#btw my English teacher also outright told me there is nothing wrong with writing fanfic and that its a good practice

[indelen]

Our history teacher in gr. 10 had us read "All quiet on the western front" when we covered WWI and then one assignment for that unit was to write a "letter home" and a "private diary entry or a more objective retelling in the style of the book". It specifically was set to make us realize people writing about the war to their families might not mention everything or that their recollections in private might be different from what they send home. And so we can't rely on letters alone when researching the war. I remember writing mine from the POV of a nurse writing to her mother. She spares her mother the worst of the news because she knows her brothers are also at war, but agonizes about it in private. What is this if not a fanfic exercise?

"I know your school didn't teach you how to write fanfic-" I know this is something said in response to Americans whining about their education system in response to racism, but my school English class actually did have us write an epilogue to a book we were reading as an assignment, so in a way my school did teach me how to write fanfic. I have no point to make with this point and I don't care to i just wanted to share a tidbit about my life

[pastelpoison88]

PastelPoison’s Witches Story

So I thought of this after I saw a Medieval Warriors M.A.P on “Song of the Witches” by S. J. Tucker and now am finally going to write it down.

I was thinking about witches all over the world, not just Western interpretations of witches and such (I have no idea about modern witches) and had never heard of witches from anywhere but the west and basically this is how my story would go if I had the time to write one.

BTW: I talk about myself a lot but just know that these are my frustrations of being a multi-racial person trying to figure out some of my roots on my own.

Though it wasn’t the first thing I thought of, it’s best for me to write down what the world is like for the sake of organization:

Time period has to sort of make sense (ex. While this is happening in Japan in 1400 AD, that is happening in Europe around the same time)

Attitudes have to make sense (ex. two groups are racist towards each other, female homosexuality is more accepted than male homosexuality, mild sexism)

Demographics have to make sense (ex. no one of African descent is going to be in Japan in 1400 AD [unless it’s our traveling cast of characters] and no one is going to be trans and not looked at like a freak, even by our main cast [tsk, tsk; shame, shame]) 

Keep in mind: I’m trying to explore what witchcraft is in other cultures so how should I make my characters meet? (ex. slave trade, running away)

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First thing I think about is my characters and 1) my main one, or at least the one that shares (most of) my cultural background, is Japanese. Before even thinking about this, the most I had ever heard of Japanese witchcraft was about this dog demon in a temple in a Japanese murder-suicide graveyard near Honolulu who bit a Filipino man who got very sick and couldn’t be healed because he wasn’t Japanese. And so I did some of my own research but the most common “witch” I could find were people who hired foxes. There was some mention of snake employers but I could never find any reading material that goes in-depth. Also, I want this character to be a reflection of me, I’m mostly Okinawan (25% Okinawan to 4% Northern Japanese, a very unbalanced ratio) but if I have to make her fully Japanese for the sake of keeping her simple enough I will. 

So, “Yuki” is a simple name and a memorable one and I also imagined a picture of Yuki-onna that I saw once whenever I thought of the character so that’s her name for now. And I will alter some stuff in the story as long as I can explain the alteration, so if people don’t turn into animals in the origin story but do in mine, I should be able to explain why I didn’t stick with it, this is basically a fanfic.

Witch by association (has a tsukimono as a familiar/pet) [+also might have it possess her at some point if it fits]

Very close to her family but the relationship with her community is strained due to being slightly wealthier and also being part of a tsukimono-suji. Otou-san is still in charge but Okaa-san is the one that is more than happy to get back at you if you mess with the family business simply because she can get away with it. And letting it be known to any outsiders that there’s a spirit helping out, not that good when you’re looking to support your family. It didn’t help that Obaa-san is from the Ryukyu Kingdom and works with her hands, often exposing the odd tattoos that she wore. 

Eventually is the sole survivor of a massacre.

Overall is a neutral character, going her own way, not trying to change or dismantle society (just doesn’t want to be in one)

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2) The second and third characters I know I want to be European, one female and the other male because the first and second verses of the song are sung by females (I don’t know if it’s another woman or her putting on a different voice, but it’s definitely female) and the last is sung by a guy.

I’ll put the guy down first, his name is... I don’t even got a name for him yet. “Lennox” he used to live in an elm forest, just roll with it.

I had a druid in mind when I was thinking about him but Druids disappeared when the Roman Empire took over so instead he’s a scholar. He knows a lot about astronomy, plants, herbs, law, religion, geography, trying to get him as close to a druid as I can.

He’s from Soctland (whether to have him be Scottish or Irish really tripped me up so just bear with me here). He can speak English and Gaelic.

Overall good guy, wise teacher, oldest member of the group

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3) The female European. “Minerva”

Basically what first pops into your head whenever you think of a witch. 

Looks normal, my vanilla witch. Just your average white girl in whatever time in whatever village.

Doesn’t always have the best intentions and usually has less than stellar results 

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4) The Little African Girl. I don’t really have an official name as she’s more of an idea at the moment than an actual character so I just gave her a title.

Represents regular people who perhaps seeks the help of witches

More of side character as she doesn’t stick with the group but engages in business with them against some sort of tyranny to save her family, community, friend, etc.

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5) “Tyranny” S.J. Tucker says in the song that the witches fight against tyranny and I only thought of one character representing tyranny but perhaps there will be multiple forms of tyranny as I expand on this (if I expand on this).

But the one I have in mind so far is the Little African Girl’s rival. Some sort of corrupt leader or evil witch. 

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6) Others I’ve thought of:

Hawaiian witch (I’ve been surrounded by Hawaiian culture my entire life but have only recently heard of Hawaiian witchcraft. It’s sort of like skinwalkers from what I’m told: the more you talk about the more it comes closer to you. Also in Hawaii: you’re not supposed to outright say that someone’s wrong, they’ve just been taught differently “maika’i” [good/fine/alright] so if I’m writing down too much detail or not enough, hopefully this answer will satisfy you) The forbidden portion is this martial art but every family is tied to the Gods and certain spirits (aumakua).

Gypsies (might be a racist stereotype but I want a crystal ball with a ghost inside it)

Australian Aboriginals (a culture I know nothing about, have only learned about in the last three months, and want to research more of)

Native Americans (again, a culture I know nothing about besides wendigos and skinwalkers)

Voodoo 

Also I should mention: sometimes there’s going to be two characters representing the same type of witchcraft but going against each other just to balance everything out.

Sources

Witchcraft in Japan: The Roots of Magical Girls - https://www.cavernacosmica.com/witchcraft-in-japan-the-roots-of-magical-girls/

Encyclopedia of Shinto - Tsukimono - http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=792

The Yuta, The Noro, and The “Okinawan Witch Trials” - https://www.tofugu.com/japan/yuta-noro-okinawa-witch-trials/

The Romans and the Druids - https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ancient-rome/the-romans-and-the-druids/

To be continued?