#chimera children worldbuilding

[melpomenelamusa]

I'm so interested in your chimera worldbuilding!!!

Is the way they're treated worse in less developed countries?? They're considered a minority, right? Are they a community? How do they interact with the queer/poc/disabled/etc communities? Are there flags? How do therians and furries play into this worldbuilding? Are there sanctuaries or chimera-only spaces? Is it a genetic thing?? Is someone with one or two chimera parents more likely to be a chimera? Would their chimera parent influence the type of chimera they are? Can different chimeras of the same animal have different traits? How legal is chimera slavery exactly? Is it legal to kill a chimera? If they've been around for over a century, surely there are SOME laws about their rights. How quickly do kids become a chimera once puberty starts?? Just, everything

Thank you so much for your questions! You've made me think a lot, hahaha, but answering them has been a lot of fun for me. Here we go:

Is the way they're treated worse in less developed countries?? It depends. Ironically, it seems that the countries with the highest number of chimera children are the ones where they are most mistreated, and this includes both countries considered more developed and less developed. There are those who believe that the percentage of chimera children is related to the industrial development of the countries, but this is still a theory.

They're considered a minority, right? Yes.

Are they a community? They could be. I imagine that there must be some support groups that aim to ensure the healthy development of chimera children and the fight for their rights, mainly made up of chimera children and their families (of course, those families that accept them); but I imagine that they are not very listened to or have much influence in society, unfortunately. Due to their situation, very few chimera children become adults, and many of those who do prefer to undergo surgery to look “more human” and forget about everything that had to do with chimera children in order to try to live a “normal” life.

How do they interact with the queer/poc/disabled/etc communities? Of course there are chimera children who belong to other types of minorities as well. Certain communities tend to have less prejudice towards chimera children, but unfortunately, and like everywhere, there are always people who can act with rejection towards them.

Are there flags? I've never really thought about it.

How do therians and furries play into this worldbuilding? Haha, it's a pretty interesting question, though I admit I don't know much about either concept. I guess people will always be people and can have their own interests and beliefs (I actually have a headcanon, can I say headcanon if I'm the author? that Tigri had an ex-boyfriend who was with him just because he liked his tiger features XD).

Are there sanctuaries or chimera-only spaces? There have been attempts to create spaces for chimera children made by chimera children (any other space made by other people ends up being more like a zoo where they are still treated as something other than human); but they don't have much support, and they tend to be very small communities that barely survive on donations, since there is no government support.

Is it a genetic thing?? There is no definitive proof at the time, and since chimera children become sterile, there is no way to prove it. So far, it seems to just be a spontaneous thing that is activated at puberty, regardless of aspects such as ethnicity or health.

Is someone with one or two chimera parents more likely to be a chimera? Chimera children become sterile, it's part of the transformation, so chimera children can only "arise"mutate" spontaneously. No chimera child is a chimera child from birth (except Elafi, but that's part of the mystery of the plot, hehe).

Would their chimera parent influence the type of chimera they are? There is no study that understands the factors that make certain Chimera children have traits of certain animals, as it is not something that is determined by the area in which the animals from which they take traits originally live. Others theorize that it could be related to each one's personality, like a reflection of the soul, but these are empirical theories among certain groups. Nothing is proven.

Can different chimeras of the same animal have different traits? Yes, for example there could be two chimera children that have cat traits, both with tails, ears, and claws, but one might have traits more like a calico cat and the other more like an angora cat. Hair color, hair texture, scale color, horn shape, spot or stripe patterns, all of that can vary from one chimera child to another. Other traits could be defined by the body type of the chimera child, for example a chimera child that before their transformation is more likely to have, say, big ears, if they transform and their ears mutate, they might be larger on average than another chimera child with the traits of the same animal.

How legal is chimera slavery exactly? While there are laws against slavery or child labor, there are no laws directly to protect chimera children. Many people seize on those gray areas to do their evil deeds. And the fact that there is so much smuggling doesn't help either.

Is it legal to kill a chimera? If the chimera child is registered, then killing them could be considered equivalent to murdering a person, and would be illegal. The bad thing is that many chimera children are abandoned or sold before they come of age, and chimera children who are not registered are as good as not existing, so anyone who gets their hands on them could get away with it if no one finds out.

There are associations, like the hunters' guild Warrick belongs to, that have laws regarding hunting animals. Similar rules could apply to chimera children as well, especially for those who don't really see them as human.

If they've been around for over a century, surely there are SOME laws about their rights. There may be, but surely there aren't many or they're not well made, otherwise I wouldn't be able to freely write so much whump, hahaha.

How quickly do kids become a chimera once puberty starts?? The range of transformation is from 11 to 14 years old (If puberty scares you because you're afraid of bleeding or growing hair on your face, there's also the fear of growing a tail in this world.) A teenager who turns 15 can rest assured that they will never become a chimera child (good for them, I guess?). The transformation is sudden: the child goes to sleep, maybe has a restless dream that they can't wake up from or a beautiful deep sleep, and when they wakes up and sees themself in the mirror, BAM, mutated.

This was super fun! Any other questions, I'm honored to answer, and I hope this helped clear up some of your doubts. Have a nice day! 😁

[opal-owl-flight]

Decided to fully lean into my design roots for this piece! I have my own worldbuilding project (that I dont post abt these days) called Songs of the Eternal, which Ive been working on for the past 7-ish years. Its main influence is Sky Children of the Light, but more and more of my own stuff has been built on it over the years. Been a mishmash of all my interests and where all my blorbos go after I let go of an interest.

Ik that the squits will end up there eventually, so Ive been working on designs for em! Heres 3, The Vigilant, Champion of Inkadia (that location name will be changed sooner or later). My Inkfish -- called Inkfolk -- in SotE have wilder variations compared to their Sploonworld counterparts. To adapt to the surface world they emerged into, they take on the traits of the life they found there -- feathers, fur, scales, even wings in some cases. Some are unrecognizable as Inlfolk. (I just like going nuts with creature designs wjdjej. Theyre basically like...chimeras that can change how they look whenever.)

More sketches of 3 below!

They jingle jangle when they walk iwjskje

[chocodile]

Apologies if you've answered this somewhere: for your Amaranthine 'verse, are there any "hybrid" animal folk? On one hand, kwillow's Theo has a rat and a stoat as parents, but Theo himself is a rat (with his mother's coloring, but still a rat). On the other, Ambroys very clearly looks like a cross between a horse (father) and Something Else (Celestial mother). In the middle is Hayden's one night stand with the cat barmaid, which resulted in a child with a bunny's snout/tail, a flatter catlike face, and bunny ears a biiiit too wide and pointed to be 100% "bunny."

I'm super curious about the genetics of it as well as the social aspect (i.e. is son considered a bunny/cat/both by his peers?). It's one of my favorite bits about anthro worldbuilding!

Hybrids exist, but are pretty rare!

Typically, children will just inherit their species from one parent or the other. Hybridization is very unusual and typically is limited to one or two very minor traits--like the child of a rabbit having slightly longer ears, the child of a weasel having a noodlier build, the child of a carnivore having fangs, etc. In almost all cases, the dominant species of the child is very clear, and the hybrid traits tend to be very recessive--rarely preserved beyond one generation.

Particularly in the Western Kingdom, though, hybrid children do have a reputation for being unlucky, an ill omen, or even outright cursed (depending how superstitious the person you're asking is). There are a few reasons for this… the simplest is that hybrid traits are sort of a "birth defect" that can sometimes present along with other health issues. Though not all hybrids are frail and sickly, any concern about a child's susceptibility to illness was a huge deal in rural peasant villages that already tended to have high childhood mortality rates.

Over time, the perception of hybrid children = ill omen became warped and exaggerated. Western Kingdom folktales sometimes cast hybrids as vaguely supernatural trickster characters, such as tales of mysterious changeling babies whose hybrid traits eventually revealed them to be half Infernal.

For this reason, the actual frequency of hybrid traits is probably greatly under reported… anyone who can hide or ignore or lie about their hybrid traits probably will. Though most Western Kingdom superstitions fell away after the collapse of the old kingdoms, some degree of stigma in Post-Fall society remains. No one seriously thinks a sheep with fangs is half Infernal anymore (most don't believe that Infernals and Celestials even exist), but it will still probably be passively assumed that a hybrid is less fit for difficult labor, among other things.

Half Celestial and Half Infernal offspring work a bit different… they're always technically "hybrids", but specifically hybridize in such a way that they take the form of mythological creatures (unicorn, dragon, cockatrice, etc). I'll let Kwillow talk more about this when she discusses Ambroys' mother since she's been the one working on this section of the lore, but Half Celestials are most certainly seen as a blessing. Half Infernals… well, fear of them is part of the reason hybrids are stigmatized in the first place, so suffice to say they have it rather rough. How severe the stigma is varies across cultures and tends to be worse in the rural West, better in cities, and pretty much completely absent in much of the Eastern Kingdom.

In the Post-Fall present day, nobody believes Celestials, Infernals, or their offspring exist anymore... aside from those who know about The Kingdom of the Sun.

Also, once in a while, a hybrid is born whose traits are so blended that their parent species are difficult to determine. These very unlucky individuals are referred to as "chimeras" and tend to have shorter life expectancies, among other things. We may be seeing a character who fits this description eventually. :P

[incorrect-mtg]

Flavor Text Highlights - Journey into Nyx

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“I will match Thassa drop for drop and show a god what true power is.” —Kiora

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“I want one.” —Kiora

Worldbuilding - Extinguish All Hope

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[stitchy-face]

Ran a quick poll of species to draw- Centaur and Merfolk tied! Reminded me of some worldbuilding things about Khimara (chimera) of Calibreon.

Khimara are any children of parents of two differing species- like Fauns. Less commonly non-human species can have kids together and this is one of them!

It's hard to fit all the info together but it's mainly inspired by branching evolution and stuff. My merfolk are based on Seals, and my Centaur are all even toed ungulate. I always find it funny that Whales are some far offshoot of deer so I took that to an extreme/fun level here!

[honeytabbies]

OKAY so i wanted to talk a little bit about my rewrite tonight because i'm getting excited thinking about it again

i haven't started on any of the story yet really, i'm mostly adjusting worldbuilding details and personal headcanons before i start on anything major, so i wanted to talk about one of them tonight hehe ..

(post-writing update: this is a lot longer than i thought it would be. Oops)

one of my more major changes is that i wanted to expand more on non-humans and add some extra stuff since i really like when fantasy settings do that.

i didn't want to include like, a Whole ton more since that would sort of interfere with the clover kingdom's whole backstory and conflict with the elves, but so far my lineup of different peoples within my rewrite are humans, witches, merfolk, elves, dwarves, and chimeras. (as well as devils and spirits but they're sort of their own thing)

witches are their own race because i thought it would add a little bit more interest and mystery to both vanessa and dorothy's stories! and also an extra incentive as to why the witch queen wouldn't want any witches to leave the forest, since i don't think that's ever expanded upon. the witch queen has been alive for hundreds of years and has seen the cruelty clover enacted towards the elves, and in a somewhat backwards protective way wants all of her children to never leave the forest at all.

witches are actually more closely related to elves than they are to humans, though there are key differences in their appearances. some being;

- witches generally all have the same ear length/shape with minor variations. elves have a wide variety of ear lengths/shapes

- all witches have a darker nose-bridge/facial marking, elves do not

- all elves have tails, but not all witches do

here's a really small headshot doodle i did of what vanessa would look like in my au :] her catlike pupils are considered unusual and are a result of her magic. her ears are also considered longer than an average witch's!

the only kingdom i imagine being openly welcoming to most non-humans would be heart; clover, diamond, and spade are all considered somewhat hostile, especially after what happened with the elves.

merfolk are pretty self-explanatory; think of the seabed temple people such as kahono and kiato. another thing i don't think was ever expanded upon much was why those of the seabed temple aren't allowed to go into the cities, and so i came up with my own reasoning!

the seabed temple is not technically a part of the clover kingdom. much like the borders between kingdoms, the ocean is mostly considered a neutral zone, and therefore the merfolk of the seabed temple are not a part of clover's sovereign people. therefore, to enter clover territory and cities requires an extensive process to gain dual-citizenship, as well as the pre-existing conflict between humans and non-humans.

the seabed temple is pretty much the extent of merfolk who live in/near clover. however, i imagine there to be a large population of merfolk (as well as other races) who live in the heart kingdom!! i think that the heart kingdom would sort of be the central choice of living for most non-humans. it's always struck me as a little bit odd that there were elves only in clover, so i think that there would be at least a small populous of elves in heart as well.

elves i decided to make less humanoid looking, because i enjoy that in fantasy as well .. i also think that, as close as they were to nature and natural mana (especially in clover) that it'd be cool for them to have traits from their environment too! an example being here with my personal headcanons for fana;

(here's the text written down in case my handwriting is illegible)

- some elves have more animalistic attributes due to natural mana influence. horns, extra limbs, fur, and other odd features are fairly common!

- "magic markings" in the style of their attribute are common on the elves with exceptionally high mana. so for example, fana's flame markings! (i draw patri with little light sparkles and stuff to represent his magic but i really don't like the one drawing i have of it right now)

- most elves have tails that provide extra balance, although bobtails do exist.

- their ears are always pointy, though they can vary pretty widely in size/style

- they have claws which can be filed down

- plant growth can sometimes occur on elves (mostly water or plant mages) who are particularly close with nature/natural mana.

- they have animalistic feetpaws that allow for extra dexterity with tough padding that doesn't necessitate the use of shoes or covering in most environments.

chimeras are sort of my own original addition to black clover's world. they aren't a separate race in and of themselves, but instead a curse which could be placed upon anyone. chimera curses are extremely rare and are considered a form of forbidden magic stemming from a devil's power. (i may or may not have my own chimera devil oc in progress .... hehe ....)

essentially, a chimera curse causes the afflicted to gain animalistic or monster-like features, which may induce a loss of humanity or other unsavory things. i know that in the black clover wiki, weg is listed as just the term for humans who gain horns through use of forbidden/devilish magic, but i'm altering it to just mean any curse or affliction. curses are inherently devilish, stemming from megicula's sphere of influence, and hence, chimera curses are a form of weg.

there are two main types of chimera curses, which are generational and individual.

- generational chimeras are those whose bloodline has been cursed, and are born with their affliction. these typically result in less obvious physical changes, which makes it easier to hide and live a normal life.

- individual chimeras are those who have been directly cursed, either through their actions of tampering with forbidden magic or somehow by a powerful curse user themself. these physical changes are usually more obvious and very difficult to hide.

in my au, nero is considered a chimera!! here's a little doodle of what my headcanoned nero looks like next to canon nero LOL (also the glasses are just a personal thing, they were so cute on her in the movie. i had to keep them)

humans pretty much remain the same, albeit i do want to make some adjustments to how mana works, the differences in those born in different kingdoms, as well as elaborate more on the genetic factor of magic attributes. (i'm a HUGE biology nerd and i WILL be making punnet squares)

dwarves are the one race i really haven't done much with or thought of anything for yet. i will eventually, but i'd like to start getting other stuff worked out before i do!

OKAY I THINK THATS ALL FOR NOW ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC TOPIC!!!!! if you managed to make sense of any of my incoherent rambling, you get a gold star and a forehead kiss from me. mwah /p

[fictionadventurer]

Ages ago, I talked about a portal fantasy idea I had, titled Lily Between Worlds. The premise was that a girl fell into a portal fantasy world, but didn't fall into any adventures. She just had to settle into ordinary life there and wait for a portal to open up to take her home. Except no portal ever showed up, and it's not likely one ever will. She's getting older, and the family she's staying with can't support her forever. So she has to consider settling down--namely, marriage. Which is a huge deal because starting an adult life here means she's giving up on any chance of going home. Plus trying to find someone to marry when you're literally from different worlds is difficult.

It never moved much beyond that initial premise, because I couldn't develop the world or the characters. But it's been coming to mind again, and I have some ideas for worldbuilding that would offer some more detailed plot possibilities, and I want to talk about it before I lose it completely.

The first breakthrough came with the idea that I could adapt an idea from my Lost Library universe as the basis of the worldbuilding. Centuries ago, some calamity caused large hunks of land to break off and float in the sky. This broke up societies and left the people on these landmasses isolated from each other for a long time, and they're only recently coming back into contact with each other. It's useful for Lily's story, because we can say the calamity that fractured their world also opened up fissures to other worlds, and some people here are aware that people sometimes fall through from our Earth.

The other key idea is that this world is dangerous. The calamity that broke the world also caused a population explosion of various chimera-ish beasts, many of which attack humans. Society is built around the fact that we need to be able to protect people from these beasts. Women and children need to be protected, because the monsters go after the weak. Men are expendable and need to defend women and children--but women also need battle skills because it's dumb not to know how to defend yourself. There is also a lot of competition over resources--I'm not sure what, but maybe one of them is the same energy that caused the fracturing and can be used to power technologies. Things have settled down in recent centuries and they've come to a level of civilization (I'm thinking Regency-ish) where you can have classes and trades not totally devoted to survival--but those survival skills are still highly valuable.

Lily is not adventurous. She's a very quiet artistic type who heard about all the dangers of this world and decided she was never going to step outside alone. She's spent the last few years in the household of a scholar who's fascinated with Earth. He's got a few kids several years younger than her, and she settled in among the children, focusing on learning the language and the basics of this world. But now she's come of age and has to enter the adult world. Even though she's been in this world for years, we still get the portal fantasy sense of discovery because she's learning all the details of the culture surrounding courtship and adult responsibilities. This is a domestic fantasy, focused on the interpersonal relationships and the culture of this specific place. No world-changing quests, just characters interacting. At most, a few monster attacks to liven things up.

The story would focus on Lily's attempt to find a husband. She works with a young matchmaker-in-training (who thinks she's from some distant floating island rather than another world) to find good candidates. It's tough because Lily has no family ties here and outsiders are suspect. She's got a lot of the feminine skills this society values, but has zero combat ability--a major handicap when a good wife has to be able to protect the children from monsters. This world values beauty, social status, and strength. Lily's got the first and needs a husband who can provide the other two (and is willing to overlook her lack).

We can use the suitors to explore different facets of this world and Lily's personality. A good partner needs to be similar enough that they can connect, but different enough to draw Lily out of her comfort zone; he needs to draw out her good qualities without reinforcing her flaws. She could interact with a lot of different men, but four types are coming to the forefront as potential husband material.

The scholar: A young man who works with the scholar who houses Lily. Fascinated by Earth, knows Lily's true history. He and Lily casually get along, but don't quite gel. (He treats her a bit like a science experiment, for one thing). He doesn't have much strength to protect Lily, but he's got a decent status (enough that his family would want him to marry better than Lily). He would be the safe choice, allowing Lily to more-or-less remain the same woman she is now.

The warrior: An ideal catch by this world's standards. Very high status, excellent combat ability. Already has several heroic achievements. Socially awkward enough to need the help of a matchmaker to attract a wife. He and Lily share almost no interests, but her dynamic with him would force her to confront her own prejudices about this world--just because he's a fighter, it doesn't mean he's brainless or has no feelings. Could really draw Lily outside her comfort zone, but maybe too much so.

The explorer: A man who has spent the last several years exploring far-flung floating isles and has only recently returned home--to a lot of rumors and distrust. He's got strength, but almost no status; he's scandalous to this neighborhood. Lily likes his travel stories, and he believes her tale of being from another world--he's seen portals before. They get along well enough, but he's as adventurous as Lily is cautious. He says he wants to settle down, but he's not the type to be happy with an ordinary life. A life with him would be either a life here under the cloud of scandal, or a life of dangerous travel. But he would draw out Lily's adventurous side and introduce her (and us) to more details of this world.

The artist: A man who's working on some project for a high-status person in the neighborhood. He and Lily connect most on a personal level, sharing a love of art. He's got a middling sort of status, and is a weakling. Perhaps he's disabled from some monster attack; it would explain why he'd been allowed to take up a sedentary (and frivolous) trade (though if that's the case and she *doesn't* choose him, it could look like we're reinforcing this society's idea that he doesn't deserve to marry). He would be sort of like the male version of Lily; they would connect very easily, but he wouldn't push her to grow.

At the moment, the explorer is most compelling as endgame, though I can see potential in the warrior and artist as well. The interactions with all four can shape her character. There'd also be subplots of other monster attacks and political/social conflicts happening in the background of this courtship.

I'd probably have to end the story with Lily and her chosen guy teaming up to defeat some kind of dangerous beast--showing that Lily has developed the courage to face this world's dangers and has found a partner capable of facing them with her.

If anyone's read all that--decent ideas, or too many holes? Interesting or the dullest thing you've ever heard? I'm treating this as a worldbuilding game for the moment, so you can play along if you like.

[vsnotresponding]

Happy sts! Your ask got me really thinking about holidays, I think that's such a fun and interesting bit of worldbuilding. Do any of your characters celebrate any winter holidays?

hello and thanks for the ask :]

tales from beyond: because they live in modern day Catalonia, chimera and arion celebrate christmas. they set up their nativity scene, have the usual family dinners, they feed el tió thorugh the month of december and then they make him shit. they also celebrate la nit and dia de Reis (5ht and 6th of january) (arion is an expert at collecting candy), but no santa claus

púlsar: winter solstice is zaeaf's day (god of the sea, portrayed as being evil). it's the night when the sea exudes its toxins for the longest, and it is also believed that the ecco (zaeaf's servants) are out hunting for people to drag into the water. it's a time to stay at home with family making sure everyone is safe, and people will often stay awake until the night is over. ira doesn't really celebrate it because that's basically her everyday routine, but karma kind of does (the palace throws a party that completely ignores why it's a relevant day for the native culture)

project:nemesis: people do give each other little presents but it isn't a big celebration. p:n happens in a somewhat dystopic future, and they are aware christmas was a thing in the past but have no interest on keeping the tradition up for it (or any other religions)

untitled project: back in ely's time the first snow was celebrated in the village with a communal feast as the last abundant meal they would get until the snow melted. a competition would be held for the best lamb (that would then be killed), and the children would sing

in cor vitae they don't really have seasons and the day/night balance is always constant so no solstice celebration

[comicaurora]

Was working on the wiki and thinking about Vash (the city)'s water system so I really want to know - How does Vash compare in size to other cities? What did Vash trade? What major guilds or artisan groups existed? How did education work? What laws existed, and what were the punishments? What were the purposes of those towers? What stereotypes existed? In summary, what is some general worldbuilding behind the scenes? Answer whatever you want - I'm just incredibly curious about worldbuilding here.

Oh jeez, it’s like a pop quiz.

Vash (the city) was smaller in footprint than most other comparable cities, since it didn’t expand beyond the radius of the crater it was built in. It compensated for this by having somewhat taller buildings and a denser city layout.

Most cities have similar trade systems to one another. A dense population center like that can’t produce the raw materials and food required to sustain its population, so they rely on trade and transport from the rural farming regions - food and raw materials come in, artisans and guilds use them as raw materials to create something more specialized or high-quality, and then those products are typically made available to other cities - very little material trade goes back to those rural communities, which largely work on a subsistence farming system and have less use for a money economy.

What exactly the cities manufacture and export varies from region to region; Asera, for instance, technically mostly exports highly trained mages who are hired for magical purposes, but in terms of goods they largely export lacrimas and magic items crafted at and around the Academy. Many cities effectively “export” experts in certain fields; a town that needs a monster hunted might hire an expert from a nearby city or guild to get rid of it. Most of the cities have roughly the same access to raw materials, and unless a city has a very uniquely skilled craftsman, intercity trade is fairly sparse because it’s kind of unnecessary - cities are supported by nearby farming towns, not each other. Because of this, Vash didn’t have a unique export.

But some regions have unique things available to export, and those are often highly sought-after for trade. The Ignan Desert, for instance, largely exports a very fine (and very fireproof) silk woven from the cocoons of volcano-dwelling dragons, as well as some unique herbs and spices that are found in tiny underground oases throughout the desert.

Anyway, Vash’s city had some subdivision and a few guilds - a small mage guild that largely dealt in construction and weather management, a large artists and artisans guild, a hunter’s guild (”hunter” is a broad term; hunters in rural areas typically do more food-based hunting, but in urban areas hunters usually handle the odd monster attack and generally serve as guards), and a guild dedicated to managing and helping out former godless who Vash took in - there was a bit of an adjustment process.

It’s not a guild per se, but the city also had a small population of the Silver Fang, a society of wolf-shifter ferin who banded together for group advocacy and strength in numbers. Technically not wolves-only, but other ferin are much less commonly found in the organization. Often looked at somewhat askance in other cities.

Vash had one school that got progressively bigger as the population grew. Children would enroll usually before the age of seven and spend an average of five years learning some basics - reading and writing, world history, math, science, magical theory, basic travel safety, etc. The artist and artisan guild ran a few trade schools that older children and adults could enroll in for higher education, and some artisans and merchants had an apprenticeship program. The mage guild also ran a basic school for young latent mages, mostly to teach them utility magic and get them tattooed if necessary. The hunters guild also took in and trained interested young folks, though this was typically more on-the-job training with the occasional monster-hunting field trip. This schooling setup is not uncommon for cities in this area.

Vash’s legal system was handled by his priesthood (visible on the second page in the robes with his Ω-symbol) and they generally mediated legal disputes. Smaller crimes were generally punished via some form of reparation or community service, occasionally a temporary indenture to the injured party. Vash didn’t have a prison - most cities don’t; instead, offenders severe enough to warrant a lengthy imprisonment are exiled and their connection to their city is severed, making them “godless”. Most godless are treated as anathema, but Vash considered some of the other cities to be a bit too harsh about this, and often repatriated godless if their crimes seemed minor to him. He had a small list of crimes he considered unforgivable - certain kinds of magical experimentation, abuse of life magic and the creation of chimeras, certain kinds of murder, harming children, etc etc.

The tall towers with crystals at the top were passive-charging lacrimas, a technique the Ancients pioneered. Lacrimas can be placed in the route of natural flows of magic and gradually charge with elemental power. Vash’s lacrimas were largely charged with lightning and water, and were used by the mage guild in case of severe weather to disrupt storms and prevent them from causing serious flooding. This is also not uncommon in cities in the area.

Vash didn’t have much in the way of unique stereotypes, but Vash itself was rather stereotyped by other cities - Vash has always been scrappy, and his citizens were generally pretty similar, so Vash’s people were sometimes stereotyped as being rather meatheaded and simple, unconcerned with the complex political machinations and power plays the other cities engaged in. Some cities regarded Vash as a rogue element or an agent of chaos because of his disregard for their rules and regulations.

[crystalkleure]

sooo, you're into this thing called Owari No Seraph... never heard of it, do you think you could tell me?

Sure! Though, I went into it almost totally blind because I really needed a good distraction from some shit the other day, so it was either “start a new show that isn’t too long” or “keep clicking on 45-minute long YT videos on how to make soap” lmao, rewatching Beyblade just wasn’t cutting it that particular day. So I’ve only finished the first season of OnS so far and have no idea what’s gonna happen in the rest of the series, or even how many seasons there ARE...I thought it was short because s1 only had 12 episodes, but now I know there’s at least one more season that ALSO has 12 more episodes in it. But the base premise, animation, pacing, and the characters are all really good so far so I’m definitely going to keep watching it. This show was VERY popular and Absolutely Everywhere back when it was still new, around 2015, and I can definitely see why.

The Core Plot is that an extraordinarily lethal, apocalyptic plague has spread across the world like wildfire, wiping out most of the human population -- with the exception of the kids. Children 13 years old and younger were not affected by it for some reason [which seems a little odd to me because kids have LESS developed immune systems than adults, but also, like, this is a show about vampires and demons and magic, so normal logic probably isn’t relevant]. The vampires then basically just rose up and took over the world, because of course a human virus won’t kill them, and since they actually kind of NEED the humans to not die out completely because they eat those, they rounded up the kids to “protect” them by essentially keeping them as livestock.

However, it turns out the Ambiguous Apocalyptic MegaPlague didn’t kill EVERYONE the vampires didn’t capture, so over a period of time the surviving humans regrouped and started forming a military to Take The World Back From The Monsters. [Speaking of monsters, there are also huge chimera-type monsters running amok all over the place too, called “Four Horsemen of John”s, even though there are DEFINITELY waaay more than 4 of them so idk where that name came from. They only attack/eat humans and not vampires, so that’s another thing the vampires are “protecting” their humans from. Thus far, at the end of s1, no one seems to know what these monsters are or where they came from or why they behave the way they do, they’re just kind of There And A Threat.]

Anyway, one of the two main characters was a kid who was taken in by the vampires as livestock, who then escaped and joined the other humans in their Kill All The Monsters And Fix The Planet military. War happens. And is still happening, as of the end of s1. To avoid too many spoilers if you wanna watch it yourself, I won’t say exactly what’s going on with the OTHER of the two main characters, just that he...did not successfully escape from the vampires when his buddy did.

There are a few spoilers I will mention under the cut, as well as some disturbing content to be aware of -- it’s a pretty gritty show at times:

For the content warnings, er, at least one of the Big Important Vampires just radiates some MASSIVE pedo vibes. In episode one, one of the main human characters offers his blood to the guy in exchange for some better treatment, and this fucking vampire is just...so touchy-grabby with the kid, who is 12 years old at the time. He’s almost gropey about it. He takes the kid back to his mansion with him at night. The vampire is obviously evil and you’re supposed to hate him, and they sure do a damn good job of making you Want To See Him Killed And Maimed.

And then a little later, in episode 4 iirc, there’s another vampire who is...Confusing And Concerning in multiple ways? For one, I can’t tell if she’s supposed to be an adult woman who’s just really short and petite and flat-chested, or if she was turned into a vampire as a child and thus stuck that way forever. Either way, the Massive Pedo from ep 1 fawns over her and explicitly declares his love for her, which is icky if she’s supposed to be a kid, and THEN...this: Alright, there’s a dying kid in the room, and she doesn’t want the kid to die because she needs him for something. So she turns him into a vampire. The first thing to note is that he is 12. The second thing to note is that the WAY she turns him is by biting her own tongue to draw blood, and then...mounting him and kissing him?? Like, she fucking straddles him and just frenches the shit out of him. He is 12. This is disturbing even if her own body is permanently frozen in child-form, because she’s an old-ass vampire now, and it’s even worse if she’s supposed to just be a tiny adult. Again, she’s evil and you’re supposed to Want Her Maimed And Dead, and that desire is definitely effectively achieved. It was very yucky to watch [but it was supposed to be].

And as for the slight spoilers...it seems to me that the plague that nearly eradicated the human species was implicitly manmade, and they just lost control of it. Because the vampires said that “due to foolish humans, a deadly plague has spread” in episode 1, and then in one of the later episodes it is revealed that the humans have been performing Human Experimentation, when one of their experiments went fucking berserk and nearly destroyed everything, and at that, another vampire scolded the humans for “being greedy” and “always losing control” of the shit they try to do. The humans don’t seem to necessarily be the “good guys” here. Especially considering they’re deliberately letting children be possessed by demons, and also nearly killing them with Superpowered Steroid Drugs, in order to make them more powerful soldiers. Both sides in the war seem to be bad, but both have some good players in them. It’s quite a good war narrative, actually -- it’s not all black-and-white at all. I think this may even be symbolically referenced in their uniforms, actually! The vampires, whom one would naturally assume to be the Bad Guys, are wearing clothes that are almost entirely pure white [which really stood out to me because that’s a dumb colour for them to be wearing in this situation, it’d stain way too easily and you’d never get it clean..so then, it’d make sense that they’re wearing white for a reason other than practicality...], and the humans, who you’d think are the Good Guys here, are dressed in black.

It’s very intriguing. Everything moves really fast, and yet there are a lot of fine details to notice. There’s a pretty constant stream of action, but not at the cost of detailed storytelling and worldbuilding. I’m enjoying it a lot.

[raevenlywrites]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday and a very happy Pride Month! What are some important historical events in your world? And what impact did it have on the people?

Well, the biggest and most impactful event is the main plot point of Asylum Book 1, wherein a demon rips a hole in reality and magic starts spilling out. People had to move closer together for safety, Othersiders started crossing over with more frequency, and seemingly randomly people starting hooking up cross-species more frequently. Ot at least, those relationships started resulting in hybrid children, which was prior to more or less unheard of. Chimera kids were born to shifter parents, witches were born able to shapeshift, elementals were popping up all over the place--basically the universe started healing the holes in itself

[serraphima]

All

since im no coward jay here you go

Fairy- What is something that you get excited about? fighting game tournaments

Mermaid- What are you looking forward to? not sounding like i deepthroated a chainsaw (how i sound when im sick)

Elf- What are you proud of? im not proud of a lot but i am happy that people really like my character elise

Dragon- Sexuality? currently up in the air

Griffin- Gender? demigirl

Unicorn- Who do you look up to? @gaynokk and @ghosty302 for art, @we-are-knight for personal growth and character, and friends for being a better person

Spirit- Have you ever been in love? yes

Ghost- Favorite song? currently tied between distortion by babymetal, enigmatic by in fear and faith, and sweetest poison by texas in july

Poltergeist- Favorite song lyric? “im the devil on your shoulder but ill always be your better half” from me myself and hyde by ice nine kills

Ghoul- Who is someone that makes you laugh easily/who’s company you enjoy most of, if not all of, the time? @lunwyr @hey-zozo @digitalis-the-engineer @gaynokk @misha-kastrilevich @barovias-sweetheart @chatterwell

Goblin- What makes you happy? being able to kill a lot of people in quake and my friends 

Dwarf- Favorite tv show? jessica jones is one i love, good omens was a good ride and ouran high school host club is just amazing

Vampire- Are you currently reading any books? If so, what book(s)? sadly i dont have energy to read a lot but most recent one i did was throne of glass which has some excellent worldbuilding and is one i wish i could finish bc i love it

Werewolf- Who is your family? Who do you live with? i live with my dad my sister and my sisters freeloading piece of shit boyfriend who moved halfway across the country and DIDNT BRING HIS ID LIKE WHAT LEVEL OF DUMBASS DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO DO THAT

Siren- Favorite color? pink, purple, blue, red, white, black

Hobgoblin- Do you like anyone? yes

Wraith- Any scars? on my thighs

Specter- Have you ever been in love? yes

Chimera- Will you/do you want to get married? yes

Changeling- Do you want children? i want to say yes but im not good with tiny humans so i feel id be a not good parent

Oracle- Do you like children? kinda? like really tiny ones i cant deal with but older ones and teens im a bit better with so whatever that translates to

King- Describe your ideal day. being in my partners arms and watching dumb things online

Queen- Age? 22

Princess- What is your relationship with your parents like? kinda ok as long as i dont bring up religion and my being trans

Prince- Birthday? august 20

Necromancer- If you could spend a week with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be? joan of arc

Castle- What is something that not a lot of people know about you? im insanely critical of myself and my own performance in a lot of games and just in general

Tower- What is (at least one thing) something that you’re afraid of? the dark

Magic- Describe your crush without saying their name. theyre amazing and cute and super smart and just sdjkaljdklhdwklsanfklnlikaklcknalkfdjklj i love them

Enchanted Forest- Height? like 5′8

Magic Healer- Any pets? If so, what are they? my dad has a tiny dog and my sister has a dog

Potions- Relationship status? taken by a lot of cute people

Potion Making- Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? i would but she probably wouldnt

Divination- What do you think about yourself? thats a loaded question but uh, i think im subpar and anything i do has already/will be done better by someone else

Visions- Do you miss anyone? yes

Curses- How do you show affection? i cuddle a lot (yes i know its very sinful of me to say)

Charms- Are you religious? kinda not really

Hexes- What’s your favorite smell? fresh made chocolate chip cookies

Jinxes- If you could be anywhere, where would you want to be? with my partners

[phirephox666]

Weekly Fic Recs - FMA

After doing these recs for a couple weeks I figure I have enough recs to do that I can do these bi-weekly for a bit, so! Bi-weekly fic recs commence! This Wednesday’s fics are FMA, a whole bunch of Ed/Roy, mostly. Enjoy y’all.  

Weekly Rec Lists 

i'm giving you a nightcall by clairedearing

Edward/Roy, Alphonse/Winry, Reincarnation Au, Modern Au, Superhero Au, Complete, 124k

Edward Elric (the second) has always had to balance the two sides of his life; on one proper flesh and blood hand, he's a genius working as a crime scene investigator, putting his younger brother through university. On the other not-actually-flesh-and-blood hand, he's also the red-hooded vigilante Fullmetal, protecting Central City from criminals and assholes like 'the Dragon'. But mutilated bodies have stared showing up, and now he has to deal with his estranged sorta-maybe-ex-boyfriend (who's in charge of hunting down Ed's alternate persona), keeping the public from various levels of hysteria, and stopping a mysterious group who seem to be echoing the one his mother used to belong to...

the catwoman to your batman by clairedearing

Edward/Roy, Vigilante Au, Complete, 6k

Ed had his mission - to escort the Ishvallan refugees to the camps. Then he could get back to his research. Except, a mysterious masked man keeps screwing everything up.

Diplomatic Excursions and Other Ways to Die by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Post Canon Au, Complete, 53k

Conceptually, attending Emperor Ling's coronation celebration is simple enough. In practice, it involves far too much trekking, yearning, bleeding, burning, hoping, running, and dodging of diplomatic catastrophes for Roy's tastes.

Catalysis by aventria, iluxia

Edward/Roy, Edward & Roy, Edward & Maes, Edward & Alphonse, Trisha Lives Au, Fix It, Friendship/Gen, Families of Choice, Backstory, Worldbuilding, WIP, 210k

Work in progress. "Search for the value of that which you seek, for alchemy already knows." Alchemy knew what Edward wanted when his fingertips touched that circle, but Edward did not yet understand how value differs from price, how equivalent differs from equal. The Gate calculates with one small difference, and Trisha Elric lives - but the cost may be too high for Edward to afford.

[ In which Edward Elric becomes Roy Mustang's ward in a different context; Trisha Elric is alive but is as good as dead to her sons; Alphonse Elric grows in a human body under Izumi's tutelage, struggling to understand just what it is they have done right; Hohenheim's past is more complicated and intertwined with the tapestry of Amestrian history; Envy dances a very fine line between his loyalty to Father and a growing obsession/addiction; and Amestris is so not ready for this bloody revolution. ]

Part 1 of Catalysis 'verse

Button Up Your Overcoat by Skinner (psiten)

Edward/Roy, Edward & Alphonse, Edward & Team Mustang, Fix It, Friendship/Gen, Bamf Riza, Complete, 140k

Ed could untie knots in the fifth and sixth dimensions -- blindfolded. He could convince the military he fell through a rabbit-hole, and he could even shut down a Drachman invasion (with a little help), but he can't seem to avoid dating Roy Mustang (and maybe is kind of okay with that). But here's hoping they can collar a General trying to trigger a three-way war, and that they can stop him before he destroys the world.

Making himself walk instead of run took every ounce of composure he had, especially when he got far enough to see the city blanketed in a strange layer of dust and dark thunderclouds. The weather had been clear for miles around. Those clouds had the smack of weather alchemy about them.

He had to find his brother.

The Universe Just Doesn't Know What the Hell to Make of Edward Elric by queerstang (rosethomass)

Edward/Roy, Soulmate Au, Soulmate Marks, Complete, 5k

Everyone Edward's age gets their tattoos, gets to know who their soulmate is, and it's just one more thing to remind Edward of all the things he's lost and never got to have.

Major spoilers for Brotherhood.

Two Months and Counting by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Harry Potter Au, Magical Au, Worldbuilding, Complete, 4.4k

Given that Ed is past words and beyond belief, surely it's fair to break the rules right in half.

[Vague situational spoilers for '03/CoS.]

Part 1 of Bending the Rules

The Maestros of Misuse by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Harry Potter Au, Magical Au, Fluff, Complete, 6.7k

Ed spends a day with the Improper Use of Magic Office, and no one loses their mind more than a little.

[Vague situational spoilers for '03/CoS.]

Part 2 of Bending the Rules

The Twelfth Cup of Coffee by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Coffee Shop Au, Modern Au, Mundane Au, Complete, 44k

The thing with Roy is founded on coffee snobbery and stupid text messages and seriously awesome makeout sessions in the car. Oh, and the love of a lifetime, or whatever.

From the Worst of Times by Batsutousai

Edward/Roy, Edward & Roy, Edward & Team Mustang, Roy & Team Mustang, Bamf Roy, Bamf Ed, Complete, 38k

"From the worst of times," someone had once told a young Roy Mustang, "always come the greatest of gifts." There were times in his life that was all he had to cling to, but it always seemed to hold true, one way or the other.

This Lion is in the Garden by Xyriath

Edward/Ling, Xerxian Ed, Royalty Au, Arranged Marriage, Complete, 26k

Ed’s duties as a prince of Xerxes right now really aren’t that complicated. Establish favorable relations with the nation of Xing. Learn to get along with his betrothed. Don’t offend anyone. Especially don’t offend anyone. What he didn’t predict was getting along with his fiancé perhaps a little too well.

Son of the Desert by ShanaStoryteller

Edward/Roy, Edward & Alphonse,Trisha/Hohenheim, Ishvalan Ed, Ishvalan Al, Friendship/Gen, Bamf Ed, Backstory, Worldbuilding, Complete, 10k

Every time Edward sees the circle on the back Mustang's hand, he wants to scream, wants to reach across the desk and shake him, wants to wrap his hands around the older man's throat and ask if it was worth it, if this desk and his rank is worth the screaming, crying, writhing, burning bodies of his people -

"Something to say, Fullmetal?" Mustang drawls.

Edward snaps the file shut, "Nope."

Part 1 of Ishvalan AU

Sins of the Father by ShanaStoryteller

Trisha/Hohenheim, Hohenheim & Edward, Hohenheim & Alphonse, Edward/Roy, Ishvalan Ed, Ishvalan Al,  Friendship Gen, Worldbuilding, Feelings, Complete, 8k

Hohenheim has been gone for fifteen years. It's time for him to go home - his wife is waiting for him.

Dreaming in Red and Gold by Batsutousai

Edward/Roy, Post Canon Au, Complete, 96k

When Drachma agrees to meet for peace talks at Briggs Fortress, General Roy Mustang is the one sent to represent Amestris. It just so happens that the Drachmans have their own Amestrisan, who is far too skilled at turning the most tedious of discussions into an exciting time.

But Not Buried This Time by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Post Canon Au, Bamf Ed, Complete, 95k

Once Ed decides that he is categorically not going to rot on the Drachman tundra, dragging his ass out of the jaws of death is actually pretty easy.  ...except when it's not.  At all.  Which is most of the time.

(AU from end of Brotherhood.)

Come What May by Batsutousai

Darius/Heinkel/Edward, Edward & Roy, Edward/Roy, Friendship/Gen, Families of Choice, Post Canon Au, Bamf Ed, Military Au, Complete, 

After the Promised Day, with his alchemy still intact thanks to Hohenheim's sacrifice, Ed finds himself and his chimera team getting dragged into the shadowy world of military secrets in an attempt to keep Bradley's legacy from causing a civil war.

Part 1 of Our Sinner's Redemption

Reverti Ad Praeteritum by Batsutousai

Edward/Roy, Edward & Roy, Edward & Alphonse, Edward & Maes, Friendship/Gen, Mute Edward, Bamf Ed, Bamf Al, Time Travel, Fix It, Complete, 289k

Unwillingly forced to serve as a human trial for a crazy alchemist experimenting with time travel, Edward Elric finds himself standing across from Truth in the moment it takes his leg from him. Armed with the knowledge of what's to come and burdened with guilt for the choices he'd made as an adult, Ed sets out to fix every mistake he ever made and save every life they ever lost, no matter what it takes.

a terrifying clamour of trumpets by ShanaStoryteller

Edward & Alphonse, Edward/Roy, Edward & Izumi, Bamf Ed, Fix It, Complete, 12k

Edward grabs Marcoh’s arm and says, “That stone – what can it heal, exactly?”

The old man’s eyebrows rise to his forehead, and he looks like he already knows the answer when he goes, “Why do you ask, Edward?”

There's no metallic footsteps so there’s no way Al’s close enough to hear them. “I’m sick,” he admits after another moment of deliberation.

Accidents Happen by metisket

Edward & Alphonse, Edward & Harry Dresden, Alphonse & Harry Dresden, Crossover, Crack, Friendship/Gen, Complete, 14k

It’s not so much the strange children falling from the sky that are worrying Harry. It’s more that the children don’t seem to think the situation is all that weird.

“No matter where I go,” Ed said thoughtfully, “there’s a goddamn pyromaniac there waiting for me.”

Repaire du Diable by Batsutousai

Darius/Heinkel/Edward, Edward & Alphonse, Post Canon Au, Complete, 9k

Ed and Al weren't the sort to settle down, despite their best intentions, so they travel, eventually finding Noah again, this time working with a circus that has its share of familiar faces, but also some new ones. Can the Elrics finally find people to settle down with?

[hotelconcierge]

YOUNG ADULT FICTIONS

Slate Star Codex, “Some groups of people who may not 100% deserve our eternal scorn,” defending Harry Potter political analogies:

Comparing politics to your favorite legends is as old as politics and legends. Herodotus used an extended metaphor between the Persian invasions of his own time and the Trojan War. When King Edward IV took the English throne in 1461, all anybody could talk about was how it reminded them of King Arthur. John Dryden’s famous poem Absalom and Achitophel is a bizarrely complicated analogy of 17th-century English politics to an obscure Biblical story. Throughout American history people have compared King George to Pharaoh, Benedict Arnold to Judas, Abraham Lincoln to Moses, et cetera.

Well, how many people know who Achitophel is these days? Even Achilles is kind of pushing it. So we stick to what we know – and more important, what we expect everyone else will know too. And so we get Harry Potter.

“But a children’s book?” Look, guys, fantasy is what the masses actually like. They liked it in Classical Greece, where they had stories like Bellerophon riding a flying horse and fighting the Chimera. They liked it in medieval Britain, where they would talk about the Knights of the Round Table slaying dragons as they searched for the Holy Grail. The cultural norm where only kids are allowed to read fantasy guilt-free and everybody else has to read James Joyce is a weird blip in the literary record which is already being corrected. Besides, James Joyce makes for a much less interesting source of political metaphors (“The 2016 election was a lot like Finnegan’s Wake: I have no idea what just happened”)

Hoo boy did he walk into that one.

Plebeians have been plebeian forever, granted, although the age of SSC’s examples (Medieval Britain?) is telling: contra the above, the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow literature exists whenever the majority of the population is literate.

But regardless, SSC (for the record, mostly Good) is being fooled by branding. No one compares the “fantasy” elements of Harry Potter to the U.S. political system. The fantasy elements are irrelevant, which is why Hamilton works just as well. Wannabe pundits compare the characters. And it is the characters, their psyches, the ambiguity that persists after two millennia of debate, that has made The Iliad stand the test of time. As clever as Artemis Fowl may be, it’s naive to pretend there’s no difference.

What makes it obvious that Deadpool (rating: R) is a kid’s movie while 2001: A Space Odyssey (rating: G) is not? Turn on the TV and flip through a few kids shows—nothing educational, I’m talking epilepsy triggers. After a couple, you’ll notice a unifying theme: everything is turned up to the max. All the characters are live/laugh/loving, fighting, crying; the soundtrack goes major or minor for every ephemeral mood. The characters have saucer eyes and exaggerated movements, The Emoji Movie being the logical conclusion of the genre, every motivation gets a musical number, these shows are MAXIMALLY EXPRESSIVE, leaving no doubt as to what emotion you are supposed to feel by the microsecond.

Please hear that I mean no disrespect when I say that this is why people with autism like Disney.

Q: Why did it feel good to watch [Disney movies] over and over again, that you kept wanting to? Watch them over and over again? How did that feel to you?

A: It felt comforting.

Q: Comforting.

A: It felt comforting.

Q: Why?

A: Because it would help me with...reducing my autism. (Radiolab)

Nothing wrong with that. Partisan bullshit aside, Harry Potter is great. But it’s important to recognize the limitations. Young adult fiction can have complex characters, worldbuilding, and rules of magic/ethics/rationality as long as the complexity is spelled out for you. “Snape was mean to Harry...but [flashback] that’s because, deep down, he was still in love with Lily...” What such stories will never ask you to do is intuit that Snape had tribulations, they assume that you have no instinct for cognitive empathy, which you don’t, which is why your politics are vapid. 

(When fiction deprives you of access to any character’s mind or explanation of events, you feel the opposite of comfort: horror. Saw is not a scary film because it is nothing but explanations; a Kafka story feels “off” even before shit goes down because the world and the characters refuse to show their work.)

Young adult fiction is a stepping stone, good if it helps you get better at understanding people without a Wes Anderson narrator whispering in your ear. Unfortunately, the ability to parrot accepted opinions is often taken for the ability to derive judgments of one’s own. I’m thinking of a homestuck 13 year old who is constantly told that he/she is “so mature” for getting straight A’s and being well-spoken with the dinner guests and not ditching class to smoke brick weed with Devin. Whether or not those behaviors are good, the kid isn’t mature, he or she is well-trained, and if you keep claiming maturity then you are going to stunt development. Sorry: not having an adolescent rebellion means you didn’t complete adolescence. The result is neotenous adults who are not overly sensitive—as conservative media would claim—but rather overly dependent on external rules. Cards Against Humanity is so funny, right? You get to say bad words, but it’s only a game.

“Help, I was a gifted kid and now I’m a normal adult!” Different adjective, same problem. Once Hal Incandenza is typecast as “gifted,” everyone will find it convenient to grade him (praise/no praise) on whether he is living up to his label. How do you look gifted? You can solve P vs. NP......or you can read the dictionary. I’ll bet that every ex-gifted kid who now uses “adulting” as a verb is a fan of those faux-pretentious memes, “mfw she confuses epistemics and ontology,” fitting Wikipedia philosophy into preformed joke structures, lowbrow expressions of highbrow concepts, a few college words to suggest immeasurable depths. You do what you know: exert the minimum necessary effort to convince other people of your intelligence. But you can’t convince yourself.

The consequences are predictable. Imposter syndrome. Scrupulosity. Sexual fetishes suffixed with -play. Gushing compassion ruined by the inability to picture how one appears to the outside world. Neediness. Ill-fitting jeans. Trouble with romance, and not because they don’t know how—deep down they do—but because they cling to a rulebook (“milady”) instead of trusting instinct. They were never allowed to have instincts. For that matter they’ve never really wanted, never felt a desire that wasn’t assigned, which is why: open relationships, switched majors, medicated anxiety, and ambivalence, ambivalence, ambivalence.

I know how heavy lies the burden of wasted potential. So please take this in the gentlest possible way: you were never that great. Greatness is a meaningless thing to apply to a kid, or a college student, or any idea that hasn’t forced it’s way onto paper. The only path is forward. “It’s our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” I think that’s Dumbledore, take it or leave it—there’s a time and a place for young adult fiction.

Coming soon:

THE FALSE POSITIVES

THE FALSE NEGATIVES

[raevenlywrites]

Pretty much all families in my worldbuilding are anything but nuclear. It takes so many people to raise up a child, and I'm determined to emphasis that in my work. Some of my favorites include:

the chimera Den, a sort of ruling council of communal mothers

the griffic Rookery, where all children of the Clan are raised together by a combination of dedicated caretakers and older children serving the Clan by doing a turn at babysitting duty

the horse-kin tendency to just sort of rear whatever child is in reach

the serpent familial style of simply referring to everyone by generations, so everyone older than you is a "parent" and everyone younger than you is a "child" (which is really fun with twins XD)

Preptober Prompts Day 5

Preptober Prompts Day 1 Welcome to Preptober, a month long celebration preparation for NaNoWriMo (or whatever else you're working on!). Every day, we'll bring you a prompt to help you explore the world you're building, so by the end of the month you'll have a full fleshed out playground!

Oct 5 - The Empress: Family Life

While its true that motherhood is only one aspect of this ultimate female energy card, it's a useful one to focus on for today. How are families structured, what kind of support do they provide for growing children. Is early education handled in the home or by an outside source? Are families usually determined by blood, or something else? Are households multi-generational? Is fostering common? How are lineages traced (do they even hold any cultural significance at all?)?

The Empress invites you to think about nurturing youths and the impact of family.

So that's your prompt for the day! Brainstorm, write stream of consciousness, make a bullet point list, a mood board, an entry in a fictional encyclopedia--whatever inspires you! Fill up that world :D Also, feel free to reblog this post with your responses! I love reading about worldbuilding <3

[hermanwatts]

SUPERVERSIVE: Why are Shonen Anime the Best?

Oh yeah. That’s a serious question.

Think about shonen for a moment. We have “Fullmetal Alchemist” and “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”, two of the greatest shows of all time. The former has deeply complex characters and hauntingly effective direction on every level. The latter is incredibly tightly plotted, covers a massive cast of interesting and well thought-out characters, and is one of the most philosophically deep shows arguably ever made.

Then you have “Death Note”, whose first half, at least, is probably the most carefully plotted show I’ve ever seen, and has spawned a franchise so massive it’s even extended to musicals, of all things

Okay, I started with the best of the best. Let’s go down a peg. “My Hero Academia”, then. THIS show has a massive, sprawling cast of unique and colorful characters and incredibly exciting action set pieces in a constantly evolving world. But more than that, the characters are complex and interesting, with powerful arcs rarely seen outside of the most critically acclaimed TV dramas. I mean, Todoroki’s backstory, and the way it was integrated into his fight with Deku, and how what happened in that fight reverberates throughout the rest of the series, is astonishingly well done.

And holy crap, ENDEAVOR? Is there ANYBODY who is doing anything as ballsy as what Horikoshi is doing with the character of Endeavor? It’s actually kind of amazing.

Hmmm, okay, this is a beloved show, maybe this is still unfair. Let’ go down even further. The show “Magi” had two seasons and has mostly been forgotten, though I adore it. THIS show takes place in a colorful fantasy-Arabian world, has a large cast of unique and interesting characters, and deals with complex socio-political issues with astonishing tact and intelligence.

The character of Ali Baba is one of the best drawn characters I have ever seen, vacillating between cowardice and bravery, crushed by guilt but driven to do right by his people, afraid to lead but ultimately more afraid not to. What shows have characters as interesting or complex as Ali Baba? What shows deal so well with massive geo-political politics, deal with social issues with so much intelligence and humanity without oversimplifying any of the issues? Are there any?

Okay, shonen is really an age range, not a genre. Let’s take a look at another perennial favorite, the sports anime. I am not a big connoisseur of these but I am a big fan of “Kuroko No Basketball”. Once again, this show focuses on a large and colorful cast, has great character arcs for not just its leads but many different characters, and man, the animation and choreography of the games themselves is stunning. What shows outside of shonen put so much effort into making the actions of the characters look so dynamic and interesting?

I can go on. In fact, this is REALLY scratching the surface. I mean, “One Piece”? Holy freaking crap, “One Piece”? What story of any kind has done the sort of worldbuilding that “One Piece” has made its bread and butter?

And then there’s the Chimera Ant arc of “Hunter x Hunter”, a brutal, elegant, and moving commentary on humanity with some of the best characters and character arcs of all time, portrayed in such a unique and powerful way. It is awe-inspiring on sheer ambition alone, but that Togashi cashes all of his checks is nothing short of astonishing Not since “Breaking Bad” has there been either television or cinema that has matched the power and tragedy of the climax of the Chimera Ant arc.

And JoJo’s! What is there even to say about it? Is there anything JoJo’s HASN’T done? The artwork of JoJo’s has actually ended up in the Louvre!

So here is my question:

What happened that made massive, sprawling adventure stories with huge, complex casts and interesting and well-developed characters get stuck as “Kid’s stuff”? Why do we almost never see the sort of grandeur and complexity of shonen in stories designed for adults?

Don’t give me “adults don’t have enough time to get invested”. If there’s anything the streaming era has shown us, it’s that yes, they do.

I don’t have an answer to this. I’m just raising the question.

I will say this. In anime, there is one exception to this rule – only one. That is space opera. For some reason space opera is allowed to be marketed towards adults while still having huge casts, interesting worlds, and grand adventure – see (especially) “Legend of the Galactic Heroes”, “Crest of the Stars”, or even the Gundam franchise, whose robots are marketed towards kids but whose stories, mostly, aren’t.

But – in anime – outside of that?

What the heck happened?I really am not sure. I have no idea how we reached this point, just like I’m not sure why the west has reduced animation to adult comedy and children’s media. But I do know this:

Shonen is the best anime, and until I see the same sort of storytelling become mainstream among shows aimed at older viewers, well, you can pry “My Hero Academia” out of my cold, dead hands.

SUPERVERSIVE: Why are Shonen Anime the Best? published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/