#and also just in general the national is ruining my life as always

[bromcommie]

no offense but like. i’m trying but i’m graceless. don’t have the sunny side to face this i am invisible and weightless you can’t imagine how i hate this graceless and also like…. i’m trying but i’m gone! through the glass again!! just come and find me!! god loves everybody don’t remind me!!!!! i took the medicine and i went missing just let me hear your voice just let me listen!!!! and y’know now that i think about it actually. all of my thoughts of you bullets through rotten fruit come apart at the seams NOW I KNOW WHAT DYING MEANS.

[yaeggravate]

Is Capitano Anfortas Alberich?

Hiii, I have been losing my mind over this for months, and I needed to share my findings all in one place.

This might get debunked in a few weeks but until then there is actually a very high chance Capitano is Anfortas. …And not just because his constellation is a giant arrow pointing straight at him.

WARNING: This contains spoilers for the World Quest Shadows of the Mountains.

UPDATE (5.1): WE WON 🎉🥳

As a refresher, Anfortas was the Knight Marshal of the Schwanenritter (German for Swan Knights), a Khaenri'ahn warrior band who went on to protect Sumeru from the onslaught of the "Dark Beasts" during the Cataclysm. The giant Ruin Golems scattered in the forest and desert of Sumeru were piloted by them.

Barely-Legible Bulletin In view of King Irmin's present indisposed state and the current unknown threats facing the Kingdom……Knight Marshal Anfortas has proclaimed that he will temporarily take up the post of Regent and lead the Regnum Concilium Ultimum until the Kingdom returns to a state of normalcy…

At some point, King Irmin became indisposed (unable to rule), which made Anfortas step in as a temporary regent until the Kingdom returned to a state of normalcy. (Didn't age well.)

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: The writings are as follows: "Remember always that it was the Alberich Clan, who did not have royal blood, who stepped in as regents when the strength of the one-eyed king Irmin failed."

This is further confirmed in Kaeya's secret notes from the Hidden Strife event which implies Anfortas is part of the Alberich clan.

Later, Anfortas was betrayed by his comrade Hadura. He fought and executed them, losing his left eye in the process. With Hadura, the last of his comrades, gone, the Schwanenritter are no more.

The ultimate fate of Anfortas is currently unknown as is his exact relation to Kaeya and Chlothar. Whether or not Anfortas is Kaeya's father/uncle/grandfather/secret older brother is not the point of this post.

This is specifically about the connection between Capitano and Anfortas.

I will start by listing the reasons why he could be Capitano and then consider the reasons why he's not.

THE THREE NAILS

Capitano's constellation is likely the three nails which is a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Triclavianism is the belief that three nails were used to crucify Jesus Christ.

I do believe it belongs to Capitano, since he said he would pick up the mantle of "salvation" and is in the nation where people can be resurrected. …Needless to say, we can assume there's not going to be 50 plot twists behind this.

The three nails symbolize salvation and redemption, as well as the suffering of Jesus. You can also think of it as a symbol of martyrdom.

Anfortas is named after the Fisher King from Arthurian legends, who guarded the Holy Grail. The Fisher King was cursed by an incurable wound, stuck between life and death, doomed to suffer for eternity. There are several versions of the legend, with differing names for the Fisher King, "Anfortas" being one of them.

As it happens, the Fisher King is likened to Jesus on the cross quite prominently, both in art and on stage.

Carman explores the use of Christian symbolism in Perlesvaus. He connects the Fisher King with Christ himself, noting his name, Messios, his function as a sufferer, and his death symbolizing the Crucifixion.

In the version of Wagner, he even gets stabbed by the Holy Spear in the same side as Jesus while he was crucified!

Parzival became the primary source for Richard Wagner's 1882 opera Parsifal, in which the Fisher King is wounded by the spear that pierced Jesus's side.

As if that wasn't enough, one of Anfortas' knights left a note inside a Ruin Golem. They state they don't know whether they will be seen as sinners or heroes but believe Anfortas will find a way to save them.

An Abandoned Letter ...I often think lately about how future generations will tell my story. Will I be a sinner? Or a hero......The situation here is dire, but I believe that our Marshal will find a way. I believe... We once fought bravely here, doing our best to prevent this inglorious war. I believe that when it is all over... we shall recover our past splendor...Glory evermore... to Khaenri'ah...

This thematically fits the three nails. Unfortunately for this knight, Anfortas was unable to save Khaenri'ah and their people were condemned as "sinners" throughout history.

At the time of writing, Capitano says something curious in the trailer for 5.1:

Humanity's survival is worth any price If I could go back I would do whatever it took to ensure their survival. You've experienced something similar, Mavuika. You should know exactly what I mean.

Though we don't know the full context yet, this is not a surprising revelation if Capitano is Anfortas; he lost his homeland Khaenri'ah, "the pride of humankind," after all. Furthermore, he compares his suffering to that of the Pyro Archon, the ruler of Natlan. Anfortas was also briefly responsible for the survival of a nation, acting as the KING regent of Khaenri'ah.

Another incredible parallel to the Three Nails can be found in the influential poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot which is about the Fisher King.

The Man with Three Staves (an authentic member of the Tarot pack) I associate, quite arbitrarily, with the Fisher King himself.

In the poem Eliot associates the Fisher King with the tarot card the Three Staves.

(The Three of Wands/Staves in Thoth and Rider Waite decks.)

The poem is actually important enough to be referenced in the game a bunch of times. If you recall, in the Veluriyam Mirage event, we ran into three brothers, two of which argued in front of Kaeya and Klee. Turns out the names of these two brothers are in the poem, with the game possibly using them as stand-ins for Anfortas and Chlothar. You can read more about it here in a separate post.

My point is, since the poem is a source of inspiration, it can be assumed the writers are aware of the association of the Three Staves with the Fisher King, aka Anfortas.

If true, I think they did something really clever here by combining the Three Staves with the Three Nails.

THE BLACK SERPENT

I think most people have noticed the draconic/serpent imagery on Capitano's outfit. He has black scales, makeshift claws and a bunch of infinity symbols.

It is curious then that Capitano is essentially dressed as a black serpent/dragon.

Dainsleif: Black Serpent Knights. They once belonged to the Royal Guard of Khaenri'ah.

(...Yet unlike Capitano, the Black Serpent Knights don't look anything like black serpents.)

Little known fact is that even though Anfortas was the leader of the Schwanenritter, his knights still wore the Black Serpent armour. Ynghildr, one of the Swan Knights, turned into a Shadowy Husk that used the Windcutter model.

Mysterious Chronicles: "…Ynghildr, Schwanenritter, 'Damsel of the Dale' …Went missing in the battle against the Onslaught of Dark Beasts. Only her … and signet ring were recovered. A proper knight's funeral was arranged for her…"

(We even end up fighting her during the WQ Vimana Agama 💔.)

In the Shadows of the Mountains WQ, we find out two Khaenri'ahn knights, also using Black Serpent armour, went forth to Natlan to stop the Abyss; their sacrifice turned them into statues for 500 years. I think it's highly likely they were sent there on Anfortas' orders.

This is because one of the knights has interesting lines before and after you bring him peace:

"Irizar": "Leave! Go… I don't want him to see me— like this—" (The voice seems to come from the very depths of the unmoving statue. There is a hint of respect toward someone remaining within…)

Irizar: Did you see? Your orders have been carried out… You… won't be disappointed…

The thing is one of Anfortas' Ruin Golems is right next to Natlan.

This is also where you find the note written by the knight who worries if they'll be seen as sinners or heroes. I do not think they were ordered by Dainsleif, as his last order before he returned to the palace was "to protect the people of Khaenri'ah" while the last will of the Schwanenritter was to destroy the Cataclysm, which is an interesting contrast in itself…

Dainsleif: To this day, I still remember the final orders I, the Twilight Sword, gave to Halfdan on the day of disaster in Khaenri'ah, before I made haste back to the palace... "Inform all Black Serpent Knights to protect the people of Khaenri'ah at all costs." Zurvan: They said that those heroes (Schwanenritter) had walked their path despite the ill repute they had garnered… And that it was to carry the will those heroes had borne, and to completely destroy the disaster from the dark depths that they had followed the heroes' path to this place.

My personal speculation is that the Schwanenritter was a special division from the Black Serpent Knights. From the book Perinheri, we know there was an Alberich who was "commander of half the knights". As stated by old man Pierro himself, the reliability of this book is a bit dodgy, but this might give us a clearer vision on who was in charge.

Anyway, if those knights were sent by Anfortas, there's a chance he might have ended up in Natlan himself as they were heavily affected by the Abyss. Perhaps something funky happened to him there amidst all the chaos… who knows? If we consider the three nails and what it represents, perhaps Anfortas died; but since he's a Khaenri'ahn likely cursed with immortality and Natlan's leylines are weak, death won't come to him that easy.

One other thing: on either side of the door to Khaenri'ah, there are two reliefs that show a guardian holding a sword. As it happens, their helmets are flat and have a huge 8-pointed star in the middle... just like Capitano.

OTHER SIMILARITIES AND SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR 🤨

–Both Anfortas and Capitano are commanders of an army. To paraphrase @kaeyacollection, if I was Pierro, I would want someone with experience to lead my army and not some random bloodstained guy from Mondstadt, right? Pierro and Anfortas would have undoubtedly known each other as Pierro was a Royal Mage and Anfortas was part of the Royal Guard, so it wouldn't be strange for Pierro to recruit someone who he's already familiar with and can depend on.

Mocking Mask (Pierro): Since my level of learning could not compare with the sages, I failed to earn the favor of the previous ruler.

Furthermore, Pierro refers to King Irmin as the "previous ruler" which is an odd choice of words as it could either imply there is still a current ruler out there or Pierro simply acknowledged Anfortas as the last one, which has some interesting implications seeing as he only took up the position temporarily.

–Anfortas is highly respected, as shown by the note written by the knight who believed in him until the end. Someone even tried to write a letter to him begging him to petition the king. And if that knight who was sent to Natlan was referring to the Marshal, it means his main concern was that he would fail Anfortas.

Furthermore, there's a message left scattered across Ruin Guards with the encryption key being Anfortas' name…

Decoded message: We Schwanenritters have fought to the last one

We don't know who left it there, and hell it might be Anfortas himself, but whoever it was certainly valued the name. Fun fact: the achievement you get when you interact with all the Ruin Guards is called In the Name of Anfortas. This is similar to the achievement In the Name of Favonius, which you can get after completing a daily commission that indirectly involves Kaeya!

As far as we can tell, Capitano is also highly admired. Viktor would rather work for him, Varka wrote an entire love letter about him and the voicelines of the Harbingers confirm he's respectable man. (Although Wanderer and those of us who have run into Cap's animal lava farm may have some questions 🤨)

About The Captain "The ever-righteous Captain," "the brave and fearless Captain," "the nigh-invincible Captain"... Even my mechanical ears demand maintenance after listening to so many compliments from the members of the Fatui. Don't you think that possessing absolute righteousness is actually a latent danger? And that's without taking his great personal strength into account.

According to Wanderer, Capitano is seen as extremely righteous. We don't know enough about Anfortas to compare his morals with Capitano's but we do know that he executed his own comrade after a betrayal yet still gave them a proper knight's funeral since they were the last one left. This could allign with Cap's extreme righteousness and honor.

–Capitano proclaimed to the Pyro Archon that someone needs to pick up the mantle of salvation during a crisis…. which is exactly what Anfortas did. He stepped in when Irmin was busy poking holes in the veilussy of sin. Who knows? Perhaps Capitano doesn't want history to repeat itself.

–There could be another reason, though. You see, The Schwanenritter is named after the legend of the Swan Knight. These were an order of Grail Knights who would be sent out in secret to provide a ruler to a kingdom if there was none.

Members of this order are sent out in secret to provide lords to kingdoms that have lost their protectors

Furthermore, the Swan Knight had to hide his origins and name; same thing Capitano is doing.

The story of the Knight of the Swan, or Swan Knight, is a medieval tale about a mysterious rescuer who comes in a swan-drawn boat to defend a damsel, his only condition being that he must never be asked his name.

Varka: The man hides everything under the mask he wears, so no one can know his past or his origins.

–Speaking of which, when Capitano was first mentioned in Varka's letter, guess who was there to witness it?

What's funny is he doesn't even speak during this entire scene. They just forced him to stand there for seemingly no reason.

–Capitano is in Natlan. In Kaeya's hidden letters, there is a lot of fire imagery. Kaeya's father takes this even further by practically quoting Natlan's rule of resurrection. They even use the same term for ashes/embers in the original CN.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: A piece of it has been burned away, and the remaining parts show signs of having been rescued from that same flame.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: (Kaeya's father): "Though we could not restore Khaenri'ah to life, we of the Alberich Clan should lead lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers." Dainsleif (Travail trailer, Natlan): The rules of war are woven in the womb: the victors shall burn bright, while the losers must turn to ash.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: (Kaeya): "Now that I look at it, his handwriting was as grieving as a smoking ash pile."

I don't know what to make of it and perhaps there's no deeper connection, but you have to admit, it is a little odd…

–The name Anfortas is speculated to be derived from french "enfertez" which means infirmity or weakness/illness. This is a very interesting contrast to Capitano's strong man persona. Not to mention, Capitano's commedia dell'arte counterpart is a braggart who only boasted about his strength. Who knows, perhaps Anfortano is suffering from an ailment/curse and is using whatever means he can to make himself stronger. (Such as the "presence" inside him.)

That being said, in the book Perinheri, the Alberich who was commander of half the knights was part of the "mightiest figures in Khaenri'ah".

–For some reason, Kaeya has what looks like snakeheads with a split tongue on his pants. You can also find a version of this on Capitano's outfit. …Yeah, I don't know either.

Jokes aside, Kaeya is wearing the top half of Capitano's modified Fatui coat complete with weird double flaps and fur boa. (There was a Hoyofair fananimation a year ago where the artist portrayed Anfortas with black fur which is pretty funny in hindsight.)

If Capitano isn't related to Kaeya, I'm going to need a very good explanation for why they share the same terrible fashion sense.

–Both Chlothar and Caribert have black hair and blue eyes... just like our buddy Capitano. While that's not enough to claim they're related, it is certainly a point in our favor.

–Since Pierro was original enough to give the title of "the Doctor" to a doctor, it wouldn't be too out of place for him to dub a marshal "the Captain".

–Kaeya was adopted by Crepus, who owned a Delusion. Is it really a coincidence that Kaeya was taken in by a man with ties to the Fatui? If any of the Harbingers are connected to Kaeya, Pierro (Khaenri'ahn) and Capitano (identity unknown) would be the two biggest suspects, right?

WHY CAPITANO CAN'T BE ANFORTAS…HAHA UNLESS?

–As mentioned before, Anfortas lost his left eye. From Mika's character story, we know Capitano has glowing dark blue eyes plural. However, it's unclear whether he lost his eye in the literal sense or was only blinded. It's possible Anfortas simply grew the eye back but if that's the case I don't see the point in mentioning the loss in the first place, other than to draw a parallel to Kaeya (who didn't even lose his eye either…)

–Capitano uses a strange power that looks related to Nightsoul… …Whatever it is, it could point at him being from Natlan. However, the Traveler can use Phlogiston despite not being from Natlan. We don't have Pyro Traveler yet but I suspect they will be able to use Nightsoul as well.

Mavuika also says she sensed an "unsual presence" inside Capitano. This "presence" could explain his ability to use Walmart Nightsoul and why he has knowledge on a secret oath made 500 years ago (and why he has two eyes again).

–I think it's possible Anfortas is either Kaeya's "pirate" grandpa or his father and if that's the case the chances of Capitano being playable are abyssmal 💀. However, Arthurian Anfortas was famously saved by his nephew Parzival. If they go by the legend and Parzival is the equivalent of Kaeya, Anfortas could be his uncle instead.

In any case, we'll have to wait and see where the story goes from here. Even if Anfortas isn't Capitano, he still has major relevance that has yet to be revealed. Until then, much like Anfortas and Capitano, all we can do is suffer on the cross 👍🏽

*UPDATE 5.1: CAPITANO'S LINES FROM THE AQ

"The Captain": Why...? Because I am a survivor of Khaenri'ah. I've witnessed the devastation and terror of the Abyss with my own eyes. "The Captain": That's right. My family, my comrades, my homeland... were all lost to the Abyss. It is an unforgettable pain, one that no amount of time could ever dull... not even five hundred years. "The Captain": If I could go back, I would reject all false hope. I would do whatever it took to ensure their survival.

"The Captain": That story begins with the cataclysm five hundred years ago.... I failed to save Khaenri'ah from the rampage of the Abyss. When the situation became unsalvageable, I fled to Natlan with the remainder of my platoon. "The Captain": Only to find that Natlan had fallen victim to the same tragedy. I defended this land for quite some time and, in the process, met the chief of the Masters of the Night-Wind, Ayizu. I'm sure many people viewed Khaenri'ah as the cause of the tragedy, but Ayizu was kind to me all the same, and even helped me in my time of need. "The Captain": From that moment, I made it my mission to aid Natlan. In battle, a warrior fights to win. Even though my homeland was lost, I was already committed to this fight.

"The Captain": Heh, even without the mask, my past appearance is long gone. Even with the curse of immortality, the flesh still rots. Paimon: Wait, do you know someone named Dainsleif? That problem doesn't seem quite so... extreme for him. "The Captain": You've met him already? Paimon: Yeah, a bunch of times. Sounds like you know him, too. "The Captain": During the age of Khaenri'ah, all I knew was his name. The last time I saw him in person, he was traveling with the Prince. He carries a degree of pain and hatred that far surpasses my own.

[skyeslittlecorner]

I was just writting one of the requests, about demon's weaknesses and dark sides, but… You see, my texts are usually a joyful stream of consciousness. I always try to make them as emotional or humorous as possible. Pleasant to read. And, what's more important, quite tamed. But I think went a little too far this time?

Since I've already written it, why not, I'll post it. Although I feel obliged to give a warning that it might be a bit more... graphic? Halloween is soon, let's say I have permission.

Satan’s weakness is his kingdom. The nation he loves and serves; the people he named and took under his roof.

If he is pushed to the wall, he will not hesitate. He may lose the fight, but not the war. The final battle for Gehenna. Leraye, Paimon, go to the front behind the city. Zagan, Astaroth, evacuate the entire capital and nearby villages. Belial, warn Hades and Tartaros. Sitri, take Solomon's descendant to safety. And you, MC... take care of Sitri. Do not let him return, no matter what. Someone has to take care of the country later.

He, the king, will remain alone at the capital city, and that will be enough. The rage that emanates from him is the worst, the most vile, full of hatred and desperation. The red clouds from under his feet, thick and sultry, look like blood, although the battle has not begun. His murderous aura alone has wiped out most of the angels. But Seraph? He had something special prepared for this occasion.

Although he had rehearsed this plan in his mind hundreds of times, the blood he had drunk from the neck of the dead angel tasted as bitter as vinegar. Angel blood was generally disgusting. The blood of a poisoned, suicidal one should have killed him with a mere touch. It should also make the most powerful weapon he had ever held in his hands. A few sips weren't enough. His head ached, his eyes darkened. Was this death or madness? Probably both. The long, sharp scythe formed in his hands with obvious resistance, with each sip; it demanded sacrifice, demanded blood. Two kinds of energy. Life leaving the angel, and life leaving the demon king. 

When Satan stood before Gabriel and his army, nothing else mattered to him. He smiled with a wild, empty expression on his face. If he was to die, it would only be at the price of the complete freedom. From angels... and also from his dark thoughts.

Andrealphus’ weakness are children. He remembers too well the severed, cooling hand of his brother who protected him. Too many nights he spent hunting, just not to go thought it again and again in his nightmares.

You don't want to meet him on a hunt. Cruel methods, you say? He calls it justice. All you see from your corner is an angel with his clothes ripped open and Andrealphus's shoe on his chest. The demon will gladly help him, he’s a gentleman. Since this bastard wanted to take off his shirt, Andrealphus will cut the skin along the sternum and stomach and tear it left and right. Here, show me what you have underneath. Muscles contracting in pain, exposed. Unbuttoned pants? No problem, either. Scythe is sharp, sharp means less painful. He’ll just tear his dick and shove still warm up his ass. A hot stick from the building the angel burned down would be perfect for stopping the bleeding. In fact, it would be perfect for impaling him, too.

Your squeal would be clearly heard for Andrealphus even among the horrifying shriek of his victim. Demon would look you dead in the eye. It doesn't matter that he's blind; his blank gaze pierces your soul.

“He should be happy. I’m merciful enough to let him die at all.” He whispered, bypassing you and heading towards the ruins. “You'll be fine.”

The house that angel burned was not abandoned. The demons he tried to hurt haven't escaped yet. Andrealphus himself had only hastened his punishment because there was a more important matter at hand. He knelt down by the ruins, knowing flawlessly where the two children were hiding. Even though he was all black with soot and red with blood, the little ones he had helped out of the ruins clung to him like a savior. Both were crying, both with clothes that were a little too torn.

"It’s over now." There was as much tenderness in his voice as there had been emptiness a moment ago. "Come with me. I'll take you somewhere safe."

[luminalunii97]

Some tankie bs detection

I saw this post on my dash. The user is blocked now. But just to educate people so that they won't fall for idiotic claims online, here are a couple of facts:

1. The Islamic Republic is not anti imperialist, they're anti USA. The regime is very much in love with Russian imperialism. At this point, Iran is an unofficial russian colony. And by the support of their imperialist father figure they have their small version of imperialism in middle east. Ask Iraq and Lebanon.

2. There's no "safety" when it comes to economy in Iran. The "national sovereignty" is called "those fvckin thieves in power" here. Iran's regime is one of the most corrupt regimes by international index. Rent, nepotism, embezzlement and money laundering are serious issues in Iran. Done only and only by the governors and people in power. Social class is not only a thing, there's a raging gap between rich people and those in poverty. And the gap is getting bigger and bigger by month. If you have connections in government or you are in the government, you'll get richer and richer. Other wise, soon enough you'll be in poverty too. Many families, including mine, who used to be considered middle class, have incomes lower than the poverty threshold now.

About 15% of Iran's economic failure including inflation is on the sanctions. The rest is on the corruption within the regime.

Iran's banking system is also a corrupted organ. The so called Islamic banking is anything but Islamic. The loan interest rate is one of the highest worldwide, 23%, so that often you have to pay back more than twice the money you've received. It's called Riba in Islam and it's Haram. According to the regime themselves, the banking system in European countries, even in the USA, is more Islamic than us. The fact that some of the biggest embezzlement in Iran has been done by bank managers should give you a picture of how they're drinking our blood.

None of this is on USA imperialism. It's all the Islamic Republic.

3. The Islamic Republic doesn't support Palestinians. The regime is extremely racist and anti Arab. I dare you talk about this with an actual Arab. IR don't give two shites about Palestinians lives. The regime is antisemitic. That's what they are. Palestine is just an excuse to attack Israel. In the past 20+ years of my life, living in Iran and dealing with these posers, not once we've been educated about Palestine and Palestinians lives. Everything I know, I've learned from online resources and documentaries make by Palestinians. The regime doesn't talk about Palestinians when they pose as supporters. I'm pretty sure they don't know or care to know anything noteworthy about Palestine, considering my knowledge of the human rights violations there is always more than basiji people of my country, and I don't even know that much. All the regime talks about is how Israel should be eliminated. IR supports a terrorist organization called Hamas, not Palestinians.

4. Let's forget about everything I said so far. I wonder if tankies like the op has any ounce of humanity in them! The regime has been oppressing women, violating every type of human rights and murdering lgbtq people and other-thinkers for the last 40 years. The spectacular environmental disaster in Iran is the direct result of regime's policies and neglect. This is a case of human rights violation since it's ruining people's lives, especially ethnic minorities, like Arab farmers in south.

No religious minority is safe in Iran, be it atheist, Baha'i, Jew, christian, or Sunni Muslim. They commit crime against children, through labor and through war. IRGC have little regards for human lives in general but it descent into no regards at all for ethnic minorities.

They have MASS EXECUTED 30,000 leftists (members of Marxist Communist parties and their supporters) within the first decade of their autocratic rule. It's unbelievably funny to me when foreign leftists support a regime that has executed many of their fellow thinkers and still arrest and torture any left activist in Iran.

To say the reason the 1979 revolution happened was to get rid of western influence and to establish a democratic free independent government is true. But the Islamic Republic is not that result. Don't be fooled.

[is-the-19thcentury-man-okay]

I was very pleased with my English 1820s man. I made sure he had enrichment of a scholarly nature, to balance out the Romantic tendencies they have. He took to studying classical history and language, and I confess I was proud to have such an intelligent 19th century man. More recently he took an interest in current affairs but, as he is quite young, I assumed this was a sign of maturing. Then, just like that, he ran away! I went out searching and a neighbour informed me that he'd gone to Greece to fight against the Ottomans! I was horrified and went straight there, but I found him with a pack of Greek 1820s men and he adamantly refused to come home. What should I do? I worry that he will get hurt fighting, or that his constitution will not survive rough living in the Greek mountains. But he's having such a good time. He is learning the modern iteration of Greek (such a clever man), enjoys the local cuisine, and even wants to dress like his new friends. Is he in great danger if I let him stay, and how could I take him home without breaking his heart? (I don't want to risk any of those Greek 1820s men getting angry either, if I take their lucky mascot away.) Many thanks for your advice!

Romanticism and nationalism make for a very potent combination, as you have learned by now, and for many 19th century men of a certain social class and level of education, the attraction of the Classical world adds another layer of mythical folklore; not to mention the allure of pagan ceremony and skimpy neoclassical clothes.

For 1820s-1830s men, the Byronic appeal of exotic "Eastern" nations can be irresistible, and in general you will find a lot of national myth-making and interest in folk costumes.

Lord Byron in Albanian dress, 1813. This man is not Albanian!

You also have to be aware of your 19th century man's possibly very different ideas of national and imperial boundaries. He learns the polka in Bohemia, he wants to fight the Ottomans, he wants to fight in the Miguelite war—he might support Romantic German nationalism! It's not always the national and cultural understandings of the 21st century.

Being British is also not a guarantee of sensible behaviour. You might think that your British naval officer is going to rest on his laurels after the Napoleonic Wars, and the next thing you know, he's leading a fleet in the Chilean Independence movement!

Thomas Cochrane, naval officer for hire.

19th century men are not for the faint of heart. It can be challenging to balance their Romantic desires with a sensible course of action. Since your man has already spent so much time with his new Greek friends and has embraced their lifestyle, you could suggest that it's important that he document his experiences in a travel narrative that will also champion their cause.

As much as possible, you want to convince him that he's very valuable as a writer and/or visual artist giving voice to a cause—too valuable to foolishly risk his life or ruin his health abroad.

[shalomniscient]

Pass that servchino lore I want it all don’t hold back

DGKSHKDKHGKHVD i am about to be so annoying on main…………… since this is a little vague (i still appreciate it though !! very much !!) i’ll just be writing some sevchino trivia 👉👈

arle proposed one night while we were in bed together, just cuddling. she kind of just said it, a quiet “marry me” whispered into my shoulder, but i still said yes. the wedding itself also wasn’t anything grand—if anything, it was entirely a formality. we couldn’t have a typical wedding because of arlecchino’s position and how it would paint an absolutely grand target on my back, so in the end it was just a short ceremony with no guests besides the officiant. just arle and i, and honestly? it’s more than enough for us, as long as we have each other.

we have a home in fontaine city, which is where we stay most of the time. we do have another house in snezhnaya, but after arle retires from her position, we don’t go back to that house that often. it’s way too cold for me, and the kiddos also inherited my poor cold tolerance 😔😔😔 but staying in fontaine means we bump into the fontaine cast often, which includes furina sometimes… arle still likes to mess with her a little so i have to lightly smack her shoulder to get her to behave

our favourite place to go on holiday is mondstadt. the climate is most similar to fontaine’s, so there’s not much need to acclimate. we have picnics in springvale and go stargazing at starsnatcher cliff. but funnily enough neither i nor arle drink, so we don’t indulge in mondstadt’s alcohol scene. we go to angel’s share for the food and the cat’s tail for non-alcoholic drinks (diona loves us).

a close second for favourite holiday destinations is liyue, but we frequent chenyu vale more than liyue harbour. arle and i are both massive tea enjoyers, so we visit yilong wharf and qiaoying village often (one of my irl friends selfships with a certain duke, so whenever arle and i visit qiaoying i buy a big batch of tea to pass to her. if you’re reading this, baby, i love you). whenever we go into the city, it’s 100% for the food. my spice tolerance is goated if i do say so myself, and so are the kiddos’, but arle……… she needs a glass of milk on standby.

though whenever we go on holiday to these nations, we’re always watched, and understandably so given the fatui’s reputation. in mondstadt we run into a certain cavalry captain quite often, and in liyue we both always catch a glimpse of blue-hair and a white fur coat as we walk around. it doesn’t bother us much, as long as they keep their distance from our family.

our first child, estelle, was born a year after the events of fontaine. her brother, noé, is born three years later.

estelle studies law once she comes of age, and she’s a force to be reckoned with. she wants to work under the iudex, and holds neuvilette in high regard. if estelle ever gets a vision, it’ll be hydro, and if she ever had a favourite movie, it’d be legally blonde. estelle has big popular girl energy but she is very nice and generally cordial to everyone until you cross her, at which point she will ruin your life.

noé, on the other hand, becomes a ballet dancer! he is the polar opposite of his sister and he is mean. he’s good at what he does and he knows it, which makes him a bit of an arrogant little brat. he has 1 (one) soft spot and that’s me, because for all his posturing and perfectionism he is a mother’s boy at heart, like how estelle is a complete daddy’s girl. unlike estelle, however, he will ruin your life as a warning. the regina george to her elle woods. if noé ever gets a vision, it’ll be electro. the kids inherit their viciousness from both of us, honestly.

arle does her best to be present in estelle’s early years, but since she’s not fully retired yet, it’s a little difficult. elle’s first few years are mostly spent with me and her other siblings, but even then it’s mostly lynette and freminet because lyney is busy with arle. nonetheless, they all make sure estelle knows that she’s loved.

arle retires around the time we find out we’re expecting noé, which is about 3 to 4 years post canon. for both kids, arle doesn’t cry when she finds out, but she always gets incredibly physically affectionate for the next week or so, more than usual. she also gets progressively more protective as time passes, and it spikes for the first few months after the kiddos are born, because that’s when her family is most vulnerable and it sends her instincts into overdrive.

this devolved into sevchino family lore towards the end, but that just how it be ‘round here 😔😔😔 loved doing this sm, feel free to send more sevchino asks to the inbox uwu

[soupbitch-moneybitch]

for the tiny crossover of people who love ofmd and also race cars:

i mentioned this in a discord i'm in, but i am not a sports person at all, and i am ESPECIALLY not a race car person, except my partner has a tendency to periodically get really into a specific topic (fungi, the atomic bomb, ebola, etc), and by extension, bc i love him and love listening to him, i tend to learn things about these things by extension

which is all to say, i am now kind of disgustingly familiar with formula 1 race car driving?? to the point that i have opinions on the teams, and have favorite drivers, and know a bunch of the history and stuff. it fundamentally clashes with almost ever facet of my personality, yet i have watched almost every race this season live

the POINT tho, and also the critical problem, is that formula 1 racing--more so than any other race car competitions--lends itself SO FUCKING WELL to a blackbonnet au

if you don't know (-god i wish that were me pic-) formula 1 racing is international, and the teams are all from different countries, and so are the drivers, so you have all kinds of nationalities up in there. and there's a shitton of nepotism, and generational racers, and buying their way in, and all that sort of stuff, which ofc makes me think of like

ed, being this formula 1 driver who is one of the only drivers to start from the bottom and work his way up on skill alone, and he's about to break the record for number of world championships, but he's so fucking BORED with the whole thing, bc he has no competition anymore. he wins every race, no one even comes close, it's just the same day in and day out

ENTER

stede. mb his dad/family owns a team, or are big sponsors, so everyone assumes he got his place bc of daddy's money, esp bc he wasn't known in the racing circuit prior to formula 1, so ed doesn't pay any attention to this dude at all, besides a brief "oh cool, another kiwi #respect"

right up until stede beats him in a race

and suddenly there's real competition again. and they are stuck doing press together bc they always get podiums together after every grand prix, and they go out celebrating together in whatever random country they're in that week, but mb stede has never been much of a partier, and ed was over it years ago, so they come up with their own celebration rituals, that are just them hanging out and watching tv at the hotel, or playing racing video games, or whatever the fuck. and obviously they start to fall for each other, which causes all kinds of drama, bc izzy, ed's team lead, is like "don't let this poncy fuck get in your head!" and the fans are divided on whether they ship ed and stede, or if they hate stede for coming after ed's record breaking win, or if they LOVE stede for coming after ed's record breaking win, and it's just a huge clusterfuck of drama that makes it really hard to develop a real relationship during, esp considering that they hop countries literally every two weeks

and ofc it has to come down to the wire. they have an equal number of points at the final grand prix, so whichever one of them wins that race wins the championship. what will happen??? i dunno, but whatever it is, they'll fuck about it afterward for sure

it fits together like a gd puzzle. the story writes itself. but am i rly gonna be that person? am i rly gonna have to be a person who writes fanfiction about fucking RACE CARS???

this is ruining my life

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA - Episode 2: Warriors (1/4)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

Starting off with one of Zuko's tantrums was such a good choice. In the first couple episodes of the animated show, Zuko's frustrations at having lost the Avatar blow up all the time and it was great to see that represented - with the additional depth of him explaining exactly why he was so upset: the greatest warrior of all time was a 'coward' and ran. It gives the audience a great view of what Zuko values and how his expectations have been rocked, and therefore his world view being shifted. Iroh comes in to ease his discomfort and reassure him that it was Zuko's positive qualities that helped him find the Avatar and there is hope that he'll find him again. Hope is such an important theme in the whole series and I'm glad the live-action is focusing on it just as much for the 'villains' as they are for the 'heroes'.

For anyone still complaining about 'expositional dialogue', go back and watch S1E3 of the animated show, specifically (though really just rewatch the entire thing) and come back and tell me that wasn't waaayyy more egregious expositional dialogue than the live-action. Like I said in another post: expositional dialogue is NOT BAD, especially at the beginning of a fantasy story. We have to figure out the basics of the characters somehow and 'showing' isn't always possible or the best choice. Scrub the idea that 'telling instead of showing is bad writing' out of your mind, because it's almost guaranteed you're thinking of that advice so incredibly incorrectly that it's ruining your ability to consume media like a normal human being.

I like how Sokka and Katara are taking whether or not to leave their village for good seriously - especially Sokka, he was put in charge - it makes sense that he'd have to be convinced that abandoning his people is the best thing to do. In the first episode of the animated series, when Katara first discovers Aang is an airbender, she's ecstatic that she's finally found a teacher - and even makes to abandon her village in her desire to go find herself a master so she can learn more waterbending - we see that desire here at the beginning of the live-action episode 2 where she tells Sokka she can't just abandon this journey she's started - yes she wants to save the world, but she also wants to see where her waterbending journey can take her.

Also love the change that Gran Gran gave Katara the waterbending scroll - one that had been passed down in their tribe for generations before having to hide it from the fire nation. This hearkens to real-life examples of invaders trying to destroy the cultures of the indigenous population and them having to hide ancestral artefacts so they wouldn't get destroyed. While the pirates are a fun little side-quest and there's some excellent Zutara fodder there, I think it's a lot more impactful to have Katara learning waterbending from a cultural artefact right from her own family rather than a scroll stolen from who-knows-where. The pirates really only come back up to 'kill' Zuko at the end of the season, so that was easily folded into someone else having the blasting jelly.

Aang giving Gyatzo as good of a burial as he can was also a wonderful touch. This is all fresh for him - giving the Air Nomads he grew up with a respectful send off was the least he could do. It shows that Aang thinks about the little things, the small acts he can do to show respect and care for the world - just like the peaceful, nature loving monk we know from the animated series.

The real plot of the whole show isn't revealed in the animated version until we meet Bumi in episode 5 - I think it makes sense that, starting at the end of episode 1 of the live-action, we already get what the show is going to be about. It isn't until episode 7 of the animated series - when Aang sees the burned forest - that the idea of 'figuring out how to be the avatar' is mentioned and even after that, it's not until episode 8 where the comet time line is established and Aang even begins to think about learning to waterbend. But still, the goal of 'master the Avatar state and learn the four elements' is pretty vague and there are a lot of ways to accomplish that. Introducing the timely need to get to the Northern Water Tribe to help them with the fire nation attack gives the plot direction and purpose while still allowing for many events to happen along the way. The meandering quality of the first half of the animated season 1 is one of the most criticized parts of the OG series and the writers didn't even know what the story was going to be when they wrote those, so it makes sense that with the hindsight of the whole series in mind, the live-action would give it a bit more direction. Putting one time-sensitive task in front of Aang at a time also helps with the story structure, so I get why they first made the goal 'Northern Water Tribe', and only after they complete that timed goal will they introduce the comet.

It's great to see Iroh's love of food and interacting with the average people in every place they travel to is still a big part of his character. And Zuko sulking behind him telling him they don't have time for all this is just ripped right from the animated series. Dallas Liu and Paul Sun--Hyung Lee brought those aspects of the characters to life beautifully. Something I've seen is people upset that Zuko isn't as 'cool and calculating' as he is in the animated version and while I agree Zuko did have many of those moments, he was also rash and bullheaded too. I think the live-action really wanted to stay truer to the reality that these are kids - they're going to act more like kids than the animated counterparts did. Animated Zuko (and Azula for that matter) many times don't read as 14 and 16, respectively. They read as full-on 20-something year olds. The live-action is giving Zuko a bit farther to grow where it's Iroh being the strategist at the moment while Zuko is the driven child desperate to regain his honor. Also, just love all the complaints that the live action is so focused on telling not showing then complain that Zuko didn't say 'honor' once when…every single word out of Zuko's mouth and action he took SHOWED that he was fighting to regain honor. People need to pick a complaint and be serious about it.

[dungeonsandblorbos]

Hello and Welcome!

it's a new year and a lot has happened since the last time i did an intro, including a new campaign starting and me making a new years resolution to indulge my creative side more, so i'd like to re-introduce myself and also say hello to the writblr community!

my main blog is @persnickety-peahen, so that's where all my follows will come from. you can call me any variation of either of my blog names, or just C; they/she pronouns. i'm in my mid-twenties, happily married, queer, and neurodivergent.

i've been enamored with the idea of writing from childhood, but since university a lot of that energy has gotten channeled into TTRPGs due to life circumstances, so now instead of writing i obsess over my PCs and make long, detailed documents full of exploitable backstory content, NPCs, and worldbuilding elements for my DM(s)! :D

yes i am and have always been the designated note-taker in all of my campaigns, why do you ask?

aside from writing and TTRPGs, i enjoy baking, taking wiki walks, and playing Stardew Valley, and lately i've also started teaching myself how to do pixel art. i love the blorbos from my campaigns so much and will impulsively share stories about them to anyone who will listen, hence me making this blog as a place to infodump about my beloveds! content here includes fun stories from the big four campaigns i've been part of, out of context session notes, and especially various kinds of mentally ill blorbo posting, as well as a bunch of reblogs of stuff from the writblr, whumpblr, and TTRPG communities (including pretty dice and dice trays!). someday i might also get around to posting an actual ongoing narrative recap of one of my campaigns, and some of the blorbo-related pixel art i've been making.

i'd love to be more active here, so please feel free to send me asks about any of the characters or campaigns, or even just TTRPG things in general, as i'm always happy to talk about them. i'm also open to writblr tag games, even if they don't fully apply to a TTRPG context—if it gives me an excuse to blab about my blorbos, i will make it work!

story/campaign info and links below the cut

My Stories/Campaigns

(actual links TK as i reorganize this blog a bit and post new campaign/character intros over the next week or so)

Ruins of Runet Status: Temporary hiatus System: D&D5e, homebrew setting Tags: #ruins of runet, #ariel sentera alvedes Short premise: Six hundred years after its sudden disappearance caused a worldwide societal collapse, Magic has returned to the world of Runet. The gods, however, are still gone. Several powerful factions have promised great rewards to any party that can successfully uncover the truth behind Runet's new magic, and help them claim its power for themselves—but perhaps there's a good reason that magic disappeared in the first place. Genres: Medieval fantasy, Existential horror, Eldritch horror Rating: Mature General content warnings: strong language, mature humor, immature humor, alcohol consumption, some sexual themes, some religious themes, fantasy violence, blood and gore, body horror, major character death. Posts will be individually tagged with any relevant warnings. Full campaign and character intro: link

Curse of Strahd (homebrewed) Status: Indefinite hiatus System: D&D5e, Curse of Strahd playbook + a metric shit ton of homebrew Tags: #curse of strahd homebrew, #cerris dalca, #meow meow milo, #dos holy boys, #cos memes, narrative tag TK Short premise: The once-prosperous valley nation of Barovia has been trapped in the Shadowfell for roughly the past 400 years, and its immortal king Strahd von Zarovich cursed with it. For now, at least. He believes he's found a loophole—and the perfect party of would-be heroes to unwittingly help him. Genres: Medieval fantasy, Gothic horror Rating: Explicit General content warnings: strong language, mature humor, drug and alcohol consumption, some sexual themes, some religious themes, fantasy violence, blood and gore, body horror, child endangerment, unintentional cannibalism, and oh my god so much more. Posts will be individually tagged with any relevant warnings. Full campaign and character intro: link

Cauldron & Kettle Questing Company Status: Completed System: D&D5e, Acquisitions, Inc. playbook + a bit of homebrew Tags: #cauldron & kettle questing co., #jun vyardes, #jun and tim Short premise: Acquisitions, Inc., is a wildly profitable adventuring company with a long track record of success, both at its main branch and across its many subsidiary locations. Sure, sometimes they mistake a group of newbie interns for an experienced party and set them on a quest to stop a chaos-worshipping cult hell-bent on tearing a rift in reality and destroying the universe as we know it, but hey, as long as they get the job done, who cares, right? Maybe they'll even get a raise out of it. Genres: Medieval fantasy, Corporate fantasy Rating: Teen General content warnings: strong language, mature humor, immature humor, drug and alcohol consumption, fantasy violence. Posts may not be tagged due to the generally mild nature of most of this campaign's content. Full campaign and character intro: link

The Orphic Uprising and The Amazonomachy Status: Completed System: Cypher, setting based on Percy Jackson series Tags: #confusion crew, #nina grayson Short premise: After a simple game of Capture the Flag at Camp Half-Blood goes horribly wrong, a ragtag group of demigods are called upon to save Olympus—and more importantly, their loved ones. Genres: Urban fantasy, YA Rating: Teen General content warnings: strong language, mature humor, immature humor, fantasy violence, teenage protagonists, second-hand embarrassment. Posts may not be tagged due to the generally mild nature of most of this campaign's content. Full campaign and character intro: link

[akasen-littera]

An Introduction to Akasen-ism

Hey there! Welcome to my blog! I only just recently started using Tumblr and perhaps it would be a good idea to properly present myself to you guys!

About me

Akasen (he/him).

Gay.

19 y.o.

Brazillian, might post in portuguese

University student, majoring in Computer Science.

Uses a lot of tonetags.

Interests and fandoms

Current Fandoms:

A Ordem Paranormal TTRPG

Nimona (I still haven't read the novel, sadly)

Encanto

Baldur's Gate 3

Interests

Fantasy, writing, magic systems in general, action and lore.

Mythology and folklore.

Diverse and creative application of magic.

Tabletop RPGs my beloved!! While I'm always open to learn new systems, I'm mostly into DnD, Ordem Paranormal and City of Mist.

I also make homebrews for AOP and plan to make some fics involving Ordem Paranormal in the future so I can spread the word of AOP /hj.

Endlessly yapping about magic systems and magic in literature and magic in general.

I also enjoy gaming, mostly RPGs but I consider myself ecletic in taste.

My fics

♦ Dark Seeks Light

Ostracized, neglected and considered a curse and a stain of the otherwise perfect image of the Familia Madrigal, Mirabel realizes on the bottom of the pit that she is a shadow in a family of shining stars, that not only she isn't part of them, she is opposite to them. In a last plead for a candle that pretty much ruined her life, she asks for a place to belong and people that can understand her.

In the following day, in the middle of Isabela's bertrothal dinner, she suddenly started glowing in a golden light, before disappearing before their very eyes.

She woke up in a strange room, amidst six strangers of different languages and nations, before they magically started understanding each other and founding out that they share more than they expected: the fact that they were all giftless. Upon learning this, Mirabel ignites the hope that with them, she can find a place to be herself.

Encanto Fic.

Current incomplete.

Has a lot of focus on the OCs, in some cases more than the Madrigals themselves.

High Fantasy with magic being a constant, ever-present aspect of the Arcane Nations.

Will be pretty long.

Lots and lots and lots of worldbuilding

Queer people everywhere (it's my setting of magical people I make the rules).

Contains OC x Canon.

A lot of exploration of the magic system.

♦ The Narrative Around Us

People are simply not aware of the sheer power stories hold.

The citizens of the kingdom go about their days without having knowledge of people with powers born from stories: Rifts, whose powers are concealed by the ever present, yet invisible, mist. Those people are vessels for the respective legends they represent, those powers shaping them.

However, one common knowledge for every rift is that the narrative around their mythos will inevitably make them gravitate and change their own stories to fit their own. They must fight their own stories internally, lest they are devoured by them. So when Ballister becomes the Rift of Gloreth, knowing that there is scarcely any bigger honor, he vows himself to give himself wholly to her story, to be a vessel, however, as he learns about the world of Rifts and the Mist, he is blocked from fufilling his destiny.

Nimona AU - Inspired by City of Mist TTRPG

Currently incomplete.

Features some OCs but the protagonists are Ballister and Ambrosius.

Quite a lot of depictions of religious trauma-- But things get better (eventually).

Urban Fantasy with action and investigation.

Bal is kinda of a vigilante in this AU.

[gaviicreates]

National Crochet Month - Days 12-18

12. Favorite Yarn - I have a few because of the different types of projects I do. In the world of doilies, my favorite crochet thread is called Alize Miss Batik, which can be a little hard to come by. It's a size 10 mercerized cotton and each colorway has long strand variegation to create such beautiful final products. In the world of what I purchase from my LYS - my heart sings Malabrigo. While Arroyo/DK is my preferred weight here, I've worked more with their ult sock and sock weight. As far as value yarns, I'm partial to Lion Brand's options. I have a bit of a collection of Mandala cakes. Though Caron Simply Soft is where I started. In the world of cotton - I like hobbii's friends cotton.

13. Something [color]

I asked my fandom to send me a color for this, and then I crocheted a granny square in order of each color received until I couldn't find a color in stash close enough. It was lilac that did me in. So I'd be happy to share the randomness of with you for this part of the challenge. Random Rainbow:

14. 3 Crocheters I love My mom, obviously, and my friends here. But I imagine this question is to share creators and entertainers that inspire us on line. For that, here are a few I follow:

Toni from TLYarnCrafts Juan - JuantheYarnAddict For patterns - especially those do mandalas and might want to give some thread crochet a try, I recommend grace fearon and draiguna and handmadebyraine.

15. Blanket

The blanket you're about to see is not one I made, but it's one that I've always known. I've shared this story before on my instagram, and it felt right to share here for this part of the challenge. As a child, I loved all the bright colors and I liked playing with the fringe. I didn't find out until I was older that it was made by the grandmother I'd never known. Years before me, my mom taught her mom how to crochet as an outlet for when she was sick. She had just turned the corner of fringe before passing away, and mom couldn't bring herself to finish it.

It means so much to me that this craft can create a bond. Even reach across generations.

16. Crocheting in Public Yes, it depends though. I don't always carry around a project bag that's portable, as I also prefer to be at home more often than not. One of my favorite places/times to crochet is when I am on vacation, so I've been known to bring some projects down to the beach front.

17. Something for Me

At the moment, the big crochet blanket is the thing that's most for me. It was a huge splurge for nice yarns, has been an absolute joy to work with as hand-dyed merino, and the end piece isn't going to mean much to anyone besides myself and my husband. I think people who also play ffxiv might appreciate the idea, but we've also added yarns to represent our Warrior of Light, so the final product is going to be subtle, special to us, and probably look like it doesn't go together at all to everyone else. It's making me happy though and that's what matters. Though, I am also terrified of it getting ruined, so it might end up carefully bagged and stored until I want to use it. #blanket of the seventh dawn 18. Crochet Buddy Most of my crochet friends are online, which is great because it's such a great way to bond over timezones. I love seeing progress, being a part of inspiring each other - sometimes not always with crochet, and just chatting life and projects. On the other hand it means no yarn-y friends to take to the LYS or craft store with me. I have to be my own reality check (admittedly though, I'm often my own enabler). Anyway - you know who you are :D

[redd956]

My favorite worldbuilding moments in media

Spoilers: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Centaurworld, Hollow Knight

As humans in today’s age and world we are constant consumers to media of nearly infinite varieties. I myself take a long time to start new media or dive into new hobbies, it’s just a trait of mine.

When I do I’ll admit I’m hard to please, and will often not finish shows, movies, or books because they didn’t grasp a part of me enough. This does mean though that if it’s something I love I will latch onto for likely the rest of my life (until a bigger corporation or something comes along to ruin it)

Here are 3 of my favorite worldbuilding moments in media

Sweat Bending (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Avatar: The Last Airbender is known as a masterpiece of worldbuilding, and it got that reputation for a reason. There were tons of moments in this show that blew my inner worldbuilder away, but this isn’t a blog piece about Avatar: The Last Airbender, so I needed to pick one moment that stuck out to me.

Which to me the moment I decided upon is when Katara sweatbends while being trapped within a fire nation prison. This was an amazing worldbuilding moment. I watched the character accidentally learn and rediscover this ability, without it ever really feeling cheap to me. It’s also such a cool moment for the waterbenders in the story in general, because it only posed more questions for the future of Katara’s abilities.

Also girl is a badass, who doesn’t love a badass in stories.

Taurnado (Centaurworld)

I watched this early last year during a really tough time in my life. Even though everyone was trashing on the characters and story, I didn’t care at all. This was fun to watch and really made my terrible days brighter. Plus I watched it with my brother who rarely ever watched things with me anymore, and we were both laughing.

However when this scene came on, us two worldbuilding nerds got chills, and the amazing soundtrack to come with it didn’t help. It really gave the show the magic I realized it was going for, and further explored on the idea that everything is a centaur in centaurworld, even their threats. It was a great moment with the characters, showing the dynamic and stakes between the characters.

And every few months I listen to the song once again because they did amazing with that one.

The Infection (Hollow Knight)

I bought Hollow Knight one day on a whim, as I was starving for something challenging yet smooth to play. I settled on it after buying it on for my switch, and upon booting it up would discover that I accidentally began  a journey that would play an important role in my life.

After beating one of the major areas I decided I’d return back to Dirtmouth. Often in video games I refuse to use fast travel frequently, as I love enjoying the atmospheres developed. Upon entering crossroads my perception of the game I already fell in love with completely changed.

The music entered my bones, the change in scenery of a familiar places sent shivers down my spine, and a wave dread for the fictional world washed over me. The stakes were always there, but like every video gamer you never act like they are, this reminded me of them.

It was an amazing worldbuilding moment, and moment in video gaming in general, and I don’t expect to ever forgot it.

[tenshiharmonia]

So, I went to see the Super Mario movie saturday afternoon and I must say, I had an absolute blast. Don't get me wrong, it was far from perfect. And I'll have to agree that it could have used ten or fifteen more minutes to pace things a little more organically. But really, I had a smile on my face the entire time. As a Bowser fan, the film was an especially exhilarating treat. From enjoying himself at a heavy metal concert, to bashfully trying to woo the princess, writing her an exquisitely awkward love song and rehearsing his proposal with Kamek, to ruthlessly tearing into the hero after they saved the day ruined everything he worked so hard towards, he walked such an astounding line between adorable and intense (also, I'd like to add that he was really, really sexy :3 ). Not that the other characters weren't delightful too, of course. I must admit, I'm actually quite surprised that they chose to address Peach's origins. I mean, even back when the brothers being from Brooklyn was a staple of the series, the incongruity of a (seemingly) human princess leading a nation of mushroom people never really came into question. If a sequel there is, I'd definitely like for that point to be explored a little more... Also, I'm particularly fond of the way the Kongs were integrated into the story. To tell you the truth, I've never really cared for the DK side of the franchise all that much. But really, the visit to the Jungle Kingdom was quite a riot, both in terms of action and worldbuilding. And let’s not forget the sheer insanity of the Koopa General... Really though, that movie was just, so much fun. Bright, colorful, light-hearted, unadulterated fun. Which is not to say that it was without emotions. The brothers' feeling of inadequacy, both expressed in different ways, their tearful reunion, the need to prove themselves to the world and to each other... Truly, fraternal affection is the crux of the film. In fact, family as a whole is an omnipresent theme throughout the story, from Peach's devotion to the Toads, to DK's own issues with his dad. And I'm not even talking about the love that was poured into all the little details. It's already been said a thousand times, but there are so many Easter eggs* hidden in the film, be it in the picture or the score. I've seen the movie being described as a "love letter" to the franchise and its fans, and really, I feel like there is no better way to put it. In a sense, I'd say it's like a puzzle : watching all the different little pieces fall neatly into place is also part of the fun. Sure, it wasn't The Last Wish, but then again, it didn't need to be. In its case - and I insist on the word "case"** -, the world is the plot. And the film executes it spectacularly. Anyway, this accolade is probably long enough (unlike the movie, which could afford to be much longer, if only because what we got was so good already :p ). Still, let me emphasize one last time what a joy it was to see the Mushroom World come alive this way, in such a luminous and bustling manner. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if instead of a sequel, we were to get a whole-ass show, in the vein of the first three cartoons. A mix of slice-of-life and adventure to explore this beautiful version of the Mario universe and everything it has to offer. I think it would be great. With that being said, thank you for listening to my divagations on the matter. As always, it was nice to get those thoughts out of my system. I mean, it was such a wholesome movie ; I needed to share my giddy excitement with the universe. ^_^

* Quite fitting for the season, now that I think about it. Although the film is so rich in references, that I'd almost be tempted to refer to them as "Fabergé eggs". XD ** I know better than anyone how good at storytelling the franchise can be - as recently demonstrated by Sparks of Hope -, so don't take this statement as a generalization it isn't meant to be.

[doublebattled]

stealing my banner from my other blog because fuck it I might as well. detailed headcanon on Isshu, ancient unovan history (nothing that could be construed as modern, literally just up to the Heroes of Truth and Ideals), and the surviving culture. All of this is written AS IS KNOWN BY MODERN DAY HISTORIANS. This is largely why I am writing it on this blog instead of Adair's; lots of names are omitted because those have been lost, it's incomplete and in places not actually wholly accurate to the slightly more detailed version of canon that would be found over on @fusionbolts. I also have a lot of links embedded to other headcanons. So lets get into it.

The Foundation of Isshu

While the vast majority of Isshu's history is forgotten to time, there are a few oral traditions and folktales that have persisted, one of which being the most foundational to their culture: the founding of Isshu and Isshurem's pact with humankind. As expected, the details of the tale are somewhat fuzzy, being literal centuries old, but the core of it remains fundamentally the same:

In the distant past, there was a time when the differences between humans and pokemon seemed impossible to bridge; they lived entirely separate from each other and fought often. At this time there lived a young boy who was born with a gift that allowed him to speak with pokémon. This boy, who walked freely between the worlds of human and pokémon, sought out the Great Dragon, arbiter of balance, to help him bring about peace between their kinds. They forged a pact, that human and pokemon kind would walk side by side forevermore.

At least, that's the general gist of it. (A longer version of it exists on one of my older blogs, if you're so inclined. Fair warning I wrote it like five years ago. Probably more.)

This foundation myth is fundamental to Isshu's spiritual beliefs and their relationship to pokémon, information which can be found here. However, Isshurem has always been core to its belief system as the nation's sort of guardian deity, with the name "Isshurem" itself literally meaning Guardian of Isshu. In the old days, leadership of the nation meant being Isshurem's partner.

The Golden Age

Very little is known in detail about the golden age of Isshu Culture as much of it was destroyed, lost to time, untranslatable until very recently, etc. Part of it is the result of Unova's very tumultuous history and the eventual fall of Isshu, and part of it is just due to the fact that it's a very, very old culture and a lot of their written history fell victim to time. BUT,

The Golden Age of Isshu was, as the name would imply, the height of their civilization, but historically speaking—virtually none of it still remains. The only structures still standing from the Golden Age are the League Building and Dragonspiral Tower. Historians who have been able to study the few remaining writings from the era have also managed to learn something about "seals", a form of ancient "technology" developed by the people of Isshu that made their quality of life quite remarkable by ancient standards. It's also what gave us Golett and Golurk! Nobody knows how, though. The Golett that exist are... all of them. Ever. The art itself has been lost, but remnants of it remain in modern Isshu art and traditional crafts.

The original written language of Isshu has also largely been lost—or so it was thought until the Abyssal ruins were uncovered and translated, allowing them to serve as a sort of Rosetta Stone for the original alphabet. The modern version still follows many of the same grammatical rules (and uses the same pronoun system!), but beyond that, there's little resemblance.

In short: little is known about Ancient Isshu, but it was believed their civilization was highly advanced for the time. They were, perhaps because of their advanced technology, or perhaps due to their distance from many other regions, an extremely isolationist culture and did not have much exchange, cultural or otherwise, with the other large civilizations at the time. That was, until...

The Fall of Isshu

Short version: colonialism happened.

The long version: Paldea, Kalos, and Galar sometimes just got done fighting a real big war and somebody (we won't name names) set off a superweapon and just decimated both armies entirely.

Wars are very expensive and this was a large problem for everybody, so with this on top of it, two of those countries came out pretty broke and the third was having its own problems with a giant space worm and some dogs. It was a bad time! The solution? INVADE SOME OTHER COUNTRIES ABOUT IT!

Again, this is a particular part of history that is not especially well-documented from the Isshu/Unova side of things. Historians know that Isshu's rather limited military force was not prepared for the attacks, which made them a pretty easy target. We also know the then-sovereign of Isshu was killed in the ensuing conflict, and the original dragon was presumably quite badly wounded, which ultimately led to Isshu's utter defeat at the hands of invading foreign forces. (It is believed that the Abyssal Ruins, dating back to that general era, are a tomb or memorial for the last King.)

This is the period in which most of Isshu culture was lost. Either it was taken by foreign forces (which is why we have Golett outside of Unova!) or destroyed utterly. For the next two centuries, much of the remnants of these people lived in the northern, mountainous regions of their country, where they could live more or less in peace. At this point, the Village of Dragons becomes the last bastion of Isshu civilization, and remains that way for... pretty much the rest of their history.

The Isshu people were not treated well during this time, as tends to happen with colonialism. I will not go into heavy detail as I think we can all fill in the gaps as to what that means, but it wasn't a great scene. (Slightly further detail on all of that and the leadup to the Unovan Revolution can be found here.)

In the meantime, the three major countries that had done that colonialism and also had done a war with each other right before... started fighting again. Shocking. It was less of a full-on war and more infrequent, but definitely regular territorial squabbles that, unfortunately, the remaining Isshu got dragged into. So you know what that means!

The Unovan Revolution / Foundation of Unova

Two brothers and a dragon do a revolution! Again, this is not an especially well documented period of history, but it is heavily mythologized thanks to it being the precursor to Reshiram and Zekrom. The short version is a couple of guys found Isshurem, who most people thought was dead, and it helped them do a revolution. (The full story is much more complicated than that, but you get the idea.)

As you can imagine, this was incredibly important. Arguably, the foundation of Unova was the only thing that allowed Isshu culture to survive in any form during the modern day. But it wasn't without its problems. As with any colonial state, people were, uh, having some complex feelings about who rightfully belonged there and who didn't, the direction of this new country, etc. etc., which would inevitably create a schism between the two brothers who started the revolution, and... Well, we know the story from there. Three dragons!

The ensuing conflict(s) and family drama would drive the then-kings to their deaths and leave the dragons stuck in rocks for a few millennium while the new Unova got to mythologize them.

There is reason to believe that while the Heroes of Truth and Ideals were both in agreement of trying to restore and preserve Isshu culture (generally accepted as being the culture they came from), their successor let it languish for unknown reasons, presumably political. (Ironically, it's pretty well known that their successor was the progenitor of the Harmonia royal line... Harmonia being an Isshu name.)

Modern Isshu Culture

As to be expected, there are still remnants of Isshu's culture and people within Unova, particularly in the northeast. While it's been through some extremely tumultuous times, even after Unova's founding, there have been some troubles with homogenization. But, nevertheless, there remains a handful of people who consider themselves Isshu and keep a few key cultural practices (copy and pasted from another headcanon, you're welcome):

1. Isshu do not (traditionally) use pokéballs. Tradition is to find and befriend a partner pokémon without catching them. Now, mind you, in the modern day and age, this isn't always practical, so some would opt to capture a pokémon after formally befriending them, particularly if their partner was especially large, dangerous, etc. However, a partner pokémon is typically kept outside of their pokéball as much as possible.

2. Isshu do not eat farm-raised meat, but wild-caught meat is acceptable. Again, practically speaking, this is somewhat difficult in the modern day: that accounts for, y'know, most meat products. Depending on where they live, many Isshu are effectively vegetarian or pescatarian. (The rules regarding animal byproduct, like in gelatin, are a little loosey goosey, but it's generally regarded as fine: ultimately, it abides by another core principle of Isshu culture, which is to respect the body of what you hunt/kill as to not let it go to waste. What isn't used should be returned to where it was found and returned to nature.)

3. Though far from a hard rule by any means, Isshu marriage tradition dictates that the couple exchange emblems of their partner pokémon when engaged, so the couple is symbolically always together. It's all very cute.

4. The major cultural holidays take place on the summer and winter solstices, with the latter being the cultural new year, much like how other cultures recognize a lunar new year. Minor holidays are on the equinoxes.

5. Again, this is far from a hard rule, but music is a very important component of Isshu culture. Many of their core mores and norms are born from concepts that are, culturally and linguistically, tied very HEAVILY to music. As such, it's extremely common for Isshu children to learn how to play an instrument.

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Are Gerudo Failed Colonizers?

Wait... If my hc is correct & the Gerudo aren't actually from Hyrule, then wouldn't that make the Ganondorfs, all 3 in fact, technically colonizers?? O_O

Like, yeah, the Zonai came to Hyrule too & are thus foreigners as well & Rauru becomes their king, but the difference here is that there were only 2 ½ Zonai left (because otherwise, how tf does Zelda even exist) &, by all accounts, they never seem to suppress the native culture... We also don't know if they even took Hyrule by force!

Compare that to when OoT Ganondorf takes over Hyrule, he absolutely decimates Castle Town & leaves it in ruins. He lays claim to the Hylians' homes. Undead corpses litering the streets.

And one definition is "(of a nation or government) to claim and forcibly take control of (a territory other than its own), usually by sending some of its own people to settle there."

Is that not exactly what Ganondorf has always intended to do? Hasn't that been his goal from day 1??

Why do I see practically no one talking about this!?

Like, even if you think he was justified, that's basically saying that he was justified in stealing others' land.

And even if you try to stretch the definition

This bears looking into...

Something else I noticed... Everyone who insists that Ganondorf was justified seem to have a running theme of associating the Gerudo with SWANA & the Hylians with white Europeans. And that's... honestly a very shallow perspective. Like, you see a darker-skinned people & a lighter-skinned people & your automatic reaction is that the light-skinned ones are obviously in the wrong??

Hell! The Hylians in the ancient past of TotK weren't even that light-skinned!!

The thing is, while the cultures of these races have some obvious parallels & inspirations to IRL cultures, they are still almost entirely independent of the real world. They aren't going to have the same history & influences & relationships with others as IRL. And, honestly, you really shouldn't expect fantasy cultures in games to be the exact same as in real life.

The bottom line is that the Gerudo may look SWANA, but they actually aren't.

They are Gerudo, which may have SWANA themeing, but are actually their own thing inspired by their real-world equivalent. The same is true of Hylians.

For one, as far as we've seen, the Gerudo were never enslaved by the Hylians. For another, unless stated otherwise, the Hylians are actually native to Hyrule. While it's true that they were taken up to the sky for a time, it's also said that they lived on the Surface beforehand. And the only reference to the Gerudo we see in SS is the Gerudo Dragonfly. The desert being inhabited instead by little robots.

And... honestly, depending on just how realistic you're willing to go with this... The fact that they have the level of melanin that they do suggests that they've been living in areas of high uv for at least 10,000 years. Even by the point of OoT.

And, due to living in a pre-modern era, even if they were to be relocated into the northern parts of Hyrule, regardless of their predominant genetics, because of this, not only would their children be more likely to develop rickets, they'd slowly begin to lose that melanin over the generations due to having a difficult time producing their own Vitamin D in low light. Meaning that each subsequent generation would begin to select genetics corresponding to lighter skintones until they'd be no darker than most of the rest of the non-Gerudo residents of Hyrule.

Just homogenization.

And, I just very much doubt that Hyrule has developed Vitamin D Supplements yet.

Though, they'd likely be able to maintain that tone better in southern Hyrule. I mean, look at Lurelin.

Which, actually... That could allow for a more Hindi branch of Gerudo... I love sarees!

I think I'm gonna invent a new Gerudo settlement in Faron Jungle. 😀 I'm thinking around where Damel Forest is & possibly giving them a temple or shrine on Kamah Plateau. I'm imagining a grand staircase carved along the clifface itself leading up to it. And... I'm kinda tempted to add a reference to Holi to my Festivals & Holidays list...

Then there's the fact that after OoT in the Child Timeline, the Gerudo were simply exiled from Hyrule to the southwest for Ganondorf's deeds rather than genocided. And they seemed fine interacting with Hylians, which wouldn't make sense if such were attempted.

Now, I'm not about to deny that Hyrule did horrible things. For one, they desecrated a Gerudo holy site. And most likely a number of Gerudo were, in fact, tortured & executed there. However, if it were an outright attempt at genocide, then you'd think there'd be at least some warriness regarding Hylians, yet there really doesn't seem to be in FSA.

So, the only explanation I can really find is that the Royal Family never intended to exterminate all the Gerudo & only took those who remained loyal to Ganondorf (you know, because he killed a forest spirit in an attempt to steal a significant relic pertaining to another kingdom's religious/cultural identity; which is a freaking war crime).

Admittedly, the exile was a bit much. Or I assume they were exiled. If not, then why so far away now? Was it self-exile? I mean... it would make sense... the Gerudo have shown themselves to take Ganondorf's treachery very personally. "Our responsibility..." It's possible that they left in shame... well, that's sad...

Though, if so, it was probably for the best that they stayed away as long as they did... I mean, think about it. Gdorf's attempt likely resulted in escalated hostilities from the Hylians. Which, regardless of why the men were so fearful of them in Castle Town to begin with, Hyrulean attitudes towards them most likely DID NOT improve regardless of whether a specific Gerudo were actually a supporter or not.

Because that's just how people are sometimes. It's dumb, but that's the way of it.

And, while they weren't not thriving. They seemed to be happy & they appeared to get along with their Zuna buddies pretty well.

And they didn't really seem to be thieves anymore, which... Now that I think about it... this only seemed... to be the case whenever... Ganondorf... was... in charge...

...

O.o

I... I think I just realized something that would get me a lot of hate from Gdorf Apologists... 😰

---

A-anyway, if my thoughts are true, then this could actually be a very interesting twist!

And, while Hylians do have a lot in common with Germanic & Arthurian English culture. It's mostly based off a trope revolving around the European fairytales!

Ya know, the knight in shining armor comes to save the princess. That's always been the basis behind the game.

Even more than that, the game series itself is made from an Eastern perspective, by the Japanese. Meaning that the game more readily has a Japanese lense over it rather than a Western one.

LoZ Cultural Masterlist

[cassyapper]

pls share abt ur ocs <3 i remember the sister who was looking for her brother, and ur jjba oc percy f. lloyd. do u have other ones?

YAY yes ok. so i meant mostly the sister looking for her brother story so i'll talk aobut that here but if anyone wants to hear about my absolute loser jojo oc percy f lloyd (always say his full name or he'll kill you), send me a message and i'll make a post <3 he is in part 6 and serves as a general annoyance. he's not even a stand user. ANYWAY

so yes the sister and brother story. for those not in the know this girl ai (wip name) is looking for her brother after they get separated when their village was raided during war. ai's mom basically grabbed her and ran cause she wasn't gonna risk losing her only other kid (she is not a believer in best of both worlds) and ai never forgives her for it. when ai gets old enough she enlists in the army to use it as means of looking for her brother. her story picks up from there

ai has a big attitude and a short temper. even before everything she probably has some sort of mood disorder but the general trauma of her life did not help it at all so she's very unruly and short. as such even though she's been in the army for a long time she doesnt have a very high rnaking cause she just cannot do what she is told. it doesnt help that she has no allegiance to the military or national cause at all cause she doesn't actually care baout that, she's just looking for her brother. frankly the only reason she isn't kicked is cause she does do well in battle (she's a good swordswoman) and her commanding officer is a bit of a bleeding heart and wants to help her (ai will not let him)

anyway so ai goes on this whole journey. she meets a girl named arha that she gets homosexual with and she gets a little buddy named adalia that she is forced to mentor (adalia is the one forcing her). ai has a hard time focusing on them (and her commanding officer who frankly at one point quits the army in order to help her cause. well im still figuring it out but yknow) past the desire to find her brother. she refuses to believe he's dead

and like he's not dead! and she does find him! but he never looked for her. he had been saved by some dragons and was living with them and learning magic. while he knew ai and their mom weren't dead, he knew it wasn't likely he'd ever go back to human society (he was kinda traumatized by the raid and also the dragons are nice so) and so he just, moved on. this absolutely fucking crushes ai cause she ruined all the life she's lived thus far to find him and he didn't even...care if she did. her brother isn't a bad guy btw it's just. he was so young when the raid happened and he again never thought he'd see them again so. he's glad to have her now but it is admittedly awkward especially with how shattered ai is

so ai tries to figure out what comes after a) finding her goal and b) that goal not resulting in what she thought it would. her brother does join her and probably the war that was going on will be wrapped up by them but im still figuring that part out. ai accepts arha and adalia and her commander (and probably others but those are just the three i've conceived of so far) into her heart and she learns to move on, too. after which her and her brother's relationship improves in leaps and bounds. and while she never quite forgives her mom she's able to form a relationship with her after it all. but yeah

anyway i know i spoiled a lot of the beats of the story with this but! that's the basic gist. lol

this is ai btw (this is an outdated design but the foundations are here)