#the sailor's cycle

[my-lady-galadriel]

My dear Bagginses and Boffins, and my dear Tooks and Brandybucks, and Grubbs, and Chubbs, and Burrowses, and Hornblowers, and Bolgers, Bracegirdles, Goodbodies, Brockhouses and Proudfoots,

Amazon gave us its version of the Second Age. A lot of versions are possible, because fans are never tired of Arda! 😉

Many years ago a talented italian fanwriter, Domenico, wrote Il Ciclo del Marinaio (translation: The Sailor's Cycle). It's a collection of tales about the events of the Second Age. There are both original characters, such as the protagonist Eärél (also called Erfëa, "solitary spirit"), and Tolkien's characters, such as Miriel, princess of Númenor, and her father Palantir 🙂

This is the animated short film about Eärél, made by Domenico's friend, Alessia 👇

You can help these two artists so they 'll make a longer film: crowdfund their project!

[lyculuscaelus]

Imagine when Odysseus first set sail to a land which turned out to be Italy and then he walked inland with an oar on his broad shoulder. A stranger came to him calling the oar a winnowing-fan teasingly and he thought he had come to the right place where nobody ate salty food so Odysseus performed the sacrifice unaware of the grin on that stranger’s face. Eventually that stranger burst out in laughter saying,

“TF ARE YOU DOING HERE ODYSSEUS?”

And Odysseus startled, staring at the man’s face in confusion until the realization finally came to him as he shouted, “WTF—DIOMEDES???”

And then they shouted at each other asking what the hell they were doing there for a long hour and ended up hugging and chattering and trading tales and going for a drink which didn’t have any salt and Odysseus was like “how can you even stand the food here” and Diomedes was like “meh skill issue”

[moghedien]

Me: My mind at least once a day for the past six months: You know nothing makes it explicitly impossible for Wheel of Time and Sailor Moon to take place in the same universe

[alevolpe]

How do you feel about Usagi becoming Neo Queen Serenity? Do you like it or do you think it would be better if she didn`t? Do you think she would be a good ruler?

Crystal Tokyo is not my “happily ever after” ending and it’s not my go to for sure. I feel like it can work, but it has to be in the right circumstances. First of all, it’s not a “good ending” and I would not try to frame it a s such.

The ideal “good ending” in my mind is the girls being free from their burden of being senshi, but in my AU, that’s not really possible without a “hard reset” to say. It’s loosely based on a hc I’ve talked about briefly here, but the girls don’t get to just choose to stop transforming and live regular lives. The ultimate goal of the sailor crystals is to have their hosts live as senshi and actually use the powers that form provides, if they choose to live as humans, then what is the point.

Crystal Tokyo can work in the context of “destiny is inevitable, but let’s try to do the best with what we have”. It’s a bitter sweet ending, but again, I feel like it could work.

Here’s my conditions:

Crystal Tokyo is NOT the capital of the world! That is just ridiculous and that’s where I kind of draw the line tbh. Doesn’t matter how omniscient Serenity is, she cannot govern the whole world without it being a genuinely and utter disturbing reality to the level of ‘I have no mouth and I must scream’. CT is a city-state, much like the Vatican is. It has minor influences in politics and the area around them, but for the most part they kind of just stand as an independent city-state and do their own thing.

As stated prior, it’s not a “happy ending” and it would never be framed as such. The future is a terrifying perspective and if everything around them is pushing them to think that CT is the one and only safe option for them then they’ll take it.

No one is “immortal” or has extended lifespans. Usagi and the senshi do, but that comes with the “perks” of being a senshi, it’s not a gift given by the Silver Crystal. (Sorry Mamo..)

Usagi will eventually loose herself in the Silver Crystal and the role of Neo Queen Serenity. It’s something she feels coming and knows will be an inevitability, almost like her mother before her, so she makes sure to evenly split her power among her 4 guardians to ensure a “checks and balances system”. They keep each other sane and the future safe from repeating hard mistakes of the past.

Haruka and Michiru are NOT a part of CT. They refuse and instead opt to live a normal life (due to some hcs revolving them and Pluto, they have the choice to live as regular people, unlike the inners). Usagi has granted them and the others a choice, there’s no animosity between them and Usagi, not so much among the inners toward them tho, to varying degrees. Hotaru gets taken in and adopted by the inners instead, since she doesn’t have a choice about becoming a senshi.

The public opinion toward Crystal Tokyo is not all positive. Doesn’t matter how much love and work the senshi put into their image, decisions and rulings, the public will never be cool with what are basically non-humans to them installing an empire within their planet. Conspiracy theories and attempts at revolutions are rampant among CT, that is why is very rare for the senshi and even less the Queen to leave the Palace.

I do feel like Usagi would try her absolute best at being a great and benevolent leader, but unfortunately the world doesn’t work like that. Most everyone starts with good intentions, but failed diplomatic attempt, after failed diplomatic attempt after attempted assassination, the girls’ heart and will turns ever so bitter and cynical, not Usagi tho, til her last moment of consciousness she strives to remain the best person she could be, she’s just aware she can’t openly be so anymore or she’ll risk her own life. Choosing to live her later life mostly in the quiet of the palace, the senshi being her voice that will be heard to the outside.

There’s a certain feel of ‘doomed destiny’ with CT, this is them accepting that the “moon monarchy’’ is inevitable and is meant to happen. It’s basically a defeat on their part, they lose their individuality and dreams for the future and surrender to this cycle that was meant to be all along.

All the girls have grown out of the more cheerful and optimistic selves, having witnessed the inescapable reality of their own destiny and have been hardened by the crueler aspects of humanity. It’s a bit of a bummer, but it’s not all the “everything is terrible ending”. The girls still have each other, they are still themselves, even if hardened by their surroundings. They still love each other and they basically live for each other at this point, aspects of each other leaving permanent stains that remind themselves of the goods of the world and what they are striving to achieve. There’s still good in the world, it’s just sometimes harder to find.

[angofwords]

GAME TIME!

Make me choose. Pick any two characters from any fandom I know (and I'm old, so I know a lot) and I'll decide which I love more. Bonus points if you make it hurt. 😁

Then, if you want, post the game yourself and I'll make you choose!

[kingarthurtournament]

The Once and Future Contestant: Revival Round 2-D

The top 2 characters will go to the next round!

Simon Snow (Carry On)

"He's a chosen one, he's Welsh, he has a magic sword that manifests only for him "because it trusts him", he grows red dragon wings (Welsh x2!), and he swears like so: "Merlin and fucking Morgana.""

Richard Campbell Gansey III (The Raven Cycle)

"Very noble, very quaint; utterly obsessed with legendary Welsh kings; constantly called "a king" by various narrators; dies tragically young in accordance with prophecy, but comes back to life..."

Flynn Carson (The Librarians)

"He’s best friends with excalibur. Like actually. They play fetch with dangerous artifacts together. "

Arthur Pendragon (The Mechanisms' High Noon Over Camelot)

"He's a cowboy. He lives on a space station that's slowly falling into the sun. He's in a poly relationship with Lancelot & Guinevere. He's got a trans son. In the end, he's the sole survivor. Hes even got a great song about his tragic fate."

Magnus Burnsides (The Adventure Zone)

"has a magic-using friend named Merle who would vouch for him. That’s almost like being chosen by Merlin I think"

Sailor Venus (Sailor Moon)

"The leader of the Sailor Senshi who protect the moon princess. Died and was reborn like Arthur and has a Holy Sword she pulled from a stone"

[halloweentown365]

[iki-teru]

I want to write but trying to write for myself is proving dire and impossible.

So please send me a fandom/pairing/prompt. Even if it’s a fandom I’m not familiar with I reserve the right to make shit up. No guarantee on length, I just need to get something going.

[death-rebirth-senshi]

I do sometimes enjoy thinking of white magic as "you're not allowed to fall. You must rise and keep fighting without fail."

[obsidianarchives]

Submission Call - Black Magical History Month 2023

Calling Black fantasy nerds! For Black Magical History Month, we want to see your fantasy fan creations. Whether you’re inspired by a Black fantasy work (e.g. Legendborn, Amari and the Night Brothers), celebrate Black fantasy characters (e.g. Corlys Velaryon, Annabeth Chase), or you want to reimagine existing non-Black properties as Black (e.g. Tolkien, Sailor Moon), we want to see it! Submissions will be open all month. See our submission guidelines for details. Black Magical History Month is a month-long celebration of Black magical stories, characters, and fans held by @blacknerdscreate every February. To learn more about the daily challenges and events visit our website.

[randomnameless]

I was wondering if you ever made a post talking about ladle's idea of meritocracy?

I don't think I did?

Watch out, it will be long lol

Let's take the Flayn'n'Ferdie ending - of course unavailable on Tru Piss, because Flayn is a Nabatean :

Assuming people are extra horny and start to breed like rabbits, because Flayn and Ferdie are extra “loving” and all, a nabatean blooded baby pops up (half or quarter nabatean, it depends on your hc about Flayn herself) from their "extra loving" shenanigans : that baby will obviously have a crest, since it is a nabatean (or part nabatean).

Assuming that baby will have his mom’s crest, baby will still be able to heal “better” than seasoned healers or trained ones, because of the power-up the crest gives them + baby, with their nabatean genes, might have a longer lifespan and be sturdier than a “regular human”.

So, if someone should become a healer, baby will obviously be picked, because baby can heal better than anyone else (save for their mom) in that situation.

Which makes me think about the Holst’n’Goneril house issue :

Thanks to Nopes, we have the hard confirmation Holst has no crest, and is so OP that he still manages to defend the border because he’s just that awesome. So yes, potentially, someone can do the work a crested dude can do, if that someone is exceptionnally good at doing what he does - Holst is a strong warrior, so he can protect the border, even if he doesn’t have a crest - meaning Hilda is free to live the life of leisure she wants even if she has a crest and can use Freikugel.

But 2 points :

First, iirc, from their supports, in Nopes, Holst actually says Hilda is amazing, and might be even stronger than him, she just doesn’t realise it yet. Is it because Hilda is also super strong on her own, or because Hilda… has a crest?

Second, checking weapon ranks again - Relics have a E rank. Meaning a crested person, without even having to train, can use them to unlease mighty artes and destroy people. To say it better, base Marianne, with her shit E-rank in swords and laughable physical attack stat, can kill people just as fine as Holst - a seasoned warrior - if she picks up Blutgang.

And it’s kind of sad because realising this, no matter how awesome Holst is - to be able to defend the border when it was usually thought only a person with a crest could do so - if a crested random comes with a relic, even without any prior training, they can kick ass as much, if not even more, as Holst, who graduated from a military academy and most likely spent the last 5 years of his life on a battlefield.

That’s not fair!

But that’s precisely the point - Relics and Crests are cheat codes! They make a few “ones” better at some things than others.

Randolph wants to be “successful” in battle to show how useful he is to guarantee his position? Sure, but when Sylvain, by flexing with his shiny lance, can do everything Randolph does in battle, but better, how can Randolph be successful? How can he guarantee his position? Why shouldn’t Sylvain’s achievements be rewarded with, say, the position Randolph was eyeing?

Back to Flayn’n’Ferdie’s kid Baby is a Nabatean hybrid.

If they have their mom’s crest, fine, Baby can heal better than anyone else on the continent, save for mom. If they have dad’s crest, they can be inherently better fighters than Randolph, due to that crest, but also to their Nabatean body (Rhea can eat 3 nukes and still be alive, a quarter nabatean hybrid might be able to tank 1 when a human, uh, is not be able to tank any!).

Even for governance, Baby will be long lived, they will have +100 years of experience and wisdom, compared to John the random human who might also want to become a governor.

Battle wise? Governance wise? Baby will always have more “facilities” and boons than “regular humans”.

I developed it a little in one of the “Lycaon the half-nabatean AU post” - no matter what angle you look from, Baby will have opportunities and chances to be “better” than any human around. 

So if positions of power, or jobs, or whatever, are given to the most “competent” people, Baby will obviously be given all those jobs offers, positions and whatnot.

Does it automatically mean doom’n’gloom for the crestless humans out there? No, because there are things being a Nabatean or having a crest or being able to use a relic doesn’t impact, like, say, Bernie’s dad’s job, or being in charge of foreign affairs, or trying to develop new tech (even if Constance’s gift for magic is implied to be due to her familial crest), or being in charge of engineering bridges, cities, canals, etc etc…

But in the other domains, like fighting and healing and whatnot (performing magic)?

If everyone should rise and fall by their own talents and merit, then what about the ones born with cheat codes, who rise through the ranks by snapping their fingers?

They will of course parasite the “rise and fall by their own talent”, since no one else, no matter how hard they work, will be able to match them.

Which is why the solution is either to remove crests from crested people (and erase nabateans from Fodlan because I don’t think they can survive exsanguination), or to get rid of that “by their own merits” system - but what system should be put in place then?

Good question!

We know the original noble “someone who knows, seek knowledge, leads and protects people” definition ended up being distorted in the current Adrestia, so, again, what should be put in place?

The game… doesn’t answer.

Bar a milquetoast “everyone should accept each other with or without crests” it’s radio silence. 

Only in some endings we have clues, Hanneman making tools to make crests obsolete (but it would just move the debate from who has magic blood to who has enough money to get those kick ass tools), or Sylvain wanting to find a way to stop fighting at the border.

And yet, the main issue remains : Nabateans. 

They are people who can, without tools, do superhuman stuff (at least lore wise!). Why should Jack pay for an automatic lamp 100 gold if Rhea can lit hers by snapping her fingers, for free?

Ultimately, given how the main character - Billy - is the reincarnation of the Goddess herself, and part nabatean, I don’t think the game wanted us to reach the solution that one day everyone will have the same lifespan and be able to use magic normally and everyone will one day stand on the same starting line.

Just like I don’t think Tolkien wanted to give a… message, when he designed Numénoreans - the most Noble of all Men - and the Lesser Men who lived in Middle Earth. Some people have magic powers, and some don’t and that’s the setting. 

Is it annoying because it’s again a story of a chosen one?

Maybe. 

Is it kind of a downer because it means the most basic random will never be able to swing a sword like Aragorn does, or in FE16, emulate Billy’s prowesses and be able to go back in time too?

Maybe.

What does it mean then, if a character’s leitmotiv is to change the world so all should “rise and fall by their own merits”?

The game tries to give an answer to this riddle - having the main hub being an orphanage and a place to shelter “those who have no status in the world” or the ones who fell, and with the “parley” - some people cannot rise on their own, they need support. If a name or a family line should dictate whether someone is going to be great or if they’re going to suck, ditto for their “merits or achievements”, it’s not because someone fumbled at life that they should just die and be “weak”.

It’s like an exam, if you’re first, yay good for you, you are received, but if you are last? What are you going to do? Re-sit? And if you’re last again, then what? Is it just the end of the road for you?

Sure it’s kind of cliché “together we can be stronger and survive” or “the strong must protect the weak, and the weak make the strong strong” but I feel like this was the kind of answer the game - that is a game that purposedly is left vague to make the world “feel larger” - wanted to give.

Nakama power, power of friendship, you name it! But imo, it’s always the same message in the series : it’s not the king that makes the country, but the country that makes (and can unmake!) the King.

It’s not the answer you’d like if you are looking at real life history or to make real life parallels but…

No matter how many “real life parallels” you might be tempted to make regarding FE16′s system of ruling/social system, FE16 and the world of Fodlan is still a world where some people have magical dragon blood that gives them superpowers.

It’s not supposed to be a mirror of the real world. It’s a fantasy setting - with interesting questions - but ultimately questions raised in that fantasy setting.

....

i don't even know if i replied to your question lol

[jontycrane]

Alps to Ocean Trail - Omarama to Otematata

The shortest and possibly the most scenic day cycling the A2O Trail, with 37km almost all off-road heading around the shores of beautiful Lake Benmore. Heading out of Omarama the trail passes attractive fields, framed by the Chain Hills in the distance. The track drops down toward the edge of the lake, an enjoyable downhill section. Pumpkin Point was a great place for panoramic views of Lake…

[lyculuscaelus]

What if the people Odysseus needed to seek on his oar quest were actually…the Lotus-eaters?

They only feasted on the Lotus—no salty food; they knew nothing of the sea and seafaring—maybe they were seeing it every day, but it’s not something they cared abt; they might not know winnowing but they might use shovels to plant Lotus for food…

Besides the Lotus-eaters were like the first thing they encountered when they sailed past the known world for them. And having his first encounter being the last encounter Odysseus will ever face, at the end of his journey, would only make it…cyclic poetic.

[bloomeng]

This is my official Batfam Magical Girl AU Masterpost (everyone clapped)

(image updated: 9/21/24)

I’m going to do a brief overview and then go into more details for those interested.

Bruce being from old money (and apparently being connected to Camelot) inherited a mysterious mineral with unknown properties. In its raw form it’s very unassuming, but when cut like gemstones and added to accessories it can be harnessed into a tool. By altering the mineral into a wearable item it allows the magic within to be channeled. The magic of the mineral connects with its wielder to create an outfit and (typically) a weapon. These outfits do not grant the wearer special abilities outside of the transformation and the weapon, but when worn the wearer is granted (what is basically) hammerspace and a nearly impenetrable outfit. The uniform granted is not something they can alter the appearance of but will change gradually overtime to reflect how the wielder has grown.

This mineral will henceforth be known as Arcanium. It operates on Kryptonite logic in that it’s— allegedly— super rare but also shows up whenever the plot needs it. (I’m aware it shares a name with a card game, but I wanted my Kryptonite spoof)

Martha Wayne unknowingly started the cycle by turning— what she thought was a rare gemstone— into a brooch. She died shortly after having it made and Alfred held onto it in her memory. Like canon Bruce goes on his journey of self-exploration to train. When he comes back he enacts his plan the way he does in Batman: Year One, where he goes out in basically just make-up, and it goes poorly. He wanders his manor trying to formulate a strategy and is drawn to his parent’s room and finds his mother’s brooch. Cue the first magical girl transformation. From there he alters the brooch to fit his bat aesthetic and the Batman Brooch is born.

Dick comes into his life the same way as canon. Bruce takes him in as a ward, Dick tries to track down Zucco on his own, etc. Bruce decides to use the other raw sample of Arcanium to turn into a second magical artifact. He lets Dick pick the theme, and thus the Robin Pendant is born. The rest is history.

(Before I continue I want to warn that I’m making shit up as I go, so some of this is subject to change as I move forward.)

The Robin Pendant is passed down from Robin to Robin. Each Robin got their own unique look while using it. Following canon, Dick and Bruce have their falling out and Dick gives up the Robin Pendant in a moment of anger. In this au I think Dick, not having the pendant to fall back on, tries to lead a vigilante-free life, but of course falls back into it. During a fight he somehow manages to stumble across Arcanium in its raw form. Recognizing it he takes it with him. Like Nightwing: Year One he has his conversation with Superman and decides to become his own hero. Using his knowledge of Arcanium from his years with Bruce he creates his own magical artifact and becomes Nightwing.

This is a good place to interject that I’m not changing any of their hero names. I was asked about it a couple times due to the caption, “Red Bow & Sailor Nightwing” on my Dick and Jason designs. It was just a silly caption, because I didn’t want to simply state “Jason and Dick Magical Girl au.” But being serious, I don’t really see a reason to change their names, with the exception of maybe Red Hood, seeing as I didn’t give him a red hood. My au operates on Sailor Moon logic where despite the lack of masks no one recognizes them, and it’s just vaguely explained by magic. I think it would be funny if Bruce chose to wear a mask anyway because he’s that paranoid, but we’ll see when I actually design him. Anyway point is Red Hood is lacking a red hood, maybe he secretly has a red hood on his jacket or maybe he really does go by Red Bow, I’ll leave that up to interpretation.

Arcanium does not just accidentally appear. At the end of the day it’s still a mineral and it’s not sentient, but the magic has an element of “the wand chooses the user.” It’s not so much a “chosen one thing,” so much as the magic can sense intention. It doesn’t care about the morality of the user, the magic is more seeking a symbiotic connection. (Meaning yes rogues can in fact wield artifacts.) Simply put, it wants a host that will be able to wield it. In its raw form the magic is dormant but it seeks to be… not dormant, so when it finds those who actually have the potential to create an artifact and use it, it reveals itself. It was not a coincidence that Martha had the inclination to have the brooch made, it was not a coincidence that Bruce was drawn to his parent’s room, and it was not a coincidence that Dick found Arcanium in the alleyway.

Each of the Bats have their origin moments with their own magical artifacts. I don’t have the whole timeline down, but I will say there was a lot of drama between Tim and Damian, because Tim was forced to hand over the pendant. Even though he technically relinquished it, emotionally the connection wasn’t severed. No one was sure if the transition would work, but Arcanium responds to whoever needs it more and therefore who will use it more. Like canon, Tim is having an awful time during that era. On top of all of it he’s had his title stripped from him and he can’t even argue because if it wasn’t the right move the pendant wouldn’t have responded to Damian. Dick tries to comfort him by telling him that Arcanium will appear for him when he’s ready, but Tim is furious and impatient. So like a well-adjusted person he decides he’s going to engineer his own magical artifact artificially. It goes as well as his attempt to clone Kon does. It’s not until Tim starts to get back on his feet that Arcanium presents itself to him. My thinking is that while Arcanium finds its users when they need it most, Tim’s case is abnormal. His acquisition of the pendant was unconventional from the start since he showed up and demanded to take on the Robin role. Arcanium is drawn to individuals who will actually use its properties. Tim tends to rely more on his own detective work, which renders the pendant’s properties pretty moot. Especially when he’s going off the deep end, he becomes a hermit meaning a) he wouldn’t really need/use Arcanium’s properties and b) he inadvertently limited his own chances of stumbling across it “in the wild.”

In a similar vein I believe Barbara’s journey is abnormal in that she forged her own Batgirl artifact that operates a little differently than the others, seeing as she made it without Bruce’s influence. After the accident she shelved it, maybe she passed it down to Cass, but eventually she gets it back. She created the Oracle identity without it, and for a long time the Batgirl artifact is something she avoids using, until she gets the idea to combine it with her computer to create a magic computer… sort of. She gets a uniform that is basically connected to the computer.

Going back to Damian needing the Robin Pendant more, its reaction to his acquisition was unique. As I mentioned previously the suits typically provide a weapon, well Damian is the exception. Unlike all the other Robin’s Damian didn’t need more weapons in his life, what he needed was guidance. For the first time the pendant granted Damian a magical animal guardian, which is how he gets Alfred the Cat in this au. Despite being an animal lover Damian is extremely pissed at this development. He wanted dual swords or a scarier animal at least. He can’t formally communicate with Alfred the Cat but he understands him intrinsically, though Alfred the Cat seems to be able to understand human speech somewhat. Only Damian seems to be able to truly understand Alfred the Cat. (Cue the antics of his siblings trying to figure out what the cat means or trying to control him in any capacity.) Besides being an animal, Alfred the Cat is also unique in that he doesn’t dissipate when Damian isn’t in uniform the way that the weapons do. Like the weapons he can be summoned by the pendant, but he seems to have existed prior to the pendant’s creation. (I’m toying with the idea that while in uniform, the cat would also get some sort of uniform.)

Before I get into Duke and his abnormalities, I want to address the Speedsters in this au. It’ll make sense after.

So the Flash. I want to say I don’t know if I will get around to creating full designs for them. I do have plans for Bart and maybe Wally, but I have determined how I want their mechanics to operate in the context of the au. Not all the heroes in this au are “magical girls,” in fact I’ve made the executive decision that you have to be human to wield an artifact. Arcanium may have magic in it, but it doesn’t grant its user magical abilities beyond the uniform itself. The speedsters retain their canon origins, hit by lighting blah blah blah, only with one key difference: they had Arcanium on them when they were hit. Instead of engineering an artifact Arcanium fused with their bodies granting them powers. I want to keep the magic transformation aspect (because it’s not a magical girl au without it), so instead of using a physical artifact as a channel for their powers, it’s instead the act of transforming that serves as a gateway to their speed abilities.

To me it was always important to maintain Batman’s identity of not having super powers and having to rely on engineering, which is why the Batfam have to physically build their artifacts. In a similar way I wanted to retain the integrity of the Flash’s identity of being meta but also still human. Which brings me back to Duke. I know in canon that Duke inherited his abilities, but for the sake of the au I’ve decide that he either had an accident when he was young in which traces of Arcanium fused with him or his parents had it in them and he inherited it from them, but regardless it’s less potent, but operates similar to the Speedsters. For years he couldn’t fully transform or use his powers and it wasn’t until— with Bruce’s guidance— he was able to create an artifact that allowed him to channel his abilities and transform. Even though he is a meta I wanted him to still have some of those Batfam qualities in there.

But what about the Superfam? They’re not human so how do their transformations work? The answer is simple: They’re not “magical girls.” At least not real ones, they’re faking. They’re not human (Kon and Jon are technically half human but they still get their abilities from their Kryptonian DNA), and thus cannot forge a connection with Arcanium. Truthfully I’m about to get silly— even sillier than this au already is— but I have decided that Clark is a fake artifact wielder. I like the idea that Batman has been operating longer than Superman has, so when Clark decided to become a hero in his own right his only example of how to style himself was from the bat themed vigilante, who might as well be a cryptid, operating out of Gotham. Only blurry pictures of him existed, so Clark designed his outfit based on his Kryptonian origins and Batman’s aesthetics. He had no idea about the existence of Arcanium or how it worked. This is also why Kon’s design looks so much like his canon outfit with a few magical girl elements (and definitely not because I think the lines in his canon suit already lend themselves well to a magical girl aesthetic and didn’t want to change much). Later when he gets to know Batman more he learns about the transformations, to which he panics and invents his own transformation using Kryptonian tech (ex: MAWS’s transformation). For years Bruce goes crazy trying to figure out Arcanium’s effects on aliens and if it grants them abilities on top of the ones they’re born with, and if Clark has plans to use it as a weapon, and how he managed to forge the connection in the first place— Clark comes clean as a fake once they reveal their identities to each other.

Side tangent but I find it hilarious that Green Lanterns are— by technicality— already “magical girls,” considering they’re granted magical accessories that give them powers and transform their clothing. Hal is very clear with the JL that he is nothing like Batman and constantly feels the need to assert that he is not a magical artifact wielder. The non-human members of the team still lump them together anyway.

Things I haven’t figured out:

- what each of the batfam’s weapons are

- what each of the magical artifacts are

- what to refer to magical artifact wielders as

Stepping outside the canon(?) lore of the au for a minute, obviously I’m redesigning DC characters using inspiration from a genre, because that’s what “magical girl” is. It’s a genre. This is why I refer to it in quotes and don’t call them magical boys, because I am always referring to it as a genre, which isn’t a gendered thing. However, in universe they wouldn’t call themselves magical anything, the same way the characters of Sailor Moon don’t refer to themselves as magical girls, but rather Sailor Scouts. As of right now I’m sort of just referring to them as artifact wielders, but I feel like Bruce would come up with a better name. On a similar note, throughout this whole thing I’ve been referring to Arcanium in it’s wearable state as an artifact. I don’t know if that’s the best term, but I can’t think of anything better for the generalized form of Arcanium outside of it’s raw state. For now I guess it will be “artifacts” and “artifact wielders.”

- how the wonderfam fits into this

I really can’t think of a reason why Wonder Woman would be a “magical girl” in this au. She was born with abilities, she’s not human, and I can’t see her altering her uniform to match the aesthetic. A transformation would just be a waste of time for her. I could to see maybe Cassie or Donna wanting to match with their respective teams, and perhaps maybe that’s why they would alter their uniforms? All I know is I want see Tim, Kon, Bart and Cassie as a matching “magical girl set.”

Fin… for now.

[I’m just going to put this here preemptively, because I’ve gotten messages about turning my au into fics or tiktok skits. You’re free to use this lore HOWEVER you MUST credit me not just for the designs but for the creation of the lore. I’ve put a lot of time and thought into this and I love that people love it, so I just ask for recognition. If you want to make something that’s inspired by my designs or loosely based on my au, just a simple credit for the inspiration is fine. You’re free to change things this is just how my own au operates. Regardless I would prefer to be tagged so that people can find me but also because I’d love to see other’s work.]

Current designs:

[alexanderwales]

A fantasy worldbuilding idea on what to do with making humans special:

Humans have comparatively insane endurance. Most other species are like cats, spending only 4-6 hours a day "active", which includes time spent playing, working, eating, and interacting with others. The remaining 18-20 hours are spent sleeping or in light rest. Humans putting in eight hours of work every day seems insane, and it seems even more insane when they realize that there's an additional eight hours of cooking, eating, socialization, and play. Human armies aren't feared because they have powerful warriors, they're feared because they can do a fifteen mile march in a day. Humans don't produce the best goods, but because they work so many more hours in a day, they can produce a lot more.

There are a few consequences of this. For one, most of the fantasy races will tend to stay pretty close to their homes, given that travel takes time. If they do travel, that travel has to be in the form of either swiftly moving places in a limited time (e.g. with horses) or a form of travel that allows them to be in "light rest" mode (e.g. lazing about in a wagon). The elves might have grand ships that allow six different shifts of elven sailors, because that's the only way they can keep up with a human navy, and this would obviously have all kinds of cool downstream implications.

In a city that's not dominated by humans, you might either get a "high intensity" four hour block where all business gets done, or alternately, depending on physiology, you might have elven shopkeepers sleeping on their feet, only stirring when someone comes in with some business, and of course there's a limit on how many customers an elf could handle in a day, and some etiquette about not entering a shop unless it's going to be worth the elf's limited time.

I'm continually picturing my cats, who actually do sleep or rest for about twenty hours out of the day. They have a way of lifting their head to see whether a noise or vibration warrants their attention, then settling back down with a huff when it turned out to be a noisy human. This is, in my mind, very close to being elf behavior already.

But if all fantasy races are going to have limited endurance, then I do think it's important to have it be implemented in different ways depending on the species. Here are some ideas:

Elves are like cats, lazing about, extremely fast and agile in their high-power moments, but mostly yawning and stretching, conserving energy for the times of need.

Dwarves have a more strict and structured four hour stretch, which cannot be broken up. Once they're roused for the day, that's it, they have to make the most of it, and this is one of the reason that they disdain delays, dithering, and other things that don't make productive use of their precious four hours.

Orcs go through a personality shift when they're in "waking mode", and while they never actually sleep, a dormant orc is physically smaller, listless, and difficult to engage in conversation. In a first contact scenario, it might be possible to regard these as two separate species, or to imagine that one "form" is male and the other female.

Gnomes have relatively rapid alternating cycles of sleep and wake, with their four hours of activity stretched across the day in half-hour chunks. Gnomes workmen often fall asleep in the middle of crafting, then lift their heads from their benches and continue on as though they had only been asleep for seconds rather than several hours. (For this reason, gnomes often have fire-stoppers built into their homes and workplaces that will quench their flames if they nod off in the midst of work. It also limits their ability to work with flame in general.)

[katerinaaqu]

"His hair, it hangs in ringlets, his eyes as black as coal

My happiness attend him wherever he may go

From Tower Hill to Blackwall, I'll wander, weep, and moan

All for my jolly sailor, until he sails home"

Oh boy how much do these lyrics from "My Jolly Sailor Bold" seem to fit her hahaha 😆 like the way that I also imagined Odysseus and kinda describe him for my story haha

Do I feel sympathy for her? For her loneliness perhaps. For her actions? Never. But still to insert her complicated nature in works feels like my duty haha 😄 She would so sing this I think if she got the news that she has to let him go and watches him make the raft!

Calypso the Beautiful Goddess

So after I made my sketch of Odysseus the other day as you can imagine I couldn't help but also add Calypso, the beautiful goddess (or the One with the Divine Look) or Fair-Tressed Goddess of Ogygia! So this is how I imagined her to look like or at least tried to! Hehe!

My first description of hers can be found to my story Survivor's Guilt and Survivor's Duty (Part2):

"Odysseus weakly looked up to see a magnificent woman. She was tall and slender with dark sun-kissed skin and dark hair carefully arranged in braids adorned with gold and seashells which cascaded down her back like a cape. Her face was heart-shaped and completely clear and pore-less; looking more like the magnificence of marble rather than flesh. Her large almond-eyes had the color of rich honey and her lips were full and shaped like a shell. Odysseus was stunned by her beauty and much more by her soothing voice."

My description was massively inspired by the amazing Vanessa Williams who enrolled the role of Calypso in The Odyssey (1997)

Since sources place her isle in various places, including Gozo island in Malta or to the coasts of Tynisia I wanted to enroll this information to the character's design. While I was drawing I also drew massive inspiration by the beautiful face of Aaliya from the Queen of the Damned for this pore-less skin as well as the skintone of hers which I found simply perfect for Calypso.

I wasn't sure how to achieve that beautiful look Vanessa had and incorporate the multiple braids that I imagined for Calypso so I gave her an extra bun and in a way it works given that I imagined Calypso having very long and very rich black hair.

Her makeup was inspired by Egyptian contexts especially the Malachite over the eyes and the khol around them. The rest of it was inspired by the Queen of the Damned as well as my random details. I know I am not very good with blending I know! But I did try to see how her makeup would work. For her lips I also wanted this classic coral/red shade.

For her dress I didn't have something specific in mind. I did have some images of mycenaean dresses as well as some classical egyptian shapes from New Kingdom but I ended up with a more simple design, partially also inspired by the color I make her wear in the second part of my story.

I was thinking about giving her accessories like jewelry but I wasn't confident I would do it properly so I just gave her a piercing to her ear or something similar and just imagine she wears her bracelets or rings for this one! Haha! Anyway drawing hairstles is also not entirely my forte but I am quite satisfied with this one. Could be worse! XD Some of the beads I colored to resemble corals or something but yeah! Hehe I was apso inspired for her seashell by the classical seashell Cypraea

Hope you like it!

My other sketch with Diomedes can also be found here. Again sorry guys ain't very good at drawing and my marker-pen has a very bad tip so it was a bit hard to ink the lines but I enjoyed making that one!