#cultural amalgam

[panicinthestudio]

Bottle with Peony Scroll, mid-14th century

Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), China

Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under a transparent glaze (Jingdezhen ware)

H. 17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm)

The structured surface of this bottle ultimately derives from the Islamic cultures of West Asia. The designs painted on the surface of the bottle also illustrate the complicated ties between China and other regions in the fourteenth century: the patterns on the neck parallel the cloud-collar designs often found in textiles and clothing in China and the Islamic world; the scrolling peonies that decorate the center of the bottle derive from longstanding Chinese traditions; and the stylized lotus petals on the base allude to imagery found in Indo-Himalayan art. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

[panicinthestudio]

Indra, 15th century AD

Nepal

Gilt copper with semiprecious stones

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Statue of a goddess from Indra, Nepal, 15th century AD

[melrosing]

tullys 🐟!

[zivazivc]

For those of you wondering about Les's mysterious younger sibling. It's Hed, he's the little brother.

They share a mom who was a rock troll. Les's dad is funk, and Hed's dad is rock, but he lived in Vibe City since very young so he's also basically mixed genre like his bro.

In the second pic he's singing/rapping Tastes Just Like Chicken by Scatterbrain. I feel like this is the kind of music he would make when younger.

and bonus: meet the nominees for the worst parents award

[caseofkings]

can i offer you a n8v miku in these trying times

palette: x

[panicinthestudio]

Peahen and hibiscus, mid-14th century

Bian Lu, (Uighur, d. 1356)

Yuan dynasty, China

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Dimensions: Image: 66 7/8 x 40 1/4 in. (169.9 x 102.2 cm)

Overall with mounting: 103 x 41 1/4 in. (261.6 x 104.8 cm)

Overall with knobs: 103 x 45 7/8 in. (261.6 x 116.5 cm)

This monumental flower-and-bird composition shows the Uighur Bian Lu working in the highly polished tradition of the Song Imperial Painting Academy. Only the calligraphic character of the drawing, particularly noticeable in the rhythmic outlines of the leaves, betrays its fourteenth-century date. The meticulously detailed plumage of the peacock, the gritty texture of the rock, and the delicately shaded leaves and blossoms are a tour de force of representational illusionism. The bird's pose, dramatically balanced on one leg as it prepares to take another step, may refer to a famous anecdote about the Song emperor Huizong, who chided his court painters for failing to observe that when climbing, the peacock always takes the first step with its left leg. Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

[panicinthestudio]

Monumental Bodhisattva Head, 5th century

Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)

Stucco

H. 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm); W. 10 in. (25.4 cm); D. 10 in. (25.4 cm)

This head comes from a sculpture that would have been more than twelve feet tall and likely stood along the perimeter of a Buddhist sacred area enclosing a stupa. By the fourth and fifth centuries monumental imagery became increasingly popular in Gandhara and was almost exclusively restricted to images of the Buddha. The bodhisattva’s turban and jewelry might indicate that he is a rare image of Shakyamuni prior to enlightenment. Alternatively, the bodhisattva may have attended the Buddha as part of a massive triad.

Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

[serpentface]

Do psychotropic drugs and/or ritual play a role in any of the blightseed cultures? A pretty broad question, lol

Yeah that’s a very broad question, the answer is about as much as it tends to play roles in real history. Alcohol is pretty ubiquitous (outside of cultures that abstain from intoxicants) and used for a variety of purposes, opioids are commonly used in some parts for pain relief or recreational purposes, stimulants (usually in mild, natural forms) are used to provide extra energy, and hallucinogens are most commonly used as part of a larger religious framework (rather than for recreational purposes). Any more elaborate answer kinda has to be case by case in a certain culture or part of the setting.

I'll just take this as an opportunity to talk about the one established sect that pretty much REVOLVES around psychoactive use. This is the Scholarly Order of the Root, which is a sort of mystery religion + elite community of scholars who currently occupy the Ur-Tree and its forest in the far southern Lowlands (southeast of Imperial Wardin, on the same land mass).

The Ur-Tree is the obligatory Huge Fucking Fantasy Tree (and its surrounding forest). It’s a mass of vegetation about a mile tall and almost as old as Plant Life Itself, its upper branches are primeval plants, which become more modern the nearer they get to the ground (and each 'level' holds tiny ecosystems, some containing descendants of LONG-extinct arthropods/other small animals). Its lowest branches and the surrounding forest are contemporary plant life, and all is connected and protected by an incomparably MASSIVE fungal mycelium network (which is itself a living god).

A lot of the Scholars' more secretive practices revolve around experimentation with substance use with the goal of expanding the Mind and transcending the body to fully connect to the Dreamlands, and they have a supply chain of traders and mercenaries called Rootrunners who traffic substances into the Lowlands. Most of their psychoactive use is in a very intentional capacity and not just like, for fun, but a LOT of them are just straight up addicted to cocaine (in the form of alchemically refined bruljenum, which is used for practical purposes of its stimulant effect during long hours of work).

All known psychoactives are desirable for experimentation (particularly hallucinogens), with each having properties that either allow expansion of the Mind, transcendence of the body, or outright divine communion. Their effects are logged in great detail and interpreted to form the basis of the Scholars' understanding of the natural world and reality itself.

The most important substance is Ur-Root, which is root matter from subterranean levels of the Ur-Tree that have both their own intrinsic psychoactive substances and a very, very high concentration of living god mycelium. The tree root contains DMT and the mycelium has its own wholly unique effects (being an actual living god). They alchemically refine it into a purer, more potent form, and use it to expand beyond the body and directly commune with the Giants, a group of entities they have identified as the only true gods.

An Ur-Root trip starts off with minor visual distortion, which turns into shifting fractals that slowly obscure the vision. Eventually the senses are entirely taken over by a 'tunnel' of rapidly shifting fractals and geometries. In a complete trip, the experiencer gets a sense that they have been pushed through a membrane and entered another realm, finding themselves in a distinct experiential Space.

At this point they may encounter entities which communicate to them in a language impossible to describe but wholly understood. These beings are understood to be the Giants, or at least aspects of the Giants that mortals are capable of comprehending (they often take familiar tutelary forms of the Mantis or the Snake, or appear resembling the same type of sophont that the experiencer is, all composed of ever-shifting geometries). The experiencer often feels a sense of unconditional and endless love from these beings, though the Giants may be more hostile and may appear in the form of the Trickster (usually a cultural figure regarded as malicious, be it an animal or otherwise) in a bad trip.

(^Up until this point, this has mostly just been a DMT 'breakthrough' experience ft. 'machine elves' and the like).

They are then removed from this space and returned to something that feels like the real world, but is nearly unrecognizable. They have a sense of rapidly moving through time, and will usually see 'the spires' towards the beginning, which just so happen to look like this:

(source + some context via Implication- the spires are exactly what this art is depicting)

The experiencer continues to move across an unfathomable amount of time, occasionally 'seeing' other such flashes of unfamiliar landscapes and creatures, and yet also being devoid of all their senses, the 'seeing' is pure, unfiltered experience. There is a sense of interconnectedness with all life, and that one has become the forest (or even Life) itself. The sense of time is wildly distorted, the trip lasts only about 5 minutes but feels like an eternity and is understood as literal hundreds of millions of years.

The experiencer has usually lost any remaining sense of Self and individual consciousness during this phase (in which case this time distortion is usually a neutral or even peaceful experience), but some retain a fraction of their identity, and find themselves trapped and conscious while experiencing what feels like eternity (which can be LIFE-CHANGINGLY distressing, even after the fact).

(^This latter part of the trip is the effects of the Ur-Tree fungus).

The trip ends with a sense of rushing through the ground and back up into one's body, at which point they will abruptly return to their senses and consciousness. The details are then immediately retrieved via interview and recorded in immense detail. The whole experience is understood as having been full comprehension of the Dreamlands, communion with the Giants, and then a tour through the act of creation.

This is done as part of the initiatory practice into the inner mystery-religion of the scholars, and as needed for study by high scholar-priests. It is not taken lightly, both as it is absolute communion with the gods and reality, and in that it can be a very, very difficult experience. People who have gone through this often walk away with a permanently shifted perspective, often in a positive and/or comforting way- a sense of interconnectedness with all life, a peace with the concept of death, seeing less of a point in individual ego and the concept of Self, and comfort in the sense of divine love they (may have) experienced. This heavily influences the philosophy of the Scholars and has had effects by proxy in the religious worldviews of the region.

Details of this experience are closely guarded, and initiates are given absolutely no prior knowledge and expectations for their trip. This is seen as a necessity- their naivety will allow for a true, unfiltered experience, and can be used to gauge whether they should or should not be accepted. Those that have a distinctly bad trip upon initiation may be assumed to have been 'rejected' by the giants and thus denied full priesthood, though this largely depends on How they interpret their distressing trip- those who identify this as a test and harsh lesson in a journey to enlightenment may be accepted (as this is how fully initiated scholar-priests interpret and handle their bad trips).

This inner priesthood is only a small fraction of the Scholarly Order, and its greater function is as a hub of education and repository of knowledge, and Scholar-trained doctors can provide some of the best medical care available in the setting ('best medical care in this setting' only means so much but it's pretty solid, relatively speaking). Only a chosen few Scholars ever get to commune with the Ur-Root, and most of the divine secrets revealed in the process are kept hidden (though they indirectly influence the politics and worldview of the entire order).

[cologona]

I won't say that the Al Ghuls should be anything other than Chinese and Arab in canon because they have a whole history with Orientalism and Islamophobia and representation matters etc, but man a south asian background would make so much more sense for Ra's philosophy.

The understanding of animals as being just as sentient as humans, the noblesse-oblige justification for his actions, his apparent attachment to the Himalayas... Like. He should be Pakistani, or mixed Tibetan-Afghani.

Also Talia would look so killer in a Kurti.

[jupiter--dream]

Gotta speak my truth and since my blorbo is literally me fr then they deserve the same nationality

Literally incomprehensible to 99% of y'all but. Anyways DFJHBGSDFJHB

[castleofthade]

i like shenkuu conceptually (misty mountain country with cool boats) but oh my god. shenkuu and MI shaking hands with For The Love Of It All Please Fix The Stereotypes

[fortunaestalta]

[panicinthestudio]

Votive statue of a man, 550-525 BCE

Iron Age, Archaic period

Pyla, Cyprus

Limestone; remains of painting

H. 201 cm

The kouros emerged in the early years of Greek monumental sculpture, around the middle of the 7th century B. C. It portrays an unclothed youth standing with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides. The Cypriot sculptures of this period, like the statue cat. no. 76 found at the shrine of Apollo at Pyla on Cyprus, largely conform to this type in their composition and posture. (On the statue’s history in the 19th century cf. the essay by A. Bernhard-Walcher in the present catalogue.) However, other influences are also manifest in Cypriot sculpture, resulting from the island’s turbulent history: in the 7th century B. C. it was under Assyrian, in the 6th century under Egyptian and later under Persian hegemony. Like some kouroi from eastern Ionia -- from Samos, Pergamum and Miletus -- the Cypriot statues are almost invariably clothed in accordance with Oriental convention. Their attire is reminiscent of the diagonally worn cape which, originating in eastern Ionia in the middle of the 6th century, is worn by the late-archaic Greek korai.

The kouroi were erected as votive offerings at shrines or as heroic portrayals of the deceased on graves. This larger-than-life statue was unearthed at a shrine to Apollo and will have been donated as a votive offering.

The Greek kouroi are depicted as beardless, an indication of the figure’s youthfulness. The statue from Pyla, on the other hand, has a prominent beard made up of stylized curls deriving from Assyrian models. The figure also has a delicate moustache in the form of several plastic horizontal strips. The hair is curled over the forehead and at the back falls thickly to low on the back in the manner of a wig. Here, however, is it only crudely elaborated, like the back of the statue as a whole. Behind the ears, which are located far back and too high up, three locks of hair are draped over the shoulders and hang down over the chest. The regular recessed waves, resembling indentations in clay, are intended to suggest plaits. A wreath of leaves is woven into the hair, the adversifoliate leaves changing direction over the middle of the forehead.

The principal features of the radiant face are the large, almond-shaped eyes with their raised eyebrows, the prominent (partially restored) nose and the mouth. The lips and the slight upward curl of the corners of the mouth evoke a restrained smile. The figure is of sturdy stature with broad shoulders, a very powerful chest and strong arm and leg muscles. A notable feature is the kneecap of the left leg, depicted as a lentiform indentation somewhat reminiscent of an eye. The coat was originally red (there are traces of paint above the right thigh). It leaves the right half of the chest and the left side of the body exposed. Originally there would probably have been a painted, tight-fitting undergarment beneath the coat (cf. cat. no. 77). The coat is fastened at the left shoulder and encloses the torso in curving folds. A length of fabric pleated several times hangs from the left shoulder in stepped zigzag folds.

The strictly frontal aspect, the homogeneity of the silhouette with the lowered, slightly angled arms and the clenched fists, and the one extended leg all suggest that these kouroi were influenced by Egyptian sculptures. This influence was evident even in ancient times. Writing in the 1st century AD, Diodorus (I,98,9) described a sculpture of Apollo Pythios in the kouros style on Samos as “similar to Egyptian works.” However, whereas the Egyptian sculptors left their figures attached to the stone of the block from which they were fashioned, the Greek sculptors always detached their figures from the rear column of stone. And in Egypt the form, once it had emerged, was retained, while in the context of Greek culture the archaic kouros evolved over a period of 150 years into the early classical depiction of the young man. In Cyprus (and in much the same way in Etruria) the process occurred more slowly and less consistently. Thus, this votive statue, dating from the threshold to the 5th century, still has a distinctly archaic feel about it, with the incomplete separation of the lower legs -- reminiscent of Egyptian statues -- a notable feature.

A. Bernhard-Walcher et al., The Collection of Cypriot Antiquities in the KHM. Collection Catalogues of the KHM Vol. 2, Vienna: 1999 Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

[witchofthesouls]

Hi there! I wanted to ask about the Rudis ask, if you could comment more about the TFP-Soundwave option? All your fic ideas are lovely! Have a nice day :) !!

When it comes down to it, I just really want to delve down into the mythos that the Aligned universe gave us.

TFP in general seems to pull a lot of influence from Ancient Greek and Roman culture and mythos as well as pulling from Judeo-Christian roots.

I mean, there's so much going on, and yet... It feels undersold or fallen wayside. Even though it's all right there!

The War kicked off exponentially when the High Council named Orion Pax as the next Prime

The Autobots on Earth fell apart without Optimus

Questions about the role of the Matrix of Leadership: Is Orion Pax and Optimus Prime completely separate entities?

The Primal Artifacts and their immense power (and Megatron's willingness to desecrate a Prime's corpse)

Smokescreen getting worked up when Ratchet question Optimus' decision to destroy the only thing that could revive their homeworld

Fucking Unicron sleeping in Earth's core

And this is just the top of my head.

So being a Prime isn't just a leadership position, but has some deeply religious/mythical divine status akin to a mortal God-king.

And the sheer fact that Megatron managed to oppose an actual Prime chosen by the damn Matrix itself, just shows how much of a force of personality and charisma the guy is as well as how much faith he inspired in his own people.

There is so much more that could have been done, especially since people are biting for more lore on Decepticon culture. Like FUUUUUUUU-

There seems to be a fandom take that Decepticons are either atheists or deeply reject religion as opposed to the very pious Autobots. That doesn't seem to work in the Aligned universe.

There should be sects and cults surrounding the Thirteen Primes, especially with the theme of the triads and duos: Prima and Megatronus. Megatronus and Solus. Liege Maximo, Megatronus, and Solus. Prima, Alpha Trion, and Alchemist Prime. (Like where's the rest of the myths and parables? )

Shoot, secret ones!

So hear me out, what if Megatron was the rallying call for the Decepticons because the Fallen was considered the patron of the oppressed? He was the Prime of Chaos, the closest to the Unicron by Primus' own hand, the Undefeated.

It was said that he and Solus were lovers, so is it too much of a step that they were the First Conjunx?

I am the one within all of you, little brother.

From Prima to Thirteen. From those forged within Solus and those that rise from below. In the deep Wilds touched by none and the very spark of our fledgling civilization.

Amalgamous may share the claim to Nature with his beastly shapes, but I am the Shadow to the Light, the unfettered Instinct without Rationality, the Unmaker upon our Creator, the Beast of Madness that dwells within everyone and everything. 

Even you, quicksilver and trickster, cannot deny my Domain. Not even Prima, the Eldest of us all, can deny my power.

-- excerpt of a WIP where Megatronus Prime answers Liege Maximo's questions on his wanderings and leeway to everywhere

Megatron walking away from the High Council would cement his position among his people -the downtrodden, the lower castes, the lost and forlorn -the "Uncrowned Prime." He had purposely invoked the Fallen's name since he needed the ferocious strength to force change in society. Megatronus is the only Prime to remain victorious against all foes; his siblings didn't force him to yield, Megatronus Prime willingly laid down his arms and exiled himself.

It would explain the fanatical devotion and outpour of support against Optimus, the chosen official Prime, especially with the religious angle of Prima slighting Megatronus once more should the Matrix be explicitly connected to the first Prime. And then there's the fact that Prima was a founding father of Cybertronian civilization, so there's the slant of "rebel and tear down the established regime!"

The very name of the Decepticons could have been a hail to Megatronus' companionship with Amalgamous and Liege Maximo, both Primes were mainly tricksters. (In the gladiatorial clades, they were often invoked for victory.)

TFP Soundwave isn't just the Decepticon, he's Megatron's Decepticon. Whatever Megatron wants, he does. Soundwave put down Airachnid when she tried to set the Nemesis off Earth.

I've seen takes where Soundwave is deeply in love with Megatron or the ghost of the old Megatron, and that's why he stayed even when there's nothing left but dust. I've seen a take where Megatron sets fire to Cybertron as a "love song" in a style to mimic how Megatronus and Solus changed Cybertron.

I have yet to see a deeply faithful/religious Soundwave seeing Megatron as a Sign from his chosen God/Prime to hold the match, prep the gas, and start a firestorm. He essentially used his rudis as kindling upon the altar of Megatronus Prime; Wilds and Passion and Madness Incarnated. (And seeing the Decepticons take back cities and planet, Dark Energon zombies, and Megatron's multiple resurrections from the dead or near death, Soundwave's fucking deep in devotion.)

[constantvariations]

Started listening to A Court of Thorns and Roses out of morbid curiosity. Currently just under 4 hours in, and I have some Thoughts

Knowing that this is something of a Beauty and the Beast retelling, I find Feyre's family dynamics odd. Returning to them is her entire goal in Prythian, yet she doesn't even like any of them, which is why Maas had to shoehorn in that dumb vow Feyre made to her dying mother - whom she also didn't like all that much - at the age of eight. Her goal rings so hollow that I roll my eyes every time I hear about it or that stupid promise

This goal has another annoying layer to it. Escape takes up pretty much all of Feyre's inner monologue, yet the audience knows the story won't let it happen. Can't have a BatB if the Belle manages to flee before the romance has had time to grow. This makes the story drag something awful. There were times I stopped the audio because her plans left me groaning in frustration. If I never hear the word "treaty" ever again, it'll be too soon

And the way she avoids Tamlin at every opportunity is just wild. Even if he's the embodiment of everything gone wrong in her life, why would Feyre pass up a tour of the estate? Why not take the opportunity to study "the enemy" up close? Why go patrolling with the guy who blantantly and repeatedly states how much he wants her dead for what she did instead of the guy who is preventing everyone from doing that? Some of this can be chalked up to her being young, insecure, and untrained in social skills like her sisters, but it's so contrived at times

Considering how Feyre literally skinned his best friend, thus preventing any sort of dignified funeral service, Tamlin's incredibly tame, especially in comparison to the og Disney!Beast. He doesn't yell at her, doesn't threaten, doesn't make demands outside of, "please stop doing things that will get you killed." First impressions aside, Tamlin reads as more socially awkward and irritable than a beast with a dangerous temperment. I find his lameness quite charming, even if Feyre doesn't

It's odd that I'm so far in the book yet the only real interaction between our supposed love interests is the night that Tamlin fought the bog(?). I think this changed something for Tamlin, but Feyre remains unchanged towards him. She's incredibly stubborn, a trait I both have and admire, but her unwillingness to look beyond Tamlin's claws despite how courteous he is to his friend's killer is becoming ridiculous and dragging the plot. Just let him teach you to read already!

Another thing that's ridiculous is Feyre and her bad habit of knowing something is off yet doing a dumb thing anyway. With the wolf, she explicitly says that a creature of that size must be a fairy and kills it because of that only to backtrack and say it's not a fairy. This could be excused for adrenalin/first time killing a sentient being panic brain, but it happens again when her "father" comes to fairy town to rescue her. Feyre inwardly questions how he got to Prythian on a busted knee and some other logistical discrepancies but is willing to follow him into the woods despite these thoughts. She has absolutely zero survival instincts in fairy land. It's like she's trying to die in the dumbest way possible

I can already tell this is going to worm into my brain like RWBY and the MCU. I have a fondness for stories of great potential and even greater squandering. The characters are fun if ill used, and I'm curious about the world along with all the things I've been spoiled about

[cmweller]

Challenge #04407-L023: Celebration to Share

It's the Festival of Food. Everyone is invited to this world to try recipes from around the known universe. Needless to say, the Gyiik are the hosts. -- Anon Guest

Space, as a wise philosopher once said, is big. Really, really big. In a shared society like the Galactic Alliance, it spans dimensions that would boggle an ordinary mind. The number of civilisations and polities within it are also in numbers so high that they also boggle the mind.

Therefore it's no shock that the Alliance-wide Festival of Food has its centre on an entire Havenworld planet. One that is otherwise uninhabited by complex life. Each continent is dedicated to different levels of food, from Level 3 Havenworlders[1] to Level 5 Deathworlders. Each continent full of eateries offering every possible variety of food.

As well as the mandatory places to rest and enjoy live entertainment. It was a festival after all.

[Check the source for the rest of the story]