#alkaid daughter of mizar

[zaranthropy]

I've been looking at Suzumi star pages (particularly the arabic ones) and getting some Symbolism Revelations™ this evening that people may enjoy as food for thought.

Starting with the most lore-related one, Benny's name is often theorized to come from Benetnasch, the first star in the Big Dipper constellation. What nobody tells you however is that benny's star is originally called Alkaid, "the leader". Benetnasch comes from banaatunna'ash (Arabic; "بنات نعش", "the mourning maidens" lit. "Daughters of the bier") and is the arabic name of the big dipper constellation. A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave. This relates to the original myth of Banaatunna'ash.

for the Bedouins of the Syrian desert, the Daughters of Nash accuse al-Jaday, i.e. Polaris, to have killed their father. But al-Farqadân [Ursa Minor] deem that the killer is not al-Jaday but Suhayl, and interpose between them and the North star. That is the reason why they are called al Hawâjzîn, “the Interposers”: they prevent the daughters from slaking their thirst for vengeance, and condemn them to turn indefinitely around the Pole.

From Our Arabic Heritage in the Celestial Vault.

Why this is interesting is because not only is Benny depicted to be the "leader" of the Suzumi collective– in the same constellation's naming origins (which influenced the names of Alkaid and Benetnasch), not only is Suzumi as a whole a being who seeks to sate their bloodlust for vengeance on Tsubakura, there also exists a Hamal among Alkaid's two companion stars, the other two mourning maidens.

The daughters of the bier, i.e. the mourning maidens, are the three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper, Alkaid, Mizar, and Alioth; while the four stars of the bowl, Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe, are the bier.

From Medieval Islamic Astronomy.

Considering how Hamee often refers to themself as a maiden, this could point to a potential explanation as to why they do this.

Moving onto Hamee's star, Hamal – the current name of the star – (arabic; "حَمْل") refers to a little year-old lamb originally and not the ram as one may envision when looking at its relationship to Aries, this was an interpertation later introduced by the Greek. The star itself also is originally called "the horns of the lamb", specifically in reference to the tiny nubs you'd see on the head of a first-year fat tailed sheep, and is a similar case as with Benetnasch [name of constellation becomes the name of star because "wah arabic complicated" or something]. This exact type of sheep is also the one that would've been there for Jesus times if biblical allegories are your thing (parable of the lost sheep comes to mind). Also, in modern usage, the star is called "the headbutter/the headstrong", (Arabic; الناطح), so do with that what you will.

Arde has to have had the coolest one by far methinks, as Aldebaran is the only Suzumi star name that doesn't originally belong to a constellation and retains its original Arabic form plus it's the one with the most well-rounded mythology and cultural significance that just so happens to fit Arde well. To start, let's talk about the constellation right next to Aldebaran. Al-Thuriyya (Pleiades) has to be THE most famous constellation in Arab star mythology, being also related to Suhail (remember that guy?), and is also the reason of the name Aldebaran (Arabic; الدِبَران (full historical name; "الهادي الدِبَران")), meaning "The Follower" or "The Pursuing One", being given to the star right on its northwestern side.

According to an Arab legend from some point in the 7th century, Aldebaran was a poor and destitute person, while Al-Thuriyya was a beautiful and young girl. She impressed Aldebaran, so he decided to propose to her. He wanted someone to accompany him to the engagement ceremony, but he did not find anyone. So he went to the moon and asked him to try as much as he could to marry him to her, and the moon complied and went to her. But she refused, and after the moon pressed her, she said: “What should I do with this runt who has no money?”. The moon returned and told Aldebaran what had happened, but Aldebaran insisted on marrying her. He only owned sheep, so he took them all to Al-Thuriyya so that she would agree to marry him. The twenty sheep that Aldebaran led to the Pleiades are what came to be called “The Hyades,” which became the name of a star cluster that appears close to Aldebaran in the sky. The two stars near Aldebaran are his dogs, which he took with him and the sheep. As such, Aldebaran began to guide (follow) the Pleiades in the sky forever, along with his sheep, guiding them wherever they went. Thus, Aldebaran became a symbol of loyalty, while the Pleiades became a symbol of treachery. This loyalty was even mentioned in some Arabic proverbs: “More loyal than Al-Hadi (Al-Hadi Al-Dabran (Aldebaran)) and more treacherous than Al-Thuriyya (the Pleiades).”

Aldebaran also takes onto some mythology of its own as well, being a star whose rising is known to signal the beginning of the harshest periods of summer– Aldebaran became a star of ill omen to the Arabs of ancient times, even earning its own threatening rhymed prose;

اذا طلع الدبران, توقدت الحزان, وكرهت النيران, واستعرت الذبان, ويبست الغدران, ورمت بأنفسها حيث شاءت الصبيان.

When Aldebaran [the Follower] rises, the rugged lands abounding in jagged rocks burn, the fires are hated, the flies spread like fire, the pools of water left by torrents dry up, and the young children throw themselves wherever they desire.

From When the Follower Rises.

Seeing as Arde is the Suzumi who often keeps Hamee in check, holding them on a proverbial leash, them being "the follower" makes a lot of sense when you consider their canonical position (as one who herds sheep (Hamee) while following the leader (Benny)). They also share similarities with Benetnasch, having two lesser stars associated with them (the "dogs") and being the brightest star of their respective constellations. Hamee is the only one who only has one lesser star, poor hambone.

Tl;dr I'm just sharing my silly region-locked star lore for everyone else to enjoy 😊 hope this unlocks as much Suzumi headcanons in your brain as it did mine

[leedoobles]

a mock up poster for a dnd game i play in, as a gift for @s7nnyflowers, the incredible dm 💖💖💖

☕|⭐|✨|🐦

[mrpenguinpants]

Childe/Tartaglia: “Enemies” to “Lovers”

Aww, thank you 💕💕 All of you are so lovely ;-; Coming out from the bushes and attacking me.

Have you guy’s seen the Childe trailer? It’s in Chinese but holy shit I want him?? Who is Xiao anymore? WHAT ARE LOYALTIES??? I’m gonna ATTEMPT to roll for Childe. I love snake two faced characters so much.

I’ve never written for Childe before and there’s not a lot to go off on but I will try my best. Honestly, he’s like Dazai 2.0 for me lol.

I’m not sure what scenario you wanted but since I’m hard simping for this man, I made this a lot a bit self indulgent. I actually had a completely different idea so that’s where the enemies to lovers title comes from before I scrapped it. Now if you’ll excuse me, here’s your 2k words of food.

Update: Guess what? You’re getting a part 2. Don’t know when but now I have a taglist if you want to be added and tagged when it comes out 

---

Childe/Tartaglia: “Enemies” to “[Lovers]”

Childe silently hops over the wall and onto the roof in the dead of night. The moon was shining high, casting dark shadows that he slips in between them as he eyes his destination. An open window leading to an important personnel. Usually, he would send an agent to observe, but once he learned who this secret person was, he decided to take it into his own hands. To stretch his muscles a bit. His hand quickly caught the edge of the window sill as he raises himself and drops into the spacious room. He whistles lowly as he looks around. This was a big room but it wasn’t that much of a surprise, considering who was staying here.

“Thank you, have a good night.”

His head perks up as he hears a voice and steps into the shadows of the room. He can faintly make out an outline of a body behind the sliding doors and stands back, out of sight. He watches as the doors slowly open and the person he’s been looking for steps in. One of the leaders of the Qixing. As soon as the door’s close behind you, your shoulder’s finally relaxed before turning around to walk to the other end of the room where a large mirror was placed. You loosen the pin holding your clothes up, finally ready to get rid of these heavy clothes. He quickly averts his eyes but your voice once again breaks the silence.

“Do you make it a habit of watching others without their knowledge or are you going to say something?” you ask as you turn around as your eyes roam around what appeared to be an empty room. He weighs his options before shrugging and stepping out into the moonlight with his arms raised in mock surrender.

“I swear I would look away. I’m a bad guy but I’m not one of those types. I promise!” He laughs casually despite the circumstance, “I’m surprised you noticed me. But I suppose one of the Qixing would be capable of such an act.”

“Oh no, you were perfect. You just came at a bad time. But who are you? You don’t act like an agent” you eyed him carefully as you fiddled with your pin.

“I’m Childe, one of the Fatui’s Eleven Harbingers,” he replies giving a mock bow in your direction. He watches your reaction to see if you’ll panic and call for the Millelith. Instead, you simply nod along and you’ve stopped fiddling with the pin on your clothing.  

“Ah, I’ve met a few of you Harbingers. You don’t look like one” you remarked as you turn around once again to finally undo the pin. Childe quickly turns his gaze away as you settle the heavy clothes on the table to fold. You pull your inner clothes closer to yourself to keep warm in the chilly room.

“I’m a bit too young to see their way of thinking. So I don’t fit in well with them,” he shrugs unbothered. He’s never liked the other Harbingers anyways, “I wasn’t aware that the Qixing had other leaders present.”

“Well, the Qixing prefer to keep things somewhat discreet-”

“Yaoguang? Is everything alright? We heard voices,” one of the Millelith cuts you off as both Childe and your eyes dart to the paper screen door. Childe steps silently towards the window sill, ready to escape if needed. He would have to do a lot of unnecessary explaining if he were caught and the Qixing were already suspicious of the Fatui.

“Yes, I’m alright. I haven’t heard anything at all. Are you sure you are alright? Maybe you should rest,” you quickly walk to the door and slide it open just enough for the Millelith to see your face. The Millelith shakes his head and quietly apologizes for disturbing you before leaving.

“That looks like my cue to go, it’s getting pretty late anyway,” Childe smiles as he ducks under the window sill and gives a small wave back to you.

“Have a good night Childe.”

“You too, Yaoguang.”

---

“Don’t you think the Qixing are a bit too secretive?”

You turn around to see Childe sitting on the window sill as he ponders the thought. His right leg is resting on his left knee as his arm hold’s his chin as he stares at the wall in front of him. You give him a quick once over before going back to what you were doing, polishing your pin.

“Are you sure one of the Fatui should be saying that? Your organization plays with deceit and trickery” you laugh quietly to yourself as you place your pin in a old wooden box. It looked out of place in the room with the crude drawings and chipped paint, but Childe thought it suited you.

“Hey, I don’t agree with those methods at least! I’m here in front of you, aren’t I? But what about you? Aren’t you keeping me a secret from the Qixing?” he grins mischievously as he directs his attention onto you. Your back to still to him but he can watch your face in the reflection of the mirror. He’s not sure if he should commend you on your relaxed expression or the fact that he could easily kill you with your back turned.

“Mm, perhaps. But I enjoy this. You may not believe me but I think of you as a friend Childe. A personal secret of mine.” you say amused as you look up into the reflection of the mirror and manage to catch his surprised expression before it disappears.

“A friend? We’ve barely known each other,” he looked at you incredulously but with a wry smile, “I might seem nice but I’m still a bad guy.”

“A lot of people in Liyue don’t appear as they seem. But I don’t consider all of them as bad people. Don’t you think so Childe?”

He doesn’t say anything. You never mention it again.

---

“I have a younger sister who is an astrologist,” you say as you’re lying back on the bed while he sits on the window sill, “she’s the one that gave me this pin except her pin is red with the star and moon.”

You held the pin up for him to take and look for himself. He slips off the window sill and walks to your lying figure to take hold of it. It was a blue pin with a star in the center and the sun’s rays lining the edges of the rim. It was a bit worn but it was in incredibly good condition. He’s seen how you look at the pin so he’s not surprised.

“Astrology huh? Aren’t you Qixing named after the Big Dipper’s stars?” he asks as he hands the pin back to you and watches your eyes take a childlike gleam. He huffs a bit amused under his breath, you always seem to get like this whenever he let’s you ramble about stars.

“Yes, Yaoguang is translated from the Alkaid star. Alkaid derives from the Arabic phrase meaning "The leader of the daughters of the bier". The daughters of the bier are the three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper, Alkaid, Mizar, and Alioth. While the four stars of the bowl, Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe, are the bie,” you ramble on making different gesture as you continue your mini lecture, “Tianquan and Yuheng are the stars Megrez and Alioth. They are here in Liyue too but Tianquan will be the one that preforms the Rite of Descension. It feels as if I’m attending my sister’s talent show even if Tianquan is older than me.”

“Hm, I’ve never looked into studying the stars. I’m more of a fighter,” Childe comments as he hears you laugh that you’re not surprised. He looks towards the moon and see’s it’s his time to leave. You give him a small wave as he starts back to the window sill before giving a small comment over his shoulder.

“You know I also have a younger sister.”

“Is she aware of what you do Childe?”

“No, of course not. Does your sister know what you do?”

“No, she doesn’t know either.”

---

“Can I see your mask?”

He unstraps it from his head and hands it to you as he watches you run your finger around the intricate details before moving it over your face. You’re both seated on the bed this time beside each other.

“I don’t understand how you can fight wearing this,” you say as you squint your eyes through the opening of the mask. He chuckles softly at the weird expression before plucking his mask out of your hands.

“Hm? I thought the Qixing were capable fighters?” he asks as he reattaches the mask to the side of his head. He rest’s his chin back onto his hand and settles back into his comfortable position.

“Yes, Tianquan uses the geo element while Yuheng uses electro,” you list off on one hand.

“What do you use?” he asks.

“Who knows” you answer.

He pouts a bit which you have to stifle your laugh at. It’s somewhat amazing how far he’s gone with this. He’s pretty busy managing business behind the scenes and getting on friendly terms with that funeral parlor man, Zhongli was it? Yet, he finds himself back here whenever he get’s a free night.

“I’m sorry for laughing but I never thought you could make such an expression. But I’m being honest. I can’t use a vision so I don’t know,” you shrug as you lie back down and close your eyes. Childe nods along even though you can’t see him. He had always thought the pin you carried was your vision until you let him hold it for himself.

“If you joined the Fatui. We could give you a vision,” he says as his gaze almost pierces through you but you continue to look unbothered. Your eye’s still remained peacefully closed.

“It’s the night before the Rite of Descension. It will be a busy day so you should get some rest before then Childe”

---

It was the day of the Rite of Descension and he had yet to see you. He knew you would be observing but wouldn’t you at least be at a vantage point where you could view the entire ritual?

“Excuse me, have you seen the Yaoguang?” he asks one of the Qixing attendants but she only looks at him confused. He’s not that surprised about that either.

“Yaoguang? I’m sorry but that leader isn’t here in Liyue right now. Did you mean to ask for Tianquan Lady Ningguang perhaps?” she attempts to correct as she gestures to the middle of the stage, where the white haired woman was standing.

“Yaoguang isn’t here? They haven’t appeared at all these past few weeks for the Rite of Descension to observe?” he asks again but the lady shook her head as he chuckled. So not even people closest to the Qixing knew that one of their leaders was being impersonated.

“Oh, sorry. Yes, I meant for Tianquan Ningguang. Sorry, these star names are a bit hard to wrap my head around” he laughs it off before walking away before the lady has time to respond.

“She is busy preparing for the Rite of Descension so she won’t be seeing anyone anytime soon. Perhaps after the ceremony if it’s urgent?” she still calls out to him before going back to her responsibilities.  

Tartaglia nods as he waves goodbye before continuing on. He never cared for the Rite of Descension but maybe today will be interesting. He spots two familiar faces in the crowd trying to get to the front to see the Rite of Descension. They seem to be friends. He laughs to himself as he reminisces all your past interactions with him. He’ll find out sooner or later who this mysterious Yaoguang impersonator is. After all, the walls have ears.

---

Part 2 perhaps? Depends on the feedback I get on this. I read about the big dipper for this fic. 

[themanuchihrglobe]

Constellation 2. al-dubb al-akbar, The Greater Bear [Ursa Major]

Professor Emilie Savage-Smith says: This constellation is the best known of all constellations, for a brilliant part of it forms what is known in our time as the Big Dipper. This latter asterism, however, forms only a part of the area covered by the Greater Bear. Because of the prominence of this area of the heavens, several different images have been superimposed upon the region.

Homer speaks of the Bear “which men also call the Wagon which ever circles where it is”. Hyginus presented the legend that it was a companion of Artemis named Callisto who became pregnant by Zeus and was changed into a bear by Artemis.

The oldest and most persistent image in the Arabic world is that of a bier or corpse-bearing plank, formed by the four bright stars in the bowl of our Dipper, followed by three mourning daughters (the three stars of the tail or Dipper handle).

Since the Greek image of the Bear is superimposed over the Bedouin bier, the constellation on the Manuchihr globe is titled Kawākib al-dubb al-akbar (constellation of the Larger Bear) written along the back. The individual names of the four stars forming the square reflect the Ptolemaic image of the bear. Thus the one in the middle of the back is labeled ẓahr al-dubb al-akbar (the back of the Greater Bear [α UMa, Dubhe]); at the base of the tail the star is named maghriz al-dubb (base of the bear [δ UMa, Megrez]); the one immediately below is called fakhdh al-dubb (thigh of the bear [γ UMa, Phecda]); and the star in the stomach is called mirāq al-dubb (loin of the bear [β UMa, Merak]).

The names of the stars in the tail arise from the Bedouin tradition. The first star of the tail is called al-jawn (the black horse [ε UMa, Alioth]). The large star in the middle of the tail is called al-‘anāq (the goat [UMa, Mizar]) and the last star of the tail is al-qā’id (the leader [η UMa, Alkaid]), possibly being viewed as the leader of the funeral train.

Another Bedouin image is reflected in the designation of the twin stars in each of the three prominently depicted feet of the Bear, These stars are labeled, beginning with the rear paw, al-qafzah al-ulā (the first leap) al-qafzah al-thāniyah (the second leap) and al-qafzah al-thālithah (the third leap) [νξλμικ UMa, respectively], and refer to the image of a deer or gazelle running before a lion. Each pair of stars was so named because they resembled the track of a deer's cloven hoof. The maker wrote the name “the third leap” in front of the front legs, perhaps intending for it to refer to the two stars above those in the lower front paw. The maker of the globe may not have understood the image of the deer, for the term for “leap” is actually incised as al-faqrah “vetebra” (a difference of two diacritical points over the word).

The constellation is composed of 27 formed stars. There are eight unformed stars, five grouped beneath the bear, with one isolated in front of the front paw and two beneath the tail.