#I'm not on tumblr to do salty

[factual-fantasy]

Just a heads up to new artists who might not know this: tracing people's artwork and posting it as your own is not okay. With or without credit, its stolen if you don't have permission.

This is why I continue to stay out of the Octonauts fandom and now probably will not return. Even months after leaving the fandom I'm still getting new art tracers and thieves.

If you absolutely have to trace and post it, just ask the artist first. If they say no then don't trace their artwork.

[2hoothoots]

i was having a chuckle to myself last night about Gristol, and how his plans are basically:

Restore Ford Cruller's memory

Find Maligula

???

Profit

but then... of course they are, right? this is Gristol we're talking about. Fatherland Follies drives home again and again that he's still operating on a child's logic, a warped and reductive version of the world that he never bothered to grow out of. both of his memory vaults center on the images of his childhood, this idealized version of the past that he clings to no matter what. and that's still how he remembers Maligula, too - as this saviour figure, who rushes in to help him when he's in trouble.

[ID: Two slides from Gristol's memory vault, Glory to Grulovia! Left: Gristol clings to Maligula's back as she summons waves to sweep away his assailants. Right: Gristol and Maligula waving from a balcony as the people cheer. Gzar Theodore brandishes a dagger in the background.]

like so much else, Maligula represents a return to this idyllic childhood - to the peace and simplicity of his youth, when he was free from worries and responsibilities. in his mind, he doesn't need to make any further plans - once Maligula's back, everything will go back to normal. Maligula will make everything better.

...is what i thought, but then i remembered this line:

[Screenshot source. ID: Gristol, in Truman's body, bows on his hands and knees in front of the newly-awaked Maligula. The caption reads: "Yes, High Priestess! I am here to correct the mistakes made by my father!"]

and that's kind of interesting, right?

to be clear: this happens directly after Maligula sees Helmut-in-Gristol's-body, and recognises him. her line before this is:

"Little Gzesaravich! Have you come to pay for your father's sins?"

my first thought was that Gristol hadn't expected to still be in Truman's body by the time he managed to find Maligula, and this was him trying to placate her and buy some time until he could explain the situation. but watching the cutscene back, that's clearly not what's happening here. Gristol is answering as himself, and his response of throwing himself to his knees before her is, as far as i can tell, genuine.

so what is going on here?

in Fatherland Follies, there's this line in the ride narration that stuck out to me:

"Why didn't the Gzar help Maligula in her time of need? No one knows, but historians agree - it is Gzar Theodore's biggest failure."

other lines mention Gzar Theodore's "mistake", and it's wording Gristol himself echoes in the screencap above. evidently, he believes that his father abandoned Maligula, leaving her to her fate at the hands of the Psychonauts, and it was that mistake that lead to them being driven out of the country - that mistake which he seeks to correct. maybe he even feels like he has a debt to repay to her for his family turning their backs on her all those years ago.

the 'High Priestess' thing, though - that's kinda weird, and threw me for a loop the first time i played the game. it took me until my second playthrough to connect the dots, and remember how the room in the Lady Luctopus - Gristol's room - was full of Delugionist scribblings and symbols.

[Screenshot source. ID: left, the walls of the hidden backroom in Gristol's hotel suite, covered in scrawlings of eyeballs and Maligula's name. Right, the pinboard from the hidden backroom. On its surface are photographs and newspaper clippings connected by pieces of string.]

i mean, look at this stuff! he had a whole conspiracy board and everything!

we learn very little about the Delugionists and their beliefs as a whole during the game, but i think drawing the connection here suggests two important things. one: that Gristol was in deep with this stuff. i don't know how he linked up with them - maybe via old family connections, or just good old-fashioned digging (we know he's skilled at worming his way into peoples' good graces, after all) - but it seems likely that he's begun to internalise their ideas, maybe even warping his own memories of events. and two: the Delugionists themselves are, if you'll pardon the pun, pretty far off the deep end.

like... i understand why PN2 didn't go heavy on the "mass-murderer cult worship" aspect of things, in the end, but man this is such a tantalising glimpse into the wider mythos around Maligula. Gristol is proud and haughty and thinks himself above everyone else; the fact that his first reaction seeing Maligula is to throw himself to the ground at her feet says so much about the way he's come to see her. he's not just trying to bring back Maligula, his childhood bodyguard. he's trying to bring back Maligula, the High Priestess of the deluge, the semi-mythical figure whose supporters believe even death couldn't stop. he doesn't even flinch at the way she confronts him, and maybe it's because he's bought in so completely to this deified figurehead, this idea of Maligula; more a living force of nature than a person. and it all comes back to the same place: an abdication of responsibility, not just to the person who protected him when he was little but to this avatar of floods and destruction. Maligula will make everything better.

i'd write more about my thoughts on the Delugionists but that'd be taking a hard turn into speculation, and this is already kind of long and rambling so i'd better end it here. but what an unexpected and evocative line, right? it's some of the only stuff we have to go off of regarding the Delugionists as a whole, but i think it does such a good job of hinting at the wider story - at teasing another layer to the mythos surrounding Maligula, one whose ripples we see throughout the game but which never quite breaches the surface.

[raindropdragon]

What's this? An illusion? No! It's the prettiest girl in town! Mirage!

Head made by: sciendragontist (x) (x)

Picture taken by: aluna (x) (x)

[windandwater]

re: "we can't have nice things" in regards to Neil fucking Gaiman

like I'm really sorry but I'm also super not because I remember when he got even a sliver of criticism for some of the choices in the Good Omens TV show and all of tumblr jumped down everyone's throats for saying he could've done better? and I've been sitting on my fucking hands ever since, I'm not joking, ask anyone who knows me

if you're surprised, I don't know what to tell you, the actual revulsion I felt when I read a post on this hellhole talking about how well he portrays female characters in one of the books that made me realize that all of his female characters exist to lose their agency in order to further the plotline of the main male character? and he was doing a round of self-congratulations in the post? and people here just. go with it? uncritically?

while also driving other authors I could name off this site because they *checks notes* were a grownup writing YA? and the reading comprehension of this webbed site is such that no one realized those books existed to say that there's no such thing as a manic pixie dream girl and women can't fix you?

that's besides the point, I just don't know how anyone here is "he's a creep???" about the man whose female characters always lose their agency in some form or other. gee wow can't imagine he'd treat women in real life like shit in one way or other. shocker!! let's hear both sides.

I'm not blaming anyone for liking his work or falling for his schtick (I liked it too, at one point), I'm just absolutely furious at the groupthink of this place, and the way no one. no one! could have said this stuff without everyone jumping to his defense. until this news came out.

and in all seriousness, I hope the victims get the space and care they need, and the justice they deserve. I hope they live their absolute best lives every day and I hope one day we as a society can figure outhow to stop propping up predators.

[devil-latte]

Just assuming the young people will be a small percentage, I'll redo it if I'm wrong

[closed--meadow]

Things Mihoyo didn't answer?????

like i have so many questions regarding the latest archon quest and they all involve Childe?? like, for example-

Why was he in Fontaine in the first place? what did it mean that "he felt restless" and "needed to fight ppl to get rid of his foul mood" ??

Why did his vision malfunction?? was that Focalors' doing?

Where is his vision story??? how did he get it???

why was he declared guilty by the oratrice? was that also Focalors' doing? was it all part of her grand scheme

how was neuvillette's one punch strong enough to knock him out but he had to fight the narwhal for who knows how long

how tf did he awaken that narwhal that is somehow really connected with him?

How did he even get to the primordial sea, or whatever plane of existence the all devouring narwhal lives in? how long did he fight it?

Why did he have to be yeeted back to snezhnaya?????? like he was yesterdays trash or smth😭 skirk even does the hand clapping thing after that??? and then 5 seconds later she completely forgets about having a disciple??

Why did mihoyo have to pull this bs again where they give us such a lore important character but dont give us any lore on them at all 😔 one kaeya was alr enough they needn't pull that shit again come on. and i swear if we have to wait till snezhnaya to get all of these answers i'm gonna shrivel up like a raisin : )

[wof-reworked]

The way this fandom treats Sunny and Qibli really frustrates me, and I know a lot of the time it's because this fandom (unsurprisingly) skews younger but it really demonstrates to me that people really don't understand what trauma can do and how when people say "traumatized people can act very differently", people don't actually internalize what that means.

[fully-caulked-wagon]

Posting a few things that I forgot to and had on the backburner. Tried out a couple new pens on ibis x mobile at the beginning of September, so here you go.

[moonshine-nightlight]

Hi, I'm always very impressed by your world building skills, even in shorter stories! Do you have any advice for aspiring writers on how to build their fantasy world?

So i drafted a response to this in between working just far too much and then my computer crashed and i lost it. Then i was even busier so i never got around to writing it again but i am making some time this weekend, so worldbuilding post - take 2

My main, high level worldbuilding tips are:

Rule of Cool: worldbuild things you think are fun and interesting. not only is that the best way to get ideas you like and are motivated to write about, but other people will also think they're interesting too. have fun with it.

Iceberg theory: know more about the world than ever makes it into the story. people can sense when worldbuilding is shallow, so even if they never see the true depths of the world they can often sense it's there. plus if u know the whole picture, everything the readers do see will seem more coherent

Integration: i heavily integrate the world i'm building into the story i'm telling--so dig into the plot and characters and make sure that the world and the story serve each other well. your world is there to contribute to the story so make sure its fulfilling that purpose

For more specifics about how i personally world build and for some examples from my stories of the above guidelines, see below.

So firstly, i love worldbuilding. i just think its a ton of fun and could easily spend hours just thinking about worlds in my head. (i mean what else is there to do when ur commuting to work, amiright?) i think that does make it easier for me to take the time to do it right and makes the world come through more vividly in my writing. it can get annoying or tedious or be more challenging at times, but since i like it/find world building interesting, i'm more willing to put in the time and effort to whip it into shape and i get less frustrated with that part of the process in general.

i'm also always thinking about world building to some degree in the back of my mind. picking up interesting information, facts, snatches of cool ideas or images or whatever. then i throw all that in like a junk drawer in my brain so when i sit down to more officially write or flesh out a world, i already have spare parts at my finger tips to use or drawn on.

Reading and consuming other art and worlds also makes it easier to make your own, just lik reading is a key part of writing practice. i don't just mean fiction, but just anything about the actual world makes it much easier to make up your own--that can manifest as awe at the fireflies that actually exist or spite that dragons dont. Whether that's random youtube video essays about the history of musicals or drinks or fashion to books and articles and documentaries or just my friend's niche interests (or their regular jobs). i'm always taking worldbuilding notes in the back of my mind.

For a more writing specific example, i read this short guide '50 Ways to Kill a Mermaid' (its locked for AO3 so u hav to sign in to read it) and it was super fun and cool to read that info from a writer who had studied marine biology. then when i was fleshing out Don't Shoot the Messenger a year later, the problem of Satrasi being a sea demon in a fresh water pool and bloating came to my mind because i'd stored that tidbit from the article away for later use.

My personal method for worldbuilding and plot outlining is sort a brainstorming/Q&A i have with myself (i hope this makes sense when i'm done writing this all out lol).

I've mentioned this before but the prompt that inspired Dale was: "You’re pretty sure your boyfriend was replaced by an eldritch being that can barely emulate being human. Weirdly, you enjoy a better relationship with them than your actual boyfriend."

So when that idea grabbed me, i started brainstorming about the world and asking myself questions. Why is the reader with the boyfriend if they don't really like them? What would make someone stay in a relationship like that? Do i want to make this a dark story? And i did not, i wanted it to be fun, so the arranged marriage angle came to mind. And if that's the premise then when is the story? is this our 'past' or another world entirely? diff world means more freedom so i automatically leaned in that direction.

Can the reader tell the 'boyfriend' has been replaced? Are demons a thing people know about? does the reader know that's an option? which is more fun? if the reader is worried about Dale getting caught, that's more room for hijinks so then yes, demons are known, but not common otherwise too many people would notice.

So my plot and worldbuilding are evolving in tandem and informing each other, based on the type of story i want to tell and how the characters i have in mind will react etc.

i run through a lot of ideas and turn them over in my head--trying out diff pieces to see if they fit--and am always willing to drop an idea or save it for another story if i don't think its working for the current one

For iceberg theory, i mentioned above for Dale would be the religions in that world. When i decided to introduce a priest like character (for discovery danger) i knew i needed to focus more on the religions than i previously had noted. the majority of what i came up with isn't int he story, but i think the fact that i know it helps me write when did end up in there, helped make it consistent, and means i can more easily work in allusions to it without having to work so hard those singular times.

For example, i'd decided to call the demon realm "the Depths" early on, which to me already invokes deep water and darkness, so i followed that through to sort height and air and light as being perceived more positively. fire and light are important symbols in this world and they primarily burn their dead--to bury someone below ground would be seen as almost condemning them and someone drowning is also seen as like, not good for their soul because what if it is 'pulled down' rather than 'ascending'. some of this was alluded to in the chapter, but most of it is not. this also helped me come up with the various "by the light" "dawn's ire" and other similar little 'religious' phrases and exclamations different characters use at times.

Meanwhile, in Sacrifice, the people living their are relatively non-religious--thats why they both don't pray to any other deities and it takes 5 years of problems to even bother trying an old god. it's not sacrilege because they're desperate people trying a long shot, not violating or abandoning a different belief. because i wanted the reader's main problem with it all to just be that they didn't think it work.

And why is she a translator? because i wanted to use the idea from that one post that goes around about how ridiculous it is in movies when their translated prophecies rhyme in english. why are they arguing about the translation? because its a dead language so no one really speaks it, that means the people who came up with it were here a century ago or longer. why aren't they here anymore? nomadic so they left and ended up staying away because of a natural disaster elsewhere. why is this town here now? a particular export/resource in this area became valuable enough for people to try to live here. the fact that its a lumber town due to some rare wood native to the area doesn't come up in the story, but i know it and i think that i know that about the town helps it feel more real, makes it easier for me to reach for new details when i need them

and going back to anything can be inspiration, let's talk about the doorlock in the very beginning of Finally Woken. its literally just a magical keypad/number pad but with different colored tiles instead of numbers because i wanted the reader to be able to get in, but i felt it didnt make sense for them to hav a physical key. and i thought it would look cool in Heshi's door and it went well with the fact that he's a glassblower . also, why is Heshi a glassblower? because i frickin' lov blown glass - i just think its so cool and pretty. that helped lead into the sort of artisan economy feel that world has.

Each of these stories has an outline and notes doc at a minimum. the notes doc is where i throw lik pics, inspiration posts, random worldbuilding ideas etc. only much shorter stories or stories that are heavily based in 'modern' world don't hav extensive random notes.

my Dale folder has subfolders for characters and the setting, as well as random worldbuilding files such as "demon summoning/magic" "spiritual belief and org" "fashion - feminine" and so on. Even excluding the plot outline and chapter notes (and not counting pics) i've got like, over 4k of random notes saved. dale is the one i hav the most of that for, but all my fics have some little section with stuff like that jotted down

in the end, i think the best way to sum up all that is with my three original rules of: put stuff u think is cool in your world, known more than you tell to help everything fit together and seem deep, and build your world around your plot and characters because they should all be working together to tell the story you want to tell.

honestly, i could ramble about worldbuilding all day so if anyone has any questions or wants more examples, just let me know ^^

[mintacle]

I do enjoy and condone watsonian interpretations of characters bc frankly they are FUN and a good exercize within fandom, but that being said, I will literally fight you if you compare characters and use watsonian standards for one, but doylist standards for another. it's inevitably hypocritical to bend the rules for one character while keeping the other one confined to only the worst possible explanation.

This is how we get frankly bazonkas claims like Jason the "big bad meanie" beating up the "poor little helpless" Tim. Tim is a trained and highly-skilled vigilante regularily squaring up with people multiple times Jason's size and/or age. + Jason is also only 18/19 in that fight. This is baby on baby violence and they are both pathetic/traumatized and deserve our sympathy.

Or the claim that Jason is out of control for using excessive violence and murdering people and then turning around and excusing Batman's excessive violence against criminals and dehumanizing way of viewing "criminals" (snatched a purse), because in-universe that is proportional.

None of this is real!! You can analyze from a watsonian perspective what their actions appear like in-universe, or from a doylist perspective what this means and what the author was trying to do with this. But GOD are there some infuriating takes floating out there because of double standards.

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

this is mostly in jest but heads up i might not post official art besides small doodles for a while because my drafts ran out and these past two weeks have genuinely been destroying my mental health so I don't have the capacity to do anything seriously art-related right now

[askthe-littlepoet]

you two should fuck (not the lamb)

(MOD PLEASE I LIVE FOR THE DRAMA!!!! I WANNA SEE HOW LAMB REACTS!!!!)

"...well, i'm not uninterested..."

"If they're open to it, I'll certainly be more than fine with it~"

"It would be funny to see the look on lambs face as I... nevermind."

[read tags pls]

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Look all you anons filling up my inbox with all your bad takes - I am not here for you to come throw abuse and bad takes at. If you all choose to jump to the worst conclusion you can possibly come up with then have at it - on your own blog - don't come to my inbox and the inboxes of others who see things differently and want to enjoy the show for what it is. You don't have the right to do so and its never ok. take a moment and think about whether or not you would go up to a random person on the street and say some of the things you've been filling my inbox with - to that random persons face?? No? well why do you think it's ok to to that to a random person on the internet?

The answer is that it s not ok, its never ok. I'm all for healthy debate and totally down with people having different opinions to me but the way so any of you feel entitled to just use anon to be nasty because I don't share the same infantile panic as you is frankly disturbing.

You've clearly made up your minds and just want to make others as miserable as you are well all i'm going to be doing from here on out is blocking you your views and trolling won't be getting any air from me

sayonara!!!

[jellybeanium124]

speenrun getting in trouble at my new job by saying "l'shanah tovah" and "happy holidays" to all of the customers on the register and when they are confused I go "well you always wish me a happy holidays during your big holiday so I thought I'd return the favor! 😊 I hope you have a sweet new year!"

[kinomiakai]

silly naruto poll time pt 2! Continuing with the pokemon polls - time for toads! Of course!

(Okay there are some frogs in there. and loose connections. They can be toads as a little treat c'mon c'mon)

Other polls: foxes

[spectrumspace]

when a post blows up but u had the same idea several years ago and no one liked it