Some kind of weird bird

29, Lady-person, she/her, Sweden, currently in Glasgow just trying to have a good time This blog is a mess and I've been using her since 2012 so I'm here until I die I guess. say hi if you like

[writers-solace]

I don't think Tolkien is a good fantasy writer because he scored the highest at some objective Best Fantasy Book Test that every fantasy writer has to take, I think he's a good fantasy writer because he created a world based on things that he was interested in. I feel like a lot of fantasy writers think that they need to create a whole language for their world because Tolkien did and obviously his books are the best so they have to emulate him, but Tolkien did that because he was a linguistics nerd. I think the lesson to be learned from him is not that you have to include elves and deep history and new languages, but that you have to write endlessly about the things you are a huge nerd about and use those things to create your fantasy world

[rarmaster]

I saw advice once ((I'm sure it's somewhere in my writing advice or writing tips tags, but this was years ago)) that instead of emulating Tolkien and pouring linguistics into your writing (unless, of course, you're also a linguist) you should pour the thing YOU love into your writing

are you a fashion nerd? write about their dress, the fabric, the style, let that be the part you flesh out and out and out - what fabric do the elves wear? how many layers? (are they even elves?)

are you a bug nerd? make a fantasy species that's bugs. that's based on bugs. same goes for any kind of animal. elves are OUT, my species based on bearded dragons (lizards) is IN.

tangentially this is probably an aspect of why Homestuck was so popular. WOW, did Andrew Hussie care about their funny bug-like Troll species. WOW, was the worldbuilding for troll castes and stages of life like. Tolkien level of detail. Also!! Homestuck is full of Hussie's love for WEIRD VIDEO GAME MENUS and COMPLICATED MECHANICS.

so pick whatever you're a nerd about and fill your work with that. you don't need a fantasy language. but maybe you want to talk about the anatomy of dragons. maybe you're a nerd about Cambrian period organisms and life. maybe you're a nerd about book binding. or about music and how music can be magic!

hell, Witch Hat Atelier - whose anime just started airing - exists because people pointed out to Shirahama that art & draftmanship are basically real-life magic*. and WHA is a series about magic through drawings and ink! And how the best magic is precise and careful applications of the magic ink!!!

(*source - but be sure to read the whole thread!)

so... you don't have to be Tolkien. Be your own freak. And put your own nerdery into your work.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

always some new bullshit in the ocean

[local-demon-in-your-area]

Why is it always orcas or dolphins

Why can't a salmon do some bullshit for once

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

worry not ☝️ they're doing coke

[pangur-and-grim]

Pangur mama?

Pangur’s mama, Lily of Chii-tah:

[targetedknowledge]

[frankiesbullshit]

someone tell OP i did it, i spent about 3 hours on it

[juliairian]

I spent considerably less time than that on this simplified overpaint,does anyone know a graphic designer who'd like to turn this into a proper flag? I tried to use as many triangles as possible

[sirfrogsworth]

At this rate, I might just become a full time grackle photographer. The purple and blue interference color on their feathers is so magical.

[kiodja]

swap au part 2 | part 1

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

[iamoutofideas]

[sentennial]

three scenes about animals and facing the music

totally unrelated to one another, i’m sure

first two scenes are from the book, chapters 4 and 15, edited slightly for format

[artistformerlyknownasbutttrumpet]

i was training a young person at work, and she referred to sexual assault as "SA" out loud, and i immediately was like, "no, it's sexual assault, call it what it is," bc idgaf if the algorithm overlords have taught y'all that you should fear direct language, how tf do any of you expect to ever address real issues with any amount of seriousness if you can't even say the words? imagine an advocate looking a sexual assault survivor in the eyes and asking "did he grape you?" it's absolutely fucking absurd, but these young interns and new hires are coming into an environment where we deal with survivors of all different kinds of abuse, and they're coming with the mindset that the words are as bad as the actions, and that makes them shitty at the job and look juvenile af

i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience

say the fucking words, guys. just say the goddamn words before i go insane!!!

[punished-venom-solitair-e]

everyone post your biggest hear me outs my friend just showed me two conventionally attractive white men in a row i need to teach him what a real hear me out is

[gardenofeden5457]

.world's largest excavator- nay, world's largest vehicle- the bagger 288

.also, scale reference! just the wheel is 70 feet in diameter

[ceruinus]

'here's a real hear me out' >>posts world's most conventionally attractive piece of machinery

[blkalycat]

Safety Shower Demonstration

[iamanimaginarybeing]

[foralittlewile]

Tbh, I think everyone getting very attached to Tall Adrian™️ kinda makes them miss the potential of the canon reality that Eridians average at 50cm tall.

Grace is living on a planet of toddler sized rocks with twice his strength. If at ANY point he forgets to look where he’s going he is Going Trip Over An Ambassador. Unstoppable force vs. immovable object except Grace is very much stoppable.

Eridians either get used to talking to his shins, craning on their tippy toes to get a good look at his face, or begin forcing him to sit criss-cross applesauce for literally any important meeting. Picture him joining the Erid equivalent of a UN press conference and having to curl up his awkward water body and hug his knees for the whole thing.

He can conceivably be picked up by an alien the size of a hard helmet against his will. He’s surrounded by space roombas with perfect memories and attention spans shorter than his San Francisco classroom who can’t believe he’s incapable of solving complex math in three seconds. He has step stools around his house for them to climb so he can feel like he’s “looking them in the eye” even though Eridians think that’s stupid since they lack both eyes and directional perception.

His students are probably all palm sized. Once he starts teaching he’s fighting cuteness aggression all day every day. They could all break his fingers with hands the size of a button. That knowledge does not stop his cuteness aggression. THIS IS GRACE’S REALITY.

[habken]

I have a vision

[habken]

uh oh

[dandeliont3aandsageleaves]

While Grace is teaching the Eridians, he mentions how important socialization and pack bonding is for humans. Humans require a community to thrive and get depressed if they're left alone, so it's best to keep them in groups. However humans can pack bond with anything, and Grace is very close to the Eridians, so he's okay.

The Eridians misunderstand him, and proceed to panic because they only have one human. They only have one human but it turns out you need to keep them in packs. They can die if they're isolated for to long and they can't let Grace die this is bad bad bad.

So they send a message to earth, asking if anybody would be willing to volunteer to live on Erid with Grace. They stress that while this is a life or death matter, they need the human to be a willing participant. That all of their needs and wants would be met and that the Eridians would give Earth information and technology in exchange. The volunteer would be given a life of luxury in exchange for living on Erid with Grace.

Unfortunately, there is a mistranslation, and the humans think that the Eridians require a sacrifice otherwise they will use their resources against earth. In order to avoid a possible interstellar war with an alien species, they choose a convict who has a life sentence to be locked in a bare rocket and blasted off to Erid.

That is how Simon, the only survivor of his religious extremist cult, ended up on the SM-13 headed to an alien planet against his will.

[demelly]

i like bloodymary too can i play with u guys

[izbnart]

Disco Elysium animation 🕺

[kyoukorpse]

quick silly that was inspired by my qpp/bff's loud sneezes that i hate

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