#object worldbuilding

[theboxfort]

Asked twitter what would happen if you were to put your hand through an object with a floating face/hollow head

[prokopetz]

Big Dumb Objects are of course essential to fantasy worldbuilding, but I feel like a lot of settings needlessly limit themselves in terms of what they can be shaped like. Ooh, it's an enigmatic monolith. Oh, it's a giant inexplicable human face. Wow, it's a really big tree. Next time give your setting a mountain in the exact shape of a coffee mug – that'll really make 'em wonder.

[mysteryfleshpit]

Tourism poster for Mystery Flesh Pit National Park, 1980

From an area tourism book of the era: "While the rural areas of west Texas are known for their sparse populations, one tourist attraction seems to continually generate a steady stream of visitors around vacation seasons. The titular "Mystery Flesh Pit" has been a wellspring of fascination for geologists, biologists, sociologists, engineers and the general public alike. Guests are advised to book age-appropriate tours and activities well in advance of their visit, though the pheromonal discharges and the overall agitation level of the MFP can vary with short notice. Visitors should be advised to be prepared for changes in schedule & availability."  

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Text: In the desert, dry lightning can be read like tea leaves, a glimpse of the future in a blinding flash of branching lines. Shut your eyes, and you can study the afterimage for a moment longer.

[furiarossa]

Question: What if Vlad was the Ghost King?

This is a really interesting question!

It's interesting to note how most fans focus on alternate universes where Danny Fenton/Phantom becomes the king of the ghosts, when in the canon version of the series it is Vlad, at some point, who possesses the objects of power... and having the Crown of fire and the Ring of rage, in theory he has infinite power. Considering that at the time Fright Night is in his service, Vlad has access to the entire triptych of the objects of power, the ring, the sword and the crown, three things that historically carry enormous symbolic value.

On top of that, Vlad owns also the Skeleton Key, that can unlock any door, realm, case, or prison, even allow access to any realm in the Ghost Zone.

Isn't that enough, to be near-omnipotent?

And despite all this, Vlad never uses the Crown and the Ring at the same time, refusing in a certain sense to become the Ghost King. He does not allow himself to be corrupted by infinite power, because that is not his goal. (As usual, in our analysis we leave out the third season, because there the characters' motives appear too fundamentally altered and unrecognizable. We have an explanation for this too, but it will come in its time!).

Within the series, this is left as an open question, never answered: Vlad could indeed become the King of the Ghosts, but we are never shown the objects of power again after Reign Storm (only once, briefly, in the graphic novel "A Glitch in Time", but in an inconsequential way. Vlad continues to possess those objects, but it is clear that he does not use them directly to acquire power, but rather to seek something else).

So, asking "What if Vlad was the Ghost King?" is... pretty normal. A rather natural consequence of what we have been shown.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we don’t find it interesting how other fans give this role, that of the king, to Danny Fenton/Phantom: every interpretation is completely subjective and we like to explore every possibility. All this is just a preamble to the real answer, of course: what if Vlad wore the symbols of power? What if Vlad, as you asked, decided to become the King of the Ghosts?

Because that's what it comes down to: his choice to accept that power.

At this point, many things could happen... but we will decide to analyze one path in particular: that of power which, combined with the sadness of an abandoned man, corrupts him.

But let's start from the beginning, shall we?

What does it mean to become a Ghost King?

+ Origins +

The Ghost Zone originates from the remains of the Fallen Ancients, enormous living creatures that were once part of the material plane, but during a fracture of reality descended into a completely empty dimension. The decomposition of their magical bodies created an entire ecto-ecosystem, with a unique spiritual imprint, which quickly gave rise to sentient entities.

One of the first entities born in this way, around the time the first phantomhives were formed, decided to create magical objects that would allow it to control the power of these Ancients, much like mages on the material plane sometimes do with the bones of great magical creatures, which contain a portion of the power of when that creature was alive.

The entity in question, whose identity is debated, is often referred to in texts simply as "Blacksmith".

The Blacksmith did not know that everything within the Ghost Zone originated from the remains of the Fallen Ancients, so they could not have foreseen that these magical objects they had created would not only be of unheard-of power, but also capable of controlling every single being within their plane of reality, be they living or non-living. Possessing the Crown, Ring, and Sword at the same time grants any spirit immediate and total dominion over the entire Ghost Zone.

+ Role +

Among the spirits, a Ghost King is neither essential nor particularly welcome: it is a role created by mistake, directly from the ancient relics, and is not necessary in any way to the functioning of the Ghost Zone.

Long periods of time can pass between one "coronation" and another, mainly because the spirits tend to hide the relics, or to guard them, to prevent other individuals from using the power. There are some "legends" that speak of how the role of a Ghost King makes sense and is necessary to maintain order, but this is mere monarchist and totalitarian propaganda, usually commissioned by other Kings in order to give a semblance of reason to their power and to keep them under control.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to destroy the relics, both because of their robustness and because of their deep energetic connection with the Ghost Zone, which would risk causing enormous cataclysms, and the possible destruction of the entire phantom ecosystem if they were shattered to pieces, so there will always be Ghost Kings.

Vlad as a Ghost King: how it happened?

(Aka, what if Vlad was a REAL villain? What if he chose the bad path?)

Having the relics is not enough to be the King, you also need to wear them. The Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage, in particular, need to be used in synergy, amplifying each other's strength, and this is a problem, because wearing the Ring means entering a state of continuous fury, where the individual has no other choice than to pursue a goal in any way, even with extreme violence; Vlad is therefore reluctant to use the relics as they were designed and tries to channel their power in other ways, without much success.

Vlad gives in after a cruel prank: the Fentons' daughter, Jasmine, spends the afternoon with him, giving him the hope of some friendship and human contact, only to reveal that she actually wants to capture him, having discovered thanks to Danny that he is a half human and half ghost (very similar to what happens in 211. "Secret Weapons").

Jasmine wears the ectoskelenton suit, controlled through a neural interface, that allows her to fight on equal terms with him, and to easily overcome this obstacle, Vlad decides to wear the Ring and the Crown.

Once he becomes the Ghost King, unable to control his new and boundless power, Vlad kills Jasmine with a single shot, causing her and the suit to explode.

At first he despairs, for having taken the life of someone so young, but soon he realizes that he is relieved to have gotten rid of her and also a little proud of himself for having managed to overcome the fear (which he defines as "mortal") of killing someone.

The power begins to fill his head with unhealthy ideas and killing (or dominating) those who dared to harm him in the past becomes an obsession with an easily achievable resolution. In a single night, he kills Jack in his bed and kidnaps Maddie, but luckily for Danny, the boy is not at home: he is at a party with two of his friends, Sam and Tucker.

Vlad reaches him, swollen with pride, with his hands still stained with blood and the crown that is burning on his head, and reveals to him that he killed his parents, voluntarily omitting that he only kidnapped Maddie. Danny begs him to spare him, promising him that he would become a diligent student if he survived.

Vlad has no desire to become Danny's mentor, but now only to take his life. In front of him, he kills Tucker without any remorse, strangling him. Danny, to distract the killer and prevent him from doing the same to Sam, insults him, challenges him and starts to run away. Vlad orders a bloodhunt on him: now every spirit in the world, among those who answer to his orders, will try at every moment to capture the fleeing boy. Danny will run away relentlessly for five years, while all the spirits in the world chase him.

+ The Man and the Demon +

Being an halfa, Vlad is an extremely anomalous Ghost King, possessing a human side in addition to his ghost self: the Crown and Ring only feed the latter, making him extremely unbalanced.

His ghost, huge and aggressive, is considerably more capable of taking control of his flesh body, as well as detaching itself from it for long periods of time. Vlad's human side still has some restraint and does not want the harm they are inflicting on others to be so extreme, but the more time passes, the more the ghost side of him, obsessed with power, is able to subjugate him.

Human Vlad had an infatuation for Maddie, a completely normal thing towards the only woman who has ever shown to understand him and who shares interests and passions with him.

After becoming the Ghost King, and realizing that he can achieve anything through force, Vlad captured Maddie and locked her in a cage, where he thinks he can break her will and force her to love him. The woman does not seem to submit to his will in the least, and insults him with sagacity and malice whenever she can, especially when he is in front of an audience.

Vlad continues now to keep her prisoner, not for love, but as punishment: over time, living close to her, he has learned to detest her, but he does not want to let her win and will never release her voluntarily.

+ Powers +

A Ghost King has near-absolute control over everything around them when they are in the Ghost Zone.

Some of the most notable powers of a Ghost King include:

Extended Teleportation: In addition to transporting their body to other places, breaking down their ectoplasm and reassembling it at will in almost any part of their realm, a Ghost King can also transport any other creature/object native to the Ghost Zone;

Supernatural Stamina: A King can sustain prolonged efforts, well beyond human limits, such as running for several days without ever having to stop or without eating. The true limit of this resistance is unknown, as the King's organism is entirely sustained by absorbing the Ghost Zone's energy, therefore it is thought that exhausting his energy is equivalent to mortally draining every single spirit in his realm of all strength;

Summoning: already personally knowing the creature he wants to summon, a Ghost King can summon it almost instantly to any part of its realm, without necessarily using magical sigils or standard summons, but only by pronouncing the name of the entity. This power does not extend to beings that were born outside the realm;

Mind Control: A King can control, as if it were a puppet, the actions of any spirit to which he has affixed the Fire Mark, regardless of the origin of the spirit itself. Unlike other forms of mind control, that imposed by a Ghost King is total and can even force an individual to perform actions that harm their physical and mental safety, to the point of suicide;

Blood Hunt: One of the most iconic powers of a Ghost King is the ability to designate a victim that each "subject" must try to kill on sight. Whoever the designated victim is in a Blood Hunt, they will be chased everywhere by hordes of spirits who crave their blood and who, sooner or later, will surely capture and kill them by any means at their disposal.

We hope that you liked our interpretation! And if you want to know more, feel free to ask ;)

(On an interesting note... it seems like your question is absolutely timely, because right now we're thinking about writing something where the main antagonist is a Ghost King Vlad. Two of the drawings related to this answer are from the early stages of the project, they're concept art! And it's cool that we got to use them for something else, too. The last drawing was done just for this specific ask :D )

All the ghost worldbuilding posts!

The “Ask us about ghost worldbuilding” post

Our ask is open

[namelessclient]

time for a bit of world building

Species : Mountain Beasts (aka Tennis Ball's species)

Before going straight to the point, what is an "Species" in the dusk au? In simple words, these are like the "races" in the universe, so like in this case, an Species implies there are various objects that share characteristics and culture. For example, Book is from a Species (Archivians), this means there are other book-like creatures that have a wing made of leather and other of paper.

Creatures that are not from a Species, like Pin or Firey, are more unique: no or almost no other creature share characteristics with them.

Tennis Ball, Golf Ball, Book, the writing siblings (Pencil, Pen, Marker) and others are Species creatures.

I hope this isn't too confusing.

The Mountain Beasts live on rocky ground, so they can be found on mountains and inactive volcanic slopes. Their territories extend to slightly higher grounds and periphery of close forests.

They're quite robust, with strong muscles, especially in their legs. They can easily move large rocks or tackle down trees without problems. The thick fur and fat on their bodies help them to survive long periods without food, the climate and attacks such as scratches or bites. Their paws and claws are designed to withstand the texture of the terrain. Their diet consists mostly of meat, but they can also eat some berries and plants.

They're also quite aggressive towards other creatures and even each other. Fighting is the usual way to demonstrate and establish a hierarchy.

Their hybrid nature gives them the best characteristics from both families, like the endurance and resistance of the canines and the strength and sharp claws and fangs of their mouths from felines. Basically, they're apex predators.

However, this mix of families messes with their genes, making them prone to diseases such as muscle wasting and even cancer, and the aggressive nature itself makes them short-lived creatures.

[reijnders]

we STAY making tablets

i made the tablet after writing out the translation, so the signature stuff at the end isnt included in the main gloss, but instead right here ↓

[thechekhov]

the food group game of thrones got me sweating bullets

brennan lee mulligan should be tried for his crimes, and then immediately exonerated for his craft

[beneathsilverstars]

hello for the ask game 9: any theories on stuff unexplained by the game?

I always love theories and thoughts and worldbuilding hcs etc so anything in that vein works :3

I think my favorite little worldbuilding headcanon is that Ka Bue is super chill about aromanticism and asexuality! Not in the same way as irl activism, but it's something that is understood and respected in their ideology, like transgenderism in Vaugarde. So if we combine the powers of everyone in the crew we'll get an entire queer-friendly worldview going lmao!

Maybe... Something about an overarching philosophy of understanding the self? In Vaugard they see the self as something you refine through making, creating and destroying and rebuilding, but in Ka Bue you're supposed to be uncovering and polishing what's already there. And part of that is understanding your position in relation to others, so they have a lot of little descriptive words for flavors of relationships and dynamics, and being the sort of person who seeks those dynamics. Like "oh i'm usually the comedic straight man of the friend group and i seek out jokesters who play well off of that". And that means that nonsexual romance, nonromantic sex partners, QPRs, etc, are all understood dynamics, and various kinds of friend and family and colleague relationships are seen as distinctly important, and being alone is seen as a valid dynamic!

Now that I've typed this out I love it more and more... I was originally just thinking about the metaphor of cutting and polishing a gemstone, but having a lot of little Dynamics that various people may find more or less relevant to themselves is a similar approach to having thousands of Expressions! And it meshes with the transphobia as well - you can describe yourself as having dysphoria but you're not supposed to go and try to change that.

And there's that Odile + Isabeau conversation where she gets really specific about their relationship: "We're not friends, we're associates. Colleagues. Allies at best." And she's obviously joking, but this hc puts some extra weight behind her making that particular sort of joke! Plus she's the one who's like, "I wouldn't call you all friends, that would be weird, we're more like family," and she gets mad about being called the mom. I love the idea that she has Very specific dynamic classifications in mind for her relationship with each member of the crew, and gets pissy that Vaugardian doesn't have the same nuance/connotations!

And this philosophy being the total opposite of the Change belief is so interesting for Odile in particular! It would definitely flavor people's perception of her in Ka Bue - oh, she's one of those fickle Vaugardians who change masks every day and will never truly understand themselves. No wonder she wanted to get actual Vaugardian perspective on their belief. Oh, how lovely it will be for her to synthesize the two extremes, and both discover and create who she is!!

[silverware-is-interesting]

WOE! object show doodles be upon ye!

idk some doodles and some ss redraws of object shows i enjoy

[sygiandepths]

Another Rutilian citizen, or technically from the Etherian-Rutilus border.

[theboxfort]

Object Ergonomics #1: Door pedals for armless objects

Text transcript in case it's hard to read:

"Both the handle and pedal unlocks the same mechanism" "Piano pedal-ish" "Refs" "Step on pedal" --> "Pull/Push"

[dawnleaf37]

Yoyle Berries and Yoyle Metal Speculation

when an object eats yoyle berries, they turn into yoyle metal. It’s possible that these berries were genetically modified to produce this effect

with an infinite supply of objects through recovery, and an infinite supply of yoyle berries through farming, this would lead to an infinite supply of yoyle metal

yoyle metal is extremely strong. This is obviously useful for a lot of reasons, like making extremely resistant mechanisms. Id like to focus on space ships for a reason I’ll explain in a moment

yoyle metal is extremely freeze resistant but NOT extremely heat proof. This could be a use to melt yoyle metal’d people into a useable liquid metal for shaping into more useful components/mechanisms. Possibly heat-proofing could be added in through later processes

with yoyle metal being so freeze resistant, this would make it excellent for surviving the cold vacuum of space. Above mentioned heat-proofing later process may make it more resistant to solar rays as well (although such part is purely speculation)

[carlyraejepsans]

saw your most recent post about really good fics that contain uncomfortable kinks and i immediately thought "ah, biscia must be reading the mpreg soriel fic" and almost left a reply talking about it but i stopped myself because i realized that would be an insane assumption to make. needless to say i felt so vindicated when i saw you link it in an earlier post.

like. HELLO?

HELLO???????

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Text: When my mother dies, I inherit her Riverkeeper’s clothes. Dresses made of water, poured over ones head out of special bottles, they allow me to walk the water without upsetting any spirits.

[teal-fiend]

Vore world where reformation is a technological gift from a higher life form who saw this vore society struggling, due to the rampant cannibalism. And they decided that the best way to solve it was to give prey the ability to be revived but only in cases of being eaten by a predator. It doesn’t cover other mortalities. 

This technology is so complex that no scientist can unravel it, and many people take it as a divine miracle. There are religious sects dedicated to the reformation phenomenon. 

For most people, you accept that there’s a chance you will be eaten by a predator. It will be one of the most painful things you can imagine, but you’ll make it out alive and unscathed so really not that bad. An inconvenience at most. But prey know that the damage is very temporary, which makes it easier to handle.

This would explain why prey are not terrified out of their gourd when being hunted by a predator. They’re annoyed and many (although there are exceptions) don’t want to be eaten. It’s not the end of the world though. And maybe they will be offered financial compensation, depending on where they live