Since I did her boyfriend, might as well do her as well. Her name's Anelija Junghota (ah-neh-lee-yah yoong-hoh-ta), and she has the average build for an Orc. Both male and female having the same muscle mass and bone density as each other, the women just tend to be an inch or two shorter.
And, of course, this is for me trying to get better at different body types.
4. How does someone propose marriage in your culture(s)? How long do they stay engaged, and what marks the marriage?
So, I'll go chronologically with the stories since there were no specific area you asked for >:3
(also these may be subject to change, just simply because I haven't thought about this as much sorry in advance)
(A/N) This, ah, was a lot longer than I thought it was gonna be, so... be warned after you decide to open this up, it's gonna be a wall of text...
Garden of Sandstorms
The Age of Wars, year 83 - Loro'Dahinja
For most couples who live in the equivalent of poor and middle class families, the man is the one to propose. After the woman accepts the wedding plans start, and they have only a few months to plan.
It is most proper to have a huge wedding planned by the bride's family, because it's suppose to be a celebration of a new life between two lovers, and a celebration of the God of the Sun and Husbands, Heliwo and the Goddess of the Moon and Wives, Lariza. So many sun and moon motifs.
The groom's family is the one to give a dowry to the newlywedded couple, to help them start out, and the dowry could be anything from money to start out, a new house to live in, or even just a kepi-kepi as a valiant stead for the couple. It just needs to be useful.
The upper class is a little different, as most marriages are arranged from birth. There are rarely any dowries simply because marrying your children off to other households is dowry enough. the weddings are still huge, and tend to be celebrated throughout the entire town they live in, but most of the time, it's for political gain.
How to tell a couple is married (and this goes for most Human countries) is a specific earring they wear, it usually has a crest of the more powerful family etched on it (for the rich) or the husband's family crest.
Evergreen's Leit
The Age of Songs, year 219 - Enatu Islands/The Southern Centaurian Tribes
Enatu Islands
The Enatu Islands is at the heart of Merfolk culture, it's where the King of Merfolk reside and where most of there children dream of living, so most of their marriage customs stem from here.
Men and women usually have no problem bringing up the idea of marriage to their partner, usually by writing and singing a song in a confession of love. In fact, almost all legally and socially binding contracts are in song, all must be written down and sung to the other party and, at least one witness. It is also possible to have a prewritten proposal either passed down through generations or bought at specific stores.
How the other party agrees to the contract is by singing the chorus of the song with the proposing party. After which, the two set off to compose their Wedding Song. And however long it takes is how long they stay engaged.
The actual date of the wedding isn't important, nor really is the party, what matters is the song, and the witnesses. The Wedding Song must be compose by the couple, and must have a priest and at least one witness (again) to attest that it happened. Once the song is complete, the couple is considered married, and what ever happens after is just extra.
A shell necklace is usually a sign that someone is married.
But that's only between two Merfolk!
Trolls and Merfolk have been allies since basically the day they were created, due to their magics being so similar (Merfolk's songs and the Troll's instruments). So marriages between these two races are pretty common as well.
They mix and match between their two cultures to make something a little unique.
The music is still there, the only difference is that the Merman(maid) sings while the Troll(ette) plays. If the Troll is to propose, they'll give a piece of jewelry that is perfectly symmetrical, usually something to do with a circle "For they have no beginning and no end, just like our love". The Merfolk accepts the proposal by accepting the jewelry.
The marriage is usually a bigger deal, with parties and drinking for several days before and after the Wedding Song.
If a Merfolk has a symmetrical piece of jewelry and a Troll a shell necklace, it's usually pretty clear who their hearts belong to.
Southern Centaurian Tribes
Compared to what you just read, these people tend to enjoy the simpler things. Hunting and gathering is a big staple to Centaurs, so the best way to show that you're willing to be someone's marriage partner, you better be good at one of these things.
Women are usually the ones to propose in this culture, only because they outnumber the men about 3-to-1, and they do it by either hunting an extremely hard animal to kill, foraging a rare plant, or giving the man a gift that they made from their "job" (cook, shaman, artist, etc.). The men usually prove themselves through battle (usually just shows of aggression in competitions), showing that they are strong enough to protect the family.
If the man accepts the woman's gift, there's two ways it can go.
1) they go straight to the shaman to declare themselves married. Or
2) they have a week long party to plan out in a few weeks time. Then get married by the shaman.
The two Centaurs then are given tattoos on their cheeks, to signify that they are married.
Blood of the Halfbreed
Age of Songs, year 239 - Lorocoda
The men propose here, with the second closest equivalent to our traditions that we have.
The men would bow at the woman's feet, reciting poetry (his own, or something well known) about how he adores her, and places a small box at her feet with wedding rings (almost always earrings) placed inside. If the woman accepts, she places her hands under his chin, and gently pulled him up, usually saying something like "For a man to grovel at my feet, he must truly love me. But how are you to lead my home, if you do not stand beside me?" So they stand together, and take the wedding rings.
They then plan the wedding, usually for about a year, and have it at the Temple of the Sun and Moon, the God Heliwo and Goddess Lariza's temple.
The wedding rings (for both the men and women) are what signifies a married couple.
Mochi Turtle
Age of the Steam Engine, year 56 - Lorocoda
This is the closest equivalent to our traditions.
The man is still the one to propose, and buy an engagement ring (Now just a single earring) and bow at the woman's feet. Poetry has gone out of fashion, and the man just simply askes "Will you marry me?" and the woman would answers "Yes" or "No".
This time the whole family is involved, and through the entire engagement, there's really no set time limit, both the bride and groom's family compete to make the biggest shindig the community has ever seen. It's a total competition.
The ceremony is done, again, in the Temple of the Sun and Moon.
Ami is a mob boss’ body guard, and a pretty good one, too. There’s actually a reason why she’s wearing a suit (and yes, Ami is a woman) is that Orcish women have the same muscle mass as men, making them just as good as their male counterparts.
Back in the day, male and female Orcs wore more gendered armor, but this proved kinda bad as while though Orcish men and women were equal on the battlefield, the men’s need to protect women made them more venerable.
The solution? Get the women to wear masculine clothing and be called “Mister”, “Sir”, “he”, and “him” while working masculine jobs.
So yes, while wearing a suit, Ami is referred to as “he”.
Enjoy the timelapse, description under the cut and both Ami and Jacky on their own.
So, now I’ve finally really started enjoying brainstorming about these characters. Why? Because I changed the time period.
The 60s-90s are probably my least favorite time periods to work in. I find them either boring, kinda fucked, or just… the 70s… really, the only reason I started to put them in the 60s originally was because I wanted a story about a “Shoto” (this world’s equivalent to “Negro”[don’t feel like getting canceled]) and a “Tall” falling in love, but that has been done so many times, not only in the 60s, but just in general, and that is, well, boring to me.
I strive on taking old tropes and putting them on their heads, and I had already done the whole “Romeo and Juliet” and “we’re two different races” with Blood of the Halfbreed. So I didn’t change too much of their personalities, but now, both Amelia and Jacky are WWI veterans (Ami being in the Marines and and Jacky an Air Force mechanic), Ami being a part of a mob and Jacky a construction worker.
In other words… I now have 3 original stories that I’m planning on publishing, lol, why do I do this to myself?
Here’s my boy Jacky, being a simple construction worker. Since I drew Ami in her work uniform, I thought to do the same for Jacky, My good Dwarvin boi. (Who should absolutely have a hat on, but I wanted to draw his hair so, lol)
I’m still not use to drawing Dwarves, and I think it kinda shows, that’s okay though, I just need more pratice, eh?
Also changed up the Dwarvin race marks to look less... weird, so now they’re on the tips of the fingers instead of the whole hand.
Also, I drew this on a new tablet! My old one was dying on me, so my hubby got me a new one (I love that man). It’s a screen tablet, so if he looks a little wonky, it’s cause I’m not use to it yet.
