JttW/ WIPs, compilation!

 originally posted on tumblr, Sep 23rd 2023

FSYY/ Progidal son (terror)

 originally posted on tumblr, Sep 12th 2023

Li Jing in a fury grabbed his halberd, leapt on his horse and galloped out of the headquarters. He was astonished to see Nezha with his Wind-Fire Wheels and Fire-Tipped Spear. He swore loudly, "You damned beast! You caused us endless suffering before your death, and now that you've been reborn, you're troubling us again!"

"Li Jing! I've returned my flesh and bones to you, and there's no longer any relation between us. Why did you smash my golden idol with your whip and burn down my temple? Today I must take my revenge!"

since I’m on a Nezha streak, might as well do my design for him on the Expedition AU! given that i’ve chosen to give characters a closer likeness to their region, it’s only fitting i do the same with import deities like Guanyin, Subodhi and Nezha.

he’s a complicated figure to place in the timeline because he gained popularity as a deity much after, only really arriving in China by the time the Journey would have been set. FSYY was written closer to when JTTW was written down, and he was retroactively inserted on the Zhou Dynasty period.

so deciding what to even do with him is dicey. but then i said fuck it, mythological rules apply here, he was around for the events of FSYY, and it and JTTW are set in the same universe. and for the sake of having some fun, i decided to get funky with his concept.

Nezha had the likeness of his family when he was alive, as described in FSYY, but once he was reborn with a lotus body he gained Indian traits instead. this is to be a nod to his status as an import deity and his origin as Nalakubara, and as the centuries roll by he may present himself to mortals closer to the locals’ appearance wise.

as for his looks, i drew inspiration from multiple sources. read more for my rambles <3

• his armor is closer to reconstructions of Zhou dynasty-period armor, skipping over extra parts simply because his lotus body is so indestructible, there’s no need for a full set;
• there are two red Chinese knots with jade beads dangling from the armor ties. they are said to ward off evil spirits, which felt like a good fit for a guy known to banish demons. i picked a six-petal flower pattern, which represents reunion, unity and a bright future;
• i included lotus petals and leaves on his outfit as they are common in Beijing Opera outfits for him, and his makeup is a call to it as well;
• The pink from the cheeks and eyeshadow seeps into his ear shell, as to convey the way sometimes, you get so angry even your ears blush;
• Another thing i referenced from Opera is the two red ribbons on his sidelocks, though I changed them to two bulbs of lotus roots;
• Four petals drawn close to his urna as both to make it look like a lotus but also form five petals, which is an auspicious number;
• His hair crown is a fancy princely [knot] with a lotus motif and a pearl in the center, as he was the Pearl Spirit before becoming Nezha;
• I was going to go with elf-like ears but I thought I could do better, so I went for stretched earlobes instead. you can’t see it that well but hopefully the very large golden earrings imply it well enough xvx;
• His cheek dimples are common sight on religious images of him and it was a cute touch imo;
• Younger Nezha wears a golden robe because of his title as General of the Central Altar in Daoist belief, and the center direction is connected to yellow or gold, and yellow robes are usually meant for emperors and their sons, which is a minor nod to his self-assureness and boldness;
• The Cosmic Ring has spiralling grooves on it both to catch blades on it for defense but also as a callback to Opera props;
• On his waist is the embroidered ball weapon he was attributed with in earlier myths, he was also meant to have the leopard skin bag Taiyi Zhenren gave him, bjt it was going to be obscured by the text so i omitted it;
• A few depictions of him gave him a halo of fire, which was real cool so i added it as well.

originally posted on tumblr, Sep 5th 2023

 ACverse thoughts of the day: historians if the Assassin-Templar War was common knowledge

• literally the most boring topic of study, you show up with a thesis around them, and your teachers roll their eyes so hard they can see their own brains;
• "Please, this is a serious institution, do reconsider your topic of study to something more... engaging."
• nobody takes them seriously, because primary sources are so bountiful, it's almost embarrassing;
• the most intriguing study about the war is the overall lack of splinter factions and infighting;
• there are furious debates and speculation on what surely were related factions being assimilated into larger non-related factions, and how the Assassin-Templar dichotomy spread;
• many historians look into the records left by both orders to fill in the gaps in their own research;
• Abstergo has research fund grants that many try to apply for, and it helps them keep their fingers in any papers being published to tuck away any compromising information;
• Abstego being related to the Templars and their very fucked up deeds is fairly well-known, but nobody can do anything about it. think Shell and ExxonMobil bullshit;
• some whistleblowers crop up now and again but after the initial outage, not much comes of it. maybe a scapegoat or two get arrested but that's that;
• there are conspiracy theorists who think the Assassin-Templar conflict is a hoax, everybody hates them;
• historians adore the assassins because 1. they are terrible gossips and 2. they FUCK, and they write a lot, so it's free insider knowledge

 

 

 

 originally posted on tumblr, Sep 5th 2023

thoughts for my Fimbulvetr Blues AU and Loki's (quite honestly stupidly powerful) skills:

• Loki could be argued to be a title rather than his actual name, in that he's an "entangler", using his tricks and magic to knot people in his schemes and lies. That comes up in many ways.
• His learned skills with the fairy folk of the British Isles can bind others through spoken word, and he's quite skilled in sneaking implied terms and conditions on his promises and oaths;
• That said he NEVER breaks his word, whatever he promises, you can be sure he'll see it done. and he makes no promises he can't feasibly keep;
• He also learned quite a bit of shadow and darkness manipulation, and it's proven to be quite handy for spying and dodging enemies;
• Not only that but coupling that with illusion magic, he can keep enemies distracted with doubles while he remains hidden in the shadows, puppeteering his clones to tire out his enemy or spare himself;
• Once he understands the True Nature of Fate, he can predict other's actions and even "see" the lines of their being tangling with others, snaring themselves in their own inner narratives. Therefore, pushing and tugging at those "lines" becomes almost second nature for him;
• He knows exactly which buttons to push and how to get others to go along with what he seeks, even if he must play the "villain" in another'' story;
• As Loki, he knows the importance of establishing himself as an antagonist for others to play off of, or project into. it's a role he's grown quite comfortable sliding into, and he plays it very well;
• He's also learned that pain, like all things good and bad, is fleeting and momentary. What truly matters is the play of the game, the end goal; if one must endure pain to get to it, then it's a small price to pay;
• Knowing how to manipulate souls, Loki has also learned how to manipulate divine powers. Effectively, he can take away and give back the powers of gods and other magical beings. Being such a trump power, he keeps that skill hidden well, but when Ragnarok approaches he uses it to impair and remove a few pieces off the board without needing to kill them;
• Possessing the Spartan Rage from his father and the deep connection with the untamed world from his Giant heritage, it manifests in a far more wicked and devastating form. The rage isn't his own, but borne from those around him; it's the vengeful drive of those who have been denied justice and closure, the inherent balancing of the scales in the presence of lack of equilibrium;
• When consumed by that bile and rage, he's engulfed in flames and becomes a furious maelstrom of fire and blood-red thunder. Among the flames are flickers of everchanging bones of a man and a wolf, simmering eyes glaring and fangs like daggers;
• Fenrir is a power like no other, and though one would expect him to lose all consciousness, he's in fact not only intelligent but cunning. Far from a mindless beast as he's accused of being;
• Having no solid form, Fenrir can be of any size and shape, and even be in multiple places at once. A manifestation of drive and emotion. At times he may blow out a bit of smoke and fire when disgruntled or upset, and even summon his Rage flames and lightning for a quick power-up;
• His control over Fenrir doesn't come from restraining it, but from letting it come and go as needed. Like all things, anger and hate are momentary, and if he steps into the role of being a manifestation of all those bitter emotions, he can later step out of it. He is not his emotions, but he can give vent to them;
• Loki is unrepentant and free of guilt for his desire for vengeance. Odin did him wrong, and he will find closure for himself and his lost sons and those who suffered like he did. War is not pretty, but sometimes it is necessary, and unjust kings must fall.

 

JttW/ Cosmic Imitation

 originally posted on tumblr, Sep 4th 2023

Bending over, he cried, “Grow!” and at once grew to be ten thousand feet tall, with a head like the Tai Mountain and a chest like a rugged peak, eyes like lightning and a mouth like a blood bowl, and teeth like swords and halberds. The rod in his hands was of such a size that its top reached the thirty-third Heaven and its bottom the eighteenth layer of Hell.

for the DTIYS by @lavaflowe!! it was such an awesome concept, I just had to get a bit daring with the perspective :D had to get some photobashing going close to the end though but it worked out well!

I exchanged the skullcap bowl for a gourd, since Wukong is often represented in religious statues as holding one or an immortal peach. The headdress was inspired by Beijing opera, but the mirror was borrowed from Lion Dance costumes. The mirror on their heads is meant to repel bad energies. The tiger pelt kilt is a classic of course, and a symbol of a protective deity. The long draping tail and staff supporting the heaven was my way of giving an awing sense of scale and of his reach. The symbols in the sky is the Chinese star map. And it’s hard to tell, but the mountains in the distance are the other three Continents in the JTTW cosmology.