#I feel like one good thing with dracula daily is that eventually we will all just create a fully animated feature of the novel

[howlerbat]

#dracula #I hate that dd caused my obsession with gothic literature to re-surface #i marathoned so many dracula movies it’s not even funny #dracula daily #I feel like one good thing with dracula daily is that eventually we will all just create a fully animated feature of the novel

[violinsolos]

Dracula Daily, Prof. Thoughts, May 24

Hi all.

Sharing some more Dracula Daily thoughts here, as a literature prof with a PhD in 19th Century Lit. I really love all the Lucy chapters and I thought I'd give a few insights into women and what's going on Gender Wise in the book!

Basically: why is Lucy so sexy and what does it mean for sexy women in this story?

Spoilers for today's chapter beneath the cut.

So the big thing to remember about Dracula is that it's being written at the very end of the 19th Century, and very near the end of the Victorian era specifically (which ends in 1901--Drac comes out 1897). So you may have images of Victorians as stuffy Puritans, but by the 1890s, gradual improvements in access to education, literacy, and print ability have by now sunken their claws in and people are buzzing with ideas. The 1890s is an extremely exciting time for challenging tradition. Lots of new ideas are pouring in as Victorians take stock of the century, and one of the biggest is a giant cultural conversation over what women's roles in the world should be.

There's a giant push for a new feminist ideal, one that will eventually see women getting the vote, albeit not all at once. This push was for women to be capable participants in society beyond their roles as wives and mothers. Many people began to value women who were savvy, career-minded, independent, educated, and basically all-around badass bitches.

Victorians called this new type of woman The New Woman.

Basically, see photo below (Frances Benjamin Johnston's Self-Portrait (as "New Woman"), 1896).

The thing about the New Woman was that people were excited for her--but there were also tons of anxieties about what this shift in traditional gender roles meant, not only for men but for institutions of marriage, child-rearing, and other things long considered the foundation of society.

We can see echoes of the New Woman in Mina and Lucy respectively.

Mina is savvy and has career skills. She can do stenography and use a typewriter (a new technology) and this is going to help her later in the book. In this way, Stoker has Mina embody what he clearly thinks are the coolest, best elements of the New Woman phenom. Mina is educated, smart, skilled and independent.

Lucy, meanwhile, doesn't have the career skills, but she has a kind of sensual dynamism that a lot of critics and readers love. She's overly romantic and flirts with having many lovers at once. She admits it's "heresy" but doesn't take it back as a sincere want, either. This polyamorous suggestion of wanting to have all three men at once is playful, but it also highlights the potential for passion that she tends to embody in the book.

Now, remember the Brides? Remember how they, too, were also overly sensual, with the word 'voluptuous' landing about 50 times, and Jonathan getting all lightheaded over their sensualized dominance, longing to be penetrated by their teeth in a reverse of traditional gender roles?

And these powerful, hyper-sexual women--our boy Bram depicts them as baby-eating monsters.

So, critics have long debated what Stoker is trying to say about the New Woman here. Obviously, he really likes the qualities he gives to Mina. And I think we can perhaps see a sliding scale between Lucy (innocent but romantically passionate) and the Brides (monstrously sexual) that shows he's also anxious over, shall we say, sexually enthusiastic women.

But unlike the Brides, Lucy is so much fun, and is clearly depicted as charming and loveable. Lucy, unlike the Brides, is not depicted as a monster, but an enthusiastic would-be bride* (three times over).

But her enthusiasm for love, romance, and (by coded suggestion) sensual experience with these men is the result of a more empowered kind of woman more prevalent in the 19th Century. And maybe it's most nuanced to say that Stoker's got mixed feelings about that figure.

So: Mina gets the good parts of the New Woman (according to Stoker), like independence and career savvy. And Lucy gets the alluring but potentially troubling or subversive parts (according to Stoker), such as free-spirited attitude towards love, sex and the powers inherent in those things.

Where does this go?? We'll have to keep reading.

**Important to note that Dracula's roommates are never called Brides in the text, so any parallel here between Lucy-as-Bride and Brides-of-Dracula is incidental; I just like calling them the Brides instead of Dracula's Roommates.

#dracula daily #19th century #Victorian era #dracula spoilers #dracula #lucy westenra #mina murray #the new woman #bram stoker

[thedupshadove]

I posted 886 times in 2022

136 posts created (15%)

750 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@forthegothicheroine

@marzipanandminutiae

@fannish-snailien

@thedupshadove

@trust-me-i-just-get-weirder

I tagged 796 of my posts in 2022

Only 10% of my posts had no tags

#d&d - 58 posts

#dracula - 23 posts

#superman - 21 posts

#dungeons and dragons - 13 posts

#writing - 12 posts

#dracula daily - 11 posts

#m*a*s*h - 10 posts

#d&d homebrew - 8 posts

#batman - 8 posts

#discworld - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#it's a little unnerving to realize that i can follow and even almost sympathize with the logic behind such an objectively deranged response

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Superman, in my opinion, provides excellent fodder for pretentious meditations on the following:

Immigration, Diaspora, cross-cultural adoption, what you preserve, how you preserve it, what you can’t preserve, what you adopt, how much choice you have in what you adopt

Grief, and loss, and the peculiar flavor of grief that comes from contemplating the loss of something that’s so vitally important to you despite you only knowing of its existence in theory (Bonus points if we can use Supergirl to contrast that intellectual yearning with the more straightforward agony of directly witnessing the death of a world that you did know)

Heroism, what it means, how much choice individuals have in what it means, when should a person be said to have a “duty”, how often and under what circumstances may the strongest be allowed to lay down their burdens, dare we rest when the world is not yet perfect?

Power, and how people--both those who have it and those who don't--react to it.

Names, identity, personae, selfhood, a mask is always a self-portrait, how long must a mask be worn before it is no longer a mask?

What impact all of these things has on interpersonal relationships. 

And the question is, can all of these themes be combined in a single work in such a way that they enrich each other, or would they only crowd each other out?

66 notes - Posted May 13, 2022

#4

On the one hand, I feel like trying to Fix Taming of the Shrew so it's less misogynist is a little intellectually dishonest, and we should be willing to engage with Problematic old media warts and all.

On the other hand, I have a really good idea for it.

67 notes - Posted January 31, 2022

#3

I could fix Hamlet. I know Ophelia tried and it went badly, but that just means I'll need to fix her too.

76 notes - Posted November 29, 2022

#2

I just came up with what might be the dumbest supervillain idea.

So there's this guy. Works as a special effects technician at the Metropolis Old Opera House. And one day he gets caught in some kind of accident involving a little too much Science™ and gains near-total invulnerability, but, and this is crucial, no other superpowers. This isn't a problem for a while, but eventually. Okay you know how your muscles get uncomfortably stiff if you don't stretch them periodically? And you know how stretching muscles is basically just tearing them a little bit?

Yeah, his completely unaugmented strength is no longer able to effectively stretch his nigh-invulnerable muscles. It's been six months. He is so stiff. Everything hurts.

He can't bend himself in any way that will help. Nobody he knows can either. But you know who probably could? Superman.

So he uses his special effects skills to stage a crime of sufficient magnitude to draw Supes out, hoping the resultant beatdown will finally give him the wringing he so desperately needs.

81 notes - Posted August 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

(Inspired by that @bemusedlybespectacled post I reblogged a few days ago, as well as the trend of writing Reddit posts about fictional characters)

Posted by u/Ginger-Gin on r/relationships:

My (24f) boyfriend (27m) won't hit me

So, I started dating this guy a few months ago, and things have been pretty great. He's hot, he's funny, he's smart, he's nice, we have similar interests, I'd be lying if I said his income wasn't a nice bonus, and the sex...well. At first, the sex was about as good as it had ever been for me, which is to say that it was fun, but that magic everyone talks about wasn't there. Until one night, when right as we were building to the climax, he (apparently spontaneously) bit my neck, pulled my hair a little, and practically snarled "You're all mine" in my ear. Readers, it was so hot. But afterwards, he seemed really upset, apologizing over and over and genuinely looking like he was about to cry.

This started a tricky conversation, and I finally got out of him that he had been fairly active in our city's BDSM scene (but swears he hasn't "scened" with anyone since before we started dating). I didn't really know anything about BDSM, so I decided to pause the conversation while I did a little poking around online. The more I found, the more certain I was that this was something for me, that this could be the source of the much-vaunted "spark" that I had never felt from sex before.

But when I tried to suggest to my boyfriend that we incorporate some of this stuff into our relationship, he was adamantly against it. I couldn't get him to explain why in detail, but at one point he did say "I can't. Not to you."

I don't understand. I know he's into this stuff. The more I learn, the more certain I am that I'm into this stuff. And we're into each other. So why can't we be into this stuff together? Do I just not have the right... submissive energy?

Posted by u/Anonymous on r/amitheasshole

Aita for wanting to treat my girlfriend well?

A little background. For several years, I (27M) was a regular participant in the BDSM subculture. I'm not proud of it, but--for reasons too complicated to explain--I got myself into a place where I could only really find satisfaction at the thought of tying a woman up and "punishing" her for even thinking about leaving.

But a little less than a year ago, I decided that I wanted to change; leave the clubs and the hookups and the "scene" and try to hammer myself into a functional human being.

Not long after that, I met an amazing woman (24f). It was touch-and-go trying to build my first real romantic relationship (I'm not particularly good with people outside of a work context, and I make considerably more money than her, which made it hard to find the sweet spot between "not doing nice things for her" and "showing off"), but now we've been together for several months, and it seems like I find new things to love about her every day. I could still feel the dark perversions of my past rumbling in my breast, but I clamped down on it, and I'm proud to report that our sex has been strictly vanilla.

That is, until a few nights ago. Our lovemaking was particularly passionate, and I...lost control. Let my old self out, if only a little bit. As soon as the lust-induced stupidity wore off, I of course immediately tried to apologize for my behavior, but she didn't seem upset; instead just asking question after question. I hadn't wanted her to find out about this side of me, but after my outburst, I felt I owed her honesty. So, I told her the truth, while trying to emphasize that this wasn't a part of me I had any intention of giving into again.

That seemed to satisfy her at the time, but only a few days later she told me that she had been "doing some digging", and was interested in "exploring" BDSM with me. I'm not sure which possibility horrifies me more; that she felt it necessary to feign interest in being beaten and threatened just to maintain a relationship with me, or that I have somehow managed to corrupt this angel after only glancing exposure to my twisted proclivities. Either way, I tried to explain that this wasn't what I wanted--that I wanted to change, to find a version of myself that I could be proud of, and most of all to give her the genuine love and tenderness and safety that I know she deserves. She eventually dropped the subject, but I could tell she wasn't satisfied or convinced.

At an impasse with the most important person in my life, and lacking anyone else in my real life to whom I could tell any of this, I put the matter to all of you for your input.

95 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #Yes alright I'll jump on the Early Summation Bandwagon

[bufomancer]

Assorted Critter Updates

So after my partner and I move we’re going to have essentially a test litter of soft furs to see how things go. All of the resulting babies will stay with us for life unless one of our local rodent friends specifically falls in love with a couple.

All the planning and theoretical thinking in the world doesn’t fully prepare you for the realities of breeding. It certainly helps, but it’s not a guarantee.

So after we move we’ll set up the adult enclosures for the resulting babies, get a female or two from a local pet line breeder, and we’re thinking Palamedes (the youngest badger face boy) will be the father. He’s a sweet, friendly guy who is good with handling.

If we do end up breeding long term I would want to buy soft furs from other pet line breeders in different areas to add to my gene pool and prevent severe inbreeding, but I don’t want to go to all that trouble and spend all that money if we end up deciding after a few litters that breeding isn’t for us. So we’re starting with one litter using the best of what’s local to us, and we’ll see how it goes from there.

And at the same time we plan to foster hamsters for the local hamster rescue (possibly gerbils and/or mice too, since they take in those as well, but knowing us... if we foster mice we’re going to end up keeping them.) as well as make improvements to the habitats of our permanent residents, and keep an eye out for reptiles and amphibians in need of a temporary safe place until a suitable forever home can be found.

Cardamom is doing very well with his healing. I actually now think that Florian is the issue, as I saw him chase Dracula and bite his butt seemingly unprovoked last night, so Florian has been separated and I will at least attempt slow reintroductions of Cardamom to Clover and Dracula. If that doesn’t work, I’ll likely split off some of my female mouse colony so he isn’t totally by himself.

Florian will probably remain by himself. He is quite old, he’ll be two in June, and with his eye problems this will make it easier to catch him for his daily medications. I don’t really want to go through the stress of reintroducing him to a new group of soft furs right now.

Wonder’s growths are getting a bit larger and are in a position where if they keep growing they’ll start inhibiting her movement. She is quite old already, but at least right now is still active and bright. Both of the mice I adopted her off craigslist with have long since passed so I’m pleasantly surprised she’s stuck around this long anyways. I’ll be sad to see her go but once she can’t run around like she loves to it just won’t be fair to keep her with us.

Ricearoni has been on a bit of a hunger strike with our terrible weird back and forth weather but I’m hoping that’ll end soon now that it seems to be warming up for good. Niobe has been unaffected as far as I can tell, no missed meals. She even took a quail.

Freak wasn’t in his usual spot under his water dish today. I didn’t dig around for him, I will eventually if I don’t see him but I’m hoping he’s feeling more settled in and comfortable and that’s why he’s not just sticking to his preferred burrow.

I haven’t seen Boots in a while as she’s at my mom’s until the move but I need to go over there once my work schedule goes back to normal (we had a callout all week so everyone has been working OT to compensate but hey more $$ for critter stuff) to check on her and to work on the background for Ricearoni’s adult enclosure too. Hopefully I’ll see her, my mom isn’t awake/home much during Boots’ active hours but she’s been eating and all her maintenance is taken care of. I’ll check on her as soon as I’m able to.

The cats are enjoying the warmer weather (since now I can keep windows open for them to sniff) but not enjoying me working so much. I’ll take them out on the harness when I’m able.

I want to revamp Meryt’s enclosure when we move but beyond that he is doing well.

Katie has been out more lately so I may do some more work on hand taming her, but it’s not too important to me since she’s mine. The foster hamsters will get socialized so that they’re more adoptable but I don’t really care much about whether I can pet my own hamster or not.

#i think thats everyone?

[c-c-cherry]

I simply must ask... could you spare some spooky Halloween headcanons? I know it’s not quite Halloween yet but I’d love to see your spin on a jojo Halloween!

Oho....hohoho...you have no idea what kind of a beast you’ve awakened in me...

Halloween is arguably the best holiday ever because free candy, costumes, and the weather is fucking PERFECT. (also idk what’s up with the rest of y’all but Canadian thanksgiving is in the middle of October so I’m still riding the high of good thanksgiving food by the time its Halloween (AND I’m half-American so we celebrate it in November too hehehe)

But long story short I love spooky season (and autumn in general) with a burning passion and I am SO willing to go hard on jjba spooky headcanons

Thanks again to @jjadegreen for alway being my best headcanon bud!!

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Part One:

-For the sake of this, I’m making them like 13 or something, like maybe not even a year after they met

-In 19th century England, it was actually pretty typical for them to have a bonfire on Halloween!!

-Halloween costumes were popularized a few centuries ago in France so you bet our phantom blood buds were wearing costumes and shit :)

-I doubt the rich participated in such “unruly” stuff like lighting shit on fire and bearing torches and whatever (but you never know)

-Like George probably spoiled Jonathan with candy as a kid and let him dress up with his school friends and that was it lol

-Dio though OH MY GOD-

-You know based on where he grew up that all that wild shit definitely happened

-He can’t say that he misses living like that, but there’s some kind of weird nostalgia that comes with it

-...which is why Jonathan is really confused when he catches Dio sneaking out of the mansion in the middle of the night

-Begrudgingly, he tells Jojo his plan and this boy’s eyes LIGHT UP

-Instead of being a “stupid, crybaby, tattletale,” as Dio puts it, Jojo is like,,,super hyped

-“Oh! I have an idea! Why don’t we sneak out in costumes so no-one knows it’s us??”

-The sheets on their beds may have two holes in them now, but it's worth it

-They hijack a horse or some shit and skeet over to a giant bonfire

-Dio thinks it's gonna be a drag since Jonathan is there to watch his every move, but it's actually,,,really fun

-As a kid who’s barely ever left his sheltered property, Jonathan is having the time of his life and Dio never thought he would be happy to see Jonathan so happy

-It ends with the two of them sitting by the river, absolutely exhausted from the rush and Jonathan pulls out this bag of shit from his pocket and is like

-“It’s candy!! :D”

-Dio could never really afford things like sweets on Halloween growing up so he’s a bit touchy about it but OH MY GOD that shit is GOOD

-Probably one of the only times where they actually bond properly

-BUT IF THIS IS MY POCKET DIMENSION THEN I CAN SAY THAT THEY BECOME FRIENDS >:)

Part Two:

-I’m just gonna start out with the fact that Joseph is fucking OBSESSED with candy. You know those kids you knew growing up that loved it more than anything on this goddamn earth? *cough cough @jjadegreen*

-That is Joseph

-And now that he consumes that type of shit with the power of mastered Hamon at his fingertips,,,holy shit man,,,it's like a child’s sugar rush but 100x worse

-Caeasr is put in charge of Jojo to make sure he doesn’t do anything idiotic *which he definitely will trust me*

-The MOMENT he goes to the bathroom, Suzi pops in like “JOJO!!!! :) Let's go trick or treating!!!”

-He can’t say no to that, bro,,,he and Suzi are tight ;-;

-While Lisa Lisa is out to meet Speedwagon and Erina and bring them back over to where everyone else is, Joseph sneaks out with Suzi and the two of them dash off into the streets of New York

Caesar: *steps out of bathroom*

“Jojo, what the hell do you and Suzi want for dinner?”

*silence*

“...Jojo?”

*Hears the screams of of children in the distance*

“JOJO, NO—”

-So turns out Joseph’s way of trick-or-treating at such an old age is just terrorizing young children and ransacking them for candy

-Suzi Q is just totally unphased by how awful this is and just thinks its the funniest shit

-Caesar is running out into the streets of New York like ???? and spots Joseph being himself and he could probably just pretend he doesn’t know them

-But,,,Joseph may be an idiot but he’s his idiot and Suzi Q is his bimbo best friend so he goes out to drag them back home

-Erina, Lisa Lisa, and Speedwagon are already home by the time they get back and Caesar sits Joseph down and chews him out in front of everyone

-Erina is super pissed and lectures him about “Joestar values” or whatever and tells a really embarrassing story about how a kid took his candy once when he was little and he cried about it for DAYS

-Caesar is still really angry about it so he replaces all of Joseph’s gummies with sugar free ones (you goddamn know the ones I’m talking about) but he didn’t know Joseph WOULD EAT THEM ALL AT ONCE

-He is so fucking sick on November 1st

-Also off-topic but Lisa Lisa gives out dental floss or some shit on halloween

Part Three:

-Honestly all Jotaro wants to do is buy candy for himself, hole himself up in his room like he always does, and just munch and watch shitty horror movies 

-But of course he has actual friends now

-Kakyoin tackles him before he can get his ass upstairs and suggests that they go out and trick-or-treat

-To which Jotaro thinks is a joke and laughs because he’s not only 17, but also 6’5” but Kak’s face looks dead serious

-Kakyoin goes on this long, detailed ramble about how he meticulously made the best Halloween route for them to get the best candy

-Now THIS is when Polnareff abandons whatever he and Avdol are doing to join in on the stupid plan they have

-When Kakyoin comes back with a handful of white sheets, they already know what he’s thinking and its brilliant

Kakyoin’s 5-step, foolproof Halloween plan:

Step one: It’s already established that stands can hold non-stand items (like when Star Plat whipped Iggy across the desert) so what’s stopping them from being able to have sheets over their heads?

Step two: They faze a bit of their stands into the ground so that they at least resemble the height of children (plus non-stand users can’t see anything besides the sheets so it's perfect)

Step three: Polnareff pretends to be the father of these shy children who can’t speak (he looks the oldest) while Jotaro and Kakyoin hide nearby so their stands don’t de-summon

Step four: Hit up every good house in the neighbourhood

Step Five: Candy.

(Kak used to put a sheet over hierophant all the time as a kid and always got twice the amount of candy each year)

-It actually works pretty well, aside from the fact that Star would sometimes scream “ORA” in a really deep, manly, not seven years old at all voice whenever the people at the door would try to speak with him or make him say ‘trick-or-treat’

-They finally reach the richest house in the neighbourhood, where the snootiest lady lives (but she has a shit ton of candy leftover every year since no one goes there)

-Once the stands knock on the door, she starts saying stuff like “ohh, let me see your faces so I make sure you aren’t too old for this” and ducks under to look at the sheets…

-...Only to find that there’s literally nothing there

-She looks up at Polnareff like 👁👄👁 and Kakyoin seems to get the message because one of hierophant’s tentacles grabs her ankle and she SCREAMS and throws her entire candy stash at them, slamming the door behind her

-Half of them are full-sizes chocolate bars. Candy acquired.

-When they get back, Joseph is so fucking angry that they didn’t invite him out for Halloween shenanigans  >:(

-Avdol and Holy have a very nice chat, meanwhile. They answer the door while everyone's gone and are so sweet to the kids about their costumes :)

-Also Avdol is 100% the kind of person to bake pumpkin seeds and season them and shit

-Kakyoin sorts all his candy and puts it on a spreadsheet and also make a pie chart just like he does every year

-T’was a very successful halloween

Part Five:

-Giorno is probably short enough to go out if he really wanted to

-But he has maturity issues and there would be no way in hell that the Bucci Gang would catch him going out in a costume and begging for candy

-So as soon as all the daily tasks and shit are met Giorno locks himself in his room

-He honestly wants some candy and to watch spooky movies with the gang but he just feels like an outsider to all of that stuff since he never did it

-So Bruno slips a thing of dracula-themed chocolate pudding under his door and leaves him be :)

-Narancia and Mista DO go out, however

-Not only do they go out and steal shit, but they also go and hit up houses for candy just for the fun of it

-The moment the clock strikes 6 Trish is OUT of there

-Girl is hitting up as many parties as she possibly can and eventually meets up with Nara and Mista at some shitty Halloween party and end up just buying really shitty beer and going to the graveyard or something

-Fugo wants none of that shit

-He’s perfectly content sitting with the black cat that Giorno made him and watching shitty reruns of whatever’s on

-Bruno takes out his tacky Halloween apron that definitely looks something like this

-Fugo helps him make all this really good spooky-themed dessert shit and helps him sort the candy in the nut and nut-free bowls :))) (because Bruno really goes and does that)

-Abbacchio seems like the kind of person who would go really fucking hard with Halloween decorations

-Like, no explanation why, he just loves it and everyone knows not to get in his way

-The moment October 1st comes around, this man is in his ELEMENT. He’s READY.

-It’s the one month where he looks anywhere near normal compared to other people and man is ready to rock that shit

-Later that night they go to check on Giorno and find him asleep surrounded by bags of candy

-Turns out he snuck out and had a good time after all :’)

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

You’re wondering why I skipped part 4, right? ↓ ↓ 

I’m sorry to disappoint y’all, but I don’t think I’m gonna be doing much for Whumptober this year! (I’m just shit at monthly challenges in general lmao) but I think y’all need a breather from all this giant dump of whumpy stuff coming this month, so I, your dear friend Cherry, have decided to write fics throughout the month that I dub SOFT HALLOWEEN :D  (with uhhh a side of whump and hurt/comfort and all that shit because I can’t help myself)

It’s gonna vary (hopefully from parts 1-5)! I didn’t add any part four headcanons in here because Jade and I are literally writing part 4 shenanigans first and we didn’t wanna spoil anything :)

SPEAKING OF SPOILERS here’s a horrifying, blurry, teaser picture that’s only gonna make sense once you read the fic:

Isn’t it beautiful?

Hope you enjoyed these!! Tell me what you want the Jojos to do on Halloween!

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Ok so apparently its not normal to sort your candy by type, count it all out and then put it into a spreadsheet which then gets made into a graph? Because I did that. EVERY. FUCKING. YEAR. Ask Jade​. She was there every goddamn time. Please I’m begging you someone else tell me you did shit like this I need to know

#jjba #jjba headcanons #halloween #halloween headcanons #jojos's bizarre adventure #phantom blood #battle tendency #jojo's bizzare adventure golden wind #vento aureo #stardust crusaders #jonathan joestar #ask-c-c-cherry #joseph joestar #jotaro kujo #giorno giovanna #spooky month #:)

[mhdiaries]

Wave 4 Robecca Steam Diary

19 September - Then

Our show tonight was a rousing success. My rocket boots worked to perfection after the adjustments father made and I was able to complete the trick in such a way that it elicited gasps from the audience yet remained perfectly safe for me. Father was so pleased that he is allowing me to take tomorrow’s train instead of the one tonight so that I may stay and engage in a round of roller maze. I am so excited my boiler is near to bursting! My only regret is that father was not able to adjust my internal clock before he departed. Well, it is not to be a worry tonight and I am sure he will be able to resolve the problem when we are reunited on the morrow.

20 September - Then

Frost my firebox was I vexed this morning! I missed yet another appointment due to the inability of my internal clock to keep the correct time. Now to be sure there are appointments and there are appointments, and one is to be forgiven if fashionable lateness allows for a grand entrance in the former; but when exacting punctuality is required of the latter, such as catching a train that leaves promptly at noon and your arrival is thirty minutes after the departure of said train, vexation will rule the day. Thus I found myself standing on the station platform with steam raising from my ears and baggage piled high around me. From a distance it must have looked as if some monster had fashioned a cabin of suitcases on the platform and upon finishing their labor celebrated by lighting a fire in the stove. I was obliged to send father a telegraph informing him of my situation and assuring him that I would be on time for tomorrow’s train even if I had to spend the night on the platform. Fortunately, it did not come to that as the gargoyle that drove me from Miss Kindergrubber’s boarding house to the train station was still available to convey me back. My tardiness at the train station will, however, make it possible for me to attend the gala birthday ball being thrown in honor of a Miss Draculaura. She is the daughter of a very famous, and well-to-do vampire, named Dracula. I am excited to have the opportunity to make both of their acquaintances. I was delighted to learn that Dr. and Mrs. Stein had arrived in town on the very train that I missed! Dr. Stein is one of my father’s most respected acquaintances, both he and his lovely bride will be attending the ball and have offered to act as my chaperones so that I do not have to present myself as unattended.

21 September - Then

The party was grander that I could have imagined. Every creature was dressed in their finest and I saw many famous monsters and digniscaries. Draculaura could not have been a more kind or gracious host. I do not know how she knew I missed my train but she did, and was very genuine in her expression of sincere concern for my predicament. I was immediately pulled into her social circle as she introduced me to her friends with such rapidity that I hardly remembered a soul when she was through. Several of them had seen me perform however and were quite keen on hearing my tales of daring to. Eventually I excused myself in order to reunite myself with Dr. and Mrs. Stein, as I did not wish to appear ungrateful or rude for the kindness they had shown in escorting me to the party. I did not see either of them in the crowd so I made my way toward a group of guests where a lively discussion seemed to be under way about what made one a true monster. The most vocal of the group was rather corpulent goblin with pince-nez, prominent teeth and absurdly hairy ears;

Well of course she isn’t and how could she be? A wonder of modern mad science? Perhaps. A true monster? Never. Fashioning the flotsam and jetsam of a laboratory into some semblance of a creature does not make that creature a monster any more so than kittens born in an oven makes them scones. Do you know the old crackpot, genius though he may be, insists on calling her his daughter? Even more preposterous is that she refers to him as her father. As if steam could replace screams. 

I felt as though some monster had thrown a handful of sand into my gears and I thought, “Is this what every monster believes?” I was about to turn and quietly slip back into the crowd when I felt a very large but gentle hand on one shoulder and a smaller but reassuringly firm one on the other. Then a voice, at once calming to me and challenging to the speaker said, “Perhaps Herr Goblin would care to pronounce us either kitten or scone then.” I suppose it was un-lady like that I should have enjoyed the panic I saw on his face, as he looked from Dr. Stein to Mrs. Stein to me, but I did. The goblin quickly stammered an excuse and unceremoniously fled the room. Later, Dracula found us and offered his sincere apology. “Miss Steam I regret not that you heard such an insult to your monsterhood but that it was uttered at all. It is not an opinion shared in this house. Please accept our sincere apologies.” We conversed several more minutes and he left to attend other guests. He is indeed a true gentle-monster and the remainder of the gala was so delightful that it all but eclipsed the one brief moment of unpleasantness.

22 September - Then

Today as I was packing to leave under the punctual eye of Miss Kindergrubber, we received word from the railroad station that sometime in the night a very large and rather belligerent dragon had taken up residence in the main train tunnel between here and where I was to meet father. Owing to the dragon’s size and coloration it is believed that it might be preparing for hibernation. If that is indeed the case, I could be stranded here until the spring. Even though plans were being made to send for a dragon whisperer there were no guarantees. Clog my gears and rust my bearings! What shall I do now?

1 October - Then

I passed much of today in the good company of Dr. and Mrs. Stein. I had supposed that Dr. Stein’s scientific curiosity would be drawn to the nuances of my mechanical nature but aside from some polite questions regarding energy consumption most of the conversation centered around my relationship with my father. They had many questions on the resulting challenges of one day waking up as a fully formed monster in her teenaged years and how we dealt with those challenges as a family. I admitted that while the road was not always made for smooth traveling we were learning to navigate the more arduous portions of it together. Several times during these conversations it appeared to me that Mrs. Stein gripped the doctor’s hand more tightly and several times he seemed to be hesitant to ask certain questions. I excused myself at one point to add water to my boiler, as I was feeling a bit low. I returned to hear Mrs. Stein ask Dr. Stein in their native German: “Werden wir jemals ein eigenes kind haben?” to which he replied “Wenn die Zeit gekommen ist, das verspreche ich dir, werden wir es.” I could tell that I had interrupted a private moment so I attempted to change the subject by asking Dr. Stein if he might have an idea why my internal clock could not keep proper time. He laughed at my request and for a moment I felt embarrassed until Dr. Stein said, “It has been my experience that no amount of adjustment is sufficient to make a ghoul run on time.” For this Dr. Stein received a playful tap from Mrs. Stein and he continued, “Besides that, your father is the foremost mechanical mad genius in the world and it would be arrogant of me to speculate.” We ended our time together with a promise to meet again. I am already looking forward to that. 

15 October - Then

I received a telegraph from my father this morning informing me that he was joining a team set to explore a newly discovered area of the catacombs. I miss my father and look forward to that dragon moving on so we may be reunited. Tonight however, I shall skate in the maze with a local club against a team of gargoyles with a rather unsavory reputation. I am confident we shall prevail.

20 October - Now

I remember everything that happened to me right up until the last time I skated in the maze. It has been all I could do to daily resist the urge to let my life go to rust. The most difficulty has come from my father not being here. The team of explorers that he joined never returned from the catacombs. It has been a hundred years since any monster has seen them but I know they are still trying to find their way home because Ghoulia Yelps, as amazing and intelligent a ghoul as ever was, has been following any and all news about the team since before I was discovered and reassembled. She says that it is a great mystery and that there have been many books written about their mysterious disappearance. She also told me that six months ago a message was found written on the wall of a previously undiscovered cavern. It read simply, “Forward to our families. Onward to our hope.” It was signed by my father and dated three months prior to the cavern’s discovery. Ghoulia also helped me find my father’s old lab where I was delighted to find Captain Penny, the mechanical penguin father built for me. Poor thing’s fire had completely gone out and when I got him restarted he was so excited that he almost blew a heart gasket. I am still living at Miss Kindergubber’s, who is not a teacher at Monster High, and it was she convinced me to enroll. Even though I feel rather old fashioned and I am unfamiliar with much of current technology my new friends have been very accepting and are... scary sweet.

15 November - Now

I have become reacquainted with Dr. Stein and his bride through their daughter Frankie. Dr. Stein was sincerely apologetic for not being able to reassemble me after the accident. “You are a very complicated ghoul and I feared I would damage you further.” I assured him that I carried no grudge and I do not. Dr. Stein even interceded on my behalf with Headless Headmistress Bloodgood when she told me that I could not perform my scaredevil act at the middle school carnival as she thought it was too dangerous. I do not know what Dr. Stein said but the Headmistress relented and I was able to give two performances with an encore. It was truly an epic way to bring some old school to the new and shake off some of the rust in the process.

#monster high #monster high diary #robecca steam #wave 4

[jjlatourelle-blog]

Dove Box

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8

“He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

“But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Matthew 6:23

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

Isaiah 9:2

The movie Bird Box has garnered a lot of views and a lot reactions in a short period of time. I enjoyed it but it took some processing for me to understanding what was so arresting about the film. I concluded that Bird Box has dug to the bedrock of a spiritual/psychological truth of our current society.

Every successful horror film does this on some level: the most shallow examples being cautionary tales about teenage lust (like every slasher movie ever made) or the more philosophically minded stories cautioning about consumerism or conformity (every zombie movie ever made).

Then things get spiritual. Dracula and Frankenstein reveal to us the horror of longing for eternal life minus morality. Even the modern It Follows shows us the solipsist horror of easy pleasure when a nemesis with a shifting identity pursues us to literally pleasure us to death. It is when horror movies approach the spiritual that they have their deepest impact. Horror at its best reveals humanity’s instinctive understanding of what would be the worst. More importantly, horror reveals real problems in our society by drawing bitter water from the deepest wells of our psyche.

Back to Bird Box. We start with the main problem in the movie. People see something and it drives them mad. Not mad, but to immediate suicide. This goes beyond the biological/mechanical suicide of The Happening. These people haven’t just had their brain chemistry hijacked. They have seen something powerful enough to corrupt and damn their soul and make their body agree to and participate in the damnation.

It’s eventually revealed that the things people are seeing before they kill themselves are demons: mankind’s first and most formidable foes. This is fitting. One of the Devil’s chief jobs is to accuse. He is also tasked with lying, instilling fear, and destroying. No doubt, if all of these things are being communicated with a look and the look carries spiritual authority, it isn’t a surprise that the one who looks ends his/her life.

On the surface, the movie watcher (we’re not goers anymore, are we?) just accepts the rules of this universe but the rules came from a deeper Jungian place in our collective subconscious. To illustrate: there’s been a sharp split in audience reaction to this movie: those who think it is terrifying and those who don’t get it: the guilty and the damned respectively. The first group knows the language of accusation, of forfeiture of soul, of spiritual torment. They know this on an instinctual level. For them, the terror makes sense. For the damned, they don’t see this disaster coming in the real world, so codifying it in horror makes no sense. They’ll accept the rules but the rules seem dumb.

Back to the bird box. So characters are brought to an apocalypse whereby they’re faced with their tormentors. Seeing their spiritual reality for what it is drives them to immediate despair and they kill themselves as fast as they can. Then come the crazies. Really, they’re not the crazies. They’re nihilists. They embrace their guilt, their despicable nature and thereby celebrate the demonic message. To them, the creatures are angels bringing good news. Nothing matters. Life is meaningless. Worse yet, life had meaning and we all missed it. We are all damned so: why wait? Now they have an excuse to carry weapons and wear leather chaps in public.

Here we reach a central irony in the psychological bedrock of this horror. It’s been done in movies before but the iconography is very potent in this film. Knowledge is what kills. True enlightenment (endarkenment) is to be avoided. Ignorance is what saves. Blindness is what saves you to see for another day.

Now what, in the age of Netflix, in the information age, could justify such an idea? Why would knowing less, seeing less, save us? We’ve got Wikipedia and Zillow, and Facebook. We know a lot and it helps us a lot…doesn’t it? Aren’t we all using the internet to better our lives? Don’t we feel that improvement on a daily basis?

No. You know that’s not true, in the same way you felt the rules of this movie were reasonable rules. Faust knew it too. These demons act as Drone-palantirs: driving us mad or corrupting us on the spot. I’m hinting, but I think I’m hinting because, you reading this already know a thousand reasons why this is true: why this form of horror is birthed from something that is wrong with our actual existence.

We know too much. America is guilty. You are guilty. News is all bad news. The world is getting worse. Everything goes to hell. To take another angle of the problem, we as Westerners are utterly ruined by the cynicism of the stories we now tell ourselves. Romanticism gave way to modernism then post-modernism, and now casual nihilism realized through constant and insatiable novelty.

Nietzche was not an accidental voice to start this piece. The internet is not a crystal palace or a shining city on a hill. It burned the desert beneath us, turned it to glass so that we could see the vast oceans of hell just beneath. Top grossing films and most trafficked internet sites all involve some degree of violence and pornography and those trends are always growing in variety and intensity. We are like Faust in that we have all the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. But just like Faust, we must converse with demons before we get there…if we ever get there.

How many trash articles, gossip columns, porn sites, slasher movies, political scandals, do we consume before learning a new body of knowledge? How many games do we play which we know are addictive before we use these new technologies to enhance and safeguard our human connections, our love, and all that we believe to be beautiful? Our consumption of what is worthless, dark, and hideous has reached critical mass and there is no more bandwidth for our eyes to take in any light. That is the psycho-spiritual reality that Bird Box has tapped into.

To survive and remain human–remain alive–the heroes must close their eyes, turn everything off, shut the doors and trust nothing from the outside. To escape their damnation, they must tear themselves apart: gouging out eyes and cutting off hands. To survive, we know we must do the same. We quit Facebook. We buy farms. We lock our phones away when home. We take up antiquary hobbies. We feel the damnation at the end of the path but we don’t know how to turn around.

Enter the birds. The birds warn the heroes of the presence of demons. In one sense, they are a kind of salvation. They can’t kill the demons but they make a ruckus and seem to discourage the demons from doing their work. They can guide the heroes to continue this regimen of eye gouging so that the heroes can remain blind and safe. And the birds must stay with the heroes for them to be effective. They are not a weapon to be holstered or a potion to be drunk. They must be cared for and kept alive on their own terms.

Christians might see this as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit and that would be apt. Within this interpretation, the Christian’s job is to avert his/her eyes from the sinful temptations of the world and walk the straight and narrow path to salvation (or river to safe haven). Maybe we take on a more Quaker regimen.

And speaking of rivers: they have been symbols of transition, of barrier, of death (maybe death of self-will) of a return to nature, or the Spirit. Walk in the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Stay in the river’s current and you won’t be stopped and destroyed by temptation. The forest works in a similar way and accentuates the same themes: a return to a more simple life, a passage to another type of reality. And in the heroine’s passage through the forest, she is faced with a litany of temptations to look, to go back to her old ways of seeing and the immediate damnation it has led to. She must plug her ears and close her eyes to this and press on through the dark unknown. She must remain blind and become permanently blind to the world she has known in order to survive.

Here is where the horror genre gets its power. This is where horror does its job. We know this is what we must do as a society to survive, to thrive, to live, to regain our health and our humanity. We know we must shut our eyes, stumble like idiots, and listen for the true, simple voice (remember, the Holy Spirit shows up first as a dove) that will lead us to salvation.

#Bird Box #Sandra Bullock #Film Critic #Film Criticism #Christianity #Western Civilization #Society #Religion #Apocalypse #Internet #Internet Culture #The information Age #information age #movie review #sin #original sin #guilt #demons #demonolgy #damnation #God #Bible #Jesus #Jesus Christ #Holy Spirt #The Holy Spirit #The BIrd Box #Netflix #Horror #Horror fiction

[bruhn48cates-blog]

International Or Bilingual Main Schools Institution And also Specialised Establishments Education and learning

The theorist Air Conditioning Grayling has generated a nonreligious holy book, but its assistance for a good lifestyle fails to entice Genevieve Fox. Volunteers are promoted to carry their personal sand mats, sunlight screen, hats and toys for kids. Actually, Home Page believed he had the ability to book a totally free air travel as a result of a pest on Ryanair's online reservation body. Guide presents readers to many strangers and gives us idea into their lifestyles. As a retired Chief Executive Officer and now college professor, I can certainly not differ more firmly along with the area of the book as well as the methods marketed within. When the book is actually shut and also you consider that, all you observe is oldness and also, depending upon your edition, a cheese photo of a creature ofthe night drinking a female's blood stream. A little woman died violently in this book as well as I was fully unfazed by it. That is actually an unpleasant breakdown. While this book may aid to support a young reciter's understanding and empathy for animals, the subject doesn't constantly seem suitable for its own intended target market. Microsoft asserts that the base Area Publication gets 12 hrs of battery life while participating in video, while the heavier-duty battery in the Functionality Base design acquires 16 hrs. The only true exclusive results are actually when the white food items pellets fade in and out, yet there's something about the look of the game that does not actually demand any sort of special results. 3 years ago I recommended that Apple's wellness push-- at that point rumored to be contacted Healthbook-- can be the first genuine item from Tim Cook's Apple That's because, by all accounts, health and wellness appear to be as a lot an interest for Chef as songs was for Jobs. Nuala Ellwood's tough debut thriller, My Sister's Bone tissues rivals The Girl on a Learn as an obsessive read (and also hammers it for type). I performed locate the cashew cream a little also garlicky (as well as I like garlic) thus next opportunity I will exclude the grain. And there you have it. Verification that Snacktaku takes pictures of well-balanced snack foods, along with evidence advising we eat them at the same time. I'm certainly not claiming Google should not open up a Play Songs API - there is definitely one thing because there are actually off the record apps that make use of an undocumented API - but why perform you believe that will be OK to closed up an online video streaming API also - besides - YouTube has one, why should not Participate in Movies - specifically considering this makes use of YouTube on the backend in any case. This manual is perhaps excellent if you are into this sort of stuff yet religious passion regarding compensative passion for anti-romantic, negative atheist like me was only abuse. Howevered, there are actually loads of distinctions between The Magicians guide series and The Magicians the TELEVISION collection, which officially premieres on Monday at 9 p.m. ET-- some slight, some primary, and also some entirely head-scratching. Psychologically manipulative books that feel as if the writer laid out with a plan to move my soul cords - that would be up there with the most awful. An excellent guideline is to use the Health app for a fast guide from your health and fitness activity, and make use of the Task application to view just how you are actually performing throughout the day. However along with Series 2, Apple is dedicating to exactly what I consider its greatest function: your health and wellness. Unlike theCommon Understanding" executed through skin specialists (which propose you avoid the sunlight), the Primitive Master plan will firmly insist that you get some straight sunshine each day. Zusak, perhaps appropriately, thinks that we 'd never have the capacity to really understand as well as enjoy reading through a publication concerning personalities definitely bad. Whether you have food allergic reactions, are actually enjoying your weight or simply intend to recognize exactly what you are actually enjoying, dining in a restaurant at restaurants regularly offers a fascinating obstacle. Rating food in the app is actually practically easy, however that might stump some people thus far as just what the score need to be actually. No assessment I can ever carry out, will give this publication the justice that is thus deserving from! Whether you 'd like to make a reservation for a scenic tour exploring New Delhi, Jaipur as well as Agra, roam the handsome worlds from Rajasthan or even explore the balmy south in Kerala and also Tamil Nadu, our experts make certain to possess a trip to match you. Elemeno Wellness creates that details simply accessible at the aspect of care as well as adds gamification to promote involvement as well as knowing. I check out just recently in a manual about imagination just how Dracula 'blasphemes' against Christianity. Systems underfunded and understaffed without training that were actually largely paid attention to imprisonment as opposed to the demands from anybody with a health and wellness disorder described by mental illness. I indicate, I read a publication about children with cancer, I wasn't intended to become laughing however I performed. Along with the recurring boom in podcasting, there have been actually no scarcity of terrific new programs about publications.. Each are straightforward- along with Readmill you should post the book via its web site- as well as does not need excessive fiddling in my component. Our comics are full of those neo-pagan mythic heroes who exaggerated individual virtues always total up to, whatever else could be true of them, 'beats individuals up good'. Inning accordance with Microsoft last month, Windows 10 was actually working on more than 400 thousand devices around the globe, up from 200 thousand in January. The 1st indicator that this possibly had not been visiting be actually an excellent manual is the fact that the blurb had not been even an ad, but somewhat the opening pages from the story. There is actually mocking, however certainly not without passion ... beyond nationality, guide is about the immigrant's mission: self-invention, which is the American target. We expected to create a counterweight to Notion Magazine's cool and trendy digital company with an even more reflective sequel company as a publication publisher.

As the sea lining from collectivism sinks under the weight of its personal huge ineptitude (a smart idea, yet the leader was inebriated as well as the workers were actually sticky-fingered rascals), you leap over the top, clamber on the only on call boat (commercialism) just to discover that there is actually a large leopard on board which will definitely eat you unless you Oh eventually I get that. I review this a couple of years ago as well as this was actually supposed to become all about The lord. Though that is actually ski run really isn't however open, Doha Celebration City has actually presented a monthlong set from destinations for children 5-12 years of ages. Mentally manipulative manuals that feel as if the author set out with an agenda to tug at my heart strands - that would certainly be actually As long as I just like a really good romance, I wouldn't contact myself an enchanting. Many diet plan think about weight loss that are established through nutritionists and also health and wellness specialists are based on 1200 fats daily. Apple's Wellness application tracks your steps just fine, yet it is actually dreadful at really featuring any helpful relevant information. The Sun is actually Likewise a Celebrity through Nicola Yoon ended up being an excellent shock as I go through the book! I'll Offer You the Sunshine delivers a genuine contemporary check out love as well as relationships. Our experts read LOTR for my dream literature training class and also I had actually intended to read this just before I began FOTR, but I entirely forgot as well as for that reason aimed to cram this in prior to starting the book for class. And through creating English the subject from the book which rarely this is as the girl never possesses a trouble with his english and also its own a love story eventually, CB got an added reason to compose horribly. I'm visiting need to presume you have actually read this book, as if I don't I will not be able to state anything regarding this whatsoever.

[the-firebird69]

We open a lawsuit on bjA in the class action I'm going to put his name on it my son Christopher akerley, he's been abused by this monster who posed as his brother and really is sick retarded demented sadistic cannibal uncle and now he's the director of the CIA and abusing the crap out of him so we're going to start abusing the crap out of him I'm going to deliver lawsuits to his office class action lawsuits with my son's name on it to his office in the CIA over and over and over we did today it works great guy flips out has a bird calls people we kill them all bring them all in go after his people and take it around nobody keeps suing the a****** for a teeny bit of money and taking just so much money it's about 100 million non-alien non-alien each time and that's the true number if not too small and we take it in the form of gold and platinum and money and anything that is currency stocks Von's businesses he's a complete fool and the problem is what he's been telling us the whole time is I have a problem with this one he's going to sacrifice anything to bother me he's a f****** huge f**** and I want to go on so we're working on it and I'm going to put lawsuits up on him and sue him he doesn't show up we're going to arrest him and we're going to keep doing it everyday just like Gu and Goddess drops the message off cuz he keeps doing it daily. So we're going to do that too we're going to have Bitol and Goddess Wife sue bjA for us and we are Gu and Goddess Wife. A bunch of us are lining up because they see your idea you have a demon Sue you go in there and you just drop the lawsuit in and you have the plaintiff is a demon and we just start ripping him apart cuz they'll say no so you're going to have someone stand in for you and you can do that too and it's going to be illegalese and it's going to be the guy that looks like Satan on TV which is actually bja I guess they're going to see him killing everybody and think it's him little jackass needs to pay it's very very insulting I feel like getting a machete and attacking every single one of them I'm looking assholes and stare at me so I see it's extremely sensitive no he sits and turns you on and pisses people off it's very bad dangerous so going after him and I dropped it on his desk I said you've been served and I hear and I see that you have it took a picture with him with it and said you're being sued as your character it's going in the paper right now so he tried to stop and you couldn't people saw your name and said this is ridiculous these people are suing us because of this a****** so I'll try to get him out of there and they couldn't they notice is a real pain in the ass so when he laughs at is he's very clever he's got him in this position and they trick him and then they switch out things and he gets Williams and he gets killed and he hurts Max because he's incompetent in his level of performance will never match ours and I'll never rash Max and he's always in the way is he just uses threats on families and kids and all sorts of dumb things it's completely useless to their people useless so eventually you might figure out that Dracula has all the stuff but right now he's a complete f**** and he's running around bothering our son to no end and is looking for power and it's not here and he can't understand it it's probably threatening for orkin Dracula and this is what he's doing cuz he's a moron you can't tell him so we're going to sue him and sue him every day and kill off his character until he doesn't come back.

We're opening it up with the Prilosec lawsuit and it makes sense because he is elevarney and he's the one who is hurting Arnold and he's the one who said he treated and had him let go a little and all of a sudden Arnie got very mad and he said we're not into this Brian and who are you grafting onto your body that looks like that and the girls got up and said what are you doing and they said they take care of it and all of a sudden they started to figure out something he's fighting for his life against this piece of s*** and he says this you all are and you don't know it they are complete losers professor Green that I did a study and it turned out to become a book it's called Lord of the flies she was amazed because that's what professor Green said eventually and he said the study turned out to prove this that their w**** can assholes to anybody but they grow and grow because they're like bugs we thought they were bugs and brains are wired similar ways they're just complete jerks then he says well that's not entirely true because he probably was mutated permanently in the womb using certain bugs and other things but a lot of bug juice all of a sudden we suddenly got some idea here he's got to go I mean he's an irate bug that's correct and they're going to bug out about it all the time and that's all they're going to do it's their clothes not their kids the kids are probably more human and they are.

So now you see the problem if this case you ever gained their brains they would be Wicked adversaries and very very permeating so we can't allow anything to go wrong and I can't allow it to go out of control and we need this guy to shut up it's way out of control I'm going to fight as men not realize who might allow this thing to let it get out of control he's worse than there sorry to admit something this is what I'm thinking these people have to get out of the way and there's performing that job well that's supposed to take cuz the truth that's what I found actually doing the job the only thing that's ever saving us is me and Thor sometimes and incrementing incriminating and all the stuff and decimating them based on what he's doing to take his territory in a small group you know what I said and Thor in a small group with him are taking him on like by themselves and his maddening and they're defeating him but it's very difficult and here's why so now tons of people are helping and we have volunteers we're making this group that goes after them huge they destroying them they sound very dumb because they are and he said what is a bug like that's what he's like so no you can control it don't suggest bug juice he laid off the bunches felt a lot better when this room and cried because he's weak even though he felt pretty good I said after a while you realize that having no emotions as a bug it's not good you figured out something someone's having to do that nope.

Listen to cut something from him he wants to have no emotions so I can do his job and cut everybody off so now I'm going to go after him permanently we've had it I went right up the report and the rosary eliminated at all costs destroy him

So he was eleva varney and BG was doing her as his wife and she's constantly screwing him over with stupid stuff you figured it out rip s*** on her him I said who's torso is that he can hit him from the neck here upwards so he started laughing and said I can only hit you right here and sliced his head right off. You find out who's torso it was and he went and reattached and left his head there and somebody came by his wife and put it back on someone really hard part about it was that he kept on trying to get BG's torso and BG's kept explaining I'm the one that shoots you don't come after me I'm going to shoot you I said I don't care I have to go after you did that I wonder if that's what JFK's who said this is your character I don't care it's like okay bang that's kind of funny but you know you have this like social issues and Mac can easily play on you're blaming me I'm going to wipe out half your clan and race if you blame me as a matter of fact I've got to teach you lesson now and how to speak to me probably a lesson f*** you shut the f****** you understand that little turd now you're going to die for what you're doing and you deserve it yes you do

How the idiot reacts does he starts saying stuff that's nasty in the past and our son hits him about 500 times each time sometimes in separate occasions and the guys dying all over the place people see his stuff all sudden the side to bring all these black guys came out of nowhere and started hitting a little s***

So suing Ella varney. They're bringing a suit on bjA for impressing his mother whom he killed and yes representing it in part of the class action and assuming BjA. for impersonating his brother. We're putting a bunch of them in the paper with our son's name on it because we want to be known that he's suing this a****** for that kind of stuff and with suing him for killing Mac Daddy practically in front of him because it's a threat on our son and us and we're bringing that action and we're going to go to the end of the Earth until he pays us out of pocket I'm suing for a lot of money a ton half of his empire if he doesn't pay up I'm going to grab it and he has a time limit it's 20 days from the resolution of the matter if you if he neglects to try and fight it he has to pay meaning if he doesn't show he has to pay and we're going to leave it with the courts yes and we've been doing that we told him we didn't pay and several many occasions and the judge was ordered people to pay and they're going through Brian killing them off in order to get to someone who would

We increased the value of our son's lawsuit to include pain and suffering lost wages lost income from inventions and we're going to have him pay for it all cuz he has enough money to cover and we're going after it now and if he doesn't pay him we're going to kill him until he does it's life or you pay you never pay so we're just going to kill him and take it all and then we're going to leave it with the court to pay our son. We confiscated a lot of our son's money and we have the court get the money to him cuz they want to and they should they should be Justice for this Injustice he's an unholy pain in the ass and they will get it to and they will say that it's your money and to put in the letter and it comes and gets it will make sure it goes well it doesn't over there and BJ will start messing with them this is how it starts because we've had enough he's had enough long time ago but really we've had enough of this bjA guy.

I think you my son for your time this has been a very valuable experience and we're going to go after him hard and we're going to sue him hard I'm going to get a team of Max 2 with lawyers some sick and tired of you getting nothing this a****** weird piece of s*** bother you with all this dumb stuff the guy should shut up everyone should learn from it you'll go around blabbing at people who sit there with a gun say look everybody around me is deadly they want weapons not your dumbass so until he learns we're going to keep killing him cuz he says well he attacks Mac Daddy and doesn't have any drawbacks or whole bags or nothing and nobody really was attacking him not even us that's time for us to attack this piece of crap constantly cuz he's always around he's always bothering me we have to have Force here to stop him every single second of the day or we have delinquency if deficiency need deficiency report written up by each Olympus head so there's a 15 of them cuz I can't write it on security here regards to everybody and write the biggest defender and biggest threat we'll figure out what's going on

He says we have sue the crap out of you BjA

It didn't threatening future of offspring by attacking me in the nuts I've been doing faulty surgery neck criminal negligence purposeful attempted homicide on many occasions sue for everything he has. But I want at least my money and that's going to really hit home with the max because of withhold stuff from people all the time and eventually they may drop this thing that is this part of the plan to get back at everybody because they're sitting there getting back in the Max and their mouth is so rude I can't believe they take it and they had this plan to feed the guy to cage and it doesn't seem to care at all I mean it is just amazing cuz just brazen complete freaking f** there's the monster there it's not your friend see you're getting eaten your head's gone he says

Thor Freya

[ciestessde]

Chapter 11

It's not been long since Jonathan visited Dracula's castle, and we've followed the unsuspecting Englishman to his town.

To prepare both the townsfolk, and the house Drac bought, for the expansion of our "family."

[Beginning]

Having arrived only last night, however, I insisted Tess enjoy one of the few advantages of being a dhampir: walking around in the sunlight. More specifically, we're exploring the town, the wolf cub walking beside her. We're counting on the humans assuming the large pup is either a wolfish-looking dog, or merely part wolf. Tess sincerely doubts any of them will guess the truth, insisting (in retaliation to being in the sunlight) that it's an "excellent opportunity to train the little one!"

"Oh, what a cute puppy!" < Oh, look! Here comes one such opportunity now. Guess you were right about karma existing here, huh? >

A young woman runs -- or, rather, walks quickly, since running in that dress would be "unladylike," I assume -- up to Tess. "May I?"

Tess smiles kindly. "Of course," she says. She tells the pup to sit, leaving her hand on his back to keep him calm. The puppy's head comes up to about Tess's knee, so both women are forced to bend down. The woman eagerly reaches her hand out and starts petting. < Someone unfamiliar with dogs, then, clearly. Didn't even pause to let the poor thing sniff her. > < Eh, no matter. In fact, all the better for training. >

"What kind of dog is he?"

Her voice is pretty and soft. Gentle. Weak, even. "The kind that will grow very large, if his paws are any indication!" Tess jokes. "In fact, I think I might even be able to ride him in a few months, if he keeps growing like this, heheh!"

The woman laughs as well. It reminds me of a windchime. "Why, if that's the case, I may ask to borrow him from you!" She pets him quietly for a few moments. "... With a dog that big, I might be able to…"

It's so soft that I wouldn't have heard it in the light wind if not for Tess's sensitive hearing. < … Hopefully, she won't realize that. > I take over Tess's body for a moment. "Is something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, um…" She seems embarrassed. "Well, the truth is, I… I'm sick. A weak heart, they say. I can barely find the energy to take my daily walk, these days. And, in a few months… I'll probably die."

< Huh… She's upset, clearly, but she doesn't seem afraid. > < Perhaps she's come to terms with death? > < … No. That's not it… It's more like… > Tess's aura flares, as she feigns sympathy, eyebrows scrunched and raised, mouth agape. "That's awful!" She says, trying to keep the woman talking.

It works. She gives a small, sad smile, "It's not that bad, really. I only wish people wouldn't fuss so much over me." She pauses, "And… and that I could spend more time with my Arthur."

"... Hm." < She's a kind woman. > < Yeah. In fact, her aura almost reminds me of- > < Oh! It's her. The woman Xihrae said would make the perfect bait. >

Tess switches gears from innocent information-gathering -- to all-out manipulation. "You know…" < Carefully, now. Not too eager. I can do this! >

The bait looks up at Tess. Innocent. Ignorant. … Trusting.

"... I might know a way… to cure you." Tess speaks softly, ever-so-subtly including a few almost-sung notes. The bait's eyebrows come together and down in a silent question. Before she can ask, though, Tess continues, "It would be risky, but there was a terrible sickness in the village where I used to live. This treatment saved many lives."

The bait's eyes light up, and her posture straightens. < ~So gullible! > "Truly?!" she declares in amazement, "If that is the case- What is this treatment?"

Tess lets her face go serious -- hesitant. "The thing is… It's a secret. I'm not supposed to let word of it spread." Tess looks away slightly, like she's actually breaking a promise. "There are some who… wouldn't approve of it."

The bait's face turns wary, tensing just a bit, then releasing. No doubt she's imagining how bad it might be, or how badly people might react to it. "Really?" She stands up straight, her head hanging, for a few moments. Then, hesitantly, she meets Tess's eyes once again. "... May I ask why, or would that-?"

"- Of course you can ask," Tess smiles reassuringly, standing with her. "Well-ah. Perhaps- would you like to sit down?"

She gestures toward a bench overlooking the sea, and they both have a seat. The wolf pup lies at Tess's feet, facing up the path. Watching for intruders. Tess pats his head. < See? ~This training was just what he needed.~ He's already such a good boy! > "Some people don't approve of what the treatment does to the body," Tess starts, as though she isn't mocking me inside her head.

Then she stops, feeling the lady's aura. And, as usual, Xihrae was right on the mark. With only the slightest bit of prodding, she's already… < I can tell her without risk. She's far too kind to endanger anyone, human or not. >

Tess looks up from the pup, and she grabs and holds the lady's gaze. "I think you're a trustworthy person. And you're a perfect fit for the treatment, so I'm just going to tell you…" Tess pauses then, partially for dramatic effect, but mostly- -to adjust the atmosphere. The goal is to make her as receptive as possible. Even with one of Xihrae's plans, it never hurts to stack the odds in our favor.

"The treatment… is vampirism. I myself am a dhampir, or partial-vampire." < Yikes. Her face is the epitome of shock! > < Hey, at least she seems to believe me! (And isn't reaching for a stake.) > "Half of the people back in my village are vampires. They all would have died if…"

Tess looks away toward the sea, takes a deep, shaky breath -- then continues with a somewhat choked voice. "As you can see, we're not mindless monsters. Although, there are many disadvantages: needing to drink blood, being unable to enter the sunlight… but you'd live far longer than any human. And-" She looks back to meet the lady's eyes again -- and gives a warm, small smile. "-you could turn your loved ones as well, someday. You'd be able to spend more time with them!" And just to really sell it, Tess adds, in a bitter tone, "We still feel love, no matter what people may believe!"

Tess stops, then, to give the bait time to think. I watch her face, but Tess is more focused on her aura. < ... She's conflicted. > < Yeah. But she's more hopeful than suspicious… I'd dare say she's desperate. >

After about a minute of silence, Tess says reluctantly, "You would have to deal with the prejudice, of course, if word ever got out. And I'm certain it will, eventually, no matter how careful-"

"I'll do it."

Her voice is so certain, it takes Tess aback. I wasn't expecting such a quick answer, either! "Are you sure?" She nods. "..."

< Xihrae, I trust you and all, but… > "... You'd have to pretend to be dead for a while. Perhaps a few months, even. Until the area has been made safe for our kind."

She smiles, her expression warm and happy. … Hopeful. "Such a short separation is a small price to pay," she says, all sunlight and flowers.

"..." Tess smirks. She can't help it. She tries to make it as unsuspicious-looking as possible, though.

"Alright. If you're so certain, then… I'll make the arrangements." < Xihrae… Sometimes you're so accurate -- I can't tell whether I'd rather kiss you or punch you. >

Feeling like revenge, I relay her comment to the mastermind. < He says "I'll take either." > < Noctu, you little-! > < Now now, aren't you forgetting something? > Quickly, Tess shakes the odd expression off her face.

The woman is practically glowing with happiness. There are even tears in her eyes. "I don't know how, but I will repay you for this!" Tess holds her hands up, "Oh, there's no need! The only payment I want is for you to live a long, happy life." The woman holds out her hand for Tess to shake. "At least let me introduce myself. My name is Lucy Westenra."

Tess takes it. "I'm Ciestess. Ciestess Dracula."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

Buy this ebook on Google

#Crossroad Of Infinity #crossroadofinfinity #fantasy #sci-fi #dracula

[myafterlifewithjarchie]

Looking for a Partner in Plot

So, here’s the thing. I’ve been wanting to write fanfics since ever, but the plots I come up with are too complex and overly ambitious and I find myself unable to actually get to write anything cause I get stuck during the planning.

I’ve always been looking for collaborators to work on the plot together, but I haven’t been very successful at that either. This is why I ended up dropping one project after another, with my great displeasure since I had spent months racking my brain on certain projects.

Now I decided to give some of my fics one last chance trying to find a collaborator. In this post I’ll present an outline of the most prominent fan fiction projects I’ve been working on hoping that some of you reading this post will be interested in working with me on it.

As of now, I’m not looking for someone to actually write the fic with (although of course if you are a good writer I’ll be very happy to know that you are interested) I am looking for a partner in plotting, someone who, like me, relishes in coming up with plots, imagining narratives and seeing the connections between stories. My primary aim at the moment is to complete the planning of the plot for one of these fics. Writing will come after that.

Btw i know that some of these fandoms are long dead, but I still hold dear my fanfic projects, so I’m still very willing to work on them and give them one last shot with this post. I’m not very good at summaries, so pardon me. English is not my first language.

Now, presenting the projects (working titles):

Archie Andrews & Jughead Jones - The Great Beyond Fandom/type: Riverdale - Hogwarts AU Pairs: Jarchie (main), Beronica (side), Jughead x Jason (past) Complexity: 8/10 Progress:    5/10 Plot outline: Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica are students at Hogwarts and during their fifth year the vanishing of Jason Blossom sends the school into shock. In an attempt to solve the mystery of the boy’s disappearance they will uncover a dark secret about the Second Wizarding War and they will be faced with a conspiracy that threatens the entire wizarding world. All the while having to deal with teenage problems. In this fic we’re expanding the mythology of the wizarding world and we’ll be delving in mysteries untackled by the books. Sabrina and Salem will be prominent characters. Also the fic is set one year after the events of Cursed Child and will feature characters from it.

Life is Strange in Riverdale Fandom/type: Riverdale - Life is Strange AU - Dishonored mythology Pairs: Jarchie (main), Beronica (side) Complexity: 8/10 Progress:    5/10 Plot Outline: Jughead and Archie have grown apart the last few months, but when Jughead witnesses Archie’s death in the school bathrooms. He discovers he has time powers and uses them to save his old the best friend. However, he’ll soon realise Archie’s life is being endangered on a daily basis by some evil workings of fate and so Jughead will try to save Archie’s life time and time again. He’ll have to come to terms with the fact that his meddlings with time disrupt the reality and because of this the town of Riverdale is endangered by higher forces. Jughead’s life is soon turned upside down by Jason’s ghost, a coven of witches and goodly entities outside of time. All the while he also tries to come to terms with his feelings for his best friend and the possibility that he may have to let Archie die in order to save the town. The fic will borrow some characters and mythology from Dishonored while presenting situations similar to the ones in Life is Strange. Riverdale will provide the setting and the character. Sabrina and Salem will also be featured.

Once Upon a Time in Neverland Fandom/type: OUAT Cannon Divergence Pairs: not focus but many involving Pan, Swan Queen (background) Complexity: 10/10 Progress:      7/10 Project outline: Peter Pan is not Rumple’s father but his brother. His aim is to conquer all the realms and he needs Henry’s heart to do it. This will be an alternative story to what happened in OUAT after episode 3x08 and will see Pan as the protagonist. It will be focused on Neverland and will feature a plethora of characters and stories. It is an expansion of the OUAT universe way beyond what we saw in the show. It will follow Peter Pan in his rise to power, from his origins, when he was chosen to take over the role of Pan, the protector of Neverland, from the Pan who came before him, to when he was corrupted by darkness and started craving for more power. His search throughout the many realms for the Heart of the Truest Believer and his plans for the conquest of the universe once he got it. We will see Pan moving the island from one world to another. Then the battles for the domination of Oz, Wonderland, the Land Without Color, Atlantis and the many other realms. Pan’s fights against the Olympians and the other gods and higher powers. We will see Pan facing the eternal rivalry between magic and science in the battle against Tomorrowland. We’ll witness Pan make alliances with many villains across the lands. His plans unfolding and being defied by the Resistance of the people of Storybrooke and the other havens who stood up to his growing empire. Ultimately we’ll see Pan attempt to conquer our world, working with the power of belief. We’ll see the workings of the people trying to take him down and his eventual demise. We’ll delve in into the back stories of many characters such as Pocahontas, the Nutcracker, Pinocchio, Jim Hawkins, the Golden Fish, Dracula and lots more. We’ll expand the mythology and set clear rules to magic. We’ll discover the origins of Neverland and the first Pan, we’ll see how the forces of Light and Darkness battled for the Heart of the Truest believer since the dawn of time. We’ll also see Pan’s many love interests (he’s pansexual after all). It will be one hell of a ride, if you’ll care to bear with me.

more details here

Rise of the Nightmare King Fandom/type: ROTG sequel Pairs: Jack x Jamie Complexity: 7/10 Progress:    3/10 Plot outline: This is the story of how Jack watched Jamie grow, how Jamie grew up with the ghost of Jack but he never stopped believing in him. They eventually realized they were in love with each other and decided they wanted to be together despite all odds being against them. It’s the story of their journey seeking help from other spirits and legend (Valentine, Father Time, Mother Nature, and other characters from the Guardians of Childhood), looking for a way for a spirit and a human to be together. This is also the story of how the boogeyman played Jack and Jamie and got them apart while he restored his power and took over the world.

Descendants - A Prologue Fandom/type: Descendants prequel Pairs: not focus Complexity: 3/10 Progress:    8/10 Project outline: This is supposed to be a short narration in which I tried to come up with an explanation as to why the land of Auradon came to be. Explaining how Auradon looks the way it does today. A mix of concepts from OUAT and Kingdom Hearts in an attempt to give a shred of plausibility to the world of Descendants. Honestly what the creators should have come up with to legitimize their world in the Disney canon but didn’t.

If you are interested in any of these projects you can contact me and let me know if you want to take part to the plotting or you can ask me any info you need. If you’ll decide to work with me i’ll let you know all the details about the plot so far.

Anyway, if you like my concepts, you can show your support with a like or a reblog, this way i’ll have a better chance at finding a partner in plot!

Contacts: you can message me on tumblr, skype ([email protected]), email ([email protected]), hangouts ([email protected]),

#jarchie #ouat #riverdale #hp #rotg #descendants #hogwarts au #rise of the guardians #harry potter #peter pan #once upon a time #jack x jamie #jack frost #jamie bennett #archie x jughead #jughead x archie #archie andrews #jughead jones #dark pan #hogwarts #hp au #swan queen #scorbus #albus x scorpius #scorpius x albus #scorpius malfoy #lis #albus potter #life is strange

[mermaidsirennikita]

Historical Fiction and Feminism/Internalized Misogyny

(This post contains spoilers for The Conqueror’s Saga, The White Princess, The White Queen HBO’s Rome, and Spartacus--sometimes in very vague ways, but I thought I’d be thorough.)

Recently, I’ve discussed feminism and historical fiction in the context of television on my blog—largely in terms of how NOT to do it, as seen on The White Princess.  Marketing historical fiction (or fantasy that resembles historical fiction) as feminist is big in this day and age.  Even if the word “feminism” isn’t thrown around, you see people talking about “strong female characters” and, essentially, women “overcoming obstacles” presented by cultures of the past.  The thing is—does a woman acting like a feminist in a historical setting make the work itself feminist?  Does her lack of feminist views, or even anti-feminist perspective make her a bad character?  

What prompts me to think about these things is not actually a TV show in particular, but a few reviews of a book series that I immensely enjoy, Kiersten White’s The Conqueror’s Saga. The Conqueror’s Saga—which I highly recommend—is technically alt-history.  It considers historical events, altered simply by turning a male historical figure—Vlad Tepes/Dracula—into a woman, in the form of series protagonist Lada.  Lada is literally Vlad, but in the form of a (heterosexual) woman.  She has a couple of sexual/romantic relationships with men, but they don’t at all dominate the series the way they often do with YA, and are viewed from a historical perspective in which Lada, despite her hunger for power, is intensely aware of the natural advantage men have over her. She wishes to rule Wallachia, but is tempered by the fact that she is a woman.  This seems like a “feminist” premise, at least in the shallow manner in which feminism has been presented to the typical reader by pop culture.

Lada—a character who has manipulated people for personal and political gain, murdered, betrayed—is critiqued in some of the reviews that provoked me to write this for her anti-feminist views.  In the first book, she doesn’t trust women who are a part of an Ottoman harem, in part because they use sex as currency and are intensely sexual and feminine in a way that she is not.  While very aware of her own sexuality and femininity, Lada struggles with it and at times seems to hate it—in the second book, she seems to come to the conclusion that more than a man or a woman, she wants to be a soldier.  And the reason why she hates her feminine body is that it makes it difficult for to be a soldier in medieval Europe.  She also resents her mother, an abused woman, for not protecting her children, not defending herself.  This is victim-blaming, likely with a dose of Lada’s own trauma informing it.

More controversial, of course, is Lada’s apparent inner victim-blaming of a group of women raped and impregnated by (essentially) their overlords.  She wonders why they didn’t fight back, why they submitted, so on. As far as the narrative goes, I personally don’t feel like it validated Lada’s feelings.  In fact, when she first inwardly critiqued the Ottoman women, they turned out to be cunning political animals, and she eventually comes to acknowledge their strengths with regards to manipulation.  One of the women who was raped and impregnated becomes a supporting character and friend to Lada, and she comes to—in a sense—admire her own means of manipulation and politicking.  It’s soft power versus Lada’s desired hard power.  So—is a work of historical fiction anti-feminist because a female character expresses anti-feminist views?  

I’ll compare this to The White Princess, a show which was heavily marketed as “feminist”. Elizabeth Woodville is seen alluding to the idea that women were the true powers behind the throne in medieval England (a fact that is categorically untrue, even if some women did have influence over medieval politics).  Woodville, and her house, the Yorks, are promoted as the heroes against Margaret Beaufort.  Margaret is crafted as a foil to Woodville—she refers to her daughter-in-law’s primary function of providing a male heir for her husband.  She condemns her daughter-in-law’s sexuality.  She is Bad. Elizabeth Woodville is Good (and a witch, because witchcraft = feminism).  The series ends on Elizabeth of York becoming a puppet master for her husband, something that didn’t happen.

The fact is that while it’s nice to see a woman talking up girl power in historical fiction, it’s often anachronistic.  And in the case of The White Princess, the narrative ends up pitting women against each other—one side is for grrrl power in a very shallow way (ultimately in the service of propping up a male York heir, but whatever) and the other representing a lack of sexual freedom, “the man putting the woman down”.  And once Elizabeth Woodville is out of the picture, that whole rivalry is sort of confusing and goes every which way and it’s just… a bad show for many reasons, to be honest.  But its faux feminism is the icing on the cake.

There have absolutely been strong women who did hold both soft and hard power in times past.  But they were still affected by the patriarchal societies in which they lived.  Isabel of Castile fought for her right to the throne and gained it—but she still wasn’t satisfied to leave the throne to her firstborn daughter, and ensured the birth of a male heir for herself and her husband.  She raised her daughters not be rulers, but wives.  Hurrem Sultan held immense power as the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent, but she got there by arguably undermining other women, and playing a game set up by men.  Anne Boleyn became Henry VIII’s wife and is often portrayed as a woman who was “feminist” because of the power she (temporarily) held over her husband.  But she was chosen by him; she was chased by him; and she got her crown after he took it from another woman.

It's great to see women supporting each other and loving one another in historical settings. We should see female friendships.  We should see mothers loving their daughters.  The White Princess, for all its claims of feminism, was all about pitting women against each other.  But there’s a difference between that narrative, I think, and one in which a woman experiences the effects of her own internalized misogyny, as Lada does in The Conqueror’s Saga.  She hates feminine things because she’s been raised to feel lesser because of her own femininity—this does not make her an anti-feminist character, in my perspective. Nor does it make her story anti-feminist.  It makes her a character with accurate viewpoints about her own sex, hammered into her mind by men.  When she realizes that feminine women are making things happen through their own means, that is a form of reconciliation that feels real to me.  It’s certainly “realer” than silly, anachronistic platitudes about women being badass queens.

Another good example of women being strong characters in historical figures while also dealing with internalized misogyny would be the female characters of Rome.  Two of the main female characters, Atia and Servilia, are set up as rivals.  They are rivals in relation to their roles as rich Roman matrons, and the fact that they are connected to rival men (Atia through her uncle and son, Servilia through her son) only intensifies their hatred for each other.  They call each other whores and bitches, they deride and hate other women.  But does this make them bad women, a part of a woman-hating narrative—or are they simply products of their environments, and accurately portrayed as such?  For that matter, does the fact that Servilia and Atia hate each other diminish the value of their relationship as one of the most prominent and important on the show?  I could question the same of two women on another show set in Ancient Rome, Lucretia and Ilithyia of Spartacus.  (I’m not saying that these characters are feminists at all, by the way--they are not.)  They hate—and sometimes love—each other.  They constantly fight one another.  But their relationship is rich and complex, and the fact that they treat each other badly, and for that matter other women badly, doesn’t mean that this relationship is invalid or a product of an anti-feminist narrative.

Now, I’m not saying that all of these works of fiction are strictly feminist.  Many of them feature male protagonists prominently, and the woman’s journey might not be “point” of the show the way it is on a show like Harlots. (In which almost every prominent character is a woman, the focus of the plot is a profession dominated by women, and women are often quite nasty and misogynistic to each other.)  But it’s important to see women of historical fiction have rich relationships with one another, negative and positive.  It’s important, to me, to see them express at least somewhat-accurate ideas about their own genders.  Otherwise, we get into the routine of some women having more “feminist” attitudes than others, and them being “better” and more “enlightened”.  A woman isn’t a bad person because she comes from a culture that doesn’t adhere to contemporary (popular) western feminism and doesn’t, herself, adhere to the principles of contemporary (popular) western feminism.  The idea of the good, feminist women being better than a woman who really (in regards to historical fiction) not have any concepts of 21st century feminism isn’t feminist at all.

If we forget or wash over the environments to which women had to adapt, the environments they dealt with on the daily, the environments that likely inspired self-hatred in many… We forget our own history.  It’s not fun to see a character like Lada, who I really love, look down on women.  It’s certainly not fun to see a character like Atia who is so entertaining be extremely misogynistic; she’s outright evil to many other women, including her own daughter.  But then, I want to see female characters who are allowed to be as rich, as good or as evil, as male characters.  Who don’t have to shy away from depravity to conform to male expectations of the feminine character.  Women have existed in a largely patriarchal world as good and evil people throughout history, and I want to see that.

#the conqueror's saga #the white princess #the white queen

[georgeaparker]

Vampyre Lawyer Review

Imagine You're a Vampyre. Yes, with a "y." You're very good at what you do, but you're tired of the Dusk-to-Dawn Life and you wish to give up your evil ways. So you time travel 150 years into the future, join a Goth rock band, move to the USA, and begin a search for a lawyer to represent you as you defend yourself against persecution and the unconscionable inaccuracies found in Anne Rice's blockbuster novel, Interview with a Vampire. How do you think such a journey would work out for you?

George Parker gives us just such a character in his hilarious send-up, Vampyre Lawyer. In this highly entertaining novel, no less a personage than Count Dracula himself descends upon 21st century New Orleans and, while many in The Big Easy do not even notice such an anomalous individual on the street, his presence and, in particular, his quest for a virtuous attorney set in motion a preposterous but uproarious set of events involving a psychopathic prosecutor in the District Attorney's office, a mysterious tailor, illegal Romanian refugees, a refined Mob boss with a taste for orchids and the classics, a wet-behind-the-ears newlywed law school graduate, a vulturous journalist and, of course the internationally acclaimed music group the Techno Zombies.

We begin to suspect we are about to be "had" early in the story, when the Count's home is being burned down by local peasants angered by his nocturnal habits, and his faithful manservant Igor has been overcome by smoke. Igor urges Dracula to flee the country without him:

"No, it's not for me sir," he coughed, and anyway the villagers will save me, they always do."

"It's true," replied the Count. "They appreciate your simple honesty, as do I."

The farcical characters "Drac" encounters during his sojourn in another century, from the Zombies' guitar player Shelley Byron to the Madame Defarge-type figure Momma Momar and villainous D.A. Richard Bleddon (get it? - it's a vampire story), affirm our suspicion that we are in the lively presence of Chauceresque satire. The plot's vignettes, including an organized crime board meeting conducted in accordance with parliamentary procedure, a miraculous cure in a hospital operating room, a flawlessly planned and incredibly bungled "hit" and a bizarre knitting needle attack by an old woman do likewise. Unexpectedly, once ensconced in New Orleans, Drac himself hovers on the edges of the story as the nutty characters affected, directly or not, by his arrival in their town romp all over one another in a tangled riot of criminal activity, cover ups, miscues, magic, mayhem, and innocent misunderstandings, all of which eventually give Drac the opportunities he seeks to redeem his troublesome past forever. Right up to the denouement in a flour coated pasta mill, complete with a very theatrical curtain call involving the entire cast, Parker has provided a laugh on every page.

But there's another funny thing about this book: certain passages that appear right there in the midst of the mirth are not funny at all. There are downright poetic lines wherein Drac reflects on music and dance. The author has included lyrics of Techno Zombie songs, which are far superior in their style and originality to those of most pop songs today:

Like the howling moan of the Wolfman

like the beating of Dracula's wings

like a nightmare that leaves you suspended

in the pit as the pendulum swings

like King Kong climbing up the Empire State

while his heart is pounding with fright

there's a nameless fear in the shadows

there's a monster in my mind tonight. . .

And he also inserts a moving description of the function of dance in the life of the human animal:

To dance is like knocking on the door to eternity. All of the spirits and angels love to dance, it's the universal language of joy, and joy is the very heart of enlightenment . . . The seasons dance with time in an endless pas de deux. The ocean dances with the moon, the sun dances with the earth, and the stars dance with space.

We readers also are told, fairly often and rather explicitly, of Drac's and the others' musings on good versus evil, the dark versus the light, and man's life-long search for his true self. As the Techno Zombies eloquently put it:

. . . somewhere there's just gotta be

an answer to every question that you have,

but finding it ain't easy,

you gotta search through a lotta crap.

Whatever Mr. Parker's intentions for these passages, they ring true and do not feel in the least ironic. If no one has yet done so, perhaps Mr. Parker will do us the favor of actually setting to music and recording the lyrics he has incorporated into this otherwise light-hearted escapade, so that one day we may dance to them.

Vampyre Lawyer is not literature, nor does it pretend to be. It contains a few malapropisms and capriciously placed commas, but they don't matter. It's a rockin' fun story of a type sorely needed in our era of financial distress, unemployment, world terrorism, cynicism and PC extremes. This is a book to read during a bumpy flight, to while away a long wait at the dentist's, or to carry with you to an IRS audit. If you are looking for a moody, spine tingling vampire story you may be disappointed. But if you love a good lawyer joke, get tired of the pretenses we must endure in daily life, and want a respite from feeling bad about your little failures, you will love this book. Its humor will brighten any day and its perspective will lighten your heart. It's silly, it's endearing, it's very human, and it will make you laugh out loud.

#Vampyre Lawyer Book

[mhdiaries]

Diary of Robecca Steam

I’ll blow my stack if you read my diary.

19 September - Then

Our show tonight was a rousing success. My rocket boots worked to perfection after the adjustments father made and I was able to complete the trick in such a way that it elicited gasps from the audience yet remained perfectly safe for me. Father was so pleased that he is allowing me to take tomorrow’s train instead of the one tonight so that I may stay and engage in a round of roller maze. I am so excited my boiler is near to bursting! My only regret is that father was not able to adjust my internal clock before he departed. Well, it is not to be a worry tonight and I am sure he will be able to resolve the problem when we are reunited on the morrow.

20 September - Then

Frost my firebox was I vexed this morning! I missed yet another appointment due to the inability of my internal clock to keep the correct time. Now to be sure there are appointments and there are appointments, and one is to be forgiven if fashionable lateness allows for a grand entrance in the former; but when exacting punctuality is required of the latter, such as catching a train that leaves promptly at noon and your arrival is thirty minutes after the departure of said train, vexation will rule the day. Thus I found myself standing on the station platform with steam raising from my ears and baggage piled high around me. From a distance it must have looked as if some monster had fashioned a cabin of suitcases on the platform and upon finishing their labor celebrated by lighting a fire in the stove. I was obliged to send father a telegraph informing him of my situation and assuring him that I would be on time for tomorrow’s train even if I had to spend the night on the platform. Fortunately, it did not come to that as the gargoyle that drove me from Miss Kindergrubber’s boarding house to the train station was still available to convey me back. My tardiness at the train station will, however, make it possible for me to attend the gala birthday ball being thrown in honor of a Miss Draculaura. She is the daughter of a very famous, and well-to-do vampire, named Dracula. I am excited to have the opportunity to make both of their acquaintances. I was delighted to learn that Dr. and Mrs. Stein had arrived in town on the very train that I missed! Dr. Stein is one of my father’s most respected acquaintances, both he and his lovely bride will be attending the ball and have offered to act as my chaperones so that I do not have to present myself as unattended.

21 September - Then

The party was grander that I could have imagined. Every creature was dressed in their finest and I saw many famous monsters and digniscaries. Draculaura could not have been a more kind or gracious host. I do not know how she knew I missed my train but she did, and was very genuine in her expression of sincere concern for my predicament. I was immediately pulled into her social circle as she introduced me to her friends with such rapidity that I hardly remembered a soul when she was through. Several of them had seen me perform however and were quite keen on hearing my tales of daring to. Eventually I excused myself in order to reunite myself with Dr. and Mrs. Stein, as I did not wish to appear ungrateful or rude for the kindness they had shown in escorting me to the party. I did not see either of them in the crowd so I made my way toward a group of guests where a lively discussion seemed to be under way about what made one a true monster. The most vocal of the group was rather corpulent goblin with pince-nez, prominent teeth and absurdly hairy ears;

Well of course she isn’t and how could she be? A wonder of modern mad science? Perhaps. A true monster? Never. Fashioning the flotsam and jetsam of a laboratory into some semblance of a creature does not make that creature a monster any more so than kittens born in an oven makes them scones. Do you know the old crackpot, genius though he may be, insists on calling her his daughter? Even more preposterous is that she refers to him as her father. As if steam could replace screams.

I felt as though some monster had thrown a handful of sand into my gears and I thought, “Is this what every monster believes?” I was about to turn and quietly slip back into the crowd when I felt a very large but gentle hand on one shoulder and a smaller but reassuringly firm one on the other. Then a voice, at once calming to me and challenging to the speaker said, “Perhaps Herr Goblin would care to pronounce us either kitten or scone then.” I suppose it was un-lady like that I should have enjoyed the panic I saw on his face, as he looked from Dr. Stein to Mrs. Stein to me, but I did. The goblin quickly stammered an excuse and unceremoniously fled the room. Later, Dracula found us and offered his sincere apology. “Miss Steam I regret not that you heard such an insult to your monsterhood but that it was uttered at all. It is not an opinion shared in this house. Please accept our sincere apologies.” We conversed several more minutes and he left to attend other guests. He is indeed a true gentle-monster and the remainder of the gala was so delightful that it all but eclipsed the one brief moment of unpleasantness.

22 September - Then

Today as I was packing to leave under the punctual eye of Miss Kindergrubber, we received word from the railroad station that sometime in the night a very large and rather belligerent dragon had taken up residence in the main train tunnel between here and where I was to meet father. Owing to the dragon’s size and coloration it is believed that it might be preparing for hibernation. If that is indeed the case, I could be stranded here until the spring. Even though plans were being made to send for a dragon whisperer there were no guarantees. Clog my gears and rust my bearings! What shall I do now?

1 October - Then

I passed much of today in the good company of Dr. and Mrs. Stein. I had supposed that Dr. Stein’s scientific curiosity would be drawn to the nuances of my mechanical nature but aside from some polite questions regarding energy consumption most of the conversation centered around my relationship with my father. They had many questions on the resulting challenges of one day waking up as a fully formed monster in her teenaged years and how we dealt with those challenges as a family. I admitted that while the road was not always made for smooth traveling we were learning to navigate the more arduous portions of it together. Several times during these conversations it appeared to me that Mrs. Stein gripped the doctor’s hand more tightly and several times he seemed to be hesitant to ask certain questions. I excused myself at one point to add water to my boiler, as I was feeling a bit low. I returned to hear Mrs. Stein ask Dr. Stein in their native German: “Werden wir jemals ein eigenes kind haben?” to which he replied “Wenn die Zeit gekommen ist, das verspreche ich dir, werden wir es.” I could tell that I had interrupted a private moment so I attempted to change the subject by asking Dr. Stein if he might have an idea why my internal clock could not keep proper time. He laughed at my request and for a moment I felt embarrassed until Dr. Stein said, “It has been my experience that no amount of adjustment is sufficient to make a ghoul run on time.” For this Dr. Stein received a playful tap from Mrs. Stein and he continued, “Besides that, your father is the foremost mechanical mad genius in the world and it would be arrogant of me to speculate.” We ended our time together with a promise to meet again. I am already looking forward to that.

15 October - Then

I received a telegraph from my father this morning informing me that he was joining a team set to explore a newly discovered area of the catacombs. I miss my father and look forward to that dragon moving on so we may be reunited. Tonight however, I shall skate in the maze with a local club against a team of gargoyles with a rather unsavory reputation. I am confident we shall prevail.

20 October - Now

I remember everything that happened to me right up until the last time I skated in the maze. It has been all I could do to daily resist the urge to let my life go to rust. The most difficulty has come from my father not being here. The team of explorers that he joined never returned from the catacombs. It has been a hundred years since any monster has seen them but I know they are still trying to find their way home because Ghoulia Yelps, as amazing and intelligent a ghoul as ever was, has been following any and all news about the team since before I was discovered and reassembled. She says that it is a great mystery and that there have been many books written about their mysterious disappearance. She also told me that six months ago a message was found written on the wall of a previously undiscovered cavern. It read simply, “Forward to our families. Onward to our hope.” It was signed by my father and dated three months prior to the cavern’s discovery. Ghoulia also helped me find my father’s old lab where I was delighted to find Captain Penny, the mechanical penguin father built for me. Poor thing’s fire had completely gone out and when I got him restarted he was so excited that he almost blew a heart gasket. I am still living at Miss Kindergubber’s, who is not a teacher at Monster High, and it was she convinced me to enroll. Even though I feel rather old fashioned and I am unfamiliar with much of current technology my new friends have been very accepting and are... scary sweet.

15 November - Now

I have become reacquainted with Dr. Stein and his bride through their daughter Frankie. Dr. Stein was sincerely apologetic for not being able to reassemble me after the accident. “You are a very complicated ghoul and I feared I would damage you further.” I assured him that I carried no grudge and I do not. Dr. Stein even interceded on my behalf with Headless Headmistress Bloodgood when she told me that I could not perform my scaredevil act at the middle school carnival as she thought it was too dangerous. I do not know what Dr. Stein said but the Headmistress relented and I was able to give two performances with an encore. It was truly an epic way to bring some old school to the new and shake off some of the rust in the process.

#monster high #monster high diary #text post #robecca steam #wave 4