#*study-esque

ac xiao00417 (twt) + mynqzo (twt)

symbols of her majesty's favour: items given as gifts to the various members of anastasya's court. primarily harbingers, whose masks are designed for their specific wearer with input, and granted at their point of ascension. however, other esteemed fatui associates have been known to receive such blessings, designating them as a step above the regular soldier.

the design and quality of any accessories can vary depending on the recepient. more often than not, they are fashioned to complement the wearer's regular attire, or accommodate any preferences. they can range from rings, jewelry, and brooches to full attire and decorative weaponry. often, they lean on the subtler side, simply for practicality and ease of use. everything given is made from silver, with blue accents where necessary.

on occasion, individuals may attempt to fake or steal such items for the social privileges they give. it is easy enough to distinguish genuine objects from their false counterparts. true gifts never tarnish, nor do they warm to skin temperature⸻ their metal components remain cold forever. additionally, any "gemstones" are fragments of everlasting ice.

such tokens influence the dynamics between anastasya's followers, but for her, they are means of exerting and indicating her control. to wear her gifts is to publicly offer your support of snezhnaya, and the current archon's rule. it also acknowledges you as of her, someone relevant enough to catch her personal eye, as opposed to simply a member of the fatui forces. loyalty is obviously valued in her ranks, but explicit demonstrations of it are significant to her, and therefore rewarded.

in the same way that mora is carved from the geo archon's body, true delusions are the blood of her majesty, the tsaritsa. within each frame is a drop of her own elemental energy, wrangled useable by humanity through steel and self-control.

when koitar fashioned anastasya, she envisioned a leader who could share divine energy with its followers. after all, snegurochka's role is to melt away the distinction between heaven and earth⸻therefore, she should be capable of distributing power to mortals who would be otherwise barred from receiving it. as such, all delusions begin as fragments of pure elemental power, dripping from the wrist of their archon.

the tsaritsa's ability to grant delusions is not tied to her gnosis, but instead her nature as an angel's artificial being. however, they are influenced by her current standing, so every true delusion is initially cryo, though more elements have become available due to the experiments of the second, il dottore.

there are two types of delusions currently in circulation: true, vs mass-produced. true delusions are fragments of anastasya's power. they are personally granted to all harbingers (on the date of their ordainment), and a select handful of top-tier fatui officials. for harbingers, it is a closed, in-person meeting, where the delusion of your elemental choice is selected and handed to you. officials receive theirs in front of their cohorts, though it is a similarly intimate process in the direct presence of the archon. mass-produced delusions are scattered throughout the fatui ranks, and do not contain the tsaritsa's blood. they are mimicries of the real thing. they take a more intense toll on the user and have a lower ceiling of power.

delusions can have various side effects. vision-holders are inherently more resistant to these, as their innate elemental resonance protects them.

true delusions cause horrible strain on the body if used recklessly, though permanent damage is rare. they inspire loyalty and strengthen willpower, and can warp the user's mind⸻someone who is already very confident may border on egotistical with the help of their delusion. additionally, since true delusions are crafted with her majesty's personal touch, the effects can vary slightly as she believes necessary. consider them a form of manipulation, as well as her direct favour.

mass-produced delusions draw not from the elemental bank of the tsaritsa, but the user's own life. with this, they can shorten one's lifespan, or cause them to age pre-emptively.

all delusions can backfire on their user. as a channel for divine energy, uncontrolled or poor mastery of that power will cause the delusion to explode, releasing any strength stored within it in a burst.

"The Tsar begins to plot "a revolt that the sublunary order [aka the Heavenly Principles] could never tolerate""

fascinating. we know the heavenly principles sure did not tolerate hyperborea or saarelainen.... fascinating;

At some point, Anastasya Feodorovna Snezhnaya succeeds the Belyi Tsar as the new Cryo Archon in an apparently non-violent transition of power.

specifically in flins' story it says "he was present for the transition of power from the Belyi Tsar to the Tsaritsa", which makes it sound like it was granted to her willingly. i honestly don't even know how i want to paint my canon (whether ana kills him after finding out the trick he played on saare, or whether it's a natural hierarchal transition after the tsar dies in the cataclysm) but there is a clear pre and post tsaritsa era;

Praise unto the master of all fae, who, like a stern father,

quote about the tsar ^ intimate relationship with the fae. perhaps because he is in part responsible for their creation alongside koitar? also with ana being a fae creation but seeing the tsar as her father. interesting wording choices genshin;

For the Tsar of all Snezhnaya had a merciful heart as vast as the icy sea, and was generous even to the small and short-lived.

Besides, the noble princes understood the ancient wisdom that living in unbridled luxury could corrupt fragile mortal souls.

Hence, they alone would not struggle amidst hunger and cold, for it was they who had to bear the sin of fullness for the sake of the people.

his pupils and the outside parts of his eyes grow darker as his emotions grow stronger, and in turn the scarlet ring of his irises gets far more vibrant and saturated.

i do believe even after he's learned to control his eyes changing colour, they still turn scarlet when he's facing overwhelming emotion, particularly anger. he can turn them back to brown when he realises, but the initial flash and pop of red is inevitable because it's literally an impulse in his brain. also, he can control when his eyes change colour, but NOT when/how they vary in intensity, so once his eyes are red if he gets pissed off they will get brighter

(detached eyes/eye gore? under the cut)

i fear i cannot conceptualise an anastasya that does not look like fruberry01's design.... there are so many incredible elements here. the heart-shaped braids free in her youth being adorned with dark ornaments that almost look like a central fracture (broken hearts now, after her ascension) and the four-pointed star used to represent the hp and various sahdes being the central figure in her mask because they are partially responsible for making her close herself off.

also the differences between these two versions of her. it is canon to my portrayal that ana wears a mask during all official business (so any fatui meetings, public addresses, etc) and only the harbingers + a few high-level officers have seen her face in the last ~800 years. she doesn't wear a mask in their stateroom, her personal quarters, and sometimes forgoes it when coming to their chambers for individual meetings. even the people of snezhnaya don't actually know what she looks like, as all official material released by the palace still has her masked.