#[ different fairy lore that i've read about in the past ]

[despairforme]

What is fairy Nnoitra’s favourite food? What does he associate with it? How did he grow up?

      Tiny insect wings twitched in excitement at the mentioning of FOOD. Nnoitra looked around, half expecting ( and definitely hoping ) to see his favorite food around. There was nothing. A displeased frown grew between his brows. ❝ Wow, ‘daz REAL funny! Gettin’ my expectations up ‘n then just - ❞ He clapped his hands together, as if smacking a bug. He imagined that if someone was going to take him down - they’d do it how they killed insects, since Nnoitra was about the same size. So - what WAS his favorite food? Fairies, or at least Nnoitra’s species of wish-(and misfortune)-granters lived in the forest. They ate mushrooms, seeds and nectar from flowers - but Nnoitra’s favorite thing was berries. Literally ANY type of berry would do. They were so big and juicy and tasted heavenly sweet! His mouth watered over just by thinking of berries. Well - he loved stuffing his face into flowers and drinking their nectar, but that was exactly that - drinking, not eating. Berries would easily distract Nnoitra. One time, he had been out delivering misfortune, when he had come across a strawberry field. NATURALLY he had chosen to take a break there, and dine on strawberries. Unfortunately, there had been some humans there, and Nnoitra had managed to SPILL his bag of misfortune onto them. Needless to say, their berry-picking trip had turned into a nightmare. Nnoitra had gotten into a lot of trouble with his boss for that. When misfortune was produced it was meant for a specific human, not just ANY human, and Nnoitra failing to deliver it to the right address... Had severe consequences for a human life. He was pretty sure he’d never get his boss’ yelling out of his ears.

      ❝ I love all kinds ‘a berries! They’re SO FUCKIN’ TASTY! Ya ever had strawberries? ❞ Nnoitra dipped his tongue out, and leaned forward, pretending he was leaning against a huge strawberry that was there only for him. What a dream. ❝ Dunno if I associate ‘em with anythin’. I just like ‘em ‘cause they’re sweet! ❞ And juicy. If he ate a large berry, he could end up completely drenched in sugary liquid. If that wasn’t living your best life? Then what WAS? 

       The next question was about his upbringing, so that was a very different subject. ❝ I hatched, of course. ❞ Nnoitra made a -duh- hand-gesture with his tiny hand, as if everyone knew that fairies ( at least his species ) hatched from eggs. Why else would he have insect wings? ❝ My mom is a wish-granter, real good at it, ‘n my dad is a luck-delivery fairy. They both work ‘fer ‘da hive. ❞ The hive was the term for the whole community of fairies. Workers would bring food there to feed other workers, and their families. It also worked as a school and kinder garden, so Nnoitra had spent almost all his childhood there, together with his fellow child fairies. The male and female Nnoitra referred to as his ‘ parents ‘ were not related to him by blood. Fairies were magical beings, and so their eggs were created with magic, within the hive. Pair could go and choose eggs to adopt. His parents had raised several other fairies as their children, who Nnoitra could count as his brothers and sisters. However, he was... Not very popular within the family.

       He was meant to become a wish-granter, like his mother, or at least a luck-delivery fairy. These were high-profile jobs. Nnoitra, however, had performed so poorly at school, that after ( not really ) graduating, he had been given the LEAST sought-after job. He had become a deliverer of misfortune. NOBODY wanted this job. It was a dangerous, unforgiving profession. Nnoitra did not like it, but if he didn’t HAVE a job, then he’d be an outcast. There would no longer be food for him at the hive... A lone fairy? They just didn’t survive. So he had no choice.  

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Hello, an anon with long question had arrived! 😭 I've brought some virtual foods and drinks so you won't be bored on what I'm about to ask you~~~ 🍔🍟🍕 🥤🧋

I don't know if this would interest you, but what do you think about the perception of magic in SVE? (I'm basing my question on my Farmer's lore below.)

My Farmer's parents despise magic, viewing it as a destructive force that can only harm others, based on their past experiences, particularly with Farmer's grandmother (RSV lore). Because of this, Farmer grows up avoiding magic and initially fears it due to his parents' influence. However, his views start to change over time.

Farmer sees Rasmodius using magic to protect Pelican Town, encounters the benevolent Junimo restoring old buildings, and witnesses a fairy enchanting his crops. In Castle Village, he observes battle mages using magic to defend the weak and elixirs with diverse medical uses. Additionally, magic has practical everyday uses. It can summon bubbles without soap, animate puppets for traveling performers, enhance sound for festivals, even had a very simple spells such as all-purpose cleaning, birthday reminders, or sweetening placebos spells for those who cannot consume sugar!

Ultimately, Farmer realizes that magic, like weapons, can be used for both good and ill. The witch who curses his plants at night is one of the proof of the latter. But alas, he understands that like weapon, when used by the right people, magic can improve lives.

... This turns out to be ramblings about my Farmer, and I'm sorry.

But in conclusion, how do different people's perceptions of magic affect their lives, just like Farmer's did? Are there others like Farmer's parents who hate magic? Or are there families who see magic as a special status, where greater understanding of magic elevates social status in the mage world? (It would be an interesting headcanon if either mages in the game like Ras, Lance, Camilla, or Jadu came from such families but disagreed with their views and chose to keep their distance from them.)

Dear anon, don't apologise for this, I love all your discussions and theories about my favourite game, especially this mod and your Farmer OCs 😭💕 And thanks for the virtual food! (gosh, I miss pizza so much! 🍕😋). Have a wonderful day! (Send you some virtual cookies 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪)

_________________________________________

First of all, thanks again for sharing your Farmer OC and his lore, it was interesting to read! We have quite similar views and headcanons on SDV/SVE/RSV lore, and I tried to describe all my thoughts about it here (apologise for a very, very long text 😅)

So, about your ask....

You're absolutely right about magic being both a tool and a weapon. There was an interesting quote I remember about magic, but I don't remember if it was a quote from a video game or if one of my friends said it to me when we were discussing game lore (not SDV). Basically, magic was compared to an axe, but it's up to the individual to decide whether to chop wood for the winter with that axe or kill their neighbour. It is the same with magic: it can be used as a useful tool in everyday life, or as a way to bring chaos and destruction - all depends on the person. But, as it often happens in fantasy world, people who are not familiar with the concept of magic at all, are afraid of incomprehensible power, and if they had negative stories in their past (witch curse, for example), they will definitely consider all those who are somehow connected with magic as evil.

About the question of how magic has affected people's lives and whether or not it's being treated as only evil... If you're referring specifically to the inhabitants of the Stardew Valley, dear anon, it's pretty ambiguous. Looking back at the vanilla lore, some villagers simply denied the existence of magic (Shane in his dialogue at the Feast of the Winter Star), some were frightened by the strange noise coming from Magnus's tower and showed fear and distrust (Marnie). And at the same time, no one had any preconceptions about the maze in Spirits Eve, which miraculously appeared in just one day. "Yeah, that weird ourple dude did it all," and no one would show any concern. Not even the same Shane (free food and pumpkin cider, so he doesn't care too much, I guess 🤷). Also the fact that almost everyone considers the life elixir a universal liked gift. I don't know if I can attribute monsters to this as well, because in my mind, where there are monsters there is dark magic, but maybe the inhabitants see them differently (like mutated animals or something).

As for the Expanded mod specifically, nothing much has changed here either in terms of the vanilla game's residents. But! Victor, our beloved spaghetti man, stands out among all of them. In his event we are already introduced to the fact that Victor openly and directly reveals that he knows for the existence of adventurer clans, and that they - attention! - use magic to fight monsters and to protect people. Also worth noting is his separate dialogue where he tells Farmer that the Ferngill Republic government want to cut down the magical forest here in order to find useful things that can help in the war with the Gotoro Empire. And, most interestingly, as I quote, "that wizard won't let them do it." "That wizard." A wizard! Not "strange man", but a wizard. So, he believes in magic, and he's a man from big city with modern technology. Victor is not speaking negatively about magic in these examples, but more angry at the realisation that the government is intent on greedily gnawing at any opportunity to achieve its goals, in this case at the cost of the unique ecosystem of the Stardew Valley. But Magnus isn't giving them that. This means that people (at least some) also realise that magic exists. I wonder though: if the local authorities respect Magnus's word that it's strictly forbidden to cut down the forest, or if they're just afraid he'll send them away with fireballs if they go into the Valley without asking? I'm leaning more towards the second scenario.

With the Ridgeside Village mod, coming to a conclusion about people's attitudes (both in Pelican Town and Ridgeside Village, and in the rest of the world) is a little easier. And it's all because of Gabriella, the main antagonist of the RSV mod. As far as I understood correctly, her goal is to wreak havoc in the whole world (for what purpose - Hell knows, probably for funnies or whatever), and her minions, soulless shel, faithfully serve their dark queen: killing local politicians (all politicians, not to be confused with the Cult of the Lady with the Red Tail), committing attacks, cursing forests and sources of magic, as it was with Spirit's Realm. Of course, ordinary people who are either victims themselves, or their family/relatives/friends who are affected by it, will see magic only in a negative way and consider it the source of all their troubles. And most won't realise that it's all up to the person (Gabriella isn't a person at all): magic is evil, period. No buts. Because for them, it's easier to deal with pain and loss, to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The moment where wizards and witches lead a rather secretive life from the rest of the (modern) population only adds fuel to the fire of the problem with distrust. Consequently, some magicians also distrust people due to this discrimination. And so the endless wheel of distrust goes on.

People like our Farmer, who in their work as farmer/fisherman/gatherer/adventurer/miner use both magic and modern technology, can be the ones who help these two different social societies find common ground. Or on the contrary, the Farmer will be considered an outsider everywhere, despite helping both modern society (improving Pelican Town's economy, rebuilding many important buildings) and magical society (protecting people from monsters and fighting renegade wizard/witches).

What about our SVE mages...

I used to hold the idea that Lance was NC/LC (no contact/low contact) with his parents for just such a reason. That he, a man with a "gift", was at odds with the views of his parents, who shunned magic like a plague. But over time, I like the idea of his parents being retired noble adventurers with magic better (*looking at my mutuals with their lovely headcanons 👁️👁️💕), so Lance had no problem with that.

Jadu on the other hand, fits more into the category of someone whose views on magic have changed over time. I think he suffered the same fate as Morgan, Magnus' apprentice, when they were taken away from their parents and not even allowed to contact them. Naturally, when you, a child, are taken away from your parents or guardian so abruptly, you're going to see wizards as a source of evil because they came to your home, almost forcefully and threateningly took you from your parents' nest and sent you to who knows where and who knows who, "to learn the arcane knowledge". Even in a fantasy world, that sounds very sus. The witches and mages themselves, under whose wing the young talents were given, can be both the reason for the child's revision of the concept of magic (magic not bad, but also good), and make the situation worse. Later, this can then lead to the formation of renegade mages, thirsty for revenge, they hurt ordinary people in the process of revenge, and the fear of magic in general will be even stronger.

I like to think that Camilla was so determined and opinionated that she wasn't the one they came for, but she somehow fucking came to the Ministry and was like, "teach me!" At least it's sounds funny 😅

Magnus, oh well... I honestly don't know, but he was probably taken into the care of a wizard when he was young to learn spells and alchemy to protect people and help adventurers with "monsters clean up".

Got a bit of a chaotic answer again, but I hope I've answered all the questions!

[hee-blee-art]

are there any specific ocs your rotating in your brain rn that you wanna talk about ✨👀

yes! always :)

recently I've been thinking a lot about my toyhouse corners guys as I continue working on their comic, especially basil, alfred, foster, and mac :) coincidentally (or not so) they're the four of the cast who do the most yearning and pining and of course I'm very normal about all that (that's a lie they all make me insane). I can't wait to reveal more about them, I could (and will) talk about them for ages (any questions always welcome, I'll try not to spoil anything too big). particularly I've been thinking about basil's past, his complex troubles with getting close to people, and his relationship to whisk, a troubled kitten who he sees a lot of his younger self in and may or may not be fixated on trying to help because he wishes he could somehow reach though time and help himself when he was a kitten in a similar position to her. all in all I am very excited to keep putting those guys in situations (there will be a candyland, a creepy safety village-esque town, and a mirage-like travelling megastore called appleworld in their future).

I've also been thinking (as I often do) about my tragic fantasy gays, sebastian & konstantine. I've been busy enriching their world with lore and planning out their story so I can start (yet another) draft for the first book of the grey circle, and with that comes a lot of thinking about those two, the haunted prince & his begrudgingly valiant knight who knows him better than anyone and yet cannot know him fully because of his unfathomable secret... oh, there's just something so intimate about being doomed by the narrative and bound together, done part by none, not even death <3 they're very enemies to lovers in a "we're on the same side but I can't stand you but I also can't stand to be without you and if anyone messes with you I'll kill them" way, which I can't get enough of myself.

also! the grey circle has lots of characters I haven't posted about nearly as much but are so dear to me and that I oft rotate in my brain, like ilèan & cainiph, who are a very skilled fairy princess with truly profound mommy issues and cain-and-abel vibes with her sister & an adrenaline junkie bounty hunter who is a bit of a hothead and accidently becomes a werewolf :) another mismatched pair that end up needing each other as much as air. and of course, gren & bain, the little mousy halfling-type creatures who are inseparable best friends in love beyond words, a sly bartender & a leisure-loving bard respectively, both incredibly curious and brave beyond credit, setting out to right a wrong and solve an old family mystery. I think about the grey circle very often, it's one of my favourite little worlds to visit in my head & I can't wait until I have something written that allows others to visit as well :)

the last herd of ocs I've been preoccupied with lately are my room & board cast, the characters for a comic idea I have about silly and bizarre sci-fi/fantasy comic about alternate-dimension-faring roommates travelling in a house-turned-spaceship in search of a (the?) holy grail. they're all old ocs of mine (6+ years I think) that I've rebooted a few different times, and returning to them after some years off feels like reconnecting with old friends as cheesy as that sounds. I genuinely missed them, and I'm excited to be messing about with a story for them again, even if it's just for fun. I've especially been thinking about the main(est) character, martin, and how her journey with transness fits into their larger existential and relentlessly silly adventures.

thnks for offering the stage to talk about my ocs! I love talking about them but I'm not always sure anyone wants to hear, but perhaps it's time I curb that mindset and just start putting more out there because it's fun for me :) also! if anyone reads all this, first of all thnk you for indulging me, and second I am genuinely always open to hearing about other people's ocs, whether through ask or dm or whatever! I know it can be intimidating to just reach out of the blue but I really do love talking about people's characters / stories / creations and I am always open to it. maybe I ought to make some more dedicated venue for that sort of thing but yeah casual oc chat is always an option! I hope anyone who sees this has a wonderful day / night :)

[dracophile]

For ao3 writing thing

🍓🍹🍄

Yay, someone sent some! :D

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

I believe I was in middle school, early 2000s. I rented a book called Dragon's Bait by Vivien Vande Velde from my local library. This book probably had a bigger impact on me than a certain wizard book ever did. I loved it, it started my obsession with dragons, and It ended in such a way that the main characters, Alys and Selendrile, could continue to have many adventures together and eventually fall in love. But it didn't show that part, which i found frustrating at the time. I started daydreaming and imagining those adventures, writing them down in an old notebook. That's right, I wrote analog fanfiction. Mainly because I was like 11 and I had no idea that was a thing on the internet yet. Eventually by browisng I found the old FF.Net, before it coroded away, and live journal and all that and started reading fics for anime I liked, then I finally got the courage to start writing. Dragon's Bait still remains one of my favorite books though (I also like Never Trust a Deadman, Heir Apparent, Companions of the Night by the same author)

I...can't find 🍹??? It looks like a combo of 🥤and 🧃(both drinks with straws?) so...I'll just do both

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

It feels like forever since I've sat and read a fanfic tbh...besides a one shot here and there. But I will say, @fairy-writes is great! I don't know some of the series she writes for, but she does a lot of readerxcharacter here on tumblr and what I read is compelling and emotional with great characterization. Book authors, I already recommended Vivian Vande Velde for a good all ages book. For a bit more adult books, I like Maria V. Snyder's books, Gail Carriger, and Lynn Flewelling

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

Personal lore about me? Um...When I was young, like ages 10, 11, and 12, my parents sent me to horse riding camp during the summer. I love horses, but I wasn't a horse girl. It's just, y'know, Texas and it was an easy one to find nearby and if i had to do summer camp I wanted to be able to ride a horse. Well, that year i was twelve, they decided to try and scare us with the story of a psycho in the woods. Except one of the counselors took it too far and ransacked the cabins a little (no damage but messing stuff up) and then tapping on the windows to scare us. A lot of us were scared and one girl started crying. The councilor in our cabin then told her it wasn't real and they were just trying to scare us, and I overheard her. I had two flashes of emotion then: Anger and the desire for revenge. And I don't know how I thought of this so fast--maybe because I'd started watching horror movies by now and liking them--but I asked her "So who was dragging the sack through the woods by the campfire?" I didn't see that, but I was so adamant I saw that and had such a docile reputation that the counselor ran off to talk to the head counselor. I saw their flashlights in the night. It was the last day of camp anyway but no one got much sleep. One counselor did ask if I lied before my mom came and I said "It's just a story, calm down." I told my mom i probably shouldn't go back again though. That's the only time I've ever gaslit someone I swear XD

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

I don't know of NIck/Sloane would count since Sloane is my OC so like...it's all headcannon there. Since most of my stuff written (well, all of it right now) on A03 is Grimm though, let's go with that. My other favorite ship is Monroe and Rosalee so let's see...I've gone into some on the fic...

One i haven't explored too much is their differences in diet. At the start of their relationship, Monroe would bend over backwards and almost hide his veganism because he'd had issues in the past with others finding it tedious or annoying. He's usually very proud of it, but he doesn't want Rosalee doing the same thing. Eventually, Rosalee had to confront him because his nervousness was making her more anxious than anything. She told him she was fine with him being vegan as long as he was fine with her not being vegan, and Monroe was adamant that he didn't want Rosalee to change a thing. He gets used to the smell of cooking meat again and they find side dishes they can share happily, and sometimes she made an all vegan meal she would enjoy as well. However, after one evening where he woged after an after dinner kiss and had to go on a run, he asked she brush her teeth after dinner just to be safe because the left over taste of meat set off a little blood lust. Rosalee now keeps her teeth very clean after meals.

[dreadfutures]

Ooh, what was your inspiration? Music, aesthetics, plot points, etc- anything you feel like sharing! I love hearing about what inspires artists ❤️ Dead Pasts and Dread Futures has such an interesting Lavellan journey and I’m wondering where you get your ideas - ty and have a lovely night ❤️

Hi thank you!! that means a lot. and thanks for indulging me.

For DPDF, the whole origin of the fic was surviving a series of really bad friend breakups that affected me more than anything else in my life and really shaped my worldview, and Ixchel often grapples with similar things. DPDF is very much about depression and isolation inextricably, from different angles.

Beyond individual relationships it keeps popping up in the form of "inspiration" as I think a lot about being mixed race, about being second generation, about clawing my way to positions of leadership and privilege and how best to open doors and empower my peers and those who come after me, about being both afforded privilege but also being marginalized in those spaces too, about building community and coalitions... They're just really central to a lot of my daily existence and the spaces I move in and there aren't clear answers or narratives so I like to write them when I can. And imagining the world as I wish it could be, where sometimes just saying "it shouldn't be this way" loudly enough will give people pause, is important work to keep me hopeful and motivated to live and do the hard work in my relationships and communities.

On more fun notes, some of my biggest inspirations:

Music

These songs make me incredibly emotional, they all have a lot of personal meaning to me about friendships that I've had and lost, and they also have directly inspired a lot of ixchel's relationships with the people closest to her. just listening to agnes these days is enough to make me cry my eyes out.

beige (yoke lore) - unburdened

bad dreams (faouzia) - stripped

running up that hill (placebo) - x

i found (amber run) - ft. London Contemporary Voices

agnes (glass animals) - stare into his eyes **(see below)

Plots, Language, Storytelling

I find myself drawing elements and plots from lots of my favorite books growing up, such as:

Riddlemaster of Hed (Patricia A. McKillip) (ideas about magic, identity, collectivism vs individualism, pacifism, betrayal and love comingling)

Chronicles of Prydain (Lloyd Alexander)

Earthsea (Ursula K. LeGuin) (magic, accepting darkness within you, collectivism vs individualism, other things)

Thirteen Clocks (James Thurber) (whimsical language, poetry, a different way of writing fairy tales, fridge horrors)

Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy) (lifted some of it for Wycome)

The Dark is Rising (Susan Cooper) (shoutout: golden owl eyes)

Song of the Lioness (Tamora Pierce) (man. really complicated and nuanced friendships and interpersonal relationships.)

A version of the Robin Hood story whose author I don't know :(

El Cid

The Bartimaeus Trilogy (Jonathan Stroud)

Specifically themes relating to loyalty, chivalry, doing what's right even when it means you lose or life is harder or it's lonely.

Honorable mentions to Peaky Blinders, Pacific Rim, all the Studio Ghibli films (especially Spirited Away).

But also a lot of fanfics I read growing up were really formative.

Elecktrum's Chronicles of Narnia fanfics, and Tonzura123's Chronicles of Narnia fanfics, were especially impactful with how they treated platonic devotion and loyalty.

** a note about agnes

this was originally in the youtube description but I think Dave removed it. But it means a lot to me so I'm copying it here:

dear friends…nervously excited to share with you the video for Agnes. it’s hard to explain exactly how it feels inside a human centrifuge. you sit in a small egg-like pod about the size of a horse which hangs off a 50 foot steel horizontal frame. It looks like something out of a bond villain’s lair. it’s claustrophobic and uncomfortable and also incredibly hot. slowly the whole thing starts to rotate like a helicopter blade. Faster and faster until every part of you becomes crushed under the extreme gravity. its like being slowly sat on by an elephant, or like your whole body being punched in slow motion. you have to flex every muscle and use every ounce of strength you have to keep going. breathing requires serious effort. movement becomes incredibly strained and almost painful. everything that once weighed 5 kilograms now weighs 50. its difficult even to keep your eyes open. it hurts in places you really didn’t know existed. veins and capillaries burst under the pressure and bruising begins. its a rapid physical overdrive. the blood rushes from your brain making it impossible to think rationally or focus. your eyes are also drained and you get tunnel vision…only able to see small circles of the world directly infront of you and your sight goes completely greyscale…no more colour. your balance and spatial awareness goes and the world begins to spin like you’ve had way too much to drink. but the most striking thing is the way that the machine pulls on your heart. you can actually feel it struggling to beat and changing shape…flattening inside of your chest. Its similar to that horrible sinking, tugging heartache that comes only with complete and overwhelming sadness. and then you pass out. we ran the centrifuge 18 times while i tried to sing along to a song which i find difficult to listen to at the best of times. this was probably the most intense video-making experience I’ll ever have. But its the only way that we could just about begin to simulate for a moment what happens within Agnes. speak soon, dave

[websitewizard2005]

would love to hear abt oc lore and why u assigned each tarot cards to them :>

ALRIGHT the basic background for this lore is that I have a couple different stories that take place in the same town (Frettstock) and I decided to make a crossover w/ the individual protagonists of three of them, as well as a fourth character who kickstarts the story surrounding the lore. This would be the premise of the second "book" of my webcomic (that idk if I'll ever actually write) where the fourth character is introduced.

^The four of them! From left to right: Serena (new to this story), Max (Heartstake Heartbreak), Gilbert (We're Just Young) and Rex (Rex Sucks at Bass). They're all drawn as animals here, but Max and Gilbert are drawn as humans on their tarot cards because they're drawn as humans in their original stories. They're all technically humans but everyone in my webcomic is an anthro animal because they're just easier to draw haha. Gilbert is also drawn as his younger self on his tarot card, about ten years before this story takes place.

Essentially, the four of them are part of a reincarnation cycle I've named The Unlucky Four: four individuals who are destined to play four-stringed instruments and have terrible luck. I'll put the rest of this under the cut since there's a lot lol

The Unlucky Four were the first humans to bear curses from the fairies of the Heartstake Forest. In retaliation, they created guardian fairies - fairies who's purpose is to protect and guide humans. All of this magic experimentation caused their souls to continue to reincarnate, time after time. Each time new reincarnations are born, they receive a new guardian fairy. There may be other reincarnation cycles and guardian fairies tied to Frettstock, but the Unlucky Four are the main ones. I named them after tarot cards because I thought it sounded cool but I imagine the in-universe reasoning is that the original four wanted to keep their identities anonymous when documenting their story & chose tarot cards they felt connected to to represent themselves. The current incarnations of the Unlucky Four are Serena Walker (The Magician), Max Dallas (The Fool), Gilbert Quarters (The Hermit) and Rex Xavier (The Chariot). All of the current incarnations of the Unlucky Four play the bass guitar, which is part of the reason why I chose them lol.

THE MAGICIAN - The Magician will always bring the four together. She knows how to get things done, and get things done she will... even if these things aren't the "right" thing to do. The original Magician played the fiddle. The current Magician is Serena Walker. I chose The Magician to represent her because it represents resourcefulness and skill when upright, and wasted talent and trickery when reversed. Serena is a bit of an anti-hero. She has a goal & the outcome of that goal may bring about the apocalypse. Who knows. Serena was the first to find out about the reincarnation cycle, years before the rest. As a child, she stumbled upon a hidden section of the Frettstock Public Library and read of her destiny in a book. She's been devoted to learning as much as she can surrounding the reincarnation cycle ever since.

THE FOOL - The Fool is ruled by impulse. She doesn't think, she just does. The Fool's willingess to do anything and blind trusting nature compliment The Magician's skills and drive. The original Fool played the banjo. The current Fool is Maxine "Max" Dallas. I chose The Fool to represent her because it represents innocence and freedom, as well as recklessness and gullibility when reversed. Max has had a troubled past and is starting to build a better life for herself. She gets easily attached to anyone who gives her the time of day and will do anything for them without thinking. This happens to her with Phoebe Jean Weathers in her original story, and with Serena in this one. No matter what happens to her, Max will always trust those who are kind to her, sometimes to her detriment. She has a short temper and an even shorter attention span.

THE HERMIT - The Hermit thrives in solitude. His first instinct is always to be alone. The Hermit is always at least a decade older than the rest of the four, and acts as a sort of wise, advice-giving mentor figure. The original Hermit played the mandolin. The current Hermit is Gilbert Quarters. In his original story, Gilbert is a loner who hates conflict. He hates asking for things and would rather be miserable than be in an awkward situation. I chose The Hermit for him because it represents solitude and self-reflection, as well as loneliness and isolation when reversed. At the time he appears in this story, Gilbert is a semi-famous rock star with a drinking problem who is considering turning his entire life upside-down and moving back home. His wider character arc involves him learning to balance his solitude alongside relying on old friends.

THE CHARIOT - The Chariot is conflicted. He is pulled in different directions by everyone around him - but if he is driven away, he will always come back. If the Magician brings the group together, The Chariot keeps the group from falling apart. The Chariot and The Hermit will always find each other before the full group is united. The original Chariot played the dulcimer. The current Chariot is Rex Xavier. Rex spent the first twenty years of his life totally lacking direction, but now he's doing whatever he can to move forward. He is constantly in crisis over some aspect of himself. I chose The Chariot for him because it represents determination and success, as well as aggression and lack of control when reversed. Rex & Serena were intended to be foils even before I came up w/ this lore, like a mutual "I think you're so much better than me but I also think you're bad" kind of dynamic.

Thanks for reading this extremely long winded post to the end! I only have the lore and some minimal plot details rn, but maybe one day I'll write it all out. Maybe it'll even be a comic someday. Maybe I'll end up hating it and rewriting the whole thing. Who knows.

[tuesdaysawitch]

A Witch in the Making: Shifting Atheism to Spirituality

Hello!

My name is Tuesday (she/her), and I am a very beginner witch in the making!

For an initial post, I wanted to share a little about who I am, what I hope to accomplish and learn, and what I plan to do here. I am 39 years old and an Aries. I have a teenage son and a live-in dude partner. Together, we have a zoo of animals from our muppet of a dog Lily, to our leopard gecko Butternut, and then the three cats: Ming-Ming, Pretty Boy, and Pip. I was born and raised in Arizona and now call chilly Michigan home. My house is not fit for plants (an overly curious Pip and a western facing window/sliding glass door) so I keep all of my plant children at work where they are thriving.

I come from a family rooted loosely in Christianity (Southern Baptist), and found by my mid-20s religion in all forms was not for me. The belief in the supernatural and worshipping of deities seemed negative to me because of my experience watching my mother study and adhere to her faith, which forbade and negated a large chuck of her life as it was 'sinful'.

Peace in atheism.

I have been a firm believer in one's own personal journey to study and learn and worship as one pleases. I may not believe in or feel as you do, but I understand the value of needing to believe in something other than one's self. When that belief manifests into something toxic - like being told homosexuality is a sin (it's not) and that in order to be in good graces, 30+ years of your life never happened - that I get hung up on and simmer like a volcano. For that, I found a feeling of peace in atheism that I knew I could never find in following my mother's belief.

This brings me to now, at the start of a brand new year, on a journey I did not think I would ever find myself on. I always told myself that should I come back to religion it would be Paganism. From my limited perspective, Paganism does not judge or condemn as my mother's religion does. However, I've not found I am ready to devote myself to any deity or spirit as my ties to atheism are still strong. When I began looking into different Paths, I was relieved to find that the Craft can be secular. Still, I do have a curiosity and draw to Hecate and the Morrigan. I feel like they are just as curious about me as I am about them, but none of us has decided to approach each other fully yet.

One step of many in a long walk.

These past two-and-a-half years have been hard mentally and emotionally. Moving from a state with constant sun and warmth to a state of dreadful, gray winters, coupled with the trials of daily life and relationships, I have struggled. I severed a cancerous tie at the start of last year and have used that time to heal and find meaning in my life. Of course, it hasn't been easy as life never is, but I've come to understand that it is but one step of many in a long walk. In May of 2022, I bought my first book witchcraft from a local metaphysical shop: Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore & Herb Craft by Ann Moura. I don't know why I chose this book, except that I enjoy plants and fungi, with my collection of succulents, a lipstick plant, and a pot of basil taking up a large chunk of my workspace. Would I could have the space for plants and good light, I know I would have them all over. I'd build a mushroom farm in a closet if I knew I could! In any case, it was the first book I purchased and I have let myself take it slow. I read a good portion of it after purchase, paused to focus on other things, and have returned to it with the feeling of readiness and the understanding that it is okay to open myself up to energies beyond me.

It is easier to think negatively than it is to think positively.

I have found throughout this past year, that I have needed something positive to channel my energies into for a very long time. After all, it is easier to think negatively than it is to think positively, and I'm the type of person that can quickly spiral down a dark hole if I let myself. I've also come to realize I spend so much energy trying to please and mother other people that I neglect myself. So in starting down this path, I am finally feeling right in suspending my disbelief and allowing the earth's energies and spirit into my life. I am doing something for myself for once without guilt or dread. This blog is hopefully going to serve as my digital journal of sorts and I hope to be able to share things I've learned or am learning, book recommendations and reviews, and maybe eventually my own spells when I get to that point. I want to rush in my excitement, but I'm not ready for a lot of things and have so so much reading to do! This feels right. This feels good. This is where I'm meant to be, and I look forward to what the future holds and where this path will lead me.

If you made it this far, I appreciate you, and thank you. If you have recommendations on who to follow, please let me know! If you have tips for baby witches like me, I will be a sponge and soak up any and all advice!

Thank you so much and blessed be!

[leannan-sithe]

Hey! I was curious if there are any resources you especially recommend to learn more about the Sidhe and related topics from an authentic historical/cultural perspective? Or thoughts on how to vet sources on how trustworthy they are with those topics? No worries if not, I just value your expertise here and thought it was worth asking!

Hey, there!

So, just to clarify -- by Sidhe, you mean Irish fae / spirits, yes? I know a lot of folks online use a variety of terms to mean the broader fae/spirit category (fae, fey, faeries, fairies, etc. or branching into Sidhe, Good Folk, Good Neighbors, Fair Folk).

I am focusing mostly on Scotland -- I'll actually be posting some clips from books I'm reading, soon, which might be helpful -- so it's a bit difficult to hunt down good sources for that.

My two cents on sorting through Celtic Soup (the haphazard mixture of Celtic nations' unique beliefs that becomes a vague pan-Celtic thing that doesn't really exist) is to actually check for Celtic Soup.

Does the author equate all Celtic nation's "fae" with each other? Or do they point out that each nation has a different term and a different concept for what modern folks call "fae"?

(On this note, do they even bother to mention there are different Celtic nations? Or is it "The Celts" or "The Celtics"? These terms are used in modern academia, and can be tolerated there, but it's largely referential to a timeline around the Iron Age, or at least a clumping of Gaelic / Brythonic language groups together when they don't need to be clumped.)

Are they digging deep into the Seelie / Unseelie concept? This one is a pet peeve of mine. It's perfectly fine if folks use it; it's a concept that's been accepted as modern fae lore.

But, the origins of it are contested. The explanation I've read is that the Scots in particular weren't keen on letting go of fae beliefs while they were also being taught about Christianity at the time. So, instead of fighting the beliefs, the Church whipped up some news that there are Good Fae (Seelie) that are basically Angel-like and Kind, and there are Bad Fae (Unseelie) that are basically Demons.

You can start to see why I raise my eyebrows at any source that digs into nailing down these distinctions.

If you are trying to find general fae resources, I would actually suggest digging into either Gaelic language group or Brythonic language group. Specializing will be vaguely annoying, but it will help you at least process that even though there are trends and shared beliefs, all the fae concepts aren't pan-Celtic.

Keep in mind, I'm a trained historian (even if it was art history). I'm very much used to sorting through flowery language and looking past bad concepts to find the interesting bones of the research. I'm always happy to give this kind of advice, even if it's on specific books / pdfs! Feel free to DM me.

[impala1967dwinchester]

Sam Winchester: Disney

*Credit to gif owner*

Pairing: Sam W. x Reader

Pov: Sams

Warnings: fluffy!Sam, The reader having an addiction to Disney movies, movie night, Sam quoting Disney movies, ( I think it's like one word) swearing, quick interaction with Dean.

Summary: Movie night rolls around and this time it's just Sam and Y/n. Letting Y/n choose pretty much just turns into them watching Disney movies. And maybe Sam knows a few quotes from each movie.

Word Count: 2k

A/N: This is for band--pyschos 1.5 followers Bingo Challenge. I'm so excited o be a part of this writing challenge.

Square- Movie Quote

Masterlist

Sams Masterlist

Taglist: @band--psycho @sweetdetectivequeen

If you keep sliding on the floor with those damn socks on, you're going to land on your ass, Y/n" I finally said after watching her pass by the library at least ten times within five minutes.

Y/n huffed and crossed her arms dramatically, but stopped. Standing there for a few moments, before once she thought that I wasn't paying attention she continued.

"Shit" I heard Y/n in a rather loud voice. So, I got up from my library seat, closing the lore book I was reading through. "Did you fall?" I asked as I rounded the corner.

Seeing Y/n sitting on her ass. She looked up at me, doing the thing I taught her. "No, No puppy eyes. I told you. I told you that you were going to fall on your ass." I said putting my hand out.

In moments like this, I noticed how much bigger my hand was compared to Y/n. She gripped my hand and I lifted her up from the floor. "Hey, you two, y'all okay?" Dean asked passing by the two of us in the hallway.

I knew he was going out; it was Saturday night and we were home at the bunker. "Yeah, we're fine. I was just sliding on the floor with my socks." Y/n said patting down her sweatshirt that used to be mine.

"That must have been the 'oh shit' I heard. We should totally do that, I'm heading out." Dean said. "Don't have too much fun," I said interlocking Y/n and I's fingers together.

Dean skipped up the bunker stairs and was gone within minutes.

"Babe, can we do something fun?" Y/n asked dragging me into the kitchen. I let her drag me into the kitchen before answering her question.

"I guess so since you've dragged me into the kitchen," I said, not letting go of Y/ns soft and small hands clasped around mine. "Well since we are in the kitchen, can we get some snacks together?" She asked.

Y/n had the tendency to always ask before doing anything around the bunker. It sometimes made me feel as if she was my student in school, and I was her jailer of a teacher.

"Y/n, honey you don't have to ask me every time you want to do something. This is your home, your home to do as you please, get snacks as you please. You aren't a student here and I am most defiantly not your teacher." I said, wrapping Y/n in a hug from behind.

"I know, but still I don't like the idea of just doing without asking," Y/n said leaning her head back up against my shoulder. We stood like this for a while, in the presence of each other was nice, it was always nice to just be together.

Nothing trying to get in the way, no Dean trying to tease me, no monster ruining dates, anniversary, or having to hunt monster worried about each other safety.

This was the most normal we could get. The most normal we would ever have. "So what are the snacks for?" I asked Y/n as she started to release herself from the embrace we had.

"I thought that maybe we could have a movie night since Dean is out," Y/n said rummaging through the cabinets and through the fridge. Her shorter stature giving her a problem as she tried to reach things on the higher shelves.

"Do you want some help? Also, what are you looking for?" I asked coming closer to hear what she had to say. "MMMH," She said, her face pensive and thoughtful about what she was going to say.

"I was trying to grab some popcorn for me, and some more healthy choices for you, but as you can see, I've failed miserably." Y/n said shrugging her shoulders.

Taking a moment to get an idea of the hand situation at hand. “You haven’t failed, and if I’m honest with you dear, I'm in the mood to snack on junk food and be lazy.” I spoke. Grabbing junk like food off of the shelves and from the fridge.

I’m rather glad that just a few days ago we needed to go shopping because Dean tends to pick up the junky food and tends to forget he has such an abundance at the bunker. Throwing a pint of ice cream on to the kitchen island, gently placing a twelve-ounce bottle of soda-pop, Y/n had already put out the over flow of candy that we had, so all that was left was really just making the popcorn.

“Movie night is going to be hella fun!” Y/n said dancing around the kitchen, as I looked for a clean useable big bowl for the popcorn. I think she noticed my struggle because she stopped dancing and come over to me. Taking the popcorn out of my hands.

“Just nuke the popcorn’ she said placing the popcorn bag into the microwave and pressing popcorn, ‘see now you can go look for your bowl” She said finishing her sentence and backing away to let me continue trying to look for a bowl.

Once that entire process was done, we migrated towards the Dean cave which had just turned into a living room slash movie room at this point. Not that either one of us would ever tell Dean that what it’s used for now.

We ended up having to make multiple trips back to the kitchen since we honestly did have a shit ton of food. But once we finally had all our food and snacks placed out in front of us, we sat down, well it was more like we sank down into the couch.

Dean was a rather lazy person and didn’t like to spend money which never made much sense to me seeing as we used fake credit cards, or the very bold answer which was credit fraud. We could have totally gone out and bought a brand-new couch, but instead Dean just saw this one and decided on the side of the road that he had to have it.

So, like I said we almost every time sink into the couch.

“Since it was your idea for a movie night, I’m giving you the honors of picking the first movie we watch!” I said handing her the remote that I had just fished form between the seat moments ago.

“Aww, you’re so sweet baby.” Y/n said kissing my cheek before she went on and searched through Netflix. After only a short time, I heard a frustrated groan come from Y/n. After being with Y/n for as long as I have, I’ve noticed different groans, and huffs have completely different meanings.

The groan thought meant that she was about to give up, frustration taking over her mind and her body. “Honey, is everything okay?” I asked deciding best to intervene before the remote ended up stuck in the TV screen. My girl has one hell of a throw.

“No nothing is fine!” She said huffing rather louder. “Give me the remote and tell me what you want to find.” I suggested. Plopping the remote into my lap Y/n crossed her arms and leaned in to the back of the couch.

“Baby you gotta tell me what I’m looking for, or should I already know?” I asked. I feel like I was poking a bear, or maybe a balloon just waiting her to explode. But she never did, I could hear her taking a deep breath in and then exhaling. “You know me enough to know that you let me choose, so Disney movies and I’m sorry for getting so upset so quickly.” Y/n said fidgeting with her finger nails.

“It’s okay love. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Now let’s see about watching some Disney movies.” I spoke.

I ended up having to go to Disney plus which held all of Disney's movies. “I’m figuring you want to watch their princess collection first, right?” I said, I received a hum in response.

Watching the movies in order for Y/n was the most important thing, so we started off with Snow white and the seven dwarfs. Watching through Y/n sang almost every song, and would sometimes nudge me to join in. I’d deny and she give me her doe eyes and I'd join regardless. Once the movie was over, I clicked around trying to find the next movie.

“Lips red as the rose, Hair black as ebony, skin white as snow.” I repeated as I looked around for the movie CInderella. I was interrupted before being able to click on the movie title. “Hey, that’s the phrase that the mirror says the queen. How do you remember that?” Y/n asked.

I honestly think she was totally surprised. “Because in a way it reminds me of you.” I said winking and clicked on the title of the movie. Cinderella played through, I had to pause a few times letting Y/n tell me when she was a young girl how much she wanted to be a princess but not just any princess she wanted to be Cinderella, and how her parents had bought her Cinderella dresses and she wear the plastic glass slippers and clink around her house.

Somethings you just always forget. Somethings like that are worth forgetting though, just so she can retell the same story and have the same cute and exciting look on her face. That was why I was okay with sitting down and watching Disney movies with her, because they made her so extremely happy and that’s all I needed to be happy.

We watched through that movies. “On the stoke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before.” I spoke. “Who said it though?” Y/n said questioning me. “Cinderellas fairy godmother!” I spoke.

I hadn’t realized how much this was now turning in to a game between Y/n and I. The next movie in our now marathon was sleepy beauty, so far, I had quoted every movie at the end.

So, this time Y/n was ready for it, “Now father, you’re living in the past, this is the 14th century.” I said a little laughed came out. “Oh, come on, there are so many better ones to choose from!” Y/n said dramatic.

“Yeah, like which ones? "I said, knowing Y/n knew a lot more about Disney movies then I did. “I’m awfully sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you, Make it pink, Oh dear, what an awkward situation. And that to name a few.” Y/n said totally sassy me, but whatever. This was her guilty pleasure. There was no reason to tease her about it.

We watched through ariel, I only stopped the movie once since Y/n said she need a peep break and I most defiantly needed a good stretch. When she came back, I said “Don’t underestimate the importance of body language!” I said as I shimmied my hands down my sides and winked at her as Y/n sat down on to the couch.

“Haha, very funny. Come on now. Sit with me.” She said giving me grabby hands. I sat down and we continued our watch through, unfortunately we only made it another two movies seeing as Y/n had fallen asleep with her head in my lap and a blanket covering the rest of her body.

Beauty and the Beast was the second to last movie we watched before Y/n fell asleep, she had cuddled closer and reminded me that she sometimes thought of this movie when she saw us together. “Take it with you so you’ll always have a way to look back... and remember me”

She cuddled in closer as I quoted that and looked for the next movie. Yawning I asked Y/n “Do you want to stop? We can always pick up tomorrow.” I said She shook her head and said “Please continue.”

Looking for the next movie, I found that was a musical now about the movie, Aladdin was the next movie, this was an upbeat movie. I remember vaguely seeing this as a young boy, something that Dean had taken me to do, while he sat in the back making out with whatever girl he was with at that point.

“Y/n, I do love you, but I gotta stop pretending to be something I’m not.” I said kissing Y/n temple and shutting off the tv, and the lights before grabbing the underneath of Y/n knees and carrying her to bed.

Compelted on: 04/15/2021

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Godmother - Carolyn Turgeon

Cinderella, but through the eyes of the fairy godmother.

Cinderella is destined to go to the ball, fall in love with the prince, and become queen. And Lil is the fairy who has been chosen to make sure everything happens the way it is supposed to. But then the unthinkable happens; through her connection with Cinderella, Lil experiences human emotions and desires and becomes infected with her intense longing for love ... and Lil falls in love with the prince. For her selfish mistake, she is exiled to the human world, to live in a human body, for centuries. Until one day, while working in a bookstore in New York City, Lil sees her chance to bring together two lonely people and finally right the wrongs of her past.

Just like Turgeon's Mermaid story, this one is deeply emotional and sensual. Not sure that I loved it, but I did like it, and it is certainly different from any other Cinderella story I've read before. Although, given that it's the title of the book, I wish it had done more with the concept of being a Godmother; it's briefly mentioned that this role sets Lil apart from other fairies, but doesn't go into much depth about what that difference actually entails, and I think that could have been really interesting lore to explore.

Warnings: Implied suicide and self-harm

More fairy tales

[vardasvapors]

Do you have any Lindon headcanons, if so please throw ALL of them at me because I have zero and it's terrible. This was more Elrond-centric bc I've been trying to fill in that thousand-year gap between Elros and war but then I realised how LITTLE I can actually picture of... the biggest Elven kingdom in Middle-earth... Galadriel's off collecting fairie court campsites, and Celebrimbor's kickstarting a magic object Renaissance, and what's every other elf doing this millennium? I just don't know!

omg i’ve lazily on-and-off thought about making a wip list of vague Lindon headcanons before so this is the perfect excuse. hope you don’t mind me limiting this to just the timeframe you mentioned, or this post would be WAY too long, instead of just regularly too long:

First: observe, my Lindon tag! It’s not very long, but

This and especially this are some of my favorite headcanon visuals for Second Age Mithlond as a capital city. Starting as a giant camp for everyone who escaped from Beleriand, lots of flux, more like a RL city than most Tolkien cities: gorgeous, but very disorganized, patchwork, built up ad-hoc, happenstance and convenience slowly rising into districts. All the people stopping in it or passing through it, either east or west, leave another layer of their presence there. um….I still haven’t read invisible cities despite buying it because of bamboocounting like….months ago. Anyway it’s 90% turned to dust by LOTR.

With abruptly going from lush inland forested river-filled Ossiriand to this newly-formed bluff-edged shoreland with a huge new saltwater gulf splitting it down the middle, I headcanon it being a pretty big mess for decades. Before Galadriel took a lot of them to Eregion, I picture all the characters you mention spending a lot of time on fixing up – collecting and reuniting scattered people, building houses, establishing diplomatic ties and supply chains, etc.

eg: there is very little formality or ingrained institutions and no palaces full of comforts let alone luxuries for at LEAST a century, thanks

BUT, the fixing-up period being mostly a very happy time! Like, I think there was certainly a ton of hardship and stress with trying to keep people fed and housed in this chaotic near-post-apocalyptic situation while new villages and stuff were built, and fighting stray dark creatures who had also escaped, but still a lot of general relief and feelings of being insanely fortunate and curious exploration, finally free from being under constant overwhelming threat again even if this peace is quite a different kind from the peace before Morgoth returned, going hand-in-hand with the work, and building together as a conduit for bonding and feasting etc – and celebration and joy as deliberate defiance against the loss and grief and war they suffered. I think this real-world thing would fit it well.

Not a very big population at first, since not a lot survived at all, and most of the elves went to Eressea and most of the humans went to Numenor, and most of the Sindar who remained went east. I headcanon the early “kingdom” as more…scattered villages along the shore with a large but transient population concentration around the Havens because most of those were just looking for their friends and relatives and waiting for seats to open up on the constant flood of ships heading west, and when the passengers finally dwindle down this distribution has taken root and multiplied, but not a really powerful force until post-The Mariner’s Wife.

After the establishment period, now that it FINALLY isn’t a time of war, after centuries of it, elves start having babies all over the fucking place, and all the accoutrements that go with it. Dozens of new and half-forgotten festival days that are literally just giant bacchanalias, zillions of weddings, society shifting to be very oriented towards sex and romance and children and child-rearing, rather than warfare, etc. With this showing up a lot in their songs, and art, and lifestyle, etc.

One of the most delightful Lindon-adjacent nuggets in the Histories of Middle Earth I think is that elves of Lindon spent at least 50 years, if not more, ferrying the Edain to Numenor. I won’t repeat the tag ramble I appended to that passage here, but just… *blows kisses off fingers* it’s so absurd and fitting….I think of this as a big post-war self-image thing, the cataclysm and Morgoth’s defeat just so utterly scrambling their view of the world and their role in it. >_o

Speaking of that, not a lot of cultural continuity between the Noldor of the First Age and the Noldor of Lindon. The people of Cirdan and therefore at first for Gil-galad were the Falathrim, so I hc that especially after lots of Noldor left for Tol Eressea and Eregion the dominant culture of Lindon was a blendy Falathrim twist.

But that’s mostly just dominant as a plurality – the real “main culture” of Lindon is the hodge-podge mixture itself. Exiles who stayed because they wanted to, exiles who stayed because they are ex-Feanorians or otherwise can’t face going back or aren’t allowed. Descendants of exiles, mixed Noldor/Sindar elves who weren’t even born during the early Silm. Noldor who feel totally alienated from everything, Noldor who feel more connected to their fellow people of Sirion than to the Noldor generally. Survivors of Gondolin, survivors of Nargothrond, Sindar who didn’t want to go east, Edain who didn’t go to Numenor, Edain who are just waiting around to go to Numenor, Dwarves who had to leave the Blue Mountains due to them being broken up in the war, other peoples of all kinds, who all scrambled convergently to Lindon to flee the incoming war and water like ants. The areas of Lindon, and the districts of Mithlond, array themselves as reflections of, or deliberate eschewings of, the weird headlong rush into intertwining and splitting apart and morphing into new things that characterizes late Silm-era dynamics and groups.

In addition to pre-existing Falathrim attitudes about the sea, a major cultural/religious/etc tradition would spring up in Lindon in relation to the sea – the destructive, overwhelming, healing, saving, unfathomable, un-tameable, enticing, perilous sea that broke the earth, yet cleansed it, destroyed both enemies and homes, the place that now holds everything that Beleriand was in its depths, the place that deliverance came from. Kind of a less cynical but still very terrified version of Voronwë’s complete lack of chill about it. Sea-longing and going to sea and either never coming back or not coming back the same carves out a major place in their understanding of the world. One of the Standard Identities available to a segment of the popular in Lindon is like, “oh, he’s Waiting For A Ship,” An overlap of understanding grows between them and the Numenoreans over this. Ahem. Feel free.

eg: great Implied Significance for the new shoreline and the gulf of Lhûn as the place where Beleriand broke off and sank. References to these places as idioms to refer to being just past the furthest reach of a calamity, or a now-innocuous reminder of past calamity, or the duality of homecoming and escape

also eg: “lmao X is as unpredictable as the Lhûn amirite #microclimates”

the Numenoreans love them, but are sort of boggled by them. They have the same strange varied mixture and mood swings of cheer and gloom and Issues as the ex-Exiles and ex-Sindar of Tol Eressea, but the Numenoreans don’t entirely understand why they stuck with Middle Earth, for after a few generations have passed, the Numenoreans can only really guess, from their own lore, what having life experiences that were once concurrent with the long-distant sufferings of their Edain ancestors might be like. The Tol Eressean elves, on their island of release, are easier to understand, they’re sort of like us! But what of these weirdos back east – and that way lies the peril of like…you know. Everything wild, that Numenor is not

ETA: Later, when they realize the shadow has returned, this slow kind of infuriated disillusioned backslide…like, really? really? again? and the buildup back to war being really grim and depressing, though a minority of them always knew something like this would happen again. And rising conflict short of outright hostility with Eregion. People relearning to be soldiers again…or generals…