quick little pinned post
art/writing/fandom blog: @hallowed-nebulae
WoL blog: @crystal-verse
ko-fi here
local aromatic bisexual just doing my best (22 years old).
i’m the host of an osdd system, and am disabled and chronically ill; please be patient with me if i take time to reply.
if you are a web designer of any kind and the dropdown menu that appears when i rightclick vanishes when i try to move my mouse and select an option you will go to hell before you die
no ao3 users, people switching from wattpad to ao3 is not colonization, and it should not be treated as such
Not to be a Mexican killjoy but if you’re white and you make ICE/MAGA/deportation/racist jokes about wattpad users I’m gonna assume all it would take is the right bit of propaganda to make you support ICE irl. What’s funny about ICE to you huh? You’re invoking our biggest fears because you’re inconvenienced. Yes thank you I’d like a side of screaming nightmares with my fanfic.
“It’s like colonization!” Did they kill you? Put you in a camp? No? Find a new word thanks
Ok. I’m tired of the typical vampire, werewolf and fairy.I’m also tired of the occidental-centrism in mythology. Hence, this list.
I tried to included as many cultural variants as I could find and think of. (Unfortunately, I was restricted by language. Some Russian creatures looked very interesting but I don’t speak Russian…) Please, add creatures from your culture when reblogguing (if not already present). It took me a while to gather all those sites but I know it could be more expansive. I intend on periodically editing this list.
Of note: I did not include specific legendary creatures (Merlin, Pegasus, ect), gods/goddesses/deities and heroes.
The Ancient Dragon (Egypt, Babylon and Sumer)
Of the Cockatrice (creature with the body of a dragon)
Alphabetical List of Dragons Across Myths (Great way to start)
The Legend of the Leprechauns, The Leprechaun
Chanaque /Alux (the equivalent of leprechauns in Aztec/Mayan folklore)
Elves in Mythology and Fantasy
Kabeiroi or Cabeiri (Dwarf-like minor gods in Greek mythology)
The Myth of Loki and the Dwarves
Fairies in Old French Mythology
Bendith Y Mamau (Welsh fairies)
Peri (Persian fairies)
Yü Nü (Chinese fairies)
Garuda (Bird-like creature in Hindu and Buddhist myths)
Bean Nighe (a Scottish fairy; the equivalent of a banshee in Celtic mythology)
Jinn (Genies in Arabic folklore)
Aisha Qandisha and Djinn in Moroccan Folklore
Oni (demons in Japanese folklore)
Boggarts: The British Poltergeist
Demons in Babylonian and Assyrian Mythology (list)
Demons in the Americas (list)
European Demons (list)
Middle-East and Asia Demons (list)
Judeo-Christian Demons (list)
Mahaha (a demon in Inuit mythology)
Flying Head (a demon in Iroquois mythology)
Toyol (a dead baby ghost in Malay folklore)
Yuki-onna (a ghost in Japanese folklore)
The Pontianak (a ghost in Malay mythology)
Funayurei (a ghost in Japanese folklore)
Zagaz (ghosts in Moroccan folklore)
The Kelpie (Could have also fitted in the sea creatures category)
Hippocamps (sea horses in Greek mythology)
Horse-like creatures (a list)
Karkadann, more on the Karkadann (a persian unicorn)
Ceffyl Dwfr (fairy-like water horse creatures in Cymric mythology)
Asanbosam and Sasabonsam (Vampires from West Africa)
The Aswang: The Filipino Vampire
Folklore Vampires Versus Literary Vampires
Callicantzaros: The Greek Vampire
Loogaroo/Socouyant: The Haitian Vampire
Incubi and Sucubi Across Cultures
Varacolaci: The Romanian Vampire
Brahmaparusha: The Indian Vampire
The Ghoul in Middle East Mythology
The Medical Truth Behind the Vampire Myths
Satyrs (half-man, half-goat)
Sirens in Greek Mythology (half-woman and half-bird creatures)
The Original Werewolf in Greek Mythology
Werewolf Syndrome: A Medical Explanation to the Myth
The Kumiho (half fox and half woman creatures)
Scorpion Men (warriors from Babylonian mythology)
Domovoi (a shape-shifter in Russian folklore)
Aatxe (Basque mythology; red bull that can shift in a human)
Yech (Native American folklore)
Ijiraat (shapeshifters in Inuit mythology)
The Kraken (a sea monster)
Nuckelavee (a Scottish elf who mainly lives in the sea)
Lamiak (sea nymphs in Basque mythology)
Bunyip (sea monster in Aboriginal mythology)
Apkallu/abgal (Sumerian mermen)
An assemblage of myths and legends on water and water creatures
The Encantado (water spirits in Ancient Amazon River mythology)
Zin (water spirit in Nigerian folklore)
Qallupilluk (sea creatures in Inuit mythology)
Aigamuxa, more details on Aigamuxa
Myrmidons (ant warriors)
Giants: The Mystery and the Myth (50 min long documentary)
Inupasugjuk (giants in Inuit mythology)
Fomorians (an Irish divine race of giants)
The Manticore, The Manticore and The Leucrouta
The Orthus (two-headed serpent-tailed dog)
Rakshasa (humanoids in Hindu and Buddhist mythology)
Yakshas (warriors in Hindu mythology)
Taqriaqsuit (“Shadow people” in Inuit mythology)
An Overview of Persian Folklore
List of Medieval and Ancient Monsters
Native American Animals of Myth and Legends
Bestiary of Ancient Greek Mythology
Mythology, Legend, Folklore and Ghosts
Ghosts Around the World, Ghosts From A to Z
Strange (Fantastic) Animals of Ancient Egypt
On the Legendary Creatures of Africa
Writing a MYTHology in your novel?
10 Steps to Creating Realistic Fantasy Creatures
Creating Fantasy Creatures or Alien Species
Book Recommendations With Underrated Mythical Creatures
(I have stumbled upon web sites that believed some of these mythical creatures exist today… Especially dragons, in fact. I just had to share the love and scepticism.)
Magical girl who had wanted to be one so badly but never had that magical mascot/mentor encounter so she summoned a demon to contract with instead.
It's not a dark story or anything, the magical girl is just as cute and cheery and friendly as factory standard and never loses that faith and optimism, she's just
Pact-bound to a frightening demon from the underworld instead of a cute teddy bear mouse.
“What if he’s manipulating her to evil-“ No.
“What if she needs to eat souls to survive-“ No.
“What if she becomes horrified with what she’s becoming-“ No.
Demon being viewed as weird for making a pact with a cute, cheery schoolgirl.
At every demon party where they show off their pacted there's evil, terrible, and frighteningly beautiful and then there's this teenager in a cute magical girl dress.
"I don't get you Goragog." "Listen, it's nice. Just nice! Can't things be nice? Is it a sin for things to be nice?" "No and that's part of the problem..." "You're just jealous Samantha created a "bffs forever" blingee with me. When was the last time one of your warlocks did something like that for you?" "*on the verge of tears* it's been DECADES!"
Meanwhile on the other side of the room...
"So what do you get in exchange? I get eternal youth and beauty."
"Yeah, and I get all my enemies smited."
"And my guy gave me immeasurable wealth. What'chu got, kid?"
"This super cute compact! Isn't it pretty? The heart-shaped jewels are so sparkly, and the mirror is always spotless!"
"...."
"And since we're pactbound, we're basically roomies now, so I also get a cool best friend and sleepovers on weekends!"
"...."
"Oh, and I also got my magical powers, of course."
Er'trian, Harbinger of Eternal Night, Defender of the Shrieking Chasm, and Lord of Eight Furies stared at eir favorite rival in confusion.
"But it's a pact," ey said. "A deal. An exchange is built in! You can't just Bestow Magical Powers for nothing in return. So what are you getting out of this, Goragog???"
Goragog's dark eyes wept their endless ichor. A halo of eldritch nightmares flickered around his head. With deliberate slowness he turned to meet Er'trian's accursed gaze.
"The power of friendship."
People often choose familiar pain over unfamiliar peace. That sounds dramatic, but it is basically pattern learning. If chaos is what your character knows, calm may feel like a setup. If neglect is familiar, attention may feel like surveillance. If love always meant losing power, being loved may feel like being trapped. This is why “just choose happiness” is not an arc. Happiness can be the scariest room in the house.
The original percy jackson series is about cycles of abuse and neglect, right. Were introduced to percy as a kid who has clearly been left behind by a school system that has given up on him, restless and unengaged and self-defetist because hes been given nothing that works for him and no one even tries to meet him where he is. Then hes told no, listen, your neurodivergence is amazing and you just need to be given something that actually utilizes your unique palatte. And thats obviously the uplifting idea rick wanted for his kids, right. But once we get to know chb the same cycles are happening there too. There are kids "left behind" there too for one reason or another, because their parents dont want to claim them, because their parents werent important enough to get a cabin. Do you get it, all the kids who dont fit the most common neurotypes get shoved into the same closet. Kids are being left in a cruel world to fend for themselves without the tools they need. Theyre dying because no one bothered to accommodate them. Its such an obvious parallel that the first chapter introduces a teacher whos written to be especially hard on percys disability and she turns out to literally be one of these monsters trying to kill him. Meanwhile sally jackson tells him she named him after Perseus because she wanted a redemption for a hero whos story ended in tragedy. Meanwhile every book in the series replicates a greek myth step for step until the moment they break the cycle. Annabeth, playing Odysseus, is talked down from her hubris and grounded by her friends. Percy, playing Heracles, meets someone wronged by the original Heracles and rights his wrongs by refusing to go down the same selfish path as him. Monsters are reborn because they are--as the books explicitly call them--achetypes. These kids are stuck inside the cyclical nature of mythology because thats what happens to mythology, it gets retold over and over again. But these are the kids who have to live it. The series ends with percy being offered immortality and he rejects it because he wants to use his godly favor to force them to break their cycle of neglecting their kids. The series ends with a declaration that we cant keep letting this happen. The very first book offees the same choice. It ends with percy refusing to keep the head of medusa as a spoil of war, refusing his heroic reward. He lets his mother have the head and use it to kill gabe. Isnt that fucking crazy for a kids book? Gabe wasnt a Monster. He wasnt going to Turn to Dust and Disappear in a narratively convenient way. He was a living breathing mortal dude and percy and his mom killed him without remorse. Break the cycle of abuse!!!! Dont let this happen again!!! Anyway thats why the original percy jackson series is Hey where are you going with our breadsticks
I love it when a classicist has clearly gotten so lost in the BCE sauce that their perception of time has become deeply warped. Case in point: the article I’m currently reading just described the Byzantine era as “a period relatively modern.”
Stop that’s too funny
objectively, they're right
