So I Was Rather Curious As To Why Corrin And Azura Were Barefooted And Everyone Else (except Kana) Had

i love the awakening kids but i also hate them so much at the same time because they all have the exact same problem in that they all insist on dealing with their problems on their own! they have literally endured two worlds worth of trauma but wont talk to anyone about it! not with eachother, not with their parents, no one!! it has to be coaxed or bribed out of them because theyre all convinced that opening up is equivalent to burdening other people and it’s just!! not true!!

laurent refuses to talk about how being isolated for five years changed him until his dad and lucina push him! severa wont talk to her mom out of fear until cordelia makes a deal with her! inigo wont open up to his dad until he almost dies! kjelle convinced herself she cant show a smidge of weakness or else everyone will die! brady convinced himself his insecurities are a liability! owain and cynthia would rather die in their alternate personas than admit theyre not as happy as they let on! im not even gonna touch gerome’s refusual to talk about his feelings with a ten foot pole. nah was neglected by her foster parents and forces herself to treat it like its not a big deal BUT LIKE. IT IS? noire was literally abused by tharja and talks about like all she did was get a slap on the wrist once. yarne is carrying the livelihood of an ENTIRE RACE on his shoulders. admittedly hes probably the one who talks about it the most, but honestly. he deserves to! because what the fuck?? dude?!

and lucina. oh my god lucina. i dont even think i can put into words how much pressure she was under in her own timeline, and how much she had to repress in order to be the exalt her people needed, even though she knew she was leading her friends into a losing war. and then we literally see her first moments in canon timeline of awakening, the first thing she sees is her father who she misses more than anything in the world, and she cant even react to him?! she cant tell him how much she loves him, how much she missed him, she cant cry, she cant do ANYTHING shes quite literally hiding everything behind her mask. and then she continues to hide it all for TWO YEARS until she accidentally slips up, but the fact that it was an accident means she was going to keep up the marth facade. like GIRL. JUST HUG YOUR DAD!!!

anyways this is all to say they make me emo

the thing that gets me about the awakening kids is that they grew up as prey. they were not the apex predators in their world. they had to fight and claw their way to survival at every given moment. they’re not hunters, they’re survivors; never once were they the predators in their world, and that has honed them so sharp that nobody even realizes it. so what if severa’s reaction to being startled is to draw her sword? so what if laurent keeps his back pressed against the wall whenever possible? so what if inigo’s hearing is so sharp he can hear footsteps from hundreds of feet away? they survived, and they’re good fighters; during the war, it only helps them. it doesn’t matter.

but what about after? when the risen are eradicated once and for all, when the wars are finished, when the fight comes to a close? now, owain falling silent when a door creaks two floors down is annoying. now, kjelle’s ability to switch focus right into fighting is scary, not helpful. they’re humans; they’re the best fighters ylisse and everywhere else has to offer. they’re the apex predators.

and yet they grew up as prey.

actually thinking so much about the implications of chrom!laslow. because he grew up a prince completely useless, completely unable to protect his citizens from this force that tried to kill them no matter how hard anyone tried. they were completely at grima’s whims and try as he might to protect them, his father was gone and his mother did her best before she inevitably died as well, and he was so young and there’s only so much he’d be able to do, yk? but then fast forward and he’s in his 20’s, maybe 30’s, and he’s under xander who is in such a painfully similar situation, and he’s seeing it from an outsiders eyes. sure, anankos isn’t raising the dead citizens before their eyes to kill what remained of the living, but he was still destroying the people of nohr and by extension hoshido. people lived in fear. there was nothing that could possibly be done for them, not until anankos was killed and garon, by extension, died. but this time, laslow is one of the few people who knows about it, and he cannot speak of it lest he want to disappear forever, which ran the risk of dooming nohr forever because he did have some sway as the retainer to the crown prince of nohr. and he’s older now, it’s true, but he is just as helpless as he was as a child, watching his citizens lose family and friends and themselves in the face of the horrors that surrounded them and being able to do absolutely nothing to stop it.

i’m kinda upset that the fire emblem fandom keeps drawing Lucina with huge breasts because:

She binds for the whole damn main story

In the official hot spring DLC art she wears an alternate outfit without binding and look.

and there are plenty of other fire emblem women who are confirmed to be over 19 and have large breasts, please acknowledge them, gosh.

Fates’ 2nd Gen Characters: Parallels and Contrasts

A request from an anon. Again, I won’t do the neutral children since it would be kind of difficult to do so. But it was easier than I thought to do the rest of the kids.

Shiro and Siegbert: Both are heirs to their respective kingdoms through their very renowned fathers and are actually pretty insecure about inheriting the title of king. Siegbert is principled and docile, and always knew he was royalty. Shiro is rebellious and direct, and was kept in the dark about his identity. Siegbert idolizes Xander and wants to be just like him, whereas Shiro wants to be better than Ryoma and went so far as to fight with naginata so he’d have an advantage over his dad in a fight.

Kiragi and Forrest: Both have mixed feelings about their royal blood and their inheritance; Forrest is afraid of the responsibilities and terrifying power that comes with being royalty and Brynhildr’s successor, whereas Kiragi hates being coddled due to his status. Forrest is a healer with a keen aesthetic eye, loves fashion and prefers to keep things neat and tidy. Kiragi is an amazing hunter who is one with wilderness, and is pretty unkempt. Forrest is shy with confidence issues (said issues being more apparent in the JP version, again he was kind of changed in Western releases) and has an uneasy relationship with Leo. Kiragi is optimistic and outgoing, and loves Takumi unconditionally.

Asugi and Nina: Both of them have very strained relationships with their fathers, are skilled in espionage, fight for what they believe is righteous and just, have unconventional obsessions and both of their paralogues require you not to let them escape. The key difference is that Nina chose the same path that Niles did despite him not wanting that for her, whereas Asugi resents being the sixth Saizo, and wants to find his own path in life no matter what his father wants.

Mitama and Soleil: Both are noted to have inherited a slew of traits from their respective fathers (Soleil inherits Laslow’s smiling credo and flirtatiousness with women, Mitama inherits Azama’s star eyes, wisdom, and sharp tongue). However, Soleil is sociable and enthusiastic, while Mitama is lazy and keeps to herself. Also, Mitama is very artistic; she enjoys poetry, scroll crafting, and chigiri-e (a Japanese form of artwork where you tear and paste together colored paper to create an image). Soleil on the other hand has as much artistic style as stale bread, and is outright noted to be a terrible dancer and singer, among other things.

Caeldori and Ignatius: Both characters look up to their fathers and want to be just like them, but have massive insecurities. The difference lies in that Caeldori is outwardly confident in both social interaction and battle, but is incredibly anxious and afraid of not measuring up to her father. Ignatius is afraid of looking like a coward to basically everyone, especially because his role as an armor knight means he must protect people; however, he gets a boost of bravery and courage whenever he’s on the battlefield. Another difference is that Caeldori hates being treated like a natural talent because it makes her feel isolated and her hard work being ignored, whereas Ignatius diminishes his own talents and hard work a lot, and hates looking like a failure in front of people.

Rhajat and Ophelia: Both are eccentric spellcasters who are talented in the dark arts. Ophelia is open and dramatic, whereas Rhajat is gloomy and introverted. Ophelia makes her love and admiration for her father well known, hence her being inspired by him. Rhajat on the other hand is initially rebellious and standoffish with her father, but does reveal that she loves him deeply. While Ophelia is always flashy and chipper, she’s secretly insecure that people won’t take her seriously and that she’ll never measure up to the Chosen One status that she seeks to accomplish. Rhajat may appear standoffish, but desperately wants to make friends and have people like her despite her gloomy aura and odd habits. In short, both care deeply about what others think of them despite it seeming like the contrary.

Hisame and Percy: Both characters initially rebelled against their fathers. Both also have contradictory traits compared to their fathers (Hisame’s seriousness vs Hinata’s carefree attitude, Percy’s good luck vs Arthur’s horrendous luck). However, Percy’s rebellion against his father is played for laughs and a reference to both of their respective luck (good luck that Percy had mercenaries to back him up, bad luck that Arthur has to deal with the mercs), and he ultimately loves his father a lot. Hisame’s relationship with Hinata though is more complex and deep-seated, but he ultimately does care for his father and is actually secretly jealous of his carefree nature. Lastly, Percy is childish and innocent, whereas Hisame is calm and wise beyond his years.

Selkie and Velouria: Both characters are scions of their respective beast tribes and love their fathers dearly. Selkie is a free spirit who loves playing with others and getting praise, whereas Velouria likes to remain by herself most of the time and has more unconventional interests. Selkie is naive to the ways of the world, and often has to be taught about things such as morality during conflict or how her race puts her in danger. Velouria on the other hand is quite knowledgeable about things, if a bit blunt. Also, Selkie is clingy to her father because she never had a chance to visit the rest of the kitsune hamlet, but Velouria is clingy to her father because she knows she’ll eventually have to live for herself one day and is trying to make the most of the time with her dad that she can.

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And there you go. I hope I made a good sequel post.

EVEN MORE CLARA DOLL DETAILS:

So you know how the Dolls have their own distinctive clothes?

Guess who else has their own distinctive clothes!

That’s right. The multiple Homuras are actually Clara Dolls.

And that’s why ‘Homura’ is smiling.

Here they are! The one with the striped hat is Nekura (Gloominess or Pessimism) and the one with the flower is Mie (Vanity).

Here’s their descriptions from the art book.

[The second one to come was Gloominess. Walking out with a tapping sound, she sneered at Good-for-Nothing. “This is Good-for-Nothing! How very unbecoming.” These dolls are only disciples of Freedom, and are devoted to their lust for it.]

[The tenth to come running is Vanity. She exaggeratedly avoids Good-for-Nothing's head and says a few words. “I wouldn't be able to bear dirtying my cape with that sticky blood!” These dolls make fun of the witch's self-mutilation.]

Good-for-Nothing is Homura, by the way, but the Clara Dolls seem to consider Good-for-Nothing to be good for something after all after she splits Madoka. She turns into the Devil, and the Clara Dolls are stated to be “okay” with the Devil. If the young voices in the trailer belong to the Clara Dolls, then they also call her “Akuma-sama” now. Something like Mistress Devil, implying a sense of respect.

[… if they are not summoned, they will simmer. There are orders they will comply with, and also orders they will disobey. What they are and the witch herself's own magic are not well understood.]

At the end of Rebellion, Homura gave Madoka her ribbon back. She declared that they might become enemies in the end. Honestly, I thought that Homura would try her best to avoid Madoka entirely. The trailer suggested that Homura was meeting Madoka, though. Here’s the answer: it wasn’t Homura herself, but Gloominess, who wants freedom.

Now, I’m not sure how this situation works out. Do Clara Dolls have free will? Are they obeying Homura’s orders? Acting out Homura’s true emotions? Is Homura perhaps directly puppeteering them in order to fulfill her goals, or do they act on their own?

I find it likely that it’s a mix of both: some of them obey her, and some of them will try and fulfill her (probably very conflicting) desires, as familiars usually do. Gloominess is likely part of Homura who wants the freedom to talk to Madoka, for example, but Vanity seems to me like a Clara Doll who is obeying Homura. After all, she still needs magical girls to fight wraiths, at least until she finds a way to wipe them out.

[I'm Vanity (Mie). I'm pushing myself to the limit for someone.] And she is, of course. All of the theatrics, the calls, the organization of magical girls. These are things that Vanity is shown to engage in. All of this is for Madoka.

We see with Gloominess, at least, that she seems to be fulfilling a specific desire: in the background are white spider lilies. Instead of the red spider lilies that mean death, final goodbyes, and lost love, white spider lilies mean a hope for the future and a fresh start. Maybe this really is the first meeting for these two in a while, and she wants to be friends again?

Or maybe, being Gloominess, she wants to warn her about something.

[I'm Gloominess (Nekura). Forcing smiles tires me out.]

Then there’s this Homura.

Nothing about her clothes is very different. She is wearing ribbons as Homura in the wraith universe does, but look closely: the ribbons are different. They have some wavy stripes on them, while Madoka’s ribbons are plain. She does not correspond to any known Clara Doll.

However, there’s mentioned to be a fifteenth Clara Doll that is not yet born: Ai, representing love. This could be her. Is it love for others? Or love for herself? I’m hoping it’s the latter, but very likely it’s love for Madoka and her friends. This would explain why she’s trying to fight Homucifer in the poster, as Homura believes that she’s a danger to everyone else.

How can this be? Well, here’s a few options:

- The Clara Dolls are grown-up familiars. They ate souls, and they became a copy of their witch. This is a process that was explained to us in the original series, where some magical girls are stated to farm familiars by letting them eat people so that they would grow souls/grief seeds.

- The Clara Dolls are not familiars, or wraiths, but instead a secret third thing. “What they are and the witch’s own magic are not well understood”, as said in the Rebellion art book. They could be magical constructs of a different kind, but I do think that this would get into overcomplicated explanations quickly, so I favor the familiar explanation.

- The Clara Dolls could be familiars, but instead of eating souls they’re simply powerful enough to change their shape. Their strength is equal to the strength of a magical girl…. when Homura was a witch, before Homura became something more. It could also be energy from the contracts making them stronger. Maybe it’s me being sentimental, but I don’t like the idea of Homura letting anyone’s soul be nommed on.

Now, before there’s a panic about how they’ll juggle fifteen extra characters, here’s a few thoughts:

- Just because they seem different doesn’t mean they’re actually different. It might be that the Clara Dolls are a way for Homura to present herself. As Vanity, she might show off more, or have dramatic flourishes like her throne and her dress. As Gloominess, it might be that she doesn’t believe that her plans will work, so she tries to do what makes her happy. It’s likely that the Clara Dolls are just extra ways to explore Homura’s character. They’re parts of her soul, after all, and right now she is extremely powerful. She might simply want to keep her true self away from humans.

- They could work like projections. Homura wants more bodies to work with, but she has to filter herself through the Dolls’ personalities. This could result in a lot of juicy character interactions, as the things she tries to keep hidden are closer to the surface.

- Will ‘Ai/Mystery Homura’ fight against Devil Homura? Very likely! How can this be when they’re the same person? Well, who hates Homura more than Homura? That’s right. Nobody. Anyone can fight and argue with their self, it’s just usually not on the level that a reality-warper like Homura can manage.

If this is true, there’s plenty of interesting directions they can take it.

- Because the Clara Dolls have a degree of separation from Homura, they can show other characters things that Homura herself has ignored or locked away. Bad memories, affection for her friends, the resentment she must feel - everything from concern to a cry for help can be plausibly shown through them as the actors.

- Manuke (Stupidity) is specifically more naive/sincere than the others. Maybe interacting with this Doll would show the Quintet that there’s something more going on than a Devil who wants to hurt other people.

- If Ai represents a love for other people, Ai can have a strange character arc where she learns to value Homura/herself, and become self-love.

- On the other hand, Ai can represent self-love from the start, and because Homura looks very fucking unhealthy in the trailer, she only wants to stop her because she’s hurting herself. This option plays into the themes of self-sacrifice and happiness, which I believe to be some of the major themes that they’re going for.

- The poster could be misleading and Ai ends up fighting everyone but Homura. I find this the funniest option.

- Homura can hug herself. It’s possible. In fact, every character can hug Homura 15 different times.

Smiles are a Clara Doll’s default expression. We have yet to see Homura smile for real.

Is this going to get very ambiguous and confusing? Probably. But rewatching for details was the fun part in Rebellion, so I’m looking forward to it!

How I feel I sound every time I theorycraft about Grima

i don’t think the trauma hits owain/odin until after anankos is killed.

he never knew peace. he was so unbelievably young when the war started, as there was war before there were risen, that chances are, the only little bit of peace he’d ever seen was in the few months before anankos showed up and begged him, severa, and inigo for help, so he donned a persona and fit himself into the role of a retainer—another soldier, another fighter, just with a more refined name.

and then he fought for leo. he fought for garon. he fought the war, and perhaps he killed anankos along the way, or perhaps he and selena hoisted laslow’s body in a casket and used their crystals as odin bid farewell to his lord turned king. and then he returns home—wherever home is, whether it be ylisse or nohr—and is met with… peace.

if he stays in nohr, it takes longer to set in. there are still skirmishes, still reparations, still things that must settle down and things that he must manage by leo’s side. but as peace settles a blanket over nohr, as odin no longer has things to worry about every moment of every day, is no longer worrying about battle after battle or training or building up public trust—well, first come the nightmares, then the flashbacks, then the triggers.

if he goes to ylisse, it’s faster. ylisse has settled, by now, almost irregardless of how much time passed in ylisse versus nohr. there are no battles to fight, no wars to win. owain barely counts as a prince in the ylisse he returns to, with his counterpart already born or maybe, if the time is far different, simply on the way. there is little for him to do, and so the images of risen haunt him—whispers of their magic in dark corners, their eyes in the reflections of stained-glass windows, their rotten stench in the stables.

he is fine. he is fine, he is happy, he is healthy, he is stable. but then when everything he has built himself up around crumbles—when there is no longer a cause to fight for, no longer people who need protecting—he collapses, completely and utterly.

Reblog if you love any of the underappreciated pokespe pairings

luckyshipping • specialjewelshipping • viridianshipping • ambershipping • entourageshipping • raltsshipping • concretejungleshipping • gracefulshipping • magmajewelshipping • chosenshipping • manganewrivalshipping • originshipping • absurdistshipping • grantedshipping • originalshipping • romantic or platonic • reblog with others!

Sothis' design symbols and colors are frequently represented in nabataeans design, game's UI and many more. In this post, we will address all of this.

Stars

These magical points of light would have always reminded people of other worlds and heavenly powers. According to spiritualists and astrologers, the stars transmit certain messages and energies that affect our own world. Stars are often seen as magical and mysterious, reflecting the mysteries of the universe. Also, the star would hold the meaning to something higher, beautiful, enlightening, mighty, and divine. All of these things unmistakably represent everything Sothis is in a game. The stars also symbolize guidance on the right path (either literally or figuratively), a role played by Sothis, Byleth, and Rhea in game.

Heart

The heart often symbolizes love and passion, but it also symbolizes spirit, the essence of life and strength, and this is in line with the concept of the crest of flames as the source of Sothis’ power. Furthermore, the crest of flames is in the stylized shape of a heart, and in the Sothis’ design it appears literally inside a heart in her necklace.

The similarity of the design of Sothis to the Nabataeans

In order to understand the method of my explanation of the similarity of the nabateans design with Sothis’ tiara, I divided the crown parts and named each part as follows: P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, and P9.

Surely many have noticed that Rhea’s adornment is very similar to that of Sothis, while the patterns on her cape are similar to those of Sothis’ dress and the crest of flames. 

She has P1 and P2 in her outfit as Seiros.

Like Rhea, Seteth has in both his diadem and belt frame and tassels similar parts to that of Sothis’ tiara, but in a more stylized form as pictured below.

While Flayn’s barrette may not look like the parts of Sothis’ tiara at first glance, they are in fact stylized P1, P2/P3, and P5.

The distinctive pattern that Seteth and Flayn share looks like a stylized of Sothis’ knot, and even the pattern on Seteth’s back is similar to a P3.

Even the pendant owned by Sitri is the same as the P8.

Colors

Sothis generally wears blue (specifically dark blue), which is the color of the star Sirius. However, it is very important to note that the Sothis’ ribbons are distinguished by the color white, which in Buddhist culture and most world cultures symbolizes learning, purity, longevity and knowledge, and pink symbolizes the traditional Buddha. So we see Sothis in crests mural wearing only white and pink. (I avoided golden and black because I felt that they are just colors used in general in design)

Besides, all the Nabateans wear the same Sothis’ color scheme, white, blue, golden and black.

The only color they lack is pink, which only Byleth and Seiros wear in her hair band.

The Byleth’s dagger also has the same Sothis’ color scheme, representing the relationship they have. But I guess I’ll talk more about Byleth’s design in another post.

The rainbow fish bestowing the Goddess Messenger has the same Sothis’ color scheme.

I know that I ignored black and golden, and I know that some may think that the uniform colors of the Officers Academy represent the names of the three houses, but it also specifically represents the Sothis’ color scheme, and evidence of this is the white shirts, and the dark blue which is the same color as Sothis’ dress.

Its house leader insignia is similar to P1 and P4.

The pattern in uniform has P1 motifs, as does the infinity motif in Sothis’ necklace.

The uniform brooch is stylized for P1, P3 and P4, but in rhombus pattern style.

Speaking of the rhombus pattern, some must have noticed it given its presence a lot in the game, and in any product for it. Sometimes 4 rhombuses major are combined to form a four-pointed star, and sometimes 4 rhombus minors are also combined with the major ones to form an eight-pointed star. The eight-pointed star is the one that represents Sothis and the Nabateans in general, which symbolizes god, protection, and victory. Over the years, it has also taken on different meanings due to a variety of cultures and customs adopting it. In many cultures the eight-pointed star is also a symbol of harmony, spirit, and matter. You could even think of this star shape as two superimposed squares that form the basis for the universe. Sometimes a square is confused with a rhombus, especially since a rhombus can also form an eight-pointed star with a square. 

This pattern is present in many parts of the game, including white magic units, church npc, and the pattern found in Rhea and Gilbert outfits.

The pattern found in Cathedral.

And in many UI game.

There are also many UI that contain a Sothis’ design, as shown in the image below.