Daily October Fiction Challenges - Thanks Sodium

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edit: YOU DO NOT NEED TO DRAW FOR EACH PROMPT... READ THE ENTIRE POST.

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First off, mods, move this wherever you think this thread is appropriate. I figured that since most of this stuff is informational, National "Information" it shall go. If not, whatevers.

Hello all,

This thread is for just stuff specifically in relation to that neat calendar up above that Sodium posted sometime last week. I figured since I wasn't the only one interested in completing the challenges that I'd just make a whole new thread versus just answering the prompts in Yukkira's national information thread. Now, simply because this is more of a writing exercise for me and less of a "Let's see how bad my drawing skills are" contest, I want to lay some ground rules for each post per the below. You are free to post without following the rules. The rules are more like recommended guidelines.

However, as I do want to eventually publish something, I do believe that the more you write, the better your writing becomes. And fortunately enough, we have people like Goy who literally world-builds too much for me to make an Exhibit A out of. The man made a map of a subway system within a city in addition to designing his own flipping currency. And that [BLEEP] looks legit. Seriously.

Alas, enough praise for the Goyaneans, otherwise I'll run the risk of the Malorian Emperor looking at me funny.

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Rule #1: Posts must have a word count of at least 100 words. Shouldn't be too hard. I like to imagine I use three kinds of tools when I write: a knife, a fork, and a spoon. Sometimes I like to cut straight to the point. Other times, I like to pick at things as I go. And other times, I like to take it all in. There are times when it's appropriate to use each tool and I think one of the hardest things about writing is determining when to use all three. So, go wild, just try not to cut steak with a spoon. I work at a steak shop. Trust me, it will not work. Also, the spork is not a real utensil. Fight me.

Rule #2: Your post can include pictures or videos but your post should really still meet the word count. Stop trying to not write something. Come on now.

Rule #3: At the beginning of your post, please include the below:
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Date:
Prompt:
Delete one of the following: [CANON] / [NON-CANON]
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Yay! Now we don't need to guess at what prompt you're responding to! Which means people can respond to prompts for days that have already passed! OMG, I am BRILLANT! YES! (Of course Brillant is an actual word; that red squiggly line totally isn't showing for me. Stop thinking about it. You're going to hurt yourself.)

Rule #4: Please reserve all critic for the critic thread. Now you might be asking, "But Yuki ( or 'Yukky' if you're a rat boi, in which case, hello Malphe), where is the critic thread?" Well, good question Malphe! I will conveniently edit in a link to the thread [HERE]. (Don't go to the link, it's just a link that looks like a legitimate link to the critic thread but really it's a link to something else entirely.)

Rule #5: Have fun. If I find out you're not having fun while answering these prompts, I won't do anything to you. I can't do anything to you. And frankly I don't care so... yep.

Rule #6: [HERE] is the actual link to the critic thread. Or... is it?

* The rules can always be revised. Just poke me on Discord with suggestions. If you can't find me on Discord... stop looking for Yukkira under that particular rock Andy. We're under the one next to it. Under the one with the flag that says "WE ARE THE BESTEST NATION ON ITERIA." (Fight me).

October 1^st - Describe one of your country's non-human Occupants:

The Aed Kaenë. A mysterious race of people, extraordinarily similar yet so indescribably alien from the humans that populate Eras. Fair skinned, bordering on white, pointed ears, unnatural eyes, and above all, magic runs in their veins. Though long dormant in most modern members of the species, the ability to tap into whatever powers their arcane gifts remains. It is unknown whether they originated alongside humanity, or were born far before, and watched the infant race make its own way in the world. What is known is that the Aed Kaenë were already long entrenched when the Yeran people first reached the isles they would call the Stan Yera, and that this meeting would spur the quick rise and equally quick fall of an expansive empire of the Aed Kaenë in northern Craviter, subjugating the nonmagical humans and subjecting them to slavery and suppression, before slowly dying off into the remnants that represent them today. The most notable populations can be found in the Stan Yera, as well as an entire nation in Auster Corona.

October 2^nd - Describe an example of magic usage in your country:

I'm gonna skip on this one since like. There's none, or at least negligible amounts. Fight me.

October 3^rd - Describe a small village in your country:

Ṣaṇkêb'ayar is a quaint hot springs town home to several thousand people located on the edge of lake Uhṇalâ, the southernmost of the three great lakes in the Stan Yera. A popular site for vacationers not intending to leave the Stan Yera, and indeed, one of the more popular sites for vacationers from other countries, it boasts not only an extensive set of hotsprings, but a number of interesting historical sites. The town's historical district, which in fact comprises most of the town from an area standpoint, includes one of the few monasteries of the Courantist faith that are still standing, originally constructed in the mid 15th century. In addition, a set of Aed Kaenë ruins, likely some solitary residence or ritual site, lies about fifteen minutes away from the town by bus, along the shores of the lake itself. Tours are offered for a small fee, and it's otherwise forbidden to drive their yourself or even walk there due to natural predators. The town becomes more lively during the winter season, being known for its artisan works and cuisine during the many winter festivals, especially during Hu Uṇṣâmlun Dik'â.

Much as I’d love to show off my horrendous drawing, I’m definitely sticking to just writing some stuff. For me, it’s the 4th right now, so four prompts for me. Because the second thing asks for magic, I’ve decided to undertake this based on both Eras and RMB versions. This is because RMB has like no historical stuff and Eras has like no fantasy stuff. This means Tengoku stuff, for those who know of it, is ongoing- in other words half of RMB KC is devastated by now. Fun. Actually, let’s throw Tengoku in as well just for madness. So, let’s begin!

Note: I’ll edit this to add the other prompts listed below soon. Don’t want to lose progress because of multitasking so I’m just sending what I have now. Also, I wish I could get spoilers to work here. Oh well.

Date: 4th of October
Prompts: 1-4 (Non-human occupants, magic usage, small village, cultural right of passage)
Canon: Half-half really

Prompt One: Non-human Sentient Occupants

Eras

Eras Kyoki Chudoku has no non-human sentient occupants, nor any belief systems that imply that anyone is non-human.

RMB

Kyoki Chudoku has three groups of non-human occupants of sentience, each artificially created. The first are nekos, who are exactly what you expect from that name- they possess feline organs, specifically ears and tails. Nekofication is a painful process used for torture and as a “warning punishment” for mild crimes. The process is done by injection and the resulting organs are very sensitive to pain. Notable nekos include Hoshiko Hirayama, a rebel leader who used stolen mental inhibitors and inflicted nekofication upon the Supreme Overlady of All Reality herself, and Kurushimi, the head of the army who underwent the process on purpose purely to enjoy the agony. Nekos aren’t generally discriminated against but are often associated with crime because most nekos became that way due to being criminals.

Then we have tenshi. These are magically imbued Chudokurens, with bizarre hair and eye colours as a result of the process. Tenshification involves placing the subject in a vat filled with magical liquid, which slowly imbues them with magical power and will eventually burn them to death if they aren’t released in time. Release only happens when they submit their loyalty to Aozora Chiyumi, the Supreme Overlady of All Reality. Their magic varies immensely. Notable tenshi include any of the Densetsu, including Kurushimi, but not Aozora herself. Nekofication and tenshification are compatible. The technology for tenshification has been used on foreign personnel only twice- once for Aozora’s adopted daughter, Sagiri, and once for her eventual lover, Sekien. Death rates are high. Tenshi are regarded as highly loyal and powerful, but often somewhat...mentally unusual.

Finally, an experimental process to produce more tenshi created beings called cadavers- two minds forced into a single body. They were given their name because in the case of the first cadaver, Kyoumi, the body rots regularly and needs constant grafts. This allows for two forms of magic and twice the arcane power, but the body itself is held together by magic, and both minds remain active. The second cadaver, Vezurea, had regeneration to compensate for the rot, but this also allowed her to lose the tenshification-forced loyalty she had once had, and she would eventually flee Kyoki Chudoku after her plans were found out. She’d end up in Tengoku, which was a very bad place to be. Cadavers are seen as living weapons in public imagination, but there’s only been two of them ever made successfully- including the one who lost her loyalty.

Tengoku

Tengoku is much the same as Kyoki Chudoku. However, it nekofies basically everyone. Nekos are thus the normal state of being. Tenshi are referred to as “Blessed”. It also lacks any cadavers. Blessed are revered as the chosen of She Beyond Divinity.

Date: 4 October
Prompt: Draw a Cultural Rite of Passage


In some annals of history, fictional or not, it had been used as a shibboleth for members of some religious groups, like for the people that Santonians call "Messianists" and "Mahometans". Courantists are not known to be bound to undergo this as a religious tradition.

But ask anyone in Saintonge, male or female, homosexual or heterosexual, the question “When do boys become men?”, and they will answer in various terms pertaining to one procedure: “le decoupage”, “le déballage”, “l’épluchage”, “le démêlage”, or simply the shorthand “le circo”.

In Saintonge, “le circo” is a cultural, not a religious tradition. Hence, Santonians do not perform it on babies a few days after birth. Instead, boys undergo it at the cusp of puberty; because after experiencing a harrowing “le decoupage”, the boy is now tough enough to become a man. It is a rite of passage that Santonian males must undergo; not doing so risks serious societal embarrassment. Because for Santonian women, a man’s complete package should come déballée: unwrapped. Any package still in its wrapping is “dirty”. It is not unheard of for Santonian women to reject suitors with wrapped packages. As one Santonian female writer famously wrote: “Those are the sausages that we don’t want the casing on.” More ribaldly, a Santonian duchess reportedly uttered, “Who eats bananas with the skin on?”

For Santonian men, they have wide range of pejoratives for other men who had not undergone “l’épluchage”: “peur-de-couteau”, “demi-homme”, “gros gamin”, “prépucéaux”, and “smegmatée”. Santonian men will look down upon other Santonian men who had not undergone “le démêlage”. It will cause severe humiliation to any man when word comes out that he still hadn’t had “le circo”.

There is no debate in Saintonge when it comes to this rite of passage. The national health service covers for it to be done in clinics and hospitals - a far cry from the times when barbers used to do it on wailing teenage boys. This made it a safe, (relatively) painless, and affordable medical procedure – which meant that more than 99% of Santonian men would come with peeled bananas.

Date: October 4, 2018
Prompt: Draw a Cultural Rite of Passage
[CANON]

In Goyanes, a customary rite of passage for most teenagers is that of confirmation. Courantist teens are usually confirmed at age 15, sometime while they are in 10th grade. In the Courantist faith, confirmation is a sacrament that seals the bond with God and the church created with baptism. The reason the sacrament is performed at that age is because they have to be old enough to understand why they are being confirmed, and what it entails. The confirmation is not just seen as a growth spiritually in the church, but as a growth in society as well. This is when girls and boys become ladies and gentlemen in the eyes of society, and in Goyanean culture since the ancient times. After the mass, which is celebrated with several other confirmands, the family usually hosts a party for their confirmand where friends and family are invited to partake in a celebration of the child's spiritual and social maturity.

Date: October 8, 2018
Prompt: Draw a Food that is Eaten on Special Occasions
[CANON]

In Skanda it is customary to eat I'agani o'hi Toshikoe'ana Sona, or "Crayfish and Year-crossing noodles" on New Year's Eve. I'agani o'hi Toshikoe'ana Sona (I will be referring to the whole dish as Toshikoe'ana for convenience). The Skandan New Year is about starting off with a clean slate, and while the initial intentions of this dish were not to represent that it is still what it came to represent as time went on. The dish is served on New Years Eve usually in it's simplest form; buckwheat soba noodles served in a hot dashi broth with finely chopped scallions, dried seaweed, and simple, boiled crayfish on the side. The origins of the dish date back to the 1200s CE, when Kensu (Kensu being the religion indigenous to Skanda) monks would prepare the dish for free on New Year's Eve for the less fortunate, which was possible due to the less expensive, more common ingredients. The dish proved rather popular and spread to the general populace as a New Year's Eve tradition which gathered meaning as time went on. Today Kensu monks still serve the dish on New Year's Eve for free outside of Kensu shrines and temples, and the tradition has (and will continue to be) endured for centuries. Some modern variations have seen the crayfish be tempura battered.

• To enjoy a fulfilling, peaceful life with every slurp of the long sona noodles.

• To break free from the past like the sona noodle so easily breaks with each bite.

• To gather strength and resilience like the tough buckwheat crop.

• To carry on through hardships like the ever-enduring crayfish.