Hi! Finally making a pinned post it only took me several years oops
I am an adult over 18, enby. They/them preferred but idc really.
🌸 Links 🌸
Twitter, TikTok, Youtube, Instagram
Second tumblr for reblogs can be found here.
Will post my art maybe, I’ve had some rough experiences online with art communities in the past! I really only use social media for browsing, I don’t post soooo don’t expect much
Ok but like. What the fuck is there to do on the internet anymore?
Idk when I was younger, you could just go and go and find exciting new websites full of whatever cool things you wanted to explore. An overabundance of ways to occupy your time online.
Now, it's just... Social media. That's it. Social media and news sites. And I'm tired of social media and I'm tired of the news.
Am I just like completely inept at finding new things or has the internet just fallen apart that much with the problems of SEO and web 3.0 turning everything into a same-site prison?
You're right that the internet is smaller than it used to be, but there's still some cool stuff left in the corners. I'd recommend checking checking out Neocities if you haven't--it's an independent web hosting platform like Geocities of the old web, and there are hundreds of interesting and active pages discoverable both through their search function and through web buttons (links attached to small pictures with the title of a website) within the websites themselves. Here are three examples of web buttons you may find in link pages:
Most Neocities websites have link pages or button collections with anywhere from tens to hundreds of these. Don't be afraid to explore!
If you're looking for something more like a search engine, I can point you towards Marginalia. It's not a particularly smart engine, but it's perfectly usable if you've ever been taught to use search engines back when they were mostly run through keywords instead of full sentence comprehension. There's also an "about" and "tips" section on the front page with more information. The algorithm of Marginalia can be filtered by the user to allow, disallow, or require JavaScript depending on your needs, plus there are filters designed specifically to prioritize web 1.0 sites or mostly text-based ones. It is possible to search for modern websites with it, but it can return websites from just about any decade (since the invention of the web, obviously) so long as they contain the information you're looking for. For example, here are some random interesting sites I've found using Marginalia:
Native Languages of the Americas: Native American Cultures
BASIC HTML COMPETENCY IS THE NEW PUNK FOLK EXPLOSION!
Earthbound Text Labs by Bill Eager
The possibilities for discovery are truly endless.
Now you might want to know about directories. These make browsing for websites easier, but require you to read through and judge which ones to visit, as there aren't algorithms ranking the sites besides the whim of whoever coded the directory. Some of them have themes, others don't. Here are two that I've used:
Yesterlinks Directory
Ichigo Directory
Directories can be harder to come by just by surfing the net, but they aren't impossible to find. Many personal websites have their own directories of interesting sites hidden within them.
Webrings are similar to directories, but are actually more community-based. You have to register your website to be a part of a webring, usually by sending an email to whoever runs it and meeting some kind of entry criteria. For example, my personal website used to be a part of a webring called Sweet Dreams, which was for websites that heavily utilize color palettes and images of cute things, particularly sweets. Webrings will give you access to a widget upon entry that allow visitors and other members to browse between the registered websites in a massive ring, ergo, where the term gets its name. Webrings can have any theme or criteria for entry. If you can make a website about it, you can find a webring for it.
Now, you might be wondering about social media alternatives. I can't offer much, but I can nudge you towards the idea of forums. Here's one I found that could really use some traffic. I also browse a bit on MelonLand forum, which is actually closed right now--it's currently closed on Mondays--but on any other day of the week, you can find a fun community there dedicated to web revival. You can find it through MelonLand's main page. I'd also recommend checking out SpaceHey, which is a MySpace clone that's customizable and easy to use.
I hope this is of some help to you. The internet may feel less magical than it used to be, but that doesn't mean that the spark has completely died out. These types of indie websites need more attention if we ever hope to reverse the damage done to the internet by centralization and corporate interest. People are trying to make the web a cooler place to be, but we're going to have to do the work of finding and interacting with these projects in order to get them off the ground someday.
I imagine that in the colder seasons, faes in any clan just. cling to the tundras. Or anything with fur, really. Tundras are the nicest about it, though. They’re usually just “Yes!! Climb aboard friend! I will keep you warm!” And they carry as many faes as they can. Some tundras are seen with up to 10 faes on their backs at a time. Imagine, 10 little cat-sized dragons riding ontop of a big floof. So many.
This was kindof inspired by a drawing a did a while back, too hueh
Currently trying to make little infographic posts/comics about them but progress has slowed since school started. I’ll give an overview about them for now though thats hopefully not too long winded lol.
The clans are located in a fictionalized version of the area around Seward, AK and Resurrection Bay.
This map is a bit of an unpolished rough draft, but gives a general idea of the area. I believe the distance between the Iceclan and Oceanclan camps (via traveling around the mountains) is around 13 miles, might have to double check.
Unlike the book clans, the cats in these clans aren’t really in a battle cult and refer to themselves as “denizens” rather than “warriors”, and infighting amongst themselves is rare. The existence of separate groups mainly serves to prevent resource draining and diversify the food sources available to the cats, along with religious reasons (I’m still refining the details of their religion so I’ll probably elaborate on it in a later post). Though separate physically, the four groups essentially function as one large “clan” and coordinate resources and cats accordingly. Cats are able to change between clans with ease if they find their talents are suited elsewhere, and this usually is not a source of drama or conflict. However, though the clans do work as one unit, they do differ slightly in culture, and some clans are more accepting and flexible than others. For example, Oceanclan sees the lowest retention rate in denizens, and few cats switch to this clan, due to their specialized hunting methods and a sort of “hazing” culture for cats who seek to live there. The largest clan is Brookclan, followed closely by Stoneclan, since these clans live in less extreme environments with more opportunities for cats of differing skillsets. Iceclan is the smallest clan, but is the most tight-knit—very few cats born there choose to leave it.
The roles in these clans differ from their book counterparts. Medicine cats are simply referred to as doctors, and their sole job is to heal. Instead, leaders serve as both political and religious leaders, and are responsible for reading signs and attending half-moon meetings. Deputies perform similar duties as in the books, but are chosen differently. I’ll go over these positions later on in more detail.
Communication between the groups is important for the well-being of the clans, in order to be aware of threats and transport food and medicine, and is also important to individuals who may wish to have contact with friends and family in different clans. To facilitate this communication, there exists a Courier role. Clans will have at least two couriers (often more), usually the fastest cats in the clan with the endurance to travel long distances over rough terrain. These cats duties include reporting weather and animal sightings, delivering herbs from other clans, and transporting news and messages between various parties.
Though the clans’ culture doesn’t revolve around battle and aggressive defense of territory like those in the books, they still possess their own set of flawed beliefs. Generally, these clans see survival as a game, a challenge from nature and from their gods. They feel called to prove their worth by thriving in the harshest conditions possible, even when it isn’t necessary. Death is common, and though these cats grieve for those they’ve lost, it is viewed less as a tragedy and more of an unfortunate gamble. Living is a game of chance, and some cats—inevitably—are unable to beat the odds. To live as long as possible, to take whatever hardships the stars throw next, is the ability to gaze at them in defiance and ask: “Is that all you’ve got?”
Some cats can’t handle living this way, and choose to live the risk-defying, danger-seeking life of a clan cat. Cats who leave are sent off with honor, but are unable to return as a denizen. They forfeited the game—and there are no rematches. Some clans are respectful of those who leave (such as Stoneclan), but some tend to look upon them with permanent disdain (such as Oceanclan).
Aaaaa as someone who is Alaskan native this makes me so excited bro like Alaska and other northern areas are rarely used as settings in media in general so it’s super cool to see us getting some love 👀
I also love how you adapted the clans to suit the environment, since fighting between each other would probably not only take forever (due to distance) but it would also squander precious resources. Plus I think it introduces a bunch of new threats not really seen before in most warriors stuff? Such as seals, moose, bears, and the large swaths of humans who swarm the shores and rivers during salmon runs.
Kid Pix just became pubic domain, so the remade (but pretty much exactly the same) version is now available here. It's uh, wild, highly recommend checking it out not only for the wonderful nostalgia but you can legit make some incredible looking stuff!