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charmedreincarnation · 2 years ago

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My shift to legend of Korra and astral projection story

As promised, I’m finally going to talk about one of my favorite places I’ve shifted to! my first ever shift (that I consider at least) was to here and I’ve found myself reminiscing about it and found some old journals about it. I’ll probably go there again soon but until then here was my experience:)! This is going to be very long so if you hate long posts just scroll past this!

Anyways Yall, The city was abuzz with activity, but the most impressive feature was the magnificent airships soaring above. I witnessed the incredible technology used to control those airships, and it was a sight to behold tbh.

Not only was I able to explore the physical wonders of Republic City, I also felt like I was living in the midst of a conflict. There were always whispers of trouble on the horizon, whether it was the power struggle between benders or the ongoing tension between the United Republic and the Fire Nation colonies. Everywhere I went, I encountered people talking and debating about the latest developments.

When I ventured outside of the city, I had the opportunity to witness and join in some of the great adventures that Team avater had gone on. I saw the Spirit World, (which very much resembles the astral realm in this reality) fought alongside her team against their toughest adversaries, and felt first-hand the strength and courage that each of them possessed.

I felt amazed and enlightened by my time here, Seeing such a harmonious society with so many different cultures living together in peace was eye-opening, and it left me with a newfound appreciation for humanity. The Avatar has a lot to teach us all.

One of the most exciting things I was ready to see was to explore the cities. Republic City is a remarkable place, full of possibility, opportunity, and sometimes danger.

the first things you’ll notice as you explore the metropolis is its diverse population of people from all nations, each with their own vibrant culture that contributes to the city’s ever-changing character. From Air Nomads to Earth Kingdom citizens, to Water Tribesmen, the city has something for everyone.

The city itself has been built on the pillars of modernity and traditionalism alike. As the cultural, economic and political hub of the United Republic of Nations, Republic City is bustling with activity. From the bustling Business District to the vibrant Pro-bending Arena, there’s something to do here for everyone.

If you’re looking for adventure, there’s really no better place than Republic City. its a host of powerful and mystical benders, brave police force aka The Metalbenders, and an active underworld made up of some of the most powerful crime lords in the world, there’s never a dull moment here.

And of course, no visit to Republic City would be complete without an exploration of its public places and parks. Take a stroll through lovely Centennial Park, or view the majestic statues of the city’s founding members in Chikara Plaza.

But above all else, Republic City is a living, breathing organism. Its unique mix of technology and tradition creates a fascinating environment that no other city can replicate. Explore its culture, people, and places. You wont be disappointed.

When I briefly visitied Ba sing se i was immediately taken aback by the sheer size of this city. Everywhere I looked, there was something new to discover. I felt like I could actually hear the city breathing alive and growing with every passing moment.

As I kept exploring, I was constantly amazed at the level of detail put into the city’s design. Everywhere you look, there’s something unique to explore – from the enormous street markets where you can shop for precious artifacts, to the magnificent gardens that are tucked away in the alleyways.

The most incredible thing about Ba Sing Se is its interconnectivity. Every part of the city comes together in a way that’s truly breathtaking. You can explore this amazing city via its intricate system of waterways, which are connected to each other by ancient bridges and tunnels.

But the best part about Ba Sing Se is the people that call it home. This city is filled with some of the friendliest and kindest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. They are all so welcoming and eager to share their culture and knowledge with anyone who’s willing to listen.

Exploring Ba Sing Se was truly a unique experience for me. It opened my eyes to different cultures and ways of life that I’d never encountered before. It has since become one of my favorite cities in The Legend of Korra, and I look forward to visiting it again someday soon.

But The most fun part was being apart of team avatar.

Being part of Team Avatar is not only about fighting for what is right, it’s also about making connections with others. We have many wonderful members who become close friends and confidants, providing support and guidance to one another.

The Avatar is the leader of our team (duh), Korra obviously. She is ultimately responsible for guiding us, teaching us, and keeping us all on the same page. Korra is brave and powerful, but also compassionate and humble. You can always count on her to listen to your concerns and provide thoughtful advice.

The rest of the team consists of myself,mako, bolin and asami. We are all loyal and devoted to Korra and Team Avatar. Everyone has their own talents and specialties, ranging from combat skills to earthbending. While we all have different strengths, we learn from each other, providing encouragement and support along the way.

Being part of Team Avatar is more than just fighting evil in the world; it’s also about being part of something bigger than yourself. We rely on each other to maintain a balance of peace and justice, while also learning and growing together. We may have different backgrounds, but we all share a common goal - to make the world a better place. This was my first real shift and experiencing this family like friendship was the best thing I could have asked for.

Also Harmonic convergence was insane 😭😭

For those who don’t know, Harmonic Convergence is an important event. It occurs every 10,000 years when the planets and stars align, allowing for a transfer of spiritual energy between the physical and spiritual realms. On this day, many people can receive spiritual gifts like airbending (I did! Before this event I was a non bender)

The process of getting airbending during Harmonic Convergence was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Tenzen told me I had to spend weeks mastering the basics of airbending, like how to move my hands and how to direct my breath. As well as spend days meditating and connecting with the spiritual realm.As of now I have no intentions doing this as I like my job and life, but I have always had an interest in the spiritual realm so maybe this journey tenzen wants me to take will help me with that.

I got mine a couple of days after harmonic convergence during my time at work with mako. I work with the police force under beifong and mako and I have always had a competitive nature. I was a non bender before this historic event, but I knew how to chi block which is essential. Now I have bending so I expect the competitive nature to increase and I can’t wait to utilize my new bending with chi blocking lol

The experience of getting my airbending during Harmonic Convergence was incredibly special and unique. I was able to witness a spiritual event as well as gain a new power and skill. If you ever visit, and end up gaining airbending during Harmonic Convergence, it’s important to be patient, practice mindful meditation, and create a sacred atmosphere on the day of convergence.

And as I mentioned before I am a chi blocker!

Chi blocking is actual super complicated and you need a lot of dedication & Precision to master it.

First, it’s important to understand where your attacker’s pressure points are located. The pressure points are located in the body’s meridians, which are the pathways used by the body to transfer energy. Here are a few of the main pressure points to keep in mind: the jugular vein, carotid artery, clavicle, forearm, and shin.

Once you’ve identified the pressure points, you can start working on your technique. The key to chi blocking is speed and precision. You want to be able to quickly and precisely target the pressure points to effectively stop your attacker.

To begin, you’ll need to know how to properly block the pressure points. To do this, use your palm, fingers, or knuckles to press firmly into the pressure point on your attacker’s body. Make sure you are using a flat strike in order to fully block the energy in your attacker’s body.

You can also use strikes or kicks to interrupt an attack. When striking an attacker, aim for vulnerable body parts such as their wrists, elbows, or throat. You want to avoid targeting sensitive areas like the eyes or groin.

In addition to blocking and striking, you can also use joint manipulation techniques to disrupt an attack. By using leverage and pressure, you can force your attacker’s limbs out of their fighting stance and disable their ability to fight back. chi blocking is all about speed and precision. I had to Train regularly as a child, use proper technique, and be aware of my environment so that i could safely and effectively defend yourself against attackers.

I also want to reminisce about Korra and asami 🥹

Being friends with Korra and Asami has been an incredible experience. Not only have we grown close over the years, but we’ve also shared some great life lessons along the way. I didn’t grow up with a lot of women because I spent a lot of time with my father and as he worked in politics i was always surrounded by old men, so their friendship means a lot to me.

Korra is the kind of friend who always has your back. She’s strong, brave and fiercely loyal; a true friend no matter what. Life’s lessons have been tough at times, but she’s been a support system through it all. Korra knows just what to say to motivate and inspire.

Asami is another great friend. She’s intelligent and driven, yet practical and empathetic. Together, we’ve worked through complex problems and made some difficult decisions. Asami has the unique ability to see the whole picture and to think objectively.

No matter what we’re dealing with, our friendship has been a cornerstone of our lives. We may not always agree with each other, but we’ve come to trust each other even with different opinions. We laugh together and are open with each other.

Of course, we’ve also gone through some tough times. We’ve had disagreements, said hurtful things to each other, but we’ve never failed to apologize and learn from our mistakes.

Korra and Asami are two of the strongest women I know. I’m proud to call them friends, and I wouldn’t change our friendship for the world. Life isn’t perfect, but it definitely is better with them in it.

Ok next, No one ever talks about the mundane stuff of their shifts but the religion aspect fascinated me about this reality.

there are several different religions, but some may stand out more than others. Regardless it’s nothing like current day religions in this reality. The primary religion is the cult of bending, which is mostly centered around reverence for the four main elements (fire, earth, air, and water). This religion is followed by most people including myself even when I was a non bender.

The second major religion is the spiritual order of the “White Lotus,” a secret society that is dedicated to preserving and passing on wisdom about the Avatar. It has members such as Iroh and Aang having significant roles. This is incorporated into the religion I follow as well

Thirdly, there is a mysterious element known as “energybending,” which is used by some of the larger spiritual beings in the series, such as Raava and Vaatu. This energybending allows one to transfer energy from one person to another and even manipulate matter in ways that bending cannot do. This power is seen as a sacred practice and only those truly enlightened can use it.

Finally, there are the various local religions that I have heard of but no one really practices on a global scales. Korra and I met a group of nomads who practiced a religion based on ancestor worship. There are also several mentions of various sects of Buddhism, as well as indigenous spiritual beliefs.

Overall, There are many different beliefs and traditions present throughout which add to the out societies diversity. As I continue to explore this universe, I expect to learn more about these faith systems and how they affect the people I am surrounded by.

No one really ever talks about this when they shift either,but I will be telling you guys my favorite dishes and general popular dishes as well because all i think about is food ;p

For those who want a taste of Republic City, a common food is tarragon glazed beef buns. This dish consists of beef strips cooked in a tarragon infused glaze, served in a steamed bun with various condiments. The variety and texture make this dish a favorite in my friend group.

Another popular dish is hot tofu salad. This traditional salad consists of diced tofu and vegetables, often served cold alongside various sauces and herbs. It makes for a filling and flavorful meal with a hint of tanginess.

If you’re looking for something spicy you will love Republic City’s version of fiery noodles. This dish contains a variety of vegetables, noodles, beef, and chili peppers served with a sesame or peanut sauce. The mix of textures and flavors makes this dish a great choice for when you’re looking for something flavorful and exciting.

No matter what type of food you prefer my city has something for everyone to enjoy. Whether you like sea creatures wrapped in seaweed or fiery noodle dishes, you can find all kinds of delicious dishes in Republic City. Whether you enjoy cooking them yourself or picking them up from a local cart, the options are endless lmfao.

Here are some of my fav restaurants:

First, let’s start with the classic Ba Sing Se Republic City’s oldest and most traditional restaurant. Here, you’ll find a variety of bao dishes, like pork-filled buns, vegetable dumplings and Tianjin Rice Porridge. The favored accompaniment to many of their dishes is their legendary tea-smoked duck.

The jianbing cart downtown is also worth a visit. It’s a one-stop spot for all your street food cravings. Their jianbing pancakes are hot and crispy, and loaded with egg, shallots and pickled veggies. Make sure to grab an iced tea after your meal for a sweet finish.

If you’re looking for something more adventurous, you can go to Republic City Fusion Cuisine. This restaurant has a unique spin on traditional dishes from around the world. Enjoy succulent pork-stuffed peppers from the Andes, Thai-style curries or Indian kebabs.

And of course No meal in Republic City is complete without dessert, and who better to satisfy your craving than Iroh’s? Iroh’s specializes in bubble tea of every flavor, chai tea lattes, and their signature treat, smooth yogurt topped with sweet honey glaze. It’s my favorite place to go for dates and group meet ups because of the ambiance and it’s history of its creation. Iroh is a greatly respected figure in history.

Now for the Random stuff

Some of my favorite things I did outside of hanging out with team avatar and work included: exploring the beauty of Republic City’s architecture. I love walking by the breathtaking skyscrapers and the majestic Tree of Time that stands proud in the center of the city. Not to forget taking strolls along the canal, and admiring the Spirit Wilds’ colorful gardens. Also watching a tournament at Pro-bending arena I think this is an obvious no brainer but it is the equivalent to this world’s sports! attending one of their many festivals was super cool. They have a bunch, From the music festival to the spirit festival, and these events offer a great chance to meet new people, discover new sounds and tastes, and learn more about the history behind Republic City. Lastly going over to Air Temple Island and soaring through the sky on an air scooter with Korra and tenzens kid. This is a great way to admire the city from above.

As a police officer, I have had the privilege of working directly with Chief Beifong to help keep Republic City safe.

I can honestly say that Chief Beifong is one of the best leaders I have ever had the pleasure of knowing in any reality. She is a focused, intelligent, and strong leader with an unwavering commitment to justice and protecting the citizens of Republic City.

Chief Beifong has always been incredibly supportive of the police officers who work for her. She’s always available to give encouragement, advice, or direction when needed. The chief encourages us to stay on top of suspicious activity and to be proactive in safeguarding the citizens of Republic City.

She also heavily values accountability and ethics for her police force. She believes strongly in the importance of doing the right thing and follows through with disciplinary actions if her officers get out of line.

Being a cop under Chief Beifong has taught me the valuable skills of dealing with difficult situations and the importance of keeping a cool head in tense situations. It has also instilled me with a strong sense of responsibility and ethical decision making.

Overall, being a cop under Chief Beifong has been an incredibly rewarding experience. She is an incredible leader and an amazing role model for her officers. We are all grateful to have her as our captain, and I know that I feel much more confident in my duties knowing that she is leading the Republic City Police Department.

One of the most impressive pieces of technology used in Legend of Korra is the power armor of Zaofu. This robotic suit was created by Suyin Beifong to protect her family from danger. It’s equipped with a multitude of weapons including a large drill and repelling cables. The power armor can also sense the presence of benders nearby, allowing Suyin to know when danger is coming.

Another fascinating piece of tech featured in the show is the radio controlled cars. These vehicles were built by Varrick and are capable of interacting with and carrying out complex commands. They’re powerful enough to outrun Korra’s airbending and can be used to transport people across long distances. By using a remote control, drivers can pilot these vehicles to strategic locations with ease.

In addition to vehicles and mechanized suits, it also featured a unique form of communication through holograms. This technology was used by Tenzin to contact other Airbenders and relay important updates. There was also a psychological application of this tech as Korra was able to gain insight into the Avatar state by taking part in a virtual Reality experience.

Lastly the interactive control panels used by Kya and Bumi. These panels gave access to a wide range of knowledge, including the locations of benders and the status of the world’s vital functions. The panels could also be used to trigger alarm systems, contact other benders, and carry out research.

Overall, technology played an important role in the Legend of Korra universe and complemented the power of bending in unique ways.

Bisons bro, I can’t believe they’re not in this reality 💔They’re one of the biggest aspects I miss about my legend of Korra homes they’re quite friendly and intelligent as you would assume. They have a strong bond with their airbenders, so they appreciate being handled with patience and gentleness.

When you interact with them, they seem to understand the feelings of those around them even those they are not quite familiar with. This makes them quite easy to get along with.The best way to describe the feeling of interacting with a sky bison is that it makes you feel calm and peaceful. They’re so big and gentle that you can really get lost in the moment and enjoy their majestic presence.They also are way bigger than I imagined. As for their size, sky bisons can reach up to 25 feet in length and have a wingspan between 12 and 20 feet. They’re impressive to look at, both from far away and up close. Almost seeming to almost take up the entire sky.

Now, Astral projection

after this shift, a week later I astral projected which is Insane considering it took about 1.5 years for me to initially shift. I’m combining these stories because the spiritual world and the astral realm are the same thing which is why I think it was so easy to do.

I got into astral projection after I started reading about other peoples out of body experiences..like meeting spirits, traveling the world in seconds, some even meeting what they presumed to be god, and got fascinated once again as it did not sound like the shifting I had been doing. I was so interested and did a little research to find out that once again this was astral projection and I decided this was going to be me.

Contrary to everything I was taught, I didn’t do much research like I did with shifting. My belief was if I shifted, then there’s no reason I should not be able to astral project tbh. it seemed easier on paper. I watched a video on how to do it, and it seemed simple enough. After three days of trying one day, while doing my method I felt myself rolling out of my body and when I “awoke” I saw my real body.

It was so amazing, I could not feel myself but i was aware of my own presence, and was on my floor even though I resembled what you would think is a ghost, at least matter wise. I didn’t really know where to go or what to do. I wasn’t using it to shift, and I didn’t have any goals or intentions but I was not going to waste a good spiritual moment. I told my subconscious to take me where I most need to go. Just Like that I started moving, but I was not moving? More like….My environment was changing at the same speed of light, but I could not feel it. Anyways I wasn’t in my room anymore.

I ended up in an abandoned house. I was just exploring it when I saw, what I didn’t know at the time were probably spirits. (Y’all do not be like me, do your research before you practice any out of body experience.) anyways, they looked liked live dolls, but they were asleep. I knew better than to mess with something I didn’t know of, so I let my curiosity die and I went outside. When I went out there, the sky was colors that did not exist on this earth, or at least we can’t see them. The weather was something I had never experienced and I felt the most euphoria and tranquillity that I doubt I could ever feel on this human plain of existence. I wanted to cry of happiness and just stay there forever. But moments later I saw a beautiful angel, and for some reason I knew her name before asking. It was Helen

After confirming her identity, it almost feels wrong to refer to it as a her. This was a godly being lol. I digress, but I asked her so many questions. Why I had to go through everything I did, what is shifting, how is it possible, did she hear my pain when I was asking for help from anyone, how is she real, who is god. I asked everything guys, and all the answers I received aligned with my beliefs. My final question was is she apart of my subconscious, because unless I’m the second coming of god how could a normal ass girl have the correct answer to everything unknown to man. She told me that was up to my interpretation and just smiled at me. I already knew the answers because, what we assume is true. If you were to ask the same questions to a godly being who knows all, we would all get different answers. Everything I had learned from shifting, all the questions I had came to the final conclusion and my journey was over from that point forward. I asked her to take me home as I was excited to wake up and tell my friends what I had learned. That is what happened and when I saw my body, I went back inside and I simply opened my eyes back to my room where I had fallen asleep

Basically,When I woke up from that moment my journey was over and I decided it was time to experience as much as I can. Everything changed. I had so many questions as to what to do to continue to shift forever.. how it works etc.. just so much questions and it’s like the following days everything just came to my knowledge at once.

Like I said before, I shifted to legend of Korra, and the spiritual essence in that reality was insane. Not to mention the astral world is quite literally the humans world version of the spiritual world in that reality. I do not know if that had to do with my success or if it was a coincidence (really doubt it) but astral projecting right after my first shifting experience was one of the best things that could happen to me. There’s not much to say but that journey was the peak culminating point of my Experience and I think about it often !

After that’s I wanted to be more apart of the astral projection community but my god they are such haters. They think shifters are mentally ill, and treat us worse than the lucid dreaming community. It doesn’t even make sense considering opening an awareness to a parallel universe sounds way more believable than leaving your body and traveling as a soul, but….whatever I suppose. They’re both very real and I have noticed anytime time a new community emerged it’s labeled as false. I mean decades ago even lucid dreaming was mere pseudoscience and people just thought lucid dreamers were insane. Astral projection followed and then lucid dreamers treated them the same. Now they do the same to shifters. As someone who has experienced all three phenomenons it’s insane how limiting they all can be. It doesn’t matter though. Anyone hating on your desires and are content with their limitations have nothing to do with your accomplishment and goals. Misery loves company so don’t falter to the hatred of others. Even here in my asks, void state anons and manifesters tell me I’m delusional for being a shifter and I have to cackle bc baby… to others you’re in the same boat 🫶 but it’s whatever, live your life and seriously don’t let anyone limit you. That universe is yours.

#astral projection #law of assumption #manifesation #reality shifting #shiftblr #astral realm

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coochiequeens · 1 year ago

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Anthropologist Zelia Nuttall transformed the way we think of ancient Mesoamerica

An illustration of the Aztec calendar stone surrounds a young portrait of anthropologist Zelia Nuttall. “Mrs. Nuttall’s investigations of the Mexican calendar appear to furnish for the first time a satisfactory key,” wrote one leading scholar.Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University

By Merilee Grindle

Author, In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl: Zelia Nuttall and the Search for Mexico’s Ancient Civilizations

On a bright day early in 1885, Zelia Nuttall was strolling around the ancient ruins of Teotihuacán, the enormous ceremonial site north of Mexico City. Not yet 30, Zelia had a deep interest in the history of Mexico, and now, with her marriage in ruins and her future uncertain, she was on a trip with her mother, Magdalena; her brother George; and her 3-year-old daughter, Nadine, to distract her from her worries.

The site, which covered eight square miles, had once been home to the predecessors of the Aztecs. It included about 2,000 dwellings along with temples, plazas and pyramids where they charted the stars and made offerings to the sun and moon. As Zelia admired the impressive buildings, some shrouded in dirt and vegetation, she reached down and collected a few pieces of pottery from the dusty soil. They were plentiful and easy to find with a few brushes of her hand.

The moment she picked up those artifacts would prove to be pivotal in the life and long career of this trailblazing anthropologist. Over the next 50 years, Zelia’s careful study of artifacts would challenge the way people thought of Mesoamerican history. She was the first to decode the Aztec calendar and identify the purposes of ancient adornments and weapons. She untangled the organization of commercial networks and transcribed ancient songs. She found clues about the ancient Americas all over the world: Once, deep in the stacks of the British Museum, she found an Indigenous pictorial history that predated the Spanish conquest; skilled at interpreting Aztec drawings and symbols, and having taught herself Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs and their predecessors, she was the first to transcribe and translate this and other ancient manuscripts.

A 19th-century engraving of the pyramids of Teotihuacan. The Pyramid of the Sun was restored in 1910, on the centennial of the Mexican War of Independence. Bridgeman Images

She also served as a bridge between the United States and Mexico, living in both countries and working with leading national institutions in each. At a time when many scholars spun elaborate and unfounded theories based on 19th-century views of race, Zelia looked at the evidence and made concrete connections based on scientific observations. By the time she died, in 1933, she had published three books and more than 75 articles.

Yet during her lifetime, she was sometimes called an antiquarian, a folklorist or a “lady scientist.” When she died, scholarly journals and some newspapers ran notices and obituaries. After that, she largely passed from the public’s eye.

Today, anthropologists often have specialized expertise. But in the 19th century, anthropology was not yet a discipline with its own paradigms, methods and boundaries. Most of its practitioners were self-taught or served as apprentices to a handful of recognized experts. Many such “amateurs” made important contributions to the field. And many of them were women.

She was born in 1857 to a wealthy family in San Francisco, then a fast-growing city of about 50,000 people. Near the shore, ships mired in mud—many abandoned by crews eager to make their fortunes in the gold fields—served as hostels to a restless, sometimes violent and mostly male population. Other adventurers found uncertain homes in hastily built hotels and rooming houses. But the city was also an exciting international settlement. Ships arrived daily from across the Pacific, Panama and the east via Cape Horn.

Her well-appointed household stood apart from the city’s wilder quarters, but the people who lived there reflected San Francisco’s international character. Her mother, Magdalena Parrott Nuttall, herself the daughter of an American businessman and a Mexican woman, spoke Spanish, and her grandfather, who lived nearby, employed a French lady’s maid; a nursemaid from New York; a chambermaid, laundress, housekeeper, coachman and groom from Ireland; a steward from Switzerland; a cook and additional servants from France; and nine day laborers from China.

When Zelia was 8, her family left San Francisco for Europe. Along with her older brother, Juanito, and her younger siblings Carmelita and George, Zelia and her parents set off for Ireland, her father’s native land. Over the course of 11 years, the Nuttalls made their way to London, Paris, the South of France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Throughout that time, Zelia was educated largely by governesses and tutors, with some formal schooling in Dresden and London. But her time overseas shaped her interest in ancient history and expanded her language skills, as she added French, German and Italian to her fluent Spanish. All of this expansion thrilled her mind, but it also made her feel increasingly out of step with the expectations for young women of her age. “My ideas and opinions form themselves I don’t know how, and I sometimes am astonished at the determined ideas I have!” she wrote in a November 1875 letter.

She took refuge in singing and tried to be pleased with the few social events she attended. Photos from the time show Zelia as an attractive young woman with large, dark eyes, arched eyebrows and stylishly arranged hair. Nevertheless, she was unhappy. “I was infinitely disgusted with some of the idiotic specimens of mankind I danced with,” she wrote in an 1876 letter after a party.

The Nuttalls returned to San Francisco in 1876, when she was nearly 20. Two years later, she met a young French anthropologist, Alphonse Pinart, already celebrated in his mid-20s as an explorer and linguist. He had been to Alaska, Arizona, Canada, Maine, Russia and the South Sea Islands. Pinart may have led the family to understand that he was wealthy. In fact, he was almost penniless, having already spent his significant inheritance.

They were married at the Nuttall home on May 10, 1880. During the next year and a half, the couple traveled to Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Pinart introduced Zelia to a burgeoning academic literature in ethnology and archaeology, and she began to understand the theories of linguistics. She found 16th-century Spanish hardly a challenge as she consulted annotated codices—pictorial documents that traced pre-Columbian genealogies and conquests in Mesoamerica. While Pinart dashed from project to project and roamed widely among countries, tribes and languages, Zelia began to demonstrate an intellectual style that was more focused and precise.

Despite the excitement of discovery, something began to go wrong in the marriage. Hints of Zelia’s distress can be found in her effusive letters home. There was, for example, the shipboard admission that her husband was less attentive than she had anticipated. She noted that he was “so quiet and undemonstrative” that it was hard to imagine they were newly married. Some fellow passengers thought they were brother and sister—an odd assumption to make, even in Victorian times, about newlyweds.

By contrast, Zelia is nowhere to be found in Pinart’s surviving correspondence. On April 6, 1881, she gave birth to a daughter, Roberta, who lived only 11 days. To add to this melancholy time, her beloved father died in May, leaving her doubly devastated. A letter Pinart wrote to a friend just a few months later from Cuba appeared on stationery with a black border, signifying mourning, but he made no reference to his wife, her father or their child.

Zelia found solace in learning about her heritage when she and Pinart traveled to Mexico in 1881. She was eager to see her mother’s homeland and to hone her understanding of its pre-Columbian cultures. While Pinart carried out his own research, she began to learn Nahuatl, and she toured villages where dialects of the language were still spoken and ruins where the marks of the past could still be found.

The couple returned to San Francisco on December 6, 1881. By then, Zelia was pregnant again. In late January, Pinart set out to spend several months in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, while Zelia awaited the birth of her second child, Nadine, at her mother’s house.

What finally drove Zelia to sue for divorce, on the grounds of cruelty and neglect, remains elusive. She may have felt that Pinart had married her for access to her family’s fortune. Many years later, she angrily informed Nadine that Pinart had spent the $9,000 she had inherited from her father as well as her marriage settlement. When the money was gone, and when her family was firm that he shouldn’t expect any more, he abandoned his wife and child. Once Zelia demanded a separation, he did not contest it, though obtaining the divorce was a long process that started soon after the couple’s return from their travels and didn’t conclude until 1888.

In later life, Nadine Nuttall Pinart would reflect on how much it had cost her to grow up without a father. “From the time before I can remember, he was taboo to me,” she wrote in a 1961 letter to Ross Parmenter, a New York Times editor who wrote numerous books about Mexico and developed a fascination with Zelia Nuttall. “I was frightened by the violent scoldings I got for mentioning his name. Later, I compromised with myself and when asked about him quietly said, ‘I never knew him!’ I realized that people thought he was dead and were sorry for me and said no more. In those days it was a disgrace to have a divorced mother.”

If the period between 1881 and 1888, when Zelia finalized her divorce, was fraught with tension and heartache, this was also when she set about redefining herself as a woman with a vocation. She spent five months in Mexico with her mother, her daughter and her brother between December 1884 and April 1885, visiting Cuernavaca, Mexico City and Toluca, and exploring archaeological ruins. It was during this time that Zelia made her fateful winter visit to Teotihuacan and acquired her first artifacts.

The pieces of pottery she picked up that day were small terra-cotta heads. They were abundant in the area among the pyramids. At the time, the site was still being used as farmland, and the artifacts came to the surface during ploughing. The heads themselves were an inch or two long, with flat backs and a neck attached. Scholars before Zelia—Americans, Europeans and Mexicans—had mused creatively about such relics, describing differences in their facial features and the variety of headdresses they had sported. Drawing on 19th-century fascination with the topic of race, the French archaeologist Désiré Charnay became convinced that he could see in them African, Chinese and Greek facial features. Charnay mused: Had their creators migrated from Africa, Asia or Europe? And if racial identity was a marker of human development, as many believed at the time, what might this curious mixture of features reveal about civilizations in the Americas?

This kind of thinking was typical. Mistaken ideas about Darwinism led many Western scholars to believe that civilizations evolved along a linear, hierarchical path, from primitive villages to ancient kingdoms to modern industrial and urban societies. Not surprisingly, they used this to legitimize beliefs about the superiority of the white race.

Zelia Nuttall divided her collection of terra-cotta heads into three classes. The first included rudimentary efforts to represent a human face (as seen above, far left). The second class (including the bald second head from the left above) had holes for attaching earrings and other ornaments. The third category included the rest of the heads pictured here, sporting what Zelia called “a confusing variety of peculiar and not ungraceful headdresses.” Public Domain

Zelia generally accepted her era’s assumptions about race and class, and she was comfortable with her elite status and its privileges. Yet in her research, she did not categorize civilizations as primitive, savage or barbaric, as other scholars did, nor did she indulge in racial theories of cultural development. Instead, she sought to sweep aside this kind of speculation and replace it with observation and reason.

The more Zelia examined her terra-cotta heads, the more she realized she needed guidance from someone who had more experience in the study of antiquity than she had. At the time, there were no departments of anthropology in colleges or universities, no degrees to be earned, no clear routes to building a career. To pursue her burgeoning interest in the ancient civilizations of Mexico, and to decipher the meaning of an assortment of terra-cotta heads, she contacted Frederic Ward Putnam, the curator of Harvard’s��Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology and a leading expert on Mesoamerica. He agreed to meet her in the fall of 1885. The meeting was all she hoped for: Putnam warmed to her work and encouraged her to follow her intuitive grasp of how to observe and interpret evidence.

Putnam’s regard for women’s intellectual capacities was clear. He was one of a small number of Harvard researchers who gave lectures at “the Annex,” an institution established for women who had passed the college’s admissions test but were not allowed to attend classes or earn a degree. (The Harvard Annex eventually became Radcliffe College.) He hired a resourceful administrative staff of women and encouraged them to play a role in managing the museum. He also had a “correspondence school,” which he conducted through a widespread exchange of letters. As he once wrote, “Several of my best students are women, who have become widely known by their thorough and important works and publications; and this I consider as high an honor as could be accorded to me.”

Within months of their first encounter, in late 1885, Putnam asked Zelia to become a special assistant in Mexican archaeology for the Peabody. Less than a year later, in the annual report of the Peabody Museum, he wrote about her appointment in glowing terms: “Familiar with the Nahuatl language … and with an exceptional talent for linguistics and archaeology, as well as being thoroughly informed in all the early native and Spanish writings relating to Mexico and its people, Mrs. Nuttall enters the study with a preparation as remarkable as it is exceptional.”

With guidance from Putnam, Zelia wrote an investigation of the terra-cotta heads, her first published scientific report, which appeared in the spring 1886 issue of the American Journal of Archaeology. “At the first glance,” she wrote, “the multitude and variety of these heads are confusing; but after prolonged observation, they seem to naturally distribute themselves into three large and well-defined Classes.”

Each class, she theorized, had been created at a different time and represented a different stage in the culture. The first class contained “primary and crude attempts at the representation of a human face.” The second class included the first efforts at artistry. Her inspection revealed “holes, notches and lines,” suggesting ways in which tiny headdresses, feathers or beads could have been attached to the heads, and noted traces of several colors of paint and different kinds of clay.

The third class was the most important, Zelia argued, because of the quality of the molding and carving. This class had “modifications of feature sufficient to give every specimen an individuality of its own,” she wrote. “The faces are invariably in repose, in some the eyes are closed … faces young and smooth, others very elongated, some with sunken cheeks, others with wrinkles.”

By comparing these terra-cotta heads with ancient pictographs and writings, she showed that some of the heads represented children while others depicted young men, warriors or elders. Others showed the distinct hairstyles described in the writings of Bernardino de Sahagún, a 16th-century Franciscan friar who spent 50 years studying the Aztec culture, language and history. “The noblewomen used to wear their hair hanging to the waist, or to the shoulders only. Others wore it long over the temples and ears only,” Sahagún had written. “Others entwined their hair with black cotton-thread and wore these twists about the head, forming two little horns above the forehead. Others have longer hair and cut its ends equally, as an embellishment, so that, when it is twisted and tied up, it looked as though it were all of the same length; and other women have their whole heads shorn or clipped.”

These concrete observations allowed Zelia to challenge popular ideas about the supposed African, Asian, European or Egyptian origins of the “races” in the Americas. For example, by studying the ornamentation the heads displayed, she was able to identify the person or god each artifact represented and interpret its ritual or symbolic purpose. One clearly corresponded with Tlaloc, the pan-Mesoamerican god of rain, who had been shown in the pictographs with a curved band above the mouth and circles around the eyes. Another head, molded with a turban-like cap, corresponded with the goddess Centeotl; Zelia speculated that the clay turbans once had real feathers attached. She also noted the significance of various poses. “In the picture-writings, closed eyes invariably convey the idea of death,” she wrote.

The article revealed how Zelia intended to be seen as a scholar. First, she made it clear that she had read what others had written. Then she revealed that she would go beyond existing speculation to answer questions that had puzzled others; hers was to be original and important work.

In 1892, Zelia presented a paper in Spain about the Aztec calendar stone. Buried during the destruction of the Aztec Empire, the calendar stone had been unearthed in December 1790, when repairs were being made to the Zócalo, Mexico City’s central plaza. The sculpted stone, some 12 feet in diameter and weighing 25 tons, became a popular attraction exhibited in the Mexico City Cathedral, steps from where it had been found. Antonio de León y Gama, a Mexican astronomer, mathematician and archaeologist, had written about its discovery and praised the intelligence of the Aztecs who had created it. Alexander von Humboldt, who saw the stone when he visited Mexico in 1803-1804, included a drawing in his Views of the Cordilleras and Monuments of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, published in 1810, and encouraged Mexican intellectuals to study the meaning of its concentric circles and numerous glyphs. Many others took on its puzzles in the years that followed.

At the time of Zelia’s presentation, the Mexican upper classes were carefully crafting a new national image—a story that would allow Mexico to take its place among the modern nations of the world. The Aztecs, Maya, Olmecs, Toltecs, Zapotecs and other cultures had left their imprints throughout the country in magnificent temples, enigmatic statues, gold jewelry, jade figurines and painted murals. This history was reclaimed as a national heritage every bit as glorious as those of Greece and Rome. A statue of Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec king who resisted Cortés, took its place on Mexico City’s elegant Paseo de la Reforma in 1887. The calendar stone had been installed in a place of honor in the National Museum in 1885. But little was known about the actual customs and beliefs of those ancient people.

The Aztec calendar stone, a central focus of Zelia’s research, has been on display at Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology since 1885. Alamy

With her extraordinary knowledge of surviving codices, Zelia offered a novel “reading” of the giant calendar stone that had stumped others and provided new insights into the annual and seasonal cycles of daily life in ancient Mexico, illuminating the cosmology, agriculture and trade patterns of the Aztecs. She presented another version of the paper at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

Zelia returned to Mexico City in February 1902, and after a personal audience with Mexican President José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz, arranged by the U.S. ambassador, she embarked on a spree of travel to archaeological sites she had long wanted to visit. In May, she and 20-year-old Nadine joined friends at the Oaxacan ruins at Mitla, a religious center, where the “place of the dead” harbored both Mixtec and Zapotec art and architecture. On this dry, high plain ringed by mountains, Zelia strolled across vast stone patios, inspected the elaborate geometric friezes that lined and decorated them, explored temples and imagined a sophisticated society of kings, priests, nobles, artisans and farmers.

When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico in the 16th century, the Aztec Empire dominated the area. This map of its largest city, Tenochtitlan (now the historic center of Mexico City), was printed in 1524 in Nuremberg, Germany, likely based on a drawing by one of Hernán Cortés’ men. It shows the city’s elaborate network of roads, bridges and canals, complete with aqueducts and bathhouses. The Spaniards executed the last Aztec ruler, Moctezuma II Xocoyotzin, and forced his people to convert to Catholicism. Alamy

Zelia was welcomed into the international community of anthropologists in Mexico. She and Nadine traveled in the Yucatán with the young American anthropologist Alfred Tozzer, where they were beset by frequent rain and terrible roads. Arriving tired and wet in a small town, Tozzer, who would one day chair Harvard’s department of anthropology, was impressed by the women’s resilience. “Imagine the picture,” he wrote to his family on April 8, 1902. “Mrs. Nuttall, never accustomed to roughing it, a woman entertained by the crowned heads of Europe, sitting at a bench with the top part of my pajamas on drinking chocolate and her daughter with a flannel shirt of mine on doing the same.”

After a few months, Zelia and her daughter returned to Mexico City and purchased a mansion they called Casa Alvarado, in the upscale suburb of Coyoacán. The grand house never failed to impress. Frederick Starr, an anthropologist from the University of Chicago, was one of many who found the palace beautiful and restful: “We rode out to Coyoacán where we found Mrs. Nuttall and her daughter really charmingly situated. The color decoration is simple and strong. Nasturtiums are handsomely used in the patio and balcony effects. … While Mrs. Nuttall dressed, Miss Nuttall showed us through the garden, where a real transformation has been effected.”

Living in Mexico energized Zelia. In addition to her affiliation with Harvard, she had funding to travel and collect artifacts for the Department of Anthropology at the University of California. “With me here, in touch with the government and people, I think that American institutions can but profit and that I can do some good in advancing Science in this country,” she confided to Putnam.

Impressed by her knowledge of the country’s past, public officials and foreign visitors came to see her and listened carefully as she led them around her home and garden, explaining the collection she was busy assembling. Her garden, patio and verandas were home to an increasingly large number of stone artifacts, a beautiful carving of the serpent god Quetzalcóatl, revered for his wisdom, among them. She took up “digging” near Casa Alvarado, an activity one guest later recalled fondly. “Every morning after breakfast Mrs. Nuttall would give me a trowel and a bucket. She herself was equipped with a sort of short-handled spade, and we would go out into the surrounding country and ‘dig.’ We mostly found broken pieces of pottery, but she seemed to think some of them were significant, if not valuable. … She was a very handsome woman and very charming. She lived in great style, with many Mexican servants.”

The Codex Borgia, an accordion-folded document of Aztec life, was brought to Europe during the Spanish colonial period. Made of animal skins and stretching 36 feet when unfolded, the codex catalogs different units of time and the deities associated with them. It also includes astrological predictions once used for arranging marriages. Zelia drew on the codex to help her decode the Aztec calendar. Courtesy Ziereis Facsimiles

A section from the Codex Borgia

Zelia continued to travel throughout the country. She found a 14-page codex painted on deerskin, with commentary in Nahuatl, that she believed so valuable that she bought it with her own money, selling some of her possessions to afford it. “Owing to my residence here I must keep it a profound secret that I possess and sent out of the country this Codex,” she wrote to Putnam.

While she was not above smuggling treasures out of Mexico, Zelia also worked in the National Museum, contributing to its displays and archives, and she became an honorary professor of the institution.

Zelia had never owned a home until she bought Casa Alvarado in 1902. In a letter, she described the property as “a beautiful old place with extensive gardens.” Smithsonian Archives

Her Sunday teas at Casa Alvarado were a study in salon orchestration. “She would have 30 or 40 people and she would change the groups she invited,” one visitor recalled. “Sometimes they were all people who knew each other. Or else she would bring people together she wanted to introduce to each other. They weren’t like old-style Mexican parties, with all the women on one side and men on the other. The men and women were mixed together.”

According to an oft-repeated legend, at one of her soirées, she advanced to welcome an eminent guest just as her voluminous Victorian drawers came loose and dropped to her ankles. She calmly stepped out of them and proceeded as if nothing had happened. Zelia was, above all, self-confident.

Zelia Nuttall left Mexico during the early months of 1910 and did not return to her beloved Casa Alvarado for seven years. Throughout that time, Mexico was in the midst of a violent revolution. As many as two million people lost their lives in the ten-year conflict, and the country’s infrastructure was reduced to tatters. Even after the end of the most extensive violence, turmoil erupted sporadically until the late 1920s.

By then, visitors to Casa Alvarado agreed that Zelia was rooted in a bygone era. She was a middle-aged woman with thick glasses who favored shawls, laces and jet beads. Her palace was still filled with stuff only a Victorian could accumulate, but Mexico was telling new stories about itself.

The writer D.H. Lawrence used Zelia as a model for a fictional character—“an elderly woman, rather like a Conquistador herself in her black silk dress and her little black shoulder-shawl.” Antropo Wiki

The elites of the previous generation had asserted that descendants of the Aztec, Maya and other civilizations deteriorated into poverty and abandon. Young artists and intellectuals now rejected this belief. In Diego Rivera’s vast public murals, he showed the people of Mexico being ground into poverty and submission by Spanish conquistadors, a rapacious church, foreign capitalism, the army and cruel politicians. Quetzalcóatl replaced Santa Claus at the National Stadium; Chapultepec Park hosted Mexico Night.

Zelia did not like the revolution and she did not approve of what came after it. She did not celebrate the masses; she believed in hierarchy and a natural order of classes and races. Yet she was determined to be relevant to a new era in Mexico. Casa Alvarado became a meeting place for politicians, journalists, writers and social scientists from Mexico and abroad, many of whom came to witness the possibilities of change in the aftermath of a people’s revolution.

Nevertheless, the stubborn elegance of Casa Alvarado in the 1920s was clear testimony that Zelia was not willing to give up her lifestyle. When the French American painter Jean Charlot was a guest at one of Zelia’s teas, he was aghast at the Mexican servants in white gloves.

When Zelia Nuttall died in 1933, the U.S. consul in Mexico City wrote to Nadine—by then a 51-year-old widow living in Cambridge, England—assuring her that they’d given her mother a tasteful funeral. “Your Mother was very highly thought of here, as evidenced by the floral offerings and the number of her friends who came to the funeral service at the cemetery, it being estimated that about one hundred persons were present.”

By that time, the field of anthropology was dramatically changing, becoming more systematic and organized. Those who entered the field in the 1920s and 1930s built expertise in the classroom and under supervision in the field, passing a variety of tests and milestones determined by academic experts and acquiring a credential as proof of the right to pursue these inquiries. With these rigorous new standards, they asserted their superiority as scholars over those of Zelia’s generation.

Researchers thought this item at Vienna’s Museum of Ethnology was a “Moorish hat” before Zelia identified it as a Mesoamerican headdress. Alamy

Yet Alfred Tozzer, in his memorial in the journal American Anthropologist, reflected that Zelia “was a remarkable example of 19th-century versatility.” She was wrong in some of her overarching theories. For instance, she fallaciously argued that ancient Phoenician travelers had carried their culture to Mesoamerica. But she was right about many other things. Through her letters, articles and books, we can trace what she got right and what she got wrong as a scholar, and we can follow her as she moved from one research obsession to the next.

Her private life is harder to grasp. Among all the artifacts, there is little about the quips and gossip she exchanged with friends, the piano music she liked to play and sing. We cannot know what was in the boxes of papers in the cellar of Casa Alvarado that were burned in the housecleaning undertaken by its new tenants. We cannot retrieve personal and public documents lost in the San Francisco earthquake in 1906.

What we do know is that she had to make sacrifices, often very personal ones. We can feel her vulnerability, uncertainty, anger and embarrassment in the letters she wrote, as well as her self-assuredness. It required unusual self-discipline to learn so many languages and to gain a mastery of ancient pictographs. Her almost constant travels imperiled her health even while they advanced her vast network of friends, colleagues and patrons. But she continued to work, and that work helped establish the foundation on which many others now build.

A single mother pursuing a career while looking after a family in a man’s world: In some ways, Zelia Nuttall was a very modern woman.

Adapted from In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl: Zelia Nuttall and the Search for Mexico’s Ancient Civilizations by Merilee Grindle, published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Copyright © 2023 by Merilee Grindle. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

#Women in history #Women in Anthropology #Zelia Nuttall #The Aztecs #Merilee Grindle #In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl: Zelia Nuttall and the Search for Mexico's Ancient Civilizations #Books by women #Books about women #teotihuacan #mesoamerica #Nahuatl #Published women #Many of the first anthropologists were women #Alphonse Pinart was just another man who blew through his money #Women's careers flourishing after dumping a parasitic man #Frederic Ward Putnam #Men who encouraged women #The Annex #Lady scientist

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magnetictapedatastorage · 2 years ago

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Fascist Judges: Keep Your Hands Off Medication Abortion!

Saturday, April 8

ATLANTA: 6:00 pm @ CNN , Marietta St. & Centennial Olympic Park Drive

AUSTIN: 5:00 pm Texas Capitol. 6 pm march to Federal Plaza

CHICAGO: 2:00 PM, Federal Plaza, Adams & Dearborn

CLEVELAND: 5:00 pm @ Walgreen’s 11701 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood

D.C. (WASHINGTON DC): 12:00 @ White House Lafayette Square

DETROIT: 1:00 pm Federal Court House, 231 W. Lafayette

HONOLULU: 4:00 pm Federal Building

HOUSTON: 2:00 pm, Walgreen’s Montrose 3317 Montrose

LYNWOOD, WA: 10:00 AM, Walgreen’s 20725 Hwy 99

LOS ANGELES: 5:00 pm Federal Court DTLA, 350 West First Street

MACON, GA: 6:00 pm Rosa parks Square (City Hall)

NYC: 6:00 pm Washington Square Park @Arch

PHILLY: 2:00 pm Rittenhouse Square Park

SEATTLE: 5:00 pm 401 Pine Street @ 4th

#riseup4abortionrights

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cityofmetropolis · 5 months ago

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Metropolis was founded in 1634 by Dutch settlers, prospering in trade for its natural coastal harbor. The first settlement was by Dutchman Paul De Vries being called De Vires Village now known as the Old City in Queensland Park. In 1783, the first Metropolitan Bank was opened by P Randall Jeffries, that which still exists today. The mid-1800s saw the Hob's Bay area of the city grow as a merchant center. The large influx of Irish immigrants during this time rose tensions with the second generation citizens of Metropolis, leading to the well-known Hob's Bay Riots. Metropolis would prosper during the Industrial Revolution with the founding of The Steel Works. Today, Metropolis is known as the City of Tomorrow, a nickname adopted from our innovation and our hopes for the future.

WELCOME TO THE CITY OF TOMORROW [ x ] Brought to you by the City of Metropolis Historical Society

NOTABLE PLACES OF INTEREST : Bach Square , Blaze Comics , Centennial Hotel , Daily Planet Building , Daily Star Building , Danko Field , Delaware Bay Pier , Emperor BLDG , Famous Bottle Works , First Metropolis Bank , Glenmorgan Square , Halldorf Hotel , Heroes Park , Hotel Anderson , Javins Park , Lacy's Department Store , LordTech Tower , LordTech Stadium , LuthorCorp Plaza , LuthorCorp Tower , Mason Oil BLDG , Metro Bank , Metropolis Botanical Gardens , Metropolis City Hall , Metropolis History Museum , Metropolis Municipal Pier , Metropolis Museum of Art , Metro Stock Exchange , Metro Palace Theater , Metro Tower , Metropolis University , Prince Tower , Southside Park , Superior County Court , Toth Square , Turley Gallery and Wayne Financial Tower .

#cityofmetropolis #*mine.#metropolis

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svartalfhild · 1 year ago

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Oh wise one in the ways of elves, do you have any thoughts or suggestions for how to portray the age/longevity of elves compared to humans? And older elves vs younger elves? I have an ongoing story I'm working on involving several elves, one of which is in his early hundreds, the others being a bit older. I'm struggling with how to convey that this character is older than any of the human characters, but still pretty young and inexperienced compared to the other elves. It's ok if you don't, don't feel like you have to answer.

Ah! Well, I think the best place to start there is to consider what living and expecting to live a very long time would do to a person. You know how people in real life often gain a keener sense of what actually matters as they grow older? Imagine that but magnified several times over for old elves. I think old elves, like we're talking 550+, do not give a fuck. Nothing fazes them. They've seen it all. You could run naked across a plaza screaming "THE CABBAGES ARE NEAR" like your ass is on fire and you'd get little more than an eyebrow raise and a wry comment out of them.

Middle aged elves (300-550) are probably the most well adjusted and comfortable with the ebb and flow of life. They may have loved and lost a few times, had a few different long-running careers, or finally achieved completion of a project they've been working on for a very long time. They've seen some shit, but they haven't quite seen everything, so they've still got a zest for life. They've also probably learned how to handle failure and grief really well by then. And they've probably lived through too many "end of days" times to take that shit seriously anymore.

Young adult elves (100-300) I imagine to be more...emotional, especially those in only their second century. That's when they're really starting to get hit with what it means to be an elf and to live a long time. They are constantly losing shorter lived friends and loved ones from their youth to old age while elven society is celebrating them just reaching full adulthood. Can you imagine how it would feel to be an elf who married a human when you were both in your 30's and you watched your spouse grow old and die while you stayed young and then only a decade or so later, your elven peers are like "Happy Centennial! Congrats! You're an adult now! Let's throw a big party!" Like, the angst, bro. Young adult elves have gotta be the angstiest fucks. It's like when you're 20 and you have to act like an adult and the idea of independence is exciting but there's also that grief of everything you're leaving behind and that fear of what comes next. Also people now expect you to start having accomplishments. It's a fucking mess.

Elves 20-99 (I like to call this period pre-centennial, since "child" and "adolescent" don't really seem appropriate) are probably in the zestiest part of their life. The world is their oyster. They're physically mature now and can really start exploring all that life has to offer. It is the time of fucking around and finding out. Travel! Study a craft! Train in a discipline! Get married! Have kids! Thot it up! Devote yourself to a cause! Become a murder hobo! Whatever strikes your fancy.

Okay, so now that we've sort of parsed elven stages of life, let's talk about age difference dynamics. You've got an elf who's past his centennial, but is still young. This is the Getting Attached To Humans Will Make Me Too Sad period of life. Perhaps your elf is reluctant to grow close to humans and keeps them at arm's length. Perhaps he's a bit casual about things that humans find to be a bigger deal, especially with regards to how long some things take. Perhaps he really plays up the whole "I'm older than you" thing in some fashion. To older elves, though, perhaps he's an angst machine that needs to chill out. Perhaps they ask him about his long term goals or have expectations of him. A good general comparison would be like...he talks to humans like an 80 year old talks to a 20 year old and other elves talk to him like a 40 year old talks to a 20 year old.

Hope this helps!

#Forgotten Realms #FR Elves #ask

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adventuressclubamericas · 1 year ago

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Flat Phryne’s adventures on the way to Miss Fisher Con 2023 continue! This week, she’s been spending time with a couple members in Nashville, TN!

Their first stop was the State Capitol Building before paying homage to her fellow Great War veterans at the World War I statue at War Memorial Plaza.

Then it was a quick cuppa on the way to Printers Alley. This area had been a hub of publishing activity (reached its peak in 1915), before becoming home to Nashville’s nightlife.

From there, they made their way to historic Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ole Opry and still a vibrant live music venue today. The Ryman played a huge part in Nashville becoming the Music City. From there, they made their way to Legends Corner (a famous bar where music legends go after awards shows), and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Of course, they had to take in the Nashville skyline including "The Batman Building." From there it was down to Music Row. That's where they found the two statues and RCA Studio B.

After that they visited the Nashville Public Library to learn about Votes for Women and how Tennessee was the last vote needed to ratify the 19th Amendment. They also visited Centennial Park to find the votes for women memorial, and meet their favorite warrior goddess, Athena, inside the Parthenon.

Finally, they paid a visit to the Murfreesboro Airport, where they found a Twin Otter and a Piper Aztec. Flat Phryne absolutely adored Nashville and can’t wait to visit again!

Where will Flat Phryne turn up next? Stay tuned!

#miss fisher's murder mysteries #mfmm #miss fisher con #miss fisher and the crypt of tears #missfishercon #the adventuresses’ club of the americas #ms fisher's modern murder mysteries #miss s #st paul

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musicfren · 10 months ago

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Protests March 2nd (this Saturday). Mostly USA, some global

Albuquerque, New Mexico

11:00 a.m.

Tiguex Park