Goth

Shadows paint us, darkness take us.

— classic greeting

Goths are a lifestyle-based subculture of largely undead and undead-adjacent species that began in Gothadrun centuries ago, as an expansion of the traditional gloomy style donned by many of the expired. It is not merely the fashion they wear, nor the music they listen to: to be goth is to embrace a dark, diverse culture that lives on the razor's edge between life and death.

Gothic Architecture by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Goths can be identified by their dark aesthetics, fascination with death, and refined cynicism. They are more often scholars than fighters, and though they lurk in shadow, the majority of goths are not assassins.
Gothic culture is expansive, and permeates architecture, fashion, literature, music, magic, prophecy, and somewhat unexpectedly, science. Collectively, these goth-influenced areas of life are known as the Dark Arts, and are studied by those utterly dedicated to the gothic lifestyle.
As goths are usually touched by undeath in some manner, these Dark Arts have gained an equally dark reputation: their practitioners are often seen as evil simply for their practice, even if they have done nothing foul.
Despite the subculture's origin in Gothadrun, gothic culture has nothing to do with the native Gothadruni people who inhabit the western peninsula.

Gothadruni goths do exist, and sometimes refer to themselves as double-goth, but the vast majority of Gothadruni have little knowledge of the subculture's existence.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Well, there are a few small barriers between us, I think. Assuming you do, in fact, want to keep your soul.

— vampire to dhampir

Goth culture is well-summarised in its varied, sprawling nature, centred on bonds of darkness, kindness, cynicism, and death. To break it down further is the work of lifetimes; there are simply too many subcultures of the larger subculture. Sometimes, these various cultures do clash, especially when their key reasons for separating come into stark relief against one another.

Quite obviously, the strongest clash within goth culture will always be that of the living and the dead. Though being goth does prescribe an appreciation for both sides of the coin, it cannot quell the sheer difference between those who live and those who walk again.
Undead goths, as the originators of the subculture, typically practice the Dark Arts in their truest form. They are the spinners of necromancy, who fuse bone into boneglass, who seduce the living to the brink of death with vampiric charm.
They are kinder than many other undead, and their grisly arts tinge romantic in their practice - blood sacrifices are no mere gorey display in the halls of a gothic vampire, they are dark, romantic performances, often odes to a particular mortal lover.
Living goths, by comparison, tend towards the neutral spectrum. Their use of the Dark Arts is to learn and command only as is needed; they haunt graveyards in their groups, and speak to the spirits as friends.

the Dark Arts by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

They are often those who feel distant from their living kin, appreciating the solitude and silence of the gothic lifestyle, as much as they are those obsessed with death. This is not to say there are no goths who fall outside of this label - certainly, some of the more abhorrent developments in the Dark Arts have been achieved by the living, and nothing prevents a gentle, charitable goth from existing - but the vast majority enjoy their peace.

Religion in Gothic Culture

With so many undead present in gothic circles, religion is an extremely touchy subject. Undeath is condemned by most religions; pious individuals turned undead oft find themselves abandoned by their gods, and are jaded by the experience. Commonly, this is how some find gothic culture. Though many goths wear religious motifs, it is rare for them to be worn with meaning - the symbols are enough for an aesthetic, and most prefer for them to remain that way.

Prayers of the Dark by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

The living keep their affliations quiet in meetings involving the undead. They typically do involve religion in their lives, but usually not in standard manners. They often choose to follow psychopomp deities: the tie between death and life is strongest in the realm of psychopomps, and many of the psychopomp demigods have historically overlooked peaceful or cooperative undead for a time.
Some choose darker deities, as expected. There's not really any restriction, not formally.
Almost never does a goth openly follow the most popular deities, like the sun-goddess Sarenrae - not only do common deities typically look down on their ways, but goths usually seek to find personal connections with their gods. Reasons to follow them besides the usual. With most gods, those potential links are so drowned in walls of other cultures that they are nigh impenetrable to build on without risk. So - they look elsewhere.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

It starts with black. Add what you like after that.

— bored goth

Beauty, for goths, is not in conventional beauty norms. Superficially, it is in unconventional outfits, in the use of spikes and skulls, and in the dark makeup and clothing they wear. Beneath the surface, it is about intelligence, understanding, and kindness.

True goths, such as those in the abysmally-named Goth Club, rely on their personal aesthetics and taste rather than subculture-guided appeal for others. They seek companions who may not necessarily join them in the subculture, but will at least accept them and their oddities.
Fashion conventions, for goths, are less about beauty and more about identity - and embrace the lack of consistent convention. They traditionally utilise outdated fashions, aided by the fact that many goths are undead and thus may have wardrobes dating back centuries or more. These old clothes are altered to be black, and adorned with decorations to the goth's taste.
Whether a goth prefers heavy adornment and includes dramatic hats, capes, and jewellery in their repertoire or instead prefers a sleek ebon silhouette, their outfits are to be appreciated as part of their self.

Seduction by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Gender Ideals

What is gender but yet another expectation?

— potentially the same bored goth

Gothic Dress by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Gender is a concept most often defined by the dominant communities in an area. The presumption of a dimorphous male-female gender binary is a very human concept that has long since been adopted by many; in darkness or death, many goths choose to cast aside these assumptions and craft themselves identities that reflect their own beliefs and ideals.
This does occasionally cause problems with those of other cultures. Misgendering is all too common, especially in rural communities with little exposure to greater thoughts on gender and self.
Like with most things, most goths accept that this is just something they have to deal with - after all, they're honestly more likely to have the Keepers of Divinity brought down on them for their practice of the Dark Arts than to have some peasant screw up their 'sirs' and 'madams'.

Goth by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Related Nations

Gothadrun

Vampire's Touch by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

I'm going to suggest ignoring half of what's on this page. Come along to a Goth Club meeting if you're actually interested. Half of this is bait for the vampires.

— Naseem Samawi, ex-vampire

The Dark Arts

The Dark Arts, as they are so boringly named, are a variety of areas of study collected into one tidy bundle.
The ones most people care about are magical and scientific, respectively; though music, architecture, and the like do still fall under the umbrella, they are usually more mundane.
Necromancy, illusion, and enchantment are the most common schools of magic used in the Dark Arts.
Combined with alchemy and herbalism, the Dark Arts are often a path of subtle poisons, alluring whispers, and beautifully horrific rites that make use of death. Most blood magic spells have their roots in gothic traditions.
Only fools and paladins (if they aren't considered the same thing) would assume the Dark Arts are entirely evil. Many poisons only have antidotes because of gothic practitioners, and blood magic has proven highly effective in aiding healing processes and tracking the lost.
A number of poultices first invented by practitioners of the Dark have made it into common, everyday use; the telltale signs are the use of rich berry colours and dark leaves, and the bending of poison for good. This does not mean all poultices resembling this process are of dark origin!
The sciences are where gothic traditions become more interesting. Anatomy, chemistry, and even - bizarrely - physics are practiced in different ways by those deep in gothic tradition; it is said, perhaps humorously, that their darkness is such that it warps all it touches.
But to delve too deeply into the Dark Arts here would be an excessive risk.
After all - we can't have you, dear reader, becoming too invested.

We have so many more things to teach you about what it truly means to be a goth, but where's the fun in reading them all at once? Patience, sweetling. It's more dramatic if we wait.

— a grinning vampire

Death's Kiss by Hanhula (via Midjourney)