#hester moore

[the-heartlines]

| lena headey as sarah rees-toome/circe aesthetic |

“do you know what it is to have your power taken from you? to forever surrender to someone else? i held power in my hands, i controlled my own destiny, and they took that away from me.”

- rebel angels by libba bray

[moonsnightowl]

I want to rewatch Scarlet Letter so bad

But am I ready for that emotionally? Absolutely not.

[makeminebronze]

January 2033 is the 60th anniversary of the Marvel Universe's favorite punching bag...Paste Pot Pete! (Or the Trapster, as he probably prefers) You have to give him credit, he never aims low, counting in the rogues galleries of the Fantastic Four, Captain America, and Spider-Man!

[evies20dollars]

Doing my annual Gemma Doyle Trilogy reread and i have to say, Hester Asa Moore aka Sarah Rees-Toome is my problematic fav-- i would pay money to read an entire prequel book about her and Mary at Spence, especially because this is the first time I picked up on the queer subtext between her and Mary and yeah they were in love, you cannot convince me otherwise

[writerly-ramblings]

Books Read in November:

1). Antarctica (Claire Keegan)

2). Dottie (Abdulrazak Gurnah)

3). Almost English (Charlotte Mendelson)

4). Things to Come (Hester Styles Vickery)

5). The Dear Departed (Brian Moore)

6). The Child that Books Built (Francis Spufford)

7). Mr. Fox (Helen Oyeyemi)

8). Wild (Cheryl Strayed)

[graphicpolicy]

Preview: Red Sonja: Black, White, Red Vol. 2

Red Sonja: Black, White, Red Vol. 2 preview. It’s Red Sonja as you’ve never seen before…all presented in beautiful black, white, and red #comics #comicbooks

[kvetchlandia]

Camille Ruf James Joyce, Zurich c.1918

“…they might as well try to stop the sun from rising tomorrow the sun shines for you he said the day we were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth head in the grey tweed suit and his straw hat the day I got him to propose to me yes first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth and it was leapyear like now yes 16 years ago my God after that long kiss I near lost my breath yes he said I was a flower of the mountain yes so we are flowers all a womans body yes that was one true thing he said in his life and the sun shines for you today yes that was why I liked him because I saw he understood or felt what a woman is and I knew I could always get round him and I gave him all the pleasure I could leading him on till he asked me to say yes and I wouldnt answer first only looked out over the sea and the sky I was thinking of so many things he didnt know of Mulvey and Mr Stanhope and Hester and father and old captain Groves and the sailors playing all birds fly and I say stoop and washing up dishes they called it on the pier and the sentry in front of the governors house with the thing round his white helmet poor devil half roasted and the Spanish girls laughing in their shawls and their tall combs and the auctions in the morning the Greeks and the jews and the Arabs and the devil knows who else from all the ends of Europe and Duke street and the fowl market all clucking outside Larby Sharons and the poor donkeys slipping half asleep and the vague fellows in the cloaks asleep in the shade on the steps and the big wheels of the carts of the bulls and the old castle thousands of years old yes and those handsome Moors all in white and turbans like kings asking you to sit down in their little bit of a shop and Ronda with the old windows of the posadas 2 glancing eyes a lattice hid for her lover to kiss the iron and the wineshops half open at night and the castanets and the night we missed the boat at Algeciras the watchman going about serene with his lamp and O that awful deepdown torrent O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets and the pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.“

–James Joyce, "Molly Bloom's Soliloquy" from “Ulysses” 1922

Happy Bloomsday, everyone.

[morbidology]

On July 25, 1946, a horrifying incident unfolded involving two young African American couples: George Dorsey and his pregnant wife, Mae Murray, along with Roger Malcom and his wife, Dorothy Malcom. They were in the car of their employer, Loy Harrison, who was driving them home. However, their journey took a grim turn when they encountered a mob of white individuals blocking off Moore's Ford bridge in Georgia.

The situation escalated quickly as the two men were forcibly pulled from the car and subjected to a brutal beating. In a tragic turn of events, one of the women recognized a member of the mob, leading to both women being dragged from the vehicle and tied to a tree beside their husbands. All four victims were then shot dead. To further compound the horror, Mae Murray had her fetus forcibly removed from her body.

Despite the murders occurring in broad daylight, the killers were never apprehended. One potential motive emerged when it was revealed that earlier in the month, Roger Malcom had allegedly stabbed a white man named Barnette Hester. Malcom was released on bail, a sum paid by his employer, Loy Harrison.

The lack of justice in this case underscores the deeply rooted racial tensions and systemic failures prevalent during that era, as well as the tragic consequences borne by innocent lives caught in the crossfire of prejudice and violence.

[derpy-thebdayclown]

Are Freddie and Hester siblings? They give off that energy in the drawing.

yes!! Freddie & Hester Moore :) they are sisters

[whitesinhistory]

On July 25, 1946, a white mob lynched two Black couples near Moore’s Ford Bridge in Walton County, Georgia, in what has been called “the last mass lynching in America.” The couples killed were George W. and Mae Murray Dorsey and Dorothy and Roger Malcolm. Mrs. Malcolm was seven months pregnant. Mr. Dorsey, a World War II veteran who had served in the Pacific for five years, had been home for only nine months. On July 11, Roger Malcom was arrested after allegedly stabbing a white farmer named Barnette Hester during a fight. Two weeks later, J. Loy Harrison, the white landowner for whom the Malcoms and the Dorseys sharecropped, drove Mrs. Malcom and the Dorseys to the jail to post a $600 bond. On their way back to the farm, the car was stopped by a mob of 30 armed, unmasked white men who seized Mr. Malcom and Mr. Dorsey and tied them to a large oak tree. Mrs. Malcom recognized members of the mob, and when she called on them by name to spare her husband, the mob seized her and Mrs. Dorsey. Mr. Harrison watched as the white men shot all four people 60 times at close range. He later claimed he could not identify any members of the mob. The Moore’s Ford Bridge lynchings drew national attention, leading President Harry Truman to order a federal investigation and offer $12,500 for information leading to a conviction. A grand jury returned no indictments, and the perpetrators were never held accountable. The FBI recently reopened its investigation into the lynching, only to encounter continued silence and obstruction at the highest levels. In response to charges that he was withholding information, Walton County Superior Court Judge Marvin Sorrells, whose father worked for Walton County law enforcement in 1946, vowed that “until the last person of my daddy’s generation dies, no one will talk.” In recent years, the tragic lynching at the Moore's Ford Bridge has inspired varied activism including an annual memorial march and legal efforts to gain access to sealed grand jury transcripts—all important ways of confronting the truth of this deadly hate and terror. In 2020, a federal court ruled that the grand jury records must remain sealed.

Learn more about the era of racial terror lynchings in the U.S. through the reports Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror and Lynching in America: Targeting Black Veterans. 

[moonsnightowl]

Oh, sweet ✨️parallels✨️

[precodesoul]

Colleen Moore as 'Hester Prynne' in The Scarlet Letter (dir. Robert G. Vignola, 1934)

[mariacallous]

Promise Edwards, a single mother of three living in Laurens, South Carolina, spends her spare time passing QR codes out to schools, churches and members of her local community. Scan one, and you'll be led to an online document full of LGBTQ+ resources across the state — which Edwards hopes to expand to a nationwide list by 2024. 

The heart-shaped codes — on stickers, embedded in keychains, printed on T-shirts and more — are sometimes adorned with sparkles or owls because, according to Edwards, they were "Jacob's favorite thing."

Edwards, known as Aunt Lulu to 18-year-old Jacob Williamson, welcomed the newly out teen into her home after he was kicked out of his own. 

"The day after he moved in with me, he said, 'I'm trans, and I go by he/him and I want to be called Jacob,'" said Edwards, whose mother had been Edwards' childhood best friend. "I said, 'OK. I love you,'"

"He was only allowed to be himself for 28 days."

Four weeks after Williamson went to live with Edwards in June, he went missing after going to meet up with online friends for the first time. 

Edwards had begged him not to go, even asking her boss to change his shift at the Waffle House where they both worked to make scheduling harder — but Jacob was unconvinced. He shared his location with Edwards through an app, got in the car and left.

It was the last time Edwards would see him alive. 

After she could neither get in touch with him nor see his updated location, Edwards reported him missing and spent the next four days talking to law enforcement, hanging posters, and frantically searching for Williamson. She knocked on doors, passed out flyers and posted online — but to no avail. 

His body was discovered by police on the side of a South Carolina road — just three days before Edwards' 37th birthday.

Williamson was at least the 14th trans person murdered in the U.S. in 2023, against a worrying backdrop of statistics that show trans people are more at risk than ever, despite only making up an estimated 0.5% of the U.S. population.

Data compiled shows 320 trans and gender-diverse people were reported murdered between October 2022 and September 2023, according to nonprofit Transgender Europe, though actual numbers could be even higher. 

Ninety-four percent of the victims were trans feminine people or transgender women — meaning they were not assigned female at birth — and three-quarters were younger adults, between the ages of 19 and 40.

"Most victims were Black and trans women of colour, and trans sex workers," stated the report, its Nov. 13 publication intentionally coinciding with the start of Trans Awareness Week. 

The week culminates each year in Trans Day of Remembrance, which was founded on Nov. 20, 1999, by trans advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith, to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman who had been killed the year before. The vigil honored Hester and the deaths of all the other trans people who had been lost to violence that year, according to GLAAD.

"It's a day to honor and remember the folks that have died, but it's also a chance for us to reckon with, where do we go from here?" said Arielle Rebekah, communications consultant at the Transgender Law Center. 

"Every day is the day to think of a way forward," they said.

Mariah Moore, the co-director of policy and programs at the Transgender Law Center, agreed and reflected on how imperative it is for allies to show up for trans people. 

"A lot of folks are very vulnerable and feel alone and isolated," she says. "You could change the trajectory of someone's life by simply saying something — letting them know that they have someone ... that is also standing beside them, willing to fight for them." 

In addition to her work at the Transgender Law Center, Moore is also one of the co-founders of an organization called House of Tulip, which was born during the COVID-19 pandemic and works to find long-term housing solutions for trans and gender non-conforming people in Louisiana, where she is based.

"The goal is to help folks build a stable foundation so that they can have access to the futures that come so easily to others," she says, adding that the organization is a shining reflection of successful "coalition work;" identifying a cycle and working to fill a need by collaborating with others and sharing knowledge and resources. 

In the U.S., 586 anti-trans bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone, and aim to restrict or completely ban access to gender-affirming care, rid trans youth of the ability to participate in sports, arts and clubs — and in more extreme cases, even threaten parents with child abuse charges for affirming their kids' gender identities.

In the current tenuous political climate, the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth is worsening, according to the results of a national survey by The Trevor Project, which found that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people had seriously considered suicide in the past year. Additionally, youth who are transgender, nonbinary and/or people of color reported higher rates of suicidal ideation than their cisgender and White peers.

"I feel that Jacob was not targeted because he was trans, but yet, he was targeted because he was trans," says Edwards. "These people preyed on the fact that Jacob was partially out; that Jacob was ostracized from his family; that he had nobody but me and my family."

Since Williamson's murder, Edwards says that while many in her life — including close friends and family — have turned their backs on her, the trans community has embraced her with open arms as she continues to fight for justice for Jacob.

"I really just wish we could have had this support when Jacob was alive," she said. "And we probably wouldn't even be talking right now." 

But further data from The Trevor Project provides a glimmer of hope for others within the trans and gender non-conforming community: youth who reported gender-affirming school and home environments reported significantly decreased rates of suicidal ideation — with actions as small as being addressed by their correct pronouns, having access to gender-neutral bathrooms or being able to wear gender-affirming clothing making a noticeable difference.

As Rebekah puts it, "Even in the face of this violence, we are thriving."

"Yes, we might be under attack," adds Moore. "But guess what? We've also fought back. And we're winning." 

Each year, though violence against the community soars, young people are increasingly identifying as trans and seeing themselves reflected in culture, including in film, television and literature. Transgender Day of Visibility is even now recognized by the White House.

"My life is great," says YouTube star Eden Estrada, also known by her online alias, Eden the Doll. "I had a hiccup, but my life is good."

In August 2020, video depicting a violent attack on Estrada and two of her friends was posted online, where it quickly went viral and became national news overnight.

While waiting for an Uber in Los Angeles, Estrada alleges that the trio was beaten and robbed, with one of Estrada's friends knocked unconscious in the fray. The LAPD later investigated the incident as a hate crime.

"I'm grateful to be alive," says Estrada. "I've been through something traumatic, but I came out of it really, really, strongly."

Estrada is now happily engaged, has a flourishing career and in her own words, is "over" what happened to her. But reflecting on Trans Day of Remembrance, she recognizes this could have been a different story.

"This day, it could be about me," says Estrada. "Something worse could have happened to me that day."

Estrada said that she uses this day not only to reflect on loss, but to reflect on the LGBTQ+ figures who paved the way for trans people today — people like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Erica Andrews, she said, adding that she also uses this day to reflect on past versions of herself as well.

"I think it's remembering where you started, where you're at and where you're going," she said.

Rebekah feels similarly about Trans Day of Remembrance, which they say is an opportunity to elevate stories of trans joy and triumph.

"People need to see that trans folks are also changemakers; are also leaders; are also successful across all fields, across all industries, across all areas of life."

When asked how she will be spending Trans Day of Remembrance, Moore says, "I need to take time to really mourn some of the folks that I've lost recently, and just take time for myself as a Black trans woman... honor myself and the work that I'm doing."

"I think this year, I need some time for me."

It has been nearly five months since Williamson's body was recovered. 

The two people he went to meet that day were both arrested and charged in his death, but that's not enough for Edwards. "These people still get to talk to their families on Christmas," she said.

"And we don't."

She says she will be keeping Williamson's memory alive on Trans Day of Remembrance by hanging Christmas decorations at the site where his body was found and attending an event in honor of the day at the University of South Carolina Upstate, where she has been invited to speak.

While Williamson and at least 319 others who have been lost to violence this year will be in hearts and minds on Trans Day of Remembrance, Moore points out that countless trans people have also been lost to lack of basic resources like housing, healthcare and food.

"It's important that we uplift those stories and use Trans Day of Remembrance...to let folks know that trans people are loved and have people fighting for them," she adds. "Don't be silent when you see injustice is happening."

Edwards believes Trans Day of Remembrance is an opportunity to provide support in death for trans loved ones that they may not have had in life, and bring attention to the fact that nobody is above experiencing loss.

"It means awareness that this actually happens to people that we know and we love," she says.

But more than anything, Edwards hopes wherever Williamson is now, on this day and all days, that he is at peace.

"He had a life full of conditions," she says. "I hope that where he is, he feels love. Unconditional love." 

[comickergirl]

(I’ve shared these over on Twitter, but realized that I never made a post about them here. XD)

Some Kickstarter Campaigns!

First up: Super Best Friend SERIES FINALE! 

The thrilling conclusion to the adventures of Mattie Moore and Captain Terrific, written by Jason Inman, with art by Jordi Pérez! I had the opportunity to do another variant cover, which you can grab, OR you can get the main cover by Pérez OR!!! You could grab the PHIL HESTER VARIANT. Lots of great options here for covers and add-ons, definitely check it out! (This one has, uh....less than three days left! XD Better late than never, I suppose!) 

Second: Hairology: A Celebration of Hair!

From Lifeline Comics, a 56-page anthology featuring comics centered on hair! Lots of great contributors, and a nice mix of genres, from anime-inspired action/fantasy, to autobiographical. I’m doing the art for a story by none other than the incomparable STERLING GATES, screenwriter/producer/comic creator extraordinaire, and you know the scribe of the best run of Supergirl NBD, NBD, featuring Scouts! Sporadic French! And WASPS! The book is a little over halfway to its funding goal with seventeen days to go, so a bit more time to check on this one! :D

Thanks in advance if folks decide to support/spread the word, very much appreciated--otherwise, hope everyone’s having a good start to their week!

[poem-today]

A poem by Jonathan Swift

Stella’s Birthday: March 13, 1719

Stella this Day is thirty four, (We won’t dispute a Year or more) However Stella, be not troubled, Although thy Size and Years are doubled, Since first I saw Thee at Sixteen The brightest Virgin of the Green, So little is thy Form declin’d Made up so largely in thy Mind.

Oh, would it please the Gods to split Thy Beauty, Size, and Years, and Wit, No Age could furnish out a Pair Of Nymphs so graceful, Wise and fair With half the Lustre of Your Eyes, With half thy Wit, thy Years and Size: And then before it grew too late, How should I beg of gentle Fate, (That either Nymph might have her Swain,) To split my Worship too in twain.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Note: “Stella” was the name Swift gave to Esther Johnson (13 March 1681 –1728). Journal to Stella, a letter-diary covering the years 1710-1713, consists of 65 letters addressed to her. Swift, 14 years older, first met Esther/Stella when she was about eight and when he was secretary to Sir William Temple at Moor Park in Surrey. When Swift saw her again in 1696 he thought she had become the most beautiful, graceful and agreeable young woman in London. After Temple’s death, Hester moved to Dublin even though she had no connection with the city apart from Swift himself. Some believe they were secretly married in 1716, but there is no evidence on this. In any event, he was inconsolable when she died at 46, and is buried next to her in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Dublin).

Starting from 1719 Swift sent her a poem on her March 13 birthday. This resulted in a series of Stella’s Birthday poems ending in 1727, the year of her death. Swift wrote Stella’s Birthday, 1719 to celebrate her 34th birthday.

Image 1: Esther Johnson Friend Of Jonathan Swift; addressee of his Journal To Stella (Engraving by Dawson)

Image 2: Jonathan Swift Portrait by Charles Jervas (1710)