#the four tantas

[phoenixiancrystallist]

"Erected to honor the Tantas

Special Shelters

Pilgrim's Refuge

While ballow trees were long seen as sacred by Athians, making it a crime to cut them down or otherwise harm them."

...

I managed to get a good screenshot of the refuge book to translate, so let's talk about the Pilgrim's Refuge! Because I think they're nifty :3

Long before the Break reduced Athia to the zombie-infested wasteland we know and love today, people traveled from all over Athia to worship the Tantas. These people were known as pilgrims, and they built refuges to house them in their travels—a fact I'm sure Frey and Cuff are very grateful for today!

But what's interesting about these buildings is, well, many things, really. First, they're made from ballow wood. The ballow tree is sacred to Athians, and as stated on that pamphlet above, it's illegal to "cut them down or harm them." They seem to be very fragile trees, considering that simply harvesting their sap will kill them. But ballow wood has special protective properties, specifically the ability to keep "evil" at bay. Doesn't seem to work on Cuff, but that's a different post for a different time.

So the refuges were built to house people who traveled across Athia to worship the Tantas, and keep them safe from not just the elements, but from the wildlife as well. That pamphlet also states that the refuges were built for the purpose of honoring the Tantas. These pilgrims were all about their Tantas! And you can see on the refuges themselves that the people who built them put a lot of love and effort into not only making a sound structure, but a beautiful one as well. There's not a single inch of the outside walls that is not painted with murals of four women and depictions of the ballow tree that gave the wood for the refuge.

Here's the thing though: those aren't our Tantas. And the mural in the center seems to depict a fifth Tanta, or at the very least conspicuously leaves room for a fifth person.

Who are these four women? They appear to be representative of the Tantas we're familiar with, but they're not the Tantas we know. Or they're not exactly the Tantas we know. None of them are wearing their signature, iconic regalia. At least Sila's counterpart (bottom right) has a sword and appears to be wearing armor. And I can figure out Prav's (top right) because she's blindfolded, and as the saying goes: justice is blind. Olas (top left) and Cinta (bottom left), though? Olas's wears green and has darker skin than the others, and Cinta's might be petting a cat? Maybe? And those are my only clues for who these murals are supposed to depict.

So, considering that the pilgrim's refuges were built centuries ago to honor the Tantas and house the pilgrims traveling across Athia to worship said Tantas, it's reasonable to assume that the four women depicted on the refuge murals are our Tantas: Olas, Prav, Cinta, and Sila. However, no one knows how long ago the refuges were built, nor how long ago the pilgrims began their pilgrimages. It's entirely possible that these four women are the predecessors to our modern-day Tantas. In addition, that conspicuous empty space in the center mural could have been left open for the First Tanta—who knows how long ago she'd passed her mantle of Tanta onto her successors? The space may have been left to honor the Tanta who started it all, who saved Athia and brought it into prosperity so, so long ago that no one even knows when it all happened.

But that empty space also serves as an interesting look forward. It leaves room for a fifth to join the ranks as well.

[kogglyuffs]

havent shown rika llanera? no? well now i do

[mistress-light]

Forspoken • The fall of Junoon

[lonepower]

man we really are just a bitty baby sorceress aren't we

[cruelfeline]

I was thinking about the awful scene at the end of season four of SPoP. When Hordak reunites with his brother and is treated so, so harshly. Specifically, I was thinking about the stark difference between how Horde Prime treats Hordak and how he treats Glimmer.

Hordak theoretically should get the warmer welcome: he's his devoted brother, after all. While Glimmer is an enemy. But the reality of the situation is that Prime doesn't see Hordak as a person - let alone a beloved brother - so he treats him like a malfunctioning tool while Glimmer received at least an illusion of courtesy. She is, after all, an actual person in Prime's eyes. While Hordak is not.

I was thinking about this concept, and I was applying it to Cuff and Frey.

Imagine the two of them reaching Rheddah and getting shockingly opposite receptions. Frey - while the enemy - is still a Tanta, and she is treated like one. Given a significant level of respect. Spoken to as an equal, even if only for appearances.

While Cuff returns home a malfunctioning weapon and is handled accordingly.

[nevenkebla]

Fotos en una revista

Fantastic Four (1961) #275 John Byrne (Escritor, dibujante)

— Reed Richards: Ah, She-Hulk. Tú también pareces deprimida. ¿Va todo bien? — Jennifer Walters: Bueno, después de los últimos días yo diría que eso es discutible, pero… Sí, estoy un poco de bajón. Hoy sale en los quioscos esa condenada revista. — Johnny Storm: ¿Por eso estás triste, verde? Aquí tienes algo para animarte. Un ejemplar de la revista. — Jennifer Walters: Eso no tiene mucha gracia, antorcha.

— Johnny Storm: ¡Oh, pero sí que la tiene, Jenny! ¿Te acuerdas de que nos dijiste que el gusano ese de Vance tenía mucha prisa por imprimir tus fotos? Pues parece que tenía tanta que se le olvidó decirle a los impresores que eran fotos de una mujer verde… ¡Así que les corrigieron el color! ¡Paso lo mismo en un episodio de Star Trek! — Jennifer Walters: ¡Están todas igual! ¡Parece piel blanca corriente! ¡Ni siquiera se nota que soy yo! ¡No hay nada que le añada escala! Torchi… ¡Podría darte un beso! — Johnny Storm: Bueno, me alegro, pero solo soy el que trae la buena noticia, Hulki. ¡Guárdate los besos para Wyatt! Ahora, dame la revista. Creo que tengo unas gafas de sol verdes en mi viejo cuarto. — Jennifer Walters: Claro, Johnny. Yo… ¿Gafas… verdes? ¡Eh! ¡Devuélveme eso!

[bitacoradeunadialover]

ANOTACIONES ELEMENTALES SOBRE EL CHICO PERLA

“Sofisticado”, pensé la primera vez que lo vi. Su perfume masculino y su aura brillantemente oscura sólo lo hacían resaltar más.

Una bella perla negra en medio de varias piedras preciosas que habían sido pulidas en una pluralidad de formas resultaba bastante llamativo a primera vista. Perfecto en su forma, perfecto en su hablar; perfecto en cada sentido de la palabra perfecto.

Pero ese era el chico perla, el epítome de lo perfecto.

Al menos, y como dije antes, a primera vista.

Lo cierto era que el chico perla se esforzaba mucho por alcanzar aquella insana idealización de perfección que tenía impuesta en su cabeza.

Lo más triste de todo su esfuerzo era que nadie lo valoraba en lo absoluto. Y aun así él nunca dejaba de hacerlo.

Al principio creí que lo hacía por reconocimiento de algún tipo. No el de las demás piedras preciosas, claro está, pero el de alguien más. Después, en una charla ligera con el chico zafiro, lo entendí bastante bien.

El chico zafiro me había dicho que su tonto hermano se guiaba por las reglas y maneras humanas. Y que estaba muy apegado a eso, a lo humano.

Y pensé que quizás —incluso si el asunto escapaba de sí mismo—, su motivación podría tratarse de otra cosa.

No solo era un deber del cual no tenía escapatoria —porque alguien debía llenar los zapatos vacíos que el chico zafiro dejaba cada vez que podía—, o de un anhelo de reconocimiento por su esfuerzo infinito que los demás tildaban de “molesto”.

Quizás, y solo quizás, el chico perla tenía esperanza.

¿De qué? No lo sé. Pero el esfuerzo diario de su parte —su arduo trabajo criticado y despreciado— eran un claro indicio de ello.

¿Quizás quería a su familia? Porque se tomaba tantas molestias en cocinar el platillo favorito de cada hermano para la cena mensual…

No lo sé con exactitud, y probablemente muera antes de saberlo. Pero sí sé como la humana que soy, que el esfuerzo siempre viene de la mano de la esperanza. Y esa esperanza, a su vez, de un sueño, un fin o una recompensa.

Por eso, al ver las cosas como eran, sólo pude sentir pena por el chico perla, porque todo el empeño y sacrificio que ponía en cada detalle perfecto era completamente desapercibido por los otros, que consideraban algo normal que él lo hiciera todo de esa manera.

Y a veces el chico perla estaba tan agotado y harto. Y se rompía, y se quitaba su máscara superficial de perfección para mostrar lo peor de sí, siempre en privado para que nadie viera lo más primitivo de él.

Pero después de eso, seguía. Tras una taza de té, siempre seguía…

Por eso, el ver las cosas como eran hizo que me preguntara por qué el chico perla resultaba ser como era. Quería saber quién había sido la desdichada persona que terminó tallando en la mente y el corazón del chico perla aquella necesidad y anhelo de perfección constante. Un deseo inalcanzable, una esperanza agonizante.

→ Introducción a Pierres précieuses series

Solicitado por @turtle-four ♡

[conobarco]

xq zayn tiene tanta cara de pelotudo en la portada de four pregunta seria

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 3, day 11

Late art tonight for dealing with life bullshit reasons, but we've added lightning! We also did an animation for it but that's gonna take like 15 minutes to render and I need to go to bed 45 minutes ago sooooooo

[flyingwide]

thinking about how Athia started out with one Tanta and ended up with four and how that means magic and the ability to use it can be transferred between people and maybe that's a bloody business and where exactly did Jennesh go when he left a bloody mess behind

[mistress-light]

Forspoken • Athia's Tantas

The powerful sorceresses who once ruled over Athia's four realms. Each embodied virtue, which shaped how they chose to rule. They were much loved by the people of Athia, who enjoyed lives of plenty under their guidance.

[proceduralpassion]

Dos Opciones

Day 6 of Narcoctober- Write non-English language fic.

Characters: Maria Elvira x Miguel Gallardo, Maria Elvira x Female!OC

WC: 424

A/N: Took four courses of Spanish in college but I'm def not gonna tell you how much time it took to write less than 500 words lmaoo. I tried to not use Google Translate as much as I could, but still ended up needing it and I'm not even positive this is 100% correct, but I did my darndest. I also so much wanted to expand upon this way more, but I think I need to become more comfortable writing in another language for that. I put the English translation below as well, so enjoy both!

Sin quererlo, había concertado dos citas para la misma noche. La primera fue con una mujer que había conocido en el supermercado la otra mañana. Sus carritos chocaron entre sí con un fuerte ruido y la mujer, en respuesta, dijo: “¿Quién necesita café con un despertar así?”.

Era una broma tonta pero había hecho reír a María por primera vez en semanas. Probablemente su rostro había envejecido mucho más de lo necesario con todo lo que había sucedido en los acontecimientos recientes. La sonrisa que estalló en ella era muy merecida después de todo lo que había pasado últimamente, todo por ser esposa de Miguel Gallardo.

Pero claro, estaba el propio Miguel que había rogado tener una conversación durante la cena. Deseaba tener la oportunidad de hacer las paces, de que las cosas volvieran a ser como solían ser. Su reacción inicial fue decirle que se fuera a la mierda, pero había dejado que los pensamientos de su mente siguieran su curso antes de darle una respuesta. Pensó mucho en la historia que compartían juntos. Cómo se enamoraron. Los niños que crearon. El imperio que estaban construyendo. Deseaba que fuera tan fácil como un abrir y cerrar de ojos decir simplemente no. Pero ella dice que sí porque siente que se debe a sí misma y a sus hijos al menos escucharlo. Después de todo, el amor nunca fue algo que se desvaneció en el aire.

Se vuelve aún más difícil cuando María piensa en la noche que compartió con la mujer del supermercado. Se encontraron en una cafetería de la ciudad y pasaron horas conversando. Las dos mujeres ni siquiera se habían dado cuenta de cuánto tiempo había pasado hasta que el barista comenzó a limpiar el café. Era fresco y nuevo, y María no recuerda la última vez que sintió mariposas. Tampoco recuerda la última vez que habló de sí misma con tanta libertad. Estar en presencia de alguien que estaba tan profundamente comprometido en aprender todo lo que había que saber sobre ella.

Podría ir a alguna parte. Definitivamente hubo chispas en el simple beso que sus labios compartieron cuando terminó la noche. Estaba familiarizada con la sensación de mariposas en el estómago, pero con esta mujer sentía halcones.

María se encuentra con dos citas para esta noche. Ella no puede hacer ambas cosas. Se viste para cenar y su mente salta entre sus dos opciones. ¿Debería limitarse a con quién se siente cómoda o permitirse ser aventurera?

------------

Without meaning to, she had arranged two dates for the same evening. The first was with a woman she had met in the grocery store the other morning. Their carts collided with each other with a loud bang and the woman, in response, said “Who needs coffee with a wake up like that?” 

It was a silly joke but it had made Maria laugh for the first time in weeks. Her face had probably aged so much more than necessary with everything that had happened in recent events. The smile that broke out on her was much deserved after everything she’d endured lately, all for being the wife of Miguel Gallardo.

But then, there was Miguel himself who had begged for a conversation over dinner. He desired a chance to make amends, to get things back to how they used to be. Her initial reaction was to tell to go fuck himself, but she had let her mind’s thoughts run its course before actually giving him an answer. She thought long and hard about the history they shared together. How they fell in love. The children they created. The empire they were building. She wished it was as easy as a drop of a hat to just say no. But she says yes because she feels like she owes to herself and to her children to at least hear him out. Love was never something that got zapped into thin air, after all.

It makes it even harder when Maria thinks about the night she shared with the woman from the grocery store. They met up at a coffee shop in town and had spent hours engaged in conversation. The two women hadn’t even realized how much time had passed until the barista started cleaning up around the cafe. It was fresh and new, and Maria can’t remember the last time she’s felt butterflies. She also can’t remember the last time she spoke of herself so freely. To be in the presence of someone who was so deeply engaged in learning everything there was to know about her. 

It could go somewhere. There were definitely sparks in the mere peck that their lips shared when the night ended. She was familiar with the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, but with this woman, she felt hawks.

Maria finds herself with two dates for tonight. She can’t make both. She gets dressed for dinner, her mind bouncing between her two choices. Should she stick to who she's comfortable with or allow herself to be adventurous? 

Click here if you wanna be added to the taglist. Taglist: @asirensrage @drabbles-mc @narcosfandomdiscord

[waloeders]

okay cooking up a theory on where a fs2 might have gone,, under the cut cuz it got a bit long LMAO

first of all. the first tanta had 7 buddies (other tantas?). we know athia had 4 tantas so presumably the other 3 were rheddig. backed up pretty well by the DLC.

second of all. she also writes that the rheddah were allies before they set the demon (sussy) on athia, the first time around.

third. cipal's mausoleum archive entry makes an off hand reference to it being a) older than cipal itself and b) believed to be where the souls of all athian souls go to rest (tho no one knows where that belief came from!).

so: before the first tanta formed athia as four realms with four tantas, athia was friends with the rheddig and they both had tantas leading them in some capacity. theres very little (readable) writing down around this time - the archives even note that the athian script was devised by the first tantas. presumably little to no writing happened before this - at the very least nothing that survived y'know, everything.

theory: this belief is from the rheddah, but was never written down, possibly because of everything that happened with susurrus and possibly because of general (presumed) hatred of the rheddig for unleashing him (1st time). and, going out on a limb, its related to that machine in visoria that has an archive entry of an "error" occuring around when susurrus gets released in the gloaming (2nd time).

i really think the second game would have gone into rheddah and said yes, we all used to be under a united banner and/or the rheddah were working under a larger technological power.

god just,,, the lore that there wouldve been 😭🫠

[heavenboy09]

1 YEAR AGO TODAY

ON JANUARY 24TH, 2023

SQUARE ENIX

& LUMINIOUS PRODUCTIONS

PRESENTS

A NEW AGE OF HEROINE IS UPON US

OUR STORY BEGINS

ON EARTH 🌎

IN A MAJOR METROPOLIS CITY KNOWN AS NEW YORK CITY 🗽

FREY 👩🏿, A YOUNG WOMAN ABANDONED NEAR THE HOLLAND TUNNEL  🚇AS A NEWBORN, APPEARS IN COURT FOR THEFT AND IS SENTENCED TO COMMUNITY SERVICE.

SHE IS AMBUSHED BY THE GANG WHO FORCED HER TO STEAL, BUT ESCAPES TO HER HOUSE 🏠 🏚 AND HER CAT 🐱, HOMER.

THE GANG SETS THE BUILDING ABLAZE🔥, BUT FREY AND HOMER ESCAPE.

NOW HOMELESS, FREY TRUSTS HOMER TO HER SENTENCING JUDGE, AND VISITS HOLLAND TUNNEL🚇 ON HER BIRTHDAY . SHE IS DRAWN TO A STRANGE BANGLE 📿, WHICH ACTIVATES A PORTAL THAT DRAWS HER IN........

FREY IS TRANSPORTED TO THE WORLD 🌎 OF

ATHIA.

THE BANGLE 📿, BONDED TO HER, REVEALS THAT IT IS SENTIENT AND CAN ONLY BE HEARD BY HER.

FREY NAMES HIM "CUFF📿" AND FINDS THAT HE HAS AWAKENED MAGICAL ✨ ABILITIES WITHIN HER. SHE DISCOVERS ATHIA IS OVERRUN BY A MIASMA CALLED THE BREAK, WHICH CORRUPTS ALL LIFE, BUT SHE IS UNAFFECTED BY IT. FREY REACHES THE CITY OF CIPOL, HUMANITY'S REFUGE FROM THE BREAK. 

FREY LEARNS THAT ATHIA WAS ONCE RULED BY THE TANTA'S, FOUR BENEVOLENT SORCERESSES, BUT THEY BEGAN EXUDING THE BREAK AND OPPRESSING THE CITY'S INHABITANTS. 

SHE IS WITHOUT A DOUBT

THEIR ONLY HOPE FOR ATHIA'S SURVIVAL FOR SEEING THE LIGHT SHINE AGAIN

THROUGH THE DARKNESS

ITS TIME FOR A NEW HERO IN THE MAKING TO RISE

&

FIND HER WAY TO FIGHT

SQUARE ENIX ⬛

& LUMINIOUS PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

THE 1ST EVER VIDEOGAME 🎮 TO FEATURE

A BLACK FEMALE AS THE LEADING MAIN CHARACTER IN HER OWN VIDEOGAME

BLACK GIRL MAGIC TIME ✨ 👩🏿🖤✨

ELLA BALINSKA

IS

FREY HOLLAND

IN

FORSPOKEN 👩🏿🖤🤎📿✨ 

HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY TO SQUARE ENIX'S

FORSPOKEN 👩🏿🖤🤎📿✨

FIND YOUR FIGHT  #Forspoken #FreyHolland #Cuff #Tanta #Athia #EllaBalinska #BlackGirlMagic #PS5

[cruelfeline]

Thinking about how Frey not only appears able to handle Cuff in a way the other Tantas could not, but she does so while handling all of him and using his magic in conjunction with her own.

Like... the other Tantas each carried only a quarter of him while literally locking themselves away in their castles in order to try to divide his power as much as possible. And I seriously doubt they ever actually had him using any of his magic.

Whereas Frey has all of him! All of Susurrus sitting there in her skin while she calls on him to send his little birds out to scout terrain, has him flare out to shield her, uses his power to deliver killing blows as she sees fit.

That's incredible. Four powerful women felled by just a quarter of this demon, locked away and suppressed, while Frey cheerfully handles his full power. While using his magic, mixing it with hers, and suffering none of the ill effects.

When Susurrus mixed with the other Tantas, the Break happened. But with Frey? Nothing. Just an ironically very successful partnership.

[nevenkebla]

Legado

Fantastic Four (1961) #62 Jack Kirby, Stan Lee (Autores)

— Reed Richards: Aún queda tanto por aprender, tantas maravillas por descubrir… lástima que todo deba terminar tan pronto, antes de poder desentrañar los infinitos misterios de este extraño e increíble universo. Pero ya habrá otros que sigan mis pasos y descubran los misterios del cosmos, uno tras otro. Porque la mente del hombre es la llave más poderosa de todas, la que algún día abrirá la puerta de la inmortalidad. Y cada uno de nosotros ayuda, a su manera, en cuanto está en su mano, a aquellos que nos seguirán. Ese es el único y auténtico legado que podemos dejar a nuestros seres queridos: haber dejado el mundo un poco mejor que como nos lo encontramos.