#south asian mythos

[rrcraft-and-lore]

In addition to my Monkey Man post from earlier, the always kind & sweet Aparna Verma (author of The Phoenix King, check it out) asked that I do a thread on Hijras, & more of the history around them, South Asia, mythology (because that's my thing), & the positive inclusion of them in Monkey Man which I brought up in my gushing review.

Hijra: They are the transgender, eunuch, or intersex people in India who are officially recognized as the third sex throughout most countries in the Indian subcontinent. The trans community and history in India goes back a long way as being documented and officially recognized - far back as 12th century under the Delhi Sultanate in government records, and further back in our stories in Hinduism. The word itself is a Hindi word that's been roughly translated into English as "eunuch" commonly but it's not exactly accurate.

Hijras have been considered the third sex back in our ancient stories, and by 2014 got official recognition to identify as the third gender (neither male or female) legally. Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India have accepted: eunuch, trans, intersex people & granted them the proper identification options on passports and other government official documents.

But let's get into some of the history surrounding the Hijra community (which for the longest time has been nomadic, and a part of India's long, rich, and sometimes, sadly, troubled history of nomadic tribes/people who have suffered a lot over the ages. Hijras and intersex people are mentioned as far back as in the Kama Sutra, as well as in the early writings of Manu Smriti in the 1st century CE (Common Era), specifically said that a third sex can exist if possessing equal male and female seed.

This concept of balancing male/female energies, seed, and halves is seen in two places in South Asian mythos/culture and connected to the Hijra history.

First, we have Aravan/Iravan (romanized) - who is also the patron deity of the transgender community. He is most commonly seen as a minor/village deity and is depicted in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Aravan is portrayed as having a heroic in the story and his self-sacrifice to the goddess Kali earns him a boon.

He requests to be married before his death. But because he is doomed to die so shortly after marriage, no one wants to marry him.

No one except Krishna, who adopts his female form Mohini (one of the legendary temptresses in mythology I've written about before) and marries him. It is through this union of male, and male presenting as female in the female form of Mohini that the seed of the Hijras is said to begun, and why the transgender community often worships Aravan and, another name for the community is Aravani - of/from Aravan.

But that's not the only place where a gender non conforming divine representation can be seen. Ardhanarishvara is the half female form of lord Shiva, the destroyer god.

Shiva combines with his consort Parvarti and creates a form that represents the balancing/union between male/female energies and physically as a perfectly split down the middle half-male half-female being. This duality in nature has long been part of South Asian culture, spiritual and philosophical beliefs, and it must be noted the sexuality/gender has often been displayed as fluid in South Asian epics and the stories. It's nothing new.

Many celestial or cosmic level beings have expressed this, and defied modern western limiting beliefs on the ideas of these themes/possibilities/forms of existence.

Ardhanarishvara signifies "totality that lies beyond duality", "bi-unity of male and female in God" and "the bisexuality and therefore the non-duality" of the Supreme Being.

Back to the Hijra community.

They have a complex and long history. Throughout time, and as commented on in the movie, Monkey Man, the Hijra community has faced ostracization, but also been incorporated into mainstream society there. During the time of the Dehli Sultanate and then later the Mughal Empire, Hijras actually served in the military and as military commanders in some records, they were also servants for wealthy households, manual laborers, political guardians, and it was seen as wise to put women under the protection of Hijras -- they often specifically served as the bodyguards and overseers of harems. A princess might be appointed a Hijra warrior to guard her.

But by the time of British colonialism, anti-Hijra laws began to come in place folded into laws against the many nomadic tribes of India (also shown in part in Monkey Man with Kid (portrayed by Dev Patel) and his family, who are possibly

one of those nomadic tribes that participated in early theater - sadly by caste often treated horribly and relegated to only the performing arts to make money (this is a guess based on the village play they were performing as no other details were given about his family).

Hijras were criminalized in 1861 by the Indian Penal Code enforced by the British and were labeled specifically as "The Hijra Problem" -- leading to an anti-Hijra campaign across the subcontinent with following laws being enacted: punishing the practices of the Hijra community, and outlawing castration (something many Hijra did to themselves). Though, it should be noted many of the laws were rarely enforced by local Indian officials/officers. But, the British made a point to further the laws against them by later adding the Criminal Tribes Act in 1871, which targeted the Hijra community along with the other nomadic Indian tribes - it subjected them to registration, tracking/monitoring, stripping them of children, and their ability to sequester themselves in their nomadic lifestyle away from the British Colonial Rule.

Today, things have changed and Hijras are being seen once again in a more positive light (though not always and this is something Monkey Man balances by what's happened to the community in a few scenes, and the heroic return/scene with Dev and his warriors). All-hijra communities exist and sort of mirror the western concept of "found families" where they are safe haven/welcoming place trans folks and those identifying as intersex.

These communities also have their own secret language known as Hijra Farsi, which is loosely based on Hindi, but consists of a unique vocabulary of at least 1,000 words.

As noted above, in 2014, the trans community received more legal rights.

Specifically: In April 2014, Justice K. S. Radhakrishnan declared transgender to be the third gender in Indian law in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India.

Hijras, Eunuchs, apart from binary gender, be treated as "third gender" for the purpose of safeguarding their rights under Part III of our Constitution and the laws made by the Parliament and the State Legislature. Transgender persons' right to decide their self-identified gender is also upheld and the Centre and State Governments are directed to grant legal recognition of their gender identity such as male, female or as third gender.

I've included some screenshots of (some, not all, and certainly not the only/definitive reads) books people can check out about SOME of the history. Not all again. This goes back ages and even our celestial beings/creatures have/do display gender non conforming ways.

There are also films that touch on Hijra history and life. But in regards to Monkey Man, which is what started this thread particularly and being asked to comment - it is a film that positively portrayed India's third sex and normalized it in its depiction. Kid the protagonist encounters a found family of Hijras at one point in the story (no spoilers for plot) and his interactions/acceptance, living with them is just normal. There's no explaining, justifying, anything to/for the audience. It simply is. And, it's a beautiful arc of the story of Kid finding himself in their care/company.

[consumeroflemoans]

Which myths would you be particulary excited about working into the superfox verse

Greek myths are always a classic. I’ve already mentioned things like centaurs, harpies, sirens, and dryads. But tbh them in a modern setting has already been thoroughly explored by stories like Percy Jackson so they’re not the most exciting to explore.

I think what I’m most anticipating is Celtic folklore. It’s always been one of my favorite mythos. I kind of want to include Kelpies somehow because I love those murder horses but I’m not sure how. I just love how many of their creatures are just slightly inhuman like with the fae, leprechauns, werewolves, bodach, the dullahan, vampires, and a bunch of unique ghosts like the banshee. It would be fun to find ways to integrate them into modern society.

I think I just have a weakness for myths about tricksters

[writingwithcolor]

Sri Lankan Fairies and Senegalese Goddesses: Mixing Mythology as a Mixed Creator

[Note: this archive ask was submitted before the Masterpost rules took effect in 2023. The ask has been abridged for clarity.]

@reydjarinkenobi asked:

Hi, I’m half Sri Lankan/half white Australian, second gen immigrant though my mum moved when she was a kid. My main character for my story is a mixed demigod/fae. [...] Her bio mum is essentially a Scottish/Sri Lankan fairy and her other bio mum (goddess) is a goddess of my own creation, Nettamaar, who’s name is derived from [...] Wolof words [...]. The community of mages that she presided over is from the South Eastern region of Senegal [...] In the beginning years of European imperialism, the goddess basically protected them through magic and by blessing a set of triplets effectively cutting them off from the outside world for a few centuries [...] I was unable to find a goddess that fit the story I wanted to tell [...] and also couldn’t find much information on the internet for local gods, which is why I have created my own. I know that the gods in Hinduism do sort of fit into [the story] but my Sri Lankan side is Christian and I don’t feel comfortable representing the Hindu gods in the way that I will be this goddess [...]. I wanted to know if any aspect of the community’s history is problematic as well as if I should continue looking further to try and find an African deity that matched my narrative needs? I was also worried that having a mixed main character who’s specifically half black would present problems as I can’t truly understand the black experience. I plan on getting mixed and black sensitivity readers once I finish my drafts [...] I do take jabs at white supremacy and imperialism and I I am planning to reflect my feelings of growing up not immersed in your own culture and feeling overwhelmed with what you don’t know when you get older [...]. I’m sorry for the long ask but I don’t really have anyone to talk to about writing and I’m quite worried about my story coming across as insensitive or problematic because of cultural history that I am not educated enough in.

Reconciliation Requires Research

First off: how close is this world’s history to our own, omitting the magic? If you’re aiming for it to be essentially parallel, I would keep in mind that Senegal was affected by the spread of Islam before the Europeans arrived, and most people there are Muslim, albeit with Wolof and other influences. 

About your Scottish/Sri Lankan fairy character: I’ll point you to this previous post on Magical humanoid worldbuilding, Desi fairies as well as this previous post on Characterization for South Asian-coded characters for some of our commentary on South Asian ‘fae’. Since she is also Scottish, the concept can tie back to the Celtic ideas of the fae.

However, reconciliation of both sides of her background can be tricky. Do you plan on including specific Sri Lankan mythos into her heritage? I would tread carefully with it, if you plan to do so. Not every polytheistic culture will have similar analogues that you can pull from.

To put it plainly, if you’re worried about not knowing enough of the cultural histories, seek out people who have those backgrounds and talk to them about it. Do your research thoroughly: find resources that come from those cultures and read carefully about the mythos that you plan to incorporate. Look for specificity when you reach out to sensitivity readers and try to find sources that go beyond a surface-level analysis of the cultures you’re looking to portray. 

~ Abhaya

I see you are drawing on Gaelic lore for your storytelling. Abhaya has given you good links to discussions we’ve had at WWC and the potential blindspots in assuming, relative to monotheistic religions like Christianity, that all polytheistic and pluralistic lore is similar to Gaelic folklore. Fae are one kind of folklore. There are many others. Consider:

Is it compatible? Are Fae compatible with the Senegalese folklore you are utilizing? 

Is it specific? What ethnic/religious groups in Senegal are you drawing from? 

Is it suitable? Are there more appropriate cultures for the type of lore you wish to create?

Remember, Senegalese is a national designation, not an ethnic one, and certainly not a designation that will inform you with respect to religious traditions. But more importantly:

...Research Requires Reconciliation

My question is why choose Senegal when your own heritage offers so much room for exploration? This isn’t to say I believe a half Sri-Lankan person shouldn’t utilize Senegalese folklore in their coding or vice-versa, but, to put it bluntly, you don’t seem very comfortable with your heritage. Religions can change, but not everything cultural changes when this happens. I think your relationship with your mother’s side’s culture offers valuable insight to how to tackle the above, and I’ll explain why.  

I myself am biracial and bicultural, and I had to know a lot about my own background before I was confident using other cultures in my writing. I had to understand my own identity—what elements from my background I wished to prioritize and what I wished to jettison. Only then was I able to think about how my work would resonate with a person from the relevant background, what to be mindful of, and where my blindspots would interfere. 

I echo Abhaya’s recommendation for much, much more research, but also include my own personal recommendation for greater self-exploration. I strongly believe the better one knows oneself, the better they can create. It is presumptuous for me to assume, but your ask’s phrasing, the outlined plot and its themes all convey a lack of confidence in your mixed identity that may interfere with confidence when researching and world-building. I’m not saying give up on this story, but if anxiety on respectful representation is a large barrier for you at the moment, this story may be a good candidate for a personal project to keep to yourself until you feel more ready.

(See similar asker concerns here: Running Commentary: What is “ok to do” in Mixed-Culture Supernatural Fiction, here: Representing Biracial Black South American Experiences and here: Am I fetishizing my Japanese character?)

- Marika.

Start More Freely with Easy Mode

Question: Why not make a complete high-fantasy universe, with no need of establishing clear real-world parallels in the text? It gives you plenty of leg room to incorporate pluralistic, multicultural mythos + folklore into the same story without excessive sweating about historically accurate worldbuilding.

It's not a *foolproof* method; even subtly coded multicultural fantasy societies like Avatar or the Grishaverse exhibit certain harmful tropes. I also don't know if you are aiming for low vs high fantasy, or the degree of your reliance on real world culture / religion / identity cues.

But don't you think it's far easier for this fantasy project to not have the additional burden of historical accuracy in the worldbuilding? Not only because I agree with Mod Marika that perhaps you seem hesitant about the identity aspect, but because your WIP idea can include themes of othering and cultural belonging (and yes, even jabs at supremacist institutions) in an original fantasy universe too. I don't think I would mind if I saw a couple of cultural markers of a Mughal Era India-inspired society without getting a full rundown of their agricultural practices, social conventions and tax systems, lol.

Mod Abhaya has provided a few good resources about what *not* to do when drawing heavily from cultural coding. With that at hand, I don't think your project should be a problem if you simply make it an alternate universe like Etheria (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), Inys (The Priory of the Orange Tree) or Earthsea (the Earthsea series, Ursula K. Le Guin). Mind you, we can trace the analogues to each universe, but there is a lot of freedom to maneuver as you wish when incorporating identities in original fantasy. And of course, multiple sensitivity readers are a must! Wishing you the best for the project.

- Mod Mimi

[kunizwuni]

Galantis ⋆｡𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖°

A Fan-Made Pirate101 World 🐌💧💻

This post will cover the basics and main inspirations of my fanmade Pirate101 World, Galantis! I hope you all enjoy~

𓂃𓂃𓂃𓊝 ࿐𓂃𓂃𓂃𓂃𓂃𓂃𓊝 ࿐𓂃𓂃𓂃

Overview 🌊⋆｡°்⋆

Galantis is a closed-off world in the Spiral, locked by the current Emperor; and guarded by his army. If a person is able to reach Galantis, they will discover a technologically advanced, oceanic paradise; hidden away from the rest of the world. The Stormgate to Galantis is located in MooShu, but is inaccessible to any travelers.

The initial reason for Galantis's closed borders was due to the Polarian War. The Emperor did not wish to get involved in the conflict, and feared involvement due to the relative closeness between Galantis and its neighboring world of MooShu. So, the borders were closed, and the Emperor ignored the outside world; instead focusing on the personal development of his nation through machinery and economy.

.•⋅˚₊The People ଳ ‧₊˚

Since many Pirate101 worlds, and to a further extent, Wizard101 worlds, have many diverse species of people; and Galantis is no exception. The people of Galantis are from the class Gastropoda; aka, slugs and snail-adjacent animals. They are specifically based on the marine variants of these animals, sea slugs and sea snails.

The current ruling Emperor of Galantis, Emperor Gyeong Glaucus, is a type of Glaucus Altanticus (See image below).

Sea slugs and sea snails are very diverse animals from species to species, and this is reflective of the population of Galantis.

𓂂 ·˚ •Culture 🌊🪸

Galantis is inspired by East Asian culture, specifically South Korea and North Korea. Another main inspiration for Galantis is the legend of Atlantis, a city from Greek mythos written by Plato.

One major invention from Galantis is a form of energy source known as "Bio-Lumi Fuel". Bio-Lumi Fuel is harvested from the organic plant-life from the World, and is what powers a majority of Galantis's technology. Due to the power of Bio-Lumi Fuel, the Galantians have been able to invent their own forms of machines, robots, and screens.

Therefore, culture and trends are very mainstream. Many different styles of fashion have rose to popularity through the influences of music idols in the music industry.

Sea Angelic 🐌🪽

A fashion style known as "Sea Angelic" was popularized by the musical idol "Sea Angel" or Cheonsa Clione. This fashion style is more traditional, and takes inspiration from traditional Korean clothing and acessories. Such as the usage of the hanbok and norigae.

Cyber Screen 🐌💻

One of the most mainstream styles of fashion in Galantis: popularized by the most well-known musical idols, Nembrotha and BLUE SCREEN. This style is more akin to the styles of Cyber Punk, mixed with modernized fashion. The main elements of this style is the usage of the color blue, and the heavy reliance on Galantian technology.

These are only a few of the most popular fashion styles in this World.

˖°🌊⋆Landscape🐚🫧

Galantis has two main Skyways, Palansaeg Skyway and Nudibranch Skyway. It only has one Stormgate, located in Palansaeg Skyway; leading to MooShu. The land is a purplish-blue tint, and the skies are a deep purple tone. The player is able to see jellyfish-like animals floating around the Skyways.

Palansaeg Skyway (Korean: 파란색 스카이웨이)

The main Skyway of Galantis, containing the capital city, Soul City. Soul City is very urbanized, utilizing Bio-Lumi technology. The music industry flourishes in Soul City, allowing for the world as a whole to improve its economy.

Fun Fact: "Palansaeg" is the Korean for the phrase "Blue". So, Palansaeg Skyway roughly translates to: "Blue Skyway".

Nudibranch Skyway

The secondary Skyway of Galantis, mostly inhabited by farmers, religious figures, and those who wish to escape the bustling Palansaeg Skyway. The main industry in Nudibranch Skyway is food production, mainly algae, cnidarians, corals, and sponges.

Fun Fact: "Nudibranch" is a scientific term referring to sea slugs. It means "naked gills" in Greek.

⋆˚࿔How Outsiders View Galantis᭡.

Galantis, due to its closed borders, has remained in obscurity in the minds of the average people of the Spiral. There are some Galantian refugees found in MooShu, but not anywhere else.

The Armada, however, has heard rumors of Galantis's advanced technology; and wants to find a way to access the World to help set up an alliance between the Armada and Galantis.

‿︵‿🌊‿︵‿🐚‿︵‿🪼‿︵‿💿‿︵‿

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little lore-dump of my Pirate101 World <3

[noveldivergence]

𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓

𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖗𝖘 𝖉𝖓𝖎 | 𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖘 𝖉𝖓𝖎 | 𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖆 𝖉𝖓𝖎

𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖒𝖊

My name is Res or Reston (they/them). I'm a queer, nonbinary 30+ year old writer, artist, and crafter. While professionally, I write educational and reference materials, I also write short stories, and I am attempting my first novel in 2024!

I also do art, mostly OC portraits. I am currently in multiple drawing courses, hoping to improve my work, especially as it pertains to character design.

My degrees are in graphic design, art history, English literature, and education. I was a teacher for many years, until I was injured by a student. I went to Lipscomb and Vanderbilt Universities. I'm an avid reader and believer in continuing education and my goal this year is to take multiple free and cheap continuing education course.

I am autistic, ADHD, and have had a traumatic brain injury. I also have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, with nerve damage and osteoarthritis in my hands.

I am a cult survivor. I've been married for eleven years this year to my fantastic husband, and we have four cats!

𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖒𝖞 𝖜𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌

My fiction is horror, science fiction, and fantasy. I write adult fiction only, with adult themes involved. While there is usually no sexual content in my work, there are very dark themes, violence, and otherwise upsetting content. I completely respect if this isn't for you!

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖐𝖘 𝖎𝖓 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖌𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖘

I'm currently working on a science fiction novel inspired heavily by my love of Star Trek and Star Gate, with fantasy elements more inspired by contemporary low fantasy such as ASOIAF. It has a South Asian sapphic lead, a lesbian deuterogonist, a gray asexual deuterogonist, and an overwhelmingly queer and otherwise diverse cast of alien and human characters.

I am also working on a Lovecraftian horror story involving the FBI and an investigative journalist diving into a series of disappearances in a small town secretly controlled by a cult to dark god from the Mythos. Also very diverse, very queer, very adult in content, including murder, gore, religious abuse and trauma, etc. Thinking about making this an audio drama, but unsure.

[lanotteviene]

the thing about the tiny slopey """european"""" noses is that their entire mythos is absolutely fake. i don't doubt some people of euro background have that kind of concave nose, but so do south asian, african people etc. when you search for that kind of look most images you find are post op. be it a small tweaking or a rhino, it's still not a natural nose. if you travel through europe you're bound to see strong aquiline profiles, flat and broad noses, naturally wide nostrils, all traits that come naturally and are indeed both ethnic to their specific background and tied to their lived experience. it seems like people want to believe that that kind of look only exists on men, and women and esp girls just happen to be incredibly dysmorphic in a kind of Disney-ish way and have teeeeny tiny noses, period.

[whimsyandbooks]

The Hurricane Wars: A Stellar 10/10 True Enemies to Lovers Adventure In "The Hurricane Wars" by Thea Guanzon, the lush tale of a fantastical realm is vividly portrayed. Within this richly woven narrative, the story revolves around Talasyn, the last known light weaver on the continent, and Alaric, the formidable Prince of Kesath and an adept Shadow Weaver. Their world, torn apart by the devastating power of storms wielded by ships, is brought to life with intricate detail. As their paths collide and their magic clashes in unexpected ways, a tale of profound enmity, unexpected alliances, and the delicate balance between love and hate unfolds. Against the backdrop of a nation, Sarodivia, struggling under the oppressive rule of Kesath, these characters come alive, their complexities adding layers to a story that weaves together themes of identity, freedom, and the intricate dance between darkness and light. Join Talasyn and Alaric on a mesmerizing journey where the battlegrounds of the heart mirror the stormy conflicts of their world.

The story begins in the heart of Sarodivia, a nation ravaged by the power and greed of Kesath, whose ships wield the power of storms, giving rise to the name The Hurricane Wars. Talasyn, a Sardovian orphan, emerges as last known light weaver on the continent, her very existence a testament to a power believed long ago eradicated by Kesath. Her nemesis is Alaric, the Prince of Kesath, and a powerful shadow weaver, becomes joined in her fate. When their magic clashes, an unexpected confluence happens between light and dark, and their lives become intertwined in ways neither ever expected. This leads them to the secluded vibrant world of Nenavar, inspired by the Philippines, where even the dragons draw from South-Asian mythology. War-time weddings really are all the rage. Guanzon crafts a complex tale of identity, ancestral Mythologies, the fight for freedom, the nuances of nationhood, along with the passionate tension between love and hate that hinges the precarious balance of the fate of the world.

Guanzon's writing style is eloquent and lush, painting detailed pictures with her words. The pacing keeps readers engaged, although I found myself slightly thrown off by the absence of a world-changing cataclysmic twist in the final 100 pages. However, this might be due to my recent dive into Sarah J. Maas' books, which are known for their intense plot twists. The end of the book is still incredibly satisfying, as well as perfectly having set the gears in motion for epic twists and turns to happen in the following books of the series. The character development is subtle yet profound; both Talasyn and Alaric learn to navigate their brash hot-headedness and gradually understand each other. Themes of opposites, enemies to lovers, dark vs light, war, politics, and destiny intricately intwine throughout the narrative, creating a captivating tapestry.

The world-building in this book is extraordinary. While it began as an epic fan fiction, Guanzon has masterfully crafted a unique world with intricate political systems, customs, and mythos. Guanzon's academic background in international politics shines through, adding depth and realism rarely seen to the fantastical elements of the story.

The romance in "The Hurricane Wars" is a slow burn of the highest order. Guanzon expertly entwines romance and spice, making the reader cheer for these two oblivious souls falling for each other amidst the chaos.

This book is a treasure for fans of slow-burn enemies-to-lovers stories set in a meticulously crafted fantasy world of magic and politics. I wholeheartedly recommend it, rating it 10/10 stars. "The Hurricane Wars" is an excellent book, a testament to Guanzon’s exceptional writing. I loved it and greedily anticipate the next installment.

[citrusotakutea]

astrology *is* cultural but

so allat to say many people of color as well as queer people (dare i say queer people of color) have found community and expression through modern astrology. which i do think is an accurate statement lol

the astrology most people (generalizing here) in America use nowadays is "western". hellenistic and vedic (greek then roman vs the indian subcontinent) astrologies are distinct beliefs that have influenced each other, which you might see combined in some charts these days. though vedic astrology and texts do predate greek astrology, there are several different astrologies that belong to several different cultures and besides that, many more ethnic groups have charted the stars in some fashion and incorporated that into their mythos. anyways, seeing as greek is... a white culture and many people who are not ethnically a part of that culture believe and practice western astrology, which, at least in "western" countries, is more popular than hindu astrology (the perceived popularity of something just because it's popular in America... no) so, i wouldn't say "queer people like astrology because many queer people are brown" (which I'm assuming means south asian here or a part of a culture that has hindu influence, speaking as a khmer person whose birth name is lit hindu/buddhist). obviously this doesn't apply if you purposefully and/or strictly practice vedic astrology, and i'm not denying that there are many brown, astrology lovin' queers out there. but let's be real, sara is the average american astrology liker who's never heard of/just learned that hindu and chinese zodiac were a thing. and then there's like 999,999 saras. even being khmer, my millennial ass cousin strictly practiced western astrology, i assume completely out of ignorance that there were other options (well that's a lie, our grandparents are buddhist but she was also lit sinophobic- that is an entirely different can of worms) but I'm just going to assume that it was out of preference, since most references online just tell people to make a western and vedic chart a go with the one, or evn just individual placements, they ~resonate with~ the most lmao. but leo, aquarius, cancer all *those* names are latin, which, at least according to Wikipedia, was a hellenistic influence on vedic astrology: "Hellenistic astrology and astronomy also transmitted the twelve zodiacal signs beginning with Aries and the twelve astrological places beginning with the ascendant". hellenistic astrology itself iz based off of a separate text as and uses grecian formulas to chart the stars. which many people point out, is actually less accurate than the vedic formulas. again, vedic astrology came first, they are similar and often compared and have influenced each other (apparently intense debate on who influenced what hope I'm not jinxing myself here do not debate me) but are two separate beliefs that came about... uu separately.

a lot of queer people i know in real life are either into or open to talking about astrology but online i think ive noticed a lot more people who dislike astrology and im super curious to see if that holds up.

please reblog for sample size and elaborate in the tags if you want!

[paolojcruz]

Ontario Gothic

REVIEWS : COMICS

A rootless cultural nomad reviews Jeff Lemire’s rural family drama The Collected Essex County.

Originally posted on the Multiply page of Sputnik Fantastik, November 2009

One measure of a truly skilled comic creator is their ability to make their readers care about people or characters that may be radically different from themselves. With the rural family drama of The Collected Essex County, Jeff Lemire doesn’t just meet this criteria; he positively surpasses it.

At its heart, Essex County is a nuanced but ultimately romantic saga about the landscape Lemire grew up in: the desolate farmlands of Ontario, in east-central Canada. More specifically, it’s about the ways an agricultural community is shaped by this harsh, unforgiving geography. Over the course of three main stories, and two loosely related shorts, Lemire gives us a sense of a close-knit small town, whose inhabitants’ lives are marked by shared traditions (hockey), fantasies (comic book superheroics), and the unpleasant secrets that lurk just below the surface of their rural idyll.

Lemire achieves this by taking full advantage of the medium. His rich, expressive linework is perfectly suited to a narrative built on the conflict between roots (the town itself) and wings (the urge to escape, or metaphorically fly away from it all). Page layouts are used to emphasize the vastness of an environment that looms over the cast, sometimes ominous, but just as often providing a comforting solitude. “Decompressed” six-panel grids allow small but crucial moments to linger, heightening the emotional weight of family secrets revealed. In scenes where dialog is kept at a minimum, close-ups often provide more hints at genuine resolution than any conversation could hope to achieve.

I’ll confess that that I kept expecting hints of magical realism, or maybe supernatural elements. Indeed, some of the recurring visual themes are positively haunting: the footprints in snow, and those seemingly omnipresent crows.

However, that just belies my own expectations derived from pop culture’s small town narratives: the everyday weirdness of TV’s Amazing Stories, the sinister hamlets that populate the Lovecraft mythos and Stephen King’s early work, or even just the oddball happenings in the Palomar stories of Gilbert Hernandez.

But there is very little that’s otherworldy in Essex County. Instead, Lemire hooks readers in with understated drama: a kid in a superhero costume dreaming up an elaborate alien invasion plot, as he longs to escape the humdrum routine of farm life; a failed hockey player dealing with senility, as past and present blur into a hazy miasma; a nurse compensating for a personal loss by making a difference in the lives of her patients. All of their stories are uniquely human, and yet integral to their connection with Essex County, the place.

For a reader like me – a perennial metropolitan boy who grew up in various South East Asian mega-cities, with no single “province” that my family calls home – Essex County would ordinarily be a difficult sell. To Lemire’s credit, he got me to care about a tale that is unapologetically pastoral by focusing on some of the most universal human emotions: loss, hope, a thirst for new experiences, or a sense of belonging. But most of all, Essex County is about the tension between holding on to a familiar past, and dealing with today’s unpleasant realities. That’s something even a cultural nomad can relate to.

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Vimana?

What is it?

Well, put simply, they are the mythical flying "chariots" out of the South Asian epics. Though, interestingly enough, the earliest mentions of them specifically exclude mentions of horses//being horse drawn.

They are entirely self moving. The word means to traverse, traverse/measure out.

In the ancient epics, they were as large as some palaces, and sometimes listed as a palace (for a character in the epics) and interesting is the evolution of the word today from the days of the epics to where it now means airship/craft.

In the Ramayama, the character and villain, Ravana (inspiration for Rahvin for you WoT fans), has a vimana described as: resembling the Sun, and a chariot able to traverse anywhere and everywhere, resembling a bright cloud, and by command, could go into the atmosphere.

Vimana can travel the skies at insane speed, and notably rain down fire and weapons of mass destruction in battles. Idk about you, but that sounds like some space ship level stuff.

Maybe Stargate was onto something. :SG1 MUSIC INTENSIFIES:

Viman can be shaped into many ways, however. One story tells of a flowery Viman shaped like an eagle that Lord Vishnu sent down to carry the soul of one person up to heaven. Important to also note that Eagles are important in the mythos as they are associated with Garuda a deity and divine bird being who is eagle-like (like not 1-1), as well as often related to a kite (the bird) and yes, the toy that flies through the air is derived in name from the bird. Anyways, Garuda is the mount of Lord Vishnu, and so through him eagles also have a level of high prominence - another example is Shyena, the divine eagle associated with Agni (god of fire).

Anyways circling back to Vimana, some could go invisible (cloaking engaged). But, yeah, read the South Asian epics and myths, there is mind blowingly cool stuff in them.

[elvesofnoldor]

. 

[ultfreakme]

its actually fully South Asian and Indian! Agni is an actual fire god in Hindu mythos, considered to be like a fixed entity alongside the deities for earth, air, water and space.

He’s commonly depicted with multiple arms and riding an urial. I used some designs from another god, Murugan, for funsies and because they were depicted together way back.

Celestial spirits and stuff

Dw agni cares toom how else did Zuko make it alive for that long? i'm just living in shitty doodles time rn

[imdashingaway]

Man fuck Netflix they cancelled Boones and Curses

[domreader-headcannon-scenarios]

Okay, I'm back with my "explaining the human realm to the non-humans" bullshit.

So, mythological creatures and cryptids.

For example on the USA there is the skinwalker, wendigo, no-deer and etc. They all attack or hunt humans.

In the celtic culture there is the fae, and they're quite dangerous to involve yourself with cuz "there are a lot of rules to deal with the fae and usually you only found out about them when you break one"

Or the Asian and Latin American superstitions about supernatural beings. (I've found out that a lot of theirs superstitions are very similar)

Like in south east asia (from what I know) there is a superstition that if you smell jasmine without a plausible explanation is probably "something (dangerous) else".

Or in Latin America where if you hear a whistle you never whistle back (even less at night) cuz is probably something trying to become stronger by being recognized or something trying to locate a prey.

And like, a lot of the creatures in the human mythology didn't came from the Devildom nor the Celestial Realm, they're natives from the human realm itself.

Or like "if you hear someone else's voice in your house you don't answer cuz it can be intruders or something else. Either way you're screwed"

Or when the elderly say that you shouldn't look at the woods/mountains/florest at night, even if you're inside your home.

And a lot more of superstitions.

So here is the answer for the "what is actively hunting humans that kept their survival instinct until today?" question :)

—☕

I actually know all of these! Except the ‘no-deer’

I have been called a Fae by SO MANY of my friends, abs Fae are interesting, they have their own society and rules to follow, also metal melts my skin and it does the same to actual faes hvhxg

Tho of course moth mythology is just misunderstood/mist old creatures that exist today or flat out lies, which sucks, I wanna date Mothmam…

Faes things I’ve heard:

“You better count the fingers of the person you talk to, any less than 8 and ye be talking to a Fae.” (Quote from some history thing my sibling shared with me)

They are human looking if they want and the only hint you get to them not being human is there is something off about them. (Looks/voice/behavior, etc)

Fae can never lie, they just know how to twist their words to confuse people.

Never accept a gift from one, or say ‘thank you’ as anything like that puts you in ‘debt’ to a Fae, if thanking them just say you appreciate what they did

They are mischievous and are feared bc they can be both good and bad but you never know until it’s too late

NEVER be rude/lie to a Fae, as that essentially makes you their primary target.

For skinwalkers, I actually know a lot about them too! They are technically not cryptids, just witches/wizards!

They can only take forks of animals they have the skin of, hence the name

They don’t always look like the animal, often being bigger and being able to stand upright

They can’t talk in the animal forms, they can only make sounds that the animal can

They aren’t inherently aggressive, but they are territorial and will give a warning before they attack

They can mimic pets. Though they’d need the animals skin

They can mimic voices.

For the Wend!go, I’m hesitant talking about it because it’s not a cryptid, it’s an evil spirit that posses people and is deeply rooted in Native American culture, it’s actually insulting to say the name allowed as you are basically inviting the greed filled spirit to come harm you and everyone around you. I’ve heard mixed things on it, lots of it boils down to, ‘don’t talk about it, even if you follow the culture’ I’ve been told it’s offensive to just use it like it’s a wild animal and often times people misrepresent what it is. It’s a spirit that destroys a person, they are no longer a person once it has them, there’s a legitimate illness that is named after it called “Wend!go psychosis”

I also know the mythos of the ‘mimic’ (not actual name) it’s a creature that can mimic voices of people, often luring people by pretending to be a loved one or a hurt person so their victim lets their guard down and they can kill them.

There’s also a creature like a banshee that screams, however the closer you get to it, the quieter it is, it does this to make you think you’re getting away from it.

There’s also a creature with backwards feet so if you ever try to follow the steps, you’ll be tricked into going the wrong way.

Everone knows Bigfoot, nessy, chupacabra, the greys, etc.

I’m actually HUGELY into mythology stuff and cryptids so I know a lot about them!!

Though I imagine the obey me cast would just be like ‘what the fuck is wrong with the human realm?? You’re so weak but you have so many dangerous creatures that you CAN’T even prove the existence of but they’ve noticeably killed people?? How are you just ok with this??”

[swordgayist]

cultural appropriation in ATLA (hinduism edition)

i’m sure there’s already a ton of posts about this, but whatever, i’m still making one idc. 

ATLA’s cultural appropriation, everyone knows about it, the white people don’t speak about it, and the asian and indigenous people get ignored. we know the cycle. but i wanted to come here and highlight some of the most prominent examples of ATLA abusing hinduism, as i am kinda sorta hindu (i was raised in a hindu household, i go to chinmaya mission, that kinda shit). i might forget some things so keep that in mind.

this is gonna be divided into 3 main sections, since there are different ways that they disrespect hinduism that i don’t wanna lump together.

and i’d say i know a lot about hinduism but that doesn’t make me an expert, obviously, so if other hindus have anything to add and/or correct then please do !! and if anyone else wants to share how their cultures were appropriated then please do that as well !!

so let’s get started shall we?

appropriating hinduism

1) the avatar

we’ll start with the most obvious example: the avatar itself

i know that there are parts of the avatar mythos that are taken from other cultures as well but the idea of the avatar itself is primarily from hinduism.

basically in hinduism, the term dashavatara refers to the 10 reincarnations of lord vishnu (the god of preservation), with avatar(a) meaning form or incarnation in sanskrit, and das(a) meaning ten. it was said that whenever the world was out of balance, lord vishnu would come down to earth in a certain form to restore balance. Each reincarnation is considered a different life with a different story. the avatars of lord vishnu are often considered the saviors of the world.

so basically, the central idea of the show and the actual name of the show is largely based on hinduism.

2) chakras

many different indian religions have a concept of chakras (chakra meaning wheel or circle in sanskrit), but hinduism is the one that primarily preaches the system of seven chakras, the version used in ATLA.

chakras connect the physical body to the ‘subtle’ body (referring more to the spirit and the psyche) by connecting parts of the body to aspects of the mind. the idea is that through different forms of steady meditation you can manipulate the different chakras and allow the pure flow of energy through the body.

the whole idea of chakras on ATLA is that aang has to unblock them all to let the cosmic energy flow through him so that he can go into the avatar state at will. so yeah, pretty much that whole idea was taken from hinduism.

3) terminologies

these are just a few terms that were taken from hinduism. i’m pretty sure there are more that i can’t think of right now but yeah.

“agni” kai 

i’ll be honest i don’t know where the ‘kai’ part is from, i don’t think it’s from hinduism but if it is well fuck me i guess.  ‘agni’ in hinduism is the god of fire, so the creators used it in ‘agni kai’, the name for a firebending duel.

“bumi”

this is in reference to the hindu word for ‘earth’, which is bhoomi. this is also in reference to our goddess of earth, bhoomi devi. also this doesn’t really bother me but i wonder if the creators knew that bhoomi is a name typically used for women (as are most hindi names ending in ‘i’/‘ee’).

in general, concepts like having multiple complex gods (the spirits) who are capable of good and evil and the reincarnation cycle are prominent in a lot of asian cultures, including (and arguably primarily) hinduism.

mocking hinduism

now we get into the mockery of hinduism in ATLA, because it is very much there.

1) whoever the fuck that baboon guy in the spirit world was

now what the fuck was this.

i mean i wouldn’t say this is the most egregious example of them making fun of brown people but lord why did this even need to be there? this random guy from the spirit world has an indian accent ? and is fervently chanting ‘om’ for some reason, and it’s clearly meant to be seen as comical. also portraying brown people as monkeys....... really.

2) combustion man/sparky sparky boom man

when rewatching ATLA in 2019 i actually had no idea that this was a thing, because the last time i had watched it was as a kid and i didn’t finish it.

so lord was i in for a surprise when i saw...

now... now what.

if you didn’t know, combustion man’s ‘third eye’ is designed to replicate the hindu god of destruction, lord shiva. right down to the vibhuti on his forehead (referring to the three line markings around the third eye).

in hinduism, lord shiva’s third eye is used to reduce people to ashes, though as far as i can recall, not very frequently. the primary significance of the third eye is that it represents the ability of higher spiritual thought and higher consciousness.

the ATLA writers take the ACTUAL significance of the third eye, throw it out the window, and then take its destructive abilities to make a super duper cool and dangerous new firebending technique.

and if that wasn’t bad enough, the actual person who uses this technique, and is meant to emulate a GOD who is PRAISED, is a scary, burly, half metal man who is a villain and an assassin. not to mention the design of his facial hair replicates that super duper scary “terrorist” depiction of brown people, particularly of muslims, that white people are so thoroughly terrified of for no reason. 

this is a parody of a god, and they portrayed him as this terrifying, maniacal fucking assassin who, along with p’li, the combustion bender from LOK, is constantly referred to as a “third-eyed freak”. i’ve made this analogy before and i’ll do it again, this is like making jesus into a hitman.

now onto my favorite example...

3) guru pathik

ah, this motherfucker.

i don’t really have any problems with him as a character, i mean hell, must’ve taken a fuck ton of patience to handle aang’s “why would choose cosmic energy over katara” bullshit.

but we all know it, we see it plain as day, don’t even try to deny it.

“guru” literally just means teacher or guide, so i don’t really know why pathik needed to be referred to as “guru” so distinctively from aang’s other teachers and guides, but that’s just extremely trivial compared to all the other issues with this character.

first of all what is this character design? what is he even wearing? if they’re trying to replicate the clothes of swamis and priests and stuff this is already wrong, realized people don’t dress like this. and why the fuck does he have an indian accent? and why was this indian accent done by a non indian (brian george)?

once again, the poor but extremely heavy indian accent is clearly meant to be mocking, if it wasn’t, they wouldn’t’ve gone out of their way to get a non indian person to DO an indian accent, and instead they would’ve just gotten an actual indian person to play the role. 

and oh yeah, the onion and banana juice. because hindus just eat weird shit right.

whether it’s actually weird or not, the show certainly portrays it as weird. and as far as i know no hindu actually fucking drinks onion and banana juice.

ironic because brown people can absolutely destroy white people in cooking. but i digress.

i know what you’re all waiting for. because the guru apparently didn’t have enough fun with guru pathik, so they just had to come back to him in book 3:

where do i begin.

so this is obviously john o’bryan’s super funny and hilarious depiction of pathik as a hindu god.

usually when a god has multiple arms it’s to carry an array of things, from flowers to weapons to instruments, and one hand is typically free to bless devotees (ie. goddess durga and lord vishnu respectively):

but of course white people see this as weird and so they make fun of it, hence guru pathik having multiple arms just flailing about aimlessly (save for the two that are being used to carry the aforementioned onion and banana juice).

then there’s the whole light behind pathik’s head which is usually depicted in drawings of hindu gods to show that they are celestial.

also what the fuck is he holding? is that supposed to be a veena? because this is what a veena looks like:

and i assume the reason this was added was to mock the design of goddess saraswathi, who carries a veena:

but that right there in the picture of pathik looks more like a tambura than a veena. 

and it also just kinda looks like a banjo?

but i guess the animators just searched up “long indian instrument” and slapped it on there. actually no, that’s giving them too much credit, they probably didn’t search it up at all. 

and then the actual scene is pathik singing crazily about chakras tasting good or something while playing the non-veena and it’s all supposed to be some funky crazy hallucination that aang is having due to sleep deprivation. just some crazy dream, just as crazy as talking appa and momo sparring with swords or tree-ozai coming to life.

our gurus and swamis and sadhus and generally realized people are very respected in hinduism, they’re people we look up to and honor very much. and our GODS are beings that we literally worship. and the writers just take both and make caricatures out of them for other white people to laugh at.

4) other shit

before we move to the next portion i just wanna mention there are also smaller backhanded jabs that i can’t really remember now, but one example was when zuko was all “we’ll be sure to remember that, guru goody goody”. or when a character would meditate and say “om” only when the meditation is supposed to be portrayed as comical or pointless. or in bitter work when sokka was rambling on about karma. small things like that. but moving on.

south asian representation, or lack thereof

now i finally get to the “losing” hinduism part. by this i mean the lack of actual representation there is of south asians (the region where hinduism is primarily practiced) despite the fact that hinduism plays such a big role in the show’s world design.

i think it’s safe to say that broadly the main cast consists of aang, katara, sokka, zuko, toph, azula, iroh, mai, ty lee, and suki. 

a grand total of none of these characters are south asian. the writers don’t even attempt to add any south asian main characters. 

there are characters with dark skin, like haru and jet, but a) they’re not confirmed to be south asian and don’t have any south asian features or south asian names, b) they’re side characters, so they don’t count as representation, and c) even if they were south asian and main characters, jet wouldn’t even count because he’s portrayed as a terrorist.

the ONLY truly south asian character we get is fucking guru pathik. so yeah. not representation.

i don’t get how the creators of this show rip off of hinduism (among many other south asian cultures they rip off of), mock indians, and then don’t even have the decency to HAVE a main character who is south asian.

i’ve never gotten a chance to compile all this, and this definitely isn’t all the creators have done, but i hope this was somewhat informative.

[scleroticstatue]

Well, a more diverse cast is better isn't it?

Because it's fine for POC to play elves. It's great, actually! In fact, in HAT, Simon is a half-elf! And he's gotten zero comments from that, isn't that awesome?!

But Lord of the Rings isn't a fantasy world. By Tolkien's own legendarium, it's our world. He supposedly found an ancient book containing pre-Celtic England's history and translated it. Those aren't PoC playing elves; they are PoC playing ancient Europeans. Tolkien's whole goal was to create a mythos for England that had been lost to Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Roman, and French conquests. He even factored in non-European culture, East and South of Middle Earth into the other grand expanses that make up Arda. Black people do exist in Tolkien! — but they're not in Numenor, or the Shire, or Lindon. (There might have even been a few non-European-y groups enslaved by the Numenorians during their emperialist era, but those would be Berber at best and they fought against their slavers during the War of the Last Alliance, which you can't really blame them for, even if they did join up with Sauron.)

Lord of the Rings is embedded in English society. It was written specifically for that purpose. It's as offensive to cast PoC to play those roles as it would be to cast Asians to play roles from an African mythological culture — the Wakandans — or South Asians in Moana, or white people in A:tLA (aggressively glares in M. Night Shyamalan's general direction).

So, yes! Let's have Black elves! Black dwarves! Black halflings! Black humans! But not black Noldor, Longbeards, Hobbits, or Numenorians. It's not their's, and it's hypocrisy to say otherwise.

I think it's very telling that there has been zero "racism" in regards to the DnD movies. Like, no one is saying "black people don't belong here" in the movie. No one is saying the actors were anything other than great and super invested and isn't it so cool that they cared so much about a niche fantasy property?

Except. The DnD movie has a major crossover with Lord of the Rings fans. So, what? All the Lord of the Rings fans who think black people are orcs and don't belong in fantasy and hate black actors just because they're black——— they just...? Don't get involved with the other fantasy IP where there are orcs and elves and dwarves? Don't dislike black people anymore? Don't dislike Hispanic actors?

And you know what else didn't happen with DnD? There weren't articles where the producers came out and said "oh, all the negative criticism is just because the cast is diverse." The studio didn't feel the need to defend their casting choices. They didn't deflect criticism with racism. Almost like they knew there wasn't going to be any of that.

So... just maybe... the LoTR fans have something else that bothers them about "diverse casting" other than straight up racism. Maybe there's really not a racism problem in fandom so much as there's a "bad adaptation" and a "disrespecting the source material" and a "using black people to shield from criticism isn't actually being an ally" problem.