#goddess etro

[ethernalium]

Goddess Etro by Yoshitaka Amano

[gxtchas]

re : verse page

1 ) main verse / default verse : judai has graduated school and is currently traveling the world. officially he is under the employment of kagemaru, but the reality is that he is paid to investigate unnatural events relating to spirit. as the inheritor of gentle darkness, judai does have the ability to traverse between dimensions where he attempts to undo and repent for the damages caused by the creation of super polymerisation. unlike his friends, who ultimately has more of a public reputation, judai is largely unknown and enjoys his freedom of anonymity. unfortunately, due to the nature of his work, he is extremely hard to reach and is known to disappear from time to time. despite everything, gentle darkness will continue its never-ending war with the light of destruction.

2 ) during academia : this verse will follow his lifestyle as a student. the first two years will showcase him as energetic and carefree, someone who lives in the moment, up until his final year where he is much more distance and brooding. again, canon can pretty much be a blueprint for interactions, but please be aware that i dislike the pacing of s3 and prefer to plot things out should that period be explored.

3 ) past life : before the reemergence of haou and the birth of judai, the gentle darkness had a vessel many centuries ago that went beyond the era of atlantis. originally an orphan, the child was eventually adopted by a power-hungry king who sought to exploit his powers. the child, seeking to atone for his friend's grotesque transformation, obeyed the king's demand and was raised to be the perfect military prince. during this time, the gentle darkness was known to be the only protection against the light of destruction, and with it followed a heavy burden and expectation. the young prince grew and as he got older, his heart overcame so many challenges until paranoia starts to consume him and eventually lead him to his own undoing.

4 ) FF versus xiii : once blessed by the goddess of death, the conqueror known as haou united the smaller non-blessed states into one huge empire known as niflheim. under his human lifetime, he sought to combat the slumbering bhunivelze's deceptive light. haou was the reason why solheim's crystal shattered, and as punishment he fell into a transformatuve state known as crystal stasis. he was later uncovered many centuries too late where he reawakens without any memories of his past. taken under solheim's temporary protection, judai is thrown into the modern world of politics and divine intervention. needless to say, he too inherited the eyes of etro.

5 ) FF VII : listen imagine how cute shinra grunt judai is --- i mean ahem, im still working on it, im so sorry aster.

[nirgilis]

Wondering if Bhunivelze and Orphan were supposed to have more connection, or Bhunivelze's themes being more similar to Orphan's.

Thanking again Rito for pics where both of Bhunivelze's faces are visible.

When Orphan appears in form with "parents," two parental figures remind Lindzei and Pulse, like Bhunivelze's 2 faces that he might've made Lindzei and Pulse resemble.

Orphan appearing from "birthing waters" in Orphan Cradle, but his lower half still being hidden, might mean that his "umbilical cord" hasn't yet been cut. Bhunivelze might be in a similar situation, but the waters/cord being piece of "cloth" that covers his lower half, by which he seems to be connected to Cosmogenesis like Orphan was to Cocoon.

Bhunivelze choosing Hope's body to be his vessel might be similar to Orphan's wheel-like form, where his "birth" is complete, as he got separated from "birthing waters." Bhunivelze remolding Hope's body back for it to recemble a child might be for the same reason why Orphan appears as a child, they just got "born."

Since Mwynn on FNC logo might have similar to Bhunivelze "cloth" that connects her to a globe. If like Orphan, who by being submerged into water was keeping Cocoon afloat, Bhunivelze never left/can't leave Cosmogenesis as through it he's connected to the planet of FF13 or created worlds in general. That might give another meaning to why he couldn't leave the Real World to enter the Unseen Realm, bc there might've had to be a god that sustained the world by being connected to it or by "holding" it, and since he killed Mwynn, he's the one doint it.

Mwynn on FNC logo and Bhunivelze on his crest both have an element of two intertwined lines becoming a pillar, which might be similar to Cocoon's pillar on FF13 logo. It might be that Lindzei built Cocoon the same way as Mwynn/Bhunivelze built the world of FF13, so Cocoon emulates the world on a smaller scale.

In FF13-3 on a mural Lindzei is depicted to be male, while in FF13-1 on Cocoon as female. Since Gods in FF13 are prone to create new in the form that already existed, like Bhunivelze and Lindzei created Etro and Yeul in the image of Mwynn. If Cocoon and Orphan are like emulations of the world and Bhunivelze, the image of "mother goddess" might be Lindzei's unacknowledgly created emulation of Mwynn. If in creation of Orphan Lindzei might've imitated Mwynn, Mwynn might've created Bhunivelze for him to die.

[asterites]

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐔𝐒 𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈 : the youngest princess of tenebrae, stella is bestowed with the ability to see the “eyes of expiring souls” after experiencing a near death experience as a child. she was force to relocate to gralea, the capital of the niflheim empire, where she would remain for twelve years. in terms of the cold war between niflheim and the kingdom of lucis, stella as a delegate for tenebrae was originally meant to remain a neutral party. however, due to her connection with etro and experiencing the chaos of the war first hand, stella is chosen to herald the new world by the slumbering god of light: bhunivelze.

𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 : the reincarnation of the falling star titaness: asteria, stella is blessed with happiness in the world of eos. she is gifted with the knowledge not known to most and possesses an intimate ability to read stars and interpret nocturnal dreams. despite harboring the soul of a goddess, her mortal body is unable to fully utilize asteria’s true capabilities. if she is not careful there is a a possibility that she could loose her eyesight entirely and permanently damage her body. she is a rare individual that is more aware of the secrets of the universe than most.

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐗 :  placed under the custody of the cult like gigas corporation due to her divine powers, stella is groomed to be a public religious figure. the title and name bestowed to her is sophia taken from the gnostic belief of the holy spirit and divine wisdom, from which she is believed to be the embodiment off. her purpose : destroy the material world and merge it with the spiritual world, from which paradise can finally descend upon them. she is the villain of this tale who hides beneath the damsel-in-distress role.

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 :  a spirit that lingers in the final world, she has been stripped out of her identity for a number of years as a result of her sins. although she does not divulge who killed her, she has hinted that she remains tethered to this world due to a bond with another. after meeting sora and witnessing his return, the nameless star was inspired to finally act and follow his heart to the outside. due to her connection to both sora and the destiny islands, the nameless star is granted a new vessel. she remains completely amnesic with her life prior and has made no effort in trying to recall her past life.

𝐌𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 :  asteria is a second generation titan goddess of falling stars, nocturnal oracles, divination, and necromancy. after the fall of titans, asteria and the rest of the female titans was given clemency and was welcomed in olympus. asteria due to her divine status was said to be greatly honored and respected by the olympians. however, her beauty had immediately captured the lustful eyes of zeus and poisoden who both pursed her affection relentlessly. in a fleeting moment of grief and madness, asteria descends from the heavens and transforms into the island of delos where she slumbers for all eternity.

𝐅𝐅𝐗𝐕 : a princess of tenebrae, stella was taken to graelea following the aftermath of the invasion of fenestala manor. there, she would remain as a political hostage where she would eventually assimilate into the empire. despite carrying the blood of oracles, stella never had the chance to properly develop her divine abilities and instead chooses to focus on the politics and diplomacy of her kingdom. officially, she is consider a neutral party in the war between niflheim and lucis.

𝐅𝐅𝐗𝐈𝐕 : in a past ages of the unsundered world, she took the ancient name asteria who was once incredibly adept in both art and divination. blessed with many gifts, she oversaw countless of projects meant to benefit the golden age of etheirys. however following the final days, asteria would ultimately be lost in history alongside her fellow ancients. the only memento that survived the sundering was a crystal that bore bright asteria’s memories and gifts that would eventually be inherited by her “first world” reincarnation stella. 

𝐅𝐅𝐕𝐈𝐈 : a highly privileged aristocrat in midgar, stella grew up in a versailles style life of luxury. although she remains blissfully unaware of what goes on beneath the plates, she finds herself suffering with dreams of the final days. driven with this unknown knowledge and connection with a past life, stella begins her quest to seek out the promise land. whether or not she is worthy for the challenge remains unseen, but there is nothing stopping her from achieving what she desires. unfortunately, because of her sheltered life, she does seem to struggle adapting to life in the slums and might even be naïve to certain practices. nevertheless, she remains a bright individual that is well-verse in art, philosophy, and occasionally the dead.

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍 : in this verse, stella is known as the second cryo archon and tsaritsa of snezhnaya. her archon name, although rarely acknowledge, is astaphaios given to her by the first cryo archon. before the events of 500 years ago, tsaritsa was known to all of teyvat as the goddess of love. at the time, she was considered the youngest of the divines with most of her gifts granted as a sign of her benevolence. however, tragedy would ultimate strike, and the once kind goddess of love would eventually become a goddess of vengeance. the rift between herself and celestia would become one of immense paradox, where one seemingly needs one another, but beneath all formalities, the tsaritsa has already declared a rebellion against the divine. whatever happened between her and celestia remains unknown, but it is said that the former goddess of love had lost her greatest love that day.

𝐗𝐕 𝐀𝐋𝐓 :  a princess of tenebrae, stella is announced missing after the complete annexation of fenestala manor and the death of her mother. having manage to escape the invasion with the help of one of her servants, the young princess seeks out aid from one of her mother’s former allies. however, given the tension between niflheim and tenebrae at the time, she was hidden from the public and eventually was adopted into the noble family. with her newfound identity, she had moved place to place barely settling in an area out of fear of being found out. eventually her newfound family manages to migrate in insomnia where stella can finally know a moment of peace. although she regrets leaving her sibling behind, the truth remained she was still a powerless child who had lost the weight of her name. nevertheless, while in insomnia, stella thrived. education was spared little to no expense and her creative mind, plus her resemblance to the oracle, made her a renown influencer and model inside the walls. although she publicly denies any relations with tenebrae, she eagerly awaits the day she can finally present herself to her siblings without any of her disguises.

𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐎'𝐒 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐑 :  from the moment young stella stepped foot in valhalla, the meeting between etro and mywnn is recreated again. chaos consumes threating the balance of the world and despite being the goddess of death, etro finds herself now being consumed by the unseen realm. although she pitied the young child’s fate, it was clear that in the far future this star will inherit both her mantle and her burden. however, due to the forgotten god’s interference the transition between etro and stella was immediately put on hold. nevertheless, the future was a complex and unusual thing with both god and goddess ironically aiding stella’s ascension as a divine. in one timeline : bhunivelze is successful and now carries inflence in between the known world and valhalla. in another timeline, stella is free from bhunivelze’s control and she resumes her position as etro’s heir. either way, valhalla is now hers to command and makeshift with either chaos or the light at her fingertips. 

[flastar13]

the role of oracle, which she never wanted, following the death of her sister Lunafreya, who was barely with her for a day before she was murdered in front of her eyes. She has been recognized as queen of Tenebrae, only after killing her brother Ravus turned into a daemon, never managing to reconcile because both preferred to accuse the other of being a traitor who abandoned Tenebrae.

She was able to discover the reason for her powers, but at the cost of her boyfriend Noct being absorbed for 10 years by the crystal and the answer did not improve anything. She is the mortal reincarnation of the goddess Eos who gave her name to the star, and the original astral, mother of the six elemental gods and the goddess of death Etro. She was born with the sole purpose of taking her six children to the kingdom of her daughter Etro for her careless acts towards mortals. But she really does not want to kill Gentiana who she has known since childhood or Titan and Ramuh, whom she has come to respect. Well she only wants to kill Leviathan whom she blames for the death of Luna and the destruction of Altissa, and definitely Ifrit and Bahamut.

In the following 10 years, she suffers assassination attempts by Ardyn and Bahamut. She struggles to fulfill her duties as queen and oracle, leading Tenebrae while avoiding the realm of darkness. She has been learning the extent of her powers and believes she is capable of facing the Dracoin.

Upon Noctis' return, she joins the Chocobros to reclaim Lucis, but rather than allow Noctis to sacrifice himself, Stella convinces Ardyn to infect Bahamut with Starcouge, promising the death of the astral and that the cursed immortal will reunite with Aera in the realm of Etro.

The plan is for an angry Bahamut to cast Terra Flare, but Stella must prevent this by casting the more powerful Mega Terra Flare, but must return to being Eos to kill Bahamut in the spiritual plane. In order to avoid losing another important person, Noctis convinces the other astrals and the spirit kings of Lucis to grant their power to Ardyn to kill Bahamut in the astral plane.

The entire cast fights against mini-Bahamut, until Stella manages to destroy it with Mega Terra Flare. Ardyn manages to get revenge on the draco and reunite with Aera.

The crystal shatters as does the trident, the remaining gods decide to accept Eos' punishment as they recognize that their lack of action against Bahamut and disinterest in mortals caused all the problems, but Eos gives them a second chance for their efforts to save the world, but now they must agree to form contracts with any worthy mortal (Hello summoners) and stop being destructive. Etro is worshipped again by humans, and takes Bahamut's place as leader of her brothers, with the duty of watching over them.

Stella and Noct marry and rule Lucis and Tenebrae together, and have two children. They are happy although the pain of losing her brothers is always present in Stella.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

Can you tell us about flow laying? Like what are some of the cards used and what do they mean, how it's decided there should do one and who should be invited to it?

Do I have more info about flow laying? Oh boy, do I have more info about flow laying. (I have hand drawn charts!)

(This will be all over the place and very long, but please, bear with me.)

First off, the name. Why is it called flow laying? Well, because the cards literally read the flow of power travelling through the world. That way they can give information about the past and present, while they can only make guesses about the future. (Though most of the time they're very good guesses.)

Each card represents a person, a being, a concept, or a seat of power. Like the Black Ships represent the concept of unsuspecting danger drawing closer.

To your last question: In the case of The Games We Play, Rhea - as the owner of the cards - made the decision to lay them. (The reason was the too long and too cold winter) There's a preliminary reading upon which Rhea decides which people need to be present. It's an art form to read the cards and interpret who represents who and who to invite.

There are three big categories the cards fall into:

Active cards, sleeping cards and dead cards.

Active cards are depicting those beings/people/concepts which are actively part of what you want to know. Sleeping cards depict those who don't/can't actively play a part, but are still a factor to be considered. And dead cards are remnants that are still important, but are quite literally dead.

The next biggest categories are the domains in which the cards take their places. There are two of them. The Greater Domains and the Lesser Domains. Which Domain (group of cards) falls into which is dependent on infulence and power, so there's a certain amount of fluidity. Though it is considered a Big Deal when a Domain changes place.

Under the Greater Domains fall The Hunt, The Astrals, The Night, The Day and The Wilds. The Lesser Domains contain The Fire, The Black and the Royal Domain. There's also a group of neutral cards that don't owe their allegiance to one Domain or another, so they make a group of their own.

How many cards there are exactly constantly changes and depends on what the person/people laying the cards want to know. (The Greater Domain of The Astrals is the most stable at 30 cards. The six Astrals and the 24 messengers.)

The Domains of The Hunt and The Wilds represent those belonging to the Wooden Throne, which represents Galahd. The card Wooden Throne itself is considered neutral, since it doesn't belong to one Domain or another.

The Astrals are pretty self explanatory, I think.

The Night and The Day represent the Sister Goddesses and their servants. (Etro, for example, it the Queen of The Night. She is a sleeping card, because she cannot actively intervene in anything going on. Eos is the Queen of The Day. She is a dead card for obvious reasons.)

The Black is the starscourge with Ardyn as the Herold. He switches from a sleeping card to an active one, and it makes people in the kow very nervous.

The Royal Domain represents the roayal houses of Lucis and Tenebrae. The King is the king of Lucis, the Queen the queen of Tenebrae. There's also cards called the Shield (Amicitia), and the General (currently Cor).

The Fire is an interesting one because no one is quite sure what that one is about. It slowly cropped up over the span of decades and is mostly made up of sleeping cards with the odd active one.

Neutral cards other than the Black Ships and the Wooden Throne would be the Gates (Death) and the Chained Heart (the Crystal/Light/healing).

[catyo90]

Why I still recommend Final Fantasy 13

As we all know FF13 was the black sheep of the Final Fantasy games. It had a different fighting system and was strangely more linear than its previously better-known games. However, this was more of the gamer's issue as when FFX and FFX-2 came out a lot of people said there were too many missable items and didn't like having to search everywhere for items or hidden scenes.

Years later Square Enix responded made FF13, and what were the gamer's responses. "We don't like it"

Now with FF games like 15 and 16 which are open-world people praise both for their own styles and stories. I'll be honest 15 was okay, the fact though that DLC kept coming out for the game and the story was lacking a bit for some of the characters, made me kinda miss the simpler ones. Now as for 16, I have not played it yet but I will differ from those who have that opinion.

As for FF14 which is an mmo its far different from the others but you get the opportunity to play with friends and actually go at your own pace.

But with all the games that have come out of the Final Fantasy franchise, I can say that everyone in the FF13 trilogy I remember and they have good characters. which I wanna talk a little bit about. (FYI this is where the spoilers now will appear. you've been warned. Also Very long Post just fyi)

Let's start off with of course the Queen

Lightning aka Claire Farron. A Cocoon soldier who stays distant and strong for her sister after losing their parents, after years of becoming strong to protect her only family. She faces losing her sister Serah to become an eternal crystal or the insidious cieth. After everything she faces, they save Cocoon. She only had a moment with everyone and realized that she and Serah could have a chance at actual peace. She gets taken away from the dream to save a goddess and forced into the duty of a protector. And even after that, she stays strong, guiding Serah along the way to help her fight Caius even though everyone thinks she is dead.

But then Etro dies and she fails in her mission, overtaken with grief by not only the goddess dying and failing...her sister. The only person in her life that kept her from losing all of her hope. Dies. Everything she did in the first game...gone. And then after sleeping for 500 years she's given the chance by God to save Serah and the World. A sort of redemption if you think about it.

Snow falls kinda under the same category but from a small different point of view. Snow was deeply in love with Serah and in the first game was trying to save her and Cocoon as well. Even though Etro caused Lightning to disappear he still tries to hold the fort and he got to have his peace with her afterward. But sadly he only gets to have that life for a year before FF13-2 starts, the love of his life goes on a mission he cant join. All the while he does his damn hardest to help Fnag and Vanille's pillar holding up Cocoon. And in doing so, willingly takes on the I'cie curse even after getting his brand removed in the first game. Once again everything in the first game almost not worth it (This is a reoccuring theme.), if not for Serah coming back. But then she dies and he can't fix, and he couldn't be there for her. His promise to be her hero is shattered. For 500 years he cares for the people and everyday misses Serah, blaming himself everyday for what happened and not keeping her safe. HE is basically the prime example of a suffering hero.

Hope is kinda the odd one out, he is only a child, in the wrong place wrong time situation with his mother and him being brought into the Bodium purge. He loses his mother and goes on a verge to get revenge on Snow who he held responsible. But in a short amount of time when he stays with Lightning he learns from her that his innocent world is over, he is a fugitive, a I'cie and alone. But after she tells him about her past and facing the worst that life can offer, you grow from it. He even goes from taking up the rear to guarding her in the front, his fear fades throughout the entire game and he learns to grow up to be a fine young man in FF13-2. He even makes a new world for humanity in case Cocoon were to fall. He was their Hope, their hope for a world rid of monsters.

But in LR, we see that he has disappeared possibly having been kidnapped, remolded / torture back into young hope and made to spy on Lightning to fulfill her Savior duties. And can't speak his true thoughts, he is a fake. Even Lightning realizes though that the next world needs him, he even sees his parents who were long since dead he realizes that he gets the chance to have a proper life, Hope is the Symbol for all to have Hope and to Believe.

Sazh suffers from the possibility of outliving his son. He is a widow and the only family left for him is his son who is quite young, and unfortunately at a young age his son is branded by the I'cie. Dajh basically only has a short time to be a child, until he either turns to crystal or a monster. Sazh loses him after being taken and fights to save him, but all the while he slowly loses his faith. He lost his wife and now his son, every moment he questions what they are doing. Only the prospect of saving Dajh keeps him going as well as his Chocobo chick. After saving Dajh though they get to live a normal life until the end of FF-13-2

For almost 500 years Dajh is in a coma like state and Sazh once again loses his faith thinking the only way Dajh can be saved is by doing it himself. When Lightning comes around though and helps reawaken Dajh, well so does Sazh. He regains his faith and even comes to the final moment of the game with everyone ready to welcome the new world with his son. He's the family man, kinda similar to Barret from FF7. But he is also the representation of a man going down the harder path to help those he loves.

Fang and Vanille fall under the same issue, Born to Gran Pulse and lived and had to sleep in immortal crystal to awake and find their home in ruins. The life they lived all gone and the only thing left of who they were is each other. Fang even takes on the torture to awaken Ragnarök. Doomed to bring about the end of Cocoon. But then their fate is changed and they were able to save instead of destroy.

In FF13-2 they are able to help Serah in her mission but they knew what she might have to face and with LR, they were torn about by both a sense of duty and a want to protect the other. Lightning finds out that they each wanted to help the other, however Vanille want for redemption at the cost of her own life to save the lost dead souls, thats what splits Fang away because she refuses to lose Vanille.

They can represent both family and lovers. One will not go on without the other, no matter what.

And now for the princess, (not literally) but still i love Serah. Anyhow, Serah is the embodiment of Love, Faith and Hope. She goes through everything, turned into an enemy of Cocoon, turned into crystal, given the gift and/or curse of Etro, lost her fiancé to time travel for a bit, dies, has her soul taken out of Lightning where she was safe and then used as a bargaining chip by God to make Lightning keep to her role. But through everything, she still believed her sister and fiancé would save her, that she would be able to live her own life and teach children.

This girl fought and stepped up to every challenge but unlike lightning she shows her emotions, all the pain of failure and loss is understanding and that makes her into a connection for the player.

Okay so for times sake Im putting these three in one group since their stories are enveloped all together.

They are the last humans of a future timeline where the events of ff13 did not go well, Noel is basically the last human that ever existed and under Caius teaching and wing both of them protect Yeul who is a priestess of Etro forced to live again and again only to die after seeing the last of her visions into the future. Caius who knows some of the past Yeuls loved him, the last one loves Noel and he tries everything to save her. So whats his plan. Oh yeah, kill the goddess Etro to stop all natural death and the visions. Hence stopping Yeul from dying.

Noel guided by Lightning has to aid Serah to stop Caius and save the Future. After everything though, he fails by killing Caius not realizing that with his death he actually killed Etro (long story) watches Yeul die and Serah die. and after all of that is forced to watch the world and timeline for 500 years fall and crumble into a shell of the former grandeur that it was.

Yeul after dying, helps Lighting but in her now spirit like self she reveals a terrible truth that while Caius is alive no good will come. But while the Yeul we know wants Caius dead. (along with hundreds of other past selves.) Some of them also want Caius to live causing him to never truly die. To quote Caius "Even if one Yeul desires my salvation, another demands my rebirth."

Yeul is the symbol of mourning and regret but also wisdom in knowing that not all things will be bad, and that good things do eventually happen.

Caius is the symbol of inability to accept what happens and the cruelty of death. His immortality while at first would seem like a gift is a curse, he watching all those he love die and when the chance to die comes, it fails. He is stuck in an infinite life that is now out of his control.

Noel is the symbol of failure but also standing back up taking the next steps forward. After everything, with just the promise of seeing the person he loves again, even if only one more time. Gives him the strength to move on.

-

So if any of you can identify with even one of these characters I highly recommend you play the game. Trust me, me writing all of this down doesn't do the games justice. Its a lovely styled game that after some time you will get used to and its really not that hard of gameplay, watch a few videos and you will get the hang of it.

So anyways im not sure if i convinced any of you but enjoy your days and i send you off with a smiling lighting because its so rare and you all deserve one.

[ofspark]

𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒏.

@celestrahl asked: "tell me how it got this way." from noel!

𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑫 𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹 in her bones when his words brought her pause? Was it silent enough that the turmoil laden sinew may yet creak aloud && give away her guilt? This mantle she upholds as champion is one of choice. An atonement; the willingness to become an eternal epitaph for the weight of all that has transpired. For there is truth in a mercy by the hand of a goddess. She should not breathe, should not be given the grace to walk within this stone edifice---her existence should be comprised of crystal. But by Etro's hand, she is all that stands between a slumbering goddess && a being that has since spiraled into his own darkness. "Sacrifice.. and the repercussions that come with it." More a musing, more a thought than statement; the breath she takes in is shallow midst the furrow of her brow. One that sees her gaze cast over the curvature of pauldron, a glance to an endless sea beyond still sands. Careful footfalls carry her nearest ledge && resplendent blues take to the sight of coming tide. A glance to her company ensues && it is devoid of malice. She is neither aggravated nor cross. This responsibility she upholds is one that has since melded itself into the fabrication of her existence. A dedication held taut to the soul to safeguard against the what ifs. Steel in her voice, pride in her shoulders. "We've all got our parts to play. It's a race against oblivion." Oblivion. She can still hear the callous voice that uttered his intentions as their blades crossed. The bellow of steel that clashed---it still rings in her ears.

[astralucis]

so apologies in advance if this makes no sense. i can't form sentences for the life of me tonight. i've been thinking a lot about the imagery of the night sky radiating light due to their union with the moon and the stars and how that imagery ties noct, luna, and the hexatheon together. the union of king, oracle, and gods cast light within the darkness and bring the morning dawn

more under the cut because this got longer than i originally intended!

i honestly might use this symbolism as a way to start deviating from canon because i've got some ideas, such as:

noctis as the night sky, the backdrop in which the darkness permeates due to the actions of his ancestors. as the king of light, he seeks to atone for the sins of his ancestors, the origin of the starscourge / darkness, and destroys the darkness that exists around and within -- at the cost of his own life

luna as the moon, lifted up by the night sky and joined by the stars as she casts a glow upon the land to all who seek to travel within the dark, a voice of both man and gods, and looked to for hope among the people ( and her importance as the main source of light in the world. we support women in this house )

the hexatheon / astrals as the stars, the heavenly bodies that lend their aid and light the world with the help of the moon and night sky. some are static, others travel before they fade into obscurity, but all lend their power and voice to the sky and moon to light the world once more

even if it's not directly connected, there's some other fun concepts to explore along side it like the idea of light being connected to death. there's a quote from one of the original ff versus xiii trailers that i really fuck with: "the goddess etro will open the door to welcome the souls of the dead… when that happens, a bright light will shine down through the sky to the land of the dead. few people have seen that light. those who see it are bestowed power from the land of the dead"

but all in all, it'd be such a fun motif / image to play around with. especially because i can use it as a foundation to raise luna's importance and presence in ffxv's story. and she sure as fuck deserves to have a role akin to other ff ladies, like yuna and rinoa

[zorkaya-moved]

I see Elysia as the Aeon of Origin similar to how Etro acts in the FFXIII trilogy: a goddess who bleeds for the worlds, for the lives. As Elysia has been written out as Jesus in HI3 and her having a thorn crown bestowed upon her? Oh, yeah, Aeon of Origin bleeds for the lives of others but she cannot reach out to them, not in her present state.

She is the Mother, The Daughter and the Holy spirit in this case. But she cannot reach out to the lives herself - alone - not anymore, because she sacrificed her physical presence to break the worlds free of the predetermined fate that Aponia could see, granting the repeated history a chance to change and for people to choose for themselves, to fight for what they believe in.

I say that it's the same with the galaxy, Aeon of Origin's ascending affected the whole Imaginary Tree. It branched out histories, worlds, timelines, and more, which made Terminus see countless endings because there were now countless beginnings created. Thus, there was no fully predetermined path and there were CHOICES to reach certain paths/endings.

As an Aeon of Origin, Elysia as of the moment is weaker because she lost connection to many of the worlds by bringing Zarina as her Emanator from Earth. Right now, she (Aeon of Origin) needs the Apostles of Origin to reconnect her to lives, to dreams, to those who wish to fight against despair and who wish to do everything they can to ensure the salvation of their world/home/themselves. However, Elysia didn't have the capability to do it on her own without her own Emanator and she couldn't find anyone who would be able to fit that role until Zarina's reconnection with her through the Elysian Realm's core. Thanks to that, Aeon of Origin now had her own Emanator that could move the reconnection to the worlds, especially with the 'reincarnation/return of Akivili' (or the Astral Express).

And as the Emenator of Origin, Zarina possesses the blessing of Origin which protects her and she also meets with the most important people within the worlds to plant the seeds of Origin. It is the reason for her acting 'behind Astral Express' back' while approaching the figures of importance and granting them knowledge of the Origin's design/wish. Cue her meeting with Bronya, with General Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan, and later on with Sunday on Penacony.

Intelligentsia Guild is fully aware of the Origin but only that it represents 'Life' and that it cannot be reached by anyone aside from its Apostles. How many Apostles there are, how many followers of Origin there are, and more questions remain unknown. The problem with the path of Origin is that it remains largely untouched and unknown, because every person may be connected to Origin in some way or another. Origin represents life and the beginning, the wish to protect what is important and the desire to fight for what is beautiful in this world. Certain 'geniuses' even thought that Aeon of Beauty and Aeon of Origin were the same people, but the Knights of Beauty will deny that claim as will many others.

Many Aeons are charmed by the Aeon of Origin and certain Aeons show protectiveness over her, which is attributed to her natural charisma and her being the daughter of the Imaginary Tree altogether. Only those who oppose life and desire for the full destruction of worlds as a whole do not like her and wish for her demise. The opposing side believes that to truly destroy everything, they must reach the Origin and kill her to stop the cycle of beginnings and ends. And to reach Origin, they must force her out of her domain to protect the last haven of life she wishes to nurture as the Origin.

The Path of Origin - for many - is considered a myth, a story to tell others about how life connects all living beings and how life loves all who fight for what is beautiful in this world. However, many followers of the Origin exist across the worlds without believing in the Aeon herself. As long as they wish to fight, to protect, and to love? They are already beloved by the Aeon of Origin. The selfless, all-loving Aeon.

[fyresaber]

snow’s sexiest quality is being the pillory for everyone’s grief, from lightning to hope to the people to psicom to NORA to noel to yusnaan; to even serah when she wonders why she let him leave her and be the hero on his own. all while he's never held anything against anyone once; not against lightning for fighting him and not against noel for serah’s death. submission, relinquishment, self-harm, and defeat.

and guess who pulls him out of it each and every time? serah is his goddess but lightning is his earth, just as light is serah’s goddess and snow her earth. god these three... serah is their north star, and without each other they had no footing in this world, unmoored throwing themselves to the whims and wills of chaos, flogging themselves in the middle of the street; suicide at the base of etro’s thone and in the dungeon of his palace.

[summoneryuna]

Knight of Etro and Songstress are now available in my shop!

[pockymun]

For the end of the year asks, how about 3, 4, 9 or 10, and 30!

fanfic end of the year asks | @groovytimetravelflower

favorite line/scene you wrote this year

I like all of the revisions I've made this year. They're better written than the older stuff. That alone makes them stick out.

My most favorite scene of the year is a mix of old and new. It's the final chapter of Etro's Blessing: Andromeda. It was one of the scenes I had planned at the very beginning of revisions, and I was so excited when I finally wrote them. Etro did more after the revisions. She was angrier and more dangerous. Sure, she still waited until the very last second to act, but it felt like she had more of an impact.

What I liked most was Etro swooping in to kill off a legion of clones. And then Andromeda threw a temper tantrum because it still wasn't good enough for her. I'm glad to have gone back and worked more on their relationship. Andromeda is more loyal and a little more religious this time around, even if she lies about it. When her goddess shows up, she had the nerve to ask for more bloodshed. Etro got really upset with that, and it haunts Andromeda for a long time. I just love what that will mean for them moving forward. I have so much planned that will make Andromeda very uncomfortable!

total number of words you wrote this year

I don't do a word count. I do have a page count for EBA. I don't have one yet for Heretical Oath because I still need to write the last chapter.

I added 25 pages to EBA. I have also written 6 pages for Harlow's backstory. I didn't keep track of any writing before the beginning of summer. So, all I can confirm so far is 31 pages. Single-spaced.

longest wip of the year/shortest wip of the year

This is another tough one, because of the revisions and whatnot. EBA and HO are very close in terms of page count. I think EBA will end up being the shortest, by a page.

Harlow's backstory could be considered the shortest wip, but that will be implemented into a larger story.

The longest before revisions will be The Paradox in the Prophecy. It took me 200 pages to realize I wasn't happy with it. Hoping I can cut that down when I get to it next year, but so far, revisions have made my fics even longer.

favorite fandom to read fic from this year

I think I only read fic for FFXV. That's all I can remember from this year.

[nirgilis]

SRNHNR Extra 2 - Ravus/Hope and Lauriam/Baldr

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Extra 1

Lauriam and Baldr's similarity to Ravus, mostly due to tragic siblings stories, was pointed out by many people, but through FNC there might be more.

1) Lauriam

1.1) Both pairs of siblings have a degree of flower-theme.

1.2) FNC myth states that Bhunivelze killed his mother Mwynn and when created Etro in Mwynn's image gave her no power, as due to recembling his mother he feared her.

Etro recembles Mwynn and narratively sometimes they interchange. Loss of the mother is a rather major theme for both Ravus and Hope, and around both of them there're characters who are Mwynn or Etro, or both at a different time.

Lauriam and Strelitzia in a way look like inverted Lightning and Hope, with Strelitzia being "Mwynn/Etro" like Lightning, as she says very similar words to Lauriam to the ones Lightning once said to Hope.

Hope's response to Lightning about her fulfilling her side more times than she knows might be somewhat fitting in KH too, as in the form of Marluxia Lauriam wields a scythe like Bhunivelze with them both having "Doom" among their abilities.

While Angel of Death Strelitzia might be similar to Etro, who's often depicted with wings as an Angel, but she's the Goddess of Death, who in a way might be "watching Bhunivelze's back" by sustaining the cycle of death and rebirth.

1.3) Larxene might've been based on FF7's Elena, but given her relationships with Lauriam in some way Elrena might be similar to Hope's assistant in FF13-2 Alyssa. It might be that in VS13 character analogous to Elrena/Alyssa was supposed to be Aranea.

Alyssa wasn't supposed to survive events of FF13-1 and existed only because of time paradoxes, while Elrena wasn't chosen as a Dandelion but survived due to crossing paths with Lauriam. Both cases feature traveling to the future in capsules.

1.4) Ventus under darkness' influence killing Strelitzia is reminiscent of Noctis killing Luna in "Omen" trailer.

Lauriam and Ravus both blame and lash out at Ventus/Noctis when they learn they sister died because of or for them, to the point that Lauriam gets in a fight with other Dandelions and Ravus with Ignis.

But as they calm down they forgive Ventus/Noctis and come to understanding that they care about them.

Bhunivelze didn't initially know/understand that Chaos was needed to sustain the world. Lauriam saying that he needed a "tanglible" target of his anger might be similar to Bhunivelze who hated/feared Chaos because he couldn't see and control it.

In a way what Lauriam says to unconsious Ventus might be what Ravus couldn't to Noctis.

2) Baldr

2.1) Baldr and Hoder resemble KK-L and KK-D, what like with other pairs of siblings makes them complimentary opposites. Since Hoder apart from Red has Blue outline of her dress, it might make her recemble both.

2.2) Hoder protecting Baldr is reminiscent of how Queen Sylva/Aera protected Ravus/Ardyn.

2.3) Baldr being isolated and consumed by darkness thinking of Hoder's death might be similar to how Bhunivelze tortured Hope with illusions of Lightning, isolated him in the Ark and eventually merged with him.

2.4) Lower classmates going to Underworld to search for Upperclassmates but also finding Hoder there, might be in a way along with FNC myth, that Bhunivelze wanted to enter Unseen Realm to finish his fight with Mwynn, and FF15's Pitioss Ruins, which are supposed to tell a story of someone going to underworld/Unseen Realm.

Hoder asking Xehanort for a favor, possibly to "save" Baldr, might be similar to how Yeuls/Shiva asked Lightning/Noctis to save Caius/Ifrit from their sufferings. Hoder/Yeuls/Shiva are all dead but still by different means linger in living world and some were part of the reason why Baldr/Caius became this way.

[asterites]

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐔𝐒  𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐓  𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

note : this is strictly the generalize understanding of stella and the important relationships in her life. 

𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙶𝙴 :  although stella would one day repress any emotional attachment and memories of her parents, it does not change the fact that she was greatly doted upon. her father spoiled her to no end and was the reason stella was taught the violin at a young age. meanwhile, her mother, despite being extremely busy as the ruling monarch, made time to bond with her children frequently. the royal fleuret children enjoyed their many blessings and with it came countless of family tradition. since stella was young at the time, she was excused from many formal events, and instead spent most of her time indulging her whims and curiosity. in her art, she thrived and with her studies, she succeeded. she had a very happy childhood up until her accident that resulted in her coma. stella’s father, who was with her during the accident, had died upon impact. there was speculation that niflheim was behind the attack, but there was no proof beyond that. stella’s coma would last four years and during that slumber niflheim would completely annex the territory of tenebrae. during the annexation, sylva died never again seeing the light in her daughter’s eyes return. when stella finally wakes up, the news of her departed parents threw her in a state of hysteria caused by survivor’s guilt and grief. in order to cope, her memories of her childhood was largely repressed and unfortunately remains emotionally detached to the parents that loved her so. 

𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂 : stella adores her siblings. however, there is no denying that there is an unspoken rift between herself and them. after all, the siblings were all separated following the annexation of tenebrae. they all grew up separately, following their own ideals and motivation. and it certainly did not help that stella actively avoids topics regarding her missing childhood and family tradition. nevertheless, stella would continue to pretend the emotional distance between herself and her siblings do not exist. she would always think of them fondly and send them endearments during her stay abroad. she supported their political endeavors and did her best to win niflheim favors for their sake. when stella finally returns to tenebrae after a decade abroad, she had hope to genuinely bond with her siblings further. however, politics are proven to be a tiresome task and it will take some time before the siblings can finally move on from the events several years prior.

𝙴𝚃𝚁𝙾 - although the known astral gods exist, stella is primarily affiliated with the ancient and forgotten gods. etro , the goddess of death and chaos, was the one who preserved her soul back when stella had her childhood accident. it was through etro, that stella received “the eyes that sees expired soul” and ironically found wonderland in the great halls of valhalla. stella bonded with the goddess, and found friendship with countless of eidolons and passing souls. symbolically, the relationship between etro and stella was suppose to mirror that between mywnn (the first goddess of death) and etro ( the second goddess of death / xiii etro ). however, the longer stella stayed in valhalla, the closer her spirit was to death. her mortal body was already dying, and all etro could do was mourn the child’s predestined fate. miraculously, and perhaps unfortunately, stella’s encounter with bhunivelze would not only save her but change her relationship with etro. the goddess did her best to shield her and protect her from the god of light’s deceitful words, but it was already too late. etro would nevertheless continue to guide the young star’s path even after her return to the mortal world.

𝙱𝙷𝚄𝙽𝙸𝚅𝙴𝙻𝚉𝙴 - the forgotten god of light who was formerly consumed by the sea of chaos. still weak from his defeat several thousands of millennia’s ago, the fragment of bhunivelze surviving light would seek refuge inside stella’s soul. it is through this power, that stella was miraculously brought to life and healed within just a few months. the light within her remained largely dormant, and for years stella remains unaware of the god that rested inside of her. it was only when she was near the last crystal of lucis that bhunivelze conscious finally begins to stir. hailing her as his new chosen one, bhunivelze seeks vengeance against the new world and slowly numbs away the heart that connected her with etro. stella’s relationship with bhunivelze remains deceitfully warm. he speaks to her as one would expect the almighty divine, warm and kind, but after being imprisoned in the unseen realm, this bhunivelze has become much more tainted with chaos.

𝙼𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁𝚂 - as noted in the versus character description, gentiana serves as a contact point between niflheim and tenebrae. to support this claim further, the concept art shows her in the company between stella and ravus respectfully. by default, stella is fond of gentiana and sees her favorably for her loyal service in the family. they are as close as one would expect the young mistress and her servant to be. gentiana is there to assist in stella’s studies, as well as indulge in the young princess’s random whims. gentiana is not stella’s primarily caretaker, and for the most part she is either there or isn’t. needless to say, pryna and umbra are not associated with stella. they are gentiana’s messengers that exist to serve her. sure, they will listen to stella if she has any request, but for the most part they are absent in stella’s day to day. 

[magpiejay1234]

Gone through the Hollow Bastion events:

**Mickey is not wearing a top, much like all the other Dark Coat wearers.

***Dark Coats are obviously a reference to Phantom Blot's cloak, just like Master Xehanort's design is a homage to Disney's Mad Doctor (hence old man Xehanort's eyebrow game).

**Saix is quite explicit that all Heartless, when destroyed, release hearts. No "Purebloods don't have Hearts" nonsense later games try to establish.

***This is technically untrue in KH2 canon since some Heartless can summon additional Heartless without hearts, but those are functionally extensions of the same Heartless. In original lore, all UNIQUE Heartless release hearts in-canon, even if Purebloods' aren't apparent in-game.

**So Xigbar recruited Marluxia, and it seems the second two were Demyx (who we fight after the scene), and Roxas.

**Some Hollow Bastion scenes are actually pre-rendered in the PS2 version, I don't think they are in HD version.

**This section of the game hammers in the Heartless vs. Nobodies theme of the game.

***Even though Nobodies supposedly don't have hearts (as the later retcons confirm, they in fact do, but have a false one), they can have enough darkness to manipulate the Heartless.

**KH2 reminds you that Maleficent's long term goal is still capturing Kingdom Hearts. Her immediate goal may not be that, but that's not important.

***Maleficent's Corridor of Darkness is not in between worlds, but in depths of Realm of Darkness, which is nothing but pitch-black darkness.

**Of course the whole segment is a homage to the FFX, when Tidus is wondering if everything they done so far has been for naught.

***Given what Tidus is, and whole Heartless vs. Nobody, there is clearly an attempted red herring to make you wonder if Sora is the fake, and Roxas the original.

****INB4 KH4 reveals Sora is Tidus to MoM's Shuyin.

*****This isn't me being facetious either, we will like see some Goddess Etro shenanigans in KH4.

**And yes, Xemnas's user name is "Another".

**The Hearts of Men weaving together the false Kingdom Hearts is of course very much a FFX homage. Norts' overarching goal of destroying the multiverse to save it is also very Church of Yevon.

Edit: Also forgot, Ansem the Wise has the same Elf Ears as the Norts in KH2. I don't think this is true in KH3.