#fey magic

[qwrite]

Trying to work on the next chapter of my Drust AU, ‘ In Pursuit’. The mix between wonder, plot, and spooky fey based horror is fun but sometimes difficult to maintain.

No updates yet, but I hadn’t posted this one to tumblr yet, so now it’s in the ether.

And I know, I know the slow burn is killing me too- and I’m in control ( supposedly).

[wannabe-british-fangirl]

~ books read in 2023 ~

#21: The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The farmer had four ordinary children, which was why the magic of the fifth came as a surprise.

Rating: 5/5

[butterfly-winx]

Could you talk more about male fairies please?

Ok in all honesty I was looking for an ask that wanted me to elaborate on body issues and male fairies following my post way back about Radius, but I was having more general thoughts anyway. I hope you don't mind.

Ever since the invention of sorcery, fairy magic has been stamped off as the more emotional magic art in contrast to rational sorcery. Emotions and rationality, two sides of a whole, have become juxtaposed and in turn associated with gender roles. Emotions are a feminine thing, while being rational was overtly masculine. Fey magic became a predominantly feminine art as less and less men/ masculine people took up the trade, out of fear of being ridiculed.

In modern times still, there are more sorceresses than there are male fairies: the bias against them just doesn't offer the kind of male bias in a female dominated field that we are used to in our world.

(The extreme ties to femininity also dissuades many gender non-conforming women from pursuing fey magic.)

Men who take up fey magic often have to deal with rumors about their claimed impotence, "small dick", or have their gender speculated about, with assumptions of them being closeted trans women.

This gets even harder when you add non-conventional bodies into the mix. Transformations represent an idealised body, covering blemishes and scars unless the user wields it so that it doesn't. Idealised in connection with femininity often means thin, fair and hairless, which is antithetical to how many men like to represent.

Then there is the issue of flight. Fairies are meant to present as graceful, gentle and loving (and lovable in turn); and people get so up in arms about it when this is applied to a fat body. It becomes the bumblebee paradox of little wings on a heavy body.

The term "bumblebee" for fat/chubby fairies actually stems from parents' kind words to their children: "The others may be wasps, but you are my darling little bumblebee". Many children found strength in these words until the "in" group caught wind of it and the term was used to pester and bully fat fey magic users, ridiculing them. (Some people do refer to themselves as bumblebee in reclamation of the word, but it's a matter of personality and how serious one takes oneself bc it does come off as youthful/childish).

So if plain acceptance is not possible, what else can fat magic users do? Conform? Fat people are already forced to perform their gender at a level of perfection beyond critique to be afforded dignity. In the case of fey magic this gets even more complicated for fat men since the art is entrenched in femininity and being effeminate is almost inextricably linked to being youthful, thin and waif-ish: essentially being the quintessential twink. It is no coincidence that gender non-conforming gay men often chose fey magic. But where does that leave fat men who need to present masculine in broader society, yet feminine in connection to their art?

There are certainly men who lean into masculinity wholly and eschew any connection to femininity. Others as said above are all for embracing their feminine side, but often those people are also effeminate in general. Again others see it as a performance (think drag). Gender expression is malleable and a craft that can be formed and re-formed as one needs. It is just a matter of personality, preference and self-confidence in detangling oneself from the societal expectations. Radius, simply by existing so self-unashamedly in such a high position of power has set new standards and became a role model for many young fey magic users, regardless of gender.

[author-a-holmes]

Happy StS! What is your favourite bit of Changeling worldbuilding?

Heya lovely! Sorry for the delay, as always I'm terrible at answering asks in a timely manner.

And this is a great question! My favourite part of Changeling's Worldbuilding is actually something that, I don't think, is ever going to make it into the book and it's how the Fey Realm of Arbaon was created.

Bridget Elestov had the power to travel between locations by turning a tree into a portal. She could connect between trees of the same type so Oak-to-Oak for example.

When the kavians first emerged and began attacking the Fey, they decimated fey numbers and Bridget Elestov gathered the remaining Fey and asked them to join their power to hers via telepathy to inhance her abilites. It had never been tried before, but the fey were desperate and on the brink of extinction.

Bridget theorised that she could use her enhanced power to create a portal to a realm of her own imagination, as long as the realm contained a tree of the type she was travelling through.

It succeeded, but when they arrived it was a formless, shapeless, realm. White and grey fog that went on endlessly. But as the Fey arrived, the sheer strain that the journey had put Bridget through caused her to bleed from the nose and eyes and as it fell into the formless smoke beneath their feet, the realm took the knowledge of the mortal realm from Bridget Elestov's very blood and created a mimicry of the natural world around them.

The Elestov Line was given the title of Queen of the Fey, and is intricately connected to control of the realm. Arbaon doesn't have natural seasons, but the weather changes at the whim of the Fey Queen in power. Plants grow perfectly healthy, gemstones form without flaws, and the realm expands to support the number of fey living within it.

But once you reach the edges of the realm, the land drops off into an endless shroud of nothing, like staring at a sea of clouds without end.

Disclaimer: Answered August 10th. Scheduled for September 4th

[arrogantshrew]

✨finding loopholes in fey magic to promote your terrorist agenda✨

i know we all hate jkr but JUST LISTEN because i’ve just had what must be the most galaxy brain thought of my scholarly career.

everyone was too afraid to say voldemort’s name, right? and it’s well established that that’s fuckin’ stupid, but what if it’s not just stupid? what if it’s actively detrimental? by fey rules giving someone your name gives them power over you. everyone in the wizarding world refuse to claim his name, and therefore forfeit that power.

but it goes deeper. voldemort is not his real name. his real name is tom riddle. so consider this: he not only created a freaky ass name to spark fear, but also to protect himself from the ancient magic associated with giving someone your name. he refuses to give anyone else the ability to name him, and therefore ensures that he enters every fight beholden to no one. 

words are magic. and, by magic rules, it’s true that the more people claim that word the more power they give it. but everyone got it wrong. saying his name wouldn’t have given voldemort power, it would have given them power. 

P.S. it’s worth noting that everyone who had the courage to say voldemort made a major difference in the war effort. additionally, everyone who knew his true name (and sincerely identified him with it) didn’t just make a difference, they fucked shit up.

P.P.S. this gives extra meaning to his dramatic name reveal in chamber of secrets. he’s basically saying, “i’m so confident that i’m gonna win, i’ll even give you my name.”

P.P.P.S. it also gives extra meaning to voldemort’s disdain for his father’s muggle last name. voldemort’s name holds his history, it identifies every aspect of who he is. His father’s name encapsulated that reality, the reality of his “impure blood,” and that’s why he tried to kill it. he wanted to kill that part of himself and absolve himself of his blood status. otherwise he could never be a god in his own eyes--only a bastard and a mudblood. 

[thisisnotthenerd]

i don’t think you understand

we have had aabria autumn on d20 since 2020, when she stole the show as myrtle in pirates of leviathan. you could feel her inhabiting that mermaid over a zoom screen. felt like i was watching a mermaid roll around in a life-size martini glass full of vodka with my own eyes.

then she changed the game with mismag in 2021, bringing kids on brooms, personalized props, lighting effects, and projections to the dome, after which she held it down as antiope jones. the reluctant leader, the late bloomer who is not late but merely arriving in her own time.

in 2022 she came back with kisses, with regency, with good society, with flowers and tokens and projections and a willingness to follow up on consequences that never stopped moving. wuvvy my beloved. kill me with the devotion of a life lived in service to the one you love why don’t you.

in 2023 she was the spiciest assassin. fit for the genre in fits for the genre. replacing skalds like she was born to do it. and then burrow’s end. a genre exploration with a splash of the violence of dnd and the tragicomedy of family. beautiful sets, incredible audiovisual effects, and horror both visceral and cosmic.

in 2024? she’s back with wizards baby. she’s taking a 4 episode jaunt of americans becoming wizards in britain and making an adventure of eleven episodes. planets move, the dm screen talks, and the wind is on the rise.

aabria adds such a fun, artistic, genre-bending, cinematic flavor to her time in the dome; it’s no wonder that the Q4 mid-length season is hers.

[7lizardsinacoat]

SAY HI, PACK OF PIXIES!

Every time I rewatch A Court of Fey and Flowers (or let's be real, any campaign Aabria Iyengar is in or runs), I had more and more wanted to paint her. So I did. Truly one of my favorite and most inspirational DMs, and a fashion icon to boot.

[haleyusesherwords]

Aabria is such a visionary with how she uses the dome because she does revolutionary things that seem so obvious in retrospect.

Of course you can branch out into new RPG systems

Of course you can project on the walls

Of course you can use those projections as an integral part of storytelling

Of course you can make puzzle battle maps

Continuously in awe because each time she does this, it’s impossible to imagine how it hasn’t been done before. I bow down before Aabria the absolute production design queen

[supergraphicultramoderngirl]

aabria iyengar. you agree

[workingwhileidream]

Okay Burrow's End had me thinking some thoughts... So here are my favorite Dimension 20 moments that rotate like a rotisserie chicken in my brain (in no particular order other than the order I thought if them).

- Riz goes into the butthole of the Corn Ooze Monster (Fantasy High). The first absolutely insane shenanigans move anyone makes on D20, setting the tone the show will have forever.

- Raphaniel kills Queen Pamelia (Ravening War). I think I saw Brennan's soul leave his body briefly when he got that How Do You Want To Do This from Matt. Time was an absolute flat circle that day.

- Hank convinces Brennan to let him role savvy instead of sneak (Mentopolis). Hank is one of the most famous content creators, having him on the show was phenomenal to begin with. Then right out of the gate, he pulls this move in his first episode. And it just works. Hilarious, instantly iconic.

- Jet Dies (A Crown of Candy). When Lapin dies, it is shocking but I wasn't attached to him as a character. Lapin was a bit antagonistic and his death happens early in the season. On the other hand, Jet is instantly likeable. Emily and Siobhan are amazing as siblings, their performances this campaign are some of my favorites. I have siblings and I am very close to them, so this hit me like a ton of bricks.

- The entire epilogue of Burrow's End. "Are you pitching and Air Bud ending?" is one of the instant hall of fame quotes from this show. I started crying I was laughing so hard.

- Ylfa's bottleneck and the TPK (Neverafter). There are so many close calls for total party kills in Dimension 20 history, but this is where it finally happens and it's only 3 episodes in. I was on edge, expecting another TPK at any turn, for the rest of the campaign.

- 3 nat one initiative rolls for the battle that literally opens the season (A Starstruck Odyssey). The beginning of a new season is always full of excitement. This season was extra special, having everyone back in the dome after the pandemic and the season being based off Brennan's Mom's comics. The zoom energy is still in the air and I still think about this season opener a lot.

- Mother Timothy Goose breaks Snow White's concentration with a cantrip (Neverafter). Only Ally Beardsley could and we all damn well know it. Still didn't stop me from being so far in disbelief that all I could do is laugh.

- Hob's "You will never know another lonely day" speech to Rue (A Court of Fey and Flowers). I will still cry about this if I think about it for too long. Rue and Hob's romance is the heart of this season to me. I won't be over it ever.

- Gertrude convinces Nyruth to give the Questing Queens very powerful boons after the Queens tried to rob them only a few hours earlier (Dungeons and Drag Queens). The fact that this season exists drives a level of serotonin into my brain that is unimaginable. This is the definition of a big swing and when Bob rolls well, Brennan has no other choice than to honor it. This is one of the moments I have made a meme of. I cannot wait for season 2.

- Wuuvy shows up to the duel and she did not come to play (A Court of Fey and Flowers). Aabria has talked about how Wuuvy is one of her favorite NPCs and I feel the same. Wuuvy and Rue's relationship has such a great arc and this moment is so pivotal.

- Fabian's no good very bad day (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). An iconic moment in D20 history that was truly wild to watch live. For everything to go so fantastically bad for Fabian and Lou was unprecedented. There is a reason why people still talk about this moment to this day.

- Amathar survives being pushed off the castle (A Crown of Candy). Brennan tried to kill Lou so many times in this campaign. I really thought Brennan had gotten him with this one, my stomach sunk. But Lou pulls it out and Amathar lives once again.

- Pib plays "Smoke on the Water" (Neverafter). "I stepped out to play 'Smoke on the Water' " is also a hall of fame quote to me. This list could be all Pib moments if I'm being honest, he's my favorite Zac character. And the fact that Zac doesn't roll well makes this moment funnier to me.

- Buddy Bear gets planted with the All Blossom (Dungeons and Drag Queens). Jujubee and Brennan owe me a therapy session for this one. I sobbed. My cat is my baby and I will be ruined the day she leaves me, so I get it. I really do.

- "Eat your dice, Brennan" (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). A great bit made physically possible by Siobhan. I hope Siobhan gives him gummy dice or something like that so that Brennan can continue to eat his dice for Junior Year.

- Orange Top Hat Fairy (Neverafter). It's a horror season and the cast is doing bits about how hot a mini is the entire finale and the Adventuring Party that followed. I felt the stress and off the walls energy through the screen. The Smooth Criminal pin was the first piece of Dimension 20 merch I bought.

- Viola's epic takedown of Phoebe (Burrow's End). Watching Rashawn absolutely crush it her first time in the dome was amazing. I loved Viola from the jump, her arc was so satisfying and fun to watch. Also the idea of a tiny stoat kicking a gun just the right way to get it to fire is hilarious. No notes other than please have Rashawn come back on every season she possibly can.

- Evan Kelmp warns the Rosemont student not to duel him (Misfits and Magic). Brennan's deadpan warning matched with the reactions of the other players and Aabria really make this scene. An underrated Brennan moment for sure.

- Stacey Fakename turns out to be real (Mentopolis). This was such a good reoccurring bit, so to have Stacey be real at the end of the story was too funny. In a season of bits, tropes, and puns - this one has the most payoff to me and is definitely my favorite.

[lyndentree63]

Oohhhhhhh. So far, all of Aabria's Dimension 20 seasons are intensely literary Misfits and Magic - Harry Potter ACOFAF - Jane Austen, Bridgerton Burrow's End - Watership Down, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Animal Farm, 1984, etc.

There's something delightful hearing her talk about not coming to TTRPGs through high fantasy like Lord of the Rings and Wheel of Time, but yet there's so much bookish influence on her GMing work. Diversify the literary influences!

[intrepidbeans]

[birdsongisland]

Id : a rendered digital painting of binx and andhera on a stone building and vegetation landscape. Binx is standing on the steps of large stone stairs and leaning over the stone railing with a soft smile to tie a piece of yellow fabric on andhera's arm. She has big brown moth wings with a golden key design and moth antennas over their chin length hair. She is wearing a yellow and cream dress, with puffy sleeves and a slit in the cream body of the dress showing the yellow underskirt. Many purple and red lost objects are sewn onto the dress such as earrings, keys, socks, flowers, scissors etc. Andhera has his back to the viewer, on horseback and looking up at binx with the same soft expression. They're wearing an iridescent dark purple armour with crystal-like designs, goldwn earrings, and holding a crystalline black halberd. Shining yellow moths are flying around them, purple roses are blooming, and a slight border frames the image with cristals, thread, keys and moths./end id

im normal and spent a normal amount of time, effort and thought on this

[nanaluvbug]

yeah i like Dimension 20 a normal amount, why do you ask? patreon * twitch * shop  

[chungledown-bimothy]

The way Aabria narrates never fails to floor me in ways I simply cannot put into words. I can see and feel it all so clearly in ways I've never experienced with any other media.

[everythingisliminal]

Y'aaaaaaaaall my brother is an excellent person.