets Superman channel that Conan brutality in a very entertaining way, putting Superman in a setting where he’s facing lots of foes who can go up against him with raw strength and numbers alone.

It’s a place that channels that pulp science fiction that Superman was borne from in a very entertaining way in my opinion. Also they should set a Superman video game there (but that’s another blog post). The gladiators are also useful, either as oppressed prisoners for Superman to liberate, and showcase directly how he makes life better, or as bloodthirsty mooks that can actually challenge Superman without dimishing him.

The Black Mercy is an awesome science fiction concept. While it’s been overused in relation to Mongul, it’s also the embodiment of the unknown wonders and threats of DC Cosmic. In the right hands it’s a great tool for exploring characters’ psychology.

Bendis and Fraction reestablished that the name “Mongul” is a legacy one. The current Mongul is from a long line of Monguls, the sons killing their fathers when their fathers show weakness. Given how Rebirth has established the importance of legacy to Superman with Jon, something continued by Bendis, this may be a very crucial aspect to play off of. The way “Mongul” as a mantle is assumed is a dark contrast to the way the “Superman” mantle is taken up by others after Clark. Exploring the Mongul father-son relationship in contrast to the Clark-Jon relationship may be in the cards for the PKJ run given Mongul will be the first classic Superman Rogue appearing in PKJ Action. If not I hope some other writer will take a chance to explore the way the two contrast and compare with one another because it could be very interesting.

What I Would Change About Mongul

I think there’s already a pretty damn solid base to build off of with Mongul, but some aspects that I would play up to better establish him as separate from both Clark and Darkseid:

Making him more of a hedonist. This is a guy who eat, drinks, and fucks, and enjoys himself while doing so. He loves being a bad guy and isn’t “weighed down by his sins” or any such nonsense

Showcase his knowledge more. Mongul is smart, he’s been all over the cosmos, he learned about Warworld and the Black Mercy, show that he knows other dangerous secrets as well. Weapons, planets, florua, fauna, Mongul knows stuff not even the Guardians do

Establish some underlings. Instead of having Mongul job, use some of his gladiators, elite ones raised above the riffraff who can pose a threat and hold off Superman while Mongul accomplishes his goals

Appearance wise I’d like to make him look more different from Darkseid. I’d want to draw on dinosaurs for his look. If you need to justify it, just have another son replace the current Mongul and become the new Mongul, or have Mongul modify himself with enhancements in order to beat Superman

Mongul is cool and brings a lot to the table, DC just needs to stop treating him as a jobber and more as a legitimate threat. I was happy with how Bendis used him, and I am hopeful that PKJ will continue to treat him well. He’s a villain who actually has stories that showcase why he rocks, and not just cool ideas that have never come together like other Superman Rogues. Hopefully he’ll get more opportunities to showcase that.

#superman #mongul #dc comics #alan moore #brian bendis #phillip kennedy johnson #len wein #jim starlin #warworld #future state

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cryptic-conductor · 3 years

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Happy 23rd!

It’s been quite a while! I apologize for disappearing- a lot of it had to to with college and quarantine and overall life stress, plus a particularly miserable case of seasonal depression during the winter, but a lot of it also has to do with the fact that unfortunately, things have been very quiet for 2h32 so there hasn’t been much for me to talk about. However, I do have one small offering for any eldritch horrors who are still creeping around this blog, and that is a transcript of the Fallen Conductor video that seems to have disappeared from the 2h32 channel.

I noticed a while ago that, at first, the Fallen Conductor video was gone from the main videos page, only to find that it had been unlisted and was still in the “Encore” playlist on the channel. Now, it seems to be gone completely. I’ve checked all the other 2h32 playlist and it’s nowhere to be found, not even as a gray “private video” placeholder, so I’m assuming P must have deleted it or possibly moved it elsewhere and just hid it very, very well. Which kind of sucks because that was one of my favorite videos from this series, as not only did it give us a clearer summary of what had happened in all the videos leading up to Exeunt, but overall it was just such a well- done video and I’m sad to see that it’s gone. But thankfully, because I'm an obsessive little goblin and this series dominated most of my thoughts for a good chunk of 2019, I actually copied the transcript/ subtitles of the Fallen Conductor video in a Google doc months before it disappeared so I could go back and reference the story without having to rewatch the video each time. So here is the whole script for the Fallen Conductor, for your reading pleasure. Not as good as the full video experience, but I'm still glad that it existed at one point and I thought to save the transcript.

"Let me tell you a story, A story of death and rebirth. It’s the story of a broken man to whom we offered our help. We invited him over on our side With promises of a new life. But everything comes at a price, And his would become legendary… ------------------------------------------------ Lost and afraid, he was soon found by one of us. Naturally, his old life had to be taken away from him In order to fulfill his wish. Once ready, we brought his remains to the well. There, he would endure the last step in the transformation process. He was brought back to life And stripped of all humanity. He emerged with the new life that was promised to him With his new nature, came new cravings. He soon started hunting, and he was good. And then, something extraordinary happened: He noticed you, the audience he had longed for. He sent out an invitation, And many answered his call. His hunts soon became a source of entertainment for the rest of us. His new body was in a constant state of change He always needed more and more corpses to mend his rotting flesh ----------------------------------------------- Because of his love for music and his sense of execution We called him “The Fallen Conductor”. The more influence he gathered, the stronger he got. There was one thing he wanted more than anything else. In the end, after several attempts, He finally did the impossible and crossed over on your side …and he might have not traveled alone."

#2h32 #youtube horror #horror art

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culturedsociety · 3 years

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Culture Talks with Carolyn Blackmon

Carolyn, in English meaning Joy and Song of Happiness.

Over the last decade she’s been on a journey of healing and transformation. It’s been Incredible to look back and see how beauty does actually flourish through the ashes. What happened in her life; most definitely was birthed out of struggles, hardships, loss, depression, despair, and hopelessness. Looking back at her experiences and being In complete awe because of it. Her faith and belief in God changed when she realized that “the Creator Is ultimately in control and has the ability to take what Is broken and make It brand new.”

Her life verse Is Isaiah 61:1-3 “The spirit of the sovereign Lord Is upon me because the Lord has appointed me to provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty Instead of ashes, the oil of gladness Instead of mourning, and a garment of praise Instead a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the lord for the display of his splendor.”

In her early twenties, she was extremely lost. Battling a severe eating disorder, alcoholism, depression, and sadness. She worked and pursued many things to distract herself from reality and to try to fill voids. The more destruction that she caused to her body, mind, and spirit’ the harder life became. One day after a big awakening, she had to make the choice and ask herself the hard question “Carolyn Do you want to live?” She knew at that very moment; she was not living, she was just surviving.

She made the bold decision to pack her car and move alone from WI to AZ. The land of the sun became a place of healing for her. She found yoga there. She began her vegan plant based eating, and learned to nourish her body again after starving it for so long of vital nutrients it needed to thrive. She found joy through volunteering and serving. She found god again and was re-baptized. But most importantly, found her self again.

Reflecting back to Fall of 2015 when she lost her best friend and mother to Cancer. It was as though her entire world and perspective changed about the value and gift that each day offers. She started to travel more and continued doing mission work that her mother supported the few years before she passed. She began seeking more and wanting more lead to healing the parts of her that were still broken.

In 2017, she traveled to Hawaii for her first yoga teacher training; which led her to step into a more passion and purposed filled path. This became a daily mission and allowed her the ability to circulate her gifts more responsibly. Her hope is to bless lives and help others heal, love, grow, and live their best life. To inspire them to live a life that brings an Abundance of joy, fulfillment, and higher purpose.

Take a deep dive into Carolyn’s mind:

RM: What is your Life’s Philosophy? CB: (Philosophy is an overall vision or attitude toward life and the purpose of it. Human activities are limited by time and death). I believe that we were all created in the image of God and we are each placed on Earth with our own individual and unique purpose. We are here to connect with nature, humans, animals, and to enjoy all of what God has created. We are here to not only soak in the beauty and light and spread it to others but to also use the darkness (whether it be our own struggles, lessons learned, trails, pain, suffering, etc) and use it to Glorify God? What does that mean? To use the wisdom gained, lessons learned, and the power of our testimony and story to shine the light of awareness upon all giving birth to Hope and helping others receive the healing power of Forgiveness.

RM: How has that philosophy evolved over the years? CB: Yes. I tell people that there was a line I drew that separated my old life and my new life. My old life included a long season of walking down the wrong path that ultimately was leading me down into hole. When I fell on my knees and surrendered and “woke” up. It hit me that I wasn’t living the life God planned for me. I was doing many things that I do believe helped me grow and get educated and led me to where I am today. I was drowning in depression, shame, low self esteem, and I didn’t practice self love.

Moving to AZ was the acceleration I needed to begin my rebirth process. I began serving others and finding joy in giving back for it made me realize that others had it harder than myself. I had a lot to be grateful for that I took for granted. Fast forward a few more years and I lost my Beloved Mother to Cancer. It made me realize that there is no time to waste. We are not promised tomorrow. We have a responsibility. Going through that loss changed my perspective on life and our time here on Earth.

I felt urgency. I felt my calling knocking on the door. I had to loose to gain so much more. I feel that my philosophy included being a good person, and working for what you want was so general….but over the years it’s evolved and things have been added and my life’s philosophy has gotten so complex. Creation. Calling. Service. Travel. Community. Collaboration. Healing. Purpose Filled Life

RM: How has your upbringing and circle of influence impacted the way you live and think about life today? CB: I grew up in a loving Christian home. My family members on both sides had good morals in their and the way they lived their lives was simple and consistent. I spent a lot of time in the Church. My parents Marketing business taught me so much as a young adult and I really absorbed a lot of it. My Grandpa Bood was my giver of Wisdom.

My circle of influence has really shifted in the last few years to be non-family members. Those that are where I want to be and who are doing what I am doing in their own way with their own talents. My circle of influence has been students, strangers, people I have met on travels, social media, and those that are in my tribe. It’s interesting to see how my relationships have changed and the type of people I have attracted and also been gravitated towards has changed as I have evolved and transformed and grown. My inner work has changed the way I function in relationships and I am still exploring how to have healthy boundaries as one who tends to be naïve, vulnerable, and who pours her heart and soul into everything.

RM: Do you believe that your line of work infects our society with positivity? How so? CB: When I am doing my work as a yoga instructor I try my best to step into the spaces where I am Leading classes and spread good energy that is uplifting and positive but I also know that people arrive on their mat with all different things that they are struggling with and going through and I never want to diminish that. I try to share themes that are relevant and helpful and inspiring because I really want everyone who interacts with me to leave with something that they can take with them. When they gain and grow and are blessed then so am I.

When I nanny and work with kids they give me an abundance of Joy and so I always try to pour back into the parents and thank them for the opportunity to enter into their home and spend time with them. I’ve worked jobs where felt like at the end of the day I was complaining about what I had to deal with or contend with and then I would wake up in a bad mood and that’s really a horrible cycle. I am thankful grateful that I am now an Independent Contractor and get to choose who I work with so that makes it easier but aside from that we all have a choice to make in regards to our attitude!

RM: How do you stay relevant, unique, and true to who you are as a person? CB: Let go of Comparison. It’s interesting because over the years as I became more at rest and confident in who I was and accepting of who God created me to be it made it easier to accept my path which is a lot different than many as well as accept my timeline which was not what I anticipated. I have started to become more of my own person….my tendencies and quirks have come to the surface unapologetically. Yes I am still Single…Yes I get excited over the Big Bowl Of Greens I eat everyday. My music selection changes drastically with my Mood. I could care less about TV and Material items….and I could go on and on.

The morning ritual I do sets the tone for my day. I tap into a passage or quote and scripture that I need to tell myself it’s like a treasure hunt and I get my coffee fix and take the time I need for myself and that way I’m more grounded and not shaken up or swayed or torn up by whatever may come at me and I feel that has given me the opportunity to respond better and hold my ground and keep healthy boundaries. I use to operate on not enough sleep and being stressed and hurried and then I would cave in to many things that ultimately didn’t serve myself or others well.

RM: Do you believe that the work you do everyday is aligned with your calling and higher purpose? CB: Absolutely and I want more and I am committed to continue to learn and grow and gain a deeper understanding and have more knowledge in the realm of yoga. The more spaces and places I enter and the more people that I connect and collaborate with the more lives I can touch and the more inspired I will be. This last year I started to share my content on a podcast and that was something I never imagined I would do and for a girl that use to be incredibly shy I never thought I would be on the stages I am on. It blows my mind and I am soooo appreciative.

What practices do you implement to stay grounded and divinely connected to self? CB: Guided Meditation. Yoga Nidra. Yoga. Nature. Travel. Writing. Music. Sharing wisdom with the world. Dancing. Music. Balance Healthy Clean Eating. Sharing Feelings and openly communicating with my support system. Spending a lot of time alone, while remaining connected with others.

Connect with Carolyn: Facebook Instagram

Collaboratively Written by: Carolyn Blackmon and Rebecca Muñoz

Grow this Channel & Circulate the energy of LOVE by donating: Paypal Cash app Venmo

#podcast #veganism #freedom #lifestyle #conversation #nomad #alignment #humanitarian #goodhumans #faith #mindset #empower #womeninspire

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autumnblogs · 3 years

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Day 53: Homosuck

https://homestuck.com/story/6244

Caliborn’s work is a parody of Homestuck, the very webcomic which he inhabits. On another note, just as happened nearly 200 pages ago, the Comic has again suffered a hostile takeover by another narrator.

I wonder what the point of this is other than to call attention to the existence of a narrator? It certainly helps us to get a better sense for what is specific to the tone of Andrew’s narration. In the case of Caliborn, it should be immediately apparent that he is a hostile narrator; he doesn’t have the best interest of his charges in mind.

More after the break.

https://homestuck.com/story/6247

The general rule with God Tier powers seems to be that they allow Gods to either interact with their environment umediated by gaming abstractions, or give them some level of heightened awareness of the narrative layer.

https://homestuck.com/story/6252

You, Me, and Him, are all the Same Guy. The Author, the Audience, and the Narrator are One.

https://homestuck.com/story/6257

While Caliborn is generally conceived of as being an asshole fan, I’ve always kind of gotten the impression that he’s a manifestation of Andrew’s internal critic. Like, is this what Andrew thinks of himself? A lame self-indulgent fraud who makes his job look way easier than it is?

A guy who just likes to fuck with people? Perhaps.

https://homestuck.com/story/6265

We see this immediately after John has reached into the Juju and come unmoored from Canon, and while John isn’t literally dead, due to the fact that he has been alienated from one of the few experiences that is pretty much universal - subordination to fate - couldn’t we describe John’s condition as a kind of Death and Rebirth? Hmm.

John is Dead; Long live John.

https://homestuck.com/story/6266

So Caliborn is in charge of the narrative now; and not for no reason. Even though we’re going to get the Supercartridge expansion shortly, here’s what we should expect - what Caliborn narrates here will be parallel to what happens in the actual story.

The reality is that, Caliborn’s narration, and his will to dominate everything has been manifest in canon all along, predetermining the material and immaterial conditions that governs the lives of the characters. Everything from the patriarchy, to the haemospectrum - within the narrative of Homestuck, that’s all Caliborn’s doing, directly or indirectly. He may not be the originator of it - it could be, like a Juju, just this thing comprised of arbitrary rules with no comprehensible origin - but he is the prime mover of hegemony and hierarchy in the universe.

https://homestuck.com/story/6278

Time for some more horrible glitches.

I believe that the glitches in the session, and the hostile takeover by an evil narrator correspond to the emotional condition of the protagonists - their despair is metaphysically intertwined with the collapse of the conditions of the reality that they inhabit.

Just as Terezi’s decision to go kill Vriska, and Rose’s decision to go kill Jack Noir correspond to the deterioration of Homestuck act the end of Act 5, the complete misery of everyone involved with the resumed session here midway through Act 6 causes the narrative itself to have a dissociative episode.

Everyone is too sad and angry, and as such, cannot currently be conveyed in a less shitty fashion.

https://homestuck.com/story/6293

So, here’s something interesting.

When Jade dies, she dies a Just death. Squashed underneath her own house like the Wicked Witch of the West.

What are we to gather from this? I think what we are to gather is that, while she is certainly being manipulated by her Imperious Condescension, we should take from her behavior that Jade is doing what she wants to do. She is considered to be basically responsible for her actions by her author.

We already know that Jade has anger issues, loves to be in control, and has doggy urges. I think in the same way that Crocker-Tier Jane helps to reveal a lot of the issues that Jane has buried deep down, Grimbark Jade helps us to see that all is not well in Waffleville with Jade.

https://homestuck.com/story/6302

Yet another little detail I missed on my previous readthroughs; Dave hasn’t said much explicitly in Act 6 but the fact that he has confronted how he really feels about Bro is manifest - the Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff graffiti he drew in his bedroom in his sleep is now visible while he’s awake too.

https://homestuck.com/story/6313

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Dave doesn’t have an insincere bone in his body. He is, as Nepeta might put it, a guy who likes to play games.

https://homestuck.com/story/6314

Poor guy’s reaction to his own emotions is one of guilt and shame - he literally cringes when John appears from nowhere and catches him in his little outburst.

https://homestuck.com/story/6323

I wonder exactly what is making Dave have such an emotional reaction to encountering Caledfwlch again. Like, is it just Sburb-trauma? Is it really a Karkatian outburst? Is his specific ire directed at his quest related to his rejection of his Bro’s worldview? I think any or all of those things could be true, but I don’t have an opinion formed yet.

https://homestuck.com/story/6327

Two things.

I think it’s fascinating that, in spite of her enjoyment of nasty clowns, the Condesce’s emissaries do actually express a way with words in terms of conveying her desires. Maybe this is the classy sophistication that Dirk talks about.

Also, attacking Karkat’s failure to breed a healthy frog is really the lowest blow possible. She’s the only one he confided that in.

https://homestuck.com/story/6349

Rose is completely awash. She has been since her Mom died, of course, with the exception of some brief moments of absolutely necessary sobriety. But she hasn’t had a clue what she’s supposed to do with herself ever since her Mom died, and it’s absolutely destroying her.

https://homestuck.com/story/6382

Think we’ll pause here for the evening.

As always, it is a pleasure to be your guide through this human emotion called Homestuck.

I beat Manus, Father of the Abyss for the first time in Dark Souls today, at least the “Right” way. You can cheese him by shooting him with huge arrows from outside of his boss arena, but I’m pretty stoked about it. Oh yeah, in case I haven’t mentioned (and I think I probably have), aside from the fact that I am a Homestuck aficionado, my more impressive credential is that I have, in fact, beaten Dark Souls.

Anyway, enough of that horseshit. See you tomorrow, Same Cam Time, Same Cam Channel.

#liveblogging #commentary

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some-creep · 4 years

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CREEP RANKS EVERY SONG IN NIER... AUTOMATA (mostly) BY TITLE

Because, like, no one played Gestalt. Also this game has more songs.

Significance Like. I guess. It’s a title you can use. What is significant? We don’t know. The characters don’t know. They are struggling to find out. We all are. What is meaning? What really matters? I don’t know but we’re all crying. 8/10

City Ruins – Rays of Light / Shade Plays in the ruins of the city. Exactly as advertised. Sounds sad like you might imagine. 9/10

Peaceful Sleep This is the Resistance camp right? Peaceful things don’t tend to happen there honestly. At least not as we keep going. Sounds like a sleepy JRPG town though. Ok title for the mood it gives. I like this song a lot so I’m cheating and giving it more points than I know it deserves as just, like, a title. 8/10

Memories of Dust Sand is dusty. What memories? We’re making them. Cool title. Sounds like a YA novel though. 9/10

Birth of a Wish Genuinely often get confused with the Silent Hill 2 bonus story Born from a Wish whenever I try to remember what this song is called. This Cannot Continue / 10

The Color of Depression This is like… a really cool title. Thanks. That Scanner boy is not gonna live the happy family life you all for some reason keep suggesting he is. Bad things are gonna happen to him. He dies anyway. 11/10

Amusement Park Yeah. I guess. We certainly are in the amusement park level. Creep why does this one rank so much lower than City Ruins which was also just “name of location”. Amusement park is not a cool title. City Ruins is a cool title. 7/10

A Beautiful Song Would you say Simone has girlpower? Would you say Simone successfully used her girlpower to kill and consume countless androids and also turn them into near lifeless weapons and body jewelry? 9/10

Voice of No Return Sad title. Sad song. Exactly as advertised once again. I feel sad listening to the Automata OST most of the time. Is this quest complete in the camp? I think so. Anyway it’s really sad. I love to cry. 11/10

Grandma – Destruction Um so this is like. Genuinely a horrible title. It reminds me of the title of a darkweb video which I will say no more on. This song is REALLY good its a shame this title is so… uh. Bad. It’s just bad. 1/10

Faltering Prayer – Dawn Breeze / Starry Sky This is another really cool title. This game is about like… life after god. I’m not here to get thematic. I say in a list entirely about if the song fits the theme. Anyway this is a cool title. The song again… sounds sad. One of them is a music box which I love. Cheating again. 10/10

Emil’s Shop EVERY DAY’S A SALE. EVERY SALE’S A WIN. 12/10!!

Treasured Times The fact this plays after Emil’s shop on the OST is the biggest tonal whiplash in the world. This song makes me feel an emotion I cannot describe. It’s something like sadness but not quite. This isn’t a review of the songs, just the title. But reading the title makes me feel that emotion too but stronger when I think about it. I don’t know. 9/10

Vague Hope – Cold Rain / Spring Rain Good title… Thematically very appropriate. Not COOL like some of the others but it feels right feels canon. I like it. It’s just the city ruins quest complete song but it also plays in one of the fucking… DLC fights. That makes me extra sad. 10/10

End of the Unknown Which unknown was ended. Genuinely think when this plays I had more unknowns than knowns. This song sounds like every song from the Gestalt DLC. 6/10.

Pascal At least Automata has far fewer “named after a character” songs. They just have named after a place songs. I love Pascal so if I give this a low score he might be upset. 8/10

Forest Kingdom It really… the forest huh. Random but one of the songs in Code Vein does a vocal thing that always reminds me of this song for some reason. That has nothing to do with this game or this songs title at all I just wanted to tell you. Long Live The Forest King / 10

Dark Colossus – Kaiju This song is also in Gestalt. It’s cooler here. More stakes. Song title suggests less stakes though? That’s kinda weird. Because of this it loses points. I’m sorry. 7/10

Copied City Dude I left this one off the list when I first typed it out lol. Someone not to @ anyone told me this was based on Nier’s village. Lie to me again. I don’t know what City is being Copied. One of them. It reminds me more of the Cathedral City from DoD3. Which is a bad horrible game that I completed 100%. 8/10

Wretched Weaponry Not to be confused with Wretched Automatons. Is this like, a remix? My ears don’t work so I don’t know. Don’t inform me because I love being stupid. Anyway, in the narrative it makes sense. It’s a good, cool title. Song is softer than the title would suggest. 9/10

Possessed by Disease COOL SONG TITLE. Thank you. This plays… somewhere. Uh. Hm. I’ve 100% completed this game like three times. 9/10

Broken Heart You think you’re gonna hear a sad song? SURPRISE. Sinister as hellllll. Subverted expectations baby. MCU take notes. I’ve never seen a movie in the MCU. Loving the dark tones in this. Broken heart but the emotion isn’t just sad. GOOD STUFF. 10/10

Mourning Again. You think it’s gonna be sad? But BOOM. It isn’t. I mean it still is, but in a dark way. These aren’t song reviews. These are title reviews. But if a title suggests one thing and delivers another that’s still a valid point right? I don’t know. Hey wait isn’t this just Shadowlord’s Castle? Yonah / 10

Dependent Weakling Well, it’s no Song of the Ancients – Fate, but it’ll do. In all seriousness, this is like, a great song title for Eve’s boss battle. Y’know, because he relied so heavily on Adam and all’a that. Maybe a little on the nose. Maybe a little rude. Eve sucks / 10

Rebirth & Hope Sounds hopeful. Plays during ending A where we see a Rebirth cos 9S super doesn’t die. This song is literally 30 seconds long why am I even bothering. Oh, right, because it’s on the OST at all. 30 second songs / 10

War & War Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room. It… sounds like a war room song. A preparing for a big battle song. Once again, exactly as advertised. Plays before a big battle. It really thematic naming! Peace was never an option. 8/10

Crumbling Lies Words cannot express how much I adore this song. First of all, title is on point. It’s the song that plays when you get to Route C. Literally the moment I fell in love with the game. The Bunker is destroyed, which, again… maybe it’s a bit on the nose. I don’t care. This is the perfect song title to the perfect song. I will die on this hill. 12/10

Widespread Illness Red Eye except it’s robots now. Very thematically appropriate. Everyone is dying. There’s nothing you can do to cure it except kill them. They’re incredibly infectious. Zombie Virus but with Robots. Can you tell I don’t remember what it’s called? I’m writing this at 1am and I’ve decided it’s funnier if I don’t look anything up. Sounds very somber… I like it. 9/10

Fortress of Lies Not to be dramatic but when I read this English title I was like MMMMMMMNNN because like. I get it. It plays in the Bunker. Which… is built on lies. Again. Incredibly on the nose but when I learned what the song was called I just fucking DIED the first time. I’m stupid. I don’t care. 11/10

Song of the Ancients – Atonement Another song I died when I learned the title of. Devola and Popola in that game have nothing to atone for. They are atoning for sing they did not commit. Punished for the crimes of another set of Androids, possibly thousands of miles away. It’s not fair. They have nothing to atone for. They’ve done nothing wrong. 12/10 crying creeps.

Blissful Death FUCK. This one plays in the Devola and Popola like. Text Adventure part. Which is just. I love it so much. No one dies in that though. Well… maybe someone does. It’s not impossible that Popola hurt someone. It’s suggested that, maaaaybe she did. No one stops. No one Stops.

Emil – Despair Emil’s life has quite literally only been despair. Please don’t bully him with your song titles like this… 9/10

Alien Manifestation Vintage meme of that guy from the history channel with the impact font that just says Aliens. This game has aliens, I will give you that. They’re all dead though. I guess the machines are aliens but. Eh. Wait doesn’t this play in the castle? There aren’t even aliens there what the fuck. 5/10

The Tower There’s a tower. This plays there. Thank you. Also the name of a tarot card I think? That could be cool if I knew a single goddamn thing about tarot cards. I don’t. 6/10

Bipolar Nightmare Cool flying section. Has anyone found Grun skip yet? Because the bounty for that was like. A lot of money. Vaguely a cool song title. I kinda like it. Although for some reason it reminds me of The Evil Within’s Japanese title, Psychobreak. So I think I like it less because of that. Not the worst title, but maybe the lowest of the COOL EDGY song titles. Fucking love the piano part in this one though. 7/10

The Sound of the End Really super cool and sexy song title. 2B is going to die but she can’t let anyone else get hurt because of it. She’s already done so much damage. This song is really dramatic sounding. The title is dramatic. Love this one a lot. The actual playable segment is kind of a struggle. But I think that’s the point… 10/10

Weight of the World / End of YoRHa I once got into an internet fight because I said this song is about every character except 9S because of the line “I’m only one girl”. I was corrected that the Japanese version is basically EXCLUSIVELY about 9S. None of this is relevant at all I just wanted to remember it. I still do not like 9S. Thematically a brilliant title. Everyone feels like they must do so much… but you cannot bear the weight of the world alone. Ending E legitimately makes me cry. Whenever I think about the messages from other players supporting me? It’s a lot. What the fuck. 12/10

#nier #nier automata #long post #creep ranks

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thepoetoaster · 4 years

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•The outer world is a manifestation of the inner world •Nature doesn’t care what’s happening on the TV. It’s only ‘real’ to humanity •What good are your self-imposed restrictions actually doing? Who are you serving by being small, quiet & submissive? (We are meant to grow, expand and express) •When did you start taking life so seriously? •Sometimes you have to let go of who you are so you can be who you’re meant to become - everything is a cycle of death/rebirth. •Solitude is often what it takes to find yourself and see things with greater perspective and clarity. •Your worst problem is someone else’s dream. (Example: simply being alive and healthy is a reason to be grateful; a lot of people are sick and dying. Or the job you hate is the dream of the homeless, mentally ill addict). •There are always reasons to smile, laugh and be happy - life is beautiful 😄 —some thoughts I had today. I was feeling somewhat lost today and was reading a book about connecting to spirit guides. So some of this wisdom might come from me but it also might be channeled from them. :) #nature #naturepics #naturephoto #naturephotography #truth #wisdom #channeled #spirit #spiritguides #spirituality #outdoors #scenic #scenery #landscape #writing #writer #selfhelp #inspiration #inspirational #spiritual #spiritualawakening #spirituality #raiseyourvibration #buffalo #buffalony #hashtagstepoutbuffalo (at Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHL7onohgCr/?igshid=gq7orar5xeqj

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ofbloodmagick · 4 years

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ROSE ARABELLA GORE

pronouns: SHE & HER + THEY & THEM

age: TWENTY - FIVE

sexuality: PANSEXUAL * DEMIROMANTIC * MONOGAMOUS

astrological signs: GEMINI SUN * SCORPIO MOON + ARIES RISING

occupation: BARTENDER @ DUTCH’S + MULTIPLE SIDE HUSTLES

+ traits: PERSUASIVE. ARTISTIC. RESILIENT. FASCINATING. ORIGINAL. RESOURCEFUL. WISE. ADVENTUROUS. BOLD.

-- traits: ECCENTRIC ( CREEPY ). SECRETIVE. DAMAGED. RESTLESS. TWO-FACED. JUDGMENTAL. RECKLESS. IMPULSIVE.

faceclaim: BILLIE LOURD

soul sounds: PLAYLIST !

aesthetic: ( TW: BLOOD ) BOARD !

YO YO YOU YO — it’s lydia here with my lil blood witch arabella , i have yet to get the chance to r e a l l y play her and i’m super excited for the chance bc i love them so very much. i have headcanon after headcanon for them , so hit me up if you want to do something bc i am ready to do some shit. anyway , LYDIA ( nary , nettle , snottie , etc. ) here again and i love a good name change , i’m twenty-five years old , a pansexual demigirl ( she / her * they / them ) like arabella themselves , and i reside in the central timezone ( FLORIDA IS HELL ). continue reading to learn all about ARABELLA GORE — the intense , mysterious clever little powerhouse that loves to be number one.

PERSONALITY

RULING PLANETS: pluto — planet of power & regeneration * mercury — planet of communication * mars — planet of war & energy BODY PART: crotch * reproductive organs * shoulders * hands * head * face GOOD MOOD: resilient , magnetic , passionate , loyal , protective , artistic , brave , fascinating , original , resourceful , wise , adventurous , unstoppable , bold , devoted BAD MOOD: obsessive , possessive , jealous , secretive , vengeful , manipulative , eccentric ( creepy ) , restless , two-faced , judgmental , proud , self-centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless ( SOME ) FAVORITE THINGS: obscure underground music , spicy food , an air of danger , one of a kind objects , organic ingredients , vinyl , magic , the color black , horror films , blood , fast cars , guitars , new clothes , road trips ( in fast red cars ) , expressing themselves through stunning verbal and physical feats ( SOME ) THINGS SHE HATES: simple small-minded people , insincere flattery , personal questions , living at someone else’s house , mornings , dress codes , authority figures , silence SECRET WISHES: to have complete and total control + to have all the answers + to be number one HOW TO SPOT THEM: intense eyes , hawk like gaze , smooth movements , dry blood/bruises/cuts/scars on pale skin , silver hair , big black bow , mischievous twinkle in their eyes , talking with their hands , focused or manic energy , aggressive stance WHERE TO FIND THEM: listening to bauhaus in her dark room , sitting at the corner table of a shitty underground bar smoking a cigarette , selling her magic and / or blood in some dimly lit room KEYWORDS: intimacy , secrecy , power , intensity , obsession , cleverness , wittiness , inventiveness , ingenuity , willpower , initiative , determination , passion , self-belief

arabella’s mind and mouth are busy machines , always moving at warp speed. this witch is one of the most curious and cutting-edge individuals you will meet. there are at least two personalities inside of her at all times. adventurous , she can change her mind faster than the weather and is constantly flipping between moods.

a true pioneer and trailblazer they’re the first to initiate things , fight for their beliefs and fearlessly put themselves out there. headstrong and determined , ella’s energy can be stubborn and willful a lot of the time. she does have a tendency to dig in her heels , stand her ground and absolutely refuses to be pushed around.

they will butt their own metaphorical horns against the same obstacle until they break it down — often with sheer force of will. extremely confident , she believes in herself and will on occasion champion others she deems worthy.

she does love to chatter and has a million great ideas , always keeping a notebook handy to jot down her thoughts and ideas at any time. at times , their energy can circulate in a quick and frenetic way , the silver haired wiccan is known to inspireswitty wordplay and dynamic dialogue.

when she applies herself , arabella is great at brainstorming and socializing. she also craves her “ twin flame ” and kindred spirit’s energy , always up for an intellectual meeting of the minds.

under the influence , they find themselves with the gift of gab; talking and conversing with others for hours , hopping from pop culture trends to deep political topics. beware “ gossip girl ” ella though , they can crank up the rumor mill sometimes unknowingly. as renowned dr. bernie siegel says , “ [ we ] have the ability to cure with either ‘ words ’ or kill with ‘ swords. ' ”

powerful and sensual arabella is perhaps one the most misunderstood and mysterious person you could ever meet though. secretive by nature , this southern witch tends to linger in shadowy and hidden places that most wouldn’t usually have the courage to face.

she believes strongly in life , death and resurrection and arabella embraces these life cycles. she is continually transforming and reinventing herself. there are actually more like four sides of arabella and it really just depends how she feels about you.

the first is venomous and possessive like a scorpion ; the second as slippery , charming and deadly as a snake ; the third like a soaring eagle whose piercing gaze sharply observes the landscape ( and its prey ) below ; and the fourth side ever burning and all seeing as a phoenix that rises up from the ashes into eternal rebirth.

your muse may find themselves dealing with an intense individual with lots of energy. she has been known to hole herself up late at night to process complex emotions or channel her overwhelming feelings into focused work and creativity.

the essence of arabella’s personality is magnetic , fascinating , original , passionate , loyal , protective , trendsetting , controlling , unstoppable , bold , powerful , resourceful , wise , adventurous , focused , bond oriented and brave. on the flip side though , she can also be obsessive , possessive , jealous , prideful , self-centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless , competitive , two-faced , judgmental , overwhelmed , secretive , vengeful , to even cruel , calculating and manipulative.

she channels her intuitive tides into a forceful stream of psychic and healing energy. arabella excels in exploring the darker , unexamined sides of life. it has given her excellent research and sleuthing skills , helping her plumb the depths and peer below the surface. this witch likes a challenge , but she does have to really try hard not to fall into being selfish and domineering.

she will without question help out in the darkest hours; this witch bitch is not afraid to go into the murky waters of the emotional and spiritual unknown. intense feelings surface around her closest ties , but around those she isn’t close to ella has a wall up.

believes strongly in merging , bonding and sharing resources. she may get obsessive about a passion project or lover ( forrest ) , even becoming jealous or insecure. this mysterious demigirl wants to hide all of their vulnerabilities. yet , those raw and unprocessed feelings are often their access to power.

arabella can be tricky to understand. with her reserved persona , she seldom starts a conversation or expresses interest in others openly — unless she feels out the situation first.

once you get her to open up , however , you’ll feel her scorching passion for whatever topics fascinate her. be warned: arabella can focus on one subject to an extreme , so you may be in for a deeper dive than you or your muse expect — or want lol

her natural charisma can quickly pique someone else’s interest in the topic too though.

another way to spot the witch ? look for her piercing gaze , which is hawk like at times narrowing in on her “ prey ”. if you happen to be the focus of that look , watch out. you will feel read as easily as a children’s book as arabella seems to just KNOW all your secrets , soft spots and fears.

their focused attention can be addictive , even painful when pulled away. be careful how quickly you fall down their rabbit hole — it’s not as easy to crawl back up once you do. when you befriend them , you are likely entering into a power couple or formidable alliance. while she doesn’t give up loyalty and trust easily , once she does she’ll stick with you through thick and thin.

don’t even think about double crossing her tho bc she WILL unleash her fury on you , divulging secrets and airing dirty laundry or worse. revenge is her favorite dish to serve and it’s ice cold. on a positive note , arabella’s like the perfect person to help explore darker emotions or sexuality , happy to guide most through fifty plus shades of irresistible and soul communing experiences.

arabella can come across as clever and quick-witted , but part of the fun ( and curse ) of interacting with the witch is that you’re never quite sure which personality you’re going to experience. will it be the vivacious jokester or the snarky , mean-spirited critic ?

although they may crave complete and utter control over everything , they secretly yearn for the very thing they fear: true intimacy with others. it takes a lot for ella to reveal her vulnerability , so guard that privilege with the utmost care. as she opens up and learns to show her shadow side , she can heal in ways that are truly profound.

highly impatient and competitive , they have the fighting spirit. ella were born to be number one , a star who steals the spotlight and inspires with her confidence. yeah , they can be impatient , even a little bossy , especially when they don’t get their way. she need lots of attention and can throw quite the tantrum when she doesn’t get it. fortunately , arabella rarely has a problem turning heads.

others love to follow as they take the lead on the latest adventure. she has to be reminded to make sure and let other people be the boss every now and then too , because she has a tendency to alienate potential allies. when they focus their competitive streak into a diva-worthy goal and delegate , they will always rise to the top !

they have a lot of energy , which they apply to everything from tackling supersized projects to unleashing their lusty libidos with forrest. this confident demigirl is known to leap before looking , diving into each new experience with a zest for life that few others can muster.

they love to be number one and can be a bit of a trendsetter. she has been described before as ‘ a true original who inspires the rest. ‘ with all of their fire power and can-do attitude , there’s nothing arabella can’t ( or won’t ) take on. at times , ella can be selfish or overly focused on herself and it can be a “ blind spot ” for them , they may need a gentle reminder from time to time to share.

she likes to shatter glass ceilings but can also be off-putting to people in extreme doses. this go-getter can come across as abrasive or overly aggressive , however; arabella will never back down from a challenge and can take on being the champion of those in distress when need be.

BACKGROUND

( TW: child abandonment ) so arabella doesn’t know her parents are but she does know that they ended up in some small southern town called suspiria , located in virgina of all places. her mother was really into the surface level southern gothic aesthetic suspiria offered and the unlikely couple settled there until arabella was born. her parents didn’t keep her very long though seeing as their shotgun wedding was never built to last and after she was born they both returned to where they came from or at least that’s as far as the story goes if you ask anyone in suspiria.

( TW: military ment. , death ) her parents actually went their separate ways , her mother returned to her wealthy family and comfortable life never to seek out the unnamed child she’d left behind in some no name town. her father went on to join the military and was lost in the line of duty with no one to even pass that knowledge on.

the infant rose , as they were first called back then , was left on the doorstep of an orphanage and that was where they would spend their childhood. it was not a pleasant place to grow up at all , but she was incredibly lucky in finding her twin flame in a sad , lonely young boy also growing up there.

little ella was never once adopted and she made damn sure to change the minds of anyone who so much as looked in her direction or asked her name. they grew an unhealthy attachment to forrest almost the minute they laid eyes on him , but they are connected very deeply and even as children arabella was acutely aware.

growing up ( maybe even to this day ) they were considered a loner , an outsider , the weirdo , a creepy kid , etc. and the bullying only got worse. the people in the shitty children’s home and the tiny backwoods town in virginia ? they didn’t really respond too well to the two strange kids that collected animal bones and hunted for ghosts.

in their early teen years ella started practicing satanism , but that was really just a gateway religion into wicca and her true passion , witchcraft. forrest took to it just as quickly as they did and soon the two had formed their own little coven , something that didn’t stay secret very long.

forrest , being the more scholarly of the two , found himself working for the governor on his campaign and eventually recruited arabella to do the same , but she worked more closely with the governor’s wife and the children. it only took a week , two tops , for the power hungry woman’s true intentions to came to light — dark magic.

( TW: cheating , infidelity )it’s true that ella helped with the gardening , the children , the cleaning , the cooking , all the usual suspects but she also did a number of spells involving blood and shadows. the items they created most for the governor’s wife was their own recipes for love potions and anti-aging blood serums. the woman was extremely suspicious of her husband having affairs with younger women , pretty self explanatory as to why she was seeking help from a known magic user.

( TW: blood ment. , devil ment. ) it was something of a hot topic in suspiria , the governor and his family hiring the two freaky orphans and why. not long after , a photo was leaked of the governor’s wife as arabella painted her face in the bright crimson blood serum they had concocted themselves. it was common knowledge by then that the two practiced witchcraft and suddenly every headline was about the governor and his wife being ‘ corrupted by the evil devil worshipers the kind family had taken pity on. ‘

( TW: assault ment. , death , arson , house fire ) the town ? literally ready to burn them at the freaking stake and the two couldn’t go anywhere without fear of assault of some sort or worse. to make matters all the worse , the governor’s wife and children perished suddenly in a terrible house fire and who was the easiest target to pin it on ? arabella and forrest , the two town rejects , which is exactly what the governor did. they were treated as murderers , hunted like criminals , which is why as soon as they found out about the raging fire they left town.

( TW: death ) for the next four years arabella and forrest were on the run from the governor and his goons , not stopping in any one place for very long for fear of being caught up to. over a year ago they finally got word that the governor had kicked the bucket and that anyone still looking for them likely had stopped by now. not long after , arabella came across a beautiful , vintage gothic home far more expensive than it was priced , but luckily for them the home had a rather grisly history and had been on the market for so long that the owners had cut the asking price tremendously.

( TW: scamming ) arabella was convinced that it was a sign from the universe letting them know it was okay to settle down for good now and once she’s convinced there’s no real changing her mind. so , by halloween of 2019 they were moving into the beautiful gothic home of the witch’s dreams and not long after they had rooms in their ‘ haunted home ‘ listed on every website possible to lure in dark tourists everywhere. how true everything is ? well , the two did take quite a few creative liberties and the occasional diehard , truly experienced fan of the paranormal would ( possibly have ) call them con artists.

( TW: scamming ) not only do they rent out rooms , but they also have the occasional ‘ murder tour ‘ of their ‘ serial killer ‘ house. what it really boils down to is arabella has been hustling their whole ass life and it’s never going to stop. there is quite a bit of truth to their stories , but though both ella and forrest have encountered the paranormal multiple times in their lives , not just in pleasance either , they’ve never had any real activity that could count as reliable proof. everything involving the businesses run out of the house are little more than sideshow entertainment for pleasance dark tourists.

( TW: blood ) the witch also has a part time job working for jules at dutch’s , her official title would be a bartender but she really just does what is asked of her. you probably guessed it already , but she does also have a side operation selling her blood magic from underneath the bar at dutch’s and they’re hopeful that their boss is none the wiser.

ETC.

she does still have a slight accent because she is from such a small town where everybody had a drawl or twang. she doesn’t have a good education by typical societal standards , because she had such shitty public education growing up as an orphan and no one who enforced her learning or attending. they are , however; incredibly street smart and by no means stupid. they have since taught themselves how to learn in a way best for them and are always devouring book upon book in order to teach themselves things otherwise she may never know.

( TW: blood ) ella is a blood witch and often uses her own blood , animal blood , someone else’s blood , pretty much if there’s blood in any form she’s set. she 100% sells her magic to anyone who wants it and does dabble in the shadow side. it might not actually work all the time , but that’s not entirely her fault.

( TW: bruising / injury ment. , blood , scar ment. , self harm ) a pretty big feminist , used to be in an all femme band called the hex girls ( come for me ) , goth and proud ??? a really big horror movie fan , pansexual demigirl representinggg ! always has bruises and cuts , dried blood covers their skin a lot where they miss it or just don’t care to hide it , also has quite a few scars from where she’s cut too deep ( some maybe on accident , some maybe on purpose ).

( TW: blood ) ella’s very creative ! they like to read , write , make art — out of blood lol she uses blood of all types to create a lot of art. she takes blood baths ( animal blood ) occasionally on the full moon , drinks animal blood during certain rituals , etc. also super into bone and taxidermy , you can definitely find her at deblanc’s. they also like to haunt the cemetery and creep around spotlight cinema , film is a big passion of hers.

( TW: drugs & alcohol ment. , blood ) DOES imbibe lol a partaker of alcohol ( prefers animal blood with red wine or vodka ) and certain drugs. ella definitely smokes weed & cigarettes , they enjoy partying just like the rest but she’s more reserved and likes to people watch.

okay so it’s getting late and i can’t believe how long this intro actually took me to finish tweaking , but if you want to plot with me pls pls pls hit me up bc i’d love to do some stuff !! my tumblr DMs are always open and you can always hmu on discord too !! i also write bryce winslow ( milo ventimiglia FC ) but you likely know that lol. i’m sure there’s more i could say about arabella honestly , but if you have any specific things you’d like to know or it seems like i left something out or need to take a second look at something i’d appreciate any / all feedback. can’t wait to get some replies out , but that might have to wait until the morning. @phqextras

#DOSSIER.#phqintro #TO BE TAGGED.#she like actually has tags #i swear #like already done #bless up #swear to post them tomorrow #BLOOD TW #DRUGS TW #ALCOHOL TW #INJURY TW

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ladyhistorypod · 4 years

Text

Episode 12: The Lady History Library

Sources:

Zora Neale Hurston

National Women’s History Museum

Zora Neale Hurston Digital Archive, Chronology

Zora Neale Hurston: A Biography of the Spirit

Further Reading & Listening: The Dead Ladies Show (podcast), Wrapped in Rainbows: the Life of Zora Neale Hurston (audio book), The death and rebirth of Zora Neale Hurston (article/podcast),

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou’s Website

Time

Biography

National Women’s History Museum

The Harlem Writers Guild

Poetry Foundation

Mary Shelley

Literary Hub

History Channel

Encyclopedia

Biography

Poetry Foundation

British Library: Mary Shelley

British Library: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and the Villa Diodati

University of Central Missouri

Somerset Live

Attributions: image of Maya Angelou, Book Page, Maya Angelou at Hillside Courtesy; William J. Clinton Presidential Library

Click below for a transcript of this episode!

Archival Audio: Our story is about a library. Although this library is a new one, it is not much different from most. And the people you will see might be your own neighbors.

Alana: You guys we did it. (Laughing)

Lexi: Yes!

Haley: Guys, I was in the car going to my in-laws or like what my mom calls my in-laws because I don't know what to do– like what do you call your boyfriend's parents when you live with your boyfriend?

Lexi: Your boyfriend's parents.

Alana: Hey Riddle Riddle has a word for this. SOPAS. Significant other’s parents.

Lexi: Oh yeah!

Haley: I like that.

Lexi: That's good.

Alana: Your SOPAS.

Haley: We’re not, like, married but then I don't know like I feel like saying oh my boyfriend’s parents. And we heard it like on the radio and all the tweets just came rushing in and we were getting gas and I did like a little dance in the car.

Lexi: Awww.

Haley: And when we were driving up I kept clapping and saying thank you out the window to all the Biden/Harris signs and then hissing at all the Trump/Pence and I think I heard me. But like, come on.

Lexi: I was walking on the beach, and people were driving by with American flags honking and every time someone honked everyone would cheer. And then this guy came by in a Biden/Harris tee that he'd cut the sleeves off of so it was very like 1980s muscle tank and he had a little horn on his bike and he was talking and he was going “woo! Woo!”

Alana: That is so Biden.

Lexi: And then there was one guy who gave him the middle finger and everyone who was like around the area of the beach, like it's Covid so people like weren't like close together but people were like around each other and everyone just looked at that guy like. You’re the asshole.

Alana: There was like just tons of honking and it was a lot of fun. And then I was trying to take my Shabbat nap and there was still honking.

Haley: What I want to know like immediately, and I say that sarcastically because we have a lot of other fish to fry, is where his like presidential library is going to be. Because that's like law. In the fifties Congress passed a law that every US president has to have their library. My guess is that Trump’s is going to be in like Florida. Like right next to–

Lexi: You don’t think New York City?

Haley: No. I’m being fully serious when I say it's Florida because I don't think New York.

Lexi: Mar a Largo Presidential Library?

Alana: Yeah probably.

[INTRO MUSIC]

Alana: Hello and welcome to Lady History; the good, the bad, and the ugly ladies you missed in history class. Today I'm joined in the Lady History library by Lexi. Lexi, what's the best grade you've gotten on a paper about a book you didn't read?

Lexi: Well I have to tell you something, Alana. I have never not read a book for school. I am a kiss ass. I'm a loser. I never had–

Alana: Haley is doing the big L

Lexi: L. on her forehead. I know. I was called all sorts of names. Brownnoser, ass-kisser… My number one teacher relationship was with the AP literature teacher. I read every word of Light in August. I read every word of One Hundred Years of Solitude. So, sorry to disappoint you but–

Alana: You’re blowing my mind right now.

Lexi: I read all of Crime and Punishment word for word.

Alana: Our other librarian is Haley. Haley, what do you think is the most overrated book in the straight white male literary canon?

Haley: Anything from Shakespeare.

Alana: I love you so much Haley. I also don't like Shakespeare.

Lexi: There's a theory that he might be three women pretending to be a man.

Alana: And I'm Alana and I believe everyone has two favorite books; their intellectual favorite and their actual favorite.

Lexi: One hundred percent true.

Alana: So this is my post intro banter; what is your intellectual favorite and what is your actual favorite. Intellectual favorite is like your favorite that you had to read for school, and then like your real favorite.

Haley: That's assuming I like, read books in high school. Okay, let me–

Lexi: I’m the opposite.

Haley: Like, let me– okay, I'm like on the spectrum of dyslexia. My mom may come after me, she doesn’t listen to the podcast, it's fine, she's in denial about it. But I have a really hard time doing pronunciation in my head and pronouncing words. It just, it happened. I didn't really start reading until the second grade. So going into high school, I had to do the standardized testing. I got a one on the English and then like a four on the science? Because those were like the two that worked. And they thought I was like the stupidest person in the world. Like they couldn't like. Brain fathom that I didn't think the same way for reading grammar and like reading books because they were like “did you– what happened? You got a four on science.” And I just, I did not read like it was never– and I read books on the side. My mom would like see me reading like Harry Potter, Hunger Games, all the YA books of the time and not reading school books. And it was just like out of disdain. But I think if I had to pick out of like the five I actually read was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest because I knew I would watch the movie with Jack Nicholson and I actually like the book. And then fun book, I don't have a favorite fun book, I just have a genre. Like that cheesy romance novels.

Alana: Oh yeah.

Haley: Not the ones about sex, but just like the girl finding the guy… the single mom like figuring life out. Anything from like Jennifer Hyde, Jasmine Guillory, those books are my jam because I know that like I'm so distant from them. Just like in retrospect and I don't have those type of human emotions. I’m like “oh. That’s– that is a fantasy.” That is my fantasy type thing. Like I think I can like see a pig fly or just like Harry Potter's wand come shooting at my brain cells, but like girl falling in love because she met a guy at the bookstore? That sounds fake.

Alana: I want to point out. Haley is the only one of us who’s in a romantic relationship right now.

Lexi: I think that says something about if you have too high expectations… you’re gonna be single. (Laughing)

Haley: Remember, I thought like my longtime boyfriend was gay and in a relationship the man he was sitting on the couch with.

Lexi: So, okay. My favorite intellectual book is probably One Hundred Years of Solitude, and people always like “why the hell do you like that book… like incest… like what's wrong with you?” I just think it’s really well written. Like, I think it's very visual in how it describes things and it's like full of like visual metaphor and now I sound like an asshole the way I’m talking. Like I love books.

Haley: No, I am so happy you said that because I tried reading that book. That was never recommended in school, but after finishing school and like learning to love to read through like summer vacation and then also college, I found one of those buzzfeed list of like a hundred books you had to read in school and I've been trying to like pick them off. And I've tried to read that book like two to three times and I can't get past page 70, and I don't know if that's just me or that's like the book. But it's probably me. But now that you’ve said this I'm gonna start it again.

Lexi: I think it takes a certain kind of person to enjoy it, but it's a very good book. And then my fun book– that's hard because I love lots of fun books. Like I want to say The Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty but that's not really fun, that's actually quite intellectual. Oh, now I sound like more of an asshole! I can’t not sound like an asshole this episode.

Alana: Today on Lady History: Lexi’s an asshole.

Lexi: I'm a literary snob. But no, this– this’ll redeem me. My all time favorite book like of all time is called the Perkin Papers, and quite frankly I don't know if it even still exists, like I don't think you can buy a new copy of it because the copy I have is from the 1930s and I found it at an auction in a box when I was five. But it's gotten me through some rough times.

Haley: That is the most Lexi way of finding a motherfucking book if I’ve ever heard one.

Lexi: I go to a lot of weird places to find books. So my favorite smart person book, or my favorite high school book is Frankenstein which oh my god sneak peek foreshadowing. And then my favorite actual, my actual favorite fun book is either Good Omens which I read before I knew the show was coming out by the way. I am not a bandwagoner. Not that there's anything wrong with being a bandwagoner but I am not a bandwagoner. Or an Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green and the sequel, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. But I think that Hank Green's books are beautiful depictions and explorations of humanity and social media.

LEXI’S STORY STARTS HERE

Archival Audio: This little song is a story. The young lady thinks that it's time for them to get married, in fact if she thinks they just have to, and the boy doesn’t want to marry. And so this song’s about it. (Singing) Tilly, lend me your pigeon. He caught me with mine. My pigeon’s gone wild in the bush. My pigeon’s gone wild. My pigeon’s gone wild in the bush. My pigeon’s gone wild.

Lexi: I have two things in common with Zora Neale Hurston, any guesses on what those two things are?

Alana: You love the bison at the zoo.

Haley: You both have owned birds.

Lexi: I don't think either of those are true of Zora Neale Hurston. But, those two things it is is that she was a trained anthropologist and she went to a college in Washington DC.

Alana: Okay my guess was that you both lived in DC for– my actual guess was that you both lived in DC for a while, and I know that sounds like “eheheh that’s what I was going to say” but that is, like, what I was going to say.

Lexi: No I believe that you would have guessed that because I think it's like… People reference her around DC because she spent some time there. Although she didn’t spend that long there. Anyway and then the funny thing is you both also kinda had that come with her so. Haha.

Alana: That's true.

Lexi: We all have those two things in common with Zora Neale Hurston. Now I will begin. So, let's jump into her story… book, get it? She's an author and also Haley says that a lot of times so it’s not that unique that I said that. Zora was born on January 15, 1891 in Notasulga? I might be saying that wrong. Notasulga, Alabama. And like many other young Black women in her era, both her parents had been enslaved. And when she was very young her family moved to Florida and settled in Eatonville, which is one of the first towns in the United States to be incorporated by African-Americans, so she grew up in an area with a lot of African-American leaders.

Speaker 2: There, her father became mayor and pastor at the local church and her mother Lucy Potts Hurston died in 1904 and her father remarried. Zora and her stepmother did not get along, and so the young girl went to live with other family members, spending a lot of time with her brother in her brother's homes. In 1914, she moved to Memphis and began working as a nanny for one of her brother’s children. And she then became a maid and moved to Baltimore. In Baltimore, she eventually became a waitress and decided to go back to school, studying at night. And on September 17, 1917, Zora at the age of 26 enrolled at the Morgan Academy. She graduated with a high school degree a year later and moved to Washington DC where she began working as a manicurist and continued to work as a waitress. That fall she entered Howard University and in two years she earned an associate's degree. Zora co-founded The Hilltop, which is still Howard's student newspaper to this day. She then moved to New York City. Zora, through a scholarship she earned, attended Barnard College. There, she declared herself an English major, but was also passionate about anthropology, studying under the famed “founding father” anthropologist Franz Boas. Also while in New York, she befriended notable Harlem icons such as Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. She became a part of the Black cultural movement, joining many other Black writers living and working in Harlem. At the end of her college career, Professor Boas encouraged her to collect Black folklife in the south. This experience shaped future work. As both an anthropologist and author, Zora dedicated her life to the preservation and promotion of Black cultural studies. She did not only study Black culture and African diaspora in the United States of America, but also visited the islands of Haiti, the Bahamas, and Jamaica; studying religion and reporting her findings in US newspapers. In addition to producing ethnographic work for her research, she also used her studies of Black culture, religion, and folklife to inspire her fiction writing. She also collaborated with Langston Hughes on her writing. Her most famous work, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is notable for breaking barriers as one of the first fiction novels to explore the experience of a Black woman in America. Today, the novel is used as an educational tool in high school literature classes and college anthropology and American studies courses. If you have not read it, do yourself a favor; go pick up a copy from your local bookstore or library. It was the book that inspired me to pick Zora for this episode and it's one of the works that inspired me to study anthropology in college because when I read it as a junior in high school I was like this is really interesting I need to know more about this lady and how she got all this information to make the story. And I found out how she did ethnographic work and I was like “that's a job?” So anyway, that’s really cool. Zora wore many hats, and anthropology and literature were not her only passions. She also taught drama at the North Carolina College for Negroes, which is now the North Carolina Central University and she worked as a consultant for a movie studio, Paramount Pictures. In the 1940s, Zora lived on a houseboat that she called Wanago. And also in a controversial hot take zero oppose the Supreme Court ruling in Brown V. Board, believing integration would actually result in assimilation and destroy the cultural transmission of knowledge between Black teachers and Black students, which I guess makes a bit of sense. At the time, integration meant a lot of Black students went on to have white teachers and a lot of Black teachers were no longer teaching. And cultural representation in education really matters because sometimes without specific cultural understanding, meeting students’ needs can be really hard, and we still see this problem today. So obviously I don't believe in school segregation, but I think Zora’s point could be used today to support hiring diversity and hiring teachers who reflect diverse communities where they teach. Zora was married three times, but it never lasted long. I think they were all like a year, but honestly they’re such a footnote in her life it's hard to find resources on these guys. Through her lifetime, Zora was largely ignored by mainstream white literary critics and she had a large following in the Black community. She was usually underpaid for her work and she lived poorly for most of her life. Towards the end of her life, despite being an accomplished author, she was evicted. She suffered a stroke in 1959, and in old age she was forced to enter the St Lucie County Welfare Home where she was cared for until her death of heart disease on January 28, 1960. Because she had no money or close relatives, she was buried in an unmarked grave and her funeral was held through donations collected from her friends. When Alice Walker, the author known for her book The Color Purple, found out Zora’s grave was unmarked, she decided to do something about it. In 1972, she found Zora’s grave and commissioned a marker for it. The marker reads “ZORA NEALE HURSTON / A GENIUS OF THE SOUTH / NOVELIST FOLKLORIST / ANTHROPOLOGIST / 1901–1960." And yes, she got the birthday wrong, but that's okay because she did an awesome thing recognizing her. Though in life, Zora’s work was overlooked, in death she became an icon, and is considered one of the best writers of her time. Today many modern authors consider her an influence on their work. Her folklife recordings and manuscripts are held in the Zora Neale Hurston archive at the University of Central Florida and can be accessed online through their website or the Library of Congress. Her hometown, Eatonville, Florida, honors her with the Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts and the Zora Neale Hurston Library; two fitting tributes to her passion for arts, culture, and literature. And, so I know I said that the reason I picked her was because of Their Eyes Were Watching God, and that's true but that's only half true. Another reason I love Zora Neale Hurston is that when I worked at the zoo there were two bison at the National Zoo, and there's always bison at the National Zoo because the first animal ever exhibited at the National Zoo was a bison and every time there's always two, and one is always named by Howard University and one is always named by Gallaudet University because they’re two universities in DC, and the students vote through a poll to name each of the bison that represent their school. And this started as a tradition because the bison is the mascot of Howard. They are the Howard bison, so that's how this tradition started. And usually the Howard students pick an alum of their university to be the bison's name, and so while I was working at the zoo, the bison named by Howard students was named Zora and she was named after Zora Neale Hurston, who got her associate's degree from Howard University. And that's pretty cool, but unfortunately I just found out recently that Zora passed away March 7, 2020 from an leg injury. And when big animals like bison and horses get leg injuries, they can't really recover. They have to be humanely euthanized, which really stinks. But they do have two new baby bison at the zoo that just got named this July.

HALEY’S STORY STARTS HERE

Archival Audio: History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. Lift up your eyes upon This day breaking for you. Give birth again To the dream. Women, children, men, Take it into the palms of your hands, Mold it into the shape of your most Private need. Sculpt it into The image of your most public self. Lift up your hearts Each new hour holds new chances For a new beginning.

Haley: So, like Lexi said, I always say let’s crack open that story book, and that’s exactly what we're gonna do today for Marguerite Annie Johnson or Maya Angelou. I'm gonna try a new way of quote “storytelling” for just in general huge historic heroes by telling a couple of quote “short stories' ' rather than like one long telling of their life-icles.

Lexi: Vignettes.

Haley: What?

Lexi: Vignettes. Like if you ever read the book The Things They Carried– oh my god Lexi’s a literary snob. It's a book told in vignettes.

Alana: Vine was also short for vignettes.

Haley: And I thought it was fitting to do it for our author ladies because like short stories, haha so funny. And especially our author, Maya, has written 36 books and some of those actually include cookbooks, so throwback to our previous episode. So, story number one I've titled quote “I love the uniforms.” So Maya had spent some time in San Francisco, and she was actually the first female African American cable car conductor. So for those of you who are not familiar with San Francisco's cable car, they’re the classic almost like trolley-like vehicles that make a bunch of noise when you hear them. And they're mainly downtown SF to go up and down those massive eff off hills, and they’re a huge tourist attraction at this point. And the secret is, guys do this if you're ever in SF, past corona, all that good stuff. It's fourteen dollars to like ride it. But if you get one of those like day passes included, then that's– like that's what you have to do. You have to make sure the day pass you get or if you're a local because a lot of them use it for their transportation of like if you're on top of Knob Hill you go down the hill or up the hill to get to really where like the financial district stuff is… all the big businesses. and in our like monthly pass where you pay like eighty dollars for it you get like unlimited trolley car… or, cable car… I always called it the trolley. I don't know why, but Robert and other locals would yell at me saying “it's the cable car. The trolley is something different.” They all look the same to me and I'm still gonna get lost either way. Anyhoo, sixteen year old Maya wanted this job and even said on like an Oprah Winfrey talk show, “I loved the uniforms,” hence the title. And it was her mother who actually said that she should go to the city office and get the job if she wanted it so badly. And when she went to the area like where the cable car conductors got hired, she was noted to be reading Russian literature. And she wasn't first hired or even allowed to like apply because of her race. Because surprise surprise, America wasn't woke and it’s still not woke. But she read her Russian literature, like the boss girl she is, and was hired. When she like, she didn't get the application actually before being hired. She was under the legal age so she actually wrote that she was 19 like the badass she was. and as a conductor her mom would also join her. And like she's currently conducting at like the butt crack of dawn at four AM and her mom would kind of go behind a trolley car. And the trolley car isn’t like a closed vehicle. It’s not like a bus or train where the doors close. You can just hop on and you'll see people hold onto a pole and stand on the outside, and cars come like within inches of you. You can't even have like a backpack or something. Like you have to like hug yourself to this pole, essentially. I've almost gotten hit once or twice. Also for cars going by, there are special lanes, if this was like the same back then as well. There are special lanes that these cable cars can go through. Regardless her mom would trail Maya’s cable car and Maya said quote “with her pistol on the passenger seat.” So I love that. I don’t– like I just– ugh. Juicy. And she worked there for about a semester before deciding to return to school. Second story, I'm calling it “getting pen to paper.” In the 1950s, African American writers in New York City formed The Harlem Writers Guild to essentially support Black authors in the publication process and affirm them as the beautiful writers they are. And the Guild is still around today, the link is in the show notes, of course of course. And she was one of the early members and during this time she began to write I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her life that was published in 1969, And many claim to be her most famous book. This is now where like my memory is kind of getting fuzzy because I read a lot of her books, and a lot of her books– or, most of her books are autobiographies or what she actually created as a genre during this time as autobiographical fiction. And that’s basically taking parts of your life and adding some elaborate essence to connect it more, make it more juicy. And this one I think is the one that took like thirteen years to write. Like she kinda wrote it along with her life and also included some earlier parts. So she just like took truly the most time and it really paid off. And she also during this time in the Guild continued to explore art forms in poetry, dance, music, and even like writing and directing films. So we get just her really explain herself as a writer. And lastly, we have story number three, which I have called quote “On the Pulse of Morning.” And On the Pulse of Morning was the title of the poem she read for Clinton's presidential inauguration in 1993. That's why when Alana was like “hey, let's– let's do a quick nod of the election,” I was like “haha! I got this.” She was the second poet ever to read an original work at a presidential inauguration. The first was Robert Frost at JFK's in 1961. And the poem itself shares themes of inclusion, change, and the role of the president, and like the responsibility it comes with, but also like the role and responsibility a citizen has, which are all things we should just remember right now, 2020. And she was chosen because she grew up in Stamps, Arkansas or like a lot of her childhood was in Stamps, Arkansas, which was rather close to where Clinton was born. And he said that her writing really resonated with him. For example, he was quoted saying ”When I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I knew exactly who she was talking about and what she was talking about in that book.” And that references how Clinton's grandfather managed a grocery store that was in a predominantly African American neighborhood. And actually for this spoken word poem, was recorded and she ended up winning a Grammy Award in 1994. It was apparently like an amazing amazing thing. I don't have enough time to go searching on the YouTubes for it because I was researching another gal because we're recording two episodes tonight. But it was noted to be almost as like a theatrical performance. She just exuded that power and greatness and dug deep into her roots of being a dancer and performer. Before I finish, because I have my three short stories, I would like to note that Maya at times had a very difficult life with racial injustice, physical and sexual assault, loss, and just– the list goes on. But I did not want to pick stories on that because even in her a lot of her books she would focus on the positives and say how she took the bad and turned it into something good. And each three of those stories had a little nugget so dig deep into what I said and pick out positive from the not so positive; the bad, if you will. And I would just like to share my favorite book of hers which was published in 2013, a year before she died, and it's Mom and Me and Mom. And she also died at age 83 so she lived quite a life. One of my favorite quotes of hers is “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.”

ALANA’S STORY STARTS HERE

Archival Audio: She's beautiful, she's evil, and she'll do anything for love. Never been a movie like Lady Frankenstein.

Alana: I'm so excited for this. My lady for today is Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, née Wollstonecraft Godwin; the teenage girl who invented science fiction and my O.G. goth queen. You may have seen some internet history lessons that you should of course take with more salt than the Dead Sea and I will note those when they come up, but sneak peek I have wonderful news about them. Mary was born August 30, 1797, that makes her a Virgo. Her parents were William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft– yes that Mary Wollstonecraft, the author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Side note, I think we should do an episode on pre-first wave feminism feminists and I am calling dibs on Mary Wollstonecraft. They'd only gotten married that March scandal noises, gasp, shock and awe, possibly because William what was this radical anti marriage philosopher freethinker, and then his lover– not my favorite word, but anytime I use the word lover I am referencing Hadestown– was pregnant and it was a propriety thing. Although Mary Wollstonecraft had already had another daughter from a previous affair with an American businessman and I don't think they were married. Yeah, that's the real shock and awe. There is so much shock and awe, scandal in this story. Get ready for it. Just a week and a half after Mary was born on September 10, her mother died of complications from the child birth. And those complications can basically be summed up with 18th century doctors didn't wash their hands. And William Godwin made it very clear to Mary that she was a monster who had killed her mother. Literary scholar Sandra Gilbert has argued that Frankenstein is a projection of her own life. A quote unquote “monster” trying to have a relationship with the parent whose life it ruined. William remarried their neighbor Mary Jane Clairmont who had two kids of her own. And then William and Mary Jane had a son, so now Mary has four half and/or step siblings. Her stepmother vastly preferred her own children. Mary and her stepsister Claire would go on to spend quite a bit of time together but we'll get into that in a bit. Mary found solace at her mother's grave at St Pancras Church in London. She learned to write her name by tracing the letters on the tombstone, and that's only like the third most goth thing about her. But nobody talks about this one. I just think– I think it's like cute goth. Like kawaii goth. She would just like to hang out there and read or whatever like it was her spot. Normal kids have treehouses, Mary had her mother's grave. She published a kids’ book at the age of eleven called, I'm gonna butcher this pronunciation, but it’s not spelled like French so I guess this is on you Mary that I'm gonna mess this up. Mounseer Nongtongpaw; or, the Discoveries of John Bull in a Trip to Paris. It was her father's publishing company, so just a skosh of nepotism there, but it's still cool that she was eleven and published. In 1812, when she was fourteen, her father sent her to Scotland to live with some family friends, the Baxters, at her step mother's request. One of my sources said that Mrs Godwin felt quote “threatened by Mary” who had become the quote “beautiful image of his first wife” which. Mm. I do not like. Do not like. Mm. Okay. But you know what? Whatever though, because Mary is thriving. She feels good, she's away from her wicked stepmother, she's made friends with the Baxters’ youngest daughter Isabel, and she's like healthy and just like thriving. She's, she's living her best self. That November, she briefly visited home and this is potentially– it's kind of disputed by scholars, but this is potentially the first time she met, heart eyes emoji, Percy Shelley but he was still married to his first wife Harriet. Percy had come to study under Mary's father, but they were immediately smitten. In 1814 William Godwin brought his daughter home like for permanents because he wanted her to start earning her own living. But I think if Mary actually met Percy before in 1812, I like to imagine him just being like “hey, Mr Godwin, you know what would be really cool? It would be really cool if Mary were here. Don't you think I would be really cool if Mary were here?” But I… like I don't know if that's what happened. But this is where Percy and Mary have definitely met, and they read together and they have intellectual discussions. He’s very impressed by her parentage and her intellect, and they started their affair and they're very much in love. Mary takes him to her favorite place, her mother's grave, to profess her love for him. This is also where Percy asks her to marry him. And this is our first internet history lesson. You may have seen that Mary Shelley lost her virginity on her mother's grave. Most scholars say yeah. That happened. That's true. Because it was a very– it was a place of emotional growth for Mary. Percy later said that having sex with Mary was his real birthday. I hate this man.

Lexi: It seems like they all had a lot of problems.

Alana: I hate this man. I hate him so much. And we're gonna get more into why I hate him so much, but, okay. Percy supposedly gave Mary's dad twelve hundred pounds, which is now over eighty four thousand pounds, which is over a hundred and ten thousand dollars, in exchange for him to allow Percy and Mary to run away together. Mr Godwin took the money and said no. But Mary and Percy ran away to Switzerland anyway. And Mary's dad doesn't speak to her for two and a half years. I want to point out, Percy is still married to another woman at this point, who was pregnant and they already had a child together.

Haley: I was just about to ask that.

Lexi: Yeah.

Alana: They're still married. Mary’s stepsister, Claire, who I mentioned, comes with them as a translator. But it's possible that Percy was also having an affair with her and they were a throuple. Percy was like all about free love and probably would have been one of those dudes on Bumble who's like “ethical non monogamy.” I'm looking at Lexi because she knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Lexi: I’m like envisioning a meme where it's his profile and he’s got like books, book emoji, cigarette emoji. He’s real edgy.

Alana: Oh yeah, totally. There is also evidence that Mary had affairs too, so this is like 19th century polyamory. Claire did eventually leave their household when Mary's jealousy kind of like physically made her ill. It just like she sank into this deep depression that magically got better when Claire moved out. They’re constantly on the move because Percy owes a lot of people a lot of money and he has to keep running away from creditors. Like, he– he gave someone a hundred and ten thousand dollars for permission to do something he was gonna do anyway. So, hm. Not great.

Speaker 1: Here is what everyone is waiting for, the writing of Frankenstein. This is a very famous story that they've done on Drunk History which was very funny to watch a drunk person try and say Wollstonecraft Godwin. I died laughing for ten whole minutes. And there’s an episode of Doctor Who about it, and side note the Thirteenth Doctor is chef's kiss A plus amazing, it's a whole new show and I love it. So 1816 was the year without a summer because the Indonesian volcano Mount Tamboro, I hope I'm pronouncing that right, had erupted the year before and covered basically the whole planet in a giant ash cloud. I am being dramatic, but my point is it was dark and gloomy and rainy the whole summer across Europe. So Claire’s back, and she’s pregnant with Lord Byron's– yes, that Lord Byron’s– child. And Lord Byron is staying at the Villa Diodati in Geneva, and the three of them meet him there and they're all hanging out. Are they having orgies? Maybe. Byron and Percy had been talking about Romantic– capital R. romantic, as in the 19th century cultural movement, those kind of ideas about death and magic and life and ooky spooky stuff. And so they start a ghost-story off. And this is where Mary begins Frankenstein. It wasn't all written in that night. I feel like that's a misconception, that she wrote all of it that night, but that was just like the idea. Most of it was actually written in Bath when everyone went back to England. And it wasn’t off-the-cuff either. Like Mary had a really hard time coming up with her idea. Percy and Mary finally got real married in December of 1816 after his first wife Harriet committed suicide. Apparently she was pregnant with another man's child, but honey have you seen what's going on here? I think you would've been fine. But Percy was denied custody of their children and he believed he might have a better chance of getting custody if he were quote– massive air quotes– “settled down.” This didn't work, but Mary's dad starts talking to her again, so that's nice. And Mary had a huge role in Percy Shelley's legacy, probably because some of survivor's guilt. He drowned in a shipwreck with two of his friends off the coast of Italy in July 1822 while Mary was recovering from a miscarriage that almost killed her. When Percy's body washed up, he was only identifiable by the Keats poetry in his pocket. Percy was cremated on the beach and his heart did not burn. That's true. Modern doctors say it probably calcified from a bout with tuberculosis earlier in his life. One of his friends took the heart and kept it and only gave it to Mary after her constantly bugging him. Which leads us to our second internet history lesson. Did she keep Percy Shelley's heart? Yes and no. When Mary died in 1850, her family definitely found his heart in her desk wrapped in the pages of his final poem, Adonaïs which is like a really sweet love poem. You should read that. But read Frankenstein first. Did she actually carry it everywhere? Uncertain. Maybe, but they definitely found it in her desk so she definitely had it. We're– we're not really sure where it is now. I don't know how that's possible, but I have conflicting sources. It's possible that it's with Mary or with their only child who had reached adulthood Percy Florence Shelley. They’d had a bunch of kids who either died super young or only lived like a few days. Mary is primarily responsible for the posthumous collection of Percy Shelley's work. So that's like all her. It’s like in her writing credits that she edited all of these collections. After Percy died, Mary turned down several marriage proposals because she quote “wanted to be Mary Shelley on her tombstone” which is really sweet. Side note, thank you to 19th century people for writing down all your feelings in like journals and thoughts and everything and then keeping them. I love that we know what you were thinking because there was no Twitter for you to document your whole lives the way that I do, although of course if you see me on Twitter, no you don't. This is where the stories about her usually stop after, Percy died. But, Alana, you said that she died in 1850, Percy died in 1822. What on earth did she do with those 28 years? I am so glad that you asked. First of all, she wrote a bunch more, thank you very much. Five more novels that weren't Frankenstein were published in her lifetime and at least twenty short stories. While she was no longer the radical she had been when she was with Percy, she took it upon herself to protect the women in her life. Claire, who lived with her on and off, obviously who I brought up a couple times. She lived with and supported the wife and children of one of Percy's friends who had also drowned. She helped her childhood friend Isabel, Isabel Baxter, from before, get out of England when she had a child out of wedlock. So she was protecting her, her friends. Mary died of brain cancer in 1850. Her son and his wife had her parents’ bodies exhumed and she's buried between them in St Peter's Church in Bournemouth. There are plans for a Mary Shelley museum in Bath, just up the street from the Jane Austen Centre and very much in the same style of like employees in period clothes and family friendly. The most recent article that I found about it was from June and one of the people in charge of it said that it would be finished by the end of the year slash early 2021, and that tourism would pick back up by then, but it's November and the U. K. just went back into lockdown, so I don’t think that schedule is still what’s happening. But, once travel is a thing again and once that Mary Shelley museum is open I think Lady History field trip to Bath. Shout outs to some professor at the University of Central Missouri for putting their study guide or test for Frankenstein as a PDF on the university website. The timeline of Mary's life on the first few pages was very helpful. I hope it wasn't a student who cheated, but the url is like UCM dot EDU, so… I just– I love Mary Shelley so much. I used– I made this joke in high school when we were reading Frankenstein that I think I am Mary Shelley reincarnated. Like if reincarnation is real, I would buy that. Like I'm only half kidding. But if reincarnation is real, which I don't know. I don't know if reincarnation is real. I know hell is not real, that's for sure. I also think it would be cool to be a ghost. Anyway… Lexi why are you laughing at me?

Lexi: It’s just very you.

Alana: Yeah. Anyway. So that is the story of Mary Shelley, the teenager who invented science fiction, and if you think it was some like, Isaac Asimov or whatever, who I literally saw in a meme once. If you think a man invented sci fi you are incorrect.

Lexi: You can find this podcast on Twitter and Instagram at LadyHistoryPod. Our show notes and a transcript of this episode will be on lady history pod dot tumblr dot com. If you like the show, leave us a review or tell your friends,and if you don't like the show keep it to yourself.

Alana: Our logo is by Alexia Ibarra, you can find her on Twitter and Instagram at LexiBDraws. Our theme music is by me, Garageband, and Amelia Earhart. Lexi is doing the editing. You will not see us, and we will not see you, but you will hear us next time, on Lady History.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

Haley: Next time on Lady History; we're going to be discussing some ladies whose lives were unfortunately cut a little too short.

#womens history #feminist history #literary history #mary shelley #maya angelou #zora neale hurston

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