#eoa ask

[inamindfarfaraway]

Sofia the First is like if Superman were a Disney Princess and Elena of Avalor is like if Batman were a Disney Princess. Except the Disney Junior shows are truer to the DC superheroes’ themes and spirit than a great deal of media about the superheroes are. I will not elaborate.

[apupcalyptic-art]

Some time ago I had a dream there was a zombie infection going on in Avalor, so I doodled the characters as they appeared in it.

Been making some more pieces from this AU, but I'm not sure this is something anyone here would be actually interested in 😅 Pls let me know if y'all want more!

[dittomander]

What are your thoughts on Isabel becoming Royal Inventor? I know inventing is Isabel’s hobby, but when somebody is titled as “Royal” then that implies that they work for the Royal family. But Isabel is not only part of the royal family, but she is heir presumptive. If Elena dies or abdicates without children, then the throne will pass to Isabel. Isabel’s arc was about learning to become a ruler like Elena. So why make her Royal Inventor, if she could potentially become ruler of Avalor one day?

Narratively speaking, I think it actually makes perfect sense. For starters, while there are certainly themes of leadership in some of Isabel's episodes, I'd argue that her arc is less about becoming a "ruler like Elena" and more about her becoming a leader unlike Elena.

(True to form, long-winded essay below the cut.)

Isabel starts the show as a clingy little kid - from her perspective, she just lost her parents, and she doesn't understand that her sister's new responsibilities mean that she can't spend as much time with her as she used to. A lot of her episodes involve her learning to act independently of Elena. She must develop and defend her own identity, even as she reckons with the limitations of her age.

She goes to school for the first time in "Crystal in the Rough" and struggles to make friends her own age, so she smothers her own identity and tries to just fit in instead. She has to learn to be herself and rely on her own strengths - her skills with math, science, and invention. This episode also gives Isabel her own friend group, independent from Elena and the other amigos. Later, in "Science Unfair", she has to learn to rely on those friends for help. Her sister gives her some advice, but ultimately, she and her new friends finish their project themselves.

Later still in "Class Act", Isabel has to learn to recover from her own mistakes and work with even more people outside of her family, to the point where she's able to teach Elena a lesson about working with difficult personalities in "Norberg Peace Prize". By "Shooting Stars", she's totally confident in her role as a scientist and her ability to give directions related to that role. And in Isa's final focus episode, "Heart of the Jaguar", Elena is literally taken from her, and she must learn to stand up for herself and solve her problems entirely alone.

But even as she learns to become a more independent and confident leader in her own right, she has to deal with the fact that she is still fundamentally Different from her sister. At first, this is largely framed as a function of her age. In "Blockheads" and "Three Jaquins and Princess", she is ignored and doubted because of her youth, though it's her knowledge and ingenuity that solve the problems of the day.

Still, she tries to be one of the "big kids", and in "Sister of Invention", she makes her plea again to be treated as an adult and seen as part of the team. She's ultimately allowed to join the amigos, but it's not because they see her as being like them. In fact, they explicitly say that Isabel can't do what they do... but that they can't do what she does, either. She's allowed to work with them because of her inventions and mathematical skills - that is, because of her differences.

(Arguably, "Science Unfair" has a similar conclusion. Isabel is invited to go to college - that is, invited to join a group of adults - specifically because of her skills with science. Beyond just being her hobby, those skills are at the core of her identity, and they are what tie her to being recognized as a grown-up.)

The point is hammered in further in "Team Isa", where Cristina outright tells her that "you're not Elena and you never will be." Isabel was trying to be a "leader like Elena" and failed, only succeeding when she utilized her and her friends' own unique skills instead of trying to just be like her sister. Isabel and Elena have distinct skill sets, and episodes like "A Gecko's Tale" and "The Family Treasure" emphasize this. Their differing skills allow them to complement each other and give them opportunities to learn, but throughout the show, it's made clear that they are not each other and cannot fully fill each other's roles.

Because again, it's not just that Isa can't do exactly what Elena does. It's also that Elena can't do what Isa does. She tries to handle invention plans in "Sugar Rush", but it only adds to her anxieties, and at the end of the episode, she hands the responsibility off to Isabel, the expert. Elena has to learn to delegate what she can't handle herself.

That's what the Royal Inventor title means. It's respect for Isabel's unique skills. It's an acknowledgement that she's a part of the team. And it's not an act of subordination, but rather a delegation of authority.

So the narrative comes together there. Isabel has gone from a clingy little kid that would hide her interests to fit in to a confident young lady that knows where her skills lie and can be trusted with the responsibility to use them for the kingdom's benefit.

The promotion scene at the end of "Coronation Day" exists primarily for these narrative reasons rather than for making perfect logical sense in-universe. It's meant to showcase how the character arcs have developed - most of them fall apart if you put them under the slightest bit of realistic scrutiny - but if we do want to look at them through that logical, in-universe lens, then frankly, Isabel's promotion probably makes the most sense.

There is a precedent of members of the royal family still working for the royal family. Esteban was chancellor for most of the show and both he and the abuelos were on the Grand Council. None of those three may have had a claim to the throne like Isabel could, but even her claim is pretty meaningless at this point in the timeline.

The only reason Elena had any governing authority as Crown Princess was because there was Literally No Other Ruler at the time. Current heir or not, Isabel won't actually be expected to lead the kingdom unless something happens to Elena, and if Elena ever has kids, then Isa's practically off the roster entirely. So... what's a princess to do in the meantime? Being named Royal Inventor gives her a degree of authority within Elena's court that she may never have otherwise and gives her something to do for the kingdom other than wait around until Elena dies. It's even a job that's in her wheelhouse.

Besides, if Elena does die or abdicate, it's not like being Royal Inventor now somehow cancels out Isa's ability to rule later. Presumably, she'd just ditch the title when she took the throne.

[angelshizuka]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged from you! <33

Picking 5 fictional characters that make me happy, because reality is too depressing lately...

Anna (Frozen)

Elena (Elena of Avalor)

Hiro (Big Hero 6)

Mirabel (Encanto)

Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

[bigfrozensix]

what do you think will happen to Elena after she becomes queen

I'm so sorry for the late reply, had a lot going on.

Though, I'd say the show already did a pretty good job at showing us how Elena would rule as queen, considering we spent 3 seasons watching her rule as crown princess, and how she grew in that role over the course of 4 years.

The real main difference would be she doesn't have a council, but like she said, she still plans to lean on them for advice and support. She will never truly be alone as a ruler.

And honestly, that's also one of the things I love about EOA. I mean, Disney has A LOT of princesses, even some who eventually became queen, but EOA's like one of the extremely rare times we SEE what it really looks like to be the ruler of a country (besides all the pretty dresses and royal status).

Obviously a bit watered down, because it's still an animated "kids show", but I still think it counts.

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

For character ask game: Gabe-1,2,14,18,20

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Aaah it's so difficult to put it into words. I generally really like characters who are "normal" and achieve everything because of their dreams, motivation and hard work and Gabe is literally "just some guy", he's our best look into Shuriki era Avalor and literally, his whole story and character development could have not happened if not for one decision made not even by him, that we didn't even see in the show (him being made Elena's guard) and then if he didn't PUT HIS WHOLE HEART INTO IT!!!

And it's just that, I love how he changed throughout the show, how we see more sides of him and outside of that first promotion, everything that happens to him he has to work for (and tbf he probably had to do something meaningful to become Elena's guard too). He has big ambitions and a big heart which is literally the best combination.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Hmm maybe how he never gives up? He might not believe in himself, he might be beaten or humiliated, it might seem hopeless, but he'll always stand up and fight for what he believes in.

And my second favourite thing is definitely how much he loves his friends and family <3

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Guard uniforms

Zbbdhzhs okay no, I have this one half-serious headcanon that Gabe is actually very knowledgeable in fashion, he just always wears the uniform because it's just the most comfortable given that he's almost always on duty when we see him. And it would probably be easier if I knew anything about fashion

But okay I tried putting together a little visualization!

So I definitely think that Gabe's personal style is definitely very simple and as much as he cares about looking well put together, he doesn't care all that much about what he wears, so what he has in To Queen or not to Queen I think is actually pretty realistic. But if I was to design him a casual outfit I'd say that he takes a lot of inspiration from Antonio Agama, since he's such a great fan of his, so he definitely goes for the "adventurer" vibes. So high boots with tucked in pants, a simple shirt with rolled up sleeves, except I'd give him a neckline more similar to Naomi's and an ascot, like Mateo's except maybe tied more loosely (he bonds with Mateo by going ascot shopping together.) As for colors I'd put him in warm, earthy tones - browns, beige, red, maybe some khaki, and navy for more elegant occasions (yes, because of his uniform)

And I know that's not what the question was about but I also started thinking about his style in the sense of modern fashion.

I think he'd still dress in a kind of military-but-casual style, he wants his clothes to be practical first and foremost. I allowed myself to give him a bit more accessories, since again, he's not flashy but a watch is just a useful thing to have. The paracord bracelet I imagine was a gift from some friend who thought that he should accessorize more XD and he wears it because hey, you never know when you might need a piece of rope. Also Gabe strikes me as the type to always be warm, so it's t-shirts for him for the majority of the year, but he'd look great in a biker jacket, you can't convince me otherwise. (Bonus not included: given how big of a fan of Antonio Agama, he definitely owned an Indiana Jones type of hat at some point and thought it made him look so cool. He still wears it sometimes when he's out of town with his closest friends and it kind of grew into an iconic part of his wardrobe between them.)

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

His friendship with Elena! Cause really, it's so diverse, since it's so full of contradictions and they're basically opposites in many aspects, but through all of this they just care for each other so much and it's just- A

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Ricoooooo

I'll be sharing my "Gabe and Rico are friends" propaganda until the day I die, I fully believe they are friends and in fact have been almost since the beginning of Gabe's time in the guard (okay, so maybe they weren't that close pre The Curse of El Guapo, but I still think they were at least work friends and definitely became closer with time, you can pry their friendship from my cold dead fingers)

Thank you so much for sending this ask!! As you know, I love talking about Gabe zbsggs

Ask game

[glorytoukraine2022]

character ask

For Carla 2, 13 and 14

Shuriki for 12 (i am curious) and 30

@phantom-of-the-ruckus

Carla:

2. “Snow Place Like Home” was around the first time that Carla and Victor started to intrigue me. Before that, they were just typical, power hungry villains for me. But I think it was when Ash betrayed Carla and Victor that I really started to become invested in their characters and truly consider the possibility of them being redeemed. The possibility had never occurred to me before then, but by the end of “The Magic Within”, I became genuinely intrigued by the idea of a reformed Carla.

13. Favorite relationship? That’s a tough one, especially since I don’t have a favorite fir Carla. I could go on and on for hours about how much I love Carla’s strong bond with Victor. It was because of the deep love that they both held for each other that led her and Victor to happier, healthier path and a stable future for themselves in Avalor.

Yet of course, everyone knows how much I love Carteo. Even though Carla’s main relationship in the show is with Victor, there is no denying that Carla’s relationship with Mateo also developed overtime, on screen and off. Carla mispronouncing Mateo’s name throughout the show is a metaphor for how little or much she cares about Mateo in that point in time. Whenever she would call him “Mataeto” it would show that she genuinely did not care enough about Mateo’s feelings correctly pronounce his name, despite it clearly bothering him.

That is why that brief moment between Carla and Mateo during the fight against Team Ash is so significant. Not only doesn’t Carla pronounce his name correctly, but she does so in a moment of worry and concern for him when Mateo is knocked off of Luna by Ash’s responding attack. If you look closely at Carla’s movements, facial expressions, the urgency in which she runs to him, it is clear that her feelings towards Mateo have shifted and grown in the time since her redemption. Carla cares about Mateo, and nobody can convince me otherwise.

14. Carla’s storyline is one of the most powerful storylines that I have seen in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, Elena’s is too, but reformed villains have always managed to wiggle into a place in my heart that even the heroes can’t. Carla and Victor’s story is a testament to just how powerful love is, and that biological family isn’t always a guarantee for unconditional love. It is the family that loves and stand by you that matter in life. These themes resonate deeply with my own life.

Shuriki:

12. I don’t have a sexuality headcanon for Shuriki (sorry) since I don’t think about a character’s sexuality as often as most people tend to do. Sexuality is a very sensitive issue across fandoms, and one that I usually like to stay out of when it comes to fictional characters.

Thanks for the ask and I hope you enjoyed!

EDIT @phantom-of-the-ruckus

My profuse apologies for leaving out ask 30! I don’t know how I missed it!

I wanted to capture some annoyed expressions of Shuriki. Her disguise for the Sunflower Festival is also hilarious!

[lieutenant-amuel]

Hey. You know, today's the 7th anniversary of the Olaball episode (and the first Gabe episode). The Disney wiki is celebrating on their twitter/X.

Seven years since Roberto has accepted that Gabe is a Royal Guard! It’s worth celebrating.

[a-lilacsong]

Are you still taking requests? If so, can you please draw a crossover between Elena of Avalor and Encanto?

They are having fun making music together!

[tale-of-two-queens]

Small concepts of magic

I just got my lower teeth braces on, and my upper braces adjusted. I am a bit dizzy, so I'll try to make an easier type of post before I finished the sketch I was doing last night.

So, I decided to just sit around and brain rot into exploring the magic system into the show and think more about into how the magic actually works and a small difference within Wizards and Sorcerers and other cultures perhaps (as they are the only different type of witch in the show, and is imply that they do magic differently. They are from the same word but I guess the world building is implying they are different due to wands, but I'll try my best to make a difference)

The elements of magic would be too big of a subject to explain alone, and I don't have everything down yet, but do feel free to bring down ideas or ask questions.

Overview:

Magic is a powerful source that is drawn by the fourth elements: Fire, Earth, Air, and water. They all co-exists in harmony and have different variants and creatures (E.i: mythical Creatures like fairies, rock monsters, and in technicality the Chanus, tho they fall more into the spiritual type, but you get the point.) Each element has its own branches depending on the different type of uses or how they were created (E.I healing herbs and poison). There are also mixes of these elements with unique set magic that can have some major power depending on the source, hence why crystals are considered powerful due to being a mix of fire and earth magic (Takaìna is powerful due to being filled with magic that is both from Earth and Fire, due to how crystals are formed.) Although this type of magic is powerful, a balance to be reached or it would become harder to wield (more in other sections.)

Magic used by magic users depends, but it's usually from a middle and neutral ground. Some magic users tend to lean more towards a certain branch, but it depends on their culture (E.I: Satu's magic most likely delivers more into the earth/water and spiritual type of magic, whereas more eastern like culture based themselves more into the fire type of magic or the neutral one.) It all depends on the culture and respective kingdoms and the level of importance magic withholds.

In some cases, there are kingdoms/empires where magic is mostly used as an accessible tool and is thought as basic knowledge but it is not furthered down unless it is about teaching upcoming magic users. Other kingdoms/empires don't rely much on magic, so it is not taught, but do have a royal witch/wizard/magic withholder in charge; some are less adamant into having one, as other cultures may not be as connected with magic, or rely on other forms of magical protection. There are also kingdoms/empires that are more tied with magic, but is treated as a thing of quite importance or a very sacred thing (This is where the spiritual type of magic comes to be the strongest)

Although the witches, wizards, warlocks, and sorceress are, arguably, considered to be synonyms, in cultures they are particular different from one another and many thaumaturgists believe there is a possibility of major differences. Magic User is considered a neutral term.

Status of magic users

The status of a magic user really depends on where they are, the culture they are on, sometimes but rare their societal status, their level of magic maestry, and in small cases their blood status (this goes deep into the more traditional cultures.)

Royal wizards/witches/magic users are the highest ranking wizards (unless one is an actual ruler, like in the Northern Islands with Empress Sokushi). They are usually chosen due to these factors or qualifications (number of placement does not matter FYI):

Family. - Normally, the tittle is an inherited title. If a magic user has a family (as it's preferred but not an obligated), it is their duty to train and prepare the next magic user that will take their place. If a magic user does not have a family, they will help the king chose.

Power - Most rulers would prefer more skilled magic users, but there are rulers who want a powerful magic user to assist in protection. What is considered a powerful magic user varies and is up to definition.

Skill - Skill is one of the biggest requirements for a magic user to enter the royal wizard/witch/magic user title. Rulers will pick out the best and the most skilled users

Magic proficiency- The best of the best usually can control magic with ease and smoothly cast their spells without any issues at all. Magic for a proficient magic user is like using a day-to-day tool.

Knowledge- Knowledge constantly grows and expands, but another of the big requirements is to at least have some good knowledge about all four elements of magic and the most important branches of it. A magic user is expected to expand their knowledge of magic.

Loyalty - This is more of an ought, but loyalty is an important aspect for rules when picking their magic users, they want to be sure that their magic users will always stay by their side

Shaman- This is a thing that mostly depends on the culture, for example in more spiritual leaning regions, magic users work as advisors or spiritual aids to Rulers to advise them and help them. I am not sure where this type of culture would fall, so feel free to drop ideas.

Although the royal magic user tittle (I legit I don't know a less awkward way to call it) is considered one of the highest tittles, in other cultures or places being a magic user is already a highly respected profession and is usually tied with some high status, but it does vary based on what the cultures believe a powerful wizard is.

We don't know much about the Northern Islands, outside that Shuriki was from there and was a sort of powerful figure from what Craig Gerber said, but this is my take on the Islands based on what we know about Shuriki's character. The Northern Islands is the best example into sorcery being highly respected and being considered to be in an upper level (but that varies from the different islands subcultures, but magic in general is a super important thing.) Sorcerer and Sorcerers are highly educated and talented individuals with magic. I'll make a session dedicated to a bit of the Avalorian Magic system and the Northern Island type of system.

In other cultures, for example like tropical kingdoms as Avalor and Paraiso, wizards (I guess enchantress is the female variation, but wizard is neutral too) it is not rare or unusual to see magic being fractionate, but magic is more of a cultural thing and something that represents them. So, it is often respected (not in the level of the Northern Islands type of respect), but is rather more of a job with different variations (the highest being a royal wizard)

In other cultures, as mentioned before, there is the spiritual and guidance type of magic users. Their roles work mostly as guides, as magic does allow users (or people that happened to hold some magic) to see spirits both good or bad. So, this is where the spiritual magic branching (which I am unsure where to categorize, but I'll say maybe in the hybrid types of magic) comes from. Spiritual magic users are more focus into magic connections to the spirit worlds, but also using their magic to seal and protect evil spirits. Generally they are considered to be high level magic users, but they don't really take their status as important since their main goal is protection.

In other cultures, magic or wizards are considered not a welcoming force, or some waste of time, so it is not often encouraged or welcomed.

Wizards vs Sorcerers (Small mention of other magical users too)

Look, EOA confuses me to no end about what the hell is the difference from sorcerers and wizards, and wands vs Tamboritas. So, this will be my best take into trying to make sense of how does this work as they legit have a sorceress character who wasn't even allowed to do magic because...well she didn't have a freaking wand and we just got to see her use like 3 spells excluding the magical Botox XD (I won't take the she was just lazy or is not that powerful excuse, the show never allowed her to show more cool spells but she legit is a very skillful and resourceful fighter. It frustrates me to no end how much they show just wasted her character. Anyways, small rant aside the small rant aside-) oh and we also had an ancient sorceress but...she didn't do much outside creating animal monsters (and I'll be real, she was a bland character in my opinion)I know STF has some magic as well but...this will make things harder to work on than it is. I am aware it is the same universe, but I am leaning towards Elena of Avalor (mostly because this is more about the show's magic system + I want to avoid migraines and not take too much at once)

So wizards and witches, as I mentioned before, are arguably synonyms from each other (as the words sorta share the same term) the show makes it sorta clear that is a different thing as we have wizards, malvagos, and sorceress (plural) and apparently they are different from each other, mostly into how they do magic which was never explored, so this is the section where I try to make a sense of things. I swear that I tried to get some info into the difference within them, but it is a bit confusing, so this is my best take in trying to differentiate them because well...the show sure did not!

Although the terms of Wizard, witches, enchantress, sorcerer, warlocks, etc…are close into the branch of magic, some cultures tend to embrace different names identities. It all depends on the culture, but it is believed that these names are also tied within how the magic is practiced or acquire. It all depends on the cultural names, but the titles are abroad.

Wizards is a term used for someone who crafts and learned how to use magic. Most wizards were not born particularly within magical abilities (but some do, but it depends on the culture.) Most wizards use magical artifacts to craft from well one or some of the elements of magic (like tamboritas being crafted from magical crystals)

Sorcerers are individuals who were born with magic (in other cultures they can be trained, but mostly they are considered magical beings) Normally, sorcerers use staffs or wands, but unlike wizards (who use their magical artifacts to do magic) they use their artifacts to channel their own magic or to maintain a magical balance. Sorcerers can channel a bit of their own magic, but this is a rare and harder type of magic that other magical users can do with ease (but in a sense this would be more about witches and spirit channeler type of magic users.)

There are other types of magical users like those who use their magic using a spiritual familiar like a fox or snake (slowly working on figuring out how it would work), use seals as a form of "magic" (but is mostly as an exorcism type of ting). There are also Warlocks who make a pact with magic itself to get their powers (is in the form of a ritual or cultures that are linked with magic) We also have witches who are magic users that don't require any sort of artifact to channel their magic, but often their powers can be limited due to the magic balance. Enchantress also exists, but they are more link towards being part of the familiar branch of Fairies (magical creatures) whose magic is more linked towards the air and fire elements (example the Enchantress from "Beauty and the Beast")

Anyways, wizard and sorcerers in a sense are closely related and are about the same level of power, but their studies differ depending on certain factors. Sorcerers focus more into spell casting as well as potion making (which requires their use of magic), but their major studies are about channeling magic. Wizard studies focus more into learning new ways to expand the way they do magic, and some work closely to working with one of the elements of magic. Their major studies are usually related to ancient magic history.

Some similarities within them, is that both heavily rely on an artifact to do their magic. They of course have different spells and do magic differently, but overall they need an artifact to do their magic spells. Also, some wizard and sorceress take interest into the crystal channeling or have some knowledge about crystals and its magic. Only individuals who are magical by birth or have magic inside them can fully channel the magic or naturally absorb it as magic is like energy. It can be moved but never destroyed.

Also, sorcerers and wizards cannot interchange wands or tamboritas (more into that) this is more about the inner magic and magical bond one has with their respected artifacts. Sorcerer and wizard magic is different, since Sorcerers only channel their magic, wizards "make" their magic.

There are also dark sorcerers and wizards. Most notorious in kingdoms like Avalor or Paraiso, these are called Malvagos.

Wizards vs Malvagos

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to show writing is the whole light= good and darkness= bad. This is not the case, and there is not such thing as good or bad magic. Magic comes with different sides, which includes a darker type of magic that is actually leans into the really dark practices (which can be used for good things) as the light type of magic that focus on a lighter type of practices (that can be still be used for evil things.)

Wizards is a term that reflects into the users that prefer to work on the light spectrum of magic, and refuse to work or touch the dark practices. There are those who play into a middle ground, but that requires skill and balance (this is mostly seen used by the shaman type of wizards.) Anyways, wizards usually tend to be good people who use magic for good, there are exceptions who use the magic for evil.

Malvago is a term that reflect into users that prefer to work in the darker spectrum of magic, or/and has no interest or refused to work into the lighter side of magic. These users are mostly the type of evil wizards who use their magic for evil. Some Malvagos use their dark magic for good, but usually don't prefer to be called a Malvago as is a play on words of Mal/malvado (evil, or wicked in Spanish) and mago (mage/wizard in Spanish), so some just go with magic users or spell casters.

Now, malvagos and wizards can use either side of magic, but is harder for them due to using the opposite side of the spectrum, so majority doesn't see it as worthy. Others do take the opportunity to change their branches of magic. So Malvagos can become wizards, and wizards can become Malvagos.

I'll say that practicing darker magic is harder due to the real harm or messed up stuff in some of the studies and spells it can do are messed up. This is mostly why Shaman type of wizards believe in maintaining a certain balance as one side can be heavier than the other.

Malvagos can channel their magic into other individuals and turn them into malvagos, but then they'll have to be trained to be a proper malvago. Wizards can do the same, but it requires full maestry (something that Mateo didn't have when he took Olivia)

The magic spectrum, Tamboritas, and wands

I'll talk more a bit into the magic spectrum. Each element, their branches, and the mix elements have their unique set of uses, and well misuses (but that doesn't mean necessarily dark magic) as well as a spectrum into what magical energy can be channeled.

The magic spectrum is some sort of light to dark value. We have the lightest side the darkest side, each containing certain levels of magic that can be a slightly darker or lighter. It all depends on which side of the spectrum, but to make it easier to understand:

The light to lighter grays is the type of magic that we usually see the protagonists or wizards like Mateo use

The darker grays to dark is the type of magic we usually see malvagos like Fiero using.

The grays are spells that are a bit harder to categorize, but usually are in the middle. Some lean more towards the darker types of magic and some lean more towards the lighter expectrum.

Darker magic tends to be more wild than light magic, so it's normally the hardest one to practice that requires skills and power to tame.

Since sorcerers are born with magic, they usually can go back and forth within using the light and dark spells, but to some extent. Darker spells require lots of power and special skills rather than light magic, as darker magic is wilder, so just as wizards and Malvagos, each take their preference into what type of magic they will master.

There are few cases where some chose to do a mix of both (which is my headcannon into Shuriki's spells knowledge), but it requires lots of discipline and skill. This is sorta taught to sorcerers in the Northern Islands.

Ok, with the whole magic spectrum out of the way, let's dive into the tamboritas and wands!

Tamboritas, as in the show's cannon, are carved by wood and use a crystal called "Chispas" to properly help wizards channel the crystal's magic. Tamboritas come in some variety and can be used by other wizards only (Sorcerers cannot use them as their magic will reject them). These are considered practice/training tamboritas.

There are personal tamboritas, but these are bonded to their owners just as wands are (this will be explained a bit into the next session.) It is normal for a wand or tamborita to refuse to work for another user, as the magic has formed a link within their user. If the object is destroyed, then the magical bond is set free and returns to original state.

Wands come from different variety. There are of course the training wands for sorcerers in training, and the personal wands that sorcerers use. In some cultures and regions wands are crafter by sorcerers or other magical entities and gifted to sorcerers who complete their training. Usually, Sorcerers are the ones to create their own wands (Which is a tradition in the Northern Islands.)

Tamboritas and Wands have their own different set of spells. Tamboritas use the knowledge that is more focused on Maruvian ancient scriptures, while wands use magic and scriptures from dead long languages like Latin. Since wands channel their owner's inner magic, they cannot share their magical bond like wizards of Malvagos do because they rely more of the "Chispa."

Balance and magical bonding

There is a phenomenon in magic, that usually is tied with people born with magic or people who happened to hold magic (like in Elena's case, who absorbed some of the magic from the amulet), this phenomenon does occur to wizards and Malvagos as they form a link with the magic they use. This phenomenon is called "Magical Bonding" (so original, I know XD) which refers to a user's own magic bonding with the individual.

They are familiar bonds, which are basically family magic bonds that allow in certain cases magical artifacts to be shared. This can derive from family through blood or the artifact sharing the same place of creation.

So, the link forced within an artifact with a user will respond to that user only. This is some of the natural ways magic itself creates balance within the users and itself. It gives the opportunity for users to practice and form a strong bond with the type of magic they use, but they will be tied to it unless the artifact is destroyed, and it will take a while for them to reconnect.

Bonds can be forged but they are rare and hard to achieve.

Some bonds vary, as training tamboritas or wands tend to have a weaker magic link, so anyone can truly use them with proper training. Personal Tamboritas and wands (as well as other artifacts) have a stronger magical bond, so they will only respond to their respective owner, or a type of familiar bond if a magic user's artifact was created from the same source (hence why Esteban could use scepter)

This was the case with Ash and Elena with the scepter of light. Elena's magic and the scepter magic formed a strong magical bond, so the scepter only responded to Elena herself and rejected Ash's magic but not Esteban's because:

The magic does take a bit of a small part, but usually crystal magic is powerful that tends to reject any other sort of user unless the artifact or magic share a familiar bond.

The bond it had with Elena, rejected Ash's magic.

Magic has a natural balance, so light and dark magic cannot take big leaps that easily, so this is also why the scepter refused Ash.

Shuriki's Scepter of night is a rarer case. Magic has different branches, but not every branch of magic can easily connect, specially if the magic is from different cultures, which tends to result into a crash as not every artifact or magic can be simply mixed and matched (another set of magical balance) The scepter of night was broken down by Alcazar, so the magical bond within was released. After Shuriki got the scepter, she formed a magical bond that gave her access to the Maru magic, something that she can do, but it requires a powerful source as the link within the magic is not as powerful due to her inherit magic sorta not getting along with the scepter's magic, which explains why she had a harder time and had a weaker use of the scepter.

Anyways, magical balance is basically give and take. If you ever want to use magic, you will have to give up time to make a link, and if it disappears then you will have to do it again. If a sorcerer's wand is destroyed, some spells will get reversed. The scepters work exactly like that, also because the greater the magic the created to drawn. So the users will have to give up their own energy in other to balance out the greater magic they use.

Northern Island's magic and Maru (Magic often found in Avalor), and Crystal magic

This will be the final portion, as this was a bit exhausting to write, but the later three would be concepts that I would want to explore the most in my AU but also in my ideas in general XD

So let's start with the crystal magic. As I mentioned from the beginning, Crystal magic is a mixed magic within the elements of Fire and Earth. Since is a mix, crystals make great powerful sources, specially if they are bigger, which they radiate energy on their own.

Only magic users who are either born with magic or have some magic within them, can absorb the magic auras for their entity, but this is limited power as it will require a sort of method to transfer that energy as magic itself can be too powerful and unstable.

Elena got some magic from the Takaina when she fell as she had some magic within her and it radiated but transferred into her dress and scepter. So her emotions magic tended to be something a bit unstable due to the crystal's power being too much. Esteban is a unique case as the magic transferred into his staff and a bit into him, so he shared the same type of magical bond as Elena due to both getting some magic from Takaina.

Crystal magic still a bit of concept in the process, but just as the elements, crystal magic has its own branches and uses. Not every Crystal works the same or would be powerful enough to force a wand.

There are some crystals that work as seals and restoration (which was Marimonda's jewel), others for healing, and some meant to be used as transfer magic (which is where the crystals for wands and tamboritas are used)

There are also protection gems and crystals, which was what the amulet of Avalor was made of.

Always, the Avalorian Magic (which is Maru as well, but for clarity’s sake I'm referring to as Avalorian magic) and the Northern Island's bond. I believe that magic creates balance with itself to limit the magic users, so not anyone can fully access a certain type of magic unless they inherited or were not a magic withholder but absorb it, so everyone has limited access to certain types of Magic as it would be wicker.

Shuriki was able to use the crystals meant for craft, as she made a crystal wand (which is not necessary tied to Avalorian magic, but mostly work as a method to transfer her magic), and the scepter of night allowed her to form a small bond, but it wasn't as strong as Elena's due to her inherited magic from her parents (Since I headcannon her as half Satu, she has a bit of Satu magic but her Norther Island magic is more predominant. I'll explain it better in the future)

So, the scepter of night gave her harder problems because it was two different types of magic trying to coexist and bond, but it formed a weak link to the Scepter having a different set of Magic other than hers.

The scepter of night would have completely rejected her if Victor, Carla, or Fiero were to put it together first, since they would respond better to Avalorian blood than Northern Island and Satu blood.

The same thing would happen if an Avalorian Wizard or Malvago ever tried to mingle with Northern Island magic, the magic would immediately reject them unless it doesn't have a bond, so they can make one but it would not be as strong.

There are some few cases where both magic can bond, which would be basically the whole gray areas, so that sort of bond is a bit stronger, but it really depends on the type of use. The strongest tends to be channeling magic, as is basically magic just passing though.

[locitapurplepink]

hi it doesn't matter but look I have propaganda for elena and naomi

LOOK AT THEM!!!! the pining is real!!!

Aww, their friendship is a great one 😊

I actually never have been finished watching all the seasons of Elena of Avalor for few years so when I feel bored, I rewatched this series and can't stop to making more gifs right now 😅

[phantom-of-the-ruckus]

Make me choose: Victor or Shuriki?

Hiya!

Sorry for the delay, had to take care of my mental health.

Umm this one is a hard one lol. Choosing between one of my favorite animated dads and blorbos and my ultimate favorite Elena of Avalor villain (who has been a comfort character for me for many years)?

I have to say both lol.

Victor is everything in what I love for an animated dad to be. He is a bit of a goofball, he is very loyal to his family, he prioritizes the well-being of his child and even had to keep his anger towards Ash from Carla herself. Victor is such an underrated character with so much potential that often just gets overshadowed by Esteban and his arc.

Look as much as I love the bestesteban, I got to admit he is a little overrated. Esteban is a great morally gray character and I'll say an anti-hero too due to doing heroic things both for good and for selfish reasons. I get that he's well written but like, we got other good characters like Victor who is just in the corner.

Now for Shuriki

We all know I adore my evil Northern Island sorceress. I enjoy Shuriki as a villain. As much as I love complex villains with complicated morals that are not truly evil but not truly good, I do enjoy a pure cynical ball of pure evil and that's Shuriki for me. She had a lot of character potential and honestly other sides to explore. I was curious at that small glimpse of self-doubt during her scepter practices.

I was also curious to see the relationship she had with Fiero (Not in the romantic sense because I do NOT like that ship) which had a great potential of a dynamic that could parallel Elena and Mateo's wholesome friendship but the twist is that these two are using "keep your friends and enemies closer"

Honestly, I found interesting the idea of Shuriki being like the other side of the coin of Elena, like they're connected by the also wasted potential in the two scepter stories.

I just feel this characters don't tend to be work a lot in the fandom due to being overshadowed by characters like Esteban and Ash.

Thank you so much for the ask, my dude!

[dittomander]

Hi Ditto! Me and my friend are currently drafting EOA stories to write together. I want to be creative and come up with my own fun (and angsty) magical challenges for the protagonists to face. But I am worried that many of the ideas that I have either don’t fit into EOA magic system, or are influenced by the magic systems of other fairytale worlds, which have their own unique magic systems/rules that are different than EOA. How can I make sure that my ideas fit within the EOA magic system?

Without knowing any of the specifics of what you're looking to include, it's hard to tailor my advice, but in general, you probably don't have to worry too much about fitting with the established system. EoA plays pretty fast and loose with its magic, especially in season 3, and will add extra rules and contradictions as needed to move the story the way it needs to be moved.

(As an example, akatok is permanent after sunrise until they need Fiero running around again and they give Mateo a way to reverse it, and Elena's scepter powers drain her energy until she falls into Takaína, and then they don't drain her anymore until she breaks her arm, and magic requires careful training and use of a wand to be effective, oh except for all those times they had Naomi cast spells without any of the above, and—well. You get the picture. Don't even get me started on all the contradictions in the malvago system. Or do, I guess.)

That said, new rules as the plot demands works well enough for a Disney Jr. show—young kids are pretty notoriously good at 'making things up as they go along', and probably aren't too concerned about those moments of inconsistency—but I suspect your target audience is quite a bit older than the show's and slightly more likely to notice when things just aren't jiving. With that in mind, I'd argue that fitting with the established EoA magic system is less about stressing over what is or isn't consistent with the existing lore and more about making sure your new stuff makes sense when compared with itself.

For that, my recommendation would be the following three principles:

1. Keep it Simple

The more complicated you make a magic system, the more room there is to poke holes in it. Think of a machine—the more parts there are to maintain, the more potential points of failure it has, and the more time and effort you have to put into doing that maintenance.

EoA doesn't actually explain a whole lot about how magic "works". Wands and scepters get their power from crystals because certain crystals are just magical; certain creatures have magic powers because they just do; magic is present because it just is. People are generally willing to suspend disbelief for magic—you expect it to exist in a fantasy story, and so you're willing to accept the answer "because it's magic" to any questions about its base mechanics.

But the more often someone finds themselves asking "why?", the less satisfying that answer gets. An easy solution to this is to just have fewer things that require asking about. Sure, EoA has a lot of magical creatures and entities, but they all have very simple, discrete lists of powers. Noblins can turn into dogs, blow gusts of wind, and turn things into gold because That's How Noblins Work, but that's the extent of their list. Marimonda can control plants because She's Marimonda, but plants are pretty much her one thing. Even characters like Elena and Mateo, who regularly learn new spells over the course of the show, have fairly simple systems for doing so: they need the spell to cast and something to cast with, they're limited to the spells they know, and each spell has a singular effect.

Little of EoA's magic is explained, but it's made easy to keep track of. It's hard to complain about llévaluq making things float when like. It's just a levitation spell. Zuzo can do spirit stuff because, well. He's a spirit. He's allowed to do some spirit-y stuff. And anyone questioning the presence of magic in a fantasy series is probably not looking at it in good faith.

(If you'd like more examples of the kind of magic EoA already has, I have a detailed list of all magical effects and entities in the show as my pinned post.)

Notably, it's when EoA actually tries to explain things that problems start arising. I was fully prepared to accept the simple explanation of "malvagos are just evil wizards" that the show gave us in "Spellbound", except then they tried adding rules governing how malvagos are made and what makes them different from regular wizards and well then I had some questions! (What do you mean only dark magic can reverse dark magic—Mateo's been doing that since season 1! What even is "dark magic" in this context—there's never been a functional difference in magic "types" or "elements" before!! What—ok no I'm not gonna repeat the whole essay where I broke all that down. I already linked it in the first part of this post.)

Basically, I'd advise that when in doubt, under-explain before you over-explain, and keep magical effects straightforward and easy to remember. Doing so reduces the chances of writing yourself into a plot hole, and will also help you to...

2. Keep it Consistent

People can suspend disbelief for the existence of magic because it's magic, but that doesn't mean that believability can stretch forever. In general, once you establish a rule for your magic system, you're going to want to stick to it, as failing to do so is going to cause confusion and get people asking "why?" again.

Consider the Noblins from above. Sure, they can turn things to gold because they just can—plausible enough. But that plausibility would decrease if they suddenly started turning things into chocolate one episode instead. Why the sudden difference? Did something cause that? Is this something they could always do and they just only brought it up now? Questions upon questions—ones that can expose the bones of the story. Oh, of course the Noblins suddenly revealed they have the chocolate touch when the Great Avaloran Chocolate Contest comes to town, isn't that convenient. Stuff like that can make it obvious when the rules are changing not because the author found creative ways to work with the magic system they've built, but simply because they couldn't figure out how to get the magic to work for their plot otherwise.

Magic can do whatever you want because it's magic, but that doesn't always mean it should. Put too much strain on a reader's suspension of disbelief, and "because it's magic" starts to sound an awful lot like "because I said so."

And no one likes being told "because I said so."

Now, this doesn't mean there can't be any deviation in how a certain type of magic works. As Mateo gets better at casting llévaluq, the size and amount of stuff he can be levitating at once increases. But llévaluq never suddenly stops being a levitation spell. Elena learns new scepter spells at convenient times, but they're all related to the scepter's core function of manipulating light. And it could be totally plausible that a particularly skilled Noblin could control how much of an object they turned to gold—the rule of "Noblins turn things to gold" is not violated, and it allows more variation in Noblin-related plots.

And then, of course, there are exceptions to rules. The exceptions are great ways to highlight the exceptional or adjust the stakes of a story beat, but throwing them in arbitrarily can strain believability, and overusing them can render the rule they except moot. And generally, an exception expects an explanation, and as discussed, more explanations can lead to more issues.

As an example, an established rule in EoA's system is that wizards need wands in order to cast. But there are multiple points in the show where we see a brief display of wandless magic from wizards like Zopilote or Alacazar, who are noted to be especially powerful wizards. Their violation of the rule helps inform us of their exceptional skill. The exception makes far less sense when we see Naomi doing magic without a wand, because we know she has no training as a wizard—it feels like something thrown in because the writers couldn't come up with a better way to use her knowledge of Maruvian rather than a sensible addition to the magic system.

As another example, consider how EoA handles permanence. Our first introduction to the idea of a permanent spell is akatok, but then Mateo learns how to reverse it. Okay, that's fine—he's grown more skilled since the start of the show and it's acceptable that he'd find a way around the earlier established rule. Same sort of thing when El Guapo is introduced—we're told no one's figured out how to reverse his curse, implying at least a degree of permanence, and then Mateo gets around that one, too. And then Cahu's magic is framed as permanent, only for Elena to undo it at the end of "Coronation Day."

The idea of a magical effect that's arbitrarily permanent because it's magic is fine, as is the idea of finding an exception to the permanence rule. But what's happened here is a pattern—a rule is introduced that some effects are permanent, and then that rule is repeatedly broken. So... what's the value of the rule, then? If the rule is going to be broken with such regularity, then why should an audience believe it still holds true in situations where an exception isn't introduced, for example, when we're told that the sirena transformation is permanent? After a time, "permanent effects can be reversed by the right magic" becomes the new rule, and to insist that "no really, this one actually is permanent, we really mean it this time!!!" just sounds like an artificial way to raise the tension. Which brings me to...

3. Keep an Eye on Your Stakes

There's a delicate balance to strike with a story's stakes, where they should be kept high enough to keep things interesting, but not be so high that overcoming them requires a deus ex machina. Magic can easily be a nasty wrench in a writer's plans in that regard. You generally don't want magic to trivialize a problem, which will generally require adding some rules to it, but you also don't want those rules to feel hamfisted or contrived. Even if they only exist to place a convenient limit on the magic, they shouldn't feel like that's the case.

Healing magic is kind of the classic example. If someone has a spell that's established to instantly and reliably heal any injury, no matter how severe, then a scene of said spellcaster lamenting that they just don't know how to help their injured and dying friend just feels kinda silly. If they cast the spell right away, then any tension brought by the injury deflates, and if they don't cast... why? They have a solution to the problem, so why aren't they using it? Creating more rules governing how the healing spell works can avoid this, but they should be straightforward and applied consistently, so that they don't feel like they were added solely for the sake of making that one scene more dramatic.

I.e., if the spell requires some ultra-rare reagent in order to cast, then ok—it's understandable why they may be unable to cast at the drop of a hat. But if we never see that rule enforced anywhere else, or at least not to any meaningful consequence, the sudden emphasis on it can feel forced. Or if this mega-healing spell isn't used anywhere else and seems to only exist to make sure that character doesn't die... then maybe that scene should be revised so the injury is less severe, and the healing spell should be removed entirely.

For an example from the show, llévaluq could have trivialized the climax of "Sister of Invention," so they had to make sure Mateo couldn't use it. Having him simply decide not to cast wasn't an option, because it's the obvious answer, and not trying it makes it look like he isn't actually that concerned about rescuing Elena (and if the characters don't care about the stakes, why should the audience?). And adding a random, arbitrary rule like "oh, but llévaluq doesn't work in volcanoes, specifically" would have felt cheap, and raised questions about why his other spells were working fine. So instead, they went with the simple solution—they had the established rule that Mateo needs a tamborita to cast, so they broke his tamborita. Easy.

...And that cycles us back around to "keep it simple."

So to wrap up...

I genuinely hope this helps, at least somewhat. I've seen concerns floating around the fandom about working within the bounds of the EoA magic system, and personally, I don't really think those boundaries are all that strict. It's more a matter of understanding the elements you want to introduce than the elements that are already there.

If there are any specific aspects of the established magic system you'd like me to deep-dive into, a la the malvago essay, I'd be more than happy to. I'm also willing to help if you have specific concerns about whether your own ideas mesh, but do remember that I am not the sole arbiter of what makes a good magic system, and you need neither my approval nor permission (nor anyone else's, for that matter) to write what you want.

I wish you and your friend the best with your stories!

[angelshizuka]

Hello! In your post number 732922786856763392 you implied in the tags that EoA had such major flaws and plot holes it would be hard to fix the show. I enjoyed EoA a lot but didn't put much thought into it so I'm curious what in your opinion were such flaws and plot holes?

Oh, no, it's quite the opposite, actually!

I'm sorry if that wasn't obvious in my tag ramble, but EOA is actually one of the rare (recent) shows where I genuinely believe there's no major flaws, only minor ones (because nothing is perfect and it's unfair to expect any media to be).

Though, speaking of that, I'd say one of EOA's flaws is the timeline having a few holes in it, but they're minor enough that it doesn't break the idea that it took place over 4 years.

Or how s3 introduced too many new plots and new characters, instead of properly wrapping up already ongoing plot threads and character arcs. But again, only a minor flaw. I mean, they just didn't get ironed out perfectly wrinkle free, but they did still get ironed (if that metaphor makes any sense...)

Those tags were about other shows I've watched recently *coughmiraculouscough*.

[bigfrozensix]

Still about Elena of avalor, what are your top 3 favorite of Elena's outfits/dresses ?

These are very unoriginal choices, but I'm just weak for fancy ballgowns and sparkly dresses.

1. Coronation/Queen Ballgown

2. Crown Princess Ballgown

3. Crystalized Emotion Dress

The first two switch places from time to time, because the red ballgown is such a classic and red will always be Elena's best colour, but her blue ballgown is so beautiful.

If I had to make a definitieve decision I'd say with cape the blue ones wins and without cape the red one wins.

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

Since I know Gabe is kinda your boy so “somehow, i expected that this would happen eventually” if you still have time

Yesss Gabe's absolutely my boy, thank you!

"Somehow, I expected that this would happen eventually." Gabe shook his head. He looked over Rico with a glare that could make mountains cower. "Traitor," he spat.

"Oh, I'm the traitor?!" Rico stabbed himself in the chest so hard it must've hurt. "You knew full well what you got yourself into!"

"You know what? You're right, I shouldn't have let you get here in the first place."

Rico barked out a short laughter.

"You really think you could've stopped me?"

"I know I could've... And I can still stop you now!" Gabe jumped from his seat.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!" Rico grabbed him by the collar.

"Get your hands off me..."

"If you think you're better..."

They started talking at the same time.

"I swear you'll regret it!"

"Guys!"

Naomi broke them up and pushed herself between them. Once she made sure they weren't going to bite each other's throats out anymore, she heaved a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I know it's the last taquito, but you can just share."

Thank you for requesting, can you believe that this was practically the first scenario that popped to my head when I saw your message XD

Prompt lists