#So it's not like the knowledge of their origins would magically make them know how to control it))

[sixhours]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

TY for the tags!! @dancingonmoonbeams @sawymredfox @jessthebaker <3

I have too many things in various stages of not-publishable and my brain is too much of a mess to make decisions so you're getting a little taste of everything today:

promising light, chapter 4

“Huh. She’s pretty,” Ellie says softly. “Yeah, I guess,” Cee smiles. “Dad didn’t talk about her much…one time he said I looked like her? But I think he was drunk.” Ellie swallows hard, fighting off an unexpected pang of jealousy. What she would give to hold a photo of her mother, or to know where she was born, where she came from. To have even a fraction of the knowledge Cee has is almost unthinkable and suddenly she wants it so completely it hurts. Marlene knew, Ellie thinks, bitterness on the back of her tongue.

light up the dark

The i know you by heart sequel that is mostly an outline and vibes, but I have this one little section I like.

His hand comes up saturated, the whorls of his fingertips outlined in black, nails dark half-moons of earth. He almost put a nail file through his palm trying to clean them by himself once, the sharp little tool gripped precariously between his teeth, so Joel does the honors now. Soak in warm water, scrub with the brush, rinse and repeat. “If y’wore a glove this wouldn’t happen,” he sighs, but there’s no heat behind it. Ezra scoffs. “I can’t feel the earth properly with a glove.” Joel eyes him wryly. “Heard that before.” That earns him a grin bright enough to make Joel shake his head, failing to conceal a smirk as he works the scrub brush carefully over Ezra’s cuticles, carving the dirt from under his nails like how he carves tiny details into wood figurines. “Least you remembered to take your damn ring off this time.”

untitled (sarah's mom in jackson)

Sarah. The magic word, the ghost that lingers in the corner of Joel’s eyes when he thinks she’s not looking. Sarah is a myth, a monolith. Sarah is larger than life, more like a character in one of her books than a person. Sarah is Joel’s origin story, his own private deity. They have one photo of her. It sits in a frame on the bookshelves downstairs. Ellie doesn’t know how Joel got it, something about Tommy and a trip back to Texas. It’s been scratched to hell, faded by exposure and twenty-something years of squalor. In it, Joel looks nothing like Joel, and Sarah’s face is barely discernible, just the vague shape of a nose and eyes and a poof of dark hair.

Tagging @oonajaeadira @sundelionskyisland @bumblepony @chronicallyonlinewriter @beefrobeefcal @ace-turned-confused @barlowstreet @messitydepressity @ketchupchipsaregross @stumbling-away @frannyzooey and anyone else who'd like to join, please do. <3

[justanie]

Lyra Story's - Part I: Origins.

Lyra lived in a hidden village, Tasan, where the only red mages on the planet lived, uncommon to see since they did not leave their home much, they were barely seen in other kingdoms letting people know of their existence. When she was younger she learned of the arrival of a new visitor, it was Cecil Harvey, an aspiring Dark Knight, he went to Tasan for commitments that the king had sent him, despite knowing that he would only go for business matters, Lyra decided to approach him after feeling curious about him, the guy, instead of feeling uncomfortable with her presence, he found the attitude of that girl tender, who in the end ended up winning his care. It was so much so that Cecil visited the village more often, "he would go to train alone" was his excuse, when in reality he would be there to relax, and how could not? Being a small community, the people were very peaceful, like the village itself, which exuded a natural charm. He also watched from afar as the little Lyra practiced her first spells, taking advantage of his free time to provide her with support and company.

Soon, Cecil was accompanied by two other teens, Rosa Joanna Farrell and Kain Highwind, who discovered the secret of his consecutive disappearances, they also became fond of Tasan and its inhabitants, including Lyra, for her, she began to see Cecil and Rosa as a pair of older siblings, she liked to play with the future Dark Knight of Baron and give him and Rosa flower wreaths, who by the way, she taught her some of her own spells to help Lyra with her knowledge of magic. The only one she didn't get along with was Kain, not because they didn't like each other or because the Dragoon was a bad person, he doesn't consider himself an "expert" with children, so he didn't know how to react when Lyra approached him and she had to leave him alone until he got used to her presence. It seemed that the three youngsters would form a bond of friendship in the girl's social circle, but some time later they began to visit her infrequently; days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and so it was that they never appeared again in Tasan. At first, Lyra was disappointed, believing they had abandoned her. "Maybe they're just too busy with their own things and have become more important in their kingdom", she always reasoned, so that her optimism wouldn't be shaken, with or without them, that wouldn't stop her from giving up her duties and continuing to train to become a future mage.

Years passed (Lyra would have been 10), and the world outside was beginning to distort, the king of Baron was no longer the same honorable monarch as always, he began to take questionable orders; such as attacking small villages or an occasional war with other kingdoms, no one knew the reason for his hostile and cruel actions, but one thing was clear, whoever opposed him would not come out alive. The first village he ordered to attack was Tasan, according to the king, the red mages were wasting their abilities due to the peaceful environment they live in and he had never really seen them in action to help elsewhere, for that and other senseless reasons, they had to be extinguished. It didn't take long for the Red Wings, Baron's emblematic soldiers, to arrive to fulfill the king's request, and thus a village that enjoyed harmony and peace was engulfed in flames, stained with the blood of the poor victims who could not escape this misunderstood attack…except for one. Lyra was one of the few, and only survivors who escaped the massacre alive, but that meant she ended up witnessing her relatives, acquaintances and friends die in the process. She wanted to go far away, where the Red Wings could never find her, but her ambition was so great plus the pain of having lost everything, that she had an accident falling off a ravine, making her come into a coma and in the process forgetting her memories, both recent and old. When Lyra woke up, she found herself in a hut lying in bed, possibly someone found her while she was still unconscious and took her to the nearest town, in effect, she was in Kaipo, after learning how they rescued her and healed her wounds (almost all of them), she thanked them for the hospitality…but one thing didn't add up…what would she do now? She only remembered her name, but not where she came from or if anyone was with her, did she even know anyone? Not knowing what to do, she stayed in the town until she decided what she would do with her life from now on.

What did arise as a result of memory loss; Lyra developed an inexplicable phobia of the color red, she didn't know how it caused it or the reason, but she couldn't feel calm by seeing any object of that color, it was as if her mind was filled with bad vibes accompanied by a wild pain that seemed to force her to remember something important…she couldn't even stand to see her own hair, so she dyed it so as not to constantly suffer from her fear. Another thing caused the accident was that, although they helped her heal her wounds, her face was the hardest to heal in the process since it was badly scratched by the fall, they managed to restore it, but some pink spots were noticeable around her eyes, but she had no problem with that, she could get used to having them like that. Lyra chose to work and run errands in Kaipo, forgetting her past worries without bothering to learn about her origins, her attitude remained that of a cheerful and kind girl who would not hesitate to help others, which made her gain a good reputation among the villagers. One day, someone gave her a compliment: "you should share your hospitality with everyone", and taking it as a challenge, Lyra began to travel from town to town, she was so helpful and pleasant that she even served noble and upper-class families during the time she stayed in it, even if the world was still at war and invaded by monsters, the young girl knew how to avoid them and continue with her life, exploring and meeting new people along the way, as well as knowing a bit of magic that could benefit her in her work.

[warning-heckboop]

Wait, hang on

Wait

Changeling

Changeling

Hang on I'm cooking

[oceantornadoo]

IDK! HEAR ME OUT THO!!!

Simon, staging the break in and what not so he could push you back into his arms??? INSANE!

Delicious story. Thank you for the food! <3

so originally when i made that last fic (which unexpectedly blew up tysm everyone) i added in the creepy elements almost on accident?? but this and another reply has me thinking...

tw: slight humiliation (but you'll like it)=

simon riley wasn't a bad man. he also wasn't a bad husband. at least that's what he told himself.

when you had presented him with those divorce papers a bit ago (13 months and 4 days, but who was counting), he thought it was a bluff. a joke. he had gone too far in your last argument, and that was your reaction. when he told you he'd go to therapy, you stared at him with a look he'd only see on men in the battlefield. dead all the way through, a walking husk. so he signed them and went to therapy anyways.

the whole time, this whole 13-month break, where you had been 'building a new life' or whatever, he had been planning. internalizing the commentary his therapist would make, and then spitting it back out to you while you moved out of his place. every time you seemed to forget one extra box, and who's to say if he hid a couple in his room? he had a plan.

over time, simon really seemed to have learned so much from therapy. so much about communication. he had become open and welcoming, far from that man who would respond to your complaints with hard stares and a lack of words. so maybe you met for coffee a couple of times and that's how he knew about the cafe by your new place. maybe that's how he tailed you one night after a date, just to make sure this new guy didn't try anything (and not to figure out your unit number). whatever he did, he played a dangerous game by letting you have this illusion of freedom while balancing his presence in your life, just enough to make you want more. after weeks and week of stagnant progress, he needed one extra push. something small, not even a shove.

and if he happened to mention your unit number to a bunch of shady guys that hung out in the alley by your building? happened to brag about your pretty pussy and sweet-smelling panties? maybe mention your habit of not locking the window when you left for work? who's to say. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

and now here you were, back in his arms where you belonged. a little frightened but comforted in the knowledge that he could protect you. the ghost wasn't shed when he took his mask off, but you didn't need to know that.

--

your body was so used to being in simon's arms you didn't even realize you had been grinding on him for the past ten minutes. his boxers you wore were sticky with arousal as you grinded against his clothed cock in the dark. even in your dream, it was simon underneath you, no one else. "si." you panted, a near-whisper that only a military man could have heard. "dove?" he adjusted your sleeping positions, tossing the covers to give you more room to maneuver against him.

"i know i said that thing about the line not being crossed." he gave you a low chuckle. silly little girl. you had finally realized how much you needed him and he was going to milk you for all you were worth. "and?" you stopped. shit. he needed to seem more responsive. he moved you from his thigh to his boner using one arm, the other one snaking its way under your shirt to stroke your back. you moaned as he massaged the tension from the day's earlier events away, giving you sweet relief. the sweetness of the massage made a hard contrast to the friction in your core as he rubbed you against his hardened cock.

"spit it out, baby." he growled. "can you-fuck." his hand had moved to the back of your neck now, holding it in a tight grip. his hand was so large he could feel the pulse points on either side of your jaw, heart racing. finally. "can you get me off? just this once?" he snorted, moving you up and down against him faster, dragging your sensitive clit over and over. "what's the magic word?" he flipped you both around, pressing his body weight on top of you.

simon turned the light on, wanting to see how needy you were. you were panting, shirt sticky with sweat as your chest moved up and down with exertion. he hiked up your shirt and took off your boxers, exposing your sticky cunt to the cool air. he took a sniff of the fabric, noting your small gasp as if you didn't know how obsessed he was with you already. "magic word." your mouth dropped. guess you weren't getting off that easily. "please, simon." he clucked his tongue at that. "ghost?" he left out a short laugh, arms reaching out to tug his shirt off of you. your nipples were so hard, aching to be pinched and sucked just how you liked them. "not ghost." he reached over to his nightstand, pulling something out of the drawer. he fumbled with his hand for a second, then held yours up to the light as he slipped something on it.

"husband." the words left your mouth in a whoosh, eyes transfixed on your wedding ring that was on your hand. the one you had flung at him after he complained about the divorce papers, the one you said you'd rather die than wear again. and here it was, right back on your finger, sparkling in the lamplight.

simon captured your mouth in a rough kiss, entering you with his ring and middle finger at the same time. "so willing for your husband, hm? all puffy and wet. look at your cunt, darling." you both looked down at your pussy at the same time. it was squelching, your vibrator sessions not holding a candle to what your ex husband could do to you. you were almost embarrassed by how desperate your pussy looked, clit enlarged from its earlier friction. his fingers worked in and out of you, wedding ring covered in slick. you watched as he pressed his thumb to your clit in small circles, a tightening sensation in your lower belly rising to the surface. "simon, si-fuck" he gave your pussy a small slap, pulling his fingers out as you addressed him incorrectly. "husband, please." he entered you again roughly, drawing a low moan from you. he captured your nipple in his mouth, teething it just enough to make you hurt. punishment.

"please please please i'm right ther-" he pressed hard against your clit and sent you careening off the edge into your orgasm, back bowing off the bed. simon gave you small love bites as you recovered, hand still working your cunt to draw out your orgasm.

finally, he removed his fingers and drew back from you, forcing eye contact. he put both in his mouth, moaning at the taste of your arousal mixed with the metal from the wedding band. your jaw was still open, looking at him like you had never seen him before. like the sheep's skin had finally been removed, and now only the wolf remained.

"let's get you to bed, wife."

[hotvintagepoll]

Do you have any opinions on modern (post-1970s) movies that you feel capture the essence (in a good way) of Old Movies?

No, unfortunately. That doesn't mean I don't like modern movies or that modern movies aren't good, but modern movies—and here I'm really using modern to mean post-2010, so contemporary movies—have different standards for pacing, characterization, budget, and production that make it harder (or impossible) to capture some of the magic of old movies. Even when modern movies clearly try to emulate that old-movie feeling—I'm thinking of La La Land, The Artist, The Shape of Water, In the Heights—they play the homage too broadly, or they ignore crucial components that make the original films work.

There's kind of too much to go into here without writing a full essay, but essentially, the Old Hollywood system—ugly, failed beast as she was—made some movies simply more accessible to make, due to the ongoing storage of props, sets, master craftsmen, crew, and onscreen talent that could move from one movie to the next without pause. If you needed a dancer, he was already on staff. If you needed a fancy bed, it was already in the warehouse. That kind of longterm storage is invaluable if you want to crank out movies quickly and cheaply because it saves so much time on individual negotiation and sourcing. Modern production companies have to work out individual contracts for every actor on every film; crew members have to negotiate rental contracts and source pieces from scratch; if you need someone with specialist skills, you have to contract them specially at a high rate, which a lot of small companies can't (or won't) budget to do. There's sand in the wheels where there needn't be any. It's wasteful, and costly, but that's the system modern movies are made with.

Which all means that even if the modern movie system wanted to make a classic movie musical just like the old ones, they couldn't, because the talent isn't already there—it hasn't been trained up enough, and there's not that breadth of knowledge you can only get from people who have been allowed to work in the same department in the same place for decades. Movies like La La Land fail, for me, because they present themselves as descendants of Fred Astaire or Busby Berkley movies, while missing the bit where Fred Astaire was a master of his craft. When you watch Fred Astaire dance—or Moira Shearer, or the Nicholas Brothers, or Ann Miller—you are watching a true artist at work, purposely showcased by the studios because they already have them on contract. Modern movies, on the other hand, tend to take people who already have star talent (as actors) and try to convert them into dancers/singers—or they pull dancers/singers off of Broadway, but then they don't have the star power built in. You end up with lackluster musicals where no one truly knows what they're doing, or they do but they're not built up enough by the studios to sell. And that's me discussing just on-screen talent for musicals—there is a huge loss behind the scenes, as well, for all kinds of movies, where roles that would have been filled by union crew who moved continuously from one job to the next have been swapped for freelance labor who live with immense turnover, financial insecurity, and knowledge loss. You could hand me the budget and I could try to make an old movie, but the industry itself has changed so much it's impossible to recapture that charm of steady, niche talent, the amazing possibilities of bonkers set design, and the ability to take a risk on a smaller movie because the other films being produced by the same studio can help balance the budget.

I've talked way, way too much about all of this! Sorry, I just have a lot of thoughts—and the one above is just one of them; the talent loss and storage issues are only facets of a much bigger problem that extends to how we watch movies today, how we market them, what we expect of them, and what's allowed in them. It's a crying shame because the talent is still there, but times change and so does the industry, for better or for worse. (And, just again to clarify, I don't think modern movies are bad—they're just missing a lot of the juice old movies got to play with, even if there's more talent available than ever before.)

[fangirlingpuggle]

I had an idea for an AU of your "the twins are bill and Fords kids AU"

So bill finds out about the kids before they hatch(?) a bit of time before it happens in your AU Bill basically kind of just remembers "oh shit I did that with Ford I should see if it actually worked"

and then he hatches(?) them and takes them and at first because it's a ✨manipulation opportunity✨ but then oh no at least some parental instinct has emerged as he takes care of them because they're his and they're wonderful

And as they grow they develop personalities and Mabel oh how she reminds Bill so much of himself the little creature of chaos she is

And Dipper reminds him of Ford (and himself too) with that insatiable hunger for knowledge to see the secrets the universe has to offer

(And when Mabel starts becoming a bit boy crazy Bill just tells her that when she's a bit older he'll let her start her own cult)

And instead of creating things with glitter Mable creates things with the stardust her dad stole from the sky when she wanted to bedazzle her scrapbook (and also glitter because it is an item that breeds chaos and that is something Bill approves of)

And Dipper has a journal that never runs out of pages where he writes down the secrets and stories of the universe (both freely given and stolen by Bill)

And they are Bills children because how could they not be they are so fundamentally weird these nigh impossible creations that were made in a drunken haze a combination of magic and science that somehow breaks the laws of both

And Bill dreams of how when the time finally comes he shall finally bring Weirdmageddon

and he'll give them like a 10th of the planet where they can do whatever they want (because he may be a parent but he still likes to party and also doesn't want his kids to accidentally eat some hard drugs so it's basically a dedicated area for the kids where he doesn't have to worry about them too much because sometimes you just need a little you time okay!!!)

And getting back on track with the original plan surely when Ford meets the kids surely he'll at least love them as much as Bill and they can finally play one big happy Family ruling the world together

[In the meantime Ford had no idea any of this was happening didn't even know he had kids so imagine his surprise on Weirdmageddon

(Should Ford even trust these children they are Bills kids not to mention the fact that he's the one who raised them

a part of Ford wants to protect these kids another part of him thinks that Bills spawn shouldn't be trusted shouldn't exist)]

Anyway do you like my idea do you have anything you'd like to add (please say you like it 🥺🥺🥺)

(I just thought this would be a fun AU for your AU I got a bit inspired do you like it? you better like it because you have infected my brain with your ideas it's time I returned a favor with mine)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!

Bill being so ready to use these kids as pawns and then he sees them and his heart instantly melts and 'I have only had these 2 for a moment and if anything happens to them I will burn the worlds down to the ground'

Him telling Mabel she can start her own cult is hilarious!

Dipper being like him fascinated by things out of his reach like the stars were for Bill and Bill encouraging him and making sure he can get all knowledge he wants.

Them breaking both magic and science is just perfection.

Bill giving hids a part of the world to have fun and sew their own chaos so he can have some me time, 'Ok kiddos go and do some destruction Dad is going to hang out with some friends and make a throne of human suffering ok'

OHH Ford's reaction to them is brilliant him being torn between wanting to protect his kids, but also these kids are Bill's and like him and raised by him. Probably twisted and manipulated by him and what if these kids are a trick a trap just a manipulation... he'd be in full paranoia mode.

This is so awesome!

[radiance1]

A castle mysteriously appears in Gotham one night.

Nobody who noticed it knows where it came from, nor how it got there as it seemingly appeared overnight. It wasn't anything big, as far as castle's were concerned, it seemed to be on the smaller side of things.

However, no one could truly estimate it's actual size. For there seemed to be an ever-present fog that never seemed to stray past the castle's gates.

Just like the fog, you always seemed to hear the cawing of crows and the flapping of bats whenever you step close enough. Yet their visibility was kept hidden in the fog.

Appearances aside, there did seem to be something... off, about the castle and not just because it appeared from thin air, no. It seemed to have a distinct aura of something... other.

No one knew how to explain it, but they could tell there was nothing natural about it. There was something fundamentally wrong with the castle, it wasn't the way it appeared out of nowhere, nor it's appearance.

===

When Sam finally became an adult, she didn't have to think twice about moving out. It was a bit difficult, with her parents not wanting to let her go just yet, but her grandmother managed to persuade them, thankfully.

When she was younger, Sam had always dreamed of owning a castle. Though its appearance did change in her mind when she grew older, from pretty and pink to one of darker colors and crows, which is why she never got one when she was younger, she realized.

But now that she was an adult, what was stopping her?

Nothing, that's what.

So, Sam buys one that matches her tastes and moves in. There was a lot of space, far more than she really ever thought about and now had to find a use for.

Magic.

Was something that enthralled Sam ever since she was young, that and the occult as a whole. So, for a few months after moving did she try and get her hands on things like magical tomes, items, scripts and learn it.

Surprisingly, she was strongly successful in her attempts of learning magic. It was surprising to be sure, but now that she compares it to the portal to the afterlife, having a half dead friend and having hunted down ghosts, she realizes that magic wouldn't be that much farfetched in the equation.

A fair bit of her time now was spent covering her castle in wards, sigils, and runes, ones that would strengthen themselves over time, various protection wards and multiple others that she found useful. Most of them were ones that she found through text, though others were ones she personally made.

After she finished the entirety of the castle, she studied thoroughly to gain more knowledge and power for herself, she even made a few spells of her own along with various potions. Unfortunately, she was interrupted in her studies by various other witches, because apparently having such a powerful fledgling witch on her lonesome was too tempting of an offer to pass up for the nearby covens.

So she had to... move, before they tried to force her to join them. As for how, well, she moved her entire castle! What better way to refuse, really?

Unfortunately, it was her first time using such large-scale teleportation magic and she messed it up. Not that her calculations on where the castle was supposed to be were wrong, but while in the midst of moving through space she was... thrown off kilter.

She didn't even know how or what caused her to mess up. But her castle both was and wasn't where she wanted it to be. Her original destination was coordinates near Amity Park, and while they were on said coordinates.

This wasn't Amity Park.

To say she worried was an understatement. She scrambled to find something about where she ended up, and realized not only was she thrown off kilter, but she was also thrown off so badly that she ended up in an entirely different dimension. Luckily, she managed to make the philosopher's stone.

To say making it was easy would be wrong, for even she didn't know how she created it. It was by accident and for a while she didn't even know she had made it, when she had and tried to do something with it the stone had, uh, well.

It fused into her skin.

It had placed itself right over her face, on her chest, and it granted her immortality it seemed. Though that wasn't the effect she was currently thankful for no, the effect of making gold would be valuable to her, she wouldn't have the Manson wealth, but she could at the very least sustain herself.

For now, though, she did have her studies to get back to.

[wisteria-lodge]

some worldbuilding notes for a hypothetical american magical school in the harry potter universe

Since I feel especially annoyed about ilvermorny today

Okay. So a fairly important difference between England (& Europe) and the Americas is that North/South America is really, really big. Population groups can be a LOT more spread out, which is important. If you’re going to give me a statistic like “one in every 10,000 people is a wizard” well, that means that early on, you’re statistically not going to know any magical people outside of your (presumably mostly magical) family, or like… rumors of A magic guy a hundred miles away, who you then track down and apprentice with. 

In order to get away from the model of “my parents teach me magic” or “I am one of three apprentices of this one magic guy”... then you’re going to need a population center. The biggest pre-Columbian population centers that we know of are Teotihuacan (which seems to have fallen apart circa 750) and Cahokia (which seems to have fallen in the late 1300s.) We know almost nothing about the people who originally built these cities, we don’t even know these cities' original *names.* So that makes me think - hidden city. Make both of these magical cities, and then go very El Dorado with it. Streets paved with gold, etc. I could see an American magical *school* located in either (or both) of these. And they’d very quickly become sister schools anyway, considering how easy teleportation is in this universe. 

I actually think it’s kind of cool if the American wizards split away from the muggles EARLIER than their European counterparts. Maybe a seer saw destruction ahead, and the thought was - well, we better protect the kids. The first Europeans over in the Americas were the (very religious) Spanish (and Portuguese.) Considering that when Columbus showed up, they were smack-dab in the middle of the Spanish Inquisition… fairly famously concerned with locating and killing witches… yeah, I’ll believe that the magic community of America just decided they didn’t want to deal with that. I could absolutely see the American wizard community becoming really, really isolationist. Which MEANS that their architecture/clothing/style of magic would be completely its own thing. You could pull design references from the Mayans, Aztecs, Navajo, Iroquois, Chocktaw, Cherokee (just to name a few)… like, it would be so cool looking. 

I also think that if the split happened this way, the wizards probably would have taken the non-magical inhabitants of the cities *with* them, when they disappeared off the map. I think American wizards are actually pretty cool with muggles… you just have to be able to FIND them, and once you find them you have to be willing to STAY in their magical city. or else they just dump you back outside and memory-charm you so you don’t know how to get back (again, very El Dorado.) If you’re magical and want to leave - explore the world, bring back other magical knowledge - not an issue. But probably (since you’re not the city’s secret-keeper) you’re not *able* to tell anyone where it is. 

I think it’s kind of dark and interesting (and also makes sense with how spread out America is…) that if you’re a magical child, the school summons you almost through compulsion. Like you just wake up one day, and *have* to walk in a certain direction. Magical families would of course know all about this, and either be living in the city already, or escort you there. But if you’re a muggleborn, you just have no idea what’s going on until you show up. I think American wizards have a word for “loyal muggle protector of the wizard child” - because while you can’t STOP the wizard child, you can *follow them,* and find El Dorado that way. And then they just let you stay, if you want. Obscurials would have been more common in America (I imagine you’d be more motivated to repress your magic if you thought you were the ONLY magical person in the world) and this model would have been set up to cut down on the very real threat a rogue obscurial represents. 

(oh, this compulsion magic would absolutely have a range. Like it wears off if you sail too far away from the mainland. so the Caribbean and pacific islands etc would have completely separate magic traditions.)

Animal communication as path to wisdom shows up in a couple early american traditions, so it might be fun to say that basically "familiar" - magical helper/guide animal - is a unique type of American magic. Of course there would absolutely be some sort of cultural stereotype / hierarchy attached to the *type* of animal you favor, because people be people.

Also, I could see them being jussst a little judgy of European wizards, who can so easily become incapacitated/have their magic taken *from* them, just by taking their wand. Maybe American wizards try harder to develop/control wandless childhood magic, or go more for the ritual based/mental stuff, which takes longer to perform/master. And then side eye the rapid-fire magic of the Europeans, which SURE is great for dueling, but like. It's very clearly war magic.

[thatnonameuser]

I feel like a lot of yandere can use Lilia's bullying to their advantage if they find out. Like, "oh! That mean old bat from diasomnia? Psh, elementary spell. I can remove it for you, but you'll owe me." Especially the extremely smart ones like the OB boys.

Another note: Platonic Yan vs Platonic Yan! Teachers removing another darn curse placed by Lilia; like maybe Trein who's knowledgeable in history like Lilia is and old spells. Or Crewel who has rare ingredients in his part of the school greenhouse for that nasty ancient potion that Lilia snuck in your drink.

For what I’m about to say, take no offense. 

Insert mocking tone here….You think Lilia ‘General of the East’ Vanrouge would curse you if he knew it could be removed easily?! That’s funny. Mocking tone ceased.

Lilia really wouldn’t waste his and your time with an easily broken spell. Plus, because Lilia’s been around long before the teacher’s grandparent’s parents were born and that the fae have been doing the darling thing for a very long time before it was widespread in the human nations. A lot of the old ways have fallen out of practice with many of the spells, potions and curses being lost to time. Mostly because they were either banned or lost from records. But hey, there are a good few that have survived the test of time. 

Night Raven’s connection to the Great Seven allows for some of the best and strongest spells to have survived to the present day. And along with those spells come cures. Each dorm at NRC has a manuscript of spells, both to entrap and to cure, that are protected under lock and key by the dorm leaders. So depending on the dorm, one might have the knowledge to cure what ails you. But that’s not to say that comes without a price. 

Listen. While it pains them to watch you suffer, they all, cough Azul cough, know an opportunity when they see it. And it would be so helpful if you cooperate with them, and maybe give them something in return? Maybe something you originally said no to?

They might or might not know whoever your attacker was. Some of the ones from more ancient families, specifically Leona and Idia, might be able to recognise it and put two and two together, but once again powerful and ancient spells are hard to come by so others might not.

Either way, you’ll be suffering one moment and severely indebted the next. 

As for the teachers….. Same packaging, different purpose. 

The teachers have an arrangement to all protect you from the yanderes, even if you actually want to be with one of them. So if any one of them notices that you’ve been claimed, willingly or otherwise, they’re all stepping in. 

Crewel, Trein and Sam are especially helpful for this. Crewel teaches you how to avoid or notice them and provides the potion cures. Trein does the research to handle the really old ones and dispels them for you. And Sam, can get you any and every magic charm, repellant or tool that can free you or prevent any recastings. 

Don't go to them too often though, because if they start to think you're in capable of looking after yourself, you'll be isolated in a whole new way.

Also don’t think Lilia won’t wise up to whatever anyone’s plotting. He will find any and every way around it. A lil idea that came up while I was writing this is Lilia negotiating with the teachers to make them stop intervening in the claiming process. Like how often they’ll get to visit, will they be able to walk you down the aisle, et cetera.

[manicpixieyandere]

Gushing Over Magical Girls | Confessions of a Rotten Girl

The Journey of Self Accepting Sexuality and Kink

(Censored a bit because boo Tumblr).

More and more lately we have seen people online going on about how they want no more s*x in media, or at the very least no more pointless s*x in media. But trying to say what should and shouldn't be in a story purely because you deem it pointless completely misses the point. If you pay attention to the stories, you'll see when s*x has a meaning.

Usually it's something like showing how close two characters are, or the lust a certain character feels, and yes sometimes it is just fan service, but there is nothing wrong with that either.

Today we wanted to talk about two semi recent (within the last year) pieces of media that have shown s*x in ways that matter to the story. Those medias would be the manga / anime series: Gushing Over Magical Girls, and the song "Confessions of a Rotten Girl.

Both of these works center on the theme of a school aged girl learning about her own kink and sexual identity and coming to terms with the fact. Their ages are important as middle school to high school is exactly when people tend to start feeling these things (sometimes even younger).

Here is where we are gonna split the works into sections! First up is Gushing Over Magical Girls!

Throughout the story Utena finds out she is a sadist who loves to torture magical girls. At first she is disgusted by herself, thinking she needs to stop.

But the more the series goes on, the more she starts to accept this side of herself.

But the thing is; even though Utena is part of an evil organization and is playing the part, she never fully gives in. She isn't evil. She still supports the magical girls and wants to see them thrive with their La Verità forms. Utena is suspicious of Venalita and plans to work against them if things go south (of course this has yet to be seen as the series is on hiatus).

We think it's really cool to show a character come to terms with their kink and even sexual identity (she only ever plays with girls, just saying) through a story. People get so wrapped up in the "rights" of fictional characters that they forget they are just tools for the writer to tell their story. Both manga and anime are visual mediums, you can't just say what a character is thinking, you need to SHOW it. So the easiest way to do so would be having Utena actually preforming these actions on the magical girls. It also just makes it more interesting and action packed.

On the flip side we have Hatsune Miku from Confessions of a Rotten Girl. With music it isn't a visual medium, and thus the song can get away with sharing the character's thoughts through words and not visuals (although the music video does show the content Miku consumes).

In Miku's case we also have a school aged girl coming to terms with her sexual interests and identity. She also is into bondage but she is really into you guessed it, YAOI. Oh Fujo Miku how we love you.

While Utena's version of demonization is more fictional in the sense of being a villain to the magical girls, Miku's is more grounded in realistic depictions of religious guilt and trauma.

At first Miku is at confession and talks about her interests being temptations and that she is burdened by shame. She even goes as far to say she is eating the forbidden fruit.

As most of you probably know, this refers to Eve in the Garden of Eden eating from The Tree of Knowledge. Christians see this event as a tragedy, the birth of original sin. But look what Miku says:

"Could Eve be our idol? Could she lead us through the light? We'd all be disciples of her lemon driven bite".

This isn't someone upset about the bite, she is PRAISING Eve. To me this reads as a little baby Satanist in the making. If you don't know there are two types of Satanists. The first kind do not believe in Satan but instead see him as a symbol of freedom. The second half share those same beliefs but actually believe in Satan. Satanists do not see Eve eating the fruit as a tragedy, they see it as liberation. They see it as the beginning of free will.

Both Utena and Miku chose to live as their own authentic selves. Neither are really evil, but if people see them that way, then so be it.

[lilmissbacon]

Rotg world building — Thoughts and theories

This was originally just going to be a reblog to THIS post but then I ended up going down a rabbit hole of my thoughts and opinions, so it became too annoyingly long for peoples/my preference.

Most of the post really expresses how I've always viewed the world of spirits in Rotg. The only thoughts I'm not really a fan of is the idea of some spirits not having physical forms and just being like big storms. Because what's the point of humanoid spirits being invisible to humans if they have no physical forms to other spirits as well?

I never saw Jack talking to the wind as the wind being an active spirit, I saw it as him just being so lonely he'd pretend the wind was alive to not feel so alone. After all, he only addressed the wind 1 time, if it were an actual being I feel like it'd be addressed more than once. Especially when Jack needed to get out of Antarctica: why would he need to fix his staff to fly out if the wind could've just picked him up unless he was the one making the wind? And like the post linked above said, the comics are unofficial. They're cool and I love them but they're not canon.

I do love the idea of their being 2 generations of spirits. Pre-MiM and post-MiM where the legends of Gods and myths are tales of the original spirits mistaken for higher deities and distorted over time. After all MiM wasn't always there (at least in the books) so how were their seasons/seasonal spirits on earth before him unless they were just natural to earth?

Plus it's made apparent through Sandy's death in Rotg that spirits are not 100% immortal, just non-aging. I think there is an open window for spirits to come back like Sandy did, if an influx of enough people believe, Tinkerbell style. But after maybe a year or so, that window is closed, that spirit is full on dead and that spirit needs to be replaced to keep the world in balance. So there could've been hundreds of spirits that have been lost but then replaced by MiM. I also think only magic can kill spirits, since Jack managed to fall from like 300+ feet in the final battle and walk it off without so much as a limp. Like, it still hurt, he clearly felt the pain, but he could still run, jump, throw hands and everything. He only groaned like he tripped down a small set of stairs.

Guardians are the only ones who could die without belief due to the vow they take. I feel like that vow tying their lives to belief could've actively been like an insurance policy to insure that the Guardians stay true and keep doing their jobs to fulfill childhood. It may be controlling and borderline manipulative for MiM to make them do that but I'm sure we're all in agreement that he is pretty gray as a character in the movie when you really think about it. And I could even see where he's coming from with this idea. After all, who knows how many spirits he may have made thinking they were good people, only for them to go dark and become evil. I'm sure MiM would hold a lot of guilt whenever those bad spirits hurt others or even feel at fault for making these decent people, eventual villains. Besides the Guardians know they could die if they lose belief when they make the vow, so it's not like MiM tricked them, that's consented. The Guardians just forgot to tell Jack that.

Now, I always saw "Spirit Society" as all spirits know of each other and word always gets around when new ones are made. I don't think there's a hidden city or village (other than maybe Santoff Clausen if it's even still around. And only for some of them, it wouldn't be big enough for all spirits in my mind) but rather they make homes for themselves and just cross paths with each other all the time. Kinda like the countryside; everyone's homes are far apart, but you still see each other in stores or at work.

I'm not quite sure how the news and knowledge would spread between spirits so often unless they were either all huge gossips or had yearly meets or something. But you know what, I'd be willing to bet that there are a few "messenger" spirits similar to Hermes in Greek myth, that just fly everywhere, spreading word for other spirits to make sure everyone is in the loop.

In my mind, Bunny's aggression early in the movie was meant to kinda show how most spirits saw Jack. After all, he's the only one who didn't feel like he'd be super recluse due to his job as he's the only one who doesn't work all year-round.

Unless he's a complete hermit, what is he doing for the rest of the year other than going out and hanging with other spirits?

I think most spirits hate Jack for being a troublemaking spirit that honed the deadliest season. That could just be my angst fanfic brain making things up but why else would Jack be so desperate to look towards humans to connect with unless he has tried with other spirits who could see him and was only met with backlash?

'Cause I have seen a few people complain that the ending of the movie contradicted Jack's arc of wanting to be seen only to leave the few believers he'd finally made. But that was never the point. He has what I like to call a fake-out arc; where it's said he wants one thing but his actual goal is different. He asks why he can't be seen, he tries his best to get people to believe in him, but he's doing it in an effort to find a family.

He mentions how no one can see him but he's more devastated over why he was left alone. That's his main question in this scene. He doesn't outwardly ask why he's alone specifically, but asking MiM "why" just after he was looking so longingly at Jamie's family is clearly meant to insinuate that that is what he really wants. He may even be telling himself it's just to be seen because he's been alone for so long that he just wants the bare fucking minimum. That's why the end of Rotg is still satisfying despite leaving his new believers, because being seen was never truly the end goal, it was finding a family and he finally found that in the other Guardians.

He clearly believed that he couldn't be accepted by other spirits, so he looked to humans to find that connection and getting to be seen by them was just a first step towards that goal.

It's the same thing in Tangled (because I have encountered someone who thought Rapunzel was one-dimensional for just wanting to see lights 😮‍����) Rapunzel sang and always told Gothel + Eugene that she just wanted to see the floating lights, but the moment she steps out of her tower she starts singing in exhilaration about how she can finally go running, dancing, jumping and splashing. She never even mentions the lights. It had nothing to really do with the lights, she just wanted to leave her tower and explore the world. Seeing the lanterns was just her externalized and internalized excuse because she wanted to feel less awful for going against her 'mother'. Her wanting to explore the world was then more blatantly explored in Tangled the Series.

Edit: Pitch even straight up mentions about longing for a family when trying to sympathize with Jack and it's that very line that makes Jack lower is guard. Not the line about not being believed in, longing for a family. Jack even looks super sympathetic for him.

After Pitch killed Sandy, after witnessing first hand the belief fading from all the kids around the world and being framed for Easter's failure, possibly ruining Jack's relationship with the Guardians, Jack still feels bad for Pitch in this moment. That's why Jack lets Pitch say his piece in this scene despite knowing that he was never going to join him (you can tell he was never buying into Pitch's words and Jack didn't hesitate to refuse). He was even willing to try and just walk away after refusing his offer rather than keep fighting. Because he understands that desperation of wanting to be loved by just being seen and/or heard.

That's part of what makes him such a good layered character: the fact that he always used mischief in an effort to try and be seen, similar to when kids act out to get their parents attention. It leads the other spirits to think that he's nothing more than a troublemaker (and even audience as well, the amount of mis-characterization I've seen people make of Jack, istg) when in reality he's actually a very respectful, emotional, sweet and even responsible person that does know when to stop being silly. Jack never played around when actual danger came around, the only time he did was a one quip to Sandy because he was nervous and in the final battle when he realized being funny takes away Pitch's control.

And even then it was brief, after the kids started turning the sand gold again, Jack went right back into serious battle mode.

Kinda shows how not really mischievous Jack truly is when it takes him so long to realize that being fun can weaken Pitch. Because he's not really a trickster, he doesn't even really pull many pranks, he's just playful. But he had been cranking that up to 11 for the past 300 years in an effort to be seen, he inadvertently kept deterring other spirits away, who may had already not liked him just for being an ice based spirit. After all, whenever Bunny wanted to take a stab at Jack it was either at his invisibility or for his ice. Granted that could just be because Bunny himself just doesn't like the cold or even strictly because Jack made that blizzard on Easter but then again, we never got to see that for ourselves. We don't know if Jack even did that on purpose or not.

Last note; I don't think any other spirits died to become spirits like Jack did. It's my personal headcanon that the reason Jack couldn't remember his past is because he's the only one who had actively died before MiM got the chance to turn him. Though for all we know there could be a few others who also forgot their pasts. If there are, Jack clearly never got the chance to ask.

The way this kinda diverged into a mini Jack Frost character analysis though 😅

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! Do you have any advice on how to handle an inherently fictional facial difference (that was caused by a fictional reason and while may have some partial crossover/parallels with elements of real world FDs, ultimately is a fictional one and is specific to the world/lore) in a way that would not come off as harmful to real facial differences? I also have some characters with actual real life FDs in the story, but maybe there's something else I should consider?

Also, what is your opinion on fictional disabilities in general? Not when the story just has a vague disability that can't be strongly connected to anything specific from real life, but when author specifically develops a fictional condition/disability/chronic disease etc in context of/based on elements of their fictional world?

Hello!

A fictional facial difference has basically the same potential pitfalls as any other fictional disability. You can take a look at this post where we talked about what not to do, TLDR: make sure it's actually a fictional disability and not just one you haven't heard of yet and be mindful of what real conditions it could be reminiscent of (and avoid stereotypes accordingly).

It's good that you also have characters with actually existing disabilities, it honestly annoys me to no end when people boast about their "disability rep" while all they have is 20 different "magic character can't do magic" characters. So this is definitely a big plus.

The only thing you need to keep in mind is to not split the two (character with fictional FD vs characters with IRL FD) into separate categories, consciously or not. Don't treat the one with a made-up FD as better or as inherently prettier than "those other people". Ideally they're all just treated the same in the story since that's the only option that makes logical sense.

Also, it was mentioned already in the post I linked, but unless you have some very specific scenario you purposefully want to do and actually comment on, avoid making the cause of her FD either 1) result of her parents doing Evil Drugs or black magic or whatever or 2), contagious. Very little FDs have those origins, but many are stereotyped or downright accused of being such.

Other than that, think of the same stuff as you would with IRL facial differences existing in a story. How does society treat them? What is the acceptance level? Are the majority of people knowledgeable (a person can know exactly nothing about being disabled and still be kind and accepting; it's not exclusive)? Are FDs more common because medicine is less advanced?

For the last question; it depends. If it has symptoms that real people have, there are gonna be real people who will relate to it (if done well) and real people who might be offended by how it's portrayed (if done badly).

Let's say your setting has a magic toxic flower that causes lower limb paralysis and/or weakness after someone steps on it - that's fictional, but there are many real world disabilities that share similar symptoms, even if the cause is obviously very different. If this was the fictional disability, the characters who have it would probably share the same community as characters with SCI, neuropathy, MS, etc.; it's based in fantasy but it's easy to imagine that it could be real.

In this context you should be researching the symptoms - leg paralysis and weakness - and potential treatments - physical therapy, learning how to walk with orthoses/crutches, painkillers, etc. Real readers with real symptoms will be able to relate to this kind of fantasy disability.

But let's say the fictional disability mainly presents as chronic pain and muscle spasms caused by the person not using magic enough. This on the other hand, doesn't work as a (respectful) fantasy disability. The main "accusation" people with chronic pain get is that we are lazy and if we just did more of [usually exercise] we would be cured - it doesn't work like that, and it would be frankly offensive to make a whole illness where the chronic pain is caused by someone not waving their wand enough or whatever. No one will be relating to this because it's not based on how stuff works, it's based on a stereotype. "It's fantasy" isn't a get out of jail free card, you still have to be conscious of what you are implying.

As long as you do research and keep in mind which real things your fantasy disabilities resemble (e.g. Hansen's disease and ALS will have very different stereotypes attached to them) so you can avoid making a connection you don't want to make.

Hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[quitealotofsodapop]

BTW, it just occurred to me, and it might just be a very sweet thought. So in penumbra au, the reason for the babies to be born is that Macaque had left some of his clones behind on the mountain to protect it. Wukong himself had found them after returning and. Ouls not bear the thought of the last piece of his late master fading away as clones normally do when their original self dies, so he started using his own magic to try to sustain them. He was only aware of the two, Rumble and Savage, and had no knowledge about Thunder's existence. So, how did Thunder survive/sustain themselves long enough to turn into a baby monkey?

The answer is his siblings. Somehow, someway, back then, they were still just clones, Rumble and Savage still cared enough about their third clone to share the dao Wukong had poured into them with Thunder. Even tho they should, theoretically, not have the ability to make a decision like that since they were just clones back then. That's also why Thinder took so much longer/is much more fragile compared to their siblings because they were essentially just receiving whatever dao they could spare form what Wukong would give them (which was a lot since Wukong's doa is particularly powerful but still only enough to really sustain the two clones and not a third unknown clone)

Because of this, Rumble and Savage are particularly protective of Thunder, as is Wukong, who understands his mistake had made his youngest much more fragile than they should be. Tbf, no one really blames him since he hadn't even known that Thunder was there (which considering Thunder was meant to guard his marriage nest sets off all sorts of complicated feelings in Wukong) but it's still something Wukong blames himself for

Prev.

oohhhh thats so sweet and a little sad! ;_;

The twin shadows noticed that their triplet was not receiving the same attention from their "mother", and sought him out to share the donated life energy between them. This is probably the reason why it took so long for the shadows to collapse into new individual souls - they were running on a third-low of energy.

I wouldn't be surprised if the first thing the twins did upon gaining physical form was try and toddle towards the royal bedroom - knowing that their brother was there alone. Their distress probably is what clued Wukong in to checking the Stone Palace in the first place.

Even when their little brother is still a shadow clinging to Mom; the twin girls spit and puff up at anyone that comes too close to him (even MK!). Once he's able to move around on his own, they watch over him like bodyguards.

Wukong feels SO GUILTY once he realises what happened. He had been too depressed to return to living in the Stone Palace, and therefore his and Macaque's marriage nest, after the shadow monkey's passing. Had he'd been more vigilant, he could have found Thunder a lot earlier.

Wukong is super protective of his little thunderbolt, but recognises that once Thunder is able to separate from his shadow that the cub needs to practice a little independence. Still a huge mama's boy tho, there's no changing that.

Macaque also recognises that the clone he left to guard the bedroom is the weaker of the three. He's unsure if he would have felt better if he wasn't. Wukong still took the time to ponder his late mate's weapons and theatre effects enough to find and keep his remaining shadows.

The second Macaque is back for good, he reclaims the marriage nest. If Wukong happens to crawl in to join him without question, then thats a bonus. However this means that the nest is now besieged by cuddly little cubs wanting to be held by their parents nearly every night. XD

[rootspiral]

i’m thinking about how agatha says “my thoughts are not available to you, toots. they never, ever were. so don’t go giving yourself a migraine” to wanda and then “you’ll get a nosebleed trying that hard to read my mind” to billy.

a few things about this are interesting to me, particularly because of the layered ulterior motives she has for saying it:

1- agatha’s need to brag about being stronger lol

2- the fact that it does sound almost protective, the way she chooses to let them know they might get hurt from trying too hard. idk if it was just wanda, i could let it go, but i feel like it’s meaningful that it’s wanda AND billy, you know?

because we know for sure agatha cares about billy and she would try to avoid him hurting himself, so the fact that she used such a similar tactic on wanda makes me feel like it might have been a tiny hidden shred of evidence that she didn’t want to cause wanda any more hurt than necessary, either.

and, most notably,

3- we don’t have an origin story for agatha’s ability to block out telepathy, but to me those scenes might indicate that she taught herself that skill, rather than having been born with it. because maybe, if beings as powerful as wanda and/or billy tried hard enough, they would be able to read her mind. and she doesn’t wanna risk that, so she just makes it very clear that they can’t and sorta hopes to hell they’ll believe it.

aaanyaways, this just crossed my mind and i wanted to share and maybe ask if you have any thoughts on it?

hope you have a nice day!

(also btw re: the tags on your response to my last ask, i completely understand needing to take some time! no need to explain yourself :)

First of all, YES to Agatha teaching herself how to block out telepathy. On the shows we only scratch the surface of her immense self-taught knowledge, which I think is a cornerstone of her character. We get plenty of clues, from a very young Agatha accused not of murder but of stealing "knowledge above [her] age and station," to Agatha being constantly shown learning from books and teaching Nicky, to her whole relationship with the Darkhold, not to mention how she seems to understand Wanda's and Billy's powers better than they ever could.

I imagine her being obsessed with chaos/reality magic as soon as she learned about it from the Darkhold (because it's the only thing powerful enough to go against Rio's laws of nature / bring Nicky back) and as a consequence she learned to block telepathy, or if she already knew how, she definitely set out to become the greatest thought-blocker in history, she's just the kind of nerd who would do that. Plus she's extremely jealous of her inner thoughts and feelings, she regards her sorrows and fears as her greatest weakness, so it stands to reason that she'd be eager to learn how to hide them from everyone. I've talked about Agatha not giving a damn about being physically naked, it's her mind she wants to keep secret, and that is why being so uncensored as Agnes was much more humiliating.

Agatha boasting her thought-blocking abilities to Wanda and Billy has layered reasons like you pointed out – that's what I love about her, she's both complex and very predictable in her complexity. She's showing off, she's proud she's better than them at their own game. She's also calculating because you never know, they could break her barriers if they tried hard enough so better discourage them. And I don't know if she was being protective of Wanda too, maybe unconsciously.

But with Billy there was more overt affection, and I keep thinking how important it is for Billy to have someone in his life that is not constantly screaming in his head, and how significant the little exchange they had on the couch is, in retrospect. "I like it here. It's because it's quiet. You're quiet, Agnes." I like to imagine the whirlwind of thoughts this produced in Agatha, because you know her mind is always going a million miles a minute. In that moment her relationship with Billy was truly born I think, in all its three aspects: selfish (this is Wanda's son with Scarlet Witch-like powers that I can steal for myself), selfish in a different way (this is a magical little boy that I can claim and raise as my own, like I never could with Nicky) and selfless (I'm sorry for this kid born with powers he doesn't understand, I need to protect him.) So yes, I guess that even if she was smothering out the protectiveness she felt for Wanda, with Billy she's more ready to embrace it.

[yellingaboutmasseffect]

Griffons are not Long Termed Fucked: Real Life Animal Conservation Success for your Fantasy World Building

So the Dragon Age AMA sure was a thing. I am not going touch on any of the rest of it besides the future of the griffons, especially as someone who just played Inquisition and Veilguard. The reason I want to touch on the griffons is because animals are an interest of mine and I greatly admire the work that has gone into conservation and breeding programs across the world. Hopefully, y'all enjoy me theorizing about griffons with what I know.

Before we get into it, I would like to thank @ellstersmash for screenshotting the AMA and posting it here. Below the cut is going to be a screenshot from their post. Beyond the cut is spoilers for Veilguard so beware if you are avoiding those.

Ok, let's get the first thing out of the way, is 13 individuals ideal? Of course not but that does not make the situation impossible. I am going to go at this from "what would be most ideal" in the scenario that the game presents.

Aren't Assan and the other griffons siblings?

I think it is important to remember that Davrin is the one who says this. None of the Wardens involved in finding or raising the griffons would know that information. In fact, the only person that would know that is Isseya, who hid the eggs.

The wardens and Davrin were concerned in raising and training these young griffons. At that age, it didn't seem like they were thinking of the breeding possibilities in the future and considered them "siblings" because they were found and hatched together.

There is some visual cues that could point to the griffons not being from the same clutch. When you go back to the Hossberg Wetlands after rescuing the griffons, they can be found hanging amongst the wardens and they are surprisingly colorful and each seem to be inspired by different birds when it comes to their colors. While it is completely possible that is just how griffons were, it could point to a situation where Isseya stole an egg from 13 different clutches. It would make sense that when the griffons were wiped out, Warden command would have noticed if entire clutches disappeared but what about just an egg from each clutch? While this is the best case scenario, I do feel it's entirely plausible and would mean each griffon of our 13 have different parents.

In short, they could very well be siblings but there is no reason they couldn't be eggs from 13 different mated pairs of griffons. Hopefully Bioware goes with the later.

EDIT: As @siderealtide very helpfully pointed out in their reblog, we do know they are all siblings from one clutch from the story, Last Flight, as Isseya did cut them out of 1 dying griffon.

Given.... everything it could get retconned or as Siderealtide also pointed out as well they could be more mammalian like cats and have multiple fathers if their mother was especially frisky ( that would be fantastic for the situation. Not ideal but not insurmountable). Or magic but I did not feel knowledgeable enough on what is possible with magic in Dragon Age to theorize on that for this post. Back to the original post.

2. But isn't 13 griffons still too few?

Now there are ideal situations, which this isn't, but that doesn't make it impossible. It would make the griffons susceptible to a falling prey to a disease or scenario that deceased griffons might have had the genetic diversity to combat but none of the surviving 13 have the genes to weather through. That is not guaranteed to happen (and this is a fictional scenario.)

There are also some remarkable examples of animals coming back with similar odds.

The California Condor, my beloved. By 1982, only 23 individuals remained so they were all taken into captivity by the California Condor Recovery Program for a captive breeding program. In such programs they can arrange for mating pairs for ideal genetic diversity and hand rear individuals to ensure as many of the young live to adulthood. Today, there are over 500 California Condors in the wild and in captivity combined.

The Black Footed Ferret's program started with 18 individuals and 1000 are now in the wild!

In short, not ideal but not impossible. Even if you make a certain choice in game.

3. Ok, so how would the griffon breeding program work?

So I do believe both the Dalish/Veiljumpers and the Wardens would be capable of doing such efforts depending on your choice in game. They don't have as many tools at their disposal for optimal pairings or detecting genetic makeup, but they could do pedigrees to track who mated with whom and when.

Ideally, there would be more female griffons than males since the female griffons can lay eggs (hopefully more than one at a time). You could then pair a female and male griffon together until they produce a clutch/or clutches successfully before rotating in another male partner to repeat the process. From there, you would keep track of their ancestry to produce ideal mating pairs going forward and keep it as genetically varied as possible. In this ideal scenario, griffons don't mate for life and if there is lore about that, refer to my earlier disclaimer about my dragon age knowledge.

4. What about that 50/500 thing?

That came from Google AI summary. I admit I have never heard that rule before but it's more complicated than saying these numbers are required across the board.

5. Why did you make this post?

Like I said, it's a special interest of mine. I love watching Nat Geo shows about accredited zoos and learning about their conservation efforts. Environmental doomerism serves no one. Yeah, there will be times where we can't save species but people have shown time and time again that it is possible even under very bleak circumstances. So yeah in part this was about hope for these fictional griffons but I also if you got a little hope about real life conservation efforts, that's nice too.

[felassan]

DA:TV spoilers/long post under cut. This post is a continuation of [this post].

A note on the [former] Arishok's - potentially Stenishok's - current whereabouts and activities.

A nod to how Dalish clans can be quite different from each other in some ways. it's neat to hear an example of the way in which the specific details of one of the tales from Dalish lore differs from clan to clan. I would read an entire volume of World of Thedas's worth on this topic alone hh :D

Neve hears the swell of the Docktown sea when she's in the Lighthouse, the sound of the home she loves so dearly 🥺 Neve Gallus I love you

This Crow mask from concept art made it in! I wish this existed as a helmet for Rook, as it slaps ^^

same

I lost Harding in my story (second team leader), so this hurts so bad (which is to say, real good). (˚ಥ﹏ಥ)ง..

where Orzammar has Shapers of Memories, Kal-Sharok has Stewards of Memories.

Ostagar mabari bois reference 🥺 Ostagar here could feasibly have been descended from Dog, the HoF's mabari specifically. during the time of Awakening, Dog was said to have fathered a few litters of puppies.

'Ghilan'nain stamps her notes with a stylized halla head' continues.

Archive Spirits sound like Dragon Age's answer to VIs in Mass Effect, like Avina (versus the AIs). Only seven in the elven lore Bellara knows at the point in time of writing this Codex - did Mythal never feel the need to have an Archive Spirit, did the knowledge of Mythal's simply never come down through time, or did the remaining Evanuris only make Archive Spirits after Mythal had been struck down?

Stories such as ones about the elves in The Last Court 👁️..

for obvious reasons I just think the naming of "Elgar'nan's Pride" is curious...

Calling the moon and the sun to him like doves in this Codex was a neat bit of foreshadowing of the eclipse that happens at his hand during the endgame. quelling an unquiet earth - striking down the Titans and building the elven empire, like here.

Ghil has her halla head symbol to stamp, June has his own mark. I'm super curious to know what form June's takes. The single lyrium crystal split in two to 'join' the two June eluvians remains me a lot of Quantum Entanglement Communicators in Mass Effect hhh.. "When a pair of quantum-entangled particles is separated, a change to one particle will affect the other instantaneously, wherever it lies in the universe. QECs exploit this effect to transmit binary data any distance. Two pairs of entangled particles are necessary for transmission and reception." it's like that, but Dragon Age.

This reminded me of Codex: Raising the Sonallium.

1) In Thedas astronomy, some of the constellations are theorized or interpreted inworld as representing the Evanuris, like Solium and Elgar'nan, and Tenebrium and Falon'Din. Draconis is a very interesting one - there is speculation in the world that Draconis represented "an unknown eighth Old God stricken from historical record". As we now know, the Tevinter 'Old Gods' are linked to the Evanuris as their dragons/Archdemons. and here we have a possible mention of an 'eighth Evanuris' [on top of the 9 minus 2, Mythal and Fen'Harel] [[I know this codex doesn't say this being was one of them specifically, but for the sake of simplicity I'll just say it]] whose name has also mysteriously been struck out.. 👁️👁️ 2) Theory time. Falon'Din and Dirthamen were each soul fragments of what was originally the same spirit soul/being. Morrigan mentions them as being only one such case of this. the entity "The Healer" here is described as being linked to Sylaise. and in Dalish lore, Sylaise showed them how to heal, how to use herbs and magic for healing purposes. in Dalish lore the Vir Atish'an, the Way of Peace, involves learning Sylaise's wisdom, learning the arts of the healer and the mender. What if this 'eighth Evanuris' was the twin to Sylaise in the way Dirthamen was to Falon'Din? then maybe the healing stuff of 'Sylaise 2' "The Healer" came to be remembered as being associated with 'Sylaise 1' "The Surviving Sylaise" (since originally they were the same being after all, there could have been some shared traits or domains maybe)?

◕‿◕ This whole codex entry was super cool and felt kind of meta, it reminded me of how over the years in the fandom people have debated which one is which and tried to line the two sets up hh.

Beyond Thedas. (remembering the new stuff about the Devouring Storm from across the sea too)

These empty settlements made of crystal and obsidian.. that's suuuch a distinctive image and idea. there's something in that, but what?

maybe it's a volcanic land? interestingly volcanic soil can be very fertile, so in different parts of the same 'volanic land' you could feasibly have (especially in a fantasy world anyways, I'm just babbling for fun here, pls don't take the shit 'geology' etc in this post too seriously lol, ik it probably doesnt make actual real sense) areas of bare volcanic rock/glass next to or not far from areas of rich green lush vegetation growth growing from volcanic soil.. maybe the various sailor expeditions to Amaranth with their conflicting reports of it simply landed in different environs of the same 'volcanic place'? that could account for the differing accounts of what Amaranth is like.

There is this picture from the DA:TV artbook that the crystal and obsidian line really reminds me of -

Caption: "A version of the deserts of Nevarra. In this case, trying something with very high contrast: white ash and sharp black obsidian."

but this is apparently a depiction of Nevarra.

a volcanic land.. the Devouring Storm as a cloud of ash or pyroclastic flow? poison fruit, a poison cloud.. something something.. or the differing reports of the land could simply be separated by time instead of place, and something bad happened like an eruption? or could crystal and obsidian both be formed in the great heat of dragonfire? maybe there's dragons in the mix there somehow right, it's "Dragon Age" (there's always a dragon..) and the Qunari made the adaari using dragon blood to help see and fight "the ancient enemy".. something something.. I think there's more to the DS than simply a natural phenomena tho, as it's framed as an ancient enemy (or the tool of such) of the Qunari, something that was being fought, as having devouring anti-magic/magic-nullifying properties and being very cold [or at least that associated mysterious substance stuff is], but it's fun to think about :)

In The Calling, Duncan found a box in a Circle Tower which contained a strange-looking dagger made of obsidian, and there was something kinda weird about it. I read back some of the descriptions of it and something that struck me:

He handed Fiona’s staff to her and passed the black-bladed dagger to Duncan. The moment Duncan touched it, he felt a strange pulsing deep within the metal. It was cold and strangely . . . off. Yet it had never felt like this before. What could be happening to it?

here his dagger is cold and off. Compare DA:TV codex entry "Mystery Substance" (MS is connected to the DS): "It is cold, for one; ice forms on the vial's sides, even in the warmth of the afternoon sun."

and

“I was hoping!” Duncan raced as fast as he could, intending to stab the man before he could manage another spell. He leaped into the air, his dagger poised for the strike, but it was too late. Remille raised his other hand and a jet of dark shadow poured forth from it. It struck Duncan in the chest and propelled him backwards. He crashed to the ground well away from the mage, screaming in pain as the shadows spread over him like a blanket. It felt like a million ants crawling over his skin, each one biting and tearing away a piece of flesh. He flailed and swatted at the blackness with his free hand, but it was insubstantial. Like a ghost, his hand simply passed through it even though he could feel it consuming him. Desperate, he stabbed at the shadow with his dagger. Better to carve off his own flesh than be eaten whole by this magic. To his surprise, he didn’t stab himself. The moment the blade so much as touched the shadows, they recoiled from it. He began pressing the blade with frenzied haste against his body wherever the darkness touched him, and each time it retreated. Within moments he had escaped, backing against a wall and breathing rapidly. Terror raced through him as he stared at the inky black pool that lay just a foot from him, now sizzling. That could have been me, he thought. He was covered in sweat. The leather armor on his legs was torn up, the skin beneath it covered in slick blood, but he was whole. The dagger almost pulsated now. 

and here, magic spell-cast shadows recoil and retreat from the dagger, and it begins to pulsate. compare "Yet there is more to it than a simple chill. I cast several spells on the substance to ascertain its nature (once I removed it from Atrahel's possession; an easy task with one as dull as he) but the magic simply vanished as if consumed. When brought near any active magical ward, unless said ward had been cast with tremendous power, it sputtered and disappeared. A magic that devours all others would be a powerful weapon. If I could channel and master that energy". the MS also fills Atrahel with vim and vigor, where Duncan's dagger prevented him from being affected by the Calling and protected him from Blight corruption.. idk it could totally be nothing at all but it's interesting that some tales of a land across the sea recount obsidian structures, the DS is connected to across the sea stuff, the MS is connected to the DS, the MS is cold and anti-magic/consumes magic, and then you have Duncan's weird obsidian dagger which is cold and anti-magic. could totally be nothing, coincidence or bc [iirc] Duncan's dagger was enchanted and was made of the magic that the Architect taught Remille tho hh.. this post is word salad atp, not even a theory. 💀

This Memento describes that if the human nations call another Exalted March on the elves, Antiva/The Crows will not stand idly by while it happens this time.

Pertaining to the First Days of.. the First Elves...? as they walked for the first time on physical legs and breathed in air into lungs for the first time, maybe struggling to process / attune to their new form of being (flesh bodies rather than spirits)?

pertaining to the final days of Elvhenan? the Evanuris wronged the Titans before the formation of the Veil. the Titans' anger/severed dreams became the Blight, a growing thing that has been used as a weapon (e.g. Ghil) and can bring down gods, and it found frightened elves in their flesh bodies? 🤔

"Pillars" is cool phrasing for this set of Mementos because of the Titans as the Pillars of the Earth stuff :)

House Saelac (of Gorim Saelac fame) had a presence in or association with Kal-Sharok too, at one point.

I'm obsessed by the fact that for centuries Kal-Sharok sent spies out into the world above (and also to Orzammar too it sounds like?) to keep an eye on what was going on, and all that time the people they spoke to never knew from where they came.

Any connection to Codex Entry: Memories of a Duet? [ctrl-f "duet"]

The Fen'Harel art on this one says that this is to do with Solas. his failure in DA:I - the Orb of Fen'Harel lying broken into shards at the end after Corypheus was defeated, its power gone forever. misplaced trust, betrayal.. a whole new set of painful regrets start burning, added to the already large pyre.

Also Solas-related from its art. Sounds like one of his frescoes that he paints right? which god? the phrasing there could be interpreted as 'the god being painted' or 'the god doing the painting' both imo.

If the other two "Remnant" ones are Solas-related chances are this one is as well. a token or statuette of Mythal in dragon-aspect, well-handled by Solas ig q.q death is a parting and all that.

Garahel reference 🥺