I’ve made a deck for the slavic themed Mafia game — each character is from classic fairytales and epics. Part 1 of ? (Not really supposed to reveal the whole deck)

𖧷 Ivan Tsarevich 𖧷 Koshchei the Deathless 𖧷 Solovey (Nightingale) the bandit 𖧷 Rusalka

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The Magician. Art by Maria Ku, from the Of Folk & Fable Tarot.

Meet Ivan Tsarevitch, the Fire Bird, and the Grey Wolf, for the Magician card. (What can I say? I love a good wolf.)

Full art:

Кощей, вдохновленный обсуждениями с женой - @falsegod1 и её творческими шедеврами в фотошопном мастерстве. Сама же композиция с Царевичем пришла из мира славянской мифологии, сказок и книги-комикса 'Бессмертный' от кориандра без налегания на идентичность и воссозданный на свой лад.

Я художник, я так вижу.

thorax by @ashwwa

amazing skins by @remussirion and @sims3melancholic

dandelion wreath by @lady-moriel

pose by @solstice-sims

this is everyone I remember. thanks to all other creators.

Ива́н Царе́вич -Ivan Tsarevitch, from Marya Morevna

Lana Kulagina's illustration for russian tale "Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Grey Wolf".

Sorry, there was an error in the poll, I had to start it again.

My tag for this series is 'fairy tales'.

With the La Belle et La Bete double feature still languishing and dying of loneliness due to scheduling issues, we've decided to instead celebrate Valentine's Day with a discussion of which of our favorite relationships within fairytales, myths, and classic literature has stood the test of time, and River's gonna rank them! Who will win? The socialite and the bootlegger? The original catgirl and her immortal beloved (that are technically only public domain in Canada)? The lesbian vampire and her "victim"? The badass ladies of myth who defied Death itself to save their husbands? The princess and young man who need one very good boy's help to save them? The couple with an ending so tragic they spawned the Mid Autumn Festival? The pairing the Goddess of Love tried to tear apart to the point where even Zeus says she's gone too far? The ultimate childhood rivals to lovers? And WHY are there so many cats and dogs in this episode?? Find out on this episode of IER TLDR!  Also there might be a sneak peek to a somewhat belated Retelling the News segment at the end, who knows...

Seen you reblogging wolf (Old Fur New Teeth) animation, and automatically assumed it was that heart-wrenching tearjerking one (WolfSong by Toniko Pantoja). Вспомнила про ещё одну "волчью" анимацию - "ARIgate - Сказка о серых волках"; необычная трактовка Ивана Царевича и Серого Волка))

Oh, that all sounds very interesting, thank you for the rec!

A piece I made for Of Folk and Fable Tarot — a collaborative project where artists drew creatures and stories from their cultures. This is The Magician, as represented by Ivan Tsarevitch, the Fire Bird, and the Grey Wolf, a classic Russian/Ukrainian/Georgian fairy tale. I love me a good-hearted wolf shapeshifter! 

The project has already been fully funded on Kickstarter (yay!) but give it a look if it sounds like your thing. 

Could Vassa Be Immortal After All?

A Firebird Theory

(WARNING: HOFAS SPOILERS BELOW)

While reading CC3 I couldn’t help but notice a plot element regarding curses that brought me back to Vassa in ACOTAR.

In HOFAS we learn Jesiba's mysterious backstory and all this talk of curses- I couldn’t help but to meditate on our favorite firebird. Jesiba unveils that she has been cursed in Chapter 38:

And also elaborates that there were unintentional consequences of the curse:

Jesiba obviously holds a strong grudge against her cursor but is able to use the curse to her advantage.

So Jesiba, similarly to Vassa, was a mortal, cursed unwillingly by an immortal male figure. The curse made her immortal in turn. This has me thinking- what if the same has happened to Vassa? More from Ch.38:

I also find the passage in ACOWAR really interesting, in which Feyre is describing her perception of Vassa the first time they meet:

‘Only a few years older than me, but ... young-feeling. Coltish. Fierce and untamed, despite her curse.’ (ACOWAR chapter 79)

Could this be because although Vassa is, let’s say, age 28- she actually stopped physically aging when she was cursed at age 20? Perhaps it's just Feyre noting that she's a spicy pepper. Who knows.

I recently went down a rabbit hole of Slavic lore and I’m so intrigued by Vaasa’s storyline in the upcoming books. Most folks are aware that SJM has taken her story directly from Slavic mythology- and there are loads of potential breadcrumbs in the fables of:

Ivan Tsarevitch in which Ivan, the youngest of several malaligned brothers, sets out on a quest to free a firebird from a dark sorcerer who also entraps other princesses (often Koschei the deathless).

Princess Vasilisa in which an archer finds a firebird’s flaming feather and gets roped into a quest to deliver a lost princess. Hello Elain’s vision regarding this exact imagery: “I saw a feather of fire land on snow and melt it.” (ACOWAR)

Swan Lake in which Princess Odette (Vassa) is cursed into a swan form by an evil lord and can only take human form between midnight and daybreak. Only a faithful vow of true love can break the spell. If her true love makes a vow to the wrong woman (Elain perhaps) the princess dies instead. Could something as powerful as a male (Lucien) breaking his mating bond to forge a destiny with Vassa be the key to breaking her curse??

Who knows.

Will Vassa be immortalized by Koschei's power touching her and chaining her to the lake? Will Lucien be the key to deliver her from her curse as Ivan was in the fables?

I don't know. But regardless of Lucien's heart, I myself am a Vassa acolyte. I'm so enraptured by the beautiful myths surrounding this lore, and am so intrigued to learn what becomes of Vassa as a heroine in her own right. Her character and story have so much magical potential!

In the words of Yakov Polonsky’s poem:

And in my dreams I see myself on a wolf's back

Riding along a forest path

To do battle with a sorcerer-tsar

In that land where a princess sits under lock and key,

Pining behind massive walls.

There gardens surround a palace all of glass;

There Firebirds sing by night

Why the tale of Koschie (Koschie the Deathless) doea not support the three brothers and three sisters trope of what a lot of people are hoping for.

Koschie the Deathless comes from Slavic mythology, often known as Koschie the the Immortal. There are many tales of how Koschie is immortal and where his power comes from but what SJM pulls from his story that was inspired by Andrew Lang's ‘ The Red Fairy Book’ and Alexander Afanasyev's ‘ Russian Fairy Tales’ that both tell the story of Koschei the Deathless that circles around the life and love of Prince Ivan Tsarevitch. Following the death of his parents, Ivan saw his three sisters wed to three powerful kings or wizards that take on the form of birds of prey. Raven (darkness), Eagle (fire), and a Hawk (wind). Within a year, Ivan became lonely and even envious of his sisters for finding love while he remained alone. Soon, Ivan ventured off to find his sisters coming across Marya Morvena, a woman warrior, as they wed along their journey.

Soon after, Marya says that she is going off to war and warns Ivan not to open the door to the castle dungeon (or closet) in the castle they reside in while she is away. Overcome by the desire to know, he opens the door soon after her departure to find Koschie emaciated and chained. Koschie soon asks Ivan for some water, which Ivan does. After drinking twelve buckets of water, his magic returned to him, breaking free of his chains and disappearing. After Koschie disappeared, he soon found out that he had captured Marya and pursued him. When Ivan finally reached Koschie, he warns the man to let him go, but Ivan refuses, thus causing Koschie to kill him. Tossing parts of his body into barrels into the sea where his sister's husbands revived him. They tell Ivan that Ksochie has a magical horse and that he should go to Baba Yaga for one as well.

After surpassing and surviving her tests, Ivan gets a magical horse as well and kills Koschie. Burning his body and saving Marya.

But how does SJM tie this into Acotar? We know that throughout her books, the number 3 has been incredibly symbolic and representative in her series. Though for acotar, we have three sisters and three kings or in some stories, wizards: Highlord of Night, Heir of Day, and Prince of Bastards. Though in other variations of the myth, they turn into night, day, and wind. We have Rhysand, who is basically the personification of Night, Lucien, who is heir of the Day court, and Cassian as Illyrians are said to be created by the wind. And each of these males is mated to the three sisters. But who represents Ivan? Azriel. In the tale of Ivan, it tells of him not only being lonesome but also envious of something his sisters have: love.

Azriel is already on his journey of envy and loneliness that we've seen in his bonus chapter, but instead of going forth, he runs away finding Gwyn. In many variations of the tale, they tell of Marya as a warrior or a warrior princess at times, which leads to Gwyn. Not only is Gwyn a warrior - a valkyrie on top of that, but she could also be related to Beron as well. It was said that her grandmother was a water nymph who would seduce high fae males in the Autumn Court. It could've very well have been the start of his deep hatred for lesser fae as he was seduced by one and why her mother could not be contained in the Forest House. This theory supports Gwynriel and what is to come, but it also supports Elucien too. On different days, Ivan and his sisters were approached by birds of prey.

To support Elucien: Days follow days, hours chase hours; a whole year goes by. One day, Prince Ivan and his two sisters went out to stroll in the garden green. Again, there arose a storm cloud, with whirlwind and lightning. 'Let us go home, sisters!' cries the Prince. Scarcely had they entered the palace when the thunder crashed, the roof burst into a blaze, the ceiling split in twain, and in flew an eagle. The Eagle smote upon the ground and became a brave youth. 'Hail, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but now I have come as a wooer!' ​And he asked for the hand of the Princess Olga. Prince Ivan replied: 'If you find favor in the eyes of the Princess Olga, then let her marry you. I will not interfere with her liberty of choice.' Princess Olga gave her consent and married the Eagle. The Eagle took her and carried her off to his own kingdom.

As stated before in other variations of the story, the wizards represent the following: darkness, fire, and wind. In the section that was provided before, an eagle came to the three siblings in the garden as the roof burst into a blaze, and as the bird smote onto the ground, it became a brave youth We've known that Lucien is clever and witty, but he is also brave. He broke through the spell that Hybern had casted upon everyone to reach Elain, he was the first to acknowledge what she did when it came to defeating Hybern, did not doubt her vision when it came to Vassa and went searching for her where he also returned with the one person she adored the most: her father and an army of ships. If Lucien does take the title as Highlord of Day, his beast form would be part eagle.

To support Nessian: Hardly had they got into the palace, when the thunder pealed, the ceiling split open, and into the room where they were came flying a falcon bright. The Falcon smote upon the ground became a brave youth and said: 'Hail, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but now I have come as a wooer! I wish to propose for your sister, Princess Marya.' 'If you find favor in the eyes of my sister, I will not interfere with her wishes. Let her marry you in God's name!' The Princess Marya gave her consent; the Falcon married her and bore her away into his own realm.

To support Feysand: They returned home, but they hadn't had time to sit down when the thunder crashed, the ceiling split open, and in flew a raven. The Raven smote upon the floor and became a brave youth. The former youths had been handsome, but this one was handsomer still. 'Well, Prince Ivan! Before I came as a guest, but now I have come as a wooer! Give me the Princess Anna to wife.'

'I won't interfere with my sister's freedom. If you gain her affections, let her marry you.' So the Princess Anna married the Raven, and he bore her away into his own realm.

Princess Marya represents Nesta as she is the oldest of the three sisters, Princess Olga representing Elain as the middle sister, and Princess Anna representing Feyre as the youngest of the sisters to be wed.

finally, more classical look!

ivan tsarevitch kiss

wow hi i'm alive!! i burned out very very hard for a long while there and was not drawing like uhhh at all. i'm slowly easing back into it and mostly just doing small sketches and doodles 💀

anyways, some ocs belonging to me and a friend for a fables-esque setting game. kin is not yet captain hook of peter pan, and varya is ivan from tsarevitch ivan, the firebird and the gray wolf. the inspo for kin's drawing really got me after reading hooked by a.c. wise (highly recommend!!) and kinda spiraled from there lolol

I'm very puzzled by the artifacts that Gerard found in the spider lair, because I can only identify the fairy tale influence for two of them:

The Hood of Rushes. Clearly from the fairy tale Cap-o'-Rushes, where an exhiled princess hides her fine clothes under a garment made of rushes. Probably helps with stealth? Or maybe it grants Disguise Self?

The Golden Bridle. Golden bridles have very good fairy tale pedigree. Some kelpie's appear wearing a golden bridle, and if you manage to get it, you can control the kelpie. It also frequently shows up in stories that feature other transformed, magical or exceptional horses that you must either exclusively or never put on a golden bridle, like in Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf. Perhaps it grants a boost to animal handling? Or it could belong to a Phantom Steed?

But for these I don't know:

The Sword of Truth. Brennan has already said this isn't from a specific story but just an "archetypcal fairy tale sword", but I'm really wracking my brain for his inspiration. I'd call it an archetypal fantasy sword. I don't know many fairy tales where a specific sword holds magic power. And the only sword to do with truth I know of is the blade "Fragarach" from Irish Mythology, which apparantly could make anyone tell the truth, but I haven't found the source material for that...

The Black Velvet Cloak with Stars. I have no idea if this is supposed to refer to something. Brennan described it as having stars embroidered on the inside of the cloak, so perhaps it has something to do with hiding light or carrying the night with you, but I really don't know. Very vexing

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

hi hi hi!

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

Right then!

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

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

And it's just so????!

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

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

It is no disease, but a curse.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Excerpt from Ivan meeting the Wolf:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for asking and letting me ramble! 💛

Do you have a myth you were told when u were a kid that for no reason continues to be your favourite ever since and you have 0 explanation as to why?

Anyway i do and its Arachne's

awww this is a super cute ask!! and i do! this is more folklore than myth, but my mum always used to tell us the story of Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird, and the Grey Wolf!!!! it’s a russian fairytale and it will always be my favourite 💙

is there any significance behind Arachne’s myth being your fave? and which version?

1) Arachne IS the better weaver and Athena jealously turns her into a spider anyways

2) Arachne loses and Athena turns her into a spider in pity so that she will weave forevermore