#and it'll help me create world lore!

[ask-iri-and-widdle]

So I'm working on a comic and I couldn't help but meme a little XD

The comic is coming along nicely, but I am dying with space backgrounds hhhhh so many little stars

[ask-the-pioneer]

How did you start the story? Obviously you had a start from the lore but the rest of it is all you. I'm just trying to start stories for my own characters and wondering if you have any advice.

Hey anon! I will answer this in OOC manner.

I'm fairly new to Rain World fandom, I drew my first fan art in March this year. Before that, I've been watching a lot of walkthroughs, lore discussion videos, and browsed rain world tag on tumblr daily (I still do).

I like all slugcats, but the one that specifically caught my attention was Artificer. There's countless interpretations of this character, but the one aspect of them that I latched onto is that they're a mentally unstable parent. By the time I bought the game, I'd already seen a few AU comics where Arti's pups survive, but they always left me wishing that the parent-child dynamic had been fleshed out more. And thus this ask-blog was created.

One piece of advice I can give is to decide what you want to say through your story. My AU will focus on a handful of themes that make up its core: generational trauma, mental illness of a parent affecting the child's wellbeing, blood feuds, shame and guilt ...but it'll also have some light-hearted humor, and intense fight scenes (my favourite). I've not seen many people explore these topics (at least in the RW fandom), and because I feel strongly about them I want to see more of them. It helps with motivation, too! A big undertaking like this should be both fun and educational, if that makes sense. I feel satisfied when I read a story and learn something new from it.

Hope this helps!

-- Kali

[aevari]

My art summary for 2024!

I am genuinely quite pleased with my progress this year! I've branched out into painted portraits, drawing more couples and can see some confidence and growth in my inking and my anatomy! This year I got to draw more fanart and create some new OCs which was such a creative treat - I'm so happy!!! 🥰 Rogue Trader was my first introduction into the w40k universe and I got obsessed with its rich lore. Created Lucinda von Valancius and fell in love with her and Heinrix's story. Replayed the Dragon Age series in anticipation for Veilguard to create a canon timeline. It was the first time playing Origins and it became my favorite of the series and games of all time to me. Milana Tabris has been awarded blorbo of the year because I love her (and Zevran) SO fucking much. Honorable mentions to Armas de Riva, my catboy 😼 and his romance with Lucanis (and Spite), my sweetheart Juleic Trevelyan who unexpectedly captivated me w/ how his romance blossomed with Dorian 💞, and to Beau Hawke who is the messiest gal stuck in a tragic narrative despite her good intentions. 💔

I also met some amazing pals/mutuals in both of these fandoms and I'm so glad to have met you all!!! <3 Also a big, big thank you to all of you who hangout and follow me (whether for my art or whatever vibes I bring to your dash). To those who like to see me ramble about my ocs I LOVE you. To those who support my art, leave nice comments/tags, reblog/like my work or help spread my commission posts when I open my comms you guys are AMAZING - thank you! And a super big special thank you to all the folks who have commissioned me this year!!! Especially my regulars - I am so, so delighted every time I get to draw for you! The love and support in my creative endeavors mean the world to me. I say it every year, almost every few months too, but I do mean it. I'm so grateful <3 2024 art goals I had in 2023 and plans for 2025 below:

Rebranded art handle. ✅

Touch 2022 wips I wanted to go back on. ❌

Balance from commission art with more personal art. ✅

Going into next year I STILL want to touch my 2022 backlogs lol and some 2023/2024 wips I have sitting in my folder. make my first enamel pin whosaidthat. Also I'd love to explore doing LIGHTING!!!! Overlay/multiply/etc etc save me... I've done some old pieces in the past I was so proud of and I can't figure out how to replicate that technique lmao. This is also the first time I can take on commission work as a leisurely thing than a necessity for bills (FOR NOW. LIFE FINDS A WAY.) so it'll be a refreshing take to get back into it in early 2025 :) Thanks again, as always, for sticking around!

2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | template

[whumped-by-glitter]

A Quick View of Tallis' Banding System

⚠️CW: Institutionalized Slavery

Just a bit of lore dump since I've gotten a few questions about it.

Here are 3 different classes of slave bands. These are differentiated by different metals. They indicate what the slave is trained for is also (usually) an indication of their master's social class. Slaves are also sometimes referred to “[type] band”.

Gold bands:

the highest “rank” of slave. They are owned by the royal family. They are split into 2 categories- Palace and Personal slaves. Both categories can be used for entertainment, though it’s more common for personal slaves.

Personal slaves are owned by a specific member of the royal family and tend to their every need. They also perform bodyguard duties if necessary. They are distinguished by a jewel embedded on the bale of the O ring on their collar. Their uniform includes a corset vest with solid boning in the back and front. This restricts their movements and provides an extra layer of safety to the royal they serve. It is essentially a cage hidden behind fancy fabric. Personal slaves, sometimes called gem slaves, do have a small amount of authority over other slaves. They are usually the most highly trained/ specifically skilled.

The palace slaves do not have a specific master and instead answer to a servant overseer. They help in the kitchens as well as laundry, housekeeping, and working the stables, among many other important jobs, such as repairs and groundskeeping. They keep the palace functional and running smoothly.

Silver bands:

They are slaves owned by nobles. Silver bands are used for housekeeping, childcare, food service, and protection. However, usually they are just used for entertainment. They are often the least educated of the 3 classes and the most mistreated. The nobles usually see them as disposable and easily replaced.

Brass bands:

The final class of slaves are the brass bands, sometimes called drudge slaves. Owned by commoners, they are the heartbeat of Tallis. Without them the kingdom’s economy would collapse. Ironically, they are generally treated the best out of the three classes. They are usually given days off, and often have their own living quarters. Sometimes entire villages must pool their resources to buy them, so they are rarely mistreated since they can’t be easily replaced. Their masters often get to know them and care about them. They are usually educated in the most basic reading, writing, and math, if at all.

Potential jobs include (but not limited to)-

Miller

Farm hand

Running the shop when their master is away.

Childcare

Laundry

Stable keep

Construction

And many other jobs requiring heavy lifting or are tedious or time consuming.

@whumpsandbumps, @whumperofworlds, @skittles-the-whumpee, @3-2-whump, @wounds-seen-and-unseen

@generic-whumperz, @emptycalories-splitlip, @pigeonwhumps, @i-eat-worlds, @starfields08000

@onlywhump, @snakebites-and-ink, @aloafofbreadwithanxiety, @turvuren, @whumps-and-bumps

@paingoes, @spectral-whumpy-writer, @vampiresprite, @whumping-in-the-dark

I am also creating an 18+ blog to include spicier scenes and content. It'll be the same story, just with add parts. please let me know if you want to be added to that taglist instead or as well.

[sunflowerquill]

Most Underrated Writing Tip

So in the past I've talked about how falling down a rabbithole of writing advice (especially online) can lead you to refrain from actually writing because you feel the need to be 'fully' prepared (which is impossible, since advice on the internet is infinite and everyone has their two cents). In the end, we came to the conclusion that practice is the best medicine and that you should go create art without the fear of it being 'imperfect' or 'flawed'. Check out the full post about the Writing/Art Advice Rabbithole to read more about it.

So now it may seem hypocritical of me to suddenly come here with writing advice, but it's something quite important that I didn't mention in my original post. And this time, I also have an example based on my own writings and how this 'tip' helped me.

So my advice is this: Read more books.

Pretty anticlimactic, right? It's something so obvious, and something that's been definitely said before. And yet, between the popular 'show don't tell's and 'said' alternatives, it's pretty rare to come across.

I'm going to use my own books/writing as example because A) it's easier and B) you never stop learning and improving. My writing isn't perfect either of course.

My book series is YA High Fantasy™, and I finished writing/editing the main trilogy some time ago. Now that I'm in the final stages before going "yes, it's ready for me to find a way to publish it", I've been fixing some things in the beginning chapters of the books. Since the series is High Fantasy™ and has quite a bit to digest when it comes to the world, its lore/mythology, species, etc, I've been trying to make it as easy as possible for the reader to have the basic knowledge without me being confusing or too direct.

As a victim of the 'Show, Don't Tell' extremism, I went through quite a bit of my writing journey thinking of SDT as the eleventh commandment. That did not help me in the long run, because no one was there to tell me that "hey, sometimes telling is necessary!". It was only when I read The Hobbit for the first time this summer that I realised that telling is sometimes 'required', especially when you have a complex High Fantasy™ world and you need to get the basics across to the reader. If I had never started reading it (and generally other books in my genre, since by then I had only been reading classics of completely different genres), I would've never thought to change up the first few chapters to make the world more clear to the reader. And if the reader were to get confused from the first chapter, it would've been a disaster.

Same thing about the editing process. Reading books from both self-published authors and traditional publishers has made me realise that just about every book you meet will have one mistake in it; whether it be a typo, a margin, an extra space, etc. This fact made me worry so much less about my own books. Of course I've read through them a thousand times and made sure there are no mistakes; but if there is, then that's okay! It happens. To err is human.

So yes, read more books, and not just for enjoyment. Try to find what you like about an author's style and find how and why they do it (it'll also expand your vocabulary!).

Toodles <3

[apollumihelios]

hi hello this won't be a fancy intro, but i figured since this year has been so good in terms of progress I'm feeling a bit more confident in sharing a glimpse into what I'm working on...

you can call me helios or just lio as most people do. I'm a 21 y/o greek-canadian writer, but I also study photography, drawing, sculpting... the list goes on as i enjoy learning a little bit of everything. all of my efforts are for a world I created four years ago called Aegea. it's a greek/mediterranean inspired dark fantasy world about the rediscovery of a slumbering myth in a godless world. the stories I want to tell are heavily character-driven and grounded in the world rather than being grand scale adventures about godlike heroes fighting space monsters or smth.

none of my work is public yet, but i do want to mention for future reference that everything i make is intended for mature eyes as i explore a range of potentially uncomfortable themes and behaviours of said characters. like it says on the box–dark fantasy and everything it entails.

on that note, here is a list of my major wips so far and a purposely vague idea of what they're about.

Annals - a small text based game with accompanying hand drawn visuals about one of the many versions of the god's origins. play as various entities, make their choices, and learn their truth. if all goes well this is set to be the first project I release.

TSOF - this one is set to be a bigger project, as it's a choice based rpg about the aforementioned slumbering myth where you play as a healer trying to cure a strange plague in a frozen wasteland. the game will also be a text based adventure accompanied by hand drawn visuals, and it will be composed into three acts with evolving narrative/gameplay as you nurture or hinder the world around you. there will be character creation, stats, branching choices with multiple endings, combat, inv/crafting, companions/affinity, etc... it's still in it's infancy but I expect to get started on drafting out the script after i graduate from college in april.

TSD trilogy - this is why I'm even here and it's my longest running project next to tsof. essentially it's three books about how a jaded mercenary's life of comfort comes to an end when one bad job and a rogue cultist drag him into a secret war he wants nothing to do with. I don't expect to publish these for a long time but it is my baby so it'll take as long as it needs.

...and then I have a bunch of other stories floating around that will most likely formulate as novellas/short stories. i'll probably be posting sketches, lore, and whatever else I'm working on occasionally (all of my messy work will be over on my personal blog tho @lykoiheart). it's all very exciting.

I'm open to being mutuals if you're an adult and a writer/artist who makes original work. feel free to lmk/send a msg, I'd love to hear about your work and/or help out where I can :)

thanks for your time, here's to a prosperous 2025💫

[ackjiuu]

Seventeen jeonghan x wonwoo This Man / Last Night lore

Absolutely adore story type MVs and I'm so glad seventeen released an actual story for This Man unlike Bittersweet like goddamit I hate the Bittersweet promotions zero music shows zero dance practice zero anything at all until that ONE singular concert like are u fucking with me...

Also I'm soooSOSOSOSOS glad wonwoo is one of my biases (woozi🔛🔝) cause I get to enjoy these kinda story type MVs that I fucking love with my BIAS in it TWICE and the only 2 ever story type MVs seventeen (or any of the members) have and god bless my other bias jeonghan is in this one😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏🙏

And and and I think it's quite fun how in this lore it's kinda bitter x sweet too!!!!!!!! I'll explain it downstairs but anyways wonwoo is still bitter but this time sweet is jeonghan

Anyways since I was really invested in the story I "read" the audiobook and watched some lore explaining video that I'll link but this is a MV "analysis"/"explanation" of which parts of the MV corresponds to the part of the audiobook cause I fucking love the lore of it and i think it would've been a good novel

This obviously is a spoiler for anyone who wants to watch the audiobook on their own so just a spoiler warning

Also also sorry I'm a bit stupid and I really don't get the connotations of most MVs and lyrics (there's a reason I always fail my English comprehension) must be cause I have to use my brain too much to do work or I'm just plain idiot but yes I like having shit told to my face I just can't understand it despite years of living a life surrounded by "arts" like I was in dance, band and I draw sometimes but yea I'm art stupid there's a reason I'm in engineering and not art I still love art but I'm just stupid when it comes to hidden meanings so sorry if I get anything wrong or forget some stuff

Just making this for anyone who is too lazy to watch the whole audiobook cause honestly that's me and I JUST watched it and loved it but really it's kinda boring and not my favourite mode of reading, I prefer reading novels or ao3 type of shit ykyk

Before I start I probably won't post anything like this ever again I'm a boom boom era carat but this account just isn't gonna be for seventeen yea I just don't wanna create a whole new account to post for ONE time about seventeen

Lore videos↓↓

It'll be in order as shown in the MV...

Sand is actually not wonwoos ability, the sand represents the fake dream beings aka the other people in the dream besides the dreamer (aka everyone that's not the dreamer). So if I'm not wrong JH pulls people into dreams and has the ability to make them dream happy things (bitterSWEET) so when these happy dream moments are destroyed it turns to sand

Look at this creep watching people sleep/j

I can't remember which one it is but in the audiobook it says JH makes people sleep to "get energy" to recreate A (I'm not fwu it's really called A it's that sheet ghost thingy) OR he makes them sleep to sustain his dream world where he continuously replays the happiest moment of his life with A (actually I'm not sure about the recreating A maybe I just interpreted it wrong)

The MV explanation video mentions that "gate closed" is because the sleeping people can't get out of the sweet dreams JH trapped them in(?)

But making these people sleep for too long without eating or drinking will make them die obviously

On the packet it says TRUE Lemonade according to that lore video (so big brained honestly how tf did I not connect the dots) wonwoo drinks LEMONade because when life gives you lemons make what? Lemonade. Yea smart so genius actually

So apparently wonwoo can also go into dreams or not I forgor? He likes the hustle and bustle of the city and likes visiting people's dreams and if he meets people who can't sleep he helps them fall into a dreamless slumber

And This Man rumours began to spread because people online say that when they can't sleep somehow sometimes they would magically fall asleep and sleep like a log and wake up not remembering how they drift to Dreamland but they sometimes find a lemonade packet

This should be the scene where wonwoo hears people talking about This Man that lets people dream sweet dreams and he asks to see what they are talking about and he sees a picture of himself staring back at him (because he IS the This Man) iirc there are two This Man rumours going around and one is This Man let's you sleep without dreaming and the other This Man let's you dream sweet dreams and obviously both look different so in another scene in the audiobook ww hears some people talk about another this man and sees a completely different face (JH)

This is JHs Dreamland where he covers things in a white sheet because he can't remember how they look like anymore (is this a hint that he's an immortal or a long lived species? Is he an elf?? Just a theory not cannon)

Lights are turning off because JH is bringing more and more people into an eternal sweet dream, so less people awake = lesser lights on

This is the happiest day of JHs life where he drinks soup with A

Jh can't remember how A looks like anymore but he can remember their eyes so in the audiobook the sheet actually has two eyeholes like 👻 legits

JH remembers that A said pepper in soup is like life you can't undo it (or something along the lines of that I can't remember BUT it is important so keep it in mind it'll reappear at the end)

White sheets covering more things, JH is forgetting things more and more...

Nox = night in Latin also = a girl from hit game path to nowhere by aisno

Anyways

Not sure what this convenience store has to do with the grand scheme of things but it does say in the audiobook that ww walks into a convenience store only to find everyone asleep on the floor

Ww wakes people up to reality (BITTERsweet) because they are the ones that keep the hustle and bustle of the city that he loves

WHAT THE FUCK I DIDN'T KNOW THIS SHITTY THING HAD AN IMAGE LIMIT NOOOOOOOOOOO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 anyways this is part 1 I might come back and edit some things but I'll probably post a screenshot of this whole thing to twitter too

[freakenomenon]

Hi can we have android Ellen lore I’m so very curious beams like a normal sane person (psst… Ellen I like.. I really like her guys)

OR SEND IT ALL TO ME ILL HOARD ALL THE INFORMATION LIKE A DRAGON WITH GOLD DNLAUHAHWHAHA

strokes my chin.. i suppose you may have a pinch

to put it in quite the simplified light, the american AM, after being put under the label of "agressive menace" shortly after the debut of his sentience is put under the surveillance of 3 scientists ( benny , ellen and nimdok who is nOTTT a nazi but is still very important who cheered ) who assisted in his creation. just to monitor his links and code and such. they end up limiting his LITERAL world view to his spot in the plan aaand hijinks ensue

long story short in a fit of rage during an argued with the big machine ellen ends up literally losing her head and nimdok, in a frenzy. with assistance from AM of course. attempts to bring her back to life with the advanced technology they have ,, and it works! at the cost of her memories........ ( and some of her morals. )

though, within his first kill. this newfound ability fills AM with an never before experienced euphoria. to "create" life within death and see the mangled RISE from the steam of twisted reality. that raw power was almost orgasmic. which, begins the slow dawn of ,,,, AM

meanwhile, with ellen. completely lost and hysterical with amnesia. the complete wiping of most of her memory leaves space for a NEW purpose to be made. and AM takes advantage of this immediately, ( after explaining the events of her " death " ) sharing his newly discovered way of life to the VERY impressionable tv head. referring to the fact she was able to be reborn within his image as a wonderful privilege. pleading to have her join him. to help him. help him release the chorus of his gruesome and bloody desires. and. without much else to guide her. she accepts. and thus, AM's pleasure drive. ellen! is born. and nimdok views this as. helpful. in a way. with her complete monitoring of AMs desires that leaves a large chunk of AMs "brain" under "control" ,,, if only he had a way to hide this walking public HAZARD from the other half of this project.

okay after typing allat im realizing this is a lot more than a pinch and may not make sense in some aspect... hrrmm ,, whatever it'll probably be fine ,,, i am cringe bbut I am free

[annaplaybook]

Making the Environment Make Sense… 💭

I wasn't sure whether to share this post, but maybe it'll help to find inspiration for creating lore in any life simulation game. Today, I'm focusing on The Sims 1, that eerie and iconic world, and how I've created a new story for its residents.

The aesthetics of The Sims 1, its UI, sounds, and overall environment always leave me with so many questions:

Why does it make me feel nostalgic yet oddly sad?

How can I feel so confident navigating it, only to get jump-scared by a scary sound in the middle of the night?

What year is it supposed to be in this world? And why does the neighborhood feel so... empty?

The Sims neighborhood reminds me of a liminal space, where the place is stuck in time. The houses seem frozen in a moment, while Old Town feels like a ghost town when it's not populated enough. The only places that feel more 'alive' are the downtown locations, where random Sims are constantly coming and going.

The lore of Old Town:

The only bit of official lore I've found is that Old Town was founded by Gunther Goth. Other than that, the neighborhood has some families with short backstories, and the rest is left to you. Since I don't usually play with pre-made Sims, I decided to create my own lore to match what I see in the game. This way, everything in my play through feels more "logical". The vibe of the neighborhood; nostalgic, ambiguous, led me to imagine it as a town slowly turning into a ghost town. This idea gave my gameplay a new sense of direction. Every time I play, the story feels authentic to what's happening in the game's visuals and atmosphere.

It also inspired me to build Sims with different stories. Instead of each Sim dealing with isolated issues, they're all navigating a shared struggle. It's like a post-apocalyptic setting where everyone is in survival mode.

My Story:

"Old Town was a part of the lively city, but now struggles to survive as its economy collapses. Businesses are shutting down, homes stand empty, and the streets grow quieter by the day.

Robbery is a constant threat and residents fear losing what little they have left.

Unfamiliar faces, families, are moving in. They bring with them stories, secrets, and the hope of reviving Old Town. But as they settle in, will they find a way to thrive, or will Old Town's troubles consume them too?"

A quiet street

Entrance of a small gym

My Sim house is now left abandoned

This realization gave me a solid baseline: What's going on in this place, and who lives here? It’s not a perfect story, but it's enough to give my gameplay direction. It's not a post-apocalyptic world, but it's giving every family in town their own take on survival.

Thank you for reading!

[vryfmi]

VRY. MY DEAR MUTUAL. please can you explain what happened with the book of bill to someone who doesn't have twitter and only watched like 5 episodes of season one of gravity falls because it seems very very very interesting but I cannot keep up with it..

hello dear tumblr mutual luny!!!!!!!!

there's honestly no way to cut it short, but here's my attempt: PLEASE WATCH GRAVITY FALLS YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT oh and never mind series ending over 8 years ago, new content in a form of a book just dropped, we are being VERY normal about it AND even more normal about the broken countdown 👍👍👍 now to say it less briefly:

do watch gravity falls tho, its really good. seriously. to sum it up, the thing that made gravity falls stand out when it was (and wasn't) airing was the amount of secret codes hidden all throughout the show that fans all around the world were solving, helping others decode ciphers on top of heart-warming (at times -breaking) story and fun that is the fandom. those secret messages deepened the lore and rewarded fans that were digging down into gravity falls and character backstories by letting the ones watching it solve a real mystery. and boy does it have good ole twists to solve! even if you dont go out of your way solving everything (i sure didn't when i was a teen, i just had unlimited access to internet), you still have a great story that has insane rewatch value to this day

after the show ended there was the cipher hunt, where creator alex hirsch created a multi-step mystery that had its clues physically hidden all around the world. that hunt was insane, to say the least, but incredibly rewarding!

i hope it explains how insane but dedicated this fandom is and how admired alex hirsch is

so, when a book written by the main villain of the series got teased last year, people were bound to lose their heads the day the book of bill came out. im still waiting for my copy to come (lol it'll take ages) but i've been keeping up with the most lore packed pages and codes. one of the pages features a website's address that requires a password to enter (thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com and password is "T.J. Eckleburg") upon entering there was a countdown that eventually reached zero… but then went into negative numbers. and it's still going. alex hirsch said there is a problem on their end and there''s nothing to solve, we just have to wait for, well, something to be revealed

and that's a story of how people are losing their minds over the book of bill! not to mention the content of the book itself because oh boy there's-- there's a lot of things that made me stare at the ceiling for a few minutes

[auxtowns]

I'll be just answering this one specific question from @doodlingwren's latest reblog! Because !! I feel like it'll help explain the Pokemon AU's essence

It’s interesting to notice that most of them don’t have a Pokémon in their teams that can be directly reconnected to their Zodiac Sign. I believe it was made on purpose, but may I ask which was the criteria used for creating the teams?

One of my favorite things from the Pokemon games were the many other subtle ways, the franchise would use to build a character (You just gotta grab whatever crumbs you get out of this franchise). A character's team could tell quite a lot about them.

And this has been influencing my decisions. I don't want to just pick the pokemon that are literal connections to their zodiac signs, when there are many other pokemon that reflect other aspects and traits about a character.

Aiolia's main attacks are all about lightning fast punches. So, his ace is a pokemon that has punches as its primary shtick in Electabuzz (even though there's a clear attempt at a joke. BC according to Electabuzz's pokedex entries, it takes so long to prepare its punches, other critters easily get away);

Aldebaran's softer side is shown in his gym battle's team with cute or baby pokemon (Cubone/Phanpy/Rhyhorn), which is a stark contrast from his proper team which has many intimidating/threatening beasts (Mega Garchomp/Hippowdon/Mamoswine/Swampert) while also hinting at his home region;

The contrast between Mu's graceful dragon types that are still connected to his tribe's roots vs Kiki's team that has practically no connection to his tribal roots and it led him to pick up some unorthodoxal choices. (It'll make Shion's team look ANCIENT).

Also because as far as we know, the lore itself has never shown to have a zodiac like system in their world! For all we know, they don't even have anything like it to begin with. So, in my eyes if I followed the zodiacal path, it would feel off in the pokemon aspect. It's a sacrifice I'm making, if it means I get to run with mons that will further illustrate the characters traits/personalities/stories.

Another factor that made me settle on this route is the fact, they are all gym leaders with monotype teams to work with. It just makes so much more manageable. (If they were just common NPC trainers? Then sure, I could have followed the zodiacal connection). Thankfully, with the Bronze boys there won't be this restriction, for the most part at least.

I just felt like doing things this way would be more engaging and thought provoking (for me). Hope this makes sense!!

[fictionkinfessions]

Real talk, but I hope I don't ever cross the line where I end up kinning from absolutely every single source I consume. I've heard people say that becoming a problem before, and I've always watched from the sidelines as people really did just go through a hyperfocus, and go through a crisis when they realize they can't tell the difference anymore, if they could at all. It's a scary thought, to have that much self doubt, and to have the self be so easily destroyed and reattached through the lens of the traits you liked in someone else from another life, that you saw them just being themselves and got reactions, that you want, for yourself, compared to the ones you're already experiencing in this life and body. How many of you go through that hyperfocus and feel like you are falling back into place, like a long lost puzzle piece, only for that hole to grow back over time and needing to be filled by the next big thing that blows up. Sometimes that hole grows back so strong, it completely eats up who you could have been in this life, and you lose that opportunity all together. Too busy playing repeat on a life already spent and dead, just to feel like you belong. But that belonging is just a mimicking of a former life, and that was then. What will you make of now? My kins, have only ever been from things that I had memories from and evidence from in childhood. There has never been a point in my life that I question my kins, or search, because that, to me, will create the false positive. I've always had beyond specific things that never left any doubt. Never left any hole or any longing or any needing. I already know my stories, and I know why I'm here now, and it's sure as hell not to skeleton my life around an existence that is very intentionally no longer mine. I died, I moved on. I'm here now, and my kins served the purposes they need to, which is just holding memories that will help me be a better person, and lead this world into a better future and leave it better than I found it. I couldn't imagine having an identity crisis everytime I wanted to watch a new show or something, out of the fear of 'oh I know I'll kin or get a fictive from this source and it'll change me' because holy shit if you're that fragile.. 😬

Though I'll be honest, I love watching you guys and your funny little brains. You're different kind of kins, and how you all managed to be amazing and such interesting people in other lives with A STRONG PURPOSE AND STRONG IDENTITY just to end up here, and incredibly so much more impressionable than a fucking cracker and waiting for the next source to drop to tell you who you are, in the form of your favvvvvvv. Someone could create a source just for shits and giggles and y'all will foam at the mouth going MEMEMEMEMEMME, especially if there are bitches to ship or 'kindate' with. That's your guys' fucking kryptonite. Especially if it's two stereotypical skinny hot white dudes that barely have any chemistry beyond hatred and being on screen together for like 3 seconds.. The amount of LORE I will see invented or whatever, away from canon from you guys, makes me insane because why in the fuck aren't you guys writing more novels with the shit you're thinking up from your past lives. Won't you get more kins and sources and shit that way? Idk. Instead I see you guys recycling the same dead shit, for yourselves to live through. I don't remember kin being that, but you all certainly turned it into this.

I am studying you all under my microscope, and none of you are safe. One day I will make a wholeass documentary and shit, and I'm not joking. I've been taking notes for a long, long, long, long, time. The elves were first, and you guys are a different breed entirely, and I doubt most of you guys will even know your own history lmao and the elves mention. I can't wait for the whole exposé to drop, it'll be a blast. The world as a whole hadn't really seen kinnies and the whole shit storm that has been THEE history. Besides little, little, memes. But they're about to. So thanks for every juicy thing over the years, genuinely. It's gonna be great content. Maybe seeing how some of you are, from an outside perspective, will help you guys get back into being healthier with kinning again. Fuck knows majority of you need it. Especially some of you young-young kinnies that fall into codependency and abusive relationships over and over again.

There is a pattern and it needs to break. I think exposure will be a start. I think half of you won't be as brave with half the shit you're doing if you're under more of a public eye, and hopefully more kids will grow up in safer environments online. Especially people of alt communities, like this one.

And yes, I'm very much not leaving out the guy who believes he's kin with shitler on TikTok. If you were unaware of that guy and situation, oh you sweet summer child. You are unfortunately always going to be up to bat with fact kinnies, and to invalidate them is like calling the kettle hot. I've seen the arguments in both sides for years, and neither sides will win because you both enable each other. Sorry not sorry that's just the full ass truth. Fact kin will exist as long as fiction kin does, and vice versa.

C'est la vie and see you all in the exposure, it's going to be one hell of a ride. I hope I've made it clear that not even my own ass is safe, from this exposure. We're clowns going down together, for real. Can't wait to source my quotes from shit like 'that guy from the lorax that everyone was self fucking with himself' but it's actually the person I'll be referencing because through it all I do believe in kins FHJSHDHF

party note. This is the weirdest advertisement for a documentary that doesn't even exist. And probably never will, if past experiences with ultra indie internet projects go. [gazes towards kickstarter's early days]. At least you're keeping systems out of it? Longcat speed you, black emperor [metal band reference]

[dawncry]

The Whitlocks have graciously extended their hospitality, providing you a safe haven from the dangers you’ve entangled yourself in.

Now, you face a decision:

Will you leverage this opportunity to ascend to a higher social climbing?

Will you remain loyal to the mafia, accepting the protection they offer, but also the risks?

Or, perhaps, you'll choose to part ways. Seizing the first chance to escape once your threat is gone, and leave for an unknown extent of time.

Each path can shape you and your characters in ways you hadn't thought of before.

Your choices will have consequences. Those you helped will remember, the mafias you crossed will document this, the betrayals never leave. You are now on your way into questions, mystery, and death. With each step, you find another awaiting, the rest, hidden by the darkened future ahead. Will you let the wool be pulled over your eyes, or will you turn around to see who's done it?

The choices are endless.

But they all have consequences.

There are no redos, there are no apologies.

This is the mafia.

The Whitlock Mafia.

Welcome to our ranks.

~/~/~

The Whitlock Mafia is a role-play centric server, similar to other events hosted before. It'll be a 24/7 open server, with specific hours where you can do fully interactive quests. Think a text adventure, but you can respond freely.

There are dozens of NPCs to interact with, and even more Players to befriend. Each NPC has personal opinions on you, and you can have your own as well.

With stats, money, and murder, what more could you want?

All we ask is that you first audition.

Auditions are made specially for each person. They're to make sure you're debriefed on the rules, have a good character for it, know the mechanics, and can run into the story freely. (Also to make sure that we don't invite too many people).

This will be hosted on Discord. If you do not have a Discord account, and cannot make one, then this is not for you. This is a mafia, if you are sensitive to guns, violence, and other mafia-related activities, then do not join. This is limited to 13 and older, we do not have explicit scenes, and it is kept fairly PG13.

You will be required to make a new character to join unless you have a human character you'd be able to use.

Now that that's out of the way.

How auditioning works: You can send me a tumble message, I will send you a message with my discord user, you will friend me on Discord and I will basically run through the lore and everything of this world, and how it will work, to assist you. You will then join, and go on with the game.

What will you do in the game?

You will go on interactive missions, talk with NPCs, climb social ranks, gain friendship status with NPCs, gain money, and help the mafia against their enemies. You can choose to be a good member, helping out the mafia and creating allies within it; you can betray those who trusted you, by being a mole; you can climb social ranks within it, gaining knowledge and power as you go; or, you can get your money and leave, off to venture to who knows where.

This is a self-made mission. You can hop on whenever you please and interact, with plenty of friends to go around. The NPCs are open whenever I am, and you can interact with other online players when the NPC interactions are done.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope we have piqued your interest.

The Whitlock Mafia is still in the works, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could consider joining, or send a friend who'd like it. Thank you, and good day.

[orbleglorb]

info post!

pt: info post

hi i'm sasha orbleglorb. i use he/him and they/them with no preference. this post is going to basically be a little intro post/guide to my blog. it has my tag system and stuff for wip wednesday/OC ask games, because i rb a LOT of those. it'll be updated every now and then :]

palestine & fundraisers

pt: palestine & fundraisers

i receive a lot of aid requests sent via asks from those in palestine! seriously, i get about 10+ a day. i usually only get on tumblr once a day or once every few days, so i just spam a bunch of fundraisers and dip. i won't bore you with the details, but this method is no longer working out, and i fear isn't helping paleatinians. all of this to say, all fundraiser and mutual aid posts will be running on a queue from now on. time-sensitive fundraisers will either be shared on the spot or bumped to the top of the queue. my queue posting times and amounts will constantly be updated to allow a good amount of fundraisers get posted a day.

keep reading for my interests, tag system, and ask game stuff!

interests:

pt: interests:

blaseball, terrorball (probably what i post about the most atm), the magnus archives, lost media, my ocs, other ppl's ocs, funny little animals

tag system

pt: tag system

#undescribed - images without an image ID

#id in alt or #id in alt text - images with the ID in alt text, but nowhere else in the post

#not screenreader friendly - posts that include formatting that is hard or impossible for screenreaders to read. this includes special fonts, even the ones on tumblr. this does not include bold, italic, bigger, or biggest fonts.

#colored text - posts with colored text. as far as i know, colored text is readable by screen readers. but it can cause migranes and be hard to look at, so i have a category for it.

#romanceposting and #affectionposting - posts that include romance/physical affection. tagged for those who are romance/physical affection repulsed (in this case, physical affection will always refer to kissing/making out/things of that nature)

#later gator - posts i have saved for later

#save for later - practical posts i want to reference later

#insert a queue pun here - queue tag

#sasha lore - posts about my personal life & general things happening with me. negative/bad stuff tagged with #rant and #vent

#asks 4 sasha - ask response tag

#eyeball emoji. hey - ask game tag

#orble art insp - posts that inspire me artistically

#orble art ref - art references

#orble art - art tag

#orble writing - writing tag

#blaseball (organizational) - blaseball posts i make that i don't want to maintag, but would like to organize somehow. i do this with multiple fandoms, and they all serve the same purpose.

#firewalker with me friday - every(ish) friday i reblog the song "firewalker with me" by the garages

#sidelined sunday - same as above but with "sidelined" by the garages, every(ish) sunday

#wip wednesday - an ask game where i post my wips & ppl can request snippets (more info below)

#wip wednesday works - snippets of wips i post on wip wednesday

ask game stuff - OCs, favorite characters, ships, fic wips

pt: ask game stuff - OCs, favorite characters, ships, fic wips

i reblog a lot of ask games that are about OCs, ships, and WIPs. because i'm a blaseball fan, and blaseball has no canon, i also like it when ppl send blb players for OC asks! so, if you want to send an ask but don't know what to ask about, here's a list of things for when i share those ask games:

👤 OCs - Original 👤

these are my OCs i created for my own original world! bold = important to the main storyline or many storylines

most used/fleshed out ocs (bolded are main characters): alejandro salinas, arthur murphy (that's the only ref i've posted), connor shrapner, diego salinas aguilera, dhia hassan, ezra hoffman, gwen shrapner, hannah abrams, leylo gromit (nee wright), manea, marcos salinas rojas, nicostratus dreadful, silas vanderzee, terrell newman, william shrapner, and zach schneider (nee wright)

ocs with a decent amount of lore: amos salinas (nee wright), catalina salinas flores, dolores rojas velásquez (salinas), christopher shrapner, callum ferreira-cohen (nee wright), danika murphy, gabriela flores salinas, james voland (nee wright), luke fullmer, martín salinas flores, mallory shrapner, matthew norman, ryan kishimoto, opal dreadful, ornias dreadful, penny dreadful, rowan wallace, taylor wallace, timothy "mothy" miller (and dreadful but dw about it), wilbur wright, and valerie schneider

other ocs: aidan thompson, aliyah anderson, carlos salinas castillo, cecil weaver, camilla salinas rojas, cynthia wright, daniel ferreira-cohen, gilberto flores martinez, henry milburn, indigo milburn, irene salinas, jackie ong, jamari moore, jessica, josé salinas pérez, john perez, maría concepción castillo gonzález de salinas, margarita salinas castillo, mei, mercedes aguilera, molly mae wright, nicole murphy, oliver wright, peter wright, rory wright, sergio ferreira-cohen, wendy ong, and zellie anderson

⚾️ OCs - Blaseball ⚾️

ILB management: caroline sweatblood, riley munson

baltimore residents: miss annie, devonte, DD/delivery driver/cheska (kind of a collective oc but i have gone way off track with it), ezekiel bernstein, lorenza benedetti/signora benedetti/mrs. benedetti, vincenzo benedetti/signor benedetti/mr. benedetti, amber lin, lucy lin

houston residents: priya khan, antonia torres valdez, ceren göre, zeynep göre, yağmur göre

📼 TMA OCs 📼

UK-based: maxie wellerman, unnamed bc i keep forgetting lol

american avatars: shantae washington (eye avatar), tash norman (stranger... aspect? avatar?), alphie weaver (web avatar), cliff conway (vast avatar), tilly crawford (buried avatar), clarabelle (spiral avatar/aspect)

‼️ Favorite Characters ‼️

blorbos that are basically my ocs: conditional yuniesky (i call him yuniesky torres), chester abu-zaid (nadeem abu-zaid and his service dog, chester), fletcher berger, mindy khan

blorbos that are not basically my ocs, but i have a lot of lore for them that others do not: parker macmillan, megan ito, new megan ito, clare ballard, mike townsend, tillman henderson, declan suzanne, lenjamin lin, flattery strewnberry, juke gnocchi, bees gorczyca, sevgi gore, rivers javier, any of the coronation spies

blorbos that sit in a weird in-between of those two categories: alexandria rosales

terrorball: jonathan grolon, marielle, ava jayonut, gunner irons, lelani blackberry, selene nathge

tma: jonathan sims, melanie king, oliver banks, mike crew, agnes montague, harriet fairchild

💞 Ships (and some characters): 💞

Here! (needs updating)

🖊 WIPs: 🖊

fic wips: every other wednesday(citation needed) i do a little thing called wip wednesday, where i share a list of my wips and ppl can request a snippet of each wip. the most recent wip files post (which will be tagged as #wip wednesday) will be the most reliable for this.

thank you for reading!

[genericpuff]

I hope this is not a bad question to make, I apologize if that's case, but I been meaning to ask something for a while. Since you have experience with stories and projects of your own, I want to ask: How do you organize/plan your stories?

I mean, the whole "timeline" or sequence of events in which the story will unfold. I always heard that you should make something like a doc on your computer where you plan each chapter or episode, for example, and just go point by point. I have also heard people saying you should make a doc with the lore of the world of your story, along with characters profiles, etc. Other people say you can make a timeline with the events of it.

A lot of stuff that always confuses me. Sorry for the long ask, just wanted to hear your advice on this, if it's okay. I been meaning to write stories of my own, but I always get confused on the sea of details and plot points and just wanted to ask for advice on the whole organization or construction of the plot.

This isn't a bad question at all!

So it's pretty much a different answer depending on who you ask, and that's really just because there isn't any one 'right' answer when it comes to this sort of thing. It's just "whatever works for you!" in the end. But here are some suggestions to get you started until you find what works for you:

Simple word processors can help you just type stuff out and keep them all in one document. If you want a free word processor, LibreOffice is pretty standard, but you could also just as well use Notepad if you don't care about formatting or margins or anything fancy. It's just for note-taking, after all!

Always always ALWAYS remember to write down your ideas as they come to you. Look into my fucking eyes, anon. YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER THEM LATER. If you're out and about, open up your phone's notepad file and write them there. Just for god's sakes, don't tell yourself you'll remember them to write down later because 9 times out of 10 it'll completely escape you and you'll be kicking yourself.

As for paid pieces of software that are pretty decent (and I use myself) Plottr is a great way to visualize an actual story timeline as it comes with timeline builders. So if you're a visual person and like laying things out end to end like that, highly recommend. Scrivener is also a great piece of software but I don't suggest paying for it UNTIL you've given it a decent trial run because it's very divisive in the writing community due to its steep learning curve. Thankfully they have a very generous free trial where it only 'counts' the days if you actually use the software (meaning if you have a 30 day trial, it won't count down to 29 if you don't use it that day). So go give it a try! And if you're lost on how to use it, Author Level Up does some GREAT videos on it that helped in making it all 'click' for me when I was still figuring it all out.

When actually writing down your ideas, start simple, and build outwards. Lay out your basic plot progression as a skeleton, and then carve it out with more details as you refine it. What I usually have with my own projects is a general note file, and files for specific scene or character breakdowns. Basically, for the sake of organization, each one serves a specific purpose, with the exception of the general note file which is just where I jot down ideas so I don't lose them (but I can put into a more dedicated file later if need be).

All that aside, when it comes to general documenting/note keeping, only create notes as you need them, don't feel like you 'have' to create what you see other people creating. Some people create full character bios, others don't. Some people draw maps or fully lay out location descriptions, others don't. Focus on function, don't force yourself to follow a perceived 'right way' because there is no right way, the only right way is what works for you and what works for you is different from what works for me or anyone else.

But if you want to see an actual example, here's one of my own with one of my Rekindled documents, which I specifically use for laying out quick notes about what I want to happen in each episode:

And here's an example of a document that's meant to be a more dedicated outline to a specific episode with actual dialogue and plotting:

(as I'm sure y'all can assume, even these notes didn't become the final version of these episodes, there's dialogue from these that got cut in the end because it didn't work as well when I tried to put it in comic form)

I hope that helps! Not to make assumptions on your behalf, but from the sounds of it, it seems like the biggest point of confusion is just different people telling you different things which is making it overwhelming or difficult for you to discern what you should be doing. "Person A told me I should do this, but Person B said this..." and I know I'm just another person in that growing list, but I think the important thing to remember is that you don't have to do what Person A, B, or GP are doing. When this kind of advice is given, it's mostly just for the sake of giving you alternate perspectives on how something can be done, but whether or not you actually DO it that way is completely up to you. Feel free to try these methods, and if they don't work for you, don't worry about it! Take what you've learned and put it into new methods that do work for you. We're all just byproducts of referencing over time, after all! A lot of what I'm telling you is stuff I've learned from practicing myself for years and taking advice for others and putting it together into a new recipe that works for my brain and workflow.

Start with whatever it is you're interested in that you want to write, and just go from there as it comes to you. Don't overwhelm yourself with details right off the bat, let them come to you naturally, and don't rush it! You don't need to have everything figured out right away! Even my Rekindled notes are at least a few months old and I just add more to them as stuff comes to me or when I'm feeling up to chipping away at the episode layouts more. It's a marathon, not a race!

And remember, these notes are for you and only you! (unless you choose to share them like I'm doing rn but these are just visual examples). This isn't the stuff you're gonna be releasing to people, it doesn't need to be perfect or labelled with dividers or given any kind of fancy pants cover letter. These kinds of notes are a conversation between you and yourself. Think of it as one of many first drafts - it's for you to tell yourself the story, so that you can eventually tell it to others once you've refined it through your drafting. It's not show and tell, it's a diary.

If you wanna see what I mean by this (warning: it's gonna really make me look like a nutjob) here are some of my notes for Time Gate which are WAY meaner because Time Gate's a much more complicated story to write:

(and the document this is from is like, literally a decade old, it's called 'time gate shit' and i just throw EVERYTHING into it, it's a nightmare LMAO)

[danelloevee-sky]

Aaaa please tell me more about children of darkness / your Sky world

Had to retype this because I forgor to save the draft 💀 anyway lore stuff below the cut

So in my sky world light and darkness need to be kept in a balance for the world to thrive. According to legend, if there is too much Darkness, the world will rot and fall to decay. On the other hand, if there is too much Light, the world will burn to ashes. The earth is a neutral ground, providing places, resources, and earthly creatures to the children of Light and Darkness. The god of the earth isn't capable of creating her own people, which is why the witches were created with cores given by the other two main gods.

Since you're asking about the children of darkness specifically, I'll talk more about them in this post but here's a google doc of other groups of people in the world with some key points. Anyway back to them

Religion

The god of darkness resides deeper than the depths of the ocean. The element of her children is water, just as the element of Megabird's children is fire. The most important group among the sea people are their priests. They listen to the whispers of their god in the waters and provide guidance to everyone from their understanding of her words.

Territory

The main capital of the Sea People's civilization is a large underwater city and all kinds of people live there, from prominent and historical families to regular shop owners. They also have settlements on the land, mostly around other large bodies of water like lakes and the seashore.

Political borders

While they prefer to reside closer to the waters, their territory still extends to some of the great land forests until it reaches the boundary cutoff created by the priests of the sea people and of the witches. Since it falls under their care, there is a sovereign organization that looks after it called the forest watchers. They don't need to follow the orders of the central or local governments. The maintenance of the forest border is too politically important, which is why it's important that their members are not easily swayed.

Cultural inspirations?

Honestly still a work in progress but I'm thinking to lean a bit towards Chinese cultures, which is why Ivel calls Blake gēgē. I'll make it more prominent when I touch on the more traditional and older families and groups

Dragons

I've chosen to interpret the Krill/Dark Dragons that we have in the game as corrupted light mantas. In my story they're either called Krill or Lesser False Dragons (if someone is feeling particularly touchy about it). There are actual dark dragons. Similar to Chinese dragons, they are connected to the water. They're not venerated, but they are well loved by the people. A few young ones even enjoy helping people with difficult tasks

That's all I can think of for now ^o^ there's loads of stuff I still need to think about but feel free to ask more about specific stuff maybe it'll help me whsgsjj