#only that yoruba has it as well

[2screamingpears]

Is this Contrastive Focus Reduplication? It feels like contrastive focus reduplication. Here’s a paper talking about it: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4048061

[minimomoe]

How to Train your Demon

Pairing: trueform! Sukuna x Fem Reader

Summary: Life has all kinds of wins and losses. You don't know which category to put your new demon husband in though.

Tags: MDNI!, red string of fate trope, true form sukuna, librarian reader, soul mates, reincarnation, accidental summoning, love at first sight (buti it's one-sided (until it's not)), Sukuna is demon, but he's v much in love, smut and stuff eventually i guess....

Song inspo: E.V.O.L- MARINA

Part I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. (completed!)

Rule no. 1: Don't show fear

It was a mistake. A comical, nonsensical, monumental mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. You didn’t mean to create a soul tie with a demon . All you did was read a torn up book from the library. Was it an occult book about spiritual practices in the Japanese Heian era? Yes… but it doesn’t warrant an eldritch horror being your life partner. 

Actually, according to the demon, you didn’t create the soul tie, he has been waiting for you all his life. Cute, but it didn’t make the situation any better. Damn your natural inclination to catch the old and withered items thrown into the donation boxes of the library you worked at. It just pained your heart to see pages falling out of books, and the ominous leather bound grimoire was no exception. 

Restoration was one of your favorite things to do. Knowledge is always worth saving, no matter how old it may be. Books were your life. You found yourself lost in them, enchanted, terrified, taught. You had no genre as your favorite. Everything was welcomed, nothing was off limits. You knew a little bit of every culture, every study, every block buster fantasy. If you could, you’d build a machine that would let you live inside of a book and experience the scene yourself. 

Technically you could ask your all powerful demon to do that, but you didn’t want to deal with him right now.

You still weren’t all too sure on how it happened. First you were glueing the pages back to the spine of the book, running your fingers over the deckled edges when you opened a page that was stuck together. You carefully peeled it apart, a task that took ten minutes to do to avoid any additional tears, and opened up to a page that was different from the rest. The words were written in a rush, the strokes of the characters dragging much longer than it should. You only knew a tiny bit of Japanese (but much more of Latin, Russian, Yoruba, and French from having just an abundance of time on your hands), but this time you could make out some of the words. 

You muttered the ones you knew for sure, used context clues for the ones that were beyond reading. It didn’t make a lick of sense to you. You closed the book with a clamp so that the glue would set and decided to come back to it tomorrow since it was closing time. There was no rush of wind, flash of lightning, or eerie sounds. Just you and the screech of a thousand cicadas as soon as you stepped outside to walk to your car. A normal Thursday night.

Until it wasn’t. 

You shuffled around your house with a new arc from your favorite novelist in one hand, a glass of wine in the other, and the largest frame of glasses known to man perched on your nose. Jazz music quietly spilled out from your hidden speakers, preventing the house from getting a little too quiet as you lived alone with your cat. It was a total boring cliche, you were well aware, but you were happy with your life. You had friends who you trusted, a great relationship with your parents, and just recently got out of a relationship with someone who you didn’t hate, you just grew apart. There was no chaotic, negative energy to feast on in your household and you liked it that way. 

You thought you heard your cat clawing on the door when you were snuggled away in your bed. You flipped the covers over and went to let her in to snuggle with you. 

“I’m so sorry, Cleo. I thought you were already in here with me,” you said, scooping her up from the floor. The ragdoll cat begrudgingly accepted your kisses of apology. You set her down on the bed, watching her find a good spot to curl up in and smiled. You went to reach for your wine glass you knew that you set on your nightstand, but there was nothing in the glass. You were sure that you didn’t finish it. You paced yourself well enough for it to last until at least chapter five, but there wasn’t a drop of alcohol left. 

“The quality of sake has diminished over the years, I see.” 

The voice came from all around the room but also deep in your chest. Cleo hissed, making a run for it out of your door, leaving you wildly spinning around for the intruder. You lunged for the heavy duty taser you kept in your nightstand, but when you turned around there was nobody there.

“What is that?” 

The bone chilling voice spoke again. Was it one person or many, you couldn’t tell. 

“I— I have a weapon!” You tried to steady your voice but it was hopeless. You were terrified. There was nobody there but you could feel a heavy presence in the room. 

“You call that a weapon?” The voice laughed. “The only weapon my wife needs is me.”

The statement made you falter. “Wife? Who are you?”

You turned around once again and nearly jumped out of your skin. A man, or a close approximation of one, sat on your bed flicking through your book. It was impossible, but he had twice as many limbs on his top half than he should, and double the amount of eyes. They were bright and red when scanning through your novel. “What language is this?” 

“F-french,” you whispered. You were dreaming. You had to be. That was the only way this could be happening. Still, dream or not, you had to protect yourself. You pressed your taser and watched the prongs leap out and touch his bare skin. He looked unbothered, merely looking down at his stomach where the taser landed and moved his arm to reveal a mouth on his abdomen. A tongue flopped out and licked the prongs, dragging it back to the mouth and the taser was slowly dragged out of your hands and into the mouth. You watched in horror as the hard plastic was crushed to pieces in front of your very eyes. 

“Useless weapon,” he reiterated, this time looking directly at you. “Don’t insult me again.” 

“Pl—please don’t hurt me.” There was nothing left to do but beg. You already punched yourself till blood was drawn. This was not a dream, you were looking at a real, evil monster who didn’t know French and ate high voltage tasers. 

He rose from your bed. You crawled away as much as you could until you bumped into a wall and still you wanted to move through it. He stood before you, looking over your trembling frame and called out for you. 

“Rise.” 

You rose, unsure if you really had a choice in the matter. One of his many hands cupped the side of your face. A clawed thumb brushed away the tear that fell on your cheek.

“Why do you weep?”

“Um… well… I don’t really know who you are,” you said honestly. You were still pinned to the wall, unable to flee and he took up your entire frame of sight. He nodded, removing his hand from your face and raising it in the air. You thought he was going to strike you and you flinched. When you opened your eyes again he was multiple steps away from you, still raising his palm.

“Time has faded your memory of me. You are my wife, and I am your husband. The string of fate proves that we are mates.” 

He stated it so matter of factly. You are my wife, and I am your husband. My wife, your husband. Mates. Forget dreaming, you have officially lost your mind. 

“I don’t… remember agreeing to that,” you said carefully. The words “husband” and “wife” bounced in your head in a crazy echo. You slumped to the floor, your body suddenly very tired. A laugh bubbled up your throat and escaped your mouth. So much for your boring life.

“Do you not feel the connection? The string is tied from my last finger to yours.” You looked at your hand, not seeing any supposed string and shook your head. 

He frowned. “You do not agree to it. It has been decided.” He crouched in front of you, inspecting your face earnestly. One side of his face was strange, not normal skin, instead inhuman, bumpy and shades darker. 

“You look the same after all this time,” he murmured. “I will make you remember.” 

“Let’s not do that,” you said quickly. “I don’t even know your name and I am not married. I’m a librarian and I have a cat. And I have never, ever met you before.”

“I am known as Sukuna, among other names,” he responded to one of your distresses. “What title is a librarian?”

This time you laughed. An deranged laugh, loud and unbecoming. Sukuna waited as impatiently as he could for you to be finished, but you kept on cackling. Once out of breath, you wiped the tears out of your eyes and leaned against the wall. It finally dawned on you how this happened. The drying grimoire that was locked up in the library was responsible for this strange turn of events.

“It’s not a title, at least, not in the way you’re thinking. It’s my job, one that I love very much. Was I ever a common worker before?”

Sukuna bristled at the thought. Even his tummy mouth frowned. “You were a queen. You wanted nothing because you had everything.”

“Interesting,” you mused. “I’m so not your girl.”

“I’m not interested in little girls.”

“Kudos to you. I think I’m going to sleep now. I’m clearly much more tired than I think I am.”

“We have things to discuss,” Sukuna protested, but you already slipped under the sheets. If I force myself to sleep he will go away, you thought. 

Instead you felt the dip of the other side of your bed and flung your eyes open. Sukuna was in bed, with you, staring your down with his four eyes. He was much too close for your liking. 

You looked at him wildly. “What are you doing?” 

“Resting with you.” 

“Get out of my bed!”

“Are you no longer tired?” 

“I am tired. Extremely tired, but that doesn’t mean I want you on my bed! Stay on the floor or something!”

Sukuna rolled his eyes at you and turned on his back, his arms crossed in two sets on his chest. 

“You were always particular with your sleeping habits. I see that hasn’t changed either.”

“Stop acting like you know me!”

Sukuna got off the bed to sit on the floor like you asked. The only problem is that you could feel his gaze prickling your skin, making it impossible to ignore him. You didn’t feel bad about kicking him out, he certainly didn’t have a pout on his face because of it, but something needed to be done. 

“Face the door instead of me,” you mumbled. 

His eyes twitched. “Commanding me like footmen,” he grumbled, yet he still turned away. You wondered if his obedience had something to do with the book. Sukuna had the aura of someone who doesn’t listen to anyone, yet he’s been more than understanding with you. Maybe you really were his wife. Maybe you were having a very elaborate and maladaptive daydream. You thought of “maybe’s” until the sun came up, still staring at the back of his pink, spiky hair. 

Your alarm chirped for you to get ready for work. You groaned. You didn’t get a second of sleep. You were too afraid of being eaten by the demon you accidentally summoned. You reached out to shut off the ringing clock as quietly as you could, but Sukuna touched it first. 

“How strange,” he said, turning the clock around in his hand. He brought it up to his ear, shook his head, tapped the glass. Then he crushed it. It was made of plastic, but the shards bent and broke to the floor left his hand unscratched. You gaped at the mess he made as he let the remains fall to the floor. “It was making a wretched sound.”

“Yeah…” you sighed. “It was pretty noisy.”

You had to find out how to get rid of him. Fast. 

Thanks for reading loves!! lemme know what ya think xx

Part: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII.

M.list || Twitter || Ao3

[alpaca-clouds]

Some historical context for Olrox

Okay, let me prephase this with one important message: Castlevania Nocturne made me really happy by making the plot all about colonialism, as colonialism and its fallout and how it influences us to this day is a topic that I am very passionate about. We do not talk enough about it. The US does not talk enough about it because it could make white people feel uncomfortable. And here in Germany we do not talk about it, because we act as if this had nothing to do with us at all.

But the show talks about it and I love it.

And I honestly also gotta say that I love that the BI_PoC character have a concrete cultural heritage. Olrox is Aztec, Annette is Yoruba, and Drolta is Egyptian. Other shows: Please take notes!

But let's talk Olrox, because he is so fucking interesting and amazing!

We know about him that he is Aztec and also that he is 250 years old. Or roughly that old by the time he kills Julia. Which would put either his birth or his turning somewhere around 1530.

Now, the fall of the Aztec Empire has a very exact date: August 13th, 1521. But you should keep in mind that this does not mean that on that day the Aztec's are extinct. To this day there is still 1,5 million people speaking Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and preserving some of the Aztec cultural traditions. It was just that on that day the empire construct fell to Cortez and the Spaniad conquistadors and a lot of Aztecs went into exile to flee the genocide that Cortez was bringing upon them.

The question of course is: Was Olrox still human at this time or was he already a vampire? From his dialogue it is clear that he was at least alive and grown enough to remember the fall of the empire and the distruction Cortez and his men brought upon them. But you can bet it was very traumatic.

I also am assuming he was turned by a white man. Because so far my assumption is that vampirism is an old world thing that got brought to the new world through colonialism. (Mostly because in Dracula's court we do not see any new world vampires.)

Now, the other interesting thing is what he says about his dead lover. The one Julia killed. So, first the "town in Massachusetts" he speaks about is clearly Stockbridge. Which was the town in which many Mohicans have settled during the colonial times, as well as other people from the Iroquois Nations. Now, it should be noted that the Mohicans were not part of the Iroquois alliance and in fact went to war with the Iroquois, but by the time colonialism really geared up there was some cooperation between the Mohicans and Iroquois.

Due to this they were in an alliance with the Oneida (who were part of the Iroquois) by the time of the Revolutionary war. Now, the Revolutionary War created a lot of conflict between the Iroquois nations, because they did not agree which side they should fight on. Of course both sides promised that they could keep their land, but the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca did not trust the colonists and hence sided with the British, while the Oneida and Tuscarora (and through them also the Mohicans) sided with the Colonists.

And the dead lover clearly was among those siding with the colonists. Now, a quick refresher for the non-Americans (and the Americans who slept to history class, which is understandable). The Revolutionary War lasted from April 19, 1775 to September 3, 1783 (which, yes, also means that Julia and Richter probably were in the US during the war the entire time and the "evil" Julia was fighting probably was linked to it). And of course we all know how it ended for the Indigenous people: The colonists won, countless Indigenous folks died on both sides, only to get booted of their land soon after. The Oneida und Mohicans were made to move westwards not soon after the war ended. So, yes, Olrox would have seen that happen.

Now, an interesting thing in his dialogue was when Erzebet said: "We will create a new world." To which he replies: "I have heard that one before." And she says: "This time we are going to make it to last."

And the big question is to what this is refering. Is it refering to the colonialization or is it refering to the revolutionary war? Or something entirely different. In both cases it would be possible. And yes, the American Revolution definitely were claiming to create a new world. But was it that what he refered to or something else?

Well, never the less: Interesting character. Really good writing.

[narcoticwriter]

... this is supposed to be a Nigerian?

This is supposed to be a Nigerian?

You can't even tell by the design of the clothes he's wearing, let alone his skin color.

I don't know which higher-up in Genshin's art department and development is allergic to melanin or simply portraying certain cultures well, but come on now. Be serious, Hoyoverse. Be for real.

I don't like putting this on blast as I just want to exist in peace, but as someone who's not only a casual history enthusiast, but also happens to be ethnically Nigerian and has some Yoruba blood, this is fucking abysmal.

[creatingblackcharacters]

hi! I’ve already done some of my own research on this (and will continue to), but I’d like to ask your opinion as well if you have the time. I’ve noticed that often in western fantasy media, characters with textured hair will mostly have more recognisably modern hairstyles (eg undercuts/fades/styles usually achieved using extensions), whereas characters with looser/straighter hair textures tend to have a mix of modern and historical (like -1890) styles. I’m assuming at least part of that is because most of the artists and stylists involved have had more exposure to historical images of white people, so the historical hairstyles they’ve seen are overwhelmingly intended for looser hair textures - and also artists/stylists wanting to celebrate the recent explosion in kickass new hairstyles being developed since people have started to embrace their natural hair more - but it made me wonder if there are any particular historical/precolonial styles for textured hair you’d like to see used more by people creating characters in fantasy or historical settings? Or if there are any types of historical styles that you think are particularly underused in fantasy & historical media?

I’d also be curious to know if you knew of anywhere that has a lot of images of precolonial hairstyles 👀 I’ve looked around online and had some luck, but so far images of and from precolonial Africa are (I guess unsurprisingly) a lot thinner on the ground online than the pictures of old white people

(Sorry if you’ve already answered this question for someone before! I had a slightly ugly battle with the tumblr search feature on the way here 😅) (There’s also a slight chance that I’ve asked you this question before ((memory issues)) so I apologise in advance if that’s the case!!)

Well, you're on the money for why you don't see pre-colonial hairstyles (amongst many other things) in fantasy for African peoples. I admit I haven't considered it like that, though! Like there's not an "oh I really wanna see" for hairstyles outside of our natural hair as it is. But I'd always cheer it on if I did see it!

As a reminder, saying "African", while it will give you some general results, will only ever be that- general. In order to want more specific looks, you're going to have to look into peoples within Africa. Like if I type in "pre-colonial Yoruba hairstyles", I'm sure I'll get some websites that'll have specifics.

So, after some looking:

[blue-lotus333]

💕Goddesses of love💕

Aphrodite: Greek Goddess of love, beauty, sex and lust.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, emerged from the sea in a scallop shell and sailed to Cyprus. She possessed a magical girdle and had many lovers, including Ares and Adonis. Ares killed Adonis out of jealousy, leading to the creation of anemones. Adonis became a god split between the Underworld and Earth due to Aphrodite's love. She travels with the Three Graces and bestows joy, brilliance, and abundance upon mortals. She aids in romantic love and is associated with myrtles, roses, and anemones.

Freya: Norse Goddess of love, war, fertility and magic.

Freya, the Norse goddess of love and ruler of war and death. She mediated conflict between warring groups of Norse gods and established peace in Asgard. She is known for her beauty, sorcery, and sexuality, as well as for riding a cat-drawn golden chariot. Freya wears a falcon-feathered cloak that allows her to move quickly between heaven and Earth and has an enormous palace in Asgard where she celebrates with the souls she chooses from the battlefield. In one myth, she obtains the famous amber necklace, Brisingamen, from four dwarves by sleeping with them, beauty for beauty.

Oshun: African Goddess of love, beauty, prosperity & femininity.

Oshun is a goddess of love in the Yoruba religion. She is one of the 7 orishas and the source of power for all the other orishas. Oshun has the ability to make all things flow in the universe through her love and strength. She played a significant role in encouraging Ogun, father of civilization, to continue creating. Oshun is the only goddess who can carry messages between the mortal world and the Supreme Creator in heaven. In Nigeria, there is an annual ceremony called Ibo-Osun where women dance for Oshun during a feast of yams, with the best dancer winning Oshun's favor and becoming the village adviser on healing and fertility.

Parvati: Hindu Goddess of love, fertility, harmony and motherhood.

Parvati is a golden Hindu goddess known for love and devotion, forming a holy trinity with Saraswati and Lakshmi. She was born in the Himalayan mountains and embodies nurturing feminine energy. Parvati won over her husband, Shiva, through patience and determination in asceticism. Parvati is the creator of her son Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of wisdom. She is also worshiped for her strength and ferocity. In one legend, she transformed into the fearsome goddess Kali-ma to overcome & destroy demons who threaten the earth, showing her protective nature.

Guan yin: Buddhist Goddess of compassion, love, peace and kindness.

Guan Yin, originally a mortal princess named Miao Shan, was known for her compassion and kindness. Despite her father's cruelty, she devoted herself to helping others and performing miracles. After her death, she chose to remain in human form as a bodhisattva to help suffering beings, eventually becoming a goddess. By simply invoking her name, people can receive protection from harm. Guan Yin is often depicted in a white gown on a lotus throne and is revered by her followers as a symbol of love, compassion & purity. Her devotees often follow her vegetarian diet on her sacred days. Guan yin is not only the goddess of compassion, but the literal personification of it.

Hathor: Egyptian Goddess of fertility, love, womanhood and the sky.

Hathor, ancient Egyptian goddess of love and joy, has been revered for over 3,000 years. Known as the Gentle Cow of Heaven, she provided milk to the Sun God Ra, making him and other pharaohs divine. Hathor created the Milky Way and is often depicted wearing a crown with cow horns. She is worshipped through joyful ceremonies of music and dance and is the most beloved goddess in ancient Egyptian belief. Hathor is also the goddess of the Underworld, protector of females, and champion of romantic bonds. She can appear in different forms and her symbols are the sistrum and hand mirror.

Laka: Hawaiian Goddess of love, wilderness, the hula & music.

Laka is a Polynesian goddess of love and wilderness who taught humans the art of the hula dance. She is married to the fertility god Lono, and rain is considered a sacred time for them. Dancers in training build altars to Laka with her favorite flowers and plants, and offerings are taken down to the ocean after performances to thank her for her blessing. She is a Goddess who rules over all vegetation. Plants sacred to her are: maile, Lama, hala pepe, `ie`ie, ki, `ôhia lehua, `ôhelo, and palai.

Aine: Irish Goddess of the summer, love, wealth and light.

Áine is a powerful and loving fairy queen in Irish legend, associated with agriculture, animals, and light. She is celebrated at the Midsummer Festival in Limerick, where people run up her hill to seek her blessing. She is also a survivor of sexual abuse in legends, where she shows strength and guides women to empowerment. Áine is depicted with red hair, a headband of stars, and surrounded by her animals. She can transform into a red mare who is unbeatable in speed.

Xochiquetzal: Aztec Goddess of fertility, beauty, flowers and love.

Xochiquetzal was a powerful and complex Aztec goddess known for her beauty and seductive nature. She was worshipped as a patroness of lovers and prostitutes, encouraging love-making for pleasure rather than reproduction. Despite her associations with sexual relationships, she also had the ability to absolve humans of sins unrelated to sex. She was married to the water god, Tlaloc, and was considered a consort to the creator deity, Tezcatlipoca. Xochiquetzal was widely worshipped and honored through great rituals that included acts of sacrifice and confessions.

Ishtar: Mesopotamian Goddess of love, war, fertility and power.

One of the oldest goddesses in the world, Ishtar, the goddess of war and sexual love, was the queen of heaven. Ishtar is considered a member of the special class of Mesopotamian gods called the Anunnaki. Ishtar is often called Inanna, she is also an astral deity, linked to the planet Venus, and was worshipped widely in the ancient Middle East. She was known as the Queen of the Universe and had powers attributed to various other gods. Ishtar was the very first goddess of love, Mesopotamians described her in her many legends and poems as young and strikingly beautiful, with piercing, penetrating eyes.

[rooksamoris]

hoyoverse: here’s a character inspired by afro-caribbean deities that are worshipped in west africa and south america because the slave trade created a mixing of religions (as seen in cuba with santeria being directly tied to yoruba and influenced by roman catholicism as well as what remained of indigenous religion after colonization)

their skin color: ⚪️

hoyoverse: here’s two female characters based off of rulers and warriors from africa, one being meroitic (sudan) and the other being amazigh (north africa). each of them were known for not only their strength but the way in which they ruled and protected their lands from invaders. one of them then literally has colored depictions of herself from ancient meroe

hoyoverse: they get whitewash and the belly dancer outfit/barbaric mercenary treatment

[a-revised-history-of-erdas]

Character Designs

At long last, here is the masterpost for the main characters' designs. This is how they appear in my head, and how they will appear in A Revised History of Erdas. So much thought (and research) has gone into this. I've taken a lot of creative liberty here, but I hope you enjoy how I envision these characters!

Conor

For Conor, I drew inspiration from Celtic and more specifically Irish culture.

He has strawberry-blond hair, as shown on the covers of Hunted and The Dragon's Eye. The colour is usually described as reddish-blond or reddish-gold because the term "strawberry-blond" does not exist in Erdas, but for clarity's sake I have named it as such here. It is slightly wavy and long enough to rest on his shoulders. Occasionally, he will incorporate braids into his hairstyle in light of his elevated status after the war. Otherwise, it is left loose. His pale skin is sprinkled all over with freckles; he has gotten a lot of them more since he left Eura, due to sun exposure. His eyes are green as described in Against the Tide.

He is chubby and muscular in equal measures. His weight is known to fluctuate due to the harrowing events he goes through on the daily, but he normally has a generous amount of extra fat all over. He started off on the shorter side, but had an impressive growth spurt during the war and the year after. His final height is 5'6.5", or 5'7" (170 cm) by rounding up, which he reaches by age sixteen. This is a little above average for Euran men.

When his facial hair starts to come in, he lets it grow, resulting in a patchy beard by the time he is sixteen. Shaving is not in a Euran shepherd’s nature.

He is physically disabled in two ways. The first is that he is missing the first joint on his left index finger from being bitten by an unidentified animal in Fire and Ice. The second is the permanent limp in his right leg from a broken ankle in The Dragon's Eye that healed badly. He uses his bond token, Pathfinder, to support himself when he walks.

Many scars crisscross his face, arms, legs and back, but they aren't easily visible against his pale skin. The ones that stand out the most are the burn scars from the fire Kovo unleashed in Sadre, particularly one running along his jaw. The spiral-shaped mark of the Wyrm on his forehead eventually shrinks and fades away to nothing, much to his relief.

His tattoo of Briggan is on his right bicep, frozen mid-run.

While not a physical trait, he has a heavy Euran accent that is comparable to Irish in the real world. At times it can be hard for non-Eurans to understand, but luckily his friends know him well enough to decipher his speech even when it is thickest.

He wears the simplest clothing of the bunch: Just a beige tunic, grass-stained trousers and a pair of warm sheepskin boots from home. His thick travelling cloak is worn over his shoulders, fastened to one side by a wolf-shaped brooch. He rarely swaps out his travelling cloak for a regular one, preferring its weight.

The head of his hand axe is inlaid with silver designs. He covers the blade with a piece of leather and keeps it in his belt by way of a special loop, with his cloak gathered over the arm that draws it.

Abeke

For Abeke, I took inspiration from the Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups of Nigeria.

Her coily dark hair ends just below her shoulders. It is worn in braids that begin at her hairline and trail down her scalp in straight lines, ending in up to twenty individual braids. She often stacks wooden or green beads on the ends. This style of braids is unique to her tribe. It also denotes her marital status; Yufandi girls and women wear their hair in braids if they are unmarried, and loose or covered if they are married. She only ties her braids back when she is hunting, travelling, fighting or doing some other kind of physical activity, letting them down at times when the group is resting. She has warm-toned dark brown skin with some freckles scattered here and there, mostly on her arms and face. Her eyes are dark brown.

She is broad-shouldered but lean, with toned arms and legs. Her final height is 5'8" (172 cm), which she reaches by age fifteen. This is considered fairly tall by Niloan standards. She has been the tallest member of the Four since the very beginning.

Like many Niloans, she has tribal marks on her face. Three long, thick, vertical grooves on each cheek indicate that she is of the Yufandi tribe, and three smaller ones in the middle of her forehead indicate that she is both Marked and a Rain Dancer. Chinwe cut the latter three onto her skin immediately after she summoned Uraza, as part of the ritual. This is an age-old cultural practice, one Abeke harbours no ill feelings about.

She has a number of other scars, both from the war and from her life as a hunter in Nilo. These are quite noticeable due to her dark skin tone. The most prominent is a mass of scar tissue on her left shoulder from when Tai Li stabbed her in Fire and Ice. The wound left her with permanent nerve damage, and she still experiences mild discomfort and tingling in that area. She also experiences numbness and increased sensitivity to cold in her toes from the deep frostbite she sustained whilst in Arctica.

As a tattoo, Uraza crouches on her right forearm, claws extended.

She speaks with an elegant western Niloan accent, similar to a Nigerian one on Earth.

She prefers light, comfortable clothing that allows for ease of movement. In Nilo, she wore a simple wrap made of handwoven cloth. When she joined the Conquerors and later the Greencloaks, she switched to more practical clothing for the colder environment: A long-sleeved white shirt under a length of goatskin and a pair of light pants. The triangular, tasselled thing at her waist on the book covers is a small bag, attached to her woven grass belt and used to store her personal belongings. She has leather shoes, more like slippers, that allow her to move silently. If the environment demands it, she will switch to hardier, but still graceful, boots. She prefers to wear her regular cloak over one shoulder, but wears her travelling cloak over both so it doesn't trip her up.

She uses a self bow, well-made, crafted from Niloan wood and embellished with subtle yet beautiful carvings. Lenori gifted it to her after the war, with the help of the Keeper. When not in use, it will either be unstrung (for long-distance travel) or left as is (if she needs it at the ready). In both cases, it is carried on her back, secured to her quiver.

During their stay in the Gulf of Amaya with the Conquerors, Abeke and Shane got matching beaded bracelets to represent their friendship. These bracelets are recurring items for the both of them that provide comfort and, later, anguish. Abeke stopped wearing hers after Shane's betrayal, but could never bring herself to get rid of it. Inexplicably, she thought to take it in her bag when she and Rollan set out from Greenhaven in Fall of the Beasts. When she made up with Shane, they discovered, to their shared surprise, that they had kept their bracelets the whole time. Abeke's is gold, white and black with striking geometric patterns, evoking the Huichol beading style of Mexico. It is one of her most meaningful possessions.

Meilin

The Han dynasty of Imperial China is where the inspiration for Meilin's character came from. Central Zhong overall is meant to be reminiscent of this period.

She has tan skin and long, straight, silky black hair which is usually styled in a topknot behind her head, with or without short plaits running down the sides (the hairstyle she is shown with on the cover of Blood Ties). Her eyes are a brown so dark they appear almost black.

Her build is stocky and well-muscled; she could not be called slender. Her final height is 5'3" (160 cm), which she reaches by age fifteen. This is the average for women in central Zhong, and makes her the smallest member of the Four.

It is perhaps a testament to her skill in battle that she has by far the least physical scars of the Four. The most noticeable are the light burn scars on her back that wrap around to her right shoulder from the fire in Sadre, and even then, those are covered up in public.

For her pierced ears, she usually opts for small teardrop earrings made of jade or silver.

Her tattoo of Jhi rests on the back of her dominant hand. She made the bold decision to get more tattoos in Jano Rion after the Second Great War: A sword, modelled after her own legendary Sword of Teng, along her inner right forearm, with a Yin Yang symbol at the tip near her wrist. These tattoos hold great personal meaning.

Though she speaks the common tongue with ease, she has a discernible central Zhongese accent, which could be likened to a Chinese one in the real world.

Her usual attire is a paofu robe (more specifically jiaolingpao) over a sleeveless white shirt and beige trousers, with a belt or sash at her waist and black leather boots. The robes she favours are knee-length, allowing for freer movement, padded for warmth and with fitted leather sleeve-cuffs to restrain the wide sleeves and protect her wrists and forearms. Her favourite robe is made of red silk and embroidered with dragons. She wears her travelling cloak over her shoulders, but is also known to don a green robe instead, especially for regular wear. In general, she gravitates to stronger colours like reds and oranges. She dresses the most vibrantly (and expensively) of the Four.

Generally, Meilin presents herself in a masculine way. Her favoured clothing, accessories and even hairstyle are more typical of men in Imperial Zhong. On top of gravitating to these styles because they are simply the most practical for a warrior, Meilin feels more comfortable and like herself in men's clothing, and enjoys dressing this way because of how confined she felt when conforming to the standard imposed on Zhongese women.

Her sword, the legendary Sword of Teng, is a jian that has been passed down through her family for many generations. In times when she needs it strapped to her, she will wear a belt instead of a sash to hold it in its scabbard.

Her trademark accessory is a small Yin Yang amulet attached to a silk thread, meant to be worn as a necklace, but often just carried by her side. It was her last birthday gift from her father, given to her on the day she summoned Jhi. This amulet later becomes her bond token, Peacefinder.

Rollan

Although the original books made it a little ambiguous, from details sprinkled throughout and especially the description of Aidana, we can conclude that Rollan is the Erdas equivalent of Native American. In ARHoE, this is an integral part of Rollan's character. For his tribe, I referenced the Algonquian (and more specifically Wabanaki) peoples of eastern Canada.

He has weathered, light brown skin and long, thick, straight black hair. In the first arc, he wore his hair loose or tied back in a ponytail. After the war, when he and his mother had the opportunity to reconnect with their tribe in Amaya after being isolated from them for so long, Rollan adopted many of their customs. He came back with his hair in two braids, a style that had been practised by the Wascow and many other Amayan tribes for centuries. His eyes are dark brown.

Years of malnourishment on the streets made Rollan leaner and lighter-built than the others, and even while living the good life at Greenhaven he remains somewhat scrawny. For the same reason, his final height of 5'4" (162 cm), which he reaches by age sixteen, is below average for northern Amayan men.

He isn't able to grow nearly as much facial hair as Conor -- just a few dark hairs above his upper lip. He scrapes off his thin moustache when circumstances allow it, in accordance with his tribe's customs.

When he was a child, he was caught stealing and had his nose slit as punishment. The scar left behind is one of his most recognisable features. He has too many other scars to mention.

Both of his ears are pierced, a procedure he had done while staying with his tribe. He owns and wears a variety of earrings, but his favourites are a pair of feathers that fell from Essix.

Essix's tattoo is emblazoned on his upper chest, her outstretched wingtips skimming his collarbones. He has a multitude of other tattoos, all of which were done during his time with the Wascow. His whole body is marked with symbols representing his tribe, spirit animal and achievements, including one for every battle he has won. The process was gruelling, but Rollan's ego has soared since getting them.

The subject of his accent is an interesting one, because unlike the other three, Rollan didn't grow up speaking the language of his people. Common is the only language he is fluent in, and, of course, he didn't grow up with a fixed person to influence how he spoke it. The result is his accent being an odd blend of speech habits from the constantly changing cast of people around him -- his mother, the people at the orphanage, the Widow Renata, his street gang and even foreign traders who spent time in Concorba. There is influence not only from different Amayan tribes in his pronunciation patterns, but parts of Eura and Zhong. Conor, Abeke and Meilin have never heard anything like it.

He typically wears a long-sleeved grey shirt, trousers and a pair of deerskin moccasins. Even though his choice of attire is rather simple, it is worth more than anything he ever owned as an orphan in Concorba. Beadwork features prominently on his clothing and accessories, including on his earrings, in patches sewn on his trousers and moccasins, and his treasured sash (which is best visible on the cover of Fire and Ice). His worn green cloak hangs around his shoulders. He doesn't own a regular one, only Tarik's travelling cloak.

The dagger he favours is a straight, mean-looking blade with an ornate hilt. He keeps it sheathed at his belt when not in use.

I thought it would be fitting to give them all a matching item. Something they carry around that reminds them of each other. Of their team. So, while in the capital of Zhong on their victory march after the war, the friends came across a collection of attraction charms and decided to each buy one. They were made of semi-precious stones, small and teardrop-shaped, attached to a little ring with a cap of silver or gold. They each chose a stone with meaning that resonated with them. Conor's is labradorite, which symbolises inner peace. Abeke's is sunstone, which stands for strength. Meilin's is amethyst, which symbolises balance. Rollan's is garnet, for clarity. The kids paired them with charms of their spirit animals and wear them in various ways -- on bracelets, in pockets, on necklaces close to their hearts. Every time they look at them, even if they are a thousand miles away from the people who keep the other pieces of the set, they think of their family.

There you have it, the altered character designs for the Four Heroes! These will be incorporated into the ARHoE masterdoc when it is completed. More pivotal characters to follow!

Part two

[alittlesongbirdchirps]

Fake!Cryptid batfam au in which a small, real and young cryptid wants to be Bruce's apprentice since Batman is rumored to be a ( insert magical entity of your choice, but I personally prefer one in which they're like a Pantheon with everyone being different kind of spirits/supernatural beings). Bruce explains he is a human but the small cryptid isn't buying it and decides "dumbasses, I'll take care of them" since the child sees that the family normally doesn't take care of themselves (lack of sleep, brushing off wounds, etc) and becomes a medic for them.

Cut to said child pulling some medical shit that could only work with a magical being but somehow works on a batfam member too

Tim: "Doctor, what are you doing?"

Doctor -insert name- (small child): "Healing you"

Tim: "But you said this only worked on non-humans, and as far as I know–"

*wounds close*

Tim: "..."

Bruce: "..."

Basically everyone - Alfred (an immortal): "..."

And the baby is smiling smugly while they watch.

How, you may ask. Well...

Plot twist: Since Gotham is cursed and the power of faith is strong, the belief of them being non-humans transforms them into non-humans. Bonus points if Gothamites make offerings to the batfam

Alternatively, Gotham ended up making her knights stronger and be similar beings to her (optional, maybe a Lady Gotham manifestation?-)

ooooOO I frigging love this anon. It has a good plot, imagine Tim becomes part of the Chinese pantheon I would say something similar to Zhu Long — Dragon of Time and Season, because of the whole Bruce stuck in the Time Stream ordeal and Tim is the only one to rescue him and also he never seems to age; he also seems to never eats or sleeps, which Zhu long also doesn't.

I also Imagine this very young cryptid kid who keeps a semi-human form since they believe Bruce is doing the same and wants to be like him.

Healing Tim is the start of the revelation that they all suddenly changed somehow, and I like the idea of the power of faith being so strong it changes them; maybe it can be influenced or done by Lady Gotham blending the two ideas.

Immortal Alfred I love that so much. I wonder if he has always been immortal or maybe, when Bruce was a kid, he didn't want anyone else to leave him, believing, maybe even wishing so hard, that his only support system and that's how Alfred becomes immortal, which somehow no one's noticed at this point.

So we have down for what or whom he might become; now other members—oh boy, this list is gods and creatures I find similar to them, not who they are.

Bruce, I wanted him to have a more talked-about pantheon like Greek, so I chose Nemesis; Bruce is often referred to as handsome, a

Dick, I feel like he would be Romani because of the belief in the fandom that his heritage and he would be Bar o Devel, which is the name of the god of power and music.

Jason, I kind of went with Viking/Norse beliefs because of Jason's originally having red hair, which I love. I thought Höd would be a perfect fit, not just because of Hood, lol, but also because he died and came back to life as well.

Steph I thought the Celtic god Aengus Óg was a Celtic god of love, youth, poetry, and summer.

Cass since her Chinese heritage, I also picture her as Kuan Yin a Chinese goddess of mercy and compassion and one of Buddhism's most beloved

Duke, I don't know his race. I'm guessing African American because nothing comes up but meta-human; I don't know. Shango is a Yoruba god of thunder, lightning, and justice. 

Damien a lot of people say he is Arabic, so we are going with it. I would make him similar to Nasr, which is the Himyarites' deity of the vulture, whose name means "vulture" in Arabic.  Some scholars believe Nasr was a symbol of the sun,

I hope I answered this ask correctly. Thank you for asking XD

[kemetic-dreams]

Afro-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of predominant African descent. They represent the largest ethnic group in the country.

The ethnogenesis of the African Jamaican people stemmed from the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th century, when enslaved Africans were transported as slaves to Jamaica and other parts of the Americas. During the period of British rule, slaves brought into Jamaica were primarily Akan, some of whom ran away and joined with Maroons and even took over as leaders

West Africans were enslaved in wars with other West African states and kidnapped by either African or European slavers. The most common means of enslaving an African was through abduction.

Based on slave ship records, enslaved Africans mostly came from the Akan people (notably those of the Asante Kotoko alliance of the 1720's: Asante, Bono, Wassa, Nzema and Ahanta) followed by Kongo people, Fon people, Ewe people, and to a lesser degree: Yoruba, Ibibio people and Igbo people. Akan (then called Coromantee) culture was the dominant African culture in Jamaica.

Originally in earlier British colonization, the island before the 1750s was in fact mainly Akan imported. However, between 1663 and 1700, only six per cent of slave ships to Jamaica listed their origin as the Gold Coast, while between 1700 and 1720 that figure went up to 27 per cent. The number of Akan slaves arriving in Jamaica from Kormantin ports only increased in the early 18th century. But due to frequent rebellions from the then known "Coromantee" that often joined the slave rebellion group known as the Jamaican Maroons, other groups were sent to Jamaica. The Akan population was still maintained, since they were the preference of British planters in Jamaica because they were "better workers", according to these planters. According to the Slave Voyages Archives, though the Igbo had the highest importation numbers, they were only imported to Montego Bay and St. Ann's Bay ports, while the Akan (mainly Gold Coast) were more dispersed across the island and were a majority imported to seven of 14 of the island's ports (each parish has one port).

Myal and Revival

Kumfu (from the word Akom the name of the Akan spiritual system) was documented as Myal and originally only found in books, while the term Kumfu is still used by Jamaican Maroons. The priest of Kumfu was called a Kumfu-man. In 18th-century Jamaica, only Akan gods were worshipped by Akan as well as by other enslaved Africans. The Akan god of creation, Nyankopong was given praise but not worshipped directly. They poured libation to Asase Ya, the goddess of the earth. But nowadays they are only observed by the Maroons who preserved a lot of the culture of 1700s Jamaica.

"Myal" or Kumfu evolved into Revival, a syncretic Christian sect. Kumfu followers gravitated to the American Revival of 1800 Seventh Day Adventist movement because it observed Saturday as god's day of rest. This was a shared aboriginal belief of the Akan people as this too was the day that the Akan god, Nyame, rested after creating the earth. Jamaicans that were aware of their Ashanti past while wanting to keep hidden, mixed their Kumfu spirituality with the American Adventists to create Jamaican Revival in 1860. Revival has two sects: 60 order (or Zion Revival, the order of the heavens) and 61 order (or Pocomania, the order of the earth). 60 order worships God and spirits of air or the heavens on a Saturday and considers itself to be the more "clean" sect. 61 order more deals with spirits of the earth. This division of Kumfu clearly shows the dichotomy of Nyame and Asase Yaa's relationship, Nyame representing air and has his 60 order'; Asase Yaa having her 61 order of the earth. Also the Ashanti funerary/war colours: red and black have the same meaning in Revival of vengeance. Other Ashanti elements include the use of swords and rings as means to guard the spirit from spiritual attack. The Asantehene, like the Mother Woman of Revival, has special two swords used to protect himself from witchcraft called an Akrafena or soul sword and a Bosomfena or spirit sword

Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patwa, is an English creole language spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of English. The language developed in the 17th century, when enslaved peoples from West and Central Africa blended their dialect and terms with the learned vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken: British Englishes (including significant exposure to Scottish English) and Hiberno English. Jamaican Patwa is a post-creole speech continuum (a linguistic continuum) meaning that the variety of the language closest to the lexifier language (the acrolect) cannot be distinguished systematically from intermediate varieties (collectively referred to as the mesolect) nor even from the most divergent rural varieties (collectively referred to as the basilect). Jamaicans themselves usually refer to their use of English as patwa, a term without a precise linguistic definition.

Jamaican Patois contains many loanwords of African origin, a majority of those etymologically from Gold Coast region (particularly of the Asante-Twi dialect of the Akan language of Ghana).

Most Jamaican proverbs are of Asante people, while some included other African proverbs

Jamaican mtDNA

A DNA test study submitted to BMC Medicine in 2012 states that "....despite the historical evidence that an overwhelming majority of slaves were sent from the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa near the end of the British slave trade, the mtDNA haplogroup profile of modern Jamaicans show a greater affinity with groups found in the present-day Gold Coast region Ghana....this is because Africans arriving from the Gold Coast may have thus found the acclimatization and acculturation process less stressful because of cultural and linguistic commonalities, leading ultimately to a greater chance of survivorship and a greater number of progeny."

More detailed results stated: "Using haplogroup distributions to calculate parental population contribution, the largest admixture coefficient was associated with the Gold Coast(0.477 ± 0.12 or 59.7% of the Jamaican population with a 2.7 chance of Pygmy and Sahelian mixture), suggesting that the people from this region may have been consistently prolific throughout the slave era on Jamaica. The diminutive admixture coefficients associated with the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa (0.064 ± 0.05 and 0.089 ± 0.05, respectively) is striking considering the massive influx of individuals from these areas in the waning years of the British Slave trade. When excluding the pygmy groups, the contribution from the Bight of Biafra and West-central rise to their highest levels (0.095 ± 0.08 and 0.109 ± 0.06, respectively), though still far from a major contribution. When admixture coefficients were calculated by assessing shared haplotypes, the Gold Coast also had the largest contribution, though much less striking at 0.196, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.189 to 0.203. When haplotypes are allowed to differ by one base pair, the Jamaican matriline shows the greatest affinity with the Bight of Benin, though both Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa remain underrepresented. The results of the admixture analysis suggest the mtDNA haplogroup profile distribution of Jamaica more closely resembles that of aggregated populations from the modern-day Gold Coast region despite an increasing influx of individuals from both the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa during the final years of trading enslaved Africans.

The aforementioned results apply to subjects whom have been tested. Results also stated that African Jamaicans (that make up more than 90% of the population) on an average have 97.5% of African MtDNA and very little European or Asian ancestry could be found. Both ethnic and racial genetic results are based on a low sample of 390 Jamaican persons and limited regional representation within Jamaica. As Afro-Jamaicans are not genetically homogeneous, the results for other subjects may yield different results.

[emblemxeno]

Ideas for a Fire Emblem Game

Hi, I wanted to post my ideas for some things I'd include in a Fire Emblem game, because I never shared a creative thing of mine on here before.

I have outlines for Lore, General Plot, Themes, Chapters, Characters/Personal Skills, Classes/Unit Types, Weapons and Items, and one Other thing.

This is LONG. The longest blog post I ever made, so I'm putting everything under the cut. I don't really know if I wanna do anything more than this, since I've never written fanfic before, but maybe I'll be inspired to do so in the future if I feel like it.

Lore

---For lore inspiration, I drew from the Four Symbols in Chinese culture. I'm using their Japanese names because FE is a Japanese series.

---Backstory is that before life existed, there was emptiness. Then suddenly a flash of light that led to life. Unfortunately, one these lives was a Gold Demon Dragon (Kohryu) that threatened humanity. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, four divine beings defeated and drove off the Demon: Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu. They were celebrated across the continent, and before their passing, four countries formed and took their names in reverance. Over time, the four kingdoms began a cycle of going between feuding/warring with each other and peace time, eventually leading to each country evolving into their current forms with new cultures and aesthetics, with only the names of their deities and a shared faith remaining.

---The countries are the Genbu Kingdom, a snowy northern land famed for its knights and with Norse/Germanic aesthetics; the Suzaku Theocracy, a southern desert country home to the major religious establishments and Egyptian aesthetics; the Byakko Empire, a meritocratic temperate western land covered with forests and jungles with Yoruba inspirations; and the Seiryu Dynasty, a relatively isolationist island nation that's the capital of the arts, famed for war ships and dragon riders, and Japanese inspirations.

---Each country also has their own holy artifact, said to be the concentrated powers of their deities; Genbu's Black Tiara, Byakko's Pearl Bracelet, Seiryu's Jade Sigil, and Suzaku's Fire Emblem. These artifacts are responsible for maintaining magical balance, for advancing warriors to new levels of power, and granting mysterious cognitive powers, such as preserving historical records and premonitions of possible immediate futures.

General Plot

---Four main characters to parallel the Four Symbols. The primary main character is a jaded but compassionate young Dark Mage/Savant of mixed ancestry, who comes from a village on the Genbu border that houses families from different cultures and countries, which serves as thematic foil to the countries at large being at odds aside from annual conferences. Dark Mage is raised by his father, a retired Genbu knight. After displaying remarkable tactical and diplomatic skill in quelling a long time bandit group, the Dark Mage/Savant and his father are invited back to the Genbu capital to sit in on a conference between groups of country representatives.

---There he meets the other main characters, a suave Swordmaster/Hero from Suzaku, a melancholy Falcon Knight/Valkyrie from Byakko, and a brash Dancer/Kabuki from Seiryu. Genbu's royal family (including a generous prince), Byakko's imperial entourage (including the emperor himself), and Seiryu's dynasts (including a branch family chancellor) are in attendance, as well as the high bishop of Suzaku standing in for the holy family, the reason for this being a civil war happening within the theocracy and each side lead by heads of the holy family, a sister and brother.

---Unnerved and annoyed with the pomp and circumstance of the conference, Dark Mage exits the court in a fit, which both tenses and intrigues the important figures there. Under surprising circumstances, he and his father are employed by the high bishop to help end the civil war, with direct assistance from Genbu knights. The high bishop also gifts him the Fire Emblem, Suzaku's precious holy artifact.

---Dark Mage/Savant employs cold yet efficient tactics, weaponizing the power of words and rumors to minimize as much direct combat as possible by causing the rebel forces to crumble from within. Eventually the civil war is ended in Suzaku with much less bloodshed than expected, a feat that Dark Mage/Savant is celebrated for, especially by his Swordmaster/Hero compatriot, who takes a liking to him.

---However, everything is turned upside down upon returning to Genbu, where warfare and destruction runs rampant. In the chaos, the boy's father is seemingly killed by an unknown magic user. The boy's party escapes to the borderlands, where the other main characters (Swordmaster/Savant, Falcon Knight/Valkyrie, Dancer/Kabuki) meet him and relay what's happening: the prince of Genbu committed treason and slew his family with support of forces from Byakko's emperor and Seiryu's chancellor, all in a grand scheme to forcibly unite the continent under one banner once more.

---After regrouping, the main characters make a risky play to topple the Byakko Empire from within, with covert support from the now defending Suzaku Theocracy. Despite Byakko's renowned military might, its merit based society is fragile and on the verge of mutinous infighting due to the disparity of privilege and strength in its population. Fed up with her country's unforgiving and misguided way of governance, the Falcon Knight/Valkyrie personally takes command and leads the party to liberate her countrymen, in the name of fighting for the weak. Due to these surprise attacks and waning support from his people, the Emperor is killed in a last stand, and the Byakko Empire is now allied with Suzaku under the guide of the Falcon Knight/Valkyrie.

---Taking the next step to secure the alliance, the party heads to the border, but is locked into a battle between their forces and the combined might of the Genbu Prince and Seiryu Chancellor who were targeting a battalion lead by Suzaku's high bishop. Repelling the forces, the party take the high bishop into their protection, where they are also greeted by surprising guests: apparitions of the Four Divine Deities.

---Big lore drops happen. The high bishop explains that another player in this conflict is his would-be successor, a nihilist bishop who, through forbidden magic, gained the power of the ancient Gold Demon Dragon, Kohryu. The deities reveal that they didn't defeat Kohryu, but rather they are all facets of the Demon, having split off from each other upon bearing witness to humanity's beauty. This fact was lost to history over millennia and the ascent of the deities to a new plane, but after their passing, they left their powers encased in artifacts to support humanity's progress. However, this proved to be a double edged sword: were their powers to ever be reunited, it would spell the return of the Demon. Despite this, this also meant that the deities still had ties to the plane of humanity, and could descend back through a divine prophecy: "Bearers of our virtues, through our caller we may return, grant our gifts, and become one with the land beloved."

---Through a divine rite led by the high bishop, the four main characters are bestowed divine powers and weapons. Coming to terms with her country's misdeeds, the Dancer/Kabuki calls for the party to launch an offensive on the Seiryu Dynasty. Upon arrival to the island nation, the Dancer's/Kabuki's resolve serves as inspiration for disillusioned commoners and lower ranked nobles to rise against their home's ambitious chancellor.

---As the party fights further into Seiryu, it's revealed that Seiryu's dynastic family had been turned into puppet figures by the chancellor, who was blackmailing them with secrets of past crimes committed by the nation yet hidden from the public. Seiryu's chancellor, Genbu's prince, and Byakko's emperor all shared ideologies: they believed their continent has suffered disarray and tragedy due to being split apart, and humanity will stay weak and at war with each other unless forcibly united under a single banner. In a previous conference, they were all approached by the high bishop's successor/the nihilist bishop, who promised power and influence through religious dogma as tools to further all their ambitions.

---The chancellor and her loyalists are defeated, and the family dynasts freed. The family decides to divulge their secrets to the public: their ancestors once sought to use forbidden magic on their holy artifact and, by means of war, declare full independence from the rest of the continent and dissolve the legitimacy of the church, one of the few remaining unifiers that the continent had left. This was discovered by the high bishop at the time, and this plot was ended before it began. As punishment, the dynasty's secret was used by the church and the other countries as leverage to justify possible pre-emptive subjugation in case of future wars. This information was privy only to the leaders and other high ranked officials in each nation. Despite this being done under the guise of keeping the peace, this act ironically exacerbated tensions between the nations as well as the church, with more and more conflicts sprouting throughout centuries due to shifting power dynamics.

---The final piece of the puzzle falls into place. The high bishop's successor had lived a life of tragedy. He was orphaned at a young age by bandits in a Genbu village. The Genbu knights were warned about a rising bandit group terrorizing more and more villages, yet they did nothing to quell this problem until it was too late for many families. The future successor began wandering, rejecting his homeland of Genbu. When he was too weak to make a life in Byakko, and the decadence of Seiryu disgusted him, he turned to the church in Suzaku. There he finally found solace; that is, until the years of secrecy and backstabbing (as well as the origins of the Four Deities) was taught to him in preparation for his succession and responsibility. This was his breaking point, and he began a plot to erase humanity from the face of the earth. As a religious figurehead, he devised to use forbidden magic on the holy artifacts in order to combine them and bring back the Demon. He enthralled ambitious leaders of the nations, manufactured the Suzaku civil war through lies to draw eyes away from him as he came into contact with each artifact, and planned the grand war to afford him time to further complete the Demon's resurrection.

---To end this war, the party marches back to confront this nihilist bishop as well as Genbu's prince. A sideplot has been occurring alongside the main one ever since the party's first major attack on Byakko: a dangerous, ghostly horseman has been appearing in various battles, seemingly targeting the Dark Mage/Savant main character relentlessly. This turns out to be his father, corrupted by the nihilist bishop's attack back when Genbu was usurped. The father's mind became distorted; while he was supposed to be killed and brought back as a soldier under the influence of the Demon, his previous contact with Genbu's holy artifact (because he's a pre-promote) in combination with his strong willpower and love for his son led to him instead surviving and becoming a rogue, unpredictable force. While he would previously attempt to settle things peacefully or justly, now he would slaughter those who angered him (ironically, this happened to be to the detriment of the nihilist bishop, whose soldiers were often victim's of the father). However, his killer instinct and longing to see his son again became entangled with one another, leading to him attacking his blood. Before the party of heroes is able to advance on Genbu's capital, they take on the Dark Mage's/Savant's father one more time, and thanks to their newly bestowed divine powers and access to three of the artifacts, they are able to ward of his corruption and revive him.

---This, in turn, leads to the deities regaining more of their powers, as they themselves were born from the Demon. They take the father's corruption/darkness unto themselves and once again take physical forms to assist the party in their final battles. The party faces off against magically resurrected knights, court officials, and even the former king, queen, and princess, before finally meeting the prince, who has gone mad in combination from his actions during the war and his side's continuing losses. The party defeats him, and eventually confront the nihilist bishop. However, this is a trap! According to the forbidden rites, "To revive the Demon, a soul of emptiness must be freed from the shackles of flesh to serve as host." Killing the bishop brings back the Golden Demon Dragon, Kohryu. In a last stand the party throws all of their might at the Demon, but in order to destroy him for good, the Four Deities decide to use their very lives to do so. They ask their inheritors to make a world for all, where love can bloom freely, and light will always pierce the darkness.

---In the epilogue, each nation goes under reconstruction: the father of the Dark Mage/Savant is elected Knight Lord of Genbu's new kingdom; the Falcon Knight/Valkyrie recruits a roundtable of people from different walks of life to push Byakko into a direction of charity; the Dancer/Kabuki works with the dynasts to end the nation's isolationism and is on the verge of a cultural renaissance as a result; the heads of the Suzaku Theocracy and the high bishop tirelessly fund international reconstruction and provide sanctuary for war vicims, with the Swordmaster/Hero working as ambassador; the four main characters routinely meet up to journey together for days, even weeks at a time so as to maintain their bond and love for their homes.

Themes

----I intended the themes for this plot to be: rejection of destructive nihilism and misanthropy; rejection of both isolationism and forced unification, instead promoting mutual cross-cultural trust and companionship while still respecting each other's borders; the power of words and diplomacy, for good and bad; the idea of true strength comes from a foundation of wanting to help your fellow man despite differences, rather than one of everyone simply being under one banner (i.e. not having differences to possibly clash over at all).

Chapters

Here are what I outlined for chapters and character join times. I also have an idea for paralogues being accessed through memory events a la the memory prisms in FE Echoes, and completing them gives Bonus EXP, but I haven't thought far enough ahead as to what the paralogues would be.

Prologue-Page of History: M!Dark Mage/Savant, M!Sword Paladin, M!Fighter, MtF!Pegasus Knight

Chapter 1-Compassion: M!Myrmidon, M!Soldier, F!Archer

Chapter 2-Rare Opportunity: M!Mage, F!Priest

Chapter 3-Hall of Pride: F!Sword Armor, F!Lance Armor

Chapter 4-March to Suzaku: F!Axe Cavalier

Chapter 5-Desert Divide

Chapter 6-Faithful Clash

Chapter 7-The Ruthless Strategist: M!Thief, F!Hunter

Chapter 8-The Weight of Words: M!Fighter

Chapter 9-Vision of Love: M!Swordmaster/Hero

Chapter 10-Shattered: Lose M!Sword Paladin

Chapter 11-Tooth and Nail: F!Falcon Knight/Valkyrie, F!Kabuki

Chapter 12-A War For Whom?

Chapter 13-Braving The Forest: F!Dragon Master

Chapter 14-Duty to Protect: FtM!Lance Paladin, M!Sniper, M!Axe General

Chapter 15-Tiger’s Keep: M!Tamer

Chapter 16-Imbalance: F!Sorcerer

Chapter 17-Value of Strength

Chapter 18-Brink of Collapse: F!Sage

Chapter 19-The People’s Champion: F!Halberdier

Chapter 20-The Four Gods

Chapter 21-Turning the Tides: M!Saint, M!Dragon Lord

Chapter 22-The Jade Dynasty

Chapter 23-Betrayer’s Resolve: F!Trueblade, M!Druid

Chapter 24-Desperate Measures

Chapter 25-Sinking Below: F!Assassin, F!Falcon Knight

Chapter 26-Catharsis

Chapter 27-A Future’s Cost

Chapter 28-Welcome Home: Re-gain M!Sword Paladin/Great Knight

Chapter 29-Snowfall Memories

Chapter 30-For Our Children: M!Manakete, M!Phoenix, F!Beastkin, F!Guardian

Chapter 31-Court of Ice

Chapter 32-The Bloody Dais

Chapter 33-Emptiness

Finale-A World For All

Characters and Personal Skills

---I haven't come up with names for anyone besides the Four Deities lol. All I have are personal skills (which for the main characters change as they are granted divine powers at the end of Chapter 20, and the Dark Mage's father when he returns after being cured of his corruption). I made the Personal Skills powerful because I envisioned no other skills in this game, offensive or otherwise. Personal skills and equippable items are the name of the game in team building here.

M!Dark Mage/Savant: (Pre-Chapter 21) Understanding-Allies within 3 spaces recover 5 HP per turn/(Chapter 21 onward) Compassion’s Pulse-When this unit uses a healing/support staff, grants Def/Res +5 to target allies for 1 turn

M!Sword Paladin: (Prologue-Chapter 10) Doting Father-Enemies suffer Def/Res-5 for 1 turn after combat with this unit/(Chapter 28 onward) Stalwart Father-Str/Spd +5 if HP > 50%, Def/Res +5 if HP < 50%

M!Fighter: Stubborn Ox-Def/Res + X for the rest of the current map, with X = number of times this unit has taken damage (max = Def/Res +5)

MtF!Pegasus Knight: Unicorn Dame-Female allies within 2 spaces deal +3 damage and take -3 damage

M!Myrmidon: Like Water: Grants Spd +3 and Avo +15 when foe initiates combat

M!Soldier: Seeking Strength: Str + X for the rest of the current map, with X = number of enemies this unit has defeated (max = Str +5)

F!Archer: Hidden Vitriol-Damage dealt +5 when initiating combat

M!Mage: Young Elemental-Use ‘Adept’ Command to attack two foes within range at 50% damage each

F!Priest: Open Warmth-Allies within 4 spaces take -2 damage

F!Sword Armor: Brash Beauty-Unit can move 3 more spaces in the cardinal directions

F!Lance Armor: Sly Sister-If unit’s HP > 50%, grants Mov +2

F!Axe Cavalier: Idle Idol-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Dex +8 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

M!Thief: Plucky Spy-Unit is immune to poison, and gains Avo+20 when attacked by an offensive staff

F!Hunter: Seasoned Huntress-Deals X more damage during combat, with X = number of spaces this unit or enemy moved before combat began

M!Fighter: Atoning Brigand-Hit/Avo/Crit/Eva +20 during combat when adjacent to an ally

M!Swordmaster/Hero: (Pre-Chapter 21) Charm-Hit/Avo +10 to allies within 3 spaces/(Chapter 21 onward) Lover’s Visage-Hit/Avo +20 to all allies on the map

F!Falcon Knight/Valkyrie: (Pre-Chapter 21) Solidarity-Crit/Eva +10 to allies within 3 spaces/(Chapter 21 onward) People’s Champion-Crit/Eva +20 to all allies on the map

F!Dancer/Kabuki: (Pre-Chapter 21) Performer-Use ‘Dance’ command to give an adjacent ally another action/(Chapter 21 onward) Divine Actress-Use ‘Dance’ command to give all adjacent allies another action

F!Dragon Master: Draco Madame-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Def+4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

FtM!Lance Paladin: Haughty Baron-Male allies within 2 spaces deal +3 damage and take -3 damage

M!Sniper: Smooth Operator-Use ‘Potent’ Command to add an extra strike at half damage during combat

M!Axe General: Thundering Giant-Use ‘Advance’ Command to move 1 space toward a foe that is 2 spaces away and attack with double weapon might

M!Tamer: Crafty Hermit-Grants Crit +30 when not adjacent to an ally

F!Sorcerer: Grand Enchantress-Using a healing or stat boosting item applies the effects to both unit and adjacent allies

F!Sage: Author of Spells-Deals X more damage during combat, with X = 2 * the number of tomes in unit’s inventory

F!Halberdier: Famed Officer-Grants Avo/Crit + X, with X = how many enemies are left on the current map

M!Saint: Heaven’s Caller-Staff range +5 and AoE +1

M!Dragon Lord: Draco Gallant-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Str +4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

F!Trueblade: Passing A Legacy-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Spd +4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

M!Druid: Font of Knowledge-Use ‘Rally’ Command to grant Mag/Res +4 to and gain support with units within 3 spaces

F!Assassin: Earth Walker-Unit deals effective damage against all enemies at the cost of avoid rate being cut in half

F!Falcon Knight: Wings of Hope-Str/Spd/Def/Res+4 and Hit/Avo +10 when fighting a higher leveled enemy

M!Manakete: Azure Dragon-Mag/Dex +5 during combat to units within 3 spaces

M!Phoenix: Vermilion Bird-Spd +5 and Avoid +10 during combat to units within 3 spaces

F!Beastkin: White Tiger-Str +5 and Crit +10 during combat to units within 3 spaces

F!Guardian: Black Tortoise-Def/Res +5 during combat to units within 3 spaces

---Here are allegiances/nationalities as well, I made sure that each nation has an equal amount of characters in the party:

Genbu Kingdom, Winter, Norse: F!Genbu, M!Dark Mage/Savant, M!Sword Paladin, M!Fighter, M!Myrmidon, F!Sword Armor, F!Lance Armor, F!Axe Cavalier, F!Assassin

Suzaku Theocracy, Summer, Egyptian: M!Suzaku, M!Swordmaster/Hero, M!Soldier, F!Archer, F!Priest, M!Thief, F!Hunter, F!Sage, M!Saint

Byakko Empire, Autumn, Yoruba: F!Byakko, F!Falcon Knight/Valkyrie, MtF!Pegasus Knight, M!Fighter, M!Axe General, M!Tamer, F!Sorcerer, F!Halberdier, F!Falcon Knight

Seiryu Dynasty, Spring, Japanese: M!Seiryu, F!Dancer/Kabuki, M!Mage, F!Dragon Master, FtM!Lance Paladin, M!Sniper, M!Dragon Lord, F!Trueblade, M!Druid

Classes and Unit Types

-I brought back Radiant Dawns 3 tiers of classes, Engage's unit type systems, and the Trinity of Magic.

-The Weapon Triangle and Trinity of Magic each function like Engage's Break system, but the Weapon Triangle requires damage to be dealt to Break a foe, while the Trinity of Magic's version is called 'Seal' and doesn't require the foe to be damaged, only for a hit to be made; this is to possibly incentivize using magic against other magic users.

-There are no promotion items, as the holy artifacts are used to promote. Every character has a level ranging from 1 to 30. At level 10, units auto promote to tier 2 classes. At level 20, tier 2 units auto promote to tier 3.

Myrmidon (Sword) - Swordmaster (Sword) - Trueblade (Sword)/Hero (Sword, Axe)

Soldier (Lance) - Halberdier (Lance) - Sentinel (Lance)

Fighter (Axe) - Warrior (Axe, Bow) - Reaver (Axe, Bow)

Archer (Bow) - Sniper (Bow) - Marksman (Bow)

Thief (Knife) - Rogue (Knife) - Assassin (Knife)

Sword/Lance/Axe Armor (Sword/Lance/Axe) - Sword/Lance/Axe General (Two Weapons) - Marshall (Three Weapons)

Mage (Anima) - Sage (Anima, Staff) - Archsage (Anima, Staff)

Priest (Light, Staff) - Bishop (Light, Staff) - Saint (Light, Staff)

Dark Mage (Dark) - Sorcerer (Dark, Staff) - Druid (Dark, Staff)/Savant (Dark, Staff)

Sword/Lance/Axe Cavalier (Sword/Lance/Axe) - Sword/Lance/Axe Paladin (Two Weapons) - Great Knight (Three Weapons)

Hunter (Bow) - Tamer (Bow, Knife) - Fenrir (Bow, Knife)

Pegasus Knight (Lance) - Falcon Knight (Sword, Lance) - Seraph Knight (Sword, Lance)/Valkyrie (Sword, Lance)

Dragon Knight (Axe) - Dragon Master (Lance, Axe) - Dragon Lord (Lance, Axe)

Dancer (Knife) - Kabuki (Knife)

Guardian (Breath)

Manakete (Breath)

Beastkin (Strike)

Phoenix (Strike)

Prince (Lance) - Usurper (Lance)

Heiress (Anima) - Chancellor (Anima)

Emperor (Sword, Axe)

Demon (Breath)

The unit types below apply for the entire class lines

Backup: Myrmidon, Soldier, Fighter, Hero, Demon

Covert: Archer, Thief, Dancer

Armored: Sword/Lance/Axe Armor, Guardian, Emperor

Mystical: Mage, Priest, Dark Mage, Savant Manakete, Heiress

Cavalry: Sword/Lance/Axe Cavalier, Hunter, Beastkin, Prince

Flying: Pegasus Knight, Dragonknight, Valkyrie, Phoenix

-The Hero, Savant, Valkyrie, and Kabuki classes are tier 3 excluive promotions for the four main characters when they're blessed by the Four Deities. Guardian, Manakete, Phoenix, and Beastkin are the classes of the Four Deities. Prince/Usurper, Heiress/Chancellor, Emperor, and Demon are enemy exclusive classes.

-Pretty much all the classes are self explanatory as they return from previous FE games, but special mention to the Hunter/Tamer/Fenrir line. I combined the classic Hunter/Nomad class with Engage's Wolf Knight, just so I could have another class to work with.

Weapons and Items

---S Rank Weapons are named after gods/things in various mythologies, Prf Weapons were bestowed from the deities onto their champions

---5 slots for weapons, and 3 slots for items

Swords: Iron, Storm Sword (D), Steel, Armorslayer, Wyrmslayer, Killing Edge, Levin Sword (C), Silver, Tempest Blade, Wo Dao (B), Brave (A), Heimdall (S), Ivory Blade (Prf for Valkyrie)

Lances: Iron, Javelin (D), Steel, Ridersbane, Killer Lance, Flame Lance (C), Silver, Spear (B), Brave (A), Ogun (S)

Axes: Iron, Hand Axe (D), Steel, Hammer, Killer Axe, Hurricane Axe (C), Silver, Tomahawk (B), Brave (A), Hermóðr (S), Scarlet Cleaver (Prf for Hero)

Bows: Iron (D), Steel, Killer Bow, Longbow, Radiant Bow (C), Silver (B), Brave (A), Yemoja (S)

Knives: Iron (D), Steel, Killer Knife, Rune Dagger (C), Silver (B), Brave (A), Horus (S), Jade-Sea Fan (*)

Anima: Fire (D), Thunder (C), Blizzard, Bolting (B), Bolganone, Excalibur (A), Izanagi (S)

Light: Lightning (D), Shine (C), Divine, Purge (B), Aura, Nova (A), Isis (S), Golden Void (Prf for Corrupt Bishop)

Dark: Ruin (D), Nosferatu (C), Luna, Swarm (B), Goetia, Waste (A), Izanami (S), Ebon Verse (Prf for Savant)

Staves: Heal, Mend, Physic, Obstruct (D), Restore, Rewarp, Freeze, Silence (C), Recover, Warp, Rescue, Fracture (B), Fortify, Entrap (A), Osiris (S), Vegvisir (Prf for Savant)

Items - Useables: Vulnerary, Antitoxin, Elixir, Pure Water, Stat Tonics, Torch, Seraph Robe, Energy Drop, Spirit Dust, Secret Book, Speedwing, Dracoshield, Talisman, Goddess Icon, Arms Scroll

Items - Equipment: Renewal Ring, Speed Ring, Mystic Ring, Prayer Ring, Canto Ring, Paragon Ring, Weapon Brace, Full Guard, Chain Guard, Sword Band, Soldier Band, Fighter Band, Archer Band, Armor Band, Pegasus Band, Wyvern Band, Mage Band, Thief Band

Other

----In between chapters, you go back to a base a la the Tellius games. There you view/manage characters, sort inventory, shop and forge items (bringing back paint jobs for weapon forges cuz that's fucking cool), participate in limited number of activities to improve support and gain bonus exp (arena, walking together, managing stables, secure provisions, and eat together), view support conversations, and view base conversations and memory prisms, as well as past custscenes and music.

EDIT: ----Forgot to mention that the holy artifacts are the new rewind features, hence why I described them granting powers to view the immediate future. With each artifact obtained, you gain 5 more rewinds, but given how I planned the story, you'll have just 5 for a long time, then 10 after defeating the Byakko emperor, and 15 after defeating the Seiryu chancellor. I guess after defeating the Genbu prince, you'll then have 20, but there's only 2 chapters left after that... meh, guess it still works.

But there's still a mid-battle save feature like in Engage.

EDIT 2: Had to edit stuff out, like taking skill scrolls out of the useable items list, forgot to delete that when I decided not to include skills

[intothetlkverse]

Decided to challenge myself by drawing every single TLK character out there, up until this point in time, and post it here. You can see the finished project on my main account, though I figured to post it on my tumblr just show I could proudly show off my work and a few of my head canons.

Here's all the rodents, plus lagomorphs, across TLG/K:

First are the jerboas; Tupp/Thupi(body-Nyanja) the lesser Egyptian jerboa from "Journey of Memories" and Jerboa/Impuku(rodent-Zulu) the long-eared jerboa from "The Call of the Drongo". Right between them is a springhare we see from the TLK book "A Wild Night Out". In the book where Simba and Nala sneak out at night to explore and find an aardvark, a porcupine, and a springhare before heading back home. This discovery has unfortunately made me have to do back and retroactively add some more characters, though at least it is nice to get some animals in proper TLK style for a change, though I kinda feel a bit sheepish for not realizing that TLK has done springhares before I did my revamped beavers into them. Anyways, meet Bazara(spring-Hausa).

Next are the mice, including the first one we see in TLK, the striped grass mouse Scar plays with I've named Eku(mouse-Yoruba), Nobi/Inabi(grapes-Hausa) the spiny mouse from "Good Mousekeeping" who is an albino African spiny mouse who gets bullies by a trio of elephants before he learns to stick up for himself, and lastly the female four-striped grass mouse we see also in "The Call of the Drongo" I've decided to name Lishe(nutrition). Not much to say about them, though my headcanon is that Eku is actually one of Zazu's partners, having gotten close to him during Zazu's rib cage imprisonment, and kept him informed about current events while also trying to help him escape by gnawing on the bones time to time.

Following with TLG rodents, which make up the majority of this list, we have Tafu/Tafiya(journey) the scaley-tailed flying squirrel from "The Accidental Avalanche". As far as gliding rodents go, I really like his simplistic design and kept it pretty much the same. Additionally for flying squirrels we have Piper/Pyp(pipe-Afrikkans) from "Saskatchewan Catch", a flying squirrel who gets help from Timon and Pumbaa to find herself a mate in exchange for some hard-to-reach tree beetles, though ditch them on their deal once she finds her mate. Not much to say about her story wise, though design-wise I did think the purply-grey colors were alright, though no lipstick, scarves, or updos that make Pricilla Presley weep in envy, though I can justify the beauty-mark.

Also for squirrels we have the the Teds, Ithendi(heel-Xhosa) and Kitendo(act), now a pair of ground squirrels, which just look like prairie dogs to me, from "You Ghana Join the Club". These brothers and their family decided to hog the resources of a certain area in the Oasis, though thankfully and rather painfully got their comeuppance by peeving off one of the local lions. Again, not much to say, though I think I did a good job of sneaking in some pink and blue elements into their designs, though I had to do quite a bit of redesigning, since the first draft came out looking like evil Care Bears.

Next are the porcupines, all pains in the neck with all their individually drawn quills, where we have the African-crested present with Mama Binturong-now-Civet's lackey Smun/Sumai(high). At some point in time the Forest was a pleasant place, where the inhabitants freely interacted with each other and freely shared the resources around, even inviting new folks to live in the community. However one of them, a malicious civet, took advantage of everyone's naivete and generosity, instead hogging all the resources including their precious medicinal tuliza, and threatening anyone who tried to get in her way, as well as making the price to get even just a blossom of tuliza unobtainable at worse and back-breaking at minimum. Sumai and his prickle were unfortunately casualties in this that only worsened the problem. They were so young when they lost their parents to an easily preventable disease that could've been stopped with the tuliza, but they were denied it and ended losing their lives, and leaving their children alone and vulnerable. Acting as the doting 'mama' figure, she took in the orphaned porcupines, acting as the poor doctor who was unable to save their parents due to everyone wanting the tuliza and taking it from her, leaving none for her to give to save them. Over time she successfully convinced them that the other inhabitants of the forest were to blame, wanting to hog all the tuliza for themselves and did not care about trampling over or taking out others to achieve that. Slowly she grew her army of porcupines, heavily dependent on her and unable to realize the harm she had caused, to neither them or their communities, by controlling the flow of tuliza, so caught up in their devotion and false belief of misplaced blame. By the time they return back to the forest after failing to get revenge on Bunga, they find that the forest has flourished in their time away, the tuliza and resourced are now being shared and cultivated as originally, and to boot the inhabitants have grown more of a spine. Mama Civet has grown frail and ill with age and a few porcupines were injured during the fight. The forest inhabitants are still resentful, but merciful enough to allow them to remain in their old area and use what they are given to recover, but they will now be required to work for the community and their tuliza, and the second they step out of line, they're out. Over time some of the other porcupines begin to see the community for how it truly was and begin to question how they were raised and acted before, whole Sumai remains almost fanatically devoted and serving to his ailing, crippled foster mother, now refusing to even get up and demanding quantities of food and tuliza served right to her, succumbing to sloth and addiction. Sumai can only painfully watch as she slowly keeps on digging a hole she can't climb out of, while his brethren try to help him move on.

So yeah, decided to give Smun's prickle a backstory with orphans, dependency, abuse, and addiction. I imagine tuliza, while it does seem to have calming/pain-relieving aspects, too much or condensed quantities can be addicting, though I believe by the time Bunga meets Mama for the first time and he finds her hogging all the tuliza, the effects have mostly worn out and she needs a higher, more concentrated dose to feel the effects, hence why she stole Makini's tuliza, hoping it was a more stronger version... I think I need to stop watching MLP's Breaking Bad/Poison Joke.

Back in the Pridelands we have Male Porcupine/Nungu(porcupine) and his sons; the Porcupine Brothers; Chembe(quill) and Sindano(needle). Nungu is a single dad of two that tries really hard to raise his sons up right, though between a certain honey badger bouncing him like a ball, being chased by curious giraffe calves, and having fruit dropped on him, the poor guy just needs a break.

From "Prickly Problems" we have Spike/Karu(spike), a porcupine that accidently spikes Simba, only to regret it after he realizes that the cub meant him no harm. Fortunately Simba does recover and they do make up in the end, though I personally don't like how he looks like a North American porcupine in the book.

Last of the porcupines is Zungura(poke), featured in, but never mentioned by name in the TLK book "A Wild Night Out", where she does meet Simba and Nala when Simba accidently steps on one of her shed quills. I find it a bit coincidental that I put her next to a porcupine that actively stuck Simba with quills, though thankfully African-crested porcupines are smooth quills instead of barbed like the North American variants, so while still extremely painful to get stuck, are much easier to pull out. I know this from experience, though I will say this, African-crested porcupines are like big guinea pigs. Give them something like a nut of piece of sweet potato and they will hunker down, grab the food, and start munching on it, they are so adorable.

Next is the pika we see at the Tree of Life that Mama Binturong/Civet bullies after they try to give her some tuliza. His name is Ponya(heal) and he often helps Nirmala by finding and gathering supplies for her, as does the rest of his group. So while doing research for this, I incidentally discovered that the pika, which I originally thought was a rodent, is actually a lagomorph, aka related to rabbits/hares, who are also not rodents. But come on, we kind of do associate them with these smaller critters, so this sheet is now rodents + lagomorphs. I did reuse the model from the last time I made him, though I also added the little mouthful of grass you see pikas with. Seriously, if you're having a bad day, look up 'pikas with flowers', it so sweet, you'll feel better. I have them here in Colorado, and while I don't see them all that often, I sure am glad I do have them here, though I did learn while drawing them that apparently there are some in Asia too, so that's neat.

So starting off with the hares we have the TLG ones, including the young female hare/Sungura(hare/rabbit) who is a scrub hare, and the red rock hares with Masikio(ears) and his sister Sikiliza(listen). And lastly... the ones from the Timon and Pumbaa Show... the three-fingered jackalope/Gaidi(bandit) who is now a scrub hare.... and horrifying Rabbit/Hofu(fear), and neutered as much as possible from their show counterparts and for good reason, please trust me on this. Best I can say is that I did y'all a favor by turning mister nightmare away from y'all.

[nogetron]

Nyame, the great weaver of the Akan gods. Nyame was ever present, existing before time flowed. It was by their hands earth was formed, manifesting the spirit of the earth: Asase Yaa. In the form of Nyankopon, Nyame grew intimate with Asase Yaa, with the two creating the sea goddess Bosompo and the rock god Abo. Like Nyame and Asase Yaa before them, Bosompo and Abo gave birth to the Abosom, the gods of the world, each sharing a portion of Nyame’s power. After a night of intimacy between Nyame and Asase Yaa, the earth goddess gave birth to Nyame’s children, Bia and Tano along with the spider Anansi. Nyame sought to create something himself, forming the embodiment of death Owuo. Owuo’s first action upon being born was to kill his creator. Though Nyame was felled, their unmatched power greatly dwarfed that of meager death, resurrecting themselves. Nyame greatly adores their son Anansi, together the two created humanity and after a test Nyame gave the spider god Anansi all the world’s stories. Nyame consists of a trinity with Odomankoma and Nyankapon, the two are separate aspects of the same divinity. Odomankoma is the force by which the universe was created, Nyankapon however is the personality or ego to that force, and Nyame encapsulates all of them a supreme and ineffable existence.

Nyame is one of the many omniscient supreme gods in Africa, placing Nyame with the Egyptian Ra, the Dogon Amma, the Yoruba Olorun, the Malagasy Zanahary, and the San Kaggen just to name a few. Nyame’s omnipotence can also connect him to the supreme gods of other lands, correlating with the Canaanite El, the Chinese Shangdi and the Slavic Rod. Nyame has many names and titles, some of which could’ve started off as separate regional forms that were absorbed back into Nyame. The Fante patron deity Bobowissi is believed to have originated as a regional form of Nyame, possibly focusing more on Nyame’s connection to storms, but with the contact with other Akan people and his own development Bobowissi became its own god separated from Nyame. Each of their names have meaning, Nyankapon translates to “the great Nyame”, Odomankoma translates to “creator” or “the only one who gives the universe” or “infinite”. Nyame holds many epithets as well, Odomankoma wuo and Oboo-wuo translates to “creator of death”, Oboo nkwa translates to “creator of life”, Borebore means “architect”, Amaomee translates to “giver of plenty”, Otumfoo means “the powerful one”, Amowia translates to “the sun giver”, and Opanyin translates to “the great ancestor”. One of Nyame’s popular titles; Ananse Kokuroko, translates to “the great spider”, leading some practitioners to believe that Nyame was a spider god, similar to their son Anansi. Asase Yaa is sometimes believed to be the feminine manifestation of the Nyame trinity, with Nyankapon being the masculine.

[saintsenara]

I really want to hear your thoughts on the wizarding world. So I have a question about British wizards' language skills. Canon tells us very little about British wizards and their relationship to languages. We know that Fleur, Victor and Madame Maxime can speak more than one language. (They are not British). However, we do know that there is at least one British wizard who speaks several languages. Percy and Ludo say that Barty senior speaks over a hundred languages. So, do you think British wizarding society has a general opinion about learning languages or is it more about what class a wizard is born into or what their future career plans are? After all, Hogwarts doesn't teach languages to students. I'd also like to hear your thoughts on these characters and their language skills. Do you think they can speak more than one language? Voldemort (parseltongue doesn't count), Dumbledore, Barty jr and Bill Weasley.

thank you very much for the ask, anon! and what an interesting question!

in harry potter, language-learning is one of those things which - since it's not a key aspect of the story - ends up not having any specific worldbuilding. and so it's one of those parts of the books in which the wizarding attitude towards foreign languages just seems to be exactly the same as the real-world british one.

which is - like everything in britain - enormously rooted in social class, and in things [like race and ethnicity] which intersect with this.

you will often hear, for example, that the working-classes don't bother learning foreign languages - but what is meant by this is that working-class people don't choose in large numbers to become proficient in the specific western european languages [french, german, italian, and spanish] which signify that someone is well-educated, culturally-sophisticated, and mentally non-parochial to the british cultural and intellectual elite. working-class people may very well speak one of these four languages - especially african and caribbean dialects of french - as native or heritage languages, and they may very well speak urdu, yoruba, albanian, polish, turkish, and so on for the same reasons... it's just that this isn't recognised as something impressive.

but it is certainly true that language-learning for reasons other than heritage generally isn't considered to be particularly important in class-brackets below a certain threshold in the middle-middle- to upper middle-classes.

partially this is for boorish, parochial reasons which align with certain strains of political and social conservatism. uncle vernon, for example, would regard language-learning as woke nonsense and be horrified if dudley came home from school and asked to be given loads of italian novels for his birthday... he would have a similar reaction if his son announced his intention to start playing the violin, take ballet, write poetry, become interested in impressionist painting, or eat the local food while on holiday.

[the grangers, in contrast, appear to come from the europhile wing of the upper-middle-classes - and would, therefore, regard it as horribly parochial to only speak english. we know they go on holiday to france in prisoner of azkaban - and i think we can imagine that this isn't the first time they do so, and that hermione and her parents can all speak conversational french. indeed, if hermione was privately educated prior to starting hogwarts - and all signs point to yes - she would have studied french at prep school.]

but british monolingualism is also partially because the global hegemony of english means that being able to speak anything else isn't crucial for travel, employment, or - indeed - emigration, since brits who aspire to move abroad often want to go to places like australia and new zealand.

and so language-learning has become - like music - an academic subject which seems to be thought of by many brits as "not a key skill" - unlike, for example, something like maths. nice to have if you've got a grip on everything else, but not a necessity... and so, for british children who are educated in state schools [public schools in the us], foreign languages are only compulsory for three school years [years 7-9, the equivalents of years 1-3 at hogwarts]. some schools insist on a language being taken at gcse [exams taken at the end of year 11 - hogwarts year 5, what owls are a pastiche of], but this is not mandatory.

[although it was at my school. slay.]

so it makes sense within this cultural context that there are no languages on the compulsory hogwarts curriculum - the intended audience isn't expecting there to be.

[although it's worth saying that ancient runes - while i know it has a whole fanon surrounding it which makes it a sort of spellcasting system - is a pastiche of latin/classical greek as school subjects, so there is at least one elective language students can study].

of course, it makes less sense that this is the case when we remember that jkr did french at university... and it also makes less sense that this is the case because hogwarts is based on real-world institutions - britain's elite boarding schools - which do prioritise language-learning, since the students come from class-backgrounds which value multilingualism as a signal of cultural status.

[seriously - while i accept that this is anecdotal - it was so striking to me when i was at university that all but three of the thirty-or-so people i ever met doing a degree in a foreign language, whether a european language or not, was privately educated. add in classical languages and that ratio gets worse.]

but i think we can get around this by noting that hogwarts is set up in a way which presumes that its entire student body has had a wizarding primary education - and not only that, but an elite one [since hogwarts does, even if this isn't the doylist text's intention, seem to apply some sort of selection process which means that students who aren't from well-heeled backgrounds stand out enormously]. and then by presuming that the primary curriculum which someone like draco malfoy would have studied [at home, probably with a governess] would have included some sort of language tuition.

i imagine that this tuition would be in a muggle language - non-human languages [like mermish or gobbledegook] seem to be regarded as sufficiently "niche" in the eyes of the population that they wouldn't be taught as a general skill, but either learned in one's own time or as part of the training for specific careers, such as goblin liaison; the fact that barty crouch sr. speaks so many just for fun is a way canon hints at him being a bit... weird - and i imagine that this muggle language would be french.

this is not, however, because i go in for the fanon that all purebloods are of recent french heritage and retain close family connections in france [names like malfoy and lestrange are anglo-norman - which means they arrived in britain a thousand years ago with william the conqueror, and are as meaningfully english as the word "beef" or "monarchy...], but because french is generally considered the most "useful" language to learn in britain because france is literally next door.

[irish is sobbing.]

when it comes to the characters you specifically asked about...

lord voldemort's pre-hogwarts education is a bit of a mystery - in that the fact that the text isn't concerned about fleshing it out means that he ends up being far better educated than would normally have been the case for a child of his background [simply by virtue of not being functionally illiterate...].

even if he went to a moderately well-resourced school by random chance, though, he's extremely unlikely to have formally learned any foreign languages. but the fact that the most common fanon locations for the orphanage are parts of east london which had historically large jewish communities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries means that he'd have had a fair chance of picking up snippets of yiddish while he was wheeling and dealing around each day. east london also had a large irish community, and if the orphanage is a catholic one [which doesn't really work canonically but which is a headcanon i'm nonetheless wedded to], then he'd probably also have a bit of latin.

once he's at hogwarts, i presume he must take runes [since he's heavily implied, like all male characters the series considers to be intellectually brilliant, to have taken twelve owls]. nonetheless, while he's clearly a nerd - and while he loves a language puzzle, since he spends his teenage years coming up with an anagram of his own name [...] - he has a slightly harry-ish preference in canon for only enjoying lots of flicking-through-books research if it's for a tangible goal [i.e. opening the chamber of secrets]. i can't see him scouring textbooks in an effort to teach himself the european languages his posh friends would have learned at home unless he thought doing so would be unequivocally beneficial to him.

indeed, we canonically know that voldemort can't speak german, since when he's on his hunt for gregorovitch in deathly hallows a woman speaks to him in that language and he just defaults to the british standard of speaking louder in english... and i think we can reasonably assume on these grounds that he can't speak french either.

but he must be able to speak albanian fluently - simply out of necessity, since he spends so much time in the country.

and it's also interesting to me that during his ten years in europe after murdering hepzibah smith [so c.1955-1965], he is implied to spend a lot of time in communist europe, even if not in countries which were fully behind the iron curtain [he must, for example, meet karkaroff - and potentially dolohov - in some part of the eastern bloc, and the bulgarian delegation at the quidditch world cup know who he is]. i think it's entirely reasonable to suppose, then, that he must also be able to speak some level of russian.

dumbledore - on the other hand - can probably speak french, german, and italian, which would have been expected of the sort of late victorian young man who was preparing to embark on a grand tour, and which he undoubtedly taught himself in order to keep up his correspondence with the "most noted magical names of the day" [including grindelwald, to whom he probably spoke german].

i also quite like the idea of him as the sort of late victorian orientalist who crops up again and again in british history, who speaks a language like hindi, arabic, or ottoman turkish with a cut-glass english accent.

the various non-human language he speaks in canon - such as mermish - are presumably also self-taught, and the question which preoccupies me the most in relation to these is whether dumbledore can speak parseltongue?

after all, we know it's a language which can be learned by non-parselmouths - since ron manages to speak it in deathly hallows - and so it must have an actual structure rather than just be vibes. and if dumbledore can't understand it, then what the hell did he think was going on in the memory of the gaunts he shows harry?

barty crouch jr. was definitely forced to have endless lessons with tutors hired by his father, who wanted him to match his two hundred languages, but then forgot everything he knew about mermish the second he started school.

i am sure that - even if he doesn't seem to be able to during the canon timeline - bill weasley learns how to speak french fluently the second the war's out of the way. since this is a basic courtesy if your partner and her family is from france.

i am also sure that the three delacour-weasley children are raised to be bilingual, and that they take great pleasure in bitching about the three potter-weasley children to their faces.

the more interesting question, though, is whether bill can speak any gobbledegook.

it's implied that he might through his job - and he's asked in order of the phoenix about whether there's any pro-voldemort talk among the goblins at gringotts, which suggests that he's known to be able to understand any gobbledegook chit-chat he overhears. but it still always strikes me in deathly hallows that the imperialism really jumps out when bill's speaking to harry about griphook:

“I know goblins,” said Bill. “I’ve worked for Gringotts ever since I left Hogwarts. As far as there can be friendship between wizards and goblins, I have goblin friends - or, at least, goblins I know well, and like.”

this really doesn't sound like a man who takes the time to speak to his "friends" in their own language...

the fact that even the good guys treat non-human magical communities with - at best - paternalistic contempt is a really noticeable theme in the series [and, crucially, something which the series doesn't seem to think is a particularly bad thing]. and so i quite like the idea that someone like bill would have a lack of ability to communicate in gobbledegook, and that this would never be something he interrogated.

[readyforevolution]

TOP 10 AFRICAN TRIBES/ETHNIC GROUPS THAT ARE GLOBALLY KNOWN.

(In no particular order)

1) Zulu ?? South Africa – The Zulu tribe is popular outside Africa. They’ve been featured in music, documentaries and movies. Shaka the Zulu was a warrior king whose popularity is well spread. Famous Zulus, Lucky Dube, Nasty C, black Coffee etc.

2) Yoruba ?? Nigeria – The Yorubas are globally known for their history, culture, art and literature. Fela, Wole Soyinka, Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage, David Oyelowo, John Boyega, Anthony Joshua etc are a few Yorubas who have taken their culture to the world. The Yoruba culture has been featured in many Hollywood movies.

3) Masai ?? Kenya – The Masai are perhaps one of the most documented tribes in Africa, with alot of documentaries shown about them and books written about their culture.

They are known for their traditional clothing and hunting skills

4) Hausa ?? Nigeria – The hausas are very popular. Often known as the Igbos of the North, The richest black man in the world Aliko Dangote is Hausa along with his brother from the same state Kano Abdulsamad Rabiu (BUA). Their culture has also been well written about and have featured in a few Hollywood movies including the Amazon prime series were a woman was seen eating Tuwo shinkafa.

5) Igbo ?? Nigeria – The Igbos are undeniably known world wide. Chinua Achebe wrote about the Igbo culture alot. They are known for their history, culture and literature.

The popularized the kolanut and palm wine through books, movies and music

Chinwetalu Ejiofor, Zain Asher, Ckay, Flavour, Chimamanda, phyno, P-square are Igbos who have taken their culture to the world. Igbo are known in Nollywood movies.

6) Swahili ?? Tanzania – This tribe have phenomenal spread their language in East Africa and a few central African nations.

In the 70s, their language was part of the African-American black pride movement been pushed forward.

7) Edo/Bini ?? Nigeria – The Binis are perhaps the culture in Africa with the most famous artworks outside Egypt.

Binis are known for their history, culture and art/architecture.

The famous Benin bronze, ivory and brass artworks are known globally. The country Benin republic gets their name from them. Benin art and culture have been featured in Hollywood movies including black panther. Many Nigerian cultures have roots in Benin. The bronze mask of Queen Idia is perhaps the most famous mask in Africa and one of the most famous in the world. Popular Edos are Kamaru Usman, Rema, Odion Jude Ighalo, Victor Osimhen, Dave, Sam Loco Efe etc.

Asante Ghana – This tribe are known for their history and culture. Popular American hip hop artist was named after this tribe Asante. Their Kente is perhaps the most popular African attire outside of Africa and were known to be masters of the gold craft.

9) The Fulani – This nomadic tribes are known for their history and culture. They are predominantly in West Africa and are found in 18 African countries. Most In Nigeria ??

Popular Fulanis or people with Fulani ancestry are Muhammadu and Aisha Buhari, Tafawa Balewa,

10) Berbers/Amazigh – They are predominantly found in North Africa. They are predominantly found in Morocco ?? and Algeria ?? They known for their use of silver silver. Their culture and history well documented and have a unique language and writing system that traces back to ancient Egypt. Books are currently being written about them including a book titled salt by Haitian-American Pascaline Brodeur.

Disclaimer: Every African tribe and culture is beautiful, unique and important. No one culture is more important than the other. This only highlights tribes known outside the continent overall, this doesn’t mean there aren’t other cultures that aren’t known.

PLEASE YOU CAN ADD AND TELL US ABOUT YOUR TRIBE.

[deadbydangit]

With a Reader who brings home an animal

Trapper, Wraith, Blight

Trapper

Whatever it is. No.

Don't try and hide it either.

Evan knows immediately.

He doesn't even want to see the animal.

No pets.

Just present the critter.

A hedgehog?

Where the Hell did you find a hedgehog?

And why would you bring it home?

Fine.

Whatever makes you happy.

But you better clean up after it.

In a way, it's a relief for him.

He's not always around, and he feels terrible leaving you alone.

Having something there when he isn't makes him feel less guilty.

But you're the one taking care of it.

It wasn't until you were gone one day when he decided to try and meet the animal.

Hedgehogs are naturally anxious creatures, so it may bite him.

But he can't be angry with it; it's defending itself.

In a way, Evan could respect that.

What really stood out to him, was the feeling of the quills.

He could possibly utilize that in his traps.

Evan will find any shed quills and start putting them in his traps, making them really painful and annoying.

Survivors will have Hedgehog quills in their ankles.

Eventually, he and the creature will start to bond.

You may even find the two of them in his workshop.

"Thank you. Your quills have helped my trials."

Don't tell him you saw that, he'll deny it.

He's got a reputation to keep here.

Wraith

You have something?

What are you hiding?

At first he was frightened.

Whatever it is might hurt you!

Until he realizes what it was.

A little turtle.

He's ecstatic!

He loves animals.

Philip will hold the little animal in his hands so tenderly.

In African culture, turtles essentially represent life as well as good luck.

Animals in general are so pure to him.

They aren't brutal or unnecessarily cruel like humans.

He'll spoil the little turtle to no end.

So much so you have to stop him from over feeding your turtle.

He named the critter 'Yoruba', meaning good luck.

He loves you both so much.

If someone asks how you're doing, Philip will make sure to include Yoruba.

He can't remember a time when the turtle wasn't in your life.

You're his perfect family.

His lover, and his good luck charm.

Blight

He isn't sure what he has, but he's curious.

You've been hiding something and he would prefer you did.

He won't ask you outright, because you won't tell him.

He'll sneak in.

Only to find a bulldog puppy.

He isn't angry, he's just confused.

Where did you get this creature?!

He has so many questions.

Until her realizes he's being drooled on.

And he's... endeared.

It reminds him of himself.

He looked into the animals sparkling little eyes and instantly fell in love.

Now this animal is licking him and wagging his tail.

And Talbot really enjoys it.

It makes him feel so much more human again.

He never had a pet before, so you'll have to guide him through the process.

His favorite thing to do is set the puppy in his lap while he's reading.

They'll both fall asleep snuggled up together.

What's even cuter is that both of them snore.

In unison!

Since the puppy has come, you've noticed a softer sweeter side of him.

And, he's over all much happier.

And what could be better than seeing him smile?