#(wanted to make a new post instead of reblogging again just for my own organizational purposes)

[alagaesia-headcanons]

@marimo331 Thank you for the prompt!!! The timeline I'm working with is rather different, so I though an AU would be fun for this! I didn't exactly include dragon egg idea, but something along those lines. (also I already broke my resolve to keep these under 1k hhhh I am nothing if not long winded :'V !)

As a vague set up for this AU, the conflict that decimated the old Riders doesn’t go so favorably for Galbatorix and he isn’t able to secure power, so he and the Forsworn don’t last long after the war. When the chance to rebuild the Riders later presents itself via Eragon and Saphira, it doesn’t require the bloodshed it does in canon. There’s more weight on the Riders’ impact on Alagaesia’s cultures and power dynamics.

-

One month ago, after a series of concerning reports from the port city of Reavstone, Orrin contacted Eragon and requested aid for their investigation. A number of sailors- too many to be explained away as a crew that helped themselves to an excess of rum- have told similar tales of damaged ships and lines, snatched glimpses of uncanny creatures in the water, and ghastly sounds echoing in the caves of the eastern cliffs. A few weeks later, Eragon declared that Murtagh and Thorn would meet him at Reavstone in five days.

That should make the day of their arrival today.

Orrin can’t help but tersely wonder if the reason Eragon didn’t come himself is because of the wrong foot Orrin started off on years ago when the issue of the Riders suddenly reared its head after nearly a century of their absence. Eragon is kind hearted and has likely forgiven his past falters, and it’s of little consequence either way since he did provide the help they asked for, albeit not personally. But all the idle waiting leaves his mind drifting down such paths.

Lost in thought, he doesn’t notice at first several raised voices mingle with the cries of seagulls overhead. “Sire,” Graytooth utters, touching his arm once. His guard points up, redirecting his returned attention to the horizon. A glittering spark of red hangs there in the sky.

“Tell Powel to hail them and ask that they land in the north courtyard when they draw near,” he instructs.

More than an hour passes as they close the distance, the buzz throughout the city steadily mounting as they do. When he finally gets a clear view of them, Orrin worries briefly that even the north courtyard might not be big enough, but Thorn lowers himself with remarkably graceful precision, neatly nestling his enormity amidst the buildings of the keep. His ruby hide casts dazzling sparkles all around. He tastes the air primly, then lowers his noble head, observing all of them curiously.

As he does, in a flash of movement between his wings, Murtagh dismounts with an unhesitating leap to the ground. Running a hand fondly along the length of his neck, he makes his way around his dragon and Orrin gets his first look at the second Rider of the new generation.

Only having Eragon as a reference point, he’d pictured Murtagh resembling his half brother, but in the flesh, he is actually quite different. His figure is wiry and angular, at once appearing more lithe while also sharper around the edges. Loose curls of dark hair are half tied up behind pointed ears, a mark of the changes of a Rider, although he clearly hasn’t shared Eragon’s transformation into the spitting image of an elf. Murtagh doesn’t look entirely human, but he’s not sleekly polished in that elven way.

He’s very handsome, in fact. His eyes are clever and the subtle, sly curl of his lips is compelling. He wears a fine, form fitting tunic with sleeves that reach to his elbows, perhaps to better accommodate use of magic. Orrin would think he’s more of an athlete than a warrior if not for his scarlet sword.

Hand on his chest, he bows his head and greets, “Murtagh, at your service.” Then he holds his hand out towards his partner. “And Thorn, at your service.” Thorn pushes a paw forward in such a way that it hinders the other nobles from approaching, something Orrin feels an unexpectedly profound pulse of gratitude for. The dragon chuffs sonorously and blinks at him, and a breath of awe flutters in Orrin’s chest.

“I am honored,” he exhales, after almost forgetting his decorum facing the odd pair. “I am King Orrin, and on behalf of Surda, I want to thank you for providing your help with these unusual troubles.”

“Of course your majesty, the Riders will always serve people’s needs,” Murtagh replies automatically, giving the formalities only a cursory consideration. “I am the Riders’ expert on unusual troubles, after all, and I feel like I’m due to get another one under my belt,” he quips, wryly alluding to his past which Orrin isn’t wholly familiar with, but that he grasps the broad outline of well enough to know ‘unusual’ is an understatement. “Eragon told me what you said. I was impressed by the insight you had on all the reports.”

“Ahh, well,” Orrin fusses his fingertips over the clasp of his cloak. He didn’t realize that’d been passed along. “With Aberon’s library at my disposal, it seemed only right to do a bit of research.” He pauses for one beat, but Murtagh doesn’t interject, watching attentively. “Well- from all the sources I could gather, I’m very skeptical that it could be a Nïdhwal of any kind. It would be far too close to shore and I couldn’t find a single thing that would account for the sounds. One crew had convinced themselves that Ra’zac had made a den in the cliff-” Murtagh hums in his throat, entertained- “and their paranoia was threatening to spread into a panic. Luckily they listened well enough for me to assure them that it can’t be Ra’zac, as they’d never get so close to the sea.”

“Exactly, exactly,” he concurs intently, waving a hand towards him, “because they suffer in damp nests and-”

“They can’t swim,” Orrin finishes, gesturing back. “Right. Old accounts were thorough enough to rule them out easily, but left more to be desired about other creatures. I have a handful of theories on what this could be, but nothing definite.”

Thorn snorts, his breath ruffling Murtagh’s hair. “Thorn’s right, it sounds like you would be quite the asset for figuring this out. Do you plan to be on the ship that’s going to guide us to the cliff side?”

Orrin falters for a moment, taken aback by the prospect, then instinctively glances over at Graytooth. The look he gets in return is faintly exasperated, although not particularly determined to deny him. His guard wontedly remarks, “It would be dangerous.”

But Orrin can’t focus on that, his mind alive with the thought of fresh, open air outside of city walls, escaping the overbearing and ever present pressure of his court, the allure of a meaningful mystery where his curiosity and urge to understand might have a purpose for once. -And having a dragon and his Rider circling overhead! Surely, with them, the danger wouldn’t be so great.

Indeed, Murtagh offers, “We’d do everything we can to see to your safety.”

“...Do you think it’d make any difference? If I were there?”

Murtagh considers him with an even stare. “I think there’s no way it wouldn’t. In my experience, the right companion might make all the difference when it comes to unusual troubles.” The right companion. Orrin struggles to believe he could ever fill such a role. Murtagh tips his head and shrugs, saying, “It’s up to you if that seems wise, though. I can’t say for sure, and there’s only one way to know.”

Scattering the people gathered in the courtyard like a flock of startled sparrows, Thorn rearranges his legs beneath him and lays down, resting his head on his front paws, flicking the tip of his tail. Orrin feels the projected touch of his mind and his instinct to immediately refocus on his mental defenses lurches up, but after a heartbeat, he relaxes and listens to the dragon say, We’d like to hear your theories.

Orrin can’t restrain a small smile, touched. Murtagh shifts his weight and straightens his shoulders. “I’ll tell you what I learned, then. Whatever I can do to keep this danger from harming anyone else, I’ll do it. So- if it might help, I will join,” he vows.

Thorn purrs as Murtagh grins.

#eragon #inheritance cycle #orrin #murtagh #murtagh morzansson #ic thorn #my writing #mxo #murtagh x orrin #the boys get to go on an adventure <3! #the moment orrin smiles he got murtagh thinking 'oh no he is Pretty 😳' #ill start on the next prompt v soon! #(wanted to make a new post instead of reblogging again just for my own organizational purposes)

[bigskydreaming]

I know what you like from Dick (your post are really extensive and detailed, which is great because I love seeing people talk about what they’re passionate about) but is there any type of arc, friend expansion or themes you’d like to see with other robins like Damian or Jason?

Jason, definitely. I actually talk a lot about possibilities for him unrelated to things involving Dick - I’ve got lots of thoughts and feelings about what if he’d had a bigger support system when he was a teen, and how that could have led away from his inevitable death. Like how there was always that age group of YJ and Titans members who were just a couple of years older than Tim so never quite meshed with his YJ crew, but not as old as Dick and his friends....the Ray, Damage, Anima, etc. Like there’s more than enough there for Jason’s own Titans lineup of in-betweeners. I also have a lot of thoughts about Jason and Damage being potential BFFs, and also the idea of Jason dating Tom Bronson aka Tomcat, the werepanther son of Wildcat, Ted Grant. 

And post death and return, I think Jason, Obsidian and Damage could make a great trio of misunderstood (and horrifically misused by DC) friends who’ve been through hell and back and toe the line between hero and anti-hero, but often not even so much because of their own choices but because of how they’re inevitably perceived due to things outside their own actions (like Obsidian often assumed the worst of because people are afraid of his shadow powers, and Damage has a long history of being demonized for the destructive nature of his powers by people in universe, etc).

So like, I definitely have those posts, I just suck at tagging....like search my blog on mobile for those characters’ names and posts with them should come up fairly easily.

My thoughts on expansion for Damian at the moment are currently consumed by GIVE HIM BACK HIS FRIENDS DC, WTF, FIRST COLIN, THEN MAYA, NOW JON, WHY WON’T YOU LET HIM KEEP ANY OF HIS FRIENDS EVER.

And with Tim they’re mostly like.....give Young Justice to anyone but Bendis, who I can’t stand, lol, but otherwise I’d be interested. Like, I know ppl don’t believe me lol but I genuinely don’t inherently dislike Tim, as long as he’s not being written as what I perceive to be at Dick’s expense, like, people getting pissed at Dick on Tim’s behalf for something that I will always maintain was not as cut and dried as people make it. But like, separate of stuff like that....I loved the YJ book from the nineties and was a big fan and so I’m actually really glad to have all of those characters back and reunited, its basically what I would have wanted and done with them myself all along, its just....Bendis. Why. Stop.

Also, Tim’s new superhero name will never not be the dumbest thing ever, there are SO MANY CHOICES you could go with instead and you have him like...Fail at Secret Identities AND Striking Fear Into The Heart Of His Enemies all at the same time. Good plan.

Like, when you need your hero to stop and explain to the bad guys that no, actually, his namesake is actually a pretty bad-ass bird in real life, honest, like...that’s not good. I don’t know who said that was good but like. They lied.

Cass and Duke, I just need more of together. Them in Batman & The Outsiders is again, actually a canon thing I really enjoy, even though the insistence on Cass’ broken English can go die in a fire any day now, seriously. But I love the two of them together and think they’re such an underrated dynamic and they play off each other well, and I would love to see them explore the hidden aspects of both their backgrounds together....like there’s still so much Cass doesn’t know about Lady Shiva and her intentions for Cass like what she even wants from her, and literally everything Duke learned about/from Gnomon in Batman & The Signal needs following up on STAT, even if its just to say Gnomon was full of shit and Duke should not listen to him about anything. 

I also have some older posts about the possibilities of tying Duke’s powers and his family tree into the emotional entity of hope that empowers the Blue Lantern Corps, like the same way Jade - Alan Scott’s daughter - is connected to the green lantern energy and powers without actually needing to be one herself. Like, some of that meta needs tweaking because later stories I read with Duke made certain things about that not work, but like...there’s stuff there that I still would love to see played with even if just in fic, because I love the Lantern CONCEPT as a whole, and also I’m really really in love with the idea of one of Duke’s direct ancestors having maybe been an avatar of hope at some point like Kyle was for Ion, and Duke’s powers were derived from that....like we know his mom Elaine had some kind of powers as well, with the implication IMO being that they were light connected, and that’s why Gnomon was fixated on her in the first place, even if he’s lying about being Duke’s biological father....anyway, like I said, there’s definitely stuff about that lurking around my blog, I just....desperately need to get better about tagging, but also I say that a lot and then it never happens. LOL. Like I’m great at remembering to tag for trigger warnings, but tagging for organizational purposes? My brain’s like lol why would we ever do that.

But yeah, I for sure have lots of thoughts and ideas for all the family members at various times, but there’s not a whole lot of rhyme or reason to when they pop into my head or when I shift to one in specific....just that inevitably, I always shift back to being Dick Grayson hour, lol. I even have some broader Batfam/franchise posts like.....there’s one I wrote about how I’d give other Rogues than the Joker a derivative character or sidekick, like Mister Freeze, the Riddler and Poison Ivy (I think I named them Kid Chill/Tundra, the Memetic and Hemlock). 

And there’s one I keep meaning to revisit about how I’d love to see the Batfamily go up against...a whole rival family, like if a branch of the Falcones returned to Gotham to try and retake power in secret, and they had a matriarch kinda like how Bruce is the patriarch of the Batfam, and then various kids and cousins to act as foils for the Batkids. Like a hacker named Smokescreen to work on hiding their activities from Oracle’s eyes, or a rival to Jason called Red Herring who like, pits the family against each other by framing crimes on various members of the family and testing their trust in each other.

Stuff like that. So I’m not a totally one track mind. Just 90%! LOLOL.

I occasionally remember to take longer meta or ficbits and put them in this sorta catch-all fic posting I have here:

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/18557212/chapters/43986025

But like, by occasionally I mean I’ve remembered a grand total of four times, but hey, whatever. I’m a WIP. The first one is an old magic AU I’m pretty fond of....it was mostly focused on how Dick, Jason and Tim might grow up if they’d been adopted by Zatanna instead of Bruce....though Bruce ends up adopting Cass, Steph and still has Damian. Unfortunately it was written before I got caught up on DC stuff so it doesn’t have Duke in that one....though he’s in two of the others which are more just general Batfam shenanigans.

*Shrugs* Basically I’m random as fuck and hop around a lot, but I’m definitely interested in all the various Batkids, so can happily ramble about any of them with the right prompt, whether a reblog or an ask - just assuming I have the time or energy or am not being a cranky asshole at a particular character because I’m overprotective of my personal chosen fave and not above admitting it. LOL. Quelle problematique.

Like, this is a bit broader of a question then I typically know what to do with, other than just like...point to other things I’ve written that are related, lol, because like....there’s SO MANY thoughts I have or ways I could answer that, I generally don’t know where else to start haha. The more specific you are with an ask or a debate point, the better your chances of getting something definitive from me, lmao.

[maddiviner]

The World of Grimoires, Part II: Choose Your Weapons!

If you’re going to have your very own grimoire, you’ve got to start with some raw materials. These will vary depending on what style of grimoire you have in mind, how you’d like to organize, and what you want it to look like.

Fancy?

Many, many witches over the years have told me the held off on beginning a grimoire until they could find “just the right book” to write it in and just the right tools to write with. Nine times out of ten, the most coveted blank books for grimoires are giant leather (or faux-leather) tomes that resemble something you’d see in a fantasy novel about witches. 

Many also want to write in these books with quill pens dipped in magical scented ink, another old-fashioned technique normally seen nowadays in fantasy fiction. I’ll admit that I longed for such things myself when I was just starting my first grimoire, and have felt pangs of wonderment at the thought of owning them many times sense.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting that sort of setup, but anyone will tell you that it’s a bit impractical. Giant leather tomes are expensive and easy ruined by stray splotches of ink. Quill pens are difficult to work with at first, and require much practice to use correctly. Magical scented ink is nice, but can, again, be pricy, even if you make your own.

This is compounded by the fact that many new and experienced witches (including myself at times) have a sort of neatness obsession when it comes to their grimoire, wanting it to be perfect from the start and forever, with not a single splotch of ink out of place.

It often seems that, the nicer and more expensive the notebook or journal, the more perfect and neat we’d like it to be. Given how easy it is to completely ruin a new and expensive leather journal if you’re slinging around magical scented ink from a brand-new quill pen, you can see how this problem snowballs into quite a conundrum.

I won’t tell anyone not to buy an eldritch-looking leather-bound journal if they want, but I will say this: expect imperfections, especially in your very first grimoire. You’ll be getting your feet wet with the concept and are bound to make plenty of mistakes. 

Regardless of what notebook or journal you get (if any), make sure it’s something you’re comfortable making mistakes in. It’s pretty horrible to see someone get a nice notebook, spill some ink or rip a page, and shelve the entire thing, afraid to touch it again.

A far better option than a very expensive blank book would be a moderately-priced undated journal such as a Moleskine or other more elaborate creations.I’ve made it no secret which publisher of blank journals I prefer, and have written at length about why I tend to choose Peter Pauper Press journals. These undeniably won’t please everyone, though, and there are many other publishers creating beautiful blank journals.

If you choose something like that, don’t buy it for appearance alone - consider if it’s well-made and will stand the test of time. One thing I always check is that the price sticker is removable and doesn’t leave much residue on the cover. Not everyone will care about this, but I find it neater that way.  

I do recommend checking to see if the paper is of good quality.  Cheap paper can lead to pens bleeding through, doesn’t handle markers and other decorating tools well, and can overall ruin your grimoire. I’m not saying you need extremely expensive high-quality paper, but just check to make sure it’s thick enough not to experience bleed-through.

Utilitarian?

Many witches prefer a more utilitarian approach, out of necessity or other concerns. This can involve a wide range of materials, and is often quite a bit more discreet than a giant leather book and quill pen. This is advantageous for those who’d rather not attract unnecessary attention to their practices. In truth, a grimoire can look like whatever you want, provided it gets the job done, and this includes appearing completely ordinary, like a normal notebook where you’d find a shopping list or accounting information.

Some are fine using a simple spiral-bound notebook available at any dollar store as their grimoire. If discretion is the most pressing concern, a normal college rule notebook is likely the best bet, but I caution against buying something poorly-made or with very thin paper, especially if you plan on decorating the inside later on.

Another option would be a packet of binder paper and a three-ring binder with tabs. You can create sections in the binder according to subject or whatever other organizational feature you might want to use. A binder has the advantage of being easily reorganized, removing and adding pages when necessary to create the grimoire’s intended structure.

If you want this feature, but still crave an old-fashioned leather-ish look, some suppliers online sell elaborately-decorated binders to suit that aesthetic. Another option is to buy good-quality printer paper and a hole punch. Then, you can actually print digital grimoire pages from your computer and insert them into your binder. If you have a particularly good printer, you can even add elaborate images and colorful decorations with clipart, public domain paintings, and other available artwork. You can even make your own in Photoshop or another program.

Digital?

Printing a grimoire is a great option that plenty of witches use, but just as many prefer to keep their grimoire wholly digital, existing only on the computer itself. If you struggle with handwriting or are simply more comfortable typing, either of these are wonderful ideas.

For a wholly-digital grimoire, I recommend an app like Google Docs, and I also recommend that you separate each entry or section into its own file, and organize them into folders for easy sorting. Google Docs has the advantage of being accessible from almost anywhere.

Another idea would be to purchase a small but high-volume USB drive to contain your grimoire. Some shops even sell rather beautiful USB drives that can be worn as jewelry. I personally know a technowitch who chose this route, and now keeps their grimoire in a small USB locket around their neck.

Increasingly, some witches are using blog sites such as Tumblr to create digital grimoires. If you go this route, be sure that the site you choose has an option to password protect your blog or, if not, that you’re comfortable sharing everything you’ll be writing there with the world.

Open grimoire blogs are quite an amazing and useful trend to have developed recently, particularly on sites where it’s easy to share content, like Tumblr’s reblogging system. These are great because they allow for you to quickly consolidate information provided by others into a sort of digital scrapbook that can be studied later or as needed.

If you create an open grimoire blog, please give credit where credit is due in everything you post. If you copy an incantation from a book, cite the book and author. If you include content (such as spells and rituals) made by other witches online, be sure they’re okay with their work being included in your grimoire.

And, give them the courtesy of linking back to their site when you post it. After all, you’d want them to do the same for you, and, truth be told, you can get into legal trouble for plagiarism. It’s rare, but it can happen, so it’s best to be honest, ask bloggers for their permission if necessary, and always credit them.

One of the advantages of a digital grimoire is that it’s quite easy to add images, and there are many beautiful public domain works of art you can use to illustrate your entries. If you’re good with Photoshop or a similar program, you can also create your own images there, too. If you have any skill with HTML/CSS3 at all, or are just good at copying and pasting, you can style the overall layout of your digital blog grimoire to your heart’s content, as well, using custom theming options available for most blog platforms.

I Have a Pen…

Last but not least, it’s important to consider the writing utensil you’ll be using for your grimoire. You needn’t have one specifically dedicated to that purpose unless you want, but you want to choose a pen that flows nicely, is legible, and doesn’t splotch the pages. For many, a simple ballpoint will do, but I tend to prefer felt tip or fountain pens, myself. If you decide to dedicate a certain pen just for your grimoire, you’ll probably want one that’s refillable and not meant to be just tossed after the ink runs out.

If you’re interested in custom inks (including magical scented inks!), investing in a fountain pen could be a good decision. These pens are easy to use and leave your grimoire with lines similar to what you’d get from a quill pen. Look for one that specifies it comes with a “converter;” this is a small gizmo which will allow you to fill the pen with custom ink, including colors you could mix yourself.

You can purchase scented inks, including stock formulas like Dove’s Blood Ink, from many metaphysical shops. You can even try mixing your own! Many websites and books give instructions for doing so, and I in particular recommend the ink formulas described in Scott Cunningham’s book, The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, and Brews. Make sure whatever ink you’re getting doesn’t bleed through the paper.

Beyond pens, what else might you need? If you plan on illustrating your grimoire, art supplies are a must. If you’re already an artist, you probably have your favored medium on-hand already, but if not, I suggest researching various illustration tools and choosing the one best fitting your personal aesthetic.

Keep practicality in mind, though. I, for example, adore watercolor, but rarely use it in my grimoires because it causes the pages to curl. Instead, I use soft pastels to illustrate over and around what I’ve already written. I’ve only just recently started illustrating the pages at all - all of my previous grimoires stretching back to high school were strictly writing with an occasional diagram.

While I’m not much of an artist, I do find it very soothing to add color to the pages of my grimoire, and the pastels blend to the point where they leave my writing visible beneath them. It’s a bit like a coloring book, but with no lines to worry about, just endless gradients of relaxing colors. This is great for me, as I often need to de-stress and do something fun after I’ve finished studying or writing for the day.

I’ll sometimes draw small illustrations, but they’re quite simple so far. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, I have dyskinesia and my hands shake sometimes, making fine motions difficult. Still, I hope to learn more about art techniques in the future as I work further on these grimoires, and make them more adorned and beautiful as time goes on.

If you’re unsure what art medium is right for you, I suggest researching and, if possible, trying several. There are also a lot of resources for choosing markers, colored pencils, watercolors and other supplies to be found, oddly enough, on sites about bullet journaling. Bullet journaling, while normally quite simple, does often involve illustration, so the “bujo” crowd is knowledgeable about such things.

#magick #witchcraft #witch #grimoire #book of shadows #eliza.txt