#Lady Ada's Secret Society

[samsdei]

Anton Gillis-Adelman

[mortalkombartwistedreflectionau]

Mirror Amaterasu/TR Amaterasu

Created alongside her brothers Abacus and Zaggot to replace Olaria as the protector gods of Seido. In her starter years, Amaterasu was guided alongside the other two by her older sister, but since she needed far more time to mediate between Abacus and Zaggot and thought Amaterasu was already pretty balanced, Olaria told her she could already be confident enough to start doing her duties, and even proposed her as Seido's representative in other realms, which Abacus and Zaggot accepted.

Amaterasu would since then frequently reunite with her fellow gods to discuss different matters, and also seek for more guidance due to her inexperience sometimes. A god in particular couldn't waste the chance to guide a young mind.

Cetrion took some of the free time the non-interference policy of the Elder Gods gave her to reunite with Amaterasu, and have exchanges about the good ways to perform their duties. Cetrion revealed her more about what she thought things should be than she did to anyone at the time, how according to her most mortals were 'ungrateful children too easily seduced by unvirtuous ways, and how important decisions for their fate should be in wiser hands than their own. While Amaterasu had doubts if this was really the way, especially for how it contradicted the teachings of her older sister, she took her words into account and kept her promise to keep what they said in their meetings in secret.

As time went on and Seido's society advanced until creating the Democratic Republic of Seido, Cetrion's teachings started to make Amaterasu see what the Elder Goddess really meant. Seido was not more of a perfect society than any other, it had instances of corruption, crime, need of some social movements, people's personal misfortunes, etc. All Amaterasu could see what its mistakes, ignoring everything else. A 'solution' was forming one in her mind. Lady Cetrion was right, they had to control mortals before they could harm themselves to protect them.

The rise of the Edenian Regime and its allies, as well as the start of Lady Cetrion's campaign to eliminate evil from the Netherrealm have only further convinced Amaterasu than she has taken the correct decision, and knows that all of them could be good allies when she finds the perfect chance to make her move. She knows that her siblings are likely to oppose her... but well, they are wise, they will understand eventually, she only needs to show them it is worth it.

Here's another OC of Ada! 🥳 🥳 🥳 

I also share with you a HF design of her original self, also made by Ada:

[celebritydecks]

Maia Jae Bastidas

Maia Jae Bastidas: Top 10 Interesting Facts About Her

Maia Jae Bastidas, a rising star in the entertainment world, has won the hearts of many with her talent and personality. This 25-year-old actress, model and social media celebrity was born on March 18, 1998, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In this blog post, we will look into the top 10 interesting facts about Maia Jae Bastidas, putting light on her past, career and accomplishments

Top 10 Interesting Facts About Maia Jae Bastidas

1. Early Life and Family:

Maia Jae Bastidas is from a well-established family, born on March 18, 1998 in Toronto, Canada and she is a permanent resident of Toronto. She had a happy upbringing in Toronto and also spent time in Los Angeles, California.

2. Cultural Diversity:

Maia shows the cultural diversity that makes Canada such a multicultural Region because she is a Canadian citizen and comes from a diverse ethnic background that includes both white and Latino origins. Her mixed heritage adds depth to her identity and has influenced her unique artistic expression.

3. Faith and Zodiac Sign:

In many cases, I was told that the person would be so mad that it couldn’t be resolved. She is a Pisces, the water sign of the zodiac that is associated with creativity and empathy; these qualities shine through in her work, giving her characters a multidimensional and realistic quality.

4. Educational Background:

Maia began her academic path by enrolling in a prominent primary school in Toronto. Her dedication to education prompted her to continue her studies at a prestigious junior high school in the same city, setting the stage for her future success.

She studied Theatre Arts and Media Production at a university in Toronto with a minor in Spanish. Her dedication to her profession resulted to the screening of her short film “Thumbs” at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival’s NextWave Showcase.

5. Multi-Talented:

In addition to her film career, Maia Jae Bastidas is a real multidisciplinary artist. She is a popular model and a social media influencer, with her adaptability and versatility in the world of entertainment.

6. Net Worth:

Maia Jae Bastidas’ net worth is estimated to be $1 million as of 2023. She earned her net worth through her work in television and film ventures as well as collaborations with well-known fashion designers.

7. Notable Roles:

Maia’s acting career includes several notable roles. She is most recognized for her roles as “Eliza Wells” in “Rabbit Hole” and as “Justine” in the Emmy-nominated “The Boys” spin-off series “Gen-V” on Amazon Prime. She will co-star in the film “Seven Veils,” directed by Academy Award nominee Atom Egoyan, with Golden Globe winner Amanda Seyfried in 2023. She also appeared in Taylor Sheridan’s “Mayor of Kingstown” Season 1 , opposite Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner, and is going to appear as “Letty Acosta” on “HPI,” starring Kaitlin Olson and written by Academy Award nominee Drew Goddard. Her appearance can also be expected in Bryce Dallas-Howard’s “Witch Mountain” on Disney+.

8. Impressive Height:

Maia Jae Bastidas stands at a height of 5 feet 5 inches.

9. Awards and Nomination:

Maia’s exceptional talent has not gone unnoticed. She clinched the TO Webfest Award for Best Ensemble Webseries for “Lady Ada’s Secret Society” in 2022, sharing the honor with actors like Terri Hawkes, Ella Jonas Farlinger, Glenna Walters and Claire Qute.

She repeated this feat by winning the NZ Webfest Award for the same category in the same year. Furthermore, she secured the Best Performance Award for “Wildflower” at the Vancouver Short Film Festival in 2022 and received a nomination for the web series “Lady Ada’s Secret Society” at the New Media Film Festival in 2023.

10. Diverse Contributions:

Maia Jae Bastidas has been honored for her efforts to initiatives such as the Banff World Media Festival’s “Women in Media” and “Diversity of Voices.” Her commitment to encouraging diversity and inclusion in the industry demonstrates her desire to make a good difference.

[multi-muse-transect]

Resident Evil Revised TV Series Idea.

The show should be told American Horror Story like meaning its gonna be anthology-ish based with stories bouncing back with returning characters.

Season 1’s cast is Jessica Henwick as Jill Valentine, Kellan Lutz or Sebastian Stan as Chris Redfield, Antony Starr as Albert Wesker, David Harbour as Barry Burton, Charlie Hunam as Richard Aiken, Jack Quad as Brad Vickers and Erin Moriarty as Rebecca Chambers.

Season 1 is an adaptation of RE1 taking creative liberties from the remake and original. The one difference is that Brad’s helicopter is hit by crows leading him to nearly crash and fly away, this results in a subplot of Brad returning to HQ and finds dirt on Irons before returning.

Season 2 has a different set of characters and a bigger budget with Hailee Steinfeld as Claire Redfield, Mason Dye as Leon S. Kennedy, Sadie Sink as Sherry Birkin, Elizabeth Olsen or Laurie Holden as Annette Birkin, Karen Fukuhara as Ada Wong, Temura Morrison as HUNK and Jason Issacs or Paul Bethany as William Birkin. Takes influence from the RE2 Remake.

Season 3 is an adaptation of RE3 Nemesis mixed with the remake. Jill is the same, Oscar Isaac plays Carlos Oliveira, Jonathan Adams as Tyrell Patrick, Tom Wlaschiha as Mikhail, and Michael Fassbender as Nicholai Zinoviev.

Season 4 adapts a story from the Umbrella Chronicles which is the fall of Umbrella and also Code Veronica Jamie Campbell as Alfred Ashford and Natalie Dormer as Alexia Ashford. Also Tye Simpkins as Steve Burnside.

Season 5 adapts the story of Leon and Krauser (John Cena or Frank Grillo) with Jenny Ortega as Manuela Hidalgo.

Season 6 is an adaptation of Resident Evil 4 with Mason Dye reprising his role as Leon and Cena or Grillo as Krauser alongside Fukuhara as Ada while newcomers Ashley Graham and Luis Sera are played by Natalia Dyer and Diego Luna with Javier Bardem as Saddler. A couple of unknowns for Mendez and Salazar.

Season 7 adapts Resident Evil Revelations with Jason Momoa as Parker Luciani, Kit Harrington as Raymond Vester and Alexandra Daddario as Jessica Sherawat.

Season 8 is an adaptation of RE5 but it’s more in line with the original draft albeit the mind controlled Jill part is there. Danai Guerera is Sheva Alomar, Daniel Kaluuya as Josh Stone, Jesse Plemons as Richardo Irving and Monica Belucci as Excella Gionne.

Season 9 adapts Resident Evil 6 with most of the cast returning and a better written Jake Muller played by Wyatt Russell and has been reimagined as a BSAA soldier instead of a mercenary who teams up with Sherry Birkin played by Billie Lourde with Liam Hemsworth playing Piers Nivans and Jill tagging along. Also Simmons is changed from instead of being a member of a secret society, he was just trying to cause global bio terror attacks to promote the his own agendas of a better secured world with Carla Radames being a rogue operative and an ally of Ada’s. Temura Morrison returns as HUNK and is Ada’s partner.

Season 10 is Resident Evil Revelations 2 with Emily VanCamp as Alex Wesker with Harbour reprising his role as Barry Burton, Millie Bobby Brown as Moira Burton, and an unknown actress for Natalia. Steinfeld returns as Claire too.

Season 11 adapted Resident Evil 7 fully with Joe Keery or Chris Hemsworth as Ethan Winters (to make the plot sound more sensical, Ethan is a private investigator and a former RPD cop), Emilia Clarke is Mia Winters, Michael Rooker is Jack Baker, Toni Colette as Marguerite Baker, Rooney Mara as Zoe Baker and Aaron Paul as Lucas Baker with Stan returning as Chris.

Season 12 is an RE8 adaptation with Cate Blanchett or Gwendolie Christie as Lady Dimitrescu (CGI), Eva Greene as Donna Beneviento, Nicholas Cage as Karl Heisenberg, Stellan Skarsgard as Salvatore Moreau, and Emily Blunt as Mother Miranda. Hound Wolf squad consists of Jill, Chris, Barry and Rebecca.

[cielrouge]

YA SFF Books by Latinx Authors

A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry: Spending the summer with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico, 17-year-old Lucas turns to a legendary cursed girl filled with poison when his girlfriend mysteriously disappears.

All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry: Working in the maguey fields of the Southwest, Sarah Jac and James are in love but forced to start over on a ranch that is possibly cursed where the delicate balance in their relationship begins to give way.

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria: In the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. For centuries, the high council has stayed in power by virtue of the prophecies of the elder seers. In the present day, Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the high council. But by the time Cassa and her friends uncover the mystery of the final infallible prophecy, it may be too late to save the city — or themselves.

Blanca & Roja by Anne-Marie McLemore: The del Cisne girls, Blanca & Roja, have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals. Because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them.

Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz: 17-year-old Lana Torres, who after rescuing a prized dragon, is awarded a spot on her native Puerto Rico’s Blazewrath World Cup team. But the return of the Sire, an ancient dragon, soon threatens to compromise this year’s tournament.

They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera: Set in a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, about two teens who meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.

The Body Market (Wired #2) by Donna Freitas: When Skylar's sister betrays her and opens the Body Market, everyone in the App World is for sale and Skylar resolves to stop her sister and the malevolent market.

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2) by Zoraida Cordova: Teenage bruja Lula Mortiz tries to save her boyfriend, Maks, by cheating Death; however, Lady de la Muerte is not so easily bested.

The Buried by Melissa Grey: After disaster strikes the remote town of Indigo Falls. A horrific event drove the residents underground, into shelters that keep them safe from the danger on the surface. Now, a handful of families inhabit this bunker together, guided by a charismatic leader named Dr. Imogen Moran. 

Cazadora (Wolves of No World #2) by Romina Garber: In this follow-up to Lobizona, Manu and her friends as they continue to fight for a better future.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: Latinx trans teen Yadriel, hoping to release his cousin’s spirit and prove himself as a brujo, accidentally summons the wrong ghost and resident bad boy Julian Diaz, falling in love with him.

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore: Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil.

Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera: 16-year-old Nalah leads the fiercest all-girl crew in Mega City, but when she sets her sights on giving this life up for a prestigious home in Mega Towers, she must decide if she’s willing to do the unspeakable to get what she wants.

Diamond City by Francesca Flores: Pulled from the streets at age twelve and trained to become one of the most powerful assassins in Sumerand, Aina Solis discovers a conspiracy that could rewrite the kingdom's history. 

Dragonblood Ring (Blazewrath Games #2) by Amparo Ortiz: After the Sire’s capture, teen athletes Lana Torres and Victoria Peralta travel to Puerto Rico with their former Blazewrath team. While Lana discovers her roots, nothing fills the void Blazewrath’s cancelation has left in Victoria. But it’s up to their team and the Bureau to protect their dragons.

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro: Xochital is destined to wander the desert alone. Her one desire: to share her heart with a kindred spirit. One night, Xo’s wish is granted—in the form of Emilia, the cold and beautiful daughter of the town’s murderous mayor. But when the two set out on a magical journey across the desert, they find their hearts could be a match… if only they can survive the nightmare-like terrors that arise when the sun goes down.

Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria: A contemporary fantasy about two sisters, Dani and Eden Rivera, who were raised to be fierce dragon slayers but end up on opposite sides of the impending war when one sister forms an unlikely, magical bond with a dragon.

The First 7 (The Last 8 #2) by Laura Pohl:  After leaving Earth, now devastated by an alien attack, and exploring the galaxy, Clover Martinez and her fellow teen survivors return home to find crystal formations in the soil that are threatening to destroy the planet, and a colony of survivors who are not who they seem.

Five Midnights by Ann Davila Cardinal: If Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre can survive each other’s company, together they can solve a series of grisly murders sweeping though Puerto Rico. But the clues lead them out of the real world and into the realm of myths and legends.

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante: To have her family’s asylum request accepted, 17-year-old Marisol participates in a risky experiment to become a grief keeper, taking another’s grief into her own body to save a life.

The Healer by Donna Freitas: Manifesting astonishing healing powers that cause some people to consider her a saint, Marlena Oliveria struggles with edicts that prevent her from attending school, having friends and falling in love when she meets a boy who makes her question what she is willing to sacrifice.

Hollywood Witch Hunter by Valerie Tejeda: When a coven bent on retaining their youth must sacrifice the beautiful, and rich women of Southern California, a society of witch hunters will try to protect humans from a great evil uprising. 

Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova: As Renata Convida grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom–and end a costly war.

Illusionary (Hollow Crown #2) by Zoraida Córdova: Reeling from betrayal, Renata Convida is a girl on the run. With few options and fewer allies, she reluctantly joins forces with none other than Prince Castian, her most infuriating and intriguing enemy.

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera: In the Bronx, two brothers, Emil and Brighton, get caught up in a magical war generations in the making.

Infinity Reaper (Infinity Cycle #2) by Adam Silvera: Emil and Brighton Rey defied the odds. When Brighton drank the Reaper’s Blood, he believed it would make him invincible, but instead the potion is killing him. In Emil’s race to find an antidote that will not only save his brother but also rid him of his own unwanted phoenix powers, he will have to dig deep into his past lives.

Iron Cast by Destiny Soria: In 1919 Boston, best friends Corinne and Ada perform illegally as illusionists in an infamous gangster's nightclub, using their "afflicted" blood to con Boston's elite, until the law closes in.

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova: Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. . When a curse she performs to rid herself of magic backfires and her family vanishes, she must travel to Los Lagos to get her family back.

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl:  After an alien attack devastates the Earth, pilot and future astronaut Clover Martinez bands with seven other teens to survive. 

Lobizona by Romina Garber: As Manuela Azul uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal… .it’s her entire existence.

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas:  When children start to go missing in the local woods, eighteen-year-old Wendy Darling must face her fears and a past she cannot remember to rescue them in this novel based on Peter Pan.

The Mind Virus (Wired #3) by Donna Freitas:  Skylar Cruz has managed to shut down the body market that her sister Jude opened, and to create a door to allow App World citizens reentry into the Real World. But as tensions between the newly mingling people escalate, she s not sure if it was the right decision after all. Still reeling from Kit’s betrayal, she s not sure of anything anymore.

Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia & Anna-Marie McLemore: Two friends, Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla, one made of stardust and one fighting to save her family’s diner, take on their small town’s 50th annual pageant in the hopes that they can change their town’s destiny, and their own.

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore: Graciela Cristales meets Lock, a boy who was sexually assaulted at the same party as her, and they find their fates unexpectedly intertwined during a month of vanishing trees, enchanted pan dulce, and inherited magic.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera: After enduring his father's suicide, his own suicide attempt, broken friendships, and more in the Bronx projects, Aaron Soto, sixteen, is already considering the Leteo Institute's memory-alteration procedure when his new friendship with Thomas turns to unrequited love.

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera: An Afro-Latinx retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice set in the Bronx. Pheus is a bachata-singing dreamer who falls in love with Eury, a girl who lost everything in Hurricane Maria and is haunted by the trauma—and by an evil spirit.

Nocturna by Maya Motayne: In the Latinx-inspired kingdom of Castallan, face-changing thief Finn Voy and grief-stricken Prince Alfehr must race to vanquish a dark magic they have unleashed.

Oculta (A Forgery of Magic #2) by Maya Motayne: After joining forces to save Castallan from an ancient magical evil, Alfie and Finn reunite once again to preserve Castallan’s hopes for peace with Englass. But will they be able to stop sinister foes before a new war threatens their kingdom?

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda: Tuck Durante, a shipraider, and Lana Gray, a curator, must work together to try to rescue a space capsule hijacked by nightmarish creatures who kill with a scream.

Rated by Melissa Grey: For the students at the prestigious Maplethorpe Academy, every single thing they do is reflected in their Ratings System. But when an act of vandalism sullies the front doors of the school, it sets off a chain reaction that will shake the lives of six special students – and the world beyond.

Sanctuary by Abby Sher & Paola Mendoza: In a near future dystopian America set 2030, 16-year-old Vail and her brother must escape a xenophobic government to find sanctuary in California.

The Savage Dawn (Girl at Midnight #3) by Melissa Grey: A darkness has entered the world and the Dragon Prince is wreaking havoc wherever she goes. With the war upon her, Echo must use every bit of her firebird powers or risk losing those she holds dear. 

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda & Valynne E. Maetani: A contemporary fantasy set in Japan, about Shinto temple priestess Kira Fujikawa, who must seek the aid of seven demons in order to protect her village and the world from an ancient evil. 

Shadow City (The City of Diamond and Steel #2) by Francesa Flores: Aina Solís has fought her way to the top of criminal ranks in the city of Kosín by wresting control of an assassin empire owned by her old boss, Kohl. But Kohl will do anything to get his empire back.

The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2) by Melissa Grey: With the firebird awakened, the war has become even more dangerous for Echo and her friends. There is a darkness spreading too and staying in hiding might not be enough to keep them alive. 

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older: When her summer plans are interrupted by supernatural phenomena, Puerto Rican teen Sierra Santiago finds herself in a battle with the killer targeting her family of shadowshapers who believes she is hiding their greatest secret.

Shadowhouse Fall (Shadowshaper #2) by Daniel Jose Older: While working on her shadowshaping skills, Sierra Santiago is beginning to think she may need all the skill she can summon because it seems that when she channeled hundreds of spirits through herself in order to defeat Wick, she woke up something very powerful and very unfriendly and put her family and friends at risk.

Shadowshaper Legacy (Shadowshaper #3) by Daniel Jose Older: Sierra Santiago and the shadowshapers have been split apart, but a war is brewing among the houses. As old fates tangle with new powers, Sierra will have to harness the Deck of Worlds and confront her family’s past if she has any hope of saving the future and everyone she loves.

Shutter by Courtney Alameda: When a routine assignment goes awry, 17-year-old ghost hunter Micheline Helsing is infected with a curse and on the run, pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, with only seven days to exorcise the entity or be destroyed body and soul. 

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland: A Mexican American teenage girl discovers profound connections between immigration, folklore, and alien life, when a spacecraft crashes in front of her car…and it’s carrying her long-lost mom, who’s very much alive.

They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera: Set in a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, about two teens who meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry: Loosely inspired by the story of King Lear and his daughters, set in San Antonio, Texas, following the Torres sisters, struggling to escape their tyrannical father’s claustrophobic world while dealing with the loss of their eldest sister, whose troubling death continues to haunt—perhaps even literally—the loved ones left behind.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson: While investigating the supposed suicides of her best friend, Riley, and mean girls June and Dayton, 16-year-old Wiccan Mila Flores accidentally brings them back to life.

Unplugged by Donna Freitas: When she moves from the Virtual World to the Real one, Skylar Cruz discovers that her body is both exquisite and valuable -- a dangerous combination in a place where bodies are sought after in sinister ways.

Wayward Witch (Brooklyn Brujas #3) by Zoraida Cordova:  Rose Mortiz begins to discover the scope of her powers, the troubling truth about her father’s past, and the sacrifices he made to save her sisters. But if Rose wants to return home so she can repair her broken family, she must figure out how to heal the land of Adas, a fairy realm hidden in the Caribbean Sea, first.

The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore: Although Lace Paloma knows all about the feud between the Palomas and the Corbeaus, she finds herself falling for Cluck Corbeau when he saves her life while both families are performing in the same town.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia: When she is asked to spy for a resistance group working to bring equality to Medio, Daniela Vargas, a student at the Medio School for Girls, questions everything she's worked for.

We Unleash the Merciless Storm (We Set the Dark on Fire #2) by Tehlor Kay Mejia: La Voz operative Carmen Santos is forced to choose between the girl she loves, Dani, and the success of the rebellion she’s devoted her life to.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: As odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel's skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they're willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore: A novel of magical realism, the Nomeolvides women have tended the lust estate grounds of La Pradera which they’ve grown for generations, until the reemergence of a family curse starts to makes the men they love disappear, again.

[hb-writes]

For Old and Young Alike - Pt. 1

Summary: 1913 in the Little Lady Blinder universe. Clara has been saving up for the perfect Christmas gift for her family and enlists Freddie Thorne’s assistance in getting to Rackham’s Department Store to purchase it.  

Inspired by this anon request: What about a little blurb set around Christmas time when Clara is younger maybe just before the boys go off to war, she has been saving her pocket money for ages to buy all her siblings and polly a little gift and she’s so excited to give them to her family x

Featuring: Tommy Shelby, Freddie Thorne, and Clara Shelby

To Freddie Thorne, the fact that little Clara Shelby had requested his help with a secret mission, whispering in his ear after supper and tugging him up from his chair to find a bit of privacy from the rest of the Shelbys, brought a prideful smirk to his lips.

"Don't you mind, Thomas," Clara said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tugged Freddie along when her older brother questioned the maneuver.

Tommy opened his mouth, ready to protest when Freddie spoke first, smirking. "The lady said don't you mind, Thomas."

Freddie followed after the girl, the five-year-old repeating the sentiment once more over her shoulder for good measure. It brought Tommy the slightest bit of annoyance, or maybe it was jealousy, but he stayed quiet as his best mate and best girl headed up the stairs without him.

Freddie leaned back against the door to the bedroom Clara shared with Finn. "So, what can I help you with, Miss Clara?"

"It's a secret," she said, whispering despite the closed door. "I can't tell you unless you promise to—"

Freddie smirked. "I'll keep your secret."

Clara nodded and handed him a flyer stowed in the pocket of her sweater. It advertised a board game, the tattered paper folded so many times it took him a moment to flatten out the creases to read it properly.

Clara had been at Rackham's with Ada when she saw the display, on a trip that took place nearly eight months ago now. She'd been looking at the advertisement and saving every coin she could collect ever since.

"I wanna buy it for them, for Christmas," Clara said as Freddie's eyes scanned the paper.

Freddie glanced up at her, a gentle snort coming out of him as he smiled. Clara Shelby was far more similar to her brother Thomas than people thought and the idea of a Shelby child going out of their way to buy something frivolous for the family, something like a top hat and a coconut, or in this case, a board game, was a bit nostalgic for Freddie. But he took comfort in the fact that unlike her brother, Clara wouldn't get beaten with a frying pan for thinking they all deserved a bit of joy, something more than what was truly needed.

Clara pointed at the paper. "It says it's 'new and fa-fass-faa–"

"Fascinating," Freddie offered.

"Fas-cin-at-ing," she repeated, her mouth careful of each individual syllable. "A game for old and young alike," she said.

A game for old and young alike. The notion echoed in Freddie's head. It was also a game that railed against the evils of capitalism, a game meant to warn the lower classes of society against the dangers of capitalism, a game to demonstrate how rents impoverished tenants and enriched stodgy property owners. Freddie only thought those sentiments to himself, another smirk coming to his lips as he imagined his best mate unwrapping such a gift from his unassuming little sister.

"And Aunt Polly and Arthur and Tommy are old. And Ada and John are in the middle. And Finn and I are young so we can all play together. And maybe you can even play too."

"Maybe," Freddie mused. "How're you intending to pay for this?"

Clara held up a finger before diving across the mattress, slipping an arm into the sliver of space between the wall and the bed, pulling out a small purse, something Freddie recognized as belonging to Ada at one time.

Clara dropped the pouch into his hand, the weight of it not unsubstantial considering she was only five and had no proper form of income.

"Where the hell did you get all this?" Freddie asked as he poured the change into his palm, counting out the coins, nearly enough to amount to a widow's old-age pension for a week, enough to house, feed, and keep an old woman warm for seven days.

"You're not supposed to say that word," Clara answered.

"And you're not supposed to steal."

"I didn't steal it," Clara answered. "I saved it."

"Saved it?"

Clara nodded. Most of the money had been given with the expectation that she'd run off and buy some sweets, a treat for good behavior, and while both twins had diligently gone down to Hinkley's, Clara almost always pocketed her money, only giving in to the aroma four times in the span of eight months. The rest of the money she'd earned from Charlie. While her aunt never paid if she helped out, Clara found that her uncle would often give her a coin if she helped him tidy his house on Watery Lane or worked in the stables with Curly.

"So will you take me?"

"To Rackham's?" Freddie asked. "To buy this game?"

Clara nodded. "And not tell Tommy?"

"You're sure this is what you want?"

Clara nodded. She was absolutely certain that the game was the perfect gift because it was much more than a game. Clara had it in her mind that the Shelby family would have many evenings around the table after dinner. Nights of laughter and playful togetherness that would make Arthur and Tommy and John and Ada want to stick around to pass their time with the twins rather than heading out for an evening on the town. And if there was anything Clara Shelby thought was worth spending her entire savings on, it was that, time together with her family.

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Read more Little Lady Blinder here.

{Part 2}

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🏷: FYI it’s not letting me tag some of you and idk why - sorry!

@beautycinders​

@buckybluebarnes 

@cecii22me​

@lovemissyhoneybee​

@marquelapage​

@midnight-dreams-23​

@mo-onstarrs​

@pollyrepents​

@unicorndetective22

[adalines]

*   an   introduction   to   adaline   ülker

hey   there!   i   go   by   ari   --   i’m   a   twenty - four   year   old   dumbass   who  uses  he  and   him  pronouns.   today   i   will   be   your   guide   on   the   journey   to   understand   who   adaline   ülker   is.  also,  i   was   born   and   raised   in    northern   mexico.  english   is   not   my   first   language,   so   i   apologize   beforehand   for   any   mistakes. 

shh   !   adaline  ülker,   the   twenty - one   year   old   third   year   political  science   major   from   london,  england,   is   known   as   a   diamond   around   here.   she   was   invited   to   join   because   she  won  an  impressive  debate  opposite  a  third  year  on  her  first  year,   and   now,   they’re   here   to   stay.   she   reminds   me   of   jewels  passed  down  through  several  generations,  the  faint,  yet  ever  present  scent  of  chanel  #5,  and  knowing  your  worth.

the  family.

ülker   family.   the   ülkers   have   been   a   prominent   family   in   turkey   for   generations,   in   fact,   they   can   trace   their   family   tree   back   to   turkish   nobility,   and   one   of   the   sultans.   when   the   ottoman   empire   dissolved,   so   did   titles.  nowadays,   the   dynasty   is   mainly   known   for   their   international   businesses,   and   substantial   wealth.         

a   second   son,   cenk   ülker   knew   that   while   the   profits   would   be   evenly   split,   the   chair   as   head   of   the   ulker   dynasty   would   go   to   his   older   brother   when  his   father   passed,   he   decided   he   did   not   want   to   fade   into   the   background.   he   wanted   a   name   for   himself   too.   with   the   charisma,   and   money   to   back   him   up,   it   wasn ‘ t   long   before   he   was   appointed   ambassador   of   the   republic   of   turkey  to   the  united   kingdom.   

only   child.  adem   ülker   was   born   in   london.   he   attended   strathmore   university   in   guildford,   england.   it   is   there   where   he   met   his   wife,   celine   de   beauharnais.   a   french   girl   from   a   well   off   family.  though   details   of   how   and   where   they   met   often   change   when   they   tell   the   story,   their   anniversary   gift   never   changes.   pearls   for   celine,   and  something   encrusted   with   a   garnet   for   adem.

the  individual.

third   child.   only   daughter.   adaline   ülker   is   born   from   the   union   of   garnet   and   pearl.   the  ulkers   are   well   established   in   london ‘ s   high   society.   she   has   never   wanted   for   anything,   nor   has   she   been   encouraged   to   pursue   anything   other   than   being   a   respectable   lady   of   society.

always   well   groomed,   and   put   together.   adaline   tends   to   wear   timeless   clothes   and   accessories.   her   look   can   be   described   as   preppy.   silky   hair   that   curls   at   the   bottom,   headbands,   pleated   skirts,   cashmere   sweaters.  great   grandmother ‘ s   pearls   resting   on   her   neck.   she   gives   importance   to   quality   and   durability   rather   than   trends.

while   her   brothers   were   encouraged   to   dream   big,   and   reach   for   the   stars   ---   adaline   was   encouraged   to   dream   about   her   wedding,   and   her   future   husband.   while   her   brothers   were   instrued   in   the   world   around   them,   she   was   taught   the   difference   between   cream   and   bone   toned   fabric   napkins,   and   the   occasion   that   calls   for   each.

adaline   was   a   pretty   observant   child.   and   if   she   ever   learned   something   growing   up,  is   to   play   her   part,   and   play   the   game.   surrounded   by   her   politician   father,   and   diplomat   grandfather,   she   has   learned   that   you   can   navigate   both   politics,   and   high   society   with   the   same   set   of   rules.

never   show   others   her    true   feelings   or   emotions.   for   they   can   be   used   against   her.   she   behaves   in   a   level   headed,   calculated   way.

there   is   a   drive   in   adaline   that   both   of   her   brothers   lack.   it   stems   from   the   need   to   prove   a   point.   anything   they   can   do,   i   can   do   better.   she   has   the   potential   to   be   someone   in   this   life,   and   she ‘ s   not   going   to   throw  it   away   to   become   someone ‘ s   wife,   like   her   mother   did. 

there   is   a   kinship   amongst   high   society   that   outsiders   will   never   understand.   adaline   tends   to   always   be   well   informed,   and   well   connected.   she   somehow   always   seems   to   know   what's   happening   around   her,   no   matter   how   trivial   it   is.   gossip   is   considered   both   a   weapon   and   a   bonding   tool.

closeness   with   old   money   peers   only.   her   equals.   people   that   belong   in   the   same   circle.   people   who   understand.   as   an   aspiring   politician,   and   an   ulker,   adaline   can   interact   and   maintains   friendships   with   almost   anyyone,   but   she   knows   where   to   draw   the   line   when   it   comes   to   close   friendships.

that   all   being   said,   she   does   have   feelings,   and   a   temper.   when   a   social   inferior   oversteps   boundaries,   she   knows   how   to   put   them   in   place.   on   such   occasions,   being   the   outlet   of   pent   up   emotion,   she   can   be   needlessly   cruel.

she ’ s    the  only  ülker   sibling  to  get  into   strathmore.   that  is,   without   her   father   making   a   call   to   the   dean,   followed   by   a   generous   donation.   as   a   type   a,   she   won ‘ t   take   anything   less   than   a   perfect   report   card.   

the  society. 

generations   of   beauharnais   men   and   women   have   walked   the  hallowed   halls   of   strathmore,   and   there   are   more   than   one   members   up   the   family   tree   that   claim   to   have   spent   some   time   at   the   opal   manor.  

as   children   of   adem   ülker   and   celine   beauharnais,   the   new   generation   of   ülkers   were   under   the   society ‘ s   watchful   eye   as   soon   as   they   stepped   foot   on   campus.   

however,   they   were   quite   unimpressed   with   the   first   two   siblings.   wesley,   the  eldest,   did   not   make   it   through   instruction.   mason   had   been   too   freaked   out   by   the   animal   masks   to   accept   the   invitation.   there   were   not   many   hopes   for   the   third   ülker  -  beauharnais.

as   a   freshman   in   strathmore,   adaline   had   to   beat   the   name   her   brothers   had   made   for   the   family.   very   laissez - faire.   wesley   a   brutish   jock,    and   mason   some   sort   of   indie   stoner.   she   joined   every   club   that   would   look   good   in   her   curriculum.   some   of   those   clubs   she   didn ‘ t   necessarily   care   about   that   much,   but   some   others   she   was   very   passionate   about. 

it   was   in   one   of   these   later   clubs   that   she   first   met   her   predecessor.   the   debate   team.   adaline   was   one   of   the   few   first   years   who   joined   the   club,  and   the   only   first   year   to   win   opposite   a   senior   member   of   the   club. 

the   passion,   and   eloquence   on   the   subject   she   won   at   was  what   put   her   back   on   the   watch   list.   adaline   ülker,   back   on   the   radar.    

all   of   last   year   was   a   lot.   under   her   diamond   predecessor ‘ s   tutelage   she   navigated,   and   flourished   into   the   society ‘ s   customs.   she   considers   it   an   honour   to   have   learned   what   she   knows   from   her   predecessor,   and   to   continue   with   the   diamond   legacy.   she   loves   the   society,   and   what   it  means.   you   are   better   than   everyone   else. 

this   year   she ‘ s   back.   she ‘ s   back   as   a   fully   fledged   member   of   the   opal   society   and   she   couldn ‘ t   be   more   proud.   she   has   plans   for   her   prodigy,   and   she   has   a   vision   for   the   diamond   lineage.

it   probably   is   no   secret   that   adaline   has   wanted   to   become   a   diadem   since   her   first   year   as   a   prodigy,   when   she   learned   what   a   diadem   is.   now  that  poppy  is  . . .  gone  ,  she   knows   that   she   has   what   it   takes,   and   will   do   what   is   needed   in   order   to   secure   it.

as   for   the  new   prodigies,   beware.   she   believes   that   only   the   best   of   the   best   deserve   a   spot   amongst   the   opals,   so   prove   your   worth.   money,   and   status,   along   with   networking   might   influence   her   opinion   ---   but   that   is   not   all   that   it   comes   down   to.

connections.  i  would  just  like  to  say  that  these  are  the  connections  i  wrote  for  the  application,  and  that  more  connections  will  be  coming  soon  !

the   circlet.   while   i’m   not   sure   what   personalities   adaline   will   encounter,   i’m   very   sure   that   most   probably   not   everyone   will   like   her,   and   she   definitely   will   not   like   everyone.   however,   being   a   part   of   the   same   circlet   does   hold   value   to   her.   while   you   may   not   always   like   your   family,   you ‘ re   still  family.

the   prodigy.   this   person   may   not   be   a   social   equal   to   their   opal.   surprisingly,   they   were   not   chosen   as   a   prodigy   because   of   their   name,   or   social   standing,   but   because  adaline   recognized   something   of   herself  in   this   person.   talent,   and   ambition.   adaline   has   taken   it   upon   herself   to   polish   this   prodigy,  her   very   own   diamond   in   the   rough   and   prepare   them   for   when   they   become   an   opal.   she   wants   make   them   a   better   version   of   themselves   (   which   is   to   say,   a   clone   of   her.  )

becoming   diadem.   .   with   poppy   out   of   the   picture,   this   is   up   in   the   air   and   up   for   grabs.   which   is   very   convenient   for   the   diamond.   maybe   people   think   that   ada   had   something   to   do   with   poppy ‘  s   disappearance.   or   maybe   someone   else   in   the   circlet   has   the   same   ambition,   and   it   could   become,   well,   politics.   

the   ruby.   you   may   be   wondering,   how   does   the   ruby   tie   into   all   of   this?   well,   adaline   tries   to   be   on   the   best   of   terms   with   everyone   in   her   circlet.   after   all,   they   have   to   have   each other ' s   backs,   right?   that ‘ s   why   when   she   inevitably   finds   out   about   their   little   secret,   diamond   is   quick   to   sympathize   with   ruby   ---   she   understands,   or   so   she  says.   the   heart   wants   what   it   wants.   she   is   also   quick   to   let   her   fellow   opal   know   that   what   her   heart   wants   is   to   make   sure   she   can   count   on   their   vote   to   become   diadem.      

[demioslies]

&* @soleildansobscurite // cont

“ Vincent… You’re shutting the idea down before I even have a chance to say anything! “ Ada raised her voice ever so lightly as she spoke. The Vessalius girl was stubborn, she could take a lot and be constantly running against walls of rejection and yet she would continue running. “ Is it because you’re a Nightray? Or a Baskerville? Because I do not care! Your name… it has nothing to do with who you are! “ Hands reached out for him, fingers getting ahold of the sleeve of his jacket.

“ I want… I want to be by your side Vincent. I want to help you be strong! I want to be someone you can trust and rely on! I want to let you see parts of the world you have never experianced before! “

Tears formed within emerald eyes, and her grip on the fabric grew weaker. Gaze slowly lowered, staring for a moment at her hands, and the sleeve she was holding onto. She became quiet. There were so many things she wanted to say to him. She wanted him to know. Her feelings, she always had been too shy to share what she truly felt.

Of course… she knew she wasn’t secretive when it came to her liking him. But there was so much more to it than just a crush. She cared deeply about him. She wanted to be the one who could catch him if he falls. She did not want to ever leave his side. But somehow… she just didn’t know how to bring herself to say more.

she was such a foolish girl, pushing this idea when it was... when it couldn’t work out. vincent knew that it couldn’t, not without her suffering more than he wanted her to. this was why he had told gil to tell her that he was dead, so that she would mourn him and then move on.

he should’ve known that she wouldn’t follow his plans, when she had challenged them time and time before.

keeping his back to her, vincent tried to keep himself from shaking. or worse, turning to let her hold him once more, like he knew she would do gladly. no, he needed to stay strong and keep from losing his control. it was for the best, for everyone involved. even if the others thought he was stupid for cutting off one of the few people who actually cared about him. she didn’t understand, and her words were making that abundantly clear.

“you think being a baskerville is just a name...” his voice is quiet, words spoken half to himself rather than to the girl clinging to his sleeve. ”and that is why this can never happen.” could he watch her die? he wasn’t entirely sure, but he was fairly certain that he wouldn’t be able to walk in the society she was still a part of in another decade or two.

a shake of his head, blond hair flying around his face, and vincent raised his other arm to rub at annoyingly itchy eyes. no, he couldn’t cry again, not now. ”lady ada, you need to forget about me. go, find a man who can give you a good life, who can support you.” who can live a natural lifespan with you.

[rebelsxster]

          ━━ ⟢ ⦂ ⋰ * ✧ ⟨ alicia vikander. cis-female. she/her. 29. ⟩ we welcome adaline beesbury to king’s landing , the lady of house beesbury. keep an eye out for their rebellious nature, they tend to cover it up by acting caring. rumor has it they are for to the peace treaty, and their loyalties lie with house beesbury. you’ll know it’s them when you get flashes of running boots hidden underneath long and beautiful gowns, a small golden ring that's never leaving her finger – a memorabilia from her parents, clinking of swords deep in the keep's gardens.

— BASIC INFORMATION

Full Name: Adaline Eryn Beessbury

Nicknames: Ada, Addy, Lena

Age: 29

Gender/Pronouns: cis-female, she/her

Title: lady of house Beesbury

— PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Eye Colour: dark brown

Hair Colour: dark brown

Build: slim

Height: 5 ft 5½ in or 166 cm

Face Claim: Alicia Vikander

— PERSONALITY

Positive Traits: strong-minded, caring, adventurous, loyal

Negative Traits: rebellious, impulsive, stubborn, quick-tempered

— FAMILY

Father: unknown (biological), Cyrus Beesbury (adoptive) †

Mother: unknown (biological), Jasmina Beesbury nee Florent (adoptive) †

Siblings: Xavion Beesbury (brother, adoptive), Alistar Beesbury (sister, adoptive)

Other relatives: Daelon Beesbury (nephew), Isabaelda Beesbury nee Velaryon (sister-in-law)

Significant other: Willas Marbrand (betrothed)

— BIOGRAPHY

          Adaline was born to a single mother, her father had never been in the picture, and unfortunately she doesn’t know why, because she was too young to understand and her mother passed away too soon. Since she had no other relatives Adaline was left alone.

          She lived in the orphanage for a few years before the Beesburys took her in. For the first few months she was a shy, quiet kid, who barely talked. She much rather preferred to be on her own or do some reading in the library. But as time went on she felt a bit more relaxed, a bit more like at home, that’s when she started to open up and talk more, but with that her troublemaker nature was revealed. Adaline quite often disappeared along with children of their servants or children from the nearby houses and played games with them, hid in the woods or climbed trees. And she came home with dirty clothes and scraped knees. She couldn’t keep this up for long, her father was getting angry and tired from her shenanigans, but that didn’t stop her from sneaking out of the keep and away from everyone entirely. She just hid it better.

          Adaline was already a part of the Beesbury family when Xavion was adopted. He was a little bit older than her and their father seemed to like him a lot, so she ended up looking up to Xavion. One of the things she was interested in was swordsmanship. She sometimes used to watch Xavion practice - she took a book and pretended to read it near his training grounds. It looked so amazing and fun, she wanted to try, but nobody let her. It was not ladylike, said everyone, and it just angered her. If he could do it, why couldn’t she? What if she didn’t want to be ladylike? So she sneaked out to the training grounds when it was dark, but soon she realized she had no idea what she was doing. Adaline needed someone to teach her proper technique. It took her some time, but she found someone, who could teach her in secret.

          As years passed she became more and more against the rules society had set up for her and for women in general. She became a pain in her father’s backside, because she rebelled against the rules and wanted to carve her own path in life. And then came the betrothal. She had no saying in it. It wasn’t like Adaline was against marriage, she, in fact, wished to be married someday, but not for political reasons. Her dream was to get married for love. And meeting and finding out just what kind of man the oldest Marbrand son was she knew there would be no love. Adaline would be just a pretty wife of an unyielding and harsh knight commander. She had to meet him just once to know they wouldn’t work.

          The news of Jayme Marbrand’s passing came as a shock, although secretly she felt a little relieved. She wouldn’t have to marry him! That was until she found out that the plans had changed and it would be Willas Marbrand, who she’d be marrying.

[m3-mianbo]

Is 'Lady Ada's Secret Society' any good?

[ireneelsewhere]

Core course week: Gothenburg, Sweden

After three weeks of settling into a normal routine in Stockholm, we all went off on our first study tour. My core course, Forensic Psychology, took a 3-hour train to Gothenburg, Sweden, but for our long tour week in October we’ll be going to Scotland. The point of core course week and the long study tour is to immerse yourself in the subject material that you’re presumably most interested in. It’s not only a chance to place classroom material into real-world context by going on field studies around Europe but also an opportunity for the class to bond over shared cultural experiences as we all travel together. 

In Gothenburg, we stayed at the Spoton Hostel (I shared a room with 5 other girls, i’ve been told i gently snore and i’m sorry ok). Our main mode of transportation was their infamous tram system, which run on cable lines and honestly kinda look like they don’t really value human life? because they literally just pummel down the streets with jerky brake systems (my host dad told me that some people are run over by the trams each year because they weren’t paying attention or they slipped and fell at an unfortunate time.......thankfully I learned this after I got back from Gothenburg). 

DIS provided two meals a day - we ate breakfast at the hostel and either ate a group lunch or dinner. Not sure how the administration breaks down parts of our tuition but DIS definitely did not skimp out on our food. I thought we were going to survive off of PB&J’s and Chips Ahoy (bc that’s how school trips like to go, i’m looking at u @vanderbilt asb) but we actually ate at the fanciest places, with at least two courses and sometimes wine/beer. Truly amazing, so thank you DIS from the bottom of my stomach.  (I registered as a vegetarian so all meal descriptions will only be relevant to the veggies. Meat eaters got a lot of lamb.)

Long post ahead but lol honestly all my posts are long. 

Day 1: Monday, 9/10/2018

Woke up at 5am to catch the 6:40am train. This day was actually my best friend’s birthday and I was lowkey sad I couldn’t be with her (if you know us in real life, then you know we’re annoyingly inseparable), but days like this had me extra thankful for inventions like snapchat and facetime that make it easier to stay connected even when you’re thousands of miles apart. (I actually got to watch her open my present while I was on the train to Gothenburg bc her boyfriend facetime’d me! Hehe ily ivy)

Our first field study of the week was to Halvvägshuset Göteborg (Halfway House), a non-profit organization designed as the last stop in an inmate’s rehabilitation process right before they finish their sentence. They provide resources to help update individuals who’ve been in prison for a long time on the modern ways of living, such as using smartphones or paying your bills online. Individuals who enter the halfway house get their own bedroom, the freedom for family members to visit, and access to telephones and computers, in exchange for holding down a job and earning income. They get the opportunity to settle into a normal routine with (some) freedom and to start feeling like a person again rather than as inmate #23420.  The lady who spoke to us was the most genuine, kind-hearted woman, and emphasized that in the end we’re all human beings and sometimes people commit crimes due to their situation rather than due to some inherent evil that we like to use as a convenient explanation for crime (see strain theory). She also said that it’s less costly for society to help reintegrate these individuals (assuming they are willing/able/ready) rather than to further isolate them and prevent them from contributing to society. Overall, I think we all left the halfway house understanding the powers of empathy and rehabilitation a bit more. 

Later, we went to the Boule Bar and learned how to play Pétanque. It’s a European sport where you throw boules (balls), aiming at a target jack. 

(The target jack is the tiny orange sphere in the right pic. As u can see, most of our aims sucked.)

(Dinner, at the same place @BouleBar, included an incredible round of salad starters; the vegetarian entree was falafels with large couscous. Honestly this was probably my favorite meal out of the ones DIS provided!)

Day 2: Tuesday, 9/11/2018

Tuesday was busy because we had field studies in both the morning and afternoon. We went to CLIP, a research unit for Criminal, Legislative, and Investigative Psychology, and learned about the current research on deception detection, eyewitness memory, and child sexual abuse from PhD candidates at the Göteborg Universitet. Later, we went to the ADA Women’s Shelter, a feminist non-profit organization that provides support to abused women and their children. We weren’t able to see the actual shelter because the location is kept secret from the public, to protect the women inside, but we were able to listen to a presentation from probably the most bad ass woman I’ve ever seen in real life. Think “the girl with the dragon tattoo” with a #nastywoman attitude. Her passion for her work was contagious - I left feeling inspired and very motivated to combat the patriarchal society that we live in. 

(Dinner @SpisaMatbar. Vegetarian entree was salad with oyster mushrooms. Dessert was chocolate creme brulee. So good, ugh.)

(Cheers to core course week. School-sponsored wine is the best kinda wine.)

Day 3: Wednesday, 9/12/2018

Our last day in Gothenburg was reserved for fun activities - no more field studies in Gothenburg! We went to Prison Island, which honestly WAS SO FUN i can’t believe no one has capitalized on this recreational business opportunity in the states yet. It’s kinda like an escape room, except there were many rooms and each room had a challenge that you had to solve based on a combination of wit, technical skill, and physical ability. The place was more high tech than it looked, filled with motion detectors and tiny lasers that, for example, make sure you’re not touching the floor when you’re not supposed to. The challenges required lots of teamwork, as perhaps one person needed to be in a certain part of the room shouting out instructions that only they can see to another person who’s in a pitch black tunnel trying to find hidden buttons to press. 

My team included Maya, Megan, and Meiling (our teacher) and we ended up being the winning team! Meiling later told our class that because she already played the game in previous semesters, she purposefully tried to be dead weight and not help us for the challenges... but there was a room full of bouncy balls that we all hesitated to dive into exCEPT for her. Meiling dove in headfirst to retrieve clues. So honestly, she was our MVP.  

(Maya & Megan with a maze that you have to physically tilt.)

(Maya in the Shark Room. Look at her balancing on that teeny tiny rock!! trying to press a button at the top! Our rock climbing hero!)

Prison Island has been one of my favorite activities done in Sweden so far, and I’ll probably try to visit the location in Stockholm as well. Highly highly recommend!

(Lunch at the cutest French restaurant: Brasserie Lipp. I scratched out the guys’ faces because Europe is serious about their data privacy and i don’t wanna get sued ok)

(It was baked zucchini. @BrasserieLipp)

Day 4: Thursday, 9/13/2018

Back in Stockholm. We went to the Center for Psychiatric Research at the Karolinska Institutet to learn about the role of psychologists in assessing the mental state of offenders. Our afternoon field study got cancelled, so for the rest of the day we debriefed everything we did, ending our week’s schedule a day early. Overall I think our class learned a lot and we all bonded with each other - which were exactly the goals of core course week :) 

Day 5: Friday, 9/14/2018

Since our class was the only one to get Friday off (haha suckas), some of us went to Grona Lund, the amusement park in Stockholm. It was the perfect end to core course week! Now, I just have to mentally prepare myself for six hours of sitting in a classroom on Monday again.....

Tack for coming on this journey with me. It’s been fun so far,

Irene 

[sajian-bagus]

Dalam narasi teori konspirasi, Illuminati disebut-sebut sebagai salah satu perkumpulan rahasia atau secret societies yang eksistensi serta aktivitasnya sangat tertutup dari pengetahuan publik dan orang-orang yang bukan menjadi anggota. Kerahasiaan itu dijunjung tinggi, sehingga sulit rasanya untuk membuktikan keberadaan perkumpulan itu serta aktivitas yang mereka lakukan. Mengingat aktivitas mereka sangat tertutup dan penuh rahasia, maka, banyak pegiat teori konspirasi yang menuduh organisasi itu terlibat dalam sejumlah aktivitas berbau kriminal, misalnya, pembunuhan. Tak tanggung-tanggung, korban yang dibunuh merupakan figur-figur ternama, yang -- menuru kaca mata mereka -- membahayakan sifat kerahasiaan, keberlangsungan, atau agenda organisasi. Dari berbagai contoh, berikut 3 orang terkenal yang -- dalam narasi teori konspirasi -- diduga kuat tewas oleh Illuminati, seperti Liputan6.com kutip dari Toptenz, Minggu (14/1/2018). 1. JFK Sebuah bingkai foto yang ditandatangani mantan Presiden AS John F. Kennedy kepada Ratu Elizabeth II Inggris jelang pameran Hadiah Kerajaan di Istana Buckingham, London (20/07). (AFP PHOTO / Tolga Akmen) Pembunuhan Presiden AS John F Kennedy (JFK) dan motif di baliknya merupakan salah satu kasus pembunuhan yang paling diperdebatkan dalam sejarah politik modern. Ia menjabat sebagai presiden AS pada periode yang penuh dengan hiruk pikuk politik di dalam dan luar negeri, salah satunya adalah Perang Vietnam. Terkait Vietnam, Presiden Kennedy harus membuat keputusan penting, yakni, mengikuti saran para jenderalnya untuk mengintervensi guna menghalangi Vietnam agar tak bergeser ke komunisme dan Uni Soviet. Atau, tak melakukan intervensi sama sekali. Seperti dikutip dari Toptenz, keputusan JFK memposisikan AS dalam Perang Vietnam diduga sebagai faktor yang melatarbelakangi pembunuhannya pada 1963. Kennedy diduga ragu untuk melibatkan militer AS secara penuh dalam Perang Vietnam. Hal itu menjadi kabar buruk bagi para industrialis militer yang meraup keuntungan dari produksi barang-barang untuk mendukung kepentingan perang. Maka, pada konteks itulah kelompok rahasia Illuminati -- yang anggotanya diketahui sebagai industrialis militer tajir kelas kakap dunia -- terlibat, menurut narasi para pegiat teori konspirasi. Mereka mendalangi pembunuhan JFK untuk menjamin agar AS terlibat secara penuh dalam Perang Vietnam. Tujuannya, menjamin agar para industrialis itu tetap memperoleh keuntungan. Apakah benar adanya? Hanya waktu yang bisa menjawab. 2. John Lennon John Lennon dan Yoko Ono di Amsterdam pada 1969. (Sumber Wikimedia Commons) John Lennon diduga menjadi bagian yang kematiannya dikendalikan atau menjadi agenda teori konspirasi Illuminati. Bagaimana tidak, di puncak popularitasnya bersama The Beatles, Lennon dibunuh David Chapman yang mengaku sebagai fansnya. Ia meninggal pada 8 Desember 1980 di tengah INS (immigration and Naturalization Service) berupaya untuk mendeportasinya dari Amerika Serikat ke negara asalnya, Inggris. FBI juga ditengarai melakukan pengawasan ketat pada dirinya. Menurut teori konspirasi yang dikutip dari Top Tenz, pembunuhannya diduga terjadi di bawah kendali agenda Illuminati. Nyawa Lennon dirasa harus dilenyapkan karena ia telah melakukan kesalahan besar, yakni menentang tindak kejahatan dan peperangan yang pada waktu itu merupakan bagian dari kepentingan politik industri militer. 3. Pembunuhan Putri Diana Putri Diana dan Pangeran Charles pada 1986 (Reuters) Putri Diana tutup usia secara dramatis. Kala itu, pada 31 Agustus 1997, ia meninggal dunia dalam sebuah kecelakaan mobil di terowongan Paris, Prancis. Nyawa kekasihnya, Dodi Al Fayed, juga ikut melayang. Di tengah duka akibat kepergian Diana, teori konspirasi menyeruak terkait kecelakaan yang merenggut nyawa sang Lady. Informasi resmi yang beredar, Mercedes-Benz W140 maut--mobil yang ditumpangi Diana--celaka akibat kesalahan sopir, Henri Paul, yang mengemudikan mobil dengan kecepatan tinggi dan dalam kondisi mabuk. Sebagian lagi menyalahkan para paparazi. Namun, tak sedikit orang meyakini nyawa Princess of Wales itu melayang karena dibunuh. Ayah Dodi, Mohamed Al Fayed, mengklaim kecelakaan tersebut disengaja oleh sopir mobil Fiat Uno dan pengendara motor yang membutakan mata Paul dengan kilatan kamera. Menurut Fayed, Keluarga Kerajaan, badan intelijen Inggris dan Amerika Serikat, ada di balik kejadian tragis itu. Diduga, hal itu untuk mencegah Diana menikahi seorang Muslim. Namun, pernyataan itu dibantah pihak istana juga Ken Wharfe, mantan pengawal Putri Diana. Sementara itu, menurut para pegiat teori konspirasi, 'tangan-tangan misterius' Illuminati diduga terlibat dalam tewasnya Putri Diana. Diana diduga terlibat dalam sebuah percekcokan dengan anggota Illuminati yang memiliki hierarki tinggi di dalam Kerajaan Inggris. Ia juga dicap sebagai 'pemberontak' dan penentang kemapanan tatanan organisasi oleh si terduga anggota Illuminati itu. Alasan itulah yang membuat Diana diduga tewas oleh organisasi tersebut.

[adavalenkova]

The Muse’s Profile - Carter (Supernatural OC)

Fandoms

Supernatural (main)

From Dusk Till Dawn

Atomic Blonde

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

General

Name: Ada Carter-Trevelyan

(Formal English: Lady Ada Trevelyan)

(Formal Russian: Ada Erastovna Valenkova)

Goes by: Dr Carter

Title: Baroness Trevelyan, a minor aristocrat owning a small estate in Porthzennor, Cornwall, encompassing a stately home and a lighthouse. Other assets on the land, including a farm and a tin mine, were sold off in the 1890s to cover the family’s debts. The family acquired the double barrelled surname, Carter-Trevelyan, around this time, after marrying into a wealthy merchant family to avoid losing the estate entirely.

Born: August 1st 1924, in a lighthouse near St Ives, Cornwall

Species: human/zombie

Age at time of story: 92

Apparent age: 43

Relationships

Parents: Marian Elizabeth Carter-Trevelyan, Erast Nikolaievich Valenkov

Other notable family: Lord Arthur Percival Carter-Trevelyan, grandfather, Irene and Varya Stepanova, cousins

Romantic interests: Ketch, though “romantic” is debatable

Sexual interests: Ketch

Friendships: none, though she develops some degree of platonic affection for Dean

Allies: Dean, though somewhat shakily. Ketch, even moreso.

Enemies: Alastair, somewhat, though she generally takes a neutral stance on demons; the Thule Society

Appearance

Hair: black, generally kept long but with an undercut to disguise the bald patches resulting from radiation poisoning

Eyes: grey

Complexion: pale, freckles

Markings: several scars covering most of her back and chest, with scar tissue replacing her left nipple, white scar tissue on her left upper arm, frequent bruises and puncture marks on her inner elbows that have variable rates of healing, left ring finger is slightly crooked following a broken knuckle

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 130lb

Build: toned, but almost sickly thin due to the effects of radiation sickness, small chest and narrow hips that give her an almost “boyish” shape

Tastes

Attire: casual, typically jeans/tank tops/combat boots, favors black

Drives: black Jeep Renegade, later a black Chevrolet Colorado

Music: Celtic/folk, classical, swing, hard rock, also very fond of Vera Lynn

Food: can taste very little due to nerve damage, only able to taste hot food such as chillis or curry

Drink (soft): coffee, but has to be strong and black for her to taste it, able to taste tea with a preference for Yorkshire Gold

Drink (alcoholic): Stolichnaya vodka, sometimes Glenfiddich Scotch

Colors: black, navy, hunter green

Hobbies (rarely practiced anymore): playing piano, boxing, fencing, hunting, horse riding, Cossack dancing (from her father), old time dancing (from her mother)

Hobbies (still practiced): shooting, open water swimming, reading

Likes: living in America, the seaside, and anything that makes her nostalgic for her childhood

Dislikes: sex, though she does like the power play of it; hypocritically, posh or upper class elites; taking orders; socialising; any of the organisations she used to work for, such as MI6, the BMoL, or the CIA; basically, anything that reminds her of the parts of her past she’s ashamed of

Skills

Former profession: lighthouse keeper, spy (WWII and Cold War), medical student

Current profession: demon doctor, alchemist

Practical skills: traditional boxing, horse riding and hunting (learned from her father), fencing, hand-to-hand combat, ranged weapons, sharpshooting, combat medicine, Western medicine (specialising in cardiology), Middle German and English alchemy, medicinal alchemy, torture

Language skills: fluent in English, Russian and German, conversational in Dutch and French, knows a small amount of Cornish

Preferred weapons: fists, knuckle dusters, handguns in combat. For torture, she’s master of the scalpel.

Special abilities: above average strength as a result of the formula, accelerated healing, immunity to almost all diseases

Personality

Traits: cynical, threatening and sarcastic with a dry sense of humor, she can be arrogant and frequently overestimates her own abilities, with terrible consequences. She projects an image of being cold and uncaring, but on occasion her inner feelings of compassion and affection inadvertently show through. Once established, those feelings are often intense and set in stone.

Qualities: assertive, confident, loyal, perceptive, smart, resilient, unprejudiced, principled, fair

Flaws: abrasive, complacent, jealous, vindictive, wrathful, selfish, cruel, manipulative, often fails to meet her own moral standards

Strengths: her intellect, physical strength and skills, excellent poker face, strategic ability, and good judgment of character

Weaknesses: arrogance, complacency, reluctance to admit her own vulnerabilities, easily manipulated once those vulnerabilities are found, emotional dishonesty, sometimes cowardice

Morality: she believes torture is justified in the case of a) punishing terrible people, or b) serving the greater good, though it isn’t clear how much she truly subscribes to this belief at heart. As of the 21st century, she chooses to harvest blood from demons so as to avoid torturing humans unless absolutely necessary. Her personal philosophy is that the worst of humanity is worse than any monster, and includes herself in that as having the capacity to do terrible things.

Fears: her own past

Triggers: corkscrews, the specific phrase “Was ist dein name?”

Religious views: none

Political affiliation: after benefitting greatly from Nye Bevan’s NHS following the war but suffering under a communist regime while undercover in the USSR, she leans cautiously left, though politics has little direct effect on her anymore

Alignment: true neutral, leaning good/evil or lawful/chaotic at different times in her life

Sexual orientation: asexual, but with a Machiavellian attitude towards sex where she views it as a game for power rather than a pursuit for pleasure

History

Her father was a Russian Cossack who fled to England following the revolution, being wanted by the Bolsheviks for trying (and failing) to defend the life of a Russian aristocrat. The aristocrat in question (having married into the Russian aristocracy) was the niece of an English Baron and retired naval captain who owned land in Cornwall, who agreed to take in Erast and permitted him to live in the lighthouse on his land as a gesture of gratitude after hearing his story.

The Baron’s daughter, politically active suffragette Marian Carter-Trevelyan, eventually fell in love with Erast and the pair married in July 1923, with Ada arriving a year later.

Baron Trevelyan was also active in the House of Lords, a keen alchemist, and member of the Men of Letters, who taught Ada much of what she knows about alchemy and the supernatural growing up. During the war, he sat on the government’s secret occult war council and recommended his granddaughter for a role spying on the Nazis - a private education had ensured her fluency in German and several other vital skills. Ada trained with the WAAF and underwent special training between 1939 and 1941 before airdropping into Frankfurt, along with an American agent, Roland Jefferson, at age 17.

Ada worked as a spy for the Allies during WWII to sabotage the Nazis’ occult program, where the Thule tried to develop a formula that would render their soldiers immortal based on an alchemical recipe from the 1500s.

Ada’s cover was blown in 1944 following a Russian telegram sent with a compromised encryption (suspected sabotage). She was imprisoned and tortured for several months, before escaping with the help of the Dutch resistance shortly before VE Day. The medieval text containing the alchemical recipe was brought back to England and placed in the custody of the Men of Letters.

During her absence, Baron Trevelyan was killed during the Blitz in 1942 when a bomb landed on the Men of Letters’ HQ. Her parents, after traveling to London to retrieve the body, were also caught in a bombing raid and killed less than a week later. Ada returned to England to find almost her entire family dead, the exceptions being her housekeeper, Mrs Hogarth, and the family cat, Grigory.

For a time after the war, Ada attended medical school before being asked to return to work for MI6 against the Russians. Part of this work involved torturing enemy agents, where she used her advanced knowledge of human anatomy to devastating effect.

Later, during the Cold War while undercover in Siberia, Ada suffered acute radiation poisoning from close proximity to a nuclear test site. She was, at this time, 43. While dying she used the Nazis’ formula combined with her blood to preserve her own life, albeit it in a “zombie-like” state - this was the first successful implementation of the formula, which sustains her to this day.

The active ingredient in the formula - the blood of someone in excruciating pain - she now supplies by performing surgery and medical enhancement procedures on demons in exchange for a fee, benefiting both parties. (For example, medical or alchemical enhancements granting demons certain abilities, powers, or immunities, requiring a painful procedure that allows Ada (now going by only the name ‘Carter’) to harvest the blood. Carter doesn’t disclose this, but rather charges for her services.)

After hearing about her in passing from Crowley, Dean approached her to help deal with his health issues that arose after being stabbed by Metatron and from the Mark of Cain.

Later, Dean reached out to Carter again to help find Kelly Kline and deliver her nephilim child. Instead, Arthur Ketch got to her first and prevented this, though the two struck up an unusual alliance in the process.

[unnursvanablog]

The books I read in the second half of the year.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy - Mackenzi Lee: ☆☆☆ There was something about this book that I just wasn’t completely connecting with; especially as we got further into the story. I just got a bit bored, even if there was a lot of action going to. I both the books by Lee that I have read start of very much historical YA and then slowly start to mix more fantastical elements into them as we get closer to the end and I am not sure if I am into that. I feel like I was expecting more piracy and more exploration of Felicity's asexuality, and I didn't get that. But I loved the female friendships here.

Autoboyography - Christina Lauren: ☆☆☆ A very cute little love story, very YA at times, and one of the few times this year that an audiobook completely gripped me, and my mind didn’t just wonder of as it was narrated to me. I got a bit tired of the plot around the end or it almost had just run its course. It all came together in the end, it a very cute, enjoyable and satisfying way.  

Educated - Tara Westover: ☆☆☆☆ A very gripping story that sort of makes you go through all of the emotions with Tara as she tells you about her life growing up, her crazy family. I could not stop reading. One of the best books of the year.

Too Like the Lightning - Ada Palmer: ☆☆☆☆ Very interesting, complex world, very rich text and very philosophical. There were times where I felt very confused by the story and what was going on, who was who etc. Very hard to get through at times, I kept falling in and out of the story, but the plot and the societies Palmer has created is still very interesting and compelling once you start to grasp what was going on.

The Tropic of Serpents - Marie Brennan: ☆☆☆ I don’t know what it is about this series, but I feel like I always fall for the first half of the story but then I feel like the second half is a bit of a drag and that adoration sort of fizzles away. I do like it well enough though, and just the idea of the story itself. The adventure that the books always promises.

Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik: ☆☆☆ The beginning and the end hooked me in, but the middle part of the book was very hard to get through. I was bored and somehow there were new point of view chapters thrown in there as the story expanded but I could never really differentiate between who was who as each new character and chapter took over the story, which just made it very frustrating to read and made it a lot less enjoyable to read. I got the hand of it eventually, but it hurt the story a lot.

His Dark Materials 1 - Philip Pullman: ☆☆☆☆☆ I just wanted to get into this world again before I read the Book of Dust again, and before the tv show started airing. I adore this book series. I love this world and its characters.

The Book of Dust 1&2 - Philip Pullman: ☆☆☆☆, ☆☆☆ It bums me out to say that I am not enjoying this series as much as His Dark Materials. I rather enjoyed the first one, as we get to know Malcom and his Oxford and his dæmon and I am very into the story right until they start traveling away from Oxford. Then it’s almost like the story loses it’s magic a bit for me. The same things sort of happened with the second one, where I wasn’t as into the story as we move further from Oxford. I feel like there wasn’t a complete story in The Secret Commonwealth, so maybe I will feel different after reading the last book. It has a bit of a second-book-syndrome for me at the moment, but I also found it hard to read through the separation of Lyra and Pan. It's not bad by any means, but I wanted to love it instead of only liking it. 

Wires and Nerve 1&2 - Marissa Meyer: ☆☆☆☆, ☆☆☆ re-read the first one since it had been a while, before diving into the second one. This is very quick read, very cute and entertaining. But nothing really more than that, since I don’t feel like it adds too much to the story of the books and gives me much more of a depth. Which is perfectly OK. It just a cute story, but I enjoyed it.

Let's Talk About Love - Claire Kann: ☆☆☆ I loved reading about an asexual character in a romance book! Give me more asexual characters experiencing romance. A lot of people lump being asexual and being aromantic, which isn’t the case for some of us. I loved the asexual bits, her talking about being asexual. The romance and pretty much everything else was a bit too fluffy for me or felt a bit simple. It was the kind of fluff that I think I would much more enjoy watching than reading. I started skimming the pages at the end.

Renegades - Marissa Meyer: ☆☆☆☆ Rather standard superhero story and I am not sure if it tried a lot of new things when it comes to these types of stories. But that didn’t take my enjoyment of the story away from me at all. The plot was fast paced, always something happening, never really dragged at all and I feel like Marissa Meyer always does a good job creating likeable set of characters within her stories and it is always easy to step into her worlds, although they might not be super complex all the time. But I like being there. I had a hard time putting it down near the end and I am excited for what comes next.  

Nimona - Noelle Stevenson: ☆☆☆ Been eyeing this one for a while now, and wanting to read something short and fun I finally picked it up. A very interesting and fun take on a monster story. Had some good twists and turns.

Hogfather - Terry Pratchett: ☆☆☆ Third Terry Pratchett book I read and the second Discworld book. I feel like I haven’t completely settled into the world of Discworld or gotten completely used to how Terry writes. It’s very witty and cleaver text and very interesting characters, but I often feel like the story jumps around too much and I am not into the footnotes. I don’t really like reading fiction books with this many footnotes.

The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny, Blood of Elves - Andrzej Sapkowski: ☆☆☆, ☆☆☆, ☆☆☆☆ Started of with the short stories, as I read you should do. I like them, but I often have difficulty getting totally into short stories, so some of them were a bit hit or miss for me. The story doesn’t really start for me until Geralt and Ciri find each other and I wish we could have had more of their relationship in Blood of Elves. But regardless I like this world and the characters. I feel like Sapkowski manages to blend the familiar and what we expect from other fantasy stories similar too this one, but also manages to put enough new that you don't get bored by it. Very grim, dark fairytale vibe to it, which I like.

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller: ☆☆☆  I kind of suspect that I might not be all to interested in retellings of Greek myths and legends. I just don’t seem to get into them that much, even if I like them. This one focuses on the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles and their love for each other, which I found enjoyable. But I am also just so familiar with the rest of the story, I felt like. It never truly grasped my attention.

[clothestop]

Women In History

I grew up believing that women had contributed nothing to the world until the 1960′s. So once I became a feminist I started collecting information on women in history, and here’s my collection so far, in no particular order. 

Lepa Svetozara Radić (1925–1943) was a partisan executed at the age of 17 for shooting at German soldiers during WW2. As her captors tied the noose around her neck, they offered her a way out of the gallows by revealing her comrades and leaders identities. She responded that she was not a traitor to her people and they would reveal themselves when they avenged her death. She was the youngest winner of the Order of the People’s Hero of Yugoslavia, awarded in 1951

23 year old Phyllis Latour Doyle was British spy who parachuted into occupied Normandy in 1944 on a reconnaissance mission in preparation for D-day. She relayed 135 secret messages before France was finally liberated. 

Catherine Leroy, War Photographer starting with the Vietnam war. She was taken a prisoner of war. When released she continued to be a war photographer until her death in 2006.

Lieutenant Pavlichenko was a Ukrainian sniper in WWII, with a total of 309 kills, including 36 enemy snipers. After being wounded, she toured the US to promote friendship between the two countries, and was called ‘fat’ by one of her interviewers, which she found rather amusing. 

Johanna Hannie “Jannetje” Schaft was born in Haarlem. She studied in Amsterdam had many Jewish friends. During WWII she aided many people who were hiding from the Germans and began working in resistance movements. She helped to assassinate two nazis. She was later captured and executed. Her last words were “I shoot better than you.”. 

Nancy wake was a resistance spy in WWII, and was so hated by the Germans that at one point she was their most wanted person with a price of 5 million francs on her head. During one of her missions, while parachuting into occupied France, her parachute became tangled in a tree. A french agent commented that he wished that all trees would bear such beautiful fruit, to which she replied “Don’t give me any of that French shit!”, and later that evening she killed a German sentry with her bare hands. 

After her husband was killed in WWII, Violette Szabo began working for the resistance. In her work, she helped to sabotage a railroad and passed along secret information. She was captured and executed at a concentration camp at age 23. 

Grace Hopper was a computer scientist who invented the first ever compiler. Her invention makes every single computer program you use possible. 

Mona Louise Parsons was a member of an informal resistance group in the Netherlands during WWII. After her resistance network was infiltrated, she was captured and was the first Canadian woman to be imprisoned by the Nazis. She was originally sentenced to death by firing squad, but the sentence was lowered to hard lard labor in a prison camp. She escaped. 

Simone Segouin was a Parisian rebel who killed an unknown number of Germans and captured 25 with the aid of her submachine gun. She was present at the liberation of Paris and was later awarded the ‘croix de guerre’. 

Mary Edwards Walker is the only woman to have ever won an American Medal of Honor. She earned it for her work as a surgeon during the Civil War. It was revoked in 1917, but she wore it until hear death two years later. It was restored posthumously. 

Italian neuroscientist won a Nobel Prize for her discovery of nerve growth factor. She died aged 103. 

EDIT

jinxedinks added: Her name was Rita Levi-Montalcini. She was jewish, and so from 1938 until the end of the fascist regime in Italy she was forbidden from working at university. She set up a makeshift lab in her bedroom and continued with her research throughout the war.  

A snapshot of the women of color in the woman’s army corps on Staten Island

This is an ongoing project of mine, and I’ll update this as much as I can (It’s not all WWII stuff, I’ve got separate folders for separate achievements). 

File this under: The History I Wish I’d Been Taught As A Little Girl

[transcriptroopers]

Extraordinary Female Soldiers

Hello recruits! It's International Women's Day, so I thought I'd introduce you all to a few outstanding soldiers in army history.  While I once explained this in a previous post, here’s a quick reminder: the military refers to its soldiers with “male” and “female” exclusively and when necessary. We’re discouraged from using either “men” or “women” to refer to each other. While in a civilian setting this would be seen as rude, especially in the case of “female,” in this case it’s actually more disrespectful to refer to female soldiers as “women.” Not only is it othering in a military setting, but to amplify a soldier’s womanhood is to separate her from her fellow soldiers, and often not in a positive way. Consider that we prefer to say “police officer” now instead of “policeman” and “policewoman.” As I’ve heard my female comrades say more than once: “I’m not a woman; I’m a soldier.”  While I’d never assume that all females who’ve enlisted feel this way, it’s been my experience overwhelmingly that female soldiers not only prefer this, but sternly enforce it. Given this, I will most frequently be using the word “female” to refer to the soldiers we’re talking about today. I hope everyone understands that by using this terminology I’m actually conferring respect rather than the opposite. I hope everyone understands that I’ll be focusing on the U.S. Army, since that’s my lane and I’d like to stick in it.

Deborah Sampson

“I am indeed willing to acknowledge what I have done, an error and presumption. I will call it an error and presumption because I swerved from the accustomed flowery path of female delicacy, to walk upon the heroic precipice of feminine perdition!”

We’ve all heard of the tale of Hua Mulan, but have you heard of America’s own Deborah Sampson? She’s widely considered to be the first enlisted female soldier in the U.S., and she served honorably in during the American Revolution as light infantry.  The oldest of seven children, Deborah grew up both in poverty and without her father until she was eventually hired out as a servant to a very conservative family. They ignited the flame of patriotism in her, and when she left the family at 18 it took only two years before she chose to join the army.  Of course, this was 1781, (or 1782; her biography lists conflicting records) and women weren’t allowed to enlist. So Deborah sewed her own waistcoat and britches and enlisted as Robert Shirtliffe (or Shurtliffe or Shurtleff; again, it’s conflicting) in a light infantry unit in Massachusetts.  For two years and through two wounds, one of which she removed the bullet herself, Deborah Sampson served in this unit honorably. In her biography, the Female Review, or the Memoirs of an American Young Lady, her biographer details the horrors of war she faced.  “She says she underwent more with fatigue and heat of the day, than by fear of being killed; although her left-hand man was shot dead at the second fire, and her ears and eyes were continually tormented with the expiring agonies and horrid scenes of many others struggling in their blood. She recollects but three on her side who were killed, John Bebby, James Battles and Noble Stern. She escaped with two shots through her coat, and one through her cap…She now says no pen can describe her feelings experienced in the commencement of an engagement, the sole object of which is to open the sluices of human blood. The unfeigned tears of humanity has more than once started into her eyes in the rehearsal of such as scene as I have just described.”

I dunno about you, but that last sentence especially gets to me.  Deborah came down with a terrible fever in 1783 and her secret was discovered while in the hospital. She was allowed to recover before being revealed, and she was spared from punishment, instead receiving an honorable discharge and being returned home with as little inconvenience as possible.  Nonetheless, it was years before Deborah would receive a pension for her service. She spent the last years of her life publicly speaking about her service, dressing in her old waistcoat to reenact her moments of glory on the battlefield.

Sources: History of Massachusetts.org, Encyclopedia Britannica, National Women’s History Museum

Harriet Tubman

Yes, THAT Harriet Tubman. “God’s time is always near. He set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; He meant I should be free.”  Everyone knows Harriet Tubman, one of the mightiest heroines in American History, but few people know that Harriet actually served in the army during the Civil War, and at the urging of the federal government no less.  Born a slave in 1822 and escaped to freedom in 1849, Harriet spent eleven years returning to slave states and personally shepherding dozens of slaves to freedom in the north. She was not only brave but clever, devising numerous tricks and deceptions that fooled slave catchers again and again. Devoutly religious, she believed wholly in God’s deliverance, and she even earned the nickname “Moses” for her part in guiding the exodus of slaves.  During the Civil War, Harriet Tubman continued to dazzle with her many talents. A nurse, a scout, a spy, and a foot soldier, Harriet served dutifully in South Carolina for eight years. Her patients were very often primarily black and poor white soldiers, and she treated then with medicinal herbs and roots when medicine was scarce. She was efficient and kind, and some say protected by God himself, for she never caught any of the many, many diseases she treated while enlisted.

Harriet Tubman is credited with being not only the first black female soldier, but the first female soldier period to lead a military expedition. This was not a small expedition, either; hundreds of soldiers were involved in what’s now known as the Combahee River Raid. Its purpose was to harass plantation owners while rescuing their slaves, and as the boats sailed up the Combahee River, its riders shifted: the soldiers jumped onto the shore to assault the Confederates while slaves climbed aboard to safety. Faced with too many slaves to rescue and dissension growing amidst the crowd, Harriet Tubman sang to the escaping slaves to calm and encourage them, and those slaves would recall how they rejoiced and praised her and God. Approximately 750 slaves were rescued in this mission and the Confederacy was dealt a massive blow while the Union soldiers suffered no casualties.  Despite her honorable services, Harriet Tubman was denied a pension. Brigadier General Rufus Saxton’s report of the raid included the following statement: “This is the only military command in American history wherein a woman, black or white, led the raid, and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted.” Sources: NY Times, Liberty Letters, Harriet Tubman.com

Oveta Culp Hobby

“Women who stepped up were measured as citizens of the nation, not as women…this was a people’s war and everyone was in it.”

Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby never intended to become so involved in the army. As a young woman, her trade was publishing: newspapers, editing, editorials. She and her husband ran newspapers and radio stations, and when her husband became Governor she dabbled in politics, eventually writing “Mr. Chairman,” then and now a textbook on legislature and parliamentary law. She served on committees, planned and organized, and especially advised others on how women could contribute to society.

In 1941, in the wake of the drafts, she was persuaded by the federal government to write up a plan clearly lining out how women could participate in the war, something hitherto unpublished. She did this by studying the participation of women in Britain and France and personally investigating the jobs at which women could assist the war effort without having to undragono specialized training, which at the time was often refused even to women who desired it. Though she at first denied the limelight, as she so often had in her life, she eventually became the director of the Women’s Army Auxilary Corps. A corps entirely of females, she and her unit were shunned by sexist military officials who  refused to allow mingling between the WAAC and the regular army and even refused to issue pay. Because the women were not technically enlisted, (although Oveta later took the Oath of Office herself in 1943 to become a colonel) they reasoned that they shouldn’t have to treat the women the same because the women of the WAAC were still civilians. They partly reasoned this because so few jobs in the army were actually open to female soldiers, a point which Oveta Culp Hobby sought to remedy. By the time she was done, over 200 jobs in the U.S. army became accessible to female soldiers, over four times the “generous” proposal outlined by Congress. Her plans, policies, and training methods would later be nationally acknowledged and implemented. Even after leaving service, she continued to argue for fully equality in the army, not limited to only females but race as well. In 1945, she became the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and a very distinguished legacy she leaves behind indeed.  Source: Texas State Historical Association, Rice Fondren Library

Lori Ann Piestewa

Our final extraordinary female soldier is Lori Ann Piestewa, a Hopi native from 11th ADA Brigade (my old brigade, as it happens) who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"I’m not trying to be a hero. I just want to get through this crap and go home." Lori, born in 1979, was the youngest of four. She played softball and was active in her high school’s ROTC program, showing in both a strong aptitude for challenging herself. She came from a family of soldiers who raised her to have confidence in herself and her abilities, and it came as no surprise to her family when she enlisted in the army, eventually settling with the 507th Maintenance Company. Numerous accounts of her peers recount Lori as being a dependable and enthusiastic comrade for the two years she was enlisted. Lori’s MOS was 92A, Automated Logistical Specialist, a non-combat MOS. She kept records on equipment and accounted for much of her unit’s inventory. In 2003, Lori Ann Piestewa was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. A mere PFC at the time and a mere three days into the U.S. invasion of Iraq, she and her company’s convoy were traveling through the harsh desert. They intended to pass by Nasiriyah, an enormous Iraqi city under enemy control during the early stages of the Iraq war. Unfortunately, a navigational error brought them to Nasiriyah’s front doorstep, and a firefight ensued, one of the first of the Iraq war.  All but three of their vehicles were destroyed and eleven soldiers were killed in combat, with six being captured. Lori was taken prisoner along with other famous POWs Jessica Lynch and Shoshana Johnson, but unfortunately, Lori had been wounded in the head during the attack, and there was no suitable medical equipment or personnel available to treat her.  Lori Ann Piestewa was posthumously promoted to specialist following her death, and she also received the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Jessica Lynch has maintained ever since the ambush that Lori performed admirably during the attack that took almost a third of the soldiers present and that she was a heroine for her efforts, and her death has resonated with people of all races across the country. The Hopi and Navajo people prayed for her despite their long-time feud, and the Arizona Sports council has immortalized her in their annual Lori Piestewa National American Games. After her death, efforts across the country began to rename the various national landmarks named with the offensive “squaw” term, one of which includes Piestewa Peak, a location where many now come to hike, bike, and pay their respects to Lori.

Lori was not only the first Native American female killed in combat, but the first female to be killed in the Iraq War, and this fact, along with her dedication, has cemented her place in history as an extraordinary female soldier. 

Sources: Rolling Stone, Indian Country Media Network, Piestewa Native Web.org

I hope you enjoyed this post accounting the stupendous bravery of American women in the military! There’s so many more amazing women in history and I couldn’t possibly account all of the lives and achievements of female soldiers, but I hope that on this International Women’s Day you’ll join me in saluting the memory of these four pioneers of freedom. 

-Kingsley

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