#also i learned A LOT researching for this!

[pawbean-soda]

1/ this is toby, so fictionkin and also a dog, so therian.

2/ I don't really think of them as types personally, feels kinda weird to me. Maybe it's a fictive/headmate thing. I'm a guy named toby (da one from creepypasta) and sometimes also a dog

3/ I get dog tail shifts sometimes, but their somewhat uncommon. Mostly I think the brain automatically looks for one because leopard, the other common fronter, almost always has one of some kind. Apart from that I just exist as toby, Maybe it's a fictive thing?

4/ take toby Rodgers, remove the pending murder charges, put him in a house, give him half done cookie batter for him to whisk, and that's me your looking at.

5/ I think it's great. I'm not very involved in it yet, but I want to be.

6/ clothes probably. I have a flannel that I really like, makes me feel a whole lot more like myself. My alterhumanity is also tied up in gender for me (trans man) so my binder. Baking also does this for some reason.

7/ I call it gender dysphoria alot because the biggest difference between my expected body and the one I get is gender. it's species/source dysphoria though. I want to claw off my face for the same reason I want top surgery.

8/ Read. Read lots. The best thing you can do right now is research. Not just a little bit, not just on the species you think you are or the branch or alterhumans you belong to, but all of it and in a large quantity.

9/ getting my hoodie back would be cool, or hoodie replacement I guess. it would be hard to find though. Nobody makes hoodies in both the pattern and texture that I would want/need.

10/ past life. I worship a death god/Psychopomp and maybe he put me here as a healing, learn to be a person thing?

11/ sorry, I got no friends. Not in the alterhuman community at least.

If you are a alterhuman, reblog and answer these questions!

(don't be afraid to write a lot, do what you want ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯)

1/ Which category of alterhumanity do you belong to?

2/ What/who is/are your type(s)? (if you have any)

3/ Do you experience shifts? If so, can you tell us your most common shifts and your strangest cameo shift (if you've ever had a cameo shift)?

4/ How do you experience your alterhumanity in everyday life?

5/ What do you think of the community?

6/ What are the things that make you most comfortable and euphoric in your alterhumanity?

7/ Are you experiencing species dysphoria?

8/ What advice would you like to say to a young alterhuman who has just awakened?

9/ Do you have/want to have gears?

10/ Do you know/have any theories about the origin of your alterhumanity? If so, tell us! (all beliefs are legitimate)

11/ Tag someone/a creature to answer these questions!ㅤᵕ̈

[beneathsilverstars]

A lot of people headcanon that Siffrin was something around 12-14 when the island disappeared, which does make sense. But it’s common enough fanon that I wanted to go back and figure out what’s actually canon!

Lots of evidence and math under the cut, including various things to consider when creating your own hc timeline, but tl;dr:

If we stick to only textual canon, then Siffrin only needs to have been old enough to row a boat, which I would guess to be 6-8. If we take into account the ranges id5 gave for everyone’s ages during canon, he theoretically could’ve been anywhere from 6-25 when the island disappeared. Or if we adhere to everything id5 has said, then he was a “teen” when it happened, so, 13-19.

Siffrin: I ran away from home once! I just didn't want to eat my veggies. And so I took our boat! Got to the beach, rowed away from the shore a bit. I was going to come back right away, I just wanted to scare my parents a bit! I started to row back towards the shore... And then, I...

People often assumes this means Siffrin was fairly young when they left. However, that relies on two assumptions, which are fairly reasonable, sure, but assumptions nonetheless: that they were young when this happened, and that this is when the island disappeared.

While throwing tantrums over vegetables is a stereotypically childish activity, chafing at strict or even well-meaning rules doesn’t belong exclusively to children. There are parents who continue treating their kids the same way even as they grow into teens and even full adults, before they move out or even just while they visit. Which is very frustrating for the kid! So imo it would make perfect sense for a teenager or even a young adult to go, “I can’t believe my parent is still trying to control what I eat like I’m a blinding 10 year old. If they won’t treat me like an adult at home, maybe I’ll prove my independence by leaving for a bit!”

It’s also possible that the event this dialogue refers to ended with Siffrin returning safely home! It’s fun to say that his story trailed off at the moment that the island was forgotten, but it’s possible he only stopped the retelling there because the curse kicked in, just like it would for any childhood memory. Maybe he didn’t get cut off from the island till he ran away for a second time. Maybe he was just on a regular, fully-sanctioned outing when it happened. Maybe he was even with other people. Who knows! Siffrin sure doesn’t!

(Edit: It’s word of god canon that the veggie event was the island’s disappearance, but it doesn’t necessarily affect our timeline anyway.)

I think the only thing this story proves is that Siffrin didn’t leave the island until after they were old enough to row the family boat. Unfortunately I don’t know for sure how old that would be. I did some research and found a couple posts about 6-7 year olds learning how to row, but one of them was using an inflatable raft, and the other was on a rowing team, so I don’t know how the difficulty compares. Young children really are quite good at picking up their parents’ hobbies, so I think even a 4-5 year old could learn how, but they may not be physically capable of handling an adult-size boat. It really comes down to a question of core strength / endurance. Found some posts saying the weight of the boat doesn’t matter as much as the weight of the oars, though, so maybe old fashioned boat vs modern inflatable raft doesn’t matter that much…? So maybe it would be possible for a child to row a small wooden skiff at around age 6-8. Probably not for long, but that just makes it all the more realistic for them to drift farther than they meant to and then struggle to return to shore.

So: Siffrin was at least 6-8 when they left!

Bonnie: I think my village was really close to it!!! My sister said it was all everyone could talk about for weeks!!!

If we assume “my village” means Bambouche, the island disappearance would have to be after Nille ran away with Bonnie, but still long enough ago that Bonnie doesn’t remember it directly. If we define “preteen” as age 10-12, then the longest ago this could possibly be would be 12 years. On the other side, I think it’s reasonable for a 10 year old to not remember a major (but personally irrelevant) event that happened when they were 6, meaning the closest it could be is 4 years ago.

If we follow WoG (word of god) age ranges, then Siffrin is in their “mid to late 20s”, which I’ll define as 24-29. Subtracting our 4-12 years ago range for the island’s disappearance, Siffrin could’ve been at youngest 12-17 and at oldest 20-25. If we stick to only TC (textual canon), I think one could interpret Siffrin as anywhere from 18-35, which would mean they were at youngest 6-23 and at oldest 14-31.

Of course, “my village” could also mean wherever Bonnie and Nille lived before running away. I think the youngest age at which it’s likely for an adult to remember a personally-irrelevant event from their childhood is maybe 5. Nille’s WoG age range is “late teens to early 20s”, which I would define as 16-23, which means the disappearance could be 11-18 years ago. Combining this with our 4-12 range gives us 4-18, meaning WoG Siffrin could have been at youngest 6-11 and at oldest 20-25.

But if we’re only going off of TC, we can say Nille’s as old as we want, so the disappearance just has to be at least 4 years ago for Bonnie to not directly remember.

Isabeau: This article says there's no record of him anywhere... Up until he appeared out of thin air sometime in his adulthood. Looks like he lived in the city of Corbeaux for a few years before he became the King...

According to the change god statue exposition cutscene, the King started his rampage “almost a year ago now”. The way Isabeau says the bit about Corbeaux kind of implies that the King lived other places before that, but not to the point that it’s unreasonable to say he didn’t. So if we define “a few” as 2-4, then the soonest the king could’ve appeared is 3-5 years ago, meaning the island disappeared at least 3 years ago. We already said it has to be at least 4 years ago, so this doesn’t change our math.

How old were Nille and Bonnie when they ran away? How old was Sif when their home got zapped?

id5: Both were teens.

Womp womp, there it is. WoG says 13-19!

But while we’re here, here’s a summary of everything you might want to consider while creating your timeline:

Siffrin must have been at least old enough to row a boat. I’m not an expert in boats but I think it’s reasonable for a kid to be capable of rowing at age 6+, but a 6-8 year old may struggle to maneuver the oars of an adult-sized boat, and wouldn’t be able to row very hard or for very long. Doesn’t necessarily take much effort to get far enough for waves and currents to take you farther, though.

It’s WoG that the veggie event is the island’s disappearance, but if you’re going off of TC, the disappearance could have happened later instead. And a dramatic disagreement over veggies could theoretically happen at any age! Its causes could also range from rather practical (Siffrin is extremely picky and his parents are worried about his health) to pure power struggle (Siffrin just wants more choice in what he eats but his parents just want him to follow the rules they’ve set).

Since the King lived in Corbeaux for “a few” years before his nearly-a-year-long rampage, the island must have disappeared at least 3 years ago.

Since Bonnie remembers Nille telling them about the gossip surrounding the island’s disappearance, I doubt they would’ve forgotten the gossip itself if it had happened somewhat recently. (I think it must have been at least 4 years ago.)

If Bonnie’s reference to “my village” means Bambouche, the disappearance must have occurred after Nille ran away with them.

If Bonnie’s reference to “my village” means wherever they lived with Nille before running away, then the disappearance could be before Bonnie was born. But it would still have to be when Nille was old enough to pay attention to the gossip and remember it for a while. (I think she must have been at least 5 years old when it happened.)

According to id5, Siffrin is in their mid-to-late twenties during the game, and Nille is in their late teens to early twenties.

According to id5, Siffrin was a teen when the island disappeared, and Nille was a teen when she ran away from home.

You can do whatever you want forever, including contradicting textual canon. ^^

[what-even-is-thiss]

Is it common knowledge that Mormons still have prophets like our current one is 100 years old named Russel m Nelson and all the queer Mormons hope he dies after the guy who is next in line dallin oaks the guy in line after him is pretty chill as far as high ranking Mormons go tho

I think it’s well known by people who have done any level of research into them even on the surface level but I don’t think most people know about it. I learned a bit about Mormons in American history in California public school but I mostly learned about the basic facts. Joseph Smith’s treasure hunting, their migration west, their being annoying and the often disproportionate amount of persecution they received until they reached Utah and forcibly kicked out a bunch of native Americans. That’s about where most histories about Mormonism ended that I learned about growing up.

I originally learned about the prophet thing from my family members that are really into genealogy. Mormons run a lot of the genealogy research websites and organizations out there so if you are deep into genealogy especially in the US you might have reason to interact with the Mormon church even if you’re not a member.

That’s also how I learned about the whole Mormons baptizing the dead thing which is the reason that Mormons are really into genealogy. They perform ritual baptisms for the deceased by using a still living person to stand in for them. Genealogy is one way they get names for these rituals. Another way is by physically walking into graveyards and writing down names. And btw if you’re not Mormon the idea that after you die a Mormon could baptize you is kind of insulting to your own personal beliefs. I’ve been baptized and gone through my confirmation in my own church. I know what I believe in. The idea that some rando will someday pretend to be me and get baptized about it is kind of weird.

Back on topic though, yes the Mormons still have a prophet that they believe literally talks to God. The different branches of Mormonism disagree on who the rightful first prophet after Joseph Smith was. The LDS church is just the biggest sect of Mormonism. All branches of Mormonism also think that all the other branches prophets are fake and theirs is the real one.

[s0ckh3adstudios]

I REALLY need to stop drawing for now because doing so is inconvenient and uncomfortable but I really wanted to get some stuff out for this AU because I have MANY ideas for it- So!!!!! Here's my take on an ISAT roleswap!!

This is Time Spent Among Stars (TSAS)! I've been brainstorming a lot for it during the past couple of days. If you know me, you know how I go about swap AU's. I try to make things as logical and faithful to both the characters and the universe and the original story as a whole.

When it comes to a roleswap for ISAT, I find it to be a very particular task. This is because ISAT happens for very specific reasons that all stem from Siffrin and the current circumstances he's in. So, go for a roleswap where the circumstances are a bit different. But I also don't want to retread on the story ISAT already told. By that I mean, for example, Twinkle is NOT Bonnie. I wonder who they could be? Alongside this is the fact that is not neccessarily a story about Bonnie needing to learn to talk about feelings or whatever with the fact that they want to stay with the party longer. That is NOT their issue to tackle, that is Siffrin's.

There's also the whole star theme. I always kind of dislike when swap AU's still include star theming and a star Loop equivalent because stars are SIFFRIN'S THING. Now you may be confused. because. hey Sock. you did that with this AU? YES. YES I DID. BUT I FOUND A WAY TO STILL CONNECT IT BACK TO BONNIE REASONABLY AND GAVE THIS AU A REASON TO STILL HAVE ITS CONNECTION TO STARS AND THE COUNTRY AND WHATNOT. GUYS I GOT IT UNDER CONTROL. AND THERE IS A REASON TWINKLE IS A STAR CHARACTER.

That's not enough preamble though- I'll put this under the cut, here's my more specific thoughts on some things and the swaps!

Bonnie is the Traveler (The Runaway)

A little kid living on the streets of Bambouche. They had washed up on shore in another town where they were tossed around foster families. They eventually ran away as none of these homes felt like theirs. They didn’t have many memories and didn’t want their memories to be with these people. Similarly to canon, after Bambouche was frozen by the curse, Bonnie ran and ran and ran from the town to the brink of exhaustion before being found by the party. When Bonnie was younger, Petronille ran away from home with them. They came from an abusive home. The night was stormy and yet Nille decided to escape by boat. They got close to country which was actively being forgotten. Nille fell from the boat, injured, but young Bonnie was fine and their boat wasn’t close enough to join. They would float back to Vaugarde with tampered memories.

Isabeau is the Housemaiden (The Missionary)

When he first went to his local House of Change, he was so inspired and interested in it all that he decided to stay and join the House. He does a lot of mission work, going around Vaugarde to teach the Change belief and whatnot.

Mirabelle is the Fighter (The Warrior)

She felt betrayed and confused and broken after Euphrasie betrayed everyone and did this to Vaugarde. She questioned everything. But she knew there was no time for that. She had to save her country. She felt obligated. She was still blessed by Euphrasie, an action done in the hope that Mirabelle would stay with her and watch the worlds perfection be frozen in time. She reufsed. She became more of a fighter after leaving on her journey, growing much more stressed and a little more on edge. She often doesn’t know her strength.

Siffrin is the Researcher (The Archivist) 

He made a different choice. Instead of letting their hazy baggage hold them back, they wanted answers. If they could never fit in here, he would figure out where he came from and why. He’s spent much of his new life in Vaugarde researching both Vaugarde itself and the mysterious tale of the country he believes they come from. They’re a little quieter and more stern and factual here, but they’re still loveable punny Sif.

Odile is the Chef (The Kid)

A talented chef who takes “too many cooks in the kitchen” to heart and often flew solo. Here she’s more interested in the recipes and food culture of Vaugarde. Instead of a familytale, she’s looking for something else- A book that is like a familytale but for family recipes. Recipes for meals or baked goods can tell you a lot about a family and their history. It’s unique to them. You can tell a lot from them by them if you know how to look. She never had these sorts of meals or recipe books back home. Not one genre of food she could resonate with personally because of her divide between Ka Bue and Vaugarde.

Euphrasie as the King (The Housemaiden}

Claude, her dearest, was killed in an accident regarding one of her creations. It broke her. It got Euphrasie rethinking everything. She didn’t want things to change anymore. She loved how things were. She didn’t want Mirabelle to change, she was happy. She didn’t want Rorey to change, he was doing so much better than when she first met him. She broke down. She wanted the entirety of Vaugarde to stay in this same peaceful happy moment. Not to mention now understanding the terror of the idea of losing her country like Rorey (The King) did.

A lot of other details are relatively the same because these are still the same characters, they’ve just gone through some different circumstances that put them in different roles. Mirabelle is still “the chosen one” and gathers the party. Isabeau is still second to be recruited. Siffrin still doesn’t talk about his feelings (but will have a friend quest where Bonnie helps them with that). Odile, like how she wouldn’t say what she was researching, now won’t tell them what kind of chef she is. Bonnie still isn’t allowed to fight. Etc etc etc.

A lot of these are still concepts and are subject to change but I would love to answer questions and doodle some more when I'm not tired LMAO. Merry Christmas Eve, may Time Spent Among Stars woe be upon ye!

[erinwantstowrite]

Wait did Loki already know about Dick and Jason and all that because he did research /before/ Peter got sent there on not just he was there without telling Peter? And that's why he ended up in that universe specifically cuz he had family there? Or I did I misread something?

oh no Loki is fully lying out of his ass right now. but really he's not lying, it's more like he's not telling the full truth ? idk how much I can really tell you guys cuz I don't want to spoil it... alright, so i can't tell y'all what he was doing specifically but i can tell y'all his general plan and some character insight

i'm feeling in a slightly spoilery mood so!!! if you don't want to know anything about what Loki is up to, don't continue reading! but be aware that at this point in time, there are some things that we just won't know about Loki in the fic itself that i'll talk about here!

before all of this he had absolutely no intentions of teaming up with Peter, he was just exploiting a weakness and trying to get Peter out of the way (this is the same as to what he did with Thor). he knows that Tony would be distracted, and in their efforts to find Peter they would probably be stressed out and their forces would thin because finding usually involves splitting up. they would also have to deal with Mysterio and Ohnn (....and a secret third character 👀). it would give him plenty of opportunity to go in and try and pick them off one by one. except it's not working on the Avengers side. we'll get more to this later 😁

after his first meeting with Peter, Loki figured that Peter would probably be a good place to get some intel if he needed it, because Peter trusted him and was not aware about Loki and his past with the Avengers (or at least not fully aware). the more that he learned about the Bats and Peter's relation to them, as well as learning about Peter, the more he figured it wouldn't hurt to have Peter on his side. he thought that he could twist Peter into believing the Avengers weren't coming. his plans have been shifting around, meeting his needs since the beginning. he's been standing off to the side and pushing the characters around trying to figure out what they will and won't do, like he's observing a game and they have no idea he's moving pieces around when they weren't looking.

however this plan was going to take a lot more time... and Klarion summoning Thor ruined it completely. he had to speed up the process and make his offer quite literally months before he thought he would. so in a way, we can thank Klarion for derailing Loki's plot

Loki had no idea what would happen when he directed Ohnn and Mysterio towards Peter. he knew that Ohnn had been traveling between worlds for a couple of months, but he had no idea if Peter would even survive going to this other universe. he also had no idea about Peter's relation to the Bats until he started digging around for his new plan (Plan: Exploit Peter's Love for his Parents). the thing is, is that his plan would have failed no matter what, because Loki failed to see that Peter's adopted family cares deeply about him, and this bond means just as much as any blood ties he could have. his own insecurities about his standing within his own family got to him. when he was digging around in Peter's life he saw that Peter's foster experience had failed. and he might, maybe, just a little bit... feel bad that the family that was going to adopt Peter were killed because of what happened in the Battle of New York.

so: while he has been very intentionally manipulating Peter... he was thinking of Peter's best interest after a certain point. instead of him not caring what happened to him as long as he was out of the way, Loki did start preparing to make sure that Peter could stay in this world and that he would be taken care of. because i don't believe Loki is an evil person, and even now he's just a little silly. he might have been a little bit crazy with Thor, but to be fair, every other time Loki had a plan and he wasn't crazy enough, Thor came out of it. I feel like they have different standards than what we would as humans. because if you have a sibling then I feel like you'll understand me here... me and my brother used to fight a lot and while we never actually chased each other with knives, we did chase each other with other weapons (whatever wouldn't actually kill but was within our reach) and I think this is their version of that. like me and my brother are super close now but when we were kids we tried to kill each other a lot lmfao. so Thor will probably forgive Loki because that's his brother. (and I'm pretty sure that Loki was under some form of manipulation by Thanos during the Battle of Manhattan/New York??? correct me if I'm wrong, but if that's the case Peter would eventually see that Loki isn't an evil person.) Loki is very chaotic neutral in my eyes, leaning towards evil or good depending on the day. so he's gonna get his ass kicked for trying to take over the world, but like, that's just his enrichment... you gotta let him try every few months/once a year or you're not doing enough to entertain and care for your sneaky God Alien Guy

[alexanderwales]

This is someone demonstrating the use of a rope dart. It's a blade on the end of rope, and you swing it around as a weapon. The woman demonstrating it probably put a lot of time into a bunch of awesome moves and a little choreo, and that's a skill worthy of saying "wow, cool!" about.

But I go to the comments and see a bunch of people saying "I didn't know this was a real weapon!" or "wow, amazing to see this forgotten historical practice".

And ... no. Sorry. This is a performance art. It's cool, but it's in the same class as juggling. I'm a juggler, I think juggling is cool, I have a lot of respect for people showing their routines, but I'm not (implicitly or otherwise) making claims about its combat effectiveness or its historical use by military or private individuals.

Did the rope dart ever actually exist? I have read just about as much as I can on the subject without talking to an expert and/or learning Mandarin. This was one of those irritating research questions where everyone keeps showing the same four pictures over and over, and in a quest for ad revenue, the same text has been copy and pasted hundreds of times all over the internet, usually without a citation.

Did people ever use a rope with a weight on the end? Yes, absolutely. Grappling hooks are great for boarding enemy vessels, and something like a bolas is great for entangling the legs of a horse; the Chinese have pretty well-documented use of both.

Are there records of a rope dart? I mean ... kind of. But there are "records" of lots of things, and if we can look at a video of something like the above and think "man, that's dope as hell" then I think we should assume that people have been thinking that for basically all of human history. People have also always loved talking about their blorbos. They like cool shit, they like grandiose characters that are divorced from reality. Most of the very scant sources are approximately on that level. There's a bit more evidence for something called a meteor hammer (or comet hammer in some translations), but that had a weight on the end of the rope/chain, not a blade, and there's also very little evidence its historical use.

So unless there's some killer source unknown to the people whose research I was reading, I am willing to say with a reasonable level of confidence that rope darts have pretty much always been a performance art in one way or another, a fun little skill toy, or something used for martial arts busking.

(I should mention that the research question is complicated by the impact of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese martial arts. The Red Guard wanted to transform martial arts to align with Maoist doctrine, and a lot of the traditional martial arts were seen as religious and anti-proletarian, bourgeois and decadent. In practice, this meant that a lot of martial arts masters were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, forbidden to teach, or killed. Additionally, a lot of primary source documents were lost, and by "lost" I mean intentionally burned and destroyed by the Red Guard. So it's possible that (in addition to me poking at a pretty intense language barrier) there were better historical documents chronicling the dubious history of the rope dart which no longer exist.)

Anyway, if you go to read up on the rope dart, you'll see a lot of people singing its praises as a weapon, and fundamentally, physics and practicality are working against it. The best argument I've seen for a similar weapon is a claw on the end of a rope to grab someone on horseback and pull him off, but that's a claw, not a dart, and I'm still somewhat skeptical. I don't think I need to get into why a rope dart is a bad weapon when compared to most other options. It shares most of the weaknesses of throwing knives, which themselves are much more sport/performance than of practical use.

There's such a deep desire to root cool shit in history and authenticity and practicality. There's this burning need, I think, to see a performance routine like this and say that it's a useful skill. I get it, it's a fantasy, but trying to make that fantasy more real by dressing it in the garb of reality is just ... I don't know. Sad, I guess. Like we can't see a cool thing and accept it as a cool thing, like it's got to glom onto something else, take on the power of truth.

That said, am I going to include a villain with a rope dart in my next book? Probably, yeah. It's undeniably cool.

[friend-shaped-but]

Marathi Rukmini Jewellery Breakdown

Ok so I found this art of Krishna and Rukmini by Himanshu Bankar where rukmini is shown in marathi traditional attire and it made me SO SO HAPPY to see that because she's rarely depicted like that! And thenI saw it being shared on tumblr by a lot of ppl who didn't know that whatever clothes/jewellery rukmini is wearing is traditional marathi bridal attire.

So I thought I'd do a deep dive into this painting and talk about her clothes, hair, and jewellery! This is a long post, imma put everything under the cut! Tagging @cyndaquillt because you asking me about marathi miku made me learn a lot more about marathi jewellery, @sharngapani for showing me this image in the first place, and @chahaa-piun-ja for cheering me on!

Hair:

Her bun is a hairstyle called "Khopa" (खोपा) and the gold pin in her hair is called a Juda(जुडा). These can either be gold pins or have strings of pearls attached to them and I'm thinking that the latter is what she is wearing. Then the maang tika is pretty standard across cultures. The golden band between the maang tika and the juda is called a Bijwara(बिजवरा) and it's not used much in the modern day so I did have to do a bit of research to find out what it was.

Images, from left to right: Khopa, juda, and a minimalist maang tika/bindi.

Face

On her forehead, and hanging on either side of her face are Mundavalya(मुंडावळ्या), a forehead ornament worn by Maharashtrian brides & grooms. It is made from pearl & has two pearls strings which stand for the togetherness of bride & groom. Chandrakor is actually my ABSOLUTE fave part about maharashtrian culture it's the crescent moon on her forehead. Then on her nose is a pearl Nath(नथ). She's also wearing Kanpatti(कानपट्टी) aka ear strips on her ears and they're attached to her normal earrings. Fun fact btw the kanpatti in her ears looks a lot like the one my mom has.

Images from left to right: mundavalya+chandrakor, nath, kanpatti(without earrings)

Neck:

Generally what I've seen people wear at their fanciest is three-four necklaces, one right at the throat, one slightly lower, and a couple hanging almost down to mid-chest or upper stomach. Rukmini in that drawing is following that pattern. The choker-style necklace she's wearing in the picture isn't super clear but I think it's a thushi(ठुशी). It is a choker necklace crafted out of gold beads in varying sizes and is adjustable thanks to a soft thread that can be adjusted according to the wearer’s convenience. The next one seems to be a plain golden chain but the fact that she's wearing a mangalsutra at the time Krishna is taking her away is icing on top!

Thushi, mangalsutra and mohanmal in the picture below!

Arms:

There is a shela around her shoulders. These are generally made of silk and worn by brides.

Rukmini is wearing a vaki(वाकी) or bajuband(बाजूबंद).

Maharashtrian women generally wear green glass bangles(I've heard north indians wear red ones someone pls confirm this), and for weddings and festivities they're layered with gold bangles. Today, for everday wear, some people wear only one golden bangle on each arm(like my mom) or they might wear glass bangles(my grandma does this), and only do the gold-glass layering during special occassions.

The names of these bangles differ according to the way they're made and where they're placed on the layering. The thickest gold bangles nearest to the hand are called Tode(तोडे) and they're pair of heavy gold bangles that feature intricate designs that go all around the bangle. Since they keep the layering in place, they're generally smaller than the actual wrist and include a screw and hinge to fasten them. The gold bangles in the middle and back are called Patlya(पाटल्या), are a type of traditional gold bangles and are often decorated with intricate designs on the outside.

She also has a kamarbandh on her waist but ig that's also pretty standard so I didn't include separate pictures

[atheneum-of-you]

I havent been on Tumblr in a few days and that's kinda sad for my brain. I love Tumblr. But I had to do some introspection and realized that posting had stopped feeling fun and moreso an obligation.

I started my blog as a little virtual diary, and a way to just talk about hellenic polytheism because it made me happy. But at some point I noticed that all of my posts had started becoming educational and I felt stressed at the idea of not putting up long teaching posts but I'd be stressed writing them because I wanted to post other little stuff about helpol. And I kinda had to sit with myself and ask why I felt like I HAD to constantly post lessons. Because I don't. My blog is my own, I can have fun with it.

I think some of the anxiety also came from some comments people have made about me and my server. About how a lot of my members have looked to me as a sort of leader and guide and how it's a bad thing. Which I can understand. I think sometimes I get scared of being wrong, so I try to learn as much as possible, and then I share that, and I'm looked to as someone knowledgeable on stuff. And it makes me happy when I can help my friends and members! It does make me anxious, though, when it's treated like they don't have minds of their own and follow me exclusively without doing research. And then the idea of doing lesson posts fills me with dread because it feels like I'm feeding into those allegations. But then I don't want people to NOT be educated on a topic I know a lot about. But I don't want people to think the people who follow my lesson posts are mindless sheep. And I'm certainly no shepard, I'm still learning myself. So it kinda becomes this endless cycle of internal turmoil.

It was a weird sense of catharsis, making these realizations. Remembering that this was never a teaching account, but rather, one for me to gush about how happy I am in helpol and vent when I'm upset and share the things that I learn and know and hopefully inspire/teach others. That this account was started because I live in a Christian household, and I wanted a safe space to be my most authentic self.

I'll continue posting lessons, of course! I genuinely love making them, and I love how many people they help. But I'm gonna keep in mind that the main focus of this blog has always been my secret little hidey hole of emotions ♡

[bumbldee]

Gristol, Head of HR AU

Where Gristol bitched too much about how poorly ran the Psychonauts is, even citing his sources, and inexplicably gets hired as the Head of HR for his community service.

Some doodles before i go off for holiday, wont be back for like another week

Anyways ramble about this under the cut

Basically, before Gristol gets his verdict, Sasha's assigned to see what's up w him to figure out what's a good punishment.

Gristol spends like a long time ranting about how piss poor the Psychonauts is managed. As he was supposed to blend in, he researched EVERY ethic and code that the psychonauts were oblidged to as he wanted to fit in. His mother never wanted him to end up like his father, so she forced him to learn management and strategy as a kid, and he's DAMN well good at it, except for being a leader. As a stress reliever he'd written down everything wrong with management, and how he'd fix it, for the past 3 years of him working there. Employee's who constantly breached conduct, how shit the hiring security was, etc etc

Sasha sees his manifesto and is like, somewhat impressed with it. He sends it off to Truman, whose also surprised with it.

At first, Gristol tries to escape for like, a month. But then he realized this was the best he was going to get, seeing that he did not have any other skills than management and planning, or even a certified high school degree.

He's actually good at his job, improving employee wellfair and turnout by around 12%. He takes it extremely seriously but at the same time he doesn't want to be there, he's grumpy and it kinda puts everyone off.

Even though he's lived through the life of the common person and what they need, he still believes in Grulovia's dictatorship. His empathy and sudden want for change in management was a result of going through it himself, so he's mostly just serving what he would've wanted. Big ol hypocrite.

Managing a single department has kind of turned him off the idea of trying to be Gzar entirely. He realized the hard way he's not suited for leadership roles.

For like the first few months, he's forced to sit in a little desk next to Truman's with a shitty little typewriter. He's put there because Truman needs to see his performance + it's funny to him. Eventually though he gets really bad backpain from crouching over to type on his little typewriter, and does get his own little office.

Hollis NEVER agreed to hiring him, and was really pissed when Truman did it without her input. They spend a lot of their first interactions arguing, but they do eventually get along somewhat, sharing the same annoyance on dumb decisions Truman or Employees did. They're still hostile but like, they won't try to kill each other anymore.

Gristol has what he needs, he's provided simple accommodations (a small room with a shitty kitchen and a small bathroom) and an allowance (300-500 a month, it's mostly fun + food money).

Lori was originally going to give him a "Best Mail Clerk!" mug, but then the events of Psychonauts 2 happens and she never gets to give him his mug. When he gets hired as head of hr, she cancels out Mail Clerk from the mug and written down "head of HR"

One of Gristol's duties is to water Truman's plants in his office.

Gristol initially tried to have Raz fired, (everyone thought it was because he was salty Raz ruined his plans, nah it's because y'know he's 10) but with Truman's insistence he stayed on, Gristol had updated his contract. Raz is only permitted to go on less dangerous missions and more frequent mental health inspections. He might've had to forge some documents to be able to register Raz to work. Maybe.

[lalalian]

choosing weapons + what I'm choosing and why | aethergarde academy

date: december 24, 2024

The most common weapon riders choose to fight with is the sword. The sword is the most practical and it's definitely a lot easier to fight with than like a battle axe.

If you're as picky as me, you may be wondering about the practicality of some of the weapons students are able to choose to learn in the academy.

I know I know, this is shifting, why worry about practicality? First of all, true, but like... let me have my moment ok 😒😒

Today, I'll just be talking about what I chose to go with, why, some practical aspects, and an easier variation for those who don't want to suffer as much as I do (yall are smarter than me).

table of contents:

my primary weapon: close combat weapon

phasing: a skill

my secondary weapon: long range weapon

easier variation

primary weapon

Before I even redid the aethergarde script, I wanted to fight with a scythe-- so that's gonna be my primary weapon. As I was doing some research on the technicalities of this... I was... uh... a bit disheartened.. BUT! Riders aren't human, and magic exists... so... I do think we can get away with a few things, can't we?

I did use chatgpt to help me come up with how scythe fighting would work, but I will be explaining how it works in my own words here.

Fighting with a scythe isn't easy in the slightest. I assume that most riders also wouldn't choose to have a scythe as their primary weapon, mostly bc, well, there is a pretty steep learning curve.

Scythes are originally meant for cutting grass and harvesting crops; the main point of the design, the curved blade, is the biggest obstacle when talking about practicality. However, that is what makes a scythe cool so... I'm keeping it 😒

When you look up how practical fighting with a scythe would be, a lot of people would just hit a foam head with the blade facing down, right on the forehead. I never intended for scythes to be used in that kind of brutish way, it's just so inelegant honestly and takes away from the opulence of the scythe, so i kinda was like 'mm... yall are just haters' and kept researching. Then i came across another guy that tried to execute that kind of classic beheading motion-- and that also wouldn't really work out due to strength imbalances and some general balance issues in general.

My last resort was chatgpt, and now I feel like I have a solid foundation on how to use a scythe and trust me, it's not boring or too impractical (maybe a little, but let me know what yall think).

As I mentioned earlier, riders aren't human-- even before they meet their bonds, they aren't technically human; more information abt that in this post. Riders are fundamentally different than humans-- especially higher ranked riders. Higher ranked riders will have more stamina and endurance than humans; since the way I planned out scythe fighting requires more energy than most weapons... lower tiered riders and humans are highly discouraged from specializing in scythes.

Scythes require the user to have a lithe but agile physique. You need to be light enough on your feet to execute rotational attacks, and it's best to have some kind of rhythm so as to not distort balance. Core strength is also important to maintaining balance.

Another big thing with scythes is that there would inherently be a lot of space open when you fight-- this would be especially detrimental when fighting with more than one person. Honestly, this wouldn't be too much of an issue anyway because all riders are taught to use their aura to shield their bodies, but while extremely rare, there could be some situations where you should not/cannot use magic. Even with the shield, I did implement another move that would fill in this gap; phasing.

what is phasing?

Phasing is almost a scythe-exclusive skill. Phasing allows the fighter to move quickly from one position to another-- it's similar to that quick dodge feature in many fighting games. Phasing also doesn't take too much energy to execute, but it does take a little getting used to when you use this skill a few times. Phasing is mostly used with scythe masters because scythes (in this DR) help control balance by using your own mana to power weights inside the staff. The heaviness of these weights will vary as you move and use the scythe. Phasing is best used to cut through tough things or to simply move from one position to another quickly. Phasing would be a great skill to use among all riders, but it would take more effort for those who don't swing their weapon around their body often. Since scythes disperse extra bits of mana around your body as you fight, it's far easier for you to phase. A sword fighter would need to not only focus on fighting, reflexes, stance, defense (including strengthening their body with mana + using mana as a shield for attacks that cannot be defended in time physically), but also on gathering mana in a bubble around the body and focusing just enough on phasing to do said skill. Scythe masters can learn to phase through longer distances, but it's not super easy to do.

You will be learning how to use scythes with magic and without magic-- meaning that those weights would essentially not work or vary as you move. You'd be wearing culltine jewelry of some kind to block off your aura to practice not using magic when you fight + get used to the feeling of not having mana.

secondary weapon

Note that whatever secondary weapon you choose should cover the weaknesses you've got with your main weapon.

My secondary weapon of choice is a tessen fan. Initially, I was just going to go with the classic longbow because of its flexibility, but I think a tessen fan would provide a bit more flexibility in terms of transportation and fighting close-up + long-range. I can't decide which would be better, a spiked fan or a smoother fan...

PHOTO 1) These kinds of sharp points are better for those with weapons that are a lot more long-ranged-- like spears, chains, whips, or throwing knives.

PHOTO 2) This fan is similar to what I'm going to use. I def won't have that pattern on the ends of the fan bc it'll weaken the edges (😭😔) but I think I'll try to get one with some sort of pattern on the hilt + the inside of the fan. This kind of fan is best for defense and close combat (slashes).

If you are going to use a tessen fan, make sure you get one that supports auto-loading (the auto-loading enchantment allows you to not have to replace the boshuriken every time you throw one-- this enchantment would definitely double the price of the fan unfortunately, but it really is worth it!).

example of fighting with boshuriken + the fan (long range)

One of the biggest reasons why I chose this weapon is because it can be used closer to the opponent— way more than the scythe— and I can use it to shoot at stuff. It also looks fancy and it's pretty easy to transport.

easier variation

While the sword and a longbow are not technically a bad option, consider changing up the sword for a different weapon. Swords are the most predictable compared to something like a battle axe. Longbows are always a great choice for a secondary weapon even if they are common; this is mostly because you can quickly shoot arrows in a short amount of time, the arrows travel pretty damn far, and they can do a generous amount of damage.

An easier weapon combo would be:

Tessen fan (Long and close) Throwing knives (Long range): Both can be used close and long range, and I'm sure you could get a waiver to excel in the tessen fan only if you wanted to. You can substitute the throwing knives with a long bow if you want to be able to fight from a wider range.

[closetkitsune]

...sooo yeah, I've seen a lot of posts about "tiktok therians" and also younger therians in general and I might as well get my two cents about it out here.

Short version: leave them alone; if they bother you that much then block them and move on instead of wasting your energy

Long version: Loud sigh... I feel like I might get some hate for this, but I might as well get it off my chest sooner or later.

Look, I get it, people are frustrated with how things are being watered down, but please think before you cause needless damage. What if, instead of your teacher correcting your answers on a quiz or test, they just insulted you, ignored you, and kicked you out of class? Not only would you not learn anything, but you'd probably end up disliking the teacher, if not developing a dislike for the subject they taught as a whole (as younger crowds tend to do). I've seen this happen in LGBT+ spaces and it saddens me to see it here, too.

Doesn't anyone else remember what it's like to be a teenager, exploring your identity, exploring concepts of the world in general, learning things, growing and maturing as a person? People get stuff wrong and misuse terms ALL. THE. TIME. Especially when young! That doesn't mean that some of them policing terms and identities is okay, of course; I don't blame anyone for taking a stand when it comes to that.

It's important to ensure that misinformation doesn't spread, of course. And that isn't done with gatekeeping and rage; it's done with compassion and patience. Not everyone is built for that sort of thing, of course; I'm not saying everyone out there needs to have the patience of a saint to correct people when they get certain alterhuman-related concepts or terms incorrect. Just know that being a bully on any level, no matter the excuse, will cause more harm than good.

"But it's the only way they'll learn!" No. Those are the words of someone who is letting their frustration and anger guide their actions. Maybe some people will need that kind of kick in the rear, but that should never, ever, ever be the action of choice. To be fair, I might be biased in this regard; my abusive guardian used that excuse all the time to make me do things because she didn't fully understand how my neurodivergence affected me. As a result, every time I see/hear anything similar to that, I'm strongly against it because it only reminds me of the bullying I endured.

Those who have been in this space for a while need to be welcoming to newcomers, willing to point to resources on some level, but still be firm in their boundaries in case someone decides to start trouble. Gatekeeping is not the answer and will never be the answer; the only thing it does is make the whole community look bad while ultimately causing damage. Of course, if you don't have the spoons to deal with any of this, then just block and move on. don't waste your energy on something you know isn't going to do you any good.

Those who are new to the space NEED to do their research from older, more established sources instead of only defining things in a way that they prefer. Things are going to exist in ways that don't make you the most comfortable, but you have the tools to keep that out of your space and you should absolutely make use of them.

I think everyone needs a reminder here that You are in charge of you. If something upsets you, it's your responsibility to block the appropriate people, set up the appropriate filters, whatever you need to do to make your space safe. If you claim an identity, you should at the very least know what it means and refrain from trying to needlessly police it.

And, I say this as a sex-repulsed asexual: sexual things are going to exist in every single space, be it an identity, fandom, hobby, whatever. It's not inherently bad, but it's certainly okay to not like it and it certainly shouldn't be aimed at minors. Set up your filters, block as needed, and move on. (And if you're the one posting NSFW stuff, tag it or otherwise mark it appropriately.)

If you're coming to tumblr from Tiktok, welcome! I hope you can find a safe space here. If you're a minor, please remember to practice basic internet safety. Don't share your age or location, don't show your face (masks are great for this!), be careful who you talk to, etc.

Please, don't fight each other. Educate each other and stand together. The world is a scary place; we don't need to add more bickering where it could be avoided. And we certainly don't want to alienate people who don't need to be.

(Obligatory disclaimer because this is the internet: please remember to use common sense and critical thinking; I'm not going to tolerate any logical fallacies. I don't have the patience for that.)

[sharpjay217]

So Minecraft has new wolves!!

I am very happy about this, but it does make me curious what species each variation is based off of! You too? Awesome!

Rusty Wolf = Dhole

Seeing a little red jungle wolf took me right back to reading The Jungle Book as a kid, so I pretty much instantly decided they were dholes! A.k.a. Asian wild dogs or red dogs. They're an endangered canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia, and they live in large clans ranging from 12-40 members.

Pale (Original) Wolf & Black Wolf = Grey Wolves

Our familiar friends have probably always been North American grey wolves, just pales ones! Despite their name, this iconic member of the canid family has an incredible amount of variation, and different subspecies of them are scattered all over North America.

Striped Wolf = Aardwolf

Okay, this is interesting, because they are definitely aardwolves! However, despite their names, aardwolves are actually the tiniest member of the hyaenidae family! Native to East and Southern Africa, they are exclusively insectivores and are known for following aardvarks to use their vacated burrows and foraging grounds. I think it's fascinating that a hyena was chosen for the wolf skins!

Snowy Wolf = Arctic Wolf

One of the many subspecies of gray wolves, arctic wolves are native to the Canadian Arctic and Alaska. Thanks to their territory being generally undesirable to humans, they are the only subspecies that can found across the entirety of their original range. Arctic wolves seem the most logical choice for snowy wolves, through there are several other pale-coated northern subspecies they could technically be.

Ashen Wolf = Northwestern Wolf

Speaking of northern subspecies, let's have some fun with the ashen variant. I'm pinning them as the Northwestern wolf, a.k.a. the Mackenzie Valley wolf! Native to, well, the northwestern part of Canada and Alaska, they are arguably the largest subspecies of wolf we know of. They match up pretty well with their Minecraft counterparts both in terms of habitat and possible coloration!

Woods Wolf = Eastern Wolf

Ooo, okay, I went down a rabbit hole with this one! Eastern wolves, a.k.a Great Lakes wolves or Algonquin wolves, are native to the Great Lakes region of North America. They exist in an identification limbo, with no current ruling on whether they are a subspecies of grey wolf, red wolf, or their own unique branch that drifts closer to coyotes on the canid family tree. There is even some debate on whether the Great Lakes and Algonquin variants should be counted as the same subspecies, which I think is fascinating!

Spotted Wolf = African Wild Dog

The more people who know these good bois exists, the happier I am. African wild dogs, a.k.a. painted dogs or Cape hunting dogs, are the largest wild canine in Africa. They live in packs of 5-30 members and are known their cooperative hunting tactics, using stamina to wear down prey. They're highly social animals, and you'll never find a lone dog.

Chestnut Wolf = Bat Eared Fox

So, initially, I wrote off these guys cause I wasn't counting foxes, but I gave in. The chestnut wolves don't look like much of any existing canines, and nothing that lives in taiga forest. So, bat eared foxes are my best guess. They're small canids native to southern Africa, and are part of the subfamily Otocyoninae, which is a sister family to the families containing true foxes and racoon dogs.

Speaking of raccoon dogs, they're my second best guess for the origin of the chestnut wolf. Their habitat makes slightly more sense, being from the forests of Japan and east Asia!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I hope you take this as the compliment it is intended to be, but you strike the same chord of irreverence-as-love, jokes-to-showcase-sencerity that I get from Chuck Tingle, and I adore both of you.

You have bestowed the greatest honour upon me.

[choccy-milky]

ty to @icedmatchawoatmilk13 for sending this to me! i may have gone a bit overboard but this was so much fun to fill out/think about BAHAHA💖 ill still never get over how perfect the song sarah smiles is for them...the lyrics AND the fact that its an alliteration...im gonna do an animatic about seb and clora to that song one day i swear 😩 ((blank template by oakwolves!))

[boreal-sea]

As I said, I’m using APA.

“Once per paragraph” is how it’s taught in high school, but that’s not really how it works at the college level, and definitely not how it works in graduate school or beyond when doing research. The “once per paragraph” rule is a good way to get started learning to cite, but it’s really not enough if you’re synthesizing sources.

When writing a scientific paper that’s going to get published you often cite several different sources in the same paragraph, sometimes even in the same sentence. If I cite Anders et al. (1045), then cite Cullen et al. (1475), and then mention something from Anders again in a different sentence in the same paragraph, I have to cite Anders again. This also applies if you cite a source, then discuss some of your own ideas, and then cite the source again. It has to be clear where your information is coming from constantly.

As for citing specific pages, you can do that in APA! You just add p. after the date in the in-text citation, such as (Anders et al., 1045, p. 25). If you want to cite a range of pages, use pp. like such (Cullen et al., 1475, pp. 234-257). You can also cite paragraphs or sections, tables, figures, and more. APA gives you a lot of freedom. So in your example, you could definitely cite multiple times per paragraph with different page numbers.

And if you want an additional tip, get Mendeley Cite. You can install it directly into Word, both the program and the web app. It also works with Google Docs. It will make your life so much easier!

So I taught my students during the first few weeks of class that for their paper, they needed to cite profusely. They needed to cite more than they thought they should cite. They needed to cite multiple times per paragraph. I told them that it was literally impossible for them to over-cite. I showed them an example of my own published papers. It was in the rubric.

At the end of the term, I graded their papers. Most of them did ok. Some of them only cited 2-3 sources even though their References section had 6 sources. And some of them... some of them didn't cite a single time in their entire paper. They had their citations in the References section, but didn't cite them in the paper even once.

Some people just do not follow directions. It's baffling.

And that doesn't even get into all of the APA style errors. Those I can forgive because citation styles are confusing. Citing enough and citing correctly are two separate parts on my rubric to account for this fact, actually.

BUT - it just gives me data for how to teach this even better next semester. I don't have any way to require them to use a citation manager, but the students who used one did MUCH better than those who didn't.

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

fun fact when i was a kid/teen i thought I was gonna go into comic/manga illustration and i realized i still have my weeb sketchbook... from 2013.

wanna take a look?