I just.
Okay, I am going to rant a bit, and this is not going to be kind to pagans. Not deliberately unkind, I just have issues with the concept of an eternal runic tradition to be rediscovered.
I had the good fortune recently to be on the receiving end of an impromptu belly dancing lesson. Some of the first words out of the teacher's mouth were, "This is at least two generations removed from source culture," meaning that it has inherently lost meaning and been reinterpreted.
There is no continuous source culture for Norse paganism. We're about fifty generations removed from source culture.
But, I say to myself, let us be realistic here. You believe in math as something that can be discovered independently. You believe in capoeira as something that can be discovered independently. Why not runic magic?
Because runes are, inherently, scratches on rock. Or marks on paper, whatever. They have the meaning we assign to them. There isn't any electricity running in them, there is no special meaning to them. They're neat. They're inherently interchangeable with any other mark, or replaceable, especially in a society that usually writes on paper rather than carving in stone.
(Side note, the way that the medium a society writes in shapes the shape of the letters is very cool.)
It's like the thing about water having memory. Very simple experiment: write a word on paper, attach it to a container of water, freeze it, and look at the crystals. Supposedly if you write a kind word like 'kiss' or 'light' the crystals have a much more even pattern than if you write a mean word like 'Satan' or 'maim'.
Does water have a language? Of course not, water is universal, water is for everyone, water is what it is wherever it is.
So what happens if you write 'hell' on a piece of paper attached to a container of water? Obviously it has bad connotations and the water freezes in an amorphous 'bad' shape, right?
Except that 'hell' means 'bright' in German. So does German water freeze differently than English water? Obviously not.
So it does not matter what the runic shapes are. We do not know what they meant to the source culture, four dozen generations later. If you want to assign meaning to it, and use this to in some way have your personal intentions interact with the intentions of the universe, that's fine, that's a way that humans interact with the universe.
But there is no eternal truth of the runes, they are just shapes. If we did not have any record of Futhark, would we recreate those shapes? Sure! Probably! They're easy to carve in stiff mediums! Would those shapes inherently make sounds, or have associations with gifts or fire or Mercury's position in the sky? Definitely not! I could assign ehwaz to mean the first partial derivative, that is 100% something I would have done when I was studying calculus. It's a useful simple shape. It does not contain inherent meaning.
Math, depending on your choice of axioms, does have an inherent, discoverable quality to it. There is a concept of a fundamental unit, a 1, that I cannot conceive a reasoning species doing without. (If you can, writers, it would make a fantastic alien species.) Once you have 1, 1+1 is not far behind, and suddenly you have positive integers. Things escalate from there.
Capoeira, given the existence of humans and monkeys, does have an inherent, discoverable quality to it. This is a farther leap; capoeira has a lot of weird, non-intuitive motions to it. But a primate is going to learn to run and leap and even turn backwards over itself. This sort of play is going to evolve into some form of gymnastics, and in imitation of itself and other primates, both martial arts and dance are inevitable. It's surprising to me that there aren't more forms that combine the two. I'm not saying capoeira is inevitable, but something akin to it is.
Runes do not have an inherent, discoverable quality. They are scratches. They are symbols that can mean anything. The things they represent may have inherent, discoverable qualities. The things they are meant to do may have inherent, discoverable qualities. There is not anything inherently linking the concept of a certain set of scratches and a certain set of ideas.
I should write my stepsister a letter in futhark, I haven't done that in ages.
2 notes
·
View notes
Note: Since my old masterlist is getting notes again (and I'm hosting @tbb-appreciation-week this year), I thought it's a good time to release a new version with a lot more resources. If any of you know another site or thing that it's missing from the list, let me know and I'll include it!! [Altho, I'm getting this close 🤏 to the hyperlinks limit on this thing 😆]
Note 2: To avoid tagging the 3 people from whom I got multiple resources repeatedly, I've placed 1-3 asterisks between square brackets after the links, depending on the OP. I give the respective credit to them in a legend at the end of the post.
PLACES / TIME
Interactive Galaxy Map by Henry Bernberg
Map of the Galaxy
List of planets and moons [Wikipedia /needs expanding]
Planet Name Generator 1 [SciFi Ideas]
Planetary System Generator [Donjon]
Tatooine Location References [*]
Various locations Cross-Sections (Jedi Temple, Palp's office, Tipoca City & more) [**]
Republic - Separatist - Hutt space during the Clone Wars
Hyperspace Travel Times (to calculate how much time would take to go from point A to point B within the GFFA)
Standard Calendar and Holidays [including month names!]
Galactic Standard Calendar [wookiepedia // including week day names]
Date converter according to SWTOR [Google sheet]
Dated Star Wars Chronological Order (Movies + live-action shows + animation)
TCW Chronological Timeline by @mauvrix
Estimated date for: shared by @spectres-fulcrum
Partisans' attack on Onderon
Siege of Lasan
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
General
Star Wars Name Generator 1 [Donjon]
Star Wars OC flow chart by @thefoodwiththedood
Star Wars Name Generator 2 [FantasyNames]
Star Wars Name Generator 3 [FantasyNames]
MetaHuman [Unreal Engine]
The character creator
Droid Name Generator
Star Wars Randomizer by @aureutr
Character Picrew [Twi-leks, Zabraks, Torgutas and Nautolans] @/megaramikaeli
Jedi
Taking a Closer Look at the Jedi Order in Star Wars Canon [Meta/Reference Guide] [**]
Jedi Order Structure Flowchart by @rileys-nest
Mandalorians
Mandalorian Armor design by MandoCreator
Keepers of the Way (Mandalorian Lore) [*]
Clones
Complete List Of Named Clone Troopers shared by @propheticfire (Organized by Unit)
Clone Creator [MandoCreator]
Clone Picrew
Star Wars Character Templates by SmacksArt [the ULTIMATE battery of template for any human/humanoid original character in any era. From troopers to droids, from Jedi to Sith, from KOTOR to the sequel Trilogy. 100% RECOMMENDED]
Basic Guide to Clone Trooper Armour by @odekiisu
GAR structure summary by @intermundia
The Clone Wars Republic Military Hierarchy Flowcharts [***]
Clone Trooper Lore [*] [Ranks, Culture, Training, Organization, etc.]
Clones and Kamino [*]
The Bad Batch Characters Concept Art shared by @shadowthestoryteller
MISCELLANEOUS
Star Wars Character Age Comparison Chart by @the-yearning-astronaut
Tusken Raiders lore by @snarwor
Materials (fabrics, leathers, silks, plastics, construction, metal composites, etc.)
Materials in Star Wars by marvel_dc_heart_throbs
Star Wars Fashion [*]
Leisure, Art, Musical Instruments, Ethnography [*]
Political and Criminal Organizations in the GFFA [**]
Financial reference about credits by @thecoffeelorian
List of TCW Opening Quotes
Transcripts of all the TCW episodes shared by @book-of-baba-fett
Star Wars Crawl Creator [not exactly writing-related, but just for fun]
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
Canon Medical Lore [*]
Real World reference for Field organizational structure for corpsman (medics) [*]
Kaliida Shoals Medical Center (Republic Haven-class medical station) shared by @clonewarsarchives
GAR Battalion Aid Station [*]
GAR Clone Medic Q/A [*]
More combat medicine, shipboard medicine, veteran issues, and military culture [*]
SHIPS AND VEHICLES
Ship Generator 3D
Ship Name Generator
All Terrain Tactical Enforcer (AT-TE) shared by @stairset
Republic Vessels Reference [*]
Low Altitude Assault Transport/Infantry (LAAT/i) [*]
List of GAR Flagships in the Clone Wars by @meandmyechoes
Layout of the Havoc Marauder
Dimensions of various ships from the Clone Wars [**]
FOOD AND DRINKS
Star Wars Menu Generator
In-Universe Alcoholic beverages
Canon Cocktails (recipes) [*]
Another In-Universe Drinks list shared by @systemic-dreams
Teas in Star Wars by marvel_dc_heart_throbs
Foodstuff [*]
Canon Star Wars Holiday Recipes [*]
Trask Chowder Recipe (from The Mandalorian) [*]
LANGUAGES; PHRASES AND SLANG; VOCABULARY
Languages of the Galaxy [*]
Script of different languages in the GFFA by @lucif-hare-blog
In-Universe phrases and slang [Google sheet]
List of phrases and slang [wookiepedia]
List of equivalents to real-world objects [wookiepidia]
Talk Like a Clone Trooper shared by @archeo-starwars
Aurebesh Translator [Aurebesh.org]
Learning Aurebesh Tools [Aurebesh.org] Reading - Writing.
Mando'a Database [Mando.org]
Mando'a Transcripticon [MandoCreator] (Create your own text in the Mando'a script.)
@project-shereshoy (Blog that collects and posts sources for Mando'a from all over the internet.)
Mando’a Categorized Spreadsheet
Learning Mando'a Tools [MandoCreator] Reading - Writing.
Setting Thesaurus Entry: Spaceport [Writers helping writers]
Fan-created Conlangs
@dai-bendu-conlang (Jedi Culture Explored) (This blog is the home of the Dai Bendu Conlang, invented by the Archive of Our Own Users aroacejoot, @ghostwriterofthemachine, and loosingletters for the Jedi Order in Star Wars.)
Lasana Lexicon by Anath_Tsurugi (fandom lexicon of the Lasat Language)
HELPFUL BLOGS & SITES
The amazing @fox-trot, who not only makes astonishing art and write an amazing fic, she also responds to medical questions and gives all kinds of references for writing medic characters. Check her #medicposting tag and you'll find tons of information. Also check #star wars reference and her art tag while you're at it.
@writebetterstarwars, which seems to be inactive, but there are a bunch of references there.
@howtofightwrite The place to find out how to write a good fight scene.
@scriptmedic no longer active, but it has a great deal of useful information.
@scripttorture for your whump needs. Major trigger warning for all its content.
@sw-anthrobiology A blog dedicated to collecting headcanons about the biology and cultures of Star Wars species.
@archeo-starwars In-universe sources on culture and history.
@clonewarsarchives Resources & Concept Art Blog for The Clone Wars animated series.
Wookiepedia If you don't find something in here, it's probably because it doesn't exist, neither as a canon nor legends reference.
Star Wars Databank: The official Star Wars website's reference guide. All canon.
WRITING IN GENERAL (For those who don't want to die like Stormtroopers)
SlickWrite: Completely free; online. Checks grammar, punctuation, flow, and writing style according to different settings (including fiction writing).
ProWritingAid: [RECOMMENDED] One of the most thorough online proofreader I've ever used. Although when using a free account gives extremely thorough feedback, with +20 different in-depth reports, for only the first 500 words. However, you can earn a premium account license (for a year or for life) if you get 10 or 20 new users signing up for free; (if you wouldn't mind doing so using the link above and help me earn mine, please). The settings allow you to check your writing according to your needs, from general to formal to creative. It has a bonus that you can check depending on the genre you're writing. For example, in creative, you can choose romance or sci-fiction (there are 14 sub-genre in total). And just like google docs, you can share a document, and people can view, comment or edit it too.
LanguageTool: [RECOMMENDED] Another excellent proofreader. It also has a word limit in free accounts, but if you use the add-on for Google Docs, it counts each page as a new document, so hitting the word limit is nearly impossible. It helps you to rewrite a sentence (3 a day), even if it doesn't raise any flags; it's very useful for when your sentence is grammatically correct, but it doesn't feel quite right.
Grammarly, Hemingway Editor: No so great, but they do the basic job.
Legend
[*] Shared by @fox-trot
[**] Shared by @gffa
[***] Shared by @cacodaemonia.
10K notes
·
View notes
Info (WIP)
Complete master list of all campaigns on this blog here!
This blog is run by @palms-upturned. I am a white USAmerican, and I do not vet fundraisers. Unfortunately, I cannot help with the vetting process in any way. This blog is meant to be a place to broadcast fundraisers that have already been vetted by Palestinian bloggers and organizations, mostly by users el-shab-hussein, nabulsi, 90-ghost, and ibtisams. None of us will ever be able to thank these users enough for the life-saving work that they have done and continue to do. If you cite this blog, please do not say “verified/vetted by vetted-gaza-funds”. Instead, please consider copy/pasting the sources that I link in my posts, or at the very least link directly to my post about the fundraiser in question where the sources can be found and say “featured on” rather that “vetted by.”
This blog is also going to be used more as a directory/master list than an actual blog. The aim is for people to be able to search usernames of people in Gaza and find links to verifications from multiple sources, as well as things like raffles or giveaways promoting certain campaigns, in one convenient place. For reblogs/signal boosting, please go to my main blog, @palms-upturned. If you are a user in Gaza promoting a fundraiser, I am more than happy to promote it for you, but I will only post about it on this blog once, and all other promotions will be on my other blog. I promise I am not ignoring you.
Here is a post with a list/directory of organizational tags on this blog. (WIP)
Sources where you can find vetted fundraisers:
el-shab-hussein and nabulsi's spreadsheet
gazafunds.com
Operation Olive Branch’s spreadsheet
Strawberry Seed Collective’s master list
Operation Poppy Flower
Project Watermelon master list
GoFund(water)Me(lons) master list
Ottawa4Palestine
Pali Pals on instagram
If someone in Gaza reaches out to you asking for help promoting their campaign, here's some things that you can do:
Do not report someone unless they are a known scammer. This platform has been targeting Palestinian users in Gaza for bans and terminations consistently, forcing them to remake their accounts several times, so a blog that appears new is not necessarily a red flag and may even already be vetted. Some users also take longer to get verified than others, especially those who struggle the most with staying connected to the internet. If someone reaches out to you and you can't find verification, please, just wait.
Along with sharing their posts, make your own original post linking to their campaign, even if it's just the link and a few words saying that you donated to them.
Link to a verification source in your posts about fundraisers. People are trying to avoid circulating unvetted fundraisers, so they'll be more likely to engage with your post if they can see proof that the campaign is legitimate. It will also help people who come across your post while doing a quick tumblr search of someone's username or fundraiser to check if someone has been vetted.
Posts with artwork/graphics typically gain more traction. User aces-and-angels, with the help of volunteer artists and designers, has been compiling a master post of donated artwork that is free to use to help boost fundraisers for people in Gaza, so check it out here and consider using these images in your posts! Please consider submitting artwork of your own as well for the cause.
Please considering sponsoring a campaign! There are many ways to do this. Some users have put together raffles where proof of a donation of a certain amount earns one entry into the raffle. Some users have offered charity commissions in exchange for donations to a campaign. Some users offer to match donations up to a certain amount, or promise to do/make something if a fundraiser reaches a certain milestone. I plan on eventually making a tag for campaigns with no sponsors so that people can look through it and hopefully pick one to sponsor. If you let me know about your efforts, I will add links/information about it to the post about the campaign you’re sponsoring!
Please spare a few minutes to look through this post about some recently terminated GoFundMe campaigns and how you can help pressure the platform into hopefully giving the funds back to the organizers.
Icon source | Banner design source
79 notes
·
View notes