#ALSO NIBELUNG RETURNED ?????
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I often feel mutually exclusive elements in the nature of my existence. Individually, they are pure, but also alien to each other. Therefore, when they interact, they mix with the other and become impure.
—Caterpillar in Hearafter.
𝐂𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈. Related to this and since I said I would comment on it, I've always found interesting the concept of arkhium as an ore where both ousía and pneuma coexist together and I'm positive that the elements Caterpillar is talking about are exactly these two (or whatever primordial thing they come from, as with the seven elements we know, they're broken-down versions of more complex elements).
To anyone who paid attention in the Fortress of Meropide, there is an old man who is considered to be mostly paranoid because of the arkhium ore as he says repeatedly that he can feel something strange from these that they affect the health, only to be shrugged off by the medics there. If anything because he's listens to anything the medics say even if it's to give him homeopathy. But the truth is that this man, despite the "paranoia" he's attributed by the people that see them in their daily lives, is saying the truth.
Taking for example a quest where we explore the abandoned laboratory that blew up because of some experimentation done on the pneumousia phenomenon, it's becoming more and more solid that ousía is more aligned to what we know as the "abyss" and the 38758 names it has: call it defilement, filth, what have you. This can be presumed given that when fragments of the big arkhium enter the water cubes around, they become something akin to poisonous, which we know this dark element does (another example with water is the domain in We Will Be Reunited, more specifically the bubble traps that decrease health for as long as we're inside one).
This does make me wonder for how long Khaenri'ah has been using the abyssal energy to sustain everything they had in the kingdom (judging by the records talking about King Irmin, last king known of the Eclipse Dynasty and the mentions of Knight Marshal Anfortas, it doesn't seem to be too far ago), given that they substituted the energy they drew from the Ley Lines before that and if they eventually started to notice symptoms in people by doing so, similar to the old man of the Fortress of Meropide.
All in all, it's really interesting the thought that by themselves they are pure, but in entering in contact with one another they become the opposite and, from what scraps we've seen thus far, dangerous for the living beings' health. It would also make sense how the Apocalypse (clash between Nibelung's return after Phanes' ankles, Phanes and his Shining Shades and the Second Who Came) was as terrible as it was on a planetary level if we're to consider that the original celestial power comes from him if the sapphire nails are also of his making.
#◟༺✦༻◞ events to be remembered in blue veins ┊addendum.┊#this also cements further my thoughts#that the abyss was a thing since always in Teyvat#as part of its inner ecosystem#but not poisonous#until it gained a will with the coming of the Second Who Came#Nibelung's return with the Forbidden Knowledge#the clash against Phanes or all three at once#what's abundantly clear to me is that Forbidden Knowledge#and the Second Who Came are connected#there is also the thing about some realm of beasts#that certain creatures or individuals seem to have access to#I'd love to learn more about that one one day#and see if it's the same Elynas described#where his soul was before he was given a body to occupy his soul into#or it's something different altogether
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dante picturing purgatory as an island at the antipodes of jerusalem, pushed up by the displacement caused by the fall of satan, where souls are cleansed from sin as they ascend into the garden of eden vs the solar chariot falling in liyue and creating the chasm, a place where we meet the "sinner", who's worshiped by the abyss order despite not being a god but who definitely has the powers akin to a deity and who urged clothar (listened by traveller) to become a "transcendent one"
#should i say the solar chariot is referred to as morning star like lucifer and a title that can also be associated with the traveller?#and the sinner saying 'you are like a flower born in sin yet pure'#i'm fully convinced the sinner is nibelung who's also the second who came#apep saying the dragon king returned has to mean something#it also would make sense why hilichurls worship elements but not gods if they worshiped a sovereign#anyways speculations ✨ but i think it's a cool parallel#regardless of who the sinner is or not#genshin thoughts
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Robbery of the Rhinegold ~ 1876 ~ Theodor Pixis (German artist, 1831-1907) ~ Scene (Act 1) from the opera "The Rhinegold" - first of four music dramas from "The Ring of Nibelung" by Richard Wagner (German composer, 1813-1883)
"Das Rheingold" is set in a world of mythical giants and castles, magic potions and scheming dwarves, and the central toxic influence of the all-powerful ring. The ring is part of a hoard of gold which lies at the bottom of the Rhine, guarded by three Rhinemaidens.
A lecherous Nibelung dwarf called Alberich steals the gold from the Rhinemaidens by renouncing love; he heads to Nibelheim where he builds an empire based on fear and slave labour.
We also meet Wotan, the chief god in his castle Valhalla, which he had built by the giants; he is reluctant to pay them, and when he hears of the Nibelung horde including the all-powerful ring, Wotan decides he wants it for himself, and will use the gold to buy off the giants. Enlisting the help of Loge, he steals the gold from Alberich.
This duplicitous and un-godlike act sets in motion a train of events which will result, at the end of the Cycle's fourth opera, Götterdämmerung, in the destruction of the the gods and Valhalla.
As the waters of the Rhine rush in and close over the scene, the Rhinemaidens are heard celebrating the return of the ring and its gold to the river." ~ Wikipedia
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So... I'm having Dainsleif brainrot once more. (I'm counting the days to the next quest now.)
I'd like to leave this little theory titbit here...
You know how Hoyo takes quite a bit of inspiration from Norse Mythology and a Norse Poem - a bit more specifically from an opera version from Richard Wagner, "Der Ring des Nibelungen".
TL:DR, It's about a dawrf called Alberich from the Nibelungen and his treasure the Rhine Gold. The Gold is forged into a Ring that grands the bearer the power of ruling the land - the Ring gets stolen by the gods and out of spite, Alberich curses the Ring.
Now for tinfoil hat time... and Genshin Lore.
So, from Apep we learn the Nibelung left Teyvat in search for the Key to victory against the Primordial One, came back to Teyvat... aka. Descended to Teyvat with forbidden knowledge. So he and the sovereigns waged war, lost and died. - Apep said, with the right to shape the lands, the primordial one sent down the divine nails.
This is where the ring part comes in handy, because Zurvan during the Khvarena of Good and Evil world quest mentions that when she found Dainsleif in Tunigi Hollow, fighting off Abyss Monsters, he was tightly holding a ring.
Which has me think that the ring Dain is so tightly holding onto might be coming from Nibelung and/or directly from beyond Teyvat.
We will defy this world with a power from beyond.
-Dainsleif in the Trivail Trailer.
Now I'm thinking, that said ring is some sort of physical representation of said right to shape the land, much like it is in the Opera that went from Nibelung's hold to the Primordial One, but got corrupted by the Forbidden Knowledge he brought as some sort of Genshin's version of the curse Alberich put on the Ring when it was stolen by gods.
Dainsleif's constellation is "Snake Ring" and think snake and dragon are somewhat interchangable here; Apep for example looked more Snake-like, rather than Dragon-Like. like Dvalin or Durin, perhaps Nibelung did too.
I am now wondering if Khaenri'ah somehow got the ring "back" not knowing it was corrupted, therefore triggered the surge of Abyss Monsters and the Cataclysm itself. - Also possibly by the Sustainer looked corrupted and seems to be dormant for the last 500 years, even if one of her Archons is actively plotting against her and the other 6 being seemingly on board, even if Ei technically committed the same sin as Egeria by creating human-shaped life in form of Scaramouche, even if Focalors just destroyed one of the Divine thrones AND returned the Gnosis' authority to it's rightful owner. Just because she technically doesn't have the right to rule and shape the land anymore.
And the ring is now in Dainsleif's hands since, slowly corrupting him too and granting him whatever element he uses. And that he is, or well, holds the key to the endgame with that refering back to defying this world with a power from beyond - because he himself has learned to control and resist it.
(Unless he's refering to the Traveler as the power from beyond.)
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Welcome to my ted talk. Let's see how long y'all can hold out.
Today i will be introducing you to one of my personal favorite books of quite litrally all time. I want to talk about Nibelungen.
The Saga of the Nibelungs dates back to the fifth century and is often considered to have its main historical core or point of reference in the destruction of the Burgundian Empire, then ruled by Gundahar, in the area around Worms in late antiquity (around 436) by the Roman army commander Aëtius with the help of Hunnic auxiliaries.
Since the oral tradition of such historical events is often subject to modifications and embellishments and the material has been extensively fleshed out in poetry, the Saga of the Nibelungs probably preserves hardly any authentic historical memories.
The book that will be discussed below, the Song of the Nibelungs, is a medieval heroic epic that was first written down in the thirteenth century and passed on from there.
In the nineteenth and later in the twentieth century, the Song of the Nibelungs was regarded as the national epic of the Germans and the hero of the story, Sigfried, was considered a national hero.
The original version of the Song of the Nibelungs was written in Middle High German, which was spoken from around 1050 to 1350.
The Nibelungenlied itself is actually a song, written in four verse stanzas. However, the melody to which it was sung is unknown today. The entire song consists of around 2400 stanzas and is divided into 39 aventures, or chapters. Furthermore, it consists of two parts.
Uns ist in alten mæren wunders vil geseit
von helden lobebæren, von grôzer arebeit,
von freude un hôchgezîten, von weinen un klagen,
von küener recken strîten muget ir nû wunder hœren sagen.
This is the first stanza of the Song of the Nibelungs. (Middle High German is a bitch to read, truly, but the translation into modern German feels too stiff.)
Also, have this:
(1220-1250) (1480-1490)
Now, a more or less short summary of the content. So, spoilers, I guess? But I don't think there are any translations.
Part 1
In the first part of the Song of the Nibelungs, the marriage between Kriemhild and Siegfried takes centre stage. Kriemhild has a dream in which she raises a falcon that is torn to pieces by two eagles. According to Kriemhild's mother Ute, the falcon symbolises a man whom Kriemhild will tragically lose.
The king's son Siegfried of Xanten hears of Kriemhild's beauty and falls in love with her without ever having seen her. He therefore sets off for the court of the Burgundians to marry Kriemhild. Siegfried is the son of the King of Xanten on the Rhine and is very famous because he once killed a dragon and bathed in its blood. Since then he has been invulnerable.
Kriemhild's brother Gunther wants to marry Brünhild, the queen of Iceland. But he needs Siegfried's help to do so. For Brünhild will only marry the man who can defeat her in three battles. In return, Gunther promises him marriage to Kriemhild. With Siegfried's help, Gunther manages to defeat Brünhild. A double wedding takes place between Gunther and Brünhild and Siegfried and Kriemhild.
Soon afterwards, the two queens fall out. They cannot agree on who has the higher rank. As a result, Brünhild and her henchman Hagen von Tronje plan an intrigue: Hagen kills Siegfried during a hunt. This is because Siegfried has a vulnerable spot on his back that was not covered in dragon blood at the time. After Siegfried's death, Kriemhild is inconsolable and swears revenge.
Part 2
The second part takes place 13 years after Siegfried's death and begins with Kriemhild's marriage to the Hun king Etzel in Hungary. Another 13 years later, Kriemhild persuades Etzel to invite her brothers and Hagen to Hungary. Although the Burgundians are suspicious of the invitation, they eventually accept it. Gunther and Hagen travel to the court of the Huns with a large entourage.
Once at court, Hagen refuses to lay down his weapons. This is seen as a great insult to the host. After some provocations on both sides, a battle finally breaks out between the Huns and the Burgundians. In the end, almost all of the Burgundian followers are killed. Gunther and Hagen are tied up.
Kriemhild has Gunther killed. In revenge for Siegfried's murder, she then beheads Hagen herself. She herself is then slain by a henchman. The Song of the Nibelungs ends with the narrator's lament that love always leads to suffering.
For better understanding, a constellation of the main characters: (cw, messy handwriting, slightly uncanny sketches)
If you've made it to here, thank you for reading my ramblings <3
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Holidays 9.22
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Alma Thomas (Artology)
Believe the Impossible Day (Pastafarian)
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The Bottle (Muppetism)
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Feast of Mikeli (Harvest Celebration; Ancient Latvia)
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Joseph Duplessis (Artology)
Laud of Coutances (Christian; Saint)
Mabon (Pagan)
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Paul Chong Hasang (Christian; One of The Korean Martyrs)
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Sadalberga (Christian; Saint)
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Septimius of Iesi (Christian; Saint)
Shabbat Shuva begins (Sabbath of Return; Judaism) [7 Tishri]
Theban Legion (Christian; Saint)
Thomas of Villanova (Christian; Saint)
Philander Chase (Episcopal Church)
Ritual of the Netjers and the Two Lands (Ancient Egypt)
Schiller (Positivist; Saint)
Lucky & Unlucky Days
Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]
Premieres
Absalom, Absalom!, by William Faulkner (Novel; 1936)
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (Animated TV Series; 2010)
The Band, by The Band (Album; 1969)
Baywatch (TV Series; 1989)
The Beautiful People, by Marilyn Manson (Song; 1996)
Black Rain (Film; 1989)
Camp Dog (Disney Cartoon; 1950)
Das Rheingold, by Richard Wagner (Opera; 1869) [Ring of the Nibelung #1]
Davy Crockett at the Alamo (Disney TV Film; 1963)
Dizzy Up the Girl, by The Goo Goo Dolls (Album; 1998)
Empire Records (Film; 1995)
Erik the Viking (Film; 1989)
Family Matters (TV Series; 1989)
Family Ties (TV Series; 1982)
The Fantasticks (Film; 2000)
Fiddler on the Roof (Broadway Musical; 1964)
First Aiders (Disney Cartoon; 1944)
Friends (TV Series; 1994)
Full House (TV Series; 1987)
Goofy’s Freeway Troubles (Disney Cartoon; 1965)
Gotham (TV Series; 2014)
The Jet Cage (WB LT Cartoon; 1962)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Film; 2017)
The Lego Ninjago Movie (Film; 2017)
Lost (TV Series; 2004)
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, by Bernard Waber (Children’s Book; 1965)
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series; 1964)
Maverick (TV Series; 1957)
My Friends Tigger & Pooh (Animated TV Series; 2007)
Officer Duck (Disney Cartoon; 1939)
One National Under a Groove, by Funkadelic (Album; 1976)
Plague Dogs, by Richard Adams (Novel; 1977)
Prometheus Unbound, by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Lyrical Drama; 1820)
Queens of the Stone Age, by the Queens of a Stone Age (Album; 1998)
Se7en (Film; 1995)
Showgirls (Film; 1995)
Sports Night (TV Series; 1998)
Thomas the Obscure, by Maurice Blanchot (Novel; 1941)
Tweety’s S.O.S. (WB MM Cartoon; 1951)
Two and a Half Men (TV Series; 2003)
Veronica Mars (TV Series; 2004)
Woman on Top (Film; 2000)
The West Wing (TV Series; 1999)
You Can't Go Home Again, by Thomas Wolfe (Novel; 1940) [published posthumously]
Today’s Name Days
Moritz (Austria)
Emerita, Katarina, Mauricije, Toma od Villanove (Croatia)
Darina (Czech Republic)
Mauritius (Denmark)
Marvo, Maur, Mauri, Maurits (Estonia)
Mauri (Finland)
Maurice (France)
Emmeram, Gundula, Mauritius, Moritz (Germany)
Fokas, Loizos, Louise, Phokas, Zografia (Greece)
Móric (Hungary)
Maria, Maurizio (Italy)
Maigurs, Māris, Marisa, Mariss, Morics (Latvia)
Tarvinas, Tomas, Virmantė (Lithuania)
Kåre, Kyrre (Norway)
Joachim, Joachima, Maurycy, Prosimir, Tomasz (Poland)
Móric (Slovakia)
Mauricio (Spain)
Maurits, Moritz (Sweden)
Druce, Drucilla, Maurice, Mauricio, Maury, Merrick, Morell, Morris, Morrison, Murray (USA)
Today is Also…
Day of Year: Day 265 of 2024; 100 days remaining in the year
ISO: Day 5 of week 38 of 2023
Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 18 of 28]
Chinese: Month 8 (Xin-You), Day 8 (Gui-Wei)
Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)
Hebrew: 7 Tishri 5784
Islamic: 7 Rabi I 1445
J Cal: 25 Aki; Foursday [25 of 30]
Julian: 9 September 2023
Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter
Positivist: 13 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Schiller]
Runic Half Month: Ken (Illumination) [Day 11 of 15]
Season: Summer (Day 94 of 94)
Zodiac: Virgo (Day 32 of 32)
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Holidays 9.22
Holidays
American Business Women’s Day
Arbor Day (Barbados)
Band-Aid Day
Breakfast, Snack, Elevenses, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Tea, Snack, Dinner, Snack, More Snacks, Supper, Snack, and Bilgewack Celebration Day
Canterbury South Day (New Zealand)
Car-Free Day (Europe; Montreal, Canada)
Chainmail Day
Childhood Dementia Day
Chong Chao (Macau)
Day of Bilbo
Day of Frodo
Dear Diary Day
Elephant Appreciation Day
Emancipation Day (Ohio)
Falls Prevention Awareness Day
Festival of Disappearances
Flag Day (Norway)
Flaunt Your Favorite Beach Towel Day
Grape Day (French Republic)
Hobbit Day
Hug a Vegetarian Day
International Athletic Training and Therapy Day
International Day of Mimes
International Day of Radiant Peace
International Organic Day
Jeans for Genes Day (UK)
National Centenarian's Day
National Dante Day
National Day (Saudi Arabia)
National Elephant Appreciation Day
National Flaunt Your Favorite Beach Towel Day
National Girls’ Night In Day
National Invasive Aedes Awareness Day
National Khalid Day
National Laundry Workers Day
National Legwear Day
National Online Recovery Day
National Rock ’n’ Roll Dog Day
National States & Capitals Day
National Walk ’N Roll Dog Day
One Web Day [ website ]
Remote Employee Appreciation Day
Resistance Fighting Day (Estonia)
Supergirl Day
Thrue Bab (Blessed Rainy Day; Bhutan)
Treaty of Basel Day (Switzerland)
Trumpet Day (Mormons)
U.N.C.L.E. Day
World Car-Free Day
World Narcolepsy Day
World Rhino Day
World Rose Day
Food & Drink Celebrations
Ice Cream Cone Day
International Mixed Berries Muffin Day
National Drink Local Day
National Eat Local Day
National White Chocolate Day
4th Friday in September
Love Note Day [4th Friday]
Michigan Indian Day (Michigan) [4th Friday]
National BRAVE Day [4th Friday]
National Good Hair Day (Australia) [4th Friday]
National Hug Your Boss Day [4th Friday; also 9.13]
Native American Day (California) [4th Friday]
Independence Days
Brunei (from UK, 1984)
Bulgaria (from Ottoman Empire, 1908)
Dale Republic (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]
Mali (from France, 1960)
Rukora (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]
Switzerland (Becomes independent state, 1499)
Feast Days
Alma Thomas (Artology)
Believe the Impossible Day (Pastafarian)
Boidromia (Honoring Apollon, god of rescue during war; Ancient Greece)
The Bottle (Muppetism)
Brother Dave Gardner Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)
Candidus (Christian; Saint)
Coya Raymi (Incan Moon Goddess Quilla)
Digna and Emerita (Christian; Saint)
Emmeram of Regensburg (Christian; Saint)
Feast of Mikeli (Harvest Celebration; Ancient Latvia)
Felix and Constantia (Christian; Saint)
Ignatius of Santhià (Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti; Christian; Saint)
Joseph Duplessis (Artology)
Laud of Coutances (Christian; Saint)
Mabon (Pagan)
Maurice (Western Christianity)
Paul Chong Hasang (Christian; One of The Korean Martyrs)
Phocas (the Gardener, or of Sinope; Christian; Saint)
Phocas, Bishop of Sinope (Christian; Saint)
Sadalberga (Christian; Saint)
Saintin (Sanctinus) de Meaux (Christian; Saint)
Septimius of Iesi (Christian; Saint)
Shabbat Shuva begins (Sabbath of Return; Judaism) [7 Tishri]
Theban Legion (Christian; Saint)
Thomas of Villanova (Christian; Saint)
Philander Chase (Episcopal Church)
Ritual of the Netjers and the Two Lands (Ancient Egypt)
Schiller (Positivist; Saint)
Lucky & Unlucky Days
Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]
Premieres
Absalom, Absalom!, by William Faulkner (Novel; 1936)
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (Animated TV Series; 2010)
The Band, by The Band (Album; 1969)
Baywatch (TV Series; 1989)
The Beautiful People, by Marilyn Manson (Song; 1996)
Black Rain (Film; 1989)
Camp Dog (Disney Cartoon; 1950)
Das Rheingold, by Richard Wagner (Opera; 1869) [Ring of the Nibelung #1]
Davy Crockett at the Alamo (Disney TV Film; 1963)
Dizzy Up the Girl, by The Goo Goo Dolls (Album; 1998)
Empire Records (Film; 1995)
Erik the Viking (Film; 1989)
Family Matters (TV Series; 1989)
Family Ties (TV Series; 1982)
The Fantasticks (Film; 2000)
Fiddler on the Roof (Broadway Musical; 1964)
First Aiders (Disney Cartoon; 1944)
Friends (TV Series; 1994)
Full House (TV Series; 1987)
Goofy’s Freeway Troubles (Disney Cartoon; 1965)
Gotham (TV Series; 2014)
The Jet Cage (WB LT Cartoon; 1962)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Film; 2017)
The Lego Ninjago Movie (Film; 2017)
Lost (TV Series; 2004)
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, by Bernard Waber (Children’s Book; 1965)
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series; 1964)
Maverick (TV Series; 1957)
My Friends Tigger & Pooh (Animated TV Series; 2007)
Officer Duck (Disney Cartoon; 1939)
One National Under a Groove, by Funkadelic (Album; 1976)
Plague Dogs, by Richard Adams (Novel; 1977)
Prometheus Unbound, by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Lyrical Drama; 1820)
Queens of the Stone Age, by the Queens of a Stone Age (Album; 1998)
Se7en (Film; 1995)
Showgirls (Film; 1995)
Sports Night (TV Series; 1998)
Thomas the Obscure, by Maurice Blanchot (Novel; 1941)
Tweety’s S.O.S. (WB MM Cartoon; 1951)
Two and a Half Men (TV Series; 2003)
Veronica Mars (TV Series; 2004)
Woman on Top (Film; 2000)
The West Wing (TV Series; 1999)
You Can't Go Home Again, by Thomas Wolfe (Novel; 1940) [published posthumously]
Today’s Name Days
Moritz (Austria)
Emerita, Katarina, Mauricije, Toma od Villanove (Croatia)
Darina (Czech Republic)
Mauritius (Denmark)
Marvo, Maur, Mauri, Maurits (Estonia)
Mauri (Finland)
Maurice (France)
Emmeram, Gundula, Mauritius, Moritz (Germany)
Fokas, Loizos, Louise, Phokas, Zografia (Greece)
Móric (Hungary)
Maria, Maurizio (Italy)
Maigurs, Māris, Marisa, Mariss, Morics (Latvia)
Tarvinas, Tomas, Virmantė (Lithuania)
Kåre, Kyrre (Norway)
Joachim, Joachima, Maurycy, Prosimir, Tomasz (Poland)
Móric (Slovakia)
Mauricio (Spain)
Maurits, Moritz (Sweden)
Druce, Drucilla, Maurice, Mauricio, Maury, Merrick, Morell, Morris, Morrison, Murray (USA)
Today is Also…
Day of Year: Day 265 of 2024; 100 days remaining in the year
ISO: Day 5 of week 38 of 2023
Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 18 of 28]
Chinese: Month 8 (Xin-You), Day 8 (Gui-Wei)
Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)
Hebrew: 7 Tishri 5784
Islamic: 7 Rabi I 1445
J Cal: 25 Aki; Foursday [25 of 30]
Julian: 9 September 2023
Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter
Positivist: 13 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Schiller]
Runic Half Month: Ken (Illumination) [Day 11 of 15]
Season: Summer (Day 94 of 94)
Zodiac: Virgo (Day 32 of 32)
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But the synergistic suit isn’t full body suit. There many uncovered/unprotected body parts.
Is this ask still about the marks?
True. If they were aiming for verisimilitude, then every pilot should have the suit marks all over their body, because the exposed parts are there to also connect them with the robot – that may just come down to aesthetics.
That's part of why I was surprised when the soldato suits appeared, "oh in the future they may all end up using that and the skimpy synergistic suits may become obsolete".
I think what is more important is what the marks allude to: The cursed nibelung rings. They give the wearer power but in return change their genes bit by bit, as if consuming them. And the fingers are the means by which the pilot first connects and controls a fafner in that jelly-like fluid. The rest of the body comes second.
#i also think that the synergistic suits are like that because the wearer has to feel like they're naked to be able to become the robot#yuuya answers#anon ask#fafner
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Character 2 Research
The second Character is going to be Loki a common villain over the millennia transcending mythology, video games and massive popular culture. The reason i am researching and choosing him as my character is mainly for 2 reasons; firstly he is the most recognisable villain in not just pop culture recently but maybe all of history as well with him being titled the "God of Mischief". The second reason is because he is the complete opposite of Iron Man and his arsenal of ranged weapons, and is usually in most depictions melee dependant meaning i can balance both players with ranged having less damage and melee having much more.
Loki Season 1 (TV Show 2021)
One of the first projects of phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Loki currently remains one of the highest rated and acclaimed project of the entire universe. The show consists of the protagonist and deuteragonist (both variations on Loki) navigating an time and multiversal correcting authority and uncovering the nature and origins of the mysterious place. In the way the Loki's are presented is askew to the conventional behaviour of the god as in this he acts more of a vigilante/amateur detective role. This presentation of Loki is something not really i want as he seems to swing in the direction of general moral decency whereas in my project his intentions are to fill the category of villain.
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GOW 2018
Within the God of war universe it is revealed at the back end of the 2018 reboot that Kratos' son and sidekick Atreus is actually Loki.
Introduced as the son of Kratos and Faye, Atreus joins his father on a journey to spread his deceased mother's ashes on top of the highest peak in all the nine realms. On their journey, Kratos teaches Atreus how to survive and fight as a warrior while Atreus teaches Kratos to open up to those that can help them. As they reach Jotunheim they learn that Faye (Laufey) was a Jotun and that she had given him the birthname Loki.
Mythology
Within the old Norse scripture that featured Loki he was described and pictured as a cunning trickster that could change his shape and sex to anything he desired.
Der Ring des Nibelungen
The famous German opera that contains is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. These works are loosely based on characters in Germanic heroic legend, most namely legendary sagas and the Nibelungenlied. To be crude the story is basically a musical lord of the rings just more political and with no dragons and cool monsters also despite it being an initial part of my research to look into "Loki" isn't his actual name in this and is called "Loge" the demi-god of fire.
Here is the synopsis from Wikipedia
"The plot revolves around a magic ring that grants the power to rule the world, forged by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich from gold he stole from the Rhine maidens in the river Rhine. With the assistance of the god Loge, Wotan – the chief of the gods – steals the ring from Alberich, but is forced to hand it over to the giants Fafner and Fasolt in payment for building the home of the gods, Valhalla, or they will take Freia, who provides the gods with the golden apples that keep them young. Wotan's schemes to regain the ring, spanning generations, drive much of the action in the story. His grandson, the mortal Siegfried, wins the ring by slaying Fafner (who slew Fasolt for the ring) – as Wotan intended – but is eventually betrayed and slain as a result of the intrigues of Alberich's son Hagen, who wants the ring for himself. Finally, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde – Siegfried's lover and Wotan's daughter who lost her immortality for defying her father in an attempt to save Siegfried's father Sigmund – returns the ring to the Rhine maidens as she commits suicide on Siegfried's funeral pyre. Hagen is drowned as he attempts to recover the ring. In the process, the gods and Valhalla are destroyed."
In the play he is more a side character to the king of gods and only really helps steal the ring in an attempt to get Alberich, Himself and Wotan power.
The Sandman
The sandman is a comic series turned tv show made by Neil Gaiman Loki is presented in an odd appearance with very little time shown however he seems to follow his normal personality traits that are constant over most of pop and ancient culture with him constantly trying to trick people into commits heinous acts.
Reference on his history from the sandman wiki.
"Being destined to bring about Ragnarök, Loki was bound in the entrails of his son as a snake dripped its venom in his face with his wife, Sigyn, loyally staying with her husband despite his obvious disinterest in her. When Lucifer abdicated his throne in Hell, Loki was freed from his punishment by Odin, so he could accompany Odin and Thor to the Dreaming in order to petition for the key to Hell, as a way of avoiding Ragnarök. Loki tried to escape by posing as another god, Susano-O-No-Mikoto, while the real Susano was taken back in Loki's place. Dream, however, was not fooled. He let Loki go, but Loki would owe him a favour."
POWERS
Teleportation
Teleportation is one of Loki's many signature powers that he commonly uses to cause mischief or harm to the other gods or inhabitants that pop up within the stories.
Molecular Reconstruction (Shapeshifting)
His most famous power is his ability of body reconstruction to any form that he wants. Observed throughout all of history some of Loki's most infamous tales and children has come from his ability to do this.
Enchantment (MCU Sylvie)
Within the MCU Sylvie (Version of Loki) can perform an ability called enchanting which basically acts in similar ways to mind staff with part of the ability being mind control however this version of it is much more intrusive as it allows Sylvie to loom through and physical control other peoples bodies. Alongside this it can infiltrate memories forcing the person to relive them. It can also pacify aggressive creatures or entities.
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*No music for some reason
WEAPONS
Mind Staff (MCU)
Within the first phase of the MCU Loki in the main villain role of the first avengers movie wields a powerful staff that contains a stone that can be used for mind control. Using this staff he raises a small but smart and powerful army that is able to open a portal to a alien ship that can invade earth. In my project this wouldn't really make sense to include as firstly in a multiplayer setting the ability would be super imbalanced and overpowered and secondly it being incompatible for a 1v1 environment as the only opponent is your singular enemy leaving you with no reason for possession.
Talon Bow (GOW)
The talon bow is the signature weapon wielded by Atreus in the reboot series of God Of War. The nature of the long bow is that it was a longbow crafted by Atreus's mother, Laufey, out of a yew tree. During the first game "Freya" gifts him a magical bow sting that allows him to imbue his arrows the light of Alfheim which in the game allow you to enhance arrows with special powers. Much later, Sindri uses a tooth of the recently slain Hræzlyr to imbue the string with the Dragon's lightning power, which can also imbue its arrows with lightning to destroy blocking walls of crystallized World Tree sap.
These powers being:
Nista: The regular non-elemental arrow shots that can build up the enemies' stun meter. This type of shot becomes obsolete and unavailable later in the game.
Ljösta: The light elemental arrow shots that can build up the enemies' stun meter much quicker. Further upgrading allows for large blasts of light that hurt nearby enemies.
Þruma: The electric elemental arrow shots that can paralyze lesser enemies. Further upgrading allows for multiple enemies to receive electrical damage simultaneously.
These ideas and concept fit the ability/hero shooter genre perfectly i believe this could benefit my project and could possibly be my characters weapon.
Lævateinn
In Norse mythology, Lævateinn is a weapon crafted by Loki mentioned in the Poetic Edda poem Fjölsvinnsmál. The name "Lævateinn" does not appear in the original manuscript reading, but is an revision from Hævateinn made by Sophus Bugge a famous Norwegian linguist somewhere between 1850 and 1900. In the poem the weapon is needed to be able to slay the mythical rooster "Víðópnir" atop the Mímameiðr tree.
The sword has been asserted to be some sort of projectile weapon, sword or a wand by multiple different historians and translators.
In terms of adaptation to my project i think this may be a good idea as it wouldn't be totally out of balance in a power term but also help me make a massive advancement on the melee weapon i want to make.
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The Ritual
[ The Prayer | The Sowing | The Ritual | The Reaping ]
( Recommended soundtrack || AO3 )
x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x
Hilda let out a sigh.
Siegfried laid on his bed, unmoving, his chest raising and falling gently with every breath, but nothing else had changed since they had all returned to the Palace. She fondly remembered all those festivals they went to together, a million years ago.
Many saw the warriors’ very breathing as a sign of hope, yet the Princess of Asgard was too cautious to allow any of it into her heart. Without a spirit to sustain it, the precious gift of bringing the bodies back to life would expire once again and this time, permanently.
Even though the shrine waters had done wonders for Siegfried’s wounds, Hilda still tried to use her cosmos to finish the job. That was, until Freyja caught her red handed and proceeded to give the older sister an earful, then promptly took the reins of Valhalla Palace and ordered her to rest, by force if necessary. Since Freyja had bounced back much faster than her, Hilda did as she was told, begrudgingly accepting neither her body nor her cosmos were fully recovered.
She carefully tucked the blankets around Siegfried before leaving his chambers to visit the gardens. After waking up from her post-Ritual rest, the acolytes informed her the warriors were breathing, and their Sapphires had disappeared. Before they could really worry about it, though, a Skjaldmö that was stationed at the Palace came to report that the God Robes had assembled themselves in the gardens, once again complete with their Sapphires.
After inspection, and with Freyja’s approval, Hilda left for two days, heavily escorted, to awaken the other six Shadow Robes. Before Bud showed up, she had never even heard of the Shadow Warriors, and only capitalized on the discovery under the spell of the wicked Nibelung Ring. However, after everything passed and in preparation for the Ritual, Hilda threw herself into researching everything in the archives, and her late mother’s personal journals. In the end, she concluded Alcor Zeta awoke on its own because, unlike the other Shadow Robes, it had a guardian star just like the God Robes, so calling on one brought upon the other.
They were now all assembled in the gardens; pearl-white ghosts standing guard just across their colorful kin. The God Robes appeared to have been repairing themselves ever since, as every day the cracks diminished and the missing bits were slowly restored. Even though it was unclear how this was happening, the Princess of Asgard was thankful for having one less thing to worry about.
Hilda left them to their business and proceeded to visit the other warriors. For better or worse, there was no visible change in them either, but that didn’t stop her from offering a prayer every time she came by. When she arrived at Bud’s chamber, it surprised her to see the young woman who had vividly asked for details about him in the shrine was also there, gently wiping his arm with a warm, wet cloth.
Hilda politely cleared her throat. “I am told you tend to Bud often. Did you know him from before?”
“Yes, Princess Hilda. We grew up together back in Eastern Asgard.” The woman gave her a tired smile.
She nodded, connecting the dots. The same region where Syd’s family was located. “Did he tell you what was happening?”
“No, and I apologize in advance because if he wakes up, I’m going to strangle him.”
“Oh? Why would that be?”
“My family lives in the Neighbouring Kingdom, and his dad passed away a few years ago, but it was enough to know we had each other’s back. One day, however, he just disappeared, leaving behind a bag of groceries and a note that said ‘Fate has revealed itself. I must go after it.’ What an asshole. Forgive the language.”
Hilda gave her a sympathetic smile. “Unhelpful indeed.”
The woman rested her chin on her hand, sighing. “Weeks without a word, didn’t bother to confirm he was okay. Then goes and dies during the invasion… Along with the brother he said he hated from the bottom of his heart.”
‘Invasion’ was certainly a way to describe what happened, but Hilda didn’t think this was the right time to explain all the specific details related to the conflict. She was about to offer her condolences when a familiar cosmos reached out to hers. Hilda rose from her seat immediately.
“Miss Reynirdóttir, I apologize. There is something-!”
Hilda couldn’t even finish talking before running out of the room, stumbling on her way to the north wing of Valhalla Palace, to the chamber closest to hers. She almost slammed the door open, staring hard at the bed.
“Siegfried?”
In the dark, her hands found his. Siegfried laid on his bed, unmoving, his chest raising and falling gently with every breath, but nothing betrayed any change. Hilda let out a sigh, bringing his hand to her cheek, when she felt his fingers moving lightly.
“Hilda…”
The Princess fumbled with the nightstand lamp’s switch and light flooded the room. The beautiful ice blue eyes were slightly open, his mouth in the middle of a word.
“Siegfried!” she cried, throwing herself on his chest. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry! So sorry. It was all my fault and yet, you came back…!”
The man’s arm feebly curled around her waist, bringing her closer.
“No matter where in the Nine Realms my spirit is, I will always answer your call.”
They laid there in silence for a while before she finally kissed him and got on her feet. Memories of all their times together flooded her mind as Hilda called the acolytes with tears of joy. Freyja also joined in, fussing over him eagerly, no doubt hoping Hagen would wake up soon too.
One by one, at their own pace, the God Warriors returned to Midgard in the following days. Only one remained in deep slumber, which kept Hilda on her toes. However, after Ging slowly began to stir, The Princess of Asgard prayed (and allowed herself to hope) Fenrir would, despite everything, do so too.
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→ Study 𝐗𝐗: Visions and Gnoses.
Neuvillette as a character gave groundbreaking information about topics that were shrouded in mystery (and still are at the present), which answered some existing questions about vital matters to Teyvat like Visions.
To continue to subdue and control the resentments and loathing of the world, the usurper and one who came after created the Gnoses together. So it came to be that an order was made to be upheld, and thus did humans come to only possess the seven remembrances, and all fragments of the primordial were driven to devour each other. From that day on, whenever a person's wishes reached the heavens, the seven overseers of the material realm were duty-bound to grant them a gift. Though they might know nothing of who or what wish had stepped into the threshold of the sacred, the Seven Archons still had to impart a shattered shard of their mastery to that person. And when one so gifted completed their duty... the gift the gods would receive in return would be more abundant still.
From this excerpt we get various points of interest worth mentioning, such as:
✦ Gnoses were created in order to continue the subjugation and control over the resentments and loathing of the world.
✧ Humans are restricted to seven elements.
✦ The creation of the Gnoses was the beginning of the Visions, thus the allogenes' existence.
✧ It's limited to the material realm.
✦ Visions are fragments of an Archon / Sovereign's authority over an element, but they also receive something in exchange.
Gnoses were created in order to continue the subjugation and control over the resentments and loathing of the world.
Previous to the Apocalypse / second war between Phanes and Nibelung and the dragons, Phanes has a record of suppress at least two preexistent original orders in Teyvat: the original vital force of the planet and the original order of the world. This could cause the world of Teyvat to create something (an energy, a substance, etc.) in order to fight back this suppression at the hand of Phanes and the gods he appointed for this matter, it could refer to the resentments and loathing of the dragons and vishaps as the original dwellers of Teyvat or both.
By the time Nibelung came with Forbidden Knowledge to Teyvat to try to defeat Phanes and the associated gods to him, other invaders also came that caused destruction, spred plagues, warred against the Seelies but also brought illusions that could break through the shackles of the land as per Nabu Malikata's statement to King Deshret. And out of fear of the rising tide of delusions and breakthroughs, he sent the sapphire nails to mend the land.
As a result of the Apocalypse / second war, Phanes was severely wounded in the great war of vengeance and had him functions ruined, and could no longer use his absolute authority to suppress the original order of this world, leading into the creation of Gnoses so everything he was suppressing and controlling continue to be suppressed and controlled by other means that don't involve him, as he no longer can. This was made possible with the corpse of the Third Descender as per Skirk's claims, which in turn also left an unknown curse behind.
Humans are restricted to seven elements and it's limited to the material realm.
Which makes their potential be limited at the same time. There aren't only seven elements, just as it's known that what we currently perceive is just a watered down version of the primordial elements or a broken down form of them, meant to be simpler than what it would be otherwise.
Another reason why humanity potential is limited is because this binds allogenes to the material realm. In Gnosticism, the material realm is considered evil and impure, which makes bodies a prison to souls and don't allow them to transcend into the spiritual realm, freed from the Demiurge and closer to attain gnosis, ergo knowledge and a fragment of the true God. Those who have a higher amount of itself are closest to it.
Despite their own madness, the Narzissenkreuz Ordo believes that receiving a Vision equaled to running into a path of destruction. Furthermore:
However, the ancients' study and differentiation of the spirit reached heights that we ourselves found challenging to attain... While, for the most part, it was divided into memory, wishes, soul and persona, a spirit's qualities still carried complex distinctions... Among these, the state that came closest to the perfect freedom that divinities possessed was named "True Will"... The detachment of human will with such meticulous research was a jumping-off point... Perhaps it was through this power that the ancients achieved transcendence from the physical realm. Despite this remarkable achievement, they were unable to escaped their fate, which appeared preordained...
This could be applied to gods even, as it's said that a tainted will of a god isn't allowed to pass into the Realm of Light and are bound to last in the material realm instead. An example of this is Egeria.
Visions are fragments of an Archon / Sovereign's authority over an element, but they also receive something in exchange.
When an allogene fulfills their duty, the Archon in question will receive more than they have lost in giving a fragment of their authority over their element to an allogene via a Vision. Furthermore, it can be deducted that if Gnoses were created to uphold the subjugation and control over the resentments and loathing of the world, so might be the case of the Visions by extension. In a way, this makes itself manifest at the knowledge that allogenes have a higher resistance to Withering Zones than normal humans would. However, this rises some questions about how good or ill are the intentions behind this. For one because it's up to debate if allogenes are a different level of puppets to the higher gods of Celestia just like the Archons themselves are. On the other hand, the implications that those who "were not chosen by the gods" are dregs as per their perception, potentially because in achieving other kinds of powers unrestricted by the seven elements alone are something more like thorns on their side (for instance, the power of the Abyss can subjugate the elements, meanwhile the celestial energy / Khvarena assimilates them and strengthens them).
#◟༺✦༻◞ analysis within the ley lines ichor┊study.┊#honestly this patch made me reconsider#a lot of my interpretations on the lore#for instance the existence of two different orders of Celestia#that I'm more and more inclined to think it's one and the same#just that it changed for reasons over time#anyway this is one of the things that made me go on big brain mode#and wanted to compile it together in a post
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Some thoughts on the silmarils
One thing i love about Finrod the Rock Opera (though it’s not canon-endorsed so kinda breaks the immersion) is how disregardful characters are towards the silmarils. (Talking about the recent version here) Like, yes, Thingol wants the thing, that is his motivation, he already imagines a silmaril in his hand and feels powerful and awesome. But as soon as Melian in horror and anger rebukes Thingol, he comes to, looks at the imaginary silmaril in dismay, and throws it away. Melian herself calls the silmaril the accursed gem of Feanor and blames Thingol for selling their daughter for it. Finrod in his final aria, overcome with understanding of his destiny, also dismisses the silmarils: Flaming are edges of the cursed gems in the Dark, bit there is a Flame more bright and powerful than theirs.
In the opera the silmarils play the same role the One Ring does in pop culture or rather some sort of cursed Gold of Nibelungs. They are some pretty shinies with arbitrary value and a scary curse laid upon them. Chasing them only for the sake of obtaining them is wrong. It probably will destroy you. The Feanorians in the opera are in the wrong not in the least because they want the silmarils. Yes, their want is tragic, they almost wish they didn’t have it, but they still want the stones. Finrod doesn’t -- he wants to be at peace but also wants to help his human friend because it turns out to be eternal truth. Beren and Luthien don’t -- they want to fulfil Thingol’s task and be together. The silmarils are far less important than individualistic goals, life and happiness. And that i really like.
This is... not exactly how it is presented in the source material. The silmarils very much have an inherent value to themselves, they are not just a McGuffin. They are holy. They are substantial and extremely important. They encompass something so pure and precious it is unthinkable to dismiss them. No elf (except of course Maglor and he was at the worst place ever) could just throw them away. Thingol died ultimately because he was obsessed with one of the silmarils. Elwing threw herself from a cliff rather than give one to the murderous Feanorians. Nobody decided to just return the stone to the latter even knowing sons of Feanor would come knocking on their door with no nice intentions. Yes, the silmarils are touched by Doom and probably will bring you evil, but that is not their inherent trait. They are not really cursed themselves, rather the Feanorians are cursed and greedy people who lust for silmarils are too. This, of course, is very complicated, very arbitrary -- and so tragically unnecessary at times. Of course, it doesn't mean that the in-universe authors or the real one were on the contrary dismissive of people and praised only the silmarils. But the importance of Feanor’s stones is hard to miss, and it has been brought to the reader through countless ages. It’s in the culture of elves itself.
Yet i wish and i hope it was actually a little bit different. For it should be never about some stones, whatever light is contained within them. It should be about people and what value they place into the stones. The silmarils are the last doomed chance for the sons of Feanor to be good enough for their father which they can never be. They are a piece of this hyped unmarred world that is so treasured and lamented by the Noldor, and it probably annoys and bring out anger and envy in some Sindar. A silmaril might be the last connection to Olwe and Finwe Elwe can ever keep. And the star of Earendil is a homely and comforting sight to his descendants on Arda.
So yeah, while i don’t completely vibe with the opera’s take on the silmarils i very much respect the philosophy behind it. No shiny thing, even the holyest and most starry one, is worth more than people. We keep interpreting art according to our current values and it is SO. DAMN. BEAUTIFUL.
#silmarils#Finrod the Rock Opera#Finrod#Thingol#Melian#Beren#Luthien#Feanor#Tolkien meta#maybe???#finrod rock opera#anna dissects rock operas
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Army of Thieves (2021) Review
I’m reviewing a Netflix film... it feels like lockdown all over again!
Plot: A prequel, set before the events of Army of the Dead, which focuses on German safecracker Ludwig Dieter leading a group of aspiring thieves on a top secret heist during the early stages of the zombie apocalypse.
Zack Snyder has set home base at Netflix following his not so successful run at DC. And as such he’s building his Army of the Dead franchise featuring a zombie apocalypse that begins in Las Vegas. The first Army of the Dead movie came out earlier this year, and honestly I wasn't a big fan. It was at the end of the day a generic zombie flick that featured dumb characters making dumb decisions, and overall the entire thing came off dumb. Army of the Dumb it should’ve been called, though that wouldn’t be fair to the zombies as they were the more intelligent species in that movie! Anyway, we now have a prequel that’s not really a prequel in the shape of Army of Thieves. It’s a prequel in that it is set before the original film and has a couple of references to Army of the Dead through news footage shown on TV, but otherwise there’s no zombies to be seen in this one and you can seamlessly enjoy this movie at its own merit, which is a good thing as Army of the Dead sucks and you shouldn’t put yourself through that movie.
One of the only characters from Army of the Dead with some kind of personality and expression was Ludwig Dieter, a German safecracker who’s basically the best of the best in his line of work. Army of Thieves is all about him and his safecracking ways, and yes, his stylish vintage retro polo shirts make a return and gosh do I want to own all of them!! The movie itself is also directed by the actor who plays Dieter (Matthias Schweighofer), though his directing style is very much inspired by Zack Snyder with the crisp camera shots and dark high contrast tones, though there is also an element of Matthew Vaughn’s comic book action style too which I enjoyed seeing. That being said, the movie’s narrative is as simple and cliched as you can get. Its a bunch of criminals going out and doing one heist after the other, each member of the team has their set of skills and naturally backstabbing does occur and the members of the law go after them. But the good thing is that the movie is very self aware of its cliched nature, so it exists solely to entertain its audience. This movie isn’t going to be one I’ll remember but I can tell you that I did enjoy watching it throughout. So basically its exactly what a Netflix movie should be. There’s some decent action, a good amount of comedy and a bunch of actors who seem to actually enjoy being there. I did also enjoy the fictional mythos behind the safecracking, and how the movie leans a lot into Norse mythology and the legends created by Richard Wagner’s famous operas about the Valkyries and the Nibelungs.
There’s not much else I can say about Army of Thieves other than it’s entertaining. As I said, it’s heavily cliched so don’t expect too many surprises, but the cast performances are all solid, including a powerful turn from Nathalie Emmanuel who’s role here feels like an audition for the Fast & Furious franchise, for better or worse. Also nice seeing British comedian Guz Khan in a big movie like this, he definitely doesn’t belong here yet it was as always entertaining seeing him crack a joke or two. Anyway, he’ll be back on the UK Taskmaster this week anyway so he’ll be back at home in no time. All in all though, unlike Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves at least tried to have fun and not take itself too seriously and as such I had a good time.
Overall score: 6/10
#army of thieves#netflix#army of the dead#matthias schweighofer#nathalie emmanuel#ruby o fee#stuart martin#guz khan#jonathan cohen#zack snyder#heist#army of thieves review#movie#film#movie reviews#film reviews#2021#2021 in film#2021 films#action#comedy#crime#zombies#richard wagner#safecracking#horror#romance#thriller#more safes less zombies#gotterdammerung
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Byzantine Imperial Family & House of Babenberg:
Princess Theodora Angelina of Byzantium
Theodora’s parentage is uncertain. She was probably a niece of Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos. Most likely her mother was one of his sisters but it could also be possible that her father was Isaac’s brother John. Whoever her parents were, she was raised at court in Constantinople.
She was born into turbulent times. Rebellions and wars dominated the last days of the Byzantine Empire. In 1203, when Theodora was either in her late teens or early twenties, she left Constantinople for Vienna to marry Duke Leopold VI of Austria and Styria. Leopold was the grandchild of Byzantine princess Theodora Komnene. The celebrations in November of this year are said to have been magnificent. Noteworthy guests were the poet Walther von der Vogelweide, who might have even performed there, and probably the unknown writer of The Song of the Nibelungs. According to historian Karl Brunner, the wedding inspired the fictional wedding of Kriemhield to King Etzel. So many guests wanted to attend Theodora’s and Leopold’s wedding that not all of them fit into the city.
But why would a Byzantine princess marry the ruler of Austria? The reasons were simple. Austria hoped for a strong alliance against the Hungarians who threathened their border and the Byzantine Empire promised themselves a better relationship with and the participation in a crusade of the German King Philipp of Swabia, who was already married to Theodora’s cousin Irene Angelina. But all of this was rendered moot when the Byzantine Empire broke apart.
Not too much is known about Theodora during the lifetime of her husband. The couple had seven children: German Queen Margarete, Duchess Agnes of Saxony, Hereditary Duke Leopold of Austria, Hereditary Duke Heinrich the Cruel of Austria, Landgravine Gertrude of Thuringia, Duke Frederick II the Quarrelsome of Austria and Styria and Margravine Constantia “Konstanze” of Meißen. Theodora most likely used her influence when it was time to find a bride for her son Frederick. It was most likely her doing that he married Princess Eudokia Laskarina of Nicaea. However the marriage did not last long.
Theodora did not really have luck with her sons. Her oldest and favourite son died when he fell of a tree while playing. She never really got over this loss. Heinrich rebelled against his father when he was away and chased his mother out of her home in Hainburg. Frederick, who was described by contemporaries as talented but arrogant and rampant, took away all his mother’s possessions and threatened to cut off her breasts if he ever caught her. Theodora fled to Austria’s archnemesis Bohemia where she could put her trust in her cousin’s and the German king’s daughter Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen who was Queen consort of Bohemia at the time. From there, she went to Kunigunde’s father and complained about her son. In 1235, at the Imperial Diet in Mainz an imperial court decided in favour of Theodora and she returned to Austria. When Frederick died in 1246, the first House of Austria aka the House of Babenberg ceased to exist in its male line.
In her last years, Theodora became a nun at Lilienfeld Abbey. She died either on June, 22nd or 23rd in the year 1246. It is very likely that she inspired a famous German lullaby called Heia popeia. The ancient Greek words Hoide o paide mean Sleep, o child which over the years became Heia popeia with the common people.
// Nur Fettahoğlu in Magnificent Century (2011-14)
#historyedit#women in history#historic women#European history#Middle Ages#1200s#13th century#Austrian history#byzantine empire#House of Babenberg#German history#Theodora Angelina#Angelos family
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Thomas Jefferson (covert Druid...joking...)
@doctornigel (My promised reply—long and very rambling...);) Lol—not THAT Merlin. — This one: “Have you been enchanted by the magician Merlin? I presume you have.” — https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-13-02-0215 — This is long. I’m sorry. My thought process is sort of...a dragonfly splattered across a semi-truck windshield going at 70mi/hr. Anyway: Wizard Merlin doesn’t feature anywhere, well not in any recognized way... Odin does, of course. I like the thought of Gwen taking the Ring if Nibelungs, that caused so much tragedy across the continent in the decades before her birth, and using the gold horde it came from to fund improvements to the convent where’s she’s been fostered, including a hospital (based off St Galla of Rome...), and taking the most precious Ring cursed by the gods, and having it reforged/smelted (or whatever smithy process needed to be done) as her own surgical tools, in the years before she returns to Britannia to claim her legacy. That’s a whole tale into itself...anyway— How that ties in with Caroline, Jefferson, and PreRev Paris...??? Um?? But no wizards... It’s easy to get weird with Jefferson and Monticello when jet-lagged. I hear ya’ on that. Especially when I’m entertaining already weird bents. I like the thinking of Katherine Neville, but Id rather keep my own take grounded in 18th c Enlightenment ideas of Tramsmutation, and the weird meta-physical philosophy that conflicted with more natural history/philosophy emerging as more concrete sciences expressed somewhere between Blake and Erasmus Darwin, and tied to early biological/medical theories of evolution as reflections of the social revolutions broiling in those last decades of the 18th Century into early 19th...kinda captured in a really lovely book called ‘Darwin’s Ghosts’ I audiobooked (long commute—the way I get some reading done, as I fail horribly on my piles abounding of ‘to be read’) a few years ago. It’s the first time I ever heard about the Teliamud, and going back to another cool book called ‘The Swerve’ (about the rediscovery of Lucretius’ ‘On the Nature of...Things’—the ellipses are my own addition🤪), a term used to define intellectual epochs characterized by a paradigm shift that comes from a new discovery of old knowledge or new working theories... I admit, I seem to be obsessed in terms of 3-somes, and the concept of avatars of certain eras. My original trio based solidly in Roman-Britain as prototypes (centered around the Sarmatian theory), reflected later as my take on Guinevere, Uthyr (rather than Arthur, who’s her son in my universe), and Theoderic the Great (my stand-in for Lancelot), twisted again by the 18th Century as Caroline, Jefferson, and Paine. It’s just funny though, when you think of the title applied to Jefferson, as The Sage of Monticello, and Man on the Mountain, gazing at the stars, pondering on the mysteries and intricacies of the Universe. It’s hard, in my reading, to not tie that to tales of DinasEmrys/Snowdon, and the legend of Idris Gawr, Idris the Giant—who it’s said, had a barrow/grave/throne high in the mountains of Snowdon, called Cadair Idris (the Seat of Idris), where he would study the stars, as he was reputed to be a learned astronomer in his day. Whenever his day was, in later Welsh folklore. Incidentally, Idris is one of the forms of Hisdernus/Yder/Edern/Gwythyr-Victor/and in some permutations, Uther. Idris is also, by random find amid my hauntings of obscure corners of the Internet, noted as a prophet/Magi of the Sabians, one of the ‘Chosen’ of the Koran, likened to the Biblical Enoch, and the Hermetic Trismegistus. The last of which was quite popular in alchemical Studies, and Masonic liturgy, which is honestly about the extent of ‘weird’ angles that my esoterica takes in reference to Jefferson. He was no Mason, not even in a fictional aspect, but he certainly rubbed shoulders with members of the more sane branches of Masonic society, Franklin as the most obvious—and the Lodge of the 9 Sisters. I guess I’ve always seen Jefferson as a little symbolic of Mercury/Hermès to Caroline’s personification of Sophia—Lady Liberty and the Muse of Revolution. Somehow, stumbling on the original Dr Frankenstein mentioned by Nogaret, helps focus some kind of plot purpose here, that I might dig up one day when I can organize my brain, and the themes here, enough to distill this chronological catastrophe into discrete but interconnected stories. In more a fanciful conceit than any actual substance to the theory, I do see Monticello, Poplar Forest, and ultimately, the Uni of Virginia as Jefferson’s own personal expression of mind and matter meeting in a perfect geometry, the way archtecture, especially in classical motifs, was meant to be an reflection of humanity, Stars, and the universe’s symmetry of true Enlightenment (oh, it’s SOOO easy to entertain those conspiracy notions of DC being built on some obtuse reflection of the Kabbala, or something...lol). As some have called the University, it was almost a temple of sorts in its own way—Republican architecture for a new Republic. Maybe he was a little influenced by certain elements of Masonic weirdness, or not?? Maybe his architectural philosophy contained some metaphysical properties, but then, that’s not entirely opposed to his rationality, if he truly was grounded inconcepts that Pallsdio shared with Vitruvius. Random aside, I was commenting on my FB wall a few days back, I came to Jefferson by total accident, following the path of Artorius Castus, my 2nd Century Arthur. While Trying to draft some sort of traits for him, something of a bard, a builder/creator/farmer (that might have been borrowed from Russell Crowe’s Maximus—who I’ve always seen as 2nd c Artorius), and Warrior, my fiancé and I were watching the JohnAdams HBO series, and suddenly there’s this ginger-haired Stephen Dillane (who played Merlin, incidentally in that lackluster ‘04 movie of KingArthur...for shits and giggles when talking about Merlin and Jefferson🤪), and his subdued intensity, his passions as intellect and revolutionary. And I was like: “That’s the personality template of how I want Artorius Castus to be!” So, I started reading more in Jefferson...and fell under the spell of anyone who’s studied Jefferson does. Certainly not uncritical, but as a man of private passions and public service, his voice was an interesting mirror of a certain vision of America, amid many others, in the nacient conceptualizing of a ‘United States’ as a country w/o monarchy (Lordy, it’d be another 12,000 pages on my thoughts of Roman-Britain paralleling Colonial-Federalist era America. Even the chief cities, Philadelphia and Londinium, were of equivalent population sizes, around 20,000-25,000 inhabitants...). Frankly, it’s evident even he was swept up in some kind of notion toward America’s destined inevitability as a Republic, tied to some remote Anglo-Saxon past derived from an Heroic Age Britain. Who the hell else would ever have conceived of a National Seal with Hengist and Horsa?? I wonder who, even amongst Jefferson’s learned contemporaries, would have understood that allusion?? Of a Demos steeped in mythic Teutonic heritage? The ancestor of 18th British parliamentary monarchs, and America’s even more daring regression to a state modeled on the purity of tribal confederacies, beholden to each other as equals at their ‘thing’, with no king, but a loosely appointed chieftain. This was the same man who had a lifelong love of Ossian, so...I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised there, right? Anyway, as it’s always easier to envision concluding scenes than the journey getting to those scenes, I kind of have this perverse idea as a decrescendo to the tale. Of Fiona, Jefferson’s daughter by Caroline, never officially acknowledged, but adopted by Caroline’s husband to preserve her legitimacy, arriving with her distant cousin, Frances Wright, of course, during her visit to Monticello with Lafayette in 1824. Some scene in the stables, maybe Fiona was getting ready for an early morning ride, and the elderly Jefferson comes unwittingly upon her, gazing at her with bittersweet melancholy, in the moments of late autumn sun, before she’s aware of his presence. She has no idea, the uncomfortable truth of who her biological father is, and he won’t betray that trust until Caroline herself, in Scotland at this time, tells their daughter. Or, he once swore he wouldn’t. Caring by nature, when Fiona finally realizes Jefferson’s presence, she interprets his temporary wistfulness, watching her tacking/untacking her mount, as exhaustion, overstraining himself on the stroll out to his stables (I don’t even recall where the stables were located from our last visit at Monticello). Apologetically, she hastens him to have a seat on a groomer’s bench, as she says something about being out of his company in a moment, knowing how he enjoys his solitude in the mornings. To which Jefferson only laughs, easing her worry, and inviting her to sit, speak with him for a few moments if she has no where pressing to be. He asks after her mother, who he’s not seen for years. Fiona, in the dry irony she inherited from Caroline, admits to their being on the outs, as a strong-willed mother and daughter have a tendency to be, a matter of difference about Fiona staying on in America rather than returning home to Scotland. She has a wish to visit some of the new medical colleges established in NewYork and Philadelphia, and to see if she might find some role in practice, as she, following in her mother’s legacy, is also a formally trained physician. They share in memories of her childhood after her mother brought her to join the extended Graham family in Philadelphia. How Jefferson would join their salon, in the Grahsm’s townhome, in the years of his vice-presidency. Her memories of the rustic capital later, when DC became the center of national endeavor. How she’d fallen in love with a restless explorer as a dazzled teenager, a maiden’s heart, and a mind caught between following her mother’s wishes to pursue training as a doctor back in Europe, or follow this man, haunted by an endless fear of failure and mediocrity, pressed to achieve a potential he never believed he had, but that Jefferson continuously pressured him to challenge. He had promised her a frontier, and an endless horizon of adventure West of the Mississippi. Freedom from her over-bearing mother, fulfilling a wish at their attachment Jefferson himself encouraged, against Caroline’s advisement to Fiona. When Fiona ultimately rejected him, his rage and despair had known no bounds, leaving her w/o word the next day. And months later, a student at the university of Pavia, Fiona learned too, of heartbreak, when news of his suicide or murder, reached her. Months passed before she could bring herself to write her mother, a year before she realized the injustice of blaming Caroline for her disturbed love’s untimely demise. Another year before she accepted her mother’s wisdom in pushing her daughter to complete her formal training, maturity, and not a little gentling insight from a matron who ran a school for young girls, out of Lodi, brought Fiona to that reluctant awareness no daughter ever wishes to admit. When their mother was indeed right, about impetuous young love, and doomed elopements. The seasons passed, and took Fiona along a winding road, growing into her practice in the hospitals of Italy and France. Returning to Edinburgh, making the acquaintance of Fanny and Camilla Wright. A balm and comfort, meeting women of her own family, inclined to strong opinions and insistent upon their autonomy, as she too had grown. And here, at 29, on this early morning in mid-November, Jefferson finds himself marveling at her grace, and her wit. Something intangible, of Caroline’s fire, that entity of spirit, mirth, and intellect that had always drawn him, as her rebelliousness irritated him. Not a trait attractive in women, and not one he’d ever encouraged in his own daughters, and grand-daughters, forcall he commended their accomplishments. Yet, here, this daughter, his child by a women forever concealed from public scrutiny, as even Sally had not escaped, commands an air of contemplation. A gentleness in her person that makes her far more approachable than the irracibility he recalls of Caroline. It was only in the later years of their acquaintance in Paris, he learned what poetry and music lie beneath Caroline’s thorns she presented the world. She has her mother’s eyes though, deep and dark as oceans at night, sheer contrast to the bright red-gold curls adamantly resisting the bindings of her simple bun. There’s inquiry in her gaze just then. Jefferson blinks, shaking his head to disperse his old-man’s tendency for dredging in lost memory, and tangential wanderings of the mind. “Forgive me, dear. A lapse. It seems to happen more these days.” Chagrin, inexplicably colors her voice as she reaches a gentle hand over his. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jefferson. Here you came to find some peace, and I prattle on like a chirping cricket. I didn’t mean to bore you.” Mr. Jefferson. Would he ever hear her call him father on this side of life, knowing the years are borrowed now? Again, she misreads the wistfulness of his gaze, about to repeat her apology. With a raise of his hand, a small smile, swiftly passing, he reassures her otherwise. “Not at all. Now, you’d asked me something. It would please me to no end if you might refresh this old man’s mental laxity.” Her smile dazzles, her short laugh dry. “Yet, still sharper than most of the scholars and scientists who infringe upon your hospitality.” “You’re cousin not withstanding,” he taunts gently. A flash of sympathy, only partially teasing, she offers her commiseration. “Fanny can be a handful. Her excitement sometimes outpaces her temperance. Try sharing a carriage with her for 3 weeks straight. Sweet Lafayette must have the patience of a saint.” “It’s not such a hard-ship in the presence of comely women.” Jefferson’s barb, a fond bow to the penchants of his long-time comrade. “You should have seen how he used to act with your mother in his wife’s salons.” “My mother?” Fiona asks, skeptical and scandalized at once. “She met him?” “Met him. They shared company regularly. Not like that,” he adds quickly, seeing the suspicious glint in Fiona’s eyes. Feeling his own remorse surface, the truth, all of it, seeking freedom in the tip of his tongue. He contains it. She hardly needs an old man’s confession weighing burden between her and mother, whatever the rift between them. “We all occupied similar intellectual circles at that time,” he explains in a flat voice, to ally her wondering. A shadow troubles her brow, her attention gone inward. “She never speaks of those years. In Paris, I mean. No one in my family ever mentions them. Layfayette knew her. You knew her. My father met her there,” her words tumbling out in despondency as her hands sweep an invisible vista in front of her. “There’s this whole era in which she lived, that others knew her. And here I am, her own daughter. Who looks in the mirror, and wonders sometimes if I am indeed her true child. Born by a man no one ever mentions. Of whom I have no memory, and no legacy other than the surname of Beaulieu. Would he be proud of me, following in my mother’s footsteps to become a physician? Even when I didn’t want to. Even when I finally found some satisfaction in it, and attained some measure of skill? Would he be proud of what I’ve achieved? Would he care that someday, I want to establish a medical college for women. In Philadelphia or New York. Would that be enough finally? To make my mother proud, and tell me something about my father? I man I hardly remember, and know not at all?” “Oh, Fiona,” he whispers. Forgetting his reserve, Thomas reaches toward her, meaning to wipe at the tears spilling, angry and stubborn, down her cheeks. She waves him a him away, turning aside to wipe at her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says after a moment, mastering herself, shooting him a quick, embarrassed look. “I didn’t mean...,” the words trailing into a frustrated sigh. Into the stable’s solitude, filled only with the scent of hay, fallen leaves, and the occasional stomp or whicker of a horse, Thomas speaks softly. “Anything, ever weighing on your heart, Fion—Doctress Beaulieu,” he corrects, not wishing to alarm her by thinking him inappropriately familiar, after such personal exchange. “What you feel you can’t tell anyone else, you never need guard from me.” *Daughter.* The silent endearment, a torture of his love she’ll never know. He clears his throat, a moment of ruefulness at mention of Caroline seeping through. “There’s nothing that would ever make your mother more proud than if she had conceived that idea herself. And of your father,” he barely manages in a thin breath, “what I knew of him. Well, nothing in all the world would have set his heart soaring more than hearing that dream spoken by his child.” Fiona, taken aback, pales, bewilderment draining color from fine-boned cheeks. A moment only, before she recovers herself, a scolding smile easing some of the misting in her eyes. “I can understand Mrs. Baryard’s reservations with you, Mr. Jefferson. A woman finds it far too easy to share intimacies with you. Especially when succumbing to a weepy indulgence.” “Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve been honored as the knight in a woman’s momentary distress,” he says, feeling his tension warming beneath the glint of humor in her eyes. So like her mother, that. How her sentiment shifts like spring winds, alternately storming and balmy. “It’s madness, perhaps,” she admits. “But the moment the thought struck, it wouldn’t let me go. Can you understand that?” “Very much,” he whispers, pride and peace filling him, a tenderness he hopes she can see in the faded depths of his eyes. He wants to comfort the melancholy sobering the brightness of her hope. How much he suddenly realizes in this young woman, have their lives, his and Caroline’s, come full circle. Their loves—friends and family—the rebels and the ruffians, the aristocrats and the reformers, who’d partaken of a vision. And here, this nation he’d conceived as a desperate act of defiance, with a few other revolutionaries, driven by conflicting needs harmonized against Britain’s monarchical shackles, struggles now to define herself. Columba, Lady Liberty, Her Tree, they have new challenges, in this nascient country, but they’re not without defenders. Amazon and Angel. This daughter of his, of Caroline’s. She carries a legacy of so many lives, and ages. But the truth of that isn’t his to reveal. “The Master of His Own Secret”, but it was Fiona’s mother who had always been the mistress, the Hidden Secret of his heart and mind. Liannan Sidhe, his Manes, the embodiment of Revolution. Knowing he’ll never see her on this side of life, he hopes Caroline can forgive him. The truth. Of Paris, and all that came from those years. And all that was still to be found in the future told by the stars, sparks crystalline against night’s mystery of death and life. Oh, how an old man’s thoughts did wander. He sighs. The weary sound of it makes Fiona squeeze his hand, concern intent in her expression. “Mr. Jefferson, have I tired you? Perhaps we ought to be getting back.” “Not yet,” he says. “The season varies so much at this time of year. There won’t be so many more days I can enjoy outside before we’re cooped indoors.” “As you want,” Fiona complies, a lingering frown suggesting she’s not in full agreement. “I need to confess something, Doctress Beaulieu. And much it will be quite difficult.” Sensitive to the gravity in his words, Fiona nods, reservation in the small motion. “Of course. Anything.” Thomas looks gently into her eyes, his opaque gray irises once as bright as storm-clouds backlit by sun rays, their brilliance now worn by age and the cares still pulling at his soul. “Difficult for you to hear, as it will be for me to speak, I’m afraid.” Her brow crinkles, puzzlement that clears in a moment, stealing herself for what mystery an old eccentric, relic from a fading generation, could possibly have to confess to her. A guest, and only by proxy, to those who had shared his confidences in younger decades. The small bow of her head gestures permission. An opening of tranquility, here in this November morning, where a retired revolutionary, the Poet of Independence, lost in his twilight years, finds inspiration in this woman’s, his daughter’s, stillness. Written words had always been his strength. Oratory, a nightmare of stumbling and silences. But on that November morning, Thomas Jefferson lets himself speak. The tale raw, unpolished. Humble and without embellishment or flourish. And hours later, when he rises, joints swollen, creaking in protest, making him whince, Fiona remains seated. Stunned, and devoid of comment herself. He shuffles toward the stable entrance, pausing to look back at her. Tears scrawl her cheeks, her breath catching on a sob. Remorse trembles in his soft words, his own eyes reddened and moist. “One day, I hope you can forgive us, Fiona. Beyond your anger, sorrow. Pain, perhaps. Betrayal. But know that I could never be more proud. Nor love you more for what you have yet to become.” Nothing left to say now. He bows, as he would have to a queen. Bony limbs stiff, still evince vestigial elegance as he rises. When he pulls the door open, Rose and gold flood the recess of the stable where they’d sat, Lighting across Fiona’s features vivid in her confusion. Her whisper catches him, brittle and wary. “For what I have yet to become? What about what I am now?” She pauses, struggling to shape the next word, her voice pitched so low, he strains to hear her through the quiet of the barn. “Father.” He thinks his legs may indeed fail him then. Fatigue washes over him, Dropsy making his feet drag. He inhales seeking strength amid this wave of joy and sadness, keener edged than anything he’s felt in years. Since her had mother left him, taking Fiona back across the ocean in the months after he’d retired the presidency. Robbing him of exhilaration, life and hope and dreams contained in their child. “Always.” The word itself a confession, to her. To her mother. He hears the soft choke of her grief as he closes the stable door behind him. She’ll need her privacy for a while. A harder blessing to find in the bustle of the main house, than out here, amid the peace of horses, sky, and autumn sun. He can at least keep the grooms and stable-hands occupied elsewhere for a time, and give her that rare gift. To grieve in quiet, for something lost, and found at once.
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