worldbuilding_exchange | Nominations Clarifications 1

wbv2mod posting in

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Thanks for all the great nominations so far! We have some queries and corrections for you, but also some updates!

More clarification on worldbuilding tags

Since different people have different definitions of worldbuilding, we're seeing a wide variety of tags, including some that seem as though they could only be explored with one character (who is not necessarily nominated) or would be the equivalent of a relationship or specific story prompt in another exchange. Topics are great; "fill out a specific scene" or "write this relationship" or "character study" may be out of scope. Please reach out to mods to discuss if you're not sure where your worldbuilding tags fall. We have adjusted some of our guidelines from last year, so a tag approved last year might not be automatically approved this year. We hope we can work with you so that everyone is happy with the eventual tags - please be patient with us.

Please add fandom name after your WB: tags

Please note that worldbuilding tags need to include a fandom or fandom abbreviation in parentheses at the end, e.g. "WB: Previous Intervals (Pern)". If we need to rephrase your worldbuilding topic to make that fit, we may not get it exactly right!

Specific fandom queries below! Please link your nominations page if telling us what to do about your nomination - thank you! Please either sign in to comment, or include a name with your anonymous comments, including replies to others' comments. Unsigned comments will stay screened.

Original Work - [genre] - We will not approve character nominations here other than gender-specific tags - see changes to nominations guidelines this year. As a specific example, instead of nominating Space Station Crew Member (OW-Hard SF), you could nominate WB: Working on a Space Station. In general, we recommend nominating broad worldbuilding tags, and saving specific scenarios for optional details in your sign-ups.

逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney - The tags “WB: No Callisto Yew (AA)” and “WB: No DL-6 incident (AA)” seem as if, rather than exploring unseen details of an aspect of the actual canon, they may be prompting for what-if AUs, which is outside the scope of this exchange. We’re happy to discuss possible worldbuilding tags that might include these broad topics within canon.

Andor (TV) - The tag "WB: Coruscant/senatorial politics and culture (Andor)" seems to cover several different ideas. Could this tag possibly be divided or narrowed down a bit - or help us understand what you're looking for, please?

曇天に笑う | Donten ni Warau | Laughing Under the Clouds (Anime & Manga) - The nominated characters include Older Fuuma Kotarou (DNW) and Younger Fuuma Kotarou (DNW). We will only accept Fuuma Kotarou | Fuuma Isame once; can you give us an idea of how you planned to request these tags, so we can discuss ways you might use the worldbuilding tags for this?

Dragon Age II - The tag “WB: Varric lying about someone's death in order to protect them (Dragon Age II)” seems to be more of a prompt than a worldbuilding exploration. Can you help us understand what you’re looking for, please?

Dragon Age: Origins - We’re not sure what is meant by the tag “WB: Aeducan's son's claim to the throne (DAO)”. Is this intended to refer to Aeducan’s son’s life after the King accepts him in the Of Noble Birth quest, or a prompt about him becoming the King’s heir, or something else? Can you help us understand what you’re looking for, please?

Event Horizon (1997) - We see the Event Horizon has been nominated both as a character and a worldbuilding tag. Could you please expand a bit on your thinking here?

Four Ways to Forgiveness - Ursula K. Le Guin - The tag "WB: in-universe texts/documents (Four Ways to Forgiveness) is a worldbuilding tag, but it seems to be already covered by a medium tag (in-universe meta). Did you want texts or documents about something specific? Could you give us a bit more information about what you were thinking of, please?

Geico GEICOween Horror Movie Commercial - We're not sure what the tags "WB: The Graveyard (Geico GEICOween Horror Movie Commercial)" and "WB: The Farm (Geico GEICOween Horror Movie Commercial)" are referring to. Is this the commercial you mean? Which aspects are the farm and the graveyard, please? The chainsaw murderer has been nominated as a worldbuilding tag, but seems to be a character - could you help us understand this tag please?

镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) - The tag “WB: Shen Wei acclimating to Haixing after waking up (Guardian (TV)” seems to be more of a prompt than a worldbuilding exploration. Can you help us understand what you’re looking for, please?

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells - "The Colony Solicitor - Sanctuary Moon (The Murderbot Diaries)", "The Terraforming Supervisor - Sanctuary Moon (The Murderbot Diaries)", and Sparga Delfin are not characters within the Murderbot Diaries, but within a further level of fiction. Nominator, could we explore what you're looking for here and what sorts of tags might suit it?

Also, the following worldbuilding tags: "WB: Scripts for Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon and Similar Media (The Murderbot Diaries)", and "WB: Visuals for Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon and Similar Media (The Murderbot Diaries)" seem to explicitly specify the media tags already available to select in this exchange. Could these be replaced with WB: Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon (The Murderbot Diaries), and/or WB: Entertainment Media (The Murderbot Diaries), which along with the choice of fic, art, or meta would cover these concepts? Let’s discuss.

Old Gods of Appalachia (Podcast) - The "Lockes" and "Barrows" are nominated as worldbuilding tags. They seem like groups of characters - would worldbuilding tags like WB: Locke Family History work for your purposes, or could you otherwise help us understand these nominations? Similarly, are the Feral Green a specifc faction?

Star Trek: The Original Series - The tag “WB: Sociology of the Enterprise (ST: TOS)” seems very broad and we're not completely sure we understand what you're hoping to request and offer - could you let us know what you had in mind please?

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The tag “WB: Sociology of the Enterprise (ST: TNG)” seems very broad and we're not completely sure we understand what you're hoping to request and offer - could you let us know what you had in mind please?

Star Wars: All Media Types - These two tags have a great deal of overlap:
"WB: Force cultures other than Jedi and Sith (SW AMT)" and "WB: Force traditions other than the Sith or the Jedi (Star Wars AMT)". May we combine them into WB: Force traditions and cultures other than Jedi and Sith (SW AMT)?

Also, we’re not quite sure what’s meant by WB: Mandalorian Foundling (SW AMT). May we rephrase as WB: Traditions around foundlings in Mandalorian culture (SW AMT), or did you intend something else?

The Walking Dead (TV) - These two tags have a great deal of overlap:
“WB: Early days of the apocalypse (Walking Dead TV)” and “WB: The Very First Hours and Days of the Zombie Apocalypse (TWD TV)”. May we combine them? Or do you want to separate them out into more distinct time periods?

Please include the link to your nominations page with your reply!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

the_kellephant

I nominated “WB: Early days of the apocalypse (Walking Dead TV)” but not the other one. Personally, I don't mind if they're combined because they're very similar. Thanks!

From:

wbv2mod

Thanks, could you please link your nominations page? (Nobody can see it but you and mods.)

From:

facethestrange

I'm the other nominator, of the other tag (here). I'm definitely okay with them being combined, but the "hours" (and not just "days") part is pretty important to me - I'm especially interested in the initial shock.

From:

wbv2mod

Thank you! We'll be sure to include that.

From:

crantz

Your tagset link takes you to someone's nomination page (well specifically a 'you don't have permission to see this' page) rather than the tagset.

From:

wbv2mod

Thanks for letting us know - it's been fixed now! (It actually linked to the nominations approval screen, which, yeah, you don't have permission to see that page :-)

From:

crantz

Curse my URL reading abilities!

From:

event_kosch

Donten ni Warau nominator here! Those are separate characters - a pair of twins that picked the same name for themselves. Isuke and Isame are semi-canonical in regards to their given names (the anime just inventedwhat they were), but they don't really use them. Fuuma I same would be the younger, and the older is listed as Kinjou Shirasu on ao3 as that's what he's introduced as initially to the audience. I just decided it's better to list them under the name they use, as it is the clearest way to have unambiguous character tags for both to anyone familiar with the fandom.

From:

isis

Thanks for your explanation! We'd prefer to use the AO3 tags, since that's how they will be synned if anyone fills a request with both of those characters. If you request a work with either of them, you are welcome to specify in your optional details that you prefer a particular name.

Could you please link your nominations page?

From:

event_kosch

https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/18700/nominations/319201

Alright!

From:

wbv2mod

Thank you!

From:

skyeventide

Hi, I nominated the two Dragon Age tags. https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/18700/nominations/319450

For the Varric one: I suppose what I mean is an exploration of the many possibilities developing from the character lying about who's alive and who's dead. It's an established fandom trope and it could come with various future ramifications, but if it doesn't work because it's too much of a prompt per se, I could try to make it work in another way? It's basically what if X Y Z were alive and this guy covered for them. Maybe better as "Varric as an unreliable narrator"?

The Origins one: all that and more? It's kind of a catch all for how does Orzammar handle the succession when there's a new possible claimant. Does the kid in question enter court, does a new party form around him, what of his life? Is there a better way to word this?

From:

isis

Thanks for your explanations! We'd prefer to keep things broad rather than focus on specific cases (though of course you're welcome to prompt specific cases in your optional details), especially when you're suggesting things that are not present in canon (or present in canon assuming Dwarf Noble origin).

How about:

WB: Consequences of Varric being an unreliable narrator (Dragon Age II)

WB: Succession in Orzammar after Bhelen Aeducan or Pyral Harrowmont (DAO)
and/or
WB: Life as Orzammar Royalty (DAO)

You could nominate Aeducan's son as a character tag, as he's a character who exists (conditionally) in the game. Alternatively, something like

WB: Aeducan's son's life at court after acceptance in Of Noble Birth

might suit?

From:

skyeventide

WB: Consequences of Varric being an unreliable narrator (Dragon Age II) sounds fine!

As do character tag + WB succession and WB life as royalty. I'll edit to that later if you don't get to it faster than me. :)

Edited Date: 2024-02-15 07:55 am (UTC)

From: (Anonymous)

Hi! Guardian nominator here. I saw this tag in the tagset from previous years and copy-pasted it. Shen Wei is a character who travelled in time to the far future from when he originally lived. I liked the tag and wanted to reuse it, because it sounded like good exploration how Haxing (Earth in this setting) changed over very long period of time (10000 years). Maybe wb:Haxing culture and development over time would be better? Not exactly the same thing, but close enough

From:

wbv2mod

Please link your nominations page. WB: Haxing culture and development over time would be acceptable, but we need verification that this is your nomination.

From:

fiona15351

Hi, I nominated the Murderbot Diaries (https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/18700/nominations/319210)

I am looking for any type of media (fic, art or meta) exploring the in-universe fictional series "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon" or similar entertainment media. I included all the specific character names/roles I could find for "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon," but I would be equally happy with original characters from World-Hoppers, Timestream Defenders Orion, etc. -- as well as original actors, script-writers, producers, audience-members, critics, etc.

I included several different world-building tags because I felt that they expressed sufficiently different aspects of world-building to be worth differentiating and I would be happy with any media for them. For the tag "Scripts for Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon and Similar Media," I would be equally interested in a fic with original characters workshopping a script, a piece of meta (that script itself), or a visual -- the boardroom where the script is being worked on. Similarly, for the tag "Visuals for Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon and Similar Media," I would be interested in a fic about the people behind casting, costuming and set-design, a piece of meta discussing or documenting this, or art actually portraying it.

I hope this is clear. I am definitely happy to combine some of these tags if that seems to make the most sense!

Thank you!

From:

wbv2mod

Thank you! It sounds like something like Production of Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon might work? Or maybe Working On Visuals of... or Working On Scripts of...

I guess it's a little puzzling because the tags are quite specific, but as you describe them, you sound like you'd be interested in a very broad range of things that roughly fall into "behind the scenes of Sanctuary Moon" - is that correct? Similarly, it almost seems like the "Original Characters" or "Any or No Characters" would work fine to go with these tags rather than necessarily requiring a story about the Colony Solicitor. Are we understanding this correctly?

We'd prefer to only approve characters who appear as characters in the fandom they're nominated under.

From:

fiona15351

Gotcha! This all makes sense. I think if character category nominations were still a thing, I probably would have nominated something like "Characters in Sanctuary Moon and Similar Media", "Original Cast and Crew of Entertainment Media", "Audience and Critics of Sanctuary Moon and Similar Media."

According to this response, I'll update my tags to remove the character nominations and broaden the world-building categories -- please let me know if they still need editing. Thanks!

From:

wbv2mod

Thank you! These look fine now.

From: (Anonymous)

I'm the one who nominated OW Fantasy with characters and I'm honestly not sure where in the rules it says OW doesn't get character tags anymore? It's totally fine if it's not allowed, but I just reread them and maybe I'm just blind but I'm not seeing it anywhere.

From:

morbane

Sure. In the character section:

NEW THIS YEAR: Please do not nominate any other kind of specific original characters. Although we previously approved nominations such as "Original Surface Dwarf Character (Dragon Age Inquisition)", and “Original Halfblood Character (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)”, we will not approve them this year. Please incorporate canon-related specifics into your worldbuilding tags, for example, "WB: Surface Dwarf Culture (Dragon Inquisition)" or “WB: How halfbloods balance two worlds (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)”.

Are there worldbuilding tags that can cover what you want?

From: (Anonymous)

Ohhh, I see. Since it only had fandom OCs rather than OW I interpreted that as only counting for actual fandoms, my bad. I removed the character tag and added a more precise WB tag to cover what I wanted to ask for.

From:

sasheneskywalker

Hi, I nominated "WB: Force traditions other than the Sith or the Jedi (Star Wars AMT)" (https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/18700/nominations/319363). I definitely think my nomination can be combined into "WB: Force traditions and cultures other than Jedi and Sith (SW AMT)" (though I don't know who nominated the other similar tag).

From:

this_is_my_sock

That was me and since your version of the tag was perfectly cromulent for my needs I just went ahead and deleted my version.

From:

this_is_my_sock

This is what I get for doing my noms right before bed XD - I have adjusted my nominations to more clearly reflect what I'd be looking for and changed the Foundlings nomination to the mod suggested one (since that is basically exactly what I meant to start with. Let me know if they still need more adjustment.

From:

wbv2mod

Thank you! We appreciate you adjusting your nominations. I think we're still a little puzzled by the GEICOween nomination so a couple of further questions --

First, is this the right commercial? All the characters make sense. There is definitely a wall of chainsaws. They talk about running to a cemetery at the end. That checks out.

"WB: Chainsaw Murderer Legends Lore and Mythology (Geico GEICOween Horror Movie Commercial)" - is that basically what the group could have been previously aware of about chainsaw murderer media in their world? It's unclear what legends exist, but the characters not being media-savvy is clearly important to the joke, so is this tag about media-savviness the characters could have had?

"WB: The Farm history and lore (Geico GEICOween Horror Movie Commercial)" and "WB: The Graveyard history and lore (Geico GEICOween Horror Movie Commercial)" - are these basically, what the group knew about the location before arriving there? We meet the group in front of a very big house with fields backing it, and they know there's a cemetary, but it's not clear that either has lore, or separate lore, or lore separate from the murderer.

There is clearly worldbuilding to be had, but we'd appreciate a bit more information about your take on the canon and what you're looking for - thank you!

From:

this_is_my_sock

Sorry for the delay.

Yes, that's the one.

I am not necessarily looking for stuff the group would know/be aware of specifically, but any legends and lore that would exist about the locations and/or the Chainsaw Murderer in universe. The lore could come from one or all of the group or it could come from in-universe news reports or from the slasher movie classic "weird old guy who randomly warns those darn kids about the big bad evil thing".

The establishment of history, legends, lore, and mythology would actually be the worldbuilding I'm looking for in and of itself. If that makes sense.

From:

wbv2mod

OK, neat.

In that case, I think it makes best sense to combine the lore nominations (about the murderer, farm, and cemetery) into one tag, because based on what we know:

-the murderer exists, and the wall of chainsaws gestures to a history
-the farm exists, but it's not clear it has lore separate from the murderer
-the cemetery exists, but it's not clear it has lore separate from the murderer.

So: WB: Lore and history of the murderer and/or location?

From:

this_is_my_sock

Yeah, that would probably work fine

From:

teaotter

Nom link: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/18700/nominations/319216

I nominated Old Gods of Appalachia.

Old Gods of Appalachia (Podcast) - The "Lockes" and "Barrows" are nominated as worldbuilding tags. They seem like groups of characters - would worldbuilding tags like WB: Locke Family History work for your purposes, or could you otherwise help us understand these nominations? Similarly, are the Feral Green a specific faction?

Yes, the Lockes and the Barrows are both groups of characters. I guess it might make more sense to use the phrasing I did for the Railroad Man: "Origin and powers of ____".

The Feral Green is... not exactly a faction, but a name for parts of the Green that are unfriendly toward humanity. Maybe "Relationship between the Green and the Feral Green" would be a better tag.

If those work for you, I'm happy to change my signup.

From:

isis

Yes, please, if you could be more specific about what kind of worldbuilding you're after involving these groups it would be great. All of your suggestions make sense.

From: (Anonymous)

Not clarifying one of your items in your post, just letting you know a duplicate slipped through.
Silmarillion: Aulë, and Aulë|Mahal are the same person, just multiple names in different languages that don't affect the personality.

From:

isis

Thanks, we've fixed it!

From:

chronicbookworm

I nominated Exandria Unlimited: Calamity (Web Series), which was synned to Critical Role (Web Series), the parent show of EXU Calamity but set in an entirely different time period with entirely different characters. Since Critical Role has already been accepted into the tagset, I can't edit the fandom name to disambiguate it. Would you be able to fix it on the back end?
My nominations: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/18700/nominations/319690