#witch of rigel

[the-wolf-and-moon]

Rigel and The Witch

[turnthepagevn]

Asking for an explanation on the shadow dimension and why its all in caps when called THE VOID.

I mean, each sibling has their own version,and there are also some that coalesce. Y'know string theory? It's kind of like that. Rena doesn't have a shadow dimension that she chucks people into, but a dreamy, sparkling haze of colors. Rigel's feels like a liminal space. Sometimes Rena throws people in there for funnies, and they come out ranting about the backrooms. Robin's is kind of like a mirror of his home, but there are things that don't make a lick of sense in it; stairs leading to nowhere, windows on the second floor of what would be the library looking onto grass as if it was the ground floor. It feels bigger than it should be. House of Leaves type vibes.

As for why I sometimes write it in all caps?

Hee hee funny

[cloudless-petrichor]

I've had a migraine for the last 4 days, so I've been watching crit role on the lowest volume I can while still being able to hear it

I somehow managed to get BH witches doing their lil sneaky whisper mission and Sam Rigel's asmr twitch ad

Normally I hate asmr but for some reason, Sam just hits.

[michaelgabrill]

[sleepytwilight]

Looking at Lilith rn 💀

How would the ArTw cast react if an evil witch turned Alpheratz into a wooden spoon 🤨

It's us, we are the evil witch

When Alpheratz is a wooden spoon

Arcturus

In shock

You have to reassure him that Alpheratz is fine, he's just a spoon now

He tries to find an antidote to this, we can't have the principal's grandson a wooden spoon

Spica

Speechless.

He doesn't know whether he should congratulate the culprit or find and punish them

Needless to say, it was more convenient for him. He could just bring Alpheratz the spoon to meetings instead of having to run around the school to find him

Also tries to find an antidote

Alpheratz

Spoon.

Pollux

Immediately burst into laughter at the sight

Took a million pictures so that he can bully Alpheratz about it when he turns back

Now he has something to use against him when he calls him short again

Wants to send the culprit flowers and a thank you card

Vega

What the fuck.

Honestly, the behaviour of the sorcerers around him.

Couldn't really care less

Just requests that the antidote be found sooner, because Pollux keeps laughing hysterically

Sirius

He has been questioned whether he was involved in this. He has neither denied nor confirmed this statement

Amused chuckles as chaos ensures

Asked you if you were involved (you haven't gotten back to him yet)

Does not help at all, just watches

Rigel

He heard it from Spica

What the fuck. Part 2

He's just grateful it didn't involve Queen Tet

Though he did ask Sirius whether he was involved

Sirius has yet to given an answer

Schedar (because I'm feeling silly today)

Actually came over to take a picture of Alpheratz as a spoon

Doesn't really care that his grandson is a spoon

"Is this what the kids nowadays like to do?"

Shows Thuban.

Will never shut up about it when Alpheratz comes back to normal

[apod]

2024 October 31

Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Simone Curzi

Explanation: By starlight, this eerie visage shines in the dark with a crooked profile evoking its popular name, the Witch Head Nebula. In fact, this entrancing telescopic portrait gives the impression that a witch has fixed her gaze on Orion's bright supergiant star Rigel. More formally known as IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula spans about 50 light-years and is composed of interstellar dust grains reflecting Rigel's starlight. The color of the Witch Head Nebula is caused not only by Rigel's intense blue light, but because the dust grains scatter blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue, although the scatterers in Earth's atmosphere are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. Rigel and this dusty cosmic crone are about 800 light-years away. You may still see a few witches in your neighborhood tonight though, so have a safe and Happy Halloween!

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241031.html

[sufferu]

I like to think that, in Sloth:IF, Julius and Subaru eventually end up being friends.

Subaru is literally living with Anastasia’s dad, and I doubt she’d just — never talk to him again. So like, if she were to visit Halibel one day with her knight as her attendant, maybe after the Royal Selection ends, they’d have a very strong chance of meeting each other again. And that would be a hell of a shock for all parties involved lmao—

Subaru, greeted with a ghost from the literal worst week of his life, which he has been trying very hard to repress: You’re here?!

Julius, literally seeing a ghost, because he thought Subaru died to the Witch Cult alongside everyone else in the Mather’s Estate: You’re ALIVE?!

It probably wouldn’t go great at first. Maybe Subaru would automatically just — leave, make an excuse about taking up more shifts at work, and try not to look like he’s running away, but that’s exactly what he’s doing. He probably wouldn’t pick a fight, he gave up on that a long time ago. Maybe Julius would try to give him his space, because yeah, if their roles were swapped, he wouldn’t want a reminder of a week like that either. Or maybe after a while he’d decide that him terrorizing Subaru by basically chasing him around town via accidentally showing up where he tends to be is simply unsustainable, or at the very least entirely unfair, and eventually manages to get him to sit down and talk for a while.

They probably don’t Actually work everything out. Maybe Subaru refuses to acknowledge the lingering resentment he feels about something he knows was basically all his fault, fails to tell him that he’s still angry with him like he does when he sees him again in canon Arc 3, and Julius doesn’t know how to get him to acknowledge something like that. But they can make do.

There are probably a lot of things they don’t talk about. Not the duel, or Julius being a knight, or the massacre that chased Subaru all the way to Kararagi in the first place. They don’t talk about how Subaru looks at Julius sometimes, either. But there are other things they can discuss, especially as they start seeing one another more often. Rem is a good cook, and Subaru likes to show her off. Anastasia and Halibel’s dynamic is fun to watch, because seeing Anastasia act like a daughter and Halibel like a father feels so unnatural and peculiar that they may as well be seeing two entirely different people. Julius thinks Rigel is growing up to be so much like his father it hurts.

(In truly spectacular typical Julius fashion, Julius makes a sly joke about how he hopes he doesn’t need to repeat history with Rigel. It’s one of the only times he ever brings up their duel, and Subaru’s reaction to his comment is a large part of the reason why.)

Julius is older, but Subaru dies first. He makes a joke on his deathbed about finally managing to beat him at something. Julius finds it much less funny than he feels he ought to.

—Subaru wakes up some fifty, sixty years earlier, a teenager all over again, his son and daughter and grandchildren all lost to time, and it shatters him.

(When he sees Julius again, they don’t beat around the bush this time around. Subaru had fifty, sixty years too much of that.)

[theofficialastronomy101]

WITCH HEAD NEBULA * IC 2118 (also known as Witch Head Nebula due to its shape) is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in the constellation of Orion. It lies in the Orion constellation, about 900 light-years from Earth. The nature of the dust particles, reflecting blue light better than red, is a factor in giving the Witch Head its blue color. Radio observations show substantial carbon monoxide emission throughout parts of IC 2118, an indicator of the presence of molecular clouds and star formation in the nebula. In fact candidates for pre-main sequence stars and some classic T-Tauri stars have been found deep within the nebula. The molecular clouds of IC 2118 are probably juxtaposed to the outer boundaries of the vast Orion-Eridanus bubble, a giant supershell of molecular hydrogen blown by the high mass stars of the Orion OB1 association. As the supershell expands into the interstellar medium, favorable circumstances for star formation occur. IC 2118 is located in one such area. The wind blown appearance and cometary shape of the bright reflection nebula is highly suggestive of a strong association with the high mass luminous stars of Orion OB1. The fact that the heads of the cometary clouds of IC2118 point northeast towards the association is strong support of that relationship.. Credit to Pablo Carlos Budassi.

[thefirststarr]

By starlight, this eerie face shines in the dark with a crooked profile giving it its popular name, the Witch Head Nebula. In fact, this telescopic portrait gives the impression that a witch has fixed her gaze on Orion's bright supergiant star Rigel. More formally known as IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula spans about 50 light-years and is composed of interstellar dust that reflects Rigel's starlight. The color of the Witch Head Nebula is caused not only by the stars intense blue light, but because the dust scatters blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue. Rigel and this dusty cosmic crone are about 800 light-years away.

Hope everyone had a safe & fun Halloween! 👻🧡🖤💛

Image Credit & Copyright: Simone Curzi

[talonabraxas]

“Magick happens when you step into who you truly are and embrace that which fulfills your soul.” ― Dacha Avelin, Embracing Your Inner Witch

Witch Head Nebula Talon Abraxas

IC 2118 (also known as Witch Head Nebula due to its shape) is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in the constellation of Orion. The nebula lies in the Eridanus Constellation, about 900 light-years from Earth. The nature of the dust particles, reflecting blue light better than red, is a factor in giving the Witch Head its blue color. Radio observations show substantial carbon monoxide emission throughout parts of IC 2118, an indicator of the presence of molecular clouds and star formation in the nebula. In fact candidates for pre-main sequence stars and some classic T-Tauri stars have been found deep within the nebula.

[quiltofstars]

Winter skies // BastienFoucher

Below the cut is all the objects I could identify. Can you find them all? Did I miss any?

Nebula identified:

Barnard's Loop (Sh2-276)

Orion Nebula (M42, NGC 1976, Sh2-281)

Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118)

Angelfish Nebula (Sh2-264)

Seagull Nebula (IC 2177, Sh2-292)

Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237, Sh2-275)

Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443, Sh2-248)

Monkey Head Nebula (NGC 2174)

Lower's Nebula (Sh2-261)

Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405, Sh2-229)

California Nebula (NGC 1499, Sh2-220)

Pleiades (M45)

Bright stars identified:

Aldebaran, α Tauri

Betelgeuse, α Orionis

Rigel, β Orionis

Bellatrix, γ Orionis

Saiph, κ Orionis

Alnitak, ζ Orionis

Alnilam, ε Orionis

Mintaka, δ Orionis

Meissa, λ Orionis

Sirius, α Canis Majoris

Pollux, β Geminorum

Castor, α Geminorum

Alhena, γ Geminorum

Procyon, α Canis Minoris

[amphiptere-art]

List of characters/worlds.

OC world

The locked door

Shadow wars

Shadon

Shadow

Vecerin

The brother

The sister

The light dragon king

The light dragon Prince

The hybrid

The hybrids partner

dreamers musings

Various

Chains

I will dig out that folder later.

Moss and car-car

Moss (spinosaurus)

Car-car (baby carcharodontosaurus)

Territory seeking sub adult carcharodontosaurus

FNAF

Warehouse

Dim/Dawn/Dusk

Sun

Moon

Glam Bonnie

Glam foxy

Glam Freddy

Music Man

Owner YN

Adopted by

Bloody lambs, blood moon

Adopted characters

Warehouse daycare

Sun

Moon

Frank the cat

Owner YN

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Mechanical medic

Ralph the repair dragon

Sun

Moon

Other animatronics in the Plex

Adopted by

Lord's brother, infero

Adopted characters

Perrfect thief

Cat King YN

Detective Sun

Police officer Moon

Gang leader Eclipse

Underground informant leader DJ

Underground informer ballerina

Underground informer mangle

Underground informer Bonnie

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Rusted wheels

Sun

Moon

Rattler

Rabbit raiders

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Cryptid eater

Hunter/Cryptid YN

Hunter Sun

Hunter Moon

Hunter eclipse

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Saving Waves

Moon

Sun

Darkened Dawn (eclipse)

Silver reflection (Luna)

Red Wave (Blood Moon)

Monty

Freddy

Chica

Roxy

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Stop you silly siren

Captain Eclipse

First mate Sun

Navigator/siren moon

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Arcade project

Arcade alt Fae

Eclipse

Blackstar

Planet

Sun

Moon

Blood Moon

Pluto

Jack-o-moon

Nova

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Tsams

Red blue and black

Blue Moon (lunar/blood moon)

Sun

Moon

Black Star (eclipse)

Vapor

Monty

Frankie the cat

Sundown dance the dinosaur

Horn the Dragon

Adopted by

Remorseful Lord Eclipse, Chaos

Lord's brother, infero

Kid eclipse, Moom

Adopted characters

TF traveler, refracted glow

TF trapped, crushed glow

TF servant sun, dying fire

TF Void, No light

TF ghosty, wisp

Recovering blood moon

CtOS solar

AE solar !attempted!

Old Tsams

Lunar

Sun

Moon

Eclipse

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Shattered Blue Moon (storyline end)

Strained Black Star (storyline end)

Cruel copy

Butler (eclipse)

Werewolf (Blood Moon)

Gladiator (Sun)

Pastel (Moon)

Witch (Earth)

Wizard (lunar)

Hunter (Monty)

Adopted by

Adopted characters

TF Void, virulent

Beast maker

Lunara

Eclipse

Sun

Moon

Blood Moon

Adopted by

Lord's brother, infero

Adopted characters

Empty cup

Honey (Lord lunar)

Cider (Eclipse)

Apple (wither storm)

Adopted by

Lord's brother, infero

Adopted characters

Chapter -SSC

Story written in ash

Chapter (eclipse)

Adopted by

Lord's brother, infero

Remorseful Lord Eclipse, gluttony?

Empty cup, Honey -SSC

Kid eclipse, teen solar flare

Adopted characters

Separated blood moon -LB

It's tough to be a god

Huitzilin (Hum) (Sun)

Zipacna (Zip) (Monty)

Xolotl (Xolo) (Eclipse like child)

Axo's Daddy

Adopted by

Adopted characters

TF traveler

Desolate hunger

Ravenous (lunar/blood moon)

Earth

Sun

Moon

Fork face

Monty

Adopted by

Lord's brother, infero

Kid eclipse, Moom

Remorseful Lord Eclipse, chaos

Adopted characters

Lost Lord

Eclipse

Sun

Lunar

Blood Moon

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Hostage Solar, little fox

Under the stage

Blood Moon

Moon

Lunar

Adopted by

Remorseful Lord Eclipse, wrath and sloth.

Adopted characters

Eclipse Brothers

Eclipse

Lunar

Blood Moon

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Sulky star cluster

Cygnus (eclipse)

Antares (eclipse)

Rigel (eclipse)

Algol (eclipse)

Star holder Glam Freddy

Adopted by

Autumbra au, kill code

Adopted characters

TF Traveler -Orion's belt

Autumbra Eclipse *friend*

Toy swap

Crimple (DCA swap)

Glam toy Freddy (Glam Freddy swap)

Glam toy Chica (Roxy swap)

Glam toy Bonnie (Glam Chica swap)

Glam toy mangle (foxy swap)

Puppet (Monty swap)

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Alternate solar

Solar

Sun

Moon

Lunar

Blood Moon

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Autumbra *friend*

Runaway eclipse

Eclipse

Incomplete lunar

Adopted by

Lord's brother ?in works?

Remorseful Lord Eclipse ?In works?

Adopted characters

Sundown

Eclipse

Code Moon (blood moon)

Moon

Segway

Black bear

Alcoholic human friend

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Chased Eclipse -SSC

Actual dad eclipse

Eclipse

Dad code

Blood Moon

Sun

Moon

Lunar

Earth

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Chased eclipse

Hati (moon)

Sköll (Sun)

leiðr (eclipse)

bana (kill code)

Adopted by

Kid eclipse, Moom

Sundown Eclipse -SSC

Adopted characters

Orion's belt

Betelgeuse, basil (Lord Lunar)

Rigel (Eclipse)

Saiph (Good wither storm)

Bellatrix, Bella (Blood Moon)

Mintata, Mika (cyborg lindworm)

Alnilam, Alnim (Sun)

Alnitak, Alnik (Moon)

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Tf Traveler

Supernova AU

Nova (lunar/eclipse)

Sun

Moon

Killcode

Blood Moon

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Arcane AU

Arcane (lunar/Blood Moon)

... Everyone else dead

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Demon alts

Blue Moon

Black Star

Ravenous

RBB Earth

Adopted by

Lord's brother, Vim

Adopted characters

Tf void demon, demon wisp

Mer alts

Blue Moon

Black Star

Red Moon

False star

Annular

Adopted by

Adopted characters

Fey alts

Blue Moon

Crimple

Researcher Blackstar

Hunter Earth

Adopted by

Remorseful Lord Eclipse, chaos

Lord's brother, puppy

Adopted characters

Tf Traveler fey *friend*

Warrior cats alts (mostly created by @artoutoftheblue)

Blue Moon

Black Frost

Lion light

Rain cloud

Berry heart

Many others

[arcade-universe]

This is the arcade universe. A nice little place for those side characters in Stardust Arcade to have their own little light. Characters that only play a small role, or characters who are not close enough to Stardust arcade to get mentioned. Are available to be asked questions here. As I've done before, I'll have a small list below of who you can interact with.

So have fun asking characters.

Now for the other note. I'm going to keep Amph Universe as my main place for any crossovers to happen. But. I am allowing in Arcade Universe variants/OC's to do crossovers in here. What this basically means. Is if you have a character created within the arcade universe. You can cross over with them here. This is mostly to keep the cannon continuity. As I see nothing wrong with people's OCs or Arcade variants wandering around in the canon timeline. The only exception is directly interacting with Stardust Arcade. Of which I will suggest moving that over to Amph universe. Here is a little instruction guide on how to do crossovers.

Anyways. Onto the basic, transfer sequence or rules for Arcade variants and OCs.

I do not care how your OC or Arcade variant looks. Do whatever.

Animatronics must be given some sort of physical age. Or at least labeled as old or new AI.

Animatronics can't yet be bio-organic. They can be bio-mechanical, mechanical, or nano-organic. Bio-organic is only for specific magic's.

Each animatronic should have a soul. The only exception is very very new AI animatronics.

Soul characters are allowed.

Souls can take any shape you want. Even animatronics. No borders.

Souls can be semi-physical. Souls also do not need to be connected to an animatronic.

Here is a document for some rules behind the souls and also magic.

Arcade has a very specific family system. Please read this document for families.

This is a document talking about how ages work.

This is a document about the current timeline of arcade. (This is based off of stardust's perspective though.)

This is a document explaining what new AI and old AI are, And also explains how humans and companies handle it.

Establishments can be owned by anyone.

Establishments are a good way to transfer universes. Increasing the distance between establishments also helps this.

Magic can either be well known or not well-known. Please take note of this for every you region you create.

A good way to transfer a Lord is to either make them the oldest animatronic, or make them the most magically powerful animatronic.

Magic can be whatever you want. It will be compared to my magic system. But you do not have to follow it.

Magic can be used unwillingly, or without knowledge. Since it is the soul that controls magic.

It is suggested that you don't go past three unique magical traits. While a simple magical trait can be plenty vague and powerful. A person that can control every element is not allowed.

Now for the grand list of characters you can talk to. (Lots of secrets too)

Vapor

Dim

Cade

Comet

Morning

Shadow

Bright

Nessi

Sundown

Sköll

Leiðr

Cody

Tangle

Carney

Nightmare fredbear

Kaus

Bead

Crater

Cygnus

Antares

Rigel

Algol

Neptune

Halimede

Neso

Thalassa

Sao

Hum

Zip

Xolo

Pastel

Gladiator

Wizard

Witch

Butler

Werewolf

Blue Moon

Crimple

Mist

Derek

Misty

Philip

Gregory

Cassie

Ryan

And plenty more im forgetting.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Saizo / サイゾウ, Xaizor / サイゾー, and Asugi / グレイ

Saizo (JP: サイゾウ; rōmaji: saizou) is the fiery ninja that serves as a retainer to Hoshido's crown prince Ryoma in Fire Emblem Fates. This name is in reference to the fictitious ninja Kirigakure Saizō (JP: 霧隠才蔵). He belonged to a group of ninja known as the Sanada Ten Braves, who served the samurai warlord Sanada Yukimura during the Sengoku period. According to the tales, the Ten Braves participated in the Seige of Osaka, a year-long conflict in which Sanada, loyal to the Toyotomi clan, lost the defensive war of attrition. Of the ten, only Kirigakure Saizō and Sarutobi Sasuke really stuck in pop culture.

This choice of name for the Fire Emblem character is based not only on him being a skilled shinobi, but his fierce loyalty to Ryoma—also named after a renown Sengoku period samurai. Given the importance of the fall of Osaka, with the Tokugawa Shogunate becoming Japan's militant government system for the next two hundred years, the fall of Ryoma and Shirasagi Castle in the Conquest story route could be influenced by the Seige of Osaka. The death of Saizo's father may also pull from stories that claim that Kirigakure was the son of Azai Nagamasa, brother-in-law to the infamous warlord Oda Nobunaga—the very man who had killed Azai.

Xaizor is a dread fighter of Rigel that is fought in a skirmish at the foot of Fear Mountain in Fire Emblem Gaiden and its remake Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Though not immediately apparent, this random mook is also based upon Kirigakure Saizō. This could be surmised in the original release, with his Japanese name being サイゾー (rōmaji: saizо̄)—a less common rendering of the name in katakana—and the ninja-inspired design of the Dread Fighter class. The remake deepened this connection with additional lines in the script indicating a devotion to the noble Emperor Rudolf, rather than the cruel witch Nuibaba. One could even consider a parallel between the Seige of Osaka and the Deliverance storming Rigel, and thus, a parallel between Rudolf and Sanada Yukimura.

Asugi is the young, candy-loving shinobi and heir to the Saizo name in Fire Emblem Fates. Surprisingly enough, he shares quite a bit of intel on both his and his father's names in the game itself! Straight from the horse's mouth:

"Asugi" is a word in one of the languages they speak out there. It means "gray."

As it turns out, asugi is only a word in some languages of the Philippines, primarily Hiligaynon. In those tongues, asugi means mercury—not gray, but the silver color of the metal is gray-adjacent.

More than anything, the name Asugi was intended to be an anagram of Gaius, the character from Fire Emblem Awakening that he is practically a carbon copy of. And though the name is certainly not Japanese, when rendered in the language as アスギ, it would closely resemble アズキ (rōmaji: azuki), just with the dakuten (the two hash marks on the top right corner of ギ and ズ) changed. Azuki, more commonly referred in English as adzuki beans, are typically boiled with sugar to make red bean paste. This paste is a common ingredient in sweets in East Asia, used as a filling in Japanese dango, mochi, and other confectionaries.

In Japanese, Asugi is instead called グレイ (rōmaji: gurei). In internal files, this is romanized as Gurei, while the official artbook calls him Gray. In the original script, this is what he said about his name:

「グレイ」は、暗夜の言葉で「灰色」って意味だそうだ��

Translation: I heard that in the language of Nohr, "Gray" means "ash-colored*."

*In Japanese, the word for many colors refer to a common natural occurrence of that color. As such, the color gray literally means "ash-colored" in the language.

Much like the English localization, the name also makes reference to a familiar face. The rōmaji rendering Gurei is an anagram of Guire, the official romanization of Gaius' Japanese name. However, there is a possibility that there is a reference to another character in this name:グレイ is also the name of Gaiden's Gray. Though not indicated in the original game, the stats of the Ram villagers suggest that Gray is intended to take the Mercenary classline. This class distribution would be further pushed with the release of Shadows of Valentia two years after Fates. It's not an unreasonable possibility that Asugi and Saizo were intended to be named after the suggested choice of playable Dread Fighter in Alm's army and the only named Dread Fighter encountered by the Deliverance before the final battle.

As hinted earlier, Asugi also reveals some information about the Saizo name, at least in the world of Fates. Here's what he has to say in English:

If I understand right, [Saizo is] a Hoshidan word that means "color bringer."

In Japanese, Asugi instead says that Saizo means 彩りを造る (rōmaji: irodori wo tsukuru)—"making color." The kanji used in the phrase are alternatively read as sai and zou, making Saizo the only Hoshidan character in Fire Emblem Fates with a canonical kanji rendering of his name: 彩造.

[randomnameless]

Reverse uno card : Jugdral edition

2014 : "yay, i can't wait for a Judgral remake, with updated graphics!!!"

2024 : "gods please no remake"

What happened in ten years to make me dread the remake I would have sold my soul for back in the days?

Well... IS's policies and new writing, mainly.

While I was joking about "Genealogy of the Holy Self Insert" in 2015, I still had faith in eventual Jugdral remakes. Sure, we were in the big Fateswakening era where the only things I could frown at IS were the "writings" worshipping self inserts (Ryoma being jealous of Corn's talents, when Corn was like, 5?) - but I still had hope for a more "serious" FE, and I first I was very delighted by FE15 - no self insert, a more "serious" setting, no hyperbolic time chambers to try to explain in watsonian words why second gens exist, etc...

But there was still something ringing dead wrong with FE15, which I only noticed thanks to FE16 and its years of discourse - at one point, IS's writing went in a certain direction that makes it impossible, imo, for us to have a "correct" Jugdral remake, as long as IS still follows this direction.

I'm not talking about uwufest - even if it is part of the larger problem - but back in FE15, I remember being really pissed at the schizophrenia of the plot : saying one thing and the inverse at the same time.

The narration reminds us of the classic Kaga lesson : whatever madness exists in dragon/gods, a greater madness/evil lurks in the heart of men.

And yet, we have the Hero (who was so cajoled by the plot that, at times, you have to wonder if Alm wasn't the devs's self insert, he's lavished with praises almost as extensively as Ike was!) saying nonsense - without being contradicted by characters at all (or when Celica does it, she admits later she's wrong) - like Duma being responsible, mainly, for the events that transpired in Valentia and, novelty that wouldn't have been in the original game since the character was made for the remake, Berkut's fall and madness.

By that point in the game, the player saw that Berkut hunts low class people for what he sees and perceives as sport, is the textbook classicist asshat noble, but has a lot of pression on his shoulders due to his role of being the heir of the Empire, pression that isn't alleviated at all by his Uncle who mocks him and refuses to give him a third chance... to fight against a person said uncle very well knows cannot be defeated by Berkut himself, especially as said Uncle pretended to "care" for him, only to pit him against his trueborn son whom he names his heir just before dying.

Point is : Berkut feels betrayed by Rudy and goes mad - because of this betrayal : Rudolph named him heir when he fully knew Alm was alive and was the true heir he always wanted, in Berkut's eyes, no matter what he did, it wouldn't have mattered to Rudolph since Rudolph planned on giving Alm his throne since day 1 - of course, without telling him a thing and making him believe he would one day become Emperor.

Is it Duma's fault that Berkut went off the deep-end in Part 4? Because Rudolph's shit gambit involved playing with the life of his nephew and crush it in a bid to have Alm unify the continent against Duma ? Or... it's just Rudolph being an asshole, not curbing the worst of his nephew tendencies (and in a larger part, of Rigel in general) ?

Now, Rinea. She too, is called one of Duma's victims, and yet, who pushed her in Duma's magic pyre that turns women in witches? Duma himself?

No.

Berkut, who already, when pissed tells her "silence woman" pushes his fiancée and love of his life in a pyre to sacrifice her, because in his grief and rage (caused by Rudy!!!) Rinea is only a pawn to be sacrificed to gain more power to kill Alm. Sure sure, Berkut is redeemed in death and Rinea - in a classic Kaga style writing that wasn't here made by Kaga since this plot is basically new so where the fuck does this sexism come from - forgives him and they both die and ascend to another plane of existence.

The point is, despite what Alm says, Berkut and Rinea's fates weren't caused by Duma's degeneration - but by Rudolph and Berkut's own actions.

Heck, I remember when I was sort of live-blogging my run back then, Desaix's greed and lust for power wasn't fueled by Mila's apathy : it wasn't Mila who burnt Celica's house and tried to cook Conrad, it was Desaix, and why Desaix did it? Because he wanted to become king. That's it, and that's all.

So why FE15 - while giving the Kaga message - still tries its hardest to pin the blame of everything "wrong that happened" on... dragon gods, refusing to acknowledge the own responsibilities of humans in their suffering?

I think we had that lunar dialogue at the end of FE15 (or in part 4?) where Clive (i think?) tells Alm without gods giving their blessings, people in Valentia will starve, and Alm saying that may be so, but ultimately Valentia will survive and work hard through those upcoming harsh times to demonstrate how humans, when they work together, can achieve things without needing to rely on Gods - basically, King Alm tells his people to starve now because Humanity will come out stronger afterwards, since they will have learnt to grow their own food without needing magic dragon blessings to make the ground fertile.

... yeah. That's definitely going to work.

FE15 took the Kaga lesson to try to hammer some "humanity fuck yeah!" Square JRPG message and it completely messed up what FE2 tried to say.

(I confess, retconning Duma'n'Mila in dragon gods like Naga from Archanea was a big part in this shitstorm - that was also retconned to explain Grima from FE13! - i mean Duma'n'Mila have to die because they're degenerating, but they didn't get the memo from Gotoh living overseas that degeneration can be stopped by using dragonstones, instead of being a fatality that must be dealt with death...)

Humans cannot be held responsible for what they did, everything BaD that happened is somehow due to the influence of dragon-gods : even if it means "suffering" and sacrificing a part of your population, this choice is a good one to get rid of the obviously nefarious influence of dragon-gods.

So, is it so surprising that FE16 - the most popular title in the franchise uwu - went in the same direction?

Even if it tried to mitigate the "gods BaD" spiel because the avatar - Billy - is the Goddess reborn, the thing is the CoS - aka the dragon - is blamed for humanity's mistakes through each route (AM dodges the question completely) and all routes end up with the dragon going away (her skull being cracked open, or she retires, or she dies off-screen, or she dies because the plot commands so unless you want, as the player, to shag her).

"But in VW, Claude reconsiders his initial stance!"

And yet, it is only off-screen that he seemingly becomes aware that Fodlan people are not superpals with Almyra because Almyra raids them, not because Rhea told them Almyrans are BaD, that's why he tries to negotiate - off-screen and post-game - some sort of ceasefire between the two parties, or at least make it so Almyra doesn't try to raid Fodlan every Thursday for their weekly dick measuring contest.

No matter the ending, Rhea retires and in the worst support, muses on her failings for "having turned a blind eye" to Fodlan and its people in her quest to resurrect Sothis : aka, Rhea (and the game, since Billy doesn't tell her anything) believes Fodlan's state is due to her inaction and not, you know, the action of the humans who lived in the continent and ruined it of their own volition.

Which is also what fuels the endless discourse about what kind of power she has - or not : Rhea BaD for using her power, but also BaD for not using it and letting humans to their own devices.

Supreme Leader's memetastic line from the trailers ring even more true : in Fodlan, Crusts are to blame for everything. For Adrestian being attracted to young women because otherwise without crests they surely wouldn't seek to bed a 12 years old Doro, for Miklan trying to murder his younger brother (and not because, at least FE16 wise, Miklan is a terrible person who is very jealous and not afraid to kill even a child to get what he feels like he deserves), and for people basically killing their wives/letting their daughters die to get a "suitable" heir.

Humanity/Humans can get a pass for doing horrible things (Berkut burning his fiancée alive) because those horrible things can sort of be linked to "dragon-gods", and so, the blame exclusively lays at their feet.

I am always reminded of that Obi-Wan reply to Anakin when Ani accuses him of having turned Padmé "against" him, Obi-Wan basically tells him he brought this upon himself.

Now, what would Obi-Wan tell a non-recruited Doro who blames the Goddess for the War, the leader she is actually protecting, started?

Billy is no Obi-Wan, so we are left in this limbo where characters are telling you everything wrong that happens in Fodlan is due to "dragon blood" aka their existence and presence, even dragons who blame themselves for "being blind" - but not once do we have the Kaga message, or an Obi-Wan reminding people that they have to take responsability for their own actions : Hanneman will blame crests (dragons) for having killed his sister, but not the man who forced her (marital abuse?) to bear him many heirs until one was "good enough" for him.

Claude blames dragons for creating, both literal and metaphorical walls between Fodlan and Almyra - and it's only in his best ending, after the game credits and off-screen that he seems to realise that those walls were built by Almyrans raiders.

"enough about the fodlan rant, what about jugdral?"

Jugdral was sort of unique for not having a giant eldritch abomination as a boss, unlike the later FE8, we never fight Loptyr in his "original" form, Loptyr is fought through his host, Julius.

And I love Jugdral because unlike Fodlan, the local evil death cult might stage a few skirmishes and manipulations here and there, but Jugdral people are... asses, in general.

Elliot will mount an army to seduce Raquie while Eldie is away - and it's not because Manfroy told him to seduce her, no, Elliot does it from his own will.

Reptor'n'Langobalt'n'Andrei rebel against Kurth and Azmur? Sure, Arvis is pulling some of their strings, but Reptor'n'Langobalt are ambitious, even without Manfroy whispering anything.

Arvis pulls out his gambit... with Manfroy's help (and blackmail?), but also because he genuinely thinks he can sacrifice lives to make HIS world a reality because HE has great ideas about how the world should be and will torch anyone who opposes him.

F!Lewyn, as much as I dislike the character, reminds the cast that while Travant's actions might seem justified to him and to the Thracian people, he is still a man who assaulted a bunch of randoms + non-combattants in a desert, amushed them and slaughtered them : no matter his reasons and how justified he was, Travant is still a criminal to Jugdral people.

In Jugdral, people do things and have to take responsability for it - Oldvis basically dies after losing everything he had - by Seliph's hand (and with his own participation!!) because Oldvis has to take responsability for what he did in Barhara. Ditto for Travant, who accepts to die if it means the peninsula will be united (tfw his son doesn't understand what he meant !).

Dragon blood and Dragon people are never blamed for the shitty state Jugdral is in in the 1st or even 2nd gen, if Danan turned Isaach in giant brothel, it's not Julius-Loptyr who asked him to do so, nor Manfroy.

At least, that was the case for the pre FE15/FEH/FE16 Jugdral.

Now...

While I want to blame FE16 for this shift, I know the roots are more ancient (FE15?), IS's writing seems to favour a certain narrative, aka people having sad and or complicated fates because of their brands and Holy Blood - when the ONLY case of having a fate tied to Holy Blood was the Curse of the Gae Bolg, aka a sibling quarrel between Dain and Noba that will eventually "curse" Noba descendants, but through the events of the game we know that curse is more like a prophecy : Quan doesn't die because he had Noba Holy Blood, Quan dies because Travant kills him in Yied. Why Travant kills him? FE5 reveals Quan and his forefathers are basically letting Thracians starve and refuse to "give" them arable lands, or even export food.

Now, did Travant kill Quan because Quan had major Noba Holy Blood, or because Quan (and his forefather)'s policies made Thracians so desperate that their king feels like he has to resort to murder to "save" his people?

The issue is more complicated than "he has Noba HB so I had to kill him".

Come FEH and we had, in 2018 (before FE16 but after FE15) this :

My blood has granted me gifts, it's true. I have expended every effort to be worthy of those gifts. That same blood makes it impossible for me to live a peaceful life. That's a lesson I learned from my mother...

Now, even if I was dissecting and hc'ing and posting about Saias a lot for 5 years, I fully understand Saias is a character with maybe 20 lines in FE5, so you can only dissect the script and theorise and read between invisible lines to get something about the character.

But this?

It might be a reference to Cowen's last words who basically tells him his job is to "pass on" his Fjalar HB, and how having major Fjalar HB was the reason why Manfroy tried to kill him when he was younger (his mother Aida died to protect him).

And yet, FEH here seems to imply Aida died because Saias had Fjalar HB, and not, y'know, died because Manfroy wanted to kill him due to this HB.

It wasn't HB who killed Aida, but Manfroy!

FE5 never reveals why - but if Fjalar HB was the reason why Manfroy targeted Saias, then why the fuck wasn't Oldvis iced earlier, since he has the same brand and blood?

In a way, Saias blaming HB here as the "reason" why his mother died and why he cannot live a "peaceful life" is similar to a Leif who would blame Quan'n'Ethlyn for being the reason why Travant and the Empire were after his life : what is to blame, their "blood" that makes people want to kill them, or the fuckers who want to kill them?

Granted those lines from FEH completely miss the point of Saias as a character - FE5!wise Saias is in a class that cannot use fire magic, when his HB automatically gives him the highest rank in fire magic, and he is funnily enough the only character who "retreats" in his death quote -> Saias doesn't "expend" every effort to be worthy of HB, he hides and doesn't use the abilities given by said HB!

We can say, mkay, this was just FEH trying to fit their "gods and their influence BaD" narrative and missing the real culprits, aka humans themselves (Manfroy is one!) - from FE15 - in Jugdral, even if it meant retconning a character no one cares about.

But then, last year, we had Galzus' FB :

You speak of the blood of the Sword Saint Od. Perhaps. Is that the reason you have been set on a path of violence and bloodshed?

Nyx says Galzus' "curse" isn't tied to his HB, but it's basically his regret at not having been able to save his daughter.

So far, it's completely the inverse of what I decried, so this was a good FB, right?

:)

There is no doubt that the blood within you compels you to lead a cruel life. However, the loss of your daughter was the wedge that split your life into pieces and let the curse in.

Damn it Nyx, why???

Why Galzus's brand "compels him" to lead a cruel life - when it was just established that Galzus fell to despair and became a mercenary who kills for money after the loss of his daughter?

Before losing Mareeta, Galzus, at least per this FB, wasn't killing people right and left as the merc he now is (or was in FE5).

Now, much like Saias...

Why was Galzus left to roam around Jugdral with a toddler to begin with?

I had a daughter. When my wife died, I brought my daughter with me as I traveled around Jugdral.

This FB establishes that Galzus settled with Mareeta's biomom for a while, but when she died he "traveled around". Why Galzus couldn't return "home" and had to "travel around"?

You know the Ribaut family was devastated by our own House Isaach.

Timeline wise : Ribaut is already demolished during the prologue of FE4, and Mareeta is no older than Leif himself, which means she was born after Galzus' grandfather and Ayra's brother, aka, his uncle, beheaded his dad and demolished his kingdom. Galzus, in exile, had Mareeta, and then had to "travel around" Jugdral because his home had already been demolished by "House Isaach" -

Note how Ayra talks about the Ribaut (i prefer rivough but meh) family when she talks about her very own sister - Galzus' mother. Jugdral family trees being what they are, Shanan, Larcei, Scatach and Galzus are actually cousins, Galzus is Ayra's own nephew, just like Shanan!

Anyways, in FE4, the reason given behind Ribaut's destruction is their attack on Darna, so the Isaachian royals killed them.

Galzus' "cruel life" wasn't compelled by his HB, Galzus' life took a turn for the worst when his Uncle and Grandpa knocked at his door and slaughtered his entire family, destroying their Kingdom.

So why FEH tried to fit his backstory in some sort of "dragon blood is to blame" Fodlan narrative?? They at least acknowledge the bad blood (lel) between Isaach's royal family and Ribaut's, hell, Ayra even wants to say Mareeta is a part of Isaach's royal family in her FB with her son, so it's not to whitewash the Isaachian royal family because their units are more popular and would sell more...

Contrary to Saias, Galzus's writing and his FB seem to have been made by people who cared and didn't completely ignore what the character was about so... why this emphasis on his HB ??

Are we bound in post FE16 releases to have, at least with the current writing team, the excuse of "dragon blood is to blame" ? Galzus cannot blame the Isaachian Royal Family or even the slavers for his (and his daugher's!) fate, but he can blame his HB, aka, a non-entity?

Will HB be now used as a "responsibility free" card, because the fate a character suffers or their actions are only tied to said HB? Arvis will get a pass because his HB compelled him to save the world (tfw Victor prefered to "seduce" women instead), Lewyn will be lightly chided by his mom instead of receiving the beatdown he has in FE4 because his HB now makes him unable to stay in place? Ditto for Ced, Karin won't chew him out for abandoning his mother and sister because his HB compelled him to travel around, so in the end, dragons are to blame for him abandoning his sister and mother?

That's what I'm the most afraid in future Jugdral remakes, that had humans characters with human flaws in a crapsack/shitty verse, the insertion in a future remake of a very Squenix "but aksuhally gods and church bad" when Jugdral is the pinnacle of "the world sucks because people living in this world suck". No need for secret sects manipulating everything in the shadows like FE16's Agarthans, Chagall is a horrible person without needing Manfroy's help, and Hilda will not say "Holy Blood is to blame" when she tortures Tailte to death.

When Tailte is caught and Hilda'd, it's because she participated (or even commited) in parricide, and because her camp/army lost the battle. She doesn't die because of her HB, she dies because Hilda kills her, most likely, for having killed Reptor (Hilda wants to avenge her "father" when fought, i'm pretty sure she means her father in law aka Reptor!).

As befits a game called "Genealogy of the Holy War", people aren't targeted because of their HB, but they are targeted because they are part of a genealogy - see the Leif comparison earlier on : Leif is hunted because he is Quan's son, even if he doesn't have Noba major blood. Seliph is hunted because he is Siggy'n'Deedee's son, not because of his Baldo HB.

In FE4, Manfroy tells Julius Arvis was a thorn at their side because "Fjalar's ways" ran too strong in him - implying he had some moral fiber that would make him oppose the return of Loptyr (but those same "ways" didn't prevent him from torching his own brother and conquering the world...) - I will have to check the translation and og script, but was Saias targeted because he had Fjalar HB, or because he could develop the same moral fiber Arvis does in his later years, or just, because he is Arvis's son? Cowen seems to suggest it is FB, but we know Fjalar HB cannot harm Loptyr so... what was the true reason?

Blaming dragon-gods reduces the complexity of Jugdral's setting and characters - and in a post FEH world where tropes win character contests and sell a lot of alts if they are flanderised enough + a post FE15/16 world where characters, to be likeable enough, have to ditch their responsibilities or at least have the plot elude them to pin them instead on vague and non-important (gacha wise) gods, what is going to happen to Jugdral?

Fanfics are fanfics and people are free to write whatever they want - but I wonder (especially after Nopes and the plethora of 'golden endings' fics that ended up with the CoS as the big bad lol) if fics where Mareeta and Ced blaming their HB for their various hardships is going to become the new canon...

I seriously hope it will never, and it if happens then...

I guess I'll still yell at cloud and nerd about the 1990s versions of those games, completely ignoring the new releases (save for maybe updated artwork).

Tl;Dr : FEH makes me afraid Judgral remakes will borrow the "humanity fuck yeah" page from FE15 and FE16 and put the blame of Jugdral's shitty situation from Jugdralians to... Holy Blood and "dragon-gods", completely missing and rewritting the point of those games. IS already said "fig" to Kaga once or thrice, but this might become the most contentious "fig" they ever give him if they decided to write a Jugdral remake this way.

[four-loose-screws]

FE2 Novelization Translation - Book 2 Cover and Intro Pages

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Cover

Fire Emblem Gaiden

Land of Sorrow

Book 2

STORY

A large-scale war is currently ravaging the continent of Valentia. After the loss of countless Units, the story of a new encounter is told. General Alm, leading the imperial army of Zofia to restore the country’s sovereignty, under the name “the Deliverance.” Young Priestess Celica, attempting to make her deepest wish of restoring goddess Mila to her rightful place a reality. However, fate is still leading these two in opposite directions.

The dark plot of the cold-hearted and ruthless Emperor Rudolf of Rigel is once again in motion. …The plot to thoroughly destroy the Kingdom of Zofia. For what reason has he fallen to such insanity? Alm, who has not even an idea of the fate of his bloodline, raises his sword against Rudolf.

Will he and Celica finally be able to act upon their love for each other? Will peace return to Valentia? Find out here, in the conclusion to this story!

Written by Katsuyuki Ozaki

Cover Illustration by Ichiro ?*

Cover Design by Kazuo Hiroi (WIDE)**

*T/N: I cannot find the Kanji character in this person’s last name anywhere to confirm its reading.

**T/N: First name could also be ‘Ichio’ or ‘Itsuo.’ I cannot find any record of this person online, so I cannot confirm the correct reading of their name. Their nickname is ‘WIDE’ because their last name, ‘hiroi,’ is the Japanese word for wide.

Published by Futabasha

Author’s Profile

Katsuyuki Ozaki

An up-and-coming author also working as a copywriter. His major works include “Valkyrie no Densetsu,” “F-Zero,” “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link,” and many more, all published by Futabasha. He has also written for other strategy guide series. His hobbies include golf, cars, and computer games. He is of course also passionate about Fire Emblem, and has completed all of the games so far. He poured all of his love for the series into writing these two books without rest!

Front:

The stage continues to unfold upon the continent of Valentia at war!

This fantastical tale of our young fighters finally comes to its end!

What will become of Alm and Celica’s love for each other? Where will their fate to fight lead them?

And in what direction will these Unit’s adventures take them…?

Back:

Ad for Book 1.

Ad for a Shin Megami Tensei novelization.

Color Art

Text:

This fantastic story is about the great battle on Land Valencia.

According to the destinies, many young heroes and heroines will fight to save their lovers.

Which will God promise to them, victory or defeat?

For whom will He smile?

Whom will He crush by a hummer at last?

Nothing but the bravy spirit of youth can bring peace to such a confused world.

The new act of this drama has just started now!!

Title Page

Table of Contents

(T/N: Exact translation of the chapter and chapter part titles are subject to change, once I read and translate them in full detail, based on exact context.)

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Second War

Mila, Lost Forever

The Empty Throne

Divine Blade Falchion

The Army of Witches at the Border

Chapter 2: The Battle at the Border

The Tragic Mage Luthier

Fratricide

The Golden General, Zeke

Surprise Attack

Sonya’s Secret

Crux of Fate

Chapter 3: God Duma

Triangle Attack

Great Sage Halcyon

Volcano

My Father, Jedah

Chapter 4: Reunion

To Rigel Castle

Mad Emperor Rudolf

The Heir

Chapter 5: The Altar and the Final Act of the War

The Mystery of Gradivus

Inside the Continent

My Father, Rudolf

The Gods’ Slumber

The Reborn Kingdom of Valentia

Epilogue

-

Illustrations: Ichiro ?* & Kazuo Hiroi (WIDE)**

*T/N: I cannot find the Kanji character in this person’s last name anywhere to confirm its reading.

**T/N: First name could also be ‘Ichio’ or ‘Itsuo.’ I cannot find any record of this person online, so I cannot confirm the correct reading of their name. Their nickname is ‘WIDE’ because their last name, ‘hiroi,’ is the Japanese word for wide.

Book design: Yusuke Matsuoka (NEXT)

Editing & printing: Rekkasha

Character Introductions

Celica’s Army

Genny: A Cleric from Novis Island’s Priory who supports Celica’s ideals.

Atlas: A Villager who joins Celica and her army to defeat the pirate Grieth. A hot-blooded young man with exceptional sword fighting talent.

Leon: A young Archer who is saved by Celica’s army at the pirate’s fortress, and stays with them afterwards.

Saber: A Mercenary searching for an employer to work for at Novis Greatport. Later transcends to Myrmidon.

Valbar: An Armor who was one of three people fighting to kill the pirate Barth at his fortress.

Est: A Pegasus Knight and one of the three sisters from Archanea. She is captured alone and brought to Grieth’s fortress.

Palla: One of the three sisters from Archanea. A Pegasus Knight with superior strength and mobility.

Nomah: A Sage whose spiritual powers have only strengthened in his old age, and possesses the skill to cast Sagittae.

Catria: A Pegasus Knight and one of the three sisters from Archanea. When they combine their powers, they can pull off the strongest attack of all…

Boey: A young Mage who serves at Novis Island’s Priory with Celica. 

Jesse: A Mercenary who joins forces with Celica to defeat Grieth. Though he acts like a ruffian, his swordsmanship skills are above average.

Sonya: A female Mage who can cast Excalibur. Her red lipstick and makeup proves that she is not associated with either the Mila nor Duma faithful.

Mae: Like Boey, she is a Mage from Novis Island’s Priory.

Celica: A deeply devout Priestess who leaves Novis Island’s Priory to travel to Mila’s Shrine. She is the second protagonist of this story, in addition to Alm.

Kamui: A Mercenary who goes to the pirate fortress with Leon and Valbar.