Mellie's Big Worldbuilding/Brainstorming/Creative Thread

[MelodicCharm]

i wanted to make a separate thread for jotting down creative stuff. i don't usually write a whole lot of my stuff down, so hopefully this helps me do that more instead of just letting ideas swim in my brain.

posts will be tagged with something at the top to delineate what project or world or whatever it corresponds to.
these tags will be as follows, this list is subject to change and expansion:

@POKEMON@​

corresponding to any pokemon-related stuff.

>[PRUDENCE]​

corresponding to anything that's part of my personal "Prudence" OC setting; a science fantasy world where humanity has been long-dispersed across the vast voids of space; living in great megalopoli alongside sentient machines, posthuman cultures, gods manufactured of metal and flesh, and things far beyond. inspired by F@TT's Divine Cycle, LANCER, a ton of other things i probably can't even remember; as well as the chunky early-digital technology of Cowboy Bebop and the Alien trilogy.

X_MISC_X​

any other miscellaneous subjects.

i'm exited to share my stuff with you all!!! :3

 

[MelodicCharm]

@POKEMON@​

i've been thinking about pokemon worldbuilding lately. specifically about the origins of humans and pokemon, and why the hell they are clearly two completely different categories.

through the series pokemon seem to be comprised of, or able to become, some sort of immaterial substance/energy. my best personal explanation is that the "energy" form is something like a soul, which in the normal world partially "condenses" into a physical/biological form; thoughy some of it stays uncondensed and immaterial, acting as the source of pokemons' supernatural powers.
from there we could say that pokeballs "evaporate" pokemon back to their pure energy form, either just holding them inside some insulated space, or maybe an immaterial/impossible space held inside the ball? combination of the two? that said, i have no clue how pre-modern pokeballs (like those seen in PL:A) work in this framework. as far as i can tell that's just a hollow fruit with some bits of rock and metal in it, no real explanation of how it would pull a pokemon in.

anyways, following on this, it's my personal headcanon that upon the creation of the world, pokemon were created as physical embodiments of what Arceus would have created or thought viewed as "primal" energies or concepts; AKA the 18 types.

from here, we know it created various guardians and custodians for the pokemon world, like the Lake Guardian trio. based on the myth of humans descending from pokemon, my headcanon for the origin of humans within this framework is told the following legend:

In the early days of the world, the ancestors of humans were a race of demigod pokemon; powerful, but meant to oversee the wellbeing of the world on a smaller scale than the more powerful legendary pokemon spawned at the beginning of the world. These beings lived peacefully among other pokemon, cultivating the young world.
As time went on, however, certain pre-humans grew wicked; exploiting nature and pokemon for their own gain. A great and vicious war broke out between these individuals, and those who saught to preserve the world, eventually fighting each other to a draw; one side having the advantage of advanced technology and magical power, the other the support of countless pokemon allied against a common enemy. As the battlefields of the war stood at a standstill, Arceus descended from the heavens, bathing them in a golden light. With a single finger of one of its thousand hands, it reached down and touched the leader of the powerhungry alliance on the forehead. In that single moment, Arceus stripped every human of the primordial power that resides within all pokemon.
Empty of the holy power that they were once formed of, humanity pleaded with Arceus.
Its only response, a commandment: "You will live among and care for the world, its pokemon, and each other. Those with righteous hearts will work for this, and to thwart all who seek wicked ends, lest my judgement be incurred once more".

i tried to keep a tone similar to the other pokemon legends i know of, though i also wouldn't be suprised if this contradicted something already known about the pokemon world, i didn't do a lot (or. any) research on that for this. idk i'm interested to hear what y'all think.

sorry if any of that was weird or nonsensical or rambly, i'm not really all here mentally atm.

 

[carpology]

hope it's okay to comment, i just wanted to say your thoughts are super super cool! i really like the idea of the 18 types being what arceus thought of as sort of primal energies/concepts, i can really see it honestly, and your thoughts of pokémon being made out of a sort of energy is really good. it makes the pokéballs make a lot more sense imo and also it's just kind of a super neat concept. also your human legend is really really cool i like it a lot and i can kind of see it tbh. i can't explain why but it feels like it fits in with a lot of the lore and other concepts like the noble pokémon that pla introduces. what you've posted so far is really interesting so i am excited to see any other hcs you post (especially your original stuff, the premise sounds so incredibly cool)!

 

[MelodicCharm]

aw thank you!!! i'm really glad you like it and it fits well. it's been something i've had brewing in my head for a couple days and i had fun writing it down, even if i was in a bit of a haze. i will definitely be posting Prudence stuff when i do. it's been something i've been ideating on and writing stuff in for like the past year or so i think. i have like a chapter plus some of the primary story written down (starring the namesake character Prudence) and i think i do need to rewrite the first chapter, but once i do hopefully i can post it on the forum!

 

[MelodicCharm]

ok, i learned what threadmarks were so i'm gonna try and do those instead of that previous tag system. i think i did it right? we'll see when i post this i guess.

anyways, considering the fact that so many pokemon are like. pretty much or quite literally people??? i think it would be neat to see sapient pokemon acting in the pokemon world as their own individuals. like an Alakazam owning a bookstore, etc. i think it would also be cool to have some go so far as to become trainers themselves. i know there's a point to be had in the fact that they wouldn't really have much need to rely on other pokemon considering they themselves have these powers, but i think they would be able to appreciate the sport y'know? expanding on this, i think there would be story potential to be had in the idea of a pokemon gym leader, or maybe pokemon taking up positions in some sort of agency or maybe an antagonist team. curious to hear y'all's thoughts.

 

[MelodicCharm]

ok wow we haven't touched this thread in months holy shit.

for a while now we've had this idea in our heads for a hypothetical monster taming project/universe. i wanted to finally put pen to paper. i don't have a name for it yet, but the project would be set on the ever-shifting landscape of the body of a planet sized god. i don't have much actually written in terms of the world, but i've been ideating on it for a while so hopefully i will soon. here's what i have actually down with regards to the project

Spoiler: TYPES

there would be 10 "types"/elements. i haven't settled on what to actually call them in-universe. here are their initial brainstormy descriptions/what they represent.

• FLESH: meat, blood, heat. the human and animal.
• FRACTA: non-animal life; radiating, patterns, branches, fractals, crystal, peace, life without mind.
• PLATONIC: natural, mundane materials; earth, water, fire, air. the physical world.
• ALLOY: metal, resilience, mechanism, utility, industry; bindings and barriers.
• SYNTHETIC: unnaturality, impurity, pollution; miracle materials and leftovers; untouched by the cycle, the wheel unturning.
• DIGITAL: data, light, electricity, projections, the virtual. medium between physical and nonphysical.
• ETHEREAL: the immaterial; soul, spirit, fogs, veils; the shrouded and unreal.
• ASTRAL: the cosmos and the gods that inhabit it. the gears turning the world.
• LYSIS: death, decay, chaos, void, endings.
• SOURCE: beginnings, creation, potential.

Spoiler: monster

i haven't really made many of the monsters yet, but i do have a couple. the ones sketched below are intended at the beginning of a sort of "starter" line and mascot.

i think monster taming in this world would be sort of a median between pokemon's catching and the like. befriending/hiring of like SMT. a tamer and the monster they wanted to partner with would come to an understanding or create a sort of contract, and then each would exchange a piece of their soul with the other.

sorry this is all vague! i love thinking about thinks but never end up writing them down... which is most of the reason why we haven't posted in this thread for months :P hope to put more here soon!

 

[MelodicCharm]

here, I made a rough diagram for that as-of-yet unnamed monster tamer :3

the story/main world would take place on the main landmass of "Source", a god-turned-planet primarily comprised of a giant "Source Sea", an ocean made of the substance Source, a chaotic substance of pure potentiality; from which landmasses and creatures constantly bubble up and spew. Source is orbited by the red and white moons, malevolent gods sealed in the form of astral bodies. this system is surrounded by the Firmament, preventing escape from the pocket-universe the system resides in. however, small perforations allow people from outside to find their way in.

Spoiler: system diagram