#galcrest

Some little details about the other kingdoms that I love here

I know this is just how character design works but I love how distinct the silhouettes of the monarchies are

It’s slightly cut off, but Zulberg was almost one of the Seven Kingdoms. In fact based on the character design it was almost Invgarr!! And because of this, now I’m headcanoning that Zulberg is part of Ingvarr. Probably one of the more important cities, maybe their capital.

And also, I think they took out that crown on the lion of Ingvarr’s crest

And it looks like Equis was almost part of the Seven Kingdoms too!! Based on the character shapes it looks like it was switched out for Bayangor.

And because Bayangor was switched out for Equis, perhaps that means Trevor was almost in an interracial marriage which would’ve been cool!

Also this means they added Bayangor’s crest in later too. Ehich means that crown is probably Equis’s crest

Galcrest used to be Snowlandia! I’m a little glad they changed it tbh cause “Snowlandia” is a little too on the nose and uncreative

okay, here's a footnote. I did this purely because I wrote a fic that INVOLVED the seven kingdoms but only as a passing mention and i really didn't feel like calling them "the air kingdom" or whatever. so i pulled up gen. facts abt vat7k and cross referenced. this is the result of this unholy union, i hope you enjoy

In this universe, there are a total of seven kingdoms that are in alliance with each other. Corona, Koto, Neserdnia, Bayangor, Galcrest, Pittsford and Ingvarr. Alone in its Wiki page, these are just simple names, but due to the growing fandom that is 'Varian and the Seven Kingdoms', I figured it would be prudent if I started attaching names to them.

Each kingdom embodies a certain element and a certain stage of Alchemy. All seven kingdoms probably have a distinct history with alchemy, which might be the reason why they also adhere to certain stages of it. The practice and study of alchemy may be dwindling, but the experience of it has not.

But I won't be covering the alchemy aspect of this, I just figured it was a good fact for you to recall. Instead, I looked into the origins of each kingdom's name and decided its specific element according to the facts I found.

Corona -- Light

Corona is in possession of the Sundrop and their whole motif circles around the sun. The citizens are bright, happy, and cheerful, and have the annual tradition of lighting the night sky using lanterns. 

Also, corona can be defined as the gaseous envelope of the sun and other stars, which is probably the reason they're closely associated with the Light element.

Koto -- Fire

Koto is the Japanese word for thing. From the notes about the seven kingdoms, the Fire kingdom also has some Asian type of influence, despite being more Chinese than Japanese. Because of these  associations, I've chosen Koto to be the Fire kingdom. And don't forget about the firework traditions, because those are definitely a thing.

Neserdnia -- Water

Neserdni is a Bulgarian word meaning "not hearty". Bulgaria is a country that has multiple water resources, including being surrounded by water and having various rivers crossing through its land. Thus, Neserdnia is the Water kingdom.

Bayangor -- Dark

It was actually a little difficult pinning this country down. Bayangor has a word that relates to the Indonesian language, and Indonesia itself is filled with bustling industry. It would have been a perfect fit for the Industry 'element' except: bayang means shadow. I went for that connection instead.

Galcrest -- Earth

If Bayangor was difficult to pin down, then Galcrest was even harder. For one thing, there was no language that closely matched up with Galcrest during my initial research for it. So I got the closest variation of it, which was Gilcrest. Gilcrest is a town in Colorado with a history that detailed the use of the land's natural raw resources to contribute to its wealth and prosperity. That was the primary reason I pegged it down as the Earth kingdom.

But due to more recent research, I found that galcr meant calories in Welsh and proceeded to figure out which country it came from. Welsh is a minor language from Wales, a country that is known for its mountainous peaks and several hiking trails. It seemed almost appropriate.

Pittsford -- Industry

Now, Pittsford, I couldn't place. I did the same thing I did for Galcrest and found a town with the same name in New York. Pittsford, New York is a town that is well received by its residents. New York itself is a city with a LOT of industrial settlements, businesses, and other such objects around it. That's why I made it the Industry kingdom.

Ingvarr -- Air

It’s up to the people in the Tangled universe/the people making the show to decide who is included in the Seven Kingdoms, not the people watching the show. (Also, it’s not like there are only seven kingdoms in the whole world.) I imagine Equis isn’t included because it’s at odds with Corona. 

Anyway, here’s the list, per @jollylines (who did the character designs):

“Ingvarr: So while I can’t speak to whatever backstory our show may have given the fictional country of Ingvarr, I can say that the designs themselves were based on Persian/Iranian women.  I collected lots of images of both modern Persian women and women in traditional Persian garb to influence the draping and details of their costuming (eventually I’ll post some concept images where you’ll see more options of what those characters could have looked like/dressed in).  And then I pumped up the “warrior” aspect by melding those traditional elements with the silhouette of old European armor.

I feel the need to say: As a character designer on the show, I didn’t have control of the eventual coloring.  I would have loved to have seen all of the Ingvarr women with black hair and a slightly deeper skintone.  That’s how I’d envisioned them.  But things shake out how they shake out.

Koto: Think standard “American/Euro” fairytale royals.  Black and white, in your typical floofy animation royal dresses.

Neserdnia: Based on Pacific Islanders.  Instead of typical crowns like the Kotos wear, they wear flowers and beading.

Bayangor: Asia mixed with Classic Greece.  I wanted the women themselves to look of Asian descent, but for their outfits to be a blend of kimonos and ancient Greek robing and draping.

Galcrest:  Based on Inuit women.  I tried to combine more current garb with traditional details.

Pittsford: I was literally told, “Take the king we already have and just turn him into a woman around his age.  Also turn him two slightly younger women.”  SO THAT IS WHAT I DID.  haha.”

In honor of National Dinosaur Day, here's some headcanons on paleontology in the world of Tangled!

Paleontology is just starting to become a career in the Seven Kingdoms. It's a brand new field of science and Bayangor especially is very excited about it

Lots of fossils are being found in Bayangor but some can be found in Ingvarr too

Galcrest is starting to find some fossils too but no one ever explores there. They believe they've found a fossil skeleton that could belong to the Great Penguin

Pittsford is having a harder time with paleontology. Any fossils that are found immediately get confiscated by the Crown and they won't allow any findings to be published

In Corona and Equis, a lot of fossilized amber tends to be found. Scientists are calling it the Amber Floods

Millions of years ago, Kresten Loch used to be an inland sea, and a freak blizard happened that changed the ocean over a couple million years and everything got frozen in time. Some suspect a wizard may have been involved

Neserdnians have always known prehistoric animals existed, they've been discovering fossils even before Neserdnia was officially founded

Thanks to Rapunzel, paleoart is a BIG thing in Corona

Why in the hell was Kresten Loch literally never mentioned before? Or even after this??

Bayangor calls it the Spirit Harvest, or Jīngshén synkomidí. They celebrate with masquerade balls all over the country, but the best one is always at the palace. They also set out food and shrines to their dead ancestors, and lay out food for Hades and Persephone as well

Rapunzel still calls it Marmalade Moon Night, but the rest of Corona calls it Hallow-Feast. Corona's the kingdom whose celebration is closest to how America celebrates it; with costumes and trick or treating and they have a parade the night before. During trick or treating there's a huge potluck feast in the town square

Instead of celebrating the dead, Koto uses Halloween to celebrate the magic in their country, calling it Witch's Day. There's a small feast and tons of magic shows/games (think Olympics for wizards) and plays about historical icons of magic

Ingvarr uses Halloween as a day to celebrate and remember their fallen warriors, as well as their fallen enemies. Every year there's a play about the creation of Ingvarr. Similar to Saporia, they have bonfires in the streets and children run around banging their swords and shields (or pots and pans) to scare off spirits

Neserdnia and Galcrest the only kingdoms that don't celebrate any kind of Halloween

Pittsford also has trick or treating, but it's way lower scale than Corona. Their main tradition is carving out jack o'lanterns to guide Jack of the Lantern, also known as Jack Skeleton or Skellington, back home. Jack is a lonely trickster spirit in Pittsford folklore, said to have wandered into the woods following strange lights on Halloween night only to never be seen again

Of all the kingdoms, Saporia RULES Halloween. It's one of their most sacred holidays, and they call it Hallow's Eve. It's also called the Feast of Kaldur, their god of death. They celebrate for seven nights straight with bonfires, feasts, and ballads under the stars so they can celebrate with both Skinandi as well as their dead. Saporian magic users also have seances, using owl feathers to call to Kaldur to guide their dead home for a night

Some headcanons about how Dragons work in Tangled. Or at least in the seven kingdoms. And a little background about them

The particular species that Little Big Guy is actually has quite a few names. In Bayangor it's called a Pterronsaur. A bastardized form is a Terrorsaur, which is what it's called in Pittsford. Galcrestans call it Melter. In the Barbaric Archipelago it's called a Copycat or Mimicwing. Neserdnians call them Taniwha or sometimes FireFish. Meanwhile, in Corona, Saporia, Equis and other kingdoms, it's called a Reptilia Aves, or a Cherubin. A more urbanized name in Corona is Cherubwing

Cherubins are the only European species of dragon that's native to the seven kingdoms in the south and not the Barbaric Archipelago

They used to be abundant in Saporia, but migrated south to Koto after the Union

When Saporia was still around they were a HUGE part of Saporian culture. Dragons were beloved pets, modes of transportation, fire breathing guard dogs, and easy fuel for their ships. Sometimes they would even use their scales as armor.

Because they breathe fire, Saporians believed that dragons were directly born from Skinandi

Koto doesn't hold them nearly in as high of a regard, but they've still made a ton of conservation efforts to protect dragons

Ingvarr is the last kingdoms that still rides dragons

After the Union and after Shampanier's death, Corona and a few other kingdoms began hunting down dragons akin to the way buffalos and sperm whales were hunted down. If it weren't for Koto they would've gone extinct

It's believed in Bayangor that their ability to adapt the traits of their loved ones is either an advanced form of imprinting or a way to keep young draclings from being attacked by predators