TwistedCryptid

What RSA students hold during battles isn't actually a sword, it's a baton (a conductor's baton). It's an item that's separate from their magic-stone brooch meant to reinforce their visual theme, and it allows for more customization in appearance than a magical pen. Trein uses the same brooch-style magic stone as RSA, since I imagined both following a traditional style. (source)

Crewel also carries a rod, but he wears his magic stone dangling from a strap, giving off a flashier impression (his personal taste takes priority over tradition).

Vargas's bracelet is also just his own personal preference. I imagine that once they're adults they're free to design their magic stones however they like, so it might be fun to think about how the students will customize theirs in the future. (source)

Also, Idia's magic stone is set in a magical device, but he probably did receive a standard magical pen when he first enrolled. He just took it apart on his own and went all out on modifying it. What a troublemaker. (source)

More here:

Doomed siblings and i always think abt Shroudbros... Idia losing his eye the same way Anaxa did (by trying to see their siblings for the last time) but unlike Anaxa who found that "fulfilling", Idia became "greedier" bcs he still couldnt cope, strived for more, and built Robo!Ortho😔

Bonus: Aglaea!Yelena 👅

Copy and pasted from an article about it that i found:

"In the vast, mysterious depths of our oceans, an extraordinary phenomenon has captured the attention of marine biologists worldwide. Humpback whales, those gentle giants known for their haunting songs and acrobatic breaches, have been repeatedly observed intervening when orcas (killer whales) attack other marine species. This behavior, seemingly altruistic and protective, has been documented across different oceans and involves humpbacks defending not just their own calves, but also completely unrelated species including seals, sea lions, gray whales, sunfish, and even harbor porpoises.

Scientists have struggled to fully explain this cross-species protection, which appears to defy conventional understanding of animal behavior and evolution. What drives these massive creatures to put themselves at risk for animals that offer them no apparent evolutionary advantage? The answer may reveal profound insights about animal cognition, emotional complexity, and the sophisticated social structures that exist beneath the waves.

Since the early 2000s, marine biologists have recorded dozens of incidents where humpbacks whales have interfered with orca hunts. In a comprehensive 2016 study published in Marine Mammal Science, researchers documented 115 interactions between humpbacks and hunting orcas across the globe. In 57% of these cases, the humpbacks actively approached orcas that were attacking or feeding on prey – including species entirely unrelated to humpbacks. One particularly striking example occurred near the Farallon Islands off California, where scientists witnessed humpbacks charging into a pod of orcas that were attacking a gray whale calf.

The humpbacks positioned themselves between the orcas and their prey, slapping their massive pectoral fins on the water’s surface and creating enough disturbance that the orcas eventually abandoned their hunt. Similar protective behavior has been observed from Antarctica to the Arctic, suggesting this is not an isolated or regionally specific behavior but rather a species-wide phenomenon. One leading explanation for humpbacks’ protective behavior is what scientists call the “mobbing response hypothesis.” This theory suggests that humpbacks have evolved a generalized defensive response against orcas that is triggered whenever they detect orca predatory activity, regardless of the specific target.

WE COULD'VE HAD IT ALL?????