#worldbuilding weddings

[redd956]

thoughts about worldbuilding wedding ceremonies/traditions?

:0! Why of course!

Worldbuilding Wedding Ceremonies

When I think about worldbuilding weddings in fantasy settings, I actually look for inspiration in IRL ceremonies from around the world. Things like engagements, weddings, and even divorces are strong moments of culture. They shine through a lot of gender-based ideology, religious beliefs, traditions, and family matters. So where to start...

Length of Ceremony

As a young adult it is my task to attempt to avoid weddings in the name of length of the ceremony. In the United States someone might consider a several hour long wedding as long, but what about a wedding ceremony that lasts many days or several weeks, maybe different rituals on different days

One could even argue that the common wedding in the United States does last several days due to the bachelor and bachelorette party.

Some things to think about

amount of days/time the wedding takes place

the time of day it's usually started/ended

how long it takes participants to convene to the ceremony

Depending on the length of the ceremony we also have to take into account things like food, the bride/grooms first night, the venue, etc.

how expensively is the venue decorated?

does everyone cook and bring food? or are caterers hired?

Is there any form of dance to pastime

Are recreational drugs or drink provided?

Garments

Around the world garments and/or accessories play a major role in marriage, divorce, death, and romance. Engagements already focus on a shiny ring.

In many cultures there is a focus on one gender's (usually women's) attire. Think about the beautiful wedding gown seen in many Western weddings. There's many cultures that also do specialized attire for both men and women (like India). In some ceremonies, like Russian Orthodox, the bride and groom are crowned before their vows and kiss.

We can make the attire special in more ways then just appearance/one day wearing

Some ideas here

Attire being passed down tailored to married participants generationally

Expensive, or magically enchanted materials being used

Being given magical artifacts such as necklaces, rings, or earrings with properties of protection, family abilities, or just luck.

Differing clothing for gender of the married participants versus the same clothing

Usage of sacred materials

Color symbolism (many wedding attires around the world are different colors based on the color symbolism of the culture)

It's also important to think about how garments can change based on species, gender, ethnic background, preference, and even sometimes age.

Here are some wedding attire small few examples from different places

India

Tibetan

Ghana

Traditions: The Married

Throughout history there have been many traditions for the married (most of which are frowned upon for very good reasons nowadays and include sexuality/child bearing or money).

Many are traditions or activities done during the marriage ceremony, many the following weeks to months afterwards (such as the honey moon). Most traditions centering the married are focused on the stronger blossoming relationship (portrayed) between the couple.

However even in modern times the traditions of the married are changing as queer relationships, and more diverse religious gatherings are becoming more and more common.

Some things to take into account

Are the feelings of all newly weds taken into account?

What kind of traditions are dying? What ones are continuing?

How do these things differ among income classes?

Are gifts exchanged? Any particular special speeches?

Any lewd activities?

Is marriage sealed with a kiss or another action?

Traditions: The Family

Marriage is often also celebrated as the combining of two families. Depending on how family oriented the culture is, the brides/grooms may not be the full center of attention on their special night.

Perhaps the parents receive gifts. Maybe only one of the married family are expected to appear. Do the married participants even meet each other before marriage?

Some things to think about

How important are the married participants' parents to the ceremony?

Is there gift giving? Dowries? Arranged Marriages?

Are participants forced to make any promises aside from marriage?

Do parents bring things for one another?

Traditions: The Guests

Next comes the guests. The very first thing to decide about guests when it comes to marriage ceremonies is who is allowed to invite them and how many commonly show up.

Guests can be expected to do a plethora of traditions, ranging from party-like participation to assisting the married participants. In many wedding ceremonies guests are broken into hierarchies/roles, such as the maid of honor, bridesmaids, best man, etc.

Religion & Other

However one of the second greatest influences aside from the married participants is of course religion in culture. Think about all the religious inspired or just straight up localized traditions appear in average American wedding.

Some things to think about

Are any sacred creatures, symbols, people, or accessories included in the ceremony?

How does the married participants' religion affect the ceremony?

Does sexuality or other queer features (polygamy, open relationships, etc.) play a major role?

Give me the tonal atmosphere of the culture in marriage. Does a warrior culture gift expensive weapons to the newly married? Does a militaristic people play an anthem in the name of the married veterans? Does a druidic culture always seal the married kiss under an ancient tree?

[blorbologist]

everyone: reeling over the lore about the gods, about Aeor, about the Calamity

me watching an aeormaton marry an elven woman: so wedding rings were a thing in the Age of Arcanum, because Loquatious mentions not having one when he and Laerryn get re-married right before dying, and apparently wedding rings with diamonds are also a thing 100 years later in a different flying city, and Vex explicitly has a wedding ring with a diamond used to revivify Lieve'tel, so there must be some ancestral root belief causing all these cultures to use wedding rings and for the practice to be maintained over such long periods of time -

[beta-adjacent]

Hot take: bond marks (as commonly seen in the literature) are a little bogus. What do you mean bonding should be exclusively for mates? Why can’t I bond with my best friends instead? Does it really need to be romantic? What do you mean it’s a permanent scar??

Granted, I do love all those tropes a lot; they hit a really deep soft spot for me. And lots of new work nowadays are redefining how bonding works! I guess I just wanna keep that conversation open

[plaguethewaters]

"Hey mike, don't you think you're maybe a little too old for this?"

"nah, what makes you say so."

i have had this teen, emo michael_b design for basically forever, and it was honestly a crime i'd never drawn him properly - so here he is! miniserie of him growing with cbee, with the tubbo part coming. probablu tomorrow.

small little closeups!

[empiredesimparte]

PRESS ARTICLE - URGENT: New Chief of Staff and dissolution of the Legislative Body by His Majesty!

The Emperor's new private military staff, Admiral Florent Quincy, 55, was spotted at the Tuileries Palace. He advises His Majesty on French and international military affairs, even the most sensitive ones. Which makes him an important adviser for the country's future policy.

Admiral Florent Quincy met the Emperor for the first time at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. He was guided by Jean Schulmeister, Napoleon IV's former chief of staff.

Florent Quincy's arrival in the corridors of power is attracting attention for a number of reasons, not least because he is one of the Simpartist party's biggest contributors and has extensive military experience aboard the aircraft carrier Le Normandie.

A few days earlier, His Majesty the Emperor Napoléon V dissolved Parliament. This is a rare political act, which in the republican tradition is normally used to resolve serious crises and is often judged with suspicion. It is wise to assume that the Emperor wished to give his Prime Minister Charlemagne de Maupas new political room for manoeuvre by increasing the number of Imperial Party seats in Parliament.

State of the Legislative Body under the First Government of Charlemagne de Maupas (end of the reign of Napoléon IV)

The opposition party (Third Party) had 150 seats compared with 200 for the Emperor.

Before the dissolution, His Majesty had only a very small majority, which allowed the opposition parties to systematically block the measures desired by the government.

State of the Legislative Body under the Second Government of Charlemagne de Maupas (Napoléon V)

Dissolution was a risky but successful gamble for the Emperor, as His Majesty's party won 83 seats in the early elections. This majority will strengthen the powers of the second government of Charlemagne de Maupas and the Simpartist party for many years to come.

Dissolution is permitted under the French Constitution in the event of "extended powers given to the Emperor in times of crisis". These powers were conferred on the Emperor after the death of His Majesty, the late Emperor Napoléon IV, in a terrorist attack.

At the beginning of his reign, Emperor Napoléon V asked the French Parliament to grant him extensive powers. Some opponents of power deplored the end of democracy, and the dissolution of Parliament is proof of this today.

It is clear that through this very serious political gesture, His Majesty is showing all his power, since he enjoys great popularity, but also that he is placing all his trust in his Prime Minister, Charlemagne de Maupas.

⚜ Traduction française

ARTICLE - URGENT : Dissolution du Corps Législatif par Sa Majesté !

Au palais des Tuileries a été aperçu le nouvel état major des armées particulier de l'Empereur, l'amiral Florent Quincy, 55 ans. Ce dernier conseille Sa Majesté pour les affaires militaires françaises et internationales, même les plus délicates. Ce qui en fait un conseiller important pour la future politique du pays.

L'amiral Florent Quincy rencontre l'Empereur pour la première fois au palais des Tuileries à Paris. Il est guidé par l'ancien état-major de Napoléon IV, Jean Schulmeister.

L'arrivée de Florent Quincy aux loges du pouvoir attire l'attention pour de multiples raisons, principalement parce qu'il est l'un des plus grands collaborateurs du parti Simpartiste et a une grande expérience militaire à bord du porte-avions Le Normandie.

Quelques jours plus tôt, Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon V a dissous le Parlement. C'est un acte politique rare, qui dans la tradition républicaine, est normalement utilisée pour résoudre des crises graves et qui est souvent jugée avec suspicion. Il est sage de penser que l'Empereur a souhaité donner à son Premier Ministre Charlemagne une nouvelle marge de manoeuvre politique en renforçant le nombre de sièges du Parti impérial au Parlement.

Etat du Corps Législatif sous le Premier Gouvernement de Charlemagne de Maupas

Avant la dissolution, Sa Majesté ne disposait que d'une très faible majorité qui permettait aux partis de l'opposition de bloquer systématiquement les mesures souhaitées par le gouvernement.

La dissolution était un pari risqué mais réussi pour l'Empereur, puisque le parti de Sa Majesté a gagné grâce aux élections anticipées 83 sièges. Cette majorité va permettre de renforcer les pouvoirs du second gouvernement de Charlemagne de Maupas et du parti Simpartiste pour de longues années.

L'Empereur Napoléon V au début de son règne demande au Parlement français de lui conférer les pouvoirs étendus.

La dissolution est permise par la Constitution française en cas de "pouvoirs élargis donnés à l'Empereur en temps de crise". Ces pouvoirs ont été conférés à l'Empereur après la mort de feu Sa Majesté, l'Empereur Napoléon IV dans un attentat. Il est évident qu'à travers ce geste politique d'une grande gravité, Sa Majesté montre toute sa puissance puisqu'il jouit d'une grande popularité, mais aussi qu'il place toute sa confiance en son Premier Ministre, Charlemagne de Maupas.

[sparks-chaotic-cove]

Hey there! so I'm trying to figure out how wedding veils work-

I know generally they're attached via a headband or a like- hairpin? like the stuff you stick into your hair

For my project I'm designing a few, because wedding attire is another example of stuff about the culture's deities that are ingrained into their daily lives (the wedding veil is aiming to resemble a bird's wings, a point towards Lineep, their god of life)

A few questions:

a) how long is a wedding veil, generally?

b) how different does it look while being worn over the face vs down the back?

c) how much does a wedding veil go around the body? just in the front, over the shoulders, etc?

[tlaquetzqui]

“I am designing a culture with an entirely made-up pantheon, and also language, but I literally can’t conceive of weddings working in any way except the way they work in the post-Victorian West.”

Many such fucking cases.

[bluegekk0]

Idk why but for some reason the words I associate with Grimm and fpk are partner, lover, or boyfriend. Not husband.

I know you had the meme redraw of Grimm and FPK getting married with the officiant being Elderbug with the caption being "We have gay s3x" or something like that.

But anyway, are they legally married or did they just have a ceremony? How would it have gone? Would their wedding be based on weddings in Hallownest or something that Grimm saw in another kingdom?

I'm not sure how a legal marriage would work in Hallownest, especially since at this point it's just a bunch of independent settlements, as opposed to an united kingdom/country, but yes, they married each other shortly before they decided to try for a child, so about 2 years after they reunited.

Not much really changed for them when it comes to formality, mostly because I don't think that's really a thing in Hallownest, or at least in Dirtmouth (they don't even have a last name to share, among other things). I think they really just wanted to take that next step in their relationship, and "husbands" shows a much closer bond than "partners" or "lovers" (this one they never used, Grimm was especially against calling FPK his lover; it reminded him of his many casual experiences in the past, and he didn't want to ever paint FPK as just another lover of his).

As to what the wedding would look like... I think wedding traditions vary greatly between the different communities in Hallownest. Dirtmouth's traditions are nearly non existent since most of its population died or left Hallownest, and there are very few records on what a traditional wedding in that community looked like. The wedding between WL and FPK was completely different, soul and the Kingsoul fragments being a key part of it, and there was a huge event accompanying it, with many important guests from different kingdoms being present.

Despite his love for spectacles, Grimm wanted their wedding to be small in scale, more intimate, an idea FPK very much shared. One tradition I really like from Celtic rituals is handfasting, the act of tying the hands of the two partners with some kind of cloth or ribbon. So that would be a part of their wedding, the main element of the ceremony, very small in scale but one that carries much symbolism for them, signifying their eternal bond. I do love the idea of Grimm witnessing this tradition in another land and wanting to share it with FPK. The cloth used to tie their hands during the ceremony is basically their equivalent of wedding rings, and they keep it safely displayed in their house.

After the main ceremony, they would hold a small feast for the Dirtmouth community in the main Troupe building (by that point, the Troupe built more permanent homes and structures, as opposed to the tents they lived in prior). Or perhaps there is some kind of longhouse-esque building in the town where the residents gather for such events? I do quite like that idea, especially since my vision of the Hallownest region takes a lot of inspiration from Nordic/Germanic elements (playing Skyrim solidified that vision even further hahaha).

Of course, the actual feast would be significantly smaller in scale than the event held at WL and FPK's wedding, the Dirtmouth community was still very small at that point, so it was really just FPK, Grimm, their family and their friends, though they did also invite any newcomers - they value the community greatly, so they wanted their wedding to also bring the Dirtmouth folk together.

Then everything returned to normal, basically. Like I said, there were no formalities involved, they already lived together, and again, they had no last name to share. They did receive a letter from Lurien congratulating them on the marriage, with a small wedding present attached. I mentioned if before, but he's the only remaining Dreamer who is now the head of the City of Tears; he's on good terms with FPK and Grimm, the latter of whom he has a certain deal with, regarding Grimm's vampiric activities and the bandits plaguing the city. So he would eventually hear that the two got married, and would send them his best wishes.

And no, WL was not present at the wedding. FPK tries to stay on friendly terms with her but it's very clear that they're not close. She congratulated them but did not attend the ceremony herself, she was too occupied with her mansion court and its business, and besides, it would be incredibly awkward for everyone involved (and with FPK's history with her and their unhappy marriage, not to mention his fear of upsetting her that still resides in his mind years after they separated, chances are that her presence would ruin the special day for him). She was perfectly fine with it, though. By that point she had already moved on and had her own life, so she wasn't upset about the wedding or not attending it.

---

Side tangent, but I'm definitely steering FPK's dynamic with WL to be a bit more... distant, I suppose. Exploring what their marriage was like in the AU made me realize that them being close friends now wouldn't really make sense, if anything, it would be a bit unfair to FPK. That's not to say they dislike one another, far from it, but FPK definitely puts a lot more effort than he really needs to with maintaining the good terms. He'd be well within his right to just forget about her after how poorly she treated him while they were married, but I think him being slightly naive and too kind for his own good is a very interesting aspect of his personality. And while WL still has many regrets about her treatment of him, I think making their dynamic more distant would be better for both of them. No spiteful exes deal, no cliche hatred between WL and FPK's new partner, I think them keeping a distance is more reasonable and mature. So basically, instead of seeing them as friends, WL treats FPK and Grimm as special guests whenever they visit her mansion. Formal and a tad awkward, very fitting for her personality, but still showing good will on her side.

[cinderswife]

because i can't go five seconds without thinking about ouatis worldbuilding, here's rose and snow's immediate family! there is so much going on here. infodump under the cut as always <3

(full disclosure, snow and rose's childhood sucked. i watched Iron Claw, a biopic about the wrestling dynasty of the Von Erich family, when i was conceptualizing their dads and the shitty family dynamics from the film twisted with the development of snow and rose i'd already done to create a royally screwed up family. general white and rose red do Not come from a remotely well adjusted family are you kidding me. so. cw about that. darr and eret are doing fine though)

By all the rights of inheritance, Cole's empire should belong to the House of Grimm. After all, it was their family he married into 2,000 years ago. He took his pick of the Princes Grimm (twin crown princes who decided that whoever married for love first would get to be king of Zantine) and became king over the people. It must be understood though that the House of Grimm is descended from the other brother, the Duke of what was then the province of Delinore (long before it was a planet or a star system). Had His Majesty simply died when he was killed, all this could have been avoided. Alas, His Majesty's forays into the idea of immortality and collaboration with a certain vampire would lead to him becoming a star-faring conquering emperor.

This is not a fact known any longer. To the people of the modern era, the House of Grimm is simply his favorite and always has been. The current Grand Duke of the star system duchy of Delinore and Head of the House of Grimm is his heir and that is the way it is and always will be.

John Grimm, the hereditary Grimm father through which Snow and Rose claim their birthright, had a short-lived reign. His own father had died in an unfortunate starship accident when he was young, so he was raised by not his mother, a perpetually stressed woman desperately trying to keep the duchy together, but his uncle, a former military man who was never as good as a soldier as he claimed to have been.

John wanted desperately to join the force but as the only child of his father and His Majesty's future heir, he was forced to train to become Grand Duke instead. This was not pleasing to him, so he made a habit of getting into trouble whenever he could.

As a teen, he took a fancy to a lovely young woman who would later grow into his husband, Eli. Eli was clever with his tongue and understood people in a way that John never quite wrapped his head around. Though he was descended from a far lesser noble house, John saw potential in him as a partner in crime. The two fell madly in love and were wed within months of meeting at the tender ages of 17 and 16.

That was the story spun about them anyways. In truth, it was a shotgun wedding and the two were married to ensure the scandal remained as minimal as possible. Snow and Rose were born several months later to baffled fanfare.

Now, it must be understood that twins have always been auspicious in the House of Grimm. Every generation with twin heirs would find a different way to select which would be the Duke. John elected the easy way: Rose, the older twin by a mere 20 minutes, would be Duchess and Snow, the younger twin, would fulfill his military dreams.

It became quite clear early on that the girls' dispositions were suited for the other's future. Rose was lively and athletic with a lot of fight in her and Snow was clever and calculating with the ability to say whatever she needed to get others to listen. However, John and to a lesser extent Eli were determined that things go exactly as planned.

The girls were raised like military sons, strict and harsh much like John had been. Even Eli, though not as outwardly brutal, was still strict in his teachings of politic and poise. Despite the harsh conditions (or indeed, because of them), the sisters grew close and protective of each other. Rose often bore the brunt of the punishments, stepping in for her sister whenever she could. In turn, Snow would tend to her sister after the fact. Both would run to Doctor Lorenzo whenever they could, more of a father to them than their own two.

When they were sixteen, Snow and Rose were to make their debut into high society before being sent off to their respective academies. As part of this, the day before they were to meet with King Cole himself. Snow's meeting went... fine, really, she just got some kinda weird advice and some really bad vibes off His Majesty. Rose on the other hand came out of that meeting and immediately signed away her birthright to her sister, swapped their papers, and stole away to the military academy. She never said what happened that night, only that Snow would be safer and better off as Grand Duchess.

John and Eli were very disappointed and upset, of course, but things worked out well in the end. Snow proved quickly that she was far better suited to politic than either of her fathers and by the time she was 24 even His Majesty insisted that she become Duchess. And Rose, well, her career in the military catapulted her into living legend status. No one has successfully conquered more planets in His Majesty's name than her (even if, when sufficiently drunk and alone, Rose professes a deep hatred of the king).

They currently live in their family manor on New Constantinople instead of Delinore as when Snow became Duchess she basically kicked them out (and honestly they wanted to go anyways).

As for Darr, well, Snow needed to continue on the family line. Though a romantic as a teen, as soon as she realized she was going to be Duchess she became exceptionally judicial about her suitors. She had ambition and she was not going to let a nagging partner get in the way of that.

Darr Amundsen (also known as Darla or Darrell depending on zer gender at the time) was the fourth child of a middling Marquess. All zer older siblings were deeply unambitious and did little to make the family proud and Darr, a very quiet individual with little skill in politic and a strong desire to get really invested in trains, was supposed to be the one to make it better. Out of desperation, ze decided to sign up for a matchmaking service to see if ze could marry into a greater family.

Well, there's no greater family than the House of Grimm and Snow was quite taken by Darr. Though they aren't properly in love, they make a fantastic team. Darr runs the household of the Eden Castle and raises their son while supporting Snow in her fight for peace and in turn Snow can do many great and wonderful things while wading through the controversy surrounding her ideals.

Unfortunately, Darr does not get on well with Rose. That's fine, Rose insists, really! It's not like she spends a lot of time at home

They currently have one son, Eret! He is three and looks an awful lot like his Aunty Rose. His favorite animals are penguins and snakes, he's obsessed with the ocean, and he's granted a lot of freedom that Snow never got. He's a little rascal and we love him for it <3

He does look up to Aunty Rose a bit too much for Darr and honestly even Snow's comfort. Snow fought hard for her belief in kindness and goodness and while she loves her sister dearly, the destruction Rose has caused is not something she can forgive so easily. Rose is doing her best to try and be a good role model for the kid but she is kind of a disaster when she's away from either the battlefield or cameras.

Ah well, she just learned to knit so the kid gets a lot of fun presents.

[linkvcr]

Ough my god guess who finally went back to skyloft to look at the foods. Rejoice

[fili-oeuvre]

For the kin

TANGERINE - What are the weddings like, if they exist in this world?

The Kin do have weddings, but each group has their own cultural traditions when it comes to them.

The Kin of the Fox weddings are a communal celebration, people congratulating the newly weds and having a festival of sorts. The couple is often given colorful adornments to wear during the first few events of the celebration, before all of them are replaced with marriage jewelry to signify their union. Other wedding festivities include feasts, dancing, singing, and games.

The Kin of the Wolf have a more “formal” style of weddings (if that’s the right word). Marriage ceremonies always take place within a temple, led by a priest or priestess who will facilitate the spiritual aspects of the ceremony. The biggest parts of their marriage ceremonies involve their god (Neoma) blessing a pair and granting them a “partner link” that can only be broken through a link severance ritual or death. Usually, one’s family and closest friends will attend, but if a Pack Leader is getting married, the entirety of their followers will attend as well.

The Kin of the Bear are much more low-key about it. Weddings usually just happen between the couple, where they spend that allotted time together. Marriage marks are a commonplace practice in which the individuals involved will bite the other until a scar forms from it, with the intention being to have matching scars with their partner. They don’t really make a huge showing of it as they view commitment as being a personal thing between individuals and them alone.

[banyanas]

Something brief from the ‘hey so JCJ is in some legal trouble re: exoplanetsplosion and SOME poor sucker has to inspect the thing and understandably has a hey what the fuck reaction to Everything' outsider pov fic. Accidentally spooking the apex predators is unfortunately a risk they were not warned about On Purpose. whoops!

[tundra-teeth]

Deep in the Windswept Plateau lies a magical place. A place immune to the chartings of mapmakers, whom the well-oriented will never find. Believed by many to be but rumor, Wind dragons muse about the place where all winds eventually blow: the Crosswinds.

The Crosswinds, however, are very, very real. And in the center of this mysterious land of mist, meandering brooks, and reeds, sits an inn. A humble inn, yet one that seems to attract all manner of lost dragons. For this inn sits at the center of the Crosswinds, where all lost things eventually find themselves blown.

Whether it been wayward dragons or misplaced treasures, the inn at the crosswinds houses it all. All lost things end up here, eventually. Where the lost things go after that is when things get interesting.

[spocks-kaathyra]

ik Cardassia is a drab fascist dystopia where weddings probably usually consist of going to city hall and signing some forms but I like to think that Garashir have a traditional Hebitian wedding with music and dancing and brightly colored outfits and all their friends r there

[vacantgodling]

1, 6, 7, 43, 52 for the polycule asks!

thank you both for asking and for making all of these amazing ask games! i'm actually gonna be answering these for the main group of polycule ocs i have: the kiddos from celestial weddings

for the uninitiated; that wip is literally an excuse to make a giant poly with different wedding customs. there is technically a deeper plot but idc about it PFFFF i really just love them <3 most of the way i'll be answering these questions will actually be how they operate once the "main journey" of the story is over and once they settle into poly-dom lmao. BUT onto the questions tho:

1. How many members are in the polycule? How are they related to each other? Feel free to draw a flow chart!

so there are 9 (nine) members total of the polycule! they are:

celestial ruler, dagmar (he/they/she)

lilliabet (she/they)

izul (they/them)

vigustav (he/him)

muu (they/he/she)

zhujen (she/her)

almine (he/she)

rhohanen (they/he)

aenlin (he/they)

sorry this is a bit hard to read but it’s so hard to put everything into words LOL. they’re all in love tho

6. Where do each of the members land on the "solo poly" to "entwined poly" spectrum? & 7. Where do each of the members land on the "free agent" to "community oriented" spectrum?

due to the nature of being lovers to the celestial ruler/the celestial ruler and they oversee all the spheres etc, all of them are on the entwined side of poly; they make decisions as a group and everyone views each other as family/lovers/etc. this ties directly into 7 because all of them are community oriented. in general all of the spheres place a lot of value of a certain form of connectedness, for the sheer purpose of being able to have successful celestial unions to better guide all of the spheres. while all their cultures are different, they're all supposed to come together

43. Have cultural dynamics played a part in how the polycule operates?

so, in the unnamed universe of celestial weddings, each of the 8 spheres are all ruled under one celestial ruler, who has a council of 'lovers' made up of one chosen member from a royal family in each sphere (or culture).

here's the super long, fancy explanation i wrote awhile ago:

this land was created eons ago by a being known as THE CELESTIAL RULER. through the power of the stars, sacred magic, and the love and support of eight other stars, the eight realms or STAR-SPHERES were created. each sphere resembled the star that the ruler made it for, and each sphere was named for that very star: DATTENMAOW, MUKHIRU, VUKTER, DENJAI, GUANAI, ZALI, AERONWEN, and LESEDI.

once the land was made, the celestial ruler breathed life into it. the grasses began to sprout and trees began to bloom. animals of all shapes and colors rose from the ground. the land looked so inviting that little stars began to fall and populate the land; the first beings of the spheres.

they thanked the celestial ruler for the land’s hospitality and began to mingle. cultures began to rise, and intermix, and children were born. the land was coming to the ruler’s grand divination.

seeing that all was going according to the stars, the first celestial ruler had finished their long work of creation, they laid down to rest and eventually passed on; ascending the HEAVENLY STAIRWELL to return to the stars from whence they came. the place where they rested in the middle of the spheres became known as THE CELESTIAL CITY or THE GATEWAY TO HEAVEN. the first ruler never returned to the land they created.

BUT, their spirit was to return; to be reborn among the people of the spheres, in order to guide them in a glorious, harmonious existence; precious specks of glorious starlight. this spirit needed to be found, to be honed, and be ascended.

who better to find the spirit of the celestial ruler, than the eight lovers who inspired the land itself; and they became known as THE COUNCIL OF LOVERS, their duty to inspire and empower a ruling celestial, and find the divination of their new spirit once their current intonation passed on.

8 HOPEFULS found to possess immense amounts of starlight were plucked, one from each sphere, each to find the eight LOVERS who should stand by their side, one from the royal family of each sphere. they would be tested and judged, and their capabilities measured, until one who’s fate was written among the stars stood before the council accompanied by those who were divined to lead it with them. the hopeful who succeeded these trials would ascend.

thus, THE JOURNEY OF THE HOPEFULS was forged, and its legacy set in stone, to carry on for millennia after the first ruler was long gone

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as the celestial ruler is a being imbued with the powerful and destructive creational power of the cosmos, a new celestial ruler must be chosen carefully. so carefully in fact, that their fate is already written among the stars themselves. the LOVERS of the previously passed celestial ruler are tasked with finding candidates who are imbued with EVER-PRESENT STARLIGHT, and each sphere will have one candidate chosen each, that has the most of it within that sphere. once 8 HOPEFULS are selected, they are whisked away to the celestial city, where each is paired with a LOVER to guide them in their training for 27 years.

after they are fully trained in the ways and rites of a ruler, they are sent sphere by sphere to woo potential lovers from the royal families of each sphere. all royal families have 8 children, or choose 8 candidates to stand in as royal children should they not have enough born, or the children that are currently in line are too young (under 20 star cycles) to be considered. the hopefuls should chose their lovers based on connection- for the celestial ruler’s fate has already been written, and as such, a hopeful should connect with the partner of their choice, and they are to be wed according to the customs of each sphere, before the hopefuls alone, as a party, move on to the next sphere.

once they travel through each of the eight spheres, they will stand before the current COUNCIL OF LOVERS and their abilities, as well as their choices in marriage will be judged. the council will look at how their journey has matured their EVER-PRESENT STARLIGHT and whosoever’s fate matches the stars will ascend and become the celestial ruler. then the lover’s council will be occupied by their wedded lovers until their time too eventually comes.

so long story short: the main overarching culture of being apart of the celestial ruler story (tm) is what influences how their polycule operates. they're guiders of the spheres first and lovers second, and there's nothing to say that they HAVE to be romantically involved. i personally as a writer like romance, so dag's cylce is full of romance; however, other rulers and lovers have been varying from just coworkers to certain lovers are married and others are single etc etc. the only thing they can't do is bear children nor have close personal relationships (basically affairs) outside of their lovers--though keeping contact with family from their homeland is encouraged.

all the spheres have a generally accepted level of polyamory but the celestial ruler is a completely different situation. one day i'll break down the worldbuilding of each individual sphere more but not today LMAO.

52. How well do the matamours get along? Do they even know each other?

well at first all of them were metamours; dag was essentially the central spoke of the relationship (as the celestial ruler) and the other 8 were those he married, one from each sphere, to ascend the celestial throne. they all didn't know each other until dag was officially crowned it was then that they all met. this is heavy asterisk for aenlin; he knew all of the others because he was originally a hopeful like dag, but knew he had no chance of becoming the celestial ruler since he's of the royal family of lesedi; being as such that he can't marry one of his siblings and he can't take over his own sphere as the second born, it kind of put him in a rock and a hard place. at least until, he realized that he was the final "correct" partner for dag and eventually accepted it. so, aside from aenlin and dag, the rest of them didn't know each other and now were tasked with essentially ruling the world together for however many centuries. there was a lot of politeness and awkwardness at first, especially from those like izul (who is generally more reserved), and almine (who can be quite intimidating) and rhohanen (a fucking brat LMAO). but as years go by, they all settle not only into their roles, but into loving dag, and then being able to get to know one another not just as strangers but eventual lovers of each other as well.

so tldr; they all start as metamours of dag, but then melt into a full blown 9 way poly lol where everyone is dating/married to each other tm.

[empiredesimparte]

Some pictures of the wedding of Charles (Napoléon IV) and Marie-Joséphine in Belgisim :)