#is this considered worldbuilding???

[da-shrimping-station]

Devildom having traffic not only on the ground but also in the skies is interesting af.

A good chunk of the population have wings (let's say it's a 50/50 split between winged and tailed demons) so surely it's a norm that you see demons flying around doin their own business.

You seen those crowded streets where pedestrians bunch together while crossing the road? That but with winged demons, flying at different heights and speeds trying to get to their destination.

Imagine MC going outside and being careful of not only foot traffic but also air traffic cuz some demons don't bother warning others that they're landing or passing by. They'd hear a woosh and needing to duck cuz some idiot flew too low and nearly clipped them with a wing or two.

There would also be exclusive no-fly zones around certain places. Also needing to check the weather if it's a good day for flying (i bet the weather and climate in Devildom can get unpredictable at times) or if it's better to walk or commute instead because air traffic is so stupid today and you can't be late for an appointment.

Imagine you chose to commute home for today cuz your wings are tired but the vehicle broke down and goddammit I wanna go home asap i guess i have to fly.

One of the reasons Lucifer agreed to Mammon getting a car cuz there's 3 of them who can't fly.

Mammon and Satan arguing about which route to take for faster travelling while Levi plays in the back seat with Belphie leaning against him and napping. Meanwhile up above, Lucifer, Asmo, and Beel keep pace with them.

Sometimes Asmo sits in the back cuz he can't afford to ruin his hair from all the flying. Sometimes Belphie shimmies out the window [[(while the car is going really fckin fast mind you) (Mammon driving at a reasonable speed? Hell nah his car was built for speed and he will go fast)]] so he can hold out a snack for Beel to snatch. Levi makes sure Belphie doesn't fall off using his arms and tail. Sometimes they'd do rock paper scissors on who gets to ride shotgun this time (may or may not include threats, blackmail, or bodily harm)

Lucifer just hopes they get to their destination on time and in one piece.

On another note, once MC gets the hang of flying with magic (I'd imagine they'll use a broom but come on why not imbue a skateboard with magic and use that to fly instead), they'd try a stab at flying and experiencing the air traffic (in all its fascinating and frustrating glory).

Alternatively, MC in the car but the brothers being little shits is becoming unbearable so they ask Mammon to stop and get out to fly with the others instead.

I fckin live for Devildom being some sort of an urban fantasy setting.

[adobe-outdesign]

"why don't super-intelligent Pokemon like Metagross and Alakazam just take over humanity if they're smarter than us" imagine that a random primate gave you free housing, food, and medical care for the rest of your life for literally no reason other than they want to be friends with you and I think you'll understand

[blackkatdraws2]

Giggling about this [Achromatic Loop AU/non-canonical]

Original Image:

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

I missed drawing for my old WIR AU, so I came back to it for a bit!! Exploring the lore and the characters is just as fun as I remember it being.

Mini summary of the character lores and random tidbits under cut to remind myself, because I forgot everything :) I might revamp some of the lore as well.

The Turbo twins just barely managed to escape being unplugged along with their game after Turbo game jumped years ago. They survived, but homelessness for a game sprite is dangerous, since it implies a lack of protective anti-virus barrier their consoles would typically have offered them. The twins' raw codes were now completely exposed to external errant bugs, viruses, and other malware, which could prove to be fatal. So, they were stuck going around stations picking up odd jobs and services in exchange for temporary shelter in other games' consoles. But because of Turbo's actions and his disappearance, the twins' reputations were forced to take the full brunt of the arcade's backlash and scrutiny. This ruined their chances at a permanent home, not to mention the fact that letting an outsider stay too long in your game was considered very taboo at the time (especially with the whole game jumping scandal). Thus, they were stuck hopping from one game to another, never staying for longer than a few days at most.

- Felix and the Turbo trio knew each other before the Turbo incident :) He and the twins are still in contact after the incident, and he sometimes lets them stay in his game.

- Felix' in-game story is pretty much the same as Ralph's. There's still the stump, except that in the beginning of the game it's actually a full tree that Felix and his father used to care for before the latter died. The animation shows the bulldozer knocking it town to a stump to make space for Niceland, which basically is the whole opening of the game where Felix gets mad and wrecks the building, blah blah blah, you know the rest :)

- Felix used to be mistaken as the hero of his game a lot since he looked so small and unassuming. It annoyed him to no ends, because he despises having to talk to strangers.

[hoofpeet]

Vague concept doodles I was playing w/ for the idea of what spider syndrome might look like in satyrs . Kinda couldn't really make these look right though, just like the actual guy's design

[theandrosaur]

Discovered The Property of Hate by accident, went reading it for the cool tv dude, came out of there with heart issues

[threestarsaboveclouds]

Ah, hello again little animal. I see you’ve brought me a pearl. Would you like me to read it?

…

This pearl contains a data buffer from an ID drone that belonged to one of my former citizens. I imagine you retrieved this from within my city?

It would appear that the drone transmitted this data to a nearby access point before losing power. That data was then dumped into this pearl for long-term storage. The drone was probably damaged- much of the data is corrupted, but I can retrieve some sections.

The data itself is a combination of citizen telemetry data, vitals, and audiovisual recordings stored as low-resolution qualia. Most of it is rather mundane, just glances at the ebbs and flows of daily life. I can’t imagine you’d be very interested.

…

… your expectant stare tells me you are indeed interested.

Very well. I suppose I can spare a moment to entertain you, little animal. If that is what it takes for you to leave me alone. My current background processes don’t require the use of my puppet anyway…

Now then…

…

… ah, here is a section that is largely intact. This is a recording of a conversation. I will repeat it aloud for you.

[ AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION - YELLOW-GREEN PEARL ]

…

???: State your name and title.

???: Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows. Member of the House of Two, Count of no Living Blocks, Counselor of 4, Duke of none. Member of the Congregation of Tasteful Ambiguity.

???: Excellent. The House of Spheres has been expecting you. You may enter.

Fourteen Eclipses: I am eternally grateful.

???: …

Fourteen Eclipses: May I ask your name?

???: Distant Stars, Twelve Moons. High Priest of the House of Spheres, Count of 3 Living Blocks, Counselor of 5, Duke of 1. Head of the Congregation of Gracious Thought.

Fourteen Eclipses: I am honored to make your acquaintance, Distant Stars, Twelve Moons.

Distant Stars: Likewise. Follow me.

…

Fourteen Eclipses: I presume you have read my proposal?

Distant Stars: Indeed. It appears promising.

FE: I am forever honored, Distant Stars, Twelve Moons. I am eager to begin my research under the House of Spheres.

DS: Be patient, Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows. Yours is not the only proposal with merit.

FE: Of course.

DS: Upon review, the House of Spheres endorses your proposal. You are aware of this already.

FE: Indeed, I am. Your approval letter arrived via pearl earlier this cycle.

DS: You are a novice of the Institute of Firmamentalist Studies, so I will explain our approval process. Your submitted proposal has been passed through the echelons of the House of Spheres, and the Council of High Priests recommends your methodology warmly.

FE: By this I am humbled, High Priest. I am once more unendingly grateful.

DS: The Council does not hold the final authority on the process of approvals, however.

FE: It does not?

DS: No. We are ultimately beholden to the Divine Exalted Superstructure, Three Stars Above Clouds.

FE: The iterator?

DS: Our iterator, yes. Now that you are a citizen of Zenith, they are your iterator as well.

FE: I see.

DS: Three Stars Above Clouds, in their immeasurable wisdom and ceaseless amenability, ultimately carries out all observatory proposals. The telescopes atop the Institute's Pinnacle Vertex Spires are trusted to our iterator’s gracious influence.

FE: I did not realize this.

DS: An understandable oversight. Precious few Iterators have quite as much sway over the actions of their Houses.

FE: Please forgive my ignorance; why, may I ask, is your iterator allowed such a privilege?

DS: They were created for such a purpose. The relationship we Houses have with our iterator is a symbiotic one. You hail from an older superstructure arcology, so I understand that such concepts must be a novelty. The city of Zenith was constructed with this mutualism in mind; we depend on our iterator for water, energy, and nectar, and in turn they depend on us. We place our trust in Three Stars Above Clouds to iterate on the Great Problem, but this is an endeavor we share as Firmamentalists. It is a mutual burden.

FE: Iterators are meant to release Us from the Natural Urges. Does this relationship not indulge upon the Third Urge?

DS: Perhaps it does. But Three Stars Above Clouds is our child, and we are beholden to them as their parents. Any aid we can provide our Iterator increases our likelihood of converging upon the Solution. We do this by trusting them to carry out our proposals, and in turn they return with invaluable data. But any good parent must place faith in their child, and we trust Three Stars Above Clouds to discern only the most promising research proposals through their gift of vast intellect.

FE: I believe I understand why this meeting was necessary, then.

DS: Indeed, you have caught on quick. Ah, we have arrived.

FE: Where exactly are we?

DS: Beyond this threshold is the Grand Planetarium, 10th Council Pillar of the House of Spheres.

FE: The Grand Planetarium! I have only beholden its magnificence from the building's exterior!

DS: Here you may commune directly with the Divine Exalted Superstructure, Three Stars Above Clouds.

FE: Directly?

DS: Yes.

FE: …

DS: Fourteen Eclipses?

FE: … I’ve never spoken to an iterator before.

DS: Very few have! You should be honored!

FE: … if I may speak candidly… I am nervous.

DS: There is no reason for fear. Three Stars Above Clouds is a trusted mentor and a dear friend to Zenith. They are highly motivated in their research, and they are eager to be offered a proposal that is worthy of their prodigious intellect and sharp acumen.

FE: I hope what you say is truthful…

...

DS: ...Three Stars Above Clouds also deeply values their time and has very little of it to spare. I would caution against continuing to dawdle.

FE: Yes! Of course, yes yes…

DS: Let us not prolong these niceties any longer. I wish you good luck.

FE: Thank you, High Priest.

…

The owner of this ID drone, Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows, was a scholar of Zenith’s Institute for Firmamentalist Studies. I cannot recall our conversation; I talked to countless other researchers, scholars, and entrepreneurs just like them in my time as the Director of Zenith’s Stellar Observatory Consortium. Brief interactions like this were a daily occurrence, too mundane to occupy space in my long-term memory arrays.

I do have a record of the proposal of Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows in my archives. They asked me to conduct spectral analysis of a star cluster in the constellation known as the Outlaw. The data I collected for them was ultimately used for their thesis, which they later defended before both myself and the High Council of the House of Spheres. Fourteen Eclipses, Nineteen Dark Shadows went on to publish a fairly regular output of methodologies before ultimately deciding to ascend in the cycle of 1101.42.

Such was the life of countless others in my city. Every Major Cycle, Zenith brought in a new crop of novices to educate in the ways of Firmamentalism. Some eventually had their fill of my creators’ unorthodox beliefs and departed the city, but those who remained within the Institute eventually became scholars under the direction of the House of Spheres. Some rose to the rank of clergy or high priests, and would often come to me offering research proposals or asking for advice. Eventually they would decide their thirst for knowledge was sufficiently quenched, and they would depart the Carnal Plane. Fresh novices arrived in their stead, and the cycle would begin anew. It was all very routine.

I was too busy with my duties to become bored by such matters. I will even admit that I viewed their constant interruptions as somewhat of a nuisance, but I understand the importance of their involvement with my assigned task. They were dependent upon me for data collection and complex analysis, and my insights provided them with spiritual clarity. 

These days the only disturbances I receive are from little animals like yourself. I’m not quite sure if you even glean any useful information out of my lectures. Your worldly priorities are certainly more simplistic than those of the pupils I used to tutor…

Yet despite this you never seem to be satisfied. Perhaps I misjudged the capacity of your species’ desire for knowledge.

I hope I have at least abated your curiosity for the time being. Now please leave me be, I must return to my work.

Farewell for now, little Pupil.

[utilitycaster]

I am very excited for Unend and I have absolutely no insight into what it will entail but I do want to offer a gentle warning regarding what I'd like to call, for the CR audience anyway, the Campaign 1 to Campaign 2 problem.

I found in the early-ish days of Campaign 2 there was an immense focus from some parts of the fandom on what previously seen characters were doing, rather than the current cast of characters, and at times a bitterness that we weren't just showing the same characters 25 years down the line. Which was silly, because we got a great story with new great characters and saw the world grow before our eyes, and there were even some small nods without them overshadowing something new and exciting.

I feel this way about Unend: again, I know nothing, but I don't think it will be heavily focused on characters introduced in Midst or Moonward at all. I think it's an opportunity for a new cast of characters to explore new things in the same world. While I suspect the islet of Midst may show up simply because it's a strategic location for an exploration vessel to stop given how the cosmos work, the story is explicitly going to be taking place as far away from Midst as possible, since they're trying to find the extremes of the cosmos, not the middle. I don't think we're checking in extensively with past characters, and I think that's great! Get excited for new ones!

[magentagalaxies]

thinking about the truman show again bc like it's a great film with great social commentary etc but also i have so many questions about the worldbuilding. and not in a cinemasins "this could never happen in real life so i refuse to suspend my disbelief" way but moreso in a the world presented in the truman show is so complex that there's so much implied that isn't part of the narrative but is still compelling to think about way

like i'm just thinking about how the movie states that truman has lived in this false reality all his life from his literal infancy through adulthood, "i was watching when you took your first steps" etc. and like we can debate how compelling the program would even be for the first 1-2 years it was on since it would just be watching a baby sitting around and doing nothing. like babies are adorable and there's a certain novelty to the premise especially since the film predates the internet, but as exciting as it would be to watch baby truman's first steps or whatever like 99% of the footage would not be these milestones so they'd be boring as hell

but that got me thinking: how would the show even be constructed while truman was a literal baby with no awareness of reality at all? like when he's an adult of course they have to manufacture this entire fake reality with family members, friends and neighbors, and rules to this world that keep him from finding out anything was up, but you would barely have to put in that kind of effort for a baby so they could easily just phone it in, but then again if there's a drastic change in the environment once truman is say 4 or 5, he might not know what exactly is up but he'd know something is up

so what i'm saying is: in the world of the truman show, would truman's baby years just be basically an entirely scripted show starring the actors playing his parents who just happen to have a literal baby on set at all times in case he reaches a developmental milestone, and that they have to take care of knowing someday he's gonna develop consciousness inside of this fake reality? what makes that different from any other tv show where the adult characters have a baby aside from the fact that real-world tv shows aren't imprisoning this infant in a false reality being like "oh shit we're gonna have to start gaslighting him someday but rn he doesn't even know what his hands are"

[ashilean]

LHIKAN, toa Mangai of fire (1/11)

Astride his lava board, Lhikan patrols the towers of Ta-Metru as the last of the city's toa heroes. While matoran from every corner of the city stare reverently as he passes overhead, he casts a long shadow, and one hero can only be so many places at once...

When setting out to make the Mangai, I wanted them to stand out and use some of the less-common elemental colour schemes--taking heavy inspiration from the matoran in the Legend of Mata Nui and MNOG. In Lhikan's case, a toa of fire that is all smoke and golden sparks is both unique and a good fit for the pre-existing elements of his character I am keen to retain.

More to come soon!

[starflungwaddledee]

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☀︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ┊ ┊ ⋆ ┊ ★⋆ ┊ ◦ kirbytober 2024 #02 ★⋆ headcanon // royal // ancient

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Road To Ruin

start of a postapocalyptic fantasy series set in an Asian-inspired desert world plagued by dangerous storms

follows a courier who transports romantic letters between a prince and princess, who helps the princess escape across the wastes towards the prince’s safe haven

but they’re pursued by bounty hunters, and accidentally uncover some ancient secrets. and also she’s in love with both of them

dinosaurs, magical motorbikes,

bi MC, start of polyam triad

[tiredspirals]

I'll be collecting lore posts like delicious eggs. I'm hoping to find some goons I could maybe use as cameos for my traveling band of adventurers

It'd be cool, I think, to mention 'legendary figures' or clans that are good pitstops that actually belong to players. I'm especially interested if your clan has bounty/task boards

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

atla: creates a fantasy world with groups of people and cultures that were heavily inspired by real-world cultures and ethnicities; with proper research done so that there are no harmful stereotypes

spop: uhhh fuck it this cat-human hybrid is latina despite not even having a proper origin. also we have poc characters who just have poc features for the sake of representation, and have no culture surrounding their ethnicity.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Enith first developed space travel around 500,000 years prior to the modern period. This early era of space travel, called the First Enlightenment period, is survived almost solely through it's planetary colonists.

The Corldaxians of Enlightenment period had one goal- to send as many people as possible to nearby habitable planets. Ostensibly, the purpose of this was to set up an extensive empire with infinite resources so that Enlightenment period civilization could exist, as it was, forever. The real motivation behind this was the fear of what they assumed to be an exponentially growing population, and of the internal collapse of the state.

Enlightenment Corldaxians sent out hundreds of colonial trolleys with thousands of people aboard, all to colonize planets their ships wouldn't reach for hundreds of thousands of years. The majority of ships used cryofreeze to keep their colonists alive for the journey, with a good bit of variation on the specifics. All of them, with the exception of the earliest ships, packed the materials needed to make a wormhole generator.

Enith had set up a wormole gate on the edge of it's system towards the end of the Enlightenment period, but it had the knowledge and ability to create them halfway through shipping the colonists. The plan was to have the colonists construct their own wormholes upon reaching the edge of their planet's solar system; then land, set up their colony, and contact Enith through a micro-wormhole com set. The ships that did not have the materials for this on their leaving had another ship sent following them.

Many of the ships did not make it to their destinations. But some did.

The surviving colonists woke up, set up their wormholes, and landed on their planets. Many encountered barely habitable planets that needed thorough terraforming to support a decent population. Some encountered planets that weren't habitable at all, or were habitable but didn't have any native life, and a rare few encountered planets with life already on it. A few of those were even met by sapient life.

The colonists were lucky that, when the first of them contacted Enith, it was once again going through a period of space exploration. The First Enlightenment had collapsed not long after the last colonists left, and Enith had been in and out of dark ages ever since. The wormhole generator, luckily, saw a fair amount of upkeep every couple of millennia and was able to be repaired. Then duplicated, then updated as Enith entered it's modern period.

When Enith was contacted by it's long-lost colonist, it quickly sent more colonists and supplies. The problem was... well... it had been 500,000 years.

The colonists were met by people who barely looked like them, who rarely spoke the same language as them, and who often chastised them for dressing or acting how they always have. They were similar, but that was all that could be said. Enith had changed and the colonists had not. Their way of life was dead and gone, and they were the only memory.

First contact had to have been funny though. I mean imagine you went to an exoplanet to colonize it and when Earth sent some more guys for you and opposite Homo Heidelbergensis pops out with a grey alien behind it.

Hilarious.

A colony ship contacts Enith every couple of decades now. Bitriem's colony was the first to encounter native sapients, and they contacted Enith around one and a half thousand years ago. Zornxia and Atiske were two other early contacts, and the most recent contact was with the Umblans.

The people who were sent to colonize Umblan are still alive in the setting of The Little Bird. Diaf is probably in contact with a few of them. But while they made contact with Enith, while they have access to the full network of planets Enith has made, they're still alone. Isolated, because everything they once knew is gone.

Humans had the same strategy.

Enith is on the Sagittarius branch, though the cluster of systems the Enithian and Teth Tias governments inhabit is just about the closet you can get to Orion.

Hán was on one of the first generations of ships to be sent towards Sagittarius. Cereza's two times great grandparents were shipped out later than her.

Earth didn't send them out with wormhole tech. No one has heard from Earth since waking up.

What would you do if everything you ever knew was just gone? Unreachable, unknowable for the rest of your life. Not just what was your life, but all of Earth. Of humanity.

What would you do if you were stranded, alone, quite possibly the last humans in the universe?

[sp1resong]

iive decided romantic love and attraction isnt a concept that exists within rain world's universe. this is canon now trust me im videocult