Rose Marshall (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
prettylittledeadgirl) wrote2011-01-10 10:06 pm
prettylittledeadgirl) wrote2011-01-10 10:06 pm
Entry tags:
Canon Info
Unfortunately, there is not a lot that is actually explained or expounded on about the universe as it doesn't directly relate to Rose's story. I've laid out the info I remember or have pulled out from a quick re-skim of all the stories. As I re-read and pick out new details, this post will probably be updated to reflect that.
Ambulomancers - these are not explained, really, but they have a connection to the road like the Routewitches.
Routwitches - people with an innate or learned connection to the Roads. They aren't the sort to stay in one place very long, generally. The American Routewitches have one "headquarters", as it were, where the Queen of the Routewitches holds her court - this place can be found by following the "Ocean Lady", the ghost of the original Atlantic Highway.
Ghostroads - there are different Americas - the bright daylight America (and there are likely more than one of these, but they're really not accessable to the dead) where most people live their lives. The normal people. The supernatural, the ghosts, the routewitches and ambulomancers, the people who've fallen through the cracks of society - they all live in one level or another of the Twilight, where the roads are older, sometimes almost ghosts themselves. That's not to say that it's a ghost town - there are whole places that are at least partially in the Twilight, like the Last Dance diner - it's mostly in the Twilight, but it's in the Daylight enough that they get completely normal patrons from time to time. Then there's the Midnight - the darkest place, where unspoken horrors roam. What those horrors might be is not said, but it's not a safe place to be unless you're one of the monsters. Most people in the Twilight can rise or sink through the layers, deeper towards the Midnight or higher towards the Daylight, though some cannot actually rise again to the Daylight - most ghosts, for instance, are unable to leave the Twilight unless they want to move on to whatever's beyond this world. Certain types of ghosts, however, can slip back up into the daylight, at least temporarily - generally the sorts you find in stories being picked up on the side of the road, where the good samaritan picking them up don't realise they're dead until after the ghost has departed, if ever. There are layers to the world deeper and separate from the Ghostroads, but these are the only ones we know anything about.
Hitchers - like Rose, a ghost who hitch-hikes around the country. They generally don't have a destination, but they keep moving. This type of ghost was a person who, when alive, was not the sort to stay in one place very long, and they were almost always killed on the road. One of the special aspects of Hitchers is that they are able to slip into a certain sort of "life", with a solid body and blood coursing through their veins. A borrowed coat from someone living gives them this borrowed life until the sun rises again. They can also eat, though only if they're fed by the living - if they try to buy food for themselves, it would be like air and ashes. When they are alive, they are able to be injured or killed - when injured, the injury will obviously go away once the sun rises or they take off their borrowed jacket. If killed, they will remain dead for a short period of time - from a few minutes to a few hours.
Racers - a kind of ghost who died in a race, who haunts the stretch of road they died on in a ghost of their car, on some level of the Twilight, sometimes quite deep.
Crossroads - The crossroads exists, where you can make a deal to get what you want. It's not manned by a demon, but by a "representative", a person or spirit who has agreed for one reason or another to be the Crossroads'. The true power behind the Crossroads is not known.
Gods and other Supernatural Creatures - it's not clear exactly what deities do or don't exist, but there is evidence that both the Greek and Norse deities may be real in some way or another. Later in her canon, Rose is tattooed with a special symbol, granted the protection of Persephone from Bobby Cross. There are bean sidhe (called Banshees sometimes, these days) and Valkyries (who sometimes disguise themselves as cheerleaders and apparently like ice cream) and most likely any number of other Fae and Supernatural creatures. Additionally, there are things like exorcisms and seals of Solomon and spirit jars and salt lines that spirits can't pass.
Ambulomancers - these are not explained, really, but they have a connection to the road like the Routewitches.
Routwitches - people with an innate or learned connection to the Roads. They aren't the sort to stay in one place very long, generally. The American Routewitches have one "headquarters", as it were, where the Queen of the Routewitches holds her court - this place can be found by following the "Ocean Lady", the ghost of the original Atlantic Highway.
Ghostroads - there are different Americas - the bright daylight America (and there are likely more than one of these, but they're really not accessable to the dead) where most people live their lives. The normal people. The supernatural, the ghosts, the routewitches and ambulomancers, the people who've fallen through the cracks of society - they all live in one level or another of the Twilight, where the roads are older, sometimes almost ghosts themselves. That's not to say that it's a ghost town - there are whole places that are at least partially in the Twilight, like the Last Dance diner - it's mostly in the Twilight, but it's in the Daylight enough that they get completely normal patrons from time to time. Then there's the Midnight - the darkest place, where unspoken horrors roam. What those horrors might be is not said, but it's not a safe place to be unless you're one of the monsters. Most people in the Twilight can rise or sink through the layers, deeper towards the Midnight or higher towards the Daylight, though some cannot actually rise again to the Daylight - most ghosts, for instance, are unable to leave the Twilight unless they want to move on to whatever's beyond this world. Certain types of ghosts, however, can slip back up into the daylight, at least temporarily - generally the sorts you find in stories being picked up on the side of the road, where the good samaritan picking them up don't realise they're dead until after the ghost has departed, if ever. There are layers to the world deeper and separate from the Ghostroads, but these are the only ones we know anything about.
Hitchers - like Rose, a ghost who hitch-hikes around the country. They generally don't have a destination, but they keep moving. This type of ghost was a person who, when alive, was not the sort to stay in one place very long, and they were almost always killed on the road. One of the special aspects of Hitchers is that they are able to slip into a certain sort of "life", with a solid body and blood coursing through their veins. A borrowed coat from someone living gives them this borrowed life until the sun rises again. They can also eat, though only if they're fed by the living - if they try to buy food for themselves, it would be like air and ashes. When they are alive, they are able to be injured or killed - when injured, the injury will obviously go away once the sun rises or they take off their borrowed jacket. If killed, they will remain dead for a short period of time - from a few minutes to a few hours.
Racers - a kind of ghost who died in a race, who haunts the stretch of road they died on in a ghost of their car, on some level of the Twilight, sometimes quite deep.
Crossroads - The crossroads exists, where you can make a deal to get what you want. It's not manned by a demon, but by a "representative", a person or spirit who has agreed for one reason or another to be the Crossroads'. The true power behind the Crossroads is not known.
Gods and other Supernatural Creatures - it's not clear exactly what deities do or don't exist, but there is evidence that both the Greek and Norse deities may be real in some way or another. Later in her canon, Rose is tattooed with a special symbol, granted the protection of Persephone from Bobby Cross. There are bean sidhe (called Banshees sometimes, these days) and Valkyries (who sometimes disguise themselves as cheerleaders and apparently like ice cream) and most likely any number of other Fae and Supernatural creatures. Additionally, there are things like exorcisms and seals of Solomon and spirit jars and salt lines that spirits can't pass.