#royal sword association

[britishassistant]

So in the main au how did the reporter meet Neige and Farena? Was it similar circumstances to meeting Chenya?

Thank you for the ask, dear anon!

Surprisingly, not really!

It was almost the reverse for the first time the Reporter met Neige. While uncovering Poison Queen’s plot to cause a doping scandal at the TV dance competition Neige is participating in, Yuu ends up quite literally smacking a bottle of dosed apple juice out of Neige’s hands on set, only to be escorted outside by security alongside Yuuken.

Neige follows them out to try and understand this person’s odd behavior, only to be awed and grateful once the reasoning is explained to him! It could’ve been really dangerous for his friends and colleagues if it wasn’t caught in time!

Of course, one good turn deserves another, so when Poison Queen takes the kind reporter hostage, naturally White Neige will come to save the day! And when the Prefect swoops in to ensure the reporter is secreted away to a safe location and joins Neige in beating the supervillain…

Neige doesn’t know what this heat in his cheeks is. But, it doesn’t feel bad?

Farena actually meets Yuu outside any hostage situation altogether. He’s heard about this young reporter who keeps getting kidnapped by Leona and so many other supervillains. So he makes an appointment to meet with them on one of their days off.

As one of the top heroes in the Royal Sword Association, and as Leona’s brother, he feels it’s his duty to extend his condolences to Mx. Yuu Radcliffe, and offer the RSA’s services of protection. If they’d like, it’s within Farena’s power to give them a whole new identity and a place to start afresh, away from Twstopolis and any supervillains who’d harass them.

It surprises him to hear the reporter turn him down. When they explain their reasoning, saying they’ve worked hard to get where they are, and they won’t be bullied into giving up any services they can provide to the community, he is impressed. Truly, this young person has nerves of steel and a good heart.

A good heart that could flourish under the RSA’s tutelage, perhaps…?

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Reading Tolkien’s annotated translation of Beowulf, and learning all kinds of things about LOTR and the Silm from it!

First:

Leave here your warlike shields [from Beowulf]

[Tolkien’s commentary; bold mine:] Note the prohibition of weapons or accoutrements of battle in the hall. To walk in with spear and shield was like walking in nowadays with your hat on. The basis of these rules was of course fear and prudence among the ever-present dangers of a heroic age, but they were made part of the ritual, of good manners. Compare the prohibition against drawing a sword in the officers’ mess. Swords of course also were dangerous; but they were evidently regarded as part of a knight’s attire, and he would not in any case be willing to lay aside his sword, a thing of great cost and often an heirloom.

This gives me some perspective around Tolkien’s probable intended tone for the moment in Meduseld in The Two Towers where Aragon strongly protests against being told to leave Andúril (a sword of very great value and ancientry, and very much an heirloom) with the door-warden. From a contemporary perspective it’s easy to read it as Aragorn being unnecessarily prideful and combative, but this passage strongly indicates that Tolkien intends it to be Théoden who is being unreasonable in that event, an indication - along with many others in the scene, prior to Gandalf dislodging Saruman’s influence - that Théoden is being discourteous and behaving in a manner unworthy of a king who is recieving heroes offering aid. (The fact of Meduseld being a ‘golden hall’ like famous Heorot in Beowulf may be deliberate to strengthen the parallel.)

Second (immediately following the above commentary):

But against this danger [from swords] very severe laws existed protecting the ‘peace’ of a king’s hall. It was death in Scandanavia to cause a brawl in the king’s hall. Among the laws of the West Saxon king Ine is found: ‘If any man fight in the king’s house, he shall forfeit all his estate, and it shall be for the king to judge whether he be put to death or not.’

This adds context to the incident in the story of Túrin in The Silmarillion where Saeros taunts Túrin in Menegroth and Túrin responds by throwing a heavy drinking-vessel at him and injuring him (it’s indicated the injury is serious, so I’d take it along the lines of him giving him a broken nose and knocking out some teeth.) It is stated in at least some versions of the story that death is the punishment for drawing weapons in the king’s hall, in line with the historical customs mentioned here. This gives a further emphasis that what actually happens - Túrin is not punished at all and Mablung strongly reprimands Saeros for provoking him - illustrates that Túrin is, Saeros’ behaviour notwithstanding, in very high favour in Menegroth. (Saeros as the king’s counsellor is also in roughly the same position as Unferth in Beowulf, who taunts the titular character - Beowulf responds heatedly but without violence. Tolkien may be setting up a deliberate contrast here.)

Third:

The word hádor is an adjective meaning ‘clear, bright’…it is almost always found in reference to the sky (or the sun or stars). But that association is in description of brightness…

This was one a lightbulb moment: oh, in the name of Hador Goldenhead (the ancestor of Húrin, Túrin, and Tuor in The Silmarillion), ‘Goldenhead’ isn’t an additional name/epessë so much as it’s a glossed translation of ‘Hador’! The guy with bright, golden hair.

Fourth: Going back to the Rohirrim - Edoras, the name of their capital city/royal court, is basically just the Old English for ‘courts’:

under was very frequently used in describing position within, or movement to within, a confined space, especially of enclosures or prisons, ‘within four walls’. Cf. in under eoderas (eoderas being the outer fences of the courts), ‘in amid the courts’….‘eoder’ means both ‘fence (protection)’ and ‘fenced enclosure, a court’.

I’m also learning a lot about Beowulf - Tolkien’s notes are clarifying a lot of tone and nuances, not to mention the political/diplomatic relationships between the different kingdoms, which were confusing me - but it’s amazing how much it reveals about ways that Tolkien’s knowledge informed his legendarium!

[susanyung]

Sword of the Royal Guard - Swordtember 2023 Day 43 prompt

The Royal Heir , she guards one of the floral realms and is a close associate to the royals. Dressed in a couture-like gown, the petals are heavily inspired by the petals of the florals that exist within the castle compound. Not just representing the realm itself but the gown also helps distract opponents and doubles as an armor. For it is difficult to pierce , the petals make it a.lottle more difficult to target vulnerable spots. Don't let her elegance fool you, you would not like to meet the end of that sword.

[yournextflame]

Elden Ring Sigils and Color Theory

Elden Ring magic sigils sorted by color. Long post about their lore, meanings of certain colors and what it can reveal about the story of Elden Ring under the cut.

In this post, I will be going over why it is important to have a good understanding of color and meanings associated with color in the context of lore. In a game, color is used by developers for more than just drawing the world, it’s about creating visual language, a bridge between writers and players. There are countless articles about usage of colors in videogames, but in this post I will try to reverse-engineer the process and find out the meaning behind visual symbolism and combine it with game’s equivalent of heraldic symbols - magic sigils.

In Elden Ring magic sigils have been used to represent origin of sorceries and power sources of incantations, usually they give us hints what kind of deity is worshipped by people or who created the spell. They are an invaluable source of information on history on the Lands Between. I’ve been already playing with idea of color sorting when I did the same thing with remembrances, but sigils revealed even more secrets about story and lore. How about origin of life on the Lands Between? Origin of the outer gods? But let’s not rush.

The first category, Blue Sorcery as I called it, already shows how color sorting method is supported by the game itself. With a help of descriptions we can place the sigils in the chronological order and track the change in design over the course of story such as replacement of flowing weapon in the sigil of Eternal Cities to Carian sword. Their sigils are incredibly similar to each other, solidifying connection between Nox and Carian royal family; both factions are associated with silver, sorcery, artifical life, moons and stars.

This talisman represents the lost black moon. The moon of Nokstella was the guide of countless stars (Memory Stone)

The young astrologer gazed at the night sky as she walked. She had always chased the stars every step of her journey. Then she met the full moon—and, in time, the astrologer became a queen (Stargaizer Heirloom)

Moons played a central role in Nox and Carian culture, the circle is a base shape for both crests, however, while Raya Lucaria sigil shares similar elements with Eternal Cities and Carian emblems (glintstone sorcerers are the descendants of astrologers, a fact that the Carians remain aware of, - Preceptor's Long Gown), this part was drastically redused in size and moved on top; the central place is taken by the star and framed by a pair of cuckoos. The hue of sigil is also significantly different from cold blue tones of Nox and Carians emblems, the warm greenish tint is close to the color of primeval current spells, which were banished once Rennala became rector of the Academy.

These scholars, who sought to master Carian sorcery, instead learned to see the moon as equal to the stars. This robe, in the hue of the full moon, signifies their heresy (Lazuli Robe)

(Cuckoo Greatshield) Boasting high magic damage negation, this shield is used to hunt down mages. "Our enemy is none other than Caria itself."

So far I’m not going to delve deeper in the roots of the conflict between Carian royal family and Academy of Raya Lucaria, it’s a mere demonstration of a method and how it works. But in next paragraphs I will use it as evidence for a few theories about worldbuilding.

(thanks for clarification about Malenia’s Crest, I rewatched fight on youtube and, yes, it’s a normal Raya Lucaria sigil)

Golden incantations is the biggest group on the list, in a way I can say that history of the Lands Between is a history of gold. Here we can see a symbolical depiction of the Erdtree, the central piece of the game both in a metaphorical and literal sense; we can track how portrayl of the Erdtree changed during Marika’s age until it was replaced altogether by the abstract emblem of the Golden Order Fundamentalism. I have a lot of to say about this group and currently working on post with a more detailed investigation, so far I will touch only basics: such as origin of life gold.

Gold in Elden Ring is more than than shine metal or a color, it’s prima materia of the Greater Will, a force of unknown origin (it’s never called 神  god or an 外なる神 outer god anywhere in EN or JP script and before jumping to conclusion wait until I’m going to observe confirmed outer gods) which is responsible for the creation of Elden Ring. From the description of Elden Stars, the most ancient incantation in this category, and Elden Remembrance we can figure out keywords associated with the Greater Will:

It is said that long ago, the Greater Will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the Lands Between, which would later become the Elden Ring/It was the vassal beast of the Greater Will and living incarnation of the concept of Order (I’d like to point that it’s “Order”, not “The Golden Order”).

(I believe we still can see remnants of the golden star in a form of meteorite ore in Divine Towers and Sealed Tunnel near Erdtree) 

In other words, the Greater Will is about gold, Order and everything Elden. However, a common mistake is to tie the Greater Will to the Golden Order, despite the name the latter is not representative of it, even more so... original gold from the golden star wasn’t yellow.

From dialogue with Sellen we can learn that stars are containing amber, but golden stars are kind of special:

Golden amber contains the remnants of ancient life, and houses its vitality (Sellen)

And Hyetta’s speech supports futher that the Greater Will is responsible for creation of life in one way or another:

…すべては、大きなひとつから、分かたれた 分かたれ、産まれ、心を持った

けれどそれは、大いなる意志の過ちだった だから、戻さなくてはならない

All that there was divided from the One Great. Divided, born and given heart. But it was a mistake of the Greater Will (Hyetta)

So, Miyazaki pretty much unitied theories about meteorites being consensually considered to be involved in the origin of life and primordial soup:

Meteorites could have been responsible for delivering the basis of life's genetic code. Analyses of three meteorites suggest that nucleobases, the crucial components of DNA, could have formed in space and then fallen to Earth to provide the raw material for the origin of life itself

For nearly nine decades, science's favorite explanation for the origin of life has been the “primordial soup”. This is the idea that life began from a series of chemical reactions in a warm pond on Earth's surface, triggered by an external energy source such as lightning strike or ultraviolet (UV) ligh

Now if we check descriptions of Crucible Aspects and Crucible Knights items we can find out that original gold had rent tint.

Holds the power of the crucible of life, the primordial form of the Erdtree. Strengthens Aspects of the Crucible incantations (Crucible aspects incantations)

This sword is imbued with an ancient holy essence. Its red tint exemplifies the nature of primordial gold, said to be close in nature to life itself (Ordovis Greatsword, the name itself is a reference to Ordovician Period, part of the Paleozoic era, a rich variety of marine life flourished in the vast seas and the first primitive plants began to appear on land)

Ancient Erdtree/Crucible emblem is slightly reddish too, however, the modern gold is more pure and yellow, the gold of the Golden Order. The sigil changed the color too and lost the root part just like the Elden Ring itself if we compare modern depiction with Farum Azula mural:

The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored

But a gold is a gold, even though it’s different, but as Turtle Pope said heresy is not native to this world and everything can be cojoined:

The worship of the ancient dragons does not conflict with belief in the Erdtree. After all, this seal, and lighting itself, are both imbued with gold

Yes, the Greater Will governs everything what is golden. 

And yet, the young Miquella abandoned fundamentalism, for it could do nothing to treat Malenia's accursed rot. This was the beginning of unalloyed gold

I can already hear the raise of pitchforks from certain kind of Miquella fans, so let’s talk about outer gods and what exactly they are.

With a surprising exception of emblem from the Scepter of the All-Knowing (Gideon, I have a few questions for you) all sigils in Red Group are assigned to the deities: outer/ancient god of Rot, outer god Formless Mother, Rykard’s immortal serpent and Fell God, who is bit tricky, it’s ambitious if  古い火の悪神 “ancient” is applied to the god or fire. The only confirmed outer gods, who didn’t made it here is an outer god of Deathbirds and Frienzied Flame. Considering theory that removal of the Destined Death from Elden Ring drained color from the god-slaying Black Flame and eclipsed sun of outer god of Deathbirds, I can suggest that original color of their sigils was red too. 

Long story short: sigil of the outer gods and other unwelcomed deities are represented by red color and they are all related to the death, Formless Mother is about bleed, fell flame is burning, rot is decay, etc.

However, as stated in the description of Ordovis Greatsword, primordial gold of the Crucible had a red tint that was lost when Marika estabilished Golden Order by sealing away red Rune of Death; and this knowledge eventually leads to conclusion that...

Outer gods aren’t aliens. What a surprise.

They are natural powers that were screwed by the removal of Destined Death, when they got outed from the Golden Order. They are red tint of the primordial gold.

Once the concept of Death was banished from the Lands Between the elements and effects linked to it - death, decay, combustion, bleed became outer to the newly estabilished Order. There is a clear thematic difference between celestial Greater Will, who isn’t even presented on the Lands Between, and actual outer gods, who can be sealed or banished, more over there are no outer god of water, sunshine or happiness, they are all linked to the side-effects of death. When death was excluded from the Order, they were affected as well.

The thing is that gold in Elden Ring is a magical substance and changes the tint depends on the currently running Order, which is shown in the endings when Golden Tree (黄金樹 that’s how Erdtree is called in JP) acquires different hue. It’s another overlooked element of visual storytelling.

This Golden Order is something that the Elden Ring may have once represented, but not directly. It’s more about how you apply those rules and how you enforce them on the physical world and what effects they have on it, - Miyazaki in interview to gamesradar

(Golden Order isn’t direct representation of the Greater Will/Elden Ring as it was said by Miyazaki himself, it’s only one temporary set of rules)

Elden Ring consists of runes and even newly discovered mending runes (concepts) can be added to the system (regression is the pull of meaning; that all things yearn eternally to converge) ot removed and the gold will respond to it by changing the color and reshaping reality according to the Order (causality is the pull between meanings; it is the connections that form the relationships of all things). Elden Ring - Rune of Death = yellow gold and banishment of ancient gods, who were associated with death, Elden Ring+mending rune of a choice=see example aboive.

For futher evidence that gold changes metaphysical properties and in the current state (Golden Order) preserves things from not only from dying, but decomposing too, I want to bring a few descriptions:

Fresh beast blood, glinting with gold. Material used for crafting items. Found by hunting carnivorous beasts.This glimmering blood never rots or decays ( Beast Blood)

Someone's excrement. It has a golden tinge. Material used for crafting items. Gold-tinged excrement is a highly stable substance; it doesn't dry out, nor does it lose its customary warmth or scent. For better or for worse, it remains as it is (Golden Dung; I can’t believe I’m using description of literal sh/t to prove my point)

However, from what we know only Rune of Death was sealed, and while outer gods’ influence was seriously weakened, it still existed. This is why Miquella abandoned Golden Order and was working on development of his own gold, even more pure and untainted, before he got mohgged:

Unalloyed Gold Needle: An intricately crafted needle of unalloyed gold. A ritual implement crafted to ward away the meddling of outer gods, it is thought capable of forestalling the incurable rotting sickness.

Now let me clarify: community’s favorite boogieman “influence of the evil alien outer gods/the Greater Will” isn’t a thing in a sense that there is a group of invaders from the outer space trying to enslave the Lands Between. Even thought  外なる神 is used in Japanese media culture for lovecraftian beings, we should remember that history is fabricated by the Golden Order in Marika’s favor; "outer gods” are alien to the current Order”. Same goes for the influence of the Greater Will, it was never about mind-control or whatever was projected onto it, the influence of the Greater Will is simply how Order and gold are changing course of the nature. 

Last thing I want to add is that influence of the outer gods isn’t always about destructive powers (Order of Rot is about decay and rebirth), but I’ll leave it for a dedicated post.

In Mixed Group I put sigils with unique or unknown colors.

In my first draft Dragon Communion was placed in the Red Group for the intense hue of sigil, but upon futher research I decided to move it here. The power of Dragon Communion incantations doesn’t stem from any patron god or the assigned star (unless I missed something); they are scaling from arcane, an inner force of the caster. 

Violet is an interesting choice for Gravity sigil because this color, albeit with the less intence hue, is used for sleep status and associated items. 

I like how yellow color of Frenzied Flame is similar to the gold of the Greater Will, carrying the theme of duality, yet the shape of the sigil is distorted and assymetrical. In fact, designs of the ancient sigils usually is far less complex than intricate shapes of newer ones (with a few exceptions). Just to be clear, even though influence of the Flame of Frenzy can be cleared by Miquella’s needle, the game never calls it an outer god. It’s a matter of semantics, but I guess that unlike crew from the Red Group it was never booted from the Order since Chaos and Order can’t naturally coexist, but there are a lot ot of to speculate about, considering drastic changes in Frenzied Flame quest and lore.

Golden star in the centre of Bestial sigil reminds of Cinquedea dagger (Short sword given to high ranking clergymen of Farum Azula. The design celebrates a beast's five fingers, symbolic of the intelligence once granted upon their kind), which shows beast’s arm holding golden slab.

So, Death spells. I believe that both Black Flame incantations and Death Sorcery of Deathbird outer god were affected by confining of Destined Death.

The black flame could once slay gods. But when Maliketh sealed Destined Death, the true power of the black flame was lost

Storied sword and treasure of Castle Sol that depicts an eclipsed sun drained of color.The eclipsed sun, drained of color, is the protective star of soulless demigods. It aids the mausoleum knights by keeping Destined Death at bay. Mausoleum Knight Armor: The wing-shaped ornaments on its back evoke the Deathbird

And, as I’ve been already pointing in a different post, death of Godwyn brought back forgotten death sorcery that almost ceased from existance during age of immortality, but was rediscovered

Death in the Lands Between is incredibly complex subject and deserves a series of posts, even though I believe there should be DLC because so far all lore related to it seems to be incomprehensible.

Unmarkered sorceries don’t have background sigil, but they all share something in common. They originated from the Mountaintops of Giants:

Zamor Ice Storm: Ice sorcery of the Town of Zamor.Strike the ground with the staff to create a freezing tornado. Charging enhances potency. Cloaked in icy tempests, the knights of Zamor have challenged the Fire Giants since ancient times.

Briars of Sin : An aberrant sorcery, discovered along with red glintstone by those exiled to the north for their crimes.The Academy reviles this sorcery, which draws its power from faith

Founding Rain of Stars: The eldest primeval sorcery, said to have been discovered by an ancient astrologer. A sorcery of legendary status.The glimpse of the primeval current that the astrologer saw became real, and the stars' amber rained down on this land. Sword of Night and Flame: Astrologers, who preceded the sorcerers, established themselves in mountaintops that nearly touched the sky, and considered the Fire Giants their neighbors.

Another interesting details to consider is that they are all in some ways are unwelcomed or straight up heretical. It reminds me of relationships between Golden Order and remnanats of the Crucible. Aberrant sorcery is a mark of sin, primeval current was banished and cold sorcery is veiled in occult mystery:

The snowy crone taught the young Ranni to fear the dark moon as she imparted her cold sorcery.

I guess Ranni’s secret mentor is called snowy crone for a reason.

That’s being said, everything I wrote is a subject to change as DLC may reveal more details or I will reconsider some parts under futher research. But overall I think it was an interesting experiment.

読んでくれてありがと

[deer-knight]

they/them

just as the winter paladin got an upgrade this year here, the autumn knight also has a new look! (2023 on the left, 2022 on the right) this knight is regal, refined, and well armed and armored. i sewed them a new tabard, swapped the leather gorget for one of steel, and replaced the mail with a gambeson. the cape i swapped for something a bit shorter, and removed the spaulders in favor of pauldrons. i also gave them my longsword as opposed to my arming sword. they have a royal air about them, and a reserved joy. i really love this new version. the silhouette is stronger, and matching their demeanor. the previous one felt a bit too flimsy. i do have plans for a spring prince and summer rogue, but my sewing skills will have to improve before i try anything for the prince. (did someone say doublet?) what lore do you think they have? i've been associating them with oaks...

[image description: two photo of op standing outside in a field on an autumn morning. they wear metal armor over black/brown clothing and a golden cloak drapes from their shoulders. op is a white person with long brown hair worn in a braided bun. in the left photo they hold a longsword, and in the right photo they hold an arming sword. end image description.]

[mxtxfanatic]

I really love how in the breadth of range Xie Lian shows, never does he ever defer to power. One of the earliest (chronologically) scenes we see with this is when he was still just a beloved prince. For one, Xie Lian disregards everyone telling him that he should have let Hong Hong’er fall to his death to continue the parade, because letting a child die to preserve a festival tradition is morally bankrupt. Then later, Qi Rong is injured by Feng Xin—indirectly on Xie Lian’s orders—and despite the fact that Qi Rong was in the wrong (causing chaos, destruction, and injury in the capital streets, attempting to publicly murder a small child, acting above the law and against the direct royal family for his own whims), Qi Rong still demands that Feng Xin’s arm be broken, to which the king agrees because “a servant should never injure royalty.” Xie Lian, seeing the blatant corruption in this, tells his father that if he really thinks Feng Xin was wrong, then Xie Lian, most beloved prince of his kingdom, should be punished in his stead for giving him those orders. Xie Lian never backs down from this, using his status to attempt to cow his own father THE KING into admitting fault and backing down, and it was only because Feng Xin broke his own arm and kowtowed to end the dispute (“you shouldn’t fight with your father, Xie Lian”) that it was “resolved.”

After his ascension, we see him refuse to listen to the older, more “experienced” gods—including Jun Wu—who mock him for attempting to save his kingdom, telling him people are only good for the worship they provide while their actual lives mean nothing. When his kingdom is destroyed and he is at his lowest after being abandoned by his family and friends, he refuses to give in to Bai Wuxiang goading him into destroying Yong’an, despite the fact that none of the people stopped to help him as he lay for days with a sword through him (which by his own stipulations, meant they deserved death). When he ascends again and Jun Wu offers him his place back in the heavens, he rejects the offer, choosing to wander as a powerless, fortune-less immortal amongst the people over living comfortably as a powerful but removed god.

During his third ascension, he refuses to allow the other more popular and powerful gods to escape accountability for their actions, even as he is threatened for it. He goes after Pei Xiu despite everyone saying that it would get him on Pei Ming’s bad side, because he refuses to allow Banyue to take the blame for another’s actions, just because she is a ghost and he is a god. He refuses to stop associating with Hua Cheng despite everyone telling him to because, again, their hatred of the ghost king was based on bias and superiority complexes rather than the reality of who Hua Cheng was.

I could really go on and on, but you get the point: Xie Lian never bows to power or hierarchy to dictate his morality. He knows what’s right and wrong, and he’s gonna do the right thing, status quo and societal expectations be damned.

[moonom0o]

LIZZIEEE!!!

Random lore below the cut?

So, I actually took a lot of inspiration from Catholic imagery for this piece (which is wild bc I am not religious at all so I was like pretty unfamiliar with it before researching) BUT basically I was looking at Our Lady of Sorrows where Mary is depicted with the sword at her chest. Obviously, Lizzie isn’t associated with saintly imagery or anything, but I used it as a vehicle to explore her relationship to the crown and becoming queen. Lizzie’s a royal and she definitely wants to become queen, but I think through her time at Ever After High she starts to explore other elements of herself and learns to become not just like, a copy-pasted version of her mother. That’s why I have her looking away and not really caring about the crown or her knife which are representative of her duty because she’s starting to find herself in other places as well. But, at the same time becoming Queen of Hearts is still very important to her!! Also, Mary is usually depicted like really sad and in pain, but that’s just not Lizzie, Lizzie is the type to keep her feelings hidden behind her fierce expression! I felt like this piece is sort of meant to represent her growing into becoming the queen, but in a way that’s so different from her mother. It’s sort of encapsulating the energy of the royals who want to be like their parents but are also starting to question the system and starting to develop their own wants. Basically, it’s that big question of duty vs desire?

[the-griffons-saddlebag]

⚔️ 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Soul Sword
Weapon (longsword), very rare (requires attunement) ___ This battered and rusted sword looks like junk. However, it feels like a kindred spirit while you hold it. Even if you’re not attuned to the sword, its damage die is a d4, or a d6 if you hold it with both hands. While you’re attuned to the sword, you gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. It also emits bright light in a 20-foot radius while you hold it, and dim light for an additional 20 feet. In its illuminated, rusted surface is an illusory weapon that reflects the nature of your soul. Use the table below to determine the nature of the reflected weapon based on your alignment. | Alignment | Appearance | Light | Damage Type | — | Good | A shimmering, royal blade | Yellow | Radiant | | Neutral | A blade of reflective glass | Purple | Force | | Evil | A dark, serrated blade | Green | Necrotic | A target hit by the illuminated sword takes an extra 1d12 damage of the type associated with your alignment. 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚. While holding the sword, you can use a bonus action to spend 2 or more Hit Dice to pour your energy into the blade. When you do, the weapon’s bonus to attack and damage rolls is increased by 1 for every 2 Hit Dice you spend, up to a maximum total bonus of +3. The dim and bright light emitted by the weapon also increases by 20 feet for each additional +1 bonus it gains in this way. This bonus lasts for 1 hour. ___ ✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon's Saddlebag on Patreon for less than $10 a month!

[chinesehanfu]

[Hanfu · 漢服]Chinese Warring States period(475–221 BC) Traditional Clothing Hanfu-Life of Qu Yuan(屈原）

【Historical Artifact Reference】:

China Warring States period (475-221 BC):Silk painting depicting a man riding a dragon (人物御龍帛畫)

it was discovered in the Zidanku Tomb no. 1 in Changsha, Hunan Province in 1973. Now in the Hunan Museum

A man with a sword is riding a dragon by holding the rein. The dragon's body was given the shape of a boat. A little egret is standing at the tail of the dragon. A carp under the dragon is leading the way. The umbrella in the top middle of the picture shows the owner's nobility. The work has become associated with the Chu poet Qu Yuan’s famous verse from his poem Shejiang (涉江, Setting foot in the river), ‘Carrying a long sword with weird colour; Wearing a qieyun–styled high cap.” (帶長鋏之陸離兮, 冠切雲之崔嵬)

Western Zhou Dynasty seven-huang jade pendant with linked beads/西周七璜联珠组玉佩

About Qu Yuan(屈原）

Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC – 278 BC)was a Chinese poet and aristocrat in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the Chu Ci anthology (also known as The Songs of the South or Songs of Chu): a volume of poems attributed to or considered to be inspired by his verse writing. Together with the Shi Jing, the Chu Ci is one of the two greatest collections of ancient Chinese verse. He is also remembered in connection to the supposed origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Historical details about Qu Yuan's life are few, and his authorship of many Chu Ci poems has been questioned at length.[4] However, he is widely accepted to have written "The Lament," a Chu Ci poem. The first known reference to Qu Yuan appears in a poem written in 174 BC by Jia Yi, an official from Luoyang who was slandered by jealous officials and banished to Changsha by Emperor Wen of Han. While traveling, he wrote a poem describing the similar fate of a previous "Qu Yuan."Eighty years later, the first known biography of Qu Yuan's life appeared in Han dynasty historian Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, though it contains a number of contradictory details.

Life of Qu Yuan(屈原）

The only surviving source of information on Qu Yuan's life is Sima Qian's biography of him in Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), although the biography is circumstantial and probably influenced greatly by Sima's own identification with Qu.Sima wrote that Qu was a member of the Chu royal clan and served as an official under King Huai of Chu (reigned 328–299 BC).

During the early days of King Huai's reign, Qu Yuan was serving the State of Chu as its Left Minister. However, King Huai exiled Qu Yuan to the region north of the Han River, because corrupt ministers slandered him and influenced the king.Eventually, Qu Yuan was reinstated and sent on a diplomatic mission to the State of Qi. He tried to resume relations between Chu and Qi, which King Huai had broken under the false pretense of King Hui of Qin to cede territory near Shangyu.

During King Qingxiang's reign, Prime Minister Zilan slandered Qu Yuan.[9] This caused Qu Yuan's exile to the regions south of the Yangtze River. It is said that Qu Yuan returned first to his home town. In his exile, he spent much of this time collecting legends and rearranging folk odes while traveling the countryside. Furthermore, he wrote some of the greatest poetry in Chinese literature and expressed deep concerns about his state. According to legend, his anxiety brought him to an increasingly troubled state of health. During his depression, he would often take walks near a certain well to look upon his thin and gaunt reflection in the water. This well became known as the "Face Reflection Well." On a hillside in Xiangluping (at present-day Zigui County, Hubei Province), there is a well that is considered to be the original well from the time of Qu Yuan.

In 278 BC, learning of the capture of his country's capital, Ying, by General Bai Qi of the state of Qin, Qu Yuan is said to have collected folktales and written the lengthy poem of lamentation called "Lament for Ying". Eventually, he committed suicide by wading into the Miluo River in today's Hunan Province while holding a rock. The reason why he took his life remained controversial and was argued by Chinese scholars for centuries. Typical explanations including martyrdom for his deeply beloved but falling motherland, which was suggested by the philosopher Zhu Xi of the Song dynasty, or feeling extreme despair to the situation of the politics in Chu while his lifelong political dream would never be realized. But according to "Yu Fu," widely considered to be written by Qu himself or at least, a person who was very familiar with Qu, his suicide was an ultimate way to protect his innocence and life principles.[citation needed]

Qu Yuan is said to have expressed his love for the ruling monarch, King Huai of Chu, through several of this works, including "The Lament" and "Longing for Beauty".

Dragon Boat Festival/端午节

Popular legend has it that villagers carried their dumplings and boats to the middle of the river and desperately tried to save Qu Yuan after he immersed himself in the Miluo but were too late to do so. However, in order to keep fish and evil spirits away from his body, they beat drums and splashed the water with their paddles, and they also threw rice into the water both as a food offering to Qu Yuan's spirit and also to distract the fish away from his body. However, the legend continues, that late one night, the spirit of Qu Yuan appeared before his friends and told them that he died because he had taken himself under the river. Then, he asked his friends to wrap their rice into three-cornered silk packages to ward off the dragon.

These packages became a traditional food known as zongzi, although the lumps of rice are now wrapped in leaves instead of silk. The act of racing to search for his body in boats gradually became the cultural tradition of dragon boat racing, held on the anniversary of his death every year. Today, people still eat zongzi and participate in dragon boat races to commemorate Qu Yuan's sacrifice on the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.

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Recreation Work by : @晴南

Xiaohongshu🔗：http://xhslink.com/CU2x9J

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[fangirltothefullest]

Okay but now what if how you designed Remus but in as many words as you want, because I'm loving these design breakdowns

HELL YEAH!

Remus to me is full of chaos but he is also the antithesis of Roman with similar qualities but a total lack of self consciousness or bashfulness. He is freedom and he gives no shits.

Inspiration 1: Mad Madam Mim

I start with a disney character full of chaos and I am inspired by mad Madam Mim because she is wild and chaotic and i absolutely love how fun she is as a villain and the most important thing for me is that Remus is fun. He's bonkers and has terrible ideas but he's also harmless in terms of reality. He's like an annoying little brother that wants to show you the Weird Gunk he found in the trash.

Inspiration 2: Snidley Whiplash (or Dick Dastardly)

Remus to me is a guy who knows a lot of things and he's actually really clever but he wants to BE a villain like Snidley Whiplash or Dick Dastardly, including the moustache. He wants to tie people to train tracks because it's fun. His personality is "I found the dynamite and the roller skates! :D"

Inspiration 3: Wile E Coyote and looney tunes as a concept

If Remus is anything it's a creature that can be stabbed in the eye and come back fine. It's a person who can make acme-like contraptions that do not work and that's ok. He is, if nothing else, Wile E Coyote and he is having the time of his life. He should therefore have hair that is a littler wild and crazy and untamable like Wile E's tail.

Inspiration 3: Royal villains

We will look at Galavant and also OUaT again!

There's nothing quite as detailed in costume as evil royal villains. They always seem to be the most extravagant or at least have all the buckles and things and Remus has an outfit just the same. Like Roman I want his royalty to show with his clothes but unlike Roman I want Remus to look way less put together. More a culmination of his clothes he chooses to wear but only because he HAS to wear something so he's going to show skin.

Particularly though the one I associate with Remus is Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time.

Inspiration 4: Captain Hook / Pirate aesthetics

Roguish, half-opened shirt, details, dressed fancy, swashbuckling. Remus would make a great pirate because he has the swagger and charm of a drunken man sailing a boat with a pet giant octopus he calls Lil Pussy.

Speaking of octopus...

Inspiration 5: Kraken and hentai

He has an octopus on his belt and he deserves tentacles for a pirate feel but also for fuckin. Cause he's a raunchy bastard. Anything taboo is something he wants to think about.

Inspiration 6: Punk aesthetic

What easier way top buck against the norms than to embrace punk vibes? Jewelry, upside-down crosses, I don't like going overboard with it but I like giving him some. Fingerless gloves, chokers with spikes, those kinds of things work well for his "I am everything your religious grandmother hates, embrace it". His outfits that aren't standard could look like he made them himself or found them in the garbage and went "awesome!"

Inspiration 7: Weapon Master

Remus likes to hit things with his mace and while Roman has his sword, I imagine Remus is an expert at weapons or at least likes to use them so even if I am going to dress him up nice I want a weapon nearby somewhere.

Things that are a must:

So many details, Remus will not leave your eyeballs alone. If you think Roman has details nope, Remus wants your eyes to bleed with them.

Remus should have longer hair than Roman, wilder bangs and wilder curls. Shorter hair is fine but a ponytail is even more fun. Like the tie holding it'll break at any moment.

Weapons galore, arm this baby at every opportunity. Likewise, scars are acceptable but it's ok if they disappear at random because chaos loves chaos.

If Remus has his main garb off he should be showing skin to the best of his abilities and his collar should drape down wider than normal because let that man be a slut.

Tentacles should be numerous when shown and they should have a mind of their own doing whatever they want.

If Roman wouldn't wear it, Remus would. If Roman wouldn't think it, Remus would, and if Roman would be disgusted, Remus would love it.

Remus should have annoying little brother vibes.

Any non-standard outfits should look like he cobbled them together with duct tape and chewing gum.

So I came to this:

[quillpokebiology]

Pokemon Crossbreeds: Chatelaines

//inspired by @onemegawatt

Chatelaines (pronounced shahn-teh-lehn) is the name for members of the Gardevoir line who's fathers are members of the Chandelure line. The breed name came from old symbolism of Gardevoir and Chandelure. Gardevoir was often used by noble woman in wealthy families or castles, and these places were known to have Chandelure wander in. Sometimes, these unwanted Chandelure would breed with the gardevoir. The breed ended up being associated with mistresses for their unwanted but alluring appearance.

Also; the eye colors can vary between red and yellow.

Ralts

Chantelaines ralts's hair becomes more silky and slightly longer, matching that of their father's. Their fur is also softer and thinner, which makes it drag on the floor more. Other than that, not many changes between behavior. In medieval times, they were said to be the spirits of dead children revived as ralts, however, there is absolutely no proof of this, and is most likely just a myth.

Kirlia

Chantelaines Kirlia are usually more reserved than purebred Kirlia, preferring to keep to themselves and avoid others, and they're also more watchful.

Gardevoir

What the breed was named after. While the Chandelure was unwanted, the Gardevoirs were put in high regard, with their psychic powers being seen to be greater. These pokemon are able to easily put people in trances with their psychic abilities and their more willingness to do so. There whole thing as mistresses ended up being solidified when an old Galarian mistress became queen, and her partner was a Chantelaines Gardevoir.

Gallade

Also can be called Paramour Gallade, but I'm going to refer to them as Chantelaines Gallade since thats the official name for them. There isn't much about them documented throughout history. But, there was an instance in the 1600s when a member in the Kalosian Royal Court had one, though there wasn't much info on him. But, Chantelaines Gallade have more curved swords, which can make them faster in combat. And while Gardevoir is more popular, Chantelaines Gallade are appreciated by some for their markings resembling suits.

//My designs can be used by anyone if you credit me!

[britishassistant]

There’s only a couple big named heroes whom are also on Yuu’s shit list for various reasons: Rielle, he originally was pretty high on the “do not forgive, do not forget” rankings, but unlike the Champion, he acknowledges that his hero technique has flaws and is actively working to fix it. Doesn’t mean he’s entirely out of the doghouse. Crimson Muscle is just above where Rielle is. Mostly because he has yet to realize that Yuu/Perfect is just as capable as him without superpowers. And his broadcasted smiting of poor Hermes doesn’t do him any favors. Champion is third place. The one to actually earn second place on the list is Briar Patch (Twst Briar Rose/Aurora) because he is obliviously spoiled and naive. If champion’s checkerboard mentality is obnoxious, then Briar patch’s fairytale view is WORSE. Malleus is nothing but a big dumb dragon to slay and Yuu is the damsel in distress that he’ll ride off into the sunset with for a happy ending. Regardless if he just helped set ten blocks on fire waving his sword all Willy-nilly blocking Tsnuotarou’s fireballs trying to be showy to Yuu. His fairy Godfathers will just simply magic the damage away, no big deal… First place go Crowley. -🍋

Thank you for the ask, 🍋 anon!

And oooh, I love the name Briar Patch for Diasomnia’s hero!! Nice job with it!!

Chen’ya is Yuu’s favorite hero. Given that when they first met, he dropped Yuu from a stories-high balcony, that probably speaks to the tenor of the rest of the list. In reality though, Niko Niko Neko is one of the few that actually seems to be able to see these situations outside of the black-and-white mentality of his peers, and is more concerned with pushing the envelope in the name of teammates’ and civilian welfare rather than doing the “heroic” thing.

White Neige is…well…he’s so flashy it’s kind of embarrassing? Yuu feels bad about thinking that, because he and his seven dwarves are genuine, hardworking heroes, compassionate enough that he’s one of the few who’s more likely to take it a bit easier to protect civilians or extend a hand of mercy to his enemies. It’s just he’s so earnest, when admiring the strength of the Prefect, or professing to Yuu that he’ll protect them, and that transformation…it’s mortifying for them even to watch. They didn’t need that view, thanks.

Rielle might be more careless than Yuu would like with his abilities, especially considering their power to deprive merpeople of their free will and agency, but he’s at least willing to recognize that he’s still new to the heroics business and take constructive criticism onboard, or listen to Yuu or the Prefect when they’re cooperating against the supervillains and take their advice about how to best solve the situation. He’s young, but he’s learning and growing.

Lion Guard appears to be everything a model, older hero should be—brave, considerate, self-disciplined, and just. The only downside is that he has serious blinders when it comes to his little brother. He’ll go far too hard on Leona’s minions and then weirdly easy on Leona himself because he so desperately wants his brother to be “redeemed”—enough that he’ll even consider things that should be clearly morally dubious from the outset. Yuu hasn’t forgotten needing to stand between Farena, a younger Twst!Leona, and a brainwashing.

Crimson Muscle isn’t as fawning as the previous two junior heroes, but his determination to “protect” those without superpowers is patronizing in the extreme. He refuses to even consider the other, more mundane accomplishments someone without powers can achieve, instead viewing them in an infantilizing fashion results in him getting in the Prefect’s way and impeding Yuu’s investigations more than the villains sometimes. His destructive tendencies when fighting “enemies on his level” also leave a sour taste in Yuu’s mouth, even if he says he’s sorry for what he did to Ortho.

Champion has the worst black and white mentality they’ve ever seen, quite literally from how Yuu’s seen him speak of events entirely as if they were moves on the world’s strangest chess board. All heroes versus monsters, not even acknowledging the villains as people. The man’s clearly working with some kind of eating disorder in mind in the context of his powers, and he’s trying to get better with Che’nya’s help. Yuu would feel sympathetic towards him, but. But they keep seeing Ace collapse, limp and bloody, in front of them. The Prefect can work with the Champion, and Yuu can be civil and pleasant towards him, but they can’t forget that.

Briar Patch somehow manages to best the Champion to this spot in Yuu’s list, which would be impressive if he wasn’t so…creepy. Seriously, who sneaks up behind someone, grabs them, and starts singing at them?! …Admittedly a lot of the supervillains, but they’re villains, and if Yuu kicks up enough of a fuss they’ll keep their hands to themselves. This guy? He’s clearly never been told “no” before in his life, spoiled rotten by those three fairy godfathers that follow him around like a weird parental cheer squad. So even when Yuu’s yelling the word in his ears, he just acts like they’re playing hard to get and grabs harder. The Prefect has only narrowly escaped having their own head lopped off when he tries fighting Tsunotaro, he has no regard for who or what gets hurt in his aims to vanquish the “villains”.

Namir al-Asim holds a special place of disdain in Yuu’s heart. Arrogant, belligerent, and inconsiderate are probably the tamest words that can accurately describe his approach to heroics. The fact that a guy like him is still tolerated as part of the Royal Sword Association is what damages Yuu’s faith in the organization most.

Crowley is still at the top of Yuu’s shitlist though XD XD

[blueinkjpeg]

Okay but one thing I really like about Kit’s characterization is that she’s the antithesis to the Disney princess stereotype but also fills the stereotype perfectly?? But also in a way that subverts the troupe??

Like okay, we can guess from her line about how she wishes she were “anyone but a princess” and the general way she acts that Kit has a complex relationship with femininity. I’m mostly just speculating, but it’s probably just because she associates most feminine traits she has or is forced into with her royal title, and so hates it all.

Being a princess political and socially demands a few immovable things. Having the patience and emotional bandwidth to run a nation, present herself in a distinctly feminine and uptight way, and marrying specifically a man her mother chose so that she can give birth to precautionary heirs.

These are all things Kit is incapable, or relatively incapable, of doing. Kit, just base personality wise, isn’t a patient person. She doesn’t think ahead most of the time, and she doesn’t have the interest in learning it. Also, she’s literally a lesbian and if she goes through with the marriage her mom set up, is doomed to a life of misery and unfulfillment, not to mention that the s*x part of the marriage will be traumatic no matter how it happens. And I literally cannot imagine her as a mom, sorry. Forcing Kit into this role is like trying to shove a circle into the square hole of those baby toys.

I can only imagine Sorsha trying to continuously shove Kit into this role that she cannot fufill would leave Kit frustrated with herself for being unable to fit, and hating anything having to do with it. Like— the whole reason Kit was born was to fill this role. Imagine being physically and emotionally incapable of doing the one thing you were born to do? Kit’s never feeling good enough trauma is just apparent in the show as her abandonment issues. Despite knowing she can’t fill this role and clearly not trying to anymore, doesn’t mean she doesn’t hold a lot of frustration with herself for it.

As an obvious butch, I think Kit would end up in her style no matter how her life turned out, but I also think that the more her mom pushed Kit toward femininity where Kit wasn’t able to fit correctly, the more Sorsha ended up actually pushing Kit in the opposite direction. Frustrated she can’t go one way, she’s clearly ended up going the opposite way.

Just like when her mother didn’t want her to learn sword fighting, she sought a way to learn “on her own” with Jade. Kit isn’t really an authority person. She likely sees it as getting farther away from her mother, and closer to her dad, like how she lost her mom’s sword and picked up her dad’s in the show.

But it’s not just fashion, Kit’s shown distain for “feminine traits” (or traditional Disney princess traits wink wink) she has in her personality. The most obvious example is Kit’s feelings for Jade. They’re very deeply ingrained onto who she is as a person. They’re raw and venerable and Kit goes like five whole episodes after kissing Jade to even consider talking about them. Kit goes lengths to avoid talking or confronting her deeper emotions.

But it remains that Kit feels things very deeply. When Sorsha yells at Arik and Kit in episode 1, Kit’s the only one that starts crying. She loves Jade so much, and is so afraid of being rejected, that when she confesses, she also starts crying. When locked in a cage thinking Jade might be in trouble, she freaks out on Elora. On truth strum, she borderline begs Elora for advice. When she finds out her dad might be alive and that he thinks Elora is “what matters most in this world,” she breaks down and yells. She uses the power of love to save Arik’s life.

Girl cannot hold a grudge to save her life, btw. She’s so pissed at her mom episode 1, the next morning she’s crying at her bedside because she’s worried Sorsha might be upset with her. Jade says she’s abandoning her and Kit’s over it and kissing her on the lips in the span of a few hours. Kit apologizes to Graydon for being a bitch at the engagement dinner. She gets pissed at Boorman for potentially leaving her dad to die and then it’s literally never brought up again bc she’s over it. She tries soooo hard to be mad at Elora for mattering to both her parents more than Kit does, and fails miserably after like a week max.

She’s a teeny ball of rage but it’s not in her nature to hate people for whatever reason.

She’s a very sensitive person. So much so, that she has a quiet arc about how she can’t really stand death.

That possum she has to go fetch for Elora? She can’t even look at it. When the jar breaks and she has to go hold it in her hands? She’s pinching it a full arms length away from her body. As Elora’s cutting it up she’s physically gagging. She tries to talk about Ballentine with Jade, but she can’t even say the word “killed.” She tries SO hard to be macho and tough and be the one to kill Graydon, but Jade and Boorman both already knows she’s weak shit. Kit BAILS. It’s the moment of truth and Graydon’s dying and Kit ORDERS Jade not to kill him as she SOBS and BEGS Elora to figure out a way to save his life bc she can’t stand to watch him die. A throwing star hits her in the arm and she SCREAMS ANS PASSES OUT. Jade has to mentally prepare her to rip it out and she SCREAMS AGAIN. She’s the most reluctant person in the world to fight her brother. And when she wins the fight and tries to kill him, her body won’t even let her. When Elora tells her to stand down, Kit collapses into tears like she was praying someone would stop her.

And it’s clear at the beginning of the season, Kit hold a lot of resentment towards herself for having these traits. They’re not inherently feminine traits to have, but she associates them with being a princess and hates them on principle. She’s probably been told her whole life to be nicer, politer, more empathetic. She doesn’t want to be any of those things, she wants to be who she remembers her dad to be; a brave, admired, tough knight. Kit wants to be brave and strong and she thinks she can’t have that if she acts like Sorsha wants her to, since it’s clear Sorsha doesn’t want either of her kids to be like Madmartigan. She wants them to be a certain way, she wants them to be the opposite of the militaristic way she was raised. But the truth is, there’s nothing Kit can do about it. She is a sensitive, loving, empathetic person, that’s it. This is who she is, and her arc in this show is learning to be herself. All parts of herself.

Kit gets to love the venerable, sensitive parts of herself without giving up the masculine badass sword fighter that she’s always wanted to be, the way she assumed she’d have to. She gets to be both!!! She gets the cool ass armor and she can be emotionally available. She can express fear and love and still be brave and strong!!!

Kit emerges from this show at the heart of the questing gang. Y’all have no idea how much I love that.

[powdermelonkeg]

so, it’s confirmed that Zelda’s “Time” powers came from Sonia, and her “Light” powers from Rauru, but we know from other games that only the women of the royal family can use the “sealing” power inherited from SkSw Zelda. do you think this means that throughout history, the “Light” powers associated w the sealing are actually separate from the sealing ability? I just remember being really lost after that cutscene, cause even if Rauru somehow was a descendant of Hylia, he wouldn’t be able to use those powers, and the sealing of whatever evil is causing trouble always has a fancy light show with it lmao

So, this is a very complicated question with a very complicated theory to answer it.

We know that Sonia's primary, and, in terms of usablity, only power is Recall.

However, I do believe she's Hylia's descendant, not Rauru, despite Rauru being the one with the light/sealing power. Evidence on that here.

Being Hylia's descendant would make Sonia's birthright be a whole host of other powers, possibly latent, but more probably something that Sonia's never actually been in the right situation to use. Let's take a look at what Skyward Sword Zelda can do.

She can seal the Demon King-

-but only at the expense of her own life force being rendered inert while she does.

She can bless the Master Sword-

-but it's already as strong as it can get.

She has strong connections to time...

...but we knew that already.

Of these three powers, only one would be relevant to Sonia's skill set. The Master Sword can hardly be doubly-blessed, and the Demon King has yet to show his face.

More importantly, however, Skyward Zel's sealing power works MUCH differently to Wild Zel's.

Wild Zel's sealing is instantaneous, fueled by emotion, with seemingly no draining effect on her person.

When fully unleashed, her seal is as total as it is inescapable. It doesn't require her to put herself to sleep until Link can deal the final blow with the Master Sword. The closest thing to Skyward Zel's seal that Wild Zel did was in keeping the Calamity at bay for 100 years while Link slept. During which, it's heavily implied that she was conscious, given that she spoke to Link the instant he woke.

With Rauru, his sealing ability seems much more similar to our princess's, with only some key differences visually.

His right hand gathers light around it, and needs to be extended to fully function.

When the seal first activates, it forms a spherical shape, which is inescapable, albeit on a much smaller scale than Zelda's.

It's a little hard to see, due to the magnitude of Zelda's power, but it IS a sphere.

And although this act does cost Rauru his life, it usually doesn't. He's done this before, multiple times, as stated in Messages from an Ancient Era tablet A Pilgrimage of Light:

"The kyng was late y-come this aven, so maked the quene to sharen tales of hir lond, of shirines al grene yglouen. "Of erli daies sinnes Hyrules funding have diverse monstres hir reaume biseged ond assaylled. "Uncesinge in striffe, thei broughte to despeir folkes lyfen. Kyng ond quen ysete thamselue to bringen scurge to ende. "With might of light ond pouere, driven abak ybeen, ond the roial couple made thes shirines to selen him awei. "Thes holi selen ben yclept Shirines of Light. "Gret kyng, grete quen, y thank ye. Ye foughte whan y wer maiden-child, that y kude pes toknouen."

The translation, to the best of my efforts:

"The king was late to come this evening, so made the queen to share tales of her land, of shrines all green glowing. "Of early days since Hyrule's founding have diverse monsters her realm besieged and assailed. "Unceasing in strife, they brought to despair folks' lives. King and queen set themselves to bringing scourge to end. "With might of light and power, driven aback they been, and the royal couple made these shrines to seal him away. "These holy seals been called Shrines of Light. "Great king, great queen, I thank you. You fought when you were maiden-child, that I could peace to know."

Sonia and Rauru went around making the Shrines of Light that we find in present day and receive blessing from:

So, with the exception of the Demon King, who was so powerful that he could resurrect thousands of years later, Rauru's seal behaved like Zelda's—instant, fueled by emotion, inescapable, projected by the right hand, with no immediate toll on the user.

But what does this mean for Zelda's sealing ability? Despite behaving similarly, it doesn't look similar at all.

Let's look back at what happens when Sonia and Rauru combine their powers.

Rauru brings his hands together in a triangle shape, possibly invoking the same Triforce motif Zelda gives when she unleashes her power. The Secret Stone, which magnifies his light abilities, glows in a similar shade to Zelda's seal.

Sonia extends her right hand as her own tear glows. Despite it only amplifying her time power, her hand shows the same color Rauru's light gives off—as well as being in a spherical form.

Rauru draws in her power (and Zelda's, whose is a combination of both already and therefore adds no new properties) and forms a bright yellow light with a sphere around it.

It's better seen from this angle, where we can also see what looks like an inverted Triforce in the middle.

They're nowhere near the level of focus Zelda's Triforce has, but the triangles are definitely there.

And then it becomes a catastrophic force of power, able to wipe out an entire swarm of Molduga in a single hit.

Zelda's lineage's sealing ability is a culmination of all of this. It's Sonia and Rauru's powers combined, taking Hylia's seal, the Goddess's full power-

-and attaching that strength to something instantaneous and geared specifically to lock away darkness-

-by combining the power of time with the power of light.

Hylia's sealing power isn't Rauru's, but Zelda's is Hylia's AND Rauru's combined.

As a side note, this is also why I think, despite Rauru contributing his power, the magic remains only matrilineal. Hylia's descendants—meaning in this case, Sonia—are the only ones that carry her abilities. Rauru's power attached itself to Sonia's to create Zelda's, but Sonia's abilities—with or without Rauru's boost to them—can only be accessed by her daughters and granddaughters.

Strong enough to rival any magic in the world in sheer might, this later became known as the Light Force.

TLDR: Hylia's seal = Slow, nonlethal, exhausting toll, powerful, golden lightshow Rauru's seal = Fast, potentially lethal, concentrated, opposes Ganon, spherical lightshow Zelda's seal = Fast, concentrated, opposes Ganon, spherical (from Rauru), nonlethal, powerful, golden (from Hylia); a hybridization of both seals, the best of both worlds

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Reading - 19th of February, 2024

This is speculation only

Cards drawn on the 19th of February, 2024

Question: Why did Harry and Meghan change their name to Sussex?

Note: This reading was done with upright cards, so no reversals

Note 2: I deliberately did not tune into Harry's energy or Meghan's energy for this reading, as I am not prepared to deal with their nonsense tonight. So this is a very abstract and cerebral reading - I am open to what the universe wants to tell me but not ot the Harkles themselves.

Interpretation: It is some sort of move against The King

Card One: The Eight of Cups

This is a card about abandoning something and/or walking away from something. The idea of abandonment resonates with the energy of this card. It is rather obvious that Harry and Meghan have abandoned the Archewell name with all the failures associated with it. However, this is something different. The abandoning of the surname Mountbatten-Windsor and the adoption of the surname Sussex for their children should not have any impact on their brand. It is very clearly a move away from the royal family with the abandoning of the traditional royal surname. I feel that there is something else going on, something that involves the emotions, as Cups is the suit of emotions.

I drew a clarifier, and it was the Seven of Swords. This is the thief card, the card of trickery and deceit. There is something underhanded going on here, more than just doing the website without telling the palace. I can think of two scenarios that could apply here: 1) They are doing this to hang on to the Duke of Sussex title somehow (even if we lose the title we still have the surname) and to set up a victim narrative for the future, and/or 2) By abandoning the Mountbatten-Windsor surname, they are aiming to hurt The King by not carrying the royal surname. If so, it seems a very short sighted move for Harry, who has just said that he would love to return to the royal family, but then long term planning has never been their forte.

This could also be to make the children sound more royal, Prince Archie of Sussex as opposed to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor for example. If they are simply using Archie Sussex instead of Archie Mountbatten-Windsor then their is no change in how royal the child sounds. Ditto for Lili.

I may be wrong, but AFAIK there were no surnames used for Harry or Meghan on the website - if so, then there is nothing to say that the change is not intended for all four of them. Instead of the Kardashians, we will have the Sussexes.

Card Two: Death

Death is the card of change and transformation, so there is some sort of change going on here. The children's surnames may be part of a bigger transformation that is being planned for the future.

Death is the card of Scorpio, and The King is a sun sign Scorpio. The energy from this card is that of The King, and that tells me that this action was aimed at The King. I don't know if it was to hurt him or emotionally blackmail him or to try and force his hand, or all of the above, but it was definitely aimed at The King. They think that changing the surname of their children is going to affect what The King does in some way.

Card Three: The Nine of Pentacles

This is the card of financial security, having your efforts rewarded, luxury, and independence. It is the 'single, independent woman' card in the traditional Rider-Waite deck.

The energy from this card is money. This is all about money, and status, but mainly money. There is a satisfied, smug energy from this card, a sense of finally having enough money and having the money that you deserve. The energy is of lots of money and a sense of "Yes. I have finally got what is mine". Meghan and Harry think that this change is somehow going to get them the money that they believe belongs to them, most likely from The King, given the energy of the last card. I have no idea how this is going to work, but that is what is coming through the card - the deception and underhanded emotional stuff will work and they will be rolling in money.

As this card is the single independent woman card, then if the couple divorce, it appears that this name change makes Meghan think that she will be rolling in money if and when she gets rid of Harry.

All I can say is that whatever those two are on, it must be good.

Card Four: The Hermit

The Hermit is the card of Virgo, and I am getting Harry energy from this card (Harry is a sun sign Virgo). The energy of this card ties back to the one before it - Harry thinks that this name change will somehow give him the money and the status that he thinks he deserves, and he is feeling quite smug about it.

Underlying Energy: The Page of Swords

This is my card for gossip, and the website and its changes have certainly been talked about. However, the energy of this card is of a message (pages are messengers). The Page of Swords can bring messages about gossip, legal matters, agreements between parties, or other like matters. The card can represent a new strategy, and that energy is coming through as well, but mainly this is a message.

Under the late Queen, Harry and Meghan said they wanted their children to be Master and Miss Mountbatten-Windsor. Now they have changed their children to Sussex. The energy of the message feels like a dare or a challenge. They are challenging The King to stop them, and if he takes the bait, they will scream that the King is interfering with their rights as parents or something like that. I'm not quite sure how this is supposed to work, but it is definitely a message and a challenge.

Conclusion:

Harry and Meghan changed/are changing the surname of the children (and for all we know, their own) to show that they were abandoning something. There is something deceitful involved in the action - either it is a lie that they are using to test The King or some other type of deceit is involved. It was an action designed to hurt The King or to force his hand about something, either now or in the future. It is an action that both of them believe will give them the money they think they deserve - I have no idea how. Finally, it was a challenge to the authority of The King, in a 'we can do this and you can't stop us' kind of way.

[adorastarot]

A message from BTS for you - Mini reading

Hii everyone and welcome to my second PAC reading! Today we are asking for a message from BTS for you <3 I hope that this PAC reading will help you understand the present better and help move towards the future that you want to manifest!

How to choose a pile: Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Ask the universe if there is a message that you need to hear right now. You may either hear a number or be drawn to a pack once you open your eyes! If the message doesn't resonate then it may not be for you.

♡ Want a personal reading? Check out my Ko-fi

Pile 1

2 of cups, king of wands, the hanged man, knight of wands, 7 of pentacles

Jin & Namjoon are stepping up for this message, the colours are red, orange and yellow. The energy feels very vibrant but calm?! They’re not excited per se, they just want to be present today and help light a fire in you. 

“Slow down when it comes to romance, not every frog will turn into a prince charming (not everyone can be as handsome as me *wink* - Jin) You may be trying too hard right now to find your other half, might be giving chance after chance to people who aren’t worthy of you. You have to take a break, otherwise, you will end up sacrificing the most important things to you - love, integrity, passion and stability in exchange for the desire that lasts a couple of days. Time is not running out, people sometimes are not what you expect them to be. You will find your soulmate one day, but you have to be ok with your own journey first. Do you love yourself? Even just a bit, even if it’s just some days.  What kind of life are you creating? You have put so much work into this - not sit back and enjoy the things that you have achieved. For some of you - what’s the worst that can happen if you stop looking for love? What if you never get married, but find the love of your life tomorrow? Would you be ok with this?

Pile 2

The devil, 8 of swords, knight of cups, 4 of swords, 9 of pentacles

Jimin and Hoseok are coming forward for this one and Yoongi wants to be present but is choosing to stay in the background. The energy of this reading is a bit more…closed off. Associated colours are black, dark blue, royal blue, deep grey.

“The only thing stopping you right now is yourself. You are stopping yourself from achieving greatness but do you even realise you are doing it? Why are you scared? I have your back, we are all here for you so just give it a try. What’s the worst that can happen? You may need to work on attachment and codependent relationships in your life. It’s time to choose heart over wisdom. Be free?! Free yourself of everything that is holding you down. Be careful with those around you - your support group. The people around you can either build you up or knock you down so please make sure that you0 have people around you that deserve to have you around. Even if at times you feel alone, I am here.” You know that video of Jimin saying something like - there is someone here in the city of Seoul who understands you? That’s the image that is coming through, that is what Jimin is wearing and the way he is sat during this message. “Sleep, make sure you sleep better and take the time to relax, enjoy life a little bit more”

Pile 3

Death, knight of pentacles, 2 of swords, 5 of cups, queen of wands

Ok so Taehuyng wants to take this one by himself ahaha his energy right now is very…beige ahahaha that’s the energy of this reading, very pastel-y colours, pastel yellow, pastel blue, pastel purple. He is sat down ready to talk with his face leaning on one hand.

“This is different, right? Did you expect something like this? Oh the amount of change you have been going through this year. You are like a phoenix rising from the ashes. You can’t remember the person that you were in 2022 can you? That’s ok. Take it slowly, baby steps, one step at a time. Let the sadness in your heart become the art of life, let it become your inspiration as you move forward and discover your true self. Be sad, cry if you have to, but at times remember to cry out of happiness too! Try to have those moments of so much happiness that you can’t help but let it all out.  You are a force to be reckoned with. Take your time and feel every single emotion as the clock won’t go back and you won’t be able to experience the same thing twice.

Sending all the love your way <3