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mysterious-secret-garden · 8 months

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Franz Stassen - Illustration for Wagner’s ‘Der Ring Des Nibelungen’ (The Nibelung's ring), 1914.

#Franz Stassen #The Nibelung's ring #underworld #Norns #Rhinemaidens #Rhine daughters

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illustratus · 1 year

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Siegfried and the Rhinemaidens by Hans Zatzka

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thefugitivesaint · 16 days

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Hermann Hendrich (1854-1931), 'The Rhine Daughters', ''The Etude'', Vol. 47, #12, Dec. 1929 Source

#hermann hendrich #german artists #german painters #the etude #the rhine daughters #richard wagner #Rhinemaidens #Der Ring des Nibelungen #The Rhinegold #vintage art #mermaids

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monards · 2 months

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i need rhine to meet carabosse sooo bad. her little potion making granddaughter. please.

#rhine please meet your grand daughters #ggodd.....#what organs i wouldnt sell to see rhine and melusine art #rhine hcs #rhine & carabosse

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jeffreystewart · 6 months

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Norsery Rhymes from A to Z Flosshilde - Rhine Daughter

Well here we are on another ThorsDay with another quick 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, sometimes Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s a version of Flosshilde / Floßhilde. The Rhine Maiden / Daughter of the Rhine with a name invented by Wagner for his operas Das Rhingold and Gotterdammerung.

#norse mythology #germanic mythology #rhine daughter #flosshilde #Floßhilde

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chocoenvy · 2 years

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so what ur saying is Fischl has two new moms who are hazards to society ✍️

IM GLAD IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES HER AS TRANS THOUGH LIKE MOOD. transfem fischl 🤝 transmasc bennet 🤝 transneu razor

but also the awkward family dinner with Rhinedottir + Alice and their other kids and Fischl's parents 😭

Alice has to physically restrain Rhinedottir from commiting numerous war crimes the entire time but she's just like oh that's just how she is :) isn't she just adorable :)

also Oz is her service animal / emotional support animal and ill die on this hill tyvm

n Fischl & Klee are best friends canon proves me right once again. Klee thinks she's really cool n looks up to her especially once she gets basically adopted by Alice & Rhinedottir. because now she has a cool older sister and she tells EVERYONE. everyone will appreciate her super cool sister or else🔪 - eros

oh my god chronically thinking of feral rhinedottir and unhinged Alice as her handler to make sure she doesn't commit mass murder

Bro i just want Fish to get the childhood she never got bc not to make this about myself I get so upset I didn't have the boy childhood sometimes, like bro i fucking hate gender roles but i WANTED that classic boy childhood man

So Rhine and Alice making Fischl the Princess she never got to be when she was little... I'm tearing up man. Rhine irl blocking everyone that makes fun of Fish or makes her uncomfortable or anything im <333

ALSO YES HI Oz is 100% the emotional support bird. I read Fischl's story on how she got her vision but it's been a while, I think he's a manifestation made by her vision??? Not too confident on that but either way he's her best friend! No matter what happens there's always Oz who will see her as Fischl, who will see her as a princess.

Meanwhile her parents don't understand why she wants to live out this fantasy, they gave her a good childhood, she should be grateful! But... it's not the childhood she wanted. It was good! But she just...wished it were different.

And that's what Rhine and Alice are giving her!

Klee is like "My sister is a princess!! She's so cool!!"

And fish acts all cool but every time someone calls her a princess or call her Fischl or any variation she just :> She thinks about it a lot

And then more and more people start doing it and soon it's a normal occurence and there's too many to think about-

and she's really The Prinsezzin of a faraway kingdom, one that Alice and Rhine are giving her. And her body, her personality, everything about Fischl that she once hated and ridiculed, are now something she can love.

Even if she's not "in-character" all the time, she's not ❏❏❏. She's still Fischl. She'll always be Fischl, because that's just who she is.

And even if some ridicule her and say she's not the Prinzessin, and even if Fischl sometimes thinks she's not a princess and she's just some stupid girl named ❏❏❏ with stupid fantasies of living a happy life, Alice and Rhine are there. Even if she doesn't think so, she'll always be a princess to them <3

#choco.asks #*~frequent customer #bro we need to stop clowning on Fish for her name #she got it from a book and i got my chosen name from an x reader fic IT'S NORMAL #fischl deserves a happy life <3 #fischl is gonna have a massive character arc and i'm gonna be pissed bc of this hc i swear-#also fischl's parents calling fish her deadname and rhinedottir having to be physically restrained #Alice is about to very not subtly correct them when Klee's like: who tf is that #and fish is about to die bc she doesn't want Klee - someone who's only ever known her preffered name - to know that name #but albedo GOD BLESS ALBEDO is like: Someone who used to live in Mondstadt she was friends with fish but she left #it's fine though she's happier now :)#and Rhine is still ready to commit a murder bc that's HER daughter they're fucking with #you don't mess with rhine's daughter.#but fischl's parents (reluctantly) get the hint and lay off #i love my baby sorry this was very long-

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m1d-45 · 1 year

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Fast makes trash, even gems take a few million years to form, dont rush yourself.

Trust me, if you do that, you'll never be satisfied with it.

-🥘Stew

you are so right actually. stew for motivational speaker 2023

#very long tags watch out #m1d : [chats]#stew🥘 anon #this is me saying i HATE rhinedottir with a BURNING PASSION >:(#part of the reason the albedo piece has stagnated is bc i need to do research on him and ‘’’’subject two’’’’ and i am gonna boil rhine alive #‘ooo what if i took this ancient artifact and dumped my sun on my friend and her daughter’ literally shut up. nobody likes you.#‘he he he i know i created THIS one first but i like THIS one better so THAT one can be subject two :)’ i hate you. genuinely. you are awful #‘what if i told my dragon son to go above ground knowing he would die and lie to him abt it? that’s smart’ ITS NOT GO BACK TO UR CAVE RHINE #many emotions. none of them are good ones.#**talking about genshin impact** why is the lore abt khaenri’ah so vague???#shout out to the beloved soldiers manning the genshin wiki pages. i am giving you an honorary medal of honor #also i understand and register that i can’t rush myself to be creative but like. this is a genuine hobby of mine and i feel gross if i don’t #brain says ‘if you don’t write you’ll be sad :)’ and then just. gives me nothing to write—#nyway. probably needed to hear this. thanks stew; genuinely #also ‘even gems take a few million years to form’ is so true. everything i’ve written i’ve harvested from the ground with my sinner hands #stole from the earth to give to the man; society prospers off the death of the land #< or whatever. that’s not a quote i just just woke up so m feelin cryptic.

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beyondlife-beyonddeath · 2 years

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burstfoot · 6 months

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Your name is Kristen Wright. You’re barely 10. You’re at the outdoor funeral for your parents, a pair of genius scientists that Terra will never see again. You’ve spent the last two weeks giving false smiles to women and men who pretend to grieve them while spending every moment they think you’re not looking lauding them for their ‘foolishness’ and ‘hubris’. Sitting amongst a crowd of these intellectuals, your feel nothing looking at their crocodile tears, knowing they’re just happy there’s less competition for next year’s grants. Your new guardian grabs onto your hand in an attempt to grant you a modicum of comfort. You stare blankly at the sky above.

You’ve never felt so alone. You don’t think this feeling will ever go away.

Your name is Joyce Moore. You can hardly communicate anymore. Your best friend killed herself trying to replicate the experiment that gave you permanent brain damage. Every scientist at Rhine Lab now treats you like a child at best, and an animal at worst. Your parents have not come to see you. None of your colleagues seem to understand that you are still you, with a sense of humour, good taste in TV shows, and fucking feelings, god damn it.

You’ve never felt so alone. You don’t think this feeling will ever go away.

Your name is Ferdinand Clooney. You’ve lost everything you’ve ever worked for in a futile grab for power. The department of defense has you by the dick after saving you from a group of Pioneers who (justifiably) nearly beat you half to death. It’s playing fiddle to their whims or the rest of your life in prison - or, most realistically, a tragic accident report. Your aspirations aren’t within your reach anymore, and you know that it’s your fault. You will never be Kristen Wright, and it’s eating you alive.

You’ve never felt so alone. You don’t think this feeling will ever go away.

Your name is Parvis Ahrens. You’re not that old. You’re only 58. But you’re losing your mind. Every day, a little more slips away. You rely more and more on encyclopedic entries for information you took immense pride in knowing from your heart. You’ve spent the last few years focused on the pursuit of progress of all else. As part of this, you manipulated your star pupil in an attempt to permanently get her under your wing, outside of the influence of the Defense Director, a weak-hearted woman everyone else seems to think is cold as ice. She has years of life to change Columbian science. You don’t.

You’ve never felt so alone. You don’t think this feeling will ever go away.

Your name is Jara B. Wilson. You feel like you don’t see the girl who lived for you with so long in Kristen anymore. You’re a washed-up movie star, working for her cause above all else. Do you have anything that you’re working for for yourself anymore? She’ll be gone soon. You know that.

She hasn’t even left yet, and you’ve never felt so alone. You don’t think this feeling will ever go away once she leaves.

Your name is Nasti Londrey. Your people have never had a home. They might never have a home.

You’ve always felt alone. You will always be alone. That’s fine.

Your name is Justin Fitzroy Jr. Your dad died a week ago, and the cure has just been found for the hereditary illness that threatens to cut your lifespan in half. It was found by accident.

The sword of Damacles no longer hangs above your neck. Why then, do you still feel so alone?

Your name is Loken Williams. You reach out to a girl you tortured, who you know can’t remember what you did to her, because you’re going to die soon, and you need someone to remember what you did with your life.

Even if she kills you, at least you won’t die alone.

Your name is Trevor Friston. It’s been thousands of years down here. You just want to see your daughter again, and it will be another thousand until you do.

You’re very familiar with the loneliness that wraps around every single nanometer of your circuit board.

Your name is Dorothy Franks. Your whole family was killed in a Catastrophe. Your name is Elena Urbica. Your whole family, besides your twin sister, has disowned you. Your drive yourself head-first into the sciences to distract yourself from the loneliness.

Your name is Ho’olheyak. Centuries of ancestral memories swarm around your mind. Because of this, your lifespan was cut to a fraction of the life you should be living. You are obsessed with the history of your people, and you resent them from tearing your life away from you. You tear over books and tomes of history to find all means of unspeakable knowledge, hoping that somewhere in there you’ll find something that you can connect to.

You don’t even know you’re lonely.

Your name is Muelsyse.

You saw the writing on the wall. Saria and Kristen just had a massive fight. You’ve been drifting apart since college, but the only two people who you’ve felt a real connection to on all of Terra will hardly speak to each other anymore. Do you try and mend what happened between them? Can you? You don’t know what to do besides take all means to protect yourself in the fallout. You wish you weren’t so paranoid, so self-centered, that all you know how to do is ensure your own safety.

Is there anything on Terra for you besides loneliness?

Your name is Ifrit. It’s cold, and quiet, and you’re pretty sure you’ve killed everyone around you. Your eyes are blurred, you hands are shaky, and shards of black crystal stick out all over your body. Before you pass out, you think one thing:

Hell, you might be alone, but at least those bastard whitecoats got what was coming to them.

Your name is Olivia Silence. You pull yourself out of the rubble in a destroyed laboratory, where you see Saria looming over Ifrit, beaten half-to-death. You beat yourself up for thinking you could trust her - that she was there to protect Ifrit, and you. You can’t trust anyone in Columbia. You run to embrace Ifrit with your entire body, to protect her from the cold eyes of Saria standing above her. You look back at her with nothing but fear in your eyes.

You’ve never felt so alone. You have to get Ifrit out of Rhine.

Your name is Saria. You’re barely 8 years old. You went your father in tears, as a group of bullies came after you and destroyed your toy car. He tells you to stop crying. You’re not accomplishing anything by throwing a fit in front of him. He tells you to fight back - take responsibility for your weakness.

You’ve never felt so alone.

You won’t ever be this weak again.

Staring up at the sky, looking up as Kristen’s ark sends her out through the hole she tore in the false sky, you know that you were foolish to believe you could bypass your own weakness through sheer will.

And you’ll be lonely for the rest of your life without her.

#arknights #fic #(i suppose. this is moreso like. an appreciation post in prose form)#arknights spoilers #lone trail spoilers #lone trail #your name is Mayer Stony. honestly you’re doing completely fine

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teatimeatwinterpalace · 22 days

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Louis IV Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine with his two eldest daughters Princess Victoria and Princess Elizabeth, 1883.

#louis iv #princess victoria of hesse #grand duchess elizabeth feodorovna #romanov #russia #hesse #look at those hq photographs #i'm crying #ella's dress is so pretty :')#and louis wig!!!!!!#lmao

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waitingongravity · 2 months

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Bloopy will always be my favorite and of course Rhine Lab and the Abyssal Hunters are favorite factions of mine too.

But you know who I never see enough content of? The Ursus Students. I love those bear girls so much.

Especially this one. Look at this perfect specimen. Adorable bear. This is Rosa and she's my daughter and I want nothing more than for her to get therapy and a warm blanket. Please direct your attention to her adorable teddy bear ears.

Seriously, if you haven't read Children of Ursus, or watched the CD drama on YouTube, I recommend it.

#arknights #rosa #poca #MY DAUGHTER #also yeah this is part of why i never felt pressured to pull typhon #purple woman is cool and all but look at She

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workingclasshistory · 1 year

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On this day, 28 April 1909, biracial Black German anti-Nazi labour organiser and actor Hilarius Gilges was born in a working class household in Düsseldorf, Germany. In 1926 he joined the Young Communist League of Germany (KJVD), and a few years later he founded a radical worker entertainment group called the Northwest Ran. Northwest Ran put on working class plays, music and other entertainment, as well as organising anti-fascist protests. After a conflict with racists and police at a demonstration, Gilges was arrested and jailed for one year. Despite this, he continued his activism, and travelled through many towns and villages attempting to mobilise opposition to Nazism. After the Nazi takeover, in June 1933, he was abducted from his apartment in front of his family by a dozen SS officers. His body was soon found in the River Rhine, with 37 stab wounds and a bullet wound to the head. One of his daughters, Franziska Helmuss, later recalled: "His funeral was well attended, but exclusively by women. The men were too afraid to be associated with him. The stonemason who made the gravestone for my father was incarcerated for five years in a Nazi concentration camp." Despite some of his killers being known, none of them were punished after the war. A plaza in Düsseldorf by his apartment was named after him in 2003. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9972/hilarius-gilges-born https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=616808703825682&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

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melanie-the-artful · 5 months

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Genshin Character Names' Meanings

Hello there! So, I remember I once saw a post about meanings of some characters' names in another fandom, and while some of those names probably were given to those characters just because they fit, some of them certainly were chosen for their meaning, and well, it was just interesting to read! And yeah, here I am, in today's series of "I have freaking nothing else to do" I brought you a list of meanings for Genshin characters' names (today only Travelers and Mondstadt).

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Aether | Comes from the highest air layer - where the gods live, and from the god who embodies it in Greek mythology; Also not sure whether it's connected, but fun fact: in Latin "Iter" means «Journey»

Lumine | Literally «Light» in Latin

Kong (Chinese Aether) | «Heavenly», «Air» or «Sky» - Chinese Name

Ying (Chinese Lumine) | Literally «Glimmer», «Twinkling» or «Light» in Chinese and a Chinese Name

Sora (Japanese Aether) | Literally «Sky» in Japanese and a Japanese Name

Hotaru (Japanese Lumine) | Literally «Firefly» in Japanese and a Japanese Name

Paimon | Comes from King Paimon, the 9th of Goetia Demons

Amber | Well, in her case it obviously references her eyes that carry that color, and it is also similar to the word «ember», which underlines her being a Pyro wielder; Also «Fierce» as an originally Arabic or Celtic Name

Kaeya | «Monsoon Flower» - Sanskrit Name

Lisa | «God's Promise» - German Name

Jean | «God is Gracious» - Originally French Name

Barbara | Although in our world it is believed to come from barbarians, in context of Genshin she might've been named so after Barbatos, the Archon rulling over her nation. It also makes sense considering how her father also serves at the church; Also «Foreign», «Strange» as an originally Greek Name

Diluc | Comes from «diluculum» - Latin for «Dawn»

Noelle | «Christmas» - Originally French Name

Klee | Literally «Clover» in German

Albedo | Term for the fraction of sunlight that is diffusely reflected by a body; also a Latinicized alchemical term meaning «Whiteness» and «Purification»

Sucrose | A chemical element, also known as C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁, or just sugar

Mona | «Solitary», «Adviser» or «Wish» - German Name

Fischl | Considering German grammatics, literally means «Little Fish»

Amy | «Beloved», «Dearly Loved» - German Name

Bennett | «Blessed» - Originally French and Latin Name

Rosaria | «Rosary» or «Wreath of Roses» - Derives from originally Latin Name Rosarius/Rosarium

Diona | «Goddess» or «From the Sacred Spring» - German Name

Eula | Could be based on the german word for owl Eule or the German Name Ulla which means «Will»

Mika | «Who is like God» - German Name

Venti | Sounds similar to the word «windy», also literally «Winds» in Italian

Barbatos | Comes from Duke Barbatos, the 8th of Goetia Demons

Crepus | Comes from «crepusculum» - Latin for «Dusk»

Seamus | «Supplanter» - Originally Irish Name

Frederica | «Peaceful Ruler» - German Name

Alice | «Noble» or «Exalted» - Originally German Name

Rhinedottir | Originally Rhine was a name for someone who lived by the Rhine river in German, yet the word itself originates from the word 'renos', which means «Flowing Water» or «Raging Flow»; meanwhile "dottir" is «Daughter» in Icelandic

Barbeloth | May derive from the Gnostic aeon Barbēlō, a supreme, androgynous entity in Gnosticism known as God's first thought, being his "feminine aspect" and the Mother-Father of the aeons

Nicole | «Victory of the People» - Originally French Name

Varka | Likely based on the Old Persian 𐎺𐎼𐎣 (varka), meaning «Wolf»

Decarabian | Comes from Marquis Decarabia, the 69th of Goetia Demons

Dvalin | Comes from a dwarf in Old Norse tales, meaning «The Dormant One» or «The One Slumbering» (akin to the Danish and Norwegian "dvale" and Swedish "dvala", meaning «Sleep, «Unconscious Condition» or «Hibernation»).

Durin | Overally associated with a dwarf named Durin, who is also from Norse tales, though some say it is of Latin origin and means «Firm», «Enduring»

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Yeah, here it is! I know, I basically made a compilation of things you can find yourself in Google, buuuuuut in case you were too lazy or not curious enough to do so, I did so in your stead! And I have to admit that those are not names of my homeland, and I may not know all their variations or significance, yet I'm still interested, and I'll be happy if you're willling to correct me. And maybe I will even dig in deeper into the topic next time!

So, see you!

Edited: Yeah, I added a few more meaningful characters and Travelers' names on other languages + a few other tiny additions. I think now it seems a little more complete. Next up is Liyue!

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cherry-blossomtea · 6 months

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I’m super mega not interested in discoursing about this so if you disagree please just scroll but. I suppose people being confused about Rosmontis’ role in Lone Trail is sort of expected given that she is like. Only referenced but she is and has been a Rhine Lab kid from the beginning. I can’t remember if Rhine is mentioned explicitly in her files but I think it’s at least referenced that Loken Watertank was funded by RL, and then of course she does pop up briefly in Dorothy’s Vision, so I for one really enjoyed getting some much needed closure on her story. Besides which. The entire plot of Dorothy’s Vision was predicated on the Rosmontis experiment. So.

As for the argument that it took the place of Ifrit’s character development. I mean sure I would always be down for more Ifrit Screen Time because she is daughter. But to be honest she’s kind of already had that character development I think people wanted off-screen. I see a lot of “well I shouldn’t have to read the manhua to know what’s going on in the story” and that’s fair (even if the manhua is free and is better than like 90% of the VN but whatever) but just going off her module and her oprec it’s clear that she’s growing up fast and developing a strong sense of responsibility. I think she’s forgiven Saria and Silence and she’s too laid back to care about much more, and that in and of itself was a delight to see in Lone Trail. We just happen to be catching the tail end of her character development and I for one felt just as much a proud mama bird as Silence. She got plenty of screen time it just wasn’t…her growing up I guess? But we already have quite a lot of that even without the manhua.

Literally my only Ifrit Complaint was that she didn’t get a confrontation with Parvis, or show any sort of emotional reaction to him being there whatsoever which was. Out of character for sure, thinking about her module. But that was about it, and I still enjoyed the wrap-up with Parvis and Silence. Ifrit is one of my favorite characters and LT got my stamp of approval so do with that what you will.

#SHE DROVE A CAR #yes she stole the car BUT SHE DROVE IT #like whatever this was the PARENTHOOD EVENT #mama duck doctor and their ducklings #arknights #lone trail

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dlartistanon · 2 months

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If FrostNova joined Rhode Island, do you think she'd make friends with Muelsyse after Lonetrail? Powerful Ice and Water users, part of a good cause that they built and was their life for, but had to watch it be corrupted to evil, both with a close relationship to a powerful and indomitable shield user, and both grieving what could've been if they weren't betrayed.

First off, thank you; this is such an involved question involving characters I adore and you're awesome for thinking it!

While they do have those things in common, I don't know if they would strike up a friendship. At least not in the traditional sense. More like kindred spirits?

Their personalities might clash, but Mumu is close to even the hardheaded Saria. Yelena is straightforward, Mumu is deceptive. Yelena quite possibly has one of the worst cases of Oripathy, and is a physical danger to anyone near her, but Mumu is close with Ifrit, despite having to stay away from Originium for her own safety. Even if they don't strictly do things friends often do, like hang out, I think because of their shared experiences and commonalities, they may be able to understand certain things that others can't.

Yelena is powerful both in spite of and because of her illness, it's a double-edged sword. Muelsyse is unlike any other race on Terra; the power that she, as an Elf, holds is unlike anything we've seen from other (non-godlike) characters. Yelena has solidarity with other Infected, her siblings. Muelsyse is alone. Originium ultimately wrecked both of their lives (Yelena's health, Mumu's sense of home).

Talulah and Kristen respectively gave them dreams and a future to look towards, and that is the most devastating of all. Tal promised a home for Infected, Kristen promised a place where Muelsyse wouldn't feel so estranged. The amount of respect and faith Yelena and Mumu had for Tal and Kristen made their subsequent "betrayals" sting even more. They dedicated their lives for their causes. They were kept in the dark of what was really happening--even though Alina urged Talulah to confide in Yelena, while it was implied that Mumu was conspiring with Kristen (before LT gave her role to Nasti which I'm still bitter about). In the end, Yelena chose not to hate Talulah despite all the pain she brought, and Muelsyse is holding onto the possibility of seeing Kristen again.

Their relationships with Patriot and Saria are also great because they give us a closer look into who they are when not putting on a face. It's arguably some of their most humanizing aspects. Yelena is just a sick girl who was saved and adopted by Buldrokkas'tee, and she even has moments where she's apologetic for causing him trouble. She could've been a better daughter to him... while Muelsyse can't keep up her facade of an intimidating Rhine Lab Director in front of Saria, who, despite not trusting her 100%, knows she isn't heartless; Mumu was shocked at Kristen signing off on inhumane projects. Yelena prioritized her Yeti Squad, treasuring her family above all else. Mumu's acts of kindness went unnoticed because she helped Ifrit, Saria, and Silence behind the scenes--their lives were made better because of Muelsyse.

Ultimately both FrostNova and Muelsyse are girls who just want a place to call home, and have been handed tragedies on a platter in response.

All this to say that I'm not sure if they would be friends, but it's kind of nice knowing someone else out there has essentially lived your life, and thus knows what it feels like. Knowing someone can empathize and understand how much those familiar beats hurt. It's comforting.

#dltext #anonymous #kudos to you anon #frostnova #muelsyse #dl talks ak

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racefortheironthrone · 1 month

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A Guildsman Goes Forth to War, Inciting Event and Main Characters

Inciting Event:

The city of Brugghe is one of the largest and richest in all of Europe. It is a center of vertically- and horizontally-integrated textile production in wool, cotton, linen, and silk, and the people wear their reputation on their richly-dyed, patterned, and embroidered backs. As the northernmost of the cloth fairs that stretch all the way from Gallia to the southernmost reaches of the ancient Kingdom of Lotharingia), and the confluence of the North Sea and the Rhine, Brugghe is a natural entrepôt between the merchants of the Hansa and the commercial republics of the Lega, and thus one of the leading financial centers on the Continent.

A bustling cosmopolis of two hundred thousand souls, with a lively Foreign Quarter representing merchants and bankers from Portugal and the Basques to a half-dozen Lega republics to representatives of the Sublime Porte. In Brugghe, even the poorest and least educated rural migrants are bilingual (even if they insist on speaking only Gallician or Imperial), a respectable burgher is expected to speak at least four, and a man is considered educated only if he speaks six. A center of the printing trade (and thanks to its dyeing industry, a lively art scene), it is an unusually literate city, only more so thanks to the recently-established University.

For the last thirty years, the city has been ruled by the tolerant but firm hand of Baron Froederick van Zonder Vrees, although for the last ten the day-to-day governance has been conducted in his name by his significantly younger wife due to a long and lingering illness that has forced the Baron to a sickbed and (accoridng to reports) to his deathbed. Although by all reports a loving and capable partnership, the Baron and Baronness are childless. If the Baron should pass, what shall become of Brugghe?

Main Characters:

Margrit van Zonder Vrees (née Marguerite de Corbenic), Baronness of Brugghe

The daughter of a noble family from Brittany (with extended ties to Cornwall and south Wales) with a strong Gentry heritage of elfkind, Margrit (or Marguerite, depending on whether she's speaking in Gallician or Imperial) was sent to the Burgundian court following a romantic indescretion in her youth, where she became one of the court beauties and a poetess beside, reknowned for the strength of her Glamour and wit alike.

At the age of twenty, she was married to the significantly older Froederick van Zonder Vrees as part of diplomatic efforts to maintain Gallician/Imperial harmony in the Low Countries. Despite the age gap between the two, Froederick came to respect his bride's surprisingly well-educated mind and supported her patronage of the newly-founded University and the city's cultural industries, while Margrit came to admire her husband's commitment to light-handed and tolerant governance that had seen Brugghe reach heights of prosperity that it had not seen since the collapse of the Flemish revolt.

When Froederick began to fall ill, Margrit smoothly gained influence within the Baronial Council of State that governed the city until she became the Regent in all but name. At the outset of A Guildsman Goes Forth to War, Marguerite's dilemma is that she has no child to pass the title to upon her husband's death - and due to the complicated mix of family intermarriages, there will be claimants from both the Kingdom of Gallia and the Sacrum Imperium.

[Need to find a good picture]

Ludovico "Malasangue," Captain-General of the Bonafortuna Mercenary and Insurance Company, graduate of the University of Padua, and guildsman of the Arte dei Giudici e Notai of Florentia.

The younger son of the Bilancia banking family, Ludovico was the subject of considerable scandal, for from birth it was quite clear that he was Gentry-born of some rare and unknown lineage, while neither his mother nor his father had any such connexions. A brawler of violent temper, Ludovico was packed off to Padua by his decidely chilly and aloof father to avoid embarrassment - and to ensure that he would have a career that would avoid any interference with his older (some would say "legitimate") brother's inheritance of the family business.

The curriculum at the great university of the hills seemed to calm the intemperate youth and Ludo proved to be quite adept at both the Old Learning of the trivium et quadrivium, the New Learning of the studia humanitatis, and his chosen degree in Law. It was widely expected that, upon his graduation and return to the city of his birth, he would take up a respectable and conventional career in the leading Arti Maggiori. Thus, it came as something of a surprise when instead Ludovico and some of his university friends announced the formation of a new kind of mercenary company.

The Bonafortuna Mercenary and Insurance Company would be made up not of impoverished noblemen and ambitious peasants, but entirely of urban guildsmen recruited from among the Lega. In times of peace, the Company would make its income from providing a comprehensive suite of services from messenger and parcel post to commercial and residential insurance to private security, to individual and municipal clients alike - with significant discounts for joint customers of the condottieri side of the business.

#renaissance fantasy #fantasy genre #a guildsman goes forth to war #creative writing

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