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minkydinks · 7 months

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LeafWings

In my headcanon of WoF, LeafWings are small, lightweight arboreal dragons that resemble various different types of flora.

LeafWings are most typically green, and it is quite rare for a LeafWing to completely lack green in its palette; but they can come in a variety of colors naturally found in the jungle. This ranges from bright yellow, red, orange, pink, and even (rarely) purple or white. (The LeafWing pictured above is based on the Maple leaf.)

LeafWings' frills & wings are constantly growing in, and most LeafWings will cut them to suit their own style. Depending on which family they belong to, they might cut them to match their relatives according to their house; i.e House Monstera, or House Fig. Although, their colors are inherited and do not change at will.

When compared to other tribes, LeafWings are the second smallest. They're only slightly bigger than HiveWings in sheer bulk; but unlike most other tribes, they are bipedal, using their arms only for climbing and otherwise as necessary. Standing on two legs makes them appear taller than both HiveWings and SilkWings, but when crouched on all-fours, their true small size is very apparent.

LeafWings get some of their energy from the sun, by absorbing it through their leaf-like wings and metabolizing it similarly to RainWings; although after generations of hiding in a dense, dark jungle, they are not so adept at this anymore and prefer to hunt more often.

A unique behavior to LeafWings is getting extra nutrients from actual flora, by embedding the seeds of plants in between their scales and allowing them to grow. The plants' roots will seek out capillaries under the skin, and will give the dragon vital nutrients in exchange for the minerals and proteins in their blood. This part of LeafWing culture is what has kept them alive for so long; through famine and drought.

However, many older LeafWings have accidentally succumbed to injuries sustained by plants that were too large, and became more of a parasite than a cooperative guest. No matter where a LeafWing comes from, they will almost certainly know the list of plants you shouldn't host in your scales unless you WANT to be sucked dry. That is, of course, unless you have leafspeak abilities to convince those plants to do otherwise.

Thank you all for voting for LeafWings in my poll a while ago!! It was super fun getting to these guys :)

#wof #wings of fire #leafwing #wof art #wof tribe redesign #dragon

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bfpnola · 8 months

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Fifty years ago, 15-year-old Sonia Yaco ran for the school board in Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of the youngest people in the country ever to run for a seat on the Board of Education. A member of a group called Youth Liberation, whose platform was founded in 1970, she believed schools would be best run by the people required to be inside them for about seven hours a day, 180 days a year.

Youth Liberation developed a 15-point platform that was far-reaching in its vision. In addition to calling for an end to sexism, sexual discrimination, class antagonism, racism, colonialism, and what they called “adult chauvinism,” the group wanted to form communities outside the structure of the nuclear family, live in harmony with nature, abolish juvenile detention centers and mental institutions, establish global solidarity with youth all over the world, be free of economic dependence on adults, and have the right to their own “new culture,” which included everything “from music and marijuana to free clinics and food cooperatives.”

The 20 or so young people in the group, ranging in age from 12 to 16, wanted “a nationwide movement for youth civil rights, akin to the Black Liberation movement and the growing women's movement,” one of the founders, Keith Hefner, later wrote.

Backed by the radical socialist Human Rights Party, Yaco tells Teen Vogue she delivered stump speeches in a hand-sewn, black ruffled skirt and a black leather jacket. At the time, Ann Arbor, birthplace of the Students for a Democratic Society, was a political hotbed. Youth-led organizations had helped rally support for the 26th Amendment, which was ratified in 1971, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. With popular books like Children’s Liberation (1973), Escape from Childhood (1974), and The Children’s Rights Movement: Overcoming the Oppression of Young People (1977), the idea of youth liberation was gaining force. Youth Liberation of Ann Arbor distributed their message through an underground newspaper, which was a collection of news items, how-tos, and stories from youth all over the country. Yaco informed her parents that, given her political commitments, having a curfew wasn’t going to work, though she did still do the dishes. She talked to PTA forums and rock concerts of thousands, all with the message of youth empowerment. Each time she arrived to speak, she remembers, there was the question of whether or not she would be allowed on stage. She tells Teen Vogue that a school board member once told her to “shut [her] fat lip.” At another event, she says she encountered labor and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, who told her, “I’ve been hearing about you.” The resistance against her candidacy was so great that the Board of Education prohibited Yaco from running, instigating a Supreme Court case which she ultimately lost. Still, with 1,363 votes, Yaco says she got the highest number of write-in votes ever received.

When we think of ageism, it commonly refers to older adults, not the other way around. Though many don’t tend to think of young people as oppressed, a recent study published in the Children and Youth Services Review argues that young people are, in many ways, similarly vulnerable to exploitation. Though young people under 18 can be tried in adult court, they are generally not allowed to vote or hold federal office. They are surveilled and policed in schools, medicated and institutionalized without consent, and paid less for their work. In some states, they cannot get vaccinated without parental permission. Many of these issues are particularly acute for youth of color — some as young as preschoolers — whom research has shown are viewed as older and not as “innocent” as their white counterparts. “You're actively teaching children how to deal with an active shooter, but you can't let them have a say in budgeting, you can't let them discuss curriculum,” says Yaco. While rhetoric about the need to “save the children” is rampant, much public policy in the United States — from the struggling childcare system to gun violence in schools — reveals otherwise. The U.S. is the only country in the United Nations that hasn't ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a historic human rights treaty.

The same justifications historically used to deny other groups their basic freedoms are still applied to youth, explains scholar Mich Ciurria. “The popular narrative about children — as spoiled, ungrateful, and mentally ill — mirrors the popular narratives about 1960s housewives, Black working mothers, and disabled people,” she wrote in a recent essay. To be “childish,” after all, is a derogatory term. As psychologist Robert Epstein argues in an article for Scientific American, what is commonly chalked up to an innate “irresponsibility” or “laziness” — the idea of the unformed teen brain — may simply be a response to living under the repressions of modern society. A 1991 study reviewing research on young people in 186 preindustrial societies — more than half of which had no word for “adolescence” — revealed little evidence of the kind of antisocial teen behavior found in the West, according to Epstein’s summary. In his research for the piece, Epstein found that, based on surveys he conducted, “teens in the U.S. are subjected to more than 10 times as many restrictions as are mainstream adults, twice as many restrictions as active-duty U.S. Marines, and even twice as many restrictions as incarcerated felons.” Young people have long been at the forefront of liberation struggles. Youth played a big part in the Civil Rights movement, which would inspire other movements that followed. In 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks became famous for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, a 15-year-old named Claudette Colvin was arrested for the same action. Galvanized by the Civil Rights movement, the National Indian Youth Council, formed by a group of young people in 1961, organized “fish-ins'' in support of land-use rights. The 1963 Birmingham Children’s Crusade saw more than a thousand young people, some as young as seven, attacked and jailed after taking to the streets in peaceful protest. In 1972, the Gay International Youth Society of George Washington High School, a group of students of color in the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, formed one of the first gay-straight alliances on the basis of student civil rights.

By 1979, Youth Liberation of Ann Arbor had disbanded, and the idea of youth liberation gradually faded from popular consciousness, but activists today are still organizing around age as one form of discrimination in a larger system of interlocking oppressions. For Margin Zheng, the former president of the National Youth Rights Association (NYRA), a group founded in 1998, youth liberation is deeply intersectional. “Young people are BIPOC, young people are queer, young people are of various genders and of no gender, young people are disabled, young people are poor, young people are immigrants and migrants — just like older people,” they write as part of their principles of anti-ageism. Zheng, the child of conservative Chinese immigrants, felt constrained both by their family life and their experience in school. “I secretly longed to be homeschooled and have the freedom to do my own thing, but my parents did not believe in nontraditional education,” they tell Teen Vogue. They attended their first school board meeting in ninth grade and soon began to question why students didn’t have more of a voice. “People think that they can make sweeping generalizations about people of a certain age, but you can’t generalize about youth just as you can’t generalize about people of a certain race, gender, etc.,” they say. Ashawn Dabney-Small, who ran for Boston City Council as an 18-year-old and former vice president of NYRA, became involved in youth activism to address the issues that affected him. “It's not about advocating, it's about speaking from your experiences,” says Dabney-Small, who has experience with the foster care system and the effects of poverty. “That's why I got involved in certain issues, policies that revolve around my life because it's literally my life.” As an activist, Dabney-Small worked on campaigns against gun violence. Recently, he advocated for Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s bill to lower the federal voting age to 16 — a move that could revolutionize American politics. “Schools and families are the places where we (young people) begin to feel that we have to struggle for our freedom,” Youth Liberation Acnn Arbor wrote in 1972. (One of the indirect results of Yaco’s campaign was the founding of the alternative Community High School that same year.)

Indeed, many activists today — in movements from unschooling to family abolition — see the institutions of school and family as structures that should be radically reimagined. From Indian Boarding Schools to the school-to-prison pipeline, unpaid domestic labor to assaults on queer chosen families, critics say schools and certain family structures have long been used as tools of oppression for women, queer people, and people of color. In a utopian world, Zheng says, people wouldn’t be judged and set apart by age. Instead, they envision more intergenerational spaces where younger and older people — of all races, genders, sexualities, and abilities — can learn and grow together. “Just as young people would be empowered to cultivate and apply their strengths to work they find meaningful, older people would be embraced in their own personal growth, knowing that learning and unlearning are processes that happen all throughout the lifespan,” they say. Each person would be recognized for their own unique potential. The vision is not unlike the original platform outlined by Youth Liberation more than 50 years ago. As Zheng says, “There would be no prisons, no police, and no schools, only communities of lifelong learning, caring, and joy.”

#undescribed #resources #youth liberation #history #black liberation #bipoc #michigan #socialism #abolition #education #civil rights #anti racism #family #autonomy #queer #trans #intersectional feminism #signal boost #reaux speaks

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astralexpressarchives · 7 months

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Bailu the Bloomborn Scion

Bailu is, of course, a young Vidyadhara currently titled the High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu. There are lots of theories and misinformation about her identity floating around as of patch 1.3 so I want to make this post to share my thoughts on the topic.

Most people who only do the main story quests and companion quests in Honkai: Star Rail will know Bailu as the Healer Lady who is constantly trying to escape the maids assigned to watch over her. You'll know that there are some crazy politics regarding assassination attempts and that some people want Dan Heng to replace her as acting High Elder. You may even believe that Dan Heng's previous identity, Dan Feng, chose Bailu as his successor and that she holds part of Dan Feng's High Elder power, specifically the power to heal.

I'm writing this post to let you all know that this is all a hoax and you're successfully being gaslit by the Alchemy Commission and the Vidyadhara.

To understand the truth behind Bailu, it's imperative to understand the Bloomborn Scion experiments. Almost everything that we know about the Bloomborn Scion comes from the Undestroyed Letter found on the corpse of Dan Shu.

Dan Shu

Keep in mind that 30 years ago, Dan Shu was the chief alchemist of the Alchemy Commission and a loyal believer in Lan the Hunt. Her special friend, Yufei, was sent to fight in the 3rd Abundance War. Yufei did not survive the war, getting caught in radius of Lan the Hunt's lux arrow and dying, along with everyone else in the vicinity. This incident turned Dan Shu towards Yaoshi and set her on the path of Abundance, eventually leading her to becoming the head of the new Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and starting much of the drama regarding the Alchemy Commission and Sanctus Medicus that we see in-game. For those curious, Dan Shu's Diary and the Longevous Disciple set outline much of her backstory.

The Vidyadhara

There are many records in-game of certain Vidyadhara members cooperating with the Alchemy Commission. In fact, the previous chief alchemist was a Vidyadhara lady. The topic at hand is usually smuggling arbor branches out of the Scalegorge Waterscape for some purpose. For example, you can see this recorded here in a Vidyadhara egg:

The glimmer of the crystal-clear Vidyadhara egg catches your eye. You gently touch the Vidyadhara egg that looks like a pearl. Fear squeezes your heart like a giant hand. "Send these branches to the Alchemy Commission?" It is clear to you that the vessel you are holding contains a strictly forbidden object on the Xianzhou. "If we get caught by the Ten-Lords Commission… I…" The vessel in your hand feels heavy. You breathe carefully to avoid dropping the vessel. An authoritative voice comes by your ears. "Our line of succession has been broken because of that sinner. Now, here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" The elder’s voice is youthful, but it sounds weary and emotionless. "If you can complete this, you’ll become a hero, and I’ll guarantee you a seat in the council of Preceptors. What do you think?" You nod, then shake your head. The elder laughs eerily like a screeching owl.

This poor egg was tricked by a Vidyadhara elder (likely a Preceptor) into smuggling out some arbor branches for the Alchemy Commission's experimentation. They were promised power but... well, considering they are now an egg I don't think their fate was kind.

Note that the elder refers to the Preceptors as a council - this is important later.

Take note also here that the elder still believes that their line of succession has been broken. They have not been able to successfully restore their High Elder.

Honestly, though, this should not be a surprise because a High Elder commands some of Long's power, technically making them an Emanator of Long. Emanators are created when an Aeon recognizes an individual and allows them to draw on the power of their path. Since Long is currently out of commission, successfully creating a new High Elder out of nothing should be theoretically impossible.

The Bloomborn Scion

On Dan Shu's corpse, we find the Undestroyed Letter containing communications between Dan Shu and a Vidyadhara known as Gouchen.

From Gouchen, the important parts of his letter are:

We have no choice but to entrust that young girl to your esteemed commission in pursuit of knowledge. This is our sincerest intent. Though young and not chosen by selection, she possesses remarkable potential. Placing her under your tutelage will facilitate careful observation and documentation of her growth. We hope that with time and guidance, she may become a powerful support for you. Your esteemed commission has inherited and undertaken a great legacy. Regrettably, the present times are perilous, and the scepter of power has fallen aside. Though possessing the talent to change the tide, the opportunity to do so was not present. Now that the obstacles have been removed, that opportunity has arrived, we have faith that you can revive what has been lost and reverse the course of events! With this letter, I send a servant to deliver ten samples for your experimentation.

The young girl mentioned here is clearly Bailu, made clearer in Dan Shu's response letter later.

Notice how he specifically states that Bailu is both 'young and not chosen by selection.' This directly contradicts information in Dan Heng: Imbibitor Lunae's companion quest where you "find out" that Dan Feng picked Bailu as his successor. Considering Bailu was evidently only created recently and that Dan Feng 'died' almost 800 years ago, the story clearly does not line up.

Gouchen also claims that 'she possesses remarkable potential.' This is another thing that directly conflicts with Bailu's general treatment. Though she is a powerful healer, she is belittled and gaslighted into believing she is lacking power. In fact, regarding Bailu's power, from her Character Story: Part 4 we know that her maid reported:

Furthermore, since the high elder has already demonstrated her powers of calling lightning and commanding the waters, I have instructed one of our finest crafters to make the Dragonhorn Pilory to shackle her tail, to prevent a loss of control over her powers and a repeat of the disaster of the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae.

If you speak to Bailu standing in the Alchemy Commission and ask her about her shackle, she says this:

"Talking about that always makes my blood boil! The Preceptors call it the Dragonhorn Pilory, which is a noble jewelry piece exclusive to the high elder of the Vidyadhara. They are treating me like a three-year-old! This heavy thing drags my tail down, and I can't even take it off when sleeping. You think jewelry is supposed to be like that?"

Clearly, they have lied to her about the truth of her shackle. She believes it is just a jewelry decoration for High Elders and doesn't realize that it is shackling her demonstrated powers of 'calling lightning and commanding the waters.'

Gouchen also requested the monitoring of her growth, to which the maid responded, also in Bailu Character Story: Part 4:

Still no physical change in the high elder. She has not grown. This is not unusual as slow development is common among Vidyadharas. I am more concerned about her having no dreams than the slow growth of her body.

So slow growth is common in the Vidyadhara. This also goes against the idea that Dan Feng picked her as a successor because, as that was 800 years ago, Bailu would most certainly be causing alarm with her slow growth. The average Vidyadhara lifespan is 700 years, so that would not be 'not unusual' development. The truth is that she is still a child.

Regarding her dreams, we do know that Bailu's first maid told her not to tell anyone about her dreams so Bailu has been keeping them to herself. From The Dragon Returns Home:

Timid Voice: The Preceptors are very fearful of you, Miss Bailu. They asked every maid to record your dreams and daily activities. And I did so, at first. Timid Voice: After a while, I felt that the Preceptors were asking this not out of concern for you, but for some malevolent purpose... so I stopped. Bailu: ...Yuanli, don't worry. I never told anyone about my dreams. Timid Voice: Good, good, then I needn't worry. They'll be assigning me to a different job soon — I hope we have another chance to see each other one day.

It's very clear that no-one knows the truth about Bailu's creation except those directly involved. Other Vidyadhara make claims that we know are not true like this:

Twisted Voice: I have never believed in the High Elder! You are unworthy of the condemnation you spout! Twisted Voice: Especially you, Miss Bailu. You simply do not have the power of the High Elder — the power to summon the forces of nature... Why should I believe you are superior in any way to Master Dan Feng?

Regarding Gouchen's statement about 'the scepter of power falling aside,' I believe he is referring to the fact that the presence of a High Elder by Vidyadhara law takes away power from the preceptors. In the Preceptor Assembly Chronicle Fragment, soon after the sedition, the Preceptors discuss this:

"The Preceptor Council is a stop-gap measure for when the High Elder position is vacant or governance is untenable, but Xuepu's message rings loud and clear. She wants to take advantage of [Missing] being cut off to completely replace the High Elder position with the Preceptor Council."

it appears that the Preceptors were agreeing to function as a council in the absence of a High Elder. Bailu's presence directly threatens that council and, for a council established for a few centuries, returning to the High Elder rulership is a drastic and potentially undesirable change for many of them. This is most likely why they want to assassinate Bailu, especially considering that Dan Heng is both stronger and proven easy to manipulate in the past.

This is likely why Gouchen reported battles at the start of his letter - Bailu's titling of High Elder most likely created a mini civil war of sorts among the Vidyadhara.

And, of course, along with Bailu, Gouchen sends 10 more samples for experimentation.

Dan Shu's response reveals more information but it's also worth noting that, because it is was on her corpse, she most likely did not find an opportunity to send the letter.

I have received the samples that were sent. However, after transplanting and cultivating them, all the samples turned to powder. It is likely that they were constantly constrained by the waters of the ancient sea, causing them to lose their vitality upon separation from their original body. After all, both the samples and the ancient waters are mystical celestial traces and are elusive to comprehension.

Dan Shu received the samples and was trying to cultivate them but it was failing.

As for the girl, she has learned quite well under the supervision of my predecessor, but she lacks sufficient experience and tends to be overly rebellious. The servant you sent must watch her every move. There is no need to worry, as she is not likely to break free from our control in the foreseeable future.

Further confirmation that they are talking about Bailu, as she is the rebellious Vidyadhara girl with a servant watching her every move in the Alchemy Commission.

There is no need to send new samples after receiving this reply. Back then, we unintentionally created the miracle of Bloomborn Scion, but there is a limit to mere luck. Until I make further progress in my research, such a miracle is unlikely to occur again.

And this part confirms that:

Bailu was a miracle created by the Alchemy Commission and Vidyadhara. Her creation is considered 'mere luck' by Dan Shu and she does not believe it will happen again.

There's a lot to Bailu's story and I could keep talking about all of the details but I'll stop this section here. I'm happy to further discuss details with anyone who is interested and I'll likely make additional posts on the topic of Bailu's creation in the future.

#honkai star rail #bailu #hsr #bloomborn scion #dan shu #dan feng #dan heng #alchemy commission #vidyadhara #hsr lore #xianzhou luofu

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tribbetherium · 1 year

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Once the specialist arboreal hunters of the Glaciocene and Early Temperocene, the tigerillas had been in steep decline with the coming of the midnight howlers: carnivorous lemunkies that were more intelligent, adaptable and cooperative in the trees than they were. Slowly pressured off the trees, and retreating off to the ground, now but a few genera remain: still some of South Ecatoria's most notable predators, but nowhere as diverse as they once were.

Some, such as the red dwole (Cynosimiomys vulgaris) have become small, omnivorous opportunists, relying on their flexibility to exploit multiple different niches. They still climb trees and forage on the ground, searching out small animals, insects, carrion, and even fruits and fungi on occasion. Faced with competition in many of the major niches, the tigerillas have found momentary success relegating themselves to the sidelines.

Their bigger, more specialized cousins, however, have not fared too well in a time of great changes. The woodland chimpanther (Pithecopanthera leucops) still retains its role as tree-dwelling lemunky hunter in regions where midnight howlers are less abundant. They have stuck to this niche and surived in marginal regions where competition is scarce, particularly in dense jungle: however, in howler territory the chimpanthers are hopelessly outclassed. Solitary creatures, they are no match for whole troops of up to a dozen midnight howlers, who don't take kindly to rival predators in their territory: and sometimes even considers the chimpanthers prey.

But by far the most notable species is the greater foldpaw (Malupantherimys malignans), a 200-pound carnivore that reigns as South Ecatoria's apex predator. For long, it has benefitted off the success as a megafaunal hunter, tackling boarochs, ungulopes and podotheres alike with its powerful forelimbs and prehensile arms that allow it to wrestle prey to the ground. A formidable predator, the greater foldpaw is dreaded by any other predator in its territory, as it has no hesitation in disposing of any rivals that may cross its path. Yet, ultimately, this may as well prove to be its undoing: by making an enemy of a rival carnivore with the intellect and capacity for grudges and retaliation.

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#speculative evolution #speculative biology #spec evo #speculative zoology #hamster's paradise #ask

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minnesotadruids · 2 years

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2022 Pagan Pride Days in US & Canada

Here’s a list of Pagan Pride fall festivals and a handful of similar events coming up. Want to meet other druids, witches, heathens, and similar like-minded individuals? Most Pagan Pride Days are free, unless otherwise specified below. Please be sure to verify these events for yourselves before venturing out. Be safe and have fun!

Alabama: Auburn: Kiesel Park: September 17, hours TBA…

Alberta: Edmonton: Richie Hall: September 10, 11 AM to 5 PM

Arizona: Phoenix: Steele Indian School Park: November 5, 9 AM to 5 PM

British Columbia: Vancouver: Trout Lake Park: August 13, 12 PM to 7 PM

California: Los Angeles/Long Beach: Rainbow Lagoon: October 2, 10 AM to 5:30 PM

California: Sacramento: Phoenix Park: September 10, 10 AM to 6 PM

Colorado: Denver: TBA: Usually announced in October for last weekend of month

Colorado: Fort Collins: City Park: August 21, 10 AM to 6 PM

Connecticut: Berlin: Veteran's Memorial Park: Weekend near Autumnal Equinox TENTATIVE

District of Columbia: See Frederick MD and/or Reston VA

Florida: Jacksonville: Riverside Artist Square: September 25, 11 AM to 5 PM

Georgia: Athens: Washington Street between Pulaski & Hull: October 22, hours TBA

Illinois: Chicago: Garfield Park: September 24, 10 AM to 6 PM

Illinois: Wheaton: Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library lawn: September 10, 10 AM to 5 PM

"TheosoFest" with free admission, vehicle parking is $5

Iowa: Burlington: Dankwardt Park: August 27, times not specified

Kentucky: Louisville: Waterfront Park: September 10, 11 AM to 6 PM

Louisiana: New Orleans: October 1, updating website soon for full details

Maryland: Frederick: UU Congregation of Frederick (lawn), September 17, 10 AM to 6 PM

Massachusetts: Lakeville: Ted Williams Camp: September 11, 10 AM to 6 PM

Massachusetts: Northampton: 1 Kirkland Ave, September 24, 9 AM to 5 PM

Michigan: Ann Arbor: Washtenaw Community College: September 10, 10 AM to 5 PM

Michigan: Grand Rapids: Richmond Park: September 17, 9 AM to whenever

Minnesota: Mankato: Jack McGowans Farm: August 13-14, 10 AM to 5 PM

Minnesota: Minneapolis: Minnehaha Falls Park: September 10, 10 AM to 6 PM

Missouri: Joplin: Cunningham Park: September 10, 9 AM to 6 PM

Missouri: Springfield: 405 Washington Ave, September 17, 11 AM to 5 PM

Montana: Kalispell: UU Church, 1515 Tumble Creek Road: September 17, 11 AM to 6 PM

New Jersey: Old Bridge: 144 E Greystone Rd (registration required): August 6, 9 AM to 6 PM

Technically a "Pagan Picnic" by Hands of Change with similar stuff to Pagan Pride Days

New Jersey: Cherry Hill: Cooper River Park: October 1, 10 AM to 6 PM

New Mexico: Albuquerque: Bataan Memorial Park: September 25, 10 AM to 6 PM

Has admission fee: donation of one non-perishable food item

New Mexico: Las Cruces: Pioneer Women's Park: October 15, 11 AM to whenever

New York: Buffalo: Buffalo Irish Center: October 9, 11 AM to 4 PM

New York: Syracuse: Long Branch Park: September 17, 10 AM to 5 PM

Ohio: Cincinnati: Mt. Airy Forest: Stone Steps Picnic Shelter: August 5, 12 PM to 8 PM

Pagan Pride Potluck Picnic: free event, but bring food to share

Park Vehicle Fee: $5 for Hamilton County residents, $8 for non-residents

Ohio: Cleveland (Bedford): Bedford Public Square, Aug 18-21, 5-10 PM, 12-10 PM, 12-5 PM

Has admission fee: donation of two non-perishable food items

Ohio: Dayton (Fairborn): Fairborn Community Park: October 22, 9 AM to 6 PM

Oklahoma: OK City: Wiley Post Park: September 24, 10 AM to 5 PM

Oklahoma: Tulsa: Dream Keepers Park: October 1, 9 AM to 6 PM

Ontario: Toronto: Gage Park: September 11, 10 AM to 6 PM

Oregon: Eugene: Alton Baker Park: August 7, 10:30 AM to 7 PM

Oregon: Portland: Oaks Amusement Park: September 18, 10 AM to 5 PM

Pennsylvania: Allentown (Easton): Louise Moore County Park: August 20, 9 AM to 4 PM

Pennsylvania: Philadelphia: Clark Park: September 3, 10 AM to 6 PM

Pennsylvania: York: Samuel Lewis State Park (no entrance fee): September 24 10 AM to 6 PM

South Carolina: Greenville (Easley): Maynard Community Center: October 1, 9 AM to 5 PM

Has admission fee: donation of one non-perishable food item

Tennessee: Knoxville: The Concourse: September 10, 10 AM to whenever

Has admission fee: donation of one non-perishable food item (or cash)

Tennessee: Memphis: Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park: October 20-23, starts at Noon

"Festival of Souls" Registration required: $60 for whole weekend or $25 per day

Tennessee: Nashville: Two Rivers Park: October 1, 10 AM to 5 PM

Texas: Dallas-Fort Worth: Arlington UU Church: November 6, 10 AM to 5 PM

Virginia: Reston: Lake Fairfax Park, October 1, 10 AM to 5 PM

Washington: Spokane: UU Church of Spokane: September 17 10 AM to 4 PM

There may be more Pagan Pride Day events than the ones listed here, but they’re either difficult to find info for online or plans are still tentative. Sorry if I missed any major ones!

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labsafetyviolations · 2 years

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I would like to remind my fellow mad botanists that your arboreal abominations are not the only things that need adequate hydration.

Remember to bring a container of potable fluids (not the experimental substance that's been in a flask on your desk for the last week) for any field work, and try not to spend too long in the greenhouses between 12pm and 4pm.

Thank you for your cooperation.

#sciencecore #mad science #mad scientist #mad botany #lab records #unreality

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roysexton · 11 months

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“There are the hands that made us. And then the hands that guide the hands.” Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

There are but a few movies in my life that so deftly balance abject horror and empathetic peril and heart-tugging poignancy that they reduce me to repeated fits of ugly crying: Dancer in the Dark, E.T., Watership Down, and now … Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3?!? I did NOT see that coming. This latest Marvel installment in the lives of Star-Lord Peter Quill’s merry band of space-faring misfits…

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everlastiingiimmortals · 4 months

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I was waffling about last night and thinking about the NPCs and other dialogue or commentary relating to Jing Yuan, as one does, and I gotta say with Huohuo, Hanya, and Xueyi added to the ever growing list the understanding that nobody really knows or properly values Jing Yuan (anymore, or maybe never at all) only gets more depressing. You have the horrifying realization that, once again, he is deified and removed so far from his identity as a person with Huohuo's voiceline about his portrait supposedly bringing good luck.

But the more unsettling lines come from the sister Judges themselves. Xueyi comments on his loyalty to the Ten-Lords instead.

This line always struck me as odd, because as far as we know the Ten-Lords do not operate on the same plane as the other six Commissions, and furthermore they are above the other Commissions. They do not require the loyalty of the general, though yes — the general of each ship will work closely with the Ten-Lords, and so cooperation is necessary, but loyalty? Why this word specifically?

We know that the Ten-Lords are not keen on letting their criminals go. To this day, Xueyi still hunts Blade. The preceptors had to fight tooth and nail for Dan Feng to not outright be destroyed, had to beg the Ten-Lords through an appeal to Jing Yuan and the other Charioteers for mercy and permission to have Dan Feng seal the Arbor back up. But the decision to free and exile Dan Heng was entirely Jing Yuan's own. We also know that most people on the Luofu do not recognize Dan Heng as his own person, as he carries Dan Feng's karmic responsibility.

If the Ten-Lords are as strict as we are repeatedly led to believe, why agree to Jing Yuan's exile order for Dan Heng...

...unless they got something from him in return?

To go back to the voicelines, we know that the Ten-Lords have the ability to reverse or negate the effects of mara within those under their command (as what happened with Hanya and Xueyi). And it seems like Hanya, despite being a Judge, has absolutely no idea how Jing Yuan is still alive, still sane. With Jing Yuan's habit of retiring his soldiers early if possible to reduce the risk of early onset mara, it's all the more strange that he has been through some of the worst events in the Luofu's history and still shows no sign of developing mara, and has stayed in his seat for seven centuries when most generals don't survive one.

Could it be, I wonder, that he traded himself in exchange for Dan Heng's freedom?

Looking at it from this lens, his behavior makes more sense. His loyalty to the Ten-Lords makes more sense. His jokes about retirement, and "taking the fall" for Fu Xuan makes more sense. He refers to the Ten-Lords as a yoke, one that "reins in our long lives", yet while from a superficial perspective it is obvious he is talking about the Ten-Lords' role as a surrogate for death, Jing Yuan rarely ever speaks without double meaning. A yoke's connotation is one of servitude and submission. From this standpoint, he is also talking about himself, bound to the Ten-Lords to ultimately join their ranks when his time as general is up.

#Willow Rambles #unhinged theory posting more at 11 #not tagging this w my hc tag because i'm not sure if i wanna commit to this w my interpretation #but oh goddddd OH GODDDDDDDDDD APOLLO DONT COME FOR MY ASS PLEASE

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