#creative network

[hellomuller]

And that’s 2023 completed!

It’s been another year where helloMuller has been steadily moving more and more into design for the entertainment industries in all its forms and quite literally embraced Designing Fiction & Branding Stories — from working with Dupuis, attending SDCC and seeing the X-Men branding translated into a larger than life event, to Mazebook receiving a ton of accolades and seeing the IHEARTCOMIX identity coming to life. Not to mention the numerous Marvel X books, and game branding projects that we’ll keep under wraps for now.


A lot of new branding projects were kicked off this year which will all be unleashed in 2024, including a few that will surprise you hopefully!

But more importantly (for me at least) it was the year where I finally got round to relaunching hellomuller.com after many false starts and display, for the first time, a decade+ worth of projects in one space. 

A massive thank you to my creative partners, collaborators and clients for choosing helloMuller. Let’s do some great stuff together in 2024!

[nupsume]

sugar, spice, and everything nice 🎀

[writingchallengesnetwork]

In light of the egregious actions carried out by the National Novel Writing Month organization, there has been a wide variety of different challenges created in order to keep the communal aspect of the challenge alive while distancing themselves from the official organization. This blog, at its most basic, is designed to be a hub in which various writing challenges are advertised so that the communal aspects of the writing community can continue in November and beyond. The spirit of Nanowrimo has long since expanded beyond the original group that began the challenge, and writers can (and should!) create their own spins on the idea.

With all of this in mind, I am proud to introduce the Writing Challenges Network!

However, this is not all that this could be. As it is the early days, I have set up a new discord, this tumblr, and a twitter page in the hopes of connecting writers to challenges throughout the year.

The writing community, as a whole, is welcoming and always wanting to lift each other up in reaching their goals. This network will hopefully be an avenue to provide those values to others and provide a place of connection. I would love anyone interested in fostering these values and are willing to brainstorm to please reach out! This is for the community, and thus should be shaped by and for all members of it.

I personally will be hosting quarterly writing challenges via another blog so that there are more challenges than just in November! If you are interested in the seasonal/quarterly challenge, the current @gothnowrimo will be happening in October and will have prompts, themes, and other fun posts to help get in the spooky writing spirit. The next one will be in February!

If you would like to submit a challenge or would like to connect, you can send an ask or connect to me in the discord community.

[writingwithfolklore]

How to Ask for Stuff

Being able and knowing how to ask for things that you want is an incredibly important skill for… y’know, getting what you want. Whether it’s mentorship, feedback, an explanation or quick advice, networking, a job, etc. etc. etc. it's important you ask the right way to have the best chance of success.

There’s three things that should be in your request:

1. Who are you—how are you related?

This should be short and sweet. “I am a university student studying major, and was in professor’s class where you presented last week.” Or “I am a recent graduate looking to get a foothold in blah blah industry, and saw you had a lot of experience on your linkedIn profile.”

You really don’t need more than that to make yourself relevant and create a connection with this person, and it immediately sets you apart as an individual/real person. People are more likely to help people that they feel like they know in some way, rather than a complete stranger. If you are a complete stranger, explain why you decided to reach out to them specifically.

2. What exactly are you looking for

Be as specific as possible. It is far better to say, “I am looking for feedback on the first five pages of my novel, specifically around if the opening grabs the audience.” Than, “I am looking for feedback.”

This part can be a little bit scary because it is the actual asking for what you want part, but if people know exactly what you want, they will find it a lot easier to help you. Other things you can ask for: “I am looking to sit down with you for coffee and discuss your experience in the industry.” Or “I was hoping you may have some leads for where to start with my job search” etc. etc.

3. What will the project/request look like?

This will help the person decide if they have the time or availability to do what you are asking for. If you’re looking to meet with them, include your availability and where or how you are able to meet. If it’s more of a feedback situation, include when you would need notes back by and how you would like to receive said notes. So,

“I am available Monday through Friday after 5pm to meet. Please let me know if you are interested and available within that schedule!”

“If you are interested, I would love the opportunity to get on a Zoom call with you to discuss feedback. I am available any time on weekends, and would prefer if you were able to get back to me by March 1st as I will need time to adjust the piece for the due date.”

Etc. etc.

              It’s important that you maintain a professional and friendly tone, even with people who have already agreed to help you. Some ways of asking for things that I have received that I find very discouraging are:

Disinterested

I got a request that was basically, “help me if you want, I don’t care it doesn’t matter to me either way.” If you don’t care, then why would I care? Only reach out to people you genuinely want to collaborate in some way with, and make clear that you are interested in working with them. We’re not trying to look cool and disinterested here.

Impatient

Everyone is busy all the time. If your person doesn’t reply right away, do not send a message back around the lines of, “um hello??” or “are you going to reply or not?” this comes across as pretty rude and a bit entitled to that person’s time and immediate attention. If your person doesn’t reply, you can send a follow up after a week, and maintain the same tone as in your initial email/message:

“Hi (name), this is a friendly follow-up on my request. If you have any additional questions for me, please let me know. I am also able to accommodate another time slot if needed. Thank you!”

As the asker, it is your job to be flexible. Of course, if your person can’t make your hard deadline or you really can’t make your schedules work, thank them anyway and move on, but if you are able to accommodate them, do so!

Here is an example email to start you off:

Hello (person’s name), My name is (blank) and I am a (major) student/graduate from (blank) University. We met at the (place) job fair last week, and I was really intrigued by your experience in (blah) industry. I was wondering if you would be available to meet with me sometime in the next week to discuss how you got started in the industry and your experience at (company). I am available between (time) and (time) (days of the week), but may be able to accommodate a different time if it would work better for you. Please let me know if you are interested! Thank you, (Full name)

[sideblogdotjpeg]

ive been thinking about the red string superstition recently and also sol bufo always and it makes me sick how uncannily caldwell tanner has made sol to perfectly target me personally

(+ cropped versions !)

[laurabenanti]

@pscentral​ event 20: antagonists | insp.

[angelsdean]

I need people to understand how S&P (standards and practices) works in television and how much influence they have over what gets to stay IN an episode of a show and how the big time network execs are the ones holding the purse strings and making final decisions on a show's content, not the writers / showrunners / creatives involved.

So many creators have shared S&P notes over the years of the wild and nonsensical things networks wanted them to omit / change / forbid. Most famously on tumblr, I've seen it so many times, is the notes from Gravity Falls. But here's a post compiling a bunch of particularly bad ones from various networks too. Do you see the things they're asking to be changed / cut ?

Now imagine, anything you want to get into your show and actually air has to get through S&P and the network execs. A lot of creators have had to resort to underhanded methods. A lot of creators have had to relegate things to subtext and innuendo and scenes that are "open to interpretation" instead of explicit in meaning. Things have had to be coded and symbolized. And they're relying on their audience to be good readers, good at media literacy, to notice and get it. This stuff isn't the ramblings of conspiracy theorists, it's the true practices creatives have had to use to be able to tell diverse stories for ages. The Hays Code is pretty well known, it exists because of censorship. It was a way to symbolize certain things and get past censors.

Queercoding, in particular, has been used for ages in both visual media and literature do signal to queer audiences that yes, this character is one of us, but no, we can't be explicit about it because TPTB won't allow it. It's a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to those in the know. It's the deliberate use of certain queer imagery / clothing / mannerisms / phrases / references to other queer media / subtle glances and lingering touches. Things that offer plausible deniability and can be explained away or go unnoticed by straight audiences to get past those network censors. But that queer viewers WILL (hopefully) pick up on.

Because, unfortunately, still to this day, a lot of antiquated network execs don't think queer narratives are profitable. They don't think they'll appeal to general audiences, because that's what matters, whatever appeals to most of the audience demographic so they can keep watching and keep making the network more money. The networks don't care about telling good stories! Most of them are old white cishet business men, not creatives. They don't care about character arcs and what will make fans happy. They don't care about storytelling. What they care about is profit and they're basing their ideas of what's profitable on what they believe is the predominate target demographic, usually white cis heterosexual audiences.

So, imagine a show that started airing in the early 2000s. Imagine a show where the two main characters are based on two characters from a famous Beat Generation novel, where one of the characters is queer! based on a real like bisexual man! The creator is aware of this, most definitely. And sure, it's 2005, there's no way they were thinking of making that explicit about Dean in the text because it just wouldn't fly back then to have a main character be queer. But! it's made subtext. And there are nods to that queerness placed in the text. Things that are open to interpretation. Things that are drenched in metaphor (looking at you 1x06 Skin "I know I'm a freak" "maybe this thing was born human but was different...hated. Until he learned to become someone else.") Things that are blink-and-you-miss-it and left to plausible deniability (things like seemingly spending an hour in the men's bathroom, or always reacting a little vulnerable and awkward when you're clocked instead of laughing it off and making a homophobic joke abt it)

And then, years later there's a ship! It's popular and at first the writers aren't really seriously thinking about it but they'll throw the fans a bone here and there. Then, some writers do get on the destiel train and start actively writing scenes for them that are suggestive. And only a fraction of what they write actually makes it into the text. So many lines left on the cutting room floor: i love past you. i forgive you i love you. i lost cas and it damn near broke me. spread cas's ashes alone. of course i wanted you to stay. if cas were here. -- etc. Everything cut was not cut by the writers! Why would a writer write something to then sabotage their own story and cut it? No, these are things that didn't make it past the network. Somewhere a note was made maybe "too gay" or "don't feed the shippers" or simply "no destiel."

So, "no destiel." That's pretty clearly the message we got from the CW for years. "No destiel. Destiel will alienate our general audience. Two of our main characters being queer? And in a relationship? No way." So what can the pro-destiel creatives involved do, if the network is saying no? What can the writers do if most of their explicit destiel (or queer dean) lines / moments are getting cut? Relegate things to subtext. Make jokes that straight people can wave off but queer people can read into. Make costuming and set design choices that the hardcore fans who are already looking will notice while the general audience and the out-of-touch network execs won't blink and eye at (I'm looking at you Jerry and your lamps and disappearing second nightstands and your gay flamingo bar!)

And then, when the audience asks, "is destiel real? is this proof of destiel?" what can the creatives do but deny? Yes, it hurts, to be told "No no I don't know what you're talking about. There's no destiel in supernatural" a la "there is no war in Ba Sing Se" but! if the network said "no destiel!" and you and your creative team have been working to keep putting destiel in the subtext of the narrative in a way that will get past censors, you can't just go "Yes, actually, all that subtext and symbolism you're picking up, yea it's because destiel is actually in the narrative."

But, there's a BIG difference between actively putting queer themes and subtext into the narrative and then saying it's not there (but it is! and the audience sees it!) versus NOT putting any queer content into the text but SAYING it is there to entice queer fans to continue watching. The latter, is textbook queerbaiting. The former? Is not. The former is the tactics so many creatives have had to use for years, decades, centuries, to get past censorship and signal to those in the know that yea, characters like you are here, they exist in this story.

Were the spn writers perfect? No, absolutely not. And I don't think every instance of queer content was a secret signal. Some stuff, depending on the writer, might've been a period-typical gay joke. These writers are flawed. But it's no secret that there were pro-destiel writers in the writing room throughout the years, and that efforts were made to make it explicitly canon (the market research!)

So no, the writers weren't ever perfect or a homogeneous entity. But they definitely were fighting an uphill battle constantly for 15 yrs against S&P and network execs with antiquated ideas of what's profitable / appealing.

Spn even called out the networks before, on the show, using a silly example of complaints abt the lighting of the show and how dark the early seasons were. Brightening the later seasons wasn't a creative choice, but a network choice. And if the networks can complain abt and change something as trivial as the lighting of a show, they definitely are having a hand in influencing the content of the show, especially queer content.

Even in s15, (seasons fifteen!!!) Misha has said he worried Castiel's confession would not air. In 2020!!! And Jensen recorded that scene on his personal phone! Why? Sure, for the memories. But also, I do not doubt for a second that part of it was for insurance, should the scene mysteriously disappear completely. We've seen the finale script. We've seen the omitted omitted omitted scenes. We all saw how they hacked the confession scene to bits. The weird cuts and close-ups. That's not the writers doing. That's likely not even the editors (willingly). That's orders from on high. All of the fuckery we saw in s15 reeks of network interference. Writers are not trying to sabotage their own stories, believe me.

Anyways, TLDR: Networks have a lot more power than many think and they get final say in what makes it to air. And for years creative teams have had to find ways to get past network censorship if they want "banned" or "unapproved" "unprofitable" "unwanted" content to make it into the show. That means relying on techniques like symbolism, subtext, and queercoding, and then shutting up about it. Denying its there, saying it's all "open to interpretation" all while they continue to put that open to interpretation content into the show. And that's not queerbaiting, as frustrating as it might be for queer audiences to be told that what they're seeing isn't there, it's still not queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is a marketing technique to draw in queer fans by baiting them with the promise of queer content and then having no queer content in said media. But if you are picking up on queer themes / subtext / symbolism / coding that is in front of your face IN the text, that's not queerbaiting. It's there, covertly, for you, because someone higher up didn't want it to be there explicitly or at all.

[auntymurda]

lukeaashley on instagram.

[thepoisonroom]

Is the English teacher good? I believe in bja supremacy but the trailer made it look like very standard sitcom humor

it's honestly pretty solid! i would say it's more toned down than caleb gallo and they're doing something a bit closer to sitcom-brand pseudorealism but a lot of the signature stuff (odd/unnatural-sounding dialogue, the camera work during conversations, the visual gags, the casual absurdism, etc) is still there. i do think that it's not hitting the sort of pat heartwarming triumph beats that i would expect from a standard sitcom with the same premise, and there's a lot of interest in exploring sort of casual self-absorption which has always been an interesting aspect of the characters bja writes/plays. i think it's worth trying out an ep or two and they are only 20 minutes! and his take on what's funny about being gay in sort of a modern american context has always been a lot more interesting and resonant to me than 99% of other "gay comedy" writing

[elllteo]

Creators I love you but it's time to wake up

Among rumors about our tumblr user data being sold off to Midjourney/Generative AI, recent Extremely transphobic events (that have been ongoing) coming to a head, another extremely concerning internet censorship bill being pushed in upper levels of government, and a general air of frustration over how the site belongs to and is operated by perhaps the second stupidest CEO (second only to twitters own) of our age, I'm very done with the last few vestiges of what the old internet held for artists.

And if you're reading this, you probably are too.

I know we're tired. We are all tired. It is not always viable to pack up shop and move, again and again and again.

From tumblr to twitter to anywhere else we've ever grown up posting, things no longer work. Our audiences are kneecapped by aggressive and hostile algorithms, our reach is abysmal - if we aren't shadow-banned or silenced for one (transphobic) reason or another, we're thrust into an ever growing pit of hostility where the only thing that drives clicks is fighting and contention.

We're tired. We're so fucking tired. We aren't businesses, we aren't content mills, we cannot keep this pace that modern social media has set for us, to wring every ounce of creativity out of us to profit from and leave us rotting.

The key to staying afloat here, and I cannot stress this enough, is to stay connected to your peers.

Pack up and move as units if you must. Exodus from the sites that are killing us. Push your entire friend group of artists to move from one site to the next that promises you a kinder experience.

Art drives movements, it drives change, it is all that encompasses being human. If you take that away from the shitty places, they will be left with nothing but a cesspit of inhumanity and the people who follow you will be more incentivized than ever to move with you.

Yes, this is terrifying. There are no guarantees. There never was, and never are, and never will be.

But stay connected. Stay human.

Support each other and be willing to hold hands and jump when we all - as a group - need to jump from the flames we're all trying to convince ourselves wont kill us before rescue comes.

Rescue isn't coming, rescue will be found hand in hand with each other. I'm offering you my hand, please take it. There's always a new start, there are always helping hands reaching for you. You have to look up from the doom-scroll long enough to see and take them.

[hellomuller]

The new hellomuller.com

50 Projects catalogued.

Branding for 2000 AD, Marvel, Google, Wired, Hivemind, Sony Pictures and more.

Designing Fiction & Branding Stories:

[nupsume]

Blossom 💖

[therentyoupay]

Hello, Kris! I think I might’ve already gotten the gist of it, but it’s been some time. What exactly IS Academia Mode? Are you still in school, or is this your actual job, and it just happens to be involved in the education system?

Many thanks!

hahah no worries!!! that is a good question 🤣😭😭🙏 for me, academia mode is currently finishing the 5th and final year of my doctoral program and includes (but is not limited to lol):

data collection, analysis, write-ups

writing python programs to support my data cleaning, data coding, stats, and data analysis/visualizations

applying for GRANT MONEYYYY

submitting abstract proposals to conferences (and applying for MORE GRANT MONEYYYY)

reporting research findings (writing journal article manuscripts, preparing conference slides)

writing my actual dissertation manuscript lol

supporting and instructing my research assistants

sharing my research with mainstream public audiences

writing my non-fiction book based on my ongoing dissertation research

teaching classes, grading papers, holding office hours, fielding emails, writing letters of recommendation for all sorts of students' fellowships/grad admissions/grant applications, teaching students how to strategize their personal statements, grant purpose letters, and other aspects of apps, etc.

peer-reviewing others' journal manuscripts, providing feedback to colleagues (blind review or not)

assisting with my advisor's research and textbook manuscripts (proofreading, copy-editing, internet sleuthing, finding more up-to-date citations, occasionally writing rough drafts)

writing chapters for edited volumes on various topics

READING. all the time. reading new literature and research articles constantly. ALL THE TIME. writing 1-pagers and mini-annotated bibs for future lit review use, etc.

WRITING. all the time. professional-speak, academic-speak, insructor-speak.

getting paid to travel to conferences to present my research (GRANT MONEYYYYYY)

by may 2025, i'll be a Ph.D.!!!!!! [screams]

academia mode! ✨🤣🤣🤣😭🤣💕 every day, i think about how lucky i am that i get paid to do what i do 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 hope you are having a magnificent day, and thank you for the ask!!

[thenightfolknetwork]

HELLO!!!!! GAVE ADVERTISMENT MOONS AGO!! VERY VERY GOOD FOR BUSINESS!!! SO MANY HANDS!!! SO MUCH M O N I E S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ££££££££€€€€€€

But... not all sunshine and roses...

HANDS SOLD GREAT!! GREAT AND FAST!!! HAPPY CUSTOMERS GALORE!!!!! UNTIL... Dolores.

DOLORES!!!!!!!!!!

I KNOW YOU READ THESE DOLORES!!!!!

EVIL VILE DOLORES!!! YELLS AT CUSTOMERS DOLORES!!! EATS THE MERCHANDISE WITHOUT PAY DOLORES!!!!!

CONTACTED LOCAL WITCHES FOR BANISHMENT RUNES!! BEGGED LOCAL WIZARD FOR NASTY CURSES!!! WEPT TO THE INDEPENDANT MERCHANT'S GUILD OF THE UNITED KINGDOM BUT NO!!! NOTHING!!!

She is still here!!!

AT WIT'S END!! OLD FISHMARKET CLOSE NOT JUST BUSINESS!! ITS HOME!!! LEAVE MY HOME DOLORES!!!

CUSTOMERS SUFFER!! MERCHANDISE SUFFER!! I SUFFER!!!! THE LAW TURNS BLIND EYES TO DOLORES!!! I FEEL...

helpless

Please!! How to banish nasty not-customer!!! HOW TO BANISH THE SCOURGE OF MY YELP REVIEW PAGE

Yes, I remember your advert. Vividly. I'm pleased to hear the investment paid off and that you saw a satisfying response.

I am so sorry this despicable person is causing you so much trouble. You are well within your rights as a business-owner to refuse to serve anyone creating such a hostile working environment - not to mention someone who is repeatedly stealing/eating your stock.

I am rather struck, however, at how ineffective your efforts have been thus far. She appears to possess an astonishing degree of power if she is able to resist banishment, curses, and the full might of the Independent Merchant's Guild.

This leads me to wonder what precisely is the true nature of this "Dolores" person. Reader, I'm afraid you may be dealing with a rather more powerful entity than you may initially have understood.

I want to be clear before I continue that the Nightfolk Network has a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of bigotry or hatred. I will not tolerate any anti-infernal comments on this post, or any suggestion that anything I'm about to say is true of extra-planar individuals in a general sense.

However, a reasonable assessment of the situation suggests that Dolores is drawing on powers beyond this world to enforce her presence in your shop. She may well be feeding on your distress and anger, maintaining a form she knows will be effective in causing the kind of response she desires.

I'm afraid there is no easy way of handling such a powerful entity. You will need to gather supplies and allies - from what you've told me, you'll need at least one Ancestral Weapon of Unsuspected Power, a handful of Ominous Rocks and at least one Magic User On The Cusp Of Being Overtaken By Their Own Powers. If you can contrive to make yourself a Chosen One, all the better - your local wizard should be able to knock up a decent prophecy to tick the necessary boxes.

Defeating the despicable Dolores will take a great deal of time and effort. But I truly believe that, with enough dedication and hard work, you'll be able to see it through.

And if dedication and hard work don't help, you can always pick up a bit of Power of Friendship to daub on the doorframe. That should do the trick.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

[imbecominggayer]

Help With Publishing And Networking

From @kathartic-kat we have a desperate plea for help: "Could I ask about like publishing (indie and trad) and building like a network/presence as an author/aspiring author?"

Unfortunately, I don't feel comfortable answering such an influencial question so i'm turning this out to you!

From experienced publishers and networkers:

How?

[laurabenanti]

@lgbtqcreators sept. bingo challenge — mbti