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amputeewomen · 4 months

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Magical amputee

In the heart of a bustling metropolis, where the hum of the city blended with the whispers of the unseen, lived two friends bound by a secret—the existence of magic. Ashley, a spirited urban explorer with an unquenchable thirst for adrenaline, had always been fascinated by the covert world of spells and enchantments her friend Mia, a modern-day mage, navigated with ease.

Mia, with her cool demeanor and an apartment cluttered with arcane books and technological gadgets, had long promised to introduce Ashley to the art of magic, a promise that had been postponed by the chaos of city life. It wasn't until one seemingly ordinary afternoon, in Mia's high-rise sanctuary, that the promise would be demanded in an unexpected way.

Eager to showcase a newly mastered spell, Mia inadvertently altered the course of their lives. With a few whispered incantations and a misplaced flick of her wrist, she cast a transmutation spell that, to their shock, left Ashley with only one leg. The other had vanished, spirited away by forces they could barely comprehend. The sophisticated aluminum forearm crutches that Ashley now had to rely on felt cold and unyielding—a far cry from the freedom she was accustomed to.

Anger bubbled within Ashley, a fiery contrast to the cool, steel touch of her new supports. "Mia," she said, her voice sharp as a blade, "you better make this right. Teach me magic, for real this time. I want to be able to fix this myself."

Mia, her confidence shaken, knew the weight of her responsibility. The spell wouldn't reverse for four weeks, a period that felt like a lifetime to Ashley. Mia agreed, her guilt fueling a newfound determination to fulfill her overdue promise.

And so, amidst the glow of neon lights and the endless thrum of city life, Ashley began her journey into the world of magic. It was no easy task; the arcane books were dense, filled with esoteric knowledge that twisted the tongue and boggled the mind. Mia guided her through ancient spells, teaching her the delicate balance between the mystical and the mundane.

With each passing day, Ashley's frustration turned to fascination. She learned to harness her inner energy, to manipulate the elements, and to understand the language of the universe. The crutches, once a symbol of her limitation, became a part of her learning, as she used them in her magical exercises, balancing and moving with a grace she hadn't known before.

Ashley's anger faded, replaced by a sense of empowerment and an appreciation for Mia's world. The accident had been a catalyst for growth, pushing her into realms she had only dreamed of. By the time the four weeks had passed and her leg returned as if by magic—because, of course, it was—Ashley had transformed. She was no longer just an adrenaline junkie urban explorer; she was a mage in her own right, a master of her own story.

As for Mia, she had learned the gravest lesson of all—the consequences of her actions in the tapestry of fate. But she had also gained a true equal, a partner in magic, and their bond had grown unbreakable.

Together, Ashley and Mia stepped into the future, a future where magic and the metropolitan were intertwined, and their adventures were just beginning.

As the moon crested over the skyline of the city, Ashley and Mia, now comrades in the mystical arts, ventured beyond the concrete jungle to a place where modern GPS maps faltered and the ley lines of the old world held sway. There, cloaked by the lush embrace of the wild, lay the ruins of an ancient magical civilization, whispered about in obscure tomes and hushed tones in the backrooms of esoteric bookshops.

The ruins, remnants of a bygone era where magic flowed as freely as water, were said to contain a pool—a sanctum of pure mana, unspoiled by time. With the night sky as their canopy, the pair navigated the underbrush until the ruins rose before them, bathed in the silver light of the moon. Vines clung to weathered stone, and the air was thick with the power that pulsed through the remnants of archaic spells.

The pool, nestled at the heart of the ruins, glimmered like a jewel in the night. It was said that the waters were infused with the essence of the earth's veins, capable of rejuvenating the magic within any who bathed in its depths.

With a shared glance, Ashley and Mia shed the trappings of the city and entered the waters. The pool embraced Ashley, its magic compensating for her temporary loss, allowing her to swim with a freedom that defied her condition. The water was not just a physical balm but a wellspring of arcane energy that soaked into their very beings, replenishing the mana that flowed through their veins.

As they swam, the boundaries between them, once defined by mentor and pupil, blurred into something more profound. Laughter echoed off the ancient stones, a sound as timeless as the magic that surrounded them. In the water, under the gaze of the constellations that had witnessed millennia pass, they found themselves drawn to each other by a force as natural and powerful as the ley lines beneath their feet.

The water seemed to recognize the burgeoning bond, glowing with a soft luminescence that reflected the light of their souls. And in that moment, Ashley considered the possibility of prolonging her magical ailment. The thought of remaining an amputee, if it meant continuing to explore the depths of this newfound connection with Mia, wasn't as daunting as it once might have been. The transformation had, after all, led her here—to magic, to Mia, to a love she hadn't anticipated.

Their time in the pool was both an eternity and a fleeting instant, a paradox befitting the mystique of the ruins. When they finally emerged, it was with a sense of renewal, both in magic and in heart. The crutches, which lay beside the pool, seemed less like a shackle and more like a bridge—a bridge that had carried Ashley to this point in her journey.

The ruins, once silent and waiting, now played host to the whispers of a new story, one that intertwined Ashley and Mia's destinies. As they left the sanctity of the pool and the embrace of the ancient stones, they carried with them the warmth of shared affection and the quiet promise of tomorrow's magic.

The city awaited their return, a canvas for their adventures, both arcane and intimate. But the ruins and the pool remained, a testament to their journey, ready to welcome them back whenever they sought the tranquility and power found in its waters. The magic of the place had woven itself into their tale, a thread of the old world in the tapestry of the new, binding them together in ways they were only just beginning to understand.

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cryptotheism · 10 months

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Hey! I recently read Jewish gnosticism, merkabah mysticism, and talmudic tradition at your recommendation and really really loved it! are there possibly any other similiar books you'd recommend to a young jew trying to learn more about it all? (merkabah, jewish medivial mysticism, gnosticism etc etc?)

Tbh as a non-jewish person I'd encourage you to reach beyond me! That said, I can also reccomend Ancient Jewish Magic by Gideon Bohak. Incredible scholar, helped reassemble some recent stuff from the Cairo genizah. He has this wonderful enthusiasm for "dry" elements of religious history that absolutely comes across in his work.

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algumaideia · 22 days

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Now one plus one equals two, that happens every day, that is not magic. That's the grind. That's when you get up, one. Go to work, one. Go to bed, two. Two, geniuses, two. But when one plus one equals three, that's when your life changes, and you see everything new, and these are days when you are visited by visions, when the world around you brings down the spirit and you feel blessed to be alive. It is the essential equation of love. There is no love without one plus one equaling three. It's the essential equation of art. It's the essential equation of rock 'n' roll. It's the reason the universe will never be fully comprehensible. It's the reason Louie Louie will never be fully comprehensible. And it's the reason true rock 'n' roll, and true rock 'n' roll bands, will never die

[...]

Now Gary, Danny, Little Steven, Mighty Max, Professor Roy, Nils Lofgren, Patty Scialfa, that is my one plus one equals three. Excellent, grasshopper! But nobody captured my audience's imagination or their hearts like Clarence. Clarence was, Clarence was a figure out of a rock 'n' roll storybook, and together, we told a story that was bigger than any of the ones I had written in my songs. It was a story where not only does Scooter and the Big Man bust the city in half, but we remade the city. We remade the city shaping into the kind of place where our friendship and our love for one another wouldn't have been such an exceptional thing. First night I saw Clarence he came walkin' out of the shadows towards the band stand, nodded to me, got up, stood to my right, for the very first time. He picked up his saxophone, and when he played - when he played, he whispered that story in my ear. And then we whispered it into your ear, and we carried it together for a long, a long good time. The Big Man was big. Everything about him. His personality, his size, his laugh, the sound of his saxophone. When I first heard it I thought it was the biggest sound I ever heard. And it was. His heart, his problems - they were big. But he was elemental in my life. And losing him was like losing the rain. If I were a mystic, if I were a mystic, I guess Clarence and mine's friendship would lead me to believe that we, we stood together in other older times, ya know and uh, in other lives, along other rivers, in other ancient cities, in other fields, workin' side by side, with the sun settin', doin' our modest version of God's work. I'll see you in the next life Big Man

#it is the way they talk about the friendship #their friendship is inspiration to me #bruce springsteen #clarence clemons

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the1entirecircus · 3 months

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The kind of Pokémon team I think each member of the Justice League would have and why:

Batman

Marowak- This one is obvious, but Batman having a Marowak seems like a no-brainer. They both lost their parents at an early age (or at least before Cubone evolved into a Marowak since age does not equal level) and they're both seen as angry fighters.

Crobat- another obvious pick, out of all the bat pokemon, Crobat felt like the best choice as it was the first.

Urshifu (Single-Strike)- I know some are going to feel iffy about me picking a legendary pokemon for Batman. But considering how much in common this pokemon has with the Dark Knight, I had to pick him. It mostly involves the one-punch it took for Batman to knock out Guy Gardner and the fact Batman can surpass most enemy defenses.

Zangoose- To compare his relationship with the joker, Zangoose has the natural rivalry with Seviper.

Dragapult- Dragapult reflects the combined elements of Batman's stealth, his batwing, and his Robins. Sure, batman doesn't launch Dick Grayson at supersonic speeds, but he has him along with the others fight alongside him.

Greninja- A stealthy pokemon which incorporates projectiles into its attacks

I can also see Batman having a direct access to his Pokemon Boxes so he can swap in other pokemon. Knowing him, he'd probably have an Annihilape, Tyrantrum, and a bunch of Zubat and other bat pokemon. He would also have various pokemon that would be useful for crime-fighting like Gumshoos (Although Jim Gordon would most definitely have one already).

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Superman

Solgaleo- Considering his alien origins, it would be of no surprise that Clark would have obtained an alien pokemon. Especially one that is associated with the Sun. Also, given that Solgaleo is prone to possession from Necrozma, it also reflects Superman's reoccurring problem of being used as an evil character in writing.

Infernape- Given that Infernape is based on Son Goku, the japanese version of Sun Wukong, and that Goku is based on Son Goku, it would be natural for him to have this pokemon.

Krypotnian Boltund- On Krypton, a variant of Boltund existed that could perform similar feats compared to that of the regular Boltund. Except instead of being Electric type, its a fire type. Superman has this pokemon as a reference to Krypto the Super Dog.

Palafin- This one is an obvious choice as Palafin is just a Superman Dolphin. I think Clark would have either been inspired by or found it humorous that its transformation method is similar to his own.

Dragonite- Another obvious pick, given that Superman is seen as an all powerful person, many tend to forget he's also just a nice guy. Dragonite is also a nice fellow that is very powerful.

Snorlax- Superman of course needs a Normal type pokemon to reflect his normalness, and I think that Snorlax is inherently the best option here. Snorlax is often seen as lazy and lethargic but is powerful when needed to be.

Superman would also keep many extra-terrestrial and other kinds of Pokemon in his Fortress of Solitude. He might even lend a few to Ma and Pa Kent. Imagine that! Pa Kent having Buzzwole help him with the farm.

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Wonder Woman

Themysciran Nidoqueen- A Fairy/Fighting type, Nidoqueen on Themyscira are more than capable fighters. Their bodily armor on its wrists can withstand many attacks due to a mystical aura they have. They have one of two abilities: Magic Guard or Battle Armor. They even have a new move called Wrist Clang, a special fairy-type move which hits all opponents.

Falinks- Wonder Woman's father is Zeus in the current continuity of DC Comics. Since Falinks is based on the ancient Greek Battle Formation called a Phalanx, its connection to Greece is perfect for Diana. Since, she is also a warrior taught in Greek combat-style.

Armarouge- Another warrior pokemon, Armarouge is meant to reflect the explosion attack Diana can do with her gauntlets.

Chestnaught- Yeah, I know theres type overlap, but Chestnaught is a living shield pokemon, of course I'm going to pick it to replace Diana's shield.

Kangaskan- Everyone remebers Diana's Kangaroo, Kanga, right? Because this is the only Kangaroo-Adjacent pokemon I could choose.

Zacian- On Themyscira, Zacian and Zamazenta are a two sisters rather than a brother and a sister (still genderless in the pokedex tho). In this island hidden away from man, Zacian is regularly a Fairy type, but with the Sword of Athena, her strength is increased ten fold. Different from her counterpart in Galar, this form of Zacian is referred to as the Wondrous Sword. With its new move, Warrior Strike, a critical hit is landed on the enemy.

Most of these pokemon are female as Themyscira is consisted of only women. So, the pokemon of the island would also consist of only female pokemon that would fit Diana's personality. A Salazzle, Tsareena, or a Hatterene wouldn't fit as they don't have attributes that fit Diana (unless we're talking the Frank Miller version, which we aren't).

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The Flash (Barry Allen)

Alolan Raichu- This feels like an obvious pick because Raichu's tail resembles the lightning bolt symbol on his chest. I would also say that his Raichu is a meta-pokemon with the Speed-Force Ability, which gives priorty to all attacks.

Midday Lycanroc- Not only is it a quick-moving pokemon, but being a wolf pokemon, its hunting skill would be useful for investigating a crime-scene.

Cinderace- Another pokemon that would be imbued with Speed-Force ability, Cinderace has similar design elements that remind me of the Flash (check his belt).

Pawmot- Barry Allen is often seen as slow-moving until he becomes the Flash in which he is lightning-fast. Its similar acts in battle. You also need to evolve it by walking with it. Barry would've evolved Pawmot in no time.

Linoone- This pokemon would probably be used when Barry is in his civilian form. Yes, Linoone is fast, but thats besides the point

Miraidon- Barry created the cosmic treadmil, which in an alternate universe was bike. Barry's Miraidon has that ability as well, and we're going to say he travels with the speed force naturally.

I wish I had come up with a better team for him, but this is the best I could come up with. I considered pokemon like Gardevoir and Gallade, but neither felt fitting for him to me. Zeraora was chosen because, while a fitting pokemon, felt too obvious to me. Suggestions for Barry's pokemon would be helpful.

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Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) (Yes, I'm picking him over the others, cry about it)

Garchomp- Being a pilot, Hal having a Garchomp made sense to me considering its also a fast-flying pokemon inspired by a jet plane.

Celesteela- Considering he's a space cop, Hal was bound to run across an Ultra Beast at some point. Celesteela was chosen because of its connection to spaceships.

Shiny Lurantis- Not only does this pokemon reflect the phrase of the GL oath "in brightest day" as this pokemon needs to evolve in the day, but it also reflects green lantern ring constructs. When it was first introduced, Lurantis was shown using its signature move: Solar Blade. a solid green beam which slices its enemies.

Gallade- Given that Gallade can sense thoughts and evolved from a pokemon sensitive to the emotions around it, it feels like a good pokemon for Hal Jordan to have.

Dusknoir- This is a subtle reference to the time when Hal Jordan had to be the Specter after his whole Parallax arc.

Gigalith- Considering that Gigalith is a waking laser canon, this would make sense for Hal. But due to its weak Special Attack, Hal's Gigalith is now a Meta-Pokemon now imbued with immense will power to achieve its new form. The green crystals on its body have provided a stronger special attack.

Like with Barry, this one was a little hard to do. Not a lot of pokemon share similarities with Hal or the Green Lanterns in general.

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Cyborg

Passimian- Due to the accident that gave Victor his appearance and abilities, it affected some of his pokemon. One of them being Passimian. Now a Steel/Fighting type, Meta Passimian utilizes spheres of energy to fight. Its new ability Cannon Hand increases the power of special attacks. This pokemon was chosen because of Victor being into sports.

Apokolipsian Bronzong- Bronzong from Apokolips are the ancestors of the Bronzong and Bronzor found on earth. They can open gateways to other worlds, including ultra space. They're a Electric/Psychic type with the ability Levitate/Steelworker. So because of his merging with both the Mother Box and Father Box, Cyborg has lots of cosmic power at hand. So much so that he can create boom and hush tubes as well as have a connection to the multiverse.

Leafeon- I wanted to give him a pokemon that's relatively normal but also reflected one of his powers. And wouldn't you know, Cyborg has the ability to photosynthesize (its a summary of one of his powers, but you get the point).

Golurk- Golurk is a giant machine pokemon said to have a source of infinite energy powering it. Cyborg is also capable of producing infinite energy.

Iron Hands- If you look at the origin of Iron Hands, you can clearly tell that the pokemon is based off Cyborg.

Mega Blastoise- A reflection of Cyborg's cybernetic abilities and his large cannon gun that he can form with his hand.

Initially, I partly struggled with making his team until I did some edits.

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Martian Manhunter

Beeheeyem- I wasn't initially certain if I should give this pokemon to J'onn because of how Beeheeyem are sentient Pokemon who can build their own space ships. Then again, humans have Beeheeyem, so why not?

Naganadel- Another alien pokemon, Naganadel's pre-evolution, Poipole, is said to be the starter pokemon of many trainers in Ultra Megalopis. Now, I know that place isn't on Mars, but given that its an alien pokemon, I would not be surprised if they found their way there.

Grappoloct- While not an alien Pokemon, Octopuses are seen as very alien-like animals. I could see M.M.'s Grappoloct being a meta-pokemon with great control of not only its muscular strength but its mind too, being capable of psychic attacks.

Ditto- One of Martian Manhunter's most famous abilities is his capability to Shape-Shift. Ditto is also iconic for this power.

Clefable- Another alien Pokemon, I can see Clefable being one of the first pokemon that J'onn obtained alonged with Beeheeyem.

Deoxys- The Mythical Pokemon Deoxys is known for its ability to change its form to improve its Attack, Defense, and Speed. While Ditto also reflects his ability to shape-shift, Deoxys reflects the form Martian Manhunter takes to better beat down opponents when he needs to get physical.

I'm overall satisfied with what I did here with Martian Manhunter.

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Aquaman (Almost forgot about him lol)

Kingdra- Everyone remember's Storm the Seahorse, right?

Wishiwashi- Aquaman's main ability is to command sea life, this ability is reflected through Wishiwashi's ability to form giant creatures.

Poliwrath- "Although its skilled in a style of dynamic swimming that uses all its muscles, for some reason, it lives on land."

Golisopod- Everyone's opinion on Aquaman was initially that he was a wimpy, pathetic, good-for-nothing superhero. That changed obviously

Swampert- Originally I was going to pick Empoleon for his starter, but I realized that Swampert made more sense given that it reflects how Aquaman is a child of both the sea and Land.

Kyogre- He's the king of the sea, of course he has this pokemon

Aquaman's pokemon were fairly easy to do. My only problem is that have type-overlap.

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Green Arrow

Decidueye- Oliver Queen's backstory fits very well with Decidueye's evolution line. Specifically with Dartrix being snobby and fussy to evolving into a more deadly pokemon.

Barraskewda- On Starfish island, Oliver gained sustenance from fishing. Given that Arrokewda is partially based on an arrow, this is a reflection of that.

Hitmonchan- Punching glove arrow

Sirfetch'd- Oliver considers himself more honorable that the other heroes.

More pokemon will be added soon.

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Meta-Pokemon: Pokemon that have gone through significant alterations during rapid environmental changes, exposure to certain elements, etc. Things that can change in these pokemon vary widely from small stat changes to the changing of types, appearance, and abilities. In the actual Pokemon continuity there are pokemon similar to this discription such as Blood Moon Ursaluna and Rockruff with the ability Own Tempo.

Comment down what you think of these.

Legion of Doom Pokémon Teams

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thinkingimages · 3 months

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youtube

A Derek Jarman film with music by Throbbing Gristle Derek Jarman used some of his 70s home movie footage to produce this wonderful piece of exploitational avantgarde cinema. Actually the original material has been slowed down to a speed of 3-6 frames, then Jarman added colour effects and the pulsating, menacing score by Industrial supergroup Throbbing Gristle The result is a piece of art not to dissimilar to Jarman’s painting work in using found footage as elements of memory and mind that resemble ideas reflected in the Cabala and in C.G. Jung`s writings about an archetypical past that is hidden in everyone of us. The first, In the Shadow of the Sun (1974-80), was originally put together by Jarman himself in 1974 from re-shot Super-8 material including footage from The Art of Mirrors and Journey to Avebury, amongst several others. The film was eventually blown-up to 35mm and premiered at the 1981 Berlin Film Festival. The focus on ritual, mysticism and obscure alchemical symbolism links it with the work of Anger. However, Jarman’s preference for the work of Carl Jung and the “white” magician John Dee, is quite distinct from Anger’s invocations of the “black” magician Alistair Crowley. – Jon Behrens

Extending the recent pagan theme, Ubuweb posts Derek Jarman’s determinedly occult and oneiric film, In the Shadow of the Sun (1980), notable for its soundtrack by Throbbing Gristle. This was the longest of Jarman’s films derived from Super-8 which he made throughout the 1970s between work as a production designer and his feature films. He never saw the low resolution, grain and scratches of Super-8 as a deficiency; on the contrary, for a painter it was a means to achieve with film stock some of the texture of painting. Michael O’Pray described the process and intent behind the film in Afterimage 12 (1985):

In 1973, Jarman shot the central sequences for his first lengthy film, and most ambitious to date, In the Shadow of the Sun, which in fact was not shown publicly until 1980, at the Berlin Film Festival. In the film he incorporated two early films, A Journey to Avebury a romantic landscape film, and The Magician (a.k.a. Tarot). The final sequences were shot on Fire Island in the following year. Fire Island survives as a separate film. In this period, Jarman had begun to express a mythology which he felt underpinned the film. He writes in Dancing Ledge of discovering “the key to the imagery that I had created quite unconsciously in the preceding months”, namely Jung’s Alchemical Studies and Seven Sermons to the Dead. He also states that these books “gave me the confidence to allow my dream-images to drift and collide at random”. The themes and ideas found in Jubilee, The Angelic Conversation, The Tempest and to some extent in Imagining October are powerfully distilled in In the Shadow of the Sun. Jarman’s obsession with the sun, fire and gold (which spilled over in the paintings he exhibited at the ICA in 1984) and an ancient mythology and poetics are compressed in In the Shadow of the Sun with its rich superimposition and painterly textures achieved through the degeneration “caused by the refilming of multiple images”. Jarman describes some of the ideas behind In the Shadow of the Sun:

“This is the way the Super-8s are structured from writing: the buried word-signs emphasize the fact that they convey a language. There is the image and the word, and the image of the word. The ‘poetry of fire’ relies on a treatment of word and object as equivalent: both are signs; both are luminous and opaque. The pleasure of Super-8 is the pleasure of seeing language put through the magic lantern.” Dancing Ledge p.129

John Coulthart

#Youtube #In the Shadow of the Sun (1981)#Derek Jarman #Throbbing Gristle #compilation #8mm short films #soundtrack #experimental #sound art #music #Super 8 films #film

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theredhairedmonkey · 4 months

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In the heart of Katolis castle, amidst the grandeur of its stone walls, Soren, Callum, and Rayla sat before a campfire in the castle courtyard while Ezran convened with Opeli on the crisis in Lux Aurea.

The flickering flames of a carefully tended fire illuminated Soren's face as he couldn't hold back his questions any longer. "Hey, Callum," he began, poking at the fire. "How did you even learn the Ocean Arcanum? Did you find some ancient scroll or a magical tome?"

Callum looked up from his sketchbook, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Nah, it's not like that. You can't just read about it and get it. Arcana come from lived experiences, the connection to the primal source. But, I did have a little help."

Soren raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Help? What kind of help?"

With a casual grace, Callum reached into his bag, retrieving a weathered book with a sea-blue cover. "A book of Ocean poems I stumbled upon in the castle library. The words resonated with the magic of the ocean, helping me grasp the Arcanum in a more profound way."

Rayla raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Poetry? You're telling me you actually found the key to elemental magic in a book of poems? I thought you were joking!"

“Hey, don’t knock it! The rhythm of the language, the emotional resonance...it stirred something…elemental inside me.”

Soren cleared his throat theatrically. “Oh Callum the poetic prince, weaving spells with heartfelt verse!” He exclaimed in exaggerated fashion.

Callum chuckled while Rayla playfully elbowed Soren’s arm. “Didn’t know you had a knack for poetry too,” she teased.

Soren took Callum’s book of ocean poems into his hands. "So, what’s next, painting landscapes?"

A chuckle escaped Callum's lips. "Well, maybe not landscapes. At least not yet. Dunno, maybe that would help with the Earth Arcanum?"

Rayla’s eyes glinted with curiosity. "Who would've thought, the former High Mage turned poet. What's your take on this, Soren?"

Soren, never one to miss an opportunity for a friendly jab, cleared his throat dramatically. "Ahem, Prince Callum, the poetic mage, casting spells with a quill on an enchanted page!"

Callum smirked. "Okay, that was terrible, but I appreciate the effort."

Undeterred, Soren continued, now fully embracing his poetic side. "By the ocean's edge, with waves so grand, Callum found magic in the sand. With every rhyme, he flies above, a princely poet, spreading love."

Callum couldn't contain his laughter any longer. "Alright, Soren, you win. I never knew you had such a hidden flair for rhyming."

Soren, reveling in his poetic victory, grinned. "Well, maybe I'll start dropping rhymes on the battlefield!"

Rayla, with a sly grin, teased Soren, "Who would’ve guess the big tough warrior had a soft spot for poetry?"

Soren winked. "Soft spot? More like a strategic advantage. Imagine facing an enemy who's too confused to fight because you hit them with unexpected rhymes."

Callum, still chuckling, added, "It's a unique tactical approach, to say the least."

"Who would've thought our journey would include poetry lessons from Soren of all people?” Rayla asked.

Callum, finishing up a quick doodle in his book, replied, "Life is full of surprises, I suppose."

Rayla met Soren’s eyes with a smile. “Poetry in moonlight,” she said, lifting her gaze to the glittering blanket of stars above. “Friends beside a dwindling fire.” Her hand found Callum’s, their fingers intertwining. “The laughter of loved ones, where just hours before there was only silence.”

Callum gave her hand a grateful squeeze, touched by her words. “Hey now, look who discovered her inner poet.”

“And just like that, my work here is done!” Soren announced. Getting up, he let out an exaggerated groan. “It’s getting late, we should probably call it a night.”

“Agreed,” Callum said at last, gathering his sketchbook as Soren kicked dirt over the cooling coals. The three wandered back inside, the mystical poetry book tucked under Callum’s arm. The Ocean Arcanum flowing through his veins. But the real magic of the night glowing in their hearts.

#tdp #the dragon prince #callum #rayla #rayllum #ezran #soren

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space-mermaid-writing · 5 months

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Wednesday [IronStrange]

Summary:Tony fights Strange and his weird wizards on a regular basis. So when he is woken up by Jarvis and being told Strange is sitting in his kitchen, waiting to talk to him, Tony just knows that something is not right. What he does not know yet is that it will be a string of very long days.

Relationship: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

Tags:enemies to lovers, time loop, time shenanigans, hero/villain, hero Tony Stark, villain Stephen Strange, morally gray Stephen Strange, being a villain is a point of view, protecting the timeline, suicide but it has no consequences whatsoever, open ending, hopeful ending, Stephen needs a hug, Stephen and the never ending day, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, eventual smut, all the stuff you love

Chapter 3: What wizards do

Starting from scratch every day sucked.

But then again, with each new Wednesday that began, they could discard another theory and hypothesis. So in that sense, failure was a success, as it narrowed down their remaining options. Eventually they would find the right path. Hopefully.

_____________________

“What do you even do? I mean your wizard circle. Most of the bad guys we fight are pretty forward with their agenda. But you… there’s no pattern, no ultimate goal we know. You rob seemingly randomly, meddle with political and military business alike, and we traced several ‘accidents’ back to you. But then, sometimes, you save people? Don’t think we don’t know about that.”

Stephen wasn’t sure how much he should reveal. He wasn’t exactly sworn to secrecy, but he also never talked to outsiders about the purpose of the order.

Christine knew a bit of it. Fragments she collected during medical emergencies. Just enough to not ask questions she didn’t want answers to.

When he didn’t say anything, Tony continued. “I take your silence to that question means it’s something I won’t like and that I should ask myself if I really should help you with this.”

He might not be wrong about not liking the answer, Stephen thought. But at that moment he decided to tell him anyway. He wasn’t sure why. Why should he be concerned about what Stark thinks about his motives?

“We are protecting the timeline.”

“The what?”

Stephen put his Starkpad down. “Are you familiar with Brand’s theory of decision branches?”

“You mean that every decision everyone ever faces is like a parting of ways? Depending on the decision made there’s a different version of the future.”

The sorcerer nodded. “We – the order of the Mystic Arts – make sure that the future is steered in a certain direction.”

Tony gaped at him. “If you influence decisions, you’re stripping people of their free will!” This was bigger than he had thought, and he tried to wrap his mind around it.

“No,” Stephen clarified. “We don’t care if you can’t decide between ham or beef on your sandwich. But if it happens that a lost super soldier will be needed in an upcoming battle, we will make sure that we stay in the ninety-five percent of the futures in which he will be found.”

“Bullshit! You didn’t know where Cap was.”

“You’re right, we didn’t. But we knew what needed to happen for him to be rediscovered. On this we just observed; but in other cases we need to intervene.”

He didn’t mention that the Ancient One probably also knew about the kidnapping of Tony Stark and his whereabouts in Afghanistan. And that she let it happen anyway because Iron Man was a key element for what was to come.

That had been long before Stephen ever heard about a place named Kamar-Taj.

Sometimes he wondered where his own car accident fit in all this. But he didn’t think too hard about it. He had made his peace with it and had adapted to his new life.

Tony still wasn’t convinced. “How can you know about the different futures?” He glanced at the golden necklace and hit the mark once again. “Time magic?”

“Yes. It allows me to watch all possibilities of the future.”

Tony clenched his fists, ignoring the screwdriver he was still holding, and narrowed his eyes. “You’re basically telling me, you’re playing god and get to decide which future you like most. Sounds like an awfully lot of power for one single man to me!”

Stephen glared right back at him, raising his voice. “Do you think I asked for this? I just wanted to find a cure for my hands. But then my mentor died and I happened to have a solution to get rid of a world consuming entity, and coincidentally I was able to use the Eye without accidentally destroying the whole time continuum! And after that I filled in for the ones we lost during the fight. This,” he pointed at his chest where the Eye of Agamotto rested, “is bigger than me. It’s not about personal favoritism; about who is the next president or whoever. A threat is coming, whether we like it or not. Whether we’re prepared or not. It’s about no less than half of the life of the whole universe. Every planet out there will be concerned. So, yes, if I have to send a mugger into a side street to make sure the mantle of Batman will be picked up in the future, I will do that.”

Stephen had gotten carried away with his words and revealed more than he had actually intended. He was angry and tired. With a burden on his shoulders he hadn't asked for, but tried his best to hold anyway. At the end of his rant he wasn't sure if his words were solely meant for Stark, or if he did need to convince himself to some degree that he was doing the right thing.

The hurt that had bled through from between the words had taken Tony by surprise, and he realized that the expression that always lingered in those blue eyes was the mark of a man who had seen too much. Of a man who cared deeply, even if he tried to convince himself he didn’t.

Tony recognized it, because he found the same expression whenever he looked into a mirror.

“Half of the universe, hm? Can’t argue against that – if you tell the truth.”

“I do.” Stephen slouched in his chair. He yearned for rest. Not just sleep but being stripped from all responsibilities. But he knew that that day was far away.

“I also can’t believe you brought a Batman reference into this.”

It was an attempt at a joke and to make amends. Stephen acknowledged it with a hint of a smile.

Silence spread and they turned back to their individual tasks. Stephen had already said more than he wanted to and Tony thought about the words he had heard.

“Can’t your necklace tell you a future in which we get out of this loop?” he asked after a while.

“Unfortunately, I can’t seem to access it during the loop, which is highly irritating.”

The more Tony learned about it, the more he got the feeling this was a magic problem after all. Then something occurred to him: something was coming. Could it be…?

“That threat you mentioned… does it come from space?”

“Yes. As I said: the whole universe will be affected.”

“Hm.” The engineer pondered. It could be what he had seen when the Scarlet Witch had meddled with his mind.

But if he were to finally know for sure it was true and to not be able to do anything about it currently… whatever he did, it would be gone tomorrow. And he was already working on one problem that wouldn’t let him sleep. He didn’t need to add more nightmares and panic attacks to it. He would talk to the wizard after this groundhog day was over. It might even be important enough to use the IOU he was being promised. Even if only to know if the vision he’d seen had been true or false. For his own peace of mind.

_____________________

Twelve days in they had collected a lot of data but were still short of a solution.

Tony learned that even if his body was rested in the morning, having his mind working nonstop was not healthy. He was used to pulling all-nighters, but it felt like his tiredness had reached a new level.

Frustrated, Tony buried his face in his hands. He wasn't used to being stuck in a project, and the fact that he couldn't talk to anyone else about it except the wizard didn't make it any better.

Someone put a blanket around his shoulders and when he looked up, he realized it was the cloak that was hugging him sympathetically.

At first the engineer tensed up at that realization, but then he patted the red fabric. “Thanks, buddy.” It wasn’t really helping but he figured it was the thought that counted.

Strange looked at him in sympathy. They had just performed the spell to create the bond between their souls earlier; the warm tingle still echoed in his chest. It was a familiar feeling by now.

“You should take a break tomorrow, Tony. Why don’t you sleep in and meet with some friends?”

“What about-…?”

“It can wait for another day. I’ll do some meditating and meet you before midnight.”

A break sounded really fucking good. Tony already felt guilty because he had canceled his meeting with Peter so often. Even if he knew that it didn’t matter because the boy didn’t remember it.

The look on Stephen’s face when talking to him was gentle and Tony realized that the sorcerer cared. It warmed his heart and made his stomach flip. Uh – oh. The magic man shouldn’t care. And Tony shouldn’t like the thought of Strange looking out for him.

Tony definitely needed that day away from him!

_____________________

It was weird not being woken up by Jarvis' voice stating the words he had probably memorized for life by now.

Between midnight and waking up it felt as if he at least got some sleep and when he looked at the clock it was three hours later than when Strange usually showed up.

“Good morning, Sir,” Jarvis greeted him as soon as Tony moved out of the bed. “I’ll prepare a coffee for you.”

“Thanks. What day is it?” The engineer asked, just to make sure.

“Wednesday the fifth. You have a missed call from Pearson and Specter regarding the launch of the Stark hearing pro aid. You also have a meeting with Miss Potts scheduled at eleven and you told Peter to drop by after school.”

“Move everything that doesn’t need my immediate attention to tomorrow. And invite Rhodey for lunch.” Today he wanted to have his family around him.

“Of course, Sir.”

The meeting with Pepper was very boring. Tony loved it. He was signing papers and they were discussing some new branches of SI and when to launch the next Starkphone update.

It was a constant problem that Tony developed the technology he was offering to the market far too quickly and every now and then he needed to be reminded that people needed to adjust to and accept change. Those things weren’t to rush.

Tony couldn’t relate to that but he trusted Pepper as CEO to make the right decisions.

Rhodey dropped by for lunch in his armor and brought tacos. It was faster than being stuck in New York’s traffic, plus he hadn’t exactly been in town.

They sat on the roof and listened to the sirens and the honking in the streets below.

“Remember that project I told you about?” Tony asked his friend after taking a sip of his soda. “The one with the guy I don’t really like?”

Rhodey looked at him, knitting his brows together. “No. What project? And what guy?”

“We talked about it, Rhodey bear. I called you from the pla-…” Then it hit him. When he had been on the plane on his way to Malibu, he had wanted to say. On another Wednesday.

Of course Rhodey didn’t remember.

“I meant to call you,” Tony steered back. “Probably fell asleep before I had the chance.”

“You? Asleep willingly in the middle of the day?” Rhodey shook his head. “How exhausted have you been? I thought Jarvis kept an eye on you to keep you from pulling all nighters.”

Tony shrugged, an easy smile on his face he didn’t really feel. “He tries his best. You know how I am.” He took another taco and offered Rhodey the last one.

“Tell me about the project,” his friend said. “And since when are you working with partners…wait, we’re not talking about Doom, are we? That guy’s mad and you shouldn’t work with him on anything.”

It was like having a déjà-vu. Tony answered evasively and changed the topic soon after. Rhodey noticed that he was hiding something but he didn’t push it yet.

Fortunately – he would forget it again tomorrow.

Peter arrived in the afternoon long after Rhodey had left. It was great to have the bundle of energy around.

He talked a lot, about school, his friends, and last night’s patrol.

Tony just listened to his rambles while they plugged the Spider-Man suit into Jarvis and ran a check-up – everything was fine besides a small bug which was quickly fixed.

Then Peter told him about May and their trip to the planetarium last weekend. That had been only a few days ago, but to Tony it seemed like weeks had passed. Because for him it had.

He sent Peter home early in the evening, because he knew May would wait with dinner and also because he didn’t know when Strange would come over.

Afterwards, when he was alone in his lab he had nothing left to do for the day. He just took a look at his workspace, where he had spent so much time with the wizard.

A terrible thought occurred to him: what if Strange didn’t come? If he deemed it best to continue searching alone for a solution.

Tony would forget everything.

Some would call it a blessing not to know but Tony had never been one of those. He had always been pro knowing.

Oddly enough, thinking about not remembering Strange tightened his chest.

They were enemies. At least they used to be. But now he’d gotten to know the wizard. And what he had seen intrigued him.

He wasn't sure that he approved of what Strange told him about the timeline and his work and Tony would most definitely not stop fighting him if necessary. But the things that had used to infuriate him, he now found charming. The way the stoic sorcerer expressed his opinion with a single raised eyebrow; his sharp wit and of course his intelligence with a hint of arrogance that was absolutely legitimate.

Strange was hard working, dedicated and had an exceptional mind. It was a dangerous combination.

Tony should know better by now than to get distracted by a handsome face and sharp cheekbones.

There were still two hours left until midnight. Tony had never been good at being patient.

If Strange didn’t come there was no way for Tony to contact him. He didn’t know about his whereabouts, just that he was located somewhere in central New York.

“Sir,” Jarvis spoke up. “Doctor Strange has just appeared in the kitchen.”

There was disapproval in his voice. Tony had instructed the A.I. and told him of their expected visitor. But that didn’t mean Jarvis had to like it.

“Tell him to come to the lab.”

There was a surprised pause from Jarvis. Then, “Are you sure?”. Not many people were allowed into Tony’s private lab.

“Absolutely. I told you: time loop. You can scold me all about it tomorrow.” If Thursday ever arrived.

Shortly after the door opened and Strange stepped in. Ever since their trip to Malibu he had traded his robes for casual clothes, which still seemed out of place to Tony – even though he had suggested them himself. But still, today there was something different about his outfit.

“Where’s Levi?” At some point Tony had gotten on a first name basis with the piece of fabric.

“They stayed home. I just came by for the spell.”

Although he had long since stopped questioning Tony's willingness to stay in the time loop, his voice sounded uncertain today. As if Tony had changed his mind after a day off.It was probably a justified fear.

“Sure, let’s do it.”

By now Tony knew the movements the spell required by heart. The yellowish glowing thread that connected them. The warm tingle that resonated with something deep inside of him.

Relief flooded through him. He knew he would remember.

Strange had a similar expression on his face, but for a different reason. Then he turned to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Do you have somewhere to be in the next…”, Tony glanced at his watch, “hour and a half?”

The sorcerer stopped and shook his head.

“Do you wanna grab a beer and watch a show? I bet we can find something you haven’t binged yet in all of the free time the loop gave you.” It was a lighthearted joke because it wasn’t hard to guess that entertainment hadn’t been on Strange’s priority list.

“I don’t own a TV, so you’re probably right.”

“You don’t… don’t tell me you were serious about not having a phone. I thought you were just reluctant to give your number.” Tony shook his head in disbelief. “Do you write your letters with ink on parchment in the light of oil lamps? Or is that too advanced already?”

Strange made an amused noise. “We do have electricity and I’m happy to inform you that we own a laptop.”

“A laptop? Like in one? For how many people?”

“Wong and I share.”

“Unbelievable,” Tony muttered.

He took the sorcerer upstairs into his living room where they got comfortable on the couch. Almost the entire opposite wall served as a screen. Tony barely used it himself. Mostly for movie nights with family and friends.

They agreed on Doctor House and watched until midnight.

_____________________

“Sir, Doctor Strange has appeared in your kitchen.”

“Clear the day, J.”

_____________________

Somewhere in between, Strange became Stephen and Stark became Tony. They still argued almost every single day.

_____________________

“We could order pizza,” Tony suggested, going through the take out delivery services in central New York.

“We had that yesterday.”

“Sushi?”

“How about soup?” Stephen offered instead. They hadn’t had that yet.

“Who eats soup when they’re not sick?”

“Soup is a perfectly normal meal.”

“Mhm…”

_____________________

“I think we’re friends now.”

“God, don’t say that.”

_____________________

Pepper arrived with the elevator. Jarvis didn’t announce her because, for one, she was family, and secondly, he was very suspicious of what was going on in the lab.

Pepper stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw who else was present.

“Can you pass me the tongs?” Tony asked the sorcerer who didn’t even look up from his own work and just made a gesture whereupon the tool floated to the engineer. Tony picked it out of the air. “Thanks.”

“You should consider wearing gloves,” Stephen suggested. “You have a fully equipped lab and still manage to ignore any safety rules.

“Since when do you guys tolerate each other?” Pepper’s voice made them both freeze and they looked at her, as if they had both been caught doing something sensitive.

Tony had forgotten to clear the day. At least he thought so. He should be used to it by now, since he had to repeat it every single day. It was somewhere between day 45 and 52. Tony had lost track of time. One day bled into another and it was always Wednesday. He wasn’t used to repeating any request to Jarvis though. Normally, Jarvis knew more than him.

“‘Tolerate’ is a strong word. We’re working together on a problem,” Tony said while Stephen opted for the smarter option: staying silent.

Pepper put her hands on her hips. “Are you solving that problem or are you two creating it?”

“Haha, funny. We’re-…” Tony suddenly had an idea and he turned to the sorcerer. “What if you’re the problem?”

“Pardon me?” Stephen sounded confused as well as insulted.

“You’re the only one remembering the time loop. It starts with you waking up and ending with you at midnight.” Tony explained. “So whether this is caused by magic or by science: it is linked to you.”

Pepper watched their interaction with a healthy amount of wariness. “Jarvis, what is happening?” she asked the A.I.

“Sir said they are stuck in a time loop and the day is repeating over and over for them.”

“Have you any proof for that?”

“Negative, besides that they seem pretty friendly with each other.”

Pepper's face hardened. She had been there the last time Tony had been working together with magic, and had seen how bad it had ended.

“Tony,” she said louder to get his attention.

He stopped his bickering with the doctor and turned his head to her. “Yes, dear?”

“You know he,” she nodded to the sorcerer, “attacked you at the fundraiser gala just a few days ago?”

Stephen had indeed. But that seemed a lifetime ago.

“I know what it looks like, Pep. But I assure you: it’s alright. Everything is fine, really,” Tony reassured her but his words only raised her distrust.

“How can you be sure he is not messing with your head?”

“I am not,” Stephen protested immediately.

“Pepper, please.” Tony made a step towards her, raising his hands in a soothing gesture.

Pepper retreated a step backwards, not trusting anything that was going on here. “Jarvis, call the Avengers,” she told the Jarvis. “There’s been a breach in security.”

“Pepper no! Jarvis, don’t!”

But it was too late. Jarvis had basically just been waiting for an excuse to intervene.

The Avengers assembled promptly. No need to mention that the day didn’t end well.

#ironstrange #stephen strange #doctor strange #tony stark #stephen strange x tony stark #marvel #mcu #strangeiron #spacemermaid #Wednesday #time loop #spacemermaidwriting

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avaantares · 4 months

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Y'all should not let me sketch when sleep deprived.

So I had ONE prompt remaining to get my @guardianbingo Merit Brush badge, and the one I'd written down in the margin of my bingo card was "Alternate Universe," thinking it would be an easy fill since I have a ton of those floating around in my head. Unfortunately, I hadn't had time to work on it earlier, so I found myself less than 24 hours from the deadline with a shortlist of ideas that were in no way going to be fast enough to flesh out in the time provided -- leaving me to brainstorm something new at the last minute. Creatively drained from several other projects I've had stacked this week, I found myself thinking, "What's the silliest, most absurd AU I can think of that still kind of thematically works with Guardian?"

And oh. I thought of one. Two protagonists, one of whom wears black, uses a polearm, has a unique skill that involves energy swirling in his hand, and shares his face with a villain who impersonates him in order to steal mystical artifacts... A shapeshifting cat familiar who loves to eat... Romantic tension and identity shenanigans between the leads... Ancient magic based loosely on an East Asian culture... It was perfect! I mean, it's practically just Guardian with some names changed, right?

So I present to you my 2 a.m. sketch of a Miraculous Ladybug AU Shen Wei/Chat Hei, who apparently has been accompanied by kwami Da Qing for the past 10K years. Behold! Marvel at the outstanding art quality (look, my eyes aren't even focusing anymore, OK?)! Appreciate the exquisitely fine details, like Da Qing's Scottish Fold ears and collar bells being the only elements of Chat Hei's costume I even bothered drawing! Wonder at the linguistic mangling of an English-language AU of a Chinese drama based on a French cartoon!

Look, giggle amongst yourselves. I got my badges; I'm good. And now... Sleep. /faceplants/

#guardian #zhen hun #guardian bingo fest #miraculous ladybug au #ava's art

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foxsoulart · 2 months

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"Teenage Mystic Yokai Turtles"

Mystic Summons Au : Casey and April summon 4 mystic turtles, using ancient clan scrolls, to help save the world (the boys are just a tad unhinged and rather enjoy the modern world than do any work)

Thousands of years old(technically)

Earth threatened by Triceratons

Michelangelo:

- 'Youngest'

-is the strongest, mystic power wise

-often floats around

-major prankster

Donatello:

- 'second youngest'

- absolutely fascinated by technology, there wasn't any the last time they were summoned

-able to connect and control programs/tech such as spaceships, simply by touching and extending his mystic

-holds grudges

Leonardo:

- 'second oldest'

- likes planning pranks with Mikey

- loses arm to Triceratons?

- flamboyant

Raphael:

- 'oldest'

- big ol teddy bear

- loves cute fluffy things

All four are technically the same age, slight time difference in hatching

All four love love love basking

The magic summon scroll:

Ancient, can only be destroyed by incredibly powerful mystic magic. Cannot be destroyed by the mystic sealed in it. Several scrolls scattered around the world each with different mystics. Mystics are sealed by either being forced, tricked, or agreeing to a contract of sorts. Don't necessarily have to obey the one who summoned them, big loopholes to take advantage of there. Scrolls are impervious to the elements; fire, water, sunlight, time etc. Those who seal them don't have to be stronger than the mystic being sealed, although it helps.

Mystics do not age while inactive-sealed-not summoned. Time in between Summons is like a blink, or short nap. Time is paused and so is their consciousness. Mystics can be any species, not just yokai.

About the boys sealing circumstances:

Were tricked into it. Not really mad about it,(probably) since the dude who sealed them is long since dead. Have been sealed since medieval times. Only summoned 10 times, last was over 3000 years ago (have to check my math) these numbers and times are subject to change because I can't make up my mind or bother with math

All four are on 1 scroll, cannot be summoned individually. All or nothing.

The Triceratons:

Lived on earth back in the dinosaur age as normal dinosaurs, mutated by krang deal. Big guys, like 12 tmnt big.

Returned, but decided to get rid of the 'lesser lifeforms' aka humans before settling in.

Fugitiod situation. Except he actually is a criminal. And a cyborg(?) But overall a nice guy.

The krang: ? Who Dat? No krang here?

Casey jones Hammato: Hamato clan descendent. 19 yrs. Fluffy black hair, striking blue eyes. Summons the boys in hopes they will protect the earth.

April (O Neilus or Hammato idk):

Sister or best friend? 18yrs. Red hair. Summons boys with Casey. Part of the Violet Wyverns (band or gang or club idk yet)

Violet Wyverns (name pending): band or gang or club of some real cool peeps. Members include Mondo(leopard gecko yokai boy, 16 yrs) Milo ( Asian persuasion girl, 17yrs) plus more I haven't decided yet

Hidden City: pretty much the same as rottmnt, lotsa them all over the earth.

Other planets outside of earth: who knows? Will I ever integrate any in this au?

Other sentient species besides humans: Yokai, mutants, Triceratons, ??? Mythical beings? Idk yet?

Basic plotline/storyline: guys get summoned, some stuff happens, get kidnapped by Triceratons, interagated/tortured for info cause "hey they look like they know something, let's grab them" - them being clueless for once. Escape involves setting the leader ship into self destruct. Repels the dinos. Casey don't know how to seal them back, not that he really wants to, so hey, let's explore modern earth. Chaos ensues. Mystic Mayhem anyone?

Tags are: #mystic Summons au and #teenage mystic yokai turtles

I love love love questions and asks! Suggestions are cool too! This helps me world/lore build and be decisive about things

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theragamuffininitiative · 4 months

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Okay tell me ALL about your fairy tale retelling WIP, I am most curious!!

hi hi hi!

Brief lil disclaimer here: I wrote this story as my nanowrimo project back in erm 2021 and have barely looked at it since. (working on that!) Everything I am about to say is based on my memory of how the story was working at the time and a couple glances at my documents tonight - and if I say something in this post that I like better than what I originally had, I will run with it. XD

Right then!

Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf is a Russian fairytale classified as a 550 on the ATU folklore index (a fact I sprinkle in not to be pretentious but bc I recently discovered the index and it is fascinating). This basically means the story revolves around catching a mystical bird, sometimes a phoenix, and involves a princess, usually a horse, and some supernatural animal helper. In my retelling, I also take from the Grimm Brothers' The Golden Bird version.

As you know, I fell into the intrigue of this tale when visiting an art museum displaying Vasnetsov's A Knight at the Crossroads, which is a reference to this tale. Now, Vasnetsov also painted Tsarevitch Ivan on a Gray Wolf:

And it's just so????!

In my retelling of this fairytale, our hero is a bit of a simple boy. He is content with simple things and a simple life after his near-death at a young age to a mysterious wasting disease spreading across the land - a madness that robs the infected of sleep and appetite until they go insane. The only cure is the fruit of an equally mysterious tree. Ivan fears his healing may have not been complete, for he has not felt the need for sleep or food the way he ought to ever since.

When fruit begins to disappear from the closely protected tree, the threat of losing the cure drives Ivan into action. An enchantment of sleep shields the thief from being captured. Here, Ivan's curse is a boon, as he alone sees a great golden bird steal the fruit. Although a great company set out to capture the bird, Ivan becomes separated from them and lost. At an ancient crossroads that promises death in every direction, he meets the Wolf, the instrument of the crossroads' doom. When the Wolf unexpectedly takes Ivan to find his missing companions, they discover the whole company has fallen to the madness - Ivan's brother among them.

It is no disease, but a curse.

Ivan, now with the Wolf, seeks aid from his best friend, the Princess Evolett, who was to be wed to the prince of the neighboring country and seal a treaty of peace between them. But all is not as it seems in these foreign lands, and Ivan must work with the Wolf to capture the golden bird, protect the fruit tree, rescue Evolett, heal the madness, prevent war between the two kingdoms, and defeat a dark enchantment for good - if the Wolf, the madness, or a multitude of other enemies don't kill him first... [ramble continued below the cut]

I love, love, love playing around with the fairytale motifs in this story.

For example, the original fairytale has a very episodic, repetitive sort of scavenger hunt that Ivan is forced into. I messed with it a lot to give the different elements their own, interconnected importance: the tree is a magical cure, the bird has magical elements of its own, the golden cage from some versions of the tale is a metaphor for the princess's imprisonment, the inns are not merely symbolism for laziness but traps laid by a powerful enemy to serve a dark purpose, and nothing is as it would seem - least of all Ivan or the Wolf.

The characteristics for Ivan specifically came to me while watching Mal in the first season of Netflix's Shadow and Bone.

I really love Mal's stubborn tenacity, fierce loyalty, and simplistic personal goals in the face of all the complexity and conniving of everything around him. Since this fairytale showcases a "simpleton" character, I wanted to show that character at their very best.

Also! I love writing Ivan and the Wolf. Ivan's plucky, irreverent sense of humor set against the Wolf's stoic, utterly dry and cold attitude is so much fun to play with. 👏

(tried to credit the images by link, not sure if that worked)

Excerpt from Ivan meeting the Wolf:

Then the wolf made a guttural, whining sound from the back of its throat, a sound which rolled forward out of its mouth and formed into four distinct words. "Will you kill me?" Ivan stared at it. Having never met a wolf before, he couldn’t say with absolute authority that they did not speak, but he also thought that if they had, someone might have mentioned it to him once upon a time. This one, however, most assuredly had spoken. He supposed he should have asked it to repeat itself, or even agreed with the sentiment and at once lifted his weapon. Instead, he considered the question posed to him. "I don't think so," he said in the end. "Not unless I have to.” He didn’t add that this was because he didn’t think he could beat the wolf if he tried. There was something else at work here, as he had feared, and he needed to find out what the game was. In his head, he noted that this creature was not merely a wolf, but the Wolf. The wolf made another noise, and this sounded like a quiet, “Ah, then.” “What will you do if I come down?” Ivan ventured to ask. The Wolf blinked lazily. “I have deprived you of your mount,” it stated. “I have come to take you where you must go.” That didn’t sound promising, although slightly better than admitting it wanted to gobble him up. “Are you fae?” Ivan called to it. He felt he remembered something from his father’s stories that the fae had to answer truthfully the questions you asked them directly. “I am not.” Enchanted or a liar, then. A wolf given the tongue of man. It also seemed to think something like a man, though its tone was distant and cold. “How can I trust you?” he asked it. The Wolf stared at him, not responding, and cocked its head. So maybe not the thinking of a man. Maybe the concept of trust was foreign to it still. He tried something less abstract. “Are you going to attack me?” “That is not my purpose,” said the Wolf. “There is an inn, a long distance from here. You have strayed from the path and it took me some time to find you, but I can lead you there, through ways horse hooves cannot tread, before the Wood grows dark.” “Is leading me to the inn your purpose?” “It is.” “Why?” The Wolf had to think about this, and Ivan thought again that it didn’t seem to be comfortable with questions that involved reasoning beyond cold facts. “The crossroads demand a price from everyone who passes through them. The price is set by your choice and you have chosen. Now I will take you where your path leads.”

Yes, I'll take "uneasy partnerships founded on enmity but sealed in friendship" for $500, thank you.

A messy music playlist I haven't touched since NaNo writing: here It's a story of family, loyalty, honor, and simple truths more powerful than any deep enchantment. 🥺😭

Excited to write Evolett more, she is a spitfire and impressed by no one (even when probably she should be, for her own good lol). Ivan's father was an adventurer in his own day, and I love writing little nods to his offstage capers - there's an invisibility cloak!

Ivan's brother is kind of a jerk. 🙈 But hey, still family. And he's less of a jerk than the guys in the old fairytale ok. 😅 Probably.

Ok, I feel like that's a pretty boring ramble, but I have tried to type this up about five different times so here we are! I have shed tears over Ivan and the Wolf, and lived in the nonsense from the random old woman running the dilapidated inn next to the one that breathes enchantment, and sketched out the borderlines between kingdoms and the unseen shadowy arm reaching across borders to ensnare them all, and written a lot of dog jokes. I love this one, I can't wait to get back into it. 😊

Thank you for asking and letting me ramble! 💛

#i have tried to type this up like five times #and it's been one of those weeks where i'm just constantly falling asleep #so we compromise and i stayed up so i will be falling asleep all day tomorrow at work instead lol #thanks for the ask!#kanerallels #wip: the madness and the golden bird

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nekogobrrr · 4 months

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Hello everybody!! Big massive announcement and achievement, me and my best friend made a book together which has taken literal years to create - it just got out on the kindle app! I am the illustrator 🙂 We’ve worked really hard and even just a sample read would help so much and we’d love feedback 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Loud, brash, headstrong, and entering her third year of high school, Dakota McGregor has a bad reputation—but it's not her fault. Well, not entirely.

She and her friends haven't exactly acted like the best role models, and she doesn't mind introducing her knuckles to whoever causes any of them trouble. Though Dakota has grown up in Hollygate, Varona, for years, people give her a shoulder colder than the subarctic climate Varonans call home. And it all has to do with that elemental symbol she so gladly wears every day—an emblem that, in the present-day 2113 world, tends to evoke either hate or fear.

That same emblem will soon draw more than just local negative attention. While elemental wielding and magic arts sink further into a rapid decline in favor of technology's increasing influence, a vengeful cult of unknown entities is scouring the planet in secrecy. Aware of ancient knowledge that society aims to abandon, they seek forgotten artifacts of mystic power that most of the public can't even hope to use. When the malicious group appears in the Far North to take their search through Varona, silent watchers from beyond decide it's time to recruit a team of elemental wielders for a special case.

With graduation less than two years away, Dakota just wants to have fun with her quirky crew and beat down the paralyzing weight of a past accident with optimism for the present and future. But while they each have their own inner turmoil marring them, the troubled teens may find themselves carrying targets on their backs and burdens of responsibility as they build upon their powers and skills to ward off the constant threat of bloodthirsty danger—both new and painfully familiar. Past, present, and future are barreling toward them all at once, whether they're ready or not. Just how far are they willing to go—and how far can Dakota actually go—for a turbulent world that doesn't want their kind around?

Content Guidance and Warnings:

This novel contains, explores, and references numerous sensitive themes and mature subjects, including: frequent fantasy violence; gun violence; strong language; graphic depictions of blood and gore; death; crude, mature, and morbid humor not suitable for younger audiences; drug and alcohol use; discrimination, hate speech, and fictional slurs; mental illness; self-harm; suicide; abuse, torture, and sadism; and unnerving imagery. Because of the potentially offensive, disturbing, or triggering content, reader discretion is heavily advised. Please read with care, and always do your best to stay safe and look after yourselves and those around you.

Dakota: Elemental Rebirth https://amzn.eu/d/a8CYOWc

#bookworm #books and reading #books #original book #free ebooks #kindle ebooks #good ebooks #ebooklovers #kindle #kindle fire #please read #action #comedy #Dakota elemental rebirth

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tmntkiseki · 5 months

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Oh yeah, today I finally finished the Ninja Tribunal Arc.

So, overall a lot of my thoughts are relatively the same as those cited on my main blog. It wasn't a bad season, but it definitely could have been better and the biggest problem is the magic/mysticism aspect, which is ironic because normally I absolutely love fantasy and magic. I mean video games like Odin Sphere, Ender Lilies, and the Rune Factory series are my bread and butter.

The problem, however, is that while TMNT 2003 wasn't lacking for magic elements in its setting IE the stuff that can't be explained by science, there wasn't as much emphasis on it up until this season. Suddenly, you have the god-like Ninja Tribunal, the turtles are tapping into their chi to execute inhuman moves with magical weapons, apparently New York is the center of a bunch of lay lines of mystic energy, and just a bunch of stuff that was never alluded to or mentioned in earlier seasons that make this season feel very out of place.

But overall I did enjoy it; the turtles turning into dragons was cool, even if it was a little ridiculous, seeing Master Splinter in peak "HAVE YOU SEEN MY SONS?" mode was a delight, and the Ancient One becoming something of a grandpa to the turtles was sweet. I really wish this had been the last season of the show because it ended on a perfect note and Fast Forward + Back to the Sewer just seem unnecessary (especially knowing the tonal shift to make them more kid-friendly.)

Anyway, here's a dumb doodle I did because trying to learn how to draw the 03 turtles is stressing me out like you wouldn't b e l i e v e (I know it's gonna take time to learn and I only started seriously studying the art a few days ago, but... YEAH.)

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2k3

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pomellon · 1 year

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Dusk’s Saurian Dragons: Elemental Magic

Okay this took me way too long but here some more dragon lore for my dragon aus! Same as the other post this is lore I basically use for ALL my dragon aus and ocs :D

Some stuff is tweaked a little bit between some aus and fandoms to fit canons, but this is the base info for elemental magic to easier direct people to for when I start posting about dragon aus.

Elemental Magic

Saurian dragons get their magic abilities shortly after they settle into their classes, usually when they're in their late teens or early twenties. When this happens the dragon’s eyes, as well as their flesh and blood, will slowly shift from their baby grey to their adult colour, which corresponds with their elemental magic.

There’s fourteen types of magic in the saurian world. The four most common ones are fire, earth, air, and water. Followed by the four uncommon ones of ice, lightning, light, and shadow. Then the rare ones of carnage, nature, arcane, and astral.

There’s also the two mystic elements, void and mind. These differ a bit from au to au, but void will often be a banish element that’s rare or no longer exists, while mind has gone extinct.

Gods and Claims

Each type of magic is represented by a god, ancient beings who came to life at the dawn of time and shaped worlds to home their many creations. They are particularly fond of dragons as they were created in their image, and it’s through the gods that dragons get their magic abilities.

The ancient ones watch over the dragons closely and if they find one who has similar values and world views as themselves they will claim that specific dragon as one of their “children”. It’s the claim that allows the dragon to use the same magic as their godly parent, and it’s because of this that dragons with the same element tend to have similar personality types.

A claim generally lasts for the dragon’s whole lifetime, but similar to classes a claim might change or fade should the dragon’s personality drastically alter. If a god notices one of their children changing their views and values they might hand them off to another god they think may be a better fit, or simply withdraw their claim. Getting a change in magic might slightly, or sometimes drastically, change the dragon's appearance as well.

Subclaims also exist, and can happen if a god decides to temporarily give an already claimed dragon the ability to use their magic as well. Sometimes this is done as a godly favour or if the god senses the dragon will be surrounded or tied to their element for a long period of time, therefore giving them their blessing. Subclaims can also be triggered by magic items, in which case the sub claim will last as long as the dragon uses or wears the item. Magic coming from magic items tends to be unpredictable and harder to control than natural magic.

If a dragon has a subclaim they will usually keep the magic colour of their original claim, but sometimes the colours of both magics might mix, or the colour of the sub claim might show in one of the dragon’s eyes.

Completely losing a claim is very rare and tends to only happen if a dragon has fallen into a deep despair, unable to feel anything but emptiness and sorrow, therefore becoming unnoticeable by the gods. Losing their magic can be very distressing, painful, and even fatal, since magic is meant to flow through their entire bodies. While some dragons may survive having no claim they will be very weak and frail.

Magic can be used in a couple of different ways, from controlling the elementals that naturally exist in the world, to summoning the elements by breath attacks, constructs, or even creating elemental creatures or familiars. Elements that are summoned are created by pure magic and will eventually fade, so a fire started by breath magic usually won’t spread very far and will die out fast. However if a dragon was to control naturally created fire it would behave and last just as long as fire normally would.

These are the elemental gods, as well as the basic personality traits and magic used by their children:

(Please note that a dragon’s personality traits don’t always have to fit in with the element they possess. Sometimes the gods will claim a dragon that’s different to its other children, either because they sense they will have a connection to their element or simply because. If you want to create your own character within this lore, or assign an element to fandom characters for aus, please do not feel forced to have them fit to a specific personality type. Similarly the magic colours shown are just a range of examples and does not have to be colour picked.)

Fire Spirit of Flames (she/they) Fire magic is linked to passion, loyalty and courage. Fire elementals tend to be flashy, whether it is through fashion, a loud way of speaking, or charming charisma. They have a way to grab others’ attention, like moths to a flame. They will at times be hot headed but quickly calm down where there’s nothing to fuel the fire.

Fire magic allows the wielder to raise temperatures and control heated elements like fire, metals, and lava. The wielder can heat the space around them or center it on a spot to set fire to or melt objects.

Fire magic will have the colour of bright oranges or red-oranges.

Earth Guard of Gems (she/they) Earth magic is linked to stability, practicality and consistency. Earth elements are gentle creatures of methodology and routine. They tend to be stubborn and set in their ways but because of this they often carry trades and knowledge from generations past. Some say that their past down knowledge might be as old as the earth itself.

Earth magic allows the wielder to shape and control different elements of earth, like rocks, gems, or metal. With a lot of practice and patience they can learn to summon earthquakes or reshape entire terrains.

Earth magic will have the colour of warm pinks, browns and or red-browns.

Air Messenger of Gales (he/they) Air magic is linked to freedom, adventure, and curiosity. Air elementals are always on the move, on a continuous path of exploring and finding enjoyment in the world. They’re free like the wind itself and won’t be tied down or take on commitments that will force them to stay in one place for any long periods of time.

Air magic allows the wielder to control wind and air. They mostly use this to control their flight and ability to travel, but can also deal devastating damage with powerful gusts and wind blasts. Some are even skilled enough to travel to places where others would find it hard to breathe.

Air magic will have the colour of cool pastel purples and blues.

Water Keeper of Tides (he/they) Water magic is linked to sensitivity, compassion, and empathy. Water elementals are open and friendly, often wearing their hearts on their sleeves. They easily read and relate to others’ emotions, like they read and prepare for the waves at sea, but at times they might struggle to fully understand their own feelings that hide in their depths.

Water magic allows the wielder to control liquids and humidity, making it possible for the user to be able to breathe and move quickly through bodies of water. While they can drag out liquid from the surrounding humidity they prefer to carry water with them when travelling. With a lot of practice a group of water elementals can even summon natural rain.

Water magic will have the colour of blues, dark blues, and blue-greens.

Ice Vagabond of Frosts (he/they) Ice magic is linked to solitude, visionary, and performance. Ice elementals often prefer solitude and can appear antisocial or detached. Because of this they will often pull on an act to fit in and tend to be quite good performers. They can be very resourceful with what little they have in the bare tundra and they’re good at planning ahead for harsher times.

Ice magic is similar to fire in the way that it allows the wielder to control temperatures, in this case lowering it. The wielder can freeze the area around them, grow ice spikes, and control objects that are frozen.

Ice magic will have the colour of pale blues, and grey-blues.

Lightning Ruler of Storms (she/they) Lightning magic is linked to energy, efficiency, and impulsivity. Lightning elementals are full of electric energy and tend to bounce from one project to the next, quick at completing and improving their tasks and skills. They don’t always think things through however, and many of them prefer trial and error over careful and detailed planning.

Lightning magic allows the wielder to summon lightning and control the flow of electricity. This magic, just like the ones wielding it, tend to be very unpredictable and impulsive. Energy blasts and waves of electricity are the most efficient direct attacks, but it takes a lot of practice and finest control. The magic can also be used to help build and control electronics and machinery.

Lightning magic will have the colour of bright blues and teals.

Light Knight of Suns (he/they) Light magic is linked to justice, truth, and hope. Light elementals are diplomatic and often prefer to settle disputes with words but are not afraid to take action in the face of injustice. They like to share their skills and knowledge and are enlightened within many topics, but at times see things in black and white and have a hard time accepting anything in between.

Light magic allows the wielder to summon and control light. This can be as simple as to create spheres of light to brighten an area but can also be used to create powerful light beam shards. With a lot of knowledge some wielder might even be able to travel through light in a kind of teleportation.

Light magic will have the colour of pale and bright yellows, and orange-yellows.

Shadow Rogue of Veils (she/they) Shadow magic is linked to trickery, deception, and secrets. Shadow elementals love the unknown, they like to figure things out and gather knowledge, very similar to light elementals except they like to keep their information for themselves in the dark. For a good price they might give up a secret, but they’re just as likely to return it with trickery.

Shadow magic allows the wielder to summon and control shadows and darkness. This can be used to create complete pitch darkness to blind enemies, or to make shadows tangible and dangerous. With a lot of skill some wielder might even be able to travel through shadows in a kind of teleportation.

Shadow magic will have the colour of cool, bright, and dark purples.

Carnage Maid of Bones (she/they) Carnage magic is heavily linked to destruction, death, and decay. Pure carnage elementals are rare and most of them are only subclaimed. They’re driven by a personal purpose or objective which often leads to violence and death, but they’re not necessarily aggressive by nature. All things must come to an end eventually and they’re simply here to ensure the circle of life and death continues.

Carnage magic allows the wielder to control blood and decay. Wounds caused by carnage elementals and magic fester and refuse to heal and wielders can shape and control spilled blood. The magic also gives them the ability to survive and slowly heal from wounds that would have killed other elementals. With a lot of skill carnage magic seems to be able to reverse and heal wounds instead of causing them.

Carnage magic will have the colour of bright and dark reds.

Nature Healer of Meadows (he/they) Nature magic is linked to creation, life, and growth. Nature elementals are gentle but blunt. They’re very aware of the laws of nature itself and while they hold the ability to heal and grow they usually aren’t bothered by death since that’s simply part of life. They tend to be nurturing and will often care for their own kind, plants, or animals, and help them grow to find their place in the world.

Nature magic allows the wielder to control plant life and encourage growth. They can heal wounds and illnesses, as well as control plant life to make them grow and move according to their wishes. Their magic can also summon momentary mutations and growth spurts for creatures, giving them a strong power boost. However with excessive use nature magic can go too far, encouraging decay past the growth.

Nature magic will have the colour of cool greens.

Arcane Sage of Mystics (he/they) Arcane magic is linked to knowledge, science, and intuition. Arcane elementals are all about knowledge and facts. They’re the types to pick things apart and put them together again to figure out how they work. They’re intelligent and driven to understand the world and magic itself, but will at times ignore morals and judgements to get what they want.

Arcane magic allows the wielder to control magic itself. The magic takes a lot of practice and skill to handle, and can be self destructive, but if successfully used it can redirect, control, and absorb summoned magic by other dragons and creatures. On a large scale arcane elementals can unleash devastating powers by magic blasts and constructs. On a smaller scale they can also change or stop the flow of other creatures' magic, influencing their ability to move and function. With a lot of practice and observation arcane elementals can even mimic the magic of other elementals.

Arcane magic will have the colour of warm, bright, and dark purples.

Astral Judge of Stars (she/they) Astral magic is linked to space, patience, and impartiality. Astral elementals are the master of patience, they take things as they come and go with the flow. They tend to be agreeable but at the same time aloof. While they might act friendly they very rarely get attached to anything, but because of that they’re able to remain unbiased and judge things fairly.

Astral magic allows the wielder to control space and gravity. They can make creatures or objects heavier or lighter, as well as shrink or enlarge them. They’re able to alter the space around them to move things around by using their magic. Astral elementals are also able to see things other elementals can’t, like visions of the past and future, or even other realities. In very rare cases some astral wielders even have the ability to control time.

Astral magic will have the colour of warm and bright greens.

Mind Wielder of Minds (they/them) Mind magic is linked to sentience, thoughts, and emotions. Mind elementals are intelligent, and could easily be mind readers even without their powers. They can predict someone’s next moves or quickly figure out their motives or wants by sensing their emotions. This tends to make them likeable, but also confusing for others as they will often act in ways their companions will enjoy, meaning they act very differently around different companions. They have several different masks for different occasions but they very rarely show their true face.

Mind magic allows the wielder to control minds. It can be simple things like little tricks or illusions, slightly changing someone’s mind or feelings about something. But it can also be complete control of the mind and having others spell bound under their magic, erasing memories and emotions, creating visions so real they hurt. In some very rare cases mind elementals can even grant sentience and intelligence to other creatures or even objects.

Mind magic will have the colour of pure white but can be any colour as part of its ability to create illusions.

Void Stalker of Voids (they/it) Void magic is linked to discourse, chaos, and the unknown. Void elementals are nothing and everything all at once. Unlike the other elementals, voids are almost always controlled by their godly parent and are little more than puppets on strings for the Stalker to do with as they please. While oftentimes emotionless they will randomly have bursts of a chaotic mix of emotions that often makes them violent and unpredictable.

Void magic is nothing and everything. The magic itself often appears as black sludge or webs but can take the appearance and ability of any magic, most commonly of the magic that has recently been absorbed or devoured by the void elemental. Void elementals are however more likely to use physical attacks over magical ones, only using the black sludge on and around them to trap prey and victims.

Void magic will have the colour of pure black but can be any colour as part of its chaotic nature and ability to absorb other magic.

MAGIC IN THE SAURIAN WORLD

Magic in itself can be quite volatile and unpredictable and it exists everywhere within this world. Fauna and flora will usually have the same elemental magic as dragons even though they aren’t always able to display or use it. Instead the magic flows within their bodies, which is an incredibly important food source for the dragons.

To live a healthy life and to be able to use their magic abilities dragons need to consume magic. Preferably of the same kind as their claim, but at times closely related magic sources will do too, for example water and ice. In a pinch a completely different magic will do as well, for example light and shadow, but it will slowly poison the dragon if it’s a diet followed for a long period of time.

If a dragon goes without magic for a long period or time, or their food source doesn't contain much magic, they will slowly lose their magic abilities. Oftentimes their eye, flesh, and blood colour will grow pale, and gain back a slightly grey hue similar to their baby colour. This is a condition mostly referred to as Dull Eyes and will also happen to dragons who have lost their magic claim.

Most areas in this world will have a mix of elemental magic fauna and flora, while others are heavily influenced by one specific magic type, these are often referred to as Domains. Dragons can live in any area of the world, but similar to their diet some dragons of certain elements might grow weak in some domains. A light dragon might grow sickly spending too much time in a shadow domain, while a water dragon might not be able to use much of their magic in a fire one. On the other hand, a dragon with the same magic as the domain they're in can continuously draw magic from their surroundings, making them strong and powerful. Dragons of a similar element might even find their claim shift to that of the domains, sometimes temporarily and other times permanently.

There have been flights who have attempted to settle down in domains, but these areas tend to move, shift, and sometimes completely vanish, so it’s never been done successfully.

#pom talks #utmv dragon au #saurian dragon lore #dtk+ dragon au

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gazetotheabyss · 2 months

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Disconnected

I am far too young to face this sort of miserable agonizing pain. I am but the ripe age in my life of 30, but the pain does not seem to give me the same sort of regard for age to relieve me of my misery. It came upon me one day of my scholarly adventures I was instructed by the supervisor for my place of employment that we were commissioned to restore a book for an odd fellow.

He was not of our fair city, I was told. Which was oftentimes my superior’s peculiar way of saying that he was more than a little strange. Dressed head to toe in dark clothing, he hid his face from view to the point that he had been under the suspicion we were being robbed by some wandering vagrant.

But he weaved his tale, speaking with what was “quite obviously” a foreigner's candor. Take heed that these are not my words.

Venturing not much further from the story at hand, I settled myself in for my night ahead repairing and restoring texts to their former glory. As the stranger had paid quite handsomely an advance, I was told to prioritize his book. To put it mildly the book was quite the horrible sight. Shredded to all manner of hells, it appeared far older than any other bound book I had the pleasure of setting my eyes upon.

The pages were an ill colored tan, and positively ancient. They held a texture more akin to that of leather, but still held their blistering dark ink without even a glimmer of fading from their surface. Curiosity set the better of my mind as I turned through the pages. Examining with gluttonous interest every facet of the grand stories within. They were all manner of fantastic and yet now as I record my own story I cannot remember the specific details of what I beheld. But I do recall having difficulty deciding whether or not this were a personal recollection of past years of life, a generational tome recording family histories, or a work of utter fiction.

The stories were positively unhinged, talks of covenants with old gods, and magic that could not possibly be real. Tales of risen dead and wild lands of otherworldly unlife. There were passages and mysteries abound in this so old a tome, so curious was my inquisitive mind that I could not help but scan them so intently with my voracious gaze. I did not feel it related to my pain until but the last hour. I, beguiled by the mystic unknown this book conjured, I dared read half passages aloud, one such one I did not garner to fully grace my tongue until the piercing headache shattered my focus.

So intense has the pain become that I feel I am unable to truly see clearly or focus on any sort of task more than a few moments until it becomes too unbearable. Somehow, I had managed to complete the restoration of the odd binding, but never was I permitted to see the customer in question except for a brief moment when I spotted him through the shapes viewport from my workspace. Almost did I bring myself to rush to meet him. My mind was a flutter with questions as it was that agonizing white hot spear of pain that pierced its way from one end of skull to the next. But the odd nature of his appearance did give me pause. I could not describe his appearance beyond odd. Dark flowing cloaks and leathers, black as pitch and shielding him from the elements. Some sort of odd beaked trappings covering his face.

I had stood there for only a second witnessing his presence, when in a flash, as suddenly as he had appeared-- he was gone. His exit punctuated with the loud raucous bell above our door, and the accompanying slam that could not be helped by our weather worn entrance. I had barely been able to set myself aside from the miserable pain long enough to look up from my projects, let alone pursue with all of my anxious questions in mind. Over the course of the evening that miserable feeling had only begun to escalate as well, by time of the strangers return for his property it had gone from hot metal piercing the soft flesh of my temple, to the dull throbbing ache of some horrible things wriggling themselves about in my poor miserable brain.

It is difficult a feeling to put to words, it is almost impossible to describe in a way that the average man could quite understand. Like all host of slithering creatures, like worms, burrowing around the synapses of my mind like the muddied earth they swam through on a daily basis. The rest of the night was a blur, moving from one point of existence to the next as if swathed in some ephemeral trance. The memories of which were entirely transient an existence, as temporary and fleeting as one might expect while pain is so readily the focus. I remember visiting the church on the way home, in hopes that Father Erickson may have some sage words of advice, or something medicinal he would be willing to impart to deal with this new affliction of mine.

Whatever advice I received offered no respite, only frustration, I remember that much. Whatever medicinal herbs I was given have long been used en masse in an attempt and hope that if I overloaded myself with their potency, it would push out this miserable pain. Yet, by some stretch it felt the opposite was true.

By the breaking of the morning sun, I had slept so little—Time passed in a blink, but I remembered nothing—Could think of so little else but the miserable pain that only developed. When the light had cursed my eyes, every grey lobe of my brain felt like it had some sentience of its own. Wriggling, writhing, demanding escape from the confines of my skull’s prison it had been trapped in. Truly by now my sympathies would be with my neighbors were it not my suffering that inspired those anguished screams of agonizing existence.

As I could muster little strength for any else but clenching my skull in bed, and retching with pain, I had missed what should have been the start of my workday. My employer promptly showed his way to my door and let himself in when he’d heard my screaming. I was accosted with all manner of questions. None of which I remember, nor do I recall if I’d even properly responded to them. What I do recall is him dragging me with great indignance to the hospital. With all hopes that some help from someone other than those ascribed by the church would be any more helpful.

I sat waiting patiently for hours while it felt like my entire skull was unraveling at baser levels. That if I were to look in the mirror I would have been, through some strange alchemical process, reduced to the various scientific ingredients that compose the human body. The sweat of my brow had become so profuse, I had lived in silent fear those moments that I may drown. When finally, the doctor saw me, my relief was far from immediate. He examined me for what felt like hours. So long had he stared into every orifice of my miserable head that I feared he would simply produce his fleams and decide to perform a bloodletting.

To my great fortune I am blessed that no such torture befell me in that way, in continued suffering’s place, I am given medicine and a word of advice. I am told to take them every hour or so, and to return in a few days to see if I am feeling any better. While my employer tells me that we will pause our current restoration commissions until I am in a more suitable state. Upon first taking the drug, I already wrote it off as another banal attempt at tricking my psyche. Placebo to make, what is surely in the minds of a doctor, my mental condition assuage and for me to return to normal. Though, I must admit, upon the second day of taking it, things did begin to improve.

Though, I am entirely uncertain as to whether it is the medicines doing, time slowly aiding in my recovery, or the unfortunate truth of me becoming used to the agony.

With great displeasure on that second night, when my defenses were lowered by renewed faith in the scientific method, I was plagued by nightmares. All manner of unspeakable horrors wandering through what is the usual monotony of my average night’s rest. Familiar landscapes are twisted and strung along at unsavory angles that make so little sense to the eye. It is an odd and harrowing vision that plagued me, every entrance to every home upon the cobbled streets of my neighborhood seem to open at once. White ethereal light cascades from within, not the holy light of the divine or holy as we know it—Something far from it. It is less the comforting of creation and more the accursed opposite, entropy given form as chaotic light to touch my mind in such unsavory a way. To promise salvation and in its place only give perdition.

From the doors, all unevenly rowed along the length of the street that wound and curled upon itself into infinity beyond what my eye could perceive, came writhing horrific masses of flesh that I can only scantly describe. They are a work of horror, the sort my paranoid mind could only imagine as the beings writhing about in my rattled skull caressing and manipulating the lobes of my addled brain to their whims content. They move on their long foreboding tendrils, each horrific limb made of some terrible conglomerate of sentient worms folding mass in on itself as they crawled from the light of entropy. As they encircle me in their infinite colonies my only solace and reprieve is the morning call of the sun’s brilliant rays shining into my eyes to signal it is time I awoke.

My only proper sleep in the couple of days since my journey of misery began, and it is cursed by the confounding image of these creatures.

But I am free. Not from my misery but from the visions of horror and nightmares that had assailed my already fragile sanity. When I awaken relief for my mental state is palpable but worse yet my body feels sluggish. Every movement is labored, the simple act of lifting my thin sickly arm is like trudging through the full pressure of the ocean’s depths. Along the course of the night, perhaps I had done little actual resting—Rather fighting tooth and nail with every fiber of my mental being.

I am but a prisoner in this slug’s vessel of a body. Merely sitting up feels as though it has taken me hours of daylight, and that is before I have even thrown the covers from my body. Of little surprise is how I quickly give the fight up, letting myself collapse back against the comforting cotton sheets. Staring with sunken miserable eyes up to the ceiling of my bedroom. Further there is no movement from me the rest of the day. I let myself succumb to the want to be unconscious. My mind was still a throb with nothing but horrible pain, my body wanting nothing more than to shut itself down.

Sleep, I had feared, even through these visions of aberrant torment, was my only escape from the waking life that caused me more suffering than that which could be given by the throws of my imagination. My only solace through these new days of fighting my body through gelatinous waste was that when I slumbered, no matter how darkly the void may touch my mind, I would be at rest.

The more I gave in, the less combative my dreams became. At least in ways I could scantly remember. So too do the headaches leave the less I fight. Taking that as a sign, I give in fully to the want of my brain, for my body to just rest. Surely, I thought, if my body wanted nothing more than to be at rest and continuing this agonizing fight to stay active had done nothing more than exacerbate my condition, then perhaps this was the best course of action.

Sending word with the last mustered strength of my body to my employer, I let him know that I needed a full week’s sabbatical. Not bothering to wait for the letter in response, I adjourned back to bed. Knowing my misery would once more be as at rest as my mind. But as my weary mind drifted off there was not even a single vision of horrible creature or twisted landscape. Simply... Nothing.

It would be incorrect to say I envisioned myself drifting through the empty blackness of the void, for that would be giving myself a sense of self in this nothing. There was simply no thought, no memory. I was at rest, and then I was not. No stirring, no moving. Though I could feel myself withering, though the hunger had begun to consume me when I woke again, I could not bring myself to leave the bed. All I’d had energy enough for was to sail adrift to my ardent slumber once again, only to once more be greeted by the absent entropy that had consumed me the night previous.

This final morning when I found myself awake, the final disconnect had yet to have fully occurred to me. I stared absently at the ceiling for moments too long to be considered normal before it had occurred to me that I had not blinked for the duration of my hour set there beneath the welcoming warmth of my homely sheets. Trying to force such an action led to just as troubling a realization.

We come to now.

I have spent to this point, my entire week’s time of rest in this bed. Four of them had been of proper rest, but the last meandering three have been as a prisoner locked in my flesh. Without fail the sluggish pace of my body has elevated into a full blown rigor mortis. I am cold, stiff. More still I have lost full agency of my waking body. Attempts to bend the tips of my fingers have resulted in little to no movement. Not even a twitch mustered in salvation for me to crawl from this bed. But the passage of time has become the more grueling aspect. After the second day I had hoped if I merely tried to will myself to sleep I would either awaken or finally be consumed by the relief of death.

Not even Morpheus can pull me away from this living nightmare, just as readily as Thanatos cannot bring me to any sort of afterlife. My soul is so terribly locked away in my ever rotting corpse. My only senses to be active are my eyes perceiving the world around me, my ears to hear the horse drawn carriages clacking their hooves and iron clad wheels across the cobbled street, and the increasingly acrid stench of my body consuming itself slowly.

As the days progressed, and I remain there forced to stare lifelessly at the ceiling above, I can practically hear my own flesh start to slough itself in rotting chunks from my body. The stench was as horrendous as the sight of me must have been. It took merely a few more days of this Hell before I had fully lost track of time in totality. What must have been an eternity of suffering there stagnant in my body’s own filth eventually came to an end so to speak when my dearest friend came to check on me finally. After what had been far longer than the week’s sabbatical I had assured.

His disbelief was heart wrenching, the guttural sounds of his sobs of anguish were all the more vile when I could not tear myself from this prison to comfort him. To assure him I was alive! So desperately I wanted to jump from myself to give him the sort of escape from his pain, as he had clearly desired. Yet in spite of what the mind had wanted, I felt entirely disconnected. All I could truly muster the strength to do was bring the memories of that horrendous scripture back to the forefront of my mind. Symbols and glyphs I haven’t even the words to describe. Ancient tongues and stories long forgotten by the world no longer touched by the void.

Was this what happened when all things died, or was this because of that terrible book?

Oh, how I wish that the mortician would have done me the service of closing my eyes as he treated my corpse. More haunting than the sounds of my brother in life’s cries of overwhelming grief was the sound of my own body being poked and prodded like some terrible thing of experimentation and intrigue, robbed of all autonomy. Through it all I could do nothing, not even move my eyes as I was at the mercy of this man and his instruments. Drained of all my fluids and prepared for the casket. I had expected a funeral, but none came.

Just the box.

Dark as it was.

So much harder to count the hours of suffering when there was not even the touch of the sun’s light to give you any sort of experience of time. All I can relate to myself is that I was there longer than a day, and perhaps shorter than a century before I felt the clawing of hardened steel against dirt above me. Which too, seemed to drag on for an eternity.

I am not entirely sure what I had expected of such a liberator of corpses as the one who tore open the wooden box, but I had hardly expected the odd lanky creature that had greeted me. An odd sort of innocence took his voice, but it was betrayed by his thin skeletal frame, and the beaked mask of doctors of old that adorned his face. In spite of his garish appearance, he spoke in polite well-mannered English. The sort of brogue of a man living in The Vosges speaking English as fluently as a native. As surprising as that was, what was more of an oddity how he had no care for my body’s stability. Doing little more than cutting my skull from my neck and lifting my head.

But... Wait...

This was him!

This was the odd owner of the book. Though I had never met with him directly I recognized him from the vague description of his appearance given to me by my employer. Three or four full heads taller than the average man, thin as a rail—As if he could slip through the gaps in a door, and odd out of time attire that seemed no less as genuine as his money.

This man, who now held my decapitated head betwixt his fingers, was the one who had come to rebind that infernal book. Had this been his goal all along? To take me as some sort of distasteful trophy of conquest over the flesh he had so thoroughly blasphemed?

“Oh fear not dearest, Theodore—Todd I shall thusly name you—Free are you now of the prison of life’s embrace!” If, truly, I had been his intended target then why did he refer to me by a name other than my own? “Fear not, dear fellow! Worry no longer! For I am ever the friend to your begrudged sort, the kind that have been betrayed by life. Nermal Fitzroy, do well to remember the name, as we are to be friends now until the sun shines no longer.”

A jester, almost, as he danced among the dirt. Giddy to have taken my head for himself. With the gentlest tap of what appeared to be a cane against my rotting nose I could feel some sort of life fill itself into my desecrated skull.

“Are you ready for an adventure, my boy?”

No! I wanted to shout! Begone from my final resting place you damnable devil! But instead, what came from my withered jaw was nothing more than a wild scream.

“Wonderful! Together we shall see the world!”

#creepypasta #horror story #creative writing #horror #horror fiction #short story

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