#elf can't on a diet.

[mechadeimos]

[weightywritings-adiposeart]

Someone out there specifically wanted me to eat good and I’m very thankful for that person

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

Do you ship it?

did anyone else watch this? I don't even like boobs

[animemakeblog]

“Elf-san wa Yaserarenai.” The First Promo

The official website for Elf-san wa Yaserarenai, the television anime adaption of Synecdoche's novel. The first promotional video and production crew for the manga series (Elf can't be on a diet) were unveiled. The July 2024 premiere of the anime is planned.

[chr0mocolor]

ANIME CONFIRMED

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

Reblog this elf to (prematurely) celebrate "Elf-san can't Diet" securing an anime adaptation. (Supposedly)

[a-titty-ninja]

「Elf-san wa Yaserarenai. (Elf can't be on a diet.)」

[y-rhywbeth2]

D&D Vampire Lore Dump #1

Feeding and Diet It's actually more complicated than just "they bite you and eat your blood." Plus what they're able to eat; how often they need to eat; what happens to you if they bite you and what happens to them if they don't feed- spoiler: it's unpleasant. Incidentally, you should reload and kill Cazador again.

(I was comparing stuff across editions and compiling it into something more coherent and then figured I'd info dump about it in case my fixations are useful to somebody out there.)

DISCLAIMER: There are two things to note about the lore presented here: First, while the standard stat block in the monster manual is the default, in terms of lore vampires have this annoying tendency to be incredibly, stupidly varied. They are magical monstrosities ruled by the power of symbolism and superstition above anything else.

The next is that D&D is decades old, spans five editions, several settings and hundreds of writers. One guy establishes a piece of lore, and then the next picks it up goes "nah" and writes something else. I collected info from four different source books, all from different editions, which naturally don't entirely agree on how vampires work. Lore never stays consistent and may contradict itself. You may see information somewhere else from a source I don't have that contradicts what I wrote here. If you read this and like some of this stuff but not other bits, take the good and ditch the rest.

Basically, in D&D, canon is what you decide it is.

Feeding | "Biology" | Hierarchy | Weaknesses and Cures | Psychology

They only need to feed once in a 24 hour period. Vampires can survive between 3-9 months of starvation, but it's a terrible idea. -

There are three different categories of "Undead Hunger." Vampires have two of them and actually need to consume more than one thing to stay "healthy": Blood and life force. -

The blood is obvious. This is categorised as a "diet dependency." It's required to preserve their bodies and powers, and without it their powers* are suppressed as their bodies begin to shut down. *This refers to the powers a vampire gains with age; they cannot lose power they had as a newborn (the base stat blocks given for vampires and spawn given in the monster manual) A vampire requires the equivalent of 12 hit points of blood a day, or it begins to revert into a corpse-like state. Mentally they slowly regress into a desperate, mindless animal frenzy where they'll kill and drain anything containing blood they can get their hands on. Ultimately, if they don't get any blood then they revert into a corpse and they're trapped in their own body as it begins to wither and mummify. They're trapped in a coma, vaguely aware of the passing of time in flashes of awareness until somehow they are fed blood. If they ever wake up again, they will probably wake up feral and absolutely ravenous. -

Vampires rely on the victim's blood pressure to expel blood from the wound they create, lapping and mouthing at the wound rather than actually sucking on it. Being bitten is a highly pleasurable experience that victims can't help but desire, even when they know they shouldn't. -

While the damage done remains, the wounds from a Vampire bite closes itself quickly after the feeding (assuming you're still alive). It does however leave a mark. The bite mark itself is often "less than half an inch in length", and leaves behind a significant bruise that causes no pain or sensitivity to touch. Other side effects include fatigue and a weakened immune system. -

Vampires typically target sleeping victims (less likely to fight back) and favour the blood of their own race above others. So theoretically, Astarion finds elf blood tastes best. -

Drinking animal blood tastes bland and is health-wise akin to drinking tainted water: yes it might keep you alive in desperate times, but it's ultimately bad for you and will probably make you ill. That said, it has no mechanical detriments and a vampire that's forced to live on animal blood will be just as strong as its kin, but considerably bad tempered about it. -

A vampire's secondary feeding requirement is called an "inescapable craving", which means that if a vampire doesn't get that fix then their hunger begins to devour them instead. The pain is described as a spike boring into the vampire's brain, obscuring their awareness. They begin to obsess over feeding to the exclusion of everything else, they become willing to take ridiculous levels of risk to stop the hunger as they become more and more desperate. As they are consumed they become progressively more feral until they're just a rampaging mindless horror driven only by horrific hunger. For vampires, their inescapable craving is life force, which a vampire leeches from their prey through touch leaving the victim weak. Direct skin contact isn't required, if you're wearing full plate and/or the vampire is wearing gloves and they lay a hand on you they can still drain you. Mechanically these were combat abilities, energy/level draining occurred when a vampire struck a target with their own body (usually their hands). Before 5e hit them with a nerf bat, vampires could permanently weaken you this way (you could lose character levels from this). 5e also seems to have rolled life drain into the biting, so a vampire can consume your blood and energy at the same time. -

Post feeding, a vampire starts to look alive. Their skin is flushed and warm and they feel elated and energetic. In contrast, a vampire that hasn't been feeding properly becomes more corpse like and feels "sluggish" (I'm interpreting that as flu-like symptoms). It's purely emotional however, the vampire is no less capable and dangerous and suffers no mechanical penalties. -

Vampires can feed on other vampires, which is actually more filling than living humanoid blood and gives them the ability to communicate telepathically for a few hours. They don't like it though. If a vampire drinks from another vampire then they can be controlled by that vampire and the link forces them to feel affection for each other against their will until it wears off. The results of both vampires in question feeding on each other is described as "debilitating" since they both paradoxically become enslaved to the other's will and forced to "love" each other creating an absolute dysfunctional mess of control, obsession and resentment. The good news is that it only lasts a few hours. -

Some vampires can eat regular food (no nutritional value in it for them) while others would regurgitate it if they tried. As they retain their tongues, vampires can also taste food. That said, it's a bad idea for them to eat garlic, even if they can eat solid food. -

Some kinds of vampires don't drink blood. There's all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff a vampire might be required to consume instead. Spinal fluid stands out. Or the bit about ones who drain the ocular fluid from your eyes. Gale might find interesting things to talk about with the magic eating ones who prey on mages. They're much less common, probably something to do with most people not finding that very sexy. I don't think any of them exist on Toril.

[cryoverkiltmilk]

First character design reveals are out for the anime adaptation of Plus-Sized Elf / Elf-San Can't Diet / Elf-San wa Yaserarenai. One of the characters, Oga-san (an ogre) has extremely strong maternal instincts. She tries to adopt child-sized characters on more than one occasion.

Possibly not understanding AmericanEnglish vernacular, the animators have decided to indicate this portion of her personality in what turns out to be the funniest way possible.

I love engrish.

[mechadeimos]

[morallygreychaoticneutral]

The Evolution of Passion Continued: Competition

Steeping the Vampire Kiss again. Let get into this steaming cup.

I got an ask (truncated) from danmeiljie " thoughts about what happens in the woods in act 1, and how he initiates with his partner in the graveyard in act 3, But i was curious if you made any connections to his emotional journey and how that's reflected in these different sex scenes and his role in them. Thoughts about vampire physiology and how that might affect his behavior and choices and abilities during sex depending on diet as well."

This is my opinion analysis of the second seduction. I know he only asked for the two but were going to visit them all. Just for fun. This is triggered if you already unlocked Astarion's night in the woods before the grove party. There a a bunch of ways this could go so to keep it short, I am only looking at one route of the if you chose to sleep with him option.

WARNING: Game Spoilers, Topics of Sex, Abuse, and Adult themes/Language. Not underage appropriate.

This is not fact, just opinion based off my own and game experience. As always, how anybody cannons their relationships or behaviors is perfectly right! No blame, no shame, it's your game.!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahhh, nothing better than a long, hard fight with goblins to get the blood roaring and hormones circulating. I think Halsin said it best when he said ..

"there are a lot of "thirsty" people around here."

HA! Yeah there are. Wooo..choices, choices, choices. Companions offering companionship from all angles tonight. Unless he was talking about the wine...but I doubt it.

And guess who can hear all of those propositions? That's right, the all pointy eared elf using sex to try to keep Tav on his side.

Oh no..no no no no no this simply will not do.

There is a bit more behind this one than the woods encounter, but it is still a tactical move. He is at risk of losing the exclusiveness of having Tav as a sexual partner. And if that goes, in his mind, he has nothing to fall back on to keep them.

How many times was he told if it wasn't for his looks and sexual ability he would be worthless. Told there is nothing else worth liking about him.

Sigh.....

I think he is scared he is going to lose Tav to another companion here. He can't afford to be discarded with him not having much of an alliance with anyone else in the group. And he might be a smidge jealous.

"Here's my little treat with their cheeks all flushed."

This could be a nod to the conversations Tav has been having with the other party members. Cheeks blushed from all the suggestive and blatant attention. Or the wine, could be the wine too. Why is it always the wine?

"You will come to my bed tonight, wont you? "

The word will is italicized here meaning he is putting emphasis on it. This could be read as a subconscious command. Or he is soothing his own anxiety by making an affirmed statement. And he is ending the sentence as a question, not a statement. Surely Tav will choose his bed over the others, wont they? There's no way they wouldn't. Right? He said all the pretty words. Did the pleasurable things. They want him..don't they?

But Tav breaks him out of his own mental hell by playing hard to get again.

"Very presumptuous. I'm undecided what ill do tonight yet."

A very loud and cheeky come play with me. Make me change my mind that isn't made up already. That's how I heard it anyway.

And he does. Rising to the challenge in full Astarion fashion. Instead of being seriously seductive he is now blatantly making fun of his own pick up lines very theatrically.

And oh, the drama!

"Every part of your perfect body whispers temptation- It's as if the gods made you just to ruin me!"

Tell me you were a theater kid without telling me you were a theater kid.

I can defiantly see Tav chortling at this. And what does someone who craves attention love to do? Make people laugh. Its positive attention and he got it without using his body. And it feels amazing. He is being silly, he can be sweet. I feel like his hidden personality is peeking out here.

But, alas, he remembers what he is there to do. Lure, seduce, manipulate.

"Everyone's favorite. I love you."

How many times has that phrase been rendered meaningless in his own mouth? And how many people agreed to "loving" him having only touched his body. And I wonder if he is already assuming Tav might say the same. That small glimmer of hope of connection getting drowned out by in his own past.

"Don't be a fool, you know they will say the same thing everyone has ever said in the past. Just get on with it, stick to the plan."

But they don't. Tav is honest in saying they believe he is lying, its too soon for such things or calling his bluff in a sassy way.

"Having fun, are you?"

"I am. Its hard not to with you."

And he's starting to realize that there is more to you than what he gave you credit for. And within the space of then and now, he is finding that he actually likes you.

Another indicator that his feeling are growing here is he uses WE instead of YOU.

"Id much rather WE got to experience Each Others full portfolio of talents once again." Not, "Id much rather YOU got to" or "Don't YOU want to." He is not distancing himself from the suggestion like he normally does. "Of course, but only if YOU want to. But trust me, YOU do want to."

This, to me, is a very intense indication that, despite himself, he enjoyed aspects of the tryst out in the woods. Maybe not so much the act of sex itself but the company kept that night. Though i'm sure Tav was a consummate lover too (you know what you did) and he did get some pleasure out of it, I would think he is utterly sick of having it. Like being forced to eat peaches every single day till you don't care if every peach tree in the world burns to the ground. But if that's what he thinks it takes to get Tav all to himself, he is willing. But is it necessary?

There is no position to speak of this round, but there is an offer made that is more intimate than the woods. He has invited you to his "bed".

Now, whether he means this literally or figuratively im not sure, but either way it's an invite into his personal space. He could have very easily suggested another rondeaux in the woods to keep it ambiguous between you but instead used a more intimate choice of words.

This is a big step for someone with trust issues. He is very guarded of his privacy. Just ask the dryad at the circus.

"There's a spark here." I know he felt it too. The plan is unraveling, even if he can't see it quite yet.

On to the grand finale ! And then the other group incident that is a hot point because I was asked to talk about that as well.

[raviollies]

Spent too long on this but party rated on Deliciousness by Lorelai

Arameia - Exercises frequently and leads a very labour intensive lifestyle leading to blood having a very pronounced metallic taste. Due to her diet mostly consisting of red meat and carbohydrates and little vegetables, it also lends itself to having a slightly sharp aftertaste. Her devil blood however makes it severel degrees warmer than normal, leading to it feeling very cozy and fulfilling, masking a lot of the negatives in the taste itself for the warm sensation. 7/10.

Eirwen - Cleric. Can't drink, blood is technically lightly blessed and burns. Yuck! -10/10.

Raha - Similar to Arameia, leads a very active lifestyle, thus leading to the same metallic tinge. His diet is much more balanced however, with plenty of vegetables, including healthier fats like fish, so it is much milder tasting. Unfortunately, as an elf, he doesn't have any Devil ancestry, so his blood is fairly lukewarm, leading to an overall lack luster experience. 5/10.

Blythe - Fey are kind of weird and their blood is too. It's sweet, almost saccharine like juice or honey mead. She leads the least active life style, with a balanced diet, which only mellows out the flavour even more. There is a downside however, as she is a magical creature, the blood is filled to the brim with magic, lending itself to causing hallucinations and trippy visuals. It's a fantastic taste in small quantities, but has to be very carefully dosed lest you want to think that the hat man is there. 10/10.

[powdermelonkeg]

Worldbuilding

Made a new fantasy world in my spare time today, populated it with fantasy races.

Premise of the story: An elf chef who runs the best restaurant in the area gets his ingredients by diving into the local dungeon. His restaurant is the best not only because of his fantastic cooking skills and quality ingredients, but also because he can serve anybody that comes through his doors; each of the races has different dietary needs and finds different things poisonous, and he can cook for anyone.

One day, he's in the dungeon, and he falls down into a lower level nobody's been to in AGES. Thing is, though, there's a human living there, a biologist who's been studying the dungeon ecology for centuries, and the last human alive—all others were wiped out centuries ago due to a plague, and she's only alive because she's been living in the dungeon.

Main story arc is this guy trying to figure out not just what she can eat, but what she'd LIKE to eat, without killing her in the process.

Yes this is inspired by Dunmeshi. What of it.

Races are:

Humans (extinct)

Elves

Faunlings

Halflings

Orcs

Dwarves

Brounies

Gnomes

Elves

A camouflage species, their colors depend on the environment they're in. A snow elf would be pale white, a wood elf shades of green and brown, a dark elf (as in, lives underground) stone gray with jet black hair, and so on. Knife-point ears. Average height: 5'8"

Diet: Vegetarian, can't process meat at all, regardless of source.

Faunlings

Deer-like people, ranging visually from elves with horns to satyr-like. They're all one species, despite individual variation.

Diet: Opportunistic carnivores, they CAN eat meat, but mostly eat plants; can't process milk or most sugars past infancy. Average height: 4'10"

Halflings

NOT hobbits. They're small people, deathly pale and young-looking in their base form, with nub horns on their heads. Their appearance changes depending on who they live nearest, from their build to their coloration—a halfling living near wood elves might get taller and coppery with pointed ears, while a halfling near faunlings might have furrier legs, dappled shoulders, and longer horns, etc. Average height: varies wildly

Diet: Obligate ovivores, eat almost exclusively eggs when young and need lots of protein. Depending on who they live near, they'll eventually adapt to local cuisine and build up poison tolerance, but forcing that adaptation to go too quickly can send them into shock.

Orcs

Cat eyes and feline fangs, big and muscular. Like elves, they camouflage based on location, but they tend to be more colorful overall. Average height: 6'10"

Diet: Heavily meat-based diet, they eat most meat raw. Highly lactose intolerant, may occasionally eat plants, but can't process grains.

Dwarves

Short and stocky. Dark blueberry purple-blue by default, will temporarily turn pale on parts of their bodies that are exposed to light for a few hours. Sunlight sends them into temporary hibernation and petrification, making them statue-like. On cloudy days, they're lethargic, and on moonlit nights, their skin gets a little harder, with white patches depending on the strength of the moonlight. Average height: 3'9"

Diet: They have a tolerance for poisons that most races would die over, but they can't stand most acids. Citric acid in particular is poisonous to them. Cavern-based diet.

Brounies

THESE are the hobbits. Short and humanlike, with long, fur-tipped tails. Usually monochrome in color scheme, leaf-point ears. Average height: 3'2"

Diet: Can't process plant fibers properly, all plant matter must be cooked to break it down. Mostly raw pescatarian.

Gnomes

Even smaller than brounies, humanlike, with round-edged pointed ears and generally plump bodies. Average height: 2'4"

Diet: Vegan, with HIGH poison tolerance, they actually need some poisons to live. Mushrooms and fruit make up much more of their diet than leaves do.

[thefatisland]

I still follow the "Elf-san can't diet" manga (Fifty shades of fat, if you are in France) even though it becomes clear that at this point male weight gain is more and more unlikely to happen... It might still happen, who knows! In the bonus content for the last released physical book, the mangaka talked about the existence of the anime... And even them had to concede that it wasn't "the greatest thing" X)

Honestly I wouldn't have minded the anime being so indulgent and simplifying, if only they hadn't done such a rushed job that clearly made it feel like either a cash-grab, or something they didn't want to do? One of my most obvious criticism was for the Naoe massive weight gain episode. This was one of the details I spotted right from the get go, when we have the only shot of Naoe being fat and in a "normal", not-chibi style.

Do you see the big problem? I see it. See the little black line on Naoe's arm? WHAT THE HECK IS THIS? It doesn't appear in just one frame, it is here throughout the entire sequence... Why is it here, as it has no logical or anatomical reason to be here? I can only offer two posible explanations, either A) they used a "regular" silhouette of Naoe to draw his fattened form, and forgot to erase their working lines or B) this is meant to be a line signifying where Naoe's back is and that somehow was not erased when they colored the arm... Whatever the reason this is such a jarring and obvious mistake.

Even I, who has zero skills at editing, can fix it in five seconds with a basic drawing program.

Voilà. The arm is all fixed up!

There's a lot of little details like that which keep accumulating and accumulating. For someone here to look at a weird, bizarre gag-manga turning into a wacky fat girl harem, it isn't much, but for someone here to enjoy an adaptation of one of the rare mangas where fat bodies are presented in a beautiful and sexy way... It is wearing out.

At least the manga offered us some very nice drawings (I still have one as my profile). But this is part of a series of recent anime adaptations that took the worst choices possibles when it comes to translating beautiful drawings in a moving form (from Junji Ito's scary stories becoming pastel mockeries to the Mieruko-chan ghosts being given this un-needed and completely mood-killing ang design-covering purple aura... Things are getting rushed in the art department of animes currently)

[nocturni3]

⋅•⋅⊰DA Elf Headcanons⊱⋅•⋅

~These are some of my HC for the elves of the Dragon Age universe; this will be added onto as I come up with more HeadCanon~

⊱Physiological⊰

⊱ Elves are more likely to have twins, no one truly knows why, but many dalish clans believe that during pregnancy their twin gods split the child's soul into two beings so the other never gets lonely

⊱ Elven gestational periods are similar to humans in ways of trimesters, but the growth rate is faster and much shorter than humans by 7 months till the fetus is fully formed and born, with a slightly shorter gestational rate than humans this means many elves heal faster and tend to have kids soon; unfortunately, this gives the bigoted term of ‘rabbits’

⊱ Their lean frames make the elven people excellent long-distance runners, witnessed by human hunters who caught glimpses of the same elves running and tracking deer for miles without tiring

⊱ Their long-distance running explains why elves don't seem bothered with walking around the wilds and cities barefoot. With thicker padding on the soles of their feet, this would also explain their nearly feather-light footsteps no matter the terrain they find themselves in.

⊱ Their long pointed ears allow them to hear great distances, making them excellent hunters and watchers for dangers or prey.

⊱ Eyes are reflective in the dark followed by elves having fairly larger eyes than humans gives them the advantage of seeing far better in the dead of night.

⊱ Many elves seemed to possess a flat nose bridge of sorts; which leads to their sense of smell being far sharper and sensitive to any foul odor and magic in some cases.

⊱ Sharper teeth are common among elves as well with even an extra pair of canines on both the top and bottom jaw

⊱ Diets among elves across Thedas vary but from many studies of the elves in Alienages and those seen in dalish clans, one of their diets seems to determine the health of an elf. The amount of meat their bodies take in, as dalish don't require to buy meats their diets and bodies are at the top of health with their diets mostly consisting of deer meats and other forms of proteins with herbs, and dairies mixed within their main diets. All while their city cousins seem to be far less healthy due to the expensive cuts of meat being determined by the human cities, many city elves take in far more veggies and dairy to make up for their fast metabolisms not getting the proteins they need to be fully healthy which unfortunately leads to more miscarriages and far more sick than normal.

⊱ Studies have shown that elves bend the veil and the fade with far more ease as well; followed by spirits of the fade seemingly searching out elves (a point of interest). This amount of natural talent towards magic leads to even those without magic will be sensitive to magic or the thinned veil. Their bodies become more sensitive and responsive to the raw magic and spirits that press against the veil as well as their mage brothers/sisters.

⊱Behaviors⊰

⊱ Greetings to among the elves of Thedas is a matter of where they live and grew up. But each greeting is different among each separates themselves from the humans around them. From grabbing the forearms of each other in the form of a handshake to kissing one on the cheek, the most common greeting among the elves in the city and dalish is pressing their foreheads together.

⊱ Ear movements seem to be yet another aspect of the elves of Thedas embrace as their ears are how many communicate throughout Thedas without knowing the other's language. With movements veering from lowering from anger, embarrassment, or sorrow to the angles and height of one's ears are placed during conversations. This would cause many to know the mood of the conversation before talking further. Some believe this is how the ancient elves felt their emotions so deeply but one can't be certain, as the act of one having control over their ear movements is a sign of strong Will and focus with high training in such a difficult act to pull off. Elvhen ears are sensitive to sounds, and to touch since so many nerves and muscles are involved in their movement and hearing. But they are still able to decorate their ears with jewelry and cuffs as it's seen as a way of Will power to resist the need to move their ears with emotions

⊱ Meals are seen as a time for calm, peace, talks, and tales; most meals are eaten with their hands depending on the meal made. To put the stresses of the day behind one's self and enjoy a hard-earned meal as one. Breaking such rules is seen as disrespectful and shameful. But so is the act of eating meals that are made using any animal of the following; dragon,owl,raven,bear,hare,hawk,halla, and most importantly Wolves is seen as the highest disrespect to their gods. But such practices are mostly followed by the Dalish only, who are the only ones to follow their gods still.

⊱ The Great Thanks is an act that takes place If and when a Dalish is very thankful (for saving their life, or aiding them) to the point of no words they will place their forehead onto the person's palm; invoking the creator name they wish to pass their blessing onto the thanks receiver; after such a prayer in concluded the receiving party will place their hand on their own forward accepting it as a great repayment. But if the receiving party doesn't accept the giver will see it as a slight or praying Ill will onto them. This act is mostly done by the Dalsih themselves but there have been some city elves who take part in this act but with Andraste but it's still frowned upon by the chantry.

⊱ Din Vhenan'abelas 'Death hearts sorrow' is an embrace of grieving into a loved one's neck near the major artery near the pulse, grieving loved ones will place their palms to the other heart to grief as one as they also embrace the sorrow and loss and will start Keening (wailing at the funeral)

⊱ Respect for elders is a huge part of the elven culture in Thedas as they seek wisdom and advice from these elders who is the oldest among the communities. Elves respect their elders above all else as they hold the community together during the hard times with their wisdom and care for the younger generations.

⊱ Family dynamic is mother and father working together to help raise their young in both the cities and the dalish both are to teach their children their trade and skills to ensure their knowledge is passed down the family and to aid their children in forming their skills and trade. But the community also has a hand in raising the young as well, as many will watch the children if the parents are out hunting or working, and such trusted members of the communities are normally those who have lost their children or who can't have their own and in doing so become part of the family who asked them to watch their children for them. It's a respectful and loved part of the communities in dalish as those who take up the mantle will move into the families Aravels.

⊱ Depending on the area the elves live in this behavior changes but in the south its not common for an elf to be blunt, or brutally honest among themselves or to others depending on the circumstance. Though among the Dalish the brutal honesty and blunt words of their conversations aren't seen as rude but helpful as they get the point across faster and without misunderstandings.

⊱Culture/Religion⊰

⊱ Name Changing; a common practice among the various Dalish clans across Thedas. A practice that derives from key moments of an elves life be it traumatic, emotional, or spiritual there are many reasons for dalish and even some city elves to go through the name changing; to the elves it’s regarded are part of their ‘long life journey; to prepare one’s spirit and mind for the time when they pass on into the beyond with a clear spirit to be guided through the paths’. Each and every clan regardless of their own identity and cultural practices will always have a time before or after the coming of age ceremony for a fledgling (child elf) to choose a new name to fit their new self into adulthood. City elves take part in few ceremonies but the naming ceremony is regarded instead of embracing their past and future selves but as a marital name chosen by or for them by their husband/wife. But like many city elves who live in the cities of humans; this practice like many others of the old way aren’t in practice as much due to the chantry and their human lords who rather keep track of every elf by their names.

⊱ Dalish elves are polytheism worshipping eight elven gods known as ‘Creators’, with a set of ‘evil’ counterparts to their benevolent gods. When worshipping their gods at alters it's customary to kneel before the altars and light incense that is made specifically for that god. Then one presses their foreheads against the altar and leaves their prayer before leaving an offering of any kind, from food to clothing.

⊱ Elves believe in their souls being tied to a point on their forehead that ties them to the beyond, and to magic itself. Called Elgar’Bellanaris the eternal soul. Oddly enough this placement of the soul is where many circles of magi brand their tranquil

⊱ While praying to the creators the dalish will either use “prayer stones” with the creator's symbols on them that are also used as incense holders. Be it with prayer stones or at the creator's statues the dalish will press their forehead to the stone or base of the statue; after which they leave food, drink, or crafts at the base.

⊱ many cultures/races of Thedas have their form of tradition and practices they do for the dead; Elves on the other hand are the only race to be responsible of countless patches of trees and even large spreading ancient forests to grow with their funerals for the dead. When an elf dies in Dalish tradition also known as the old ways the elf's body is washed with herbs and oils to promote the body to decay faster with the earth, the body later is mourned by the clan and the family before the parents or relative takes the passed loved one's prayer stones and place them into the hands of the passed, to gain them entry and safe passage through the beyond and past the dread wolf. Before their mortal body is placed into the ground a tree is planted over the remains to grow new life from death.

⊱ Right of passage for elves very, for city elves is when one reaches a certain age and is married off to one in their alienage or to another alienage depending on the country and city they grew up in. For Dalish it's not so simple as to the Dalish one without their blood writing also known as Vallaslin is known as a child, never to be trained in a trade, nor take a bondmate, or place in the clan. Depending on the clan many of those who haven't gained their markings by marked age are exiled or kicked out of their birth clan and given to another who wants them. This right of passage for those who gain the right are fed a drink mixture and given a herbal smoke to breathe in while in the wilds, they are to meditate and pray to the gods as they will their minds to read through the haze the drink mixture and the smoke has given them. These hazes could be the gods animals or hushed voices of spirits who form their dreams of the Creator they are to gain their mark from. This ceremony is done in silence if any noise is sounded by anyone who objects to the right or by the elf gaining their marks cry out the keeper stops and the markings are unfinished till the keeper and the clan determines if they are worthy once again.

⊱ Marriages among the dalish are a huge point of celebration as it's the tying of one's heart to another for the rest of one's life into the beyond. And not to be taken lightly, there are dances, singing, and the making of the soon-to-be bondmates clothes weaved and made by the elders of the clan who are all trained in the weaving of halla fur into intricate patterns matching the journey of the couple, with patterns of animals and stories depicted on how the couple met and fell in love. This process is done with the couple being separated from each other for months to ensure their bond is strong. Then the dyings of their wedding garments are done by the keeper who consults with both the couple and their family some communicate to spirits of love and passion to find the right dyes. When the garments are made the clan celebrates by praying to the creators that each couple bears the Vallaslin of. Then the wedding starts with the couple being in a dance their garments hidden under cloaks of wolf pelts as the clan dances around the couple wearing different animal pelts as the couple dance around the other with every member of the clan. Til they meet in the middle of two wolves then dance for ‘power’ til both couple's pelts are shed off and they see one another's wedding clothes. Then the couple is gilded to the keeper who then paints the couple with the other's vallaslin before giving the couple their wedding prayers during which a decorated rope made by the clan is placed over the hands of the couple as the keeper starts tying the robe around the bond mates hands in a handfasting ceremony, which is concluded when the couple kiss and pull the end of their wedding rope. Tying their souls together in this life and into the next. What follows are weeks of celebration before the couple is given their own Aravel.

⊱ Fen’harel’s mark; better known as the Harellan brand. A twisted form of the Vallaslin in the form of the traitor’s curse. For the one who is marked with such a mark has been branded as a traitor and prey of the dalish an exile. A soul stain to show their sin of betraying their people to be marked with such a curse is to be cursed with death, loss, and madness from their isolation from their people. Dalish hunters will hunt and skill any Harellan who enter their camp’s hunting ranges. Even other Harellans will find and kill others in the hope of being forgiven and accepted into a clan…they too are killed. And those who bear these marks are said to be cursed by the very gods to never bear children who are healthy or who live past the newborn stage. Many are born stillborn, in the end, a Harellan lives a lonely and sad life of letting the gods themselves decide their fates in the end as there is no forgiveness for a Harellan among the elves.

[thephooka]

How we got here from there

Or, the long journey of a longform long-running webcomic about a long man with long wings.

In the spirit of @feathernotes and @phantomarine who have been talking about just starting your webcomic and not worrying about being "ready", I was inspired to do a post about White Noise's origin! I'm a little limited by the fact that I either left behind or destroyed a lot of the art I have from prior to 2009, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Cringe Truth below the cut!

The Cringe Truth of White Noise is that it has its roots in a Pokemon x Yu Yu Hakusho x self-insert(s) roleplay thread I used to do with an internet friend I made on Neopets guild forums way back in 2002-ish. We would come home from school every day and RP over AIM, and then when we had to get offline, whoever left first would email the other one, and we would continue via email until we were back on AIM at the same time.

Liya was my self insert.

This isn't even remotely the earliest art of her, it's just the earliest I have on hand. I was drawing her for almost a decade by the time I drew this one. Imagine the earlier drawings as being like I traced over Sailor Moon characters that I printed out from deviantART and gave them a brown ponytail.

The funny thing is Liya really hasn't changed much from her original form! I also had loose brown curls that I kept in a ponytail 24/7 to the point that it showed when I had it down (which is why her hair is 'dented' like that). I did it because I was trans and didn't know it; she does it because she hasn't realized she can just cut it off and be butch yet.

Other characters that date back from this time period: Yoshi (originally an InuYasha/Rurouni Kenshin pastiche), Hawk (I don't remember when he got wings but they were white at first), Numair (named after the Tamora Pierce character and filling a Koenma kind of role), Helly (sort of--I had an elf character named Kamui who had the same temperament, and he was eventually transmuted into Helly) and...Kurogane.

I've never named Kurogane but he appears in the background of the comic a few times, as my own personal inside joke.

Vlad came along somewhere between this RP period and planning the comic, but I can't remember when or why. I don't have drawings from that time (~2004?) but he was the first character I drew when I got a tablet for the first time.

Everyone else came along later when I started actually planning out the comic.

All this said: the reason I started White Noise as a weekly webcomic is because I wanted to learn to draw better.

At the time I was in college majoring in animation, but I didn't feel like I was learning very much at all (the program was badly structured; I had more art history classes than anything else. It was a mess.) I was also working nights in order to feed myself, and so had a lot of downtime. I had this story rattling around in my head from my RP days, so I figured, why not just give it a go?

For posterity here's a photo of a chapter 1 panel in progress, back in 2011 with my typical college diet in the bg:

(Chapter 1 was originally pencil on paper, scanned in and colored in PS. I later re-drew it to make it fully digital to match with the rest of the comic.)

There's been a lot of talking about not waiting until you're 'ready' to start a webcomic, and I agree with that sentiment. Try framing it like this: making a comic every week for years and years will improve your art way more than any prep work you can do before starting the comic. It's like learning to swim. You can read about swimming all you want, but you're not going to really figure it out until you do it. If your early comics are bad, well, that's normal. It used to be an expected part of doing webcomics; I blame the shift into expecting webcomics to be polished from start to finish partly on commercialization in the space, but that's an angry rant for another time.

With this background, here's the collage I posted for WN's 10 year anniversary back in 2021:

And now we're here.

So do your webcomic. Put it on ComicFury or make a janky little site for it. Be okay with imperfect pages and be prepared to shout into the void for a while. Even if it's always a hobby, if it never makes you a dime or wins you any awards--that's fine! You'll be a lot happier if you learn not to worry about that stuff, and just make something that will help you grow and make you happy. We could do with a lot more work like that in the world imo.