#i feel so distant to my culture. i feel so disconnected

[otherpeoplesheartachept-2]

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[duncneydivorce]

Super-speed as a cultural framework

Perhaps the most iconic Quicksilver comic panel of all time is that beloved moment with Dr Samson when Pietro reveals to him what it feels like to be ‘living’ at super-speed.

The general consensus among most people seems to be ‘quicksilver is easily agitated, arrogant and abrasive because his constant perception in high speed means he must deal with the world moving slower then him all the time’.

This is almost completely wrong, not at all how his powers work, removed from context and most importantly totally misses the entire point of the character. I’m convinced most of the misunderstandings of the character come down to the misrepresentation of this scene.

So how does quicksilver’s powers work and what does this scene actually mean?

For starters, Pietro is unique among speedsters because he cannot turn his powers ‘on’ or ‘off’ ; that's not how his powers work. He is not connected to an external source nor is he manipulating existing energies to increase his velocity. He just IS speed. The way he lives, breathes, how his heart beats it’s not something he does, it's just how he exists.

Now how is this shown in the story?

Quicksilver’s powers are used to speak to his mental illnesses. Pietro is not ‘Like That’ because his powers isolate him from everyone else. Rather, his powers isolate him from everyone else because he is ‘Like That’.

Quicksilver is not like reverse flash, who is trapped in a constant state of super speed by an external source, which drives him mad. He is not like Rogue who grows distant due to the nature of her abilities. Quicksilver’s powers are not the source of his issues, rather they are merely a manifestation of them. Yes, Pietro’s powers do isolate him from the rest of the world but this is not a constant state he always lives in, nor is it some kind of curse that comes with his powers. They disconnect him from everyone else because HE self isolates from everyone else.

But to truly understand what any of this means you must know who he is.

Pietro’s childhood is defined by the margins of poverty and persecution he is born into. His and Wanda’s origins examine the systemic racism, impoverishment and criminalisation of Romani communities. Since their debut their stories centre how their identities as marginalised immigrants from Eastern Europe affect their place as ‘superheroes’ and day to day individuals in America. The murder of their parents, their involvement with magneto and their alleged delinquency in the brotherhood are a result of this marginalisation, one that must be redeemed to secure their safety in the western world. I have talked about this before in more detail but to reiterate my point; pietro grows increasingly restless and anxious about the tokenism and prejudice they continue to face in adulthood. He carries the unresolved traumas of his childhood and struggles greatly with the culture shock and migratory grief. He is ostracised during his marriage in a classist, prejudice society and by his in-laws. All of this is the source of his more destructive behaviour. Consequently, he deliberately self isolates and over the course of his history he is never able to truly find a home in the avengers.

THIS is the reason why pietro is so distant and aloof. It's the reason why he is so distrustful, so volatile, so stubborn and chauvinistic in his ways. It’s the reason why he was always so “me and my sister against the rest of the world”, so overprotective and at times controlling.

I always found it frustrating when people treated that moment with dr Samson as a big revelation so we can finally understand why quicksilver is so aggy. We KNOW why he’s this way, they have out right told us already just read literally any quicksilver story ever.

Even within the very same run pietro revisits his session with the doctor and ponders on how his attitude and disconnect from the others is a result of childhood trauma.

Think of it like an allegory for displacement.

His powers are stunted because HE is stunted. His traumas lead him to become estranged in every single one of his interpersonal relationships at one point or another. But they also bleed into his super-speed. As such, he is LITERALLY isolated from everyone else.

It’s about the loneliness of the immigrant experience, it’s about migratory grief, it’s about the fear and anxiety and isolation of racism. This state of total disconnection from the rest of the world is merely what that feels like. No matter where you go you don’t belong and you’re cripplingly lonely, it’s a way of showing readers he’s not being coy or dramatic or difficult on purpose, that's just what it feels like to be a displaced refugee. That is LITERALLY reflected in his stunted inconsistent super-speed, trapping him in a prison of his own making.

It's important to understand Pietro is not constantly in this state. It's not something he has control over but notably his hero work subconsciously grounds him, it's the only time he is certain of his ‘role’, whereas personal relationships are something he always struggled with.

This was one of the most significant contributions to the character, however, I really want to emphasise that Peter David did not set out to create a meaningful metaphor about anti Romani racism because he IS an anti Romani racist. I suspect he was speaking to Pietro’s mutant-ness but it was not anti-mutant prejudice that oppressed his community, murdered his parents and subjected him and his family to extreme poverty and violence, it was racism.

Rather I think Saladin Ahmed is more deserving of this credit. While Ahmed acknowledges that David set the foundation, it was his work on Quicksilver: No Surrender that was able to meaningfully explore this aspect of the character.

The reality is most writers are not thinking about these kinds of things when handling quicksilver, most of them don’t even know it’s something they should be thinking about. This is what has made Quicksilver as a speedster stagnant for so long. I’m not trying to gate-keep who can use this character, but it’s not a coincidence that an immigrant of colour was the first writer to find an imaginative and nuanced way to extrapolate on Quicksilver’s speed.

Just to very briefly provide context for this story, in Avengers: No Surrender Wanda and Synapse work together to momentarily remove the mental blocks that cause Pietro’s inconsistencies, allowing him to access the full extent of his speed. He ceases to exist as he out runs the very concept of perception. We pick up in Q:NS. Quicksilver is in a state of exponential motion, completely isolating him from everyone at a rate he’s never experienced before. As Pietro has yet to actually control his abilities and needs help to unlock this speed he is stuck in this state. This is a story about generational trauma, which emphasises that only pietro can ‘save himself’ and return. By the end Pietro, for the first time in his life is able to consciously control his abilities to ‘slow down’ and return to everyone else.

There is a deeply and inherently cultural framework behind Pietro’s powers that are used to connect to his identity as a refugee as well as empower him, even the rate he feels speed is framed through the axis of oppression he faced growing up. He has come a very long way since he started out and personally I believe Ahmed’s work should set an example for how to continue to evolve this character.

[david-goldrock]

So at the entrance to my Moshav there's a new sign and on it is written: "Hello! you arrived home! slow down!" And every time I read it, inside, I die a bit I have no real logical explanation And the sign is right, it is definitely important, And with most seriousness It's just that each time I read I want to die a little A kind of need to puke And I think it is also related to the playground

I went there with my dog, just when it was built A new playground, impressive, flaunting in quality The swing doesn't creak, and even the carousel has a safety belt This is a prestigious building, directly from the catalog Designed to the satisfaction of the parent who's got no time to worry And while I'm there with the dog between slides and swings Just in me all of a sudden worries rose It's just that - until recently, there were woods here instead of a kindergarten So I couldn't not wonder - where this year will we be doing... Shavuot? Or the Ash Layla - when the older kids kidnap the younger kids - where is this able to be done now?

Now that the youth club has a busy schedule so Between spinning course to equipment Pilates, does anybody think of the younger fellas? And understand, I am one who accepts change as a blessing I just don't get in what way did they decide to build a sidewalk here And while I sink in wonderings, a parent passed across me with his toddler son

I waved hello, in order to fulfill one's obligation, but my dog, he didn't understand, that they are from the square It roared towards the kid in a usual energy burst in order to give the kid the traditional "lick to the face" greeting, but the father got scared, and preached in a solemn voice "Is this your dog? how come it isn't tied up? look at the sign! don't you know it's not allowed" I tilted my head across my neck in an involuntary twist I told him "excuse me, sir, since when is this moshav so bourgeois?" and suddenly it hit me

Yes Feelings that sit in the stomach for years It's you - the people of the square You had ruined us from the inside, you turned all of us to a bunch of pricks A slowing bump in front of a public playground?! we all fell victim to the same ruse!

For, ever since the beginning this probably was the plan, no? a dirt road turned to a boulevard, a tractor turned to a company car, It can't be that all that happened coincidentally when you came to the moshav

The bikers. They are no longer children, cycling back from the sea through the fields, but 30-year-old high-tech guys in dry fit and sunglasses that say "I have enough money not to be dazzled even when I'm doing sport"

You lured, you lured us, the people of the square, just like the story of Adam and Eve, and the tree of knowledge was sold, to the highest bidder, not for the fruits, which one can eat from, but for THE GROUND THE TREE SITS UPON. We sold our souls, the simplicity's gone, a neighbor became a stranger

And now, former Tel Avivians, demand we'd attach every dog a collar?

Say, why did you come for anyway?

I know, you wanted a silent surrounding, so you left the city, 'till now, legitimate, a completely reasonable situation, but here - ended the change in your life, when you forced the moshav, to fit itself, to you And like every colonial conqueror in his coming to a distant continent, you forced upon us a foreign and disconnected culture A loud culture, that simultaneously demands silence

"Hello, you arrived home! Slow down!" I KNOW, I need to slow down! And I, I see all now is clear - Not for a shouty and punchy sign, and not for an excessive and retarded slowing bump either, I know that I need to slow down, because in the Moshav, there's no reason to go quick

Moshav, is not a city, after going down from the highway, when the smell of the cowshed goes up in the air, it's time to turn the pot to a low fire, and to shed one's worries, to let the body unfreeze in front of the banana plantation view It's a bit difficult to explain - a moshav is different. It's free dogs, it's an unfinished road, and every hole in it rocks the car like a baby in its crib

To live in a moshav is not paying entrance fees, it's not a municipal matter that can be found on one's ID, to live in a moshav meant to give oneself to meaning Leave the dog alone, what about the kid? does he not deserve a childhood?

There's no need for slowing bumps and signs when one knows the neighbors, the laws are, unnecessary, punt the playground back to the land of the bourgeois, let your kid get the ability to invent devices for himself

That he'd fall down on his face, that he'd open his chin, that he'd cry, that he'd laugh, that he'd will face it, that he'd rant; That he'd be intrigued, that he'd get in danger, that he'd *unintelligible*, that he'd roll over, that he'd sneeze, that he'd get in trouble, do you understand?

What matters isn't where do you live, what matters is how

All that, wasn't said, obviously, I was satisfied with mumbling "yes yes, of course" but, I felt as if the message comes through.

We parted our ways, the dog by my side, the banana plantations in the background, silence, twilight. and in a passing glance between me and the dog it told me with its eyes "The time has come for them to put a sidewalk here, my legs hurt"

[sobeksewerrat]

OKAY OKAY @cosmozzzz @cringelordofchaos @roryheart YOU GUYS WANTED ME TO INFODUMP ABOUT THE SILLY GUYS SO I WILL (w/o spoilers for the story and also their gach versions cuz why not) (imma split this up cuz I am tired and need to polish some.shit)

Huches:

This girlie <333

Full name: Huches Karkovedes

Species (yes species you will understand ina moment): Star-Eater, Luvusia Tribe.

Social Class on her home planet: Aristocratic

Gender: Transgirl (felt the need to specify that she is trans since it is a relevant plot point in her backstory)

Sexuality: Androsexual

Partner?: Gerses!

Special Abilities: Shape-shifting (artificial using device, not inherited)

Funfact: she absolutely hated sleeves unless they are jackets. Don't ask why. She just hates sleeves.

Simplified backstory: Huches was born as the only "son" to an aristocratic family on planet [UndecidedName]. Her family was part of the Luvusia Tribe but they distanced themselves from all of the traditions to suck up to Earth politicians and gave Huches an English first name and gave her a shape-shifting device to study on Earth (in this universe Earth is the central power).

Eventually, in one of her few holidays on her home planet, she is kinda forced to stay in the countryside and meets Kutuku and Gerses. A lot of shit goes down over the course of that holiday and she gets her trans-awakening and starts trying to reconnect with her culture (but she still feels very disconnected)

Gerses:

His gacha version sucks oml

Full name: Gerses Haunem

Species: Star-Eater, Teifuaa Tribe

Social Class: working class (though eventually he gets some privileges cuz rich sugar mommy girlfriend)

Gender: Non-binary (he/they)

Sexuality: unlabeled

Partner?: Huches!

Special Abilities: Shape-shifting (artificial)

Funfact: He is autistic! And also they like funky fashion and temporary tattoos (mainly cuz he ain't allowed to have permanent ones)

Simplified backstory:(tw//ableism, abuse) He is a very distant relative of Kutuku and his family was also struggling as a result of [SPOILER]. He was generally seen as useless because he couldn't help around his family's business and his mother usually berated him when he had breakdowns or anything (because he was undiagnosed for his entire childhood) which lead to him being selectively-mute.

Eventually, he starts befriending his distant cousin Kutuku and started dating Huches. Because of Ku's family (elaboration will be added) and Huches' shapeshifting device he was able to eventually go to Earth with them to study and his family stopped seeing him as useless because of that (he still hates them)

MARKO/MARKUS:

No gacha version he is the silly short guy with goblin ears

Full name: Marko Daniella (he likes being called Markus tho, Daniella isn't hid last name I going by the Egyptian naming system, only Huches uses her family name)

Species: Human-Rovan

[Not including a social class I only did for the other two due to the classist nature of their home planets WHICH WILL BE ELABORATED ON EVENTUALLY I SWEAR]

Gender: Questioning

Sexuality: achillean, asexual

Partner?: Taifuauu [he will be introduced later alongside Kutuku]

Special Abilities: Heat Vision (inherited, controlled), great hearing

Funfact: He is black albino, and he has a generally weak immune system and anaemia due to being a hybrid [he is my punching bag btw ilovehim]

Simplified Backstory: this shit cannot be simplified honestly I made him suffer too much

I wanted to introduce the 4ht character(Ashlene) aswell but I need to draw he other 4 (Kam, Ku, Tai and Jaida'a) before because the tie into her story a lot

Iwillinfodumpagaintomorrow

[the-galactic-catt]

off anon this time!!! but,,, more specifics,,,,,, what do you think their relationship was like during the roman empire? did greece live in the same house or did he stay on the east? i have like a billion ideas about this, but i would like to hear yours first

HOLY FUCK HERE WE GO

OKAY OKAY SO- first of all, i don't like a lot of things about canon, especially greece's depiction, so many of these will contradict canon material. don't like that ? that's cool, but i can't do anything about it, just scroll

okay, on we go:

i actually headcanon that they've had already established a relationship before the roman empire, aka when ancient greece colonised south italy, aka magna graecia.

ages in hetalia work really weird so i decided to throw it all out the window for this: before the roman empire decided to take veneziano and romano in, romano lived with greece and his mother and they were both young. not as young as they are depicted when they are chibis, but not teenagers either. think: 10-12 years old.

the relationship was somewhat friendship, somewhat acquaintances. not bad, but not close either. they just kinda co-existed and hang out sometimes (i have art ideas for those, just you wait).

ancient greece took care of the both of them as well as her other colonies but she definitely favoured her son the most. it was clear that she didn't view the others as her children but rather just much younger roommates. she wasn't distant, she cared for them, she just didn't care on the same level as her son. that definitely didn't fuck with romano's head yep nuh-uh, completely free from any mental instabilities that would come later in life (cough).

now, roman empire ? yeah, they didn't get to see each other much, which made them feel very odd. they weren't that close but they did have an understanding of each other and a bond that they didn't have with anyone else.

when romano tried connecting with veneziano and the roman empire not only was he met with yet another adult having favourites but it also just didn't feel the same. unfamiliar. lonely ?

greece took it about the same, except instead of feeling a disconnect with his family, he felt a disconnect with the activities that used to bring him joy. almost as if something was missing that used to make them fun. or mayhaps someone ?

when the roman empire colonised greece, it was basically ancient greece taking her on-and-off flirting with the roman empire to the next level and moving in with him. not really a romantic or sexual relationship, just constant yearning and basically a game to see who will eventually yield/give up. both greece and romano found it incredibly gross and they liked to complain about it when they weren't around.

romano and greece reconnected for the amount of time they had left, before the spanish, french and ottomans came along. i'm not sure how to put it into words, but imagine finally meeting up with an old friend. it's awkward at first because you haven't talked in centuries, but it slowly mends and by the end it's as if you were never separeted in the first place. and yes, the friendship grew stronger too, much to romano's persistent denial (again, more art ideas~).

(one way they would bond even before the roman empire was by teaching each other their cultures. one image i have in my head that i would love to draw soon is of greece showing romano how to make and decorate clay pottery. it will probably be a mini comic, cause i need to feed myself somehow)

when they separated again, it was more sad for the both of them and they took it worse than before, because this time they had an actual friendship and not just a weird "i think he's cool but idk what we are so i'll just wait and see if he considers us friends or not" from the both of them.

the rest of the headcanons i can either communicate only through art, which will take a while, or they take place in the more modern times.

if you see any typos, no you didn't (it's 3 am, give me a break). thank you so much for the ask, i hope you are satisfied with these ! i can't wait to hear about yours !!

[teawithmagician]

To Fuck a Monster

They say that a social psychologist should be off the rails enough to investigate weird things*. I’ve always loved it. Because, first of all, I am a social psychologist. And I am keenly interested in exploring weird stuff.

*That’s not what they literally say, of course. The phrasing is more fancy and proper, but the essence remains.

I like to write kinky smut for my fandoms because sex is a way of non-verbal communication. In modern Western culture, shaped by Christianity (and other Abrahamic religions), sex is still frowned upon. The sexual revolution didn’t help much: we require sexual life to be clean and proper and held to a standard*.

*Mind you, I don’t say this to defend pedophilia or rape. I, for one, believe that we stopped publicly dismembering people for no good reason. That would be a decent punishment for these sorts of crimes**. **That was a dark joke, but I'm not against maxx punishments for these.

I mean weird things we dislike as squicks, as opposed to kinks. They hurt no one, they are consensual, they are just… yucky.

Breeding kink, for instance. A character gets off on the thought of being impregnated, maybe without even desiring to actually have babies. This can be interpreted in a Freudian way, as getting, saving, and nurturing a piece of the Other (who’s also your reflection) inside.

Fluid kinks with bodily fluids everywhere, so you’ll think twice before turning the fluorescent lamp on. Again, this can be interpreted as a Freudian thing, a recognition of what comes out of the Other’s body as good, and treating it as such.

Incest, because it’s gross, but also research shows that incest often happens in dysfunctional families so disconnected from the outside world that they feel only able to seek shelter and protection in each other — a dynamic I like to apply to Warhammer, for instance.

Bodily hair, especially on women. Considering how demonized hairy legs or pubic hair are, inserting them into a sexual scene used to cause a lot of scandals in more conservative fandoms (such as CIS countries' multi-fandom)*.

*God knows I love provoking conservatives.

One doesn’t have to be a kink enjoyer to include conventionally "weird" kinks in their works. But one definitely should know where and which kinks to use, because these sorts of non-verbal communications speak volumes about characters and their psychological issues and/or values.

Why? Because it follows the universal cinematic/literature rule, “show, don’t tell.”

Don’t tell how your character grew to become a parent figure for their tribe, so they can’t separate their sexual identity from the enforced “parental” role. Show it.

— All Uruks must breed and multiply, so we are not wiped from the face of the earth. But you—I will take you for myself.

— Isn’t it selfish to want me only for yourself, to enjoy each other every night? — she whispered in his ear, pressing her body against his, feeling the sweet shudder of his response.

— My life belongs to my children. But even I can desire one of my daughters for myself, — he murmured in reply.

սիրտ, Rings of Power fandom

2. Don’t tell how your character grew up in a dysfunctional family with an absent and emotionally distant father who fostered rivalry between siblings, appointed “favourites,” and did his best to disconnect you from anyone outside, so you could only rely on your blood. Show it.

“I'll kill myself if Father insists we separate,” she says with grim desperation. “I can't live like this. And nobody can make me.”

Horus stiffens, his hold on her tightening. Just the thought of her harming herself scares him. He grabs her chin and forces her to look at him, his demeanor almost dark, a hint of anger in his eyes.

“Don't even say that. If our father wants to separate us, I won't allow it. I won't let him. You're mine, and you are not killing yourself, no matter what he says.”

Tragedy, WH40k fandom

3. Don’t tell how your character is striving to hold their lover close, knowing they will inevitably have to separate. Show it.

“I wish I could have a child with you, like an ordinary woman,” she confesses suddenly. “I can't think of any other way to give myself to you completely.”

He is taken by surprise by her words. He takes a moment to answer, his hand caressing her stomach, his head resting against hers. His voice becomes more vulnerable than usual.

“You know it’s the only thing I can’t give you. You were born from the love between higher beings, but we're Primarchs, the Emperor's heirs. We aren’t supposed to reproduce.”

“Malcador can do something about that,” she says in a suddenly harsh tone. “I don’t care what. I want to carry your seed inside me.”

Tragedy, WH40k fandom

Mind you, I use my fics as examples not because I’m that good. No, I just show how I do it so you can do it better.

But again, why? Because writing sexual scenes is hard, and writing believable sexual scenes is even harder.

I remember once I wrote a very generic smut for Dragon Age — it was a Tabris and Loghain pairing, I think? And I got feedback that it wasn’t exactly out of character, it just didn’t feel… right. It didn’t have zest. It was a pretty generic sexual interaction. It would feel the same if I swapped Loghain with Alistair and Tabris with Alistair’s right hand. Boring and by the book.

Again, sex is communication. And just like a character's personality should be palpable in dialogues, it should be palpable in sexual scenes.

Yet, I advise you to take my words not as a direct guide, but rather as a point to think about. I’m barely an example of brilliant writing, just because I get carried away with my social studies often enough, and like to portray relationships as more problematic than they really are. I like to explore yucky things, and even more, to explore reactions to them. But the ideas stand:

Make your characters true to their lore in both Gen and NC-17

Show, don’t tell

[androidboy]

can you share some about what you do to celebrate día de los muertos? i’m somewhat distant from my mexican family for geographic, immigration, assimilation, homophobia reasons, etc, but really want to cultivate my own practice and feel sad that i’ve lost access to the ancestral knowledge… trying to learn more about other people’s family’s traditions so i can build my queer practice!!!!

i think the thing i love most about day of the dead in the US is that ive noticed a lot of people who come from assimilated families love to celebrate it and a lot of families from mexico who didn’t practice beforehand start here. i don’t know how widespread it is now in mexico but when my dad came to the US he was really surprised by how popular it was here since it was more of a contained regional thing out there and he had never participated before but when i was a kid we started celebrating it by going to the little festivals that would pop up and we’d get to look at all the people dressed up and all the face paint and there was music and good food and my dad would say a couple words about his brother and that was it! that was my entire experience growing up.

what i do now varies a lot. i do a lot of research into it and pre-covid i’d take part in public celebrations but now that much crowd is too much for me so ive started setting up a little ofrenda with candles and my favorite mexican sweets and snacks and little things that were given to me that had been in the family for a while. last year i was completely alone but i did calavera makeup and i lit a candle and just talked out loud to my papi and my uncle about life and questions i would’ve liked to ask them and i had a few snacks on the alter and a big thing of conchas that i snacked on while talking and i drank a coke and left a couple bottles out for them

this year i’m gonna do calavera makeup for me and my girlfriend and i think we’re gonna make some sweet corn tamales and light candles and still have sweets out and we’ll share stories

i think because the celebration is so open, it’s an easy piece of culture to find home in for those that feel like they’re lacking it whether it’s just an opportunity to feel familiarity and likeness or a chance to feel like you actually get to participate in a culture you feel disconnected and severed from

this was way longer than expected but find what feels right whether it’s just you or if you want to take a look at your community that rises out of love for their loved ones

[springfallendeer]

Edible Atrocities - Naga (With Extras)

@saburo-kyoto Very lovely suggestion!

There is quite a bit here so I apologize for the lengthy read

Culinary Subject: Naga

Naga are distant cousins of the better known Lamia. These two serpentine species share enough of a genetic relation to allow interbreeding, which creates the sexually viable Lamkompra (Half-breeds which combine traits of both parent species).

Naga are a race of humanoid serpents. They sport a humanoid upper body (at least in shape) and move about on a serpent tail. They can slither at a reasonable pace, but when feeling the need to rush, it is not uncommon for them to utilize the use of their muscular arms to propel themselves forward at heightened speed.

Where the Lamia have upper bodies that perfectly mirror the appearance of human women, save for slightly pointed ears and unusual looking eyes, the Naga do not have that luxury. Their upper bodies, while humanoid in shape, are covered in scales. Their heads also better resemble that of the Cobra, right on down to the presence of the elaborate frilled hood that the serpents are best known for.

Unlike their cousins the Lamia, the Naga come in both male and female variants (with the females being noticeably larger due to a wonderful thing called sexual dimorphism). They come in a range of colors and patterns, with different social groups generally sharing a similar appearance.

They are incredibly venomous and capable of easily hypnotizing the average human, thus making them risky to approach. However, as a high-intellect "human adjacent" race, they can be safely interacted with if approached respectfully.

Contrary to common stereotypes, the Naga are not an inherently hostile race which preys upon humans. They are simply a race of creatures which largely seeks to protect their home and territory from unwelcomed invading forces, which has likewise led to many conflicts due to humans competing with them for resources.

The majority of the conflicts between humans and Naga are founded upon the the false belief that humans can simply stake claim to whatever resources they happen across out in the wilderness; regardless of the presence of native creatures which might be equally reliant on those resources.

Author Notes: As a rule of thumb, my associates and I prefer not to hunt creatures that are considered "Human adjacent". That being any race of human intellect (or greater) that is capable of producing sexually viable young with humans.

However, there are rare circumstances in which a Naga establishes themselves to be enough of a threat that execution is warranted, at which point the edible parts are harvested and any inedible remains are respectfully disposed of.

In most cases though, the tail of the Naga can be obtained without dealing lethal damage to individual.

This does not mean that the process is pleasant, as the tail is most often severed in the midst of fierce combat or in response to extreme stress. It is not dropped like the tails of many lizards, and legitimately requires effort in order to break off.

That aside, the Naga are adapted to allow them to safely lose up to a third of their tail without enduring serious damage. This is an adaptation that has been present in the species for a while, likely as a byproduct of their own cultural behaviors, as well as the need to escape capture from other races. Better to willingly disconnect a few pounds of flesh than to lose ones own life, after all. Especially when that flesh can be recovered over the course of a couple of years.

Recipe Index:

Snake Cheese

The many uses of Naga tail

Bonus subject: Mandragora

Mandragora

Mandragora Bulbs

Bonus subject: True Slime

Slime essence

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Naga Recipes

Snake Cheese: A naturally soft and spreadable cheese with a distinct flavor. Tangy, with faint buttery notes and a hint of toasted pistachios. Pairs wonderfully with smoked meats and sweet jams! Can be enhanced through the addition of herbs and spices.

You will need: - 1 gallon milk (preferably cows milk) - 1 ounce Naga venom - 1 tablespoon salt Equipment: - A large pot - Leather gloves - A wooden mixing spoon - A large bowl - Cheesecloth

Before you begin to prepare this recipe, be sure that you have collected a fresh sample of Naga venom (which is generally easy to obtain. I've found that they find it amusing that I use their venom to make cheese) and a suitable place to store your cheese while it ferments.

To prepare a batch of Snake cheese, you begin by pouring 1 gallon of fresh milk into a suitably sized pot. Place that pot over a low flame, and carefully bring the milk to a low simmer while mixing continuously. Do not boil.

Continue to simmer the milk for a period of 1 to 2 minutes, then swiftly remove the pot from the flame.

Take your ounce of Naga venom and pour into the milk. (Be mindful not to spill any on yourself, as the venom is quite hazardous. If it gets into a cut, it can lead to rapid rotting of the surrounding tissues, and if it somehow finds its way into the eyes it can lead to permanent blindness without swift intervention.)

You should notice that the milk immediately begins to curdle. This is what you want! Stir the curdled milk for upwards of a minute, before removing your utensil entirely.

Sprinkle in your salt then allow your cheese mixture to sit undisturbed for no less than ten minutes (the Naga venom is most potent at this time).

Once the appropriate amount of time has passed, dawn your protective gloves.

Arrange your cheese cloth so that it wraps around the interior of the bowl. Leave enough extended along the rim for you to easily grab. Then carefully spoon your cheese mixture into the bowl.

At this stage, it will be very gelatinous due to retained moisture. This is normal. Just be sure to get all of the solids out of the pot.

Once you have completely isolated your cheese mixture, carefully take the outer edges of the cheesecloth and twist until you have formed a tight ball.

Quite a bit of whey will drain as you do this. Be mindful not to spill any on your clothes, as the venom is still active and could lead to injury.

Secure this tight ball of cheese with a knot and hang it over the bowl. Be sure not to hang it high enough that dripping whey will splash, but not so low that it could come into contact with anything in the bowl.

Leave the cheese alone like this for 24 hours. Do not touch or disturb it during this time while it drains and undergoes its first stage of fermentation.

While the cheese is resting, now is the time to begin disposing of any liquid left behind in the pot.

Do not drink this liquid. Do not get it on your skin. Do not dump it into an accessible water supply. Do not pour it into the dirt.

To safely dispose of this envenomed whey, take the mixture and bring it back to a full bowl. Then allow the mixture to boil down until it has become a thick sludge that coats the bottom of the pot.

Mix ashes into this sludge, and then bury it. The heat from the prolonged boil will have destroyed most of the enzymes in the venom, while the ashes with neutralize anything that is left.

Be sure to thoroughly clean your pot and cooking utensils once done. Wash it at least three times to assure than any remaining venom has been completely washed away.

After allowing your cheese to sit for at least 24 hours, all excess whey should have successfully drained. Dispose of this whey the same way that you disposed of the whey from the pot, or pour directly into a raging fire and trust that the flames will destroy the venom.

From here, all that you must do is wait.

Store your cheese in a cool, dry place and wait for a period of 6 to 10 weeks while the enzymes in the venom slowly process the milk solids.

The cheese will not be safe to eat unless aged for the minimum of 6 weeks. Any fermentation past that point will simply act as a means of further aging the cheese, which allows it to develop a more intense flavor.

Once the fermentation process is up, you will be left with a delightfully soft cheese that spreads like thick butter. It can be eaten as is, or combined with various herbs, spices, or even fruit in order to promote a desired flavor.

The resulting cheese, without additional flavorings, tastes vaguely of butter and has a noticeable acidic note to it. The aftertaste is comparable to toasted pistachios. It is quite pleasant.

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- The MANY uses of Naga Tail -

Obtaining the tail of a Naga can be quite risky. Those seeking to legitimately hunt these creatures must take care to properly prepare themselves. Venom resistant potions are a must and hypnosis-resistant gear is greatly advised. As is durable metal armor if one wishes to avoid being potentially crushed by the powerful muscles of these giant snakes.

A mixture of sharp and blunt weapons will work best at dispatching a Naga if the ultimate goal is to take their life. Using blunt weapons to deliver powerful strikes to the head and chest can incapacitate a Naga, whereas the sharp instruments will make delivering the lethal blows easy enough. Just be sure to thoroughly restrain or otherwise dismantle the head and jaw of the serpent, as it retains the ability to fight for days after battle even if disconnected from the body.

Those who seek to obtain a tail through less lethal means may find themselves having an easier time. Certain tribes are willing to trade hefty portions of their own flesh if offered valuable resources, like metal. Others will only part with their tail if first defeated in battle, in which case you must be prepared for a fight if seriously looking to sample this particular type of meat.

During certain times of the year, particularly around mating season or during periods where rites of passage are due to take place, these tails can be more easily obtained.

During the mating season, males often lose portions of their tail while competing for the attention of females. Juveniles of both sexes often lose their tail when fighting for the right to reach adult status.

During these points in time, the Nagas will generally be willing to sell these disembodied tails for a fair price. They can be obtained through bartered trade or through legitimate sale. This will be the safest means of obtaining the meat of a Naga, though visitors must be warned that they are expected to respect the culture of their hosts.

Any perceived as being disrespectful may find themselves being put up on the menu if they fail to plead their case.

The flesh of a Naga's tail is dense and loaded with intramuscular fat. It responds well to a wide array of cooking methods, though some methods will require more prep work than others.

The meat itself falls somewhere between red and white meat, being naturally dark-pink in hue when raw and turning a lighter shade of pink when cooked. The texture is closest to that of pork, and in terms of flavor it is surprisingly neutral.

Unseasoned, browned meat tastes similar to chicken. If unseasoned meat is prepared in a way that does not allow it to brown, then it will not develop much of a flavor and will wind up unpalatable as a result.

The meat of the Naga must be adequately seasoned and great care must be put into preparing the meat in order to assure that a recipe comes out as delicious as it should. While this will take effort, the end result is well worth the time put into each dish.

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Naga Tail (Smoked): A wonderfully tender portion of smoked meat, given a great amount of flavor using various seasons. Perfect as a quick snack or as an addition to a wide range of dishes! Can be used to make sandwiches, added to pasta to add flavor, or even mixed into scrambled eggs to create a hearty breakfast - and so much more!

Comes in lightly sweetened and traditional varieties.

You will need: - 5 pounds of Naga tail meat - 1 tablespoon each of Salt, Pepper, Garlic, and water - 1 tablespoon each of Brown sugar, citrus fruit (the zest and the juice), and optional ginger (for a sweet smoked meat)

- 1 tablespoon each of Mustard, vinegar, onion, and paprika (for a more traditionally flavored smoked meat) Equipment: - Metal smoking rack with a cage - Suitable smoking wood - Knife and cutting board - Large bowl - Measuring utensils

To begin, prepare a suitable place to build your fire and assure that the weather will be clear for the day. You will not want to prepare this recipe on a windy day or on a day where rain is a potential risk factor.

Once your fire is built, move on to the next step.

Prepare your portion of the meat. You can use a sharp knife to remove the skin and scales, and this can be done fairly easily. Simply press the tip of the knife into the exposed flesh where the tail was disconnected from the body. Insert about an inch, and then cut upward to create a break in the skin. Once the break is present, you will be able to easily work your fingers between the skin and the meat. All that you will need to do from there is pull. The skin will peel right off!

If needed, you can also cut along each side of the break to create loose flaps. This will make keeping a good grip on the skin much easier.

As a full tail segment from a Naga will generally weigh somewhere between 125 to 175 pounds (nearly a third of the average weight of a Naga), it is recommended to not peel back more of the skin than is needed to expose your desired portion of the meat. The skin helps keep preserve the flesh and prevents decay from setting in, for a time.

Once you have the flesh exposed, find the space between two segments of the tail vertebrate and jam your knife into it to break the bone. This will allow you to easily cut away your desired portion of flesh.

You will also want to cut out and remove any bones that are found throughout the meat. The tail will most often contain a portion of the Nagas spine, and each segment of the spine is in turn supported by a pair of arched, rib-like structures.

If your tail does not appear to have the spine or ribs but instead seems to be supported by thick bands of tough red tissue, then you're in for a treat. You have the tail of a Naga that has already shed its tail in the past, and so the flesh is younger by comparison. The meat will be even more tender than usual once the recipe has been completed.

These bands of tough tissue will need to be removed though as they are not suitable for human consumption.

Once your tail meat has been cleared of any inedible bones or tissues, it is ready to be smoked.

To prepare your seasoning mixture, combine all of the desired ingredients into a large bowl and mix them together thoroughly. The end result should be something of a runny paste. One that easily coats your fingers in an even layer without bunching up or clumping.

Once this seasoning paste is ready, place your chunk of meat into the bowl. Roll the meat around while using your hands to rub the seasoning into the muscle fibers. Do not be afraid to use force. You, quite literally, need to massage the meat. One that is done, then you must allow the meat rest for ten minutes.

Repeat the seasoning massage twice more, allowing the meat to rest ten minutes between each session. This will allow the seasoning to permeate the flesh, and assures that very little will be wasted.

Once your meat has been thoroughly seasoned and massaged, you will notice that it has softened as a result. That is the value of a good massage!

With your seasoning now ready, secure your tail meat within the confines of the smoking cage. Use skewers or cooking thread as needed if the meat does not properly fit inside. Then hang the meat up on the rack.

For the next six hours, your only ambition in life is to maintain your fire so that your meat will cook.

Rotate the meat every thirty to forty five minutes to assure that the heat is evenly spread. This also allows for the creation of an almost charred crust, which is absolutely packed with flavor. This crust prevents excess liquid from escaping the meat, which in turn keeps the meat moist.

Once this six hour smoking period is done, remove the smoking cage from the rack and set in a sanitary environment.

Do not attempt to remove the meat from the cage for at least two hours. Do not attempt to cut into the meat for at least four. This will assure that the meat has the chance to settle and properly absorb the flavorful juices that it would lose if cut too early. Thus you will prevent the meat from going dry by letting it rest before you dig in.

Once all of this is done, then you will be free to indulge in this delicacy.

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Naga Tail (Grilled): Succulent meat with a delightfully savory taste. Tender, but firm enough to awaken the dormant carnivorous urges that hide within us all. Simple and easy to make.

You will need: - 1 pound Naga tail meat - 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and paprika - Parsley and/or chives, to taste - The juice of 1 orange - Oil Equipment: - Knife and cutting board - Grilling stand - Grilling utensils, like tongs or a carving fork - Measuring utensils - Large bowl

To begin, prepare your grilling station. Build a suitably sized fire and allow your standing grill to heat up. Be sure to season thoroughly with oil to assure that your meat will not stick!

Once your grilling station is ready, prepare your portion of the meat. For instructions on how to cut a portion of the tail for consumption, refer to the previous recipe. Just note that removing the bones will be optional for this recipe, as the meat is going to be moved around quite a bit and the bones will provide support.

Once you have the tail meat, place it in a large bowl. Squeeze in or otherwise add the juice of 1 whole orange. Massage the juice into the meat, then allow to sit for fifteen minutes while the acid in the orange juice does its magic.

When that is done, measure out all of the listed seasonings and add them to the bowl.

Massage the meat again. Thoroughly. Be sure to get the spices evenly distributed across every nook and cranny that exists upon the flesh. Apply a little oil to the meat if needed to help assure that nothing is left unseasoned.

After your meat has been thoroughly prepared, you're ready to grill.

Take the tail meat and place directly on top of your grilling rack. Allow to sit undisturbed for two minutes, then flip and grill for another two minutes.

From here, continue to grill for another ten minutes, flipping every one and a half to two minutes. As you do this, the meat will develop lovely grill marks and a nice char, which will just add to the flavor.

When the meat is cooked through and the outside is nicely seared, remove from the heat. Allow to rest for at least ten minutes to assure that the meat can baste in its own internal juices. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, then enjoy!

Can be eaten by itself, though it will pair wonderfully with roasted vegetables or fresh greens!

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Naga Tail (Braised): Looking for something reminiscent of pulled pork, but don't have access to pork? This is the recipe for you! A long cooking time in a flavorful cooking liquid allows all of the intramuscular fat of the tail meat to melt away, leaving behind an addictively savory treat.

You will need: - 5 pounds Naga tail meat - 2 onions, quartered - 1 bulb garlic, roasted - 2 large carrots, grated - 2 cups beer or ale of your choice - 1 cup apple cider vinegar - 2 tablespoons each ground mustard seed, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper - Half a cup brown sugar Equipment: - Large braising dish with a lid - Knife and cutting board - Cheese grater - Measuring instruments - Large bowl - Whisk

Note: This recipe is best prepared in an oven, though it can be prepared over a campfire. The process will just be more tedious.

This recipe requires a fair amount of prep work. There are multiple vegetables that must be thoroughly cleaned and cut.

The carrots must be peeled and grated.

The onions must have their inedible outer skins removed and they must be quartered.

The garlic, of which you will be using an entire bulb, must be carefully roasted until fragrant and soft. To properly roast your garlic, you can cut off the top portion and slather liberally with oil. Place the bulb in a small dish with a lid, and cook over low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. The resulting product can be easily squeezed from the skin, directly into the main dish.

Additionally, the spices are best if fresh ground, but pre-ground will be fine.

To begin, heat your cooking area. Preferably an oven. A campfire will suffice in a pinch.

Prepare your portion of tail meat. Refer to the recipe for "Smoked Naga Tail" for an in-depth explanation of how to easily remove a chunk of flesh from the tail segment. Be sure to debone.

Place the tail meat directly into a deep braising dish. If the lone chunk is so large that it would inhibit the ability to properly close the lid, divide the meat into two equally sized pieces to make more room.

Place the onion quarters and the grated carrot into the braising dish. Be sure to spread everything out.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry seasonings. Squeeze in the roasted garlic, and mix to create a paste. Then pour in the apple cider vinegar and thoroughly combine.

Add the beer or cider to the bowl, along with the brown sugar. Whisk once more until all of the sugar has dissolved. Then take this liquid and pour all of it into the braising dish with the meat and vegetables.

Cover with the lid, and move to the heat.

The dish must cook over a low flame for a period of 4 to 6 hours. Remove from heat every 2 hours to disturb the mixture, to assure that everything is properly being broken down as it cooks.

What begins as many separate ingredients will gradually be broken down into an almost homogenous mixture of shredded meat and vegetables, which will be absolutely saturated in a rich broth.

Once all ingredients have been properly broken down, remove the lid and allow to cook for another 1 to 2 hours, or until the broth has reduced by half and taken on the consistency of runny gravy.

No need to allow to sit for hours on end. Once the meat has finished cooking, the only thing keeping you from eating it is your ability to tolerate hot food.

Can be eaten as is, though it pairs wonderfully with Mandragora Mash (refer to "Mandragora" segment). It also makes for a wonderful sandwich when served on Mandrabread (again, "Mandragora" segment) with a crisp slaw.

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Naga Tail (Fried): Firm and chewy chunks of fried tail meat, which have been seasoned appropriately and given a crispy crust. Savory, salty, and oily, this dish makes for an addictive snack that is best enjoyed with friends! Tastes like fried chicken.

You will need: - 1 pound Naga tail meat - 2 ounces slime essence (or large 1 egg) - 3.5 cups fresh breadcrumbs - Quarter cup of flour - 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and paprika - 4 cups oil, plus 1 tablespoon - Dipping sauce of your choice (optional) Equipment: - Deep pot - Tongs - Knife and cutting board - Measuring utensils - 2 bowls

To begin, prepare your cooking oil by adding it to a deep pot and setting it over a low flame. Allow the oil to heat completely before attempting to cook, as oil that is not to temperature will result in your fried meat developing a soggy crust.

Prepare your portion of tail meat. Refer to the recipe for "Smoked Naga Tail" for an in-depth explanation of how to easily remove a chunk of flesh from the tail segment. Be sure to debone and cut the meat into bite-sized chunks. Cover these chunks of meat with oil.

In a moderately sized bowl, combine the seasonings and the flour. Add in your oiled chunks of tail meat, and thoroughly mix to assure that all meat is covered. Discard any seasoning mix which has not stuck to the meat.

Pour the slime essence over the meat (or add in 1 beaten egg). Do not mix.

Fill your second bowl with breadcrumbs, and then begin adding in your seasoned tail meat. Do this one piece at a time, and be sure to thoroughly cover eat piece in the breadcrumbs by gently jostling the bowl. Be mindful not to disturb the pieces too much as the breading may come off.

Once all of the meat chunks are breaded and buried in the crumbs, allow to sit for 5 minutes. This will assure that the slime essence (or beaten egg) fully adheres to the meat, which in turn assures that the bread crumbs will stick.

Once the batter has settled around the meat, remove the chunks one at a time and carefully place into hot oil.

Fry for three to five minutes, or until all sides have formed an evenly brown crust. Then remove from oil and allow to drain.

Serve as is, or pair with a dipping sauce of your choice.

(Authors Note: I like to dip these morsels in herb infused Snake Cheese)

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Naga Crackling (Fried Naga skin): An addictive snack made from strips of serpentine skin, which have been deep fried and given a puffy, crispy texture similar to that of Pork Rinds. The taste is akin to that of fried chicken skin.

You will need: - Naga tail skin, descaled - 1 cup oil - Salt and pepper, to taste Equipment: - Shallow saucepan - Cooking tongs - Knife

To begin, pour your oil into a shallow saucepan and bring to temperature. If the temperature is not high enough, then the skin will fail to puff up and will be left soggy as a result.

Take your portion of tail skin and prepare it for cooking. To remove the scales, quickly dip the skin into boiling water, then immediately place in ice water. This shocks the skin and prompts the scales to dislodge with ease. They can be removed by hand or scraped off with a knife.

Once the tail skin has been descaled, but it into strips. Roughly one inch wide and 2 to 3 inches in length. Do not season.

Pat the skin with cloth to assure that it is free of excess moisture. Then take these strips of skin and carefully deposit them into hot oil, 2 to 3 at a time, and allow to cook.

The skin will bubble and expand, reaching 3 times its original thickness. You will know that it has finished cooking when it has turned golden-brown. At which point it must be immediately removed from the oil and allowed to drain.

Season with salt and pepper while hot, or with any other dried seasoning that you may fancy.

Can be immediately eaten as once cool enough to be tolerated by the human tongue. Can also be paired with dipping sauce of your choice, or used as a delightful crunchy topping for salads!

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Sweet and Savory Naga Stew:

You will need: - 2 pounds Naga tail meat - 1 pound Mandragora Bulbs, deseeded and quartered - 4 ounces Slime essence (or 4 egg yolks) - Half pound each of carrot, onion, celery, potato, and small tomato, all cut into chunks. - 2 teaspoons each of salt, pepper, (freshly chopped) garlic, parsley, and (freshly chopped) ginger. - 1 tablespoon oil - 8 to 10 cups water Equipment: - Deep cooking pot, or cauldron, with a lid - Knife and cutting board - Large bowl - Measuring utensils - Cooking tongs and cooking spoon

Note: A fair amount of prep work will go into this recipe. The vegetables must all be thoroughly cleaned and cut into bite sized chunks.

The potatoes and the carrot must be peeled.

The garlic and the ginger need to be fresh, or the final flavor of the gravy will not be as complete. All of these things are vital and only make up a small portion of the prep that will go into preparing this dish.

To begin this recipe, first you must prepare your portion of tail meat. Refer to the recipe for "Smoked Naga Tail" for an in-depth explanation of how to easily remove a chunk of flesh from the tail segment. Be sure to debone and cut the meat into bite-sized chunks.

Cover these chunks of meat with oil, and brown unseasoned in your cooking pot or cauldron until nicely browned on all sides.

Remove the meat from heat and set aside. Then add your fresh garlic and ginger directly to the pot, and cook until lightly browned and aromatic (move the pot off of the heat temporarily if this will prevent you from burning the ingredients).

Once the garlic and ginger are browned, add in all of your vegetables. Carefully agitate these vegetables for 1 to 2 minutes to allow them to begin to cook, while covering them in the fat and seasoning that have been deposited in the bottom of the pot.

Once you begin to see some color forming on your vegetables, return the meat to the pot and carefully mix in. Then slowly add in the first half of your water.

Allow the mixture to come to a simmer. As you do, combine your remaining seasoning with the remaining water. Additionally, mix your slime essence (or egg yolks) into this seasoned water mixture.

Once the main pot has come to a simmer, slowly add in your seasoned water mixture. (Note: If you utilized egg yolks, you must first add 1 to 2 cups of heated broth from the pot to the main water mixture in order to temper the eggs. Otherwise your broth will wind up full of scrambled egg strands). You will notice that the main mixture immediately begins to thicken, which is what you want. The final consistency of the broth will be akin to that of slightly runny gravy.

Place the lid on top of the pot, and allow to cook for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. The stew will be finished when the vegetables are all tender and the meat begins to fall apart.

Serve as is, or with a side of buttered Mandrabread Rolls (refer to "Mandragora" segment).

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Bonus: Mandragora and their edible parts

Authors Notes: Not to be mistaken for the Mandrake, which are an independent species of plant monster with a similar name. The Mandragora is the naturally occurring species of plant monster which spends its time hidden in the ground and wails like an infant when uprooted. The Mandrake is the man-made species created through alchemy.

Mandragora are a small, non human-adjacent species of monster with the intellect of a turkey. Mandrakes are a human-adjacent species that form societies of their own in the wilderness. They are not to be mistaken for one another or treated the same.

HOWEVER, this difference is not an excuse to treat the Mandragora with any less respect than any other living creature. Uprooting them causes them intense stress (thus the wailing) and they are capable of feeling pain. Thus, harvesting these creatures for their edible parts must be done with care, so as to not harm or over-stress them.

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Mandragora: Mandragora are best tracked during the day, when the creatures have buried themselves in the earth and gone to sleep. This will reduce the risks associated with hearing a Mandragora's scream, such as developing Mandragora Psychosis.

Mandragora are notoriously difficult to track, due to their innate ability to blend in with the surrounding foliage. So the best chance at finding them is to look for the bright orange bulbs that they produce during the late spring and early summer.

Once you have located a suspected Mandragora, you can easily authenticate its presence by tickling the underside of the leaves found growing around the bulbs.

If the leaves curl or otherwise shy away from your touch, then you've found a Mandragora. If they do not, then you've unfortunately just found a run of the mill mandragora bush. Which part of the nightshade family and is therefor highly poisonous, so you should not try to eat it.

Once you have located a Mandragora, what you do will depend on what your end goal is.

The orange bulbs are edible and can be easily harvested without killing the creature. But these bulbs should be harvested with care, as they serve as the primary means of reproduction. Each bulb could potentially go on to become a new Mandragora, and so overharvesting could be a detriment to the species.

If harvesting the bulbs for consumption, look for any with unusual coloration or size. Bulbs with green or brown hues are sterile, or otherwise considered duds. So any Mandragora born from these would be incapable of reproduction. Likewise, undersized and oversized bulbs will give rise to sickly and deformed mandragora, which will be unlikely to survive into adulthood.

Harvest these genetically non-viable bulbs for cooking purposes. This allows you to make use of your harvest which giving the healthier bulbs the chance to grow stronger, which will lead to small booms in the Mandragora population.

If the goal is to harvest the whole creature, then first remove the healthiest bulbs to plant them in the immediate area. This will assure that you'll have high chances of finding more Mandragora in the same area in a couple of years.

To safely dispatch a Mandragora, do not dig it up. This will cause undue stress to the creature and risk you getting injured. The best means of slaughtering these creatures is to take a long, sharp object (like a pick) and drive it directly into the central point of the leaves.

So find the main point where all of the leaves connect to the head, which is submerged in the soil. Locate the center, and then position your tool. It will only take one swift, downward motion.

You will need to use a fair amount of force, as you will need to drive your tool at least 3 inches deep in order to fully kill the creature. You will know that you have done this correctly if all of the surrounding leaves suddenly go limp.

Once this is done, you will be free to dig up the Mandragora without fear of its screams. Then you will be able to do with it and its bulbs as you wish.

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For full detail recipes on how to prepare Mandragora for consumption, refer to the Mandragora Recipe guidebook.

- Mandragora Mash: A savory paste made from the pulverized body of the Mandragora. Similar to mashed potatoes in texture due to high starch content, but with flavors reminiscent of roasted garlic and honey. Peculiar, and yet still pleasant on the palate. Requires nothing but salt to create a delectable dish.

- Mandrabread: A type of naturally leavened bread created from Mandragora Flour, which is in turn created by drying out a whole specimen and then grinding it into a fine powder. This bread has a distinct chew to it and develops a dark brown crust, while retaining a white interior.

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Mandragora Bulbs: The fetal form of the Mandragora, which are carried in a cradle of leaves atop their parents head. These bright orange fruit are rich in nutritious sugars and starches, which are meant to be used as a means of feeding the developing baby once the time comes for it to be buried by its mother.

Cut open the fruit to discover the tiny fetal forms of the Mandragora. Only the size of a pecan, and resembling a tiny tangle of roots with a face, they cannot survive long without the nourishment of the fruit unless given immediate care.

These fetal Mandragora can be cared for in the long-term if moved into a dark, damp box and provided regular feedings of fruit and vegetable slurries (which need only be dripped down into the soil that they rest upon). Once large enough, they can be moved onto a diet of fresh fruit and insects. They make for surprisingly docile pets if raised from scratch.

Otherwise, they can be easily dispatched with a light squeeze between the index finger and thumb.

I would not advise leaving the little creatures to die of natural cause, as the process can take hours and undoubtedly causes undue stress to the helpless creature.

The fetal forms are fully edible and can be eaten raw. Or they can be toasted whole, at which point they will taste akin to honeyed sunflower seeds.

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For full detail recipes on how to prepare Mandragora Bulbs for consumption, refer to the Mandragora Recipe guidebook.

- Compote of Mandragora / Mandragora Jam: Sliced and simmered fruit of the Mandragora, sweetened through the addition of honey or sugar. Leaving the fruit mostly intact creates a compote that makes an excellent topping for cakes and breads. Thoroughly crushing the fruit as it cooks creates a spreadable jam.

When prepared this way, the fruit takes on a taste comparable to browned butter and caramel, with faint figgy notes. Suits the palates of a wide range of people.

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- Dried Mandragora Fruit: Halved fruit of the Mandragora, dried with a mixture of salt and sugar. This dried snack has a naturally chewy texture, and is understandably both sweet and salty due to the drying process. Tastes similar to dried apples and apricots.

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- Candied Mandragora Fruit: De-seeded, whole Mandragora bulbs cooked for hours in a mixture of honey and water over low heat. These sinfully sweet delights take a full day of carefully maintained cook time to create, and are meant to be eaten once in a blue moon due to their heightened sugar content.

They have the texture of a firm custard, or a bread pudding, and taste strongly of caramel.

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- Mandragora Syrup: A tangy, buttery syrup made by soaking sliced Mandragora fruit in sugar. The resulting extract is then simmered to better amplify the flavor, creating a condiment that makes for a wonderful addition any recipe that could use a hint of sweetness!

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- Grilled Mandragora Bulb: The halved fruit of the Mandragora, seasoned with olive oil and salt and grilled over an open flame. It has a surprisingly meaty texture, and savory notes reminiscent of cooked mushroom shine through the otherwise sweet and buttery taste.

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Bonus: True Slimes (yes, they're edible)

Authors Note: An important distinction to make; True Slimes consist of a family of amorphous, gelatinous blobs that lack any distinguishing physical features. They do not have eyes, mouths, or internal organs. Their origin can be traced back to alchemy, though the process of their creation is unclear.

True Slimes differ from other creatures that fall into the "Slime family" due to their complete lack of physical features and their man-made origin. Other entities in the slime category often have eyes, mouths, and organs. These False Slimes are completely different from their man-made counterparts, and thus require different means of capture and preparation.

If out to harvest slime essence, be sure that the creature that you are harvesting is a True Slime. Otherwise, you pose the risk of torturing an innocent creature and poisoning yourself by consuming an inedible substance.

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True Slime: True slimes are as common as dirt and are therefor incredibly easy to locate. They are also easy to deal with once encountered, if someone knows the proper method.

There is little reason to use excessive force or to put ones self at risk when encountering one of these creatures. All that is needed is a good blunt object with a fair amount of surface area, and a good amount of salt.

Yes. Salt.

The outermost membrane of a slime behaves much like the flesh of a gastropod. If given a thick coating of salt, this membrane fizzles away and takes with it the slimes ability to maintain form. They will quite literally melt, which leaves behind the edible essence that you are looking to collect.

So just apply a generous handful or two of salt and if needed, give the creature a strong smack with a blunt object. It will quickly be reduced to a puddle that is incapable of recovering form and thus will quickly "die".

While such an action would be cruel if used on gastropods, like slugs and snails, I do not consider it as such with the True Slimes. These creatures somehow exist in a state less complex than that of the Jellyfish, yet establish themselves to be invasive and destructive pests that claim hundreds of lives every year.

They have no organs. They reproduce asexually, generally after being damaged and broken into smaller pieces, and thus spread like wildfire if improperly dispatched. They have no means of feeling pain or pleasure, and do not react with distress to stimuli of any form. Thus the notion of cruelty when dealing with these creatures is a personal moral dilemma at best.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Slime Essence: The edible essence of true slimes. Thick like mucous, and mostly made up of water, one would assume that it is basically without nutritional content.

That assumption would be wrong.

Considering that all that a slime does is aimlessly roam around its environment and consume everything that it comes into contact with, a good portion of this viscous fluid is made up of a wide range of perfectly suitable nutrients. Sugars, starches, and proteins are all present in near equal amounts in slime essence, with them only being outweighed by the higher water content.

Roughly 45% of the composition of slime essence is made up of a mixture of sugar, protein, and starch. Which in turn makes it an excellent replacement (or addition) to a wide range of recipes, generally as a binding agent.

It can replace eggs and fats in baked goods. It creates a wonderful thickening agent if mixed into soups or syrups. Small amounts of it can even be dissolved in water to create a beverage that is better at hydrating overworked bodies. The uses are vast! Which tends to come with the territory for things that seem bland and unappetizing on their own.

[moviemunchies]

Alright! Finally something that isn’t The Fast and the Furious!

Back to superhero films.

Jaime Reyes came back from college graduation to find his family is broke and is about to be evicted by the corrupt Kord Industries. He and his sister Milagro pick up minimum wage jobs, which they quickly lose; but not before Jaime leaves a good impression on heiress Jenny Kord, daughter of disappeared tech billionaire Ted Kord. She offers a meetup for a job at the family company (which is now run by her aunt, Ted’s sister, Victoria Kord, who has turned into a militarized and corrupt corporation), but when Jaime finds her, she’s just taken something out of the lab and asks him to hide it.

Of course, Jaime opens the box (at his family’s urging), and it turns out to be the Scarab, which quickly activates and fuses to his spine, creating an alien super suit. However! Victoria Kord will stop at nothing to get that Scarab, as she plans to use it to help her super cybernetic soldier program. Now Jaime and his family will have to figure out how the Scarab works, how to disconnect it, and most importantly, how to survive.

This film was originally produced to be released only on HBO Max, but with the shake ups at Warner/DC/Discovery/HBO, it was shifted to a theatrical release. Perhaps this was to try to avoid the backlash that came from canceling Batgirl? I don’t know. It’s not expected to do well financially, and thus far, it really hasn’t, though I’ve seen good reviews. But I have a soft spot for Jaime Reyes, so I wanted to give this movie a go.

Admittedly, this movie feels a lot like a made-for-TV movie, just with a much higher budget. The main criticism that’s come up in reviews is that this movie is a stereotypical superhero origin story. And that’s true! In terms of actual Plot, there’s not much that makes this different from a dozen other superhero stories that you’ve seen before. When this was an HBO Max original, that is a lot less egregious, but as a theatrical release it’s a little frustrating. The difference (and one that most reviews also bring up) is that this is a Hispanic superhero, and the movie’s emphasis on his identity is a highlight that makes this movie memorable.

How many Hispanic superheroes have been shown in live-action theatrical films? Not a lot! And certainly not that many that shine so brightly on issues that Hispanic people face today–gentrification, not being taken seriously, and being constantly stereotyped. These are things that theatrical superhero movies rarely touch on, and I can’t think of any that make it a thematic focal point.

And it’s not just doom-and-gloom! There are a bunch of really fun shout-outs to Hispanic pop culture that stick out to people in the know–from Selena music to Hispanic superhero media. There’s a few references to El Chapulín Colorado, and while some people laughed because it was silly, at least one person in my theater was guffawing because he definitely got the reference.

A quibble, though, but a big one: the whole thing about the Reyes family is that they’re all so together and strong because of it. They’re a loving family. And yet all of the family’s struggles are news to Jaime when he arrives back home–the family business closing, the upcoming eviction, his father’s health problems: he didn’t know about any of them! If Jaime having been distant from his family and having to repair his relationship was his character arc for the movie, then yeah, it works. But it isn’t–that he’s completely blind to their problems is a non-issue in the long run, and it feels wrong with how important family is to the story’s themes.

The worldbuilding reminds me a little of Black Adam in that this is a world with history, especially with superheroes. Jaime’s uncle is a fan of the Blue Beetle, and brings up Superman. While the reaction to the Scarab’s extraterrestrial nature is alarm and surprise, no one expresses disbelief. In a world with superheroes, these things are apparently not too unbelievable.

The Scarab feels a bit weird to me. I guess this is in part because my exposure to Jaime Reyes is Young Justice, in which the Scarab has a specific, robotic personality that’s hyper violent and has to be reigned in. The Scarab also turns out to be an agent of the Reach, an alien nation bent on galactic conquest. The Scarab of the movie ends up bonding with Jaime and connecting to his brain, and so some of its dialogue at the end uses Spanish and slang, which felt jarring to me. Maybe that makes sense for the character in the movie–they’re mentally bonded, after all. But it just seems weird to me from my experiences with the character.

The villains are… functional, I guess? Victoria Kord is a bit over-the-top, but given the world right now, a villain running a technology corporation maybe should be over-the-top. That’s kind of how life is sometimes with these people–as is their disdain for those not useful to her. Carapax is a bit more, though I think the movie waits too long to give him his much-needed depth. If we got stronger hints of that earlier, I’d have appreciated it more.

There is an odd bit with the soundtrack that stuck out to me. It's fine, mostly, but the part where Jaime fully bonds with the Scarab has swelling, heroic music playing. What makes it strange is that this is also while Carapax is getting his full powers, and we're shown him powering up at the same time, and the music continues its heroic tones.

It's just a weird juxtaposition, with the music going the way it does.

Overall, it’s a fun movie, though it’s not hitting too many unfamiliar beats. The main draw here is how unapologetically Hispanic the movie is. But after years of continuity-heavy superhero films, and several attempts to tell stories about the multiverse, a back-to-basics approach to a superhero movie is appreciated. I liked it. It isn’t blowing my mind, but it’s a good movie to watch if you’ve got the time.

[slytherinshua]

random 1 am thoughts about zanna’s life experiences, maybe I’m a little emo, and maybe I should get some sleep

sometimes I randomly realize another effect of being a third culture kid that i haven’t acknowledged before. I see a lot of my friends being “patriotic” ig or very connected to their country. to them, it’s all they’ve ever known, and probably for a lot of them, it’s where they’re going to spend the rest of their life. even if they do end up moving to somewhere else for university or just life’s unexpected adventures and callings, where they grew up from birth to adulthood will still feel like home to them, and I crave that. I always forget how truly disconnected I am from any country that I’ve lived in until I see other people. I’ve been uprooted so often and starting so early on in my life that I don’t have a singular place to be connected to. sometimes I feel like I should be more connected with the usa cause that’s where I was born and someone’s birthplace is often where they feel connected to as their “home”. but I can’t really feel connected to it because I moved away from it when I was so little and barely have memories of it. at the same time I can’t feel connected to any of the asian countries I lived in because my mindset while living there was already changed to view it as a temporary stay. there was always a departure date in sight, whether it was years later or months later, nothing was permanent, nothing was forever. so, naturally, I should feel connected to canada, right? it’s where I’ve lived the longest and what I say my nationality is when I introduce myself… but I still don’t feel like that, because I can’t seem to change my mindset back to being permanent, back to being “forever”. everything feels temporary to me now and it’s kind of strange. canada feels like the place I spent my teenage years in, but not my home. not somewhere I feel connected to. it’s just another temporary stay where I make my memories for a few years, only to move to someplace new afterwards. maybe it’s because I don’t have friends or places I’m particularly attached to, or maybe, even if I did have that, I still wouldn’t be able to feel a connection because I can never change my mindset from viewing everything as temporary. I don’t know if any of these feelings will be resolved later in life, or if I’ll always feel like this. it’s not really a bad feeling, it just feels distant. a lot of times I wished I had a “regular” or “conventional” childhood, living in the same place, growing up with the same people with the same surroundings. I feel like that would have brought me more comfort and less hardship. but I can’t change the past, and I can only look to the future and reflect on how my feelings might change as I progress into adulthood. life is kind of strange, and the emotions one feels with moving to different places is also strange. all that is to say… I just wish I belonged somewhere, I wish I had a home base to return to, I wish I had somewhere to call home.

[vacantgodling]

💋How romantic do they expect their partner(s) to be in a relationship? Is it a deal-breaker if expectations aren’t met?

🧀What’s their cheesiest romantic fantasy? Do they want to recreate it in real life?

🗺️What are some cultural customs surrounding love and romance that they practice?

➕Do they care about people’s “body count,” or how many relationships they’ve been in?

🩹Do they often give romantic advice to their friends or family? Is it good advice?

for anyone <3

~ @void-botanist

thank you thank you!! i think i'll do more btaf bc why not :DDD i'll do my main "terrible decisions" trio sjaak + azelie + dalal (and i do preface: sjaak is the main one making bad decisions, azelie and dalal are more in a rock and a hard place type scenario most of the time but like i consider them apart of the trio cuz like. technically kinda bad decisions they've both also made lol).

💋How romantic do they expect their partner(s) to be in a relationship? Is it a deal-breaker if expectations aren’t met?

sjaak: he would expect his partner to be romantic with him, though it wouldn't be the end of the world if they were more distant. i think he would like someone who was very caring and romantic and physical, because he's kind of touch starved. but he would also be kind of weirded out by it because he's not used to constant affection so at the same time, he may be standoffish lmao. he is trying his best i prommy.

azelie: tbh it would be a deal breaker for azelie. she is a romantic (if somewhat reserved) person herself, so having a partner not interested in it wouldn't be worth her time in her opinion

dalal: she'd prefer if someone wasn't romantic, she's really not into it esp if she doesn't know you well. its something she could warm up to but if someone was like oh we don't need to be romantic she'd be like "... no shit."

🧀What’s their cheesiest romantic fantasy? Do they want to recreate it in real life?

sjaak: being married to a childhood friend cough biscella cough. and yes he was sort of banking on it happening which is why we're in this predicament (the plot) in the first place lmao

azelie: riding away on a horse into the sunset to be together. she's read it a lot in books and she thinks it's quite romantic so she'd like to do it irl.

dalal: having someone leave her tf alone and yes she'd love that irl (even though i say this i think her REAL fantasy would be finding someone who helps her rebuild her self esteem and cares about her for who she is and not what she can give. its not something she'll admit so yknow)

🗺️What are some cultural customs surrounding love and romance that they practice?

welp, cuz this is a wip set in irl (if historical) most of the traditional ideas about things are sort of baked into their ideology, at least for sjaak since he grew up human for a time. so courtship, getting married, having kids--all those things are par for the course to him and its in part why he feels such a disconnect now that he's a werewolf; he can't have any of those things anymore. at least the whole, kids aspect (bc wolves are infertile) so its a bit of a hurdle he has to get used to (and if he ever truly gets over it is debatable. i'd say not really, but by modern day he'd learned to have coped to a certain extent).

➕Do they care about people’s “body count,” or how many relationships they’ve been in?

sjaak: at first yes. because european romantic standards etc etc. he was expecting to marry someone who was virginal, and it was his plan to stay that way until he could come back to biscella. but that doesn't happen for a number of reasons.

azelie: she doesn't really have a concept of this, so no she doesn't really care generally speaking if it came to a relationship with a human or a werewolf. for vampires its different; just because she would want to know their thoughts on reproduction and if they have other children or spouses hanging around because she wouldn't really be down with certain answers to those questions.

dalal: she's literally too old to care about any of that.

🩹Do they often give romantic advice to their friends or family? Is it good advice?

for all of them FUCKING NO they're all a train wreck even if they gave advice don't listen to them they don't know what they're talking about.

[iamumbra195]

So I just came across a post about Pavitr in the comics having an existential crisis about not being white like all the other different variations of Peter Parker (I’m definitely reading his comics at some point).

But now I’m remembering something from when I was a kid and I was wondering if this was like a universal POC experience from before you actually understood the concept of race and discrimination or if it was a just a weird fucked up thing my mind came up with.

See when I was younger, I was in an arab predominated school, there were like two other black girls but one of them was lightskin (I didn’t even know she was black until like second grade XD) and I hated the other for... various reasons (she was my bully for like six years but we ain’t gonna talk about that) so like I had no sense of kinship with like anyone in my class or school 

Because of that environment and the fact that I didn’t know why the racist secratary always got me in trouble while letting the other girls get away with not wearing the proper uniform until like fifth grade, I had so much fucked up self esteem like when I tell you all my memories of looking in the mirror as a little kid were so messed up-- I straight up hated my appreance and would see like this warped monster thing, I’m being completely honest. When I look back at pictures of five/six year old me I’m like ‘I was cute, why the hell do my memories look so different?’

Not to mention all the colourism and older people who looked like me telling me not to stand in the sun too much so I wouldn’t get any darker. I wanted straight hair for soooo long-- like all the way until I was thirteen and relaxed my hair for the first time and ended up ruining it for like five years after that.

Here comes the fucked up part. 

I never actually met a lot of my extended family when I was younger, so when I would imagine them, I would imagine them looking nothing like me because my mom always told me they looked pretty-- I would imagine them as ARAB, like with dark wavy/straight hair and all their predominate features. 

Anyways, I was a little tiny bit surprised when I met them and they looked nothing like my imagination. But the worse part was perhaps the fact that literally every single one of them had naturally straight/wavy hair or they relaxed it every few months so it would stay that way. I was still obsessed with straight hair at that point so when they offered to get the lady who does their hair to relax my hair I was super happy and excited about it but guess what??? 

She ruined my hair. I lost so much of it, it became dry and tangly because she didn’t bother doing it properly because I was catching a flight in like three days and I needed to leave the thing in for like two days so by the time I got the results it would be too late for me to ask her to fix it or give us our money back.

For the next like three years I kept cutting my hair until all the damage grew out completely and now I don’t have a lot of hair and it’s doesn’t grow as much as it used to.

So yeah.  

I wasn’t around white ppl a lot as a kid, no public school or anything so I think experience was different and my ‘beauty standards’ were more arab beauty standards but Idk tell me if you guys had a similar experience.

Circling back to the thing I said about Pavitr, I felt like that period of my life was the time where I really related to Pavitr’s existential crisis because I constantly felt ugly or that I wasn’t good enough because I didn’t look like the girls around me. I was also kinda (?) bullied for being chubby so that did nothing to help.  

So yeah, I have a lot of feelings about this. UGH.

I really hope they explore that part of Pavitr’s life a little bit in BTSV

P.S.: does anyone else feel really disconnected from their ethnicity and culture and feels really awkward at barbeques with distant cousins and their extended family because you feel like you don’t belong or that they’re judging you because you can’t speak your native language and have grown up mostly around judgy, racist old arab people as your teachers so you adopted a lot of arab mannerisms and.... yeah, I’m gonna talk about this another day

[troutfur]

The founders in Starclan are a big interest to me, something about the first 5 leaders, who all knew and fought each other, now sorta just being the founding principles of the clan as these nearly godlike beings that direct Starclan is so interesting.

Imagine being Thunder, and you abusive, murderous, POS father Clear Sky who personally hurt you and killed your friends is now... Sending you work emails because the printer over in his department broke (or the cat equivalent). And what are you gonna do, say no?

Their lives are probably barely more than a fleeting memory, and their personalities have been sanded down to the most bare virtues of what the Clans think they embody (what if Clear Sky actually became better because he is remembered as a semi honorable warrior who embodies the Clans warrior culture, instead of just a violent opportunist.)

It's such a haunting concept, being in the afterlife and seeing the person who hurt you the most and who you have actively faut, but now you just wordlessly work with them because your lives are so distant neither of you can actually hold a grudge over it anymore.

The four Clans have this interesting tension between being independent polities but at the same time being themselves as a single quasi-ethnicity. I wish DotC had had them form as much more disparate groups rather than basically being a wave of assimilation into mountain cat culture. But even as written I feel like the tension between the original leaders didn't leave the current status quo as a given. These people that now have to act as the collective symbol were always in contention with each other but now they have to operate as a unit.

It really is haunting, and that disconnect is one of my favorite parts of the concept of StarClan as living memory. Really reminds you of the mirage-like nature of consciousness.

[tropicalfreckles]

Just because tw*tter has weirdos on it, I kind of feel more comfortable rambling about this topic on my own blog here.

There has been a LOT of discussion about the thing with D*sney, colorism, and L*lo&St*tch + H*waii lately.

And I'm glad to see the discussion on the table for people who are actual natives of H*waii, born and raised there no less, being able to shed light on a lot of issues that have been going on for a while. I've known at least a little bit about it for a year or so now, but some stuff I still obviously don't know because.

One, I'm disconnected from my own culture(sadly, I would like to actually know way more about it. I wish I could learn the language, but I'm someone who needs to learn in a environment that isn't a phone language app and none of my nearby family members speak the language, only ones who do are on the islands.), not because I am biracial, but because my dad was disconnected from his own culture because his mother's mother never had time to teach her kids anything since she had like fucking 13 kids to raise as a single mom. Also cause of other things that are personal family stuff I don't want to get into, basic of it is dad is an ass that further disconnected himself from his own culture and only cares about it when it comes to food and music. So, because of that, and I don't know my distant cousins very well on the Islands (I never get to go to family reunions because I'm broke, thx US g*vernment for making H*waii too expensive to go to, really love that) and my knowledge is VERY limited. I have to learn from others online.

Two, what I do know, I see gets easily buried under so many other things because the truth of the matter is. Barely anyone here on mainland cares about H*waii. It's just a fun, little tourist attraction to them and the suffering of the people, struggling to AFFORD to stay on their home land, is not important to them. Not surprised from what I've been hearing from natives that D*sney plays a shitty hand in the problem with t*urism.

Three, c*lorism really is such a big deal in a lot of places in the world, and it's shit that it's once again being painted loud and clear by H*llywood, but what else is new. I already knew this movie was not going to be a good adaptation, not because all of the ones before it were shit (they are I mean that doesn't help it lol), but because I knew modern D*sney doesn't know their own IPs very well at all. I mean, D*sney has always sucked as a company but idk I feel like they legit don't know the actual themes of L*lo&St*tch at all and how being native was a key part of the film along with the alien stuff. Just... man, I'm tired guys.

Real tired. I wish things would stick every time this conversation about the shit things happening in H*waii happen, but nothing ever really does stick that long. Just how things always go with natives of places.

Also, this is me @ all the people that were suing Ariel as an excuse for N*ni getting white washed

[varianwinchester]

You know following @thestorytimeguy has made me realize of all the stories and history that have been neglected from different backgrounds. Latino and Aztec/Mesoamericano stories but also African and African American stories. But neglected I mean we hear so often iterations of the Brothers Grimm, Aesops Fables, Hans Christian Andersen, etc. and not those stories. Stories from a racially diverse background.

We are getting a new The Little Mermaid.

I’ve always been distant with these live action remakes because they seem like a downgrade to the beautiful original. Flawed as some of them may be these originals have worth. It is way much more worth than these live action remakes that offer more often than not poor soundtracks, extra time and for what? The same exact story! Nothing new is really not added! And if things are altered the changes feel weird because you know they are changes! And the special effects although props to all the workers, they just don’t have the same freedom animation has and can’t do the scenes already done good justice. They cater to the nostalgia of their older audience and leave their new audiences confused on these attempts sometimes.

I digress, anyways… this “Ariel” is black and yk the rest of her sisters are racially diverse too (I hope this is given a purpose like each sister comes from and rules a separate ocean of the seven seas, that would be cool) but like when Ariel’s actress was announced I wasn’t one of those people who were like “that’s not how Ariel is supposed to look like” but I also don’t see their reasoning. Is this supposed to be representation? Because even though there’s not really a “supposed to” for a mythical creature this is a white story. I do hope there’s a purpose like the aforementioned because then you have your POC with a story that is not their own. That is not REPRESENTING them.

I mean unless you do something exciting with a remake or retelling. Because Disney is doing both with this Little Mermaid- remember Hans Christian Andersen’s little mermaid was some different. I think like despite the story of The Frog Prince being German, the remix The Princess and the Frog put on it- showing the culture of New Orleans, putting role model relationships and a role model princess- is representation going right. Although yeah I agree the whole half a movie as a frog is a bit of the opposite of representation you still have the cast diverse (the crew could use some work but through the movie you can at least tell they did their research). There’s a new trailer of the upcoming Little Mermaid out… and the first teaser was honestly exciting I had hopes anticipating what they might do for this remake. How naive I am. This new trailer showed the EXACT SAME SCENES AS THE 1989 MOVIE. Dude the EXACT same dialogue. I know because I know it like the back of my hand! (Ariel was my sister’s favorite princess) How disappointing it was! I will say maybe a wider view “I-can-show-you-the-world” Under the Sea sequence sounds cool and the way Ursula’s tentacles lit up was real cool.

I had some disconnect when I saw Halle Bailey react to her Ariel doll. Which is amazing don't get me wrong! I really don't know why I felt this, maybe because she said Ariel was her favorite Disney character and now it looks like her. I hope I am not insensitive in saying that I don't quite understand that?

I mean when it comes to dolls I know there's like a whole other history and issues- some I am sure linked to film, so that is a whole other branch in topic. But my feelings I am referring to is besides dolls. More of referring to the argument that it is good for Ariel to be a POC for the young generations to see “themselves” in roles they would want to emulate. I do hope that kids aren’t limited by skin color. I hope that they don’t look at these animated princesses and think “I can never be them, I’m not white.” Be whoever you want to be in heart and outfits/dress-up. (A different story if literally working in parks of course.) It’s not like I don’t understand though what it means to see your color on the screen. Even despite dressing up as Cinderella and Snow White when I was young, having a favorite princess in the former, I still had felt this ethereal connection to Pocahontas. Although not my culture (not anyone's really) it meant something that she looked like me.

I guess that is what they are striving for with this remake. But we have on come so far from the thinking of the 90s to just take that now. On the matter of it doesn't matter what the princess or hell superhero looks like, let me clarify: yes that is a bit of a “colorblind” statement and I still stand by that for I contend it is the right kind of clot blindness for a child to have. But as adults, as movie creators, and occupants of this society that race was built into, we can't be colorblind because you neglect the trials, tribulations, and triumphs behind the race. And that is what this "representation" does.

That's what this new Little Mermaid is. I applaud the representation of movies like Moana and Encanto, their flaws still present, these films gave the adventure and role models and lessons and culture behind the ethnicity of these characters. The cast and characters delivering their own new stories. THEIR OWN.

Like aside from race representation, what I think would be a bit more than surface level representation would be casting queer actors in the roles of Ariel and Ursula. This movie and story is a queer allegory through and through. The mermaid who had body dismorphia, who didn't belong. That was the story when (possibly queer) Hans Christian Andersen wrote it and that essence remained in Disney’s 1989 adaptation – of course in their version the mermaid gets the happy ending well in the OG she did not. As far as I can tell Halle Bailey is not queer. Melissa McCarthy is a strong ally, and in fairness she has performed as a drag queen. Which if you didn’t know the design for Ursula was inspired by drag queen Divine. And she apparently "stays true" to animated Ursula. Which again- mixed feelings after all if you are going to make a live action, make it your own! Not a copy, not Will Smith trying to be Robin Williams’ Genie. Make it Will Smith being Will’s Genie.

But Ursula I think they went the safe route because although the queer community has pretty much claimed the sea witch as their own, the issue of and complexity of queer coding villains arises. Yet I’m still in favor for Alex Newell playing Ursula. That’s based on merit too! Like did you HEAR their performance on Disney’s Pride celebration?? Since maybe with that fan-cast other issues might come about, hear me out, instead of a live action Little Mermaid, what about- another Alex Newell featuring project- Once on This Island?!

Once on This Island is a musical adaptation of 1985 novel “My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl” by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean retelling of Has Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Little Mermaid. It was nominated for 8 Tony Awards back in 1991. It would be an excellent story to put to the screen! A fact that Disney even acknowledged. Disney+ announced a pro shot of the stage version back in 2020 and no one’s followed up, so here’s me following up!

[dandthegods]

Mythology, The Melting Pot, and Me

As a pagan in America, and a bit of a folklore enthusiast, I’m struck by how disconnected to my country’s and my religion’s folklore sometimes. Let me explain. 

When it comes to my country’s folklore, I have two options: studying the folklore, the myths, and the legends and stories of the native tribes, or become familiar with the seemingly random cryptids and legends that come from the new born culture of the United States. And there’s some hesitation on both for me. On the former, it’s a fine knife’s edge trying to avoid cultural appropriation while still having a desire  to express some cultural appreciation. I try, I love hearing stories and delving into them as I would any other mythology, but it’s always in the back of my mind that those aren’t ever my stories and they aren’t really meant for me? If that makes sense. 

Then the latter group, the legends of the United States, are mostly born from magazine deadlines and meant to bolster a sanitized white origin of the America that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Because they aren’t and weren’t ever really legends or myths that people BELIEVED in. Paul Bunyan was birthed out of an ad agency in the 1900’s. The Mothman is more of a joke than an actual believed in thing. And things like Area 51 are basically silly conspiracy theories. That lack of true belief, the lack of generational belief, leaves them feeling empty when my pagan self wants to connect to where I am. 

So that leaves me with my religion and my ancestral mythologies and stories. While yes, I find a deep connect with them, I worship and believe in the Gods and venerate the gods of my ancestry, there is a thin veil between feeling truly intertwined with them. Just being so distant from the lands they originated and  it’s been several generations since my family voyaged to Ellis Island. They just barely feel out of reach. 

That’s why I think I gravitate towards, and write my own, modern American myths and stories. Why American Gods has become my all time favorite book almost instantly. The stories I write are of the creatures, monsters, gods, and beings from mythologies living and existing in and dealing with the world of America. It fulfills and bridges that gap I feel. And they become part of my beliefs. I can end up believing that it’s possible that a Leprechaun owns a comic book shop. It’s an option that Hermes runs a rural auto body shop. I can see Zeus and Thor being airline pilots. 

America is a melting pot, with people, with culture, and with mythology. The reason I write what I do, the reason my mind works in that way, is because it has tasted the mythology stew and wanted to add a little bit of my own ingredients into it. 

I write stories, but I also believe in them.