#planet without giving up on said beliefs

[ovenproofowl]

Why would they speak in whistles? They don't always. They have a phonetic language for day-to-day interactions, but the whistle-speak lets them communicate across great distances. It's not uncommon to find in cultures before communication technology evolves.

STAR TREK DISCOVERY: 5x06 'Whistlespeak'

[creature-wizard]

Looks like it's time to talk about starseeds and the New Age movement again.

Since I'm seeing more starseed content being posted, I'm gonna make another post on why the whole starseed thing and the surrounding New Age belief system are... not good.

So for those who don't know, New Age mythology is essentially a hodgepodge of cherrypicked and distorted myths from various cultures, racist pseudohistory, and far right conspiracy theories. To put it very briefly, starseeds are supposedly here to help Earth resist the reptilians, a race of politics-manipulating, war-starting, media-controlling blood-drinking aliens. For those who don't recognize the tropes here, these are basically all antisemitic canards. The reptilian alien myth as most know it today comes from David Icke, who ultimately cribbed a bunch of his material from The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, a Russian hoax created to justify violence against Jews. He was also influenced by the work of people like Fritz Springmeier, a hateful crank who based much of his work on other hateful cranks.

(David Icke, by the way, also claims that transgender is an evil reptilian conspiracy. You'll never find just one form of bigotry with these people.)

There are supposedly numerous alien races out there, and one of the most prominent among them are the Pleiadians, AKA Nordics. While modern depictions of the Pleiadians give them more variety in skintone, there's no denying that older Pleiadian mythology basically pictured them as Aryans In Space, even associating them with the swastika.

You see what's going on here? "Good" swastika-loving Aryan aliens versus "evil" Jewish aliens? Sound familiar?

Racism isn't just a tangential part of the starseed myth, either. It lies at its very core. It's inextricably tied in with the ancient astronaut hypothesis, which has a history of racist motivation behind it. The TL;DR is that a bunch of white people couldn't believe that non-white people had built a bunch of things they couldn't figure out how to build themselves (EG, the Great Pyramids), so they proposed that the real builders were anyone from Atlanteans to aliens. (Atlantis, by the way, never existed; it was a literary device created by Plato.)

One supposed purpose of starseeds is to help the world "wake up to the truth," which basically just means "convert people to New Age spirituality." New Age believes that world peace is contingent on a majority of the world being converted to New Age belief, and that resistance against their belief system is ultimately the work of the aforementioned reptilian aliens.

To put it another way, New Agers think they understand other cultures' spiritual traditions better than the actual members of said cultures, and think that anyone who disagrees with them is being manipulated by the conspiracy, or is an agent of the conspiracy. This includes Indigenous cultures which are already endangered from white Christian colonialism.

Essentially, endangered cultures cannot speak up for themselves and resist New Agers' efforts at cultural assimilation without being labeled a problem and an enemy. It's basically white Christian colonialism repackaged as "spiritual, not religious."

Again - if you heard from these people that some ancient text or myth describes extraterrestrial beings visiting our planet for one reason or another, you heard misinformation. They twist and misrepresent literally every myth and text they get their hands on. For example, you may have heard that the vimanas from Hindu traditions were actually alien spacecraft. They were no such thing. Or maybe you heard that the Book of Enoch describes aliens performing genetic experimentation on humans. It literally does not. At best, all of the stories they cite just kind of sound like aliens if you ignore most of their content and pay no attention to their cultural contexts.

The starseed movement preys on alienated people, especially autistic people and people with ADHD. You can look up nearly any list of signs that you're supposedly a starseed, and many of them will align perfectly with characteristics associated with autism and/or ADHD, or that people with these conditions commonly report. Some people within the movement even go so far as to claim that ADHD and autism don't even exist, but were actually made up by the conspiracy as a cover to suppress and control starseeds, which is some yikes-as-hell ableism.

So basically, people are being told that if they have these certain characteristics or symptoms, that means it's their job to spread New Age spirituality to defeat the conspiracy and help others ascend to the fifth density.

And what's the fifth density, you might ask? It's supposedly humanity's next evolutionary level, because New Age is also based on biological misconceptions. Supposedly once everyone's DNA "upgrades," they'll essentially morph into an aetheric form. Supposedly, this is preceded by a number of "ascension symptoms," including depression, headache, gastrointestinal issues, and any number of other symptoms that could indicate almost anything, including stress.

What many of these people don't realize is, this prediction has already failed. Back in the 2000s and 2010s, experiencing "ascension symptoms" was supposed to precede ascension to 5D beginning December 21, 2012. One lady, Denise Le Fay, was convinced that the hair loss she was experiencing in 2008 was an ascension symptom. As we can see by looking her up, she's very much still with us on the 3D plane these days, repeating the same tired old scripts New Agers recycle endlessly.

By the way, everything you near New Agers saying today about old systems being dismantled, dark forces being arrested or kicked off the planet, and new economic systems on the horizon? They've been recycling these scripts for years now. Take a look at this page written back in 2012. You got stuff about the complete dismantling of an enormous network of sinister forces," "the arrest and removal of a world-wide cabal," and a "new economic system."

("Cabal," by the way, is a dogwhistle term for "Jews.")

Furthermore, people in this movement are often encouraged to try and access past life memories through dreams or hypnosis, which makes the whole thing feel even more real to them. But the thing is, you can have incredibly vivid experiences about literally anything you put your mind to - the people in the reality shifting having vivid experiences of living another life in the Harry Potter universe are a great example of this. Just because you have vivid experiences, doesn't mean they have any bearing on anything happening in this reality.

So yeah, the starseed movement and the larger New Age movement are both extremely harmful. They promote racist pseudohistory, medically-irresponsible pseudoscience, conspiracy theories that target numerous marginalized groups, and functionally target aliened people with ADHD and autism to convince them that spreading its beliefs is their job.

[astropookie]

astro observations pt yes 🪼

Simeon Salomon (1864)

srry for the inactivity 😭 btw happy pride month 🫂🏳️‍🌈

sun 6H aquarius is a curious combination, they’re awkward but they seem comfortable? But not with you, like they’re not spontaneous? But they’re kind of out of the norm

sag ascendants had, have and are going to have their fuckgirl/fuckboy/how you wanna call it, era.

idk why I insisted that my friend was a virgo or had a lot of virgo and leo energy, even though she said she was a libra sun. then I went to read her birth chart and the planet who ruled her ascendant and the degree were in virgo. she has a sag ascendant, and a virgo jupiter 6°. what he have learned?🤓 check your ruled planet 🤪

I love how every 10H placement tries to not be seen as stupid. in this case, my friend with virgo mercury 10H tries to not exaggerate when she speaks, to not be seen as a fool and the sign -virgo- makes her being so judgmental with herself about it.

why do when i had virgo ascendant in my solar return chart I focused on my inner peace and that means not “dating” bc yes 😭

mercury opposition neptune 3H in solar return: the house shows where neptune is going to be “affected”. so neptune’s on 3H, house of communication and mind—>it’s giving letting yourself be carried away by your compulsive thoughts, overthinking and be too skeptical and mistrustful about what others affirm (on that period of time).

moon 6H square uranus 9H in sr: there’s a conflict between how you truly feel and your beliefs. your beliefs are seen as “rebellious” even though they’re not -people on your environment could be traditional or you have an outstanding nature, etc.- but you feel you don’t want to fucked it up bc of the routine, of the comfort of living in that fake peace.

aries mars square pluto 23° (aquarius) in composite chart: aries mars brings a “push and pull” kind of relationship, they could be always fighting -teasing each other-, there’s a “childish” conduct in their dynamic, they pull each other to the limit. “pluto shows where you may struggle in control and power”. pluto at aquarius degree at this aspect could mean they constantly fight about who’s right but intellectually, who knows more? who can tease without feeling offended?

capricorn moon 1H in composite chart: in this relationship -any type, remember composite chart is not only about romantic relationships-, they’re very critique with each other, its like somehow they have an expectative for each other. with each comment, both can feel offended or that the comment was directed towards them even though it wasn’t.

north node aspecting chiron in composite chart: indicates that the experiences you’re growing into are influenced by chiron. in other words, you’re dealing with your unhealed traumas in this relationship, doesn’t mean they’re the ones who caused it but the ones you’re counting on.

(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ/ᐠ - ˕ -マ.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ♡ ⋆ ˖ ݁ . ₍^⸝⸝> ·̫ <⸝⸝ ^₎ ༘⋆ ૮꒰ྀི⸝⸝> . <⸝⸝꒱ྀིა ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ ૮₍˶ •. • ⑅₎ა

♡ Based on personal experience and I’ve analyzed in my surroundings.

♡ English is not my first language.

♡ I’m not a profesional astrologer.

Thank youu. baibaiii🫣🫶🏼💋

Do not copy. Please give me credits.

[celestialtarot11]

astrology observations

Hi friends! Today we’re discussing power dynamics in relationships, so there is light mention of drug use, abuse, gaslighting and emotional abuse. Please do not read if you are uncomfortable! I kept it light as best as I could. Do leave feedback & comments to help! Id love to hear your thoughts <3

Moon in scorpio- Growing up, emotions were regarded as superficial or was never even acknowledged. Mental health did not exist in the natives family, or it was shunned upon. Very likely an authority figure tried to impose their rules and values onto the native, going as far to have the native, “become like me.” As a way to save their legacy, even though it meant suffocating the native’s individuality. Lots of power dynamics and imbalances, the authority figure projected insecurities and problems onto the native at a young age—expecting the native to be a therapist of some kind. Didn’t allow the native to have a childhood of safety, stability and comfort.

3rd house stellium/virgo asc—If you have both of these, one, or Mercury as your ruler your sibling/s are very important in your healing journey. Depending on the planets in your third house or its ruler, you will find what your siblings can hell you heal/work on in this lifetime. If you have Jupiter in the 3rd, it’s possible you could have older sibling/s who always protected you in bad times. Always stood up for you. Always spoke up for you. Always got you when you had a bad day. The love shared between you two is deep. If Jupiter is in scorpio, both of you dealt with a traumatic upbringing only you two understand so deeply. You both saw each other at your deepest.

Jupiter in scorpio 3h makes for a very strong sibling bond. If it is unafflicted, if aspecting venus, or conj. The bond it intensified even more. The sibling would always look out for the native and even get themselves in trouble for it.

If Jupiter is afflicted with Saturn or Pluto, the sibling relationship dynamic will change. Possibly the sibling could move away and go silent, or deal with severe mental health issues. There ends up being a separation between the siblings, a divide in their morals, values and beliefs.

Taurus rising with moon in the 1st house—Its so interesting to see how this quickly can change depending on where the house ruler is. One can look at this and think this makes for an eloquent, observant and emotional yet passive person. But if the house ruler lies in the 8th house which would be Venus, this changes the meaning entirely. The native is possessed with wisdom and hurt of their traumatic childhood. They often experience tumultuous shifts in their identity, because of their lack of safety in their childhood, they never formed who they were. It is hidden by layers of trauma. But with moon in the first house this native carries their wounds deeply and openly. In some way, their childhood is exposed to family or friends around them. It reveals the pain they went through deeply. It can give them a heavier, intense energy. Something like a void of pain and hurt. They may also have eyes that penetrate deep to the soul because of their power. That being said, these natives have the empowerment to heal themselves on a deep level. They do a lot of inner work and may join therapy for a while to really understand themselves in a safe environment.

Sun in the 9th house, aspecting pluto—The native can become controversial due to a “taboo,” topic in their community. Very likely the native is misunderstood for years regarding what they say, what their message is. Somehow people project their opinions, assumptions without thinking of it affects the native. The native may experience backlash, ignorance from the community, until years later a revelation or truth comes out. People come to find out exactly what the native had been preaching was not only right, but astounding for so long. Sun aspecting moon also gives the native a denser, heavier energy. People may think the native was being rude or brash with their words, but in reality the native is passionate, deliberate, and intelligent.

Sun in the 9h, asp pluto— can also make an individual popular for taboo reasons. Or “heavier,” means. Like speaking up on child trafficking, political issues, ethical issues, getting into forensic criminology, becoming a lawyer, becoming a motivational speaker to help abused victims. As a lawyer the native may also fight a case that either hurts or uplifts their career. That case is something everyone will remember then by.

Chiron in the 12th in Pisces—The native experiences total loss of safety, love and stability. Stripped bare of their identity and personality, it’s likely the native experience gaslighting or emotional abuse of some kind around family or friends. The native had dreams and goals that struggled to reach light because as the native was a child, they were too busy shouldering responsibilities. Too busy caring for individuals who kept hurting them, thinking it was love. Confusing love and abuse all the same. I love you my Chiron 12h 🤍

Saturn in the 12h- Oppressive, absent father figure. If there was a father figure, the father either one: slacked on being a father or two, was obsessive in training the child. Strict rules, strict values, a conservative way of living. The native felt misguided and cornered under the father figure, having high expectations dishes out constantly and never being able to live up to any of them, because they are simply human. Which the father figure fails to comprehend—the nature of the child. Saturn in the 12h denotes the father figure experiencing separation from the child multiple times either due to: jail, alcohol, drug possession, divorce, etc.

Jupiter aspecting mars in pisces—Jupiter aspecting mars can make a native dream of taking action for a long time. Towards their future, love life, career, etc. then one day it hits them that they are spending too much time waiting for it to unfold passively. So they make a change. An impulsive much needed change. They undergo a drastic change physically and mentally. People may talk for a long time about the natives’ choices and decisions, leaving behind a legacy.

Mars in the 11th house—Can make parents/friends/family/people ignorant to the natives abuse. People may often gaslight the native as if the native is simply confused about their experiences, leading to disempowerment of the native. People may try and romanticize what the native experienced as well—glossing over extremely important details. The native gets shoved around in childhood, one to the next, never experiencing true stability. Their stability might just be the time they spend alone.

Venus in the 8h—Experiencing loss through relationships. This could exist in so many forms, betrayal, death, separation, etc. The native may relate to it being, not just one relationship, but it’s most of their relationship in this lifetime that bring up patterns in childhood. The native just wants to feel safe and not crash and burn at every connection. May experience separation with a loved one, someone very close to them. The native asks themselves why this pattern of loss keeps happening in their lives. Where does it come from? Often, a parental figure more-so the mother figure. By understanding their relationship to their mother natives can understand how they learned to cope with unhealthy treatment from others and how its impacting their ability to experience meaningful relationships.

NN in the 12h in Aries—Natives with NN in the 12h often experience isolation whether in prison, at home in an abusive family—or being on their own financially. Isolation in some way or form. NN in aries in the 12h, if you pay attention to the rest of the chart it will describe what kind of trauma the native experienced. Someone with this placement possibly experienced isolation & was forced to grow up to be a better mentor. Better son. Better daughter. Better older siblings. But lacked the guidance on how to. They were left to fend for themselves and figure it out. If the native has a stellium in the 3rd house, its possible they were left to be the better older sibling and weren’t taught how to be better for themselves.

Mercury in Capricorn—Surprisingly a native can struggle with speaking or writing with this placement. Whether it be from having a speech impediment, mutism, etc. or they could have been bullied into believing their voice didn’t matter so they hardly share their feelings and thoughts. When they do people expect them to still play that robotic monotonous role—which hurts them even more. Much love to my cap mercs 🤍 eventually its why capricorn mercurys can go on to be poets or be expressive in art. Because they weren’t allowed normal ways to express their feelings.

At your first saturn return, you will experience a massive life change. Any major circumstance happening at that time will be amplified, because Saturn is showing you lessons regarding growth. Healing never truly ends regardless of our age. At the end of your saturn return you may find that whatever issue you were dealing with will resolve itself much better—regarding your inner work and healing.

Thank ya’ll for reading!! <3 sincerely appreciate any feedback or comments you can give. I hope you are all having a wonderful day/night!

Extra

Paid readings🤍

[n4tsum1-san]

when you think about it, sunday and robin's ideologies are like the indifferent cruelty of the universe vs. the indomitable human spirit

this is kind of an oversimplification but think about it...

sunday is a bird in a cage. his cautious nature was taken advantage of by the dreammaster, and he was indoctrinated into the belief that only strong people survive, and the weak can never find true happiness. he believes the universe is cruel and unforgiving. like the charmony dove he and robin rescued when they were young, only for it to crash and die later. birds will always be better off caged, as long as they are satisfied by fleeting glimpses and dreams of the sky. there is no shame in escape; on the contrary, the seeds of escape exist in everyone's hearts.

robin is a bird who flew and almost fell. she chose a high-stress career full of competition, and the more successful she is, the more scrutiny and pressure she faces. she visited war-torn planets and witnessed desolation firsthand. she nearly died when she got shot delivering medical supplies to the frontlines. and she questioned herself – why do birds fly if they're destined to fall? do we sing to cover up suffering and give people false hope? – but she found an answer. birds fly because it's their dream, their home, their irrevocable right. even in the face of an immutable fate, if you can still sing out without a tremble in your voice, it will definitely be felt.

and in the final fight against sunday, she says this:

"Brother... The weakness of humanity cannot be redeemed by others."

no matter how much sunday wants to protect everyone from the cruelty of the universe, he can't. ultimately, it's not up to him. it is as acheron said:

"The most critical aspect of this plan is not to convince everyone to choose the right path... But to inspire them to save themselves."

yes, reality is harsh. many birds fall and many people die. some suffer fates worse than death. it's natural to want to escape reality, hell, it's okay to feel that way. but things will never change if people escape all the time. the human spirit is destined to shine as much as it is destined to go out. sunday recognizes this, but robin understands it on a more profound level.

[sabahs-stuff]

Manifesting appearance change.

(It seems like everyone has some difficulties when it comes to appearance changes, so let's talk about it. )

Manifestation is easy. But some people find it complicated when it comes to appearance changes since you're constantly living with it, and it's just hard to say the opposite when you constantly see that you have curly hair and say, All day no, I've got straight, and it actually is stressful, and then you cry, calling yourself worthless and saying that you can't do this bla bla, doubting your entire existence. It's all just a whole mess.  🤦‍♀️

You're reading this probably because you want something—something that other manifestation coaches haven't said before, something new. If you ask them, they'll all tell you to keep affirming no matter what, but that's not enough for you. You need to go step by step. 😂 Yeah, I've been there. 

 

"Your appearance is constantly changing. Yeah constantly"

 

Ever noticed Every new born on the planet being born looking the same? They didn't look a certain way. And since you don't have any active thoughts when you're 1 or 2 years old, of course your parents are going to assume things for you, maybe saying, Oh, she looks exactly like her dad. She has eyes like her mother. That's an assumption. Then some other people are going to tell you, Oh, you look like your mother. Then, even though you can't acknowledge that your brain believes that yeah, I do look like my mother,. 

Now for me, if I see a new born, it looks like every new born. But somehow the parents can tell if their nose or eyebrow looks like the father or mother. 😂 when you're in your mother's womb, she already has an assumption about you. Maybe she thinks her child is going to look like the father. 

Some people who are new to learning about manifestation are told that if you affirm nonstop, you're going to change the way you look. After all your life, you believed that you looked like your father. Now someone has told you, bro, you can change your entire face with your brain. No one is going to believe it. I'm not limiting your beliefs. You would need a little time for yourself. So give yourself time before stating that manifestation ain't real.

And I always talk about beliefs. Yeah, it would take some time, depending on your beliefs. Ever wondered why manifestation coaches always get everything so fast because they know that the 3D is their own assumptions.

"You're 3D is your past" And if your current 3D is your past, Think about it: your 3D is that you don't look the way you want, but you know you have your desires in 4D. What did I tell you? 3D is your past. So tell me, where should you start affirming? The 3D or the 4D? Yeah, exactly from the 4D. It's like you already have a phone but are still affirming you want one.

"the 3D is your past life," it's actually a thing. The present you are experiencing now is literally your past. I'm not a science student; I'm just sharing my knowledge. But the brain is more than you think it is. Maybe I need to read more on that topic, and then I'll be able to explain it more. Now that we all understand the fact that our current situation (3d) is based on our own assumptions and others. These are old assumptions this is why you're experiencing whatever is happening in your life right now.

Let's talk about beliefs. We all believe in something, maybe God or the universe, right? ButHave we ever seen the actual universe talking to us? No, but we believe that if we pray it's going to change everything. I come from a religious family, and growing up, I was told that if I did bad things, God would punish me. So I didn't do anything wrong because I was scared to get punished also I believed that praying is going to give me things I wanted and sometimes it actually happened and my faith in God grow even more.

And now, if you ask me if God is real?

“It is impossible to live or to die without God, but it is not impossible to think that you are.

“If you think that you are living or dying without God, you will experience that you are.

- HOME WITH GOD (book name)

Now my believe is that God is in everyone so I do have the power to change my life because I also have powers the powers he gave me. Which means I'm also a god.

How can believing change your appearance? You don't have to do anything. Literally, nothing. Don't affirm, don't visualise, don't script, don't use any manifestation technique, do nothing. Just simply believe a fact about yourself. Without any doubts, just believe in your heart, like something you already have. And trust me, if that doesn't change, I'll delete my account. 😂 but affirming and other techniques help you get the results faster. It helps people who has doubts.

  Trust me on this, start applying this to actually change the way you look, and first things first, if you still have doubts, go on with your life without having your desire. I told you before, and I'm going to say it again: believe it is everything you need. So if you don't believe it, get out. 

 

☞Believe that it is possible to change the way you look. The way you look right now is based on your old assumptions; now change them. And ask yourself about your thoughts right now. Is the negative way you talk about yourself helping anyone? Just affirm and trust me. After a period of time, you'll start to believe it, so give yourself time.

 

☞Get a clear vision of your exact desire

Maybe a dream body, or skin, nose, eyes—literally everything. But to get a clear vision of it, maybe download a picture from Pinterest. And after that, put that on your wallpaper. Or anywhere where you would see it every day. 

The more you visualise, the faster it becomes your reality, and the reason why visualising doesn't work for you is because even though you're actively visualising, you keep thinking that you're going to look like that at a certain time. No, babe, you already look like that. Visualise it to the point where you start dreaming about it. I used to have dreams that I'm the prettiest girl, and when you start seeing that kind of dream, you know your brain believes that you're pretty.  And if you dream the opposite of your manifestation, then girl, you're still believing that you're going to look like that( your desire),"GOING TO" which means your brain still believes that you're not the prettiest girl on earth.

Use subliminals. Gurl, when it comes to appearance change, subliminals are ✨👌🏻 . You can use it overnight. Because you don't overthink during sleep, your brain eats everything the subliminal tells you.

 

And if you're worrying about time, then pookie again, your manifestation would take time according to your beliefs and assumptions. So it depends on you, but if you're on the right track, you will see results within 7 days. And when you start seeing a slight change in the happiness you feel at that moment, make it an assumption that you've gotten your full results. 🩶

MENTAL HEALTH. Because when you're happy, you're detached. Detached from stress, you don't care about the end goal. You know you have it.

 

Find qualities about yourself. And feel proud of yourself. Gurl, let me tell you at the end of the day, you only have yourself. If you're happy or sad, no one but you can feel your feelings. If you die today, you only have yourself. So why would you put anyone else in Pedestal but yourself? Being selfish was the best thing I did for myself. When you put yourself first and start thinking about what the other person has to offer you, no one can treat you badly.

I was always beautiful. It took me some time to realise this, but you're already pretty.

Tell me one thing, even if a person doesn't believe in manifestation. What would happen if she believed good things about herself?

She'll become confident and a positive person, and who doesn't like a positive person? You got anything to lose? You have nothing to lose when you're in manifestation. ✨💖

Now that we are all here, I hope you at least understand something. 

Believe that it's possible to literally change anything.

get a clear vision of your desire.

believe

Visualize

Affirm

now stick there don't let it go

Refuse to let go

Don't not let it go

DO NOT LET GO

☝🏻

Hope this was helpful for you. 🩷🩵

[butterflydm]

cr103 (but more about ludinus)

The only reason that the god issue and the Predathos issue are so tightly entwined are because Ludinus has wrapped them up together.

Ludinus likes to pretend that this is all about helping people make choices about the gods, giving the people the True Knowledge and having them make a decision... except that he's got an invading army, except that he has his own definitely-not-a-god (definitely a god) in Predathos that he is actively trying to unleash, except that he has been the one causing magic to go haywire across the face of Exandria (including making resurrection magic impossible).

Ludinus could have dived into the ruins of Aeor without creating a massive army on the moon to invade the planet! He could be researching the history of the gods without planning to murder them! And if Ludinus were just doing that, and the gods were reacting as strongly as they currently are, then he would have a point about their character!

But he's not doing that. Instead he's made himself the shadow power behind thrones, he's spent years draining and murdering other people for their power and a longer life, he's created an invading army and a cult that targets the vulnerable.

Ludinus has created an active threat that is time-sensitive. He made that choice, no one else did. He created an army; he created the Bloody Bridge; he made magic go wild (releasing many ancient threats). The consequences of his actions have been destructive on a massive scale and he's still actively making things worse for everyone (hoping to swoop in and take advantage of the despair and chaos caused by his own actions! He creates the problem and then proclaims himself the solution!).

He needs to be stopped before anyone can even begin to assess the god question, because the gods are currently (voluntarily) locked up specifically to keep themselves from having that kind of massive impact on the face of Exandria.

(I will also note that one of the Ruby Vanguard's beliefs, said by Tuldus in 3x44, is that "We have been [the gods] toys since we were given purpose. The minute one of us ascended to their position, they've quaked and feared us. We are not their beautiful children. We are their food. We are their power" -- can't help but notice that Ludinus completely ignored that the Raven Queen was with the Prime deities and actively on their side during his orb recording -- it makes me wonder if the orb won't accidentally shake the faith of some of those in the RV who saw the Matron of Ravens as aspirational. Honestly, a lot of what's in the orb flatly contradicts what the RV believes, but whether or not they see that depends on how deep they are in cult thinking.)

[aihoshiino]

chapter 164 thoughts

This post discusses suicide and suicidal ideation in the context of Oshi no Ko.

Chapters Until The Story Ends Without The 143 Kiss Being Addressed Or Acknowledged: 2

Bizarrely, I feel like I don't have a ton to say about this chapter. Not because stuff doesn't happen in it but because… fuck, man. What do I even say. I can't quite 100% shake my suspicion that Akasaka has some asspull up his sleeve and that Aqua might come back in style form, even if altered to the point that he isn't the Aqua we know anymore, but this chapter is clearly set up for us to think he's dead and for us to see other character's reactions to this news, so I'll talk about the text with that assumption in mind. This one will probably be kind of all over the place so bear with me ig

That being said… this is all kind of dumb as fuck, huh

Like. There's just so many insane contrivances with this setup that it's impossible for me to take it seriously. Putting aside that there's no way on planet earth Aqua's plan should have fooled anybody, why in God's name are his family and friends finding out about this from a news broadcast and not, like… Being contacted by the police?? Or at least hearing about it beforehand??

I also really don't like that we're setting up to have a whole chapter focusing on Ruby's response to all this while Aqua's Literal Mother and all his friends get like. Two panels to be shocked at the news. If the series ends without giving them all the space to grieve I think I will be legitimately really pissed off lmao

The presence of 15 Year Lie in this chapter also makes me agonizingly aware that we know basically nothing about it to this day, even though the contents of the movie are what this final arc revolves around. Aqua's plan relies on Kamiki's crimes as exposed by the movie being heinous enough that Kamiki would kill Aqua to silence them but…

WHAT FUCKING CRIMES???

The Kamiki we saw in the movie was only ever portrayed as a victim in the scenes we see. Unless the story is trying to imply that Kamiki is somehow responsible for Uehara and Airi's deaths or that 15YL makes him directly responsible for Gorou's death or - literally I have no idea what this could be referring to.

I dunno, man. It's hard for me to really want to buckle down and analyse this because so much of it feels entirely contrary to the story that came before. I've always insisted that the one thing that we could guarantee was that Aqua and Ruby would survive the series and be happy because so much emotional weight is put on Ai's wish for Aqua and Ruby to grow into adults and be happy, and it really seemed like we were building up to an ending of Aqua deciding for himself that he wants to finally live for himself, so this sudden swerve into Aqua being told by God "actually your purpose in life is to nobly commit suicide for your sister" is uh, jarring to say the least.

Part of the issue with this is that I think Akasaka doesn't think of Aqua's sacrifice as being a suicide, narratively speaking, even though Akane literally acknowledges it as such. But the thing is, Aqua's "sacrifice" is emergent from all the same things as his suicidal ideation - his belief that his life is intrinsically less valuable than everyone else's and his continued guilt and self loathing as a result of his trauma. Aqua literally says to Ruby's face in 143 that he feels guilty just for being alive and it's literally never addressed again.

So it's very difficult not to read this ending as the story approving of Aqua killing himself, but only if it's for the right reasons. Not only is that an insanely irresponsible message to put into a story as widespread and visible as OnK is right now, it's also just fucking ghoulish.

Idk. Even if Aqua lived here, I just really dislike this idea of his whole life's purpose being Narratively Affirmed as being to uplift Ruby at his own expense. Aqua is very much like Ai in that he's a person who has spent basically all of both his lives in service to other people, unable to pursue the things that he wants and that make him genuinely fulfilled - an ending that parallels Ai, where he is denied this to the extent that it kills him, is not a bad idea on paper but the execution here makes it fall apart. Like, if the framing was that Aqua and Kamiki were both unable to move on from the past to the point that it kills them, I'd vibe with that or something like it. But as is, this shit is just baffling.

It doesn't help that Aqua's death is just completely unmoored from anything the series has been setting up all this time. I've seen people defending this as being what Aqua's revenge was building up to, but this very explicitly isn't about Aqua's revenge. It's about "protecting Ruby's future", but the idea that Kamiki was a threat to Ruby specifically is something that was introduced all of four chapters ago. Even then, it's deeply undercooked. Like, what it is about Kamiki that makes him SUCH a threat to Ruby that Aqua has no choice but to take the nuclear option and kill them both? Why is this the one and only way to stop him? We don't know - we basically know nothing about Kamiki besides "he's Ai's crazy ex" which is such a massive letdown for an antagonist who's been built up for this long.

Speaking of Ai…. where the fuck is she!!!

I know this is predictable background noise from the Ai Wife Guy, but it really is baffling to me that she's such a nonfactor when the climax happening right now is her son confronting the man who killed her. At best, we get mild lipservice as to her existence but the series is so all-in on this "protecting Ruby's future" framing that Ai's absence here feels jarring. It's not just that Ai should be relevant because I like her (but I DO and she SHOULD) but because it makes for a bizarrely deflated finale. Instead of the tragedy we've been building up to avenging for over 140 chapters, Aqua's death comes as the result of a plan he came up with on the spot to deal with an ill-defined threat that only came into existence 4-6 chapters ago.

It just doesn't really feel satisfying, especially when the series has been so wishy washy when it comes to focusing on Aqua and Ruby's relationship. If the series was going to make that connection The central axis on which this climax revolves, then it needed more fleshing out than it got, regardless of if the series went the AquRuby route or not.

Two chapters left………..

[ancientgoddessofegypt]

Saturn's Rewards. Time, Commitment, & Learning How To Be A Boss.

Saturn rewards you based off your commitment, discipline, and the amount of effort you put in to obtain the material reality you want.What beliefs, morals, and ideals do you keep in mind to ground yourself? Are you willing to face challenges and adversity? Do you remember to say thank you to the divine even when everything seems down bad?

Looking to where the planet is in your chart will speak volumes on this.

Saturn in the first house has to look forward and see things from their first mind. The second comes after. Just because there is nothing but dirt doesn't mean it cant be made into something special. I heard they sell dirt nowadays, making money off hard shit and making it a gold mine. Thats alchemy.

Commit to yourself and not what others see or think of you. The grass is always greener when its in your own yard.

Saturn in the second needs to learn their values & freedom will apply itself in the future. Financial freedom that is. The cold lessons gotta kick in before you can spend that gold from that treasure you just found! What good is it for a man to have the whole world but with the loss of his soul?

If you want to expand on your fortune, you must first appreciate the things you had before it all started piling in. Remembering your values is how you sustain your possessions and whats worth keeping. You dont need anything thats for shits n giggles all the time. You need things that will show growth in the future, not stagnancy. What are you willing to do to get the things you want? Your soul wants more but commit to having VALUES in place to receive the ideal manifestations of your worldly reality.

Saturn in the third, speak loud or forever hold your peace. These mountains need an echo from the village, and your words hold the key to salvation. You mirror societies dark picture, and theyll paint you into a villian if they can. But not without a fight first. Dont hold your tongue, as the truth will set you and others free.

Speak with authority as the teacher in you propels others to think for themselves and appreciate the power of their minds. You just gotta give it to em a little harder, but they'll think you later ;)

Saturn in the fourth house, the golden child. Yes i said it. They learn the way of their ancestors at a young age. Hell, they might even be the ancestor reincarnated. Jus gotta show everyone a thing or too before you hit it off to the next dimension ;)

These big brains know a lot and carry wisdom like no other. Its a shame that others force themselves (yes, force) to misunderstand them when their young and will convince themselves once more when their old. They can't handle the youngin holding them at a standard they themselves never gave em. Only saturn ;)

Saturn in the 5th. Play play play baby, we only got one life to live and we need yall to live it. They take things to new heights when you give em a lift. Their sturdy on the ground but they dont mind being picked up. They love to be head over heels for someone, they just wont break their standards for you so... they'll typically have to deal with bargainers from time to time. Lucky for them they never budge, which is why they stay single for a while until they find that one. They adore a love affair like in the 90s romance films, but only if it last forever. Their not too into fairytales.

Can be the life of the party but theirs limits to it. Their not your flat out drunk type, but they will be the social drinker.

Again, these babes have a standard and they hold a really good reputation for themselves & they will not do anything stupid for the sake of others enjoyment. More mature settings are best for them, no matter the age.

Saturn in the 6th house, Work work work work work! This is the house they strive in. A beneficial place for saturn before saturn is all about commitment, working hard and putting in the effort even if it makes them sick. Because thats what its like working with the 6th house (or being a virgo) and they can handle it.

Some of the hardest workers and are usually respected and valued by their co-workers and bosses due to them understanding the rules and working with them. Won't talk back unless necessary and pretty much will finish their duties without rebeling against authority. The thing is, they are naturals when it comes to management or being at the head of something so they understand what to do and what not to do. Also prone to take their time no matter how long it takes.

Saturn in the 7th, lonely lovers.. lol jk. these people are really romantic when they want to be, its hard for them to pick the right partners at time due to an influx of standards that are impossible for others to truly meet. Their a rare breed looking for another rare gem to live happily forever with. As that is not a problem, they must face themselves through the art of others showing up for them in a way they wouldn't have noticed was in them all along. Who ever they date is mirroring the inner turmoil they face on a daily, the partner is just turning up the charm on this one.

These radiators are turbulent in mass destruction when their needs aren't met in partnerships. They'll become the storm and turn everything upside down when their not facing the moments that are there to teach em a lesson. Helping them understand the dialects they have between them and other much deeper. It is for their personal growth. Believe in yourself and a better love will come.

Saturn in the 8th, testy testy. Your heart belongs to the world, your blessed to see the unknown from a consciousness thats presented with a crock of bullshit since the time you were born... not kidding. You may see things from more complexed lens from your peers but how you talk they would never know.

You have insights on how the world really works, and for better for worse you can transform things to something beneficial.

the darkside has its perks, you just have to appreciate the light a little better and everything will come together.

9th house saturns just know it all, a cosmic gift. They've learned a lot through past lives and bring it all back to us so we can appreciate the inner knowings of their minds. Their thoughts hold philosophical treasures that help us stick to a certain belief instead of always changing them. Its okay for our thoughts to evolve, but when their constantly changing with no background check it becomes a problem. 9th house saturns believe in committing to a ideal to get the better contract. Otherwise, we'll always be following someone else's tricks to believing in something that doesnt work for society as a whole but just for that person. These individuals train their minds to think bigger and expand on certain details before just sitting with a belief, its just better that way. They need to learn more so they can appreciate the wheel turning to different tides.

Saturn in the 10th, think big, dream big, be BIG. In its rightful house, these potential bosses will rule their world and leave a mark. They know what they want for themselves and they must commit to the details before that plan can get in order.

They must learn themselves in a way that others would not see coming. No such thing as potential when they already are the thing they want to embody, yall just havent seen it yet. They collect enough data before they take the world by storm with their mission and things begin to take shape for them to create space for their higher self. The kings and queens of manifesting their reality, they usually carry a lot of faith with them as they work hard to be where they want to be.

Saturn in the 11th, work hard. play hard. dont forget to thank the community, they did a lot just so they could see you win! Dont run away from help, thats your lesson here. The way you commit to yourself is the fastest way to get others to see your dreams and help you, too. This one is way shorter, i had to get straight to the point <3

Saturn in the 12th, you helpless helpers, lol jk. Seriously though, you guys need to see yourself in a better light. All that guilt shame and fear isnt doing anything but stopping you from achieving what you want. You know, calling yourself that bad word doesnt mean thats what you are... so why keep tricking your mind like that? its only going by what you say it. You're consciousness is smarter than you think. Once you learn the mind you can challenge the mind to benefit you. Commit to changing your way of thinking and watch how reality shape shifts into the world you want to be in.

hope that helps. enjoy everybody!

[princess-nobody]

Avatar Rant: Two Avatar takes that bother me

(Pssst! This was originally posted on reddit, but I liked it so much I decided to post it onto my this account! Here's a link to the original if you'd rather read it there!)

So, I saw a semi-viral tweet a while back that bothered me because it not only felt like a complete misunderstanding of the point of Avatar as a film franchise, but also just a very childish view of how societies and different communities function. I can't find it though (I didn't interact with it and it has since been buried) so I apologize for not being able to give the best context.

It was your typical RDA sympathizing humanity first take (makes sense, the account that tweeted it was a walking red flag) that claimed that the na'vi were stupid for not accepting human advancement and technology, that humanity should always put its preservation first, and that the RDA were simply prioritizing the well being of their people whilst the na'vi wanted them gone. I want to start by addressing the latter take(s).

The first and second movies make it very clear that the RDA are NOT prioritizing the survival of Earth or humanity. They are a money hungry organization that want to monetize pandoran resources to their dying people in hopes to squeeze out whatever little money they have left. The people of Earth are said to be protesting them for that very reason, every solution to their planet's problems that they have discovered is insanely expensive and inaccessible to anyone below the upper class one percent. The RDA don't care about humanity, they care about profit, which is the exact reason why their actions are so callous in the films.

There are certainly humans that want to preserve humanity, but I truly cannot wrap my head around how you can watch either film and come to the conclusion that it is the RDA that wants the best for humanity. Avatar is not a "human bad" movie, it is a "corporate greed bad" movie, which is reflective of real life environmental issues. The individual is green, the individual recycles and doesn't litter, the individual cleans their local rivers and sea shores. However, the powerplants continue to polute our air, the corporations continue to flood our oceans with plastic, the rich continue to cut corners and burn the air with private jets.

I truly believe the reading of Avatar as an anti-humanity movie is what has lead to people thinking the RDA are the "good guys". It is because they actually believe the RDA are supposed to represent humanity and their will to keep surviving (and that James Cameron is portraying them as wrong for that), when it is clear they are a representation of the corporate greed that leads to environmental damage and the destruction of humanity.

As for the belief that the na'vi are hostile and somehow wrong for not caring to "advance" in the way humanity did, that is just flat out wrong. When it came to the respectful, peaceful humans such as Grace and her team, the na'vi were incredibly welcoming. I mean, Grace built an entire school for them and taught them human language and other human academics, so clearly they aren't against learning from humans. Again, Avatar is clear about the fact that humans as a collective aren't bad, corporate greed is.

However, why should the na'vi "advance" when there is no need to? Innovation is built on the back of necessity, and in a world where there is no need for certain technological advancements, why should the na'vi chase it? Why do they need phones and tablets and video games and McDonalds? They are living just fine without it. This idea that every society needs to be "modernized", even when they function just fine without said modernization has always driven me up a wall.

This entitlement from the western world is what leads colonial brained weirdos to try and go to indigenous islands and force religion or their world view upon them, because they believe that if a society doesn't function like the "modern" world, it is wrong. The na'vi don't need currency, or modern tech, or modern trends or fast food. They aren't perfect, but they also aren't in a desperate situation that would call for innovation or some sort of technological evolution. They are fine, they don't need nor even want it, and it is strange to believe humanity is in their right to force it upon them.

I'll stop this here because it's getting too long, I would love to hear your thoughts. Last time I made a post in this vein I got some really interesting responses, I couldn't reply to all but I'll try and reblog if that means anything!

[sassysnakedemon]

I've been thinking (I know, that's dangerous)

So, I last posted about being weird about the news about GO3, and drinking whiskey with fly shit in it. Well, now I've been drinking whiskey without fly shit in it, and I have new thoughts.

Mostly these - it doesn't really matter what they do with GO3. It doesn't really even matter if we get a GO3. Because the planet is burning, and there's an American election on the horizon that has the potential to change the entire world. GO3 seems small in that comparison. Maybe that's the whiskey talking, but there it is.

I have a sinking suspicion that the Orange Menace is going to win. My friends are taking odds on it, but the main consensus is that he will win. And then enact (or try to) a dictatorship in America. America, who was the first enactor of Democracy. This will reverberate throughout other Democratic nations. There are several of them that are starting to be fascist leaning. My own (Canada) included. Yes, I said Canada. Canada is starting to lean so far right that fascism isn't out of reach. I live in fear. And in poverty, as, while inflation in the US is ridiculous, it is damaging to human life in my country.

I'll give an example. I make roughly 30k per year. My husband makes roughly 60k per year. My mother, who lives in the same house makes roughly 30k per year. Our house has recently been valued (and it used to be valued at about 300K) at 1.5 MILLION. Our combined incomes could not even get us 10% down on a mortgage on the home WE LIVE IN. Thank Somebody that we already own it, or we for sure could NOT afford it now. And yes, I absolutely recognize the privilege that we already owned this property at the earlier value. Thank Somebody for generational 'wealth'. I say that in quotes, because we're nowhere near wealthy, and yet, so much better off than others.

I personally know people who cannot afford to live on CANADA's minimum wage (which is a slightly respectable 17.30 per hour), one of whom is living in my house (despite her making almost 25 per hour), and I cannot fathom how anyone is expected to live on the US's 7.25 per hour. That was the minimum wage when I last worked in the US - almost 20 years ago. And it wasn't enough then. I now make almost 40 an hour (as a business owner, no less), and it still isn't enough. Not enough to get ahead. I maintain, at best. That's where we are up here in Canada. 40 per hour doesn't get you shit all. So, what does that say about 17.30 per hour? Or, even worse, 7.25 per hour (which by CAD today is 10.05)?

So let's go back to the Orange Menace trying to enact a fascist dictatorship in America - it's possible. He will try to undermine the Constitution at every turn. Because it doesn't sit well with his narcissism. And yes, Generals of the military are willing to put a stop to him going against Constitutional order. But are their underlings in the military willing to do the same? Because if not, friendly fire is a thing. And I know there are many Trump supporters within the military. So that sits us with a Civil War in America. Again. But now, the 'New Improved Civil War, this time with NUKES!' Do you want that? I admit, it makes for excellent entertainment value, but it has far reaching consequences. Consequences that affect far more than just the US. We're talking all Democratic nations, as well as all Enemies of the State. Not to mention that the US will be dealing with a Civil War at the same time.

This sounds like Hell to me. And if it is to be, then I don't want to be here for it.

I have fought intrusive thoughts for so long. I have fought them with the belief that things would get better. They are getting worse. America is set to become Gilead, Canada is set to follow suit, Democracy is set to fall, and if that all happens, then I'll say a cheery 'Bye', and take myself out of it.

So after thinking all of that, what a few people do for a show I very admittedly love, seems small. The world is burning. I am burning with it. I am angry, desperate, willful, but in this moment, defeated.

I am so sorry for this whiskey-soaked rant. But at the same time, not so sorry. The world picture is bleak, and we can soak our souls in entertainments while the world burns, but it won't stop the world burning.

As a last cry from Gen X - FIGHT THE POWER!!! Fight as hard as you can - NOLITE TE BASTARDES CARBORUNDORUM!!!

And go vote if you're an American. Only you can stop a Civil War in its tracks.

[quickcharlie]

Denis Villeneuve discussing Dune Part 2 in an interview with the New York Times today, including whether he will be reading any FeydPaul fan fiction lol

He explains why Lady Jessica’s face is so heavily tattooed, whether Paul considers himself the Messiah and what he thinks of those Javier Bardem memes.

This weekend, “Dune: Part Two” muscles back into IMAX theaters with the verve of Timothée Chalamet rodeo- riding a giant sandworm. After nearly two months in theaters, the film is the current champion of this year’s box office race, with a total take of more than $680 million. (It’s also available to rent or buy on some streaming platforms.) The film’s success is thanks in part to audiences that have returned over and over to get lost in the rocky warrens and spiritual reckonings of the planet Arrakis. One admirer reports he’s seen the movie 25 times to date.

That there’s so much to explore in “Dune: Part Two” is a credit to its writer and director, Denis Villeneuve, who boldly reshaped Frank Herbert’s complex and cerebral 1965 novel “Dune.” Villeneuve split the book and its themes into two films: “Dune: Part One,” released in 2021, focused on the political struggles between two families, the Atreides and the Harkonnens. “Part Two” delves into religious fervor as the two surviving Atreides, young Paul (Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), ingratiate themselves with Arrakis’s Indigenous desert tribe, the Fremen, by allowing the locals to believe that Paul is their Messiah — a prophecy that, if it comes to pass, will mean the slaughter of billions of victims across the galaxy.

Villeneuve has yearned to tell this story since he was a in . His devotion is palpable; every frame feels steeped in monkish contemplation. Yet, he’s also a visual dramatist who doesn’t want audiences to get tripped up by too much exposition. His scripts give only passing mention to core concepts like spice, a psychedelic dust that powers everything from space travel to Paul’s clairvoyant hallucinations.

Though Villeneuve doesn’t want to overexplain, he was willing to provide some answers in an interview via video where every question about the film — even silly questions! — was on the table.

Does Chalamet’s Paul Atreides actually believe he’s the Messiah? What’s the meaning of Jessica’s face tattoos? Villeneuve also got into the erotic lives of his desert dwellers and the extra narrative weight he threw behind Paul’s Fremen love interest, Chani, played by Zendaya. As Villeneuve said with a grin, “Chani is my secret weapon.”

Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

The last time we spoke, you weren’t sure what to make of the sandworm-shaped “Dune” popcorn bucket. It went on to be so popular that it sold out in cities before opening day and is being resold online for around $175. What do you think of it now?

I thought that the bucket was an insane marketing idea. I laughed so much. It is so out there. I don’t know who designed it, but they’re a bit of a genius. I’m at peace with the bucket.

In this film, Javier Bardem’s character Stilgar is reduced to a guileless follower of Paul Atreides, who Stilgar believes is the new Messiah. His conversion is tragic. But also, Bardem’s awe-face has become a funny meme, and the second time I saw the movie, people laughed at almost every line he spoke. Did that reaction surprise you?

No. I am very happy when you say that he is a tragic figure. For me, he is the most tragic figure of all. The idea to bring humor to Stilgar was to make him lovable, to feel the humanity in that character. He’s not an austere figure, he has a big heart. But his beliefs, his faith, his reactions bring humor — and that is something I love about making a sci-fi film, because I can talk about that without offending people because it’s a fake religion. I designed all the prayers myself, so I know it’s fake. I find Stilgar very funny. And when people laugh, I’m happy because that was the intention.

Someone makes a dig that Stilgar has found a savior again. This is not even his first time? All his life he has been raised with that dream. So I suggest that every time a guy comes from outside with a lot of charisma, he hopes he’s found him. Like in the Bible, we have tons of prophets before Jesus came.

The arc of “Dune: Part Two” is Paul accepting that he must become the Messiah — and get billions of people killed. Does he truly believe that he is the Messiah? Or does he just decide to let the Fremen believe that he is? I don’t think he believes that he is the Messiah. I think he feels the burden of the heritage that the Bene Gesserit [the mystical sisterhood that Jessica belongs to] have laid among the Fremen, and he sees the potential to use that religious power to survive. Paul is warned that no man can survive drinking the spiritual water of life. But as that’s part of the lore of a planet seeded with manipulative propaganda by his own mother, I have to ask: Have other men actually been drinking the water and dying? Have they been scared off from trying? Is the warning just a setup for a magic trick?

There are people that have tried it in the past and died. In Frank Herbert’s world, femininity is a power. I think Herbert was fascinated by motherhood, by the power of creation. I love this idea that the power is held by women. It’s something that was ahead of his time when he wrote it and I tried to put the focus on it. You say so much with Jessica’s costuming. In the first film, her look is immaculate and baroque. This film begins with her in rags, but she finds another path to being dressed and treated like royalty. And she gets a lot of tattoos on her face. Why did she get so many more face tattoos than the outgoing reverend mother?

She’s trying to play on the symbolism that was put in the prophecy. She’s supposed to be the mother of the Messiah, so I wanted to bring the idea that she was like the pope of the reverend mothers on Arrakis. There’s some kind of madness in writing elements of the prophecies on her face. Frankly, I think when you drink the worm poison, it affects your sanity — and the same with Paul. I like the idea that we feel she’s going too far. Jessica is already pregnant when the first movie ends, and she’s still pregnant at the end of this film. Which means you had to condense this massive story into less than nine months because her body is a time clock. The idea was to compress the book so that Paul will feel the pressure to get the Fremens’ trust, to start gearing up — but not to succeed, not to have the time to create a real war. Time is against him.

Because in the book, this takes years. Long enough for Jessica to give birth to a very unnerving daughter, Alia. We glimpse Alia as an adult — she’s played by Anya Taylor-Joy — but you skipped over seeing her murder people as a toddler. Was it hard to decide no “murder toddler”?

I think pregnant women look tremendously powerful. To use that power was very exciting. And usually when you see a pregnant woman onscreen, she’s always giving birth. To avoid that moment, to stay in the state of being pregnant, I thought was very Frank Herbert-like. I was going away from the killer toddler, but I thought that was more fresh and original. Honestly, it’s one of the things that I’m proudest of in the adaptation. Speaking of female power, let’s talk about Chani.

Chani is my secret weapon. Frank Herbert was sad to realize that people saw the book as a celebration of Paul Atreides. He wanted to do a cautionary tale against messianic figures, a warning against blending religion and politics. I wrote the second movie trying to be more faithful to Frank Herbert’s intentions than to the book. In the book, Chani is just a follower. I came up with the idea of her being reluctant. She gives us the critical distance and perspective on Paul’s journey. I wanted to make sure the audience will understand that Paul becomes a dark figure, that his choices are exactly what Chani was afraid of. He becomes the colonizers the Fremen were fighting against. And then the movie becomes the cautionary tale Frank Herbert was wishing for.

Paul makes a choice at the end that will go on to kill billions of people. That’s so large and theoretical that it’s hard to grasp. But you structure your climax so that in that moment of betrayal, he’s also betraying the love of his life — a betrayal we understand.

He betrayed her in many ways. But the big thing for Chani is that it’s not about love. It’s about the fact that he becomes the figure that will keep the Fremen in their mental jail. A leader that is not there to free the Fremen, but to control them. That’s the tragedy of all tragedies. Like the Michael Corleone of sci-fi, he becomes what he wanted to avoid. And he will try to find a way to save his soul in the third part.

But “Dune Messiah,” the book your third film is based on, picks up 12 years later with a reunited Paul and Chani. How far did you feel you could push her anger? Because at some point, she’s going to have to forgive him. That anger is tremendous. I don’t want to reveal what I’m going to do with the third movie. I know exactly what to do. I’m writing it right now. But there’s a lot of firepower there and I’m very excited about that decision. In the spirit of no dumb questions, Chani says that Paul sand-walks like a drunk lizard. Which means Arrakis has booze?

Actually, there is spice beer. In the book, there are Fremen parties, even some orgies involving spice. I didn’t bring that into the movies because it’s PG-13.

Body fluids have significance to the Fremen. Spitting is the giving of water, a sign of respect. But tears and vomit are a waste. So what is kissing?

As long as you don’t lose your humidity, you can kiss. It’s an exchange of fluids — an act of love, when you think about it. Fremens love to kiss.

What about the, um, other romantic fluids? You cannot have sex outside, for sure. But they are very sexual. I suspect that all sexual intercourse happens in environments that are protected from losing moisture. When they are in their sietches [or caves] underground, those are sealed. You don’t need to wear stillsuits inside them. We can deduce from that there is no problem to have sex in a sietch.

By the way, who decided that Fremen was pronounced Freh-men and not Free-men? All the pronunciations, I took them from recordings of Frank Herbert’s voice. Frank Herbert used “Freh-men,” which I love. It makes it less on-the-nose.

You kept two major characters out of the first movie and only introduced them now: the princess Irulan, played by Florence Pugh, and the Baron Harkonnen’s nephew Feyd-Rautha, played by Austin Butler. The princess is the first voice in the books, the first face onscreen in David Lynch’s “Dune” [1984]. What made you sure holding them back was the right move, despite three years of fans asking, “Hey, where are they?” When people ask me what was the biggest challenge in making those movies, it’s writing them. In order to make this adaptation, we have to make big, bold decisions. One was that the first movie should be seen from Paul’s perspective. I wasn’t able to do that entirely because I had to go to the Harkonnens’ side to introduce them so that the story will be clear, but I tried to find an elegant simplicity in the story structure. And I wanted, frankly, to keep some firepower for the second movie.

Why is Feyd-Rautha’s gladiator scene in black and white? And what are the splats in the sky above the dome?

Frank Herbert explores the impact of ecosystems on cultures, on humans. How it influences the way we evolve — our biology, culture, technology, mythology, religion. The psychology of a tribe is linked with their environment. If you want to know things about the Fremen, you observe the desert. I wanted to have the same approach to the Harkonnens. They killed nature. It’s a plastic planet. One thing left was sunlight, but instead of a sun that reveals color, it kills colors. When you are outside, it’s all black and white. It gives us ideas about how these people perceive reality, politics, violence in a binary world — it brings the idea of fascism. It also gave me the opportunity to bring images that remind us in our memories of World War II and the Nazi regime. So it’s an idea that I had as I was writing. Then I had the idea to have strange fireworks in the sky that will look like Rorschach drawings. It’s a nightmarish celebration. The perception of a dome is not accurate. It’s just that the fireworks reach a certain altitude and then they explode. But it’s true that it looks like a liquid that falls from the sky.

Forgive me if I am not being fair to sadistic, psychopathic Feyd-Rautha. But all of the gladiators were supposed to be drugged for his happy birthday massacre. The one who secretly isn’t puts up a worthy battle. So I assumed that Feyd-Rautha isn’t that great of a fighter. But at the end, he’s the only warrior who is Paul’s equal?

It’s a show. You see that the Harkonnens are very cruel and their society is very paranoiac. His opponent is known in the books as one of the great fighters, Lieutenant Lanville. I tried to show that Feyd is excited to have a real opponent. He has a code of honor, he respects the effort, and he has fun with it. That’s the idea I tried to convey — he’s not a coward.

Audiences might remember that the Bene Gesserit wanted Jessica’s child to be a girl, that Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides was supposed to be female. And they specifically bred Feyd-Rautha to be a male. Were they hoping these youngsters would mate?

Yeah. They are trying to increase the potential of humanity by breeding the best specimen of each tribe or family. A baby between Feyd-Rautha and an Atreides daughter would have brought peace between Harkonnens and the Atreides, and created an über being.

Will you read any of the internet fan fiction spawned by the idea of Timothée and Austin hooking up?

[Laughs] But you know, we approached their fight at the end like some kind of symbolic union. The way their bodies get close to one another, there’s something animalistic, an intimacy, I was looking for.

I rewatched the first film again recently. It opens with a quote in another language: “Dreams are messages from deep.” I love that quote. It feels like how a film resonates, too. But it wasn’t until I had subtitles on at home that I realized who said it. Of all the important characters and cultures to establish, you gave that major moment — the very beginning of your franchise — to an anonymous Sardaukar from the murderous imperial army that we’re cheering to see get killed. Why?

I love your question. The Sardaukar are the dark side of the Fremen. I thought it would be interesting to have a tiny bit of insight that they are not just tremendous warriors, but they have spirituality, philosophical thought. They have substance. Also, their sound was designed by Hans Zimmer. I absolutely loved how it feels like it’s coming from the deep, from the ancient world. Frank Herbert said beginnings are very delicate times. By starting with a Sardaukar priest, I was indicating to the fans that I was taking absolute freedom with this adaptation, that I was hijacking the book. But you also deeply love the book. So when you make these bold changes, do you feel like asking Frank Herbert for forgiveness?

Yes. There’s so many darlings that you kill. An adaptation is an act of violence.

“There’s so many darlings that you kill,” Denis Villeneuve said of filming “Dune,” a book he loved. “An adaptation is an act of violence.”

[divinityandfanfics]

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

The Galaxies Above

PRODUCT INFO . when a wanted angel is oblivious to what is going on in the galaxies above, not even knowing that she is a goddess, kento nanami strikes. but, does he get distracted while doing the mission?

PRODUCT CONTENTS . different power system (kinda) , assassin nanami , space being nanami , christianity / belief in God involved , kinda dark story

As they stood in moonlight’s embrace, their baby daughter was born. “She’s beautiful, Satoru.” The God of Galaxies, Suguru, said softly. “Yes, she is.” Satoru, the God of Space, agreed without any hesitation.

Suguru chuckles, pressing his thumb on their baby daughter’s face. “My angel. She’s going to grow up and turn into a Goddess. Maybe even better than me.” Suguru said playfully, looking at Satoru.

“Mhm. She’s going to grow up and turn into someone like you and me, love.” Satoru said, squishing his daughter’s chubby cheeks. “I’ll name her (Y/N) Gojo.” Suguru said, cradling his daughter with a smile on his face, happy with his family.

As they were sleeping in the cold breeze of the night, Suguru and his baby daughter were sleeping soundly as Satoru sat in the corner of their palace, watching the moonlight. He slowly closed his eyes, praying for the health of their baby daughter to the Holy One, the only being above all else.

“Lord, protect my newborn. Give her the riches she should store in her heart.” Satoru prayed before going to sleep with his new family. “I love you, my dearest.” He said, kissing his baby’s forehead and his lover’s before drifting off to sleep.

HELLISH-FLAMES NATION

“We need to make a plan to ambush those goddamn monsters.” Toji said with hatred in his eyes. Stabbing the tree next to him. “We need to find a way to avenge our sacred land. Where only we will rule. Where nobody will interfere, like those angels!” Toji yelled, and the devils cheered for him as he grinned.

“Those weaklings have no right to invade our land. HELLISH-FLAMES belong to us, and only us devils!” Toji roared, the devils jumping and agreeing with him.

“Tonight, we will invade their land like how they invaded ours! Get ready for battle!” Toji said, grabbing a cursed tool. The devils roared in rage, they planned on invading GOLDENSKIES by midnight, getting their things ready.

GOLDENSKIES EMPIRE, 11:56 PM

The hand of the clock was so close to midnight, the devils waiting at Heaven’s gate. Once the clock hit midnight, the devils all attacked in unison, their voices spilled with anger.

The angels tried to fight back but they were outnumbered as multiple angels were still asleep. Suguru had heard this catastrophe happen and was awoken. He woke Satoru up as they both unleashed a roar that woke up every angel who was still asleep.

“You devils! We will destroy you, once and for all!” Suguru cursed, flying up in the sky to create a force field which will permanently make every devil banish. Yet, it almost took his life. Satoru looked at Suguru, before his gaze drifted to their baby daughter.

He then set her to Earp, the Planet of Humans. He put her on a random doorstep, leaving to go help Suguru up in the Galaxies.

Suguru groaned as he tried to hold them back, Satoru appearing to help him. With their magic together, the force field was created. The devils all got banished from the Heavens, going back to HELLISH-FLAMES.

Afterwards, the angels who survived all surrounded and formed a circle over Satoru with his unconscious lover, Suguru. Satoru nuzzled against his neck, before falling unconscious himself.

The angels brought them both to their temple, to talk with the Guardian of Life, and the Guardian of Death. To see if they’re still alive. They brought them both to Archangel Yuki, Guardian of Life, and Archangel Choso, Guardian of Death.

“Oh, Archangels! Show us if their hearts are still beating, if their lungs are still breathing, and if their brains are still thinking.” Angel Ino chanted.

Archangel Yuki and Choso appeared before them, walking forward, Archangel Yuki felt their hearts. “This.. I’ve never seen anything like it!” Archangel Yuki smiles.

“Even though they are not alive anymore, their hearts are still beating for each other in Choso’s realm. Let them be free in peace, they sacrificed themselves for the sake of everyangel. They are now in THETRUEREALM. Thank you for making me feel their love for each other.” Archangel Yuki smiled, before vanishing with Choso.

EARP, 4:23 PM

A baby started to weep, and the old lady heard it from inside. Said old lady opened the door, met with a crying baby girl covered in white cloth that shines throughout the afternoon breeze.

“Wow, what a beautiful baby!” The old lady was shocked, carrying the baby in her arms. “Oh, don’t cry pretty baby! You’ll probably have such a future as beautiful as you.” She murmured.

“Maybe whoever left you here couldn't take care of you. Or, was in grave danger and just wanted to keep you safe.” She smiled down at the baby, then entered her apartment complex, setting the infant down the couch, giving her gentle belly rubs.

“Who would’ve left you here? You look like a daydream.” — “You know, I always wished for a child of my own. And my prayers have finally been answered. I’m Utahime Iori.” Utahime smiled, carrying the baby in her arms.

“What should I name you, little angel?” She asked, and the infant smiled up at the old lady, making Utahime melt. “So cute! I’ll name you Angel. Since you look like one.” Utahime muttered, holding the baby up in her arms as if inspecting her.

“Now, let’s go and get you all dressed up.” She said, before going to one of the rooms and giving Angel proper clothes.

HELLISH-FLAMES NATION, 3:48 AM

“Ugh, those stupid angels got to us again.” Toji’s assistant, Shiu, muttered, scoffing. “Don’t worry, Shiu. Devils always win in the end.” Toji reassured.

“We’ll use the power of space beings, one that will surely get us victory. We just need to get their daughter, then threaten to kill her when they don't undo the shield they have created.” Toji grinned, satisfied with his plan.

“So, out of all of our workers that are omnipotent beings in space, who do you choose?” Shiu asked.

“Pick the most dangerous. Convince it that angels have done us wrong. Then, tell it to get the daughter of Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo. All of them know how to detect Angelic Aura, am I right?” Toji asked.

“Yes, Kento Nanami would be the perfect candidate for that job. He has death touch.” Shiu informed, fixing his tie. “Death touch?” Toji repeated, his eyes widening.

“That’s the deadliest ability ever.” Toji grinned, nodding at Shiu. “He’s perfect. Get him.”

“Right away.”

“He’s in the Space Chambers. Line 1620.” Shiu pointed towards the tall building floating in space. “He’s in the last line? That's how dangerous he is, huh.” Toji murmured, a hand rubbing his chin.

“Actually, he’s the last in that line.” Shiu smiled, “Meaning Kento Nanami is the most powerful we’ve ever captured.”

[zeb-z]

I am absolutely positively losing it at how Bo Katan drops the ball so hard. I was prepared for her to be more of an obstacle in the face of Din having the Darksaber, for her to be petty and reluctant to give up any form of leadership she has having gathered the Mandalorians - but she really sat on that throne and gave us nothing.

It’s so Bo Katan to be such a disappointment. To go against what she claims her morals to be. If she really wanted the Mandalorian people to be reunited, for Mandalore to be reclaimed, she wouldn’t have just given up upon not getting the Darksaber. She wouldn’t be turning away anyone who still wants to join the cause of reclaiming their planet. She wouldn’t have given up at such a roadblock if she had really cared for her people and her culture.

Bo tells Din to retake Mandalore and lead them himself, as if there’s no greater joke. Wave that thing around, they’ll do whatever you say. And when he asks if she’s given up, she lashes out. Sits there and says his people gave up long before the purge, how his cult fractured their people, how his beliefs are a joke. How he’s a fool to go to a planet that’s so destroyed it’s hopeless, and he calls her out. I thought you said the curse was a lie, make up your mind.

She only uses ‘our’ when she says ‘our people’ to continue to insult him, accuse him of what she’s done before, what she’s doing now - failing their people. Scattering the Mandalorians. She picks and chooses what traditions and cultures of her people to take to heart based on convenience. She’s not loyal to her people but to her own ideals and power.

This is why Din Djarin has always been and always will be a better leader and representation of the Mandalorians. The way he follows has always been about protecting his clan and himself, but when his tradition is put against saving his child, he saves his child and would do so over and over again. Yet he still wants to atone because the respect of his people is important to him. Versus Bo Katan, who does not care enough about her people to even consider trying to bring them together without being the ruler of them all, to try and keep her people alive even if it means rethinking tradition.

To her, ruling has never been about the people of Mandalore. It has never been about reuniting their people who survived a cultural and a literal genocide. Ever since her days in Death Watch, it has never been about truly leading her people into something better. It has always been about her pride. It has always been about being right.

[pineapplerightsideupcake]

I’ve been struggling how to word this, and I’m sure it sounds terrible, but I don’t have much sympathy for de trans ppl. I’m not saying they deserve it or that I’m happy some suffered, especially if they’re young but it’s really difficult to hold sympathy and concern when most trans ppl are very obnoxious and delusional. Let me explain: I have a lot of trans friends that it’s very difficult to get them to listen and they’re very stuck in their mindset. I know a guy who looks like a man, calls himself nonbinary and has said he uses the woman bathroom. He takes estrogen and use to have a big beard. I asked him why he wasn’t shaving before and he said his beard doesn’t cause him dysphoria….it seems like a lot of trans ppl are very narcissistic and don’t listen anyway. It’s like when you’re trying to help someone and they keep rejecting you and falling deeper. I am worried one of my friends will definitely de transition in the future, and by then well, it’s gonna be too late, the testosterone has done its damage and she will suffer. I read the de trans subreddit, and I do feel sorry for some and most talk about isolating themselves from family and friends. sorry this is getting long. I feel bad about it, and I’m trying to hard to emphasize but many trans ppl make it difficult. It feels like a massive “I told you so” situation. Please give me advice on how to develop a kinder understanding so I can stop feeling guilty…..

So I wanted to take my time to answer this one because I think this taps into an especially heinous thing the modern left + social media has done to people and it’s the belief that a good person has endless empathy for everyone always and has special empathy for marginalized people.

But here’s the truth. You literally aren’t built for it. At the most basic psychological level you are not designed to have deep empathy for strangers. Your brain has a hierarchy of how much you care about others and a healthy mind prioritizes the people closest to you. More importantly, love and empathy are finite. You actually do have a limit on how many people you can truly care about. That’s not my opinion it’s proven science. We have a literal number (I think it’s about 80).

So it’s a beautiful thing when we care about people outside of our circle. It’s even more beautiful when we care about people far away that aren’t like us. But it’s beautiful precisely because it isn’t natural. It’s a conscious effort to care enough about earthquake victims on the other side of the planet to donate and raise awareness.

My point being that it’s okay that you don’t overflow with love for a group that is hostile towards you AND is full of narcissistic trenders. You can have sympathy for the people that regret surgery without absolving them. And maybe I intuitively understood this because I had to love so many addicts growing up. But empathy doesn’t mean never holding people accountable. It breaks my heart that my aunt has emphysema but she brought that fate on herself, one cigarette at a time. You can have sympathy for people with genuine dysphoria and still think they’re deluded. You can have sympathy for people that were brainwashed as kids and still expect them to examine their values. And you can think others are just self absorbed assholes. You can condemn the patriarchy for convincing so many young that they are worthless that they are choosing the Trans man path and still hold them accountable for throwing around homophobic slurs. You can have sympathy for trans women that are fighting sepsis from bottom surgery and still regard most of them as sex pests.

Empathy is finite. It is not on or off. It is not something we owe to a person because they are struggling.

Treat the people around you with kindness and respect. Pour your energy into a few meaningful things instead of dozens of empty ‘causes’. Torturing yourself over if you feel nice enough on the inside is so…Catholic. It’s female socialization.

Breathe. You’re a good person.

[jessequinones]

Creating your indigenous group.

Hi there, so you want to create an indigenous group in your world that’s not set on Earth? Great! I hope I can help by informing you of some things you should and shouldn’t do while creating your indigenous group for your story.

Before I continue, I must let you know I’m Taíno, and I don’t represent Native people as a whole, let alone represent my community as a whole, which is a perfect segue into the first point!

Indigenous groups aren’t a monolith!

When creating indigenous characters, many people will make everyone behave the same (except for one Native who’s different from the rest, and this is the only Native with whom the main character interacts).

For example, in Pocahontas, a 1995 Disney film, she’s the only one who acts differently from her tribe.

The Na'vi act the same, except for Neytiri.

The point I’m trying to make is that many people, when writing Indigenous characters, create a planet of the hat tropes. Sure, maybe two or three of the characters in a tribe might behave differently, but those are the exceptions. If anything, it proves what I just said: Most Indigenous groups are written to be monoliths.

Where you grow up and where you came from doesn’t automatically make you part of the hivemind. Let’s take the United States, for example. What’s the culture of America? How diverse is it? If I create a tribe based in America, what kind of people would I be making?

The United States isn't a monolith of ideologies and philosophies. An American from the North could have wildly different opinions and beliefs than an American from the South. So why does everyone in your indigenous group follow the same beliefs?

If you want to create a warrior Indigenous group whose central belief is “the strong will prevail” (First of all, that’s not original), but secondly, where’s the scientist? Where are the people who create better weapons to make fighting easier? Where are the people who generate armour so their warriors can stay in the fight longer? Where are the blacksmiths who made these weapons? Where are the teachers and educators to help train the newer warriors? Where are the doctors to help heal those who survived their fights so they can fight another day? Where are the cooks to ensure the warriors can fight on a full stomach?

See where I’m coming from? A society that’s bent on fighting still needs its basic needs met. A cook in a fighting society might be a cook because they don’t like to fight, but they don’t hate others who do. A teacher might be a teacher because they love the history of fighting and have more of a strategic mind than the quick reaction you need while in combat. A builder might be a builder because they can’t fight, but they can support their people by building them houses. Expand your society to something more than just a hivemind.

Religion

It’ll be hard to create an indigenous group without mentioning religion. For this reason, I’ll split this category into those without and those with computers.

Before computers (religion):

I don’t think I know of a single indigenous group with no connection to religion. Religion is the backbone of society. If you’re creating an indigenous tribe in a world that doesn’t have computers, you need to make a religion.

Please understand Indigenous people are the first people to set foot on your land and create a society. They could only survive because of religion. Religion helps teach others what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s dangerous, and what’s safe? To explain the unexplainable. The Norse and the Greek Gods? Those are religions, not myths. Religions that helped their community thrive and expand.

Religion gives a society a set of rules to follow and obey to keep everything in order. If you’re creating a society before computers, yes, many of your indigenous characters will be religious, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be a monolith.

Christians may believe in the same God and read the same book. However, you can still encounter two very different Christians from each other. Your indigenous group who follow a religion don’t all have to be the same person.

If you struggle with creating a religion or may have religious trauma, keep in mind that religion doesn’t have to be a core thing in your indigenous society, but more so, a set of codes and laws that affect the society you’re trying to create.

These codes and laws can be simple: "Thou shall not kill an innocent or steal from the hungry."

To something more complex, like saying a prayer before taking someone’s life or else they'll burn in Hell.

Religion also helps explain the unexplainable. Simple questions such as, "What is life?" "What’s my purpose?" "How was I created?" have been asked thousands of years ago, and all of these questions have been answered by religion in some way or another. Before science, before technology, before we knew the world was round, we had religion to explain things and guide us to where we are today.

After computers (religion):

If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world with technology such as computers, yes, you still need to create a religion for said indigenous group. However, if you don’t want to write about religion, you can avoid it. Just because your indigenous character is indigenous doesn’t mean they have to be religious as well, especially in an age where technology is available.

Take, for example, me. I’m Taíno but not religious, though I understand and acknowledge the religion and myths my people created.

Religion doesn’t play as much of a role in a new-age society as an old-age one, so religion doesn’t have to be in your story if you don’t want it to. However, keep in mind if you’re creating an indigenous group. They wouldn’t have gotten to where they are if they didn’t have religion to guide them.

Culture

What’s the culture of America? Or Australia? What’s British culture? When we think of Indigenous culture, we often think of everyone acting the same. However, that’s only because when their history was being recorded, it was recorded using a biased lens and from a small selection of people that was then generalised for everyone.

Indigenous people have existed for thousands of years. We have a rich culture, and it has changed over the years. Still, we don’t know what we used to be or where we came from because when we were “discovered”, the people who "discovered" us only jotted down notes of what they saw and, more often than not, what they didn’t understand and assumed everyone in our tribe did the same thing when that’s simply not the case. Even “warrior-type” cultures like the Spartans or the Vikings, who fought a lot, had a rich and more profound culture that was more than just beating their opponents.

Indigenous people also spread out and didn’t stay in one area. We travelled and interacted with each other. We didn’t hide in our little corner of the world waiting to be “discovered” because we had already discovered others. Like today, we had beef with our rivals and greeted friends with open arms.

When you create your indigenous group, and you think of what their culture will be like, understand this. Culture is created and changed based on the general ideas and beliefs of the masses. You might have a group of Indigenous people be more peaceful, but then the war came, and they lost, so they changed into a more warrior-focused kind of tribe. Culture is formed and moulded by interaction with others, and often, things such as war will change the culture of a society. However, remember that smaller subcultures will emerge if your society is big enough. This is why it’s impossible to define current US culture.

Also, when talking about your indigenous culture, how big should your indigenous group be? I know 1,000 people sounds like a lot, but that’s a dying community. Depending on the story you’re creating, Indigenous people, before getting killed, were in the millions, just like the modern day. So, there’s a good chance subcultures might’ve formed.

You could have your indigenous group have a cultural mindset where you need to eat lots of food. They’re a peaceful group of people who don’t want to fight. However, they have a military because while they may be quiet, they understand if they’re defenceless, they’ll get killed. So, a warrior from the same tribe might also believe in eating as much as you can, but this warrior might do it for other reasons. The cultural idea of eating lots of food is prevalent in both groups, but they behave differently based on what they do and who they are.

Just remember the one thing I mentioned at the start of this article: Don’t create a monolith or a hive mind. Not everyone in your indigenous group will act the same as everyone else. If this kind of thing is challenging, try imagining the modern world. Not much has changed from when indigenous people roamed the world to what happens today; the main difference is technology and the speed at which everything gets done.

Indigenous people fought amongst themselves; they hated who ruled them, and there was religion, science, and wars, just like today. The only difference was that Indigenous history was erased and changed.

Look at Indigenous people for examples of creating your indigenous society. This will depend on the kind of story you’re creating, the characteristics of the world, and so on. To simplify things, I’ll divide this into two sections: Before and after computers.

If your story is set in a world before computers, then you’ll most likely be thinking about creating your indigenous group to be kind of stereotypical. Keep in mind when looking at real-life examples, ask yourself this. “Why did they create this? Why did they believe that? How come they behave this way?”

Indigenous people created a club, then a spear, then a bow; if we weren’t killed off, would it be weird to assume we wouldn’t develop swords?

Indigenous people don’t wear clothes; is it because of the climate they are in? Is it because they believe the body is beautiful and has a different standard of beauty?

Indigenous people created herbal medicine; if we weren’t killed off, do you think we’ll just stick with that, or would we continue to craft what we made into more powerful medicine and maybe create pills?

If you’re creating Indigenous people set before computers, think about the area they live in and the climate. Look at others who lived in a similar environment to where you want your group to be. Figure out what and why they did what they did instead of just copying them.

It’s also a good idea to credit who you took inspiration from and speak to them. Ask questions, observe their community and learn their history. It’s the least you can do if you’re going to be using them as a base for creating your indigenous group.

After computers: If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world that has computers and other advanced technologies, and you keep them in the past, using spears and stuff...yeah...that’s just racist.

People grow with technology; anyone who doesn’t will get killed. The Spaniards and the British discovered how to use guns and smelt iron before the rest of the world, and they used that to their benefit.

Indigenous people of today, the reason why we cling to the past is because that’s all that we have left. Our ancestors didn’t survive long enough to adapt to the new world. So, if you’re creating an indigenous group of people set after computers, make sure they’re at the same level as everyone else and not stuck in the past. We’re not stuck in the past; it’s just that our ancestors couldn’t survive to make it to the present day, and the past is all we have left to prove to everyone we’re still alive.

Language

Depending on the story you’re creating, you don’t need to create a new language for your indigenous group. Take, for example, Avatar the Last Airbender. Nearly everyone is codded or was based on an indigenous group, with the water and air nations being the prominent examples; however, everyone speaks the same language.

If you’re creating a story with multiple different languages, then I recommend having your indigenous culture speak their own language. It’s just an extra bit of world-building that can help define your world better, as you can use this new language to create names and other things.

What are some examples of indigenous people in media? Someone asked me for some examples of Indigenous people in media so they could see what other creators did and learn from them. The thing is, I can’t answer that, at least not in a way that says, “This is a good example.” Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m Taíno, and my group is so underrepresented that I can’t recall the last time we’ve been in the media.

I can’t and won’t speak on native rep when it comes to indigenous groups of whom I don’t belong. It’s hard to even talk about fictional Indigenous codded characters because most of them take massive inspiration from a single group of Indigenous people.

Examples are the following: The Celtics (Dragon Age Inquisition: Aavar), Aztecs, Mayans, Incans (Maya and the Three) Inuits, (Avatar the Last Airbender: Water Tribe), Native Americans (but more specifically, the natives who reside in modern America and parts of Canada...Avatar: Na’vi)

My view of these characters will differ from someone who’s a part of those cultures, and I won’t speak over their own views and opinions. So I can’t give you any examples for now because I don’t know any. Both The Pirates of the Caribbeans and Our Flag Means Death have Taíno rep. (Whether or not the writers knew natives who live in the Caribbean would be Taíno people is another topic)...I mean, in Dead Man Chest, the natives saw Jack Sparrow as a God...a white guy viewed as a God amongst the Natives...yeah...you can see why I can’t give you any good examples, right?

Overall, there are many factors to consider when creating an Indigenous group. If you have any more questions, please message me, and I’ll try to answer them. I hope you enjoyed this and have a good rest of your day.

Bo-matúm