#The exploits of moominpapa

[sewer-rat-eats-you]

Guys am I cool

[jaestelle]

I'm having a blast drawing all these dads 😭😭

Feel free to request some oshun oxstra dad content because they're rotting my brain rn >:))

[fried-dracula]

Melting Muddler

[writers-in-moominvalley]

Do you think it would be better (from a story telling perspective), if in Moominpappa's Memoirs, for Moominpapa to be the one who stumbled upon an astrology newspaper/book and find out that he was born under "special stars", or if the Hemulen actually was into astrology.

When I first read The Exploits of Moominpappa, I was actually a bit weary if the Hemulen was the one who was into astrology.

It just didn't seem in character for her. I know we picture astrology differently than people did when this book was written, so I know now it astrology is seen as rather feminine and "fake", and I don't know if it had the same connotations as it did back then as it did now.

It didn't make sense that a strict Hemulen would care or put stock into something like astrology. But, then again, it was seen in a different light, then maybe she could have viewed it as the stars (something Big and Important and has Authority) giving advice, in a way, about how a child will behave.

And from a storytelling perspective, I think it could be really interesting for the Hemulen to tell Moominpapa that he is "special", as it would have been the only time in the Home where he was told that, and it's possible that Papa could have felt inspired to hear the Hemulen call him "special" again, which is why he thinks of her so often throughout the book.

But I think it also could be interesting for Moominpapa to find the astrology book himself and find out on his own that he was born under "special stars". It showcases how Moominpapa yearns to be special, and could even place the idea that he is special in his head in the first place.

It also feels more isolating, Moominpapa finding out this information on his own and being the only one to believe it, instead of being told by someone else, further sells the idea that Moominpapa was very isolated in the home.

Idk, it was just something I thought about. I really like how unreliable of a narrative Moominpapa can be in his memoirs. While reading them I found myself pausing a lot and wondering if that's how something really went down, or if Moominpapa changed it.

See, the thing with Moominpappa's Memoirs is that it really is an unreliable narrative, but I want to think that every horrible emotion Moominpappa wrote that he felt was real to him atleast.

Maybe the Hemulen really was as abusive and neglectful as he made her sound! It would explain much his behavior, as people with self-aggrandizing disorders like NPD tend to develop them as a coping mechanism for low self-esteem stemming from such abuse. Or she might not have been as bad as he said! Maybe it was a lie to make himself seem more pitiful and endearing to his readers, truly an artist who suffered and bested his circumstances. Moominpappa has admitted himself to be unreliable from the preface, so we're the only ones who gets to choose what truth to believe - and I choose to believe Moominpappa when he says he was verbally abused and isolated and self-pitying, because it makes the most sense for his behavior and he may even take pride in having such a sad backstory, characterization in adaptations be damned.

And with that, I think it would be strange for Moominpappa to lie about his principal having an interest in astrology when he discovered such a thing himself, because what is the goal of displacing the credit in this case? If he discovered astrology by himself it would've further painted him as the gifted child genius he claims to be!

Astrology was sort of a niche thing that slowly gained popularity in Tove's time, and it's always been a pretentious thing atleast in the modern era. Moominpappa is as much of a reflection of Tove as he is of her father, Viktor, and that's why Moominpappa shares the same birthday as her. As a creative person I can imagine Tove giggling to himself writing a character being pompous of his (and her own) star sign because it's silly and almost cute, just like alot of the other things her characters believe and do. But also Tove has a great knack for (ironically) humanizing her characters through small details.

The Hemulen being interested in astrology is a small silly thing that may not be entirely relevant to the story and could've easily been a discovery handed to Moominpappa, but so is Hodgkins using a net his nephew made for his birthday even though there's no fish in the river because he doesn't want his nephew to feel like he made him something useless, so is Joxter and Muddler sharing sweets during the Autocrat's party. Moominpappa is a great storyteller and Tove is an even better writer in this regard - it adds a realism to the warped reality Moominpappa presents to us, an impression of a reality that's beyond Moominpappa and he only has a glimpse of.

We don't know about anyone else's backstory besides a few vague lines because Moominpappa is never interested in them, only his own, this story is about him and he's said himself that he's become incurious about anything (or anyone) but himself. The Hemulen's interest in astrology humanizes her in ways we don't fully register, she isn't an abusive character with no inner world who only serves Moominpappa's character, but all he can do is provide an impression of her through faded memories, and it's honestly more realistic that she'd be capable of saying something that could be seen as a great compliment to Moominpappa.

In fact, it could be that him being called special once in an early childhood memory is the thing that made him latch onto the label, because it's the only explanation he likes for why he seems so isolated from his peers. He's not Weird, he's Special! The Hemulen told him so! And she must be right about that and nothing else.

And it breaks my heart everytime to think about it.

[summerhighlandfalls]

The only reason I turn my nose up at moomin fans who haven’t read the Original books is that my family’s copy of the exploits of moominpapa has been read so many times it’s actually falling apart

[crowgirll]

buying a physical copy of the communist manifesto paired with the exploits of moominpapa? possibly more embarrassing

it's kinda embarrassing to go onto a bookshop and buy a physical copy of the communist manifesto

[iemonzzest]

[improvidence318]

@capnledian​ did some great Moomin comics that you can read here

[boorishbint]

thinking about moominpapa and the joxter and how they never met a nerve on the other they can’t get on

[sewer-rat-eats-you]

Oshun Oxtra alignment charts (I think that's what they're called) bc I had some sitting in my camera roll + the doodles I did for them

[vegastalker]

from time to time i like to draw a canon Joxar <3

[oh-margie]

Inktober 2019 - Ghost

[muddler-time]

[disgruntleddemon]

y’all always talkin bout cat dad Joxter in moominpapa’s memoirs but no one ever talks about the scene where a hemulan is stolen off the ship, presumably to have her nose chewed through, and no one saves her cause they don’t like how strict she is. like literally they all just stand around shrugging going “i guess we can’t help her now lmao” i lost it at that scene for like 5 minutes strait tbh

[whatsamoomin]

Happy Father's Day to the only dads that matter:

Joxter Moominpapa and Muddler

[hi-im-just-a-fan-here]

Hey guess what? I made some Moomin art cuz why not. I'm really proud of these drawings even if they didn't turn out perfect. I messed up a bit in Moominpappas' background but it ain't that bad.