#march worldbuilders

[sildrae]

WORLDBUILDING DAYS - TREE / FLOWER

boy, i'd like to put all of these entries in a black paper, and write some of the details for them. whenever i've got time, i may present this in a more beautiful way

[veilantares]

Blue Ember

 *hair toss* I guess even robots can be a little bit devilish

A bit more organic than I'd prefer for something for march of robots, but I'm happy with the design nonetheless :>. This one's meant to be an oni rather than a demon but I guess there's enough overlap that the theme kinda gets across.

If we're talking lore for my setting, the regular robots are meant to be characters, but the cabal of Over Gods are meant to have speechless "demon" servants that I've tentatively called Machine Daemons. I often try to think about ways to differentiate these two groups beyond the fact that daemons don't talk (or vibrate their skin to produce words etc). Sometimes I picture daemons as more savage and jaggedly shaped, other times I think they should have horns or halos because they're servants of Divinity ... though nothing has stuck so far.

One thing that has been somewhat stable though is that the more powerful the form they perma-transform into is the more likely the individual is to be overtaken by one of the Over Gods - those Over Gods are like giant supercomputers with their own pocket dimensions, so they exert strong influence wherever they can.

A lot of cyborgs carry a little bit of influence with them because the connection to the Over Gods lets them perform useful skills, magics and feats. This way they can teach each other abilities even when they respectively have extremely different body formats.

Most of the illustrations I post are oneshots, so maybe these and the accompanying writings are all my practice attempts to get to a place where I know exactly what the things in my setting should look / be like. Part of the fun comes from the exploration and not knowing where I'll take these.

[astralcentralstation]

Worldbuilding H/C: Soulmates

So this will be just be the general head-canons about how the different cultures in HSR would be structures in a soulmate AU (alias how soulmates influenced laws and cultures), and how the playable characters view them. I will later add a image for each character. When we are induced to new cultures in the game i might add a part 2 to this.

Soulmates are general confirmed and accepted, nobody is really denying that they exist. But depending on who your soulmate is you might find stark differences in how they will view you and what is expected of you. For given that soulmates are confirmed for centuries, this knowledge shaped societies -some in culture, some even in law. Each planet has they own way of doing this.

Overall it is believed that the soulmate marks where blessing send out by the Aeons, a gift that all of them send out in junction. These soulmates have three parts; The first is Sign -a physical mark on the body -each match have a tattoo that both of them have since birth, absolute matching one-another in shape and placement. Second is Recognition -there is a instinctive bond between soulmates to protect and trust. Not enough to control once actions, but enough to sway the undecided. Hereby it doesn't matter if they even know their soulmate is involved -if for example a ship is in danger, and a soulmate has a match on that ship without knowing or any indications, the soulmate will lean towards protecting the ship. The last is different for each race; Protection will give what a match needs to stay together. If one soulmate ages slower than the other, their match will age normally till they reach the physical age of their soulmate, then have their aging slow down to the same space. If a soulmates race has a special ability like breathing under water or immunity to fire, then that will carry over.

In Belebog soulmates rarely found each other, what with the Eternal Freeze and later even with the ban between Under- and Overworld. Therefore people will be pretty open to marry somebody who is not their soulmate. That is if you haven't meet or have already lost their soulmate. If someone were to pursue someone else while their match is right next to them it would still turn some confused heads. But it isn't unheard of. Still, finding your match is considered special. The Landau Siblings, Gepard and Serval are a bit out the norm, wanting to wait for their soulmates. They haven't mentioned it to their parents, neither wanting to deal with the backlash and pressure to continue the family line -in fact they haven't even told each other. As for Bronya a romantic partner had not even been on the table till her soulmate shows up. From there on she feels lost, she doesn't want to let go of this possibility, but she also have no idea what to do with a soulmate. Others who would be blindsided by a match showing up where Natasha and Seele. Nat doesn't think she deserves a soulmate, her match has to convince her to give them a chance. Seele meanwhile had regarded finding a match as a fairy tale scenario, highly unlikely -even if she claimed to wait for them to stop her admirers. It was only a line, you know. Sampo is open-minded to finding a soulmate, but isn't searching or waiting. Pela used to believe she would find her soulmate and was ready to fight for that. Then she was sent to the frontlines of the Eternal Freeze and decided to give up and focus on reality.

(Characters: Gepard Serval Bronya Natasha Seele Sampo)

People of the Xianzhou Alliance are the complete opposite. They believe that matches are scared and married from birth. It is not only outlawed, but unthinkable to be with anyone outside the Bond. Soulmates are often refers to as Kindreds. Found matches will usually move together that very same day. Exceptions are made for kids, in which case they will have constantly alternating sleepovers. Xianzhou and Foxians share they longevity with they matches, while Vidyadhara share they reincarnation-cycle ability. One would think that make it easier to find their match, and really each ship has they citizens register their Signs and there is open communications to help everyone find their spouse. But there is also a danger in that; matches are thought to be one of mind. Which means if a crime is committed, both soulmates receive the sentence. So if your aging acts up be careful, you don't know what your soulmate was up to. 'You didn't know' will not hold in front of their laws. However if you are the soulmate of Jing Yuan, Fu Xuan or Yukong, it's up to school with you. As their Kindred you are considered their second in command and must learn their people's law and train in combat. Yanqing's soulmate will face similar, but as he is still in training himself, it will be more relaxed. Each of them will of course be with you every step of the way. Sushang is currently searching for you. Tingyun is content to wait for you, she collets trinkets over the years to gift you when you finally meet. Qingque has only just returned from a Search so she is currently focusing on her own life, but she has diaries about her searches she plans to gift her soulmate. Loucha is more a nomad, so he doesn't consider you his spouse yet and fully plans to woe you off your feet, but he has high regard for the soulmate traditions of the Xianzhou and might be quickly influenced by them. Just keep in mind to set boundaries early with any of them, they respect you to much to overstep even if those boundaries are things they are unfamiliar with.

(Characters: Jing Yuan Fu Xuan Yukong Yanqing Sushang Tingyun Qingque Loucha)

Space-Nomads have an interesting case where either each member of the group stays true to their home world's culture or a group has developed their own soulmate culture while traveling together. Other space nomads go with a mix of the two. But overall they experienced enough other cultures that they will have no problem adjusting to their soulmate's culture.

The Nameless mostly go by their home-world's culture, mainly since the culture that Pom-Pom says used to exist on the Express died before Himeko rediscovered said train. Still there are things they picked up from the conductor. Like calling Soulmates 'Soulcompasses' or just one's 'Compass'. Also, Pom-Pom considers each Nameless' match another guest of the Express and will cry if they don't board and travel with them. March 7 pretty much adopted his approach since she has no homeworld-culture to fall back on; in her mind a couple could take as long as they wanted to get together, as long both trailblazed together. Himeko is close to this ideal as well, but she wouldn't pressure someone into coming along. She can always visit with stories and souvenirs in tow. Her homeworld-culture teaches that no relationship is to be taken for granted, you don't own your soulmate, and sometimes they don't work out and that is okay. Welt is undecided on the tropic of soulmates, he has seen a lot. A soulmate is kind of unreal, but he won't push you away. The people of his world believe soulmates always work, but sometimes they don't work out right away. People are shaped by experiences. This means that at times matches can know each other for before they klick or even like each other. That being said he would never let anything happen to you if he could prevent it. Dan Heng has no problem connecting his heritage with the Express traditions, but from his experience traveling different worlds decides to give his 'Kindred Compass' the control on how fast the relationship goes. That said he is desperately hunting for his soulmate. Who knows what happen if they go to Loufu searching for him? He has to find them to at least warn them. The Trailblazer meanwhile, having no culture to remember, just adopts everybody's culture. Soulmates confuse them, but finding one's compass is good, yes?

(Characters Himeko Welt Yang March 7 Dan Heng Stelle Caelus)

Then you have the Stellaron Hunters. These guys are okay to play around or even marry prior to meeting their soulmate. But once they do, whatever relationship they had prior is over. No buts. Given how much they deal with the 'script', they will know when they will meet you and be ready a day or two early. They call the day of the meeting Destiny Call. Kafka confused everyone by bringing flowers to a fight the day she was to meet you. Silver Wolf thinks that is coming on too strong, but still makes sure to look her best on her Destiny Call. In contrast Blade will try to get a rise out of his soulmate the first time you meet. In his mind, his Fated One should know what they are getting into. They do take their other half a tad for granted, but that doesn't mean their aren't prepared to woe you for years to come.

(Characters: Kafka Silver Wolf Blade)

Now the crew of Herta's Space-Station all exclusively go by their home-world traditions. Except Herta herself. Herta has a pop-quiz ready that she will jump at you the moment she knows that you are her soulmate and make a plan based on your answers. Asta's world is neutral towards soulmates, but you only ever gift pearls or chocolate to a soulmate. So a relationship with her would be pretty normal. Except she won't stand for anyone giving you chocolate or you giving cholate out, not even to kids. Arlan has a plan on how to woe his soulmate -it goes flying out of the window the second he meets you. At his home planet you place your soulmate first before everything. There are laws against hurting one's soulmate, so he takes this very serious. Also, unlike some planets, Signs are thought as intimate, usually covered up. So if his soulmate were to show them off, he would be a blushing mess.

(Characters: Herta Asta Arlan)

[starcurtain]

NO LITERALLY there’s so much worldbuilding potential with humanity evolving differently on different planets….. add space and magic to the mix and there’s an endless sea of possibility…… its so fun just coming up with new explanations for designs and headcanons based on what info we have

Right???

I'm over here like "Is no one gonna talk about how Jade is just straight up using magic?" and "Why is no one making a bigger deal out of the fact that Dan Heng is literally a reptile?" 😂😂

Some Halovians have wings and some don't and nobody's out here coming up with twelve page long scientific treatises on why?!

Normal Star Rail fans: Ruan Mei's creations are so cute!

Me: How does the digestive system in the sentient cake work?

Definitely massively rich in worldbuilding potential; I am constantly itching thinking about the strangeness that these characters must run into every once in a while when their comrades do some spectacularly alien nonsense.

"Aventurine, that's not food--"

"Maybe not to you, but I'm a Sigonian."

[solomiracle]

life candle headcanons

for obey march, day eight: candles

the flame's color depends on the species of the soul the candle represents. angels' candles burn white, humans' have their signature orange/red, and demons' flames are black. but for all three, the color of smoke is grey

all candles are one-of-a-kind works of art. some are the standard tall candle, some have shaped wax, some are carved, etc. intricate details are etched into the wax, often of symbols, patterns, and even scenes connected to the life of the candle's person.

loved one's candles will often be grouped together, sometimes even touching. the reapers have noticed that when candles are in these groups, they melt slower than the ones who are alone.

they're scented, the smell being significant to the person in some way, like a specific food or location. the scents are very faint, up until the wax has melted and the flame has gone out - then the smoke rises, and the smell fills the air before filtering away, like the person saying their final goodbye.

[jesncin]

making my way through YJa so I can get to the Ma'al and martian stuff again but adfasdf things I have to say:

good things first: I love Victor's backstory, the voice actor is absolutely giving it his all. Great performances in the Stone family. The Accident was rendered so gorey and gross that it was hard to look at and I even involuntarily cried a bit.

The first few episodes of S3 are the strongest the show has been so far even if it's not as ambitious as previous seasons. The cast is way less bloated and they're taking time to introduce new characters to us.

bad things: M'gann calling the meta teens they essentially adopted "needy"?? god I'm not trying to hate her but what the heck? Brion is a banished prince and recently discovered he's a meta human, Halo is a traffic-ed teen, Forager was banished from his home planet (something M'gann should understand??) but no. They're needy for getting in the way of her and Conner's engagement era. It's not like they're struggling financially and don't have the space to take in strays. It's not like any of them are taking a break from being heroes. One of my least favorite tropes in Superhero stories is when an adult character is entitled to their superhero partner/friend's time when they should understand that said superhero is busy saving lives and is in urgent need. Yeah it sucks when you miss out on a date or two but being a hero is about that personal sacrifice. It's not like M'gann's a normie either! She's a super and should get it. "Aah but they should spend Engagement time together" Conner and M'gann are ageless beings in this show, they've got time! Argh. Hate it.

Beast Boy's episode is when the show falls back on its over-exposition weakness. Way too much told to us instead of shown.

There's probably going to be more reveals on Halo's backstory eventually but the current reveal I'm on where it turns out the motherbox device basically "possesses" this human girl's body and now lives through her? I don't like it. This alien technology took over a hijabi girl's body but still chooses to wear the hijab. It feels like getting muslim representation on a surface level but by removing all of the religious and cultural context out of wearing a hijab. How does the motherbox know that men shouldn't be around when she takes her hijab off? Especially when Halo has been so Born Sexy Yesterday clueless about how to be human this whole time?

Halo and Brion are too much of a retread of M'gann and Conner. Would've been more interesting if their genders were swapped or something.

It's getting a bit gratuitous how many times they're fake-killing or injuring Halo. I get it, they're showcasing her powers and ability to come back from the dead. But when it's mostly POC who are at the receiving end of the show's upgraded violence it starts getting icky.

I praised this show for pronouncing Ra's Al Ghul's name correctly in S1 and S2 but why are they changing the pronunciation in S3? ;_; yall were doing so well

it doesn't matter I'm still coming for you Ma'al

[dogstomp]

Dogstomp #3296 - March 4th

Patreon / Discord Server / Itaku / Bluesky

[dead-orbit-llc]

You are greeted by a message after approaching this star sufficiently.

Welcome to Liaos Mining Station, where we- [the feed cuts off and scrambles abruptly and is replaced by an image of a skeleton downing a mug of alcohol, on an orange and black background.] Welcome to hell, home of the Dead Orbit mercenary company. We do odd jobs if you need anything done. Our little asteroid-sized lunar home on the edge of the Union used to be in orbital decay with its host world until an NHP cascaded and slightly terraformed the planet into a belt, and here we are now. This ain't a core world, this is the Diaspera, the edge of that even, nothing is free here. You want supplies; pay, work, or trade for it. Otherwise, move on. We do have some info data packets you can access. -Admin Note: Yes, you have to pay to use the Blink Gate, no we don't have one. [After the message is read and displayed over the symbol, your feed receives another image.]

[birdb1tch]

i wish we knew more about how magic worked in dmc because aside from a lot of the cool lore shit and world building, the scene of trish making her clothes reappear is so fucking cool to me but also brings up so many questions. is it because she’s a demon? can she make anything appear or are there specific limitations? does it work similar to devil arms where they can be summoned and dismissed at will or is she literally creating something new?

[spell-cleaver]

Just realized that a lot of the mechanics of the Dark Side (pain, fear, anger -> abnormal + unsustainable strength) are similar to hysterical strength and adrenaline reactions. What do you think the implications on Star Wars wordbuilding would be if the Dark Side, at least in its most basic form, was just a magical version of the stress response?

Honestly, I keep swinging between "it would totally change the worldbuilding" and "it wouldn't change it much" (which is why I'm responding to this two years later...) My, admittedly limited, understanding of the stress response is that it give you hysterical strength and adrenaline as you said, but only for a very short time, and after that it begins to damage your body because your body is just not built to be in that sort of fight-or-flight situation for any extended period of time. You can hurt yourself and push through it so you don't feel it until later, possibly aggravating the injury, and it's the prime example of how we're wired to survive as best we can and have built in mechanisms to keep us going even in moments of crisis.

Which is fascinating if you apply it to the dark side! The idea that you can use your heightened emotions to achieve power you didn't have before, but it comes at a great cost and you'd constantly be chasing it, is largely what the dark side is about. Who needs Jedi training and discipline when you can access the dark side by drawing on an artificial fight-or-flight response? It fits into the "quicker, easier, more seductive" definition of the dark side and especially fits the fact that people are more likely to fall to the dark side when they're desperate, or when they're in a natural fight-or-flight response (see Luke beating Vader in ROTJ because he threatened Leia, so Luke's anger and protective instincts kicked off). It makes a lot of sense!

But another important aspect of the dark side imo is the moral aspect. You don't just get power from your own suffering and your own desperation; you can draw power from others' suffering. You get power by causing others' suffering. That's why the Sith are evil: because the dark side twists and corrupts the user's mind in the pursuit of power, so they cause more and more suffering along the way. The dark side is what would happen if, after experiencing the stress response for the first time, the person enjoyed feeling strong so much that they sought to induce the effects in them again, and again, caring less and less about pain and more and more about the power, and hurting people in order to achieve it.

If the dark side was just a matter of the stress response in Star Wars, it would change the worldbuilding a lot because I think those that use it wouldn't be ostracised in the same way. In real life, people get pushed too hard all the time, and have to have care and support to recover from the health impacts of that. If a Jedi was near death and used the dark side in a specific situation, if it was just a magical version of the stress response, the power would fade, and I imagine the other Jedi would come in to help them recover, not hold it against them, and simply be happy they're still alive. I imagine the dark side wouldn't be a moral issue, but rather a danger issue - it's not that you can't use it, it's that using it burns you through, so only tap into it if you absolutely have to. (Especially since Force powers are dangerous, so if you're near death and you're suddenly wielding ridiculous magic powers, someone near you could get very hurt indeed.) It would be more in line with other magic systems where there's this deus ex machina-style power that competent magicians can use, but shouldn't use extensively, to protect their bodies and minds.

Meanwhile, I imagine that the Sith in this scenario would be more along the lines of a religious organisation that do induce artificial stress responses in themselves to achieve short bursts of enormous power at great cost to themselves. The Jedi would be against the Sith because they teach children from a young age to harm themselves in order to gain power, functionally teaching them to be walking Force bombs into the future. Think teachers irl who think students work best under enormous pressure vs teachers who actually provide learning support. Worldbuilding like this would be a really interesting way to look at pedagogy and health and creativity! The idea of the tortured artist who can only produce masterpieces when they're struggling with demons or something is really powerful in pop culture, so writing a story with this sort of worldbuilding could be a really fun way to explore that.

Also, in this universe, it would make so much sense that the Jedi won against the Sith to the extent that the Sith are in hiding. Not only would the Sith's methodology likely count as child abuse under non-magical law, but Jedi would be better at fighting, at tactics, at building organisations and systems that last. They're healthier and happier, so they ultimately outlast, despite the Sith's enormous, erratic power.

[gourdlycatgen]

events list!

January event - New Year, New Lore

Shakeup! World building requests ONLY!

February event - Lovers Lingering

Two to three cats, already in love, given per ask! Will also do courting/partner traditions.

March event - Egg hunt

trans event Spring and Easter-themed cats and traditions only!

April event - Fool's Folly

Goofy cats! Who knows, you might get a cat with clothes if you request in april!

May event - Birthday Barrage

All may requests are kittens! It's my birthday month so gotta go simple.

June event - Quaintly Queer

GAY CATS. Every June request will be incredibly queer, and many will be poly, no cishets allowed! Get off my blog if you dislike this <3

July event - Summer fun

Just a bunch of sun-loving cats. normal request time no special factors! Request anything for a world or a cat.

August event - Time to Train

APPRENTICES! In honor of folks going back to school, August is entirely apprentices! Nothing else!

September event - Solstice Celebration

Another mostly normal event, but since the fall solstice is in this month, it'll be a focus of the month to have fall and space themes! Will also do religion requests

October event - Trick or Treat

SPOOKY MONTH. SPOOKY CATS ONLY!

November event - Herb Fest

As a celebration of the end of harvest season for many in the north, this month will be entirely cats trained in healing! Will also do fictional herb requests.

December event - Winter Bash

Whatever holiday you celebrate, I don't care! Come to this blog with a request in December and you'll get a wintery suprise! Specify a holiday or specific winter holiday folk story/myth and I'll theme it around that! Will also do sickness requests.

events will change if i start getting flooded

asks i don’t get to by the start of the next event will be purged unless they can be used in the next one.

[beebuus]

hello everyone! today i bring you: the ides of march, bugified!

here is some context: each insect species from our reality has their own tribe in bugworld (theres no canon name for it, been refering to it as either contoworld or contoverse because of my first character's name, contosho) and in every tribe, there's a emperor (used as a gender neutral term). besides the name, the emperor holds little actual power/control over other residents, it is more of a honorary title than an actual real emperor thing. the only benefits of actually being an emperor is being unable to age (most bugs are ok with death, not a huge deal) and growing bigger and bigger through the years (kinda makes you need other bugs to help you with daily stuff), and the duties are different, including organizing festivals and big hunts. but just like any other relationship between people, there can be manipulation that turns most people's lives miserable.

one of such shitty emperors is juliu sisa (def not inspired by anyone), from the Pheidole servilia tribe (species picked for their name, servilia, which was the mother of brutus), who has been demanding every individual of the tribe to dance in a almost unending performance, until the emperor sleeps and they can go satiate their hunger/thirst and then rest, or until they collapse on the ground, in which the emperor themself gives the civilian a "final rest", if you get what i mean.

that's where conto comes in! they were such a victim of shitty emperors, and wishes to end that across other tribes. by the way, the only way of transferring power between people is to eat a emperor's heart. only then the more wowzer abilities transfer.

either way, there are also certain individuals called "vessels", they aren't bugs or animals, they would be more comparable to an elemental... except, there are some weirder ones (the vessel or conches, vessel of blades, etc). either way, there is only one of each element, and they take the shape of bugs most of the time for less confusion. and they also have their own personalities (the vessel of water is very quiet and reclusive, although she loves to watch stories unfold). the vessel of blades specifically, loves some stabby action.

and then there's this new guy! never drew them before. they're an aphid possessed by the spirit in the sword (spirits are a field of scientific study in this world), who likes to smell the impending violence that sprouts here and there, and then partaking in said violence.

the bug's name is suika, they were from a small family of merchant aphids that sold oils from exotic plants. the sword's spirit's name is komput'limé (kompu for short), a brave and ruthless warrior who had quite simple intentions, just the strength of said ambitions were so strong that they could inhabit their own sword in death.

either way, before i end this post, I'd like to ask any and all who have questions about this world (anything ranging from "what animals are there?" to more complex questions) in my asks! they're very open and very welcoming to any of your (not too) weird questions of my weird world.

[veilantares]

Beyonder

Rend, Rip, Transform in phase, machines unleashed in different ways, forms that pierce beyond the veil, Metal Masked Machines refuse to fail Reject the mecha industrial complex. Embrace transforming biomechanical void constructs from Beyond an Infinite Haze.

I saw a thread helped me understand my setting a little more, I think it helps me get why I like biomechanical patterns so much, I don't want the escapism to just be robots looking like war machines, I want the Transfiguration of shape and function to be a central theme too.

What does this form let the character do? How does it reflect their goals? I'll frequently draw them with armcannons, claws or swords, but the idea is that despite looking like weapons they're choosing to be adventurers and explorers out in the untamed wilds and spirit breaking labyrinths, rather than conquerers, obliterators and annihilators. That being said this kind of distinction would probably only make it through in storytelling and not the oneshot illustrations I've been doing.

Some transhumanist escapist art, while being incredibly cool and detailed, also goes way too close into looking like a real world tank for my liking. There is a pain response in my mind when I consider the possibility of my art going the same way.

[jpitha]

Do it With Style

Just because the colony Méihuā keeps to themselves doesn't mean they never go out. They love to show off.

When it was heard that the Méihuā drill team was out touring known space, an invitation was sent along from the joint Human/K'laxi starbase. As one of the largest nexuses of inter-sapient relations it was seen as a prestigious invitation.

They accepted the invitation warmly and said to "be prepared for our entrance."

On the appointed day, three Starjumpers in their signature yellow and purple livery linked into the system. Two set up stations near the Starbase but not connected, holding a pattern close enough that one could see them from the promenade. The last connected via an umbilical and waited.

For more than an hour, nothing happened.

On the Starbase, the docking ring is at the very back or bottom of the station (depending on which way you choose to orient it). The promenade is a long, wide hall the runs the length of the former Starjumper that was incorporated into the Starbase early in their history when they were short on space. The promenade ends in the Commons, a large area of gardens, fields, huge windows and bright light to give everyone a small touch of outside, inside.

After the hubbub calmed down, a shrill whistle was heard from within the umbilical. 5 short blasts signaled the start.

Immediately all other activity on the promenade ceased. Everyone knew about Méihuā and their drill teams and nobody wanted to miss anything.

Inside the umbilical, a drummer started keeping the beat; playing complicated flourishes on the one. With only the drummer keeping a fast, steady pace, three groups of people ran out of the umbilical double time and lined up in three groups, nearly as wide as the promenade. The first were people dressed in the purple and yellow of Méihuā, in long flowing gowns covered in flashing sequins. Their faces were decorated with flashing sequins and wild paint.

The second group was people in purple and yellow leotards, highly defined muscles and tightly cropped hair.

The last group thundered out of the umbilical in full armored pressure suits. The suits were a deep glossy purple with yellow accents on the joints, and their helmets were blank, purple, and faceless. In their hands were massive battle rifles, all with a bright yellow tip on the end, indicating that they were inert.

As everyone stood at attention, the band streamed out, and took up station in the front and back of the line. Drummers, brass instruments, and callers all stood statue still while the drummer still called out the beat.

Finally, the Drum Major came out. Wearing a real Major General's uniform from Méihuā it was vibrant purple and yellow. The Major was wearing gleaming medals, a gigantic campaign hat and the tallest mace anyone onboard had ever seen. It too was purple and yellow and had dancing yellow lights inside the piriform.

She strode purposefully to the front of the procession and slammed the mace on the ground, twice. With piercing cracks, everyone was silent.

The Major blasted 5 more times on her whistle, and they began.

In lockstep they marched down the promenade, the heels of their shoes containing metal so that there was a rhythmic click as they walked. The click was so precise you couldn't tell from listening how many people were marching.

A moment later, the callers started.

They'd shout, in their clarion voices a call and response chant about how none train as hard, none shall be as good as "The Mighty Méihuā." The chant would end with a "Hah!" shouted by everyone, and the soldiers would rap the butts of their rifles on the ground.

Then, the band began.

As anyone who has ever played and walked at the same time will attest, it is difficult to play in a marching band. All the players were smooth and on beat, their song flowing and clear. While they played the dancers ran ahead on light feet and weaved in and out of the crowds, handing out little Méihuā flags and flowers to people.

Halfway through the march down the promenade, the dancers melted to the rear and the acrobats began. In perfect synchronicity they'd flip and toss and carry each other, running ahead as groups would toss people ahead and then catch them perfectly. At this display, the children watching would cheer and clap and the K'laxi watching would poof their fur in worry and surprise.

Finally, the dancers and the acrobats moved to the back and the soldiers came forward. The entire time they moved, they never broke step. They marched relentlessly forward, swinging their massive rifles around as if they weighed nothing, slamming the butts on the ground and tossing them to each other, all in time.

The whole time they marched, the crowd was enraptured. Stunned to silence for the first third, they took in the exhibition of skill. As they continued on though, people couldn't help themselves and began to shout and cheer. By the time the soldiers had their turn showing off, there was a wall of noise from the crowds. People came running from the residential arms and following up behind them on the promenade, trying to catch a glimpse.

Finally, they reached the Common. As they came onto one of the ball fields, they spread out and switched to the Méihuā national song. At some unseen cue, the two Starjumpers swooped down very low and passed over the windows of the Commons, surprising everyone. Somehow, they knew the beat and they'd blink their lights in perfect time to the song.

The entire group, dancers, acrobats and soldiers sang in full throated harmony, all clearly having a great time showing off to the residents of the Starbase.

With a final flourish, they all bowed smartly and the song ended.

There was half a beat of silence and the crowd erupted.

Everyone who saw the show agreed it was one of the best on the Starbase.

That evening, they gave another exhibition of Méihuā dexterity and skill and they were, once again a hit.

After they had left, no fewer than 3 drill teams formed on the Starbase; a kids one, and two adult ones. K'laxi and Humans joined in even numbers, and they practiced every weekend on the Common.

Next year, they were taking the show to Méihuā.

[anxietywriter]

betrayal

It wasn't his fault he died. Not the first time. Nor the second.

Do you know why the gods don't interfere with mortals?

Because even they feel shame and pity. Even they cringe away at the thought of grief. Timeless beings were always unsettled by death.

They killed him, though. Memories bled, from one life into the next. From the next back. He couldn't separate one lifetime from the other. What happened when.

Mercy, they said.

An injustice. Corrected.

And they let him rest in an opulent room that simultaneously seemed too much and not enough. His. His room. He had a room.

It felt like they expected him to know. Know where the lights were and which door led to the bathroom.

A god, was he a god, now? A god shouldn't yearn for mortality. They should think it a curse, a cage.

Mortal life is a terrible, wretched thing. It was his prison sentence. Meant to torment him with the struggles of humanity compared to the ease of godhood.

His memories bled.

Was his mortal life so terrible? And this life so wonderful? Was he doing something wrong? To feel so suffocated? To feel such deep resentment?

They all stared at him like they were waiting for something. Like he was a dog about to jump through a hoop. It was unnerving. Why did they stare?

What did his first life entail?

Why did it end?

He had a headache.

Were gods meant to feel this way?

[pizzamanstan]

A Little Intro

Hi all! Now that I'm settling into this site a bit more and life has given me something of a break, I'm hoping to share some of my projects, which are primarily worldbuilding for D&D or just for fun. I'm pretty friendly and am trying my best to interact with others and would love to hear what you think of my work, as well as what you're working on! I've got a few different projects I'm working on or would like to work on, which I'll delve into a bit below the break.

Project 1: The Basin

The only project that is anything close to being actively used. This setting was used for a D&D campaign that's on an indefinite hiatus at the moment. The titular basin is a relatively dry area surrounded by mountains on three sides. A militaristic hobgoblin empire is the dominant power here. It currently defends its overstretched borders from lizardfolk and human raiders, and also deals with the plotting of its ancient foe, the remnants of an elven kingdom that once rivaled the Empire in power. Meanwhile, nearby powers outside the Basin attempt to take advantage of the preoccupied Empire.

I actually have a pretty decent map for this project at the moment!

Project 2: West-Marches Style

As the title implies, this project is the world for a West-Marches style of D&D campaign. It's currently in the early concept phase, so I'm figuring out exactly what is making the area so difficult to explore, and trying to define the main task that the players would have to tackle.

Project 3: "In-Depth"

This is the outlier project. I'll be making a world with too much detail totally from scratch, starting with the continents, including tectonic drift and all the geologic history that comes with that. It's not for D&D, just for my own enjoyment and it provides a neat opportunity to learn about a bunch of things I don't really know a lot about. At the moment, I'm really not sure of anything about this project beyond that. There will be magic involved, but I'm not exactly sure how.

I know this wasn't very specific about anything, but my hope is to explain a bit more through posts over the next few weeks. I'll mostly be talking about The Basin because that's the most developed project, but I might talk about the others if I develop them a bit more.

If you've read this far, thanks!! I'm really excited to share what I've been working on, and would love to hear what you have to say!