[ SECRET POST #3395 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3395 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 027 secrets from Secret Submission Post #485.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, looking for some advice from mythology fans. I need a role to be filled in a story I'm working on. I need a fantastic race that would be used as dumb muscle. Not soldier dumb muscle, but more workforce / construction style of thing.

They're going to be underpaid and overworked, so they need to be obedient and fairly suggestible, tough as shit, strong, not easily tired. Maybe not even totally sentient. I've relied on Greek and Roman mythology quiet heavily, so something different would be good. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[case]

Golems?

http://orig04.deviantart.net/3685/f/2014/356/1/5/pokeddex_challenge_day_11__golurk_by_mini_britt-d89kv40.png

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

The thought did occur, but I don't want to drift too closely to discworld. It's a different setting, but still I'd feel vaguely plagiarist-y going with them.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[case]

Oh, true, didn't think of that. I was trying to think of what the equivalent of fantasy robots would be.

Gargoyles? Something stone-based seems thematically right for construction.

Or genies. Or elementals, something more ethereal but controllable.

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/wow.gamepedia.com/9/93/Earth_elemental.jpg?version=10ddada974543193c0d2ac04f7303fb6
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/wowwiki/images/1/15/Water_elemental.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070616230512

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[ketita]

You realize that golems are Jewish...? Pratchett didn't invent them.
Though, by all means, don't use them - I'm kind of sick of them being ganked by everybody as stock "unfeeling workers"

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[dethtoll]

Golems are literally from Jewish mythology.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[insanenoodlyguy]

Best bet I'd say.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

FUCK. Should have read the comments before posting, this would have perfectly fit in the writing thread. Buggerfuck. Sorry.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

How about you don't steal figures from cultures and mythologies that don't belong to you? Would that be so hard?

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

And what do you believe my culture to be?

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

how about you go back to tumblr

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

Lmao 6/10

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

Hm, after the JKR thing, this is actually be something that might need some thought. Is it ok, to use harpies and vampires if you're not greek or romanian?

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[kallanda_lee]

OMG this is hilarious - if there's something that's part of the general cultural heritage, it's pretty much mythology.

Also yeah, those dead Greeks/Romans/Egyptians are going to care so much about cultural appropriation.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[ginainthekingsroad]

Minotaurs? Gotta be something with grasping appendages.

Wait, did you want something that fits your Grecoroman theme or something outside of that? If it's outside it, I'd go trolls.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

Minotaurs aren't a bad shout either. The controllability of them might be tricky, but they do already have the beast of burden aesthetic.

Trolls were also on my block of consideration, but a workforce that can't work during the day might not be the best idea.

I was thinking outside of the Grecoroman theme. Sadly I know shockingly little outside of that world. I was thinking something egyptian or maybe older Sumerian

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

Cyclops are pretty dumb.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[kallanda_lee]

This is true, at least in Greek mythology.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

They're not a bad choice, but they're generally pretty cantankerous by nature, so I'm not sure I could write them being bossed about without feeling I'd be missing something. Then again, I might be overthinking it.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

There's your standard trolls, ogres and hobgoblins, sometimes dwarves depending on setting/mythology. Land spirits and lesser demons/gods can work either, if you have a more powerful god controlling them. Animist mythologies lend well to things like that. Abrahamic mythologies give you angels, demons or djinni (see King Solomon and the Ring of Aandaleeb). Similiar to the animist thing about, a lot of lesser fae in Celtic mythologies can be fairly stupid, tough and malicious/mischievous, and can be used as labor by more powerful fae. Goblins work well for this. Elves/dwarves in more northern mythologies can serve the same purpose. Jotnar in Norse mythology are sometimes a possibility as well, but you really need to pick the right jotun. In Greek/Roman myths and I think Mesopotamian myths as well, monstrous servants and beasts of burden tend to be the demigod/titanic offspring of gods or their predecessor races. Sometimes also of planets and/or planes of existence. If you have a great semi-divine monstrous 'mother' and a lot of young, you can go with that, though you might trip over a bit into cosmic horror vibes. A couple of mythologies use the dead of various realms as armies (Odin and the einherjar), though using the dead as slave labour gives a strong evil necromancer vibe, depending on if you want that, and they're more usually armies than field labour.

A lot depends on the kind of tone and work you're going for, but I think land/nature spirits or fae would probably be your best bet for agriculture. They were a feature of Celtic, Japanese, GraecoRoman and a good few other mythologies. For industry and construction, dwarves, elves and goblins are the standard choices, though in Abrahamic mythologies Solomon had a lot of rumours about building temples by binding demons/djinn or being given the aid of angels. In Norse mythology, several jotnar helped build various parts of Asgard over the years, but they were usually contractors, often betrayed, and it all ended in tears before the end. For bodyguards/armies/monstrous guardians, the dead and the offspring of various gods/realms are the usual bets. For domestic service, there are quite a lot of domestic spirits across multiple mythologies, including hobs, domovoi and several other things.

If you want versatility, a general class of lesser spirits/fae/demons would probaby cover most sins, and you can have variance within the species to cover various types of jobs/stereotypes.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

This comment is a fucking goldmine! Thanks, I will be picking through this now. There are a few ideas I can use elsewhere as well. Top post, buddy!

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

Couldn't you just make up your own thing?

make a chimera

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

There's that option too of course, but I already have a some made up races. Plus there are some grade A suggestions in this thread.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[(Anonymous)]

I suggest ant people. I don't know if there are old mythological precedents, but it'd just be neat.

Re: Writing question / mythology question

[silverr]

Something insectish? Myrmidons are ants, after all.