Y'ever just sit down and think to yourself, "mmm, all those edgy roleplays on FH are really my aesthetic"? Ever wonder, "where did the good old-fashioned edgy cult groups go?"
Well, the answer is 'away'. The userbase has mostly moved past that kind of thing and calls groups based on fictional faiths 'religious' now. Which... on a surface level, I feel like that might mean a change, but they're still basically the same groups, aren't they?
If you're nostalgic, if you're a person in the new spirit but with some of the older tastes, if you just look at your wolf ocs sometimes and go "wow, they'd all do so well in a a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister"... then this is the group for you! We don't bite or sacrifice you to Satan, promise!
...Mostly because of the personal extractions of our founder characters. I feel like if they believed in Satan, they'd sacrifice you to Satan. Since they don't, you get shunned if you break the rules instead, which is probably more effective. I mean, if you die you die, but what about being treated like you're dead while alive?
So, what is this thing anyway, what does it mean and what does it stand for? Read on to find out.
Blurb
Weave a circle round him thrice
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he has spoken to the dead
And walked alive in Paradise.
Nahar Dinur is a term for the Milky Way, though also for a purifying river of fire in the afterlife. In-universe, it's also a term for the following of a scholar named Yehuda, who has nothing to say for himself except that he's very good at convincing people of things. They believe all kinds of silly things about him that give leverage and authority to the things he says to them, and he doesn't do anything to dispel the rumours for the simple reason that more cult members = more waifus and more protection for him and his interests.
It's not a group bent on world domination, and it doesn't have an interest in anyone outside it -- in fact, it's kind of -Content Removed by Moderator- to what's outside it, though never out loud.
Leadership
Nahar Dinur is run by a team of two pals with completely different religious identities, ethnicities, genders, opinions and (probably) sexualities. In spite of this, Seeraph and Yamakari('s alt Pudding) get on perfectly fine; as you can see, this is achievable, so there's no reason not to expect it from our members in spite of the premise.
Group Specs
Literate to semi-literate --
As long as you're legible, you're fine! We would prefer that your posts be at least three sentences long, because it's just more interesting to read, and there is a general anticipation that you improve and change over your time with us, but we really don't want to look like we have some kind of ridiculous standards no one can attain.
Corollary Statement Regarding Wolfspeak: Why? Why is this a thing, now that nobody cares about WolfQuest's stupid filter that spawned it? It's mostly a jumble of strange metaphors and pretentious, incorrect word use, and if somebody is well-read enough to understand that "femora" means several femurs, it looks grating. (Also, all this use of adjectives as descriptive nouns. Oy vey iz mir, how far the literature has fallen! If your wolf child must be referred to with a pretentious Latin(ate) term, can it at least be "puer" (male) or "puella" (female) instead of "puerile"? I mean, it's not better and it's still wolfspeak, but at least my inner pedant isn't screaming.)
An angry "charred femora" doing anything (especially the kinds of things wolfspeakers are prone to!) should elicit pure, primal terror in you, not admiration; nobody's burnt leg bones should be giving me lip unless -Content Removed by Moderator-. Preferably not even then.
Soon to be mapped and sited
Neither of these things really matter. The map is a thing that Seeraph and myself are still going over and trying to decide on, and it shouldn't be a big deal to get it, but we're warning you about this anyway. As for the site it'll probably be a forum to dump art, bios and lore on; not exactly necessary to participate.
We have Discord!
This one's mandatory, unfortunately, because a lot of rp and banter goes on there -- and it's important for people with map troubles. :c
Cult-based
We really don't want to call its faith a religion, and we kind of object to FH groups calling themselves such. It's not that Yama's the fundie grandma next door, married to her cantankerous time-traveling husband from the 1880s. It's not that we cower in a hole and think that everything not involving JEEEEZUS is a cult. (In Yama's case particularly, it would greatly detract from the time she spends polishing her shekel hoard participating in her religion's community life if she did.) It's just that there are fundamental differences between the way a religion functions and the way a cult does, and most FH roleplay faiths fit more squarely into cult than religion. At least this one's honest about it and has the potential to evolve.
Y'see, in a cult, there's a centralized totalitarian leader or group of leaders who hoard info/resources/etc and call all the shots with zero accountability to a comparable authority. Y'ain't got no other priests in no cult. No council, no presbytery, nothing. Nobody to disapprove. Nobody to question you. It's just you and your blindly loyal congregation, who are given demands and ultimatums to progress. Sound familiar?
Yeah! It's... almost every FH group with a religion IC! Not that there should be a hierarchy if the faiths between these groups are different, but if your group is insular, the only one of its kind and you're not accountable to any outside source (even in-universe, even theoretically), then... yeah. That's where my hesitation comes from. You're... a cult. Sorry.
The way an FH group is best run and the way an actual religion works, if that's the focus of your rp, are incompatible. ND is cult-based because the focus is on one character's teachings and others' lives that are affected by them -- and because although that alone isn't enough to qualify as a cult, the way membership works pushes it over the line. It might eventually manage to become an in-universe religion people can play characters as adhering to in other groups, but that'll almost certainly be long after the cult leader is dead ic, and that's if the group stays together that long.
Lore-oriented
Jesus and Judas in a -Content Removed by Moderator-, Batman! For a rp site and game, some of FH sure has this weird aversion to reading and lore. Fortunately, Yehuda has as much of an idea what he's doing as you do going in! So we'll be building much of the lore as we go, though by 'we' I mean 'Seeraph and I with OOC input from you people'.
Unfortunately, in order to understand the context of characters and the way the game world we build works, eventually enough will build up and the group will have a long enough history that you will need to refer to a site for lore. It's just how it is. Sorry.
Unrealistic -- Fantasy
Talking animals with a religion and ethnic backgrounds are fairly usual fare here, as are animal aus of characters written as human, so that's not enough to qualify a group as unrealistic. What makes ND unrealistic is that the concepts taught to your characters, however fantastical, have some observable and retrievable evidence for validity in the world we've set up. Magic probably exists, and can probably be harnessed the way the leadership says it can, though there are certain limitations.
Active
Cult-based doesn't mean it's a cult OOC! You are allowed a life outside, in part because it doesn't really rely on a rank structure (there are ranks but they're more like degrees of initiation). You should have a healthy life outside. Just come on once in a while and we'll all do our best to be around too.
Mature
There are going to be so many -Content Removed by Moderator-. So much gratuitous and colourful language in chats where that's allowed. SO MUCH GAY, statistically, even if the lore ends up developing in a "gay is sin" direction IC.
On the other hand, there will also be expectations re: conduct and drama, and -Content Removed by Moderator- get kicked, plain and simple. Y'ready? Y'sure you can handle it?
Map and Site
Site link pending.
Map link and screens pending.
Staff
Pudding | Yamakari -- Yehuda ha-Zohar
Seeraph | Apotropaism -- Koinonos Vale
Both of us are responsible for internal affairs, though we disclaim any liability for any -Content Removed by Moderator- our members get up to outside of our watch.
Rules, IC and OOC
OOC RULES
1. Pls to respect others.
2. "Wow, should I talk to the leaders instead of starting drama when it's applicable?" Um, yes. That's like asking if cranberries are meat from a cranimal (please pretend they are for the sake of argument).
3. No politics in chat. Religion could probs come up because Yama spreads shul stories around like an octopus spreads ink, but no politics. At least until a certain politician's controversial term is over. Pls.
4. No inviting random non-group normies to chat. There are other servers for that.
5. No posting anything you wouldn't want your (admittedly cool and memey) grandmother to see. (This rule assumes your grandmother is cool with 2010s humour and against unsolicited pornography, racism and other illegal content. If your grandmother approves of any of these things, see rule 6.)
6. We are not your therapists; you can complain if you want, but please seek help instead of becoming reliant.
IC RULES
1. Obey.
2. The outside is nasty.
3. Actually there are no IC rules as of yet, just groupthink and canine psychology. LMAO
Joining up
Characters should be canine (for now), though there are no restrictions on species within this category.
If you can't find us recruiting and the site isn't up yet when you're intrigued, just drop this form on this thread!
FH Username and password and credit card number and-- *shot* i'm kiddiNG...
Preferred nicknames and/or pronouns if applicable
Character Name
Character Species
Gender
When (PST) we can pick you up:
RP Sample (Because we can't meet you in person and gauge how you rp from your ooc writing. c:)
Optional Prompts for those who can't think of what to write:
-Thoughts on arrival
-Backstory for leaving an old group
-Just some good ol' pack hunting
-Seeing snow for the first time or something idk
It only needs to be like three sentences pls don't like, worry and act like it's an auDITION omg,,, this is strictly for sampling purposes and if you want in you're always welcome!
