#its not often i get to draw my culture

[marsipain]

Norwegian Mikus :)

Left is Miku as a russ and right is Miku in a bunad!

[entropyvoid]

Golden Hour (+ lineart below cut)

I took a picture of the lines for once and did some basic crappy photo editing on my phone, so you could probably print this out and use it as a coloring page or something if you so wish lol. Do with it what you will.

[gobstoppr]

hey guys am i allowed to say on main that i dont like metadad . am i gonna get beaten up for saying this.

guys i think we all took the term found family too literally and now everythings flattened into a boring nuclear family. guys can we stop. hello . is anybody there

[littlelightfish]

As I said I would, I drew my oc with yours my beloved @clawdouobit

My pretty girl likes to infodump your pretty girl about the smallest things. She's like a reel, talks a lot but most of it is meaningless.

Close ups and more info because I can't shut up ehtier under the cut <3

20 years old and engaged to a half-foot. They're waiting to gain some more money to get married and leave the dungeon. Note: they're best friends but idk if what they have going on is truly romantic love or just a very good friendship.

Quite skilled at upper levels, but wouldn't go to lesser levels. She isn't skilled enough to make her party survive there.

Her race is a mix between gnome and half-foot. Idk if that's possible but I don't think it's not.

If I had to guess, she's 13/14 on half-foot standars. It's unclear whether she's an adult or not, but she's preety mature most of the time. Most.

Flushed cheeks always. Also very pale.

She's 109 cms tall, a lot more than avarage on haflings, but lot less than avarage on gnomes. Since she hangs out mostly with haflings, she's a giant woman. This gives her some problems with traps so her BMI is 18 due to diet.

Fwens with Shahad. Who knows why tho. We gotta figure that out ;}

[darabeatha]

I LOVE!!!! C.AMAZOTZ!!!!!

[koi-illust]

[StarWars AU] [Citizen Din/Master Luke]

Din Djarin of Aq Vetina

So, I let my imagination run wild, and here’s another Din Djarin AU!

What if young Din was still saved by a Mandalorian, but later reunited with his parents, who somehow survived the attack?

Din’s parents helped gather other survivors on Aq Vetina, rebuilt their home, and were chosen as governors. Din grew up learning about his own culture and became a promising young man who assisted with his parents' work. One day, to protect the newborn autonomous region, Master Luke Skywalker was assigned to Aq Vetina to act as their Jedi caretaker, and Din was given the responsibility to help Luke settle down.

Here are other settings for Aq-Din:

———

1. Din didn’t become a Mandalorian

So Din wasn’t trained, which resulted in his gentle and soft personality. He kept the mythosaur necklace given to him by the Mandalorian who saved him, it’s the only beskar Din has.

2. Din wears traditional Aq Vetina clothing

But I made it look more luxurious and ethnic with gold, shiny stones, and beads. I also created a custom where young people must wear a veil until they get married or reach a certain age. (I don’t want that veil to become a symbol of shame for those who don’t want or can’t get married, so they can simply remove it when the time comes. The veil is just for aesthetic purposes, like a peacock spreading its tail for courtship.)

3. Arranged marriage

Another custom I made up is that Aq Vetina people get betrothed at a young age, it’s not mandatory, but some traditional families still follow this rule, including Din’s. Furthermore, as the son of governors, Din was betrothed to another prominent and wealthy family for political reasons. Although Din doesn’t want this, he accepts it for the greater good of his homeland, until a Jedi master shakes his determination.

4. Claustrophobia

I always imagined Din having claustrophobia and a fear of darkness due to the experience of being hidden by his parents in that storage. I know this is a weak assumption because Canon-Din’s spaceship is confined as hell🤣, but my Aq-Din can have claustrophobia, which becomes a hindrance when Luke attempts to take Din away from the planet.

5. Heavy accent

Din is not proficient in standard language, so his communication with Luke is often somewhat clumsy, which may cause trouble at times, and he speaks with a heavy accent! (I have a thing for accents…🫣💕)

———

I will probably continue drawing this series because it was a lot of fun to draw Din in his Aq Vetina outfit, and I also want to have him wear different veils to hide his face. 😝

[tainbocuailnge]

I think there is a difference between the comic as a sequence of images with text and the comic as a comic. it's a subtle difference that an untrained eye might not see but the more one as artist draws comics the clearer this difference becomes, because one who first aspires to draw comics will soon find they are merely drawing sequences of images with text.

when people say an artist is clearly inspired by anime they often use "anime" to refer to japanese pop culture in general, but if you look more closely you can often tell it really is specifically anime rather than manga that inspired them, because the paneling and camera angles in their comics will read like a series of anime screenshots rather than a manga page. similarly, when I was a teenager really popular manga that had anime adaptions would sometimes get "animanga" reprints where they replaced the panels with the equivalent anime screenshots of the scene, and they often looked like dogshit because the very premise showed blatant disregard for why the original comic worked in the first place. these two examples are both about anime because i am a weeb but it applies outside that context too. a cartoon storyboard can be read as if it were a comic, but what it really is is a sequence of images with text that has yet to be refined into its actual intended format.

there are many artists who only employ the medium of comic because what they actually want to draw is a video, or a video game cutscene, but the only tool actually at their disposal is the ability to draw a series of images and add text to them so that is what they use. there is no shame or mistake in doing this, you have to make your art with the tools that you have available, and if the sequence of images with text is enough to convey the idea then it was the right tool for the job. but these are different mediums with different visual languages, languages which have a lot of overlap and can occasionally be used in each other's stead to achieve similar results (especially when drawing a fanart comic of a video game for example), but which are still ultimately different. the comic and the video and the cutscene are all different forms that a sequence of images with text can take but they are far from completely interchangeable.

there is a key difference in approach to the comic as a series of images roughly interchangeable with other forms of series of images like the video and the cutscene, and the comic as specifically the comic. this difference in approach is not always necessary to achieve results, an artist who wants to convey a scenario they came up with needs only the sequence of images with text to achieve this. but the difference between a comic with good writing and art, and a comic that is a good comic, is in whether it was treated as a comic rather than a sequence of images with text. I say this as an artist whose nearly every comic has been simply a sequence of images, because I just don't have the patience to refine it into a comic when I merely want to convey my idea rather than draw a comic. it takes a particular skill and insight that have to be developed and practised separately from the ability to draw well and the ability to write well in order to become good at making "the comic" as synthesis of the two.

it's hard to specifically point out the essence of this difference between the sequence of images and the comic because it's kind of a vibes thing honestly, and it depends on where and how the comic was meant to be published too. comics meant to have paper print editions have different constraints and requirements and frameworks to work with than webtoons meant to be read on slim mobile screens in a continuous scrolling format. a good traditional comic will consider not just how each individual panel looks but also the way each page as a whole looks, and how the pages look next to each other in a spread, and how it feels to turn the page towards the next spread. a good webtoon will consider the movement of scrolling down and how this affects the transition from one moment to another in its composition. time is time in videos and cutscenes but space is time in comics, and the space your have available determines how you can divide time across it. when you make a webcomic on your own website you have no constraints but the ones you set for yourself, and sometimes this leads to things like homestuck, which would not work in any other format than the one it created for itself.

the best comics are good because they tell their story and present their images specifically in the form of a comic, in a way that would not be possible if it were not specifically a comic. I think this is true for basically every medium, I'm just thinking about comics specifically lately, because even though I don't really consider myself a comic artist - because I usually draw sequences of images rather than comics - the thing my clients want to pay for is often still "a comic", and they don't know or care to tell the difference. it's a difference that, as established, is often fairly moot anyway, because as long as it successfully conveys your idea it's good enough. but it's precisely because the sequence of images is often good enough that the specific skill of the comic artist is often overlooked.

[petriwriting]

Smithereens - Theodore Nott X Reader

Summary: Based on the song "smithereens" by Twenty One Pilots.

"For you, I'd go step to a dude much bigger than me.."

A/N: very theo coded. I'm back bitches. This was another request. I've been sorting through my requests box slowly, making sure everyone is accounted for and they are all good reads. enjoy. 

Theodore Nott was an interesting person. you had been in a relationship for a few months, enjoying the new feelings that accompany new relationships and young love. You had come to find he was a lot more than his reputation. At a glance, he was a shallow rich kid like his friends, although you had come to find he was a much more complex person than the rumors you'd always heard. Theodore was a softie, he was romantic at heart. He brought you flowers and passed you notes in class. Contrary to popular belief, He didn't sleep around either, he had a laid back flirty side by nature, but he definitely did not participate in the Toxic Slytherin Culture. He was there because he didn't have any other place to be, perhaps it was just by chance. Nonetheless, the boy loved his friends and was loyal to them. So much so that he'd attend parties with them.

The evening was drawing to a close, you had a few drinks and shared many laughs with some friends. It was the beginning of the school year, so to kick off the quidditch team's luck, Slytherin house held a dungeon party. It was the usual crowd, Draco, Pansy, Blaise... and some others who just wanted something to do that evening. The common room was rather busy, with some unfamiliar faces crowding its space mixing with those who were friends. Music was playing, most student's were mingling.

You sat shoulder to shoulder with Theo on the loveseat, while a somewhat drunk Pansy Parkinson went on and on about something to Draco, you had stopped paying attention. Blaise would inject himself into the conversation every so often.

"I'm going to step outside." Theo told you, after some time enjoying each others company, you'd both been somewhat quiet, not drawing attention to yourselves too much. "Care to join me?" Theo asked.

You didn't really care to listen to Pansy any longer, but you knew Theo was just going to step outside for a smoke, a bad habit of his. "I'm okay, actually. I think I'll stay in and have another drink." you said, Theo squeezed your hand and then headed outside. "I'll come back in in a bit, love."

You could handle yourself alone just fine, however, you didn't appreciate unwanted company... almost ever.

Not long after Theo wandered outside, an exchange student had appeared. His name was Klaus, you remembered. He was new to the quidditch team. He was from Durmstrang in Germany, He towered over you as you had poured yourself a drink, sipping on the bitter alcoholic beverage timidly. "Hello." He said, trying to be sly, but to you it just felt awkward. "Hi." you said, trying to be polite. No wonder he played sports, this guy was huge. 

"I saw you sitting with your friends." He said. "oh yeah," you nodded and looked over at draco who was listening to something pansy was saying with exaggerated expressions. "Yeah, they are pretty cool." you said, unsure of what to say to keep the conversation alive, not wanting to be completely rude.

"You are very pretty." He said. "What's your name?" you scoffed, he didn't seem to get the message even after telling him your name. he smelled like liquor. "We could go somewhere more private to talk.." He suggested. you awkwardly played with your hand covering the drink in your hand. "Um, no thanks." you said softly, not wanting an eruption from him. He was starting to get a bit flustered. "Come on. Just to talk," He begged. "no." You said again very sternly.

Klaus however, didn't hear the word no. "Let's just get out of this messy common room, come on now," he said. You were officially uncomfortable. "I said No." You said a bit louder. 

In that moment, you were thankful not to be alone. Theo appeared and filled the space between the two of you, You quietly sighed in relief. "Is there a problem?" he asked.

Klaus huffed, frustrated now his advances were turned down and there was someone else. Theodore Nott was somewhat tall, but Klaus was taller by a head or two, and he was huge. Part of you wondered if he was part giant. . . he had huge muscles and a bald head that was flushed from the alcohol.

"You are not my problem." Klaus laughed, towering over Theo. For a slytherin, that was a very brave thing to do, considering it seemed like he was about to get his ass beaten to smithereens for you. "Yeah, then back up." Theo snarled. "Is this your girlfriend?" Klaus asked, turning to you and rolling his eyes.

"We're having a conversation. this doesn't concern you." Klaus hiccuped. You were scared it would escalate. "Let's just go, ted." you said, grabbing Theo by the arm. "Please?" you plead. Theo shook his head. "Fine, come on." he ushered you forward to leave.

As you were walking towards the exit, you heard Klaus mumbling, which angered theo.

"Have fun ladies." he laughed. "Pussy.. won't even stay for another drink." Klaus had mumbled under his breath tirelessly.

Theo had rushed back over to Klaus, Punching him in the face as the snide comment was greatly un appreciated, and Klaus stepped back wiping his nose of the blood. He threw a punch at Theo in return, causing the boy to fall to the floor. This caught the party's attention. Although physically disadvantaged, Theo was clever and quickly pulled his wand out, in a swift movement stunning Klaus so he was unable to fight back.

You rushed over to Theo, helping him up. "Ah fuck." He cursed, his lip was now split and his jaw would likely be bruised black and blue in the morning. "Are you okay?" you asked, Theo brushed you off, "Good as new," He chuckled. Blaise and Draco had appeared, not far behind was pansy. "Sweet Merlin, Nott," Blaise mumbled. "Looks like he won't be bothering anyone else anytime soon," Draco laughed, stepping over Klaus' unresponsive body.

"He was trying to get me to go back to his dorm with him." You admitted. "Well he won't be going anywhere anytime soon, lucky for you." Theodore winked at you, comfortable enough to laugh at himself. He wasn't embarassed for being knocked on his ass, but he was upset he wasn't there to stave off the creepy guy.

By now the party was slowly dying down, everyone trickling back to where they needed to be, eventually the music stopped and the room was clear of anyone that wasn't a part of Slytherin house.

"Shall we?" Theo asked, you nodded and grabbed his arm to head back to his dorm- your usual spot. upon arrival, Theo sat on his bed a bit defeated. You sat on the other side of him, resting your head on his shoulder.

"You didn't have to do that, Y'know." you said softly.

"I know." Theo said. "You know i'd get myself beaten up for you." Theo said. Maybe it was the alcohol and smoking, but it was one of those sweet moments you would later appreciate. "well," you began. "That was pretty brave for a slytherin," you smiled softly.

"Hey!- Slytherins can be brave. Its not exclusively for gryffindorks." Theo chuckled. "Maybe you're in the wrong house then." you said, earning one of those sweet smiles out of him.

"I just can't describe it, Y/N..." Theo sighed gently, after some time, running his fingers through his hair as you pulled away from his shoulder to face him. "I don't like someone talking to you like that, and I Love You, So i'm not planning on anyone getting in my way anytime soon."

There was silence, not for a lack of words, but that was the first time he had said those three words to you. your heart fluttered.

". . . You love me?"

Theo caught himself, being so used to his emotions making him weak. he was a bit stuck. He had never had feelings for someone like that. He wasn't sure what to do with his feelings for you, but he knew that he liked feeling that way. He hadn't exactly had parents or anyone to look up to in regards to relationships.

"Well- Yes. I do." he said. "I've never said that out loud, but I do." you smiled.

"I love you too, Teddy." you said, using his nickname, reserved only for you. Had you been anyone else, he would have argued it.

Theo leaned in, placing a soft kiss on your lips, but regretting it instantly as he winced in pain.

"Theo, your lip is still bleeding." you pointed out, grabbing a tissue from his desk to gently wiping the blood off his lip. "yeah, I can tell," he said. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. I love kissing you." you said.

"Oh yeah?" Theo pried, gaining his confidence back.

"Yes, actually I love it."

[midnightechoes]

Five years ago today, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered on Netflix. I had seen a few preview articles about it, and liked what I saw. Those articles mostly focused on She-Ra’s, Adora’s, Glimmer’s, Bow’s, and Catra’s redesigns, and I thought they were fabulous. I loved Adora’s new red jacket and bouffant hair style. Glimmer’s entire redesign was inspired, and I loved that they made Bow black so we could have more diversity in the main cast.

It was She-Ra’s and Catra’s redesigns that caught my eyes the most, though. They made Catra an actual catgirl, and not just in the anime sense where she's just a cute girl with cat ears and maybe a cat tail. She was a full-on furry. It was a brilliant design choice. Honestly it’s no wonder that so many were instantly drawn to her.

And of course, She-Ra herself. I loved her new look, and her huge ass new Sword of Protection. In fact, I loved it so much that I drew this picture of her before the show even came out:

Then the show came out, and needless to say, I fell in love. And honestly, it changed my life.

I know, I know. That sounds very hyperbolic, and to an extent it is, but in a lot of ways, I’m absolutely serious.

Alright, I have to back up a little. Back when I was in college, and for a few years after, a couple of friends and I tried to make a webcomic called The Devil’s Gate. It was minorly successful but eventually floundered. Then I met some people and we tried to make a video game, which also failed. After those few years, I found myself on my own and trying to rework the concept of my webcomic. Making comics, creating stories, those have always been my dream, and I was desperately trying to figure out a story I could make work, something that I believed in. But it never truly got off the ground. By the end of 2015 I had given up on the comic, realizing that after working on it for years in different forms that I needed to step away from it.

I didn’t really know what to do after that. I was still doing my quick daily doodles, but I wasn’t writing, I wasn’t drawing anything of note. I felt emotionally and physically drained of my creativity. I was honestly getting to the point where I thought it might be time for me to give up on trying to be creative or making things all together.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out on November 13, 2018, but despite looking forward to it, I didn’t actually watch it when it came out. It wasn’t until that weekend that I decided to check it out.

I was instantly hooked. I binged through the entire season in two days, and did plenty of crying and cheering. And then rewatched it immediately. I was in love. I was obsessed. It had been a long time since anything grabbed me like SPOP did. I loved the characters. I loved the colorful, sci-fi-fairy tale world of Etheria. I loved how unapologetically feminine it was. And most of all, I loved how queer it was.

I hadn’t done a ton of shipping before SPOP. I’ve been down bad for harlivy for what feels like my whole life, and I was angry when Mika and HG didn’t get together in Warehouse 13, but more often than not I had just been conditioned not to look for queer things in mainstream culture, and even barely in subculture.

That is to say, when I was smashed in the face with Catradora I was surprised how much I glommed onto it immediately. I was absolutely taken with Adora and Catra and their relationship. Both characters were so relatable, and despite not quite being text (although the subtext was so loud and obvious it might as well have been text), it was impossible to not read their feelings for each other as romantic.

It wasn’t just Catradora, even if that was a lot of it. Spinnerella and Netossa being canon from the start was wonderful. How much Glimmer and Bow screamed “BISEXUAL DISASTERS” from the start was adorable. Scorpia’s crush on Catra was as cute as it was sad in its one-sidedness.

I had never really been in a fandom. That is, yeah I’ve liked things, loved things even, but I never found other people to talk about it at length, never found discords just for that thing, never read or wrote fanfic, barely ever drew fanart. 

But, I watched SPOP, and then I watched it again. And then I drew Catra. And then I drew Adora. And then I drew them again. And suddenly I was on AO3, a site I never frequented, reading Catradora fics. And then I had an AO3 account. That December I participated in Catradora Week 2018 (I’d never heard of this kind of thing) and drew two pictures for it and wrote my first fanfic.

By the end of February I had drawn more in the three months since the show had premiered than I had in the previous year. I was working furiously on a long, multi-chapter fanfic, and writing more words than I had in the previous couple of years combined.

I was inspired again.

In the 18 months that SPOP ran for, I drew more than I had in years, I wrote hundreds of thousands of words. I felt so rejuvenated and happy about my creativity and free for the first time in years.

It’s hard to put into words exactly how it felt. I was so close to giving up my art and writing, which honestly, would have been giving up a part of myself. An important part of myself. It’s not overstating that SPOP saved me, or at least my creative spirit.

I also learned about the wonders of being in a fandom and fandom things like fan weeks, big bangs, zines. And I made some wonderful friends that I cherish to this day.

Even as I inevitably moved onto other hyperfixations, my love for She-Ra hasn’t diminished. Plushie Catra and Adora sit next to me on my desk every day. Catradora art still hangs on my wall.

The inspiration that SPOP ignited in me hasn’t died either. It’s carried me through a tremendous level of creativity that I’ve been riding since the premiere. It let me create a ton of fan art for SPOP, and then RWBY and then the Witch From Mercury, and I’ve written a ton of fanfics for RWBY and Supergirl. And perhaps the best, that inspiration has helped me create more OC stuff in the last couple years than I had in a long time.

I owe She-Ra and The Princesses of Power so much. I am so happy that it exists and that it happened when it did. I’ll always cherish it.

And for real, Netflix, SPOP spin-off movies WHEN?!

[youremyheaven]

Random Astrology Observations

Moon in the 1h is often talked about like 🥺🥺wears their heart on their sleeve🥹🥹uwu softie way but tbh Moon in 1h can make someone incredibly manipulative, they know just what to say and when to say it and know how to work their audience, this is perhaps why this placement is found in the charts of soooo many successful actors. ex: Leonardo DiCaprio, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Cavill, Charlie Chaplin, Priyanka Chopra, Antonio Banderas, Brendan Fraser, Benicio Del Toro, Jared Padelecki, Val Kilmer, Adrien Brody etc

I think this is a very manipulative placement, again manipulation is not in and of itself a bad thing, its what we use it for that matters. Some people completely lack the ability to manipulate at all (they don't have Moon influence)

2. Debilitated placements point to unconventional intelligence & wisdom in that area. I feel like they've cracked the code . They struggle a lot but when they triumph it's magic

3. I've mentioned this in other posts but many notorious sex offenders have Venus influence. Actions of this sort, as well as criticizing others' beauty, not taking care of yourself/surroundings, being shabby or disorderly in general are all things that harm your Venus. Abusing someone is the quickest way to ruin your Venus, you start corroding and that ugliness begins to manifest on the outside.

Ex: Harvey Weinstein looks like a cartoonish villain

4. As I explore the astrology content put out by others across different platforms, I've seen how the nature of the take themselves are so specific and unique to the person making them. Claire Nakti has a tendency imo to focus heavily on romance, sex and women's sexual behaviour and what sort of men they attract.

Going through her website, it's obvious that she's deeply immersed in occult & esoteric philosophy (all of which ties together with vedic astrology, philosophy, Buddhism etc because I truly believe that spiritual truths are universal and different schools of thought/religion/culture/mythology express these same truths in their own way with a LOT of recurring patterns) and Carl Jung as well.

It's studying Jung that helped me understand that what we see or draw from something is a reflection of who we are. As a beginner to vedic astrology, I initially believed Claire's one dimensional portrayal to be the all encompassing truth of a nakshatra until I started doing my own reading and research.

The things I talk about or the patterns I find are a reflection of me and I get a lot of asks about why I don't do xyz nak and honestly it's not as simple as doing research for an essay for uni, you kind of have to have a gnosis or innate knowing of its themes, something to base your search off of. And different naks call to me at different points. I come across content that describes certain naks in lights i could've never imagined which is to say that gnosis or inner knowing is an important aspect of studying anything esoteric, it kind of has to be revealed to you and what you see, what you can discern is a reflection of you.

5. you have to have a strong Rahu to discern patterns and similarities because Rahu is maya/illusion and a well-placed Rahu will allow you to see through those patterns/illusions. it will be very hard for someone without a strong Rahu to find similarities or common tropes, patterns, themes etc. Seeing through the veil or fog is Rahuvian.

6. Claire Nakti made a video about Venusian men where she said they were the ideal type of man and tbh that just confirmed my suspicion that she's Moon dominant because I think Moon dominant people are attracted to Venusians but in my humble opinion both Venusian men and Moon dominant men are some of the most batshit crazy people (manipulative and controlling at the least, psychopathic at worst) basically men who have a lot of Yin tend to be psychotic

7. I've noticed that Revati people tend to speak in a very verbose way. Nigella Lawson, Revati Moon is a really good example. Obviously other placements will also impact speech

8. Moon dominant people hate it when others share sob stories. They're the type to have the least amount of empathy for others and will either react in a neutral way or like they don't understand why you're saying this stuff at all. They're bored by other people's mundane problems and make it known as well. Not people you want to open up to.

My former friend was this way, I once cried in front of her and she showed zero emotion and didn't even try to comfort me lol

9. The way others treat us is the way we treat others. ik this is a basic take but karma is cause and effect. if you're dismissive of others feelings, other people will be dismissive of yours. what you do is what will be done unto you. Its so crazy to see how people who've been treated like shit by their friends will turn around and treat other people like shit. this is sooo basic but genuinely dont do anything to others that you dont want done to you.

[itsagrimm]

What is a Russian Character and How to write them

As @sarapaprikas-blog and I were working on this post, we noticed a gap of knowledge and public perception that we want to address. Plenty of characters get labelled as Russian in media without necessarily being Russian. On the other hand the Archetypal ”Russian” character often does not mirror the realities of being Russian. We are to talk about that.

What is Russia?

Russia is a country. It is the largest country in the world with over 140 million inhabitants, stretching over 11 time zones. It is often seen as the successor state to the Soviet Union, which in itself was the successor state of the Russian Empire. The Soviet Union and Russia do not have the same borders or government. However, modern Russia draws a lot from its history as the largest and dominant part of the Soviet Union. Before the Soviet Union, the area was governed by the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire, as the name already indicates, was imperialist. The history as an Empire with massive expansion, colonies and conquering different people, is arguably the biggest reason why modern Russia is as big as it is today.

What is Russian?

There is a difference between the language Russian, the ethnicity Russian, and the nationality Russian. In English the difference can be made out only by context. 

Who is Russian?

As aforementioned, there is a difference between Russian (Россиянин) meaning citizen of Russia, and ethnically Russian (Русские). The term Russian (Русские) usually refers to ethnicity, indicating a person who has Russian roots. Russian (Россиянин) implies Russian citizenship, regardless of ethnicity. Thus, a Russian can be someone with Russian citizenship, but not all Russian citizens are Russians in the ethnic sense. Also, not all ethnic Russians have Russian citizenship or live within Russia.

Ethnic-Russians are an East Slavic people. Obviously, they mainly live in Russia. But there are also large communities in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and other countries. The traditional religion among Russians is Orthodox Christianity. The main language is Russian.

The country Russia is home to more than 190 ethnicities, including indigenous and autochthonous people, leading to a variety of languages, religions and practiced cultures. So, someone who holds a Russian citizenship, has ethnic Russian heritage and / or speaks Russian, can look very different than the cliche Russian bond girl or evil-doer indicates. That also means that those who get labelled Russian can live very different lives. Writing a Russian character gives you a lot of room outside of the prevalent stereotyped depictions.

Who is not Russian?

Simple - those who say they are not Russian, are not Russian.

Who are Slavs? What is Slavic? 

The slavic people are a variety of people, ethnically Russian people are part of that group. However, there are a lot of other ethnic groups that are Slavs without being Russian e.g. Poles, Sorbs, Czech, Ukrainians, and many more. Slavic is the corresponding adjective to Slavs. It is often used to describe the indo-Slavic language group. Slavic is also often used to describe the collectively perceived similarities of Slavic peoples' culture. However, that can be misleading and get’s often orientalised as not everything from Eastern-Europe or Russia is slavic.

Russian vocabulary Да - Yes Нет - No Привет - Hi Здравствуйте - Hello Как дела ? - How are you? Хорошо - Good Пожалуйста - Please Не за что - my pleasure  До свидания - Goodbye Пока - bye  Увидимся - See you later Хорошего дня - Have a nice day Простите - I'm sorry. (Plural or honoured addressee) Помогите, пожалуйста. - Help me please. (Plural or honoured addressee) Доброе утро - Good morning Доброй ночи - Good night. Добрый день - Good day / afternoon.

Pet names in Russian About pet names. They are either masculine of feminine . Please don't use words like darling, kitten, baby, pretty, sweetie, little one, little fox, etc. as they sound really strange in translation to native speakers. Pet names are common for close ones (family, close friends, spouses). Sometimes primary school teachers call students by affectionate names. Also sweet old lady may call you ( Дорогой/ Дорогая). But outside of that nobody calls each other by pet names, only using names because Russians are very reserved and private people in general. Gender neutral pet names: жизнь моя - my life солнце мое - my sun or my sunshine  ты мое все - you my everything. лучик - sunray. мое сокровище - my treasure.  мое золотце - my gold or sweetheart. моя любовь - my love. ты моя радость - you are my joy. ангелочек - Angel. прелесть моя - my precious.

Queerness and gender-neutral speech in Russian Being queer in Russia is hard as queers face oppression. Because of that, there is limited to no public discourse on how to adapt and diversify the language to include queer and especially non-binary identities. This is a problem as the Russian language is extremely gendered and expresses a gender binary in near default. While gender neutral pronouns in Russian exist, it's harder to use them in real life as the neutral pronoun “оно” is mostly associated with things or animals and not living humans, similar to the English “it”. Often words generally do not have gender neutral alternatives.  However, one way we suggest for a more gender neutral speech is to avoid most explicit gendering as the flexible syntax in combination with using plural pronouns in Russian allow for more gender neutral speech. For Example: Я люблю их всем моих сердцем - I love them with all my heart. Расскажи мне о них! - Tell me about them.  Дай им время- give them time. Я горжусь ими - I'm proud of them.  Они сделает это сами  -  they do it themselves. Read more about queerness in Russia here: one two three four

Russian swearing                             In Russia, swearing is considered a sign of rudeness and poor manners. Use accordingly. Also, as mentioned here, Russian syntax and inflection are different from English. Meaning one word can be a whole sentence. We punctuated every swearing that is technically a whole sentence and therefore can stand on its own grammatically. Блять - fuck Пошел нахуй. - fuck you  Хуй - dick Пизда - cunt Мы в пизде. - we are fucked / “We are stuck in the cunt.” Ебать - fuck Ахуел. - are you/they crazy?! Это пиздец. - this fucked up Мудак - asshole  Завали ебало. - shut the fuck up Сука - bitch Черт - damn Непизди. - stop fucking lying. / Cut your bullshit. Пиздобол - Person who lies a lot/ Don't lie  Мамку твою ебал. - i fucked your mom (mostly used by middle schoolers, here in grammatically masculine gender.) Заебись. - holy shit (could be bad or good depend on situation) Похуй! - I don't fucking care. Навешать пиздюлей - to beat up someone. Срать тебе в рот -  To crap in your mouth. Ты ебанулся. - Are you batshit crazy. Заебал. - I'm sick of you. Жопа - ass. Иди в ��аню. - soft version of Иди нахуй.

Explanation of the Russian Naming System & Patronyms

The Russian naming system consists of three main elements: first name, patronymic and last name. Name: This is the first name given to a child at birth. In Russia, the names are chosen by the parents or relatives of the child. Names can be both traditional (Alexander, Anna, Ekaterina) and modern (Sofia, Victoria, Yaroslav). Patronymic: this is the second name, which reflects the child's origin from his father. Some cultures in Russia also use the mothers name. The patronymic name among Russian people arose in the 10th - 11th centuries and was used infrequently at first, but became widespread around the 16th century. It is formed by adding the suffix "-ovich" or "-aries" to the father's name. For example, if the father's name is Ivan, then his child Ivan or Ivanna will be called Ivan Ivanovich or Ivanna Ivanovna. Last name: This is a family surname that is passed down from generation to generation. It is usually assigned at birth and does not change without special circumstances. Surnames can come from various sources, such as profession, place of residence, origin, or personal characteristics. As a result, a person's full name consists of a first name, a patronymic (if applicable) and a last name, for example: Ivan Ivanovich Petrov.

How to respectfully address a person in Russian. In Russian there are two ways to address someone. Using the polite you (Вы) amd using the formal you (Ты). The choice of mode depends on how well you know the other person and whether you are superior or inferior in terms of age and social position. If you know the person's first name you refer to them by first name and patronymic. For examples: Борис Юрьевич, Ваши рабочие отлично справились с ремонтом- Boris Yurievich, your workers did a great job with repairs. Adults never address a person by name, only by surname or patronymic unless the addressee gives permission to address them in an informal manner. Regulations of most military require their members address each other in formal you( Вы ); subordinates address commanders as товарищ (comrade) + rank , while higher ups address subordinates by military rank and surname. Example: [Colonel to Sgt. Sidorov] Сержант Сидоров, ко мне! Sergeant Sidorov, front and center! [sgt. Sidorov to colonel] По вашему приказанию прибыл, товарищ полковник! Reporting for duty [lit. arrived at your (pl.) request], comrade colonel! Military men sometimes use same forms of address, albeit in singular, in friendly conversation. Example: Сержант, дай сигарету. - Give (sing.) me a cigarette, Sarge. Military hierarchy in Russia You can find useful links here. One Two

[prokopetz]

The thing that annoys me about the received wisdom of "tabletop RPGs are descended from fantasy wargames, and that's why Dungeons & Dragons is Like That" is that most of the time, when people bring it out they're drawing conclusions by comparing D&D to modern fantasy wargames, and consequently getting cause and effect precisely backwards.

The fact of the matter is that tabletop RPGs aren't descended from fantasy wargames – at least, not in the way that this claim is usually meant. When D&D and its contemporaries came on the scene, fantasy and sci-fi elements were a relatively new (and often controversial) entry to the wargaming hobby; the 900-pound gorilla of the tabletop wargaming scene at the time wasn't fantasy wargaming, but historical wargaming; i.e., re-creations of historical campaigns and such.

Fantasy wargaming and tabletop RPGs are less a linear progression, and more two parallel branches of the same evolutionary tree; they both split off from historical wargaming at roughly the same time, and for much of their shared history there wasn't a bright line between them; many early titles that are classified as fantasy wargames due to their publication history would probably be considered tabletop RPGs by modern standards, and vice versa.

Bringing this back around to my grump about getting cause and effect backwards, one of the consequences of this shared history is that many of the features of contemporary tabletop roleplaying culture that are often cited as reactions against the hobby's wargaming roots are actually directly descended from those roots.

The frequent preoccupation with separating player knowledge from character knowledge, for example? That's straight up an historical wargaming thing. When you're gaming out an historical battle, it makes a big difference whether the players' tactics are informed by contemporary knowledge about the situation, or whether they restrict themselves to acting only upon information which the commander of the side they're playing could plausibly have possessed at the time. Whether there existed an obligation to remain "in character" as your side's commander – and exactly what constituted breaching this obligation – is something people literally got into fights over.

Or the whole "rules versus rulings" nonsense? Arguing about whether it's more appropriate to resolve uncertainty with recourse to game mechanics or by deferring to the judgment of subject matter experts is so deeply embedded in the DNA of historical wargaming that it goes all the way back to the Prussian Kriegsspiel.

Like, I'm not saying that these things aren't worth discussing, but I think we've gotta recognise that when we talk about player knowledge versus character knowledge or rulings versus rules, we're not "evolving beyond" the hobby's wargaming roots; we're rehashing arguments that tabletop wargame designers were having two hundred years ago, in some cases practically verbatim.

[hellspawnmotel]

well you guys really called my bluff on this one, haha. I have a lot to say on the topic so this will probably turn into a long post but the answer really depends on this: what interests you about astro boy, pluto, and the franchise/tezuka's body of work as a whole? what do you want out of this experience?

if you're just looking for places to read/watch these things and that's it, I'll put some links here at the top so you don't have to dig through this whole mess.

you can read astro boy (original manga) here (there are occasionally missing pages on this website, if/when you run into those you can switch to this one which is harder to navigate but complete)

you can watch/download the 2003 anime (english sub) here

you can read naoki urasawa's pluto here

so you're interested in astro boy but aren't sure where to start: my opinion as someone whose point of view you respect for some reason

it didn't occur to me until recently that for a lot of people who follow me, your cultural touchstone for the concept of astro boy is most likely to be the 2009 american movie. I didn't watch that as a kid, I was 14 when it came out and fully into my "anime is superior to western animation" phase, but I've watched it now and well.... if you like it that's great! I did not. I'm not going to dwell on that, but I think it's worth noting that whatever your opinion on it as a movie is I don't really think it's a good representation of astro boy and its themes. moving on.

the manga

if you want the pure, unfiltered astro boy experience, this is as close as you're gonna get. it's gonna be a little haphazard though because the dark horse publication, which is probably the only way you're gonna find to read it in english, does not order the stories chronologically. I don't think that really matters because there's not a lot of continuity so as long as you understand the basic premise you can read in whatever order you want, and this puts a lot of really good stories first anyway so it's nice too. personally as far as all versions of astro boy proper go, the manga is my favorite. it's not always an easy read, for reasons I'll get into in a moment, and it's not always good either. some stories are phenomenal, some are just plain silly, and some are downright terrible. but given how long it ran for and how consistently and without breaks tezuka worked on not just it but all his other manga too I think that's too be expected. but even the bad ones I think are worth a look! this is the history of manga as a medium right here! and I love the manga, it's fun, funny, wonderfully drawn, compelling, shockingly dark at times, and just a fascinating read for those with an interest in classic comics.

all that said, I think it would be irresponsible of me to recommend it without also including a big fat disclaimer, which dark horse was kind enough to put at the front of the book.

if you have an interest or familiarity with classic/vintage manga, anime, comics, and cartoons, you probably saw this coming, but some of this shit gets REAL racist, most often in terms of how people are drawn. some of tezuka's biggest inspirations were the rubberhose american cartoons of the 20s and 30s, and all that implies. for whatever the opinion of a white american is worth, based on his writing I really do believe he had good intentions- he consistently speaks out against racism and bigotry in general, in astro boy especially. you can tell he was very passionate about it. but I'm not gonna defend the guy either, you can't be drawing people like that, even if it was the 40s-80s. a lot of the experience of getting into tezuka is reading a story where the moral is "racism is evil! end discrimination!" accompanied by straight up racial caricatures in the art. it's baffling and infuriating. if I could I would travel back in time and hire the man a sensitivity reader, but I can't, and he's been dead for 35 years so we'll never know what he would've done about it today. all we can do is take it as an opportunity to learn and do better. but, if all that puts you off getting into the manga or the series at large, I don't blame you!

with that out of the way, the size of the manga might intimidate you. there's a lot of it. lucky for you you don't have to read all of it if you don't want to! I've read the entire thing because I'm a completionist at heart, but I've had several friends come to me for a smaller and more manageable reading list, which is as follows:

(stars for my personal favorites, grimaces for "I did enjoy this one and I think it's worth reading but I don't feel good about recommending it". I also think "the artificial sun" and "atlas" are important reads if you're interested in the history of the franchise because they get referenced a lot, but they are VERY racist and I don't think theyre good enough overall to make them worth putting on the list despite that.)

that was long. next up:

the 2003 anime

I am not quite done watching this one but I'm pretty close so I feel confident in saying: on the whole, it's great! it looks absolutely fantastic for a tv anime from that era, the character and world design is top-notch, and overall it does a really good job adapting the best and most important parts of the manga into a continuous story, although it softens the blow of the darker moments quite a bit (which might be a good thing for you, depending on your tastes). it's pretty beloved by western fans, and for good reason.

I do have my issues with it, for one this might not be a popular opinion but I think they majorly screwed up on adapting the "greatest robot on earth" arc (my favorite arc btw, yes I might be salty), for another they really sand the edges off of uran's character compared to the manga and make her a lot more meek and girly. but that's just my opinion and if this show is the only one you've watched you wouldnt know that anyway. so don't let that deter you if you're interested, you'll be missing out on a pretty fantastic kids show.

so, if you're looking to really dive chest-first into astro boy as a franchise and understand all there is to know: maybe don't start with this one. it changes a lot from the source material and kind of does its own thing. but if you're just looking for a good story thats fun to watch and total eye candy, go nuts!

pluto

pluto by naoki urasawa is an adaptation/reimagining of astro boy's most famous and beloved arc, "the greatest robot on earth". it's also what got me into the franchise and one of my favorite manga ever! pluto reinvents the story as a detective thriller set in the aftermath of what is effectively, and obviously, the iraq war. it's brutal and harrowing, and beautiful and cathartic and hopeful. to me it is the gold standard for "dark and gritty reboot of a children's story" because urasawa adores tezuka and respects the original version, which was always a dark tragedy anyway, just presented differently. you might have seen pluto got an anime adaptation last year as well. I've watched it, it's pretty good! it doesn't change all that much (I don't like the few things they DID change but whatever) but I just think urasawa's artwork, paneling, and pacing are completely unmatched so I'd recommend the manga first. I'm not gonna be that asshole who insists you gotta read the manga over the anime though, if anime is easier for you you're better off having experienced pluto that way than not at all.

(if you ARE interested in both astro boy and pluto and are considering which to get into first, it's important to know that reading the arc pluto is based on will spoil a loooooot of things about the story. so weigh the pros and cons of that before making a decision!)

so, that's basically what I have to say. I haven't watched the 60s or 80s anime adaptations so I can't give insight on those, and I'm by no means an expert on any of this. I only started reading the original manga like three months ago and before that my memories of the other stuff was pretty faded, before I revisited it. if you're interested though I hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy yourself if you decide to take the leap! it's kind of a rabbit hole. I did not know what I was getting into when I decided to reread pluto, but I'm sure glad I did.

if you have any other questions about my personal opinions, feel free to shoot me an ask as well!

[your-unfriendlyghost]

“Under the Drive-In Fence”

Jk jk- Halloween art no. 2: Over the Garden Wall au, anyone?

(kinda a collab w/ myself- I drew most of the background a few years ago but didn’t do anything with it lol. Did update it a decent amount tho for this)

“The ol’ black train’s a comin’, scraping ‘long the iron. You don’t need no ticket, boys, it’ll take ya in its time…”

-

Concept is that since the Unknown in Over the Garden Wall is basically a pretty autumnal purgatory, it’s where our boys Johnny and Dally went after dying.

From Johnny’s pov, he woke up after meeting Dally in Windrixville here in the forest with Dally. And also with some mysterious burn scars that he doesn’t remember getting.

Dally claims not to know where they are, only that they “jumped onto a train” and are somewhere vaguely “north of Tulsa”. Johnny buys his story at first, but it slowly becomes clear that Dally’s lying- and plus, Johnny keeps having dreams where he remembers bits and pieces of the hospital and the fire and all the other shit that went down.

Dally, however, knows they’re dead. He remembers everything- hazily, but enough to know for sure. So he tells Johnny that they’re just trying to get to his “Ma’s place”, when actually he’s just trying to keep Johnny from moving on and going to…whatever it is that happens after purgatory.

Their arcs, I imagine, go something like this: Dally learns to accept that the after life is a mystery and that he has to be okay with that if he ever wants to escape these woods- all while experiencing the sort of peaceful experiences he never got to have in life, from weird festivals to live music to sunsets.

Johnny, on the other hand, learns to come out of his shell a bit- the weird world of the Unknown is easy for Johnny to slot into, as he’s observant and insightful and often figures out the mysteries before Dally does. He also learns to accept his death, but not before tromping around the woods for a while with one of his best friends.

As for the Unknown, I imagine it’s a bit more of a mix of old New England and old southern/southwest culture than just New England inspired alone. Like maybe the woodsman is an old cowboy or ranger or something, yk? Just so it still has some Oklahoma-ish-ness to it lol.

Idk, those are my thoughts on it right now! Might draw/write more about it later, idk, but in the meantime that’s good enough- Let me know your thoughts on it!

[intheholler]

On Appalachian and Southern Stereotypes

After seeing some people leap at the opportunity to insult and further harm us under my posts, even by obviously leftist accounts, I wanted to address some of the most popular stereotypes of our region.

Not as an excuse. There are many negative, violent and otherwise harmful features of the American South. We have a horrific history especially in terms of the violence we inflicted and continue to inflict upon the Black community that cannot be forgotten, and, as a culture, we do need to pay our dues.

But maybe this will help y’all apply some nuance to the situation and understand that we aren’t all your enemy.

Stereotype 1: Everyone is a Republican Racist

Absolute horse shit, my friends. There are people like me all over the south and in the hollers. We just get drowned out by the fascists, and it is all by design. 

In my home state of North Carolina alone, they are working tirelessly to make it impossible for young, often liberal (if not outright leftist) voices to be heard. They specifically target regions with heavy POC populations.

As recently as May of this year, the North Carolina Supreme Court overturned their own previous ruling which once made gerrymandering illegal. This allows Republicans free range to draw their congressional lines wherever benefits them most. 

Meanwhile, Roy Cooper, our Democratic governor, has been in office since 2017.

Gerrymandering is a real problem, and it reflects the worst of us. But it does not reflect all of us.

We are a working class, pro-union people.

We are coal miners and mill workers and farmers.

We took up arms against the government and fought for our labor rights during the Coal Wars as recently as the 1920s.

We bled for labor rights at the Battle of Blair Mountain.

It’s a myth that you keep perpetuating that we are all closed minded, bigoted regressionists. It diminishes the efforts of everyone from the coal miners to people like me while we try to make the region a better place.

It actually only worsens what you say that you wish you could “saw off into the ocean.” 

That's my home you're talking about.

Stereotype 2: Everyone is Obese

36.3% of the overall population of the Southeast is obese. This is true.

Have you considered why that may be? For starters, Southerners are more likely to be uninsured compared to individuals living in the rest of the country.

"Among the total nonelderly population, 15% of individuals in the South are uninsured compared to 10% of individuals in the rest of the country."

Partially because they didn't even expand the same Medicaid benefits to us. and partially because we are just so fucking poor. 

17% of the American South is below the poverty line, compared to 13% in the Midwest, 13% in the West, and 13% in the Northeast.

Percentages under 5% may not seem like much, but when you consider 1% of the total United States population is around 3,140,000 people, yeah, that adds up real quick.

How does this relate? Well...

Mississippi has 19.58% of its residents below the poverty line, and a 39.1% obesity rate.

West Virginia has 17.10% of its residents below the poverty line, and a 40.6 % obesity rate.

Kentucky has 16.61% of its residents below the poverty line, and a 40.4% obesity rate.

Are you seeing the trend?

We, generally speaking, are more likely to be unable to afford to feed ourselves wholesome foods, and we are less likely to be able to afford medical insurance--two things that are obviously important to maintaing good health and a "healthy" weight.

By the same token... 

Stereotype #3: We're All Uneducated 

The South and Appalachia are some of the lowest ranked in terms of educational funding and spending per pupil in the entire country. We don't even break the top 30 on the list, y'all.

49. Tennessee at $8,324 per pupil 47. Mississippi at $8,919 per pupil 45. Alabama at $9,636 per pupil 42. Kentucky at $10,010 per pupil 36. North Carolina at $10,613 per pupil 35. South Carolina at  $10,719 per pupil 33. Georgia at $10,893 per pupil 32. West Virginia at $10,984 per pupil

The top three best-funded states, by comparison, receive between $18k and $20k per pupil.

In terms of higher education, student loans are a death sentence for everyone but especially impoverished kids just looking for a way out. It just isn't feasible for most of us. And that's if we even tested well after going to shitty schools our whole lives. If we had better education, we'd have better literacy in all things, including critical thinking, allowing us to better see through the bullshit we are taught. But we don't. And you aren't helping the ones who are trying in spite of that.

Stereotype 4: Bad Teeth

Quickly going to touch on this one--when we consider a lack of access to affordable, healthy food, shitty medical insurance in general and our poverty rate, this one is kind of obvious. Even so:

“Dental coverage was significantly lower than the national average in the South Atlantic (45.6%), East South Central (45.6%), West South Central (45.9%), and Pacific (48.0%) regions.”

Every time you make a toothless hillbilly joke, ask if poverty is really the butt of the joke you want to be making.

These are just the most pervasive of them, imo. And they can all be underlined by extreme poverty which is absolutely by design.

It also contributes to why it isn’t so easy to “just leave” as we are so often dismissively told to do. Moving is expensive.

And why should we have to, anyway? Why should we have to flee our homes?

Why, for those who feel safe enough and/or have no other choice, should we not stay and fight to better the region?

And why can’t you other leftists get behind us and help us in our fight instead of perpetuating harmful stereotypes? We're your people, too.

Just some food for thought. And I hope some of y’all take a big ol bite.

[quillpokebiology]

Bisharp Body Language, Behaviors, & Culture

Pawniard and Bisharp behaviors are some of my favorite pokemon to analyze due to their unique groups and interesting social cues. Their social cues and behaviors extend to when they have trainers and are born in captivity, and I think it's important for trainers to understand their pokemon. So, here are some Bisharp behaviors and cultures explained!

Body Language & Behaviours

Tapping

Many trainers might have noticed that their Pawniard/Bisharp will tap random surfaces. This behavior is just used to get your atention in order to tell you something. Maybe their hungry, maybe there's danger, and they want to warn you, but they are trying to get your attention for a reason.

Thiddling

(Idea from Eve-of-Halloween on Deviantart)

I think this behavior is very cute. It's a courting act where Pawniard/Bisharp tap their blades together or tap their partner/potential partner's blades in a rhythmic order.

Scraping

Sraping is a behavior where Pawniard/Bisharp scrape their blades together in order to threaten another Pawniard/Bisharp. This behaviour is used as a warning that they're about to attack. If a wild Bisharp does this to you, turn the other way because it most likely means that you are in its territory and doesn't want you there.

Bowing

Pawniard and Bisharp bow for 2 main reasons; bowing to their superiors to to invite someone to a friendly battle. Bowing to their superiors often includes keeping their blades behind their back, while bowing to initiate a friendly battle has their arms extended forward and their hands out.

Scouting

A behavior seen more commonly in Pawniard than Bisharp, and certainly not Kinggambit. This includes a group of Pawniard leaving their camp to go check their territory for any danger. With trainers or with humans, this behaviour includes getting up early and walking around the house or yard to check for any unwanted company.

Marking

Marking is when Pawniard/Bisharp mark their territory by carving their clan's symbol on rocks, trees, or other materials around them. This behaviour is more common in Pawniard than it is Bisharp, and Kingambit don't do it unless they're in captivity and their aren't any other Pawniard or Bisharp to do it for them. This behavior makes a lot of sense in the wild, but it can be annoying when your Pawniard ends up carving things on your walls or driveway.

Courting

Bisharp have a few different courting behaviors. This includes displaying their blades, gift giving, cutting up their partner's food, or sharpening their partner's blades. This behaviour can be a bit difficult when their mate isn't a member of thr Pawniard line, but they do pair very well with Gallade bcuz Gallade court in similar ways.

Clapping

The line claps for similar reasons we do; they like something. I'm just putting this here to explain the next part.

Laughing

Bisharp don't laugh the same reasons we do. We laugh when something is funny, but Bisharp will laugh to show power. It's common for Bisharp to laugh after a fight, and the behavior is seen as mocking. If you recently caught one, you should teach them that you're not mocking them when you're laughing. Or, if you want to accommodate your Bisharp, try clapping when you find something funny because clapping is also their version of laughing.

Clanging

Clanging is when Pawniard line members clang their heads together as a form of greeting. It's used as a way to form deeper bonds amongst their pack.

Culture

I just want to say that each Pawniard/Bisharp pack/clan has different cultures and behaviors, and they're not all the same. I go over it a bit in my Pawniard Facts post, and I'll go over it as well in my Bisharp Fact posts, but I am going itno more detail here!

Writing & Symbols

Each Pawniard pack has their own symbols for their clan, which they use to mark their territory. While they don't write as much as Weavile do, there have been recorded cases of them drawing symbols that aren't their or other clan symbols that they use to communicate with one another.

Naming

The Pawniard line does, in fact, name each other! It's usually vocal sounds coming from the mouth, and they may even have symbols for their names. This extends to their trainers. If your Pawniard/Bisharp/Kingambit always refers to you with a specific soundz that means that they have named you. And while it's hard to translate what these names mean, as scientists aren't fully sure if what their symbols mean, they have figured out some, and many Pawniard/Bisharp/Kingambit are named after things that are around them; like different trees or rocks.

Affection

Because of the blades all over their body, the line isn't much for physical affection. Instead, the line will show affection to one's they are close with by doing acts of service or do something I like to call "Allogrooming but without the grooming bcuz idk what it's called," where clans will have dedicated times to just relaxing and communicating eith each other. For trainers, this behavior can translate as your partner following you around or giving you gifts.

Honor

So many Bisharp clans have such a high focus on honor. The most honorable thing a Bisharp can do is become a strong leader, so evolving into a Kingambit is one of the best things you can do. But since only one clan can have a kingambit, other Pawniard and Bisharp just focus on becoming stronger for their clan and Kingambit.

Mourning

Like humans, the Pawniard line buries their dead. They're often buried with different stones or beloved objects. Researchers understand the beloved objects part, but they're still trying to figure out what the stones mean. They will have funerals foe their dead and different clans have different ways for their funerals. Some clans will have moments of silence, some will have battles, and some will celebrate their fallen friends next chapter into the afterlife.

Integration

The Pawniard line prefers to keep to their own clans, with integration of clans not being a very common thing. BUT, it isn't unheard of. It mostly happens when a Kingambit manages to take control over multiple clans, resulting in larger territories and more clan members. Integration can also happen with outer species as well. Members of the line are known to accept other humanoid pokenon into their clans, like Charcadet or Gallade, but they also get along very well with the Aegislash line. Researchers believe it is because Aegislash is attracted to any pokemon that has organized societies and have power, making it easier for the Aegislash to befriend said pokemon. Works for Bisharp's favor, since now they have something to protect them from fighting types.

Hope this helps! It was very fun researching the structures of their socities and their behaviours. If you use any questions, please ask me!