#phoenix & the blizzards

[allaboutherock2011]

BEAST IN BLACK and Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo® Join Forces to release new track 'Enter The Behelit' to mark Berserk Crossover

28th April 2025  marks the epic convergence of three cultural titans: Diablo®, the critically acclaimed franchise that defined the Action RPG genre; acclaimed manga, Berserk; and Finnish heavy metal band, BEAST IN BLACK, who have collaborated to launch an exclusive track ‘Enter The Behelit.’ Releasing on limited-edition vinyl and worldwide digital distribution, a music video debuts today as well…

[gildedflames]

( rain, she/her, 35+, PDT ) woah! was that JOSHUA ROSFIELD walking down main street? i heard they’re not actually from ivy cove but come from FINAL FANTASY 16. they’re 28 and live in RADIAN HILLS but watch out because they can be RUDE + OVERPROTECTIVE but are actually CARING + POLITE. despite them HAVING memories, you’ll always think of A CRACKLING FIRE, THE SMELL OF WOOD SMOKE, AND THE SENSATION OF PHOENIX FEATHERS BRUSHING OVER YOUR SKIN when imagining them. / ross lynch, he/him

Point in canon he's from: Near endgame, just after the Echoes of the Fallen DLC but before the Rising Tide DLC.

[thejosiebird]

So I’ve decided to do something brave and start posting my art here on this hellsite. And I figured a good place to start would be to post the prompts I did for Inktober before it became dead to me a few days ago.

Happy Halloween!

[fatehbaz]

Some updates from the past twelve-ish months:

-- Late 2022: Portland and its mayor (Wheeler) started a major push to ban "street camping". Headlines in major media outlets also described "Portland's first sanctioned mass homeless camp" and how "Portland moves forward with $27 million plan to build mass shelters". In December 2022, Portland-area authorities used the so-called "aggressive landscaping" tactic, installing hundreds of hostile architecture boulders to prevent sitting/sleeping. Also in December, homeless advocates and Disability Rights Washington advocates attempted to halt Spokane's (Washington) clearing of a major camp for hundreds of people, and a federal judge sided with advocates to put a temporary restraining order on the sweep.

-- January 2023: Even in the immediate aftermath of historic cold as far south as Miami and Monterrey, sub-freezing temperatures across the Deep South, and sub-zero-Fahrenheit blizzards sweeping North America for a week or longer around Solstice/Christmas 2022, convenience stores "in Texas, California, New York use classical music to shoo homeless".

-- By March 2023: "Portland Mayor Wheeler unveils first location for city-run homeless camp".

-- April 2023: San Francisco and Mayor Breed announce a major "five-year plan" costing over 600 million dollars "to cut the number of unsheltered homeless in half". (Not a plan to put people in homes or find stable housing, but just to technically put them under the roof of shelter, keeping them out of sight, therefore qualifying them for the strange designation of "the sheltered homeless".) At the same time, San Francisco opened a "long-term homeless shelter on Treasure Island", pushing homeless people onto an isolated island mostly composed of concrete and asphalt.

-- Summer 2023: In May, the city of Phoenix (Arizona) began its project to clear and eliminate its largest homeless camp, known as the Zone, a refuge for hundreds of people. During the record-breaking heat of the summer of 2023, Phoenix cleared the camp systematically, block by block. At the beginning of September 2023, as "Phoenix breaks heat record as city hits 110F [110 degrees Fahrenheit] for the 54th consecutive day", the city cleared the block of the camp where most seniors and the elderly lived.

-- January 2024: About one week ahead of winter holidays (Solstice/Christmas), the City of Edmonton pursued plans to sweep 130 homeless encampments as part of what has been described as a "shocking" eviction plan. In January, the city was clearing camps amidst sustained deadly severe weather, during a polar vortex event with temperatures of negative 50 degrees Fahrenheit and daytime highs of negative 25F. When a court case presented by Coalition for Justice and Human Rights tried to slow the sweeps, a judge sided with them and shut down the evictions.

-- March 2024: Florida's governor signs a new law. NPR describes: "law that seeks to move unhoused people off public property altogether and into government-run encampments".

-- April 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing a case from Grants Pass (Oregon) with major implications and potential to incite nationwide "banishment race" and "homelessness crackdown". Lower courts have previously said that city policies (like Grants Pass, Boise, and others) were "cruel and unusual" for fining and/or jailing people for sleeping on public land if no adequate accessible shelter is available. But now?

[peanut-with-wifi-access]

wof tribes but they're different kinds of dragons

Mudwings as drakes, wingless but built like goddamn tanks. Long legs and sturdy bodies, allowing them to shove through the thick mud/brush of the swamps.

Seawings as wyrms/sea serpents, with a touch of deep sea gigantism. Long and big but don't look it bc they're stuck slithering on land.

Rainwings as amphitheres. no legs, just wings and serpentine body, perfectly adapted to the jungle. Pretty feathers.

Nightwings as longmas/eastern dragons. No wings, shouldn't be able to fly. They do anyway.

Sandwings as lindwyrms. Arms for thievery and digging, serpent body to swing tail stinger better and get tf out of a situation via burrow.

Icewings as wyverns. strong legs for gripping the ice, strong wings for flying in blizzards. Arms add too much drag in the water, they're semi-aquatic. Besides, they can make things with their breath.

Skywings as amphitheres too, but with a more phoenix look compared to the rainwing's tropical bird vibes. They don't have a prehensile tail, but they do have talons on their wings.

just... WoF not-dragons.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: Weather

Bombogenesis and bomb cyclone - A bombogenesis is “the process that occurs during a 24-hour period when the atmospheric pressure of an extratropical cyclone drops with enough intensity to produce explosive cyclogenesis.” The central barometric pressure drops quickly, producing hurricane-force winds and heavy snow or rainfall—like 77 inches worth of snow in one day. Nor’easters often undergo bombogenesis as cold winds from the north mix with warmer ocean water from the south, creating a big temperature range. These “weather bombs” or bomb cyclones can become blizzards when the conditions are just right. These bombs happen mostly in the fall and winter, but they aren’t unheard of during other times of the year.

Crepuscular ray - A twilight ray of sunlight shining through breaks in high clouds and illuminating dust particles in the air.

Derecho - A widespread and severe windstorm that moves rapidly along a fairly straight path, and it is associated with bands of rapidly moving thunderstorms. In some instances, the media will refer to derechos as "inland hurricanes".

Frazil - “Ice crystals formed in turbulent water, as in swift streams or rough seas.” However, frazil can also form in lakes and oceans; it is the start of sea ice. Frazil usually forms on very clear nights with very low temperatures.

Gloriole - “A halo, nimbus, or aureole.” When ice crystals are suspended in the atmosphere, light catches them causing a bright halo or even a rainbow around the sun or moon. The gloriole forms 22 degrees away from the center of the object, but this phenomenon can often be confused with coronas that form due to water droplets.

Graupel - A type of precipitation that is formed when really cold water droplets collect, freeze, and fall on snowflakes. This creates what is known as a ball of rime, which is “an opaque coating of tiny, white, granular ice particles.”

Haboob - “A thick dust storm or sandstorm that blows in the deserts of North Africa and Arabia or on the plains of India.” Haboob’s dust-storm cousin also hits the United States—just ask anyone who lives in Phoenix. These dust storms usually occur during or as a result of a thunderstorm.

Hunch weather - This term dates back to the 1700s; drizzle or winds that are strong enough to make you hunch over when you walk.

Monkey's wedding - Sunshine and rain at the same time; also known to be called sun showers. However, in South Africa, a “sun shower” is also known as a monkey’s wedding.

Moonbroch - A large halo around the moon; it is a sign of an approaching storm. A broch is an old term for a Scottish circular stone tower.

Petrichor - The distinct scent of rain in the air. More precisely, it’s the name of an oil that’s released from the earth into the air before rain begins to fall.

Polar vortex - A massive whirlpool of cold air that hovers above Earth’s North and South poles. During the warm months, the vortex shrinks toward the poles and generally stays out of our hair, which is nice. During the winter though, the vortex’s boundary—a narrow band of fast air called the polar front jet stream—expands, dipping toward the equator and dumping frigid weather onto any unsuspecting towns (or commuters) in its path.

Sastruga - (Sastrugi in the plural form) means “ridges of snow formed on a snowfield by the action of the wind.”

Smuir - “A thick atmosphere, a dense enveloping cloud or swirl of smoke, snow, rain, or mist.” Alternatively, a blind smuir is merely a snowdrift.

Snow - The partially frozen water vapor which falls in flakes.

Snow eater - When there’s snow everywhere. But, all of a sudden, a nice warm breeze blows over the snow and melts it all away. This usually happens in the Rockies.

Snow flurries - Light, intermittent snowfall without significant accumulation; tend to come from stratiform clouds.

Snow showers - A short period of light-to-moderate snowfall, also characterized by a sudden beginning and ending. There is some accumulation with snow showers, and they fall from convective or cumuliform clouds.

Snow squall - A heavy snow shower with strong winds.

Sugar weather - In Canada, when they have nice warm days but chilly nights, that’s known as sugar weather. That type of weather is just right for getting the maple syrup running in the maple trees.

Swullocking - Hot, sticky, humid weather during the summer; humid weather.

Thundersnow - When snow is the primary form of precipitation in a thunderstorm (instead of rain).

Virga - The virga phenomenon is when you can see that it is raining, but it evaporates on the way to the ground and ends up changing back to water vapor before you can feel it. When it rains and the rain actually makes it to the ground, there’s a meteorological word for that, too: praecipitatio.

Williwaw - A violent squall that blows in near-polar latitudes, as in the Strait of Magellan, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: On Weather ⚜ Calm & Stormy ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[lynzishell]

Prev // Next

Transcript + Lot Credit below the cut:

Atlas: Are you ready? Dawn: I think so, just grabbing the rest of Aspen’s things. The bags by the door are ready if you want to take them down.

Atlas: Already got ‘em. Dawn: Okay, I’m hurrying. Aspen, love, where did we put your coat? Phoenix: It’s right here. Dawn: Oh, thank you.

Aspen: Tonton! Atlas: What, no yellow boots? Aspen: Mommy said no more boots.

Dawn: They were getting too small, poor thing got a blister. Plus, we needed winter boots, didn’t we, love? Aspen: Uh-huh, so I can play in the snow. Atlas: Good idea. Don’t want frozen toes.

Dawn: Anyway, we should—[gasps] Oh my god. Ash, are you sure you’re okay to drive in this? Asher: Of course, it’s just a bit of snow, we’ll be fine. Dawn: Just a bit of snow? It’s a blizzard out there. Asher: [laughs] I’ve driven in worse, plenty of times. Besides, we’ll be out of it soon enough, and the mountain pass is totally clear, so no need to worry, I promise.

Dawn: Okay. If you say so. And you got the car seat? Asher: Yep, all set. Dawn: And you’re sure we’ll all fit? Asher: Definitely. You know that book about the house that’s bigger on the inside than the outside? My car is like that. It looks tiny from the outside, but inside it’s roomy as sh—[looks at Aspen] It’s very roomy.

Dawn: Really? Asher: Nnno. [laughs] It’s going to be very cramped, but on the bright side, the extra weight in the back will be helpful on the icy roads.

Dawn: Good to see you so optimistic again. Asher: What can I say? I’m looking forward to getting out of the city. Dawn: You and me both.

...

Asher: You know what I love most about being here? Atlas: What? Asher: I don’t remember what it was like the last time, so I don’t have any expectations for what it’s supposed to feel like. I can just let it be what it is. I feel like I can finally relax.

Atlas: I wonder if it will be best to get a new apartment sooner than later. If our place feels off, maybe it will be good to be somewhere new. Asher: I think so. I mean, the whole city feels off, but yeah, I think the more we keep moving forward, the easier it will get. Atlas: Me too.

Asher: And in the spirit of new experiences, I think I’m gonna go snowboarding with Phoenix tomorrow. Atlas: Oh yeah? Asher: Mhm. You wanna come with us? Atlas:  Nah, I’ll hang back and keep Dawn company with Aspen. You go have fun. Asher: ‘kay.

...

**LOT CREDIT** I need to give full credit to Nina Schmidt and THIS yt video for the rental cabin. When building, I fully copied the shape, and floor plan of the main house. The only reason I didn't just download the lot from the gallery is because I wanted to practice my roofing skills, so I basically followed the first part of the video like a tutorial, and it worked out so well!! Anyway, it's such a cute build, and you should check out the video too!

[blacksheep28]

It is a terrible day. Nothing sits quite right. Not the large comfortable bed in Shen Xue's room, not any of his clothes no matter what he picks out, even breakfast tastes bland. His usual tolerance for the antics of his former shizi and the demon king was nearly non-existent.

Both of them pick up on his irritation without him saying anything. It is annoying to be so easily read, even as it's something he's adjusted to in this new life. There will be tea sent to his room later, a soothing mix from winter mist ginger that he is partial to on days like this. He may not drink it, but it is pleasant to have it available without requesting it.

Shen Xue heads down to the library, but still can't find it in himself to settle. His current work on a collection of poems by a minor demon clan the Mobei clan rules over is more irritating than interesting today with the various idiosyncrasies that plague it. He had rather hoped the work would help remove the sense of wrong that had settled, but no. It would not be that simple today.

He found himself striding almost blindly to the closest window. He leaned out looking over where everything was, tipped out - and changed. In a flash wings beat, and an ice phoenix rose up. He flew up and let a blizzard begin around him. He had a storm to release, and a world to roam. His wings tore through the cold air creating sharp winds that would freeze what they touched. His cry promised a cold death to anyone who tried to pierce through to the storm's heart.

It felt right. Shen Xue had been furious when he had first found himself rescued from death into a bird. He hadn't wanted to be a beast, no matter what gifts it could come with. Over the years spent cultivating to a human form however he had found a rich pleasure in the freedom to simply leave and go wherever he wished on his wings. The creature he now was was a formidable one as well. Few people would risk the bite of winter that they would face in trying to track down an ice phoenix, let alone the battle for the blizzards he brought in his wake.

There was a nice ache in his body when he finally let the blizzards settle and he turned back to the Ice Palace. The restlessness and irritation that had followed him had finally given way to weariness. He flew in and returned to his humanoid form. Frost patterns still decorated his body, and few would mistake him as human with snow pale hair and talons for nails. It didn't matter in a realm where the only human was Shang Cangse.

Mobei Jun welcomed him back with an incline of his head that held a warmth few would believe the ice demon held. Shang Cangse himself looked up with a wild grin not even stopping in his babbling of his latest tale of disasters that he had had to deal with. No matter how good the human's systems were something would introduce a tangle into it. Shen Xue had to admit he had developed a fondness for hearing about such things now that he didn't have to deal with it himself.

Shen Xue took a seat and settled down to listen. It was nice, he reflected, to have a place he could trust to return to. And people he could trust to listen to him.



[faeriesandfolklore]

The Faerie Monarchs: The Erkling

The world to the north is a frosty tundra of knotted trees and darkness. No mortal dares venture there, especially because of the king who rules over this foreign land. There are many tales about him. He snatches up mortal children, he chases faerie beasts with his iron net. Stories have passed from village to village, warnings of how to avoid his ire. 

Few know the king’s true name. It is said that the only creature in the entire world who knew it was his first bride, Titania, who perished in an icy blizzard centuries ago. Few recall this event, only speaking of the glint of his eyes- so blue they are a violet-  and a bellow that shook the world. His true name died with her, as did any softness in the icy heart of his. He resides in a palace far in the Unborn North, where he rules over an army of the undead. 

His hunters are his closest companions, those who were truly wicked during their time alive. As a punishment, or perhaps a blessing, they serve as part of the king’s Wild Hunt. They ride horses with frostbitten hooves, their skin flecked with blood as they tumble through the forest in search of the faerie beasts. 

And the faerie beasts, poor souls who have caught the eye of the king. Some are creatures of myth, unicorns and phoenix and dragons that are too young to fly away. Others are faeries as well, moss maidens and cursed boys who have caught the attention of the king. It does not truly matter what you are, so long as the king finds a use for you. 

His menagerie is the heart of his castle, hidden in the icy mountains. There he locks away his prizes in gilded cages, where faerie nobility from all walks of life come to peer upon his treasures. On the nights of the full moon, mortals lock their doors and leave out offerings to him, in hopes that he will pass them by. When the Hunt comes riding, it is unwise to be out after dark. 

The Erlking hunts for something that no one truly knows. After the death of his queen, he has grown ravenous for something. He is unrelenting in his Hunt, unwilling to give in until he catches the prize he has sought for centuries. 

[charmsandtealeaves]

My partner’s last week of holiday leave so made the most of being able to read on the beach while fishing 🏖️

Read This Week (12/1/2025):

This month's book club read:

We haven’t set a book for January yet, but I’ve continued working through all the summer swap books. So this week was Longbourn by Jo Baker which I am still yet to start.

Other Reads:

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Fics:

Fearlessly Red by @petals2fish

Complete (199.5k), Muggle AU Jily, Rated E

Red. It was such an interesting color to correlate with emotion because it was on both ends of the spectrum. On one end there was happiness, falling in love, passion, all that. On the other end was jealousy, fear and frustration. Maybe that's why James thought the nickname fit Lily so well. (Bodyguard!James/Celebrity!Lily)

Before the Crossword by Petals2fish

Complete (700w), HP missing moments, Rated G

During the events of Chamber of Secrets, Hagrid is taken to Azkaban and finds himself locked in a cell across from Sirius Black.

A Life With You by @kay-elle-cee

Complete (15.1k), Jily lives AU, rated T

A Jily Lives AU collection of small moments from Hogwarts onwards, using the 31 Jilytober tumblr prompts.

In Search Of Something More by kay-elle-cee (Ch.7)

WIP, Regency Jily, Rated M

In the sunlit garden of her sister’s home, Lord Potter had promised Lily a life of her own design, with minimal expectations—her presence at community events, companionship, and an heir. As the two stumble into the routine of marriage and work to make a life together at Stinchcombe Hall, unsolicited feelings provoke each to start wondering if this is merely a marriage…or if it could be something more.

In The Latter Days by kay-elle-cee

WIP, canon divergent Jily, Rated M

In February of 1983, a cataclysmic shift occurred in the wizarding world, plunging it into chaos. Four years later, revelations shake the core of James Potter’s new reality when, on a mission, he discovers another faction of the Order of the Phoenix — and with them, the woman he thought he’d lost forever. Now the two broken factions of the Order must team up to finish what they once started, while James and Lily work through four years of loss and rediscovery

The Professional by @annabtg

Complete (941w), muggle AU jily, Rated T

James Potter is nothing if not a professional - yet his new co-worker, a gorgeous woman who seems to hate him, is putting his sense of professionalism to the test...

Alright, Potter? By annabtg

Complete (1.8k), canon divergent Jily, Rated G

On a sunny day after the Defence Against the Dark Arts OWLs, Lily Evans finds herself in a fight with her nemesis - until James Potter interferes.

Bad Egg by annabtg

Complete (1.1k), crack fic treated serious, Jily, Rated G

After her first overnight stay at James Potter's house, Lily Evans is met with an unpleasant surprise.

Waylaid by @missgryffin

Complete (16k), muggle AU Jily, Rated E

Lily Evans is thirty years old, single, and racing a blizzard to get home for Christmas when James Potter crashes into her life. Literally.

All Buttered Up by @wearingaberetinparis

Complete (6.6k), muggle AU Jily, Rated T

James Potter, one of the youngest and most charismatic MPs in Parliament, never expected his viral baking blunder on the Great Christmas Celebrity Bake Off to land him back in the tent. But when the show’s host, Gilderoy Lockhart, falls victim to ironic food poisoning, James is asked to step in at the last minute — opposite BBC presenter Lily Evans, the sharp, no-nonsense woman he’s had a painfully obvious crush on for the past year. As filming heats up, James must face his trauma, while navigating burnt pastries, soggy bottoms, and sparks that might just turn into something real.

The Parent Trap by wearingaberetinparis

Complete (22.8k), second chances Jily AU, Rated M

After falling pregnant at university, Lily Evans and James Potter are co-parents to their seven-year-old son, Harry. When James unexpectedly shows up at Lily’s Cokeworth flat on Christmas Eve, a blizzard traps them inside together. Forced to spend Christmas under one roof, old tensions between the former lovers resurface. A 3-Part Second Chance Jily Romance

even if it's a false god, we'd still worship this love by wearingaberetinparis

Complete (34.2K), mythology AU Jily , Rated M

Being a God is divine - until it’s not. James, the Sun God, has had enough of immortality, celestial parties, and endless adoration. He’s ready to trade in his golden throne for something far more thrilling: mortality. Enter Lily Evans, a mortal desperate for anything to break the monotony of her very ordinary life. But when their paths cross, the line between mortal and divine begins to blur, drawing them into a tangled web of prophecy, power, and peril. As shadows stir and the God of the Underworld sets his sights on Lily, James must face the one thing even a God cannot control: fate.

So Bring Us Some Plummy Pudding by @merlinsbbeard

Complete (2.6k), James at Christmas, Rated G

In which James Potter adores Christmas.

Keep Pace by @gigglesandfreckles-hp

Complete (8.6k), Hogwarts Jily, Rated T

“So,” she says after a moment, her voice light, “is this a thing you do? Invite girls to kill themselves on a run after you find them crying. Or am I special?” Sirius laughs. It’s a sharp sound, almost surprised, but it makes her stomach loosen. “You’re special,” he says dryly, finally turning to look at her properly. He watches her for a beat longer than she expects, like he’s searching for something in her face—some answer she doesn’t know how to give. Whatever it is, he seems to find it.

Sip Happens by @eastwindmlk

Complete (4.6k), muggle AU prongsfoot, Rated T

After a very long, bad, not so good, terrible day James Potter finds himself alone in a cocktail bar and finds companionship and flirtations with the handsome bartender and his sinful forearms.

Safe by @yallthemwitches

Complete (1.6k), order! Jilypad, Rated M

It was an arrangement out of necessity than anything else. The safe house was nothing more than a glorified shack, barely habitable besides a creaky iron bed with an ancient quilt tucked in under the mattress. He had offered to sleep on the ground. "I'm a dog after all." But Lily wouldn’t hear of it. So they shared the bed so to speak. One couple and their mangy best mate at their feet.

[ivvvihours]

Some days, you're sick and trying to write up some quick notes about how a couple different characters in your FF6 fic are going to approach learning magic (if at all) and you wind up writing entirely too much for all the final cast.

On the one hand, it made me realize I have to think about what role magicite will play in the story, exactly how conscious and communicative I consider the Espers embodied by said magicite to be, and what is going to happen to the magicite collection the party collects over the course of the Cataclysm. Obviously in gameplay that last one is answered by "your inventory carries forward, don't worry about it"; but that may not be what I wanna do in a fic.

Anyway, an example Approach to Magic / Esper Teachers run-down for Celes Chere, per my notes (complete with headcanons relevant to my fic maybe someday):

Approach to Magic

Being the magic-infused soldier of the team, Celes learns sixteen spells naturally by leveling up. She learns a couple basic white spells early on (●Cure and ●Poisona); the ○Blizzard / ○Blizzara / ○Blizzaga chain; and at high levels, ○Holy, ○Flare and ○Meteor. She also learns a variety of “gray” magic, including debuffs (◎Imp, ◎Confuse), buffs (◎Protect, ◎Haste, ◎Vanish, ◎Hastega) and two that are harder to categorize (◎Libra and ◎Berserk). Compared to Terra, the general’s spell selections are more tactical.

She was trained to use her magic to the best ability the Empire could offer, which presumably included a lot of experimentation; this may be part of why she learned to seal magic with her sword. It’s not really a proper inheritance of a magical tradition, but she’s got clear aptitude for and experience with it as borne out by her high bonus MP, Magic Power, Magic Defense and Magic Block stats. 

I’m sure she’d take to learning magic from magicite readily, and diversify her spell knowledge easily. This would be especially critical in the World of Ruin where, post-coma, her physical abilities would have deteriorated.

Probable Esper Pals

Arguably, Celes has a connection to all of the Espers that escaped or are “rescued” from the Magitek Research Facility. One or more of them were directly siphoned for her magical ability, and symbolically all of them were. She obviously regards Ramuh talking about the Magitek Research Facility in a way that seems personal. This, at minimum, represents a link between her and Ramuh, Kirin, Siren, Cait Sith, Ifrit, Shiva, Unicorn, Maduin, Catoblepas, Phantom, Carbuncle, Bismarck, and Seraph. Golem and Zone Seeker only appear in the Jidoor auction house after that event so they may be implied to have been sourced from the Magitek Research Facility as well. 

Other than that, let’s take a look at particularly significant Espers from her to learn from:

Ramuh is of course the Esper that made her realize what the Empire was up to, and where her power came from. It’s an awkward connection, but I think one that Celes would take seriously. A source of ○Thunder, ○Thundara and ○Poison.

Given the spells that Celes learns naturally, Shiva is quite probably the source of her magical ability, or at least a major source of such. While Celes naturally learns three of the spells she offers and Zone Seeker is a superior teacher of the remaining two (,◎Rasp and ◎Osmose), I can see her spending some time with Shiva’s magicite.

A tenuous connection, but Quetzal washes up for some reason on the shore of Solitary Island, where Celes fished for Cid and (assuming Cid’s death) encountered the bird that inspired her to keep living and search for her friends. The Doylist answer is that it’s just a reward for backtracking to a place you’ve got no narrative reason to return to; but one could easily devise a Watsonian explanation as well. Celes naturally learns ◎Haste and ◎Hastega at levels 32 and 52 respectively, but Quetzal can still teach her ◎Slow, ◎Slowga and ◎Float.

While Phoenix is obviously most strongly tied to Locke, Celes is not unrelated to the story entirely. If nothing else, Rachel gave her life to restore Phoenix and wanted Locke to be happy with Celes. A source for powerful life-giving spells like ●Raise, ●Araise, ●Reraise and ●Curaga, as well as ○Firaga.

[starhvney]

sure @starsbrightly! as requested here’s some links to youtube videos i use when i write for mcd, but it could be used if you’re writing any sort of medieval fantasy as well.

anyways, i may have gone a little overboard so there’s quite a lot of links here. if you don’t want to click each individual one i have a playlist linked here that you can shuffle through :)

links are utc!

city sunny day (might be distracting)

elven city with music

village: sunny day, rainy day

village: at night with fire, at night with no fire

coastal village at night (this reminds me of phoenix drop!)

cottage: daytime, rainy night

kitchen asmr, no talking

potion brewery

apothecary asmr, no talking

castle: cozy bedroom, eerie indoors, outdoor blizzard

tavern: lively with music, inn room, inkeeper cleaning, empty

market

festival

hot springs

wheat field: at day, at night

camping: in the rain, at night, in the day

traveling by horseback

traveling by foot: sunny, thunderstorm

foraging asmr, no talking

forest with no music

enchanted forest with music: in the day, at night

creepy/haunted forest

nether

underworld

[clowncontroldev]

Field Report: Raptorian - Supplemental

Raptorians Overview

This is a supplemental document from Dr. Doppler's Field Report. Mature researchers only.

What can be said about Raptorians that hasn’t been said in works such as Mimicry and Me: So Your Voice Has Been Stolen?, Out of this World Fashion and the controversial One Flew Over The Raptorian’s Nest? Hailing from Raptoria, they entered the galactic fold a decade after the establishment of NOX and the end of the Military Age, citing “We weren’t sure about all the war, but if you’re going to relax now we’ll talk.”

While some might call the general disposition of raptorians “cocky” and “vain,” they prefer “proud” and “worth it.” Xenosapients that are easily overwhelmed by colors and loud sounds should stay clear of Raptorian territory. If that doesn’t describe you, however, it is highly recommended to visit during any of their festivals and celebrations for a rich sensory experience. As long as it isn’t Ovumtide. 

Homeworld - Raptoria

Called the gem of the Garuda system, Raptoria is a temperate planet that orbits an A-class star. Dominated by oceans, waterways, and marshes, its extreme habitats are limited to its polar ice caps and deep ocean trenches.

The planet’s rings are important to the raptorian people, not just as an awe-inspiring skymark that makes afternoon walks more pleasant, but religiously too. The predominant religion believes that the rings are remnants of the Egg Mother when she hatched from her own shell. We now know it to be the leftovers of what used to be Raptoria’s only moon. 

Colony - Raptova

Called the diamond in the rough of the Phoenix system, Raptova by contrast is an arid mono-continental planet that orbits a similar blue main sequence star as Raptoria. It’s shared with the Scorpian people who live in the inland deserts. The settlement was brokered by NOX, to allow separatist Raptorians a safe place to self-govern.

Biology

Raptorians are warm-blooded, feathered bipeds. On top of their heads are erectile feathers that act as a way to focus in on sound, like a satellite dish. Their limbs end with black scaly webbed claws, the webbing having receded as they evolved to inland life. In their thick necks is an incredibly developed syrinx that allows unparalleled mimicry. 

A selection of different raptorian phenotypes.

It’s believed that raptorians originated as coastal predators, before gradually moving inland. They retained the slight webbing between their claws and their waterproof feathers, which doubled as an important way to retain heat during the cold months, which were extreme. 

Ancient Raptoria’s weather wasn’t the only cycle that shaped raptorian evolution. An aspect that’s unique to Raptorians are their estrous cycles. While xenos that go into heat will have these cycles last a week or three, Raptorians let loose for only one night of the year. The short window to breed causes Raptorians to endure a massive influx of hormones. While not as bad as the Kovlins, who go into self-described “sex madness” when in heat, Raptorians are on the lower end of the spectrum of lucidity during their cycle. 

But why go about breeding like this? If we look at the daily life of an ancient raptorian, it becomes clearer. Half of the year an ancient raptorian had to stay clear of cyclones and lightning, and the other half blizzards and hail.  The hostile weather conditions of the past only allowed for a very narrow time of the year in which looking for mates wasn’t a death sentence. For the rest of the year they only had a limited amount of time during the day where they could safely hunt. 

But raptorians weren’t the only ones hunting. Other environmental factors such as ancient predators trying to off any competition in gathering scarce resources could have had an impact on when ancient Raptorians felt it was safe to breed. 

However, none of this explains why multiple partners are encouraged during ovumtide. Were they promiscuous? And why is their fertility rate so low? Were they shooting blanks? The answer to both of those may lie in a retrovirus that seemed to have plagued Raptorians at the time. Whatever mutations it introduced were combated by this new way of breeding and raptorian researchers believe genetic variety was the only thing that could ensure the safety of their species, and mating annually.  

And as one can expect from a species only able to have sex once a year, they party like their lives depend on it. Multiple partners are expected in what most of the galaxy calls “the largest communal orgy in the Milky Way.” The Raptorians named that night Ovumtide, and it remains their most important spiritual and social event. 

Other than the pomp and circumstance, Ovumtide has the usual mating ritual aspects, such as decorating your breeding grounds and flaunting your assets, but also includes something Raptorians hold dear even today; pageantry. 

A flume dressed for Ovumtide

Pigmentation and feather patterns can be drastically different after centuries of intercontinental movement and different habitats. Raptorians are able to change the color of their feathers either with topical dyes, or a diet focused on certain compounds, such as the carotenoids in their seafood heavy diets. Blue and pink shrimps are popular choices for their wide range of hues, and due to the effort of committing to a diet for an entire year, are considered the classier choice. For the raptorian that wants to impress a mate during Ovumtide, a concentrated effort must be put into eating a singular natural pigment, so that their coat can coordinate with their Ovumtide outfit.

And like last year's fashion, they molt their feathers once Ovumtide ends, to begin styling for next year’s festivities.

Gender

Raptorians have two genders, flume and auct, which roughly translates to egg layer and soul giver respectively. However, despite the etymology, sex has been decoupled from gender for most of Raptorian history. Sapients that hail from cultures with a male/female gender binary often make the mistake of assuming aucts are men and flumes are women, mostly due to universal translators giving them masculine and feminine pronouns. Rather, it relates to their relationship with community and society at large.

Put simply: aucts top, and flumes bottom.

A typical auct.

Raptorian society is heavily influenced by dyads. The shell and the yolk, the feather and the talon, and so on. Balance between flumes and aucts is a crucial aspect to a functioning raptorian community. 

Work is divided by “talon” and “nest” and is defined by what is being manipulated. If a physical object is manipulated then its “talon” work, like moving cargo, crafting incubators, or repairing power lines. If what’s being manipulated isn’t real, like keeping ledgers, coding programs, or reading the voltage outputs on factory machines, then it’s “nest” work. The balance of this work is meticulously maintained, and if there aren’t enough flumes, aucts will change to better help the group in nest work. Likewise, if there aren’t enough aucts, flumes will do more heavy lifting. These expectations aren’t just societal, but biological as well. 

In a form of phenotypic plasticity, a lack of aucts or flumes will cause some from the majority to undergo hormonal changes. Muscle mass is gained when filling the role of an auct, while pattern recognition and eyesight improves for those that become flumes. What triggers these changes isn’t well known, but well documented. In one case study a group of aucts were sent to a research outpost in the polar ammonia lakes.  Due to unforeseen events, the all-auct team was forced to bunker down at the outpost for a year. Half of them lost 40% of muscle mass without a negative impact on their health, and gained improved hand eye coordination. During ovumtide they were accommodating. 

Another instance of this phenomenon occurred in a production town that specialized in leather and steel crafts. The assignment computer glitched out and filled the town with primarily flumes. In a short amount of time nearly half of them traded their stored fat for a high amount of muscle bulk in their arms and chest. Ovumtide wasn’t an issue for the town residents thanks to production tool crafting access. 

Because of this biological phenomenon, Raptoria’s governments and religions believe in what the body says rather than the mind piloting it. This became the cause for the mass exodus to Raptova—the belief that gender shouldn’t exist for the purposes of society, but rather the individual. 

The separatists believed that just because someone was physically an auct didn’t mean they wanted to do manual labor all day, or fill someone during ovumtide. Some were physically flumes, but spiritually aucts, and even without the added muscle mass could help their community like any ‘Talon Man’.

An ovumarch. They have went through the muscle loss of an auct turning into a flume.

On the separatist colony world of Raptova, a third unnamed gender arose. It was reserved for the Ovumarch, the leaders and guides of this new world. They act as both auct and flume as a way to say all forms of identity were welcome, as well as a way to see from the perspective of both sides. Physically, their bodies will still undergo the changes that will occur naturally. 

WARNING: AUTHORIZATION STATUS [18+]

If you have clearance with the above security check, you can learn more about Raptorians in Dr. Doppler’s Field Report.

[reptileenthusiastt]

Finally posting about some of my wof ocs

I'll male individual refs for them all at some point, but for now y'all can just have a bunch of headshots

More info under cut

(In order from left to right)

"Protagonists"

Frostburn - he/him, Skywing/Icewing, travels around the continent looking for things to do

Clarity - she/her, Nightwing, functions as a detective in the Night kingdom

Atlas - they/them, Silkwing, currently on the run after escaping from their adoptive mother's clutches

Charming - he/him, Rainwing, works at a club in possibility owned by his father, often neglected in favor of his brothers

Elk - she/her, Icewing, no one really knows what her deal is, and no one is brave enough to ask

Other characters

Dauntless - she/her, Nightwing, had a very one-sided relationship with Clarity, currently in prison

Queen Brilliant - she/her, Rainwing/Nightwing, Atlas's adoptive mother, current queen of the rainforest kingdom

Blizzard - he/him, Icewing, Frostburn's father, hasn't quite been the same since his partner passed shortly before their son was born

Phoenix - he/they, Skywing, a friend of Atlas's, helped them escape from Queen Brilliant, also a firescale

Omen - he/they, Nightwing, a prophet from the rainforest kingdom, hasn't been seen since he delivered his last prophecy

Aracari - she/her, Rainwing, used to be the boldest Rainwing in possibility, but after the event that caused her old location to have to close permanently, she's become somewhat of a recluse, Charming's great aunt

I'll go into more detail about their story/stories at a later date

Edit: more info on basic story here

[tillywunderwing]

🎙️, 🤝, and 🧨 for the ask game.,,,.,

OKAY. LISTEN. this ask has been sitting in my drafts forfuckingever because I couldn't attach the audio file for the first question on my phone, and I thought 'well okay I'll just answer it on my laptop later'

I proceeded to Forget. ANYWAY. Totally hinged rambling under the cut

🎙️ What’s your favourite (used or unused) voice line in the games?

okay this is SUCH a specific pick but I’m personally really fond of THIS unused line for when you equip the winter gloves in I3YTD:

"I can't say I approve of you wearing any kind of Zoraxis branding on your clothing, but I do approve of you not catching a cold. Care comes first!"

it's just... i just... RRRGH he's so SILLY and it's like, such a simple little quote that kind of perfectly captures everything I love about his character. Like, you know, he's opinionated, but he's also kind of goofy and so softhearted, he cares so much about the player and their health... and for similar reasons I'm also going to shout out this line (that DOES get used in I3YTD) from Cold Shoulder (this one even comes with gameplay!):

“I don’t think that gondola is blizzard-certified, Agent... Those winds are too much! AGENT—!”

Just, the panic in his voice. The terror. So many of the deaths in these games are kind of, blink-and-it's-over, but this one... he can see it's about to happen. He has enough time to realise he's about to watch his favourite agent die. And you can hear that in his voice I think... the way it builds in pitch, and even the progressing certainty in what he's saying, 'I don't think' to 'those winds are'. We are listening to this man realise he's about to lose someone he cares about a lot. And that someone is us. Don't look at me DUDE DON'T LOOK AT MEEEE

(Can you tell the Handler is my favourite character? Because the Handler is my favourite character.) ahem I'm normal I promise I am

Now this probably could bring us to our next point... "🤝"... however I do actually have ANOTHER neglected ask in my inbox that asks the same question. And I think I am going to save the inevitable essay for its own post there LMAOOO so I will answer this question but. elsewhere. Soon

so instead all this talk of my favourite character will bring us to our other next point:

🧨If you put your two favourite characters in a room for five minutes how many people would die?

Hm. Okay. This is. A difficult question because it means I definitively have to pick a second favourite character. Reggie is a given--

I'm gonna let Ollie be the other one, because I like his voice, and I like his attitude, and I like him. Him and Reggie would get along famously if you put them in a room together, I don't think there's any question about that. Perhaps too famously, though. I think they would get too caught up in gossip over tea, and lose track of all time and obligations. So, to answer 'how many people would die', first I would need to know how many people are in the building(s) Phoenix sets fire to while nobody responsible is looking.

[cloverrr8]

Malachi was a prince before he died. He lived with his parents in a castle, surrounded by a small, cheery village. Monsters, hunger, and sickness were never problems there, and the land had been blessed by Irene herself.

Malachi was only a toddler when he discovered his magick ability; the power to show others their worst fears. His parents saw this as a curse, believing a demon was inhabiting their son’s body. They isolated him from the outside world to protect the family’s reputation. Malachi begged to explore the village and to play with the other, but he was forbidden. The parents sent out word that they needed a priest, monk, anybody, to ‘fix’ their son. Whoever could successfully do this would receive a large fortune.

Hundreds of people gathered in the kingdom, hoping to receive the payment. But nothing worked. Malachi’s parents became impatient. As their frustrations grew, so did Malachi’s power. People outside the castle were plagued with horrible visions of their worst nightmares. Merchants stopped trading with the kingdom, and villagers began to move out of fear.

Malachi’s parents began to execute anyone who failed to heal their son. Less and less people inhabited the kingdom, and they had become desperate to stay in power. So, as any logical parent would do, they kill Malachi to save some face (I lied about the logical part. Wtf that’s messed up).

This didn’t really work, and eventually everyone, including Malachi’s parents, abandoned the kingdom and moved on. The pain and negative energy emanating from the village caused the dead involved in the incident to become spirits, including Malachi. Enraged by the unfair treatment of his parents, he became a dark, benevolent spirit, tormenting the other ones as well as any travelers who happen to pass by and enter the castle.

This is exactly what happens to Dante. He’s shown Gene standing over him, ready to kill him. Realizing the spirit’s magicks, Dante snaps out of it and escapes the castle, into the village. This is where he meets Nicole and Aphmau.

They decide to seek shelter in the castle, the only building in the ruins left standing, because of an awful blizzard outside. Each person takes on a different one’s fear (Dante sees Aphmau’s, Aphmau sees Nicole’s, Nicole sees Dante’s). This distracts the spirit, but when Laurance and Garroth enter the castle it shows them their worst fears as well. In the midsts of their visions, Aohmau shakes them both, pleading for them back to reality. Malachi realizes what he is doing and stops, revealing his true identity; a lonely child.

Aphmau offers to bring him back home to Phoenix Drop, where he can have a family again. Malachi is afraid to leave the castle, as he hadn’t done so in hundreds of years, but with the encouragement from the rest of the group he leaves and they continue their adventure after the blizzard calms down.