#hugin speaks

[huginsmemory]

Originally these were tags but I'm gonna rewrite it and elaborate on it out here:

I'd say it's not really about the 'weirdest people' but it's more about the palatability of the works. The fanfics you've mentioned that don't get shoved onto the market are queer, and that matters. And sure now there's STARTING to be a queer romance/erotica market but it's not common. In fact in many places until recently it would've been considered something that you could go to jail or placed in an institution for and still in some places likely can be... As an immediate example, even if I'm not American, considering the way America's Conservative party is angling towards abolishing same sex marriage, these types of laws are likely similarly on their agenda if they are able to repeal it. Not to say this would happen as fearmongering, but a reminder that queerphobia, and the legislative push against queer rights, is very much still there.

So, compared to cishet erotica/romance writing, properly published queer erotica/romance is a new market. That's not to say there aren't issues around cishet erotica and romance writing because it's main audience is women and for women's pleasure, which western society gets really weird and shame-y about because God Forbid women are sexual in a way beyond being an object of a man's pleasure. But this DOES mean there is a large and established market for cishet erotica and romance, that most people don't really blink an eye at other than maybe making a joke about. Hell, you see these books EVERYWHERE. They're right there beside the crime thrillers on the grocery store small shelf selection of books.

As a result of such a big market and it being essentially mainstream, people are way more likely to go 'oh I can sell my fic' because they can. But for queer romance/erotica, its still even more taboo then the woman's geared cishet romance/erotica. The oppressive past is still very present. So even though there's a growing market for it, it's not mainstream enough yet really to have people within fandoms who write queer ships to go 'oh I can sell my fic', because you're less likely to be able to, not to mention the possibility of hate crime, especially if you are also queer yourself and open as an author. Given time for the market to be bigger and more mainstream, barring queer rights being repealed in the western world, I wouldn't be surprised if queer fanfics begin to also be taken down to be resold as queer erotica. There's always going to be a few bad apples people within fandoms who will be willing to do so.

For me, as a fanfiction bookbinder, I find this conversation really similar to a phenomenon going on in the bookbinding community. As someone whose queer and enjoys explicit queer fanfiction, I am extremely wary of anyone recognizing who I am in connection to my fanbinding account, beyond those who are also fanbinders or interested in learning to fanbind. Because there is a very real danger, or repercussions associated with that given that information lands into the wrong hands. However, I have also seen fanbinders who blithely show their face. Not saying that is bad; if you are willing and can be open about it, go for it, but for me, it is something very startling to see. And what's interesting is that they are ALWAYS, from what I've seen, young women (or visibly seem to be) who are binding cishet fanfiction. Something something, privilege and security.

In much the same way, there has been a recent upset between fanbinders and fanfiction authors, on fanbinders taking fics and essentially mass producing them for sale without contacting the author for permission, in one case to the point an author actually removed their fanfiction. But this is solely an issue that, much like the issue of fics being taken down, gutted and resold, is confined to cishet fandom ships. There's more to comment on here, such as the dynamics of privilege and security and the likelihood of mindfulness, but this is already a long reblog.

Anyhow, much like op stated, the majority of the fandom is going to be made of people who care about the fandom community they've joined and more specifically, who do it as a hobby that they love during their spare time off of work; that government job that they are doing. And as a result, gutting their creation to monetize it never crosses their mind because that's not what they're here for.

sad reality of the fanfic-to-published work economy is that the weirdest people are willing to do it. that's why there's now hundreds of shitty no plot cishet hate-to-love enemies-to-lovers books that are ex reylo fanfic. and it's not even good. that's because the people who wrote book-quality steve/bucky and kirk/spock fic are too normal to think to themselves "i should get this porn published". they're too busy working in local government offices

[hugins-cabinet-of-curios]

This is essentially an archive for my posts collected across the various accounts I have (mostly so I can keep track of things I've made over the years). These accounts include:

@huginsmemory -> shit posting, rambling and meta posts

@roseserpentpress -> bookbindery account

@blae-kitta -> art account

I'm also on AO3 under H_bivitattus (fanfiction) and sigh_of_the_primordial_mouth (meta analysis).

Tags include:

#hugin rambles -> rambles/meta analysis

#hugin politics -> political analysis

#hugin writes -> fanfiction links/plugs

#roseserpentpress -> bookbinding I've done

#hugin scribbles -> art I've made

#hugin sculpts -> sculptures/figures I've made

#hugin memes -> fandom related silly posts

I'll also tag the correlating fandoms :)

[blae-kitta]

Quick guide:

Tag all own art as '#hugin scribbles' with an additional tag for figures specifically '#hugin sculpts'.

Here's also a master post of all my figure posts!

All other art (a mix of fandom and non-fandom) is reblogged from other wonderfully talented folks :)

Other blogs:

Main blog: @huginsmemory

Bookbinding blog: @roseserpentpress

Archive blog: @hugins-cabinet-of-curios

Website for vetted donations to Palestine

[huginsmemory]

That moment when u go ok I'm a bit unhinged about shows but it's fine and then u realize u wrote a 13 page meta post when ur beta reader and friend actually looks at it on a computer and goes dude that's 13 pages long and you're like what the absolute fuck. What do u mean it's 13 pages long. It's fine. This is fine. I'm totally normal and fine

[kiirostarz]

Character details and related objects that I find interesting 💕:

Cyran and Cassadee share several visual elements that reflect a symbolic contrast. Both are lightbearer mages and carry staffs, suggesting a thematic connection. However, their colors set them apart: Cassadee wears white and gold, representing youth, purity, and innocence, while Cyran wears black with gold and purple, suggesting wisdom, power, and a fall into darkness. Their staffs reinforce this difference: Cassadee’s is simpler, fitting for someone young or still in training; Cyran’s is more intricate, indicating greater mastery and experience.

Eironn and Brutus - According to AFK Arena, Brutus trained Eironn to improve his sword skills, although in AFK Journey it's unknown if it was before we arrived in the Dark Forest at the same time as him or after he left again.

At the moment, Brutus, Korin, and Valka share the similarity of calling their respective weapons like an old friend. I could also mention Hugin here, but he sees much more with each of his tools than just one specific one. 😅

Koko and Rhys's parallels with Soren and Alsa: Koko/Rhys and Soren/Alsa represent two sides of the same violent faction that values ​​only brute force: while Koko and Rhys are the "functional product" of the system—internalizing violence and prioritizing survival over critical thinking—Soren and Alsa embody the "rejected consequence," developing education and empathy by being marginalized for their "weakness." The former exemplify the success of warrior indoctrination, albeit at the cost of their humanity; the latter reveal the cracks in the system by escaping its logic, demonstrating that what the faction despises (intellect, cunning) can be turned against it.

Canon families within the game:

Koko/Antandra/Satrana

Soren/Alsa/Kruger

Smokey and Meerkey

Valen/Fay – Speaking of them, it would be nice if the game brought back Valen’s character card. Based on his design, it’s suggested that he might not be originally from Petrosacro. Unlike the other guards, his outfit is less formal and uses colors similar to those found in Remnant Peaks, where Fay and Marilee live.

Sonja/Nara and Korin/Damian – These are families in the game whose members don’t belong to the same faction.

Similar to Korin and Damian, there's Sinbad and Hugin – From what I remember in Waves of Intrigue, Hugin seems to know Sinbad well, so he could be a mentor figure to him, like Korin is to Damian.

Carolina and Callan

Hodgkin and Bonnie

And lastly, in the Dark Forest, most people are orphans raised by the three sages, including Eomir. In fact, Lily May doesn’t count here because she’s from somewhere outside the Dark Forest, and we don’t know if her family is still around.

Honorable mention to Ulmus and Tasi – it could be a grandfather and granddaughter relationship. 💖

Objects connecting different characters

Arden greets the same blue butterfly as Tasi. According to Google, the blue butterfly can symbolize joy, fortune, a change in luck, the soul of a person, their essence, or transformation. It can also be linked to responsibility and decision-making.

Grandpa Arden also uses a magical staff that’s the same as the one Lorsan and Parisa have.

Another detail is that the main characters who are students of the Three Sages might be potential successors: Lorsan/Arden, Eironn or Lyca/Granhie, and Parisa/Eomir.

Not much is known about Cecia’s human life, but she shares many similarities with the Wilders. Not only is her huge companion one of them, but she also has elements tied to nature.

Another interesting detail is Cecia’s crown, which is identical to the one Parisa wears. This could explain why she was in the Dark Forest, or why she may have had a connection to Eomir. There’s a theory that Cecia might have been the previous leader of the Thorned Guards.

Another shared object is the flower that both Damian and Florabelle have. Just like with Cassadee and Cyran, it might symbolize how one is still learning while the other already has a more experienced understanding. There’s even a theory that Damian could eventually become a teacher like Florabelle(?)

Rhys and Nara are quite similar — both belong to "selective" or exclusive groups. Rhys believes he’s seen the same way the Waters Wights viewed Nara, but the key difference lies in the power dynamics within their organizations: Rhys was only a bird caretaker, while Nara held a higher position. Also, unlike Nara, Rhys didn’t enjoy hurting people.

Continuing with Nara, another character that can be paralleled with her is Silvina. Both died at a young age, but their circumstances were very different. Nara remained forever trapped in the memory of her childhood, while Silvina had to grow up much faster. (I got this from the animation when you win a battle. Nara walks in the same way that Koko does, representing how childish and immature she still is.)

We can say that the most intelligent characters so far are Damian, Hugin, Cassadee, Viperian, Cyran and possibly Callan (considering his past life).

Another small detail: Kafra mentions being somewhat sleepy, which could be due to the effect of Hewynn’s dew drops, which seem to have that kind of reaction on people.

Walker and Atalanta are two lightbearers who are also bounty hunters, and both lost their best friend in some way (Also, neither of them seems to be very connected to the Lightbearer culture.)

Sonja and Kruger witnessed the death of their siblings. (And interestingly, both of them succumbed to darkness in some way.)

Marilee – According to her affinity stories, it's known that Marilee secretly watched the Wilders Archers to improve her own archery skills. So far, the only Wilders archers are Lyca and Bryon, so it's possible that Marilee already knows them.

It's also mentioned that the memory of her parents has started to become blurry in her dreams. If it's true that Tasi can see all dreams, it really makes me want to see an interaction between them.

Same goes for Damian and Rowan — so far, there hasn't been any interaction between them beyond the cinematics during some events. I definitely think Rowan would find a way to make good money off of Damian's inventions.

Another detail is that, at least so far, the Hypogeans seem to have had more interaction with Merlin than the Celestials, not counting Harak—and speaking of him—it's mentioned in a story that he was a man in his life, but now he’s just a monster that devours everything in his path. This might be the same for the others.

That's all, I really love these details and just so you know, English isn't my first language, so I use the translator a lot hoping everything is written correctly. 😅

[willtheweaver]

Writecamp day 12

Hoorah! Cheers as always for the event @agirlandherquill, and thanks for the tag @theeccentricraven

Today's prompts: A campsite, " Will I see this day end, or is this it?" "If there's ever been a chance, tell me. Please."

(This takes place [Weeks? Months?] after yesterday's scene, I'll let you all figure out if and where this fits into the canon of the world of A Feather in the Forest.)

Twin-Eye Hill had fallen. Most of the warriors were slain in an ambush just east of the eyrie. And that was not the worst of it. The orders Halley gave were to leave no trace of the rebels or their stronghold.

I thought it was going to be my end. Hugin thought. All I could think was 'Will I see this day end, or is this it?'

Somehow, he had managed to escape the fire and the soldiers. And he wasn't the only one. About a score of birds had managed to flee west. It was a gamble, as it meant crossing over the border and into fox territory. But it was a risk they were willing to take.

In a clearing, they pitched several tents and build simple shelters. Around the camp was a fence of sharpened stakes. A few birds busied themselves with chores or caught some sleep, but most of them were on alert, watching out for potential trouble. Two were looking west through a gap in the wall when they spotted something.

"Bird heading this way!" One of the lookouts yelled.

"It's Talvi!" Another shouted.

Fear turned to relief. Several rushed to the opening in the fence that served as a gate. They pulled back the panel that covered the opening, only putting it back in place once Talvi was inside.

"Thank goodness you're alive." Hugin said.

Talvi raised her head. Her eyes, once so full of life, now seemed vacant and dull. It was a full minute before she said anything.

"Flames everywhere...Didn't know what to do... Everyone trying to flee every which way and finding only death." Her voice was full of uncertainty and fear, emotions that were never present before. "Could only head west and hope the boundary stones would protect me. Smelled smoke. Went to investigate."

She fell silent. It was another minute before she said another word.

"So many dead...and for what? They stood no chance. All they wanted was to be free.

"I want to know. Is there any hope for us? If there's ever been a chance, tell me. Please."

Hugin said nothing. He went over to the lean-to and produced a bundle of cloth. Taking one end, he unwrapped it carefully. He unwound what had to be yards of fabric before what was inside was revealed: a single egg.

"I managed to save one." He said. "I was not going to let them destroy the future. I wish I could have saved more."

Talvi's eyes regained some of their fire.

"It's enough. You did what you could. Every small miracle is a victory."

The two spent the night close together. One slept while the other watched over the egg. After a while, the pair switched.

The next day the survivors held counsel. They all agreed that staying too long risked invoking the wrath of the foxes, that is if Halley's scouts didn't find them first. Their best bet was to get aid from one of the Roost Lords that was no friend of Loftperch Lookout.

"Grey is our best hope. I'll fly to her eyrie and petition for aid. She'll listen; there is no love lost between her and Halley."

"Alright. But don't fly directly from here. We don't want any scouts finding our location." Hugin told her. "Find somewhere well away from the camp before taking to the air.

"We're pinning all our hopes on you. Don't fail."

"I won't."

With everything settled, the birds resumed their watches. The pair made their way to the gate. Hugin pulled back the panel. He paused for a moment before speaking.

"I'll look after the egg until you get back. Should be hatching any day now."

"I hope that I can see it happen." Talvi told him. "To think that there is still hope, and from out of the ashes comes something that can't be destroyed..."

The two embraced.

"Al-Gia look after and preserve us."

Gently tagging @world-of-iridensia @daisywords @i-do-anything-but-write @paeliae-occasionally @winglesswriter

@theink-stainedfolk @the-ellia-west @glasshouses-and-stones @bardic-tales @wyked-ao3 and all who want to join in!

[artemisblackwingfavorites]

Edit: I posted this to the wrong blog, lol, so I posted a second copy to the right one. Here's the link.

I mentioned earlier that Munin had an adventure I would tell you about...

The Norse God Odin had two ravens, Hugin and Munin (Thought and Memory) that would fly around the world bringing him the knowledge of the day. What would it have felt like, awaiting their return? This stanza from the Grímnismál speaks of this:

"Over the earth Hugin and Munin set forth to fly.

For Hugin I fear lest he'll not return,

But for Munin my fear is more."

(Note: Since the Norse name Munin translates as "Memory" in English, we call Munin "Memory" when we really want her attention, or when we want her to come to us. Otherwise she'd quickly learn to disregard her name since we talk about her in her presence so frequently. It is best for her to have a common name, and a "secret" name we call her with.)

Munin's Adventure:

We were invited to a picnic down in Samammish with friends, and Munin was the guest of honor. We were all sitting on the grass, munching on chips (Munin loves chips) when she flew from her perch, snapping her leash. We thought she would wait patiently like a dog while we reattached it, but no (only idiots would think this.) She flew off to a nearby tree and then perched there, chatting with us in her croaky voice happily in an infuriatingly unreachable way. Ravens are like this.

Here is where I must confess that she doesn't come to her name well at all. She is very aware that it refers to her, and will turn to us when we call it, but she only flies over if she sees a reason to, and we had already plied her with every delicious snack at the picnic. I admit this is a failure with our teaching.

We waited under her perch for about an hour, getting on with our picnic, offering her treats every so often for which she politely declined to fly down. Then Munin spontaneously to flew towards us as we were distracted by handing people drinks, then away from us beyond our line of sight. That's when I became concerned.

Very clearly, she was having fun, and when ravens have fun you know something terrible is about to happen.

We called to her, and searched, and eventually she started calling back from a distance, the faint feminine croaking muffled by the surrounding trees. We followed the sounds and sighted her in a tree so tall that she was just a black blob against the afternoon sky. She had already attracted a couple of angry crows that were yelling at her to leave. She tried making friendly calls to them, but it takes more than a friendly greeting to convince a gang of racist crows to hang out with a newcomer. She gave up, and started trying to ignore them. She chatted with us when the crows calmed down a bit. We called back to her and she responded while hopping between branches, occasionally pausing to tear leaves off the tree, tossing them into the air so they fluttered to the ground. Trees have a lot of leaves. We figured that this new project would take her some time.

As we watched, the picnic slowly dwindled in size over the hours, as the lengthening shadows weakened the group by attrition. Only the last and most loyal remained as Munin finally spread her wings and soared up into the sky. The dying sun reflected the end of a beautiful day upon her feathers, as she wheeled about in ever-higher, ever-widening circles, separating herself from our desperate cries of "Memory! ...Memory! ...Memory!!! NO!!!!" Could she even hear us through the rushing wind? I don't know.

So the day ended.

We have given Munin the opportunity to hone her flying skills, and she has learned to forage for treats well, often circumventing my attempts to prevent her from stealing. However, ravens with all their brilliance do have a weakness, and that is language. We can show Munin things to teach her about the world, but we can't tell her about something she hasn't seen yet. Bald Eagles for instance, who on rare occasion prey on ravens, are not something Munin is familiar with, and the fact that two such eagles were nesting in a tree right next to the one Munin had been happily playing in was not possible to communicate to her. It was also not possible to tell her that large flocks of territorial crows can knock a raven off course, nor that West Nile Virus is quite deadly. Munin's previous experience in her rather small, easy-to-navigate world has shown her that everyone loves and admires, or at least respects her. She has certainly never met anyone who considers her edible. As individuals, there will always come a time when our beliefs are tested, when our ingenuity is tested, when we face the dangers that lurk behind the borders of our picnic. That moment often defines us, if we survive it.

We did not wait quietly for Munin's return. We posted paper flyers within a two-mile radius, we put about a hundred flyers under the mats of the nearest neighbors, we notified local birding groups, we paid for online ads targeted to local people, and we handed out flyers by hand asking people to post it on their social media accounts or elsewhere online. Also, we made sure someone was always at the property from which Munin had flown who was able to call for her. For good measure, we brought Hugin in a crate and placed him in the center of the garden to help us call for her. I knew that if she heard him she would come to him.

Every day after, we woke up at dawn to search the distant skies for a lone raven, or any bird being harassed by the local crows. We noticed the local birds flew across the sky at about 5am, so we woke up early every day in case she was with them. We called out "Memory!" every time we saw a bird that could have been her. We rarely got responses, but we got enough to hold on to our dwindling hopes that she would return. Actually, it seemed that we were rather torturing the neighbors, who every dawn and dusk would hear banshee-like cries in the distance as we walked to and fro across the grass plaintively shrieking "Memory, Memory..." Phone calls and texts came in with news of any oddly-behaving raven that was spotted, or offers to help look. We had other animals at our house that we needed to care for, so one of us spent at least half of every day commuting between our home and Sammamish. Finally, we started to talk about staying at home because driving the two hours between our home and Sammamish every day was becoming unreasonable, but we waited one last day anyway, because it didn't feel right to just leave. The dusk and dawn once more passed with no response, and we began to pack up to leave for home. It was the third day. We had everything arrayed on the driveway next to our truck, when my phone rang.

I answered the call, and I heard a calm voice on the other end of the line say "I think your raven is on my deck." The voice said he'd been talking to the raven for about an hour. I asked if she had jesses on her legs and he said yes. I said we'd be right over in a few minutes, and he said he'd keep talking to her. I suggested he feed her cheese crackers and he seemed doubtful. Alan nearly crashed the truck on the way over, but we made it, and we ran around the back of the house where Munin was waiting. She made low, happy croaks as we approached, and flew to Alan's arm the moment he held it out.

Munin was finally returned to us.

The ironic thing in all this is that the guy who saw Munin was too afraid to go outside his door to try and approach her, or feed her treats... he just talked to her through his window from the safety of his house. Memory was returned to us by a very sincere, bird-phobic man. I am deeply appreciative of the lengths to which brave and good-hearted people will go when someone else's heart is on the line.

Now that Munin is home, she seems to have matured. She is a little more confident when flying from place to place, is more unwilling to have us leave her when we're out in strange places, and is much more likely to come to her name quickly. Overall, she seems more confident and relaxed. She seems to have learned some very helpful things out in the world.

(Munin and Hugin are my African ravens.)

[froggish-demeanor]

Válkyrie. Kyrié.

Bits and pieces 2.0 and their redesign.

They had a divine purpose to fulfill. Now they're as free as wind, as free as a bird, as free as a blooming field of piercing blue flowers. Free to roam, expand and learn.

They now bear scars left by magic, their soul is far from being pure, yet they wouldn't have it any other way - as long as they can keep people guessing if they should be addressed as "Mister" or "Miss". Because it's neither. ;)

! There are updates to their LB Arc bits and pieces marked with a cursive red N (for new). The same will be the case with updates for this post.

II. ARC. DIMENSION TRAVELER.

-They/Them

-Uses a different moniker when not in their universe

-- > Transcendental Magpie.

-- > signs as Mx. Cellophane at first, but stops later. (nod to Chicago)

-Used to counteract Merlin and Cyran (Eden) in their universe.

- N Better at their Esperia's rendition of Russian now. Fully trilingual .

-- > now that that's done, they are hopping dimensions, eager to learn everything available. Socialising and mending past wounds (not those on their body, those are there to stay)

-- > friends to lovers with a different universe's Cyran.

-Still severely thalassophobic.

-Still polite and courteous, albeit with a touch of tiredness now.

-Socially inexperienced/unsure

-- > They have theoretical knowledge, but not enough practice (aside from professional relationships)

-Still plays the contrabass, still dances (their hobbies remain adamant)

-SEVERELY burnt out

-(Partially because of ↑that) speaks slower, not as sure in any of the languages that they speak

-Uses their title of Magister more often than they used to in their LB Arc (use, in this context is, for example, when signing something, or when being addressed formally)

-Experience gender dysphoria more often

-- > their most often purchased item is shapeshifting scrolls.

-Might have a mild existential crisis if you ask them about themself (e.g. "Why do you have the soul that you have?" or "Are you mortal?")

-Hugin is the only friend they still have since the Lightbearer Arc. (As both Dionel and Berial have been sealed away.)

-After some time of rest, they will return to politics, now on a higher plane than merely their dimension.

-A bit more open.

-- >but insecure in their ability to befriend someone.

-Less prim and proper. (Sometimes unsure about it too)

-Returns to their homeland more often than the one time they visited during their whole Lightbearer Arc (80+ years)

-A bit scared of the plethora of new feelings that they are experiencing (partially through their interdimensional wanderings.)

Relationship table (will be updated):

V/Arcane Council - despite not having to do much with the rest of the council is now more open to contact and is eternally grateful to all its members (warm, welcome, a part of the council)

N! V/AltDim!Cyran - mutual curiosity leading to mutual trust to friendship and some very uncertain affection from Válkyrie's side (unreciprocated) which they will figure out to have been purely carnal, so they're still unable to love per se and, overtime, get over it. (friendship turned confusion and almost risking break but then it's all good at the end)

V/Overall or Unclear - generally positive towards magisters and other folks from other dimensions but some of them really creep Válkyrie out. Like, REALLY. And they're confused about how to feel about some of them

V/Hugin - oh they're stuck together until either of them kicks the bucket, alright. Best friends, with a bond stronger than any of Válkyrie's morals or Hugin's creations. Very trusting, very respectful. They will definitely go through water and fire together, and then have a drink and a laugh - without any formalities needed - afterwards.

V/Windmaedchen - still besties /j

Yeah, thats Válkyrie for you folks. In roleplays I'll be using them from now on. There will be updates to both posts (bits and pieces 1 and this one.) and I'll make them a world lore post sooner or later. :D

[artemisblackwing]

I mentioned earlier that Munin had an adventure I would tell you about...

The Norse God Odin had two ravens, Hugin and Munin (Thought and Memory) that would fly around the world bringing him the knowledge of the day. What would it have felt like, awaiting their return? This stanza from the Grímnismál speaks of this:

"Over the earth Hugin and Munin set forth to fly.

For Hugin I fear lest he'll not return,

But for Munin my fear is more."

(Note: Since the Norse name Munin translates as "Memory" in English, we call Munin "Memory" when we really want her attention, or when we want her to come to us. Otherwise she'd quickly learn to disregard her name since we talk about her in her presence so frequently. It is best for her to have a common name, and a "secret" name we call her with.)

Munin's Adventure:

We were invited to a picnic down in Samammish with friends, and Munin was the guest of honor. We were all sitting on the grass, munching on chips (Munin loves chips) when she flew from her perch, snapping her leash. We thought she would wait patiently like a dog while we reattached it, but no (only idiots would think this.) She flew off to a nearby tree and then perched there, chatting with us in her croaky voice happily in an infuriatingly unreachable way. Ravens are like this.

Here is where I must confess that she doesn't come to her name well at all. She is very aware that it refers to her, and will turn to us when we call it, but she only flies over if she sees a reason to, and we had already plied her with every delicious snack at the picnic. I admit this is a failure with our teaching.

We waited under her perch for about an hour, getting on with our picnic, offering her treats every so often for which she politely declined to fly down. Then Munin spontaneously to flew towards us as we were distracted by handing people drinks, then away from us beyond our line of sight. That's when I became concerned.

Very clearly, she was having fun, and when ravens have fun you know something terrible is about to happen.

We called to her, and searched, and eventually she started calling back from a distance, the faint feminine croaking muffled by the surrounding trees. We followed the sounds and sighted her in a tree so tall that she was just a black blob against the afternoon sky. She had already attracted a couple of angry crows that were yelling at her to leave. She tried making friendly calls to them, but it takes more than a friendly greeting to convince a gang of racist crows to hang out with a newcomer. She gave up, and started trying to ignore them. She chatted with us when the crows calmed down a bit. We called back to her and she responded while hopping between branches, occasionally pausing to tear leaves off the tree, tossing them into the air so they fluttered to the ground. Trees have a lot of leaves. We figured that this new project would take her some time.

As we watched, the picnic slowly dwindled in size over the hours, as the lengthening shadows weakened the group by attrition. Only the last and most loyal remained as Munin finally spread her wings and soared up into the sky. The dying sun reflected the end of a beautiful day upon her feathers, as she wheeled about in ever-higher, ever-widening circles, separating herself from our desperate cries of "Memory! ...Memory! ...Memory!!! NO!!!!" Could she even hear us through the rushing wind? I don't know.

So the day ended.

We have given Munin the opportunity to hone her flying skills, and she has learned to forage for treats well, often circumventing my attempts to prevent her from stealing. However, ravens with all their brilliance do have a weakness, and that is language. We can show Munin things to teach her about the world, but we can't tell her about something she hasn't seen yet. Bald Eagles for instance, who on rare occasion prey on ravens, are not something Munin is familiar with, and the fact that two such eagles were nesting in a tree right next to the one Munin had been happily playing in was not possible to communicate to her. It was also not possible to tell her that large flocks of territorial crows can knock a raven off course, nor that West Nile Virus is quite deadly. Munin's previous experience in her rather small, easy-to-navigate world has shown her that everyone loves and admires, or at least respects her. She has certainly never met anyone who considers her edible. As individuals, there will always come a time when our beliefs are tested, when our ingenuity is tested, when we face the dangers that lurk behind the borders of our picnic. That moment often defines us, if we survive it.

We did not wait quietly for Munin's return. We posted paper flyers within a two-mile radius, we put about a hundred flyers under the mats of the nearest neighbors, we notified local birding groups, we paid for online ads targeted to local people, and we handed out flyers by hand asking people to post it on their social media accounts or elsewhere online. Also, we made sure someone was always at the property from which Munin had flown who was able to call for her. For good measure, we brought Hugin in a crate and placed him in the center of the garden to help us call for her. I knew that if she heard him she would come to him.

Every day after, we woke up at dawn to search the distant skies for a lone raven, or any bird being harassed by the local crows. We noticed the local birds flew across the sky at about 5am, so we woke up early every day in case she was with them. We called out "Memory!" every time we saw a bird that could have been her. We rarely got responses, but we got enough to hold on to our dwindling hopes that she would return. Actually, it seemed that we were rather torturing the neighbors, who every dawn and dusk would hear banshee-like cries in the distance as we walked to and fro across the grass plaintively shrieking "Memory, Memory..." Phone calls and texts came in with news of any oddly-behaving raven that was spotted, or offers to help look. We had other animals at our house that we needed to care for, so one of us spent at least half of every day commuting between our home and Sammamish. Finally, we started to talk about staying at home because driving the two hours between our home and Sammamish every day was becoming unreasonable, but we waited one last day anyway, because it didn't feel right to just leave. The dusk and dawn once more passed with no response, and we began to pack up to leave for home. It was the third day. We had everything arrayed on the driveway next to our truck, when my phone rang.

I answered the call, and I heard a calm voice on the other end of the line say "I think your raven is on my deck." The voice said he'd been talking to the raven for about an hour. I asked if she had jesses on her legs and he said yes. I said we'd be right over in a few minutes, and he said he'd keep talking to her. I suggested he feed her cheese crackers and he seemed doubtful. Alan nearly crashed the truck on the way over, but we made it, and we ran around the back of the house where Munin was waiting. She made low, happy croaks as we approached, and flew to Alan's arm the moment he held it out.

Munin was finally returned to us.

The ironic thing in all this is that the guy who saw Munin was too afraid to go outside his door to try and approach her, or feed her treats... he just talked to her through his window from the safety of his house. Memory was returned to us by a very sincere, bird-phobic man. I am deeply appreciative of the lengths to which brave and good-hearted people will go when someone else's heart is on the line.

Now that Munin is home, she seems to have matured. She is a little more confident when flying from place to place, is more unwilling to have us leave her when we're out in strange places, and is much more likely to come to her name quickly. Overall, she seems more confident and relaxed. She seems to have learned some very helpful things out in the world.

(Munin and Hugin are my African ravens.)

[huginsmemory]

Thanks for the tag!!! How fun!

No pressure tags as usual: @mothghhost @hellebore-petall @origami10 @crowlore @forgedobsidian @jaz--hands @walluno and anyone who else sees it and wants to!

Saw this tag game today and thought... Hmmm... I make my own strand of it!

Do this picrew!

Do this test!

And post the results. Tag people you like, if you want to!

Tags: @revenantghost, @deludedfantasy, @weirdcat1213, @beelzebby666, @what-immortal-hand-or-eye, @ocelaw

[w-y-r-d]

3. Any tattoos and their meanings?

9. Any tattoos you want?

3. No tattoos yet. I plan on eventually getting some, though.

9. Speaking of, I've been debating on a few ideas... Right now, I'm thinking about getting Hugin and Munin on my back, a bear tattoo in memory of my dad, the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion logo, a valknut, a boo from Super Mario, Blue Öyster Cult's logo, the Dark Sid of the Moon prism, and my favorite math equality, eiπ + 1 = 0. There's probably a few others I'm forgetting, but mostly just little random things relating to my interests :)

[huginsmemory]

Whoever decided the astronomy lab reports are supposed to be long as fuck im going to bash your fucking face in with a brick

[falke-marlowe]

M U N I N - The Raven of Odin - CONCEPT POST

THE RAVEN OF MEMORY AND MIND

Name: Falke Munin Odinson

Age: ???

Sexuality: Homosexual

[ Note - this is a concept character as of now, he is a Supernatural OC as I've only just finished off Season 2 Episode 21. It's also my first viewing. ]

The concept is that one of Odin's ravens is on earth from Asgard, at the moment it's unclear as to how he got there however it is clear he was sent. Similar to what I know of Castiel's introduction.

The personality - he's rather playful even in human form and is often quite distracted. He's extremely intelligent yet comes across a bit of an airhead, and he'll protect anyone and anything that gives him a good vibe. If you respect him, he'll respect you. If you love him, he'll love you.

The story - He's fallen to earth in search of an artifact with his brother, Hugin - Mjölnir. At this point in the story they don't find it whatsoever and Munin proceeds to camp out and try to blend in with the environment around him. With him being a raven - he's often seen playing in the snow and acting out with other ravens. When he's human, he's a biker, constantly on the road and looking for his objective. He's a supernatural entity but he isn't a harmful one. Not one to be detected on any kind of radar until Ash does.

From there, there's a record of where he had been to up until that point. (His Story more or less is stuck at S2 E22 as of now.)

Often his tell is actually in his linguistic abilities, he can speak every language known to man but he's known best to converse in Scandic languages, such as Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic and in some cases: A Uralic language like Finnish will suffice. Especially when he connects with his other self or brother, Huginn.

The Raven of Odin is typically a kind and noble being, but will not hesitate to use force if need be. Especially as Odin did struggle with retaining memory and information from time to time.

Munin was great at that, almost a savant - he could remember a date and time pinpoint, and knew exactly where someone was at each interval in their conversation.

But ironically enough - he's constantly distracted. But don't let that fool your character, he'll pop one in between their eyes if he suspects something's amiss.

If he were to meet the Winchesters he wouldn't exactly be deterred by their presence, thinking they were just ordinary brothers who were on a road trip together until slightly later on when small details don't match up. Say Dean embellishes a story or Sam misplaces a detail - he's going to notice, and will keep a close eye on them from afar.

I also will probably say that this oc will also have MASSIVE inspirations from other pieces of media i.e. SIGNALIS.

That will be a MAJOR inspiration on the character as I'm planning an arc for Muninn and Huginn based on that. Especially regarding FKLR and LSTR, if you know, you know.

Either way, that's the concept post - hope you guys enjoyed.

[huginsmemory]

For the tags: @eshtaresht @spontaneousmusicalnumber @jaz--hands @forgedobsidian @crowlore @macaronitrash and anyone else who wants to do it!

Five Character Poll (tag game)

Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

thank you @jazzandpizzazz for the tag! Starting a fresh post for the sake of length but go vote in theirs here!

I tried to pick a variety of blorbos but boy was it difficult to narrow to five

tagging @linguisticparadox @tedkordisanasshole @organchordsandlightning @mygoodrabbit @halfdoublecrochet !

[noctusfury]

Who Replaced Savage as Alvin's Chief Subordinate? (Defenders of Berk/RTTE)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another HTTYD article! Today, we'll be going into another Alvin/Outcast topic!

Anyone wonder who replaced Savage as Alvin's subordinate after Dagur's defeat at the Defenders of Berk finale? Savage fled after Dagur's capture, and Alvin was left sans a right-hand man. So who took over his position?

I can think of a few people. Though, it could always be somebody that we don't even know. But, for argument's sake, let's start with four likely candidates. With one additional fanon option, which I'll add at the end of this.

The first candidate I'd like to present you as a likely option is this guy in the Riders of Berk episode "Alvin and the Outcasts," where he runs to Alvin, who's in Stoick's place, and reports of having been given reports by Scouts about Bucket and Mulch with a bunch of others heading to Thor's Beach, along with Stoick and a group heading into the forest.

We also see in later on, when he's stranded on Dragon Island with Alvin, Savage, and others.

Personally, I like this guy. He looks like he's got a good head on his shoulders, and he's got a pretty nice voice. Sadly, he doesn't have a name despite having a speaking part since he doesn't have one in the credits. 😔🙏🏻

So let's just call him Hugin, after one of Odin's ravens who reports to him all he finds. 🤷‍♂️

It's hard to tell if we see him in other episodes after this, since it's been awhile since I've watched ROB, and we also have to deal with the multiple Outcast minion clones that resemble him. 😵‍💫

The Second Candidate for the position of Alvin's chief subordinate is this guy, found in RTTE Season 6 episode "Return of Thor Bonecrusher", who talks to the Gang and informs them about the situation, as well as the pike:

Let's call him Cheeky, due to his cheekguards. (I honestly don't know what to say about that helmet. It's not even covering his cheeks but his nose area instead. 💀 Is his beard THAT bushy? 😅)

Now, this could be pure coincidence — again, given the clones DreamWorks Dragons LOVES to duplicate — but we also see him in "Alvin and the Outcasts", along with, I assume, the first candidate I've just mentioned earlier, convening with Alvin in their Great Hall, listening to Alvin's plan about capturing the "Dragon Conqueror".

Judging from this picture above, I'm assuming that he's one of Alvin's subordinates, since usually the only ones allowed to be in-the-know about a chieftain's plans or schemes are those under their retinue: the commanders who lead the men and keep things somewhat civilized and orderly.

Of course, the men in these two pics look different: One looks rather friendly while the other one just above us looks rather stern and focused, as a subordinate ought to be. So this could just be two completely different people. Though that could be that he only gets "that way" — friendly and talkative — when talking about Ice Pike. (That, actually could be very interesting. 😮 A literal ice-breaker, that. 🤭)

So in case I'm wrong, let me clarify: the second candidate is the one we see in "Alvin and the Outcasts," just like this fella here just down below, wearing a... full-faced spangenhelm — the Third Candidate:

Let's call him Helmface.

We also see him in "Return of Thor Bonecrusher," and, if memory serves, he was with Cheeky when he explained the pike, and then threw up when Fishlegs, as Thor, ate one of them raw. 💀

In ROB's "Alvin and the Outcasts," we also see him — or who we assume is him — among those stranded with Alvin.

However, keep in mind that full-helmed goons for Outcasts, Berserkers and Hunters are usually just your run-of-the-mill common soldier. So I may be fully wrong and am just assuming that since the other two subordinates are there that he is also a subordinate.

And now we get to the Fourth and Final Candidate: Mildew.

That's right. Mildew.

As you know, in the ROB finale, as well as Defenders of Berk, Mildew has become an Outcast and serves Alvin. And after learning how to train dragons thanks to Hiccup impromptu dragon training lesson, he uses this knowledge to teach the Outcasts how to train dragons — namely Whispering Deaths and even Changewings.

(I'll be honest, I was rather disappointed that they passed on the opportunity to have a bunch of Outcast Dragon Riders. That would've been much more entertaining. And that would've been an extra nod to the books. That really should've been added. 😢😔)

He's also shown to be really intelligent, not only in being competent in handling the dragons, but also came up with several ideas to deal with the dragons: In ROB's "Dragon Flower," he bought Blue Oleanders which was basically poison for the dragons and thus weakened them considerably (honestly, it would've been great to utilize blue oleander to keep dragons away from certain places or as a type of defensive measure, etc — another lost opportunity); In "Dragons We Trust," Mildew successfully used his dragon tools to frame the dragons and get them banished from Berk, thus leaving Berk open to an Outcast raid (you can read here). In DOB's "Live and Let Fly," "The Iron Gronkle," "Tunnel Vision," and "Worst in Show," Mildew set a plan to destroy Berk from within by using Whispering Death eggs. And, unintentionally, it brought forth the Screaming Death, which gave a much greater challenge to Berk; and he also then suggested using those tunnels made by the Whispering Deaths to sneak into Berk and do whatever they wanted, and was able to capture Meatlug as a result.

And finally, at the end in the DOB finale episode "Cast Out," he was the inside man which helped Alvin and Hiccup to sneak onto Outcast Island and free Stoick and defeat Dagur. I don't know how he got caught, since I'm sure Savage or the other Outcasts should've told Dagur about him, the Whispering Deaths, and the caves. But they either don't know, or, in Savage's case, perhaps he didn't like Mildew's increasing importance within the Outcast Tribe and didn't want him doing the same thing as a Berserker subordinate. Who knows. But that would actually be interesting. 🤔🤷‍♂️ But all we know is that Mildew was one of the few Outcasts who knew about Alvin's return and helped him defeat Dagur.

In conclusion, Mildew is a resourceful and intelligent individual, despite his acrimonious and recalcitrant complaints. He obviously keeps all that to himself while on Outcast Island, since he could lose his head. Or maybe he just genuinely enjoys not being on Berk. Who knows. 🤷‍♂️

According to School of Dragons game lore — and you guys know how much I avoid game and comic lore to the hilt! — Mildew apparently can't stand that there are too many dragons both on Outcast Island and on Berk, and thus travels to a less-populated island called Icestorm Island. This would, of course, disprove this theory that Mildew became Alvin's chief subordinate, if this is true.

So this is up to you guys on whether you wish to incorporate this part of the game lore into it or not. Personally, I don't. So I'll be ignoring this. That being said, though, it WOULD be like Mildew to try to get away from dragons. But in the show, Mildew looked like he was having a soft spot for the Whispering Deaths and all that, so... I don't know. Make out of that what you will. 🤷‍♂️

And thus, my final candidate is a fanon one of my own concoction:

Fishlegs Ingerman.

I had just posted some posts concerning this (see here and here), but Fishlegs after the "The Return of Thor Bonecrusher" would've been the perfect candidate for Alvin. He saved his (Alvin's) life and is very intelligent and strong as an individual. If Fishlegs decided that Berk wasn't the place for him and yearned to do something more or to continue doing something adventurous, joining the Incasts-nee-Outcasts as Alvin's chief subordinate — even heir — and gaining fame and achievements and honor for himself. Personally, I'm really liking this headcanon-cum-theory. 😁

Of heck, it could even be some random character who we aren't aware of. Or even a child or young man that washed up on shore who Alvin had taken under his wing. The sky's the limit!

So in conclusion, there are several candidates who have the potential of being Alvin's chief subordinate. As to who, I'll leave that up to you. Let me know what you guys think. I'd love to see your thoughts on this.

After this post, there will probably be another 3 or so Alvin or Outcasts-related articles before I dive into the Berserkers or other topics! I'll also try to make sure to post the links on my blog so that they'll be readily available.

Thank you very much for reading! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Long Live the Night!

— Noctus Fury

[as-above-rp]

A gift is left for Gale. It's an umbrella, pink with white trim, with a bag of snickerdoodle cookies. The note says "For a Rainy Day. Merry Christmas " with a little star.

Gale turns the umbrella over in her hands a few times. As she's trailing her fingers over the trim with one hand, the other holds the note left for her with the gifts.

She thinks back to the time she first met Artair; both of them were caught in the rain, waiting at a bus stop until the weather let up again. She remembers how he looked then; bundled up and lightly damp on his shoulders, looking at her with bright eyes that were fatigued with years worth of lost sleep. She could tell just by looking at him that he had seen a lot in his mortal life, and sense that there was something more to him that hung around him like a glowing shadow. The swirl of colors that peeked through were vibrant and saturated, glittering through the heavy veil hanging over him. Looking at Artair was like looking through a kaleidoscope pointed at the sun, light cutting through the sharp edges of mirrors and shadow in a dazzling display of refracted light, never the same pattern twice. Gale found herself excited, and eager to see what the patterns would look like they next time they met...

A squawk from the window made her jump in her seat, nearly dropping the umbrella. Startled, Gale turned to the window to see Hugin tapping his beak against the glass. Gale huffed, the hand holding the note now over her chest to still her beating heart.

"Hugin, you scared me!" She puffed, walking over to the window to open it up. The Raven hopped right onto the windowsill, blinking at her a few times before squawking again.

"Gale! Gale red!"

"Red?" Before she could try and figure it out, the raven hopped up her arm until he reached her face, lightly nibbling at her cheek with his beak. Gale giggled and gently pushed his beak away.

"My face?"

"Red!"

Gale touched her hand to her cheek. It did feel a bit warm, now that she thought about it. Hugin cawed at her again, and she smiled at him.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking of someone. Speaking of him, I still have his gift for the season, as well. I should probably give that to him soon..."