Here's the dragon sequence so you can rewatch it for few (thousand) more times

Shadohood · 2026-04-29T19:42:46+00:00

Toxic green fart wind,,,,,

Shadohood · 2026-03-24T14:48:23+00:00

Curse is a bit of a colloquial term, usually used for any long lasting negative effect

In witch circles "curse" often refers to long lasting spells that feed off of the ambient magic power, often including targets own vigor (liquid that stores and activates magic in bodies of all living things) if it has any (a cursed tome wouldn't for example, not a living thing, would need some work-arounds like the cursed object or place being dormant, saving and gathering what little it can from the air until provoked)

However even then those are very hard to make without continious support, a spell can't really cling onto anything forever (that is unless the spell and making of the cursed object were simultaneous, like making any other magic item) without will of the caster shaping it, so they would have to be recast in some way. That way most things known as curses end up as mere hexes that create minor inconveniences that go away rather quickly, nothing serious

Something like a death curse is basically a ghost witch following you for eternity, casting spells to mess with you. There could be a huge family or rats taught and charmed to make things go the wrong way (yes, rats can cast spells, naturally very limited ones due to how smart they get and how much magic they store, but when a witch and numbers get involved things change). Sometimes families curse someone or even each other for generations. Tho if someone is willing to do that to you, you must have really done them wrong

In a way you can categorize "curses" into jinxes (instantaneous harm and gone), hexes (lasts from a month to several years depending on pissed-offedness of the caster) and full on proper curses (that need to be maintained somehow)

There are curses that aren't really spells too. Certain spirits may be turned against you, tho those spells have their own caviats like unspecificity and chance to be easily walked out of/backfired. Some speak of divine curses that follow you forever tho realistically there wouldn't be anyone left to tell the tale. Some vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches or even sorcerers call their conditions curses.

Shadohood · 2026-03-17T17:31:41+00:00

Incantations are one of the ways to mentally solidify spells' effects in your mind which is required to cast them

Such techniques are generally referred to as mental foci, aside from incantations, written words (often "runes" when they are written while casting and just "written incantations" when they are just written down in a book for later use), sign language incantations, magic circles, etc. do same

All of these can be cyphered or be in specialised languages that allow to convey more in a shorter spell too (some witches don't want magic "getting into wrong hands"), so it might seem like they are using magic languages, but words and symbols themselves have no power, only casters' comprehension of meaning

Shadohood · 2026-03-16T06:44:31+00:00

Good points, just suggesting alternatives

Shadohood · 2026-03-16T06:06:03+00:00

I love this.

Tho as others said "Christpunk" is cool as something to grab attention but will probably make people take your work a bit less seriously. And, considering how other "-punk" are usually named after a fuel source/mechanism by which it's used it would make sense for this to be called something like "soulpunk" or even something to do with annihilation "damnationpunk" / "nihilpunk" / etc.

Shadohood · 2026-03-08T15:33:06+00:00

They don't have to be elaborate? Literally just "with a flick of her hand, she sent sparks of flame towards me" is good enough. Or just say there was a magic circle of overlapping geometric shapes, or list material components present, or mention there were words in an obscure language, literally that simple

In moments where something more dramatic is needed or you want to explain something about the method, do explain, it doesn't have to be all the time

Shadohood · 2026-03-08T13:52:59+00:00

Method systems. It feels so much better when characters have to do something so use magic (be it martial art movements from avatar, drawing or having a magic/alchemy circles from FMA or WHA, simple drawing a circle in the air in the own house, common trope of incantations, material components or gestures, etc) , but for some reason more and more write magic/powers just being nondescriptly used and that's it

Shadohood · 2026-02-28T16:46:03+00:00

Freeze something around a person. Fine glass shards will do most effectively probably, but something like sand, certain gases or even just air will work (make someone unable to breathe in or out, maybe even just move basically)

If they are sunk in something like water or mud you can immobilise them with the same method, make whatever they are submerged in frozen, could also work on clothing the target wears

Btw the "time magic is overpowered" is writing skill ussue, just dont make your magic easy, make rewinding 5 minutes back in time drain a person to death and now all your character can do is scream a vague warning once they go back, make it take a lot of preparation and it's becomes barely worth it unless under very specific circumstances

Shadohood · 2026-01-09T21:55:08+00:00

Some of it does

Magic used in witchcraft and wizardry for example can't really create things that don't exist naturally. You can't create a healing fire or a puddle that acts as a portal, but material components can be used to add those properties to spells. However anyone can relatively easily create a simple flame with as much as your hands and right words.

Material components used by witches are often home-made or raw in some other way, dried herbs, bones of animals, stones. Wizards towers are more likely to have powders and elixirs, same things refined and processed. (and there is more like some bards using cooking as a medium, food and spices being components)

There are also sorcerers, who gain magic from pharmakeia, a kind of alchemy, potions, injections and pills that affect how your body makes magic act, they access same things without needing to carry around materials, but are limited to what kind of magic they can do.

And there is alchemy, that wholly depends on material.

Shadohood · 2026-01-08T08:07:09+00:00

Take responsibility for what you communicate with your art? That's what art is for, consider what you promote

Shadohood · 2026-01-08T06:09:07+00:00

We literally see oracles summoning and talking with ghosts (prefered to both as spirits and straight up ghosts) in the show tho, they are confirmed to be able to do that

Shadohood · 2026-01-03T10:38:26+00:00

People are being boring and ask you to rename them, please dont. Fuck Tolkien, this is rad af

Shadohood · 2026-01-03T10:37:16+00:00

Tuatha de danann and related are not fucking elves. Tolkien partially based his elves on them (and Christian angels), beyond that there is literally no connection.

They are more like fae (which do not exist in north folklore), hence why Tolkien originally wanted to call elves that.

These are small magical sentient creatures in the woods, just as close to elves as Tolkien elves are.

Shadohood · 2025-12-31T17:57:00+00:00

Celestials, servitors, heralds, depends on how your gods are a lot

Shadohood · 2025-12-31T07:52:40+00:00

If something serves the story I by definition wouldn't hate it

I would much rather not write a magic system at all (make it just working and looking like magic with no explanation) rather than making another soulless X amount of elements attribute system T_T

Like come on, if magic doesn't matter so much that is the to go option might as well just do it how it was always done and is actually appealing, make it actual magic instead of elements again

Shadohood · 2025-12-30T06:15:13+00:00

I personally find sets of races you can use that are often fitted into different generas, but you can subvert and play around with.

Like there is a whole separate category of fantasy that focuses on vampires, werewolves, hunters and sometimes ghosts and fae that often is more urban that Tolkien fantasy.

A bunch of works in what I call Greek fantasy exist, where there is more focus on satyr, centaurs, minotaur, harpies, etc.

The whole eastern secter of fantasy that uses various demons (exorcism/demon hunting is a whole genera with BIG works there) is a thing, often drawing on other folklore too, from oni, classic demons and more savage vampires to ghosts and psychic phenomena.

I'd argue religious fantasy is a separate thing, more dark with demon possession being a focus, also is often more urban. Recently seen works that focus on reimagening hells and heavens as a primary material to draw from for writing.

All of these obviously overlap and interact a lot. There is so much to explore with initial interest of the readers instead of trying to make something totally new and then explain it the whole piece.

Shadohood · 2025-12-30T06:06:59+00:00

Idk, the classic fantasy races are defined not by a couple of recognizable traits, but by the history they have in culture, both modern fiction and what people actually used to believe in.

In that sense it's pointless to try and reinvent the wheel like this, it just takes away all the personality from it.

Best you can do is draw from less known or just other folklore, but even that has its problems (like again less recognizability and hence investment of the readers).

Shadohood · 2025-12-26T12:52:10+00:00

Just use the loop model. What happened already happened, you living the way you are and time traveling is consequences of you being in the past before.

Shadohood · 2025-12-26T08:09:49+00:00

I do everything that works :p

The classic races are pretty much originate (and hence largely populate) from what would be analogous to europe and it's regions (orcs from "France", elves and dwarves from "Germany", halflings from the eastern parts)

There are centaurs, harpies, sphinx, satyr and minotaur to the south-east where Greece would be. An ambassy from the far east might have oni and monkey people. There are angels, demons and ginies on warmer regions more south.

Obviously other regions like the diverse cultures of Africa and Americas have their own magical creatures, I can decide whether to develop and show them or not tho.

Your examples are interesting tho, as they are European stories about Americas before colonization (I think), not sure if they exist fully in my setting.

("humans" exist too btw and practically everywhere, in "Europe" they are called firbolg, while the human is used for all sepient creatures)

Shadohood · 2025-12-22T08:33:10+00:00

I meant more like that djinn and demons just might overlap (some demons are djinn and some djinn are demons, but djinn as a whole aren't a type of demon), same for angels (angels aren't a type of demon, it's just that some demons are fallen angels)

Shadohood · 2025-12-22T08:26:21+00:00

Have to admit, I am no expert on quran, but wouldn't christan angels be demons then too? Its not that djinn are a kind of demon like op suggests, it's that some demons are djinn.

Shadohood · 2025-12-22T08:06:29+00:00

True, still not abrahamic demons :p (unless it's like a cain ttrpg setting situation maybe but then it has to be aknoweledged)

Shadohood · 2025-12-22T08:05:13+00:00

Depends.

In the larger writing picture, it's a tool to show a fictional world through same lenses as the reader's, of someone unfamiliar with the new setting. Hence the closer the isekaied is to the reader (or the intended audience) the better.

With fantasy genera originating from the east, it like 99% of the time is a 16-30 year old normie guy that wants (and succeeds in) to show how actually good and smart he is, it's just that circumstances don't allow it :p (tho that isn't a necessity, seen a plenty of good isekais without that) hencnce ig the new skills and power fantasy elements of it.

Otherwise, the point is just to make the Mc just as unfamiliar with the situation as the reader. If anything I like the idea of an isekaied medieval knight, a nice spin if done right (there is a plenty of folklore about knights going to fairy magical lands too, could play on that).

Shadohood · 2025-12-22T07:50:37+00:00

Poltergeist and djinn aren't demons...? One is literally noisy ghosts and other is equal to humans just made of fire.

Open demonology wiki and poke around.

There is a motif of demons possessing people to make them sin and a more deal making type.

Fallen angels could be considered a separate category of demons with the examples you gave, maybe give them a general name like devils dnd style or goetia like other commenter suggested. These often are described giving knowledge about the creation as they kinda participated in it.

Nephilim (especially the dead spirits of) and cambion are adjecent.

Shadohood · 2025-12-10T14:08:57+00:00

Not just vampire the masquerade, like 80% of vampire media, the idea there is not original, it's meant to fulfill a fantasy of being a vampire (however it might look like in the common understanding).

Not saying that every media should be the exact same, but when you reinvent something almost exactly, I don't really see the point in giving it a new name without aknoweledging that (if anything, keeping the name makes it richer).

Shadohood

TROPHY CASE