#and knights/knightly types?

[festivalofthe12]

Sooo what with me taking out my 3DS again recently and also getting hyped for the Grand Bazaar remake, I've been thinking about Harvest Moon again, and finally decided to fill out this chart! :D

Now, I have not played MOST of these games, so this is a chart not of who I've romanced but who I'm most interested in based on the wiki etc. and who I'd intend on romancing if I started that game! (An important thing to consider ahead of time in games where marriage is gender-locked...)

In a couple of cases I couldn't decide between two options so I included both! And I added Yuzuki to the final square for bachelors because I do think he's my absolute favourite overall (RIP Hinata you'd have taken the 3oT square easily if he didn't exist) but I didn't include one for bachelorettes because I don't have a clear Number One Fave among them <3

Here's the blank version of the template!

[anarchotolkienist]

The genre of a fantasy game/tvshow/film deciing to have a minstrel type figure do characterisation of their Epic Hero through song and then having it be pop lyricism backed by a lute played like a guitar needs to end. If you want a heroic lay, then fucking write a heroic lay using actual metre, or don't bother.

[rayroseu]

OH SO IT WASNT ENOUGH TO DO IT ON PRE-GROOVY HE HAS TO DO IT ON HIS GROOVIFIED VERSION TOO AJFIWOFIOWJ!!!!!

HIS POSE IS LIKE MALLEUS ON HIS NORMAL SPRITE.... IM SOBBING AT THE MUSEUM SILVER ‼️‼️‼️😭😭😭🤍🤍🤍🤍

Never beating the Malleus' brother allegations, I think at this point he's just blatantly admitting it JDJKAJFJW !!

The profound contrast between Silver's love for Malleus and Lilia when almost the entirety of his "true nation" hated them, will always make me crash LILIA'S SON AND MALLEUS' BROTHER IS GROWING UP WELL 😭😭😭✨✨‼️‼️‼️

But isnt this a great card that showcases he's truly a "child of peace"?? The 3 good fairies spell on him was that he'll wake up on an era pf peace (and ofc when he meets someone that truly loves him), He is someone that carries "the face of Silver Owls (Knight of Dawn)" but his actions pays tribute to Briar Valley (to Malleus)

MIND YOU that this pose is almost exclusively to Malleus only yet they made Silver do it !! 😭😭JDJAJDJ And yk whats more profound about this pose is that in Silver's case.... his hand placed on the left side where the heart is KEJQKJRKWS !!!! Ohhh he's truly accepted that it can't be changed that hes from Silver Owls but he can always dedicate his actions to the ones that cares for him despite that (Lilia and I know Malleus as well (even if he finds out the truth(copium)💥💥💥)

AND I KNEW THAT OUTIFT SUITED HIM!!!! DO YOU SEE HOW SILVERS HAIR BLENDS SO WELL WITH THAT SUIT!!! LITERAL EYE CANDY, HE'S LIKE AN ANGEL HERE WITH HOW GLARING THE LIGHT SOURCE IS BUT ITS NOT A DEMURE TYPE OF ANGELIC LOOK, ITS A KNIGHTLY ONE!!! 🥲🥲💕💞✨✨✨

KFJQJRJW THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PLATINUM CARD PLEASE... 😭🤍✨✨

Edit: Also PAUSEEE THE BOOK 7 FORESHADOW THIS CARD EXUDESSSSS SILVER CQLM DOWN AJFJAJE

The Knight of Dawn doomed to fight the Evil Princess.....

The Knight of Dreams doomed to fight the King of the Abyss

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭BUT BUT TRUE LOVE WILL END THE CYCLE RIGHT RIGHT... WJUTIQ😭😭😭😭

source

[undead-cypress]

Strohl and Hulkenberg are so funny to me as a duo. They're the exact same type of people - they NEED to pledge their life to a liege or they'll start ripping up your couch like an understimulated shepherd dog. However they go about it in polar opposite directions. (Early-game story spoilers ahead, mid-game gameplay spoilers) Hulkenberg had her life purpose taken away years back and comes to realize hyperfocusing probably isn't the optimal way to go about it, so she expands her horizons to do her duty better. Strohl had no will to live until joining the assassination plot, and then it fails so bad he resolves to hyperfocus so hard the classes he unlocks can only do one thing, critical slash damage really really well

Hulkenberg is the formal knightly one but she delights in mucking around and would rather fist fight people than think. But then she demolishes you in chess and teaches you tactics while Strohl, the familiar casual guy who's a lot more stategically minded is the one always sharpening a sword and implying if anything happened to you, seppuku may be on the table - Gallica this is so scary play encounter music - my courage has increased

It all clicked when I saw their third tier classes are paladin/dark knight and samurai. Ohhhh you guys are henchmen. You wanna be henchmen so bad. They're the exact same kinda guy but are completely baffled by everything the other guy does. They have everything in common and nothing in common. They both think they're the normal one of the group. They have completely different ideas about how to best do their jobs but they simply must beat the shit out of each other on the deck daily or else they might have to actually go to therapy. I need an early 2000s team up/roadtrip action movie with these two where Will is faking being kidnapped to draw out the bad guys but Gallica didn't tell Strohl and Hulkenberg because their bad acting would immediately give it away and they proceed to absolutely demolish the metaphorical furniture of the house of Euchronia looking for the world's most specialest lil' captain. Do you see my vision 🤌

[yandere-romanticaa]

Oh to be in a love triangle between Julius and Reinhard... The longing gazes, the constant shows of praise and devotion, the knightly courtship would be off the charts.

They would both have a very similar approach as both were raised by well off families and typically uphold good morals and proper tradition.

Out of the two, Julius would be the stiffer one but there's an awkward charm to it. He's incredibly ashamed of the dark feelings which are festering deep within his soul and he wishes to make amends for that. He typically does that by serving you in any way he possibly can, his eyes positively twinkling with glee if you give him a good reaction. However, if you're too sweet on him I fear his brain will simply cease to function. Julius won't exactly regress to a caveman but his base instincts might take over, prompting him to be harsher towards the people around him which frankly, can be a little scary! He barks like a dog and he won't be afraid to bite too.

Meanwhile Reinhard is so effortlessly smooth and charming, even if he's not your type at all there will be times when he just sweeps you off your feet. With those baby blue eyes and rose red hair, it's impossible to not at least gawk at him...

And he knows it. Boy, does he know it.

But! A knight should not take pride in such petty things and Reinhard is above all of this shenaniganery! He will cast aside his more sinister desires to the side and just focus on doing what he does best - protecting the people!

... Even if that means not being able to see you for a period of time. And well, Reinhard is anything but blind, he sees the way Julius looks at you... He carefully monitors him, how his eyes trail after your being, similarly to his own.

Oh dear. He can already feel the way his chest churns with agony and downright annoyance.

Is this what jealousy feels like?

[emoboybrony]

Ill admit ive never been that into laurence (any his variations really) but something has been really bothering me since rewatching parts of MCD.

What really caught my attention about MCD Laurence is that he starts out as this well adjusted, loyal knightly and charming guy- and then after he becomes a shadow knight you just see this slow decay of him. Like hes slowly losing parts of himself and its causing him to become more and more unstable to the point where by the end of season 2 hes honestly kind of terrfying.

And ALOT of that is reflected with how his relationship with aphmau starts to shift. He goes from this sweet, suave and honestly pretty silly personality, to being so obsessive and vindictive towards her.

Theres this one scene, at the end of ep 95 S2, where aphmau has just essentially seen a ghostly image of aaron and is really shaken up by it. Laurence comes to sit with her and ask her about it. And at first, it genuinely seems like hes just trying to get her to open up so he can support her. But then it quickly spirals into him demanding to know why she cares about aaron so much and why shes greiving so hard for him, like its a problem. He becomes so aggressive and condensending to the point where Garroth has to intervene and he walks off.

In this moment you see how far hes really fallen, he goes from semingly reasuring and gentle, and by the end of it hes disrepecting a dead man, who gave his life to save both his brother and supposed love of his life, who he travelled and fought along side with for months, who close to the end of his life was taking care of an orphan (something he comlimented in aphmau), and hes thowing all of that out the window because hes taken Aphmau's attention, due to the fact he fucking died.

After that happens, aphmau has a conversation woth vlyad where he basically tells her that laurence has to accept what he is and go to the nether or else hes gonna go insane, and that the only reason he came back is because hes "chasing a fantasy". Aphmau responds by suggesting they get cadenza over so that he can be with family, and vlyad says she can do what she wants but implies its pretty much inevitable that laurence is going to hit a breaking point. And hes completely right.

Before laurence even gets to speak to cadenza, he eavesdrops on the conversation where aphamu reveals shes pregnant, and just immediately peaces out, out of fear that hes going to MURDER HER.

Not to mention that in that conversation, cadenza herself tells aphmau not to tell laurence because shes scared of how he would react. He has gotten so unstable that his own sister, who loves him more than anything, can recognise that he is a danger to some degree and shes RIGHT.

All this paints a stark contrast, the laurence we first met vs the man he has now become. Its tragic because its this inevitable downfall brought on by an act that was completely selfless, him sacrificing himself that got him turned into a shadow knight in the first place.

Even this is eventually tainted, his selfless act becomes a selfish one as he seems to cling to aphmau's love and affection as an emotional crutch. Aphmau obviously loves and cares for him deeply, but not in an explicitly romantic/sexual way. And if she doesnt love him the way he wants, then why is he suffering through this? Why did he bother to sacrafice himself at all if theres no reward? Its honestly horrifying how pretty much everyone who loved and respected him, makes what should be incredibly out of place predictions on him, but they always end up being right except for aphmau. She cant accept that hes changing and theres nothing she or anyone else can do change that. Its gut wrenching.

This all lead me to beileve that i didnt give enough credit to his character. I love this. This is the type off tragic story telling im here for. Theres so much more to this character than i ever expected.

Heres the thing.

Why the fuck do laurence's biggest fans seem to just completely disregard this? If you believed a good portion of the fandom, laurence is just this sauve uwu sad boy who was unfairly rejected and ignored by a woman who demamded the world from him.

Im dead serious, i saw people saying that laurence "deserved better than aphmau", that he deserved someone who recognised the sacrafice he made. Which like- there is so much to unpack there.

First of all, aphmau did recognise his sacrafice, she did love him and try to support him in the best way she could, even when literally everyone around her was saying it was a lost cause. She did everything she could for that man and forgave so much of what he did while struggling with the calling and she got nothing but shit for it.

Second of all, no the fuck he doesnt?? As illustrated in the examples above he did not respect Aphmau's boundaries. He did not respect her feelings. And by the end, he didnt even respect her bodily autonomy. Lets be honest here, he basically abandoned everyone he apprantly "loved", because bro tapped it before he could. She loved him so much, but because he wanted something she wasnt willing or able to provide, that being explicitly romantic and sexual attention, he just didnt see it. To try and argue that hes the real victim here, is in the same vain of "nice guys finish last". Him being kind, compassionate and selfless- shouldnt be reliant on whether or not this woman will fuck him or not. That is an insanely misogynistic way of thinking.

But most important to me in the context of this analysis- what is there to like about laurence with this interpretation? What possibly sets him apart from the gazillion other brunette pretty anime bois? Am i to gay for this? Is there something im not seeing?

I understand fanon can wildly divert from canon, and i understand that alot of this is probably down to the fact that i find dissecting and critiquing canon more intresting than reinventing it through fanon. Im locked into the Baldurs gate 3 fandom and i had the same experience there (laurence fangirls got NOTHING on Astarion girlies). But both experiences have left me with the same question- what draws you to a character, when all you do is boil them down to their most generic aspects?

I find Laurence intresting cause we are seeing this man crash out and become a monster in real time. And i dont see how he is worth even an honourable mention, when you take that away.

What is there left to be compelled to?

[sonjalikestodraw]

Here comes the boy~ ✨ Hello, boy. Wel-come~

The Voice of the Hero is here!

Design notes:

Based on a falcon; common icon of knights in heraldry, and thus associated with devoted heroism and loyalty.

As a part of Slayer's psyche, represents the Conscience

Hair texture matching Damsel's lends him an air of innocence, while tying it into a bun like Adversary shows practicality and a willingness to battle.

Wears all-black clothing to signal that his ultimate alliance is with Slayer/LQ. The knightly role is shown with silver grey armor, matching the Princess' silver crown. (Chainmail also kinda matches the Princess' chains and the game's theme of an infinite prison made of infinite links).

Armor for the iconic, if slightly cumbersome, knight look.

Breastplate is gently heart-shaped.

Pauldrons grant some neck protection while his actual throat (feelings/vulnerability) is bare.

Same muscly + chubby body type as Slayer, just slightly smaller. Hero's the most similar to Slayer's base personality. (Used Spectre as a comparison because she's the same height as Base/Heart Princess.)

Androgynous because of being closest to us, the players.

Sloped face markings and big dark eyes maximises the sweet, sad puppy eyes he's capable of ("We're not going through with this, right?")

Beak shape gives him a constant wobbly mouth line a la woozy-emoji (*cough* sub *cough*)

Looks the same in all routes, except in MoC where his clothes are torn and parts of his plate armor is missing, and inside the final cabin, where he only wears the tunic and trousers.

Like all my Voices, has one pair of back wings when appropriate. I'm inconsistent lol. Slayer has two pairs, normally.

"There's still a piece of me, nestled close to Her heart…" oki Hero that's great but did you two snuggle??? Did you????

[multiversetrain]

Drunkeness

Request? No.

Type? Headcannon, a little snippet

About? How they act drunk

Who? Nicole Demara, Billy kid

Nicole demara

The Irresponsible Drunk

• When drunk, Nicole becomes irresponsible, most importantly, with money

• When she is drunk, she likes to spend her money, like really spending it

• If someone that is responsible isn't with her, she buys lots of drinks for everyone she feels a slight connection with 'networking' as she calls it

• Coincidentally, while she was 'networking', she met you sitting at the bar and felt an immediate connection.

• She would slide into the seat next to and offer to buy you a drink trying to start a proper conversation with you

• Your immediate instincts are saying that you're either going to get scammed or meet someone you could connect with on another level

• Only someone really stupid would take that chance. i mean, who would take that chance?

• You apparently and if Nicole was honest? That was a blessing from a higher being!

• The conversation you both had was amazing, fantastic even!

• And you would listen to her when she spoke and looked at her with fondness in your eyes

• At the end of the night, when both of you said your goodbyes and Nicole is halfway home, she remembers ..

• She totally forgot to get your number! Not to worry, she'll definitely find you again!

Billy kid

The Confident Drunk

(Idk if he can get drunk)

• Billy is usually very silly, acting very confident even though anxiety tends to creep in, like when he asks the proxy, "I'm beautiful with any hairstyle!.. right?"

• When drunk, any sort of embarrassment, nervousness, or anxiety gets flung out of the window with bravo!

• That one guy at a party that is keeping the mood light and happy while also giving the far too drunk people a glass of water to sober up

• Keeps anyone who seems to be moping, lonely , or currently sobering up company not wanting them to be lonely

• "Will you be the pink starlight knight to my red one?" He'd jokingly say, as he sits next to you on the couch as you were sobering up to walk home.

• You were going to walk home, but looking at the beaming android, you couldn't help but stay listening to the rambling of Billy

(as he had introduced himself, you note very knightly)

• And he had almost talked your ear off so much so you think you could recite the entire lore of the starlight knights from memory alone

• It was almost time to walk home you had noticed and as you said your goodbyes to eachother

• Billy had quickly written something on a napkin and placed it inside your open palm before waving you goodbye.

(You walked home with the napkin securely inside your pocket, aware of the precious phone number on the piece of cloth)

[and-i-will-kiss]

I feel like I never put my head on the pillow last night. It's not because of the banquet - it wasn't my type of thing, being around these nobles and knights, I'm just a fish out of water, in this big, new pond I'm at right now. Not having wine was a bit of a test, and from Hans stance in the room on that evening, I can see why the liquor flows like rivers in these instances.

My liege left unexpectedly and reminded me to behave before turning around towards the door. I wondered about his thoughts, it's like his body was there, but his head, oh I don't know, wanted to be anywhere else but near the line of sight of the Lord of the castle? Capon sure looked stiff and avoidant. Now I'm convinced we are two little fishes, my lord, both not made for these waters.

As for myself, the only one left standing in the short span that was our evening, I got accosted by a Lady waving her titles like they were her not very interesting assets in front of me; a jokester of a poet knight that wanted me to prank his rival, and Black Bartosch, who easily impressed me, the country boy from Skalitz, at first with his worldly knowledge and knightly tales. You don't get to know every day a proper knight like the ones in those books the Uzhitz scribe waved under my nose when I was learning how to read! But his plans involved something I couldn't afford to touch. I avoided his advances as nicely as I could, as I wanted, no, needed to feel a bit alive in the morning. Any mistake could be costly, and now more than ever, as I have returned to fill the role of Lord Capon's squire and bodyguard. So I bowed out early, with a bit of a meal in my stomach and totally out my head. I exhaled as I stared at the deep midnight of the sky and thought of the road I have left behind and what's in front of me for tomorrow. If I told Theresa of this, she would have had a laugh! Look at you, small town boy, mother's boy, under the sky that wraps this impossible castle good night.

I think about that and her while I stare to the ceiling of this bailey room in Trosky. It's too familiar and cold, this makes it feel homely, like I was back in Rattay. But I can't just lie down the entire morning, as much as my body desires, we have to ride. So I have a quick wash - the water, too cold to be kind, scares the ghost of sleep away, and I start from my hose and up to kit myself for battle.

Outside, and by the upper courtyard, Hans attends in his very minimal kit. I'm absolutely not happy with the sight, he's too under dressed for battle, but I understand that this campaign, with all the available men from Von Bergrow and other experienced knights, should be a quick hit and then back for supper. And he doesn't seem concerned at all in that bare bones bascinet and cuirass, so I won't complain and let him go ahead. Avoiding the roux horse I'm offered for the ride, I take Pebbles and join the battalion at the main gate.

We ride, at a good pace, tightly bound to each other. We are a steely column of soldiers, exchanging words and jokes. The spirits are high and the mood is certain - we will stomp on the vermin infesting these lands. And after that we can go home. I feel ambivalent towards this, on one hand I'm glad this could be good and done today, and we could be riding back to Sasau in a couple of days, but we still have a battle in front of us and I shouldn't be this certain about how smoothly it can go, even if I was reassured more than once.

The reassurances, pray, were all lies.

There's something forward that shatters the column. I can't see a thing in front of me, but sure I can feel it. There's shouts, anguished, blood-curdling screams. We have been lead to a trap.

Hans and I push forward until a rain of bolts and arrows land on us. Pebbles bolts under me and I land heavily on the road, air pushed out of my lungs. Dazed and vulnerable, I'm glad Hans was there to pull me up with all his might. The leader of our party, Trosky's Chamberlain, lies at my feet, pierced by arrows and bleeding to death. There's nothing we can do, he's dying and I feel the taste of iron in my mouth. Capon pushes me to follow him, we need to keep moving forward, he shouts, otherwise we are dead, Henry shoot up, we need to engage them, they are killing us! Henry!

My hands move by themselves, my head is nothing but a blur of red and hurt. I load a bolt and let if fly, it might have grazed someone up there, from the pained cries filling the dusty air. I kneel behind a tree, my hands and breath are shaking, but I need to attack. It's no use, so I reload, dash into the hill and hide myself under a rock column. Here I have a better sight so I shoot a couple down. But Hans, Hans is... Shit! I need to move faster! What's that noise? And that smoke? Something hits the ground fast, something like a... pebble? But it's so, so fast, faster than an arrow! Hans, move, otherwise we are dead!

Lord Capon holds his shield up and front and rams in and after him I go. Our mad dash ends on the other side of the road, where the enemy waits the stragglers armed to the teeth. We mow down enough to leave some corpses on the ground, I can't stop to check if they are gone, I push on moving forward... Is that the fortress? It's Nebakov? Oh god, does this have an end? Hans runs forward, drenched in blood, sword in hand, shield long discarded behind.

Big mistake. In his desperate run, a bandit catches him with a mace straight to the face, hit the helmet refuses to receive, leaving Hans head exposed as he falls heavily on the ground.

No. I panic. No, I won't allow it, you fucking whoreson. All my blood is pooling in my gut as slay the bastard and then a second one in the spot. I can't breath. I drop next to Hans, his eyes are twitching, there's a nasty gash on his forehead and his nose bleeds profusely. I need a breath; breath, you idiot; I shake him, say something! Hans! He's dazed and injured, I need to take him out of here!..

... But there are many footsteps behind me. I twist my head. I'm surrounded. This man against the sun. A shade like Runt. Every hair on the nape of my neck is standing. He's just there, clean armor, clean hands, standing like the victor without a weapon in his hand. I can't see his face, shadowed by the visor of his helmet, but his voice booms out, and makes my core shake. I won't lie, I'm terrified. Not about my future in this moment, but for Hans. They want to claim him, make him a hostage. Not this again. No. Father, I...

I won't allow it. Fuck you, you coward, if you want to get him, you have to take me first! The man snickers and peels off his helmet. He goes on, he warns me but it's not enough. I let him know he's nothing but a cowardly shit and I'll take him on. Look at the knight boy, he scorns. He gives in and concedes my wish. We duel.

He can't stop smirking under his mustache, I must erase that. It's not an easy task, he's steady as a wall and my heart, racing in my throat, is making my hands tremble. He parries all my strikes, tiring me even more. But I push, I keep on moving forward, I make so many mistakes, I don't care. I will erase him. He goes hard for my head, making my headgear shift, blood gushes out of my eyebrow. Red, I can only see red. My grip on my sword suddenly becomes tight and I manage to catch the following high and straight cut to my head with my sword in both hands. I push my left hand and the pommel flies straight to his eyes. Red, only red is what I saw.

The man crumbles to his knees, hands to the face. I will erase you. I raise both hands to the sky, sword about to fall heavy on his neck, when these hands and arms grab me tightly and make me drop my weapon. There's a knife to my neck, I shift violently but they refuse to let go, and I'm slowly feeling the world is going mellower around me, I'm too tired to struggle. I'm sorry... Hans, this is over. I thought I could have done so much, so much more. I'm no good. Not good.

The face with the bloodied sight straightens up and walks towards me. He says: You have no idea in what you got yourself into.

(Fun fact, I fought Zizka with short sword and shield, not a longsword like the cutscene and defeated him in two strikes. Runt part deux, so anticlimatic lmao. will re-edit this on the evening, soz for the mistakes and such.)

EDIT: I already did something similar based on Zizka's duel with Henry

[mothiepixie]

Been thinkin about fae Boysen and now i have questions. He lives in autumn so does he run the guard there? I don’t see Boysen being just a simple guard, he’d be a man of higher status. Right? That’s why Nightmare calls him as one of his “finest knights”. Or does he work months in winter then take breaks to return home in autumn?

I guess I’m just curious about what his routine is like and how that leads into him meeting Motti.

I need some Boysen lore to stop by brain from rotting into oblivion. He’s so elusive and mysterious, I need to know more! (If you’d like to share that is) >w<

Boysen spends some time in Winter depending on the type of duties that are required of him, but often going between Seasons for business and personal reasons. He will take the place of Nightmare (Hiemal)’s other knights or guards, either standing by his King’s side while Nightmare's other subordinates are tasked with other duties.

 He is also Commander and often busy training, or overseeing branches. He can also be delegated with the task of collecting taxes or managing landholders. Other times he’s doing damage control on the outskirts of Autumn and Winter from dragons, rogue faes, etc. There are even occasions where he is trusted with more…darker tasks. Boysen will do anything that is required of him per his King’s orders. 

In Autumn, he chose to reside there because that is his birthplace and he does run several businesses and owns some land there. He will spend a few months, or however long he can, in Autumn to attend to his personal duties (and to make sure Crust hasn’t burned down their manor). While he would like to keep his Knightly duties strictly when he is serving in Winter, he does have to oversee and uphold his duties in Autumn as well. 

“Finest Knight” is because of his dedication and hardwork, but more so Boysen was around for the tail end of the war, and showed a great amount of bravery and loyalty towards Nightmare. Boysen suffered a great deal in the war and Nightmare showed his gratitude and sympathy by bestowing Boysen with land and small wealth. 

While also Boysen being tasked to be Motti’s guide on the occasional, Motti does travel between the seasons for her own business. She even provides the fabric for some of the shops that Boysen owns. Lots of opportunities to run into each other….teehee

[loonarmuunar]

Pauper, protector, prince.

I wanted to give a proper tribute to the chokehold of a broken family bond by @dekupalace! So. Take this‼️‼️

Extra under cut!!

Some contrived stuff bfkgk:

Siffrin’s head is turned up, towards the crown. A reference to how Siffrin mentions many times how he has to loop up higher and higher to see the King.

Flowers resembling the party! This is a reference to another fic, Bloom! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check it out!! Siffrin is crushing the flowers under his heels.

The flower in Siffrin’s hair is a nadine jessie, a type of dahlia. Obviously supposed to represent Nadine, but I wanted it specifically in Siffrin’s hair bc of the festival :) (couldn’t get it on their hat bc of the angle lol)

Siffrin holds a rose tucked between his palm and thumb, representing the King. I chose a rose, because of its connection to theatre, and its thorns.

Siffrin’s pose is knightly in nature, but without a sword or any grand weapon. They hide their dagger behind their back, alluding to the role he’s supposed to play. He is a knight, a protector, without any of the grace or nobility.

Siffrin faces away from the stars, and his face is shadowed, kinda alluding to Siffrin’s doubts of if this is really the right thing, if they are truly doing what the universe wants. Siffrin is, literally, turning their back to the stars.

Songbirds- I talked about this in a comment, but basically in my mind Siffrin taking the plunge into having to assassinate Mirabelle kinda reminds me of Eurydice from Hadestown agreeing to go to Hadestown.

The songbirds are specifically loggerhead shrikes, songbirds that impale their prey on sharp things like brambles and wire. Beforehand they paralyze their prey by biting down on the spinal cord with their tomial tooth. This made me think of King’s time craft freezing, or “paralyzing” Vaugarde.

I was inspired by this wonderful animatic for it! Also I just really love birds and will take ANY chance to include them in a drawing. (and Loggerhead shrikes translate very well to a desaturated color scheme—)

The king’s hair is staining from white to black/black to white, like Nadine’s hair dye.

ANYWAYS!!! YEAH!!! This is kinda a love letter, so to speak, for this fic, but to these fanworks in general :) If you haven’t already seen them, please check out these wonderful and creative works. I absolutely adore them all, and they deserve love!!

[runawaymun]

@mielwriting

re this post bc it's too long for me to fit in a normal tumblr reply:

I'd love to! (Most, but not all) western depictions of dragons envision them as monsters -- either good or evil. Many legends paint them as greedy and jealous. They live underneath mountains and hoard gold. They take princesses and lock them in a tower. A hero eventually comes to slay the beast. This is, of course, an overgeneralization because there are also a few tales in which they are wise and lend advice, and there are a few rare exceptions in modern tales where dragons are as intelligent as humans - or more intelligent than humans, but they are also just as often depicted as like...basically a really intelligent animal. They're a type of monster. Chiefly: they're aggressive, jealous, and possessive.

The western mind views lions as symbols of power and strength - "the king of beasts". We actually can see the direct dichotomy in the western mind between dragons and lions in Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, where the hero rescues a lion from a great serpent. The lion becomes his loyal companion, and is associated with knightly virtue. They're associated with kings and royalty (Richard the Lionheart, Robert III - the Lion of Saxony), and the word "lionize" means to give someone approval and treat them with great importance. In The Twelve Huntsmen, a lion appears as advisor to the king. In Aarne-Thompson-Uther's index, we see over and over again lions as a hero's helper or a protagonist in its own right.

So, by contrast, the Chinese dragon is one of the auspicious beasts. Historically, they were a symbol of the emperor. They represent prosperity, wisdom, and power, associated with rivers, the sky, and rain, and are benevolent, kind beasts who foster harmony. In fact, the disparity is so immense that in 2008, the Chinese government decided against using a dragon as the Olympic team's mascot because of how dragons are viewed in the west and opted for a more 'friendly' symbol instead.

This is why so many fanon depictions of Zhongli drive me crazy. He gets slapped with so many western dragon traits (jealous, possessive of his partner because oh that's just how dragons are, a general lack of emotional intelligence -- and the idea that he was a bloodthirsty maniac during the archon war before Guizhong 'tamed' him, loves to live beneath a mountain or deep underground). Granted, not all fics are like this, but most fics use at least one of these ideas even though they're in direct conflict with what the game presents to us. Rex Lapis, during and before the archon war, was a kind and benevolent ruler who -- when his people had no houses -- crafted houses for them out of pure gold. He "wished not for dominion", but couldn't stand by and watch people suffer. He doesn't like to fight, but he's good at it and he's strong, so he feels an inherent sense of duty to protect his people.

His character stories are quite clear that though he has never been poor himself, he understands what it means to be poor. He's empathetic, thoughtful, and generous to a fault. That's in his character short where, after hearing that the item was a family heirloom pawned out of necessity, he buys back that jewelry from the pawn shop vendor and quietly returns it to its owner with some living expenses on the side. Prior to faking his death, he personally ran Liyue alongside the Qixing, to the point that both Keqing and Ganyu have expressed how much more intense their workload has become now that he's not doing everything. He's warm, wise, kind, and treats his friends with great respect. So yeah it came as a shock to me and still really bothers me how poorly he is portrayed in a lot of fics -- as this emotionally unintelligent, oblivious, bad-at-feelings hunk. Especially when he's not even actually a dragon. He just chose to look part dragon, part qilin, in an effort to communicate his nature to his people with symbols they would understand.

Anyway I could talk about him for way too long, thank you for coming to my tedtalk. I just think that if English-speaking writers took a second to consider their own bias and look up some information about Chinese dragons, they'd write him very differently.

[jon-sedai]

Underrated reason why Lyanna as the KotLT just works is because it follows a pattern of deconstruction re the concept of knightly chivalry and honor, from Lyanna herself to her son 15yrs+ later. Lyanna as the KotLT is a gender-swapped version of the ‘knight rescues a helpless maiden from raucous bullies’ trope, but grrm of course puts his spin on it because one Lyanna is not even a knight to begin with and two, she’s a girl. Then knight!Lyanna fights the bullies which is again an adaptation of another trope: the ‘mysterious knight-errant enters the joust and wins then dips’, which is interesting because these types of knights sometimes fall into the black knight trope. And the black knight is, more often than not, not the hero. But the main reason why this is so interesting is Jon. Lyanna “cosplays” a black knight, but her son Jon later becomes an actual black knight. Jon then repeats his mother’s actions by defending Sam in AGoT, which is another subversion of the aforementioned ‘knight rescues a helpless maiden trope’ because the helpless maiden in this case is a helpless…lad…Though Jon and Lyanna acting as agents outside the bounds of knighthood (Lyanna being a northern woman and Jon being a member of the NW) puts them more in line with the traditional black knight (who is usually an anti-hero/villain), the actual essence of their actions puts them closer to the more valiant and honorable white knight according to tradition.

[laurelwen]

Nigel's Book Details: Spread Four

Using the order in which each spread is presented in the scene where Alex finally reads through Nigel's book, this is the fourth spread.

Text

Sadly, this is yet another spread wherein the text excerpts and the handwritten notes remain illegible even with sharpening/image filtering.

Central Image: Tomb of Philippe Pot

This spread is dominated by one large image across both pages. Despite the awkward angle and distortion from running across the gutter between pages, it was actually fairly easy to identify this image with the right search terms.

This is an old photograph of the tomb of Philippe Pot, a funerary monument currently housed in the Louvre. It was commissioned around 1480 by Philippe, some 13 years before his death. It represents the Burgundian style popular at the time, with 8 mourners serving as pallbearers holding up an effigy of Philippe, carved from limestone and painted and gilded.

Philippe Pot

Philippe was a scholar and bibliophile, raised at the court of the Dukes of Burgundy, a powerful political state at the time. He was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a chivalric order founded by Duke Philip the Good. This honor was stripped from him when he defected to serve King Louis XI of France, later brokering a truce between the two warring states, and he was appointed seneschal of Burgundy by King Louis.

The Monument

Philippe was buried at Citeaux Abbey, in the chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. During the French Revolution, all church property was claimed by the state, and it was first relocated to another abbey and then purchased by a private owner to decorate his garden. It was moved and sold a few more times before being acquired by the Louvre in 1889. It was cleaned and restored a few times after this photograph was taken, and its current appearance can be seen below.

The mourners, called "pleurants", each bear a painted and gilded heraldic shield that refers to specific members of Pot's lineage, indicating the monument is of the "kinship tomb" type. The four shields on the left represent the heraldries of Guillaume III Pot (d. c. 1390) and Raguenonde Guénant, the Cortiambles family, the Anguissola family, and the de Blaisy family. Those on the left represent the de Montagus and de Nesles, and two unidentified families.

The Gothic script inscriptions around the edges of the platform recount the deeds of Philippe and explain his reasons for switching sides.

The animal at the feet of the effigy was poorly restored by prior generations resulting in loss of some detail. Historians disagree on whether it was meant to represent a lion or a dog but many see it as a dog, a popular symbol of loyalty in Burgundian tomb art.

I think I'll call him Luther.

Further reading: The Order of the Golden Fleece

Another organization founded in the late Middle Ages, but not a monastic order like the Templars. This order still exists today in two separate branches. The Spanish order has become an order of merit of the state, while the Austrian order has remained a Catholic chivalric order and is recognised even by the Republic of Austria as an international legal entity. Considered to be a highly prestigious honor even today.

My research has dredged up no particular historical association between this order and anything involving Templars or Freemasons other than the mere fact that both the Templars and the Golden Fleece were knightly organizations. I also find no connection between Philippe Pot and the Templars. Based on that, I think the photo of this tomb was included purely for the aesthetics--the medieval character, the heraldic shields, the effigy of a knight are all meant to evoke the idea of Templars without actually being tied to them.

[Nigel's Book Details: Spread One] [Nigel's Book Details: Spread Two] [Like Minds Masterpost]

[sillovain]

War without Grace or Honour

Part 3, some overlooked parts of the Erdtree Crusade. At present, the crusade has fragmented into several groups with conflicting aims. Yet even ignoring that, this is an army that was largely staffed by the Golden Order's undesirables. Are these people a problem to the very society they came from? Also why Crusade timeline is surprisingly solid. lore essay tag -> #treesandbeasts

1.1 Leadership

At the head of this army is a lord so accursed that an insurrection occurs when he reveals his true nature. At present, he hides in a dark tower with his loyal knights who are not found elsewhere.

I think it is wrong to solely blame the insurrection on Messmer being "cursed". Another cursed demigod - Malenia, lives her entire life in the public eye. She too has a following of loyal knights that embody her curse, but the Fire Knights are driven from their homes while Cleanrots become revered soldiers of The Shattering. Malenia enjoys a certain dignity that Messmer was never given.

Why? clearly not all curses are seen as equal. Or it could be something he did. Who knows.

see. Fort of Reprimand for the aftermath of the Huw/Andres incident

The crusade's second-in-command is the only politically significant member of an extremely persecuted people. Even as an army commander, he lives outside in a shack behind the castle with one other Albinauric. While we don't know if the status of Albinurics has changed with time, there are no (known) high standing Albinaurics in modern Erdtree society. The manor servant Pidia is (apparently) as good as it gets.

Accompanying the Erdtree forces is a large Carian contingent. The warrior princess that leads them "forsook her birthright", and had to swear loyalty to the Erdtree via. ritual combat. The Carian's senior sorcerer/high priest has in turn gone off to pursue arcane mysteries for personal reasons.

1.2 Common Crusaders

The common soldier of the Crusade is a member of the "Ignoble Penal Battalion" (ie. a prisoner conscript). As for their fighting style? don't ask why it resembles the old banished king, whose people were seen as barbarians.

The Hero starting class; "descendant of Badlands chieftain" has an iron chain around the waist. Which could mean anything.

The common knight of this army is a Crucible Incantation user. This type of magic that is rare in the present day, save for Crucible Knights who seem to have become wandering mercenaries. Meanwhile, most modern knights of the Erdtree follow the Ancient Dragon Cult.

Why is this older knightly religion also shared by the very people targeted by said crusade?

1.3 Schisms

The elite Fire Knights are the disowned children of Leyndell nobility, its explicit that Messmer's reputation predates the crusade (see. Fire Knight Helmet). Among these elite crusaders, each one seems to have gone off to pursue some personal agenda in the present day. Shadow Keep's western gate is blocked by the rogue Fire Knight Salza, who refused orders to the burn the ancient ruins beyond. His mentor Wego is trapped and playing with zombies in the cathedral basement.

Across Shadow Keep, every depiction of their god (save for one) has been defaced. The flooded section of the keep is specifically: The Cathedral District. Also, its stated that some of the crusaders have either forsaken incantations entirely (see. Scadutree spells only found in Shadow Keep) or have secretly adopted local beliefs (see. Spiraltree Seal).

Why is Hilde enshrined atop the storehouse? think about it.

All this is to say that; whatever the original mission the crusaders may have bought into, it no longer matters. At present they have wandered off to pursue personal agendas. Which is not unreasonable, as they have been abandoned by Erdtree society at large.

2.1 The "Long Crusade" Rant

I am just going to keep repeating that there is a canon timeline window to when the Crusade happens (its a Marika-Radagon Era event). Its also to say theories about how "the crusade put Marika on the throne" or "nobody knows about Messmer because he has born in the Land of Shadow and never left" are really baffling to me.

Messmer recognizes the player as Tarnished, he is aware of Godfrey's exile.

Ritual duels are seen as foreign to the crusaders (see. Thrusting Sheild), arenas have been closed topside. The Marika-Godfrey age is over

Shadow Keep has minor Erdtrees growing on its grounds, something that only came about after the Age of Plenty ended.

Messmer and his loyal knights were banished from Leyndell. The Fire Knights were specifically from well respected elite families, this obviously requires for there to be an Erdtree noble class with deep history.

Troops such as Perfumers and Tree Sentinels require the Erdtree religion to already exist.

At Fort of Reprimand, you can find Abductor Virgins, Rykard already has his job as inquisitor. There's also Omen Killers, hence the Omen curse cannot be a result of the crusade (the base game already states where said curse originates).

Then, you have the entire Carian contingent and specifically Commander Gaius, who was Radahn's sparring partner. Radahn is also said to have looked up to Messmer as a mentor figure. The Liurnia Wars are long over, Rennala and Radagon have adult children at this point.

Romina acquires the discarded "wings of the rot goddess", Malenia has been born and her rot has been suppressed.

Some have tried to argue for a "Long Crusade", claiming that this war has spanned the entirety of The Golden Order's history, hence the above evidence being invalid. A few reasons why I think this idea is bad. For one, there is nothing that points to the crusade being ancient history (so why argue for it be in first place?).

Next, the veil over the Land of Shadow already exists during the crusade, Enir-Ilim is protected from burning (you can see the fire's limit in the trailer, also in-game).

If Erdtree forces have been freely marching in and out of the Land of Shadow over the ages, why bother to cover it at all?

If The Land of Shadow was easy to access across the Erdtree age, why call it "a long-forgotten place where none would tread"? Why would Erdtree priests need to "quell the fears of their flock"?

There's a bigger discussion about how much anyone in the crusade knows anything about the past (that topic is too big for this essay).

The "Long Crusade" idea also creates this bizarre scenario where the city of Belurat is somehow tougher to conquer than all Fire Giants, Ancient Dragons and nations of The Lands Between. Note that Belurat does not even have a standing army, you are attacked by civilians and priests in the city, the only arms bearing members of this society are a few Sculpted Keepers. There's is no evidence that something like a Belurat common soldier even exists.

Think about why this society had to repurpose Divine Dancers and free Curseblades from jail to fight. This is not a particularly militarized society.

The kicker here is that there are "Shadow Ghosts" that preserve a record of people who died in the Land of Shadow. If there ever was an older generation of crusader or armies of Hornsent common soldiers, they have left zero evidence of their existence.

You could point to the commoner ghosts in Shadow Keep, but its unknown what they even represent.

Closing Thoughts

Messmer's Crusade is known as "war without grace or honour". It is not celebrated nor is it even remembered, all participants (both friend and foe) are abandoned and forgotten. Contrast this with the Giant's War, where Godfrey and co. are remembered as heroes for exterminating the Fire Giants, so I don't think genocide is the factor here.

I think it's important to note that the very society that started the crusade does not want to discuss it. This war is different. Why? I don't have a good answer. I just want more people to think about this part of the lore.

~ Thanks for reading

[moodymisty]

A shorter rant incoming

I want to be fucked by Lion so badly. Specifically dilf lion. I think he would be the type of dilf that likes fat rolls, thick thighs, cellulite ass - any indication that means one is overweight. I want to feel his big hands on me. I want to feel his beard while he eats me out. I want beard rashes on my thighs. Gosh, his beard is so sexy. In any fanart I see of him, he in general is the sexiest. He is such a dilf. I love him. He is the reason I forced myself to socialise. I want to be covered in his thick cum. I want to be fucked in every hole by him. It would be so hot. I love him so much. Younger him was such an arsehole and now, a bit better in terms of personality, he is also even hotter. Like 30k lion was hot in like a knightly fashion (snobbish knight) but 40k Lion I can see him being an actual knight with knightly traits. I know the actual term is used for lesbian women, but I would love to be his pillow princess

Thank you for letting me rant.

Hey, my askbox is always open for horny rants XD I love dilf lion also, it was a MASSIVE improvement.

The beard is just, mmmmmsldjkflskjdf