#note: i am not from the south and i do not live in a region with a strong barbecue cuisine culture. my response is based on this experience

[supercantaloupe]

because i know you have food opinions and i am thinking about it being in the carolinas this weekend. opinions on barbecuing?

my personal taste preference leans towards a dry rub on the meat and a vinegar based sauce. i like the way the acid pairs with the fattiness of the meat. but i also think the meat itself should taste really good on its own. i don't like when the meat comes pre-sauced when it's served, i prefer to dose sauce out myself, cause i want to be able to taste the meat on its own too. and because i think pre-saucing everything up front might be a way to try and hide what might be a bland or dry or otherwise not preferred piece of meat. i'm not a huge fan of the thick, sweet sauces that are based on molasses or tomato. i tend to find them too sweet and gloopy, and i generally avoid store/chain brand bbq sauces for that reason, but i won't outright turn up a house made sauce without trying it first. i think pork is my favorite meat for barbecue because it's got good flavor and lots of fat to stay juicy, yet it's not so strongly flavored that strong spice or sauce covers it up. though i prefer a cut like shoulder to ribs. beef brisket is good barbecued, i think that's a texas specialty, but i've had some really dry smoked brisket before, and also i'm very partial to brisket prepared other ways like braised or cured into pastrami. and as far as chicken goes, it CAN be quite good, but for me it's gotta be dark meat and it's gotta be cooked competently. i've had too much "barbecue" chicken that is either just plain roasted chicken drowned in mediocre sauce or overcooked so badly it's like chewing on linen fibers. but a nice, simple, salt cured/brined and dry rubbed chicken leg quarter smoked and served with a good sauce on the side? now that's a great dinner. gimme some cornbread and fried okra to go with. yummy

[room-surprise]

do you think the lamb stew kabru mentioned could be some variation of rogan josh?

omg anon I'm so sorry, you sent this message just when my life was going completely insane (tree fell on house, living in a hotel, etc), and I wanted to answer you but I just didn't have time... So I forgot.

And then another anon (or maybe it's still you!) sent me another, similar ask!

Which reminded me that I needed to answer you-- and now them, too!!

Food is not an area of expertise for me, so I had to look up all of these dishes. I'd heard the term "gorkhali" before, and heard of rogan josh, but that's as far as my knowledge went.

Let's talk about what we know about where Kabru comes from and what foods he likes, the food culture of South Asia in the real world, and then we can discuss if any of these dishes might be Kabru's childhood lamb stew!

I've written about the real world cultural references Kui has made with Kabru's character before. Evidence that Kabru is from a fantasy version of South Asia (India/Nepal), and Where exactly in fantasy South Asia is Kabru possibly from?

Two additional data points that suggest Kabru could be from a fantasy version of South Asia are his love of tomatoes, and mutton stew being an important dish from his childhood. What does that mean?

THE CULTURAL OVERLAP BETWEEN INDIA, NEPAL AND TIBET

An important thing to note while discussing the cultures of this region is that all three modern countries have a lot of cultural overlap. So many of the foods eaten in one country are also eaten in the other two, with minor variations.

I'm attempting to generalize and speak broadly as best I can, but I am not an expert, so I apologize for any errors on my part. Sometimes finding English-language information on these topics is challenging.

The cuisine of Nepal is a mix of Nepal's own unique culture, plus the influence of its neighbors, India and Tibet.

The Nepali diet primarily consists of rice, wheat, corn, lentils coupled with fresh vegetables and meats. A typical Nepali every-day meal can be characterized by Dal (lentil soups), Bhat (steamed rice) and Tarkari (vegetables), also known as "The Trinity", supplemented by some meat.

STEW OR CURRY?

Though many people think of them as two distinct things, curries are a type of stew, so I think it's valid to look at both stews and curries when trying to identify Kabru's childhood stew.

TOMATOES IN THE CUISINE OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

Tomatoes turn up in dishes all over the Indian subcontinent, but they are not a traditional ingredient in the local cuisine. Europeans introduced New World foods like chilies, potato and tomato to the region in the 16th century, at which point they were added to the food culture, and in many cases the modern version of these recipes has completely eclipsed the traditional one, both on the Indian subcontinent and abroad.

But while potatoes and chilies were adopted almost immediately, the tomato did not catch on until centuries later, in the 1860s, and they did not become a widespread part of the local culture until the 1960s.

Because of this, the popular global idea of food from the Indian subcontinent often has tomatoes in it, while traditional recipes do not... And this is interesting because Kui tells us Kabru's favorite food is tomatoes! I'm guessing she chose tomatoes because of how common they are in modern Indian food.

Did Kui not know that tomatoes aren't a native part of the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent? It's possible her research didn't go that deep and she just assumed the modern food isn't that different from ancient food.

It's also possible that Kui knew that tomatoes aren't native to the Indian subcontinent, but that Dungeon Meshi has already experienced their version of the Colombian Exchange, because the east and west have had extensive contact with each other for (probably) thousands of years, so then the use of tomatoes in the West (where Kabru is from) would make sense, and doesn't need any further explanation.

MUTTON IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

Mutton (the term for goat, sheep or lamb meat) is the most consumed red meat in the Indian subcontinent. Goat is the most popular, most likely because it is the cheapest out of the three.

MUTTON IN NEPAL

Like in the rest of the subcontinent, mutton is very popular in Nepal. It is considered a major delicacy, and goat stew/curry is often eaten by Nepali families during important holidays, and for many Nepalis, goat stew/curry is associated with big family gatherings, similar to how Americans think of eating turkey for Thanksgiving, or ham for Easter.

Let's talk about some of the dishes anon(s) asked me about!

ROGAN JOSH

Rogan josh is an aromatic curried meat dish originating from Kashmir. It is made with red meat—traditionally mutton—and colored and flavored primarily by alkanet flower (or root) and Kashmiri chilies. It is one of the signature recipes of Kashmiri cuisine.

A number of origins/meanings of the name have been suggested, such as "stewed in ghee" or "red meat/red juice."

Its characteristic deep red color traditionally comes from dried flowers or root of Alkanna tinctoria (ratan jot) and from liberal amounts of dried, deseeded Kashmiri chilies (lal mirch).

Many modern interpretations of this dish add tomatoes to the sauce. This is especially common with ready-made pour-over cooking sauces to the point that Rogan josh is often described in the modern day as a tomato-based dish.

GORKHALI LAMB

The word Gorkhali (गोर्खाली) is historically synonymous with "Nepali," so Gorkhali lamb could also be called Nepali lamb. The name change, from Gorkhali to Nepali, occurred in the 1930s.

(In the modern day, Gorkha is usually used to refer specifically to military units in the British or Indian army that were made up of men from the North Indian/Nepal region. Starting in 1816 the British East India Company frequently recruited these men as mercenaries, and over time the Gorkhas became very distinguished as exceptional soldiers.)

I couldn't find much about Gorkhali lamb aside from recipes, most of which just echoed the same information, and many of them didn't seem to come from very authentic sources.

From what I've been able to piece together, you make Gorkhali lamb by marinating lamb meat (usually meat on the bone) and cooking it over a charcoal grill. Once it's done, you coat the grilled lamb with a sauce made with chilies and tomatoes, and serve with rice or roti.

I'm not an expert, but it seems like Gorkhali lamb isn't a stew or a curry, it's a sort of marinated, grilled lamb with a sauce. If someone knows more about Gorkhali lamb, please let me know!

Like the Rogan Josh, the addition of tomatoes is a modern invention.

THUKPA

Thukpa is the Tibetan word for any soup or stew with noodles. Thukpa can be prepared in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian variations; the most popular non-vegetarian variation includes chicken, but it is sometimes made with mutton as well.

The Nepalese version of Thukpa is predominant vegetarian, and has a spicier flavor. The protein ingredients are replaced with vegetarian alternatives such as various types of bean.

However, non-vegetarian thukpa is also enjoyed in Nepal, and egg thukpa is probably the second most popular type.

Thukpa is made like most other noodle soups. Some modern recipes include tomatoes in the soup paste, most likely a modern addition.

INDIAN MUTTON CURRIES

There's many different variations of mutton curry (Kosha mangsho, Mansa kasa, Tapelu, Rezala etc.) throughout the entire Indian subcontinent. Some recipes include tomato, some don't, and as with everything else in this post, the tomatos are a modern addition.

NEPALI MUTTON CURRY

As I said before, mutton is incredibly popular in Nepal. It's reserved for special occasions and celebrations, like Dashain, Nepal's biggest festival. There are many different types of stew and curry in Nepal that feature mutton, and mutton is a popular meat to use in momos or fried rice as well.

SO WHAT IS KABRU'S GOAT STEW?

Unfortunately we still don't have enough information to give a definitive answer.

However, I would say that thukpa and Gorkhali lamb can both be ruled out, since noodles are the core of thukpa and Kabru doesn't mention that his stew is missing noodles. Meanwhile Gorkhali lamb doesn't seem to be a proper stew.

So then what we have left is Rogan josh, and Indian or Nepali mutton curries. Based on all the little tidbits we know, I'd be inclined to assume Kabru's stew is one of these Nepali curries, since they are so iconic of Nepali cuisine and are a big part of the local culture, and that seems to match what Kui tells us in the manga - that this food is a cherished childhood memory.

I've sprinkled some links throughout this post, but you can read more about Nepali mutton curry, and other Nepali food at all of these sites:

https://nepalicooking.tripod.com/lamb.htm

https://www.buzzfeed.com/anupkaphle/here-we-goat-again

https://www.buzzfeed.com/anupkaphle/keep-calm-and-curry-on

https://www.foodpleasureandhealth.com/nepali-style-goat-pakku/

MUSHROOM POSTSCRIPT: I have seen some people get confused by the goat stew page in the manga. They think that when Kabru says "my mother used to make this stew for me" he is talking about Milsiril, the elven woman who took care of him after his birth mother was killed.

Though we do not know 100% for certain, I think this is an objectively incorrect reading of the text. I may make a more comprehensive post about this another time, but:

Kabru says he ate this stew as a child, that he hasn't had it in a long time, and that he's looking forward to having it again. He says he is relying on childhood memories in order to make the stew.

If this stew is something Milsiril made for him, why did she stop making it? Why hasn't Kabru had it in a long time? Was there a goat blight for the last 10 years? Did she stop making it to punish Kabru for wanting to leave her? This seems like important information Kui would have told us.

The much more logical assumption is that Kabru's birth mother, who died when he was 7, is the one that made lamb stew, and that's why Kabru hasn't had it in a long time, struggles to remember how to make it, and also why he's so excited to eat it.

This is in direct contrast with the elf fruit cake that Milsiril forced Kabru to eat as a child. Kabru's birth mother made him something he loves, that he is eager to eat again, while Milsiril forced him to eat elf cake so often that it has become his most disliked food.

Kabru and Ryoko Kui never refer to Milsiril as Kabru's mother, the phrase “foster parent” (養母 or 育ての親が, lit. meaning “parent who raised me” in contrast with a birth/blood parent) is used instead in both the manga itself and in the World Guide.

There are several other things like this (how Kabru talks about Milsiril) which I think makes it clear that Kabru probably doesn't call Milsiril mother willingly, and that he goes out of his way to put distance between her and himself. He doesn't hate her, but he doesn't want her to be a part of his life.

Milsiril is a wealthy noble in a society where women are equal to men. It's unlikely that she personally does much cooking, and even if she does cook as a hobby, it's unlikely that Kabru watched her butcher a goat - servants or the butcher would prepare the meat for her.

Milsiril is a fussy eater, and hates most foods. Goat tends to have a strong flavor and is sometimes gamey. I don't think she'd eat goat... Meanwhile, as I stated previously, goat is a delicacy in Nepal, so it would make perfect sense for goat to be a special treat Kabru grew up eating.

Yes, Milsiril sometimes does things she doesn't want to do because Kabru asks... But both examples we have of this, she tries to turn it into a punishment. She explicitly says she's training Kabru so that he'll give up, not because she wants him to get strong and succeed. She wants him to fail. She takes him to her family reunion to prove to Kabru that it's unpleasant, so he won't want to go again. Both times this tactic doesn't work, but she clearly states that this is her intent.

I could go on about this for hours, but this post is really about goat stew!!! But just wanted to throw that in there in case anybody is confused about who exactly cooked goat stew for Kabru.

As I said, there's always the possibility that I'm wrong, but I think the evidence is pretty overwhelming that when Kabru says "my mother cooked this for me" he isn't talking about Milsiril.

[renamami]

Facts About Romani People Because That One Person Asked For it On My Post About Azusa

A while back I made a post about how I wished people in the Diabolik Lovers fandom focused more on how Azusa is a Romani man and how cool that was for an otome game. Somebody reblogged and asked for somebody to make a post about Romani people so we'd have more reference on how to incorporate Azusa's heritage into more content of him so here it is!

I wanna preface this post by saying that I am not Romani or of Romani descent! I simply like learning about other cultures and groups of people and want people to learn more information about a race that has been villainized and oppressed for centuries. While I'll be discussing basic history, myths and stereotypes, and basics in culture, please make sure you go find Romani creators and people to get more information from! I love Florian on TikTok and YouTube so I recommend checking him out first!

As somebody who is not Romani, there might be some things that aren't completely correct since I'm relying on what is available. Always listen to Romani voices when looking for information. I'm just providing basics and am definitely NOT and expert!

Basic Terminology & History

First off, you might know Romani people often being referred to as the G-word. It's a racial slur that came from people believing they originated in Egypt and has been used for centuries to degrade and demean Romani people. NEVER USE THIS WORD.

The Romani people have a very closed culture and language which has helped them preserve it throughout the years. Translations and translators are hard to find and I don't recommend trying to find any out of respect for the community. What is known, though, is that there are masculine and feminine ways to refer to Romani people.

Romani: The race and communities as a whole

Roma: I'm slightly unclear on this one but it's another way to refer to the race and community itself. Take this with a grain of salt and do your own research

Rom: Way to refer to men as masc Romani people

Romni: Way to refer to women and fem Romani people

Romanipen: The Romani philosophy, rules, laws, and culture (note that there are a bunch of different communities since Romani is a race. There is Christian and Muslim Romani groups and people who's rules differ from others. Like all races, every community is different.)

Gadjo/Gadji: Someone who has no Romanipen, typically someone who is not ethnically Romani but can also mean a Romani person who does not live in Romani culture

Contrary to myth, the Romani people originate from South Asia, more specifically India. It's not clear when in India they came from but it's speculated that they came from the North-West region about 1,000 years ago. From there, they migrated to Europe and other continents. There are Romani populations all over Europe, commonly known mostly in Romania and Spain. Even now, the Romani language still has Indian and South Asian influences as well as Persian and Arabic influences.

From the very beginning, Romani people were discriminated against. They were labeled as wizards, thieves, baby-snatchers, etc. They were enslaved and coerced into chattel slavery in the Middle Ages by the Danubian Principalities where they were divided into groups by their owners. In the 16th-18th centuries, anti-Romani sentiment grew around Europe which led to many Romani people being murdered without any justice being served. They continued to be persecuted and blamed for a range of thing for centuries even up to this day.

In WWII, Romani people, along with Jews and black people, were at the very bottom of Hitler's totem pole and were targeted for ethnic cleansing in the Holocaust. While it's estimated that the death toll came in 150,000 people, others estimate it to be around 1.5 million victims of the Romani Holocaust. Unfortunately, the Romani victims are still very overlooked when the Holocaust and WWII is covered.

Right now, Romani people are still being persecuted and stigmatized. In Romania, they live in squatter communities with high unemployment. While some live a "nomadic" lifestyle, most migration is forced because a ton of communities don't accept Romani settlements. Discrimination is still rampant and all the violence and propaganda that racism entails is still alive and well when it comes to the Romani people, especially in Europe.

Please note that this is a VERY vague history and absolutely does not cover nearly a fraction of Romani history. This is just the cliff notes and I've only scratched the very surface and left out a lot of details.

Myths & Stereotypes

You ever see this shit before?

What you're looking at right here are racist racial caricatures and oversexualized fantasies of Romani women, specifically "fortune tellers".

Let's quickly get into myths.

Fortune Tellers: Romani people who were impoverished and desperate and down on their luck turned to earning money where they could. It was already a prevalent stereotype that Romani people were witches and mind readers, so many women turned to fortune telling and giving tarot readings because that was what was available to them and were thus painted as occult-loving scam artists. No, they are not supernatural being or seers. In the same way that somebody can practice spirituality, that's what they did. Nothing more, nothing less. Extra tidbit: tarot is not a closed practice specific to the Roma. Saying that it is is like saying banking is a closed practice for Jews. It's racist to push that narrative and if anyone tries to just know they're a dumbass.

The Exotic Wanderer: Romani people very rarely travel out of desire. They travel and migrate because everywhere pushes them out and denies them permanent residence. They aren't free-spirited nomads and portraying them as such further harms them. Speaking of exotic;

The Mysterious and Sexy Romani Woman: Notice how all the women in the picture above are super sexualized or have this air of mystery to them? That's because art, theater, and propaganda has painted Romani women as sexually available and provocative, gaudy, and "exotic". Women of color, you know what I'm talking about because we all deal with it. One of the biggest examples in recent history and the most popular in modern culture is Esmeralda from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame adaptation. She's portrayed as this mysterious and enchanting dark-skin Romni woman who all the guys are after in, again, stereotypical and oversexualized traditional Romani clothing. I mean, they had her essentially pole dance within the first hour of the movie. This portrayal of Romani women in media actively contributes to sexual violence against them. DO NOT ENTERTAIN THAT SHIT.

Thieves, Criminals, and Baby Snatchers: This one has been around for centuries. It's rather self-explanatory so I won't heavily explain the first two. Romani people have been painted as violent outsiders for as long as they've been in Europe and other places. Blaming disease, crime, and things going missing on them was (and often still is) a European's favorite pastime. The baby-snatcher narrative is common in media, again like in Hunchback where Esmeralda was originally a white French girl in the book who was stolen and replaced Quasimodo by Romani people. Obviously this is fucking gross and a vile narrative to push. When I talk more about Azusa, I'll get into adoption more.

There are obviously more myths and stereotypes but these are the biggest ones. Now, to cleanse your eyes, have what real Romani clothing and women look like.

See the difference? Modesty is a huge aspect of Romani culture.

Culture & Society

Again, much of Romani culture is closed and has been kept alive through remaining closed. This is just what they (or scholars) have chosen to tell and what I have personally learned. It is important to remain respectful of what Romani people do and do not want to share. That said, not much is left of Indian influence in Romani culture save for the people who still celebrate Hindu holidays. However, what has survived is the concept of universal balance. Many believe that everything, or almost everything, fits into a natural place. For example, birds are supposed to fly right? It's chill to eat those if your faith allows it. But a penguin? That bitch doesn't fly, it's a freak of nature, so don't eat it. A penguin is out of balance and, therefore, bad luck. That's why Romani people traditionally don't eat hen eggs because girlie can't fly. Of course, other faiths like Muslim Roma, who have special recipes, eat hen eggs.

Like every race, every community and individual has a different faith. Most popular is Christianity and Catholicism and it has become the primary faith among Romani people. Other religions like Islam and Hinduism are also practiced. These faiths have their own set of rules that they follow alongside Romanipen, which is not written and passed down orally. Romani people even have their own patron saints: Ceferino Giménez Malla, The Virgin of Hope of Macarena who is specific to the Spanish Calé, and Kali Sara who is an Indian deity and protector of the Roma. For Christians and Catholics, they also worship the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.

Cleanliness is another big facet of Romani culture. Your genital area is considered impure and unclean. Because of this many Roma do not have pet cats or dogs because they lick their genitals. These rules are so strict that food must be entirely discarded should a strand of hair from these animals get into it as the whole meal is then contaminated. Additionally, tops and bottom are typically washed separately as to not mix pure and impure fabrics. This is especially true for AFAB menstruation, which is also seen as impure, as is childbirth. This is because of Romani code which is the most important part of Romanipen: pillars both honor and shame.

Like many societies, importance is placed on the men and subscribe to expected gender norms. In typical Romani home consists of a married couple, their unmarried children, at least one married son and his wife, and their children. Extended family and family in general are an integral part to Romani society so they will play active roles in a Romani child's life. It is possible to be expelled from your community, however, should you go against your community's rules or, for example, marry a gadjo. This is because, depending on the community, it would bring dishonor.

Every since the 16t century, Romani people have either made their livings or enjoyed their time through music and dance. Both still have Indian influences but have also added other elements depending of the region. For example, belly dancing is big among the Turkish Romani. Have you heard of flamenco music from Spain? Did you know that it came directly from the Romani Calé? Romani music has had a huge influence outside of the community, as it has inspired genres like bolero and jazz music.

Before I go onto how I want to see Romani culture integrated with Azusa content in the future, I want to touch up on adoption and interracial marriage. While interracial marriage is frowned upon in some communities, if a gadjo learns Romanipen and lives their life as if they are Romani, they are accepted as fully Romani. This also goes for adopted children. If they live by the rules and codes, dedicate themselves to the culture and society, then they are fully Romani.

Azusa Mukami, His Romani Identity, and What I Want To See More Of

While Diabolik Lovers does have it's problematic moments when referring to Azusa's past such as calling his community but the g-slur, it's super important to recognize how freaking awesome it is to have a Romani character who is largely not a racial caricature and not portrayed as less than simply for being Rom. He is a fully fleshed out and romancable character which is so cool.

It isn't explicitly stated whether Azusa was adopted by his community or is Rom by blood, but given the time period around the 1960's to 1980's (I recommend looking at @i-write-hurt-not-comfort's blog for more information on the Mukami's timeline) I would recommend steering FAR away from the idea of him being picked up since the baby-snatcher stereotype was and is still big. Plus, it's just so much more fun having a non-white Rom love interest. Let him be brown, y'all. Also, he's Romanian Romani, let me see him be Romanian Romani.

Speaking of which, know he's super pale but I want to see him be South Asian and anemic! It's so rare that Romani people are white and Azusa would look cute with tan or dark skin. I'd love to see more art where he has melanin. Brown and black people can be pale too due to things like anemia. Don't be afraid to make him look like a vampire that has not seen the sun in days who happens to be brown!

This man canonically loves spicy food! You know what race's food is super rich in spices and flavor? Romani food! I'd love fics where we get even a throw away line talking about him eating spicy stew or chile mole. Make him hold Ruki at knifepoint in the kitchen having him make some stuffed peppers.

Even small things like him not eating eggs or separating his tops and bottoms because that's what he learned to do as a child would be so damn nice to see. Tiny things that connect him to his race and heritage would be so cool to see in more content of him.

Final Thoughts

Romani people, each community and each individual, have such rich culture and history. They are incredibly interesting to learn about and have had so much influence over things we might not even thing about. They're not only in Europe. They're every where. South America, the US, Asia, every where. It's about time people started recognizing them outside of what governments and white supremacy teaches us and admire the resilience and beauty of the Romani people. Please do your own research and look for real Romani people to get more information from on TikTok, YouTube, hell even the damn bird app. I hope this helped whoever wanted to know more about the Romani people. Thank you sm for reading too, this was a long one.

[adobealmanac]

Hello, I wonder if you have seen difference between brujeria in certain regions and countries, like would Mexican brujeria be different then Salvadoran brujeria.

Que Dios de bendiga

The different paths of Brujeria

There are many distinct branches of Brujeria. In my opinion, I simply see the term as the Spanish word for "witchcraft". Therefore, there are many types of it. I've coined the term 'Brujeria de frontera' for my practice -- I am a border witch. I live in a place where the cultures of the southwestern USA and Mexico blend into a unique branch of Brujeria on its own. It is not entirely the same as Mexican Brujeria, but it is also not entirely "American". There are distinctions between what I practice than that of my Bruja friends from Mexico.

Sure, I do believe there is a general theme to all Brujeria, that being regaining our own power; regaining control over our spirituality. However, I do think each unique region of Central and South America provides a different backdrop for their spirituality. For example, there may be plants that grow better in Chile than in Mexico, so that plant is more likely to be used in Chilean Brujeria than in Mexican Brujeria. A good analogy would be that of the different branches of Voodoo. There are clear differences from Haitian Vodou compared to Louisiana Voodoo. These differences can come from a variety of sources, such as the different colonial powers, the different tools and ingredients available to practitioners, or the different origins of the enslaved peoples who's religion combined to form Voodoo. Thus, they are distinct branches of a religion.

Another example could be that of the different Christian denominations, such as the differences between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, however I will not delve into too much detail here as there are many sources out there for information on this.

So, for example, the Maya people practiced a religion that was hidden and intertwined into Folk Catholicism and Brujeria due to the Spanish colonization of Mexico, creating a unique religion that is different than say, that of the Andean peoples. Another thing to note is that branches of Brujeria often share more common threads, such as Spanish colonizers, the Spanish language, and Catholicism. These lead to them to develop similarities, such as the use of saints as a concealment for praying to the original pantheon. So, while different cultures blend differently with Catholicism, many of them used Catholicism as a way to keep their spirituality in a way that the colonizers approved of.

While my Abuelita may do a limpia different than my Puerto Rican friend's, they still share many common threads that unite us as practitioners of the folk religions, and of Brujeria. This is my stance on the idea of different branches of Brujeria and how distinct or connected they all really are.

[agentoffangirling]

as a south asian why the hell did they make aladdin and jasmine south asian. I am so confused. Isn't jasmine's name literally persian

Okay okay so there's a bit of a story for this

And to quickly answer your last question, yup, Jasmine is one of the forms of Yas/Yasmine, our jasmine flowers

So back in the 90s, and still a little bit today, many production companies such as Disney didn't really see a difference with the Middle East and South Asia. When Disney decided they wanted to make an adaptation of "Aladdin" from "One Thousand and One Nights" (slight tidbit here, the story of Aladdin is not part of the original book. A French guy added it in and for some reason, set it in China? One Thousand is a Persian story, most of the stories in there are Persian, so this choice was. Interesting), it's not like they suddenly hired a bunch of Middle Eastern experts to consult on the film. No, they just created a desert-y landscape and lumped in Persian, Arab, and South Asian all in there

This is why the palace of Agrabah heavily resembles the Taj Mahal on a more Arabic-sounding name. Rajah, Jasmine's pet tiger, is an Indian word for king. Names such as Jafar and Jasmine are Persian in origin, while a lot of the clothing is Turkish-inspired. Villains such as the Captain and Jafar have a lot more stereotypically Middle Eastern features (hooked nose, bushy eyebrows, etc [and it's a convo for another day about how the "good" characters don't have these exaggerated features])

This melding of several cultures is what led up to the live-action "Aladdin" in 2019. The creators of that movie wanted to be more respectful of the region, and so this time, they did hire consultants and the like to help ensure it would be much less offensive ("where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face", nice going 1992)

And for the most part, they did that. Except for Jasmine

Jasmine is played by Naomi Scott, a half white half Indian woman, and look, it's pretty obvious she only got this part because she's well known. I would also like to point out that the casting calls for the characters in general once again lumped Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern people, however, almost all of the cast is Middle Eastern, and several of them are Persian (Sultan and Mara, notably)

So while everyone else is wearing clothes more indicative of the Middle East, you have miss Jasmine over here dressed in sarees and Indian-inspired clothing because costuming department went "oh! She's Indian now!" Agrabah is also a lot more similar to South Asia than the Middle East, further deepening this issue

To an outsider, "Aladdin" is Indian. To them, there's some Arab inspo, but they would mostly think it's set somewhere in India or South Asia. That's what the casting and costuming department in "Rise of Red" were working with, and so they just opted to go the whole South Asian angle. None of the actors who portray Jasmine, Aladdin, and their kid are Middle Eastern, they're all South Asian. The clothes they're wearing are very obviously from that region

And if I'm being completely honest, that's exactly what I expect from Disney. Why would they bother to do research for extremely minor characters with two lines? The problem here is what I've been talking about above, is that Hollywood is constantly thinking South Asians and Middle Easterners are interchangeable when we're not. If I see a MENA character on screen, more often than not the actor is South Asian. This is a continuous problem no one from these places wants to see happening, and yet it is because Hollywood doesn't actually care. The more it's done, the more they think it's okay and so they continue to blur the lines between several different cultures

So, on an ending note, Jasmine and Aladdin are Arab, if not Persian, and the idea that we are interchangable with South Asians harms both our cultures

[sunflowerrex]

I need to talk about Helene.

I am struggling to come up with the words and the thoughts and I need to talk about this. I apologize for the length.

To preface, I am not a meterologist. I am merely a person who has taken several meterology class who is capable of reading those funky models that are put out by the NOAA. This being said, I follow severe weather to be able to update my friends and family on situations that could impact them. In this case, friends/family in Flordia, Atlanta, Tennesse and Carolina.

We all know of Hurricane Katrina, a catastrophe I simply do not have the words to describe the absolute clusterfuck of a situation and response that was given to the city of New Orleans. The floods that occured in Southern Appalachia carry the fullest of weight of the word to describe them, catastrophic. The states of Flordia, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennesse were all hit and also need support, however I am going to focus on North Carolina.

NCDOT has released a statement that "All roads in Western N.C are considered closed". Not just they are considered closed, they are gone. The roads are literally gone. Towns are destroyed, literally washed away. I won't get too personal with this post however I will say that I am still waiting for contact from several people within the impacted area. There is limited power, limited cellular service, basically extremel spotty and limited contact to the outside world.

I am keeping the descriptions of the damage minimal as it is simply hard to talk about.

I want to also say to please keep these areas in your thoughts. I know "thoughts and prayers do nothing", however holding these places and people in your hearts and having a mind open to supporting them however they need is so so so important. I know that some of these areas have people that have different beliefs and ideas than what you and myself do. I understand that entirely. I grew up on the border of appalachia and it is truly one of the most unique and wonderful places. The culture of this region is unlike anything I have ever experienced. There is a certain idea in most places of the country of who the people of appalachia are and how they are. There is a lot of history of this region that has had severe impacts on their views. Please try to look past any prejudices you may have towards this region when approaching their current situation.

Even if a person votes differently than you, they do not deserve this. Even if a person has different monetary assets than you, they do not deserve this. Even if a person has morals and values that are so drastically different than yours, they do not deserve this. I have been seeing this idea that "they chose to live there" and "they didn't evacuate". There is so much more to these choices than we can comprehend unless we have been in their shoes. All I ask is that you hold spaces in your heart for these people, these communities.

If you are able to and wanting to help, here are some ways to help.

From a source who works at FEMA, after about 2 weeks support tends to taper off for disasters such as these. When these disasters occur- CASH IS KING. Sending goods during the first two weeks is going to take people off of other jobs to sort out received items, create more cluster to be dealt with, ect. After the initial clean-up is done, that is when the time to donate supplies will become extremely beneficial. Organizations will let it be known when they are available and ready to receive actual items and goods.

In person volunteers in the begining stages of clean-up is another valuable resource that often becomes overbearing at the start. A bunch of people rush in, cant be organized and used effectively, and then leave. IF you are able to access an area that has been impacted, WAIT until the call for help comes out. Just like with supplies, the call for volunteers will come eventually and at that point it would be extremely beneficial to volunteer.

An important note to make about donations: ensure that the organization is a reputable one before donating. During these sorts of disasters scams run rampant. Please make sure that your hard earned money is going to the right place.

Appalachia Voices: https://appvoices.org/helene-relief/

a list of resources to support and provide to those impacted

The 19th: https://19thnews.org/2024/09/hurricane-helene-how-to-help-women-children-lgbtq-communities/

a list of LGBTQIA+ organizations, diaper banks, reproductive and womens health locations within the impacted states.

Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/discover-charities/where-to-give/hurricane-helene-2024/

This is a great resource when ensuring that a charity is actually going to use the funds for the right thing and not as a scam.

North Carolina: https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2024/09/29/helene-flooding-north-carolina-donations-help

A list of places to donate to assist the state of North Carolina

Georgia: https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/hurricane-helene-how-you-can-help-with-storm-assistance-in-georgia/GV2OPU6GPVHNZGTFIQ6C4TX434/

A list of places to donate to assist the state of Georgia

Tennessee: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2024/09/29/how-to-help-hurricane-helene-flood-victims-in-tennessee/75443858007/

A list of places to donate to assist the state of Tennessee

Some other great organizations that are currently helping out the areas: The United Cajun Navy, Team Rubicon, World Central Kitchen

I have not yet found a list of sources for the states of Flordia, South Carolina, and Virginia directly however I will update once someone/myself makes one.

"Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."

Please if you are able, be a helper.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, as someone who studies environmental disasters these sorts of issues weigh very heavy on my chest to begin with, then there is the added tons of the connection that the people I love and myself have to the region. I will get off of my soapbox now. Sending you all love.

[outofangband]

Orchids of Doriath

I love doing general flora and fauna posts but I can’t fit everything in them so I’m trying to make more specific ones as well! please please feel free to send categories to work on with locations! Or any environmental world building asks!

Note that while I have many specific headcanons about the environment of Doriath, I’m always happy to take suggestions or write environment posts based on specific places (like I did with the Havens based on Southwest Australia)

Ferns of Doriath, Mosses of Doriath, Flowers of the March of Maedhros

Orchids are beloved and unique family of flowers due to their wide range of species, fascinating ecology (many grow exclusively upon other plants and obtain moisture from them, some are even parasitic, etc) and beautiful appearance. They grow throughout the world in tropical, subtropical and temperate climates

In the real world, they hold significance in many cultures, sometimes signifying elegance, growth, beauty, or in rare cases, meanings related to the parasitism of some species.

In Doriath, orchid species grow in all parts of the kingdom, in all forests. They also grow both in and around Menengroth with several species brought and cultivated by Melian herself.

Here are my thoughts for a collection of species inspiration for Doriath

and, like my post on ferns, I am going to add some world building notes at the end so it's not just listing species

Region:

Many orchids prefer calcareous soil (I’ve written before about how Region with its Holly trees and caves likely has high alkaline) so many species of orchids grow in Region

The green winged orchid grows in grassy knolls around the alkaline soil of Menengroth. The early spider orchid grows on the banks of Esgalduin near the entrances to Menengroth along with green flowered helloborine and dark red helloborine.

Lady slippers orchid grows in the more open spaces as well as the greater butterfly orchid.

Heath spotted orchids grow by streams.

The early purple orchid grows mostly in Region and Neldoreth. The lizard orchard is found in Region and Nivrim in more open areas

Neldoreth

White helloborine grows primarily in Neldoreth but can be found around Menengroth in Region too. It prefers beech forests. Red helloborine grows only in the drier parts of Neldoreth and green flowered helloborine grows in Neldoreth and Nivrim.

Three toothed orchids grow in Neldoreth and occasionally in Nivrim

Bird’s nest orchids also favor beechwoods and so grow in Neldoreth Lesser butterfly orchids grow primarily in Neldoreth but occasionally grow in Region too.

Nivrim:

White egret flowers can be found in the marshes south of Nivrim

Sword leaved helliborine lives in swampy forests and so grows throughout Nivrim. Violet birds nest orchid grows in Nivrim as does lizard orchid

Yellow bee orchids live in the drier areas of Nivrim along with Epipactis tremolsii.

Nivrim, Region and Neldoreth

Pale orchids grow in open spaces and by the waters

Common twayblade grow in drier areas

Arthórien: ( I headcanon that Arthórien has a markedly different climate than the rest of Doriath for a number of reasons: the cultivation and practices of the green elves who live there, slightly different elevation (based largely on my own speculation), the rivers, and some intervention by Melian. )

Aerides lawrenceae grows in the forests here as does Acampe rigida Common Christmas orchid, blood stained dendrobium

Marsh helloborine, soldier orchids and fairy orchids grow by the waters and winter orchids grow in more open spaces.

Creeping forest orchids grow here and occasionally over the river in Neldoreth.

All:

Ghost orchids grow sparsely throughout Doriath . Musk orchids more commonly so as do species of wide lip orchids

Bog orchids grow by the rivers and in marshier areas of all four forests

Significance to the Sindar and Nandor of Doriath:

It's interesting to note that no word for orchid appears in any of Tolkien's languages. I was surprised to find this as they are such a wide and varied family of flowers and he was so interested in botany! So any of the notes on language here are my own headcanon. I have not yet come up with a word for them in Sindarin yet (I probably won't be able to do Nandorin as our knowledge of it is much more limited) but I will try to!

Orchids are beloved by the elves of Doriath. A number of species grow within the sacred gardens of Menengroth and others are specially cultivated by the servants of Melian. Species like bee orchids are only found in the gardens of Menengroth and the servants and students of Melian often experiment with their pollination and cultivation, sometimes creating new varieties.

Orchids in the Sindarin language and knowledge are distinguished by their unique petals and stems and asymmetrical bodies as well as their behavior and pollination patterns. Their growth is sometimes associated with places of magic and twilight

Though the flowers themselves are not disliked by the Silvan elves, some of their number in Doriath associate the natural growth of orchids with places of tragedy. They are also associated with transitional ecosystems and with shadier parts of the woods.

As always please feel free to ask more. I love talking about ecology stuff and the relationship of people and elves to the natural world

[shmaptainwrites]

[CH. 2] New Doctor on the Block

Chapter 2: Confessions

Pairings: Hawkeye Pierce x fem!Reader

Characters: Hawkeye Pierce, Sherman Potter, Father Mulcahy

Summary: Reader goes to Father Mulcahy to get something off her chest

Warnings: Reader is like implied to be Christian I guess?, mentions of death, angst

Note: I honestly love Father Mulcahy so much he’s literally always so soft and gentle with everyone

Series Masterlist - NDotB Masterlist

“Pierce, could you just shut up for one second? I’m the surgeon on this patient and you’re the anesthesiologist. I cannot concentrate with you constantly yammering in my ear about what I should and shouldn’t do,” you huffed while picking out shrapnel from yet another young boy sent off to fight a war that wasn’t his. 

“I’m only saying it because it’s true, look-,” 

“No, you look, come on,” you pointed to the abdominal region and explained why you couldn’t go about it the way he was previously suggesting. “I am a trained trauma surgeon, this is what I live and breathe even when I’m stateside. Today you work under me, is that clear?”

“That’s normally how I prefer it, Captain,” he winked at you and you scowled. “What, you don’t want me to come over to your tent tonight so you call tell me what a terrible partner I’ve been, maybe teach me a lesson or two about human anatomy while you’re at it?” 

“Easy Hawkeye,” Potter warned and he finally gave you an inch’s worth of breathing room. 

You were able to complete the surgery, and then some without much fuss and switching things up with every other patient so you could both get breaks from operating. By the end of it, you were both scrubbing your hands and arms from any stray blood that may have made its way on you. 

“Plans?” Hawkeye asked, leaning against the wall and drying his hands. 

“None that involve you, Captain.”

“Are you sure? I’m told that I’m a blast in the supply room, especially in the dark.” 

“I think I’ll pass,” you shook your head and pulled your wedding ring out of your pocket and placed it on your ring finger. 

“Wait, you’re married?”

It wasn’t a question you expected to hear from him, nonetheless, you didn’t want to let the conversation go any further. You’d shot him down enough for a lifetime. 

“Yes, but I don’t believe it’s any of your business. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a date with the showers.” 

You pushed past the surgeon and walked off to your shared tent with Major Houlihan to grab your things and leave. 

—

It was a warm Thursday afternoon, the sun was finally coming out to say hello to South Korea and the 4077th M*A*S*H couldn’t be more grateful. You had a bit of a break on your hands that day, casualties were low and post-op duty was minimal, but you had another idea on your mind. 

You walked up to the outfit’s chaplain’s quarters and knocked gently on the door. A soft, kind voice greeted you,

“Come in,” 

“Father?” you peeked your head in. 

“Yes, my child?”

“W-Would you be able to take my confession?” you asked, now stepping inside his tent. 

“Of course,” he nodded and stood up to bring another chair for you to sit next to him. “It seems like something is weighing on you.” 

“There is something Father, I-,” you swallowed thickly. “I’ve seen you with the others, you’re very understanding Father a-and I might need a hand after this.”

“Anything I can do,” he assured you and you took a deep breath and nodded. 

“I’m not actually married,” you confessed. 

The chaplain looked confused so you gathered up all the courage you could to explain. 

“I was married. Past tense. I-I’ve been telling everyone in camp who asks that my husband wasn’t able to be drafted due to a medical condition and that he’s staying with our two children back home, but the truth is he’s…he’s dead,” your voice broke slightly with your last words and you tried so desperately hard not to cry. “M-My husband was drafted when the war started and ended up dying on the front before he could be discharged. He left me and our son, and our little daughter-,” you had to stop yourself, tears now streaming down your face at the thought of your kids growing up without a father. 

“There, there, it’s alright, let it out,” the priest held your hand and gently patted your back, consoling you as you admitted everything. 

“I-It’s just easier to pretend he’s alive,” you sniffed. “At home with Grant and Julia, waiting for me to come back.” 

“I understand,” he assured you. 

“But I feel bad for lying to everyone else in the process. The Colonel knows because it’s in my file, but I asked him to keep it between us,” 

Father Mulcahy sat thoughtfully for a moment, still holding your hand and trying to see what advice was best for him to give at that moment. 

“Captain, I believe it is quite obvious I’m not a psychiatrist, but what do you expect when you go back home?” he asked. 

You hadn’t thought of that. This small lie that was giving you comfort at the moment, maybe it would do more bad than good, even for you. 

You shook your head. 

“I can only recommend you tell the truth, on your own terms of course, but I believe it will help you grieve, even if it is painful.” 

“Thank you, Father, I-I think you’re right. I just need more time.” 

“Of course,” he nodded. He then said a prayer and blessed you and before you left the tent you gave the man a tight hug. 

“Thank you again,” you sniffed, wiping away a few more tears. “It’s nice that at least another person knows.” 

“I can only imagine,” he smiled. “Now go and enjoy the day, it’s beautiful outside, not often we get days like this out here,”

“Will do, Father,” you smiled back and left his quarters and decided to heed his advice and soak up as much sun as you could before it hid behind the clouds once more. 

Tags: @montyfandomlove

[tsyllaes]

This is just the epitome of Australia I mean Kazin >>

I bet you thought the cockatoo was going to be sulphur-crested, didn't you? GOTCHA. This is the PINK COCKATOO, as I discovered, renamed literally this year because it turns out Major Mitchell was actually a bit of a genocidal dick so naming the most gorgeous of cockatoos after him is a bit... not good... so it's a pink cockatoo now. Anyway. Technically this thing lives in the desert and arid regions but y'know what, just look at it. LOOK at this beautiful creature. It has to live in Kazin. So it does now. All the cockatoos live in Tsyallaes, so of course the sulphur-crested ones are there, too. I was debating which was the most Extra of the cockatoos, the pink or the palm cockatoo, and went with this one. Palm cockatoo is actually from the tropics so it can stay there, so it won't fit with the other three on the page.

Speaking of, next is the ROSELLA. VERY specifically, this one's an Adelaide rosella. I always thought it was its own unique species but, as I once again learned while looking for refs, it's a hybrid of a straight up crimson rosella, which lives in a Victoria kind of direction, and the yellow rosella subspecies, which lives up along the Murray River. Their regions cross at Adelaide, and hence the Adelaide rosella! Therefore, similar thing happens in Kazin, where the crimson one lives down towards the coast and the yellow one up in the mountains near the Llayan border, and their grounds cross in Sirrona.

Next is a bloody CROW which, you'll note from that link, is technically a raven, but literally nobody but ornithologists calls these things ravens. Listen to that sound clip and try and tell me that's not a bloody crow. Whenever I hear crows and ravens in, like, fantasy shows or whatever, they sound fake. THAT is what a crow sounds like. It go 'WEH, WEH, WEEEEEEEH' like it's simultaneously whinging and also mocking you for whinging. Crows live everywhere except, like, deep into the desert. Side note, yes, that's absolutely the bird after which the Adelaide Crows are named. This is because South Australia's nickname is Crow-eaters, in the same way that Queenslanders are Banana-benders, West Australians are Sandgropers and Tasmanians are Inbred.

Finally, the absolutely iconic MAGPIE. They also live everywhere. Tsyllaes magpies are all the silver-backed ones because the others look Wrong since I didn't grow up with them. This is a magpie, all other magpies need not apply. They're also the only bird here with sexual dimrophism, but it's only that the females have a grey back where the males have snowy white, so I wasn't about to draw another magpie for that. Plus these are all real birds so I don't need to. Fun fact about magpies, every mob has its own song! So whenever I find sound clips of magpies online, they never QUITE sound right. Sure, it's a magpie, but they're not my magpies. The mob I grew up with sounds different from the mob living where I am now. My mob now is BIG, like eight birds. I'd always see them on the oval going to do fitness and they'd be grazing on the grass (looking for worms) and I'd go 'one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight ...... nine' cos there was always the one teenager hanging out away from the rest of the mob. I say 'was' because, a couple of years ago, they were all hanging around at the edge of the road with the body of a magpie on the tarmac :( 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven ...... eight.' So it wasn't the beligerant teenager.

That was a depressing note to end on. Have THIS video of crows rolling down a windscreen covered in snow. They are not Australian crows but you can imagine them doing this :D

Now, because I don't plan on drawing any of the smaller ones because they're hard to see so my guys are likely never going to see them, and they don't know what they are so they're only ever going to describe them as little tweetie birds, have some soundclips of birds of the Adelaide Hills and know this is what I live in and what southern Kazin sounds like:

HONEYEATER which I've used as reference for other birds so the shape won't be unfamiliar here. EASTERN SPINEBILL which love to splash around in the puddles left in the gutters at Mum and Dad's. SILVEREYE which I've NEVER seen but god I know that tweet. GREY SHRIKETHRUSH which I also feel like I've never seen but holy shitballs that SOUND. THAT is the sound of the Adelaide Hills omg. WILLIE WAGTAIL which are from everywhere so not really specifically Hills, but they count. STRIATED PARDALOTE idek what this is but it SOUNDS LIKE THE HILLS.

Also BLACKBIRDS but they're introduced so they don't exist in Kazin. I only put this here because this has more turned into a post about birds of the Adelaide Hills. Introduced or not, it's still a sound of the Hills.

[firstseasonlisazemo]

The Southern Healer

Summary: A legend is told for generations in the Southern Water Tribe about Death’s godchild.

Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 1360

Notes: I think this is an African folcloric legend, but I don't really remember where I got it from.

Once upon a time, a particularly harsh winter came down upon the people of the Southern shores. The winds blew unfortunate animals off glaciers and fish froze solid in the water.

The people of the region starved, huddling each other for warmth and protection, hoping to save as much of themselves from the frost and the insanity. Yet, the hunger and the cold drove many a good person to the throes of the Spirit World.

On the night of Yule, there was the harshest snowstorm yet to befall the tribe. In the darkness, with the hollowing winds, the chieftess screamed in pain of labour.

The chief, forbidden to remain in the hut while his child was not yet born, left running.

In the dark tundra, he fell to his knees. Suddenly, the winds calmed and two figures appeared to his sides. They were the Ocean and the Moon.

The two Spirits came to the chief offering to be the godparents of the child that would be born.

“I will feed your child.” The Ocean said. “With me, their hunts will always succeed and their pantry will always be plentiful.”

“I will grant them power.” The Moon countered. “With me, their chi will always flow and their enemies will always tremble.”

The Chief denied both their offers. “The Spirits are inconstant and selfish. They give and they take, and they pick and they chose. My child will be fair and equative, selfless and giving.”

Then, Death appeared.

“You, who comes for all, rich or poor, young or old, man or woman. Who gives and takes in equal measures, that is constant and eternal.” The Chief recognized in respect. “Will you bless my child?”

“I will teach your child.” Death said. “With me, they will know plenty and lack, power and weakness. Their wit will be their saving grace, and their justice will be their gift.”

“I gift them to you.” The Chief said and the covenant was sealed.

Death closed its bony hands on the man’s wrist and proclaimed: “I will not return for sixteen winters. When I do, your child will know my gift, and our accord will be complete.”

And so it was, for fifteen winters, there was no deaths in the tribe. No warrior was lost, no woman befell of illness. No mother perished and no child was denied light. The seasons were mild and the hunts were plentiful.

On the sixteenth, the snowstorm returned, and it came with a vengeance, claiming lives back and forth. In despair, the child ran to the tundra.

There, Death came to her.

“You, the master of all ends, the bringer of grief and relief, the darkness and the light.” She says, kneeling in front of the figure. “What is your business with our tribe?”

“For sixteen summers and fifteen winters, I have not visited the South Pole, but the time has come. I am never gone, only delayed, and their time has come. So, does yours.”

The dark creature hands the girl a canteen. “A poultice, made of the purest essence of life, capable of healing any illness or injury, as soon as it makes contact with the body of animal or man. It lays encased in this bottle. It is replenishing, use it in as many or as few people as you desire.

“There is only but a single limitation, as it must be administered with the patient laying down. If I stand by their feet, it is not their time, and you can heal with abandon, but if I stand by their head, I have already claimed their soul, and it shall be nothing for you to do.”

The healer anointed, Death leaves and the snowstorm subsided once more. She walked to the village, and began testing her newfound powers. Sure enough, she began seeing her godparent on the beds of every patient.

She bended the poultice, and as it touched the body, it shone and left the skin unmarred, as if there had been nothing there all along. With her, no illnesses befell the tribespeople, and all passing’s were peaceful and strictly necessary.

Eventually, she ran out of ills to cure at her tribe, and so she took to the seas, traveling from town to town, from nation to nation, never establishing herself for longer than her use demanded, as well as following closely the instructions of Death in respects to the use of her abilities.

However, as the days passed, she saw more and more suffering, and as her fame as a miraculous potioneer increased, the greater was her shame for declaring a person’s fate to be inevitable.

One day, a little boy came calling for her at the hut she was staying. He pleaded with her to save her mother, and she complied.

As she arrived at the tiny farmstead, she came across a large family, in a village ravaged with plague. The father had already perished, and the mother was gravely ill. Her children and the elderly that they cared for, hurdled around her bed, with no other option but to pray for her recovery.

When the healer opened her bottle, alas, there was Death, standing next to the woman’s head.

Per their agreement, she was obliged to take a step back and declare the woman to be beyond treatment, but she knew she was responsible for a large family, that would not be able to withstand the seasons if not with her labour.

How could she not at least try?

So, she bends the poultice and touches the infected chest of the patient. Death shrieks and leaves, and so the woman rises once more, completely cured.

At night, the healer returns to her hut. As she passes through the forest, the moon darkens and a shadow appears on the side of the road.

“You have betrayed me.” Death said. “Cursed be you, wretched woman, for wasting the gift I gave you.”

“You desire to kill, not only a woman, but her family and children.” The healer argued. “I saved not her life, but the lives of those that depend on her.”

“All that is born must die. It is just.”

“Yet, not all must die together.”

“They all have their time, yes, and you violated it. It is fair, it is equal, for that woman’s life is worth as much as any other, of singles and of barren.” The shadow declared. “Should you steal another soul from me, you shall pay with yours.”

For a season, the healer heeded to her godparent’s words, healing those who could and letting those who could not pass into the darkness.

Soon, she found herself in a major port city. There was word in the street that the prince, a man taken for being fair and kind to his people, was at the edge of life, due to an attack by a firebender.

She walked to the palace and offered her services. Her fame preceded her, and she was taken to the prince’s uncle, who bowed in reverence.

“It is nothing short of a blessing to have you grant your time to us, milady.” He said. “My nephew is unmaried. Should you be able to heal him, he shall make you a princess.”

The healer asked to see the patient. She was taken by the nobleman to the highest chamber on the highest tower in the city, where laid the prince.

As she sees him, even covered in blood and bandages, the healer cannot fathom such beauty, from the amber eyes to the fair skin and taut figure.

So hypnotized, she opens the canteen and does not realize Death standing at the headboard.

The poultice is bent, and it touches the prince’s skin as a love’s kiss. His scars are washed away and his blood is replenished. Air circulates deeply into his lungs and life is anew in his eyes.

For a moment, there is only quietness. The two look into each other’s eyes.

Before any word could be spoken, however, a shadow overtakes the room, and a hand pulls the healer away.

The last thing she ever saw was the amber in his eyes, and then nothing more.

*_*_*_*_*

Avatar Masterlist

Last Airbender Masterlist

[mmhaterade]

The 2023 Hater's Guide to the West Region

This blog is not in any way affiliated with the NCAA, its entities, subsidiaries, or member institutions. This is a humor site and should be treated as such. We’re all on our way out – act accordingly.

1. Kansas (28-6). When Texas beat Kansas to end the Big 12 (8?) regular season, the intrepid videographer shooting the game happened to catch a KU coed wearing a t-shirt which read “I (heart) Dick.” A-fucking-mazing. Look, I don’t have to tell you KU fans need this one seed, need the wins, need a title more than anything to justify their continued existence. They live in Kansas for fuck’s sake – Interstate 70 ends in Lawrence and you are stuck wandering the plains like Denzel Washington in Book of Eli until you reach Colorado, and the interstate magically appears again. There is NOTHING to do here other than watch basketball, and that says a lot, because I live in Iowa!

2. UCLA (29-5). This is a Bruin, right? With that face, I am 100% sure his name is “Crick Monin.”

3. Gonzaga (28-5). There is a new Constitutional amendment which clearly states you are no longer allowed to refer to Gonzaga as a Cinderella school. It’s been twenty five years - I think the slipper finally broke. They’ve now been in every final AP poll since the 2008-09 season, and have appeared in every weekly AP poll since 2016-17, a streak of 115 consecutive weeks. I will never stop laughing when eighth year senior Drew Timme appears on my TV screen. All I see is TIMMY from South Park. Fuck John Stockton.

4. UConn (25-8). Go back to the AAC! Biggest group of crybabies in the country and it isn’t even close. When their women’s team had an injury plagued season (lost five games including back-to-back games for the first time in 30 years), Geno Auriemma vented to the media and to his team, telling them they had three days before the conference tournament to fix things. Then he got in his car and drove home to Manchester, wishing he could continue westward. “The way I felt was I want to wake up in California in three days,” he said. “I just want to keep driving, I don’t want to do anything, I don’t want to come to practice.” Jesus man, just fucking quit already and move away from that awful place. Twitter account CrimsonCast put it best: UConn continues to fail to shake the perception that they are simply an analytics darling. Like an east coast version of the Mountain West.

5. Saint Mary’s (26-7). Every bracket, no matter the site, always lists this school as “Saint Mary’s (CA).” Why? No one is confusing this school for the archaeological dig site posing as a university in Maryland, or the all-women’s college in north-central Indiana where many of the enrolled students play for nearby Leprechaun U, also known as Notre Dame. No, this is the school – in California – that gets exclusive coverage on ESPN Australia/New Zealand. Sixty percent of the student body is involved in organized athletics here, so it’s a good chance you’ll be handed a scholarship and some sort of ball upon move-in. It’s either that or forced labor washing jockstraps.

6. TCU (21-12). Their coach gives out a pair of “charge socks” when a Horned Frog player takes a charge. There’s a big bucket of these colorful dress socks in the TCU locker room. Charge socks? You have to be kidding me. You are in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, you can’t find a bag of blow or an extra couple of c-notes for your athletes? (Producer cuts in…garbled static…). Pardon me, I’ve just been informed that the “C” in TCU stands for “Christian.” There is no cocaine on campus. But NIL is legal now, surely you can find something other than a pair of sweaty dress socks to reward your unpaid employees. Perhaps a sad handjob from a coed who has already put on the freshman 15+15+15?

7. Northwestern (21-11). Congratulations, you finished top three in the Big Ten for the first time since 1960. You won your last conference championship 90 (!) years ago. You have made one (1) NCAA tournament and had to be retroactively selected as something called the Helms National Champion. Your most successful head coach played for Phog Allen at Kansas – in 1917! Northwestern basketball is the definition of futility. They are the Chicago Cubs of the NCAA; fitting for a program that markets itself as “Chicago’s Big Ten team” (insert jerking off hand motion here). Even if Northwestern won 25 games a season for the next 25 years, they would still have a losing record.

8. Arkansas (20-13). It is against state law to mispronounce “Arkansas'' while in the state, yet their residents  pronounce jalapeno “Holla-PEE-no.” Gun to my head, I wouldn’t be able to look at Sarah Huckabee Sanders naked, playing with a hula hoop, for more than a second.

9. Illinois (20-12). Brad Underwood is a bargain-bin Gene Keady who is very upset about “booty ball.” Every press conference he attends ends with him making a wet fart sound into the microphone.

10. Boise State (24-9). No one gives a shit about this team unless tater tots rise to $6 a bag – then it’s time to storm the blue court. I know exactly one person from Idaho and their personality matches that of the official state produce. This person is incapable of being corrected. They are always right. You are always wrong. If you say the sky is blue, their response will no doubt begin with “well, actually…” Boise is also not a state, you arrogant fuckhead.

11. Arizona State (20-12) or Nevada (23-9). Over 60% of the student body at ASU has some form of herpes. Unless you are a model, they throw you in an engineering building for four years. If you hate Duke just like the rest of America, you generally hate Christian Laettner and Grant Hill. But there’s one player from those early-90s teams everyone forgot: Bobby Hurley. As I’ve aged, my hatred for Hurley has waned, but I’ll always wish maximum pain for whatever team he coaches.

With the growth of legalized sports gambling across the United States, the University of Nevada has introduced several new classes for the 2023-24 school year: Kneecap Relocation, Intermediate Hammer Smashing Techniques, and Advanced Vig Calculation. Another new course addition as of Thursday morning: Getting Your Shit Pushed In By A Sun Devil Pitchfork. Too soon? Probably.

12. VCU (27-7). VCU stands for Very Completely Underwhelming. This isn’t a college, it’s an industrial laundry that has tricked 28,000 students into paying the institution to “work.” If you want a perfect example of the bloat in higher education administration, consider there are over 11,000 non-academic staff at VCU. Never trust a doctor from this school; they only practiced on centaurs.  

13. Iona (27-7). Someone is going to give Rick Pitino the best 14 seconds of his life to coach for them. 

14. Grand Canyon (24-11). By employing buzzer-beating Valpo alum Bryce Drew, this pretend university has already accomplished more in the NCAA Tournament than Mount Rushmore State, Hoover Dam U, Smokey Mountains College and SUNY-Niagara Falls.

15. UNC Asheville (27-7). Let’s have a quick check-in on how this college is doing. Student enrollment and retention are plunging at UNC-Asheville and top leadership is departing at the highest rate in the entire UNC system. While overall student enrollment in the UNC system has increased 7% since 2015, UNC-Asheville fell by a stunning 25%, the largest drop among the 16 public universities in the system. Of the incoming students UNC-A is able to attract, a high number of them leave before graduation. Retention of students, measured as those returning for a second year of school, is now just 68.6%, the lowest in ten years. Jesus, even Trump University would laugh at these numbers. 

16. Howard (22-12). Howard students recently had to protest living conditions in on-campus dorms – mold, mildew, and rats are apparently very commonplace in multiple residences. It is 2023; the only sensible reason these alarming conditions should be issues on your campus is when you have outsourced every part of the student life experience to a call center in the middle of the Himalayas.

[duck-in-a-thrift-store]

You know what? Yeah

I mean as a person born, raised, and currently living in the south, I'll admit that I make plenty of these jokes and gripes myself (though I do think if anyone has the right to do so it's those of us who actually live here)

But we can do better

Sure some things about the south suck, that's true, but that doesn't mean the shitheads who happen to be in charge or the louder voices reinforcing negative stereotypes are representative of all of us as a whole- as someone else mentioned in the tags

And who the fuck said we have bad food??? Literally our food is one of the best things we've got going for us?? I didn't even know this was a Take™️ like I thought it was common consensus that southern food is good shit. Side note: I went to NYC last year and don't get me wrong I loved it but yall don't even have sweet tea

I will say that even as someone who's grown up around it there are some southern accents that strike me as funny or even kinda ridiculous, but that's stupid. People talk how they talk, and we should recognize that for what it is- cool and natural and beautiful. If you catch me making fun of how my mom pronounces "oil" please send a well-meaning "fuck you" my way

Anyway, yeah, obviously not all southerners are bigots and rednecks. There is an unfortunate portion that are, but it's not fair to look at us all through the lens of a blanket assumption like that, and it's not like there aren't bad or ignorant people in every part of the US- hell, the world

I mean I personally try my best not to be any sort of bigot, and while I'm sure there are lots of negative (and some rightfully so) connotations with the term "redneck," like... it basically means "unsophisticated rural white American"

Can't speak for anyone else but I myself am a semi-rural white American, and I'm not the most sophisticated, and guess what?

Sometimes it's kinda fun getting up to some redneck tomfoolery, like intertubing down the creek in your backyard in the middle of a rainstorm or having your grandad drag you around in a sled tied to the back of his truck on snow days, or catching and releasing all manner of critters that get into the house (we have relocated so. many. mice.)

Also, our dialect? Top tier. Give me a better all-inclusive group-referential term than "folks." "Yall" is so much more convenient than "you all." And why should I pronounce the "g" at the end of every "-ing" verb? It's unnecessary and awkward, honestly, and we're better off just leavin it out. Now whoever is takin issue with how we talk can catch these motherfuckin hands (lmao I'm an English major just thought I'd put that out there)

And like all that aside, do I still hope to move north someday? Yeah, I do. I'd rather live somewhere with a cooler climate and where people aren't trying to take away my rights (fellow southern trans person here). But that doesn't mean everyone else should be expected to. I'm not trying to escape southern culture, just current southern politics and southern weather. If legislation changed I might not feel the need to do that, but I'd still rather be further from the equator, and that's nothing against the region that's just a personal preference for chillier weather. But moving is not possible for me right now, and for a lot of people it might never be, and even if it is they shouldn't be expected to leave their homes just to have their rights respected and to be treated like human beings

There are queer people in the south. There are leftist people in the south. There are mentally ill people in the south, and there are mental healthcare providers in the south too. Y'know how I know that? Because I'm a mentally ill leftist queer person from Alabama, dude. And I've been to at least three different therapists, one of whom had a bi flag decorating her office. We're not all homophobic ultra-conservative hicks who don't believe in mental health or who worship donald trump like some kind of savior, and we do deserve to be taken seriously and to be welcomed into queer spaces and mental health discussions

If you as an outsider genuinely have this sort of attitude about people who live in the south (the sort of attitude op was talking about), if you look at us all as negative stereotypes instead of actual people, maybe you need to look in a mirror and ask yourself, who's really the bigot here?

yall have got to be more normal about Southern people and I'm not kidding. enough of the Sweet Home Alabama incest jokes, enough of the idea that all Southerners are bigots and rednecks, and enough of the idea that the South has bad food. shut up about "trailer trash" and our accents and our hobbies!

do yall know how fucking nauseating it is to hear people only bring up my state to make jokes about people in poverty and incestuous relationships? how much shame I feel that I wasn't born up north like the Good Queers and Good Leftists with all the Civilised Folk with actual houses instead of small cramped trailers that have paper thin walls that I know won't protect me in a bad enough storm?

do yall know how frustrating it is to be trans in a place that wants to kill you and whenever you bring it up to people they say "well just move out" instead of sympathizing with you or offering help?

do yall understand how alienating it is to see huge masterposts of queer and mental health resources but none of them are in your state because theyre all up north? and nobody seems to want to fix this glaring issue because "they're all hicks anyways"

Southern people deserve better. we deserve to be taken seriously and given a voice in the queer community and the mental health space and leftist talks in general.

[thatoneelisa]

the pinned post: introduction, faqs, and more!

hey all! figured it's high time I do a pinned post here to help establish some stuff. so, why don't we start with the introductions hmmm?

Who am I?

My name is Elisa (said like Alyssa), I'm a 21+ queer disabled woman who identifies as panromantic and asexual and has been professionally diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and Acute Stress Disorder (ASD, or sometimes AStressD in order to not confuse it with autism. 90% of the time on this blog ASD refers to Acute Stress over Autism Spectrum Disorders!) I have an emotional support animal, a cat named Hydrus, the inspo for my theming/profile picture/header picture. He's an adorable, chaotic, braincell-less tuxedo who is three and I adore with my life.

More information under the break out of respect for mobile users and the top of my page.

Where do I live/work?

I currently do not work and receive state disability through the General Assistance program, along with Medicaid, in my home state of Delaware in the good ol' USA. I also am currently in the application process for my state's SNAP program along with renewing my benefits for the first time. I tend not to share stuff about my state disability for privacy reasons, though due to the extremely small amount of my GA check, I live with my family still in the southern half of the state.

What about your fam?

Welp, I am the living definition of "eldest daughter of a dysfunctional family". I live with my father, younger sister, and little kid brother. My sister is a fanfic writer for Just Dance and is heavily involved in the fandom to the point she's got her own Wiki page on the Just Dance Wiki. Like, she's huge in that community. (And no, don't go looking for her/send asks to me about her. She's got a Tumblr, go follow/ask her that stuff.) My mother lives out in the Midwest but Barely (her home state is literally one state away from the Northeast and South so... Barely.) with my stepfather and extremely young half-sister. I don't talk to my mother or stepfather since my mother emotionally abused me throughout my childhood and young adult years, and my stepfather helped perpetrate that abuse, which mean poor little half-sis is also on the No Contact Whatsoever List. My father's family hails from Germany and Sweden (my grandfather was a firstgen American born to Swede immigrants and my grandmother immigrated here from 1940/50s Germany (the region is now modern-day Hungary) after World War II.). My grandfather unfortunately has passed away by now, and my grandmother, uncle and his fam all live in Virginia.

What do you post about?

Well, ain't that a tossup. A majority of the time, it's fandom posts, particularly leaning heavily into the All for the Game fandom, and its four books. (Note: read at your own risk of triggers and check the trigger list before delving in. These are some heavy books), and my queer and disabled identities. If you scroll back far enough to 2022, you'll see I had a brief Harry Potter phase that has been firmly squashed into the ground, and also the fanfiction era. I do not write any fanfiction any longer, and most of my works for AFTG were orphaned, and my Harry Potter fics have all been deleted outright. Nowadays though, it's mostly reblogs of people within the fandom community. Sometimes, mostly around elections I need to vote in, I do get political for a few days and in my likes/reblogs I tend to repost resources for marginalized communities there so if anyone needs them, they can look there. Otherwise, it's all for the AFTG, and my fun times baby. Also, there's no tagging system here. Just chaotic vibes. There are a few common ones that pop up, but otherwise no labeling system here.

**extreme side note: I do have some posts, if you scroll back far enough, that are from a time when I was completely mentally unstable. Most of these aren't reblogs but rather original posts and deal with some very heavy topics. I'm still trying to find them all but typically those posts have a mental-health related title and a read more after triggers. Tread lightly, especially around November 2022-October 2023.

What boundaries do you have?

There are a few in my bio beneath my profile picture already, but here are the others.

Like said in my bio, I have asks on, but not the option to leave anon asks. This is due to the fact that the last time my asks were open with anon asks on, I got a slew of hate and bigotry, including but not limited to being called slurs, people attempting to doxx me, spread false information about me or confront me about said false information. So, with the refresh I've turned them back on since it's been about 15 months. HOWEVER, anon asks are off because if you can't say it to my face and need to hide behind a mask of anonymity, two things happen: it makes it harder for me to report the worst offenders and allows them to create burners to keep going, and also it weighs hard on my mental health to not know who is saying it or why. So, the boundary is simple and clear: If you don't have something that isn't positive, or a valid and legitimate question, either say it with your full face and chest or do not say it at all. If those options don't satisfy you, Tumblr offers restricting, muting, or blocking options so you may never see or hear from me again. ALSO: on this blog I do tend to get negative (thanks BPD pessimism) BUT hatred and bigotry have no place ANYWHERE on my blog, whether in replies/reblogs, my asks, or even my message box. Anything that is a blatant violation of Tumblr Terms of Service, or spreads hatred, misinformation and/or bigotry will at the very least be deleted and the offending blog blocked, and in instances of TOS violations, will also be reported. Just don't and keep this a safe space for everyone.

On the topic of that, politics. As said earlier, I am sometimes quite political. If ya couldn't tell by now either, I am also not a Trumpie. While I will not outright block you guys, see paragraph 1 above. I will also always post resources for marginalized communities as well.

And on paragraph 2, and the fact I hate that I have to say this, I have a personal document that is consistently updated with all Gaza relief/Middle Eastern conflict relief fundraisers. I've had several asks come through lately asking to share fundraisers, and if they are not in that document, or I cannot vet the fact that the fundraiser is legitimate on all fronts, it will not be posted. It will be deleted. 'Nuff said. Also, in conjunction with the ask box: spam/scam posts are not only deleted on sight, but every single one is also reported to Tumblr as a TOS violation. Remember that spam and scams are not allowed here.

I am more than happy for you to engage with all my posts in any way, from replies to reblogs to likes to even external link sharing.

My blog is 21+ like I am, and while I'm not going to DNI any specific age, please remember that Tumblr TOS prevents anyone under age 16 in the EU and age 13 with certain restrictions in all other regions. My blog tends to be 16+, leaning quite heavily into 18+. I will sometimes reblog art with the NSFW filters on, and reblog posts that are that age rating or above. Again, I reiterate: the "thatoneelisa" page is at least 16+, and while I will not DNI anyone, if you come whining to me about my blog being inappropriate for kids, I remind you there are several platforms and other blogs on this one that are. If any asks complain about me being inappropriate due to the age of the asker, well buddy, it will be deleted. In conjunction with this, if you allege that you are under 13/16 in the EU in your ask, and I have reason to believe you, it's also a report to Tumblr's staff. This is why we read the TOS guys.

Hopefully the final boundary in place, and I hate saying it, but if we're interacting on Tumblr, 99.99999999999% of the time it's staying on Tumblr. Over 3 years of this blog, I have only ever originated friendships outside of Tumblr that have led me to follow some on here. SO: No, I do not give out other socials or take request from other socials that originate from Tumblr in any situation, no you may not have my phone number or address, or any other personal information not previously covered in this post. No, I will not date you, I am happily single, no my asexuality isn't a phase or something I can be cured of by having sex, I am confident in my sexuality, and no I do not take advice for mental/emotional/physical health from Tumblr. That's reserved for my medical team and a select few family members and friends.

That seems to be about it. If you have any polite questions that fit within the boundaries above, feel free to leave it in an ask. Otherwise, have a great whatever-it-is and enjoy your stay here on thatoneelisa!!

Love, Elisa <3

[verymaudlin]

Hello, I'm Mohammed and Basmala Almadhoun from Gaza. My family and I live in the southern part of the region, where we’re struggling under very difficult conditions. With border closures blocking food supplies, the markets have nearly emptied 🏬❌. Prices are now shockingly high, and the limited goods available aren't enough for the over one million displaced people here in the south.

Today, I went to the market, but I couldn’t afford basic items. A can of beans now costs 7 shekels (about $2), and a small cheese container is priced at 10 shekels (around $3.5) 🧀🥫. It has become nearly impossible to secure essential foods like beans, rice, and flour.

Note: Verified by several people as 90-ghost and dlxxv-vetted-donations and a-shade-of-blue and transmutationisms. ☑ Genei Moon (@femmeintifada on TikTok), and groups supporting verified Gaza families on Telegram and Tumblr.

We are asking for your help. 🙏 Please consider donating and sharing our story to support us during this difficult time. Here’s the link to our verified GoFundMe campaign: Help Mohammed on GoFundMe.

Your support could save our lives. Thank you for standing with us. ❤️🕊️

hello Mohammed, thank you for sharing your story with me. i am boosting it here with a poll to increase engagement and will donate when i am able

[deathlygristly]

Note on that reblog about my city here in the South - the spousal person had three people from another branch at his library today that he was working with while their branch was being painted, and he said one was a trans woman and one was a lesbian and they were wearing pride gear at work.

But sure, tell me again about how every single human living inside these particular human-drawn borders is a rabid hateful fascist.

He did say he told them to be wary of some of the older employees and management.

Sorry, it’s just - earlier today I searched “why do humans think in categories?” It wasn’t the first time and I’d already clicked on a lot of the results.

It just doesn’t make any sense to me. How can someone just group enormous numbers of humans together and claim that millions of individuals are all actually clones? How was the original person picked? How do the clones reproduce? If they’re not millions of identical clones then through what other means are they all made exactly the same with the same thoughts and feelings and experiences? Who decides what thoughts and feelings and experiences are to be universalized across what groups of millions to billions of humans? Why do they do this? Why is there no evidence of this massive universalization? I mean, the American South is pretty big, so there should be a lot of people with my exact brain online if brains are sorted by what land you are born on. Speaking of which, do people get brain transplants when they move to a region with a different original human or assigned inner experience?

*screams in not able to understand*

I know, I know, the lesson of the last decade is that really people just say things and they don’t think about their words and they don’t mean them literally or absolutely even if they use literal and absolutist language. It’s just - I don’t know. I try to puzzle out what I can’t understand by positing a world where their words make sense, at least by what I would mean if I used those words in that way.

It’s a habit I am trying to break because I do realize now that so many people just say things that they haven’t thought through at all, but it is still a habit.

[naraven]

to move or not to move

another one. sorry its 3 am i pushed this one in about 2 hours im going straight to bed

wc // 600

tw // should be none

“It seems that all nation will experience a housing crisis, no matter how well the economy might seem.”

Joachim muses to themselves. After sending back a very, very polite email back to Nahida explaining that they would be taking on another simple and easy commission, she sent back an exasperated letter saying it was fine and that they didn’t have to sound too much like a child trying to convince their parents to stay up.

Whatever. Should an Archon act like their mother, they will treat her as such.

But while that was all happening, Joachim had found this new commission right up their alley. Getting to explore a whole new island besides the main city and the opera house? The home of many Melusines, a whole new species that they could never get the chance to talk to outside of Fontaine? The skeleton inside the whole island???

So many mysteries to unpack, but alas, that was completely unrelated to the commission at hand. Joachim, while skimming through the daily Steambird one morning, started reading one particular commission in particular that caught their eye.

“A housing crisis, and a new place to settle down in?”

It seemed that it was Joachim’s time to shine.

And so, they took a small ship south to the island that covered the dragon’s body of Elynas. Certainly the best place to build a small place to live was on a remote island native to a race of Melusines.

Joachim made sure to pack a pen and paper to take note of what places were appropriate for a small house to be built. Map in hand and a pen in another, they set out to see what the dragon’s body had in store for them.

Best to choose somewhere northeast to make sure you aren’t too far away from society. The entrance to the Melusine village is somewhat close by. If that displeases you, somewhere down near the south would be smarter. However, do keep in mind that it might be more difficult to access any other human resources from that point. The edges are all sandy beaches. If you like or dislike sand, the best place is for you to decide.

Buying a house in this remote place is practically impossible. I recommend finding someone to model and build a small house for you. Your cats would also gain lots of enrichment form simply exploring their new large backyard, from the rocky hills and ponds of water.

Their report went on and on, having to flip their paper over to list even more pros and cons. Joachim wandered around and around the island, as if lost in the mystifying aura of the place. They went on for as long a possible, which apparently was a days long expedition without rest.

“Here’s my report. I recommend choosing a place somewhere Beryl Region. I’ve listed out all the pros and cons I could. On the back simply details it in a more summary type way.”

They had the report over as one of the commissioners cats rub against their legs. It gently bonks their head on their shins, purring.

As they lean in to pet the cat. The commissioner finally starts speaking, “Wow. This is… Amazing! I’ll definitely read over this. Thank you so much!”

Joachim stops petting the cat as it flops onto their shoes. They let it rest there for the time being.

“Don’t mention it. If you have any more questions, you can ask for Joachim at the front office of Hotel Debord.”

“Thanks so much again! Hear that, kids? We’re going to go see Elynas!”

Joachim waves goodbye at the commissioner and her cats, meowing by the windows. This seems like the perfect topic for their next letter to Nahida.