#((time to worldbuild

[bethanydelleman]

One of the things I loved about The Wild Robot from a writing/world-building perspective was that it was clearly set in a post-apocalyptic world, but the details were very vague, and you don't even know until about an hour in:

"Beautiful shot," you think, and then it hits you that the whales are swimming over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Abandoned, crumbling satellites and a sunken city. And then when we do see the human city, they freak out at the sight of geese:

Animal-derived plague? Global warming? We don't know. We only know that something has happened. But like the general theme, whatever bad has occurred, the natural world is thriving. An unexpected positive from a history of tragedy.

[shira-ceres]

no siffrin you can't just abuse socially unaccepted gang signs for your quality of life mechanics mid loop

[adobe-outdesign]

"why don't super-intelligent Pokemon like Metagross and Alakazam just take over humanity if they're smarter than us" imagine that a random primate gave you free housing, food, and medical care for the rest of your life for literally no reason other than they want to be friends with you and I think you'll understand

[egophiliac]

Final manifestations for Book 7?

I'm trying REALLY hard not to build up any solid expectations, because I wanna go in ~fresh~! they're already so far away from anything I thought would happen (not in a bad way, I'm just accepting that I'm on Miss Yana's Wild Ride at this point and we're seeing this thing through 'til the end, by gum). so it's nothing too major, but:

they've been handing new crying expressions out like candy lately, I want to see some delicious Malleus tears.

honestly I want everyone to cry buckets. their tears sustain me. the more Silver angst specifically I get the happier I am.

SILVER!!!! 👏 VANROUGE!!!! 👏

just let him have this. the poor boy's been through so much. let him have his big "I'm proud of you, son" moment with Lilia.

I'm 100% expecting Grim's arc (and probably whatever's going on with Crowley) to be its own episode, but a nice hook to leave us hanging on would be good!

a nice hook though, please, I don't think I can take another "Grim is attacking us! now wait eight months to find out what happens :)" cliffhanger...

some Meleanor? as a treat? just a little bit, a tiny quick flashback or something, please Twst I just, I just want to see her again. let her have a little ghost cameo like Dawnathan Knight got. Lilia and his kids are all having their big group hug or whatever and she can gently fade in to be all like

(turning asks off until I'm done playing, SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE Y'ALL)

[dunmeshistash]

Dungeon Meshi Adventurer's Bible - Dungeon cross section

Details under the cut

Details cropped from this reddit post

[tawnysoup]

the fritter (frin critter)

[kinerxy]

Honrses

[longlivethewildernessyet]

C.S. Lewis: oh and yeah, the stars are actually people who are functionally immortal (unless bitten by a witch who's shapeshifted into a snake) and come down to earth for rest periods wherein they look like normal humans and eat fire-berries until they can go be stars again, but they can be banished too and become magicians—

me: hold on

C.S. Lewis: keep up, there are also sea people (not mermaids) who have entire civilisations underwater, with dark purple hair and ivory skin, and they ride giant seahorses, and are very aggressive—

me: wait a second

C.S. Lewis: aren't you listening, because there is also a world underneath Narnia with many different sections, including one where Father Time sleeps until the end of the world, and a world underneath that called Bism where gems live and can be juiced like fruit—

me: just hang on a minute

C.S. Lewis: so you don't want to hear about how a centaur feeds both stomachs?

[elodieunderglass]

Horror isekai where Perceiving the Weird Eldritch Thing gets you catapulted into a nightmare labyrinth of puzzle-solving.

I.e Those Who Perceive The Hunt of the Goblin King Must Partake In The Labyrinth and Can Only Be Freed If They Complete It In One Day and One Night. By Fae Law. For Reasons.

But the definition of “perception” clearly needs to be updated because some normal guy simply films the Hunt of the Goblin King Behind Arby’s, and puts it on Facebook -

No, not instagram or TikTok, it’s important that it be Facebook -

Because the rules are pretty clear, “the rules are the rules” as is carved ominously in elvish runes above the grim gate, and the Contract is Sealed. and so therefore the guy and 25 of their most random real-life acquaintances must run the gauntlet together. It’s Some Guy, their immediate neighbors, their first partner’s mom, their friends from hobby Facebook groups (oh this poor guy and their hobbies; the elderly birdwatchers from Facebook and the young up-and-coming drag king community), their random teen kid niece, college friends, a dog who also watched the video, a couple consisting of a woman who is the guy’s Facebook friend and showed her husband the video, and the husband doesn’t even know Some Guy, so he’s in the labyrinth and absolutely furious about being forced to be involved, and they proceed to break up over the course of the puzzle.

It’s important that the narrative keeps trying to be a sexy dark horror isekai! but within this the comedic reality of Catherine, 52, the guy’s horse-riding instructor, being passionately involved in escape-room-style puzzle solving and grappling with minor goblins. They are in fact speedrunning the gauntlet.

The Goblin King finally has to say: all right, actually, I only really set all this up to fuck with one (1) guy at a time, thanks for your willingness to participate, but I think all 25 of you can consider the gauntlet fully run.

And the group would be quite hurt by that. The rules are the rules. We have a contract, actually. Let Catherine cook.

[canisalbus]

hii i'm so fascinated with the anthro dog worldbuilding and had a question about it !!! if domesticated canines exist in the world, do undomesticated canines (wolves, foxes, coyotes, maned wolves, etc) also exist? if so, what role do they play in society? ^_^

Domestic dogs are the only anthropomorphic species, they exist in place of humans.

Wild canines exist, but they're just regular wolves, foxes, coyotes and so on. Anthro dogs view them the same way humans view apes and other primates. They recognize that wolves are superficially similar to them in some uncanny ways, but have no gualms about hunting them. To a dog living in the pre-Darwin era, a wolf isn't a distant relative, it's a wild beast that will eat their livestock.

Actual pet dogs are entirely absent.

Other domesticated animals exist as normal. Anthro dogs keep cats as pets, raise chickens and ride horses.

[quesocheeso]

Hi! I’ve seen you answering and kinda info dumping about pregnancies in your Au and how they work, and I was wondering how they work biologically.

I’m always so interested by world building and new ideas, and as me myself is creating a pregnant Au, I’m really curious about the process. Would you be willing to explain more in-depth? (Sorry if this is a weird ask :3)

I mean there ain’t really much to it y’know

…when two people love each other very much they— *gets dragged away*

Okay but yeah the process is basically a normal pregnancy, people bombayayah and if they don’t use protection- *boom* a baby is created,, but that’s the normal stuff, so looking at it through the magical lens…

High magical procreation/birth/pregnancies are RARE, and it’s not because the higher the magical ability the lower the fertility, its actually the opposite (kinda), it’s rare because of the mortality rate for the birther and the baby so a lot of beings don't go through with it unless they know their partner could feesibly handle it.

So fertility wise, a lot of times I see how the more powerful the being the lower their fertility but let's put it here as the opposite, that along with the low rates of births, you wind up with strong beings who need to be calculated in who they partner up if all they want is a heir.

This is where arranged/political marriages come in, however the risk is higher to the partner who would be the birther so they have to be given a higher political status and benefits to their families to equal out the risks they'll have in the marriage.

(This also means that people who have already gone through a high magical pregnancy and survived are much more sought out for and receive courtship letters after a certain period of time after the birth even if they are still married....which means Macaque gets real popular after Xiaotian is born lmao)

For couples who are not looking to have children due to the risk but still want to be intimate, there have been spells/sigils passed down in families to prevent pregnancies from happening,,, which becomes real funny when you realize no one in FFM would be privy to this kind of info so Wukong has to suck up his pride and ask DBK for his family's spell lmaooooo brother gets laughed at before he gets sat down and given a detailed presentation over the sigil,,, the couple just has to make sure to always cast it or else they'll be getting a lil surprise lol

The whole process is calculated and thought out for powerful beings, it's a gamble not many are willing to take and seeing as a lot of them are immortal many don't see the need for children

Also going back to my previous point:

This is how Macaque looked when he reintroduced himself to the court after his magic deficiency was finally gone from Xiaotians birth

Tell me who wouldn't want to write courting letters for this beautiful mf

[beneathsilverstars]

Was thinking about fan art where Siffrin has a Loop Plush™️ and I started wondering, what's a realistic context for that? Like would they make it, or ask Isabeau to make it, or just happen to find something that looks similar to Loop while out shopping?

And I realized that actually... I do headcanon that star-headed figures are part of the island's mythology, along the lines of angels. So. There would be artwork of them out there. Quite a bit of it on the island, but surely some could be found in other countries as well, suddenly lacking context. Perhaps anyone who had learned about the Universe and its star children would get a bit of a headache looking at them, and/or a rewind-forget, but anyone who didn't know enough to even make that connection would be fine and could enjoy them as a pretty, almost-abstract oddity.

Siffrin, trying to find some normalcy post-canon. Going to antique stores with Odile. Finding a worn child's toy tucked away in a back corner, and its lightless body is embroidered with careful patterns of dots, and its head is darkless and pointed with beads for wide eyes.

And for a moment, he recognizes it. Not as Loop, but as a hundred things — paintings and statues and drawings and costumes and figurines — helper and friend and child and self and guide — and then. The thought is gone. And the dusty old toy just looks like Loop, and he has no idea why and how this resemblance could possibly have happened.

[unboundprompts]

Could you give me some ideas for currencies and the measurement of time, preferably both in a more dark fantasy setting involved with nature?

Currency and Time Measurement in a Dark Fantasy Setting

-> feel free to edit as you see fit.

Currencies

Leaf Coins: Thin, pressed coins made from the leaves of sacred trees. The type of leaf determines the coin's value, with rarer leaves being more valuable.

Bloodstones: A currency made from dark red gemstones that are said to be formed from the blood of fallen warriors.

Shadowshards: Small, dark crystals that absorb light and shimmer with a ghostly glow. They are collected at dusk and are traded as currency, often used in shadowy dealings. The more shadow a shard absorbs, the higher its worth.

Grave Dirt: A unique form of currency, this is literally dirt taken from sacred burial grounds. It is believed to contain the power of the dead. Merchants trade small pouches of it, and its value increases based on how many souls it has been touched by.

Wyrm Scales: Scales from mythical serpents that once roamed the land. Each scale has a distinct pattern and is highly valued due to its rarity and the protective magic it is said to bestow upon its holder.

Fungal Credits: Small, luminescent fungi that can be harvested at certain times of the year. Their glow indicates their value.

Measurement of Time

Moon Phases: Time is measured in moon phases, with each cycle representing a month. Each phase is associated with different rituals and events in nature, such as the “Blood Moon” for harvest and the “Waning Moon” for reflection and atonement.

Nightfall Cycles: Instead of days, time is counted in cycles of nightfall, where each cycle is divided into periods marked by darkness and light. A cycle may last for varying lengths of time based on seasonal changes, with longer nights in winter.

Sundrop Hours: Each hour is marked by the position of a special sundial that has been enchanted to reflect the essence of the sun. During certain times, the sundial emits a soft glow, indicating a magical time when rituals can be performed.

Eclipses: Significant events are measured by the number of eclipses that have occurred since a pivotal moment in history.

Blood Seasons: Time is divided into seasons based on nature’s cycles and the harvesting of life. For example, “Bloomspring,” “Darksummer,” “Crimsonfall,” and “Frostbite,” with each season lasting as long as it takes for specific plants to grow or animals to thrive.

Night’s Breath: This measures time through the cycles of natural events, such as the sounds of nocturnal creatures or the rustling of leaves in the wind. Each breath is a period marked by significant changes in the environment, like the blooming of nocturnal flowers.

[eosofspades]

what is it abt ghosts that gives them the best character design ever, i'm not even talking about the wild customizable shells or anything i mean like the base design, what IS it that makes it so lovable. it's something to do with the simplicity and symmetry, but also they're so expressive and adorable that even though they're entirely robotic they seem so human and endearing. how does one recreate this effect or at least clearly outline how to achieve such a thing

[chimerafeathers]

WAIT WAIT WAIT

i keep thinking how odd it feels to see ISaT fanart in full color (it’s always great and i love seeing people’s interpretations of everything but still!) because the characters canonically seeing the world in black and white shades is so fascinating to me, how it would influence things in subtle ways that are and aren’t actually explored in canon

so it leads to the overthinking rabbit hole of “in the context of this colorful fanart, is this an au where colored sight returns/was never forgotten? or are the characters still seeing the world in monochrome and this is just what they would look like to us? what WOULD their world look like to us—WAIT.”

and that’s when i remembered the Addams Family set in color.

according to the theater production class i took a long time ago, sets for theater and productions like this had to carefully choose colors based on how the lighting would make them appear to the audience; the Addams Family set couldn’t be in more “appropriate” colors because it would show up muddled and indistinguishable, while the seemingly uncharacteristic bright pinks and yellows appear as clear and readable shades when filming in black-and-white.

all this to say i think it would be really funny if everyone in ISaT is actually wearing the most appalling and strange color combinations if viewed in color because the resulting monochrome shades look nice and have good contrast together

[sage-the-unwise]

gotta say one of the more horrifying and gross implications of the benefactors' heavy use of purposed organisms has to be the fact that the walls of everything in metropolis (and other cities too) are probably filled with sedentary meat animals that have been there for centuries, possibly millenia, some of which almost certainly could not survive without regular input from their creators. i think maybe some of them could survive without whatevever food source they used (probably shit and garbage for the waste disposal ones and nutrient fluids or something for others) and and evolve into other things but i imagine a lot of them didnt and they just. decomposed in the walls. like can you imagine how bad the cities must've reeked within the first several months/years after public ascension as all the ones dependent on waste from living blocks just died of starvation and decomposed. i feel so bad for the iterators man