i wish some more info on the tdp elf cultures/xadia life in general were revealed cuz the urge to make an oc is SO strong rn

Hello!! I just wanna say that your blog aesthetic is a 🌠 v i b e ! 🌠 Anyway! I was wondering if I could request Thranduil, Thorin, Legolas, and Elrond with a s/o who loves to paint/draw them? I really just wanna paint the pretty bois jfhfbf - 🥀🥀🥀

OMG ty so much that’s what i was going for 😂💕 and ghfsdhd me too tbh 😭💕

also sorry for taking forever 😂 i don’t know where my motivation went but it’s back now!💕

Legolas

Legolas would be very surprised and borderline flattered when he finds you drew him 💖

he knows elves are generally beautiful, but he never thought himself worthy of being painted or drawn by such a great artist 🥲💕

he’s a super tender lover and honestly wouldn’t know what to say when you show him even a simple sketch of him. he might say something like, “that’s what you perceive me as?” not in an offended way, he’s just so impressed that he can’t believe something this good could be based off of him 🥺💕💕

he is generally very impressed and touched by you, and will smile tenderly at you before going on and on about how his lover is such a gifted artist, and how he’s honored to be the object of your inspiration 😭💕💕 someone get this kid a medal

if you made an actual painting of him, (he’s like always out and about i don’t see him having a permanent residence but let’s just say he did) he would like it to be a very personal item, maybe in his room or above his desk 💕 if it’s smaller he’d absolutely adore to have it in his pack or something to take out and admire (ur work, not his face 😂). he’d prefer to have a painting of you so if he doesn’t see you for a while he won’t forget your face 🥺💕💕💕

Thorin

as queen of Erebor (go with it), the wealthiest place in middle earth, you would have all the art supplies of your desire. 💕

Thorin would be the one not to be too flattered, but rather be proud of your skill. Your paintings would be absolutely everywhere. in your chambers at least. Thorin won’t allow all the paintings to be of him, of course, but demands as long as you create art of him, you must make some of you as well 💖💕

if in The Company on their journey to the Misty Mountains, Thorin would be often curious if you’ve drawn more of him and will be drawn to your side, flipping through your sketchbook admiring all of your work 💕 “what else have you been working on?” he’ll murmur next to you, as he studies the works, admiring them all.

Thranduil

Thranduil wouldn’t be surprised you sketch him, he’s pretty damn handsome and he knows it 😂💕

he would be one to softly critic your work, but not in a mean or judgmental way, but more like positive, affirmative criticism 😂 he doesn’t say it but he loves to keep your sketches in his drawers💕 he has a little chest of them that remind him of you🥺💕

if you were to full on paint him, thranduil would ask if you would prefer one of his own artists to paint both of you together ☺️💖💕✨ (he really wants a hanging of you both together in regal clothes so he can show you off uwu💕)

if/when you refuse and want to paint him yourself, he would smile and chuckle, thinking about how much you love and worship him, before settling down and letting you paint him. he will stay there for days if you say so he is so disciplined 😭💕💕💕

he would always always ALWAYS give positive affirmation on your art 🥺💕 he loves your skill and often proclaims it and boasts about it to whoever will listen 💖💖 “My Lady Y/n, would paint the earth, seas and skies if she so desired.” yes he’s very poetic about it too 🥺💕💕

Elrond

He is so surprised tbh 😂 I can’t see him ever have had his painting done~~ he’s like the least vain of all the characters here 💕xD

if you were to show him a simple sketch of him out of the blue~~ say you two were reading together and you sketched him absentmindedly~~ he would smile fondly and out of surprise🌷💕😖

he would ask as to what inspired you to sketch something so nicely, and plays dumb like “OFC YOU BITCH 😭😭💕💕” he acts like a proud dad, holding it out in front of him with a genuine smile, while looking back at you to comment on it generously 😊🌷✨

he frames it to the wall almost immediately, probably tacking it above his desk or something. he would straight up refuse if you offered to paint him. straight up REFUSE. “no, my dear Y/n that’s not necessary” he’s not even flattered he’s like “why would you do that y/n we have painters who’s job is exactly that. 💕💕😂

i feel like he’s really busy anyway so he cherishes his time with you~~ he might think it would take too long and would rather you do something else with your precious time 🥺💖💕 but once you voice that you really want to, his heart would eventually melt for you and he would do whatever you wanted 🥰🥺💕💕

Dimension Jumping Pt. 5

Comforting a grieving hobbit and time get everyone ready to go out!

Via the genius idea from katzrfsoa / Kat88

There's been mention of the reader not wanting to take the groups out, for fear of the public's reaction... so what about a cosplay convention? it would give the Reader the perfect excuse to allow them out, and they would wear their original clothes 

----

This morning has been uneventful for the most part.

Breakfast passed by without issue and now everyone is off doing their own things.

You looked outside and took a peek in the guest room, but you still can't find him.

Sam, Merry, and Pippin are playing a board game you showed them; Legolas is doing his meditation sleep thing; Boromir and Aragorn are discussing something; and Gimli is stacking bread on Legolas' leg to see how long it takes until he notices.

Frodo, however, is missing at the moment.

Right as you were considering telling the others of his disappearance, however, you heard some shuffling from your hall closet.

You open the door carefully and take peer inside, not wanting to startle the small hobbit, and at first you don't see him.

There's more shuffling and you hear a quiet sniff, followed by soft sobs, and you then realize he's hiding behind the shelf.

The door makes a soft clicking sound when you close it, and right away the quiet cries cease. You didn't want to alert him with the door, you wanted to do it yourself, but it's too late now, so you just go with it.

"Frodo?" You call in a gentle voice, staying by the door incase he wants you to go.

"Y-Yes?' He calls back, not moving from his spot.

His voice is thick with emotion, and the sadness in his tone makes your heart ache painfully. And when you walk closer and see him huddled up behind the shelf, your heart breaks a little for him.

He hastily rids his cheeks of any evidence of his sorrows, though the puffiness around his eyes and constant sniffles don't much help his cause, and looks at you with a false smile.

"Frodo, why are you crying?" You ask with furrowed eyebrows, kneeling down in front of him so you may look at him at eye level (mostly).

"It's nothing." He tells you quickly, looking away from your compassionate face with the same sad frown on his lips.

When you don't move to get up or leave, his gaze slides back over to you and he realizes that you're not going to leave unless he straight up tells you to go away. This makes him sigh, but truthfully, he doesn't want you to go away. Not really. For having company in a time of sorrow always mends suffering.

"I... did not have a proper time to mourn Gandalf. I've been so caught up in the oddity that is this place that I almost forgot my sorrows altogether, but then this morning is all... came rushing back." He explains with a surprisingly even voice.

While he speaks you cross your legs and listen along intently, your hands folded neatly in your lap. When he finishes, you reach forward and place your hand atop his with a gentle touch, "I didn't know him, but I can tell he was very dear to you. Honestly, I can't offer much advice, but I can tell you that keeping it all bottled up inside is not a good idea."

He looks at you with that sad face when you speak, and it prompts you to continue, "Also, I know everyone else can be pretty overwhelming or they just don't understand, and I want you to know that I'm always here to listen if you're feeling down, okay?"

Your words draw a small smile from the grieving hobbit and it elicits a similar grin from you.

"Thank you, Y/N. I... actually do feel a little better."

"I'm glad."

---

After your discussion with Frodo you rejoin everyone back out in the main room and let him recollect himself, going right onto your laptop to get some work done.

You're idly scrolling through a scholarly article you need to research when you see it.

An advertisement for some sort of comic book, cosplay, convention... thing in the area (no wonder you've been seeing so many oddly dressed people recently).

At first you almost scroll past it, but then you get hit with the brick of knowledge and a lightbulb goes off in your head.

"Yes!" You scream, successfully scaring everyone in the room and Penny who is sitting with you for once. "Ohh, my god. This is freaking perfect!" You exclaim, clicking on the link to get some more information.

Your eyes practically soak up everything on the information page, and, once you've skimmed through all of it, you look up with a bright smile on your face.

Literally all of them are looking at you like you've grown two heads, but you only clap your hands together a few times. "Guys, I just had a huge brain moment!"

The joke goes over their heads as per usual, but you don't let that deter you.

"Huge brain moment?" Pippin asks in confusion, looking at his cousin like he thinks he heard it wrong or something.

"Yes! I've figured out a way to take everyone out!"

That certainly gets their attention.

"You have?" Sam asks exuberantly, dropping his game piece so he can turn towards you and pay perfect attention.

"I have, yes," you start, continuing once you're 100% sure they're all paying attention, "So here's the thing, I knew that I could take out you tall boi's without issue besides having to find a hat for Legolas here, and I could explain that Gimli here has dwarfism," you pause at that and realize it may be offensive to him, but you continue once more, "but I also knew that there's no way I can explain away the hobbits, and then I found this gem."

You turn the computer so it faces all of them, but they only look more confused.

"There's a convention thing in town for the next week, and it's the perfect opportunity for me to bring everyone out! We just have to dress up the hobbits a bit and pretend that they're children."

At your explanation you receive multiple pleased smiles, and it serves to make you feel even better about your idea. "And you can all wear your normal clothes, too. And if someone asks who you are... I'll figure out a game or something you guys can use as an alias."

"Are you sure that will work?" Aragorn asks with furrowed eyebrows, sitting up from his spot in your arm chair.

"Um, like, maybe 98%." You confirm with a shrug, "It's better than 88% though."

He doesn't seem like he disagrees with you, so you look back at your laptop again and start to look for ideas to make them more believable as humans.

---

3 hours of research later, and you've successfully compiled a completely fool proof plan to smuggle this merry band of bizarre boys out of your house.

What you've decided is that you'll put some makeup over Legolas' pointy ears to make them look more fake since the concept of elves is not lost in this world. Boromir and Aragorn can go as themselves, and you'll put some makeup on the hobbits much like you will Legolas (they'll be children elves since there are no hobbits in your world) and tell everyone who asks how they look so good that you're a professional makeup artist.

Gimli, fortunately for you, was the easiest to come up with something for next to the other two humans of this group. You can just tell people he has dwarfism and that's why he chose to go as a dwarf character.

Everything is in order except for what you're going to do, though you suppose you should match their theme and be some sort of renaissance, maiden, lady, thing. You'll figure it out, though you do need to make sure it's convincing like theirs.

You decided to, instead of putting it off, go ahead and start working on finding a costume to match theirs.

A couple of searches later and you come across a really pretty dress that looks to fit their style, and when you show it to them they give you the thumbs up, so you order it with express shipping so it should arrive tomorrow.

It's a lovely flowy medieval dress *just look up flowy medieval dress and go to images, there are some good examples there*, and you feel excited just looking at it. Of course, there's no guarantee that it'll be the best quality, but it's got great reviews and you certainly paid a hefty sum for it.

After that's done with you head to your bathroom to see what makeup you've got, and you find that you don't really have any theatrical/special effects makeup. You're going to need skin colored wax makeup, powders, and contour stuff.

You're no makeup artist, obviously, but luckily for you, your goal is to make them look less realistic, so it should be easy enough.

It's surprisingly easy to figure out what you need to make them as convincing as possible, and pretty soon you've got a nice little list going on that outlines each thing you need.

Since you don't want to delay anymore, you head out of your bathroom and grab your bag while putting on your shoes, "Legolas, I'm leaving now if you wanna come with." You suggest since he stated his desire to join you in the one of the last chapters (:o).

When you call his name he looks over at you quickly, smiling a bit at your offer, "Yes, but you said I need a hat."

"Oh yeah! I have one, just gimme a sec." You tell him, walking over to a drawer.

When you open said drawer, you find a grey beanie with ease and toss it over to him, "Here ya go. Make sure it covers your ears... and uh, tuck your hair up into it too if you don't mind."

He does as you say with ease and, surprisingly, he looks just as good with shorter hair as he does longer hair.

It sticks kinda awkwardly at first, so you waltz on over and gesture for him to crouch down so you don't have to reach up.

Once again he does as you request and leans down so you may fix it.

You adjust it a bit to make sure it won't fall first, and then you smooth it back a bit so it'll also look stylish. And once you're done you take a step back and smile at him brightly.

"All done! Let's go!"

---

He seemed rather fascinated in the way your car works first and foremost, but once you got him to look out his window instead of watching you, his excitement quickly turned into awe.

When you both get to the ULTA store he follows you without hesitation and asks some hushed questions about things he sees, like the light up signs, other passing cars, stoplights, and some other things.

You, of course, answer each question happily and lead him inside, holding the door open for him while he enters and looks around the brightly lit up makeup store.

Right away you head towards the general direction of the nose and scar wax (it's multi purpose, don't judge me), forgetting to make sure that Legolas follows you.

When it does occur to you, however, that the blond elf didn't come after you, you panic.

You turn in a circle and only stop when you see him standing with some ladies who practically have hearts in their eyes.

Unconsciously you breathe a sigh of relief and head over with the wax in your little basket, immediately reaching up to wrap your arm around his, "I got the first thing on my list, come on."

The girls stop their giggles and flirting as soon as you show up and look genuinely surprised.

You give them a smile and nod in acknowledgement, not wanting to make them feel bad over something so silly before turning with your arm still around his own and walking him over to look at some contour stuff and other things.

They make some snide comments when you turn your back about you being a 'clingy girlfriend' and 'not pretty enough to be with a model like that', but you only ignore it and relish in the fact that you didn't make them feel bad over something as silly as a cute guy in a makeup store.

"Why are those women talking about you like that?" He asks in a whisper, leaning down so only you will hear his question.

You look up at him with a bit or surprise since you didn't expect him to pick up on that, before you smile, "They're attracted to you, and they think that I was being selfish with taking you away from their advances."

"Selfish? Advances?" He looks confused, but you only smile and turn back to the display case.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it, Leggy my boy."

"Leggy?" He asks slowly, looking at you in confusion.

"Leggy." You confirm with a nod with a distracted hum.

It isn't much later that you have everything you need, and so you go to the checkout and buy everything.

"Going to the convention?" The girl at the counter asks with a smile.

You smile back and nod your head, glancing up at Legolas before looking back at her, "That obvious?"

"No of course not, just the items in your basket always fly off the shelves around convention time." She replies with a giggle, ringing up all your items.

"Well, that's fair." You muse, putting your card into the reader to pay for it.

Once everything is in order she hands you your receipt and adds, "Maybe I'll see you there."

"Maybe!" You chirp back happily, liking the nice conversation going on here.

"You and your boyfriend have a good day now!"

You elect to ignore that.

---

On the way home you pretend to not notice the black car following yours and make small talk with the elf, answering some more of his questions and speaking idly on different things.

"There are so many odd, interesting things here..." He comments after a while, glancing out the back window. "Are you aware that, that car has been following us for the past 10 minutes?"

You nod and hum as an answer, "Mmhm, it's just Brian. He's probably trying to figure out who you are."

The blond knits his eyebrows together and glances back to look at the car again, "Should I do something about it?"

"The only thing you can do is ignore it. He went from lowercase 's' stalker to uppercase 's' since you guys arrived, and it'll only get worse if you intervene." You mumble, trying not to look in the rearview mirror at him. "It's fine."

"You don't seem to think it's fine." He challenges in the same even tone, turning in his seat towards you.

Instead of answering his question you look at him while you stop at a light and grumble, "I told you to put your seatbelt on."

"It's uncomfortable."

"I don't care."

"I will be fine."

"Not if we get into a crash, you won't."

The two of you stare each other down before he slowly reaches up and buckles his belt, never breaking eye-contact.

"Good boy." You coo in a way-too sweet voice.

"Anyways, I know we said as much before, but you needn't worry about that man while we're here." He continues despite your obvious subject change.

"I know." Your reply is softer and less defensive this time, for you really do appreciate it, "Thank you."

He looks surprised at your sudden gratitude, and his expression shows as much "For what?"

"For being you. For looking out for me. All of you."

This time he smiles and says no more.

---

When you both get back to your house you immediately put everything in your bathroom and get onto your laptop to view some techniques on theatrical and movie makeup, Pippin and Merry on either side of you while they view through the pictures and videos with you.

"That one looks interesting." Merry pipes up suddenly, pointing at a person to wolf makeup transformation.

"Yep, and way past anything I can do."

This pattern of going through pictures and viewing clips goes on for a little while until they two hobbits depart to have lunch, meanwhile you continue on so that tomorrow will be a success.

You're both excited and nervous at the same time, wanting to see how it'll all turn out but also dreading it incase something goes wrong.

You know the most important thing is to have a positive mindset about it, but it's kinda hard sometimes during your more anxious moments.

Also, there's the issue of Brian possibly following all of you...

Nah, that'll be a problem to think on for tomorrow.

"What time will we leave tomorrow?" Aragorn asks from his usual spot on the rocking chair, Penny still nestled in his lap as per usual.

"Around the morning. I bought the tickets already so we won't have to stand in line for too long... Hopefully."

"Thank you for working so hard so that we may see more of your world." He comments suddenly, stroking his hand down her fluffy back.

You tilt your head to the side and smile a bit, "You don't have to thank me."

"No, I do. You have seen to our every need and we no doubt pose to be a huge burden. Thank you, really."

His words make you flush slightly, and you look away shyly.

You've grown to care about all of them, so of course you would do anything to keep them comfortable at this point. More than anything you're just glad they see how much you're trying to make things easy on them. It feels nice being recognized for your efforts.

Plus, the added protection from Brian is pretty sweet.

"Anything for you guys."

Vox Machina Star Wars AU

(aka, Vox Stella Machina)

Before we get started, two things: 

I definitely don’t have the patience to write this one, but it was too cool an idea to drop so please feel free to take and run with it.

This is entirely @starsofshadowanddust’s fault for putting the idea into my head.

Now that that’s out of the way, onward! (minor spoilers for everybody’s backstories)

First things first: Casting.

Obviously we gotta keep Percy as our only run-of-the-mill-human of the group, otherwise where’s the fun in it? Slightly Force-sensitive but not nearly enough to be a Jedi or anything, just boost his strength/stamina/aim and such. Also enough to feel the pull of powerful Force objects (we’ll come back to this one) and build Force-bonds. The gang absolutely still find him in a cell, but we’ll come back to him in Part 2 ;)

Keyleth is from a group of non-traditional Force users from the mid/outer rim. Possibly a follower of the Whills if you wanna deep-dive into the lore. She could very easily be a Twi’lek if you wanted, but a far more fun option (in my mind) is having her be a Zelosian. They are very much not canon, but a super cool concept and I think it’d fit Kiki perfectly.

Pike is straight-up a Jedi healer (yellow lightsaber obvs). It would make the most sense if she’s just freshly knighted. She’s on a humanitarian mission with her former Master when he’s attacked on his way back from gathering supplies. Insert a slightly altered canon play-by-play of how she meets Grog. After both he and her Mater are healed they continue their mission (with some bonus muscle) until it’s time for them to return. Except the whole time they’re preparing to leave Pike feels as though the Force is urging her to stay with Grog. She speaks with her Master who agrees that this is where the Force is guiding her.

Obviously she has her crisis of faith and goes back to the temple, but I see her Master as being one of those Jedi who cares way more about following the Force than the rules. Eventually she finds herself, whether that means being an unconventional Jedi or leaving entirely is up to you.

As for what she is: There are a ridiculous number of species in the Star Wars universe and I don’t have the patience to go through them all to find the best fit. So just go with whatever you like. Same with Scanlan, though if I had to throw one out there for him off the top of my head it’d probably be Sullustan. D’know why, just seems to fit his vibe.

Personally I’d go with Devaronian for Grog but I could see him as Lasat or Besalisk too. Only vaguely Force-sensitive, like Percy.

Back to Scanlan. He’s a Jizz musician. 

...don’t know what else you were expecting.

Maybe he owes somebody money, maybe Pike and Grog saved his butt because he did something stupid or was in the wrong place at the wrong time. All up to you. Definitely got more power than Percy and Grog but no formal training. It’s au naturale baby! Mainly uses it in his performances to draw people in (and maybe leave a generous tip).

Now last but certainly not least, the Twins. 

In an extremely ironic twist, the best comparison to both the varying attitudes/stuck-upishness and commonality of elves in the Star Wars universe is humans. So I’m thinking Syldor would be a high-ranking human politician (ha) from a prominent mid-rim or Core world. As for their mother’s side, you could go for Twi’lek but I personally like the idea of them being half Togruta. Those sneaking/hunting instincts you know? (is this actually possible? Hell if I know. This is fanfic, make your own rules) It would also add to how out of place they feel in a mostly-human city, considering Togruta society is both tribal and matriarchal. Again, both are Force-sensitive but not enough to be Jedi. More than Percy, less than Scanlan. They become smugglers and/or pirates à la Hondo.

(I am not adding Tiberius to this for several reasons, but I’d imagine he’d be pretty easy to shuffle in if you wanted to)

Part 1 - Part 2

Planar Examples: Quotes from another world

~

Okay, so I went pretty easy this week, I feel. The thing is, I get amazing feedback from the modhouse, but the question also goes into the public, so before I talk about intent, ask yourselves: do these cards make sense to me? What do I know about the world and the walkers? How does that affect the cards? Can I picture the art? Is this a good common? Now that you’ve asked that, cards!

Huatli and the beasts of Naya seemed like a great fit. What is the difference between the worlds? Obviously, great beasts with a strong relationship to their people would be important to Huatli, but the Sun Empire lives in harmony with their dinosaurs, and the godtrackers are subservient to the ‘god-beasts’ of the shard. Yeah, everything’s broken now, but Naya’s still got some jungle to it. The intent was for the art of Ravage to depict a gargantuan coming through and wrecking shop, scattering gifts and offerings, tearing the elves and mystics apart in a prideful rage, maybe with a hoof up ready to stomp down. It’s a slow combat trick and expensive removal spell, but it gets the job done.

How does it work? The world of Naya is referenced in “godtrackers,” and it’s a planeswalker’s observation of difference, how she doesn’t fit into this place. The card’s big stompy, a show of bestial anger, in reference.

~

Queen’s Faithless is a little bit of a bend in blue, I’ll admit. But Covetous Urge shows that we can get a little hand manipulation in hybrid, and it’s a death trigger which makes it harder to cheat out and all. Without Oona around, wherever she is, the faeries of Lorwyn are a little lost and stuff, but they’re creatures just like creatures are. What better place to meet a dream-oriented blue-black planeswalker like Ashiok? Frankly, they have a vibe themself that kinda fits into the Lorwynnian elemental side. Full of dreams and nightmares, these wandering strange fae are perfect for this planeswalker to squeeze like little Capri Suns. Oh jeez, Ashiok on Lorwyn is something I really want now.

How does it work? “Queen” in relation to blue-black hybrid and faeries puts this card on Lorwyn/Shadowmoor following the story of the block, and Ashiok’s presence there shows how they use this faerie’s short life to eventually squeeze out a small dream-theft of their own.

~

@mistershinyobject made Uncovered Knowledge, and I wanna gush about it a little bit.

The plane of Tarkir has been ravaged by the Dragonlords in a way that covers up the truth of history, and Narset uncovered that as much as she could but we see how the plane is irrevocably changed. Tamiyo is the perfect candidate to take these scrolls and fight against that notion. Her goals are completely in opposition to the new nature of the plane, and that’s frankly fascinating. Narset was even a member of Tamiyo’s story-circle which makes traveling to Tarkir absolutely perfect! The name of the card is not a transitive verb or action, but rather it’s referring to the knowledge being uncovered, the cards that you’re drawing, and turns the knowledge into the physical with that implication, just like how Tamiyo does with her scrolls! As a common card, this introduces us who are familiar with the plane to the conflict being set, to the mechanic and the magic of the plane, to that familiarity. Tamiyo is using rebound (Ojutai’s magic) to discover the unwritten truth, turning that against him. 

But who will win in this war of knowledge? Will Ojutai allow Tamiyo to study like he did Narset when she discovered the last scroll? Like, I was lukewarm about a return to Tarkir but now I really want it because this card gives context to the conflict! I can see Tamiyo mourning in the archives, or perhaps looking over her shoulder, wondering how she proceeds. Anger, uncertainty, deception, concern all cross her face. This is not a world of truth.

Enjoy your walkers. And think: what’s missing here? There’s one thing in common with all these cards: color association. Tamiyo has her blue, Ashiok has their blue-black, Huatli has her green here, and the ideas might conflict but the worlds/notions are the same. What would a white-aligned planeswalker say on a black card? What would a green-blue aligned planeswalker say on a red card? Consider, ruminate, and create.

— @abelzumi

Ok I haven't read LACE and I have to ask - what does it say about half-cousin relationships?

[re: something I mentioned at the end of this post in the context of -- what else? -- Russingon]

I first came across this technicality in this essay about elf sex. That author draws this conclusion:

Notes in Morgoth’s Ring imply that, if you were first cousins but your uncle was your father’s half-brother, this abrogated the incest taboo enough that marriage was an option.

For awhile I took that as canon, but recently I went digging into Morgoth’s Ring to see what it had to say for itself, and if that implication was actually true. So here’s what LaCE really has to say about cousin marriages:

The relevant part, transcribed, reads as follows [emphasis mine]:

For the marriages of the Eldar do not take place between ‘close kin’. This again is a matter in which they needed no law or instruction, but acted by nature, though they gave reasons for it later, declaring that it was due to the nature of bodies and the processes of generation; but also to the nature of fëar. ‘For,’ they said, ‘fëar are also akin, and the motions of love between them, as say between a brother and sister, are not of the same kind as those that make the beginning of marriage.’ By ‘close kin’ for this purpose was meant members of one ‘house’, especially sisters and brothers. None of the Eldar married those in direct line of descent, nor children of the same parents, nor the sister or brother of either of their parents; nor did they wed ‘half-sisters’ or ‘half-brother’. Since as has been shown only in the rarest events did the Eldar have second spouses, half-sister or half-brother had for them a special meaning: they used these terms when both of the parents of one child were related to both of the parents of another, as when two brothers married two sisters of another family, or a sister and a brother of one house married a brother and sister of another: things which often occurred. Otherwise ‘first cousins’, as we should say, might marry, but seldom did so, or desired to do so, unless one of the parents each were far-sundered in kin.

SO this is from Draft A of LACE, and is an in-canon note on the in-canon text (i.e., not a note made by JRRT or Chrissy T, but by some loremaster who was most likely not even an elf). It’s at the very beginning of where Draft A diverges from Draft B, which means Tolkien revised everything that came before BUT did not revise this bit. So: take it with a grain of salt, and of course feel free to disregard it entirely!

It’s really interesting to me here is that since Finwë is pretty much the only elf of note to marry twice, their concept of half-siblings is very different from ours, and that kind of cousin incest is definitely a no-go. But this quote isn’t really about siblings with different mothers; it’s about cousins.

BUT first cousins “might marry” if they’re not considered half-siblings! This doesn’t usually happen, but it’s possible - it might be the kind of thing done primarily for political reasons (like uniting the lines of Indis and Míriel, perhaps?)

The qualification of “unless one of the parents each were far-sundered in kin” is curious also. Would this count for Nerdanel and Anairë’s children if they were both Noldor? (We don’t know anything about Anairë’s origins; I’ve seen fics where she’s a Vanya, though personally I see her as a Noldo.) What if Anairë was a Noldorin noble, but Nerdanel was a common smith? -- they would both be of the same “people” but from different ranks and probably not related to each other. Would Fingon and Maedhros therefore be “far-sundered in kin”? Does the fact that they’re part of that weird exception where even their fathers aren’t wholly related play into it?

With this technicality, I think a case could be made for the Nolofinwëans and Arafinwëans being able to marry, should they wish: even though they are first cousins (and their fathers are full brothers), Eärwen is a Teler and Anairë probably isn’t. That would be “far-sundered,” right?

And if that’s true... then Maeglin and Idril being first cousins wouldn’t really matter, either. Maeglin is half Noldo & Vanya from Aredhel’s side of the family and half either Sinda or Avar from Eöl’s side of the family, depending on your headcanons. The Sindar are definitely “far-sundered” from the Noldor and the Vanyar (they’re sundered from the Falmari, too, just not as far), and if you see Eöl as Avarin, that’s even further.

But in the published Silm, there’s this quote [emphasis mine]:

The Eldar wedded not with kin so near, nor ever before had any desired to do so. And however that might be, Idril loved Maeglin not at all; and knowing his thought of her she loved him the less.

Here this “far-sundered in kin” rule doesn’t apply. By any definition, even if Turgon and Aredhel are siblings, their respective spouses (Elenwë of the Vanyar and Eöl the Dark Elf, whatever you take that to mean) are about as far-sundered as you can get, and still the connection between Turgon and Aredhel is too much.

Maybe this is something Tolkien changed his mind on between writing LaCE and writing this section of what became the published Silm. Or maybe this is an in-universe distinction: the in-universe writer of LaCE is unclear but implied to be a human, not an elf, possible Aelfwine; the writer of the Silm as we see it is Christopher Tolkien’s edits of JRRT’s translation of Bilbo’s translation of Noldorin loremasters, the chief of whom was Pengolodh. It’s complicated.

So it seems that this note may suffer from being part of Draft A of LaCE, i.e. an unrevised section of an esoteric in-universe text that Tolkien probably never really thought would see the light of day. (Plus, he probably didn’t think a bunch of shippers in the year of our lord 2020 would be pouring over his notes this intensely to justify our gay cousin ship.)

Really this asks more questions than it answers. Without any examples for us to fall back on, what does “far-sundered in kin” really mean? Why would Maeglin and Idril not fit into that category? Would Fingon and Maedhros fit into it on account of their mothers, even if both their mothers were Noldor? How does their fathers being half-siblings impact it? Does the fact that Míriel was a Noldo and Indis a Vanya make a difference? And I honestly have no idea what Tolkien thought of same-gender relationships; that’s a whole different topic.

So what does LaCE say about half-cousin relationships? Nothing, really. And what it does say is contradicted elsewhere, and unclear on who in-universe wrote it, and when it comes down to it these are laws and customs not universal truths about elvish biology -- something which I think we as a fandom tend to forget. Mannish prejudices inevitably bleed into our tales of the elves, and really there is no one right way to see this.

This meta is already way longer than I anticipated (and it comes as a fitting sequel to the LaCE meta I wrote last year around this time) so I’m going to end here - but the TL;DR version of it is “LaCE implies that cousins can get married if the non-sibling parents aren’t closely related” and complicating that with the half-cousins situation means that Russingon was probably fine re: the incest taboo - if you take LaCE as canon.

For myself: this does make me feel better about shipping Maedhros and Fingon (and also about shipping Finrod and Turgon!), but even if this technicality didn’t exist I would still encourage everyone to ship what you wanna ship and be nice to each other!

Otome Thursday

IT’S BRAM!!!!

Y’all, you have no idea how excited I was for this route/series to start. I wasn’t a big fan of Ravi.

ANYWAY

Bram Route

Episode 1 (The free one 😉)

-I really dig the beginning of the route.

-Like a land hidden from even the Elves? Nice

-Also also, I like that this series, Love and Legends, AND Reigning Passions all take place in the same universe and it makes sense. Unlike the more modern series where the crew just sticks characters in the stories to say “Hey, look, notice these characters”

-Sorry. I’m ranting

-Focusing now

-I named my MC Mari Rya

-She’s beautiful

-She’s got a little, sprite/fairy/thing named Ness

-I love them

-I only know the name of the new land because I played the Ravi short but it’s called Tallav

-Mari’s got a reputation as a researcher.

-But this is also a lifelong dream of hers.

-Ness doesn’t speak (what I’m going to call) English, but Mari understands her anyway

-Ness uses They/Them pronouns. RESPECT IT

-Magic time!

-Ness magic time!

-Mari can feel all the living things. I feel like that’s not a human thing.

-But I will reserve judgement

-She’s had a rune stone since she was a baby. Yeah, she’s def not human.

-Holy shit a bear!

-…with a shield and a spear on it’s back.

-Subtle

-The way these sprites move are fucking hilarious

-Mari said “Nope not today”

-Can’t out run a bear. What does this bitch do?

-Drop down to play dead. Cause that’s totally gonna stop a bear from chewing on your spleen

-the “bear” is able to turn her over to her back (duh)

-it turns into a man and…oh what a man

-this CG is so fucking cute!

-he’s like “Is she alive?”

-She’s like “the fuck is he doing?”

-I’m like “Squeeeee they’re both so stupid rn”

-Oh those eyes…

-I haven’t been this in love since Razi. Or Renzei.

-Oh no! headbutt. Gives me a headache just reading it.

-Fuck look at those abs.

-LVS really knows what they’re doing with these character designs

-And Mari’s being thirsty too. It’s not just me

-Whew chile, the way she describes this man. Girl,

-Thank you, Ness, someone has their head on properly

-Never mind. They’re just as thirsty

-I still wanna know how Mari can talk to them

-He knows she’s a human cause she’s wearing clothes. Good lord this series is gonna be a riot in the first couple seasons

-Oh Mari…you’re sounding very Colonizerish

-I don’t like that

-Though it is kinda cute how she nerds out

-I can see her doing this with any thing she comes across.

-Thank you, Ness. Time and Place Mari!

-Invasive is one word for it

-Not much to write.

-She’s gushing. He’s listening. They’re both hot

-oh no, not an eyebrow lift!

-from both of them!

-I can’t do this.

-This bitch just walks away from a question ‘cause she got caught staring!

-I can’t! This is me. Running away from all my problems

-Bram follows cause, y’know, stranger in the woods

-Bram likes Ness. It’s adorable

-Anthropologist=Skald? Maybe.

-Apparently rune reading is impossible, so is befriending a Puck (Ness)

-Mari is def not a human. At least not fully

-See, I feel like if she showed Bram the rune stone she carried with her, that would help bridge this gap.

-But y’know. Whatever.

-Oh they are two bull-headed people

-He’s got (understandable) prejudices against humans/bipeds

-She’s like “MY RESEARCH”

-I’m like “Girl, they’re living people. Respect their boundaries. And Dude, Learn a little”

- She’s very forceful with the fact that she ‘needs to do her research’

-It’s very Colonizerish and I don’t approve.

-Mari, You can’t prove that the Duke who hired you only wanted you to do pure research.

-Ha, Bram called her pretty

-Ohhh Mahuwin Villiage

-Cue Victor from Underworld: “YOU MUST BE JUDGED!!”

-damn he called her insidious

-Mari…honey. Going to a village, you’ll get to see how they live and see how the justice system works. Calm down.

-Of course, no one’s ever been so unwelcoming. You’ve been dealing with other humans and elves.

-Girl!

-I’m judging you so hard rn

-Whew chile that took a lot outta me

Episode 2

-Awww I do feel bad for Ness tho

-They’re scared too

-Bruh, Bram JUST said he doesn’t know what an anthropologist is. You barely related it to a Skald. Showing him your notes means nothing.

-Bram, dude, I get you’re supposed to protect but you’re seeing enemies in the wrong people. Though I get why you’d suspect her.

-The Dinae have no secrets between their tribes (I’m assuming) so there’d be no need for an anthropologist to go looking for old history.

-Also he called her cute (again)

-Ohkay. I draw the line at you accusing Mari of torturing Ness.

-Only a heartless monster would lay hands on Ness.

-I need you to think baby: WHYY WOULD NESS STAY? If Pucks are magical creatures, surely you don’t think that Ness would be foolish enough to stay with a powerless human.

-Oh. Don’t make me insult your intelligence

-Oh don’t make me

-Mari. Don’t do anything stupid. Please. He’s actually being nice. In a weird way. Taking you to be judged. Someone else would’ve just killed you

-Mari…you can’t do your job in someone else’s country without permission. To get permission, you need to go to a village.

-I’m starting to question your intelligence

-Oh good. The bull-headedness is back

-No shit it’s more than just a job! I think you would have gathered that from the fact that to enter Tallav you had to pass a BEAR statue

-Oh no not the sad face

-I know LVS is gonna use that face to get money out of me in future scenes

-Mari, you’re both stubborn. And if I had it my way, you’d’ve gone with him already

-MARI! HE’S NOT A SOLDIER!

-ARUGH

- Not the type of roleplay I thought I’d be reading in this story but sure. Have some hearts

-I wanna smack her so bad and the first season’s not over yet.

-Usually the urge to smack doesn’t kick in until at least season 2.

-She’s a record setter

-Uh oh Bram, you called her an interrogator.

-And he STILL doesn’t fix it!

-They’re both so rude

-Ok, so he gets the why.

-We’re making progress

-This woman can’t let her thirst rest for five minutes.

-I mean same but come on

-Ah! Progress on both sides!

-Still don’t like how forceful Mari is about her job. How would she feel if her job put people in danger?

-You kinda did Mari. You kinda did say “I’m going to do what I want anyway”

-Not in those exact words but enough

-My point!

Bram: You ever think that if we wanted to be bothered by any kingdoms, we would have officially contacted them

That’s my point

At the same time, Bram and his fellow Dinae have their fellow prejudice against bipeds. As I said, mostly justified but they act that they can’t adapt or change

-Mari, interest isn’t always flattering…we aren’t in high school

-Now she’s running away. From a guy that can turn into a bear

-I’m very much questioning her intelligence now.

-Cause she dumb dumb.

-And thus begins an infuriating game of human and bear

-Oh yeah Mari, cause you can totally break the hold of a guy WHO CAN TURN INTO A BEAR

-As Mari is kicking and screaming, Bram: Am I hurting you?

-LMFAOOOO

-Awww Ness trying to help.

-Bitch. He puts you down and you climb a tree. Like bears don’t climb trees?

-Thank you Ness for talking some sense into this stupid girl

-Why is she so defensive?!

-Why can’t they just give me the option of “Fine.” FOR ONCE

-Seriously Mari? If you had stumbled upon a village during your wandering that really HATED humans, the chances of them killing you are SUPER fucking high. Doing it this way is arguably a lot safer

-YO  WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!!!

-That looked like a swamp deer  monster from It Lives Beneath

-FUCK THAT

-RUN BITCH…FUCKING RUUUNNNN

-Why is run never an option when we are clearly outmatched?

-Oh god why does it have to look at the screen!!!

-I don’t like that

-and ewwwww they did detail on the muscles

-Yeah no shit it’s targeting Mari, Bram!

-I think that’s pretty obvious!

-Thank again Ness for saving One Stupid Bitch

-We…we get to RIDE Bram?

-I can (and will) make so many jokes about that

-I’ve already restrained myself from making Bear jokes. So, you’ll deal with that

Episode 3

-Hehehehehehehhehe

-We rode him

-Hopefully this won’t be last time

-and the next time won’t be in bear form

-Ohkay. I’m back. The chapter’s loaded

-Wait one more

-And we can use that rope for something else too

-Idk how to do the lenny face so……just imagine it

-Ok. NOW I’m done.

-Finally, a decent option. THANK YOU, BRAM

-Yeah Mari get that through your thick fucking skull. He’s a defender. He defends.

-Awwww Bram isn’t comfortable with praise. I’m gonna take every opportunity to do it now

-Mari, this is why we don’t talk shit up.

-Hehe still riding him

-Ewww that thing is back.

-Plus side?

-FIGHT SCENE

-Oh nooooo Bram’s hurt

-MARI CONTROL YOUR THIRST THE MAN IS INJURED

-Thank you, Ness! I swear they’re the only character I haven’t been pissed at

-Mari begins to nerd out over plants. Honestly same

-OMG HIS BLUSH

-GUYS. HIS BLUSH

-The stuff of nightmares was an Abberation. I like my name better so it and all its freaky brethren will be called The Stuff of Nightmares

-And Bram’s back to being suspicious. Sigh. And we were having such a nice time

-The Dinae don’t have pets and that’s the saddest thing I’ve read all day.

-Mari just realized that Bram’s been naked this entire time.

-Lol

-Oh so, if Bram trusted Mari, he’d happily tell her everything she wanted to know.

-Hmmmmmm

-I certainly can’t say no to that face. So neither can you Mari. Here. Have some hearts

-See, they say fur covered thigh, all I hear is, cuddling for the winter.

-OMG SHE COULD SQUISH HIS PAW BEANS

-IF SHE DOESN’T SQUISH HIS PAW BEANS WE’RE GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM

-Mari stahp being so thirsty. There’s a stream next to you. Go dunk your head.

-Ness is adorable and I want a plushie of them

-Oh NOQOOOWW she has a problem with riding him

-…Ok, I mean…her explanation makes sense.

-See, every Dinae does it!

-Bram is so tired of her. It’s so funny

-WAIT. THERE’S WOLVERINES

-….is one’s name Logan?

-I’ll leave now

-I’m so glad they’re starting to understand each other more. Cause I was ready to jump through my phone screen.

-Things are still tense, of course.

-Wait a fucking minute. Going through a patch of brambles saved you a fucking DAY of travel? WTF

-I’m very interested in seeing how this plays out as opposed to Ravi’s route.

-Let’s meet Chieftain Mael!!

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: A Love Poem to Skadi - Xia Yan Encounters

Translation Masterlist | Themis Event Masterlist

Encounters: Xia Yan | Zuo Ran | Mo Yi | Lu Jinghe

See under cut!

--

Mini-Story - A Strange Riddle

Part 1 - Detective Convention

Dark Night Beach

MC: Xia Yan? Is that you?

Xia Yan: Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?

MC: Why are you standing here – weren’t you going to participate in the detective convention?

Xia Yan: I’m waiting for someone – I agreed with a friend to meet here and go together to the convention venue.

MC: Is that so. Great Detective Xia, can I interview you? You’re about to participate in a detective convention, so how’s your mood? Are you nervous?

Xia Yan: Nervous? Why would I be nervous?

MC: Don’t you have to solve riddles in this detective convention? Plus I heard that, to stimulate the participants’ hype, they’ll also hold a competition. You might encounter super strong opponents.

Xia Yan: You’re trusting me way too little. I’m Xia Yan, after all, your Sherlock. Just wait, I’ll definitely return with the first place.

Part 2 - Strange Riddle

MC: Xia Yan?! Why are you here? Your convention’s ended?

Xia Yan: Not yet. Right now, it’s the time to look for evidence. I’m currently looking for clues here.

MC: What kind of clues do you need to find? Is there anything I can help with?

Xia Yan: I’m looking for clues related to a “witch”.

MC: A “witch”?

Xia Yan: Mm, the riddle this time has to do with an old woman that calls herself a witch in a certain little village near the Dark Night Beach. She also claims that the shipwreck of the pirate king is buried on this beach, and the task us detectives have is to solve this riddle.

MC: Sounds like the difficulty level isn’t low…

Xia Yan: Yeah… although I already have a bit of the basic idea. I just still need clues and evidence to support it. Give me a little more time.

Part 3 - Exposing the Truth

Xia Yan: MC, do… do you have time after? Can you help me with something?

MC: What’s the matter? Based on your expression… is it something that has to do with the riddle?

Xia Yan: Mm, I’ve already found the truth of the riddle, but considering the involved old woman’s age… Maybe, with you there, I can appease her mood quicker.

MC: Is it actually this serious?

Xia Yan: Yeah, although this is only my personal consideration… Maybe that old woman will be far stronger than what I thought.

MC: Then let’s hurry out, as early as possible…

Xia Yan: Don’t get anxious yet, relax. With me here, it’ll be fine.

 Part 4 – Happy Ending

MC: Awesome! We finally solved the puzzle about the “witch” successfully!

Xia Yan: Yeah, it really is great that we could successfully have the old woman untie the knots in her heart.

MC: But I really never would’ve thought that the reason why the old woman calls herself a “witch” is… because she wanted to rely on this kind of “weirdness” to gain attention as she lived on her own. And that “pirate king’s shipwreck” was actually pointing to the similar-shaped massive rock on the beach…

Xia Yan: But based on the attitudes the people of the little village have towards her, she probably won’t have to worry about the same problem again.

MC: Yeah – just now, there were a lot of people inviting the old woman to live permanently at their houses! I hope that her life in the future will be happy.

Xia Yan: Mhmm! It definitely will be!

  Xia Yan Chance Encounters

Message in a Bottle

Dark Night Beach

MC: Xia Yan Xia Yan, I picked up a bottle with a message in it!

Xia Yan: This bottle looks pretty new… was it just released by someone?

MC: It might be… then let’s throw it back in the sea.

Xia Yan: Speaking of which… do you know what will happen when two people throw a bottle with a message in it?

MC: What?

Xia Yan: A creature that holds onto love lives in the bottle. If you send it back into the embrace of the big sea, then… it will protect you and the one you love, forever and forever, and you will never split apart.

The Sound in the Conch

Dark Night Beach

MC: Xia Yan, what are you doing with the conch shell?

Xia Yan: Have you heard the legend of the Dark Night Beach?

MC: Legend? What legend?

Xia Yan: The legend of Dark Night Beach is that it’s where the elves and trolls battle. If you stand on the beachside and listen to the sound of the conch… You might be able to hear the sounds of the fighting between the elves and the trolls.

MC: So you’re listening to the sounds of the fighting?

Xia Yan: Of course not. What about the sounds of fighting is worth listening to… I’m looking for another sound – the sound of the fairy’s blessing.

MC: ???

Xia Yan: In the legend, the sound of the fairy’s blessing is hidden among the sounds of the fights, ensuring that all the elves can safely return. If you can distinguish this sound, the fairy will arrive by your side and grant you blessings.

MC: So… you want to find the fairy and get her blessings?

Xia Yan: Yes, but also no.

MC: ???

Xia Yan: I do want to find the fairy, but rather than me, I hope her blessings can be given to someone else. I hope that she can ensure that that person will forever be happy and blessed… and then, to forever, forever stay by my side.

 Awaiting the Snow

Sati Falls

Xia Yan: MC?! Is that you? What are you doing over here?

MC: Nothing, I’m just casually walking around…

Xia Yan: What’s the matter? Your eyebrows look so tightly furrowed – got some troubles?

MC: It’s not really anything, I’m just wondering when it’ll snow…

Xia Yan: Snow? Why are you paying attention to this?

MC: I heard others say that seeing a snowscape beside a waterfall feels different from other places, so I came here a little expectant… But it seems like there’s nothing that indicates that it’ll snow here…

Xia Yan: Don’t get discouraged. Sometimes, surprises come a bit late. How about this – we pray for it together?

MC: Pray?

Xia Yan: Mm, praying for the winter snow to come fast, and praying that every one of your wishes will become reality.

Tiny Surprise

Sati Falls

Xia Yan: Want to taste the flavour of the waffle I have here? I just bought it from the nearby sweets shop.

MC: Why did you think of buying this?

Xia Yan: It’s because of this waffle’s taste. It’s said that this flavour is one that only Skadi Island has – you can’t buy it anywhere else, so I wanted to buy it for you to taste.

MC: Thank you, Xia Yan. How about we split it up and eat it then? Good flavours are meant to be shared!

Xia Yan: Then… I’ll help myself!

Coloured Stones

City of Elves

Xia Yan: MC? What are you doing, crouching on the ground?

MC: I’m looking for coloured stones.

Xia Yan: Coloured stones? What are you looking for these for?

MC: It’s like this – I saw before on the guides that the City of Elves has a lot of coloured stones piled together. If you circle these stones, following the hour hand, you’ll be able to see the little elves on there fixing the houses, and you can see their lives!

Xia Yan: You’re just like when you were little – you still like these fairytales a lot.

MC: Can’t I? Plus, this story itself is very interesting!

Xia Yan: You can, you can, of course you can. Right, I also know a lot of other interesting stories. Do you wanna hear them?

MC: Sure!

Xia Yan: Then let’s walk as we talk.

 Sunset

City of Elves

MC: The sunset in the City of Elves looks very special… Especially when I think back on this city’s legends that are full of magic. I feel like it’s just like fairyland of my dreams when we were little.

Xia Yan: Do you like this place a lot?

MC: Mhmm!

Xia Yan: Then… should we stay here for an extra two days? Just like when we were little, we can explore everywhere and walk through every corner of this city. There are a lot of beautiful sceneries here, waiting for us to discover them.

 Picnic

Sajya Fjord

MC: …

Xia Yan: What’s the matter? You look like you’re in low spirits.

MC: Xia Yan… I’m hungry… could we eat lunch first?

Xia Yan: You should’ve said earlier – then let’s look for a place to rest and have a picnic. I’ve prepped a lot of food – they’re all ones you like to eat.

MC: Xia Yan, thank you.

Xia Yan: Don’t be so courteous… I see a spot over there that’s pretty good – let’s head over.

Unexpected Discovery

Sajya Fjord

MC: (Seems like there’s something under the sand…)

MC: Eh? There’s actually a galvanized iron box!

Xia Yan: What did you find?

MC: Seems like someone buried a box here, and I accidentally dug it out. Look at this, doesn’t it look like the boxes we often buried to make wishes when we were little?

Xia Yan: It does look like those… but this was buried way too shallowly… It was dug up so easily, so the wish that was made definitely won’t come true.

MC: Speaking of which… Xia Yan, did the wish you made back then come true?

Xia Yan: It did. Aren’t you right by my side right now?

Lucky Bracelet

Vikja Capital

Xia Yan: What did you buy so many shells for?

MC: I want to try making a bracelet. It’s said that the shells sold at Vikja Capital’s marketplaces have all been bathed in the holy light of the elves, and it can bless someone so that everything goes as they desire and they can accomplish whatever they want.

Xia Yan: Do you want to make these because… you’ve encountered some trouble?

MC: I haven’t, I’m just hoping for good omens. Who knows if I’ll encounter something troublesome in the future…

Xia Yan: You don’t have to worry about these. No matter what happens, I’ll always protect you.

 Secret Drawing

Vikja Capital

MC: We can experience making sand art… Xia Yan, how about we try?

Xia Yan: Alright, I’ll listen to you. Right, what do you want to draw?

MC: I’ll draw stuff like plants and animals… what about you?

Xia Yan: About this… let me keep it a secret for now.

MC: So mysterious? Could it be some shocking masterpiece?

Xia Yan: You’ll know after I finish drawing it – it’ll definitely give you a shock. Look forward to it.

Will  you ever notice me? Arthur Morgan x Original Female Character

Summary:  During they wandering in deep snowstorm, man from van  der Linde gang found odd looking girl and Dutch decides to take her to  camp to see if she can be any use, leading life of outlaw with them.  Quickly, new girl develops feelings towards Arthur, but he sees her just  as a kid...and she won't take that! It's an original character story  that starts in the place where Arthur, Dutch and Micah were supposed to  first meet with Sadie. Instead she's already with them.  

Authors notes: In this chapter I placed big/small (it’s you to decide) crossover, it doesn’t change the plot but I felt like it would be a good wink to others from Witcher’s fandom. If I could give my OC voice it would be this one from quoted song. It’s another chapter and you can find the rest of chapter on my blog if you want to read more of my fanfiction. I decided to post all parts I have at once so the fic could catch more attention. Words count: 2238 Chapter 7 At first he thought Iris is really gonna wait for him. He was telling himself that she just wanted some space and she moved to let himself think. But then, once, when he was lying in his bed it hit him. She told you that just to make it dumping her easier for you, you old fool. She won't wait for you and you let her go. And this realisation made him cry for brief moment. He just hurt another woman in his life. You stole her first kiss, Arthur Morgan. No, he couldn't sleep now. He was the worst. He walked down the stairs and went to the garden to smoke a cigarette and clean his head. And then he noticed that  under his favourite tree Iris is drawing something in her journal. She was singing too, something that sounded like a lullaby. He decided to listen to her before walking at her like that.

Wolves asleep amidst the trees Bats all a swaying in the breeze But one soul lies anxious wide awake Fearing no manner of ghouls, hags and wraiths For your dolly Polly sleep has flown Don't dare let her tremble alone For the witcher, heartless, cold Paid in coin of gold He comes he'll go leave naught behind But heartache and woe Deep, deep woe

- Nice song - he cleared his throat - but who is  a witcher? Iris's heart jumped right to her throat and so did her arms. She looked at him with the coldest manner she had. - It's a bad guy from a tale about himself. He lives in kings and queens times and he slaughters monsters, like...Ghosts and things like that. No one likes witcher's though. They are scary. - Never heard of it. Sounds interesting. - I can borrow you a book. He's in love with a witch with violet eyes and black hair. Really pretty one. - I am not much of a person who likes books - he laughed and then dragged from cigarette - too stupid for that. - If you say so, Mr Morgan - she closed her journal and got up, cleaning her dress from any grass and sand - Anyway, it's you seat. Sorry for taking it, it's free now. - Wait - he grabbed her wrist. He just didn't know what to do next - you have something in your hair - was all he said, using the most awkward manner to pick ''something'' from her hair and throw it away. - Thank you? - she looked at him rather startled. - I-I actually wanted to talk to you? If you have time. - There isn't much to talk about these days. Only Dutch has a lot to say to me, he keeps talking about Tahiti and mangoes. He's crazy, he doesn't even know where freakin' Tahiti is. - Neither do I, sweetheart. - You don't wanna go there without even bare skills of finding it on world's map, Mr Morgan. - I feel like you change the subject and I really need to talk to you, Iris. She sighed and nodded her head. It was just normal courtesy but he couldn't read thru it and started talking. -  I feel like you avoiding me. - Really now? I'm sorry. - You said you are gonna wait to let me think but then ya don't talk much to me. It's not like I am thinking about it constantly and I'm gonna overheat talking to you at the same time - he rambled. That was bad choice of words. - I am not thinking about you, I-I mean I think about you a lot, b-but not this way...- was all he babbled. It was even worse! - I see you could use some sleep, Mr Morgan. You don't make much sense - Iris patted his arm with the friendlier manner she could force herself to and  she left Arthur faster than the light. He was a fool meant to die alone. Arthur started to write a lot in his journal. Whole pages were covered  with words. If he could only speak so swiftly he would win Iris back already but all he could do was watching her from afar. She stopped taking any jobs that meant being with him, she hunted alone and when she needed help with anything she was asking Dutch straight away, even when Arthur was next to her and Dutch sat in his tent. Iris and Arthur were good friends but now they wasn't even strangers. She actually talked more to Micah than to him. And it hurt but he didn't know what to do when he could speak with Iris. It was his lack of communication. All he could think about was Iris's birthday happening today and he decided to go to the city to buy her a gift. But what would she liked? He had actually this much money that if she liked a boat, he could buy one. But boat didn't seem right. She was strong, yet femine. And smart, she knew a lot. Maybe perfumes? Nah, she smelled good enough for him. Then maybe a book? Arthur gulped while thinking how hard it's gonna be to buy a book for Iris. - Good morning, my birthday girl! - Mary- Beth chirped, trying to wake Iris up - I have something what you gonna like! - More hours of sleep and something to eat? - Yes! Kind of. I bought you cookies. But it's not what I really have. She handed Iris small tissue and girl unfolded it. There was silver pendant inside, with small emerald blinking in sunlight. - It's beautiful! You totally stole it, Mary - Beth! - I totally diid - she sang and cuddled her friend - Isn't that romantic? I steal for you, I mend your heart, soon and we gonna be married. - It actually is quite romantic. And to be honest we are free people. I would marry you. - I know you would, I am sweetest one. Ain't I? Tell me I am! - You are dearest to me, Mary-Beth. And this is absolutely the greatest thing I ever got for birthday. - It matches your eyes~!Arthur was gone for the whole day. He was running from shop to shop. After few hours he choosed one dress, but he also saw a beautiful haircomb, with carved elements and subtle. He wasn't sure for what he should settle and decided it's not gonna be a dress when lady in shop looked at him weirdly because when she asked Arthur for size, he told that he could embrace Iris's waist with his arm. He decided to be braver than usually and decided to enter book shop. - Er, g'day sir -Arthur scratched his chin - Do you have some books for person who likes to study...biology? - Biology, sir? - Well, my wife - he quickly noticed how sweet if would sound if was reall - she enrolled to university and she's gonna be a doctor, she's really smart you know and I wanted buy something...proper. - I think I have something just right for you, sir. It was indeed right.-Mary-Beth! - Iris jumped quickly in her direction and dragged her to nearest bush she saw. Her breath was heavy. - What, what? - Look what I had found - she spoken in with deadly serious manner. And the case was serious. She just noticed Arthur's journal left in his room. - Is it...? - Yes and I know we shouldn't but I don't have any decency - she straightened up proudly - so we gonna read it. And so they opened journal and was searching thru it for any appearance of Iri's name. At first it wasn't anything harmful and Arthur wrote about her as ''kid'' or ''new kid'' but right after what happened between them few days ago they could read something very disturbing. It was almost the worst Iris could imagine. In this note Arthur more or less compared her to Eliza and Marry. - ''She seems so similar to Eliza. She is just more nervous and frivolous. I think that maybe there isn't any more woman with Eliza's calm temper. I keep telling myself it's Eliza's ghost'' - quoted Iris and Mary-Beth squeaked with shock. - Look there ''I kissed her today and it was weird feeling. She doesn't seem to know what to do and with Mary it was easier'' son of a bitch, that's harsh. - He's right, you know. I can't kiss. I've got another one - Iris seemed not to be bothered. Yet. She just was in this adrenaline rush that made her laugh at it - ''She moved away from our room. I thought about it a lot, she's just a liar and she won't be back''. - Aren't you sad, Iris? - Mary-Beth looked at her with worry. She didn't know what she would do if she would read her lovers journal and found things like that. -Sad? Never. I expected him to say things like that. More mad...I feel used. Kind of like he tried me but didn't likt the taste after all. In early evening Arthur got back to camp with a gift covered in some fancy paper and heavy heart pounding in chest like bird in cage. He noticed that everyone is gathered. - Ladies and gentelman - Mary-Beth was standing on the log like she was giving a speech, with beer in her hand and Iris under her arm - Can I talk to all of you for a minute? - I guess you can - Micah said grumpily. - Thank you. As you all probably know it's my girlfriend's birtday today - she cuddled Iris to herself. Girl had big flower crown on her head. It was another gift to cheer her up after what they discovered and Arthur had to say he looked like a pixie or like elve from fairy tale - and thank's to Dutch we have a lot of beer... - Thanks, Dutch - Iris chimed in and sent man a kiss. -...and Mr Pearson cooked today something that doesn't taste awful, I think it was a gift for our birthday girl... Everyone bursted into laugh. Except Pearson. - Ya will starve, missy - he snarled. - ...and I totally stole this necklace for her and don't you think it's romantic? Laughs again. - ...and since I think he can, Dutch will gave us marriage today and we gonna be first married couple here... - I don't think I can - Dutch said humorously and dragged from his cigarette. - I think you will have to, she really wants that - Iris said pretending she's whispering. Mary-Beth cuddled her closer. - And I hope everyone is gonna have fun, thank you very much, woohoo! - She said as she kissed Iris in front of everybody, then their bottles clicked and the fun begin. At first it was mainly girls but later almost everyone joined the party. Beer was cold, night was warm and Iris danced a lot, around the campfire, making pirouettes and laughing sweetely. Beer and fun made her forget. And she couldn't care less.But after few hours man 'round there were too drunk, their hands becoming jazzy and she dissapeared under her favourite tree with journal and pencil. - I was thinking you gonna be there - Arthur appeared from god knows where. He seemed in weirdly good mood and she was drunk enough to handle this conversation with class. - And I am. Not many people are loosers enough to sit and watch how other people party. What's wrong? - I-I have something for you. Really broke my back to find something good enough for you. Happy birthday - he said. She unpacked this heavy something from the paper and she was speechless. It was a botanic atlas with drawings drawed by hand. It was mainly about herbs and how to heal with them. It was piece of art to her. But she had her pride. - Thank you, Mr Morgan - she said and he smiled. But only for a second. - I can't accept this gift - she said briefly, placing the book back in Arthur's hands. - Jesus, what? What is that about? I bought if for you to have it. -It's nothing, really. I just...can't have it. Lost interests in all that - she lied quickly. - You lie - it was first time he actually saw thru her fasade - You love things like that, I heard you speaking to Mary-Beth about it few days ago - his voice was harsh. - I am big fat liar, Mr Morgan and you are more than right! - Why you lie to me, then? You were telling all those things but now I think you didn't mean them- - Oh, did you? I know you didn't either. - Y-ya kidding me, kid? There is no day without me thinking about you. - I don't want you to think about me! Know what you really think about me and I am surprised with myself I was stupid enough to think you are normal. You are a weirdo who baths with dogs 'cause they are the only creatures that want to be around you! It was  the worst anybody said to him. Probably because no one was closer to him than her so far, but he didn't saw it that way. He couldn't think straight now, normally he was cold-headed and he would tell himself it's just anger talking through her. But now he decided to believe she hated him. He was glad that at least Iris took a book. 

Viren is either evil or just badly written

A Case Study

There’s been a few arguments and questions about Viren, his motivations, his actions, how he treats his children and I think the best way to really examine his character is to go back through the cannon material. 

It’s important we talk a little bit about King Harrow for starters- it’s pretty clear that one of Harrow’s biggest flaws is that he’s let Viren have no boundaries what-so EVER! When Harrow is having his royal portrait done (the one that does not include his family) he includes Viren. You might wanna say “yeah because they’re friends” but let’s really examine this with an IRL hypothetical situation.  Say you managed a company, your best friend sometimes comes to hang out and maybe offers you up some advice but at the end of the day it’s /your/ company /your/ job /your/ employees and it’s success or failure is /your/ responsibility. Maybe you’re the BEST of friends even are you gonna imply to that friend that they are on equal footing with you? Even if failures that happen aren’t their failures?  Stuff like having Viren be in his royal portrait is just kinda balls to the walls absurd when you think about the fact that he could have included his wife or that he didn’t include his wife yet included Viren because even the queen isn’t as special as Viren. Viren didn’t get to where he is in the series on his own, Harrow put his ass there and the first few episodes is where we see Harrow finally having had enough of Viren’s bullshit and calling out Viren for constantly pushing him in bad directions. 

Here are the big three that we know about as viewers: 1. Harrow listened to Viren’s advice about how to combat the famine and his wife died. She wasn’t even in agreement with the plan, she advised AGAINST it but he listened to Viren. 2. Harrow was persuaded by Viren to go seek revenge for his wife’s death 3. Harrow was persuaded by Viren that the egg needed to be destroyed

And while yeah, number one would have meant tons of people dying and we can MAYBE look past that as his motivations being in the right place we can clearly see that 2 and 3 did NOT need to happen. Harrow initially wasn’t even down for number 2 until Viren straight up MANIPULATED him into seeking revenge. You can’t even act for one second as if Viren didn’t obviously take Sarai’s death as an opportunity for this, he wasted zero seconds laying the ground work for it by taking her last breath. Who the fuck does that? You can be as practical a person as you want to be but there’s a line between practicality overruling emotions and just an outright lack of emotions and doesn’t instantly going  “oh shit you’re dying I need to get this for late uses!” kinda SCREAM lack of emotions? If anything what little we see of Sarai show us that she has an entirely different mindset to Viren and would that NOT make her an obstacle to him? We can take the example given and easily assume that “yeah I’ll bet she disagreed with him often and was quick to tell Harrow when she disagreed”

and now present day Harrow is going to die and he knows his son is in danger. King Harrow is fucking DONE with Viren’s shit and calls him out with his offer of “someone dying in his place” by saying “You wouldn't do it” because Harrow knows Viren better than the viewer knows Viren by this point. Harrow knows Viren isn’t going to just up and die in his place and he knows that if he does manage to live on his problems are going to get worse because so far every shortcut has led him into more problems. Now because Harrow has idiotically spent years allowing Viren to be his equal in decision making obviously Viren isn’t okay with this sudden turn- he’s allowed to be mad at this and hell, seeking some form of payback seems like a natural choice. Let’s say you spent years helping a friend run their business from behind the scenes and something your advised turned out to be bad and now your friend is placing all of the blame on you instead of actually running their business? You’d be cool with their kids getting killed .... oh no, wait you probably wouldn’t be cool with their fucking kids getting killed. And we’re gonna get to that in a minute. Also, Viren is pissed yet he keeps playing off as if he’s not, he plays off as if he might just go scrafice himself, he talks to his daughter as if it’ll be the LAST time he speaks to her. Is it because he things he might die? Maybe so. Is it because he thinks he might die for Harrow?  I doubt that. but Viren be talking as if he’ll die because a few things could end him 1. Being in the way by accident 2. Attempting to kill harrow and the guards kill him 3. Getting caught killing Harrow and then put on trial Even Viren’s actions during the raid, the way he talks to Callum “your world is changing” Viren wasn’t coming back to save Harrow, the only way a viewer is possibly still going to think at this point that Viren was maybe wanting to save Harrow in ANY capacity is because they either haven’t seen season 3 or somehow just REALLY wanna believe that people are good deep deep down on the inside. At this point Viren should also be tipped off that the kids knowing about the egg mean the egg is about to go missing but he’s oh so focused on what’s going on with Harrow that he doesn’t put much focus on that detail. No, he’s well aware that Harrow isn’t gonna survive because his goal is to make sure Harrow doesn’t survive and he’s so focused on this that he doesn’t even entertain the idea that the egg might be getting rushed out the door. We can say maybe he underestimates Callum but he also has no idea who else knows this information. but again- Viren is focused on making sure Harrow dies be it by him or by the elves.  Now let’s talk about Viren’s exchange with Callum. Callum is gonna tell Harrow about the egg and Viren says “what makes you think he doesn’t already know?” now that’s a good point but since season 3 we know that’s a god damned lie. Harrow doesn’t know! Actually even without seeing season 3- if Harrow really knew about the egg then why was it so important for Callum to NOT be able to yell about it? Why silence him? (Also how inept is the royal guard to have been ordered to take the princes out BEFORE all the bullshit started yet they didn’t manage to do that? Ya’ll can’t wrangle 2 kids?)  Now MAYBE you could say Viren didn’t need Callum drawing the attention to the room where Harrow is and that it would put them in danger which would be fair, but NOT ONCE do we hear Viren say “shut up you’ll get us killed, you’ll get him killed.” no he goes off on a rant about how he thinks Callum is spoilled and how “tonight your world changes” (let’s also note how MULTIPLE witnesses hear this shit and not one of them is like “uhhhh bro we’re SAVING the king. nope they’re just all “yeah i guess he’s gonna die huh we’ll just stand here). Soren though- Soren pushes Callum out of the way and takes a spear doing so. without jamming it down our throats we get to see Soren doing his job like a good boy! Also let’s dog ear the fact that Soren wasn’t just gonna let Callum get hurt and I think that’s interesting because of reasons I’ll bring up again later. During that scuffle Viren even seems worried when Callum’s voice goes back to him, he has this look of “oh no” - I mean the BIG oh no SHOULD be that elven assassins are attacking them but Viren is CLEARLY worried about Callum being able to yell- so yeah I can’t see any evidence of Harrow knowing about the egg because aside from one CLEARLY-MEANT-TO-MANIPULATE-THE-SITUATION-AND-THE-OPINIONS-OF-THE-GUARDS-AROUND-THEM line we have NO other reason in story canon to believe that Harrow might know.  Also go back and REALLY watch Viren in that scene! He’s not fighting, he’s not defending he’s backing the fuck away because Viren isn’t about to die for Harrow and MAYBE Viren already killed Harrow before the elves got there or he’s at least made sure to stay out of their way and not assist with any magic at all.  Given how Viren didn’t even let Harrow’s body get cold before trying to outright declare himself king it’s pretty obvious that at the very least Harrow’s death is the perfect opportunity for Viren to seize power and at the largest point it’s a total coup. Something a LOT of people have brought up is how it’s strange that the Dragon Queen was super chill at the end of seasons 3 about humans even though she was supposed to have sent the moonshadow elves... what if she WASN’T the one that sent them? We could reasonable assume at this point that perhaps Viren could find the means of foraging contact ordering the assassination. and why? Well why does Viren want anything power wise in the series? because he THINKS he’s doing what’s best for humanity and while this might EXPLAIN him mindset it doesn’t justify his actions. Ya’ll know who else believed he was doing the right thing? Adolf Hitler. Believing you’re doing the right thing isn’t the fucking same as doing the right thing. Even the way Viren handles his enemies is unjust; a moonshadow elf that “participated in killing the king” let’s lock him up and interrogate him... I might free him if he tells me about some of my spooky stuff- oh he won’t? Okay I guess it’ll put him in a state of limbo with a bunch of other elves.  People who are trying to protect their society would have just excueted after attempting to interrogate or kept them as a normal prison not put them in fucking limbo. This is a great example of something a sick fuck would do not someone who just “has a different idea about how to help his people” Now if you’ve somehow made it this far let’s talk about Viren as his kids! He sent Claudia and Soren after the princes because people were on to his bullshit and rightfully suspicious and his kids who love him aren’t gonna be like “ohhh maybe dad is bad”. Sure Soren is a good fighter and Claudia is highly skilled at magic but unless he was backed into a corner he would have been putting more resources into finding the egg if he truly thought it was important (and he seems to truly think that obviously). There’s been some posts saying he wasn’t manipulating Soren when it came to “return with the news that the princes have died” but my god the made said it MULTIPLE times and then said “I know you can do this, I believe in you”... let me remind ya’ll that like 2 days before this Soren took a spear for Callum, yeah he picked on him and called him Step-Prince for years but it’s clear that Soren was still on good terms with him and didn’t hate him so Soren wasn’t just gonna be like “yeah guess i gotta kill em for humanity” no he had weeks to think of his dad saying “I know you can do it”  how many of your parents told you to kill the kids that lived next door and said “I know you can do it”? Here’s the definition of manipulation just in case we needed a refresher:  nounnoun: manipulation; plural noun: manipulations 1.the action of manipulating something in a skillful manner."the format allows fast picture manipulation" 2.the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way."there was no deliberate manipulation of visitors' emotions" regardless of how much Viren might of thought that humanity’s best bet was to not have another child ruler he still had to tell his son he “believed in him” and that he needed to make sure that Ezran was dead. He also told Soren this in such as way that if it EVER came to light he could say “you misunderstood” this is why he DIDN’T tell Claudia to do this but instead told her the egg was more important than Soren which suits his narrative and fits into his belief that the egg was a powerful weapon. But you for sure DON’T go from “oh let me help you impress my sister by letting you knock me over” to “oh okay I guess I can make sure you don’t come home” without being manipulated. Soren was manipulated into believing Viren’s ideology about how it was best for humanity if Ezran and Callum didn’t come home. If this all doesn’t convince you that the series either wants us to think Viren is a villian or that the writers have no idea how to make a “conflicted anti hero” then let’s look at his response to the kingdoms not wanting to go to war with him? Sending dark magic elves to kill rulers. because that’s something someone who only had good intentions would do kill political leaders that disagreed with him do I need to bring up more IRL bad guys who also did this? Do I??????? I need to call out some writing here though because to do most of this Viren HAD to have inside help and the only time we really get hints of this is in season 3 and those hints are weak at best, would it have really killed them to animate a couple of guards passing a not or some shit for Viren or straight up supporting him in some of his actions? Several of them watched the incident with Callum and I find it hard to believe only Soren lived so clearly guards had knowledge but why no at least confirm ONCE that Viren had supporters just like how islamaphobes in the US support radicals and support lies and propaganda because they’re afraid? then season 3- season 3 if this STILL isn’t enough for you in season 3 Viren doesn’t give 2 fucks that Soren left- he clearly still cares that Claudia is around but it really seems like he only cares because she’s helping him get shit done we have only seen her disappoint Viren once in the series and that was by not bringing the egg home and even then he doesn’t stay super upset because Aaravos is like “ohhh spooky daughter very good at magics” and we see Viren get defensive but how  much of that is genuine and how much of that is him trying to tell Aaravos who is in charge in their relationship? So he’s either a villain like Soren said or the writing isn’t so great because there sure aren’t many reasons for us to think otherwise even the instances where he saved lives all came with gains for him. Seriously I dare you to give me examples of Viren doing good things we see in canon that have NO gains for him! Because I don’t think there have been any. it’s like Soren says, you wanna think he’s doing stuff for the right reason and you wanna think he’s a good guy but he’s a villain and it doesn’t matter what his initial intentions were because he’s NOT doing good things.  Do I need to go on even MORE?

Bladeborn

As the House Guards of Emberheart carried bodies from the manor, the boy ruler made his way towards the guest rooms. With a trembling hand, he made his way past the fireplace, where Zarannis stared into the hearthfire. Stenden thought best not to disturb her. He then made his way to one of the other guest rooms, where Vaelrin was plying himself with what alcohol he had gathered- and been given by Zarannis. The boy bowed his head and moved past that room, until he came upon another occupied room. Inhabited by one who would possibly be in a better mind to speak to- Especially when it came with the gravity of the request he was about to make.

Stenden knocked and the knock on the door caught the youth inside by surprise.

Vissehn grabbed for his tunic, tugging it on over the bindings at his chest, grumbling to himself. He had planned on a bath, to wash the blood off, but it had taken the better part of an hour to find a place that fit his very specific and paranoid needs. He doubted that the servants to the Emberhearts would race to tell the tel’dorei that the towheaded fighter didn’t seem as male under the cloth as he looked, but he also couldn’t cross off the possibility.

And with the Oracle damned and dead, it was more obvious than ever that he had to keep his shit under wraps-- literally, and figuratively, as it were.

Ruffling his birdsnest of pale hair, he went to the door, buckling his belt even as he looked over… the boy lord of the manor.

“Aw, fuck.” He sighed. “Am I gettin’ kicked out? You don’t gotta be all polite about it, I figured I might.” He looked Stenden up and down, a twinge of sympathy threading through him. He really did look like his uncle. More so than his father, really; there was a serious determination to his brow that was all Sederis, and not Solli-the-stick-in-the-mud. “Just let me get my shit together, kid-- er, m’lord? Fuck, yer a kid, right?”

Stenden tucked his trembling hand behind his back and spoke with a bemused smile. “You’re not getting kicked out. In fact, you’re an honored guest of the family- So-” he gestured at his unkempt appearance- A hastily draped tunic and a half buckled belt. “Don’t- worry about- all that-”

The Lord of the Emberglades suppressed the urge to laugh, doing his best to keep up the airs of nobility in the face of someone so close to his age. It was the first moment of levity he had had all day.

“But I am here to make a request, so, may I come in?”

The smile on the other lad looked about as thin as the years between them, and so it was easy to reply. “Hey, yeah, come on in. It’s yer house, really, I’m just soilin’ your sheets yanno?” He snorted awkwardly and moved out of the way to let the young lord enter.

The room was, despite Vissehn’s claim, incredibly neat, as though no one had been in the space at all. Only the sheets looked mussed, and a chair brought near the window. The window was, however, open-- and there were definite signs that the youth had been gallivanting out on the rooftops and beyond, in the form of a curtain shoved into the lock, and mud on the edge of the sil.

Drawing the chair back to the table quick as a flash, Viss sat in it backward and patted the table. “Go on, take a seat.” His eyes flicked over Stenden’s features. He felt the question on his lips-- but it seemed too unkind to ask, too fresh. He would likely be asked by so many others, if this was his first taste of war, if these were the first deaths he bore witness to.

Vissehn knew the weight of those questions. He wouldn’t add to it.

“So, whatcha comin’ in for, if not to toss me out on my ass? Not that any’d blame you, really. We’re all just lucky I got a fleabath before they let me in here.” He jibed, leaning his chin on his crossed forearms on the back of the chair.

Stenden stepped inside, noted the window and the associated shenanigans, and tried his best to ignore it. He took a seat, also ignoring the mud he had been tracking into the room. The servants were not going to be happy about this. The smile turned to a stifled snort.

“Lirelle said I had the finest warriors in the Kingdom, all gathered here. I will admit Mr.Bladeborn, that you don’t look the part.” By the sounds of those words coming out of his mouth, it didn’t sound the part either. “Can I just call you Vissehn?”

“Gods, anything but Mister Bladeborn, I think Sederis called me that once and I almost popped a vessel from either laughin’ or hurling.” He snorted and ruffled his hair further, just to have something to do with his hands. “An’ Lirelle’s kind, for a dead scary woman. I’m more used to bein’ a courier.” He waggled his brows at Stenden. “Gets me in a lot of doors, and no one tends to think much about the post-person.”

Still he leaaaaaned sideways, looking over Stenden. “You don’t look much like a lord, neither, but I ain’t casting aspersions.” He drew out the last word, obviously having read it without hearing it much. “Got your mothers’ complexion and your uncle’s brow, but I got a feeling you get a fair portion of your father’s smarts. So!” He sat up and clapped. ��Call me Vissehn, I’ll call you Stenden, and we’ll forget that neither of us looks the parts we’re bout to play, huh?”

“Deal,” Stenden extended his hand to shake on it.

Vissehn spat in his palm and shook with the young Lord. "Ceremonial, rightly so." The sparkle in his eyes showed it really wasn't but honestly that was far from the worst fluid they'd gotten on them that day.

The boy took his hand and shook, firm, joining him in the ritual of mutual nastiness. They were now partners- Not quite like blood-brothers- More like… Spit-brothers. Luckily for Stenden, this hadn’t been his first encounter to the ritual. Unlike Sederis who did not have a childhood shared with the low-borns of the realm, Stenden had spent many a time playing with the children at Dawnveil.

“I’ll be brief Vissehn. The Emberglades are going to war. I don’t know who my friends are. I don’t know if I’ll win this. But if I can borrow your strength, I can promise you that you’ll have a place here in the Heartlands.” Stenden spoke, with a mix of gravity and levity that was absent earlier. “If this war isn’t for you, I could still have you do be a courier.”

The firm handshake brought a smile to Vissehn’s features, something a shade softer. The kid was alright. He resisted the urge to ruffle Stenden’s hair, some deep-seated place of affection stirred by Stenden’s untimely burdens.

“I’m good for it.” He released Stenden’s hand and resumed leaning with his chest to the chair’s front. “I’ve gotten a fair hand at killin’ things now, which says summat I’m sure, but I’d rather it be for a cause than not for one.” He reached blindly to the table and-- after a pat or three-- found what he sought; a bottle of the local brew, which had been forgotten in his haste to attend the funeral and then the subsequent difficulty of bath-locating.

He took a long pull, pulled a face and put the bottle down. “Now. Before you sign off on your pretty friend Fish being a soldierboy, I got a counteroffer.” He had swept the room for enchantments minutes before the lordling entered, and he felt like the news he was about to share was less sensitive even than his gender.

“I did courier work, yeah, for the Sunguard and the Hawks and all. I also did good behind, let’s say, enemy lines. Got papers where they needed to go… and stopped a few too.” He waggled a brow. “I got a few friends I can reach out to, sees what I can pull, maybe get some of those friends where they’ll do some good in Ilithia, it was called, right?”

He paused. “Now. I’m not doing this cause I’m a sufferin’ saint, like half of yer uncles friends… nor am I a wardog like the other half, though I could be in a few years. I’m a survivor.” He leaned forward in the chair so he met Stenden’s eyes. “I got red in my ledger I plan to make black. Your uncle did right by me and mine… more than I can say.” A flush crept up the youths face, and he needed to look away, at the dark glass of the bottle. “So this is payment back. Whatever you wanna offer, you offer, but know I’d let ye piss on my name and call me curr and I’d still do this cause of Sederis.”

Stenden took in this information with great interest. If the Emberglades did not have the strength to win this war by force, an agent- Another agent- would do well to turn the tides of battle. Besides, while his father had an agent in the form of former Logistics Offier Beathyn Val’cinder, the Lord of the Emberglades figured that it would be prudent to have an agent of his own.

“You know, our coffers are likely to be empty of coin for awhiles yet but...” he began leaning forward to meet the boy’s gaze opposite him. “When this war is over, there are a few Lords that are likely to be removed and their lands will need to be… Shall-we-say, redistributed.” The Lord of the Emberglades broke into an unexpected grin. Playing to his new friend’s… Shall-we-say, hobo-ness, Stenden spoke up with a lilt.

“What would you say to a house?” He let the suggestion sink in for a moment before playfully rubbing his chin. “Wait- Maybe a field- Some land perhaps? But the maintenance of those will put you deeper into the red… So some farmhands?” Stenden clapped his hands together. “What say you, to a minor title? Yes! Be an agent on my behalf and you’ll have yourself a farmstead and peasants of your own to boot.”

The young man listened, watching the way levity made Stenden seem his age at last. The immediate rancor he typically felt when discussing the landed was therefore muted by the warmth he had for the other youth, and so when he spoke it was kindly.

“Oy, that’s a hell of an offer there, but not the first I’ve garnered.” He waggled his brows. “I’m not exactly the type yon good-and-true elves of the land are gonna tip hats to.” He flicked hair away from his short and honestly stubby ears. Tracing the edge with one finger, Vissehn’s voice went a shade softer. “I’m a mutt, through and through. I don’t need land or titles, but if’n you can sort some of those means and ends towards improving the livelihood of your less fortunates… specially those who don’t put down roots, well, I’ll have done my square part on looking after my fellows.” 

He smiled then, a subdued thing that brought the softness of certain parts of his face into stark relief with the wild and fae mien he typically wore. “There’s a whole passel of mutts like me who need someplace to wander. If your borders’ll be open to ‘em, I’d consider it a way to bring all that black and red into some kind of balance.”

If Stenden was looking his age, Vissehn was not keeping his cover very well around the other no-longer-a-child.

“If you want a reason for me to be stickin’ around after alls said and done, just lemme know. I’m a roustabout by nature but I could see cooling my heels here, near the Dawnbrooks an’ the Emberhearts. I’m a fair courier, fair in a fight, and got some unfinished business here abouts that would be easier to accomplish if I had a place, but say… not necessarily landed or well known.” He shrugged and leaned back so his elbows rested on the chairback, one leg bouncing.

“Ah,” Steden verbalized when he caught sight of Vissehn’s ears. It’d have been fine with him, perhaps, but the average peasant? The crown? He didn’t believe that giving out such a gift would go down well with either. “I can do borders. The Broken Bulwark will need resettling and I feel like a more… Accepting sorts are likely to resettle those broken lands.”

But he smiled again. “So that settles it then, and I’ve got myself my very own agent.” In lighter times without the same gravity upon them, he supposed his first task that he’d give his new friend would be to harmlessly prank his father in some way. But war was upon them, and the reality of the situation began to weigh on him once more.

“Glad to have you aboard Vissehn. Now about the help you said you could get me…”

Quickly spinning the chair back towards the table, Vissehn dropped onto one knee. “Naw, Stenden, we’re gonna do this official like.” He looked over the table and grabbed a quill, and shoved it into the young lord’s hands. 

He clasped his own around Stenden’s a moment, serious eyes despite his grin. “Induct me into yer service, Lord Emberheart, an’ I’ll serve ye loyal in any capacity I might for as long as you do good by the Tel’dorei. I might be a bastard and a halfbreed and a dirty spy, but I’m good as my oaths and you’ll want to make this… deal.” The word makes his smile turn bitter but it remains intact, as his hands remain on Stenden’s.

Stenden wiped his hand on his shirt and cleared his throat, getting back into character. Rising to his feet, he tried his best to dull the smile on his face to something more regal, but a hint of it remained. He grasp a nearby parchment and started to pen the terms described in curls of cursive, and ensured that mentions of open borders to the boy’s people were included- Emphasized even.

Because the boy, despite his adherence to the traditions of his station and his land, did not just want to maintain what came before. But to build a better realm. Something that his uncle wanted, but could never achieve.

“I, Lord Emberheart, hereby induct you into the service of my family.” He states as he signs off on the document. He hands it over to him, and as a symbolic gesture, offers his hand to Vissehn. No titles. No absurd formalities past what was required.

--

Art by CD Projekt Red

@retributionpriest​ @stormandozone​

Hot Takes: Elves

“When an elven soul returns to Arvandor, it is adopted by the other gods of the Seldarine and given respite from the world for a time, during which it is left alone to ponder its creator’s disappointment.” -Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, p 36

I have three sourcebooks in front of me, and all of them are trash.

Elf lore has gotten more fucked up with every new release, and WotC seem to just be digging themselves deeper.

The drow and Lolth

Narrow depictions of ethereal beauty

Relationships with other races, especially orcs

At the root of this is the rather uncomfortable blend of religious themes and racial predestination found in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.

Disclaimer: I don’t want to suggest that all the official elf lore is bad. I want to suggest that all the official race lore is bad, actually.

Let’s dig in. Scroll to the bottom of the post if you wanna skip all the bad stuff WotC already wrote about elves.

“[The drow] are infamous for their cruelty, evilness, and desire to dominate.”  -Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, p. 107

“To most, [drow] are a race of demon-worshipping marauders [...] emerging only on the blackest nights to pillage and slaughter the surface dwellers they despise.” -Player’s Handbook, p. 24

“The surface elves’ attitude toward murder [...] is carried to the extreme by the drow, who have elevated the assassination of both enemies and friends to an art and who consider killing to be just another tool for resolving disputes and clearing the way for social advancement.” -Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, p. 40-41

So all this is bad. We’re gonna throw all this out in a hot sec, but I’m quickly going to discuss why the lore looks like this in case someone is unfamiliar with it:

basically, the creator of All Elves, Corellon, had a descendant goddess named Lolth, who apparently claimed that elves could attain superiority over other races, had a major falling-out with Corellon, and her followers went with her into exile and became the drow. Also in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, the elves were revealed to be trapped in a cycle of reincarnation where they spent an undetermined period of time dead, alone, and left to contemplate how disappointed Corellon was in them for agreeing with Lolth even a little bit. For some reason, this reincarnation cycle is presented as a good thing... somehow. (this is why elves have a blase reaction to murder, since the deceased will just be reborn later, and why the drow seem to be just fine with killing recklessly.)

This all could be just fine! Except drow are conspicuously the darkest-skinned subrace of elves, and also the one most aligned with a ‘matriarchal’ society. It’s worth pointing out that Corellon is a nonbinary god, but also that the elves “viewed Corellon as their father, the one who had sired them, and Lolth as their mother, the one who set them on the path to their destiny” (p. 36 of MToF). So not only is Corellon being forced into a cisnormative creator narrative, but the comparative “woman” power is being characterized with cruelty and violence. So there’s a lot going on with ‘innate’ savagery and race.

So we’re just gonna throw all that out, because it sucks. It’s got signficant racist implications of inherent violence in racial groups. Sure, WotC tries to retcon it from an in-born racial trait to a cultural one, but it still preys on the concepts of racial essentialism, whether biological or cultural, and fuck that noise. 

“Usually, true elves were a naturally slender and athletic race. Elves had a similar range of complexions to humans, with wood elves typically coppery or pale skinned and wild elves having darker pigmentation.”

“[Elves] live in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests or in silvery spires [...] Elves love nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry, and the good things of the world.” -Player’s Handbook, p. 21

Moving on from the drow, official lore gives the impression of elves as a whole as graceful, thin, and more ‘white.’ The quote above from the Forgotten Realms wiki (which is often used for lore reference) asserts that “wild” elves have “darker pigmentation”--a frankly horrifying example of the same problem with the drow characterization equating savagery, or lack of civilization, with dark skin colors. It’s... bad. It looks bad and it is bad.

Furthermore, the ‘good’ elves (and this itself has to be interrogated) are “naturally slender and athletic,” and constantly being characterized as beautiful. We’re equating elves with thinness and apparent youthfulness--you’ll never hear about the beauty of gnomes, for example, who are just as long-lived but who continue to age at a human-ish rate (making them extremely old-looking by the end of their lifespan). Looking young, thin, and athletic combined with the goodness, grace, and artistic nature of elves creates 1) a very human-esque image of beauty that elves almost surely shouldn’t possess, and 2) a serious problem of describing most elves as “good and beautiful” and drow as “evil”. 

“Although they can be haughty, elves are generally gracious even to those who fall short of their high expectations—which is most non-elves.”

“Most of the gods accepted Corellon’s mutability and passionate behavior, but these traits infuriated Gruumsh, the greatest of the orc gods.” -Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, p. 35

The PHB has a subsection on elven attitudes toward other races, specifically dwarves, halflings, and humans. This subsection is comprised of backhanded compliments: dwarves are stupid and clumsy but brave and good craftworkers, humans go much too fast but they’re good at accomplishing stuff, etc. In MToF, we see the “elven perspective” that if elves are reincarnated souls of their ancestor elves, then half-elves are a reincarnated but weak elf, a human soul in an elf-ish body, or a “true elf” trapped in a half-body until freed by death, all basically bummers. And don’t get me started on orcs, where their god was the cause of the bloodshed that created the first elves. 

In the official lore, elves look down on everyone, all the time, for just about any reason. And those reasons almost always fall into (you guessed it!) racial stereotyping!! 

There’s no discernible reason for elves to be as “haughty” as they are. Apparently they’re just so perfect that it’s impossible to live up to their expectations. I guess.

And that’s not even getting into the concept of eternally punishing all elves for apparently disagreeing with Corellon, all of one (1) single time. It’s... horrific. Reading up on the reincarnation cycle has only convinced me that it’s designed as a unique torture where elves have to spend their childhood totally aware of how they betrayed their primary deity in a past life, then when they “sleep” or trance out they also relive those memories, and then forget them just in time to die and be forced to spend up to millennia pondering how Corellon is upset with them. And that’s the elves who get reincarnated! The drow live shorter lives, and will never reach the apparent paradise of Arvandor. They just go to some other afterlife plane, presumably the one reigned over by an evil spider goddess.

Like. That’s so awful and grimdark, and steps all over the “elves are descended from the fey” thing, but more than that?

It’s horribly unimaginative. It’s just so boring in comparison to all the potential an elf society contains. (not to mention it’s wayyyy too focused on the cosmic side of things rather than a societal view.)

Reimagining Elves

yeah, so, given that we’re scrapping... pretty much all the elf lore.... I’d be remiss in not providing some cooler, more inventive options. As always, you can always choose to craft your own, but here are some ideas to get the gears turning.

Racial interactions: Elves live in close communities composed of one’s extended family, and place a lot of emphasis on family ties and the political relationships between elf families. These family communities tend toward conservatism, with the elders of the family deciding things like marriages, suitable careers, etc. 

Marrying outside the complicated political machinations of elven culture is verboten, so having half-elf children is especially off-limits. Or leave that whole hangup in the lorebooks entirely! Maybe having loads of half-elf children, especially by multiple humans, is super popular because then you can get your political influence into many different places! Who knows! 

But also, any culture that doesn’t lean into this community structure is seen as totally incomprehensible and not worth bothering with. Too many failed marriages with orcs who don’t understand things like “individual property rights”.

Aesthetics: Elves tend to do artsy stuff, but their definition of “art” is... unusual, for most other races. They carve large boulders in the woods and just... leave them there for travelers to find, or manipulate the growth of vines to take shapes like one of an elf drawing a bow, or weave a glimmering silver net of fine thread and hang it from the trees like a dew-speckled spiderweb. They’re reclusive, living in artists enclaves. 

They might dress in loud colors, play screamo music because it’s “expressive”, and paint their faces with blocky shapes because it’s “an avant-garde reflection of the soul.” Go wild. 

Elves can be chubby, elves can be fat, elves can be buff, elves can be light and dark-skinned, elves can glow in the dark, elves can be disabled, elves can be chronically ill (actually, imagine elves with disabilities or illness creating the most pretentious medical aids or training like. a direwolf as a service animal. cause they’re that extra.), elves can be tall or short or whatever. just make sure they have pointy ears (unless...)

Subrace differences, gender: different elf communities have very different views on gender; none of which are “there are two immutable genders/sexes.” for instance, high elves might have a rigid 2-gender system, but it mostly relies on sets of stereotypes and social roles that adolescent elves have to choose as they mature, and then they’re ‘locked in’ for the rest of their life, and they’re seriously looked down on for violating those rules one gender is not valued over another, but they’re rigid systems. 

wood elves may have a ‘what’s a gender’ approach instead, but then any elf who comes up with a gender identity for themself is suspected of wanting to be like those snobbish high elves or something. 

The drow are inclined to have lots of genders, but there’s a clear hierarchy that places “femininity” (by an elf definition) above other gender presentations in emulation of their goddess, Lolth. 

Subrace differences, food: Elves divide themselves by how they cultivate their food. Wood elves cultivate “wild” foods by feeding meat and dairy-producing animals and taking care of naturally occurring plants, and harvesting from the technically-untamed world when they need supplies. 

High Elves have gardens and livestock pens, which are typically exquisitely maintained, but they don’t eat meat; all animals are strictly for dairy and textiles. 

Drow have a collectivist system of crop production, which involves sustainable growing practices on the lands they own aboveground and harvesting at night. They keep animals to eat weeds, bees to pollinate and for honey, and spiders that catch pest insects that would damage the crops.

Religion/Ancestry: some elves believe their elf gods shaped them from the fey, some believe they were descended from the fey and the gods adopted them, and others insist that evolution is fake and the gods created them from whole cloth and the fey thing is just a coincidence.

Weapons: Elves train with weapons because it is: an artform (weapon dancing), a skill competition, an environmental necessity (either for hunting or for battle), or what have you.

The drow, as a whole: you get to choose one. Either the drow are evil, or the drow are dark-skinned, or neither of those are true (on like, a subrace level. individual drow can be whatever). Anyway. If the drow aren’t evil (the better option anyway), they weren’t exiled to the Underdark. Obviously. but a significant portion of the elven population is descended from winter eladrin/the Unseelie Court, and as a result they are allergic to sunlight to varying degrees, so they’ve made a home underground. They worship the spider goddess because she taught them to weave clothing from the web of giant spiders that live in the Underdark. Let Lolth be the goddess of practical craftwork, rather than art for art’s sake, a goddess of knowledge and advancement instead of murder and savagery.

Obviously you can use any and all of these in your own campaign. If you don’t use them, have fun making up your own lore that is clearly superior to existing WotC elf lore!

Witchy QnA

1. Are you solitary or in a coven?

Solitary!

2. Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other?

Witch, or Enchantress if I wanna sound fancy

3. What is your zodiac sign?

Leo sun, Aquarius moon, Leo rising

4. Do you have a Patron God/dess?

Nope

5. Do you work with a Pantheon?

Nope

6. Do you use tarot, palmistry, or any other kind of divination?

Tarot sometimes

7. What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any)

Im just starting to get into more physical items. I was raised to do most things mentally.

8. How would you define your craft?

Im not sure? Green but a lil eclectic

9. Do you curse? If not, do you accept others who do?

I dont think of it as cursing. More so protection from certain people.

10. How long have you been practicing?

I found out about what I was already doing as being Witchcraft a couple months ago. But Ive been using Tarot, using kitchen Witch spells, as “prayers” as spells since I can remember

11. Do you currently or have you ever had any familiars?

Nope. I hope to have one soon though

12. Do you believe in Karma or
Reincarnation?

Absolutely believe in karma. Reincarnation, possibly. Its definitely something I think about

13. Do you have a magical name?

Nope.

14. Are you “out of the broom closet”?

My whole moms side practices casually, so I mean I guess? But I havent referred to  myself as a Witch or something like that.

15. What was the last spell you performed?

I enchanted a ring I got. Also, a money spell that worked but uhh its definitely showing me that I need to work harder.

16. Would you consider yourself knowledgeable?

Im pretty decent. Most of what I look up is common knowledge to me

17. Do you write your own spells?

I havent yet, but I also dont do many spells verbally. I more so visually manifest

18. Do you have a book of shadows? If so, how is it written and/or set up?

I do, Its just a plain lil notebook, I have just some basic reference sheet type things in it.

19. Do you worship nature?

Absolutely

20. What is your favorite gemstone?

rose quartz. or tigers eye

21. Do you use feathers, claws, fur, pelt, skeletons/bones, or any other animal body part for magical work?

I dont particularly enjoy using animal/ human materials. I use natural things, like dirt and water.

  22. Do you have an altar?

Not so much a physical Altar, but my bed is definitely my safe space and I can clear my mind here the easiest.

23. What is your preferred element?

Water, but fire always make me wide eyed and curious. definitely curious. but its destructive potential scares me.

24. Do you consider yourself an Alchemist?

Not art all haha

25. Are you any other type of magical practitioner besides a witch?

Im not sure!

26. What got you interested in witchcraft?

realizing that I had been practicing for my whole life and I hadnt known before

27. Have you ever performed a spell or ritual with the company of anyone who was not a witch?

yeah, with my mom and her mom. I just didnt know at the time. We do protection spells often.

28. Have you ever used ouija?

yup! with my mom and her mom. Its just a family thing we do every time we all get together. I grew up thinking it was completely normal.

29. Do you consider yourself a psychic?

My mom says I used to be. I used to dream about natural disasters before they happened as a kid. I dont think im too good anymore. just empathetic.

30. Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it?

I dont think I do. If anything, I do feel a feminine energy? dark (like a shadow, not negative) and watery is the best way I can describe it. But its not a human  entity. Just energy.

31. What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started?

That not everyone believes what you do. And its totally okay! Just maybe dont loudly announce your Ouija board antics with your science teacher in middle school.

32. Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite?

I havent before, but im going to try to this year

33. Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children?

Absolutely. I want my son to grow up the same way I did around magick. Itll be normal for him.

34. Do you meditate?

Sometimes! its definitely something im trying to do more often.

35. What is your favorite season?

Fall and Spring! Theres so much change

36. What is your favorite type of magick to preform?

Im not sure yet! Ive only just started branching out and actually considering what ive been doing all my life as magick.

37. How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life?

Daily affirmations/ protection spells, I manifest me and my sons happiness and safety every day.

38. What is your favorite witchy movie?

I dont think Ive seen any haha

39. What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why?

The Darkest Powers books by Kelly Armstrong. More supernatural (vampires, werewolves, stuff like that) but I loved it growing up.

40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not.

Knowingly, a protection spell from someone who had hurt me

41. What’s the craziest witchcraft-related thing that’s happened to you?

Im not sure! I can see auras if i really focus and can tune into someone, so maybe when i saw a family member with a pure black aura? That was freaky

42. What is your favourite type of candle to use?

I dont use candles! Bonfires or fires in fireplaces usually, to burn a paper if needed. Again, I dont  trust myself with fire very much.

43. What is your favorite witchy tool?

My crystals and my tarot. They all have vibrations. Everything does but especially those, because im so connected to them

44. Do you or have you ever made your own witchy tools?

I want to!  Havent yet

45. Have you ever worked with any magical creatures such as the fea or spirits?

Spirits, yes. I can call on family that Ive known in person for protection. Been doing that as long as i can remember

46. Do you practice color magic?

I used to! i dont really anymore. 

47. Do you or have you ever had a witchy teacher or mentor of any kind?

My mom, aunt, and grandma! 

48. What is your preferred way of shopping for witchcraft supplies?

Dollar store, thrift store, antique stores (though im always hesitant to use something that belonged to someone else. If there isnt a close emotional attachment, there wont be any noticeable vibrations.

49. Do you believe in predestination or fate?

I think theres a general way that things can happen. More like a decide your fate book. There are multiple options, it just depends on what you choose.

50. What do you do to reconnect when you are feeling out of touch with your practice?

Meditate, or go to the lake.

51. Have you ever had any supernatural experiences?

ohhhh boy. I got stories.

52. What is your biggest witchy pet peeve?

People thinking theyre better bc they have a crap ton of materials, thinking im less than because I visualize easier than with material items.

53. Do you like incense? If so what’s your favorite scent?

I do, I just cant very often. I have a child and very smell sensitive people livingg with me

54. Do you keep a dream journal of any kind?

I rarely ever remember a dream, so no

55. What has been your biggest witchcraft disaster?

Im not sure ive had one yet

56. What has been your biggest witchcraft success?

I havent seen who i dont want to see since protecting myself

57. What in your practice do you do that you may feel silly or embarrassed about?

 Everything, haha. I think thats why I enjoy visualizing instead of rituals or verbal stuff.

58. Do you believe that you can be an atheist, Christian, Muslim or some other faith and still be a witch too?

Absolutely!

59. Do you ever feel insecure, unsure or even scared of spell work?

yes, I feel like it //can be// kinda like a genie in a bottle type thing. Itll work, but not without a price.

60. Do you ever hold yourself to a standard in your witchcraft that you feel you may never obtain?

Nope

61. What is something witch related that you want right now?

A cauldron to mix and burn things in haha

62. What is your rune of choice?

I dont know yet! Runes are something Im looking into

63. What is your tarot card of choice?

My birth card, the Tower.

64. Do you use essential oils? If so what is your favorite?

I love lemon and eucalyptus 

65. Have you ever taken any kind of witchcraft or pagan courses?

nope!

66. Do you wear pagan jewelry in public?

Nope

67. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your faith or being a witch?

No one that would feel that way knows anything about it

68. Do you read or subscribe to any pagan magazines?

nope

69. Do you think it’s important to know the history of paganism and witchcraft?

Yes. Its like knowing world history and us history, We need to learn from the past.

70. What are your favorite things about being a witch?

I feel powerful, and connected and accepted by nature.

71. What are your least favorite things about being a witch?

having to tiptoe around things around certain people

72. Do you listen to any pagan music? If so who is your favorite singer/band?

Nope! ill have to look into it

73. Do you celebrate the Esbbats? If so, how?

I havent fully figured out what i want to do for the moon cycles yet, but I definitely want to. the moon and water are so closely related

74. Do you ever work skyclad?

No, but i mean.. maybe one day?

75. Do you think witchcraft has improved your life? If so, how?

I feel like i have more control of how im able to use my emotions and feelings

76. Where do you draw inspiration from for your practice?

The energy i talked about before.. It gets more intense and stronger sometimes, and i know i need to put more time and effort into my practice

77. Do you believe in ‘fantasy’ creatures? (Unicorns, fairies, elves, gnomes, ghosts, etc)

no, but i do believe in energy. not ghosts per say but definitely energy

78. What’s your favorite sigil/symbol?

I try to make most of them myself. I have one for protection while driving that i use for me and my boyfriend a lot. And one for the safety of my son.

79. Do you use blood magick in your practice? Why or why not?

Not as of right now. I did bleed onto my tarot cards on accident though..

80. Could you ever be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t support your practice?

Theres a difference  between “doesnt understand and doesnt care to” and “fully doest support and refuses to let you practice safely”. I dont mind the first, but wouldnt stay with the second.

81. In what area or subject would you most like your craft to grow?

Reading auras, and tarot. Also just connecting with nature more

82. What’s your favorite candle scent? Do you use it in your practice?

I love fall scents! but no, i dont really use candles

83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it?

Meditate and protect

84. What real life witch most inspires your practice?

My mom honestly lmao. i dont think she views herself as a full witch though.And my aunt

85. What is your favorite method of communicating with deity?

I dont worship dieties. But i like to just be in natural and connect emotionally, nonverbally to this energy Im somehow connected with.

86. How do you like to organize all your witchy items and ingredients?

In this lil wooden box my mom gave me for my birthday to hold the tarot cards my grandma gave me haha.

87. Do you have any witches in your family that you know of?

my mom. aunt, and grandma. I know my grandpas grandma was a voodoo witch too.

  88. How have you created your path? What is unique about it?

I havent seen much about nonverbal, mostly mental witchcraft. So i guess  thats one unique thing.

89. Do you feel you have any natural gifts or affinities (premonitions, hearing spirits, etc.) that led you toward the craft? If so what are they?

A couple things. Feeling vibrations, the connection to nature, auras, growing up surrounded by it.

90. Do you believe you can initiate yourself or do you have to be initiated by another witch or coven?

I believe you can initiate yourself. I dont feel the need for someone elses validation is i know my connection with nature is real

91. When you first started out in your path what was the first thing or things you bought?

crystals, lmao

92. What is the most spiritual or magickal place you’ve been?

The southern oregon coast. honestly everywhere in oregon feels so alive and vibrating so heavily with energy. The water and the lush greenery is perfection.

93. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is searching for their matron and patron deities?

I have no idea, I dont follow a deity

94. What techniques do you use to ‘get in the zone’ for meditation?

quiet, listen to music i like and that help calm me, slightly cool, a breeze is good. the sound of real water flowing from a lake or ocean. recordings of water dont help me. sometimes white noise if theres too much noise

95. Did visualization come easily to you or did you have to practice at it?

visualization is the easiest thing for me. ive always daydreamed so heavily that itll be like im dreaming with my eyes totally open and tracking. 

  96. Do you prefer day or night? Why?

early mornings, right as the sun is coming up.

97. What do you think is the best time and place to do spell work?

I like doing spell work before bed, when the moon is bright enough to light up what im doing

98. How did you feel when you cast your first circle? Did you stumble or did it go smoothly?

I dont know if it counts as casting a circle? but i visualize a swirling white ball of energy, starting out like a strawberry size in my hands, and every time i breath in, it gets bigger. Its a protection circle. i learned to do it at like?? 3 years old?

99. Do you believe witchcraft gets easier with time and practice?

Yup!

100. Do you believe in many gods or one God with many faces?

If i had to guess, id say multiple gods/ goddesses. one entity shouldnt have that much power imo.

101. Do you eat meat, eggs and dairy?

Ive been trying to go vegetarian, and i eat minimal eggs and dairy.

102. What is your favorite color and why?

dark, smokey colors. grey, black, dark muted purples, navy, smoky pink.

103. What is the one question you get asked most by non-practitioners or non-pagans? How do you usually respond?

I dont have many people im even slightly into that stuff, let alone a witch. So usually just “how do i cleanse my house? i think its haunted” type stuff

104. Which of your five senses would you say is your strongest?

Feel, haha, physically and emotionally.

105. What is a pagan or witchcraft rule that you preach but don’t practice?

Always properly cleanse new materials, haha

The Wishing Well

Whew, I made it lol.  This is my story for the awesome @nalufever for the Nalu server’s secret Valentine’s Exchange.  LoL we had each other!  Omg, I hope you like it, I was trying to come up with a story around the idea we once talked about.  It ended up being a fluffy short story lol.  Okie here we go.

“Miss Lucy!” the little girl waves her hand excitedly from across the room.  “Miss, Miss, Miss!”

“Yes, Wendy?” the teacher’s aide walks up to the table and kneels, “are you finished with your drawing?” Nodding her head with a small blush upon her cheeks, the child holds her drawing up for Lucy to see.  “That’s wonderful Wendy!  Is that your cat?  But why is it blue?”

Wendy smiles wide, “name’s Happy!  Don’ know why he blue tho but it’s cute!”

“Yes,” Lucy chuckles, eyes brimming with delight, “he’s very cute!”  

Content with the response, Wendy goes back to doodling a new cartoon while the teachers aid floats around the room checking on other students.  Lucy loved this part time job even though it wasn’t quite in the field she was studying for, the credit still counted, the pay was decent, and not to mention the students were adorable most of the time.  Of course, there were a few that could be a handful, but nothing the bubbly 22 yr old blonde couldn’t handle and besides, the teacher Mirajane was also a blessing to work with.

Storytime was probably Lucy’s favorite part of the day.  Books had always been her sanctum even from a young age and to impart that same love into these children was like paying it forward for the new generation.  They would gather round her with their snacks, the eager little faces and once a week she even delighted them with original little stories she would create just for them.  Filled with characters like Princesses and Dragons, of mythical elves and other magical creatures, even using their names mixed in to make it come alive for the awestruck youngsters.

Lucy smiles from her desk, this school year was shaping up to be a great one.

Across town at Magnolia University, a young man hurries out of class.  Checking his phone, he’s got 30 minutes to get to the primary school and pick up his sister, but traffic is often a pain at this hour.  His sister-in-law Mavis usually picked Wendy up but today she had an appointment leaving Natsu to rush.  It’s been a struggle for the 24-year-old, being thrust into the role of guardian at the age of 20, to drop out of college and take time off to raise a 2-year-old.  Not that it mattered, there was no way he was going to allow Wendy to be sent to a foster home after their parents died.  It wasn’t her fault tragedy struck and left her an orphan, so he was going to lavish that little girl with all the love and affection their parents would have given her.

He thrums his fingers on the steering wheel, as the car slowly crawled its way towards the front of the school.  The line of parents patiently waiting to pick up kids was pretty typical, however annoying it may be, but a requirement for the students in kindergarten and first grades for release at the end of the day.  Teachers and security waited with the children, handing them off as each car pulled up.  Natsu smiles when he finally sees the tell-tale blue hair of Wendy bouncing as she waves to him.

“How was your day at school Wendy?” popping the question as the first grader buckled herself in to her booster.  

With a click and a bubbly response, “lots’a fun!  We drew and Ms. Lucy read us a story!  Ms. Lucy always has awesomest stories to tell!  Yuck, then Mrs. Dreyar gave us reading to do.”  

Natsu chuckles, side-eying through the rearview, “What’s with the pouty face?  I thought you like reading?”

“Not for homework.  I wanna read for fun!”

That only makes him laugh harder, “tell ya what, how about we get some ice cream at the mall, then I’ll read with you, sound better?”

Wendy’s face lights up, “Yay!  Ice Cream!”

“Kozmic Cones it is!”

On the opposite side of the mall nestled near the food court, Faeries Café was a popular little hangout.  Good food that even a college kid could afford drew them in at all hours of the day. Lucy was no exception and today was her weekly meet up with her best friend Levy McGarden for coffee.  It had become a routine ever since they’d finished their undergraduate programs and moved on to graduate work, she in the field of English Lit while Levy focused on Ancient Linguistics.  Between classes and working jobs they rarely had much time anymore to hang out.  

“How are things going with Gajeel,” the blonde stirred at the slowly warming coffee, “did you guys pick a date for the wedding yet?”

“He said not until after I graduate, which is only one more semester, so I agreed.”

Lucy leans onto her propped hand with a light smile, “You’re so lucky you found someone already Lev, I’m really happy for you two.”

“Aww, Lu you’ll find someone,” the bluenette reaches over the table and grabs her friend’s free hand, squeezing it before retracting back into her seat, “and I bet it’ll happen when you least expect it to.”

But the blonde just sighs, “Doubt it, I’m so busy I don’t have time to meet anyone unless they are under the age of 7,” chuckling lightly, “and no one in my college classes are very interesting to me.”

“You haven’t dated anyone since him that I can recall.”  Levy taps her chin, “maybe it’s not that you can’t but won’t look at anyone else.”

“What are you my psychiatrist now?!”  teasing at her friend.  “I’m fine, really, not like I don’t have enough on my plate to deal with, right? And as for my ex,” Lucy shrugs her shoulders, “we lost touch in college…”

The girls spend about an hour chatting and catching up, planning that upcoming weekend when another friend will be dropping by town.  Cana Alberona was never one to stay still for very long but luckily her job in fashion fit her personality well, jet setting around to photograph models and actors for Sorcerer’s Magazine.  She was so different in personality from the other two girls and yet the trio were inseparable in high school.  It wasn’t really their thing, but for Cana, hitting a bar or club was definitely going to be on the agenda.

Which was fine, she guessed, nothing wrong with hanging out with a couple of girlfriends at a bar.  Hopefully no one bothers us….  Ugh, but some guy always does!  As she walked away from the café, Lucy hangs her head wondering if her love life would always be a struggle.  She was sick and tired of even trying to meet guys when it usually turned out they only wanted her, sighing, for my assets….  It wasn’t her fault she was born with these curves, even thought about getting a reduction one day just so she didn’t have to deal with them anymore.  

There had only been one serious relationship in her life and while the guy definitely loved her body, Lucy knew it wasn’t the reason he’d asked her out in the first place.  Back then surrounded by so many friends, she’d never cared much about having boyfriends or being in relationships but funny how things change and now 5 years later, it was kind of lonely.  

She sees the wishing well a few feet away, absent mindedly pulling out a coin as she walked towards it. It was such a silly thing to make a wish and throw away a perfectly good quarter but well, flicking the shiny metal into the water, what could it hurt, right?  To have someone like him back in her life again, maybe the false smiles she wore would finally be real.

“Ms. LUCY!!!”

“Wendy?”  The young blonde turns around to the voice of her student, semi-surprised though this was a mall and all, just in time to have the little girl hugging to her legs.  “Wendy, what a nice surprise to see you here!” Lucy hugs the girl back, “but who are you with sweetie?”

The little girl, with eyes practically shining, bounces on her feet pointing behind her, “my brother gots me ice cream.”

“Your broth…” As she follows Wendy finger, Lucy cannot believe what she’s seeing.  “N-Natsu!” a light gasp as her hands fly up to her mouth and moisture clouds her vision.  “Oh my god! I-Is it really you?”  

Sporting the trade mark goofy grin that she knew better than most plastered on his face, “Yeah it’s me, heya Lucy,” scratching his head, “Didn’t realize you were the teacher she always talks about.  How ya been?”

Tears trickle down her cheeks and before she can stop them, her feet carry her towards him, hands flying into fists.  In that moment Lucy’s surroundings fade away and all she can see is Natsu, standing there in the flesh.  No Wendy, no shoppers, just him.  “Why!?” She beats at his chest, “no calls, no texts, no goodbye!  Four years! Y-you just left me hanging how could you Natsu!”  

“Luce…” he had no idea what he could say to the sobbing woman in his arms to slow her tears, grabbing her hands to stop their fury but keeping them held tightly to his chest. She was right, everything she said was the truth.  Natsu was an asshole for not making the effort to contact her as soon as he could, and he knew that.  So, he did the only thing he could and held her quietly, whispering soft apologizes and hoping it would be enough to soothe the pain he never knew she had held onto.        

Eventually Lucy slumps against him, liquid still flowing but her sobs withering into lighter exhalations. “I’m sorry,” her voice strained and muffled, “I didn’t mean to break down like that.”

“No,” Natsu pulls her head against his shoulder, cradling the back of her head, “don’t be sorry, I should have reached out to you too it’s just that…”

“I know about your parents….  I ran into Gray a couple years ago and he told me that’s what happened.”  Lucy pushes away just enough to look up at the taller man. “Natsu I would have been there for you if you’d have let me, you didn’t have to do it all alone.”

“I know Luce…. We…”

A meek voice breaks through the din, “I-Is Ms. Lucy okay?”

“Oh my!” Lucy pushes away and drops to her knees beside the little girl, followed quickly by the elder brother.  Still wiping away the streaks of salty liquid, Lucy takes the child’s hand, “I’m so sorry you had to see that Wendy.  I’m okay really, I am I promise.  We,” glancing to Natsu who nods, “we went to high school together and haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

The poor child’s face is still sullen and full of worry.  “Are you, are you mad at my brother Ms. Lucy?  Did my brother hurt you?”

“He…”

Natsu put his hand on Lucy’s shoulder, cutting off her response.  Turning to his little sister, “I did, a long time ago when you were still very young, I made Lucy very, very sad.”

“But he didn’t mean to sweetie,” Lucy chimes in trying to comfort the child, “your brother was going through a lot of things and it just happened.”

“So, you really aren’t mad at my brother?”

“No, I’m not,” the woman smiles.  “I rather like your brother a lot.”  Lucy feels the warmth tingling in her cheeks but does her best not to show it.  “He’s, you know like how we learned about the bad guys and the good guys in class?”  The child nods.  “Your brother is one of the good guys.”

That brings a delighted smile back to Wendy’s face.  “I think so too!  He takes really good care of me after mommy and daddy died.”  

“I’m sure he does,” Lucy smiles back.

“Wendy, honey,” Natsu steps in handing out some change to the girl, “would you like to go make some wishes while I finish talking to Ms. Lucy?”  The child looks to her teacher, then back to her brother nodding, taking the change and skipping off to the wishing well.  “What’s the odds that she’d end up in your class?” turning to the girl still crouched, Natsu helps Lucy to her feet, “or running into each other at the mall’s wishing well?”

Lucy shakes her head rather than respond.  Magnolia wasn’t a large city, it was bound to happen sooner or later so there was no point in making it out to be anything more than mere coincidence.  “I-I sh-should probably go so you can get back to Wendy.” Lucy turns away.  “I must look like a mess right now…”  

“You are still just as beautiful as the last time I saw you.”

The blonde stiffens. His words…. His tone… sends an electric shock through her frame.  Tingling along her skin when his hand comes to rest on her shoulder and the heat radiating from his body infringing upon her space.  

“I’m such an idiot for letting you go once.  You must be settled down by now with someone….”

She shakes her head, refusing to turn around, and answering in a soft tone, “there hasn’t really been anyone since you.  No one’s ever treated me…. the way you used to treated me…”

One hand on her shoulder turns into two around her waist.  “I don’t expect you to forgive me Luce, but if it’s any consolation, I still love you, maybe even more now, knowing how much Wendy adores you too.”  Lucy squeezes her eyes shut, willing back the tears again. “Would you give me a second chance?”

“Please say Yes!”  The young man and woman’s heads whip around to see a beaming Wendy practically bouncing.  “Please say yes Ms. Lucy!”

Natsu let go of Lucy’s waist, turning her to face him.  “Well, Ms. Lucy?”  A large grin growing on his face with the thought of buying his sister that new dress she’s been fawning over.  “You wouldn’t want to make your student sad, would you?”

“Gah, you really haven’t changed,” she punches his arm, playfully with a smirk.  “Lucky you,” grabbing his shirt, “I still love that goofier side,” and pulling him down for a kiss….  

What kind of elf is “Tinker”?(part 3)finally

In this third part of my hc I’m gonna go..well, full head-canon here. I don’t actually have anything major from the show to work with, so everything here will be based on the primal descriptions and head-canons based of of some ideas of mine and of some other theories I’ve seen on the tumblr hashtag #tdp theory.

As you know, I already compared the markings and desings of the other elven groups that we’ve seen in the show to Tinkers and concluded that he has to be at least part ocean or earth elf. Since I LOVE the idea of mermaids in the tdp universe(and tinker quite frankly doesn’t look like a mermaid), I’m gonna go ahead say that out of the two it’s probably earth elf.

I have a few reasons to believe that tinker being earth elven would be pretty awesome. One would be how it would link to his profession as a craftsman.

We already know that earth primal magic in one form connects to the minerals in the earth like metals and gems(magic gems probably), so how AWESOME would it be if he could just waltz into a mine and get his stuff for his weapons or pendants right there and then!

( since were already talking about pendants, i wanna take a moment to adress the argument “tinker musst be a moonshadow elf, because he made Runaans pendant!”. Something that many people seem to miss is the fact that tinker makes this pendant, but doesn’t use it. You see, I believe that in theory it shouldn’t matter what kind of magic is in the pendant itself, since the magic comes from the stone of the pendant and person who CASTS the spell. But it doesn’t mean that it has to be usable for the MAKER. I do think that it probably takes some kind of minimal magic to make the pendant, but it doesn’t have to be the magic that the pendant is used for eventually. Also! mini theory!: maybe the stone of the pendant doesn’t have one spell per say, but just a little chunk of plain magic. The spellcaster CREATES whatever spell he needs with that little bit of magic! So the pendant could be used for a variety of spells ranging from “Flos crecere faciam istud!”(make this flower grow) to “mystica arbora”! ;-)

Another reason why I think he belongs to a elf-group other than sunfire or etc, is because his face just looks different. And I don’t just mean his markings. I mean the structure of his face is different.

In some spare time I tried to draw tinker and I noticed that his features seemed to be somewhat similar either to south-east asian features or latino features. I KNOW that sounds like a weird comparison, and I hope it doesn’t rub someone off the wrong way, but looking at some pictures I got on the internet, I hope you see what I mean:

I personally think it would be really cool to see some elves inspired by either latin-american cultur OR south-east-asian cultur, though they would be vastly different.

But the biggest reason why I like the „tinker is biracial sunfire-earth elf“ so much is because of the potential consequence in the story.

I theorised abit about what kind of professions the earth-elves might have based on the description for earth-primal-magic:

Now what I find interesting is the fact that they mention two subgroups for earth amgic; the ground itself(gems, minerals, metalls, stone) and mother nature(plants and animals). This would suggest that not all earth elves share the same set of powers.

This could mean that there are multiple professions that could be assosiated with the earth elves. I imagine that it could be the following:

earth elves connected to the gems, stone and minerals of the earth are mine workers. They go underground and locate/optain all of the materials that elven society needs from the ground.

elves connected to the plants are involved in the agricultural industry and are responsible for the harvests.

elves connected to all of the living creatures do all the jobs dealing with said creatures: farming, pest-control, hostlers/stablemen, etc.

You may have noticed that while all of these professions would make sense, none of them are really respectable professions.

Also; I could see how some fans might call it rather racist to give these “low” jobs to latino/asian coded caracters😬

But I think that alone the existence of these jobs could add some much desired tension to the story.

@true-neutral-earth-elf already made a post where they discussed how ocean-elves and earth-elves might not get allong with the other elven groups so well here . Basically, earth-elves don’t get allong with sunfire-, moonshadow- and starelves because they decided to kick all the humans out of xadia because some few people f*ck*d up. It’s really interesting so I would suggest to go check it out!

Now on top of this you have the possible professions of the earth elves, which are not the most prestigious ones to be fair. Infact, throughout history people of these professions have been missused, abused, miss treated, underpaid and screwed over consistently, so if the show decides to be a bit more realistic and potentially a bit more grim, I could imagine that the earth elves might suffer under some form of oppression like this. This could be another explanation for why we don’t see any obvious earth elves at the boarder; either the other elves don’t respect them enough to fight alongside them, or the earth elves hate their “oppressors” to much to fight with them.

But I think that if this is the case then that WILL come to bite the other elves back in the ass REAL HARD. I mean think about it: if the sunfire-elves were to start a greater war with the humans and the earth elves suddenly decided to fight with the HUMANS, then the other elves would be so fantastically screwed for sure! they wouldn’t have their miner, their pest-control, their farmers. Their economy could colapse AND the earth elves could use their intel against them, so yeah, screwed.

But if there is this potential conflict between the earth elves and the other elves, what would this mean if Tinker IS biracial? Or what would that do to tinkers and runaans relationship?

For the first question I think it would depend on where/with whom he grew up. As a bi/multiracial person myself, I know that your attitude and connection to certain cultures really depends on how close you are to said culture. In my case, I grew up in switzerland with my german mom and my african-american and part native american dad, but I obviously have most of my manerisms from my home city of Zürich. I hardly have any connection with my cherokee heritage and the only contact I ever had with my dads hometown[detroit] growing up was mostly through FaceTime with my relatives. I still felt the influences though growing up around my dad and his love for black history.(and history in general).

So in the case of Tinker it would really depend on wether he grew up with the earth elves, or the sunfire elves. The difference would be HUGE. It would affect how he views the human-xadian conflict, his outlook on life, how he behaves around strangers or friends, how easily he opens up to people, etc.

I think it‘s more likely that he grew up with the sunfire leves, since we know that he‘s a craftsman, and because it would be allot more logical( and quite frankly healthier) in regards to his relationship with Runaan. For one it would be less likely that runaan would meet an „earth elf from the mines“ than a „sunfire elf from a weapons-shop“. But either way, there would still to be at least some conflict between the two men since we all know that Runaan doesn‘t think so highly of humans...

We could have ourselves some sweet sweet angst😎😭😎. Afterall, just because you don‘t live with in your „other culture“, doesn‘t mean that you don‘t care about it; and more importantly, it doesn‘t mean it doesn‘t shape you in some ways, because (as I know myself) it most CERTAINLY DOES! I could see Tinker and Runaan getting into some hefty arguments about the whole border situation and about the treatment of humans and maybe that of the other „less fortunate“ elven groups, a.k.a ocean and earth elves.

What I would be really curious about though, is what side would tinker be on if it came to a fight?

Cause as @true-neutral-earth-elf mentioned in their post, if it ever came to a fight between elves, we could see a earth-ocean alliance and a sunfire-moonshadow-startouched alliance, with the skywing elves being kinda torn in the middle. Where would he go then?

~~~~

I believe that Tinkers heritage will at least play a decent role in the story of the dragon prince! Wether it is in connection to his crafting skills or the possible conflicts within the elven race, he will have a bigger part to play.

~

Also I have a sneaking suspicion that he could turn out to be a really powerful mage.

but that‘s a theory for another day~

-

If you have any questions or counter arguments for me, feel free to chat me up!

Part one| part two |

😁👍

RPG Campaign Setting Thoughts - The Actual, You Know, Setting

Continuing along from here and here, I suppose I should take a moment and get my head out of the clouds with all this structure of the planes and metaphysics malarkey and put down a few words about, you know, the actual world people are going to be going on adventures in... but I don’t wanna!

I’m actually kinda serious with that. I’m still not sure to what degree this whole thing is something I’m really going to sit down and do something with vs. a total pipe dream vs. just some general thoughts on what changes I’d push towards if in a relevant position at a big company and all, but one really big issue I’d want to seriously address if I end up actually publishing anything here is the fact that everything about fantasy RPGs is entirely too white, and unfortunately, I myself am also entirely too white.

As previously mentioned, I 100% want to have orcs coded really heavily as colonialist European types as a major setting antagonist, to push back against decades of appallingly racist coding, and by extension I’d like to have humans who are visually and culturally representative of, you know, the rest of humanity. Some having to deal with orcs raiding and planting their flags everywhere, others totally not dealing with that and having their own much more interesting things going on. Get away from the stock imagery of castles and knights in a barely repainted England, get some cool stuff inspired the rest of the world in there as some basic imagery and all.

And... yeah I’m just not really qualified to do that. More importantly though, I know a ton of people who ARE, and they’re all super cool, and don’t get enough chances to do this sort of world-building. I don’t want to make my ignorant stab at a setting heavily informed by Indian history and folklore when I know someone who’s both an experienced game developer and a Hindu Pandit. I don’t want to play around with fantasy-Jerusalem when thinking about that is basically the life’s work of one of my favorite people in the world. I could keep going with this. I have a lot of really amazing contacts I would absolutely love to just give blank checks to to collaborate on a campaign setting full of all their personal passions and drawing on their heavy historical and cultural knowledge bases.

But... I’m also unemployed, barely able to keep a roof over my head, and fully aware how generally doomed any sort of project like this is and I doubt most of the people I’d be inclined to tap would want to commit to something like this even if I could pay them what they’re worth. Really, I’m the worst person to try to put together some sort of cool overqualified world-building all-stars team and make a setting together, and if someone else wants to take the initiative on that I am all for it, but, if they are nobody’s telling me. So... for now I’d just kinda like to keep the details really sketchy about specific nations and all that and stay focused on my weird non-culturally specific fantasy weirdness. Keep the real meat and potatos stuff in the dark until I get committed enough to kickstart a book and try to sign on cool writer friends as stretch goals or something.

Races for instance! I think I’ve mentioned before how much I just don’t like them, and I’m used to not really caing about them having done a lot of Pathfinder writing, but like Pathfinder, I kinda want to keep all this as backwards compatible with Pathfinder and 3.X as I can, which means I don’t want to drop them entirely, and I already have orcs. So... OK.What can I do with everything else that’s not just borrowing some real-world culture?

First off, we have dwarves. I.... really don’t particularly have any strong feelings about dwarves. The one big problem coming in the unfortunateness of “dwarf” referring to, among other things, the fantasy race, something a bit different in Norse mythology, and actual human beings with a rare condition that leads to a lot of discrimination. I’ve yet to meet anyone who actually has a vocal problem with that, so, please give me feedback there if you have any. Otherwise... I think dwarves kinda fall under “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” Dwarves are exactly the same in every game that has dwarves. Nobody’s had cause to put a new spin on them, which over the years has made them into this really big fantasy touchstone. Something to be said for that stability.

Next up we have elves... and OK, here’s my spin. Elves actually mature and age at the same rate as humans, BUT, every 30-70 years or so, they... basically have a Doctor Who regeneration. Big metamorphising event, they end up with a radically altered appearance, possibly some significant changes to their personality, possibly some memory loss. We keep the staple of elves being functionally immortal, and the sort of physical mutability present through the whole history of fantasy RPGs to one degree or another, but we get a nice out for the whole Immortal Blues issue you usually get with elves, where they outlive everyone they meet. If you’re a teenage elf, you can go hang out with a bunch of teenage humans, grow up together, have a lot of adventures, and then when everyone else is getting old and dying and it’s just depressing, you do your whole elven ritual of renewal thing, and tada. You’re young again, maybe a redhead this time out, maybe a different gender even. All that kinda fades from immediacy, like your old life is just a story you’ve heard a lot, and you’re free to go make new connections with new peers. I think there’s a lot to that as a foundation for cultural stuff, and an interesting setup for telling stories. Needs to be a proper racial power of course, with some restriction on how often it can be done, but hey. This also keeps them from becoming stuffy traditionalists with ancient cities. On a long enough timescale they’re kind of all nomadic drifters.

Half-Elves, which again, are their own race here, probably get a weakened version of that. Maybe they change a little less when they try that renewal ritual. Maybe it doesn’t always work, or it’s really unpredictable. Definitely they have a cap on how often they can do it, so you still have the long-lived but mortal thing going.

Half-Orcs... I need to think about some. The whole “they’re their own race” thing gets all the gross rape crap sweeped nicely away, but they still have to resemble orcs enough to face discrimination to a degree, since, that’s what you have half-orcs for. I might break my rule about no real world cultural models and have them largely stand in for vikings? There’s enough similarity to how I’m doing orcs for confusion’s sake (nautical raiders and explorers and all), an association with violence and generally being all big and tough, but pretty clear We’re Not With Them vibes?

Halflings, I am sticking with my earlier pitch about essentially being humans just created at a different scale. Honestly I’ve always kinda resented D&D even having them, because I mean, everything else has some basis in someone’s folklore, but halflings are just a race swiped directly out of a book series that was super popular at the time, then forced to change the name for copyright reasons. And they clearly just exist to make Bilbo expies, with the stealth bonuses and all. I would totally give them the boot if I could get away with it, but, yeah, tiny humans essentially.

That still leaves gnomes, where I’m still stymied. Again, I really love Pathfinder’s take on them to death, and kinda just want to keep that.

I think that’s a decent spread of new ideas and old ideas that won’t clash with properly varied human culture, right? Next update I’m probably going back to gods and magic. Have some very very nerdy thoughts about the spread of religion based on bored wizards working out astral projection to flesh out.

As always, feedback on any of this is appreciated.