#fionn

[fionn-the-cat]

Day 27:

One thing you may have noticed about this kitten is the colour of his pads! While most of a cats skin is usually pink, in areas with black fur there is often black markings on the skin as well. This means cats with larger patches of black will often have pink and black coloured footpads and toe beans!

[merymoonbeam]

Shadow and seer-Fionn-Elriel

Hofas spoilers

This is just a speculation but in hofas Silene gave this information.

My mother eventually trusted only Helena and myself to seek the truth. She knew we could be of great use to her, because we bore the shadows as well as starlight.

Helena and Silene both have shadow and starlight power.

Theia= starborn

So they got the starlight power from Theia. They must have gotten their shadow power from Fionn then? Bc he is their father.

So this made me think...in mythology fionn is a seer.

Fionn mac Cumhaill often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is the leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer and poet. He is said to have a magic thumb that bestows him with great wisdom. He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang, and fighting with his spear and sword. The tales of Fionn and his fiann form the Fianna Cycle or Fenian Cycle (an Fhiannaíocht), much of it narrated by Fionn's son, the poet Oisín.

So what if...fionn in acotar was also a seer? What if that's how elain and azriel are also connected?

Bc that would mean...

Fionn: a seer and shadow powers

Elain: a seer

Azriel: shadowsinger

Is that how they are connected? Is that how elain could use the tt? 👀👀

Bc we know tt and gwydion are twin to each other. And Gwydion was Fionn's sword. Tt was his friend's—Enalius.

And in acowar elain used tt. Maybe bc that's the reason why. Maybe being a seer has some kind of connection to it. Just like being a starborn is connected to wielding the gwydion and its powers.

But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

And we know from Bryce that knife has some kind of shadow powers.

Bryce threw her power into the Starsword, light ripping through the black blade, willing it to tear this fucking monster apart—She willed it into Truth-Teller, and shadows flowed—

So that's all.

[elains]

Fionn's death, the Bog of Oorid and the Mask

I'm currently on my Sarah J. Maas brainrot era and chatting with my friends earlier, I drew a parallel which soon turned into a deep dive into ACOSF, HoFaS, and some mythology to boot. Worry not, I’ll keep the mythology part to myself first and foremost and this post will mostly revolve around the following: that the current state of the Bog of Oorid is due to Fionn’s death.

Spoilers for House of Flame and Shadow, so be warned. 

In ACOSF, Amren tells us about the Bog of Oorid and how it wasn’t always this evil, accursed place. It used to be a sacred ground, where warriors of the Fae were laid to rest, long ago:

The Bog is a part of the Middle, which is mostly uncharted territory full of dangerous creatures, where Wild Magic runs unbound. A council of Ancient High Lords prohibited any mappings of it. We also learn from House of Flame and Shadow that the Middle was the Daglan's personal hunting grounds, where they unleashed beasts they bred to serve as worthy prey:

We know for a fact that Fionn was in a Marsh - a bog - when he died, with islands and grass and black waters, and we also know that the place was blooming when he was there. Even with the amount of evil and beasts kept in the Middle, the land was still thriving:

This is a sharp contrast to present day ACOTAR. In Silver Flames, the Bog is described as oppressively still and dead, all gnarly, leaflesss branches branches, crumbling trees, thorns. There are no birds, no insects. It's a place of death, of Evil, and it's remarked how it's as if not anything bloomed:

House of Flame and Shadow provides this passage just after Fionn dies:

Also from Flame and Shadow, we knows that the worlds have souls and degrees of sentience, as far as worlds go. Fionn is murdered in a foul act of violence, fueled by nothing but hunger for power by the very people who were supposed to aid him. Fionn, who worked to free the world from the Daglan feeding on its magic. It seems to me that the world was thankful to him for what he did, as it might have also been thankful to Theia.

And you know what's more interesting? That this is where the Mask ends up. We don't know what in the world happened to the Mask after Theia left Prythian; it's not said what she did with neither it nor the crown. Presumably other people got ahold of them (Helion's ancestor?). We don't know where the Crown was, but it's ironic that it ends up where Fionn died.

When approaching the water, Nesta remembers a story her mother told of how a cosuin was killed by Faeries, dragged to the depths and drowned:

Which is actually very similar with how Fionn himself comes to meet his end: bound and gagged and thrown into the water by his wife and general. Shortly after, she meets the Kelpie, who is described as such:

This is also remarkably similar to the creature that ultimately kills Fionn:

This Kelpie speaks to Nesta in the Old Tongue, which hasn't been spoken in fifteen thousand years. It retreated to the Bog thousands of years ago and it was probably the last o his kind. It could very well be the creature that killed Fionn, slain by Nesta, who goes to claim the Mask as he himself did.

Which brings up some questions: how did the Mask end up in the Bog of Oorid? It doesn't seem happenstance that it found its way to a place where death has in its grip and the open grave of the High King. Could it have been Helion's ancestor? His reaction to the mask is strange, visceral in a way the other's aren't. I'm betting that it was Helion's ancestors who took the Mask from Theia and once the power proved too much, discarded it to rest in Oorid.

But the point is that Fionn dies and it's the nail in the coffin for Oorid. The Bog withers to a giant, accursed grave, trapped in a state of perpetual death where nothing blooms.

Therein rests the first and last High King, the evil done to him forever imprinted on the land.

[knebulanight]

Once again I am drawing the forbidden girls

(for those less familiar these two are for a game I won't be getting around making to for a long time but I can never stop thinking about it)

[avvail-whumps]

the facility: everything you need to know

the facility is seen as a myth. no one really believes that it’s real. rumours spread that prisoners of war are subjected to horrors you can’t even imagine; body modifying experiments, agony that will make you want think death is a mercy.

captured enemies would soon find out it was all but a myth. and none of them would leave to tell the tale.

01. STRUCTURE

the facility is built nine levels deep into the ground. each level has a different purpose and holds prisoners of war based off their importance and danger.

level nine is the deepest level in the facility. this is where the most dangerous prisoners are kept, one being due to the information that they might have, and/or their threat level. they are constantly monitored by the highest amount of apoids. they require the biggest level of security with no leniency to keep them from breaking free and wrecking havoc.

the higher the level goes from level nine, the tamer the prisoners are. they don’t require as much attention, and usually break easily or don’t simply have lots of information. these lower level prisoners from levels 5-1 are generally treated as guinea pigs and often left in a lobotomised state until they die and are disposed of.

each level has:

a refectory.

sleeping facilities for each type of staff member. these sleeping facilities come with their own bathrooms. in level nine, sleeping facilities are individual.

various torture rooms.

small office for personnel staff.

high security cells to store prisoners of war.

an infirmary.

a laboratory for scientists.

02. STAFF

🖤 APOIDS

these are highly trained soliders that guard the facility. they are required to have a weapon on their person at all times, which will usually consist of an assault rifle that’s loaded to use. apoids are required to follow a strict set of rules.

LEVELS 1-9

talking is strictly prohibited. apoids are used for intimidation and control purposes. they cannot interact with patients, scientists or personnel. this can only be broken during emergency circumstances or if the situation absolutely requires it.

they must hide their identity. this means that apoids cannot be seen without their masks. they are also not allowed to give out their real name, or anything regarding their life above the facility. if this protocol is breached, it’s highly shameful and the apoid is swiftly terminated and replaced.

apoids are on a strict rotation. jobs may include guarding cells, torture rooms, escorting scientists or any kind of staff, as well as containing and treating prisoners with a beating if they misbehave. in order to keep apoids from repeating the same jobs and becoming sloppy, they will be on a strict rotation that allows them to do all of them, as well as have time to rest.

no personal relationships. if apoids are following protocol, then it’s obvious that they cannot fraternise with other staff.

LEVEL 9 ONLY

some apoids are given a personal scientist they are are assigned to. this requires them to shadow them wherever they go, and protect them to the best of their ability. their priority is keeping their scientist safe from harm and making sure they are eating and resting regularly to maintain high-level work.

apoids must be ready and prepared to kill prisoners. in the event of a breakout, apoids are required to kill the escaped prisoner under any means necessary. recapture isn’t an option. other than that, apoids must keep their actions as non-lethal as possible when they need prisoners alive for information.

🩶 PERSONNEL

personnel are small in number but they work “behind the scenes” of the facility. they are in charge of monitoring documents regarding prisoners, identity of apoids and scientists. they complete heavy sums of paperwork that are filed in the event a prisoner dies, and have to use scientists notes to log it into the system based off a number of factors (name, date of death, cause of death etc.)

they help when scientists and apoids are transferred to a new level, giving them a run down of what is expected or which prisoner(s)/personal scientist they’re assigned to, and collect the data after each torture room and experiments committed.

they’re very diligent and keep the facility running as smoothly as possible.

🤍 SCIENTISTS

scientists are the ones who are ordered to concoct new experiments for either themselves (for example, if it’s drug based torture, the scientist will implement the drug themselves into the system via needle, gas, etc.) or for when apoids torture the prisoners, which is more common on level 6-7. lower level prisoners usually don’t require torture, and so the scientists will use them as guinea pigs and testing subjects. trained and ruthless interrogators work on levels 8-9 in order to get the most important information.

scientists also follow a few similar rules to apoids:

talking to the prisoner for any other reason other than what’s needed is strictly prohibited. scientists do not engage their patient in conversation. the only time they talk to the prisoner is when they are asking questions for well-being checkups or if it’s for medical reasons.

they cannot have personal relationships. they cannot fraternise with apoids, personnel or any other staff. although their identity isn’t hidden, it’s not an invitation to talk about personal things.

multiple patients. a scientist on the lower levels may take on more than one prisoner. however, level nine requires a scientist to only have one patient for safety reasons. in the event that a scientist dies, they must be replaced quickly to maintain order and scheduling.

scientists are constantly working on creating things to help with interrogations. whether that be cognitive experiments or enhancing certain things, they’re working in laboratories to help with this. some scientists are more cruel than others.

🩷 HIGHER-UPS

closest source to the government. they feed information from the facility to members in power. they aren’t seen as much, but the often come to check up on the quality of work and assess if something needs changing or have to take control of a certain situation. they have the most authorisation than any other staff member that sets foot in the facility, but they never necessarily get their hands on dirty work.

03. LIVING AND RULES

staff are given facilities in order to eat and sleep down in the facility. they live in the facility and do not leave. they are under contract for ten years, and when that runs out, they either expand their contract for another ten years, or leave the facility. once they leave, they cannot return to the facility. they are under a legal bind not to speak to anybody about the facility. if they do, they are immediately found and killed.

due to living underground, staff are required to eat healthily, sleep regularly, and exercise consistently in order to keep themselves as healthy as possible. they are given supplements and vitamins they cannot get from being underground. most apoids are required to have a military background and be healthy when recruited, so it isn’t difficult for a lot of people to commit to these rules.

internal brawling and fighting is not permitted.

relationships are not permitted.

recreational drug use and alcohol consumption is not permitted.

link to the masterlist

main tag list – @suspicious-whumping-egg @sunshiline-writes @rabidrabidme @whumpatize-me-captain @thegirlwholived1213 @reverie1234 @unforgiven235 @morning-star-whump @seaweed-is-cool

[dailyarturiartfgo]

may i request a Fionn and Medb interaction <3

Someone is in big danger

[yellowplumfruit]

kelemvor: am i a joke to u

[magnifigal]

Blood Angel Krul seems to have a lil friend snoozing on his shoulder hehe

[dualcastimpact]

the tale overflows (it carries your light out to sea)

to be known is to be loved; (and so eternally beloved you become)

Happy nameday, Raginmar!

More context about each character and their relationship with Raginmar below the cut.

L'vazha Tia and Canso Lechanteur

Members of Viatgers Vuit, an adventuring party consisting of Raginmar and his closest companions. Raginmar and L'vazha are both rogues affiliated with the Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss (with L'vazha having extensive reach in the shadows beyond that), while Raginmar and Canso both stood against the Garlean Empire at one point in their past (and paid dearly for it). While their histories and personalities vary greatly – Raginmar is a near-unflappable veteran soldier with quiet, cutting wit; L'vazha is a lord in the criminal underworld masquerading as a friendly, jovial merchant; and Canso is a beguilingly charming former Imperial prisoner–turned–adventurer – the ruthless and cold-blooded pragmatism they all share sets them apart from the rest of the party.

Viatgers Vuit are no strangers to killing. These men murder.

Adricienne Brookes

Member of Viatgers Vuit. Currently a postmaster affiliated with the Delivery Moogles, Adricienne was briefly a Scion of the Seventh Dawn before setting out to become an adventurer on her own terms. Joining Raginmar in delving into the mysteries of Haukke Manor was what inspired her to leave Gridania to see the world for herself – a decision that has literally broadened her horizons and taken her across the borders of Eorzea and to all corners of the known world, and eventually reconnected her with her long-lost father.

Regissant Aujouerre and Niko Maimhov

Unaffiliated with Viatgers Vuit, Regissant and Niko are a duo of adventurers who cross paths with Raginmar frequently, beginning from their first adventuring job with Gridania's Carline Canopy, forming a party to investigate the Tam-Tara Deepcroft. Being a Highlander, a Duskwight and a Keeper of the Moon respectively, the trio faced significant prejudice from the Gridanian healer in their party who eventually abandoned them midway through battling the cultists cloistered within the deepcroft – surviving the ordeal fostered a deep bond between them that lasted over years of infrequent meetings in taverns and adventurer guild halls. Similar to Adricienne, it was Raginmar who encouraged the two to leave Gridania and free themselves from the city-state's deeply prejudiced societal shackles, and they have now made a name for themselves across Eorzea and beyond.

Fionn Airgetlam

Member of the Lemures, a Garlean order dedicated to protecting and supporting Garlean refugees in Eorzea. Fionn is technically one such refugee, having been created as a warmachina as part of the VIIth Imperial Legion's Weapon project – only scaled down to the size of a man and possessing of the Warrior of Light's combat data. Despite the nature of its creation, the warmachina developed sentience and chose to flee his creators, eventually finding himself in Ul'dah where he came face-to-face with the very man he was created to destroy.

He had expected death from the Warrior of Light. He had not expected compassion; it was his extremely timely intervention that saved Fionn and fellow Lemure Arnegis from near-certain death. Raginmar would later outfit Fionn with a new arm, replacing the one that had been destroyed in his fight against the voidsent Orcus, and assist him with gaining entry into the abandoned keep of Dusk Vigil to rescue his mentor Drusilla.

(in another timeline, it would be through his first-hand knowledge of the Weapons project that Raginmar could save Gaius' children from perishing in battle and eventually save Alfonse Baelsar from complete subsummation into the Diamond Weapon)

Marzanna Branmirasch and Sasariku Nonoriku

Members of Viatgers Vuit. Originally an independent duo of adventurers, Marzanna and Sasariku became part of the party after joining a number of them on a primal-dispatching quest. It would not be after many adventures moons later that they would learn of Marzanna's past as an Imperial scientist and engineer responsible for the horrific deaths of Raginmar's subordinates over ten years ago. Despite the revelation that nearly tore the party apart, Sasariku stood by his friend and first adventuring partner until the very end – to a resolution that only Raginmar and Marzanna know. Their history remains unknown to the others even now.

Marzanna's scene only shows her (stand-in model's) tail because the female Hrothgar is still unreleased in-game as of the creation of this post; maybe one day I'll remake this once Dawntrail releases.

Kirika Kagutsuchi and Hyllizirn Ahldachtwyn

Members of Viatgers Vuit – the very first members, in fact: Kirika, Hyllizirn, L'vazha and Raginmar were the initial four members of what would eventually become one of Eorzea's finest adventuring parties, although they began their journey simply as a way to make ends meet in a strange new land. Throughout their adventures, Raginmar remained their steadfast pillar of unwavering support – from guild quests to journeys of self-discovery, internal conflicts and reclamations of honour, there is nobody the Viatgers Vuit trust with their lives more that him.

[official-nrc-prophet]

I love how everyone on NRC blogs treats this website like a personal group chat.

[fionn-the-cat]

Day 64:

Unfortunately Fionn will often try chewing the Velcro strap on my charge wire when I’m using it. Especially while I’m trying to play D&D with friends.

[merymoonbeam]

Rose bloom in a mud field–Elain–The Middle

Okay listen...I had this theory that elain would be trapped in the prison but what if it is actually the middle?

The reasons are Elain asked Amren about changing her body and if she could have chosen a male body instead. You have to read the first post I tagged to understand it as a whole.

But basically amren says this

Her brows narrowed. “I had to give something up. I had to give me up. To walk out, I had to become something else entirely, something the Prison would not recognize. So I—I bound myself into this body.” (acowar)

And we have the elain scene in acofas asking questions.

Mor opened her mouth, laughter dancing on her face, but Elain asked, “Could you have done it? Decided to take a male form?” The question cut through the laughter, an arrow fired between us. Amren studied my sister, Elain’s cheeks red from our unfiltered talk at the table. “Yes,” she said simply. “Before, in my other form, I was neither. I simply was.” “Then why did you pick this body?” Elain asked, the faelight of the chandelier catching in the ripples of her golden-brown braid. “I was more drawn to the female form,” Amren answered simply. “I thought it was more symmetrical. It pleased me.” Mor frowned down at her own form, ogling her considerable assets. “True.” Cassian snickered. Elain asked, “And once you were in this body, you couldn’t change?” Amren’s eyes narrowed slightly. I straightened, glancing between them. Unusual, yes, for Elain to be so vocal, but she’d been improving. Most days, she was lucid—perhaps quiet and prone to melancholy, but aware. Elain, to my surprise, held Amren’s gaze. Amren said after a moment, “Are you asking out of curiosity for my past, or your own future?” The question left me too stunned to even reprimand Amren. The others, too. Elain’s brow furrowed before I could leap in. “What do you mean?” “There’s no going back to being human, girl,” Amren said, perhaps a tad gently. “Amren,” I warned. Elain’s face reddened further, her back straightening. But she didn’t bolt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I’d never heard Elain’s voice so cold. (acofas)

And as you can see elain is confused when it is asked about going back to human. So what if it is something else. But again pls read the linked post it would make more sense when you read that.

At this point of the story I thought maybe elain would become trapped in the prison...but what if it is actually the middle instead?

We have this in acosf:

“The Middle is full of primal magic. It has its own rules and laws. Hunt the kelpies or lightsingers without provocation and you might find yourself trapped here.” (acosf)

So if you hunt something in there without provocation...you can get trapped. We have lightsinger theory for a certain character...just saying.

And I think hofas gave us a great reason to get back to the middle...fionn'd died there. He was killed there.

My parents often went hunting in the vast slice of land the Daglan had kept for their private game park, where they had crafted terrible monsters to serve as worthy prey. It was there that he met his death. A dark-haired, pale creature that could have been the relative of the nøkk in Jesiba’s gallery dragged a bound and gagged Fionn into the inky depths of the bog, the once-proud king screaming as he went under. Horror rooted Bryce to the spot. Theia and Pelias stood at the water’s edge, faces impassive. Petals began falling from the trees. Leaves with them. Birds took flight. As if sudden winter gripped the bog. As if the land had died with its king.

And we know fionn had the Gwydion and later Truth-Teller when enalius died.

My father had never shown himself to be giving—long had he kept Gwydion and never once offered it to my mother. The dagger that had belonged to his dear friend, slain during the war, hung at his side, unused. But not for long.

Elain is the only female to use Truth-Teller in acotar. So...what if we have to go back there to find an answer to all of it. Sarah loves to use ancient people and their memories as a whole to explain the history(example...silene) so what if we need fionn and his memories?

Also...I cant help but make this connection.

Acowar elain

Devlon let out a grunt at the sight of her. But Elain wrapped her own blue cloak around herself, averting her eyes from all of those towering, muscled warriors, the army camp bustling toward the horizon … She was a rose bloom in a mud field. Filled with galloping horses.

Acosf the middle

Islands of grass dotted the expanse, some so crowded with brambles that he could find no safe place to land. The tangles of thorns were a mockery of what might have been—as if Oorid had ever produced roses. Not a single flower bloomed.

Hofas bog when fionn died

A dark-haired, pale creature that could have been the relative of the nøkk in Jesiba’s gallery dragged a bound and gagged Fionn into the inky depths of the bog, the once-proud king screaming as he went under. Horror rooted Bryce to the spot. Theia and Pelias stood at the water’s edge, faces impassive. Petals began falling from the trees. Leaves with them. Birds took flight. As if sudden winter gripped the bog. As if the land had died with its king.

So elain and the middle???

Also another point is...the avallen island was like the prison island because Helena hid 1/3 of theia's power there and once bryce claimed that power...the island went back to what it was.

Helena had bound the soul of this land in magical chains. No more. No more would Bryce allow the Fae to lay claim over anything. “You’re free,” Bryce whispered to Avallen, to the land and the pure, inherent magic beneath it. “Be free.” And it was.

It was no longer gray and thrashing, but a vibrant, clear turquoise. And rising from the water, just as they had seen on the map Declan had found, were islands, large and small. Lush and green with life. Forests erupted on the island they stood on, soon joined by mountains and rivers.

So what if fionn did the same before he died? What if the middle is the way it is bc before he died...he bound himself to it so the magic of the land was bound?

And we need elain to free the land? As bryce did to avallen?

[forfeda-project]

THE HOOD OF CROTHRAINNE

"Gold is its woof, silver underneath it, soft to the skin is its lining; you will be hound, man, or deer, as you turn it, as you change it." - A Rí Richid, Réidig Dam

The 12th Century poet Gilla in Chomded húa Cormaic is credited as the author of a poem known as A Rí Richid, Réidig Dam, which contains an episode involving the exploits of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and the Fianna. At the end of this episode, we are told of Fionn's most marvellous possession: the magical Hood of Crothrainne, a woven mantle fashioned in the Land of Promise that can change the wearer's shape. Any tales of Fionn using this power have been lost, but the significance of both hounds and deer to the Fenian cycle remains an ever-present motif.

[krowsjournal]

Tav and Karlach are Astarion bully squad real

[jenjensd]

If people want to see Jake’s pictures up until he crossed the rainbow bridge, there are hundreds on @jake-a-day of my sweet one eyed boy

Jake

Fionn

[den-ai-d]

Okay, just finished What the Firelight Casts and the story was pretty meh for me. Most of the context was lost to me since I haven't actually gotten through all the things that happened in Victoria in the main storyline. But the storytelling itself kind of left me wanting for more, especially when compared to Break the Ice (which was just PEAK). Like, is it just me or the purple prose was just overflowing in this event? Anyway, the biggest outtake for me is FIONN OPERATOR WHEN??? I want this irish wet rat of a cat man on my landship pronto. Like, it's perfect. He's panicky, a scaredy cat to the nines, and has gracefully aged to a fine and miserable wreck; perfect tumblr sexyman material, if I do say so myself. Plus he's already a merchant so get on with it hypergryph!

Like surely, we'll get a sequel to the Taran/Victorian conflict. Perfect time to introduce this lovely fellow into the ranks! Either he'll be alongside Reed with her little posse of refugees OR maybe he'll end up tailing Fischer since they did have that meeting in the event's epilogue.