#///long post

[laikaflash]

I’m babbling about heraldry from a fighting game again

This is sort of a redux of my post about the mostly horse-themed heraldic motifs on some of Siegfried’s designs. As before, I’m starting with his PS1-exclusive Soul Blade costume. Specifically, the back of it.

(Screenshot taken from SPGAMES’ video.)

I thought there would’ve been at least one drawing of this coat of arms in concept art, but all the illustrations of the tabard-and-chainmail costume I've found only show him from the front. I wasn’t even entirely sure what the charges (beasts) on it were supposed to be, but my best guess remains that they’re dragons. The same game mentions in Siegfried’s “Edge Master” story that he was named after “the famous hero”. That would be Siegfried from the Nibelungenlied, who gained nigh-invulnerability from a literal blood bath after slaying a dragon (except for the back of his neck, where a fallen leaf happened to land). It’s a nice touch.

Here’s my hypothetical (and likely ungrammatical) blazon for the coat of arms: Per pale, Gules and Azure, two Dragons, Or in Dexter and Argent in sinister, combatant.

It’s hard to find an example of a coat of arms divided per pale and with charges that aren’t counterchanged and I see why. (Seriously, my only other reference was Joffrey Baratheon’s.) Grumbling aside, it does follow the rule of tincture (metals on colors). For reasons that will be elaborated on later, I don’t think this necessarily meant to be Siegfried’s arms, as it may appear. The combatant attitude (pose) of the beasts is a fitting choice for him though.

From the same game, we can see another gold dragon on a red field over Ostrheinsburg during the siege by the unseen Marquis Andre. The blazon would be mercifully easier: Gules, a Lindwurm ondoyant Or. (This dragon has two feet and no wings, so it counts. “Ondoyant” means “wriggling”. Undulating, if you will.) I’ve posted about this before, too. The Soul Archive website specifies that this banner is his. It’s not visible here, but an engraving of the same Lindwurm can be seen on a render of a catapult in the linked post.

Though a little difficult to make out, atop the towers toward the left are the damaged standards of Sir Stefan. Scratch that. Those are imperial banners of the Holy Roman Empire. (I don’t think it worked that way, but I’m not going to harp on that.) The imperial eagle can also be seen on the walls in this stage (see below).

(Screenshot taken from Raivop’s video.)

These look metallic and, judging by the perspective and scale, huge. Little information is given about Sir Stefan aside from his hiring Siegfried as a mercenary, but the former’s description as an “independent knight” might mean that he was a Free Imperial Knight. Ostrheinsburg was his castle, and it is shown to be enormous. In the second image, you can see in the far distance a keep surrounded by several rings of battlements. Even in the ruined parts shown in subsequent games and concept art, there’s a sense of grandeur to it inside and out. It would seem that Sir Stefan was a powerful knight.

I have to wonder how long Marquis Andre was able to enjoy his victory before Nightmare took over Ostrheinsburg. I don’t remember if any of the canon said his fate outright, but it’s a safe guess that he didn’t survive.

Later games gave Siegfried and Nightmare equine motifs, at least in certain costume details. (And in the latter’s case, the pun comes with the territory.) In most of his designs over the series, Nightmare’s helmet had a long, prominent spike on the forehead and flaring metal plating on the back of it, reminiscent of a unicorn’s horn and mane, respectively. (Although, some designs eschewed those for a long, red mane from Nightmare himself.) Soul Calibur VI took this a step further with this winged unicorn rampant in his character portrait. (Strictly speaking, its attitude is forcené. Couldn’t get a pun out of that.) It’s a surprisingly majestic thing for this monstrous knight.

Funny thing is, heraldic unicorns were often more goat-like (with cloven hooves and a beard... and a lion’s tail) and symbolized wildness itself. For lack of sources, I’m a bit iffy on where winged ones fall in this, though.

For comparison, below is Siegfried’s character portrait. If you put just the backgrounds side by side, you’d see the beasts almost as mirror images, combatant if you will! My interpretation is that the broken horn symbolizes that Nightmare is still a part of him, however much Siegfried will try to sever himself from him. Thinking on it again, it’s occurred to me that, unlike antlers, broken horns don’t grow back. In that light, the broken horn may symbolize that Nightmare still has some power over him, albeit in a weakened state.

While the intent here may be that they’re two sides of the same coin, this could also be a carryover from his 2P outfit in Soul Calibur III. Note the winged horse on his tabard. In the leftmost drawing in the top image, the tabard itself appears to show a coat of arms.

(I forgot whose video I screenshot this one from. I believe it was of a mod.)

The in-game model shows a second winged horse on the back. I don’t know if I’m more put off by the charges being in the first and second quarters or the Argent charge on an Or quarter. By itself, a possible interpretation of the pegasus (pegasi?) is fame. I’d speculate that the intended symbolism here is related to the phoenix motif on his default outfit (the reddish feathers on the pauldrons, what appears to be a phoenix—assuming it isn’t a stylized eagle—on his belt buckle), i.e. a metaphorical rebirth. The pegasi may symbolize him rising above his past as Nightmare.

Personally, there’s a reason I headcanon a variation of the above as Siegfried’s coat-of-arms. While it’s hard to pass up the dragon motif for him, I think of the winged horse suits him as something of a reminder of how he started: a son of a knight. A coat-of-arms is passed down from father to son, so in my mind, it’s also something that keeps him connected to his own father.

[longreads]

How Concerned Citizens Drove a Neo-Nazi Out of Rural Maine

Christopher Pohlhaus planned to build a fascist training compound in the woods of rural Maine. The local journalists, veterans, lumberjacks, and policymakers weren't having it.

Pohlhaus, 37, is a former U.S. marine, an itinerant tattoo artist, and a hardcore white-supremacist influencer. He is loud and hostile, and proud to be both. His voice is pitched surprisingly high, and he has a slight Southern drawl. He has a large body and small bald head; a blue-black tattoo crawls up the right side of his face, from his chin to his forehead. Over the years, Pohlhaus has collected thousands of social media followers, who know him by his nickname: Hammer.

Hammer had been living in Texas for a few years when, in March 2022, he bought the land in Maine. He told his followers that he was going to use it to build a haven, operational center, and training ground for white supremacists.

Check out our excerpt of The Atavist’s latest blockbuster story. 

[389]

PORTO ROCHA

[nanaluvbug]

🧀🥪🌶️🥭 The Ravening War portraits  🧀🥪🌶️🥭

patreon * twitch * shop  

[ID: a series of digitally illustrated portraits showing - top left to bottom right - Bishop Raphaniel Charlock (an old radish man with a big red head and large white eyebrows & a scraggly beard. he wears green and gold robes with symbols of the bulb and he smirks at the viewer) Karna Solara (a skinny young chili pepper woman with wavy green hair, freckled light green skin with red blooms on her cheeks. she wears a chili pepper hood lined with small pepper seeds and stares cagily ahead) Thane Delissandro Katzon (a muscular young beef man with bright pinkish skin with small skin variations to resemble pastrami and dark burgundy hair. he wears a bread headress with a swirl of rye covering his ears and he looks ahead, optimistic and determined) Queen Amangeaux Epicée du Peche (a bright mango woman with orange skin, big red hair adorned with a green laurel, and sparkling green/gold makeup. she wears large gold hoop earrings and a high leafy collar) and Colin Provolone (a scraggly cheese man with waxy yellow skin and dark slicked back hair and patchy dark facial hair. he wears a muted, ratty blue bandana around his neck and raises a scarred brow at the viewer with a smirk) End ID.)

[70sscifiart]

One of my favorites by Paul Lehr, used as a 1971 cover to "Earth Abides," by George R. Stewart. It's also in my upcoming art book!

[taizooo]

もともとは10年ほど前にTumblrにすごくハマっていて。いろんな人をフォローしたらかっこいい写真や色が洪水のように出てきて、もう自分で絵を描かなくて良いじゃん、ってなったんです。それで何年も画像を集めていって、そこで集まった色のイメージやモチーフ、レンズの距離感など画面構成を抽象化して、いまの感覚にアウトプットしています。画像の持つ情報量というものが作品の影響になっていますね。

映画『きみの色』山田尚子監督×はくいきしろい対談。嫉妬し合うふたりが語る、色と光の表現｜Tokyo Art Beat

[layla-keating]

#thistension

XO, KITTY — 1.09 “SNAFU”

[nevver]

Arts & Architecture, Sander Patelski

[foodffs]

Noodles with Lamb Sauce (Laghman, 新疆拌面) Xinjiang laghman features chewy noodles served with a bold and rich lamb and tomato sauce that is bursting with flavor.

Recipe: https://omnivorescookbook.com/recipes/uyghur-style-noodles-with-lamb-sauce

[lesserknownbots]

CJ from Hello World (MSPFA) by phasedsun?

[shitakeo33]

よく「発明は1人でできる。製品化には10人かかる。量産化には100人かかる」とも言われますが、実際に、私はネオジム磁石を1人で発明しました。製品化、量産化については住友特殊金属の仲間たちと一緒に、短期間のうちに成功させました。82年に発明し、83年から生産が始まったのですから、非常に早いです。そしてネオジム磁石は、ハードディスクのＶＣＭ(ボイスコイルモーター)の部品などの電子機器を主な用途として大歓迎を受け、生産量も年々倍増して、2000年には世界で1万トンを超えました。

世界最強「ネオジム磁石はこうして見つけた」（佐川眞人 氏 ／ インターメタリックス株式会社 代表取締役社長） | Science Portal - 科学技術の最新情報サイト「サイエンスポータル」

[389]

PORTO ROCHA

[theroyalweekly]

HRH The Princess of Wales in Southport today, on her first engagement since completing chemotherapy. It’s so good to see her!❤️ --

[kithtaehyung]

AGUST D : DAECHWITA (大吹打) & HAEGEUM (解禁)  ⤷ movie posters | ig ; twt (click for hi-res)

[magicshop]

You, who gave me their hand when I fell, now I'll hold it for you.