#pounamu

[bethanythebogwitch]

Original New Zealand Pokemon

Another post of Fakemon for my original Goorda region based on a combination of Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. I've given Australia much more focus so far, so I'm balancing things out by making more kiwi Pokemon. But not an actual kiwi Pokemon. I already did that one.

Tinamu, the Green Stone Pokémon, rock-type. These shy Pokomon live deep underground and are tended to by their parents. Their bodies are made of a rare and valuable green stone and they make their burrows near deposits of this stone. Miners looking to harvest this stone traditionally leave food for the Tinamu as a form of trade.

Tinamu evolves to Pouina, the Green Stone Pokemon, rock/ghost type. When a Pouina wraps its tail around its neck, it gains the power to see into the spirit world. The icon of a Pouina wrapped around itself is used as a symbol of harmony and connection to one's ancestors.

Pouina evolves to Mananamu, the Green Stone Pokemon, rock/ghost type. When a Mananamu ties its tail into a knot, it gains the power to walk between this world and the world of spirits. Legends say that in the past, war almost broke out between the living and the dead until a hero with a Mananamu calmed the ghosts. Since then, Mananamu have been used by psychics and shamans as messengers between worlds.

The Tinamu line are based on pounamu, several types of green stone found in Aotearoa that is culturally important to the Maori and is frequently seen carved into multiple symbols. I tried to work the carvings into the designs. They are also based on the Manaia, a legendary creature often depicted in pounamu carvings (I specifically took inspiration from this carving). The Manaia is a messenger between the human world and the spirit world and its symbol is used to ward off evil. It is often depicted with the head of a bird and the tail of a fish and is often depicted curled into a figure 8, which is where I got the idea of the Pokemon wrapping their tails around themselves. I also based Mananamu on a hadrosaur, specifically a Parasaurolophus, mostly because I thought it would be cool. Their names come form "tiny", "pounamu", and "Manaia"

Sprink: the Bungee Pokemon, normal-type. Sprink have long, prehensile tails that can extend to great lengths, then retract. They wrap their tails around tree branches and wit for bug Pokemon to pass beneath. Then, they jump, catch the bug, and their tails retract to pull Sprink back up with its prey. The sport of bungee jumping was inspired by Sprink.

Sprink is based on skinks, many species of which are native to Aotearoa, and bungee jumping, which (in its modern form) was invented in NZ. The markings on Sprink's body are based on safety harnesses. TBH, I may go back to the drawing board on this one. I feel like it's missing something. Its name comes from "skink" and "spring"

Pāunomacre, the Abalone Pokemon, psychic-type. These strange Pokemon levitate through the air with their psychic powers and habitually collect and examine objects with their tentacles and eyes. The iridescent colors on their shells constantly shift and can mesmerize those who look for too long. Jewellery and carvings made Pāunomacre shells are highly valuable due to their shifting colors and high quality.

Pāunomacre is based on abalone, large sea snails known for the layer of iridescent nacre (mother of pearl) that line the inside of their shells. The shells are often used to make jewelry and decoration. For Pāunomacre, I added an extra shell on the bottom, put the nacre on the outside, and made it into a flying saucer. he tentacles are inspired by sensory tentacles on abalone while the ring of blue eyes around the body comes from scallops. The name comes from "pāua" (the Maori word for abalone), "anomaly", and "nacre".

Korm, the Root Pokemon, ground/grass type. These worm-like Pokemon are actually burrowing plants. When they feel safe, Korm expose their rear ends to the air and unfurl the fronds growing from them to absorb sunlight. Korm have soft bodies that leave them vulnerable to predators. As a result, they are very shy and will burrow away at the first sign of danger. Dirt that Korm burrows through is left enriched in nutrients and supports plant growth.

Korm evolves to Woodworm, the Root Pokemon, grass/ground type. It has developed a powerful yet flexible armored tube of wood around its body that supports larger fronds that can reach higher into the air. When threatened, Woodworm retracts its soft body into its wooden tube. If a small forest appears out of nowhere, It is likely a colony of Woodworm that have decided to stop and photosynthesize for a while.

Korm and Woodworm are based on a number of influences. First, they are earthworms and Aotearoa and Australia have some remarkable large earthworm species. Earthworms help recycle nutrients into the soil, which is why Korm leaves enriched soil where it grows. Second, they are based on ferns and fern trees. The Koru is a spiral symbol that represents an unfurling silver fern frond, which I tried to recreate in Korm's design. The tube that Woodworm has is based on tube worms, aquatic relatives of earthworms that build tubes they can retract into for protection. Korm's name comes from "Koru" and "worm" while Woodworm's name is a pun on "wormwood".

Cololite, the Stromatolite Pokemon, rock-type. Cololite are so strange it took scientists decades before they deciphered its biology. Cololite is a colony of microbes that work together to grow a hollow structure of living rock. Smaller stones bud off of the central body and can be levitated and manipulated through unknown means. By the tine the central stone splits off of the rock it grows from, it is ready to evolve.

Cololite evolves to Concraki, the Stone Colony Pokemon, rock-type. Concraky is a group of spherical, hollow boulders built and controlled by a hive mind of microscopic organisms. The boulders levitate and can be arranged into any configuration, though they are always directed by the largest boulder. As the boulders grow, they crack open and eventually shatter. The fragments of shattered boulder are believed to act as seeds from which new Cololite grow.

Cololite and Concraki are based on stromatolites, stone structures built by generations of photosynthetic bacteria and archaea. As the bacterial colonies grow, they lay down layers of sediment that results in an iconic layered appearance that is represented in the base of Cololite. Most stromatolites are only known from sollils, but there are living ones living in places around the world, including Australia. Concraki is also based on the Moeraki boulders or Kaihinaki, a series of spherical, hollow concretions found on Koekohe Beach. I wanted to make something very bizarre with these, making a Pokemon that doesn't even look like a Pokemon. Their names come from "colony", "stromatolite", "concretion", and "Moeraki".

Previous posts in this series: new evolutions, misc 4, misc 3, single stages, non-natives, regional standards, creepy lines, regional variants, birds, early game standards, misc 2, misc 1, Johto starter variants, starters,

[mystical-muffin-ofthe-fandoms]

If there isn't a pounamu gifting scene in OFMD I may or may not cry

[fountainbeee]

Benefits of Jade | Pounamu

We are sharing some of the uses of Pounamu today including some of its properties; good health and integration.

[ollylotl]

iiiiit's ghostknifing time. * ghostknifes all over the place*

[balthazarslostlibrary]

Actually deranged behaviour. This guy is supposedly the minister for arts, culture, and heritage, but I guess National is really going mask off on how the only heritage they care about is white coloniser heritage. It also makes this twat look so nonsensical just on its face.

No one can seriously say that National doesn't have an anti-Māori bias at this point and not be lying through their teeth.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

I enjoyed your food and eating habits thoughts for Matt and Alfred as it's a nice little insight into their everyday lifestyle and mannerisms <3 Any thoughts on Arthur "forgets to eat until his stomach growls and his hands shake" Kirkland and Jack and Zee? Or for the UK bros or Francis if that more takes your fancy? <3 Thank you!

Rhys is a really good cook. Bara brith, Welsh rarebit, cawl, laverbread. The man knows what he's about. He's the second youngest in my set up but still a good deal older than Arthur so he grows up in a world where his mother is literally worshipped as a goddess. I put her right smack on the middle of a giant pile of tin which was famously the best and highest quality stuff in a world where it was desperately needed to create bronze. He grows up in stone wheelhouses with defensive towers set inside a ring fort and with that came a correspondingly decent diet. High protein, wealth being often valued less in cash than in cattle. Maman is importing gold from Ireland and wine from southern France and Greek trade goods are found. He suffers a lot of misery and violence as a young adult and that does affect his tastes in food but he never loses sight of the fact it should actually taste good. He's definitely a bit heavy on the pies and stews and he hasn't been able to entirely reconcile himself to the fact that it no longer a bit suspect of people who are wealthy enough to afford meat to not eat meat. The man has opinions on food. Lamb, mutton, leeks, cheese. He can have a conversation about it, okay. And he's very particular about how he enjoys said food. and not to dip too deep into the stereotypes but god fucking bless the Welsh for exporting the leek. The Anglo-Celtic diaspora owe a debt we will never be able to repay for the one goddamn allium that Brits seemed to actually like pre-war. He's definitely someone who's moods will be affected by when he last ate and how the food was and food is a pretty big love language for him. When he's trying to shack up with the neighbors in Brittany or Jersey or Manx the food is definitely an incentive to stay for breakfast.

Arthur for me is really interesting because he knows how to make decent food. He knows what makes food taste decent. He's had a feasting culture his entire fricken existence before 1800. Where you lose him is when trying to convince him food should taste good most if not all of the time. The Roman or perhaps slightly post roman world he's born to and raised in is one where luxury goods are coming in with spices and new vegetables and fruits are being introduced so he's had flavour from the very fucking beginning but still entirely regards it as optional. Food as a pleasure is almost alien in his brain for some reason. Late antiquity wasn't a great time for him but the slingshot extremism between everything has to be flavored with all the spices and um actually, food that tastes good is illegal is just so variable with this one. England is lush and fertile and there's no shortage of food at any point in history worse than the neighbors but you wouldn't fucken know it the way Arthur eats and hates joy. I think his outsized amount of power as an adult contributes to this habit of 'oh I'll just ride the extra battery pack that is being the weird patron saint of a rainy third of Great Britain. Wait, what do you mean I have to season my fucken food? And when that's behind him after WW2, he's increasingly irritated by the fact calories are indeed mandatory to survive. Man's taste buds never recovered from rationing in too many ways. Last 30 years he's kind of slipped towards enjoying food. The man has discovered garlic powder exists at least. Only trouble there is that now he experiments and god have mercy on his loved ones bowels. Plum sauce does not go in the spagbol please and thank you.

Zee is... More like her father than she'd like to admit. She really can be perfectly content with a cheese and marmite toastie and a cup of tea. Or one of her best inventions, instant coffee. She's got higher standards in that she generally prefers her food to be edible which is not something the medieval fucks listed above will always care about. She really really likes the act of eating as a social thing. Hangi made together in a large group, women gathered in the kitchen to make things like whitebait fritters and roasted muttonbird. She almost never ever, even when she is entitled to by one status or another took her food in her room and was always at breakfast in the morning. She always eats with people when she can. Food is almost more of an action or event to her than just personal pleasure. She's got a real weakness for fresh fruit. Just consumes batshit amounts of berries. Looking at her grocery bill is probably very funny because it's like, six items she'll rotate out for a fortnight at a time and then a fucken pile of expensive produce. Extremely fond of fish in general as well. She can cook but if anyone else present wants to take point, fine by her. She's very happy to perch on Jack's kitchen counter/bench and drink his good wine while he cooks. She might be described as slightly picky in some specific aspects especially when seafood is involved but she's really not going to have her entire life derailed because whatever her last meal wasn't great. When she was little, she didn't mind a boiled pudding or porridge for breakfast as long as it wasn't completely god awful. She's fonder of like the classic tea room sweet pastries than she'd like to admit and she's got a serious weakness for weird flavors of chocolate like a buttered toast chocolate bar and pineapple lumps. Food can be a tool of survival to her no problem, even if it's not great as well. Generally, she remembers to eat.

Jack cares a lot about food. In the immortal words of @paperbarks he's got the accent of a gold coast Hoon but the taste buds and pickiness of a Barossa sommelier. He's got that golden Mediterranean-esque climate. Sugar grows, mangos grow, finger limes are everywhere, stone fruit is plentiful. Jack wants food to taste excellent all of the time. That's not to say he's picky as in he's not going to absolutely demolish a meat pie or a chiko roll or douse his fries in chicken salt because he absolutely is but he'll genuinely ponder what wine goes best with that and how to keep Zee from drinking it all before he's even plated up dinner. His moods get absolutely fucking foul when he doesn't eat too. He's the second youngest and generally pretty chill and doesn't take all that much seriously but when he's hungry or something is genuinely shit, no one's having a good time. It was a struggle keeping his ass completely fed when he was young and food was seasonal and gonna suck a good part of the year. By far, he's the person most likely to complain about food in any given time. Also my god he can make a good cup of coffee. Chronic snacker too. All of them have some pretty serious appetites but he's probably up there tied with anyone else.

[hellbleided]

book / pretend i sent this from andrew to aaron. andrew's trying to understand what aaron sees in katelyn, starting from reading one of her fave books with aaron together?

andrew tapped his finger against a spot beside aaron's arm, and aaron turned the page. the twins lounged on a set of mismatched beanbags, aaron faced the window where sunlight fell over his bare legs and andrew was behind him, draped over his own beanbag so that he could read over aaron's shoulder.

in aarons hands was a small worn out paperback, the cover was a dark shade of green with a title in muted red that aaron had long since given up on trying to pronounce. it was katelyns. the only book she had brought with her from home, she'd said it was her favourite and aaron could kind of see why. a collection of short stories written in first person. grounded in reality with a strange earthy sense of humor throughout, save for a few words in a language that he didn't recognize, the stories were easy to get through and memorable even after he moved onto the next.

the twins read in silence. aaron was a faster reader than andrew and every time aaron had to wait for andrew to finish a page, it gave him too much time to think. he wondered why andrew was reading it. wondered why he'd joined him instead of just taking it when aaron finished it or set it down. but most of all, aaron wondered what andrew thought about the stories they were reading. when aaron smiled or snorted at something funny, did andrew feel the same way? when something sad happened that made aaron's chest ache, did andrew experience it too? what did he think about mrs. jones? about the tough old mailwoman who didn't let mr. hohepa intimidate her? he wanted to know, but he didn't ask.

andrew tapped the spot beside his arm and aaron turned the page.

[balthazarslostlibrary]

Winston Peters is a perfect example of how capitalist power structures incentivise people to destroy social movements that help your community purely because it benefits you monetarily. He’s a racist, money grubbing, egotistical bastard who drums up anti-Māori and anti-POC sentiment to get support from racist old rich people.

The push for more te reo Māori being more a part of public life is the culmination of decades of protests, marches, and sacrifice made by countless people. All that is being erased because a government got into power on the back of importing racist and anti-progressive American rhetoric and culture war bullshit to this country, all because it makes them money, and pushes their conservative agenda to strip non cis white men of their rights.

I’m a teacher, and the National/NZ First coalition document specified the banning of sexuality, gender, and relationship-based education. It’s an assault on all minorities in this country.

god I'm so fucking furious at the removal of Te Reo Māori names from organisations around Aotearoa. it's a complete non-issue, every organisation has the English name directly underneath the Māori name. I have never once as an English speaker been unable to understand what an organisation is for. Winston Peters, the Deputy Prime Minister, who is literally Māori himself, said “Te Papa is a historic name but tell me this waka kotahi, how many boats have you seen going down the road?”. Waka does not just mean canoe. it means vessel, and waka kotahi (the transport agency of Aotearoa) explains this VERY SIMPLY on their official website. waka kotahi means to travel together as one. Can you see how fucking upsetting this is. A Māori person in power who is in agreement about banning his own language, being so cocky about something that he does not even understand due to the suppression of the language of his people. It makes me sick. I've seen reports from Māori people all over Aotearoa speaking out about how upset and furious they are, how decades of progress have been undone in the fight to restore the rights of their people who have for so long been oppressed and have suffered the effects of colonisation. Please share this if you can, I hate knowing how few people will hear about this, I know there is so much injustice in the world right now and it is so exhausting, I know. I love you all, keep it up.

https://waateanews.com/2023/11/27/te-reo-public-service/

[iamaya03]

still not getting over the fact that HE WAS IN MY FUCKING CITY AND I'VE BEEN TO MOST OF THE PLACES HE'S TAKEN PHOTOS AT. crying whenever i see this specific new zealand photo of mike because i've sat on those blue benches before, i know exactly where he is in this and i could bus to them from my house rn.

also sobbing because the necklace he's wearing is called a pounamu which is a greenstone/jade necklace that's significant to the indigenous māori people in new zealand, HE'S ACTUALLY APPRECIATING THE CULTURE AND MY PEOPLE ☹️☹️

[glitchedember]

Redesigned Mavuika from Genshin Impacts Natlan trailer. Her name is derived from the Māori fire goddess Mahuika. I wanted to do my own take on the character after finding out that she's meant to be Māori inspired but was whiter than I am.

I kept the main colours from the trailer but I added in Māori inspired clothing and darker skin (seeing as the character is literally in a desert and definatly wouldn't be snow white) and added a few other colours to help the design a bit. I also gave her a Moko Kauae (maori chin tattoo) and a couple of pieces of pounamu to represent her culture a bit more. I might play around with the design more, but atm, I'm happy with what I've got, and I think I might mess around with the other Natlan characters, especially Olorun. They turned a Yoruba deity into a white emo wolf boy T_T

[stable-gremlin]

Māori Sabine

Our ethnically ambiguous queen because skin colour and favourite food doesn't denote ethnicity

She has a korowai, the traditional Māori cloak that is worn for special occasions and also denotes power and prestige. I took inspiration from a contemporary korowai maker for the usage of bright colours and feathers.

The are huia feathers in her hair. As you probably saw from previous posts I was wondering if to use them or not as the bird has become extinct from 1907 and the feathers are hardly used. I decided to use them as it felt in keeping with Sabine's role but also because...well...screw it immortal Sabine. The lore implications.

She wears several pieces of pounamu jewellery (green stone/jade). Her earrings are done in the shape of the hei matau (hook) and is both to reconnect one to the ocean and bring strength, prosperity and protection on one's travels. Her pendent is a porohita (disc) and symbolises the circle of life.

Last but not least there's the moko kauae. Overall, this has been a really fun challenge and since I live in Oceania, Māori!Sabine has been rattling around in my noggin'. Shout out to my SSO club for helping me spit ball designs and also to the Star Stable Discord server for putting up me spamming and asking for critique.

[balthazarslostlibrary]

We’re having a hāngī to celebrate Matariki tomorrow and I’m thinking of silly things that could happen.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Eleanor staring at Matt at 4.57 am

the WHEEZE I let out oh my god.

[dungeonofthedragon]

Tipua: the wrath of Ngārara...

...has just hours to go and is around $1000 NZ/$600 USD from its funding goal!

Support indigenous TTRPG design and get access to a cool spin on the Fate system in the process. The game and its setting are steeped in tikanga and te ao Māori: Tipua is set on the distant planet of Karito—a vast, labyrinthine world where tangled rivers wind through swampy wetlands, shadowy forests, ancient pā (fortification sites), and the mysterious portals known as Ngā Pūmotomoto. For those of you who have experienced the wonders of Aotearoa and Te Wai Pounamu, you will see some obvious similarities.

It's so affordable too. $20 NZ (about 12 USD) nabs you the digital rulebook and printable custom Fate tokens, as well as a social media shout out and access to the backers discord.

If nothing else: please have a read of the Kickstarter and share this post around! Not long to go and it would amazing if this awesome Māori-led team could reach their funding goal.

[takataapui]

I always say that pounamu comes and goes into your life when it needs to. I had this small piece of pounamu I used as a fidget for over a year, and a while ago I lost it. I knew it was in my room and turned it upside down to find it but it never showed up.

Well, what do you know, I just found it, the night before one of the biggest protests for Māori rights in the history of this country.

My tūpuna brought it back to me bc I need it right now, I am surrounded by community, I am surrounded by aroha, I will make this world safe for my people by force if I have to.

I was made to endure.

Ka whawhai tonu mātou. Ake ake ake. We will fight on. Forever, forever, forever. As long as it takes.

[snw-faatuatua]

🤎💜

The babies!!! Instead of wedding rings they opted to forge pounamu earrings that matched each other’s eyes~

I love them sm y’all don’t know

Quality got butchered bc I screen recorded the reel since it wont let me save with the audio

I also just remembered Amara is taller than Hunter so now their pose together looks silly LOL