You can find more about this WIP and its characters on Tumblr.

1. Deaf girl with a mermaid gf gets a hearing aid; shenanigans occur
2. 200 y/o elves who can now beef online about their generations-long blood feud
3. Little orc girl desperate to become the winner of a dragon show (as in a dog show but for dragons) by training her family's pet dragon (old, lazy, does not want to move)
4. Idiot who is too in love with the vampire in their book club to actually make a move. The POV character is the third-wheel who is dragged along for "moral support."
5. Two grandmas of different species in the same knitting circle competing over which one of their grandchildren is the most illustrious wizard. One of them thinks this is a bloody rivalry, the other thinks they’re having a friendly boasting match every week. Dwarf vs dragonfolk
6. A human and elf are about to get married, but the elf insists the human get a will drawn up first. The human is like wtf I have more than half my life left, and the elf is like exactly I’m so paranoid because I have literally never seen anyone die before!!!!
7. A naga librarian who works in the kids’ section befriends a shy child who struggles to learn how to read
8. Teens try to make an intelligence potion so they can pass their classes; it doesn’t go well
9. Garage rock band made up entirely of gnomes set up for their first gig
10. A bird-of-paradise harpy marriage proposal looks a lot like jumping around and screaming to other people, but… it’s polite to applaud
11. Werewolf dog trainer keeps getting invited back to this couple’s house, even though their dog is… fine? It becomes clear that one of them has a hardcore crush and their partner is enabling it
12. Medical wizard (thaumaturgic health) teaching a trans patient how to do the HRT ritual spell
13. The halfling member of a polycule gets really petty about how the others organize the kitchen
14. Family game night in a household of dragonfolk gets heated. Literally.
15. The very intimidating minotaur that works at the bakery always treats the orders with such care. A regular makes it their life mission to become best friends
16. “The dryad-run greenhouse is the best place to get flowers for my best friend’s birthday and i will kill the person who took the last of the magnolias”
17. An elf farrier (horseshoe and hoof specialist) gets to fit the hooves of an entire herd of centaurs and through several generations. Things get emotional at the funeral of the herd’s leader
18. A wizard apprentice gets their familiar by totally nailing their wizard thesis defense
19. A magical zoologist tearing their hair out trying to write a research paper reclassifying a basilisk and a cockatrice as different species, in spite of modern science treating them interchangeably
20. A pair of elvish “grandparents” reminisce about their hundreds of years of life with the great-grandchildren of their dearest friends
21. Dwarf with a gargoyle carving and adoption center takes on a lucrative commission to carve a client their ideal gargoyle
22. An exotic pet specialist helps inform a new mimic owner on what, exactly, their new pet needs
23. A D’infern and an Aetherid discuss their opinions on the gods
24. A teenage naga with stuck shed is convinced it’s ruining their life. Their parent has to coax them into the bath to fix it.

The City, Athendrolyn

• Former majority-elvish stronghold that has become a booming metropolis of an extremely large and diverse population. One of the biggest cities in this unnamed country
  • The name is elvish, mostly because I think it’s funny to have a really Intense High Fantasy Name be used in modern ways
  • “Athendrolyn Parks & Recreation Department”
  • “Athendrolyn Fishing & Wildlife Committee”
  • “Athendrolyn Department of Transportation”
  • “the Mayor of Athendrolyn”
  • See that’s hilarious
• Gained a reputation for being a city that’s always a step-forward in scientific and medical technology over many decades of research and innovation
  • partly due to the nature of elves hanging out doing magical mad scientist shit during the industrial revolution, and partly due to other creatures joining in the chaos
• Currently boasts a cutting-edge hospital, multiple high-ranking universities, and very tall buildings. like dang look at all those tall buildings
  • Due to all of these things, it attracts people from around the country (and possibly the World!!) to learn and work there, especially if they’re going into medicine or some kind of magical research field
  • Or if they really like tall buildings
• Due to the size and diversity of the populace, there are a bunch of different districts, each with a unique and eclectic mix of cultural practices, food, languages, etc.
• It also has a coastline where merfolk hang out and a freshwater lake big enough for naiads to live in. Also a good amount of forest for the dryads to hang out during pollination seasons.
  
  • Environmentally conscious because of these reasons
• Because there are so many different kinds of people from many different cultures, there’s almost always some kind of religious or cultural celebration going on. Or at the very least, you can crash a college party
  • Has a pretty significant tourist population, due to all the fun things going on here
• Has public transportation in the form of buses, trams, and trains, powered by magic
  
  • called the APT (Athendrolyn Public Transport)
  • advertisements around town that say "It's always apt to ride the APT!"

 

Magic

• Magic is its own thing, a detectable, naturally occurring force in the universe, like gravity
• It interacts with the laws of physics and other science things, which makes it manipulatable to us plebeian 3^rd dimensional beings
• The reason why some people can use magic and others can’t, and why some creatures are naturally predisposed to using magic no matter what, is not well understood. As far as the characters in the story are concerned, some people can use magic and others can’t, the same way some people are born left- or right-handed. It’s a very banal fun fact
  • Creatures that are predisposed to magic: elves, dragonfolk, naga, dryads, naiads, fairies, merfolk, Aetheridum, sphinxes, selkies, gorgons, shapeshifters
  • Creatures that are not: humans, dwarves, orcs, gnomes, halflings, satyrs, centaurs, minotaurs, catfolk, harpies, goblins
  • Creatures that depend on how you’re born: vampires, werewolves, D’infernyssh
• It is understood that magical ability grows less potent over time if you don’t actively work to maintain it. It’s like a muscle—if you have magical ability and don’t exercise, it’ll atrophy and be functionally useless. Some people are really invested in training it, some people let it fade over time and don’t worry about it. Kinda like exercise again.
  • This doesn’t apply as intensely to creatures that are inherently magical—elves who don’t train their magic will always be able to use it more effectively than a human who doesn’t train
  • If you can do magic at all, you’re technically a wizard, but people aren’t really considered Wizards™ unless they’ve graduated a Wizard School For Magic Training. If you can do magic but haven’t reached that level, you usually just say you’re a “magic user,” that you “have magical ability,” or that you’re “thaumaturgically inclined” if you're also a doctor.
• To cast a spell requires 1) magical capacity (the amount of magical energy your body can withstand) 2) knowledge of how to shape the magical energies in the world, and 3) intention. Potentially there’s a step 4) runes, but that only applies if you’re doing enchantment or ritual spells. Potions are also technically spells, but don’t require any of these steps, and are sometimes considered a completely different discipline from “natal” magic
  • The majority of all spells are called “instant” spells, which is exactly what it sounds like. If you have a good understanding of magic, what you’re casting, and the limits of your capacity, you can cast the spell instantly. Depending on your experience, you can snap your fingers and cast dozens of spells with no more energy than it takes to walk around the house
  • When it comes to runes, it gets a bit more advanced. The shape of runes are the equivalent of drawing the shape of the molecule that fireballs are made of. Runes are the shape of the magic itself, the way it arranges itself in the world, invisible to the naked eye, in order for things to happen and spells to work.
  • Enchantment spells utilize runes and any kind of (semi-)permanent surface to cast a spell, or series of spells, on a specific object instead of to the world at large. Engraved into jewelry, buildings, tools, embroidered on clothes, painted into art, there are dozens of ways to use enchantments. To cast them does require a wizard, or anyone with magical capacity, to activate them. There are products that store other people’s magical capacity (also with enchantments) in order to allow non-wizards to use them for as long as the capacity lasts (after it runs out of capacity you need to have a wizard refill/activate the enchantments again)
  • Ritual spells also use runes, but they’re single use and targeted to a specific person or object instead of the world at large. They also require the use of ritual circles, which the person/object stands in the center of, and where all the runes are told to point their magical energy. Ritual spells also feature a more powerful impact than an instant spell that might accomplish the same thing, by drawing magic from the immediate area in addition to the wizard casting it. This allows wizards who don’t have a big magical capacity to cast high-energy-cost spells. Ritual spells are very popular in medicine and engineering for this reason.
  • Potions are a bit different, and you technically don’t even need to be a wizard to make or use them. It’s recommended, since the average person likely won’t understand the mechanics of magic going on inside their brews, but there are plenty of culinary thaumaturgy classes geared toward teaching non-wizards how to make potions. Most of what it requires is a supply of plants or other substances known to store or conduct magical energy, a magic-resistant pot, and a whole lot of time. Potions can take anywhere from a few minutes to entire days to brew, depending on the strength and intended effect, and that’s not including any prep work. Even after they brew, they must be kept in specialized, enchanted containers to keep them fresh, which is always the first thing any seasoned potion maker will tell a beginner—a spoiled potion is more trouble than it’s worth.
• There are Forbidden Kinds of magic, both for ethical reasons and because some kinds of magic will straight up vaporize you into a cloud of dust for trying to fuck with them.
  • Necromancy isn’t explicitly illegal or anything, but it’s very stigmatized, and you need a very specialized license to even practice it.
  • In a similar vein (haha), blood magic isn’t illegal, but it’s used almost exclusively in medical situations and it’s a big no-no to do it without several degrees in thaumaturgic medicine or outside of a medical setting.
  • Any kind of magic that would require the taking of another person’s life is illegal because. that’s just murder.
  • Most rituals to summon higher beings is illegal because you mostly get vaporized if you do this, and even if you aren’t vaporized, congrats you just summoned God into your one-bedroom apartment. now what.
  • Trying to fuck around with time magic is illegal, because oh my god can you imagine
• Fun words for magical jobs/college majors
  • Thaumaturgic engineering
  • Thaumaturgic medicine
  • Thaumaturgic chemistry
  • Thaumaturgic physics
  • Thaumaturgic biology
  • Thaumaturgic zoology
  • Culinary Thaumaturgy (for potion-making and stuff)
  • Thaumatology (study of magic)
  • Basically just slap “Thaumaturgy” onto something and it’ll sound way cooler

 

Religion

• Gods exist and we can prove it because of things like Aetheridum and D’infernyssh, but some people don’t acknowledge that the gods are, in fact, gods. Instead, one argument is that they’re just really powerful wizards who fucked around with magic and got blasted into the 4^th dimension, where they’re now pretending to be gods. Another is that even if they are gods, they don’t deserve to be worshipped because they can fuck with people’s lives (see: the magic babies based on how much they like you) with absolutely 0 consequences.

For the sake of populating my anthlogies with a diverse cast of characters, I made this 100% necessary thing to create characters for each story. This is something a completely normal person would do.

A list of creatures that feature (haha, get it?) in my anthologies.

Sapient Creatures

Human

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• We’re those! Nice! 👍
• Culturally, most humans value variety in life and social groups, making the most of their adaptive qualities. They’re some of the most likely to mingle in other creatures’ cultures, whether it’s to learn, or just to try the food.

Elf

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• Pointy-eared, long-lived humanoids with strong connections to magic
• Culturally, most elves encourage an interest in study, invention, and creation to make the most of their long lives. Education is highly prized and encouraged, in anything from science to art to history. Their birth rates are some of the lowest among all creatures, so the rare biological family unit tends to be close-knit and cultural expectations are high for the few children that are born.

Dwarf

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Short, bearded, subterranean humanoids
• Culturally, most dwarves enjoy showing off their prowess in working metals, stone, and gems, or otherwise focus on perfecting a specific craft. Making a trade into a career is highly prioritized, and competition in various dwarf markets is fierce. Still, some prefer to keep their crafts as private hobbies, not feeling a need to prove themselves in business—their skill is self-evident, after all.

Orc

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Large, tusked humanoids
• Culturally, most orcs foster strong social bonds, value strength of character, and individual deeds. They put a large emphasis on community and family, and many orc social groups have regular family reunions with “talent shows” that allow each orc to show off something they’ve mastered since the last reunion.

Dragonfolk

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• Large humanoids with draconic features and fire breath
• Culturally, most dragonfolk enjoy building collections of personally valuable objects and boast of their exploits as a form of social bonding. Those collections can range from the traditional gold and jewelry to a hoard of tourist trap knick-knacks, and the larger collection the better. Similarly, social boasting can range from personal achievement to the achievements of those close to you. Some dragonfolk like to boast that they hoard things to boast about. This usually gets an eyeroll.

Gnome

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Short, subterranean humanoids with a close relationship to nature
• Culturally, most gnomes carefully craft gardens of fungi or flowers, and tend to live their lives slow and unbothered. They’re another creature commonly found scattered among the cultures of others, glad to share and eager to befriend any who cross their path.

Halfling

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Short, ground-dwelling humanoids
• Culturally, most halflings value food and entertainment in extravagant fashion. Social propriety is also highly valued in many halfling spaces, and declining invitations to social events is gossip-worthy news. Each of those social events aims to be bigger and more bombastic than the last, taking any excuse to celebrate something.

Satyr

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Humanoid creatures with goat legs, ears, horns, and other features
• Culturally, most satyrs value a “fast life” full of partying and constant recreation. From the outside, it seems as though many satyrs simply don’t care about taking life seriously, but those who party argue an emphasis on amusement is taking it seriously. Life is tough, so satyrs make joy whenever and however they can. Even comparatively more buttoned-up satyrs have at least one area they can completely let loose in.

Centaur

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Horse from the waist down and human from the waist up
• Culturally, most centaurs emphasize close herd ties, community leadership, and helping your own. Commonly, centaur herds move nomadically around a few central locations, where trust and mutual aid is vital. Leadership roles are taken extremely seriously, and knowing when to step down into a follower’s role is applauded, not shamed.

Shapeshifter

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• Can be literally any of these things and more
• Shapeshifters tend to assimilate with whichever culture they grow up nearest to, but in shapeshifter-only communities, they tend to value spontaneity and philosophy—they exist in both a solid and fluid state of self. Many shapeshifters find themselves unable to relate to the solidity of other creatures, or have been shamed for their abilities and refusal to just “pick something.” Cultures that value transience, like naiads, gnomes, and satyrs, tend to be more welcoming to shapeshifters than others.

Naga

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• Giant snake-people with arms and other humanoid features
• Culturally, most naga are solitary with carefully curated routines. Their families can be very large, but naga children are encouraged to seek independence at a very early age, depending on their upbringing. Because many nagas enter brumation in the winter, the dedication to routine includes making space for rest and recuperation. Many consider it a necessary isolation, to recoup the energy to go on.

Minotaur

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Bull from the chest up, human from the chest down, and a bull’s tail
• Culturally, most minotaur value privacy and not speaking unless they have something “valuable” to add to a conversation. This “value” is dependent on the individual, and can extend to career paths and decisions in life as well. Some minotaurs will (very subtly) bicker over which values in life are most important, both to strengthen their own arguments and to challenge others’.

Vampire

• Nobody is born a vampire, they’re created from bites or curses
• An undead creature that subsists off the blood of living creatures
• Magic ability is based on which creature they were born as
• Most vampires continue to practice the cultural values they had in their lives, but vampire-only communities tend to organize around supporting each other in undeath, and how blood-sucking might be a downside of a second chance at life, but a “living” life has consequences too. In a way, an undeath is a second chance, and many vampires aim to make the most of it, despite their circumstances.

Werewolf

• Nobody is born a werewolf, they’re created from bites or curses
• Look exactly like themselves until the full moon, upon which they mutate into a large wolf creature that is compelled to rampage until the next day
• Magic ability is based on which creature they were born as
• Most werewolves continue to practice the cultural values they had before they were turned, but werewolf-only communities tend to emphasize “necessary rage” and never holding back emotion. To some, becoming a werewolf is freeing, giving them an excuse to express “unsightly” emotions their cultures might encourage them to suppress.

Catfolk

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Humanoid cat creatures; can share the patterns and qualities of domestic or wild cats
• Culturally, most catfolk encourage pride and self-indulgence. Walking away from situations you find unpleasant, or even unstimulating, is encouraged. Taking entire days for yourself to do something you enjoy or simply lounge around is a common pastime. There’s less pressure among catfolk to “give back” their communities, and more communal cultures can clash with catfolk because of this.

Dryad

• Always have the ability to use magic
• Humanoid tree creatures; can share qualities from any one type of tree
• They aren’t “born,” they’re grown from other dryad seeds
• Culturally, most dryads emphasize a slow, cautious life and meditation on any big decision. Impulsivity and recklessness is frowned upon, but as some of the longest-lived creatures in the world, doing something “impulsive” can vary wildly from other cultures’ expectations. Many dryads who spend time with other cultures are often shocked when creatures spend hours—not weeks or months—contemplating their choices. Others are unsurprised—other creatures simply don’t have the time to be as contemplative as a tree. Whether this is sympathy or pity can vary.

Naiad

• Always have the ability to use magic
• Humanoid water creatures
• They aren’t “born,” they’re created through rituals with enchanted water
• Culturally, most naiads value transience in relationships and transparency in emotions—never sticking too closely to one thing, but never lying about their intentions. Because they’re inherently magical, naiads use magic for everything from practicality to play. Magic puzzles and illusions are common forms of entertainment, and even as forms of education. And, of course, many naiads find it amusing to toy with other creatures who try to find their communities, distracting them with said puzzles until they prove themselves or give up.

Fairy

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• Humanoid creatures with thin, butterfly-adjacent wings and colorful hair and eyes
• Culturally, most fairies value politeness and gift-giving, especially if the gift is handmade or somehow personal. Their communities are very close-knit, but have often near-inscrutable social constraints to outsiders. Even between different communities of fairies, the social code is practically a different language and impacts everything from terms of address to which spells may be cast in public vs private spaces.

Harpy

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Humanoids with wings for arms and a bird’s legs; can share patterns and qualities of any bird
• Culturally, most harpies encourage freedom and independence from a young age and throughout life. The ability to fly allows them to travel much farther and with greater ease than most other creatures, so travel is a very big “rite of passage” in lots of harpy societies. Social dances are also given great importance, most often for romance, but there are plenty of dances for friendship, formal events, apologies, celebration, and even sympathy for another’s grief.

Merfolk

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• Human from the waist up and a sea creature from the waist down; can share qualities with any one sea creature
• Culturally, most merfolk value community connections, mutual aid, and teamwork. Merfolk that share traits with fish tend to live in schools, traveling around the sea nomadically. Others that share traits with sharks or octopi tend to be solitary, staying in one area of the sea, with close ties to other merfolk that live near them, or schools that pass by. Their vocal hypnosis is used to hunt, and schools that hunt often use simultaneous hypnosis to disorient their prey before going in for the kill. In schools, the young and the elderly always eat first, followed by the rest.

Aetheridum (pl) / Aetherid (s)

• Regular people (of any creature type) can have Aetheridum children if they’re blessed by whatever gods exist in this world, or if the kid is a gift they prayed for, or as a reward for devotion. No matter what their parents are, the magic kids have metallic skin, will eventually grow wings (even if they already have them), and have an intense penchant for magic
  • They aren’t literally “angels come to earth” but people speculate that they’re earthly incarnations of aether-creatures, or even fragments of gods themselves
• The intensity of that magic gift varies between individuals, but they are the only creature that doesn’t experience the magical “atrophy” that every other creature does. They have an intense magical capacity from birth, to the point where they may warp the magic energies around them without realizing, and cause it to fire off without actually casting any spells
  • This can be both positive and negative. One the one hand, having a high magical capacity means a much easier time learning spells, casting them, and managing the energy output. On the other, choosing not to pursue any magical training means that any Aetherid can potentially be setting off magic flashbangs, wherever they go, by complete accident, for the rest of their lives. Most parents put their Aetheridum kids in magical training as early as possible due to this outcome, but not all of them do, and not all of the children stay in training.
• Despite being a literal godly blessing, the magical capability can be somewhat of a curse too. Recruitment for their magical gifts is extremely high in scientific and medical fields, and many are pushed into high-skill, high-stress jobs for the sake of “not wasting their gifts.” There has been plenty of literature and study on the subject of just how much more beneficial an Aetherid is to any particular work environment, if at all—a high magical capacity doesn’t mean anything about how well you use it. Most find that the same jobs can be easily done with non-Aetheridum workers with standard or even low magical capacities, just not to the same degree of power. Unfortunately, these unfavorable results are often swept under the rug for the sake of maintaining the “usefulness” of this blessed class of creature.

D’infernyssh (pl) / D’infern (s)

• In the same way some children can be blessed, some can be cursed. If the parents make a foul pact, corrupt themselves with forbidden magic, or anger a vengeful deity, they can give birth to a D’infern. These children are almost a direct inverse of Aetheridum, born with metallic skin, eventually growing batlike wings, and always have a curse to bear
  • Similar to the speculation about Aetheridum, the D’infernyssh aren’t literally demons, but could possibly be incarnations of godly rage or corrupted godlike creatures
• The curses placed on the D’infernyssh are always related to the siphoning of emotions or sensations from those around them to survive. “Real” food doesn’t nourish them in the slightest, though they do experience hunger. They describe cravings for feelings the same way any other might describe a craving for soup or fancy steak.
  • The types of curses known to the world are: pleasure, rest, anger, sadness, joy, envy, pain, affection, fear, pride, disgust, and curiosity.
  • For any non-D’infernyssh, simply being in the presence of a hungry D’infern who eats the emotion or sensation you’re feeling is all it takes for it to be slowly drained away. For example, if you feel curious about something around a D’infern that eats curiosity, you’ll slowly become less interested in it until you find it altogether uninteresting. Once the D’infern isn’t hungry, the draining stops, and your emotions become your own again. However, eating feelings doesn’t work like gaining nutrients from food, and unless the D’infern gets a big “meal” from either an intense emotional state or multiple people experiencing the same emotion at once, they often need to “eat” more than 3 times a day.
• Most parents with D’infernyssh children can’t tell if they have a D’infern or an Aetherid at the beginning of the child’s life. Because they both have metallic skin and their wings don’t sprout until puberty, it’s very easy to confuse one for the other unless you know why your child was born with platinum skin. Due to this confusion, many D’infernyssh are malnourished until they can communicate what they need to survive.
  • There are tests that can be given to potential Aetheridum or D’infernyssh children to pick out which one is which, but it does require the parents to acknowledge the potential that their child may be cursed. Unless they know already, many are reluctant to do this, and a few are even insulted by the insinuation.
  • Doctors that specialize in curses are working on ways to determine from birth, and even from an ultrasound, what kind of metallic child they’re working with, but it’s a work-in-progress, and nowhere near as reliable as many D’infernyssh, their parents, and potential parents would like it to be.
• Having a very obvious curse that drains the emotions of those around them, whether they like it or not, makes D’infernyssh obvious targets of ostracization from many cultures, save for those that hold overcoming personal strengths in high reverence, like orcs, dragonfolk, and dwarves. Still, there’s a lot that needs to be done for acceptance of the D’infernyssh, and places like Athendrolyn are breeding grounds for social movements.
  • Obviously this ostracization is more intense for some D’infernyssh and not others. For example, a D’infern that eats pain might have wildly different experiences from a D’infern that eats joy.

Goblin

• Can be born with or without the ability to use magic
• Small, cave-dwelling, mischievous humanoids
• Culturally, most goblins encourage community sharing, barter, and near-constant play. In many goblin societies, there is no concept of “private property.” Everything in the community belongs to everybody in it, with shared resources considered the default with individual items belonging to individuals a very distant concept. Trading extra resources or favors is more common than money when it comes to trade, and even a good joke can count as “payment” in some goblin societies. Entertainment is important for the good of the community, after all, and coming up with new and exciting games is taken very seriously.

Sphinx

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• Large creature with a human’s face, a lion’s body, and an eagle’s wings that tells riddles
• Culturally, most sphinxes value intelligence, creativity, and interrogating rules. In many sphinx communities, their riddles are less important than why the riddles are asked. Knowing when and why to test someone with a riddle is one of the first lessons taught to the rare young sphinx, though the precise reason varies. Tradition, respect for the asker, earning the asker’s attention or friendship, testing another’s creativity, gaining wisdom from their answer, all of these and more are considered valid reasons for a sphinx to ask a riddle. Good luck ever getting them to reveal which one they were thinking of when they asked you, though.

Selkie

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• A seal creature that transforms into a human on land, keeping its seal skin as a coat
• Culturally, most selkies value boundaries, slow-moving relationships, and taking time to put down firm roots. Second only to dryads in their community emphasis on deliberation, selkies never put their coats down in places they wouldn’t be willing to risk their lives in. As slow-moving as selkie friendships and relationships can be, when a selkie is comfortable enough to leave their coats at the door, it’s a sign they’ve become a loyal companion for life. In the same vein, trying to rush a relationship can cause a selkie to snap it like a twig, never to flourish.

Gorgon

• Always born with the ability to use magic
• A humanoid with snakes for hair that can turn others to stone with a single glance
• The snakes are most often non-venomous, but there are exceptions
• Culturally, most gorgons value self-defense, privacy, and “not judging books by the cover.” As frightening as gorgons can seem, and as truly dangerous as their powers can be, the vanishingly rare cases of intentional petrification prove that many fears are unfounded. Many gorgons that value privacy also value the privacy of others, and won’t pry about topics if they aren’t brought up first. By this same principle, many gorgons have very short tolerances for others prying, especially if it involves invasive questions about “how far the snakes go” or their “statue count.”

 

Non-Sapient Creatures

Also includes regular Earth animals, but we all know what a dog is.

Dragon

• European and Eastern type, drakes, wyverns, wyrms, etc.
• Can be as small as a ferret, or the size of a Great Dane
• Are kept as pets regularly
• Depending on the species, dragon behaviors can vary from "lazy cat" to "purebred working border collie", so it's very important to research the kind of dragon that's right for the home

Griffon

• Originally a lion and an eagle, but can be any combination of cat and bird after years of selective breeding and the influence of magic in different regions
• The larger species’ are big enough for an adult to ride comfortably, but there are also smaller breeds kept as pets

Unicorn

• Can be any horse with a horn glued on it
• Are particularly picky about who they allow to ride them
• Basically just a magic horse, so it's used for transportation, sports, pets, animal therapy, etc.

Pegasus

• Can be any horse with wings glued on it
• Incredibly skittish, even compared to a standard horse
• Basically just a horse with wings, so it's used for transportation, sports, pets, animal therapy, etc.

Hippocampus

• The upper body of any horse with the lower body of various fish
• Used in water rescues, sports, and short-distance water transportation and recreation (think of them like living motorboats or jet skis)

Mimic

• Modern day mimics can copy standard mimic objects (chests, rocks, etc.), but also modern-day objects, like music boxes, safes, microwaves, etc.
• Most of them are wild animals, but can be kept as exotic pets
• As they grow, they mimic bigger and bigger things, with the treasure chest size being the biggest. Technically, they never stop growing, but as they age, growth and mimicry become a larger and larger burden. Nearly every mimic dies of old age before it can even begin to mimic something bigger than a chest.
• Imagine a venus flytrap crossed with a hermit crab

Gargoyle

• Carved from a special magic rock that comes alive when crafted
• Behave like magic pigeons, flying down from buildings to beg for pebbles
• Are also kept as pets. Some are even specially commissioned!

Basilisk

• Created by a chicken hatching a reptile egg
• Giant serpentine creature with chicken features, poison breath, leaves a trail of venom wherever it slithers, and is able to kill with a glance
• Often confused with a cockatrice

Cockatrice

• Created by a reptile hatching a chicken egg
• A giant chicken with serpentine features, with similar powers to the basilisk, including being able to kill by glancing at its targets
• Often confused with a basilisk

Phoenix

• Classic phoenix, the bird that dies and comes back to life from its own ashes
• Although it appears to be "coming back to life" it's actually how the phoenix reproduces in stressful situations—the new baby bird is a genetic clone, not the same animal
• A well cared for phoenix should NOT be regularly bursting into flames

Jackalope

• Bunny with antlers <3
• Often kept as pets

Wolpertinger

• “The most widespread description portrays the Wolpertinger as having the head of a rabbit, the body of a squirrel, the antlers of a deer, and the wings and occasionally the legs of a pheasant.” (thanks Wikipedia)
• Often kept as pets, but are much more temperamental than a jackalope.

Will-o-the-Wisp

• Little blips of magical essence where intense spells have left remnants

Familiar

• Can be any animal or combo of animals
• Soul-spirit created through magical willpower that calls the latent magic around you into a fully realized form, bonded to your soul and devoted to helping you
• Looks like an animal (standard or magical)
• Follows you around like a wisp—you can barely see it out of the corner of your eye, but it lights up and becomes more immediately visible when you’re in need of magical aid
• Created by a magic user in an intense emotional state, most often completely by accident. You can attempt to call a familiar on purpose, but it’s not common
• Can also be created from two or more people having an intense emotional/magical experience together/when their spells interact. The resulting familiar will be loyal to all parties involved
• In the event a familiar has to help more than one bonded individual at once, it can fracture into less powerful mirrors of itself, and snap back together once aid is no longer required
• When not in helper mode, the familiar will remain in a quantum state, everywhere and nowhere at once, until one of its soul-bound partners needs its assistance

I’ve got lots of trans characters in both my anthologies, so naturally I’ve been thinking about how they go about transitioning in a society with magic AND scientific advancements. These are a few of the details I’ve thought of so far!

Mundane Transition

Mundane options (for HRT, surgeries, binding, breast forms, packing, tucking, hair removal, etc. etc. there are so many things) are still available for those who don’t want to use magic, or can’t use magic (at all or effectively). In general, mundane options offer more reliable and predictable changes than comparable magical options, especially in medicine, so if you’re intimidated by the breadth and variety of what magic transition entails, there’s always a simpler option. It’s also common to switch from magic to mundane transition options over time, from mundane to magic as a slow ramp-up, or to mix and match mundane and magic options as you see fit.

Magical Hormone Therapy

HRT ritual spell: While there is, technically, a way you can cast a transition spell instantly, it would be ridiculously complex and require far more magical capacity than any known wizard that has ever existed. A ritual spell, cast once a week/every two weeks depending on the user’s magical capacity, that goes through all the changes gradually and uses magic from the world in addition to the caster, is much more sustainable. It can also change things that mundane HRT can’t.

A doctor can prescribe a specific combination of runes to help guide their patient’s transition most effectively. However, it can take a while to see dramatic results, because even precisely tailored magic can fuck up a lot of stuff in the body—use of healing magic, even used in hospitals by trained professionals, has to be carefully monitored to make sure it doesn’t “over-heal” the patient and make everything worse.

HRT potions and salves: Much less customizable than a ritual spell, but an easier option for those who don’t want to go through the hassle of casting. One dose of a bulk-ordered potion a week, with potency gradually increasing over time, is a very simple way to transition. Magical salves don’t increase in potency, but the doses are easier to measure, and are easier for those who have trouble swallowing or dislike the flavor of potions. Both have faster results and the ability to change things mundane HRT can’t.

They can be picked up from a pharmacy or made at home, but brewing at home isn’t recommended because of how difficult it can be to source ingredients—fresh ingredients, at that. The ingredients list can be adjusted for the individual, but it all depends on what’s available.

Magical Gender Affirming Wearables

Magic binding: Most magical binders look like the mundane ones at first glance—either a full or half-shirt that flattens the chest. The trick is in how they work. Instead of compressing the breast tissue, the inside of the magical binders has two ritual circles woven into the fabric that act as transportation circles that contain the breast tissue in a separate plane of existence.

Where, exactly? Nobody’s sure, which may put off some potential wearers. For some, the promised flexibility in no time limit on wearing it and being able to exercise without risk is convincing enough.

Swimming, however, is still not recommended, because of the risk that water could flow endlessly into the binder and dry up the entire water source. It’s also required to be hand-washed or dry cleaned, and you have to take precautions not to stick your hand in the active transportation circles.

Magic breast forms: Enchanted breast forms—whether they were enchanted from the start or mundane-turned-magical—are common. The most popular use of enchantments is making them more realistic to the touch, and some enchantments allow for minimal sensation. Enchantments that makes them more realistic compared to the rest of the body are frequent, but so are enchantments that intentionally make them intentionally unrealistic. Some creatures naturally without breasts (like nagas, dragonfolk, and some merfolk) enjoy simulating what it feels like to be a mammal with enchanted breast forms.

Magic packers: Mundane packers can easily be enchanted and packers that are enchanted from the start are also common. Enchantments include STP, ability to feel minimal sensation during play, and even independent movement. The enchantments require “calibration” to the body before they work properly, and it can take some getting used to, especially learning to switch between enchantments (don’t turn on the erection runes while you’re trying to use the STP runes).

Magic tucking: Magical tucking gaffs look like standard gaffs or underwear. However, similar to magical binders, the inside of the gaffs have a ritual circle woven into the fabric that acts as a transportation circle that send your junk to a separate plane of existence. Nobody knows where!

The risk of such a sensitive area being a mysterious “somewhere else” may put off some potential wearers. Others are willing to take the risk for the smooth appearance and relative comfort. Frequent wearers report the other dimension is a bit chilly.

Again like magical binders, swimming is not recommended, because of the risk that water could flow endlessly into your gaff and dry up the entire water source. They also have to be hand-washed or dry cleaned, and you have to take precautions not to stick your hand in the active transportation circle.

Magic Gender Affirming Surgeries

“Magic” surgeries, of all types not just the gender-affirming kind, are used in tandem with mundane practices. Mundane medicine acts as a failsafe, a buffer, and an essential tool of operation, because there are some things even magic isn’t ideal for. All doctors with the ability to use magic are trained in the mundane ways to do the same thing, and doctors without magical ability are trained alongside their wizard peers to make sure they’re all on the same page about what’s possible and what isn’t. All this to say—magical gender affirming surgeries are as complicated as the mundane kinds.

Magic facial reconstruction: Incorporating magic into facial reconstruction surgery can be dramatically helpful for aesthetics. If the patient has some particular look in mind, it can be recreated to extremely subtle detail, as magic can be used to warp bone, reroute muscle, and more easily reconnect blood vessels.

Magic top surgery: All the regular mundane methods are able to be used in tandem with magic to make the process smoother, and can enhance certain outcomes. For example, retaining nipple sensation is much more likely with magic, or allow for intentionally odd-shaped scars. Magic healing can also help the healing process, and there are plenty of magical methods to make surgery scars fade faster.

Magic metoidioplasty: Simple release often doesn’t require much magic to be used in anything other than the healing process, but it can be used to make the surgery area more aesthetically pleasing if the patient has any particular requests. A full metoidioplasty (with UL, vaginectomy, potentially scrotoplasty, etc.) does involve more magic, both for aesthetic and structural purposes. Magic can lower the risk of some common complications, with the ability to be more precise with the delicate processes, like reattachments of skin, nerves, and blood vessels.

Magic phalloplasty: Depending on the size, requested appearance, any other specific requests, and if the patient is receiving a scrotoplasty as well, magical implementation can vary. Regardless of where the donor area is taken for the phalloplasty, magic makes it much easier to attach the nerve and blood vessel. Aesthetic requests are easier to implement with magic, both for the phalloplasty and the scrotoplasty, and the neophallus can even be enchanted to become erect on its own instead of receiving an implant or pump, and even ejaculate (though it isn’t viable sperm).

Magic vaginoplasty: Depending on whether the patient is receiving full-depth or no-depth, the requested appearance, and any other specific requests, magical implementation can vary. For a no-depth vaginoplasty, the main use of magic is to create an aesthetically pleasing end-result, while the mundane surgeons take most of the wheel. For a full-depth vaginoplasty, precise reattachments of skin, nerves, and blood vessels are where magic shines. Retention of sensation is much higher with use of magic, and complications are lower risk. The neovagina can also be enchanted to self-lubricate, if requested, and even ejaculate (i.e. squirting. You can get a squirting enchantment).

Altersex surgeries: Magic makes any sort of alternate surgical request much easier to implement. A penile-preserving vaginoplasty, a vaginal-preserving phalloplasty, an unburied meta with a phalloplasty on top, genital nullification—you name it, magic makes it easier to retain sensation, lowers the risk of complications, and can help create the genitals (or lack thereof) of the patient’s wildest dreams.

Other Magical Body-Mods

Magic hair growth and removal: Magical hair growth can be factored into an HRT potion, salve, or ritual spell, and regrowth spells/potions/salves are common without a prescription. Magical hair removal is much easier, less painful, and more popular than laser hair removal—it can be done at home with a potion or salve, or at a clinic with a spell. A lot of hair removal salves are used in medical settings to shave an area before surgery, and can be (infrequently) used for personal shaving. Overuse increases the risk that all your hair falls out, an uncontrollable level of hair growth, and skin irritation, so it’s important to dose properly.