#fictional culture

[avaloriainfodumping]

The flower language of the Sissinancuan gnomes is very complex, allowing for both simple messages like "I will love you forever," to "I heard your mother was arrested for murder last week, is that true?"

And if you're wondering how you do the latter message, it's blue tulip (mother), black tulip (the recipient's mother, not the sender's), two columbines (represents legal trouble, two means someone got arrested), red chrysanthemum (murder), yellow primrose (time in weeks), and black heart flower (a fictional flower that, when paired with primroses, means time in the past instead of the future), all wrapped in yellow ribbon (which basically means you're asking if something happened).

I love putting way too much thought into Avaloria.

#fantasy world #worldbuilding #writers on tumblr #avaloria #fictional culture #gnomes #fantasy gnomes #flower language

[alilgoblinthinks]

Goblins and Individualism

This is a part of my goblin field journal, i am creating a fictional goblin culture and spiritual practice so this is all my own thoughts based on the culture I am building from scratch. 

Goblins values individualism and being yourself. While goblins don’t have singular pronouns in their language (there’s no letter ‘I’ at all in fact), they acknowledge that if every goblin in the community is free to be themselves, then their tribe will be more exciting, work together more passionately, and their community will thrive with new ideas all the time. 

Goblins who are free to be themselves are more valuable in the community knowing they won’t be judged unless they bring harm to other goblins. The community is also more likely to find new goblins to deify too, as each individual goblin is allowed to share their passion. 

Goblin individualism also means that if a goblin wishes to leave the community, or otherwise choose a different lifestyle, they are supported unconditionally. If they return, the only consequence is that they are encouraged to share their experiences with others so more understanding can be had by the tribe. 

If a goblin is against anothers’ individual decisions, they risk the harshest of punishments, even more so if they decide to harm another with their prejudices.

UPDATE: I am collecting my goblin posts on a masterpost here!

#goblins #goblincore #goblin vibes #goblinwitch #witchcraft #mythopoeia #fictional culture #goblin culture #goblin academia #academia #green

[not-mary-sue]

Alright, to ao3's soon to be arriving Wattpad Refugees, a basic guide to general user culture:

1.) Unlike Wattpads vote system that let's you like each chapter, the ao3 equivalent kudos only allows one per work. Everyone is generally quietly annoyed about this. To engage with each chapter, you're heavily encouraged to comment. Trust me, it makes people's day.

2.) Ao3 has no algorithm. By default it's latest updated work first. You can find things to your taste through searches, filters and tags.

3.) 'No archive warnings apply' and 'user has chosen not to use archive warnings' mean two very different things. No archives warnings means the work is free from any content that could require a warning tag (character death, graphic depictions of violence, non-con, etc). User has chosen not to use archive warnings means it could contain any of the warning content, be it hasn't been explicitly tagged. Treat it like an allergen. No archive warnings apply is allergen free. User has chosen not to use archive warnings, may contain traces or whole chunks of the allergen. If you're likely to have a bad reaction, maybe don't take the risk.

4.) Speaking of warnings, ao3 has very few restrictions on the type of work that's allowed. Whatever your personal thoughts or feelings on that are, thats how the site is. You're likely to run across some dark subject matters and a lot of people are uncomfortable with reading that. You're well within your rights not like these works and have your opinion on whether they should be allowed, but harassing the authors of such works (or any works) is more likely to come back on you than them. Ao3 operates on a strong policy of 'don't like, don't read'. Use the tagging system to your full advantage to only engage with the kind of works you want to see.

We look forward to welcoming you all and seeing the fantastic works you create. Happy writing!

#wattpad #wattpad purge #ao3 #archive of our own #fan fiction #fandom #fandom culture

[monorayjak]

Worldbuilding Nelvaurnis: Elephas

A new series I hope to make many entries in as time goes on, “Worldbuilding.” I’ve long enjoyed creating my own worlds, I mean, I’m literally a writer and want to publish a novel someday. But I always find myself losing track of things. A while back, well before I started this blog, I started designing a world to hold all of my odd ideas: “Nelvaurnis,” which is shown below. I want to make this…

View On WordPress

#ADHD #Build #Comments? #Create #creation #creative writing #Creativity #culture #culture building #design #Elephas #exploration #exploring fantasy #Family #fantasy #fantasy culture #Fantasy Race #fantasy worldbuilding #fictional culture #Fictional race #Gender #gender roles #Idea #ivory #Life #long #lore #lorebuilding #Loxodon #Nelvaurnis

[digitalsatyr23]

Races of Arachnia (Beahuil)

Beahuili, sometimes known as shifters, are distant cousins of humanity. By living in harmony with nature, they have gained mastery over the beast in their blood and can change their forms at-will, if subtly. Though mostly human in appearance (except for striking eyes), a beahuil can change or “shift” into a bestial form, taking on traits of a certain animal decided during their proving. They are hardy, wise, and well-adapted to the harsh climates of Tirachna where most surviving members of the race make their home. Though the beahuili have a long history protecting the weak and innocent from the deadly Accursed, few tribes have survived the rigors of Arachnia’s history. Of the surviving tribes, those of the Crescent Valley remain the most powerful and numerous. On occasion, exceptional members of the tribe are sent out to seek unnatural forces and extinguish them, for long have they fought against the terrible alien things of this world. Perhaps one day the hunt will come to an end, but until that time, the beahuili press on.

Physical Description: Beahuili are similar to humans in appearance, sharing traits reminiscent of several ethnicities (most notably utheran), and can be as short as 5’0” or as tall as 6’8”. They are stockier, however, with thicker muscles, bigger bones, and more durable frames. Beahuili reach maturity around age 16 and maintain a youthful appearance for many years. They live about as long as humans, if a bit longer due to their natural-borne hardiness. Few among them grow earlobes, for most are well-acclimated to hotter climates. Men can be quite hairy, with forearms and chests full of shaggy hair. Women are not overly masculine, but they retain a tomboyish quality that is hard to miss. Their hair can naturally grow quite long, with colors of black, brown, and red (orange) being the most common, though it is said that those born under a full moon may have white or silver hair. Blonde is not unheard of, but it is also quite rare. Their eyes are striking, with colors like gemstones. Ruby, amethyst, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and similar shades. It is not to say that they look like gems, more that their colors bring to mind treasured stones. Their skin tends towards a light tan, like a shade of the vibrant rock of Tirachna. When a beahuil shifts, they take on an animalistic appearance. Angular faces, cat-like eyes, sharp fangs, and similar features may manifest. This is dependent on their spirit animal, which is said to be the echoes of a past life watching over the beahuil (though whether this is true or not, none can say). By calling upon the beast within their blood, they transform and gain great power.

Society: Due to the connection with nature they try to maintain, beahuili rarely live in cosmopolitan cities. Their settlements are small and often change location throughout the year. A typical beahuili village will amount to family-sized yurts of 10-50. Tribal society is simple, with hunters and gatherers out and about throughout the day while dedicated caregivers remain at the village, tending to the village young. There is no distinction between male and female in a given role, nor is a tribesman expected to remain in the same role their whole life. They might aid their village first as a gatherer, then as a hunter, then later as a caregiver, then return to the life of a gatherer. Acquiring many skills and become self-reliant is encouraged about the beahuili. Though beahuili are often monogamous, their family structure is less strict than other societies. A child has a “birthing mother” and a “birthing father”, but the whole of the village is considered family, so the children are taught by all sorts of people in the tribe. A term like “warrior” is superfluous when describing members of the tribe because every member is trained to fight should the need arise. Obviously, there are those who are better at it than others, but those out in the field do not need guards for good reason. Should trouble arise, each tribe has a dedicated shaman who is often the oldest and most magically gifted member of the tribe. In sufficiently large tribes, there may be multiple shamans. Chieftains are the only authority above shamans in tribes, and even then, they are not as ironclad as one might think. Beahuili rarely have internal strife and sort out their problems when they arise. A chieftain’s main duty is to find solutions to problems that the rest of the tribe cannot, and as such, the chieftain is the most capable and well-respected member of the tribe. There is no special ritual for deciding a chieftain. Should a chieftain die, retire, or step down, a simple vote is held to decide the new chieftain.

To keep their children strong and physically fit, a beahuil youth is raised on a diet of lean meats, tubers, and vegetables (beahuili find the dairy products of other cultures strange and fascinating). A child’s training begins first by having them help with chores around the village, such as carrying water, tending to animals, or working alongside gatherers. Physically active games and sports are encouraged among children, including a version of Hide & Seek called “Predator & Prey”. During such a game, one child is made the predator and the others their prey, and each group is supposed to start thinking like their respective role in order to hide, seek, and generally outsmart and outmaneuver each other. When prey is found, they must flee the predator until they either are tagged or find a new hiding spot. Once all prey have been tagged (a simple tap on the body, though fruit dyes are sometimes employed), the game ends and can begin again. Another game popular among the youth is “Chieftain’s Circle” where a red dye is used to establish a large circle. All participants gather within the circle and then beat the snot out of each other, doing what they can to throw everyone else out of the circle until only one child remains. The winner is named “second chieftain” and is given authority over the other children for a week. Perhaps because of these games and the culture surrounding the beahuili, many tribesmen grow up to have either calm and stoic personalities (like calculating predators) or aggressive and rambunctious personalities (like wild beasts).

Every year, starting on the first day of Gerova, a weeklong festival is held where all the tribes of the Crescent Valley gather in one place. During the festival there is dancing, games and contests of athleticism (including Chieftain’s Circle, but with adults), storytelling, and music. Musical performers use a variety of instruments, including the gadoulka (a four-stringed bowing instrument with a teardrop body), the tamboura (a strumming instrument with three to eight strings), the kaval (a long multi-segmented wind instrument), and the gaida (a multi-part instrument comparable to a bagpipe). In addition to festivities and cultural exchanges, the different tribes will also exchange members on occasion, either as part of marriages to tie two tribes closer together, or for tribesmen to live among another tribe to learn from them and experience what it’s like in their part of the world (think exchange students, but for adults). On the 8th day of the week (Riveday), a chosen member from each tribe will plant a seed in the soil of the festival grounds, with the seed being a plant from the tribe’s homeland. When the seeding is complete, the tribes offer each other good wishes, pack up, and return home. While some seeds do not always sprout and survive, those that do tend to naturally hybridize, blending together over time to create new types of plants, and given time, birth new spirits into the world.

The beahuili people usually establish their settlements in places where ether is said to gather and course through the world like rivers. These places are referred to as ley lines, and the beahuili use these ley lines to tap into the natural world and “communicate” with it so that they can better understand its problems. Like the leeu tribes of Ugankka, the beahuili wish to protect the world and maintain the natural order. Threats to the world are found via a tribe’s ley line then sought out, either to be corrected or exterminated. For most problems, only a single tribesman is sent out, but when a great threat arises, a whole pack of 6-10 may be sent on the quest. The primary enemy of the beahuili are aberrations, strange alien things that either attack indiscriminately or try to subvert the natural world to their own ends. To combat these creatures, the beahuili train vigorously in many fields, including physical and magical combat. They also make use of the beast within their blood, a power that beahuili gain mastery over during their Proving. This ritual, which takes place just after a beahuil turns 16, is a rite of passage before that member is considered an adult. They are tested by being given a place to journey to or a specific beast to slay, often without provisions. Once they have completed their quest, the beahuil receives a vision of a beast, and by establishing this connection, they are able to call upon the power within their blood and transform. This ability is referred to as “shifting”, which is how the beahuili earned the name “shifters”. Those that fail their proving may try again the following year. While there is always a risk of death during a Proving, there is always at least one adult skulking around the area to make sure the youth does not get in over their head. Rather than abandon a weak youth to the wild, the tribe will always prefer to save them and bring them back so that they can be better taught for the next year.

Alignment and Religion: Due to their comparatively unstructured society, their reverie of beasts and nature, and their duty to protect others, beahuili are most often Chaotic Good. Beahuili have little respect for laws and regulations that hinder their ability to help people, which sometimes gets them in trouble when abroad. Older, wiser beahuili may lean more towards Neutral Good, and less compassionate members of the tribe may be closer to Chaotic Neutral. Very few beahuili are truly evil, and these are often troubled members of a tribe who are too ambitious and headstrong to get along with their fellow tribesmen, eventually leading to their exile. Sometimes a beahuil who has traveled the world may return jaded and bitter. These beahuili either turn their back on the world or see the other races as the source of its woes. Chieftains are quick to correct these mindsets in such beahuili, but for those that will not change, exile or execution may be the only options. Those who escape the chieftain’s wrath and flee their village and become estranged hunters of men are known as the Scorned.

Beahuili most often pay homage to Ererah (Goddess of Seasons), Gerovi (God of Nature), and Nyttania (Goddess of Creation and Destruction). They are not as devoted to these gods as other cultures might be, though. Most beahuili see the gods as wise (or at least experienced) elders that represent different aspects of the world, whether it be war (Cheruvyx), time (Cephenia), the sea (Adraedana), or death (Atumex). The only deity beahuili are truly wary of is Kutkhi (God of Night), who they see as a strange and possibly dangerous outsider. They do not wage war on his followers, but rather take anything he and his followers say with a grain of salt.

Beahuili also (and primarily) pay homage to nature spirits, elementals, and the fey, and they do this by either leaving offerings to these spirits or creating protective barriers for them, such as tying a talisman-laden rope around an ancient tree. When they hunt and kill something for food or materials (often both, as beahuili dislike wasting things), they’ll offer a small prayer in that creature’s name so that it has swift and safe passage to the other side. They do much the same when they hold a funeral, burning the body in a bonfire so that the person’s spirit may be released. When the ashes are collected, they are placed within a ritual urn. Then one of the tribesmen (typically whoever was closest to that person) takes the urn all the way to the sea or to the top of a mountain. There the ashes are then released to the winds and waves.

---

Thank you @serenanymph for taking an interest in one of my fantasy races! I really appreciate it. Since you asked, I figured I'd share their lore here on my blog. In case you're wondering, my fantasy content is used for both fantasy stories as well as D&D games, so in this case I shared the lore I formatted for my player guide. They were originally inspired by shifters from D&D since one of my regular players loves shifters, so I decided to finally format and put my own spin on the race so they could continue playing them whenever I run games out of my Arachnia setting.

#arachnia #arachnia fables #races of arachnia #fantasy race #fictional culture #my writing #writeblr #beahuil #worldbuilding

[langernameohnebedeutung]

ngl, I'm beginning to take issue with how in conversations about anti-intellectualism almost automatically, the face of girls and women will be slapped on the problem.

#'all those tiktok girls who only like marvel films and' - why do you always say girls and women? are the guys filling opera halls instead? #'women in their mid 20s who still only read YA novels' okay sure that's an example and relevant discussions can be had #but it reminds me of the mocking tone in which people speak of 'chick-lit' to use women's interest as an indicator of lower value #while in fact women are reading more than men in EVERY single genre of fiction. Women are doing a lot of (often unpaid) labour #supporting libaries supporting theatres supporting cultural events #meanwhile there is a pretty big overlap between toxic masculinity and anti-intellectualism #(especially misogyny and homophobia) #especially when it comes to things like ballet or opera or musical or generally dance #in fact it is often the female investment in specific things that makes them less 'valuable' in general consciousness #for thousands of years the theatre was well-respected and a high form of art - and now it's a 'wife-thing' #the father who will teach his son that theatre and dance are for girls - how is that never an example for anti-intellectualism

[marzipanandminutiae]

quotes by Victorians about the 1920s view of their generation's women

"We are frequently told that the Victorian woman...generally behaved like a pampered and neurotic infant. This is all moonshine. I do not think that I ever saw a woman faint before I came to London in 1869, and not often after then...they enjoyed a hearty laugh, and a good many of them a contest of wits with any man." -Nineteenth Century, a Monthly Review, 1927 (written by a man born in 1850)

"What queer ideas the girl of 1929 has about the Victorian period- they are not a bit true...Marriage was by no means the end and aim of our existence. Oxford and Cambridge claimed quite a few of us after school days were over. We had great ideas about 'life' and what it all might mean to us." -St. Petersburg Times, 1929 (written by a woman born in 1853)

"True, debutantes were chaperoned at balls. But that fact did not prevent them from dancing as frequently as they chose with their favorite partners. The idea that girls in the Victorian era spent their days sewing seams and practicing scales is another fallacy." -Gettysburg Times, July 1, 1927 (quote from the Dowager Lady Raglan, Ethel Jemima Somerset, who lived from 1857 to 1940)

#history #when they were still alive to defend themselves #maybe- much as I rag on modern historical fiction -we've gotten a bit closer to the truth than our grandparents did #see this is one reason I love studying the Victorian era (besides hoarding their detritus like a dragon I mean what) #it just is One Of The Eras Of All Time in pop culture #and it means so much to so many people that getting to the real human bottom of it fascinates me #spoiler: it boils down to 'people were people and always have been'

[animentality]

#twitter #purity culture #fiction #proship

[sluttyquarantinetheory]

My one problem with Star Trek is that no one is ever consuming contemporary media. As in media that's contemporary for their time period. Everyone is always reading old novels and practicing classical music. They study Klingon Opera or read old Cardassian mysteries. No one is ever like really into obscure Klingon Nightcore. Nobody is reading shitty Ferengi pulp novels. There's no kids media of any kind. Where is space Sesame Street or junior novels about gaining superpowers from a warp core accident? What about comic books? Nobody is playing crappy indy holodeck games. It's always some recreation of a historical battle or just lounging in a mud pit at some alien spa. Someone give me angsty Bajoran protest music. I need some rebellious teens producing the worst most cacophonous death metal techno that they recorded in an empty cargo bay. I need contemporary pop culture in Star Trek.

#star trek #pop culture #media #music #books #movies #science fiction #sci-fi #sci fi

[avaloriainfodumping]

Humans and orcs have good relationships since neither are considered particularly sane.

#fantasy world #worldbuilding #writers on tumblr #avaloria #fictional culture #orcs

[alilgoblinthinks]

Goblin Families

Goblins are most often polyamorous, and not just with other goblins but other races to as well. Goblins who ‘settle down’ and decide on a monogamous relationship have a ceremony where they publicly break-up with all their other partners in front of their ‘forever partner’. Goblins don’t have a concept of ‘marriage’ other than that concept, and don’t have a concept of ‘step-children’ either. 

Most goblins have little regard for the parents who didn’t raise them, as all goblins are raised by single parents or by the collective tribe. Goblins will have multiple babies at once due to the high risks of losing goblin children. Goblin siblings of the same birth will be very close but may not be with all other siblings.

Community care of children occurs if goblins need to build, protect, or hunt for the tribe for an unknown length of time. If this occurs 3-5 elder goblins will be put in charge of all babies, children, and grumplekids of the tribe.

Tribe family exists between every goblin. This allows everyone to work, share, play, trade, and live together harmoniously. The terms goblins use for tribe family members they don’t know are ‘gobfren’, ‘mosspal’, or just ‘gob’.

#goblins #goblinculture #goblincore #goblin witch #goblin community #witchcraft #witch #goblin aesthetic #goblin academia #academia #worldbuilding #goblin world #fictional culture #mythopoeia

[longing-for-rain]

You know what I think a lot of people don’t realize about grooming is that, the person will almost always start pushing your boundaries in little, non-sexual ways.

For example, one big thing a person who groomed me did was joke about killing and eating my dog. She knew I love my dogs like they’re my children, and I’d told her those “jokes” made me uncomfortable. But she kept doing it. The same joke over and over again; it wasn’t even funny (“I believe all god’s creatures have a place…next to the potatoes”). At first I pushed back, but then it got to a point where I got tired of resisting and treated like I was stiff and couldn’t take a joke. So I relented on that boundary.

That alone might seem insignificant and dumb, but with groomers, as soon as they break down one boundary they’ll immediately start trying to break down another. And each little one they break, the more they get you used to letting them violate you to the point where you’re afraid to speak up against the bigger things.

So especially if you’re a younger person on the internet, never ignore when someone is making you uncomfortable especially if they’re much older. Even if it seems like a silly, insignificant thing. They know what they’re doing, and it’s important to stay safe.

#this is one thing I’m exploring in my non fiction project #internet culture #safety #grooming #fandom toxicity #feminism

[psqqa]

yes, yes i know edgeworth’s big wet eyes and loser boy personality have captivated us all, but listen. listen.

phoenix wright

phoenix “genuinely unable to reconcile the girl on the stand with the girl he dated for eight months, a cognitive dissonance so profound it’s ultimately explained by them being literally two different people, but which he first sits with for five years and does not talk about at any point to anyone” wright

phoenix “don’t mention that name to me. i don’t want to talk about it. i don’t want to think about it. i am just going to keep myself in this state of perpetual crisis mode focus on other people’s problems until eventually i die and get to hang out with mia on the astral plane and never have to deal with any of these emotions ever again” wright

phoenix “overnight loses his career and reputation and sense of identity while gaining an adopted, probably pretty traumatized eight-year-old daughter, and rather than leaning on his friends for help, or getting therapy, or taking any time to process any of this, he *checks notes* spends seven years dedicating all his free time and energy to investigating the weird fucking circumstances around it and maintains a friendship with the guy he suspects was behind it all” wright

phoenix "runs across a burning bridge and falls through it, half a day after the game establishes that he is terrified of heights, because his friend is on the other side of that bridge" wright

phoenix “i sure felt surprised. maybe i had my poker face on” wright

phoenix “looking back on it that was actually a pretty dark period in my life” wright

phoenix “don’t ask me how i got started. i don’t remember” wright

phoenix “only you stood still, your eyes calmly watching” wright

phoenix “sometimes, life just sucks” wright

just

phoenix wright

crunchiest man in the world

and all i wanna do is chew and chew and chew on him

#ace attorney #where are all the people gnawing on phoenix's bones so white?? #i need to find the phoenix bone-gnawing corner of this fandom PLEASE #this is me asking for the Phoenix Fic btw #where is the fic meditating on phoenix's whole mental state in general? #where is the fic about how it's phoenix's cageyness and poker face and flat affect under stress that is the hurdle? #the relationship ramifications of being actually really fucking hard to read when it comes down to it? #where is the fic about the week of his disbarment? #the one detailing the panicked blow by blow of it rippling through his social circle while he stands in the eye of the storm? #the one that ends messy and anxious and unresolved because it's week 1 of 7 years? #where is the birth of phoenix wright: poker legend fic? #where is the art school/theatre major phoenix fic? #no not the able to art/act phoenix fic but the kind of person who chooses to go to art school/study theatre phoenix fic #where is the supremely disinterested in pop culture phoenix fic? #where is the actually incredibly meticulous and competent phoenix fic? #capcom can tell me all they want that he's essentially an adhd disaster flying by the seat of his pants making it all up as he goes #but that's not what they're actually showing me #they're the ones who created an in-fiction legal system that functionally necessitates that #and the nature of the game is that phoenix is almost always proven right so rather than him coming off as hare-brained #his opponents rather just come off as short-sighted. either negligently or maliciously so #and the choices the writing makes in service of retaining mystery and audience suspense in fact function to make phoenix a person #who is astute and puts the pieces together but is cautious in his conclusions #i will grant them that phoenix does tend to lose sight of his overarching goal in getting drawn into proving or disproving minor points #the fact that edgeworth on the other hand never loses sight of this or where the various arguments stand in relation to it #is his sexiest trait as a character by far #but those minor points are actually functionally critical to the ultimate argument phoenix makes #so even though i do read that trait through the game mechanics i do also judge the other characters for being dicks about it #my point is phoenix wright does in fact have the character of a lawyer and is conventionally good at his job fucking fight me #my point is that you all have had 20 goddamn years to Rotate this man #my POINT is that there should be Intricate Fucked Up Meditations On Phoenix that rewire my fucking brain and i NEED to know where they are!

[centaurianthropology]

One thing that I think a lot of Disco Elysium meta misses (likely because a lot of it is very clearly written by young Americans writing from an intensely American-centric cultural perspective without even really realizing it) is that one of the singular and central themes of the game is massive-scale generational trauma in a home that is economically collapsing as its resources and people are being drained by an occupation.  People have noted that no one tries to help Harry, despite the fact his mental illness is incredibly obvious to everyone around him.  He tells Kim that he completely lost his memory, and Kim politely asks him to focus on the work.  He tells Gottlieb that he had a heart attack, and Gottlieb tells him that if he’s still alive it couldn’t have been that bad.  That he’ll drop dead sooner or later, but then so does everyone.

And that’s the most important thing: so does everyone.  Look at Martinaise.  Look at the world in which Harry lives.  It is not our own, but it is adjacent to ours.  More specifically, it is clearly adjacent to the states of the Eastern Bloc: overtaken and occupied by a faraway government that clearly doesn’t care about Revachol or its people.  And that is obvious in every tired face, every defeated citizen, everyone trying to eke out a little happiness or meaning in spite of the overwhelming trauma and damage around them.  The buildings are still half-destroyed.  The bullet holes are still in the walls.  The revolution was decades before, but it still feels to the people there like a fresh wound.  The number of men of Harry’s generation who are not alcoholic or otherwise deeply fucked up are very few.  Some, like Kim, hide it better, but the deeper you dig into his history, the more you realize how damaged Kim is.  He’s more than a little trigger happy, and hates that about himself, but he is a product of his environment: Kim’s entire life is seeing people he cared about shot and killed, so his instinct now is to shoot first himself, to protect those few people left who still matter to him.

Harry is not unique in his trauma.  He is a distillation of an entire culture of people who tried to rise up and make something beautiful, and were instead routed and occupied.  He is trapped between the occupation and the people on the ground, along with all the rest of the RCM.  Their authority comes from the occupying government, but it is implied that they were formed out of the remnants of the citizens militia which sprung up from Revachol itself as a way to try to mitigate some of the horrors being committed on its streets.  The Moralintern sure as hell wasn’t going to get their hands dirty, so they happily conscripted (and therefore could better control) this group, who are only recognized in certain places, and whose authority mostly amounts to giving out fines.  The RCM is corrupt, but it is corrupt in the same way its culture is.  Bribes are considered standard with them, not a moral failing, but a necessity, so long as those bribes are correctly logged as ‘donations’.  It’s how the RCM stays afloat, and the rest of Revachol completely understands that.  Everyone would take a bribe if it meant they kept eating.  Everyone would take a little under-the-table money if it meant keeping a roof over their heads.  The officersof the RCM certainly don’t make enough to see a doctor.  They have an in-house lazarus, and if he can’t fix them they just die.  Mental health care?  What mental health care?  Harry doesn’t get it for the same reason no one else does: it doesn’t really seem to exist.  There are no counselors, no psychologists, no psychiatrists.  How would they even start?  If the world is what is broken, if everyone is suffering a similar catastrophic amount, it makes sense that Harry’s trauma would simply get rolled up with all the rest.  Kim asks him to get on with the job because Harry’s suffering is not remarkable in Revachol.  He is one of an entire generation who have an astronomical number of orphans from the revolution, and so many younger people are left more or less orphans as their parents drink themselves into oblivion like Cuno’s father.  So Harry’s truly unique attribute is embodying all that trauma, having it all inside of him, filling him to bursting.

To really engage with the themes of the game, engaging first and foremost with the reality of Revachol is imperative.  Imposing our own reality onto Revachol, particularly if coming from an American perspective (which tend to have the habit of both viewing the world through an American lens and not realizing they’re doing it because they’ve never experienced a different lens), will always feel shallow to me because of this.

All that is to say, I would love to hear some more explicitly European meta about this game, and especially Eastern European meta.  If anyone can point me to some good, juicy essays from that perspective, I would be grateful!

#Disco Elysium #is such a good game #but I found a lot of the meta around it frustratingly shallow #and very VERY American #which is also frustrating #given how clearly Eastern European the roots of this game are #I have no problem with people using a game or other work of fiction to inform their own lives and experiences #but I find it strange when people engage with the game #as though it was coming from an American perspective #asking why certain things happen or didn't #based on how they would play out or have played out in America #anyway this a rambly way to request some meta from other cultural perspectives #I am very interested in reading it! #Disco Elysium meta

[queerism1969]

#child marriage #lgbt #lgbtqplus #lgbt pride #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbtq community #lgbt fiction #queer community #lgbt community #lgbt memes #queer #queer representation #queer romance #queer ns/fw #queer fiction #queer writers #pride #queer history #queer culture

[yellosnacc]

New year, new creature reveal!

This animal is an Iťalaq, a large creature adapted for the hot and dry environment of the east. Just like some earth desert animals, it has energy storage in the form of its watery bloodstream and of a large fat pocket under its 'pelvis'.

They feed primarily on plant matter. Bushes and grasses are easy targets, while hard or spiky materials will get stomped on with their middle limbs to then scoop up the insides. For food high up, they pick on it using their front limbs and throw it to the ground or insert it directly into their mouth. They do not mind a meaty snack.

As a bonus unpleasant fact, Iťalaq have the contents of their 'ends' ready to protect them from predators (both liquid and bullets), and it gets very stinky if they eat meat before the processing.

You are unlikely to ever see one in nature - at least not the domesticated species that are used all over the eastern sloman cultures (those are better reported to the nearest settlement).

Their history with slomen is not as long as it is with pamuli that evolved side by side with slomen. However, they are considered the first domesticated "arm-jaw" animals and have served people for thousands of years as their main "vehicle". Where they are used, wheels and carts are uncommon, finding most use in cities.

One iťalaq can often carry over 200kg (330 pounds), but it's better to keep the weight lower and let a pamuli take the rest of the cargo.

In this illustration, the rider is a sloman matriarch, likely stopping to stare at a strange phenomenon.

It is often that a northeastern family has at least one iťalaq, and the oldest members are the primary riders (both because of the member's importance and less energy from old age). The matriarch is the oldest and most respected, so it's only expected she's most familiar with the animal.

the picture with no text

hope the text wall doesn't have too many mistakes man

#art #speculative biology #artists on tumblr #digital art #artwork #worldbuilding #speculative evolution #spec bio #fantasy #original species #speculative zoology #speculative fiction #xenobiology #slomen #sloman culture #domesticated animals #spec evo #alien animal #elve