#that ideally these would all be traditionally animated

[emeraldspiral]

Top 5 Live Action Movies That Should be Remade as Animated Musicals

The Phantom of the Opera - Already a musical with a banging soundtrack. I love the 2005 live action version already, but animation would allow for more trippy fantastical visuals that blur the line between the Phantom's supernatural presence and smoke and mirror illusions. Alternatively, instead of an adaptation of the ALW musical, it could be a reimagining like Phantom of the Paradise that changes the time period and setting but keeps some of the basic plot points and uses original music.

Legend - Already had amazing visuals in live action, but some of the effects do look dated and the characters were pretty weak, so adding musical numbers could help with expressing more of the characters' personalities, what their feelings and wants are, and what flaws they're supposed to be overcoming or how they're supposed to be growing and maturing over the course of the story.

Wicked - I haven't actually seen the broadway show or the live action film, but wouldn't we all rather have an animated adaptation instead of a live action CGIfest?

The Snow Queen - I like Frozen, but it has about as much to do with the original story that inspired it as The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Which is to say; pretty much the only thing they have in common is having a queen with the power to create snow. There are both live action adaptations and animated adaptations that follow the original plot more faithfully, but no big budget animated musicals as far as I'm aware.

Dracula - Only Bram Stoker's Dracula and like one BBC miniseries are known to actually follow the plot of the novel somewhat faithfully and I don't know of any animated versions of the story, let alone animated musicals. And I think we could always use more dark, gothic musicals, especially in animation. When's the last time we had anything in the vein of Nighmare before Christmas or Corpse Bride? Alternatively, animated musical version of Renfield. Already an excellent movie with great visuals, but I don't see how it couldn't be improved with musical numbers and lavish animation.

[azure-cherie]

PAC : which type of seducer are you

•1~9•

This is based on " The art of seduction" by Robert Greene

With your intuition choose a picture of Adriana Lima , you can choose multiple as well . This is based solely on my intuition however you must observe yourself more for greater accuracy . This is for entertainment purposes.

Pile 1 :

The star

The Star is almost (or completely is) of celebrity status. They, like the Natural, poses the powers of the uncanny -- specifically mixing reality and myth. The star is a dream come true. Physically present, but almost legendary and mythic in essence. They are almost too dream-like to picture in front of us. We imagine them too far out of our league, and that is what makes them so attractive.

Pile 2 :

The Dandy

The Dandy is the Siren or the Rake of the same sex. They attract the traditionally-male with psychologically masculine traits, and they attract the traditionally-female with psychologically feminine traits. They tear down the labels that society has put on sexuality and they play in all spaces. We're attracted to Dandies for their ambiguous and obscure personas, and their freedom to break prejudice sexual behavioural roles.

Pile 3 :

The Rake

The Rake is characterized as the masculine Siren. Playing on society's roles that a female character must abide by, the Rake brings out the oppressed behaviours of a traditionally-femine figure. They bring out the excited feminine in us. Again, male, female, or neutral, we're attracted to Rakes when we've been too confined and comfortable - too restrained - too neutral and unenergized in our day-to-day lives.

Pile 4 :

The natural

The Natural is a reflection of those golden years of comfort and innocent affection - childhood. They portray what both Kubrick and Freud would describe as 'uncanny'. Familiar yet strange. The Natural brings into their persona a sense of youthfulness in an adult body, drawing those that long for the times of no responsibilities, harmlessness, and naive spontaneity.

Pile 5:

The coquette

The Coquette is hot and cold. They touch and go. They attract you with hopeful words or sensual maneuvers and then step back and distance themselves from you. They entice you and frustrate you at the same time, and we're attracted to this because of our human nature to want what we can't have.

Pile 6:

The siren

The Siren is of highly charged traditionally-feminine energy and tends to attract those of a completely opposite, traditionally-masculine energy. Whether or not you identify as male, female or neither, you'll tend to be attracted to a Siren when you show characters on the extremes of traditionally-male behaviour.

Pile 7 :

The charismatic

The Charismatic is the excitement in the room. They exude confidence and energy in all the right places. They are mesmerizing and we're attracted to them because of their sincere obsessions and opinions and actions. They glow a sense of charisma with their animated gestures and fiery persuasive voice. And if they fit our values, they're just a good time to be around.

Pile 8 :

The ideal lover

The Ideal Lover comes to us from our childhood dreams, or rather our lost dreams. They are the ones that bring a hopeless fantasy to life with their ability to mirror the ideals we once had as innocent happy-go-lucky children, but have lost to grey world. They are highly astute at understanding our deepest desires and definitions of affection and bring them to fruition.

Pile 9 :

The charmer

The Charmer has almost a devilish smile you're willing to swoon over. The word "charm" comes from the Latin "carmen" -- a song or a chant that is synonymous with a magic spell. To charm is to literally cast a spell on another. The way that they do this, and the reasons we fall for them, is because they understand 3 fundamental laws of human nature: The law of narcissism, the law of defensiveness, and the law of grandiosity. It's our egos that they stroke, our vanity emotional walls that they align with, and our self-esteem that they praise.

Definitions from the website:

https://aarondanielfilms.com/blog/the-9-archetypal-lovers-you-are-attracted-to

Thank you, hope you resonate 💕

Have a great day/night ahead 😘

[lagoonalake]

SEVENTEEN IDEAL TYPE PART 1

Part 2 here

SCOUPS

Personality: justice, 8 of swords, the devil

Someone balanced, with a strong sense of justice, who gives as much as they receive, strong morals, quite rational, a bit intimidating, but actually a bit shy too, hiding behind a cold mask, he likes to see the vulnerabilities in his partner. He is attracted to someone who has a bit of a dark sexual magnetism, could be attracted to manipulators or people who know how to use their words, people who are a bit clingy. saturn, libra, scorpio

Appearance: 8 of swords, 10 of wands, 3 of swords

Someone who isn’t aware of their beauty, someone who doesn’t show too much, leave things to the imagination, people who have a certain intensity or troubled look to them, melancholic look. Long black silky hair. Pale skin. Big eyes. Could like a touch of gothic. Sharper features.  scorpio, capricorn, saturn

Turn offs: 4 of cups, 9 of cups

Laziness, people who always look bored, people who play the victim, overly emotional or sulky people, people who seem too easygoing (he prefers someone who is hard to get, not too easy to approach), people who seem like they have everything they need lol pisces, cancer, jupiter

JEONGHAN

Personality: 3 of cups, the hermit, two of pentacles

Someone very simple, not in the spotlight, not a celebrity, someone who is very friendly, that he clicks well with and is comfortable with, he wants to be friends with his partner as well as lovers, someone kind and easygoing, who can be social but the rest of the time would enjoy a quiet rather remote lifestyle in the countryside with him, someone who isn’t easily influenced by others, someone close to nature and possibly into spirituality or just not too materialistic virgo, taurus, cancer, libra

Appearance: 3 of cups, death, the hermit

He isn’t too concerned about looks, the emotional bond and friendship is more important to him, but he likes someone with a friendly charm, and who is rather humble in the way they present themselves, it doesn’t mean they should be dressed too simply, but rather he enjoys someone who looks like they are comfortable in their own skin and don’t feel the need to impress. The person should have a certain intensity to their looks that would pull him in though. Could prefer a dark aesthetic (dark hair, clothes, eyes…) scorpio/pluto, virgo

Turn offs: 4 of wands, the sun, the emperor

Loud people, party people, attention seekers, people with overblown egos, domineering people who want to control everything and everyone around them, “me me me” types. leo, aries, fire signs in general

JOSHUA

Personality: page of cups, the empress, ace of wands

Someone sensitive, possibly a bit of a damsel in distress, he wants to feel needed and useful, a beauty (looks are important to him) or someone who is feminine, fertile, probably younger than him, a good mother material, someone a bit impulsive and who is rather spontaneous, artistic and creative, he wants to be the strong rational providing capricorn to a soft, lively, youthful, emotive partner venus, gemini, cancer, aries

Appearance: 5 of swords, 7 of coins, 4 of wands

Someone traditionally beautiful, that most people would consider the whole package or marriage material, someone with animated features, expressive face, warm, beautiful smile and smiley eyes, smaller than him, petite, cute, small features, someone who looks like him a lot, with similar features or vibe than he has, bright or light colors, pink, white, yellow… gemini, aries, virgo, sun, mercury

Turn offs: strength, page of swords, 5 of coins

Someone disheveled, unkempt, someone too serious, always in control, someone a bit mean looking, mean with their words, blunt, always on the defensive, overly competitive, domineering or always creating some kind of power dynamic in their relationships, someone untrustworthy, always in movement, unstable and who changes their mind all the time, liars or manipulators, people who are after his money mars, leo, aquarius, sagittarius, negative aries and gemini

JUN

Personality: 3 of cups, knight of pentacles, the lovers

Someone friendly, like Jeonghan he wants to get along with this person and the emotional bond is important, someone grounded and stable, someone who takes their time, reliable, sensual, humble, a reassuring presence. Someone playful and creative he can share activities with, someone fun who enjoys having a good time, not too complicated. A good decision maker, someone who thinks before acting. Someone relationship oriented and romantic. taurus, virgo, libra, venus

Appearance: 3 of cups, 10 of pentacles, 6 of cups

Like Jeonghan, when it comes to looks he doesn't really have a specific type. Although he wants to find his person charming and beautiful, it’s more about the emotional bond and feeling safe with them. He likes someone with a friendly face, earthy energy, grounded, kinda slow calm energy, more of a natural beauty, who looks kind. earth signs, pisces

Turn offs: 3 of swords, 9 of wands, 5 of swords

Someone always looking for a fight, always on the defensive, petty, blunt, aggressive, someone who would betray him or his trust, dishonesty, hypocrisy, domineering people, people who think they are always right and don’t listen to others, people who think highly of themselves, pretentious people, arrogance, bullies, narcissists, eternally unsatisfied people, overly complicated people negative leo, aquarius, aries

HOSHI

Personality: judgement, temperance, the star

Someone who makes a big impression on him, someone who has a lot of charisma, mature, probably older than him, someone who has this contagious inspiring energy on others, a guide, a mentor, someone who can remain still and calm even in crisis, like a wise master, optimistic no matter what, someone very independent, spiritual, who is well traveled and has a lot of knowledge to share. Teacher/student relationship where he is the student. sagittarius, aquarius, pluto

Appearance: king of cups, 5 of wands, ace of coins

Someone with depth in their eyes, who looks mature, wise, who looks fierce (fierce eyes), masculine energy, short hair, muscular, more of a simple fashion, street style, minimalistic scorpio, aries

Turn offs: 4 of cups, the tower, page of wands 

People without goals, indolent, lazy people, people who don’t care about anything, people who are chaotic and destructive, people who are too aggressive, negative, immature people who have no stability, are all over the place, he wants someone who can ground him and guide him with optimism, overly goofy people, he doesn't want to be with someone too similar to him either. pisces, neptune, gemini, uranus

WONWOO

Personality: the hierophant, 8 of coins, 8 of wands

Someone traditional, hard working, ambitious, aiming high, fast and efficient, very rational, logical, intelligent, stubborn, rather cold energy, very honest, could be blunt, what you see is what you get type of person, could have a rather black and white vision of life, confident, organized, good with money, business, materialistic, long term planner taurus, capricorn, aries, gemini

Appearance: 6 of swords, the emperor, the hermit

Someone who looks confident, proud, masculine, but still simple in their style, not overly decorated style, more business style, rather introvert looking but still imposing, can be attracted to resting bitch face, cold aura, someone who has a certain stillness, mature, could prefer people who are older than him, who look respectable, could have a position of authority capricorn, saturn, leo, aries

Turn offs: high priestess, page of cups, knight of wands

Overly mysterious people, “spiritual” people lol, tarot readers and astrologers XD, people who are overly romantic or dreamers, people who are disconnected from reality, cute types, overly impulsive and adventurous people (he prefers that stability), loud people, physically he doesn’t really like anything a bit too hippie or vulgar (not that the two are the same XD), dirty people pisces, cancer, neptune, sagittarius

WOOZI 

Personality: knight of wands, justice, death

Adventurous, a bit wild, optimistic a bit cocky, fiesty, happy, joyful, the life of the party, bold, confident, funny, a humanitarian with a strong sense of justice, honest, truthful, someone who makes an excellent friend but you don’t want them as your enemy, someone intense and passionate, deep, who wants to experience life to the fullest, both the good and the bad, independent, who has a lot to say, strong opinions, doesn’t care about what people think of them, unconventional, interested in other cultures, open minded, but stubborn aquarius, sagittarius, scorpio, jupiter, pluto

Appearance: the star, 3 of swords, ace of swords, 6 of wands

Confidence, a star quality, inspiring, someone who looks like they went though a lot and has depth but who keeps a happy face, long hair, all type of skin color, hair color, likes a more colorful fashion, warm, bright colors like red, orange, yellow, tattoos, someone who looks different, a nice balance of feminine and masculine all fire signs, aquarius, scorpio

Turn offs: queen of swords, wheel of fortune, 3 of swords

Coldness, depressed, negative people, people who lives everything to chance and don’t take charge of their lives, tricksters, manipulators, untrustworthy people, people who don’t open up easily, hard to reach people, hard to please people with impossibly high standards, high maintenance, snobbish people. saturn, pisces, cancer, virgo

[animehouse-moe]

'Tis Time For Torture, Princess Episode 1: You Need To Be Watching This

Do you like food? Do you like shenanigans and humor? What about great animation and direction? I'm sure most would say "that sounds like Delicious In Dungeon", and you wouldn't be that wrong. However, and this is a potentially really hot take, I think that the first episode of 'Tis Time For Torture, Princess is considerably better than Delicious In Dungeon's, and I'll explain why.

Let's lay some groundwork though. The staff on this series is surprisingly fresh. The lead director, Youko Kanamori, is a first timer in the position. Similarly, Hasegawa Mami is also brand new to being the director of photography for an entire series. There's also staff like Narumi Konno who are somewhat fresh in terms of their experience with color design. Then there's the 4 character designers and 2 cuisine designers, plus the rest of what you'd expect.

There's a lot of new talent on this series, and they're hungry to prove themselves. I really really love seeing new staff members, especially women (because of the nature of the industry), get a shot at big roles like this. And I mean, they're proving why they should be here.

Narumi's color design is very striking and full, always finding the right balance for each scene.

You'll get traditionally colored (yet still satisfying) scenes like this, but then you'll get a wonderfully novel approach to coloring in a dank and dark prison.

I love the coloring on the floor, it reminds of what oil spills end up looking like, and that idea of it being "dirty" and the ground and walls being covered in that layer of grime adds a lot of fun color to the episode.

Narumi just has a lot of range, though their second ever series being The Vampire Dies In No Time certainly helps with that. However, it's a pretty clear difference in color design between the two. Where The Vampire Dies In No Time leans heavily into its fantasy and simplicity, 'Tis Time For Torture, Princess makes a case for a more believable fantasy style- idealized, even. It's far less noisy of a color palette, but it has such intense range. I really really love it.

I also really really love Hasegawa's composition. The vast majority of the time you don't really notice it there, but when the humor or situation calls for it, Hasegawa breaks out some incredible composition work which wonderfully highlight the characters involved.

Also, they choose a slightly different style for the color shifts in their images. You can't really tell in the above so here's some better examples.

Rather than the more typical Magenta-Green shift you tend to see, Hasegawa opted for the less common/likely Blue-Red shift for their chromatic aberration. Of course, you can still pick out some greens and magentas in the more glaring aberrations, but it just shows Hasegawa's attention to detail, which I really love.

I mean, they're pulling out composition work that looks like it came from a high budget Gacha Game trailer.

And the praise doesn't stop there, just look at the food. Makes complete sense why they'd have cuisine designers on board, this food looks irresistibly delicious.

And then there's the incredible character acting.

I think it's arguably the most interesting aspect of the episode, truthfully. Largely because there's a total of 4 character designers (two main and two sub) in charge of the designs, and there was a total of 8 animation directors on the episode (1 chief, 7 regular, 1 food). Of course, 3 of those animation directors comprise half of the character and cuisine designers.

And that's interesting for two reasons. It's likely that the designers are rotating episodes. That is, 3 on episode one and then the other 3 on the next episode. And secondly, 7 animation directors is a surprising amount considering how "inconsistent" the Princess' model is (just look at all the different images in this one post). However, I strongly believe that it's 100% intentional. The designs look too good to be the product of simple off model issues, and their appearances too well timed with the events of the episode.

So we arrive at the conclusion that the animation direction and designers for this show are pulling some seriously cool stuff.

Finally, we can do storyboards. Gosh, it took long enough haha. I'll make it quick, Kanamori really prefers the super close ups to mask facial expressions and leave a lot of interpretation up to the viewer, and that sort of close up work pairs effortlessly with the obsessive focus on food.

But that's hardly the half of it. Kanamori also loves strong perspective in her layouts, and she makes that very evident when playing into the humor or intensity of a moment.

That of course also means that she imparts a fair amount of first person perspective to the episode as well. It's really amazing, Kanamori, much like many of the other high level staff members, is perfectly aware at how fluid Torture Princess is, and she expresses that wonderfully with all the different ideas employed with her boards.

And just one last little piece. The big troll/monster fight at the start? It absolutely lives and breaths Kanamori's experience in storyboarding for Ousama Ranking. You feel their incredible awareness of scale and size and it creates the feeling of a monster of unbelievable size that the Kingdom is forced to fight against.

Anyways, this is all to say that 'Tis Time For Torture, Princess has an all around incredible first episode that promises viewers that the series desperately wants to be one of the best of the season. And I wholeheartedly believe that.

[titekuboisgross]

My theory on why IR didn’t happen…

I used to be an active IchiRuki fan. I no longer am. I did have a dream about tumblr the other day tho and when I was on here that’s 90% of what I posted about. After the manga ended I ended up deleting my account. I was not only done with Bleach but anime in general. I have not watched or read Bleach since it ended. Which is nearly a decade. So my arguments won’t be as solid as they used to be when I could literally recite that series like a souther Baptist preacher can recite the Bible lol. But while I’m here (as I just made a temporary account to look at things for nostalgia’s sake) I have decided I want to post my ultimate theory as why IchiRuki didn’t happen.

So, first and foremost I want to mention I am not liberal, why do I mention my politics? Because I am about to say some things that I’m sure I’ll get attacked for by people claiming I’m just a crazy liberal. But I am actually a moderate that leans conservative, a rare thing for tumblr I know. I don’t make accusations of sexism lightly. I don’t just willy nilly call people sexist because I don’t like them. But I do think some people are sexist. Sexism is real and it’s a prevalent problem in Japan. And I think Kubo may be a misogynist.

And before you start rage typing at your keyboards please hear me out. This isn’t my theory, it’s actually my brothers who is even more on the conservative spectrum than I am. He REALLY doesn’t make claims like this lightly, but I really think he’s onto something. He said basically he believes if Kubo is telling the truth that he never intended on IchiRuki and always planned Ichihime that it’s likely because he’s sexist. Rukia is Ichigos equal, she’s smart, strong, and she stands up to Ichigo and tells him off when he needs to be told off. Orihime is I’m sorry Orihime fans, but she’s dumb, ditsy, airheaded, and most importantly submissive.

In Japan traditionally submissive women were looked upon as ideal. Obviously I know that things have changed with modern times and it’s gotten a lot better. But echos of Japans former sexist past still is present within their modern society. As are echos of our former sexist past. As a student of anthropology I can tell you women are just f**ked in most societies. While the “tiger mom” stereotype is very real do not let that fool you. The ideal TRADITIONAL wife in Japan is still very much one who is submissive to her husband. This is why Rukia could never be Ichigos lover. She was not submissive enough.

Anyway, this is my brothers theory and I think he may be onto something. I used to think, we ALL used to think Kubo was foreshadowing IchiRuki, but maybe he wasn’t? Maybe he really is just that much of a talentless hack. I mean was any of Bleach even any good besides the first two arcs? After the Soul Society arc that entire franchise became a shitshow. And IchiRuki wasn’t the only thing he foreshadowed that never amounted to anything. See this is what I mean where my arguments won’t be as strong because I haven’t read the series in years, but I know y’all know what I mean. There’s a tone of shit in Bleach that he introduced that never got brought up again. So much lore that was never developed and in the rare cases when it was it never made any sense. So maybe he is just talentless.

I used to think he intentionally gave Bleach a shit ending because he was fired. If you remember Naruto ended a year prior and Shonen Jump used the popular Naruto pairings kids to make a sequel series to milk the franchise. I always wondered if Kubo knew no one gave a shit about IchiHime and that it would be impossible to make a sequel with IchiHime kids. So he sacrificed his series so his enemies couldn’t prosper off it. That’s what I used to think he did. But I’ve since changed my mind. I was giving that man FAR too much credit. I don’t think he’s that clever to think to do that. I think he’s kinda stupid tbh. Sorry but I do. Anyway. This is all I’m posting. I again just made this account because I wanted to say hi to an old mutual I was shocked to see was still around. You can reply but I’m not gonna debate y’all like I used to. I’m over that shit now. My opinion stands and you can’t change it. Like it or hate it it’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it. If you’ve gotten this far and read all my post I hope you have a lovely day!

Edit: I forgot to add that before you say “well Kubo can’t be sexist because he creates strong female characters” THINK AGAIN! I love Quintin Tarantino but the man has said very misogynistic things in the past including that he thought a minor girl could consent. And he literally created the most badass female characters of all time. Some of my favorite female characters. Beatrix Kiddo and O-Ren-Ishi. Yes men who create strong female characters can be sexist. Never underestimate a man’s ability to demean a woman smfh

Anyway I am serious this is just a throwaway account I made so this is my only post so it’s also my goodbye post so,

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

western women get a lot of flak for being too independent or "masculine" but it always makes me think of spartan women. i think about that quote: "why are spartan women the only women who rule their men" and queen gorgo says it's because "spartan women are the only women who give birth to real men." i think plutarch also mentions that spartan men were always obedient to their wives.

or as socrates put it (quoted by xenophon): "It is the example of the rider who wishes to become an expert horseman: 'None of your soft-mouthed, docile animals for me,' he says; 'the horse for me to own must show some spirit' in the belief, no doubt, if he can manage such an animal, it will be easy enough to deal with every other horse besides. And that is just my case. I wish to deal with human beings, to associate with man in general; hence my choice of wife. I know full well, if I can tolerate her spirit, I can with ease attach myself to every human being else."

and i think there's a lot of truth to this. i think cultures with spirited, independent women are made stronger by it, for a number of reasons. and i think it actually plays a major role in western civilization's success. a strong-willed man and a strong-willed woman working together in union is an incredibly strong foundation for a family and a civilization.

and i don't want to give the impression that the west was ever some kind of gender-egalitarian utopia. but i do think a significant degree of respect for women is a common feature in western civilization (and i'd say broader indo-european culture too). at least compared to other civilizations. and especially in the prechristian and, now, the postchristian eras (though i'd say it even bleeds through in the christian era in some ways too). i mean there's a reason why feminism first blossomed in the west and not elsewhere.

but yeah, this desire for some docile, obedient slave-wife seems to be very contrary to the spirit of western civilization. i mean, it seemed like the default view of women in prechristian europe, for better or worse, was that women were these wild, powerful, passionate, promiscuous creatures who needed to be tamed. and yes, women were expected to be loyal and amenable/agreeable to their husbands but this is hardly unreasonable and is a far cry from the obedient slave-wife some people propose as an ideal (namely traditional christians and muslims and the like).

"women should be banned from doing manual labor" -- traditionally, women did all sorts of manual labor. medieval peasant women would be working in the fields just like the men. and even if they weren't working a field there would be plenty of other physically taxing jobs they'd be doing. not saying that women should be encouraged to do extremely dangerous or physically taxing jobs, but if they're able to more power to them. and i kinda detest this desire to portray women as frail and incapable. they are the weaker sex but they're not weak. let's not infantilize them.

also, western women generally marry out of love and commitment and view themselves (rightfully) as partners in union with their husbands. whereas these types of women (the woman who made this post) believe women's sole purpose is to be obedient little decorations who do nothing but sit around and look pretty (and maybe have babies if she's very traditional -- but often you won't even get that!) while the man just gives her money. it's transactional and superficial. there's no real love or partnership. it's not a good foundation for a family or a civilization.

anyway, belated happy women's day.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

My world's main agriculture is farming but I'm wondering if that's truly viable in terrain that's not ideal for growing stuff. Though I am certainly having the world be advanced enough to have greenhouses and so on but nothing too fancy other than some rudimentary GMO. With greenhouses, I assume the majority of land could possibly be used - including desert/polar regions. Just as long as they can transport all their needed supplies.

Ebonwing: If so much of your terrain is unsuited to farming that they’d have to build greenhouses everywhere, why would the main agriculture be farming? In areas where farming crops isn’t feasible, people have traditionally found other ways of feeding themselves, often by having animal herds and maintaining diets based on meat and dairy.

Tex: Arable land depends on soil fertility. While it’s true that this is climate-dependent, there are, for example, plants that grow in both the Arctic and the desert. There is currently an interest in some farmers adopting no-till farming due to more research being conducted on soil microbiology (Nature portfolio).

Successful agriculture is heavily dependent upon the health of the soil and the greater biome. Greenhouses are a popular concept for alleviated perceived issues with the production of crops, but also have issues with decreased microbial diversity, something that plants need in order to be healthy (Legein et al.). Accordingly, this microbial diversity has a perceptible impact on human health (PDF Samiran &  van der Heijden).

Genetic engineering is a new field and has only recently been involved in agriculture, with selective breeding of animals and plants the predominant method of cultivating desired characteristics the typical preference of farmers, when they have not opted for domestication.

What are your world’s main goals for agricultural production? How many people are they feeding, how many animals are they feeding, and what is the general density of these populations? What does an ideal diet look like? Is the food mostly equivalent in quality and accessibility across all social strata, or are there visible disparities? What are their major obstacles in reaching these goals? Agriculture does have a side effect on the environment, particularly with the use of tilling and chemical applications - the natural biome is altered, and sometimes permanently. When over-used and improperly maintained, it can create inhospitable environments (Wikipedia).

Further Reading

Lee, Sang-Moo, et al. "Disruption of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria abundance in tomato rhizosphere causes the incidence of bacterial wilt disease." The ISME journal 15.1 (2021): 330-347.

PDF Chen, Tao, et al. "A plant genetic network for preventing dysbiosis in the phyllosphere." Nature 580.7805 (2020): 653-657.

PDF Gu, Shaohua, et al. "Competition for iron drives phytopathogen control by natural rhizosphere microbiomes." Nature Microbiology 5.8 (2020): 1002-1010.

PDF Wolinska, Katarzyna W., et al. "Tryptophan metabolism and bacterial commensals prevent fungal dysbiosis in Arabidopsis roots." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118.49 (2021): e2111521118.

PDF Wei, Zhong, et al. "Initial soil microbiome composition and functioning predetermine future plant health." Science advances 5.9 (2019): eaaw0759.

Licorice: “Agriculture” derives from the Latin for “cultivation of fields”; “ager” is a field, and an ”agricola” is a farmer. So agriculture = farming. Agriculture is defined as “the practice or work of farming” by the Cambridge Online Dictionary; other dictionaries give a similar definition. 

The first time I read your query, I thought you meant your world was one where little or none of the terrain was suitable for growing stuff. However, on a second reading, it seems your question is more along the lines of “how do the inhabitants of marginal land produce their food”? If that’s the case, then it sounds to me as if your world is a lot like Earth. 

Human beings have settled in just about every environment on earth, adapting their lifestyles and diets to the local conditions. Some regions of earth have traditionally produced an abundance of food and been well suited to farming; others have not, and in those cases the indigenous people have generally relied on hunting and gathering for their food. Some places, like the Welsh Hills or the slopes of the Alps, are more suited to animal husbandry than to the cultivation of crops. And, of course, there was a time when the different regions and human societies of Earth each had their own unique food crops. 

There’s been a lot of interest in greenhouse farming in the Arctic, but as far as I know it remains small-scale and somewhat experimental. That could change.

https://www.arcticwwf.org/the-circle/stories/bringing-leafy-greens-to-northern-sweden/

And of course the inhabitants of your world will be trading with each other. Regions that produce a lot of fish will salt it and trade it with regions that produce a lot of wine or spices. Tea can be exchanged for gold. Maybe potatoes are abundant but wheat is a luxury? And so on; it’s up to you to decide what your world’s most precious food commodities are.. 

[heartslobbf]

Hm.

Nanami and Juri are girl princes. Maybe Kozoue too... Shiroi maybe?

Saionji and Miki are boy princesses.

more complicated than this imho but thats just because im weird and transsexual. i have rambled underneath about my feelings about boy-princess- and girl-prince-isms, and the general bullshit of ohtori’s rigid categorisation because it’s something that compels me to no end.

juri is a girl prince but everyone forgets that she's a girl until she actually tries to act like a boy, and then they punish her for it. nanami is like a calf-shaped prince. ive said this before, but it's genuinely how i feel. she's not a girl, she's a farm animal (to ohtori; and admittedly, there isn't much difference in ohtori, but it's explicitly said about nanami when it isnt for other girls).

now. ive never really got the 'miki is a boy princess' thing because like.... sure miki is a 13 year old androgynous little boy with short hair and he doesnt exactly ooze masculinity in everyones eyes but um. two things. one is that he actually commands more respect than saionji as a male and therefore princely figure (saionji isnt princely whatsoever and never tries to be bc his ideas about masculinity are in contradiction with akio's all-american bullshit) and the other is that he is, hilariously in my opinion, the only character other than akio shown to drive the car in the series. like, it's a dream sequence/projector illusion (?) but the fact that we see miki in the driver's seat, hands on the wheel, is kind of a huge deal for the show where they loveeeeeee to refuse to show you stuff that destabilises ohtori's artifice. miki has a very conventional and straightforward desire to be a prince to anthy (you know, if you ignore everything with kozue; but arguably his displacement and warping of his feelings in that way is typically ohtori) and he could totally pull that off imho. he's just a little too young for the moment, and unwilling to manipulate and coerce others like, say, touga is. this isn't to say there's no gender fuckery going on with miki because there 100% is, as there is with all rgu characters, i just wouldnt describe him as a boy princess.

anyway <3 kozue deffo has princely qualities but i would probably box hers in with anthy's. they are both princes repackaged as witches because their genders destabilise the ideal of the prince and its artifice. this is something that happens to all of ohtori's little sisters, because they demonstrate utmostly princeliness towards their brothers, but nanami gets special calf-shaped prince privileges because i have kiryuu sibling brain worms. anthy and kozue are very conscious of their witchification as they are conscious of their sexuality, and how that impacts their relationships with their brothers. nanami is not.

shiori is also an interesting case because she and ruka are. well. theyre just fucking bonkers arent they. everything they say about each other is also equally applicable to themselves. i think that out of our three roles (prince, princess, witch/rose bride), some combination of witch and princess seems most fitting? like shiori is 100% a witch, and ruka was the perfect prince until he got sock-puppeted by akio in such a way that. well ruka's complicated and frankly i dont have time to get into it right now (know, however, that i hate his reanimated guts). shiori wants to be a princess and she wants to be pursued hopelessly but in having that desire, she is a witch. there is perhaps a perverse princeliness to her desire, but id argue that that's just what being a witch is. slayyyyyyy

now in regards to saionji. he's a boy princess but also it's complicated. saionji doesnt want to be a prince and saionji doesnt have any interest in princehood because, fundamentally, he doesnt care for it. princehood is built upon these americanised ideals and aesthetics that dont resonate with his very traditionally japanese understanding and performance of masculinity, and he just feels kind of disillusioned and defensive and all-around miserable that he's being 'left behind' in this 'old world' without any fucking chevys in it. like he doesnt want a chevy but everyone else has massive hardons for chevys and all his male peers think thats the only way to attain true masculinity and it makes him sooooooo mad, and frankly, even though he's a misogynist freak, i get that. maybe i am just an american car hater, who knows.

anyway saionji's inclination to the princess role (it's a bit more of a bride role than a princess role, but these distinctions are muddy; i'd argue a princess is entirely passive, but a bride actively wills the outcome of a duel) is deeply sad to me because it's just like this guy has absolutely no idea what the hell he's supposed to do to have a place in this world, attain specialness, command respect and attention. like he was repeatedly mocked for and excluded from attempting masculinity and he certainly cant be a princess (wow isnt this an interesting idea i wonder if it relates to the transfem reading haha what) and he doesnt feel any inclination towards either gender presentation particularly. he likes woodcarving and cooking, is artistic and earnest and expressive, but he's also a devoted kendoka whose sense of masculinity is closely tied to that practice. his gender is, by ohtori's rules, desperately confused and inconclusive. thus he forms part of the trifecta that is himself, utena and nanami, or as i like to call them: transgender freaks and cowgirl. good lord have they slipped through the cracks of this evil bastard system and attempted to fit all the same, understanding absolutely nothing about the impossible spaces they try to fill.

anyway whatevs. now im gonna talk about anthy and touga because my blog is the anthytouga show in my mind despite rarely talking about them and mainly just reblogging deranged art (affectionate) of them. anthy and touga are bonkers to me because they ARE the norm, but also no they arent. and that's the whole thing. like they embody the ideal so perfectly (prince and princess respectively), but anthy's also a witch, and the rose bride, and touga isn't really a prince. theyre unable to join as a prince and princess should, unable to be virtuous and perfect due to their knowledge and awareness. like, theyre both aware of the artifice of their existences and performances, but neither of them can really artiulate that awareness because doing so would jepoardise the positions theyre currently in. for touga, that's a very valuable one that has him close to 'escaping' (read: getting the key to the birdcage and holding it over everyone else's heads). for anthy, it's also valuable but not for herself, not really. it's valuable because it's a position from which she can help akio, and akio needs her, and she is indebted to akio and obliged to sacrifice herself eternally for him. etc etc etc. god i hate this man. you get what im saying with this. it’s about the precarious position that you are placed in as a victim, the power dynamics of it all. you have the knowledge that could crack the world’s shell easily, but you have been caught in such a way that you believe sharing it would kill you (again). it wouldn’t be worth anything. all it does is highlight how disgusting and awful you really are, and you can’t let anyone know that (the objective truth) because then they will stop loving the idealised you you’ve been performing and see the real you (evil and monstrous). ohhhhh what’s that Judith herman quote about being filled with black slime that pours out of your mouth when you open it. anthytouga hours (i am inconsolable rn)

sorry about this rant! i simply have too much to say about this goddamn show and merely wish to discourage people from 'girl prince' and 'boy princess'-ing characters into boxes. you know, utena's whole girl prince thing is actively critiqued by the show because there's nothing revolutionary about assimilation. every character in this show's cast is androgynous and it's up to us to determine what we think those unique expressions of androgyny mean. there are certainly girl prince-isms and boy princess-isms to characters, some more so than others, but you know. the ambiguity and freedom of the transsexual or whatever

[rikastrology]

uttara ashada + whiplash (2014)

spoiler warning!

nakshatras as movies i love

Uttara Ashada's greatest blessing and pitfall is their genuine belief in the power of determination. Being Solar in nature, young Uttara Ashadas often experience triumphs and losses relating to their personality, ego, or innate talents. This movie is an excellent example of two Uttara Ashadas in a toxic teacher-student dynamic. Being so future-oriented, UA individuals are often so preoccupied with what can be to grasp what's happening right under their noses.

Their name, "later victory", harkens mountains from molehills, glittering urban superstructures, or the long reign of a wise king. UA's Shakti Apradhrisya (to gain unchallenged success) removes many obstacles from their path, which leads to many Uttara Ashadas experiencing strange and unexpected strokes of luck while advancing their goals. Nevertheless, the issue UA natives possess has nothing to do with karma, but the consequences of their own actions.

Traditionally, each nakshatra is assigned either a male or a female animal symbolically (e.g. ashwini = male horse and shatabishak = female horse). However, Uttara Aashada's male mongoose has no female counterpart. This symbolism lends a "lone wolf" energy to these natives, who tend to either remain happily unmarried or prioritize their romantic relationships second after other aspects of their lives (most of the time being their careers). A good example of this would be a talented and well-known surgeon that saves countless families but neglects their own. Additionally, UA individuals (especially those with Uttara Aashada in their Moon, Mars, Venus, or 7H) tend to have bad luck with their romantic and even business partners.

Unlike the thematically similar Vishaka wrestling with the fruits of their obsessions, UA's work hard not to dissociate their darkness with their virtue, but to build a sturdy foundation, a legacy. They tend to be long-term planners, unlike Vishakas who tend to be more focused on their next laurel. Unless they possess a very benefic moon, UA's tend to lack a natural sense of empathy, often valuing abstract ideals and values above all. This makes many Vishakas great humanitarians, speech writers, lawyers, and politicians (when also gifted with mercurial placements), but it also means that they struggle with staying grounded.

[vvyvernicus]

Borderbound: Anya's Escape to Ostania

This is a short fic showcasing the aftermath following Anya's escape from the lab. It includes an original character, another one of the test subjects. Enjoy!

On a mid autumn night, there had been a breach in one of Westalis' military bases. Stationed close to the border of Ostania, it housed an unsuspected facility inside. A lab, one in which conducted inhumane experiments on young children. These tests gave the children supernatural abilities that could be used to aid the government. But two of them were able to aid each other to avoid being pawns of authorities.

The escapees were Anya, a telepath, and Kit, a shape shifter. Also known as No. 007 and No. 003, respectively. Ditching the numbers was the first step for them to take towards true freedom. And so, Kit and Anya were born.

Kit was a fair bit older than the young girl, spending the past sixteen years of their life in that facility, while Anya only two. The eighteen-year-old took it upon themselves to take care of the only four-year-old Anya. Not to say Anya hadn't been useful. During their initial escape, her mind reading abilities helped them figure out passcodes and unlock many doors in the facility. Without her, Kit was sure that they'd never have been able to escape at all.

But Anya was still only a child. Her legs were small and she tired easily from distances. She was no match for the rough terrain they had to cross over to reach the border. And so Kit opted to carry the small one on their back. Everything was going decently at first. At least until...

"I'm hungry..."

The child whined as she clinged to the older one's back. Both of them had gone several hours without eating anything. Only one was vocal about the rumblings in their stomach.

Kit continued walking as the girl riding on her continued to groan uncomfortably. She had already held out for so long for a little girl. But her patience was starting to wear thin and frustrations were building up.

"Just a little further Anya. Just hold on," Kit said, hoping to soothe her in some way. In reality they still had a difficult journey ahead of them. But keeping Anya happy and motivated would give them greater odds of making it there together.

"I... I'm so hungry Kitty," she replied, her nose beginning to snivel.

Of course, there was that. There had always been something about her that just made Kit's heart melt.

"Alright, alright. I do have something," Kit sighed before bending down so the small girl could slide safely off their back. Once grounded, her companion turned around to face her.

"I have something called a peanut. I only have one, but they are surprisingly filling," Kit hummed before they dug around in their pants pocket.

"Peanut?" Anya questioned as she looked up at Kit with curious eyes.

During their departure from the lab, Kit came across a bowl of dry roasted peanuts in a break room. Kit had eaten most of them to build up their strength, but saved one for later. An ideal travel snack.

Kit took it out of their pocket and handed it to Anya. The girl's green eyes brimmed with curiosity as she stared at the legume. She reached out to take it and was immediately enthralled by the texture of the outer shell.

"It may be small, but it will help your tummy feel better. I was considering just eating it myself but..." Kit's voice trailed off as they thought about their own sustained hunger.

A large downside to Kit's ability was that it took a lot of energy, leaving them quite hungry. Not that the two of them were ever fed much to begin with. Poor Anya wasn't even given proper food, gruel meant for animal consumption. The sickening feeling in their stomach overpowered the hunger they felt.

"Just eat it. I'm sure I'll find some more food for us soon," Kit insisted as the child quickly put the whole thing in her mouth. They didn't even get to tell her that the shell wasn't traditionally eaten.

Even so, Anya chomped and chewed happily on the new food item. It was probably for the best anyways. The whole peanut would be more nourishing. Probably.

"It's very tasty! Thank you Kitty!" Anya chirped after swallowing the bits of peanut in her mouth.

A slight grin came to Kit's lips. Even after all she's been through, no, all they've both been through, they can both find reasons to smile. It was too soon to feel truly happy, but in this moment Kit was content.

"Now come on, we've got to hurry. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can have more food," Kit said as they knelt down to the ground so Anya could climb back on. However instead of following her elder's request, she instead crossed her arms.

"More peanuts?" Anya asked, voice hopeful of the prospect of having more. Kit couldn't help but grimace. They could surely acquire better food than that.

"I was thinking of other food. There are a lot more delicious foods than just—"

"I want more peanuts!" Anya demanded with a hearty smile. It was clear that without any other food to showcase, she would insist on eating more peanuts.

"I'll get you all the peanuts you can eat then."

Anya seemed satisfied with that response and trotted behind her guardian. When her arms were securely around Kit's neck, she was lifted up again. Kit then resumed walking up the arduous path ahead. No matter how challenging, they would get Anya and themselves to safety. Perhaps then the two of them could be a "family" together. Once they were safe of course.

Family...

Kit wondered what that would look like. They had only heard from researchers about the concept. But... It sounded nice. Being in a family would definitely make Anya happy.

If you liked this please heart and reblog! If enough people like it I may be encouraged to turn this into a multi-chapter longfic!

[spiderfreedom]

i've heard an argument from some women like this: focusing on femininity as a way men oppress women is misguided, because men will make fun of and demean anything women as a group enjoy. as such, femininity isn't a 'thing', just a collection of things women have enjoyed at separate points

for example, riding horses used to be considered a very masculine hobby, associated with powerful animals and war. in the 1860s, women who liked horses were considered to have a 'masculine' hobby (source: 'Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction')

The heroine of Braddon's next book, Aurora Floyd (1862), was another unconventional woman, though one less violent than Lady Audley. Aurora Floyd is a beautiful, dark-haired young woman raised by her rich and adoring banker father after her mother's untimely death. As a child, she becomes fascinated with racehorses and dogs, interests that many see as unfeminine.

today interest in horses is seen as feminine and derided as 'barbie horse adventures' or 'crazy horse girl' stuff. women and girls beginning to like horses more was enough to get it branded 'bad' and 'feminine'

i think this is a good point, that a lot of things that women like are retroactively deemed 'feminine' and 'bad', even/especially when it was something men used to like

but i think this analysis obscures the fact that 'femininity' is something that's also taught to women, that historically was about pleasing men, being subservient, being sexually controlled in some manner, being reproductively controlled in some manner, and existing to serve other people (men, family, children). women didn't 'choose' to get into housemaking and childrearing and cosmetics in the same way they chose to get into horses. those were impositions that women later rationalized as choices and intrinsic interests. so women got really into beauty and makeup, housemaking, cooking, baby raising, to connect to other women, to make the best out of a bad situation. and so people who criticize the imposition of these things seem like a threat to them and their skillset. to use an analogy, they were painting the bars of their own prison to make their stay more pleasant, becoming experts in painting bars, teaching other women to paint bars, and then getting mad at people trying to break the bars

also, men like many 'feminine' things when performed by women. a lot of men prefer a woman who does beauty work, who does traditionally feminine tasks like sewing, who enjoys contemporary feminine hobbies like horseriding. so the idea that men 'hate' femininity is misguided - they definitely view it as something 'foreign' to them, but the reaction isn't always mockery. sometimes it's attraction. sometimes it's idealization, like "wow women are so civilized and so much better than us, look at how well they treat their horses 🥺"

but i do think there's a point to the original counter-analysis - 'femininity' is arbitrary and something you can always retroactively justify. if women decided to all get into ancient rome, then people would find ways to say that liking ancient rome is girlish, feminine, humanitarian, passive, dreamy, etc. and there would probably be a misguided analysis by a lost radical feminist about how women should stop paying attention to ancient rome because its girly and start paying attention to {insert other better interest here}. which misses the point of how arbitrary the 'feminine' label is!

maybe there's a difference between compulsory societal femininity - which governs domestic labor, beauty labor, reproductive labor, and sexual labor - and women having hobbies/interests which are retroactively branded 'feminine', like pumpkin spice lattes, horse riding, virtual pet games, poetry, biological sciences, etc. what do yall think?

[melodraca]

Hey! I saw in one of your posts, in the tags, that you were an English major. I'm going to college soon, and I was wondering if you had any advice on picking out your major. What do you like about majoring in English, and what exactly do English majors do? Thank you!

First of all, congrats! That's really exciting! I really hope you enjoy your time in college! Second, this is gonna be a bit long, so I apologize in advance o7

I'm honestly not sure how helpful this is, but for the longest time I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I actually enrolled in university as a mature student a good 5-ish years after I graduated high school. I was so tired of school-related stress (and the way that the public school system functioned in general) that I was honestly considering not even going to post-secondary. I bounced between different potential majors, although I couldn't help but feel tired just thinking about them, like I would be going to school out of obligation or societal expectation rather than genuine passion.

When I came back around to the idea years later, I started poking around my local university's website. As I was going through, reading everything over, and clicking through different subjects, I realized that I was actually really feeling excited about school for the first time... pretty much ever. Because I realized that I had the chance to do things at my own pace, with a focus on subjects that I actually liked, rather than what my family expected would get me a traditionally "good job."

I narrowed my major down to a choice between English and creative writing, but I ultimately went with English. As much as I love creative writing, I prefer doing it as a hobby. It's the same with art for me: getting too serious with it made me feel less passionate and creative (to be fair though, I did take two first year creative writing classes as electives and I am genuinely proud of the stuff I wrote for them!)

With English, I could do my favourite thing in the world: overthinking literature and talking ad nauseam about the media I like. I love rambling, and writing essays is pretty much just organized info-dumping. I also wanted to learn more about history and culture, especially the way that they influence and are influenced by the works of literature, film, etc. of the times. In my experience so far, English classes have mostly consisted of reading or watching a bunch of texts, analyzing them & picking them apart, discussing said texts with my peers, and comparing/contextualizing them with each other. It's way more fun for me than it probably sounds to most people haha

Side note: I'm also taking biology as a minor (specifically with a focus on zoology because I love animals). The contrast between using the more creative and writerly side of my brain, and the more logical sciencey and side works well for me.

I'm still not super career focused, though I have certainly thought about it. I'm on disability support right now, so thankfully I'm fortunate enough to not need to juggle work and school. Ideally, I would love it if my degree landed me a stable job that doesn't make me feel miserable or put the same strain on me that retail and food service do. But I'm kinda just going with the flow for now.

Anyways, that's all to say: look over all of your options and narrow it down to the ones that draw your interest and passion the most. Consider what you want out of school, explore the potential career options that each subject could bring if that's your goal, and generally go with what makes you feel the best.

I know most schools have exploratory courses and academic advisors that can help you figure out what you want to do, so I would definitely look into that! Oh, and look into the required classes for each subject too! It personally helped me organize and prepare for everything I would need to do so that I was less blind-sighted by, as an example, my mandatory statistics class for my biology minor (I'm DEFINITELY not a math person)

Good luck, and I'm sorry again for how long this got! I wish you the best :D

[picrews-for-rpgs]

hi! do you know of any good picrews for goliaths? many existing picrews lack options for body markings. thanks!

Hi! I've actually been compiling these for forever and it's been such a challenge but I've just posted my top 5 picrew recommendations for goliaths here!

I'm going to use this ask as an opportunity though to share some picrews that could work but didn't quite make the cut to be included in the main recommendation post:

Cute DnD Character Creator by Rogue Cat Designs

Grey Skin ✅ Markings ✅ Muscles ❎ Bald ✅

Pros

This is a rarely seen full-body creator specifically aimed at making D&D characters so it has tons of high fantasy clothing and accessory options and even animal companions! It's gender neutral so can be used to make masculine, feminine or androgynous characters.

Cons

The facial markings available here are a bit different from the ones traditionally seen in official art of goliaths but the main issue with this creator is that the one body type is nowhere close to muscular and doesn't exactly scream "descended from giants" Conclusion Would work super well for a child (or maybe a half-goliath?) as long as you're open to a less traditional take on the facial markings.

Sci-Fi Fantasy Portrait Maker by Sophronist

Grey Skin ❎ Markings ✅ Muscles ❎ Bald ✅

Pros

Really decent range of markings to choose from which can be layered over each other so you can customise the markings on each part of the face. Nice and gender-neutral too.

Cons

Muscles aren't so much a concern here IMO as these are only head-and-shoulder portraits. The bigger concern is that there aren't really any true grey skintone options. The skintone shown on the right is debatably closer to black (though that might just be my PC monitor tbf) and the one on the left is a white skintone + shadows.

Conclusion

This picrew should work great for a dark skinned goliath of any gender.

Black Centered Picrew by Naylissah

Grey Skin ✅ Markings ✅ Muscles ❎ Bald ✅

Pros

I recommend this picrew all the time for its great range of options across all areas but in terms of goliaths I think these markings and this grey skin tone work pretty well!

Cons

The drawback of this picrew in terms of making goliath characters (apart from the usual lack of muscular options) is that it just has the one grey skintone and only one option for markings too (though they can be repositioned on the face as shown above)

Conclusion

Best suited for a female or feminine goliath with simple facial markings.

OC Creator by maetheellen

Grey Skin ✅ Markings ✅ Muscles ❎ Bald ✅

Pros

A choice of two grey skintones (though they are very similar), a good range of scars and these cool facial markings.

Cons

Much like Naylissah's Black Centered Picrew, the issue with this picrew is that while there's one really good option for facial markings, it's also the only option.

Conclusion

If you think these facial markings would work well for your goliath character, this picrew could be ideal for you.

[cruelsister-moved2]

do u have reading recs on the rituals of slaughter? i’m very interested

I actually don't think I do because I haven't read about this specifically I just keep noticing it as a thread in more general ethnographic readings over the years (and often like the author doesn't treat it as particularly consequential). I might have a dig and get back to you though because I would love to see what work has been done on it.

I have seen a lot of conversations on halal and especially kosher practises from an ecological perspective BUT I'm mostly interested in the like spiritual/social/psychological ramifications of actually killing an animal and how that is mitigated ritually, which i really haven't seen any work actually analyse that even if it relates examples of it happening. and relatedly the idea of hierarchy in relation to animals - which varies a lot, but the whole 'man is the master of the beasts who owes them nothing in return and should have no concern for their suffering' is a pretty western christian perspective.

i am really not a fan of comparative religion and other comparative study [too long to get into here but I think it's important to study cultures in their own right & recognise specifics & especially not try to rationally 'justify' cultural beliefs or force connections to some kind of 'universal human nature'] so i want to make the distinction here between that mode of study - I just think it's interesting that many individual cultures share some aspect of contrition for the killing of animals and various responses to that. relatedly i have noticed a bunch of animist beliefs (especially in hunter-gatherer societies who don't/didn't traditionally raise animals) make some kind of distinction between the killing of an animal's physical body for sustenance and the sense of domination or triumph over the animal's being. there are a lot of various formulations of this, but i always loved this ainu chant in which a fox's upper and lower jawbones have to be buried under the men's and women's toilet to stop the spirit of the fox from basically regenerating after the body is killed. beliefs in which certain parts can't be eaten and/or slaughter must be performed in certain ways are common and mostly defy any kind of 'logical' rationalisation (e.g hygiene). there's also an interesting resonance in the fact that kosher and halal dietary laws both specifically forbid the consumption of blood, because it's associated with some kind of 'life force'. i.e: you can consume this meat as is necessary for you to survive but you are not entitled to this creature's very existence. the torah as a whole is like extremely ambivalent towards animal slaughter; at once a sacred ritual and blessing, but also dangerously intoxicating and needs to be constrained. at points slaughter of animals is explicitly linked to slaughter of humans; the intitial permission to eat meat is sort of grudging (and a midrash suggests it's basically offered for noah and his family to take out their bloodlust rather than kill humans); the ideal state is still a world in which humans and animals don't prey on eachother. i think its all very buberian (you thought i wasnt going to bring martin buber into this) in that it's accepted as something which is not ideal but may be necessary for survival.

sorry that this is just anecdotes and not a reading list! i am going to scout the work looking at this in detail but i would have to read it first before i felt comfortable recommending it! when I finish work though I will reblog this post with all the readings i can remember where i encountered specific examples although none of them are specifically about animal slaughter, but some of them are more broadly about relationships with the natural world. im glad other people find it interesting anyway, i think it's a super rich topic!

[lilac-5ky]

I was reading your "Takasugi is just like a butterfly" theory (excellent meta btw!) and now I am curious: do you like his actual manga!yukata design? as in which version do you like better? ofc Takasugi looks hot good in both lol--is just that I have never seen his actual manga design anywhere in fics or in fanarts (never even seen his manga panels colored T_T) but yeah the manga!yukata design is way more... complicated(?) so I can see why the anime decided to change it. what can I say, this man is a fashion icon 😭

omg I'm terribly sorry for getting to this so late! I've neglected my inbox a bit while working on my fanfic ideas, so this got buried in there T-T

Honestly, I love both equally and I can't speak in favor of the manga yukata since, like you stated, we haven't seen a colored version of it, BUT if we did, then perhaps that one would outshine his anime butterfly one. The design of his manga yukata is so intricate and the meaning behind it is well thought of! I've read this theory on aminoapp about its design and you can find it here if you'd like to read into it, but I'll quote some of the things mentioned regardless.

Manga!Shinsuke's yukata analysis!

Looking at Shinsuke's most iconic yukata, we can see the theme of nature in the form of sakura flowers, mountains, clouds, and trees.

Sakura blossoms are known for being ephemeral, an attribute shared with butterflies. Sorachi might have made his yukata have a simpler butterfly pattern for the anime so that it's easier to draw and anime, but the concept remains the same. Ephemeral beauty. Something that doesn't last long, unlike the impression it leaves behind. Therefore, sakura blossoms and butterflies are both perfect symbolisms for a man whose life, albeit strong, held an unparalleled beauty in its entirety.

On the other hand, mountains could be seen as the exact opposite of sakura blossoms and butterflies. Mountains are unmoving and unyielding. They remain even after all nature around them dies. This could indicate Shinsuke's unyielding focus to his goal, the memories and the comrades he never forsook, and his ideals. No matter what, mountains can be viewed as a symbol of strength, and Shinsuke surely is a very strong individual.

As for the clouds, in a way, they too symbolize impermanence and are also linked to the divine due to proximity, but personally, when I view the clouds in relation to Shinsuke, I think of his famous poem-like saying in the Rakuyo arc. Clouds bring rain, and we all know how Shinsuke's sick of seeing the rain. The rain to him is both something he can't escape and haunts him, as well as something he's initiated himself. The clouds are an omen of his struggles and the pain he's brought upon himself; the very pain he is tired of feeling.

To sum up, the pattern of his kimono shows his life's flow, his ambitions, and his struggles. It's a very intimate exposure of his inner world, and for a man who doesn't let others in, he sure likes to put all that he is on display.

Since we got into this, I want to include another similar yukata of his, and the meaning behind it.

They look very much alike I know, BUT this one has two notable elements: Peony flowers and Shochikubai.

Starting with the latter, Shochikubai is an expression for Sho, chiku, and bai, the japanese words for pine tree, bamboo, and plum (picture below for reference on what the basic design is supposed to look like). Shochikubai traditionally refers to the 3 friends of winter and it's associated with good fortune. To quote this article right here, Shochikubai is an allegory for weathering hard times through various attributes of each element. A pine tree is tenacious and rooted deep enough to hold. Bamboo can bend in the breeze without breaking, while plum trees are the first to blossom in winter like a promise of hope.

It's hard to properly discern them in this image, but the leaves definitely belong to the pine trees and the little flowers are a mix of sakura blossoms and plum blossoms. Anyway, tenacity is a trait that defines Shinsuke, and the hope that is carried through winter is similar to the hope for a miracle that carries him through his rebellion.

Lastly, the bigger flowers are peonies, a symbol of love and nobility that is mostly preferred by women. A lot of people say that Shinsuke went down this path because of revenge and hatred, but really, his love for Shinsuke and all that he held dear from his days back at Shoka Sonjuku drove him. Nobility is something that Shinsuke himself has forsaken and claims to have never had, but many times he's shown kindness towards others and done the righteous thing. They are both elements of his personality, albeit well hidden.

To conclude this unnecessarily LONG answer, the kimonos he wears in the manga have such deep symbolism that one cannot ignore. They are a small peek into who he is as a person and all he represents, and because of that, I'll have to give them an extra point over his iconic butterfly yukata. One thing's for sure, Shinsuke surely knows how to dress to impress and he might as well be the most fashionable character in the entirety of the show. Hopefully this wasn't a snoozefest for you, I just thought it'd be interesting to explain why I favor his manga yukata more and provide proper reasoning.

[dhagrow]

What does qsn mean.. Why he called that..Lets find out, and by proxy take a look at traditional nasiila naming customs

so first of all, let's look at the planet godali. a day on godali is 30.28 (normal, human) hours long. it orbits its sun ineratas every 165.5 local days (208.8 earth days). it orbits that fast because ineratas is a pretty small star so the orbit has to be closer. godali has a moon named nekutis which takes around 21 local days per orbit (23.8 earth days).

now, the traditional nasiila calendar is, as expected, based on the orbits of godali and nekutis. the nasiila calendar divides the year into 7 months, each 21 days long corresponding to nekutis' orbital cycle. the first day of the year is always the first full moon on or after the winter solstice. you might notice 7 months of 21 days make only 147 days, leaving it 18.5 days short of an actual solar year, but this period is actually still counted on the year, just outisde of any month. this monthless period varies in how long it is, but just enough so that years and months are always roughly in sync with the sun and the moon. this synchronisation allows each month (and the monthless period) to be associated with a season, of which there are four.

we had to talk about the calendar because nasiila names are chosen based on a ritual that happens on the first day of every season. the nasiila traditionally lived in small villages, and what would happen on these days is, all of the children that would be one year old that season are brought to some central place in the village and for each child a set of objects are laid out in front of them. whichever object the child picks up first becomes their name. the objects to be laid out depend on the season and are also emblematic of each season;

winter names are mostly based on different types of stones. they basically just give them a bunch of pebbles.

spring names are taken from non-fruit-bearing plants and small marine fauna. mostly leaves this time, with small bones from the fish

summer names are mostly taken from fruit-bearing plants (usually berries) and other types of bushes, represented with leaves again, sometimes the fruits/berries themselves

autumn names center more around fauna, including several terrestrial species and even some larger marine animals, all using bones or hides

also, nasiila names are traditionally mononymic. they've always been somewhat small in number, so surnames weren't really necessary. although yes, they did have nicknames. we'll see more about this in a second

that was the traditional 'ideal' form of the ritual anyway. now let's talk about how this has evolved into the modern day. ever since first contact, the main 'hegemon' so to speak became the niulen empire, and as a result is a large source of linguistic, cultural, and political influence on the nasiila. niulem names are more similar to our normal names; they have an arbitrarily chosen first name and a patrilineally-inherited surname. the same has become the case for some small number of upper-class 'niulenised' nasiila. the traditional naming ritual is often ignored among them, preferring to bestow a name of their own choosing on their child. in these cases, these last names are mostly nasiilax-derived, even following the expected etymologies for surnames; those being, originating from nicknames, occupations, locations, and so on. first names here are more likely to be of foreign origin, often from niulem or anachek. for the majority of the population, names remain mononymic and more traditional, and the ritual is still followed to an extent. nowadays the ritual is more often done among family members in their own houses, for practicality's sake. more names are involved, typically abstract, with names evoking strength common in winter for example, or even suggestions contributed from family members, where some of these may be foreign in origin as well. these more abstract names are frequently represented through simply being written on bits of paper.

and that's how it works. qsn (and i) were born in the summer, and 'qsn' is the name of a berry-bearing bush. that's what it means. Bro is basically named "Strawberry"