#real folklore type trolls

[justgottafinishthischapter]

The Subcategories of Fantasy

As an author who loves Fantasy, I wanted to help my fellow writers understand all of the different elements that fantasy can fall under, ranging from the well-known to the specific. I figured that doing so could help other writers like myself understand exactly what sort of story they’re writing, and how these stories differ from one another. I’ll also be giving examples of these types of stories, as well as my own thoughts on the different genres at the end.

What is Fantasy?

Fantasy in its simplest term, is any form of media that diverges from the mundane reality of our ordinary everyday world in one facet or another. A story does not need to have magic, or dragons, or princesses to be called a fantasy story. While those are common motifs, in truth, all it takes to be considered fantasy is to not adhere to the real world in one form or another. Good Omens is a fantasy story, despite having no dragons or princesses anywhere. A Song of Ice and Fire has dragons and princesses, but magic is scarce and seldom ever seen. The Song of the Sea has a lot of magic, but a lot fewer dragons.

MEDIEVAL FANTASY

 The story takes place in a fantastical world of the author’s design with a medieval or renaissance inspired setting, world view, and/or political structure. Renaissance Fantasy doesn’t really tend to exist on its own, so any setting with Renaissance aspects tends to just get lumped in with Medieval Fantasy. I don’t even really need to explain this one to you. It’s the most common subgenre of fantasy. A medieval fantasy does not have to be set in the real medieval period of Earth’s history, but rather, a medieval fantasy is any story set in a fantastical world that makes use of a medieval-based society as its setting.

HISTORICAL FANTASY 

This is a story in which fantastical elements are included in real world historical settings. This is any historical setting where there’s a King of England but also a dragon or trolls to deal with. There’s almost this sort of unspoken rule that any story set in Ancient Greece will inevitably be Historical Fantasy. Arthurian Fantasy, Mythology Fantasy, and Fable Fantasy could all be considered subcategories of Historical Fantasy, since most instances of these genres would be classified as Historical Fantasy, though there are exceptions. As an example, Once Upon a Time and the Fables comics series are both Fable Fantasies, but are not Historical Fantasy. Likewise, Rick Riordian’s Percy Jackson-verse is clearly Mythology Fantasy, but is not Historical Fantasy. Classic examples of Historical Fantasy would include tales like Beowulf, The Journey to the West, and Robin Hood. It’s worth mentioning that technically, a story is not Historical Fantasy if it’s set in the era it was written in. However, the Illiad was set in Mycenaean Greece, Robin Hood’s rivalry with Prince John was a later addition to the folklore, and most Arthurian mythos was penned long after the supposed real world figure might have lived and died. But, any story set in a contemporary modernity, such as Percy Jackson, will eventually become Historical Fiction as time moves forward, though it clearly was not written to be that way.

MYTHOLOGY FANTASY

Angels, Demons, Gods, the Underworld, mythological heroes, this is a supercategory that encompasses everything from The Chronicles of Narnia to Supernatural, as well as Good Omens, American Gods, Sandman, Rise of the Guardians, Percy Jackson, Paradise Lost, Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, Smite: Battleground of the Gods, Teen Titans, Dante’s Inferno, and Lore Olympus. Some people get squeemish about lumping Judeo-Christian ideologies in with Mythology (even though it is a mythology) such that the Christian sub-category sometimes gets called Religious Fantasy or Bible Fantasy. But regardless, this is the category for any sort of fantastical work in which supernatural forces are at work. Some divide this section differently. For instance, some will say that since faeries are part of Irish mythology that faeries count as part of mythology fantasy, while others will argue that this is more for the religious aspect of fantasy, with things like vampires and faeries relegated to a subcategory of more generic fantasy creatures.

ARTHURIAN FANTASY

The story revolves around Arthurian mythos. Whether it’s set in the real world of Britain, a fantasy counterpart to Britain, or in some author-created setting, King Arthur is still King Arthur. Sometimes, though very rarely, Arthurian stories have little to no magic, fusing this subgenre with Historical Fiction and not Historical Fantasy. While Arthurian mythos has evolved over the years, the big players are practically household names. Most people are unfamiliar with Sir Galehaut and Sir Dinadin, but almost everyone recognizes Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and all the other big players in Arthurian folklore. However, Arthurian myth effectively spans the entire breadth of the Medieval Period, first being mentioned in the Annaels Cambriae which places Arthur in 6th Century Britain, and his stories continued to be written until Le Mort d’Arthur in 1485. Keep in mind, the Medieval Period is from 476 - 1500, and Arthurian mythos spans about 800-900 of those 1,024 years. Due to his story spanning so much time, many elements of Arthur’s story have been forgotten or quietly put aside over time. Try to tell someone that Arthur put every newborn born in the month of may on a boat and sank it to prevent the prophecy of Mordred from coming true, and you’ll probably get a bunch of horrified looks from people who swear up and down that the Good King Arthur would never do anything so cruel. Even other elements shifted around. Ask who mordred’s parents are, and you could argue Arthur, Morgan le Fey, Morgause, Anna, King Lot, and more. Depending on how deep down the rabbit hole you’re willing to go, you can read stories of King Arthur fighting his nephew Oberon for control of Fairyland. Arthurian mythos, like mythology fantasy, tends to get the curbside drive-by approach. People repeat the elements they’ve heard a million times, while never dusting off any of the lesser known elements that would give the story a breath of fresh air.

FABLE FANTASY

Technically, all Arthurian Fantasy falls under this umbrella. Fable Fantasy is the genre term for fantasy based on fables, folk tales, and folkloric figures. Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Fairy Tales, Mother Goose, Baba Yaga, if it has persisted through generations of storytelling, and has had a lasting impact on the cultures that know the story, it can be considered a Fable Fantasy. Any story that pulls from these elements can likewise be considered Fable Fantasy because they are pulling from these fabled origins. So, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast is a Fable Fantasy... unless the storytelling has twisted the story so much that it’s no longer in the Fantasy genre. For more variations of this genre, well-known pop culture characters, much like Robin Hood and Fairytale characters, can be considered Fable Fantasy. So, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, Santa Claus, the Grim Reaper, Peter Pan, the Phantom of the Opera, the Wizard of Oz, and other commonly retold folk characters can be thought of as more contemporary Fable fantasies. As such, both Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera can be considered Fable Fantasy musicals, as well as the more obvious Into the Woods. Once Upon a Time and the Fable comic series are both modern Fable Fantasy stories. Not all Fable Fantasy narratives are retellings of classic folktales. Peter Rabbit, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz have all become widely considered folkloric staples, despite being written in the 19th and 20th centuries. Over the Garden Wall, a Cartoon Network miniseries from 2014, is considered to be a modern fairy tale, despite not being an adaptation of any other story, but instead using the tropes and ideas common to traditional old-school fairy tales. When they enter the public domain, I suspect that Dr. Seuss’ characters will likewise be effectively Fable Fantasy, well-known characters that see use and reuse over and over again in other media. Shrek and Disenchantment take a satirical approach to Fable Fantasy, poking fun of Disney and other fairytale narratives and tropes. 

HISTORICAL ROMANTICISM

This setting often goes hand-in-hand with Arthurian Fantasy and Fairy Tales. This is any story that romanticizes and glorifies life in a historical setting. Popular variants include Medieval Romanticism, stories which romanticize medieval settings, Victorian Romanticism or Edwardian Romanticism, for stories that romanticize the time period between 1837-1913, and Period Romanticism, which is more of a blanket term that glorifies the eras popular with Period movies, namely, the 19th century, but sometimes earlier as well. Full of handsome princes, fair damsels, large palace-like castles, and knightly codes of honor, historically inaccurrate period gowns, debutante balls, and steamy Jane Austen-style love affairs, this story paints the past with the most optimistic and flattering image possible. Everything is flowery, poetic, and awe-inspiring. This is the type of setting Sansa Stark thought she was in at the start of A Game of Thrones before G.R.R Martin pulled the rug out from under her and revealed Westeros to be a Cynical Low Fantasy. By the very virtue of the company’s child-friendly marketing, Most Disney movies, and by extension, most movies set in the past aimed at children can likewise be categorized as Historical Romanticism, as they brush the darker side of history under the rug. The Princess Bride, Bridgerton, Don Bluth’s Anastasia, and most versions of Robin Hood and Arthurian mythos fall into this category. For contrast, Downton Abbey is not Edwardian Romanticism even though it tries to make life in the 1910s look glamorous, it’s also not afraid to blatantly point out the economic and socio-political issues that were going in in the world at the time. Downton Abbey does not sugar coat the darker side of history, and can therefore not be considered Historical Romanticism.

HISTORICAL CYNICISM

The exact opposite, Historical Cynicism is the name I give to settings that use the trope “The Dung Ages”. Like Historical Romanticism, the most popular variant of this category is Medieval Cynicism. These settings seek to make life in historical time periods look as miserable and depressing as possible. They are designed to make life seem bleak, undesirable, and disgusting. Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Disenchantment take a comedic approach to this, while A Song of Ice and Fire gives a more Epic Fantasy take. Sweeney Todd makes life in Victorian London look positively putrid, and that’s without the cannibalism subplot. The Witcher games seem to merge Medieval Cynicism with Dark Fantasy and Horror Fantasy. This subgenre hinges on Dark Fantasy, but the two are distinct from one another. Expect plenty of plagues, muted color pallets, a cruel aristocracy that enjoys crushing the lower classes under its heel, and mud or dung on everything.

HIGH FANTASY

 Magic and fantastical elements are abound in this setting. Expect wizards, dragons, fantastical races, and more. Very frequently overlaps with Epic Fantasy, though they are different. The Lord of the Rings is classic High Fantasy. Most Dungeons & Dragons settings are also High Fantasy, as is The Legend of Zelda. Avatar: the Last Airbender is a High Fantasy Wuxia show, though Legend of Korra veers more toward Historical Fantasy, Steampunk, and Magitech Fantasy with its 1920s Shanghai meets New York City hub location of Republic City. The Elder Scrolls is also a High Fantasy, with plenty of elven races, the Beast Races, and star signs that actually impact those born under them. Each province has its own sort of vibe or subgenre, with High Rock being more Medieval Romanticism while Skyrim is more Dark Fantasy or Medieval Cynicism, but as a whole, Tamriel falls under the High Fantasy umbrella.

LOW FANTASY 

A medieval setting where magic and fantastical elements are rare, if not nonexistent. A Song of Ice and Fire is an excellent example. Magic is real and does exist, but it only rarely comes into play. Magic is extremely scarce, and most people one might meet are humans. Even the sight of someone casting the simplest spell is so rare in Westeros that it’s practically unheard of, and the few supernatural elements that do exist in the setting live far out into the wilderness, rarely being seen by people. It’s quite rare to find completely fictional fantasy settings with no magic whatsoever, but they do exist.

EPIC FANTASY 

This is any fantasy story on an epic scale. I’m talking well over 50+ named characters. A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time, Lord of the Rings, all of these are Epic Fantasy. Yes, these stories usually end up with long book series and a lot of words behind them, but I am defining a genre, not a reading level. Epic Fantasy is about scope, not page length. Common sights in Epic Fantasy are grand battles, multiple POVs, world-spanning events, extremely high stakes, very powerful players in the narrative, and The Final Battle Between Good and Evil.

QUEST FANTASY

Any fantasy work which is primarily driven by The Epic Quest. Often overlaps with Chosen One narratives. Lord of the Rings, Eragon, The Legend of Zelda, Avatar: the Last Airbender, and the Percy Jackson books are all examples of Quest Fantasy. The bulk of the narrative is centered on The Journey and the trouble the heroes run into along the way, or are otherwise all about The Adventure, not the destination. Our band of heroes have a goal given to them and the story is focused on following the heroes on their journey. However, this is not strictly a Chosen One category. The Legend of Korra is a Chosen One Fantasy, but is not a Quest Fantasy because Korra’s main objective changes every season. Percy Jackson toes the line due to the Oracle’s prophecies, but I wouldn’t call him a Chosen One because his birth wasn’t written in the stars or anything. He just happens to be a child of Poseidon and at the center of the story. If you switched him out for Nico di Angelo or Jason Grace, the story is still functional. In Lord of the Rings, Aragorn is the True King, but Frodo is the protagonist, so I wouldn’t call Lord of the Rings a Chosen One Fantasy either. This can also tip into other genres. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a Quest Fantasy. The entire premise of the movie is Arthur and his knights questing for the Holy Grail. Likewise, The Princess Bride is all about Wesley’s quest to rescue Princess Buttercup from Prince Humperdink. Treasure Planet is a steampunk quest fantasy telling the story of Jim’s search for Flint’s treasure, where the journey there is the bulk of the story. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is a quest fantasy with elements of Historical Fantasy and Mythology Fantasy all about Sinbad’s perilous voyage to the edge of the world to save his friend’s life.

DARK FANTASY

It’s like normal Fantasy, but bleaker and darker. The Witcher and Skyrim are good examples of Dark Fantasy, where monsters roam the wilderness, and people live in fear of the unknown beyond the safety of their villages. The general tone is more cynical, desolate, or hopeless. Some Dark Fantasy is more about just being gloomy or creepy. The movies Labyrinth and Dark Crystal are two good examples of a Dark Fantasy that’s less bleak as they are weird, yet still dark. The Black Cauldron is a perfect example of a Dark Fantasy with a dreary and macabre aesthetic paired with a genuinely horrifying necromancer villain. Pan’s Labyrinth is another good example of a Dark Fantasy. Over the Garden Wall and A Tale so Dark and Grimm are both Dark Fantasy stories as well as Fable Fantasies, reveling in the darker aspects of Grimm fairy tales.

HORROR FANTASY

It’s like Dark Fantasy, but scarier. Expect there to be horrifying monsters unlike any seen on earth. Your protagonist is probably either hunting or being hunted by something horrible. Either a monster is trying to kill them, the world is trying to kill them, the gods or demons are trying to kill them, or magic is trying to kill them. Again, The Witcher is a great example of Horror Fantasy. Geralt is a hunter of monsters, and often fights things like Werewolves, ghouls, wraiths, and lesheys. Red Riding Hood (2011) is a great example of a vaguely medieval Horror Fantasy. Depending on where you stop the line at what’s horror, what’s fantasy, and what’s Horror Fantasy, you could justify just about anything as Horror Fantasy. From The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with its undead Draugr and vampire clans, to Resident Evil VII with its vampires, or even certain Scooby-Doo! media (though Scooby-Doo! is certainly on the mild end of horror.)

PARANORMAL FANTASY

Unlike Dark Fantasy or Horror Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy takes horror elements and spins them to be more romantic. This is where you’d slot in romantic or atmospheric ghost stories. Tales of witches and vampires in a macabre setting where they’re not the villains. The Addams Family fits the Paranormal Fantasy, as does Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, The Phantom of the Opera, Hotel Transylvania, most Scooby-Doo! media, Beetlejuice, the Halloweentown movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or Hocus Pocus. Basically, if it could be a child-friendly Halloween story, or was made by Tim Burton, it’s probably Gothic Fantasy. I guess you could also call this Monster Fantasy, Gothic Fantasy, or Spooky Fantasy.

CONTMPORARY FANTASY

The setting is medieval with castles and princesses, but there’ll also be modern conveniences or nods to pop culture in the land and setting. Dave the Barbarian is a good example of this. The royal family are all barbarians (which basically just means vague warriors that wear fur loincloths), but then they also have malls, and Dave made a megaphone out of a squirrel, some string, and a megaphone. Shrek does this too, especially in Far Far Away with nods to Starbucks and Burger King, among other modern franchises. Disenchantment also uses this as a basis for comedy. Typically, Contemporary Fantasy only uses modern conveniences in a medieval setting as more or less sight gags, punchlines, or to poke fun of corporations and consumerism. These are also the fantasy stories most likely to reexamine tropes and shine a critical light on the genre, whether by showing the farm-boy turned king being royally inept, the mental issues caused by locking the princess in a tower for years of her life, or how quickly princesses married the first man that came along without so much as a conversation beforehand.

URBAN FANTASY

The wizard has a smartphone, the prince has a Grindr, and the city watch patrol the streets on motorcycles. A standard fantasy world has come to the modern age, with skyscrapers, internet, cars, and cellphones. The familiar world gives the audience a firmer foot to ground themselves in this sort of story, compared to something set in the past, but it has its own hurdles. Namely, a modern world still needs a rich history. You also need a story that can’t be solved with a gun and an internet connection. Urban Fantasy is a very broad genre, from Hidden World Fantasy like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter, to Merged World Fantasy like RWBY. There’s also some head scratchers like the Warriors Cats books. It’s definitely Urban Fantasy. A cat society living in the forest is a fantasy, and the story is set in our modern contemporary world. But labeling the series beyond Urban Fantasy is where it gets tricky. Isekai borders on Urban Fantasy, as the magical overlaps with the modern world. The Magic Treehouse and the Arthur Spiderwick Chronicles are two great examples of Urban Fantasy in children’s literature. Goosebumps is Urban Horror Fantasy.

ISEKAI FANTASY

These are stories in which an ordinary human (or group of humans) are transported to another world in order to learn a lesson, grow, and come back home wiser, stronger, and ready to face the problems they ran away from. The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and Wendy, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as movies like Stardust, Coraline, and Spirited Away, or TV shows like Over the Garden Wall, The Owl House, and Amphibia are all prime examples of this type of story. The Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent example because as the series goes on, the older Pevensee children stop needing to go back to Narnia. By Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter and Susan have learned all they need to from the other world, and don’t go back, leaving only Edmund and Lucy to go with their cousin instead. Because their arcs are over, they have no reason to return.

ROMANCE FANTASY

It’s a romance novel with supernatural elements. Usually, it’s a human falling in love with something inhuman, which we often call Paranormal Romance. However, this can also include stories of a fairy falling in love with a dwarf, so there’s a wider net here. This isn’t just a story with a romantic subplot, this is your Romeo and Juliet type love stories. Your Beauty and the Beast retellings. The romance is the main plot, and the supernatural elements simply make the romance more exciting or the problems of the couple more entangled in cultural baggage. Obviously, Twilight is a popular example, as is The Cruel Prince, The Captive Prince, and Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay.

MAGITECH FANTASY

This is when a fantasy setting has magic-powered  technology. The guardians and Divine Beasts from Breath of the Wild are a fantastic example of Magitech in a medieval fantasy setting, as are the steam-powered automatons of the Dwemmer in The Elder Scrolls. The Legend of Korra sort of fits here. The world of Avatar has advanced to include airplanes, cars, and radios, none of which are powered directly by bending, but benders do work in power plants, performing lightning bending to generate electricity. It’s certainly a middle ground between steampunk and magitech fantasy. However, the world doesn’t have to necessarily include technology, any setting where magic is a power source for anything can work. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a great example of Magitech Fantasy. Eco is a natural magical resource that give magical powers and effects. So, having doors that open when exposed to the electrical energy of blue eco makes sense. And while it’s never stated, Jak II has many automatic doors in Haven City that may very well run on an electric power grid fueled by blue eco veins. But eco largely gets dropped in the sequel games in favor of guns, though the guns themselves may actually be powered by eco as well. So it’s hard to say. RWBY surprisingly fits into Magitech Fantasy. Like Eco, Dust is a magical natural resource that can be used to create magical effects. The world is full of airships, shape-changing weapons, bullets and other weapons being infused with dust to give them magical effects, and Penny, a definitely real girl.

GASLAMP FANTASY

This is what happens when Steampunk has just enough fantasy elements to land in the Fantasy section. Gaslamp Fantasy is any fantasy story set in the era of gaslamps, while still incorporating fantastical elements. Dracula, Springheel Jack, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula, basically, as long as it’s set in a Victorian setting and has supernatural elements, it counts as Gaslamp Fantasy. However, it’s definitely one of the less popular subgeneres, and I couldn’t really name any others.

WUXIA

A fantasy setting that focuses more on East Asian history, folklore, and mythology to craft its setting. Wuxia is a broad term, including everything from Spirited Away to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Dragonball. However, often times in fantasy, European-inspired regions are complicated and diverse, while Asian-inspired regions are homogenizing, if not orientalist. We can differentiate Irish, Scottish, and Welsh folklore from English, but somehow, not treating all Asian cultures like they’re the same is too taxing for some writers. So, if you’re going to tackle writing Wuxia Fantasy, do your homework, try to make the cultures thorough and intricate, and don’t profess yourself an expert on another person’s culture if you’re not Asian yourself.

#fantasy #fantasy subgenre #fantasy genre

[a-little-revolution]

hi, i'm worried this is concern trolling but, people i follow rb jokes like "tasteful dwarf cake" and "short king" about 2 dungeon meshi characters, one of which is a dwarf (the tolkien type) and the other is a "half-foot", and i feel like it's, at its core, ableist, but i wanted to know if you have any other thoughts about this/about jokes about dwarf characters in general

Hello! I'm unfamiliar with "concern trolling", but I'll just answer this question plainly.

"Dwarven" characters such as in Tolkien and other fantasy media are inherently offensive by nature, as they're based off of folklore that came about when mystifying (and thereby adding "value" to) real slaves with dwarfism in the time of 'court dwarfs' and dime museums. (Not to mention their antisemitic roots)

Yes, I would call the mockery of these characters ableist, because whether they're real or not, they share characteristics with a real disability. Finding these characteristics inherently comical or ugly is to feel the same about bodies like mine - and many people do.

I'm thusly not a part of these forums, so "tasteful dwarf cake" is lingo I've never personally heard - I'd need context to tell if it's offensive. I can say though, that the LP community has rejected "dwarf" as a noun to describe the disability. It is "person with dwarfism" or "little person". "Short king" is slang that I've personally been comfortable with when it comes from loved ones, I've even used it to describe myself (I call myself short in the same way I call myself queer, fat, brown-eyed or witchy). But depending on a stranger's intent, offensiveness can vary.

I think in these particular cases, things seem fine. But that isn't to say that more hateful comments on these characters aren't out there - so time would be better spent there.

-elliot (they/them)

#asks #dwarves #fantasy dwarves #dwarfism in media #dwarfism #disability #fantasy writing

[arcane-abomination]

Please read everything before asking questions!

My words may sound harsh in this post but I assure you they are only so to convey the seriousness of the content. I’m actually a very friendly person and enjoy talking to people.

⚜️ I’m a married individual. I’m not looking for romantic relationships online.

I am perfectly fine being friends with people. In fact I LOVE meeting new practitioners online. Especially ones with varying views from my own. I’ve met some people that I’ve become extremely close with and can honestly say they are some of my best friends even though we’ve never met in person. But…I’m not looking for any sort of romantic relationship. I’ve been with the same person for about 10 years now (as of 2024 anyway) and have no interest in anyone else. So if you’re only following me going to get something more, you’re wasting your time.

⚜️ I don’t give out my private phone number or address. I live in the USA…that’s all you’re getting.

You’d be surprised how often creepy people try to coax out personal information. Now…I have shared my actual address and phone number before, however it’s ONLY with people I’ve known for several years and we’ve talked enough to build up a trustful friendship during that time.

⚜️ My Anon asks are disabled on this blog.

I don’t like anon asks because it gives license to bullies and trolls to say whatever they want without fear of being attached publicly to their despicable behavior. If you want to say something to me…you do it to my face, and you do so under the assumption that I can share that information with others in the community. People love to hide behind masks, and that’s all Anon is…a mask. If you know you’ll get backlash for saying what you’re saying…don’t say it…that simple. I don’t play games, and am not above alerting others to that disgusting behavior so they can be safe and secure.

(Now I realize some people are more comfortable asking real questions anonymously and I’m sorry for that. But I can assure you that if you request a private answer I will be more than happy to do that.)

⚜️ I use my BLOCK button.

I’ve been told before that blocking people is “infringing on their free speech.” Well…no it isn’t. Further more, that’s an extraordinarily hypocritical way of thinking. The block button is apart of freedom of speech. This freedom isn’t confined to what you can physically say. Any way you can convey your thoughts and feelings, is a form of speech (the fact that you’re typing out your complaints should attest to that) This should go without saying then that it means the block button is also a valid form of speech. So I will be continuing to use my block feature. If you don’t like it…oh well. Just get over it and move on. It’s not the end of the world.

⚜️ I don’t observe certain holidays, and will not celebrate them. That means I probably won’t wish you well on them even if you wish me a pleasant one. It’s nothing against any individual but there are certain things about these holidays I have a problem with (commercialism aside).

Christmas: I’m not a Christian, I believe Jesus was an idea and folkloric figure not a real person, and the modern holiday of Xmas is based on a multitude of pagan practices the Christian church takes credit for.

Thanksgiving: The thanksgiving we are taught in schools is a lie. It was a story that was told in an attempt to improve relationships with native people. It was placed where it was on the calendar as well because it was thought to be necessary to lead into Christmas and further drown out the so called “evils” of Halloween. It also doubled as a way to increase turkey sales. The real story of Thanksgiving is horrific and can be found HERE.

Easter: Once more I’m not a Christian, I believe Jesus was an idea and folkloric figure not a real person, and the modern holiday of Easter has some pagan practices the Christian church takes credit for, just like Christmas.

St Patrick’s Day: I don’t align with the church and this entire holiday is built around the fact that a Saint chased the Druid’s from their homes and forced them to convert.

⚜️ I don’t care about your religion.

I’m sorry to say that so blatantly but it’s true. I’m not a fan of organized religions in any way. I have lots of PTSD from my time in a Christian household. This doesn’t mean I will demonize you though or your beliefs. Nor will I try to convert you. On the contrary, I believe people can have whatever religion they want as long as they aren’t hurting anyone, and I will fight tooth and nail for people to be able to make those choices. However, this doesn’t mean I will sugarcoat my opinion of those religions if it’s asked. Nor will I observe any religious custom just because someone else I know does.

Now, I welcome friendly debate within the magickal community but I’m always hesitant when it’s directly based on religion. Mainly because religious bias can play a role with most people regarding history and I’m not one who sees religious bias as credible. I feel it makes a box, and then you have to twist and alter facts to make them fit. I dislike debating this way as it often comes down to either smashing someone’s religion, or an argument and I dislike either. Now this doesn’t mean I won’t debate religion, but the moment you start trying to hold religions doctrine as a credible source I’m out, sorry. I would much rather just talk about practices and the spirituality of your beliefs than the religious side of it.

⚜️ I won’t play into your fantasies.

There’s lots of people under the pagan label that hold to what I believe to be fantasies within their craft. These people often seem to blur the line between dnd and authentic pagan practices. And while they have a right to believe that, I also have a right not to. However, I don’t set out to demonize or devalue such people. I usually just ignore them for the most part or at the very least, if they are my friends, just avoid talking about those specific parts of their beliefs. I’m not one to judge another’s practice or try to convert them in any way…however…just as in the case of religion, I won’t surcoat things or play into someone’s fantasy if they decide to ask me about my thoughts on it. I believe in being truthful to people, especially when they trust me enough to want to know my opinion.

⚜️ I’m not your teacher, or your guide.

It may seem odd to have this here seeing as I have posts on my blog of a teaching nature, but I refuse to take up that mantle. I post what I do to help people who need somewhere to start but the rest is up to them to pursue things as they deem necessary. I am not responsible for what you learn or how you decide to learn it. I’m happy to offer advice and share my story and recommendations but that’s it. I believe the best teacher is the experience you obtain from applying action to the research you’ve gathered. I’m merely offering a bit of that research and nothing more.

⚜️ I hate drama and won’t partake in it.

I don’t do drama. Please kindly leave me out of your mess. I don’t mind if CLOSE FRIENDS rant and let off steam but if I don’t know you that well I don’t care. Sorry to be blunt but there’s a big difference in people that I consider a meaningful part of my life and people I barely know or don’t know that well.

#paganism #witchcraft #pagans of tumblr #chaos magician #chaos magick #eldritch magic #witches of tumblr #yog sothoth #yog sothothery #death witch

[utopianparadoxist]

you have spoken about how trolls are coded as fairies.i have 2 questions. 1. what would you say humans are coded as 2. if you were making a fan race and say they were coded as prophets how would that effect them. sorry if you don't answer these types of Q. thank you for reading

Humans are coded as humans. Trolls and Cherubs are fantastical alien species that are not real in reality, which is why they get simultaneously branded with mythological/folkloric associations stemming from the human imaginary-- trolls are the little grey alien model of alien mixed with fairies, cherubs are the green martian model mixed with angels.

#trolls #cherubs #angels #fairies

[shoppncarticles]

The Seedot Family

Next up, we’ve got Seedot, Lotad’s counterpart between game versions. It’s a pure Grass type, simply a little acorn with eye-like markings. Simplicity ain’t a bad thing, and Seedot works fine for what it is; that being the first stage in a three-step family that has room to grow further. Just a bit of a shame it doesn’t reach anywhere near the heights Lotad does.

Seedot does make quite the evolution once it evolves, though, becoming the more humanoid Nuzleaf. Interestingly, it’s only once Nuzleaf evolves that it gains the dual Grass/Dark typing, said to have become a prankster who enjoys scaring people after wandering out from the forest at night. I realize now while writing this, that both the middle stages of this family and Lotad’s have an affinity for startling people for laughs. If Nuzleaf’s Dark type is any indicator, though, it may be a bit more mean-spirited in nature. This gets accentuated further in its final evolution.

Real quick though, Nuzleaf does enjoy having a little impact on Pokemon’s history by being part of the origin of the term Nuzlocke. Y’know, that fanmade ‘challenge mode’ where Pokemon choices are limited to first encounters and fainting is permanent. The reason for this name being chosen was actually a bit arbitrary (the person who started the Nuzlocking trend initially just called it ‘hard mode’) but it sure did stick. Good for you, Nuzleaf.

Unlike Ludicolo, Shiftry here doesn’t become any more jovial or lighthearted once it evolves, now becoming a full-on youkai styled design. Inspired by the Tengu, long-nosed crow monsters, Shiftry is said to perch high atop trees, using the leafy fans on its arms to create whirlwinds to blow back any intruders to its territory. 

While Shiftry has never been a Pokemon I’ve used extensively in the past, I can’t deny that it is quite nicely drawn and put together, authentically feeling like some sort of mythical monster from Japanese folklore. Additionally, until relatively recently, I’d say Shiftry was the Pokemon who felt the most like a member of one of the many green-skinned fantasy species, somewhere between a classical goblin, troll, or orc. The shaggy snow-white mane is also a nice touch, giving some villainous old man traits as well. 

All this is to say that, in many words, I enjoy Shiftry’s more classical storybook monstrousness, and like the general idea it’s going for.

Score: 3.5/5

A nicely unique family of forest-dwellers, but Shiftry is doing a lot of the legwork here.

[Gen 3 Archive]

#pokemon #pokemon review #seedot #nuzleaf #shiftry

[quirkwizard]

Super Regeneration and Beast. I think this could make a Troll, since you are a wizard you probably can understand my thought process, but on the other hand it may very well be something else entirely?

I did consider something troll-like, which trolls regenerating doesn't have a lot basis in real myth, but that's besides the point. I just decided to go in a different direction with the monstrous form to make some different. Less ancient folklore and more eighties slasher.

New Quirk Name: Ghoulish

This Transformation type Quirk allows the user to take on a primal, ghoul-esque form. The form augments the user's physicality to a minor degree, making them slightly stronger, faster, and tougher. The true power of the Quirk comes whenever the user gets damaged. When they do, the user will begin healing from the injury, fixing it almost instantly. This can cover an extensive amount of damage, such as missing limbs. The more damage the user gets, they start to get stronger and more monstrous looking, capable of throwing cars around at the strongest. This resets any time the user returns to normal. This makes the user extremely tough to put down, their natural strength and regeneration giving them a lot of endurance. However, the more the user needs to heal themselves, the more difficult the form becomes to control, hampering the user's ability to focus and making them more irritable. More extensive will take a bit longer to heal from, such as head damage briefly incapacitating the user.

#My Hero Academia #Quirks #Quirk Marriage #Jurota Shishida #Beast #Nomu #Super Regeneration

[canigetacupofugh]

Vivi the chaos muppet doin' a little dance.

Her style is lovingly lifted from the halflings over in the Homebrood world, though only the looks.

I don't remember if I covered this last time I posted some Vivi art - In the world of Madroia, there aren't halflings or goblins- there are, instead, the Vedi. The Vedi are inspired by real world folklore of Danish trolls - when my Husbeast, the worlds creator, said he wanted to do something with a Danish spin I immediately latched on.

Vedi live on many continents in Madroia, but in the one where the game is set, Vedi are from the Northern Mountains - they worship The Far Wanderer and lots of them love to travel- and they do! So there are little Vedi sections in large cities!

Opinions of the Vedi range from land to land - some think of them as pests and tricksters, others think of them as hospitable and friendly. No one thinks of them as a threat - they're merely a curiosity or nuisance but not taken seriously. They are often farmers and favor nature magics and peaceful neighbors, so they've never been the target of oppression or war - though they have been affected by it.

Vivi embraces the chaotic nuisance archetype - she came from a more farm-and-nature place and felt out of place with the kind of magic that came natural to her.

The other players don't know it, but I'm helping my Husbeast further develop the lore of the land Vivi hails from - we're going to add other troll types from other cultures! I'm pretty excited about this idea and want to draw some more stuff for it- being American it's been fun learning more about other cultures folklore that didn't make it into the popular media here.

But anyway - I have Homebrood and MXQuill to thank for helping me find a style for these guys. Here's some links if you want to check them out or support the artist Artist kofi - https://ko-fi.com/mxquill

Campaign's Carrd - https://thehomebrood.carrd.co/

#the homebrood #halflings #halflingswithtails #home brew #ttrpg #dnd art #fantasy art #doodles #sketches #i don't know what tags to use

[thenightling]

A malicious "meme" has been circulating in Goth and Gothic themed Facebook groups. The main source is an account named "Thomas Thomas" that I suspect is a bot account designed to cause discord in Gothic circles. Rather than write something new, here is what I said about it in my Sandman Facebook group.

____________________________

I just saw a post with a "meme" of "Real Goths" and a "Poseur" depicted as a little girl in Goth clothing who likes the look and is into faeries but isn't a fan of Goth music. The post even attempted to lampshade itself by acting like anyone who would call this behavior gatekeeping is an idiot or not a true Goth.

This is NOT a group to post pretentious garbage shaming people for liking Goth aesthetic. If someone likes the look, the ambiance, the mood, the themes, and isn't a fan of the music, you have no right to tell them how to dress or what they can or cannot love. If someone likes Goth aesthetic but isn't a fan of the music... Leave them alone.

It could be that they are "Gothic" in a love of Gothic literature, film, or other media. No one ever told the Addams Family that they have to listen to The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, or Aurelio Voltaire (though they probably would love Voltaire).

Yes, Goth is about the music. But you are deliberately shaming people for having an interest in a Goth Aesthetic, there is a difference.

Neo Victorian is also a subset of Goth but you won't find any true Victorian Goth music.

And no, you don't need to know the whole history of the Punk scene but it does help and The Ramones song Pet Sematary (deliberately misspelt as it is named for the Stephen King novel) is very Goth.

Whether you want to accept it or not, there ARE different kinds of Goth. Making a "meme" acting like some Baby Bat can't like Goth aesthtics just because she's not into the music and likes faeries is not okay! Stop acting like pretentious teenagers! Saying "It's not gatekeeping" doesn't make it any less gatekeeping.

What are you doing?! What the Hell do you think you're doing?! Shaming children for dipping their toes in? Trying to scare them away? And you don't think that's Gatekeeping and even go "it's not Gatekeeping" to lampshade it!

I don't know what possessed you to think I'd be okay with that kind of "It's not gatekeeping!" post here.

KNOCK IT OFF!!!!

The anti-faeries thing was odd considering Maleficent, and the folkloric presence of things like the Dullahan (headless Horsemen), goblins, Banshees, and Red caps (who literally soak their caps in the blood of those they killed). A Banshee is a type of faary. Bean Sidhe (Lady Faery). Souls of the dead can become fae in Irish tradition. And there is a very popular Goth band named for Banshees. I have banned the person who made the post with the "not gatekeeping" "meme" because of the conspicuous picture of random white guy in sunglasses (the common troll account picture now). The account name was "Thomas Thomas." (That looks SO real...) And he only had one follower.

Those of you that commented and AGREED with him, you are ALL on thin ice! How DARE you act this way here! How DARE you call yourselves Goth and then gatekeep while saying you're not gatekeeping. How DARE you treat newbies this way! How DARE you!

I consider myself Goth but I don't feel the need to like *All* Goth music. In fact, technically, my favorite 80s band is New Wave (Oingo Boingo) followed closely by Queen and David Bowie. Shall I turn in my Goth card?

[kokorowoutsu]

-- Ashe: Pokemon Nicknames

Ashe doesn’t have a set naming scheme for her pokemon so it just depends on what she’s feeling like at the time.

NOTE: These are the names of the pokemon I have leveled to lvl 100 and use in my games, lmao.

---

Lucky (Sylveon) was given to her partner in a cruel context and was named Unlucky at first. Ashe, as a child, is under the assumption growing up she is lucky to be born because her own mother didn’t want her and dumped her on her grandmother, Victoria, and Unlucky was just unlucky to be stuck with her. The name was modified by her grandmother to Lucky because in reality, both are lucky to have found one another as partnerships like that don’t come along too often, and many years down the road from that miserable child, Ashe now reflects heavily on the fact that she was lucky to have this little Sylveon stick with her from the very beginning, and so all in all... his name is very fitting.

Saoirse (Primarina) is named after a movie Ashe came to love as one of the main characters is a Selkie, a mythological creature in Galarian folklore. The name itself means ‘Freedom’.

Merlin (Delphox) is named ironically after more Galarian folklore -- this time, Arthurian Legend. Ashe found it fitting considering Delphox are said to be able to manipulate magic and see the past and future with their flames. The name Merlin itself is derived from Myrddin and means “Sea Fortress”.

Mirage (Absol) was named for the fact she was a blur on the battlefield during an attempt at catching her -- in total it took three times and three Pokemon Center tries before Mirage yielded.

Mononoke (Kanto Ninetales) was named once again after a movie Ashe loved and she found it fitting considering its meaning. Not to mention Mononoke has the personality of a troll online and lives for the chaos. The name or word Mononoke is used to described spirits that are vengeful and like to cause death and torment.

Omen (Frosmoth) was going to be called something else, but after seeing her pass under a full moon and how pretty she was and considering butterflies are seen as agents of the underworld and what not, the name Omen seemed appropriate as Ashe almost did die in Galar from an illness.

Trixie (Mismagius) is a simple name Ashe came up with that she thought would fit the Mismagius and it suits her well. The name Trixie means “Bringer Of Joy” or can be used as a generic name for most ghost-type pokemon.

Mia (Delcatty) was given to her by Leon as a baby Skitty. Full of energy, Ashe had trouble coming up with a name at first, but it was Morgan watching a movie one night that settled on the name as it was simple and easy to remember. The name Mia means “Mine” in Paldean and is used as a term of endearment such as “Darling, Dear”. (NOTE: Mia is also the name of one of my cats and the story of it goes my mom was watching Mama Mia and I decided on it because I am incredibly indecisive about pet names, whoops.)

Nova (Ceruledge) was named just because the name sounded cool. The name itself can just be taken from ‘Supernova’.

Logan (Liepard) was named originally going to be named Storm but after inspiration from passing by a food place... well... and also it is the name of a movie character that Ashe likes to let people believe he’s named after (it’s better then the real reason). The name Logan means “Log or Little Hollow” in Crown Tundrian. (NOTE: The story is true and it’s also the name of my oldest cat!)

Loch (Lapras) was named for a place in Galar that Lapras tend to frequent and supposedly where they nest and breed in great quantities.

Oberon (Galar Rapidash) was named after the King of the Fae in stories Morgan used to tell her and after the fact he carries himself so regally. The name Oberon means “Noble and Bear-like” and comes from the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Vision (Hisui Braviary) was named after a movie and comic book character Ashe was into at the time of her Hisui adventure but it’s also fitting because he’s a psychic-type and sends pictures to communicate telepathically.

Joker (Floragato) was named after the protagonist of a game Ashe had played sometime before going to Paldea. She thought the name fit his spunky nature.

Piper (Daschbun) was named for her spunky nature and the need to always be on the go. She was originally going to be named Soleil but Morgan insisted on something simpler, and so... Piper was chosen. The name Piper means “Pipe Player or Flute Player” in Galarian. (NOTE: It’s the name of my dog and the story is true too!)

Benedikta or ‘Benny’ (Benthic Milotic) was named after Ashe thought he was female but turned out to be male. It’s also a name from a video game she had recently got done playing.

Kumiko (Garchomp) was already named when she took her home. Her name can translate loosely to “eternal companion”. She’s called Kumi for short.

#the heart ;; ashe #tbt

[kokorowoutsu-a]

-- Nicknames: Ashe

Ashe doesn’t have a set naming scheme for her pokemon so it just depends on what she’s feeling like at the time.

NOTE: These are the names of the pokemon I have leveled to lvl 100 and use in my games, lmao.

---

Lucky (Eevee/Empatheon) was given to her partner in a cruel context and was named Unlucky at first. Ashe, as a child, is under the assumption growing up she is lucky to be born because her own mother didn’t want her and dumped her on her grandmother, Victoria, and Unlucky was just unlucky to be stuck with her. The name was modified by her grandmother to Lucky because in reality, both are lucky to have found one another as partnerships like that don’t come along too often, and many years down the road from that miserable child, Ashe now reflects heavily on the fact that she was lucky to have this little Eevee/Empatheon stick with her from the very beginning, and so all in all... his name is very fitting.

Saoirse (Primarina) is named after a movie Ashe came to love as one of the main characters is a Selkie, a mythological creature in Galarian folklore. The name itself means ‘Freedom’ in Irish.

Merlin (Delphox) is named ironically after more Galarian folklore -- this time, Arthurian Legend. Ashe found it fitting considering Delphox are said to be able to manipulate magic and see the past and future with their flames. The name Merlin itself is derived from Myrddin and means “Sea Fortress” in Celtic(?).

Mirage (Absol) was named for the fact she was a blur on the battlefield during an attempt at catching her -- in total it took three times and three Pokemon Center tries before Mirage yielded.

Mononoke (Kanto Ninetales) was named once again after a movie Ashe loved and she found it fitting considering its meaning. Not to mention Mononoke has the personality of a troll online and lives for the chaos. The name or word Mononoke is used to described spirits that are vengeful and like to cause death and torment.

Omen (Frosmoth) was going to be called something else, but after seeing her pass under a full moon and how pretty she was and considering butterflies are seen as agents of the underworld and what not, the name Omen seemed appropriate as Ashe almost did die in Galar from an illness.

Trixie (Mismagius) is a simple name Ashe came up with that she thought would fit the Mismagius and it suits her well. The name Trixie means “Bringer Of Joy” or can be used as a generic name for most ghost-type pokemon.

Mia (Delcatty) was given to her by Leon as a baby Skitty. Full of energy, Ashe had trouble coming up with a name at first, but it was Morgan watching a movie one night that settled on the name as it was simple and easy to remember. The name Mia means “Mine” in Spanish and is used as a term of endearment such as “Darling, Dear”. (NOTE: Mia is also the name of one of my cats and the story of it goes my mom was watching Mama Mia and I decided on it because I am incredibly indecisive about pet names, whoops.)

Nova (Ceruledge) was named just because the name sounded cool. The name itself can just be taken from ‘Supernova’.

Logan (Liepard) was named originally going to be named Storm but after inspiration from passing by a food place... well... and also it is the name of a movie character that Ashe likes to let people believe he’s named after (it’s better then the real reason). The name Logan means “Log or Little Hollow” in Scottish. (NOTE: The story is true and it’s also the name of my oldest cat!)

Loch (Lapras) was named for a place in Galar that Lapras tend to frequent and supposedly where they nest and breed in great quantities.

Rascal (Meowstic) was named for his mischievous nature despite his stoic expression and the fact he’s always pulling some kind of prank.

Oberon (Galar Rapidash) was named after the King of the Fae in stories Morgan used to tell her and after the fact he carries himself so regally. The name Oberon means “Noble and Bear-like” and comes from the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Vision (Hisui Braviary) was named after a movie and comic book character Ashe was into at the time of her Hisui adventure but it’s also fitting because he’s a psychic-type and sends pictures to communicate telepathically.

Joker (Meowscarada) was named after the protagonist of a game Ashe had played sometime before going to Paldea. She thought the name fit his spunky nature.

Piper (Daschbun) was named for her spunky nature and the need to always be on the go. She was originally going to be named Soleil but Morgan insisted on something simpler, and so... Piper was chosen. The name Piper means “Pipe Player or Flute Player” in British. (NOTE: It’s the name of my dog and the story is true too!)

Miraidon has no nickname.

#by our side till the very end ;; teams #the heart ;; ashe #playing with the local ghost types ;; memes #the truth or reshiram of the matter is ;; headcanons

[bitletsanddrabbles]

WIP Wednesday: And Now For Something Completely Different

My first real fandom was The Phantom of the Opera. I was...I think twelve....maybe eleven. The Charles Dance version had just come out and it was instant love. Found a copy of the original book at B. Dalton (anyone remember them?) and read it twelve times.

I’ll wander away from the story for years at a time, then cycle back to it....kinda like Erik and Don Juan Triumphant, come to think of it. One of my most persistent novel ideas, the subject of two NANOs now, and one of the things I’m most likely to eventually get around to beating into publishable shape (just before dying of old age at 101) is my steampunk supernatural retelling of it.

This isn’t part of that, really, but it’s related. At one point, for word count and to help get in my character’s head, I wrote up a bit of Christine’s backstory. It involves trolls. I’ve clipped out all of the whited-out-so-it-wouldn’t-bug-me-but-still-counted-as-words text (I hope, although I left my ‘short hand’ bit) and I present it here:

There was light on the walls that wasn’t silver. Christine frowned, her sleepy brain trying to puzzle out why, exactly, that was strange.

The barn itself was dark. Somewhere in the darkness she could hear the cows chewing at their food, and the little Norwegian pony the farmer kept for carrying his vegetables to market. She could barely make out the outline of the door in the silver and gold light. It occurred to her, finally, that while the silver light was

She was supposed to be asleep, but something had waken her. Christine lay in the barn, pressed as closed to the warm form of her father as she could, and tried to decide what had awaken her. The building around her was dark, lit only by a single beam of moonlight coming through the high window. In the darkness she could hear the cattle, chewing patiently at their hay, and the sound of the sturdy little blonde pony the farmer kept for taking his vegetables to market.

Beyond that, the night seemed still.

She had about decided that a dog must have barked, somewhere, or an owl hooted, and was nestling back down in the relative warmth of the straw when a noise reached her ear, sharp and ratcheting, somewhere between the crack of a branch and the drumming of a woodpecker. Now soundly awake, she sat up, peering around her in the darkness.

She didn’t think to be scared. There was nothing in this little village to be scared of, except perhaps marauding wolves, and wolves didn’t sound like woodpeckers cracking open branches. Carefully, so as not to wake her papa, she got up and tip toed to the door in the barn, opening a crack and looking out. There was nothing in line of sight except for drifts of half melted snow and muddy ground. She pushed the door wider, but still saw nothing.

For a moment, she hesitated, looking back to where her papa lay sleeping. She was, after all, a good girl and would never cause him alarm, if she could help it. Then the sound echoed through the night again, catching her attention and her curiosity.

She wouldn’t go far, she told herself, and she would stay very alert. She was, after all, almost eight years old. She and her Papa had traveled what she thought to be the length and breadth of Sweden in the past two years and surely nothing (short of, perhaps, a wolf, or maybe a bear) could be more frightening than being between one village and the next when a storm came through. Emboldened by that line of thought, she stepped out into the moonlight.

The farm they were staying in was on the edge of the village. They’d planned on leaving in the morning, between the last snow fall of winter and the first rain fall of spring, and traveling through the short stretch of woods to the next hamlet while the sun was high in the sky. Those woods lay in a half circle around the pasture lands, dark and menacing and magical, the moon cresting their tips. Christine stood at the corner of the barn and looked up at it, almost as if it were offering her a challenge. She simply had to decide whether or not to answer.

Her blue eyes snapped to the base of the woodland as the cracking sound came again. There, through the trees, she thought she saw a flicker of light. She frowned and leaned a bit in toward the barn. Perhaps it was gypsies. She’d heard plenty of tales, not from her papa but from other travelers, of gypsies carrying off little girls and selling them in far away countries. Of course, she’d also heard tales of gypsies telling people’s fortunes and telling them the way to secret riches.

She’d never been certain which ones to believe.

The light continued to flicker, catching the line of one or two trees and nothing else. It was, she was certain, a fire. No other light moved quite like that or had that warmth. It had to be at least a little ways into the woods to seem so dim, either that or very small, but it couldn’t be too far or she wouldn’t be able to see it at all. The stretch of pasture between her and the woods was brightly lit, the silver light picking out the piles of rocks churned up by the winter winds and melting snow. Even a fox would have troubles sneaking up on her and foxes weren’t scary at all. Her papa had shown her last spring summer where a pair of foxes had made their den and they had sat for at least half an hour watching the kits play.

Taking a deep breath, Christine crept her way out into the open.

((Write a ‘crossing the pasture’ scene that doesn’t suck))

The trees at the edge of the woods were not the largest, but their trunks were plenty thick enough to hide an eight year old girl. Cautiously, not wanting to be seen, Christine hid behind the first one she came to and peered out toward the firelight. There was something there, something she could almost see through the crush of other trees, but she could only see a tiny sliver. Frowning, she looked across the break to the next tree to her right and, glancing back toward the firelight, trying to judge whether the thing she saw could see her, and then bolted across to the next tree. For a minute she just sat there, listening as best she could, trying to determine whether or not she’d been seen.

When another of the strange ratcheting sounds came,  not seeming to be any closer, she leaned her head out, peering once again into the woods. This time she had a nearly uninterrupted view of the fire and what surrounded it.

Her blue eyes widened.

There were roughly five of them, although there could have been a couple more in the surrounding trees. They were huge, although their hunched backs made it impossible to tell how tall they really were. Some stood, some lounged about the fire, and one turned a spit on which a full grown bear was roasting. They were vaguely human in shape, much the way a monkey or ape is, except for their trailing, ropey tails, each ending in a tuft of black fur. Their heads were equally covered in shaggy hair that seemed to train down their necks, although their faces were mostly free of the stuff, leaving the bulbous protrusion of their noses and the rheumy squinting of their eyes plainly visible.

One of them bared its teeth at the one at the spit, showing rough, yellowed pegs of teeth, and made a rough snarling noise. It hunched down as if it were going to go to all fours, but didn’t quite. The one at the spit made an angry noise, half growl and half roar and Christine pulled back behind her trunk, breathing hard.

Trolls. She had found a range of trolls.

The tales she’d heard of trolls were even more varied than the ones of gypsies, although they were almost universally unpleasant. Some people held that they were far more clever than any human being, although most agreed that they were far less so, although apparently they were, at the very least, intelligent enough to build a fire. Some said that they kidnapped children as slaves, others as wives and husbands, and still others insisted that they at them. They were well known for carrying off livestock and if they ate bears it seemed to Christine that they were far more likely to eat a full cow than a slip of a girl like her.

She had never heard of them this close to the edge of the forest before. Not camping.

She leaned back out when the ratcheting sound came again and saw that one of the creatures, lounging at the base of a tree, seemed to be laughing. She saw nothing to laugh at, but then a second troll reached out and yanked the tail of a third, quickly turning around and seeming to be very interested in the bear on the spit, which caused another bout of laughter from the first. The third troll narrowed its eyes and bared its teeth, then jumped on the second and the two of them went rolling around the clearing, growling and spitting and barking, much like a littre of puppies. Christine was uncertain whether to be amused or terrified by their antics.

She glanced back toward the barn, briefly, then back at the trolls. Very slowly she pulled back behind the tree trunk and, keeping it between them, started to make her way back across the pasture to the barn. She made it half way before her nerve broke and she bolted.

#the phantom of the opera #wip wednesday #character backstory #trolls #not the movie #real folklore type trolls #swedish folklore #1800s #supernatural retelling #christine daee

[therealvinelle]

what do you think of The Children of the Moon?

(I have not read the Twilight Guide so I have no clue whether we know much more about them from it than from the books)

How do you think they differ from the shapeshifters?

also, how do you think of the vampires of twilight? as some sort of other predatory species, or parasites, almost science-like or fully as just supernatural? sometimes I think that vampires are depicted just as an evolutionary phenomenon in canon... which makes me question how can the shapeshifters exist in the same universe as their legends telling how they came to be are so rooted in spirituality and supernatural, with the whole souls thing

The Children of the Moon are a very small, but all the more fascinating part of the Twilight worldbuilding.

They’re worse than vampires. They’re just as powerful if not more so (or they wouldn’t be able to kill a vampire singlehandedly), they’re feral, and they prey on humans. What is described in the wiki is essentially unusually powerful vampires without any control, and most of the time you can’t find them because they’re human.

I think the Children of the Moon are one of the reasons the Volturi are necessary. A creature with their powerlevel could easily level a entire village in one night, and that’s not to mention the fact that unlike vampires, who are largely detached from human society and have no interest in it, the Children of the Moon are still humans in the day, meaning they are a part (however fringe) of society and have human interests. And as being a lycanthrope would pretty easily fuck up their lives (good luck having any kind of home stability when you turn into a vampire-killing apex predator at night), which would make these people ripe for radicalization or being taken advantage of. What I’m saying is, they would become weapons of war. Get even just one of these people inside the enemy stronghold before a full moon, and bam. Your enemy has been decimated.

That was supposed to be a paragraph on the Volturi and the Children of the Moon, it went off-topic - what I planned to say is, these creatures are extremely dangerous, to humans, to themselves, and to society at large. And, as I explained in the linked meta about why the Volturi are necessary, the reason why the law exists in the first place is because saying “don’t hunt in excess” would have been too subjective to effectively enforce. Aro’s solution of making vampires a secret from the world is a sensible solution. And werewolves who ravage entire villages at full moon and threaten the food supply are very much not secret. They may not be vampires, but they’d still be a threat to the secret, and as such to vampires. 

The Volturi would, following the ethical standard laid down by their law, be as justified to take out a Child of the Moon as they are in taking out an immortal child.

And this is where we get into how the Children of the Moon imply some very exciting things about the Twilight worldbuilding.

Though, to answer your question about vampires being magical or biological before I go any further - I think it’s both. I think vampires are a species of their own, a sentient and cloned single-cell parasitical superorganism that converts the host body into an ideal climate. I also think they’re magical, or they wouldn’t have gifts. And there’s something magical about some of the more impossible things they do, like run across snow without leaving footprints. They’re the xenomorphs from Alien, with magic.

More, and this is where the exciting worldbuilding comes in, magic clearly does exist in the Twilight world. Shapeshifters exist, Children of the Moon exist, and gifted humans exist.

And this raises the question: why, in this fantastical world of magic and sci-fi, are these the only creatures we hear about? I’m sure there are more creatures Bella hasn’t heard of, Carlisle’s friends and the Volturi were unsurprised enough by the existence of the shapeshifters (if brand new supernatural creatures were unheard of, they would have made a much bigger deal out of these teens turning into werewolves. Their quick acceptance is telling) that non-vampire creatures are clearly a thing. And yet, the vampire community is just that, it’s a vampire community. We don’t hear a single word of any other creature, nothing. Carlisle has no mermaid friends. When the Volturi enforce their law, they speak only of humans and vampires, not humans and vampires, fairies, elves, and witches.

It seems that if these other types of creatures exist, and it is likely they do (or did), then by the time canon begins they’re either small minorities or straight up extinct.

And it just so happens that Twilight is a 'verse where we have an elite force of organized executioners who have devoted themselves to keeping the humans unaware of the existence of vampires, at any price necessary.

And we know, from the Volturi taking out the Children of the Moon, that this force already wiped one supernatural species.

There’s also the fact that while the Children of the Moon were more powerful than vampires, the reason why people speak of them might be because they were more powerful than vampires. I doubt this would apply to every supernatural species: if it did, vampires would not have risen to become the dominating species that they are in the present day.)

Then there’s the fact that so much real life myth and lore features things that go bump in the night as threatening to humans. Sirens, nøkker, nisser, huldre, trolls, so many creatures (I’ll admit I mostly used myths from my own culture’s folklore for this listing) are in some way sinister. They’ll trick us, damn us, or kill us, and within the Twilight world where these myths can be assumed to have a grain of truth in them, the Volturi might have a problem with these creatures.

I think, within Twilight canon, we have reason to believe that there used to be far more supernatural creatures around than there are now, and that these were driven extinct by the Volturi.

Depending on what these other creatures were and whether they too preyed on humans, or were in other way obstructions to vampires, or just fun to hunt, it is also likely that other, non-Volturi vampires helped drive them to extinction.

(On that note: I think the shapeshifters are safe from the Volturi. They’re not a threat to humans, on the contrary their raison d’être is to protect them. In one of their myths, their ancestor prevented the slaughter of their tribe. On top of this they even take secrecy seriously, Bella who already knew about vampires and Embry’s own mother weren’t allowed to know about the shapeshifters. The Volturi should have no quarrel with them.)

#not sure if i'm using the term single-cell organism correctly when it's as part of a superorganism #i think so? #i didn't even take high school biology so i don't actually know #twilight vampires #twilight worldbuilding #volturi #twilight renaissance #twilight meta #twilight #twilight werewolves #twilight shapeshifters #shapeshifters #children of the moon #also in case i have to say it i'm not advocating genocide #just saying that several appear to have occurred in the twilight universe #toquesreveladores #ask

[rossa-motte]

are we writing magical realism?, blog.

Sorry if something reads awkward, I wrote and made this on the phone!

So, first of all, my credentials:

I'm latina... that's enough for some people, oops.

I've studied it

I read it

I write it, I think

I'm not going to distract ourselves so much with history, Internet already has a lot of that. But we can say it originates in Latin America at the beginning/midst of the 1900s, but is written in other parts of the world as well.

Most of the time, the definition we heard is something on the lines of mixing reality and the fantastic, treating the unreal as real. Also, a lot of people see it as fantasy for latinos.

But all this is quite vague and ends in lots of people from countries where isn't common thinking it just means contemporary fantasy, fantasy for literary writers, or thinking it is an... aesthetic... *shivers

Well, if it's none of that, what is? How do I know if I'm writing it? Everybody says something different... And, yeah, a lot of people don't see eye to eye on this, so this is as far as I know and my personal opinion. But here are eight things I think defines magical realism (particularly differentiating it from fantasy):

i. Yes, it's fantasy, but the point isn't magic.

In fantasy the point is magic, is people thinking “oh, how crazy! the magic, the other world!”. Even if is a contemporary low fantasy, the fantastical elements are the focus (most of the time, at least, there are always exceptions).

In magical realism magic is just there. It has a relevance in the plot, character, or setting as much as cup of water, a ride on a bus, or the night. Nobody is going to stop for it nor explain it.

The story in fantasy is about, for example, about a magical girl. In magical realism is about the girl, who so happens to be magical.

ii. And one of the reasons for that it's because it's character driven.

While magical realism is not “the fantasy for literary writers” I think it has that in common with litfic: the plot can be a more... quiet one. Maybe not 100% character driven, but with a subtle plot. And if the plot is not that strong, fantasy can't shine in the plot either.

And, if there's a strong plot (let's say, action with spies or some shit) magic has nothing to do with the premise. It's not a “I'm a secret agent and I read minds but nobody can know about it”, more like an “I'm a secret agent in this Totally Normal World where sometimes someone reads a mind”.

iii. Because magical realism is not a classic genre either.

If I tell you I'm writing an epic fantasy, most people know the type of story I'm talking about. In other world, inspired by the past, high fantasy, probably with this magic journey as a plot, and with very specific clichés an archetypes as options.

We can't do that with magical realism. It's more like saying we're writing historical fiction. It's just one factor of the plot (or setting), and we can have a romance that is historical, as well as a thriller that is historical.

Magical realism is too broad to even have clichés or archetypes.

iv. And it's too vague: we're not writing hard magic systems here.

A really thin line divides magical realism with a low fantasy-soft magic system. I think there are lots of stories that fall in a awkward in-between.

Maybe the difference, really subtle, resides in magical realism “making less sense”.

This other type of fantasy usually has some kind of rules that bend a lot, or some thematic focus. While magical realism looks more like surrealism, kind of dreamlike in a sense, where different unconnected stuff can happen without any sense of logic.

This doesn't really mean it doesn't makes sense. Usually it does but in other ways, like an emotional one.

v. Not only that, but sometimes, magic is not magic.

In a fantasy, the fantastic element resides in magic itself or a concrete thing, but once again, magical realism looks like surrealism. Sometimes the magic resides in the uncanny, in a weird version of reality.

Maybe it has elements that exists but are so strange and unknown that it feels unreal. Or things that could happen but the chances are so low and the conditions so precise that it kind of doesn't make sense (like surviving with a tiguer in the ocean).

And sometimes it feels like a strech to reality: something that could happen but a little too much, like exacerbated. Think about the gothic subgenre, or these post on Tumblr listing a specific setting + gothic. I remember one about university, telling for example, that the answer is always communism, in any class even math, or that time doesn't pass. Is interesting and funny because is somehow relatable, it feels like that even if we know that's not realistic.

vi. And sometimes the magic is ambiguous.

A lot of the times we have explicit magic or magical elements... but we can't be sure if they are really an out of (our) world thing or it has a logical explanation.

For example, ghosts are super common in magical realism... but also in real life. Most of us probably know somebody who has a experience with a ghost (some of us ourselves), or know some legend about spirits in our place.

So, if a character sees a ghost in magical realism, we, as readers, have to ask ourselves: is this character really seeing a ghost or it's just imagining it? 

Same if we have a witch who hex someone and then bad things happens to that person. Or tarot cards telling that something is going to happen and then it does... All that can happen in reality, and it can be real magic or just coincidences.

vii. Related to that, this ambiguity exists because a lot of the time the magic is based in real beliefs and lore.

Let me put it in other words to get across the point:

vii. Magical realism doesn't has to be in Latin America to work, but it needs to have a heavy setting and folklore.

Just as in gothic literature, setting is just another character, and is super common to base the magic in the folklore of that specific setting... and that usually creates this ambiguity.

In fantasy there's a lot of focus on being original, but magical realism (usually) is very traditional. We work with what we already have in our settings.

And this also means... sometimes... magical realism and reality has more in common that one would think.

For example, Border is a Swedish movie with trolls... this only works in Sweden (or near it) because it's part of their stories. In Latin America it would be too alien for us. But, for example, Argentina has a lot of lore with duendes (like elves or gnomes).

viii. Finally, magical realism is not an escapism.

People usually thinks about fantasy as escapism. While I think is incorrect, sometimes it is like that... Even if not, the fantasy part is super romantic and we want to be in that world.

In magical realism not so much. It has a love-hate for life and reality. It's not bad but it has a comment to make about it. Magic is beautiful but mundane, life is cruel and romantic, all bittersweet.

And yes, usually, in Latin America, that means talking about colonialism and poverty.

If any of you want to add something, don't doubt it!

#fiction writing #writing #magical realism #realismo magico #latina #latino #latine #latinoamérica #latin america #fantasy #gothic #surrealism

[certified-crystalclod]

Why you should stop making characters “aracial”

We see aracial characters mainly in podcasts or tabletop games. Sometimes they can be seen in comics. Aracial characters are made so the fans can assign them their own race/ethnicity headcanons. They could also be seen as cop outs because the creator doesn’t have to put effort into putting representation into their media. It’s just an easy way to make everyone happy. This post will tell you why aracial characters actually doesn’t help create representation and actually lessens it.

(TL;DR: Aracial characters cause harm because the default headcanon is to make the character white. There’s no good representation with it and causes discourse and BIPOC fans to be attacked and leave the fandom. To portray a good BIPOC character, do enough research to where you feel comfortable writing them. To have some gender-ambiguity, set a region with no specifics. For example, say your character is South-East Asian but no specific country. Representation in media matters and doing a cop-out isn’t the way to do it.)

Before we begin, let’s start with some definitions.

Aracial: without race or race distinctions

Race: the idea that the human species is divided into distinct groups on the basis of inherited physical and behavioral differences

Ethnicity: the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition, common set of folklore, ancestry, language, history, society, culture, nation, religion, or social treatment within their residing area

Nationality: the state of being part of a nation whether by birth or naturalization or ties to a specific nation

BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, Person of Color. Used when referring to all 3. POC is not synonymous with Black or Indigenous.

Race coding: writing an aracial character to be a specific race/ethnicity without explicitly saying it in the story

Headcanon: to note a particular belief which has not been used in the universe of whatever program or story they follow, but seems to make sense to that particular individual, and as such is adopted as a sort of "personal canon"

Canon: A piece of work -usually in reference to literature- that was written by the original author

I may not use all these words but they are nice to know. Lets begin.

Why are aracial characters bad?

Aracial characters aren’t inherently bad. If you make your characters race-ambiguous you’re not some type of bad person who’s too lazy to do real representation. You’re just got the right idea, wrong action. Aracial characters are just... not the best. Sure this means you can make your favorite character whatever race/ethnicity you want, but this can also cause discomfort and discourse.

In the early stages of fandoms (2000-2010s) lots of headcanons for these characters were mainly white. There was hardly any representation so you had to make it yourself. When there was representation, it came off as back-handed and hardly had any effort put into it. The art would look great but they didn’t have the right hair or facial features. They just looked like a white character with a tan.

Then came race coding. Creators, purposefully or accidentally, would put in subtle hints at a characters race/ethnicity. This would be through the way they talked, the celebrations they had, their traditions, or their struggles. This mainly happened with alien or non-human characters. Examples of these would be the majority of the Homestuck trolls, Steven Universe gems, and various podcast characters. BIPOC and white fans would figure out their hints and announce them, saying it would be wrong to headcanon them as anything otherwise. This is true as doing so would erase their identity and representation. As this grew, racism within fandoms grew. People would say “they don’t have a race! We can depict them however they want!” and throw fits when told the damage they’re doing.

Aracial characters can allow the freedom to depict your fans to project onto your characters but it also allows racism and attacks on harmless headcanons. It seems they can work but most of the time they do more damage.

How can I play/create a BIPOC character without accidentally doing harmful stereotypes?

You should always do research. When you play a wizard, what do you do? Research the spells it can do, the languages it can learn, and other important factors. When you play/write a BIPOC character, do the exact same thing. Research experiences, languages, clothing, and traditions. Is your character poor, well-off, or rich? Do they have immigrant parents, are they an immigrant themself, or have they been a citizen all this time and not understand the struggles of undocumented people? Are they in touch with their culture or slowly losing it? All of these can affect the way your character acts, talks, and grows.

If you’re a white person or simply someone who is writing out of your culture, this can be scary. You don’t want to accidentally say something wrong or put a harmful stereotype onto your character. To avoid this, research the stereotypes. See how they are subtly put into media like movies and TV shows. You may have seen some and not noticed because you never knew. When you have these, you’ll know how to avoid them.

Don’t see your character as a political thing. If you think “this is groundbreaking. I’m playing/writing a character of a different culture and must do everything right! I will be the best!” then you’re doing it wrong. Portray your character as you would if they were the same race as you. Or if you had them as aracial. Do not see them as scary because you might fuck up or brave because you’re stepping out of your comfort zone. They are a human being just like you. Sort of.

How can I allow my audience to portray my characters how they want and also have proper representation?

Maybe you don’t want to have a set race/ethnicity in place because you’re afraid or uneasy. That’s alright. Some of us need baby steps. What you can do is give them a region or race but no specifics.

For example, you can have a Latine or Hispanic character without specifically saying “They’re Mexican!” or “They’re Chilean!” This allows this group of people to say “Hey! I’m Latine or Hispanic! I can portray them in my culture!” This allows your audience to have a variety of cultures to choose from.

Having free-range like this with your characters is fun. It allows people to choose what they think best fits the character while also having some representation. It’s not a constant battle of headcanons and constant white characters. Nothing wrong with them it’s just seems to be the default when it comes to headcanons.

Representation in media matters, especially in ones where there is free will to interpretation. BIPOC do not get to see ourselves in media everyday so when we can put it in ourself, we do exactly that. We make the characters live our lives through our traditions and music and style and just everything.

When the representation is poor and lazy, it shows how much a creator doesn’t care about their audience and how they only care about their image. This can be seen in aracial characters. It’s just a cop-out so creators don’t have to worry so much about it and leave the work to everybody else.

#cloddy post #sorry if this is poorly written #it’s almost 2 am and I’m not a very good writer anyway #if you have any thoughts please tell me them #I will be tagging all of the media’s I had in mind while writing this #homestuck #hiveswap #taz balance #taz graduation #taz amnesty #the adventure zone #the magnus archives #welcome to nightvale #the penumbra podcast #I have never listened to the last two #so they might have good representation #idk #steven universe #I think that’s all #critical role #they might have good representation #I’ve never seen it but just in case #Yknow #and #dimension 20 #never seen it either #taz racism

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Yeeaaah… so this ended up turning out longer than I intended… but it’s a theory I felt like sharing nonetheless. Hopefully tumblr doesn’t eat this & if this is too long or odd to answer… don’t worry, I understand. I just wanted to share while it was in my head, ya know? So: Long Post Warning!

I am not 100% caught up on every chapter yet, but I do have a brief understanding of all the events up til now. So please forgive me if this has been revealed and I just don’t know about it yet.

Bell 🧚🏻 = wind spirit🌬🌪

Salamander (who honestly looks more like a dragon than a salamander so he’s gettin’ the dragon emoji) 🐲 = fire spirit 🔥

Undine 🌊 = water spirit💧

As far as I know, we don’t yet have an inkling of who the earth spirit will be or to whom he will “choose” to contract with.

Tbh, I have a some of feelings about possibilities surrounding the earth spirit…

Bell and Undine are both obviously women and I’m 96.8% sure that Salamander is a boy… but who knows, I also wouldn’t be the least bit freaking surprised if Tabata threw that back in our face and Salamander ends up being a girl like in Shrek (and on that note, I just need to ask, in Shrek 2 when Shrek and Donkey drank the Happily Ever After Potion, it’s described as “"Happily Ever After Potion maximum strength. For you and your true love. Drink of this potion and bliss will be thine, happiness, comfort, and beauty divine.” This stuff turned both Shrek and Fiona human while it turned Donkey into a pure white stallion… am I the only one that still gets peeved we never got an answer on wtf that stuff did to Dragon??? Or how it would’ve affected their dragon donkey hybrid babies??? That’s the only thing that irks me about Shrek 2… okay, whew, now that I’ve gotten that out, back to Black Clover theorizing)

Going by the assumption that Salamander is most likely a boy, it would stand to reason that the earth spirit has a good chance at being male as well like 2 female spirits, 2 male.

Salamander’s inspiration obviously comes from dragon lore, I can’t find one singularly specific mythology reference Tabata would have based Salamader on so I’m guessing Salamander is based on dragon lore.

Bell has, for the most part, 2 inspirations Tabata based her on. The main one being Sylphs have power over the skies and air. They've been delineated to have control over the wind and the clouds, and even have the ability to purify the air and control the weather itself. Sylphs are not officially from a specific type of mythology, but if they were to be categorized they’d qualify as European folklore, same as Undine and Gnome which will be explained a few bullet points later. The second and most obvious (my fav of the 2) inspiration Tabata drew from for her character is Tinkerbell; from the blond hair, green dress, gets pissed when male partner pays attention to any female that isn’t her, yeah no denying she’s based on tinkerbell; my guess is Tabata combined her with Sylphs wind magic because it was Tinkerbell’s pixie dust that Peter, the lost boys, and the Darling children used to be able to fly. “Faith, trust, & a little bit of pixie dust” (Which is even more perfect because, even if he doesn’t show it, there is no one else in the series that has more faith & trust in Asta than Yuno does… Yuno’s infinite faith/trust in Asta both drives their rivalry forward and, by this logic, is one of the very reasons Yuno can sore so high🥰).

Undine is the only spirit character, for now, that is directly based off of a real water spirit in European folklore (again, even though Sylphs technically qualify to be categorized under European mythology, as far as I know, they are not officially categorized as such which is why I say Undine is the only one) - “Undine, also spelled Ondine, is a mythological figure of European tradition, a water nymph who becomes human when she falls in love with a man but is doomed to die if he is unfaithful to her.” Being that Undine is described as being able to take human form when she falls in love with a man *cough cough* Ariel *cough cough* Black Clover’s Undine’s background states that she made a contract with the first queen of the newly formed Heart Kingdom and has thus stayed loyal and made a contract with every Heart Queen since. Maybe she fell in love with the father/brother/husband/male-figure associated with the first queen and since the queen is the predominant ruler of the heart kingdom - Undine made a contract with her to be close to this man while knowing he could/would never be hers… she wouldn’t die if her love is one sided… if her love is unsaid and unrequited then anything this man does with another woman isn’t considered being unfaithful.. and maybe she’s maintained contracts with every Heart Queen since out of sheer devotion, loyalty, and love to that original man whom she took human form for. Or she was in love with the first queen and has made a contract with every queen since out of sheer devotion, loyalty, and love not on just for that first queen but every one of her descendants. Who knows?

Tabata’s mythological references (demonology excluded because that a whole other thing) for the most part mainly circulate around Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and European folklore.

Going based off of Undine (and Sylphs) , there’s a strong possibility that this yet to be named earth spirit will possibly directly based on, even if only slightly, someone of those three categories above.

Greek mythology, I find somewhat unlikely seeing as there’s no official male god of earth in Greek mythology. There are deities that have roles related to the earth yeah… but no god surround the earth itself or the element itself. The closest thing to a god of earth in Greek mythology is Gaea - goddess of earth. Simplify it to god of dirt and still the only result is Demeter goddess of agriculture (which seems similar to Mimosa in some ways but I don’t think she will obtain an earth spirit because I think the earth spirit will have more to do with mineral earth than plants and agriculture). If there is to be any inspiration drawn from Greek mythology in terms of an earth spirit, but even this seems a little unlikely, my guess would be possibly some characteristics from Satyrs seeing as they are the male equivalent of nymphs - what Undine is technically classified as.

Norse mythology seems a bit more, but not by much at first, plausible in terms of gathering reference for an earth spirit. It probably wouldn’t be the Norse God of Earth Jörd because she is still technically a goddess and mother of earth like Gaea. However, Norse mythology does have a deity of rocks - Hrungnir is a jötunn (a type of entity contrasted with gods and other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves. The entities are themselves ambiguously defined, variously referred to by several other terms, including risi, thurs and troll). There is also one more Norse aspect that goes along these lines - Dvergar or Norse dwarves are entities in Norse mythology associated with rocks, the earth, deathliness, luck, technology, craft, metal work, wisdom, and greed.

Norse mythologies depictions of both jötunn and dvergar tie into the third category of European folklore’s depiction of earth deities/spirits. In European folklore, Gnome, is a dwarfish, subterranean goblin or earth spirit who guards mines of precious treasures hidden in the earth. He is represented in medieval mythologies as a small, physically deformed (usually hunchbacked) creature resembling a dry, gnarled old man. - this description is similar to that of jötunn/dvergar and also ties into Charmy being revealed as part dwarf which will most likely be explored in a later arc.

Tbh, I picture this guy’s personality being somewhere between Grumpy from Snow White, the grumpy but well-meaning and wisecrack Lorax, and Phil from Disney’s rendition of Hercules… (not only does imagining this type of personality have me laughing… imagining the 2 most whom I find most likely to be chosen by this earth spirit… imagining them being partnered up with this personality has me near cackling😂)

As for the 2 whom most likely might be the “chosen one” of this earth spirit?

Even though he is technically described as being Arcane in terms of his magical attribute, Mercury is by definition “a naturally-occurring chemical element found in rock in the earth's crust, including in deposits of coal.” So mercury is naturally occurring, derived from earth, and the fact that it can come from deposits of coal ties in perfectly to the hypothesis of this earth spirit/deity being along the lines of dwarves which (not JUST in Snow White) are heavily associated with miners in various mythologies and folklores. So even though technically classified as being arcane, I do think Nozel has a strong possibility of being chosen by the spirit of earth (+ it would make for an EVEN MORE epic rivalry between Nozel and Fuegoleon if they both have an elemental spirit) (++ based off of how dwarves are depicted in mythology and based on how I decribed how I think this guy’s personality will be, I can see this guy as wise/rational but also getting grumpy/irritated easily with a short fuse and just imagine him getting irritated and kicking Nozel in the shins when when he doesn’t communicate his feelings properly & almost always kicks Solid/Nebra/Augustus in the shins when he says something he shouldn’t have - omg this guy’ll be a hoot!!🤣)

The second possible “chosen one” of this earth spirit could be Sol. Not only is she 100% raw earth magic but I also feel like it would balance her out a bit having a male spirit attached to her and that’s where the wisdom side of the Lorax/Phil could kick in and help her not only improve as a mage but also as a person helping her not see things so one sided. You notice, even though the Blue Rose Knights are an all girl squad… Sol is the only one that goes to that much of a degree in despising men; everyone else on the squad detests men on the surface but for the most part not truly. Charlotte keeps up the façade of detesting men to both appear strong for her squad ladies but also to mask her own insecurities. Sol, while she has gotten a little better since her initial introduction, is the only one who barely tolerates men… the only one who’s depicted as not having a façade and genuinely detests all men with a few exceptions. Having a male spirit like character who does not take her BS (*shin kick💥*) but also offers her wisdom and guidance that helps her grow as a person would be phenomenal for her character overall.

I find Nozel to be the more interesting outcome (NO! not just because I’m a Nozel simp… who told you that? They lie) but either of these characters would be interesting and could improve drastically in character development and as a mage having someone like this joined at the hip.

What are your thoughts?

– Grimoire_Girl📚

OKay, okay *takes a moment* (Also: did I just stop what I was doing, just to read and reply to this? .... Maybe)

I'd like to platonically kiss you on the mouth (with your consent ofc, because consent is a big thing on this blog), because I love this. Okay the Fue simp in me was hoping to have more of him, but in the end I didn't even mind. And can I just say that I love, lovelovelove the idea of Nozel getting the Elemental Spirit of Earth.

The theory is made *so* *much* *better* by the mental image of him (supposedly 'him') being a Lorax/Phil (from now on, let's call him Phorax). Because can you just imagine this duo?! Nozel, our lovely tsun-tsun who is in need of a big, warm hug and therapy. (Like Nozel, sweetie, I know that there aren't many therapists around, but you need to talk to someone.)

I'm also thinking that since it's probable that there'll be the 2-2 divide between boy/girl spirits, because I kinda agree with you on Sal being a boy (I'm aware of Shrek 2, but unfortunately I have no answers, but I laughed *so hard* while reading that), if there'll be a divide between the Spirit forms that have wings. Because I can't see the Earth Spirit giving a flying Spirit Dive form.

I mean, what, everyone else, aka the rest 3 spirit owners can rise to the skies and then Nozel is left behind like a plucked chicken? (I'm so, so sorry for that comparison, but ain't no one leaving him behind! Nozel. Needs. To. Be. Included.) I don't think that's fair. So, it could very well be that the two else give a "grounded" Spirit form, and Bell and Undine give a flying form.

Aaaanyways... I do like your theory/thoughts on how Undine came to be. And I could very well see that to be canon.

I, honestly, have nothing further to add at this point. Because this is brilliant. I love this.

But Tabata please, give us a tiny bit more lore. Please? A pretty please

#grimoire girl #black clover theories #lovely people #this is gold #I'll be thinking about this all day

[laurasimonsdaughter]

Changelings!

Yes, their original folklore is often very sad, but the concept of a supernatural child raised by humans (and a human raised by magic creatures) has so much potential for modern, more positive fantasy. And there’s a lot more variety to changeling myths than you might think! So here are my favourites:

The old changeling. Present in both Celtic (most notably Scottish and Irish) and Germanic folklore these are elves, faeries or dwarves left in place of the taken child that are actually fully grown and usually very old. This is the type of changeling that you meet most in simple folklore and they are usually found out by doing something surprising, so they accidentally betray their age and flee. They are usually described as ugly, withered little creatures.

The Celtic changeling child. A real faerie child, usually sickly and small by human standards. Sometimes they never speak and they often have strange eating habits. What sets these changelings apart is that their elven parents usually still care for them. They come to collect them if maltreated or secretly visit to entertain, wash or feed them. Some of these changelings, unlike their ever-ailing, never growing siblings, are described as beautiful and possessing hidden talents, like being able to dance or play music masterfully.

The Germanic changeling child. Once again a real child, left behind by the nixies from the water or the mysterious folk that live underneath the hills. (The brothers Grimm often speak of “devils” leaving changelings, but they are far too eager to call any old folkloric creature a devil). These inhuman children are said not to live long, either seven years, eighteen or nineteen years, after which they may “go home”. Unlike the Celtic changeling child they are often described as insatiably hungry and often very physically strong. They may even use this strength to be helpful. Just like with the Celtic changeling the original parents can often be persuaded to come take their child back, because they still care for it.

The Scandinavian troll changeling. Like the Germanic changelings these troll children are always hungry, but they usually have no trouble growing up. They are cheerful, noisy and disruptive, love to have fun and often end up stealing food and running amok. They are described as a handful to deal with rather than malicious and their troll parents often keep an eye on them as well and may be persuaded to take them back. In some stories the grown troll changelings eventually find their way back to their troll family, because they never really fit in with humans.

The Scandinavian log changeling. This type of changeling is also left by trolls, but instead of leaving a child of their own they leave a log of wood that has been changed to look like a human and then given life. They behave very opposite to the troll changeling, they are sedate and quiet, prefer being alone and lazing about in the woods. In some Scottisch stories the fae also leave a block of wood, but in these cases it is only glamour that makes it look like a child and it is never truly alive. Interestingly, the folklore of the Shetland Islands specifically includes Scandinavian trolls, there called “trows” or “the grey neighbours”. One story states that a farmer caught a couple of trolls in the process of carving a likeness of his wife and baby to leave behind while taking them both.

As far as I can find out, despite all this variety, changelings happen for pretty much the same reason: because the fae, elves, dwarves, water spirits or trolls want human children on account of them being beautiful, a healthy addition to the bloodline, or in possession of talents only humans possess.

#scandinavian folklore #Germanic folklore #trolls #fae #faeries #celtic folklore #scottish folklore #irish folklore #laura babbles #I'll drop a source in the replies #changeling #changelings #wisselkind