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wd-ghosty · 4 months

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Loyal Seladon

Era of unification chapter - 1

Remember when I made a dark crystal AU where the gelfling won the garthim war? No!? Me neither, until now that is. I've already made a couple chapters, but I never posted any here so here it is. I think ya'll already know what this chapters about considering the name... let's go.

After the battle of Stone in the woods as everyone was celebrating their victory Seladon slipped away from the crowd of mixed gelfling, she was glad that they won but there was this terrible turning in her stomach… “What if they find out what I said?” Her eye dilates, she feels all the booze she drank coming back up, and her head starts aching. “No. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no.” Her mother and her younger sister are both dead at the hands of the general, she only has brea left, she's all maudra now, and she has no one to depend on. If they all find out that she offered her whole race up as collateral for the lives of her and her sisters what would they do?

She got on her hand and knees and started throwing up everything that went down, the sour taste of half-digested food and beer were engraved in her mouth, she tried to take a breath but the puke just came on coming, and after it was all gone she could just cry. She heard someone screaming her name but she didn’t care she cried until she passed out, she knew that eventually, they would all know and she would truly be without anyone she didn’t want it to happen but she knew it was the truth.

When she woke up she was on an uncomfortable bed, the sheets were rough, the pillows were hard, and the blankets were thin. She was in one of the abandoned stones in the wood houses, the sunlight from the open window burned her eyes as she tried to open them, once she finally sat up straight she was greeted by a tall drenchen man leaning against the bed she was on. He was sleeping… He was, “Gurjin?” She screamed as she jumped back in shock, but that scream had woke up Gurjin along with every other person in the town. “Seladon… Good morning” Gurjin being his old bubbly self greeted Seladon ignoring the fact that she was freaking out. “Wha- What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here?” her screaming didn't stop, Gurjin stood up his dreadlocks fell over his shoulders and back as he towered over Seladon. “Why are you screaming so much? You’re gonna wake everybody up.” Gurjin managed to quiet down Seladon for the moment, but then he asked a question that made Seladon's stomach sink.

“Why did I find you in the woods passed out with puke on the ground?” Seladon instantly remembers everything that happened last night and her pale face instantly flushed, “AaA!? I, uhh.” She scrambles trying to look for a reasonable excuse, “You don’t have to tell me I just wanted to know if everything is alright. Gotta protect the All Maudra, right?” Seladon looks at him with a blank expression, “Yes you're right. I must lead all of Gelfling kind to victory, against the Skeksis empire.” Her voice was monochrome as she said that she looked as if her body was on auto-pilot or her mind was somewhere else. Gurjin was confused by this sudden change but didn’t mention it, “I’ll be off now.” Seladon walks off into the town to look for her sister.

As she walked through the stone in the wood village she saw the way all the gelfling of different clans interacted with each other. The Vapra and Sprinton soldiers all acted as if they were better than everybody else, never referring to the drenchen by their names but by their race. The sifan were staying away from everybody, mainly just doing what they needed to do without interaction. The grotton were avoided like the plague, nobody but the dousan would interact with one. All stone in the wood gelfling that remained were childlings and their caretakers, all the soldiers were either fused with the arathim spitters or drained. And the dousan were tending to everybody's wounds, and nurturing all of the injured, even if the majority of them couldn’t read they did have the best doctors and medicine in all of Thra.

As she looked around the town, she saw nothing but division, Even though the gelfing race had started a new era we were still stuck in the last one. This is what the Skeksies had done to us, we were all one but none of us saw that, and that’s why they’ve remained in power for 2000 trine.

“Seladon!” she heard her name so she looked around to find the source and found her sister, “Brea! I've been looking for you.” They hug each other before Brea drags her off, “the Maudras are having a meeting, but they can’t make any real decisions without you.” Brea led Seladon to what was once where the late Maudra Fara would ten to the needs of her people, all the Maudras were standing in a circle conversing obviously panicked, but when Seladon stepped into the room they all went silent. “All Maudra Seladon.” all at once they bowed to her, and the awkwardness in the room was too much to bear. The first to act was Maudra Maudra, “How are we actually supposed to wage war on the Skeksises? How are-” Maudra Seethi cut her off “Mara! Did you not ask that question at Seladon's coronation?” Seethi is very obviously annoyed.

Maudra Argot spoke up trying to calm the others down “Everybody. Let’s allow our Maudra to speak.” She motions to Seladon inputting her into the conversation, “Uhh…” The anxiety inside of Seladon takes a deep breath and remembers all the meetings she had to sit through with her mother. “I- I officially want to go to war with the Skeksisies. They drain us gelfling for our essence to ensure they don’t die, they’ve been diving us scine the start of the era of divvsion, everythign they’ve ever done is to ensure they maintainpower over us gelfling, but all of that officially ends today.” All of the Maudra look at eachother their faceses amixure of calm, worried, and fear. *Clop!* Maurda Leaside Bangs her cane on the group instantly grabbed the attention of everybody in the room. “Why are we still thinking about this?” She glares at all the ladies in the room.

“It doesn’t matter if we go to war or not, We Will Be Drained.” *Panting* Maudra Mara’s breaks her silence and screams “How are we supposed to go to war with immortal Skeksies? We are nothing compared to the-” Someone put their hand on Maras back and grabs her face, “We are thousands compared to eighteen! Their are over fivethousdand Gelfing of everyrace of thra, not including those of mixed blood. Their are eighteen Skeksies on Thra, we will survive!” The calm and colected Maudra Seethi barred a person for the first time in what feels like forever, “Fara is dead! Our sister has fallen by the hadns of the Skeksies and as you sit here wailing the Skeksies are probably scheming. Pull yourself together Mara!”

As Brae stands their watching the women she looked up to scine the day she was born, panic, and scream at eachother, she realises that this never happened when mother was around. Mother could always keep the maudras in check, none of them doubted her, Maudra Fara even said that she’d follow her into the mouth of the mondoleviaden if it was what she wished for. “Everybody Quiet!” This is the first time she ever seen Seladon genuinely angry, she would always get mad at her but it was more frustration or sadness but never true anger. “Is this how you would all act if my mother was here? Or Maudra Fara? The woman who probably has the most battle knowledge died right before a war stared, and our All Maudra is also dead. The skeksies took out our most reliable leaders and now were all lost, but I urge you all to calm yourselves.” This was the first time brea ever saw her mother in Seladon. She’s always been the perfect heiress, she never talked back to mother, everything about her appearance was perfect, she was well educated, and she was trained since birth in leading our people. So seeing her like this was exzlierating for brea, shocking, but still fun to watch. “We need to prepare for an attack, considering the skeksies have been able to fool us for twothousand trine they’ll probably strike first, but we cant act before we know what were up against. They might try to get the podlings on their side this time around, so we need to focus on defense, and we have to make sure we have enough food and water for everyone.” Maudra Ethri but’s in, “What do you mean by “Everyone”?” Seladon looks at her confused “Everyone is what I mean? I believe it’s best if All gelfling stay together until our threat is defeted, Power in numbers you know.” *Gasp* All of the maudras including brea look at seladon in shock. “What about? Uhh…” Maudra Mara tries to reject her proposal but can’t think of a good reason to, “Where will we all go? Will see stay in certain capitals, or will we completely abandon our towns?” The once calm seethi started to distress, and that made all the other maudra’s worry but Brea offers a answer.

“We can pick the places hardest for skeksis to get to. I bet it would be hard for them to get theri carriages into the caves of grot, the great sog, and the crystal dessert.” All the other maudras look around filled with doubt. “But we need to think of food, and the only place that growns alot of fruit out of those three places is the great sog. unless you’re all fine eating moss everyday, and escaping nurlock attacks?” Maudra Arogot inputs her two sense. “Shouldn’t we think about sami thicket? They have alot of fertile land we can’t just leave it?” Maudra Ethri tried to calm down Mara with her nomonation. “And they have one of the biggest capitals, they’ll be able to hold the most people.” Maudra Leaside is annoyed by all the ruckus. “Ladies! Please stop arguing. We need to think of places the skeksis can’t get to easily, but we can still thrive in… well, we won’t be able to thrive, but we need to be able to survive. We all saw the magic The Emporoe used, what happenes if any settlement is attacked and the grotto girl isn’t with them?”

“What happened to the collector could happen to any number of gelfling.” Seethi cuts off Maudra Leaside and the chaotic room instantly quiets down. Seladon gets up from her chair. “This meeting is adjourned. Brea.” Seladon and her sister leave the throne room and soon all the other Maudra’s soon follow. But Maudra Mara and Maudra Ethri were last in the room but before Ethri could leave the room Mara stops her. “Can we talk."

Seladon and brea walk through the town square, “The second sun is centered, we were seriously in their for that long?” brea comments on the time to try and get a reaction out of Seladon. “Yeah, mothers meeting would rag on for a long time, I would always loose track.” Brea is trying to strike up a conversation with Seladon but it’s ineffective, Seladons mind is somewhere else. Brea spotted a certain dousan boy and sneaks off, and Seladon walks back into the woods.

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So I made this chapter awhile back, so it's kinda wonky I tacky hope it didn't bother any of you. And I joke you liked it. <3

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firstruleofmethclub · 2 months

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Tagged by @sorikas to post 5 songs that have been in my rotation recently.

Sorry it for taking like 2 weeks to post and also for initially trying to tag you as krtza. Like the deadnaming of tumblr URLs.

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It seems silly to only have one Dreamkid song on this list seeing as my recent rotation has been like 95% his songs over and over. Which is especially wild seeing as he's only got like 10. But as representative of kind of the whole deal I will just use this.

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2. I finished listening to a Monster of the Week actual play campaign recently, and the Keeper said he was inspired by the music of Wojchiech Golczewski (which I'm very confident he said wrong every single time), and eventually I thought "fuck it" and looked him up, and it turns out I actually knew some of his work from this exact movie, a movie which, I explicitly remember the music being the best thing about.

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3. I watched a movie recently, and I honestly for the life of me can't remember what that movie was, but it had this song in it, which I immediately looked up after watching the movie (I don't think the movie was very good, but this song has hit one of my top listens in a very short amount of time because of it).

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4. After being on my "My Mix" autogenerated playlist thing last year a whole bunch, I Think We're Alone Now actually did disappear from it a couple months ago. Unfortunately I noticed that and so I hit it until it came back, now it gets like, daily play again.

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5. E.M.M.P.'s tracks seem like they would be great music to put on in the background while you're playing Warhammer (insert "I love Warhammer games. Love to actually play one one day" meme). But either way, when I want something instrumental, I listen to Dreamkids instrumental tracks... But when I DON'T do that, I listen to E.M.M.P., and this is probably the one that gets the most play at the moment.

I taaaaag @quannaix, @endreal, @gelfling-gxrl, @frangipanick & @spaghettithighs - yes. Five feels like the appropriate number of people to harrass for this.

#gimly #Youtube

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gretchensinister · 3 months

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Ask and ye shall receive 👀👀👀 my words: receive (lol), serendipity, magic

Receive

Note: This is in the Garnetting AU. But SkekGra and UrGoh don't know that in this little fic about their experience of the Great Conjunction.

~*~

When the light comes, they whispered to each other, we will accept whatever it brings us as a gift. We will trust, and our hands will be open. We will receive whatever fills them with joy. And they looked into each other’s eyes and thought: even if that gift be death.

They did not want the gift to be death, not exactly, though they were both very, very old, and the thought of death as a gift did not shock either of them, anymore.

They had become oh-so-fragile in the past few trine. Unum by unum, they watched each other lose substance, felt each other grow shaky, saw absences and blanks spread that had always been filled before. But one remained patient, and one refused to be defeated, and they did what they could.

Their days grew simple, as tasks that had once been simple stretched to fill the hours.

They did their best to feed each other, from a garden sung lush by magic and a coop of karatick with a faded sign affixed over the little door that said “Barracks.” They were no longer strong enough to go meet the caravans, and they had not seen any signs of them for many trine now, at least the lifetime of a gelfling.

They held and massaged each other’s ever-more-delicate flesh, finding that hands shook less when pressed against each other, that they still had some power to ease the aches and pains that had multiplied so grandly in such a short time. They held each other to share what little warmth they had between them—though they could not help but be troubled that they did so even under the full light of the desert days, now.

(And sometimes, even now, this care could startle their bodies into the remembrance not just of warmth but of heat, and it was with delight they took these moments, and one or another, as gifts into each other’s hands. Hands, above all, as other flesh more and more rarely aligned with desires of the mind and heart.)

They created, still, songs and poems and a record of what it was like, with the two of them so old and the world seeming old, too, their certainties and uncertainties, fears and hopes and wonders. Most of these, naturally, touching on that final journey, of which they had no orthodoxy to turn to, which would bear no wandering on the way, which could not be conquered. But there were jokes, too, mixed in with the rest. And when words got lost, and sentences broke, they wove over each other’s gaps, for the taking up of such snapped threads was as right as it was troubling that the threads had snapped in the first place. They would always have at least one, whole mind between them, of that they were sure.

Every day, the suns drew closer.

I’m not ready.

I feel the Song humming in my bones. At least I think I do.

Hold me.

I wish we could have one more night when we were young.

One more feast?

And everything after.

Hold me.

Whoever comes after us, I hope they understand.

How good it was.

That we did our best.

Hold me.

I hope.

I fear.

I love you.

Hold me.

When the day of the Great Conjunction dawned, they knew it, as undeniable as the suns’ very rising.

They put what they’d written over the trine into a chest that would keep out the sand, along with a few other things—marionettes of each of them, a small, graceful wooden carving of one, a miniature painted with the eyes of love of the other, still luminous with the finest pigments that had ever been carried on a Dousan caravan route. The chest would rest in a place where the suns would not touch it directly, but where it would not be hidden to anyone who found this place at all.

Most of what they had created over the years would have to be left to the desert, though. Their hands skimmed over much of it as they moved through the Circle of the Suns on that last day, fingertips saying farewell to the beautiful and practical, to the lovely evidence of their peaceful hours and days and unum and trine.

They put the hearth crystal together, and placed it with a note pressed in clay that explained in as many languages as they knew what it did when the halves were separated.

They fed the karatick, and shooed them away and out of the Circle of the Suns.

And then. Then it was almost time.

I think we should go out the way we came in.

And I would like as little separation between us as possible, when it is time.

The suns climbed higher, drawing ever closer. They took off their clothes, not bothering to fold them.

A moment, a pause.

A long time since the night of the storm.

But it still comes to mind so easily.

They still suffered chill, in the heat of this last day, and so one brought their largest blanket out to the ledge where they’d spent entire gelfling lifetimes in each other’s company. The other joined with the last of their bread, spread with the last of their parga-fruit jam, the greatest sweetness they could manage without the caravans. Draped under one blanket, they fed each other, and after they had eaten they leaned against each other, holding each other’s hands.

The three suns touched over the desert.

I’m thinking of the flowers.

So am I.

And the three suns shone as one, suffusing Thra with the all-transforming light that had not been seen for a thousand trine.

When it shone on them, the light of the Great Conjunction warmed their ancient flesh all through, just like sunlight should. Every pain ebbed away. The hum that had been in their bones grew louder, stronger, clearer, resolving into a chord that seemed to go beyond hearing into every sense, the final, glorious note of a symphony they had—they had—been a part of. And the light shone brighter, brighter, brighter, until it felt like it was shining through them. They looked at each other to see if it was so, and when they saw each other they saw what no other being in the universe had ever seen before.

And what they saw was good.

What they saw was wonderful.

One tiny part of that final chord: Oh. Oh. Two small and perfect sounds of awe.

The light shone brighter yet, until nothing at all could be seen.

For a moment, there was silence. Deep, true, complete silence. Just a moment. But a moment long enough to create a world.

And then the Song started again, everywhere in and on and above Thra, life roaring back, the Song clear and strong as it had not been in a thousand trine, rushing and cascading through the healed Crystal like snowmelt in spring after the hardest winter a world had ever seen.

But what notes were first played at that place in the desert, when the new symphony began and the suns parted from each other in their dance once more?

It was a small sound that broke the profound silence: a nail falling onto stone.

And for a time there was only the wind through the stones. Anyone watching—though who could possibly have been there to watch?—could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps that the clink of that dreadful piece of metal on that well-loved stone would be the final sound other than wind to ever be heard at the place once named the Circle of the Suns. Would it not have been enough?

But Thra was, is, and ever shall be, abundant. Profligate. And, too, possessive of what has come to belong to it.

And soon enough, a laugh rang out. A single laugh, that was also a harmony, fitting in so perfectly with all the chords of the world at that moment that no one could be wise and say that it was not meant to be there. A laugh loud enough that it seemed the sound should reach to a far, far distant world and shatter something there. A laugh that came from the throat of something—someone—new. Good. Wonderful.

#skekgra #urgoh #gragoh #the dark crystal #the dark crystal: age of resistance #garnetting AU #doodlinglina #yes I am scheduling this post to roughly coincide with the eclipse #so read it later! after the eclipse!

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katatonicimpression · 6 months

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A Walk Through My Year in Media

This isn't necessarily things that came out this year, but rather things that I watched/read this year that I liked or compulsively consumed regardless of whether or not I liked them.

2023 in Films

Most of this post is going to be positivity; a sampling platter of things I've enjoyed this year. But also:

Salty Film Hot Takes:

The French Connection is uncomfortable to watch. I don't care about the racist, antisemitic, misogynist cop. He's objectively bad at his job make him go away.

None of the Next Generation era trek movies are good.

Guardians 4 would have been a better movie if Pratt wasn't in it. And I mean that in a "the script would be better structured" way.

Se7en is a really fun film and I'm not mad to have rewatched it recently but... it's undermined by 1) the writers not realising that John Doe's opinions are bog standard right wing talk radio shit, 2) the fact that they kind of agree with him and 3) they clearly, hilariously, don't know what lawyers do.

The Mummy (2017) is awful. I guess that's not controversial but still.

Robin Hood (2018) is also awful. Like, amazingly so. And, slightly warmer take, so is Prince of Thieves you guys.

I will not be answering questions on any of the above.

Positive Film Hot takes:

I went on a bit of an 80s dark fantasy kick this year. Out of films that I hadn't seen before, The Dark Crystal and The Last Unicorn really stood out. Especially the Dark Crystal. I ended up rewatching the show as well. Just so good. Bring it back. Justice for the gelflings.

I also watched a lot of Terry Gilliam this year - not all of his back catalogue but most of it. Obviously Jabberwocky is almost entirely bad, no one needs to be told, but overall yeah you get why he's beloved. The common vibe from his films is "wow there's so much to love here but it doesn't quite work". Brazil is an obvious standout - it's a classic for a reason. But I want to highlight The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Behind the scenes disaster and orientalist opening sequence aside, it really is spectatular. The sets, the details. It's so well crafted and just makes you wish they made films like this all the time. Damn you, Terry.

The 1938 Robin Hood film is the best Robin Hood film. Yes, congratulations, you noticed another theme in the shit I've watched this year. But yes, it's great, it's fun and well paced. It holds up staggeringly well. I also watched The Court Jester (1955 - with Danny Kaye and Angela Lansbury) - Also surprisingly great.

Finally, also feeling medieval, I watched Excalibur (1981). This is more "swords and sorcery" than "dark fantasy" (think: Conan the Barbarian vibes), but it's kinda great (most of the genre is not, lbr). It captures the logic of those stories, the vibes of the mythology very well, the mix of pagan and early christian beliefs, and the weird metaphysics that results. It's great. Way better than that dumb clive owen one. My lord that was bad.

2023 in Telly

Live Action Drama:

Succession

It's good. I don't think anyone needs me to tell them that. Still haven't finished it but enjoying it in a peaceful, fandom-free way.

Robin Hood (2006)

This was a terrible show, with an even worse third and final series. Did I rewatch the whole thing anyway? Yes I did. Should I have? No. (I love the first two so much though. Lily Allen's dad as the sheriff of Nottingham as tony blair? sign me up.)

Doctor Who

Am I a basic bitch who only came back to who because RTD did? Yes. But at least I'm not quite as basic as the ones who were only back for Tennant. The first one was good, if a little on the nose, the second was great, the third was good up until they get onto the stupid avengers platform for the showdown, from which point me and everyone in the room just got mad at it. The christmas special was fun though, excited for Gatwa and the new series.

Adult Animation:

Castlevania: Nocturne

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Genuinely so great. It's very clear that they're setting up a whole multi season arc with this first season, and the incompleteness that comes with that is probably its biggest flaw. But overall, fucking fabulous. The animation, fights, character design. Just a gorgeous show. Maybe not to everyone's taste; it's fantasy, but not escapist - its very much rooted in the historical injustices of the setting and has some heavy themes as a result. But if you liked the first Castlevania show, then you'll probably love this.

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

You might have noticed that there was a show out that featured "Rayman, but with drugs and cussing!" and, yes, this is that show. You might not have noticed that Rayman is only a small part of it, and it's actually about Dolph - a traumatised gay cyborg - and his no good, horrible, very bad breakup. Dolph is great.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Do you like Star Trek? Do you like silly cartoons and workplace sitcoms? Then do I have the show for you. Real highlight of the year for me tbh. While the show is built on poking fun at trek canon, and can feel a little overly reliant on nostalgia sometimes, the latest season really pushed for more meaningful character moments in between the laughs. I like it. It's good.

Mononoke

This was the most mixed of mixed bags. Japanese horror with a really striking and confronting art style. At its best, it's got this visceral atmosphere that sucks you in and is genuinely fantastic. At its worst, it's got a whole storyline about "abortion ghosts", and features some art that comes across as racial caricature. Between this, and a few other things that felt uncomfortable in an unintentional way, I don't think I'd really recommend this, but it did stick with me, I'll give them that.

YA Animation:

The Dragon Prince

If you're into the whole YA fantasy adventure thing, this is an obvious rec. It's biggest flaw is how slow it's been to release, but if you're binging it for the first time, that's not a problem. It's heartfelt, it's pretty, it's clearly a kids show but is well crafted and has appeal beyond its core audience.

Star Trek: Prodigy

S1 actually originally aired like two years ago, but I only watched it this year after finding out that it was cancelled. But it was rescued! S1 is now on netflix, and s2 will air there next year. Genuinely a really fun contribution to the whole trek shebang, fitting into the universe well without ever feeling reliant on nostalgia.

I didn't include the two other treks that aired this year because s3 of Picard sucked balls (still not over it) and Strange New Worlds has stopped appealing to me... but that's a whole thing for the other blog. But the animated series are great! Also Disco. I still like Discovery.

Skull Island

This was better than it had any right to be. One season of a surprisingly funny King Kong show, also on Netflix.

Reality:

Rupaul's Drag Race UK Season 5

DRUK is good again, hooray. The dark times are over... for now.

Married at First Sight UK

Do not watch this. It will consume your entire life. Your brain will melt away as you watch someone fake cheat on their fake husband with someone else's fake husband just days into their fake marriage.

Taskmaster

It's good. It's been good. It continues to be good.

2023 in Gaming

Lol no. Can you imagine?

I did play the sims a lot. I had my guy cheat on his husband who then died.

2023 in Books

Fun fact: I only finished one of the books I intended to read this year. That's embarrassing. Anyway, it was "From Here to Eternity" by Caitlin Doughty (yes, the Ask a Mortician lady). It's great.

2023 in Comic Books

Orlando

This has really been Steve Orlando's year for me. I was thinking about what series I would include on a highlight list, and his Scarlet Witch was the only obvious answer for me. Sara Pichelli's art in that series is gorgeous - I love the way she draws Wanda. The writing is solid, compelling, tells a complete story. If I were to recommend any one series from this year, it would be this.

His Astonishing Iceman was also up there for me, and I will also repeat that the Mutant First Strike one shot he wrote was genuinely great. Kudos, Steve.

Gillen

Kieron Gillen's Immortal X-Men is easily one of the best to come out of the Krakoa era, and this year was no exception. I didn't really care about the Sins of Sinister event, and I care even less about the Fall of X event, so it really means something that I'm still including this series here despite it being dominated by these events. The issue with Piotr's narration has been my favourite, I think. But overall, still strong. I really hope he gets to continue writing these characters (especially Exodus and Sinister) in the future.

Other Positivity

Ewing's Black Panther series is really solid, Avengers (2023) has been pretty good. Dark X-Men was probably my actual favourite of the Fall of X titles.

Negativity

Lol I already said I didn't like the x-events. I also hated cold war. Such a waste of an opportunity. Speaking of, a lot of my comics-based salt and frustration this year has been about Sam. The way that he gets written out of things, ignored, then he turns up and his written badly and goes straight back to being ignored again. Then Marvel turns to the camera and is like "why would audiences do this?".

Put the fucking effort in and more people would show up for him. It's not that hard.

There's my overall annoyance with Duggan, which is a freebie, but one highlight of that has to be the bizarre direction they went with Kamala. No one wanted this, no one needed it, and certainly nobody needed the weird gleeful "killing" of this character just to launch a pointless plot beat that feels both offensive (see: Emma lecturing Kamala about not understanding real oppression) and is inexplicably happening during a whole massive event that feels like it should be about other characters.

The end...?

I don't want to keep listing things that annoyed me this year, because it'll just get repetative. If you follow me (which, if you don't, why are you reading this?), then you'll see me complaining about random crap all the time anyway.

Have a good NYE everyone!

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tophthedaydreamer · 10 months

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Question? If you *had* to change the old Disney Snow White movie, either to adapt it to audiences now, or to make it closer to the original story, or fit your own headcanons? What would you change?

Asking because I genuinely haven’t thought about the movie until I saw you talking about the new live action version. And now I’m thinking about rewatching the movie and trying my hand at rewriting it.

What are the things you’d definitely keep, vs things that you might add if it got more screen time, or even stuff you’d cut or change. (One of mine is actually seeing the Hunter’s family. Which might be my forgetfulness? But I don’t think we do in the movie)

personally, I love 1937 snow white so much that I wouldn't change a thing hehe. I think it's wonderful the way it is.

But if I were to make my own adaptation (which I'm dead set on doing if I ever get the resources and ability to do so)....

I would do my own spin that focuses more on snow white's bond with the dwarves instead of the romance with the prince. As much as I am a sucker for romance, I do adore platonic relationships as well, especially those that are family-oriented. And snow white and the dwarves are my favorite parts of the 1937 film, so why not expand on that? Thus, the prince would probably be cut from the story, and it would be the dwarves who break the spell (they each give her a farewell kiss on the forehead that collectively breaks the curse). another thing I'd change is the dwarves, to an extent. they are still seven little men, but they lean more on the fantasy side. I'm thinking they'd look like a mix of a dwarf, gnome, and gelfling.

elements I'd keep are snow white's traditional attributes (hair black as ebony, skin white as snow, etc.), the evil queen setting multiple traps for snow white (I recall in the original fairytale that the queen tried to kill s.w. with a cursed corset and hairbrush? I'll have to brush up on my snow white lore), and the true love's kiss that breaks the sleeping spell.

I'd also load it with German fairytale aesthetics! I'd want it to be traditionally animated, in a similar style to these other works:

(pls watch a clip of "the girl from the other side" [third picture] bc the animation is crazy good)

The general tone of my version would be a mix of dark fantasy (Don bluth vibes) and peaceful cottagecore (studio Ghibli). Generally a calm, beautiful, but eerie film that isn't afraid to get "Grimm" (eh?! eeeeehhh???!!).

I hope you don't mind my wall of text lol. I just love snow white :P

#toph musings #ask #snow white #snow white and the seven dwarfs #fairytale

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fishtail-tavra · 2 years

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it’d be funny if Gelfling gender was just “Wings = woman, Wingless = man” purely for the chaos of

skeksis not getting how this works

(not helped by Gelflings almost always wearing cloaks)

skeksis getting frustrated at being corrected every other word bc they addressed someone wrong again

(apparently it's rude to ask if someone has wings)

emperor skek’So having to ban throwing Gelflings out of windows just to check what gender they are (winged or traumatized)

skek’So making new laws to make sure only women get important positions partly to control Gelfling society but also partly in the hopes this will Simplify Things

skek’So messing this up when he promotes a Gelfling for her leadership during the Arathim wars and makes her captain of the castle guard only to be told afterwards that Ordon is in fact a MAN

skeksis giving up and defaulting to calling all Gelflings “Gelfling” because gender is stupid

different clans having stricter or laxer ideas of what makes someone a woman or a man depending mainly on how close that clan’s social ties to the Skeksis are

re: Stonewood, Spriton, and Vapra being very No Wings No Woman and No Woman No Leading while

the Sifa let men be captains and love mixed up things including genders

the Dousan keep to older traditions including allowing men to be Sand Masters

the Grotten left Ha’rar partly because of the silly new rules the Skeksis were pushing there, including wing stuff

and the Drenchen have medical transitions thanks to the healing vliyaya of their Maudra’s family

Gelflings calling the skeksis “Lords” instead of “Ladies”, even though in their culture it’s the ladies that usually do the leading, just because the skeksis don’t have wings

Gelflings calling Aughra “Mother” even though she doesn’t have wings because even though they don’t remember how important she used to be to them the tradition of referring to her with the most respectful way they have still lives on.

Gelflings assuming Podlings are all men or eternally children

Podlings having fun with this by sometimes pretending to pull a newborn baby out of a pod while a Gelfling watches and goes ‘OAO` ????

Jen and Kira’s exchange of “Wings! I don’t have wings? :C” – “Of course not. You’re a boy XD” getting extra silly bc

poor “raised-by-mystics” Jen doesn’t know how Gelfling gender works and

Kira “remembers-her-mom-and-was-raised-by-podlings-who-understood-gelflings-gender-perfectly-fine-even-if-gelflings-wouldn’t-return-the-favor” thinks Gelfling gender is so obvious she doesn’t explain that “no wings = boy”, instead of the “boy = no wings” that Jen probably understood it as

Jen getting very confused when some of their kids start growing wings like ??? if they can grow wings... can I grow wings? OuO

Kira repeatedly having to save Jen from jumping off tall things

everyone watching the two saviors of Thra go crashing into the trees again bc one of them is sure if he falls enough times he will someday Fly

and the other literally died and got better so this doesn't even seem that far out to her and she completely supports her partner in Jumping Off All The Things

speaking of being supportive

Onica is still called a woman even after losing her wings (supposed indicator of womanhood) because she is either dealing with

her own clan (who don’t care)

other people from other non-conforming clans (the Grotten and Drenchen)

Kylan (who is a sweet heart)

or Tavra (her loving wife who cares more about people than any laws or tradition that might hurt them so much she died for it [and then also got better])

BONUS:

it would also mean Amri The Ally dressed in Gelfling drag to help a lesbian save her wife

and he rode off into the sunset with Naia, possible medically transitioned winged Gelfling who is now literal queen of her swamp people

#the dark crystal #tdc:aor #skeksis #gelfling #gelfling gender mayhem #kira #jen #naia #amri #tavra #onica #they're aliens harold why would they have earth genders

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crossover-enthusiast · 7 months

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Robert looks like a furrier gelfling but more like deet than gen (dark crustal)

Robert looks like a firey (labyrinth)

Carmen is like a secretary bird woman and her husband has crow wings and feet

So roy is this mix btwn em

Ross is a fish boy, he can walk on land just fine but always needs to carry water with him

Jack is completely human and john only has a tail

Patty was born with a mouth deformity where she has pulled back lips and large fangs, it’s why she always wears the mask

Roy’s uncle was this balding goose man till ya know

The eyes of the universe thing

Bob actually looks like a demon, and is incredibly dangerous, but he mostly attacks “normal” humans unless really hungry

(Sorry streber still gonna lose a wing (arm) probably)

Ooooo yeah yeah, these all sound cool! I like Roy's family being birds in particular

Also this makes me think of a gag where someone is confused how John could be related to Radford and Robert, but then as he turns around to leave they see the tail

#Spooky Month #Radford #Robert #Carmen #Richard #Roy #Ross #Jack #John #Patty #Bob #AU

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thebibliomancer · 1 year

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I saw a fanon once that urGoh and skekGra planning an opera and a puppet show for when Gelfling showed up happened because they were left alone with each other, a lot of free time, and a bunch of drugs. A simple lore dump became a big production because they kept embellishing it.

I think the same might be true of the whole quest they set up.

All Dark Crystal content is dubiously canonical to all other Dark Crystal content but for fun I’m going to consider Age of Resistance, the Age of Resistance comic, and the River Horse RPG.

First, the Dual Glaive. The show argues, through Brea at the end that the Crystal Shard was the most important part of it. Fire Skype and draining essence are well and good but the essential bit is that Gelfling have the Shard so they can heal the Crystal.

The Fire Skype was very useful for gathering everyone. Although, it’s not the best communication option considering the Skeksis easily broke into the call.

(Since every fire tapped into the call, I wonder if the Firelings in Mithra received the signal in their hair and had no idea what it meant.)

The essence draining is… a mixed message? Since draining was one of the big moral event horizons the Skeksis were doing? And urGoh and skekGra invented it before skekTek ever did? Weird thing for them to add on.

(Maybe the Shard did that on its own, to try to balance things after the Skeksis were taking so much out of the energy cycle of Thra. But the Glaive drained the essence of the chimeric Ascendency in the AoR comic and you can’t say that the Arathim were destabilizing the world in the same way. It just seems like it was designed to steal essence way before anyone else had the idea.)

Anyway, the sword made a good symbol to rally around but it’s not a great loss that it broke since the Shard was the important thing.

Maybe the Dual Glaive was created when urGoh and skekGra worried that Gelfling wouldn’t be sufficiently impressed by the missing piece of the heart of Thra.

Thus, the two of them trek down to the inside of the planet to make a cool magic sword that’s sure to impress anyone.

So, a cool quest to find a cool sword to unite the Gelfling clans and deliver the Shard they need to heal the Crystal and end Skeksis rule and hopefully get the Mystics and Skeksis reunited so urGoh and skekGra can have a forever hug existentially.

But how to get the sword to the Gelfling. Can’t just hand it to them. The Gelfling still think the Skeksis have their best interests at heart. Giving them a magical super weapon and telling them “please overthrow society” isn’t going to have ideal results.

Can’t keep it at the Circle of the Suns. The Castle Skeksis were content to leave skekGra alone even knowing about the Dual Glaive because it was inconvenient to get out to them. But if they had the Glaive with them, maybe they’d make the effort.

But where else is inconvenient for the Skeksis to go? The Caves of Grot! And it happens a good buddy lives down there!

So urGoh and skekGra hide the Dual Glaive in the caves and trust it to urLii to keep an eye on.

Except they also put it behind a booby trap laden obstacle course and you must have at least one friend to get the prize. Also, urLii is a troll who might require bribes to guide anyone to the Glaive.

This part of the quest gets massively simplified after Ordon uses the Dual Glaive in the comic. One half he hides at Stone-in-the-Wood, the other he gives to Maudra Argot to take care of. And she’s much more helpful than urLii as a keeper.

(Apparently this update never got back to urGoh and skekGra since they live in the middle of nowhere. They seem to think the Glaive was still entirely in the cool obstacle course they made in the Caves of Grot)

But okay. Pretty straightforward (after Ordon updates the latter half). Talk to urGoh and skekGra, they point you to the Caves of Grot, you ask around and talk to Maudra Argot, she gives you her half and points you toward the other half at Stone-in-the-Wood.

How do you know to speak to urGoh and skekGra in the first place if they live in the middle of nowhere?

Well, they set up a helpful Lore dump to point Gelfling in the right direction!

If said Gelfling gets suspicious on their own that Skeksis are exploiting the Gelfling, manifests a mysterious symbol, asks the Sifa about it, asks a less jerky Sifa about it, gets a hint to follow a moth, finds a secret chamber under the All-Maudra’s throne (how and when did the comic relief duo set that up?), solves a puzzle by refusing to solve the puzzle on moral grounds after having an epiphany mid-puzzle solving about their own prejudices, and meets Lore! Who will guide them to urGoh and skekGra and even escort them there!

See, I get the sense that urGoh and skekGra started embellishing the quest line too, out of boredom and too much free time, when it took too long for anyone to follow it to them.

And the RPG implies that maybe they worried about how esoteric this all was and created more constructs like Lore and sent them out into the world to point Gelfling the right way in case they never find the secret throne chamber. The RPG book says the two don’t even remember how many Lores they made, because of all the berries, no doubt.

(I like to think that in the post movie era someone is going to stumble on one of those long lost Lore siblings and get incredibly confused by the message)

So it all adds up to an incredibly complicated questline that would made the Redwall founders sit up and take notes.

It’s a good thing urGoh and skekGra got way into puppetry because imagine how much more they could have embellished the quest side of things. Did I mention that you couldn’t get the Dual Glaive in Ordon’s day unless you brought a friend and learned a lesson about not being able to do everything by yourself?

#dark crystal #longish post #I had a number of thoughts #skekGra #the Heretic #urGoh #the Wanderer #the dark crystal #dark crystal age of resistance #tdc

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ben-the-hyena · 11 months

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In the Natives AU SkekZok is especially close to his eldest grandchild, SkekJa, eldest daughter of SkekLong and SkekFih. He loves all his grandchildren the same, but he still spends more times with her. He is not the loving type, to her, to them, and to his children he was cold and mostly teaching them étiquette, knowledge and the ways of the complex Skeksish religion and was very strict when they did mistakes, but would show affection here and there preening or giving a compliment as well as hanging out and chatting, notably again with her

Himself doesn't know why. A form of guilt since back when she was still a fetus he did his best to sneakily have his son abort or have a miscarriage because he didn't want to feel old by becoming a grandmother but loved her and accepted his new status when he saw her and didn't try anything with the next ones ? The knowledge that being the Ritual Apprentice's eldest she was destined to become Ritual Master one day makes him feel like preparing her and mentoring her already to make sure she will be ready on time when long after his own time her mother's time would have come too in case he would teach her less good and strictly ? The fact that DESPITE being related to HIM, sadomasochistic pervert supreme, she is quite innocent and pure for a teenager so a side of him either feels tenderness, amusement or protectiveness about that ? The fact she also is the quietest and most serious so he in his love for quiet and poise feels like there is FINALLY someone in the family to understand him he can appreciate time with without facepalming or rolling his eyes about (her mother SkekLong was calm too but tended to be too sassy and did end up mating off someone he disapproved of, while she is much more docile) ? Simple emotional attachment because she was the first he held so it felt like being a mother again ? A mix of some if not all ?

Whatever it is, when she is not with her parents or SkekVar, and when he is neither with the other courtiers, SkekVar, his descendance and fidels (and his Vapran harem he forbids access to), you will often see them in the corridors of the Imperial Castle or the gardens walking around, often him telling her about what a future Lord and Ritual Master like her should know and who to be wary of and who to use in court, important things a teenager and future matable Skeksis should be aware of ("if you are being proposed to before getting to propose yourself, make sure to be as dignified as possible and do not start shooting "I GOTCHA"" and from him you can bet lots sex ed offering her even Gelfling from his harem to try if she ever wants but she is adamant she wants to wait for the right one which he is extremely confused about but respects) and gossip, as well as she assisting him in his rituals when SkekLong can't be here or at least organizing them or other activities in general, and she asking him questions, advise and just telling her about her day and what her cousins and sibling did which he is surprisingly a good listener about. Sometimes she goes for a hug and he freezes a little not truly knowing what to do but he does appreciate it and pats her head gently

#ocs #skekzok #the ritual master #grandparents and grandchildren #skekvar is with her like he is with all the grandkids. the fun grandpa who puts them in rough but fun games the parents fear #but actually responsible #he essentially knocked out Skekzok more than one when he tried to have SkekJa's fetus be deletus #the dark crystal #aus

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thepaladincosplays · 10 months

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Can you tell us more about your The Dark Crystal story and your gelfling oc?

Yes I can!

Working title right now is “Secrets and Skeksis,” and it’s gonna follow Veelahi from the start of her time as a castle guard to the end, with additional Gelfling OCs being thrown into the mix!

Veelahi herself is a curious Gelfling, so she ends up asking a lot of questions she probably shouldn’t lol. It’s gonna be talked about in the beginning of the first chapter, but, Veelahi grew up in Ha’rar with the ambition of becoming a castle guard in the Castle of the Crystal. However… her parents aren’t the most supportive type and always told her to serve the All-Maudra faithfully. Also she’s a lesbian which we love to see and she’s gonna be getting a girlfriend real early into the story too 👌 but not before the reveal of the second main character - more to come with him 😉

#thepaladinrambles #anon #veelahi #the dark crystal #dark crystal oc #age of resistance #the dark crystal age of resistance #dark crystal fan fic

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mask131 · 2 years

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The Great Power of Chninkel

Since I am talking of French BD (bande-dessinée, comic books), and more specifically of weird and out-there French comics but famous and brilliant and acclaimed by everyone... If you want a high fantasy comic book that is out there and unique, take a look at “The Great Power of Chninkel”

Well I tricked you a bit - it is not French, it is Belgian, but it is still part of the Franco-Belgian BD world.

“Le Grand Pouvoir du Chninkel” in its original French title. Originally published by issues in the “A Suivre” magazine between 1986 and 1987. Then published in one collected book in 1988, black-and-white as the BD was originally conceived. Then published between 2001 and 2002 as three colorized volume, before 2008 saw a new re-edition of the original collected work as one volume, in black and white. (I read only the black and white version). It was created by Jean Van Hamme, the famous Belgian BD maker (you know he is the guy that created giants such as Thorgal, XIII or Largo Winch) and Grzegorz Rosinski, the Polish artist also famous for his work on Thorgal (in fact, the first language the comic was translated after its French publication was Polish, closely followed by Dutch - there is still no English official translation to this day).

What is it? Well... To describe it, I’ll have to use a lot of comparisons... As Van Hamme says himself, it starts in a “Tolkien-like world”, as it has a typical Tolkienesque plot: a small nobody belonging to a tiny species overlooked by everyone is chosen for a great task and a quest of cosmic importance that will oppose him to the evil overlords plunging the world into terror and chaos. But as you go further and further into the story, the several nods and references make it obviously clear that this isn’t just a random fantasy story, but also a weird and bizarre retelling of the New Testament, as a sort of “Biblical fantasy”.

Don’t expect however a new “Narnia”. Oh, far from it! This entire series/comic book is one big parody and subversion of both traditional high fantasy a-la Tolkien and of the Bible, out of all things! In fact, it can surprise people because the comic begins into a very dark and grim setting that brings to mind the Elric Saga and other works of dark fantasy - but the horrors, brutality and darkness of the story is mixed and overlaped by a lot of humor, jokes, comical misundertanding and biting irony that overall makes it feel like a cross between “Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser” and “The Life of Brian”. And did I mention that the species to which our main hero (a bizarre cross and parody of both Frodo and Jesus) belongs was heavily inspired by the Gelflings of “The Dark Crystal”?

Fascinating, inventive, very funny, but also very adult, bitter and cynic, it is a short but very effective work that truly deserves a place in fantasy comic books. When it was originally released it was considered a great work by critics, and it is still considered one of the best works of the Van Hamme/Rosinski duo - but the audience of 80s Belgium and France was not really ready for that, and the comic did not sell well, resulting in its relative obscurity... Until the 2000s and the big resurgence in fantasy, which saw reeditions of Chninkel and the audience finally enjoying and appreciating it (the addition of more fantasy mainstream works in people’s mind probably helped regrow the popularity of this comic whose references might have been too obscure or “nerdy” for 80s French-speaking countries).

I notably saw a section of TV Tropes heavily criticizing the comic for being a “cliché storm” only doing what other works had done to death, both in parodies of fantasy and Biblical parodies... But having read the series, I have to firmly oppose myself. I never saw a fantasy parody quite like that - especially since, despite Van Hamme’s claim that he has a “Tolkien world”, the fantasy world created is taking from so many different inspirations it barely feels Tolkienesque, it is only the plot that is obviously from Tolkien. And yes, there are cliches here - but that’s the point, it is a parody of high fantasy that will gleefully subvert and mock most of the cliches used and known at the time for this genre and those “grand quests of one lonely little fellow against the great powers of the world”. I suspect that the people who wrote that negative “review” didn’t realized that this was written in 1986 - long before a lot of the things we consider references today were created.

In conclusion: I loved it, and if you want one of those “weird and out there” French comic book stuff, or a foreign fantasy work, or a very bizarre fantasy parody that doesn’t shy away from a dark and nihilistic absurdism, this is a work you might want to take a peek at.

#fantasy #comic book #dark fantasy #bande dessinée #bd #jean van hamme #grzegorz rosinski #le grand pouvoir du chninkel #the great power of chninkel #parody

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twiggystarrdust · 2 years

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A bunch of things I just learned about gelflings

I just found this website with loads of information about the gelfling race that I JUST DIDNT KNOW so i had to share.

some i reckon are just fan theories, but hey, they fit pretty well.

anyway, let me know what you think of some of these points.

Astronomy, Biology, Psychology and Culture of the Gelfling.

n this article we shall briefly examine the main characteristics of Gelfing biology and culture, starting with their planet of Thra.

Astronomical characteristics

Thra is the world of the object formerly known as the Dark Crystal. It is a type-M planet, meaning capable of supporting humanoid life. It is similar to the earth in size, with an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and a great abundance of life forms. Thra circles three stars, one the "dying sun," a red dwarf star near the end of its life cycle. the second star, the "rose sun" is a class M red star. The third member of this stellar trilogy is a type G1 star, slightly larger than our own type G2 star.

Although inhabited planets orbiting triple-sun systems are quite rare due to the complexities of orbital mechanics, Thra is one of those rare planets where the complexities work out just right to allow the planet to maintain a relatively constant surface temperature.

The planet has three major continents. Alpha continent is the location of the Crystal Castle. Beta continent is located to the east, while Gamma continent is located to the west.

There is a relatively wide variety of biomes present, although the slightly warmer temperatures on Thra do not allow the presence of the Arctic-type biomes as found on earth. Swampland, Tropical Rain Forests, Temperate Deciduous Forests and Grasslands are the major biomes found on Thra. There is a season which approximates Earth's fall, but no winter season is present.

The vast majority of the planetary surface, some 83%, is made up of ocean. This compares to Earth's 75%-25% mix.

Gelfling evolution

Gelfling and Podling life forms arose on Alpha continent through normal evolutionary processes. Gelfling stand, in adult size, between three and four and a half feet tall. They possess four digits on hands and feet, a warm-blooded circulatory system and all other typical characteristics of intelligent humanoid life forms.

Examination of fossil life forms show an interesting lack of any large land predatory species such as the dinosaurs as found on the earth. Other than that major difference, Thra evolution has produced an extremely wide variety of life forms, perhaps even more different kinds then have been discovered on the earth.

Since the Gelfling society is based on a more harmonious living with their environment than Terran society, Thra has not suffered the ravages of wide-spread deforestation and massive building construction as has been present on the earth, nor has it suffered from any major pollution. Both these reasons have contributed to the continuing wide variety of life forms and the relatively low level of extinction on the planet (other than during the Dark Millennium).

Gelfling Biology

Birth Rate

The Gelfling possess a relatively low birth rate. They do not become capable of bearing children until they have reached their forties. Generally after bonding there would be a period of ten to twenty years before any children would be born. After that several children would be born within the next couple of decades; after that the rate of births tends to fall off. Typically a Gelfling female can bear ten to fifteen children during her life span.

The exception to the general rule was that of the Queens who, for some reason yet unknown, generally were able to bear children for a much longer period of time than the "average" Gelfling female; hence, some Queens had over twenty daughters.

Overpopulation has never become a severe problem with the Gelfling. It seems that the Gelfling live extremely close to the planet itself. A sort of feedback mechanism has been hypothesized between the environment and the female Gelfling which tends to limit the number of children born to a number that the environment can adequately feed and house.

Any period of widespread plague or disaster, for example, reduces the population considerably; consequently, there is always a considerable increase in the birthrate for a short time until the overall Gelfling population once again stabilizes.

Fertility

Fertility is controlled by the female Gelfling in some manner apparently intimately linked to the environment. When the environment alters in either a positive or a negative way, Gelfling fertility either increases or decreases. The exact mechanism behind this is not known at this time.

Sexual activity is quite common among Gelfling, yet unwanted births are virtually unknown, again indicating that the female has some form of control of whether or not she will become pregnant no matter how frequently she has sexual activity.

Bone Structure

The Gelfling possess a light bone structure, the females somewhat moreso than the males. The ability to fly, of course, would be impossible if the Gelfling possessed a heavy bone structure, so it is believed that the light bone structure and flying ability evolved together during the earliest part of Gelfling evolution.

Flight

The ability to fly is possessed only by female Gelfling. During the early years of Gelfling history females could make unassisted flight. During the Dark Millennium this ability to fly was gradually lost, resulting in the females being capable only of gliding. After the healing of the Great Crystal the ability to fly quickly returned.

Flight has two primary advantages to the female. First, the mating ritual involves an aerial dance and other activities in which the female performs a particularly sensuous aerial dance, enticing the male and generally leading to sexual activity and a strengthening of their bonding.

The second advantage is tactical. Females can explore wider areas, search for new food sources and, in some instances, actually do aerial artwork. The physical advantage over the male Gelfling was never exploited by the females, however, Such an exploitation was not within the real of thought for any Gelfling.

Mating Dance

The mating dance as the most intense sensual and sexual experience that a Gelfling can feel. It occurs only between deeply bonded pairs, and the female determines when the dance will occur. The female performs a preliminary dance during which she gradually removes her clothing. The normal pheromones the female produces increase strongly during this activity. After disrobing the female becomes airborne, performing an aerial ballet for her mate. During this activity the mate is virtually spellbound. After the aerial ballet the female lands, mounts her mate and begins actual sexual activity.

The session of sexual activity continues for a period of hours after which the mate ritualistically gently strokes the female's wings and both Gelfling fall asleep. Pregnancy as a result of the mating dance is estimated to be in the neighborhood of 93%, so a link between the dance and the reproductive drive is considered likely.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of a Gelfling is from 350 to 400 years. The ability to reproduce begins during the forties and extends for the next several decades, although having children even in later years is not totally unknown. The Gelfling remain physically vigorous and mentally alert until shortly before their death. Gelfling can somehow sense when their natural lifespan was near an end and they tend to approach their deaths with calm dignity.

Gelfling Psychology

Bonding

There are several levels of bonding, varying in intensity and length of effects. One level of bonding is through the process of dreamfasting. This can be done between two Gelfling or between a Gelfling and a Podling. This level tends to temporarily increase the psychic awareness of the bonding pair, establishing a mental link between them that will gradually decrease over time unless a deeper level of bonding is obtained.

The strongest level of bonding results in a bonding that will last throughout an entire lifetime. This can, on rare instances, begin during the first dreamfasting episode, as it did with Jen and Kira. The psychic bonds formed are intense and permanent and present in virtually every level of activity. A strong degree of telepathy is often established and, during the most intense sexual sessions a virtual unification of the minds of the two Gelfling takes place.

An extended familial bonding can also take place, increasing the strength of the family relationship in Gelfling society. This bonding also tends to last the entire lifetime of the individuals involved.

Should one of the two members of the strong pair-bonding die, some elements of the bonding will still remain, but a new bonding can still take place so that even the eldest of the Gelfling are still usually in some high level of pair-bond relationship.

Dreamfasting

Dreamfasting is an important means of communication amongst the Gelfling in that it allows a very deep sharing of personal experiences between them, taking place on a non-verbal level. Dreamfasting also varies in strength and can take place between two Gelfling, a Gelfling and a Podling, and perhaps between a Gelfling and Aughra, although no written evidence of this has yet been found. It is not a prerequisite to the strongest level of bonding but can lead to that level. It is an instinctual activity and cannot be "taught" or "improved upon." It helps to increase the ability of Gelfling to understand each other for, by understanding the background of the other Gelfling in such intimate detail, conflicts end up being minimized.

Family

The Gelfling are extremely family oriented. Once permanent bonding has taken place and the raising of a family has begun the close family structure becomes even closer. The Gelfling possess an extended-family structure and thus one tribe might be made up of a dozen or more families, each family with several generations of members.

The familial units have not led to any sense of territoriality, however, as happened in early human evolution. No one family is considered superior to another; delight is taken in differences of thought and abilities. Quarreling between families in general and family members in particular is virtually unheard of in Gelfling society. Care of children is seen as a family project in which Gelfling of all generations and both sexes take great delight.

General Gelfling psychology

The Gelfling are a very peaceful race that lives in complete harmony with the planet. Their greatest pleasures are in music, food, fun, love and sexual activity. No concepts of tribal superiority, sexual superiority or age superiority are present. The Gelfling considered all their surroundings to be alive and to be treated with the greatest of this respect. In this matter some of their behavior is not unlike that of many of the earlier Native American tribes.

Female Gelfling are extremely sensual in nature and are in some manner strongly psychically linked to the planet. Only females are healers and the healers could calm emotional disturbances as well as heal physical ills.

The "emotional disturbances" referred to problems arising from the loss of a bondmate and similar problems. No true "psychotic" Gelfling remained so for long, as several healers together, sometimes even involving the Queen as chief healer, would be able to restore the Gelfling to mental harmony. Even the worse of the psychotic cases that arose (and these were extremely few) realized, on an instinctual level, that they needed the aid of a healer and sought out such aid as soon as possible.

The abilities of the Gelfling males in the field of music are exceptional, and virtually all music is performed by male Gelfling.

The vast majority of the Gelfling bonding relationship occurs on the nonverbal level, and a description of their deepest psychological traits is beyond the ability of mere words to express. Much of Gelfling life is on a "felt" level rather than on a rational/logical level of understanding.

Sex

The Gelfling are an intensely sexual race, using sex as much as a means of communication as anything else. Sexual activity begins for the Gelfling when they enter their twenties. Until permanent bonding takes place sex can be with a wide variety of partners. Never during this time, however, is the mating ritual performed and no female Gelfling ever becomes pregnant before permanent bonding takes place.

Once permanent bonding has taken place sexual activity tends to be only with the bondmate. Sexual activity is quite frequent, both before and after bonding, and is considered one of life's greatest pleasures.

Telepathy

All Gelfling are mildly telepathic at birth. Gelfling who have permanently bonded have the highest level of telepathy, but all Gelfling remain telepathic at least at a basic level for their entire lives.

Gelfling Culture

Gelfling Art and Music

Two of the major delights of Gelfling are their art and their music. both have been developed to a very high degree; musical artifacts dating back nearly to the very beginning of Gelfling history have been found.

Although both art and music were highly developed, there was never a sense of competition amongst the Gelfling as there is with humans. Gelfling artists and musicians took great delight in teaching their crafts and even greater delight when one of their pupils turned out to be a master at the craft.

The vast majority of the music was limited to oral tradition; therefore, in the great purges carried out against the Gelfling much of this was lost forever. Only a few songs were ever recorded in written form; a few of those managed to survive the burning of the Music Academy.

Crafts

A wide variety of crafts is practiced by the Gelfling. Flower arrangement, jewelry crafting, carpentry, dancing and limited use of metals are all practiced, although never on a massive scale. Objects produced are made in numbers sufficient for immediate use, and emphasize beauty of form and structure. The tendency to want "possessions" so common in humans is not present in the Gelfling. This has helped to hold down the number of "objects" produced and minimizes damage to the environment.

The Gathering of the Tribes

The purpose of a Gathering of the Tribes is to select a new Queen. If a Queen ended her reign and none of her daughters wished to become Queen, or if it was "felt" by the Gelfling that a new Queen from another tribe was needed, then representatives of all Gelfling tribes would meet in the capital of Tarakendal. The representatives, both male and female, would hold hands and engage in a mass dreamfasting session, after which would follow a period of meditation. The name of the individual that was to become the Queen would then become known to all the Gelfling in a process that cannot be analyzed or expressed in words. The Gelfling so chosen would be crowned and recognized by all Gelfling tribes as the "rightful" Queen.

At no time during Gelfling history did any female "campaign" for Queen, nor did any tribe attempt to put forth a candidate. Such thoughts were alien to the Gelfling psychology.

Healers

Healers were inevitably female. They were born with the ability and would be trained by other healers. A healer had the ability to heal both physical and emotional illnesses. In severe cases the serves of more than one healer was used, sometimes as many as four healers working on the Gelfling at the same time.

For some yet unknown reason, when a female Gelfling became Queen she found that her healing abilities were increased substantially.

Matriarchy

Gelfling society is matriarchal in nature. Only female Gelfling become Queens or healers, and females control the times of their fertility. This does not mean, however, that the females were considered dominant or superior to the males, for such thoughts were foreign to Gelfling psychology. The matriarchal arrangement was accepted by all Gelfling without any qualms. Whenever a situation arose in which a male Gelfling had to assume command of a tribe temporarily, a great deal of unease was felt, and the leadership of the tribe was turned over to a female Gelfling as quickly as possible.

Gelfling society is not biologically equal, of course, since it is the female Gelfling that possesses wings and controls the fertility level. Again, however, this does not mean that the males are considered subordinate to the females. There are, in fact, no words in human language to describe the detailed arrangement of Gelfling society and how it functions since attitudes of dominance, aggression and control are not part of Gelfling psychological makeup.

Meals

Meals are always taken communally. At least two families if not more will eat their meals at the same time. The preparation of meals is done by the female Gelfling, with children of proper age being allowed to "assist." This form of communal dining is evidenced by the construction of Gelfling castles which also contain a single large banquet hall in which all the individuals staying at the castle take their meals together.

The Gelfling are almost entirely vegetarian in nature. Food is gathered by male and female Gelfling alike and then taken to the communal kitchen.

Before the meal begins there is a short period of grace during which thanks are given for the food. This grace generally consists of an apology for the taking of the life of the plants involved and a since wish that, through the death of the plants, new life would be created and would serve the planet well.

Pictographic Writing

Pictographic writing was developed early in Gelfling history. It is believed that it was introduced by Aughra around 3325 BDM. Almost all history and records were kept in this format. Pictographic writing became an art form unto itself and resulted in the decoration of many castles with pictographs that described the history of the tribes forming the castle family. The ability to read pictographic writing, for reasons unknown, is limited strictly to male Gelfling.

Written language

The written language is used infrequently and is believed to have also been introduced by Aughra. Only males are capable of using the written form of language for some unknown reason.

Religion

Religion is a very personal experience for the Gelfling, and there is apparently only one form of religion present amongst the tribes. A single Creator is worshiped, the worship consisting primarily of the Gelfling living their lives the best way they can in the closest harmony with the planet and all other life forms that they can achieve.

No formal churches or religious artifacts ever arose amongst Gelfling. There is a firm belief in an afterlife in which the individual goes to another dimension in which he or she finds themselves on another Thra but at a very young age, allowing the individual to live another full life. A series of such events is postulated, but no "goal" of "eventual purification" is ever stated or implied.

source: www\.bookmice.net/darkchilde/dark/gelfling.html

#the more you know #gelfling #dark crystal #age of resistance #okay now for storytime #in my roleplay campaign #my gelfling character has had a crush on another character for a while but he's rubbish at picking up hints #one night she gets really drunk and starts to sleepwalk and her desires take over #she basicly strips and gives him a lapdance #unaware that shes even doing it cause shes sleeping #oh did i mention she did all this in front of her entire party?#now if that aint bad enough now I've just learned about the MATING DANCE #like not only did she strip off she basically said #hey i wanna have your babies!#no wonder twiggy was so embarrassed!#now she just has to HOPE that her non gelfling friends don't learn about that otherwise they'll rip the SHIT out of her.#the second hand embarrassment i feel is unreal #girl #you don't do things by half.#hashtag pray for twiggy

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