#rune does a traditional art

[seven-of-sevensbye]

thinking about it, i realised scarlett has NO other outfit than her uniform,,, and her swimsuit...... she comes from somewhere else other than rigbarth, so i tried to use the texture on her beach sarong to come up w a couple of designs

#rf5 #rf5 scarlett #rune factory 5 #rf5 ramblings #my art #for the 1st i also tried to use some details here and there #like she also uses flowers like meg as some sort of elf tradition #does she ever mention if it's her dad or her mom the elf side??? well #i also did a similar jacket collar to ayaka bc lol shared VA #tho she ended up resembling jean LMAO... #2nd one is more summery and tribal but that's what those triangles feel like to me! she's a forest girl! #my head is full w visiting her hometown adventures ehehe #everyone stating their favorite design between the two is welcome v/

[abby118]

hi! your post about loki's costumes the other day was really interesting :D since you're talking about thor, what are your thoughts on *thor's* costuming?

Hiii I'm so glad you asked! :D

There are numerous paragraphs in the The Art of books talking about this topic, but to preface this, I'll mention these from the first book:

(concept art by Charlie Wen)

As I've already said in the post about Loki's costume design, the helmet design is a part of Odin's helmet design. (X) Although, we only see Thor wearing it once, during his coronation.

-again, I really like the colours they chose for him, especially considering the fact that silver seems to be a bit rarer than gold in Asgard, and red is the complementary/opposite colour to green. Odin also wears a combination of gold & silver.

-of course, I have to mention the chainmail sleeves.

I know many people like the cirular elements to his armour (and the runes around the circles!), but I, personally, like the pattern of the metal and its combination with leather.

-Obviously, Mjölnir is a topic on its own and I would go into a complete tangent, but I felt it needed to be mentioned at least once.

-Another detail I like, is that most of the time, Thor's armour is pretty heavy (especially when compared to some of Loki's). He's got a lot of metal and I think it reflects his combat style in a way. Unlike Loki, he doesn't strike me as someone who'd need a lot of agility, mainly because his fighting style is very force-focused and well.. Mjölnir does the job.

-Moving on to the first Avengers, at first, the armour composition is slightly different. There's more leather and the contrasting colours are more visible. I like to think this is a bit of a nod to him being on Midgard. Of course, once it gets to the fight with the Chitauri army, he returns back to his usual battle setup, I don't know what else to call it.

I think my favourite detail is the armguard with the symbol of Loki's helmet on it.

-His TDW armour is probably my favourite, and I think that's because it's more fitting for actual battle (as he'd been "restoring the order of the 9 realms"), and then we get a glipse of a more daily life on Asgard compared to the ones we'd seen prior. It's also darker, which.. is a nice detail in context of the movie, as well as the story by that point.

It also seems more practical in terms of actual protection (although, I'm sure having the long cape attached to himself is notoriously inconvenient).

(concept art by Charlie Wen)

Unlike most people, I absolutely love the black leather cloak. (I also recommend checking out this article- X)

One tiny detail I noticed is the zipper-like lining they used that's similar to the lining seen in Loki's armour.

-Thor doesn't really like wearing the chainmail does he? It's a tradition at this point.

-and an honourable mention: this outfit from Avengers Age of Ultron.

#Thor #costume design #og Thor supremacy #ask #abby talks #Thor 1 #The Avengers #Thor The Dark World #Avengers Age of Ultron

[broomsick]

How to worship Bragi

First things first,

A bit of history: who is Bragi?

Bragi is first and foremost the epitome of the Scandinavian Iron Age thyle. The thyle was a member of a king's court entrusted with lore keeping. As such, Bragi is a poet, a singer and an artist, which is why he's often referred to as the "skaldic God" of the Æsir. In fact, his name itself may be derived from the Old Norse word for "poetry", bragr. Regardless of sex, a person was called brag if they were considered very eloquent. He is thought to practice his art within Óðinn's fabled court of Valhalla, the hall of fallen warriors. Some sources even attest him to be a son of Óðinn, though he is also believed by some to have been a flesh and blood human being, elevated to the status of God after his death, or appointed as divine bard by the Allfather. No matter the case, his talent for singing and poetry writing are legendary. As a major symbol of this, runes are said to be carved on his tongue. Numerous skálds were named after him: Bragi Boddason, Bragi son of Hálfdan the Old, and Bragi Högnason, amongst others. The first of these is especially famous, and scholars are still puzzled as to which came first. The man, or the deity? There is a possibility that Bragi Boddason was named after the skaldic God, but who's to know if the human skáld was simply deified after his death? Some of Bragi's followers even suggest that the skáld was somehow blessed by Bragi, or that he was the God incarnate in some way. Now, there is no evidence of Bragi ever having been worshipped, but he does share quite a few traits with Óðinn (a talent for poetry, and famed wisdom, amongst others). Food for thought!

But more on the deity himself­. Apart from being the bard of Óðinn, he is said to welcome any and all who enter Valhalla's gates. He is also especially well known for his wisdom. He isn't a warrior deity at all, but rather a diplomat, a guardian of peace. You could say his words and sharp tongue are his only weapons! Since he is viewed as a bard, many of his followers believe that he wanders not only the halls of the Æsir but also those of the Vanir, the Jötnar, and even of humans, to sing his songs and tell his stories. He has many gifts to offer those who work with him. He is a giver of inspiration, creativity wisdom, skill in art, eloquence, peace of mind...

Symbols

(These are mostly SPG and UPG, considering the number of myths he appears in is pretty limited!)

Runes! This one seems obvious. Runes are carved on his tongue as a symbol of his skill with words. They are an alphabet, often deemed spiritual in some way since they were used by galdr practitionners in incantations.

Music. He is very often portrayed playing an instrument such as the harp or the lyre, the two instruments he is primarily associated with. This particular symbol derives from his association with the skaldic arts and his role as bard.

Stories, legends, oral tradition, etc! Need I explain?

Any form of creative writing! After all, he is said to be a patron of poets and writers.

Fireplaces and hearths, since they are the perfect place to share stories and songs. Especially within a king's hall, sheltered from the harsh winter!

The concept of wisdom. This symbol is quite vague when you put it that way, but it truly is one of his most prominent traits. I believe that receiving advice and pondering it can help with connecting to Bragi.

Blue and gold often come up as the colors that he wears! This isn't widespread, but I'd consider it UPG. A few of his followers have mentioned this association before, and I share it as well! Plus, there's also the fact that his harp is said to be golden.

Kennings: First of Poets, long-bearded God, Skáld of skálds, Foremost/Most Excellent of skálds, Husband of Iðunn, White-bearded bard, Divine Poet of Ásgard, kin of Óðinn, Speaker of Peace, Maker of Poetry, Harpist of Heavenly Music, Lord of Eloquence, Bane of Boredom.

Devotionals

Learning song lyrics and singing songs to him.

Looking into Germanic or Scandinavian oral tradition and/or stories, as well as skaldic poetry.

Reciting poems or reading poetry. Basically, finding interest in poetry and truly appreciating it.

Dedicating pieces of creative writing to him. If you are uncomfortable with writing or don’t trust in your skill to write, it is perfectly fine to commission from more experienced writers! Whatever the case, you will end up with a beautifully written devotional to Bragi!

Listening to traditional Scandinavian music, traditional instruments being played.

Sharing art, spreading culture! Why not introduce a friend or a family member to a piece of music, a book, or a performance you enjoyed?

Learning, or practicing an instrument, no matter how simple.

Taking moments to solely listen to music, taking it in, and not doing anything meanwhile. Just appreciating it fully!

Exploring your creativity: pick up art, crafts, anything remotely creative that you’re interested in! If there’s an artistic activity you used to enjoy but that you haven’t practiced in a while, while not pick it back up in his honor?

Presenting to him books that you have enjoyed!

Attending cultural performances, such as concerts and plays.

Common offerings: music scores, mead, books, pieces of writing/poems, musical instruments, herb bennet, purslane, runes, especially the rune Ansuz.

Art: Via Ýdalir, "Bragi, the god of poetry"

#norse paganism #Bragi #polytheism #norse polytheism #spirituality #heathenry #deities #deity work #devotional #norse mythology #norse myth #paganism

[thorraborinn]

In Norse beliefs, what does the snake symbolise? (Not Jormungand)

I can see why someone would think there would be a straightforward answer to this, but there really isn't. With how often snakes and dragons and stuff are depicted in Norse art they probably conveyed some kind of meaning that was understandable to others at the time, but we can only make guesses. Snakes occur in the literature a lot, but usually the meaning of their appearance is "there was a snake there." While they do seem to sometimes indicate other meanings as well, it isn't consistent through the literature and you have to examine how it's being done in context each time.

Old Icelandic literature mostly only talks about venomous snakes, so there is a constant underlying assumption that if a snake is mentioned, it's dangerous. Swedish folk tradition (it seems also Norwegian, but less well-attested as far as I can tell) also has strongly positive associations with non-venomous snakes, but I'll cover literary depictions in Old Icelandic first and briefly describe folk tradition at the end.

The most archetypal snake isn't Jörmungandr, but Fáfnir. Jörmungandr is usually just Jörmungandr and nothing else; Fáfnir is much more likely to be invoked when there's, like, a regular snake, or some gold, or something else that isn't actually Fáfnir. To be clear, we don't know that he was always pictured as a "snake" and not a "dragon" or something else. The word ormr means everything from an earthworm up to the dragon that killed Beowulf (Old English wyrm). There are other words they could use to specify (höggormr 'adder; poisonous snake,' snákr 'snake'; naðra 'adder, viper') but the latter two are used mostly in poetry, and since Norse literature rarely talks about non-poisonous snakes, there's little need to distinguish ormr from höggormr in this context. Fáfnir is symbolically polyvalent -- he can just as easily be made to stand for greed (for the Rheingold) as for knowledge/wisdom (extracted from him by Sigurðr in Fáfnismál; and eating his heart gives Sigurðr further knowledge, specifically the ability to understand the speech of birds).

Óðinn transforms into a snake in the process of stealing/reclaiming the mead of poetry. It doesn't seem a stretch to say that Norse people might have associated serpents with knowledge not normally accessible to humans, and which might be risky to acquire, such as that also associated in the myths with waking the dead in order to question them. But I'm not seeing enough that we can dispense with the "might" in that sentence.

Elsewhere in Norse literature, such as the rune poems, kennings refer to gold as "bed" or "path" of "a serpent." It can be hard to tell whether there was a widespread understanding of snakes resting on gold (maybe referring to them being subterranean?) or whether they're using poetic language to invoke Fáfnir and/or gold-hoarding lindworms (such as the one slain by Ragnarr loðbrók, whence his name loðbrók, taken from the shaggy pants he wore to protect him from the serpent's bite). Either way, because Nordic poetic language allows interchange between members of a category, any snake you see in the woods can be referred to through reference to Fenrir, and they other way around, so that serpents and gold are always connected in poetic language.

The presence of ormar can indicate decay; it can be hard to tell whether the authors in these cases are talking about snakes or worms, or maybe it's both. They frequently appear in this context together with frogs, lizards, and maggots. They're used in this way in Ólafs saga helga to imply a relationship between paganism and darkness/infestation when an idol is broken and found to be full of vermin. It might be relevant that the serpent was used as a symbol of the devil in medieval Christianity; in this way we can compare it to Ögmundar þáttr dytts in which an idol of Freyr is smashed and onlookers see an actual demon leave it. The Ólafs saga helga example is probably the most straightforward use of a snake to symbolize something else that I found.

In Völsunga saga, Guttormr (etymologically, his name probably isn't gutt-ormr '(something)-serpent,' but since the etymology was likely opaque to Norse-speakers they may have thought it was; Ormr is a not-uncommon male personal name) is fed snake and wolf meat, seemingly to make him acquire attributes of snakes and wolves in order to prepare him to murder Sigurðr. In Völsunga saga, Gunnarr is executed by snake pit. After living for 300 years, Örvar-Oddr is finally killed by a snake (fulfilling a prophecy). So we can easily propose an association of snakes with death, characterizations of snakes based on their deadly bite; though we can't quite call any of this symbolic because you can't ever write the actual snake out of the meaning of its own appearance.

Trolls have poisonous snakes as the reigns for their horses (which are wolves). Snakes are the "[fish] of the [land]" (where [fish] and [land] can be substituted by any specific example of a fish or land-based geographical feature, e.g. "cod of the mountain" or "herring of the field." There is a sword in Egils saga called naðr 'adder' and skaldic language refers to swords as things like 'snake of battle.'

Probably not very relevant, because it's a single isolated attestation referring to a single, specific snake, in a translated saint's saga, but in Barlaams saga ok Jósafats (the Old Icelandic translation of the Christianized version of the story of the Buddha), someone is compared to "that serpent which is called asp" because (according to the saga) they close their ears rather than listen to something they don't want to hear. i.e., the person doesn't listen to or heed things that they don't personally like.

The story of the Red and White dragons symbolizing the Welsh and the Saxons that appears in British history was known to Norse-speakers and is part of Merlínuspá.

You would think that there would be some textual discussion of serpents used in art given its frequency, but I have found only one example, in Þiðreks saga of Bern, where a highly decorative horse saddle is described as having been made with elephant bone and inscribed with an image of a naðra ('adder'). It's disappointing how little contemporary discussion of art there is in general.

We should probably mention Níðhöggr. He's described with both the words dreki 'dragon' and naðr 'adder' in Völuspá; this demonstrates the semantic bleed between words in Old Norse that isn't replicated by the words we're using in English. Apparently he can fly, so we'd more likely call him a dragon than a snake. But since dragons and snakes don't have a hard contrast in ON, we can still learn about snakes from observing this dragon. But we've already established most of the important stuff -- he's (mostly) subterranean, he's probably poisonous, he strikes (höggva), he is indicative of decay.

I am almost undoubtedly missing something important or interesting. I don't have a way to research this other than to put whatever words for 'snake' I can think of into the Dictionary of Old Norse Prose and skim the results. To save time I mostly skipped over translations of Biblical material but that might be a mistake, but seeing as I am not trying to do a whole research project on this, that's the best you're getting from me.

It's worth mentioning that Scandinavia is not exactly known for being full of poisonous snakes. They do have the European adder, and maybe there were more species during the Medieval warm period, I don't know. But a lot of the serpents mentioned in Norse mythology are geographically located far away. Völsunga saga where a lot of serpent-based lore comes from takes place in a sort of general "far away" southern Europe (traditionally, around Worms, Germany). Iceland doesn't have any snakes, so their danger may have been exaggerated in the minds of authors and audience of the texts we're looking at.

From medieval times into modern times, and definitely extending back before our earliest evidence for it, snakes had a very different characterization in Sweden. Non-poisonous snakes (especially grass snakes) were cared for, given offerings of milk, and treated like members of the family. They are called tomtormar ('tomte-snakes'?), husormar ('house-snakes'), or gårdsormar ('yard/farmstead-snakes') and the tradition seems to overlap heavily with recognition of the tomte or nisse. They brought good luck, and killing the house snake would bring grave misfortune. As far as I know, the first attestation of this is as early as St. Birgitta's account of the peoples of the Swedish countryside from the 1300's. Interpretations of this seem to vary widely, with some people arguing that it's a remnant of a pre-Christian snake cult and others arguing that the Christians who documented it exaggerated the practice and especially its religious connotations. Extremely similar practices are observed all around the Baltic; in Of Gods and Men, Algirdas Greimas wrote a bit about what he himself called the "snake cult" in Lithuania with its major holiday on January 25, which corresponds to old Midwinter (more or less the same way it does on an Icelandic calendar, where Midwinter can fall on any day from Jan 19 to 25). You can read more about tomtormar on Swedish Wikipedia; if you use Google Translate be aware that it has trouble with some folklore words like "tomten" (might translate to "Santa Claus") so keep an eye on the left side of the screen as well.

As with much of what I've talked about here, this isn't an example of symbolism. It certainly creates a potential for it, but we're still missing that important link between a body of associations or meanings and them being invoked through a symbolic usage of a snake. The snakes here don't symbolize good fortune any more than your mail carrier symbolizes the mail.

So to summarize, we have few instances of snakes that are both clearly symbolic and interperable, but we do have an idea of what Norse people thought about snakes. They lay on gold, and so are a potent symbol for greed -- Fáfnir has enough personal history for us to characterize him individually by his personal greed. They have access to the underground and probably to knowledge not accessible to humans; but they are also fierce, deadly creatures and it could be dangerous to gain that knowledge; yet there are some that are not dangerous and still have access to the world outside the human sphere. It might also have been considered possible to take on aspects of a venomous snake's nature the same way that a human could acquire traits of wolves, bears, boars, etc. Meanwhile, Christian symbolic usage of snakes was already well-developed by the time it came to Scandinavia; they represented demonic forces and this symbolism was well-positioned to induct heathenry into it and to frame it as also demonic. I'm sure there's more, but that's what I've got for now.

[mimble-sparklepudding]

How does your WoL/OC relate to the culture of their species as established in lore? Do they consider themselves a typical example of their kind? Are they in touch with their heritage? How does this affect their interactions with others of their own kind?

Humble is, in some ways, a fairly typical Hellsguard Roegadyn.

Like many of his kin, Humble left the volcanic mountains of his birth to seek work as a bodyguard and mercenary in the great cities of Eorzea. Although in his case this was less a choice and more an obligation, following the death of both his parents.

He has a close spiritual connection with fire and lava, having been raised to see the volcanic mountains of his homeland as gateways between the underworld and the land of the living. He is an accomplished Armourer and Blacksmith, and feels very much at home in the heat of a forge or smithy. However he still distrusts Alchemists to a certain extent, due to inherited cultural prejudices, although he is careful to be polite to those he meets.

As a Hellsguard Warrior, Humble is one of the few remaining practitioners of the traditional berserker fighting-style of Farreach and will painstakingly adorn his armour with runes designed to enhance the power of his Inner Beast.

He also has a somewhat unsophisticated palate, Farreach having one of the very few culinary traditions actually considered worse than Sharlayan, albeit for different reasons. However, he is gradually learning that there is more to fine dining than charred haunches of meat and bitter roots.

However, partly due to his adventures and exposure to different perspectives and cultures, Humble is more open-minded and curious than most of his kin. He is also unusual in studying the healing arts of the Scholar, as Hellsguard do not have a tradition of healing magic (although there are plenty of fire-wielding Thaumaturges).

He is also less bombastic and confident than many of his peers, at least outside of combat, which might be attributed to his outsider status when growing up. The lack of a direct father figure also left gaps in his socialisation and education, which tend to make him diffident and uncertain when compared to his more boisterous kin.

He gets on reasonably well with other Hellsguard, although he has been known to become angry if provoked by mockery of his inferior origins. Several times this has actually resulted in physical altercations or even outright violence. Humble inevitably won these brawls, but was ultimately discouraged from engaging in them by the Scions, who considered it bad form for one of their number to throw people through walls or hit them with chairs.

Fortunately his elevated status now serves to discourage any would-be challengers - and most other Hellsguard are grudgingly pleased to see one of their number being held in such esteem by the people of Eorzea.

#ffxiv oc #humble soapstone #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv roegadyn #male roegadyn #ff14 #ff14 ffxiv #ffxiv wol #ffxiv #final fantasy 14

[sociallyanxious-eros]

The Inevitable Entrance of Bigots into the Pagan Community

Did you know that one of the philosophical basis of Fascism is the idealization of the past and the rejection of anything considered modern?

Before explaining and showing all of that, I want to make clear my intentions with this post. I was doing small research about what the witch community was up to these days, the discussions being made, the conflict of ideas, and stuff like that, so I ended in a text explaining the differences between Revivalists, Neopagans, and Reconstructionists. I won’t be explaining each one here, I will focus more on Reconstructionists because this one is where things can get tricky. For instance, reconstructionists try to revive and bring back ancient religions as closely as possible and emulate them as close as possible. 

When I read about this I thought to myself “Wait, why does it look like Fascism?”, but, as always with that stuff, we need to check the context, so I went after and discover that: it is Fascism, except when it isn’t. So I’m writing this to help people identify when it is Fascism and when it isn’t, and also to people be careful when they’re writing about these topics.

So let's start with the more obvious things, why the eagerness to bring back ancient religion could be a Fascist sign? To answer that I’ll bring some historical facts.

First of all, I’m talking about Fascism as an ideology, as a movement, I’m not referring to types of fascism here, like Italian fascism, nazi fascism (German), or Integralismo (Brazil), each fascism has its types of characteristics because of the country and political scenario it was trying to be applied, however, Fascism (with capital F) has its own basis, 2 of these are:

Chauvinism - the belief that your nation/race is superior and/or more virtuous and, therefore, should be the only one to exist

Conservatism - a political philosophy that seeks to preserve and promote traditional values

I only mentioned the 2 that are important to what I’m talking about here, but know that there is more, also, Conservatism wasn’t a main topic of Fascism until the 20th Century, which means, is a Neo-Fascist thing, however, Conservatism is exactly what attracts so many bigots to ancient religions.

Also, there are people who are conservatives but aren’t fascists, however, they’re both bigots so doesn’t really matter here. 

But, let me make this very clear, enjoying and/or liking ancient religions does not mean someone is a fascist, so let me talk about the context and other signs:

Someone is spreading fascist/conservative ideology if:

They say modern society has degenerated

They say ancient culture/values/religion are the truthful Western culture

They idealize the past and call it “golden times”

They’ll say ancient art was beautiful and compromised with beauty, while modern art is ugly and/or disgusting

They’ll say they came to help restore good Western Culture

They talk a lot about Western culture and how it has lost its meaning

They love to hate modern art and call it degenerate

They’ll use the word “degenerate”

Someone just like ancient history/culture and is not a bigot if:

They have no problem with any modern religions/cultures

They’ll talk about other cultures without criticizing them to value the “golden ancient time”

They don’t idealize the past as a peak of society's values

They don’t try forcibly to bring back the past to the detriment of existing cultures

They don’t call modern art/culture degenerate just because they think ancient art it’s really the valuable one

You must have noticed that I used the term “ancient culture” or even “the past”, but didn’t specify which one. This is because each Fascism movement and even each conservative has a different ancient culture/religion to idealize. Neo-nazis, for example, have already appropriated Vikings runes, and celtic symbols, like the Black Sun, it’s common to see nazis create this idealization of the Viking man as if it was the best and only example of true masculinity. Here in Brazil, fascist movements like Bolsonarismo, idealized the period of 1964 to 1985, the period of the military dictatorship.

However, is important to say, that when a bigot is just conservative they’ll probably idealize Christianity and/or the crusades, if they’re fascist, but don’t rely on a specific segment, they’ll probably idealize ancient Roman and/or Greek mythology.

◇─◇──◇─◇◇─◇──◇─◇◇─◇──◇─◇

Now I’ll bring some examples of clear Fascist ideology being spread that sometimes people won’t notice:

These types of profiles:

These types of posts: (notice the way of saying that “art used to be good”)

The vaporwave aesthetic as a whole:

These types of memes:

The idea that Western society has lost its meaning and “degenerated” because of [insert oppressed group here] is Fascism 101, babes.

The rejection of Modern Art

I’ll open this last topic just to talk about art a little bit more because one of the best examples of fascism rejecting “modernity” is the demonization of modern art. In 1937 the nazi party organized in Germany the exhibition “Degenerate Art Exhibition”, just by the name I think you know what it’s about. It was just pieces of art considered “degenerated” or “garbage”. Some of the works there, as expected, were just pieces made by jewish, roma artists, or anyone that was being killed by this disgusting government. Others were just Expressionism art, or any other piece that didn’t fit the “beauty” criteria this absurd ideology was so obsessed about.

Conclusions

As I said at the beginning of this post, my intention with this isn't to point fingers or to call anyone a fascist/conservative, I want people to easily identify when the text they’re reading is just conservative/fascist garbage, and be careful to not spread this discourse even more.

◇─◇──◇─◇◇─◇──◇─◇◇─◇──◇─◇

Resources

Wikipedia Pages:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_Art_exhibition Degenerate Art Exhibition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism Conservatism

Documents/Texts:

https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/ADL%20Hate%20on%20Display%20Printable_0.pdf Hate on Display: Hate Symbols Database (notice how many occult runes and sigils were appropriated from ancient religions)

Videos:

https://youtu.be/Sx4BVGPkdzk How to Recognize a Fascist by ContraPoints

https://youtu.be/v5DqmTtCPiQ Who’s Afraid of Modern Art: Vandalism, Video Games and Fascism by Jacob Geller

https://youtu.be/T6EOVCYx7mY Is Art Meaningless? by Philosophy Tube (if you want to know some fun things about art)

◇─◇──◇─◇◇─◇──◇─◇◇─◇──◇─◇

Special Section to Brazilians

https://youtu.be/3qNmIXaFSr8 Integralismo, estudo de caso sobre o fenômeno fascista por História Pública (tenho algumas discordâncias com ele, mas esse vídeo é bom)

#politics #pagan #pagan community #hellenic polytheist #religion #paganism #witchblr #modern art #my writing #my post #polytheist #ancient rome #ancient greece #had to write this twice help

[chicinlicin]

i keep forgetting to post my responses to wol/oc questions over here OTL so here's a little hoard of elf facts

Compare your height to your wol/oc's!!!

rune is short tall. lumi is tall short . together none of us are tall lol

rune is shorter than elezen min height. lumi is taller than max lala. i'm me sized.

first drawing and most recent!

rune was very briefly a pink witch before going tits out cowboy at an alarmingly speed (shit actually i need to draw more cowboy)

i will always find it funny how fast i also went from drawing like steven universe and cute magical girls to "i will now only draw my scrunkly as shit elf. they are literally the only thing i want to draw" and i've learned so much from that lol

i think it was literally like a month between cute witch and fantasia thoughts fffkfflff (that art is from like june, so here's a more recent one cause i love comparisons :D )

for those with wols/ocs that have names that don't follow their race's naming conventions: why did you choose that name?

rune is an alias they chose to avoid being tracked after leaving sharlayan, only to later find out no one had enough interest in their research to warrant finding them :| but they liked it so it stuck

they do have a proper elezen name but i keep changing it cause i'm indecisive, but also they'd only use rune around most people anyways so it's fine fffff someone says they're good at inscribing runes one time and they make it their whole thing

ooc reason is cause i name all my game characters some variant of rune aren after my first skyrim character so i don't spend 6 hours on the character create screen and i didn't think i'd like playing enough to worry about a lore compliant name OTL

#wolqotd player question — are you younger or older than your WoL and did any thought go into their age?

I had rune around 30, then I mathed a bunch figuring out how long it took jannequinard and leveva to learn astromancy, and serendipity goldsmithing, how old they'd be at the sharlayan exodus, and how long it'd take to become an archon...to end up at 30 again OTL

oh I'm gonna be rune age next year fghffgfffgf

Lumi is 32 and had a similar thing but figuring out how old she'd have to be to have a red mage stone, and training in a bunch of fields. I've been thinking she should be a little older though...

Other than you wol(oc)’s current hair color, what color would they dye it?

rune naturally has greyish brown hair, they get the top bleached, this is an excuse for me to show them with their hair grown out lol

I've tried them with yellow before which worked surprisingly well, they'd try any colour as long as it keeps the two-tone

what does your wol/oc think about archon loaf? are they from sharlayan? was 5.3 the first time they tried it?

rune is sharlyan. unfortunately. they love it. even after leaving they still eat it when they wanna work instead of make real food. eating a proper meal will make them sob with how nice it tastes, then later they're back to eating the stupid loaf again.

their mum grew up near gridania and makes a somewhat nicer version without the fish. it still has most of the uh- qualities of a traditional archon loaf though

#ffxiv #wolqotd #rune #lulumi #drawing #oc #fan oc #text #come get your elf facts lmao #i love talking about my guy i should do it more

[ratsoh-writes]

Can Al use runes to 'save' his artwork?

Like how in digital artwork you can just hit 'undo' if you go wrong - does his runes work like a save point for traditional art? If he messed up a sculpture, for example, could he use the runes to go back to a point where he was happy with the piece?

Or do runes only work to stop the art from being destroyed/damaged?

Nope! It just keeps the artwork from getting damaged by magic or stolen. If only life was that easy lol.

[rayclubs]

What's the Boulder's fondest childhood memory? And what's his worst childhood memory?

He had a relatiely happy childhood. His grown-ups were caring, if firm, and prepared him well for his coming of age. Blood bonds have always been second to those of community, as is traditional, and so he grew up with many brothers and sisters, and many he would consider parents.

His fondest memories are those of his commune being all together, huddled around a campfire on a cold night, with no one gone scouting, or scavenging, or hunting... Or missing. It was rare that no one left, most often it was harsh weather keeping them from venturing out and away from the group, but the boy - he hasn't yet been called The Boulder, the nickname came much later in his life - was too young to understand all that. In his mind, his family sticking close was always the safest, and the most fun, with how many voices joined in song, and how many feet struck the sand in dance.

He was a magically gifted child, or so they told him. For the first two or three conscious years of his life he was excited to start learning, and the family's elder - one who was the most well-versed in the art of the spell - was discreetly excited to teach him. When the time finally came, she took him to a quiet place and showed him colorful lights weaving around her fingers.

He swears he doesn't remember what happened next, but he ran home crying and screaming, blood dripping down his cheek. They never did save his right eye - it's still there, but there's an odd grey-ish look to it, and it's only good for telling light and darkness apart. The elder was found the next day, her hands gravely burnt. There was an accident, she said. She rarely ever spoke after that.

He grew up to hate magic. He'd never wear an echanted cloth, never drink from a rune-crowned chalice, never accept a divine blessing, and never willingly allow a healing spell to be placed upon him. He can feel the gift of magic stir within him still, but it's dull now, weak, distant. He still swears he doesn't remember what happened that day that took his eye and the elder's hands, but in his heart he knows it to be a hopeful lie. He does remember, and if he's ever to set his mind at peace for a moment and allow himself to forget, the world is sure to remind him.

#raynswers #ray's oc #the boulder #im so glad you guys liked him T_T i really didnt expect that kind of response #thank you! and thanks for to ask!!

[thereluctantherosrose]

Baldur's Gate 3: Yurei

FINALLY I posted something lmfao I have literally had some of these drawings and paintings for months. Pardon the site picture quality of some of them lol my phone camera is garbage.

This is my wood elf Fighter, Yurei. Though Yurei isn't her original name. I know there is already a story origin for each race etc butttttttt I used some elements but mostly made up my own story. I'll post her story at somme point lmfao but ill give a little tid bit now and a bit of background on her name. Her original name was Yuna, before the incident that resulted in the death of her clan, and for part of her body to be burned and a cursed rune to be put on her eye by the culprit (hence the marking over her eye and part of her face). The name Yurei was given to her by the man who would eventually take her under his wing and train her into being a calculated and deadly warrior, stripping her of her name, and replacing it with a sort of title. One of the meanings for the name Yurei in Japanese means Ghost or Spirit. In stripping her of her name, she is to remain unseen and only be noticed when it is too late for her enemies to react, and soon after, dissappearing just as quickly and quietly as that of a ghost. She would observe her targets, blending into the shadows. On the other side of the coin, she was not to keep attachments (as youll later find out, this doesnt work very well eventually lmfao), and if she were to die, it would be of no consequence, and she would dissappear from memory without a name to be uttered in remembrance. I also have a second oc (though my other oc does not have a tadpole) whose story is intertwined with Yurei's, but I'll leave that story for another time.

Anywhoooo. I hope you like Yurei so far! :) Some of these are traditional acrylic paintings and then the others are pencil drawings. I have a bunch more that I'm going to post including a crap ton of Astarion art so keep an eye out lmfao 😂 I am a simp for Mr Dramatic Sass Vamp

#baldurs gate 3 oc #baldurs gate iii #baldur's gate #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 tav #my paintings and sketches #dnd #dungeons and dragons #bg3 yurei #bg3 oc #bg3 mc

[hirazuki]

nonetheless, i want also to ask you something on a character that you are a fan of lmao

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon for Eol? I am wondering what would move him outside of smithing, but he must have had other quirks

I appreciate it 🤣

Oooh I actually have so many for him!

Stargazing for sure, and alongside that: learning/knowing constellations; being able to read the night sky as a map/navigating by the stars; mapping out the stars/creating star charts that are just as much intricate works of art of ink and paper as they are practical guides.

Related to that and to smithing as well in terms of drafting up designs, I see him enjoying drawing and printmaking: both also use materials of the earth like smithing (paper, tree bark for textures, ink, stones, minerals for colors, etc.). I can see him making himself a printing press, in particular enjoying lithography or etching (reusing the scraps of metal from his smithing as plates; developing acids etc. from his knowledge of poisons). His favorite subjects would be detailed forest scenes, studies of the creatures living in Nan Elmoth; portraits of Aredhel and Maeglin.

Which leads me to: poisons and enchantments. I read him as possessing a very witch of the wilds type vibe, so knowing and enjoying a lot about all the different plants, berries, bones and other animal parts, etc. and developing tinctures/salves/potions that run the entire gamut from healing to harming. I headcanon that he has a cabinet with vials and phials and small pots and jars filled with things for every occasion. And being able to read bones/entrails/etc. Also, "spell books": both ones that he has acquired from elsewhere (given to him by Melian when he still lived in Doriath; gifted to him by the dwarves on his visits to their cities; stolen from Angband on his way out) and ones that he has compiled himself to record all the things he has learned and to keep track of things he is still experimenting with. Like, think Flemeth vibes, if you're familiar with Dragon Age. (It's so rare imo to come across a male character who is so very masculine (as in, he doesn't come across as queer-coded to me in the way, say, Sauron does) in a role that possesses such a strong traditional connection with women -- Circe, Calypso, Morgan le fey, La belle dame sans merci, to name a few -- so it's an aspect of his character that I go feral about XD)

I can also see him having an interest in runes, stemming from his strong friendship with the dwarves. Runes both in the sense of as a language but also as related to spell craft (oracle stones, for scrying, etc.)

(fyi I typed this out on phone, so apologies for any mistakes or sentences that are poorly/weirdly worded lol 😆)

#thank you for asking about my fave problematic dark elf!! #eol #silmarillion #tolkien #silm musings #silm

[nimblermortal]

I just.

Okay, I am going to rant a bit, and this is not going to be kind to pagans. Not deliberately unkind, I just have issues with the concept of an eternal runic tradition to be rediscovered.

I had the good fortune recently to be on the receiving end of an impromptu belly dancing lesson. Some of the first words out of the teacher's mouth were, "This is at least two generations removed from source culture," meaning that it has inherently lost meaning and been reinterpreted.

There is no continuous source culture for Norse paganism. We're about fifty generations removed from source culture.

But, I say to myself, let us be realistic here. You believe in math as something that can be discovered independently. You believe in capoeira as something that can be discovered independently. Why not runic magic?

Because runes are, inherently, scratches on rock. Or marks on paper, whatever. They have the meaning we assign to them. There isn't any electricity running in them, there is no special meaning to them. They're neat. They're inherently interchangeable with any other mark, or replaceable, especially in a society that usually writes on paper rather than carving in stone.

(Side note, the way that the medium a society writes in shapes the shape of the letters is very cool.)

It's like the thing about water having memory. Very simple experiment: write a word on paper, attach it to a container of water, freeze it, and look at the crystals. Supposedly if you write a kind word like 'kiss' or 'light' the crystals have a much more even pattern than if you write a mean word like 'Satan' or 'maim'.

Does water have a language? Of course not, water is universal, water is for everyone, water is what it is wherever it is.

So what happens if you write 'hell' on a piece of paper attached to a container of water? Obviously it has bad connotations and the water freezes in an amorphous 'bad' shape, right?

Except that 'hell' means 'bright' in German. So does German water freeze differently than English water? Obviously not.

So it does not matter what the runic shapes are. We do not know what they meant to the source culture, four dozen generations later. If you want to assign meaning to it, and use this to in some way have your personal intentions interact with the intentions of the universe, that's fine, that's a way that humans interact with the universe.

But there is no eternal truth of the runes, they are just shapes. If we did not have any record of Futhark, would we recreate those shapes? Sure! Probably! They're easy to carve in stiff mediums! Would those shapes inherently make sounds, or have associations with gifts or fire or Mercury's position in the sky? Definitely not! I could assign ehwaz to mean the first partial derivative, that is 100% something I would have done when I was studying calculus. It's a useful simple shape. It does not contain inherent meaning.

Math, depending on your choice of axioms, does have an inherent, discoverable quality to it. There is a concept of a fundamental unit, a 1, that I cannot conceive a reasoning species doing without. (If you can, writers, it would make a fantastic alien species.) Once you have 1, 1+1 is not far behind, and suddenly you have positive integers. Things escalate from there.

Capoeira, given the existence of humans and monkeys, does have an inherent, discoverable quality to it. This is a farther leap; capoeira has a lot of weird, non-intuitive motions to it. But a primate is going to learn to run and leap and even turn backwards over itself. This sort of play is going to evolve into some form of gymnastics, and in imitation of itself and other primates, both martial arts and dance are inevitable. It's surprising to me that there aren't more forms that combine the two. I'm not saying capoeira is inevitable, but something akin to it is.

Runes do not have an inherent, discoverable quality. They are scratches. They are symbols that can mean anything. The things they represent may have inherent, discoverable qualities. The things they are meant to do may have inherent, discoverable qualities. There is not anything inherently linking the concept of a certain set of scratches and a certain set of ideas.

I should write my stepsister a letter in futhark, I haven't done that in ages.

#this is NOT going in any organizational tags #but you see why I can't read this book!

[starry-skies-116]

Random Lost Items I Think Would Belong To The Afton Family:

William:

Perfume bottle- a bottle that gives off a strong and particularly pungent, artificial aroma- presumably of bergamot. This probably belongs to someone who has a reputation and a favorable public image to uphold.

Fabric tie- a pure black tie sown from an impressively high quality and presumably fairly expensive material. It probably belongs to someone of high class.

Noxious handkerchief- A damp handkerchief decorated with fine and classic patterns of floral embroidery, giving off a pungent odor that makes you almost drowsy when smelling it. It probably belongs to someone who is a connoisseur of weapons and devious, underhanded tactics.

British Treatise- An excerpt of a British Parliament treatise compiled during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It probably belongs to someone who is either from Britain, or a history and law buff.

Oil Jar- A glass jar full of oil, presumably for maintenance on animatronics. It seems like something that would belong to an industrious inventor such as William.

Compiled blueprints- Compiled and rolled up animatronic blueprints with countless sketches, drawings and labels on them for indications of unforeseen and new features and other technological innovations. It probably belongs to an engineering genius working for Fredbear’s Family Diner.

Fredbear Brooch- A stainless steel brooch painted in gold that bears the logo of Fredbear’s Family Diner- it probably belongs to someone working for the diner.

Grimoire- A leather-bound grimoire with an Ouroboros on the cover. It is full of fancy sigils, glyphs and runes, as well as texts entailing certain incantations and procedures to create strange concoctions. It probably belongs to either a history buff, or someone with a particularly atypical interest in magic and the supernatural.

Used Pen- A ballpoint pen whose ink has run dry from overuse. It probably belongs to someone who does a lot of tedious paperwork.

Star Chart- A somewhat old and faded astronomical chart that is incredibly detailed somehow. It probably belongs to someone with sufficient knowledge of and interest in things beyond this world.

Bag of Coffee Beans- Coffee Beans that have yet to be ground and boiled. Probably belongs to someone with a fondness and appreciation for bitter and strong flavors coupled with copious amounts of caffeine.

Eleanor (Mrs. Afton):

Cookbook: A book filled with various recipes from different regions about a plethora of dishes all from various cuisines and regions. It probably belongs to someone who is enthusiastic about cooking.

Fruit Preserve- Fruit preserved in sugar inside a glass bottle, found out here, for some reason. It probably belongs to someone who enjoys baking and eating sweets.

Package of Teabags- A small, unopened package of aromatic bags containing different mixtures and varieties of tea-leaves and inexpensive medicinal herb blends. It probably belongs to someone who is fond of medicine and the culinary arts.

Watering Can- A standard steel can that can be filled with water and is used for watering flowers. It probably belongs to someone with a green thumb.

Arts and Crafts Supplies- A small handbag full of painting and embroidery supplies such as paint bottles and brushes, as well as a bundle of needles and multiple tiny multicoloured spools of thread. It probably belongs to someone with a fondness for the arts.

Silver Necklace- An authentic silver necklace engraved with a strange crest, almost as if it were a talisman of sorts. It probably belongs to a woman who received it as a gift from their beloved.

Floral Scarf- A thin and comfortable white cloth scarf decorated with elaborate floral patterns. It probably belongs to someone who loves flowers.

Medicinal Eyedrops- Eyedrops necessary for any avid bookworm. It probably belongs to someone who is an avid reader.

Valerian Hairclip- An elegant, imported porcelain hairclip with traditional celtic patterns carved onto it as well as having soft pink and white valerians being painted onto it as well. It probably belongs to a woman of high standing and amiable reputation. 

Bag of Beads- A transparent ziplock bag of mall, sparkling and colorful gemstone beads that can be used in embroidery and handicraft. It probably belongs to someone who is both skilled of and fond of embroidery.

Dirty handkerchief- A cleaning handkerchief that is soiled and torn at, evidence of being heavily overused. It probably belongs to someone who religiously and fervently cleans.

Elizabeth:

Lipstick- An elegant, fairly expensive lipstick with a bright and luxurious color that would make a fine gift for any beautiful lady. It probably belongs to a beautiful and fair lady who somewhat cares for their appearance and frequently applies makeup.

Cloth Veil- A thin cloth veil that has been dyed a rather tacky shade of purple and has been decorated with beads, tassels and golden embroidery. It probably belongs to someone with an obvious appreciation for and unique sense of fashion.

Fake Rose- Cotton fabric that has been heavily dyed red and fashioned into the shape of a rose. It probably belongs to someone who loves flowers, but doesn’t possess the knowledge to take care of one.

Lifelike Doll- A strange ‘Circus Baby’ doll with cutesy, decorous dressing and accessories, as well as lifelike hair and eyes. Looks like it hasn’t been used all that much out of the owner’s fear of damaging it. Probably belongs to someone who is spoiled quite a bit by their parents and cares a lot for their belongings.

Toy tea set- A strange yet elegantly designed toy tea set, prim and proper in nature. It probably belongs to a young lady with a heavy regard for etiquette.

Empty Box of Kolaches- An empty box with pastry crumbs littering the bottom ever-so-slightly. Probably belongs to someone with a particularly sweet tooth.

Children’s Book on Machines- A guide written in 1968 about basic functions of machinery and industrial technology that is easy for anyone to understand with it’s simplicity and substantial amounts of imagery. It probably belongs to someone with a budding fondness for robotics.

A Guide To Flowers- A simplistic guide of flowers all over the world and how to take care of them. Probably belongs to someone who wishes to enlighten themselves with sufficient botanical knowledge.

Pink scrunchie- A hot pink hair tie scrunchie with white polka dots. Probably belongs to a girl with unruly and curly hair.

Macaroni drawing- A drawing of a flower with macaroni pieces glued to the paper in the shape of the picture intended. Probably belongs to someone with an appreciation for the arts.

Evan:

Bird Food Bag- A bag containing seeds, berries and corn kernels that birds would most likely eat. Probably belongs to someone who enjoys feeding wild animals on occasion.

Board game piece- A high quality wooden checkers piece that is only lightly covered in dust and not chipped at in the slightest. Probably belongs to someone with a tactical mind, and someone who enjoys strategic thinking.

Scrapbook- A heartwarmingly well-crafted, but incomplete scrapbook full of family photos captured on a polaroid camera. Probably belongs to someone fond of photography and their family, as well as arts and crafts.

Bandaid- a fresh, unused bandaid that was clearly intended on being used at some point but has been unexpectedly discarded for unknown reasons. Probably belongs to someone who gets hurt often.

Arcane Crystal Lamp- A luminescent lamp that gives off a calming, faint glow and a sweet, delicately faint floral aroma that soothes the frayed nerves of all those whom may glimpse it. Probably belongs to someone with a troubled mind and a deep sense of anxiety and impending doom.

Enchanted Locket- A seemingly enchanted magical talisman meant to ward off evil. Probably belongs to someone who is superstitious, or is being plagued by evil spirits or demons.

Encyclopedia of Pastries- An encyclopedia of different, high quality exotic sweet treats from around the world with tantalizing descriptions- just reading it is enough to make your mouth water. Probably belongs to someone with a sweet tooth coupled with refined and unique taste.

Arithmetic Textbook- A complex arithmetic textbook with practice problems, most of the questions inside already being answered and written neatly in pencil. Probably belongs to someone in elementary school with a studious and hardworking mind.

Torn Foxy Plushie- A Foxy Plushie withered at by wear and tear, with the head conveniently ripped off and stuffing spurting out the neck like some sick substitute for flesh. Probably belongs to someone whose belongings are frequently mishandled.

Butterfly Statue- A unique glass butterfly statue that can fit in the palm of your hand. Probably belongs to someone who posesses a fondness for certain insects.

Candy wrappers- a small, palm-sized glass dish of caramel candy wrappers. Again, probably the belongings of someone with a substantial sweet tooth.

Goddess Statuette- A wooden pagan Hellenistic Greco-Roman statuette of a beautiful winged goddess. Probably belongs to someone with a deep appreciation for cultural diversity and an acceptance of, and a desire to learn about other religions and worldviews.

Written Intel- Elaborately written out and extremely detailed accounts of certain people attending a school of sorts, with all people listed seemingly attending different schools on the same campus. Even the dates are listed for different accounts, and each person has their own category. Probably belongs to someone who is incredibly perceptive, hypervigilant in nature and has an impeccable eye for detail.

Perplexing Ledger- Countless numbers and lines of information are listed in this ledger. It probably belongs to a workaholic who loves to keep track of things.

Michael:

Jacket- A tattered jacket with many rips, tears and holes in it. Probably belongs to someone who frequently gets in fights.

Glitter gel pen- A gel pen with glimmering ink. Most likely belongs to someone with an artistic flair.

Weight- a metal weight used for deadlifting. You shudder just by looking at it- God knows how this could’ve ended up here of all places. Probably belongs to someone who enjoys weightlifting.

Bandaid package- A Hello-Kitty Bandaid package, presumably a gift. It probably belongs to someone who gets injured often.

Poster- A flashy and well-designed poster promoting The Beatles. Painted with masterful angle and lighting. It probably belongs to someone who is an avid fan of them.

Guitar pick- a discarded and yet still functional guitar pick with punk rock designs and neon colors carved onto them. Glows in the dark. Probably belongs to someone who can play the guitar.

Unfinished score- An unfinished musical score with strange lyrics written by hand. The template is printed out, and the musical notes and the lyrics are written in glitter gel pen. This probably belongs to someone who is fond of writing music, and is an aspiring lyricist.

Strange dice- A strange 20-sided dice. This probably belongs to an avid roleplayer with an active, albeit evolved imagination, courtesy of his surroundings.

Biology Textbook- A worn biology textbook- none of the questions in this book seem to be properly answered, as there are only random comical doodles covering the page. Likely belongs to a high-schooler with little regard for this class in particular.

Dragon case- An accessory case embroidered with a cute crocheted dragon- it’s adorable, shining blue eyes remind you of a certain someone that it most likely belongs to. It probably belongs to a diehard fantasy fan.

Superman comic- A superman comic that has a sticky note posted to the cover warning you to stay away from it. Likely belongs to an avid fan of comic books and superheroes, among other stereotypical 80’s teenage interests.

Book of sheet music- An old collection of guitar sheet music filled with short songs and numbers, both with lyrics and lyric-less, the songs both old and recent. Likely belongs to someone who likes to both sing and play the guitar.

Machinery Treatise- A treatise about machinery, computers and programming, and the various history of technological revolutions and inventions that helped to shape the world as humanity knows it today. Likely belongs to someone with a begrudging hobby of robotics.

#Afton Family #FNAF #Afton Family FNAF #William Afton #Eleanor Afton (Mrs. Afton) #Michael Afton #Evan Afton (Crying Child/Bite Victim) #Elizabeth Afton #Headcanons #Lost Items #FNAF Project Samsara AU

[magicoldcottage]

Forest Festival

Great weekend at the fantasy forest festival. The festival does a great job of normalising pagan traditions. Being the UK there is a heavy druid presence but everything from those who follow the force to fae worship and various other types of pagan craft are covered including Wicca. There was even a small goddess healing temple by the entrance. There is also a good showing from fantasy art and Sci-fi.

There were over a 100 stalls selling everything from crystals and spell candles through to hand made leather goods.

It was a great excuse to dress up and meet new people and do some serious shopping . I can't think of anywhere you could pass a proud green witch and then Chewbacca both shopping for Viking made tankards.

The live bands were good (slightly folk spin for the druids) and there were even crafting displays for wand making, witch runes and spell writing.

The highlight for me though was a traditional wicker Man burning. everyone could simply write a spell or prayer on a card and in the evening it was burnt as a massive offering to more deities that I can imagine.

#magic #witchcraft #witchblr #cottage witch #magicoldcottage #pagan #witch #festival

[karmasabitchsworld]

Harry Potter: The Inclusive Version

With the recent news that JK Rowling is taking things a step further and using new funds from our nostalgia trip to fund Anti-Trans bills, I decided to say a giant fuck you to that and reclaim my childhood as my own. I have started writing out a new version of the Harry Potter Universe in more Modern day times and things we all wanted but JK Rowling deprived us of. This AU, New Age Harry Potter universe is for all writers, artists, and cosplayers to use who still want to be apart of the Harry Potter world we all love but feel they can't support JK Rowling's version anymore.

I give you all a new version to support and put your love into while still holding onto the nostalgia you feel for the Wizarding World. I give you Harry Potter: The Inclusive Version.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

The School - Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry is still a castle but has fewer death traps and tricky things that cause you to miss class (Like phantom steps or doorways that lead to walls cause who thought that was a good idea?). For those that still like to get up to mischief, don’t worry there are still plenty of secret corridors behind well-hidden buttons or levers or things that require a particular rhyme to open. The tunnels behind them lead all over, from different areas of the school to the Forbidden Forest, all the way to Hogsmeade. There are even rumors of one that disappears and reappears at the same time a specific room does.

The Teachers - They are many lovely teachers at Hogwarts though the Dark Arts teacher changed for a few years the one that stuck around was well-loved by all the students. 

Core Classes

Astronomy - Professor Aurora Sinistra

Charms - Professor Filius Flitwick

Defense Against the Dark Arts (D.A.D.A.) - Quinirus Quirrel (First year only), Gilderoy Lockhart (Second year only), Remus Lupin (Third year-Present)

Herbology - Professor Pomona Sprout

History of Magic -Professor Cuthbert Binns

Potions - Professor Severus Snape

Transfiguration - Professor Minerva McGonagall

Electives

Arithmancy - Professor Septima Vector

Care of Magical Creatures - Professor Rubeus Hagrid

Divination - Professor Sybill Trelawney

Muggle Studies - Professor Charity Burbage

Study of Ancient Runes - Professor Bathsheda Babbling

Advanced Arithmancy Studies - Professor Septima Vector

Alchemy - Professor Carina Birch (I had to make one up because there isn’t one on the wiki)

Extra-Curricular Subjects

Ancient Studies - Professor Delta Grace (Another made up one)

Apparition - Professor Wilkie Twycross

Art - Professor Crow Sterling (Made up)

Flying - Professor Rolanda Hooch

Ghoul Studies - Professor Cedar Hinde (Made up)

Magical Theory - Professor Eleazar Fig

Muggle Art - Professor Charity Burbage

Muggle Music -Professor Charity Burbage

Music - Professor Basil Yetis (Made up)

Xylomancy - Professor Sybill Trelawney

How Different Holidays Work - There are a vast array of magical students attending Hogwarts and not all of them share the same religions or subsequent holiday traditions due to that fact, but the Hogwarts staff are very accepting and accommodating of all the students they care for and have ways of making sure they get to spend the holidays with their families accordingly.

3 days before Hanukkah in the given year any students who practice Judaism and wish to spend Hanukkah with their families will be given a sign-up sheet with the option to sign up to stay at school or leave their names off the list and be planned to be on the train ride to Platform 9 ¾ to meet their families. They will spend their 8 days with their families and then have two more nights to say goodbyes and goof off before getting on the train back to Hogwarts. 

As for those who celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the staff keeps track of when those holidays are coming and during Eid al-Fitr, they make sure the house elves who work the kitchens are aware of whose fasting so food isn’t sent their way and when it comes times for salat, there is an emptied out hall they keep just for Muslim students to pray in when they want or need to. 3 days before Eid al-Adha, teachers offer another signup sheet to either stay at school or students who wish to visit their families to celebrate with them and be with them during that time will be free to take the train back to Platform 9 ¾ to be with their families for a week. After the week ends, they will return back to school and continue their classes. 

For those who celebrate Christmas, a signup sheet is passed around on December 21st to see who wants to stay at school, and those who do not sign up get to return home to their families for the holiday and spend Christmas Eve and Day through to New Years with their families and then the day after New Years return to Hogwarts to continue classes. 

For those that celebrate Kwanzaa, another signup sheet goes around just after the Christmas kids have left on December 23rd, and those who decided to get to return home to spend Kwanzaa with their families before returning to school on January 3rd just after the Christmas kids get back as well to resume classes. 

Magic Traditions - The Goblet of Fire was a tradition for a long time but luckily that stayed banned because it’s deadly and who would pin a bunch of school children in a fucking death match? But Quidditch is much less deadly, though still dangerous it’s still a beloved sport of the Wizarding World. Another beloved tradition that’s still around is the Sorting Ceremony but the school’s much less divided nowadays. The teachers have long since realized that if siblings who only know each other get put in different houses it may cause a very bad rift between them, especially for ones who are younger siblings. So they allow people to mingle between tables and as long as you have permission from a member belonging to the house, you’re allowed to be in another house's common room. They are however magical precautions against people giving away separate house passwords to each other or for anyone who doesn’t have a house's permission to sneak into another house's common room. Professor Flitwick is quite good with charms y’know?

The Potter Prophecy - Lily and James Potter died at the hands of Lord Voldemort and Lily dying to protect her child gave him the protection that lasted his whole life. But as for being left on the Dursley’s doorstep by a morally-grey man who wanted to raise that child for slaughter? Uh-uh, no, not in my good magical household. You see in this life there were better resources and better options. In other words, the person who caught up to Sirius Black wasn’t a goddamned moron and checked his wand to see what spell was cast last and saw that he in fact did not just blow up a man. On top of that Professor Albus Dumbledore decided to have a heart and tell them that Sirius Black wasn’t the Potters' secret keeper and that it was in fact, Pettigrew. Long story short, Sirius Black never went to Azkaban and since he was Harry’s Godfather he had first dibs on adopting Harry. So instead of being raised in the abusive Dursley house, Harry was raised by his two gay Uncles, Sirius and Remus, and grew up feeling loved and knowing who and what he was. Of course, the kid wasn’t raised to have an ego or be anything but polite yet sarcastic, much like Remus, but he knew from a certain age why people always stared at him and were always giddy to meet him. 

New Age Wands - Wands aren’t what they used to be either. Ollivander was the first wandmaker to start pioneering a new way of making wands more concealable to muggles when people started finding ways to charm technology into working around and with magic. You see a guy pulling out a long spindly stick as a reflex when he gets angry kinda makes people start to question things a little when he acts like it’s a weapon of mass destruction and his cousin acts like that stick is a knife pointed at his throat. So mixing wands into things like umbrellas, and selfie sticks, heck they even sell wands that flip out like a switchblade or collapse into a handle like pens. Of course, finding the right type of wand is done the old-fashioned way of which wand chooses you, so you find the right wand in the normal form but if you want it to be concealable Ollivander has no problem making it that way for a little extra charge.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

So there you have it. The first post to the new Harry Potter. I'll finish up the Character stuff I have and post it later. Also, I deeply apologize if any of the stuff about other holidays is off, particularly the Muslim holidays. I don't know about other holiday traditions beside Hanukkah really and as much as I tried to do the best research I could into the topics of the other holidays to get the information right there wasn't a lot of good info about how Eid is celebrated. Feel free to correct me and I will make changes to it. I appreciate any feedback.

#harry potter #reclaimingmychildhood #harrypotterau #inclusive #modern au

[dailycharacteroption]

Crystal Keeper (Pathfinder 2nd Edition Archetype)

(Art by Noe-Leyva on DeviantArt)

 It doesn’t come up that often because most racial deities other than the big important ones are not well-known, but elves have their own selection of deities. The deity relevant to today’s entry is Yuelral, elven goddess of magic and gemcrafting.

It was elven devotees of Yuelral who created the technique of the crystal keeping long ago, channeling magic through perfect prisms and even magically growing crystals charged with their magic when needed.

Using crystals as foci also grants them greater understanding of runes, sigils, and all other writing as well, similar to how the truth can be seen in a gem of seeing.

Sadly, the secrets of this tradition were almost lost, but after the events of the Age of Ashes Adventure Path, they might start to repopulate back into the world. Thankfully, unlike certain other elven deities, Yuelral is not quite as xenophobic, and does not seem to mind non-elves that learn the tradition as long as they show proper knowledge and respect for elven customs.

Of course, outside of this setting, this archetype can be used with any character that wants a little dose of crystal-themed powers.

 At the most basic level of this discipline’s training, the prospective keeper learns how to meditate with a crystal to aid in deciphering text of any kind, be it another language or even written in code. What’s more, their familiarity with the physical and magical properties of crystals makes them good at resisting and avoiding harm from them.

They also learn a spell for growing an electrified crystal trap on a lock or hinge, warding the entrance against entry.

They can also learn basic magic to sense magical auras and draw sigils. However, this method requires a gem of some kind as the focus.

Eventually, however, they can use their mastery of runes and crystals to temporarily alter the runes on magical armor or weapons, leading to different effects. This could be flavored as them drawing temporary runes on the armament, or they might grow temporary crystal formations that alter the flow of magic.

This archetype provides some fun crystal and magical utility, though I must admit, the archetype going on about various crystal-themed focus spells and only giving you one is kinda lame. Focusing on runes the way it does also makes sense in context, but kinda takes away from the original crystal focus the archetype seems to have. In any case, naturally, this archetype is most useful on a spellcaster of some description, though primal casters will struggle thanks to Nature not being a skill that is used by the archetype. That being said, if you’re playing a martial character that wishes they could have the right magic weapon for the situation, they might also like to benefit from this archetype as well. It is a rare archetype though, so it might be hard to actually spec into it if your GM gives a flying hoot about rarity tags at all.

 Within the context of Golarion’s lore, these keepers, no matter their background, are essentially the last remnants of a forgotten tradition, which is a fun trope to play with no matter what it is. They might deeply want to survive and pass on these teachings to others, have angst about the future prospects of the tradition, or they might not care at all about the legacy and have to deal with the reactions of people who know and do care.

  Encrusted with gemstones and crystal formations, many who meet Alkassar assume that he is either a positively ancient undead or even a lich about to undergo transformation into demilich, but in truth, the old skeleton is merely a keeper of the old magic of crystals. He wanders the world now, concealing his true appearance, looking for a worthy apprentice.

 They say that in certain caverns that remain above the water in Malaxhai Mire are rife with crystals with unique properties, which could be very valuable to the crystal mages, but one must brave dangers like corpselights and more to find them.

 On the world of Cavaa, crystal magic is not rare at all, and in fact has led to many fascinating innovations. However, recently a new form of crystal has become popular for usage, one that is blood red and stinks of necromantic magics.

#pathfinder 2nd edition #archetype #crystal keeper #elf #skeleton #corpselight #crystals #Pathfinder 148 Fires of the Haunted City