ladyniniane

[ladyniniane]

don't trust ppl who say "idk i just Don't Like ANY female characters. they're bitchy and whiny and useless, unlike my collection of deep nuanced three-dimensional war criminal husbands :)"

[ladyniniane]

Séléné de Niniane - Danse des Voiles

Et nouvel tentative de dessiner la Séléné de @ladyniniane mais cette fois, elle est inspiré de sa danse pendant le deuxième chapitre ! Par contre, exceptionnellement, le dessin est sous la coupure car, il rentre dans la catégorie de l'horreur corporelle. La description de la danse de Séléné m'a pas mal inspiré alors, j'ai essayé de représenter ce que voyait le roi alors qu'elle se dénudait d'une manière... particulière pour ne pas choquer les sensibilités de ceux qui craignent l'horreur corporelle. Donc, si ça vous met mal à l'aise, n'hésitez pas à sauter, ne vous faites pas du mal.

Dessin sous la coupe :

Détails de conception !

Le serpent géant qui entoure Séléné n'est pas un cobra indien / à lunette mais, un cobra à monocle qu'on retrouve également en Inde. Je trouvais que le "monocle" sur son capuchon pouvait faire penser à une lune pleine, alors que les tâches plus sombres sur le côté pouvait rappeler la nouvelle lune. Par contre, pour sa couleur, je me suis inspiré de cette photo d'un cobra indien albinos pour aller avec le reste de la composition où il y a surtout du rouge pour rappeler le sang et les organes. Enfin, le collier qu'il a à la base de son capuchon est inspiré du cobra à cou noir qui a une bande semblable sur certaines photos.

Quant aux autres serpents qui entourent les membres de Séléné, j'ai pas vraiment de référence précise, à part pour celui qui a des motifs qui s'entrelace avec un serpent jaune sur sa jambe droite, c'est une couleuvre volante, espèce qu'on retrouve en Inde et qui est venimeuse (pas au point d'être mortel pour un humain mais, c'est quand même une morsure puissante alors, ne vous en approchez pas quand même. Quand vous croisez une vipère, c'est souvent elle qui a plus peur que vous et elle se carapate comme elle peut mais, éloignez-vous quand même d'elle au plus vite au cas où elle attaque sauf si vous voulez être bon pour un petit voyage au centre anti-poison le plus proche).

Pour la pose, elle est directement inspiré des représentations de Shiva en train de danser (nataraja je crois) Etant donné que les crânes des anciens rois apparaissent dans le chapitre, Séléné danse sur l'un d'eux comme Shiva danse sur le nain qui représente l'ignorance.

Son sourire est censé être rassurant mais aussi mystérieux (comme celui de Bouddha étant donné que ça fait partie des inspirations dans la nouvelle de Ladyniniane) et normalement, quand un personnage dissimule ses émotions, on colorie son visage en noir pour cacher ses traits avec juste le nez ou la bouche qui apparaissent et à la base, c'est ce que je comptais faire (là où tout le reste du dessin est sans contour noir afin de bien se concentrer su les couleurs et leur côté irréelle qui n'a pas de cadre comme je le fais habituellement). C'est même pour ça que le visage et la main droite de Séléné sont les seuls éléments dessiner au feutre noir : avec le crayon, la couleur aurait pu baver et cacher le sourire, ce qui aurait été difficile à rattraper étant donné que le noir s'étale très facilement mais, il est plus difficile à gommer - -' Cependant, quand j'ai repris mon dessin pour finir, je trouvais que ça rendait mieux que le visage de Séléné reste blanc, que ce soit à cause de la peau très pale de Séléné, le contraste avec tout le reste du dessin qui est pas mal chargé en rouge à part l'aura autour de son corps, de ses yeux et du serpent qui la protège, mais aussi pour rendre ça encore plus étrange / énigmatique : même si le visage de Séléné est éclairé et donc normalement visible, on arrive toujours pas à saisir ce qu'elle ressent vraiment derrière son sourire.

Pour les yeux autour de sa tête par contre, c'est bien les siens et ils montre ce qu'elle ressent réellement : elle est furieuse et le roi et ses hommes vont payer pour leur affront envers elle ! J'ai donc essayé de les rendre perçant et avec une forme qui rappelle la colère, tout en gardant la pupille blanche pour souligner son aspect surnaturel.

Enfin, pour les différentes couches de son corps : plus on descend et qu'on quitte son visage calme, plus on avance dans la danse où elle enlève ses couches de peau les une après les autres sauf que là, au lieu d'être d'un coup, elle se décompose petit à petit : sa tête et sa main la plus haute sont encore entières mais, une fois aux épaules, on est sur des muscles, même si on ne voie pas encore ses organes à part la glande mammaire et le tissu adipeux qui l'entoure qui est au-dessus du muscle (que j'ai essayé de rendre le plus organique possible) ; ses organes sont surtout visibles sous le diaphragme avec son système digestif ; puis retour au muscle avec les ligaments des genoux et enfin, la fin des membres n'ont plus que les os à part la main gauche qui a gardé les articulations de la paume.

Et dernier enfin pour un petit bonus : j'ai essayé de représenter le serpent qui protège Séléné qui laisse du sang sur son passage (soit celui des rois sacrifiés vu qu'il sort du crâne de l'un d'eux) mais, ça ne rendait pas excessivement bien et on dirait plus que c'est un morceau du serpent lui-même plus qu'une trainée de sang . Même une fois effacé d'un côté, je trouve que ça rend pas très bien cette effet "trainée" alors, je préfère la première version où le serpent est également entouré d'un halo de lumière comme Séléné. Je vous met quand même les deux autres versions ainsi que le crayonné afin que vous puissiez mieux voir les détails qui ne sont peut-être pas très bien avec juste du crayon.

[ladyniniane]

A break in my drawing full of goth(ic) to draw a moping Polidori and his ever-unruly hair. It felt weird to draw him in a t-shirt, but that's probably what he wears underneath that unpractical jacket of his. As always, no bright colors are allowed (but I like the blue shadows!). Also this pose was ridiculously complicated for me to draw.

Here's the original doodle, to understand how far we've come:

[ladyniniane]

"There are not as many extant epitaphs of [Empress Matilda] as we might have expected, given her pivotal role in the affairs of England and Normandy. A later writer, Ralph of Diss, was aiming to praise Henry II’s daughters when he said that they shared ‘the nobility of their grandmother the empress, and her masculine courage in a female body . . . an example of fortitude and patience’.

Robert de Torigni and Stephen of Rouen, as might be expected, left thoughts of their own. Robert is fairly circumspect at the actual moment of Matilda’s death; it occurs while he is in the middle of a narration of Henry’s campaign in Brittany, so he merely says that ‘the intelligence of the death of his mother, the empress Matilda, reached him . . . her affectionate son distributed countless treasures among churches, monasteries, lepers, and others of the poor, for the good of her soul’. But at an earlier point in his work, where he writes more specifically of Matilda while she was still alive, he is more forthcoming: ‘She was truly a woman of excellent disposition, kind to all, bountiful in her almsgiving, the friend of religion, of honest life, one who loved the church, by the abundance of whose gifts the church of Bec has attained no small degree of splendour.’

Stephen of Rouen describes how he travelled to Brittany to break the sad news to Henry, unable to resist the opportunity to note of himself in the third person that ‘the monk was well known to the king, and was as beloved as he was faithful’. But he returns swiftly to the proper subject of his narrative, indicating just how much Matilda meant to Henry and to what extent this great king relied on his mother:

Hence the monk intimates to the king that his mother had died. Beyond the measure of what is believable, he [the king] weeps and laments. Not surprisingly; nothing in the world is more beloved than her to him. For she gave him the crown, and she was his mother. This was his father’s legacy, who ordered him always to love his mother .And to be obedient to his own counsels. Mindful of this, he subjected three things to his mother’s rule: Himself, his own behaviour, and his rulership too."

— Catherine Hanley, Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior

[ladyniniane]

The Robin Hood stories have a lot to answer for because Richard the Lionheart is really one of the most useless kings in English history who achieved nothing during his short reign except lose a crusade, get taken hostage, leave his empire in the care of his useless brother who lost most of it, then died stupidly trying to take back what his useless brother lost, but because of those stories he became regarded as the absolute best, most noble king we've ever had, so revered we put up a statue of him outside parliament even though he saw England as nothing more than a source of money, spent almost no time here, and is buried in France.

[ladyniniane]

The last ruler of Waalo—a kingdom located in what is now northern Senegal and southern Mauritania—Ndaté Yalla Mbodj (c.1814–c.1856) came from a long line of powerful women. She is remembered for her fierce resistance against French colonialism.

The all-powerful Lingeer

The kings (brak) of Waalo were assisted by a powerful female figure known as the lingeer (or linguère). She was typically the king’s mother, sister, aunt, or cousin from his maternal lineage. Described as “all-powerful,” the lingeer was a true co-ruler. She advised the king, participated in all major political decisions, and held her own lands, over which she had complete authority. She was also likely responsible for overseeing the women of the kingdom.

The lingeer played a role in selecting the king’s successor. If necessary, she could act as regent or even rule in her own right.

Ndaté Yalla’s mother, Fatim Yamar, embodied this tradition. In an exceptional situation, Fatim Yamar, the lingeer, had married the king. When the king became incapacitated, she ruled in his place.

On March 7, 1820, a group of North African raiders known as the Trarzas advanced toward Nder, the capital of Waalo, where Fatim Yamar presided. Waalo’s troops failed to stop them. According to oral traditions, upon hearing of her nephew’s defeat, Fatim Yamar donned battle gear and joined the fight, accompanied by her guards and female attendants.

Local accounts claim that the women killed 300 raiders that day. Faced with such fierce resistance, the enemy began to retreat. Fatim Yamar then removed her helmet and loosened her braids. Hearing the victorious chants, the Trarzas realized, to their humiliation, that they had been driven back by women.

Enraged, they returned with renewed violence. Realizing defeat was inevitable, Fatim Yamar refused to be taken captive. She is said to have declared, “It’s over, I will not fight in shame.” The lingeer and her women covered the royal hut in gunpowder and set it ablaze, committing suicide while singing traditional hymns.

Njembot's reign

With Fatim Yamar’s death, the future of Waalo lay in the hands of her daughters: Njembot (or Njembet) (1811–1846) and Ndaté Yalla. Njembot assumed power, exercising full authority as a sovereign. Her bold and assertive nature made her a natural leader.

Njembot faced a difficult political context, including continued attacks from the Trarzas and mounting pressure from the French, who had been established in Saint-Louis since the 16th century and sought to make all of Senegal a French colony.

To safeguard Waalo, Njembot chose a strategy of appeasement. In 1844, she signed a treaty with the French that proved economically unfavorable for Waalo, agreeing to renounce a tax traditionally collected on the passage of cattle supplying meat to French Saint-Louis.

A most resolute enemy

Njembot died of a lung disease in 1846. Ndaté Yalla was chosen by the people to succeed her. As she declared: “I am the true chief of Waalo.”

Unlike her sister, Ndaté Yalla immediately positioned herself as a determined opponent of the French. One of her first decisions was to overturn the treaty signed by Njembot, saying: “my sister did what she wanted, and I do what I want.”

From that point forward, Ndaté Yalla opposed the French at every turn. She allowed their enemies to pillage their territories, made territorial claims, and imposed trade restrictions. The proud queen refused all compromise.

Recognizing that Waalo had become their most formidable adversary in the region, the French launched an assault. In 1855, General Faidherbe attacked Waalo with his troops. Despite armed resistance, Waalo fell and became a French colony. Ndaté Yalla had no choice but to flee.

Her son, Sidia Diop, would continue his mother’s legacy of resistance against colonialism. Today, Ndaté Yalla is honored as a national heroine in Senegal.

If you enjoy this blog, consider supporting me on Ko-fi!

Further reading:

Barry Boubacar, Le royaume du Waalo, le Sénégal avant la conquête

Calhoun Doyle D.,  The Suicide Archive, Reading Resistance in the Wake of French Empire

Dior Konaté, “Mboj, Njembot”, in: Dictionary of African Biography

Weichert Imke, “Les souveraines dans les systèmes politiques duaux en Afrique : L’exemple de la Lingeer au Sénégal”, in:  Les ruses de l'historien, Essais d'Afrique et d'ailleurs en hommage à Jean Boulègue

[ladyniniane]

lien

[ladyniniane]

Le résultat après séchage du vinyle qu'on a fait en live hier ! (je dois faire quelques retouches notamment autour du « e » et du papillon récalcitrant - les vrais savent-)

Pour voir le prochain live, n’hésitez pas à me suivre sur Twitch !

[ladyniniane]

dear god won't someone please think of the men? We haven't talked about men since .0038 milliseconds ago please

[ladyniniane]

Merve Bolugur as Nurbanu Sultan Magnificent Century Episode 115

[ladyniniane]

I love how the music I'm drawn to lately all has that magical, whimsical vibe, both with the sound as well as cover art. The albums are sometimes more, sometimes less similar between each other, but I would put them all into a genre I named "witch radio" 💜✨🕷️

Mazzy Star - Among my Swan

Bat for Lashes - Dream of Delphi

This Mortal Coil - Dust & Guitars

Within Temptation - Sing like a Siren

Emilie Autumn - Enchant

The Birthday Massacre - Pins and Needles

Mazzy Star - Seasons of your Day

Ha Vay - Baby I'm the Wolf

Cocteau Twins - Treasure

[ladyniniane]

“Elizabeth was also significantly involved in the negotiations and arrangements for her daughter Margaret’s marriage to the king of Scots. As early as 1498, she joined with Margaret Beaufort to stop the princess from being sent to Scotland too early for marriage (Princess Margaret was only nine at the time). In October 1501 Elizabeth sent one of her Chamber servants to accompany the king’s herald to Scotland, as part of the final negotiations for the marriage treaty.”

—

Michelle L. Beer, Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533 (2018)

Although there is no way of knowing why Elizabeth sent her servant into Scotland, he travelled in the company of one of the king’s frequent messengers, and it is likely that they were there to deliver messages regarding the ongoing marriage negotiations. His presence certainly suggests that Elizabeth was keeping a close eye on the Scottish negotiations, and she may have even sent messages or letters to the James via her servant.

(via richmond-rex)

[ladyniniane]

临江仙 | Lament of the River Immortal - Feud E19 ° This place is unusually strange. Be careful.

[ladyniniane]

临江仙 | Lament of the River Immortal - Feud (2025)

[ladyniniane]

临江仙 | Lament of the River Immortal - Feud E26 ° When you come to kill me, can you wear red?

[ladyniniane]

Algerian Chaoui Culture ✨

[ladyniniane]

INKTOBER 2017, day 28: Dihya or Kahina