#dark side magic

[kwillow]

Jocosa gives her son lessons in wielding magic... though despite her best efforts, he grows up learning this particular lesson the hard way.

And, naturally, this was inspired by a question I was sent -- lore rambling below the cut.

Spells aren’t so cleanly divided into utility/combat/etc in this world. Chocodile has already made an excellent overview on how magic functions in Amaranthine, but the short of it is that a mage learn and use any type of magic, whether that be slinging lightning or moving objects or healing wounds or whatever else, but they require extensive knowledge of the forces at play, and it requires intense mental fortitude, quick calculations and precise control to wield it effectively.

Unfortunately, Theo is an inconsistent and erratic magic user. While he often uses magic for small, delicate tasks, like lighting candles or moving a book across a desk, channeling greater amounts of magic is a risky proposition. Theo's thought-scape is akin to a turbulent ocean or volcano about to erupt, and this is a detrimental quality when you need a clear, focused mind to keep your fireball in your hand instead of bursting all over your very flammable furniture.

When riled, as he would be in a combat situation, he’s as likely (or more likely) to get overloaded and immolate himself as he is his opponent. He has no compunctions about using magic for combat, in fact he'd relish the opportunity to use his innate "superiority" as a weapon against his "lessers" but it would be dangerous for him to try (which isn’t to say he wouldn’t attempt it out of desperation or impulsivity, but he'll suffer for it). After implanting the catalyst stone into his hand, his power is amplified -- but not his control. It might be safer for him to stick with weaponized pens.

The exception to Theo's issues with controlling magic is healing magic, which has become his specialty for good or for ill (ironically, more for ill). He wishes he could pluck the strings of pure magic, playing it like a harp as beautifully as his mother did, but for the life of him, he can’t seem to elevate himself above the crude matter of blood and bone.

[screechin-outloud]

underrated Bronan moment: in bllb when the gangsey was in the timeless cave all tied together and gansey fell in a hole

[loganslowdown4]

if the sides tweeted each other— 🐈‍⬛ (lord capulet returns)

[foreverbaby25]

[mystiffox]

Yoghurt Milk.. doesn’t like to talk about it. It wasn't their finest moment, all things considered (Which led to him archiving certain books and keeping them locked away in his spire). Whether or not Wizard notices that Milk was shifting his focus from the old potrait, he does not attempt to question them.

(Milk is not corrupted, you're right. But that doesn't mean there aren't certain signs..)

[ Change of Fate AU ]

Strawpage QNA! (ask based on this ref)

[deathandnonexistentialdread]

Yuugi was chosen? How?

[shisasan]

The way eclipsed nights stir something deep and forbidden, the pull of moon magic has no equal.

🜍 ⟡ ⟢

[shapelytimber]

not sure if you've answered this before but for the sapphic au... how did leia and luke get made if their parents are both cis ? are they force babies, created by anakin meddling with the force just as sidious did and thereby killing padme? or maybe they just went to star wars sperm bank idk. desperately curious to see if you have an explanation in mind or if they just kind of popped into existence (sorry I just get wrapped up in silly details with everything)

Oh am I glad you asked !

Only hole in my flawless explanation..... There is no way in hell Anakin in topping regularly in this relationship. So gotta assume the moment they tried to switch it up a bit they got magic stap babies.

[bastart13]

How do you imagine hybrids work in love and legends? We've seen elf/humans.

So there are 6 different species and aside from the mermaids, they're all compatable to have children.

I headcanon life expectancy, colouration, and the shape of facial or body features to be gradient traits, so they pretty much randomly combine between the two parents like any other child

Magical traits are probably more binary. So a fairy hybrid child could inherit the eyes, wings, and/or sparkles, or none, with no middle ground. A demon hybrid will usually inherit a faded form of the markings, but they won't always be able to transform or earn horns. Dwarf hybrids might inherit the ability to echolocate vs just having larger ears.

If two species with strong magic have a child, they're more likely to inherit magical traits (e.g. elves and fairies with strong magic vs humans and dwarves with low magic)

Considering the domains are all friendly with each other, I imagine it's fairly common to have mixed ancestry and there's no real taboo aside from the grief of lifespan differences

[raayllum]

watching a video on Arcane ("how Arcane was always centrist - even before s2") but the definitions early on for different political ideologies is making me appreciate TDP more

For example, right-wing / conservatism is being defined as "it supports maintaining the status quo, and find social inequality and hierarchal society to be inevitable and natural. The right values order, social cohesion, and patriotism. The right is also associated with reactionary politics, which desires to see society revert back to its previous political state / status quo."

It is worth noting, then, that the status quo in the beginning of TDP is:

Humans are either magic-less or use dark magic

The border is closed/guarded fiercely

Elves and humans live entirely separately and are enemies

Xadia (Runaan) wanted to take the egg of the Dragon Prince back and to kill King Harrow regardless

Meanwhile, "leftism supports and tries to achieve social equality and egalitarianism through making radical changes to society. The left is traditionally associated with revolutionary politics, which support an abrupt, rapid, drastic change in society. This doesn't necessarily have to be combined with progressivism [...] but when I'm talking about revolutions here, I'm discussing revolutions with the purpose of making society more egalitarian."

It is worthwhile, I think, that Rayla immediately defects from Xadia's invasion/assassination of humanity in order to protect and help human princes; she understands that Runaan taking the egg back will not achieve anything meaningful beyond reuniting the prince with his mother, and that more is needed. The trio then assume the responsibility onto their own shoulders. The magic system is also blatantly demonstrated as unfair in S2, even before we know who's responsible beyond 'worldbuilding'. At the same time, the show cautions the idea that killing just one evil/monstrous individual will fix all your problems, or that punitive justice is useful as opposed to more rehabilitative justice / critiquing imprisonment as its own form of violence (great video essay here about prison abolitionist politics in ATLA, or lack thereof).

"One thing that centrism loves is the idea of gradual social change, as opposed to the right's desire for things to stay the same and the left's desire for things to change right here right now. You can think of centrism as the right but more progressive, or the left but more regressive. Centrists support social hierarchy, but with more equal distribution of resources than the right. A big word with centrists is reform, as in reforming institutions rather than abolishing them, as a leftist would say."

While TDP does emphasize that rebuilding from loss and changing the world takes decades of work, that's more so about continuing to change things and having it stick > introducing change. For example, Sunfire elves went from warring with humans to having a large human population within under two years, and the construction of an elf-human city at the border three years within the end of the war. Aaravos and Claudia (antagonists) are working to abolish the Cosmic Order and dismantle the Council, but the protagonists are fighting to stop them due to the two's destructive methods (corrupting the sun and plunging the world into darkness, for ex) while actually dismantling the council through primal magic, reconciliation and working together, etc. The show also has a positive view of Breaking chains and rejecting the past and traditions, rather than being beholden or attempting to reform them.

"(Modern) liberalism [as a part of centrism] as an ideology essentially concerns itself with the idea of freedom, where protecting and enhancing individual freedom is the central concern of politics. Modern liberalism believes that the biggest threat to individual freedom is poverty, since it limits the choices people have in life, and prevents them from living to their fullest potential. As such, modern liberals believe that the government should intervene in economic and social issues like poverty or welfare. Modern liberalism still believes in a market economy [...] and is still very much for reform and gradual change in the midst of all of this. So for liberals, revolution is a no-no, and they prefer for things to be peaceful and orderly."

Again, TDP does have an emphasis on freedom, with access to magic standing in as an allegorical 'market of resources' in many ways. The social inequality the show focuses on is humans being born without magic and the alternatives/consequences of it, the harm of Xadia's isolationism, and how Aaravos exploits that inequality through introducing dark magic. However, TDP's only concern is not with freedom or even individuals (re: the Silvergrove's collectivist leanings, 3x09's emphasis on group unity, Sarai's warning of focusing only on removing individuals as a fix to systemic problems or issues).

So while I wouldn't say TDP as a work is focused heavily on revolutionary politics, that's partially because it's not a straightforward oppressor-oppressed narrative (the way Arcane is / seemingly should be) either. Humans were expelled from their homes in Xadia to just one half of the continent (where some humans already lived, and where some elves were likewise forced to leave and abandon important sites, such as the Moon Nexus) but then given entirely free reign. Xadia left them alone, guarding only the border to ensure they wouldn't cross over and kill Xadians for dark magic parts in the post-expulsion 1,000 year interim, as dark magic can make someone powerful enough to kill archdragons and more powerful than elves/humans alike. If anything, the show calls into question the validity of varying degrees of oppression as a justification for killing/attacking civilians, which has more and more made me think about world affairs as of late (i.e. justifications offered by Israel of what is okay in the name of reclaiming a homeland) as a worthy concept more people could fare with getting through their heads, dark magic as a cautionary tale against viewing people and the land as resources only, etc etc.

I am also not, to be clear, saying that there no elements of centrism in TDP, political theory is not my primary background by any means, but that TDP presents an undeniably & primarily centrist narrative feels wonky as a claim to me, even without taking into account such an adamant rehabilitative stance, those responsible for the unfair magic system being the endgame antagonists, and with 3 seasons to go to explore things further. Even by the end of s7, we see humans returning to Xadia with protagonists advocating for the resumption of land and lives sharing (Amaya, a human queen of the Sunfire elves; Evrkynd as an elf-human city; "You can't tell humans to leave, they've built friendships, made families") and most of the pre-series status quo continuing to be upheaved by the core protagonists.

[pangaeaseas]

one interesting thing i've noticed is that JKR's terminology changes a LOT over the course of the series as she does worldbuilding between the books. rn i'm thinking of the phrase 'Dark Side' which is in common parlance for the first four books to describe Voldemort's followers, from characters as diverse as Ron and Hagrid. It's also a phrase that launched a thousand 'Dark/Light magic is a real thing and Dark Magic is oppressed' fics despite being pretty clearly jettisoned after book 4. And why is it jettisoned? Well, the term 'Death Eaters' is introduced in book 4, as is the Dark Mark. There's even a helpful conversation where Harry gets the term Death Eater explained to him by Bill Weasley. So it seems like when JKR needed to develop Voldemort's followers more after having left them as vague background except for when plot-relevant for the first few books due to Voldemort's return, she also introduced a new term for them. Death Eaters takes over from Dark Side--it's also a much more specific term that refers to people who have the Dark Mark as opposed to just 'followers and sympathizers of Voldemort'. But it means that stuff like Ron talking about Lucius Malfoy having been on the Dark Side rather than being a Death Eater sounds strange on reread.

[adashulaz]

Soren unhinged his jaw like a fucking snake

He truly is a freak of nature

[icyjus]

[pyaari-naari]

She was born in June.

And then.. she became a fairy.

[austin-friars]

"And we will be like the dancing nymphs in Botticelli's paintings." - The Priest and Archdeacon

[deathandnonexistentialdread]

to be fair to Kaiba, no one knows anything about the Plana in this movie because of how bad the explanation was