#it does lead to some worldbuilding holes tho

[kaihuntrr]

The Sea Prince: Pirates’ Factions and Empires’ cast. Concepts!

Hello!! It’s been a while since I made a worldbuilding post, and because this AU is currently being revised, I’d like to welcome the side characters who will be making their appearances throughout the story! Firstly, I’d like to talk about the changes between Pirates SMP and Empires SMP to properly fit the vision of this world. These are still their main concepts until they’re (eventually) designed and fully realized, but this is what their general faction/ personality is like.

The factions exist! They’re split between the navy and hunters, given Team TIES are naval commanders, they should have some powerful people with them while the Red Canaries (ehehe they’re all bird names) deal with their rival group.

The shorter version is; Kites and Kestrels are Hunters, Herons are a special class of navy, and Nightingales are voyagers. Their characters and the Empires cast will be used for further development in the story. :D

I’m not well caught up in the characters of Pirates so they will not be gaining a description. The Empires cast will as I am more familiar with them!

* - special case

Here’s the general idea of the factions;

Formed out of shared interests, contracts, or skill, there are countless factions throughout the world. Like any faction or guild, they can be hired together to cover all their bases and work with each other’s strength. It’s not often this works, but they’re contractually obligated to do their jobs, so they keep their heads down. These groups and crews were formed naturally and hence, want to work with these specific members if ever brought on to jobs.

(This is still subject to change; the general idea is the same tho!)

Kites: Formidable and boastful.

Prioritizing strength, this faction of rowdy hunters are no stranger to the wilds of the ocean. They enjoy the thrill of the hunt and fighting evil monsters. This specific group cannot work with any hunter crew due to the belief of their superior strength and does not ask for help. They are particularly annoyed by the Canaries, thinking them to be spoiled and pampered due to being funded by the King himself. Hopefully their paths don’t collide. Hopefully.

IMPORTANT MEMBERS:

Aimsey

Bek

Kuervo

Reddoons

Tubbo

Etho (formerly)

Kestrels: Relic of the past.

Some members of this great faction were once Ren’s old crew, they thrived in a lavish lifestyle their hunts have provided them. A strong leader with a fierce second-mate, they were unstoppable. It was like this for a few years, but after their Captain’s death it hasn’t been the same. Their second-mate soon left to be in his former crew, and they are unsure what the future may hold. If they ever cross paths with the Canaries, especially with their former second-mate, threats of violence look over their heads.

IMPORTANT MEMBERS:

Ren (deceased)

Martyn (formerly)

Guqqie

Kyle

Sausage

Joey

Oli

*Scar (associated with the group in the past)

Nightingales: Explorers and Navigators.

Away from hunting and fighting, they simply want to travel and make it easier for people to get from place to place. They are a talented group who design and create machinery for travel and everyday use, but also spend their times in exploring and charting maps; a very versatile group indeed.

IMPORTANT MEMBERS:

Michela

Graecie

Will

Acho

App

Ros

False

*Pix

Herons: Elite Intelligence.

A group of very few, but strong leaders. They are special cadets from the navy who succeeded past their peers and are given special attention from their commanders as they train to, hopefully, lead in their place one day.

IMPORTANT MEMBERS:

Cleo (formerly)

Mumbo (formerly)

El

Olive

Owen

Water

Finally, we get to the Empires cast. Originally this au was only a Life Series x Empires fic due to some interesting dynamics the characters would have with some side characters, but pirates opened up a new opportunity and fills up some plot holes! I did say the Empires cast are getting their descriptions, so here they are!

‘Mythical ‘Myth’ J. Sausage.’

‘Humble’ and ‘polite’ are the first things he’d say about himself. He is particular in living the high life and wants to continue living up to his faction’s name. He can’t stand hanging around Martyn, so he openly makes fun of him for his own ego.

‘Joey Graceffa.’

Brought on by Myth/Sausage, Joey fits the bill of a Kestrel. He enjoys singing, but doesn’t do it as often as, “they don’t deserve to hear his voice”. He’s boastful and full of pride, joining Myth as he berates the former Kestrel. He doesn’t really know who the blonde is however, as he was brought to the crew a bit more recent.

‘Orion ‘Oli’ Sound.’

A wildcard. He’s eccentric and very chaotic, bringing all the energy into the Kestrels. He once challenged by Joey into a sing-off, and despite the other winning, Oli takes it in stride and forms a friendly(?) rivalry with the other Kestrel, making good laughs for everyone.

‘False Symmetry.’

A mechanic with big dreams. She helps build prosthetics and assists with any type of machinery, as she enjoys her time tinkering with any type of device. She likes to make herself useful, and would often go for a passive response to try and change things for the better.

‘Pix Rift.’

A researcher deep in his own thoughts. He joined the Nightingales out of their shared belief and interest in exploring, accompanying them in journeys and to breathe the open, fresh air towns and cities don’t have. He takes notes of all of his adventures but tries to keep up with his personal responsibilities, as it seems he can’t keep up with it usually.

‘Katherine Elizabeth.’

A vagabond hunter with no ties to anyone or anything, supposedly. She’s excitable and fun loving, adoring the thrill of the hunt and returning home to her girlfriend with a satisfied grin on her face. She makes her living like a mercenary would, sometimes it’s jarring that someone as upbeat and optimistic as she is also kills monsters for fun and a way to earn payment.

‘Shelby Grace.’

An explorer. She’s curious about the world due to living a relatively sheltered life and greets the world with open arms. She’s incredibly shy and prefers to explore on her own, but she wouldn’t mind traveling the world with her girlfriend.

‘Gemini Rose.’

A delightful person to be around but stirs up tricks with her twin brother. She means no harm to anyone she comes across, lest her overthinking get the better of her, and she’s all in to see the world despite the horror stories of the ocean. She’s not scared! If she’s with her brother, nothing is impossible.

‘fWhip Rose.’

A menace, but a fun one! He’s usually the one who initiates the schemes between the twins, but also the one who gets into the most trouble. Be it his reckless attitude, he’s not afraid to stand up for himself.

And that’s all I can say about them! Pirates has opened up so much ideas for the AU going forward, and I’m excited for you all to see! In the meantime… here’s the reveal of revised Act I’s titles and mini arcs, I can’t wait to show you what they all mean and contain >:)

[cto10121]

Twilight Meta—Chapter 14-16

In which Edward gives his and his families vampiric backstories (abbreviated, of course), the lovers share a bed together platonically, and once again Edward does things that both are and should be illegal…and not in a legal or moral sense either. Spoilers bien sûr

Chapter 14: Edward Vampire Splains, Bosses, And Stalks.

With obvious edits and elusions, as we know from the previous books. But the gist is correct.

He drove one-handed, holding my hand on the seat. Sometimes he gazed into the setting sun, sometimes he glanced at me—my face, my hair blowing out the open window, our hands twined together.

What a nice image. That’s all. No thoughts, head empty.

“I was born in Chicago in 1901…Carlisle found me in a hospital in the summer of 1918. I was seventeen, and dying of the Spanish influenza.”

Would have been nice to have seen that flashback in the movie, but budget concerns. Anyway, this is the real appeal of vampires for me: Hundreds of years old, privy to all kinds of history! But of course it’s all about the teen angst and romance. I do like how Meyer’s vampires do ring believably immortal, or at least have universal personalities that fit in most every time. Most TV and movie vampires are so unbelievably modern, it’s sickening. I’d prefer too old-fashioned vampires than too modern.

“Carlisle brought Rosalie to our family next. I didn’t realize till much later that he was hoping she would be to me what Esme was to him—he was careful with his thoughts around me.” He rolled his eyes. “But she was never more than a sister. It was only two years later that she found Emmett…She carried him back to Carlisle, more than a hundred miles, afraid she wouldn’t be able to do it herself. I’m only beginning to guess how difficult that journey was for her.”

Is it me or Edward gives much more slack to Rosalie in this book than in Midnight Sun? Then again, they have a typically bickering brother and sister relationship there.

“Sometimes they live separately from us, as a married couple. But the younger we pretend to be, the longer we can stay in any given place.”

Friendly reminder that the Cullens don’t always enroll in high school. I’ve heard some antis bitching about that.

“I was curious about you.”

“You spied on me?” But somehow I couldn’t infuse my voice with the proper outrage. I was flattered.

He was unrepentant. “What is there to do at night?”

Oh, no. This is so creepy, you guys. He stalked her and watched her as she sleeps. I am so appalled at this anti-feminist messaging. What kind of message is this sending to our impressionable youth—

Yeah, no, I don’t care, lol. Seriously, he’s a freakin’ vampire. Ergo—vampire shit. The same clowns who cry at Edward sparkling in the sun because “vampires don’t sparkle!!!1!1” are also up in arms about this. Creepy Vampire Stalker? Doesn’t even have the same ring as Creepy Italian Stalker. I know Edward is supposed to be the good ones, but he is still a bad boy vampire. He killed people in the past, Karen.

“You’re interesting when you sleep.” He spoke matter-of-factly. “You talk.”

“No!” I gasped, heat flooding my face all the way to my hairline. […]

“Are you angry with me?”

“That depends!” I felt and sounded like I’d had the breath knocked out on me.

He waited.

“On?” he urged.

“What you heard!” I wailed.

Bella is more upset over Edward hearing her love confession than his watching her. Might as well. Bella isn’t the type for guilt or shame, but she does want to keep the depths of her obsession with him as secret as possible. Give it up, Bells, it’s obvious to anyone with a brain. At least when Juliet finds out Romeo heard her love confession, she was mortified too, but decides to…just own it. Bella doesn’t play hard-to-get either.

“You did say my name,” he admitted.

I sighed in defeat. “A lot?”

“How much do you mean by ‘a lot,’ exactly?”

CACKLING. Would have loved Pattinson to have delivered that line.

He pulled me against his chest, softly, naturally.

“Don’t be self-conscious,” he whispered in my ear. “If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I’m not ashamed of it.”

Edward being sweet and lovely right after confessing he watches her sleep is just…peak Edward. *chomps on movie popcorn* This cock is really something else.

Anyhoo, Charlie returns and he is more observant than usual. Well, Bella is visibly very excited and agitated.

“None of the boys in town your type, eh?” He was suspicious, but trying to play it cool.

“No, none of the boys have caught my eye yet.” I was careful not to over-emphasize the word boys in my quest to be truthful with Charlie.

Bah, weak equivocation. While Edward is not a boy mentally, he is still seventeen physically and presents as such. Charlie would still call BS. Juliet did so much better getting her mother off her scent. Do better, Bells.

“Edward?” I whispered, feeling completely idiotic.

The quiet, laughing response came from behind me. “Yes?”

I whirled, one hand flying to my throat in surprise.

He lay, smiling hugely, across my bed, his hands behind his head, his feet dangling off the end, the picture of ease.

Now this is actual problematic shit Edward does. Bella, you have his ticket to ride. Ride before the stallion moves!

“Can I have a minute to be human?” I asked.

…I’m beginning to see the anti rationale of Bella being too dumb to function.

Well, no? she does have to put on a show for a suspicious Charlie and also make herself clean. Priorities and practicalities and all. But damn, she has ovaries of steel.

Too late to regret not packing the Victoria’s Secret silk pajamas my mother got me two birthdays ago, which still had the tags on them in a drawer somewhere back home. (p. 298)

Aaaaand I stand corrected. She’s literally thinking about putting on sexy lingerie for her vampire boyfriend. This series is literally so real.

I pulled back; as I moved, he froze—and I could no longer hear the sound of his breathing. […]

“Did I do something wrong?”

Yes, Edward, it’s you. You’re a slut created by a hetero red-blooded woman. A male Carmen or Salome. An homme fatal.

“No—the opposite. You’re driving me crazy,” I explained.

He considered that briefly, and when he spoke, he sounded pleased. “Really?”

Like Bella, like Edward! R&J really should serve them copyright infringement papers.

“But jealousy…it’s a strange thing. So much more powerful than I would have thought. And irrational! Just now, when Charlie asked you about that vile Mike Newton…” He shook his head angrily. […]

“But honestly,” I teased, “for that to bother you, after I have to hear that Rosalie—Rosalie, the incarnation of pure beauty, Rosalie—was meant for you. Emmett or no Emmett, how can I compete with that?”

Ha, legit. Mike is the Paris, and Rosalie is the…Rosaline? Holy shit, that’s close. Now it’s Shakespeare’s turn to serve copyright infringement papers.

He was serious now, thoughtful. “For almost ninety years I’ve walked among my kind, and yours…all the time thinking I was complete in myself, not realizing what I was seeking. And not finding anything, because you weren’t alive yet.”

Every so often the antis bitch about Edward remaining a virgin for ninety years, but honestly? Ninety years isn’t that long for a vampire. I mean, that’s just the 20th century. He doesn’t even remember the Victorian era. Edward is definitely among the younger side. The Volturi especially must have viewed him as a wee bby. Look at him, finding his lil’ cantante, aw. If he were 200+ years, yeah, I’d call bullshit.

“I thought you were desensitized.”

“Just because I’m resisting the wine doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the bouquet,” he whispered. “You have a very floral smell, like lavender…or freesia,” he noted. “It’s mouthwatering.” (p. 306)

Lavender: Happiness, love, devotion, peace, distrust. Freesia: Innocence, thoughtfulness. All in all, very apropos. Bella smells like life, in other words—also, there is her maidenly innocence.

(Also, come to think of it, by contrast, Bella doesn’t describe Edward’s scent all that clearly. I have a feeling it must be something similar. Sweet is the main adjective. Probably something cold per Jacob’s reaction).

“Carlisle has a theory…he believes that we all bring something of our strongest human traits with us into the next life, where they are intensified—like our minds, our senses.”

It is a cool idea. I mean, still makes these vampires overpowered as hell and everything, but it’s still cool. These vampires in many ways are like twisted anti-angels—like Adam and Eve before and after their fall. It’s a neat reversal.

Chapter 15: Meeting the Vampire In-Laws, the Infamous Khaki Skirt, and Vampire Baseball

“Edward! You stayed!” I rejoiced, and thoughtlessly threw myself across the room and into his lap. […]

He laughed.

“Of course,” he answered, startled, but seeming pleased by my reaction. His hands rubbed my back.

Book Edward and Bella: 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Movie Edward and Bella: *stare, no thoughts, head empty*

I hid my face against his shoulder.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“You are my life now,” he answered simply.

Love declaration at page 314! Very fitting and intense. And oh, here it goes…

I ended up in my only skirt—long, khaki-colored, still casual. I put on the dark blue blouse he’d once complimented. […]

“Okay.” I bounced down the stairs. “I’m decent.”

He was waiting at the foot of the stairs, closer than I’d thought, and I bounded right into him. He steadied me, holding me a careful distance away for a few seconds before suddenly pulling me closer.

“Wrong again,” he murmured in my ear. “You are utterly indecent—no one should look so tempting, it’s not fair.”

THE INFAMOUS KHAKI SCENE. The clownery this one scene incurred…all because Tumblr misread “khaki-colored” as “khaki” the material. Also that weird out-of-nowhere headcanon of it being ankle or floor length. And I thought R&J clownery was bad…

Anyway, if this weren’t a scene from a YA novel, this would definitely have led to a sex scene. Gives off major “bodice ripper energy.” I’ll be disappointed if there wasn’t a saucy fanfic AU on this alone.

“Look, I’m trying really hard not to think about what I’m about to do, so can we go already?” I asked.

“And you’re worried, not because you’re headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think those vampires won’t approve of you, correct?”

“That’s right,” I answered immediately, hiding my surprise at his casual use of the word.

He shook his head. “You’re incredible.”

Bella being into that shit Part 39374782.

Anyway, there is the scene with Bella and the Cullens, the Cullens being all “do not startle the human!” and then Alice coming in all “BELLA MY BFF muah” 🤪. (Love Alice, always will). I’ll skip around a bit unfortunately because my wrists are killing me, but I’ll just highlight a few moments.

I suddenly remembered my childhood fantasy that, should I ever win a lottery, I would buy a grand piano for my mother. She wasn’t really good—she only played for herself on our secondhand upright—but I loved to watch her play. She was happy, absorbed—she seemed like a new, mysterious being to me then, someone outside the “mom” persona I took for granted.

Bella’s love for her mother always rings true. And of course, it informs her choice to help her.

“You inspired this one,” he said softly. The music grew unbearably sweet.

Bella’s Lullaby. Never particularly liked the version for the movie (hell, I don’t even remember it). My toxic trait is that I headcanon Bella’s song as Belle. Yes, that Belle.

“I have to, because I’m going to be a little…overbearingly protective over the next few days—or weeks—and I wouldn’t want you to think I’m naturally a tyrant.”

Literally all the antis and even half the Twilight fandom think you are the worst of the worst of tyrant. My take? I’ve literally read alpha male leads (including classic lit characters—oh, yeah) way more toxic. Hell, even Shadow and Bone’s Mal is worse and he’s just a regular Joe. Edward is a kitten compared to them. If anything, he is almost as much as a pushover as Bella in some respects. The rest is just your basic typical 1900s trad boy with control issues.

In any case, this is first reference to James, Victoria, and Laurent in the book. The movie decided to introduce them early on and trying to build a little mystery over missing hikers and whatnot. But that didn’t work because the movie just showed us who was eating the hikers anyway, so no mystery. So there was no point to it—maybe just to appease the antis that whine about how there is no plot until they come along? (Ma’am, this is a romance novel).

I shivered.

“Finally, a rational response!” he murmured. “I was beginning to think you had no sense of self-preservation at all.”

Yeah, Bella does. She just has a disease called Being in Love. Not contagious, fortunately, but extremely common. The lengths she will go to for the vampire dick is inspiring.

Chapter 16: Carlisle and More Vampire Lore, and Vampire Baseball

Anyway, Edward then moves on to Carlisle’s backstory feat. actual Carlisle. Very interesting and oh, he was born just a few decades shy of actually being at the Globe theater in its heyday. (Not that Carlisle’s father as a Protestant would ever allow him near the playhouses, those dens of iniquity!!!). It’s just possible he may have seen revivals of Shakespeare’s plays…and then gotten whipped by his Protestant father as punishment. But ignore me, I’m a Shakespeare nerd. Continuing on.

“Well, I had a typical bout of rebellious adolescence—about ten years after I was…born…created, whatever you want to call it. I wasn’t sold on his life of abstinence, and I resented him for curbing my appetite. So I went off on my own for a time.” (p. 343)

“Abstinence,” “appetite.” Interesting choice of words there. Also, Edward going into his Batman phase is now terribly ironic what with Pattinson recently donning the cape.

“But as time went on, I began to see the monster in my eyes. I couldn’t escape the debt of so much human life taken, no matter how justified.”

Would have loved to have had more of that rationale. I suppose I should reread Midnight Sun sometime. It’s very detailed though; Edward overthinks everything.

“I was prepared to feel…relieved. Having you know about everything, not needing to keep secrets from you. But I didn’t expect to feel more than that. I like it. It makes me…happy.” He shrugged, smiling slightly.

Friendly reminder that Edward lies and has lied only to Bella when he has to re: vampire secret society. He is still keeping Alice’s vision of her as a vampire from her, but that’s par de course. Bella has to choose that destiny for herself.

[unironicduncanstan]

the “Tangodeltaindia” blog explained,

aka my brain has cringe spots on it and needs to be inspected by the FDA

hi my names randi/uni and i created a total drama island themed ARG two months ago on a whim that almost no one interacted with bc i started off way too niche and difficult, so i kinda just went increasingly off the rails because i knew most likely no one was monitoring my posts and i could just make a real cursed hidden tomb that could one day be discovered by someone in a goonies esque unveiling. but then i got lice and now im sad and uncomfortable so i’m just gonna explain the entire damn thing in one shot. its absolutely batshit and theres a reason no one uncovered it ok here we go;;;

first of all the name. its so stupid but. ‘tango delta india’ = ‘tdi’ in the NATO phonetic alphabet. it just felt like a funny place to start that implies its gonna be a puzzle blog idk,

moving on to the actual content tho; some of the earlier posts mean p much nothing and were just an attempt to draw people in, such as the mr coconut ‘like if you agree’ or the ‘let him inside hes cold’ posts. 

then theres the cipher (x). it was posted shortly after the height of the ‘using total drama reference pictures to make an alphabet’ meme. in case anybody didnt see that; for a while it was a joke in the fandom to take the transparent references of total drama characters, and line them up, using them like hieroglyphics to make translatable pictures. its supposed to correspond to the alphabet, based on the first letter of their first name. an example could be, alejandro = a, bridgette = b, and so on. there was no solidly set alphabet amongst the fandom though, it was self explanatory most of the time so i made my own solid personal cipher key for that blog to make the whole thing easier.

NOW ONTO THE FIRST PUZZLE POST,,,, (x). theres a scene, a string of text, the cipher key, and a link to a decoder. the way to decode it all is to plug the characters on screen into the tangodeltaindia cipher key, and then plug That translation into the decoder website, and then finally paste in the text under the photo. 

the website linked is to a Caesar cipher decoder. the Caesar cipher is just a code where the alphabet is assigned to numbers (a=1, z=26), and to encode something with it you can move this pattern however you want as long as you keep the regular sequence of alphabet and numbers. so you could scootch over One letter, and “abc” would now say “bcd”. so on and so forth.

looking at the scene + my own total drama reference cipher, alejandro = A, and the beaver = 1, which gives A1. so you could now follow the link to the website, press ‘decode’, and paste in the text under the picture. the ‘shift’ in the middle is automatically set to ‘7′, or as it shows, a -> h, meaning ‘a’ has been moved over by 7 letters. so if you set the shift to just 1 over, or A1, now you can translate the text. it reads;

“lets start simple. after all, a trail of breadcrumbs begins with a loaf. whats the harm in another long winded fandom meme. another inside joke. and arent you curious whats truly lurking inside?”

edgy! simple! kinda just a test to see if people would do it or not. which they didnt so of course i tried to make it weirder-

puzzle 2; (x) using the exact same translation rules as above. we have alejandro and the snake, which with the tangodeltaindia cipher key means A6. going to the website, putting it in ‘decode’ mode, pasting in your text, and setting the shift to ‘6′ gives you this translation.

“in his eyes are an island. nothing but a dream, born out of going to bed angry. sink or swim.”

this was just hinting around at where the story was gonna go so it’ll make more sense later. something else to note; if you zoom all the way in and look into alejandros eye (’in his eyes’), you’ll see the word ‘Thera’. ~thats a surprise tool that will help us later~

so after this one, there are two non-puzzle posts that are also just hints (i was just tryna see if i could get people hyped), the first is a close up picture of chris with red eyes that simply says “those arent his eyes”, and then a post that says “his real names not chris :)”, they’re again referencing his eyes, and this time further implying theres something fake or wrong about them, or with chris as a person. again, it’ll be explained better later on.

moving on to puzzle 3 (x), another test to see if anyones keeping up (which also failed josdfjsdfkjs), using the same translation rules, dj = a dash or minus, and the snail = 5, “-5″, shift the letter ‘A’ BACK five instead of forward, and you get the simple translation of; “getting harder now.”

puzzle 4 and 5; at this point, there are two images posted within hours of each other that i’ll explain together as they line up. (x) (x)

These are some of the only ones that can be translated from just the tangodeltaindia key directly. They end up a string of numbers, which are latitude and longitude coordinates. The first post, labelled “the lie”, translates into “45.57394802102744, -81.46817207492494″. googling that will take you to maps and show you to a place called Lonely Island in Canada.

The second one, “the truth”, translates into “36.404663113177534, 25.39605673375295″, taking you to Santorini, Greece.

This is where the hints got really out there bc i realized nobody was following along but i still wanted to paint a picture. so this is the set up;;; the idea that the ‘island’ (camp wawanakwa) existing somewhere in canada, is a lie. the ‘true’ location being santorini isnt meant to be taken at face value though. the mythology behind santorini is that a man impregnated a goddess and to escape the wrath of her father (triton), she formed the island (santorini) by having her lover throw clay into the sea, and then she gave birth to her son, Theras, on this island, giving the island it’s Other nickname, Thera.

this is again just a vague implication that the island might not be real at all, or that it was formed through cosmic means.

the next two posts are more non-puzzle hints, the first showing the definition of the word ‘fresh’ (new), and the second being images of total drama backgrounds with no characters and the text reading “they were always empty.” more, admittedly very outlandish implications that the island is some kind of illusion, but again mostly just another try to drag people into the blog.

puzzle 6. (x) this one introduces a new concept to the regular translation rules, some of the characters are laying down. its kinda supposed to imply they’re “dead” and that you need to take their corresponding letters out of the alphabet given on the Caesar cipher page, below the shift. The upright characters translate to “-9″, so you shift ‘A’ back 9 letters. Then remove the letters; “TH-E-R-A-S”, and with those letters taken out, you can finally translate the text.

“he creates life solely to destroy it. to crush it in his hands. he births chaos so that he may have something to control. the power has given him madness. the isolation, arrogance. don't try to stop him, he's already chosen to be unstoppable. his mind is a perfectly crafted prison, one we will all soon be living in.”

this is where the story gets more on the nose. it’s talking about chris, and about him being an unstoppable cosmic force, a diety who can create worlds within his own mind, and he does so maliciously just for power. hes created the campers through mental energy just to torment them. it also hints that his plan is to expand the world of total drama island and engulf the whole universe.

puzzle 7. (x) same as the last puzzle. beaver and moose translate to ‘1-0′ or ten. the characters lying down to remove from the caesar cipher alphabet are “T-U-L-P-A”. this doesnt have anything to do with the modern way some ppl interact with tulpas but just the actual idea of creating thoughtforms, or willing your thoughts into real life creations, referencing how chris has created the entire island and everyone on it solely through his mind. with those letters removed and the shift set forward 10, you get this:

“his psychic power is unfathomable. the reality he bore was just a passing thought. an idea that became so dangerous. he predates the idea of a mind, the minds own ability to recognize itself, his synapses are paradoxically ancient. the island exists only within himself, to torment the souls hes created, and damned from the start. will they ever be free?”

it states that chris is more than a man or even just a diety, hes an all powerful god already, yet he craves more power. the final line, “will they ever be free” is in reference to the campers, which segways into the next arc;;; freeing the campers from chris’ psychic island imprisonment.

puzzle 8. (x) to solve this one you have to translate the top image with the tangodeltaindia cipher key, and add it to the text given, which creates a link. this leads to a PDF, a page from a book written by terence mckenna. he’s a famous ethnobotanist known best for his studies on DMT, the strongest hallucinogenic drug in the world, its also known as the spirit molecule. many people on this drug (without any prior knowledge of this phenomenon) will recount meeting strange fractal beings that can create things in the universe just by speaking them into existence, theyve come to be known as ‘machine elves’, a term coined by mckenna. ill show the most important excerpt from the page;

this is less about the psychedelic drug part and more about the words and ideas, like “punching a hole through a dimension so it pours through” and “if god didnt exist man would invent him”. its more worldbuilding towards chris’ power and cosmic abilities

then come 2 more clues. a picture of chris holding his own body captioned ‘ego death’, and the meaning behind the name ‘chris mcclean’. the latter is another “please look over here” post, but the first is another minor reference to the previous puzzles answer involving DMT and terence mckenna. ‘ego death’ is a term again used with strong psychedelic drugs, its the sensation that your spirit as you know it is literally Dying, and you are instead connected to and a part of everything around you. another reference to chris’ power and how he may look like a man but his body and spirit are connected to the world hes built in unfathomable ways. at this point im cementing the idea that chris mclean is not a mortal man and cannot be fought with mortal weapons

puzzle 9. (x) this one was an attempt to make easier to solve puzzles, and comes with a visual of chris looming over the island. the text is in wingdings, which can be translated through multiple websites found through google. it says;

“s︎o︎o︎n︎ h︎e︎ w︎i︎l︎l︎ s︎l︎e︎e︎p.︎ h︎e︎ w︎i︎l︎l︎ d︎r︎e︎a︎m︎ a︎ n︎e︎w︎ h︎e︎l︎l︎,︎ a︎n︎d︎ t︎h︎a︎t︎ w︎i︎l︎l︎ b︎e︎ o︎u︎r︎ o︎n︎l︎y︎ c︎h︎a︎n︎c︎e︎,︎ t︎o︎ s︎a︎v︎e︎ h︎i︎s︎ c︎r︎e︎a︎t︎i︎o︎n︎s︎,︎ a︎n︎d︎ f︎r︎e︎e︎ t︎h︎o︎s︎e︎ w︎h︎o︎ w︎e︎r︎e︎ n︎e︎v︎e︎r︎ d︎e︎s︎i︎g︎n︎e︎d︎ t︎o︎ b︎e︎ f︎r︎e︎e︎.︎ t︎h︎i︎s︎ m︎a︎y︎ c︎o︎m︎e︎ a︎t︎ a︎ c︎o︎s︎t︎.︎ t︎h︎e︎ n︎i︎g︎h︎t︎m︎a︎r︎e︎ m︎u︎s︎t︎ e︎n︎d︎,︎ t︎h︎e︎ o︎u︎r︎o︎b︎o︎r︎o︎s︎ o︎f︎ h︎i︎s︎ s︎y︎n︎c︎o︎pe︎ m︎u︎s︎t︎ c︎l︎o︎s︎e︎,︎ b︎u︎t︎ i︎t︎ m︎a︎y︎ t︎u︎r︎n︎ o︎u︎r︎ e︎f︎f︎o︎r︎t︎s︎ o︎f︎ s︎a︎l︎v︎a︎t︎i︎o︎n︎ t︎o︎ d︎u︎s︎t︎.︎ o︎u︎r︎ f︎i︎g︎h︎t︎ m︎i︎g︎h︎t︎ e︎n︎d︎ i︎n︎ s︎a︎c︎r︎i︎f︎i︎c︎e︎,︎ r︎e︎n︎d︎e︎r︎i︎n︎g︎ h︎i︎s︎ l︎a︎s︎t︎ i︎n︎v︎e︎n︎t︎i︎o︎n︎ b︎u︎t︎ a︎ c︎e︎a︎s︎e︎l︎e︎s︎s︎ v︎o︎i︎d︎.︎ w︎e︎ m︎a︎y︎ s︎e︎e︎ h︎o︎r︎r︎o︎r︎s︎ t︎h︎a︎t︎ c︎a︎u︎s︎e︎ t︎h︎e︎ s︎t︎a︎r︎s︎ t︎o︎ s︎h︎u︎d︎d︎e︎r︎,︎ b︎u︎t︎ w︎e︎ m︎u︎s︎t︎ t︎a︎ke︎ t︎h︎i︎s︎ c︎h︎a︎n︎c︎e︎.︎ w︎e︎ h︎a︎v︎e︎ n︎o︎t︎h︎i︎n︎g︎ t︎o︎ l︎o︎s︎e︎,︎ a︎n︎d︎ a︎ w︎o︎r︎l︎d︎ o︎f︎ n︎o︎t︎h︎i︎n︎g︎n︎e︎s︎s︎ t︎o︎ e︎n︎d︎.︎ m︎a︎y︎ t︎h︎e︎ s︎e︎a︎ s︎w︎a︎l︎l︎o︎w︎ u︎p h︎i︎s︎ i︎s︎l︎a︎n︎d︎ o︎f︎ l︎i︎e︎s︎.︎ g︎o︎d︎ pr︎o︎t︎e︎c︎t︎ y︎o︎u︎.︎”

this is essentially saying that the island, the campers, werent all just created from his mind, but from his dreams. this confirms that he Sleeps, and claims hes going to sleep again soon, and during that time period theres a chance to kill him before he can dream up another world (or season) to control and torment. its also saying that theres a chance killing him will destroy the island and campers, but that its the only choice we would have to end the cycle. hey guys i am so bored and over the years i have been on every stimulant and anti depressant doctors are legally allowed to prescribe and its still just not quite there yet huh

puzzle 10. (x) the video, the title translates to “the island of his eye”. its just meant to encapsulate everything ive already been hinting around at but with real footage and some audios taken from the show, and again, it was me tryna make some lore that was easy to digest and also terrifying to an audience with no other context. the final images are the only new clues, if you pause fast enough you can barely make out the characters that (paired with the tangodeltaindia cipher key) would say “set them free”, and you can also see an aerial view of what is actually called “the eye of argentina”. it is a real island that rotates atop a swamp, it is geometrically perfect and no one really knows for sure why it rotates the way it does or how it was formed. this clue is simply related back to the idea that the island of wawanakwa’s location is not in canada, and that it does not function like a normal island.

puzzle 11. (x) what td blog is complete without a uquiz? anyways, it doesnt matter how you answer the quiz, theres only one possible result. the title is a link to a mega file, which is protected with a decryption key. the image attached to the result, when deciphered, is the randomly generated key to the unlock the file. the image you see from the file is this; (TW for mentions of self harm and eye trauma)

in case this is too hard to read ill transcribe what it says;

“How to escape the dream - accept that there is no dream to escape, and no you to escape it. - believe in it anyways. - sleep on your back. - cover your eyes. - hide a nail under the pillow. - wait for the ringing. - when you first see him, dont call his name. dont speak. - keep your eyes shut. - on the second night, ask where the camp is. he wont respond verbally. - on the third night, you’ll see his eyes. - on the fourth night, you’ll enter them. - you can’t turn back after the fifth night. - don’t try to hide your fears. he knows them before you arrive. - don’t shut your eyes for too long when it becomes too much. you risk losing them. - find chris mclean. - don’t stop till the nail is through the socket. - repeat on the other side. - repeat on yourself. - congratulations. they are free”

this is, believe it or not, an idea that comes from my very own sleep paralysis experiences. ive dealt with it a lot, so why not make a weird ritual thing for an arg based off it ig. so whenever i’d fall asleep on my back, i’d eventually hear this ringing in my ears (or it’d happen upon waking up), and then the sleep paralysis would begin. i only ‘saw’ stuff a couple times but the fear for me was really more about the overwhelming sensation of pure dread that always came along with it even when i was aware what was happening, and i Always got this feeling too that if i opened my eyes in that moment, something was gonna stab them.

so moving on to how that applies to the arg, the first few lines are about how, obviously, the island is not real, even in the lore being given its a figment of chris’ imagination, but you have to enter it anyways, and the only way to do that is to believe its real. then it tells you how to ‘enter’ that world, (btw i didn’t expect anyone to actually follow these instructions if found, but even if they did, the whole ‘sleep paralysis being caused by sleeping on your back’ thing usually only happens if you’re predisposed to having it and only happens to Some people who have it, so the intent was like. never to bring that upon anybody. but if you are prone to sleep paralysis plz do not attempt even as a joke or anything thx)

the parts about hallucinating chris then are as follows, “ask about the camp / he wont respond verbally” , meaning he will show you through a dream instead, one that might look a lot like the video from before. “on the third night you will see his eyes”, meaning you will see the island but not be able to interact with it, or basically, how we see total drama on tv right now. “on the fourth night you’ll enter (his eyes)” references the island existing ‘within his eyes’, meaning you will enter the actual island. the next night chris will sleep and you will be able to enter the island again and find him. the idea with the nail is that, if you destroy his eyes you destroy the ‘island’ within them. wrapping back around to sleep paralysis, the idea of stabbing yourself with the nail afterwards is because sometimes, the only thing you can move during sleep paralysis is your fingertips and toes, and wiggling those can help bring you out of the paralysis. so at first how i used to wake myself up, but it didnt usually work fast enough so oftentimes id just pinch the shit out of my fingers and use pain to make my muscles start up faster.

the next post is a link to a countdown. again, i knew nobody was rly following at this point, but i wanted a little more build up before just dropping the ending. it was set up to end 5 days after the last post, aka the one that mentioned a 5 night dream ritual.

puzzle 12. (x) going all the way back to the normal multi step translation puzzles. the coloring of the cipher is a bit different, and its missing chris, but its meant to be used the same as it was before, these changes are only for dramatic effect. and chris is gone because well. we mentally offed him in the inception dream land last time. so anyways the snake = 6, shift A to 6, take out the letters “R-I-C-K” of the characters laying in their graves, and you get this translation;

“its almost time. we must now crack open our minds like a crowbar to a sealed chest. like an egg to a pan. to find our way into camp wawanakwa our ego cannot remain intact, and to traverse it we must stay strong. to escape it, we must glue the pieces back together. now we sleep. dream. end the nightmare.”

this is a final message before ‘entering the island’ to kill chris and free the campers from the island. it acts like a pep talk.

the next post is just the countdown ending.

puzzle 13 (the finale). (x)

this post sends you to a new blog entirely, called @awakenfromthenightmare​. there is only one post on it. the post has another link to a mega file, and the link is attached onto a string of text. follow the link by clicking, then copy the text and paste it in as the decryption key. now you have another image to translate with the tangodeltaindia cipher;

when translated, the text is another link to a youtube video. 

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

so there you have it, that video is the ending to the entire arg. it didnt really end the way i wanted at first, i got burnt out from no engagement about halfway through which isnt anybody elses fault, but i still felt this was a well crafted and fitting finale. thank you all for reading.

[linkedsoul]

Some writing tips

those are just tips: as with any writing advice or “rule”, you have no obligation to follow them if they don’t fit you

write for yourself

you can write for your audience, your readers!!

but don’t forget you’re also one of your readers

so write also for yourself

it’s no fun if you don’t enjoy your own writing

do your research

accuracy is great!

research is great to represent accurately and respectfully minorities!!

and great to avoid having readers raise eyebrows at parts of your story

like your story can be amazing, but if you say that your character travels in France and everyone she meets speak English, it’s going to be pretty weird (I mean maybe in another country it’d be possible but NOT in France)

and that’s just a harmless example in the sea of worst, harmful examples of research not being done or being done badly that exist

nothing has to be perfect on first try

your first draft doesn’t have to be terrible

but it’s probably not going to be perfect either

because as you write, you’re going to worldbuild more and develop the characters more, and the story will take unexpected turns, and you’ll have new ideas, and maybe you have no idea how it ends yet

so let yourself do imperfect stuff! 

let yourself wing details and continue writing even if you know there’s a huge ass plot hole and a character still doesn’t have a name, and the big villain is still a huge “?” in your notes

focus on finishing something

starting new projects is GREAT

being a perfectionist and trying to correct all flaws in a WIP is not something easy to avoid when you know where things are off

but don’t forget to finish at least one of your WIPs!

not only you’ll feel good about it, but you’ll have gained the experience of finishing a project!

once you’ve finished the first draft, you can work on whatever else you want

I’ll suggest working on another project for a moment before going back to your previous WIP to edit it, but you do you!

think your character as people: 3 dimensional, well-rounded, multifaceted

like, fictional characters are obviously not real

(and that’s why we can put them through things we’d never wish upon any real person)

but a character that’s basically just…. a list of flaws and qualities, can be very bland.

Sure, your OC is brave and clumsy and serious and strong. But what does it mean. How does it translate into actions. What kind of behavior does that lead to. How do they react to the events of the story.

You’re totally free to make a list of flaws and qualities! 

But you don’t have to. Don’t sweat it if you can’t make one or fill in a character sheet.

Humans are multifaceted, complex and nuanced creatures. We’re filled with contradictions and it’s very hard to define people in a list of flaws and qualities. 

Think of the people you know, how they appear to you! How you’d define them!

Try to imagine your character in situations! How do they cry? How do they laugh? What makes them cringe? What makes them smile? How do they react when they need to laugh but can’t? When they’re in a hurry but there’s someone walking slowly in front of them? How do they look, at their worse? How do they make friends?

That’ll also help avoid falling into clichés. Characters, like people, can’t just be summed up by one adjective. They have a wide range of different emotions that they express in different ways. They have more than one hobby or interest. They laugh and cry and they’re strong and they’re weak and they love and they hate. 

Clichés sum up characters into one trait. If your character has various traits, it’ll help not fall into clichés (still do your research tho!! helps too!).

plot tropes aren’t necessarily bad if they’re well written or being in some novelty

it’s the “it’s always the same” which is annoying

plot tropes like the “chosen one” or “enemies to lovers” are commonly used because people like them, so they’re not necessarily bad per se

think of fanfictions and the famous “there’s only one bed”….

very common but people really like it!! and that’s the same for tropes and common themes, they appear and reappear because people like them! 

the trick to avoid having people rolling your eyes at you is to put some originality and personality into that trope!!

LIKE, WHEN I WAS A KID, I HAD HELLO KITTY DVDS, AND ONE EPISODE WAS CINDERELLA, BUT INSTEAD OF GOING TO A BALL, SHE WENT TO AN AMERICAN FOOTBALL MATCH AS A PLAYER 

Another example: a chosen one who was chosen…. as a ploy of the bad guy. PLOT TWIST. Or the high council of gods pick the chosen one with darts and made up a bullshit prophecy. ANOTHER PLOT TWIST.

Often, tropes are written the same way, and that’s why people don’t like them. We’re tired of them. We’re tired of YA novels where you can spot the love interest the second he appears and then he’s supposed to be the enemy or a rival or someone to be wary of, but three pages after he’s fallen for the main character. Who finds him hot and mysterious, and falls in love with him because of that. Or because he saved her. You choose.

I’m not against it but I’ve seen it done in the same way so often that I just CRAVE some originality. 

like @brynwrites once said here: you can still have a damsel in distress in your original fantasy book because there are damsels in distress who haven’t been done before.

a lot of what are seen as overused tropes have never been used with characters from minorities, like characters of colors, queer characters, disabled characters, neurodivergent characters, etc.!!

and as I said, the main problem with those tropes is that…. they’re overused. So, go wild refreshing those tropes with some neat diversity!!

keep on writing!

practice makes perfect!

but you don’t have to be writing all the time of course

it shouldn’t be a chore

you can also read, do other kind of arts, watch movies, learn about screenwriting or storyboarding…. there are other ways to improve your writing!

don’t hesitate to try different types of writing and different genres!

you might not find yourself good at writing yet, but the more you write, the better you’ll get

don’t be bummed out if things aren’t perfect on the first WIP: your plots will get better the more you create plots, your worldbuilding will be more develop the more you create worlds, etc. 

Writing is also trials and errors!

And most importantly…. have fun!! \o/

[galsinspace]

I hope it's alright if I reblog this and add my own to cents because I think it's a really interesting topic!

I think a lot of people prefer FNV though because the worldbuilding is consistent, the story is much more shaped by the player, and it's very much in the spirit of the original Fallout games. The main story in FO4 will almost always end with you nuking the Institute. No anti-war message there. Compared to one of the DLCs for FNV where you have the choice to nuke a place... I don't wanna spoil but it felt like the most difficult decision in a video game for me, because I had to actually consider what that means.

You can find a lot of difficult themes in FNV, imperialism and war, no faction option is perfect, people can have a lot of different opinions on what option is best to fight the Legion!

(The NCR is a stable democracy, having their system to fall back on could bring a lot of stability. But they will also exploit the Mojave, the needs of Mojave citizens will be drowned out by a Republic stretched thin and ruled from afar. House has ruled New Vegas for 200 years and kept it functioning, but also ruled by money and police robots above all. It's stability, and a lot of individual freedom, but still a dictatorship. Wild Card is basically just the Courier stepping in House's place, it's up to your imagination what happens next, but I really wrestle with the concept of one person having so much power and making these decisions for everyone.)

The main antagonist is clear, it's Caesar and the Legion, they're unmistakeably evil. But still they have an ideology, Caesar has logical reasons behind what he does, and if we compare that to the Institute in FO4, they really fall apart. What even do they want? What are their plans? What are synths to them? The new version of mankind or expandable robots? It's unclear, even if you join them and become the leader of the faction. To many people, the writing feels unfinished and full of holes.

Now about the companions! They absolutely feel a lot more lively in FO4, and they're much easier to find. But for a lot of people that loneliness of wandering the wasteland without a companion is part of the mood of the game. And once you find companions, their stories are interesting and engaging, even if they can be hard to trigger. I recommend visiting the Kings for a dog buddy, the Mojave Express in Primm for a little robot, the 188 Trading Post for a funky punching lesbian, the bar at the Mojave Outpost for Cait 1.0, or the dinosaur in Novac for a sniper who will attack Legion members on sight. I recommend them bc they're relatively easy to get or will lead you to interesting places, there's more who are also great.

And they all have a quest. In FO4 you can have a lot more of a relationship with your companions where in FNV there's little in that direction, but they do all have quests that tell you a lot about them.

Really tho, this whole debate of FO4 vs FNV carries a lot of bitterness. While I do think FNV is the better game as a whole, FO4 has a lot of aspects that I really adore, like the companions and the settlements. I hope you can find a way to play FNV in a way that is enjoyable for you, no matter what anyone says! If you want some pointers to cool stories and places and characters, please feel free to shoot me a message!

The quest to get the dog from the Kings leads to my favourite place in the game :)

I’ve recently started playing Fallout New Vegas for the first time and I have an unpopular opinion so look away now if you’re not ready to hear this. 

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