#oc: uthman

[squarebracket-trickster]

Happy WBW!

If your world has a main culture or religion, tell me about the people who DON'T believe in the same gods or culture. What groups are the minorities?

Hey friend! Thanks for the ask!

Incoming infodump because I spent sooooo much time on this oh my god.

WIPVII is basically just England in the early 1300s but slightly to the left. I did not want my story to fall into the trap of treating a pseudo-medieval England like a cultural and religious monolith because, of course, it gives the impression that real medieval England was a monolith and feeds into all sorts of bigoted revisionist history so...

I based the main religion heavily off of Catholicism because so many plot points in the story (around modesty, fidelity, marriage, women's roles etc.) rely on a very Christian-like status quo. The main culture is based off of the dominant Anglo-Norman culture in 1300s England. Of course, this makes it only fair that some other religions and cultures that also existed in 1300s England also get a shout out.

Ieuan is Cilfac and Udan, fictional cultures with similarities to Welsh and Jewish culture and religion respectively.

Uthman is multi-generational Cithic (which is the main ethnic group) but his ancestry is Idaluan, a fictional culture inspired by Muslim Al-Andalus (Spain). He still practices the religion of his ancestors too.

Henry has a grandmother from Lyzviria, similar to the Byzantine Empire (mainly Greek at this time). From her he gets his complexion, still pale-skinned because she came from royalty but with golden undertones rather than pink, and hair with dark, loose curls.

Matilda's father is from Para, a fictional city resembling Jerusalem. I never decided which religious group he belongs to but never comes up. Matilda was raised by her Cithic-Andovin mother, aunt, and uncle and practices the dominant religion.

There is also a more minor character (though arguably the most important after the pro- and antagonists themselves as far as plot is concerned) named Tamas of Mairan. Tamas is a seafaring mercenary/pirate who commands a multi-ethnic crew. He himself is from Torsia, which is inspired by Persia during Mongol conquest.

There are also a few other ethnicities that aren't dominant but... our modern lens see them all as white people whereas the distinctions are important to the people in this world.

Some context:

The Andovins are inspired by the Normans. The Pylts are inspired by the Anglo-Saxons (who, in 1333, had mostly integrated with the conquering Norman culture to become the Anglo-Normans, but some remote vestiges likely remained). The Cithic people are like to the Anglo-Normans, mostly common people with Piltish ancestry. The Cithic-Andovins are the upper-class, the rulers of Cithidy who are technically Cithic because they are from Cithidy but have much more in common, including the Andovaic language, with the Andovins than with the Cithics they rule over. There is also an ethnic group called the Diacs who live in northeastern Dian (it is from them the kingdom gets its name); this group is representative of the Celtic Bretons who came with the Normans to England in 1066. And I mentioned the Cilfacs already too.

This makes the two dominants groups the Cithics and the Cithic-Andovins. The Cithics are the majority group and make up the urban class of merchants, craftsmen, and clergy in most regions of Cithidy and Dian. The Cithic-Andovins are the ruling class that conquered Cithidy and Dian. They share a religion with the Cithics but not a language, and there are cultural differences. They are minority but comprise most of the noble families.

The Cilfacs and the Diacs follow a religion based on Celtic Christianity. The Pylts technically share a religion with the Cithics and Andovins, but they have some unique saints and traditions carried over from pagan times (although that was 600 years ago.)

As mentioned Ieuan is both Cilfac and Udan. He had a Cilfac parent, and a parent who was also Cilfac-Udan. In terms of his religious practices, he tries to honour both traditions in his own way.

Alan is Diac.

Wulfrith identifies more as Piltish than he does Cithic. Where he is from they still speak a dialect of the old Piltish tongue rather than the new Cithic one. The difference is like the difference between Old and Middle English (aka. Anglo-Norman). In fact, I cheated and just used Old English words for anything named in the Piltic language. Pilitish itself comes from pyll + cythu, the Old English words for inlet and homeland. Cithic is also derrived from cythu.

Though to be fair, I did that with more than just Old English. Wulfrith is an Anglo-Saxon name. Alan is a Breton one. Tamas is a name contemporary to 1300s Persia, and Uthman an Islamic name used in 1300s Al-Andalus. Ieuan is a Welsh name. Dian and Diac derrive from the Breton word diazac which means land that drains into a river. Cilfac is the Welsh word for creek.

so uh yeah... I hope you enjoyed my info dump!

[squarebracket-trickster]

Hi there! Happy STS!If your story took place in a different decade, what stereotype would your characters be? (For example, would they be a 1990s high powered exec with little time for his kids? A 70s swinger couple hosting key parties? An 80s valley girl?) And/or how would any other elements of your story setting or world-building be affected?

thanks as always for the ask<3

For WIPVII...

Isolde would definitely be the popular (but surprisingly kind-hearted) rich girl from a 90s high school movie. Think Cher from Clueless.

Henry would be sempai in a 2000s high school anime.

Matilde would be the girl protagonist of literally any 1910-50s children's adventure story.

Alan would be a 20s gangster in a pinstripe suit.

Uthman would be the university campus communist investigated by the US government during the McCarthy era.

Ieuan would be that crusty old man in 50s movies that lives in the scary house at the end of the street and occasionally fires a rifle to lower the property taxes.

Wulfrith would be an ex-marine in an 80s G.I. movie on the run from the CIA.

[squarebracket-trickster]

Speak wretchedly to me of the blorbos you do keep, and on this night tell of their feats. Superlatives, of which I speak. Most likely to die (gasp) in their sleep? Perhaps among them, the best athlete? Or most likely to partake in a pyramid scheme? Which of these fools seems ripe to succeed? Which is assumed to lose all their keys? Thank you again, if you answer me these.

thanks for the ask Anon!

Most likely to die in their sleep? Alex. The girl has a death wish and a deep-seeded hatred of the world. The only fitting end for her would be to live to 100 and pass away peacefully in bed surrounded by family and friends. She would be so pissed.

The best athlete? You know... I have no idea. My OCs tend to be fighters more than recreational athletes. (Well, at least, the important ones.)

Most likely to partake in a pyramid scheme? Uthman. He seems like the kind of guy who would know it is a pyramid scheme but do it anyways believing he'll be one of the lucky ones. (50/50 chance of his gamble paying off).

Ripe to succeed? Aloe, Ailea, or Lette (let-uh). Aloe is the kind of genius who would hack into the private banks accounts of several billionaires, skim a few dollars off the top of each transaction, and never get caught. She would also have figured out how to game the stock market by age 8. Lette earns her PhD in aerospace engineering at age 19. Ailea is that sweet kid that all the teachers love (and the students can't bring themselves to hate). She gets perfect grades, works three jobs, takes care of her little sister by herself, and somehow rakes in every eligible scholarship to her dream university. Later in life she scores herself a prince for a boyfriend and uses her new-found fame to start a non-profit for orphans and co-host a talk show that spotlights social justice issues and advocates against government censorship.

Which would lose all their keys? okay. so the thing is. I have ADHD. and that means most of my OCs do to. Iliri would lose her keys but Eneli, her long suffering lady-in-waiting and best friend, would know exactly where they were. Alex, who has a perfect memory, would lose them and wake up in a cold sweat two weeks later, suddenly remembering where she left them. Sylah does not carry keys. That's Darius's job. I am really not sure, of the most likely OCs to lose their keys, whose keys would stay lost.