About As Well Adjusted As You Would Think

I do things sometimes | silly goth art kid way too into mythology | cis girl, any pronouns | ancient and classic lit is my jammm | I like sparky rocks| call me KM, Mac, or Noctilio

[noctilionoidea]

When you run out of a colour you need you tend to adapt I guess. Wanted to do a Bromios and Zagreus themed piece so yea. Idk how to exactly replicate blood flow so I kinda just did what happens whenever I nick myself with a razor

[noctilionoidea]

It’s been years since I’ve drawn Hekate huh.

I mean, she has three bodies and that’s… a lot to compose. But anyways-

[snumnerville]

“Gosh I wish there were more phallic shaped monuments around this great state of Massachusetts!”

the humble powderhouse:

[massachusetts-official]

Official Post of Massachusetts

[noctilionoidea]

Going to pick up my Anne Carson bacchae tomorrow before driving lessons and I am so fucking excited

[thoodleoo]

reading about the participation of children in rituals as a form of play in ancient greece and came across an incredibly charming story from julius pollux's onomasticon where a flood prevented the adults from reaching a sanctuary to sacrifice a ram to heracles, and the children solved the problem by....sticking a bunch of sticks in an apple to give it "legs" and "horns" and offering it as a sacrifice instead. it's such a charming thought and i can perfectly picture kids these days also pretending at sacrificing an apple "goat" at recess

[thoodleoo]

catch me on the playground playing sacrifices

[starlitartworks]

That feeling when there's a gap in the lineart :/

(tiktok trend)

[starlitartworks]

Individual frames :P

[starlitartworks]

Jonathan POV: You are full of delicous blood and she's peckish

[zillanovikov]

every year I post this meme and every year people get more mad at me than they did the previous year

[anverdenuru]

And every summer I get reminded that we have only a single choice if we want to survive

[oneheadtoanother]

[tachyon-log]

(USAmerican trying to imagine a societal environment) Okay, so picture a highway,

[fishmech]

inability to correctly perceive 3d objects is in fact far more dangerous when someone is driving a car next to you then when they're like, sending emails to you.

[bunniope]

can we focus on the gnome for a second

[bunniope]

wait sorry i was not wearing my glasses. that is a cat

[ladyofspoons]

these are the people i have to share a highway with

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Went fabric shopping the other day and ran into an old friend.

(Osgood Textiles in West Springfield, MA)

[happydragonbreathesrainbows]

@westernmassposting

[westernmassposting]

West Springfield, MA

[apparently-artless]

Tenmaku no Jaadugar Episode 03 - Sitara & Töregene

[dyingfad]

Tenmaku no Jaadugar (2026) Ep. 4

[nijigasakilove]

Timeskip Sitara is so beautiful 😍. You can really tell how conflicted she must be feeling about getting so used to life in Mongolia because it almost feels like you’re betraying your faith, friends, family and everything you held dear.

Of course that’s not the case, but you can sense the pang of regret in her voice almost as if she hates herself as much as the Mongols for becoming so content and not avenging her de facto mother yet. 🥹 Fatima would be so proud of her for just hanging on this long.

[yonae]

Jaadugar: a Witch in Mongolia ending "Hoshi" by Ziyoou-vachi

[ydotome]

[perachora]

A Witch in Mongolia: EP 4 - Review and General Thoughts

(Content: Discussion of slavery in 13th-century Persia and the Mongolian Empire)

If I get anything wrong, please correct me without hesitation!

The large time jumps surprised me, but frankly, if one is following history, there are often large gaps where historical figures/events are absent from the records. According to merchandise, Fatima ends the episode at about 21

It pains Sitara to recognise aspects of her younger self, earn to learn, and Fatima, extolling the virtues of learning, within Sorghaghtani. Firstly, it subverts her previous expectation that the Mongolians are all savages who don't understand the true value of that book, and but it also means she will be putting what she acquired while living in Tus to use for the people who destroyed her life.

She feels truly powerless, not even having the space to grieve properly and instead being expected to acquiesce to the demands of her captors. Sorghaghtani also holds more political power and freedom than Sitara ever did, and thus can make a true different with her knowledge (remember Sitara feeling frustrated that she couldn't travel like Muhammad last episode?)

Furthermore, this establishes is a fundamental different in perspective between nomadic and sedentary peoples in the past, which is a recurring theme throughout this episode. The act of conquering, destroying, or absorbing the enemies' assets was the norm on the steppe. Sorghaghtani herself was married to Tolui to establish a political alliance between the Mongols and Keraites, and later her father was killed after the Keraites revolted.

However, the fact that she was treated rather well in contrast to Sitara due to her high status (plus, she was never a slave), means she completely overlooks Sitara's misery.

Sitara has always been one to do things her own way, even since the first episode. The emotional dissonance she feels is contrasted with the physical struggles of the other Tus captives with adapting to the steppe climate.

They eventually get used to it, and Fatima realises just how alone she is in holding onto her hatred. It is all she has left, after all

Bankhar doggo cute

Ouch

Future Yuan dynasty ruler Kublai and future Ilkhanate founder Hulegu are so cute

The story of Kublai catching a rabbit and Hulegu catching a deer during their first hunt—and having Genghis Khan smear fat on their fingers—appears to come from Rashid al-Din's "Jami' al-Tawarikh" (Compendium of Chronicles).

That Huelugu and Kubhlai clearly adore Sitara shows a new side of the dynamics a slave has to navigate. While Sorghaghtani and the children may believe that they've genuinely bonded, Sitara only treats them with such a warm attitude because she has to. Unlike Fatima's household, where they validated her emotions even when she lashed out at them and eventually planned to emancipate her, if Sitara were to voice her negative emotions here, they would be ignored and she might be punished.

That said, I do wonder if Zumurrud ever similarly felt resentful towards Fatima and others...

I love how Genghis Khan's face is never shown. It truly paints him as a larger-than-life figure. He and Sitara never directly met, but his influence is all-pervasive

Representing him as a wolf in this episode and the second one is a reference to the founding myth of his clan, the Borjigin, which stemmed from the union of a wolf and a doe.

The story dives into differences between Islamic and Mongolian norms when slaughtering animals. What the man did here is sever the lamb's aorta with his finger, and Fatima is referring to Dhabihah, which is the Islamic method for slaughtering halal animals. One is supposed to call upon Allah for each animal, and must not sever the spine.

I like that Fatima explains the reasoning behind the Dhabihah. It shows how cultural norms are influenced by wisdom. However, I also think that Mongolian method is likely influenced by the steppes being much colder - i.e. the meat won't spoil as quickly, so it doesn't matter if the blood remains.

Locals know best, in either case

This is a bezoar stone! It's a hardened cluster of materials that are hard to digest that forms within the body. Likely the lamb felt sick because the stone irritated its stomach lining

The word is derived from the Persian “pād-zahr” (پادزهر), which literally means “antidote”. Many scholars of the Islamic Golden Age, such as Ibn Sina (whose work in medicine was depicted/mentioned in the first episode, I believe), touted it as a panacea. It does have significance in Mongolian culture as well, but I think that's probably going to be explained later.

There's so much attention to detail packed inside every scene, and it really helps to make the world feel alive

This is a Mongolian dish eaten on special occasions even today. It's also interesting that there is a parallel dish found in countries more to the west, including Iran, called kaleh pache (I think?)

And this drinking tradition (which I cannot find an English translation for but is spelled like this with the Cyrillic alphabet: сэржим өргөх) requires dipping the ring finger in the drink (usually airag or vodka) and flicking it a number of times (sources differ on how many) to offer blessings to the sky, earth, etc.

Mongolian wrestling, aka Bökh, is also featured! It has a long history, and served as a way to develop the strength and endurance which the harsh nomadic lifestyle demands

Odegei assuming a more ancient illustrious ('Khagan [lit. Khan of Khans]' instead of 'Khan') reminds me of Qin Shi Huang mashing together two imperial titles from Chinese mythology to make his own. It speaks to his ambition of surpassing his father.

Also, the reason Jochi isn't here is because he died shortly before Genghis Khan. Last episode was the only time we'll see him. He was quite estranged from his family due to his ambiguous paternity (his name even means 'guest').

An exciting twist in the story! Presumably this is how Fatima meets Töregene?

Earlier, Fatima grew frustrated that she had made so little progress towards the book, but in fact, this might just be her chance. The years she spent 'doing nothing' actually integrated her into Sorghaghtani's inner circle!

With her knowledge as a scholar and her knowledge of the court, she gains one of her greatest assets as a slave to the Mongols: Being irreplaceable.

[jamjamtheguy]

Something I find fascinating about jaadugar so far is the dynamic between Sorghaghtani Beki and Sitara.

They are similar in the way they value knowledge and hold it in such high regards but that makes the tension between all the more interesting. Sorghaghtani ultimately has noble goals for the knowledge and she clearly values the cultures that brought it to her. We know that because because she talks about how they tracked stars and measured the size of the earth, she’s clearly done her homework. Which makes it all the more powerful that there is no way she doesn’t know this book didn’t come into her possession peacefully, she understands that the mongols would raid those people to get the book for her and was still willing to send her husband out to get it. That huger for knowledge and willingness to chase after what you want is something Sitara can absolutely understand which makes even more fascinating that Sitara loathes her. And that makes the forced, “I admire your mind,” even more powerful. I could see them getting along swimmingly if they had met under different circumstances but alas they cannot.

[inbestigator]

Jaadugar A Witch in Mongolia