Learning Challenge Week 12: Happiness Jar Part 2

(Photo from my personal collection)

Last week I started a happiness jar. I am making jars full of origami lucky stars, and my own jar was completely empty while I try to fill jars I plan to give as gifts, so I decided to use it for my little notes about things that made me happy each day. It's been a week now. I really enjoyed having to think about something that made me happy each day. It was a really nice feeling. I think if I were to do it long term, it might help shift my worldview a little. In a week, I don't really feel too different. But it feels like something that would build up over a longer period of time. It would be hard to not see changes in yourself if you did this daily for a whole year.

Famous Last Words: Famous Authors and Halloween!

This post is going to be overwhelming with pictures. Sorry.

Last Saturday I took my daughter to Oklahoma Teen Book Con. It was at the Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, which is a really interesting building architecturally. We went to some panels to hear YA authors talk about writing fantasy, and why they like to write YA over adult fiction. We also got to meet one of our favorite authors, Maggie Stiefvater, which was a really fun experience.

This week for class I revised my third story. I really can't believe there's only one more to go. I started researching in case I decide to write stories for the rest of the Persona characters. I'm not sure when I think I'll have time to write five more stories. Christmas break, maybe? I guess we'll see. I'm a little nervous about how I'm going to pull off this last one. It's the most obvious story, and that might make it the most difficult to write.

My other classes have been a little bit odd lately. I have the same teacher for both and she hasn't been in class the past three weeks. I know her grad student that's filling in from our lab, and really like her, but I think we're all feeling sort of abandoned.

In other school news, I briefly talked to a professor in one of the grad school programs I'm interested in, and have an appointment to meet with him next week to talk more. Basically, two family members of mine told me that I shouldn't apply for that program within a couple of minutes time on Monday morning. One that doesn't really know the details, and one that should know better (and remember stuff we talk about after we talk about it). I was so mad that I started sending emails to get info I need from people that actually have it. I read an article the same morning that said people will try to talk you into programs they want you to be in, and it isn't helpful at all, because it's you that has to be happy with your path. And that's right where I am at this moment. This is about me. So I'm going to go see what this program is about and decide if it's for me or not. I have a feeling it's where I'm supposed to be, and it would be really cool to finally figure that out.

In more exciting news, yesterday was Halloween! Mario had two costumes throughout the day. He started off the day as Mona from persona 5, and then he wore his favorite bowtie all afternoon and evening. We made eggos for dinner and watched the last two episodes of Stranger Things season 2. It was a great day!

 

Tomorrow I'm having breakfast with a friend. She's the only college friend I've made in the past 7 years of pursuing this degree that I still see regularly, but it's been awhile so I'm looking forward to catching up. She's definitely my go-to person that I call when I realize my life is a chaotic wreck and I have no social life! It will be nice to connect with someone for a couple of hours. 

(All photos from my personal collection)

Week 12 Story Planning: Akira in Wonderland

Akira in Wonderland

-Akira (Joker) is out for a walk and sees a cat walking around. It's talking about being late and runs off. He follows it and falls into the Metaverse, and thinks random thoughts while he's falling into the cognitive world. He babbles more on the fall, wondering if Sojiro will miss him and if the curry will get made and if he'll be able to handle the shop without Akira there to wash the dishes.

(Photo from Pinterest)

-He finally lands, sees the cat entering a long passage, ends up in a hall of locked doors, finds a key on the table. Finds a tiny, hidden door and the key unlocks it (it's a vent). Can't fit through, sees a garden below. Goes back to the table hoping to find another key, finds a bottle that says drink me. Drinks it (it tasted like Sojiro's special curry) and turns into a rat.

(Photo from Pinterest)

-Realizes he forgot the key, goes back and can't reach the table. Finds a piece of cake that says eat me, it tastes like coffee. (Jamaican Blue, the best). He turns into a human, grabs the key, drinks the dregs of the potion from earlier, turns back into a rat.

-Now he fits in the vent and crawls through, jumps down into the garden where he finds his friends, who are also all rats.

(Photo from Polygon)

-Has an odd conversation with them about how they got here, where they are, how they became rats, how they can get back to the real world. They can't open any of the bigger doors in this place because rats are very small and have paws, and they don't see any more of the odd drink.

-Wakes up in his bed in the attic, Morgana (Mona) the cat is sound asleep next to him.



Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Zorro, Milady, Carmen, Neronomicon, Johanna

If I decide to continue my storybook after class ends, I would write a story for each of the remaining Persona 5 characters: Mona (you got a Mona introduction, but no Mona story), Noir, Panther, Oracle and Queen. I decided to start doing some research and reading about their personas. I also located a few sources that might be useful for writing their stories. 

Mona: Zorro -  (Spanish for "fox" and "sly") is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York–based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. His true name is Don Diego de la Vega. Zorro is a Californio nobleman of Spanish and Native Californian descent, living in Los Angeles during the era of Mexican rule. He is a masked outlaw who defends commoners and the indigenous people of the land against tyrannical officials and other villains.

Noir: Milady - Milady de Winter, more commonly referred to as "Milady" is a fictional character created by Alexandre Dumas for his seminal novel The Three Musketeers. Her main relation with the novel's titular heroes is her personal vendettas first against the novel's hero d'Artagnan after he discovered she was branded as a criminal with a fleur-de-lis, then against his mentor Athos who was her former husband. Her conflict with them ends in her death by beheading for her crimes. In both the book and subsequent adaptations, Milady is depicted as a fiercely independent and manipulative villain: despite acting as an agent of Cardinal Richelieu in his machinations against Louis XIII and the Duke of Buckingham, she is also a force on her own account, bringing others to ruin for personal gain. Her moniker of "Milady" is a title inherited from one of her husbands, whom she married under a false name, leaving her true identity a mystery.

Panther: Carmen - a fictive female gypsy created by Prosper Mérimée. She first appeared in Mérimée's eponymous novella that was first written and published in 1845. The novella was adapted into a variety of different genres, most notably the opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet which diverges in significant points from Mérimée's original story. Whatever the version, Carmen is generally depicted as a classic femme fatale who would take advantage of her beauty and charm to make men fall for her but quickly break the relationship once she is bored of her wooer and then looks for the next victim. Carmen is also usually seen smoking tobacco because she had once been working in a tobacco factory. She is later slain by a spurned ex-lover driven to a jealous rage after she leaves him. Though she knew he would be fated to kill her, she declares that she would rather die than allow herself to be bound to the will of another and that "Carmen will always be free".

Oracle: Necronomicon - a fictional grimoire (tome of magic). It was first mentioned in the short story The Hound written by H. P. Lovecraft, but its exact origin is the subject of debate. The book subsequently also appeared in stories of Lovecraft's followers. The Necronomicon has since gained a cult following and various fake "replicas" of the book are circulating. In the context of Lovecraft's works, the Necronomicon is a tome detailing the truth behind the various ancient cosmic beings that have inhabited Earth and continue to influence humans for their own ends. Written in the 8th century by the "mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, it both functions as a means of imparting the forbidden knowledge of the ancient ones, and a source of danger as those who read it risk going mad from its knowledge.

Queen: Johanna - based on Pope Joan, a legendary Medieval woman who reigned as pope for a short period, going against the Catholic Church's ingrained tradition of male popes. Though the story was widely believed for centuries, modern historians have found no evidence of her existence and believe the legend to be a work of fiction meant to discredit the church. Most versions of her story describe her as a talented and learned woman who disguised herself as a man, often at the behest of a lover. In the most common accounts, due to her abilities, she rose through the church hierarchy and was eventually elected pope. Her sex was revealed when she gave birth during a procession, and she died shortly after, either through murder or natural causes. The accounts state that later church processions avoided this spot, and that the Vatican removed the female pope from its official lists and crafted a ritual to ensure that future popes were male.

Possible Sources:

1. Zorro : The Curse of Capistrano
2. Milady de Winter : The Three Musketeers
3. Carmen : Carmen (free on kindle)
4. Necronomicon : The Hound
5. Pope Joan

(Photos from Megami Tensei Wiki)

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(Photo from Wordpress)

The Bishop of Hereford is a character from the legend of Robin Hood. In The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, he is the bishop who was supposed to marry Allen a Dale and his true love.

Reading Notes: Robin Hood Part B

(Photo from Pinterest)

Robin Hood and Maid Marian - Robin and Marian meet and fall for each other, sharing sweet kisses. Robin then has to go back to the forrest, and Marian was sad. She went into the forrest with a bow of her own to find him. When they encounter each other, she is dressed strangely and he is in disguise, so they draw their swords to fight, not recognizing each other. She cuts his face, and then he finally speaks. When she hears his voice recognizes that it's Robin, and she kisses him. Little John kills a deer and the merry men throw them a banquet. 

Robin Hood’s Death - When Robin is ill and decides he is near death, he asks Little John to take him to his cousin who will bleed him, so that he can die. So he takes him to the cousin who agrees to bleed him. She cuts his vein and locks him in a room. He bled until the next day, then, too weak to move, he blew on his bugle. Little John heard it and feared that Robin must be close to death. He went back for him and broke the locks to get to him. Robin tells him to take him outside and put his bow in his hand. He shoots an arrow and asks to be buried wherever it lands.


The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child.

Reading Notes: Robin Hood Part A

(Photo from Pinterest)

Robin Hood and Little John - Robin Hood meets a stranger on a narrow bridge. Neither will move aside for the other. They each find a staff and decide that whoever falls off the bridge first loses. Robin ends up in the water, then asks the stranger to be his right-hand man. His name was John Little and he was 7 feet tall, so the merry men though it would be funny to rename him Little John. (Crow and Joker)

Allen a Dale - Robin Hood meets Allen a Dale and asks him to give money to the merry men. Allen says he doesn't have any to spare. Robin asks what he'll give him if he reunites Allen with his true love and makes a wedding happen for him. Robin pretends to be a harpist, and tells the bishop that he bride should choose her husband. He calls in 20 men, the first is Allen, her true love. Robin says they should be married. The bishop objects and says they have to be asked 3 times in church. Robin takes the bishop's coat and puts it on Little John who marries them, asking 7 times to be sure.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child.