#or just know more about gem history in general

[dizzyditzyboy]

Hello hi people, I just need to get something off my chest and rant for a second

I hate hate HATE the "Pearl used to be White Diamonds pearl/is part of White Diamonds court" theory with a fiery passion!!!!

The only evidence towards this theory is that Pearl is the color white and has her gem at her forehead like White has and it drives me absolutely insane

I'll explain why under the cut cause I talk a lot

#1: Color Palletes and Gem Placement

So the main reason for the theory is cause Pearl's gem is on her forehead like White's gem is, and she's the same color as White

And in the show, all the Diamonds pearls also have the same gem placement and the same skin color

But the thing is though, it's not just the gem placement and skin tone that shows they were made to serve that specific diamond

All the pearls made for a specific diamond, also have every part of their form the same or similar color scheme to the diamond they were made for

They have lighter and less bold colors than the diamonds, and theur accessories matches with one of the parts of the diamond' s forms (Yellow Pearl being Yellow Diamond's shoulder pads, and Blue/Pink Pearl being their diamonds skirts)

And it's shown on homeword that if a gem was made for a specific diamond, their entire color pallete is just different shades of the colors their diamond has

For example Topaz and Aquamarine

Since they're both high ranking gems made for Yellow and Blue diamond specifically, they share most of the same colors as their assigned diamond, despite their gems not being in the same placement as them

It's the same for Holy Blue Agate, since she's also a high ranking gem made just to serve under Blue Diamond, her entire body is made up of different shades of blue (mostly), and Sapphires cause they're all rare aristocratic gems

But that's not the case for Pearl, the only part of her body that's similar to the color of white is her skin and even that's not actually the same color as white

Pearl is like slightly off white

White Damond is BLINDING

White Diamond so bright she was hard for Steven to look directly

And it's shown any gem who's under White's control, also becoles the same shade of white she is and shares her exact color pallete cause they are becoming her

If Pearl was made to be part of "White Diamonds Court", which I'll get to why that doesn't make sense in a second, she would have the exact same white, grey, and black colors in her form.

But she doesn't she has the color pallete of every single Diamond, and there's a reason for that too

But if Pearl was actually supposed to belong to White, her color scheme would be totally different (and probably be less friendly looking), and part of her form would resemble part of White's form (most likely her cape), or at the very least their gems would be same same color

I personally think that there are 2 reasons why some gems can have their respectice diamonds colors and some can't, is because high ranking gems having them is like a physical representation of how powerful and important they are during era 1 and 2 of Homeworld, that's why their colors are the exact same shade as their diamond. And for pearls it's because they're seen as "accessories" and not ad living beings, so when one is made for a specific diamond, they're made to have the same colors as them but a bit lighter and less bold because they rank lower than them and are just meant to stand next to them and look pretty. That's just my personal theory though.

Now color-wise that's one of the reason the theory Pearl belonged to White makes no sense, but there are other parts to it that make it makes even less sense

#2: White Diamonds Place On Homeworld

White Diamond has shown time and time again pre-redemptiom, that she is so much more different than any other gem that's been made inculding the other diamonds

It's because she is, or supposed to be, the perfect gem. That's what she was made to be, that is her purpose. It's because of this that she doesn't technically have a colony or a specific type of gem made for her, she's literally the creator of all the gems and IS every gem.

She doesn't have a specific colony because the entirety of homeworld is her court, every gem that's ever been made was made to serve under her. That's why all the other gems are many different colors, cause she's every color of the light. So saying Pearl belongs to White's court the same way that Yellow Pearl or Topaz is part of Yellow's court isn't entirely true.

She's the only gem of their kind who was made to look like that cause she's essentially just a gem god in their eyes pre-Steven Universe, so her having her own color-coded cour like the other diamonds wouldn't make that much sense cause she is the gem, and the only thing that can resemble her likeness is her. That's why any gem that does resemble her likeness just end up being a smaller version of her that she talks through and can command at her will.

Another small theory is that a reason why there's never been a gem that looks super similar to how White Diamond looks is because she is literally their god and having another gem that isn't her even slightly resemble her would be disrespectful cause it's like trying to make a smaller less powerful version of a god (maybe anyways)

I know this specific part of White Diamonds character might now be the most well known, but neither is the next part i'm about to explain

#3: Gems Are Mass Produced

Peridot said this when she was first starting to get reformed that there were hundreds of other pearls being flaunted around on homeworld

And in the show we see dozens of the same exact gem in shown in a group like Amethysts, Rubies, and Rose Quartz's

But they're army gems who are made to fight or gaurd stuff for Homeworld, so of course we get see tons of them together throughout the show

But the biggest thing that shows that gems are basically just mass produced tools made to serve the empire is during the ballroom scene in the "Together Alone" episode

Most of the gems in that ballroom looks almost identical to each other except for the shade of their skin, their hair, and their gem placement

It's a very great way (to me) to show that individuality does not matter on homeworld

Not every gem was made to be special, even the high ranking gems are reduced to cogs in the big machine in the eyes of the Diamonds, all of them are made to serve a specific purpose and follow the rules set in place for them

The only gems that actually matter and are supposed to be unique and one of a kind are the diamonds themselves

But despite that we never see that many pearls in Steven Universe, even after Era 3 started and all the gems were free, there weren't a lot of pearls on screen from what I remember

The only one's we really see are the Yellow, Blue, Pink, and Crystal Gem Pearl

Now pearls are the lowest ranking gems in the entire hierarchy of gem culture, all they're made to do is sing, dance, and look pretty standing next to the gem that they're assigned to

I think the reason we don't see many gems other than the diamonds own a pearl is because they're also a status symbol, a nice trophy you carry around as another way to flaunt how important you are to other gems

That would explain why the diamonds not only get their own pearl automatically, but also get one that matches them, cause they're the most importsnt gems of all

But the thing with Pearl is like I said earlier, she's multi-colored

She has white skin, and her clothes are mostly blue and yellow, and her socks are pink

Since Pearl doesn't have the exact color pattern as one specific, she doesn't belong to a specific diamond or court

She's a back-up", a replacement, a spare they can give to any gem who's lucky enough to be able to have one, or if one of the diamonds specially made pearls get taken away (Which is why she got given to Pink Diamond)

Since pearls are the lowest ranking gem, they probably are one of the most made gems cause they don't need that many resources and material to be made cause they aren't designed to do much

Or maybe cause they're so easy to make they make a few of them to last and store somewhere so they can assign them to whatever gem earns the status to have one

And in the movie, it's shown that the colors pearl has in her form is part of the "default setting" that proves more she can literally belong to any court

It's the same with Rubies, Amethysts, Jaspers, and Peridots

They don't match the colors of any of the diamonds either, they could be assigned to or made for any of the diamonds or any other gem that commands them, like pearls can

I think the lesser ranking of a gem you are, the more of you that's able to be made due to using less resources, and lacking a need to be assigned to a specific diamond cause all of them need you for the same purpose so it doesn't matter anyways who you belong to

Anyways that's my third and last reason why it doesn't make sense that Pearl originally belonged to or was part of White Diamonds court

I hope this made sense, I had a lot of thoughts to try and type out

I've mainly see this theory on tik tok and it makes my blood boil so much oh my god

[metalandmagi]

In honor of Women's History month, I just want to remind people that some of the most influential and popular manga in the anime community are written/illustrated by women. And I'm not just talking about groundbreaking shojo like Sailor Moon, Fruits Basket, Card Captor Sakura, or Black Butler (or things like Chihayafuru, Migi to Dali, Sakamoto Desu ga?, Nana, Natsume Yuujincho, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Violet Evergarden, A Silent Voice, and a million more). To be clear, those series are also amazing, and I'm not demeaning them in any way. They deserve just as much respect as everything else.

But right now I'm talking about shōnen series or series that are usually marketed towards men specifically or have appeared in shōnen magazines. I mean things like:

Beastars, made by Paru Itagaki

Gangsta, by Kohske

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic by Shinobu Ohtaka (which I promise isn't what my screen name is a reference to, even though I love this show).

D.Gray Man by Katsura Hoshino

Dorohedoro by Q Hayashida

To Your Eternity by Yoshitoki Ōima

Mushishi, made by Yuki Urushibara (aka Soyogo Shima).

Noragami which is written by two women, collectively named Adachitoka, similarly to romance author duo Christina Lauren.

Blue Exorcist by Kazue Kato

Inuyasha (and Ranma 1/2 and Urasai Yatsura) by Rumiko Takahashi, which I know for a fact served as a gateway anime for a shit ton of people across generations (but especially for people my age).

I have to shout out Posuka Demizu, who illustrated The Promised Neverland, which is my favorite manga series. She may have given the characters weird looking facial proportions, but damn if she ain't one of the most detail oriented (and sneakiest) artists out there.

And finally, a little story you may know called Fullmetal Alchemist, written by Hiromu Arakawa (who also wrote Silver Spoon, The Heroic Legend of Arslan and lots of other stuff but I wanted to highlight those two specifically).

There's also been speculation that a small hidden gem called...what was it again?...Oh yeah, DEMON SLAYER is written by a woman. But Koyoharu Gotouge's gender hasn't been confirmed so it's still just a theory.

idk, I just love women.

[mesetacadre]

hi, i hope you dont mind me asking this question! i often come across lists of reading recommendations for communists, and they are usually focused entirely on communist theory. which is important and im already on that, but i wonder if you also have recs for learning about history? especially the history of the soviet union, but also other past and present socialist states. i sometimes find myself reading theory and understanding the concepts in a vacuum, but with very little understanding of the historical context they were written in, if that makes any sense. and id like to get a basic grasp of the history of various socialist projects that isnt just the typical western "the ussr was evil!!!!" thing

Hi, historical context is indeed very important for works of theory, especially if it's more than a hundred years old. Lenin's What is to be Done, for example, is very conditioned by its historical context of Russia still being predominantly feudal, with only a timid appearance of the proletariat in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and therefore the very first trade unions, which he talks about. The understanding of these texts is amplified, and quite often enabled by knowing at least the basic historical context. Below I'll list the historical works I've read (and others) with some commentary, but I encourage anyone who has something to add to do so, since I am as of only recently getting more into historiography.

Anything by Anna Louise Strong (I've read The Soviets Expected it (1941) and In North Korea (1941), there's also The New Lithuania (1941), The Stalin Era (1956) and When Serfs Stood Up in Tibet (1959) for example). Her works, which I'd consider primary sources since they are written from her own experience witnessing events and talking to a lot of people, are extremely useful if you wish to form an idea about how some aspects of socialist states worked. The limitation of her works also resides in this specificity and closeness, these are not works that present a broad view of long processes, but a slice of the present with the sufficient historical context. They are still very, very good.

The Open Veins of Latin America (Spanish versrion), by Eduardo Galeno (1971). This one is focused on the history of imperialism in Latin America, how it evolved from the moment the first Spanish foot touched ground to the time it was written in (It talks about Allende before he was assassinated but after achieving power, for example). Perhaps it's not exactly what you're looking for, but it contains very important general context for any social movement that has happened since 1492 to 1971

The Triumph of Evil, by Austin Murphy (2002). I have mixed feelings about this book. While it insists on this weird narrative of absolute evil, which IMO takes away a lot of value from the overall points made, it is an astonishingly in-depth analysis of the economic performance and general merit of socialist systems against their capitalist counterparts. Most of the book is dedicated to comparing the GDR to the FRG, and both the economic and social data it exposes was very eye-opening to me when I read it about 2 years ago. If you can wade through the moralism (especially the beginning of the introduction), it's a gem. I've posted pictures of its very detailed index under the cut :)

Blackshirts and Reds, Michael Parenti (1997). Despite the very real criticisms levied against this book, like its mischaracterization of China, it is still a landmark work. Synthetically, it exposes the relationship between fascism, capitalism and communism.

Red Star Over the Third World, Vijay Prashad (2019); The Russian Revolution: A View from the Third World, Walter Rodney (2018). I'm lumping these two together (full disclosure, as of writing I'm about four fifths of the way through RSOtTW) because they deal with the same topic, Prashad being influenced by Rodney as well. Like both titles imply, they deal with the effects the October revolution had on the exploited peoples of the world, which is a perspective that's often lost. Through this, they (at least Prashad) also talk about the early USSR and how it functioned. For example, up until reading Red Star, I hadn't even heard of the 1920 Congress of The Toilers of the East in Baku, or the Congress of the Women of the East.

From here on I'll link works that I haven't (yet) read, but I have seen enough trusted people talk about them to include them

How to Cast a God into Hell: The Khrushchev Report, by Domenico Losurdo (2008). This one talks about how the period of Stalin was twisted and exaggerated through destalinization.

Devils in Amber, by Philips Bonoski (1992). This is about the Baltics and their historical trajectory from before WW1 to the destruction of the USSR (I'm not very sure on those two limits, perhaps they fluctuate a bit, but it definitely covers from WW1 to the 60s)

Socialism Betrayed, by Roger Keeran and Thomas Kenny (2004). This one deals with the process leading up to and the destruction of the USSR itself.

The Jakarta Method, Vincent Bevins (2020). This is about the methods the US used in the second half of the 20th century to stamp out, prevent, or otherwise sabotage communist movements and other democratic anti-imperialist movements.

I know some of these aren't specifically about socialist states, which is what you asked, but the history of its opposition is just as important to understand because it always exists as a condition to these countries' development and policies chosen.

[cecilioque]

Adaman the Symbol of Time

 p(An Analysis on the character design of Adaman from Pokemon Legends of Arceus and it’s relation to time and art history.)

A lot of the characters form PLA are similar in terms of design. The characters that do not follow the standard hoodies, tunics, guild jumpsuits ,and kimonos have a lot of interesting art history associated with them.  I love Adaman’s design in particular since he is literally a symbol of time. 

Well...isn’t this obvious since he is the Diamond Clan leader and associated with Dialga? Yes, but there is a lot more subtle aspects to his design that link him with a specific form or Japanese Art.  But let’s first look at the obvious references to Dialga .

In Adaman’s design they use a lot of blues and and silver that you can see shared with Dialga.  They also use the Diamond clan symbol that is shaped to look like Dialga’s chest gem repeatedly in the coat and accessories.  Adaman’s coat/jacket is most likely a nod to the Japanese Haori.  It is even tied with a fancy beaded Himo chord to keep it closed. If you look at the shoes you can see in the concept art that even the bottom of them are supposed to look like Dialga’s feet in their regular form and on the top of the shoe like the legendary Pokemon’s face.  All this information is very interesting and nice seeing how the character and the Pokemon are related even thematically.  

However, it’s crossed your mind (even briefly) that Adaman’s design is not directly one to one with Dialga. He isn’t a Dialga gijinka. There are elements and colors that Adaman uses that the legendary Pokemon does not.  We can brush it off as Adaman having a flair and his importance as a Diamond Clan leader to set him apart. But this is where it gets interesting. His outfit is generally just fashionable and we can choose to look at it like that on a surface level.  But if you look deeper you see a more symbolic meaning.

Adaman is Kintsugi . What is that? Kintsugi is a Japanese art technique that repairs pottery using lacquer and gold dust.  Adaman also has similar gold veins running through his clothing.  For someone who is so “put together” looking, why would you intentionally create jagged and uneven elements other than for aesthetic? This is because for my understanding, this is yet another way the character designer chose to express Adaman’s connection to time.

Kintsugi is a beautiful form of art and philosophy.  The idea is not to hide the cracks and flaws, but to turn it into something more beautiful and strong.  It represents the passage of time and a documentation of the harsh conditions in which we pass through. But ultimately it is a celebration of survival and growth.  It is also a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections.

One translation defines the word  kintsugi as golden “golden seams”. So, Adaman is kind of a symbol of kintsugi pottery and philosophy.  The part about this design that confused me the most was his hair since it’s also not standard colored and is quite unique. But I realized that if we are equating him to pottery, the hair might be colored that way to imitate pottery glazes (the stuff they put on ceramics to give it color.)

On another interesting note, Adaman has lots of signs of past injury. We see this with the bandages on his arms and hands, the cut brow which is a remnant of injury and survival, and then the very intentional jagged gold claw marks on his back.  The back gold lines are sharp looking and contrast with the rest of the designs which is fluid and rounded.  It’s bringing attention to the marks.

Image sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

We can interpret a lot from this design. It also raises many questions. The jagged golden marks and Adaman’s bandaged arms implies that he has been “damaged” or “broken” in some sense. This could be taken literally or symbolically. We don’t know what happened to him.  Maybe he was attacked by an alpha Pokemon and survived a severe injury that he now incorporates into this aesthetic as a way to show that he was able to come back from that.  Or maybe it’s referring to his leadership as a young Diamond Clan leader and the mistakes he made and had to learn from. 

So in conclusion. From what I can understand , if we were to wrap up all the motifs, Adaman’s design ultimately seems to just represent a passage of time. Breakage and repair are just proof of time passing and represent history and life. And I think that is really cool.  

These are all my speculations and none of it is canon you can disagree if you want. These are just things I have observed and made note of that I believe makes the character far more interesting and fleshed out.  There is a lot of deep and meaningful things you can pull from this if you want to expound further through fanart and fanfic.  

EDITS/NOTES:

So a lot of people asked if the arm and hand wraps are for fighting. They aren’t. In every form of fighting and martial arts that involves wrapping(taping) your knuckles, you wrap between each finger and around your knuckles several times to cushion them.  You do their for wrist stability, prevent injury, and joint restriction.  Failing to wrap your hands correctly will result in fractures, broken fingers and knuckles, and metal carpet boss.  Not only are Adaman’s knuckles exposed when he clenches his fists, there is no wrapping supporting his wrists on the left hand.  If he is wrapping them to fight, he is doing a very bad job at it.

I did research on this before writing the initial post and came to this conclusion, but I guess I’ll add it now for those that had questions.

Another interesting note is that the Diamond Clan symbol also looks like a stylized version of the characters for gold.  This same character also does appear in the work kintsugi.

Adaman’s name is interesting too since it’s not really a common name.  In fact, it seems to be a play on word “adamant” which usually refers to someone who is not willing to change their mind or opinion.  HOWEVER , Adamant is an archaic diamond found in Greek/Roman mythology.  It is a bit of a legendary diamond of sorts. The name is derived from the Greek word for diamond. “adámas”.

If you remember, in the Diamond and Pearl games you can use the “Adamant Orb” to increase the dragon/steel type moves of Dialga by 20% if they hold it. In Pokemon Legends Arceus you can get the “Adament Crystal from Adaman.  This can be used to switch Dialga between Origin and normal form.  

Also random interesting thought. The diamond clan settlement is located in the crimson mirelands. Out of the different areas, this one has the most ideal conditions to create pottery clay next to bodies of water (Lake valor) , the scarlet bog, and the mountainous areas surrounding the settlement. Very similar to the Mashiko and Hagi pottery villages in japan.

[mysteryshoptls]

R Leona Kingscholar - Outdoor Wear Vignette

"Beside myself with worry"

To the requestor: Outdoor Wear voice lines can be found here.

[Dwarfs' Mine – Campsite]

―First Day of Vargas Camp

Epel: Woah, here come the fairies again for our campfire! Everyone, be on your guard so it doesn't blow out…!

Spelldrive Club Members: YEAH!

Leona: ….Tch. Yer all so noisy.

Epel: Oh…? Leona-san, you're out of your tent already?

Epel: It was only 20 minutes ago that you said you were gonna take a nap…

Leona: This time of day's got sun so bright it's even lighting up the inside of my tent.

Leona: And right whenever I feel like I could get to sleep, there's you lot all yappin' about them fairies every time they show up...

Leona: There's no way I can grab a few z's like this.

Epel: I'm sorry… Oh, what about heading to the mine, then?

Epel: Just a bit ago, Ruggie-san said something to that regard as he was leaving the campsite.

Epel: He said, if you were to wake up saying it was impossible to sleep here…

Epel: That a "secluded, quiet, and dark mine would be the best place for a nap."

Leona: Ugh… I'm betting Ruggie's planning on roping me into something annoying.

Epel: Huh…? Something annoying?

Leona: Whatever, I guess I'll bite.

Leona: I'm heading to the mine. Don't let those fairies run you ragged.

Epel: Yessir, we'll definitely protect our campfire!

[Dwarfs' Mine – Interior]

[clank, clank, clank!]

Jack: Whew… I can't find a single magestone… What about you, Deuce?

Deuce: I've tried picking all over the place, but… No luck here.

Deuce: Looks like the Spelldrive Club down the way is having trouble too… Guess collecting magestones is actually pretty difficult.

Leona: Can't believe you're all getting tripped up by something this easy. You're all so pathetic, huh.

Spelldrive Club Member A: Oh, Leona-senpai! Did you come to check up on your club members?

Leona: Oh, yeah, sure. I was just so beside myself with worry, 'cause it was taking you all too long to get back.

Leona: …Hey! Listen up, each and every single one of you here! I'll teach you all the trick to finding magestones.

Jack: Eh, you are…?

Deuce: Every one of us…? Does that include all us other clubs too?

Leona: It's just a waste of time if you're just randomly swinging your pickaxes at the rock wall.

Leona: Don't you guys even know how magestones are made?

Leona: Basically, gemstones absorb power from its surroundings and become magestones.

Leona: When you're mining for 'em, you want to locate the faint traces of magical output from those magestones, and start digging in that general area…

Jack: Oh, right. Now that you mention it, we learned that in class. Guess I didn't look over it enough to remember to do that.

Deuce: I see!! Then, I'll get down to it…!

Leona: …Buuut, that's just what they say in the textbooks. That's just what inflexible blockheads would do.

Leona: If you just use your brain, you can get it done faster and easier.

Deuce: Huh? Faster and easier…?

Leona: Just think about what kind of "power" turned those gems into magestones.

Leona: For the Dwarf Mine here, that's "volcanic activity." You shoulda learned that in history of magic.

Leona: So, you just gotta look for tuff in the walls that show evidence of volcanic activity.

Deuce: Tuff?

Leona: It's a type of rock that's built up from an accumulation of volcanic ash. It'll look whitish here.

Deuce: Uhh… So basically… If we can find some white bits in the wall and dig, we should find some magestones!?

Leona: Sure, that's probably the simplest way to put it. It's probably more of a reliable method to find the locations to dig, than to ask some untrained novice to try and trace magical energy.

Leona: I'll even show you how as an example. Hey, you, Spelldrive guy. Come dig where I tell you.

Spelldrive Club Member A: Yes, sir!

[clank, clank, clank…]

[…thunk!]

Leona: …See, there it is. A piece of a magestone.

Deuce: He found one in 5 minutes, even though we had been digging for 2, 3 hours and didn't find anything…!

Deuce: Hey, Jack! Your Housewarden's amazing.

Deuce: Plus, he helped all of us, not just the Spelldrive Club guys. He's a real nice guy.

Jack: Y-Yeah.

Deuce: Hm? Something wrong? You're looking grim.

Jack: No, I mean, I know that Leona-senpai is a amazing, but…

Jack: I always thought he wasn't the type to just proactively help others out, so I was just a little surprised.

Jack: But yeah, you're right. He really is someone worth looking up to!

Deuce: Yeah! Alllright, I'm gonna try looking for a magestone using the method he taught us!

Deuce: Kingscholar-senpai, I successfully found a magestone.

Deuce: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SIR!

Leona: Well, ain't that good for you.

Deuce: Yes, sir! We're going to head out to receive our badge from Vargas-sensei now. Excuse us.

[Deuce and Jack leave]

Spelldrive Club Member A: Leona-senpai～ Why'd you help out those guys when they're not even a part of our club?

Leona: Don't be stupid. It's not like we're competing against each other or anything. Ain't worth gettin' all heated for nothing.

Leona: No one wants to see their club get abolished. Doesn't that mean we're all on the same team?

Spelldrive Club Member A: You're thinking on a completely different level, Leona-senpai! I should've been as compassionate as you!!

Leona: Hmph… If you've gotten your hand on a magestone, go and collect our badge already.

Spelldrive Club Member A: Yes, sir!

[Spelldrive Club Member leaves]

Leona: …Finally, they're all gone. Ugh, what a pain having to help out all those dunderheads.

Leona: Yaaaawn......… Now I can get some quiet shut eye, at last.

Leona: …Zzz…Zzz…

Requested by Anonymous.

[ndotmov]

My Rose Quartz / Pink Diamond defense Initially a sociology report

@pearlhoardingdragon - since you wanted to know what I wrote for my Uni sociology class based on my previous post, here ya go:

"From Abused to “Abuser”: An Analysis of Pink Diamond from a Sociological Perspective

DISCLAIMER: While the fact that the Diamonds received a redemption arc, despite being intergalactic dictators, is a major gripe with fans (including myself) of Steven Universe, storyboard artist Hilary Florido stated in a podcast that the depiction of the Diamond Authority was suppose to be more akin to a "conservative rule-following family…” (Steven Universe Podcast, Volume 3, Episode 2 [EXTRACT▶], source). For the sake of the paper, I will be discussing the Diamond family dynamic from a “conservative rule-following family” standpoint and not from a corrupt Institutional perspective.

No matter what social, economic, or political background a person comes from, if they experience Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), they will develop some form(s) of trauma. Sometimes, victims of abuse, no matter the intent, harm others because of unhealed trauma, low-self esteem, and unhealthy survival habits. The case can be made for Pink Diamond (Rose Quartz), the deuteragonist of Steven Universe by Rebecca Sugar (she/they). Steven Universe is the story of the titular character, Steven Universe’s adventures on Earth as he fights monsters alongside the Crystal Gems. Gems are a sexless but female-presenting, alien race known for colonizing planets in their solar system and are ruled under “The Great Diamond Authority”, which consists of White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, and formerly Pink Diamond. Steven is the son of Pink Diamond (known as Rose Quartz) and throughout the show, we see Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz’s character develop backwards; the more Steven learns about the true identity of his mother, the more he is determined to no longer be like her, but to be better than her, to which Pink Diamond herself wanted for Steven to be. Because of this backwards development, many viewers misunderstand the complexities of Pink Diamond’s character and how she is neither evil nor good. However, despite her desire for breaking the generational cycle of abuse, Pink unintentionally is a part of the unhealthy Relationship Spectrum and inflicts trauma onto others due to her unhealed ACEs. While she may appear as an “abuser” to some, Pink Diamond is an example of a character defined by self-surveillance to the point of traumatizing others because she had a poor relationship with herself.

While the Diamonds had cared for and loved Pink, they were more concerned about maintaining their society’s status quo than understanding Pink, which led to Pink’s ACEs. Pink Diamond is undeniably a victim of Family Violence and power over relationships. The first instance of abuse we see Pink endure is in Jungle Moon when Pink Diamond is with Yellow Diamond and demands for a colony of her own, much like a child demanding for a new toy. She tells Yellow Diamond, a mother figure, that she deserves to have a colony like the rest of the Diamonds because she is just as important as them, but to her dismay, Yellow grabs her arm and tells her to act as expected of her. Yellow’s condescension is felt again in Familiar when Steven tries challenging Yellow into self-reflection, to which the former waves off Steven’s concerns and claims how “[Pink] always…[had]...a knack for making [others] laugh” and how Pink is “almost worth the trouble”, displaying a history of disregard and belittling towards Pink. Fans of the show often like to suggest that Blue Diamond is the “nicest” of the Authority, and perhaps a saving grace in Pink’s abuse, because of her explicit mourning for Pink when she thought Pink had been shattered, but fans fail to recognize that Blue Diamond was just as abusive as her counterparts because she actively upheld their family’s conservatism. As seen in Together Alone and Change Your Mind, whenever Pink acted in a way that was considered “unruly” by her parents, or the Diamond Authority’s standards, she would be thrown into an almost-windowless tower for long periods of time to “reflect” on her behavior. Due to the need that gems have for light, doing this would be akin to depriving a child of food as a punishment. As well, isolating a child only instills distrust in others, and the ability to be vulnerable with others is slowly diminished as the child matures. Pink Diamond had no support system and through deep-rooted memory, we see that it was Blue Diamond who would enter the tower and gaslight Pink Diamond for her “immature” behavior. Another instance we see her criticize Pink is in Can’t Go Back, in which Steven witnesses Blue Diamond scorn Pink Diamond for coming up with “excuses” for why she did not want to complete the colonization of Earth after begging for one for so long. While it seems Yellow and Blue Diamond are emotionally dismissive towards Pink, their acts of emotional negligence are overshadowed by White Diamond’s attitude towards Pink. In regards to White Diamond, we get subtle hints as to how White Diamond treated Pink in Legs from Here to Homeworld and Change Your Mind, when White Diamond senses Steven is back on Homeworld (their gem society), she brings him to her. Steven attempts to converse with White, but is constantly interrupted and condescendingly questioned if he “got everything out of [his] system”. Furthermore, White’s disdain for Pink is revealed in Change Your Mind when she admits that Pink is the part of her “she always wants to repress”. In this scenario, White Diamond’s language is reminiscent of a mother who sees too many of the features she dislikes about herself in Pink, and as a result, this bitterness leads to generational trauma and a lack of support for Pink Diamond’s upbringing. By the examples we’ve seen, whenever Pink Diamond tried advocating for herself, she was immediately shut down. 

This self-advocacy worsens when Pink Diamond assumes the form of Rose Quartz to momentarily experience life on Earth and soon recognizes that her initial colonization of the planet is taking life away, instead of creating something from nothing. As Pink Diamond, she tries turning towards Yellow and Blue Diamond for support, but the two turn their backs on Pink Diamond, causing her to resort to extreme measures for the sake of attention–starting a civil war. Pink Diamond’s sense of entitlement comes from a place of insecurity and neglect because in Familiar, prior to receiving a colony, Pink’s only role was to entertain (hence her jester-like outfit) and throw extravagant parties for the other diamond’s accomplishments. This example of self-surveillance established a deep level of resentment and insecurity towards her place in society because she had no accomplishments of her own, nor respect from her family, therefore is the reason why Pink Diamond begged for a colony of her own–she thought owning a colony would garner the respect and attention she’s been denied her whole life, and as such, did not consider the consequences of her actions. As Rose Quartz, however, Pink began to view life from a different perspective as she experienced new situations–like Garnet’s fusion in The Answer. 

In The Answer, we see Pink Diamond as Rose Quartz realize that the people around her experience sonder (e.g., Garnet who is composed of Ruby and Sapphire’s desire to live their lives together), causing her to shift her mission in protecting life on Earth to advocating for gems’ freedom to self-express, which is her genuine attempt at trying to break generational trauma by establishing something new. However, her method was extremely selfish because even though she lacked the proper support from the Diamonds, Pink Diamond still incited a civil war in order to protect her creation, causing numerous casualties, including those that she loved. This callous, unhealed nature displays an unspoken justification that some abuse victims that experience emotional dysregulation have: “I am hurt so everything else does not matter”. But below the surface of Pink’s selfishness lies self-hatred, to which is the true reason as to why she started a civil war; often ACEs create internalized narratives of being the abuser, causing self-blame to turn into self-hatred. Rose Quartz hated herself so much that she literally and metaphorically waged war on herself in order to be detached from her childhood trauma and subsequently, old identity. This harm towards herself extends towards others as she becomes a self-fulling prophecy of abuse, starting with her Pearls.

Before it was revealed that the Crystal Gem, Pearl was Pink Diamond’s Pearl, Pink Diamond had Pink Pearl. As briefly shown in Together Alone, Pink Pearl was Pink’s first servant. Pink Diamond did not view her Pearls as such and would often seek personal advice from them, which went against her status as a Diamond. However, while Pink Diamond was kind to her first Pearl, she would often have unchecked temper tantrums, to the point of one day physically lashing out at Pink Pearl because she was denied a colony (Volleyball, Steven Universe). The event was so traumatic to both Pink Diamond and Pink Pearl that we see a shift in attitude and appearance (respectively), with subtle hints as to how the Diamonds would weaponize Pink Diamond’s behavior against her—Blue Diamond threatening to “take away her new Pearl” in Change Your Mind, a classic example of authoritative abuse. Pink Diamond is afraid of treating her new Pearl like an individual for a while as she is fearful of repeating her past mistakes, but is given the opportunity to when she assumes the identity of Rose Quartz, an identity that was presented to her by Pearl (Now We’re Only Falling Apart). The two were intoxicated by this new form as it allowed Pink Diamond to escape her responsibilities. Her escapist behavior is most prominently seen in her relationship with Greg in We Need to Talk .

The episode We Need to Talk highlights Rose Quartz’s inability to view others as equals because of her identity issues. Rose first meets Greg in Story for Steven, and the two are enamored with each other and develop a superficial relationship. As stated by Pearl in We Need to Talk, Greg is one of many humans Rose has “played” with and like a phase, she’ll be over him eventually because he is ultimately not a gem and cannot “fuse” with her. While harsh, Pearl’s words are later confirmed to be true as Greg tries to deeply connect with Rose, but his attempt is laughed off with a “You’re a human…that’s not a problem, I love humans, you’re all so funny…”. From this line, we see that Greg is just another part of Rose’s escapist fantasy–at this point, she is free from the Diamonds and living out her life with her newly found family in Beach City. Rose truly loves Greg, but does not understand relationships with others beyond a surface level; when Greg challenges Rose to talk to him like a “real person”, Rose is stunned and admits she’s “not a real person”. For so long, Rose has relied on others for advice (the Diamonds; Pearl, and Garnet with her future vision and wisdom as mentioned in the episode and in Now We’re only Falling Apart) that she lacked confidence within herself, hence why she was taken aback by Greg’s confrontation. For the first time, someone made Rose look introspectively, which is healthy boundary setting, but unfortunately, when Rose begins to question herself and recognize her past wrongdoings, Greg admits in Steven’s Dream that he told her that what matters is who she is now, which is not unsound advice, but did not allow for Rose to continue taking personal accountability for the pain she’s inflicted.

 Given the fact that Rose Quartz is an escapist identity Pink Diamond assumed, a small portion of her still cared for the Diamonds, which ultimately caused the fallout between her and a trusted friend–Bismuth. Before Amethyst joined the Crystal Gems, Bismuth was a prominent member of Rose’s entourage. Bismuth, like many gems, was fed into this master narrative of the Diamond Authority without questioning Rose Quartz herself. Eager to end the war and tear down their oppressive establishment, Bismuth presented Rose the “Breaking Point”, which was a weapon meant to shatter the Diamonds; it was viewed as a “radical solution” and because Rose still felt an instinctual and complicated attachment to the Diamonds, as seen in victims of childhood trauma, she fought Bismuth and “bubbled” her, vowing to never speak of her again (until Bismuth was unbubbled by Steven in Bismuth). Silencing Bismuth was one of Rose’s/Pink’s worst moments and does qualify her under the abusive category because she deceived Bismuth, and the rest of the Crystal Gems, on who she really was. The argument for her abusive behavior is added onto when looking at the case of Spinel.

First debuting in the Steven Universe Movie, Spinel was made to be Pink Diamond’s coping mechanism, but as we know in Week 12: Interpersonal Violence, not all coping mechanisms are effective. Shortly after harming Pink Pearl and before receiving a colony, Pink Diamond fell into a depressive episode. Instead of assisting Pink in managing her emotions, the Diamonds gave her a Spinel, or an entertainer, as a gift. For a while, Pink enjoyed Spinel’s company, but had little regard for her, as eventually Pink received her own colony and new Pearl, causing her to only consider her own emotions and momentarily conform as a ruler as a means of survival and satisfying the desires of her parents (again, whenever she attempted to self-express, she was thrown into an almost-windowless tower or berated). Pink Diamond did not want to outright hurt Spinel, so she tricked the unknowing gem into “playing a game” for 6,000 years, or the entirety of Steven Universe post-Pink Diamond’s “shattering”. This abandonment was prior to Pink Diamond witnessing Garnet’s fusion in The Answer, so she truly believed gems other than Diamonds had no intellect or free will, aside from their basic programming. Despite Pink’s desire to spare Spinel from harm, and belief that Spinel could not be harmed, Spinel developed severe abandonment and attachment issues, vowing to harm the Earth and kill Steven. Eventually, Steven learns to understand Spinel’s backstory and talk out the situation (his main go-to method of healing and resolving conflict), which in itself magnifies the major issue fans have with Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz: they believe Rose Quartz created Steven as her scapegoat, which couldn’t be further from the truth..

Yes, throughout the events of Steven Universe, Steven unjustly had to deal with the repercussions of Pink Diamond’s actions, almost to the point of death on several occasions, but to say that fixing her mistakes was Steven’s purpose misconstrues who Rose Quartz became and why she had Steven in the first place. From what we know in Greg the Babysitter, Rose Quartz loved humans and envied their ability to change and grow up; she believed that was the greatest power of all. In both a selfish and selfless act, Rose gave up her physical form so that she could make something new and good out of her life on Earth. Given her lack of confidence in herself and self-hatred, Rose truly believed Steven could love her family in a way in which she never knew how because he was a “fresh start”. Rose would not have had steven if she knew the threat of Homeworld and the Diamonds was still imminent, hence her decision to settle down with Greg and record Steven a loving goodbye message in Lion 3: Straight to Video. We can also cite Rose’s consciousness as evidence that she did not have Steven so she could avoid her problems; in Storm in the Room, Steven challenges the contentious belief of Rose having him so he can deal with her problems. Because Rose gave up her physical form, but not consciousness, she was able to manifest to Steven in their room and rejected his insecurities by affirming that she did love him as everything in her tape to Steven was true. While I personally don’t agree with Steven accepting the fact that he does have to deal with her issues, it goes along with the show’s underlying theme of attempting to break the generational trauma cycle. Regardless of whether or not Steven was born, we see in The Return, The Cluster, and Reunited, the Diamonds were planning on destroying Earth from the inside out with a planted time bomb deep within the Earth’s mantle, and if that failed to work, personally deal with the remaining gems themselves. In this case, because Steven was unlike his mother and focused on confronting his issues head on, valued self-love and established healthy boundaries, he was able to save Earth and dismantle the Diamond Authority and their imperialist empire, something Pink Diamond was unable to do in her lifetime. 

To conclude, Pink Diamond was a deeply flawed individual that was an unintentional, self-fulfilling prophecy; she harmed the ones she cared for, but had done so in a way that evades responsibility and accountability–assuming a new identity. Her careless and inconsiderate nature formed because of the ACEs she had endured from the Diamond Authority, resulting in a deep level of self-hatred that fueled a civil war between her people and family. Not to mention, her unfinished business unjustly transferred onto Steven, but to her credit, Rose truly did not anticipate her past coming back to Steven–she did not anticipate much of the future without seeking advice from others. While her troubled upbringing is an explanation as to why Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz lied to and inflicted pain on others, including herself, it is not an excuse. Even though Pink Diamond was struggling to voice herself to the Diamonds, she could have taken accountability by being open about her past with the Crystal Gems before having Steven. However, despite her unhealthy behavior, Pink Diamond was not an active abuser as we must consider the entire context. Pink Diamond most closely resembles an unhealed victim of ACEs that struggled with identity issues, self-worth, and unhealthy views of the world around her, but tried handling the situations in her life the ways she knew how. 

Sources: 

(the rest of the sources were for my assignment and relating to my school)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zqn56rVWAoy-UjwDDSWrk-ydTmvNFJri2mitK2kQg9U/edit - Hilary Florido quote source."

[animal-jam-shitposting]

COMPILATION OF EVERY ANIMAL JAM CLASSIC INTRO

(thank you to @toneinaflat for finding the first two videos!)

0. Beta Testing

i don't know what introduction (if any) was used during beta testing! (beta testing happened from ~march 2010 (closed beta) to september 8, 2010). i think it's probably the introduction shown in #1, but if you have any more info, please let me know!

1. Liza in Jamaa Township (original)

video posted october 1, 2011

started: either beta testing (march 2010-early september 2010) or the official release of the game on september 9, 2010

ended: some time between october 18, 2012 and december 14, 2012 (likely closer to december 14)

this is the original intro to animal jam! it shows liza around the mira statue in jamaa township, where she explains some background lore of jamaa (about mira especially), and some in game functions: moving, changing animal colors, getting achievements, and checking your gems. it's the earliest version of the lore, where "alphas" are called "shamans".

2. 3d Liza in Jamaa Township (update)

video posted december 14, 2012

started: some time between october 18, 2012 and december 14, 2012 (likely closer to december 14)

ended: february 6, 2014

this is an edited version of the original intro. it uses a new, jarringly 3d looking, model for liza, and has an updated introduction to the lore. liza's beginning explanation of mira is replaced with the "return of the alphas" cutscene also shown in the blue heron intro, and the "shamans" were renamed to "alphas". otherwise, this intro is identical to the previous

3. The Blue Heron

video posted february 6, 2014

started: february 6, 2014 (jamaa journal announcing it released on this date)

ended: january 23, 2015

this is the first major change in introduction! the player spawns in on a ship named the blue heron, that is modeled after mira. liza is piloting the ship, and gives you an introduction to jamaa. she introduces you to some in game functions: moving, changing color, checking your gems, and buying from shops. she also gives the option to "Learn about Jamaa's history", via watching the "return of the alphas" cutscene. at the end, the boat pulls in front of jamaa township.

fun fact: this was the only introduction that you could access without making a new account! when this introduction was released, they added an option in the settings to do this tutorial! (shown in the video, i actually couldn't find a video of this tutorial that started from the create an account screen). this option was removed an unknown amount of time later

4. Peck Intro

video posted january 23, 2015

started: january 23, 2015

ended: never 👍 (this is the current intro)

this intro changes the alpha greeting you from liza to peck. the player spawns into a long, forest-y room, and is greeted by peck. she takes you over a bridge to see a bunch of randomly generated animals that are spamming emotes and bubble chat phrases. she introduces you to some in game features: moving, changing color, using emotes, and checking your gems.

fun fact: from november 2016 to march 30, 2017, completing this tutorial would send you to the welcome party, an edited version of the jam session party that has other new jammers whose accounts were just created (if there were any online then....). this party had a singular clothing shop, the same "Clothing Shop" (literally its name) as the one on the blue heron. the end of peck's dialog in the main room is slightly changed to reference this party

BONUS: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE TUTORIAL?:

after almost all of these intros, you spawn in jamaa township.

at first, completing the original intro would just spawn you in the middle of jamaa township and open up the jamaa journal and daily spin

but then, sometime before october 18, 2012*, the ending was somewhat changed. now it showed the avatar walking from the mira statue area to the middle of the town, and then the player was given this screen:

* why this date specifically? because this video of someone being mean to liza during the intro shows this new ending, and was posted on that date

however, i am almost certain that this was actually implemented on march 1, 2012; because that was the date that the loading screens were changed to their new (and current) format (date gotten from the animal jam wiki)

this end screen stayed for a while, but was minorly changed for the blue heron intro, and stayed that way for the first few years of the peck intro— "explore jamaa" was changed to "go on an adventure":

also, in the blue heron intro you're seen running up from the bottom of jamaa township (from the body of water where the boat dropped you off!). this is kept for the peck intro, although that direction doesn't make as much sense from that one.

when the welcome party existed from november 2016 to march 2017, the peck intro would lead to that party, but then the party had a path leading to jamaa township, in this same fashion. (video of this)

however, once the welcome party left on march 30, 2017, it seems this screen did too. because now, after the tutorial, the player automatically spawns in their den, where peck's den tutorial starts... guess our choice is made for us! (video of this). this date also marked the change in the items that a new jammer has from the get-go: originally new jammers got a sturdy table and a blue rug, but past 3/30/2017, new jammers get a rug, table, small window, chair, couch, lamp, and houseplant

speaking of den tutorials, a brief note:

ever since the peck intro, peck has always done the den tutorial. but i did read somewhere in my research that liza did the den tutorial beforehand— but i haven't found any pictures or videos on it, so you'll just have to take my word on that (if any of you have any pictures or videos of the liza den tutorial, or even a post talking about it, please send it to me!)

this has been information on every animal jam intro, thanks for reading 👍

[regulusrules]

Yo, I saw your post about orientalism in relation to the "hollywood middle-east" tiktok!

How can a rando and university dropout get into and learn more about? Any literature or other content to recommend?

Hi!! Wow, you have no idea how you just pressed a button. I'll unleash 5+ years on you. And I'll even add for you open-sourced works that you can access as much as I can!

1. Videos

I often find this is the best medium nowadays to learn anything! I'll share with you some of the best that deal with the topic in different frames

• This is a video of Edward Said talking about his book, Orientalism. Said is the Palestinian- American critic who first introduced the term Orientalism, and is the father of postcolonial studies as a critical literary theory. In this book, you’ll find an in-depth analysis of the concept and a deconstruction of western stereotypes. It’s very simple and he explains everything in a very easy manner.

• How Islam Saved Western Civilization. A more than brilliant lecture by Professor Roy Casagranda. This, in my opinion, is one of the best lectures that gives credit to this great civilization, and takes you on a journey to understand where did it all start from.

• What’s better than a well-researched, general overview Crash Course about Islam by John Green? This is not necessarily on orientalism but for people to know more about the fundamental basis of Islam and its pillars. I love the whole playlist that they have done about the religion, so definitely refer to it if you're looking to understand more about the historical background! Also, I can’t possibly mention this Crash Course series without mentioning ... ↓

• The Medieval Islamicate World. Arguably my favourite CC video of all times. Hank Green gives you a great thorough depiction of the Islamic civilization when it rose. He also discusses the scientific and literary advancements that happened in that age, which most people have no clue about! And honestly, just his excitement while explaining the astrolabe. These two truly enlightened so many people with the videos they've made. Thanks, @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog

2. Documentaries

• This is an AMAZING documentary called Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies A People by the genius American media critic Jack Shaheen. He literally analysed more than 1000 movies and handpicked some to showcase the terribly false stereotypes in western depiction of Arab/Muslim cultures. It's the best way to go into the subject, because you'll find him analysing works you're familiar with like Aladdin and all sorts.

• Spain’s Islamic Legacy. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste since one of my main scopes is studying feminist Andalusian history. There are literal gems to be known about this period of time, when religious coexistence is documented to have actually existed. This documentary offers a needed break from eurocentric perspectives, a great bird-view of the Islamic civilization in Europe and its remaining legacy (that western history tries so hard to erase).

• When the Moors Ruled in Europe. This is one of the richest documentaries that covers most of the veiled history of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Bettany Hughes discusses some of the prominent rulers, the brilliance of architecture in the Arab Muslim world, their originality and contributions to poetry and music, their innovative inventions and scientific development, and lastly, La Reconquista; the eventual fall and erasure of this grand civilization by western rulers.

3. Books

• Rethinking Orientalism by Reina Lewis. Lewis brilliantly breaks the prevailing stereotype of the “Harem”, yk, this stupid thought westerns projected about arab women being shut inside one room, not allowed to go anywhere from it, enslaved and without liberty, just left there for the sexual desires of the male figures, subjugated and silenced. It's a great read because it also takes the account of five different women living in the middle east.

• Nocturnal Poetics by Ferial Ghazoul. A great comparative text to understand the influence and outreach of The Thousand and One Nights. She applies a modern critical methodology to explore this classic literary masterpiece.

• The Question of Palestine by Edward Said. Since it's absolutely relevant, this is a great book if you're looking to understand more about the Palestinian situation and a great way to actually see the perspective of Palestinians themselves, not what we think they think.

• Arab-American Women's Writing and Performance by S.S. Sabry. One of my favourite feminist dealings with the idea of the orient and how western depictions demeaned arab women by objectifying them and degrading them to objects of sexual desire, like Scheherazade's characterization: how she was made into a sensual seducer, but not the literate, brilliantly smart woman of wisdom she was in the eastern retellings. The book also discusses the idea of identity and people who live on the hyphen (between two cultures), which is a very crucial aspect to understand arabs who are born/living in western countries.

• The Story of the Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole. This is a great book if you're trying to understand the influence of Islamic culture on Europe. It debunks this idea that Muslims are senseless, barbaric people who needed "civilizing" and instead showcases their brilliant civilization that was much advanced than any of Europe in the time Europe was labelled by the Dark Ages. (btw, did you know that arabic was the language of knowledge at that time? Because anyone who was looking to study advanced sciences, maths, philosophy, astronomy etc, had to know arabic because arabic-speaking countries were the center of knowledge and scientific advancements. Insane, right!)

• Convivencia and Medieval Spain. This is a collection of essays that delve further into the idea of “Convivencia”, which is what we call for religious coexistence. There's one essay in particular that's great called Were Women Part of Convivencia? which debunks all false western stereotypical images of women being less in Islamic belief. It also highlights how arab women have always been extremely cultured and literate. (They practiced medicine, studied their desired subjects, were writers of poetry and prose when women in Europe couldn't even keep their surnames when they married.)

4. Novels / Epistolaries

• Granada by Radwa Ashour. This is one of my favourite novels of all time, because Ashour brilliantly showcases Andalusian history and documents the injustices and massacres that happened to Muslims then. It covers the cultural erasure of Granada, and is also a story of human connection and beautiful family dynamics that utterly touches your soul.

• Dreams of Trespass by Fatema Mernissi. This is wonderful short read written in autobiographical form. It deconstructs the idea of the Harem in a postcolonial feminist lens of the French colonization of Morocco.

• Scheherazade Goes West by Mernissi. Mernissi brilliantly showcases the sexualisation of female figures by western depictions. It's very telling, really, and a very important reference to understand how the west often depicts middle-eastern women by boxing them into either the erotic, sensual beings or the oppressed, black-veiled beings. It helps you understand the actual real image of arab women out there (who are not just muslims btw; christian, jew, atheist, etc women do exist, and they do count).

• Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This is a feminist travel epistolary of a British woman which covers the misconceptions that western people, (specifically male travelers) had recorded and transmitted about the religion, traditions and treatment of women in Constantinople, Turkey. It is also a very insightful sapphic text that explores her own engagement with women there, which debunks the idea that there are no queer people in the middle east.

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

With all of these, you'll get an insight about the real arab / islamic world. Not the one of fanaticism and barbarity that is often mediated, but the actual one that is based on the fundamental essences of peace, love, and acceptance.

[pruneunfair]

so one thing Rashta is mostly known for outside of being the source of the Trashta meme is her Christmas tree wedding dress and everyone at her wedding making fun of it for being tacky

I'm not gonna lie while it is kind of pretty there is no way that thing did not require some tax payer money.

What gets me is that Remarried empress takes heavy inspiration from European fashion and aesthetics, and if you ever saw a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, Marie Antionette, or Louis XIV.. you'd know that European nobles in those era wore very excessive clothes and jewelry. it would make more sense if it were commoners who saw the dress making fun of it, but with nobles making fun of her for wearing something flashy on her wedding it just feels like another mandatory hate on Rashta at least once per chapter.

this gets more confusing in the novel version and while to be fair we only get one shot of it, her wedding dress doesn't look as glammed up, if anything Sovieshu is about as decorated as his bride.

(It does look wonky with all random white lines but still not as flashy as a Christmas tree.)

and its not like this is just a "It's a fantasy story, the culture isn't going to be one to one with real history." thing either because Navier's wedding dress is described as having THOUSANDS of gemstones weaved into it.

It may not be as in your face flashy like Rashta's but if there are thousands of those gems in that dress not only would it be likely worth millions but it would also be heavy af. in general it would make sense for both dresses to be this flashy considering they are for royal weddings in a period akin to either the late 18th century or early 19th century but it frankly makes no sense that NOBLES of all people would be mocking Rashta for wearing something tacky when they aren't exactly known for modest dressing.

Tax payer money at it's finest right there.

[essektheylyss]

The reason that Ashton learning about the Luxon is interesting is not because it would change their stance on the pantheon (considering the Luxon is not of the pantheon and therefore any change in opinion on, say, Pelor, would be a false and reductive equivalence), but because their stance on religion as a whole is currently reductive in a deeply unproductive and, frankly, potentially dangerous way, and the Luxon's existence flies in the face of that.

Ashton has a basic but narrow view of how the gods operate: someone asks for something, and the gods answer. He may acknowledge that generally the answer is given as part of an exchange, but might also feel that the extent of his suffering is worth more than the offering usually made. This is a very valid and understandable position! They suffered under some destructive force of nature, and later under the general indifference of the world, and if there are gods who claim to do good in the world*, and suffering persists, how can those gods be considered just?

This is, I must make very explicit, an incredibly complex and old philosophical question in the real world even where the existence of gods is not a material reality, and not one that's going to be solved by a bunch of fandom bloggers, no matter how enlightened one thinks they are. It is also a question that is straight up not a concern in a lot of faiths, so by necessity, one cannot equate "in this context, are the gods just?" to the question of whether worship, as a practice, is just.

In any case, Ashton's concern is more personal than philosophical—his stance is borne not of any intensive questioning of the justice of gods, but because he's been hurt, and he wanted to be helped, and wasn't**. And this is valid, but the extrapolation to "the gods can die for all I care," does attempt to make that equivocation. In suggesting the removal of the source of worship of a large portion of the world, which at least something of the means to act upon that suggestion, they're implicitly taking the stance that their anger alone is worth more than the mundane benefits that collective portion of the population receives from their worship.

It bears noting here that this is specifically about his anger, and not his suffering, because the death of the gods won't change his history. In fact, nothing is going to change that! This is really where Ashton's anger lies, but the anger isn't actionable there, which is why it comes out elsewhere. When funneled in a reasonable and willful direction (such as towards Ludinus) anger can be very productive; this isn't to say that this emotion is the problem in itself. But directing it toward the gods will have a pointed negative impact on much of the world, and will likely not stop those worshippers who are enacting harm from finding other ways to do so, which means it's a net loss in terms of what Ashton wants, which is to keep people from harm.

And drawing attention to the anger is also relevant, because, well, that's where we get back to the Luxon.

Ashton's Rage mechanic is based explicitly in dunamis and, by extension, the Luxon itself. The ability is linked narratively to their fall at Jiana Hexum's house and subsequent patching up by Milo, who dumped a potion of possibility into their head. When Imogen and FCG have entered his mind, the description is similar to the description of concentrating on a Luxon beacon.

There's an argument to be made that dunamis itself more than the beacons individually is what comprises the entity known as the Luxon; the potions were distilled initially from a beacon, and we've seen other forms of the same thing, such as the purple gems in Aeor. We also know that the Luxon is an entity that may go back to before the Founding***, because Essek, a noted skeptic, found evidence of its existence as such in Aeor, an arcane society that attempted to kill the gods themselves.

The Luxon as a divine entity*** has not, as far as anyone has claimed, directly spoken to a mortal, follower or otherwise. The Dynasty believes it has sent messages that their umavi can divine and interpret into scripture, and in theory clerics that follow it can receive information via divination the same way as any other cleric, but none of these involve direct speech, and overall it's not clear that it is in fact an entity capable of communication as mortals would imagine communication.****

This is notably different than the Pantheon as a whole. The primary boon that the Dynasty believes the Luxon has given them, based on their ability with the beacon to escape Lolth's dominion, is to wield more control over one's own destiny. If we proceed under the assumption that this is how the Luxon brokers any relationship to mortals, then we end up back to the idea that the ability that Ashton has gained from the dunamis that was used to seal their wounds was control over, and the ability to act upon, the anger that they harbor.

It's in fact exactly what Ashton asked for, both in his past and now, in this past conversation with the party, suggesting that he'll actually hear out any god that actually suggests they want him. It's also clearly something they still want, given that they went looking for it in Issylra. No matter how disaffected Ashton may claim to be, his actions betray the fact that he does in some way want the acknowledgment of an entity larger than he is.

So whether or not Ashton changes their tune on the pantheon doesn't matter in the long run. What learning about the Luxon would do is force Ashton to confront the fact that, first, gods as a whole do not necessarily conform to the limited knowledge they've based their views on, and second, that maybe a god already gave them what they asked for.

And Ashton is still perfectly at liberty to ignore that without consequence—the use of dunamis has never been contingent on belief or worship, as evidenced by the numerous wizards who use it regardless. But it does raise the question for Ashton both of his own worth in the view of something larger than he is, regardless of whether he thinks the gods have already discarded him, and also the very premise on which he chooses where to direct his anger.

It's up to Ashton, as it's always been, to actually decide where to go from there.

*I won't interrogate this at length here because I don't think it's relevant, but I also don't believe the Prime Deities have ever claimed that their purpose, if they can be said to have a purpose, is to do good. Even the temples of Vasselheim orient themselves more toward the purpose of maintaining balance and order rather than any concept of "good", and many of the pantheon who are not explicitly included among the Betrayers have neutral alignment.

**For further commentary on the flaws in Ashton's assumptions around relationship to a god, see here.

***The question of whether or not the Luxon is A God is also irrelevant here, because it has been worshipped as such and confers power comparably to the Prime Deities, so we'll proceed without worrying about it.

****For further commentary on the nature of how the Luxon communicates and enacts its will in the Material Realm, see here.

For further commentary on the general tone of this post, see here.

[depressionheiress]

I have been listening to Epic the musical for about a year or so, it's an absolute gem, and I recommend it to everyone who loves poetry, Greek mythology, Greek tragedy or musicals.

I've listened to "the Horse and the Infant" for a millionth time and thought: but what if Odysseus actually didn't listen to Zeus. What if despite all odds, despite it being the Greek tragedy, he saved Astyanax. We all know that in trying to escape fate you only entangle yourself in it worse, Oedipus tried that already, but that's just the thing - Odysseus sheltered Astyanax not because he tried to escape fate, but for the love of his own son, waiting for him home, he hid this orphaned baby as a means to say "I'm sorry". Parents dead, home destroyed... Zeus threatened the same happening to Ithaca through Astyanax, and Odysseus thought "if this happens, I'd want someone to save my boy too. If that is to be my fate, if the gods do not wish to save my innocent people any more than they wished to help the Trojans, if our suffering is no more than your fun pastime, then I'll do one thing that defies you the most - a good thing".

He made sure Astyanax lived. While the city burned around him, Odysseus sang to him about comets and meteors, about men and monsters, about a kind, beautiful woman and a baby boy far away. And Astyanax stopped crying.

He thought one of his father's generals came to visit.

Odysseus wasn't going to take Astyanax to Ithaca. He wanted to find him a good home and never ever let him know he's from Troy. In the meantime Polites became the nanny, because of course who else. Due to this, Polites never went to Polyphemus' cave, he stayed to watch the baby. Euroclus went instead, and Odysseus lost a friend still, but Polites, who trusted Odysseus the most, lived. And that changed everything.

Many, many years later Astyanax still found out. He still was full of heartbreaking rage. He still raised his sword.

But he was raised not by the monster Odysseus had become at the end of the Underworld saga, but by Polites, who hadn't let even the bloodiest war in ancient history harden him.

And Astyanax thought about the gods too - about Apollo, who was Troy's patron god and still couldn't be arsed to answer his mother's prayers. About Athena and Ares both turning away from his father's corpse at Achilles' feet. About so many futile prayers fallen on deaf ears.

And Astyanax lowered his sword wet with tears, not blood.

[arc852]

Shattered Reflections Ch. 1

Summary: Joel and Skizz wake up in the middle of a field, confused and sore. With no memories except for their names and the fact that they are borrowers, they decide to take things one step at a time. Starting with making a shelter for themselves.

Meanwhile, when Joel and Skizz never show up for the beginning of the season and messaging them yields no results, panic ensues and it's now the hermits' mission to try and find their missing friends.

Word Count: 3776

AO3 Link

I hope you guys enjoy!

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 “Um, hello, welcome to Hermitcraft season 10!” Mumbo greeted everyone despite being put on the spot. “Um, it’s really good to have you all here and uh, we have some new people on the server. Should I announce those? Should I-should I point in their general direction? Is that a good idea?” Mumbo stuttered out, looking around for said new hermits within the circle to do just that. But after a quick glance around, Mumbo realized he didn’t see them at all. “Wait, where are they?” 

 The other hermits blinked and all at once, they looked around the circle as well, slowly realizing that yeah, their two newest members were nowhere to be seen. “Did they run off already?” Iskall asked, looking behind him and out into the plains.

 Xisuma, eyebrows knit, brought up the log on his comm, looking through it. “They haven’t logged in yet.” Xisuma did a few other things on his comm, the rest of the hermits watching with different levels of patience. Their admin then looked up, catching eyes with Grian and then Impulse. “They did message you guys saying they were coming, right?”

 Grian and Impulse were the ones in charge of messaging Joel and Skizz specifically. Impulse and Skizz were obvious, but Grian and Joel also had quite the history with each other. Grian even went so far to say that Joel was one of his best friends. So it made sense to have those two not only be the ones to keep in contact with them leading up to the season, but also be the ones to invite them in the first place.

��Xisuma watched them both nod. “Yeah, I literally got a message from Skizz right before this that he was hopping on.” Impulse said, getting out his comm and showing the screen to Xisuma. “He should be here.” Impulse’s voice was laced with concern, knowing that this was very unlike his best friend.

 “Same with Joel.” Grian piped in and Xisuma looked back over to him to see he was typing something on his comm with a furrowed brow. “And I just messaged Lizzie. She said he left a while ago.”

 “Strange…” Xisuma couldn’t help but mutter out loud.

 “It’s not like Joel to get cold feet like this.” Gem said and those that knew Joel from various life games and other SMPs nodded in agreement.

 “It’s not like Skizz either. He was so excited, even if he was nervous about it, no way he would skip out on all of us like this.” Tango also chimed in.

 “So…what? We think something happened to them?” Doc said with his arms crossed. But despite his demeanor, the hermits knew he was also concerned about their new members.

 “I’m sure they’re fine.” Xisuma said, trying to calm his hermits. “Perhaps they just got lost in the Hub.”

 “Uh, guys? I think this may be more serious than we think.” All the hermits turned back toward Grian at his words, noticing how Grian was looking over at Impulse’s comm as the taller man typed away at it. Grian’s gaze seemed to shift between Impulse’s comm and his own, both hermits having the beginnings of panic on their features.

 “What is it?” Xisuma asked and Grian met his eyes. 

 “We just tried messaging both Skizz and Joel and…” Grian trailed off, lifting his comm up for Xisuma to see properly. On the screen were several messages sent by Grian to Joel within the last few minutes. Unfortunately, each one came with a little red ‘Not Delivered’ line underneath. Xisuma didn’t need to see Impulse’s comm to know the same thing was happening to his messages with Skizz.

 “Well…” Xisuma said, and even through his helmet you could see his brows furrowed in concern. “There are many reasons why a message wouldn’t go through. However… given the circumstances and our knowledge of Skizz and Joel…” 

 Xisuma straightened up, suddenly going from fellow hermit to admin. At the change, everyone was at attention. The beginnings of conversation at the revelation that no messages were getting through were cut off as they watched Xisuma bring up the code. “Hermits! We have two members who, as we know it, are missing. So here is the plan. I’m going to get into contact with some other SMP admins, SMPs where Joel and Skizz could be. I’ll send some of you there and others will go into the hub to-to…” Xisuma stuttered and trailed off, freezing like a deer in headlights as he saw something within the code.

 Zedpah, who was next to Xisuma, tried to look over at the screen of code but couldn’t read it for the life of him. He shrugged in the other hermits' directions.

 “Shashwamy? What is it?” Keralis asked gently, breaking Xisuma out of his stupor. 

 “Sorry, sorry, I…there’s something here in the code. I don’t…I don’t recognize it but it’s-that is to say I think-”

 “Spit it out already!” Bdubs exclaimed, getting antsy.

 Xisuma shook his head and finally looked away from the code and toward all the hermits. “I think Skizz and Joel are on the server after all.”

***

 Joel groaned as he came to, feeling like he had just run full force into a mountain. His whole body, some way or another, felt incredibly sore and achy, and it was just all around painful. He was lying down, that much he could tell, face down in what was probably dirt. The same mountain he had run into might as well be placed on top of him too, because it felt impossible to lift himself up.

 Joel let out a slow breath and opened his eyes. Or tried to anyway. He only managed to open one of them. His other eye was currently smushed against the ground. Which did happen to be dirt. Wonderful.

 He pulled his fingers together, getting a handful of dirt in the process. He grunted at the pain of even doing just that but at least he was able to move. He opened his fist, releasing the dirt.

 Eventually, after more tiny movements, he was able to use his sore arms to sit up. He brushed the dirt off his face and tried his best to get it out of his hair. Once he was fairly cleaned off he was able to open his other eye up and finally take a look at his surroundings.

 Things seemed normal, though he didn’t recognize the area at all. It seemed as though he had ended up in a grassy field, nestled by the roots of a tree. In the distance he noticed a river, which would be a good source of clean water but it was also quite the trek away. He would have to think more about that later. He did his best to turn his head around to try and look past the tree without moving so much, still in quite a bit of pain, and he could see the edges of a mountain in the distance.

 Despite the familiarity of the giant world he lived in, he also couldn’t help but feel a bit…off.

 His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a noise coming from beside him. He looked to his left to see another person laying in the dirt. Lucky for the guy, he was laying on his back, in that position the most dirt he would get on him was in his hair. Unluckily though, he seemed to be in the same amount of pain Joel had been in. Joel couldn’t help but wince in sympathy. “Hey, are you alright?” Joel asked, reaching down and gently nudging the guy’s shoulder.

 The guy was broad shouldered with multiple scars running up and down his arms. He even had some on his face. He seemed…strangely familiar somehow. But Joel couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

 “Hey, come on, get up.” Joel said, nudging him again. If Joel could get up then this guy could. Probably. Hopefully.

 “Nnngh…Don’t wanna,” Came a mumbled reply. At least that was a good sign, meant the guy was alive at least. 

 “Let me guess, arms are sore? Achy? Feel like you’ve hit a mountain?” Joel listed off and took notice that the guy’s eyes opened to look at him in surprise. Joel smiled a bit at that. “Well, same here.” He answered his own questions. “But I seemed to get up just fine so I guess I’m just stronger and bigger and more handsome than you.” Joel rattled off, the words slipping off his tongue easily despite the fact he had no idea where that had come from. 

 The familiar stranger groaned again but slowly moved his arms to bring himself up onto the same level as Joel. Well, mostly. Joel was annoyed to note the man was taller than him, which he could tell even with the both of them sitting.

 “What happened?” The guy asked, rubbing the back of his head with a wince. Joel shrugged, rubbing his arms to try and lessen his own ache.

 “Not sure, I’m in the same hole as you are.” Joel answered. He tried to think back on what could have made either of them end up here but he was drawing a blank.

 In fact, as Joel tried to think about other things and dig deeper into his own memory, he realized he was drawing a blank in a lot of other categories as well. No matter how hard he tried to think back to something, to some memory, to people, he came up blank.

 It was a bit terrifying.

 “Hey, uh, do you happen to remember…anything? Just curious.” Joel asked the guy, his voice going up an octave at the fear he felt. He then watched as his companion’s face went through the expressions of someone realizing that no, they did not. Joel could only assume he had had the same expressions on his face just a moment ago.

 The other guy ran a hand through his hair after a few moments. “No. I can’t remember…I can’t remember anything.”

 “Awesome, that’s…that’s great.” Joel said with a wince. “Same here, by the way.” Joel thought to say, just in case it hadn’t been clear by the fear in his voice.

 The other guy was quiet for a moment and Joel noticed he looked like he was in deep thought, with his eyebrows furrowed and staring off at nothing. Again, Joel figured he had looked much the same a second ago as he himself tried to sift through any memories he might have had. Surprisingly though, as the stranger’s eyes lit up briefly, he seemed to have found something. “Actually, I know that my name is Skizz.” The now named stranger said.

 Now that Joel was thinking about it, he also, at the very least, remembered his own name. “My name is Joel.” He said back and then continued when something else came to mind. “And I know we’re borrowers.”

 Skizz chuckled. “Well, yeah. Would be kind of weird if we didn’t at least know that.” He said, gesturing to their giant surroundings. He then frowned. “Although something about it does seem off…”

 So Skizz was experiencing the same feeling as Joel. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. “It does for me too.” Joel admitted, rolling a pebble the size of his hand along the ground absentmindedly. “It’s probably just an effect of the amnesia though.” 

 “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Skizz agreed, still staring off into the surrounding distance. As Skizz did this, Joel tried again to think of anything else he could remember. Almost desperately trying to come up with anything else. It was when Joel looked over at Skizz again and suddenly remembered his first impression of the guy that he realized he may know something else after all. 

 “Hey, it’s nothing concrete or anything but you seem really familiar. Like we know each other or something.” Joel said, gaining Skizz’s attention back. Joel watched as Skizz’s eyes looked him up and down, seeing the spark of recognition in them after a moment. Skizz’s eyes widened.

 “Yeah, yeah! I see what you mean. I think you might be right!” Skizz said with a smile. Joel returned it, thankful they had the same feelings there. If that was the case, it really did seem like the two of them were probably friends. Maybe even roommates if they had ended up here together.

 “Great!” Skizz said, genuinely enthused. He tried to make a big motion with his arms in excitement but quickly stopped with a wince at the pain. “Now that we have that little piece of the puzzle, all that's left to figure out is why we have no memories and what the heck happened to make us so sore all over.”

“You make it sound a lot more simple than it’s actually going to be.” Joel quipped with a small snort. “Besides, I think the soreness is starting to let up a little.” Joel noticed as he stretched out his shoulder. There were still little pangs but definitely nothing like when he first woke up. Joel took this opportunity to finally stand up. He was a bit wobbly on his feet but he managed to catch himself.

 The same could not be said for Skizz however and Joel rushed over to stop Skizz from falling back over. The other borrower was a bit heavy but thankfully it didn’t take much for him to finally balance out. “Geez, that was a close one. Thanks Joel!”

 “Yeah, of course.” He said, only stepping away once he was sure Skizz was balanced. Skizz stood on his own, flexing his muscles and moving his body in order to get rid of any more aches. Joel couldn’t help but let that familiar feeling take hold of him for a moment. The only thing Joel could be sure of, right now, was his name and that Skizz was his friend. And right now his only friend and companion in this weird amnesiac state they had found themselves in. The last thing he wanted was for something to happen to him and lose that one connection. “The two of us gotta stick together, ya know?” He said, voicing those thoughts in a single sentence, with little care in his voice and a shrug of his shoulders.

 Suddenly he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, jolting Joel out of his thoughts and almost causing Joel to fall over again. He didn’t though, thanks to that same arm holding him steady. He looked and followed the arm up to see Skizz grinning down at him. Once again, Joel frowned, realizing Skizz was at least a full head taller than him.

 “That’s the spirit! The two of us against the world!” Skizz exclaimed and Joel’s frown at their height difference quickly turned into a grin to match Skizz’s. His enthusiasm sure was infectious. He briefly wondered if this is how it always was between the two of them.

 Joel playfully pushed him away, Skizz’s smile still present when his arm left his shoulder and he moved to stand in front of him instead. Joel rolled his eyes. Skizz seemed to be good at making Joel feel better. Despite the worry for their lack of memories still, Joel was finding himself smiling.

 But it was time to get back on track.

 “I think our actual first order of business should be finding shelter.” Joel said after a moment of thought, his tone turning serious. He crossed his arms and looked out into the distance, eyes focusing on the river. “We might have a home already but wherever it is, it’s not going to do us any good right now.” It would be nice if they could stumble upon it, or even better yet remember where it was. But Joel had a feeling they were very far away from home.

 Skizz nodded in agreement, his smile now a little less. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Skizz also looked around. There wasn’t a lot close by to them. Other than the tree, it was an open field for a long stretch which ended at a river one way and a mountain the other. “We probably should stick close, right?”

 Joel nodded, finally turning his attention away from the river. “It would be nice if we could be a bit closer to the river but I don’t really see anywhere over there we can make a shelter.” Maybe if they burrowed underground nearby, maybe at the base of a rock. But they didn’t really have the time to do something like that. They’d also have to really stock up on water if they weren’t going to be close to it, maybe put it in a reserve. And making something to catch rainwater would be helpful too. Could save them some trips in the future.

 Joel looked back toward the tree. Yeah, it was probably better to stick close to where they woke up. The shade of the tree would also give them some protection. “I think we should get some wood and carve ourselves up some tools. That’ll make gathering supplies and materials a lot easier and it’ll help us put together that shelter we need.” Joel suggested, already thinking up some ideas on what their shelter could look like. Maybe they could make it so it was covered by the roots sticking out of the ground? That way it was at least hidden. Joel looked toward Skizz to see what he thought.

 Skizz nodded with his smile back at full force. “Sounds like a plan!” Skizz exclaimed, ready to get going. Joel nodded back with a smile, glad Skizz was easy to talk to. It wouldn’t do them any good to argue about something like this, especially at a time like this. Joel looked toward the tree, sizing it up, before bending down and picking up the pebble he had been messing with earlier. He weighed it in his hand, throwing it up a few inches and catching it again. It wasn’t too hefty or sharp but it would do the job until they could make some actual tools. 

 He went closer to the tree, his new temporary tool in hand, meeting up with Skizz who had already walked over. He noticed Skizz also sizing the tree up before letting out a low whistle.

 “Man, this thing is huge.” Skizz observed the obvious. Joel gave him a flat look.

 “Everything’s huge, Skizz. We’re borrowers.” At the face Skizz gave him, he couldn’t help but laugh.

 “I know that! It’s just…you know! It’s probably the amnesia…it’s like I’m not used to it or something.” Skizz tried to explain himself. Joel hummed in thought at that and looked directly up at the tree. From this angle, he couldn’t even see where the tree ended. He felt way smaller than what should be normal but that didn’t make any sense. He was the same size he had always been. It was one of the only things his amnesiac mind could remember.

 It was that off sort of feeling all over again.

 “...I mean, I get it. It’s the same for me too.” He revealed tentatively with his arms crossed. There had to be an explanation though. A reason why the size of this tree felt unfamiliar. “Maybe…maybe we’re not actually outdoor borrowers to begin with.” Joel suddenly came up with and couldn’t help but agree with his own statement. Yeah, that had to be it. “That could be why we aren’t used to trees like this.”

 Skizz blinked, eyes going wide for a second. Joel could tell he was thinking it over. “...That does actually make a lot of sense.” Skizz said before looking down at Joel. “If we’re indoor borrowers though, well, what happened? How did we end up outside with no house in sight?”

 Joel bit his lip. That was a very good question. “Just like with everything else, I’m not sure.” It was very weird though.

 Joel shook his head. They would have plenty of time to come up with theories or look around more later. Right now, the most important thing was to make a shelter before it got dark. “Anyway, tools.”

 “...Right. Right! Tools. Not a problem.” Skizz said after coming out of his own thoughts. He looked at the tree for a brief moment before bending down and picking up a pebble just like Joel had. 

 Now with a pebble in hand, Joel watched as Skizz took the first swing at the tree. It didn’t do much at first but has Skizz kept hitting it, some of the bark started to come off. The thing they would be using to build their first tools out of. Joel watched for just a moment longer before realizing he should probably join in.

 After some time stripping down the tree, and getting quite the collection of bark, Joel went big with one of his hits. It was to make a stubborn piece of bark finally come loose. But instead of that happening, the pebble, and his hand, went right through the bark. Joel blinked in surprise, taking his hand out of the hole he had just created. “Uh, Skizz?” Joel called out as he tried to get a better look inside the hole.

 Skizz quickly joined his side. “What’s up?”

 “I don’t know but I managed to put a hole into the tree.” Joel said, squinting into the hole’s darkness. “...I think this tree might be hollow inside.” Joel realized and decided to see for sure by swinging the pebble back toward the hole. Skizz flinched back at the power of the hit but Joel just cleared away some of the dust at the now bigger hole and glanced inside. 

 Now with some light able to hit the inside, Joel could tell for sure that the base of this tree was hollow. Joel grinned and stepped away to make room for Skizz. “Take a look for yourself.”

 Skizz bent down a little to see through the hole. While the hole may have been eye level with Joel, it certainly wasn’t with Skizz. The reminder of how much shorter Joel was put a brief scowl on his face. “Hey! You’re right! It’s like a cozy little grove in there.” Skizz exclaimed with a grin.

 Joel’s mind raced with ideas with this discovery. “If we can make ourselves an entrance and clean the inside up a bit…” Joel mumbled out loud, mostly to himself but Skizz turned to listen as well, understanding crossing his features. 

 Joel looked up to meet Skizz’s eyes and grinned. “I think we just found our shelter.”

[youareunbearable]

Thinking about the Nauglamir, as one does, and just, like I know I have a bias as an Indigenous woman who's historical artifacts are often stolen and who's peoples' treaties and promises are typically disregarded by other authority figures and whose ancestors were treated like animals and hunted for sport but God Thingol fucking sucks in that tale (and in general)

Like I've always kinda disliked Thingol, gives off major White Settler vibes but this whole tale is so tragic when you look at it through an Indigenous lens

We start off with a friendship. Good old Finrod Badger man himself, hears about his cousin Caranthir doing business with a new type of people that Love Gems just like the Noldor! Hes Thrilled!! He meets with the people, Dwarves, and while they are a lot shorter and got more hair than the Men he met, they become fast friends.

He talks about his travels and mentions that he fell in love with the art style of Thingol's domain. The Dwarves are uneasy, cause they have bad history with Thingol's people, but inform Finrod that Actually We Made That. Finrod is Over The Moon and commissions them to make one for him too. As a show of faith, they allow him to build it on a mountain that has history to them and Finrod, you know he would be, is respectful of this and pays them their due and more through Elf goods and more trade then they normally would have

Nargothrond is done and Finrod is super impressed with their skills and commissions them again. This time, to make a necklace of the gems he personally carried over from Valinor. The Dwarves would understand the importance of these gems, they're literally Family Jewels and one of the only things Finrod has left of his homeland

So the Nauglamir is made. From Noldor gems and Dwarvish skill and shared friendship and memories of both parties. Its an agreement, a contract, a visual showcase of the friendship and alliance between the Dwarves and the Noldor.

(My people did this to. We made visual agreements. Wampum belts. Each shell bead took 1 whole day of hard labour to make and these belts had hundreds of them. They're symbolic and important as well as a beautiful showcase of skill and craftsmanship. They are almost always made between friendly nations)

Then we have Azaghal. Who was saved by Maedhros and had a great friendship with him. They exchanged gifts, worked together on an alliance, and probably traded tales with each other. Azaghal and his people would have known why the Noldor are here in Beleriand. They would have known the importance of the Silmarils to the Noldor, to the Feanorians especially. They could avenge their fallen kings, stop the evil from spreading, complete their Oath, and go home. Azaghal was even willing to give up his life, and the lives of his men, to help Maedhros get a Silmarils back.

Finrod is dead. The Noldor are weak and scattered. Maedhros is displaced from his home in Himring, and all the gossip they hear about him is that he's a shell of the Elf he used to be before the Noldor High King died.

A group of Dwarves are ordered to come to Doriath on Thingol's behalf. "Add this gem to this necklace" theyre told. Its a beautiful necklace. Its a beautiful gem. They start to do as they are told but things aren't sitting right with the Dwarven smiths. An older one notices first.

On the necklace with the beautiful and feather light gems, they notice a little sigil on the clasp. Its a Dwarven Smith sigil. They know the only work that smith did with Elven gems was Finrod’s Nauglamir. The smiths whisper amongst themselves in a frantic hiss. Why would the king of the Sindar Elves, one who has vocally stated his dislike and distrust of the Noldor, have Finrod’s necklace that THEY made for him out of friendship?

They turn to the strange gem they've been told to set within the Nauglamir. Its brilliant, beautiful, and glows with an inner light that is so very Elvish. One smith mentions the tale of Finrod, how he died helping Beren and Luthien get a Silmaril. The same Silmaril that the Noldor, and the Feanorians, need. The one their kings died to help them get.

One of the Dwarves feels sick. These are stolen goods. Goods literally taken from a grave and from their allies enemy and given to another that literally wouldn't even spit on them when they burned. Thingol cannot have these goods, from the perspective of the Dwarves, they aren't his. The Silmaril, well, maybe you could make an argument, but the Nauglamir? No way, it was stolen from a literal graveyard of a Noldor city and the person who gave it to him had no right or claim to it ever.

So the Dwarves tell him this. And Thingol is furious. He says, and I quote: "How do ye of uncouth race dare to demand aught of me, Elu Thingol, Lord of Beleriand, whose life began by waters of Cuivienen years uncounted ere the fathers of the stunted people awoke?" And goes nuts. He's throwing out slurs, he's trying to pull a Karen, definitely claiming Manifest Destiny which is so wild and kicks them out without even paying for their labour. For their craft, their skill, their time. He doesn't acknowledge the unwritten treaty of friendship by completing this craft of unimaginable skill.

So they take it back. Sure Thingol died, but he is a thrice over thief at this point and no friend of the Dwarves or their allies.

Then Mr vegan "ill never harm or eat a living being" murders all the Dwarves that are trying to go back home with their rightful due. But what would Beren know about that anyways, he clearly has no head or mind about whats right or wrong as he himself finds it easy to cash in a favour from a king not to help resettle his displaced people, but to ask this king to sacrifice his own men and life to help him get married.

When Doriath is sacked by the Feanorians, oh I bet the Dwarves were pleased. I bet some of them even joined, what with being allies of the Noldor and all. The Dwarves hate the Elves, but not the Noldor who were loyal and trustworthy friends. Who paid and honored their skills and craft, who were cheated by the Sindar just as much as they were. Who fought and bled and died fighting evil while the Sindar stayed behind in their girdle

It was Silverfist Celebrimbor himself, a Noldor and a Feanorian who continued with their relationship. Who gave them rings of power to solidify that relationship. Shame he was betrayed, be he didn't mean harm.

By the third age its a shame the Noldor are the smaller group of Elves in middle earth. They would have helped Durin’s Folk more. The Elves and Dwarves might of had a better relationship. I'm sure Elrond tried, and some Dwarves were warmer to him on account of being adopted sons of Maedhros and Maglor. Buts hes also Thingol's blood, and that is a blood memory type of mistrust.

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

March Week 1 - Symbolism and Traditions

Okay, now that we've got all the generalized types of magic out of the way, let's take a look at some other topics that will help us fill in the gaps in things. We'll be looking at symbols, traditions both personal and ancestral, spell and ritual design and much more! Let's buckle up and get to it!

Monday - Alphabets and Runes

Research - Look up different alphabets that have been used in magical traditions. Anything from the Elder Futhark Rune language, to the Ogham Script, to any other form of writing that has been used in any tradition. Do you know another language? Have you ever made your own alphabet or cipher? There are some grimoires that are written in an entire code that only the person who wrote it understood! If you feel like doing so, you can do the same! Look up an alphabet of any kind and write out a translation of those into the alphabet you know. For fun, write out at least one page in that other alphabet!

Research/ New Page - Runes - Is there a rune set you already know? Elder Futhark? Ogham? Another rune set? Have you ever made your own runes? Define rune. What is a rune? What makes something a rune? In both the magical and mundane sense, what are they? If you find a type of runes that you wish to learn, do so! Make a list of the runes themselves, then write out the meaning and symbology of each one!

Practical - Make a set of the runes you research or are already familiar with! Use what you have on hand! It could be as simple as strips of cardstock with the runes on them, notecards with the rune on one side and description on the other, or feel free to find a set online or in a store! You can even go outside and just find some stones and use a sharpie to write the runes on them!

Divination/ Journal - if you perform divinations, use your new runes to do so! And journal about the experience!

Tuesday - Languages

Research/ New Page - Is there a language that you don't speak or that no one really speaks, like Latin, and look into the basis of that language. Where does it come from? What is the language's base? Are there different dialects? Find an accurate translator and look up the words for some of your magical terminology. Make a list of those words to use in spells, incantations and prayers later on. Now, take it a step further. What is your ancestry? What languages has your family spoken in the past? Ask your parents, grandparents and other relatives if they still speak it at all. Get a little family history lesson. Having this connection to your lineage and ancestry can help you better understand a lot about yourself, your family, and traditions you may not realize you are practicing or performing regularly!

New Page - along with the list of words and languages, keep a page with the basic info you discover about your ancestry and family history! It could come in handy for a multitude of things, both pertaining to this challenge and life in general! This page could include traditions, recipes, where you come from, splits in the family, and general family history.

New Page - Pick another herb from your list and research it! Magical, mundane, medicinal, associations, myths and legends, how to grow and propagate it, where it comes from and its history!

Wednesday - Other Symbols

Research - What are some other common symbols that are commonplace within witchcraft circles? What are they, what do they represent? What are they used for? Do you use any of them without meaning to? What is their history? Where do they come from? Think about things commonly associated with withcraft. Cauldrons, brooms, pointy hats, black cats... why are these things associated with witchcraft? Don't just go with the first thing you find when you look this up, dig deep, do research. Are there multiple sources that confirm these things?

Personal/ Introspection - What things do you associate with witchcraft and why? It can be anything from tools you're using, to symbols, to specific herbs and gems or grander things/ ideas like the moon or certain practices.

Research/ New Page - Pick another gemstone or other item you want to research the witchy/ magical uses of and get at it!

Thursday - Traditions

Research/ New Page - Think about the conversations and research you did into your family lineage and language. Carry on with that research and look into the traditions your family has. Everything from when they gather together for things and why, to the recipes they make, to the way they pray or worship, to how they do things in general. Are there any beliefs your family has that have been passed down to you about things like luck? Or love? What wisdom has been passed down to you by your family?

Journal/ Introspection - Do you have any traditions that you practice on your own? Think about the things you celebrate and why, as well as when you celebrate them. Are there certain ways you do things? Everything from cooking to cleaning, to more spiritual practices! Feel free to make a page dedicated to your personal traditions. Recording them can help you to change and grow them over time, or even just to pass them along to your own family!

Friday - Catch Up Day

Today is a catch up day. We've had a lot of information and research prompts thrown at us the last three months, so take today to look back at any of the prompts you have missed or one you want to continue working on!

Alright! There's March week 1 everyone! Good luck and happy crafting witches!

-Mod Hazel

[desi-yearning]

Every 19th November has its 29th June.

Bittersweet. That’s the word I had been using to describe the ODI World Cup 2023. I'd use the same to describe this T20 World Cup 2024 too. But for reasons that are poles apart.

Very few people would know and understand how much this win means to me. 19th November has done some irreparable damage, I’ve had breakdowns for months about this, wrote poems that’ll never see the light (or you’ll never know it was written about this), but most importantly, I had given up hope, completely. This one compares nothing to that world cup but this brought back the hope to me that life won’t be as good as I want it to be, but maybe it won’t be as bad as I thought it would be.

I’ve grown up. I turned 18 this month and I also had to begin saying goodbye to my hero. From defending Virat in classrooms, carrying his pictures in my bag to defending Virat on online platforms yesterday and having a poster of him in my room, I’ve come a long way with him as an idol. I know that he is going to play the other formats but this is the beginning of a series of goodbyes. I’m not ready for this. I don’t think I’ll ever be too. I love him beyond expression.

Rohit. I still do not get how people who like Virat do not like Rohit. How can you *not* like Rohit? Rohit had been one of the players I liked previously but when cricket came back to me after a few years, he came back to me stronger. Rohit started to mean so much to me especially after seeing him embrace his ‘Bhaiya’ role in the best way possible. I’ve written so much about him in the last few months, maybe more than I’ve ever written about Virat. I love him so much.

Jasprit Bumrah. The only God I believe in. The game changer. The point of difference. I could write an entire book about how amazing he is and that'll still be less. That man is the sole reason behind me starting to watch the bowling innings too. And now, I'll gladly admit that I enjoy the bowling innings more than the batting one. All because of one man, the man, the myth, the legend.

So many moments yesterday that brought me tears but nothing compares to seeing Hardik cry and talk about it all. I'm so proud to have never trolled that man for whatever has happened, it's a flex to say that I've defended him during that time. People put him through so much and I think he was the one of the people who deserved this win the most. He's a gem.

I could go on and write paras about every single one in this team. All of them are phenomenal and like Rohit and Rahul say, they played their roles exceptionally well. How Sky’s catch changed the winning probability, Arshdeep’s last over, Axar’s contribution with the bat, Kuldeep throughout the tournament. I couldn't be anymore grateful to this team for making this day possible.

It was an insane game. One of the greatest comebacks ever. I’m glad to have never stopped believing in this team. They’ve done what felt impossible at one point. This is a story I’ll tell people for generations to come. I feel so blessed to be supporting and cheering for a team like this and having the good fortune of having watched it live on a screen. I’ll never shut up about this. I’ve witnessed history.

This was my first world cup win ever since the time I started watching cricket. I still don’t think there was a specific someone who got me into cricket, this game just happened to me. And I’m so glad it did because I cannot imagine my life without cricket playing one of the biggest parts in it. Most of my best and worst memories are from watching cricket. If I had to divide my life into phases, it'd always be using cricket. Thank you Team India for all these memories. I will love you forever.

This one’s for my Tumblr people. I love each and every single one of you all so much. I was watching the match all alone in my room but yet I felt like I was celebrating with everyone else with all the live-blogging that we did. Celebrating with people is still a big dream for me as I always watch the matches alone and no one in my house really cares. But you guys made it possible, partially at least. I don’t think I’d have enjoyed the match as much as I did if not for you, my dear Tumblr mutuals. So, a big thank you to you too! <3

Love, A.

[goodqueenaly]

I had a new thought about the Quickfinger story we hear mentioned briefly in “The Sworn Sword”. I had always imagined that Quickfinger was merely trying to steal any (or all) dragon eggs available or accessible to him and give them instead. The benefit to Daemon Blackfyre would have been obvious, I think, in both immediate and potential symbolic power. Only Targaryens (and a very limited number of historical Velaryons) could be given dragon eggs, and only Targaryens (and, again, a small handful of Velaryons) had proven their (assumed) Exceptionalism by riding dragons. Daemon Blackfyre, possessed of a dragon egg or eggs, would now make himself equal to any of his trueborn Targaryen king, just like every other prince born to a Targaryen monarch. What’s more, if he could hatch a dragon, then Daemon might have seen his claim be supremely strengthened: even diehard Targaryen loyalists might have wondered whether the hatching of a dragon for the dragonless Daeron II’s rival meant that the gods had bestowed their favor on the Blackfyres instead. 

However, I could see where Quickfinger’s mission - from Daemon Blackfyre himself or a Blackfyre agent - may have been more specific in its intended target (without losing any of that assumed general benefit, of course). We know that the future King Aegon IV was given a dragon egg in infancy, and while we cannot confirm Princess Daena was as well, the fact that her younger sister Elaena had a dragon egg of her own strongly implies, I think, that Daena was given a dragon egg as an infant or young girl. In turn, I wonder whether Quickfinger was sent to obtain not just any Targaryen dragon eggs, but particularly the eggs of Princess Daena and/or King Aegon IV (to the extent either or both were still extant, of course). As far as Daemon Blackfyre may have been concerned, either or both of these eggs were his rightful inheritance, as the only son of his mother and the eldest (acknowledged, legitimated) son of his father. Daemon did not claim the throne in right of his mother, and his would-be regal dynasty was a new political creation rather than a strict continuation of the royal House Targaryen, but Daemon’s appearance and propaganda certainly emphasized his doubly Targaryen heritage. He who had first been held out by Daena as her ostensibly fatherless son, teased as the pseudo-product of Daena’s Targaryen parthenogenesis, was then at 12 acknowledged by Aegon as his own son, in a way almost post facto fathered by Targaryen king (complete with the unsubtle phallic imagery of Aegon IV presumably using the sword Blackfyre to dub Daemon, then passing the sword to him); in turn, as Daemon grew older, "Daemon's friends and supporters often remarked on how much he resembled Aegon the Conquerer", with "all the hallmarks of his house". To receive the dragon egg(s) of one or both of his parents would be perhaps, for Daemon (and again, at least in his own mind and/or the minds of his supporters), to complete that confirmation of his specific Targaryen ancestry: he, unlike the no-good-very-bad Daeron Falseborn, supposedly the unlegitimated bastard of two Targaryens, had every legal right (again, so Daemon might have thought) to the dynastic property of his Targaryen parents - that is, their dragon eggs.

I do also like to parallel this potentially specific thievery with two other moments in Targaryen history. In 48 AC, after young Jaehaerys Targaryen was proclaimed king at Storm’s End, his sister Rhaena “mounted Dreamfyre and flew to join him”, taking with her “Blackfyre, stolen from the king’s own scabbard as he slept”. Just over eight decades later, at the dawn of the Dance of the Dragons, Ser Steffon Darklyn abandoned the new King Aegon II’s Kingsguard and defected to Rhaenyra, and with a small party “brought … a stolen crown: a band of yellow gold ornamented with seven gems of different colors” - that is, “the crown King Viserys had worn, and the Old King Jaehaerys before him”. Whether Daemon intended so or not - and again, we don’t know how much he even knew of, much less orchestrated, the Quickfinger plot - he had, like Jaehaerys and Rhaenyra before him, attempted to benefit from a potent symbol of Targaryen royal authority being stolen from (in the minds of Daemon, as well as Jaehaerys and Rhaenyra, notwithstanding the actual accuracy or inaccuracy in each case) an illegal usurper to be presented to the “rightful” monarch. Just as Rhaena had presented young King Jaehaerys with the sword of his royal grandfather, and Ser Steffon had presented the would-be Queen Rhaenyra with the crown of her royal father and great-grandfather, so now Quickfinger would, as Daemon or his faction may have hoped, present “King” Daemon with the egg or eggs of his father and/or mother, investing him with the symbolic legitimacy of these familial draconic artifacts.