#Tinykin

[paracosmic-gt]

Am I Borrower Folcintera?

The title is rhetorical :)

Author: J/June of Wanderstars

Word count: 786

📎🧵🌱🧵📎

Folcintera is something that describes a folklore connection right? If so, I think Borrower folcintera is the way I should go. I look at the way borrower and brownie are interchanged and I wonder if all this goes deeper...

(read on below the cut)

I tried archetropy, but I think this label is the way it's heading. So I'm gonna talk about it.

First I talk about myself. I have my own understanding of who I am that mimics the story of Borrowers everywhere. Beyond my current stature, my life seems to follow a Borrower's existence.

I found myself coming to front in the middle of a breakdown, as we hid in a closet, and I felt safe. Behind walls, peeking in at a house we never felt fully safe in. I've always been on the outskirts and underfoot, even going so far as to imagine what would happen if I suddenly was the size I hoped. I'd run and hide. I often felt that I would be safer with a stranger, with a chosen giant, than my own family.

"Be good to them and they won't squish you."

I am a vulnerable creature, sensitive and shy, suffice it to say I adopted this role wholeheartedly. Fawning and caring for everyone so I wasn't hurt. Hiding in the shadows and the corners, borrowing the smallest favours so I wasn't noticed for taking too much. Constantly stifled in a place I was supposed to grow, until now I take up such little space.

I look human, but I'm not on the inside.

As a child we loved fairies, used to write notes to them wishing for wings to fly away. Now I return to the depiction of a typical fairy and I wonder about how I look to them. I've been grounded, living inside a house for so long, crazed and wild as a feral mouse. How they welcome me into lush forests and calm grasses. Tell me that it's okay, that I'm safe now. That I've survived, and I'm still alive.

And then, well, I met my giant. And he reminds me I'm not all typical borrower. He reminds me that, just like Arietty, I haven't developed a distrust for all giants. I don't have the "sense". Like Sho, we met in greenery and I learnt to trust him. Because he is the one who manages to make me feel safe, comfortable, and loved.

I am a tiny, my size is incredibly important to me. It is affirming and lovely and spreads like vines to make me a bug, a borrower, and maybe even a fairy too. It's born from suffering, but now it is my choice to return to a giant's house. Running underfoot becomes a game, a happy and delightful game, as I re-enact my trauma and reconnect to my own heritage. Because as much as the borrower lifestyle is pain, it is who I am. I can no longer pretend I am human, and I embrace the good, and the bad.

Now it comes to folklore, how others see me. Borrowers as a species seem to share a strong resemblance and connection to brownies or broonies, which are household spirits from Scottish folklore. However, there seems a split between the two kinds in general view. Brownies are associated with Fae, goblins, gnomes, etc. while Borrowers are typically viewed as "tiny people" without any specified powers. Joining the ranks of Lilliputians and tinies everywhere. The depictions of both range vastly online and in literature, from insectoid to rodentish, and magical to mundane.

For me, the line between what I am and what I see depicted of my kind is blurred.

To what extent am I mystical? I don't have magic, but when I get really excited I feel wings buzzing behind me as if I was Fae. Scientifically, I can't exist at my size, so there must be something else inside me. I also don't find it alarming that I am a Borrower who is therian identifying, a lot of my nonhuman-ness feels very in line with being a tiny creature forced to survive on the outskirts of society.

To what extent am I human? I have written stories myself, of a giant meeting a borrower and coming to realise they are the same levels of intelligence and sophistication. I sometimes look it, but inside I don't feel it. I've lived inside a human dwelling and adopted their customs but I'm not a human. And I think my fellow literary Borrowers would agree.

So I am left with a bit of a puzzle to fill, but pieces are coming into place slowly. All I know is that I'm a Borrower, whatever that even means, and folcintera as a term seems to acknowledge all the points I mentioned above.

Another thread untangled, in a complex yet simple appearing web. All starting with giantess comics on DeviantArt and a kid who wanted to fly.

[aho-bot]

Good morning, my lovely roommate was playing Tinykin yesterday and it gave me the opportunity to doodle this silly crossover scenario involving Demo and another one-eyed being that also explodes from the game.

If only I had the ability to create cosmetics cuz if I could put these little guys in the game in the form of a shoulder buddy or a grenade replacement decoration I would have a field day.

[videogamepolls]

Requested by anon

[butterpretzelcookie]

Two six fanarts challenges with requests from Twitter

[coleopterabyte]

Gonna be real, this is the most "coughing baby vs atomic bomb" matchup we've had on this tournament...Godspeed Ridmi. Tournament Masterpost

[thealiviajane]

Milo petting a pink tinykin. :)

I almost cried drawing this and it is just sooo adorable!

[legitimatesatanspawn]

Game: "Haha look at this cute game. Pikmin by way of 3D Mario. Look at all the silly insects that think a human is a god-"

Game about midway through: "Now you have to support the oppressive regime and deny the laymen their protest in order to progress."

... w-what?

[limoks-blogs]

A small vote

[loreweaver-universe]

Continuing Tinykin!

[francoisl-artblog]

Little fan art from between loads of things... Here's Milodane, from the game Tinykin, that I recommend with all my heart. Not only this is the perfect game to help waiting with Pikmin 4, but it's also a really gem. I really love the ost, and gods, the charm of this game, it's incredible. Even the writing and humor is good ! I, short, it's a perfect mix between Pikmin and Paper Mario. If this haven't sold it to you yet, what will ? Ah yes ! You can surf on a soap board. Good game. Tinykin (c) Splashteam Artwork made by me.

[fridge-reviews]

Best (That I played) in 2024

Welcome to the my personal list of games I enjoyed this year. That’s right it’s my list, feel free to disagree with me but it won’t change anything. Anyway here are the rules;

1. These are games that I’ve played and reviewed this year. 2. The only order to this list is the order in which I reviewed them, it's not a top 10, these all feature because of how good I consider them to be. 3. The games don’t have to have been released this year.

With that all said, let's get into it.

Cult of the Lamb

This game has gone from strength to strength since I originally reviewed it with it having a DLC that introduces a new story as well as a free update that introduces co-op play. I may actually go back and play this again with a friend. 

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The Talos Principle 2

I’ve seen online that many people didn’t like this game as much as its predecessor essentially because of the plot and its requirement to interact with the NPC’s. Personally I think that those that think that have put all their focus on the puzzle game aspect (which is fantastic I might add) but ignored the context and subtext that those puzzles are set within. To me, the story is just as important as the puzzles themselves. I truly hope they make a sequel.

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God of War (2018)

As per usual I’m late to the party with this game, that fact hasn’t impacted how much I enjoyed this title. I think that having not played any of the previous games was actually something of a boon for me, because while I did know of Kratos and his past through cultural osmosis it meant I didn’t have any of the baggage that those that had played them did. In a way I understood him in a similar way to Atreus, a stranger that I was familiar with.

A Wonderful game with a stunning world and great combat. There wasn’t a moment I didn’t enjoy.

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Paradise Killer

Some games are style over substance, some the other way around. Not many can tiptoe the line between them. Paradise Killer does this with ease and then does a psychedelic backflip. The world is weird and wonderful while the core mystery of the game is intriguing and open ended. 

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Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

Over the last few years the Warhammer 40K franchise has been absolutely killing it with great games. While you’d think that the setting would be best for turn based or real time strategy it seems like there isn’t a genre they can’t make it work for. A boomer shooter was definitely not one I was expecting but damn is it good. The weapons all feel great, even your starting arsenal and hearing your character stomp around just adds to the effect of feeling powerful.

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Wasteland 2: Directors Cut

I do love a good CRPG and this one definitely fits that bill. It’s no Baldur’s Gate 3 but it is also ten years old so I give it a bit of slack. Of course, I had a feeling it was going to be good given the pedigree of those that worked on it. I can’t wait to play the sequel!

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Deathloop

Deathloop is one part action and one part puzzle game. It’s not whether or not you kill your targets, its not even how you do it. All that matters is when you do it. While its true that Arkane has stumbled with Redfall, Deathloop (and the Dishonored games before it) are why I have every confidence that these devs will bounce back.

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Boneraiser Minions

The Bullet Heaven (Survivor-like) genre has gotten very full as of late, many just copy what Vampire Survivors did without actually understanding why it works. Some however, innovate on the concept. Boneraiser Minions is one such game. Raise a small force, try and make them synergise where you can and avoid taking damage yourself. Every so often I go back to this game just to try another run, not many games have me doing that.

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Ghostwire: Tokyo

This game surprised me with how much it gripped me. Perhaps it was the setting or maybe it was the mythology behind it. I know for a fact it wasn’t the plot as that was very much a cookie cutter ‘rescue X person’ revenge story. All the same, I spent hours and hours working my way around the city, unlocking all the areas because I just wanted to see and experience more. Clearly it did something right.

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Tinykin

As I said in the review I’ve never played Pikmin, but I have played the Overlord games (no, not the anime) and from what I’ve seen those aren’t dissimilar. This game very much reminded me of them but in a much more wholesome way. The game has also become something of a favorite for my kids which is a bonus!

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I won’t mince my words, this year has been shit for developers and sadly it looks like it's only going to get worse. But once again the indie sphere has been on top form, while they aren’t that well represented in this list believe me I’ve been watching. 

Honestly, I don’t have much else to say other than to support your indie developers. They actually need the support unlike the games that the likes of Activision and Ubisoft put out. 

Happy new year folks. 

[paracosmic-gt]

Size Labels

A little something to share about how I conceptualise and use size terms, one day our others might add on but know what what I say about being small also applies to our Giants.

It's more than just size, it's something that carries on even when we're fronting in a completely average sized body. Just like for a therian, being an animal is more than just having the animal's body.

Going to g/t crosspost cause I dunno, I want to know if anyone relates as usual. The community was also an important part of my identity journey.

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This is not roleplay, I am 100% serious about the ideas expressed here. I am a nonhuman headmate in a system, and I am a Tiny.

- June

[aho-bot]

Hello internet, I have never played a Pikmin game in my life.

[jaynosurname]

(69) Tinykin

This is more of a sandbox platformer then a Pikmin-like but it’s still really good. I always love stuff involving you being tiny and exploring the world from that perspective. It’s fun. Each level has a lot of stuff to do and were enjoyable to explore. I think the bathroom level was my favorite.

The ending of the game really caught me off guard lmao. I was losing my shit once I got to the attic and saw THAT. Very interesting choice to cram all your story into the last 5 minutes. Not that it was bad it was just surprising since the rest of game had a story, but it never went to deeply into the world itself.

(4/5)

[roshangalaxy]

LETS GET TINY AND GO EXPLORING!! 💪✨

We're going back to the wondrously little world of Tinykin to continue on our wacky adventures 🤏

See you all @ 8pm EDT ⏰

[simonorono]

Tinykin is super fun.