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the-river-carrion · 28 days

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The World of Hemaia

Welcome to Hemaia, the land of dyads.

I figured, what better way to start worldbuilding than to introduce the world in which I'm building! Briefly, about the map, I drew it in a tiny notebook at work so it's not the full world; primarily there's the rest of the main continent and the odd, small island missing, and the dotted lines indicating ocean borders are a work in progress, but this is my base.

So, Hemaia is made up of two primary land masses/land collections. You have Therrera, the biggest landmass, inspired by supercontinents like Pangea and Rodinia, and The Kosmene Isles, a collection of islands where the story of the Seafarers trilogy takes place. It has two moons, two primary Gods, and pairs and dyads are this land's bread and butter.

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Therrera ↴

Talking about this first because it's not the focus of Seafarers and is inherently less developed, most of its details right now come from wanting it to feel real, especially in relation to TKI.

Anyway, literally named 'the land of beasts', Therrera is the birthplace of the mountains and the thirchainum. It spans across the better part of Hemaia and is split into dozens of regions with a deeply diverse array of people but rigid and unyielding Kingdom lines.

While those at the coast often worship both Gods, the closer you travel to the centre of the land, the more faith skews towards the sky god Caelumann. Every set of mountains has a shrine and/or monastery as they're considered deeply holy places, and those who wish to climb the mountains must receive a blessing first.

It's very common for the lower class in more landlocked areas to have never seen the ocean before, some outright even considering it a myth or not knowing it exists at all.

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The Kosmene Isles ↴

The woman of the hour. The icon herself. The girl I could talk about for hours. Our setting for the Seafarers Trilogy.

The Kosmene Isles was named as such for the way the moons reflect on the ocean, appearing as though made of crystal; it's made up of six primary islands with a handful of small pieces of land dotted amongst them (usually inhabited by smaller trade villages but a few providing a home for the less accepted folk). While the populace of the Isles come from many different backgrounds and mingle quite easily, the overarching culture of this region is affected by The Murex Crown, who reside on the smallest island in the archipelago but whose influence has morphed into an empire.

While the Kosmenians live on the land, they share their oceans with the merfolk, Cayotia's children, creatures of the water who are said to eat the hearts of those that slip beneath their waves. While a handful of thirchainum species have been brought over to the Isles by Therreran traders, the main source of magic in this region is the merfolk; humans are not born with magic unless there is some ocean in their bloodline.

The Kosmene Isles fear magic. They fear the sea and her people, and they hunt them under the guise of protection. They can hide in plain sight, growing legs, teaching themselves to speak, and choosing names any normal person might use; a hint of magic, a slip in their step, or not quite fitting the binary, and a pyre is where they'll find themselves.

King Nicolas is the only human capable of using magic unscathed.

The Murex Crown, while building their empire, have perpetuated this need to hunt and kill, and never has a greater divide been created. Hunters are employed by the royals, paid a handsome sum for tails or heads they must get before these creatures die, and use ships made of trees only born underwater that have long been driven to extinction.

Where there are Hunters, there are always Pirates; outcasts, rebels, and self-proclaimed free-thinkers. They cause trouble where they can, disrupting trade routes or hunts, and some say every pirate ship must come with a mermaid, a blessing from Cayotia herself. Pirate ships are not made of long-lost, unsinkable trees, they are made up of every place a crew has been, and the lives they've left behind; the bottom of the ocean is lined with ships like theirs because Pirates do not fear what lives in the sea quite as much as Hunters do.

Cayotia, the Goddess of the sea, is as worshipped as she is feared. The myths say she gave the Kosmenians their land, and they thank her for that; they thank her for water, coastal air, and all the beauty the sea has to offer. But she is still the mother of the creatures they fear, and they do not think themselves loved enough to pray for them to disappear into foam.

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Miscellaneous ↴

I've mentioned Gods and faith briefly here, but there is a much longer rant I could go on regarding the High vs Low faith in Hemaia because there is very much a difference. Cayotia and Calumann are deities whose existence is reliant on a person's belief, their myths are bizarre and contradicting, they differ based on culture and location, and I enjoy them a lot, but they are beings a lot less tangible than some other god-like entities we actually meet.

Thirchainum is my world-specific word for dinosaurs lmao. Much like the merfolk (who they may or may not be connected to depending on what you believe), they are creatures of magic; each species has its own name determined primarily by either appearance or magic type, and they have different values to people depending on which culture you find yourself in as some locations view them as dangerous beasts while others integrate them into working life.

I plan to go on slightly extensive talks regarding my magic systems, and different elements of the merfolk in the future, but if you do have any burning questions about anything, feel free to ask them!

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Taglist ↴

@outpost51, @writernopal

Requests to be added are welcome in the tags, replies or inbox ♡

#seafarers #seafarers worldbuilding #hemaia #therrera #the kosmene isles #baby's first worldbuilding post #things are getting names now look at me go #I'm so normal about this #asks always welcome #I could ramble about culture for days #you can also just straight up ask for more information about either location(s) because there's always more in me #I had to limit myself for this introductory post because it was on the world as a whole #the isles could be discussed at length for ages #especially if I was to discuss the land vs the sea because even *their* culture and mythos are different

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yubriamakesart · 8 months

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more world building curiosities lol: how do fairy wings react to submersion in water? On that note, have the homunculi ever had opportunity/reason to learn to swim?

short answer: nothing really changes, and yes.

long answer: I think I said somewhere previously that there's a subconscious element to wings keeping their shape in some cases but not others (it's how they get their clothes on and why nobody bothers to restrain the wings as opposed to the rest of the body, but the wings still have a bit of physical interaction with the environment), and the subconscious treats being underwater the same as being in mid-air.

Functionally, swimming is almost the same as flying because the fairies rely on the aura in their wings in addition to wing movement to generate lift and thrust- as opposed to exclusively flapping their wings- and it works underwater too. (At some point I want to make some animations of Huvrye flying around to better show the movements, because fairy wings are kinda a hybrid between a jetpack and bird wings.) Fairies typically adapt to "flying" underwater very easily and naturally, and the biggest question is usually "how long can you hold your breath" and if you have a blue aura, the answer is "very."

As far as homunculi go, they had underwater training, although it didn't have nearly as much focus as other areas because Lasardhi was more into land/air power than naval power. I think next chapter is when there's going to be a scene that shows a bit of that.

#my favorite lore bit that will never be relevant #isor began as a pirate settlement #blue aura = pirate was definitely a stereotype #although pretty much anything seafaring would've been dominated by blue and yellow auras i think #blue because body modding is very good for things like going underwater for long periods of time #yellow because things like navigation are a lot easier when you can remember everything with perfect clarity #ask me things #hashtag broken #worldbuilding

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bambino1294 · 2 months

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fellas we have a situation: she’s coming up with place names

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panicedgannet · 1 year

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How I Do Worldbuilding Part 2

The Pelsho Isles.

Food And Culture.

The first place that people landed was a forested stony beach. The islands will be named Pelsho an abbreviation of Pebbled Shores. Rather than creating an entire conlang for it.

In places where nature is replete women tend to be venerated. Women born with Innate Potency especially. But that regretfully tends to be not the entire island chain. It is like a rough-hewn bowl in some places. With bogs oozing over jagged volcanic rocks. Windswept cold prairies and shrublands prone to violent fires. Three cultures will emerge on this island chain. In the valleys and volcanic slopes. Women will be venerated as powerful priestesses of fertility (The land’s fertility you pervert). But generally because women were invented by Esara, the Storm Queen. And they have rites that can make the volcanoes erupt. Women will be respected as tamers of the land, and generally good luck to have around a farm. In the bogs and the shrublands people will led by men more than women. Patriarchal societies will crop up all around the lowlands. There are two deities of the isles. The Scarred Man, Balakai, and the Storm Queen, Esara. The Scarred Man is the spirit of fire, plant growth and earth. The Storm Queen is the spirit of the waters, sky and storms. The relationship between these two beings is that of lovers. Because you cannot grow plants without water or the nutrients that the fire of the land brings. Balakai is the god of the volcanoes and the one who moves the land itself. He is soothed by the priestesses and his eruptions that make the rims of the volcanoes so fertile are more or less controlled. Men are considered makers of tools because of their earth and fire affinity. So most powerful tools are passed from father to son. They are the makers of ships, smiths, and foresters.

The food is just as important as the culture of the people if not more. Pelsho is an island chain. Low grade easy protein can be found by trapping or combing beaches. Trapping rabbits or the massive ground squirrels native to this island chain. As well as catching birds with weighted nets. The largest predatory creature on these islands are Halseals. Large mammalian pseudo serpentine creatures. But more importantly people can easily get protein by combing beaches where crustaceans tend to hind among the rocks. In sandier parts people have dogs that can sniff out burrowing shellfish like razor clams under the sand. People comb the beach and do trapping to add to their diets of nuts, roots, squash and bulbs. Which grow well in the rockier less volcanic land. The idea of poaching has not yet appeared. Because there aren’t large enough wild animals aside from boars that are considered big enough to warrant somebody powerful wanting them for themselves. The middle level of protein that you can get on these islands is provided by the people who do fishing. Because of the cold sea people cannot dive to spear fish, so boats, and nets are extremely important. Although the largest most impressive fish are all harpooned. There are whales that migrate through the Ashen Strait which is between Pelsho and the Sunken continent to the west. These Whales are considered omens of power of the goddess Esara. The whales with calves are not attacked. But those without are. But so are the creatures that come to feed on these calves such as orcas or sharks are attacked instead. Though only in truly desperate times are the whales harpooned. Of course, that is limited by the boats themselves and the technology of said boats. Which tops out at pressurized air powered harpoon guns.

BONUS Technology Time.

The highest technological items hail from the Sunken Continent in the west. These are handed down from father to son. These weapons are very powerful though they can be reproduced that would make them extremely expensive. Due to the skill required in making them. These are pressurized air or pressurized hydrogen powered harpoon or arrow volley guns. The making of impact driven explosives still is used in hunting whales, and sea monsters from the Sunken continent.

Electrical and fuel power: Most power is created by geothermal pipelines, or windmills. Ship engines run off of pressurized hydrogen. But these are limited in size and power. Usually just donkey engines for pulling in large nets. So if and when they explode they won’t blow up the entire ship. Most if not all ships are powered by rowing or sails.

#Pelsho Isles #worldbuilding #Sea #Seafaring #Fantasy

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rochenn · 8 months

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serenno and mandalore being in the same neighborhood entertains me greatly as an enjoyer of worldbuilding like

mandalorians are based on multiple historical seafaring peoples. and they're a fairly aggressive warrior culture for the most part, too. surely they fucked with the planets around them. surely they raided and pillaged a little, or maybe even settled.

what i'm getting at is i think it would be funny if serennian and mandalorian royalty were related and count dooku is, idk, satine's 28th cousin thrice removed and will casually drop that in a conversation (and it's not like that's a huge leap of logic either bc all royals are related anyway)

#sprinkling this into my fic #dooku going “you know‚ carannia's eastern district used to be a mandalorian settlement“ while obi-wan is in his castle fighting for his lif #i know for a fact that dooku has tourist guide level knowledge of every location on serenno and will flaunt it unprompted #star wars #count dooku #satine kryze

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minecraftbookshelf · 11 months

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hello this is an invitation/request to ramble about textile production in rivendell vs the swamp in the arranged marriages au I am very curious about this thank you

Most of this is going under a cut because it is going to get a bit long and rambly and is 100% as much an info-dump as it is a worldbuilding post.

the TLDR is Wool VS Linen

MOSTLY INFO DUMP PORTION

Rivendell:

The majority of Rivendell textiles are wool-based.

They do import some silk from the Overgrown but that is reserved for special occasions and items. Mostly silk threads are used for magical stitching and silk fabric as a center lining for leather and chain armor.

Almost everything else is wool.

Most of their wool comes from sheep but they also have llamas, rabbits, and goats that all are domesticated for this purpose. (Wool as a term refers to any fiber obtained from an animal, even if some of it is technically hair, for textile purposes it is wool)

Most of their export is sheep wool, they have, in fact, increased their sheep herds specifically to accommodate export in the recent decade or so as they open their borders and form alliances beyond the Overgrown.

Wool is an incredibly versatile fiber. It's water resistant and thermal properties make it ideal for the snowy mountain terrain of Rivendell's territory. It can also be made into fabric so fine it is literal gauze. It can be felted it can be knitted it can be woven. Saying Rivendell's textiles are almost 95% wool does not accurately convey how varied those textiles are. Generations of Rivendell elves have spent their ~500 year long lifespans coming up with new things to do with wool.

And its not just from sheep.

Rabbit wool is most commonly used for items like underclothes or baby clothes and blankets.

Llama wool actually comes in two distinct forms, because Llamas have layered coats. Originally they were used as beasts of burden but were also, over the generations, bred for fleece as well. Their rougher outer coats are used more for things like rope and cordage, the inner fleece is similar to rabbit.

Llama is also the least common wool, since it takes about two years for a llama to regrow its coat after shearing and they aren't exactly the most space efficient of livestock. The fleece is one of the luxury exports sold mostly to foreign nobility who want to feel fancy and brag about their "exotic [insert item here]". The outer coat fibers are mostly sold as cordage, which is excellent quality and in high demand in the seafaring nations. (This is also due to elvish craft-magic, more on that later in the worldbuilding-focused section)

Goats are a full range from coarser fibers to fine soft ones. It functions much the same as sheep fiber, just with a lower yield. Goats are primarily used in the outer villages of Rivendell in the highest, sheerest cliffs where they are more suited to the terrain than their moor wool-laden cousins.

The Swamp:

Most Swamp-made textiles are linen.

Mostly made from flax and/or hemp. (Yes, that kind of hemp, go ahead, make the jokes.)

(Hemp grown for fiber is a different variety than hemp grown for more recreational reasons. It has a much lower THC and the plant itself is a lot larger. I'm not saying they don't grow the other kind, and use it medicinally, but it isn't relevant to anything I will be writing. If that's your wheelhouse you are welcome to take this and run with it.)

Linen is a lightweight and absorbent fabric that is ideal for hotter climates so it is very common to see in the Northern kingdoms. It's absorbency does mean it dirties and starts smelling fairly quickly but it is also a very resilient fabric that takes washing well. It also has the default state of "wrinkled" which, to someone accustomed to other types of fabric, does lend itself to looking rather unkempt. (You see where I'm going with this.)

Like wool there is a wide range of fabrics, ranging from the ultra fine and soft to coarser, more Textured pieces. (basically, the underclothes to sail canvas range) both flax and hemp, especially the latter, are also used to make cordage and hemp in particular is often used to make macrame and beaded jewelry, irl and in the Swamp. Fishing nets are also a common product.

Textiles are not a notable export of the Swamp so there is less to say there.

IRL flax linen makes up some of the oldest surviving fabric and clothing samples, dating back thousands of years.

Flax fibers are not elastic, they don't stretch and shrink while worked with and don't have a lot of give. This does make working with it in the process of fabric making somewhat difficult and requiring a lot of skill. The resulting fabric though is incredibly durable so its a trade off.

The Mostly Worldbuilding Portion

This is just going to be a bunch of disorganized bullet points really

A significant portion of the flax used by the Swamp from linen production is grown and harvested in Helianthia and brought to the swamp for manufacture. This is actually the primary threat Mythland represents, (you know, besides rampant destruction and harassment along the border) is interrupting that trade route. They do also grow their own but do not enough for what is needed.

Elvish magic is almost entirely based around fiber arts. Embroidery, knot-work, charms stitched into seams and knitted into the very makeup of a garment. Wool and Gold. (gold-thread embroidery is powerful stuff) A side effect of all of this is that when small Xornoth started setting things on fire and small Scott sneezed frost it was a pretty solid indication that their magic was a bit more directly divinely sourced.

Related, elvish rope is reliable. It doesn't degrade or break or even cut easily. (This is straight from Tolkein but it works too well not to poach)

Elves build things to last, a single elf-made garment can last for several human generations. At least.

Net making/repair in the Swamp is one of those community tasks that a lot of people sit down together and do while socializing. Almost everyone has at least the basic skills required.

Generations worth of irreplaceable historical tapestries were lost when Xornoth burned down the Rivendell palace during their coup and every time the weavers and artisans and historians of the kingdom remember that they come very close to being assassinated.

#rain rambles #empires smp #empires s1 #empires smp worldbuilding #rivendell siblings #solidaritygaming #the codfather #ask and it shall be answered #copper dragon in disguise #smajor1995 #marriage of state au #mos: worldbuilding #mos: the swamp #mos: rivendell #mos: asks

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anneapocalypse · 1 year

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Ferelden and the Sea

Ferelden had never been a seafaring culture... (The Stolen Throne, p. 209)

Arl Rendorn's objections in private had been strenuous. He did not trust the sea, like any good Fereldan... (The Stolen Throne, p. 216)

The Fereldan distaste for the sea comes up multiple times in The Stolen Throne and I don't think any later canon has really contradicted this. Unlike other coastal nations like Antiva and Rivain, Ferelden lacks any substantial naval forces or seafaring culture.

This is really odd for a nation bounded by the sea over more than half its borders, a nation with a whole handful of major ports. And based on that line about Arl Rendorn, it doesn't seem to be merely a worldbuilding oversight but an active cultural distrust for the sea.

Why would that be the case?

It's always worth remembering that in Dragon Age, humans are not native to Thedas and therefore did not evolve on this continent the way humans and human cultures have evolved in the real world. To the best of our present knowledge, humans have only lived in Thedas for about 4000 years, give or take. They came from somewhere else, and they presumably brought cultures with them. The first humans in Thedas were known as the Neromenians, arriving from the north and gradually spreading across the continent. The human tribes that would become known as the Alamarri are believed to have settled in Ferelden sometime around -2415 Ancient. Legend has it that they came south fleeing their previous home, where they had been troubled by some sort of spirit they called a "shadow goddess."

The Alamarri maintained tribal social structures longer than most humans in Thedas, only uniting to form the nation of Ferelden about 400 years before the present day.

I wonder what beliefs and cultural norms the Alamarri might have carried from the time of the Neromenians that might have caused them to distrust the sea.

We don't know much about where humans came from before they arrived in Thedas, but it seems logical that they came from across the sea. In more recent years, we've seen the presence of a mysterious people calling themselves "the Executors," or "those across the sea." Are they connected to the origins of humanity in any way? Who knows? At this point, we don't have enough information about them to say. The most we know is that they have taken an interest in the recent events in Thedas, and that Solas claims they are dangerous.

But what if the early humans of Thedas remembered some great danger across the sea--something, say, that caused them to flee their original home? And what if the Alamarri held onto those cultural memories longer than most, with their distrust for the sea embedding itself in Fereldan culture to this day, for reasons no one remembers anymore?

#ferelden #alamarri #neromenians #blunders of thedas #dragon age #the stolen throne #dragon age meta

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spotsupstuff · 11 months

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where should i start reading your Rain World stuff about your OCs and such?

i don't really have any order in it so just jumpin into the oc tag n readin thru it would do, i guess?? though yeah,, tumblr isn't nice with the tags i won't lie, so i'mma compile some stuff for ya

there Are something of intro posts for the characters, though they've evolved a lot over time (originally the Anemoi Iterators were just not a thing, the only one i was meant to have was Fish with Zephyr serving only as a little neat backstory for one of the scugs connected to Fish. so Zeph especially has had a lot of evolution done to her character)

here are the posts: • Intro for Fish Inside a Birdcage, the Seafarer, the Tinkerer and the rest of their little family (x) (out of this Fish and Tinktink are most important n developed, with Seafarer bein a char i wanna work on a bit at some point) • Intro for Murder of Crows (she's a bg character for Moon's group, I rarely actually do stuff with her), Abet Zephyr, the Pan Wielder and few of the Scavs living in Fish's facilities (x) (this is also where The Children of Eo group is first mentioned) • Intro for the rest of Anemoi Iterators of The Children of Eo group, voice claims (Zephyr's is outdated) and the first look at world map, which i'm updating for myself as i'm workin on this stuff and will repost at some point so y'all can see the updates too (x) • List of Iterator City names (x) • Voice claim for Three Sparrows and updated one for Zephyr (x) • Spotto™ Ancients design reference post (x) • -sigh- "Who's Beppi?" (x) (here's him as a baby) • quick off the string in Ancient times AU designs for Euros 'n Boreas (x) • Sparrows' quickly put together art ref (proper one pending) (x)

Three Sparrows' lore is scattered basically all over over the place n she doesn't have a proper intro post yet

Some direct links for the convenience: • How the Great Cycle works in the Serotonin Take (a little add-on to it)

• Iterator anatomy lesson (mostly about the puppets) • Iterator anatomy lesson: detailing of the Hivemind that makes them up • Iterator anatomy lesson: personality development • Rambling about worldbuilding, mostly the Folk Gods (quite disorganized, explains The Saint though) • Ancients' hand mutilation in the name of the Global Religion • Ancients' mask culture • Ancients and their feeding face tentacles • Ancients' "hair" • Ancients and water habitats • Ancients, their venom and Also The Cleaning Slugs • Ancients' gills and some stuff with breathing • Three Sparrows character notes • Little drabble thing for Three Sparrows, though some things might not hold up • "Has Sparrows made any connections while in school?" • Three Sparrows and her slugcat reincarnation (lil continuations of it x, x) • "The Eo Iterators get off the string, who dies who thrives?" (not canon, except the Haboob comic at the beginning) • Zephyr and Moon swap as a characterization exercise that got a lil outta hand (not canon, but neat either way) • A continuation of the above, with Looks to the Moon in the Eo group + some talking about Abet Zephyr as a person • Fooling around with the concept of Zephyr knowing Pebbles, but then big explanation of Mission Self-preservation aka the biggest thing happening in the OC lore • "Can Euros run Doom?" • How did Caper of Euros and Three Sparrows get together romantically • Caper of Euros' priorities the lil comic • "What is Euros like during a Hivemind unsync?" + Three Sparrows the treasured component • Euros and Sparrows married?? • Caper of Euros' first case of the Rot • post 1st Rot reconcilation between the lovebirds • "Did Euros' entire Lab have to be rebuilt after the eradication of the 1st Rot?" • Sparrows' deathbed • Sparrows' Memory Crypt beef (x)• "Who's older? Notos or Haboob?" + Euros 'n Haboob's relationship • Gushing about the ending of the playlist for the group (link to the playlist itself here) • some Tinkerer and the Scavs fooling around content • tiny Seafarer post • what happened between Seafarer and Artificer? why were they separated?

(new text block cuz apparently tumblr has a character limit for that) • Iterator anatomy lesson: the antennas • Iterator anatomy lesson: sexuality and desire for pleasure • Ancients' blood • Ancients' skin texture • "How are Ancient's born?" • "Did Ancients' ancestors have even bigger teeth?" • Farmer Ancients weaponry and tools + Sparrows' encounter with a Red Centipede • "How'd Zephyr end up like that?" • "What are some of Zephyr's happiest memories?" • "Did any other continent have a bootleg Iterator situation like Zephyr?" • What was young Boreas like • Boreas, his batflies and what Desaevio was like • "Very beautiful, very powerful." Boreas animatic made by me sister • Angry Boreas? Let's try to fix him with a controlled shock • Filler Iterators stuff, especially introduction of Orion's Pathway • designing filler stuff a lil: NAE, Gem, high circle Sparrows outfit, first look at the Preacher, Expiation and Spore • Orion's helmet and RW constellations • some lore stuff for Orion • Orion's General • more on the Polar War • Fish and Pigeon Drones • Fish Inside a Birdcage Daycare for scav kits • "What is stored on Caper of Euros' puppet chamber pearls?" • How Boreas and Zephyr took Euros' romantic relationship with Sparrows the comic • Sparrows' daily routine • "Has Sparrows ever seen Euros without his faceplate?" • Iterator baby photos and first appearance of Sparrows' mom, Inkling of an Inbound Daybreak • "Does Sparrows hide her tail in her high circle outfit?" • Movement within an Iterator • "How does it feel like to respawn?"/Sparrows' first death described a little • How did that wedding of Euros n Sparrows' looked • "Does the Rot smell bad?" • "How did Boreas bail Sparrows out of getting fired after the 1st Rot case?" • Grandmama Sparrows • some stuff on Euros' 3rd Mechanic • Euros and his relationship to his memories of Sparrows • "Why do Biting Notos' colony worships teeth and the mouth?" • "Did Notos know something was wrong with its puppet?" • "What does Orion think about Notos' puppet design?" • Biting Notos' sins against its own kind • Inhale in Haboob colony (and herself) notes and ideas • some things on the relationship between Euros 'n Haboob • the Anemoi + Fish as slugcats • Fate of Boreas' Blessing in Saint Time • Ascending Biting Notos comic

#Spot says stuff #rw #oc tag #honestly n actually imma use this post as a sort of navigator thingy #this is mostly specifically the oc stuff. things that are mostly or only with the canon iterators i haven't put in here. for that browsing-#-my rain world tag should be more than enough

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utilitycaster · 8 months

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Wait I just saw your tag on Baru Cormorant and I wanted to say SAME THANK YOU

God Baru Cormorant let me down in a way few books do. I actually have a post in drafts that I'm waiting to post until I finish the book I'm currently reading, about which I have mixed feelings, because I've read a decent amount of F/F sf over the past couple years and notably in the past year and like, there are a few books that genuinely took my breath away and jumped to the top of my GUYS YOU HAVE TO READ THIS LIST...and then there is The Traitor Baru Cormorant.

It has so many things I love: Complex backstabbing politics. Seafaring. Intriguing worldbuilding that is not strictly based on Medieval-to-Renaissance era Western Europe. The power of being really good at math. Morally ambiguous middle-aged women. Betrayal. Unfortunately the author forgot to write the characters as if they were people instead of excel spreadsheet tabs. I'm so fucking mad because it's a FANTASTIC premise and it could have been absolutely brilliant but it's flat and lifeless because it reads like a fucking list of plot points.

#answered #pendragonslayer #i LIKE spare prose too. i mean i also like flowery prose. i keep boosting jacqueline carey for fuck's sake.#but like. it's just...it feels like he wrote an amazing outline for a great book. and then just published the outline.

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theprissythumbelina · 5 days

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Worldbuilding in 5

@amaiguri tagged me, this took me forever to decide where I wanted to show off. I present to you, the capital city of Espala, Olisio!

Olisio

The home of Espalan Kings and Queens, Olisio is the crown jewel of Espala. Fitting a seafaring nation, Olisio sits above one of the largest sea ports in the entire world, with constant shipping, loading, and disembarking at all hours of the day. The port is heavily defended, by both smaller forts lining the coast (top left) as well as the Espalan Navy's Battleships, the most advanced in the world (bottom right).

The city of Olisio is second only to the capital of Hadria in size, and rises from the port up the hilly terrain to the Kingdom's heart, the Palace of the Castemplean Dynasty. From the palace rules the elderly Queen of Espala, and her many descendants populate the highest branches of the military and politics.

Tagging @kaylinalexanderbooks , @winterandwords @thewriteflame @coffeewritesfiction and @writingamongther0ses

Also not tagging but look, @thetruearchmagos, I'm thinking about Espala again!

#worldbuilding in five #worldbuilding #writeblr tag games #my writing #WIP Mortal Sparks #Espala #writing #tag games

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subbyp · 9 months

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well I can’t write a shopping list in Louisiana French yet, but I do have some headcanon worldbuilding around languages spoken in the One Piece setting:

(feel free to use these concepts in your works!)

first up is Seatongue

the “lingua Franca” of the sea, spoken by almost all seafaring people. also the language of the World Government (but see below)

roughly equivalent to English, especially because it borrows heavily from dozens of seafaring languages

Chopper, Nami, and Franky’s first language and in general the language spoken among the Straw Hats

Celestial

the language of the Celestial Dragons, descended from the language on the Poneglyphs but not at all mutually intelligible with it

roughly equivalent to a hyper-purist form of “colonial English”

rarely used any more even among Celestials because Seatongue is just more convenient. However, World Government laws are written in it and the Reverie is conducted in it

the first language of the Donquixote family and of Sabo

Façon

roughly equivalent to French: a language associated with food, art, music, sophistication, and really fucking brutal violence

Zeff's first language is a dialect of this that is roughly equivalent to Lousiana/Cajun French called Façon Nousaut. Nousaut is the language spoken in the Baratie kitchens, and Sanji considers it his "true" native language (he speaks it at a native level because he learned it as a child, but his first language is auf Norden--see below)

auf Norden

the native language of Germa and of several neighboring nations

roughly equivalent to German--a harsh-sounding language associated with war and brusque severity, but very complex and actually quite beautiful if spoken with the right attitude

shares roots with Celestial, which bolsters Judge's claim that his family are Dragons

the first language of Brook and of the Vinsmoke family

Kalaam

the native language of Alabasta and neighboring nations

roughly equivalent to Arabic--a vowel-heavy language and a common source of loanwords that have to do with math, science, and philosophy

the first language of Yasopp and of Vivi (although they speak wildly different dialects of it). Usopp grew up speaking Kalaam and Seatongue equally

Wanogo

the native language of Wano and of nations descended from it, such as Shimotsuki

roughly equivalent to Japanese-- a language with lots of fine distinctions of formality and nuance which is mainly written ideographically

associated with poetry and craftsmanship. also associated with a certain "foreign-ness" among many other people, mainly due to Wano's long isolation

due to Shimotsuki's long heritage of swordsmithing it is traditional to name swords in Wanogo, whether or not the smith actually comes from a Wano-descended nation. some may call this a deeply cynical marketing ploy, but....

Zoro's native language

Norður

the native language of a few nations in the North Blue

vaguely related to auf Norden

roughly equivalent to Icelandic--spoken by very few people, with a vocabulary that relies heavily on coinages and eschews loanwords

the native language of Sora and of Law. Sanji dimly remembers a few words of it

Law's dialect of Norður is nearly extinct, and his accent seems weird to most other speakers

Piscine

the native language of Fishmen and merfolk

no equivalence among spoken real-world languages

relies heavily on gestures since sound gets distorted easily underwater. also features an array of clicking and whistling sounds

some say that Piscine outright can't be spoken with a human mouth

"Piscine" itself is the Seatongue word for the language. the word for Piscine in Piscine is, appropriately, a gesture

Jinbei's native language

#one piece #long post #worldbuilding

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the-river-carrion · 2 months

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WIP INTRO | Seafarers Book 1

The Promise is on a mission. For the first time since his coronation, King Nicolas has left his gilded halls and set out on an unknown quest across the ocean. On the island he leaves behind, a woman is rescued from the pyre, given a name she didn't ask for, and left, duty-bound and suspicious, in the middle of pirates. She cares little for Captain Hayes, knowing only that he once helped snatch her sister from the sea, and no matter what his ragtag followers say, she knows exactly the kind of man he is. Killing a monster would be much easier if the King stopped chasing a fairytale first.

Additional details below the cut!

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General Info ↴

Title To Be Confirmed

Genres: new adult fantasy, adventure, romance

POV: third-person limited

Stage: planning & outlining

Length: ???

Tags: #seafarers, #sb1, #seafarers worldbuilding #seafarers vibes

Book 1 of 3 (may change)

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Features ↴

Pirates, merfolk, magic, mythical sea creatures and dinosaurs

Classism, imperialism, generational trauma and abuse

Disabled and lgbtq+ characters & themes

Everybody wants revenge on everybody else, it's almost comical

A team of unwilling and accidental saviours of the world

So much world-building, like, so much

Slow burn romance & found family

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Taglist ↴

[under construction]

Requests to be added are welcome in the tags, replies or inbox ♡

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

(the exact synopsis could change due to the state of the story but the details and gist of the starting plot are all there ♡)

#wip intro #seafarers #sb1 #original writing #writing community #writeblr #writers on tumblr #fantasy #romance #pirates #merfolk #asks welcome

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shivunin · 1 month

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h, m, u from the writer asks! :)

Thanks for asking! c:

(Fic Writer Asks)

H: How would you describe your writing style?

Hmm...if I had to name parts of it, I'd say: close third person perspective, a focus on emotion/character work/character voice, and a certain flow or rhythm? The last bit feels ambiguous, but I can't find a better name for it.

M: What’s the weirdest AU scenario you’ve ever come up with? Did it turn into a story?

Probably my mer!Cullen AU. I constructed a whole world where the Dalish are largely seafaring and Templars are these nightmarish mermaids (I started this shortly after reading Into the Drowning Deep, which is fantastic if anyone is into horror books about killer mermaids forced to the surface by environmental pressures/global warming) with Circle Towers under the sea.

The fic itself is about Cullen deciding to leave the Templars and washing ashore where Emmaera is conducting a study of some Elvhen ruins there. I've written part of it! Unfortunately, like most of my fics that require a lot of worldbuilding, I stopped having fun and haven't picked it up for a while.

U: Is there a pairing you would like to write, but haven’t tried yet?

Lots of platonic relationships! I have lots of little bits and pieces of fic about Bethany and Maria, Wen and Morrigan, Wen and Sera, and so on.

Romantically, I have been meaning to write out some of my Merrill/Isabela feelings. Also I have been thinking about Andraste and Shartan a lot, not necessarily in a romantic way. I just think they're Neat. But writing them coherently would require a level of lorediving that I'm not prepared for at the moment haha

#the writing style thing is so hard to answer haha. but there you go #thank you so much for asking laya!! c:#long post #ask game response #ask response #i will finish the mermaid au someday. someday #this is an into the drowning deep promo blog now. if you like scifi horror and also shockingly well-explained mermaids #you should read that book. also ace/bi mc #though that is of course entirely tertiary to actual killer mermaids

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aufi-creative-mind · 2 years

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Project ORDON - Concept Sketches: the Sea Ritos, Humans and the Southern Zoras.

Here is a handful of sketches that I have created so far for the Races of Ordon. As part of my much larger worldbuilding project for BotW Ordon.

The Sea Ritos are based on water birds that do aerial / dive fishing - such as terns (as seen above) and kingfishers. They are generally shorter with longer beaks compared to the raptional Ritos of Hyrule. And have a much bright and colourful appearance.

The Southern Zora's design is a fusion of the Twilight Princess and Breath of the World designs of the Zora race.

They come in two variants - the River Zoras who are the same height as their counterparts in the Zora's Domain but with long finned tails. The Ocean Zoras on the other hand are much larger with serpentine tails. The Southern Zora Queens are the largest of the Ocean Zoras.

(Their current Queen, Valerie XXI is actually small by Zora Queen standards as she is still quite young). I've actually posted her before in this post.

And lastly, the three types of humans found in Ordon (not including the Gerudo). Hylians refer to Hylians from Hyrule and distiguished by their long pointed ears. Ordonian humans are those from Ordon and distinguished by their rounded ears.

And finally, Ordon-Hylians - they are descendants of the original Hylian migrants who have intermarried with the native Ordonian humans. They are distinguished by having shorter pointed ears. Many Ordon-Hylians still follow the customs of Hyrule including the worship of the Goddess Hylia. However there are others who follow the Ordon way of life.

The only remaining races that I have not created concept sketches of yet are of the Ordon-Gorons and the seafaring Gerudos of Gerudo's Reach.

The general idea I had in mind for the Ordon-Gorons are that, they are much like their Twilight Princess design with the BotW style. So they appear more bulkier with tattoo-like markings and parts of its rock features are carved into stylish patterns.

The Gerudo of Gerudo's Reach are just like their Desert counterpart but are seafaring based. Especially for the merchant / pirate Gerudo.

One day, I'll get around to it...depending on how many people are interested and/or if my brain decides to get fixated on this world again.

#legend of zelda #ordon #botw project ordon #project ordon #worldbuilding #races of ordon #ordonians #sea ritos #southern zoras #twilight princess #breath of the wild #( btw Theodora is an important character in my BotW Family and Legacy stories )#theodora dewett

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lieutenantselnia · 6 months

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Drabblecember Day 7 - Stuck Inside

pairing: Davy Jones x Selena Finley

word count: 1 764

summary: The Flying Dutchman's ability to sail underwater has helped the crew in many precarious situations, but it is always something frightening for new crew members when they experience it for the first time. Selena is no exception, but luckily she has someone to look out for her.

tags: a bit of everyday life aboard the Dutchman, just a little bit of worldbuilding too I guess (both in terms of self-shipping and general universe lore), early relationship stage, Davy and Selena are both awkward about expressing their feelings, Maccus doing his best to be a wingman

warnings: Mentions of drowning/almost drowning I guess? I kept it pretty light and didn't really go into detail, plus it isn't an actual threat in this story, but if you're extremely terrified of the sea, being stuck underwater, or drowning just a heads-up.

author's note: First of all I'm not entirely sure whether I'm happy with this or not ahhh, on one hand I think it's cute and I'm so happy I got to explore a little bit of the universe lore too, but on the other hand I'm not sure if I always knew where I was going with this😅 For example in this particular instance I wasn't sure whether I wanted it to be set before or when they're already a couple, decided to go with the latter one eventually, but they're in kind of an early relationship stage. They feel already comfortable with showing affection or touching each other when they're alone, the issue is just that they're both shy to initiate it^^" I decided to take my own spin on this prompt since I felt this idea would be perfect for Davy, however, I might have gone a bit off track and made the set-up very long before getting to the actual point. I'm so glad I was finally able to write for Davy though, I love him but he's probably also the f/o where I'm the most self-conscious about mischaracterising or misinterpreting him and writing him in a completely wrong way, and sometimes I almost feel intimidated about approaching a story with him ._. Lastly, trying to write an accent in a language that's not your native one certainly is ... an experience.

The storm made its presence known long before it actually arrived. Dark clouds were gathering at the horizon, overshadowing the light of the day, and the air had an unsettling feeling about itself.

Selena stood at the railing, watching as the sunlight faded more and more. A slight nervousness was growing within her chest; it was the first storm she would witness while being aboard the Flying Dutchman. The first ever since that horrifying night, when the winds were furious and the waves were raging, and an unexpectedly strong surge of water just yanked her from the deck of the Diligence to pull her down into the dark, cold water. Selena was sure she would have drowned that night, hadn't the cursed ship found her and picked her up, soaking wet and freezing. The life aboard the Dutchman wasn't an easy one, but it was a life at least.

A rough push from behind snapped her back from her thoughts. She felt a clawed hand on her shoulder and turned around to find Maccus.

"C'mon. The captain wants ta keep an eye on ya when we're going down. Can't have ya get lost at sea another time, hah."

"Down?" Selena frowned as she followed him across the deck. She knew of the Dutchman's ability to dive underwater and resurface without any damage on neither ship nor crew, but in the weeks she had been here, she had never had to experience it herself. Until now.

"Would ye rather want to sail right through the storm?" Maccus turned his head to grin at her, showing multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth. "'Cause I doubt that, givin' yer seafaring skills. Trust me, it’ll be easier sailing below."

Selena scrunched her nose. She knew he was probably right, but that still didn't make her nervousness go away. "It might be better than a storm, but it doesn't sound like the most pleasant thing either. It's just something new to me, that's all."

"That's why the captain 'imself is gonna have a watch over ye", Maccus said in a smug voice. He gestured Selena to follow him, leading her to the captain's quarters. Other crew members were running across the deck, even though the Dutchman didn't need a lot of preparation before going below the surface, they wanted to be sure that nothing would go wrong.

Davy Jones opened the door to his quarters upon Maccus’ knocking, his gaze darting between the hammerhead shark and Selena.

"I brought ya the lassie. Figured she better not be on the open deck during her first dive."

The captain's gaze softened in a barely noticeable way, and he stepped aside to let Selena in, before turning his attention to Maccus again. "Order tah men ta start going down. They shall not veer off th' course, sail straight away undah tha storm."

"Aye, cap'n!" Maccus returned to the way he came from, and Selena could just hear him start to yell orders before Davy closed the cabin door.

"Is the first dive frightening?", she asked. Davy seemed to think for a moment before he responded. "Tha new sailors always dread it. It certainly be an … unsettling experience for those once mortals. Many of them say it feels unusual or unpleasant, but most of them adjust in a short time. I’ve been doin’ it fer so long, I … cannae remember what it was like in tha beginning."

His eyes became a little clouded as the memory seemed to pain him. Selena didn’t say a word, but reached out to gently take Davy’s right hand, squeezing it lightly. His tentacle-like index finger responded immediately to the action, wrapping around her hand as if it wanted to make sure she didn’t let go. Davy gave her a thankful look, before leading her to one of the windows. His beard tentacles were writhing calmly around his shoulders, and his whole demeanour had softened slightly, like every time they were alone.

"Yah might feel like ye're drowning when we’re going underwater, but it will pass, alright? Ye're bound ta the Dutchman now. She will not be leavin' ya behind."” His gaze became a little more tender, and he leaned a little closer. “I will not be leavin’ ya behind”, he muttered.

All of a sudden, Selena felt a slight jolt going through the hull of the ship, before the floor underneath her feet started to tilt. Instinctively she grabbed Davy’s sleeve with her free hand, while holding onto him a little tighter with the other one. He pulled her closer towards him, just enough so he could wrap his crab claw around her back, securing her where she was standing so she wouldn’t fall over on the uneven ground.

“Maccus must’ve given the signal.” Selena was a little annoyed about how nervous she sounded. But even though Davy assured her that she would be able to get through the dive like every other crew member, the thought of experiencing another time what it felt like to almost drown made her stomach turn, and she took a deep breath to calm the feeling. She felt how Davy started to rub her hand with his thumb in a soothing motion.

“We will stay inside here for this time. It be calmer and there are less things for ya ta worry about than on tha open deck. I think Maccus made a fine decision there.”

“Maccus?” Selena tilted her head. “So he didn’t bring me here on your command?”

Davy shook his head slightly, and a little snort, almost like a chuckle, escaped him. “Nay, he didn’t. But he seems ta keep an eye on ya. He be a proper first mate.”

In the meantime, water had started to seep in, coming through every opening in the ship’s hull and filling up the insides. It was already washing around their feet, and the level rose quickly. On top of everything, Selena also felt a biting cold creeping up her ankles now, and pressed herself closer to Davy.

“It will be alright, Selena.” His gaze caught hers, bright blue eyes captivating her. “Remember, ya will survive this. Even when we’re underwater, breathe. Ye’re bound ta the Dutchman now, and bound ta the sea.”

The water had already risen to Selena’s knees now, and it couldn’t be stopped in its way. She flinched as the cold waves reached her stomach, then her chest, her chin. A few moments later, she and Davy were both completely underwater, the entire room was filled. The Flying Dutchman had completely submerged beneath the stormy sea.

Selena had instinctively closed her eyes and pressed her face into Davy’s beard when it happened. She stayed in this position until she felt something soft gently caressing her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes again, finding that it was one of Davy’s beard tentacles. He looked at her with a tender gaze, his arms wrapped around her a little tighter now.

The first thing that Selena noticed about their surroundings was how clear she could see everything. She remembered how she tried to “dive” in her bathtub as a child, and how blurry it had always been, but this now felt only marginally worse compared to her eyesight above the surface. Apparently, this was one of the positive effects of being bound to a cursed ship. She could see the details on the wooden planks that the ship was made of, and the small barnacles on Davy’s clothes. The captain himself offered an unexpectedly amusing sight in this situation. Unlike usually, his tentacles were not pulled down by gravity now, and were floating more freely, although he seemed to control them enough that they weren’t going all over the place but kept their beard-like shape. He even had used two of them to keep his hat in place.

She had initially held in her breath, as this was an instinct that was hard to suppress, but now Selena felt her chest getting tighter. Davy seemed to notice that she began to struggle, he let go of her with his right hand and brought it to her cheek instead, brushing over her lips with his thumb as if to encourage her to take a breath. Hesitantly, Selena let go of the last bits of air in her lungs, before she had no other choice than to suck in the water that was the only thing surrounding her.

The first breath was unpleasant, even painful, like something heavy pressing on her chest from both in- and outside, along with a burning sensation as her body took in the water where air should belong. Selena contorted her face, but after a few moments, the feeling started to fade again. She tried to take a few more deep breaths, adjusting to this new feeling, and to her relief it seemed that Davy and Maccus told her the truth and it was merely a matter of getting used to it.

When she looked up to Davy again, Selena received the honour of witnessing one of his rare genuine smiles. She couldn’t help to note how natural he looked in this environment, as if he belonged here. She opened her mouth, attempting to saying something, but only a string of barely understandable sounds came out. Davy’s smile turned into more of a grin, and he shook his head, as if to tell her, ‘No talking’. Instead, he leaned forwards to wrap his arms around her and pull her into him, resting his cheek against her forehead. She could feel that he was proud of her, as well as relieved that she took the whole experience so well.

Selena felt how some of Davy’s tentacles started to play with her hair - it was something they seemed to attempt at every opportunity given, whether Davy wanted it or not -, and now she felt a smile forming on her own lips as well. She lifted a hand, caressing a few of them with her fingers, and shifted her body a little to make herself more comfortable in Davy’s embrace. She didn’t know how long the Dutchman intended to stay underwater, or how long it would take to leave the storm behind them, but for now, Selena felt calm and content, far more than she would have expected before all this. She looked out the window, into the vast sea that was far quieter than what she was used to from it, and something that Davy said came up in her mind again, putting a tender smile on her lips. ‘I will not be leavin’ ya behind.’

~~~

end note: I just want to quickly mention that the whole "the Dutchman crew can breathe underwater" thing was not something I came up with. I in fact I once even read a somewhat similar scene in an ancient Davy x oc fanfic here on livejournal (The Isa Chronicles by cazcatharsis in case the link doesn't work, I'm not sure anymore in which chapter though and this website kind of of hell to navigate). I was a bit worried about copying too much, however I dare to say the the general idea is not something that can be copyrighted by a single person, I'm pretty sure there were and are discussions and different headcanons about how the crew is dealing with going underwater. It seems reasonable that their bodies have to adjust in some way, so they would be able to either hold their breath for a much longer time than regular humans or just straight up breathe underwater. As most of them are inspired by fish rather than for example whales, I decided to go with the second option. I'm not sure if I will stick with anything just like I wrote it here, as this whole story is continuously developing and just in its starting phase. I tried to also generally adapt the situation to the context of my storyline, so I figure it shouldn't be an issue?

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