@John F Kennedy Awesome

Also, did you see the title rankings above? Are you still content to be a duchy? Do you want to have an Archduke liege or would you rather be a direct crown vassal?

EDIT: Sent to storage

@DegenerateThreeNot to be nit picky I don't know if you are aware this or not, but I was going to comment how similar our characters appearances are. Merta is painted white, with blue eyes. And being painted white, they would blend into their environment. I simply didn't state it because I assumed people with context clues could gather, the white paint is to protect the skin, but to camouflage in the snow as well. The black around their eyes to protect from glare, essentially. It's the combination of camouflaging with their environment on top of the blue eyes that make the characters seem to have similar details even if the core details are not similar, the key details are.

@TheRedWatcherI'd say that Vaakjarki's skin tone being natural rather than painted is enough of a difference, and the similarities could just be something akin to convergent evolution. Using what's best to adapt to the situation at hand, and all.

Though if it's a big issue, I guess I could edit the appearance a little.

I'll be able to see if I can join by the end of the weekend^^

@TheRedWatcherI'd say that Vaakjarki's skin tone being natural rather than painted is enough of a difference, and the similarities could just be something akin to convergent evolution. Using what's best to adapt to the situation at hand, and all.

Though if it's a big issue, I guess I could edit the appearance a little.

Well the core details are not similar. It's in the unique features that the characters are boiled down to. If the characters were standing at the police station in a lineup:
-Recent Indigenous Nation that joins the politics of Adnanian
-Having their own separate religions different from the main religion
-Having their own culture
-Then adding on top of the Camouflaging into the Snow, it's not necessarily the white skin versus painted
-Then adding on top blue eyes

Certainly the Cores are very dissimilar, but when another character has to quickly describe another character "the indigenous person with blue eyes" well which Indigenous person with blue eyes?

I'll try to think of something, but that was a character I brought over from the original RP. The alabaster skin is supposed to be a trait of all Sjamyyki, so changing that alone is going to need quite the overhaul. Alternatively, I can just adjust certain bits and bobs of his appearance, but I doubt it'll be that much of a difference.

I mean, I don't particularly mind or see the issue with having characters that are similar - even to that extent. Having a bit of confusion here and there could lead the plot down pretty interesting lines. Vaakjarki also has the trait of being rude and silent, so that's one point of separation at the very least. If the similarity in appearances is truly a bother, I'll try to do something about it but I can't promise much because, again, that's not just Vaakjarki's look; it's something common to all Sjamyyki.

If I may, @DegenerateThree, I don't believe it's specifically the white skin that's an issue here, but more precisely the idea that they can use it to camouflage themselves in heavy snow, which winds up overlapping with what's been put down in @TheRedWatcher's sheet. Not only that particular detail - overlaps of that nature seem to be common - but it's an example.

I will, however, ask you this: if they're historically nomadic sailors, and have only recently settled in Adanion, why is their skin so pale to begin with? Sailing demands a hell of a lot of outside time, and oceans tend to be exposed to a lot of sunlight; alabaster skin would burn horribly under those conditions. It'd make a lot more sense if they were heavily tanned or dark-skinned, akin to Moana's characters if you will.

I'll try to think of something, but that was a character I brought over from the original RP. The alabaster skin is supposed to be a trait of all Sjamyyki, so changing that alone is going to need quite the overhaul. Alternatively, I can just adjust certain bits and bobs of his appearance, but I doubt it'll be that much of a difference.

I mean, I don't particularly mind or see the issue with having characters that are similar - even to that extent. Having a bit of confusion here and there could lead the plot down pretty interesting lines. Vaakjarki also has the trait of being rude and silent, so that's one point of separation at the very least. If the similarity in appearances is truly a bother, I'll try to do something about it but I can't promise much because, again, that's not just Vaakjarki's look; it's something common to all Sjamyyki.

It's fine. No need to change anything. :)

I sort of based a lot of Merta's design based on his environment. In fact I chose the blue eyes, not due to genetics, but through adaptation. I sort of studied reindeer eyes turning blue, and therefore blue eyes reflect less light. I probably should have been more specific as to the reason why I went with details in my sheet. The paint protects the skin, tundras don't have a ton of tree coverage, but it also blends into the environment. The black around the eyes helps keep glare out of the eyes, the black around the lips is to protect the lips and break up the facial features from a distance. It's not the skin color that I was concerned with, it was a very specific detail about "blending in with the background". Which I built into the character of Merta.

@BCTheEntity The Sjamyyki are from the north; think more of the old Norse Vikings rather than Polynesians. Vaakjarki is part of a clan that didn't settle; they still wander the colder north.

Look, I'll think of a fix, but not now. I'm just saying that changing that detail isn't as quick as it is for me to do and if there's a compromise to be found, I'd rather go for that, but I guess that's not exactly possible, all things considered.

@DegenerateThree If you haven't seen my latest post no need to change anything. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. And listening to me. :)

[weird double post]

@John F Kennedy Awesome

Also, did you see the title rankings above? Are you still content to be a duchy? Do you want to have an Archduke liege or would you rather be a direct crown vassal?

Yes, I am still content with this. I think I would be a direct crown vassal. It could create some interesting relationships with other houses that do have archduchies, seeing as the duchy of Inge might not be entirely ready to exert influence upon them militarily speaking.

@DegenerateThree@TheRedWatcher One idea I had is that maybe both the FT and the SK have common ancestry, going back far enough there would be a proto-snow people (calling them "Wintermen" because I like the name and its from another idea I had). It could be that the SK's people are the Wintermen who decided to settle along the coast of notScandanavia while the FT kept moving inland until they arrived in the mountains where they have stayed. There could even be an old legend among the SK's homeland of a "lost tribe" that was consumed by a blizzard until they all turned to ice which is indirectly referencing the proto-FT and how they were a Winterman tribe who lost contact with the wider culture.

EDIT: I think that BC below me has a better point and idea. Also on a second review, two people arguing about how they should be the only one with a pure white skin tone because of their ancestors, their blood lineage, environment and irl inspiration isn't a great look ngl. I would personally recommend taking it into account.

@John F Kennedy If you want an extra spicy twist it could be that Inge and House Marietta aren't on par with the Great Houses but because of politicking and the favor of one of the previous weak kings, they managed to get themselves declared a Great House. A new Great House is rare but not unheard of and it usually involves a house becoming a new archduchy or a duchy becoming very large/power/rich, more so than what Inge currently is. Could be interesting as some other houses might call you an illegitimate Great House or merely a pretender since they dispute the previous king's decision. Could also feed into the ominous reputation of House Marietta with rumors saying that you somehow managed to bewitch the king with witchery or a hag potion into giving you the title.

@DegenerateThree A common misconception about the Old Norse people, funnily enough, is that they were all white. DNA evidence suggests that they had a great deal of ethnic diversity, with ancestry from hunter-gatherers and farmers from across the Eurasian steppe in addition to the Nordic regions. This article goes into a bit more detail about it, if you want to take a look at it for ideas to refine your CS.

@John F Kennedy If you want an extra spicy twist it could be that Inge and House Marietta aren't on par with the Great Houses but because of politicking and the favor of one of the previous weak kings, they managed to get themselves declared a Great House. A new Great House is rare but not unheard of and it usually involves a house becoming a new archduchy or a duchy becoming very large/power/rich, more so than what Inge currently is. Could be interesting as some other houses might call you an illegitimate Great House or merely a pretender since they dispute the previous king's decision. Could also feed into the ominous reputation of House Marietta with rumors saying that you somehow managed to bewitch the king with witchery or a hag potion into giving you the title.

I think that is a great way of putting it, they are something of a black sheep of the rest of the great houses. They clearly are punching above their weight and indulge in Machiavellian shenanigans in order to make the deals that give them any sort of legitimacy.

@DegenerateThree A common misconception about the Old Norse people, funnily enough, is that they were all white. DNA evidence suggests that they had a great deal of ethnic diversity, with ancestry from hunter-gatherers and farmers from across the Eurasian steppe in addition to the Nordic regions. This article goes into a bit more detail about it, if you want to take a look at it for ideas to refine your CS.

I know that; I read the same study and I've studied human evolution - not as a specialisation, granted, but just as part of anthropology - but I that's just how I want to make my little fantasy nation. That's it. @ClocktowerEchos I apologise if I misunderstand, but I'm none-too-pleased at that insinuation. I've been called everything from a chink to a 'fucking Asian' to 'Go back to where you came from', so I'm very, very, very clear on how it can look. As mentioned, this is all fantasy. As much as I like realism, I think it's fine to be detached from reality to some degree.

But if it's causing this much strife, I'll change it. I don't want to argue; I don't want to get irate at something that happened on the internet - life's too short for that. But I can't promise that there's going to be much change because it's how I designed the whole damn thing from the start - it's like knocking away a foundation stone and expecting everything to stand up. Maybe that makes me a poor writer, but who knows? It's how I world-build.

I'm sorry if I sound very aggravated, but I really don't appreciate the perceived accusation here.

@DegenerateThree Trust me, I know how you feel. I've gotten ching chonged on the bus before and more than one person thinking calling me slanty is the Pinnacle of humor and that the highest act of patriotism is accusing me of being a communist spy or that I have a secret bottle of covid juice to spread around.

What I originally said was meant mostly in jest but I can see how that could be misinterpreted so I offer my apologies for not making that clear. You're free to use the common ancestor or coincidental convergence idea or any others you wish. Again, sorry.

I personally support white ninja people, means they’re easy to spot among my
Folk. Sneaky little buggers…

@DegenerateThree Trust me, I know how you feel. I've gotten ching chonged on the bus before and more than one person thinking calling me slanty is the Pinnacle of humor and that the highest act of patriotism is accusing me of being a communist spy or that I have a secret bottle of covid juice to spread around.

What I originally said was meant mostly in jest but I can see how that could be misinterpreted so I offer my apologies for not making that clear. You're free to use the common ancestor or coincidental convergence idea or any others you wish. Again, sorry.

...No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let momentary anger get the best of me. No excuse, but I guess it's the build up from folks not taking it seriously when I try say, "Hey, don't you think that's a little off?"

In any case, I'll take down what I have of the SK and give it a once-over. There's no point in sticking with it now that it's caused this amount of disharmony. I'll try to get something up by the end of today, but if the RP has to start soon-ish, just go ahead without me.