Came for the trauma, stayed for the drama.

the royces were a dying house because their connection to their power source was cut off. they're a dead house, now. their power is gone. that's what's interesting about Sorcery As Power: how it eventually breaks down.

halovars born after the shapers war are only magical because yanessa did experiments with her own body and angel blood that resulted in magical progeny. einfasen sorcery is from a bloodline that is hundreds of generations removed from the source, because giants are either extinct or hiding. similarly, the genies or other elemental patrons that the cormorays are likely connected to are presumably gone. even azune's sorcery seems generationally inconsistent at best, and, like einfasen, is probably hundreds of years removed from its magical source.

the houses are all, implicitly, holding onto or trying to find avenues of magical power (the jotunøks, the kalystra mines, aetheon and pacts with ksha'aravi, the deva vindicta) the same way they're making significant power grabs across dol makjar, because the reality is there's not a lot standing between them and becoming as weak as royce. that's why they're all sinking their claws into institutions like religion or the military or the police or academia or the arts, so that they have relevance and power outside of magic that their grandchildren may not be born with

I’m starting to doubt that I’m ever gonna get around to FCG, so here’s a roundup of the Bells Hells in historical art styles alongside an illustrative example of the art style used.

From top to bottom-

Laudna in the style of 19th century gothic revival stained glass

Dorian Storm in the style of Yoshitaka Amano

Orym of the Air Ashari in the style of 16th century Mughal painting

Fearne Calloway in the style of Baroque portrait sculpture (for example Bernini)

Chetney Pock O’Pea in the style of Ivan Bilibin

Imogen Temult in the style of Nell Brinkley

A lot of Bolaire’s petulant behavior through episode 31 makes a lot more sense if viewed as what a 14-year-old’s perspective would be:

Theater is the best thing in the world because it woke me up and freed me.

A lot of People deserve to die, and I’m gonna stoop just as low when I murder them because they deserve that too.

I work at a museum collecting Things that no one deserves to have, and I’m a Thing, so I deserve to be in charge of the rarest Things.

Thjazi is mean to me because he hates Things and hates me. He ruins Things. He’s trying to ruin me. He taught me what hate is.

It’s a long shot that Thjazi’s actually gonna die because he’s totally got a plan like he always does, but there’s st— oh, shit. LOL

At least the funeral is an excuse to visit my best friend and his awesome family. They’ll get over it.

Thjazi broke a bunch of Things to make an empty freezer with a portal to the underworld. He’s awful.

My friend joked that she’d push me into the freezer to the underworld, and I told her I’d have killed her. We laughed because we’re cool.

I’d totally do it, though.

She and the rest don’t know that I fight tyranny because I’m a living weapon, and no one can know or else they’d lock me up, that’s why I have a secret identity and a secret lair full of cool Things.

Okay, you can know my secret identity and see my secret lair full of cool Things because we’re friends.

Also, Thjazi sucked guys. He totally did.

I’m gonna stop People from taking Things and talking because what if they’re bad. Power Word: shut up.

A Person that became a Thing? Come back to town so we can be best friends I can show you the ropes.

All this bad stuff happening is Thjazi’s fault.

Give me some teenagers to help make a mess in my museum because someone is trying to take Things away from me it.

I’m gonna 1v1 this Big Bad in the sewers because I’m worse than them and also awesome.

My best friend is gonna kill this host and put me on a new host just like in a play he would write, omg, we’re so cool. (He doesn’t need to know that was unnecessary, he’s down for it because he’s cool.)

This is the best magician ever and the best imaginary friend ever. Oh, hell, stop messing with my room I love what you’ve done with the place.

Don’t forget that Thjazi sucked so much.

My best friend and I are gonna steal Things from my museum at night by ourselves because that’s cooler than just doing paperwork to give the Things back to their owners.

I’m gonna 1v1 this Big Bad sorcerer in my museum because I’m worse than them and also— oh, shit.

Big Sis is alive and that’s terrifying because I’ve been doing other stuff, but it’s not my fault because I’m clever and didn’t figure it out, so it must have been impossible. I did not forget to take the chicken out of the freezer, it wasn’t there when I looked, I swear.

Thjazi sucks guys, of course he had bad ideas and bad plans, I’m tired of keeping quiet. Fine, ignore me, whatever.

Fine, break a mask and be rude to me. I don’t need to see your stupid play. I bet it’s about Thjazi, so I wouldn’t like it anyway. Whatever.

I’m gonna go on a secret spy mission with Team Spy because I’m super cool and can fight the bad guys with them, just stick me o— who the fuck is this. Ew.

Oh, no, Big Sis got out of the freezer. Fuck. Oh, good, she didn’t see me.

WAIT, DON’T LEAVE.

Big Sis is terrifying, but she saved me because she loves me, and I can tell her the truth about everything because she loves m— oh no.

Do you love your brother? THEN CRY ABOUT IT.

MY MIND PLAYS AREN’T RIGHT.

Big Sis is mean to me because she hates me and I don’t have a family.

My best friend is mean to me because he hates me and my life is over.

Everyone is mean to me because they hate me and everything sucks now.

Whatever. Stick me in a box, I don’t care.

30 'Brothers in the Face of Death'

The Pridesires take on the mutilated form of Raimond Davinos...

So different, yet kindred all the same.