#those two used to share a common originating technology

[ironborealis]

What kinda kills me is that living Alastor would definitely have known what a television was -- the technology is taking great newsworthy leaps during the late 1920s, and more importantly broadcast television today still relies on radio signals to transmit. Television merely became mainstream media after Alastor's death and eventually overtook radio in popularity.

The programming genres between the two were similar to each other. News, dramas, comedies, soaps, talk shows, politics, religion, game shows etc.

What sets modern television apart from what Alastor knows of radio is that TV is now reliant on 24/7 programming (24/7 radio was a rarity when Alastor was alive), the rise of cable/satellite/streaming television, and the death of long format music television...

Which considering the first video played on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, the inverted version of which becomes the title of the 2nd episode...w

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Types of Writers

Generally, writers fit into one of 2 categories: fiction and nonfiction. Within those two categories, there are many different writing styles.

From fiction writers who create works of imagination to business journalists who report on breaking news, writers use different types of writing to achieve specific goals.

Novelist: A novel is a long piece of fiction, typically more than 40,000 words. Novels often include complex story arcs with multiple characters and span genres such as romance, science fiction, and historical fiction. Novelists are people who write novels; You can be a career novelist or write novels outside of your day job. Novelists generally fall into two categories: plotters—who meticulously plan the elements of their storyline and characters before starting; and pantsters—who are more spontaneous and “fly by the seat of their pants.”

Poet: Poets are writers of poems— a form of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene, or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words. Poetry can be structured, with rhyming lines and meter, or freeform (which follows no formal structure).

Songwriter: Songwriters craft lyrics that are set to music. A songwriter may be employed by a musician to provide lyrical accompaniment to a song, or they may write both the lyrics and musical notation.

Playwright: Playwrights craft stories that performers act out on a theater stage. The market for aspiring playwrights is competitive, but for those wishing to see their stories come to life, playwriting can be a gratifying experience.

Short story writer: Short stories are concise pieces of writing that tell a story in less time than a novel. Short stories are often published in magazines or compiled together in anthologies. The average short story runs anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 words but can be anything above 1,000 words. Flash fiction is a short story that is 500 words or less.

Screenwriter: Screenwriters write original scripts for TV shows and movies. They may also write an adapted screenplay based on a book, story, article, or some other source material. Screenplays follow a specific format, and they tend to adhere to three-act structure.

Blogger: Bloggers self-publish content online. Though not exclusive to non-fiction writing, blogs tend to provide curious readers with fact-based knowledge on various topics, including food, travel, entertainment, and technology. Whether you’re a creative writer looking for an easy way to publish stories online or an entrepreneur looking for a way to promote your business, learning how to craft a blog post to reach your target audience successfully is a valuable skill.

Business writer: Most business writers work for newspapers or magazines that publish content for specific industries. Business writing can be a profitable form of writing if you’ve got a knack for networking and in-depth knowledge of industry-related terminology and concepts.

Copywriter: Copywriting involves writing copy for marketing and advertising purposes. Copywriters can be in-house employees at a company or advertising firm, or freelancers contracted to create copy.

Ghostwriter: Ghostwriters specialize in writing for other people. This requires the unique ability to be able to write convincingly in another person's tone of voice. Ghostwriters work with their clients— such as high-ranking government officials and media personalities—to craft a narrative and tell their story in the first person.

Journalist: Journalists write everything from op-eds to news stories. There are many kinds of journalistic writing; for example, a reporter uses an expository style to report facts on a news story. On the other hand, a features writer or editorial writer may use more a persuasive tone and share their point of view to influence an audience on a particular issue or topic.

Nonfiction book writers: Nonfiction is a popular writing form that combines in-depth research with compelling writing prowess. Common nonfiction formats include autobiographies, biographies, scientific writing, and more.

Technical writer: Technical writers are often in-house employees for businesses and corporations. Technical writing involves producing copy for instructional manuals and system documentation. This kind of work often requires the writer to have hyper-specific knowledge of a given field or industry.

Translator: To be a translator, you must speak two or more languages fluently and be able to accurately translate one to another. Translators work across numerous fields and have different specialties—you can be a translator for a technical manual, a novel, or even poetry.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[jaijeijayjei]

Mel/Jayce/Viktor in the Tinkerbell universe

As others have said, Mel is basically Queen Clarion, or at least one of the Ambassadors. She has governing talent (which I think would be symbolized by a scroll?)

If she did have an elemental talent I think it would be light, for obvious reasons. (I’m pretty sure her abilities in league are listed as light magic…?) Plus gold and sun imagery suits her design so well.

Jayce shares a lot of similarities with Zarnia, so I hc him as a dust keeper fairy obsessed with dustology. They both experiment with an ultra powerful shiny blue magic thing against their mentor's advice, slack on their responsibilities because they're busy doing research, want to revolutionize their society with magic, gets in trouble for accidentally causing a disaster, is/almost is banished.

Or, he would be fire talent and he uses it in blacksmithing (very resistant to heat so he can mold it by hand, using controlled jets of fire to make more elaborate designs, etc.)

Viktor would be a tinker fairy! He's inventive and wants to improve lives with technology. Also, the classism against tinker fairies in the original movie as inferior to the other talents mirrors the challenges he faces as a Zaunite. (I also get strong Viktor vibes from Bobble)

If he had a nature talent it would be caring for animals because of how much he cared about Rio. Also, if his wings are too weak to fly for long periods, having a bird companion that helps him get around would be cool (like Lord Milori)

Is it too much to ask for a universe out there where they’re all happy, healthy, and fairies!??

Possible relationships:

Mel/Viktor- Light Fairy!Mel and Animal Fairy!Viktor go on a mission to the mainland to save animals from being hurt by light pollution in cities. OR Queen!Mel supports Tinker!Viktor’s efforts to make Pixie hollow more accessible to disabled fairies.

Jayce/Viktor - Dust Keeper!Jayce and Tinker!Viktor work together on creating Pixie dust alchemy, combining Jayce’s knowledge of magic and Viktor’s talent for inventing scientific equipment. Cue misadventures with two highly intelligent individuals who also have zero common sense

Mel/Jayce - Light Fairy!Mel and Fire Fairy!Jayce work together in maintaining forests, with Jayce doing controlled burns to clear space for new growth and Mel ensuring the newly plants have enough light through the thick foliage. (When they kiss little sparkles fly around them- ew who said that)

For MelJayVik, just mash any of those story lines together lol.

[novlr]

how would i write a character who switched places with their unknown twin sibling without giving it away to readers and other characters? would i still use their name? how would i describe them if they aren’t themselves? would i have to reveal to readers and not other characters?

For those not in the know, the trading places trope is one where a character assumes another’s identity. It’s a classic storytelling device that has been used in so many different types of media, from film to classic literature. It offers a fertile starting point for exploring identity, relationships, and the complexities of living someone else’s life.

The trading places trope typically involves two characters swapping lives, either voluntarily or through supernatural means. Classic examples include Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, where a prince and a commoner trade positions, and the film Freaky Friday, where a mother and daughter switch bodies. This narrative device often serves to help characters gain perspective on their own lives by walking a proverbial mile in someone else’s shoes.

How do you manage reader knowledge?

One of the biggest decisions you’ll need to make when writing a trading places story is whether to let your readers in on the secret. This choice will fundamentally shape how your plot plays out, affecting everything from narrative perspective to how you handle description and dialogue.

You have two main options for revealing the switch to readers:

Let readers in on the secret from the start, creating dramatic irony as readers watch characters interact with the wrong person. This allows you to build tension through near-misses and close calls and also gives you the opportunity to explore the character’s internal thoughts and struggles.

Keep readers in the dark, creating a surprise revelation for later in the story. This approach requires careful writing so the reveal doesn’t feel unearned. It means you’ll need to foreshadow with subtle clues that will make the reveal seem clear in retrospect.

Letting readers in on the secret

If you choose to let readers know about the switch, you can explore the internal struggles and anxieties of the character living someone else’s life. If this is the avenue you choose to explore, you can use their true name when using their PoV or narrative voice. You should, however, use their assumed name in dialogue when other characters are referencing them or if you are using their PoV as narration.

It also offers you the opportunity to describe their physical differences, as this is something that the imposter will be very aware of. They might have to hide certain physical traits, or might even be uncomfortable with unfamiliar routines, relationships, and spaces that are new to them.

You might show them struggling with daily tasks the original person found simple, or navigating complex relationships without revealing their true identity. For example, they might not know how to operate familiar technology, or they might react differently to longtime friends, raising suspicions. These subtle details can create fascinating moments of dramatic tension while maintaining the story’s believability.

Keeping readers in the dark

If you choose to keep the swap a secret from your readers, then it’s imperative that you use only the name of their assumed identity throughout, otherwise it gives the game away immediately. You can plant subtle hints through slightly changed behaviours and interactions, but these shouldn’t be too obvious.

If you want to keep things tucked away for a later reveal, you can focus on environmental details that feel a bit off to the character. They might not fell 100% comfortable in their environment but don’t share why. It also allows for confusion from other characters when they react to subtle changes. The trick is foreshadowing without revealing too much.

You can also describe physical sensations of discomfort or unfamiliarity, like how clothes don’t quite fit right or how their reflection in mirrors startles them momentarily. This approach requires careful balance. You need to provide enough hints to make the reveal satisfying while still maintaining the mystery.

How to build a sense of mystery

To build an effective sense of mystery around switched identities, focus on subtle behavioural changes that readers might initially dismiss, like unexplained reactions from secondary characters, like a friend’s momentary confusion or a pet’s altered response. You can also create situations where the imposter must navigate unfamiliar territory, perhaps stumbling over childhood memories or failing to recognise longtime acquaintances immediately. These small details plant seeds of doubt without revealing the switch too early.

To make this really effective, there must be a clear baseline for the original character and their behaviour. No matter which approach you take to the trading places trope, each character must have a clear sense of who they are (or were), as must the secondary characters. That doesn’t mean you necessarily need to tell this explicitly to the reader, but even if the character who is replaced never actually appears in the story, the characters who knew them must have a consistent idea of who they are/were for this trope to be effective.

Without a baseline, it’s impossible to show the small, subtle mistakes that an imposter might make. They might forget inside jokes or react unexpectedly in familiar situations. It’s also a way to create a good sense of character tension if the imposter begins to lose themselves in their adopted life. Near miss moments are also a great source of narrative tension, so setting up plot moments where this could happen is great for plot development.

Some quick tips for writing the trading place trope

Control the perspective by choosing your PoV carefully. First person creates more intimacy but requires more skill to maintain mystery. Third-person limited allows more flexibility in revealing information. But multiple PoVs can show different sides of the deception.

Balance your description by focusing on environmental details that would feel foreign to someone in a new space. Let your characters interact through the space and use muscle memory moment to highlight or foreshadow unfamiliarity.

Maintain consistent character voices, like speech patterns for both the original and imposter characters. They should struggle mimicking the other’s mannerisms, and if it’s the approach you choose, you can also include internal thoughts about maintaining the deception.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Don’t rely on convenient memory gaps to explain knowledge issues.

Avoid making the switch too perfect as some mistakes make it more believable.

Don’t withhold too much information from readers if they’re meant to be in on the secret.

Make sure the reveal has proper setup and payoff. There is nothing worse than a trading places reveal that feels unearned.

Don’t forget to address the emotional impact on all characters involved.

[anistarrose]

You added an "image description" to my post - now what? (FAQ)

While I'm literally always willing to answer (good faith) questions about image descriptions, alt text, and online accessibility writ large, I also know lots of people have social anxiety about sending DMs, doing IDs "wrong," or just not knowing what IDs are for in the first place. Hence, this FAQ.

If I added an ID to your post and/or asked you to do so, and you're confused about any aspect of that, this is where to start. You can absolutely still reach out to me, I just thought I should consolidate as many answers as possible.

"What is an ID and why does it matter?"

IDs, or "image descriptions," are a description of the content of an image, and can range from a transcript of a screenshot of text, to a description of a detailed piece of art. They should be in plain text, and placed on the line immediately following the image (unless it's alt text, more on those pros and cons later).

Before we can answer "why it matters," there are two brief but crucial pieces of prior knowledge we need to establish for this whole post:

Blind people can use computers, and navigate the Internet, with technology like screen readers and Braille displays.

Blindness is a spectrum. Partial vision is common. Some blind and low vision people can't make out all the details of images, but can still read enlarged text.

Now, we're ready to answer why IDs matter. IDs are primarily for blind and low vision people, who need text alternatives to images as they use screen readers, and/or enlarged text on their devices, to navigate the internet.

IDs help others too, including lots of neurodivergent people. Check out this post (link) and the notes for more examples (dyslexics, migraine sufferers, people who can't interpret expressions, people with slow internet...)

IDs are important because without them, the Internet really sucks for people who need them. You probably don't realize how many undescribed images circulate on Tumblr every day, with no way for a lot of disabled people to engage with those posts.

A blind person talks in more detail about all of this here (link).

"I reblogged your ID, is that enough?"

It's not that I don't appreciate it, but editing it into the root post and then reblogging that is much more impactful, for a variety of reasons. It means people who need IDs don't have to dig through the notes for them, it means that Tumblr can't glitch by failing to load the notes and make the ID functionally disappear, and it means all people who find the post in the tags or on your blog will be sharing the accessible version.

To explain visually, the best thing to do is something like this:

[ID: two mock-up Tumblr posts to illustrate adding an ID from the notes to the root post. A blog named "your-blog" posts an image of text reading "something cool you posted" with the caption "check out this cool image I made!" In the notes, the blog "image-describer" reblogs with an ID, which is highlighted. This version of the post is labeled: "original post, reblogged via ID writer."

The second version of the post is from "your-blog" again, where they've added the ID directly under the image, with the same caption below the ID. This version is labeled "updated root post, with ID copy-pasted. End ID.]

"My commentary first, or ID first?"

Include the ID right under the image, followed by your commentary. Unless you're putting your commentary before the image itself, a sighted person will see "image, commentary" in that order, so to ensure the post flows the same way for screen reader users, use the order "image, ID, commentary."

Commentary frequently assumes that the reader has seen the image, after all! A person might not even realize the image is described if the ID is buried too deep, because they might lose patience and skip the post. Or, to explain visually:

[ID: two mock-up example posts with an ID, one formatted well and one poorly. They both start with an image, which is just the text "screenshot of a tweet or something." The first post includes the ID immediately under the image. Below, it continues: "commentary blah blah blah get a load of this guy can you believe it." The post is labeled "Like this!" in green with a check mark.

The second post includes the commentary first, then the ID after the commentary. It's labeled: "Reads awkwardly, deprives screen reader users of immediate context" in red with an X. End ID.]

"I want to make a change to the ID, is that okay?"

Yep! If you want me to change it on my blog too (whether it's characters' pronouns, some typo, etc), just message me.

"What if someone else adds an ID to my post? Would they also be okay with me editing it into the original post like you are?"

Almost certainly! I can't speak for everyone, but I've literally never met an ID writer who wouldn't be okay with it — because we all have the shared goal of maximizing accessibility. If you're unsure or nervous, you can always include credit, but most people are even fine with going uncredited.

"I put your ID in the alt text, is that enough?"

I will never tell you not to use alt text when the alternative is an undescribed post, but I suggest putting it in both the alt text and the post. Some people who use screen readers prefer the flow of alt text, for good reason — but it's also poorly implemented on Tumblr, and it can glitch and disappear on reblogs, in drafts, or just apropos of nothing.

Moreover, when a low-vision person or anyone else wants to read the alt text directly, Tumblr's display options aren't great. (Unless you use XKit Rewritten's AccessKit, which I will always plug, but that's not an option for mobile users.) Hitting the alt text button requires a level of fine motor control that not all people have. And, Tumblr used to use a terrible eye-straining purple background for alt text, and could always do that again with no warning. It's just not ideal.

Here's a visually impaired person talking more about the pros and cons (link).

We're in need of a compromise, so what can you do? One option is to include the same alt text as image description (placing the ID directly under the image as always, because remember, flow is important). I like to lead with "ID from alt," in order to clarify to screen reader users that they can skip the ID, and help differentiate it from the other option I'm about to describe. This should be self-explanatory, but here's an example of a post I did in this style (link).

Option two is to include a short description in the alt text, and then a more detailed explanation in-post. This can let screen reader users instantly know that the post is described, and decide whether they're interested enough in it to stick with it, but it maintains an in-post description for others to benefit from too.

Example of me doing this in a post about IDs (link)

Example of my mutual describing art like this (link)

Also, it's the style I follow throughout this exact post! Take a look!

As usual, the ID is directly below the image in all these cases. This means screen readers move immediately from the alt text to the full description, and the post flows the same way it would for a sighted person.

If you're here because I wrote an ID for you, it might be easier for you to put it in the alt text and the post body identically. That's perfectly fine! But if you're confident writing one short sentence for the alt text, and then including my ID in the body of the post, you can always go for that too.

"Do I need to keep the brackets or the words 'image description/ID' in the alt text?"

Nope, no need. Brackets are purely for the visual distinction, and regarding the "ID" label, most screen readers preface alt text with something like "Image" that fulfills the same purpose. It's not the end of the world if they're there, but it's redundant, so feel free to remove them.

"Can I put the ID under a read more? Or in small text?"

Please don't. Read mores are glitchy, and oftentimes have to be opened in a new tab. Accessibility that requires jumping through extra hoops isn't accessibility. And worse, if you change your URL or get deactivated, that read more link is usually just gone for good, and the post is undescribed again.

A blind person talks about read mores, and why not to put IDs below them, in more detail here (link).

The exception is if the image itself is below the read more, of course. Then putting the ID below the image, also below the read more by extension, is fine.

You should also write your IDs in text without any fancy formatting (by which I mean, you should write them unformatted, just like the text I'm using in this paragraph). Small text, italics, colored text, and so on are bad for low vision people or others who read the IDs directly such as with increased font size. You should not use them for IDs.

The only type of formatting you might want to consider is an indent. As far as I know, indents are a perfectly accessible form of formatting that shouldn't mess up any screen readers, or impair readability — while still helping IDs stand out from the rest of the post. Indents are optional, but can help non-ID readers know what parts of the post they can skip, which can be helpful for anyone who gets overwhelmed by a lot of text. To demonstrate:

[ID: sample indented text. End ID.]

And one more time, just to drive the point home: IDs always go immediately below the image!

I demonstrate the issues with fonts and small text in this post (link).

"Why do you sometimes copy colored text or small text as plain text? Is that a screen reader thing too?"

Same reason IDs shouldn't be in small text, italics, et cetera — because of sight readers with low vision. Small text (and to some extent, italics for some people) is hard to read, so I try to provide an accessible transcript.

Colored text is sometimes even inaccessible to sighted people using certain Tumblr themes! (I'm speaking from experience with regards to the lightest shade of blue text, on the default white background, actually!) If Tumblr gave individual users the option to disable small text and colors on their dash, then I'd tell you to use them to your heart's content, but as it stands, they're not very accessible.

A visually impaired person talks more here, about why plain text is helpful to a lot of people, but a separate issue from screen reader accessibility (link).

"Okay, I want to make my blog more accessible, but I don't feel capable of writing IDs on my own. How can I get help?"

Good news, this is my absolute favorite question! I strongly recommend the People's Accessibility Discord (invite link here, please let me know if it breaks).

It was created for this exact purpose of crowdsourcing IDs (and answering questions about them). I talk about it more in this post (link), but I also describe an alternative if you're like me and have massive social anxiety about Discord servers.

TL;DR: ask in your undescribed post if someone can add an image description, and edit it in once someone does! If you've read this far in the post, you're clearly an expert on how to do that.

In that post, I also recommend text extractors like OnlineOCR (link), OCR Space, and Google Lens to extract text from images, and save you typing if it's just a twitter thread, or something. I would always spot check the text, adjust formatting, and remove superfluous characters, but it usually saves you lots of time when you might not normally have the energy to describe something.

Lastly, a lot of description blogs take requests! I don't unless I specify otherwise, because I easily run out of spoons, but @accessible-art is a great example of a blog that does this for non-fandom art, and there are lots of fandom blogs out there that do similar.

"I want to learn how to write image descriptions for my posts! Do you have any resources?"

This is my image description masterpost (link). I get a little scared about linking it because it's long, and a lot of the linked posts are long too, and I don't want to overwhelm people — so please, start with the first few links to get the broad strokes, and then feel free to treat the rest like a index. That is, peruse it if you're looking for answers or advice on a specific topic!

While learning, keep in mind that different ID users want different things out of IDs, and that's okay. Some people, including many blind people, care quite a bit about color, but others don't, and that doesn't mean either is wrong about the types of IDs they prefer versus ones they find unnecessary.

Additional reading: Blind People Still Like to Know About Color, as a blind person explains (link)

Overall, blind people have a massive range of lived experiences, and all the other people who benefit from IDs broaden that range even more. Generally, no one involved wants huge walls of text, but some people prefer super-minimal IDs, while others prefer a nice handful of (relevant) details. It's stuff like the difference between "Two characters hugging in a cozy-looking house," versus "Two characters hugging with their eyes closed, both smiling. Their house looks cozy and cluttered, with warm lighting."

Neither of those is objectively wrong, and there will be people who prefer either. Nor is it wrong for you, the ID writer, to make a subjective judgement, such as on the "cozy" mood. You don't want to misrepresent things, but subjectivity is usually unavoidable on some level, and therefore fine. Likewise, you don't want to let the ID get so long it's a slog to get through (here's an example of what NOT to do), but if you're describing a complicated image, like some art might be, it's okay to add some details. Just start with the important stuff and general idea first, which helps with clarity.

The purpose of an image also matters. With memes, shorter is almost always better, and excessive detail is annoying (post with examples). You don't need in-depth detail to appreciate most quick jokes. But on the other hand, art is often shared for the purpose of appreciating the details. This post goes into detail about how context matters, and how longer IDs make sense for art sometimes. It puts it better than I could, so I really suggest reading it if this is something you're wondering about! Key word: not length, not brevity, but "relevancy."

In my opinion, IDs are easiest to learn by doing, but also by starting small. If you want to build up your "description muscles" and confidence by just transcribing screenshots of text, that's perfectly fine — and also, the path that myself and a lot of people I know have followed.

Lastly: follow some described blogs! Check out how other people do it! Writing IDs is an art, and though it has a few hard do's and don't's we've gone over, we've also gone over how it's subjective. Everyone brings a slightly different style, with a different level of lengthiness, and it's great to learn from multiple sources. Here's one list of blogs like those (link)!

"Why would this matter if I know I don't have any blind people following me?"

Consider the cycle of inaccessibility (link). If no one ever accommodates blind people, then of course you're not going to see them on Tumblr, in fandom, or in whatever internet circles! There are blind people who might want to use Tumblr, but left because they weren't welcomed and accommodated (link). And blind people aren't the only people who need image descriptions — again, consider this post, especially this addition (link).

Worst case scenario, even if you have no one who can benefit from IDs following you, and no people who need IDs would follow you even if you included them, you're still helping people who do maintain accessible blogs to do so — and moreover, normalizing image descriptions in general.

"I don't think blind people would be in this fandom. I mean, there's a huge visual component!"

Described comics and webcomics exist. Audio descriptions for TV shows and movies exist. Disabled people who find creative ways to play video games exist. People who watched a playthrough of a video game by a let's player, who happened to read out the dialogue, and give descriptive commentary on the action, also exist. People who lose their vision over time, or gain other reasons to rely on IDs over time, also exist.

"Where can I learn more about blindness and related accessibility issues, especially from blind people themselves?"

Wonderful question — check out @askablindperson and @blindbeta for starters! BlindBeta focuses on blind characters in fiction, but discusses accessibility too, and both these users have wonderful and very informative pinned posts! I'll link a few additional posts/tags below, from both these bloggers and others:

BlindBeta on Myths That Harm Blind People

"For a lot of blind and visually impaired people, sight is a conscious effort."

Variation in blind experiences and accessibility needs

Ask A Blind Person's tag on Braille

[theographos]

Why Aliens feels off in Tales of Arcadia

Don't get me wrong, I really like Aja, Krel and Varvatos. I even think that 3Below was quite good, even if i'm not a sci-fi fan at all (i even managed to fall asleep in front of every Star Wars ever, and not with any other movie). But good doesn't mean good in terms of storytelling. Because after all 3Below is set in the Tales of Arcadia franchise, and let's just say they don't 100% fit in it.

So why is that ?

1. Trollhunters is based on a book, and the book doesn't contain any aliens.

Well from what I have researched the book doesn't contain any trace of wizards too. I will also add that I haven't read the original book, I just made some researches about its content on the internet.

For those who don't know, Trollhunters : Tales of Arcadia is a loose adaptation of a book written by Guillermo Del Toro and Daniel Kraus, called Trollhunters. It's an adaptation similar to How to Train Your Dragon : The characters are present, the surnatural/fantasy aspect of the book is also present but everything else is changed. I even saw that Steve dies in the book, so glad they didn't take that route.

And i'm not part of the people who screams and cry everytime there is any changes from a book to a movie, To be deeply honest with you all I studied Cinema and English litterature in highschool and my final projet for those two subjects was to talk about how some changes in book adaptations are a good idea.

But it just shows that writer did not have any basic material for it. They had to create it all from scraps, and I feel like the first season of Trollhunters was already out when they thought of aliens, so they decided to connect it howerver they could. Which leads us to our second point.

2. Aliens don't really have any deep connections with humans, trolls or wizards.

Wizards and trolls fought against Gumm gumms, wizards have created many magical relics that Trolls uses, and as we saw with Hisirdoux wizards have an habit of dealing with trolls species. The interactions are already present, they have a deep history between them, shares problems and common knowledge.

Aliens apparently shook hands long time ago on Earth and were gone for the rest of the time, so except an old memory forgotten by almost everyone, they don't really have a pre existing history tying them to the different races in the story.

Trolls and wizards are based on things we already know off. I mean we have countless myths and legends about them already, but there is a bit more to that.

Horseshoe are items to uncover if someone is a changeling, trolls love to eat socks, which ties into the forever myth of "why am I always missing a sock", you think that racoons made your trashcan fall but it could have been gobelins, is that a black cat or just a small dragon etc. You really have the aspect that you interact with the "underworld" on a day to day basis without being actually aware of, and that goes deeper than just "oh this random person is just a troll in disguise".

Aliens don't really have that, like no one except the army used alien technology before 3Below, and still it was in secret so we can't really copy that to our everyday life as easily as the previous examples that I made.

Earth is about Trolls, humans, demi-gods and wizards. And it also happened to have aliens once in a while, but nothing much about it. And that leads us to our last point.

3. The plot has no space for Aliens.

Since the whole story is about earth and the fate of earth, we don't really have space for Aliens in the plot (no puns intended). We can literally see that with the 3Below plot : gumm gumms are something completly unrelated to the plot, it just happens in the back while the main plot is happening. 3Below is more of a spin-off or a "What If?" kind of show than a continuation of the main plot.

3Below is an interlude, an easter egg for the fans. You barely see the main cast, the main cast barely acknowledge the presence of the trio in their own show.

See I wouldn't be criticizing it if it was considered as such in the franchise. A side-story that doesn't impact the plot, but for fan service it will appear in the final movie so that everyone has their conclusion.

But it's not the case, it is seen as an important part of the story by the studio. It has never been advertised as something else than an active part of Tales of Arcadia.

If they truly wanted something about aliens, it should have been as a side story, a spin off.

But as a major part of the franchise, it doesn't deserve its spot and you can feel it.

[thelostbaystudio]

Hey folks,

the pre-launch KS page of OUTER RIM: UPRISING is live! ORU is a bundle for the sci-fi survival horror RPG Mothership. The bundle is packed with 15+ 100% original entries from seasoned indie Mothership designers. All items are 1 Edition (which means the new one!) compatible. Below is some info on the bundle and pics of some entries.

OrU builds a huge setting, at the fringes of the galaxy, where corrupt corps fight rebel factions. Each item of the bundle can be used independently, but the items are also tied together by a common implied setting, sharing NPCs, story lines etc. A Campaign Handbook acts as the connective tissue of the bundle: adding factions, procedures, locations etc.

Half of the bundle items are written in a system neutral way, and can be used with any RPG.

We've just ignited the pre-launch page here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/outer-rim-uprising, if you dig the project give it a follow, as indie publishers it means a hell of lot to receive the community support.

About this, if you are a blogger, streamer, podcaster and want to talk about this, see drafts or organize an actual play please reach out we'd be happy to help.

Below are some details on a couple of entries, they are sick!

The Hunger in Achernar, zine by D. Kenny (designer of Nirvana on fire)

Survive the void-haunted halls of a cursed derelict; solve the mystery of a missing ship, an experimental hyperdrive test, and a cultist plot; or save the galaxy from a taint leaking through a crack in the universe. Choose one in “The Hunger in Achernar”, a MOTHERSHIP RPG adventure.

BLINK, zine by David Blandy (designer of Eco MOFOS!)

In this short guide to faster-than-light travel, we’ll show you how to bring the mind-bending possibilities of instantaneous jumping between two distant points in space to your game.

Rusted to the Core, zine by Chris Airiau

The androids on Poe-V Station are on strike. Descend through the gas giant’s toxic clouds to uncover how the source of this disruption goes deeper than worker mistreatment. A faction-based adventure.

Surviving Machine parts, zine by Zach Hazard Vaupen

Out in the fringes of the system, a type of cybernetic implants called Machine Parts are popular with those who are savvy enough to find and afford them. Commonly made with recalled corpo tech and stolen military/alien technology, these implants are highly illegal and especially dangerous. This document covers 12 different Machine Parts and their consequences. Can you survive Machine Parts?

Sentience Assessment Procedure, player facing accessory, by Nyhur (Alien Armory) and IKO

SAP cutting-edge, neuro-semantic analysis technology allows management, officials, and security personnel to perform human/android triage effectively. SAP toolkit is portable, works in any-G environment, and can also be performed remotely.

Outer Rim: Uprising Campaign Handbook, zine by all the designers of the bundle

The connective tissue of the bundle

I'll stop here :) that's roughly one third of the items included in the bundle, I'll share more info in the next few weeks

Give it a follow here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/outer-rim-uprising

[rabbitruleronlyart]

Although Mike never used the prototype driver he originally had, he did use its part for other projects. Most notably: A new driver. Y'see, Micheal always knew that he shared a lot of things in common with his father. He hated that. He hated that he was an almost perfect replica of a younger William. The same greasy hair, the same tired eyes, the same lanky build, the same everything. One thing he is glad for, however, is his shared genius when it comes to technology. He's always known that eventually he's gonna need people to help his goal, and so he built this new driver with those people in mind. But one thing both he and his father had always obsessed over is trying to make a body that can carry two souls, something his father had always failed to do. Eventually, the time came when William realized why Mike changed all of the sudden, sending a Mimic Series his way made specifically to kill him. It was too much for Micheal, he knew he couldn't win this fight, but internally, he knew he didn't want anyone else to deal with something he started. Just as he was about to get back up to fight one more time, he was stopped by someone. His little sister, Cici. She and Sid came to help him. But they were the last people he wanted to see, he's already gone this far in making sure they were safe, he was not about to let them die again. But Cici reassured him that she can take care of herself, that she isn't the six year old he remembers anymore, and to finally, just this once, ask for help. Reluctantly, Micheal decides to trust them. And they were gonna make sure he wouldn't regret it.

[copperdaisy]

Okay, cap blog posts have been queued for the next week, time for me to chatter about something I have been casually mulling over. Disclaimer that I haven't given it too much thought. It has just been something for me to kick around at night so I don't focus too much on the tractor trailer tire versus the front of my house issue. (We're still in the early stages of getting estimates and don't yet know if/how big of a legal thing this will become. We would be looking at upwards of $10k minimum in repairs if they have to replace that whole section of wall and the driver wants to pay out of pocket instead of going through their insurance.)

ANYWAY. The thing I have been kicking around is a crossover for two of my oldest fandoms, Final Fantasy VIII and Yu-Gi-Oh!. I have zero actual plot ideas beyond the fact that it would be a 'canon transplant' sort of deal, where the YGO cast would be native residents of the FF8 setting. The idea came about because I was playing both FF8 and the Early Days collection at the same time and had the stray thought that hey... there is some common ground here that could be explored. The two even share a card game element, how convenient!

(For anyone curious about the 'common ground' between the two canons, the basic breakdown is: monsters, school aged teens having to save the world through multiple crises, card games that involve the winner taking the loser's best card, amnesia, the act of sacrificing memories to keep those closest to you - and by extension, the whole world - safe, the importance of owning a cool coat or piece of jewelry and the necessity that is multiple belts, etc.)

So, here is my rambling about Kaiba in this setting, mostly because he is the only one I have nailed down ideas for.

He was initially the most difficult character for me to figure out an AU for. At first I hesitated to place him in one of the Gardens because they are educational institutions that train special military forces. But, given the setting change, I can't see him not being at one of the Gardens. And with that in mind I decided that the best place for him, at least to begin with, would be Galbadia Garden. G-Garden focuses on technological breakthroughs, primarily in weapons design, and does not train its students to use GFs (Guardian Forces). This would mean that Kaiba would be proficient in using firearms and other military equipment, but not magic. However, I can see him joining Balamb Garden following the events of the Battle of the Gardens. With that in mind, the set-up I have tentatively settled on for him is:

Weapon: Firearms (in Galbadia Garden); Staff (in Balamb Garden). Originally I was leaning towards a kendo-style weapon for him, thanks to the Virtual World arc, but I mean... imagine the possibilities with a staff. Plus it could be upgraded numerous ways, given that each weapon in FF8 has at least five versions.

Element Affinity: Blizzard would be the easy answer, but I can just as easily see him using Thunder and some of the support magics like Scan, Haste, etc.

Guardian Force(s): Bahamut. Come on, it has to be Bahamut. Giant dragon obtained through a difficult fight in a secret research facility, with said fight being proceeded by multiple fights with lesser dragon monsters? Cerberus would be another. It is a resident of Galbadia Garden, has twice as much sass as Bahamut, and casts Double and Triple, making it immediately easier to cast multiple high level spells.

[sixstringphonic]

Why Elon Musk's 'Fork in the Road' Is Really a Dead End

Elon Musk’s Fork in the Road isn’t just a sculpture—it’s a monument to the tech world’s obsession with civilizational survival, which has its roots in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

By Rebecca Charbonneau for Scientific American, 2/6/2025

On December 7, 2024, Elon Musk shared an image of artwork he had commissioned for Tesla HQ titled A Fork in the Road. A colossal piece of flatware planted at the intersection of three roads, it is not subtle—it is, quite literally, a fork in the road.

The sculpture returned to headlines less than two months later when the Trump administration sent out an e-mail with the subject line “Fork in the Road,” echoing an earlier e-mail Musk had sent to Twitter employees with the same title, both urging mass resignations. News reports suggest that Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) were behind the phrase’s resurgence.

The “fork in the road” theme hints at a trend in the tech industry: a preoccupation with existential threats, which finds resonance in cold war–era ideas. In this simplistic binary, the future of humanity can only follow two starkly divergent paths: one notionally leading to nearly limitless prosperity on Earth and beyond, the other leading nowhere besides the collapse of our global civilization and ultimately human extinction. Proponents of this survivalist mindset see it as justifying particular programs of technological escalation at any cost, framing the future as a desperate race against catastrophe rather than a space for multiple thriving possibilities.

This existential anxiety bubbled to the surface in his December 7 post, when Musk captioned the photo of the sculpture with a cryptic statement: “Had to make sure that civilization took the path most likely to pass the Fermi Great Filters.”

Musk’s reference to the “Fermi Great Filters” combines two distinct but related ideas that have become popular in technology circles: the Fermi paradox and the concept of existential filters. The paradox originated in 1950, during a lunchtime conversation at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Enrico Fermi, a prominent nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, and his colleagues were discussing UFOs, perhaps prompted by the 1947 flying disc craze that had shaken the country just a few years earlier. Given the vast number of potentially habitable planets and myriad plausible methods for interstellar communication or travel, they wondered why humans hadn’t yet encountered evidence of alien civilizations. Fermi famously summed up the dilemma in a single question: “Where is everybody?”

The apocryphal story has transformed into a popular thought experiment. A common explanation for the apparent absence of extraterrestrial neighbors is what economist Robin Hanson termed the “Great Filter”—the idea that there exists a major obstacle preventing civilizations from reaching a stage at which they have the capability to send messages or crewed voyages to other star systems. The Great Filter may lie behind us, meaning life on Earth already beat the odds in overcoming some catastrophe, allowing our civilization to develop. Or else we might yet face some challenge that’s hard to survive. Though the term itself is fairly new, it builds on cold war–era concepts, particularly those tied to the Kardashev scale—a framework developed in the 1960s that speculated on how extraterrestrial civilizations might progress.

The Kardashev scale has become a key influence on some technologists. Proposed in 1964 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev, the scale classifies extraterrestrial civilizations based on their energy use: Type I civilizations harness all the energy available on their home planet; Type II civilizations capture the total energy output of their star; and Type III civilizations command energy on the scale of their entire galaxy. Musk has cited the Kardashev scale on X over a dozen times in the past year, often framing humanity’s progress in terms of ascending it (He once wrote: “Any self-respecting civilization should at least reach Kardashev Type II.”). Originally a thought experiment, the scale is now often treated as a literal roadmap—implying a desirable, even inevitable, trajectory toward greater energy consumption and interstellar expansion.

The cold war, which gave us both the Fermi paradox and the Kardashev scale, was defined by existential anxiety. Nuclear weapons ushered in the possibility of humanity’s rapid self-destruction, and scientists were acutely aware of their enabling role in our species’ potential demise. This fear deeply influenced early SETI scientists, shaping their ideas about the civilizations they hoped to find in the galaxy. Often their imagined civilizations mirrored their own anxieties and aspirations.

The Kardashev scale’s focus on energy consumption as the primary metric of advancement reflects a distinctly 20th-century worldview, one shaped by multiple overlapping technological revolutions. Kardashev developed his scale as part of a broader exploration of what extraterrestrial supercivilizations might look like—civilizations not unlike what in some appraisals the Soviet Union aspired to become, with its spacefaring ambitions, imperial reach and technological might. The scale was designed as a tool to help SETI scientists imagine the kinds of artificial signals such civilizations might produce. Kardashev was not an oracle or a prophet; he was a 30-year-old astronomer living behind the iron curtain, grappling with the possibilities of a future that, for him, seemed shaped by a heady blend of hope and fear.

Existential anxiety has now also become pervasive in the tech world. It drives tech billionaires to invest in space programs, advocate for pronatalist policies to counter a feared population collapse, and promote multiplanetary settlement as an escape from climate change and other earthly woes. But while concerns about potential catastrophe are not without merit (though we have left the cold war behind us, there is no shortage of existential dilemmas facing our civilization), there is something reductive about framing the future in such all-or-nothing terms.

Instead, we should be deeply skeptical of narratives that present civilizational progression as a one-way path—a single road leading inevitably toward a predefined notion of “progress,” with all deviations resulting in doom. Is humanity really on the brink of either unprecedented flourishing or imminent doom, or is this just another iteration of an age-old tendency to view the present moment as uniquely dire? The Kardashev scale and the Great Filter are fascinating ideas that prompt us to consider the trajectory of civilizations—how they might harness energy, navigate existential risks and potentially reach beyond their home planets. But when they are treated as fixed, predictive frameworks, we risk reducing the complexity of human and extraterrestrial futures to a crude caricature of progress.

But even if you accept a prescriptive interpretation of these cold war–era ideas, why assume Musk and other tech-impresarios hold the key to becoming a Type II civilization—or avoiding the Great Filter? If we take the “fork in the road” at face value, what justifies the belief that they are the ones with the solution? Could they not equally be part of the problem, accelerating the very conditions—oligarchic control, systemic inequality and environmental degradation—that could lead to existential catastrophe? The irony is that their speculative ethos, when turned back on itself, reveals its own contradictions: a worldview that claims to safeguard humanity’s future could just as easily be entrenching the very power structures that threaten it.

That the uncritical embrace of cold war SETI theories is now justifying aggressive changes to the U.S. government and its workforce underscores their pervasive influence, but it also highlights their limitations. By framing humanity’s challenges as simple engineering problems rather than complex systemic ones, technologists position themselves as decisive architects of our future, crafting grand visions that sidestep the messier, necessary work of social, political and collaborative change.

The real fork in the road is not between survival and extinction, but between repeating the patterns of the past and embracing a richer vision of progress—one that acknowledges multiple paths and possibilities, and rejects the notion that our fate must rest solely in the hands of tech billionaires. (Source.)

[duckprintspress]

Fandom Lexicon: Numbers and Characters

So far, we don’t have many entries that start with not-a-letter, and they all open with brackets, but nonetheless, here we are: the final installment of our main Fandom Lexicon!

View the Fandom Lexicon!

Notice an omission? Think we made a mistake? Let us know!

Lexicon Entries Beginning with Non-Letters: (read more)

[Character A] & [Character B]: When referring to a fanwork, using an ampersand between the names of the characters means the characters are being portrayed as in a platonic relationship, usually as friends, found family, or family. May include more than two characters.

[Character A] x [Character B]: see [Character A]/[Character B]

[Character A]/[Character B]: When referring to a fanwork, using a slash between the names of the characters means the characters are being “shipped,” or portrayed as being in a non-platonic relationship with each other, usually a romantic or sexual relationship. May include more than two characters. Note that characters in a QPR may be an exception, and sometimes characters in QPRs (which are neither romantic nor sexual) may still be listed with a slash between their names.

[Character’s] A+ Parenting: The character in question is a terrible parent and is shown being a terrible parent. Usually used as a tag, especially on AO3.

[Character] x Reader: When referring to a fanwork, the character is portrayed as being in a romantic relationship with the person reading the fanfiction. These stories are usually written in the second person, will often specify the gender and sometimes the sexuality or romanticism of the reader, and will use a place holder (often y/n – “your name”) to refer to the reader. May include more than one character. Sometimes referred to as a genre as “x Reader” works.

[Gender]/[Gender]: Indicates the genders of characters in a relationship in a fanwork. May include more than two characters. The genders are usually given as abbreviations. The most common are: m = male; f = female; nb = non-binary.

[Sexuality/Romanticism/Gender] Spec: Shortened form of “[sexuality/romanticism/gender] spectrum.” A term used to say that a person or character is on the spectrum for the sexuality/romanticism/gender specified. For example, if someone is “arospec,” it means they feel that they are aromantic to some degree, as they are on the spectrum of identities that fall under the umbrella of aromanticism.

[Tag] for TS: Abbreviation for “[tag] for tumblr saviour.” A tagging protocol related to a browser extension, Tumblr Saviour, that made Tumblr more usable for some people. Most people no longer use browser extensions to filter in this way because Tumblr introduced an internal tag-filtering system.

[Thing]-coded: A person or thing that shares certain core element(s) with the “thing” in the brackets, but is not actually that thing. For example, if a media is queer-coded, it has implied or subtextual queer content but nothing explicit/textual.

[Thing]blr: Refers to the blogs/community on Tumblr that focuses on [Thing]. Typically used to differentiate what’s happening inside that sphere of interest (the thing, on Tumblr) from everything outside it (anything else, any location other than Tumblr). These tags also enable people interested in these communities to find more, while those not interested in them can ignore or blacklist. For example: writeblr (used by writers), momblr (used by moms), lawblr (used by lawyers), etc.

[Thing]core: Used when the target’s aesthetic is focused on [Thing]. Example: “That house is Deancore” = that house looks like Dean lives in it. Also commonly used for genres, such as “cottagecore” as a term that means something is cozy and fits with a cottage aesthetic.

[Thing]punk: A fiction genre featuring counterculture protagonists in an (often, but not always) anachronistic world dominated by a specific type of technology that operates based on [thing]. For example, cyberpunk, steampunk, aetherpunk, etc.

[Thing]sona: Originally coined as the term “fursona” in furry communities, the term has gotten genericized to apply to alternate versions of a persons persona/how they project themselves. Fursona, or a version of a person where they are combined with an animal(s) of their choice, is still the most common usage, but other terms such as worksona (the person we project as ourselves while at our job) and similar usages have come into use.

[kivaember]

I think you've mentioned before that after the fires of ibis, a portion of the Rubiconian population was evacuated off planet? What with 50 years having gone by there has to be multiple generations who have never set foot on Rubicon. I wanted to ask what life is like for the Rubiconian diaspora and what they think about the survivors left on Rubicon and vice versa.

The Rubiconian diaspora are split into two groups (to simplify it, in reality it's pretty complicated, but the simple summary is):

The Intellectuals: when Dr Nagai triggered the IBIS system to initiate the Fires, there was advanced warning for this that had some of the intellectual elite of Rubicon fleeing the planet. They had the resources and means to drop everything and go: access to spaceships, money, etc. When they fled to UEG space, and reports of the Fires came in, the UEG gave them an offer: they could accept silver citizenship to Earth and maintain the quality of life they're used to, so long as they share their knowledge and research with UEG.

Quite a lot of them took this offer, and fifty years on their descendants are naturalised Earth humans. This has come at a cost, though. While they had to give technological and scientific research over to the UEG, they had to waive any rights to their ""remains"". The UEG, for some reason, are very interested in Rubiconian physiology, and the more "pureblooded" they are (as in, they can trace their lineage back to the original Rubiconian settlers), the more pushy they are about having access to their bodies upon death.

Because Rubiconian belief has them not very attached to their corpses (they tend to mulch them or use them for scientific endeavours themselves), they agree to this with little fuss. In their eyes it seems like a steal: give up your world's secrets and your bodies when you die, in exchange for safety and security. Rubicon is gone in their eyes, and there's no way it's coming back with how razed it is. The UEG emphasise this point as well: Rubicon is completely destroyed. No chance of recovery, ecologically. Yup. Gone forever, this is your home now.

Publicly, the Rubiconian Liberation Front is mocked as a bunch of half-feral colonists that have been driven insane by Coral contamination, or a bunch of Coral smugglers pretending to be Rubiconians. This is the propaganda the Rubiconian diaspora holding UEG citizenship are fed, and it's what they believe - whether genuinely, or because they want to maintain their comfortable lifestyle.

The Refugees: Right, these Rubiconians are the ones that fled after the Fires, and are a mix of those who managed to find functioning spaceships post-Fires and flee, or were evacuated from the surface when the UEG's first response fleet landed on the planet.

This was done by the UEG to ensure that no surviving Rubiconian scientists or "pureblooded" Rubiconians slipped the net: upon evacuation, the refugees were told to submit their identification papers and the like - on the surface this was to reunite them with any family members or the like that they may've been separated from, but in reality it was so the UEG could confirm their identities, how many generations of Rubiconian they were, and segregate the "useful" from the "useless".

The useful were given the citizenship offer, but the "useless" were shipped off to an industrial colony that needed an influx of new workers. The UEG spun this as a PR move, obviously. They saved the Rubiconians and gave them new homes, new jobs! Meanwhile the refugees were forced to work in gruelling production facilities on frontier colonies, in exchange for food, shelter and meagre wages.

Needless to say, this group of Rubiconians are exceedingly bitter towards the UEG. There's even a common belief amongst them that the UEG was the cause for the Fires, that it had been planned since they thought Rubicon was becoming too big of a threat to its supremacy, not helped by reports of them establishing the PCA and looting Institute ruins for technology.

Though they can't do so openly, they quietly support the RLF's movement on Rubicon. They all hope that one day they do succeed in overthrowing the PCA and reclaiming their home, so that they can one day return - many have plans on how to escape the colonies they're trapped on. They're just waiting for the day they can return.

As for Walter and Carla, they intentionally destroyed their papers and pretended to be simple Rubiconians from unimportant origins. Even then they didn't really slip past UEG's notice. While Carla was half-Rubiconian, half-Earth, Walter was as pureblooded as they came, able to trace his bloodline to the very first settlers of Rubicon with no mingling of other humans from other colonies, which was picked up when the UEG did their "routine" blood test. The UEG were very pushy about Walter, and even when they relented and let Carla keep him, they actually took pains to settle them within the solar system itself, rather than the frontier colonies where majority of the Rubiconian refugees went.

Every so often the UEG make an offer, but Walter knew better than to accept whatever they're peddling. The only concession he makes it making a blood donation whenever they request it, if only because they do pay him quite a bit for that, though he can't for the life of him understand why.

Hilariously, these blood donations actually funded quite a bit of their early operations before Carla managed to establish herself as a successful black market weapon's dealer.

[blobfishious]

Blob’s Lore Corner: Electronians

Giant wall of summarized OC universe lore under the cut. Enjoy!!!

Real life context: Being one of my oldest races, they were originally depicted as inhabiting tv-head style robot bodies, causing the originally temporary name of “Electronians”. Many things will be simplified for the sake of convenience.

Electronians are one of the oldest known races in the universe, developing eleven billion four hundred ninety-three million years before the anchor year of 2109. They began as small sea creatures, however due to their nature they quickly overtook the oceans and the rest of their home planet. Their physiology varies greatly due to impacts of their environments*. Kind of like different dog breeds all still being dogs. They’re usually pink, red, or purple in coloration overall, however green hair and eyes are possible (similar to gingers) and rarest blue eyes appear in a very specific sub group.

*They reproduce parasitically, using other animals as hosts. Their young hijack the nervous system of the hosts with the purpose of accessing their senses to collect information. When they were fish, their young would mimic the creatures they observed in this period, as well as retaining traits directly from the host and from previous generations. This allowed easy infiltration of schools. All Electronians have an innate ability to tell when a creature is an Electronian. Some traits gained from one host linger throughout later generations, for example all non-aquatic electronians have the ability to transform their respiratory system to allow them to breathe underwater, such as lungs being converted to a swim bladder. Not all traits of hosts are kept, especially once they advanced past Just Being Fish.

Over time and through for the fun of it sci fi logic, they developed three types of abilities. In order of commonality and purpose within their original habitat: Shapeshifters (shifters) are capable of changes ranging from simply changing color to complete free shape shifting(limited by mass conservation), partially related to genetics but overall being a skill that has to be improved over time. This allowed for camouflage, as well as easier infiltration. Second are those with any form of telekinesis, there’s no real explanation, I just thought it was cool. Rarest are Seers, who are able to telepathically communicate with any other Seer(s). Their connections-Mental Links- are like a phone call: one initiates the connection and the other must “pick up the phone”. They can share things such as memory, active senses, thoughts, ect. When a connection is active, an eye of each of the participants changes to the color of the other. Before The Web Of Seers, the most links maintained at once was 8! Some smaller forms of these abilities are available to all members of specific sub groups. Some mutations of these abilities have appeared, such as Gauthier’s unlimited production of bone and keratin as an offshoot of shapeshifting.

This leads in to Electronian History. Their home planet also had two intelligent species- one more technologically advanced, and the other like a spore tribal stage. A member of the latter once ate a host, causing the baby to attempt and succeed in transferring hosts, unlocking the possibility of breaching these new races. One war and complete assimilation later they replaced the tribal species and slowly worked to do the same to the more advanced one, eventually succeeding. They gained a new host species in a livestock species, space faring technology, as well as an early form of microscopic robots used to repair the body, allowing conditional immortality. As they began to leave their home planet, a group came forward to lead and join all Electronians as they entered the unknown. One of these members was Keqsofos, who’s shapeshifting mutation allowed him to manipulate the bodies of other organic life, an ability that grew with time.

Over time, for various reasons this group slowly dwindled in numbers until the only person leading this expansion was Keqsofos**. He utilized shapeshifting to change in small ways when addressing specific groups as to be more relatable, and maintained a persona of a powerful yet grounded leader (aided by propaganda of course). He pushed for a constant expansion throughout their galaxy, and for mutants such as himself to be placed in higher standing. People were encouraged to hand over their children with these mutated abilities, however the majority went undetected and as an already rare phenomenon were very few and far between.

Up to, 2109 7 “Leaders” were surrendered to Keqsofos, the first being Miss, who he attempted to raise utilizing her skills in his first attempt at making a living weapon, however he gave up on her, abandoning her in her home planet. The second was Gauthier, who he chucked at the millitary and said “raise this kid to be your leader!” Third was Nyoma, then Elorey, Keqsofos’ son Armodeus, Aeron, and finally Maylee. Their reputations all proceeded them (sans Maylee he’s like 7) as (for some) billions of years of propaganda meant to make them these powerful Leaders shifted their public image greatly.

As they spread throughout the galaxy, Keqsofos felt his influence lessen. Being 11.3 BILLION years old at this point, a bit off his rocker and desperate to maintain power, he enlisted Elorey- who had become a very well known engineer- to lead the production of ships that acted as artificial planets, large enough to house their entire population of 85.8 billion. Keqsofos announced an end to their conquest, Gauthier retired, and he introduced this solution to a problem only he had. To his surprise, people weren’t very keen on uprooting their lives, some of which whose family and culture had existed for eons. Gauthier refused to call his armies to assist, so Keqsofos had his personal forces give people the option to either leave to live on the artificial planets, or to die. Roughly 39 billion people were “lost” in the transition, and many children were left orphaned as Keqsofos ordered no child to be harmed (father of the year).

MThis created what was known as The Orphan Planets, Valdell and Domici. All children left orphaned were homes on these planets and cared for by Nyoma and her assistants (largely androids at this period), which is how she gained the standing as The Mother to All. Over time, they became just another set of artificial planets. The rest of the planets put into use are Eadino with a population of ~8.2 billion***, Unasee (the largest and most complex as well as home of Keqsofos) with 7.4 bil, and Seserive (the largest water %) with 6.75 bil.

After witnessing this genocide, Elorey gained a conscious and lead the First Revolution, which failed, and he was made an example of why not to cross Keqsofos’ will, being mutilated on live television, yippie! And kept alive for his skills. Later, inspired by Elorey was the Second Revolution, which built the frameworks for the Final Electronian Revolution, but was seen as a failure in its time, as the majority of revolutionaries were executed or imprisoned. By now Keqsofos had ceased any attempts at maintaining a good public appearance, instead relying on intense policing, power, and what few extreme followers remained. Post-genocide his reputation plummeted, and it took 6822 years for him to finally be toppled and the people freed in the Final Electronian Revolution, lead by Tesla Parthier, Lolite Adalicia, Fafaill, Svaldifari Hanlon, and Lyrid. After this, connection with the Integalactic Union began and the people were able to return to their homes, or live on the artificial planets, as many had known nothing else.

To the rest of the universe, Electronians were like a galactic ghost story. Their home galexy was a ghost town, most planets unable to be explored due to remaining defenses, but SOS signals and warnings to escape continued to be sent out since the genocide. Electronians had avoided or predated the majority of intelligent life, and were thought to be nothing but a myth until the IU was able to gain contact with Armodeus by reverse engineering scavenged communications tech, and attempting contact. Keqsofos was pressured by Aeron and Armodeus to do something to satiate the Union, convincing him to send one or two people they’d so kindly select for him to one of the IU’s colonies as ambassadors. This was done with the intent to allow the growing revolution’s leader, Tesla, to gain more power through the help of the Union, and to topple Keqsofos. This plot eventually succeeded, and shortly after Keqsofos was toppled, upon realizing she would no be able to simply take over his position, Aeron hijacked two of the planets- Eadino and Unasee- kidnapping Elorey and Armodeus in the process. She is eventually defeated and imprisoned by the IU, having gaslight gatekeep girlbossed too close to the sun.

To prevent exploitation of their advanced technology, Electronian IU relations are kept quite tight, and with quite a lot of paperwork. The most well known Electronian in this period was Pilopherae “Pops” Parthier, who’s platform on twitch allowed easy exposure to him. Go grandpa

That is the short of Electronian history and biology, now on to the tied winner of the poll, the Intergalactic Union!

**I could do a whole thing about just him this man is a mess. Megalomaniacal Max Headroom type mf

***as of 2109

[coolcattime]

Heyo it's the usual anon here

This this is a follow-up to the last ask I made about the heroes becoming gods and the changes they made to their respective domains. I want to say that I'll be following up with each of the cultures in separate asks and this one will be dedicated to Tucker and the Overworld, if you (or anyone in the reblogs) have any suggestions on who they want to see next please just ask.

The Overworld has three main locations the sky formerly home of the skyrates. The ground the original land of the world of mianite. And the dark, the caves under all of the overworlds feet filled with monsters and unending dangers.

The skies are now populated with floating Islands where near the beginning of his rule as the god of balance and worship of both mianite and dianite was more common and conflict was still a major issue before the eventual separation of their Believers took place, Tuckers first temple was built on a falling asteroid that he froze in the sky before before it could fall to the Earth. To this day, most of the prestigious schools and the largest churches are located on Sky Islands dotted around the world. Anyone is free to go to the schools if they are willing to make the journey. Making the journey and finding one of the islands to study for either clergy life or to become a scholar is considered a trial for anyone wanting to further their studies and many set off from their homes in search of Greater knowledge hoping to return home one day and share the information with their loved ones in the hopes to better their homelands. In general, there is both a culture of open sharing of information and a deeply instilled sense that something as valuable as information should be earned by those willing to seek it out. With those two ideals instilled, the people of the Overworld have quickly begun to advance beyond that which was ever thought before. Every generation knowledge is deepened and shared more freely and even further.

The new God of orders reign combined with the wild rain of the new God of Chaos eventually caused a schism between their devout followers eventually the followers of Chaos left the Overworld to live in the nether. This bald and error of peace to the Overworld many taking the ideals of order to heart and instead of direct confrontation the followers of order I prefer to talk out their differences eventually completely doing away with their weapons and relying on what to debate to solve arguments with only priest and paladins study in martial tradition to help fend off incursion from the followers of chaos. As for the monsters that used to live in the Overworld due to new lighting technology it became rare and rare to see the creatures above ground but deep below the feet of where the order rules the creatures that are still in swarm.

The overworld governmental structure is that of a theocracy. It has a high priest as the head of the government appointed by Tucker the current God of order. All of the positions are stuffed by members of the church trained to be civil servants. There are four main government offices the Office of Education, the Office of Agriculture, the Office of Law and Ethics, and the Office of Health and Dignity. Each of these offices is helmed by a devout priest of order.

The Office of Education is charged with the maintaining of school facilities and construction maintenance and tracking of libraries as well as investigations into the current state of the general education of the public this includes maintaining trial areas and potential routes to the islands that hold the goals for higher education they are also in charge of any lower levels of Education that would be necessary within any Village, town, and City. They are also in charge of reviewing and approving research topics, opening up new courses of study as a result of that research and the experts who want to share that knowledge, or to provide resources and funding to schools to help evolve syllabuses and update any educational materials to continue to raise the base level expectation of understanding before children are allowed the opportunity to explore knowledge further.

The office of Agriculture works with Farmers to coordinate food production and keep famine or disease from harming crop yields and food stores and keep the people fed. While they do whole regulatory ability they are mainly there to offer advice and that experts work as they will. They are additionally mainly in charge of Hosting festivals and celebrations.

The office of law and ethics is in charge of both enforcement laws within and outside of the church with the laws section of the office; being focused on the people. It is often sorted out by people with open debate sessions overseen by a magistrate that hears out the defendant who is on trial in the plaintiff that argues for their guilt. The Sounder and more reasonable argument with evidence behind it is Judge to be the truth and the " loser" must pay reparations either through money, community service, or having to perform labor that makes up for the actions. The ethics section of the office refers to matters of the church this is carried out through inquisitors, and paladins will have a binding of two the god of order. They only see to keep the faithful.. faithful, they are a very mysterious group but, they have the freedom to even go after the heads of the government if one is deemed in contempt of their oath to serve order.

The office of health and dignity, is both head of healthcare services and human rights of the realm they are constantly in debate and make realism on what it means to live a dignified life and often attempt to broaden the rights that all living creatures guaranteed

Had to cut off the prolonged see ya

[Original post]

Hi hi!

Very happy to see this elaborated on! And I once again very much like what’s been written ^-^

I think I’d love to see something on Sonja next, just cause I really love ocean vibes, but I’m sure with how cool this is learning more about any of the realms will be awesome!

I do love the almost tiered importance system you’ve set up with the land, with the sky being the most important and the underground being almost forgotten as the one place where darkness still swarms. And I think it makes a lot of sense for Tucker to move his main focus into the skies, since Sonja controls the oceans so he would both want physical distance and the ability to travel without crossing the waters, which a focus on sky islands and air travel would do. The concept of his first temple is so cool, him both stopping a disaster, and forming something that would’ve killed everyone into his first temple is so so cool. 

I really like the fact that the Overworld is so focused on community and sharing, it makes a lot of sense. I also quite like the focus on knowledge. Both of these I think work quite well to mirror Tom and Sonja respectively. The general sense of community and collaboration works as a mirror to the constant war in the Nether. And the pursuit of knowledge mirrors the same in the Oceans, just for very different types of knowledge.

I do quite like that Tucker is very much involved in a god, he’s not the distant god that he followed, and I imagine he would strive to be the opposite. It’s interesting that the leader is directly picked by Tucker, in a way that makes sense as the Overworld is fully a theocracy, but definitely feels like there’s such a delicate balance. The world is shaped by Tucker, his beliefs and judgement, which means it doesn’t take much for it to fall to the bad.

The whole set up though, just feels right for a world focused on Order to have very deliberate and set out government and rule. While I don’t have too much to say about the individual groups, other than I do very much like the vibes, I am so interested in the ethics side of the Office of Law and Ethics, since they definitely have some interesting vibes. I love mysterious spooky orders, and they have real spooky vibes. (Look I love Paladins, who are typically bright and shiny pillars of good have slightly murky spooky vibes, it’s great).

[sarasalandhistory]

Tears of the Kingdom: Lore I Made Up for  Zonai

Spoilers!

Zonai Lore:

The Zonai arrived after the Great Convergance, an event that merged all the timelines together which slowly created strife and conflict within the Old Kingdom of Hyrule, and settled in in the Faron Region. Even then they were masters of magic and technology, however they weren’t always so benevolent. In the distant past, they were worshipped as gods even though they weren’t and took advantage of it. The most warlike of them wanted to invade the rest of Hyrule and rule it. However there were those who knew they weren’t and tried to live peacefully with their neighbors and even forming deep bonds with the Hyruleans while sharing and spreading their technology. 

Eventually, these viewpoints, those that want to conquer Hyrule vs those who want to live in peace would reach its head when the Hyrulean Royal Family fell and the Zonai fell into a period of Civil War that seemed to be without end due to their advanced technology. Eventually, though the warlike half won out over the peaceful side and they were driven underground with three Secret Stones into the Depths where they slowly rebuilt their civilization for the next 1500 years continuing to perfect their technological advancements.

On the surface, the warlike faction then began to plan for trying to take over Hyrule using the remaining Secret Stones they’re ancestors said to have passed down to them. However without their common enemy anymore, backstabbing and corruption slowly took over until they slowly wiped themselves out. Some even committed the forbidden act of Draconification in an attempt to gain more power but since their hearts and intentions were impure they were felled and the 4 remaining secret stones seemed lost forever.

Underneath meanwhile, the Depths proved to be quite a challenge slowly over the course of a thousand year the harsh environment and the lack of people caused their population to drop dramatically until there were only two Zonai left, Mineru who was a young girl who was chosen to be the Sage of Spirits and her brother Rauru the new Sage of Light named for a past one.

Zonai worship the three great dragons as the three golden goddesses who blessed their ancestors with their own spikes that were reforged into the Secret Stones. However, the tribe of the Depths also came to worship another god, the god of spirits, the Great Bargainer who is willing to grant blessings in exchange for helping him with ferrying the souls of the lost to the next world. They didn’t really worship the goddess Hylia until Rauru married a descendant of hers int the form of the priestess Sonia.

They mainly worshipped the goddess Farore (one version of the origins even say they’re descended from her) and thus created a series of dangerous endeavors to prove their worship to her including the gliding contest that young Zonai warriors would perform as a rite of adulthood. 

As a mark of adulthood, Zonai would chop off their tails.

Were they descended from the gods? No one is actually quite sure. Even the Zonai themselves are not sure. Some believe that they evolved from strange creatures that inhabited the ancient cities in the sky. Some believe that they come from a tribe of Hylians who perfected their magic that managed to ascend to the skies using the winds. Some believe that they are descended from the first people of Hylia who remained behind while their cousins populated the surface. Perhaps, it was the goddess Farore herself that granted them their blessings. Or perhaps they evolved from nothing and just been secretly hiding just under the surface before rising to the heavens.