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General Information and Explanations for the Department of Esoteric Dreams.
Main document for dream classifications and DoED jargon.
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Honestly ya'll I really dislike the Encyclopedia of Fairies by Bane Theresa, she essentially just went through world mythology and just slapped the fae label onto anything that has any sort of connection with nature and it's so INFRIATING how it directly calls something as being apart of the fae but then within the fucking books own energy itself it directly contradicts itself by mentioning they're a completely different nonhuman species entirely, IT REALLY JUST ANNOYS THE FUCK OUT OF ME😭 I've been thinking about kind of creating my own like speculative classification system for mythological beings purely out of spite for this one book tbh
I personally think she's one of the writers that have influenced this idea that some people have about the "fae existing on every single continent" belief that I've seen some Celtic pagans regurgitate and it honestly doesn't really sit right with me since yeah if you're just casting the net as wide as fucking possible and including every single nonhuman being that's even remotely connected with nature then of course you're gonna come to that conclusion 💀
I've been getting into like speculative biology so this has been on my mind for the last couple of days and just how absolutely disorganized all of the actual classifications for mythological & fictional monsters/beings actually is so I might end up just cobbling together my own methods cuz my autism hates how vague it all ends up being and also how it can sometimes be used negatively against other cultures and is kind of a colonization tactic that's been used for a really long time most notably by the Romans and later on by the colonial powers so even though there's no actual intention to do harm it's somewhat rooted in not great methods if that makes sense?
Kind of just wanted to spew my thoughts on this topic a little bit since it's made me realize how unhelpful the overall classification system for what is/isn't fae is just nonexistent so I wanted to prompt everyone with the following question: what traits do ya'll think something has to have either in their behaviors, traits, use of magic, and appearances for it to actually be classified as being apart of the fae?
#druidicentropy's rambles#classification system#Bane Theresa#great methods#book tbh#actual intention#nonhuman species#Encyclopedia of Fairies#Romans mentioned#INFRIATING#book#mythology#folklore#european folklore#fae#system#nature#nature deities#celtic paganism#paganism#british folklore#celtic folklore
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Power Classifications
Since it'll be relevant and readers might've had questions already; Here's the standard of how powered individuals are classified.
There's a lot of classifications in total, but only 4 major classifications, as follows;
Technological = Anything brought on by technology and sciences. Think gadgeteers, incredibly skilled marksmen, power armor pilots... If you're more or less a normal person, you're probably under this umbrella, if any. Rampart is a perfect example of this tree.
Mutation = Anything brought on by a mutation of some kind. Fomorian falls under this tree, for example. Mutants are also the only tree that, more often than not, falls under multiple overall trees. Keeping on Fomorian, he's primarily a mutant, but also falls under the Technological tree.
Mystical = This is where you'd find any sort of magi, construct, elemental, etc. For further info, see the post about the magic system, but as an example, Celestia falls here.
Kinetic = Here's where things get weird, cause Kinetics are the ONLY tree where NO ONE really falls into another tree BECAUSE of their Kinetic powers. A Kinetic controls a VERY SPECIFIC powerset. These powersets do NOT trigger any magical sensors of any kind, despite having nothing to do with technology and looking incredibly like magic. Not much is really known about how Kinetics work yet, but the limits of how much a Kinetic can control are pushed farthest by Centurion City's own Sentinella, who seems to have control of just about any kind of stone, from sandstone to basalt to even concrete and asphalt.
This is the overall classification system used, and how Heroes are labeled by symbol in Chroma's database. A Green Circuit for Tech, a Blue DNA Strand for Mutant, A Purple Spiral for Mystic, and an Orange Hand for Kinetic.
As stated, there's more specific classifications, easy examples being Pyromancer vs. Pyrokinetic, or Loader Armor Pilot vs. Bulwark Mutation. However, those tend to be used by specific syndicates and organizations, and aren't an official part of Chroma's classification system. Chroma will, however, note any title the individual Hero prefers when signing up in the Hero's description.
#heroes of chroma#writing#superhero#my writing#superhero genre#novel#superheroes#lore#power system#classification system#classification
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We here at the library of pride ourselves in providing the most anatomically correct classification system consciously known to specieskind, so you can find whatever you wish to locate in a organbeat.
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*tries to organize my thoughts*
*remembers i'm not in school and therefore beholden to neither heaven nor hell nor any man's grading system*
*joyously shredding & tossing all my carefully arranged 3x5 mental notecards into the air like so much beige confetti. raising my arms in victory, cheering raucously until i accidentally inhale bits of homemade confetti*
(*coughing up itty bits of paper like a cat evicting a hairball with a firm understanding of tenants' rights*) wait wat happens next
#i marie kondoed my thoughts and *i* feel great. but now my stream-of-consciousness has escaped containment#so many innocent bystanders at stake#every time i try to organize my thoughts i run out of plastic bins and have to make a trip to the container store where i get even more dis#racted so. you can't just hand me THIS brain and NO catalogue OR library classification system#and expect me to single-handedly sort through all this nonsense? bad form but fucking form not in my job description#aNYways. formal education sure did a FUCKING NUMBER on us huh#(a number i measure not in gpa or dollars of student debt.#but in the number of therapy sessions & medical debt it will take to recover.)#seriously folks. our education systems are...innately traumatizing for a huge number of students. and we NEED to address this.#the fact that it is culturally common for adults to have anxiety nightmares about school/exams...even decades later?#that is not cute. it is Alarming.#no one--much less entire generations--should be spending their developmental years in an environment of chronic stress & pressure & strain#and yet that is the reality for millions and millions of pre-teen and teenage and young adult students#this isn't healthy and it serves and empowers NO ONE#...except of course the many exploitative educational & financial & debt-collecting institutions thriving from the current balance of power#and of course it's a nefarious and powerful way to sabotage/erase the middle class#which billionaires and the wealth-inequality creators they finance couldn't possibly have any noteworthy interest in whatsoever#it's not like there's an elite group of people with huge financial incentives to drain/steal resources from the masses...#anyways sorry for going all Conspiracy Theory on you.#obviously the billionaires who control the vast majority of our resources and news and political campaign funding#are not tied to every single itty bitty social issue and i'm a silly billy to imply it#please tell elon musk to ignore this tweet i am so subservient and acquiescent#mr musky u r so good at inheriting slavery-built mining fortunes & buying other people's companies#& building rocket ships & fancy cars that do NOT explode/catch fire & also NOT running billion dollar companies into the ground#mr musky u r so talented genius billionaire playboy with 10 kids and ex-wives who find you creepy af babe u r basically iron man
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Do you think unicorn hybrids would exist in your au? Most unicorns are described as having magic of some kind, usually healing magic. Would they just be better skilled healers than other hybrids? What type of monster would they be classified as? Sorry if this is a lot of questions, I'm just really fond of world building stuff!
y’know, I find these sorts of asks so interesting because it makes me actually have to sit and think about the effective implementation of a unicorn hybrid. Like, I think the easy way out is to go for the centaur option, but maybe it’s more like a satyr? With a horn and the classic flowing tresses and the hind legs of a unicorn, but with a human torso and head?
These hybrids would probably be a static-type hybrid (e.g Price, Gaz) where what you see is what you get, there isn’t a second transformation stage. In comparison, Soap, Horangi and Konig would be shifter-type hybrids, their base form is mostly human and they can shift to their monster form. And Ghost would be an flux-type hybrid (although he’s not really a hybrid but whatever, nuance) where there’s a mercurial amount of transformation. Another example of a flux-type would be a shapeshifter.
So to recap:
Static-type: 1 form, constant
Shifter-type: 2-3 forms, staggered
Flux type: 3+ forms, fluid
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Your post about Vermont and New Hampshire might be the most Texan thing you've ever posted and not in a good way lmao
HAHA dude they’re both under 10,000m^2 in terms of area… that is INSANE to me!! not to mention they were glaciated and have so many lakes bc of it too, it’s not even solid land 😭
would love to visit tho, one day!! and i was fr when asking for facts :3
OH and there’s like super no cool fossils there :// stupid glacial scrubbing. i don’t like paleozoic stuff
#i haven’t told y’all this but i also studied geography#i love making land classification systems#and those two states look like a fun weekend project#talk#ask
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It's very interesting that both Allura in this episode and Essek in 2.124 frame the Luxon as a pre-Founding entity that has been in Exandria since before the Primordials or the pantheon, because it really does complicate the idea of gods as a single unified classification. Discussions around, say, the Raven Queen's ascension and Artagan's godhood are interesting of course, but lend themselves to a hierarchy of being and power—mortals and archfey must be elevated to a higher position to reach a place among the gods—but the Luxon throws a wrench into the hierarchy itself.
Fandom discussions around the Luxon referring to it as an entity tend to feed into this hierarchy as well, even when framing the Luxon in a positive light, by placing the classification of god or deity as a literal higher power in a contemporary and very sociopolitical conceptualization of "power," positioning anything in that role as inherently oppressive, and I think this also does the conversation a disservice. A better metaphor, in my opinion, is to compare deities to the fundamental forces of physics.
The way that dunamis has been said to intertwine with reality on a minute level and the Luxon's extension of divine power without direct communication suggests to me that its power in relation to other deities is somewhat akin to gravity itself—gravity is the weakest of the fundamental forces, but much farther reaching, and therefore it exerts a massive influence on the cosmos in spite of that lesser strength.* This echoes the complexities of trying to rely upon a hierarchy of being in this discussion, because such hierarchies are always constructed and imposed, not inherent. Sometimes they are constructed by those positioned at the top, and other times not, but from any angle, regardless of field, they tend to be used to justify some moral stance and standing.
This is utterly negated by the Luxon's existence. Whatever can be said about it as an entity, it seems to be an inherently amoral being—it does not seem to concern itself with moral questions, and very possibly has no capacity to do so. At the same time, dunamis seems to be enmeshed within the reality of the Material Plane and the Weave itself, perhaps even the Skein of Fate—as described, dunamis may well be the very particulate matter comprising the choices of everything in the cosmos and how those choices intertwine.
The Raven Queen, as an ascended mortal, can look upon the individual heroes of the story and acknowledge them, validate them, but the Luxon has no inherent position from which to look, and as such evades any positionality within the constructed hierarchy upon which the questions of this campaign hinge.
*Complicating this metaphor is the fact that gravity's weakness means it doesn't exert significant influence on a micro scale, but I do not ever purport to suggest that dunamancy is a one-to-one mirror of the realities of quantum mechanics, not least because Matt is definitely no more a physicist than I am.
#the return of the meta footnote#very important honestly#anyway all systems of classification are constructed and discourse would markedly improve if people actually recognized that#also I'm not gonna lie. the brevity of this already long meta is a fucking miracle. I nearly went looking for crit theory to quote.#I could've gone on WAY longer about both the constructedness of hierarchies.#was about to open up my book on the theory of taxonomies.#cr meta#cr spoilers#luxon blogging#critical role
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#I'm curious if it's worth the effort of starting an intensive classification system again#I used to do it#and it's way easier not to#but idk lmk your thoughts
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i was very surprised at how difficult it was to find (good) resources for learners that accurately describe how 部首 (in English we translate this to be the "radical") work in 漢字 (kanji). i pulled these from a very comprehensive guide of kanji from おじゃちゃん, a native speaker who is also a language teacher and if youre interested in learning more, you should check out her full overview here.
to a beginner this might not be as useful - but when you get deep enough into japanese i think it's worth it to understand how kanji is actually used by native speakers. understanding how the radical works can also help you guess at meanings and recognize common patterns that may make memorizing kanji easier
#mocha speaks#japanese langblr#learning japanese#japanese kanji#typically most english-speaker-centric guides describe the radical as 'building blocks' of kanji#which makes sense as a memorization tool#however if you ever went far enough in your studies you might need to unlearn all of that - the radical is actually a classification system#i'll stop there at the risk of going on a tangent in the tags#but yeah being aware of what it is at least could be helpful down the road#especially if you want to start using native resources. bc they use the radical much more differently than a learner might be used to
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Dewey Decimal Classifications
0xx: information
1xx: philosophy and psychology
2xx: religions
3xx: social sciences
4xx: language
5xx: natural sciences and mathematics
6xx: technology
7xx: the arts
8xx: literature
9xx: history and geography
#dewey decimal system#library#support your local library#classification#books#technically my main resource for this blog is the melvil decimal system but it's the same thing#melvil dewey
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We all know about the fuss around Pluto, how many decry its "demotion" to a dwarf planet, and how it's still an honorary planet in the hearts of many, and I totally get it, but I don't think any of you out there are taking it far enough.
What about the rest of the so-called "dwarf" planets, huh? where's their justice? what about Ceres? Haumea? Makemake? Eris? fucking Quaoar?! why have just eight planets when you can have 18?! Why only invite Pluto to the party if you're already gonna expand the guest's list?!
you know what should be "demoted"? fucking Phobos and Deimos, the two "moons" of Mars. these two motherfuckers are proof that the barrier-to-entry for moons is too low. they're barely visible, they don't effect mars in any meaningful way, they aren't even round since they aren't big enough to round themselves under their own gravity, and one of them isn't even in a stable orbit of Mars! Phobos is gonna get ripped apart by mars' gravity in just a few dozen million years!
the concept of a "Dwarf Moon" is too good for them. they should be called, like, sateloids or something. Lunoids at most. fuck em
#all of this is a joke btw#I know why Dwarf Planets are defined separately from the rest of the solar system#but tbf we as a society are sleeping on them hard#if Pluto was discovered after the concept of a dwarf planet was defined#we wouldn't even know it existed#which is a shame because it's a fucking Baller!#you see those close up images we got?!#That Data About It?!#Fucking Sick!#cool and interesting as fuck!#but nobody'd care enough to know if we'd found it after coming up the idea of Dwarf Planets#imagine all the cool & interesting shit out in the Kuiper that'd be common knowledge#if they got the same attention pluto did for being 'The Ninth Planet'!!!!!#also fuck phobos and Deimos#we gotta come up with subcategories for moons fr#bc as it stands right now#a second earth orbiting jupiter#and a mcdonald's-sized boulder orbiting mercury shaped roughly llke mitt romney's dog#would be the same type of celestial object under our classifications#and I feel like there are some SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES THERE#like the only thing they'd have in common is orbiting a planet the way a planet orbits a star
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I am BEGGING sci-fi and star trek fans to read James White's Sector General series.
It's about a hospital space station dedicated to treating any and all species in the universe.
The hospital has 384 levels. Each level devoted to medicine has a different environment for the patients - one level would be for oxygen breathers, another for water breathing aquatic species, another for chlorine breathers, and so on.
Doctors travel to all levels regardless of species. Chlorine-breathers use special protective equipment so they don't die in oxygen-rich areas, and vice versa.
Learning so much varying medical science about different species is hard, so when the need help, doctors can download "tapes" of a species' most prominent doctor. The tapes have all the doctor's knowledge, but they also come with all their memories and their personality. When a doctor has a tape onboard, they might feel the urge to eat things they can't, or move limbs they don't have. It can also affect their.... romantic activities.
Some of the plots include:
A chef trying to improve species-specific meals at the hospital. One aquatic species gets as much enjoyment from chasing and catching their food as they do from eating it. He has to deal with a species that is literally DYING because they refuse to eat vegetables. There is an incident with too much nutmeg. It's great.
A doctor makes a mistake that ends up nearly wiping out the entire species he was trying to save. How do you come back from that? How can he trust his judgement ever again?
An ambulance ship runs into a spacecraft that is spinning out of control. When they try to stabilize it, all the lifesigns on the ship go crazy. It turns out that the species NEEDS to spin in order to survive. The ship was their first attempt to travel through space.
There's a planet that's alive. But it's sick and dying. The doctors have to figure out how to save it, but the non-sentient creatures on the planet that work as its immune system keep attacking them. How do you communicate with a planet?
I'm not doing the plots justice with my descriptions. But the books are amazing! All the various species are so interesting. The medical mysteries are fascinating. The cultural clashes are alternately hilarious and tragic.
Please read the Sector General books! (and then talk to me about them!)
look at that beautifully ugly space hospital ❤️
#sector general#book recs#i am asking everyone to get their hands on this old and kind of hard to find series of books thx#i got most of mine from thrift books if it helps#i didn't even talk about the species classification system!!!#which is so cool!!#4 letters tell you physical appearance. metobolic needs. number of limbs. telepathic or not. plant or animal! it's great!#earth humans are DBDG
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SHEIK - The Legend of Zelda
PROPAGANDA:
TRANSGENDER TRANSGENDER TRANSGENDER
#poll#sheik#legend of zelda#image included#has propaganda#week seven#Now this character has a Stance#I have a very silly classification system for characters haha
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Clanmew Expansion Pack: Moths and Butterflies
A guide to the beautiful fluttering insects seen in this region, and how Clan cats classify and describe them.
[ID: A cat with a butterfly on its nose]
In Clanmew, the vocabulary used to describe butterflies is massive compared to English. As a species less than a foot tall and spending their entire lives in the wilderness, Clan cats observe lepidopterians up close and far more personally than humans have done historically.
Combine this with the fact that cats are crepuscular, active in the morning and evening, and you'll realize that they encounter more moths than butterflies. While English-speaking humans tend to think of moths as being dingy and butterflies as being colorful, Clan cats don't find those categories helpful and classify them in a completely different way!
So the very first thing to know is that Clanmew does not have the same conception of "moths" and "butterflies." They have a super term, "Ffyy," and no less than 9 terms for the various groups with related behaviors.
This guide contains 51 new words for various moths and the unique behaviors of lepidopterians. Below the cut, you will find;
An overview to the 9 classifications Clan cats use, plus words for things like cocoons, metamorphosis, caterpillars, etc
A straightforward list of species, in English (Science) = Clanmew format
Expansion on behaviors of noteworthy species within their groupings
Translation trivia on Moth Flight, Mothwing, Archeye, and Mothwhisker (TC) for Better Bones.
(Translator's Note: I have tried to pick English words that will work nicely as warrior name prefixes, to be translated as specifically or as generically as you desire. They don't reflect cladistic accuracy.)
Types of Ffyy:
Flutter = Kffa Ffyy with large hindwings that flutter around erratically. The closest to the English image of a "butterfly." Most of these are daytime species but this also refers to moths that are drawn to flame. Species depicted: Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria)
Hawkmoth = Uff Fat-bodied ffyy that tend to be wider than they are long, with powerful wings. Fantastic fliers and important pollinators, they have several gigantic species and are beloved by Clan cats. Species depicted: Elephant hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor)
Tortrix = Owyy Round-winged ffyy that rest with a slightly splayed pose with their wings folded down, almost resembling a turtle. Species depicted: Privet tortrix (Clepsis consimilana)
Veneer = Iff A thin, lanky ffyy that rests in a sticklike pose with a defined head, sporting big, buggy eyes and sometimes a large nose. Any moth with the characteristic eyes or nose gets brought back into this category. Species depicted: Garden-grass veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
Herald = Hawof A very unique type, it can apply to just about any type of moth but is always given to the species with significance in prophetic divination. There are some moths rarely seen in this region which appear only as heralds, thus they are named accordingly. NOTE: This is the sort of word bestowed in Honor Titles. Species depicted: Common Hairstreak, Moth Flight's moth (Callophrys rubi)
Dowd = Gyyff Stiff, fluffy moths which rest as straight as a twig, usually mimicking wood. Their heads aren't as well defined as a veneer, but they aren't as fluffy as a raoff Species depicted: Buff-tip (Phalera bucephala)
Prominent = Raoff "Lion moths," large species with fluffy antennae and big manes. Something between a dowd and a tortrix, but usually larger and fluffier. Species depicted: Muslin moth (Diaphora mendica)
Plume = Ffip Very thin, slender moths that rest in a T-pose with very interesting wing-types. Species depicted: Beautiful plume moth (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla)
Fritilary = Ffow Somewhat between a Kffa and an Owyy, refers to Ffyy with a smoother 'cape' shape when they're resting.
In addition, there are words for shapes associated with Ffyy and other insects, especially in the wings and patterns. Some of those words are;
Fluttered/Fluttering/Will flutter = Afafaf/Afafa/Afaf The erratic wingbeats of Ffyy and small birds of prey.
Hovered/hovering/will hover = Hyyffuhu/hyyffu/hyyff A very special aerial maneuver where an animal can hold their exact place in the air and move in any direction. EXTREMELY rare; only achieved by certain hawkmoths, hoverflies, and dragonflies. NOTE: The UK has no hummingbirds! Their ecological niche is occupied by hawkmoths!
Shy = Wro An emotion, but also a pose. It's when an animal shrinks back and tries to make itself smaller or more hidden, much like a Dowd or a Veneer, or the flattening of a terrified cat's ears
Cape/Humble = Froom An emotion, a shape, and a pattern that is seen on the backs of some animals, describes the way that Prominents and Tortrixes hold their wings.
Flare/Confident/Perpendicular = Akeye An emotion and a shape, describes things that 'stick up,' like the wings of Plumes and Butters. Not like "raised hackles," more like fluffing one's fur out or puffing your chest.
Caterpillar = Poog A word that comes from Parkmew! Caterpillars were significant to Park cat culture because of their old naming system-- cats were born unnamed, and were expected to find one as they grew, like butterflies.
Pupa/Chrysalis = Higab Hard, scaly insect cocoons
Cocoon = Mooun Soft, silky insect cocoons
Silk = Mirro The material that silk cocoons and spider webs are made of. Only cob spiders produce though of this material to be useful to Clan cats; they do not have access to silk moths (bombyx mori) in this part of England. Clan cats also believe that moth wings are made of this.
Chitin = Higko The material that hard pupa and insect exoskeletons are made of.
Exoskeleton = Babaak The hard shell that surrounds the meat of invertebrates such as crabs, moths, beetles; Clan cats do not think this applies to insects that 'shrivel' such as soft-bodied caterpillars.
Metamorphosed/metamorphing/will metamorph = Peb'bep'arr/Peb'bep/Peb'be To massively change between stages of life, the unique way that moths and some other insects grow.
LIST OF SPECIES
This list is arranged with several species of each group, separated by grouping. You can expect for this list to grow, if additional species are translated as time goes on!
Last update: 6/17/2023
HAWMOTH/UFF
Elephant hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor) = Beksu
Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) = Skepb
Hummingbird hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum) = Lipfu
TORTRIX/OWYY
Privet tortrix (Clepsis consimilana) = Frooke
Oak lantern (Carcina quercana) = Byoff
Common footman (Eilema lurideola) = Yyowo
Dark Arches (Apamea monoglypha) = Oyiw
VENEER/IFF
Garden-grass veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella) = Chuo
Drinker moth (Euthrix potatoria) = Ssbwohl
Bronze alder moth (Argyresthia goedartella) = Holipo
DOWD/GYYFF
Buff-tip (Argyresthia goedartella) = Kooko
Apple leafminer (Lyonetia clerkella) = Rugna
Hazel slender (Parornix devoniella) = Geehees
PROMINENT/RAOFF
Muslin (Diaphora mendica) = Goorf
Iron prominent (Notodonta dromedarius) = Orge
True lover's knot (Lycophotia porphyrea) = Urmrri
Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) = Genra
PLUME/FFIP
Beautiful plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla) = Lebl
Twenty plume (Alucita hexadactyla) = Arrffip
FLUTTER/KFFA
Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) = Yaero
Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) = Luya
Clouded border (Lomaspilis marginata) = Oogwo
FRITILARY/FFOW
Magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata) = Peewo
Mint moth (Pyrausta aurata) = Mwifg
Riband wave (Idaea aversata) = Fisip
HERALD/HAWOF
Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) = Ssefyy
Lunar Hornet (Sesia bembeciformis) = Offes
Death's Head (Acherontia atropos) = Wayoff
HAWKMOTH/UFF
[ID: An "Uff," 'Hawkmoth' in English. It is a large, yellow-and-pink moth. The species depicted is an Elephant Hawkmoth.]
Hawkmoths are the largest types of Ffyy that Clan cats encounter, and deeply beloved. They are considered the 'warriors' of moth-standards, large, honorable, and acrobatic. What defines an uff from other butterflies is primarily its large, bulky body. Some uff, such as the skipper, could be mistaken by outsiders as being a type of ffow or perhaps a kffa.
They are pollinators, jumping between various flowers and mostly seen in grassy, floral environments, such as meadows and moorland. The skipper in particular is one of WindClan's most common butterflies, and a favorite target for pouncing kittens.
Most of the largest hawkmoths survive the winter snug in their cocoons under leaf litter, and more specifically in ThunderClan. Being able to witness a hawkmoth emerge is sometimes taken as a little blessing, like StarClan rewarding you for staying observant on a patrol.
TORTRIX/OWYY
[ID: An Owyy, "Tortrix" in English. It is a humble brown moth with a negligible mane and round, capelike wings. The species depicted is a privet tortrix.]
Tortrixes are the largest classification of ffyy in Clanmew, with many of them being drawn to lights in the dark. They hold their wings 'humbly' (froom), tucked behind themselves and slightly angled. Many prominent share the general shape of tortrixes, but they are separated by a prominent, impressive mane.
Because they are so varied, classifying behaviors of the group as a whole is difficult. Some of them like fruit and others like leaves. Some are large and others small. Some are drab and others colorful.
Most end up named after the species of plant they like most. The Oak Lantern (Byoff) for example can skeletonize entire oak leaves! Others can absolutely mob apple trees, making them a pest to ThunderClan.
Funfact: The cartoon idea of an "apple worm" comes from some species of tortrix moths!
FLUTTER/KFFA
[ID: A Kffa, "Flutter" in English. It is an orange-and-brown butterfly, with wings that stick out perpendicular to the body. The species depicted is a sunspot butterfly.]
Dominated by strange daytime species with bright colors, these confident little creatures are defined by the angle of their wings when resting. They "Flare" out, or Akeye in Clanmew.
The Yaero (sunspot butterfly/speckled wood) is the most well-known of the flutters which isn't also a herald of some sort. These plucky bugs have short lives and spend the ENTIRE time fighting, choosing a sunny spot and engaging in clumsy aerial brawls to defend it. To be compared to a Yaero in Clan Culture is like being called 'scrappy,' fighting until you drop dead of exhaustion.
It's a VERY admirable thing to be!
PROMINENT/RAOFF
[ID: A "Raoff," or a Prominent in English. It is a very fluffy moth with a big mane. The species depicted is a male muslin moth.]
The obvious thing that sets this sort of Ffyy apart from all others is its luscious, majestic mane. Much like how the "Leopard" is a mistranslation and is a mythical composite of several animals, the Clan cat "Lion" is a composite beast whose mane comes from moths!
Thus, it is how they were named. Lion + Moth.
And, of the various raoff, the muslin (Goorf) is one of the most interesting. It comes in black or white, with many cats speaking of a herald coloration that is split perfectly down the middle with black and white. This species' name comes from "Gender + Moth." It is thought that if a pregnant cat only sees black muslins, they will have an all-tom litter. All white, and they will all be mollies. If no muslin moths are seen at all, then they will all reveal themselves to be gib.
FRITILARY/FFOW
[ID: A "ffow," or a fritilary in English. Note, this is the moment where the English names diverge the most because this is not an irl fritilary. It is a moth with a 'cape' that is both froom, and akeye. The species depicted is a magpie moth.]
A family of ffyy remarked upon for their 'savviness.' Not as 'confident' as kffa, nor as humble as an owyy, the animals in this family are typically quite interesting.
For example, the magpie (Peewo). While notably beautiful like a calico cat, it's also strangely left alone by other animals. If caught in a spiderweb, the spider will take a bite and let go. Birds leave them alone. Clan cats believe this must be because they will eat lots of unappetizing plants and become distasteful-- a clever creature!
The thought probably came from watching another ffow, the Mwifg, the "mint moth" in English. Mint is a deadly poison to Clan cats, but the creature eats it up, and goes unbothered by other animals.
So, Peewo and Mwifg are cited often as living examples of how you, "are what you eat."
PLUME/FFIP
[ID: A plume moth, "ffip," a thin insect with a T-shaped body and long legs. The species depicted is a Beautiful Plume Moth.]
Widely considered the least appealing type of moth, often clustered in reedy areas. They're known by their distinctive T-shape and long legs.
Clan Cats find it unsettling that they resemble midges, and have only two unique names within the classification; Arrffip for the 20-Plume, and Lebl for the Beautiful Plume, which resembles a mottled cat which makes it more okay to them.
VENEER/IFF
[ID: A moth with big eyes and a long nose, called an "Iff" in Clanmew, and a veneer in English. The species depicted is a garden grass veneer.]
The silliest moth of all, associated with being panicked and anxious at all times. To be compared to an Iff is to be called a worry-wart in Clanmew!
Most veneers have a big, distinct fuzzy nose, and any moth that displays the same feature gets thrown into the Iff classification. But that isn't the only way to end up in this category! Any moth with big, worried eyes goes here as well, such as the Bronze Alder Moth (Holipo).
Alderheart was compared to a holipo often. Poor guy.
There is also the drinker moth (Ssbwohl), which is known for dunking its head into dewdrops and taking a big sippy.
DOWD/GYYFF
[ID: A moth that looks like a twig, called a Dowd in English and a Gyyff in Clanmew. The species depicted is a buff-tip.]
To be considered a Gyyff, the moth must be long and sticklike. The apple leafminer (Rugna) is a good example of a moth that is not using buff-tip (Kooko) mimicry, but is still a Dowd in Clanmew standards.
The word "kooko" in Clanmew is used for harmless fibs, little pranks, and the buff-tip moth!
HERALD/HAWOF
[ID: A green butterfly with shining wings, facing the camera. It is called a Herald in English, and a Hawof in Clanmew. The species depicted is a Green Hairstreak.]
The defining example of the Herald classification is the Green Hairstreak, an iridescent green moth that lead Moth Flight to the Moonstone so many years ago. A vitally important species to WindClan culturally, a burst in its population is said to be a sign that they need to listen carefully.
Any type of moth can end up going into this category, if it becomes significant in divination. Some moths have even shifted over time out of one classification into Hawof, and back out as they stop being seen as holy in some way!
Another example of a moth of great significance is the death's head moth, called a Wayoff in Clanmew. It's a massive type of hawkmoth, and an exceedingly rare sight. It warns of grand doom, threats so large that they threaten all the Clans at once. Floods, famine, deforestation... these were all preceded by the freak sighting of a Wayoff.
Meanwhile, the Lunar Hornet, Offes in Clanmew, mimics a wasp perfectly. It's a strange creature said to be a piece of the cosmic dust between this world and StarClan, an example of the fantastic creatures they can make if they so choose. It signifies change of some sort, which a Cleric will attempt to interpret for the cat who saw the moth.
And lastly,
Translation Trivia
[ID: A cat chasing a butterfly]
Specifically for the way I have chosen to translate the names of these characters for the Better Bones AU
Moth Flight
Mothwing
Archeye
Mothwhisker
Moth Flight Hawof Faofwe (Herald + Pilgrimage)
A VERY interesting translation quirk, as her name is a remnant from Old Tribemew, one of the ancestral languages that would eventually form Clanmew!
Hawof was the ancient word for moths and butterflies, and still the word in-use in Tribemew to this day. Once they moved down from the highlands, Clanmew adopted and created several new words to describe the hundreds of new types they were seeing on a regular basis. Yet, "hawof" fossilized, coming to only describe those that were particularly holy!
"Faofwe" is another fascinating example. While it once meant 'flight' in Old Tribemew, an animal flying from one place to another, it has come to mean "pilgrimage." This is the word being used for a cat going to visit a holy location, or somewhere else that they will reach a higher religious understanding of the world.
Both of these words are sacred; the type only given to modern cats in Honor Titles.
Mothwing Beksuwesk (Elephant Hawkmoth + Insect Wing)
Sasha fled the violence of TigerClan at her first opportunity, after being trapped in the dangerous situation with no escape. After the death of her son, Tadpole, she brought her kits to RiverClan in the hopes they would be safe. Their names were Ffyy, and Yassga.
Leopardstar saw that their father was Tigerstar, and accepted... though she would change their names. They had to accept what the Clan was to decide for them.
So Yassga (Raptor, any large bird of prey) became Yi'i (sparrowhawk), and Ffyy (Any butterfly) was pigeonholed into a type of hawkmoth as Besku. She thinks of this often, that RiverClan took the name her mother gave her, that she followed Hawkfrost to the Lake, and now she is all that remains. With nothing left of her family.
Archeye Oyiwipo (Dark Arches Moth + Eye)
A simple one! He has a stripe just above one eye that perfectly resembles the tip of a Dark Arches' wing.
(note: i updated this translation from an earlier statement.)
Mothwhisker Yaerohussk (Speckled Wood Butterfly + Hussk)
Fresh from the ThunderClan Family Tree fix, Mothwhisker is a parent of Adderfang and Seedfall.
An old Oakstar loyalist, Mothwhisker was spitting from the moment he was born, clawing the nose of his Ba. On the spot, he was given the prefix Yaero, and he eventually grew into a ferocious Crusader after the death of Mapleshade's kittens and the creation of Darkstar's Commandment.
Though "Butterflywhisker" would technically have been accurate, the translator chose 'moth' for brevity. Clan cats don't distinguish between the two, regardless.
#I HOPE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND#THIS IS THE RESULT OF ME SORTING THROUGH HUNDREDS OF INSECTS#AND COMING UP WITH A UNIQUE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION#IM SCREECHING#clanmew#buttterflies#moths#insects#lepidoptera#clan culture#fauna guide#better bones au
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Some cosmology for the STP D&D-esque AU:
There are two gods that are pretty universally revered, the Shifting Mound and the Long Quiet. (The Narrator didn't, in-universe, intend for them to be known to the Construct's inhabitants... but things do leak through despite all intentions to the contrary.) The Shifting Mound is hailed as the goddess of growth, transformation, and death, while the Long Quiet doesn't have a domain of his own, rather standing as a counterweight to her—the pauses between her constant motion. These are the "sleeping gods," so called because, despite their widespread worship, they don't intervene in mortal affairs at all. It's thought they're currently going through a period of hibernation, but since they're so detached from the world it's hard to know for sure.
Then there are the Titans, entities with divine magic that live in a realm separate from the world. They're not exactly gods, since they didn't create any part of the world and don't really govern any aspect of it either, but they're hailed as such in communities across the world, and they can grant holy magic. Most people think that Titans and "gods" are one and the same, but in reality most Titans don't engage with the mortal world as gods.
Finally, there are demons, who are the same species as Titans, but live in a different realm. They're worshipped as gods as well, but less often, and they're generally less powerful than Titans. They, too, can grant holy magic to their followers, but fewer people are interested in this deal since demons are typically seen as more wicked. Both demons and Titans are capable of having children with mortal humanoids, but it's much rarer among Titans.
Clerical magic can be granted by either demons or Titans, or through catching a lucky break in worship of the Shifting Mound and Long Quiet. Warlock magic can also be granted by demons and Titans, as well as other, less widely-known entities. Generally speaking, if it's focused around spells the mage chooses to learn, it's clerical magic, and if it's focused around abilities the patron chooses to grant, it's warlock magic. Clerical magic usually also comes with fewer strings attached—generally the only requirement is that the cleric remains faithful to their god, while warlocks may frequently be called upon to carry out their patron's dirty work.
Titans, demons, and other entities include:
The Triad: A group consisting of the most powerful Titan, the most powerful demon, and their considerably weaker younger sister (half-sister to the Fury). The Apotheosis considers herself ruler of the Titans, the Fury considers herself ruler of the Underworld, and the Tower considers herself ruler of the mortal kingdoms. To what extent they can exert this power may vary—in particular the Tower is rarely known to mortals. The Eye of the Needle: A middling-powerful demon who left her realm to enter the mortal world in search of opponents who were more interesting to fight than other demons. She has a half-humanoid daughter out there somewhere, but they haven't spoken since the girl was old enough to take care of herself and set off on her own. Demons don't really do "family." The Networked Wild: An entity formed by the collective network of plants (among other aspects of nature) across the world forming a redundant brain with a capacity impossible for any mortal mind to truly comprehend. Its existence enables the existence of druids, and witches often tap into it as a source of external power. While it contains an impossible-to-determine number of minds (some of which are mortals attempting to tap into its wisdom by temporarily becoming a part of it, which rarely goes well upon separation), it is theorized that there is a single consciousness at the heart of the network, whose identity is unknown. The Wounded Wild: A nature spirit embedded somewhere within the western woods. She was forcibly cut from the Networked Wild a long time ago, and guards her location carefully, less her assailant return to finish the job. It's theorized that magic, particularly druidic magic, would behave unusually around her because of her separation from the rest of the Wild. The Razor: An entity just left of anything with a known classification. She's not any sort of spirit, humanoid, or semi-humanoid (which includes Titans, demons, and fey), but she is a powerful entity capable of granting a warlock pact if she finds someone interesting enough to sponsor. The Stranger: It's only rumor, but there have recently been religious sects emerging that believe in an earthly incarnation of the Shifting Mound, insisting that she is perhaps the first true god since the sleeping gods went into hibernation. Most people regard such groups as trying to take advantage of people's loyalty to the sleeping gods.
#the Tower is an example of an average titan and the EotN is an example of an average demon#slay the princess#stp d&d au#worldbuilding#love sinking my teeth into a cosmology and magic system#speaking of which do you want to hear about the classifications and workings of magic in this AU?#because you're going to either way but it's generally polite to ask first#cabins and corvids au
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