#or that these are not the tribe names that they refer to themselves as

[yellow-faerie]

I am thinking about the Avari and how it is incredibly sad Tolkien said so little about them

[quaritchsbunny]

Tsu’tey as a Yandere - 1/2 (hc styled fic)

Wc: 4.8k Warnings/Tags: tsutey x f!Reader, human!reader, yandere behavior, stalking, obsessive behavior, tsu’tey is a bit scary here, traditional yandere kidnapping, Jake makes a cameo, Tsutey refers to the reader as mate. A/N: So uh.. I dont know why the full thing ended up being 8k either but enjoy this first part (this is one of the most mid things i’ve written ever but)

Extremity Scale: 4/5

Type of Yandere:  Overprotective, desperate, violent (not to reader), slightly manipulative

-The forest of pandora gives, endlessly, mercily, and without seeking in return as long as the energy of life is respected and cycled properly

-Bioluminiscent ferns lit the trodden soil in the cool nights, guiding ways to hunts, hometree, waterfalls, and spirit trees alike, animals graze on the herbous plants that made themselves home to the forest floor, age old trees and forests that served to harbor navi, young viperwolves, pandora gives and gives, only taking what was necessary for survival

-And so does a particular warrior of the Omaticaya Clan

-Tsutey was no rookie to the cycle of sacrifice and giving in the life of a navi

-He had given everything to be the sculpted, skilled, and scorn sigma he is now

-Climbing through the piles of tasks, waking up before the dawn everyday to dedicate his every breath to the clan, muscles trained to protect even if eyes were closed in deep sleep

-Ever since completing his coming of age trials, the tribe held no candidate for the next olo’ekytan other than the overachieved young man that had rose through the ranks like it was his destiny to be the best, at everything and anything

-Whether it was direhorses, ikrans, or even thanators, the creatures of pandora bowed at his will and he was able to tame his first ikran at the record setting age of 8

-His physical ability was no surprise either, the young man who hunted with the accuracy of the eye from eywa, though never taking more than the clan needed

-His loyalty to the omaticaya was also unmatched, always the first to lead a hunt, offer his share of food to a young navi, training adolescents, taking up any dangerous risky situations in the name of assistance

-He gave his all in absolutely everything he did, his heart pumped beats of dedication to his clan, strong arms working to hunt and support the people he loved, mind laid down solely on the purpose of serving his community, giving, giving, and giving more

-It was his nature, and though he seemed like an intimidating, judgemental man in the eyes of other members of his clan, he never complained about doing what he had to for his home

-However, it seemed that the more Tsutey gave to the world, the more they took from him instead

-Draining him of passion with piling the responsibilities, looking eyes, and hovered breath on the next olo’ekytan in line 

-Suddenly, the kill he brought back from hunts didn’t seem enough, hungry eyes always seem to ask for more, more, more

-Suddenly, more and more tasks were layered on to him with no specific reason

-At first, they only took his energy, his loving nature towards the clan became more of a scorned pain as he dutifully agreed to risk his life over and over again

-The tasks eventually drained him of the humble, dedication he had clung to over the years, his pride only settling in the growing reliance and place of authority and respect he rose to be in the clan, because the members themselves didn’t exactly see much other than that

-While others his age were able to scamper about finding mates, he was stamped day and night at posts in the forest acquiring materials for the people

-But what could he do? It was for the greater good, and in any way, who would step up to do it if it wasnt him? If it wasn’t the prodigy warrior of the forest clan who was much too good to be true?

-Then when the sky people began to settle, everything began to be snatched from the corner of his eye

-It all began to collapse with the damned avatar, Jake Sully, strolling into the tribe Tsutey had sustained and supported with his bare hands for years and accepted without much of a protest from anyone in the tribe

-He had to give more and more, investing in a person he didn’t even want, training him, leading him to tame his ikran

-Before he could even prove his point of the avatar being an infiltrator by demonstrating to the clan, the newbie had snatched his promised mate, neytiri, right away from him

-Truthfully, tsutey knew deep down he and neytiri didn’t feel anything for each other besides mutual respect, but this was a hard blow from the hard resolve he had been holding onto since life began to drain him

-It seemed unfair, even a sky person could find a mate in a little less than 3 months, what contributions had Jake even made to the clan other than clumsily stumbling through hunts? All Jake was is another taker, another person who relished in the harbor of the home tsutey fought to protect, gave everything for, taking everything without appreciation

-Tsutey was tired of it, drained after neytiri announced her and jake’s union, he was done

-He was done with giving

-He was done with the rituals he dedicated himself for in the greater good of the tribe

-His heart still pumped loyalty, but his heart was also tired

-Tired giving and giving with no return.

-Maybe it’s his turn to take something. For his own. 

-After all, he deserves it more than anyone

Tsutey’s trudging through the forest, arrow in hand even though he didn’t intend to hunt anything. He wanted to take something, out of spite, just to prove that he can own something, something that belongs to him. Take something instead of giving himself out until he’s hollow. Show that he didnt have to be the sacrificial honorable clan warrior he always takes on. 

God, when was the last time he’s been in the forest for a purpose other than for serving the tribe?

Lost in his thoughts, he stopped marching through the soil angrily.

He had been stomping on the grounds that gave him life, gave him everything, the air he breathes, the fruits he savors, and now he’s taking his anger out on the forest for the stress he’s been feeling

Staring into the muddy reflection in the water, he sees eyebags, cracked face paint for the most recent hunt, bright free strands of air tinted red at the end looking distressed

The bright pandora night vibrates around him, as he takes deep breaths and continues pacing onto “his spot”

The spot he went to unwind and relax before Jake sully came, before life seemed to take more and more from him. After a bit of sidetracking and remembering paths, he arrived

However, something wasn’t right

He inspected the moss surrounding the area, still green and vibrant, the tree branches, though now longer, still extended from the same angle from the main trunk, what is it?

He took a deep breath to process before it hit him. A scent. But not just any scent, a human scent

His blood boiled, finally, he had came to his spot to relax and unwind and even that's being taken away from another sky person

Another one? Did Sully send an extra spy?  He thought scornfully as he quietly trailed the scent

Stepping closer and closer until it was certain to be near, tsutey narrowed his lime colored eyes, four nimble fingers running against the auburn of the wood cylinder on his arrow. Searching for a small frame that smelled of soft cotton until he spotted you. He gulped. 

He softened a bit at your dress, instead of cargoes and thick vests that the human warriors wore with their heavy firearms and came to suck Pandora dry of its resources, you were wrapped in a crisp lab coat, the same kind his childhood teacher who taught him english - Dr Augstine-  used to wear. He could see your back, as you were hunched over on the ground, delicate hands trembling as stray locks fell from the messy scrunchie ponytail you held your hair in as some strands were held under the snug band of a camera around your neck.

A scientist? Tsutey pondered, pupils dilating as he snuffed out your scent, trying to distinguish it under the blouse that fit you snugly.

God, you were all wrapped up in unnecessary layers of sky people layers like a gift for him. And oh god did he wanna take you.

With the grace and expertise of a trained warrior, he stepped closer without making a sound, ears tipping towards your direction to pick up signs of why you were laying on the ground

Suddenly, his senses picked up a strong punch of blood, he gulped as he realized it, a small patch of red under your arm that spread through the pristine white of your lab coat. But it wasn’t your blood.

He tilted his head to catch a hint of a pali (direhorse) foal, bleeding out as one of it’s small hooves caught painfully onto a split branch, you had pulled it out and were now wrapping it’s hooves 

His heart tingled as you cooed softly, admiring your gentleness as your fingers curled around hoove, pressing the human gauze into the wound as you layed down, wet soil mulching into the flappy ends of your lab coat as you treated the foal

Oh never in his navi life had he wished so desperately for eywa to take his soul and put it in the injured direhourse, he wanted to feel this cotton sky girl’s touch, your gentle fingers that ran across the deep injuries he stuffed away to give endlessly to others. 

Never in his navi life had he been so grateful to have his sharper senses, and exceptional eyesight, built to sculpt out the tiniest of movements in the dim nights on pandora even without bioluminiscent plants helping, it was the reason why he was basically a arms length away from you but can smell you, see you, and just almost feel you like you were next to him. Where he was so sure you belonged

That was when Tsutey decided to take you

Well, not immediately, and definitely not because of the way his world seemd to melt and his instincts sharpened to smell you, hear you, and god- he imagined touching you.

He closed and eyes and imagined it, splitting resolutions of holding you underneath him, your pretty little body, so much smaller than his, biting into your lab coat as he mated and-

No, that's not why he decided to take you

He obviously only wanted to observe you as a potential prisoner of war and another alien sky person he can bring back to the tribe to show how the invasive species have been encroaching more

That’s exactly why he decided to silently move boulders around your path, gritting his teeth as he lifted the heavy rocks three times his size, silently gliding through the lush forest and blocking every possible way you had to reach the RDA lab or even contact them again, creating a nice enclosed radius so that he can observe this prisoner of war (charged for stealing his heart)

After the inital trap was set. He waited. You seemed to finally come to your senses to let the foal heal on its own when the night settled matte black around you

His heart pierced with thrill as he began to smell your panic, your widened eyes and your useless flimsy arms that tried to push over the boulders a certain navi warrior planted to capture you (what were you thinking? You couldn’t move these without the strength training tsutey had from wrestling ikrans, silly girl)

After a while, you and the pali foal both lay down in the opening of “his spot”, which was an intimate cave, decorated by tsutey’s memories with the vibrant yellow paint on the stone walls. 

Even in a threatening situation, your eyes stayed glued on the foal, muttering in fluid english under your breath about it’s “adolescence” and “need for its mother” as you took off the crimped ivory hair band that bound your now dissheveled hair, wrapping it around the foal’s 

Hmm, maybe Tsutey wouldn’t immediately take bind you and take you back to the tribe, not because he was getting soft for you, but clearly because the foal needed more treatment

His heart almost swells in pride, finally seeing someone take care of Pandora with the same hospitality it gave, with the same hospitality tsutey gave. What else could he possibly do? You were so helpless and he was the only one who could possibly help you in this situation!

That night, he found himself in a trance, tail swatting against the cave happily as he watched you sleep after you took pictures of the foal for documentation (funnily enough, you wanted photo evidence to show your coworkers back at the lab, like you were ever gonna see them again), when he heard soft puffs of air from your nose becoming slow and steady, he decided to take the pali foal back

He tread carefully, until he gently uncurled the foal from you, its hoove still wrapped in your scrunchie. 

He had made the smallest move in his boulder, dropping the foal off at the nearest direhorse den before rushing back to you. His heart beat with the unfamiliarity of taking something, so unapologetically, so fearlessly, but everything felt so right. The scrunchie that had been wrapped loosely around the foal’s hoof was now clean of blood and bound tightly around his own wrist, the ivory color complimenting his azure skin 

By the time he made it back to the cave, the morning eclipse had risen, light slowly pouring into the mouth of the cave. He watched slowly as you woke up, panicked when you didn't see the foal anymore. You groan, the sore in your shoulder from sleeping on the stone floor of the cave becoming stronger as you stand up. Still dazed and slightly panicked as you made your way around, uslessly pushing the stone boulders that remainedl stiff and restricting. You had given up on leaving, and instead curled up on the forest floor, sighing as fat tears rolled down your cheeks. What have you gotten yourself into? Is this what you deserved for helping out like an idiot? All you wanted was to nurse the poor foal and guide it to safety like a decent human. You had no means of communication with the RDA or the lab, and now you’re stranded all alone without even a source of water or someone to talk to.

Well, while you might’ve been right about having someone to talk to, you definitely weren’t alone.

Tsutey frowned when he smelled the saltine tears and heard your sniffs. Had he messed something up already? He was doing a huge favor for you! You were just a bit too overwhelmed to see it. Was it so bad for him to seperate you from those resource hungry humans that couldn’t possibly appreciate your kindness and generosity towards Pandora like he did? Questions raced through his mind, and unfortunately he knew exactly who to ask. And he quietly tread out, the slight crunch of a boulder moving unnoticed as you lay on the ground, scared and lonely. His poor mate! She’s all worked up, clearly she hasn’t ever had someone court her in such privacy, maybe she needs some food to calm down, that's it!

Tsutey sprinted his way back to hometrree , swinging by his hut for the briefest second and giving a sleep deprived scowl as he got the biggest straw basket he could find. On his way out, he pushed aside any adolescents pestering him for training lessons and respectably denied any hunt leads with a shallow bow of his head, not giving them a drop of attention of time.

Tsutey had just gotten to the base of hometree, arms clad with a basket full of fruits and a canteen of water before a familiar, english dialect infected voice sounded. “Tsutey, hold on!” the newly mated Sully scampered forward, awkwardly holding out his five fingers for a handshake as if he didn’t already know navi didnt like those

Tsutey turned the other cheek, not wanting to waste more of his darling's time on the awkward conversation that was sure to follow with the avatar. 

“Listen, I just wanna say I never knew you and Neytiri were-” Tsutey huffs impatiently, red strands hitting the side of his cheek as he looks to him

“It doesn’t matter Sully, I don’t care anymore” Tsutey says, feet already taking him down the path to the forest

“H-hey wait, whose scrunchie is that?” Jake calls out, fingers around tsutey’s wrist as it caressed the distinctly human design of a hairband

Tsutey nearly swung the basket at Jake's face when he felt fingers touch something so precious, the only possession he had from his mate. “God, Sully, planning to steal my actual mate from me now?” the words came out without filter, and he can see Sully’s amber eyes widen as the words computed

“What?” The avatar exclaimed in full english, numb fingers falling from the scrunchie as Jake blinked his eyes hard as if he was hallucinating the conversation

Tsutey rolled his eyes, he knew he shouldve just got going instead of talking

“Well, since you’re here anyways, mind telling me some human friendly pandorian fruits or anything that can make them more comfortable?” It wasn’t a request, more of a demand as Tsutey picked the canteen of water off the ground and into the basket again

The dumbstruck avatar shook his head “Wait- Tsutey- who even”

“I’ll answer after you tell me what a human scientist female’s favorite fruit can be”

With Jakes help, Tsutey was able to acquire a makeshift blanket, which Jake had emphasized was very important for humans and their comfort in sleep, some pandorian fruits similar to popular earth fruits, and Jake even helped Tsutey write a note in English to go in the basket full of goodies to comfort your captivity status

Jake almost offered to follow along with Tsutey to be an interpreter, and Tsutey almost fought him on the mere idea. How dare Sully judge his English skills? What if he helped his darling escape? He shook the thoughts out of his head and made his way back to where you were instead, thoughts heavy as his arms cradled the heavy basket of goods for you

Although Tsutey was excited to claim you as his officially, he wanted to subtly ease into it, with small signs and mating gestures. What you definitely didn’t need right now was a 10 feet navi overwhelming you

Plus, what could he possibly say? “Hey, I just saw you yesterday, I love you, I love the way you do everything, I love that you healed an animal, I need you to be my mate, you make me feel like a valid person again, and I don’t even know why I’m so attracted to you? You’re too pure to be hanging out with your breed and I’m just acting the initiative to protect and take what’s meant for me”

No, all those words were useless, and anyways, Tsutey was always more of a physical and show over tell person, so he’d slowly earn his way to your heart, no matter how twisted it is because in all honesty, it shouldn’t be hard for you to accept since he was the only one you’d be interacting with in this enclosed piece of the forest

So, he dropped the basket off, as your overwhelmed frame was curled up in the corner of the cave, back facing the opening as you sniffled before you were interrupted with a clad thump agains the stone floor

You sprang to your feet defensively, hands in front of you as if you were gonna be able to defend yourself from whatever the forest of pandora had to offer

Your swollen eyes narrow on a handwoven basket, overflowing with things sitting in the opening of the cave. Were you hallucinating? Did you die or was that a basket full of fruit that looked awfully familiar to what you always craved as a kid? 

You slowly creep closer to the basket, looking around the opening of the cave, stepping out to completely scan your surroundings for any movement or sign of another living mammal that could’ve dropped this well-coordinated basket of essentials

After spotting absolutely no one except for hearing the hint of polymeruses hooting a few hundred feet away (tsutey was actually hiding on top of the cave, perched elegantly as he watched you scan your surroundings like a cautious cat. you were too short to see him from that angle.) you decide to settle back into the sunlight of the cave opening, carefully peeling back the thick woven blanket as a crumple of paper fell out, your fingers frame around it, deciphering the english even through Tsutey’s rough handwriting (nothing you weren’t used to as a lab scientist)

“I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just can’t let you go now that I’ve found you. Please just eat and stay healthy right now, or I might have to show myself a bit earlier than I’d like and feed you. I hope you like the blanket.” 

Your hand shakes as you read the note. So it wasn’t any coincidence? Someone had seen you and trapped you here? When? How? Why? Your heart raced as you ran through the millions of possibilities, but all of the panic was gone as soon as you saw the canteen of water. God you were thirsty, you hadn’t drank in how who knows how many hours it had been since you last drank anything. The canteen was downed immediately and tsutey’s hand unclenched when he heard you drinking.

There was progress! You’re allowing him to take care of you, more or less, mate or not. 

You picked up a fruit, ripe, washed, and about the size of your palm. Biting into it reminded you of moments on earth when they still had fruits, before most fresh foods went extinct as people prioritized corrupt tech industries and manufacturing over agriculture. You look at the fruit in wonder before you take a second bite, relaxing and reading the note again, sighing as you accept your situation

Well, goodbye to your underpaid, overworked position at the RDA, your heart did twinge at the fact that an unknown person (person? Navi? Pandorian mammals that can speak and write English, who knows) had intentionally trapped you. But if they were nice enough to give you fruit, water, blanket, and even the grace of a handwritten note, there’s no way they can be that bad, right?

Tsutey’s face carves into a rare, toothy smile. Holding back a heart chuckle when he sees you chew through the fruit and visibly relax. See? You were so perfect for him, you had just been hungry and panicked before.

By the time you finished, you decided to set the blanket up in the corner of the cave that you slept in, putting your heavy camera down in the basket as you lifted the blanket. You inspected the woven material, trying to decipher any hint of where it came from, it seemed to be made of fur with a base of what felt awfully like woven bamboo. You recognized a traditional omaticaya pattern and from the scent left, it smelled of a male. 

For an unknown reason, the scent relaxed you, you gulped and beat yourself up in your head. Why were you sniffing a blanket a stranger gave you? God you were being even creepier than whoever was holding you captive here.

You had decided to dispose of the remains of your fruit (the big pit in the middle) by replanting them, you head over to pull them out of the basket before you realize it’s gone without a trace, and so is your camera, all left is the note.

Your heart picked up, realizing whoever sent you it had been actively watching to make sure you ate and finished, before taking it.

With a lighter mindset about your current predicament, you decided to pace around, examining the strategically placed stones as you explore the little area around you. It was nice, to be honest, it seemed to be a hideout spot. You pace back to your cave, you couldn’t see it last night due to the lack of light but you make out little paintings on the cave, hint of life and creation. Could it be that many people have been here before? Was your capturer regularly kidnapping humans? How many have been here before?

Dark thoughts rush down your spine with a chill as you take a deep breath, closing your eyes and trying to think rationally. Why would they take the time to feed you and keep you alive, going as far as giving you a blanket? You knew Navi well, they acted on their intention and if your capturer had wanted to kill you, you’re almost sure he would’ve done it, or at least send you back to his tribe to question it

You wonder if it could be an avatar? You hand’t known many Navi to be able to speak English. You shook the opportunity away, there was only Jake, who had assimilated well to the omaticaya tribe now and would never go this far out from the main village.

Your mysterious captor, on the other hand, was rushing back to the home tree and gushing to Jake about how successful the first basket of goods had been, demanding Jake to tell him more ways of earning a human female’s heart as he rushed to fill the basket up with a variety of goods. 

Jake picks up the RDA scientist issued camera, recognizing it as he tilted it, flipping through your previous photos. 

“So, a scientist? Interesting, Tsutey” Sully says lightly, watching as tsutey again denied any regular tasks and strode around, looking for something new to give you to eat

Tsutey’s head flashes to the camera as Jake clicks through it, multiple photos of your lab results and the recent picture of the injured foal lighting up on the screen.

“Suppose so” Tsutey says in english, peering through the dialog of your photos

As Tsutey scowls through the the puffed grain selection, scrutinizing each one as if he doubted if it was good enough for you, Jake silently clicked a photo of Tsutey’s frame, chest leaned over the basket as his toned arms reached to select the most perfect of grains. He then closes the camera and slips the black machine back into the basket wordlessly

By the night time, you were leaning against the trunks of a tree, examining the bioluminiscent moss that adorned the wood before you heard a quiet tap on stone floor

You look back towards the direction of your cave, recognizing the basket as you see it loaded with more food, what seemed to be puffed grain, and your camera returned.

You weren’t exactly famished yet, so you picked up your camera first, opening the lens to snap a picture of the moss. Might as well make the most tof your time here as a scientist and not just as someone held captive. The screen loads but lands on a recent photo in the dialog instead of the lens perspective and you catch a pretty full photo of sleek, toned arms, the beaded layered neck cover adorning his upper chest as he leaned over a familiar basket as nimble fingers sorted through grain, the blue skin clad against woven strings of a loingcloth that hung low on the hips. And ah, there, the scrunchie you had wrapped around the direhorse yesterday, cleaned and sitting cozy on his wrist. There was a hint of a tail but photo ended at the chest, giving you no identity information without the face

The corners of your lips lifted in admiration and your heart raced as the pieces fit together, so it was a navi who was watching you and caring for you, taking the time to hand pick out your food. You recognized the sculpted form of an omaticaya warrior anywhere. And who took the photo? Not many navi knew how to operate a modern camera

Questions float through your head, and from his spot on the roof of the cave, Tsutey’s heart leapt too. Damn the sully, of course he snapped a photo using your machine. It was lucky enough that he didn’t expose his entire face, but his thoughts were quenched as soon he saw your little grin while you stared at the photo. His photo

You smile one last time, clicking a save to the photo of Tsutey before you go back to the lens to take a photo of the moss. Your second night in the cave was spent munching on puffed grain, huddled in the musky pine scented blanket as you dreamed of beaded neck covers and toned blue arms.

[atlaculture]

I apologize if you’ve already done a post on this. Please link me to it if you have. I’m very interested in how the names from each of the 4 nations (except maybe the earth kingdom) use very similar sounds. In the water tribe you see a lot of K’s. The fire nation has Z’s and R’s. The air nomads seem to have a lot of A’s. Obviously the names themselves have meanings but I’m curious if there’s any purpose behind the names having similar phonetics and letters.

In the case of the Water Tribe, it's a reference to how prominent voiceless velar plosives, otherwise known as "kuh" sounds, are in Inuit languages. I have a post listing Inuit dictionaries here. A quick peak into any of these dictionaries will reveal quite a few "k"s:

Similarly, most Air Nomad names are Tibetan in origin and Tibetan names have a lot of rounded "a" sounds.

@mostly-mundane-atla also has a funny post about how the Z came to be a staple sound of Fire Nation names.

On a more serious note, climate and geography affect what sounds are more common to a language. For example, "Kuh" sounds are very common in languages that developed in high altitudes, Inuit included. According to babbel.com, the theory goes:

...these sounds are easier to produce up high because at an altitude where there’s already less air pressure, it makes sense to communicate with compressed sounds that are easier to produce with the thinner air. Additionally, ejective phonemes [k sounds] require us to emit less water vapor when they’re uttered compared to other kinds of sounds. Losing too much water vapor at high altitudes can lead to dehydration and altitude sickness, so this linguistic feature may also be a biological adaptation that helps people survive in these climates.

I doubt the ATLA writers were thinking that deeply about which sounds would be more common in each nation's names--- they were simply drawing from their real life inspiration--- but it's a fun factor to consider when worldbuilding a fantasy culture.

[bogcreacher]

bunch of them 👍👍 info dump under the cut

Fir is Wolf’s dad (his name is a reference to the fact that Wolf’s name was Pine in 2018). He is a well-meaning guy but very much a product of the environment he was raised in (extremely uptight and competitive IceWing family). He raised Wolf as best he could but the toll of his wife’s death and infidelity (Wolf was born of an extramarital affair) lead to him becoming closed-off and prone to lying for convenience - a trait he accidentally taught to Wolf.

Flash is Wolf’s half-brother, (his name was Shard in 2018, a name that has since been adopted by the current IceWing king). Although they were known to fight, as kids Flash and Wolf had each other’s backs, being each other’s only sibling and confidant. They often bonded over their shared dislike of chores and conspired to prank the adults at fancy dinners. As a dragonet, Flash despised the stifling and cut-throat culture they were raised in, something Wolf was less privy to as the family’s black sheep. As adults their relationship soured a little as Flash’s intense ambition started bleeding into his relationships with his loved-ones.

Stygian is Haunted’s brother from the same clutch. He is almost her complete opposite - a powerful seer and mind-reader, but physically small and unable to fly. Stygian struggled socially for most of his youth, with peers and mentors alike finding him “confusing” and “difficult”. His one real friend was Haunted, who was the only dragon who afforded him the understanding and patience he deserved, despite being the only dragon in their community who couldn’t literally read his mind. He was abducted at the start of the story, and it’s Haunted’s sole quest to find him.

Hover (mentioned briefly in Leap of Faith) was Red Kite’s childhood best-friend/rival, and the dragon that took a chunk out of her ear. He was a deeply insecure kid and took it out on those around him; Red was the only dragon in their class that was unable to ignore his name-calling and as such they frequently got into whatever the dragon equivalent of fist-fights is. Their rivalry eventually mellowed into a (still fiercely competitive) friendship and the pair became thick as thieves throughout their later education. They lost touch as adults, Red still thinks of him from time to time.

Tenrec is a RainWing spy. They have physically altered themselves in order to blend in amongst other tribes, including removing their frill and parts of their ears. He rarely changes colour based on emotion due to being trained to maintain a “poker-face” when undercover. Current employer and deployment status is classified.

[blubushie]

Also I wanna address this but like. To literally anyone. Uh.

Don't do this. And lemme explain why.

Shortly--there's no telling.

Aboriginal Australians don't live in "tribes"--that's a term with racist connotations. They call themselves mobs, or nations for larger interconnected skingroups, and are typically divided into different clans, or familial groups. That's neither here nor there as it's only partial to her question.

The biggest thing is that Fantasynamegenerator usually doesn't take the actual names used by racial groups, especially Indigenous groups, but rather uses the naming conventions to create new names that sound like they could be from that group. This means that Bilay is likely not an actual name specific to any Aboriginal mob, and even if it is, tracking down which one(s) it would be from is nearly impossible.

Names are treated as something sacred amongst Indigenous Australian cultures, and I highly recommend not adopting any Aboriginal Australian name or even creating a character from any Indigenous group unless you do your due diligence to properly represent that group and ensure that your portrayal is free from racism or misinformation. Most mobs of Australia do not allow free teaching of their languages because they're considered "closed languages"--Aboriginal Australian cultures, by and far, depend on oral tradition as none of them have their own alphabet or writing system. Their power is in their words, and so their languages are very closely guarded and are not shared freely. This applies especially to names, which are considered sacred because they hold power over the individual.

If you insist on making an Aboriginal character, you should pick an English name. Most Aboriginal Australians have an English "whitefella" name they go by when introducing themselves to non-Aboriginal people. Aboriginal names are not shared freely, and for most mobs an individual will have up to six names they go by depending on mob, how they're being addressed, who is addressing them, and the context of their addressment, such as whether or not they're even present or if they're being referred to while absent. There is no singular name an Aboriginal person will go by except their English name, and this is used when interacting with white people only. Anything further, unless you have someone who is Aboriginal that you can personally consult, is cultural appropriation.

That's all. Kthxbye

[zukosdualdao]

i promise i'll do better (i will soften every edge)

zutara month, day 11: "mom and dad are fighting again", @zutaramonth

summary: kya interrupts an argument between katara and zuko.

warnings: reference to (implied) abuse/domestic violence, wrt to ozai's treatment of ursa.

other notes: lyrics from 'light' by sleeping at last. don't ask me how timelines work idk. yes there is a zutara daughter named kya here (separate entity from the lok kya.) she wears her hair in a southern water tribe braid and zuko calls her firecracker and it’s very cute. not really relevant but in this story i’m imagining she’s a nonbender.

“Katara, you know I agree with you.”

Across from him, she crosses her arms, and Zuko sighs. The throne room is empty, save for the two of them, and Zuko feels trapped, claustrophobic in the walls. They’ve made a point of opening up windows in the castle, letting light filter in, getting rid of old, haunting portraits, and making something new and beautiful together. 

But the throne room doesn’t have windows to open. On a day like today, at times like these, it’s all too easy to remember the staunchly severe figures both his grandfather and father made here, walling themselves as they did behind high, towering fires.

Maybe they shouldn’t be having this talk here. It's too late now, but something to note for the future.

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

“Of course I want to increase reparations soon,” he insists. “That’s the plan, and that’s always been the plan. But we have to be smart about this,” he tries to remind her. “We can’t do it all at once, or people will try to block—”

“Oh, so now you’re all about thinking things through! Those instincts could have served you well years ago, you know.”

Zuko closes his eyes and runs a hand through his hair. The words are biting, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. Things have been tense again in the Fire Nation lately. Better than ever before in some ways. Worse in others.

The first years after the war were a turbulent time in the Fire Nation—riots from those not happy with the changing of the old guard, strikes from workers contesting the need to pay reparations to the other nations, whispers of loyalists to the old regime plotting to get either Ozai or Azula back on the throne. A few assassination attempts, all handled efficiently but reason enough for concern.

Ten years past the end of the war, though, and things have started to stabilize. The plan has always been to increase reparations once the Fire Nation’s economy has improved, and Zuko intends to keep his word. But part of the system he’s trying to build means that there are representatives from all over the Fire Nation, as well as the other nations, and they each have their own agendas. It’s a tricky thing to navigate; he has to take all of their concerns seriously, of course, but also act according to his own principles. To live up to the promises he made years ago, and that he’ll continue to make for years to come.

Katara looks at him with a combative raise of her eyebrow.

It’s taken a strain on their relationship. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, they’re both a little too good at lashing out, both a little too good at saying the thing that will hurt, even if they immediately regret it.

But usually, by the end of the day if not before, they can remember they’re on the same side, for all that their perspectives might differ.

“Can we pause?” Zuko asks of her, and her features soften. “Just—try to hear each other out? Katara, I understand…” but before he can finish, the large door to the throne room creaks, and Zuko watches as one of the serving maids guides their daughter into the room.

“See?” Kya points to them, eyes wide with alarm and lip quivering. “Mom and Dad are fighting again.”

Something in Zuko’s stomach drops. He doesn’t want her to worry about this. About them. He’d had to worry about his parents, to worry about his mother, Ozai looming over her, and sometimes Zuko was pretty sure he saw fear in her eyes where there should have been love, and then—

She’d been gone. And he’d drawn his own conclusions, quietly and with little reason to question them.

“She coudn’t sleep,” Hina says apologetically, and Zuko only waves a hand. “She was asking for you both.”

“Thank you for bringing her.”

“Oh, sweetie, don’t worry,” Katara says, walking over and lifting Kya up onto her hip. “Things are just tense right now,” she says, with a guilty sideways look to Zuko, who smiles weakly. “It’s not anything for you to worry about.”

“Promise?”

Zuko walks over to join the huddle and places a kiss atop her dark hair, which is twisted in a braid. “Promise, little firecracker. Mom and Dad are just trying to figure out the right way to handle something.” He meets Katara’s eyes and tries to impress the sincerity of his words on her. “But we will figure it out. We always do.”

Katara smiles at him and uses the hand not keeping Kya secure on her hip to touch the small of Zuko’s back in a gentle gesture. The three of them stand huddled together, and for the first time in… weeks, probably, Zuko feels his body relax, just a little.

He smiles back, a little exhausted but a lot relieved—to have Katara with him, there to both challenge and support him, to have Kya with them, creative and funny and quick as a whip as she is, and at only age four. He’s glad to have his family.

They are okay. Right now, they are okay. Whatever else may come.

[sepublic]

Before S4 aired and all we had to go off of were the sets, I ended up having this theory that the cultists we saw were being possessed by the spirits of the Anacondrai through their remains. It was my explanation for why these humans were sometimes referred to as Anacondrai in set descriptions, as well as Kapau and Chope apparently becoming actual Serpentine named Kapau'rai and Chop'rai, respectively.

With the prominent bone motif and Pythor's presence in one of the sets, I speculated that Pythor went back to the Anacondrai Tomb and gathered the remains of his tribe, who were haunting their corpses and could possess anyone who wore their bones (In this case, humans that Pythor kidnapped).

The Anacondrai Blades would've been carved from the spines of dead Anacondrai, and a lot of the bones used in the vehicles could've been Anacondrai; Either they were leftover bits, or you had Anacondrai ghosts possessing machines. Some Anacondrai used multiple bones to possess a human, others used only one, possibly due to incomplete remains. Pythor's plan was to resurrect his tribe fully, possibly by fusing the living human hosts with the Anacondrai bones to create new Anacondrai bodies (although the presence of human DNA led to these newly-reincarnated Anacondrai lacking the usual markings). Kapau and Chope weren’t humans, they were Anacondrai ghosts possessing humans through their skulls and other bones wielded as weapons;

In the end, Anacondrai remains DID factor into the plot via the Jadeblades, as well as Pythor's essence being necessary for the spell. Humans became Anacondrai. Not to mention Anacondrai ghosts being an actual thing, which would set up an entire season around ghosts and possession before we got the summer leaks! So I was pretty off the mark, but also not? In hindsight, I wonder if the writers brought back Pythor in S3 just to set up the Anacondrai storyline of S4, and if Pythor was originally supposed to be the mastermind behind the plot, as some speculated, and/or working alongside Chen. I guess all of this could make for a fun AU where the Anacondrai themselves have agency as villains, rather than allies; Or I could salvage this idea for my own original story.

[wilcze-kudly]

Is Toph the only character in the Avatar gang and series to have a last name?

She is the only gaang member to have an explicitly mentioned last name, to my knowledge. However I think last names are more common in the atlaverse than most people assume.

Most aliases the Gaang use have surnames (the fire family and the Pippinpaddleopsicopolis family). I also don't think it's an "only rich people have surnames" type of thing, since Hiroshi Sato and Varrick both came from humble beginnings. Zhu Li also has a surname. Jargala Omo, a criminal, also has a surname.

I could imagine Aang and the Water Tribe siblings not having surnames not using their potential surnames since their names carry no weight in the Earth Kingdom. Also Aang's entire culture got wiped out, his full legal identification probably doesn't matter that much anymore. Similarly, Suki comes from a rather isolated village. Unlike Toph where her family line directly influences the plot several times. As for Zuko, I can see his family line having a surname but being widely known by their royal titles, as we don't always refer to for example irl british royalty by their surnames.

I have a few headcanons for Mako and Bolin's surname because I needed it for a wip I'm writing. My assumption is that they hadn't gone by their family's last name in a long time and may not fully identify with it, ergo them not introducing themselves with it.

Asami's family name is important due to their wealth and resources and, similairly to Toph, her family name is a big part of the plot.

Korra's the goddamn Avatar, so who gives a fuck abot last names here, she's pretty damn recognisable.

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

SO WHAT'S THE REAL DEAL WITH ISRAEL? A history of a nation, a people, and a whole lot of conflict.

There is a LOT of misinformation going around in relations to the history of Israel and Palestine. I’m going to do my best to provide you with a comprehensive overview of this land and what’s going on. 

Is it going to be perfect? No. But it’s going to be a lot better than the crap I came across today of an infograph that was filled with wrong information set to fuel the desire that people seem to have to ‘be on the right side’ of a war. 

This is going to be LONG. But I’m going to try to make it interesting. I hope that at least one person that enjoys history gets something out of this. And please, feel free to ask questions! 

And I do mean questions and not just hate screaming out ‘facts’ that you read once from someone with no sources on a badly photoshopped image of two women talking about how Israel isn’t a real place. 

I’m not here to spread hate. I’m here to give you the facts so that hopefully things can be understood a little better and maybe we can start choosing to help and not simply fuel the fire of hate. 

I’m going to use a lot of Wiki links because I would like to encourage people to go read the articles and do a little wiki deep dive for themselves. It’s fascinating, and hey, you might learn a few random cool things on the way.  I'd also encourage further reading if you are really interested or have questions. Wiki can only get you so far.

I’m also going to avoid talking about religious history in depth and simply stick to the people. 

SO! Let’s get into it! Let's actually LEARN something for once!

We start with 14 tribes in the Bronze age 1175-900 BCE

We get into some sketchy history that dates back to King David. Early records are rough because of all the war and destruction from back then...also that it was 1175-900 BCE and record keeping was often difficult at best when it wasn't being burned down. 

Essentially, the 14 tribes did what everyone did back then (and arguably still do) and they fought. A lot. 

King David (1005 BCE - 968 BCE) is credited as the one who gathered up a group of people that had been fighting with another group of people and kicking the ever loving shit out of these people with slingshots (a standard weapon used by shepherds to fight off thieves and LIONS) and the use of a nice newly created metal called Iron (welcome to the Iron Age!) 

He got mythicised a bit and the whole David vs Goliath became the story. It's where record keeping got a bit off... But there is proof of this man existing. 

After the war, he united the split up tribes and became King of Judah and created the capital of Jerusalem ((hey look! They got their name because they were from Judah. They were the Judes. The Jews. The Jewish People. See how language evolves over time?). 

The next king, one you may have heard of, was King Solomon (968BCE-928BCE). He is credited as being in charge of the building of the first Temple. 

The first temple was an incredibly sacred place and where a lot of the things that defined and made the Jewish culture were kept. 

After he died, there was no clear succession line and the kingdom split into two. The Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.

Let's head on over to Wiki and see what they have to say about this piece of land. 

"The earliest known reference to "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation is in the Merneptah Stele, an inscription from ancient Egypt that dates to about 1208 BCE, but the people group may be older." 

So yeah, we got Israel mentions that date back to 1208 BCE. Before the splitting of the religions and people. 

But WAIT. What's that strip of land to the west called the Philistine states??? 

It isn't what you think it is. 

The Philistines were a group of people who lived in Canaan during the Iron Age, roughly 1175 BCE. 

They often had tiffs with their neighbors over land and identity, which often left their relations with Jerusalem not the best. 

Now, during this time, many of the settlements throughout what is now Israel was sparsely populated and the original inhabitants (the Canaan people) were dwindling and fading out. It wasn't uncommon during this time to come across completely abandoned settlements and ruins. 

Most of the population was centered around Jerusalem. 

You see, back in the late Bronze age, Egypt called all the shots. Take a look at the map down below. Look at all that Egypt territory! 

(keep an eye on that purple bit. It’s about to get important). 

Egypt had final authority on all land disputes in this area. They considered the whole area to be a part of their domain. Their records were a little....outdated. They still listed everything as being run by the Canaanites! In fact, it wasn't uncommon for the lingering Canaanites to run to Egypt any time they had issues with the other tribes and demand that it be settled in their courts.  When we start to see mention of Israel in Egyptian records, it is referring to a people (think ethnicity) and NOT a state! And the Egyptians were starting to see them as a problem. 

So what happened to the Canaanites? They got absorbed by the tribes that were taking over the land: Philistines, Phoenicians (Hey, I know that word from middle school history!), and the Israelites. 

In 539 BCE, a little nation called Neo-Assyrian Empire took the northern part of Israel. Then they slowly expanded into the Assyrian Empire. 

Wait a moment. Zoom in. Enhance. Look at Jerusalem hanging out all alone over there as an unconquered little square surrounded by orange. 

You see, Jerusalem was built as a fortress. A fully walled in city surrounded by unforgiving hill country, and land that worked in their favor. 

And then, Babylon happened. They were having a pretty good run and getting a pretty good reputation as being a HUGE thorn in the side of the rising empires. 

You see that bright purple bit on the other map up there? Yeah, it’s about to get a LOT bigger. 

(This is a VERY simplified map. Because this is early Neo-Babylon and it absolutely expanded further than this over time. )

They expanded around 911-505 BCE and wiped the Philistine people out. POOF. GONE. These people most likely were killed off and taken as slaves by Babylon and then assimilated into the Babylonian people. 

What's interesting is that the Hebrew Bible (which is a record of the Jewish People, their history, and their story of survival as well as laws) is the primary source of the mention of the Philistines due to the conflict with them. (It’s also mentioned in the Quran.) 

So what happened? 

In-fighting. Lots and lots of in-fighting. But that's over simplifying it. If you are Jewish, you know what I'm talking about (this is why there is a rule about how "A Jew is a Jew is a Jew". Division is what leads to weakening of a people and leads to what happens next). The fracturing of the kingdom and disputes over rulers and laws caused them to divide their loyalties and left them open to bad things. Very bad things. 

Remember Babylon? And how they wiped out the Philistines? 

They didn't exactly avoid Israel on their voyage to wipe out the Philistines. 

720 BCE, The Kingdom of Israel fell to the newly forming Babylonian Empire. 

King Nebuchadnezzar II grew tired of Jewish revolts against the new empire (see the unconquerable city of Jerusalem) and well... 

They attacked Jerusalem. This is called "The Fall of the 1st Temple" in Jewish history (589–586 BCE).

Jerusalem fell and the Jewish People were exiled (taken as slaves) to Babylon. This is recorded history! 

It was during this that the Israelite religion really started to form and come together. 

You see, when the temple was wiped out, it was a blatant attempt to destroy not just a people, but a record of a people and erase them and all mentions of them from the face of the earth (See the Philistine people who pretty much only exist because of a few Jewish records about their disputes). 

But the people retained their stories in exile and really got together and formed the corner stone for the way the world's first Monotheistic religion worked: Judaism. (People of Judah. Get it? It's based on a people from a place!) 

The exile lasted for a long....long time. Exile not just as slaves, but with strict laws that forbid the Jewish people from setting foot in their old land. 

What happened next? King Cyrus! (At this point, Persia existed 550 BCE). 

I'm not going to get into the history of Persia (though it is FASCINATING and I recommend you look at it if you want to know the history of the middle east.) 

Now good king Cyrus told the Jews that they were all free to go in 538 BCE. So naturally the Jewish people packed up and made a run for Judah. 

This was called "The Return to Zion". 

What does that mean? 

"Zion is a placename in the Hebrew Bible, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole." 

So that’s where that word originated from! 

OH. You know what else is called Zion? Mount Zion. A mountain located to the south... It has SIGNIFICANT biblical meaning, as well as the location of strongholds and other things. Look it up. 

So, the Jews were allowed to return to Judah, but it still fell under Persian rule. They were just considered a 'Self-governing Jewish Province". 

Some returned. Some stayed. They'd lived in Babylon so long that they figured they had made a home there. I’m also willing to bet that there was reluctance to leave due to 1. The great distance they had to travel (like some sort of…exodus?) and 2. Fear of it being a trick and getting captured again. Hmmmm…. Sounds like a familiar story? 

You may be asking yourself about Egypt right about now. What's this exodus and ten commandment thing and the plagues and all that fun business I heard about in the bible/torah/Quran. (Hi Moses! in Hebrew his name is Moshe. In the Quran it's Musa! But in Muslim, it's a different story and not exactly the familiar one against Pharaoh!) 

Well, I'm not going to get too deeply into the religious stories for a lot of reasons, but a lot of the original Bible (old testament)/Torah was based off of stories told while the Jewish people were in exile in Babylon! They told these stories as a way to keep their faith, traditions, and cultural identities alive while being forced to assimilate. (The story of Noah and the flood mimics a Babylonian flood myth: Gilgamesh Flood! It's a fascinating read). 

But that isn't to say that Judea didn't have complicated and often nasty relations with Egypt. 

But, as the Jewish people slowly started to return to Judah, a more distinctive Jewish identity, culture, and religion started to form. 

And it was at this time that the Second temple was built. 

This is where things are going to start getting complicated. 

Second temple period! (520 BCE-70 CE) 

Because of what happened in Babylon, it became more important than ever to revise how they did things. 

The second temple became a bigger deal and the way the city was run changed. 

Hey look, Persia has a new king! And he's not liking what he's seeing in Judea. These guys are starting to get a little too big for their britches. 

BUT WAIT! Look over there! It's Alexander the Great! And he's conquered Phoenicia and Gaza! 

The Greek Syrian empire is starting to spread out. But there's a small truce with Judea. They’ll protect them from Persia and the Jews can keep doing their thing as long as they aren't a problem. 

However, the Seleucid Empire is starting to push into Judea and take control. The Seleucid empire was a Greek power during the Hellenistic period (312 BCE) founded by the Macedonian Empire...Ruled by Alexander the Great. And they are big into worshiping other gods and forcing people to worship their gods and rulers. This is a big no no for the Jewish people and kingdom of Judea. 

They start to send envoys to Greek trying to get the rulers there to listen to them. It’s not long before their envoys start coming back with bad news….and then stop coming back. 

The Jewish people have seen this before. 

And guess what? Jerusalem has become a problem. They aren't liking all the Hellenistic influence happening in Judea or the fact that the empire is starting to put a stranglehold on them. 

Alright, all my Jewish people? It's time to revolt with the Maccabees! (167-140 BCE) Jerusalem was under siege and the walls are breached! The city is taken and the temple has been captured by the enemy. 

Remember about the hostile countryside I mentioned earlier? 

Time for some Guerrilla warfare! The Maccabees retake the city and spend 8 days fixing up the temple after it was desecrated and all they got is just a little oil that stretches out way longer than it should have lasted (Hanukkah cliff note story version). 

But, there are other powers that are threatening them. Egypt has fallen and the Seleucid Empire is pretty pissed at them. 

We get revolt after revolt. Judea wants the Greeks gone and Rome is the power to do it.

140 BCE - 63 BCE. The Hasmonean dynasty takes control of Judea. They expand outward. 

The Hasmonean dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Judea that is WAY more complicated than I'm willing to get into because I barely understand it. But here it is if anyone wants to take a crack at it. 

Basically, with the Seleucid Empire falling apart, Judea gained autonomy and expanded into neighboring regions (Perea, Samaria, Idumea, Galilee, and Iturea). 

The Roman Republic stepped in at some point and it became a "client state" of Rome. 

Now, those of you that know your Greek/Roman history know that some big power changes are starting to happen. 

Enter King Herod (37 BCE) (And all the Christians in the room say BOOO.) 

Now SOME of you may be paying attention to the dates. We stopped going down and started going back up. 

All the Christian’s here know what that means. A certain Jewish man has been born, caused problems for the Romans, and then was killed by the Romans for causing problems. 

We now have the birth of Christianity. At this point it’s just seen as a division of Judaism and not a real separate entity. 

We got Julius Caesar and Pompey and Mark Antony and Augustus happening over there in Rome and Judea is doing its best to stay alive and independent. They need protection from the other places that are trying to take them out and they know Rome is the key. So they make deals with one ruler only for that ruler to be killed and replaced by other rulers. It's getting hard for them to keep up. 

6 CE Rome is their ally. 44 CE Rome sends someone to preside over them and Judea is considered a "Minor province." 

Powers are changing hands so fast that no one knows who is in charge anymore. 

The Hasmonean Kingdom eventually falls, but the Jewish desire for independence continues. Only now, they are at war with Rome. 

This whole time period is a cluster of problems and it’s honestly hard to keep up with who was allies and in charge and ruling and expanding and fighting. Just know that Caesar wasn’t the only one getting knifed in the back and by the time a face was stamped on a coin there was a new face in charge. It was rough. 

The important thing to know is that in the year 70 CE, Rome besieged Jerusalem. 

Emperor Titus was done with the Jewish issue. 

They held out as long as they could. And then the walls fell. 

The city was burned and the temple was looted and burned. The majority of the population that wasn't killed in the fighting was outright massacred and the rest were taken as slaves. 

The Jews that managed to make it out of the city ran for the countryside and hillside. Many were hunted down and killed by waiting soldiers. The Jewish population was sold and scattered across the roman empire. 

The loot taken from the temple was paraded through Rome with the slaves. They even made a monument for it! 

Arch of Titus, which still stands in Rome today. You can see them carrying the holy Menorah through the streets. 

There is plenty of Archeological evidence that supports what happened at the destruction of Jerusalem. 

Massive stone collapses from the Temple Mount's walls were discovered laying over the Herodian street that runs along the Western Wall. 

It's theorized that 1.1 Million people, the majority of the Jewish people, were killed during the siege. 

I can't convey enough just how big this event was. 

All Jewish people were forbidden from setting foot in Judea. 

We now come to 73 CE, Christianity is considered its own distinct religion. 

So what happened to the land? 

All the Jews were gone. Banished, enslaved, or dead. So who got the land? 

Well... Firstly, the city of Jerusalem was gone. When Rome wanted something gone, they made it gone. 

There was rubble and not much else. 

Know what else they did? The forest was burned down. The land was razed to a point where even today, it is still struggling to recover. 

Jewish areas around Jerusalem were systematically destroyed one by one. There were still uprisings here and there, but they were quickly put down. 

The Roman emperor Hadrian decided that he'd had enough of revolts and set out to destroy Judea once and for all. And while he did kick it in the teeth, he never succeeded in destroying the people. (They got real good at surviving and real stubborn about not getting eradicated). Small Jewish areas did survive in various outlier areas and small farming places that were otherwise overlooked. But life was certainly not made easy for them.

Judaea was changed to Syria Palaestina. 

Sound familiar? Two empires that were enemies to the Jewish people. Remember when I said the Greek records were really out of date and still listed the Canaanites as in charge of the area? Well… They also still called the area Palestina.   You see, Hadrian got the name "Palaestina" from Herodotus' Histories from nearly 500 years before. But Herodotus only called the strip of land along the coast "Palaistine" after the Philistines. He wasn't referring to all of Judaea. And the reason Herodotus called that strip of coastline "Palaistine" was because the Philistines were Mycenaean Greeks, so he was recognizing a (long since dead) former settlement of Greeks. (When Rome wants you gone, they want you GONE and to suffer).

Rome built a colony on the ruins of Jerusalem, Aelia Capitolina. Eventually, former Judea became a Christian pilgrimage and was settled by Christians. The land became known as Palestine. 

Not what you were expecting, huh? Bet you didn’t think the Christians would get involved in this Jewish vs Muslim issue. 

So 900 BCE to 70 CE, it belonged to the Jewish people (with the brief exception to the period of exile to Babylon). 

Then the Christians took over from Rome when Christianity took over and mass conversions started to sweep the world. 

Eventually, the population became a mixed bag of Romans and migrants from nearby provinces. 

361-363 CE - The Roman Emperor says the Jewish people can return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. In fact, he encourages it! He’s excited about it and starts to fund it and gathers up all the leaders, who are confused but cautiously optimistic. 

The Emperor is assassinated before anything gets underway and the Jewish people are banished from the holy land again. 

438 CE - Jews are now allowed to visit the Temple site. Note how it's visit, not live. A few times a year they are let into the city to visit where the Temple once stood so they can pray, then they are forced to leave again. 

Oops! Back up a it! What’s happening over there during all this? It’s the 7th Century and Islam has now become a major religion! Any Jews hanging out in the Arabian Peninsula? Convert or get out. They’re going to keep their eye on what’s been happening with Rome, the Jews, and the Christians in regards to ‘Palestine’. 

After all, Islam is a cousin to Judaism and they do share similarities to the holy sites. 

And there have been MANY wars over the holy sites. Sieges, betrayals, false alliances, and an overall repeated attempt to eradicate and massacre people over the land.

Now, we all know the Roman Empire eventually fell. But the Jewish people? Still banished. They became the Diaspora. Attempting to settle in place after place until they are either massacred, converted, or kicked out. They have no home. Just a place to sit for a bit until the next massacre forces them to flee. 

That's not even getting into the Crusades of the Christians against Islam in Palestine 1095-1291!! 

So... Skipping over a LOT of history and massacres and terrible things....

Oh boy oh boy. I'm going to skip a LOT. Because the crusades are a mess of WTFery and I'm not writing a thesis here (right?). 

But... 1917, enter Britain. Because of course Britain has to get involved at some point. You wouldn't be telling a world history tragedy story without Britain somehow getting involved. 

They take control of Palestine from the Turks. Basically, WWI just ended and the Ottoman Empire lost big time. Their punishment? Britain now rules their land (I’ll get to that in a bit). 

A decree is issued establishing Palestine as a national home for Jewish People, so long as nothing is done to cause prejudice or remove the civil rights or religious rights of the existing people that live there (Non-Jewish communities). 

Many Jewish people interpret this to mean that ALL of Palestine is now a Jewish State. 

1921: Britain changes their mind. All of Palestine east of the Jordan River is closed to Jewish settlement, but not to Arab settlement. 

Oh boy. 

1923: Britain says Arabs can immigrate but NOT Jewish people to Syria and Lebanon. 

What? What are you doing Britain? 

Remember that Western Wall rubble that was found in Jerusalem? The last remains of the Temple? By 1929: Muslims and Jews have been fighting over that wall for ages. Riots break out in Palestine and Jewish people are massacred. 

Annnnnnd that takes us to 1933 when Hitler rises to power. Jewish people everywhere attempt to start to emigrate and flee to what they hope are safe countries. 

1939: British government limits Jewish immigrants to 10,000 a year. Jewish people are trapped and the Holocaust catches up. 

1945-1948: Post Holocaust refugees try to find the only place that they may call home: Palestine. The British government detains them and prevents their entry. 

1946-1948: Things start to get violent in Palestine and British rule is unsure if they want Jews there or not. 

1947: the UN approves the creation of the Jewish State and an Arab State in British ruled Palestine. 

1948: Israel declares independence as a Jewish State and opens up to all Jewish people trying to find a safe place to live after the Holocaust. Essentially, it becomes a refugee state and if you are Jewish in any manner of the word, you are now a citizen and have a country to escape to when the massacres happen. 

A Jewish Exodus from Arab and Muslim lands results as they flee or are expelled. 

Egypt invades and Israel holds fast, expanding its borders as a result. 

Egypt continues to attack and threaten Israel until the Six Day War in 1967 when Israel captured the West Bank

(Pictured here)

The West Bank is considered the heart of Palestinians. This is known as the Gaza Strip. 

Many Israelis see this area as their ancestral Homeland. Many Israeli settlements are starting to push into this area in a ruthless attempt to take it back. I DO say ruthless because they have been using violence against those living there and farming there. 

There is international law that states that this area is off limits to Israelis. 

"1890: The term "Zionism" is coined by an Austrian Jewish publicist Nathan Birnbaum in his journal "Self Emancipation" and is defined as the National movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish Sovereignty in the Land of Israel. "

Now, the term Zionism has taken on different roles and meanings over the years. I mentioned above what the word means and comes from. But it was later claimed by right wing Israelis who want the Arab nations out of Israel. It was later taken back again to being used as a simple declaration of nationalism for the right for Jews to have a place to call their own. 

It's...complicated. I think Zionism can only really be defined by those who claim they are Zionists. Which ideology they follow may vary and much like any notion of nationalism, there are problems and dangers. 

Is it wrong to be a Zionist? Depends. But the answer is not a straightforward yes or no. 

The Jewish people deserve to exist in a state. But so do the Palestinians. 

Let's talk about Palestine! 

Historically, you got nothing until Judea is destroyed and the people are taken as slaves and killed in 70 CE. 

Then you have a bunch of Christians wandering around it declaring all the historical sites to be theirs. Which, since Christianity comes from Judaism, they happen to share a lot of the same spiritual and historical sites. 

But so does Islam.

There are repeated revolts, wars, disputes, and claims to the area by MANY different factions. 

Many times the Jewish people attempted to retake the area only to be put down again and again. 

In the late 6th Century, Islam was founded. They conquered Palestine in 636. Unlike previous rulers, they allowed Jews and Christians the freedom to practice their religion in peace.... but they had to pay a special tax and be submissive to Muslims. But, they did lift the centuries long ban on Jews being banished from Jerusalem. 

Guess who wasn't a fan of all this? 

Time for Crusades to 'liberate' Jerusalem from the Muslims. 

European Christians campaigned against Muslims to reconquer the 'Holy Land' of Palestine. 

Hey look! The Ottomon Empire (1466 CE) decided to show up! 

As I mentioned above, the Ottoman Empire had sided with the Germans and lost. They were driven from Palestine and British rule took over. 

Remember how I mentioned that the British government declared Palestine to be a Jewish State in 1916? Well it turns out that just one year earlier, in 1915, it had been declared an Arab State in which the UK agreed to recognize Arab independence. BOTH declarations were seen as giving full control to either the Jewish People or the Arabs. 

Good job Britain. Way to do what you always do and cock it up. 

Here’s the biggest problem with saying that you side fully with Palestine. Internationally recognized terrorists political movement of: Hamas. 

Hamas is an Acronym that translates to 'Islamic Resistance Movement'. 

It's a political military movement that governs parts of the Gaza Strip. 

They have taken charge and governed the Gaza Strip since 2006 and have periodically attacked Israel. They promote Palestinian Nationalism in a strictly Islamic context. 

In fact, they propose that Israel NOT be recognized as a state and that a strictly Palestinian State be formed. 

All the truces they offer to Israel over the years? Incredibly Antisemitic. They have carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the citizens of Israel and continue to 'advocate' for the return of Palestine without Jews. 

They tend to be the 'dominant political force' in Palestine because of their anti-israel stance. They pretend to want a two state solution, but will repeatedly reject talks and demand "From the River to the Sea". Their end goal is to remove ALL of Israel and return the entire region to Palestine, thus making it an Islamic State. 

It’s important to know that this is a radical group that unfortunately has a lot of control and uses its own people to terrorize and hide behind in an effort to bring about fear and hate and death. The actual Palestinian people do not deserve that. 

It’s also important to know that the Israeli people do not all support their own government or leaders who have decided to take up an extremist approach to attempting to eradicate the terrorist movement. 

MANY Israeli and Palestinian people believe in trying to find a negotiation that will benefit both sides and share a land that in a long lengthy way does represent three major religions. 

It is important to know what Charities are supporting. Where the money is going, and who is only furthering violence on both sides. 

It’s also important to know your history. 

When I was little, If you said someone was Jewish, I imagined a white European man. Why is that the common image of a Jewish person? How is it possible to be a colonizer if your people come from that country in the first place? 

So I'm going to ask you a question, and I REALLY want you to think about this. 

If someone owns land and comes from a land, they are forcibly removed from the land for a LONG amount of time, someone else comes in and makes a home of this land and lives there for a long time, and then the first people want that land back.... Do they become colonizers? Are they wrong? Do they not deserve their land back?

If you think the answer is yes, you need to go have a conversation with the Native Americans. 

BUT, as we all know... What do you do about the people that currently own and live on that land that was stolen from the first people? Maybe you didn't do the stealing, but you acquired stolen property and if you give it back then now you have nowhere else to go.... What sort of conversation needs to happen now? How do you solve this problem? 

If you made it to the end, I thank you so much for taking the time to be curious about history and how it impacts current events. If you have questions, please let me know.

[tiredspacedragon]

What's more frustrating? That there were plans for an Earth Tribe on Spherus Magna, complete with their own Element Lord, thus further confusing the Earth/Stone/Sand distinction? Or that the canonicity of the Earth Tribe is itself dubious, since it never appears or is mentioned in any official material, actively contradicts said material at several points, Greg waffled on its particulars constantly, and the name Earth Tribe was used both as a placeholder for the Iron Tribe in the concept stages and an alternative name for the Sand Tribe in official marketing?

Like on the one hand, a whole other tribe with their own lore to explore is pretty cool. And the Element Lord of Earth pretending to abstain from the Core War, all the while manipulating the other Lords into continuing the conflict so she could swoop in and claim the Energized Protodermis, makes for an interesting character. But the constant references to The Six Element Lords, by official story material, the other Element Lords, and even the Great Beings themselves, make the existence of a seventh one that was totally there the whole time guys trust me... a little jarring. And yeah, having Earth and Stone be distinct has always been a quirk Bionicle is known for, but the further distinction of Sand as its own thing too is where it starts getting a little ridiculous.

But then again, as mentioned above, the Earth Tribe was used in some official marketing to refer to the tribe the Vorox and Zesk belonged to. So maybe it would be possible to fold the Lords of Earth and Sand into a single character? They're the only two to have ever been (inconsistently in Sand's case) referred to as female, and the Lord of Sand doesn't exactly have a character of their own that would be erased. And it would smooth over the element issue in some ways. It does make sense that on a primarily desert planet, the element of Earth may manifest more prominently as Sand. But in that case, shouldn't Toa of Earth be able to control Sand? They never do in story, sticking to soil, mud, and clay, but unless I'm forgetting something, there's never any point where it's plainly stated that they can't. They do terrain, and sand is terrain, so maybe? But then why are Po-Matoran the desert dwellers? And in G2, Pohatu could control Sand. But that clearly wouldn't work in G1 because the Element Lords of Rock and Sand are definitively different characters. And around it goes again.

For the record I'm not interested in starting any debates here, BS01 has been having variations of this argument on and off for years, and I think at this point, especially when dealing with so much information that is Word of Greg-exclusive, it's best to let everyone decide their own headcanons here. I'm just curious what people's thoughts on this whole mess might be.

[joklhops]

I met Skunkpig while hiking through the Superstition mountains. Racing the sun to the trailhead before dusk, I heard what I thought was drums and chanting on the wind. I stopped to listen. I'm pretty sure they were going to eat me, but I had water and a field recorder I told them I was interesting using to record their songs.

Whether Skunkpig is the name of their leader or the entire tribe, it's never clear. They all refer to themselves as Skunkpig, but the leader I suspect to be Skunkpig is the only one who ever uses "I," and the lesser tribesmen orbit the great creature like asteroid rings. How many are there? Enough it seems.

Skunkpig eat whatever they can find, but primarily hunt lost hikers. They often toy with people shooting old refrigerators and couches out in the desert. Quietly removing vital car parts, then watching them from afar as they wonder what to shoot to save themselves as the heat does its grim work. They make jewelry, tools, and knives from the guns. They say they have no use for them. They let the sun bring their prey to a useless weakened stupor and pluck whatever they clutch from their tired hands, stepping back before the prey's last gasp so their dry, red-eyes can see their hunter stand before it "stains the sand." People the tribe find shooting cactus are made to drink the acidic water of the barrel cactus until their organs revolt. They have no gods, but they hold sacred the Gila monster for its unyielding bite, the roadrunner for its brazen brutality, the cactus for its efficiency and its fruit, and the night. They respect the sun.

This is the first recording I made of Skunkpig, doing the hunt song "Gila Monster Blood" I've promised to record more of them in exchange for safe passage in their lands.

[ningauinerd]

Time to infodump about the animals I'm supposedly a nerd about.

All pictures in this post are N. yvonneae, the southern ningaui (Image credit: Owen Lishmund)

The ningauis (in the genus Ningaui, if you can believe it) are a group of tiny dasyurid marsupials native to the arid and semi-arid regions of Australia. Smaller than their close dunnart relatives (very close, as I will explain later), and with broader hindfeet, ningauis were first documented by western science relatively recently by Australian mammal standards. Although some specimens had been collected previously, being haphazardly assigned to planigales (another genus of miniscule dasyurids), it wasn't until 1975 that the genus Ningaui was erected and its first two species were described - N. ridei, the Wongai ningaui, and N. timealeyi, the Pilbara ningaui. A third species, the southern ningaui (N. yvonneae), was named in 1983.

Oh, and in case you were wondering where the name "ningaui" comes from, it refers to tiny beings from Aboriginal mythology that come out at night, are covered in hair, have notably short feet and eat their food raw. Most of these traits are also shared by these little marsupials, hence why palaeontologist Mike Archer (the original author of the genus) found it to be a fitting name for them!

(Image credit: glandarius)

Ningauis are small - really small, some of the smallest land mammals in fact. With the tiniest individuals being only 5 cm long, not including the tail, they are about the same length as Australia's smallest native mammal, the long-tailed planigale. However, ningauis are significantly chunkier and therefore usually weigh a couple more grams, meaning planigales win in regards to all-around tininess. The very largest ningauis still only reach about 8 cm in length and 14 grams in weight.

What they lack in size they make up for in ferocity however, as they follow the typical dasyurid trend of becoming increasingly savage the smaller they get. Tasmanian devils, despite their reputation, are actually quite relaxed when handled - on the other end of the spectrum, ningauis, which are around a thousand times smaller than a devil, will try to murder you, your family and everyone you hold dear if they find themselves captured. But, despite their best efforts to chew the fingers off of every field mammalogist in inland Australia, they aren't very strong.

remorseless beasts (Image credit: Tina Gillespie & Miss.chelle.13)

These ferocious predators feed on a variety of different prey items, the majority of which are small invertebrates - in the case of the Wongai ningaui, they prefer prey that is less than a centimetre long. However, they will also go after larger prey, having epic duels with grasshoppers, spiders, centipedes and even small skinks which they subdue with a crushing bite to the back of the head. Unlike their dunnart relatives, the shorter, broader feet of ningauis allows them to climb into shrubs and grass clumps.

All ningaui species are extremely similar to one another, so much so that the Wongai ningaui and southern ningaui are almost externally indistinguishable and the Pilbara ningaui can only be told apart by looking at its foot pads, teat number and skull. However, they can usually be distinguished by distribution. The Pilbara ningaui is the most range restricted, being endemic to the central and western Pilbara region of western Australia. The southern ningaui occurs in three disjunct populations across the southern semi-arid zone, whilst the Wongai ningaui is distributed widely across much of the interior. All species show a strong preference for environments dominated by spinifex grass (Triodia), which they use as shelter.

A ningaui takes shelter amongst the spinifex (Image credit: Euan Moore)

In regards to how they are related to other dasyurids, ningauis fall in the tribe Sminthopsini together with the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger, another species I really need to cover sometime) and many species of dunnart (Sminthopsis). However, recent phylogenetic studies have consistently recovered both Antechinomys and Ningaui as being within the Sminthopsis lineage, meaning that both ningauis and the kultarr are, in essence, just weird dunnarts. With Sminthopsis as we currently understand it being highly paraphyletic, a revision of the genus is needed.

[lightwise]

The Protector: Thoughts about Satine, Bo, and Din as rulers of Mandalore

This has already been discussed in much better detail here, here, and here, but I realized the other day that there is another aspect to the Bo-Katan vs. Din ruling Mandalore with the Darksaber that hasn't been mentioned.

I firmly agree that Din Djarin as a character is meant to serve as the Guardian/Protector, not the Ruler, of Mandalore. He is literally a knight in shining armor. His name could be a reference to the term Paladin (thank you for this @katherynefromphilly). I mean look at him.

Granted, I was excited to see him wield the Darksaber and potentially follow the reluctant leader trope. BUT. I think the direction they are taking him and Bo-Katan is much better.

So how does Satine factor into this, you ask? Here's how. What did Satine not have, as a leader? A PROTECTOR.

Now, she had Obi-Wan. And I believe she even called him her protector at one point (am I imagining this?) And he did what he could to keep her safe and give her guidance.

But he wasn't really able to be her protector the way she needed. They were not able to merge their lives together the way they might have wanted. And Satine's rule suffered and was cut short due to her lack of wise counsel, her lack of someone to lean on who had both her and Mandalore's best interests at heart. (We're going to ignore the Palpatine/Empire component which would have brought down Mandalore regardless, and did so in spite of both Satine and Bo-Katan's efforts).

What has Bo-Katan also not had until now? That same protection. (Other than Fenn Rau, thank you for pointing this out @mandalorianchronicles). And her efforts have also failed, until now.

I am not at all saying that either of these incredible women need a man to be able to rule. They are strong, capable, and independent leaders in their own right. But what they do need is the space to rule, the support and protection and gaps filled that someone having their back could give them, in order to be effective and far reaching in their efforts. Good leaders have to delegate. If they try to handle everything themselves, their energy and efforts will be diminished. And the role of the guardian/protector/paladin is to do just that.

I hope we get to see just how amazing of a team these two can be, supporting each other, filling in the gaps, and coming together to unite their separate definitions of Mandalorian and their respective tribes into one renewed dynasty. (Also keeping my fingers crossed for a Satine mention in live action PLEASE).

This is the Way.

[boarjamen]

In 2021, there were roughly 2,717 antisemitic incidents reported across the United States. This was a 34% increase from the year prior. Thanks to the recent rise in neo-nazi rhetoric from political figures, celebrities, and online personalities, this number is expected to increase in 2022. I see a lot of people talking about avoiding obvious dog whistles, but very few explaining how to identify them. So, that’s what I hope to do today.

WHAT IS A DOGWHISTLE?

As defined by Oxford Languages, a Dog Whistle is a subtly aimed political message which is intended for, and can only be fully understood by, a particular group. Politicians will try to manipulate their audience by using alienating phrases, and in the process, dehumanizing those they’re speaking about while also having a margin of plausible deniability. For example, let’s take the term “illegal alien”. When we think of aliens, we think of little green dudes who suck us up in flying saucers to probe our anal glands. We think of xenomorphs and The Thing, creatures that are out to get us normal folks. However, “illegal alien” is meant to refer to immigrants who migrated here through unofficial channels. These are people. Saying “these human beings need to be deported” won’t drum up as much of a response as “these illegal aliens need to be deported”.

WHAT ARE COMMON DOG WHISTLES?

Blood Libel-

An ancient superstition that Jewish people will kill non-Jews, typically babies or young people, for the purpose of drinking their blood. This myth has inspired many vampire stories, most infamously Dracula and Nosferatu, and fuels a lot of modern day conspiracies. Ever hear “these celebrities are bathing in the blood of babies to stay young”? Well, this is where that comes from. It should be noted that Romani people are often the targets of similar rumors. This is obviously untrue.

Cabal-

Similar dogwhistles include but aren’t limited to the New World Order, The Elites, Globalism, Illuminati, and the Reptilians.

The term itself stems from the word Kabbalah, which was a Jewish mystical interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. It is meant to describe a secret group of people, mainly Jews, that control the world’s governments, economies, and media. Not only is this blatantly stupid, as most of the people in power are wildly antisemitic themselves (just look at Elon Musk), but it’s also just ignoring the obvious and observable fact that corporations and money drive politics and not a secret shadowy government. We don’t need a shadow when we’re already shady.

(((echo)))-

Have you ever seen a person partially censor the name of a celebrity or a fandom they’re discussing to avoid fans coming onto the post and giving them shit for it? (For example, I’ve seen a couple people post things under tags like #lum*ty when they don’t like the ship) This is the same idea, except it’s almost exclusively used by neo-Nazis to talk about Jewish people. It saw a resurgence in popularity with the introduction of a chrome extension called the Coincidence Detector, which put these parentheses around the names of any of the over 8,000 Jewish people in their database. It was mainly used on Twitter.

Jews Killed Jesus/30 Pieces of Silver-

In the Bible, Judas, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, was bribed by the Romans to turn in Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Many people use that as evidence to say jews killed Jesus. However, anyone who has read the Bible can tell you, Jesus was also Jewish. And so were the rest of his disciples. And his mother. If anything, Jews birthed Jesus and made him into the man he was. Y’all should be thankful.

Not The Real Jews-

This typically refers to the black Israelite theory, where the tribes of Israel relocated to Africa once the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed. They claim Ashkenazi Jews are imposters, and that black people are the real Jews. There are certainly black Jewish people out there, and they’re lovely af and deserve all the support in the world. However, the people espousing the black Israelite theory cannot be further from the truth. Judaism originated in what is now considered the Middle East with the prophet Abraham who settled in Canaan which is what we know now as Israel/Palestine. Around 722 BC, the Assyrians conquered the northern part of the territory and forced the 10 tribes of Israel to move further up north, and the Babylonians did the same to the Tribes of Judah a little later on. Not to mention when they were eventually overtaken by Alexander the Great. For the majority of history, Judaism was focused in the northern part of the Middle East and the southern part of Europe. To reflect that, Ashkenazi Jews share the most genetic similarity to the Greeks and Turkish folks. There is no evidence to suggest that Ashkenazi Jews are in any way fake. Again this does not mean there are no black Jews, there certainly are, but you don’t have to deny the validity of the ashkenazi to prove that. They are all Jewish. Not to mention, those who espouse the black Israelite theory rarely practice Judaism themselves.

14-

This refers to the 14 words, which are "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." It is typically placed in social media bios alongside 88, which stands for Heil Hitler.

SITES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO AVOID

BitChute-

An alternative to YouTube created in 2017 after the adpocolypse nuked many alt-right channels. You can find anything on here, from your average conspiracy videos titled “Why are some people seeing demonic entities after the vaccine?” with the Decorative font from MS word in the thumbnail, to ISIS beheadings and Atomwaffen recruitment videos. I am not kidding about any of those.

Daily Stormer-

A popular Neo-Nazi website and message board made by Andrew Anglin to spread antisemitic conspiracies and his weird 9/11 fanfics. It’s not used as much as it used to be, but this site played a large part in propping up figures like Milo Yianapolis who has been recently hanging out with Kanye. Which I find funny, as he admitted to wanting to fuck young boys on the Amazing Atheist’s podcast and that it was a totally normal thing. Even Ben Shapiro hated that guy from the beginning.

Parler-

Twitter but more racist.

Gab-

Twitter but more racist and more buggy.

Twitter-

This is mainly a joke but you should be very mindful that Twitter has always had a neo-Nazi problem, and it’s worse now than ever.

Twitter but owned by Elon Musk

InfoWars-

Owned and operated by Alex Jones, not only do they scam their viewers out of thousands of dollars, spread lies about mass shootings, harass innocent families who lost their loved ones in horrifying tragedies, play a key role in orchestrating the January 6th attack on the capital, but they also spread antisemitic conspiracies.

CONCLUSION

It’s important to acknowledge that absolutely anyone can fall for these dog whistles without even being aware of it. Recently, my brother started falling down this horrid rabbit hole thanks to Kanye’s rhetoric and despite everything I’ve tried to warn him about, he’s not listening. By posting this, I hope to stop at least one person from following that path. Now more than ever, we need to stand with the Jewish community and show our support. Stay safe out there.

[ace-hell]

Why is it israelis and not israelites?

I saw and still see pro palestinians bringing up this up as a way to show that we are "not the real israelites" or that it means that we are not really indigenous to the land and i have a few things to say about that

1. The name israel itself IS indigenous, not only is that an aramaic name- an actual indigenous language to the land- it is also the father of the 12 jewish tribes, it means "the one who fight for god" or "god preserves" whereas the name palestine... not only does it NOT comes from an indigenous language but its an ACTUAL insult in every original scripts (philistine- a person with no culture or appreciation for art. Plishtim- invadors) or straight up has nothing to do with native or Palestinian identity(greeks who called themselves "peaple of the sea). So calling israel "israhell" while forcing the palestinian name is one of the most bigoted thing one can do

2. Maybe, and just maybe, people were NOT speaking English in the mIDDLE EAST THREE THOUSAND YEARS AGO??? In hebrew AND in aramaic we don't have the word "israelite" we refer to ourselves as "hebrews", "the israeli nation" or "the sons of israel" in fact, if im not wrong, we DO refer to ourselves as "israelis" when talking about ancient times. Taking israelite vs israeli as an argument is so stupid its feels like watching americans calling africa a country or italy a continent ENGLISH IS NOT OUR NATIVE LANGUAGE SO TAKING IT AS AN EXAMPLE IS USELESS

3. When we DO talk in English we say "israelis" bc there are a lot of NON jews living in israel who are citizens and also part of the modern israeli identity, in fact, they help us built it whether its by being doctors, serving the IDF or by having a simple shawarma stand. By refering to everyone as "israelis" and not "israelites and goyim" we include them with us as one big family and its kind of a symbol of how israel value democracy in the whole "israel a jewish DEMOCRATIC country".

So.. There it is, hope that helps to NOT erase indigenous identity and forcing arabic identity as a native one👍🏻

[pinkyjulien]

Just a heads up: you, a white creator, putting Native American/First Nations/indigenous inspired clothing on your white OC, and then calling it the "wilding" appearance, could be considered cultural appropriation and could also be considered offensive to people from those cultures.

And yeah, I am doing this from a throwaway account to protect myself because I know how Tumblr and the cyberpunk 2077 fandom works. Even if I do have a valid point or critique, I could still be attacked by "fans" on my main who refuse to use any critical thinking for themselves.

Safe travels 👋 I hold no animosity towards you personally.

(From a "cowardly" anon in an extremely hostile fandom which likely will pretend that this outfit and the name for it isn't tinged with implicit and internalized racism.)

(And, no, I'm not one of the so-called "housewives")

Hey Anon,

Not sure what to say, you claim to not hold any animosity towards me, yet this could've easily been a DM. I'm only assuming you're blocked and had to create a side blog to by-pass the said block.

If this was truly a well-spirited heads up, it would've been a DM.

But anyway, if you're here to accuse me in a sugarcoated way, I already know you're having the time of your life about it in some obscure discord server, so might as well.

The Aldecaldos (and Nomads in general of every clan and family) are multi cultured, there's people of every races, every ethnicities- we see it in game and it's mentioned time and time in the sourcebooks. They're communities, formed of many minorities; queers and pocs alike.

Valentin joins the Aldecaldos during the Star ending, just like the canon game event; he makes friends left and right, and friends makes gifts to one another. We also know that resources, clothes, cars, guns, are shared in nomad communities.

The name "wilding" is a direct reference to the Neo Tribe sourcebook, page 21. I used that same name for Mitch's appearance. They use those outfits to ride off near cities, just like the definition on the page below. They're both proudly showcasing their Aldecaldos colors in whichever place / cities they're visiting.

In my own canon, Dakota is kind of a mother figure for Valentin; she helped him after fleeing the Wraiths, she gave him his first gig with Jackie, she made sure the 'caldos ripper kept the bullet he revoved from Valentin's skull, etc etc

That Jacket could've well been a gift from her before leaving to Arizona, but I haven't decided yet. I was just happy to share my modding project of those past two days.

I've always liked Nomads and what they stand for, their diversity, their lives, their outfits and aesthetics too.

None of the above information is presented as an excuse, they shouldn't be seen as excuses either; I'm simply sharing what inspired me (actively or subconsciously) for this outfit.

If Valentin's appearance, both models and name, did actual upset anyone, I apologize, as this obviously WASN'T the intention. If it does bother you, I invite you to block me.

With all of the "explaination" out of the way; why are you really here?

Because we both know you already knew that about the Aldecaldos. You played the game, you know Panam is half native, you know there's a bunch of native characters in the Aldecaldos and in the game in general.

This ask isn't fueled by kindness or by an attempt at educating someone who could've made a simple mistake.

Nope, you're simply part of this "hostile fandom" problem. Everything you said in brackets reeks of past drama.

Again, you claim to not hold any animosity, but I believe otherwise; that's totally fine, but refrain from contacting me with this fake benevolence, everyone can see it's bullshit.

Repeating myself, this could've been a DM, yet you choose to assume I have some "internalized racism" that You Need to point out, doing so via a side-blog supposedly out of fear (since I don't know who you are, I'll choose to believe you simply by-passed a block) while also dragging in the "Housewives" for no reasons.

You're part of this fandom problem. You're part of the reason why nobody feels safe about sharing anything; you and your friends are out there spying, monitoring what everyone does, assuming the worst at any given occasions and ready to write callouts, to throw witch hunts.

Please, do some critical thinking yourself, remove all the bias and all the "Pinky Bad so this is obviously Racist" bullshit fogging your brain, and ask yourself why you really sent that ask.