#Fire Snakes (Classification)

[diejager]

Hi! I got the notification that your requests are open skjsjsjs so exciting, can you do something about the noodle dragon with Monster!Task Force 141 please? That would be all, thank you and have a nice day! ❤️✨

Cw: canon-typical violence, weird water magic, weird dragon/monster shit and lore, death, crash, tell me if I missed any.

They’d gotten used to you over the month, watching you prance around them like a graceful panther in hunt, stalking around them with that cheeky smile of yours and a clawed hand always ready to patch someone up. You were a might dragon, a warm to some classifications and an Asian one to others, but the consensus was that you weren’t one to be trifled with —as most dragons were, but if anything, you were so a feline in a body of a dragon than the ferocious monster you were. Always prowling and on guard, watchful and observant, aware of the events transpiring around you like a protective cat.

They took well to you, forgoing the paranoia and apprehension at your eagerness to help them and you openness, your long tail, hard scales protecting the thick cords of sinewy muscles curled ever so softly around them, and the tuff of fur tickling any naked piece of skin. And however tender and soft-hearted you were, they’d seen the dangerous part of you, the draconic one with a strange affinity to water rather than the destructive fire they were so familiar with. Whereas Price was a chaotic force, burning everything on his path and leaving nothing but cinder and ash, you were an unmoving force of water, a typhoon and cyclone that would crash the land and leave broken pieces of what remained, cold and drowned —the calm before the storm as people said, a perfect imagery of you.

Yet there was a lingering suspicion that it was all, that there was a more monstrous part of you hidden away from their eyes. Horangi had shared such thoughts - another mythical creature of sacredness and nobility - and showed them what hehad heard of eastern dragons: giant snake-like creatures with the faces of lions and crowns of graceful antlers, born with lustrous manes and hard but flexible scales that let them dance and twirl as they wished it. Destructive beauty, Horangihad mumbled, a creature who’s image is drawn to represent beauty and nobility. 

They knew, they were fully aware, that you had more to show, yet they couldn’t hold back the awe and amazement that followed the gut-deep fear and worry after they saw you fall, your figure shrinking as you plummeted into the dark and silent ocean, gone into the wide, open sea. Rather than seeing your head pop out, gasping for air while they clung to their straps and helicopter, Nikolai screaming through the comma about holding onto something, swirling left and right to avoid being hit a second time by the war ship, it was calm, a smooth plain growing in darkness, a shape forming beneath the veil of a blue ocean. 

Then, before they knew it, a majestic serpent erupted from the sea, wet scales gleaming under the sun while you rose into the sky in a spiral, white fur floating like you hadn’t just come out of water. You were swift, curling in the air, your magicworking it’s wonder when you flew, stubby arms and legs moving as if you were swimming, looping around them to shield them from being narrowly hit. It was as Horangi gushed, water rose and fell with you, tendrils of salty water reaching out to curl around you, rising high to swarm the enemy ship the same way you did, circling around it until it was left submerged, swallowed up by your hydromancy. You had drowned warship in the depth of the abyss, a dark and cold pit that promised a lonely death, forgotten and painful. You had caused the deaths of hundreds with a twirling dance, an alluring, yet deadly show, like an oleander.

You made no show of joining them in the aircraft, keeping your distance from them, adequate enough to protect them from further damage without becoming a danger to them. They - especially Price, since he had never seen an eastern dragon, only from files and catalogues - gawked, gazing at your head-sized eye, blinking owlishly at them with a narrowed eyes, slitted pupil gleaming with glee at their admiration. You purred, a growling rumble that shook your gills, a deep sound shuddering through them like thunder, low and booming, but it was a happy sound, meant to comfort them from the near sinking that you’d saved them from.

Even in this situation, where they’d been saved by you, you were still trying to comfort them and reassure them despite having taken a hit or two. They were glad Laswell found you.

Taglist: @craxy-person @crowbird-kamakse @dead-cipher @iwannabealocalcryptid @iizx7y @mxtokko @capricorn-anon @perfectus-in-morte @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @angelcakes-22 @ramadiiiisme @ramblingsofachaoticthinker @im-making-an-effort @love-dove-noora @jinxxangel13 @daisychainsinknots @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @mul-pi @danielle143 @beau-min @makayla-666 @urfavsunkissedleo @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @luvecarson @petwifed @randominstake @heartelysia @jggykhug09090 @hayleybarnesx @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @call-me-nyxx @sans-chara @cod-z @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @thigh-o-saur @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami @cassiecasluciluce @sobbingnshtting

[dangerous-yam-fries]

Male Naga x GN!Reader - NSFW

Asks and Suggestions are open and encouraged!

Warnings: prehensile dicks, hemipenes (two dicks), kidnapping, MILD drowning???, stalking, envenomation, double dick handjob, MINORS LEAVE GET OUT OF HERE!

You had been researching a multitude of lower classifications from the Chordata phylum, eventually becoming a member of a research term for the study of Serpentes-Homo Sapiens. Snake people, Naga, whatever you want to call them. Even if you didn’t find the famed Naga, you were excited to be in a different country surrounded by foreign life, so you bore with the bugs and humidity.

You were wading through a stagnant, mucky pond in your thick plastic overalls, while sweat slicked the inside of your clothes, mud and pond scum on the outside.

At first, you were simply gathering water samples, but that quickly turned into more of a fun, exploratory session as you walked in the water. It came up to about the middle of your thigh, so it wasn’t too deep, just a little mushy under your feet. You made sure to wear water shoes, they fit comfortably, but you could still feel rocks and pebbles poking the pads of your feet as you walked slowly into the middle of the pond.

“Well, aren’t you cool…” You mumble as you inspect a larva of a diving beetle. It looks like a grub with thin back plates and stringy antenna as the water around it clears up. It quickly retreats into the depths of the pond, leaving you to wander through the water. You decided to catalog the different fauna and flora, soon getting distracted and losing track of time.

You were so enthralled with the beauty and complexity of the biome that you didn’t notice you were being watched. Stalked, even.

Hyacinth laid eyes on the first day you landed at the camp, and for some reason, he simply couldn’t take his eyes off you. You were captivating, the way your sweat glistened on your skin like morning dew, how your face flushed under the sun, making your blemishes, scars, and freckles look like stars.

But he could never look into your eyes, for you’d surely notice him then. For weeks, he was content to merely watch your fluttering figure, but he soon hungered for more. So he waited until you were utterly alone, too far away from your fellow researchers for them to help you. And here you were, far away from any human life, and utterly distracted, sneaking up on you was far too easy.

You were suddenly pulled under the water, it wasn’t deep, but it was certainly enough to drown in. You held your breath as you kicked and struggled against whatever was trying to kill you, but it was no use. Opening your mouth, you felt water fill your throat and spill into your lungs, your eyes stung and your body felt like it was on fire. The muddy water soon turned black as you lost all consciousness.

Hyacinth was absolutely smitten with you by the time he made it to his home, he relished in forcing the water out of your lungs, it only gave him an excuse to kiss you. After multiple hours entrapped in Hyacinth’s warm tail you coughed and sputtered awake.

“Mmm pet~” Your body jolted awake at the sound of a person’s voice, your heart beating rapidly when you lay your eyes upon the owner of said voice. You choke when you see him. A real, live Naga, the very creature you had been searching so hard for.

“Awake, are we?” He smiles and you see a flicker of his tongue dart out of his mouth and caress your cheek. “Don’t be scared, pet. I won’t hurt you.” His face is right up against yours, and you find yourself staring straight into his eyes.

“Beautiful…” You hadn’t even remembered the events that transpired prior to your fainting as you swooned at his eyes. The scleras were reminiscent of opal, with purples, pinks and greens wrinkled together in the shiny orb. His pupils were two black slits as sharp as glass.

He found himself blushing at that, you thought he was beautiful! A joyous pure erupts in his throat as his forked tongue flicks over your lips. “W-who are you? Uh… I’m (Name), I, I think?” You mumbled, suddenly out of breath with your mind going a mile a minute.

“Hyacinth…” His tongue licked at your lips, his eyes not breaking from yours, even when they started to water. Your eyes were even more dazzling than he thought they would be. They looked as bright as the sun, practically glowing, or maybe that was the light of the fire… “I am Hyacinth”

“Hyacinth… like the flower?” You inquired, your breath hitching for no apparent reason. Your mind didn’t even register the intimate proximity, or his tongue gliding upon your lips, occasionally licking at your tongue and probing into your mouth.

“Like the flower.” He smiled, he was so happy to have you here, in his arms, wrapped in his tail, and so very receptive to his… courting. You glanced around you, breaking eye contact with Hyacinth to gaze at his tail. It was so purple, with scales like fuchsia petals, shining in the fires light like fireflies. He really looked so beautiful. His skin was a handsome tan, painted with freckles and scars and burns, like cartography on a worn map.

“M-may I, touch you?” You hesitantly reached your dominant hand out, just barely ghosting over his shoulder.

He trilled at this, taking your hands and placing them on his chest, cupping his sinewy breasts. “You may touch anywhere you please, (Name).” He drawled out your name, savoring the sound on his tongue.

You shivered, and squeezed his chest slightly, blushing at the way he flushed underneath you. Your hands slid to his shoulders, rubbing the freckles and scars on the rosy brown skin, your heart was pounding out of your rib cage by the time you laid your hands on his tail.

Your breath hitched, eyes widening when you touch the very end of his tail, the coil of scales coming to a bumpy end. “You’re so beautiful… Hyacinth.” You gulped, and caressed the tip, rubbing the scaly tail with your fingers, stopping when you heard him let out a strangled sound. “Is everything alright?” You ask worriedly, but still not letting go of his tail.

Hyacinth’s breath is labored, his eyes narrow, but not in malice. “J-just a little, sensitive there, pet.” He still manages a smile, glistening fangs shining in his mouth. Your face goes red as you become aware of a wet mess beneath you, two pinkish-purple tips peeking out of a glistening genital slit.

“O-oh, I’m, I’m sorry.” You gulp, and after a moment of self reflection, your mind hazy with scientific desire, you ask a confirming question. “I, I may touch, anywhere, right?” You practically drool at the sight of his twitching sex as your fingers run along his slit and spread it, letting loose his two cocks.

“Not waiting for an answer…” He said, less of a question and more of an observation as your fingers glide along the length of his dick, tracing the lithe veins as they curl around your hand. “They’re prehensile…” He gets bolder, rocking into your touch, his hands making quick work of your own clothes.

You don’t say anything as you play with them, gripping the bases and letting them wrap around your hands, thrusting in and out of them. Hyacinth moans and shudders just inches away from your face, muttering lewd phrases and dirty words, giving you quite a show.

“A little tighter, pet~ Your hands are so warm, I’m sure your insides are warmer~” He twitches and sighs as your hands clasp around his dicks even tighter, becoming slippery with slick and precum as you pump your hands slightly. “So, so good. More, faster, pet, please.” His voice is broken up and shaky, like music to your ears as he pants and moans. You comply, rubbing your hands on his prehensile cocks even faster, tighter, still pumping his lengths even after he paints your hands with cum.

“Ahhh~ p-pet, too much, slow down for me!” You try to stop but your hands move on their own, eyes tearing up with his as his nails dig into your bare waist. You stop your hands, not realizing how close he is to another orgasm as he bites into your shoulder, gasps racking his body.

Your tears fall as your eyes roll back, your body being pumped full of his venom. Choking, you can’t breathe, your throat seizing up, noticing this, Hyacinth kisses you roughly, forcing air down your lungs. Your brain activity is slowed, so you don’t even notice your body being lifted above his cocks and genital slit.

“It won’t hurt, pet.” He takes his lips away from yours, but only for a second as he continues helping you to breathe. Your hole tingles as he rubs his dicks against it, lathering it with his cum and slick before plunging a prehensile penis inside. “You are warm, pet~” His lips meet yours again, resuming the kiss.

One of his dicks thrusts in and out of your hole, curling against your most pleasurable parts, flaring at the entrance, giving your hole a good stretch. He drools and slobbers on your lips, his saliva dripping down your chin and his as he thrusts even faster. His other cock moves to caress your sex, rubbing it up and down and getting it wet with cum. It curls around your tip, squeezing and rubbing it mercilessly.

His cocks bully your sex, your body shaking from overstimulation even with the effects of his venom. It feels like you’re on fire, but unlike in the pond, it’s a pleasant burn, one that lights the fires of passion and lust as your insides constrict and tighten around his prehensile dick.

Your insides squeeze around him, your sex twitching against his dick as he ruts against it even faster, determined to deliver you a mind-shattering orgasm. You cum hard, getting the both of you even wetter, his dick squelching its cum inside of you as he reaches his own orgasm. He moans into your mouth, eyes locked with yours as he continues to hump your insides, eating up your sobs as overstimulation racks your brain.

You’ll have plenty of time to study him, especially his mating process. After all, the first session can take up to 75 hours. And he would make sure your hole milked him dry, daring not to spill a drop.

[bonefall]

I'm really sorry if you already answered but I did look through the whole lexicon and used control+f. Do we have words for Lizards/Newts//Salamanders/Reptiles?

I wanted to see the Clanmew names for 2 OCs Lizardsong and Salamanderclaw. The second being a Skyclan Daylight Warrior!

The word for reptile is "Skeep"! It is a wingless, typically scaled animal without fish "wings". So, it actually includes amphibians as well. This is because there are very few reptiles in the UK; Clan cats don't see why an amphibian is not simply a water-reptile.

So to them, a lizard is a four-legged reptile with a tail. It includes all of the newts that they encounter on a regular basis, even though these are technically amphibians. What are you gonna do, teach the cats cladistics?

Lizard (Generic) = Ssassa Adult newts and lizards, without breeding season adornments. Has 6 species.

Sail (of a fish or a breeding male newt) = Saoss The dorsal fins on top of a fish or a breeding male newt.

Viviparous Lizard (Zootoca vivipara) = Sipssa Eggs are much rarer in this part of the world than you might think. Like its name suggests, the viviparous lizard typically gives live birth, which is likened to the adder. This is the most common lizard in the area, encountered by all Clans.

Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis) = Hwoossa Named for being seen mostly in WindClan's sandy lowland heath, because this IS an animal that lays eggs. It needs sunny, sandy areas to be able to hatch a brood.

Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) = Fyenssa A contraction of "Flame's Lizard," for the quirk where these newts will often hide in piles of cold, wet wood, only to flee out when a fire is lit. The most common newt to encounter, feel free to translate as "salamander!"

Palmate Newt (Lissotriton helveticus) = Horrssa The "shade newt," so named because this one generally prefers forested, green areas. Its tail is much fatter than the other newts.

Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) = Gisis What was once the Tribemew word for all lizards now only describes the great crested newt, the largest and most respected of the "lizard" classification. An accomplished hunter with an impressive sail during its breeding season, on both the back and the tail.

Some extra facts about newts and lizards in general...

Scientifically, all newts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are newts. You could translate any one of these words as "salamander."

Through their lives, newts will have terrestrial phases and aquatic phases.

Britain's cold climate and isolation as an island means there are very few reptiles in general; amphibian species outnumber them because it is very wet.

Slowworms are technically a lizard, but Clan cats believe they are a snake.

Clan cats also believe that snakes were not originally reptiles, but worms. There is a story about a cat who hunted them to extinction and then had to recreate them from memory, forgetting that worms don't have scales.

[passionateseadruid]

Why Lucifer is a dragon

Okay Fine! I'll write the essay you savages! But as consolation I'm tagging it as whatever the hell I want!

One may ask themselves what a mythical creature of Sin has to do with a quirky father in an adult Cartoon. Everything! That is what they have to do with each other! He has the religious evidence to back it up. He has the form of a dragon. Finally he has the symbolism. Throughout this essay the intent will be made to prove without a doubt Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel is certifiably 100% a dragon.

Onto the first point: what makes a dragon. Dragons have many forms from European six limbed beasts of destruction to Asian four limbed creatures of prosperity. Lucifer may seem like he fits into the Eurocentric definition of dragon but considering he has 6 wings that may shed some doubt on the credibility of this thesis. Fear not however, for according to Christian History For Everyman a seraph is defined a 1) a fiery serpent and 2) a six winged being. This seems pretty conclusive that some people saw seraphs as serpentine creatures. "Heavenly creatures of fire stood above him. Each creature had six wings" (Isaiah 6:2 — New Century Version). What more is there to say? So to recap Seraph (the singular form of Seraphim) are six winged angelic creatures with fire and serpent connotations.

Point 2: His form. Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel has a very unique form in the show. "According to Vivziepop... demons that appear more humanoid-looking, such as Lucifer and Charlie, are actually quite rare" (Hazbin hotel wiki, Demons page). So not only is his appearance called out to be quite different by the creator herself but as is about to be brought up in the show his "other" form is quite unique as well. Sera and Emily do have different forms from each other in their full angelic forms but they do have similarities, such as their long lashes and a third eye in their foreheads, as well as gaining several dozen eyes (Season 1 episode 6). Lucifer However notably lacks a third eye on his forehead. Some might ask themselves "why is this in the essay?" reason 1 to pad the run time, reason 2 because it demonstrates that Lucifer can have a draconic form even if he is still biologically an angel. Onto Lucifer's appearance! Lucifer's other form (his demonic form) has crooked horns with a small fire in between them, a snake shaped halo (Quite possibly being the same snake wrapped around his hat in his normal form), six wings (like previously mentioned), and a black tail with a red heart in the center of the triangular tip, as well as breathing fire at Lute when he tells her to "Go home" (Season 1 episode 8). When people think of dragon they usually think of the Eurocentric type of dragons that have two front legs, two back legs, wings, a tail, and horns (though a lot dragons/dragon variants (I.e. wyrms, wyvern, drakes etc.) have horns, even Asian dragons).

Finally onto point three. Symbolism of sin. Lucifer is the sin of pride in both the show and in the Peter Binsfeld classification of demons. "In 1589 Binsfield published [a]... list of demons and their associated sins... Lucifer (pride)" (Wikipedia, Peter Binsfeld page). An important thing to note is that other lists also have Lucifer as the sin of pride such as the Lanterne of light. Dragons are also the ultimate symbol of sin. Being big and powerful (both good to represent Pride and Wrath), sitting on mounds of gold all day (Greed and Sloth), kidnaping princesses/generally beautiful women (Lust), and eating any humans who come by especially if they're trying to save said women (Gluttony and Envy).

Bonus:

Dragons are literally associated with the guy

So to recap Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel is a dragon. He has the religious evidence to back it up. He has the biology to back it up. Finally he has the symbolism to back it up. If somehow this essay isn't convincing enough then 2-3 hours have been wasted on making this.

Isaiah 6:2

Demons

Peter Binsfeld

[jouno-s]

lord the dragons vs wyverns debate under EVERY single post about the ASOIAF dragons is getting so so boring 😭

dragons are not real. wyverns are not real. they are not real animals with strict taxonomic classification. if grrm says his flying lizards with two legs that breathe fire are dragons, then they’re dragons. if another author were to say that a snake-chicken with a horse head is a dragon in their universe, then it’s a dragon. i cannot stress enough that these creatures are NOT REAL 😭

[fuckthisshitimin]

I spent too much time just staring at the other spreadsheet but look I think I'm onto something.

You know the DPHW/TSHU IDs? Yeah I've been staring at those for the most part of my day, and I very much had other things to do so I hope I can get my mind off it soon.

I've read the Theory of Fears, and it's cool but it doesn't scratch the itch in my brain because this is a classification system used by the OIAR; so the codes you get should give you... an assessment and a suggestion of response, I guess.

I don't know what the letters stand for yet, I don't speak German, but I highly doubt the numbers are 'ratings', that would be extremely inefficient. More likely, they're sub-categories. I'm gonna disprove this example in half a paragraph but just to illustrate:

Let's admit D=T is Death=Tod, then we have cases 5246 (the dug up corpse with a tattoo of a boat), 5257 (the woman who sees something that is "some of [her deceased partner]") and 5337 (Dr. Frankenstein). Cases 4426, 4622, 4728, 4824 are respectively; death by snake horde transformation, death by gambling shady app, death by Bonzo crashing your bachelor's party and death by Needles. So if D=T is Death=Tod more than a scale of deadliness it might be

D (death)

non-lethal

violent death (misc)

???

violent death (creature)

corpse desacration/post-mortem vitality

???

feeding

or something like that. No it doesn't work because the D3 cases have very different attitudes towards death, but maybe I'm just missing something crucial.

Now I don't know if that would be correct in German, but I kinda want D=T to be Department=Teilung. Why? At the end of report 3338 (Hilltop Road - Oxford Trust taken over by volunteers), the person says she escaped and then was held at gunpoint by a man wearing black, who let her go when she cried and seemingly partook in burning the store down. Report 3354 (fateful dice) was a statement given to TMI which also burned down. Now, the location of report 3366 (liminal brutality) has not been burned down. So that might just be a coincidence - though if Forton Services catches fire I'll get to say I called it.

But okay, you want to know what's very interesting if I'm at least a little right? 2275.

That's the DPHW for Bonzo's first appearance. That's also the number on Fr3-d1's boot screen on the trailer, with the date 29/05/2023. That's... around six months before canon, right? Around the time Sam had his 'Incident' at work, right? Unlike Bonzo's Incident who's a CAT1RB, this one is a CATIRB, and it's the only one so far with a letter for "CAT". So if I'm right, the conclusion of a "2275" is hire this guy. Why would Lena be so deterrent in the interview then? I don't know.

And if I'm right, you know what might be funnier? The D4 ones.

Because Bonzo's Bachelor Bash has a D4, and he was kinda sent by the OIAR. Serpent shop owner was maybe too obsessed about a certain institute? Don't know if this is gonna be anything, but if the D4 are cases originating from OIAR 'external contractors' I'll be so thrilled.

Okay, I'll stop looking at a screen now and get some sleep. Hope I'll do something else tomorrow.

[adarkrainbow]

Green in fairytales (a Pastoureau translation)

In France, Michel Pastoureau has earned himself a strong reputation as a "historian of colors" thanks to very thorough and well-researched books he published about the history, evolution, uses and cultural connotations of each color (blue, green, red, black...). I borrowed from my library a copy of his book about green (Vert, Histoire d'une couleur ; Green, History of a color) and what a surprise! There is a segment about fairytales in there!

The book is organized by chronology, with a first segment covering the origins of humanity up to the year 1000 (Green: An uncertain color) ; then a second part deals with the span between the leventh and the fourteenth centuries (A courtly color) ; a third the span between the 14th and 16th (A dangerous color)... But what interests us is the fourth part, "A secondary color: 16th-19th centuries".

This part is divided itself into several sub-sections. "Protestant morality" "The green of painters" "New knowledge, new classifications", "Alceste's ribbons and green in theater" ; "Green during the Enlightenment", etc... And one of those subsections is called "Superstitions and fairy tales".

I won't copy all of this sub-section, because the first part about superstitions covers theatrical superstitions and other beliefs - but here is a rough translation of the part about fairytales.

A same ambiguity is observed in fairy tales, a literary genre that the 17th century did not invent, but renewed and made very famous. Notations of color are rare but very significant and the green might be less recurring than black, white or red, but it is the color of supernatural beings, notably of fairies. In several European regions of the modern era, fairies are called "dames vertes" (French for "green ladies"), Die grünen Damen, or The green fairies. This is due to several reasons: either they appear with clothes or shoes of this color, either they have green eyes or hair (just like witches) - and sometimes they simply live in a green landscape that reminds how their origins are tied to the vegetation cycles, and the cult of waters, trees and forests. In Northern Europe, if fairies dress in green, they do not like when mere mortals do the same. If one wants to gain their favors, they better not wear this color, nor any of the plants from which they get a part of their magical powers: the hawthorn, rowan, hazel, and others. Green is the color of fairies. But the fairy is a capricious and volatile being, sometimes godmother, sometimes lover, sometimes guardian angel, sometimes wicked genie - and just like the color green, the fairy can quickly change her mood, her appearance or her role. She is to be feared, and to be respected. Occidental culture does not have the monopoly of green fairies or greenish genies. They are encountered under various forms in Oriental cultures. The Islamic tradition, for example, presents a weird character that belongs to the supernatural world and whose name evokes the color green: Al Khidr (or Khisr), the "green man". His identity is a difficult thing to clarify. Some claim he is a son of Adam, others that he is an angel or a saint, while a third group calls him a clairvoyant prophet or a guide sent by fate itself. But all see in him a benevolent, though mischievious, genie who protects sailors and travelers, sends away the storms, puts out fires, saves people when they drown, banish demons and snakes. The Coran only mentions him once (eighteenth Surat, verses 65-82), but numerous tales and legends were told about him. Let us return to European traditions and fairy tales of the modern era. Just like the chivalry novels of the Middle Ages, they like to play on the sonority or the ortograph of some words to create strange or marvelous atmospheres. In French the name "vert" (green) is a better material for wordplay than any other name of colors, thanks to its phonic relationships with words such as "vair" (a type of fur), "verre" (glass), "ver" (worm) and "vers" (verse). (T.n.: they're all pronounced the same in French]. This results in numerous semantic confusions and interpretation uncertainties that make the happiness of commentators.

[Note: for an unknown reason Tumblr doesn't let me write more, so I'll put the rest in a reblog]

[witchhaunts]

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS : SPECIES &. COLORS

there are not only many different types of dragons , but many different colors that relate to their magic &. what they can breathe.

while there are sentient dragons , such as those that have significant influence on the city they claim domain over , not all have human level intelligence. both fall under the same classification system , as they themselves do not use it , but bestial &. sentient dragons are more like cousins. think of sentient ones as a more evolved version of the bestial with their human transformation &. more magical nature over all.

additionally , these are the most common &. often accepted ways to classify dragons with how information spreads in a disjointed society , so there are some who do not use these exact terms. it is simply public consensus for most people.

TRUE DRAGON : these are the prototypical dragons with four legs &. wings.

WYVERN : this is a dragon that's wings double as their front legs.

WYRM : these are essentially snakes , there are no wings &. no legs. they cannot fly.

SERPENT : much like a wyrm , they do not have any limbs , but they do have fins , as they are aquatic creatures. they also cannot fly.

ARCTIC : because they are , as the name implies , exclusively found in frigid environments &. have both scales &. fur. most do not have wings , but flying arctics do exist. those are often referred to as arctic winds.

LUNG : these are very long like wyrms , but they have legs &. have some fur. they are capable of flight.

LINDWURM : another species similar to a wyrm , but they only have front legs. they are incapable of flight.

HYDRA : a multi — headed dragon that can have wings but does not always.

DRAKE : they only have four legs &. do not have wings. they cannot fly.

KIRIN : while they may seem similar to a drake in description , the different lies in the fact they are four legged in a way that's more akin to a horse. they cannot fly.

AMPHITHERE : the only limbs these species possess are wings with an otherwise legless body.

COATYL : in appearance , they are basically still amphitheres , but they have feathered wings &. plumage instead.

SALAMANDER : this species of dragon has a serpentine body but with three sets of legs &. no wings. they cannot fly.

PSEUDODRAGON : these are very small dragons , anywhere from fitting in the palm of your hand to a large dog , that are classified much the same way as cheetahs are not considered big cats. this is still a point of contention for some researchers , who believe these should simply be considered smaller versions of the larger species. pseudodragons are still dragons but not quite the same. they can resemble all other types of dragons , &. are typically referred to as a pseudo version of that species , though more often than not they resemble true dragons. regardless , pseudodragon is their primary classification.

SPRITE : also considered small dragons , sprites were once a subspecies of psuedodragon. however , these exclusively resemble true dragons or amphitheres except with dragonfly wings. there is still debate if these are actually fae creatures ( the name certainly not helping matters ) but they are considered primarily dragons , &. only recently became a separate classification in the majority of circles as of the mid 1800s.

COLORS : they are related to an elemental alignment , of which there is overlap. red &. gold dragons can breathe fire , but salamanders , which are often these colors , often have the ability to spew lava as well. it's believed to come from the fact they tend to inhabit rocky , craggy areas near or in volcanos. black &. bronze dragons spit acid. blue &. copper dragons breathe lightning , however , these are also the most common colors of serpents , which are capable of breathing fog. like salamanders , draconologists believe is a sort of adaptation of these serpents' inherent connection to storms at sea. copper dragons also can oxidize when they are of significant age , though their scales can do so much faster when they've been removed or fall off. green &. brass dragons breathe poisonous gas. white &. silver dragons breathe ice &. snow , which is not exclusive to arctic dragons. conversely , arctic dragons have only ever been documented as white , silver , blue , or copper.

[frattocri9724]

Stand Name: The Real World

Stand Origin: The Real World, by Owl City.

Appearance Classification: Other/Natural Humanoid

Stand Type: Evolving

Stand Appearance: The Real World has three Acts.

Shared Abilities: Although each Act has its own set of abilities, they all share the common ability to generate magic in several different forms, its complexity evolving with the Stand’s own development. The Stand can also evolve and de-evolve through the first two Acts willingly, although the third can be aquired only through a unique condition for only once, after which the Stand is lost forever.

ACT1:

Appearance: The Real World ACT1 takes the form of a small wooden owl, similar to Eda’s Owlbert. The difference is that the Stand has a small purple wizard hat on its head, big green eyes, golden feathers on its wings and an “opening” on the Stand’s back where sheets of parchment come out of it.

Stats:

Destructive Power: D Speed: B Range: A Durability: C Precision: C Development Potential: A

Stand Abilities:

Glyph Magic: The Real World ACT1 grants the user the ability to cast elemental spells through the usage of “glyph symbols” drawn upon sheets of parchment the Stand itself creates itself and “prints” out of the opening on its back. The user has access to four different glyph symbols to use in combat; each symbol is linked to a different element, each one with their own uses and effects. In order to function, the glyphs must be activated through physical contact with the parchment they’re drawn upon, which can be done by anyone, including the user’s opponents. The effects of the glyphs vary according to the user’s will (see examples of said effects in the lower section).The Stand does have a limit of up to ten glyphs that can be printed at once and it’s up to the user to decide which one to utilize, which usually takes some seconds to compute. Plus, once generated, if they’re not activated, the sheeths will disappear on their own after a certain amount of time. If used carelessly, the glyph spells can end up damaging both the user itself and the allies. The glyph symbols are:

Light: The weakest of the glyphs in terms of damage output. It creates bright flashes of light that can illuminate dark areas or blind opponents. Through tests on the battlefield, the user discovered another effect of the Light glyph which is to break mental alterations like possession, confusion or hypnotism from her allies.

Fire: The most damaging of the four glyphs. It allows the user to cast powerful flames in many shapes like fireballs, walls of flames, flame whips and even flamethrowers. The flames are hot enough to melt metal in brief seconds.

Ice: The second strongest of the four glyphs. Through activation, the user can generate multiple ice constructions, from ice pillars, platforms, icicles and rudimentary weapons like clubs and swords. When used as a set-up trap, it can even encase the opponent in a solid block of ice.

Flora: The most utilitarian of the four glyphs. It allows the user to generate vines and tangles which are mainly useful for entrapping and debilitating opponents, but they can also be used as a way to swing and climb through the environment. The vines themselves aren’t that strong however and can be easely cut.

ACT2: Appearance: The Real World ACT2 resembles the form of Luz’s Palisman, Stringbean, only though as an amalgamation of the many forms the Palisman shape-shifts into. The result is a scorpion-dragon-bat-snake chimera.

Stats:

Destructive Power: C Speed: B Range: B Durability: B Precision: D Development Potential: C

Stand Abilities:

Everything At Once: Once evolving into ACT2, The Real World upgrades the usage of glyph symbols through sheets of parchment. Now the Stand is capable of generating new kinds of glyphs which are actually combinations of the four fundamental glyphs. Luz discovered this new ability when she and TRW experimented with the four basic glyphs and once they did so, the Stand evolved into its second Act. By combining the four elemental glyphs within certain patterns, a whole new glyph will be created and memorized into the Stand’s memory. The Stand is then capable of printing the newly discovered glyph to use in combat, and thanks to the Stand’s new evolved form, the four elementary glyphs’s basic power is increased as well. At her current degree of experience, Luz had already discovered numerous glyphs combinations which effects are, although not limited to: turn objects and people invisible so long as they’re able to hold their breath; soften people’s falls through levitating them; casting petrification; generating smoke; and a limited demonic summoning. Despite this, because of the numerous combinations immaginable, the Stand’s potential is seemingly endless. At the price of a higher potency and versatility, once evolved into ACT2, TRW’s glyphs take more time to be made and the amount of available glyphs is limited to five at a time.

ACT3: Activation Requirement: Once experiencing death and crossing the “Space In-Between”, Luz receives the Boiling Isle’s Titan’s blessing and her Stand evolves into ACT3.

Appearance: The Real World ACT3 resembles Titan Luz form, only more animalistic, with longer claws on both hands and feet, and longer dark hair. The Stand can also summon a broom which leaves a dark purple dash behind.

Stats:

Destructive Power: A Speed: A Range: A Durability: C Precision: B Development Potential: E

Stand Abilities:

    · Titan Magic Mastery: The Real World ACT3 is the ultimate evolution of TRW and besides receiving a tremendous boost in pure power, speed, agility and the ability to fly, it posseses the ability to cast powerful spells on its own without the usage of paper glyphs. Said spells are so powerful they’re able to damage Emperor Belos once he starts taking over the carcass of the Titan of the Boiling Isles. Not only that but TRW ACT3 protects the user and its allies with an impenetrabile magical forcefield which redirects any attack thrown at it. TRW ACT3’s final ability is to “separate an individual’s being into its individual components”. In essence, the Stand is able to literally extract a person’s inner components and forecefully remove and even destroy them if it wishes to. For example, the Stand can separate a person from their Ego or their Es, thus removing said components and leaving them "incomplete", and thus broken. In Belos’s case, Luz orders TRW ACT3 to separate the demonic emperor from the Titan’s carcass, thus saving the Boiling Isles. One of the Stand’s weaknesses is that the surge of power flowing through the Stand causes Luz to become more reckless and impulsive, as if she craves for the enemy’s destruction (which considering it’s Belos we’re talking about, is totally understandable!). Secondly, once the time activation reaches its limit, not only the form disappeares, but Luz loses access to her Stand once and for all. The Stand’s disappearence doesn’t affect Luz herself who still lives on, only without a Stand anymore… unless until King will finally take his papa’s place. In which case, perhaps a new Stand will be born…

dA: https://www.deviantart.com/frattocri Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fratto_Chri97

[dragonflightsoffantasy]

Some Dragon Biology- Various Notes Upon The Gifts Granted Them By Nature's Whims And Their Own Genetic Indomitability

Chinese Longs (or Lungs)

A very diverse species, even within the classification of their own breed there are variations- from the high-altitude gliders of the mountain peaks to the typical burrowers, to the underground-dwelling Nocturnals. In fact, they are so varied that there are truly only a few distinguishing physical traits shared between all members that allows anyone to be capable of identifying a single individual as a part of this group.

Physical traits that all members of this breed share include: immense size compared to all other breeds, four giant burrowing claws similar to a pangolin's (though often times these days, these are shaven down for convenience), thick manes much like that of a lion's surrounding their long necks and running down their backs, large leathery wings (in the adults), immense whiskers, large ears, and eyes capable of seeing in the dark. Their sense of smell is immaculate- possibly the best of any dragon breed.

Chinese Longs have an average lifespan of about 5,000 years, the first one hundred of which they spend safely underground, being tended to by their parents until their "baby scales" harden into a protective coat. Afterwards, parents will allow their children supervised expeditions above ground, where they will begin their first attempts at free-range pack hunting: a tendency they will eventually outgrow as they become more self-reliant.

Chinese Longs tend to lay clutches of 9 eggs at a time every 50 years (not counting unfertilized eggs, which are laid every year or so). As such, 9 is considered to be a very lucky number. Expectant parents will decorate nurseries with the number, in hopes that all nine hatchlings will survive until their 100th year, in which they will receive a name.

They don't grow their wings until about 750 years of age- their equivalent of 15 (50 years being roughly equivalent to one dragon year).

Before and after they grow their wings, all Chinese Longs (and most Eastern Dragon Breeds, at that) have an ability to glide: much like the Flying Snake, they are able to flare out their ribs to make their bodies somewhat flat, and by making an undulating movement in the air, are able to make it across vast distances; however, they need to be able to jump off a certain point in order to do so.

Chinese Longs are omnivores, and they'll eat anything that's available, including carrion, bones, and even minerals, which they dig out of the walls of their cavern homes to consume as a supplement to their diet. Their stomach acid is incredibly corrosive.

Dragons never truly stop growing; however, Chinese Longs are considered the largest breed of dragons, the adults on average reaching lengths of 9 meters. The biggest specimen ever recorded, a 5,010 year old Burrowing female, was about 16 meters long and 5 meters heigh (from shoulder to foot), with a wingspan of over 20 meters.

There's not many distinctive differences easily caught by the human eye between males and females- however, females tend to be larger, while males tend to be smaller, with small facial tendrils on their snouts; during breeding season these differences are more obvious: males develop brightly-colored patches on their wings and vulnerable areas.

Chinese Longs hibernate in the winter months, much like bears; however, in modern times, with modern conveniences, they can chose whether or not they want to sleep for months in specially-designed hotels or brave the winter instead.

Not all Chinese Longs are fire breathers; the Nocturnals have no need of the specialization, as the bright light will harm their delicate eyes; instead, they've developed venom to incapacitate their prey, though like fire-breathers, they can still "unhinge" their jaws, due to having a mandible structure similar to snakes; makes devouring prey easier.

Enormous elongated lungs assists in both flight and holding their breath- on average, they have been recorded as able to retain air without breathing for five hours (in adults).

The breed have evolved a stress response unique to them alone- that of arching their backs as high as possible. Some believe this may have came from a need to prevent minor cave-ins (Chinese Longs, being so large, need not appear any larger), and could be the origins of the myth of dragons creating mountains by arching their backs.

[spidermilkshake]

Ancardia's Unusual Animals--the Stone Snake

Classification: Beast (squamate)

Habitat: Scattered populations throughout the Underground, especially close to substantial cliffsides and walls.

            The Stone Snake is among one of the most venomous reptiles native to the Underground, as well as one of the most naturally arcane. These creatures have a potent ability to shift aside, repel, and attract mineral substances—mostly using this power to quickly burrow through solid rock walls and cliffsides and close the way behind them. Stone snakes are highly protected in their dens as they also use their arcane abilities to hollow out spaces deep in basalt and granite formations, not leaving any true entrances or exits unless they need to leave themselves. The greatest risk these large vipers pose to humanoids is to miners and those constructing tunnels and rooms within stone formations—breaking through into a nest of stone snakes accidentally can result in many deadly bites which can be fatal within a few minutes without medical aid to all humanoids except for Dark Elves (who tend to still be critically ill for the next 24 hours and have a chance of losing digits or limbs to the necrosis that sometimes sets in).

            Stone snakes grow for their entire lives, but adults average around 2.4 meters in length, with fangs up to 4 centimeters in length. The record known length and weight of a very senior Stone Snake is reported to be 15.5 meters and 245 lbs. They are ovoviviparous, giving birth to around six live young at a time and doting on the young for up to three months until the small snakes are able to hunt small rodents, bats, and insects on their own. Adult stone snakes generally prey on moderately-sized animals—greatrats and greatbats most commonly, though occasionally taking smaller canids, juvenile fire-drakes, terrestrial amphibians and smaller reptiles like javunwalla and young basilisks. A particularly large stone snake may potentially target even smaller humanoids like kobolds or gnomes, and larger mammals like cavern-dwelling wolves, wolkangis, and deepwater rats.

            Stone snakes are believed to have been much more common in ancient times, owing to their status as an important tamed animal to the Stone Giants, who could keep relatively docile dens of them as guarding animals and a source of milked venom, which they used both to assist in hunting and as a component in their medicines. Since the decline and extinction of the Stone Giants, stone snakes have become a relatively rare species, scattered in pockets around cliff walls and stony highlands where archaeological sites imply they used to be found widely across most of the levels of the Underground.

[iomadachd]

Dean has several diagnoses as far as mental illness CPTSD Paranoid Personality Disorder Selective Mutism Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Dean reacts badly to both hallucinogens and painkillers that can induce hallucinations, such as morphine. They mess with his PPD and he’ll generally have at least a mild freak out until they wear off.

Dean owns a pair of reading glasses when his eyes get strained. He knows he probably needs a pair full time, but hasn’t jumped in on that just yet.

Dean is a decent guitarist. He first learned to play during summers as a teen and has kept it up in his spare time as a hobby and way to relax.

At the time Dean was diagnosed with PPD, he was also diagnosed with PTSD. His mother’s death had left a scar on his mind, and a part of the four year old remained even as an adult. Not even John realized that Dean had seen everything. How Dean had woken up when Mary screamed, and ran to the nursery even before John. The blood on his baby brother’s face and the shadow that had wiped it away.The way his mother’s blood dripped into the crib. The horror on John’s face when he looked up. His mother on the ceiling with her stomach slashed open and fear in her eyes. The heat as flames exploded on the ceiling. Sam was too small to remember any of that. Dean didn’t talk for a full year after that, no matter how much John asked, begged, bribed or threatened. He couldn’t talk. He could protect Sammy though, and that’s what he did. Even when John abandoned them with Pastor Jim. Every night he’d crawl into Sammy’s crib and quiet his cries, hold him close and keep him safe from the shadows that killed. Without a way to communicate, Jim taught Dean sign language, to give a voice to the trauma that stole Dean’s words. He started talking again in November when Sammy was a year and a half. When John finally came back for them, Dean was talking to others, but his words were too stiff, too old and restrained for a little boy. Damaged.

Dean has three phobias:

Pyrophobia - Fear of Fire (Associated with buildings)

Aviophobia - Fear of Flying

Ophidiophobia - Fear of Snakes

During the ten months Dean spent in a mental hospital between the ages of 14 and 15, a nurse that took a liking to him gave him a St. Dymphna medal about half way through his stay, and he’s had it ever since. Saint Dymphna is the patron saint of mental disorders. Her Feast Day is May 15th Her attributes are the crown, the sword, the lily, the lamp, and a princess with a fettered demon at her feet. The medal is always somewhere on his person.

Dean became an active mutant at the age of 14. This included an eye mutation that turned his sclera black, as well as the ability to shoot concussive blasts from his hands. Although the Mutant Classification system isn’t concrete and subject to ever changing factors, there are enough accepted terms to accurately classify Dean. Greek Classification: Beta (He would be Alpha except that he cannot hide his ocular mutation) Level (Number) Classification: 4 While very strong, his powers have a limit, thus preventing him from ever being an Omega Level Mutant. Sources: http://www.newsarama.com/15488-alpha-omega-explaining-the-x-men-s-mutant-classifications.html http://www.comicvine.com/profile/squares/blog/the-marvel-universes-mutant-classification-levels/77504/

Dean has several tattoos Anti-possession tattoo over his heart Four leaf clover on his left hip (Irish heritage) A thistle on his right hip (Scottish heritage) Plus Ego Quam Timor Meus on his left side over his ribs. Translates to ‘I am more than my fear’ MW on his right ankle A half sleeve of Fenrir on his right arm

One of the items on Dean’s bucket list is a road trip, but a very specific one. A trip that involves visiting all the cities in the U.S. with dirty names, such as: Climax, FL Bald Knob, Arkansas Rough and Ready, California Oral, South Dakota Assinippi, Massachusetts French Lick, Indiana Big Beaver, Pennsylvania Threeway, Virginia Fourway, Virginia Spread Eagle, Wisconsin Intercourse, Pennsylvania Cumming, Georgia Beaver Lick, Kentucky Blue Ball, Ohio Horneytown, North Carolina

Dean owns a fully restored 1956 Harley Panhead

One of Dean’s top five worst hunts involved a lighthouse that every lightkeeper who’d worked it in the last 100 years had been killed in up in Maine. Turns out it had been the result of spirits of drowned passengers who had died when their ship hit the rocks because the light had been dark that night. They’d been tied to the lighthouse by artifacts kept on display in the small lightkeeper’s residence turned museum that had been recovered from the wreck.

Dean’s favorite Joker is Jack Nicholson, hands down. He’s a huge fan of the Batman comics and movies in general, but Jack’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime remains his favorite to this day. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? He’s considered that as a tattoo several times over the years, but never quite got a design he liked enough for it to bite the bullet.

[seewetter]

Ooh, gnome lore!

This actually is a very interesting topic, because gnomes tie right into the heart of how we classify beings for the purposes of fantasy worlds.

A lot of modern fantasy tends to classify fantastical creatures the same way we classify regular creatures: into species based on how related they are to each other. That scientific classification dates back to the 1700s, when Carlus Linnaeus (who is himself not easily classifiable by name) wanted to give each animal and plant an exact species.

But gnomes are beings of folktales. These tales report of things that are uncanny, rarely witnessed and outside the realm of everyday experience. By their very nature, all the different supernatural creatures therefore have a tendency to just “bleed together”. For example, the word “elf” or “fairy” can be applied to almost all the “little folk” as an umbrella term. The same is true for the Scandinavian term “troll”. The word “wight” originally just meant “person” or “guy”. And “jinn” is used in Islamic cultures to classify just about any being that is neither man nor beast, neither angel nor demon. In short, these creatures could be regarded as “spirits”.

Many of the specific terms people are familiar if they start researching the folklore of the world are actually just local terms from the dialects and languages around the world. “Folet” is really just the French “elf”, while “folleti” is simply the Italian variant.

Creatures from legends also “morph” over time. Sirens in Ancient Greek myths are minute creatures the size of your palm with the bodies of birds who sing you to your doom in beautiful voices. Modern readers don’t know about how tiny sirens were meant to be and imagine them as human-sized. What modern readers also overlook is that in medieval and renaissance times, people constantly claimed to be seeing sirens: women with the bodies of fish, who gazed into mirrors and combed their hair.

I want to take a little detour away from the gnomes just to illustrate our modern misunderstanding:

Carlus Linnaeus and his scientific tradition have strongly influenced modern readers and so people today are always looking for the “reality behind the myth” by which they mean the scientific reality. They are trying to scientifically capture what sirens *actually are* and start classifying the beings described in the stories. “Medieval sirens aren’t *really* sirens”, some 21st century fairy believers might say, “those are actually sightings of mermaids”. Similarly, many modern secular thinkers try to classify the mythical creature until only a real creature or phenomenon was left. Stories about will-o-the-whisps, so early Enlightenment thinkers argued, are really the result of bandits lighting swamp fires. Herodotus, the Roman writer must have meant rhinos when writing about unicorns. He must have meant king cobras when writing about basilisks. Sometimes this insight can be quite neat: winged serpents were likely misunderstood but honest travel accounts of both locust swarms in Ethiopia and anhingas (the proverbial snake-bird). That’s neat, but in ancient and medieval times people did not assume they lived in a world with distant lands full of locusts or anhingas, but distant lands with winged serpents. Their warriors didn’t die to large-toothed plant eating hippos that had been disturbed, but to the horrendous carnivore odontotyrannus. The world they inhabited was just as knowable and just as strange as ours, but mass media didn’t trivialize misunderstandings of the world...you couldn’t just watch hippo videos on YouTube. The gap between ignorance and education might have sometimes been smaller when it came to those things that are strange about the world.

So, gnomes:

Gnomes don’t appear in any ancient legends or myths by name. Instead, they are the result of an attempt to classify the fairy world 100 years before Carlus Linnaeus would take a shot at it (published in this book by Paracelsus in 1566).

The alchemist Paracelsus was an avid collector of folktales and fairy stories. He began to notice that although the fairy folk were quite diverse, he could perceive a correspondence between the 4 elements (fire, earth, water, air) and these stories.

He called fairies that lived in the mountains gnomes and argued that they must be a species, since they are so often small in size and often involved in mining the ore below ground.

He called the fairies from sailor’s yarns “undines”, given the large resemblance between the femme fatales of the sea.

He called the majority of fairies that fly through the air on wings “sylphs” and he assumed that “salamander” might be a good name for the creatures of flame.

This teaches us a bunch, right?

dwarves live underground, a “dwarf” has been synonymous with small size and dwarves resemble miners. So dwarves are (a type of?) gnomish creatures.

why would miners, working in small mine shafts that you can’t properly stand in assume that the spirits of the mountain that visit them in their shafts are small in size? Why did they not assume that gnomes were as tall as the Chrysler building while visiting the miners in their tiny mine shafts? Truly a mystery! No one will ever solve that! I certainly have no idea! We will never know!

Basically, I think an alchemist dealing with 4 elements was like a hammer to whom fairy creatures looked like a nail. So Paracelsus the alchemist alchemically subdivided fairy stories into fire, earth, water and air. The fact that dwarf stories always tell of “little guys” while mermaids often have fish bodies (it’s just easier if they have fish bodies so that they can swim in the sea, you know. Easier than having them be as human looking as a regular forest elf or whatever).

I think he kind of assumed that he was dealing with a natural feature of a real being. And thus, the gnome was born.

Paracelsus argued these beings are “elementals” (that’s where that fantasy term comes from) and argued that they are beings created without souls. Now why did he do that? Why are gnomes and undines considered soul-less?

Well, in the medieval Christian world, the word human had a much broader definition than today. Medieval maps painted human “monsters” at the edges of the world: one Christian saint (Saint Christopher) was said to have the face of a dog and hail from an foreign civilization of canine folk.

To a medieval Christian, lizardfolk or birdfolk or feline races of fantasy worlds would just be humans, descended from Adam and Eve, somehow.

Theologians like Augustine of Hippo argued that if these creatures were not humans, the only other option was that they were beasts and their human-like speech exaggerated.

For reasons I don’t have time to get into, religions like Christianity divide the cosmos into good and evil and don’t deal well with the idea of grey areas. So although crane men (as seen in the image above) could be seen as human and integrated into the “grey area” of humanity, beings with supernatural powers were a different story. Although the New Testament mentions spirits that are neither angels nor demons and neither good nor evil, medieval Christians were very dualist and did not reference such spirits. Instead, supernatural beings must be either good or evil. Dragons are either good (some interpretations of the Leviathan) or evil (the Beast of Revelations or the dragon George slew) or they must be mere beasts (like certain dragons in Arthurian legends that get tamed and held as pets).

This meant that ordinary people’s stories of meetings with little mountain fellows who granted wishes or punished foul deeds with curses were...at odds with this good-evil binary.

Paracelsus, by arguing that some spirit/fairy/dwarf stories were actually about beings that had no souls was able to put these stories into a new context. No longer did dwarves or leprechauns call into question the binary between good angels and evil demons. Now they were a lesser creation, a side project, soulless persons who were irrelevant to the larger cosmic battle of heaven vs hell but also more interesting than just “humans abroad who look reaalll different but have no special powers”. He could popularize the aspect of spirits most frowned upon (that they ARE magic, that they are magical from birth, that they aren’t like...crane men who learned black arts from the devil or miracles from god but are actually weird beings that just do magic because it is in their element.)

That inspired lots of people. The Rosicrucians were a religious movement that I almost want to call “New Age, but like 300-400 years ago” who tried to marry gnomes (and undines and salamanders...) in order to give them souls.

And the whole idea of these beings was fascinating, drew the attention of 19th century Romantic writers...who are, lets be frank, writing fantasy fiction before Tolkien codified the concept.

So by the time we get to the official birth of the fantasy genre, there are operas about gnomes, paintings of gnomes and lawn and garden gnome statuettes. The line between gnome and dwarf could never be drawn (since gnome is an umbrella term or synonym for dwarf) and then, possibly with D&D, gnomes found their way into “official” contemporary fantasy as separate beings from dwarves. And since Carlus Linnaeus had done his work, these two beings were kept completely apart, like two separate species. 

When D&D included gnomes, they had already included halflings and dwarves. Gary Gygax, one of the two creators of D&D, wanted all non-humans to be rare. He wanted players of D&D to experience the world through the eyes of  a human. So back then, since the hobby was quite new, the idea was that the game rules would disincentivize players to make dwarves or hobbits (which halflings were called until the Tolkien Estate sued).

The result was a rule set that insisted that although dwarf wizards existed, you couldn’t play one. Dwarves had to be warriors and with the creation of AD&D, the rules became that “dwarf” was a (magicless) class.

Absurdly, gnomes became magic-users to enable people to play “small guy, but with magic”. That became their niche. The D&D spin-off novels (Dragonlance) codified gnomes as tinkerers and engineers and when TSR (the company that made D&D) decided they would sue various smaller companies that were making supplemental material for them this prompted their British distribution company to form Games Workshop and make a wargame similar to, but different from D&D that could be argued in court to not be D&D. It was called Warhammer and it kept engineering and mechanically savvy gnomes.

Then a company called Blizzard got a license to make a Warhammer game and then lost the license...and used the already made 3D models to populate their game, which they called Warcraft. This meant that gnomes now existed as (A) a basic playable race in D&D (B) a basic playable race in Warhammer and (C) a basic playable race in Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.

The End.

NO wait, wait, wait.

The point is gnomes don’t have a fixed identity. Their presence all across major franchises has to do more with weird early game design in the 70s and legal decisions than with any enduring popularity.

A gnome can be anything. Aren’t the goblins in the 80s movie Labyrinth a bit like “gnomes”? Or maybe we could call them gremlins or pixies. Like if someone saw one of those and said “ugh, what’s that gnome?” would you necessarily correct them? You might not.

Gnomes could be the giants beneath the earth or the earth elemental that beats you to a pulp in D&D. They can be straight-up dwarven miners. Their exact nature and characteristics have never been straightforward and you have countless historical sources to draw from to create your own gnomes or widen your expectations about what they might be.

Thanks for reading.

[lepartidelamort]

UK: BBC Wonders If Term “Ethnic Minorities” Should be Replaced with “Global Majority”.

Why do they all have to live in white countries ?

GB News doesn’t bother linking the BBC article, but you can read it here.

GB News:

The BBC has come under fire for questioning if the term “ethnic minority” should be replaced with “global majority”. In recent years, various organisations across the UK, including the Government, have dropped the acronym Bame, which stands for black, Asian, and minority ethnic, and in its place are opting to use the new phrase “global majority”.

It’s ominous, no?

It fits well into the “they will bury you” narrative that is constantly pushed to make people believe resistance is futile.

The term was coined in 2003 by Rosemary Campbell-Stephens, a British-Jamaican academic, and refers to people who are “black, Asian, brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as ‘ethnic minorities’”.

Rosemary Campbell-Stephens

Campbell-Stephens said in 2020 that the group accounts for more than 80 per cent of the world’s population. In March 2022, the Government committed to no longer using Bame, instead opting to use specific ethnic classifications wherever possible. … Last year, the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) announced that it had adopted the term “people of the global majority” to refer to all ethnic groups except white British and other white groups.

In an article discussing the growing buzzword, the BBC questioned if the term “ethnic minority” should be dropped entirely in favour of the new phrase. The suggestion caused a ruckus online, with users suggesting the term creates further division. One user said: “What an insane question. ‘Global majority’ is a poorly understood and offensive term for Brits to use. It means classifying non-white Brits – not with their fellow citizens – but with the birthplace of their parents and grandparents. Far-left and far-right seek the same division.”

Yeah, but the far-right wants to physically remove these people.

So I don’t think horseshoe theory applies.

Political commentator Tim Scott said: “No single ethnic or racial group has a ‘global majority’. You can only construct a majority by including some groups and excluding others. In this context ‘non-white’ might be a more honest term?” Sam Bidwell, from the Adam Smith Institute, said: “Activists should be careful what they wish for. Creating a ‘global majority’ identity, defined in opposition to Europeans, will undoubtedly lead Europeans to define their own national identities in opposition to the ‘global majority’.” Another said: “The supposed benefit is from giving people a confidence boost by telling them they’re in the majority. Surely “majority=good, minority=bad” is an idea we need to get away from?” … However, others defended the use of the term. “It’s not semantics; it’s maths”, an individual said. “White Europeans are only 9 per cent of the global population. If you want to talk about minorities; white people are it.” “Embracing ‘global majority’ celebrates the strength and diversity of people worldwide!,” said another. The founder of BE.Xcellence, a Welsh company aimed at lifting the voices of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people, said: “It speaks to unity, it gives you prominence and I think it helps us feel not less than. “[The word] ‘minority’ can make you feel that you are less than, you are the least, when in reality we are the more in terms of numbers.”

Does this apply to white people being made a minority in their own countries, something they already were globally?

No?

Why not?

Snake Baker

[fellsilver]

UNIQUE TRAITS.

This post will focus on unique traits Laeral receives both from being one of the Seven and one of Mys.tra's Chosen. This is not intended as a look at all the abilities of the Chosen. It concerns itself solely with the traits unique to Laeral or shared with her sisters. I do have a post on El about all the abilities of Chosen, although it needs to be updated with post-Spellplague information Traits marked with * are due to her being one of the Seven.

NATURE*.

Beings like the Seven Sisters and bhaalspawn defy classifications. They are born of the union between a deity's avatar and a mortal. This imparts something of the deity's essence to the child. What exactly this means has never been clearly defined and is muddied by these children sometimes becoming their divine parent's Chosen. In a setting built on clear classifications, they defy all molds: neither mortal nor divine, neither subject nor self-ruling. All that is clear is that they share a deep bond with their divine parent.

LIFESPAN*.

It is unclear if the Seven have a natural lifespan. They seem to have aged like humans until their twenties, but after a point, it became clear their life expectancy was unnatural. While others around them aged and died, they remained young and hale. Examination of this trait is complicated by their being Chosen, for the Chosen are immortal (unless they are slain) and are aged by care rather than the passage of time. Nevertheless, we know the Simbul lived four centuries untouched by time before becoming her Mother's Chosen. It is probable they are effectively immortal.

In that same vein, they exhibited incredible healing properties before becoming Chosen. It does not seem they had access to silver fire from birth, but they were still unusually hardy. Storm, for example, was so named because she was struck by lightning as a babe and survived unscathed.

SILVER TRESSES*.

All the Seven have iconic silver hair. It's a beautiful but unnatural hue. Not white or platinum but true silver, like moonlight cascading down their shoulders. The hue is not the only unique quality; each of the Seven is able to consciously control her hair. It lays however they will it to and can be used like a limb; it seems they can also control the length to a point. In fact, Laeral's official character sheet lists it as a melee weapon; it also says it has a five foot reach and the chance to stun. In the books, we've seen the Seven use their hair to grab objects, grab opponents, fling opponents bodily, bind weapons, concealed carry objects, and mold into different shapes. It also tends to move when not consciously in use or in response to emotions or magic; it's often described as writhing like snakes about their heads.

DWEOMERS.

Laeral was divinely blessed by Mys.tra with regards to the dweomers on enchanted items. She is "one of the greatest human magical item crafters of all time" and one of the most prolific creators of magical items of all time. She can identify most enchanted items simply by touching them, especially if she is familiar with the enchantment. (At this point in her life, there are few with which she is not familiar.) She has a high chance of gleaning detailed information such as linked enchantments, precise details of the item's power, side-effects, long-term processes, the number of charges if applicable, etc. Furthermore, she is able to affect enchanted items that touch her. She can always cause them to fail or go wild. While it is possible for enchanted items to harm her if she isn't careful, this blessing protects her more often than not.

DIVINE BOONS.

Laeral combined permanency with a ring of fire resistance to permanently give herself the benefits of that dweomer. She has been known to wade into burning buildings to save people. Additionally, because she is one of the Chosen, she was able to make herself immune to one wizard spell of each level. She chose: shocking grasp, blindness, fireball, charm monster, feeblemind, chain lightning, spell turning, sink, and energy drain.

[justtrash202]

Character #2: Multi-Knuckles

Subject Name: Knuckles The Echinda

Atlas:Multi-Dimensional Knuckles/ Multi-Knuckles/Time Anomaly #2/ MK - 01

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Species: Echidna

Classification: Euclid

Status: Alive

Location: Unknown

Special Containment Procedures: MK-01 is currently uncontained and presumed to be at large within the Multiverse. Initial containment attempts proved disastrous. MK-01 possesses exceptional combat abilities and a strong resistance to conventional weaponry. Additionally, his emotional state can trigger unpredictable dimensional shifts, making containment efforts extremely hazardous. Foundation personnel are instructed to:

Description: MK-01, a crimson-quilled echidna, might be mistaken for Knuckles the Echidna at first glance. But a closer look reveals a warrior seasoned by countless adventures. Gone are the sleek, uniform quills. Instead, his are a tangled mess, vibrant with multicolored tips that seem to glitch and shift with an otherworldly energy. Golden tribal beads and intricate markings adorn his quills, whispering tales of a rich heritage. Even beneath his chest fur, a single diamond peeks out, its brilliance amplified by the lightning-shaped markings that snake down his ribs, hinting at a power harnessed and controlled. MK-01's attire reflects both his fighting spirit and his surprisingly stylish side. A customized black, skin-tight crop jacket hugs his arms and shoulders, leaving his chest exposed in a bold heart-shaped cutout. This daring choice, along with the dazzling multicolored quills, undeniably elevates MK-01 to a whole new level. But beneath the stylish exterior lies a treasure trove of practical modifications. Green sunglasses, far more than a fashion statement, are equipped with a unique technology that allows him to pierce the veil and detect hidden items, making him an invaluable asset on treasure hunts and covert missions. A seemingly innocuous metal necklace, worn close to his skin, grants him the ability to breathe underwater, opening up a whole new world of exploration and combat possibilities. Finally, for those situations requiring brute force, MK-01 dons a pair of powerful hammer gloves. These sturdy gauntlets supercharge his punches, allowing him to shatter through even the toughest metal.

Personality Analysis: Subject Knuckles is a stoic and steadfast guardian, unwavering in his duty to protect. His imposing physique and resolute demeanor inspire confidence. Though gruff on the exterior, a wellspring of loyalty and compassion resides within him. Hailing from a tapestry of timelines, Multi-Knuckles brings a wealth of experience and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving This experience has honed a competitive spirit that burns brightly, particularly when pitted against his comrades. However, unlike some, Multi-Knuckles prioritizes teamwork and collaboration, valuing the strengths of those around him. This unwavering loyalty and respect make him a dependable teammate, fostering unity and cooperation within his group While a gruff exterior may mask it, glimpses of vulnerability occasionally surface. Hints of past challenges and betrayals linger, but Multi-Knuckles' resilience and unwavering determination ensure he perseveres. He finds solace in his unwavering commitment to protect and defend, channeling his inner fire into focused action.

Addendum MK - 01 - 1: Intercepted transmissions from MK-01's wrist communicator offer a tantalizing glimpse into a possible alliance with a group calling themselves "The Multi." Emerging from a parallel Sonic the Hedgehog universe, The Multi appears to be a team of alternate versions of familiar characters. Confirmed members include MK-01, a physical powerhouse mirroring our Knuckles the Echidna. Data suggests he serves a dual role as the group's unwavering guardian and strategic mind, even collaborating with Multi-Shadow on battle tactics. However, a shadow of concern falls upon this potential alliance with the emergence of Multi-Omega, a corrupted version of the infamous robotic war machine E-123 Omega. This alternate Omega exhibits heightened aggression and a disregard for collateral damage, raising serious questions about The Multi's true motives. While the reasons for contacting MK-01 remain unclear, the presence of a hostile Multi-Omega necessitates further investigation into The Multi's origins, capabilities, and their connection to MK-01. Intriguingly, the fragmented messages hint at a deeper connection between MK-01 and certain members of The Multi. The nature of this bond and its potential influence on MK-01's actions warrant further exploration. Understanding these interpersonal dynamics might be the key to establishing communication or even negotiation with The Multi, potentially turning this group of dimensional strangers into allies.

Addendum MK-01-2: Motivation Analysis: Multi-Knuckles' motivations are a complex tapestry woven from loyalty, duty, and a yearning for home His primary drive is fueled by a powerful desire to return to his own world and reunite with his Sonic. This yearning stems from a strong past connection, hinting at a deep and cherished friendship. Despite his desire to leave, a strong sense of duty remains. He readily extends protection to his newfound allies, mirroring the loyalty he feels towards his original friends. This protective instinct fuels his willingness to fight alongside The Multi, even in this strange dimension. Unaware of the complexities surrounding Multi-Silver's existence, Multi-Knuckles' goal of restoring his world poses an unforeseen risk. His inherent empathy compels him to avoid harm to others, including The Multi. This potential conflict between his desire to return home and the need to protect Multi-Silver could create an internal struggle.

MK-01's Abilities:

Super Strength: Multi-Knuckles possesses immense strength, capable of shattering boulders, breaking through barriers, and delivering devastating punches to enemies.

Enhanced Durability: His resilient physique allows him to withstand powerful attacks and harsh environments, making him a durable combatant.

Gliding: Utilizing his unique physiology, Multi-Knuckles can glide through the air, traversing long distances and reaching otherwise inaccessible locations.

Enhanced Agility: His remarkable agility and reflexes enable him to perform acrobatic feats and evade enemy attacks with ease.

Chaos Energy Sensing: Multi-Knuckles can detect the presence of Chaos Energy, allowing him to locate Chaos Emeralds, Chaos Crystals, and other sources of mystical power, potentially aiding in balancing the cosmos.

Ghost Communication: He possesses the unique ability to see, hear, and converse with ghosts and spirits. This connection to the supernatural realm could provide valuable information or guidance.

Animal Empathy: Multi-Knuckles has a deep understanding of animals, allowing him to communicate with them and interpret their behaviors, instincts, and emotions. This unique connection enhances his tracking and survival skills in wilderness environments.

Earth Manipulation: He can manipulate earth and rock, enabling him to create defensive barriers, launch projectiles, and reshape the terrain to his advantage in combat or exploration.

MK-01's Relationships:

SAB2 Sonic the Hedgehog : Knuckles' cherished friend, their bond transcends the typical "first friend" label in this alternate dimension. A playful rivalry exists, fueled by friendly teasing and a constant push to outdo each other. However, beneath this surface lies a hidden truth – Knuckles harbors a deep affection for Sonic. This secret adds a layer of complexity to their interactions, with Knuckles holding back from expressing his true feelings for fear of jeopardizing their friendship.

SAB2 Miles ‘Tails’ Prower: The closest thing to a brother Knuckles has. He sees Tails' brilliance and unwavering loyalty as invaluable assets. Knuckles acts as a protective shield, prepared to do anything to keep Tails safe. Their bond is built on trust, respect, and a shared sense of adventure. While Sonic might hold the top spot in Knuckles' heart, Tails is undeniably his most trusted confidante.

SAB2 Amy Rose: Knuckles and Amy share a complex friendship. While he appreciates her skills and fighting spirit, her relentless pursuit of Sonic can be grating at times. They often find themselves training partners, their competitive nature pushing each other to improve. Despite his occasional annoyance, Knuckles recognizes Amy's strength and respects her as a formidable ally.

SAB2 Rouge the Bat: Knuckles' feelings towards Rouge are a tangled mess. He despises her deceitful nature and treasure-hunting schemes, finding them a nuisance at best and detrimental at worst. However, a grudging respect has developed over time, acknowledging her cunning and combat prowess. There's a spark of something intriguing beneath the surface, but neither is willing to fully acknowledge it, keeping their interactions teetering between annoyance and a begrudging partnership.

SAB2 Shadow the Hedgehog: Similar to Sonic, Knuckles' initial impression of Shadow is colored by negativity. He sees Shadow as a constant threat to Sonic and a potential source of chaos. Despite their differences, they've begrudgingly learned to work together when necessary, their contrasting personalities sometimes producing surprising results in battle. While their interactions remain tense, a flicker of respect for Shadow's abilities might be slowly brewing within Knuckles.

SAB2 Dr. Eggman Robotnik : This remains a constant across dimensions. Dr. Eggman represents a clear and present danger, and Knuckles dedicates himself to stopping his villainous schemes. He views Eggman as a threat to the world's peace and actively seeks to dismantle his robotic creations. Their rivalry fuels many of Knuckles' actions, making him a thorn in Eggman's side.

Tikal the Echidna: Tikal plays a crucial role in Knuckles' life. He respects her deeply, not just as an ancestor but as a wise and compassionate guide. Tikal's presence serves as a grounding force, reminding him of his heritage and responsibilities. When Sonic isn't around, Tikal acts as Knuckles' confidante and a source of unwavering support, keeping him centered on his moral compass.

Multi-Shadow: Data suggest a positive camaraderie with Multi-Shadow, relationship is mirroring Multi - Knuckles relationship with SAB2 Sonic without the romantic feelings.

Multi-Silver: Knuckles acts as a protective older brother to Multi-Silver, fostering a playful rivalry while offering unwavering support and guidance within their strong, sibling-like friendship.

E-123 Omega: An unlikely yet heartwarming friendship overcame initial awkwardness to forge a bond of mutual respect for their strength and loyalty, united in protecting their Multiverse home.

Background: MK-01 origins mirror those of his counterpart – born on Angel Island, tasked with the sacred duty of protecting the Master Emerald. This responsibility weighs heavily on him, fueling his unwavering dedication to safeguarding the Chaos Emeralds and ensuring the stability of his world. Life on Angel Island wasn't always solitary. Over time, MK-01 formed a profound bond with Sonic, the blue blur who defied gravity and danger itself. Together, they faced countless threats, from the persistent menace of Dr. Eggman to shadowy forces lurking beyond the veil of their reality. This partnership transcended mere camaraderie, blossoming into a romantic connection that added a layer of complexity and depth to their adventures Their shared experiences forged an unbreakable bond. MK-01 found not just a trusted companion in Sonic, but a kindred spirit who understood the weight of responsibility and the thrill of adventure. Their unwavering loyalty to each other, fueled by both duty and love, became a beacon of hope in a Multiverse fraught with peril. No more information is found.