#tales from faerie

[amrubrum]

hey so i actually need more sizzy content !

[maingh0st]

Kaye steps into the knife to protect his true name 🥺

[perpetualprocrastinationisme]

Does Tessa Ever Think About Her Other, non-Herondale, Descendants?

Artist: @thorndale

"I went to talk to her." Jace looked shyly pleased, as if a small light inside him had been turned on. It was the sort of expression that would, Simon suspected, have slain adolescent girls in their tracks. "She's my great-great-great-something-grandmother. She was married to Will Herondale. I've learned about him before. He was part of stopping a massive demon invasion into Britain. She and Will were the first Herondales to run the London Institute. I mean, it isn't anything I didn't know, historically, but it's- Well as far as I know, there isn't anyone alive who shares blood with me. But Tessa does." - Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy

Tessa looked at him forthrightly. "Because a long time ago the Herondales gave both Jem and me a home, and we want to do the same for you." - Queen of Air and Darkness

Ever since reading TDA and realizing that the Blackthorns are the direct descendants of Tessa and Will, like a lot of other people I've always wondered if she keeps up with the non-Herondale side of her family? I know she's not overly involved in Jace's life but she has talked to him before. She also went as far as adopt Kit just because he's a Herondale and not even a direct descendant. Whenever I read her accounts of modern Herondales it always seems like she's thinking of Will. I just wonder if she does it with the other parts of her family?

Like, when she realizes that Ty has raised Livvy will she think back to her own daughter that also raised a Blackthorn and eventually became one herself? Will she think about how Ty's her great-great-something-grandson?

Artist: @niru.sky (On Instagram) Artist: @aliceduke @rinadragomir

I do realize that the Blackthorns were in a different situation than Jace and Kit. They had each other for family while Jace and Kit had pretty much no other blood relatives on earth. I just wonder if Tessa and Jem would have done anything for the Blackthorns after they lost their parents if they would have been Jame's descendants and therefore Herondales?

(Also, I promise I'm not hating on Tessa. She is an absolute wonderful character, an amazing mom, and has done so much for the Shadowhunter world. She probably has an enormous amount of descendants at this point and it would be difficult to maintain a connection with all of them. I've just always felt bad for Lucie's side of the family and how they never seem to be thought of much.)

[calmthefrontdoor]

Don't Crash a Fae Rave

Based off of an amalgamation of Irish folklore surrounding the fae folks parties getting interrupted by humans and that one college party awkward reaction meme. Prints available in my shop!

[britneyshakespeare]

today an eighth grade girl came up to me right before she was leaving a class and said "i just have to say. you look SO beautiful. like i'm not good with words right now but you are just really beautiful."

[rj-anderson]

After literal years of blathering on and off about various bits of it here on Tumblr, I'm happy to announce that my short story collection Tales from the Oakenwyld is finally out today!

If you've enjoyed my Knife and Swift trilogies inspired by English faery folklore and would like to read more about some of the side characters from the series, you can buy Tales from the Oakenwyld here.

And if you've already bought your copy, thank you! <3

P.S. Special shout-out to @scarvenartist for her delightful cover art of an appropriately grumpy-looking Thorn. It's always an honour to have you illustrate my stories!

[talesfromthebacklog]

Tales From The Backlog: FaeFarm

6/10

I’ve heard this game being quoted by a few folks as the cozy game of the season. While it is good; the game holds itself back from being truly great.

FaeFarm doesn’t have a ton of substance. It has an awesome aesthetic and solid gameplay, but it made a lot of choices that weakened it in comparison to its competitors. And while it has a strong aesthetic, I would dare say FaeFarm doesn’t have a strong identity.

The best way I’d pitch FaeFarm to other people is that FaeFarm is a strong introductory game that will easily get anyone acclimated to farming/life sims. It is not first on my recommendation list in general for most gamers though.

Let’s dig into why that is.

I want to first talk about what I think FaeFarm gets absolutely right. Tools and your weapon don’t take inventory slots. They get to exist in a separate pocket and switch out for you automatically. Brilliant. Loved this. I never knew how much I wanted a system like this. This should just be the standard from here on out. Period. Inventory management is a key part of the gameplay in these games but at the same time I feel like most people want stuff like their pickaxe always on hand.

Especially in a magic world. This isn’t Resident Evil, let me carry around essential tools.

This along with the infinite shed inventory that can be accessed by all of your work stations are so good. But It still draws the line where it can’t be accessed just anywhere and I like that.

The dungeon “elevator” chart that shows you what item that is on each floor you completed is also a great quality of life improvement. The rates they appear also appear on that chart which is another neat touch. It adds to the sense that you’ve completed an area.

Flower breeding is here too. It’s a simple mechanic, but I enjoy making fields of rainbow flowers. I always enjoy this mechanic when it’s present.

Then there’s the actual farming. Which you could theoretically skip altogether. The game offers several vegetables but things are in categories. So whether you have a potato or an onion the game simply classifies it as a root vegetable. Which ruins the point of the variety. And while FaeFarm has seasonal vegetables, most of the plants you have you can plant during any season. I can grow corn year round if I want to. (That is a complaint)

Don’t get it twisted, the farming is fun. It’s a lot less time/stamina consuming which makes it so you can run around doing your other activities. I like that the super moves cost mana rather than stamina so you can save it for other things. But the variety feels… shallow when they all end up being processed into the exact same things. You get the feeling that it didn’t matter what you picked or what season you picked it.

This isn’t just the farming, by the way. Fishing, catching critters, foraging. The only things that truly get differentiated is metals and gems. Which some people may like, but I don’t.

I feel like that’s the common theme with FaeFarm. It’s a shallow experience. Which isn’t meant to be a knock against it. But the game definitely comes across like it’s… structured for young children. And I acknowledge it is. That’s not a bad thing and not all games need to be deep, but this shallowness affects the core gameplay. It’s going to be the difference between the game being remembered or forgotten for its competitors. I’m cool with being wrong but I think FaeFarm is gonna disappear from gamer’s memories very quickly.

The shortcuts in FaeFarm (especially after you get your faerie wings) are a lot more satisfying than other games. Especially with the winged double jump. You can swim too! Moving feels good. I love that there are unlockable fast travel points.

Combat is fine. Animal care is standard fare. The dungeon crawling is solid. The enemies are standard fare. I really have nothing special to mention about these aspects. The story is standard fare. It’s cute. I like it. The drawn cutscenes are cute:

Coming back to those aesthetics, let’s talk about THAT: I’ve always had a soft spot for fem fantasy. Unicorns, mermaids, faeries, I unapologetically think it’s cool. That’s what attracted me to FaeFarm as a gamer.

But there’s a lot of small choices that make this aspect less fun. I thought there would be a large number of looks. There’s really not. Which is a shame because I think this aspect is actually really important to aesthetic games like this.

There is a surprising lack of options. From clothing, to dye, to the wings themselves. And these options expand over time but I can’t help but feel that some of these aspects, like dye, shouldn’t have been locked in the first place.

I get unlocking recipes and stuff. But it annoys me 100% of the time when a high aesthetic game makes dyes an absolute chore to get. Like let me live my life? And then the game doesn’t even let you pick the color of your starting outfit, so god forbid you want a hair color that doesn’t match.

It’s a nitpick but I stand by that nitpick. Games like Animal Crossing handle the dye situation a lot better. If you’re going to emphasize customization there should be some aspects that inherently make it more enjoyable. And they do emphasize it! You get rewarded for decorating by raising your stats. They leave little secret furniture recipes everywhere. They want that to be rewarding. But it’s not necessarily fun, it’s a means to an end. Let me have fun, because decorating currently is something only to boost my stats. And with a small furniture catalogue that would’ve gone a long way to making me want to actually decorate my house.

And then there’s the same face syndrome. Which is a shame because the body types and designs are largely really good. It feels wasted… and lazy.

Side note: I was thinking about what the models looked like. And the models from FaeFarm kinda look like the nicer Roblox characters folks like to make. Not saying that’s positive or negative. No complaint here.

The chibi sizes are a nice proportion. I don’t like the games (Harvest Moon does this frequently) where the game equates chibi characters to look like babies. I hate that. Especially with romancable characters. FaeFarm actually strikes this balance well.

Too bad the dialogue is… juvenile (It’s also super bland, but again you don’t play FaeFarm for the dialogue so I think that’s ignorable). FaeFarm isn’t meant to be deep. But it is hard to want to woo certain villagers when they act like actual children. And again… I acknowledge what FaeFarm’s target demographic is, but with romance NPCs it totally can turn me off to those sections of the game. It is what it is. I don’t care if it’s meant for children, I can still critique it.

Rune Factory does that shit too. Sometimes they even put in actual children which is a big ick. It genuinely can ruin the experience for me. Argyle suffers from that problem the most.

I dated this guy. Nhamashal. He was fine. I was either going to pick him or Pyria. I picked him because he matched my house better. Lol.

As far as I’m aware there is practically zero benefit to befriend or romance anyone. There is no functional benefit and the NPCs have near nothing interesting to say so there isn’t an emotional benefit either. (This is partially untrue. Friends will give you the same empty radiant quests over and over. But you would have made more money going and doing other things. So I consider them a waste of my time.)

FaeFarm’s residents don’t have enough identity or dialogue to care about whether you exist or not. I don’t even think my husband sleeps in the house. He just kinda mills around the farm now.

FaeFarm is a good game. But it isn’t first on the list of games I would be apt to recommend to other people. I’d suggest Rune Factory and Stardew Valley over Faefarm. But if you were looking for something new and you’ve already played those games, FaeFarm is perfect.

And… again Faefarm is a strong introductory game. It has a good, decently quick but in-depth, tutorial on how the world works. But that’s all I consider FaeFarm. It’s an introductory piece. I disagree with this being the cozy game of the season. I would say that’s too generous of a compliment. But it does get a lot right.

I would recommend FaeFarm over Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon. I get that some people like the slower pace but I just think games like FaeFarm, Rune Factory, and Stardew offer more complete experiences. “Harvest Moon” especially has really fallen off. I don’t touch those games anymore. I moved over with the real Harvest Moon to Story of Seasons.

[thefaeriefeatherdark]

I desperately need the Thrawn stans (specifically novel Thrawn Stans) to remember that Thrawns whole deal is rebuilding the Empire and fighting the New Republic.

[clockworkbee]

heyy

can u pls recommend some decent sapphic fae romance books?

thanks <3

Hey! I wish I could and I hate that I can't, not in a faerie book, esp. with the main couple being sapphic 🥺 still, what I can tell you,

The Folk of The Air has a sapphic romance between side characters (with not that much page time) and that couple is soon getting a short story of their own in an anthology called Faeries Never Lie: Tales to Revel In.

The Dark Artifices (a trilogy in the shadowhunters chronicles) also has a side sapphic ship (not much page time) but that couple does have a few lovely cameos in other books set in that world such as, Red Scrolls of Magic and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

I'm not big on fae romances, I'm just a Holly Black faeries lover-girl 🥺 I have read some other faerie books (the enchantment of ravens, acotar & tog - all straight romances, not that I love any of these) so like, if you've read some really good ones, tell me your one most favourite sapphic fae book/series?

[pagesofkenna]

this week i've been working my way through the collection of Shelley Duval Childrens Shows From The Eighties, which is a lot, to find one specific scene I remembered seeing on VHS as a child

i finally did find the scene i was looking for, but i think i'm going to keep making my way through her anthology series (plural) because it's very charming in a dated way and actually a lot of these classic story retellings are ones i'm not familiar with

[transgender-daemon-faerie]

👻🎃Trick or Treat🎃👻

Hi!! This is from my book, the main character Rolynn is bigender and a system, the other member of his system is Eliya. Rolynn and Eliya are both assassins. Rolynn is the Son of Giltael Sarkian, King of Assassins. This is commonly known. What everyone doesn’t know is that Rolynn’s mom is Pemet, Goddess of War. Rolynn is searching for the person who sold him out to the kind and got him sent to a prison camp, but he hits a dead end. In frustration, he throws himself on the Altar of the temple he is in and….

Rolynn is thrown to the ground in a heap. His head lands near a pair of booted feet. They are shoulder-width apart and look ready to sprint at a moment's notice. A warrior's stance. Rolynn's gaze trails upwards to find the owner of these warrior's-feet and finds none other than the goddess Pemet staring down at him. Rolynn scrambles to his feet, stammering out an appropriate greeting.

"Mo- I- I mean- My Lady. To what do I owe the pleasure of your Presence?"

The Goddess raises an eyebrow, when she speaks her voice is cold and powerful. "Were you not praying at my altar? I felt the call of the amulet, and decided to hear your plea in person."

Rolynn blinks. Once, twice. He realizes what has happened. His desperation, his mother's amulet. Of course, she heard it as a prayer, he had thrown himself on her altar.

He would have to be more aware of his surroundings in the future. It wouldn't do to allow his emotions to control him in such a manner. Rolynn catches Pemet's eye and realizes she is still waiting for his response.

"No, my lady. At least, not intentionally. I was having a fit of frustration, you see. I have so long been looking for the one who betrayed Eliya so that our mind might be at peace. But it is a dead end. I know not where to go from here. I so badly want revenge on the one who betrayed us in this way, but they have hidden themself too well."

Pemet's eyes close as she considers her son's words. and the cost of granting his desire. Her eyes open.

"I will answer your prayer, my child. But be warned, the cost may be steeper than you realize. I am sure you are aware that when one of the Morkyr grants a prayer there is an exchange. Something you want for something you value. Should you choose, I will grant you the opportunity to kill the one you seek. But my assistance has a price. The one you love will lose her Siren's Song. The choice is yours. "

[maingh0st]

forgot to mention that i’m reading valiant (about halfway through) but i have…. very few thoughts to share

[deathsweetblossoms]

We're all trapped in cages, little sprite. How can I free you when I can't even free myself?

- Cardan Greenbriar

[roseunspindle]

What I Read in June 2024

reread, and I really need to get more of this series. It's so cute.

So creepy and crawly for this volume in the series. *shudder*

Didn't even know about the newer American Girls, I really liked it.

I hate Apollo in this series so much. Interesting to see how Ares reacts to be turned down by Persephone. Also Hades and Persephone's longing for each other is also adorable.

Finally have a physical version! Reading on webtoons is fine but I prefer actually being able to hold what I'm reading.

Time to meet Aximili!

I love the anime so I decided to check-out the manga...the boobs are little absurd, but over all I enjoyed it.

Found books 1-4 of this series at a local thriftstore and couldn't resist starting book one (I'm a sucker for pretty covers) I really liked book 1 it was my kind of thing.

This was really cute.

Stumbled across the anime on youtube and couldn't resist at least getting volume 1. I love Gerard and Clotho so much!!!

Saw a bit of the anime on youtube and again, couldn't resist getting the manga adaptation.

Continuing my isekai obession... XD

really interesting read, does use the term "redman" often for native americans, but not other noted dated langugae and good information. ^_^

[heathergorse]

Hello! If you find yourself here because your copy of "Tales from Fiddlers Green" is now in your hands then welcome to my site and I hope you're enjoying all of the wonderful stories that Tales #2 contains!

I'm only an occasional poster, but perhaps you'll find something here you'll enjoy.

If you're already a Tumblr follower and are wondering what I'm talking about then my short story, 'Knots', has been published as part of this collection of mythic arts story and poetry.

I'm so honoured to have had my story selected from over 1700 submissions for inclusion in this amazing collection. You can get your copy HERE

[livvyofthelake]

this is what i was referring to the other day btw.... she literally said well you people were annoying last time so fuck off i'm not doing it anymore.... and i stand with her <3