#Mcd Scaleswind

[necrocrafter]

Scaleswind being an early steampunk era village that's full of academia and the pursuit of advancement. Scaleswind being tucked strategically and safely in the cradle of a mountain crater, allowing for innovative ways to get out and about the mountains. Scaleswind inspiring bright and brilliant minds.

I also just like Nicole's whole disguise. In s1, she says that her look isn't what she actually looks like and that she's hiding from her father. But sometimes the best disguises are the ones that aren't far from the truth.

Plenty of people know about Scaleswind and try and get into their academies. She just looks like your average rumpled "college" student trying to make it in the world.

[iridiss]

just noticed a plot hole in my mcd rewrite fic, cycles of love

gonna have to go back through all the chapters to rewrite whatever snippets have it

[certified-aphblr-location-scout]

Scaleswind = Ljubljana, Slovenia & Gdansk, Poland

X / X / X / X / X

[With Książ Castle on the hill]

[daveys-tired]

guys look omg i drew

paper ver + filterless ver under cut

i eont wanna talk ab his face on the paper ver it is. big.

[noble-guards]

Mcd Minor Character Tournament

[that-one-i-think]

An underrated but incredibly fundamental part of world building are phrases! Similies or metaphors that flesh out the world and characters and the best way to do them are in the format of fandom incorrect quotes. Time for MCD world building.

Person A: I greatly apologize for my actions and I wish that thou-

Person B: I am not from fucking O'khasis, speak plainly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person B: On a scale of Meteli to Scaleswind, how religous are you?

Person A: Love, I am from O'khasis.

Person B: Ah, so ridden with guilt but not in a kinky way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person A: It's hotter than a midday Meteli

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person B: You should never duel a Tu'lanian. If you duel a northerners your fucked, if you duel a southerner you're gonna get fucked (consensually)

Person A: So which one is better to fight?

Person B: Well, it depends how you want to be stabbed but either way you're fucked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person A: Irene has blessed your heart especially.

Person B: God, you're lucky you're lovable cause, man, are you dumb.

(Same phrase)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person A: How do you have a knife?

Person B: Why would I have a knife? We're just in a library.

Person A: Fine. HEY C, you got a knife?

Person C: *hands knife from boot*

Person B: WHY ARE YOU ARMED?

Person C: An unarmed man is a stupid man.

Person A: He's from Tu'la they always have knives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person C: May Menphia have mercy on your soul

Person B: Why does that sound like a threat?

Person A: *whisper* Tu'lanians pray for their enemies soul before they kill them.

Person B: Oh I should be running

Person A and C: Yes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person C: I think I had a snake tongue incident

Person A: A what?

Person C: I messed up my words

Person B: Do you mean tongue twisted?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person B: It is as mysterious as a wyverns tit

Person C: Is that good or bad?

Person A: It would be like seeing Menphia's boobs.

Person C: Oh, so wonderful.

Person A: What? No, just weird.

Person C: She had amazing breasts. There's paintings and sonnets

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Person C: It's like getting groomed by a Lion.

Person A: What?

Person C: Long, rough, unpleasantly wet, and not as nice as you would imagine.

Person A: Oh, so like having sex with Esmund.

Person B: *distantly* He was a cuck

Person C: Ah, so yes.

[write-tama]

"a long day at work." (MCD Scenarios)

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ( MCD!characters) x (guard!reader)

sypnosis ; security has been intensified due to neighboring villages are in fear due the threat of O’Khasis, meaning that you haven’t been able to spend some alone time with your partner. But finally, you’ve been let out of work early, which means you have a night to your lover!

containing ; Laurence Zvhal, Garroth Ro’meave, Dante (for some reason I can't find his last name?!). Established relationship, immense fluff! Reader is referred as you/yours.

author’s note ; hello MCD side of tumblr! i decided to post this just as for fun and to let out my little obsession on MCD lately. Pardon me if some things sound out of character I haven’t watched the series since I was like.. Ten maybe?! and I’m currently rewatching s1. But anyway, hope you enjoy!

9.26.24 | 2.7k words

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LAURENCE

Despite you two being guards, you’ve been stationed on the other side of Phoenix Drop since he is one of the head guards that stands alongside Lord Aphmau. But finally, after what felt like so long, the two of you finally were able to see each other tonight. Laurence was home before you. Being such the romantic he is, he had dimly lit candles scattered along the house and a bouquet of your favorite flowers sitting on the table, waiting for your arrival. He even stopped by Emmalyn’s library to pick out the new set of books she had purchased recently.

He was patiently sitting on the couch, undressed to a white long-sleeve cotton shirt and baggy pants. You came through the door, completely exhausted with your weapon slung over your shoulder. The sound of the door creaking was enough to make Laurence stand up immediately before grabbing the flowers from the table.

“There you are, my love..” He purred. The feeling of his arms wrapping around your body was enough for you to drop your weapon and to bury your face into his addicting scent. He pushed the door closed behind you before reluctantly pulling away to present you with his gift you didn’t even notice at first.

You couldn’t help the giant grin forming on your face as your hand rested upon his cheek. “I missed you too, sweetheart.” you smiled. You took ahold of the bouquet, admiring the selection. “I can see Cadenza helped you out tonight.” You chuckled, feeling the silk ribbon that tied the flowers’ stems together. A content huff blew through his nostrils as he buried himself into your palm.

“Hey.. Can a man not do his best for his loveliest?” He said, playfully rolling his eyes. He turned his face around to kiss the inner part of your palm. “I would’ve done more for you, you know that, but I figured that we should just have a night in bed together. Just you and me.” A comment like that was enough to send a flutter through your chest.

After a standstill of silent kisses and snuggles, the two of you finally headed upstairs to the bedroom to unwind for a night of comfort. You hung all your armor next to Laurence’s armor stand before joining him in bed. On your nightstand was a new collection of different novels from neighboring villages.

“I remember the last time we spoke, you said that you practically read every book from the library, but this morning I helped Brandon unload a crate of books Emmalyn had ordered, so I figured I’d pick some out for you.” Laurence smiled, his voice a bit lower now as he was relaxing into bed. You joined him on your side of the bed, letting the warm covers wrap around your legs. As you looked through the selection of three books, a warm tint deepened your complexion.

“You shouldn’t have..” You mumbled. “Hey! Did you ask Emmalyn for permission before taking these books? One of these books are all the way from Scaleswind!”

Laurence sat up before burying his face into your side, sighing. “Yes, your majesty.” He sarcastically replied. “She figured it as a kind gesture for all of the work we’ve been doing. Now shush up and read me a bedtime story!” He playfully remarked, sounding a bit like a child. Despite his snarky little attitude (that in all honestly, made you love him even more), you decided to start on the book from Scaleswind that way you could return it earlier than anticipated. With a candle illuminating the pages, you softly read to him. He laid down beside you, a protective arm wrapped around your waist, but at the same time cuddling you. Eventually, Laurence fell silent. You had assumed he fell asleep, so you decided to place a bookmark in between the pages before blowing out the candle next to you. You properly laid down next to him, burying yourself into his chest.

As your eyes fluttered close, you heard a soft voice call out your name.

“My love?” Laurence mumbled.

“Yes, Laurence?” You quietly replied, not wanting to break out of your exhausted-state.

“I love you.. After all these years, I never thought I’d be with the person of my dreams. Sleep well, my angel..”

With that, he fell right to sleep. Your heart skipped a beat as heat rushed to your face. Gently, you scoot up and brushed a tuff of hair from his face.

“I love you too..” You spoke barely above a whisper.

Maybe it was the dark playing tricks with you, but the corners of Laurence’s lips tugged into a gentle and content smile. <3

GARROTH

The guards of Phoenix Drop work hard, but there was not a single doubt that Garroth worked ten times harder. For most nights, you were the one that arrived home first. Despite your protests against your own exhaustion, you would fall asleep before he got home. You would only feel the shift of the bed in the middle of the night to signify that he had made it home safely, but again, before you could wake up, he was right back to work.

But thank Lady Irene herself, Garroth finally had a night off. Brian had offered to take the night shift from him, seeing at how exhausted Garroth seemed lately. Along with that, Dante also seemed to notice your exhaustion which is why he offered to take up your shift as well. Whether the two conspired with one another to finally give you two a day-off was a discussion for later.

Garroth was off of work first, and it felt abnormal. The moment he placed his sword into the racks and stepped out of the guards’ station, he felt a sense of emptiness. As he trailed himself back to his house, he thought of what he could do for you once you got home. He figured maybe a homemade dinner together would suffice. Though he had to admit, it’s been quite some time since he cooked a proper meal for himself, epecially for another. He stopped by the farms and local butcher for some groceries, and then arrived at his abode.

He decided on a simple meal— a steak with a side of vegetables and mashed potatoes with a basket of freshly baked bread he picked up from Kawaii~Chan. The table had a white cloth decorating its surface with the basket in the middle, two plates on either side, and a candle to light up the scene. He was nearly finishing up frying your steak when you had walked in, your helmet by your hip.

“Garroth!” You exclaimed, a bit surprised. The excitement had woken you up from your tired state as you dropped your helmet onto the wood floor and hugged him tight.

“Good evening, my knight.” Garroth grinned eagerly, just as thrilled to see you. He ran an idle hand through your hair. “You’re just in time for dinner. Go get undressed and take a seat.” Not wanting to waste another second, you picked up your helmet and immediately placed your armor away, dressing down to some comfortable attire. By the time you headed back downstairs, Garroth had placed your steak on your plate and he had taken his seat.

“Garroth, this smells amazing.” You complimented, a bit amused. You had never seen Garroth cook a full meal before, in fact, you can’t recall ever seeing Garroth cook at all. Garroth chuckled, gesturing his hand to take a seat in front of him. You took your seat in front of him, admiring the dish before you. The steak looked juicy and cooked just the way you liked it. The vegetables were fresh and vibrant of color. Even the potatoes looked thoroughly mushed and creamy!

“Heh, yeah..” Garroth chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “Back in O’Khasis, we still were taught how to cook despite having our own chefs. It was important to my father that we were skilled in even the most basic necessities. My mom just enjoyed spending time together though.” He smiled, thinking back on the fond memories.

You decided to finally dig in. One taste of that steak and it felt like the flavors were melting on your tongue. You squealed in excitement, not having something as delicious as the dish before you. “G-Garroth, this tastes amazing—! Even more than amazing, actually! I don’t even know how to describe it.” You cried. You could barely express your appreciation verbally as you savored and tasted every bite. Garroth’s face flushed in a bright red as the candle light illuminated his face.

“T-Thank you..” he stuttered. “I was nervous that maybe I had lost my skill after years, but I guess I still got it, yeah?” He joked. You couldn’t help but chuckle at his shyness. The two of you spent the rest of the night chowing down on such a gourmet dish, and telling each other the adventerous stories the two of you have been through, enjoying a perfect night together at last. <3

DANTE

Dante, being fresh out of training and this being his first real job as a guard, worked extremely hard and long hours to prove himself as a worthy knight. You fell in love with him the moment he walked into the village, but you didn’t realize how intensely he worked. Some nights after duty, he wasn’t able to say much other than to crash into bed. It’s not like you had any more energy than him. The paranoid feeling of invasion washed over you as you were constantly on guard duty, patrolling through the outskirts of Phoenix Drop.

One evening, despite Dante’s protests, Garroth had ordered Dante to take the night off. “Dante, you’re a profound knight despite your short-term experience. It’s time you take a break from all that work you’ve been doing.” The head guard assured, placing both palms on his shoulders. Dante was about to protest again, but his mind started to wander. He’s been doing all this work, and yet, he doesn’t recall having a night with you since he offered his love to you! Dante felt like a fool, and he knew that you’ve been hard at work as well. Dante sucked in air through his nostrils before sighing in defeat.

“You’re right, I.. I need to go.. Shoot, I need to go!” Without a word of explanation, he ran out of the guard tower, throwing his sword into the racks. Garroth stood, sort of frozen as he watched Dante run out the door. Laurence, who was snacking on a piece of bread, came downstairs and stood next to Garroth.

“Welp, there goes one our of guards. Might as well pull Dale out of retirement.” Laurence joked.

Dante, who was still dressed in full armor, bursted into Kawaii~Chan’s cafe, in search of desserts and treats. He practically threw diamonds at the poor girl, who, luckily, just finished prepping freshly baked goods for her shop. Dante grabbed the first basket he spotted and ran out the door, quickly shouting his gratitude.

He remained as discreet as possible, looking around the village hoping that you wouldn't see him off duty. The blue-haired knight knocked on Brandon's door, beckoning for help before running inside the two of you’s shared home. He grabbed a blanket, a lantern, and a spare bottle of wine he had bought from Logan a while ago.

The plan was to set up a date night on the beach. With Brandon's “expertise,” he was able to set up a lovely picnic by the the glistening shore. The red and white checkered blanket laid flat on the sand with the basket and wine in the middle, rose petals scattered around, and the grace of the moonlight completing the scene. After Brandon and him finished decorating, he told Brandon to tell Garroth to lay you off of tonight's duties in hopes that you would be present for tonight's surprise date. Dante sat eagerly by the shore, waiting upon your arrival.

You were running head-on to the docks in a panic with your sword handle tight in your fist. “Dante!” you cried. “I came as soon as I could! Is everything alri—?!” before you could finish, you met with his deep blue eyes and the moon’s light illuminating his figure. You paused in your tracks, both in awe and confusion. “Dante..?” you called out his name again. At this point, you weren't quite sure if you were awake.

“Hey...” He nervously chuckled. He stood up and walked towards you, leaving his footprints in the grainy sand. He offered his hand towards you, thankful he was still wearing his armor otherwise you feel his palm building up with sweat. You reluctantly took his hand before he lead you to the picnic. You gasped at the sight, not expecting such a romantic gesture on what felt like a typical night.

“Dante.. This is.. Oh my goodness..” The words couldn't muster up in your throat as you admired the scenery. The warm-colored lantern contrasted beautifully with the moon’s cool-blue light.

“I-I'm sorry if it was such short notice.. Garroth gave me the night-off and—” before Dante could continue with his anxious rambling, you shushed him with the biggest, more reassuring hug you could.

“Are you kidding me? This is amazing, Dante! Oh my Irene!” without another word, you took Dante’s hand and led him to the blanket, where the two of you sat comfortably. You two wasted no time blabbing the night away while chowing down on Kawaii~Chan’s delicious desserts.

As you rambled on about your knightly whereabouts, you noticed that Dante took a pause in eating and was staring deeply at you.

“Dante..?” you called out his name, tilting your head a little. Dante blinked before sitting up straight.

“Nothing.. I just.. You look gorgeous in the moonlight, love.” Dante softly admitted. A blush formed on your cheeks, and you couldn't help but look away.

“I-I could say the same for you..” you meekly replied. “Just— don't scare me like that again, okay!”

Dante stared back at you, a little clueless. “Scare you—?” it was as if a flick of lever, Dante realized what you were referring to. “Oh, Irene, what did Brandon do..” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Realizing that it wasn't Dante’s fault, you sighed and explained. “Well.. It wasn't just Brandon.” you admitted. “Laurence and Brandon ran up to me in a panic, exclaiming that O’Khasis had docked and I needed to be there immediately because you were hurt! I can see why I was foolish believing those two of all people.” you rolled your eyes as you trailed off.

Dante let out a deep sigh before scooting closer to you. “I'll be having a talk with them tomorrow.. For now, let's just enjoy this moment, just you and me, okay?” he gently assured, wrapping an arm around and rubbing your shoulder.

You couldn't help but agree, letting your eyes flutter close as the two of you listened to the calming waves of the sea. <3

A/N ~ thank you so much for reading! There's currently a hurricane in my area, so it was nice using this as a distraction :) I hope you enjoyed! Reblogs, like, and even replies are super duper appreciated :3

[warlocks-and-phoenixes]

So turns out everyone on discord goes crazy (/affectionate) for my location scouting

Allow me to summarize my last 8 hours of relentless headcanoning.

Ro’meave castle in O’Khasis = Hohenzollern Castle, Germany

Von Ronsenburg (Rosen’ask) castle in Scaleswind = Ksiaz Castle, Poland

Alliance Assembly on Phoenix Island/MCD Era = Chateau de Fontainebleau [exterior], Parliament of Portugal [interior]

Republic Assembly in Phoenix Drop/MYS Era = Parliament of Hungary [exterior], French Senate Chamber [interior]

New Meteli & Surrounding Countryside/MYS Era = Yorkshire, England

Zvhal Family Ranch in Mystreet, on the outskirts of New Meteli = Yew Tree Farm, Coniston, England

There’s way more pins where these came from

[pumpkinprincess22]

Garroth, Laurance, and Love

So I think for most people Garroth and Laurance are considered the primary love interests in MCD. Along with Zoey I suppose. But the two of them have very different approaches to love/feelings and they are, in my rewrite, the complete opposite to what they seem.

Laurance is the notorious ‘Casanova of Meteli’ all the girls want him he’s a famous flirt. So many things said in a wink and a smile. But he’s very guarded when it comes to his heart. He says to Aphmau in canon that despite his reputation he’s never actually kissed anyone. Laurance is very careful about who he opens his heart to, especially post Nether and Sasha’s betrayal, one of his closest friends and one of the few people outside his family that he truly loved and trusted, Kenmur being the other because I will die on the Meteli gang friendship hill. He flirts with Aphmau at first because that’s just who he is, but he falls for her because she really truly sees him. She trusts him even though she doesn’t appreciate the way he treats her at first and she doesn’t hesitate to help him when he returns from the Nether. He warms to Garroth and Dante too but it takes him a while as with the other PD residents.

Garroth on the other hand loves deeply and easily, perhaps a little too much. He loves his family, and struggles to reconcile his love and hatred for Garte. He falls head over heels for his guard mentor (my OC Kit, Katelyn’s older brother). He cares deeply for the villagers of Phoenix Drop, but he struggles to verbalise his affections especially after his exile. He finds it much easier to show his love through deeds, taking off his helm for Donna’s wedding so that Zane will perform the ceremony, travelling to the Neapolitan villages to help Aphmau, going with Laurance to find Aph during the Malachi’s castle arc, staying behind in the Irene dimension to save everyone.

MCD is fundamentally at its core (to me) a love story in so much as it is a story about different kinds of love. Platonic, familial, romantic, and sexual love (less obviously because of the target audience but i think it’s there) are all explored. Of course it is also a political adventure story but there is still love underpinning that. The lord of scaleswind partnered with O’Khasis because he wanted his daughter back for example.

[gloufiz]

Okay...

I need people to hear me out on this one:

Garroth and Nicole in a cringe-fail political marriage!

Stay with me here! I promise I'm only a little crazy.

Alright, now that I've at least somewhat captured your attention... let me explain myself!

This concept sprang up from the idea of: What if Nicole and Garroth didn't run away from their arranged marriage?

As is described in MCD, the reason why we meet both Garroth and Nicole is because they were running from the marriage that was being forced upon them by their fathers. This marriage was supposed to broker peace between Scaleswind and O'Khasis and strengthen their bond. The idea of having to do this though, deeply disturbed Nicole and Garroth, which is why they both fled prior to the arrangement. This is the beginning to many events in cannon.

Now, in this thought experiment, that doesn't happen. Garroth and Nicole, despite their desires to not get married, also seem like the type that would care about their people deeply, so it isn't too farfetched to think that they could be persuaded to stay in order to protect their people. The pair wouldn't be thrilled about it, obviously, but they would go through with it, albeit begrudgingly. Then the two would stay in O'Khasis instead of running off to Phoenix Drop.

In their union, Scaleswind and O'Khasis would become a force to be reckoned with, and hopefully a little less corrupt with Zane's influence being reduced in Garroth's presence. Garroth and Nicole would put up a front in for the public that they enjoyed being married, though in private they would get on each other's nerves.

Romantically, they are not compatible, but they eventually carve out a mutual respect and become friends. It takes a lot of arguments and coming to terms with the situation, but they make do. So, when Garte puts Garroth in charge of the Jury of Nine a little later to provide him with some "leadership experience," Garroth turns to Nicole for help.

She winds up helping him run the Jury, even advising to have Zane help to reduce some of the sting of Garte's favoritism. They keep the Jury on a more morally correct path, though Zane is still allowed to run around and search for relics with the Jury, which is what eventually leads the group to meeting Aphmau.

Unfortunately, the tone of the meeting probably wouldn't be the most friendly with Zane involved, but that's neither here nor there!

Anyway, this is just some thoughts I've had as I pondered an AU where Garroth stays behind in O'Khasis! I hope this is coherent, though I will probably word barf about this again at some other point in time... as is the life of someone who has been bit by the MCD virus for 10 years...

TL;DR:

Garroth and Nicole stayed instead of fleeing from their arranged marriage and they deal with it with a few minor hiccups.

[stellisketches]

Random MCD Headcanons that have nothing to do with anything (Part 5???)

Sorry I haven't made any real posts in forever. My drawing phone broke and college has been a bitch so i haven't really gotten the chance to make anything (though I finally made some more progress on the next chapter of my rewrite). In any case, please accept this next installment of head canons I wrote like 10 months ago and completely forgot about in lieu of anything that requires actual talent. Love y'all:

Laurance lost an incisor tooth in a fistfight when he was 19

When he got turned into a shadowknight it grew back, now he purposefully goes out of his way to loose teeth just cause he knows he can grow back an unlimited supply

Hayden has a cat named Bog Butter. He’s the color of butter and he found him in the bog. 

Vylad’s favorite vegetable is avocado

There are three major guard academies in Ru’aun: one in O’Khasis, one in Scaleswind, and one in Bright Port. 

Bright Port’s is the largest and most well known

O’Khasis’ is the most prestigious

Scaleswind’s academy is the most difficult

The bare minimum age to join is 14, though most people join between 16-19

Every guard must have a minimum of 2 years training to earn the actual title of Guard, however to serve in O’Khasis you need a minimum of 4 and for Scaleswind a minimum of 5. 

Part of that training includes apprenticeship, so they do get some in-field experience with their mentors (think unpaid intern)

Technically you can train for up to 8 years, however most people only train for 2-5.

Garroth was in academy for 3-4 (although to be fair he had been trained in sword fighting since he was like 9)

Laurance went for 5 years and Dante went for 6 ½ 

Dante lied about his age when he enlisted though

He was barely thirteen

Both went to the Bright Port Academy however they were in different divisions at different times since Dante is younger, so they really only saw each other in passing and never actually talked to one another

The only personal interaction they ever had was one time at the academy Laurance was trying to get back to his dorm after a night of copious drinking and partying and could barely walk out the front door of the bar. Dante (who was pretty tipsy himself) ended up half-carrying back to Laurance’s dorm before going back to his own. Neither of them remember this. 

Katelyn’s two older brothers’ names are Kaj and Khareem

Khareem is the oldest, then Kaj, then Katelyn, then Kacey

Occasionally, when he is absolutely, positively, 100% sure he is alone, Zane will sing to himself sometimes

Dante once did a Zane impression in front of everyone and Garroth got so freaked out by how realistic it sounded he made Dante swear he’d never do that voice around him again. 

The worst argument Kenmur and Emmalyn ever had during their marriage was whether their system was heliocentric or geocentric (Kenmur argued the former and Emmalyn argued the latter)

In most colleges across Ru’Aun, there is usually some statue of Enki that students will leave offerings to before their big exams

Offerings vary, but it’s usually something like food, money, trinkets, or paper. It varies on how important the exam/how desperate the students are

Kenmur went to one of these colleges for a few years

One time he fell asleep the night before his final exam and he woke up like an hour before his exam was supposed to take place and in a fit of panic he dumped his entire wallet in front of the statue. He passed with flying colors.

One time at the Narhakan college someone left a life-sized horse statue made out of gold. No one has any idea where it came from or who left it. It’s become kind of an urban legend among all the colleges

Zenix never learned how to read and by god he isn’t about to wimp out now

Garroth tried to teach him once and it… did not go well

Let’s just say Garroth still owes Emmalyn a book from that incident. And a new table. 

Zianna came from the same region that Esmund was native to

Katelyn absolutely despises the feeling of sand in her shoes

Dmitri and Nekoette raided the Bright Port guard academy kitchen the first night they got sworn in

Dmitri also had to go to the infirmary after getting shot in the arm by one of Nekoette’s loose arrows

Laurance can play the piano and used to play it at some of the taverns in Meteli

Levin and Malachi both know a good bit of Elvish thanks to spending so much time in Yggdrasil

They switch to Elvish for the majority of their arguments

[necrocrafter]

Guys, what do you think about making Donna a Selkie for my MCD rewrite? I think it'd be kinda cool for her to be some kinda mythical sea creature.

I've seen some make her a siren or a mermaid, but for some reason, Donna just screams Selkie to me. I also think it'd be a pretty fun combo for what I have in store for her.

I mean, come on! Donna in canon is a merchant as well as a nurse. She's well traveled and well known; girl has connections. Plus, her and others being saved from her water village? There's all types of little nuggets to use!

For instance, in my rewrite, I have only a little bit written for her so far, but I think her being a Selkie on top of all of this would be cool: Give me Donna who grew up in a tiny island/water village who's an incredibly good merchant. Give me Donna who speaks seafarer, as well as being on good terms with pirates. Give me Donna who is incredibly knowledgeable about the sea, trade, routes, and incredibly well connected. Donna who learned healing because she was on cat island for so long with only her mother + 100s of cats, that having the skill was necessary. Give me a Donna who is well traveled and has a reputation, who is reliable, quick-witted, and sharp in mind. (<--- stolen from my drafts)

Anyways I just think it'd be fun. I really like Donna as a character, and I feel she'd be an incredibly big asset (especially once we get to then O'Khasis/Scaleswind vs. Phoenix Drop war).

[iridiss]

listening to what could have been by sting and thinking about garroth. And I can’t help but wonder what it would look like if the narrative leaned more into the idea of Garroth as a villain. Because his Mystreet counterpart, especially his more recent changes/developments as a jollier, dumber, sillier comedic relief character, can be very misleading when it comes to the idea of thinking of MCD!Garroth as a…wholly good, pleasant person. Canon MCD Garroth isn’t 100% good, he’s morally gray. He’s not evil, he’s someone in the middle who fights for what’s good and what he thinks is good, but just because he fights on the side of good doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a great person. He’s not.

The contrast between him and Laurance is shocking, actually, he and Laurance both have very different opinions and very different approaches when it comes to handling other people, their relationships, and primarily…what they think they deserve. How they get what they want. MCD!Garroth can be very good, he can be a docile sweetheart at times, but he is very much a self-serving man when you take a closer look

When Laurance is stuck in the Nether, Aphmau is desperate to find any way to build a new portal and get him out and save him, and she’s very close to actually going and doing it herself. But Garroth stops her. Garroth is the one that holds her back, tells her to leave Laurance be. It’s likely a cause done out of concern for Aphmau’s own safety, there’s a great deal of risk that comes with bringing back a man who could very well be a Shadow Knight by this point. (though he doesn’t know that at this point, there’s only a mere chance of it!) But nonetheless, he still leaves him behind and refuses to turn back to save him. While he’s gone, he even bands all of the nearby guards and towns in the area to write a brand new law into their Guard Code that states that if a guard is made into a Shadow Knight, it is their sole and sovereign responsibility as a guard to kill themselves after their transformation. So not only has he refused to help Laurance, he has literally written a law, a law that very much binds the loyal and honorable Laurance, that would force Laurance to kill himself the second he comes back. He didn’t try to save him, he created a trap for Laurance to die the second he comes back.

Now of course, that didn’t end up happening and the narrative sorta forgot that ever happened, but I can’t help but notice the contrast when it’s Laurance in his place instead. Garroth severely betrayed Laurance and fucked him over and abandoned him in his/the village’s time of need (the Scaleswind war), and only saved face at the very end when he realized he’d been lied to, but despite all of that, Laurance would die and kill to get Garroth out of the Irene Dimension. Laurance cares for Garroth so fucking much, Garroth attacked him and backstabbed him and Laurance still cared enough to give him a pep talk, to desperately try to get him back, he never gave up on him no matter what. And when Garroth was trapped in another dimension, Laurance was DESPERATE to get him back as soon as possible, at all costs. He snuck out with Aphmau to try to open the portal again at great risk. He consistently talks about how much he misses Garroth. When Aphmau starts having dreams of Garroth—including one where Garroth actually kissed her behind his back, the very same crime that broke Garroth’s heart in the first place—the first thing out of his mouth is “How is Garroth? Is he okay? Is Garroth alright? I miss him. Man, if I could show up in dreams like you, do you think he’d be excited to see me? Do you think he’d be so excited to see me, he would kiss me too?”

What Garroth refused to do for Laurance, Laurance would do for Garroth in a heartbeat. Laurance would die and kill to do everything for Garroth that Garroth decidedly did not do for him. Garroth could kiss Aphmau behind his back all he wanted, and he would still ask Aphmau if Garroth was doing okay.

There’s this sort of tragic, unrequited love and one-sided devotion potential for Laurance x Garroth that I don’t think I’ve seen before. Not like this, anyway. Laurance loves him so, so much. Garroth…does not. Because Garroth’s heart is not centered around others—it’s centered around himself.

And I don’t say that like at all in a damning way! I don’t say that because I hate him and I prefer Laurmau or whatever, I’m talking purely casually to point out the various actions he’s done in canon to analyze a specific portrait of him, a specific take on Garroth’s character, that I don’t think I’ve seen before in the fandom yet. I compare him to Laurance and Aaron not to say “oh they’re obviously the better choice in the ship war,” but to demonstrate that he’s the only love interest of Aphmau’s whose written in a very unique way that is personalized to his character and his individual personality traits. Other love interests of Aphmau have faced the same or similar situations, and they each respond differently. This is how Garroth responds. (and it’s not healthy lmao)

When Garroth sees the illusion of Aphmau and Laurance kissing in the woods—he pointedly does nothing to try to abate the stubborn belief he forms from it. He had literally just seen Aphmau and Laurance three seconds prior, entering the barn. For a party, that he just witnessed the two attend. There’s no way they could have suddenly and immediately left the party and ran off into the woods without him seeing them. And even more so, he had JUST witnessed Aphmau speaking to Nicole about her love life, and outright telling her that she’s not ready for a relationship right now. She just said, five feet away from Garroth, that she wasn’t looking for romance right now. And furthermore, he only ran into the woods because he saw a strange, devious-looking, suspicious figure run in prior, something that should have made the idea of Laurance and Aphmau being there in the first place seem even more suspicious and impossible. Literally anyone in their right mind would have questioned what they saw at least a little bit, considering everything that had just directly contradicted its plausibility. Not to mention the fact that it’d be entirely contradictory to both Aphmau and Laurance’s characters that Garroth has known up to this point to go behind his back and do something like this. Aphmau would never do this, she would never kiss Laurance so soon, that’s…why she didn’t. If he knew Aphmau well, if he trusted her, he would know that, he would have faith in her and question what he saw. He could have gone back to the party and found both of them still there, and asked them about what he just saw, and they would have told him the truth immediately. He could have communicated with them. It would be extremely easy to communicate with them, they could have cleared this issue up in fifteen seconds or less—but that would require Garroth wanting to communicate. It would require him trusting them enough to reach out, to see them for who they are and trust what he sees. That would require him wanting the best possible outcome, the healthiest outcome that still salvages the friendship and allows him to keep Aphmau around as a friend. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t talk to them.

Instead, he decides to avoid them. He isolates himself, they both actually grow extremely worried about him and continuously check up on him, reaching out to him and trying to show him how much they care for him and love him, and he shuts them out every time. He gives them the silent treatment, he doesn’t tell them why he’s angry, he lies when Aphmau asks him what’s wrong, and he turns cold and terse with her, and later even back-handed and borderline mean when speaking to her right before the ultimate betrayal. He becomes extremely petty about the mere possibility of losing this competition over Aphmau and absolutely holds it against them (points even louder to the fact that, before his shadow knight self starts corrupting him ((I have currently only rewatched up to s2 ep19 so my opinion on this may change)), Laurance DID NOT DO THIS AT ALL when faced with the same exact scenario except this time it was REAL, and even Mystreet!Aaron refused to have any part in the “competition” at large and literally talked to Garroth about how stupid and harmful and dehumanizing it is to Aphmau in S3: Lover’s Lane, and that’s why Aphmau “chose” Aaron over Garroth, because he did not treat her like an object to be won, an object he deserved. The competition itself is literally canonically recognized by other characters as petty and selfish and causes more harm than it does good, it hurts Aphmau and it pushes her away from Garroth in Mystreet. Because she’s a person, not a prize, and Garroth is the one character, out of the 3 of them, who canonically struggles the most to remember how much it hurts her and struggles to not treat her like his territory anyway.

I’ve never seen a love triangle series outright state and recognize the inherent dehumanization and harm that comes with the competition over the girl, how it hurts the girl more than anything else, and yet, Mystreet has done it at least in one instance, and I’m really impressed with that. I’m impressed that there is canon backing to the idea that Aaron “won” the shipping war because he didn’t participate in it. He thought the idea was stupid, this thing that controls Garroth like a dog on a bone. Aaron doesn’t give a shit about any “competition,” because he cares more about Aphmau herself and her needs and desires than whether or not he’s gonna score her at the end of the night. Over and over again throughout Lover’s Lane, he refuses to be possessive or jealous over her, he doesn’t give a shit that she’s talking to other men, while Garroth (and laurance, once Garroth convinces him to be curious and worried enough, to be fair) loses his shit over it. Aaron has to continuously remind Garroth, and the rest of her friends, that Aphmau is a person with agency and she is allowed to talk to whoever she wants and he as her boyfriend should ABSOLUTELY NOT CONTROL THAT. He does not OWN her. And that’s why Aphmau gravitates towards him, over Garroth and his more possessive and territorial nature.

Laurance is still more guilty of this sin than Aaron is by participating in the competition itself, but in the Irene Dimension, Laurance still has to smack Garroth upside the head to literally remind him that she is a human being with agency of her own, she is allowed to do whatever the hell she wants with her love life and does not owe them anything, she is not an object that they deserve to earn. Laurance has to tell him that as Aphmau’s guard and friend, it is their duty to support her no matter what she chooses for her love life. That’s something Laurance recognizes that he doesn’t: Aphmau may never choose either of them, she may never choose anyone at all, and it is more important than anything else that they be okay with whatever she chooses because she is their friend, their liege, their Lord. Laurance is okay with whatever she chooses, as long as he can be by her side in some way or another, whether that’s as her lover, her dearest and closest friend, or nothing more than her guard, he reassures her over and over again that he’s okay with whatever. He doesn’t want to pressure her into anything, he doesn’t want to force her to be his. He may flirt with her still just to see her laugh or smile or tease him back or snark him, but he will always respect her boundaries and her wishes over anything else at the end of the day.

But Garroth doesn’t think that way. When his own village goes to war, the lives and safety of his own people that he’s responsible for as their Head Guard is put at immense risk against a seemingly impossible threat (O’khasis + Scaleswind) and he abandons them. Because he’s so incredibly petty about Aphmau ever kissing another man for whatever reason, no matter how impossible, that he cuts all communication with them, cold shoulders them hard, and literally leaves them behind to possibly die. He is not present in the battle. He abandons his duties as Aphmau’s guard completely and leaves her to very possibly die, pretty much as punishment for not letting him win. This shows to me that he is Aphmau’s most devoted guard until it stops benefiting him personally. And its not necessarily because “he just had a broken heart :(“ it’s how he, Garroth, individually responds to his own emotions and how he chooses to treat the people around him the moment he stops getting what he wants. He seems to be a very lawful character, to contrast Laurance being a more chaotic one, but I’d like to argue that he doesn’t follow anyone else’s law but his own. He follows what serves him, and if devoting himself to Aphmau is what serves him in the moment, then he’ll devote himself to that at the cost of anyone else. But if it serves himself to ditch Aphmau in her hour of need, then he will stubbornly and absolutely follow that at the cost of anyone else, including her and her life and wellbeing. Laurance and Aaron would have chosen to communicate and likely already have done in similar situations throughout the Aphverse canon. Garroth refused to, to the point of pointedly choosing to turn his back on Phoenix Drop and potentially let them die because of how damn stubborn he was. Now, he likely would regret it if the battle did end up going poorly and Garroth came back to find Aphmau and Laurance and all of Phoenix Drop killed and razed to the ground by Zane and Scaleswind, but thankfully Aphmau was able to pull everything together in his absence and he didn’t have to face the consequences of his actions too badly.

If Aphmau chose Garroth, Laurance would still spend the rest of his days by their side as their close friend. If Aphmau chose Laurance, Garroth would ditch her and leave her to die. apparently. that is uh. not great. maybe we go to therapy instead actually (and I can’t help but wonder why he would think that way! this is more headcanon land than anything else but perhaps garryboy picked up some nasty thought habits and beliefs from his time as a prince? Garte passing down the toxic family traits down onto him inevitably maybe)

But he ditches Zane when Zane stops serving him, as well. Zane has been terrorizing and harming the people he cared for most for ages now, and even still, he preferred to side with him, and I honestly think it’s because Zane’s narrative justified his decision to punish Aphmau by pushing her away. Zane allowed him to let go of his conscience, despite Zane being most certainly the sketchiest man alive that Garroth surely knows is a liar and a manipulator and a criminal out to hurt his loved ones by now. But Zane is still the only person alive that would give Garroth justification to be his worst self and enable his behavior, so that’s who he gravitates towards. Zane happily enables his brother’s worst self, and it can be argued that Garroth is happy to be enabled, and mostly certainly enables Zane’s worst in turn. The bad influence brothers! Sometimes they make each other so much worse <3

There can be an argument made that Garroth left his kingdom behind in a similar vein, because it didn’t serve him personally to marry someone he didn’t want. He was the only heir left to a kingdom that ended up falling without him, leaving his father to die under Tu’la’s invasion and allowing for his mother to be kidnapped. His people need him, he has a responsibility to them, a duty that he refused to tend to, because he didn’t want to. I think that might be at least similar to what Laurance was trying to get at, by calling him shitty for abandoning his duty as a Prince and wanting to return him to O’khasis?

When he’s in the dreams with Aphmau, he does kiss her without consent. It’s 1000% fair to be argued that he only does that because he isn’t sure if it’s a dream!! He doesn’t really know if that’s Aphmau herself or just a figment of his imagination and he regrets not having done it sooner, so im absolutely not pointing that out as like a black and white He Did An Indisputably Bad Thing And He Should Be Cancelled For It thing, there’s nuance. I point it out because if you want a Good Boy Garroth take, it can be argued that it’s a romantic thing he does because he misses her and he’s distraught that he didn’t get the chance to do this in life and he very well might never get to see her again so he should confess his feelings to her now before he loses her again, and also it’s a fucking psuedodream. But if you want a Bad Man Garroth take, there’s. Definitely!! Something to be said about how like!! How he doesn’t ask, he doesn’t specify or give any sort of clarification beforehand. How he doesn’t care for a single second whether or not she would actually want this and he should respect that upon the chance that this very likely could be the Real Aphmau right now using weirdo Irene magic to appear in his head. He doesn’t hesitate or check with her or even confess his feelings beforehand, he doesn’t just. fucking tell her how he feels like a normal human being, he just grabs her face and forces a kiss, because that’s what he wants. Again, because that’s what serves him in the moment. And that’s…his priority above all else, including and especially Aphmau’s own boundaries

Also I can’t help but laugh in his face when he talks to Aphmau about how he’s upset that Laurance got all this time to bond with Aphmau and grow close to her as a friend when he didn’t. My guy he got the opportunity to do that because you left and forced Aphmau and Laurance to only depend on each other in a dire time of need, because you were being too petty of a bitch to try to talk to them lmao. Like my guy you not getting closer to Aphmau is 1000% your own fault, you have NO room to complain lmao

maybe Aphmau should be allowed to be at least a liiiiittle angry with Garroth for costing her 15 years of her childrens’ childhoods and all of her friends and relationships and loved ones (and an eternity with Zoey) all because he was the pettiest fucking bitch known to man. she should be allowed to be at least a teensy bit angry with him for it. Laurance also lost another dad in the timeskip I feel like that’d be more than enough reason to have beef with Garroth’s arrogant prick ass lmao

Garroth’s sole drive is himself, at times very much at the cost of those around him. His moral code is very relative, and yet to him it seems like the hardest line in the world. He’s not a bad person, but he’s not terrific either. I would love to see a take on Garroth as a more fully fledged villain though, following his worst behaviors in canon. A Garroth that highlights his more arrogant and selfish tendencies, that puts them on display and makes him look more like his father by the day. A Garroth that’s cold, who will drop you like a hat and leave you to rot when you don’t give him what he wants, a Garroth whose a territorial and possessive and controlling partner who hates the idea of you so much as speaking to any other men. Who will punish you and refuse to speak to you and abandon you if you do. A Garroth who’s very much capable of being back-handed and passive aggressive and really fucking mean. A Garroth whose morality on occasion seems to be admirably upright and pure, only for him to side with the most evil and corrupt of men because that’s what benefits him more in the moment. A Garroth who’s a hypocrite and fucking lying to himself. A Garroth that takes what he wants without any regard for your own personal desires. All his worst personality traits bumped up to a nine, so they outweigh all of the other good traits that would normally balance them out. A Garroth who believes honor is relative, whose morals are relative, whose loyalties will change at the turn of a dime, depending on which side will give him what he wants more. Because he believes he deserves what he wants, he’s earned what he wants, and if you deny him that, you are deserving of whatever punishment comes your way. You are the one in the wrong, for taking away his rightfully deserved prizes, and he will never apologize for lashing out because of it. He is childish and emotionally immature, he doesn’t communicate, he doesn’t trust, he doesn’t open up, he stays in his castle of solitude, because he’s chased away all the people he could fill his halls with, for petty reasons and slightest faults. And at the end of the day, he’ll look himself in the mirror, and it’ll never occur to him, not once, that it was his fault for making them leave. It was his fault that he never got the happy future he wanted.

[certified-aphblr-location-scout]

Von Ronsenberg Castle, Scaleswind = Książ Castle, Poland

X / X / X

(Dw I’m not stealing from that other post. its me)

[kurithedweeb]

It’s the same anon again because the MCD beetles are slowly consuming my brain, but what are you thought on clothing culture in universe?

Like of course climate plays a big role in how traditional dress looks, but apart from that there’s also things like religion that play a big role. We don’t really know what the climate is like in Ru’aun but Irene is a big thing, how does that effect clothing choices, what dyes are most common and how does that reflect in clothes?

I’m a sucker for world building

Hello again, anon! Lucky for you I, too, am a sucker for worldbuilding. I have been considering my answer for literal days. I’ve vaguely commented on modesty rules in Ru’aun before but we’ve yet to get into fashion trends and hierarchical or religious dress, not to mention personal ornamentation and the different meanings associated with that in different areas, so let’s talk about Ru’aun first.

Because of the impassable Sacred Forest, most towns are along the coast to facilitate travel, and it’s a very lush and green region. The majority of the land is either plains or various forests, with a variety of cliffs, shoals and a few mountains scattered around, plus stretches of swampland and beach. Dyes are usually made from whatever resources are nearby, so you’ll see a much wider range of colors in settlements near flower fields or birch forests. Popular port towns like Meteli, O’khasis and Bright Port also have more variety, but will most often stick to colors that have special meanings to the town. Whites, greys, and blues are popular in O’khasis and Scaleswind as the religious capitals of the region, but red is also pretty prominent in Scalesind.

The same general rule also applies to fabrics and jewelry—mohair comes from goats so it’s easier to acquire in Phoenix Drop where there are tons, there’s more precious metals in Scaleswind, and in Nahakra people take any broken glass they find and lay the pieces in fine mesh containers on the tideline to make sea glass for decorations. Fabric and dye are common trading goods, especially in more backwater towns where the physical currency used in bigger villages and city-states have about as much practical value as an especially shiny rock. The most popular kinds of fabrics in Ru’aun are mohair and wool for their durability and temperature regulation respectively, with leather, ore and ivory as the most common materials in ornamentation.

The primary religion is what I’ve been calling the Divine Faith, which worships the Divine Warriors as a whole under the figurehead of Irene and has various subsets that focus more on each individual Divine Warrior, with the grand majority of its followers falling under the Church of the Matron or cults dedicated to the Destroyer, with the Trail of the Wanderer as a close second. Which of the Divine Warriors you follow most closely definitely has an effect on your attire. 

Disciples of Irene wear small cloaks modeled after hers and members of the church hide their faces as a way to present themselves as closer to the goddess since you don’t look upon those of divine nature or close to divinity without consequences, most often using dark blue or white veils stitched with gold, since those are the colors she’s documented wearing most often and are therefore most often associated with her, though purple is too. Devout followers cover their eyes, members of the church like priests and nuns cover the lower half of their faces, and the High Priest covers his entire face, usually veiled or with a simple mask in public and with a more ceremonial mask during sermons and ceremonies. 

Followers of the Destroyer are much more subtle because they’re technically outlawed, they have a lot more to do with ornamentation than clothing. If you have long hair, it’s always pinned up and back, never in a ponytail and never left loose, usually in braids and buns and other hairstyles that wouldn’t be out of place on a guard, nothing an enemy can easily yank on. Hanging jewelry is also out. Hair is adorned with warmly colored beads and hair sticks that can be used as weapons and on occasion chains are woven into braids, most other accessories are close-fitting: there are nearly always cuffs around the wrists and ankles, subtly decorated wraps around the waist are more common in cities, chokers with detailing done in texture are uncommon but widely used, and earrings and ear cuffs are rare and usually kept for formal ceremonies. 

Those on the Trail of the Wanderer are nearly always found to be wearing travel-appropriate clothes no matter the occasion or setting, and there’s touches of pirate and backpacking aesthetic throughout. They tend to carry just about everything they own, dedicating their life to traveling and seeing the world the way Kul’zak did, and dress accordingly. Knee high boots, at least two layers, oil-treated cloaks, many wear jerkins and sashes with stitched depictions of scenes from places they’ve been, and leather harnesses and holsters are common. Hair is usually left down or half put up and decorated with feathers and ribbons found on the Trail. Meditation beads carved of wood or stone are nearly universal, worn around the neck or wrapped around the wrist. Trinkets and charms found on the Trail are important to the travelers, and you’ll find bowls of them left behind by others at shrines and trail markers that you can add to or take from, and in doing so you bring other travelers with you on your adventures and are carried by other travelers on their own, it’s a very dear tradition on the Wanderer’s Trail. Imagine geocaching but with religious connotations. Many of these items are worn as bracelets, anklets, necklaces, or on waist chains, usually put together while camping out. Flower crowns are also a bit of a thing and when they start wilting they’re left behind in places bearing Kul’zak’s symbol.

I’m thinking of making flower crowns also a thing with Enki’s followers since I’ve recently been turned onto the Kulki ship by @warlocks-and-phoenixes, but instead of wildflowers it’s mostly herbs and grasses. The matching flora crowns are a symbol of their union. Enki’s followers are mostly stuck on an iceberg, so they show their faith by carrying carvings of his symbols and making tapestries and records of their history, studying the world and spreading a love of knowledge wherever they go. Children usually start with embroidering their favorite/their family’s stories into their own clothing.

Embroidery! I love embroidery. In Ru’aun, it’s a very popular pastime, especially among stay at home parents and the sickly, so you see it pretty much everywhere. Colored threads are easy to acquire, but some colors are restricted. Purple is only for the clergy. Gold is for the highest ranking members of the churches and Lords’ family lines, as well as important personal staff of the Lord’s household like a close advisor and the primary caretaker of the children. Silver thread is for other people in powerful positions like members of a council or the highest ranking members of the guard (commander of the guard, second-in-command, reserve commander, Jury of Nine), which helps to distinguish officers from soldiers in larger villages and city-states that have a standard uniform and armor template. If you qualify for both, the gold usually takes precedence. For example, Laurance would have gold embroidery despite being head guard of Meteli because he’s also the son of Joh. Many small settlements don’t bother much with distinguishing personal importance based on thread color, though. They much prefer to use embroidery to keep a record of family history. Abstract depictions of personal achievements are stitched into the edging of most clothing, and the rank and position of the wearer and their parents + lovers go across the back on formal clothes and if you’re a guard around the neck and cuffs of your gambeson and also your sash if you wear one as a way to identify bodies after battle like modern day dog tags. It’s very simple and blocky on guardwear and incredibly elaborate and stylized to the point of illegibility on formalwear. Other common designs are flowers, symbols of faith, waves, landscapes, and elements of regional stories.

Modesty standards in Ru’aun. Here’s the basics: the average person should show nothing in the range of torso between the knees and breasts in public, midriff can be seen only by people very close to you, mothers should be covered from somewhere around the collarbones to their ankles, visible shoulder straps and undershirts are generally a no-no but off the shoulder and sleeveless attire are okay, and open shirts should not go further than the base of the sternum and should not show undergarments or nipples. Anyone fifteen or older is expected to follow these, but it’s not as important that children do. Some of them are negotiable based on climate and regional culture; Meteli and let’s say Pikoro are more lax and pretty much do whatever they feel like while O’khasis and Scaleswind follow the rules very closely and places like Brightport and Boboros are somewhere in the middle.

In Tu’la, how you dress is so important because it shows your loyalties. It’s a place filled with hundreds of clans all on the brink of beating each other up on any given day. In their culture, you’re not defined by who you are but who your family and their allegiances are. Symbology is important, families have their own color blends, patterns and even specific plants associated with them since gems aren’t very commonly found in Tu’la and sparkly things go to the monarchy and the king’s pets (the humanoid ones). Throwing away your clan’s symbols when you’re not on a covert mission of some kind is seen as a betrayal.

Cloth is very often uncut and styled by wrapping, pinning, and tying them into various shapes like you would a sari or toga or a variety of old African clothing styles I can’t remember the names of. Short sashes and waist wraps are very common. Many of the common people will also wrap their hands and feet in place of gloves and shoes. Cutting cloth is often reserved for important articles or the royal family and its vassal clans. It’s considered a wasteful expense since the excess cloth can’t be remade and isn’t recycled into other things like blankets. Scraps are distributed among the clan’s servants for them to wear to match their masters’ clothing as a sort of claim over them. Gladiators often wear their sponsor’s colors in the same way. When clothing is sewn, you’ll often see designs similar to the Japanese kimono and yukata and the Chinese hanfu and cheongsam/qipao. Designs with layers are more expensive and a luxury that very few, essentially only the king and his consorts, can afford. In most places, the only articles of clothing you’d find cut and stitched into new shapes are some forms of undergarments and a more form-fitting underlayer that covers the entire torso and cloth is arranged over top of.

Tu’lan clothing is essentially custom tailored by the wearer for the wearer, unless you’re super rich or a conscripted servant. Ideally it should allow you to be flexible, it should allow you to keep cool in Tu’la’s very warm climate, maybe with a window just above your butt if you have a tail, but easy to hide things in. Really the only rules about it is that you don’t wear enemy symbols and you keep your private parts private around everyone not your lover. It’s a war country, so most of the time the styles are very utilitarian and comfortable, but you’d only know how utilitarian it is if you were raised wearing them. To Ru’aun and Gal’ruk, even the simplest outfits seem fancy. Part of what makes them think that is the decoration and accessories.

Hair sticks. God do I love hairsticks. More formal ones are made of glass with a small hanging charm and common ones are simply carved from wood or made with the scrap metal shavings of weaponsmiths—those ones are usually sharpened into needles or knives in case you need it. Jewelry is usually close-fitting to make it harder to grab, so meditation beads would be wrapped several times around the wrist or ankle and no pretty hanging piercings. Humans are actually the only one of the three dominant species who get piercings because pretty much all meif’wa clans are warriors or their ears are too sensitive, and if a werewolf has to transform with a piercing in it’ll either warp super bad or hurt them when the change tries to push foreign bodies out of the werewolf. Cloth is usually made with patterns everywhere or very prominently displayed and accented. 

Sun and snow motifs are also fairly widespread since the patron Divine Warrior of Tu’la was Menphia, it very rarely snows in Tu’la but she had ice powers so. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything more on Menphia’s followers right now, I’m basically scraping and redoing her whole temple and worship at the moment.

Gal’ruk loves yarn and fur, since practically every living thing out there is covered in fur and spinning yarn is a good time consuming indoor activity. A lot of people spend considerable time weaving and tanning and sewing over the blizzard season when they get trapped inside by storms. Fur goes inside everything from gloves to hoods to pants. People make competitions out of who can knit the best hat or scarf from scratch before the next moon. 

For an idea of the style of clothing usually worn I recommend looking up ‘viking winter wear’ for some ideas. Plenty of layers, loose pants cinched at the knee, lots of fur cloaks and shawls, leather belts with pouches and space for your knife/sword/axe’s sheath over top. Leather goods like armor and belts are usually marked with subtle designs pressed into the materials and are padded. Nothing metal ever comes close to touching the skin directly. Clothes can either be simply pulled on or are closed with loops and clasps carved of wood or bone/teeth from a hunt. 

Nothing hunted ever goes to waste. Gal’ruk is a plentiful land but it can be a harsh one too. Pelts, furs, teeth, claws, bones and tails are all made into clothing, among other things. Pelts can be scraped and tanned and made into leather, furs are stuffed into everything as an insulator. Teeth, claws and bones are carved into accessories or combs or buttons, it’s very common for someone to make the spoils of their hunt into necklaces or arm bands or earrings as a mark of their achievement or to exchange as a betrothal gift to prove their worth as a provider. Married couples wear carved tokens of their family’s symbol made by each other instead of rings, presented to the other for the first time at the wedding and very rarely taken off unless one dies or they get divorced. Widows and widowers usually keep their tokens old, but they’re burned to make the divorce official and if a divorced couple gets back together new ones have to be made.

Unfortunately color is fairly sparse on the island. There’s not many plants to harvest  dyes from and clay takes ages to dig up and warm enough to use, so it’s mostly natural colors of the materials and some darker shades from smoking pelts over a fire to waterproof them. There are shades of green every so often from dye made with the kelp that washes ashore and sometimes if you can manage to grow beets there’s some reds and purples but not everyone is able to dye their clothing.

Gal’ruk has zero modesty standards. You wrap up to keep warm outside, but while you’re inside you can wear just about as little as you want. The public dining hall can get pretty warm with everyone packed in there, it’s not unusual for people to go titties out. They’re all warriors, they’re pretty chill about partial nudity and naked bodies are very rarely sexualized in such a close-knit warrior community, they’re all pretty much grown up seeing each other half undressed while tending wounds, so modesty isn’t a real issue. This is why I said in my post about Travis playing around with his shapeshifting that he needs to have Ru’aun modesty rules explained to him the first time he changes into a female form in public, because in his homeland having breasts show through an open shirt isn’t at all notable but in Ru’aun it’s absolutely scandalous.

And we’ve circled back to embroidery! Again, time consuming pastime, again, people who spend the majority of the year huddled inside waiting out the worst of the cold, again, followers of Enki. Personal history is recorded on parchment, but communal history is recorded on tapestries and clothing. They have very little in the way of colored threads, so designs are made with only lineart and shadows in mind to make it clear what they’re meant to be. Stories about Enki and the Divine Warriors are very common, and so are fables for the children. Animals bounding through the snow and their different tracks trailing behind them are used to teach the babies how to tell your prey apart by print. Kids are taught to embroider their own clothes to teach them patience and attention to detail.

These are all pretty general regional ideas, specific parts of the region and settlements also have their own deals sometimes. I’ll have to come back to this at some point to cover the rest of the Divine Faith properly. This was a fun question!

[dilly-dahlia]

when i’m trying to use a more plausible color scheme for everyone in my MCD rewrite (since it’s going to be set in a more underdeveloped time period, a lot of colors are going to be expensive/hard to find) and can’t decide what colors to give certain people 😭

im obviously gonna keep some of the original colors in the beginning (like Lord Burt wearing red because of its significance as a powerful color), but keep everyone’s else’s mostly plain. for example Nana won’t be an explosion of pink (although it will remain her favorite color), Aphmau won’t be wearing purple as often (the most common variation of the color was tyrian purple which took a very extensive amount of labor to make even one gram of the pigment. that, as well as the color being reserved for royalty), and Laurance won’t have as many green articles of clothing in the section of my rewrite portraying season two (the emerald green pigment was made from arsenic, which made it not only extremely toxic to produce but to wear as well as the skin would absorb the poison)

(i’m still debating about Dante and Garroth with their blue tones because it was a more common color amongst the poor people and was made with cheap, low quality dye, but Louis IX and Henry VIII started wearing it with other nobles and it became a color of high standing so…)

now this is also where I also come to a standstill because of these colors and what they used to represent. each Divine Warrior will have a color associated with them, which is where part of their symbolism will come from. however, I’m stuck on what color to give Irene

there’s a very brief clip somewhere I can’t remember when it appeared, but Irene was wearing a black two piece that seemed to be torn. I imagine this being something like her “first” outfit in the world so i’m not too worried about that one, but I’m more concerned about the one she wears when she’s portrayed

we see Irene wearing two cloaks from what I remember (my memory is garbage and I have yet to reach that far in anything). one of her cloaks was royal blue and the other is a lilac purple. the lilac purple would be a more difficult hue to achieve in the time period i’m reaching for, so either way i’m going to make the purple into a deeper shade.

i’m having such a war in my head about which color to choose for her, though. because both colors could signify who she is and i’m honestly debating just having different people give her different colors but I don’t know

on one hand, tyrian purple was a color reserved for royalty. using it could be used to show the high regard in which people in Ru’aun placed her. it could be used to signify their desire to have Irene rule as queen over the region before she diminished the monarchy and developed the Lord system instead. however, this color was made from a tiring process that required extensive amount of labor for barely anything to show the effort, and I feel as though the way to obtain the color doesn’t represent Irene the Matron

on the other hand, I feel as though a deeper blue pigment would be a better match. blue was original worn by peasants but the steady popularity it gained with nobility made it a more expensive and luxurious color for people that could afford it, as I previously said. this color I feel would fit better with her character to show that Irene came from humble beginnings and was put on a pedestal after her efforts for peace and becoming Lord of Scaleswind (which would be equal to blue becoming a color of nobility). the only problem with the blue is that the dye used by the peasants was low quality made from the woad plant that (from what i’ve seen) was dyed much lighter compared to the royal blue i’m talking about. i don’t know, maybe she got an upgrade at some point…

(can you tell i love the history behind colors)

(also if anyone has any other impactful information concerning colors please let me know i also actually love learning about it)

(and greatest apologies guys this is basically a yap post it has very little significance to anything)