#(why are are there so many griffon spellings???)

[greyishbobbi]

This little friend is taking a nap in the sun. God, I wish that were me. You can find this pattern on my kofi! Thank you for taking a look, I love you specifically.

[ark-erika]

Pen sketches from work

[hollowflight-propaganda]

No way?!?! I'm posting art that ISN'T cat fanart?!?!?!

Anyway, this is my definitely-not-a-day-late drawing for the first day of Cringetober! (Ignore how I didn't even polish this because I didn't want to put it off anymore) This is the first and one of the only heterochromia havers in my queer wolf story, Blazor! Infodump below if you're interested.

So, I bet you've noticed that he's not a wolf, he's actually a griffon dragon hybrid! Yeah, there's a reason I wanted to draw him for Cringetober. The draconic part of him is his back half, which gets him occasional weird looks because all the other griffons only have mammalian back halves, but most are tolerant of him. He's dead during the main story and has been dead for like 3,000 years due to a mass extinction event that wiped out all the cool mythical creatures :(That's why I chose to talk about him mainly, because what's there to spoil when his purpose is to be dead!

Funny story, I originally gave him heterochromia because I had a scraped sequel plot where he gets reincarnated as one of the new characters in it. The sequel was a whole mess and none of it exists in the canon anymore, but it's still the reason why I gave him heterochromia, which I did to make his eye color match with his reincarnation's. The scraped sequel was wild and I kinda miss it.

Anyway, couple tidbits about Blazor. The chip in his beak is something he got from an accident when he was first learning to fly, he didn't damage anything else luckily but he still gave his poor mom a heart attack. He also spends a good majority of his time busking! I'm still on the fence on making up instruments because they're fucking dragons, or not doing that because I'm lazy. Just know that what he plays is something similar to a mandolin!

[glasswhistles]

Plz send me a bird and a land animal and I will make a griffon out of them

[whitekneewebby]

i saw a thing about fox/seagull griffons and I raise you, canada goose/honey badger griffons, they have no fear, ultimate asshole aura, and will fight God for no fucking reason, god is the one afraid

[onebadpunspoilsabunch]

The biggest issue that I have with g5 is all of the unanswered questions about what happened during the time frame between g4 and g5. The biggest ones are:

What happened to the alicorns? 

What happened to the other sapient creatures? Donkeys, mules, zebras, horses, cattle, sheep, buffalo/bison, deer/reindeer, hippos, yaks, griffons, hippogriffs/seaponies, dragons, Changelings, kirin, anthro cats, diamond dogs, anthro birds, etc etc.

How was Equestria able to function with the magic gone? And who's been raising the sun and moon this whole time if the magic has been gone? Is it someone outside Equestria?

They're never going to answer any of those questions.

The only reason why I watched MYM all the way through is because I was waiting for a proper explanation for all of the questions the movie didn't answer. I think the majority of us were under the impression that the TV show or comics would provide those answers.

Well... they didn't. And, let's face it, they probably never will. And if they do, the explanation will be bad.

The explanation they gave for the Unity Crystals and ponies dividing in the comics was... dumb.

The explanation they gave for the Unity Crystals and ponies dividing in the TV show was... dumb. And inconsistent.

Sunny in The Traditional Unicorn Sleepover:

Sunny Starscout: But then one day, a magical accident happened! An Earth pony got hurt by a unicorn! Everypony started fighting with each other! The princess, wanting to protect her kingdom and all of the ponies in it, decided to put all magic into three crystals before it got out of hoof. After that, Earth ponies only felt safe with other Earth ponies. Unicorns with unicorns. And Pegasi of a feather flock together. The ponies galloped, trotted, and flew as far as they could with their crystals, settling in what would become Zephyr Heights, Bridlewood, and Maretime Bay. And that's where they lived forever... until now.

Spike in the Isle of Scaley:

Spike: Twilight's reign was peaceful for many moons until Opaline Arcana appeared. She'd been banished from Skyros.

Sunny Starscout: The Alicorn land?

Spike: She wanted to rule all ponies. She thought that Alicorns were superior.

Spike: But my friends were strong. Our friendship had created such powerful magic that Opaline had to resort to dark ways to overthrow Equestria. She even attacked the dragons to transform into a Fire Alicorn!

Spike: The crystals were created to hide the magic of Equestria in them. All of pony magic. And all of dragon magic inside the Dragon Stone. Twilight sent us here to protect us and put a spell around Equestria to hide it from Opaline.

G5 is basically implying that Opaline was a much bigger threat than all of the other major villains the G4 characters had faced, which I don't believe for a second. Even after she powered herself up with the dragon's magic.

There's no implication that Opaline had mind controlled and used the dragons as an army back when she faced Twilight and her friends. Twilight and her friends could've just used their Element of Harmony powers to take away Opaline's magic, or turn her to stone, etc etc.

The series finale showed that they didn't need the physical elements or tree to access that magic...

So why didn't they use it on Opaline?

I think the moment where I started to become disappointed in G5 was when they released that TYT short showing the dragons before they were properly introduced in Chapter 6.

And when I saw how horribly they were designed, I just got angry.

And then I saw how they looked in the main show, and my disappointment grew...

And then I saw that Spike had the same horrible model as the other dragons (with minor changes) and I wanted to throw up XD

And then I finished Chapter 6 of MYM, and I realized that I had wasted my precious time on G5.

[nightingaletrash]

I love the Last Flight so much tho, the way it truly encapsulates the horror of the Blight. How a single day of dawdling was enough for Antiva's royals to doom their people. The soul-rending endlessness of it, and how even the biggest victories are only temporary unless they can get you to the Archdemon.

It also shows how, by this point, the Grey Wardens have come to be so respected that its detrimental. When they say that a Blight is here, they're listened to and people react accordingly, but Antiva's royals really believed that the Wardens could save their city - its why they sent for them, they believed they could turn the tide of the entire horde and were shocked when the Wardens said 'we can't save your city, the best we can do is help to evacuate you and your people before it's too late.' And then that belief keeps them from listening to the Wardens when they say that they can't perform a miracle. And it costs them everything.

Then there's Isseya's blood magic, and how the novel shows us that while she never used it for malignant purposes, there was a huge cost for her... but it wasn't entirely her fault. The first time her blood magic had a horrible cost - when her altered Joining practically destroyed a griffon's mind and filled him with hatred - she swore off of using the spell ever again. It's not until the First Warden orders her to do it over and over again does the magic take its toll by accelerating the Taint in her blood. And when her spell proves to have created a blight disease unique to griffons, the fault lies largely with the First Warden as he failed to enact quarantines and he kept using the griffons as messengers. If Isseya had had her way, Shrike would have been the only griffon to have been changed, but the pressure from Garahel and the First Warden and Lisme and everyone else that insisted that the joined griffons were a solution made it so that she couldn't say no.

There's just a lot going on in the Last Flight that really communicates things better than the games do without diving into codexes. Origins doesn't really show just how soul-grinding and all-consuming a Blight is supposed to be because this is the weird one that only lasted a year. DA2 only shows the consequences of blood magic via the reactions to it as opposed to the real consequences of the magic itself. And Inquisition's attempt to portray the Wardens as flawed and sometimes misguided comes off as dismissive of the order itself.

The Last Flight describes how the Blight changes the landscape as it spreads and shows our characters changing and ageing as it goes on, with the protagonists going from a couple of fresh-faced recruits to aged veterans over the span of a decade. We see a real, tangible consequence of blood magic beside the societal reactions to it. And we see the Wardens at their best and at their most flawed; from evacuating and saving as many people as they can from the Darkspawn, to recklessly forcing blood magic on their griffons and failing to enact proper quarantines when the first signs of the problem began to appear. Its such a damn good book and I love it so much 💜

[grim40]

{Next Gen}~ Monster?- Part 1

Ben sighed as he sat down in his seat. It was morning, and school hadn't started yet. He could hear the kids outside in the playground but didn't bother to turn around and look. He felt lonely. His only friend, Bitter Bite, was scheduled for Tuesday class and could only see him until Thursday. Even if class hadn't started yet, he wished he could go home now. 

As fillies, foals, and other creatures started filling the classroom, he sat up straight. Ever since the School of Friendship had been inaugurated, many families had come to live on Ponyville. Yaks, griffons, hippogriffs, even some zebras, had now filled the homes of the town. And with it, the school with many children. Mom had been adamant he could stay at home and learn from his father, but giving school a chance, they had enrolled him in Missus Cheerilees school. They told him school would be fun with activities, a playground, and he could make friends. He had done all those things, except the last one. 

Ben listened to Cheerilee's lecture, the four seasons, their types of weather, how each creature is affected by them. All of a sudden he felt something hit his temple. A small piece of balled up paper landed on his desk. He heard quiet giggles behind him by his right side. He knew it were those kids again. Ever since school began, they had been pestering him all the time. Never too harsh, but just things like this. Little balls of paper, a playground ball "accidentaly" going his way, things he thought were normal. At least that's what his mom told him. He took a small glance, and there she was. Agatha, the supposed leader of the group. She raised her arms in a shug motion, motioning as a silly mistake and giggling. He gave a small but weary smile, trying not to think too much about it. He couldn't concentrate on the lecture anymore, so he just stared ahead and hoped lunch would start soon. 

~

Lunch break had started, and Ben unpacked his small lunch box Dad had packed for him. A couple of apple slices, some oat meal biscuits and a box of apple juice. As he snacked away his lunch, he stared at the playground where the kids ran around, played in the swing-sets and jump ropes. He looked away, again feeling lonely. He wasn't really sure why the other kids didn't like him. From day one, he struggled to make a friend. He wasn't mean, he hadn't done anything weird that he was aware of. When pair projects came up in class, the kids would ignore him. He would otherwise be paired with another foal or filly, they were decent to him throughout the class time, but after it was done he was back to being alone. His ears drooped down, and he laid in the grass for a bit.

He could entertain himself. His father had teached him a magic spell recently, to invoke his own chaos magic. He told Ben that when Draconquui were still around, everyone had their own different magic. Channeling it was a difficult task, so they would need to start young and practice with it. Ben concentrated on the pads of his paws, a spark, then a flare of magic started to form. It was already fairly easy for him, he had practiced so many times. The hard part, was keeping the magic stable. But it was coming along well. 

WACK

"Hahahaha sorry, we did not totally see you the- AHHHH!" Agatha screached.

"AHH-" Ben, literally, had been knocked out of his concentration. The magic he had been so carefully holding, burst. 

The kids backed up screaming. The magic had blown some of them back and had temporarily blinded those nearest. Ben breathed rapidly while he held his head. He hadn't meant for that to happen, so he quickly stood up and approached the kids.

"I-I'm so sorry! I just got scared, are you alright?" As he extended a paw towards Agatha, she swatted it away.

"Get back you weirdo! You were trying to eat us! I knew you were evil! That's why no one wants to hang out with you, you monster!"

Ben looked shocked. "I-, I wasn't..."

Hearing the commotion and kids coming to her telling her what happened, Miss Cheerilee came running to their aid. 

"What happened?! Are you guys alright?!"

"Miss he tried to hurt us! We didn't do anything! He just tried to eat and blow us all up Miss! Please get rid of the monster!" Children surrounded Cheerilee, and while she tried to hear everyone out, she saw Ben stiff as a statue. 

She made her way over to where Ben was standing.  "What happened Ben? Did you use magic during school hours? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"Miss I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I just got scared and-"

"You just tried to hurt us, don't lie you weirdo!" Agatha screamed in his face, pointing one of her fingers at him. "Yeah, Agatha just walked over to him and he turned around with a magic ball and shoot it straight towards us!" "Were scared, please take him away!"

The children again started rambling on, not allowing Cheerilee or Ben get a word in. Ben wasn't confrontational, so he just stayed quiet. 

"Nu-uh, that's not what happened!"

Ben recognized the voice. It was Bitter Bites twin sister.

"Sugary Bite what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be in school." Cheerilee addressed Sugary. 

"I saw what happened, they are lying! I came here with mommy for Bitter Bite's homework because he forgot it. They threw a ball at Ben, I saw it!" 

"I didn't throw it!" Agatha exclaimed.

"I didn't say it was you!" Sugary retorted back. 

With that Agatha closed her beak and stayed quiet. 

"All right all right, we will talk about this after school. Please Sugary go back to your mom. Kids it's time to go inside, c'mon."

Kids started to head insde the school, and as Ben started to walk Cheerilee stopped him. 

"We will talk about what happened when your dad comes over, alright? And please, no magic use today, okay?"

She didn't sound angry, though her soothing voice masked a tinge of worry. Ben just shook his head slowly up and down, agreeing. 

As he sat in his desk, the whispering children went quiet. Cheerilee began her lecture, but this time Ben didn't bother to pay attention. 

~

The school bell rang, and kids gathered outside to meet their parents to go home, with the exception of two. They were still seated in their desks, no words exchanged. Ben felt panicked, like a knot in his stomach had formed and it was just gurgling around. What would his dad say if he knew he was doing magic in school? Would be be mad? He would probably be grounded for ever and be banned from doing magic again. Ben didn't bother looking in Agatha's direction, though he felt eyes on the back of his head. 

"Hello Mrs. Helen, hello Mr Discord, would you please come inside? There was an incident today regarding Agatha and Ben during lunch time."

"Did something happen to Agatha?!"

"What happened to my boy?! Is he okay?!"

At the mention of an incident, both parents asked Cheerilee in a panic. 

"No they aren't hurt, just if you please could come in."

Discord and Helen, Agatha's mother, came in. Agatha quickly ran towards her mother and began pleading with her.

"I didn't do it mom! It was an accident!"

Discord approached Ben who was still sitting and his desk and picking him up to his eye level.

"Are you alright? Did anyone hurt you?"

Ben shook his head at his dad's question, but still didn't speak. 

"Miss Cheerilee, you were looking for us?" Pinkie Pie came in the door, along with Sugary Bite and Bitter Bite. 

"Thank you all for coming. I know its a hassle to be here after school but I know that you guys want to know what happened today. From what I was told, Ben was caught doing magic during school hours without supervision of an adult or unicorn teacher."

"Is that true?" Discord let Ben down gently, and Ben looking down, saying a small audible yes.

"As we have discussed previously during the days prior of school, magic practice is forbidden during school hours without supervision, correct Discord?"

"Ah-, y-yes I know."

"I know you might be teaching Ben magic, but also teaching him the where and when he should be practicing it is a lesson every teacher has to put in place. Right?"

"R-right. I'm very sorry for the incident, whatever it was. I did fail Benny in teaching him to refrain from using magic here at school."

At this, Ben felt guilty, like he was at fault his dad was being scolded for his mistake.

"Although, I was told something else before the incident happened. And, I know Sugary Bite was a witness to all this."

"But how is my daughter related to this?"

"Go on Sugary." Cheerilee told her.

"I saw Ben by the bushes of the playground, but I also saw Agatha and her friends playing ball. But then I saw them throw the ball at Ben. Then his magic went BOOM!"

"Sugary is certain Agatha was the one who threw the ball."

"Did you Agatha?" Helen asked her daughter.

Agatha stayed quiet, and her eyes averting her mother's gaze.

"She is lying. Ben just wanted to hurt us for playing, and when I went to go say sorry he tried to hurt me." Agatha still averting her gaze.

"No you weren't, you were laughing with every pony." Sugary added.

"He also annoys me during class. He just stares at us without saying anything."

"Well you must have done something to him." 

"I do not!"

Sugary and Agatha bickered back and forth, while Ben just looked at them.

"Did she do anything else to you today?" Discord whipered to Ben. 

Then, Ben remembered, the piece of paper that tapped his head. It was Agatha who threw the piece of paper, and the ball. 

"She-" Everyone went quiet when they heard him talk. "She threw a piece of paper at me today. During class."

"HAH! What did I tell you, you DID do something!" Sugary mocked Agatha. "Sugary c'mere." Pinkie said while grabbing and dragging her towards her by her tail.

"Well Agatha, did you?" Cheerilee asked, sternly this time.

Agatha stayed quiet, swallowing saliva and lowering her head. 

"He's a monster."

"Agatha!" Helen yelled angrily at her daughter. 

"He doesn't belong here. He scares all of us!"

"All right all right, quiet down. *Sigh* Discord, Ben, you guys can leave for today. I'll talk with Miss Helen about Agatha's detention."

"Thank you Miss Cheerilee, c'mon kiddo. Let's go home." Discord picked Ben up and carried him on his back. 

"You can also leave Pinkie, and before I forget. Here is your homework Bitter."

"..." "He says thank you!" Sugary answered for her brother, while Bitter only nodded. 

Pinkie, Discord, and along with the kids, they left the school. 

~

Pinkie and the kids had parted ways, not before telling Ben they would see him later that week at school.  Ben only held tightly to his dad's neck, holding onto him like a koala. 

"You okay there kiddo, you are holding on a little roughly?"

There was a pause, and then heard a sniffle. 

"Benny, what's wrong?" As he grabbed his son and turned him around, Ben had tears running down his cheeks. Discord stopped walking and just held Ben in the air.

"Dad, am I a monster?" As he said it, Ben started to bawl. More tears came, and his sobbing got louder. 

His heart broke when he heard it. He only hugged his son, rubbing his hair. Discord carried on walking holding him in his arms. 

-

First time I post my Next Gen story here.

To give out context on characters-

-Ben (Benjamin Shy), son of Discord and Flutter Shy

-Sugary Bite and Bitter Bite, Pinkie's and Sky Star's kids

-Agatha, new character of mine, daughter of Helen

I'll later post their refs here~

[starlightcleric]

Autumn With a Witch - Chapter 2 - Rain

Fandom: Sun Haven

Relationships: Catherine/Farmer

Other: Fluff, established relationship

With the town of Sun Haven saved, Calliope can turn to enjoying the start of autumn with her wonderful wife, Catherine.

Also on AO3

-

Calliope awoke to the soft sound of rain pattering on the window and to the warm breath of her wife on her neck. And Catherine’s hair in her mouth. Catherine’s rabbit ears were folded back across her head as she slept, but her voluminous, purple hair spread everywhere.

Calliope used her free hand that wasn’t pinned down by her wife cuddling into her to remove the affronting hair from her mouth and rub her eyes. With the rain today, she wouldn’t need to water the crops by hand (or, well, rain cloud spell). She still needed to check in on the animals, make sure they had enough food, but she could afford to spend a bit longer in bed.

“Mreowf.” A soft lump launched itself onto Calliope’s stomach and started making biscuits.

Or maybe the inside pets still wanted breakfast on schedule.

The little, black witch cat stared Calliope in the face intently as it let out another large meow.

“Mmmmmhm.” Catherin stirred, her ears starting to perk up.

Calliope kissed her on the forehead as she detangled herself to get up. “You can go back to sleep, love. It’s a lazy, rainy day.”

Catherine slowly opened one eye. “Then why are you getting up?”

The black cat bumped into Calliope’s back as she finagled to put on socks. “Someone still wants breakfast. Which means I should check on all the animals–here and in Nel’Vari. Oh!” She stood up straight and gave the cat a scratch on the back. “If I’m headed to Nel’Vari, and it’s raining, I should hunt for water runes!”

Catherine sat up and stretched. “I don’t know what my day looks like. I should stop by the store, check in, but Lucia and I won’t have our lunch outside in this weather.”

Calliope laced up her boots. “Then why don’t you come with me? It’s past time you’ve seen the farm in Nel’Vari. I think you would find the amount of magic just in the world there absolutely fascinating. There are plants I can only grow there, potions I can only make there—”

“Hmmm.” Catherine surged forward to kiss Calliope on the nose. “Well, I can’t have my wife out-witching me, now can I?”

“I could never. You’re Sun Haven’s best witch.” Calliope kissed her back.

The black cat made its presence known again by thrusting its head into her stomach.

Calliope pulled away from Catherine and laughed. “Alright, alright. I’m getting breakfast now.”

The cat trailed her all the way to the kitchen with excited mews, only stopping to stuff its face when Calliope placed its bowl on the floor.

Calliope stopped for a moment to stare out the kitchen window. The rain trailed down the window pane in lazy patterns, and farther out dripped down from the trees into little puddles. She normally took the griffon straight to the Nel’Vari farm, but she didn’t think he could carry both her and Catherine. Flying in this weather also sounded miserable. Well, a nice walk it was, then. They could forage in the woods together.

As she prepared her and Catherine’s morning carrot juice, the cat had finished its breakfast and was now meowing and scratching at the front door. “I don’t think you want to go out there, buddy.”

“MREOWW.” Scratch scratch scratch.

“Okay, fine.” Calliope opened the door for the cat.

It took one look outside at the rain, sniffed, then turned around and headed back toward the bedroom.

“That’s what I thought.” Calliope finished pouring the carrot juice just as Catherine walked into the kitchen, dressed warmly and carrying a waterproof cloak.

-

The journey was not unfamiliar. Catherine had grown up exploring the wilds of Sun Haven for herbs, and Calliope had made many an expedition to Nel’Vari. So they knew how to skirt the edges to avoid the beasts of the wild, though many were hidden, sheltering from the rain. The fresh smell of wet dirt filled her nostrils while the dirt itself caked their fingertips as they collected mushrooms.

Unfortunately she couldn’t walk too closely to Catherine, since the rain would run off the brim of Catherine’s hat right to the top of Calliope’s head. So she danced in circles around her, darting to and fro as Catherine proceeded languidly through the forest like a nymph.

As they approached the bridge that marked the transition to the elven forest, Calliope heard Catherine catch her breath.

“I’ve never been this deep before,” Catherine said. “It’s beautiful. And what are those?” she pointed at the colorful stones peaking up out of the earth.

“The magical runes! Like how Sun Haven gets elemental crystals around in places? Nel’Vari gets these elemental runes. I can use them in crafting stuff. Here, we’ll pick them up and I’ll show you when we get to the farm.”

They proceeded farther into the forest towards Nel’Vari, eventually reaching the elven town itself. Most of the residents were holed up inside on this rainy day, but they still attracted some stares. Not that Nel’Vari didn’t have its own population of amari, but the residents were tight knit. Outsiders were rare.

Spotting Wesley at the bulletin board, Calliope hurried Catherine along. She didn’t feel like receiving a lecture at the moment. 

Catherine still lingered to gawk at the great tree in the distance. “The trees here, I can feel their connection to the earth. There’s so much life here.” She held out her palm to catch some falling raindrops. “It’s in the earth, in the water, in the air.”

“I think you and Iris could have some interesting conversations once she stopped being terrified of you, but I really do need to check up on the animals.”

“Alright, alright. But later.” Catherine let Calliope pull her by the hand down the road towards the farm.

The raindrops played a soft melody over the many pools of the Nel’Vari farm as Calliope and Catherine approached. “Can you check on the crops while I tend to the animals?” Calliope asked.

“Oh I am itching to dig my fingers around some new magical plants,” Catherine laughed. “You don’t even have to ask.”

As Calliope fed the animals (giving the baby griffon extra scritches), her gaze kept returning to Catherine. She kneeled directly in the mud, skirts pulled around to shield her knees, with a look of childlike wonder as she reverently touched each plant. If paper wouldn’t have been absolutely soaked, Calliope was sure she would be taking notes.

Leaving Catherine to the weeding for now, Calliope headed over to her storage chests. She had promised to show Catherine rune crafting. She grabbed a pile of water runes and some various fish, and headed to the mana infuser.

From across the yard, Catherine looked up. “Don’t say you’re doing alchemy without me!”

“I’m just prepping the materials,” Calliope protested, but Catherine was already on her way over.

She was soaked through and dirt snaked up her arms, but Catherine’s eyes were bright as Calliope explained the mana infuser.

“And then when we balance the essence of the fish against the water rune, it draws the mana into liquid form. To the best of my knowledge. Magic isn’t really my speciality, I just follow the recipes I have written down.”

“Oh I so want to experiment with this,” said Catherine. “How long will this potion take?” she asked, nodding to the concoction Calliope had started brewing.

“Uh,” Calliope checked the recipe. “Four hours. So we’ve got some time. We could head inside and dry off, we’re both drenched.” She gave her head a vigorous shake, and water droplets flew off the ends of her hair and ears.

Catherine looked down at her muddy dress ruefully. “I could do with a warm drink and a bath.”

“Well, I haven’t put as much effort into this house as the one in Sun Haven, but I do have the basic necessities stocked,” said Calliope. “Including lavender bubble bath.”

Catherine kissed her cheek. “You really are prepared. While I draw up a bath, you better tell me all about the crops you have here. There’s one that’s a rock but it’s a plant?”

And, scraping the mud off their boots, they headed inside out of the rain.

[rhodywriter]

The Light in the Dark

The world was dark and grey as Rola marched along the path. A cold chill shuddered down her spine, forcing her to pull her threadbare cloak tighter around her shoulders. Mud squelched beneath her feet, indicating the melting winter snow.

Life in Ravenbone was always bleak and bare. The people living there preferred it that way. Ravenbone was one of many small towns that made up the wicked collective of Diaboford, the sinister country in the north. Dark magic lurked everywhere, from the maddening wood full of monsters and ghosts, to the bone-white cliffs of the roiling toiling sea.

Every citizen of Diaboford practiced dark magic. They delighted in formulating potions that could melt the flesh from the face. They cackled in glee at enchanting animals to attack unsuspecting passerby's. They reveled in concocting spells that could control the mind, torture the soul, or simply bring forth the sweet release of death.

All, that is, except Rola. Ravenbone children were born screaming and wailing, an evil glint in their eye and a mouth full of razor teeth. She was the oddity of Ravenbone, born too early and too quiet.

"Why does she not shriek like a normal child?" the nursemaid had hissed as the baby stared curiously up at the mobile of bats fluttering around the crib.

Rola never could fit in, and she preferred it that way. When the other children threw rocks at rats, Rola wove grasses into a crown. When the teenagers practiced brewing potions to make hair fall out, Rola practiced brewing potions to make flowers grow. When the final year students studied methodologies of torture, Rola studied healing and wound closing.

"A disappointment," her father would rumble every night at the dinner table. Her mother wouldn't even look at her.

So Rola spent her days roaming the hills, practicing her own brand of magic in peace. The quiet foothills near the sea remained free of ogres and griffons, the perfect place for privacy. No one could judge her, no one could punish her for her...differences.

The road carved into Diaboford was fraught with bandits and thieves. Rola was never afraid though. She always had a calm demeanor about her. No matter how poorly the village treated her, no matter how cruel her father was, Rola kept her hope that she would find a land that would accept her for who she was.

Dried grass crunched under her feet as Rola made her way off the road towards her favorite spot. Sitting on a rock, she let her grey wool skirts wrap around her legs to protect against the chill.

Plucking a shriveled oak leaf from amongst the dirt, Rola placed it between her hands. Light flowed through her. It pulsed in her veins, it traveled down her bones, it wrapped around her fingers and toes until the leaf had been transformed into a bloodred rose.

A smile crossed her lips.

Someday, she would too would transform. She too would become a thing of beauty, and it would be in a place that appreciated her brightness.

[noodledog]

Behold! The Agricultural Gryphon, better known as the Chicken Griffin or the Chickogriff.

As wild griffons began to be domesticated for mounts and companionship, a group of enterprising individuals realized this would be an excellent opportunity; for poultry roasts with twice as many drumsticks.

Chickogriffs are excellent egg-layers and diligent caretakers of their young. Their ears do not grow much as they mature and are far less visible in the adults, and their tails are stubby, nearly nonexistent, leading to a far more avian appearance than their cousins.

Roosters should not be kept together as they are quite territorial.

Over time most agricultural flocks were bred to be smaller than their wild cousins for ease of management (and safety of handlers), though recently a few hobbyists have begun breeding back larger sizes for “retro” breeds. As a result Chickogriffs run the range of size from cat to lion, with the former being most common.

As chickogriffs became more common among farmyard and backyards, various breeds were developed, with Halfling communities being so well known for theirs that others began to capitalize on this fame- For example the Shirewood Brown was not developed in halfling communities, but was sold as such for their easygoing personality and extra small size. Breeds such as the Nimean were selected for plumage as well as hardiness, leading to an explosion in popularity among hobbyists recently, while Pall's is a breed known for being extra protective of their flock, often including their owners as part of that group and mibbing en masse to attack aggressors. Adventurers beware! One chickogriff may be easy experience, but a swarm can remind you of their origins as top predators.

[kardds-arts]

plague doctor griffin

check out my etsy! -- check out my commissions!

[gryphonlover]

There is literally no way to mess up spelling gryphon. Because technically you can spell any of the ways shown below:

griffin

griffon

gryffin

gryffon

gryphon

gryphin? Like dolphin? I think this is acceptable??

[kcamberart]

i don’t know exactly how big painted buntings are or where they live but the idea of tiny gryphons brings me great joy

[saint-nevermore]

inktober day 29 - “injured”

the gryphon (otherwise known as the great griffin), is the largest and most prolific species of griffin. griffins are pseudo-dragons, like the drakes and basilisks, though they are the closest related to dragons than the others. they sport large feathered wings, a beak with sharp teeth in the rest of the jaw, feathered hindlimbs but bare frontlimbs, and a long tail with ends in decorative plumes, with the base sporting a pygostyle. their first digit on their hindlimbs are still reduced like other theropods, however sport a long backwards facing spur-like claw used in intraspecific fights over territory and mates. pictured is an young male gryphon who did not win his most recent encounter.

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[h0wl3]

art prompt: griffin hunter