#Naima

[simsadilla]

The last cuddles before a big birthday..

Nomaee's growing up too fast!

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[teratomatica]

requests part 3

[crayaks]

ciconiaaaaaaaaaaaa

[sachi]

☆ Hakurei Reimu // Touhou Project "Wonderful Shrine Maiden of Paradise" ☆ 1/7 / Solarain ☆ June 2024 ¥27,500 ☆ Sculpt NaiMA Paint Mumeisai / Apostle Shito-chan

[girl4music]

Steven L. Sears has so much great commentary in these cast/crew interviews that I just want to upload everything he says. But I don’t want to be biased. Still though, he understands the show in such a way that has always been the way I’ve understood it. Especially the soulmate theme and how these two lead characters literally cannot be without each other because they are fundamentally that of the yin-yang and you cannot separate yin-yang otherwise it is no longer "yin-yang" - which is just inconceivable because everything IS yin-yang. Everything embodies The Way. If that were ever to separate - there’d be nothing at all. That's how the nature of The Way works. He seems to understand that to a degree that's clearly influenced XENA although he communicates it in a much different way to the way I do. But take what he says here for example about Xena and Gabrielle being like the Mehndi in that they run parallel to one another and then intertwine and then part ways and continuing like that for eternity...

I mean this episode sets up the course of events for the progression of their relationship for the rest of the show. They're literal soulmates. But it also highly informs all of the narrative set ups and plot arcs and the progression of X&G's relationship even before this episode was written, so Steven obviously had been conceiving this idea for a long time. Maybe even before they realized that the LGBTQ community anchored on to Xena and Gabrielle's relationship as a WLW love story because he was one of the creators that was attesting to the notion that they would most likely have a large queer female following doing what they were doing with having two lead female characters in constant one-on-one interactions together due to the circumstances of them travelling and fighting in service to the greater good together - which furthermore is high-key due to them feeling like strangers and outsiders in their society. Therefore, unintentionally depicting a very queer narrative. I mean, straight white male or not, Steven was probably the greatest push for Xena and Gabrielle to go in the direction of a WLW romance because he understood that what they were depicting was something a queer audience would anchor on to immediately having come from the background of being a creator for a TV show that had three lead male characters in much the same environmental situation as Xena and Gabrielle were in. Riptide preceded Xena and was about three men living on a boat - of which an audience of primarily queer or gay people anchored on to. So Steven had that unique experience as a creator coming into Xena.

So if there's anybody we should be praising and appreciating for how XENA became "THE WLW SHOW" and Xena and Gabrielle `"THE WLW SHIP" - it should be Steven L. Sears because he was down with it going that way from the start of his involvement with the show and the sincerity and authenticity of which he talks about Xena and Gabrielle in the context of them being lovers and soulmates has made him a beloved member of the creators/cast/crew by the fans much more so over Liz Friedman or Chris Manheim or any female creator's involvement in the show. Steven was the creator that wanted to take the soulmate theme seriously. Steven was the creator that made sure Gabrielle had just as much development as Xena did. The storytelling flowed and thrived as much as it did alongside the WLW/queer representation because Steven inextricably combined them together. He made sure that you couldn't detract from one from the other. He made sure that all of it was a natural organic progression. And like I said - you can rewatch the whole TV show back over and you'll see that you can - because of his extremely creative and insightful contributions to what 'Xena: Warrior Princess' is - interpret it as an EPIC love story without feeling like you have to make sacrifices for or manipulate the main narratives because they all wrap around X&G both as individual queer characters and a queer character dynamic.

Here Steven is basically explaining how much these lead female characters are within and without of each other for eternity in much the same way as I've explained that they're one soul in two bodies whose spiritual essences permeated into each other to the point of not being able to separate one character from the other character even though they can be distinguishable as polar opposites in their characters - which is the true non-dual nature of what 'yin-yang' is.

Steven not only understands the absolutely profound relationship that X&G have between them but he also encourages the depiction of it romantically without weakening the storytelling that's already there and already well-established within the lore of the story and that's something that I wish creators in other TV shows would do that have a fully canon WLW/queer ship but can't seem to integrate the representation of that into the storytelling and narratives without making all of it an inconsistent, frustrating and pointless mess to watch because this is what WLW/queer representation IS. It's got nothing to do with whether it's "canon" or "main text" or "explicit" or whatever. It's to do with how well you can integrate the WLW/queer representation between queer or queer-coded characters into the main focus of the TV show and tightly wrap all that storytelling, lore and development around two lead characters that happen to be of the same gender identity without making either aspect weaker or less interesting or appealing or entertaining or compelling. Just making it so that none of it suffers because it's all important to illustrate and represent and the creators of this TV show do a damn fine job of it.

They don't always get everything right. But what they do get right - by the gods does it elevate the TV show into the queer stratosphere and it makes the pitiful attempts of it today look like an amateur's play and the reason why is obviously because they don't really care about it. Not like the 'Xena: Warrior Princess' creators did. Not like Steven did. And I'm just tired of the whole stereotype of male-created and male-dominated TV art/entertainment content being thought of as a negative to queer representation because XENA proves that wrong and I've actually seen for myself some horrifically bad WLW/queer representation created by queer female creators - believe it or not - precisely because they go full-out and full-on with the representation aspect and neglect the storytelling aspect and it's just awful to watch.

[elsaspants]

this BJD was a gift from a coworker and classmate of mine, she was so kind as to give her to me at the end of last summer!

today, I sat down and put her in this new coord, then dug through my fabrics to find something suitable to make into a matching hijab. I have wanted to shell this doll into Naima from Ciconia, and although I put that plan on pause, I still think of this as a Naima-inspired move. ☺️

[owari-no-ooutsuke]

[silentstardustz]

A lil' something I've been working on✨

I've been really fixating on the ado characters lately, so im doing a funny little sketch!

[akellachui]

Naima Art!! ✩✩

[petri-k0or]

Naima sketch

might colour later

[simsadilla]

The cutest baby on the bunny app!

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[marielucifendautriche]

jsjsjzjsidkdkfk say hi to Naima 💐

[cruelmiracles]

John Coltrane ǁ Naima (1960)

[girl4music]

It’s fascinating to me how they always seem to do role-reversal for Xena and Gabrielle when it comes to the AU/Uber/Reincarnation episodes with the exception of ‘When Fates Collide’ and the Harry, Mattie and Annie episodes. But ‘Between The Lines’ specifically makes that a thematic motif for Xena and Gabrielle’s next lifetimes. Shakti is a Warrior Prince and Aminestra is a pacifist guardian as the Mother of Peace. It’s not until you get to almost the end of the show that you realize that this role-reversal transition is fate and things have got to work out just so for it to be as it is with what you see in ‘Between The Lines’. Like… for example… with Gabrielle’s moral quandary in her Season 4 arc that she believes she’s using too much violence and she doubles down on the guilt of that belief because of Eli and what he says about life and love being The Truth and The Way. He shows Gabrielle that his ability to heal is all because of his conviction to non-violent methods in serving The Greater Good. So she ends up doubling down on both her guilt in using violence and in her love for Xena even though they contradict each other so she then ends up using violence because of her love for her.

But all throughout their future lives exploration in the episode ‘Between The Lines’ during the India arc, you just see her hacking and slashing away with a sword as Shakti. This feels extremely hypocritical at first… but when you watch it again after seeing the whole show you’re just like “Oh, of course” because her Way all along was to protect and defend through violence. Her next life would be the Way it is because she ends up taking Xena’s mantle and continuing her legacy as the Warrior Princess. So I wonder if she ever questions why she is who she is in her next lifetime even though she’s going through this whole spiritual journey with pacifism and would throw away her defensive weapon very soon. I wonder if she ever puts two and two together on what is revealed to her in ‘Between The Lines’ in searching for her Way. It’s just so fascinating to me how that episode is not only the one that informs us of future episodes but also brings in a new context to what we saw of past episodes. That the role-reversal transition is the fated trajectory for Xena and Gabrielle’s individual arcs because most of their alternate reality, afterlife and soul incarnation experiences would put them in a state and position where they are in opposition of each other and where their spiritual essences permeate into each other because of influencing and changing each other emotionally so much so that they become each other.

It all makes complete sense on rewatches. What seems inconsistent or even OOC at the time just turns out to be very clever retconning and foreshadowing because the two characters do eventually become each other. But I just find ‘Between The Lines’ in particular such a fascinating episode because that episode makes what was once just a fun experimentation for the creators a purposeful thematic motif that changes the character representation and development significantly for Xena and Gabrielle for the entire TV show not only forwards, but also backwards because you see that it’s actually how any of their arcs happen. It’s so damn profound.

It’s like what they say about time-travel. If you see what is to come for your future, you can change the present. But then,… if you change the present,… then you also end up recontextualizing the past because that’s fate. That’s how fate works. It’s the destined path that is created by their present and future experiences which seems completely coincidental to them at first UNTIL they get a look-in on it ahead of time and they make changes based on the experiences and knowledge they’ve accumulated from that look-in. I’ve always understood that that’s what ‘Between The Lines’ - or even the whole India arc - is. It’s the look-in to their individual changes going forward. But it specifically hits more with Gabrielle than it does with Xena because Xena’s changes aren’t so shocking. They’re significant changes too but the thematic visual of it doesn’t hit anywhere near as hard as it does with Gabrielle’s changes because her changes are a sensurround jolt that impact you when they happen. You feel those changes as if they’re happening inside your body. It’s a visceral experience with Gabrielle, whereas with Xena, it’s just a visual experience because we’re used to the chaotic tumultuous drama with her. Not with Gabrielle.

Her karmic cycle is that of not just becoming a warrior and hero, but also validating that masculine and active transition within her that you see happening because of becoming the warrior and hero. The Warrior Princess as Gabrielle or Warrior Prince as Shakti. Her destined Way. Her path, direction, trajectory, truth. That core being and nature that she was searching for and working towards in Season 4 in the India arc - of which she only gets wrong initially because she ignores what Shakti taught her and relies more so on what Eli teaches her when it’s the mehndi that contains Truth to who she is.

I think the message is very telling. Follow your own Way. Don’t follow someone else’s because they inspire you. That Way might actually go against your soul’s karma. You can be inspired by a person but you don’t need to emulate them or take on their lifestyle and worldview. See, Gabrielle never just had that problem with Xena, although that was the most obvious. Almost anyone she came across that she was in awe of she tries to be like and so struggles to gain their approval when she fails - as she inevitably would because it’s not right for her.

The only reason why Gabrielle takes on Xena’s mantle is because Xena is already so much a part of her core self as her soulmate. As her other half to a whole. As her Yin. None of this really makes any sense until her endgame where it is confirmed without a doubt that she’s Yang. If the Yin-yang chakram represents who these characters were, then it must also represent who they will become because Yin-yang is a thematic and symbolic visual in TV art/entertainment for change and evolution of Self.

The human representation of Yin-Yang is embodied through the lead characters and the lead characters are represented through the visual symbolism of Yin-yang. But it’s Gabrielle that truly makes that apparent within the overall story of what ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ is as both the author of The Xena Scrolls and the successor of the Warrior Princess’ legacy. In Gabrielle’s next life (as Shakti) she will follow Xena (as Arminestra) 50 years later but she will be an active party instead of a passive one - as rightfully shown in the episode ‘Between The Lines’ where they also reveal to us that their respective karmic cycles are eternally intertwined. That they do literally share the same soul and were just waiting for one another to meet in every lifetime, be it the past, present or future so they could bring out the best in each other whether as friends, lovers or even enemies. The point is for them to always learn from the presence of each other and that’s why they’re The Ultimate Ship.

[aulysoldacc]

"Ado but in Trolls isn't real!! She can't hurt u!!!"

Ado but in trolls:

[amysnotdeadyet]

please enjoy this absolute weirdo for #100cats no.97! you'll have to imagine the lap she was sprawled joyfully in 😻🎨