#magic analysis

[chromaticflare]

Thank you for attending today’s Spell Seminar. This will be the first of many lessons explaining the spells and magic of WHA, ranging from the simplest of wall breakers to the wildest of windowways.

Today, we will be discussing one of my personal favorite spells, wall bend.

Spell Seminar Lesson One: The Wall Bend Spell

First seen on pg 27 of chap 14, wall bend is a spell capable of bending and pulling solid walls as if they were cloth. Remarkably, after the spell was first revealed in chapter 14, we wouldn’t see the glyph until chapter 65.

Experienced spell makers may recognize the earth sigil this glyph’s center, as well as the pull signs (the funky arrows) along the glyph’s sides. However, the signs at the top and bottom of thus glyph (highlighted in gold and purple) are unusual. They will be the focus of today’s lesson.

To understand the sign at the top of the spell (furthest away from Qifrey, highlighted in purple), you must first understand the one at the bottom (highlighted in gold)

Compound Signs

The sign drawn in gold is what we call a compound sign. Compound signs are signs composed of several other signs mixed together.

This one consists of three parts: a ribbon sign as the core, a bend sign on each end of the ribbon, and part of an inverted radial sign (strengthen).

Whereas a ribbon sign on it’s own just stretches things into long, soft ribbons, by combining it with bend (and inverted radial to boost its power), it is able to do one of two things; make a single portion of a wall bendable like a sheet of fabric, or allow the portion of wall near the spell to be bent and stretched.

Both of these interpretations are equally valid, but each has different implications as to the function of the bind (purple) sign. I only mentioned one of these interpretations in the twitter version of this lesson, but today, I’ll be going over both of them.

Interpretation One: Unify

Assuming the partial bending interpretation of the compound sign, bind has an important role in holding the wall together.

In this interpretation, bind functions to “bind” the entire wall together into a single cohesive object. This makes it so that, instead of stretching out just a single portion of wall, the spell instead stretches the wall in its entirety as a single cohesive unit.

In this version of the spell, the pull signs function to keep the wall connected to the spell, making use of the wall’s elasticity and stretchiness to do so. Imagine it like a magnet pulling the wall along rather than a direct connection between the spell and the wall.

Bind Interpretation Two: Glue

Assuming that the compound sign already effects the entire wall, then it makes much more sense for the bind sign to function like a glue between the wall and the spell.

In this interpretation, bind physically connects the part of the wall the spell is touching to the spell itself, allowing it to be dragged along with the spell to stretch the wall.

In this version, the pull signs serve simply as aids, helping to make it easier to drag the wall into the desired position and shape rather than just pulling it along as was the case in the other interpretation.

Conclusion

Regardless of which interpretation of bind one day proves to be the right one, this spell is unique for the lessons it can teach us about spell design and for the insights it can give us into magic as a whole. I’ve already designed 2 spells with bind, so it’s safe to say that it has a lot of uses both in universe and for us spell makers. I hope you enjoyed this lesson, and I’ll see you in the next one.

-Chromatic Flare

#atelier of witch hat #tongari booshi no atorie #tongari boushi no atelier #wha #witch hat atelier #wha spells #tbna #δ帽子 #magic analysis #spell seminar

[hanafubukki]

Malleus Draconia versus Ortho Shroud

It seems some people are surprised at Malleus’ actions? That he destroyed the robot dogs and almost destroyed Ortho.

But I would like to point out that Malleus has always been like this; very protective of his loved ones.

For example: In Lilia’s PE vignette, he nearly took Rook’s head off because he thought Rook was trying to hurt Lilia.

Then we come to book 7, chapter 7 update.

Yes, he destroyed the dogs and almost Ortho but remember Malleus is protective of his loved ones.

Malleus OBed because he wants his loved ones happy and Ortho is a threat to that, so of course he’s going to destroy any threats to them and Ortho basically labeled himself as such.

Now I want to bring up a point that I don’t see many talk about?

Malleus understood Ortho’s explanation about how Ortho woke up and how he was able to penetrate the barrier.

Ortho described himself as immortal basically because he can transfer his data to any body, which Malleus understood as transferring vessels.

This is when Malleus finally took the steps to destroy Ortho. Not because he wanted to kill him, but because he knew that Ortho would still live and transfer himself to another body.

Did Ortho feel fear? Yes because Orth doesn’t like lightning and that’s one of Malleus’ powers but think about it.

Feeling fear is an emotion no one wants to repeat. Malleus acknowledged that Ortho might be feeling fear

With Malleus knowing that Ortho can feel such things, Malleus told Ortho he would end him swiftly because in a way that is an act of kindess isn’t it? To end it quickly rather than prolonging the fear.

But at the same time he knows that Ortho will live and remember this emotion, and that’s what Malleus wants, so Ortho would be too scared to try again.

Malleus is protective of his loved ones and he always has been.

While his actions might seem as if he’s out of control, he isn’t. He understood in his own way what Ortho explained to him before making his move.

He didn’t attack because he’s raging but made a more calculative move on his end to stop Ortho, one that he would make repeatedly if need be, since he knows that Ortho can transfer bodies.

#not to say that malleus is not being affected mentally #remember he now knows the truth about his birth and the senate and his grandma #on top of that he’s using a bunch of magic and been OB for awhile and people are waking up and rejecting his gift #so yes he’s being affected mentally and emotionally but this post is not about that #it’s about how his actions are not surprising and how he took a calcualtive strategy not one where he’s unhinged and going to kill ortho fo #no reason but because he knew that ortho would be alive and well #additionally malleus being evil was very hot this is what you should expect from a far #ortho shroud #malleus draconia #twst book 7 #diasomnia #twst malleus draconia #twst theory #twst theories #twst ortho shroud #lilia vanrouge #twst analysis #disney twst #twst #twisted wonderland

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

BBC Merlin being about 'magic' for 7 minutes gay

#not to be all autistic about media analysis again but i think fandom tends to overlook the symbolic/metaphorical aspect of queer subtext #a show can be queer coded because two same sex characters have an intense relationship with homoerotic undertones #or it can be queer coded because it conveys themes of alienation. repressed identity. oppression. internalised shame #Merlin does both. several times over #gay ass wizard show #bbc merlin #merlin #merthur #magic is gay #magic as a metaphor #flashing #flashing lights #< thanks to photosensitive-despair for advising me to change the tags

[mlpoutofcontext]

Overly dark My Little Pony fan works (eg. Cupcakes, Friendship is Witchcraft) and those Tumblr posts depicting Breaking Bad as a comedic slice of life about Jesse being trans or something, are the same joke, but in opposite directions

#my little pony #mlp #mlp fim #my little pony friendship is magic #breaking bad #Analysis #friendship is witchcraft #fiw wednesday

[comradekatara]

I remember watching the Boiling Rock pt. 1 and seeing Sokka tell Zuko "I need to regain my honor" felt so strange to me. The only place we see Sokka care about honor was when he was wearing the Kyoshi warrior outfit where and Sokka seems proud of its significance (gold insignia represents honor). But he does see Zuko obsess about honor all the time and probably knows is a big FN thing. I always thought it was Sokka's way of trying to manipulate (this word sounds harsh but I can't think of a better term) Zuko into letting him go into his little suicide mission by using the concept of honor, which he knows Zuko cares so much about. I wonder what your thoughts on this are bc I've always liked your atla analysis

yeah I’ve joked about this in the past. I don’t think sokka is outright manipulating zuko here (sokka can be manipulative, but this isn’t really an example of that) but rather using terms he knows zuko will understand. speaking his language so as to get through to him. the notion of honor is obviously not some discrete or ontological quality, but rather a descriptor of cultural value (often intertwined with a culture’s notion of masculinity) so sokka clearly does care about honor even if he doesn’t use that exact term. so his choice of words here is very clearly deliberate. and yet zuko is like “believe me, I get it” because he’s genuinely so oblivious as to assume that sokka said that completely by accident and not specifically for his benefit. because zuko doesn’t really consider how his own words will be received by others when he says them, he just says whatever he’s thinking and feeling, and doesn’t understand that some (most) people are more socially aware and comport themselves for the benefit of others. which is why he thinks that azula is some kind of serial liar and manipulator rather that someone who simply knows how to say what others want to hear. it’s actually pretty funny if u think about it.

#oh zuzu #bakedbeanchan #asks #sokka #zuko #azula #analysis #<- mini #but yeah sokka rly should’ve known better than to say that bc unfortunately he did utter the magic words to make zuko fall in love with him #and now the effects are irreversible #alas

[zeb-z]

I know it’s played as a bit at first, but Chip struggling to wield Destiny’s Blade in Gillion’s absence is so important, because that’s just it, isn’t it. The weight of his destiny is something so great, so heavy of a burden, but there hasn’t really been insight into that until recently, and now both Chip and Jay are getting a look into just how hard it is to carry such a destiny. To raise the sword that Gillion does seemingly with ease.

But despite its weight, Chip keeps it close. He uses it when he’s out of ideas, when he needs options. He holds it tight to summon water, so Pretzel will have something in her bowl. He lifts it up to summon a shield when he needs protecting from a thousand different blades that would otherwise kill him. And there’s something too about how it’s Gillian’s blade, left behind without it’s wielder, protecting his friends despite his absence. How the manifestation of this magic is an imitation of Gillian’s - the shield protecting Chip as a swirling sphere of water, the shape water spell a Gillion classic of course. Even when he’s gone, his influence, what he’s left behind in both possessions and memory, are protecting Jay and Chip.

Maybe there’s something there about how whatever destiny Gillion has felt the weight of, it will always include protecting his friends - his family. Or about how their destinies are now forever intertwined, because Chip is using this Destiny’s Blade to find Gillion and it’s now his burden to bear. And it’s hard, and it hurts, and he feels the weight of his own actions now more than ever - but Jay promises he won’t bear it alone. And even while he’s lost, and unable to protect himself - Gillion still has a hand in protecting them.

#the way he held it before going into the last room in the pyramid. a reassuring grip to calm him. I’m not normal about it #nor will I ever be #he being chip #and chip????? using summon water????????? holding Gillian’s sword????????????????? they make me SICK dude #ACTUALLY unwell #they need to reunite fucking asap dude I’m gonna lose my mind #just. Gillian still able to protect his friends chips magic manifesting the same way Gillian’s does the blade room made me fuckin crazy #he ran through with gils sword gils shield manifestation and it protected him and I’m not supposed to go crazy about the implications? #the symbolism man. or metaphor. whatever I barely graduated it’s all character analysis at the end of the day #jrwi riptide 79 #jrwi #jrwi riptide #gillion tidestrider #jay ferin #jrwi chip #z speaks

[adh-d2]

He's just a baby playing with blocks. Look how proud he is for stacking them so neatly. Look at the way he turns around for recognition, for someone else to get excited with him, to give him one of those big fake baby gasps and say 'good job!'.

He's just a baby. He doesn't understand what's going on. 😭

#The Filoni Era has been so good at giving us these little moments #that show us the Empire's evil wasn't all big bombastic figures in cloaks with magic powers #It was a cold and sterile evil #and somehow that feels worse #the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #tbb season 3 spoilers #the bad batch season 3 spoilers #tbb season 3 #sw tbb #the bad batch season 3 #the bad batch meta #tbb meta #the bad batch discussion #tbb discussion #tbb analysis #tbb s3e13 #Into the Breach #the bad batch analysis #tbb Bayrn #ADH-D2's Patented Bullshit

[kayunivy]

I like that Shinichi usually attracts death to himself, like some kind of magnet. While Kaito does the opposite, preventing death from happening, mostly.

#kaishin and its various symbolisms #detective conan #magic kaito #kaishin #case closed #meitantei conan #kaito kuroba #shinichi kudo #kaitou kid #conan edogawa #kaito x shinichi #dcmk #dcmk analysis #快新 #名探偵コナン #まじっく快斗

[emiiexe]

i love the contrast between the backgrounds behind magic betty and past betty, past bettys room shows so much personality and life while magic betty stands in front of an empty void - reflective of how much of her identity had become lost after becoming magic and because of her obsession with simon. The comparison between the two backgrounds show so much about what state she is in and it just makes the "i spent so much of my life dedicated to simon, i'm not sure if there's even any 'me' left anymore" line even sadder

#adventure time #betty grof #petrigrof #simon petrikov #adventure time analysis #fionna and cake #magic betty

[raayllum]

And honestly?

I love that Viren’s moment of refusal was with a creature he didn’t really care about. 

In his dream flashbacks, we see him walk through almost every meaningful relationship in his life - his king and ‘brother’ and possible victim in Harrow; Soren, back before their relationship was fractured and afterwards, and Claudia of course, following in his footsteps; Kpp’Ar, the man who helped him learn dark magic in the first place and who he coined for unknown but suspected reasons - save for his wife, whose absence speaks volumes, I think, in the levels of isolation Viren has routinely felt. (“Tell no one. Not even Claudia. You must carry this weight alone. It won’t be easy, but you are strong.”) Stoic, strong, lonely, y’know?  And these dreams highlight Viren’s willingness to do whatever it takes for the people he loves, no matter what. We also saw in S4 that he wasn’t particularly engaged in living beyond the set 30 days; happy to be alive, yes, but Claudia was still primarily the one pushing their mission forward.

But I don’t think it’s an accident that when Viren rejects dark magic, he also rejects the dehumanization - the de-personalization - of a creature that would be very easy to depersonalize. Because that’s what dark magic inherently is, either dehumanizing yourself or others in order to commit the acts you deem necessary. or both.

If his moment of refusal had been about someone he loved, it would’ve been about love, not the morality of it - and morality is what he’s always, arguably, needed more of, at least in that way.

It had to be a magical creature, a non human, a monster - that he saw as a person, or innocent (which Claudia is not), if nothing else, and refused to sacrifice it for his own gain. That’s the point. 

#tdp viren #s5 #5x09 #viren #analysis series #s5 spoilers #tdp spoilers #the dragon prince #dark magic #sir sparklepuff #sparklepuff squad

[gainaxvel3o]

It's weird to think of Utena as a deconstruction of magical girls. Not just because it's reductive- though it is, there's so much more that's interesting about the show- but I just don't think that's what Utena is specifically going for.

Like, maybe I lack the context for how magical girls were like when Utena came out, but when I think of the stereotypical magical girl, I think of girls getting magic powers & frilly dresses, coming together through the power of friendship and fighting the forces of darkness. Utena's story doesn't really have a lot to do with that, it's story is framed in more male-coded fantasies, fairy tale imagery like princes and knightly duels, fighters using swords to "win" the Rose Bride. etc. It deliberately uses these in order to comment on how limiting gender roles can be for men and women. In particular, a lot of Anthy's resentment comes from having to play the role of the Rose Bride, but being rejected as a witch for how weird, creepy or off-putting she is.

I get the sense that if Utena is deconstructing anything, it's the idea that women can rise through a male dominated field like princehood without becoming the boot. Utena's desire to become a prince gets attacked by mysoginistic men, but it's framed as childish due to not realizing the true nature of her desire. To be a prince, as represented through Akio, is to subjugate maidens to his will. They go off, get married and live happily ever after inside of an illusionary castle, a symbol of the patriarchal world in which princes rule, while women could only be princesses or witches under this system. Utena isn't really "revolutionary" for wanting to be a prince in spite of sexist men hounding her (hell, Juri, a woman, is one of those princes), but just another participant in the cycle. Utena only really wins when she forsakes the sword to reach out to Anthy in the finale, seeing her for the whole picture rather than the idealized Rose Bride she unintentionally forced her into.

In essense, I think the show is about the follies of being a girlboss. Utena wasn't breaking the mysoginistic system so much as becoming an unwitting participant of it up until the end.

...

Hm, maybe Akio is meant to be a deconstruction of Tuxedo Mask? A seemingly mysterious cool dude, there's an age gap, helps out the heroine, but unlike the actual Mamoru, Akio is (rightfully) portrayed as having sinister intentions for his actions. I guess that's the director's apathy toward Mamoru at work there (though the anime version of him is way older than in the manga).

#Revolutionary Girl Utena #Analysis #Deconstruction #Magical Girl #Utena Tenjou #Akio Ohtori #Anthy Himemiya

[chromaticflare]

My Latest Creation: The Snowplow of Doom

During the harsh Polish winter, my friend and fellow r/place veteran, Resor, has to brave snowey roads that even snowplows can’t tame. As such, for their birthday, I thought I’d make something to help them deal with this issue.

Half snowplow, half snow cannon, and mounted to the front of Resor’s car, introducing the Snowplow of Doom!

What it Does

The contraption has two modes: snowplow and snow cannon.

When in snowplow mode, the contraption flings accumulated snow on the road off to the side and out of the path of the vehicle.

Alternatively when in snow cannon mode, the vehicle will accumulate snow into a ball in front of the vehicle. The ball will then be launched at high speed when the firing rope is pulled.

How it works

The contraption has four parts: the spell switcher, the spell array plate, the bolt sign toggle, and the firing rope.

Spell Array Plate

The spell array plate contains the glyphs.

The bottom “snowplow” row of spells consists of push spells that fling snow up and to the side.

The top “snow cannon” row consists of a central “snowball” spell which collects snow and forms it into a ball, as well as push spells that funnel snow into it.

Spell Switcher

In order to switch between snowplow and snow cannon mode, the spell switcher is employed.

The spell switcher, which is secured to the spell array plate, has ink drawn on its back that fills in the gaps on the glyphs on the spell array plate. By moving the lever, you can change weather the top or bottom spells are completed, toggling the mode.

Bolt Sign Toggle

The final component of the snowplow is the bolt sign toggle.

Tied to the toggle is a rope which, when pulled, causes the toggle to swing up and touch the snowball glyph. As there are bolt signs drawn on the toggle, this makes the snowball spell change into a snowball launching spell, causing the accumulated snowball to fire at high speeds.

The Quirks

This design has a few quirks. For starters, the bar on the spell switcher is rigid and can’t be folded up, meaning that you can’t use whatever door the bar is blocking. Additionally, bar for the spell switcher doesn’t lock in place, meaning it has to be held in position to prevent it from staying in snowcannon mode or to stop the spells from deactivating if you hit a bump.

Could I solve both of these issues with just a single double hinge joint near the base of the rod and two hooks welded to the far door? Yes. Am I going to? No.

Happy Birthday, Resor!

#atelier of witch hat #tongari booshi no atorie #tongari boushi no atelier #wha #witch hat atelier #wha spells #tbna #δ帽子 #magic analysis

[hanafubukki]

I’ve been thinking and wondering 🤔 if they do increase Lilia’s life span, it’s probably not going to be hundreds of years. It will probably be longer but not as long as that (though I wish it were, because I know he wanted to see Malleus become king, etc)

So then if they do increase it, or maybe the years he has left is less than a hundred years, but as Malleus said; Lilia doesn’t want any one of them wasting their time on him when they could be living their life to the fullest.

In either case, wouldn’t it be heart breaking and yet poetic, for Lilia and Silver to have lived their life and then died at the same time? 🤔

Though if that’s the case, I wouldn’t be able to be as strong as Malleus, because loosing my father and brother at the same time?? That would break me if I was in his shoes 💔😭

You can also imagine the heartbreak Sebek would go through if his aging slowed down too you know? The pain he would feel.

But then, it also makes me wonder 🤔, it could also be half a century or the “remainder” of human years.

Because the whole point of his actions is that Lilia wants his sons to move on, to enjoy life, make bonds, and be happy. See life to the fullest as he has, enjoy life with the same joy his boys has brought him. He wants the same for them 🥹

In the end, it might just be that. Lilia living like a “human” seeing his boys grow and become the fine men they are and being proud of them all the while.

As any parent would.

Because isn’t that a parent’s wish? To see their children grow up, see them come into their own, know they will be fine, and once the time comes, they can happily pass with a smile. 🥹😭💞

#and the irony of it all the fae the feared general becoming ‘human’ like because of no magic and diminished lifespan #in the end this is another trait the two races have in common isn’t it #the life span and the wishes they have for their family 😭😭 #yeah I don’t know why I do this to myself either #lilia vanrouge #malleus draconia #twst silver #disney twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland #book 7 #diasomnia #twst theory #twst theories #twst character analysis #twst analysis

[jacarandaaaas]

in this shot the candle is positioned higher up in the shot than mirabel, showcasing how she feels this candle is worth more than she is. This is also foreshadowing for the moment she quite literally values this candle more than her own life!

#encanto #encanto disney #disneys encanto #mirabel madrigal #this is just how my mind interpreted it lmao I’m not claiming it’s canon #but like that’s just a theory #it would not surprise me if they did that on purpose #anyways more mirabel angst woo!! #it’s a piece of wax mirabel #magical wax but it’s still wax #like save yourself!! #encanto theory #encanto analysis #encanto discussion #notice how she’s always below it? #even in the opening scene like ???? the candle is always higher than her😭

[mlpoutofcontext]

Given that the Apple family seem to use "apple" as an expletive, AJ's name basically translates to "Jackass"

#Analysis #mlp #my little pony #mlp fim #my little pony friendship is magic #season 6 #Applejack

[embracing-the-ineffable]

The circular bookshop rug CHANGES?!

(Edit: this is the rug that rests on top of the portal, under the chandelier. I think(?) there's only one of those!)

I saw someone mention this in a comment, but haven't seen any pics or discussion about it yet, so I checked. It's another inexplicable (ineffable?) "continuity" error:

S2e1, prepping to do the half miracles to hide Jim!Gabriel:

S2e5, as Nina enters the ball:

(More pics, including the season ONE rug, which was used for an s2 promo photo, and some discussion, below)

S2e5, prepping to defend the bookshop from the demons after Crowley walks most of the humans out:

S2e6, Crowley tidying the bookshop while Azi has a chinwag:

And sure, Aziraphale could have enchanted it to look more "Jane Austen-esque" for the ball, but then why did it change back in e6? It looks like Nina and Maggie's clothes for the ball stayed throughout e6, so it's not like the ball enchantments expired, Cinderella-style, or something...

Like the two different wigs for Crowley in Job, it seems superfluous to have two different rugs for the bookshop. And yet ...

It seems like it must be a Clue about something! Unreliable Narrator(s)? Another magic trick we didn't see? What do you think?

Edit 2: @rebeccasteventaylor had a good question about the rug in s1. I checked, and you'll perhaps be unsurprised to learn that the rug in s1e4, when Azi talks to Floating Head Metatron, is similar to s2e1 when they do the half miracle, but definitely not the same. The chairs also look similar but not exact:

And here's a wider view of s1e4:

And a wider view of s2e1:

I understand they Actually Burned the bookshop and everything inside during s1, and then had to recreate it for s2 (there's a really wild post about recreating a hand painted antique tiled sink that talks more about that), so I don't know if the similar-but-not-exact chairs, big red rug, and round rug are more casualties of that, or are meant to look different...

Edit 3: EXCEPT. They USED the season 1 rug in season 2 promo photos!

So... they didn't burn it? Or they did burn it and then they recreated it and didn't actually use it for s2??

I can't think or even breathe, this is SO WEIRD.

Interested in diving further into all the Good Omens mysteries? I have lots more of my own posts plus Clues and metas from all over the fandom, here.

#good omens analysis #good omens mystery #Aziraphale's rug #bookshop rug #good omens bookshop #clue with a capital C #good omens the ball #good omens magic trick #good omens #good omens meta #renew good omens #good omens 2 #good omens continuity #unreliable narrators #Good omens conspiracy theory #Good omens truther #Good omens season 1 #Good omens season 2 #everything is meant