#worldbuilding for days ya'll

[trashcankitsun3]

i think it's a little funny that i tell myself that i'm gonna post my art on tumblr repeatedly, and then i remember that i literally only draw original characters from stories being created with friends and i go. "hm, maybe this should stay in discord, where i can infodump to other people working on the story"

[noperopesaredope]

Clones Post War AU (An Order 66 Didn't Happen AU)

(I made a sideblog for this)

At the end of the Umbara Arc in Clone Wars, Rex said “We’re clones. If the war is over, what then?” I thought this was interesting, and I love me a good “Order 66 Never Happens AU” where the clones get a happy ending. So this is my take on not just what the clones might do after the war if it didn’t go the way it did, but also a speculative AU focused on what a potential post-war clone culture and society would look like. Might also add a bit of an overarching plot, but this is mainly focused on worldbuilding. Still, I did make an underlying plot, so I’ll share it at some point during the write outs.

It kind of became a bit of a beast and I’ll likely be adding new stuff all the time, so it might explore a lot more than what I initially planned and have a lot more plot/story stuff under the surface.

Part 1 (this post) will be covering the main plot of the AU/set-up the premise.

(This Post is Long, Ya'll)

Set-Up

The Discovery of Retteyo (or New Kamino)

So basically, at a certain point in the war, possibly a year or 2 in, an Acclamator-class assault ship with 15,000 clone troopers, a Jedi Master, their padawan, and 170 regular personnel crashed on a small, remote and unpopulated planet that was rarely visited: Retteyo. The Jedi Master perished in the crash, alongside 2,500 clone troopers and 150 of the regular personnel. This left the padawan, 12,500 clone troopers, and 20 regular personnel completely stranded on an unfamiliar planet. The vast majority of those on board may have survived, but most of the ship (or at least the most important parts) did not. They had no way of communicating with the Republic, no way of calling for help, nothing. It was a somewhat bleak situation with little hope for escape.

Still, they were all determined to survive, and so the padawan and a few of the higher ranking clones held an emergency “meeting” together and decided to prepare for a long term encampment. Retteyo was far from safe, with 17 of the regular personnel and 45 clone troopers all perishing in the first few weeks, but it wasn’t completely uninhabitable. In fact, it was quite habitable, just about as dangerous as some of the less safe locations on Earth. There weren’t a huge amount of dangerous animals or extreme climate/weather, unlike most other planets we see in canon.

Most of those who perished died of either infected wounds that hadn’t gotten treated soon enough, and others died while exploring unfamiliar and more dangerous terrain on foot. The group did not make the same mistakes twice, and eventually began to figure which areas were safe and which weren’t. The battalion managed to organize themselves enough to make plans for what they were going to do, and got to work on making a good liveable environment.

While a lot of the flying vehicles were unusable, many of the ground terrain vehicles still worked well enough, they just needed a bit of fixing up, which happened over the course of about a month or so as they gathered materials from the ship’s remains. This really helped them better navigate and settle on Retteyo, and they made a pretty well functioning camp, all things considered.

After the first year, the leaders of the group realized that this might be a permanent situation that could last years, and they started planning out a permanent settlement. They began taking apart the ship properly, and used both it and some of Retteyo’s natural resources to construct buildings.

A Plot Device

Due to the nature of this AU, I wanted to create a reason that clones would keep getting made even after the end of the war, since I want to make them a proper society and their own species in a way. So, here comes the big, dumb “this is purely for the plot and not important right now” thing. One day, during Year 2 of being on Retteyo, two clone trooper scouts ended up in some unfamiliar territory and discovered a field of strange, giant flowers about the size of a basket.

One of the clones ended up cutting himself on something, and the blood dropped into the center of one of the flowers. It closed, and began to glow, pulsing with energy, before opening up again, and a small baby was inside. It looked exactly like the clone trooper when they were a baby, and they showed it to their fellow trooper, who was shocked and amazed by this. They marked the field down on a map, and went back to base, where they showed everyone the baby and privately explained the situation to their commander.

Fast forward 3 years, and the war is nearing a close. Recently, the Republic has been having a bit of a problem. Well, a few problems. And all of them are centered around the clone troopers.

To explain the biggest problem, let’s talk numbers for a bit (I spent way too long on this).

Mama Mia, That’s a Lot of Clones!

It’s highly debated how many clones were created during the war, as they stated at the start of the war there were about 3 million units. This at first appears to be the amount of clone troopers, but then you realize it said units, not soldiers. We don’t know how big a unit is. Some say that it refers to a single squad, which is 5 soldiers. Others say that a “unit” is equivalent to the size of a company (US military), so about 250 soldiers or so. If it refers to the first option, the war would start with 15 million. If it refers to the second option, it would be 750 million, which is far too much in my opinion, so the first option is more likely. 

3 million is still on the table, since perhaps units could honestly just refer to individual clones, but they did say that 200,000 units were ready when Obi Wan arrived, and that’s not nearly enough for this particular war. So I’m going with 15 million.

We also know that the Senate ends up paying for 5 million more units, which is apparently extremely expensive and could push them into debt (then again, 5 million is a lot more than 3 million when you really think about it). If we go with the idea that a unit is 5 soldiers, then that’s 25 million soldiers.

It’s likely that they have also ordered more clones before, so let’s go on the lower end and say they’ve already ordered about 2 million units in total (1 million to 5 million would be too big of a jump). They probably wouldn’t order that many more clones after the 5 million units, or at least would order very few compared to that.

If we go with the idea that a unit is one soldier, that means that about 10 million clones were made during the course of the war (still feels like too few for me). If we go with the idea that a unit was 5 clones, that is 50 million clones in total, which feels a little big, but considering that the Republic controlled more than 1 million planets, I think that’s actually a pretty reasonable amount. If every planet had an equal number of clone troopers on it to protect it, they would only have about 50 soldiers for the entire goddamn planet. Taking into consideration that there would be plenty of planets that had no clone troopers due to not needing them, and other planets who had thousands of clone troopers, as well as the clones not guarding planets and actually just fighting the war, 50 million is pretty reasonable.

In many wars, less than 1% of soldiers die. One of the deadliest wars killed about 2% of soldiers. However, I will be EXTREMELY generous and say that 3% died in combat since this was such a crazy war and the clones were seen as very expendable. I’ll continue to be generous by saying 3% died of causes outside of combat, like disease or getting eaten by a giant worm, since we tend to see a lot of clones die in really weird/random ways and I feel like a lot of them died that way. This means that 5% of clone troopers died during the war. This isn’t even considering how many clones were still too young to be in combat. I’ll still count all of them as soldiers, which will still prove my point.

5% of 10 million is 500,000, so that would be 500,000 clone casualties (which feels WAY too small despite being on the bigger end of the spectrum) and 9.5 million clone survivors by the end of the war. 5% of 50 million is 2.5 million, so that would be 2.5 million clone casualties (feels about right) and 47.5 million clone survivors by the end of the war. I believe it’s the latter.

That is a fuck ton of people. Like, that is bigger than the population of Argentina. That is almost the population of the world in 1000 BCE. That is 14% of the population of the USA, which might not seem like much, but it’s still a lot. If you replaced 47.5 million people with clones, then 1 in every 168 people on Earth would be a clone. 47.5 million is probably bigger than the population of some planets in the Republic. It’s big.

And in this AU, since the Republic wasn’t exactly sure when the war would end, they ordered 500,000 more units a few months ago, so there are about 2.5 million more clones on the way, making the population of clones 50 million again, almost the size of Sudan and bigger than Spain. Again, a massive population. Also, since this is an AU, I could make it so the war lasted for a lot longer and a lot more clones were made, but I’m still going with the idea of the war lasting for 3 years (unless I want to change that up a little bit).

So now, the Republic has millions of clones who will have basically nowhere to go/nothing to do when the war ends. Some suggested they keep the clones as the official Republic army and spread them out to do stuff for the Republic, but that’s still not the best solution, and the biggest problem is that these mf will grow old at some point and not be able to fight anymore. And since they aren’t even dying in battle anymore (even when they were, it still kept their population pretty big), most of them will grow old. And they still have all these younger clones who might not get to fight in the war at all.

So they basically have a ton of clone troopers who they will have no use or place for unless they figure something out soon before the war ends.

The Whole Clone Thing is Weird

But this isn’t their only issue. I saw a post a while back wondering why nobody in the entire Senate questioned the ethics behind the existence/use of clone troopers and how they are essentially property of the Republic. I thought that was interesting, so I decided to implement that into the AU. While not many questioned the concept of clone troopers early on in the war, overtime, some civilians began raising concerns. 

One civilization (an original creation of mine) whose people were considered non-sentient only a couple of decades ago and used to be enslaved was deeply disturbed by the concept of creating living beings in order to force them to fight, conditioning them into serving the Republic and even altering their DNA to make them loyal.

A few other civilizations (also original creations) who are hiveminds (based on bees and ants and whatnot) ended up fighting alongside some clones, and quickly realized that they were individuals who saw each other as family and shared a deep connection with their fellow clones as a whole. Many of the bee and ant people saw themselves in the clones, and became almost offended at the way clones were talked about and treated as mindless robots just because they had the same DNA and looked the same.

There were also at least 2 civilizations who were disturbed on principle and disliked the use of clones not for personal reasons, but for general philosophical reasons and the basic fact that they think slavery is weird and gross, especially this kind.

These civilizations all ended up having multiple meetings together discussing the issue and their reservations, with a few even somewhat wanting to back out of the Republic out of disgust with the Republic’s actions and okay-ness with this. This was an underlying point of contention that could get extremely problematic soon.

Overtime, a movement around the rights of clone troopers began to pop up, and while it wasn't a huge problem for the Republic, it was becoming one, and they wouldn't be able to ignore it forever.

Clones Are Dissatisfied

On a related note, some clones have begun questioning their place in the Republic, especially after many heard about the Umbara incident. While it wasn't a conversation that was had out loud, some clones were becoming concerned and secretly wanted more autonomy. They weren't questioning their loyalty to the Republic by any means. Almost all of them, including the ones who were dissatisfied with things, were willing to fight and die for the Republic. They simply felt that perhaps they would like to be treated like people whose lives matter.

After all, while they were protected by most of the same laws as other sentient beings, they were still the legal property of the Republic. It’s also hard to say if they really had a choice to leave. While one might point to the episode The Deserter as proof they couldn’t leave, Rex did say that they took an oath, and real world militaries do hold similar standards once you’ve joined. However, it’s unclear whether this oath was truly voluntary, or just out of formality. 

Did any of the clones truly volunteer to join, or were they signed up at birth? While it would be extremely unlikely due to their programming, if a clone was in training and wanted to leave, could he? When is this oath taken? They start training from childhood, after all. They likely took it then, because when else would they? Can you really hold an oath like that against someone when they were essentially manipulated into taking it as a young child who probably didn’t know any better?

While the clone troopers appear to be held to the same standards as US military members, which isn’t quite as big of an issue, they are still property, and are essentially enslaved. They aren’t even paid for their work, merely provided for, and being given basic essentials is literally the bare minimum. We basically all know just how messed up the treatment of clone troopers is, and the clones agree. This is a problem for the Republic.

So, as a whole, the Republic is having some clone problems.

Retteyo Becomes a Thing

Around this point, a fleet of Republic ships end up going to Retteyo, and there, they discover the blossoming civilization of (mostly) clones. They are all shocked, the fleet admiral quickly contacts the important Republic people, explaining the situation. At first, this doesn't seem great. But the Senate realizes that this could solve their issues regarding the remaining clones. So they decide to let the formerly-stranded group remain there and prepare the planet for a bigger colonization. While the main focus right now is the war, they shall be making plans to turn the planet into a new home for the clones once the war ends.

Eventually, as the war comes to a close, the Senate announces the new plan with Retteyo to the whole Republic. It’s a bit controversial, but I’ll get into all that in another post. Because the Jedi were once peacekeepers/ambassadors and they worked closely with the clones, they were designated to help with this operation. They would help this new society develop/prepare it for the arrival of new clones while also helping all the rest of the clones transition to this new planet. 

Due to pressure from the clone rights planets, the Senate eventually decided to give the clones rights and declared them no longer property of the Republic. Now, they were free sentients and citizens of the Republic.

At a certain point in the process, as many of the clones arrived on Retteyo and settled in, certain discussions were had amongst the clones as a whole, and the major clones in charge created a proposal: Retteyo becoming a sovereign nation. This was a bit controversial, but after a lot of tense discussion and complications and political BS, the Republic Senate agreed.

It would be a pretty big process and the Retteyans would need to start actually forming a government and their own society. It was a pretty big task in the grand scheme, but the clones eventually became more self-sufficient at creating their society. They did need help with creating new buildings and having everyone settle in, but the clones didn't actually need much help with developing things like systems of government and bureaucracy. Not every clone was good at that stuff, but some clones managed to put something together everyone could agree on.

Overtime, this society flourished, gaining its own spot in the Senate after a few years and becoming a fully recognized society.

As younger generations of clones grew older (basically while some of this stuff was going on), they began to realize that one day, all the clones might die out, especially since Kamino kind of cut them off and Retteyo probably could afford it anyway. The idea of losing their entire civilization was horrifying, and the whole Prox Flower was revealed. While it wasn't the same as Kaminoan cloning stuff, it would be able to keep their population afloat. So a massive program/government branch was started to continue populating Retteyo and keeping their culture/civilization alive.

Underlying Plot

While this AU mainly focuses on just describing the evolving culture of the clones and their new planet, I think there is definitely an underlying plot within it that I mention in subtle ways. I may even use OCs to tell more about this plot as a whole, especially in case I want to make a fanfic for it all. It’s hard to leave out this plotline, so I decided to write it out as part of all this.

One of the major underlying conflicts in this AU is the generational gap between clones. In a way, there are sub-generations, but there are 3 primary generations covered in this AU. 

Gen Vet

Gen 1, also known as the “Gen Vet”, is the generation of clones who were actually able to fight in the war and see the conflict, or were at least old enough to do so. This generation is split into two primary parts: The oldest gen, who were made and trained before the war even began, and the younger gen, who received training from the Jedi and thus have a slightly different perspective on personhood. It’s like that post where

Gen Trainee

Gen 2, also known as “Gen Trainee”, is the generation of clones born on Kamino who never got the chance to participate in the war. There’s also a slight split in the generation as a whole. 3 splits, in fact. For example, the older Gen 2 are slightly more likely to side with Gen 1 and relate to younger Gen 1, since they were almost a part of Gen 1. 

The middle Gen 2 are more rebellious and have unique opinions on the whole situation, and while they grew up with Kamino training and were raised under that type of environment, they are able to stray from the mindset more and have opinions slightly similar to that of Fives, where they hold certain loyalties and a militant mindset, but also believe in standing up for themselves and being their own people. 

The youngest Gen 2 are those who were toddlers/babies when the war ended and don’t remember much of anything about Kamino or have that particular militant mindset, but are aware that they were the last clones created by Kamino, and thus have a small superiority complex over Gen 3. Most of Gen 3 does not care, though.

Gen 2 is probably the most diverse and unique of the 3 primary generations, having a variety of different perspectives on things, but many are more progressive.

Gen Rebirth

Gen 3, aka “Gen Rebirth”, is the generation of clones born on Retteyo. Some are technically the same age as the youngest clones of Gen 2, but are considered different as a generation. They are the older of Gen 3. The younger of Gen 3 are all born after Retteyo becomes independent.

Gen 3 is the most distant from the war era of the Retteyans, and thus may not have the same values and beliefs as them, but various values have been passed down nonetheless.

~~~~~

I may add more details on the plot later, particularly the underlying plot, but that's all I have for now. Next post will be out some point soon!

[your-ne1ghbor]

Questions about TKoRaT AU?

So likeee I've been wanting to do one for a while, and I've seen other people in the Wish Fandom have people ask them about their AU, so yeah here we are!

Ya'll can ask anything, like about the characters, backstories, actual story, worldbuilding, magic, ect. (They can also be funny too lmao)

(Also Star can become literally any mythical creature bc of his shape-shifting abilities)

Although I might not have all of the answers, I think it is good to see other people's perspectives and also get ideas for the story as well.

I'm also like gonna be on the road for the next few days sooo yeahhhhh

(Plus my wifi won't will be out most of the time so I probs won't respond right away 😭)

@chillwildwave @oh-shtars @signed-sapphire @uva124 @rascalentertainments

[gyrovagus-bibliophile]

Ya'll, I just found a really cool novel that gives huge PIDW vibes and i wanted to share it here.

It's called "Camino Elemental" or "Elemental Way" in english.

It's a novel in spanish that has HUGE CHUNKS OF WORLDBUILDING THAT ARE COOL AS FUCK.

Also, there's a scum villain called Ramón, who sent the protagonist to jail by blaming his crime onto him (he was 12 at the time) exchange for money. Turns out, he had to spend 10 years of his life in a jail that only let him eat and drink water once a day and that had needles all around his body at all times.

Also, a monk took levels of his power everyday until it reached like, 1. The only way of getting out of there was choosing the elemental way, from which you cant come back from. He reaches level 1 and chooses the elemental way.

He first goes to the bank to look for his payment, but the only thing that was there was an ordinary rock and a note, calling him an idiot and that his life was worth the same as the rock. Turns out the protagonist was expecting the lack of money, but he still had the half that Ramón gave him as an "insurance". He got some clothes, went to the barber (who thought he was about to rob the place) and got to an inn to plan what he was gonna do next.

He wrote 100 names in a notebook and took the pages out, saying something along the lines of: "you disregarded me, tortured me, hurt me and used me. But i'm a good man, so i'll let you all live your lives. you cant die until that moment. you cant get hurt. your lives are mine and i'll take them one by one".

and then everyone in the universe recieved the same letter, which was the 100 names. Most of them didnt even care about it, but as the years passed, they found out the true meaning of it.

What do ya'll think?

The link to the story is this: https://visortmo.com/library/novel/58402/camino-elemental

The only problem is that it's 1 chapter long and it's been a WIP since 2021, but it's just way too good for ya'll to miss!

Please go read it! :DDDD

[babyseraphim]

Just want to tell you, 'dye it all, rosary' was absolutely beautiful and emotional story that made me want to sob.

It's a stunning work. Edwin is not my favourite but I do relate to his trauma fics a lot, and oh my god I think yours might be my favourite Edwin fic I have ever read. You have done the fic beautifully, it's stunning, I don't know what else to say others have said it way better than I am. All the build up was absolutely wonderful, I adore how you wrote the subject.

Take care and have a lovely day! 💕

I love your writing, I'm definitely going to recommend on this to all my friends.

I'd love to get another chapter but no pressure, really. All the love in the world! 🩵

I'm madly in love and obsessed with the fic. It's truly beautiful and emotional and it made me want to cry and I'm in love with your execution.

Hope I'm not too much lol, just wanted to tell you that I loved it. (In fact I'm kinda obsessed).

Bye! 🩵💚🩵💚

Hello! You are definitely not too much; I really, really appreciate you taking your time to share your thoughts with me. It's part of why I post things, I want to hear what ya'll think!

'dye it all, rosary' is a story that I began as a sort of writing exercise, just to see if I could sufficiently tackle all of the subjects that I wanted to touch on, and to really test my own writing tolerance when it comes to explicit content specifically (which is frustratingly low, at least for now). The story really quickly turned into something a lot more personal and cathartic than that, and then kind of took on a life of its own when it turned into a study in Edwin's trauma and Hell worldbuilding. I actually wasn't even going to share it, initially, but I did so in hopes that it would resonate with some people. So, it makes me really, really happy to hear that it did!

I'm still considering doing either a chapter 3 or a completely separate sequel oneshot, but I have a lot of writing projects going on at the moment (my healing needed more than time being my top priority), so if I do end up writing it, it'll probably not get done for a while. But, your words have absolutely made my day! Thank you so much for saying them <3

[king-maven-calore]

Current read: Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli. Or Crimson Moth in the spanish translation... who decided a name in english for the spanish version?? odd and mildly insulting.

A really bad synopsis by yours truly: Serpent and Dove type of story, where she is a witch and he is a witch hunter, but WAIT, bc the worldbuilding and the magic system are pretty good here as well, and the chemistry and interactions between two MCs is sizzling. Rune is a witch vigilante who rescues fellow witches under the name of "the Crimson Moth", but pretends to be a vapid aristocrat by day. Gideon is a working class, vicious witch hunter with some personal vendetta against Rune's kind. They know each other through Gideon's lil brother, who is Rune's bestie and also has a crush on her 🤭. Stuff happens, and mr. revolutionary general and our witchy deceiver, who think the worst of each other, start courting each other. Their interactions are so layered and filled with tension I'm eating this shit up 👌👌

Anyway, so far so good. I'm on chapter 13 and if I have to drop a crumb to get ya'll interested, here goes one of my favorite tropes written in exquisitely dramatic fashion 🫦(so far)

[the-storytellers-seer]

Weee...more tags!

Tagged by the incomparable @mareenavee!

Tagging umm....@viss-and-pinegar and @smallp00ks if'n ya'll want...no pressure.

1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer.

I'm supposed to be working on 'Heirs of the Prophecy', 'Heirs of the Throne' and 'What Color Is the Night'...instead a character from a future story has invaded my mind. She does that though. She'll sink her claws into me and demand I write a few chapters before she lets me go. I've been working on her story for over a year now like that. But I plan to work on my rewrites this summer.

2) Rec a book!

My book interests swing wildly between trashy NA romance to intense worldbuilding sci-fi/fantasy with barely any middle ground. So, I'm going to recommend 'Rhapsodic' by Laura Thalassa (one of my current reads) and 'Warbreaker' by Brandon Sanderson (a particular favorite of mine).

3) Rec a fic!

Hmmm...well, for fics kind of outside my general reads I'm enjoying 'Second Chances' by Tartanfrog. It's got Tullius and an OC female Imperial. Not usually my jam, but I'm always down for a good enemies to lovers fic and Tartanfrog is an excellent storyteller. I really hope they update soon!

4) Rec music!

I've been vibing to Adam Jensen lately. 'Tombstone' is pretty great.

 5) Share one piece of advice!

Hmmmm...well here's one I'm needing to remind myself of constantly: progress over perfection in writing and life. It doesn't matter if all I can write is one sentence one day or a chapter the next. As long as I'm writing, I'm progressing in both my stories and my craft.

[mud-castle]

'#I kind of wish there'd been a massive time gap with a mostly different cast.'

Oh god me too. Its something I wish for every day, especially as the poor New Generation cats can't just rest and keep getting screwed over by the writers again and again and again!

Mph, can't give an opinion on the new generation cats themselves, but yeah you get it. it was also Brambeclaw being there and being leader for me. Omg he was so annoying.

Tbh though, I think an all new cast might encourage me to try and pick up Warriors again, but also the lack of culture and worldbuilding still give the series a flat feeling. It was fine in the beginning, I mean everything was new, but as it goes on you just keep asking why the clans are even separate when the most difference they have between themselves is what prey they hunt.

In any other series, their absurd levels of aggression towards each other would be regarded as silly, with the protag, Firepaw, remarking something like: Ya'll are basically the same with a different coat of paint. This fighting is stupid.

But literally in the first book it's:

Firepaw: Why can't we all just work together?

Thunderclan: *offended gasp* We can't do that!

Firepaw: Why?

Thunderclan: Ugh a kittypet wouldn't understand!

There is no actual reason given, they just call him stupid for thinking that and that's that. If the clans had actual cultural differences and practices, I'd understand. But they don't. When Hollypaw is in Riverclan briefly she remarks on how it's pretty much like Thunderclan. Bestie, no.

All of that and the series' absolute obsession with maintaining the status quo no matter how harmful it is repeatedly shown to be.

[touchtranscendslanguage]

hello!! i’m a newcomer but i just wanted to say that your series is so friggen amazing <3 i fancy myself some self-care snakebois and anxiety-ridden driderbois. though roman might actually kill me and i’m terrified of him having the ability to make people fall out of love. what a horrifying thought kxjsjdheh??? anyway!!! i have some questions regarding magic because magic yay worldbuilding <3 my bad if some of these have been asked! as i said, i’m a newcomer aha;;

so if taking away a witches magic makes them no longer a witch, can an old enough witch just die on the spot, or are they biologically however old they were physically (like how the royal fam stopped at around 30) and begin aging at a rate normal for their species? if taking away a witches magic makes them no longer a witch, does giving someone magic make them a witch? and if so, are they then immortal or age slower than previously? are any species (that we know of so far) unable to naturally be witches, and what happens if they’re *given* magic without biologically being able to have it? can a person have TOO much magic? what species do we know of so far and are any of them/will any of them be relevant? i want virgil to be besties with the waitstaff again :((( (not a question but it needed to be said). was sleep messing with virgil’s circadian rhythm? probably not but i just wanted to confirm because he’s a vindictive little shit who totally would 👀

will sleep and virge be spider besties now?,,,,pls i need little weave-and-relieve sessions between the two where they just chill and rant n maybe do each others nails or share weaving tips :))) can virgil croquet or sew or knit or something? because he’d love, probably. it’s great for anxiety (probably, i’m so bad at it i wouldn’t know LOL)

i. am going to cut myself off here before it gets too long. have a good day! <3

- OnlyRoomForHope (would be unanon but i can’t be bothered logging in on right account lmaoo)

@onlyroomforhope

Thank you and welcome! I'm so happy to have you here in my own tiny corner of the fandom! Yeah, we love our self-care snake and anxious spider here. Also, wow, ya'll really latched onto that fact about Roman. As long as Virgil and Janus keep their protections up around him they'll be fine :)

A lot of good questions here and for the most part it looks like they haven't been answered before! This is exciting! *crackles knuckles* Let's dive in, shall we?

So if a witch loses their magic and therefore their immortality they don't just drop dead. Their body is still physically the age it was when they stopped aging, they just begin to age again. This applies to humans, fae are already immortal on their own their immortality just works a bit differently.

Giving someone magic does make them a witch. I think I've mentioned it before, but Remy wasn't born a witch, he got his magic from King Thomas. Gaining his own magic made him a witch and came with all of the perks of being one including immortality. Remy is indistinguishable from any other witch.

Thus far I've only put a lot of thought into humans and fae being witches, but I'd say most highly intelligent sentient species can have witches. Especially the humanoid or partially humanoid ones. So most monsters such as naga, driders, merepeople, centaurs, and vampires can all be witches. Dragons, kelpies, harpies, and sirens cannot.

it's also important to note that I said highly intelligent sentient species. That means beasts are not included. So there are no pheonix, unicorn, bear of bears, or bassilisk witches.

Could someone give a beast or non-witch monster witch magic? Yes. Chaos would happen.

No, a person couldn't have too much magic. Exibit A: Thomas. King Thomas has a ridiculous amount of magic. Should he have that much magic? Absolutely not. That shouldn't be allowed. But, hey, I didn't make the rules (yes I did) and it is what it is.

Now, if you're asking if a lot magic can have negative side effects then yes, it can potentially be overwhelming. If King Thomas got all of his magic at once it would have taken a serious toll on him and at one point he did aquire too much at once and it did take a toll. That was a the very beginning of Thomas's reign and he depended on Nico a lot to hide it. After an adjustment period he was fine, though. After that he learned to take magic gradually, one or two witches at a time with breaks in between.

Okay, so so far in the series we know of humans (obviously), fae, driders, and naga. We also know that fae are split into seelie and unseelie. Only humans and seelie are going to play major rolls in the series. As tempted as I am to play around with the many subcatagories of fae and the other species, I'm trying to keep this as simple as I can. We may see them play minor roles as in individual characters but that's it.

That being said, I am planning the brief appearance of a third major species.

Now, there are many minor species of monsters but those all defer to either the seelie or unseelie making fae a major species. Humans are also a major species. The third major species that is indepented of and can stand toe-to-toe with fae and humans is spirits. Spirits will barely appear in the series so I don't plan on doing a lot of wolrd building for them.

So all in all, only humans and fae will really be relevant.

I want Virgil to be friends with the staff again, too ;_;

Remy totally would mess with Virgil's sleep, however he was on Earth up until the day he was introduced to Virgil, so no, he didn't have anything to do with Virgil's sleeping problems.

Remy are Virgil are going to be besties! I am firmly team Those Two Getting Along. They are my babies and I love them, they must at least be friends. There will be classic sleep overs and they will get up to shananagins, so stay tuned for that.

Virgil can weave and sew. He's okay at it. he does it more for stress relief than to be good.

[ezra-iolite]

Jokani Lore: Biology of a Dragonkin

Hopefully I'll be able to make some art to accompany this post in the future, but for now... I felt it was time I did some worldbuilding and expand on how a Dragonkin grows up and becomes what ya'll know them as.

Courtship and Embracing the Beast

The birds and the bees for a Dragonkin are luckily as simple and familiar as a human's, due to the species being entirely half-human. Genetics wise, a human and a Dragonkin couple are just as likely to have a Dragonkin child as two of the same species are... Which is why the royal family have never been overly fussy in who bears the next heir to the throne, beyond merely being someone worthy enough to become consort in mind and body, and is able to bear the barrage of magical influence to ensure said heir is born strong and bearing the Sun Blessed gene.

However, while a human experiences their fertility cycle via menstruation in only the women of the species or those who bear uteruses, a Dragonkin of any sex or gender experiences the same type of fertility cycle, a week long event known as a Red Heat. Once a month, for a full seven days, sometimes eight or nine counting on the individual Dragonkin, their inner beast will slowly come out and drive the Dragonkin feral in its demands for hunting prey and finding a mate. Their human instincts will weaken by the second day, and the third will be their hardest to resist the call of the beast within. They do not bleed like menstruating humans do, but it is noted that male Dragonkin are more territorial and far more easily overcome by "the beast" mindset, while females are much more calmer in nature but often crave more raw meat than the males do.

After all.... Dragonkin are the apex predators to humans.

(Asya is the best example of this... As before she transitioned, she was much more territorial and started fights in a feral manner during the last week of every month, like a lone wolf defending his territory and snapping at all he perceived as a threat. But the moment Asya started to take her hormone replacement potions, she became much more calmer and the fights stopped entirely by her second month of taking the potions... at the cost of her craving human meat every month.)

Therefore, once a month, the Dragonkin population all across Joka Ardhi will begin preparations for a secluded event known only as a Red Camp week. Here, the Dragonkin can escape their human-made expectations of socially adequate behavior and stay within large campsites, composed entirely of massive red tents far beyond the boarders of every city, village and town, with each massive tent containing a large plush bed appearing more like nests than the standard and human-made framed beds, and deep pools of cold water are dug into the sand and lined with terracotta clay to keep the water in. These Red Camps are made strictly for the Dragonkin species as a whole, while the humans happily let their half-fauna brethren leave to tend to their natural instincts, as they always have since the days when the two races first became one civilization.

At this camp, the Dragonkin are allowed to let loose and embrace their beast side without needing to conform to societal expectations for the safety of their more fragile human kin. Here, they can hunt like wild predators without the need for steeds or weapons, or even duel in playful territory battles and no longer worry about their strength. Meanwhile, the women of the species, when they do not have the energy to hunt or battle, can relax and embrace their inner beast's needs with their fellow feral Dragonkin, cooling off their overheating bodies in the pools and drying off by sunbathing in the hot afternoons.

All this is vital to the traditions and culture of the Dragonkin, to allow them to embrace rather than shun or hide their animal half, and more often than not, it is here at these camps that a great many Dragonkin who started their first heats are trained to hone their claws and learn about their culture at the feasts every night of the week. Once the week is over, the camps are packed up, the pools filled up, and the satisfied Dragonkin return to society, bringing plenty of fresh meat to sell or preserve as a bonus.

But, when a Red Week doesn't result in a newfound couple or a baby on the way, a Dragonkin pair will court the traditional human way, mostly by wearing vibrant clothes in each other's family's colour and gifting their partner meaningful trinkets and extravagant meals full of savory meats. Once they've settled and are happy together as a couple, it is an old Jokani tradition for one of the lovers, mostly the male but gender does not matter anymore for this tradition, to propose to their partner by gifting their parents a cow as a form of dowry, due to how vital cattle are as food and income in the wasteland. But because not everyone can house cattle in their home, most urban dwelling Jokani today will often gift cow themed items, such as a golden or carved statuette, a woven tapestry or carpet, a painting, anything they can craft to be considered valuable or an expensive item with a cow on it will be how one can propose to their lover, before they eventually give a ring or earring of gold to mark them as their betrothed.

Reproduction

Whether a female Dragonkin becomes pregnant during her monthly visit at her local Red Camp, or with her partner outside out her usual fertile window, she will usually start to show signs of her pregnancy roughly 18 days after conception. This is usually seen through the new mother experiencing morning sickness symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, headaches and hip stiffness, but after the first month of pregnancy, she will then go through ten weeks of "magic sickness", the time period when the fetus takes both the nutrients and the magic from within its mother's body.

During this time period of early development, the new mother will experience wild bouts of magical surges, often in the form of fire hiccups, heartburn that shows up as glowing veins around her chest and neck, random surges and drops in her magic that hinders her ability to use her fire, which all eventually end at the tenth week or so with a heavy wave of fatigue and exhaustion, as the fetus then develops its own magical source within its heart and the mother rests to recover her magic levels. From then on, the fetus will only require normal food and nutrient sustenance for the rest of the 10 month gestation. When the baby is ready to be born, the Dragonkin mother will give birth to live young rather than in an egg.

However, because of the standard Jokani female body structure being lithe and skinny, to help them survive the constant heat and vast distance they travel in said heat, with the only natural aid being the bigger size/height inherited from Dragonkin blood, many mothers amongst humans and Dragonkin prefer to give birth in water rather than on a bed or with the help of a witch doctor, or more traditionally a Lunar Priestess of Ma' Mwezi. This is mainly due to the fact that the Jokani don't have hospitals, but rather they are visited by the hundreds of witch doctors housed in a Medi' Hut found in every city, village or town, who are all trained in both medical and magical practice to heal any and all injuries and ailments.

But it is massively preferred amongst all Jokani women, human and Dragonkin alike, to visit the Temple of Ma' Mwezi in the east shoreline region to give birth in the sacred lunar pools of the temple, or if the baby comes early, to hire a Lunar Priestess to bring water with them from the pools blessed by the moon goddess Ma' Mwezi herself. This is why at least seven Priestesses are usually found working in a small local temple in every city and large village, to ensure the birth can be blessed and performed in a pool at home, if the mother cannot make it to the main Ma' Mwezi temple.

Growing of the Dragon Traits

When a Dragonkin is born, no matter their parentage, the newborn will be almost perfectly human in appearance and biology. However, the key differences that mark them as a Dragonkin will be the vibrant coloration on their hands and feet, a tiny tail stump of the same colour, and stubby horns on their head. Once they finally open their eyes, they will appear blue like every human baby usually does, but theirs will immediately reveal their dragon slit irises. These differences are known as Dragon Traits, and the colour of a baby Dragonkin's traits are always based upon the colours of their parents. If one is human, the colour of their magic will be their dominant gene for the scale colour of their child, for even if they don't use said magic, a Jokani always has magic in their veins. But to the Dragonkin, some scale colours are more dominant than others, like brown eyes or hair in a white human.

There's been no research yet into what colours are considered the dominant carrier genes, simply because there are too many in the colour spectrum seen amongst the Opal species. However, the firstborn child of a Dragonkin will usually bear the father's colour with a lighter or darker hue based on the mother's. For example, a bright green Dragonkin father with an orange, human-fire mage mother will create a forest green Dragonkin firstborn, an orange-rust coloured second-born, and then a green hued third child, and then repeating in that pattern of green-orange-green with every child they bear.

As a baby Dragonkin grows, their body will begin to change, but even more so when they reach puberty. Starting off, their first change occurs when they learn to stand on their own. Their legs will begin to turn from chunky baby legs befitting of a human infant into digitigrade legs. Their knees will become more pronounced the more they use their legs to walk with, and as they lose their baby fat their animalistic shape will begin to appear as they grow bigger and taller. As they start to grow more confident in their stride, they'll begin to develop the habit of walking on their toes that will soon become their claws (or paws in a Ruby Dragonkin's case), and as they reach their toddler years and begin to play and run, they'll start to learn how to walk on all fours like a beast as they chase their toys, their own tails or their friends and climb like kittens on furniture and walls. The switch between walking on all fours and on two legs will slowly occur as they start to mimic their parents, while their tails and horns start to show as they learn how to balance on their now fully formed legs using their tails.

... It should be noted here that a Dragonkin's Dragon Traits have no scales at this age. They are merely coloured flesh and very soft. They will only gain their scales when they're eleven years old, in the form of acne that fade to become scales. These waves of acne will continue to develop rapidly for a year or two, causing annoying bouts of itchiness for the child, until they finally gain their fully scaled tails, hands and feet (but not the soles or palms), as well as lines of them along their cheekbones and shoulders. Overarmouring is the common condition where the scale-acne continues outside the main areas where scales are supposed to grow, including the palms, neck, chest, anywhere on wide areas of skin that sweats the most. It is a more painful type of itchiness that usually occurs when a teenager produces too much of the body oil that forms the acne that develops into scales. The only way to cure it is with a cold herbal bath that dries the skin entirely and to pluck the rogue scales out. It is usually aged out or cured after a month of weekly herbal baths, but in some Dragonkin with more humans in their family, it is almost a lifelong condition.

By age ten, their tails are now long and bear fluffy tips, while their horns are two rings in length and are now fully peeking out of their hair. Their shape, however, are still blunt, for in two more years they will split or harden into points and grow longer to become their mature shape that's a combination of their parents or lone Dragonkin parent. As they grow into their early teens, their fire magic will begin to show alongside their first signs of human puberty. And by sixteen, their Dragon Traits will be fully developed while their body finishes developing and growing in size, at least until they reach twenty-one or twenty-five years of age.

Their fourteenth year is when they begin training their magic and skills as they prepare for their rite of passage into adulthood, for it is here that their magic and physical prowess will waver in strength as they finds their limit within the child's body. Plenty of accidents with fire and broken items occur here, which is why the architecture of the bigger cities and towns of Joka Ardhi are made up entirely of sandstone, and why most Dragonkin designed clothing are woven with fireproof sunstone or aquamarine dust in the very fibers of the fabric... for only Red Flames can truly burn them.

Lifespan of a Dragonkin

A Dragonkin will only be considered an adult once they reach twenty-five years of age, as everything inside and out has finally stopped developing. When they celebrate this birthday, the now fully mature Dragonkin will be celebrating not just the start of their adult life... but the death of their mortal side. For it is at this stage that they will begin to age more slowly, as their body will only start to show signs of aging at all after they turn two hundred years old, with their lifespan reaching well past five hundred years. They are, however, still just as susceptible to the same diseases and illnesses as any other human.

But, there is a specific way a Dragonkin can die that is unique only to them, due to the massive danger it brings. Because their source of magic is in their heart, in the form of a fluid sack of napalm-like liquid fire and Sun Dust surrounding the organ, stabbing a Dragonkin directly in the heart will cause more than just their slow and painful death...

It will explode in a nuke-level combustion the moment the knife is pulled out and the flames that trickle out of opened fluid sack is exposed to oxygen, it will spark an explosion so massive that one Dragonkin's exposed heart-fire can destroy an entire city and leave behind a soot and ash covered ruin in a crater and no survivors. THIS is why it is taught to every warrior, man, woman and child alike to never stab a Dragonkin in the heart... And instead aim for the other side of the chest, should they need to do combat.

Inherited Fire Magic

All Dragonkin can wield fire, for it is in their very nature as the children of dragons to do so. However, the species are split in two due to the Ruby Dragonkin being the only ones who can wield natural or "Wild Fire", while Opal Dragonkin can wield fire of every colour of the rainbow but it will never burn like the Wild Fire can. This fact is more easily summed up as "The Rubies burn wildly, the Opals create variety". As such, there are four types of Wild Fire magic, which a very select few human Fire Mages can wield but are only able to handle the weaker two variants.

The four types are, in the order of strongest to weakest, Red, Yellow, Orange and White.

Yellow and White flames are the only kinds of Wild Fire that can be wielded by an Opal Dragonkin born with that type fire in them and human mages. The other two are STRCITLY wielded by the Ruby species.

Red flames are the strongest, in the sense that they're the most dangerous form of magic due to how hot they can become. Amongst all the fire types, Red fire burns the hottest of them all, and everything from metal to stone cannot withstand its heat. Metal will instantly turn white and smelt under the blaze of a red flame, while stone will immediately start to crack if a constant stream of it is shot in one spot for more than a minute. Those who have red flames as their main type will always have a hot aura around them, as though their bodies are a source of heat rivaling the sun itself.

Yellow flames are the most common type of fire magic and magic in general for combat use. They are solid enough to hold heavy objects and burn them, but not as instantly as the red. They mostly appear as tendrils of fire or telekinesis given physical form, and when used as a stream of pure fire... It can punch through rock with enough force given from the breath, and with enough training to ensure its stability and strength to do this, they can most likely break any solid wall of any type with one punch. When compared to red flames, only yellow flames can break through rock with one hit, while red flames require a constant flow and a long breath or stamina level to break through it. In this case, it is easier to say that Yellow Flames are more solid and physically stronger than Red Flames, as Red Flames sacrifice their physical strength to become hotter than all other flames, and instead require constantly added pressure to gain physical strength anywhere near the peaked strength of Yellow Flames.

Orange flames are the easiest to mimic in magic, and as such are every Ruby Dragonkin's first type of fire they learn to control. It is the most natural and commonly found fire in nature, hence why it is so easy to control. When a Ruby Dragonkin is angry or defensive, they will usually always rely on the orange flames to protect them before switching to red or yellow. If a Dragonkin's main type of fire is Orange, then Yellow or Red fire will become much easier for them to control as they grow up and hone their skill.

White flames NEVER burn. They are the one source of fire magic that never destroys, and instead ONLY heal. When used by a Red or Yellow fire wielder, the White Flame is much harder for them to control due to how gentle and fragile it is, and generally how much weaker it is in force when compared to the other flames. But for an Orange Flame wielder, it is almost instinctually easy to wield the White Healing Flame. As such, it is very common to use amongst the Opal Dragonkin, especially amongst Sun Blessed human fire mages.

A Sun Blessed Ruby Dragonkin heir can wield all four, but one flame type will always be their dominant colour, just like the Opal species, while the rest are either their secondary or their weakest colour based on the strongest main one. For example, if a Ruby's main type of flame is the Red or Yellow one due to them relying on its physical strength for combat, then they will have very weak control over the White Healing Flame. The same goes if they prefer to heal than to fight, then the White will be their main type, but the Yellow or Red flame will then be even harder for them to control. But, if a Ruby trains to hone all four, even with them picking a main flame type, they can then use all four evenly... But one will always be their defining type, and it can sometimes take them an entire century to master all four flames.

[egg-tats]

brain issues are the wildest example of this.

I have aphantasia and it took me more than 30 goddamn years to realize that when people say they're picturing something in their mind they're like picturing something. like an image. ya'll are out here ACTUALLY rotating cows mentally while I'm stuck simply observing the literal physical reality around me. I don't know what that could be like, and neither of us could have the language to make me understand it.

I have ADHD and it took me more than thirty cursed years on this planet to realize that other people literally can sometimes not think something. intentionally! not just when they're asleep! "clearing your mind" is a thing they're able to do and on having done so it doesn't make them physically uncomfortable! I'm out here drowning out The Horrors with a podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interactions between good friends. meanwhile you're choosing zen tranquility while you do the dishes.

(if you're wondering "does the first issue make the second one worse" hey same! I wonder if adhd people who can spin cows all day long can just do that instead of The Horrors. sound off in the comments if spinning cows ward your mind!)

The way people just assume that their experiences are universal. No thoughts, opinions or feelings about it. I'm just observing it.

"I'm not disabled in any way but I always go out of my way to avoid doing this completely normal everyday thing able-bodied people can do because doing that causes me physical pain."

Dude.

"I'm not gay or anything, but on average you really do see more good-looking men than you see good-looking women."

Bruh.

"It must really suck to have ADHD or something, I mean I forget what I was doing every 30 seconds and get yelled at about it at least twice a day, it would suck if that was like a clinical thing."

Brother.

"I'm perfectly happy being a cis man but wouldn't everyone rather be a woman if they had the chance?"

Ma'am.

[a-gaggle-of-colors]

Have I ever shared my for sale/trade/freebie folder? If not, here it be.

I've posted a bunch of old designs/characters I made in my early sprite making days as well as more recent escapades from boredom or possibly farragofiction. Ya'll are free to claim anybody in there. Just comment on the character or like let me know here.

[theveryworstthing]

some clothing and design stuff for rabbit wedding times.

i have been writing this post for a thousand years because it connected to other lore that i needed to write out and i got on a weird roll and my head hurts. i’m so sorry and this is only part one. this part is all about rabbit weddings today and what the ceremonies are like and this whole mess was prompted by this cute ask:

well friend, you’ll be pleased to know that rabbits and vultures get along well enough that their relationship should be fine to most rabbits. Vultures are gonna find it weird but we gotta wait for the vulture section.

now lets get on with the wedding stuff.

Rabbit Weddings Facts: regular rabbit weddings are group weddings that only happen on eight days of the year. A span of four days in the fall and a span of four days in the spring. If you miss the wedding days you gotta wait until  next spring or fall. This isn’t that bad however. Many older rabbits say its lucky to miss your first chance at marriage, as your false newlywed time confuses jealous spirits that would otherwise flock to your happiness and cause trouble. Young people think this is probably a bs way of saying ‘take a little extra time to make sure your partner isn’t garbage before you think about going off your birth control’, but on the island you just don’t know what will get you got by an asshole monster so most are content to wait.

Rabbits do get married outside of of proper wedding days but usually only because they’re in a mixed marriage, they don’t know if their spouse is going to survive till then, or they’re eloping. Guards in super dangerous areas are also married in single couple off-season weddings just because they know they’ll be on duty during the actual wedding days. Those are always a little more rambunctious than regular weddings. Guards like to party.

Things like getting pregnant aren’t enough of a reason to get married right away. Rabbits don’t believe in shotgun weddings. They do however believe in shotgun divorces. If you’re gonna skip out on your kid or abandon your partner just because you aren’t married and you feel like you don’t have to be caring and responsible, the rest of the warren  don’t want your triflin’ ass around anyway. Everyone’s got like eight siblings to help raise babies, they don’t need you.

Since the majority of rabbit weddings are group weddings, warrens and communities pull together to organize for the engaged couples. The rabbits on the island rarely have little to do with their own wedding arrangements, and in some areas it can even be seen as bad luck. This is supposed to be a chill day for the couples. Very few people find this level of party planning relaxing.

Rabbit weddings are reasonably low-key, but creative celebrations. There is an emphasis on the everyday joys, and while things like food and decorations will be put out with extra care, there are very few wedding specific additions to what really is a small four day festival. Each section of the island has slightly different traditions depending on threat level of outdoor celebrations, available regional food, and housing set-ups. For example, areas that have more single family/person burrows have a special separate underground hall or topside festival area set up  as a kind of community center where things like weddings take place. Therefore, its not uncommon for tag team wrestling matches to occur between couples of different warrens in bouts of ‘friendly’ competition. Warrens, on the other hand, usually have their own courtyards and dining halls, so tag team wrestling only occurs on wedding days when a lot of people are getting hitched.  And then its usually siblings who get into heated matches about who’s wife could beat up who’s husband.

Rabbits aren’t really against marrying not-rabbits, at least on paper. In practice some rabbits feel weird around mainlanders higher than working class unless they’re at least within spitting distance of wealthy, and a few old island born rabbits are straight up against dating hares because history bias. Vultures are weirdly acceptable. But honestly, rabbits don’t think that married couples need to be able to breed on account of all the extra babies lying around,  so as long as all parties are of age, sapient, and consenting its usually okay with most people.

Poly marriages are a thing, they’re just not common.

Rabbit divorces are really quick. Sign some papers, scrub off your bonding sigil, and you’re set. Usually takes ten minutes, which is for the best just in case things turn ugly.  Things are only weird if there’s business of kid stuff to sort out.

How A Rabbit Wedding Do: A traditional wedding, in island culture, is just supposed to be a really good normal day with a pinch of ceremony on top. This is because hopefully its the start of the many many happy normal days that the couple will have together. It might not be the best day you’ll ever have, and there are uncomfortable bits, and someone might cry on you/try to fight you, but everyone is coming together to be happy and hang out and tell embarrassing stories. Its supposed to be stress-free and fun.

Morning: The morning of, the couple walks to the festival area together. There are no rules against seeing the bride/groom/whatever beforehand as separation just seems to ramp up the stress when they finally do see each other. Couples dress to their comfort, sometimes showing up in their fanciest clothes, sometimes in pajamas. Most shoot for somewhere comfortably in the middle. All clothing is notably colorful and bright instead of the usual ‘outside’ camouflage wear. Part of the stress-free thing is that the entire area is heavily protected for the wedding days and dressing like a giant predator target is a kind of symbolic trust in your community to make sure you and your hypothetical future offspring won’t get ate while you try to have a nice time.

The ceremony starts when couples that arrive at the festival grounds are seated at blanketed breakfast areas set out by their families. Siblings and close friends being married on the same day are set up on connecting blankets. This is usually where the first bout of crying starts, as each of the engaged is presented with a light headscarf called a Clofour.

Clofours are dyed and decorated strips of fabric made by family and friends. Its kind of like a signed yearbook that you wear on your head. They’re usually covered with bright patterns, warm blessings, and playful insults which are read aloud by the couple and heckled by the other guests. You can put anything you want on them as long as it looks pretty and cohesive as a whole. Does this mean that people have been gifted Clofours that have ‘I Love You Asshole’ or ‘I Cherish Every Moment With You But You Still Own Me Five Coin’ painstakingly embroidered in beautiful lango script on the petal of a watercolor blossom before? You bet. Rabbits don’t stop being rabbits just because its wedding time.

Clofours are the only custom piece of wedding attire the couples bother with and is the equivalent of a wedding gown/wedding tux for rabbits. Once the couple is fitted in their Clofours and that one uncle stops crying, they don Meeting cloaks.

Meeting cloaks are used in all sorts of important ceremonies, and are usually passed around families for special occasions.  They’re mat black on the outside and white or gold on the inside. They get their name from the  minimalistic designs depicting the meeting of land/water and sky that cover them. Patterning and land/water/sky combinations vary between families and island regions, kind of like a loose coat of arms. Usually worn by those receiving accolades or at the head of events, meeting cloaks can be made for specific couples or occasions but its far more common to borrow one from a friend or use one your family already has. Especially for anything traditional like a wedding.  You’re not even really supposed to wear one that hasn’t been worn before if you didn’t make it yourself, tailors often set aside a day to wear them around before giving a new cloak to a customer.

After the couple is dressed and fed, they head to a tent to get their Bonding Sigils done. Bonding sigils are basically like rabbit (and hare) wedding rings. Before the placing of sigils begins, Orchids separate the couple with heavy dividing curtains and urge them to air out any grievances or nervous feelings about the marriage and ask for advice. They should have talked all this out before hand of course, but some people need a quiet space and a trusted neutral ear to say what they really feel. Very rarely does this lead to a change of heart. No one really wants to walk out of that tent alone.

When a person is done with their talk, they sit down with a beautician and a local elder midwife to start the ceremony bit of the wedding. Large triangles of fur are shaved off of each of their wrists, and after thorough washing a mixture of henna and blackdoe fungus ink is applied in designs chosen by the couple. Designs are often traditional but can be custom if the couple brings a drawing of what they want. This can be genius or disaster, it depends. The beautician can usually spot who’s grandparents are gonna be cussing up a storm later and tries to sway them. Meanwhile, the midwife chants marriage blessings from a few island gods:

Haaah: God of relaxation after strain/release/safe havens/ self care/ self love. You ask him for safety in your life together and promise to treasure the worth of your partner and yourself. (also…you know…great sexy times if you’re into that)

Flaroti: God of yelling/the need to be known/connections with other people/communication. You ask her for the strength to speak up if something is wrong or right in your relationship. Sometimes you gotta work difficult things out in uncomfortable ways but you should also never be stingy with compliments and acknowledgment of your partner’s achievements. Additionally, realize when your comments are more hurtful than helpful and keep you mouth shut. There’s also some long bits about apologies and forgiveness and body language and secret codes hidden in the sound of a lovers sleeping breaths or the number of their eyelashes or the drops of blood that fall when they’re pricked by bramble thorns, but the midwife usually cuts these short for time.

And Gone: God of travel/separation/bravery/broken homes/missing people. You ask him for temporary separations that always bring you back together unharmed or permanent separations that are done painlessly and for the good of both of you.

After the blessings are done and the designs have dried enough so that they can’t be easily smudged, the Orchid escorts the couple out the tent. Their wrists are held up to waiting onlookers, and they watch their parents burst into tears again.

These designs will fade but take about a year to fully do so and married couples get their designs refreshed on anniversaries.

Midday (the bulk of the wedding): Then they do whatever.

Seriously, the whole middle of the wedding days are just couples going off and doing whatever they want without any responsibilities or major cares. Some treat it like a luxurious date day. Some invite friends along and party it up. Some split up and meet up later. Some disappear together and only show back up for the evening service where they are either subjected to lewd heckles or concerned whispers depending on how haunted their eyes look and where in the woods they wandered off to. A lot of people head to the graveyard with a local necromancer to give the good news to family who couldn’t make it. You’re not supposed to do any work but some do. Some just take a real good nap. The guards like the ones who nap, they don’t have to worry about them. I mean, sometimes they do? But those are rare and mostly involve having to go get their sigils touched up since their grip has probably smudged them.

The Evening: In the evening a closing ceremony is held. A large silver basin of scented water is set in the middle of the festival area.  Salt or fresh water doesn’t matter on the island but mainland rabbits always use salt water as it doesn’t give the right reaction otherwise. A small bell sits beside it and the area is surrounded by colorful lanterns and flowers. Everyone is quietly seated on blankets as the couples walk in, hand in hand, wicker baskets full of smoking, fragrant herbs now attached to their Meeting Cloaks. The smoke behaves strangely, like dry ice vapor, only falling to the ground and fanning out behind them, creating ethereal trains and veils as the wearers walk. And elder midwife, priest, and necromancer stand in front of the basin holding thin candles and direct couples to their positions around it. Once everyone is in their place the trio of elders say a few words of wisdom, (usually very short, people are getting hungry) and then motion to the couples to start the rinsing. Each couple dunks their hands in the water and rinses the excess henna/ink mixture off of their partner’s wrists. During the rinsing the elders chime the bell four times, the Midwife is first and rings twice, then the Priest, then the Necromancer. After the fourth chime the couples remove their hands from the water and step back as the elders drop their candles into the blackened basin. The surface of the water catches fire but dies quickly, leaving a pool of inky black with shimmering golden swirls. Its very mystical and solemn and its all ruined by everyone hooting and hollering when the couples walk back to their family seats.

The day closes out after dinner and dancing. Everyone laughs and parties and pointedly avoids staring at the things that come out of the dark to drink out of the silver basin.

Did you know its almost unheard of for anyone to die in the year after their wedding if they do it traditionally? If they do it right?  Just a weird unrelated fact.

Mainland  rabbits are starting to forget how to do it right.

Also unrelated.

[quotes-of-dreamland]

I'M CACKLING OH MY GOD FHDJKAFHDSJKAFHDADSAF THAT'S A PERFECT EXPLANATION??????? mod mags is sitting here w his jaw dropped so like. congrats!! you broke him again and it's fucking hilarious. also i agree w ur points. y'all over here like "oh taranza's the biggest simp in the series" and you don't even spare a glance to simp king magolor :/ smh /j -mod kirby

I rest my case. And will probably be going to bed, it’s past midnight and I’ve been writing essays about Magolor being a twink for about 2 hours. Couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time <3

-Mod Susie

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Tbh I would understand more the complaints about "women having horrible deaths / horrible injuries" if the same didn't happen for men.

Ya'll too used to the "damsel in distress" trope.

Okay, let me explain it to you.

The problem is not that it happens only to women. The problem is that it happens to most bnha women, when the number of important female characters is way less than the number of important male characters.

For example:

In the League of Villains. Out of 10 characters, 2 are women and one of them died.

In the Meta Liberation Army, there was only one woman and she was the only to die from those characters.

Out of the UA staff, correct me if I'm wrong but there are like three women, Recovery Girl, Thirteen and Midnight. Out of those, Recovery Girl basically disappeared from the story and Midnight died.

Even more, from the Rooftop Team, Midnight was the only woman and the only one who didn't go to talk with Kurogiri.

In class 1-A, out of 20 students, there are 6 girls. And from those girls, at least half of them got hero suits that doesn't make sense (Hagakure should be able to have a hero suit that turns invisible with her, Momo doesn't have to have such a sexualized hero costume, Uraraka has complained before about her suit being more adjusted to the body than she wanted or asked for).

The problem comes when you already have fewer female characters than male characters and then most of those female characters are either sexualized, death, have had quicker arcs than others or are mostly used for plot points and nothing else.

According to My Hero Academia Wiki, we have:

Women in bnha: 91 characters.

Men in bnha: 259 characters.

When you see the last two arcs involving a woman as an antagonist, (Lady Nagant vs Deku and Stars and Stripes vs Tomura/AFO), you can also see the problem.

Lady Nagant and Stars and Stripes were both supposed to be deadly adversaries, top pro-heroes from the world. Their stories implied they were very important to the whole worldbuilding of bnha. For example, Lady Nagant was the personification of the pro-hero who knows how corrupted is the system só she decided to fight it. And Stars and Stripes is the N. 1 pro-hero in the world if I remember correctly, and she was also going against the law to try and do her hero job.

And yet, both her arcs were so quick. They were used and thrown away. And you could argue "but that's the only way it could have been with the passing of the story" and I could argue "the writer decides the passing of the story and it's him to decided how to solve a plot point".

Lady Nagant could have mean way more for the story. If introduced earlier and more subtly, Stars and Stripes could have been a very very interesting character. But their apparitions were abrupt. With Stars and Stripes, we basically got info-dumped in the middle of the fight and then it was over. It feels forced parcially for those reasons and parcially because it's a bad idea to introduce such an important character almost in the end of the story.

Imagine you get little commercials or mentions of this pro-hero in USA along the whole manga. The manga was surrounded with foreshadowing and commercials of all type, specially regarding Endeavor. I think it could have been better this way with Stars and Stripes.

Also, I getting Lady Nagant out of battle almost immediately and only being there enough to inform Deku of a problem,,,,,, I mean, I would have liked a little more of discussion.

These are just some arguments, not all of them. I want that to be clear. The reasons why we say that Horikoshi is not as careful with his female characters than the rest can be argued in favor in many ways. But what I need you to understand is that you can't just compare male and female characters without numbers, or just with the superficial.

I hope this help somehow.

Have a nice day/night! ✨

[theveryworstthing]

a rabbit priest travels.

lore and such under the cut.

The Fall Song is a song sung by traveling priests, especially during Mending celebrations (so the fall, hence the name). Though it technically functions as a ‘spirit call’, a song or story meant to attract wandering ghosts to places they can receive help passing on, culturally its regarded as a kind of love song for rabbits in mourning to friends, family, or lovers who’s bodies are never found/never receive proper funeral rites. This is only one of many spirit calls but it is the most widely known, the second most known being ‘Kit Come Home’ which incidentally comes in first as the most depressing thing to hear a passing search and rescue group start defeatedly humming.

lyrics which haven’t been mangled by my handwriting:

How could I ever know How could you never know What bled under the stones What sang inside your bones Trees are turning to flame while the rain falls Things are always the same till the owl calls Better stock up your stores There will always be more Better do what you swore There won’t always be more

Hmm mm. Hmm mm Hmm mmmm. Hmm mm. Hmm mm.

How could I never know How could you ever know When we walked in the sun When you forgot to run Soil under your feet starts to shift fast Hold your breath, say a prayer, hey it might pass Cannot run make a fist Hope the blow doesn’t miss Every day is a risk Love the ones you will miss

Hmm mm. Hmm mm Hmm mmmm. Hmm mm. Hmm mm.

How could we ever know How the graveyard would grow Who is left raise a glass For the body in the grass Dance and sing light it up got another day Ignore the voice in the dark its the only way Feel the teeth on the wind Walk the path till the end Fear is death don’t give in Good stories always end