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Skrael and Mythology and Legends inspirations

Yeesss I did it for Bellroc, I'm going to do it for Skrael now! Well... we all know who Skrael is, he is a primordial demigod of cold, snow and icy winds and storms. He is sadistic and ruthless, he is a great manipulator, cunning and observant and strangely patient. He has the ideal qualities of a final antagonist, but in the series he comes across more as Bellroc's right-hand than anything else. There are several mythologies that may have influenced the creation of the character.

Of course, I'm going to talk about his Wendigo influence first because it's the most obvious and observed one. There are several similarities to the Wendigos and Skrael, firstly his black cloak which appears to be torn at the end of his cloak and with a long horned animal skull worn on his hooded head. The typical Wendigo appearance we all know, except Skrael has more of a humanoid appearance, the skull could be a wendigo he killed (potentially). But the animalized appearance of the wendigo is a creation of Algernod Blackwood in the 70s (thanks Until Dawn for this information). The true legend of the wendigos comes from the legends of the Anishinàbemiwin tribe, in these legends they were much more humanoid, skeletal with grey skin, bald, sharp teeth, terrifying and bloodthirsty/anthropophagous creatures. Which could explain Skrael's appearance under his cape and without his hood and his animal skull. However this is only physical, what could approach Skrael that is outside of physical appearance would be the fact that wendigos are associated with the sins of gluttony, greed or excess of any kind. They are never satisfied after killing a person to devour them, and they are constantly looking for new victims. You see where I'm going with this? Skrael is also power hungry, he wants more and more, he wants the world all to himself. He is also very sadistic and he likes to torment and torture mortals especially humans. So the wendigos fits him well. Aside from the fact that he seems to be a more civilized version of what a wendigo is… probably because Skrael is not just inspired by the legend of the wendigos...

This is where we come to the second part, the legend of Jack Frost. Another one that seems obvious, but I decided to start with the most obvious to the least obvious. Jack Frost is another legend that may recall Skrael, although his interpretation varies greatly between cultures and eras. In European and Anglo-Saxon legends, Jack Frost embodies the spirit of winter and frost, a mischievous being, capable of transforming landscapes into icy expanses and drawing frost patterns on windows. However, Jack Frost is not as jovial as some modern versions portray him, he is often a mysterious character, a capricious and sometimes cruel spirit, indifferent to the effects of his frost on human beings. Jack Frost is often depicted as a small elf, fast, mischievous yet innocent with a childlike character. He can also become dangerous and freeze people on the spot, if they anger him. His physique can have winter aspects: white hair, his eyes of the color blue, ice on his clothes. The two characters are very similar, much more in personality than physically. Physically we find the gel on the clothes, the blue icy eyes, the young appearance (most of the time Jack Frost is young in representations), the pale blue skin (yes Jack Frost has pale skin that looks almost blue) and the albino side that Skrael has but only on his eyelashes which are white. In terms of personality, they both are mischievous, they don't care how others might feel and they think ice/snow is better than anything. In folk tales, Jack Frost is a spirit who acts according to his own desires, without respect for humans. This indifference to the suffering of others is also found in Skrael, who sees cold as a means of purifying the world.

For the third part, I placed it here randomly, but I wanted to talk about Ymir even though there is very little to say. As we all know, Ymir is a primordial frost giant from Norse mythology. Ymir is described as one of the first beings in the universe, born from the meeting of the fire of Muspellheim and the ice of Niflheim, and he is the ancestor of all frost giants. This ancient and primordial nature is reflected in Skrael, a guardian who embodies an ancient and immutable force of winter, a power that seems to have been there since the beginning of the world. Norse mythology tells us that the gods killed Ymir and used his body to create the world: his flesh became the earth, his blood the oceans, his bones the mountains, and his skull the sky. I see this as some sort of proof that Skrael's titan is his true form and his first form, his separation from his original body makes him less strong. The giant that is Ymir must have been a potential inspiration for Skrael's titan, the fact that he is a primordial giant like Skrael is a primordial demigod titan. And the fact that they were both separated from their bodies as well, shows some resemblance between them.

Finally, I didn't think to add it in my "analysis" but… I will finally talk about Khione. Why Khione and not Boreas, the god of the north wind? Because apart from their title, their cruelty and their power I found nothing else to say about this charlatan who definitely does not know consent. To make the rest of my analysis more meaningful, I would like to warn you that I am talking about Khion from Rick Riordan's books. Like Skrael, Khione is a snow goddess, she masters snow, cold and ice. She is able to create storms, freeze objects and manipulate temperature, and she also likes to turn people into ice statues… like Skrael. Both share this feeling of indifference to human and other creatures, they are devoid of empathy, they are implacable deities, detached from human emotions and indifferent to the suffering or destruction they inflict. This lack of pity or empathy reinforces their merciless nature, each imposing cold without a soul. In Riordan's works, Khione aspires to power and the reign of winter. She is ambitious, seeking to dominate or make winter a supreme force. In a similar way, Skrael embodies this vision of eternal winter. Both want the cold to reign supreme and do not want a natural cycle where spring would return, but rather a world frozen forever under their icy control. Khione and Skrael are both beings of solitude. Khione, like a goddess of the icy heights, is distant from the world of humans and rarely interacts with them, preferring her solitude. Skrael, is a spirit isolated from any attachment and emotional warmth, he shares the same thoughts as Khione, he does not want to interact and mingle with other creatures and even less humans. There is also the connection between Khione and Gaia in Rick Riordan's universe and between Skrael and Nari which can present interesting parallels. In Heroes of Olympus, Khione allies with Gaia, the Earth Goddess, for her own ambitions of power and to bring about eternal winter. Khione sees Gaia as a primordial force that can help her impose her rule. Similarly, Skrael allies with Nari to wipe humanity from Earth and bring about eternal winter (although this is not explicitly stated in the series). Khione, though independent and ambitious, knows that Gaia is a greater power than she is, a primordial entity that surpasses other natural forces. She acts to serve Gaia's interests, even if she hopes to profit from them. Skrael and Nari are equals compared to them, but what does not change is that Skrael takes advantage of Nari, in order to achieve his goal.

The name of "Skrael" comes from Norse culture. The Vikings used the term "Skræling" to refer to the indigenous peoples they encountered in North America, including the Inuit and other indigenous groups of Greenland and "Newfoundland". In Old Norse, Skræling means "weak" or "barbarian" or "foreigner", with a connotation of "skin" or "bark", which could indicate a pejorative view. The term was often used to mark the perceived difference between the Vikings and the peoples they encountered. It is also possible that in "Skrael" there are cold or icy sounds. For example, "sk-" at the beginning of the name (like "skeleton" and "skull") may have a visual sound associated with something hard, bony, or cold.

Finally, to conclude, Skrael is an interesting antagonist even if we don't know much about him. He is ruthless, reckless, observant, sadistic and patient, the perfect antagonist inspired by legends and myths.

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I tried to find the meaning of Bellroc's name. [which I later added to their wiki-page for trivia]

BELLROC

Bellroc's name was meant to evoke volcanic fire and molten rock.

It can be assumed that parts of Bellroc's name was inspired by the arrogant Greek hero, "Bellerophon" with their names being almost identical to the sound.

Some similarities may be seen, for example; as both Bellroc and Bellerophron were blinded, both have a large ego who think they are superior to others.

However, in Bellerophon's case, he was blinded by a thorn bush, while as Bellroc's main eyes were blinded by Deya with the use of the Sword of Daylight.

In Bellroc's model sheet, they were previously named "Beelroc", which could possibly be a reference to the Sin of Gluttony, Beelzebub or Beelzebuth.

The name Beelzebub is often derived from "Baal-Zebub," with "Baal" being a Semitic god of the ancient Near East and "Zebub" being the lord of flies. A possible stretch in a sense could involve seeing the "Bell" part of the name as it's mostly connected to sounds and noises, which a fly makes.

The 'roc' in Bellroc's name may be a reference to the mythological bird, "Roc".

It's been said that part of the mythological creature's idea is the Indian solar bird, Garunda. [Solar is the radiant energy frim the sun's light, as the sun is blazing hot it can be reimagined as fire] The Roc symbolizes strength and formidable. [In which Gunmar called Bellroc a "forimidable wizard] and that the demigod has incredible strength.

This could be an inspiration for Bellroc's feather-coat and bird-like skull mask.

[Though I could not connect their name to "volcanic fire" and "molten rock ]

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AAAAWWWWHSHHSHS THE LITTLE

Sorry if it’s too blurry… my baby Skrael c:

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Hyperfixation is a biatch actually cus it got me liking vids of my fave from 2021.

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I love them sm

Young Sheldon reference!!

AJHIWIWUEUE my little boy ugh retch

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oh my gosh

A lil direct💔

Y’all know the brainrot bad when “iced red velvet mocha” makes you think of a cookie run Rarepair

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Darkvelvet in a bad apple?....

wait, say that again-

Y'all have no idea how much I LOVEEEE DARKVELVETTTT

I really need this ship it literally nourishes my hunger I'LL EAT EVERY FANART

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Idk why but I think skrael of the North wind would fw digital art and call the lasso tool magic

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I really like painting,,,

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Y'all I don't get it what's artfight and why are we artfighting

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You are someone worth looking for.

Yes, this is kung fu panda if you couldn't tell.

85 hours under 5 mins... God forbid I don't make every "simple doodle" into an entire project💔

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Featuring - The chameleon from kfp 4, and Lord shen from kfp 2. The first I've heard about them in a post, (randomly, I tell you.) I immediately fell in love with them and like made a bunch of dynamics about them. This artwork is meant to potray my main idea abt them heheheebd

The story (in summary) goes like this. When the chameleon was pulled into the spirit realm, she was deeply ashamed for what she had done. In a realm full of masters who worked hard to get to where they were, she was outcasted and sent to another part of the spirit realm, basically into isolation (To like reflect ig? Maybe not. You could somewhat also percieve it as a kind of "hell") due to not learning kung fu on her own, and instead, stealing power that doesn't belong to her.

(Starting with shame again) She couldn't even get herself to look at her own reflection. And when lord shen found his way there, she wouldn't look into his eyes. And literally did anything to cover her eyes. Shen wasn't fully aware that she had stolen power, they used to have some kind of relationship until he was banished from gongmen city and never heard of each other ever since. Only now have they met, (also including that one interaction in kfp 4)

The eyes are a window to the soul, and if anyone were to see that her soul was totally not based off being a kung fu master, ig who wouldn't be ashamed (Since the spirit realm was actually some kind of heaven made SPECIFICALLY for kung fu masters. And SHE wasn't one, though wanted to become one.)

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"___(ship name) save me." But it's the ship that needs more saving.

"___(character name) save me." But it's the CHARACTER that needs saving.🥀

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CHAMELEON MY GIIIRLLLLLLLL

I love her design

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I drew lord shen in roblox!! Lord shenners fans rise🙏

(The game is free draw :3)

I swear the quote does have something to do with him trust🥀🥀

Only a sketch I wasn't able to finish, lazy, I know. So I wasn't able to add his recognizable features or even color.

And eughh.. The hand sucks...

(are kfp fans even online anymore🙏)

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I swear if DreamWorks isn't on a budget or something, they really show off their movies. Like bro, Troll hunters?? ROTT? Kung fu panda??? The wild robot??

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Original video: michozzzita on tiktok :3

I love heat abnormal so much ☄️🌆

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One paragraph took three hours.

Still not happy with it.

Might just quit writing and become a goat farmer.