#claim their culture history and land as your own.

[artsyaprilmr]

via learn4artsakh (instagram)

[bonebabbles]

It's dawning on me that Path of Stars can actually be shortened to POS, which is fitting.

anyway since a lot of cultural things that they forgot to show evolving organically are just SUDDENLY appearing now, we're getting a ton of fighting moments full of tactics that were never displayed ever before. Which is a massive shame. For example there's this one move Lightning Tail and Thunder apparently have to distract dogs, but it would have been nice if we saw it before this moment.

And Star Flower has this numbing move that I don't recall ever seeing again, and furthermore, she's consistently been a terrible fighter before this point.

but ok. fine. Star Flower has actually been a member of the Hyuuga Clan for this whole time. She's mastered the paralysis pokes.

[former-leftist-jew]

Of course I'm upset. I'm sick to death of Christians trying to take our shit and make it theirs, while giving us shit for not abandoning our shit for yours.

It's a Jewish movie, based on a Jewish story. Judaism exists just fine without Christianity, while Christianity can't exist without Judaism.

If you find meaning and fulfillment in a Jewish story it because Judaism preludes your Christianity: good for you. But stop trying to take our shit and make it yours.

Get your own shit.

Need this site to understand that "The Prince of Egypt" is BOTH a Jewish and Christian movie. Let no one rob it from the Jews, but us christians literally owe our faith to the same God who saw to and led the Exodus. The Ten Commandments are still in effect, Jesus did not abolish the law but fulfilled it, and to get to Jesus we needed Moses.

[infiniteglitterfall]

I do realize this is a real niche post but I cannot tell you how many damn times over the past 10 months I've seen gentiles tell Jews some version of, "Your own holy book SAYS God doesn't want you to have a country yet!"

And it's such an incredibly blatant and weirdly specific tell that they're not part of something that grew from progressive grassroots, but something based on right-wing astroturfing.

1. Staying in your own lane is a pretty huge progressive principle.

Telling people in another group that their deity said they couldn't do X is, I think, as far as you can get from your own lane.

2. It's also very clearly Not In Your Own Lane because I've never seen anyone actually be able to EITHER quote the passage they're thinking of, OR cite where it is.

It's purely, "I saw somebody else say this, and it seemed like it would make me win the debate I wasn't invited to."

3. It betrays a complete ignorance of Jewish culture and history.

Seriously? You don't know what you're referencing, its context, or even what it specifically says, but you're... coming to a community that reads and often discusses the entire Torah together each year, at weekly services... who have massive books holding generations of debate about it that it takes 7 years to read, at one page per day....

And saying, "YOUR book told you not to!"

I've been to services where we discussed just one word from the reading the whole time. The etymology. The connotations. The use of it in this passage versus in other passages.

And then there is the famous saying, "Ask two Jews, get three opinions." There is a culture of questioning and discussion and debate throughout Judaism.

You think maybe, in the decades and decades of public discussion about whether to buy land in Eretz Yisrael and move back there; whether it should keep being an individual thing, or keep shifting to intentional community projects; what the risks were; whether it should really be in Argentina or Canada or someplace instead; how this would be received by the Jews and gentiles already there, how to respect their boundaries, how to work with them before and during; and whether ending up with a fuckton of Jews in one place might not be exactly as dangerous for them as it had always been everywhere else....

You think NOBODY brought up anything scriptural? Nobody looked through the Torah, the Nevi'im, the Ketuvim, or the Talmud for any thoughts about any of this?? It took 200 years and some rando in the comments to blow everyone's minds???

4. It relies on an unspoken assumption that people can and should take very literal readings of religious texts and use them to control others.

And a sense of ownership and power over those texts, even without any accompanying knowledge about what they say.

It's kind of a supercessionist know-it-all vibe. It reads like, "I know what you should be doing. Because even if I'm not personally part of a fundamentalist branch of a related religion, the culture I'm rooted in is."

Bonus version I found when I was looking for an example. NOBODY should do this:

There are a lot of people who pull weird historical claims like "It SAYS Abraham came from Chaldea! That's Iraq!"

Like, first of all, a group is indigenous to a land if it arose as a people and culture there, before (not because of) colonization.

People aren't spontaneously spawning in groups, like "Boom! A new indigenous people just spawned!!"

People come from places. They go places. Sometimes, they gel as a new community and culture. Sometimes, they bop around for a while and eventually assimilate into another group.

Second: THE TORAH IS NOT A HISTORY TEXTBOOK OMFG.

It's an oral history, largely written centuries after the fact.

There is a TON of historical and archaeological research on when and where the Jewish culture originated, how it developed over time, etc. It's extremely well-established.

Nobody has to try to pull what they remember from Sunday school for this argument.

[solkara]

❛ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐒 , jacaerys velaryon ❜

⌗ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 , your life had been in essos and you thought it would remain that way until you were called to kings landing where a certain dark haired heir stole your heart

⌗ 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 , jacaerys velaryon x fem! red priestess! reader

⌗ 𝐬𝐨𝐥'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 , tbh idk if I should do a part 2 for this or not let me know if you guys would be interested in it or . . .

house of the dragon masterlist

⌗ the first targaryen you ever met was daemon. the two of you were introduced during his and his wife laena's time in essos. as one of the prince of essos personal red priestesses. your prince going to great lengths to show off his powerful witches and wealth. you were intrigued by them. you had heard a lot about targaryen's and their history. and part of you was curious if all the rumours you had heard were true or not.

⌗ and you got your chance to see for yourself. as you wandered the castle trying to tier yourself so you could finally find sleep. you ended up walking into daemon. and some how the two of you ended up talking all night long. asking each other questions about the other heritage and culture. and by the end of the night you could happily say your curiosity had been fed.

⌗ in the following day you ended up befriending laena as well. the two white haired taking a massive liking to you. as since they didn't have any children of their own yet. they treated you like theirs. and once baela and rhaena were born you became like an older sister to them. and you were very much considered apart of their family.

⌗ which was why laena's death hurt you so much. once new's had broken the first thing you did was hold the two young girls that were like sisters to you. and the three of you sat on the roof of the castle and cried until the sun rose.

⌗ and what hurt you even more was that you couldn't even attend the funeral. your prince and fellow red preistesses forbidding you claiming you were far to young to travel so far. and that instead you should focus on perfecting you magic. to which you begrudgingly agreed and after bidding a tearful farwell to the ones you had called family for so long. you were alone. with nothing but your magic to keep you company.

⌗ obviously you kept in touch. sending letters to the father and daughter trio. but other than that you completely dedicated yourself to training your magic to become stronger. and as the years passed you only seemed to grow more and more powerful. and while you were happy about your progress part of you still craved to explore the world. venture beyond essos and see what else the world had to offer.

⌗ and your opportunity finally came. when one day you were summoned by your prince. who informed you that you were leaving for king's landing. that the newly crowned queen rhaenyra targaryen asked for you. offering you a place on her council. as the positive words of her husband had not gone unnoticed.

⌗ so you departed essos. and made your way to king's landing were you were greeted by some faces. some old some new. "my queen, my king" you said curtseying deeply. but before you could say anything else you were thrown into the embrace of two very familiar forms. baela and rhaena. and with the greetings done. you were partially dragged inside.

⌗ it was rather easy for you to settle in. the targaryens had been nothing but welcoming. one in particular. jace. as it was no secret the heir had grown awfully fond of you. going as far to ask for the creation of a r'hollor template to be made for you. which you greatly appreciated. though you wouldn't deny it made your heart flutter a bit.

⌗ rhaenyra seemed to notice her son's fondness for you. and if anything she encroaged it. as she loved you as if you were her own child. always valuing your opinion and input on matters in small council. so when she noticed her eldest infatuation with her. she was overjoyed as the queen wouldn't deny that the thought of the two of you being wed had crossed her mind before. but if her son was going to court you rhaenyra was going to make sure that he did it properly.

⌗ the following moons were intresting. to say they least. you did you regular council duties as normal. but the moment you were finished you were swept away. showered in gifts and affection. taken on rides on dragonback. which did take quite a bit of convincing. and at some point in the middle. you could well and truly say you had fallen in love with jacaerys velaryon.

⌗ the realisation hit you hard and fast. as here you were looking at this beautiful man in front of you. an angel in the flesh. and he was asking for your hand in marriage. what had you done in your past life to become so luck. and while he waited for a response. you leaned forward and kissed him. "is that an answer for you my prince?" you asked coyly. "plenty good princess"

anon , Jacaerys x red priestess reader where she's from the cult of R'hllor and came to be a close counselor to Rhaenyra, and they go to winterfell together

[elbiotipo]

There is also a thing to be said about how oceans are not empty things, they're not impassable geographical barriers. Oceans are full of life, and not only wildlife, people work and live there (if you're a sailor, so much of your time is spent in the ocean that it becomes your home). Trade travels through the ocean. Natural resources are managed and mismanaged in the oceans. They have historical and cultural value. Like any other natural environment, the seas have been shaped and managed by human activity

When we talk about the Malvinas, we talk about islands, but we are also talking about a British (military, colonial) presence in the seas of Argentina and wider South America. They use it to project their power, their claims over Antarctica, their extraction and use of resources, just mere kilometres from the Argentine coast. It might as well be a British base in the middle of La Pampa or Río Negro (and there are actually some of them, compounds owned by British billionaries who don't let anyone in). Those islands are the most physical projection of British power over a continent they have long tried to subdue to their interests.

It's the same tactic the British use in their colonial possessions in the Indian Ocean (look up the history of the Chagos islanders), or the French and US in the Pacific (ever wondered where the word Bikini came from? Look it up.) People think islands are... Isolated. That they're just a tiny piece of land that cannot be connected to other things. Owning an island means owning the sea around it, and owning the sea never is a neutral thing, the fact that there are no cities on them does not mean it's empty space.

Think about this next time someone tries to tell you "it's just a couple islands with sheep, who cares"

[jewishvitya]

hei. i enjoy your blogs, i hope you could clear something up for me., i just saw someone claim to be "zionist as in i believe jewish people have the right to self determination in their indigenous homeland",, ive actually seen the claim that jewish ppl are indigenous to israel and are somehow denied that identity as a form of anti semitism and erasure of jewish experience multiple times.. and it always confused me so much cuz like israel was set up as this nationalist project in 1948, before the region was a mess mostly under the rule of the ottomans, but the palestinian culture and ppl were always there. how can someone be indigenous to a region if they werent there before? is there any truth to the claim or is it just co-opting leftist language again?

its so evil how the state of israel could jist completely legitimize itself by co-opting jewish culture and pretending like being in support of it is a fundamental part of jewishness :(

Thank you!! I'm glad you do.

I can try, but I'm not sure how good I'll be at explaining this. Maybe someone else can add to this. If I repeat things I said before, I apologize.

That is a definition of zionism used by many zionists who lean politically to the left. I don't subscribe to these softer definitions of zionism because saying it's just "the right to Jewish self determination in our ancestral homeland" ignores that in practice over the last century the next words are "to the exclusion of others." I define zionism through its practical outcome - which is what we did to Palestinians.

Jewish people originate here. Our religious laws and practices (many of which are regularly disregarded by Israel and by settlers when they do things like destroying olive trees and water sources) are tied to this specific land. There are holidays and religious rituals that are either fundamentally changed or can't be practiced at all if we're anywhere else in the world. Culturally most branches of Judaism maintained this connection throughout our history. And we didn't leave willingly. An empire expelled us from the place that was our land. When the point of indigeniety comes up, this is why. You'll see arguments like - when does indigeniety expire? How many generations until you no longer have a claim to the ancestral homeland you were driven away from?

So this is the cultural context for Judaism. This is something that I also can't really ignore. I can't pretend I don't care about this land and the connection we always had to it.

That said, I still see this as using leftist terminology inappropriately.

To talk about Israel, a lot of us talk about colonialism, and specifically settler colonialism. I lived in the West Bank settlements so to me this really resonates. The argument I get at that point is that an indigenous group can't colonize their own land.

And this is why I'm saying it's a misuse of terminology. We're using that label to absolve ourselves. As if the word "indigenous" is a stamp of approval we get to apply to our actions while we repeat the violence of colonizing forces in history.

Ethnic cleansing, occupation, building settlements - and now also genocide. The tools we use resonate with indigenous people all over the world, because they suffered through similar kinds of oppression. Always with differences and different contexts, these things are never 1:1, but there's a reason indigenous groups around the world are in solidarity with Palestinians. I shared about a video from a Korean person talking about how colonialism by Japan broke the thread of their history - old buildings that had to be rebuilt instead of being preserved, historical cultural practices and art forms being lost or changed due to the loss of artisans. These are things Israel is doing now.

So to me, this is using the word "landback" and "liberation" for a violent takeover of land from an indigenous group. You mentioned the Ottomans - Palestine has been conquered over and over throughout history. Those regimes, sure, fighting them off can be liberatory, if the intent isn't to become the conquerors in their place. But there's nothing to liberate from Palestinians, because they're not colonizing anything. They belong in this land.

I'm really angry that so many of us try to deny the Palestinians their own connection. They have roots here, a long and rich history shaped by life in the land. While we destroy so much and say our claim is so strong we get to kill or drive them away for it.

[mylight-png]

Hi I have a hot take after seeing too much TikTok bullshit.

Islam and Christianity are religions of appropriation.

This is something that bothered me for a while but specifically came to my attention after seeing a TikTok where someone made the joke that the Christian pride flag is just the colors of Joseph's coat, based on the musical about it.

And fine, maybe that is a little funny. But the story of Joseph and his coat isn't Christian. It was Jewish first. It's still Jewish. Fine, they believe in it too (because they originally broke off from Judaism) but to claim it's Christian like that just rubbed me the wrong way.

So so so many people claim that Prince Of Egypt is a Christian "Bible movie" except it isn't. Or at the very least, it shouldn't be. Because it isn't Christian, it's Jewish. The Christians weren't led out of Egypt by G-d's hand. It was us, the Jews.

I know I seem petty, these are just movies, just musicals, and to some they are just stories. But this removal of Judaism from originally Jewish texts feeds into a larger problem.

Why do Muslims and Christians care at all about Israel? About Jerusalem, specifically? It's because they took our Torah and made it their "old testament" and claim it is the root of their religion. They claim they have equal, if not greater at times, claim to the land they only care about because we care about it.

If these religions were not Abrahamic then they wouldn't give a crap about Moses or Israel or Joseph's coat.

Any claim that any of the stories (for lack of a better word) from the Torah are Muslim or Christian is appropriation. Sorry not sorry. They were Jewish first, are Jewish now, and will forever be Jewish.

Can people of other Abrahamic faiths believe in them? I don't give a shit, I won't tell them what to believe, it's their religion. But they have no right to claim those stories as their own. To believe them and to claim them is vastly different.

When sharing in a culture that isn't your own, it's generally acknowledged to be wrong if you say that it's now part of your culture. Because it isn't. It still belongs to the original culture you took it from.

And since they do believe in the Jewish texts and claim them as their own, they are appropriating Judaism.

Shortly after October 7th, when my mom was talking to a coworker about what was going on, her coworker lamented the safety of the sacred sites. She said nothing of my mom's family living there, even though she knew. She, as a Christian, felt more entitled to care about the "sacred sites" (sacred to them because the land was first sacred to us) than about the Jewish blood being spilled.

I've said it before, to them, Jewish blood is cheap. And this appropriation only serves to cheapen it further.

This appropriation and entitlement has been an issue throughout history. The Crusades, the taxes on Jews for not being Muslim, this repeated and continued oppression of Jews under the justification of the other two Abrahamic religions, it's because those other groups feel entitled to our heritage, because they believe they're the ones "doing it right" and say we're doing it wrong even though what they do has strayed so far from their origins that such a claim is absurd.

I do not think Christians and Muslims should convert to Judaism. We don't encourage conversion (we accept y'all, but we aren't a proselytizing religion, not meant to offend Jewish converts).

What I am saying, however, is that Muslims and Christians should back the hell off from any claim to anything within their religion that is originally Jewish. And yes, that includes their entitlement to Israel and Jerusalem, and any and all "Biblical" stories that originated in the Torah. Those aren't Muslim or Christian, they're Jewish.

Again, I don't give a shit what people believe or practice, but what I am saying is for people to start giving credit where credit is due, and to back off from claiming other people's cultures and religions as reasons for your own entitlement.

Hell, I'm not even saying that only Jews can live in Israel. Anyone can live there now and that's fine. The issue is more so when claims start that Israel is equally important to all of us, or that Jews have no claim to the land. First, you care about it only because we did, that's not equal importance. And second, whether you like it or not, Jews are from Judea. We always have been, are, and always will be indigenous to Israel.

So yeah. Back off. Believe and practice what you want, but back off of what was ours first.

...

If this gets too much hate I'll just delete it tbh. It's a hot take and I recognize that the truth isn't for everyone.

[xclowniex]

So wait Lilith got her name a class of Mesopotamian demon? Isn’t that arguably cultural appropriation?

And If I recall the Noah’s arc story was kind of a ripoff of part of the epic of Gilgamesh, I think there where other parallels to

But yeah neopegans should at least try to change the names a bit or something, heck just make up your own gods at this point. That still doesn’t make it right to just use this Jewish character like that.

There is a difference between cultural appropriation, cultural appreciation and a natural mixing of cultures due to two or more groups living in a place.

Cultural appropriation is generally when a majority group adopts aspects of a minority groups culture and either benefits from it whilst the majority society is still ostracized for it or benefits from it without acknowledging its history.

For example non black people wearing braids benefit from braids as they're seen as cool or trendy, whilst black people still face racism for wearing braids. Or when a while ago this lady on tik tok made a Korean Cucumber dish and called it her Cucumber salad, and did not at all acknowledge that her recipie either was a Korean recipe or acknowledge that she was inspired by a Korean recipe, and instead claimed it was her invention.

Cultural appreciation is when you learn about a culture, and engage in it whilst acknowledging the history and rules within the culture. For example, Megan The Stallions recrnt music video where she featured a Japanese artist, filmed the music video in Japan with Japanese directors and actresses and actors, and used a Japanese tale as the plot for the video. She learnt about things, honored those within the culture, and made sure that they also benefitted from her use of it.

Natural mixing of cultures is when two or more groups coexist in a land and/or the minority culture assimilates to a degree to the majority culture. Jews existed in Mesopotamia for years after Judea was destroyed, and some where even there before then. Jews assimilated to a degree whilst living in Mesopotamia, and that brings with it, a level of mish mashing culture.

The idea of lilith had existed before jews went to Mesopotamia, lilith only became who she is known as in Judaism today due to a mixing of the Jewish idea of lilith and the Mesopotamian lilitu. It wasn't like lilith was purely taken from Mesopotamian beliefs. Hence not cultural appropriation.

Whilst I have no problem if neo pagans like the concept of lilith with how they have appropriated her, to call her lilith and to use literature and mythology from judaism is just wrong. There was never the mish mash of cultures which can happen naturally, it was some people who looked at a poem a jew wrote about her, misinterpreted the poem and went "mine now".

[lihyot-am-chofshi-beartzeinu]

This was sent to my main but I didn't want this putrid shit on my aesthetic blog. @trudgemank99, I'm going to try to explain this as best I can without insulting you.

Zionism is not a fascist ideology, and it is not responsible for an "ongoing genocide".

You don't even know what Zionism is. Seriously, you and others like you straight up don't even know what it means. You don't know its history, you don't know its cultural and religious significance, you don't know its politics, you don't know how it has saved so many Jewish peoples' lives over the 20th century. How dare you apply your own made-up interpretation of it to give you an excuse to go around harassing Jewish people on the internet?

You know how I see you? I see you as a Nazi. Because you have replaced "Jew" with "Zionist" in your vocabulary, so that you can get away with the same hatred of Jews that has festered within society for thousands of years.

You claimed in that other thread that you cared about the Palestinians. But you don't, because instead of, oh, I don't know, donating to charities or uplifting Palestinian voices, or even supporting joint Israeli-Palestinian peace movements like Standing Together, Women Wage Peace and A Land For All, you chose to desecrate the images of dead and grieving Palestinians who are victims of the tragedy of the conflict to "prove" it was a genocide (it's not; the ICJ ruled that Israel must take steps to prevent actions that could be considered genocidal. War and civilian death is horrific enough on its own; you gain nothing by misrepresenting what it is.)

You couldn't even name a single person in those pictures when I pressed you. I don't even know if those photos were of the conflict, because you didn't link to any reputable sources or date the images or name the photographer. For all I know they could have been pictures of the devastating war in Syria, which have taken on a second life with people attributing them to Gaza. Either way: how dare you use the dead as props. They were real people with real families and friends left behind to suffer - they are not your "gotcha" gore card to play on the internet.

Despite all of that, I don't hate you. I don't hate anyone. I don't want anyone to die. I want the conflict to end but I am realistic about why it occurred and why there is no ceasefire yet (hint: it's because Hamas keeps refusing ceasefires, because they want to send as many Gazan civilians to their deaths as they can). There is nothing I can say or do on my blog that will work towards an end to the conflict, and nothing I can do or say in my real life that will end the conflict - because I don't have a direct line to Netanyahu's office, and calling my local politicians here in Australia will accomplish fuck all. Because Australia doesn't influence Israel, just as Israel doesn't influence Australia.

So how does ranting incoherently at Jewish people on Tumblr save Palestinians? Go on, answer how screaming at me demanding I call it a genocide helps anyone.

I'm not defending Israel. I don't need to. What I do talk about is fighting Antisemitism and anti-Zionism - because there is no difference between them anymore. You and people like you might keep using the word "anti-Zionist" (something that I consider to be grossly inappropriate and culturally appropriative, actually) but we all know that, deep down, you're just Jew-haters.

If you can't admit to yourself that you are operating on a basis of incoherent hatred for Zionists (aka Jewish people who believe in the existence of a Jewish homeland in our ancestral land of Judea; something, by the way, that is fully compatible with the existence of a Palestinian state) then I'll do it for you: you are a Jew-hater.

Oh, wait! You did admit it:

Thank you for this mask-off moment. Truly.

[weemietime]

One thing that often gets thrown in our faces when we discuss Jewish indigeneity is that converts are not always ethnically Jewish. I hate to break it to you all, but ethnicity is separate from race. Ethnicity is your culture. Converts are indeed ethnically Jewish. They have literally been accepted into the tribe, which is literally what we say when welcoming them ("welcome to the tribe," verbatim).

I am a convert. I am Irish, Polish and French. Guess what, I am 1/8th Ashkenazi. My great-grandfather left Poland before World War 2. He lost his entire family who stayed. Our family tree stops with him. That intergenerational trauma? Passed down to me.

He was a drunk. He abused my grandma. He hid her heritage from her and conversely from us for decades. My grandma has NPD, my mom has AVPD and I have SZPD. I found his journals ~24, which vindicated to me what I've always suspected since I was a child. I was frequently bullied with antisemitic slurs in school, because I have always been openly and fervently opposed to antisemitism and they turned their bullying onto me.

Before I confirmed my heritage I have been practicing Judaism since I was 19. I am religious. I feel it in my soul and I have always known I am a Jew. I speak Hebrew. My culture is Jewish, we call it Yiddishkeit - "Jewishness." This is a form of qualia. You simply know what it feels like inside your body.

Israel is my homeland. I have felt the pull and longing to return home for my entire life. Finding out that the reason why my family is so fractured is because they were all murdered in the Holocaust, just vindicated my feelings. A lot of converts have similar stories. Because we know we are Jewish, and then surprise surprise, it turns out we have Jewish ancestry.

But even for those who don't, they are still ethnically Jewish and Israel is still their homeland. Why? Because they have completed the arduous and complex process of immigration into the Jewish tribe. Because they have adopted the culture, history, language, and religion of the tribe. Because it is a spiritual connection to this piece of land. Our souls were at Sinai, too. We received the Torah and became Jewish in that very moment just like every other Jew. That is why the Shulchan Aruch says when the convert comes to convert and not when the gentile comes to convert.

And as the actual real indigenous population of Israel Jews have the sole right to determine who is entitled to call themselves Jewish and who is entitled to claim Israel as their own. We are not strangers coming in to appropriate Jewish indigeneity, we have been accepted as a member of this indigenous group. A full member. The same as any born Jew - and even this term is misleading because we are also born Jews, our soul has been Jewish since Sinai, we simply had to complete the rituals of returning to our tribe.

[shaunamilfman]

Witch!Lottie Drabble

Summary: "Witch!Lottie keeps stopping by your bookstore to buy shitty occult books as an excuse to talk to you."

Lottie Matthews was, hands down, your favorite customer. Not just because she was liable to spend a couple hundred any time she set foot in there, but you felt a strange connection to her that you'd never felt before. 

Your employee Jeff hated her with a passion, however. He claimed she was "Fucking weird." and that she often walked in, saw he was working, and left. It didn't sound much like the Lottie you knew, so you didn't pay much attention to him. You didn't care much for Jeff anyway, but he unfortunately was a model employee.

Sure, Lottie was a little strange. A little unusual. You think she might be a part of a cult, but that's not a crime. Hopefully. You had checked to make sure there weren't any unexplained missing persons in the area, just in case. So definitely not a crime. 

If that wasn't enough, all she buys are books on the occult. Honestly, you only order them for her. You heard her murmur about "Getting rid of revisionist history," more than once when she bought books on the Salem witch trials. 

You honestly didn't care what she did with them once she left the shop. You wondered if she realized she was creating her own problem by buying up the books she disliked so much. You wouldn't have stocked them otherwise; They really didn’t sell that well.

Still, the highlight of her visits came when she'd stand by the register afterwards and talk with you for hours and hours about everything and nothing. She'd always seemed disappointed in herself when you'd gently remind her that the store was closing soon, like there was something she wanted to say but didn't.  You had hopes that she'd ask you out, but you were admittedly too nervous to ask her instead. Lottie Matthews had always made an intimidating figure, even in school.

She brings you gifts sometimes, little trinkets. She brought you a flower from her garden a few weeks ago. You look at it in awe every time you see it. Not necessarily because it's the most beautiful flower you've ever seen, which it is, but because it still hasn't started to wilt in the slightest. It's like magic.

…

She came in on Halloween one day and actually stops in her tracks to look at your witch's hat. She gives you an immeasurably fond look as she shakes her head slightly in amusement. "That's cultural appropriation," She said. You laugh quietly at her as you lean across the counter to look at her.

"To who, witches?" You ask teasingly. She hums in acknowledgement with a smile just smug enough that you wonder if she knows something you don’t. “Well,” You say slowly, “If a witch would like to come and complain she could file it in the complaint box.” Her face lights up as she looks around and says excitedly, “There’s a complaint box?” 

You grin softly as her and glance towards the trash can. “Oh,” She says, deflating noticeably. You fake an offended gasp as you give her an affronted look.

“You were going to file a complaint about me?” You ask. Her eyes widen and she looks slightly panicked, like she just realized she put her foot in it.

“No, no.” She insists. “I was going to file a complaint about Jeff.” You can’t help the way you snort with laughter, head falling down on your arms as you muffle your laughter into the counter. You look up to see Lottie looking a mixture of surprised and pleased as she looks down at you. 

“Sorry,” You say, “It’s just that Jeff doesn’t like you either.” She smirks.

“Good.” She says. You shake your head fondly.

…

You remember the day you found out extremely well. You were standing on a ladder stocking books on the top overflow shelf when she stormed in the shop, obviously trying to get out of the heavy rain outside. You understandably were not expecting customers when it was raining that hard and startled so hard you fell back off the ladder.

You had your eyes closed waiting for the inevitable landing when you realized it had been an oddly long fall. You peaked one eye open to realize that you were floating in mid air. You looked around to find Lottie staring wide eyed at you with one hand out, soaked with rain and so cold she was shaking. 

You remember it so well mostly because she forgot to put you back on the ground as she confesses. You look fearfully at her before she suddenly realizes she hasn't set you down. "Oh!" She says, failing to hide her blush as she helped you down.

You weren't all that surprised honestly once you got over your initial shock. It seemed ironically on brand for what you knew about her. Once she sets you on the ground you give her a concerned look. You walk behind the counter as you search for the blanket you keep for when it gets cold. She’s watching you curiously as you walk back over to her and wrap the blanket around her, holding tightly around her shoulders. 

“You’re going to get sick being so wet and cold.” You chide. She smiles so wide it practically splits her face in two. “You need to go home and change into dry clothes.” You say.

“I will,” She promises. “If…”

“If what?” You ask.

“If you say you’ll go on a date with me.” She says, touched with a tinge of anxiety.

You sigh dramatically, as if it was a really hard ask. “If I must,” You say, but can’t help the way you smile widely back at her.

As she left the store you shouted at her to ask “Should I be looking for your car or your broom?” She turns back so that you can see the way she rolls her eyes. She says something about “Reductionist stereotypes,” but you were laughing too hard at your own joke to be sure. 

…

She never seems to be very showy with her magic. It's the small things really: you notice that her plants never die, her dishes are always clean, and her food never burns. You teased her for weeks after you realized that her popcorn always perfectly popped as well. 

She uses her magic most often as a sign of affection. Just a way to make your day easier and to remind you how much she loves you.  She'll pick up lunch or bring you coffee sometimes and it makes you think of her fondly all day as it stays perfectly at the right temperature. As if you could ever forget about Lottie, witch or not. 

Eventually you happily fired Jeff as Lottie spent so much time hanging out in the bookstore now that you just put her to work instead. She was overjoyed for weeks about it. She'd never worked a day in her life, you could tell, but she cheated so much with magic that it didn't matter all that much. You couldn't help but watch fondly as the books she 'unpacked' flew across the room into their proper spots. She grins ear to ear as she walks over and asks if she did a good job. You know she’s just fishing for a reward, but you give it to her anyway.

As you watch her fret over recipes as she brewed potions you couldn't help but to think that she really wasn't all that different from anyone else: She just had magic. Your life together was surprisingly more domestic than you had thought it would be, but you wouldn't change it for the world. 

[pradnyesh1008]

Embark on a journey to the heart of Veridonia, an empire shrouded in tradition and mystique. The Golden Throne stands as the symbol of power, yet beneath its gilded exterior lies a realm of political intricacies and hidden secrets, waiting to be unveiled. In a world where politics, intrigue, and war are the norm, you must navigate your way through the complex web of alliances and enemies that surround you. This game is for those who love adventure, drama, and intrigue. It is a game where every decision matters and every outcome are different. It is a game where you can shape the fate of an empire and make history.

“Dive into the epic world of ‘The Golden Throne’ with its first book, ‘Crown of Conquest’. A journey you won’t forget!”

In the vast continent of Veridonia, a great empire stands on the brink of uncertainty. Emperor Varian III, the revered ruler who has led his empire with wisdom and strength for decades, finds himself facing a devastating reality.

As his health deteriorates, the absence of a suitable heir threatens to plunge the entire continent into chaos and ignite a destructive war between the kingdoms. Now, facing his own mortality, the emperor grapples with the realization that his thriving nation could crumble without a clear successor.

News of the Emperor’s failing health spreads like wildfire, reigniting ancient rivalries. The various kingdoms, each vying for power and control, sense an opportunity to assert their authority. Fear murmurs within the hearts of the people, and trepidation blankets the land.

Whispers of an impending civil war pervade the corridors of power, and tension begins to mount as rival factions strategize and secretly forge alliances in anticipation of the emperor’s demise. Drawing upon an elite advisory council, composed of trusted ministers, scholars, and military strategists, the emperor endeavours to explore all possible avenues to secure a peaceful transition of power.

Noble houses assert their claims to the throne, while whispers of treachery and deceit echo through the corridors of the imperial palace. A sense of urgency fills the air, as the emperor’s condition deteriorates, and time becomes the most precious commodity.

As the final days of the asserting claims and authority draw near, a solution begins to emerge from the chaos. King Aric, the king in the north, your/MC’s father, emerged victorious, chosen as the heir to the Golden Throne. In this epic tale of power, loyalty, and betrayal, will you succeed in helping your father preserving the legacy of his predecessor, or will Veridonia descend into a dark age of war and destruction? Are you ready to claim your destiny? Will you follow your father’s footsteps and become a worthy successor to the throne? Or will you carve your own path and challenge the established order? The fate of a continent hangs in the balance, and only time will tell. This is the thrilling saga of “Crown of Conquest”.

 A rich and immersive setting inspired by real medieval history, culture, and geography.

 A branching storyline with multiple endings and consequences based on your choices and actions.

 A customizable character with four different personality options and various traits that define your skills and abilities.

 A dynamic stat system that reflects your character’s growth and development throughout the game.

 A diverse cast of characters with their own backgrounds, motivations, and agendas.

 You can befriend, romance, or antagonize them depending on your choices.

 Violence and Gore: The game frequently depicts gory, brutal battles and graphic acts of violence.

 Frightening/Intense Scenes: There are many intense scenes that can be frightening for some readers.

 Graphic Deaths: Characters often meet violent, graphic ends.

 Torture Scenes: There are scenes depicting torture.

 Sexual Content: There will be many scenes with sexual acts.

 Dark Humor: The game contains dark humor, which may be unsettling or offensive to some viewers.

 Sadistic Behavior: Some characters exhibit sadistic behavior which can be disturbing.

 Substance Abuse: Characters are shown consuming alcohol excessively.

Demo:

Forum:

https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/wip-the-golden-throne-60k-words/142838/59

RO's

Male RO's

Female RO's

[starlightervarda]

So

As someone who has cried at ruins, art and temples my ancestors left behind, at how I can't read or speak our own native language, and how what remains of that is in a liturgical language used in secret by an oppressed religious minority...Butchered Tongue has me in my feelings.

It's so hard to love yourself as you are when the people that had your face have been defaced, demonized and disregarded. Not just by the people that invaded us and imposed their language, culture and religion on us for centuries, but by your own people. Not much survived the centuries of brutal colonialism and religious fanaticism, and even if you had a grace period where more began to appreciate what your ancestors left behind, the push against it, to distance yourself and identify more with the invader's culture and even their ethnicity because they are 'right' by decree of religion, is depressing.

It doesn't help that we now have foreigners holding our artifacts in their museums, and pushing insane narratives about aliens building our monuments. Then there are Americans constantly making claims to our ancestry due to racist conspiracy theories, saying horrific shit about how we're the descendants of invaders and that they are the true heirs despite constant proof otherwise. What's worse is having that narrative supported by the most powerful media in the world, casting anyone but us to play us.

They fetishize our aesthetic, our history, our mythology, our land, but hate those that spawned from it.

The only time I like my face is when I recognize it in the likeness left behind in busts, statues and wall paintings. In reconstructions of mummies that have my skin, hair, eyes and nose. Things that are viewed as ugly now and erased through straighteners, bleaching creams and surgeries so we can look more like the foreigners that invaded us, whether they came from Western Europe or Western Asia.

I may look like them, but I'll never know what they truly sounded like, what they did on day-to-day basis, how they worshipped our native gods, what songs they sang or what they called their grandparents.

So many of us are stuck speaking someone else's language, now matter how nativised that dialect has become, and practicing their religion, even revering the very people that broke in and destroyed everything in their wake to impose their version of everything as 'saviours'.

I wish we were taught our native languages in school, that they were never demonized, and punished into dying. That there were huge movements to preserve what we still have that's uniquely ours, but the more time passes, the less people care. All we have left are names of historical figures, gods and the odd town or city that has been misheard into something else over time.

To all my siblings in lost cultures, demonized history and butchered tongues, I hope we hold on to what we have left.

[umbralstars]

I think something interesting to note is that the Cetra and the Gi have two completely different tellings of their history. But there's also some internal consistency between both factions.

The way the story is framed from Gi Nattak the Planet we know as Gaia was (potentially) the home world of the Gi.

"...until at last it was subsumed by your own." For context, in a literary sense, "star" and "planet" can be interchangeable. The Latin the Promised Land song from AC explicitly uses the term "star" to refer to Gaia/the Planet, and I believe that is the intention with this line. The Gi suffered a calamity upon their planet and the survivors were left to seek refuge on Gaia now that the Lifestream had come.

The Cetra, however, place and phrase things slightly differently. They say this after explaining that their purposes is to protect their Planet:

Given the order this sequence is played, it makes it sound like the Gi came to Gaia from somewhere else. Particularly after Jenova had been dealt with. I believe this is impossible however, and that the story the Cetra are telling is being told in reverse.

If we order the events like this:

- Gi's homeworld dies

- The lifestream arrives and a functionally new planet is made from the corpse of the old. This traps the remaining Gi in a state of undeath as the cannot be absorbed into the lifestream

- Untold amount of time. Gaia canonically has an entire pre-history and fossils layers so we do not know how long the lifestream has been here. The Cetra also create a place to commune with the Gi as explained by Bugenhagen during the trials

- The Gi steal a materia of some importance. A "sacred treasure" even before it was corrupted and turned black (of all notable colors in FF7 lore)

- The Black Materia is used for its purpose and summons a meteor that strikes the Planet. The Cetra learn what caused this, seal the Gi away deep below Cosmo Canyon, and take the Black Materia

- However, it was too late as Jenova came upon that meteor. Through means that can be speculated, given the Shadowblood Queen storyline and OG events, she manipulates Cetra and Human alike until there is a brutal war which eventually seals her away

- Human civilizations and Cetran one(s) eventually begin to clash which leads to deaths of many and eventually the collapse of the Cetra as a people entirely. There were those who settled in Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon for a time. But we know that eventually Aerith becomes the last person who can claim a cultural connection to the Cetra (if not the last Cetra entirely, but I have my own theories on that)

- Gaia's history continues on

A timeline emerges that many people within the fandom agree on, and is the best way to make both the Gi and Cetra accounts agree with one another.

This, however, also leads me to questions especially after Rebirth and connections pointed out by other people. There have been people on Tumblr and YouTube pointing out the connections between Jenova, the "Goddess" of Loveless and the depiction in the Temple, the card game storyline ect ect.

In my opinion, from the evidence I see, the Gi seem to be the ones who created Jenova in some way. If we go by the idea that Jenova arrived when the Black Materia was used (unless there just so happened to be two entirely different meteors or Jenova's meteor is completely unrelated to the singular purpose the Black Materia has been established as having since OG), that means that the Gi would have needed to create her in some way or called her to aid them.

Plenty of people have pointed out visual similarities between Jenova's forms, the Gi, and their many effigies around their village.

We know from Rebirth Sephiroth that the "real" Black Materia has a purpose beyond just a meteor and is related to resurrecting Jenova to her full self in some capacity. What was the Black Materia before its corruption? They obviously did not use any old materia for this purpose--that one was sacred, special.

Jenova herself is also aware, intelligent, and is operating with a purpose that we do not know at current. I do not believe, nor have I ever, that she is some space parasite trying to eat Gaia for no reason. Through both Sephiroth and Regina (because the Shadowblood Queen is Jenova), she claimed that the planet as a whole belongs to her by right or used to be hers.

Even if she is speaking through the guise of Cetran queen she took over (which I'm not entirely sure she is), that still raises more questions than it gives answers.

Jenova has some influence over the lifestream. Being able to create and empower fiends through corrupting it (notably some fiends are fossilized in the Planet's crust as old variations of the species, so this may be up for debate. However, Jenova's connection to the fiends is said multiple times in different sources), have intimate knowledge of all entities that have passed into it (see: Jenova's mimic abilities, ones possessed by Kadaj as well), and even corrupt it to where Sephiroth can control souls and Whispers (see: Lifestream Black and Remake/Rebirth). She/they can even corrupt it into sicknesses like Geostigma or whatever Kadaj was doing in AC.

The lifestream's complete rejection of all foreign entities is well established and restated by the Gi in Rebirth. If Jenova is 100% foreign, how could she have this much control over it and beings born from it even before Sephiroth?

If Jenova is being given visual similarities to Rosa or even the Goddess, who had previously been established as Minerva, then I have to ask: What is Jenova? Why is she so intimately tied to the Black Materia? What even was that materia originally? Who is, or was, Jenova?

[faresong]

figuring out my gijinka designs ^_^

Hallownest draws from Japanese inspiration in my headcanons. With this in mind as applied to this AU, I believe (as a general rule) higher-class folks would end up with detailed, painted masks & additional accessories surrounding it (as seen with Lurien's butler contrasted against Quirrel's). Lower-class will still paint theirs, but cannot afford to buy new masks very often; this makes their mask feel much more permanent and personal—thus, most will engrave their masks instead.

Lurien's mask is an odd case in it being rather blank. While crafted specifically by the King's hand to fit him, it lacks any visible design—that is, until one attempts to use magic against him. Only then do the seals of protection glow and reveal the true pattern the King granted his dutiful Watcher, though the assailant likely won't live to share that fact. In another sense, however, Lurien's seemingly blank mask only further emphasizes his use as the King's right-hand. Only ever an extension of him, where only his king knows his true use. He is as Hallownest must see him, and nothing more.

...There are very few who know what lay beneath.

In any case, it is mentioned on the first sheet, but I will delve into more detail on masks' significance in others' cultures as well:

Deepnest occasionally uses masks, or their charms, to acknowledge the community which raised them with pride; as it contains a multitude of rich cultures within it (particularly drawn from East Asian inspiration, here) who are generally (presently) amicable with one another. It is easier to mark trade, as well as shift to other languages as a show of hospitality. Due to its winding passages, children will often get lost in exploration (an encouraged pastime), and are then escorted back to their people if need be. These charms are typically placed in their family's shrine once they've passed; carrying a charm that is not your own is seen as grave disrespect, even if the person in question is not dead. Each person is brought to the one we know as Mask Maker for their charm, drawn from their essence, and to take the charm is to act as if one claims agency over another person. Even parents rarely hold their child's charm.

As for the Uomas, granted a part of Unn's land, Monomon is the one who oversees these creatures. Recognizing the responsibility she is capable of handling, as well as her evident intelligence in her work with the Mosskin, Hallownest approached her as equals with intention to work a beneficial truce. Hesitantly, Monomon accepted their terms with the promise they would not further impose on Unn's land—still, the canyon would be safe travel for all persons, as a neutral ground. Hallownest gave her resources, and the King made her mask to show this allegiance. Though she rarely (properly) wears it, she will have it on her when working with Hallownest's scholars to show respect for them & expect respect in turn. Monomon is at peace co-existing with all surrounding areas; the only one she is wary of is Hallownest... it poses great threat, but she finds solace in knowing she has made herself a necessary pillar in the kingdom's technological development despite being a foreigner. She may use her position to open the minds of those who choose to study or collaborate with her—to see the people who surround them as societies in their own right, worth learning about despite Hallownest's imperialistic views. It is significantly easier to get through to scholars that have come from poorer backgrounds, but the environment she's cultivated does manage to steadily wear down the harsher beliefs ingrained in them.

After a few years spent with Quirrel, Monomon began incorporating some of his traditional dress for herself and encouraged him to do the same when he was to visit her (and, inevitably, when he lived in the Archive). She quite enjoys studying culture & its history, and would often ask Quirrel to indulge her questioning considering he was a first-generation immigrant to Hallownest. Once she manages to meet Herrah in-person, she does the same—with their meeting coinciding with the King's requests to pursue the Dreamer Project, she wanted to help preserve what she could of Deepnest should the plan fail. Kept not in Hallownest's texts, but her own... there was still much that Herrah preferred to keep to oral stories, but she did eventually learn to trust Monomon in this (despite her alliance with Hallownest).

The masks that are gifted by the King often have a slowing effect on the aging of their chosen person. Monomon was already given Unn's blessing (aging & enhancing magic) to help protect what remains in Her stead, but the mask still applies its effect to Quirrel once he'd 'stolen' it (and with it, a part of Monomon's own soul that'd been fused with it). The same applies with Lurien & each of the Five Knights, though no one else is really given the luxury... not even those of the Pale Court, except for one. Even she would come to see it as a curse, however, despite the cheer she presently puts forth.

A lot of poor communities in Hallownest tend to wear more earthly colors, whereas the nobles are given more variety in color/cloth. Many of them consider the land they inhabit carelessly, an idea which doesn't carry over to any other community that has existed much longer than Hallownest; most prefer warm, natural colors by contrast. Monomon specifically puts a spin on Hallownest's noble clothing in mixing it with the Mosskin's cloth (in this particular outfit, it is her skirt).

& As for the particulars of this 'human AU' (of sorts), here's a general listing: Herrah as mixed Syrian-Filipino; Monomon as Jamaican; Quirrel as Vietnamese; Lurien & his butler as Japanese; Hegemol as Korean.

Hm-hm... other than that, I don't think I have much else to talk about that is specific to this AU. It's mostly my excuse to draw the cast as humans (which is easier for me, haha). I'm open to questions, of course, but as this stands... I think I've said all I meant to say/clarify. Thank you for reading :D