Ethically Sourced Chaos

Butterflix is the core transformation of the forms Feronix, Apothix, and Anthouix. Much like Harmonix, it doesn’t add much strength wise and is comparative to Charmix. Butterflix is earned when a mage is able to tap into wild magic for the first time. The form allows them to metabolize it safely, as wild magic is unstable and can cause mages to develop magical atrophy. It’s deeply rooted in the natural world, with select ecosystems developing in a way that makes them dependent on it and becoming pools for the magic.

It does not make them immune to magical atrophy, it just creates a resistance to it. The form is a place holder until they can gain one of the three aforementioned forms, as the higher forms gain the ability to control it and develop a better resistance to its effects. Butterflix acts as a stepping stone towards it and helps introduce the magic to one’s magic source, to avoid overwhelming it.

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As for the Winx’s individual designs, I gave each girl a specific butterfly family to base their designs off of. Initially, I wanted to do specific butterflies for each, down to the species, but ultimately decided on a family to keep things more simple but individualized. There are seven in total and each had their own reason. Lore-wise, the family is not connected to their form in anyway, it’s just a design feature I chose.

Bloom was designed with papilionidae, swallowtails, in mind. They are a very grand, prized, group of butterflies. They’re best known for the species with the tails on their wings, as well as the bright colors and patterns on their wings. They are also the family with the largest butterflies in the world, being the birdwing butterflies. Part of what made me inclined to give her papilionidae, albeit not present in her design, is the Green Dragontail butterfly. It’s a type of swallowtail with long tails that flutter when they fly. I also use swallowtails in Bloom’s design as well, best seen in her Enchantix, Sirenix, and Vitalix, which also pushed me towards papilionidae.

Stella has nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterflies. They are the largest family and are best known for groups like emperors, monarchs, and fritillaries. They are best known for their orange, white, and brown color pallets, but it’s not uncommon for them to also have other colors mixed in. In fact, there’s a nymphalid called the blue moon butterfly. Admittedly, the oranges of the nymphalidae is why I wanted Stella to have them, but that had been before I decided on how I wanted their colors ordered for Butterflix.

Flora’s Butterflix was based on Hedylidae. They’re better known as the genus Macrosoma, or American moth-butterflies. They’re native to the Americas, primarily observed in South and Central. Many of the species within the genus are dependent on specific plants, both as a food source and host plant when they pupate. Between that and their earthen, plant-like wings, they felt fitting for Flora.

Musa’s family was lycaenidae. Their common names include coppers, blues, and hairstreaks, with the latter two being the primary inspiration. Blues tend to have spots on their wings, which is what led me to that decision. My redesign of her Butterflix, from 2022, was also based on hairstreak butterflies, so it’s also a partial call-back to that. Adding the tails of the hairstreaks also helps separate her wings from the other girls.

Initially, I was between lycaenidae and pieridae for Tecna, but ended up going with riodinidae. Riodinidae are better known as metalmark butterflies, named for the metallic sheen of the scales. Metalmarks lack any distinctive or common shapes, some have tails like a swallowtail, some have wings that are shaped similar to fritillaries or blues. In the end, I did look at a specific metalmark, the menthone cecillia, due to the distinct jagged edges on the hindwings.

Aisha’s took inspiration from the pieridae family, better known as whites or allies. Some of the better known species are the common brimstone and orange tip. Many are solid colors and pronounced veins, which almost look like the fins of a fish. Most species are also found in tropical areas, primarily in Asia and Africa. And, while green is not a dominant color this time, the wings of species like the common brimstone and lyside sulphur are green-ish and reminiscent of Aisha’s canon Harmonix wings.