#volossya

[bloodstainedtomes]

Goretober 2023 days 1 - 5

[raxistaicho]

Red and White

Volossya, a very good friend of mine, pointed this one out!

Red and white are a coloration pair that comes up fairly often in regards to the Church of Seiros; they're the main colors of soldiers belonging to it. But they're also the main colors of both Edelgard and Seiros!

In this, we can see that both are so starkly dominated by a single color it can only be the case that they very deliberately tried to present that image. For Edelgard, a bloody red, and Rhea, a pure as snow white, with the insides of their cape featuring the opposite color.

However, when you consider how Edelgard pointedly wears demonic ram horns, the outfits seem to tell a different story.

Edelgard believes future generations will see her a bloody revolutionary at best, and she dresses the part, but in truth she's a sensitive romantic who wants to create a better world.

Rhea presents the image of a motherly and benevolent holy woman, but the reality is she's short-tempered, stubborn, and always wants things to be done her way, even with Seteth.

Edelgard's outfit portrays a bloody exterior that hides an internal purity, while Rhea's portrays a pure exterior that hides a bloody interior!

[mikuchan]

Hi! Sorry that some people didn't get the point of your graphics because honestly, I thought they were very eye opening. Like, I always knew that sexism was rampant on this fandom (due to some personal experiences) but to also see it reflected into the numbers of fics is even more like...i don't know how to put it but it makes you think holy hell this is worst then I expected. And my expectations were already low. And like fics are just one part of the overall issue, but I don't want this to be to long. I just wanted to say that those were graphics were good and I think putting those numbers out there was also good.

Thank you! Honestly I was asking for trouble by including Astarion and Gortash hahaha.

The biggest issues are people taking the post personally, or pulling apart my examples as if they're isolated issues and not each a facet of a greater pattern - but that's just Tumblr being Tumblr. I am very glad that for every one person missing the point of my post there are multiple others reacting positively.

I don't think misogyny in fandom is an issue that can be solved overnight, but I think acting in good faith and with eyes wide open (whether you're writing Astarion or Orin or your own OCs) is a necessity for any fandom to work cohesively. Others have also been making some really solid posts about sexism and racism (zoloteh-volossya has some really good writeups), I'm glad that these issues are gaining traction & awareness and not being swept under the rug.

Fics are definitely only one small part. I wish I was more clever or techy and knew how to get any meaningful info from Tumblr, Reddit, etc but I just don't have those skills. I like ao3 because I can literally go in and count works by hand lmao I'm a passionate luddite.

I'm really glad you liked the infographic, thanks for the kind words 😊

[juliakeyoto]

Interesting tags I found while fic surfing (https://archiveofourown.org/works/36285364 )

[randomcanbian]

Do you recommend any good Blue Lions fics? I really can't find any good one that catches my interest because most are either just Edelgard bash fics or have the discomfort ship (dmlth)

Anon, you and I are in the same boat 😭 (Also lmfao, D*mileth being a discomfort ship is such a big mood (and thank you for the term ahaha)--love them platonically, but them romantically (if not in a polycule with another girl) makes me break out in hives 🥲)

I tried my best tho! Took me a while to answer this cause I had to take a deep dive into my bookmarks--I tend to gravitate towards Black Eagles / Golden Deer fics because of the risk of Edelgard-bashing from BL fans, so I don't have a lot of AM fics on-hand :(

Disclaimer: I didn't include shippy BL fic one-shots, as I assumed you're looking for recs that would feature more of the crew / things found in AM but not in other routes! But if you're down with those, I do have a bunch of BL/Hegemon!Edelgard x Byleth fics on hand 😂

------------------

[Post-AM]

1. Our Own Paths by jtav (WIP)

Byleth meant only to rewind time and knock away a dagger. Something goes wrong and Edelgard becomes a half-mad beast. Dimitri begs her to save his sister and Byleth reluctantly agrees. (rcb note: Technically an AU, but eh. Anyway, it's one of my favorites among the fics I've discovered recently. In the author's notes this is what it says: "This is very much AM El with all that implies. But…this is also a story that believes radical reform was necessary by an author whose favorite route is CF" and it's really evident in their fic ehehe. It's an exploration into the trauma and guilt and grief that Edelgard's war sets onto Fodlan--while it may have been ultimately necessary (armed reformation vs "peaceful" reformation which may merely prolong the suffering of the people, if it would even work at all), a righteous cause and the promise of a brighter future still can't wash away the blood that's been shed or the horrors that they've all endured. I also love the conflict that comes up between the Adrestians and El--both parties learning from each other their reasons for the roles in the war...just, really really good stuff :) )

[Alternate Universe Fics]

1. An Eagle Among Lions by AMX004_Qubeley (Completed)

The morning after her and Byleth's wedding, Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg wakes up in her old bedroom in Garreg Mach to discover that she has brown hair, only one Crest, ten happy and healthy brothers and sisters, and a bad habit of sleeping through her professor's lectures. (rcb note: Let's assume you aren't the same anon as the one who recc'd this to me hehe. Anyway, I gush about this fic here :) )

2. outwit even death by Volossya (WIP)

In which Byleth saves the Edelgards of Silver Snow, Verdant Wind, and Azure Moon by dragging them through time to the beginning of Crimson Flower. Fodlan will never be the same. (rcb note: not really BL, but it has AM!Edelgard at least? Just wanted to recc it, I find it really interesting :) )

3. The Lion and The Lotus by WithPatienceComesPeace (WIP)

The Prince of Faerghus unites with a mysterious Professor from Duscur to uncover the Truth about the Lambert Assassination. (rcb note: The MC is an OC, and the fic follows the Blue Lions, however Byleth is the Black Eagle's Professor. I confess that I've mostly just read the few parts that had Byleth in it, but I did check out some other chapters and they looked quite well-written and interesting! From what I gathered, Duscur is sort of a fantasy!India and that's where the MC is from. The worldbuilding is amazing, altho I don't know what the plot is haha, but I'm certain it's good. I love the MC interacting with Dedue and Dimitri, and the former 2 bonding over the culture and grieving the loss of Duscur together. The MC's interactions with the other BL's great as well, and from what I've read, the author has a great grasp on their characters! Once I'm done with my Byleth-centric binging I actually do plan to go back to this fic and read it in its entirety :) )

[bg3fandomcritical-reactive]

Well, the original argument was about how a character needs to be popular in order to generate drama. Yes, the type of fans who instigate drama are also the ones who produce a significant amount of fan works. I also suspect that Gortash has more fanfics than Gale. Additionally, it is a peculiar slippery slope argument; we could begin throwing metrics and platforms at one another. But ultimately, who cares? It’s enough to read through the AO3 popular ships table to understand.

We have actual metrics for this. Gale has more fanfics than Gortash. tumblr.com/zoloteh-volossya/758742188625674240

The original argument still stands. Astarion was not the most romanced in Larian's statistics, but in fandom spaces he has a clear lead in fan content. Popularity in fandom spaces breeds toxicity.

If you interpret refining the scope as "throwing out metrics" you will never be able to point out trends affecting a subset within. Those problems will always remain invisible to you.

.

[brazilprof]

Кератин для волосся Agi Max Kera-X Traditional 💁🏼‍♀️ Кератин Agi Max Kera-X (Эджімакс від Soller Brasil) - склад з великою кількістю амінокислот, який сприя�� випрямленню і максимальному живленню волосся. Підходить для випрямлення жорсткого та щільного волосся. Активний елемент Agi Max Keratin Treatment: Luna Matrix System - відповідає за відновлення пошкоджених локонів, яка піддавалася хімічним завивкам або щоденним використанням приладів для укладки волосся. Надає волоссю здорове сяйво, природну м'якість і насичує корисними компонентами. Термін носіння (при дотриманні правил домашнього догляду) від 3 до 4 місяців. Якість волосся не повинно перевищувати 3-4 ступінь пошкодження. Для замовлення чекаємо у діректі 📲 https://brazil-prof.com/keratin-dlya-volossya-agi-max-kera-x-traditional (at Odessa, Ukraine) https://www.instagram.com/p/CneOw7HsJli/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sugarcomafoxtrot]

Elsen ocs as possum memes part 2

Zwei

Vinegar

Volossya

Bordeaux

Nesmírný

Avalon

[flower-of-knighthood]

The Crest System: An Analysis

A term that is commonly thrown around in Three Houses Discourse is the Crest System, or as I prefer to call it the Aristocrestocracy, a term that originates from Volossya’s Essay. This is because I feel that the term Crest System is inaccurate because it implies an existence of an organised system that affects everyone from commoner to noble, while in actuality the Aristocrestocracy mainly affects the nobility of Fodlan’s nations. Discourse around the topic of Crests typically conflates real world issues such as misogyny, domestic abuse, and plain old lust for power with the Aristocrestocracy.

To begin with, Crests are valued for two properties the first being the obvious power that comes with bearing a minor one, let alone the power of the rare major crests. The second valued property that drives the nobility to its hideous actions in pursuit of Crests is that it serves as a definite proof of the holder’s bloodline, holding a Crest of Seiros in the world of Fodlan is proof to the majority of people that the holder is descended from Wilhelm Paul Hresvelg.  Not having a crest leaves one open to rumours of being an illegitimate child. It’s not any surprise then that the nobility attempts to maximise the presence of crests in their blood line, because the presence of a Crest increases the pedigree of a bloodline.

Two anecdotes that are commonly used as examples of the abuse of crests is the fate of Hanneman’ssister stated in his supports which he states isn’t rare in Adrestia, and the situation with Mercedes in her backstory. It is an unfortunate reality that in real life, there have been cases throughout our own history where females have been forced to have several children in a search for a child that fits the uses of the other partner in the relationship. The situation with Mercedes and her backstory with House Bartels is much rarer than what happened with Hanneman’s sister, probably because inbreeding tends to be kept secret, but they have happened such as with the noble house Habsburg. A brief note on Dorothea before I move on, during the Middle Ages, it was common procedure for illegitimate children of nobility to be thrown out or otherwise disposed of.  Now I’m not saying that Crests have absolutely nothing to do with these atrocities but rather the allure of prestige that Crests offer exacerbates the main problem of misogyny.

The Church of Seiros is said to be mainly responsible for creating the Crest System or Aristocrestocracy because of it’s doctrine claiming that Crests are gifts from the goddess. This is incorrect because as I’ve previously stated the two main allures of Crests are the power that it grants and being a definite proof of one’s bloodline, which as everyone who’s familiar with history knows is quite crucial for nobility.   There are zero examples in Three Houses of abuse of crests that occurs because of their fabricated origin, rather the likelihood is that even in some alternate world where Rhea hadn’t made that lie about the origin of Crests, these atrocities committed for the sake of Crests would still occur because humanity has this tendency to commit the most heinous of atrocities for the sake of power and prestige.  The funny thing that people seem to forget is not only does the book of Seiros command that the power of Crests are not to be abused but the book of Seiros literally has Sothis depart Fodlan because of Crest Abuse.  

People seem to be under the assumption that Edelgard’s system that she wishes to create throughout the entirety of Fodlan would fix the Crest Problem, but one could argue that it would make it worse. The system that Edelgard wishes to implement is a meritocracy, one where the most talented reign over the less, the strong dominating the weak, and here’s the thing Crests are literal superpowers, in terms of physical strength, not even Raphael is capable of competing with Dimitri, and he only has a minor crest. A meritocracy is likely to result in an increase of demands for Crests because they give people a strong advantage over anyone else. Rather the solution for the problem of Crests besides attempting to exterminate crest bearing bloodlines lies in Hanneman’s crestology which should be noted that Rhea and the Church of Seiros approve of.

In conclusion, the impact that Crests have on Fodlan is quite exaggerated, as it mainly affects the nobility, in the cases where it becomes a problem, it is exacerbating already existing issues such as misogyny and abuses of Crests are committed for the sake of the power and prestige that they offer not because of their fabricated origin.

Bibliography

[bloodstainedtomes]

Goretober 2023 days 26 - 31, happy halloween!

[raxistaicho]

The difference between invasions

This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post.

A good friend of mine and fellow Edelgard fan, Volossya, had quite a bit to say about people trying to compare Edelgard’s war to the one in Ukraine. I’m posting this with her permission:

(This is is from last May, as she references the then-recent fall of Mariupol.)

The thing is, what Putin is doing is not anything like what Edelgard is doing, other than being aggressive militarily. He's not even calling it a war!

Edelgard is attempting to overthrow a military theocracy and a system of oligarchs who hold all the power and can subject their serfs to any level of suffering with no accountability. Any idiot born into the correct position holds the power and the people's taxes are spent according to their whims - and thus often wasted on frivolities while people starve on the streets. That she needs to use a war to achieve change is tragic, but realistic given the forces at the disposal of the status quo. What is her other option? There is no democracy here. The people did not choose this - it is simply how it has always been.

Putin is launching a war that no one wanted in an effort to maintain his country's projection of power. He cares nothing for his own people and even less for the people of Ukraine, as is evidenced by the systematic leveling of cities and the brutalization of the civilian populace. The end result for any conquered regions is brutality against the civilians while Russia's oligarchs strip the region of all of its industry and resources, plundering it for their own gain. This is essentially the reestablishment of the very sort of governance that Edelgard is trying to remove!

Let alone the appalling equivocation of war with the systematic destruction of civilian populace that we are seeing in Ukraine. There are three times that civilian populaces are slaughtered in FE3H: Remire by TWSITD, Duscur by the Kingdom, and Fhirdiad by the Immaculate One. Edelgard never does anything that is a fraction of what Putin is getting up to. The people who do? Your precious Church and Kingdom.

As a last point? These people act as if - of course Ukraine would fight back this fiercely. As if that is inevitable. As much as it shames me to say, this isn't guaranteed. When Putin first moved troops into Donetsk and Luhansk, many Ukrainians welcomed them with open arms - because they thought that Russia would invest in the region, that it would improve their futures to be a part of Russia. This didn't happen - the regions were taken over by essentially local warlords who mistreated the civilian populace, random violence became common, and the Russians looted all of the wealth of the region they could and took it back to Russia. Ukrainians fled those regions to either Ukraine or into Russia proper, because their hopes and futures in occupied Donbas had died. Ukrainians outside those regions saw this fate, and saw the investments that the Ukrainian government put into their cities, and their determination to stay part of Ukraine solidified.

I could easily see a different path, where Putin had invested in Donetsk and Luhansk, and so Ukraine put up much less of a stiff resistance to being conquered. However, Putin's Russia, his complete lack of care for the people, his climate of robber barons, his social structure that is so similar to Faerghus and Liecester, backed by the corrupt Russian Orthodox Church that acts to validate him as the Church of Seiros does, made this impossible, and so he defaults to brute, overwhelming force.

All of this is to say, a lot of people choose what offers them hope and a better future. Edelgard could offer that, and actually cares about the people. I suspect far fewer serfs and peasants would be willing to fight and die for Faerghus than this person assumes.

And yes, I am Ukrainian, I can speak about this.

(As a final note, she wanted me to mention that “Volossya” means “hair” in Ukrainian.)

[volossya]

Évasion - Brandon C.

[sugarcomafoxtrot]

I made playlists for all my Elsen ocs and i wanted to share them :))

Smol:

1: Temposhark - Don't Mess With Me

2: Twenty One Pilots - Fall Away

3: Mother Mother - Oh Ana

4: Simple Plan - I'm Just A Kid

5: Lemon Demon - Eighth Wonder

Keriz:

1: K.Flay - High Enough

2: Twenty One Pilots - Chlorine

3: Get Scared - Drown

4: The Pretty Reckless - Make Me Wanna Die

5: From Autumn To Ashes - A Goat In Sheep's Rosary

Phobia:

1: Twenty One Pilots - Doubt

2: Lost Sky - Fearless

3: Bring Me The Horizon - Happy Song

4: The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It

5: Linkin Park - Given Up

Parlo:

1: Alt-J - Breezeblocks

2: Meg & Dia - Monster

3: Get Scared - Hate

4: Three Days Grace - Riot

5: From Autumn To Ashes - The After Dinner Payback

Honey:

1: The Crane Wives - Curses

2: The All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell

3: The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra - An Unhealthy Obsession

4: Nine Inch Nails - Closer

5: Divide The Day - Fuck Away The Pain

Cheery:

1: Weathers - Happy Pills

2: Waterparks - Easy To Hate

3: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Face Down

4: Vinyl Theatre - Breaking Up My Bones

5: Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky

Zwei:

1: TroyBoi - Kinjabang

2: Disco Teeth - Nymphomaniac

3: The Fray - We Build Then We Break

4: Gorillaz - Humility

5: Sum 41 - Fat Lip

Vinegar:

1: Cosmo Shelldrake - The Moss

2: Bad Wolves - Zombie

3: Three Days Grace - Broken Glass

4: Gorillaz - Some Kind Of Nature

5: The Wreckage - Breaking Through

Volossya:

1: Tophamhat-Kyo - Princess♂

2: Hot Milk - Candy Coated Lies

3: Paramore - Future

4: Mitski - Washing Machine Heart

5: Satanicpornocultshop - 2 More Heads Sprouted!

Bordeaux:

1: Machine Head - Game Over

2: Papa Roach - Getting Away With Murder

3: A Perfect Circle - Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums

4: Whipping Boy - We Don't Need Nobody Else

5: Three Days Grace - Just Like you

6: Utarm - Altetende Skaper

Nesmírný:

1: Lemon Demon - Modify

2: Panic! At The Disco - Miss Jackson

3: Gerard Way - The Bureau

4: Jimmy Eat World - Pain

5: Switchfoot - The Sound (John M Perkins' Blues)

Avalon:

1: Palaye Royale - Death Dance

2: Bullet For My Valentine - Worthless

3: Anberlin - Feel Good Drag

4: Destroy Boys - I Threw Glass At My Friend's Eyes And Now I'm On Probation

5: Egypt Central - White Rabbit

I would also like it if anyone bothers listening to these would tell me which one's the best uwu

[bloodstainedtomes]

Turning my characters into pokemon part 1!

[bloodstainedtomes]

Elsen ocs as furries - ref pics pt 1

[bloodstainedtomes]

Was inspired to draw some high effort furries