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Post by Lioncourt on May 18, 2015 1:54:47 GMT
Most of us probably expect that people from places as far-flung as this forum can reach would be somewhat strange, but it's easy to forget your own background assumptions. Here is a thread to prevent interdimensional faux pas and explain the basics of your culture to outsiders. As more societies are added to the list, perhaps we can eventually develop multiversal standards of etiquette - a vain hope, perhaps, but in my opinion still a project worthy of pursuit.
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Post by Botanical Engineer on May 18, 2015 3:11:01 GMT
I am not sure what an erovore is? I would guess 'sex-eater', which would make sense with Test Bed's apparent lack of a nudity taboo. ... Wait, you're a sentient plant. Do sentient plants wear clothes? We should have a culture or fashion thread for this. Test Bed wears a cloak with a fancy collar, though? I would expect a species that only could eat sex (what would eating sex even mean? Would it be magical or metaphorical or something?) to have to have a very small population to survive. Is that the case, or is there something magical going on that lets them live anyway? Maybe Garden human, to be more specific? There are clearly sentient animals other than humans, so there might be sentient plants other than Garden humans. We wear clothes. It is good to be somewhat protected from scraping against things, and accidentally bumping into people. In towns with badly constructed fences or near really large tikeipe populations, people wear clothes that cover more skin, and are a bit thicker. Also, we have bracelets, if those count as clothing? For Etiquette purposes: People don't intentionally touch people they aren't at least fairly close friends with, because there is a vague sense of a person's patterns, and that is invasive. It is considered blasphemous to edit a person's patterns, for a large variety of historical and religious reasons. If someone points out that something someone else is doing or saying is harmful or mean, it is polite for them to stop, or make it easier to avoid what they are saying or doing. There's probably more things I haven't thought of.
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Post by Lioncourt on May 18, 2015 3:26:24 GMT
I would guess 'sex-eater', which would make sense with Test Bed's apparent lack of a nudity taboo. ... Wait, you're a sentient plant. Do sentient plants wear clothes? We should have a culture or fashion thread for this. Test Bed wears a cloak with a fancy collar, though? I would expect a species that only could eat sex (what would eating sex even mean? Would it be magical or metaphorical or something?) to have to have a very small population to survive. Is that the case, or is there something magical going on that lets them live anyway? Maybe Garden human, to be more specific? There are clearly sentient animals other than humans, so there might be sentient plants other than Garden humans. We wear clothes. It is good to be somewhat protected from scraping against things, and accidentally bumping into people. In towns with badly constructed fences or near really large tikeipe populations, people wear clothes that cover more skin, and are a bit thicker. Also, we have bracelets, if those count as clothing? For Etiquette purposes: People don't intentionally touch people they aren't at least fairly close friends with, because there is a vague sense of a person's patterns, and that is invasive. It is considered blasphemous to edit a person's patterns, for a large variety of historical and religious reasons. If someone points out that something someone else is doing or saying is harmful or mean, it is polite for them to stop, or make it easier to avoid what they are saying or doing. There's probably more things I haven't thought of. Hm. Test Bed apparently wears said cloak 'instead of normal clothes', (rather than in addition to), so it would depend on exactly how said cloak is cut and worn. Generally I would not expect a cloak by itself to be adequate clothing, but I suppose a sufficiently heavy and enveloping one could be effectively a robe. In any case, wearing nothing but a cloak would be scandalous to say the least on my world. For comparison, I routinely wear three or more layers of various garments and undergarments. As for how 'sex-eaters' would work, I have no idea: you'd have to ask Test Bed, since apparently she has personal experience with such things. I personally have some unusual dietary requirements, but they're decidedly not in that realm.
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Test Bed
Poster
Posts: 39
World: Chaeral
Pronoun: she/her
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Post by Test Bed on May 18, 2015 6:17:45 GMT
Oh hi, you're talking about me. I will try to unconfuse you!
Erovores eat empulse. Before I found this forum, I would have said empulse was a universal property of humanity, but I guess if its actually a property of my world instead it would look the same to me. Empulse is generated by humans during sexual climax, and only during climax is it possible for anyone or anything other than the one generating it to interact with it before it settles. It always 'remembers' who generated it. It tends to accumulate over time. Humans can use it to do some things, other things can use it to do other things but must first get it from humans. I will explain those things in the magic thread. Eventually. I promise.
I can't think of any kind of magic that isn't dependent on empulse at some level of remove. The 'remembers' thing is the property that actually makes it possible for humans to link into shok'ush resonant and actually talk to each other, rather than being limited to writing and vague gestures. (I think I recall an attempt to teach a language of finger-signs, but it didn't catch on.) It apparently has a taste depending on emotional state, but there isn't really a point of comparison or common terms to translate it, believe me, I've asked.
The population of the Genesi Ascendancy is roughly forty percent shok'ush and sixty percent human, I think. Down on the continents the population is almost entirely human, as far as I know.
Three layers of clothes is normal for you? Is that normal in most worlds? That sounds very uncomfortable and very inconvenient and strange. I'm used to it being in fashion in most places that your clothes shouldn't overlap each other more than they absolutely have to.
Okay, so nudity taboo. I mean, that is a thing that exists. Nudity is a thing that is not unremarked, and you might get strange looks in public places, but its hardly scandalous. It sounds like you're talking about something a lot more severe than what I'm used to.
I do wear a collok! I like my collok. A collok hangs lightly around the shoulders and down to the knees, and if I'm standing still it does usually cover most of my breasts, but if for some reason I need to run down a busy path and its all billowing behind me, I'm still wearing it even if its not covering anything in particular. Wearing a collok with something else - that is somewhat scandalous. At least on Meridian. I think mostly they're more restrictive in some or another way various places down on the continents, but not a lot more.
That sounds kind of awkward and lonely, Botanical. I think if I had to worry about following that rule it'd be nerve-wracking and I'd probably never go outside.
The only obvious faux pas that comes to mind is the one I already mentioned in another thread: Avoid any implication that the use of one's womb for fleshcraft, is in any way equivalent to motherhood.
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Post by Lioncourt on May 18, 2015 14:42:30 GMT
Oh hi, you're talking about me. I will try to unconfuse you! Erovores eat empulse. Before I found this forum, I would have said empulse was a universal property of humanity, but I guess if its actually a property of my world instead it would look the same to me. Empulse is generated by humans during sexual climax, and only during climax is it possible for anyone or anything other than the one generating it to interact with it before it settles. It always 'remembers' who generated it. It tends to accumulate over time. Humans can use it to do some things, other things can use it to do other things but must first get it from humans. I will explain those things in the magic thread. Eventually. I promise. I can't think of any kind of magic that isn't dependent on empulse at some level of remove. The 'remembers' thing is the property that actually makes it possible for humans to link into shok'ush resonant and actually talk to each other, rather than being limited to writing and vague gestures. (I think I recall an attempt to teach a language of finger-signs, but it didn't catch on.) It apparently has a taste depending on emotional state, but there isn't really a point of comparison or common terms to translate it, believe me, I've asked. The population of the Genesi Ascendancy is roughly forty percent shok'ush and sixty percent human, I think. Down on the continents the population is almost entirely human, as far as I know. Three layers of clothes is normal for you? Is that normal in most worlds? That sounds very uncomfortable and very inconvenient and strange. I'm used to it being in fashion in most places that your clothes shouldn't overlap each other more than they absolutely have to. Okay, so nudity taboo. I mean, that is a thing that exists. Nudity is a thing that is not unremarked, and you might get strange looks in public places, but its hardly scandalous. It sounds like you're talking about something a lot more severe than what I'm used to. I do wear a collok! I like my collok. A collok hangs lightly around the shoulders and down to the knees, and if I'm standing still it does usually cover most of my breasts, but if for some reason I need to run down a busy path and its all billowing behind me, I'm still wearing it even if its not covering anything in particular. Wearing a collok with something else - that is somewhat scandalous. At least on Meridian. I think mostly they're more restrictive in some or another way various places down on the continents, but not a lot more. That sounds kind of awkward and lonely, Botanical. I think if I had to worry about following that rule it'd be nerve-wracking and I'd probably never go outside. The only obvious faux pas that comes to mind is the one I already mentioned in another thread: Avoid any implication that the use of one's womb for fleshcraft, is in any way equivalent to motherhood. Your magic is powered by orgasms. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I'm very glad I don't live in your world. As as for the nudity taboo: Yes, we have a nudity taboo. If you are seen naked in public, you are likely to be arrested for public indecency, as well as scandalizing those around you. The minimum on my world is usually an inner set of silk or cotton smallclothes and an outer layer of clothing, which varies significantly depending on fashion and social standing. The basics available to most commoners would be a set of canvas or wool trousers (for men), a wool or cotton skirt (for women), and a cotton or linen shirt (for anyone.) Alternately, a long cotton or silk robe with a wide sash might be worn by anyone, which may or may not replace the need for a skirt or pants depending on its length. Being seen in public in only smallclothes is still a major social faux pas, which will at minimum result in you being laughed at. Wearing nothing but outer clothes isn't an immediate social faux pas, but if it becomes known that you're going without them it will colour your reputation and make you be seen as licentious. As someone of status, my day-to-day clothes usually consist of three layers: either a set of smallclothes, a corset and petticoats, and a floor-length dress, or a set of smallclothes, an inner, unornamented calf-length robe, and then an outer, heavier, more-ornamented robe. I might then wear a coat and a hat over this, depending on the weather. Some highly-placed ladies in Grand Victoria have been known to wear a dozen layers! Fortunately for me, I'm not so highly placed that I'm expected to wear twenty pounds of silk every day. Also: In my world, we speak by making noises with our mouths, with different sets of noises representing different concepts, which sounds rather inelegant but works surprisingly well as a form of communication. What's 'talking' like on your world, Test Bed?
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Test Bed
Poster
Posts: 39
World: Chaeral
Pronoun: she/her
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Post by Test Bed on May 18, 2015 17:07:50 GMT
Yeeesh. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I'm very glad I don't live in your world. Likewise. Yeesh. On talking, yes, talking works the same way in my world, for humans. Shok'ush, however, don't have mouths, and they can't understand vocal speech directly. Shok'ush communicate through resonances in empulse, both with each other and with humans. Without a resonant link, all that comes through when a shok'ush 'talks' is a kind of muted pressure. Fortunately, the effect propagates, and a resonant can bounce a few dozen times before its unintelligible. Kima can 'hear' and understand my voice, and so can any shok'ush ey's shared empulse with, and anyone they've shared with, and so on. And I can 'hear' and understand eir resonant the same way.
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Post by Botanical Engineer on May 18, 2015 20:08:00 GMT
Oh okay, I think I understand erovores now. I'm kinda surprised a ratio of 60% to 40% works well enough for shok'ush to be able to communicate and survive, though. Because with a population of about 100 students, that'd be what, one or two humans who could talk to and feed them? And that sounds really sad, and maybe dangerous, especially if they didn't get along. Three layers of clothes is normal for you? Is that normal in most worlds? That sounds very uncomfortable and very inconvenient and strange. I'm used to it being in fashion in most places that your clothes shouldn't overlap each other more than they absolutely have to. In my world, one to two layers of clothing is normal. More than that would be too hot. There are a few common styles. One way is there are two cut pieces of fabric attached at the shoulder and a bit below the armpit, ending somewhere below the hip. Another is a similar scheme, but with sleeves going to the wrists, ends somewhere above the knee, is worn with another kind of clothing, which has fabric connected to envelop each leg to the ankle, which merge connect into one piece of fabric that wraps around the waist, to hold them up, and is normally also worn with another layer of looser but similar clothing. The last most common one like the first one going down to about the knee, in dark purple, worn over a single loose black piece of fabric, connected to itself in a tube shape, from waist to ankles. This is only worn by scribes. Sometimes people also wear gloves, fabric that covers their hands from their wrists, and each of their fingers individually as well, although not obscuring their bracelets. There is some amount of nudity taboo, but if someone was walking around naked, they wouldn't get arrested, probably just some weird looks and possibly splinters. That sounds kind of awkward and lonely, Botanical. I think if I had to worry about following that rule it'd be nerve-wracking and I'd probably never go outside. It's only even a problem if you intentionally touch someone. It's not a big thing, it's just a little bit rude. Like, if a stranger's carrying text that looks like it's probably private but part of it is showing, you glance at it long enough to read a few words and they see you. Sometimes if people are unusually nervous about it for whatever reason, they wear gloves, but it's not actually hard to avoid touching strangers on purpose. And it might not apply for you even if you came to my world, if it didn't confer editing abilities on you. I don't know whether it would or not.
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Post by The Mathemakitten on May 19, 2015 0:50:39 GMT
doesnt have nudity taboo. am not understanding why pet human is wearing artificial pelt sometimes.
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Post by Kit on May 19, 2015 2:19:35 GMT
Because it's cold in the tunnels and if I didn't have my coat I would be cold! I don't need so much clothes in the warm spots or curled up with the ice beasts, though, it would be silly to wear a coat all the time.
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Lantern
Regular
Posts: 106
World: Glazed
Pronoun: They
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Post by Lantern on May 19, 2015 2:36:31 GMT
Yes! Clothing because cold, sometimes wind, sunburns, sometimes people, sometimes -rain, -clouds, -snow. Also nudity taboo, yes. If I went around naked, I'd be in trouble.
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Test Bed
Poster
Posts: 39
World: Chaeral
Pronoun: she/her
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Post by Test Bed on May 19, 2015 8:11:18 GMT
Oh okay, I think I understand erovores now. I'm kinda surprised a ratio of 60% to 40% works well enough for shok'ush to be able to communicate and survive, though. Because with a population of about 100 students, that'd be what, one or two humans who could talk to and feed them? And that sounds really sad, and maybe dangerous, especially if they didn't get along. Oh, nonono it's nowhere near like that. That would be horribly inconvenient. But I'm not sure what you're imagining would be dangerous about it. (And why 'students'? That's a weird example.) Shok'ush actually share empulse with each other casually, in a way that is equivalent to clasping hands. Depending on their level of physical activity, shok'ush can survive feeding as little as once every three to eight days. A well-fed shok'ush can last twenty to fifty days. (Kima needs more, morphweaving is taxing, but still much less than ey gets as a natural consequence of having me to eirself) In the hypothetical crowd of sixty humans and forty shok'ush, any given human would only need to have a link with one, maybe two or three if the shok'ush portion of the crowd were lazy about linking with their neighbors, to be able to talk to anyone in the crowd. In my world, one to two layers of clothing is normal. More than that would be too hot. There are a few common styles. I think we might have more variation in clothes than you do. Especially up here on Meridian where the people who make clothes mostly do it for fun and don't repeat themselves unless they're out of ideas. It is rarely cold enough most places that you'd need clothes just to keep warm. Like, there's a famous valley somewhere on Kysalum that runs east-west. It's the only place I can think of that has natural ice. It's only even a problem if you intentionally touch someone. It's not a big thing, it's just a little bit rude. Its only your species that gets editing abilities, right? I probably wouldn't get them if I wound up in your world. I'd probably still find it stressful, constantly having to check certain habits around people, nice habits that I cultivated on purpose because I'm used to it not being rude and because like eighty percent of my social lexicon involves physical affection. (Okay, it's probably not that extreme, but I do find purely verbal socializing more effortful; this is a personal quirk.)
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Post by Botanical Engineer on May 19, 2015 20:12:18 GMT
Oh okay, I think I understand erovores now. I'm kinda surprised a ratio of 60% to 40% works well enough for shok'ush to be able to communicate and survive, though. Because with a population of about 100 students, that'd be what, one or two humans who could talk to and feed them? And that sounds really sad, and maybe dangerous, especially if they didn't get along. Oh, nonono it's nowhere near like that. That would be horribly inconvenient. But I'm not sure what you're imagining would be dangerous about it. (And why 'students'? That's a weird example.) Oh! I'm sorry. I misread Ascendancy as University. So I'd assumed almost everyone there would be students. Sorry about that, yes that would be a weirdly specific example. Shok'ush actually share empulse with each other casually, in a way that is equivalent to clasping hands. Depending on their level of physical activity, shok'ush can survive feeding as little as once every three to eight days. A well-fed shok'ush can last twenty to fifty days. (Kima needs more, morphweaving is taxing, but still much less than ey gets as a natural consequence of having me to eirself) Okay, I'm glad to hear that they wouldn't be in very much danger of not getting enough empulse, because that would be bad. I'm still pretty surprised if that works though. Because at the ratio you described, in a population of 250 people, around 100 shok'ush would all be surviving from the empulse of around 3 humans. But I'm very glad for you that it works anyway! In the hypothetical crowd of sixty humans and forty shok'ush, any given human would only need to have a link with one, maybe two or three if the shok'ush portion of the crowd were lazy about linking with their neighbors, to be able to talk to anyone in the crowd. Okay, so humans can also share the empulse with each other, not just shok'ush, so a small group of people who generate the empulse the shok'ush eat and communicate with can also share some of that with all the other humans so pretty much everyone can understand each other? In my world, one to two layers of clothing is normal. More than that would be too hot. There are a few common styles. I think we might have more variation in clothes than you do. Especially up here on Meridian where the people who make clothes mostly do it for fun and don't repeat themselves unless they're out of ideas. It is rarely cold enough most places that you'd need clothes just to keep warm. Like, there's a famous valley somewhere on Kysalum that runs east-west. It's the only place I can think of that has natural ice. I mean, there is more variation in clothes past that, but it's mostly variations on those themes. People sometimes make clothes for fun, and sometimes people make nice ones to sell. But there are a lot of options of things people can do for fun, so there aren't that many people making clothes for fun, as compared to anything else. At night it rains, and when people get wet and the water evaporates, it's cold, and if it's windy, people get cold, but besides that, it doesn't get cold. Is ice a side effect of coldness? It's only even a problem if you intentionally touch someone. It's not a big thing, it's just a little bit rude. Its only your species that gets editing abilities, right? I probably wouldn't get them if I wound up in your world. I'd probably still find it stressful, constantly having to check certain habits around people, nice habits that I cultivated on purpose because I'm used to it not being rude and because like eighty percent of my social lexicon involves physical affection. (Okay, it's probably not that extreme, but I do find purely verbal socializing more effortful; this is a personal quirk.) I understand better now! I imagine that it would be really upsetting if something I was used to doing because it was nice to do suddenly became rude. You would probably be fine if you touched people anyway, because you wouldn't get any information from doing so. So if you ever do come to my world, you would probably be fine in that field!
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Post by Andrew on May 19, 2015 20:24:32 GMT
Ice is a side effect of cold. Water is usually a liquid, but can freeze into a solid at 0°C. Which… is defined as the temperature water freezes, so that might not be a good way to specify here. How do you measure temperatures? Do you measure temperatures?
An alternate way to specify might be: humans from my world have a temperature of sightly less that 100°F. Water boils at a temperature of 212°F. Water freezes at a temperature of 32°F.
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Post by Botanical Engineer on May 19, 2015 20:37:09 GMT
Andrew, I don't think it ever gets cold enough for water to solidify. We don't have a system to measure temperature in the same way as distance, although it's pretty easy usually to describe which of two things is hotter. I'm not sure how one would be made, or what it would be useful for, although I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. So in order for ice to happen, water would need to be about a third as warm as humans, or a seventh as warm as boiling water? I don't think it ever gets that cold.
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Post by Andrew on May 19, 2015 20:43:15 GMT
The Fahrenheit scale is not absolute. It can (and in my world often does) get below 0°F.
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