#ibwr lore
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Mera!! In IBWR celebrates halloween or SOMETING ? How is Oliver about that
Peculiars have a big holiday for Halloween/Samhain/Hop-tu-naa/Allantide/Calan Gaef/All hallows eve-- Whatever you want to call it! :'D
The day of spirits and monsters is a day for community fun, singing, eating, telling stories and playing games!
Unlike regulars, though, they don't dress up as one another. They usually just dress up as old pagan gods or spirits. Or, rather, what they think those things look like. They don't actually know any more, since the UK is Christianised and the old ways are forgotten.
It's tradition so old they don't really know why they celebrate it or why the food they eat is what they always eat. But the rites are there, just watered down and re-imaginated through different lenses.
They still throw nuts into the fire, eat apples, cutting ivy, carve turnips, put salt in the windows and decorate with candles and, of course, sing old songs that lost meaning but still revives imagination of an ancient past - year after year.
Oliver likes Halloween! :D
He just can't hide that night... No matter what crosses he wears, they sniff him out. So his celebration time is often short-lived if he goes out! He prefers being indoors with other people, so he can hide better.
He just wants to eat his Halloween apple jam and cider, man.
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Hi Mera, long time no see 💙 You know... I have a q u e s t i o n 😂
No, but really - I just need my daily dose of IBWR knowledge
Sooooo... Can you say something more about selkies? I JUST LOVE SEBASTIAN, OKAY? I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HIM MORE
Ofc, no pressure, if you want us to find out about things through your comic in time!
Hiii Angieeee 😂💙
I can! :) I'll share a bit about Selkies and Sebastian!
I'll put it under a read more though!
SEBASTIAN RUSSWAL: "Mark my words, one day, I'll be great with this big brain of mine."
A nineteen year old peculiar, a selkie, who loves to read everything. Everything. He grew up in his parents bookstore, he works there in-between jobs. And he has had a lot of jobs. He knows a bit of everything, comedically so.
He's a dictionary with legs and a mouth; if you do the mistake of asking, he'll explode everything he knows into your lap. You will always get a bit more than you asked for.
Sebastian's mother is Irish! His father Spanish! They are both selkies!
His father, Samuel (Sam for short), aside from running the bookshop also have a side gig at the Gladiator club. He takes bets during the fights when there's an audience.
That's how Oliver and Sebastian know one another. They met via Sam.
His mother, Erin, has five sisters and each of those have four children, and each of those children have cousins on their father's side as well. Short in short, Sebastian has a lot of cousins (mostly women) and extended family! If you bump into an Irish selkie in London, chances are, they're a cousin of his!
Which has helped him get his various of jobs.
SELKIES
Selkies are a Beast-type peculiar! Categorised this way due to their aquatic and seal-like appearances.
In Asia, they would be called kappa, and in Africa they're simply known as mermen. In Sweden they would be called sälkies (with an ä instead, as säl means seal). In Scotland, the spelling is selchies.
Selkies main "power" is their skin! Or rather, the patch of darkened skin on their back referred to as a pelt.
Selkies are known as the cowards of peculiars due to their power. The pelt, when their adrenaline is high, hardens into an armour. This can happen rather easily for them. But the "cowardness" comes in with that, it often happens when they are afraid, anxious or feel threatened. They're known as runners, not fighters.
Selkies secondary "power" is how they are always levelled with the temperature outside. If it's cold, their body heats up. If it's hot, their body cools down. This is so that they can be in any body of water for an extensive amount of time. You may also not want to be bitten by them, as their teeth are all fangs built to be able to break through hard shells and fishbones.
Speaking of water; their lungs are better than anybody else's. They can hold their breathe for up to 20 minutes. When a selkie is underwater, they get their nictitating membrane activated (if you don't know what that is, basically it's a third eyelid that is transparent and protects the eyes from dirt.)
This makes them, of course, excellent swimmers and even better fishermen.
Selkies often have jobs involving the sea, lakes, fish or other such things. They also prefer living near bodies of water, harbours or coves. Water is also the best hiding place from hunters and witches.
Selkies don't really have a "need" for anything like other peculiars do. They just really, really, really, like fish. But it's not something they need or they'll go crazy. It's just.... THEY LIKE FISH.
And they will eat fish raw, cooked, boiled, with or without head or tail-- they like fish. If they share fish with you, you're a friend.
PECULIAR CULTURE: BEAST TYPE
Beast type peculiars are known for their physical appearance similar to animals or fantasy beasts. This has created a culture of either trying to lean into the animal association or distance from it.
Selkies, generally speaking, leans into it. They are so dependent on water, both ability wise and what they associate with HOME, that it is honestly rather difficult for them not to lean in a little bit.
The art of conchology has always been a selkie household craft. But it became a fad in the early victorian era, and it does pop up in late victorian once again as a fad.
Conchology, for those of you that don't know, is when you take seashells and make literally anything out of it. A box for jewellery, a lamp shade, the frame of a mirror, a CHAIR, maybe glue shells together into a miniature statuette to mimic the fancy porcelain figures in rich houses.
(Sebastian's mum loves seashells. They used to collect them as a mother-son activity when he was little.)
(it was huge and they keep it in a special place)
Selkie culture also has this adorable thing with seashells that.. When you feel serious about someone (romantically), you typically give them the nicest seashell you can find to give your sweetheart as a way to ask if you may court them romantically. It's not a proposal, but it's a "wanna go out with me?" gesture.
The BWOOOOOOHHHH thing! Ah yes, the call of joy. "Bwoh!" is the sound they make when exclaiming surprise, joy, or excitement. It's just what they do. Who knows why or how it came to be, but no matter where a selkie is from, there is the "bwoh." Amongst selkies, bwoh is also a way to say "Hello! :D"
Aaanndd... I think that's all I'm gonna give for now! :) Or this will get too long!
Oh and.. Sebastian's surname is just Walruss flipped around into Russwal.
#ibwr#ibwr ask#in blood we rise#selkie#selkies#peculiar lore#ibwr lore#peculiars#peculiarity#Sebastian#ibwr sebastian#Sebastian russwal
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I read In Blood We Rise and thoroughly enjoyed it! Your art is beautiful, the characters are interesting, and the lore of your story is fascinating! So of course I have questions. I'm not trying to ask for any spoilers, and if it doesn't interfere with your narrative plans, I'd love to learn more about the world and the people in it :)
For the Ashdown family curse, does it impact all first daughters of children had by any family member? (i.e. if Jessica and Logan have a daughter, she'd be at risk. Theodore's daughter Isabelle is at risk.) Or does the curse have other restrictions on who is impacted? Such as: only the first daughter of the family heir, only the first daughter born after currently cursed family member passes away, etc.
Do vampire peculiars have any specific powers, abilities, or weaknesses? I'm curious what, if anything, you're using from the common vampire mythos (besides the fangs), since Oliver seems to be a-okay with sunlight, doesn't (have to?) bite, and has to work out and/or do physical labor (I assume?) to be ready for a fight.
Thanks so much for writing and drawing. (I'm a fan of your huntlow stuff too.) I hope you have a lovely day <3
I can't go into too much of that! :) Most of these things will unravel themselves as the story goes onwards!
But! peculiars! I can do that! :D <333
This particular topic wont be covered yet until a few chapters ahead - And it's not plot spoilery, just world-building fun, and I think it'll benefit me a little to give a weeee bit info about peculiars now too, for those interested!
Also the stuff I'll explain here is just basis anyway. :)
that's loose basics for vampires! :D [Read in blood we rise here]
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What are the fairy types??? I love IBWR and I would eat your world building if I could <3
There is three categories of peculiars: Erebus, Beast and Fae.
Fairies belong with FAE types.
Fae has, in the UK, these peculiars: Fairies, Spriggan, Nymph (Theodore would call them a Huldra or skogsrå), and Giants.
FAE: Fairy like by looks but often the most "human/regular" looking out of all peculiars. Usually it's the ears or size that gives them away. Their powers are often just seen as either what peak-human-power would be (like strength, skill, etc)
Peculiars can be from all walks of life. They can have any religion, gender, background and race. It doesn't matter.
QUICK FACTS:
Faries are, in a largely Christian society anyway, associated with the seven sins.
They are also easily spotted by their stark colour coded looks.
The shades vary a bit on the scale, there's no set colour of "Pink" for example, but if you look at them and think "ah that's pink" it's probably pink.
A fairy can get a child of any colour of the parents' eye colour. So if it's a pink fairy father, but a green-eyed regular mother, the baby could be either a pink or green fairy - or a regular!
But it's usually the eye-colour that determines it.
Or, wild card - night fairies just kind of come out of nowhere and it's a 1 out of 500 chance of that happening. They're rare.
FAIRY FLAWS:
Fairies have something called a fairy flaw, this is where the seven sins thing come in.
In folklore, fairies are said to be so small that they can only hold one feeling at the time! (like Tinkerbelle from Peter Pan). This is obviously not true! Not only are they human sized, but they feel just as any other mortal person.
The reason fairy tales say that about fairies is based on their fairy-flaw.
So what is the flaw about?
Well, every fairy has an Achilles heel feeling they just can't seem to temper or control. It's the emotion that consumes them and it is very difficult for them to get out of that feeling.
You could say that about a regular-person too, some regulars just feel a certain thing very intensely. But it makes the general public feel better to point at fairies and say they're not perfect - just look how petty they are!
Also, it is true that all fairies just.. naturally struggle with this one emotion they have. For some fairies, it can take a lifetime to find a way to work with it. But most fairies just try to avoid feeling it at all, which.. as you can imagine.. causes an endless cycle of rinse and repeat - you cannot stop yourself from feeling something. That's not how emotions work. And if you try to repress something, it will come back ten folds.
Which, then, just further feeds into the prejudice being true.
FAIRY PERKS (gift):
Fairies are naturally gifted. It can be anything; writing books, making shoes, mathematics, music, you name it.
You know how, sometimes, you meet someone and they just got IT, with seemingly no effort at all? That's fairies.
They pick something up and off they go. You spend your life honing your craft and in waltz this newbie and does in an hour what you worked your whole life for.
Everyone admires them, except the people in the shared field who feels like they've been cheated.
Fairies are almost always excluded from talent shows, being chosen as representatives, etc, because the unionised opinion is that: Albeit they are brilliant at what they do, and probably the best in the room, it's a gift and it's unfair and nobody really wants to include them.
This also means that if you hire a fairy, the standards go up. Fairies can face work environment bullying or praise, it depends on the individual space. But it's always a gamble, really, if their gift is welcomed or not.
It does give some fairies a sense of "I'm better than all of you anyway!" kind of attitude, sometimes, anyway. But it's easy to see why.
No fairy is the same, of course. Fairies often have discourse about whatever or not their perks and flaws are something to be proud of or not. Which, gets really difficult, for the purple and green fairies sometimes.
The issue here is, also, that Fairies fade if they don't get to do what they love, get to exercise their gifts. And sometimes, most of the time, they
FADING:
Fading is just a fancy word for depression. Because regulars make the rules and they don't think it counts as "real" depression, since it almost always involves their perk/gift.
Fading looks like any depression. Sometimes involving substance abuse.
The things that DOES make it a bit different though is that their colours fade. They bleak and their hair and eyes colour turns white, or at least their colour bleak so much that it turns pastel-almost-white.
A faded fairy is cause for concern as they are most likely going to commit suicide. The only cure is rehabilitation where they get encouraged to pursue their heart's desire and exercise their gift.
Sometimes, the reason they fade isn't because others has made it difficult. Sometimes it's because there's just... No space for their gift. It might be a gift that is just simply inaccessible to them. Whatever because they're in the wrong class of society, because they don't have the money to get a degree that allows them to pursue it, etc.
NIGHT FAIRIES:
These are not categorised as a fae-type, but they are fairies. They are categorised as an Erebus due to their dangerous nature.
They are almost always mellow and flat in their expression. They like being in solitude, they are - on surface anyway - to the victorian public... Seemingly evil.
They work just like any other fairy. Except, that, well.... they do not have a flaw.
And that's the only danger they pose. That's literally it. People just don't know what's up with them. And it makes people uncomfortable that they have a gift (that often exceeds even other fairies talents) without carrying the restraints of a flaw.
They just don't emote like everybody else, they're basically just autistic coded people - the autistic creature if you will.
Night fairies are deemed dangerous because, to the victorian scope of knowledge and cultural/religious reference, you don't look like that, is a fairy ontop of it with no flaw to boot, and there's not at least SOMETHING spooky going on.
Fae-type fairies, unfortunately, does not like them much. As their lack of a flaw makes them, well, there's just grounds for being resentful apparently.
The Erebus sub-culture enjoy them quite a lot though. They're the baby brother of the Erebus types.
Most Erebus, when meeting a night fairy, is going to feel for them the way they would feel for any other Erebus. Which is a look of comradery that other peculiars just don't have. And because Erebus types are pretty tightly knitted in comradery, they're aware of one another's struggles. Meaning that they are aware Night Fairies are technically the least threatening peculiar there is, but no other peculiar is going to side with them. So most Erebus types just rope in these defenceless outcasts because it's just not fair.
And Erebus knows all about it not being fair.
So yeah! Night fairies are the least dangerous or powerful peculiar, slotted in with the most powerful and dangerous of them.
it's like the bullied kid is placed amongst the jocks and the jocks are good guys actually.
The night fairies do struggle socially though. Despite their seeming disinterest, they are not heartless or unfeeling. They just struggle to emote and have a hard time with being overstimulated. Which is why they turn to their gifts to cope, leading them to often far surpass any other fairy.
Erebus types are, like, kind of aware of this and often just include them on sight. It's a thing. Most erebus are brought up with the notion that you don't mess with night fairies.
Some erebus, though, have cruel intentions and take advantage of their lack of social skill, often hiring them for their gift and misusing it.
Night fairies also, unfortunately, if they are gifted in something that involves social things - like music, and they are expected to perform in front of crowds, it can be means to cause them to fade.
Sometimes, having a gift isn't about making a buck on it. Sometimes it's simply because it's nice for your heart. And that's the essence of night fairies - they just love what they do. It's everyone else who's got a problem.
AND THAT ABOUT COVERS IT, I THINK???
I'm sure I missed something. There's some peculiar culture stuff that's a little too much to get into. And doesn't really serve much purpose other than be-riching the world I've created and alows me, the authour, to imply cultural codes and social systems in the world without having to always spell it out.
Oliver, for one, is going to be aware of these things. While Theodore is not.
#ibwr#in blood we rise#ibwr lore#ibwr world building#*chuckles* and then there's just night fairies#night fairies really just be sitting here all “????” while everything happens around them
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ok ,entonces tengo un OBVIAMENTE SHIP por Theo y Oliver , así que bombardeare con preguntas románticas !
Who would be more romantic? Who is the one who cares more about the other? Who would take care of who in a cold (why is that super romantic? I don't know), who would blush more at the other's comments? Who has more protective attitude? .....and I'll stop for now
Jag kan inte spanska! xD Ser du hur skumt det här är? Hahahaha!
And thank you for this ask! :'D <3
Both of them care for the other just as much. :) They just support one another where the other needs it. They don't have the same needs!
Oliver is the most blushy though. He's a rather shy person (sober, anyway. Drunk Oliver is very confident).
They are both protective. Theodore is just..... Well, he's a witch:
ibwr world building lore stuff:
Witches are, in the world of IBWR, a little unhinged. People fear them, they're seen as a "necessary evil" by the church and society in general. People seek them out for various reasons and aid. Often taboo things. In public opinion, witches must be a little... evil.. To be able to do certain things.
It leaves witches socially ostracised at the same time socially desired and renowned. It's fickle to navigate. They're basically the dark fairy god mother left uninvited to the party, but if they show up anyway nobody's gonna throw them out. Their association is a flex to pull, but also at the same time an association you want at arms length.
So real and genuine friendships are hard to come by for them.
This resulted in witches, generally, sticking to themselves and their families. The public opinion is that witches don't have have friends, and if they do those people will soon live to regret it. People think witches' friends are only for business or pleasure. If you're not business then you're pleasure, and if you served your purposes you're ditched without remorse. <- At least that's what people think. It's not baseless, but also not totally true.
Witches has built up, because of this, this mask of confidence that they lean into - that they're untrustworthy and mischievous, lustful and morally dubious.
It's just a terrible circle, really. "IF YOU HATE ME, FINE, THEN I WILL BE ALL OF THAT WITH PRIDE!!! FEAR ME!!" like, okay, you just want friends don't you.
Because people seldom like them, at least genuinely, they become very loyal friends to those that do. Maybe a little scarily loyal. You like me? Like for real? Okay then I will help you get away with murder. Oh, that's too much? I mean, what do you mean you don't want anything?? I can give you everything. Name it and it's yours.
Witch culture revolves a lot around deals and contracts, so when they meet people (like Oliver) who asks for nothing in return they try to make up for it, it makes them a little nervous to receive something without having to return a favour. Which makes them a little too inclined to jump to their loved ones defence - out of both love and duty.
And, lucky for Theodore, Oliver is good at declining that behaviour. Which teaches Theodore he's actually loved. And that not everything is transactional. That also works great for Oliver, who has always felt like he owed the world something, so he ensures nobody feels they owe him. It leaves them both with an established genuinely: They love because it's simply that. Love. No keeping scores, no malicious or selfish intent.. Just... As close to unconditional as you can get.
Theodore still needs to work on jumping into HAHA LET ME END YOUR ENEMIES though. It's how witches show love. it's a bit toxic but that's part of his arc, he's learning who he is outside of his family and the way he was raised.
He's just as much an Ashdown witch as any of his family is. Generational trauma and family trait is not something you escape just because you can see it for what it is. Sometimes it takes a different voice in you. But it's there. You may think your family's sense of loyalty is toxic but yours isn't. We are all a little blind and needs help seeing ourselves sometimes.
Oliver isn't without his toxic traits too. He's really blind to his worth and chooses to be okay with bad things happening to him because he thinks he deserves it - He was raised to believe that he has to be quiet and put aside, that his needs are secondary and that if he wants to be loved he must allow others to use him.
His logic doesn't work, and Theodore - who's blunt and has an honest relationship with Oliver, can be frank and poke him about it "if that's true for you, then it must be true for me. If bad things happen to me, that must mean I deserve it too. Rules cannot apply to one person alone. It doesn't work like that. You can't say I deserve to be heard and loved unconditionally, and then not apply it to yourself. practice what you preach."
And Oliver needs to be reminded of that sometimes. Theodore is a good reality check for Oliver.
Theodore lifts Oliver off the ground when his depression makes him lay face down in dirt. And Oliver holds Theodore back from acting on his impulsive negative emotions.
But they also encourage the other on their positive traits.
Oliver cheers Theodore on with his goals and dreams, gives him room to be authentic to the parts of himself he's repressed. He encourages him in areas where Theodore is sensitive or insecure. He validates him.
And Theodore gives Oliver the space to feel safe and unjudged. He can be wholly himself and not feel like he's a burden for needing something. Oliver can speak freely and Theodore enjoys his thoughts on things, he requests his opinion and values his insights (which is good for Oliver's self-esteem).
They're both patient with one another, and put effort and time into trying to understand what the other is going through and needs.
They're friends as much as lovers.
The double taptap shoulder thing I used in my fanfic is.. it's actually.. from them. <XDDDD Oliver do that. I am regretting it a smidge that I used it for huntlow now XDDDD
OH WELL.
ANYWAY.
THAT WAS ME BLABBING ON ABOUT MY BOYS FOR TOO LONG.,
THANKS FOR READING IF YOU DID ASDFGHJKL
I wish I was further in my story so I can like.... SHOW ALL OF THIS ALREADY *SOBS* NOT JUST TALK ABOUT IT. *CRIES*
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I want to ask what Oliver thinks of the following bloods:
Cow blood, Bird blood (like doves or quail), deer blood, and lamb blood
Also, does he like blood sausages then?
details below! :) [read IBWR here!]
ANIMALS:
Cow: Expensive, but can taste really nice if the cow was healthy. But you seldom get blood from just one cow, it's a mixed liquid.
Bird: Oliver likes chicken blood most out of all birds he's had - which is.. not a lot. Most chickens in London were fed seeds lumped with butter. So their blood leaves the same feeling in the roof of his mouth as butter sauce does. - Doves he'd feel weird about as it's probably somebody's pet.... Not that he haven't tried it or anything. He just feels bad about it.
Deer: Never had it.
Horse: Has had it. It tastes terrible. He'd only drink horse blood if it was absolutely necessary. But that might just be an Oliver thing and not an every-vampire-thing.
Pig: Just as good as human, he'll pick it over any of the other. Some butchers are aware of this, though, and depending on the butcher, they'll either keep the pig blood the same for everyone, or add a bit to the price.
Lamb: Oliver actually really like lamb blood. But he feels a bit religiously torn about that. Paul told him it was fine and Darcy told him it wasn't. So Oliver kind of flip flops on whatever it's okay for him to drink it or not. He has asked his pastor about it and he gave the thumbs up in a pinch.
Rats: He's had rat blood before, it's about as bad as horse.
Dogs/Cats: He had dog, once. Never again. Never had cat, wont try cat. He still feels bad about the dog, even if it couldn't really be helped.
Fish: Light, tastes so clean it might as well be water. It's not potent at all and really difficult to measure how much of it is needed, probably a bucket full of fish gut to have the same potency as a soup-spoon of human blood. It's honestly barely worth measuring. It's the only blood vampires feel safe accidentally consuming because it's just so pointless. (which is Lucky for Oliver, as his best bud is a selkie who eats fish all the time and likes sharing fish with him)
BLOOD IN FOOD:
Blood in food is complicated for vampires in general.
If they make it themselves, fine! Then they know how much is in it, they get to measure it themselves and can be precise about the amount, and eat it in a timely manner so that they have consumed what they need in the time they need it.
Blood pudding, for one, is Oliver's favourite go-to when the blood is about to go bad. Then he can keep it shelfed a little longer.
There's also sealing blood in bottles. Basically you put the blood in the bottle or jar with a bit of lemon juice squeezed into it. Then you boil the bottle/jar with a lid on and then you can keep it in the cupboard for basically years and you've conserved the content - though, do check it regularly so the lid isn't popped or something. If you didn't screw it tightly then it's all work for nothing (you can do this with soup and any food too btw.)
Given you have access to lemon, that is. Or didn't fuck up the process somewhere.
WHEN GIVEN FOOD is where it gets complicated.
Someone might have thought it would be a welcoming gesture to serve blood sausages or meat with blood-wine sauce.
This often leads to awkward situations as the vampire will have to abstain from eating, then. As they cannot risk going over their consumption limit. They don't know how much blood is in each serving after all and may not be prepared (or able) to do the math on the spot.
Blood, basically, is something they need to keep track on regularly, lest it escalate and make their lives harder.
Some people don't understand the measurement thing and will get frustrated "but vampires need blood, right? I got out of my way to make something nifty for you. Im helping." and then there's conflict.
It's just difficult sometimes, to live life with invisible rules that dictate your life and only a handful of people are willing to listen and understand the difficulties of it.
People with allergies, medication, diabetes or other ailments might relate to this particular brand of problems, as sometimes people just don't know better - and sometimes they don't even bother to care a little bit.
Oliver's friends and family does, though. His father keeps blood in his house, just in-case Oliver doesn't have any. His buddy Sebastian tries to keep a perfume bottle of conserved blood on his person, in a pinch.
:)
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Sorry if this has been answered before, but what is Oliver’s relationship with blood?
he gets by with tactless morbid humour.
He needs to drink a flask of blood every third day. He's one of the unfortunate vampires who drank too much the first time, so now he's stuck with that.
He works in a funeral home for a reason.
Human blood is best, but second-best is pig blood from the butcher.
(pst! in the world of IBWR, butchers are also known as erebus-amours, as a lot of erebus type peculiars do meet in the butcher shops.)
Other animals work too, but they're less potent and it is more difficult for a vampire to get the measurements right.
You can't also, like, just bite people. You know? That's like shanking someone. So vampires get their blood from secondary sources.
(pst! there's no such thing as a bloodbank in 1885!)
Vampires need to drink blood, or they get into a semi-concious pursuit for it. They can't help it, it's like being blackout drunk and this blood-goblin takes the wheel. They have some sense of what's going on, but they're like... pure natural instinct.
Werewolves and Vampires are not too unlike each other in that regard. Only that it is the moon cycles that control the werewolf while the vampire's personal cycle controls them.
To werewolves, vampires are "lucky" that they get some sense of control by getting blood.
While vampires would reply that there is comfort in at least relying on that the moon will happen and you can prepare for it.
IT SUCKS TO BE AN EREBUS, BUT WHAT YA GONNA DO, Y'KNOW???
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So…I’ve been reading IBWR and I can’t lie, I’ve been having a blast. However, there is one thing that intrigues me- the lore behind Vampires.
I’m a wee bit enthusiastic about them but unlike with werewolves (which are mostly consistent across different sources as I understand it), the rules with Vampires are incredibly flexible. All you really need to call something a vampire is a literal thirst for blood/life force and anything else can be shuffled around. Which is fun- different interpretations just means more vampire stuff- but it’s also annoying because unless proven otherwise anything about them can be true.
Anyways, waffling aside could you tell me about your Vampires- their supernatural powers, their weaknesses and all of the complications and technicalities. I want to know everything you’re willing to tell me about them.
There ya go!
As a side note unrelated to your ask.
THIS IS HOW I DISCOVER THAT THE TAGGING SYSTEM ON TUMBLR IS SHITE. I was TRYING to find it because I KNOW I tagged it as "ibwr lore" and "vampires" FOR THIS REASON. So it would be easy to find.
BUT NO.
WHY IS THE TUMBLR TAGGING SYSTEM SO BAD??? I HAD NO IDEA. No wonder people make master posts, goodness grief.
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your comic in blood we rise and just your art in general is gorgeous the colours and expressions specifically are amazing.
I have 2 questions
Is there going to be any sea based magical creatures like sirens or serpents, or is it going to be mostly land based
And two are their magic creatures that they get food or energy from?
no pressure just curious ( sorry if its formatted weirdly I don't usually do asks)
Thank you for reading IBWR! :D
Gosh, I mean, they EXIST for sure in the IBWR universe. Sirens, serpents, mermaids, sea monsters, all sots of aquatic spirits!
And where spirits get their food/energy from is... A very good question! :)
Spirits are made of energy and life-force. They don't really need food, but if they want to get stronger and bigger, they eat each other or fester/attaches/consumes/possesses mortals.
In folklore and mythology, spirits are often depicted as a pest to mortal kind. And I'm spring-boarding off of that! :D
Now.. How a spirit comes to BE a spirit... That, my friend, you'll have to wait and see...! :)
#ibwr#ibwr lore#I'll get into spirits and how they connect with the magic system once the story's POV returns to Theodore#DONT YA WORRY. IM SORRY IT'S SLOWLY GETTING THERE.
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Can I ask if there are any Rå in IBWR and if so, can we have some info on them in that world? (E.g. tomtar, trolls, huldra, etc) Would there be regional differences too throughout the Nordics?
[IBWR comic]
That's a peculiar! Fae-type! :D
(skogs)Rå is the Swedish name for what the English would be a Nymph!
NYMPH (Skogsrå) - PECULIAR TYPE FAE
Their appearance key factors are thus:
Their rainbow eyes are constantly shifting. But more often than not, they will unconsciously take the eye colour of whomever they're speaking to.
POWERS
Their "power" is shapeshifting!
Now, to protect themselves from hunters; it is common practice to cut the tail off on them when they're babies. But doing so means they will have phantom feelings all their life.
Some cut it off when they're older to protect themselves or sell it to a witch-store for money. It's not an easy decision, but poverty is ripe within the peculiar community.
See, this is the "lucky peculiar" because they can easily hide amongst the regulars. A well-trained nymph can go a whole day, if not several days, in a different form.
Transforming into objects, animals, or camouflage with the environment is a skill that must be practised. They can also not become bigger or smaller than they are. Their mass must go somewhere.
They need to have seen a person to be able to copy them.
They can change pigment and hair type/colour, however! Furthermore, they can't produce more hair than they got. So if you see them grow their hair out all of a sudden, you can be sure their tail is currently bald.
Nymphs do not like showing their bald tails, or stumped tails.
Despite being "lucky," they often find themselves in predicaments of others adoration and desire.
UNFORTUNATE
They are popular in Molly houses if they do find themselves in the trade of selling sexual favours. For obvious reasons.
Their mental health is typically in the body dysmorphia areas of mental illness, as they are frequently asked to look a certain way, or feel pressured to morph themselves around. Insecurity is sometimes a fatality and not uncommon.
If it's very bad for them, they can get stuck in a constant morphism and disfigure themselves out of stress. After all, if you think you're ugly, or think you have to be pretty/look like someone else, you can get pretty messed up.
"You are what you think you are." is a common phrase in the nymph community.
SWEDEN
In Sweden, they are called a "rå."
it means "forest rå," Rå is short for "rådde" an old Swedish term for "watching/guardian", so; forest guardian.
There are various types in Sweden of the Rå: Bergsrå (mountain), Sjörå (lake), Gruvrå (mine).
The differentiation of them are not physical. They all look the same and are the same. The categorisation is defined by tribe that they belong to. You can recognise it on their clothes or their jewellery.
Skogsrå will wear leather, green colours and greyish white.
Bergsrå will wear gold, red and dark grey, their jewellery is mainly copper.
Sjörå will wear beautiful cotton garbs with lots of swirly patterns, often in hues of blue, and silver.
Gruvrå wears black, silver, iron, and grey. Their skin is also mostly paler than the others.
................................................
Now you also asked about tomtar and trolls! Those are spirits!
But I will tell you some fun fact about the word "troll" that I have incorporated for Theodore's Swedish heritage as a witch.
The word for "magic" are two in Swedish: Magi and Trolldom.
Magi is pretty directly translated as magic, but the act of doing magic is "to trolla".
Trolldom is directly translated as witchcraft.
But a witch is not "troll" it is "häxa". Because a häxa "hexes" someone with their magic. It is inherently an evil act, while trolldom/witchcraft in and of itself is not evil.
Now in the world of IBWR, witches are seen as good - or rather a necessary evil.
The things you and I would attribute to have been caused by witches (you know, during the various witch trials and what witches were accused of doing). Is historically in IBWR what is applied onto peculiars - attributed to their powers and looks.
Peculiars are seen as half-human, especially in Scandinavia. It is an old pagan belief that the mother of monsters birthed them. Whatever that's true or not, who knows. It's kinda the same sort of shrug-history as humans being descendants of Adam and Eve.
They are thought of naturally causing mayhem, that they lack souls, and that (even if they are christians) are inherently pagan.
(there is a huge double standard, as witches are christi-pagan themselves and are not thought of as heretics or evil)
But because of this, peculiars (in Scandinavia) are called Fanskap.
Fanskap is made up by two words: Fan (a nickname for the devil) and Skap (short for "skapad", meaning: something that has been made). So Fanskap means "Made by the devil".
Fanskap is a curse word in Swedish, or it used to be anyway. It's a bit of an old-man thing to say (I still use it, but my Swedish is quite old fashioned).
Peculiars (or in this case, fanskap) seek each other out in Scandinavia, preferably to whatever tribe of rå that will have them. The rå tribes are wealthier with status (often they make little villages in the woods/mountains/etc) and, historically, they and the witches have an understanding.
After all, witches and hunters are sometimes interchangeable. If a peculiar/fanskap fucks up; does a crime or is accused of having done something evil-magi, it can be solved between the witches and the rå-tribe.
----------------
I can't say more than that because I am still developing the Swedish stuff of IBWR, so that last bit might shift a little depending on how things develop when I get to that point. It is very late-game stuff of the story. But this is what I'm willing to share about it. :'D
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Are there any limits to how spirits can look like in IBWR? And, if this isn't too spoilery, what's the connection that similar looking spirits have with each other?
Spirits can look like anything, really. Very human-like or very much NOT human-like.
I take inspirations from old doodles in manuscripts as well as academic esoteric descriptions of what demons, spirits and other supernatural beings look like! I like art history and most of my spirits are either inspired by or taken directly as a reference from paintings, scripture, and architectures.
BUT! All spirits have black eyes. That's it. You know they're a spirit if their eyes are black. :) That's why, when in demonic possession, your eyes are described as "going darker." It also helps with distinguishing, visually, when something is not of this world. It gives me opportunity to play with the visual narrative. :D
Now, GHOSTS, however... I will not go into just yet! That would be lil' bit spoilery. ;)
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Stupid question but in IBWR do vampires ever dry blood out and make like blood jerky/blood like fruit leather?
Not stupid! :)
I think it's possible with the right oven. But considering how long it takes in a modern oven as is, and how small a victorian stove can be - it'd be a lot of work for someone in poverty just to have a bit of a nice snack.
I think Oliver would just forget he was doing something and burn it into charcoal.
In Oliver's case, to have something a bit nicer, I think he'd just mix in jam and eat it as some kind of soup. At least he would call it soup. Nobody else calls it soup. His food habits are unhinged.
I think it also depends on where the blood is from: if it's from a dead person, he doesn't feel right cooking it. He just drinks it. If it's from an animal, he'll try to do something with it. :0
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I said I'm going to come with questions and here I am - I want to know (if I can) what level of relation are Sally and Theo on? How many interactions they had with each other? Is this "my old friend's sister who got engaged to me, I literally don't know her at all" type of situation?
Here's William, Sally, and Theodore having a teaparty. Please don't ask me about ages. I genuinely have not figured it out yet. I would hazzard a guess that Sally is ten here and Theodore fifteen but *shrugs in dyscalculia* THAT'S FUTURE MERA'S PROBLEM.
Their parents were friends, so Theodore spent some weeks of summers in Scotland with the Allaways. It was after their parents died that Sally and Theodore's marriage was arranged.
ANYWAY.
Theodore thinks of them as close to him as cousins, while the rest of his family (and the Allaways) think of each other as close family friends.
Because Theodore spent happy childhood memories with the Allaways, and they were a lot nicer than his own family, he grew to feel very familial with them. This makes the arrangement emotionally confusing to him.
Theodore thinks it's weird and icky, but nobody else thinks it is.
Except Willam, who was there and understand Theodores' perspective on it. He's the only one not super-mad about Theodore fluking out, I mean, he's offended on his sister's behalf - but he also saw it a mile away coming in like a wild horse lose on a train, "i told you so" are words his gaze says better than his lips. It was begging not to end well.
Logan is a lot older and never hung out with his siblings and Theodore (when he visited, like Will & Sal did). He was genuinely surprised Theodore feels icky about it.
"BUT WE'RE NOT RELATED???" "IT'S STILL WEIRD LOGAN."
And thank you for your question!! (TOT)🙏💖
#ibwr#ibwr ask#in blood we rise#theodore#william allaway#sally allaway#sally#william#ibwr lore#ALSO THANK YOU FOR ASKING
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HELLU, I'M MERA! (◍•ᴗ•◍)ﾉ♡
Artist | They/Them | 31 years old | Sweden 🇸🇪 | Taurus
my passions are storytelling, art, history, and mythology!
Once every blue moon, I get hyperfixated on a fandom and spam fanart, then I return to my cave.
I'm cringe but free. I'm here to have fun, be creative and create things that will encourage me to improve my crafts as an artist and author.
Feel free to send me asks! I switch anon on and off. I also accept art prompts and asks of the current fandom I'm in and my webcomic!
PS. Minors, please beware, my page is 16+ at least.
☆SOCIAL MEDIA:
Twitter | Instagram | Bluesky | Inkblot | Youtube | Twitch
☆SUPPORT ME HERE:
Ko-fi | inprnt
☆MY WEBCOMIC: In Blood we Rise
HIVEWORKS | Tumblr | Webtoons | Comicfury
---------------------(۶•̀ᴗ•́)۶ ❤
[Some cool comic promos]
MY OWL HOUSE FANFICS:
[THE GOLDEN BROTHER] & [THE TALES OF CALEB WITTEBANE]
MY WEBCOMIC:
www.INBLOODWERISE.com
TAGS BENEATH THE CUT FOR NAVIGATION
PS. Try writing tags with capitals in the first letter too like "Toh" instead of "toh" and you might get more results, especially with names!
Or remove/add a "the" before a group like "the hexsquad" instead of just "hexsquad".
MERA
¤ Liveblogging | Captain's log | Mera days | ask Mera | art reply
IBWR
¤ ibwr - in blood we rise
¤ ibwr ask | ibwr lore | peculiars
¤ Oliver | Theodore | the fates | Sebastian | Sally | William | Jessica | Jenny | Logan
¤ bloodwitch | the ashdowns | Ashdown siblings | the dusts |
FANDOMS
PERCY JACKSON
¤ PJO - percy jackson | hoo / HoO - heroes of Olympus
¤ Jason | Nico | Annabeth | Percy | Piper | Leo | Hazel | Frank | Magnus
THE OWL HOUSE
¤ the owl house | TOH | toh ask
¤ Luz | Amity | Gus | Willow | Hunter | Belos/Philip | Caleb | Evelyn | Camila | Darius | Eda | Lilith | Steve
¤ the hexsquad | the emerald trio | the emerald duo | lumity | huntlow | witteclaw / cavelyn | the wittebros | the folklore trio | galactic frontier duo | eclipse duo
¤ TGB - the golden brother | tgb ask | tgb comic | TTOCW - the tales of caleb wittebane | ttocw comic | ttocw ask
¤ TTOCW FIC: [LINK] | TGB FIC [LINK]
TANGLED
¤ tts / Tts - tangled the series
¤ Rapunzel | Eugene | Varian | Casandra | Lance
THE RISE OF TMNT
¤ rottmnt - rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles
¤ Leo | Mike | Raph | Donnie | April
#pinned#liveblogging#mera#lgbtq+ artist#webcomic#in blood we rise#artist#sweden#swedish#swedish artist#comic#comics#hiveworks#webtoons#fanart#fanart artist
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Mera, Captain, Laddie, Chap, Chum, You Majestical Swede
I am living for your IBWR lore on vampires. I love tidbits on biology and quirks of fictional species, especially when it's given more unusual and creative twists. My investment in your comic has begun to peak, I am precariously standing at the edge of a new hyperfixation and you are daring to push me in with your art and lore.
l'II be looking forward to seeing Ollie's lil quirks and other bits of the charming world that lives in your head. Also feasting on your TOH bits, as a lore enthusiast your rambles are so very enjoyable and your connection board is so relatable. A bit curious what hexsquad would be like in the world of IBWR or what peculiars/witches/regulars they'd be.
So very glad I clambered onto this ship of yours and get to see some of the bits and bobs going on in your brain- I adore the way you think. Sorry if this was a bit long, I hope you're doing well and will feel better, whatever it may be from <3
*squeaky scream* thank you anon!
˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ <333333
I am having a lot of fun making my story! BWR is only in the baby phases! There's so much fun about this world and it's people, culture and history, that I'm so excited to share with everyone who reads!! :'D <3
IBWR has everything I personally enjoy in a story! This means a lot to me, it's my passion project (and hyperfixation of my own creation) for a reason.
Here's a doodle of Oliver and his buddy Sebastian :)
As for who the hexsquad would be in IBWR! HMMM! :D
HEXSQUAD IBWR AU:
Luz would be someone with a weak fylgja who wants to be a witch anyway! And she'd join a coven to try pursue it. For her, I think her story would be about learning that magic isn't as beautiful as she had hoped, and joins another coven that doesn't do the traditional ways of things. Or perhaps she starts her own.. ;)
Hunter would be a werewolf! :D A beast-type peculiar.
Gus and Willow would be Fae-types. Gus a spriggan, Willow a fairy.
Green fairies "flaws" are envy, I think I could make that work for her! Otherwise I'd put her as a red fairy, the flaw would then be rage. Willow's "fairy gift" would be plants and working with gardening.
Amity would be a regular, I think. Perhaps a wealthy girl who finds herself quietly rebelling against her parents by going with her older siblings to women's rights activism stuff! Possibly that's where she meets Luz! :O
Gus being a Spriggan would mean he's a natural showman, as they're known for their mischievous nature and charisma. I think he'd work in a music hall! :D
Vee would be a fae-type too! But she would be a Huldra/Nymph (skogsrå in swedish). Meaning she can shapeshift into people still! So that fits best.
For IBWR, I take a lot of folklore and put a spin on them with my own interpretations! :)
I like playing with the idea that the folklore and fairy tales are based in half-truths. It's a lot of fun and I've put a lot of thought into it so that they make sense into the world I've built. :D
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Just wanna share a slightly weird story about my first experiense with IBWR... You see, when I was debating if I wanna read it or not, I curiously opened the comic on a random page just to have a peek (I often do this to introduce myself to the atmosphere of a story)
And the page that I clicked on was about Oliver having the peacefullest nap of his life (tm) after reading the bible outloud. This had led me to 2 main thoughts:
Ow wow, I definitely want to read this properly from the start!
...is this guy struggling to read the bible because he's a vampire while a prayer in culture is known to drive away various devilry?? and vampires are commonly considered as devilry too?? now that's a conflict... AND THEN LATER I'LL FIND OUT THE PECULIARS LORE AND ALSO THAT HE'S DYSLEXIC I'm so so sorry :'''D
but. but also in that page I loved Oliver's little house spirits, guarding him at his sleep with spoons. We don't know what's the deal with them yet (and what's the deal with Oliver and spirits in general, I guess), but they have very fun designs at the very least. I would cheer if we get to see them again some time in the future!
While reading the comic from the start I got really hooked by Theodore's story too. This story overall feels very loved by its author, with some deeply personal thoughts threaded into dialogues and symbolics.
I am glad that I found IBWR and decided to check it out. Thanks for sharing it to the world!
post scriptum: two words. Crow Fates. Crow Fates are Great.
I've been trying to figure out how to reply to this forever. It has made me happy every time I read it in my inbox. Thank you so much for reading my comic and for your lovely words.
[IBWR]
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