The Heroic Legend Of Arslan - Tumblr Posts - Page 3

As we all know, the Maarer are using rune magic to mostly fight or at least as support. But when fighting you also get hurt, that is a fact.

Whilst writing chapter 4 I saw in my Maar lore doc that I didn't have a rune for healing - one of the most basic runes to have! So I scoured through the doc to see which rune didn't have any magical use yet to put as a healing rune. And I just can't decide which one to use!

The meaning behind it is what the symbol usually represenst in not only day to day life but also the values of the god they stand for. (I have yet to assign every god one or more runes and that will be in the far future lol.)

Also: Should I make a general post about all runes and which ones are actually used for magic?

Wonderful work as always. I love the position the hair and how the clothes are floating

@innerchorus As promised I worked on the coronation WIP! :D

Arslan Senki Chapter 128 (Part 1)

We've finally reached it. The Worst Coronation Ceremony in the World. As I'd hoped would be the case, it's a split chapter, with the first half sticking with Team Arslan before the second half moves to Ecbatana to focus on Team Hilmes.

The chapter opens with the gang sitting around a campfire.

An owl... Do Team Zahhak have someone watching them? Are we going to see that someone report back to the Master soon about how Prince Arslan now has Rukhnabad? Yeah sometimes an owl is just an owl but this really has Team Zahhak vibes.

Arslan trying to ask Don Ricardo to hand Rukhnabad to him, realising he doesn't speak Parsian, and then... managing to speak some fragmented Lusitanian? 👌 I love that he's been learning this and is willing to try instead of just asking Estelle to translate.

Who wouldn't immediately hand over the sword that saved your life upon seeing this face, amirite?

(Obviously, it worked. Totally disarmed, Don Ricardo gives Arslan the sword.)

Anyway now we have RUKHNABAD PLOT TWIST, because Arslan can't draw the sword. And while he's all 'welp, looks like I don't have the right to wield it!' Gieve is absolutely fucking enraged by the fact that Hilmes could draw the sword and yet Arslan can't. Gieve = not the greatest fan of Kaykhusraw's judgement, lmao.

The next section is interesting. After things are briefly disrupted by the tremors of an earthquake that soon dies down, discussion continues, and despite Arslan's recognition that his bloodline gives him no right to the throne, he's not backing down.

This panel... The fact that the (harmless) earthquake started up right when Gieve was trashtalking Kaykhusraw, lmao. Feels like the Hero King's spirit was putting Gieve in his place, ahaha.

The fact that he says this while looking down at Rukhnabad... I think this panel is conveying not only that he's not prepared to give it (and Pars) up to anyone else even if they can wield it and he can't, but also that the sword's function as a (protective) object of importance to Pars is more important than having it in his possession.

Is it possible that he will try and return the sword to Kaykhusraw's mausoleum instead? Sure, Zahhak is out already but maybe it will quell the earthquakes. This would set up nicely for a scene that is the inverse of Hilmes taking Rukhnabad from the sarcophagus, where Arslan instead tries to replace it and in the process of doing so proves himself worthy of wielding it.

And if Team Arslan try to place it in the sarcophagus itself (assuming they can still access it after the big earthquake back then?) they'll see the absence of Kaykhusraw's body and understand it has become a vessel for Zahhak.

(I feel like I want that realisation saved for Hilmes, though. He's seen Kaykhusraw's remains before, and I want him to see them again and realise what he's done... Sure, multiple parties can come to the same conclusion but I feel like that would be a great one off moment of 'oh FUCK')

That's the first half of the chapter. You know what, I'm going to split my post into two parts, so stay tuned for the next one.

The last picture

He grows so much this is giving me so much vibes.

Arslan Senki Chapter 128 (Part 2)

What a top choice, contrasting Arslan, the ruler Pars needs, being unable to draw the sword that would prove his right to rule, with Hilmes, who is choosing to brute force a coronation ceremony in order to give his position legitimacy.

While Arslan freely admits that his bloodline gives him no claim, Hilmes is still trying to maintain the lie that he is the son of Osroes. Ugh, watching him falter over this line during the ceremony was hard. He is far from at his best here, but I still have sympathy for him despite all that he's done.

However he needs to BE NICER TO ZANDEH, DAMN IT.

Things in Ecbatana... are not good. We get an overview: dry wells, Andragoras's growing army outside, closed gates, dwindling food, friction between citizens and soldiers, all combined to insinuate that it's only a matter of time before Hilmes's control of the city is overturned.

And a coronation won't fix this, (and nor will a crown patch up the emotional damage that was inflicted on him by Andragoras's big reveal) but what else can Hilmes do right now?

Ashamed to say I laughed at this. His face...

Man, Zandeh really is trying his best in this chapter. He and his men were the ones who went scrounging up golden coins to melt down in order for Hilmes to actually have a crown to wear after Guiscard stole the real one, but Hilmes isn't in the mood to appreciate his efforts.

(That little guy is with him in this scene, looking nervous of Hilmes's reaction! Feels like Zandeh also knows Hilmes isn't going to love what they've done, but as he says, it's the best they can do for now.)

The fact that Zandeh adores Hilmes and can't wait to see him crowned yet is willing to tell it to him straight: calling Sam away from defending the underground waterways to attend to coronation ceremony is a bad move.

Fucking ouch. At least he didn't tell Zandeh to go and watch the passageways himself!

'The ceremony was a miserable, spare, and unsatifsying one' 🙃

Starting out strong.

My boy is so happy!

When Hilmes starts talking about 'King Osroes's legitimate heir', things start to go to shit. He falters, Sam and Zandeh can see something is wrong (and while Zandeh is puzzled, you know Sam knows) and then after failing to get the words out twice Hilmes rips the cloth off his scar and fucking commits to that lie.

I wanted a mask-free coronation for Hilmes but NOT LIKE THIS 😭

Sacrificing Innocentis to the gods isn't going to make that lie any truer, but Hilmes is just grasping at anything that will give him even a whisper of security right now.

Zandeh is very into it, lmao. I love him but am unsurprised to see his rough treatment of Innocentis. If I recall correctly he was excited about the idea of killing him before.

Filing this away under 'things that should not be hot'. (Also noting that he removed his armour for the ceremony 👀 and that he's abandoned the idea of burning Innocentis alive in favour of a different method.)

Also... how blind can you be, Hilmes? "Thus will I show what happens to those of other lands whose ambitions threaten the peace of Pars!"? Pars is your own country, and you facilitated that. Pars would likely still be at peace if not for you and your ambitions.

Anyway, Innocentis, who is likely delirious with fever from his wound, asks for sugar water, which enrages Hilmes so much he's about to strike him with his sword, when who should burst in (no doubt through those poorly-defended waterways, sigh) than Team Arslan?

(The coronation ceremony is taking place 10 days after Team Arslan set out for Mount Demavant. Chapter 126 says they 'rode East along the Continental Highway for several days' until they encountered Don Ricardo, so it seems a little more time has passed between the events of the first part of the chapter and those of the second).

This fills me with fear because no way will Hilmes withdraw.

Anyway, there's a panel of Team Arslan entering the room where you can't see what weapon Arslan is holding. Rukhnabad, you there?

The Runes of Maar

Since @innerchorus had asked about more details of the rune system in Maar and I wanted to do a post about it, I have decided to, well, make a post about it lol.

Warning: long post

First, let me give you a general, alphabetic list of all the runes that are used in Maar.

Algiz - shielding

Ansuz - divinity, mental stability, communication and speech

Berkana - birch

Dagaz - new beginnings and transformation

Ehwaz - horse, transport

Eihwaz - death

Fehu - wealth, abundance, livestock and positivity

Gebo - gift, exchange and generosity

Haglaz - hailstorm, cleansing and destruction

Isa - ice, delay, self-control and frigidity

Inguz - home, news and fertility

Jera - harvest

Kenaz - torch, passion, inspiration and creativity

Lagaz - water, river, lake or renewal 

Mannaz - man

Naudit - need or distress

Othala - inheritance

Pertho - luck or fate

Raido - ride, wheel or journey

Sowilo - sun

Tiwaz - sacrifice, fairness, balance

Thurisaz - masculinity, courage and empowerment

Ur - valor, fortitude, strength and stability

Wunjo - joy, satisfaction, goodness and fellowship

All of them are used in the general day-to-day prayers and special rituals. Everyone of these runes represent a deity in the Maaren pantheon (I will probably do a seperate post about that as well). All citizens of Maar have a rune as a necklace around their neck that represents their tutelary god/goddess (for example: Azar's tutelary god is the god of war “Tiw” and her rune is tiwaz). At a certain age (probably around 11-15, sometimes earlier), children have to go through a ritual that lets them meet the gods of the pantheon and the gods decide which of them will be their protector and the one that should be represented by this child. They then get their rune-necklace and are allowed to choose if they want a permanent tattoo of their rune (or something else) or just the necklace. Some do as it is believed to amplify the effect/power of their rune. If you want to give somebody else the powers of your rune or the protection of your own tutelary god to somebody else, you hand them your necklace to wear and say a prayer to your god (no ritual needed, the prayer is enough). The necklace has to be worn at all times normally and if the original rune is not returned, a new ritual has to be made so the effect can be transferred to another rune stone. 

And these are the runes that actually have confirmed magical force (since Maar is a young country not everything is explored and/or researched to the fullest).

Ansuz - communication

Raido - teleportation

Kenaz - produces light

Haglaz - conjures up a Hailstorm

Isa - produces ice 

Ur - makes you physically or mentally stronger for a short time

Thurisaz - generates strong outbursts of power

Algiz - conjures up a shield/barrier for a short time

Ehwaz - summons a horse

Mannaz (or Eihwaz, have yet to decide) - summons the dead and gives them the ability to come back alive for a short time (only works if the dead person feels as if they still have something left unresolved in their life)

Lagaz - conjures up water/rain

healing rune pending

Everyone in the army and navy need to be able to use at least the basic runes to a certain extant aka. communication, teleportation, producing light (not complitelly sure about this one) and healing. They train from a very young age but everyone of all ages can be accepted (if your health is fine in older age you will also be accepted) into the army/navy.

On how the runes work:

I will not say too much here on how they generally work since in chapter 3 the soldier with the scar (Pavle) will explain it for me (could this be considered a spoiler?). 

But what I will talk about is how to multiply the effect or the strength of the effect. (I already made a comment about it under this post but I will just copy-paste it here again.) So if you want the effect to be stronger, you need more of the same rune stone. But one person can only use two to three stones at the same time so if you want to, for example, heal more than one wound in one go or conjure up an actual storm and not a cough of wind you need at least two to three or more people to do so. It depends on skill levels though (so squires and students are not allowed to do that without strict supervision) and only the priests/druids (name pending, suggestions welcome) are actually allowed to use that many or more at the same time since it takes a huge chunk of stamina and energy. Very dangerous in the midst of war and very easy to misuse and abuse for power (only in emergencies allowed for everyone). So Maar is very strict with who and how to use the runes with magic force. That's why they are mainly used for battles and only the teleportation rune is allowed to be used by a tiny selection of merchants (for example, merchants who sell merchandise lthat needs to be kept fresh, for example). That system is the only way so far to keep the abuse of the runes under control and is obviously not really fair. It currently is being researched more by a specific team directly monitored by the King and the highest priest/druid/whatever and new laws are being created, but not passed, left and right. 

Again, Maar is a young country and has to figure shit out on the go - it is probably in its early/mid teenage years, if you will. This issue will probably be resolved in a few thousand years, so my AU doesn’t really touch that much on it (probably will integrate the problem when we are in Gilan). But I love little tid-bits from outside the story that might never come up - it just makes the world feel even more alive and a little bit more real! 

Also: every rune has a small side effect, so that they are not that op, lol. One will be explained in chapter 4 by, again, Pavle.

So, I think that is what I generally wanted to tell about the runes without being too spoilery (if there even was anything to be spoiled lol). If there are any more questions: my inbox is looking very empty so feel free to spam me!

At first I felt the same way about her but in the last chapters her character has developed so good that I actually really love her and that is the main reason I love the heroic legend of Arslan from Arakawa so much.

because the development of the characters are so good, that I now have only a few characters left I didn’t really like or more I didn’t grow so deep feelings about them.

Oh my god...

I forgot how annoying Alfarid was in the beginning! And how hypocritical. Dear lord above (or below).

I am so happy that she later has such a big character development. She now is one of my favourit characters. (And that is the genius of Arakawas writing! Or rather of Tanaka...)

I am continuing chapter 5 and am now where Narsus and Alfarid are at the village that go attacked by Team Zahhak.

Edit: I have been rightfully reprimanded in the reblogs lol. I did not correctly read between the lines so the sublte context flew right over my head and I have missread that section of the manga. I will from now on read even more carefully! Thank you for informing me, folks!

Ashaya backstory revamp

Ever since classes started again I have been consistently unable to either draw or write, and it's frustrating me a lot, so I'll just have to settle for making AU posts.

Andragoras and Tahamenay's child, that has not changed.

Given to some family in the Tabaristan region (formerly known as Mazandaran in ancient times), who were given hush money in exchange of raising them.

Ever since she was young, Sherine has noticed that she is... different.

Her parents leave her out. Her siblings pick up on that and leave her out too. Her parents don't treat her the same way they treat their other children.

Besides which, Sherine is not dumb. She realizes pretty quickly that she looks different from the rest of her family. Face too pointy. Hair too light.

People say she's a beautiful child.

Her parents seem determined to prove them otherwise.

Sherine is given more chores to do. Given plainer clothes. Made to stand behind her siblings at any given event.

She cries. She screams and struggles and stomps and yells in hopes that they'd listen, they'd know, this is unfair, she's their daughter too, isn't she? Sherine is—

Sherine is not dumb.

Sherine knows that whatever she is, she doesn't belong here.

People say she's a beautiful child.

Her family says she's nothing but trouble.

She wanders her hometown, sneaking off from doing chores at home. Spends her days scanning the faces of the townspeople— the merchants, the neighbors, the strangers, even the slaves. She looks and looks and looks, for any hint of similarity, any bit of resemblance, anything that might echo back to what she sees in the mirror, in the waters, every day.

Sneaks out of her house, flits from street to street, in a desperate bid to find someone, anyone, with some iteration of her features hiding amongst the crowds.

Stalks the family of that jolly grape seller from a couple blocks over, because they were light-haired like her even if the shades don't even come close to matching.

Hers is always different.

Hers is too peculiar.

Ivory-blond with rosy tips, hair of an outsider.

Mama beats her and sends her to bed without dinner.

Curling up in bed, hungry in a way that no amount of food would satisfy, Sherine thinks.

She doesn't belong here.

She isn't a child of this family.

She doesn't think she's even related to them.

Where are her parents?

Did they die? Is that why papa and mama take her in? Because they knew her parents?

Except, really, they mustn't have loved her parents, whoever they were, because if they did then surely they would treasure Sherine too. Right?

Right?

If they died and nobody here loved them, then why is she here? Wouldn't she have been put on the doorsteps of a temple or taken from the streets by... by...

She'll never get the image out of her head, a slaver, flogging a young boy barely older than her.

She's seen them, on her escapades, prowling the streets sniffing around for any abandoned baby by a roadside or in an alleyway.

She shudders thinking about it. Mama always says one of these days she's going to sell Sherine, too.

She's scared.

She doesn't know.

Whatever the case was, she was unwanted in some way. Is unwanted, right now in this present she lives in, unwanted by this family, unwanted by whoever decided to leave their daughter on this doorstep.

She clutches her aching stomach.

She doesn't sleep.

Day by day, night by night, she prays what little words she manages to remember.

Prays to be loved.

Prays to be found.

Prays to be...

To be...

There's a tale in this town.

If you wander deep into the woods, you'll find a dilapidated place.

They call it a temple. That's stupid. The building looks nothing like a temple.

Those who wander in, they say, come back wrong.

Come back days, months, years later.

No matter how long they take, they don't look a day older.

They were playing, her siblings and the other kids, they play, but she never gets included. They get mean when she tries. They always give her whatever's the worst.

She runs.

She runs and runs and runs until her legs burn and there's no air in her lungs.

She doesn't notice the butterflies frozen in air.

She doesn't notice the sudden stillness of the trees after a certain point.

Not until she trips.

There, on the ground, stained in mud and dirt and snot and tears, she curls up like she always does at night.

She's so hungry.

She hears their voices, a couple bushes over, arguing about the prey they were supposed to hunt.

They don't find her.

She bolts upright, startled, nerves tingling with something she doesn't know what to name.

She looks around.

Silence and stillness.

She should be afraid, she thinks. She should try to leave. To go home, to go find those dummies who didn't even see her when they were nearby.

But she thinks of their meanness, of mama's anger and papa's weird stares, of the prowling slavers wandering the streets.

Just a little bit, she thinks. Just a little longer. Just a little bit of peace. She'll take the beatings later, she'll deal with that when they catch her.

That's right.

She just has to not get caught for a little while longer.

[brain juices running out so this will be reverting back from story mode to summary mode, augh]

Anyways, she spends a long time (to her) in the woods and doesn't really notice that the sun isn't moving in the sky bc she's a little kid and she's too busy rolling around and having fun until she falls asleep out of exhaustion (both physical and emotional, since all the shit she went through finally caught up to her in a safe moment)

(you'll notice that in the story/narration part “Sherine” refers to themselves by she/her bc at the time they hadn't had the chance to realize y'know, the gender stuff)

Sherine wakes up, finds that it's night, and she can't find her way back.

(the haunted area actually booted her out so she's in a different spot of the forest)

Kid has an epiphany of sorts.

“She can't stay here.

Not anymore.

If she's so unwanted anyways, what harm would it do for her to disappear?

For her to leave?”

So she does.

Anyways, it's night, Farangis (with some clan adults) is wandering the area for a reason I have yet to fully decide on.

They meet.

Sherine is absolutely taken by this gorgeous lady.

One long conversation later while Farangis does her best to clean the kid up, it's abundantly clear that Sherine is Not Okay.

So they get taken!

And Sherine gets to chop off their hair and choose a new name.

But until she settles on a proper name she chose for herself, their temporary name is Ranna.

Sherine has a complicated relationship with girlhood because of the toxic standards that were forced on her by their “parents”.

Anyways that's how Ashaya comes to join the clan!

What I imagine a young ex-Sherine to look like as she leaves with Farangis.

Fun fact, Areyan is usually a sweet and gentle kid but for some unknown reason he and Ashaya regularly gets into fisticuffs.

They're 7 when they join the clan. Farangis is 15, she'd just come of age.

At some point I kinda wanted Ashaya and Alfarīd to have met in their younger years but I don't see that working out w this trajectory sooooo... oops.

Anyways, a look into Ashaya's trauma! Where their lack of hope and faith in the world stems from. I somehow couldn't get into it in the narration but her family house could own slaves, maybe, (still she gets made to do chores bc Double Standards), and on her escapades to find her parents or relatives in the town she gets to see a whoooole lot of violence thrown at slaves and poor commoners and it always stuck w them.

She tries questioning it once, they got punished.

Kinda echoes Alfarīd's hopelessness in the nation too, she did say in the manga “there's no point to restoring the nation, it'll just make new nobles and new slaves” and it's an attitude Ashaya holds, too.

It'll be up to them to find that hope again. Alfarīd would be the one to eventually give back hope to Ashaya, but for that she herself will have to believe.

Unlike in canon I don't really see Alfarīd coming to believe in someone changing the system, rather that there's something worth living for even in a broken world. I think she'd have an attitude like that. It just fits her.

(I'm reminded of the song Kamado Tanjirou no Uta from the AU playlist, and that one video from Hello Future Me about the Ghibli movie The Boy and the Heron.)

(“We did not choose this world. But we must live in it.”)

To elaborate on why Ashaya lost faith in the world, it's smth like, if something so terrible and hurtful like the slavery system is allowed to exist, if nobody batted an eye at the abuse she went through, if nobody thinks to hold abusers accountable, if people are rewarded with brutality for their kindness, then... there's nothing worth saving here.

In addition to their own abuse they also saw others being abused, remember that the clan is made up of runaways and hurt people and abandoned people and victims and survivors— almost nobody who comes to the clan... came from happiness.

Is it any wonder that their faith was broken?

In contrast, let's look at Alfarīd. Protective instincts, strong sense of justice, responsible if a bit chaotic, remember how in the manga Alfarīd urges Estelle to remember the women and children and injured they'd saved? That they must think of, that they must protect, instead of thinking about the King?

Alfarīd, I think, abhors the system, but still sees people and things worth protecting anyways.

(and not to jump all over like a kangaroo but let's talk about Farangis this time)

She's an orphan. She entered the temple of Mithra after her loss. She was too talented. Too diligent. Too beautiful. People shunned her because of it.

And I'm willing to bet there's aggression and subtle bullying, too.

Look, it's a closed community. That sort of place gets rancid real fast.

(I would know. I myself was trapped in a prison of a boarding school where my suicidal ideation got wayyyyyyy bad.)

So, y'know, Ashaya-as-Sherine is a reflection of her days in the temple. That's why she has a soft spot for her.

Farangis is one of the few people Ashaya will listen to.

Anyways that concludes thus the post about Ashaya!

Can't write rn so have this:

“I'll kill them,” says the saffron-clad girl with jagged tattoos. “I'll kill them all. The fake-ass princes, the king, the nobles. Everyone. All of them. They'll never become a problem for my hometown. Never. I'm gonna make sure of it.”

Alfarīd takes in the sight of Ashaya's hidden face, the tremor in their lengthy frame. Takes in their voice, so full of bitterness and anger, so full of...

Fear.

Ashaya is afraid.

And who wouldn't be, when it's you against the world?

She lets herself plop down on Ashaya like she's seen cats do with each other. You can die at the hands of royalty, monkey. Consider it an honor. “Well, that makes it two of us, ey?”

Ashaya snorts. “Congratulations, you've just got a roadside fox stuck to your side for perpetuity. Now what?”

“Were you even listening to yourself? We're gonna rid the world of pests.”

“The rat bastard with the silver mask first?”

“The rat bastard with the silver mask first.”

Oh my god...

I forgot how annoying Alfarid was in the beginning! And how hypocritical. Dear lord above (or below).

I am so happy that she later has such a big character development. She now is one of my favourit characters. (And that is the genius of Arakawas writing! Or rather of Tanaka...)

I am continuing chapter 5 and am now where Narsus and Alfarid are at the village that go attacked by Team Zahhak.

(Hilmes looking disdainfully at the newly forged crown being offered to him - Chapter 128)

I'm also incorporating this panel into my chat language for when I will look a gift horse in the mouth

Have undercut Kashi made w this picrew since I pretty much gave up on making Kazai (have not attempted Ayunnen yet but...)

Love it!!!

So I attempted to make Gurgin using the ElenaA's Windswept Oc Maker picrew! Some compromises had to be made so consider this a bit of a mashup of various incarnations of Gurgin since I couldn't accurately make his canon self the way I see it.

Hairstyle is kind of modern AU I guess with the shaved side but this was the best way to get the right shape (and even then it's reversed). Thank goodness I could do that strand across the centre of his face or else I would have given up straight away. His hair should be a bit more lank really but whatever.

Eye colour is Wolfsnake AU, more or less. I gave in to temptation and gave him the slit pupils for snaky vibes, though they're not super distinct here because of where I put the highlight.

The blood drop earrings are just for fun; let's say his Master gave them to him.

Nosebleed is from Sacrifice AU, poor guy.

Got inspired from @innerchorus and @tired-reader-writer to messed a bit with the picrew programm.

I played around a bit with the program and designed a little Kayra. I'm not 100% happy hiw the eyes and the hair color turned out. So I decide to make to pictures of her. One with her eyes closed and the other with her eyes open.

But otherwise I think she turned out pretty. I also tried to put the earring idea from @tired-reader-writer into it because I am absolutely in love with the idea.

And which hand could it be on her cheek? I think I leave this up to you.

More differences in the Translations

So I talked with @innerchorus under a post (were I was very short-sighted at first but thanks to this wonderful fandom I have now a better understanding of the characters!) and I mentioned a difference in names between the German and English translations. And so I thought I make a post about them!

Left are the English translation, right are the German ones.

Alfarid = Alfreed

Saam = Sham

Kubard = Kubad

Zandeh = Zande

Gurazeh = Graze

Shaghad =  Shagard

As we see in the German translation there are only a few missing letters or the german version of the name. (But what happened with Gurazeh here...)

These are the ones I could find at the moment and if I find more, I will edit them in.

Feel free to add more if you find more. Even in other languages!

Do You Know This Anime?

More Picrew Firelight AU characters! Have the "royal" family of Maar - the current as well as two versions of Eldar.

From upper left to lower right:

Crownprince Aleksi, Queen Serrilda, Dowager Queen Moja and Farzin, the Elvenking.

And the two versions of Eldar, the Fireking - I can't decide between white or red hair. Which one looks best?

So somehow the whole story got a bit out of hand. After I reworked Kayra a bit with Picrew(I based myself on the beautiful picture of @tired-reader-writer and changed her eyes and hair and why is her hair so difficult???a bit to make her earring stand out better. I also changed the design of this one again.) I decided to make another OC or to finally give them a face (I will probably rework them again but for now I am very happy).

https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1855819%23google_vignette

The first one is Amalia. She is also a slave in Shapur's household and Kayra's best friend since childhood. She was born into slavery and knows no other life outside of slavery. She is a rather quiet person and carries out her tasks conscientiously and properly. She can become very strict if tasks are left undone or not completed immediately. Over the years she has worked her way up to the position of housekeeper (is that what you call it?) and is now basically the boss of all the slaves. She married another slave from Shapur's household and together they have a daughter.

The next one is Nasha, Amalias daughter and nine years old. She is a complete tomboy and is always giving her mother a headache because she rarely behaves like a young girl and certainly not like a slave. She loves her mother's stories about Kayra and idolizes her (so it's no wonder she's temperamental). Even though she doesn't know Kayra personally, she is her biggest fan and hopes to be able to travel with her someday. She loves Shapur and Isfan and keeps trying to persuade them to take her hunting (after all, she made Shapur promise that she could go with her when she turns 13). She will play an important role in the story.

The next one is Ashina (the name means the she-wolve). In my AU she is Isfans mother and for Kayra like a substitute mother after she lost her own. I tried to give her a few characteristics of Isfan, like the color of her eyes and hair. I have to say that I'm pretty happy with how Ashina turned out. I think she radiates something simple and yet beautiful and motherly, just like I imagined Isfan's mother would be. Of course, that's my idea and everyone can have their own and implement it. That's the great thing about fictional characters.

The next one in the list is Yamin. His name means the just. Unfortunately, he will play a tragic role in the story and will encounter betrayal. Even if, from his perspective, it is justice. I don't want to give too much away here, just that he is also a slave in Shapur's household and is two years older than Kayra and was or still is in love with her. Just like Amalia, he was born into slavery and worked his way up under Shapur and now holds a high position within the household, which has also allowed him to ally himself with the Lusitanians. But as I said, I don't want to give too much away.

The next one is Lady Ziva! Dhe is Shapurs mother and I try to make her a little bit dark and I think she has something witchy about her. She looks beautiful but I try to put a lot of jewelry on her to show that she is more the material type and I think when I look at her and then at Ashina I think they are two sides of a medal.

Both beautiful women but Ashina is more natural, she has more lightness. Ziva on the other hand has some dark aura around her something heavy. (Don’t know if this makes sense).

I am not quite sure with her eye color. For now I decided to gave her the eye color similar to Shapur.

So the next one is Shapurs grandmother Halima. Her name means the gentle/the friendly one and that was her nature too. She was the exact opposite of her daughter-in-law and her youngest son. In my AU, Shapur inherited most of his traits from his grandmother, in addition to some of his uncle's characteristics. He also had the closest relationship with her. She was his confidante and advisor. She was the good soul of the house and was also friendly and respectful towards the slaves. She immediately took Kayra into her heart and immediately recognized that she was different from the others and made sure that she received a good education.

And the Last one is Lord Mert and he is Shapurs and Isfans uncle and the older brother of Lord Shapurs father. He was an commander under King Osroes and also Shapurs and Kunards teacher. Sadly he died really early when Misr try to invade Pars. He was a very good and cheerful person but also very cheeky. He didn’t get the chance to meet Isfan but he loves Shapur as if it was his own son. He never married and so after his and his brothers death Shapur became the new heir of the family. Also Shapur never really got over his uncle's death, probably because he was closer to him than to his own father and his uncle took better and more loving care of him.

So I think expect of Shapurs father I desgin hks whole family holy shit 😂

That escalated quickly……..but it was so much fun.

I even have three more characters but I think this would be much of a spoiler (so let me know if you like to see them aswell)

And for the last one…..her is the new design of Kayra. As I said before there are not so many differences about the new design but I was thinking I share it with you guys anyway.

So somehow the whole story got a bit out of hand. After I reworked Kayra a bit with Picrew (I based myself on the beautiful picture of @tired-reader-writer and changed her eyes and hair and why is her hair so difficult???a bit to make her earring stand out better. I also changed the design of this one again.) I decided to make another OC or to finally give them a face (I will probably rework them again but for now I am very happy).

The first one is Amalia. She is also a slave in Shapur's household and Kayra's best friend since childhood. She was born into slavery and knows no other life outside of slavery. She is a rather quiet person and carries out her tasks conscientiously and properly. She can become very strict if tasks are left undone or not completed immediately. Over the years she has worked her way up to the position of housekeeper (is that what you call it?) and is now basically the boss of all the slaves. She married another slave from Shapur's household and together they have a daughter.

The next one is Nasha, Amalias daughter and nine years old. She is a complete tomboy and is always giving her mother a headache because she rarely behaves like a young girl and certainly not like a slave. She loves her mother's stories about Kayra and idolizes her (so it's no wonder she's temperamental). Even though she doesn't know Kayra personally, she is her biggest fan and hopes to be able to travel with her someday. She loves Shapur and Isfan and keeps trying to persuade them to take her hunting (after all, she made Shapur promise that she could go with her when she turns 13). She will play an important role in the story.

The next one is Ashina (the name means the she-wolve). In my AU she is Isfans mother and for Kayra like a substitute mother after she lost her own. I tried to give her a few characteristics of Isfan, like the color of her eyes and hair. I have to say that I'm pretty happy with how Ashina turned out. I think she radiates something simple and yet beautiful and motherly, just like I imagined Isfan's mother would be. Of course, that's my idea and everyone can have their own and implement it. That's the great thing about fictional characters.

The next one in the list is Yamin. His name means the just. Unfortunately, he will play a tragic role in the story and will encounter betrayal. Even if, from his perspective, it is justice. I don't want to give too much away here, just that he is also a slave in Shapur's household and is two years older than Kayra and was or still is in love with her. Just like Amalia, he was born into slavery and worked his way up under Shapur and now holds a high position within the household, which has also allowed him to ally himself with the Lusitanians. But as I said, I don't want to give too much away.

The next one is Lady Ziva! Dhe is Shapurs mother and I try to make her a little bit dark and I think she has something witchy about her. She looks beautiful but I try to put a lot of jewelry on her to show that she is more the material type and I think when I look at her and then at Ashina I think they are two sides of a medal.

Both beautiful women but Ashina is more natural, she has more lightness. Ziva on the other hand has some dark aura around her something heavy. (Don’t know if this makes sense).

I am not quite sure with her eye color. For now I decided to gave her the eye color similar to Shapur.

So the next one is Shapurs grandmother Halima. Her name means the gentle/the friendly one and that was her nature too. She was the exact opposite of her daughter-in-law and her youngest son. In my AU, Shapur inherited most of his traits from his grandmother, in addition to some of his uncle's characteristics. He also had the closest relationship with her. She was his confidante and advisor. She was the good soul of the house and was also friendly and respectful towards the slaves. She immediately took Kayra into her heart and immediately recognized that she was different from the others and made sure that she received a good education.

And the Last one is Lord Mert and he is Shapurs and Isfans uncle and the older brother of Lord Shapurs father. He was an commander under King Osroes and also Shapurs and Kunards teacher. Sadly he died really early when Misr try to invade Pars. He was a very good and cheerful person but also very cheeky. He didn’t get the chance to meet Isfan but he loves Shapur as if it was his own son. He never married and so after his and his brothers death Shapur became the new heir of the family. Also Shapur never really got over his uncle's death, probably because he was closer to him than to his own father and his uncle took better and more loving care of him.

Arslan Senki Chapter 128 is now out on Mangasee123!

Bringing this game back because I feel like there's a couple of us who hasn't done this. Here are some of our previous attempts on this:

@innerchorus : here (actually I think they answered it twice, I couldn't track down the more recent one, oops?)

@concernedbrownbread : here

Mine: here!

There has to be more out there, no there definitely is more out there, but alas tumblr's search system is a piece of shit and this was all I could find unfortunately T_T

The first character I first fell in love with:

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

The character everyone else loves that I don't:

The character I love that everyone else hates:

The character I used to love but don't any longer:

The character I'd want to be like:

The character I'd slap:

A pairing that I love: A pairing that I despise:

A lot of answers I imagine would remain unchanged for me, so I won't do a full attempt here— just the third question (it's what spurred me to make this post lol)— I was thinking about some random stuff and then realized, oh, I don't actually give a shit about this character?????

So here goes question #3:

The character everyone else loves that I don't: GUISCARD, LOL. I gave so little of a shit about him that I forgot to mention him the first time around. Like, I'm so sorry my dude, you just. You just don't compel me for some fucking reason.