aquflux asked: ✒︎
SEND ME A ✒︎ FOR A RANDOM FACT ABOUT MY MUSE. ALWAYS ACCEPTING.
i changed the format of this ask because it was messing with the graphic.
because ren’s father spent long amounts of time out on missions, his mother used to make him good luck charm bracelets. they used to be made out of two pieces of thread, with zhilan possessing or wearing the other half. when ren was born, they made new bracelets, made from cutting one into three pieces.
it’s a special tradition of old mistral culture where ren is from. it’s based off the chinese legend ‘red string of fate’ or yīnyuán hóngxiàn (姻缘红线). according to the myth, the gods tie an invisible red chord around those destined to meet one another or are destined to help each other in a certain way. it’s similar to the western concept of a soulmate. traditionally it was only supposed to link romantic love, but but just as the concept of soulmates has changed so has this, and bracelets are shared and exchanged for platonic and familial love as well as romantic.
this kind of jewellery making was just another hobby to keep his hands occupied when he was a child while he thought, so he’s quite good at it; tying knots and making friendship bracelets. but most of them were discarded. ren did not have a lot of friends growing up after all. ren has a few on his person; the one he shared with his parents, and the one he shares with nora.
each of the bracelets are personalised, but with ships the bracelets are adorned with stones, often jade stones because they are a stone of healing, a protective talisman, which is most important to ren: ‘stay safe. come back to me.’ they’re adorned with stones because presenting gems to your mate is a traditional dragon mating ritual (according to my dragonology book).
ren will try to make the gift as casual as possible, but he does make them himself, even though he will try to hide them while he’s still constructing them. he won’t explain what it means to him, or even force you to wear them, but receiving one from him means that he loves you and you’re important to him. they’re kind of earned, in threads, after ren has known your character for a significant amount of time. don’t ever ask him to make the bracelet for you, at least not the one made out of red string. he will become offended.
pyrrha, jaune, and ruby muses could get one now because of canon time spent together, but other characters require more interaction.
