kaijubluedreams - Tumblr blog

[kaijubluedreams]

Moonrise Phyllis Shafer — 2015 oil on canvas

[kaijubluedreams]

my trick for getting through grad school is learning to navigate the quadrants with all their nuances

[kaijubluedreams]

yay elezen yayyy

[kaijubluedreams]

Thinking about Them.... weird thinking last night was my last time using Dragon Sight! I'll have a lot of hotbar space freed up after this, though I'll miss the memes.

[kaijubluedreams]

Arthur Trevethin Nowell- Captives, 1887.

[kaijubluedreams]

I don't think enough people really appreciate how horrifying Heritage Found is; especially for Erenville. Like Erenville left his homeland, but obviously believed it would still be there when he returned because why wouldn't it? But nope he comes back and the entire place is just gone. The environment has been devastated and twisted beyond recognition, the villages once full of life are abandoned, and everyone he knew is nowhere to be found.

The one time he does find someone they've chosen to adopt the culture of Alexandria and use of a regulator. In doing so he's forgotten all the elders who've died within the last 30 years and it appears all the other youths have as well. If you have even a passing knowledge of indigenous culture you'd immediately understand how devastating it is to lose elders and all the memories and knowledge they held.

Like Heritage Found is really just the most textbook way of executing colonization. Alexandria devastated the local environment driving the people of Yyasulani out of their homes and ways of life and onto designated settlements in order to survive. We can see how worn down the old settlements are after only 30 years; there's no way anyone who willingly remained there would've survived the endless lightning strikes. Your ass moved to the settlements or perished.

Alexandria then offered a wondrous device that would guarantee if they do wander their ancestral lands they won't immediately die when inevitably struck by lightning and also has the bonus of erasing any memory of those who die while wearing one. Sphene says everyone has a choice to wear a regulator, but we see they're all heavily encouraged to wear it so like is it really a choice when literally everyone you know is constantly on your ass telling you you should really consider using it? Ehh...I hesitate to believe the words of the AI programmed to be a little too okay with perpetuating bloody conquest lol

There's even an old graveyard that's been completely abandoned since so many people in Heritage Found have opted into the regulator usage; it's only maintained by a single shetona who still cares about their traditions enough.

And then there's the most obvious thing which is the renaming of Yyasulani to Heritage Found. Just straight up "nah we're not calling this Yyasulani anymore" which yeah. That sucks. Plus after 30 years of having everyone's memories erased how many Turali natives and descendants probably even remember the indigenous names of all the places in Yyasulani?

Erenville didn't just lose his mom he lost his entire culture and homeland in the blink of an eye. There's no wonder why the dude was literally silent for 99% of Solution 9 and Living Memory. He experienced a loss that's literally unfathomable to most people playing this game who never had to experience the echoing pain of knowing their culture was systematically destroyed for the sake of conquest.

I really really hope we get some post patch content that explores Yyasulani with Erenville. I don't want to see that area left in its current state let us take down the dome!!

[kaijubluedreams]

I love tumblr tags so much. Like okay here’s the main post and here’s my little secret thoughts and addendums for the besties

[kaijubluedreams]

[ darkest before the dawntrail ]

a little pre-dawntrail comic about my warrior of light, Kasi, who is a moody sonovabitch with a lot of emotions

[kaijubluedreams]

a lone ranger.

[kaijubluedreams]

FINAL FANTASY XIV 1.0 ARCHIVE

In honor of FFXIV: A Realm Reborn's 10th Anniversary and this year's Rising event, comes the public release of my years-long passion project to create a 1.0 Archive of the original 2010 release of the game. This 1,500 page archive contains a full annotated transcript of the original 1.0 MSQ, the 1.x GCQ (End of an Era storyline), full Class and Job questlines, Side Quests, and Open World NPC Dialogue and Newspaper articles.

FFXIV 1.0's continued existence on the internet means so much to me, and this project is possible only thanks to monumental efforts from Gamerescape, ChrysalisWiki, dedicated 1.0 Youtubers, and long-time loremonger AnonyMoose. Thank you all! It is my hope that this archive provides one more accessible source from which to read and enjoy the game that we celebrate every year at the Rising.

[kaijubluedreams]

[kaijubluedreams]

Hmm so I've seen a lot of ppl say there's no stakes in FFXIV anymore because the WoL is too strong anyway. Like sure, making the WoL a godslayer isn't making things easy, but that's not truly where the issue is imo. Spoilers for DT's msq!!!

The main problem to me, is that the writers now consider that a victory through fighiting is a victory in the story. It kinda boggles my mind that there aren't negative repercutions for using violence anymore... It's especially true in DT: when you fight it's always the right thing to do and all fights have a positive influence on the story. It's pretty much "right is might and might is right" all around. The characters never doubts their fight is a righteous one for a second, and we are never given an ambiguous win either. Wuk Lamat is only able to influence the story because she becomes strong and she becomes strong because she is right and good. It is ironic for a character that is so focused on peace and love. Yet the story will still consistantly reward the characters for crushing their opponents. Storywise it doesn't make sense. It only cheapens your victories, so of course you would need to amp up the stakes. (also please note: these issues were already present when Ishikawa was at the helm, but there were other things to balance it out in ShB though.)

In contrast, in ARR and HW, there usually was a downside to the WoL's victory. It wasn't the entire story!

For example, a part I particularly like in 3.0 is the first time you slay Nidhogg. Not only is this done by Estinien after you've weakened the dragon; but it actually feels like a defeat. The entire game up to this point had your group try to mend the relationship between ishgardians and dragons. Estinien warms up to your group and Ysayle, and you can feel he is slowly begining to hope for lasting peace. However, with Hraesvelgr's revelations, Ysayle's dellusions are exposed and all the progress made towards reconcilliation is reduced to nothing. Worse, Estinien's violent and vengeful ways are proven to be the only solution. Truly, a terrible setback for the characters, and it results in an empty victory over Nidhogg. Sure you beat the baddie, but it's devastating for Alphinaud and Ysayle. It even comes back to bite Estinien in the butt when he gets possessed. There was more to the story than just finally beating a very strong foe, and it is made apparent at that moment. Even though the wol won every fight, it didn't mean that the main characters would be victorious. It could either be a diplomatic defeat, your beliefs could be challenged, or one of your allies could die. Unforeseen consequences were right around the corner. Plus, your character is only one person. Things could still happen outside of their reach, like at the end of ARR. Regardless of your WoL's strength, there are many ways you can create tension for a story!

In earlier expacs, there used to be a feeling that your battles wouldn't necessarily win the war. No need for a world ending threat then, to have stakes.

[kaijubluedreams]

Wistman's Wood, Dartmoor, England.

[kaijubluedreams]

Burt Glinn, Mount Fuji, 1961

[kaijubluedreams]

MAMMAMIAJWL 'Butterfly' Jewelry 2024 if you want to support this blog consider donating to:ko-fi.com/fashionrunways

[kaijubluedreams]

someone hasn't had their last word 😾

[kaijubluedreams]

Homemaking, gardening, and self-sufficiency resources that won't radicalize you into a hate group

It seems like self-sufficiency and homemaking skills are blowing up right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, a lot of folks, especially young people, are looking to develop skills that will help them be a little bit less dependent on our consumerist economy. And I think that's generally a good thing. I think more of us should know how to cook a meal from scratch, grow our own vegetables, and mend our own clothes. Those are good skills to have.

Unfortunately, these "self-sufficiency" skills are often used as a recruiting tactic by white supremacists, TERFs, and other hate groups. They become a way to reconnect to or relive the "good old days," a romanticized (false) past before modern society and civil rights. And for a lot of people, these skills are inseparably connected to their politics and may even be used as a tool to indoctrinate new people.

In the spirit of building safe communities, here's a complete list of the safe resources I've found for learning homemaking, gardening, and related skills. Safe for me means queer- and trans-friendly, inclusive of different races and cultures, does not contain Christian preaching, and does not contain white supremacist or TERF dog whistles.

Homemaking/Housekeeping/Caring for your home:

Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen [book] (The big crunchy household DIY book; includes every level of self-sufficiency from making your own toothpaste and laundry soap to setting up raised beds to butchering a chicken. Authors are explicitly left-leaning.)

Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust [book] (A guide to simple home repair tasks, written with rentals in mind; very compassionate and accessible language.)

How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis [book] (The book about cleaning and housework for people who get overwhelmed by cleaning and housework, based on the premise that messiness is not a moral failing; disability and neurodivergence friendly; genuinely changed how I approach cleaning tasks.)

Gardening

Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale [book] (Really great introduction to urban gardening; explicitly discusses renter-friendly garden designs in small spaces; lots of DIY solutions using recycled materials; note that the author lives in England, so check if plants are invasive in your area before putting them in the ground.)

Country/Rural Living:

Woodsqueer by Gretchen Legler [book] (Memoir of a lesbian who lives and works on a rural farm in Maine with her wife; does a good job of showing what it's like to be queer in a rural space; CW for mentions of domestic violence, infidelity/cheating, and internalized homophobia)

"Debunking the Off-Grid Fantasy" by Maggie Mae Fish [video essay] (Deconstructs the off-grid lifestyle and the myth of self-reliance)

Sewing/Mending:

Annika Victoria [YouTube channel] (No longer active, but their videos are still a great resource for anyone learning to sew; check out the beginner project playlist to start. This is where I learned a lot of what I know about sewing.)

Make, Sew, and Mend by Bernadette Banner [book] (A very thorough written introduction to hand-sewing, written by a clothing historian; lots of fun garment history facts; explicitly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, and trans sewists.)

Sustainability/Land Stewardship

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer [book] (Most of you have probably already read this one or had it recommended to you, but it really is that good; excellent example of how traditional animist beliefs -- in this case, indigenous American beliefs -- can exist in healthy symbiosis with science; more philosophy than how-to, but a great foundational resource.)

Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer [book] (This one is for my fellow witches; one of my favorite witchcraft books, and an excellent example of a place-based practice deeply rooted in the land.)

Avoiding the "Crunchy to Alt Right Pipeline"

Note: the "crunchy to alt-right pipeline" is a term used to describe how white supremacists and other far right groups use "crunchy" spaces (i.e., spaces dedicated to farming, homemaking, alternative medicine, simple living/slow living, etc.) to recruit and indoctrinate people into their movements. Knowing how this recruitment works can help you recognize it when you do encounter it and avoid being influenced by it.

"The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline" by Kathleen Belew [magazine article] (Good, short introduction to this issue and its history.)

Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby (I feel like I need to give a content warning: this book contains explicit descriptions of racism, white supremacy, and Neo Nazis, and it's a very difficult read, but it really is a great, in-depth breakdown of the role women play in the alt-right; also explicitly addresses the crunchy to alt-right pipeline.)

These are just the resources I've personally found helpful, so if anyone else has any they want to add, please, please do!