#abenaki

Some double curved motif drawings before bed😴 definitely not symmetrical lol

[EDIT 2025-01-22 to clarify: ladyimaginarium, who is native, asked me for Abenaki, Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqey, and Wendat flags. These are the First Nations that ladyimaginarium is from. I did not create these flags unprompted, they were specifically requested. I sent ladyimaginarium multiple rounds of mockups and got feedback before posting them.]

I have some extremely belated flags for you! Intersex Abenaki, Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqey, and Wendat. Vibrant versions on left, sensory friendlier versions on right.

Ethnonyms: Wôbanakiak, Wabanaki, Alnôbak, Alnanbal, Abenaki, Abnaki, St. Francis River Indians

Total population: 5,075

Ethnolinguistic classification: Algic > Algonquian > Eastern Algonquian

Homeland: Ndakinna

Regions with significant populations: the Connecticut River Valley (Kwanitekw), the Lake Champlain Basin (Bitawbagok), the Merrimack River Valley, the White Mountains (Wôbiadenik), the Penobscot River Valley (Panawahpskek), the Kennebec River Valley, the Saco and Androscoggin River Valleys, the Gulf of Maine Coast (Sobagwa), the St. Francis River Valley (Moliantegw), The Bécancour Region (Wôlinak)

Languages and dialects: Abenaki, Western Abenaki, Eastern Abenaki, Maliseet-Passamaquoddy, Mi'kmaw, English, French

Religion: Traditional Abenaki Spirituality, Catholicism (Roman Catholicism), Protestantism, Anglicanism, Episcopalianism, Congregationalism, Methodism, Syncretism

The Vermont organizations known as the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe, Koasek Traditional Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation, and the Abenaki Nation at Missiquoi, as well as the New Hampshire Cowasuck band of the Penacook Abenaki were all founded between the 1970s and the 2000s, and have loose membership critera, with members being admitted based on distant relation to indegenous americans of any tribe, not just Abenaki. These organistions have not kept in contact with the federally recognised Canadian tribes, who have been present in Canada continuously since time immemorial.

This report comes after a 2024 United Nations court case wherin the Odanak Abenaki called for the state of Vermont to rescind state recognition from 4 Vermont tribes, and discussed the possibility of their own recognition by the U.S. in the future.

The Abenaki councils of Odonak and W8linak ask that government, academic, and cultural institutions cease collaboration with these groups.

In my last "Behind the Scenes" post, I talked about the sapphire planet from the prequel series, and the real-world planets that inspired its composition. It was a fun way of talking about the story while also getting to indulge in my field of expertise.

But I don't always have a strong foundation of knowledge to work with. Sometimes I include details that require extensive research on my part. Though not a religious person myself, I'm very fond of studying religions and mythologies in a non-academic context, and occasionally allude to them in The Inconquerable. That brings us to chapter 8 of Part Two - featuring Solution Epsilon from Overlord.

This wasn't my first venture into the Overlord universe, but it was my first time doing so since having read the light novels. After catching up, however, I had a minor problem. There were still a lot of gaps in my knowledge of the world, things that have yet to be explained. A major concern of mine was the function of certain world items. I absolutely plan to involve those at some point down the line of this universe's narrative, but how can I do that, when very few of the world items seen in the series have actually had their function explained?

So I made a decision: whatever hasn't been explained, clarified, or ruled out from the canon, I will feel free to supplant with my own imagination.

This brings us to the subject of this chapter, Solution. While planning the fight scene in my head, I found myself uncompelled by Solution. She's a maid whose build emphasizes stealth, subterfuge, and poison - things that don't really work against Viasmos. To the extent she operates in a one-on-one duel, she is generally a more physical opponent than magical. We already had a fight like that with Lupusregina, and I wanted to find a way for Solution to stand out.

Thus, I thought to myself, "Hmm, just because she doesn't emphasize magic, doesn't mean she can't have any magical abilities." Why not just give her a big one, I figured. A last resort type of technique she could rely on when her usual tactics failed her.

I still wanted it to be a spell that matched with her vibes, though. Being a slime, I thought a water-based spell would be ideal. The only problem would be that there isn't really a high-tier water spell that's ever been seen in Overlord. I even looked up a comprehensive list of every spell used across all Overlord media, and I didn't see one. As you can probably guess, this brought me to my previous resolution: just make one up myself.

This is where "Love For Atosis" was born:

Solution wearily climbed to her feet, trying mightily to figure something out. Magic wasn't her forte, but she was out of options at this point. She had to try something.

“Twin Maximize Magic – Love For Atosis!”

Two pools of water coalesced before her outstretched hands, and took the shape of gargantuan serpents. They moved as if they had a mind of their own, honing in on Viasmos and crashing through the forest as they chased after their prey.

When it came to magical attacks, Solution was pretty weak. She generally only used it when it came to poisons, and even then, it was more of a racial talent at work. This was the trump card built into her by her creator, the Supreme Being, Herohero. A unique magic skill in YGGDRASIL, it was of the 7th tier, and could only be used by females – and only used against males. The liquid serpents, bound by their host's love, would feed upon the prey she'd provided for them. Though primarily a water spell, it also contained a powerful acid, completing the illusion of a real creature's devouring of its catch. For a predator slime like Solution, it was an appropriate spell to have in her back pocket.

The inspiration for this move came from a little-known folktale, which I came across while researching mystical serpents. Besides my own interest in mythology, Overlord regularly alludes to mythology, so I felt it was a good foundation to build a spell around. For a water spell, I could've gone to a tried-and-true figure like Leviathan, but being just a 7th-tier spell, I wanted to try something a little less on the nose.

Atosis is a water serpent of Abenaki folklore, a native culture of the Algonquian people. The snake appears in a variety of tales and legends, but the one that caught my attention is one in which a woman falls in love with Atosis. She then lures her husbands one by one into the woods, so she can feed them to the aquatic serpent.

The tale immediately struck my fancy, and it felt like something just perfect for Solution. There were several things I liked about it. First and foremost, Atosis is a water snake, and I was looking for something water-related to work with. Check. Second, I felt that I could add restrictive components (noted in the previous quote) that I could use to make the spell stronger than it probably should be. This is elaborated on a little later.

The Pleiades weren't on the same level as the Floor Guardians, so they couldn't use 10th tier magic. Narberal was the most proficient caster among them, probably the strongest of the Pleiades Maids outright (excepting their leader, Aureole Omega), and even she was limited to 8th tier magic. Perhaps that was why her creator had seen fit to gift Solution with such a technique. The spell's status as a 7th tier was only because of its restrictions. Besides the gender-related conditions for both the host and target, it also rendered the caster immobile, making it a poor option for large-scale conflicts. However, if one were to assess it only by the threat it posed to the target, it was probably more like an upper 9th tier spell. Solution was built primarily for physical and unique abilities, but those weren't a match for Viasmos whatsoever. Yuri was perhaps the only one of the Pleiades who might be able to dent him with physical blows, and even that felt uncertain to the blonde assassin. But thanks to her creator's foresight, she had a chance. A spell that worked around the limitations of her level, giving her a power far stronger than what a Pleiades Maid would normally be capable of.

But the third and most crucial reason was simply that the story resonates so perfectly with a character like Solution.

I see Solution as both the woman and the serpent - the lurer and the devourer. She seduces men into wanting to handle her alluring body, then uses that to suck them into her slime body and feast on their flesh. It's not even necessary, for one of her power. She just enjoys it.

But she doesn't act for herself. There's unquestionably a love component at the heart of all her actions - her love for the Supreme Beings. She will feed countless humans into the maw of her beloved creators if that is what they wish of her. But speaking literally, she's the one doing the feeding. I thus connect her with both of the primary figures in the story, as well as the love that anchors the transaction. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Lentugg- (Deer) graceful, elegant, the animal of community and so much more. Always such beautiful creatures they are 🦌

In the following prayer, we will renounce all the spirits behind Native American spirituality and religion. What does it mean to renounce? To renounce means to “give up, refuse, or resign usually by formal declaration” or “to refuse to follow, obey, or recognize any further: repudiate.” It is a joy to realize that by the act of our repentance, we can appropriate the finished work of Messiah…