#Fey realm calls for me

[party-skeleton]

Oh to be a wild man with a fern crown, riding on a unicorn across planes with no worry on his mind but the hunt

[uss-genderprise]

okay the new episode has people poking my sleeping special interest like a bear and it was about time to wake it from hibernation anyway so here are some fun facts about welsh fairies

it's spelled fairy. it's always spelled fairy. not faerie, faery, fae, or fey. fairy. please. or tylwyth teg if you want to be proper about it

fairies are not inherently malevolent. they work by their own rules that sometimes don't make sense to humans but there are rules, if you pay attention.

yes fairies will punish you for doing something they don't want you to do

they will also reward you for doing things they do want you to do

fairy rings are circles of green grass. they sometimes how up as a different shade of green than the grass around it and are generally markers of where fairies dance, as well as portals to the fairy realm. mushrooms aren't really a thing for that in welsh folklore.

string and bones and flowers are man-made and possibly supposed to bind or protect against fairies (though i haven't seen anything quite like what we see in the episode described in any of my sources) but generally breaking one of those doesn't immediately anger fairies, just lets them in to affect whoever put the ward up in the first place. that's not called a fairy circle.

changelings exist in welsh folklore. have fun with your theories.

fairies will generally let you leave the fairy world if you ask nicely. yes even if you've eaten the food and drank the drinks

however time moves differently so when you come back you might be super old and/or turn to dust the moment someone touches you

dancing is a different thing tho. they don't exactly want you to stay dancing with them until you die of exhaustion but like that's on you my dude get your friends to help you

if you broke fairy rules like kicking them out of their meadow to build a castle they will count eight* generations** and come back to turn that castle into a lake and drown everyone inside. you have been warned (repeatedly. usually by old ladies and/or bards and/or birds or sometimes just. A Voice™)

* the number of generations can and does vary but in welsh folklore it's generally 8 that's an important number, not 3 or 7.

** also the way generations are counted is. weird. idk if it's that i'm bad at math or bad at welsh or that the book i read explaining this is over 100 years old but i don't think i fully got how many generations this actually is.

oh and they only wait if you beg enough otherwise they kill you now

so basically. no getting trapped in the fairy world as punishment. they just kill you

personally i think the closest thing in welsh folklore to that old woman is a weird lady but even that isn't a great fit

yeah fairies bend time and space to always be far away from you if they want to but that's generally because they're trying to avoid you not following you at a distance

i am fully aware rtd probably couldn't care less about any of this. he definitely didn't do the work that i did to learn all this and incorporating this into your theories is probably shooting yourself in the foot as far as actually being correct goes. HOWEVER i do think it's more interesting and fun this way :) theories are gonna be wrong anyway might as well respect the culture that's inspiring them while we're at it yeah?

i will cite my sources if anyone asks but i doubt many people care to read hundreds of pages of edwardian non fiction novels just to fact check me. trust me on this guys

[deconstructthesoup]

I think the reason that Dimension 20 really scratches all those itches in my brain is that it really shows what you can do with D&D---and TTRPGs as a whole.

Fantasy High, by itself, is an incredibly compelling concept. What would D&D look like in a semi-modern setting? What would a high school that's all about teaching teens how to be adventurers look like? And the way it's done is beyond inventive, especially if you look at all the encounters in the first season---we've got a literal food fight, a high-speed road chase with tiefling greasers, a nightclub brawl with zombies, vampires, and werewolves, a skating match with a bunch of dwarven middle schoolers and a concrete golem, a high-stakes game of football (ish) with undead jocks that give off major teen slasher vibes, a fight done in an arcade where characters can get trapped in the consoles, and the final battle is done at prom. PROM! How cool is that?

And then we get to the Unsleeping City, which takes the urban fantasy elements that Fantasy High already had and elevates it. The way the D&D lore and magic is interpreted in a modern New York setting is excellent, as is the whole take on the "American Dream," magic literally coming from dreams, ideas, and the imagination. I know that I need to actually finish the UC saga, but from what I've seen and experienced, it is truly fantastic.

And the same energy carries through to the other seasons---my personal favorite outside of Fantasy High being A Court of Fey and Flowers, just because I'm a sucker for any Fey Realm content and I've been raised on Jane Austen---where the genre mashups shine through in the best way possible. I'll admit, I haven't seen A Crown of Candy, purely because I know how heartbreaking and devastating it is and I don't think I can physically handle it, but the concept of Candyland Game of Thrones is so beautifully bizarre that I totally get why people love it so much. Escape from the Bloodkeep hitting that workplace comedy vibe that we love to see in villains. Misfits & Magic being a love letter to the "magical boarding school" genre while also calling out all the weird contradictions inherent in it. A Starstruck Odyssey literally being an homage to Brennan's mom and exactly the kind of madcap and unhinged energy I need from my sci-fi. Neverafter perfectly encapsulating the true horror of fairy tales. Mentopolis hitting my noir-loving heart and personifying hyperfixation in the best way possible.

I'm not even kidding when I say that, if it weren't for Dimension 20... I probably wouldn't have even started my own campaign. I'd had snippets and ideas ever since officially getting into D&D and joining a game with some old friends (and getting back in touch with them in the process), but after I saw the Mentopolis trailer, I realized just how much variety TTRGPs had to offer. I could do a time-blending, history-meets-future campaign. I could go out-of-the-box. I could have endless amounts of options available to my friends and still tell the story that I wanted to tell. And when I sat down and watched Fantasy High---and when I got that Dropout subscription so I could consume whatever I wanted---it felt like the show was actually giving me advice. It's fantastic.

Also it helps that the episodes are usually only roughly a couple hours instead of being, like, an entire afternoon long. And that each season is 20 episodes, tops. No offense to Critical Role, but the sheer amount of content literally makes it impossible for me to get into it.

[starry-bi-sky]

changeling danny has his wretched little claws in me so here's some AU fey lore

Okay so, i've got a lot of ideas for the Fey Lore in this au. But to start out what may become a sling of posts: a simplified set up of the Infinite Realms. I think I mentioned it before in a reblog of the original changeling danny post, but the fey wilds exist in the IR. In most fanon I see the same scale as the rest of the realms, however i have a different idea for it.

In simplified terms, the fey wilds and the ghost zone are two different things. They both exist in the Infinite Realms, however, they exist on different planes of existence. In simplified terms, there are three separate planes in the Infinite Realms.

The Long Far: Highest realm in the infinite realms. Home to most, if not all, the Ancients. Beings that reside in The Long Far are eldritch abominations, gods, personifications of concepts, and other celestial-type beings. The only way to access the Long Far is through the Starflare Currents in the Feywilds. Which are a nebula of stars that work similar to the ocean currents in Finding Nemo. They are a rapid vortex full of stars that pass over the feywilds that can be seen at night. In order to reach the Long Far, one must fly up to the Current and latch onto one of the stars rapidly flying past. And then they must stay on the star until the currents begin to ascend rapidly upwards. This is harder than it sounds. Ever been indoor surfing? Where you lie on your stomach on a small board and try not to get flung off? Exact same concept. It’s basically the world’s most terrifying escalator to the gods.

The Fey Wilds: The Fey Wilds isn't exactly strictly home to the Fey, however for convenience sake I'm calling it the Fey Wilds. This is the home to fey and other folklore and mythological creatures that may not want to reside in the Ghost Zone. There are no Fey in the GZ. It's not that they hate being down there, but. well.. they hate being down there. They think the place is ugly. The Fey Wilds has ever shifting, expanding amount of biomes. These biomes range from massive redwood forests, to swamps, to essentially Pandora from Avatar. The place can look almost entirely human one moment, and then like a different planet the next. Fey and other inhabitants know how to navigate this easily -- but ghosts? Not so much. There are currently two known ways to reach the Fey Wilds from the Ghost Zone and vice versa: Lake Portals, and Cave Tunnels. Which I will expand upon in a moment.

Ghost Zone: Exactly how it sounds! The Ghost Zone is, well, the ghost zone! It's essentially the same as canon. Same looks, same everything. This is the home of mortal souls and the occasional mythological creature or two, as well as weaker concept spirits. By that I mean like, ecto-octopi. Concept spirits can manifest in both the GZ and Feywilds. Ghosts tend to stick inside the Ghost Zone and avoid venturing into the Fey Wilds because, well, they're still mortal souls. They're gonna get jumped by a fey looking for a new decoration or a new pet/servant/whatever. Best to honestly avoid the fey wilds as a whole.

Now, I just mentioned that there were two known ways to reach the Fey Wilds from the Ghost Zone: lake portals and cave tunnels. I made goofy little visual aides which I will attach below, and then I will explain how they work.

I'll start with the Lake Portals. They are, well, as the name suggests lake portals. Not every lake in the fey wild is a portal to the ghost zone, and vice versa. They're rather uncommon to find in both planes, but it's not like they're hard to recognize.

In the Fey Wilds, lake portals will have a sheen over the water like an oil spill. But instead of the regular rainbow-y colors, it will instead have the ghost zone's colors swirling in it; green and purple. The water will have that sickly green tint to it, and have a slight glow. The plant life surrounding the water are not typically what you'd find in the Fey Wilds, but might in the Ghost Zone. They look different from the regular noxious swamp bogs in the wilds, so its easy to tell that they're lake portals.

In the Ghost Zone, the lake portals will instead be shimmery and blue like a tropical ocean. And just like how there are GZ plants in the fey wilds surrounding the water, there's fey wild plants on the island where the lake is.

How these portals work is rather simple. You dive in and begin swimming down. It's a long swim down, but that's all you gotta do. It will get dark, as there are no plant life in these portals, and no aquatic life either.

It starts getting complicated when you reach what I like to call the border. The border is as the name implies; its a border between the planes. In the lakes it's not physical, however you will feel when you've reached the border and crossed it. Intense vertigo washes over you as your sense of gravity begins to shift and flip; up is becoming down, down is becoming up.

Your goal at this point is to try and push through that vertigo and discomfort and make it to the other side of the border, without getting flipped upside down and swimming back to the surface you came from. This is harder than it sounds as you become dizzy underwater, and since there's no light anywhere, you will try and instinctively seek it out and follow it. You're down too deep to know where that light is.

Once you've reached the other end of the border successfully, your gravity will have flipped without you needing to do anything. You are now swimming up to the surface, and once you do, boom! You're in the ghost zone! Lake Portals are faster to use than tunnels, but very disorientating.

Now cave tunnels are longer, but simpler. Essentially some caves have tunnels that lead into the ghost zone, similar to how in greek mythology there are random entrances to the underworld in the mortal world. I haven't exactly figured out what the tell is for when you're in a tunnel leading to the Ghost Zone, but I know that when it's the other way around it's rather easy -- as you start to climb up.

It's a less complicated explanation: essentially you are descending into the ghost zone through this tunnel. You are on your way down like Orpheus in search of his wife, or like Heracles doing his twelve labors. It can get claustrophobic and of course there is the border.

Unlike experiencing a shift in gravity, you're instead hit with the intense vertigo and an intrinsic fear to turn around. It's an instinctual response to your surroundings changing on a molecular level, and your body in response is telling you to Flee. Basically, you've taken a rip of the Cave Gasses and you feel like you're losing your mind. Once you exit the border its smooth sailing.

Sometimes you get unlucky and there's a Pit Drop and you're suddenly Alice in Wonderlanding your way down to the Ghost Zone. But hey! At least you're not swimming.

those are currently the only two ways i've come up with for traveling between the GZ and Fey Wilds. But all in all, it's meant to be very disorientating stuff; vertigo and nausea-inducing, with just a dash of Existentially Terrifying. Traveling between planes usually is.

[eternalmomentss]

Fuck it, Bells Hells as the fears/entities in the Magnus Archives.

Thinking of these, I kind of differeniated between being an avatar (deliberately AND against their will) and just being generally affected/haunted by a fear.

Chetney - The Hunt (avatar) // I feel like this one is the easiest. Chetney is pretty undeniably an avatar of the hunt, being a werewolf and enjoying every second of it. I don't even have to say more, it's just so self-explanatory…

FCG - The Slaughter (maybe avatar) // I love the description of the Slaughter being the fear of pure, unpredictable, unmotivated violence because it fits FCG's murder-bot mode so well. Taking stress points until they explode in a sudden killer frenzy? Just perfect. I guess "unmotivated" can be argued against but I am not taking criticism.

Laudna - The End (avatar) & The Web // Honestly, it's kind of hard to pick only one entity for Laudna, she fits so many (Corruption, Dark, Lonely are great for her too), but I feel like these two are the best. The End being the fear of death and manifesting as undead(ish) creatures - like with Chet, this is self-explanatory. Laudna being haunted by the Web I thought was fitting because of her connection to Delilah and how she keeps manipulating her. Especially because Marisha has compared it to addiction before, which is also a common manifestation.

Imogen - The Eye (avatar) & The Extinction // Okay, hear me out, I had some trouble assigning something to Imogen because she fits a lot of things to a certain extent. Her psychic powers and ability to open up her own mind to read others (even though she doesn't want to do it or can't control it) is very Eye-coded to me. Also, I feel like Predathos is a great mix of both the Eye and Extinction (at least in connection to gods, since it's out to devour them forever etc.) and since Imogen is Ruidusborn and acts as an extention of it (especially looking at the later episodes where she gives in to it), I feel like she could be an avatar of both (involuntary though). She also kind of has Vast vibes when it comes to her powers, but I think I am happy with what I decided on.

Orym - The Desolation // The fear of pain, loss and destruction often with a senseless cause is just so perfect for Orym to me, especially connected to his backstory and the attack on Zephrah / Will and Derrig's death. Loss in paricular is a very important theme throughout Orym's story and the sheer devastation he still feels so many years after the attack and when he has to confront Ludinus and the Predathos issue is so fitting for this. He is straight up always not having a good time, is the vibe.

Fearne - The Stranger (avatar) & The Desolation (avatar) & The Web // Fearnie gets three entities because she's just that girl. I assigned her the Stranger because I kind of feel like the fey realm in general is just very Stranger-coded (the unknown, the uncanny, the unfamiliar, you get the idea). I chose the Desolation because of her connection to Rau'shan and her taking in the shard and - you know, having a whole Fire Titan form. And then the Web, because of her deep-rooted fear of power and becoming a dark version of herself / her reoccurring mirror-self etc. (kinda funny because the Corruption is also right there, but - I feel like that one is more about filth and sickness and not mental corruption).

Ashton - The Buried (avatar) & The Vast // Ashton to me was probably the hardest; again there is so much in their backstory that could be connected to any of the fears. I settled on the Vast and Buried, even though it might be a little far-fetched. Hear me out. The fear of heights and falling to me is connected to their trauma of falling through the window and then also the feeling of insignificance / always being abandoned and all that (also I found it kind of funny that the Vast is also called The Falling Titan). And then I picked the Buried due to their connection to Ka'Mort and the powers they gained with it (from the earth, of the earth, to the earth is such a Buried thing to say. They can just merge with the ground and go haunt some people). The Desolation and Lonely are also contesters, though. Ashton I love you, you are very complicated.

Dorian - The Lonely & The Web // I feel like the Lonely is kind of self-explanatory; the fear of isolation, being alone and disconnected from the rest of society. Growing up cloistered and lonely and feeling very unimportant. It just makes sense. Then, I assigned him the Web (literally the Mother of Spiders) because of his connection to Lolth and her manipulating him/causing him to shift his allignment/overall ruining his life. Yay.

Braius - The Lonely // Okay, sorry Braius I didn't really find a good match. We don't know too much about him, except for the fact that he really wants a family and longs for connection, which is also the reason why Asmodeus has such an easy time manipulating him, yay. So, the Lonely it is. Moo man is lonely and this is also the reason why he wants to kiss everyone.

Campaign 3 as a whole is really just one big ad for the Extinction.

[fjotla-vithir]

Aight I can post this here because my players in my D&D campaign aren’t here.

I’m going to put Fjölla and Försjár in my campaign. They are going to be a patriarchal tribe of Harengon that live in cave systems in the mountains of my homebrew setting.

A little background: the Harengon race is a 5e race (could be earlier, correct me if I’m wrong) that are basically Fey bunnies that live in warrens just outside of the Fey realms. So my plan as god the DM is to Fey that shit up and have Viera NPCs in my campaign.

CALLING ALL VIERA

If you’d be interested in having your Viera cameo in my campaign, let me know!! I’d love to have real and true Harengon that are homages to all the amazing Viera players out there. Send me a DM or an ask if you’d like to have your Viera featured in my homebrew D&D campaign. Is this me trying to do a little less work? Yes, but I will RP the shit out of your babies. I will do them so good.

But yea, I’ll be happy to answer any questions and I’ll make a basic questionnaire for those who are interested so that I can learn what I need to RP your Viera in a D&D campaign.

[theocrytos]

Huzzah! My most recent DnD oneshot character!

Her name is Nausicaa, they're a tempest cleric of Istus (godess of fate and creator of the Fey realm and fey creatures in our homebrew world) and she's ready to kill her god to potentially save the life of her sickly wife and be able to grow old with her <3

Design detail rambles, fun facts and unused outfit sketches below the cut!

Fun facts/details:

- Their full name is Nausicaa Homonenomenon. No I wasn't able to tell that to my fellow players with a straight face. Yes there is a reason for it! While the face shape of the snakes isn't right, they are western hognoses, the scientific name of which is Heterodon Nasicus. We can thank my dear friend for her surname - she originally suggested 'Heteronomenon' which would have been quite ironic as Nausicaa very much isn't hetero, lol. Nothing against that, but I just thought Homonenomenon sounded even funnier/absurd.

- Her wife's name is Telmachia Aegagrus, named after the "og" Nausicaa's husband, Telemachus, and wild goats (Capra Aegagrus), the latter because she's a satyr. I have yet to draw her. I like to think she always calls Nausicaa nicknames, while Nausicaa mostly just calls her Telma, maybe also "my dear", or "my heart" (in Hungarian these are much more common nicknames for your partner than in English, as far as I know at least).

- She has a medusa piercing.

- The pin on her cloak is the symbol of Istus (in our game), and I have made it irl from cardboard to wear to DnD because I'm the kinda player who likes to dress up.

- She holds a bell in her right hand - simply because that's one of the items she has because of her (custom) background.

- Another item they have because of their background is the ring - a signet ring to be more exact - on her right middle finger. Her other ring is her wedding ring :)

- Not very well visible, but the beads on their belt are the colors of the lesbian pride flag.

- The pattern on their pants is kinda like what I sometimes doodle in class when I don't need to take notes but need to occupy my hand with something.

- Overall her colors are basically sunset colors because in our Feywild these are pretty prominent colors used/worn by the daytime (basically our version of seelie) fey.

Outfits!

I knew I wanted skirts of some sort and overall a lot of flowiness and some layering for this fruity little lady, but it took me a few tries to get something I like. I figured out her head first as you can tell, and none of these really matched that. But as you can see, the final one is kind of a combination of 1 and 3, with the addition of a cloak. 2 had a very greek cleric-y vibe too, don't get me wrong I loved that too! Maybe another time...

[alpaca-clouds]

The Otherworld, Fea/Fey and what little we know about Celtic mythology

Okay. I was now asked more than once about this. Which is fair. What is the Otherworld? I have noted this word more than once in regard to Maria and her magic - and if you have read any of my writing on Castlevania you might have stumbled across the word as well, as I reference it fairly often there as well.

If you are one of those five people who came originally from Twitter to follow me here, you might also know that a friend and I work on a comic called Otherworldly. So, let me talk about the Otherworld.

The Celtic Otherworld

The general concept and name of the Otherworld comes from the celtic mythology. Once more we know most about it from the Gaelic mythology, because most of the oral tradition that has survived is from the Scots and the Irish. And you might even have heard at some point of Tír na nÓg, which was one of the names for the Gaelic variation of this myth. If you were at any point a fan of Lord of the Rings you might also be aware of the concept, despite Tolkien using another name for it.

Generally speaking the Otherworld is a world of eternal youth and beauty, in which the fae/fey, as well as the gods of this religion tend to live. But in some cases humans wander into the Otherworld as well. Maybe because they get invited into it by a fae of some variation of sidhe, or just because they get lost. In those cases we might have stories in which children get lost in the forest and years later stumble out of the forest not having aged a single day.

Something that is maybe specific interesting for Maria: The Gaulic mythology (so the one of the French celts) actually said, there were two Otherworlds: The White World and the Black World. The White World was a sort of heaven, the Black World a sort of hell - even though that is obviously just once more interpreting it through a Christian lense.

Generally speaking this was less of an afterlife. While the souls of the deceased would generally pass through the otherworld, most of them would then go on (possibly for reincarnation). Though we have some stories of heroes that remain in the Otherworld and become sorts of gods.

The Otherworld as a General Concept

This is the moment where I will once again talk about Indo-European mythology. As you might have heard: Pretty much all cultures that existed in Europe and around the Mediterranean and some part of Asia go back to one culture that originally lived in the area that is today's Ukraine, which in anthropology is called the Proto-Indo-European culture. And we are fairly certain, that the Otherworld at the very least goes back to the mythology that this culture has had - if not even further back, as similar concepts are even found outside of these connected cultures.

Basically, these cultures generally have a realm or parallel world in which the gods reside and at times all sorts of other paranormal creatures.

This is why some authors, like me, use this parallel in their writing. Of course we are well aware that anthropoligically speaking these parallels are there, because the cultures have the same root and have influenced each other. But of course, as a fantasy writer it is hard to not look at it and go: "Well, what if all these cultures have this concept because it is real?!"

Fae/Fey

Lastly we should talk about the Fae/Fey. Again, the wording goes back to the Celts. Fae/Fey is generally a word that is often used today as "fairy", though technically the fae in the mythology are usually not little humanoids with wings. Mainly they seem to have been a sort of spirit-like being, some of which showed as humans with otherworldly beauty and eternal youth. This is mainly where the elves in fantasy come from. Some could also appear as both animals or monsters of sorts.

The general thought is, that they probably anthropologically speaking fae probably go back to a spiritual religion, in which nature spirits were revered in different ways - and then got personified partly as fae or gods.

And if we are talking fantasy writers once more: Given those parallels with the Otherworld, especially Urban Fantasy does this little trick quite often, where pretty much all spiritual beings from all sorts of religions just get qualified as "fae", no matter from what culture they come. So Yokai from Shinto might also qualify as fae in this way of looking at it.

And that in the end brings us back to Maria, whose familiars obviously were originally based in East Asian mythology, while the way she summons them clearly is more linked to the celtic culture.

It will be really interesting to see (if the Netflix algorithm decided that it would be worth it for Netflix to let Powerhouse make another season) how this is going to tie back to Maria's backstory eventually.

[sarnai4]

Book Review: Changeling: The Fey Touched Trilogy

Changeling, by @author-a-holmes, is the beginning installment of a fantasy trilogy. In the fey realm, Lizzy Hail has spent nearly the first 18 years of her life, but everything is about to change. She embarks on a mission to find her mother, who has gone missing under bizarre circumstances. Along with her best friend, another fey named Booker Reed, Lizzy ventures into the mortal realm—the one with vampires. Despite the danger associated with these creatures, the friends meet Andric Roche, someone who just might be their key to surviving in this world and getting their answers…even if Lizzy does find him extremely frustrating. 

This was a fun time! It had been a little while since I’d read a full-on fantasy, so it was nice to get back to that. The world itself is very unique. You hear “mortal realm” and think about people, but you’re brought into a universe where vampires are essentially the people. Now, humans do exist and that’s an important element on its own, but it’s the vampires which make the world come to life. The friendship between Lizzy and Booker is really sweet. It feels like these two have known each other since forever and could complete each other’s sentences in their sleep. Besides the friendship, there’s a bit of romance that becomes really cute as you keep reading. 

For me, one of my favorite parts was the action. When there’s a fight scene, you can see it in your mind’s eye. Everything is described so vividly from the way the creatures are behaving to how the injuries are impacting the characters. It was always fun to imagine how these scenes would have looked. (This is probably why my favorite character was Andric since he was involved in just about every one of the fight scenes. It’s like he was a magnet for them.) In all seriousness, he’s a fun character. He’s got a tragic backstory, not unlike the others, that drives him. What makes him stand out in my opinion is his demeanor. Andric means business and although he can be stern, he isn’t dull. He’s simply that guy you go to when you need a job done because you know he’s going to complete it and then some. I really respect competent characters like that. If you’ve seen or read Yona of the Dawn, I would call him this universe’s Hak.

One area for me that I would change was with the exposition. There’s a lot of lore to this story that gives depth to the characters and world; however, there are times when the “narrator” tells you instead of you seeing the situation happen first-hand. It became less of an issue once I got into the heart of the novel since we were there for most of the events the characters were going through, but that’s an element that I really think would make this series even stronger. 

In conclusion, this was a cute story that sets up what seems like an even more exciting tale. As for the age rating, there are some violent scenes and harsh language, but it’s difficult to say how that translates to the age of the reader. Just beware if you’re sensitive to either of those! I’m curious what will happen next. If you’re in the mood for a romantasy, I definitely suggest checking this out! (Besides, who can really resist reading about fey or vampires? You get a two for one deal with this!)

Link to the Amazon page here!

[jimbodyson]

light legend of vox machina S3 spoilers (and campaign 1 spoilers)

was thinking about Bard's Lament earlier and I'm so eager to see how they change up Scanlan's speech with how differently things have happened.

for example, he says (paraphrasing) 'we travelled across realms to fix your (Vex/Vax) fucking daddy issues', but in TLOVM he obviously never went with them to the Fey realm. it's just interesting to think about how they'll go about it without those small pieces that he mentions.

however my gut does tell me that Vex interrupting Scanlan talking to Pike about Kaylie with the 'nobody gives a shit (...)' will play some kind of part in whatever speech he gives, and that more moments like that and the balcony scene from episode 3 are definitely gonna happen in the lead up to it.

also, slightly unrelated, to defend Vex there: Pike and Vax are the only ones that know Scanlan has a daughter. Pike is the only one that knows she's Kaylie. so it's highly likely Vex and everyone else (maybe excluding Vax if he can put two and two together but idk) thinks he's just talking about some random woman called Kaylie.

[atamascolily]

Lily liveblogs: Thunderbolt Fantasy Final Movie

This is a 90-minute highlight reel from what should have been an entire fifth season, and while it's chock-full of Crowing Moments of Awesome, the pacing is so intense that there's little time to appreciate them before we're rushing onto the next thing.

Am I happy we got this movie? Yes. Will I forever mourn what could have been? Also yes.

Full confession: I knew what happened going in thanks to summaries posted by @fujimusume and others. However, I wanted to reserve judgement until I'd had a chance to see the movie for myself, which was ultimately a good call--I ended up liking it far more than I had initially thought.

That said, I think if I hadn't had the last 3 months to process it, I would have been emotionally devastated, especially since the movie basically dumps everything all at once with very little pause for reflection.

that said, I need to watch this movie again, so this is just a list of of-the-cuff thoughts rather than anything more coherent

Dan Fei delivers exposition, hahaha

Juan Can Yun gets his spear back! Unfortunately, the whole "Dan clan style hybridization" subplot that I wanted never really develops (boo! it was right there!!) but at least we get our lancer back. Dan Fei knows better than to send her husband out into battle with a handicap.

I love the demon castle so much!!! The worldbuilding is a little vague, but I am interpreting it as the Demon King building his castle on a creature (possibly a sleeping demon god?) and then Azi pops in the Lang battery + the seals to charge it up and away we go!

do you think the Demon King realizes Azi has his own agenda or what

love how Shang spends the first portion of the movie just running around hitting things with an axe and showing up 15 minutes late with Starbucks a Shen Hui Mo Xie lol

hey there, Divine Swarm puppets! We thought you were dead! And they are, but I still love them.

I feel like the Azi/Chao Feng battle is proof of the whole "heretical sorcery is the same as demonic arts" bit.

I gasped when all 3 of Azi's swords merged into one BIG sword, lol

Lie's "strange bedfellows"/"the enemy of my enemy is my friend" pivot is so funny

thematically, I really love the juxtaposition of Azi and Locust vs Lang and Chao Feng, and the mutual theme of children defying what their parents want for them

Chao Feng's death was genuinely moving, I wish we'd had a little more time with that

LANG WU YAO PHOENIX RESURRECTION, LET'S FUCKING GO~~~

I was wondering how Lang was going to fight now that his weapon is human, but apparently Lie just tosses him an arm and it transforms into a sword???? Okay, I guess that works???

also love the way Lie uses his pipa strings, first to restrain Azi, and then as a way for Lang to play them to use his sonic magic to attack Azi - so good

Lang's rejection of Azi was also a tearjerker, I'm so proud of him.

I did want to see Demon God Lang and/or more of Hot Sexy Demon Lang from S4, but no luck, sigh.

that whole arc turned out very differently than I thought, and I'm okay with it (although I still think my original ideas were interesting and plausible)

Lie Mo Xian is so funny and over the top, I love him.

you can also see the moment Shang recognizes him when he hands him the Scrying Mirror... he knows

this movie is also really hobbled by cutting Lin's demon realm intrigue plots in S4... there are hints of it in the way he uses the demon nobles to haunt Achaenus, but it all feels a little out of nowhere.

great reuse of demon noble puppets, that scene was genuinely disturbing in a gothic haunting way, A+

LIN XUE YA LOUNGING SEXILY ON THE THRONE slkajfslkgjfadlgkjdf

the character poem immediately on the heels of this was just icing on the cake

THANK YOU PILI FOR GIVING ME THIS

actually, every scene with Lin and the Demon King was explicitly catering to me, so thanks for that

the way they move, as a battle of equals and opposites!!!! so pretty! AAAAH

(I was right, the Demon King's pipe is also a sword, because of course it is!)

also Lin's "hi, Sir Shang!" and little wave when Shang turns up in the middle of the fight--S-tier flirting and best possible reveal.

Shang being like "Wtf, I'm so done" and walking out was great, too

The Demon King trying to absorb Lin was fantastic, as well as Lin pulling the same "you thought you were fighting me, but I was actually behind you the whole time" trick that Mami uses against Homura in Rebellion

you know, I had "Lin using Night of Mourning" on my wishlist, but I didn't think I'd actually get it!! Lin/Night of Mourning is the real ship here, hahaha.

the battle against the demons is kind of a letdown after all that buildup, RIP

I also wanted to see the castle fight

pretty sure the hanjiao were created by the demons and/or domesticated and the "wild" ones we see are ferals, not that the show ever mentions it. But how else to explain why the hanjiao are working with demons rather than attacking them, come on.

JuanFei battle power couple, my beloved.

so surprised Bo Yan Hou survived this movie, holy crap

Locust turning up and showing his face in public was so strange. Tian Ming gets sidelined explicitly so she won't give the game away, sigh.

also no demon gods are released in the end, COME ON

Locust takes all the holy swords (but not the bad ones, come on!) and turns into a Kamen Rider villain

Shang vs. Locust was great, actually. I gasped when the sky started splitting and Locust had no clue.

BAI LIAN DEUS EX MACHINA? Bai Lian as alt-Susu confirmed???

(same theme and character poem, even)

I knew the swords would go back by the end, but Locust getting isekai'd to the Piliverse and losing his powers along with them is poetic justice

Shang leaping across the abyss to the Demon King's palace was EPIC

My prediction that Lin would fake his death came true in the best way possible, hahahaha

Shang recognizing him through the disguise... perfection.

everything about that scene fed my shipper heart.

love Lang's outfit post-time skip

I don't love the time travel ending twist, so I'm ignoring it. Way to make things weird, Urobuchi.

I was so sad when I heard that Shang ends up traveling alone, but that last scene was so moving, and my shipper heart was so fed by their previous interactions, that I'm assuming this is a brief moment of peace before Lin turns up again.

This movie is far from perfect, sometimes from rushed pacing and sometimes from Urobuchi's decisions (some of which might have landed better with more space in the story) BUT the parts that land work so well and are catered so explicitly to my tastes that it's hard to be too mad about the disappointments (I say after 3 months of grieving).

Overall, I can live with the movie as it stands, but my plan going forward is to take what I like and ignore/change the rest in fanworks, like you do. and also watch it again because I know I missed a lot.

[dawnbirdwhistle]

Fei Vyctri, my tiefling Windwalker Monk of Akadi 🌬️🌀

She is an NPC from a trio in the Shadowfell-based dnd campaign I am writing called Cascade Down the Umbrae. I do plan on making it a free module when it is done, narrative heavy, gothic-dark fantasy vibes set in the Shadowfell 👥🦇 That'll be a few years in the future, but I am in love with this corner I am building in the Forgotten Realms, and happy to yap about it! ^^ I've never been one to have a lot of original characters, but I am finding my voice :D But didn't I say it's a Shadowfell based campaign? Why so colourful and magical? Because this is her sanctuary, maybe even a place in the Elemental Plane of Air ^^ She is also a Mephistopheles tiefling, but doesn't use any spells that deal fire damage bc of her loyalty to Akadi - so I wrote an unchangeable feat for her that is literally the archdevil being petty like "um. UM HEY, Remember me?? i don't know, like... the FACT that I am your ANCESTOR??" So... basically, based on a d10 roll once per short rest, Mephistopheles might be like "hEy" and make her spell deal extra fire damage orr fully convert it to fire damage xd I just find it so fun to write deities/archdevils being petty 😂 But anyways, holy yap, I hope you like her :)

[caettey]

writing fanfictions isnt enough. I need more iron fey in my life. So I made some of the characters in Infinity Nikki. here my contribution to the fandom to keep it alive (i havent used tumblr in years forgive me) Meet Mab (I dont have black lenses so her eyes are blue)

Titania (I couldnt find a better gold for her hair)

And Nyx. (please use your imagination and think the cloak is black, I couldnt dye it)

Also what the hell does Nyx wear? I cant remember and didnt bother to look it up again. It has been a while since I read the books. But I think if the cloak was black like a cape it would be fine??

also bonus: my OC, Puck and Nyx´s daughter- Aeri.

(dont hate me for it, I love my OC with all my heart + I think it would be cute if they had a daughter, imagine her thinking Keirran is like her brother and calling him Kei, because she is super close with Meghan and Ash so she hangs around the Iron Realm a lot and well hangs out with Keirran as well since he is their child. Puck being happy to have a partner in crime, and Oberon and Titania being busy with stopping two prankster before they burn down Arcadia.) (she has green and golden eyes as a mix of her parents and fights a little like Camellya from Wuthering waves.) (also gave her feathers because Puck is a raven and she OF COURSE MUST ALSO BE A RAVEN, she embraces her raven nature a lot.) (main color red but she likes wearing green because it reminds her of her dad) (puck is extremely proud of her and rubs it into Ash´s face every chance he gets) (anyway going back to writing my fanfictions about her and the iron fey charas which is 16k words long so far ahahahha, im obsessed with this fandom)

[toviewfanart]

The Owl House meets D&D classes

Eda - Thief Rogue & Wild Magic Sorcerer (& Bard):

Why Rogue?

Because that’s what she is!

She’s the most wanted criminal in the Boiling Isles, an enemy of the crown for her refusal to give up her independence and join the crooked coven system.

In D&D plenty of rogues operate independently outside of any organized group, and just like her they sometimes find themselves recruiting apprentices to help them in their trade.

Rogues are also characterized as those who bring “resourcefulness and Versatility”, and unlike most witches, Eda had access to all her magic.

“Do you think all my wanted posters are for petty theft? Partly.” – Eda, “Convention.”

She’s a Thief Rogue, 100%.

Why Sorcerer?

One could easily argue Demon Realm witches are what D&D calls sorcerers because their magical ability comes from their biology, it is innate to them.

But to me, that’s a bit boring, and so it isn’t why I chose Sorcerer for Eda.

I chose it because of a particular kind of Sorcerer one can be born as or become.

The Wild Magic Sorcerer.

Our Owl Lady is of course as wild as a spellcaster can get in the show, but she is also ‘wild’ in the way D&D sorcerers are.

Those sorcerers have chaotic magic in them, that can “underlie the order of creation.”

You see, there are a few explanations for how such a Sorcerer is “created” in D&D.

They include a “blessing” of a powerful fey creature, a mark of a demon, or just exposure to some form of raw magic.

And like Eda’s curse, it gave them the ability to unleash surges of “untamed” magic.

(Also, because the subclass comes with an ability called ‘Tides of Chaos’.)

Why Bard?

Because of Eda's Requiem. Go rewatch it.

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

I’ll corrupt every branch of this family tree

Chapter 3

Written with @hannahhook7744 <3

Chapter 3:

Bubblegum bitch: Heard you have the king over. Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: How do you even know that. Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: Aren’t you still in the council meeting or whatever. Bubblegum bitch: Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy? Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there- there: AUDREY [Bubblegum bitch sent a video] Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: This better not be the meme video of that pie eating contest Ben and I had again.  Bubblegum bitch: Obviously not. This is a top-notch recording of CJ chatting with… something. From the Shadow Realm. I think it’s just Freddie but bets are out. Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: That’s somehow worse. [Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there sent a picture] Bubblegum bitch: You dyed your hair? Stop copying me.  Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: 🙄 I'm not copying you.  Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: Chloe and Dizzy talked me into it. Bubblegum bitch: Talked you into it or bullied you into it 😂.  Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: Shut up.  Bubblegum bitch: Make me.  [Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there sent a post] Bubblegum bitch: CHAD DELETE THAT PHOTO RIGHT NOW! Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: Make me <3 Bubblegum bitch: You bitch ):{ Prince-of-Not-a-lot-of-there-there: U started it. 

Audrey raised her phone to get a better view of the shadowy mass writhing near her grandma. She had given up on pretending to be discreet and hey, if she gets a good enough look, she might win a bet with Uma and Harry.

 CJ, of course, noticed when she was being filmed, and striked a pose for the camera. Freaking drama queen–

“Audrea.” Grammy said sharply. 

„Yes, Grammy?“

„Call this <i>off</i>,“ she almost hissed. Audrey decided to ignore that and play dumb.

„Call what off? The meeting? But we haven’t covered the resources for borderlands <i>or</i> reopening the negotiation with the Moors yet!“

CJ snickered. Because of course she did. 

„Call <i>her</i> off,“ restated Grandma with the smallest of gestures.

„Who?“ Audrey looked around the room to see whichever representative had been the most annoying lately.

„Oh, Lady Starlight, you heard grandmother: It is time you depart from this meeting, and we thank you for your valuable time.“

„Bye! Don’t come back!“ added CJ while grandmother and Lady Starlight seethed. Good thing Audrey didn’t give a fuck.

And it seemed she wasn't the only one who was amused, if the smiles several council members were trying to hide were anything to go by. 

Audrey smiled brightly.

„So, the Moors?“ she asked the room. CJ settled back onto the table and into flirting with the Shadows, which were <i>totally</i> Freddie’s.

They only got as far as stating that negotiations with the fey will need to be opened before CJ got up.

„Right. This is boring,“ she stated, „I’m out!“ 

She then proceeded to fling herself to the window, and right out of it; the Shadows conveniently vanished.

Well. There went Audrey's entertainment for the night.

Rats. 

She walked to the window too and pushed aside several nobles who went to check if the chaos child survived, gaping. Predictably, there was no crumpled body after a jump from five stories high: As she said, CJ was ghost proof.

She was willing to bet Freddie had kidnapped her mid-flight, too.

She wondered if the Facilier witches would catch her too.

Whoever had decided to let Chad watch five children and three animals on his own was, as kindly as Ben could possibly put it, a complete and utter moron. 

Not that he'd ever say that out loud, of course.

He had manners.

But seriously, who thought this was a good idea?

Chad looked exhausted.

And no, the make-up done by the little girls did not really help that. …The glitter did look fun, though.

…No, not fun enough to have it on him too, thank you so much, Chloe.

„Chloe, baby, remember the lesson mom and dad gave you about the people with cameras?“ interjected Chad.

Chloe nodded.

„Then you know Ben can’t play dress-up, right?“

„Yeah. Sorry, Ben,“ the little girl pouted a bit as she said so.

Thank goodness.

Gemma tugged on Ben's sleeve, waving a crayon in front of his nose. “This grass color?”

„Yes. That’s green,“ he affirmed. A little pause. „What are you drawing?“

The three year old paused. “Home! You want’a see?”

Ben, seeing that Dizzy was starting to eye his hair, decided that he will need to see Chad another time. And maybe have a chat with whoever decided to let him babysit that many kids.

He moved his wrist away from the shadow tendril that was starting to curl around his watch.

„Celia!“ yelped Chad, „<i>No shadow magic inside</i>!“

Seriously, who let him babysit Celia?

[ilanarose7]

Besides the general main plot of the Bells Hells campaign, there is a lot of catching up to do between Dorian, all of Bells Hells, and just generally with each other. Here are some of the things that they all need to catch each other up on:

SPOILERS BELOW:

Non-main plot things Bells Hells have to catch Dorian up on:

Nightmare King is kind of their ally now (depends on how they all feel after that mission), Fearne's biological dad is one of the bad guys, Beau and Caleb, Ashton did a thing and almost died so they had some group therapy with Fearne's grandma in the Fey Realm, Fearne and Ashton have Fire and Earth Titan abilities respectively, Orym saying during group therapy: "I really miss Dorian and sometimes I think that's okay and sometimes I think it isn't", all-things Delilah, the threesome, FRIDA+FCG, Imodna

Things Dorian needs to catch Bells Hells up on:

Everything that happened in EXU: Kymal, Morrighan (Orym and Fearne don't even know her), being on the run, the Spider Queen taking control and what happened to the Crown Keepers during that fight for the past two episodes (Dorian talked about some of it, but it seemed like Fearne and Orym still had questions)

Things everyone needs to talk about:

Calling FRIDA, Orym's new abilities (the deal with Nana Morri), just generally everyone processing their traumas and grief

Let me know in the tags/comments if I missed anything! Again, these aren't main moon-adjacent plot points, just general character things I think are worth everyone knowing that I can think of off the top of my head