I think fans would definitely try to sort themselves into the Equexia magic system (I even made a shoddy quiz to help with that!) or select what roles they’d like to have in a post apocalyptic society.
I deliberately left some things undecided at the backstory level for some of the gang, so I think there’d be fertile ground for headcanons about what individual lives were like or what experiences everyone had prior to the beginning of the story!
Happy STS! ^^ Do people take photographs in your wips? I am asking because one is post apocalyptic-like, the other includes Hell, so do your ocs capture their memories in pictures, are there other ways to do it, like the digital frames we have nowadays that change from one picture to another with a transition? Also does any oc of yours have a picture of a person they love or miss and take it out only when they remember that person, for example?
In the Equexia-verse, people can and do take pictures! In fact, photography is Beth’s favorite hobby. Most people will use digital cameras, as it’s easier to use something with batteries than something that charges, as electricity can be spotty sometimes. J has a picture of all her family together which she keeps in a special place in her room with Romatia’s old flag. Ash and Aris have many pictures taken throughout their relationship, and Aris keeps one of Ash in her bag. When Ash travelled for work more frequently, it made her feel better. Liz and Beth have keepsake necklaces with pictures of each other inside.
In Four at the Gates, it’s not possible to take photographs, but both angels (Fallen or otherwise) and demons have very strong memories in any case. For some, this makes them very skilled artists who can produce drawings, paintings, etc. that are as life-like as a photograph would be. It’s possible for angels to imbue their art with the feelings they had while making it, so they can sort of replay the memory a picture corresponds to. Fallen Angels and demons cannot do this, as many of them have a damaged relationship to their own emotions.
A question of my own now. So in Equexia people survive by hiding from the monsters/zombies (or, first of all do they have a different name in your world?) so this is a co-existing situation or people are very few at the moment? You say you are tired of common post apocalyptic scenarios so I wonder if humanity is on the verge of extinction or, due to training people like that from a young age, there is no such problem.
Whew, sorry it took me a while to think through a good answer for this! Let me answer in bullets.
Zombies are usually still referred to as zombies because they have existed in lore and various media previously. Sometimes they have another name depending on the language, such as Constellan. There are also some people who have a lot of fear associated with the word zombie, so they will call them something else, like “the creatures,” or “the undead.” Some do not call them anything at all (others can usually guess what they mean in context.)
As to the ratio of undead to humans, it largely depends on the region or country. Zombies decay and become weaker more rapidly in high temperatures, so in Constella, the numbers have been relatively manageable, and people can evacuate away from overrun areas. However, they seem to have very little reaction to cold weather, one of the reasons Romatia is so unstable, along with the fact that the population tends to cluster in certain major “hub” areas with mostly uninhabited land in between. This means that the numbers of undead can multiply very quickly once they reach a particular area.
As to training from a young age, the epidemic hasn’t really gone on long enough yet for an entire new generation to be born into a world in which the undead are considered “normal.”
In terms of extinction, by best estimates, the global human population has been halved. So, not exactly on the verge of extinction, but still significant losses. The hope is that by creating a preventative vaccine, as well as creating a cure which can restore a person to normal state within a week of their transformation, the numbers of zombies will decrease and the human population will stabilize again.
Would you be willing to go more into the world of Equexia-verse? You've alluded that it's post-apocalyptic. What's the world like? How do people survive, band together? Do they still fight? What caused the apocalypse? Is it set on Earth, if so, where? Etc etc etc. :3 I hope you feel better soon!
I will try for you Cora!
The Equexia-verse is more or less on an Earth with an extra continent, at least at this stage! (Unless I change my mind, oops.) That continent is callled Equexia, hence the working name! Equexia has 5 countries: Romatia, Falhara, Constella, Asweau, and Losaitho. I made a map but it is Very Bad, so I can send you the moodboard thing I made instead if you want it!
Why is this world apocalyptic, you ask? Bad things happen when you mix magic and what was sopposed to be purely theoretical, somewhat sketchy science together. Bad, bitey, crawly things. They are hungry. And will eat you. Unless of course, you aim for the head.
As you can imagine, having things stumbling around that should be six feet under causes some pretty large problems. People survive by trying to find safe places, training in fighting and survival skills, banding together, and hoping the team of scientists Equexia’s governments have built can find a cause...and just maybe a cure.
For example, your odds of survival greatly increase if you, like our main cast, have some knowledge about homesteading! Can you grow food and gather edible and medicinal plants? Do you know anything about hunting? Can you make or repair clothes? Can you cook? A good housekeeper? Know anything about creating renawable/sustainable energy sources? Are you good at tinkering of any sort? Good with first aid, or a doctor? Do you have weapons training? Are you a counselor, a teacher, or a faith leader? A diplomat? Good with children? Inventive, a scientist? Someone who keeps records, like a journalist, photographer, or librarian? Maybe you speak a few languages, or have specialized knowledge from a trade. Maybe you’re skilled with managing money, or figuring out systems of trade that don’t require it! Maybe you have a way with animals, and can help humans re-learn how to work together with them. Maybe you’re just someone who is good at getting by on long odds and hanging on to hope. You’re needed here.
Essentially, the Equexia-verse aims to demonstrate the things about ourselves, as humans, that allow us to thrive. We were made for community. We are made to work together and take care of each other. This isn’t an apocalypse story where you “win” by having the most guns. Everyone has something to offer, and we “win” by engaging each other’s strengths, and finding ways for each one of us to keep going. We survive, and we thrive.
Sorry for the ranting! I’m not sure if this exactly answers your question, feel free to send follow-ups. But basically, I am exhausted by the same old apocalypse stories which only have room for one kind of person (usually able-bodied, neurotypical strongmen who thrive on violence and care only for themselves.) The real world is not like that. So, although there is some fantasy added (magic!) the story aims to be realistic in that it shows many types of people with many types of strength and survival strategies. Just call it my apocalyptic fix-it.
Also, could you give me the newbie's run down of your story/stories? :3
Oh heck I’m really bad at giving intro posts and such which is why I uh...don’t really have them. But I can try to give you a mix of what’s going on theme wise?
There’s magic here! I will get around to doing posts with specifics I swear... Aris, Beth, and Katri have healing magic, Ash is pyrokinetic, Liz has spell-casting magic, Rissa is hydrokinetic, Tavi is an animal shifter, and Ione is combination telekinetic/telepathic.
It’s an apocalypse because epidemic viruses happen when you cross sketchy science and magic together. Watch out for creepy crawly biters-Aris isn’t done curing them yet.
Oh no, politics... We have some burnt-out revolutionaries here, along with a royal whose country is going out from under her.
Diversity! All types of sexualities and abilities are valued.
Found families and learning how to come together from opposite sides is very important. We come together or we struggle alone.
Ensemble cast of various types of strong women.
Four at the Gates
OCs: Infirmum, Bellum, Esuriit, Mortem
Themes:
Faith-What does it mean to follow God’s will? What is just, and what is merciful?
Outcasts, and creating a life for oneself on the fringes
Fantastical elements, supernatural creatures, Divine species, and a lot of worldbuilding
Rebellion and hope
Nature vs. nurture
Found family again because there are some things that are needed for every WIP.
Happy Fluffcember! Hope everyone is ready for some sweet and warm stories. Today’s prompt: humming!
The place they had set up residence was built with their own plans, hands, and skills, just the way their collection of family had been constructed. It was affectionately referred to as “The Homestead” or “Consu Kuri*.” And on The Homestead, there was almost always music.
J and Tavi were the instrumentalists, the composers (and in Tavi’s case, the lyricist.) J had played at some sort of piano since she could toddle, and she certainly wasn’t stopping now. (Her partners liked to listen, often lingering outside so as not to make her nervous.) Tavi’s guitar had been with her through much of her life, like an old friend. She often played “song circles” at the insistence of her younger siblings. (Zira was the one who most closely mirrored her music tastes. But of course, she wanted to be like Tavi in every way.)
Rose sang all sorts of cheerful melodies throughout her chores. Ash carried the mood forward with “morning motivation tunes” they used to get themselves up and moving for the day. (Ash had many talents, but carrying a tune was not one of them. They didn’t much care.)
Aris played classical music in the lab or in the kitchen to keep herself focused, her thoughts manageable. Sometimes she would sing soft Constellan ballads, usually lullabies to soothe nightmares. Katri lost count of the number of times she’d been ushered to sleep like a child by her Arundi’s* voice.
Azura had constricted a small “waterfall” in the back garden which gurgled cheerfully. Rissa’s wind chimes offered accompaniment. Her East Asian instrumental songs were for her martial arts practice, and meditating.
For Beth, music was tied tightly to her religious practice. She chanted Marnesh* hymns as part of her daily devotions, thinking no one else could hear. (They could, but dutifully pretended not to notice so she wouldn’t be scared off the habit.)
Katri didn’t like to perform for others, but she did take out her flute in quiet moments alone. Her writing, too, carried a poetic quality, a lyricism of its own. She had also been her little bother Espen’s best instructor on the cello, once upon a time.
Ione, and especially Liz, were the hummers in the house. Much like Beth, Ione tried to hide this, but she always hummed while sketching. Once in a while, she could be coaxed to sing aloud, almost exclusively for Rissa.
Liz, on the other hand, hummed constantly and knew it. When she was hard at work or in deep thought, it came out of her like water from a faucet. Her family seemed to find it endearing. She also used it as something of a secret weapon at times; there were few methods more effective for soothing Beth’s anxiety. She would take Beth into her lap, or tuck her against her side as the situation required, kiss her forehead, and hum Beth’s favorite songs, interspersed with a few lullabies her own mother had sung for her. Had she asked Aris, she would have undoubtedly recognized them. Beth often listened to her heartbeat as well, insisting it was a music of its own.
*Consu Kuri-A Constellan expression usually translated as “welcome, come in.”
*Arundi-A Constellan term meaning “aunt, auntie”
*Marnesh-Constella’s ethnoreligion, the name of which translates to “The Path”
Storyteller Saturday! What's something about your writing/OCs,WIPs that's made you smile recently?
Awww, cute question! I’ll do one for each WIP.
4ATG: Angels like to have their wings stroked/petted by those close to them! Because they are so sensitive, it feels like getting a massage! (The other Riders, especially Infirmum, do this for Mortem as well.)
Equexia-verse: Constellans have a traditional holiday set aside to thank the gods for giving them the blessing of magic! It happens around the same time as Christmas.
“Where do your loyalties lie, Dr. Portokalos? How do we know we can trust you?” The old man, head of Romatia’s advisory council, looked to her with blatant suspicion in every line in his face, venom in his glare.
J’s voice answered with an admirable degree of calm, but her steely eyes met him for every inch. “Mm, I trust her.”
He ignored her, watching to see if Aris would back down, or at least appear intimidated. She gave him neither. “I belong first and foremost to myself, gentlemen. But allegiances can change.”
“And have yours undergone such change?” This voice comes across with less in the way of outright challenge.
