#because I am super sensitive about fiction and creativity overall

[katyspersonal]

You don't get invested in people's fandomless OCs and original projects because you are only online for the "content for your current hyperfixation". I don't get invested in people's fandomless OCs and original projects because if they abandon me it will hurt like heck to uproot all memories and emotions developed towards these, like a stump of a chopped tree, however a creator of a huge show/videogame/etc doesn't have that power. 😎

[earthnashes]

The costumes (and maybe the cutlure), how do you come up with those, and where do you get the inspiration?

I am by no means an expert but I'll try to answer! So I'm gonna answer the question of costume design and culture design separately for the sake of what I hope is simplicity. But for both, my general advice is to:

A) Keep it simple B) Constantly ask for the why, specifically for culture worldbuilding

As far as wordbuilding goes for culture, I personally like to try and make the shit up on the fly as I go cuz I find it a fun challenge, but it never hurts to look at existing cultures for some inspiration! That said, keep in mind there's a difference between drawing inspiration from a culture and attempting to represent it, and if you're going for the latter and have no lived-in experience with the culture, research research research.

That said, there are basic nuances in culture that are always present no matter what culture it may be: how and what the people eat, what the people don't and do believe in, how they creatively express themselves (art, music, dance, writing). Basically, how they exist in, interact with, and view the world.

SO! A few tips to building a culture based on how I typically go about it!

-Consider the environment your fictional peeps live in. What's the weather? What's the native flora and fauna? What's their technology like? Is their magic? If so, how does that influence the environment and the people in it? Ask yourself these questions when worldbuilding in general, but I think it's a neat place to start because environment influences how a culture may develop over time.

-Once you figure out some of the environmental elements your peeps have to deal with, you can get creative with it. How do they build their houses? What do they wear and what do they eat? How do they eat? What are the tools they use on the daily? What, to them, is considered abundant and what is considered scarce, how do they react to that?

-Get creative! Think about what makes your race unique and maybe consider how that affects their culture. I like to pick out unusual details about my fictional societies/races and try to consider how that would influence their overall culture. For example: a world with a race that has no magic vs a race that does. A race that are, say, covered in fur, or have sensitive hearing, or perhaps are largely blind. Maybe the people don't have a means to vocally communicate, or perhaps they have no arms, or they have extra parts (wings, tail, additional arms/legs, eyes ect). Maybe the women grow beards and the men don't, maybe they don't actually have any distinct sex or gender; you get it. Everything and all of these things can be used to get the ball rolling in creating something unique and fun for the culture, like how they interact, how they exist, what they believe in. Having an origin for a cultural development will help answer the question why, and knowing the why (which doesn't necessarily have to be super intricate btw) will help give your culture a little more believability. Because everything has a why in context, even if it's a very simple one.

If you don't mind a personal example: my race the Spirits in my OC story. For a simple example, they are magical and they have horns. That lead to the idea that they believe their horns store a large portion of their magic, and that led to the idea that the horns play a huge role in both intimacy and basic interaction in their lives. Touching the horns with hands = only allowed with friends. Lowering the horns = a sign of submission or a challenge. Touching horns to horns = intimate, reserved for close friends, family, partners. Bashing horns = aggression, incredibly rude, or rough play. And that's just for the basic social interaction; this little detail can lead into ideas for personal grooming, what could generally be considered attractive, how they view people without them, how they decorate them, so on.

-My final tip with fictional culture building is to try not to worry about the super fine intricacies, especially when you start to build your world. Try to let it flow as organically as you can, and brainstorm brainstorm brainstorm. Play with the ideas, don't shy away from crazy or simple ideas. A culture-- and for that case a world-- doesn't necessarily have to make complete sense for it to work, largely because it's... a part of being human is the best way I can put it? It's usually messy, and some of it you may not understand even from a creator standpoint, but that's what makes it beautiful man.

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NOW! As for costume design! Because I got lengthy with the previous I'mma keep this as short and simple as I can!

-When designing an outfit/costume for a character, consider who they are and what their purpose is in the story. Think about their personality, their occupation, their environment: how does that translate to how they dress?

-Use references. Use them. Find characters that have the general vibe you're going for and note how they look, dress. Look up fashion from different periods in history (especially if you're lookin' to make it based on a specific time period), take some inspiration from that.

-Keep in mind the 70-20-10 rule. This is specifically for color design in both your character and your character's costume. In general terms, a character's design is made up of 70% of one color, 20% of a secondary color, and 10% of an accent color. This helps with cohesiveness; be mindful of what those colors could tell the viewer about the character at just a glance.

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aaaaand that's all I got. I hope this helps in some capacity! ;w;

[eyzoa]

Hello! How are you? Can I request a BNHA romantic match up? I’m omni with a preference for men and I use all pronouns.

Appearance:

I’m 5’0, pale, have brown waist length hair, brown eyes, and glasses.

Personality:

Overall, I’m laidback, honest, creative, empathetic, open-minded, and calm. I also daydream a lot. My bad traits are that I’m indecisive, easy to anger, sensitive, and unfocused. When I first meet someone, I’m shy, quiet, and awkward. When I’m with people I know, I’m loud and energetic.

S/O:

I don’t have an ideal type honestly. I just want someone who is the opposite of me. I would greatly appreciate someone who pushes me out of my comfort zone every once in awhile too. My ideal dates would be a picnic, stargazing, a library date, or a coffee shop date.

Hobbies:

Listening to music, reading (mostly fantasy and historical fiction), karate, singing, playing my violin, saxophone, and keyboard, playing video games, learning new things, exploring, and watching Netflix and Youtube.

Likes:

Nature, music, books, rainy weather, animals, hanging out with friends, food, having deep conversations, making jokes, and more but I can’t think right now.

Dislikes:

Hot weather, seafood, insects, loud noises, crowded places, arguing, and more but I still can’t think.

Favorites:

Flower: Sunflowers and Jasmines.

Music: Indie and bedroom pop.

Season: Winter.

TV genres: True crime, documentaries, fantasy, sci-fi, and action.

Okay, I think that’s about it. Thank you so much! Have a great day/night and take care! :)

I was confuddled on who to put you with for a while for a while, but I think you'd be super cute with Toga!

She reflects off of you quite well, you're calm she's bubbly; when you're with strangers, and she sees you're getting anxious, she easily takes over the conversation for you, And with her eccentricity, she definitely will push you out of your comfort zone.

Toga is so sappy with you, she's always near you, cheerfully gossiping, lazily braiding your hair, and taking you on date nights so cliche that only she could ever make work.

your honesty and open-mindedness make her feel... Accepted, something she never seemed to find with anyone outside the league, she hasn't been able to be genuinely vulnerable and truthful with someone in years, get ready for her to be sobbing into your chest at 2 AM because girls got issues.

I couldn't stop thinking about the song Lotta True Crime By Penelope Scott while writing this so that's yalls couple theme no I don't take criticisms.

Hope you like your murder girlfriend!!! Cause she's never letting you go. <3

[skamamoroma]

How do you feel about them using violence in wtfock? You are all about the warmth of skamit and the hope and comfort but you are super balanced about all remakes and appreciate them all so i would like to hear your perspective on this whole thing of that is ok with you?

Thank you for your lovely words, anon ❤️

I do always talk about the hope and comfort of it all. That, for me, is why Skam is special. So you’ve absolutely read me right there.

This is the only post I’ll make on the whole thing (after last night’s emotion fest). It’s a little long, I got a little carried away...

So I guess I’d say first of all that I do not need a remake to be the same as the original. I appreciate changes, I appreciate creative choices and alternative approaches. They may not all work for me but that’s fine, we’re all very different, but what doesn’t work for me will no doubt be someone else’s exact cup of tea.

Julie Andem has always been very open with her intentions with Skam and it was always to firstly reflect reality properly, none of this sugar coated, vapid kind of reflection of young people but a real, genuine, warts and all, personal and in-depth look. Another thing she always talked of was reflecting the thoughts and experiences of young people in their own environments and shining a light on actual experiences but always with a view to ensure young people to know they aren’t alone and that there is hope and comfort... the very things that Skam has always striven to do and, for the most part, done very well.

We’re talking about s3 here and the original was absolutely special. That’s undeniable. There’s also a reason it was incredibly popular and one of those reasons is the sheer U turn on classic LGBT storytelling. It was hopeful, intimate, affectionate, clever and still maintained the real and honest storytelling while ALSO touching on very serious subjects like homophobia, mental health, parental importance, found families, loneliness, suicide, religion, friendship, forgiveness etc etc etc.

It was a story written FOR young people and in a way to raise awareness on topics that still provided them with hope and effectively telling them that if they’ve got it rough like Isak or Even then it may be difficult for a while but it can and will get better. She didn’t choose to show too much of the difficult stuff, rather hinted at it. Examples being Even’s intentions for suicide, Even’s episode was minimally shown, Isak’s mother wasn’t shown, homophobia was casual rather than intense etc. It had its own issues and wasn’t perfect but as a whole was done with love and respect and wonderful intentions and it resonated.

They were artistic choices and WONDERFUL ones. I appreciate them so much for so many reasons and they worked.

A show like Skam is going to be watched by many and s3 was going to be viewed by both LGBT+ people looking for representation or hope etc and also non LGBT+ folks. The intention was always clear - she’d give LGBT+ folks a story to hold tight to and the non-LGBT+ folks a story to learn from and to help perhaps some less supportive or educated people to see LOOK THIS IS LOVE ALSO. You know?

So that has always been the way of Skam. Each remake has considered its approach and has done its own thing, some in a much more drastic way but the overall requirement has always ultimately been to primarily provide hope and a story for those who identify and, as an extra, provide a story to educate those who don’t.

The country the show airs in is very specific too. Take Italy, with a right wing political landscape and significant issues with LGBT + representation, safety and support, decisions were made to give a huge dose of HOPE. It was warm and cosy and emotional but Ludo Bessegato even talked about how Giovanni GaraU as a character was his “tool” in that season for people to learn from - be more like Giovanni GaraU. It was beautifully done and is absolutely dear to me and always will be.

To me, darkness and reality isn’t to be shied away from necessarily. I have experience a lot of stuff in my life and the most affected I have been by media/fiction when these sensitive topics are touched upon have been when the sheer reality has been shown and a person has then been shown to grow, heal, gain strength and love and support and leave it behind. Not everyone will respond the same but many many will.

So, there’s contention in including blatant homophobia and violence concerning LGBT+ folks in a season dedicated to LGBT+ issues (amongst other things). It has been done time and time again and even in the 90s, it was the staple of any LGBT fiction. LGBT+ folks craved (and rightly so) to be depicted beyond that, to be shown to be loving and caring and varied and intelligent and filled with the same multitudes as any other group of people but also for the unique things about the LGBT+ community to be celebrated. That’s entirely a worthy cause and likely why we have so much more diverse LGBT+ media/fiction. Look at Moonlight winning the Oscar and Love Simon being released as a successful teen movie and San Junipero being arguably the most beloved Black Mirror episode and winning Emmys... it has been a long fight and it isn’t over but it’s WONDERFUL to see that type of progress.

But. Society isn’t there yet. I can’t speak for every society and country because I’m merely 1 person who is still learning and I am uneducated for that but violence against LGBT+ folks still happens, LGBT+ people still fear for safety in public etc etc etc. These issues haven’t disappeared. They are a reality for many. A sad, maddening reality that is horrific to comprehend but a reality all the same. So many folks who have endured this have grown, thrived and proven the world they are as worthy of love and support as any and that those who seek to destroy their love or community will fail and are worth nothing. Should they have to? No. But their stories are worth telling. The same way that an experience I lived through that was harrowing and has changed me as a person to this date when much of it happened when I was a teenager... was made easier by seeing other succeed from where I was. Their power and optimism and stories helped me make big decisions and change my life.

There is more than one way to do something. I will ALWAYS be a champion of hope and comfort and contentment. I strive in my life - everyday - to live that way and to give that to people around me because I know what it is to be without it. People need kindness and hope and you can provide that in many effective and useful ways that will work for some and not for others... and isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t it great that media and fiction has that power? It can be used for bad and we should ALWAYS constructively call that power out but Skam has always been a champion of hope and I don’t think wtfock’s intention is to provide misery porn for the enjoyment of straight folks. They wouldn’t be striving hard to show a complex, moving, intimate, affectionate, real relationship between two boys if they didn’t have respect for the people they are trying to portray.

Do we always need the stark realities of life to know they’re there? No. Do we need hope in media/fiction especially LGBT+ focused fiction? Damn right we do. Can a story like that be told without showing or highlighting those topics in any significant way? Of course it can and it is. But is there value in representing the stories of those who have sadly been subject to mistreatment or who have acted poorly when struggling with internalised homophobia? In my opinion, yes. Watching a journey of a character you are living the life of and seeing them succeed from a very difficult place is absolutely what some need. Not all. And if folks don’t like or agree then that’s the beauty of media/fiction, you can choose what you consume.

Wtfock has a lot to prove but I haven’t been shown anything in the clips so far that suggests that they intend to do anything other than show a story of survival and hope and comfort. If I’m proven wrong then so be it - won’t be the first time haha - but Julie Andem wouldn’t give the rights to her story if it wasn’t going to achieve that. I’m willing to give them a chance.

[but a warning should have 100% been added to last night’s clip. Nobody should have to watch scenes like that if they don’t want to and need to be given a choice]

I hope this answers your question ❤️

[contre-qui]

Book 9 of 2020: Maplecroft

(at this point I'm not going to bother with the quarantine tally because this thing is gonna last for like a year)

Maplecroft by Cherie Priest

"'You're looking for magic, Lizzie. God doesn't give us magic, only science.'

'Last century's magic is this year's science,' I argued. [...]

'You're treading on dangerous ground.'

'We're living on dangerous ground. And we can't seem to leave it, so I'll work on making it less dangerous - which, yes, is a dangerous effort in itself.' Exasperated with both her and myself, I threw up my hands. 'I'm not sure what you want from me, Emma. I am doing my best and that's all that can be asked of me.'

'No one is asking more. But I fear for you, out there, downstairs, fighting monsters. You touch those things, and they touch you back.'" (112)

I haven't read a Cherie Priest book in years, but when my mom loaned me this one I was super excited. I had mentioned offhand to her about the Borden murders and my personal theories behind the killer(s), and she grabbed this little beauty for me to read.

       Maplecroft is a sci-fi/Eldritch horror take on the murders of Abigail and Andrew Borden in Fall River, MA. The book doesn't actually focus on their murders; it opens a few years after they have occured and Lizzie Borden has been found innocent by the court. Now, Lizbeth lives with her sister Emma in a new house they call Maplecroft, on the other side of town. Rumors abound about the both of them, especially Lizbeth. Lizbeth, however has bigger issues. Strange monsters threaten her home on a regular basis.  A collection of strange stones she keeps in her basement laboratory call to her. Her research has led to few answers as to what these creatures might be, or what they want. But her trusty axe tends to take care of them. Emma is significantly older than Lizzie, and is suffering from consumption. She has a correspondence partner at a university who believes her to be a man - a doctor of marine biology like himself. When Emma mails him a strange specimen she found on the beach for his examination and interest, he becomes sucked into this world of monsters too. And back in Fall River, people are starting to become affected with a strange sickness that bloats and slows the body, addles the mind, and looks eerily similar to what affected Andrew and Abigail Borden before their murders. These strange happenings are all connected somehow, but the full picture is unclear until the very end.

       This was such a well-written novel. The word choice was excellent, and I loved the way Priest was able to write her characters and their development. The novel switches between perspectives by using different correspondences and journal entries of the characters to round out the story and clue readers in to a number of factors and details before the characters themselves are able to get the whole picture. We also get perspective from the affected professor, which really adds a level of creep-factor to the whole thing. As he falls deeper into madness, his justification for his actions becomes twisted and terrifying, really adding to the strangeness of the story. I loved the cast of characters - from real people like Emma and Lizzie, to fictional add-ons like a local doctor, an actress, a government investigator, and even the one-off perspectives of people like telegram operators. Even characters we met only once were interesting and dynamic. I personally enjoyed the inclusion of a small romance between Lizbeth and an actress named Nance, who became involved in the whole situation as well. Not only was I pleased to see a queer relationship written so casually, even in a novel set Victorian Massachusetts, but it wasn't even the main focus of the book. I think the fact that Nance could have been a man without much changing the story really makes that little inclusion special because it shows a conscious choice on Priest's part to represent queer people in a time period when we are often written out of history.

Overall, if you're into creepy, Lovecraftian horror, you'll probably like this. Maplecroft veers more towards creepy and suspenseful than actually scary, but maybe if you're more sensitive to monsters/suspense than I am that might make it scarier. Plus, if you're also a fan of true crime or you know about the Borden murders, this is a super interesting take on a real event that doesn't have a distinct conclusion.

        Trigger warnings for violence, blood, monsters, character death, killing/murder/self defence, illness, weaponry (axe, gun), mentions of Christianity/religion, and general creepiness. Also Lovecraft was a massive racist so if you don't like things based on that type of Eldritch horror I guess keep that in mind, but this does not have racist leanings; it's just a use of that type of monster.

       My overall opinion: An extremely creative idea, executed brilliantly!

[thegabecole]

NOTE: Hey guise! I've got Chapter One Con, a great conference for young writers, sharing an interview today from the mentors of their annual mentorship program! Hope you enjoy, and make sure you check out Chapter One Con!

Chapter One Conference just wrapped up its annual Mentorship program. At Ch1Con, they believe in helping young writers, and through this program they teach young writers about the publishing process, from start to finish. As the 2017 mentorship program wraps up, they are proud to present THIS IS THE END, an anthology of the short stories that our mentees worked on doing the program!

From familial trauma to mind games, you never know quite what will lead to the end. During the autumn of 2017, the team behind writerly nonprofit organization Chapter One Events mentored two talented young writers through the publishing process, giving them a head start on becoming the successful authors of tomorrow. Now, read the stories on which these up-and-coming writers worked, along with four by the Chapter One Events mentors themselves. Each of these stories leads to a startling conclusion. Are you ready for the end?

The celebrate the release of the anthology, Brett Jonas asked a few of the team members about their experience as mentors this year. These are their responses.

What was the most interesting part of mentoring a young writer? Had you done something like this before?

Julia: The most interesting part of mentoring a young writer always, for me, is the types of questions they ask. Mentees approach each topic from a different angle based on their personal life experience, which leads to unique and really interesting questions that force me as a mentor to look at what I'm teaching them from a new perspective. I always feel like I have a different, more well-rounded understanding of a subject after teaching it. This was my second year directing the Chapter One Events Mentorship Program and I'm really grateful for the experience. Ariel: I think the most interesting part was seeing how they responded to my advice. I've done editing work for literary agents before, but in that work, I never got to see how the writers responded to my ideas. With this work, I got to see how another person's story transformed. (I also participated in last year's mentoring program, but I worked on mechanical errors, which are a totally different approach from structural edits).

Katelyn: I have had the opportunity to mentor a young writer before and I think it's really fun, unique experience. I love being able to help young writers explore their own voice, their characters, and their story overall. I think the most interesting part definitely has to be the chance to see the world through the eyes of a writer who is still finding herself. (Or himself, but I worked with a female author this year.) Technically, we never really know ourselves as people or as writers. We are always growing, changing, and figuring out better ways to tell our stories, but I find it particularly special being able to work with someone who is just starting to find and craft her passion. It's definitely a rewarding experience for me, just like I hope it was for her! Allison: I mentored in short story submissions last year, too, and it's always fascinating what different areas of writing our participants are familiar with. Short stories or novels, genre fiction or contemporary--we always get a wide range in writing backgrounds, thus, we also get a wide range of questions about how the submission process works. Everyone has different priorities, and different points of confusion, so I enjoy seeing questions it never would have occurred to me to ask.

Did you contribute a story to the anthology, and if so, where did you get the inspiration for it?

Julia: I did contribute a story this year! It's an old one, from way back during the Dark Ages (aka 2012), when I was seventeen. Because it's been so long, I don't entirely remember the thought process that went into writing it, but I believe I wrote it based off a prompt about relationships formed through the internet. (It's much sweeter than most of my writing, but I figured the anthology could use a little boost of levity and it fit really well with Brett's ADORABLE contribution.) Katelyn: Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to submit a story this year. One of the downsides of being a writer as an adult is that you have to start scheduling into your day. Don't get me wrong, this is something you have to do as a young writer too, but when you start mixing in work and all of the responsibilities you now have as an adult, it is easy to look at writing as less of a priority than it should be. And, trust me, I know how much crap kids these days have to go through if they want to simply get by; it's honestly ridiculous. So, if that's you, if your life is busier than you know what to do with but you still want to write, then take it from someone who knows too well: make the time for it. You'll thank yourself later. Allison: I didn't contribute a story to the anthology this year (didn't have anything short enough that fit the theme), but this feels like a good place to mention that my contribution to last year's anthology has since been sold as a reprint to a YA short fiction podcast, Cast of Wonders. "What You're Missing" will appear in audio there sometime in 2018. I wrote the first draft of this dystopian short in high school and never had much confidence in it, so if it hadn't been for the story's inclusion in a Ch1Con anthology, I might never have dared to buff it up and send it out to the pro-level publication which eventually bought it. I hope all our participants (past, present, and future) will consider submitting their stories to similar markets--thinking of this anthology as not just an "end goal", but the starting point to even greater writing success. Which, really, is what the program is all about!

In your opinion, why is the Ch1Con Mentorship a successful program? Would you have told your past self to sign up for it?

Julia: I'm definitely a little biased here, as the director of the program, but I think what makes the Chapter One Events Mentorship Program so successful is the fact that it truly teaches mentees about each step of the publication process. We cover from query letters to editorial letters (and everything in between), so by the end, mentees really understand what publishing will look like when they're ready to pursue it. I would absolutely tell my past self to sign up for this program. Little Julia would have had a stroke over an opportunity like this. Learning how to read publishing contracts? Getting a behind-the-scenes look at the editorial process? I wish something like this had existed when I was first starting out. Ariel: I think it's a successful program because a lot of young people, especially high schoolers, don't necessarily have access to serious workshopping for creative writing projects. Their English teachers might have a lower standard for creative work, or might only teach them editing in regards to analytical writing. This is a place where they can work on a story in a serious way, and I think that's great. I would tell my past self to sign up for it, for her own sake, but I'm not sure I would inflict my sensitive high school self on the Ch1Con volunteers.

Katelyn: Oh my gosh, I love the Chapter One Mentorship program. My past-self would have LOVED this. I will be the first to admit that I was one of those kids with super unrealistic expectations of how the publishing industry works. To me, the idea that I would be a published author by the age of 18 (before I even graduated from high school) was completely realistic. As most people in publishing industry can attest: this is not true. So much work and effort goes into publishing a novel - even shorter works like poems and short stories - that a lot of young writers are completely unaware of. This process is invaluable because it provides young writers a step-by-step introduction to not only the publishing process in general, but also to a lot of the intricate behind the scenes work, like what an editorial letter looks like, how to write a query letter, and what the difference is between copyediting, proofreading, and editorial editing (among a bunch of other things). Instead of having to do a lot of research and crossing your fingers that you are getting the best advice, all of these tips, tricks, and lessons are in one convenient package. I would highly, highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to broaden their understanding of publishing, editing, and/or how to better themselves as a writer in general. Allison: Speaking mostly about the week I mentor for, my strategy has been to gather up all the information I would've liked to know much earlier. Standard operating procedure, as well as little tips and tricks--learned from my own experience, and from listening to writers further along than I am. When you're a young (and/or new) writer, it's easy to get frustrated by how much you have left to learn, and while this feeling never really goes away (since we will all continue learning until we die) it's nice to get a wealth of information gathered together in one place. To get direct advice from your peers, and ask all your questions somewhere besides a browser search bar. I'd have loved to experience something like this program when I was first learning, as it would have saved me a lot of confusion and anxious Googling.