#why am I rambling about the Pantheons in the tags

[atherix]

Hi guys have a little ficlet? I decided it didn’t fit into the main story so it’s going onto tumblr exclusive status hehe Also I’m lowkey sick right now and I can’t think to write today thanks

CW? I guess? Because some of this comes across as pretty Religious Talk so

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“Grandfather?”

The King doesn’t look down at the child standing next to him, instead gazing out across the realm, all the way to the sea and what lies beyond. Scar looks up up up at him- distant and so far away, untouchable and cold.

“Yes, my Grandson?” the King speaks, voice soft and flat. 

Scar fidgets with his hands, turning back to look through the balcony railings. “What am I?” he asks after a moment of hesitation, the question echoing oddly around.

There is a moment of silence from the King, and Scar’s heart races.

“You are a Prince,” the King says simply.

“One of the healers you bring here says I should not be,” Scar says carefully, hesitantly. “They say I am not even Fae.”

The King finally looks at him, though Scar doesn’t dare look up. “Yet I, the Fae King, am saying you are a Prince, and you are Fae. Would you take the word of a healer over the word of your Grandfather and King?”

“No!” Scar says quickly, looking up at him. “No, but- is being Human really so bad? That- that some Fae won’t even see me as Fae?”

Despite the suns resting across from one another in the sky, lighting up the world around them, Scar can’t make out the expression on his grandfather’s face. It’s like a shadow is being cast, obscuring him from sight even as he pulls away from the rail, kneeling down in front of Scar. Even nearly on his knees, he’s taller than Scar can ever imagine being.

He reaches out and brushes the loose, wispy strands of Scar’s hair away from his face, almost gentle as he traces the braids. They’re tight, and the ribbons and vines woven through them, tied to a veil in the back, hide just how short his hair is right now. Scar can’t help but lean into his grandfather’s touch despite how cool his skin is.

“You,” the King says, “are you. You are Fae and you are Human. You are both of these at the same time. You are the proof that our world is changing.” The King moves his hand away, setting it on Scar’s shoulder now. Scar watches him quietly. “The Pantheons have a plan for you.”

“How can they have a plan for me?” Scar asks, tilting his head. “How can they have a plan for me when I probably won’t even grow up?”

“Everyone has a role to play,” the King says. “The gods give us these roles. Nothing happens when nothing is done- we cannot stand idly by and wait for it to change. We must act to make the change and fulfill the plan.” He pauses, studying Scar from behind the shadows in his face, and Scar can’t bring himself to ask about his own role. “There are no mistakes in this world. Everything that happens has always been planned. Your birth, your existence is neither accident nor mistake. You have a role to play in this world. It is the role of your family to see you grow, safe and strong, to take on your role. One day, everything will be made clear.”

The King turns away, towards the horizon again. Scar glances over, seeing the suns lowering towards the sea. They cast the world in orange and gold, glimmering and burning.

“Regardless what any person might say to you,” the King says softly, “you are Fae. You are a Prince. You are Human. You are all of these things, and one day you shall be even more.” He looks back at Scar, and for one brief moment Scar sees fire. “All you have to do is wait.”

“Wait?” Scar frowns. “But didn’t you just say...”

The King tilts his head. His smile is cool and distant, but it settles something in Scar’s chest- like comfort, like love, like everything will be just fine.

“One day your waiting will come to an end,” he says. “One day will come the time to stop waiting. Just watch for the signs. You’ll find your place when the time is right. Until then...”

He moves his hand from Scar’s shoulder and stands, gaze back on the horizon and the everything beyond. “Be patient and learn. The answers will present themselves, but you must look for them. Watch and wait until you know your next step, and then...”

“... Act.”

[aranict]

15, 25 and 28 for the fun questions please? :D

Oooh thanks love! :D

15. what do you think of when you hear the word "home"?

Hmmmm. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is 'safe space'. As in, somewhere cozy, where you can be yourself, be as much of an idiot as you can and still have fun without judgement, enjoy the quietness. I am a very private person, so for me "home" is definitely where I feel I can be myself, ramble about my stupid books, spend hours with my stupid games, and just chill with the people I love :)

I guess this comes a little from the fact that I grew up with a somewhat conservative setting, where I was heavily criticised for my interests ( 'why are you reading those stupid books?') , or for my lifestyle ( 'get away of that computer screen, hang out with some people', 'stop wearing all black', etc). So even if it sounds a little stupid now, growing up, I think that this was my main drive for getting a space of my own and just do my thing. Its funny how those things stick, you know?

25. fave season and why?

Ok, I think this is definitely Spring. I love the rebirth of nature after the long winter, the trees sprouting new leaves, the flowers blooming in the sunshine. I love how it is warm enough to be pleasant and enjoy both the day and nights outside, but without the scorching summers of our climate :) ( who loves 38oc? no one, I guess.) One of my favourite things is walking outside , when the sweet smell of citrus flowers or lilacs from the streets fills the air.

So yeah, Spring. Funny enough, my birthday is also in late spring, so I guess it fits? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

You can guess which my favourite myth in the greek pantheon is , lol.

28. do you collect anything?

Funny enough, no. I've never been into collections of any kind. I guess this comes for the fact that I'm not overly attached to anything in order to dedicate enough time and resources to collect it? I still buy things that I like, ie collectibles from fandoms ( cups, tshirts, fandom candles and the like). So I guess this is as far as I can get. :D

Thanks for tagging me!! <3

[rjcopeseethemald]

WIP Questionnaire ±1

To be honest, I keep looking for these as an excuse to talk about my work

This one I got from @illarian-rambling, I wasn't tagged in her post but I accepted the open invitation However, since this is how my mind works, I'll turn this into a game. Updated Rules: 1. Answer as few or as many of the following questions as you'd like! 2. In passing the tag along to others, you can add one question of your own, or replace an existing question.

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

The magic system. It took years for the idea to finally click in my head, too. It started when I watched the Terrible Writing Advice on Myths, Legends, and Gods; JP just had to challenge me with "A pantheon of the Periodic Table would be way too big". So I said "Alright, bet", but the idea still wasn't there. Then, I finally began watching ATLA and Breaking Bad (very late to both parties), and then my brain went: "What if... chemistrybending?"

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Probably a more light-hearted version of "Can You Hear The Music" from Oppenheimer.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

Hydrogen, Admiral Wright, and Miilo Saba. Hydrogen is the Elemental of their namesake atom, and I attempted to write them as wholesome and eccentric. I would liken them to a much older and wiser version of the Collector from The Owl House. They also wield a flaming shortsword, and can turn invisible (since hydrogen gas is invisible by default). Admiral Wright is the main antagonist of volume one. She was the first woman (and still only one of two) to be fully commissioned in the Lodinican Republic Navy, and is otherwise known as its toughest commander. Her backstory is a commentary on how simply letting marginalized people into unchanged power structures doesn't change their marginalizing nature. Miilo Saba is the older cousin of the twins Lia and Lioko, and he's the captain of an anarchist smuggler ship. He's mostly light-hearted and laid-back, except in a situation where there's no messing around, in which case he can become deadly serious. Why? To be honest, I picked these three because they were the most engaging for me to write.

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

Likely the animated ones I've mentioned before: ATLA (Legend of Korra included) and The Owl House, plus other animated shows like Steven Universe. The book will include illustrations a la The Chronicles of Narnia, except in an art style that would easily translate to 2-D animation.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Holding myself to the standards of good writing. In particular, character writing and depth of worldbuilding.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

I have sea wyverns, which are about twice as big as an albatross; landback tortoises, which are somewhat of a grounded take on the mythological giant turtle/tortoise trope; and more minor appearances like torpedo-fish (fish that can swim up to 80 knots in short bursts) and taransis, cat-sized Lucas-the-Spiders.

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

The equivalent era to our world is the 1910s-early 1920s. There are ocean liners, trains, and horses, and the occasional airship, while cars are still rather new.

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

I am almost done, thank God. I'm planning to take spring quarter off from community college to finish it.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

The novelty of its magical premises and take on the fantasy genre. Perhaps its politics, too, but those are more of a background thing.

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

I hope it's as original as I claim it to be! A pipe dream of mine is that the complete series financially sustains me, but I'll just retire to a commune upstate if that doesn't happen.

I will add a question 11: What pieces of media have been the most inspiring to you for this WIP? Passing this along to @serotoninshift, @kaylinalexanderbooks, and @she-who-fights-and-writes if any of you all are interested!

Blanks below:

What was the first part of your wip that you created?

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

What part of your wip are you working on rn?

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

What are your hopes for your wip?

What pieces of media have been the most inspiring to you for this WIP?

[sqgworld]

Parallels..?

Okay, so I’m back with another (potentially) long text post about lore dynamics in a videogame world: this time it’s Dragon Age! More specifically I’m gonna be talking about the elven gods and their similarities to a certain real life pantheon, so, be warned, rambles – and potential spoilers – under the cut.

Right, so... Norse mythology is what I’m here to talk to you about today, ladies and gentlemen, because this is literally a thing that has been rattling around in my head since a figured out that the word elvhen word “fen” just straight up means wolf. So that was my first clue. Let’s get another relatively small and perhaps entirely coincidental thing out of the way: the fact that I have – and I can’t remember exactly where, but likely somewhere in DAI – seen Elgar’nan be referred to as “the Allfather”. Sound familiar? Also, the fact that Mythal behaves very much like Frigg in the original Norse myths – she’s the only one that can calm down Odin and is the only other person allowed to sit on his throne – is also a really neat thing.

But, none of this is why I’m writing this thing and not even the greatest reason I have for believing that Bioware pulled quite a bit on Norse mythos when constructing at least certain aspects of the elven pantheon. No, my strongest evidence for this perceived parallel lies with, you might have guessed it if you read the tags, Fen’Harel. Also note that I am not talking about Baldy McEgghead here (though he will help my case), but about the parallels between Fen’Harel the trickster god and Loki, of the same titel.

Okay, so I already prefaced this entire thing by saying that this all started when I realised that the word “fen” means “wolf”, and I honestly don’t know why it took me that long, considering that tricksters being associated with the lupine is not necessarily a common thing in religion (please correct me if I’m wrong), and while Loki himself might not be wolfy he is certainly the father of a pretty big one: the Fenris wolf, or Fenrir, depending on how you like your apple pie. Already, there’s the association of the word – or syllable – “fen” with lupine that these two religions have in common, as well as the association with the trickster more or less directly. So far so good. Other thematic things in common between Fen’Harel and Loki is that... they don’t quite belong with their respective pantheons. We know Fen’Harel doesn’t belong because he directly tells us that he was fighting against the Evanuris and their reign, while Loki’s lack of belonging is not quite so... visceral. In Norse mythos, Loki is traditionally portrayed as half Æsir – the same race as most of the other Norse gods – and half Jotunn – the mortal enemies of the gods, that are in English very often referred to as “frost giants”, though that name is wholly unfitting – and everybody is very aware of this distinction between themselves and the trickster. And while both tricksters have good friends among their respective pantheons – Mythal and Thor, respectively – they’re not very well liked, necessarily, by anybody else.

But the big clincher; the real ace in the hole; hook, line and sinker, is this one passage in a codex entry from – I believe – DAO: Fen’Harel was said to have been able to walk among both the Creators – the elven gods – and the Forgotten Ones – some speculate these to be the Archdemons – safely, as both sides considered him one of them. That was really when the “!” went off in my head and I just went: “Holy shit! Loki can do the exact same thing!” Owed to his mixed heritage, Loki walks, often, freely amongst both the jotunns and the æsir and both sides think he belongs with them, if, perhaps, a bit begrudgingly. Also, we have Fen’Harel, according to Dalish lore, locking both the Creators and Forgotten Ones away, causing the fall of the elves – in the most literal sense, the destruction of the elven world, as it later turns out – and who is it that starts Ragnarok, the Norse apocalypse? Traditionally, that’s Loki’s doing.

Phew! So good to finally have that off my chest. I hope this all makes sense to you, because I’ve literally just been writing down any and everything that came to mind. I know the analogy isn’t perfect and that not all aspects of the elven religion are based off Norse mythology; for instance, I’m quite sure Andruil is supposed to be based off Artemis from Greek mythology, just off the top of my head. But at the very least, I am strongly convinced that Fen’Harel draws very strongly from that most infamous of Norse tricksters, Loki.

Have I overlooked something? Do you know another god that would fit this even better? Please feel free to tell me, I’d love to hear what you have to say and I’m always willing to learn more!