#culturally-relevant graphics

[your-dads-filing-cabinet]

READ SNAPDRAGON BY KAT LEYH IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS AN ORDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[telomeke]

THE SIGN – CULTURAL REFERENCES, MYTHOLOGY AND META

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This post comes on the heels of the one by @respectthepetty about mythology and meta of The Sign, linked here. 😍👍 If you've not read it yet, I recommend you do before watching any more of this series, because it will help things make more sense (especially if you're not familiar with some of the cultural references thrumming in the background).

Anyway, I'd previously done some research on the legend(s) of the Garuda and the Naga in Southeast Asia, and so I'm writing this post to share what I've found because it does have relevance to at least some of what we're seeing onscreen in The Sign, and elaborates on @respectthepetty's post.

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The Garuda and the Naga are mythical beings with origins in Indian mythology that have been transposed into cultures across Southeast Asia.

In Hinduism, Garuda is a single deity, depicted in either full-bird form or part-bird and part-human, and is the king of birds and also a divine sun-bird (with physical attributes similar to an eagle's). His elder brother, Aruna, is the chariot driver for Surya the sun-god, while Garuda himself is the mount of Vishnu.

In Buddhist mythology, the garudas (sometimes also spelt garulas) are a society and race of gigantic predatory birds, sometimes also depicted as part-human in form. The garudas are intelligent, social and blessed with might and magical powers.

Thailand may be predominantly Buddhist, but it has also been strongly influenced by ancient Indian culture and Hinduism, and thus both the concept of a single deity Garuda and the race of garudas co-exist in Thai mythological beliefs.

The nagas on the other hand, are snake-like or dragon-like creatures, whose realm is the water world. (The word naga is derived from Sanskrit and is also etymologically related to the English word snake.)

In mythology nagas and garudas are perpetual enemies, although neither side is actually identified with good or evil – they are simply two groups eternally at war with each other (so occidental-leaning minds should dispel any preconception that the water serpents are necessarily the bad guys in The Sign, even though the narrative seems to be tilting in that direction).

When borrowed into popular culture (as has been done for The Sign) you may sometimes see influences of Chinese dragon and phoenix mythology (as Chinese cultural influence is also present in Thailand, and the dragon/phoenix motif of Sinitic culture nicely parallels the naga/garuda conflict pairing). And because of Garuda's association with the sun in Hinduism, and a parallel with the fiery phoenix of Western mythology, you may sometimes see garudas portrayed as aligned with the sun and/or flame as well.

There are some hints of these in The Sign. The naga that Phaya encounters while struggling underwater during the open sea training challenge in Ep.1 is very Thai in appearance (especially with the curved, forward-pointing crest, making it look much like the nagas that adorn Thai temple architecture). But the array of pronged, backward-pointing horns and trailing antennae appear to be a design nod at Chinese or Japanese dragons (East Asian dragons are also strongly identified with the watery realm, by the way). And in the graphics of the series (e.g., in the poster at the start of this post), the sky (the realm of Garuda) is suffused with sunlight and speckled with what look like drifting sparks, referencing sun and flame.

Because of the wings tattooed on his back and his time in the air force, Phaya is most likely the reincarnation of a garuda in human form (and this is why he struggled with the water challenge, as he was completely out of his element).

This is also possibly why we see him smoking early on in the series (because of the alignment of Garuda with the element of fire), and significantly he does this while Naga Tharn (irked by Yai's teasing at the dining table) seeks refuge in the washroom (which is ห้องน้ำ/hong naam in Thai, literally water room):

‌Billy also describes Phaya's character in the promo video for the series (linked here) as being "like fire, always hot and burning... quite hot-headed." 👍

Elsewhere in the same promo video (linked here), Tharn's good friend Chalothon is explicitly identified as the reincarnation of an important naga, which immediately signals that he and Phaya will be at odds in the series:

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The water deity that saves Phaya during the open sea challenge – Wansarat, whom he drew in his sketchbook – is not just Freen Sarocha in a fancy scuba suit. 😂

If you look at her arm and hand when she reaches out to save Phaya (before she turns into Tharn) the green scales meld into the skin of her human wrist – they're part of her natural covering, and she's really a nakhee/nagin/nagini, a female naga, appearing in human form to save Phaya.

The narrative has made it strongly obvious that Phaya is a reincarnated garuda, while Tharn is the reincarnation of Wansarat, from the lineage of the nagas. And the teaser-trailer (linked here) tells us that Phaya and Tharn/Wansarat are lovers bound to each other through time:

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However, the special promo video (released 24 November 2023) also tells us (in Heng's interview linked here) that Chalothon and Wansarat were lovers in past lives, even while it is Phaya and Wansarat (reincarnated as Tharn) who are paired by fate in The Sign.

And as the nagas and garudas are bitter enemies, the love story between Phaya and Tharn/Wansarat that transcends time and reincarnation cycles is also one that must have been (and will continue to be) forbidden by their respective naga and garuda tribes (especially since Tharn/Wansarat also used to be naga Chalothon's lover), and will undoubtedly be a source of conflict in the series. This is way beyond the Montagues and Capulets! 😍

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So with this as the base, I took a look at the characters' names, and those belonging to Phaya, Chalothon, Tharn and Wansarat especially also reflect their garuda/naga origins. 🤩

Phaya's name (พญา) means lord, king or leader. While it can be applied to the nagas (พญานาค/phaya naak refers to the King of the Nagas) it is also used for Garuda (the Thai national symbol) – พญาครุฑ/phaya khroot, or Lord Garuda (and is what his name references in The Sign).

(above) Billy Patchanon as Phaya

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Chalothon's name (ชโลทร) is rare, but it is derived from Pali/Sanskrit and means river, sea or body of water, reflecting the watery homeland of his naga persona.

(above) Heng Asavarid as Chalothon

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Tharn's name (ธาร) also has a connection to his water-dwelling naga roots. Tharn/ธาร is short for ลำธาร/lam thaan and means stream, brook or creek (and he is thus a naga nong to Chalothon's phi).

(above) Babe Tanatat as Tharn/Wansa

However, Tharn is his chue len. His formal name is Wansa, and is the same Wansa in Wansarat (which the narrative lets us know at Ep.1 [3‌/4] 9.35).

(above) Freen Sarocha as Wansarat

Now Wansarat is spelt วรรณษารัตน์ in the subtitles (at Ep.1 [3‌/4] 9.02), and I can't find any translation of it that makes sense in the context of The Sign's world-building.

But Wansarat's name is spelt differently elsewhere on the Internet (on Thai drama websites, and movie databases, etc. like thaimovie.org), and I assume they've all based it on official releases from Idol Factory because the spelling is consistent across these other sources – it's วรรษารัตน์ there.

And Wansa/Wansarat spelt this way also reflects the nagas' dominion over water, because วรรษา/wansa (an archaic word, referenced in an older dictionary but not newer ones) means rain or rainy season (from the Sanskrit varsha) – in Thailand the nagas are also associated with rain control, and prayers are offered to them for timely and abundant rainfall when it is needed. (The -rat part of Wansarat is a feminine ending meaning jewel or gemstone, and may echo with meaning for speakers of Indian and Sri Lankan languages, since it's derived from the Pali/Sanskrit ratna).

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Just out of interest (because nobody asked 😂) some of these naga/garuda elements were also present in the early episodes of KinnPorsche – the den of the Theerapanyakuls (nagas, wealthy beings of the underworld) was full of watery elements (e.g., the waterfall, the various pools, and Tankhun's carp – which in Chinese belief are the original, natal form of dragons). The -nak in Kinn's formal first name Anakin (which is not a traditional Thai name) is also a nod at the word naga. Porsche had the tattoo of a fiery phoenix on his back, and was out of his element whenever water was concerned (e.g., his failed pool challenge, the mermaid costume punishment, his misadventure with the sprinkler when he tried to smoke in the store room – water vanquishing the flame). Kinn was unable to make fire when they were trapped in the forest, despite claiming to be friends with the flame, while Porsche could immediately do it.

But I didn't see the KinnPorsche narrative taking the naga/garuda themes much further than these random nods in the earlier episodes. Maybe it did (like Kinn and Porsche could be seen acclimatizing to each other's realms more), but I just couldn't be bothered to look at the show more closely since it didn't really stand up to deeper scrutiny, and after the first few episodes I just went along for the exhilaration of the ride instead. 👍

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Anyway, I'm totally bedazzled by the level of world-building going on in The Sign and look forward to more from the series. If the first episode is anything to go by, I think Executive Producer Saint Suppapong may be on to something! 😍

[bookishdidi]

Graphs don't lie!

Art by schetroschky (Tumblr) | schetroschky (Instagram)

One of the first things I woke up to yesterday was a post downplaying Gwyn and Emerie’s importance, and honestly? I couldn't just scroll past that. Like, let’s not forget these are two of the only three women to ever take part in (and win!) the Blood Rite—a historic achievement, especially considering the efforts by Cassian, Azriel, and Rhys to create programs encouraging female warriors in Illyria, which are often met with resistance due to deep-rooted cultural stigma. Emerie is the first Illyrian woman to achieve the status of Carynthian, and Gwyn, once confined by her fears as a priestess in the library, overcame them to become a formidable warrior on the battlefield. These two are flipping the script, smashing norms, and inspiring a whole new wave of badass women. So yeah, their impact is anything but minor.

And because I love to nerd out, I brought graphs! I crunched the numbers on how often Gwyn and Emerie get mentioned in ACOSF compared to other 'relevant' characters. This is just to give us a clearer picture of how much these two queens actually show up in the story they're a part of.

Note: I'm only considering the main books: 1, 2, 3, and 4. I'm not including Rhys, Feyre, or Tamlin, as I consider them main characters. Also, I’m excluding the number of mentions for Nesta and Cassian in ACOSF.

This graph shows the highest number of times each character’s name was mentioned in a single book, highlighting where they had the most frequent presence.

Since ACOSF is the longest book, it might seem like Gwyn and Emerie being mentioned more often than other characters is just due to its length. But even when accounting for this, they still top the list.

This graph shows the percentage of the maximum times each character’s name is mentioned in a single book compared to the total word count of that book.

So keep yapping. Gwyn and Emerie aren't just important and relevant to the plot; they have significant screen time.

My conclusion is...

Here is all the data I collected:

And a few more graphics in case it's something you're interested in:

[leolingo]

waking up and seeing dream’s rip off project just breaks my heart man what the hell qsmp barely had two weeks to shine and now he’s introducing a VERY similar project in larger scale and uglier graphics and its just “the two are allowed to co-exist?” be fucking serious for a second dude why are you doing this NOW at the height of a project spearheaded by someone that used to call you a friend? like just . logistically speaking comercially speaking when you see how obviously similar these concepts are Why would you announce it now when you know someone else is getting the spotlight for once.

its hard not to call it spite or jealousy or anything of the sort when we cant confirm the timelines of this new project’s development but it REALLY, really feels like something unkind. not only that but it feels really gross to see most aspects of quackity’s passion project warped into something worse.. like LIVE TRANSLATION? really? bc dream of course wouldnt expect people to try and learn the different languages to communicate. he probably doesnt understand how redundant and ultimately hindering it will be to rely 100% on automated translation because 1) he’s not bilingual nor does he make any effort to understand the bilingual experience 2) he has no actual interest in the learning process of foreign languages or the different linguistic communities on twitch and in content creation in general . which makes me wonder WHY he is leading this and very likely profitting off of it when there’s no real reason for him to associate himself with this kind of cultural project other than . wanting to be relevant i guess.

during squidcraft, i didnt see him attempt a single word in spanish. i saw dream use google translate or straight up speak english (fast, idiomatic english at that) to spanish speakers and otherwise not try to meet a communicative middle-ground in any way. if this is how he intends to take on “united SMP” i cant wait to see it fail.

quackity’s project is successful because he cares. its modeled after his own experience and thrives because he as a bilingual host is able to cater to both communities within it and work as a linguistic bridge when need be. which, as we have watched day after day on qsmp streams, becomes less and less necessary because the environment quackity is fostering is actually very concrete INCENTIVE FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. people are actually interacting and having meaningful linguistic/cultural exchanges that actually LEAD TO LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. how the fuck is that supposed to happen if theres live translation? ill tell you now, it won’t.

when we study linguistics in college one of the first things we learn in regards to foreign language teaching is that translation methods rarely fuckjng work. by doing that youre limiting human interaction and actually DISTURBING the learning possibilities because youre taking away Real, varied input. dream doesnt know what he’s doing and its so upsetting to watch. dont even get me started on “language rankings” or whatever the fuck the competitive aspect is supposed to be

the project is just so flawed and the timing couldnt be worse. quackity is doing such a great job and? you just try to hijack his idea like this even though you clearly lack both the heart and the knowledge to make something like this work? to me it just appears so sour. so mean-spirited and uninspired. i dont even know man i just dont like it

[librarycards]

hello! i apologize in advance this is probably something that you get asked a lot. but do you have any recs on literary magazines to submit to? im a trans poet, ive been writing for over a decade but never shared anything and ive been wanting to try to send my stuff to get it published somewhere. obv ive been google searching but theres so many big and small publications and i was wondering if you have ones you like especially and/or tips on how to choose a magazine/journal to submit to. thanks a lot! <3

no worries, thank you for reaching out!! i've been publishing for like 8 years + an editor for almost 4, so i always appreciate the opportunity to help people new to the world find ethical publications that will treat their work with the care it deserves.

first and foremost: there are going to be pubs out there that are awesome and i don't know about. you may be the one to discover them for yourself! one aid in finding the best mag for your work is the wonderful, writer-created chillsubs. it's a fantastic platform that keeps a huge list of mags and presses and their relevant stats, and lets you create an account and bookmark those you're interested in. everyone i know uses them, and it's very worth it given the sheer volume of mags out there.

i also have some recs of my own, ofc. i'm going to list them below. if they pay (which i prioritize) I'll mark them with a $. some are trans/queer focused and some aren't, but all are pubs i've either edited and/or published with and can confirm their ethics + respect for writers.

manywor(l)ds - my mag! i'm co-founder and eic. break genre _ shapeshift with us. ($)

Sinister Wisdom - old, well-regarded lesbian+ lit mag, now open to everyone who is/loves a dyke. I'm guest-editing an issue on Madness with them, now open for submissions!

fifth wheel press - run by a beloved friend and comrade of mine. i've published here. excellent transparency, care, great for first-timers. ($).

kith books - headed by trans literary icon kat blair. a mag/press/community centered around bodymind non-conformity and noncompliance.

Honey Literary - QTPOC-centered, unabashedly pop-culture + social justice oriented. the vibes are simply immaculate.

Whale Road Review - not queer/trans focused, more oriented toward....'grown up' poetry/prose/pedagogy papers. Katie Manning (eic) is a fucking gem.

Graphic Violence Lit - just had my first experience publishing with them, and their care + consideration for the whole writer is amazing. they publish boundary-pushing work.

beestung - one of the brainchildren of Sarah Clark. nb/gq/2s SFF. I just edited a few guest issues w them and have published with them. amazing work. ($)

A Velvet Giant - genrequeer work. the editors are experienced, enthusiastic, and amazing at promoting writers long after publication. it's a family! ($)

Ethel Zine + Press - handmade with love by Sara Lefsyk (as you can see, trans/nonbinary/2s sarahs dominate indie publishing, as well we should :3). Sara is a sensitive and care-full editor and bookmaker whose every publication is a work of art.

Protean - pro- as in proletariat. awesome left mag with a mix of politics and culture and everything in between. they take reprints! ($)

Mudroom - publish your work along with a picture of your mudroom/shoe rack. very responsive editors who will hype you tf up. ($)

The Institutionalized Review - for psych survivors. the editors concreteness of vision and dedication to their community know no bounds.

Just Femme + Dandy - queer and fashion-focused! led by the inimitable Addie Tsai. They pay *handsomely*. ($)

In addition, there are also some "big" mags I have had excellent experiences publishing with and wanted to shout out. These are harder for a beginner to break into, but worth keeping on your radar + have been fantastic to me as a writer.

Electric Lit

Split Lip Magazine

The Offing

Nat. Brut

Santa Fe Writers' Project

Bodega

New Orleans Review

Augur Magazine

I hope this is helpful to you + others! the literary world is ever-changing and this is just a snapshot. Hopefully you find some that you like!

[coinandcandle]

How to Make Tarot Spreads

Learn how to make your own tarot spread. This is based on my personal practice so feel free to customize it as needed! 

I've written the steps out in a linear manner but they are not numbered. The reason for this is because the process itself is rarely linear (for me) and I tend to bounce between steps, changing things as I go until I've got the finished product.

On to the creation process!!

Think about a life event that you wish to have guidance on (or wished to have guidance on at the time). Or perhaps a situation that left you with many burning questions time and time again. These will be your main topic for the tarot spread.

You can also choose a topic that's easier and less hard-hitting like a new season, natural phenomenon, or celestial cycle (ie. the new moon in Leo, Taurus season approaching, the last frost, etc.) You can also pull from pop culture to create a tarot spread.

Pick a number, something manageable. I usually go between 3 and 7 cards, personally. Sometimes the number of cards you use will also be relevant to your spread if you hold certain beliefs about numbers. If this is the case then feel free to leverage this when creating cards!

Think about questions that the situation left you with or things you wished you'd thought about while going through the event. You'll use these to create prompts for the cards. 

Choose a pattern, aka how your cards will lay once they've been pulled. This is the "spread".

Put it all together and you've got a spread! You can choose a title or not, I usually choose the title somewhere within the creation process as they just sorta come to me naturally. Sometimes the title comes first and I work from there.

Example:

Topic: I've been dealing with a breakup recently so that will be my topic for the spread. I'll walk you through my process. 

Questions someone has when going through heartbreak are things like: What went wrong? Is this for the best? What did I do wrong? What did I do right? When will I feel ok again? What do I do now? Etc.

Pulling the Cards: Of course, you can choose the tried and true shuffle-and-pull method of pulling cards, but you can also get more creative with it.

I've chosen a "sandwich" method, where you shuffle the deck and find a specific card, then you pull out the card directly in front of and behind the card in question.

What do I think of when I think of tarot and breakups? The three of swords, a card notorious for being about heartbreak.

So, we'll look for the 3 of swords and pull out the card in front of and behind it. I will shuffle again and pull the 3rd card from wherever in the deck it calls to me.

Pattern: I want to keep with the theme of the 3 of swords so I plan on the 3 cards being pulled laying above and slightly angled, similar to the look of the original 3 of swords.

Prompts: Questions someone may have when going through heartbreak are things like, What went wrong? Is this for the best? What did I do wrong? What did I do right? When will I feel ok again? What do I do now? Etc.

Using these questions and emotions, I can come up with the card prompts.

Put it all together. If you're extra, like me, you can create a graphic or draw up a design for your tarot spread! You can find the finished product of my tarot spread here: 

3 of Swords Heartbreak Spread

Enjoy my work? Consider leaving me a tip on my ko-fi!

[lets-all-calm-down-a-bit]

wiat can someone explain to me why chat ai is bad, im so ootl on this /gen

Yes, of course!

So, If you are familiar with the ethical debate around AI art, you should know that today's "AI" is not actually AI. The AI we have now is not artificial intelligence. It is merely a program cobbling together things fed into the machine to produce a new image or piece of writing. However, what is created is not actually NEW. "AI" art and Character "AI" scrapes artists' and writers' original works from the internet without their consent, then mushes it all together to create the desired outcome of the prompt it was given. These artists and writers are not consulted or compensated before their art is used. This means that your favorite fanfic writers and artists' work is regularly stolen and used to create someone's "AI" art image or Character "AI" conversation without them knowing or being able to stop it.

Along with this, there is a more culturally relevant reason to not support Chat "AI." As the writers' strike continues, it is becoming increasingly more worrying that large film companies might replace human writers with "AI." This would not only put immense amounts of people out of work. It would also almost completely erase creative job options. They aren't only trying to start using "AI" to write scripts. Due to the recent SAG-AFTRA strike, they have proposed scanning the likeness of an actor to be used indefinitely without that actor's long-term compensation. And the elimination of artists in the graphic design field is self-explanatory. Why would a company pay twice as much money to commission an artist for their work, when they could get a result for half the price in mere seconds?

Capitalism is literally trying to eliminate the need for creatives in the workforce. This is disgusting. From the beginning of time, people have created art. They have sold art. They have bought art. Large corporations are trying to make that obsolete.

If you care at ALL about the creative community and the future of art itself, do NOT feed the "AI." It is actively working against you.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

aita/wibta for NOT breaking up with my bf ?

i'm not sure if the title is phrased weirdly, bare with me. my bf and i are both 18, he is cis M & i am FTM (relevant).

My bf and i are both currently in first year uni, both living at home due to high cost of living in our country (also everywhere else lol). We met about halfway through highschool, and were friends for a while before getting together. we are coming up on two years together in a couple months, and have not really had any major bumps in our relationship. we see eachother i would say 1-2x per week, with both of us living at home and being broke it gets a little challenging sometimes but we call most nights and generally we make it work. Also worth noting that I am my bf's first everything, down to his first kiss, while he is not really this for me. this is the longest relationship i have been in (probably because i'm 18 lol), but not at all the first. however, the only "serious" relationship i have had outside of of him, aside from just casual stuff, was very abusive & toxic, so i do sort of see us on equal footing as neither of us has ever been in a normal, functional relationship before.

Now, the issue: while we are both currently living at home, i see this as a very temporary arrangement and something i am counting down the days until i can get out of. while living with my family is not abusive or anything, it is just very straining as i am not very close with them, and also cannot transition while living at home. as previously mentioned i am ftm, and while my mom is tolerant it would just put even more stress on the relationship if i were to start changing physically while living at home or even asking her to use different pronouns for me and is just something i prefer to leave until i'm not 100% reliant on her. that being said my dysphoria causes me very intense depression and without getting too detailed, i don't know how much longer i can take living here and putting off any sort of meaningful transition outside of close/online friends calling me he.

my bf, however, plans to live at home at least until he graduates, which is six years away. i understand that this is a very normal thing, especially culturally (he is middle eastern + muslim, i am white + agnostic), but the issue is that his mother is, among many other things, extremely homophobic. she already hates me for reasons i'm not really sure of (my bf refuses to go into detail, i think to protect me, but i have seen extremely graphic and nasty texts about me by name on his phone and have been told by him that he doesn't even mention me around the house or else she gets extremely upset, though she is always extremely nice to me the few times we have interacted), but anyways, me transitioning while he is still living at home would be essentially putting him in legitimate danger.

my bf does not like to think about this, which i understand. it's hard enough dealing with what i get from my family, and that is absolutely nothing compared to the fact that everyone he knows from his culture/religion beleives he should be dead just because he is gay (i know, as does he, that there are queer muslims. but they do not exist openly in his personal community). but the problem is that anytime i adress to him that the idea of waiting until we are in our mid-twenties for me to even think about transitioning is a really big issue for me he basically refuses to talk about it and just says that "it will work out". on top of the transitioning thing i just generally don't want to be twenty-five (the age he has told me is when he plans to move out) and still having to cancel dates last minute because my boyfriend's mom was in a bad mood and decided he's not allowed to go out tonight. i know this is how life is for many people and they learn to deal with it! and i respect them very much! but it is genuinely my nightmare. i understand why he cannot/does not want to cut himself off from his family, especially since his dad lives overseas and is extremely wealthy so therefore paying his entire tuition out of pocket. i'm just saying it's not a lifestyle that meshes well with my future plans.

this is where the asshole part comes in: my bf genuinely thinks that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together. this started with small comments, things like alluding to the idea of our potential future kids (i love kids and raising my own is genuinely my end goal in life, something he knows just because i am very open about it), or talking about our future apartment/house, but now is basically just a constant conversation in our relationship. i try not to feed into it, but i also feel badly responding to his sweet comment when i point out a house i like on the street about how we'll buy it one day with something about how i don't ever see that happening. i generally just respond neutrally, but i will admit i get caught up in the fantasy sometimes and contribute to it as well.

he is such a lovely guy with a beautiful heart and i do really adore him, and it's not a situation where i don't want to spend the rest of my life with him. to be honest, that's the dream. i love him with everything i have and i would literally do anything for him. the problem is just that when he talks about this future together all i can picture is all the million ways our relationship is doomed to implode.

but we are happy right now, because me moving out of my family home is not something that is going to be possible for another 1-2 years, so none of those issues are something that are going to come up right now. i just forsee them being pretty much impossible obstacles between us and spending the rest of our lives together down the line. but i have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that even though i want more than anything to be with him forever, the fact that i don't remotely beleive it's something that will actually work out still constitutes as leading him on.

so, am i the asshole for staying with him, because we are happy right now and these issues are not going to be relevant for another 1-2 years, and a solution might somehow present itself in that time? or is the right thing to do to just leave now, and rip off the bandaid?

What are these acronyms?

[khensaptah]

Mystic Egyptian Polytheism Resource List

Because I wanted to do a little more digging into the philosophy elements explored in Mahmoud's book, I took the time tonight to pull together the recommended reading he listed toward the end of each chapter. The notes included are his own.

MEP discusses Pharaonic Egypt and Hellenistic Egypt, and thus some of these sources are relevant to Hellenic polytheists (hence me intruding in those tags)!

Note: extremely long text post under this read more.

What Are The Gods And The Myths?

ψ Jeremy Naydler’s Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It dives deep into how the ancients envisioned the gods and proposes how the various Egyptian cosmologies can be reconciled. ψ Jan Assmann’s Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism focuses on New Kingdom theology by analyzing and comparing religious literature. Assmann fleshes out a kind of “monistic polytheism,” as well as a robust culture of personal piety that is reflected most prominently in the religious literature of this period. He shows how New Kingdom religious thought was an antecedent to concepts in Hermeticism and Neoplatonism. ψ Moustafa Gadalla’s Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One provides a modern Egyptian analysis of the gods, including reviews of the most significant deities. Although Gadalla is not an academic, his insights and contributions as a native Egyptian Muslim with sympathies towards the ancient religion are valuable.

How to Think like an Egyptian

ψ Jan Assmann’s The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It illuminates Egyptian theology by exploring their ideals, values, mentalities, belief systems, and aspirations from the Old Kingdom period to the Ptolemaic period. ψ Garth Fowden’s The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind identifies the Egyptian character of religion and wisdom in late antiquity and provides a cultural and historical context to the Hermetica, a collection of Greco-Egyptian religious texts. ψ Christian Bull’s The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom provides a rich assessment of the Egyptian religious landscape at the end of widespread polytheism in Egypt and how it came to interact with and be codified in Greek schools of thought and their writings.

How To Think Like A Neoplatonist

Radek Chlup’s Proclus: An Introduction is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It addresses the Neoplatonic system of Proclus but gives an excellent overview of Neoplatonism generally. It contains many valuable graphics and charts that help illustrate the main ideas within Neoplatonism. ψ John Opsopaus’ The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon succinctly addresses several concepts in Neoplatonism from the point of view of Gemistos Plethon, a crypto-polytheist who lived during the final years of the Byzantine Empire. It provides insight into the practical application of Neoplatonism to ritual and religion. ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism draws connections between theological concepts and practices in Ancient Egypt to those represented in the writings and practices of the Neoplatonists.

What Is “Theurgy,” And How Do You Make A Prayer “Theurgical?”

ψ Jeffrey Kupperman’s Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It is a practical guide on theurgy, complete with straightforward explanations of theurgical concepts and contemplative exercises for practice. ψ Gregory Shaw’s Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus demonstrates how Iamblichus used religious ritual as the primary tool of the soul’s ascent towards God. He lays out how Iamblichus proposed using rites to achieve henosis. ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity explores the various ways theurgy operated in the prime of its widespread usage. He focuses mainly on temple rites and how theurgy helped translate them into personal piety rituals.

What Is “Demiurgy,” And How Do I Do Devotional, “Demiurgical” Acts?

ψ Shannon Grimes’ Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It constitutes an in-depth look at Zosimos—an Egyptian Hermetic priest, scribe, metallurgist, and alchemist. It explores alchemy (ancient chemistry and metallurgy) as material rites of the soul’s ascent. She shows how Zosimos believed that partaking in these practical arts produced divine realities and spiritual advancements. ψ Alison M. Robert’s Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art delves deep temple inscriptions and corresponding religious literature from the Pharaonic period and demonstrates them as premises for alchemy. These texts “alchemize” the “body” of the temple, offering a model for the “alchemizing” of the self. ψ A.J. Arberry’s translation of Farid al-Din Attar’s Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat al-Auliya contains a chapter on the Egyptian Sufi saint Dhul-Nun al-Misri (sometimes rendered as Dho‘l-Nun al-Mesri). He is regarded as an alchemist, thaumaturge, and master of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It contains apocryphal stories of his ascetic and mystic life as a way of “living demiurgically.” It is an insightful glimpse into how the Ancient Egyptian arts continued into new religious paradigms long after polytheism was no longer widespread in Egypt.

Further Reading

Contemporary Works Assmann, Jan. 1995. Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism. Translated by Anthony Alcock. Kegan Paul International. Assmann, Jan. 2003. The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs. Harvard University Press. Bull, Christian H. 2019. The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Brill. Chlup, Radek. 2012. Proclus: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. Escolano-Poveda, Marina. 2008. The Egyptian Priests of the Graeco-Roman Period. Brill. Fowden, Garth. 1986. The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind. Cambridge University Press. Freke, Tim, and Peter Gandy. 2008. The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. Gadalla, Moustafa. 2001. Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One. Tehuti Research Foundation. Grimes, Shannon. 2019. Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt. Princeton University Press. Jackson, Howard. 2017. “A New Proposal for the Origin of the Hermetic God Poimandres.” Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism 17 (2): 193-212. Kupperman, Jeffrey. 2014. Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy. Avalonia. Mierzwicki, Tony. 2011. Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment. Llewellyn Publications. Naydler, Jeremy. 1996. Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred. Inner Traditions. Opsopaus, J. 2006. The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon. New York: Llewellyn Publications. Roberts, Alison M. 2019. Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art. Northgate Publishers. Shaw, Gregory. 1995. Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. 2nd ed. Angelico Press. Snape, Steven. 2014. The Complete Cities of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. Uzdavinys, Algis. 1995. Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. Uzdavinys, Algis. 2008. Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism. Lindisfarne Books. Wilkinson, Richard H. 2000. The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.

Ancient Sources in Translation Attar, Farid al-Din. 1966. Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat alAuliya. Translated by A.J. Arberry. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Betz, Hans Dieter. 1992. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Copenhaver, Brian P. 1995. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Guthrie, Kenneth. 1988. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library: An Anthology of Ancient Writings which Relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean Philosophy. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press. Iamblichus. 1988. The Theology of Arithmetic. Translated by Robin Waterfield. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press. Iamblichus. 2003. Iamblichus: On the Mysteries. Translated by Clarke, E., Dillon, J. M., & Hershbell, J. P. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. Iamblichus. 2008. The Life of Pythagoras (Abridged). Translated by Thomas Taylor. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. Lichtheim, Miriam. 1973-1980. Ancient Egyptian Literature. Volumes I-III. Berkeley: University of California Press. Litwa, M. David. 2018. Hermetica II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Majercik, Ruth. 1989. The Chaldean Oracles: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Leiden: Brill. Plato. 1997. Plato: Complete Works. Edited by John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. Plotinus. 1984-1988. The Enneads. Volumes 1-7. Translated by A.H. Armstrong. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Van der Horst, Pieter Willem. 1984. The Fragments of Chaeremon, Egyptian Priest and Stoic Philosopher. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

[talonabraxas]

Hekate: Goddess of The Eclipse Talon Abraxas

Eclipses are such a powerful time to explore darkness, so very Hekatean in their essence for they not only either dim the world or occur at night when they are visible, but are also liminal times. As part of my personal studies, I reflect on experiences during the previous eclipses to see how they brought powerful medicine to me.

Eclipses are generally turning points, a type of Nyssa experience (refer to Entering Hekate's Garden if you are unfamiliar with that term). As Hekateans, the MOON will always be highly influential since we are naturally attuned to it's powers: emotions, intuition, magic(k), mystery. They are sacred events when we can behold the majesty of the universe, and Hekate Anima Mundi, with awe and wonder.

Generally, I recommend connecting to the eclipse in a more intuitive manner during the precise times, such as contemplative work of devotion (see prayer below), and reserving spells and rituals for hours before/after. Viewing eclipses in person is deeply spiritual experience, which I have been fortunate enough to have many times.

Understanding Eclipses: Significance and Characteristics

"The metaphor for the violence done to the goddess as a representative of natural order and the balance of the natural world appropriately takes the form in the celestial sphere as an abrupt and frightening change in the heavens: an eclipse. The actions of this goddess as eclipse are not the warrior goddess archetype but the intellectually powerful and disturbed nature of a goddess represented as a raging fury determined to shake the universe, darken the skies, and set the world into a readjustment of its values after experiencing the chaos of the unnatural. Eventually, her power is to astound, frighten, and horrify to create the required and necessary change to the culture of the patriarchy that is out of sync with nature. Therefore, her power dwells in the unmasking of uncertainty and the shocking of mankind to evoke revenge and correct misconduct through a demonstration of cosmic change." From "Goddesses of The Eclipses," by Helen Benigni.

I don't feel the need to say more about their significance, especially to us Hekateans. This quote, and the entire scholarly article linked above, says it all.

2024 Eclipse Cycle

The 2024 Eclipse Cycle begins with the Libra Full Moon in March, and concludes with the Libra New Moon in October. For many of us living in North America, the Spring Eclipse Season brings us a very special total solar eclipse, a rare treat. Keep in mind that solar eclipses happen twice a year, so although this one may be more personally relevant because we can see it, it is in keeping with the natural cycle.

Eclipse seasons happen at the opposite side of the zodiacal calendar, as illustrated in the Covina graphic above. Since our calendar is lunar, twice a year we start a new moon month on an eclipse.

Beyond the full Aries solar eclipse on April 8, another unique astrological event in 2024 is that there are two Capricorn Full Moon's during the summer, which results in an unusual third Libra eclipse.

[cellarspider]

9/30 What remains

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

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We return to the movie that I’m not giving a jokey intro to this time, Prometheus. 

When I was in archaeological field school, we were digging in an area that had been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic period. Untold numbers of people had lived there through the ages.

And so it wasn’t entirely unexpected when someone told the professors that a construction crew across the street had just dug up a human skull.

(https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/work-begins-to-excavate-45-000-skeletons-from-hs2-site-at-london-euston-a3972926.html )

One of the grad students slapped on a dayglo vest and hard hat, and ran over there to speak with the crew. Undergrads were not allowed anywhere near the site, simply because of the liability risk. But the bones themselves? We weren’t allowed to touch them. They went right into boxes for a specialist to take care of. 

All told, remains from 18 skeletons were found, twelve of them children. They’d been there for about eight hundred years. The professors said the construction crew was diffing on top of a medieval churchyard. They’d dug a hole to connect up the utilities, and their trench went right up to the wall of the former church. You could tell that, the professors said, because unbaptized children would’ve been buried under the eaves of the church: rainwater falling from the eaves was thought to be sanctified, so they’d be blessed every time it rained.

The construction crew wasn’t actually obligated to tell anyone about the bones. There was no legal requirement–the dead were everywhere there. As long as there was no reason to suspect a murder, people could just dig.

But because they did stop, just long enough for the bones to be retrieved, those skeletons would be examined, cataloged, and would either be held in an osteoarchaeological collection for further research, or reburied. There was no strong legal or social pressure one way or the other. That’s not universal–some peoples forbid the practice of handling and studying human remains, or require that remains be reinterred with the most culturally appropriate religious rites that can be provided. There is a lack of international or even regional consensus on what to do in these situations.

(https://railuk.com/rail-news/the-archaeology-of-hs2/)

And there are a lot of places where the wishes of descendants and local cultures have not been honored by archaeologists. The twenty year fight over custody of the bones of Kennewick Man (or the Ancient One) is one notable, hard-fought win for repatriation and reinterment of human remains, and there are many, many cases that have been far worse, that are still worse.

But where we dug, the relevant ethical standards for osteoarchaeologists stressed that “[b]iological remains, particularly human remains, of any age or provenance must be treated with care and dignity.”

We students never saw the bones. We didn’t need to, frankly, it would have been incompatible with those values. Is this how it’s handled everywhere? No. And most of the time, our dig was a very casual and lively place. But these professors were trying to start us out with the best ethical standards they could, which I am grateful for.

That’s the context that was running through my head as I watched Prometheus. Movies tend to treat dead bodies with far less reverence. They often carry some sort of emotional weight–fear, disgust, grief, or even excitement or humor. In violent movies, they’re set dressing, less important than the main characters–unless one of them was a main character. I chafe at that distinction, sometimes, but I’m not squeamish about movie violence. Two of my favorite movies of the year prior had been The Raid and Dredd. Two serendipitously similar action movies where death was relentless, graphic, and cheap–content warning in both links, by the way.

Both movies had carried me through because they were consistent on what they were throughout. I didn’t expect anything more sensitive from movies about action-fantasy cops. Prometheus had already lost me, and it was about archaeologists. Ones who professed a belief that they were there to meet their makers.

And so I found the way they treat the discovery of an alien body to be utterly galling. Despite the fact that I didn’t expect anything better from them by this point, I still wasn’t willing to meet the movie where it wanted me to be. I wasn’t feeling their excitement, trepidation over what else they were going to find next, or any voyeuristic excitement over how screwed they obviously were–any of those might have been the intended emotion, I’m honestly not sure what sort of horror movie Prometheus was trying to be at this point.

I was just seething that they were touching the body. Sticking probes into it. That was bad enough. 

We haven’t even gotten to what they do to the head yet.

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Citations for alt-text:

All links listed in-line below the images this time.

[voidmountain]

@piratedllama I can but you’re not going to like it!

Void’s guide to getting a job in conservation

My story

My educational credentials: BAs in philosophy and creative writing from a big cheap state school, and a PhD in English literature with a specialization in environmental humanities from a small private R1. Couple years as an adjunct professor.

I trained my entire life to be a literature professor. It’s all I ever wanted. By the time I was finishing my doctorate, I had a very limiting belief that I was either over- or underqualified for any job outside academia. I was wrong.

By the time I made the decision to leave academia, I had published 2.5 peer reviewed academic articles and several magazine pieces. I also had about 5ish years of part-time communications consulting under my belt from helping run the writing center at my institution. I got a part-time social media/SEO management gig, and then used a grant to fund a comms internship at a local environmental nonprofit. Then I straight up just applied to jobs at conservation orgs on LinkedIn at a rate or 5 per week for about 6 months. I was looking for jobs in communications and education. Landed a couple interviews then got a position as a comms manager. My islander heritage ended up being relevant too bc I have a cultural insight into the regions where the org works. I’ve worked here for about a year, mostly wfh desk stuff, but I like to tag along to projects so I can take pics/do interviews/help with fieldwork/coordinate community meetings & info sessions. I still have a publishing career on the side, with 2 new articles out and a book manuscript in the works.

I do not recommend doing it this way lol.

What I would do instead

Conservation orgs have room for people with all kinds of backgrounds and expertise. If your goal is to have a job similar to mine, get lots of writing and science communication experience. Be able to show that you’ve built impactful campaigns and learn your way around SEO and communications terminology. Start with internships/social media, try and get some experience working with journalists, and have a nice portfolio of campaigns (easy way to start is an awareness campaign for a particular policy or science issue). Other creative experience is a plus (photography/graphic design/web design/UI).

Fieldwork is not that hard to get into. You can get field experience as an undergrad by working in research labs or volunteering. From there, lots of conservation orgs in your area are probably looking for volunteers or part-time workers to do field monitoring. TBH you don’t really need a degree to get into fieldwork, but the ceiling is kind of low without one. With a BS you can work your way up through an org probably to a manager level position where you could lead a field team but not direct a program. Generally, without a MS or PhD, you won’t be designing programs—just carrying them out, which can be really rewarding. You can also make lateral moves towards things like project management—coordinating supplies, transportation, methods, and problem-solving stuff.

Other ways to get into the field: orgs often contract out conservation tech companies to carry out specialized operations, like aerial monitoring and bait distribution. Getting a license for like a heavy-lift drone, an ROV, or boat stuff can also get you in the thick of it.

If you want to design and direct conservation programs, unfortunately you probably need to go to grad school. I can write up a separate post about how to decide whether to pursue an advanced degree if people are interested, but my general advice is Never Enroll In A Masters Program. Either do it as a 4+1 with your undergrad or go straight for the PhD. That’s where you’ll get experience designing your own experiments and contributing to the sum of conservation knowledge.

Extremely important caveat

You do not have to do any of these things in any particular order. It’s totally cool to work in the field for a couple years before going back for the PhD. You also do not need to link your education to your job (god knows I didn’t). My side hobbies of wildlife photography and scuba diving made me a great candidate for the job I eventually got, and they didn’t have anything to do with my degree or original career path. There’s also a million other jobs that conservation orgs have that don’t involve having a science background at all—HR, finance, admin, philanthropy, consulting, & policy analysis are huge parts of this. So are other jobs that aren’t *within* conservation at all, like journalism & social organizing.

A lot of folks I meet out here in the conservation world are on their third or fourth careers. It’s very, very normal to switch it up, try many things, land somewhere, leave, and pick up somewhere else.

All this to say: the world is really, really big. Don’t feel pressured to take the shortest most linear possible path. There are a million ways to have a good life.

[lyricallyawesome]

The Timeless Appeal of Mario: Gaming’s Most Beloved Hero

In the pantheon of video game characters, one hero stands out for his enduring appeal and universal recognition: Mario. The plucky plumber from the Mushroom Kingdom has become an emblem of the gaming industry, transcending cultural and generational boundaries. But what is it about Mario that has cemented his place in the hearts of millions?

Mario’s journey began in 1981 with the arcade game “Donkey Kong,” where he was introduced as “Jumpman.” However, it was the release of “Super Mario Bros.” in 1985 that catapulted him to stardom. This game, with its innovative platforming gameplay, set the standard for future titles and established Mario as Nintendo’s flagship character12.

The genius behind Mario’s creation, Shigeru Miyamoto, crafted a character that was both everyman and hero. Mario’s design was influenced by the graphical limitations of the time, resulting in his iconic overalls, cap, and mustache. These features not only made him distinctive but also relatable2. Mario was a character that didn’t possess superhuman abilities; he was an ordinary individual thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

Over the years, Mario has starred in over 200 games, ranging from platformers to racing, party, and even educational titles. Each new release is a testament to Mario’s versatility and the creativity of Nintendo’s developers. The franchise has explored various genres, ensuring that Mario remains relevant in an ever-evolving industry1.

One of Mario’s most significant contributions to gaming is the sense of wonder and adventure he embodies. The Mushroom Kingdom is a world brimming with vibrant colors, imaginative creatures, and inventive landscapes. Each game is an invitation to explore and discover, appealing to our innate curiosity and desire for adventure.

Moreover, Mario games are renowned for their accessibility. They offer a balance of challenge and fun that caters to both novice and experienced gamers. This inclusivity is a core reason why Mario continues to be a gateway for many into the world of video games.

Mario’s impact extends beyond gameplay; he has become a cultural icon. From merchandise and television shows to a Hollywood movie, Mario’s influence is evident across various media. He’s a character that represents the joy and nostalgia of gaming for people around the world.

As we look to the future, Mario shows no signs of slowing down. With each new console generation, Mario leaps into our living rooms with the same enthusiasm he had over three decades ago. His games continue to push the boundaries of creativity, bringing innovative experiences to gamers of all ages.

In conclusion, Mario’s timeless appeal lies in his ability to adapt, his embodiment of adventure, and his universal accessibility. He’s not just a character; he’s a symbol of the joy that video games can bring into our lives. As long as there are games to be played, Mario will undoubtedly be there, jumping on Goombas, saving Princess Peach, and reminding us of the magic of play.

I hope you enjoyed this tribute to gaming’s most beloved hero, Mario. His legacy is a testament to the power of imagination and the enduring appeal of good, fun gameplay. What’s your favorite Mario memory? Share it in the comments below!

[coarsely]

(art; x x)

Anti-Chronicles; a WIP introduction

Set between the warring states of Bronze Eden and Nod, Anti-Chronicles is a non-linear, non-chronological anthology of stories taking place in these respective lands, aiming to explore the culture, history, politics and society and how they have changed over the years. Bronze Eden is a heavily controlled theocratic state filled with forced surveillance and religious fervour, led by the Potentate Dynasty who have been ruling Eden for millennia. Nod is the neighbouring anarchist state, post-apocalyptic and is completely free of any organised government or laws, dealing with the fallout of a nuclear weapon that distorted local time and space dropped on them by Bronze Eden.

STATUS; 1st draft, lore-building.

P.O.V.; 3rd person limited, with occasional chapter-specific exceptions.

GENRES;

Fantasy

Steampunk fiction

Post-apocalyptic science fiction

THEMES;

Religion as a tool of survellience and power

The politics of monarchies vs anarchism

War's impact on citizens

Nuclear post-apocalypse

Time-travel

Human connection in spite of hardship, violence, and colonialism

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS;

Violence

Swearing and derogatory language

Sexuality

Religion and religious trauma, specifically Catholic based

Puritanism

Disordered eating

Child abuse

Cultural homophobia, misogyny, racism, etc

Death

Ableism

Potentially more which will be outlined when relevant.

INSPIRATIONS;

Love, Death + Robots

I, Robot by Issac Asimov

Æon Flux

Dishonored (video game series)

Bayonetta (video game series)

Akira

The Real and the Unreal by Ursula Le Guin

CHARACTERS;

by nature of being non-chronological and non-linear, we have a lot of characters! some are kept to their own corner of the world, others move around. here is a short list of the more familiar faces, but there are many more you'll meet as we develop. To meet the entire cast, please refer to this post!

The Potentate Dynasty, the rulers of Bronze Eden who are said to be descended from the Empyrean Itself. Currently ruled by the aged Potentate Magnus, who has fathered six children during his reign. Living in the floating palace in the center of Bronze Eden, they keep to themselves, but their power is absolute.

The Imperators are the divine soldiers of Bronze Eden, also with a link to the Empyrean who are trained from a young age to be the protectors of the Temple and of the Potenates and priests who live within.

Sal Soloman and Ed Edwards are two scientists in Bronze Eden, who's meeting and relationship is both legendary and tragic.

Nod's warriors are disorganised and many, but by far the most prolific is Ucalegon, a native of Old Rhapsody. She works with her own agenda in mind, but nontheless has Nod's best interests in mind... for the most part.

Lady Jezebel is a radio presenter, activist and DJ who's voice has become synonymous with the Land of Nod. She is a pillar of Nod culture and beliefs, hugely influential though nobody knows her face or who she is outside of her radio work. If you want to know of the latest news or listen to the blossoming music scene, her radio is who you tune in to.

Vítor Cadogan is a resident of Golden Glimpse, one of the cities in Nod. Known for running a youth center, he was once a vigilante detective who sought to fight the crime that grew in the golden city's underbelly. He's had a change of heart and has dedicated the remainder of his life to supporting the youths of Golden Glimpse, but many hold his crimefighting past against him.

Other names you'll want to remember are Saccade, Helene, Ive, Cerebellum, Hendrix, the Praeceptor family, and Niles Clarke.

Please feel free to ask in the replies, my inbox or my dm's if you would like to be added to the tag list. This means being tagged in snippets, character profiles, lore dumps and graphics, and anything else related in a major way! I will not tag you in ask games, picrew chains and the like, as I wouldn't consider these notable to the actual tangible lore. You can ask to be removed at any time.

[analoghorrorexplained]

Every single plot inconsistency and error In UrbanSPOOK in order.

This covers the first 6 episodes. Content warning for just about everything. As for why I am doing this? I hate bad writing that relies on shock value.

EDIT: apparently Urbanslug is Swedish which honestly explains the lack of understanding of American gun culture and some of the bizarre logistical details. Either way, I take back nothing. If you googled enough to describe murder in this much detail, you can google enough to understand the setting of your story.

These uploads are digitized versions of the tapes in question so we can assume they were found recently. However, the number at the end of the tapes is a 985 number which is an area code that used to be used in Lousiana for the areas outside of New Orleans. However, it was only used from 2001 till Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane hit most numbers were switched back to a 504 area code which the 985 one was meant to replace. This means the murders had to have taken place between 2001-2008 when the code was switched back to 504. While this might not seem like a big deal since VHS was still around in the early 2000s, DVD had already outpaced VHS sales by 2001 and by 2008 VHS tapes themselves stop being produced on a wide scale. Given these taps are implied to be a method of locating victims and or the killer, it seems like a pretty bizarre way to go about doing that since the format these tapes were made in was already beginning to die when they were made. And given how the internet was becoming more popular around this time, its strange how the person making these takes did not use that format instead given it was both available and made more sense to get the word out there.

Speaking of the tapes: they are formatted in a very bizarre way. If the person making these tapes wanted to bring the killer to justice why is a majority of the focus placed on how the people in the tapes were murdered and the paintings left behind? Why would the focus not be placed on clues left behind by the killer like fingerprints, camera footage, personal effects, or anything that might point people in the direction of where the killer is? Why are there VERY FEW exact locations mentioned? Why are the details so vague? If this is meant to raise awareness or find answers why are all the details that might do that so vague? If these tapes were meant for the police like as a "this is what is going on" kind of way (like what we see in the first episodes of Mandela cataloge regarding the alternates) why does it have a contact phone number at the end? If a PI made this the same general "why would you graphically describe the murder but not include any other relevant information" issue still applies. And if this is a recording of, lets say, a true crime type show: where is the host, B-roll footage, or anything else to indicate this is a show? And if the killer made these: why add the number? I get the killer is cocky since he is leaving paintings behind: but this is a bit too much "suspend your disbelief"ey for me if we are going by the rules of normal reality, which it seems we are. These tapes seem to not have any reason for existing other to provide a backstory to the paintings. They serve no in-world purpose.

Why were the police in a random abandoned warehouse and why were all 3 paintings stashed in that 1 specific place. Was this where the killer was camping out? Where were these other 2 paintings found? Why Is the tape leaving out so much relevant detail?

While 2 of the first victims are women which implies this being sexually motivated, the last victim out of the 3 initial victims isn't. Along with this, there is no pattern between the parts taken/mutilated nor a connection between any of these people. Since we are not shown dates or locations there is no way to know how connected these victims are. Why is the killer going after these people?

If this has gone public, why is more not being done to stop the killer or at least track him down? Why are people not on higher alert? What police department is investigating this? And since "2 days ago" is mentioned in the episode: ONCE AGAIN WHAT TIME FRAME ARE WE OPERATING ON HERE?!

Why is the killer targeting cops? It makes sense from a "haha fuck you, you cant catch me" perspective but it does not make sense for the painter to target bill specifically and deviate from the "pattern" already kind of set by episode 1 unless Bill was somehow the head of the investigation, which was not ever stated.

"A few miles" is a long distance for corpses to be dragged or for people to be taken on-foot (which they presumably were). If the collins family was still alive when this happened, given Bill was a cop, why did he not fight back? And if not, how was the painter able to get them from point A to B without being caught (unless the car was ditched after)

If some of the paintings were found BEFORE the events of the lighthouse (including the ones featuring Jennifer and the bunt kid) why did the police not cross-reference the missing person's names with the names found on the paintings?

If those photos shown are supposed to be in-universe photos of the Collins family before they were murdered, they were either turned into something (other than mush) by the painter or those are not actual photos. They look too much like the paintings for me to think of them as in-universe photographs.

Why did the painter rip the twins in half and sew them back together again? While his mutilation of Cory's genitals and the stuffing of a brick down the throat of his sister (in a manner similar to a blowjob) seems consistent given the fact the painter is more or less a sex offender: the sewing people together does not. Unless you want to look at the parts which... given Cory was mutilated from the waste down and his sister's torso was sewn onto his legs... you cannot make the argument that it was for the intent of making a "futa". It is just brutality for brutality's sake.

If that cabin is implied to be the home of the painter just like the lighthouse is implied to be a body dump WHY ARE POLICE NOT LOOKING INTO IT FURTHER

How was the painter able to get into Tom's 3rd-floor apartment via the drainage pipe on the outside and manage to encase him entirely in wax? Was Tom a candle enthusiast? Did the painter have a vat of hot wax with him? How was this logistically possible in the time frame we are given. Along with this, given how Tom is neither a child nor woman (or police from what we know), why was he targeted? Further more: since wax does not always dry the fastest, especially when there is that much, how was Tom not able to free himself/why was he in an upright position? Unless Tom was drugged, even with the lack of arms he could have still moved.

Sean is a PI helping the police with a series of violent murders. He also presumably lives in Louisiana, AKA the South. This is presumably post-9/11. Why was Sean not armed and why did no neighbors come to actually help? How was the dog also not able to do anything either? If he got Sean by surprise I might be more understanding but for a PI investigating a violent serial killer in an area of the US known for its gun ownership: I feel like the fact the Painter has not been shot either by the cop, Sean, or ANY of the neighbors or victims is impressive

Assuming Sean installing a security camera was motivated by the painter, why does Sean only have 1 SINGULAR CAMERA. WHY WOULD SEAN NOT HAVE ADDITIONAL CAMERAS? And furthermore, why would nobody else have additional cameras around Sean?

This part about Tina' and the "south coast" road trip is confusing since the "South Coast" is apart of California which is on the other side of the country. If they meant "Gulf Coast" (which is where Louisiana is located the murder location would make more sense. However, due to it being named strangely, I am not sure if they meant California or Louisiana given other named locations (IE Tiger lake) is in Louisiana. Once again, I have no idea where things are happening.

If the cops found Tina so shortly after the attack, why was the painter also not found then either?

Why did the painter inject her with something? It does not seem to alter her mental state, she is still totally conscious, and I do not think the painter is using anesthetics before he amputates her ENTIRE ARM and her feet or is attempting biological warfare. What was the point of being injected in the first place?

Tumblr got mad at me so I need to break up the list.

18. Why is the painter so angry Tina lived if he really did not do anything to kill her in the first place. He might have had more planned, I am not sure, but all the painter did was inject her with something that does not seem to be important given we are never told what it is. If its medicine that is wildly out of character. And besides amputating body parts, the bodily damage done to Tina is nowhere near what has happened to other victims. The fact Tina lived is not surprising, at all. Tina would have bled out after awhile but it is not like the hammer to the face, the lighting on fire, or the stabbing in the taint.

19. The painter looks like Riff Raff from rocky horror picture show. This is not a plot hole I just thought it was funny.

20. Once again how is a retired cop who LIVES ON A FARM not armed or able to defend himself from a singular person?

21. This is never addressed but why is the horse skinned in the photo? It died by heart failure due to being pumped full of viagra. Where did its skin go? I get it is supposed to be implied that the horse SAed the wife to death, but I am wondering why the skin being gone is not being acknowledged or if its just from the fact the artist made the horse itself too red.

22. How was the killer able to live in that milk house without ANYBODY noticing.

23. So the painter now have several gimmicks. He seems to target women and children to sexually assault and then mutilate, the people living with them as collateral, and current and ex-police. The painter is also "the painter" so they paint twisted portraits of these people. BUT NOT ONLY THAT, THEY ALSO WEAR THE SKINNED FACES OF THE VICTIMS. So they are a pedo-zoophile rapist who hates cops and skins people that also paints their victims at some point before they die. This is a lot of shit going on. This is also why the victims seem to be all over the place. This serial killer targets too many groups at once.

24. So it is now implied that the painter is making the tapes which,... again, why? Why would the painter have an incentive to do that? They are already taunting the police enough.

25. This is Louisiana WHERE ARE THE SWAMPS. WHERE ARE THE GAITORS, WHY IS THE SETTING NOT USED AT ALL

So in short:

The victims in relation to each other make little sense due to how many "targeted groups" the painter is pulling from. Most serial killers have a type. The painter seems to have several.

The VHS tapes make no sense since they do not really do anything other than info-dump for the viewer of the series. They serve very little in-world purpose and we never see any other media from this universe outside of the paintings left behind or these tapes.

The details regarding location, time and character relationships are extremely vague at best and do not set up a good timeline for us to follow.

The painter being 1 person or even human is really questionable since its kind of implied there is either more than 1 person behind the painter (like a killer and the painter are separate people) or the painter is a demonic/paranormal entity.

For being such an in-universe threat the police seem to be doing fuck all (minus the one PI who is now dead) to stop anything. Its implied we found the painter's lil hideout, why is fuckall being done?

The lack of guns in post-9/11 America, specifically a post-9/11 South.

Why is nobody able to overpower or harm the painter if he is "just a guy"?

Why is there no other in-universe worldbuilding or even testimonies from still living family?

WHERE ARE WE, WHY DID I HAVE TO GOOGLE THE PHONE AREA CODE TO KNOW THAT? WHAT YEAR IS IT? WHY IS THIS EVEN IN VHS FORMAT

[hero-israel]

I really don't know how to get leftists to care about the truth again. Facts matter. I feel like so many leftists are willing to use very specific, serious words like a toy and lob them at their enemies (or perceived enemies) without a single further thought of how this might impact the situation.

Genocide is a very serious accusation. Genocide denial is a very serious accusation. Apartheid is a very serious accusation. Apartheid denial is very serious accusation. Bombing civilian targets like hospitals is a very serious accusation. Excusing or denying that that happened is a very serious accusation. Etc.

And so many people are so afraid of being unfairly tarred as being deniers of human rights abuses that they won't ask the necessary questions to get the information and facts needed to decide whether those allegations are true or not. And it doesn't impact them directly, so they have zero motivation to actually ask the questions that one must to substantiate such claims.

I'm just so exhausted and infuriated by having to constantly defend myself against people who refuse to engage past the slogan and Instagram graphics point.

What happened to caring about fake news? Is that only relevant when Republicans do it? Is there no guardrail of truth on the left?

There is not.

It looks like we are seeing a full-on magnetic polar realignment in American political / activist culture. The Voting Rights Act famously made all the Deep South racist conservatives switch from Democrat to Republican. 10/7 made the anti-fascist Nazi-punchers into, well...

The one-day glimpse into what it would look like to truly destroy Israel and kill all the Jews - looking so tantalizing, so achievable, so appealing in particular to men with poor financial and family prospects and who see women as rewards - that was their activation code, it tripped their sequence and once they have witnessed the dream there is no going back to life before they saw it. They will always cherish it and always want more. Along with the QAnon, Jan.6th crowd, they are another front in the social destruction of American sanity and functionality.

SEVERELY tragic irony: the general uselessness and lack of concrete accomplishments of American Leftists is now going to be something of a protector for American Jews, who overwhelmingly support most of those Leftists' other goals (besides Jewish genocide, that is). The activist Left couldn't protect Roe vs Wade, which was enormously popular; couldn't enact gun control, also a bipartisan issue; has won utterly fuck-all when it comes to the environment, an issue that is literally life-or-death to literally everybody. If they can't take power on those issues, they won't take it for establishing a National Quds Day Rally.

But they might not need political influence if they are just so much more confident in rampaging in the streets and burning synagogues down.

I also think a lot of their participants will come to regret their normalization, their eager endorsement, of punitive rape. The distance between "never" and "once" is much, much bigger than the distance between "once" and "more".