Distant lands is a universe I created, and it holds two separate stories which I respectively refer to as âThe Offlandsâ and âFar Offâ. Ideally if I had infinite motivation and resources and skill, they would both be video games, but itâs likely theyâre going to stay the way they are with perhaps some additional writing blurbs.
The Offlands is set in a semi-conventional fantasy universe with additional dystopian themes centered around âThe Tower Systemâ which Iâll probably link a post explaining eventually. A basic explanation can be found in this post: https://www.tumblr.com/feral-in-distant-lands/790192099774595072/i-wish-to-know-more-about-thy-oc-asier-if-you?source=share
đŹ 0  đ 8  â¤ď¸ 3 ¡ I wish to know more about thy oc, Asier (If you would like to share)
(Also if this ask of mine was received earlier, ignor
Thereâs a whole lot of lore on other stuff in The Offlands that I havenât detailed yet, and itâs likely some of the lore Iâve described on the acc @probably-doesnt-exist is outdated (although what is is probably pretty minor). After I got my current account everything should be up to date.
Far Off is set in a semi-modern/semi-futuristic cyberpunk-ish world that follows all the way from pre-apocalypse to the post apocalyptic era. The apocalypse was not caused by something such as zombies, but rather sporadic eldritch anomalies appearing more and more often. Itâs a little bit cyberpunk/lovecraftian horror. This paragraph is honestly probably the most Iâve described it in terms of worldbuilding but I have a lot floating around my head regarding it that I need to put to paper and will hopefully eventually do here.
In both of these worlds I focus a lot on character lore because my OCs are my blorbos. I want to smash them with a comically large squeaky hammer (affectionate).
(Also, notably, I do other OC/universe/writing related stuff here as well)
(I am specifically also working on another story I have been calling âSeeking Deicideâ that I am very fixated on. Iâll probably get around to talking about it soon!)
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Anyway if you care about any of this at all PLEASE send me asks; whether you have anything to say or are curious at all!! On main or here (if you can do that?) I will answer all of them and also love you for ever.
đ [RED APPLE] Who does your OC value above all else?
đ [CHERRY] Who is your OC's perfect companion?
đ [STRAWBERRY] How do they feel about 'cute' things?
đ [TOMATO] How misunderstood is your OC? In-universe or IRL.
đśď¸ [HOT PEPPER] Who would your OC declare their sworn enemy if they could meet them?
đ [WATERMELON] What will your OC take to the grave?
đĽ [CARROT] How tough is your OC against certain situations? How weak are they against others?
đ [ORANGE] Does your OC have a prophecy surrounding them? If they don't, what would it be?
đĽ [MANGO] What colours best represent them and why? Does this differ from their favourites?
đ [PEACH] How do they show their kindness? How kind are they truly?
đ [BANANA] Have parts of your OC been lost to time (in-universe)? What do they wish they could lose from themselves?
đ§ [ONION] What is surefire to make your OC cry? Who knows of this information?
đ [PINEAPPLE] Pineapple on pizza or not?
đ [LEMON] What is their kryptonite/ultimate weakness?
đ˝ [CORN] How good are they at hiding and finding their way?
đ [MELON] If they had to be put into a box, what box would it be and why?
đ [GREEN APPLE] How do they differ from the norm and how are they punished for it?
đ [PEAR] What is their current social standing? If they could change it, would they, and to what?
đĽ [CUCUMBER] How innocent are they (unaware to the bad happenings around them)?
𼏠[LEAFY GREEN] How mundane are they? Do they like it that way?
𼌠[BROCCOLI] What do they hate about humanity/their species?
đĽ [AVACADO] What will they never back down about, even if it makes them seem bad?
đĽ [KIWI FRUIT] How does their outside appearance differ from who they are?
đĽ [POTATO] What do they have that others see as a flaw, but they don't care about?
đ [EGGPLANT] How are they used by others? How easily are they tricked into this?
đ [GRAPES] What's their circle of people/their species like? What dynamic would they be called?
Send me a # (questions for OCs) or a letter (questions for creators) and Iâll answer
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR OCs
Whatâs the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?
How easy is it for your character to laugh?
How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)
How easy is it to earn their trust?
How easy is it to earn their mistrust?
Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?
What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?
What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child
Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?
What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?
How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?
How do they deal with an itch found in a place they canât quite reach?
What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?
What animal do they fear most?
How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?
What makes their stomach turn?
Are they easily embarrassed?
What embarrasses them?
What is their favorite number?
If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?
Why do they get up in the morning?Â
How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)?Â
How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?Â
 Is sex something that theyâre comfortable speaking about? To whom?Â
 What are their thoughts on marriage?Â
 What is their preferred mode of transportation?Â
 What causes them to feel dread?Â
 Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?Â
 Do they usually live up to their own ideals?Â
 Who do they most regret meeting?Â
 Who are they the most glad to have met?Â
 Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke?Â
 Could they be considered lazy?Â
 How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt?Â
 How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?Â
Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap?Â
Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)?Â
What memory do they revisit the most often?Â
How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people?Â
How sensitive are they to their own flaws?
How do they feel about children?Â
How badly do they want to reach their end goal?Â
If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so?Â
QUESTIONS FOR CREATORS
A) Why are you excited about this character?
B) What inspired you to create them?
C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?
D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?
E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?
F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)?
G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most?
H) What trait do you admire most?
I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe?
J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?
Thank you so much for the ask!! Sorry this is *checks watch*.. five and a half months late. Tumblr hates me and has had a habit between both of my blog of eating my asks. I frankly donât know if it started happening on this one early enough that itâs tumblrâs fault or if I saw this and am frankly just stupid. Regardless! Better late than never <3 (I think I fixed the problem? Logged in and out and then had new, Secret Asks available)
3) What song describes your OC?
OHH YAY!!! I actually have been really wanting to have a reason to bring this up. So my OC Jasper in specific I very strongly associate with the song Amoeba by The Doozers! I think a whole lot of it is because the vibe fits them very well, but I also have like an entire animatic of them to that song that Iâve started but am likely never going to finish. I think of the lyrics as especially relating to their background and just in general their time and internal perspective before they met Kohara.
The chorus holds the line âHolding on to beliefs I/Know that are already goneâ which I think holds a lot of weight when relating to them (especially a long part of their time after their family in the deep growth was killed, and also in general their relationship to their dreams/visions).
Some runner up songs are: 10 Rows of Teeth by You Are an Angel, Milk;;Time by The Doozers, Filter Feed by The Doozers, Rosies by Feed Me Jack, and Big Epic by Feed Me Jack.
Also: Vibes/personality wise Imposter Syndrome by Sidney Gish is very Asier, and lyrics wise Audio Pono by Feed Me Jack is very Callum + Asier (+ Kohara as well) and their whole plotline
9) How does your OC handle their physical health? Do they take care of themselves?
Obviously depends on the OC, Iâll talk about a few.
Jasper: Jasper is thorough with their personal hygiene and grooming, and they care for themself in that sense with a sort of ritualistic attentiveness. They are very strict about their hair (specifically the longer pieces with the beaded section at the bottom) staying in place. They can become distressed when their hair is down for any non-maintenance related reason. When it comes to catering to their actual health and personal needs, they can push it more than they should. They, as mentioned in previous asks, have chronic pain, and often push through far more pain than is necessary or healthy to ignore without rest. In terms of managing their pain in the ways they do address it, they wear compression undergarments daily. They also find that they are soothed by cool/cold water and often submerge themself in it as a form of care. They keep themself fed and watered adequately, but itâs mostly an afterthought to them done because itâs a bodily requirement. They usually eat around scheduled times to just check the box, although they can enjoy a well made meal and are a surprisingly decent cook. They probably donât get enough sleep.
Seraphina: Seraph totally doesnât take enough care of herself, but sheâs also a broke overworked college student who got dragged into solving a bunch of magical bullshit, so thatâs not so surprising. Her hygiene is cared for in a bare minimum sense, sometimes going slightly ignored (although it does irk her slightly) when sheâs busy with her âextracurricular businessâ (Aysel & companyâs shenanigans). She often is eating kind of shit food, or just whatever is cheap, and goes without as much as she probably should be eating fairly often. (Aysel also sometimes forgets that humans need to eat, and the first time this happened she didnât bring it up and he was very âIâm not mad but I am disappointedâ about it while also being extremely confused. She didnât realize she was allowed to request food and was still scared of him atp). She does Not sleep enough.
ShiryĹ: Heâs kind of anal about his self care, which is funny because it was kind of the opposite in his past life. When he gets in a regressive mindset or his mental health starts deteriorating, his personal care gets worse though. Because of his training, he can function far better than most when not eating, sleeping, drinking, or generally caring for himself for long periods of time, and typically doesnât act super bothered about this when itâs unavoidable (managing to still act graceful abt it even when heâs been spying on someone from a ditch for the last 48 hours). Still, he usually brings way more luxury on his missions than most. He will go to great length to make luxuries such as fresh fruit possible when most would settle for rations. Heâs also, for lack of a better turn of phrase, very much the mom friend. He will enforce self care on his teammates and loved ones. He eats well, attempts to have a completely optimized sleep schedule, is always hydrated, and has a 12 step skincare routine. He is unusually cooperative with medics, and will usually get his wounds fixed quite quickly despite his high pain tolerance. He even listens to doctors orders (a rare trait). He is minmaxxing self care at all times.
I wasn't going to post this, as I think I make too many of these, but I thought it may be fun for people who create a lot of characters. They can be OCs of any kind, for art, fandom or original writing. Feel free to ask, share to get Q's, or answer on your own if you want. :)
1 Who is your favourite OC you've made?
2 Who is your fave side / minor character you've made?
3 Who is your fave villain / antagonist OC you've made?
4 Who is the hardest OC to write or create for?
5 What are some of your most-used traits when making an OC?
6 What are some of your least favourite traits an OC can have?
7 What are some of your own interests / traits you've given OCs?
8 Do you give your OCs birthdays? What about astrological signs?
9 Who is your most tormented OC?
10 Your funniest OC?
11 Your scariest or darkest OC?
12 Your most unusual / unique OC?
13 Which of your OCs has the saddest story? (Backstory or current)
14 Do you prefer making heroic, villainous or morally grey OCs?
15 What is your favourite type of relationship to put OCs in?
16 What is your fave pairing you've made with OCs? (Of any kind, can include canon characters)
17 Have you ever created an OC to be a joke or meme character?
18 Is there an OC you changed drastically or completely remade later on?
19 Is there an OC you've abandoned or retired?
20 What is an AU you like to use for your OCs?
21 Do you ever use real-life models to design your OCs? (For example, celebrities, fashion images, etc.)
22 What are some of the biggest inspirations behind your OCs?
23 Have you ever based an OC on a dream (or nightmare) you had?
24 If your OCs were the 'seven deadly sins', which would they be?
25 What are some of your fave 'casual' scenarios to put your OCs in?
26 Who is the oldest OC you still create for? Who is the newest?
27 What is a fun fact about one of your OCs you think is interesting?
28 What species are most of your OCs - human, animal, etc.?
29 Have you ever commissioned art or writing of your OCs?
30 Which OC do you think would be / is the most popular?
What are three traits your OC has that can both have positive as well as negative qualities?
Does your OC carry any guilt with them?
If your OC had to pick a new identity and skip town, what would they come up with? Where would they go?
I'm thinking of Jasper, but you can add on any oc you want to answer these questions for!!
OMG E HI!!!! ăž(^-^)ă
Sooo happy to see you in my ask box, I literally ran to answer as soon as I got the notif.. unfortunately it took way longer than I meant for it to. (Iâm glad I got it! I think tumblr is giving me issues with asks again. On main esp it says I have more asks than itâs actually showing me.)
Ok, anyway the asks:
What is Jasperâs fatal flaw?
Jasperâs fatal flaw is.. kinda a tough one to answer. Not really because they donât have one, but more just itâs hard to clearly articulate or cleanly sort into one category. If I had to describe it neatly Iâd probably say itâs that they believe that theyâre doomed by the narrative. Which, they are, just not entirely. More of their tragedy could be avoided if they believed their fate could be changed, so whatâs dooming them is their passivity against their belief in the tides of their fate. Itâs not that they believe theyâre doomed in a self pitying way, or one where they specifically believe they are being targeted. Itâs just that even when it is not a conscious sort of thought, Jasper has a deep seated belief that their existence is fated to end in tragedy, no matter the route they take to get there. This, in a way, is what dooms them. It means they find no issue in acting as a vessel for their godâs will. They know it will end in tragedy, but that is their fate regardless, so there is no real reason to work against the tides of fate, is there? This is what they want anyway (Jasper has never known what they want). With their ending predetermined, Jasper is free to do whatever they like (they have barely found reason to have a preference).
2) What are three traits Jasper has that can have both positive as well as negative qualities?
a) Their cheerful/bubbly demeanor: Jasper is almost never seen without a smile on their face, which ofc has the regular boons those sorts of things have. Theyâre for the most part considered ..more likable and generally approachable than they would be if they were less upbeat on average, but on the other hand⌠theyâre not very selective about this traitâs use. Itâs ever present, so theyâve been known to be excessively bubbly and smiley at inappropriate or importune moments. Itâs not malicious, but might come off as it, if not just as insensitive.
b) Their nosiness. Jasper is actually a very nosy person despite their faraway demeanor and general apathy towards many of their own issues! They often insert themselves after having heard of peopleâs problems from whatever source. (Ex: You need a rare hard to find herb, and youâre bitching to your friend about how youâre ever going to get it?? all of a sudden Jasper has disappeared from the village for a few days and then you see them back in town just kind of walking by with a basket full of said herb. If you bring it up theyâll feign ignorance about your need for it, but you end up with the whole basket anyway. If you donât, you find some of the herb in your pantry the next morning. (Certainly they didnât break into your house to put it there. Certainly.) This often ends up with people being aided in many mundane troubles, which is appreciated by the village at large. This can cause problems when you highly value your privacy and think about how convenient it is where Jasper is showing up and when, or if they deem your interpersonal problems worth interfering with. So pros: they often end up helping you a lot via the information they learn, but cons: they learned the information because theyâre nosy as hell and also are likely to do something about it whether or not youâve requested it.. which can cause issues.
c) Their loyalty. Jasperâs loyalty is odd, because once they start caring about someone they become fiercely loyal, but not in a way that presents typically. Would Jasper die for Kohara? Absolutely. Kill for her? Yes, in probably more situations than is typical of the average persons loyalty, but only if she asked it. Would they tell her anything? Only if she asked, and likely they wouldnât feel the need to say it in a way she was guaranteed to understand. Do they offer information about their life? No. Would they let someone she cared about die? Well, yes, if she didnât specifically request their safety, and their death would be what Jasper considered âworth the costâ (which is admittedly hard to qualify for, but they would let a person like that die to win a war, or preserve the life of someone they cared about more). Would Jasper let her destroy herself? Sure, if she wanted to, and rejects help. Thats her choice. Would Jasper try to help her though? Yes, but they likely wouldnât go about it in the best way. Their loyalty can be extremely helpful and good for a person, but could easily be misused, and sometimes them being loyal doesnât mean them doing what is best for a person, or even what is good or will make them happy. Very much a double edged sword.
3) Does Jasper carry any guilt with them?
Oh yeah absolutely. They donât really regret or feel guilty about killing their mom, although they do vaguely pity her fate. The guilt they hold is about their family in the deep forest. Originally, Jasper was supposed to be with them when they went out that day, but it was a really bad pain day and they ended up staying home. Of course, this is when one of the larger creatures in the forest died and completely wiped out a section of the ice floor in its resulting fall, including the area where Jasperâs family was. While itâs not guaranteed they wouldâve been able to do anything to save them.. they wouldâve been able to try. Mostly Jasper feels guilty about not dying with them. They wouldâve much rather been the one who was killed.
4) If Jasper had to pick a new identity and skip town, what would they come up with? Where would they go?
Well. Technically Jasper legally doesnât exist.. they have no documentation, no official origin, etc. Aside from their appearance being so distinctive + also distinctively viewed as Ethneki, it wouldnât be so hard for them to effectively disappear. As for how they would do that, I think it depends on the situation. If they wanted to have some new identity in the mainland, they would probably pose as an Ethneki merchant and just get as far from their regular sphere of influence as possible. They might stay on the edge of the deep forest in a different area so they could forage rare goods from there to sell. If they wanted to really drop off the map? They would just go back in the deep forest. They wouldnât really need to have some new identity, theyâd effectively disappear from existence in outside societies once entering it and they know how life inside functions. They would just find someone new to exist in the presence of there. People there donât really tend to ask many questions.
So actually Iâve briefly mentioned Jasper before here: https://www.tumblr.com/feral-in-distant-lands/790520454345588736/a-finished-kohara-drawing-in-this-day-and (in the fun facts at the end) and here: https://www.tumblr.com/feral-in-distant-lands/790193527478943745/alright-i-can-finally-get-to-ask-you-questions (under the #12 Callum section) but Iâve practically said nothing of substance except that theyâre Koharaâs childhood friend who is odd and sucks at names. But!!! Iâm so glad you asked because I love Jasper and this gives me an excuse to do the obligatory dump.
đŹ 2  đ 2  â¤ď¸ 2 ¡ ALRIGHT I CAN FINALLY GET TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS FROM THE ASK GAME!!
Okay so let me seeâŚ.
4 (Kiddo)
6 (Asier)
8
12
18 (
đŹ 0  đ 1  â¤ď¸ 2 ¡ A finished Kohara drawing?? In this day and age???? More likely than youâd think.
But in all seriousness I made this Kohar
As previously stated, theyâre Koharaâs childhood friend, and the two are both very important to each other despite how odd of a pair they make. And they *are* a pair of friends that you wouldnât expect. Where Kohara is blunt, cold, and reserved, Jasper is cryptic, bubbly, and eccentric. Despite Jasper being well known about in the village and and often a familiar presence, youâd be hard pressed to actually find anyone who could tell you basically anything about them that hadnât been learned through personal observation. (And Jasper is perplexing enough that itâs not easy to learn or explain anything about them based on their behaviors.) This is in part because despite many of their actions raising questions, they almost never speak of their life at home or their past, and also in part because what they do speak of is so concerning or cryptic that people have stopped asking questions.
So. What *is* our lovely Jasperâs enigmatic background? Well, thereâs some background info youâll need first.
Jasperâs mother was a member of the Ethneki clan which is an enemy clan to Hotaruâs. They have had histories of warring, but currently the clans are in a tense truce. They hate each other because Hotaruâs clan has a very close relationship to the gods and all the shrines and structures they left, but (the more traditional people at least in) Jasperâs clan believes that the gods abandoned them and their shrines should be destroyed (youâll learn more about the story of this when I send u the info on Nelaâs daughter and her partner). Anyway said clan is a very powerful trade entity and power in the world but they can be strict to people in the clan.
Jaspers father was from a place that I will refer to as the âdeep forestâ because I do not have a proper name for it yet. This means I get an excuse to tell you about it!!! The deep forest is an ENORMOUS forest that borders the big plains biome that the tower sits inside of. It is.. dangerous to say the least. First of all the trees get BIG. You know that tumblr post that has the âoceans are forestsâ thing? Imagine that big, and with flora and fauna that increases to proportional size as well, and honestly sometimes larger. The trees get bigger the deeper in you go, and the land gets more hostile.
In a lot of places some of the furthest and deepest in, water actually covers the whole floor, and itâs deep water. Usually itâs all walkable though because so much of the falloff from the enormous flora coats the top of the water that a human walking on it is akin to a small bug walking on a lily pad. Itâs still incredibly dangerous though. Thereâs normal (ish) fish in there, but thereâs also stuff that gets proportionally eldritch and sometimes very large. Also, large fauna moving through can displace the layer atop the water (past just the risk of holes and seeping more solid than it is etc etc) and overall those parts of the forest are just far more dangerous. Also a lot of the large fauna can kill you accidentally, never mind when theyâre trying to (and a lot of the time they are). The smaller creatures often have similar potential to be dangerous.
In the deepest parts (which covers a whole lot of space) the forest is so dense and huge high up that it blots out the sun. In the winter, the water on the bottom will freeze over a very thick layer on the top, and it will be fully walkable with the exceptions of some very big fauna being able to crack the ice sometimes, mostly on accident. As for the trees themselves.. most of the trees are very very odd, past their just general disposition for growing enormous. First of all, basically all of them are odd in that seasons are swapped for them. Not that the climate changes, but their reaction to it. The trees grow the most and have the fullest healthiest leaves in the winter, and in the summer, there is WAY more leaf fall off, and they donât grow as well. As you could probably tell, it gets very very cold in the winter, and the trees LOVE this.
Also bonus! The air and forest is so saturated with ether that it can have adverse affects if youâre not used to it and cause stuff like personality changes or losing the ability to use ether or gaining it.
Anyway about the people. So to the people outside of the deep forest, it is viewed as incredibly hostile and so dangerous that you are a lunatic to even consider going inside it and that nothing but their hostile fauna and flora could ever live there. There are usually only usually around three types of people that go in the forest that werenât there before.
First: researchers and scientists. This batch is just people who are very very curious about the world and realize that this place is a research treasure trove. Usually these types just stay to the outskirts where it is a lot less dangerous, and those who wander further donât have a history of making it out, whether because of death or otherwise. The researches that venture in are usually viewed as both lunatics and incredibly valuable in the science and innovation based communities.
Second: Criminals and outcasts. So people wanted by the law, or banished, or otherwise mistreated, abandoned, or hunted in society will often end up in there as a last resort. Is a very effective way to drop off the face of the earth, and nobody will follow you in there because they view you as good as dead anyway.
Third: Collectors. So as you know, people in the tower system, specifically the walled area and first floor, have been indoctrinated to view the outside world as so incredibly dangerous that itâs a feat to survive. Well, the deep forest basically fits that bill to some degree, and that is already what collectors think theyâre signing up for, so with the forest bordering the area where the tower is to some degree, itâs not really surprising that they end up in there quite a lot. They will sometimes be specifically directed there for what admins deem as suicide missions, and some times will go there on purpose to die or attempt to escape. This is where almost ALL escapees from the tower (usually collectors) end up when said and done. Now, despite it actually holding enough water to the accusation of danger that most people donât survive going in there, what happens to the people that do? Well, this is where I get to tell you about the people that live in the deep forest!!
So part of the people that live there donât live that deep in, and just survive on the cusp of the edge living off the land as best they can. But deeper in? Thereâs entire societies!! In the largest society of people, thereâs an upper growth area and a lower growth area. Lower growth people live on the bottom floor, or just above it, where the water is and most of the flora and fauna is. Upper growth people live closer to the treetops, and where thereâs less danger from a whole lot of stuff thatâs on the ground thereâs also danger from arial creatures, the risk of falling, and they have way less abundant resources. Upper growth people tend to think that it is WAY more dangerous in lower growth and upper growth people tend to think that about the upper growth. Objectively the lower growth is probably a bit more dangerous specifically because the water tips the scale, but they both take a lot of innovation, dedication, hard work, and community to be able to survive. Societally, while the people in here are less advanced in a lot of ways (mostly because they do not have the exchange of the culture and innovation of everything people manage to come up with outside), they are also VERY advanced in a lot of ways. One such way is disability aids and the culture surrounding disability.
Because of the nature of the kind of people who often integrate into these societies, or that these societies have descended from, and the nature of how easy it is to get permanent injuries in areas like these, a LOT of people are disabled in these societies. Over time an incredible amount of innovation has happened here for disability aids and also systems to help benefit and help disabled people in general. Their society would not really be able to function on nearly the level it can without these systems and helps. There are all sorts of unique movement aids, pain treatments, communication aids, etc etc etc. I will elaborate on some of these at some point but I am already like one and a half thousand words in and I havenât even started talking about Jasper yet.. but anyway itâs a very integrated part of their society.
Also culturally, helping others freely and without prejudice is considered the standard in most places in the deep forest. Personal sacrifices for others sake, both very small, and very large, are considered a good thing to do and very respected and sacred. You are far more likely to have a stranger do something life threatening for your sake of safety than almost anywhere else in the world, and it almost never indicates closeness or level of care. It is not uncommon that people will do this for those they donât like. On a more personal and intimate sort of scale though, these societies often tend to be somewhat impersonal and private. Silence is not viewed as impolite or uncomfortable nine times out of ten, and people do not often talk about their emotions unless they are very close or this is talked about in a factual and blunt way as a way to communicate something in conversation rather than to talk out feelings. Still it is viewed as personal even then. People here tend to be odd, but on a deep down level past the mannerisms and cultural expression, they tend to be very practical and pragmatic. The way they talk can be very floaty and odd but what theyâre talking about is usually very blunt in context.
Cities are often built in some sort of cover, like encased inside of trees or their roots, or inside of giant shells or bones left behind from giant animals. Partially this is for concealment and to be able to make a controlled environment, and partially this is because leaf fall, along with everything else, can be dangerous because it is so big. The most common method for writing is on the frills of these very large mushrooms with frills down the entire stalk. The frills are used like parchment or paper but the ink for writing is made with a special kind of sap and berry that react with the mushroom frills to change the color of them where they write. Sap is a very common currency because it is used for everything so everyone can use it. It is used to help construct devices, and buildings, and clothes, amongst other things. It is used as and in food, and as an adhesive, and it can store for long periods of time, and there is a LOT of it but it is still viewed as valuable because it can be hard to harvest and itâs used for everything. Anyway it has value also in that itâs used in money, but you can use said money for aid in life things. Typically it is stored in solidified âcoinsâ or pellets, which can be melted down for use or traded for exchange. Stone is viewed as VERY valuable because itâs hard to get. Metal even more so. Often towns with stone around them are trade centers and financial hubs. Also on certain sides bordering the forest, the land is very elevated and cliffy, and itâs like the forest is sunk into the ground and encased because of the cliffs bordering it.
Also! Most of the people outside the deep forest do not know these people exist, and a lot of these people do not know anything about the outside or its people (bar knowledge of collectors). Some of them think the sky is a myth! But yeah these peopleâs existence is generally viewed as âimpossibleâ and all of them are effectively unregistered.
Anyway Iâve rambled for too long about the deep forest because Iâve been very excited about it so.. onto Jasperâs dad!
Like I said, heâs from the deep forest. Specifically he was part of the society mentioned, but on the very outskirts (much closer to the edge). He was, in his society, viewed as very entitled and flaky. He dreamed of leaving the forest. And one day he did!!! He did not speak almost any of the common language, but after integrating more and learning much more and meeting people, he eventually (with a desire to gain ground and higher position in this life and society) decided he wanted to meet and get in with someone from the Ethneki clan. Eventually he met Jaspers mom, and she fell in love with him and they got engaged. Soon after they got married, and she became pregnant with Jasper, Jaspers mom got blamed for a robbery of very important cultural materials and such that were found in her home (Jaspers dad stole them), and subsequently she and her now husband were excommunicated from the clan. This essentially put them in bad standing with EVERYONE because the Ethneki are very influential nomadic traders and people do not want them to stop trading because they decided to associate with people banished from said clan.
Anyway, when Jaspers mom is devastated and hopeless and confused and banished from her clan and very pregnant, Jaspers dad takes her into the outskirts of the forest to live there (close enough to the edge that thereâs not the water but itâs still dangerous especially for outsiders), and once she is settled in a home and has her baby (Jasper). Very, VERY soon after, Jasperâs dad leaves to get âresourcesâ and never comes back. Jaspers mom is antsy for him to get back, emotionally going through it, recently banished from her clan for something she didnât do, TERRIFIED, because she is in the deep forest that she has been taught nobody survives in.
She starts to get increasingly paranoid, alone in the forest with her baby. She was taught enough about what foods to eat and such and has enough to be able to survive in her home, but.. she only has her crying infant and the terrifying noises hosted by more terrifying creatures outside in a dark forest that is known for being inescapable. She, with time, starts losing herself completely. She is a paranoid and bitter mess, and when she realizes her husband isnât coming back (she doesnât know this, but he purposely abandoned her to go find a different partner outside the forest) she snaps. Jasper is a baby and Jasper is crying and she attacks him with her ether to shut him up. The gist of said ether is incredible pressure. The weight of the pressure she started crushing on her baby was so intense that Jasper couldnât breathe, much less cry, so it did work. Jasper stopped crying. This became a trend.
When Jasper was six years old, having grown up in the deep forest, suffering at the hands of their mother their whole life, in one such instance that was particularly bad, they were damaged badly. The crushing force put on them was intense enough to burst some vessels and damage a whole lot of nerves. They already had some damage before on their nerves and such from the repeated abuse, but this specific instance was so severe that it messed up the entire system. They still had almost full sensation after that, but such was spawned their chronic pain. Even after healing, the system was damaged and they would feel the pain at uncontrollable times for the rest of their life. After falling asleep lying there, unable to move, then started their dreams.
The dreams were very vivid to the point of feeling real. They were often brutal, most often about an ancient war. They detailed parts of this wars history that Jasper should have never been able to learn, but they felt it as if they were there. When they woke sometimes the presence of them never left. They would feel and hear whispers from a time before even the tower was standing. The dreams, and the whispers, would encourage them to fight back. To retaliate against their mother. When they were 7 they woke up one day having wandered into the forest during a dream. It was to a place they knew looked familiar despite never having set foot there. There was an unmarked grave, and a weapon. A war scythe.
When they were 7 they killed their mother.
Their only guide at times were the dreams that never left them and the voices that spoke in an archaic language that was almost just like theirs. After they killed their mother, following what they felt they should do (unsure if the feeling was theirs) they wandered deeper into the forest, and there met their family.
Their family were part of the deeper forest society, and took them in and raised them as if they were their own. They lived as a dweller of the lower growth and became a member of their society. They lived there until they were 13, cared for by their chosen and accepting family. When they were 13, Jasper stayed in their home because it was a bad day for pain, but it was a gathering day, and after assurances that they would be fine, the family went out to gather. It was winter, and they went out on the ice. One of the largest creatures in the deep forest did something very dangerous. It died, and when it fell, the ice where their family roamed cracked, and then broke. They did not survive.
Jasper upon learning this, began to wander, numbly. They wandered for almost an entire year. They wandered out of the forest. They wandered into Koharaâs town. It was where their wandering finally ended. They had done much and met many, learning much more of the language everyone seemed to speak outside, but it was done in a sort of haze. They started living just outside the mountain village, and using the town for commodities and knowledge. Occasionally Jasper would talk with a girl in town, Kohara herself. When very soon after they settled in, a collector came and took Clover, killing Koharaâs dad, Jasper, through persistence, became much much closer to Kohara. It was in their nature to give all they could to aid someone in times of hurt like that. As such started the close friendship of Kohara and Jasper.
Jasper, through the experiences that molded them, is very very odd. They speak with an accent almost nobody recognizes, and looks like an Ethneki (very very recognizably), but does not speak or act like one. They do not often seem to understand certain social conventions, and often act with oneâs that nobody where they are would recognize. They are known for popping up with little warning of any sort (including noise) and end up startling a lot of people. They are very very used to violence, and will be very violent if necessary, but they are almost always the opposite of vicious. (However skilled and efficient their fighting is) They often seem floaty, as if they are living in some fantasy, but comments they will sometimes make will look so sharply into the heart of a person or situation that it makes you wonder how much they see. They know things about the past that even the most knowledgeable historians couldnât dream of, but there is much about the present they seem to view as foreign. Their pain tolerance is frighteningly high but nobody in Koharaâs village has seen them injured. They will help anyone freely, but nobody seems to know a thing about them. They also unashamedly call people the wrong names very often (Callum -> Finn). Anyway I love them very very very much theyâre one of my favorite OCs to torture!!!
(Also, they continue to have the dreams and visions. About said dreams/visions/voicesâ a god I havenât introduced you to yet, who roamed in the area of the deep forest around the time that the war that spawned the tower was happening (and they by those who know them might be considered a god of war of sorts) ended up taking a liking to them and their ether imprinted on Jasper in a way. The war scythe was theirs. Also plenty of the visions and voices are non-malicious and mundane. In fact none of them are meant to hurt Jasper and Jasper would be deeply disturbed if they went away.)
Also Jasper can use ether but Iâm still deciding on the specifics!! Please feel free to ask me questions!!!!! I love Jasper so so so so much. Anyway here have art dump:
So actually Iâve briefly mentioned Jasper before here: https://www.tumblr.com/feral-in-distant-lands/790520454345588736/a-finished-kohara-drawing-in-this-day-and (in the fun facts at the end) and here: https://www.tumblr.com/feral-in-distant-lands/790193527478943745/alright-i-can-finally-get-to-ask-you-questions (under the #12 Callum section) but Iâve practically said nothing of substance except that theyâre Koharaâs childhood friend who is odd and sucks at names. But!!! Iâm so glad you asked because I love Jasper and this gives me an excuse to do the obligatory dump.
đŹ 2  đ 2  â¤ď¸ 2 ¡ ALRIGHT I CAN FINALLY GET TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS FROM THE ASK GAME!!
Okay so let me seeâŚ.
4 (Kiddo)
6 (Asier)
8
12
18 (
đŹ 0  đ 1  â¤ď¸ 2 ¡ A finished Kohara drawing?? In this day and age???? More likely than youâd think.
But in all seriousness I made this Kohar
As previously stated, theyâre Koharaâs childhood friend, and the two are both very important to each other despite how odd of a pair they make. And they *are* a pair of friends that you wouldnât expect. Where Kohara is blunt, cold, and reserved, Jasper is cryptic, bubbly, and eccentric. Despite Jasper being well known about in the village and and often a familiar presence, youâd be hard pressed to actually find anyone who could tell you basically anything about them that hadnât been learned through personal observation. (And Jasper is perplexing enough that itâs not easy to learn or explain anything about them based on their behaviors.) This is in part because despite many of their actions raising questions, they almost never speak of their life at home or their past, and also in part because what they do speak of is so concerning or cryptic that people have stopped asking questions.
So. What *is* our lovely Jasperâs enigmatic background? Well, thereâs some background info youâll need first.
Jasperâs mother was a member of the Ethneki clan which is an enemy clan to Hotaruâs. They have had histories of warring, but currently the clans are in a tense truce. They hate each other because Hotaruâs clan has a very close relationship to the gods and all the shrines and structures they left, but (the more traditional people at least in) Jasperâs clan believes that the gods abandoned them and their shrines should be destroyed (youâll learn more about the story of this when I send u the info on Nelaâs daughter and her partner). Anyway said clan is a very powerful trade entity and power in the world but they can be strict to people in the clan.
Jaspers father was from a place that I will refer to as the âdeep forestâ because I do not have a proper name for it yet. This means I get an excuse to tell you about it!!! The deep forest is an ENORMOUS forest that borders the big plains biome that the tower sits inside of. It is.. dangerous to say the least. First of all the trees get BIG. You know that tumblr post that has the âoceans are forestsâ thing? Imagine that big, and with flora and fauna that increases to proportional size as well, and honestly sometimes larger. The trees get bigger the deeper in you go, and the land gets more hostile.
In a lot of places some of the furthest and deepest in, water actually covers the whole floor, and itâs deep water. Usually itâs all walkable though because so much of the falloff from the enormous flora coats the top of the water that a human walking on it is akin to a small bug walking on a lily pad. Itâs still incredibly dangerous though. Thereâs normal (ish) fish in there, but thereâs also stuff that gets proportionally eldritch and sometimes very large. Also, large fauna moving through can displace the layer atop the water (past just the risk of holes and seeping more solid than it is etc etc) and overall those parts of the forest are just far more dangerous. Also a lot of the large fauna can kill you accidentally, never mind when theyâre trying to (and a lot of the time they are). The smaller creatures often have similar potential to be dangerous.
In the deepest parts (which covers a whole lot of space) the forest is so dense and huge high up that it blots out the sun. In the winter, the water on the bottom will freeze over a very thick layer on the top, and it will be fully walkable with the exceptions of some very big fauna being able to crack the ice sometimes, mostly on accident. As for the trees themselves.. most of the trees are very very odd, past their just general disposition for growing enormous. First of all, basically all of them are odd in that seasons are swapped for them. Not that the climate changes, but their reaction to it. The trees grow the most and have the fullest healthiest leaves in the winter, and in the summer, there is WAY more leaf fall off, and they donât grow as well. As you could probably tell, it gets very very cold in the winter, and the trees LOVE this.
Also bonus! The air and forest is so saturated with ether that it can have adverse affects if youâre not used to it and cause stuff like personality changes or losing the ability to use ether or gaining it.
Anyway about the people. So to the people outside of the deep forest, it is viewed as incredibly hostile and so dangerous that you are a lunatic to even consider going inside it and that nothing but their hostile fauna and flora could ever live there. There are usually only usually around three types of people that go in the forest that werenât there before.
First: researchers and scientists. This batch is just people who are very very curious about the world and realize that this place is a research treasure trove. Usually these types just stay to the outskirts where it is a lot less dangerous, and those who wander further donât have a history of making it out, whether because of death or otherwise. The researches that venture in are usually viewed as both lunatics and incredibly valuable in the science and innovation based communities.
Second: Criminals and outcasts. So people wanted by the law, or banished, or otherwise mistreated, abandoned, or hunted in society will often end up in there as a last resort. Is a very effective way to drop off the face of the earth, and nobody will follow you in there because they view you as good as dead anyway.
Third: Collectors. So as you know, people in the tower system, specifically the walled area and first floor, have been indoctrinated to view the outside world as so incredibly dangerous that itâs a feat to survive. Well, the deep forest basically fits that bill to some degree, and that is already what collectors think theyâre signing up for, so with the forest bordering the area where the tower is to some degree, itâs not really surprising that they end up in there quite a lot. They will sometimes be specifically directed there for what admins deem as suicide missions, and some times will go there on purpose to die or attempt to escape. This is where almost ALL escapees from the tower (usually collectors) end up when said and done. Now, despite it actually holding enough water to the accusation of danger that most people donât survive going in there, what happens to the people that do? Well, this is where I get to tell you about the people that live in the deep forest!!
So part of the people that live there donât live that deep in, and just survive on the cusp of the edge living off the land as best they can. But deeper in? Thereâs entire societies!! In the largest society of people, thereâs an upper growth area and a lower growth area. Lower growth people live on the bottom floor, or just above it, where the water is and most of the flora and fauna is. Upper growth people live closer to the treetops, and where thereâs less danger from a whole lot of stuff thatâs on the ground thereâs also danger from arial creatures, the risk of falling, and they have way less abundant resources. Upper growth people tend to think that it is WAY more dangerous in lower growth and upper growth people tend to think that about the upper growth. Objectively the lower growth is probably a bit more dangerous specifically because the water tips the scale, but they both take a lot of innovation, dedication, hard work, and community to be able to survive. Societally, while the people in here are less advanced in a lot of ways (mostly because they do not have the exchange of the culture and innovation of everything people manage to come up with outside), they are also VERY advanced in a lot of ways. One such way is disability aids and the culture surrounding disability.
Because of the nature of the kind of people who often integrate into these societies, or that these societies have descended from, and the nature of how easy it is to get permanent injuries in areas like these, a LOT of people are disabled in these societies. Over time an incredible amount of innovation has happened here for disability aids and also systems to help benefit and help disabled people in general. Their society would not really be able to function on nearly the level it can without these systems and helps. There are all sorts of unique movement aids, pain treatments, communication aids, etc etc etc. I will elaborate on some of these at some point but I am already like one and a half thousand words in and I havenât even started talking about Jasper yet.. but anyway itâs a very integrated part of their society.
Also culturally, helping others freely and without prejudice is considered the standard in most places in the deep forest. Personal sacrifices for others sake, both very small, and very large, are considered a good thing to do and very respected and sacred. You are far more likely to have a stranger do something life threatening for your sake of safety than almost anywhere else in the world, and it almost never indicates closeness or level of care. It is not uncommon that people will do this for those they donât like. On a more personal and intimate sort of scale though, these societies often tend to be somewhat impersonal and private. Silence is not viewed as impolite or uncomfortable nine times out of ten, and people do not often talk about their emotions unless they are very close or this is talked about in a factual and blunt way as a way to communicate something in conversation rather than to talk out feelings. Still it is viewed as personal even then. People here tend to be odd, but on a deep down level past the mannerisms and cultural expression, they tend to be very practical and pragmatic. The way they talk can be very floaty and odd but what theyâre talking about is usually very blunt in context.
Cities are often built in some sort of cover, like encased inside of trees or their roots, or inside of giant shells or bones left behind from giant animals. Partially this is for concealment and to be able to make a controlled environment, and partially this is because leaf fall, along with everything else, can be dangerous because it is so big. The most common method for writing is on the frills of these very large mushrooms with frills down the entire stalk. The frills are used like parchment or paper but the ink for writing is made with a special kind of sap and berry that react with the mushroom frills to change the color of them where they write. Sap is a very common currency because it is used for everything so everyone can use it. It is used to help construct devices, and buildings, and clothes, amongst other things. It is used as and in food, and as an adhesive, and it can store for long periods of time, and there is a LOT of it but it is still viewed as valuable because it can be hard to harvest and itâs used for everything. Anyway it has value also in that itâs used in money, but you can use said money for aid in life things. Typically it is stored in solidified âcoinsâ or pellets, which can be melted down for use or traded for exchange. Stone is viewed as VERY valuable because itâs hard to get. Metal even more so. Often towns with stone around them are trade centers and financial hubs. Also on certain sides bordering the forest, the land is very elevated and cliffy, and itâs like the forest is sunk into the ground and encased because of the cliffs bordering it.
Also! Most of the people outside the deep forest do not know these people exist, and a lot of these people do not know anything about the outside or its people (bar knowledge of collectors). Some of them think the sky is a myth! But yeah these peopleâs existence is generally viewed as âimpossibleâ and all of them are effectively unregistered.
Anyway Iâve rambled for too long about the deep forest because Iâve been very excited about it so.. onto Jasperâs dad!
Like I said, heâs from the deep forest. Specifically he was part of the society mentioned, but on the very outskirts (much closer to the edge). He was, in his society, viewed as very entitled and flaky. He dreamed of leaving the forest. And one day he did!!! He did not speak almost any of the common language, but after integrating more and learning much more and meeting people, he eventually (with a desire to gain ground and higher position in this life and society) decided he wanted to meet and get in with someone from the Ethneki clan. Eventually he met Jaspers mom, and she fell in love with him and they got engaged. Soon after they got married, and she became pregnant with Jasper, Jaspers mom got blamed for a robbery of very important cultural materials and such that were found in her home (Jaspers dad stole them), and subsequently she and her now husband were excommunicated from the clan. This essentially put them in bad standing with EVERYONE because the Ethneki are very influential nomadic traders and people do not want them to stop trading because they decided to associate with people banished from said clan.
Anyway, when Jaspers mom is devastated and hopeless and confused and banished from her clan and very pregnant, Jaspers dad takes her into the outskirts of the forest to live there (close enough to the edge that thereâs not the water but itâs still dangerous especially for outsiders), and once she is settled in a home and has her baby (Jasper). Very, VERY soon after, Jasperâs dad leaves to get âresourcesâ and never comes back. Jaspers mom is antsy for him to get back, emotionally going through it, recently banished from her clan for something she didnât do, TERRIFIED, because she is in the deep forest that she has been taught nobody survives in.
She starts to get increasingly paranoid, alone in the forest with her baby. She was taught enough about what foods to eat and such and has enough to be able to survive in her home, but.. she only has her crying infant and the terrifying noises hosted by more terrifying creatures outside in a dark forest that is known for being inescapable. She, with time, starts losing herself completely. She is a paranoid and bitter mess, and when she realizes her husband isnât coming back (she doesnât know this, but he purposely abandoned her to go find a different partner outside the forest) she snaps. Jasper is a baby and Jasper is crying and she attacks him with her ether to shut him up. The gist of said ether is incredible pressure. The weight of the pressure she started crushing on her baby was so intense that Jasper couldnât breathe, much less cry, so it did work. Jasper stopped crying. This became a trend.
When Jasper was six years old, having grown up in the deep forest, suffering at the hands of their mother their whole life, in one such instance that was particularly bad, they were damaged badly. The crushing force put on them was intense enough to burst some vessels and damage a whole lot of nerves. They already had some damage before on their nerves and such from the repeated abuse, but this specific instance was so severe that it messed up the entire system. They still had almost full sensation after that, but such was spawned their chronic pain. Even after healing, the system was damaged and they would feel the pain at uncontrollable times for the rest of their life. After falling asleep lying there, unable to move, then started their dreams.
The dreams were very vivid to the point of feeling real. They were often brutal, most often about an ancient war. They detailed parts of this wars history that Jasper should have never been able to learn, but they felt it as if they were there. When they woke sometimes the presence of them never left. They would feel and hear whispers from a time before even the tower was standing. The dreams, and the whispers, would encourage them to fight back. To retaliate against their mother. When they were 7 they woke up one day having wandered into the forest during a dream. It was to a place they knew looked familiar despite never having set foot there. There was an unmarked grave, and a weapon. A war scythe.
When they were 7 they killed their mother.
Their only guide at times were the dreams that never left them and the voices that spoke in an archaic language that was almost just like theirs. After they killed their mother, following what they felt they should do (unsure if the feeling was theirs) they wandered deeper into the forest, and there met their family.
Their family were part of the deeper forest society, and took them in and raised them as if they were their own. They lived as a dweller of the lower growth and became a member of their society. They lived there until they were 13, cared for by their chosen and accepting family. When they were 13, Jasper stayed in their home because it was a bad day for pain, but it was a gathering day, and after assurances that they would be fine, the family went out to gather. It was winter, and they went out on the ice. One of the largest creatures in the deep forest did something very dangerous. It died, and when it fell, the ice where their family roamed cracked, and then broke. They did not survive.
Jasper upon learning this, began to wander, numbly. They wandered for almost an entire year. They wandered out of the forest. They wandered into Koharaâs town. It was where their wandering finally ended. They had done much and met many, learning much more of the language everyone seemed to speak outside, but it was done in a sort of haze. They started living just outside the mountain village, and using the town for commodities and knowledge. Occasionally Jasper would talk with a girl in town, Kohara herself. When very soon after they settled in, a collector came and took Clover, killing Koharaâs dad, Jasper, through persistence, became much much closer to Kohara. It was in their nature to give all they could to aid someone in times of hurt like that. As such started the close friendship of Kohara and Jasper.
Jasper, through the experiences that molded them, is very very odd. They speak with an accent almost nobody recognizes, and looks like an Ethneki (very very recognizably), but does not speak or act like one. They do not often seem to understand certain social conventions, and often act with oneâs that nobody where they are would recognize. They are known for popping up with little warning of any sort (including noise) and end up startling a lot of people. They are very very used to violence, and will be very violent if necessary, but they are almost always the opposite of vicious. (However skilled and efficient their fighting is) They often seem floaty, as if they are living in some fantasy, but comments they will sometimes make will look so sharply into the heart of a person or situation that it makes you wonder how much they see. They know things about the past that even the most knowledgeable historians couldnât dream of, but there is much about the present they seem to view as foreign. Their pain tolerance is frighteningly high but nobody in Koharaâs village has seen them injured. They will help anyone freely, but nobody seems to know a thing about them. They also unashamedly call people the wrong names very often (Callum -> Finn). Anyway I love them very very very much theyâre one of my favorite OCs to torture!!!
(Also, they continue to have the dreams and visions. About said dreams/visions/voicesâ a god I havenât introduced you to yet, who roamed in the area of the deep forest around the time that the war that spawned the tower was happening (and they by those who know them might be considered a god of war of sorts) ended up taking a liking to them and their ether imprinted on Jasper in a way. The war scythe was theirs. Also plenty of the visions and voices are non-malicious and mundane. In fact none of them are meant to hurt Jasper and Jasper would be deeply disturbed if they went away.)
Also Jasper can use ether but Iâm still deciding on the specifics!! Please feel free to ask me questions!!!!! I love Jasper so so so so much. Anyway here have art dump:
