Latest Posts by unorthodoxiguana - Page 3

I mean, plants, harvesting tools, connection mayhaps?

Wait why do the jungle creatures use the human pictography of a scythe as their symbol for death

Ok, so I saw @yesthefandomfreakblr's post about Gregor not returning to the Underland, and it got me thinking about a potential fic idea.

I know this is going to sound very weird, and I've probably only been thinking about it because I've been watching the show recently, but hear me out here:

Gregor's Bizarre Adventure.

Like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but the protagonist is Gregor. He gets his own stand, goes on a crazy adventure across America battling other stand users and making friends, with the whole story it's more or less removed from the Underland, focusing more on how that trauma affected him, and possibly maybe Vampire Solovet as an antagonist.

sort?

i needed this

Some Quick Character Tips

Here are a handful of quick tips to help you write believable characters! 

1. A character’s arc doesn’t need to grow linearly. Your protagonist doesn’t have to go from being weak to strong, shy to confident, or novice to professional in one straight line. It’s more realistic if they mess up their progress on the way and even decline a bit before reaching their goal.

2. Their past affects their present. Make their backstory matter by having their past events shape them into who they are. Growing up with strict parents might lead to a sneaky character, and a bad car accident might leave them fearful of driving.

3. Give reoccurring side characters something that makes them easily recognizable. This could be a scar, a unique hairstyle, an accent, or a location they’re always found at, etc.

4. Make sure their dialogue matches their personality. To make your characters more believable in conversation, give them speech patterns. Does the shy character mumble too low for anyone to ever hear, does the nervous one pace around and make everyone else on edge? 

5. Make your characters unpredictable. Real people do unexpected things all the time, and this can make life more exciting. The strict, straight-A student who decides to drink at a party. The pristine princess who likes to visit the muddy farm animals. When character’s decide to do things spontaneously or in the heat of the moment, it can create amazing twists and turns.

6. Give even your minor character’s a motive. This isn’t to say that all your characters need deep, intricate motives. However, every character should need or want something, and their actions should reflect that. What’s the motive behind a side character who follows your protagonist on their adventure? Perhaps they’ve always had dreams of leaving their small village or they want to protect your protagonist because of secret feelings.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting  

just gotta save this for when i need it

It's a lot healthier to go for a daily walk than to sign up for a gym membership you won't be using because you hate that kind of exercise. It's a lot healthier to eat a frozen meal than to skip a meal because you were too tired to cook something healthy. It's a lot healthier to take a quick shower than to procrastinate an elaborate routine for days. Don't aim so high that you won't be hitting anything!

Cutting through the pain? *Begins to cry tears of laughter that turn into tears of sadness*

To anyone in the TUC fandom who has looked at AHS and skipped it because they heard the ending is happy...

... and then assumed that it's just a wish fulfillment "ideal reality" kind of outcome of the TUC story that cuts all of the depth, pain, and realism ... Go back and read it right now.

Because that is not what AHS is. Not even close.

AHS is not "my version" of TUC where I just change whatever I dislike without regard for themes or characters in the original. Far from it. One of the main goals I had was actually to give more of the Underland. More characterization (that aligns with canon, although some characters develop in a different direction because of shifts in circumstances), more worldbuilding (that coincides with canon, adding onto it), ... just more, period.

The best way I can describe what it actually is is honestly saying that AHS is to TUC like Marvel's "What if ...?" is to the MCU. It is quite literally a "What if Henry had survived his fall at the end of "Gregor the Overlander"?" And I kid you not, 95% of the changes in the story, compared to TUC, are simply a result of exactly this change.

But the entire plot of the final book is different, right? Well, I didn't say that the consequences of that one change weren't substantial. They are. Without spoiling too much I can only say that Henry happens to be an optimist, and it also happens that an optimist was exactly what the TUC story needed to achieve a happier outcome.

Anyone who has actually read my version of the CoC plot will tell you that it is far from ideal, perfect, or pain-free. A lot more happens in the actual plot, but most of those new events are there to serve the dark, violent nature of war. There's so much talk about loss, and sacrifice, exploration of (also the dark side of) heroism, and whether "for the greater good" is worth it. There's corruption and death, injustice, and grappling with unkind fates and alienation/rejection.

Now, I will admit that I did put less emphasis on the societal pressure aspect of CoC, but mainly because that theme is a huge part of AHS 2 already, and it did not really fit this part of the story anymore. Instead, "Gregor against society" becomes "Questers against society" (quite literally, since they are — small spoiler — banding together to actually overthrow Solovet and bring about change.)

BUT ... if there is corruption, death, and the violence of war, how is it happier then? How can it have a happy ending?

Very simply because it is not only corruption but also redemption. Not only death and suffering but also growth and gain. Not only violence and breaking of relationships but also companionship, hope, and mending of relationships.

... The main change that happens to be so powerful it can give this series a happy ending without disrespecting or abandoning its original gritty violent core is ... a shift in mindset toward the positive. For Gregor, but also for everyone else. One of the main themes I added is the exploration of the double-edged nature of things: Everything has good and bad consequences. What we take away from it is what we choose to focus on.

Now you might see better what I meant by "All this series needed was an optimist" earlier. If there were someone to remind people of the bright side, to remind Gregor that his rager power does not make him evil and that he is never alone or choiceless, to embody this hopeful outlook and bring it out in everything ... I promise to you that this is all it would have taken.

And this is what I'm giving you.

I don't actually live near a library, as I live in a pretty rural village. But damn, I wish I do. Something about them just sounds so enchanting, rows upon rows of weathered and worn books, passed down from holder to holder. Even to someone who's unfortunately lost their spark for reading, it sounds like paradise.

according to the rat himself? no

RATSCALING: Could Ripred beat prime Bane in a fight?

I might have seen this said before, on a different post, but I couldn't find it, so I'm just gonna say a few words on this, partially because of that and partially because it's been ages since I've last read the series, despite it being ingrained into my head.

Almost all of the characters in TUC have moments where they are genuine assholes. Gregor has a few points where he says some genuinely disrespectful shit. Luxa, as well as most of the other humans (including Gregor, although arguably to a lesser extent), are deeply prejudiced against the gnawers. Ripred, is, well, Ripred (look, I love him, we all do, but he's a dick).

Even Vikus, arguably one of the nicest characters in the series, admires Sandwich (I think, been a while), a man who literally used poison to commit genocide in the name of stealing land that didn't belong to him.

The only characters I can think of in TUC that don't have flaws are the ones who also have the least lines: Aurora, Dulcet, Miravet. Oh, and all of those characters? Probably also prejudiced against gnawers, just never explicitly stated (to my knowledge), probably due to their obscene lack of lines. Of course there are characters like Lizzie and Hazard, who are literal fucking children so as nice as they are, I think it's safe to say they can't really be counted up here. (Should probably also mention that Gregor and Luxa are also children, just ones that were forced to grow up faster, sadly).

Then again, all of these characters have redeeming qualities. Gregor can be disrespectful at times, but that's mainly because of the stress placed upon him by the various bullshit situations he has to go through, and he usually apologizes after. Luxa and all the humans are deeply prejudiced (actually, I should probably add the fliers might be in that category too), but they are basically raised from birth to hate and kill gnawers, and vice versa. plus, it's shown that despite what is practically being brainwashed from birth, they can grow and change to overcome their own bigotry and accept gnawers as genuine people, as well as friends.

And yes, Ripred, the glorious bastard himself, is a dick. But he's also a war veteran who's lost his family, and most of the respect from his people, meaning he mainly works with humans, who tend to treat him with suspicion, if not outright hostility (until they get to know him). And he makes up for it by letting his guard down at times to be a father to the traumatized pups that dragged him into their pack.

Point is, flawed characters are one of the things that make TUC so great. They're not few and hid away either, they're everywhere, with visible flaws. If you want to make a good character, TUC is a great series to use as an example. Everything casts a shadow, just like every character has a flaw. If they don't, you probably just can't see them from your angle. And if they don't? Like, at all? Give them some, just make sure the shadow they cast matches up with the object itself.

Guess who just had a panic attack about school in front of his parents? :DDD

damn wish I could cancel my breathing subscription

I can see why

The symbolism of flowers

Flowers have a long history of symbolism that you can incorporate into your writing to give subtext.

Symbolism varies between cultures and customs, and these particular examples come from Victorian Era Britain. You'll find examples of this symbolism in many well-known novels of the era!

Amaryllis: Pride

Black-eyed Susan: Justice

Bluebell: Humility

Calla Lily: Beauty

Pink Camellia: Longing

Carnations: Female love

Yellow Carnation: Rejection

Clematis: Mental beauty

Columbine: Foolishness

Cyclamen: Resignation

Daffodil: Unrivalled love

Daisy: Innocence, loyalty

Forget-me-not: True love

Gardenia: Secret love

Geranium: Folly, stupidity

Gladiolus: Integrity, strength

Hibiscus: Delicate beauty

Honeysuckle: Bonds of love

Blue Hyacinth: Constancy

Hydrangea: Frigid, heartless

Iris: Faith, trust, wisdom

White Jasmine: Amiability

Lavender: Distrust

Lilac: Joy of youth

White Lily: Purity

Orange Lily: Hatred

Tiger Lily: Wealth, pride

Lily-of-the-valley: Sweetness, humility

Lotus: Enlightenment, rebirth

Magnolia: Nobility

Marigold: Grief, jealousy

Morning Glory: Affection

Nasturtium: Patriotism, conquest

Pansy: Thoughtfulness

Peony: Bashfulness, shame

Poppy: Consolation

Red Rose: Love

Yellow Rose: Jealously, infidelity

Snapdragon: Deception, grace

Sunflower: Adoration

Sweet Willian: Gallantry

Red Tulip: Passion

Violet: Watchfulness, modesty

Yarrow: Everlasting love

Zinnia: Absent, affection

noted.

my writing fundamentally changed forever ten years ago when i realized you could use sentence structure to control people’s heart rates. is this still forbidden knowledge or does everyone know it now

So, a brief expansion on this because this has always been lurking in the background of my mind:

-Version of the Underland called the Wild Woods (yes very original name I know), creepy, forest-covered, Transylvania-like place

-Only accessible via paths hidden deep within big forests across the planet, no other way in (or out)

-No day, only night

-Populated by vampires (underlanders), werewolves (gnawers), maybe Arachne-like spider-monsters (spinners), and so on and so on

-Various possibilities for Gregor: Fallen angel, Wendigo, Monster-hunter who switches sides, paranormal investigator, just a confused kid who stumbled down the wrong path with his sister while walking in the forest, etc

-Dire wolf Bane? But a bigger dire wolf? Like, elephant-sized?

-Ragers could be people cursed by some kind of blood frenzy, or maybe possession by some kind of demon/ghost

-Possibly throw in some oracle-magic for Nerissa and Sandwhich

So yeah, pretty much all I have down for this weird folklore-ish au of the Underland Chronicles. Thoughts?

*whispers* werewolf!gregor au

the wisdom of the elders

site that you can type in the definition of a word and get the word

site for when you can only remember part of a word/its definition 

site that gives you words that rhyme with a word

site that gives you synonyms and antonyms

I might be going insane, but at least it's over a great series

Yesn't? I think it was a thing the fandom just collectively agreed upon. Something about Supernatural and Campbell soup.

Gregor's last name is Campbell?

Reject fluff, return to everyone-in-the-Overland-knowing-Gregor-has-issues-because-of-his-dad's-disappearance-and-being-forced-to-take-care-of-his-younger-siblings-and-grandmother-out-of-necessity-and-his-friends-and-teachers-and-Mrs-Cormaci-watching-his-mental-health-get-worse-and-worse-to-the-point-where-he's-like-the-boogeyman-of-his-school-but-he-refuses-to-talk-about-it-because-he-knows-they'll-think-he's-insane-if-he-tells-them-the-truth-so-it's-like-a-tragedy-as-this-previously-bright-and-happy-kid-who-loved-playing-his-saxophone-and-being-on-the-track-team-spirals-into-a-hollow-wreck-of-a-teen angst.

Announcing the COMPLETION of AHS 1 & 2 [3rd Edition]

It's a new year ... and new AHS!

I would like to formally announce the COMPLETION of the "A Henry Story 2" edit!! Book 1 has been done for a while, nonetheless ... this is a grand moment.

Please download the professionally formatted PDFs here if you like. Otherwise, I have updated Book 1 on all platforms, Book 2 on every platform except FF.net (that one will follow soon, but the UI is a pain so it's a bit of a hassle.)

BOOK 1: Memories of the Fallen Prince

BOOK 2: Trials of the Fallen Prince

I am incredibly proud of this third edition; the story is truly coming together now. I HIGHLY recommend all of you who have read it in the past to reread it :) This is now the fully realized vision I had for this book. I assure you, it's worth another read. Also in preparation for the continuation of book 3! And of course, if you have been waiting to start AHS as a whole, GO FOR IT NOW! Believe me, you don't need to like Henry to read this series. Come for more Underland and get attached to him somewhere along the way (it will happen, believe me.)

PLEASE LEAVE ME SOME THOUGHTS AND/OR COMMENTS IF YOU DO CHECK IT OUT :) I cannot be held responsible for any soul-crushing or tears, btw. You read at your own risk :)

... MEANWHILE, I'LL BE OVER IN AHS 3 ... The plan now is to edit everything that exists of that book so far, and then finish the bit of the ending I have left. WISH ME LUCK AND ENJOY!

Like from a year ago but I never finished so I’m posting it now! Based on that one classical painting where the guy is getting enchanted by the faerie princess. I don’t remember it now, she’s on a horse.

underland tumblr (part two)

💦 river-runrun follow

oh u dont like my horny posting? fine. |/ |// ||\ \ /| |||| |// ||\\ \/ |||| |/\ |\ |||\

💦 river-runrun follow

anyway |\\ |||\ |\ \\ /\ \/ |\\ \| \/ \ ||\ // |// ||\ |// ||\\ \\ /| \| \ |\ |\/ |\ || |/\ \ // / |\\ \\ ||| /| // |// |/| \

🩸ripping-red follow

cannot be fucked to decode this right now but i have a horrible feeling that it's about me

💦 river-runrun follow

um. so. So um the thing is.

🩸ripping-red follow

why must i always be right

🐀 gnawgnawnibblegnaw follow

oh god im so out of practice with the code of claw someone else take this pls pls pls

⚔️ smashed-swordsss follow

^^^ someone get the warrior's sister lizzie

🩸ripping-red follow

OR WE COULD NOT DO THAT. WE COULD NOT GET THE LITERAL CHILD TO DECODE AN EXPLICIT POST ABOUT ME.

🪳 temp follow

decoded it, i have, decoded it

🩷 as-i-save-my-life follow

[ID: a screenshot of a translation from the Code of Claw that says "i want ripred to do unspeakable things to me" end ID]

🩸ripping-red follow

was the image description really necessary

🩷 as-i-save-my-life follow

accessibility is always necessary xoxo

...um, could you explain a little bit? Please?

If Hamnet has 100 haters, im one of them

If Hamnet has 10 haters, im one of them

If Hamnet has 1 hater, its me

If the entire world is with Hamnet, im against the whole world

If Hamnet has no haters, i am dead

A theory I thought of

The names of the gnawers are not their actual names. Ripred isn't actually called Ripred. Lapblood isn't actually called Lapblood. Those are just the closest human translations of their actual names in the gnawer language, names that could have related, but still entirely different meanings.

Someone translate their Url's. Please

underland tumblr

🦇 flying-high follow

unpopular opinion but i dont agree with nerissa's interpretation of the current prophecy 👀

🦎 turnandturnagain follow

wtf is wrong with you... nerissa is the only person who has sane interpretations of the prophecies nowadays

🐀 gnawgnawnibblegnaw follow

LOL nerissa and sane in the same sentence? that chick is a basketcase

👑 queen-luxa follow

shut the fuck up dickwad

🐀 gnawgnawnibblegnaw follow

oopsies sorry your highness

🥪 sandwichlover follow

dont apologize to her lmfao she doesn't even believe in the propecies anymore🙄

⚔️ smashed-swordsss follow

as she should???? stop licking sandwich's boots he's been dead for 400 slutty years

🥪 sandwichlover follow

HELLO. he literally founded the city we live in?????? how dense can u be ffs

🪳 temp follow

colonizer, he was, colonizer

🩸 ripping-red follow

u tell em temp

🦇 flying-high follow

y'all how did we get here lmfao i was just stating an opinion 😭

🐁 bane-apologist follow

bitch this is tumblr dot com having an opinion is like an act of treason punishable by banishment to the deadlands

🦇 flying-high follow

Hi What The Fuck Does Your Url Say.

🦎 turnandturnagain follow

maybe ur opinions just suck op

🦇 flying-high follow

Okay No But Seriously Can We Talk About That Person's Url

💦 river-runrun follow

yeah tbh the queen's new bond is a dilf

💦 river-runrun follow

WEONG POST WRONG POST WRONG POST QEOGNGPOST

🩸 ripping-red follow

im killing myself

🩷 as-i-save-my-life follow

Regalia Heritage Post

Dear god, Gregor in a slasher movie situation...

You're walking around on Sunday the 7th cuz that's when ur uncle's boyfriend got hit by a runaway jet ski or whatever, when you some weird kid with even weirder just chilling outside his house.

Little do you f*cking know, he's an echolocating rager who will not let you anywhere near his family, and you are about the experience what all your victims have felt, only a lot less humiliating.

Relistening to Gregor the Overlander (cuz Libby doesn't have what I want)

Why is Henry so good?!

Why do I like him?!

My favourite LotR headcanon is that the existence of hobbits implies the existence of bits, creatures so small they are harder to find than someone wearing the One Ring.

This series is canon, as far as I'm concerned

Something I decided to cook up to celebrate the completion of the AHS 1 edit (YES THE FIRST BOOK HAS BEEN OVERHAULED AND IT'S SO MUCH BETTER NOW GO REREAD IF YOU LIKED IT PLEASE!! I PROMISE IT'S WORTH IT!)

Ripred & Henry are one of my favorite dynamics to write in AHS 3 and I adore how far they've come and where they started.

That and Henry in general. This is your AHS 1 vs AHS 3 Henry comparison as well (yes, ALL the text here are actual quotes from the books.)

Honestly, Ripred should start to consider paying rent with how much he and his words of harsh but wise truth live in Henry's head 🤣

Could you just imagine Top Gear, but with Gregor, Ares and Ripred?

Ripred: How, in the name of all that is holy, did you manage to do that

Gregor, holding a baby Bane: ...well it's quite interesting, isn't it?

Ares, looking on with a look of mild apprehension/fear: Yes, it is

Me: Listen, we don't believe in Wicca stuff

My brain: Yup

Me: We aren't spiritual in any way, and don't believe in superstition

My brain: Correct

Me: And we only bought that book on magic for reference when writing

My brain: That was our intention

Me: ...so why do we want to try Wicca magic?

My brain: Just shut up and build the altar

Honestly, I'm more concerned about their sanity than their marriage.

Not to be THAT person but... How long do we thing Gregor's parents stayed together after the end of the books?...