Like, is this something super obvious and everyone totally got it except me?? And now that I FINALLY caught up, is it just like, funny how long it took me to catch this?? Or is it a surprise to you guys, too? IN OUR CURRENT INTRO EVERY LETTER IN OUR NAME IS THE FIRST LETTER OF THE WORD CHOSEN TO BE THE VOICE CLIP KAIRI HAYNER - VEN ISA DARKNESS SORA . NAMINE ENOUGH TERRA KH-VIDS.NET GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH Also it's fitting that our heart logo is matched with "THIS IS IT!" and 'Your ultimate source for Kingdom Hearts media' is matched with "You shall wander forever." BUT THE NAME THOUGH. XD
Alright, folks, the votes are all in for Cycle 1 and we're ready to announce the winners! If this is your first time winning an Award, post in this thread to redeem your pin! If you win a Decades award, keep an eye on your alerts; you'll be getting a new pin as well! Now then! Down to the winners! Most Adorable Last Year's Winner: Maka Albarn Last Year's Runner-up: Ghost D'awwwwww aren't they just so cuuuute?! These members just seriously, I can't even. They're just like, so adorable it just makes me squeal sometimes! And this isn't just me typing for flavor, lol, this is me, Marushi, I actually totally agree with this one! The Most Adorable member is clearly Maka Albarn, and right behind her is Heart <3 (Sam), both just super kawaii~ ^.^ Most Ambitious Last Year's Winner: Aelin Fireheart Last Year's Runner-up: Krowley In this dog-eat-dog world, only some of us ever make it to the top. KHV has decided that Marushi is the most ambitious, with Krowley clawing his way up the ladder right behind her. Spoiler Most Changed Last Year's Winner: Makaze Last Year's Runner-up: Mish Change: That elusive concept everyone's always reaching for... Especially whenever one of those "post your oldest rep" threads comes around again. KHV's decided Yozora (Rat) made the mark this year, with Cstar coming in second! Most Committed Last Year's Winner: Aelin Fireheart Last Year's Runner-up: libregkd Ugh so you know those people in your life who are like, always saying they'll do something, but then when it needs to be done, it never is? Well you don't have to worry about that with these people! KHV's decided that when it comes down to it, Marushi will always follow through on her promises. You can always trust Aelin to be there, too. Most Creative Last Year's Winner: cstar Last Year's Runner-up: Beep Boop, Captain Arch When it comes to creativity, nobody can come up with the ideas like these members. The creativity is practically tangible, it's so strong. KHV votes Cstar in as Most Creative, with Jiku Neon and Maka Albarn showing their own creative side as well. Most Down to Earth Last Year's Winner: Skyheart Last Year's Runner-up: Maka, Glen There are those who believe themselves to be the end-all. The star. The center of the universe. But not these people! These members don't particularly fancy themselves as living in the clouds, thanks. They'd rather stay here on earth with the rest of us regular folks. Not to brag or anything, but KHV has voted Marushi as Most Down to Earth, with Maka Albarn in second. Most Egotistical Last Year's Winner: Iskander Last Year's Runner-up: Ghost Meanwhile, for the people who do seem to think they're the center of the universe, we had two ties, so they all get a prize! In first place, we have Arch and Amaury, while in second, we have Iskander and the aptly-named Ego Emporium. I mean, it must be hard for people with such huge egos to share the spotlight, but they'll have to get used to it. Most Helpful Last Year's Winner: cstar Last Year's Runner-up: DigitalAtlas If you've got a problem, if no one else can help, and if you realize the A-Team has been retired since the late eighties (except for that one 2010 movie but we don't talk about that) then maybe you can come to these people instead! Looks like Marushi is always willing to lend a hand, if you can put up with lame puns, dad jokes, and references to a super cheesy eighties action series. If not, perhaps Aelin would be a better fit, eh? Most Heroic Last Year's Winner: DigitalAtlas Last Year's Runner-up: Ars Nova Spoiler Everyone needs a hero, a masked man or caped wonder to fly in and save the day before riding off into the sunset. This year, KHV has chosen Marushi as the Hero, with Boy Wonder as the loveable sidekick. XD Most Hypocritical Last Year's Winner: Calxiyn Last Year's Runner-up: Korosu This might be kinda random but does it bug anyone else how many people on social media seem to hate Hippocrates? Like the poor dude doesn't deserve all the hate, y'know? Yeesh. As far as hypocrites, well, KHV's decided Amaury is tops, with Cstar in second. Most Insane Last Year's Winner: Krowley Last Year's Runner-up: Beucefilous If there's a normal path in life that makes perfect sense and is the obvious way to go... These members will not only go the opposite way, but they'll take the time to turn the sign-post around so they can snicker at anyone who falls for it. Did that metaphor make sense? Maybe not. But they would do that and you know it, because they're insane. This year, it looks like Cstar has reached a whole new level of crazy, dragging Aelin down the Path of Nonsense right along with her. Most Inspiring Member Last Year's Winner: Krowley, Heart Last Year's Runner-up: Trigger Whatever you want in life, whatever you dream of, you can achieve it! You're strong, beautiful, smart, and talented, and if you just work hard enough, I know you'll reach the stars! *ahem* Yeah so I guess Marushi lays it on pretty thick with the pep talks, and Maka Albarn and Deathspank (2.8 HD Remix?) also inspire their peers! (So there's actually a member named Deathspank and he was the one linked to the poll soooo I'm just assuming that whoever nommed him meant Deathspank 2.8 HD Remix, a.k.a. Luxord, because the regular Deathspank has apparently been banned since like 2012 or something lol) Most Intelligent Last Year's Winner: Marushi Last Year's Runner-up: Captain Arch The saying goes, if you want to be smart, you have to surround yourself with smart people. Guess these people don't have to worry about it, though. They've got smarts to spare. KHV thinks Arch is pretty smart. Makaze and libregkd, too. Mathematicians, logicians, technicians... Yeah, Most Intelligent definitely had actual candidates this year lol. XD Most Interesting Last Year's Winner: Marushi Last Year's Runner-up: KHGrl15 When these members talk, they tend to catch the room's attention. Maybe the stuff they say is kind of clever, maybe it's funny, maybe it's just plain weird, but it is DEFINITELY interesting. This year, Most Interesting goes to Yozora (Rat) and Cstar and Ars Nova are a pretty fascinating study as well! Most Intimidating Last Year's Winner: Krowley Last Year's Runner-up: Korosu There's just something inherently scary about people sometimes. Not everyone gets it, perceptions vary, but to some, they'd rather not approach these people if they can help it. Namely, libregkd and Makaze. There's just something about them that makes people nervous... Most Knowledgeable about Kingdom Hearts Last Year's Winner: Krowley Last Year's Runner-up: tamale LET'S FACE IT. Being knowledgeable about Kingdom Hearts gets more and more impressive with every new game. What with time travel, dream-worlds, clones, puppets, possessions, memory manipulation, Heartless, Nobodies, Dream-Eaters, Unversed, wars, subterfuge, prophecy, betrayal, and like, three different Kingdom Hearts's floating around, anyone who can keep it all straight at this point is some kinda genius. Well, according to you guys, that title goes once again to Krowley, with tamale being, same as last year, right behind him! Most Knowledgeable about Video Games Last Year's Winner: Jube Last Year's Runner-up: Krowley Moving past the inner circle of Kingdom Hearts, who's the most knowledgeable about video games in general? Who seems to know something about everything anyone ever talks about? Looks like Arch and libregkd have your vote, with Jube coming in second! Most Likely to be a Bot Last Year's Winner: libregkd, Ghost Last Year's Runner-up: mvitkun Spoiler Sometimes there are those people who just... idk, it's like they don't... Well, let's just say sometimes you feel like posting a garbled image and asking them to type out what letters they see. Just in case. This year those people are Amaury, and Swordsman_John. I mean, they're prooobably not robots. I think. >.> Most Likely to be Banned Last Year's Winner: Makaze Last Year's Runner-up: DigitalAtlas Better keep an eye on these people... There's every chance in the world they'll cross a line one day and then BAM! They'll be outta here. Kinda scary that Arch is on staff, but who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll be a good boy. Jube, on the other hand... ;D Most Villianous Last Year's Winner: Jafar Last Year's Runner-up: Cstar Everyone loves a good villain - and these members are no exception to the rule, with Arch voted in as most villainous and tamale working on his evil laugh for next year. Baddies to the core, they are. A force of pure evil. I mean, they both love dogs, though, so how evil can they truly be? Seriously, heh, how evil can they be? Asking for a friend. Most Likely to be Famous Last Year's Winner: Krowley Last Year's Runner-up: Boy Wonder Some people are destined for stardom - they shine so bright you need sunglasses just to look at 'em. KHV voted Jayn as Most Likely to be Famous, with Sebax and Mish in second place! Most Likely to be on KH-Vids Forever Last Year's Winner: Krowley Last Year's Runner-up: Fearless The joke goes that no one ever really leaves, that we're all stuck here forever and even if we go away for a little while, we'll always come back. I mean, it's just a joke, but these members seem to take it a bit more literally than others. Krowley and Amaury will probably never leave ever, while Marushi can't seem to stay away for too long herself. Most Likely to be on Staff Last Year's Winner: Captain Arch Last Year's Runner-up: Korosu (SO ARCH WAS MOST LIKELY TO BE ON STAFF LAST YEAR, HMMM? INTERESTING) XD Who are your predictions for the future Staff team this year? Unsurprisingly, the candidates are from the RPA (can we talk about a conspiracy? Like, please?) and it looks like we predict CrownMoksha to be most likely to join staff, with Cstar in second place. Most Likely to End up in Prison Last Year's Winner: Moksha, Trigger, Jiku Neon Last Year's Runner-up: Ghost Some people just belong in the slammer. Who knows what crime will land Blaine there? Well, I'm sure a few of you have a few guesses. Arch, though, is a stranger case. I didn't know guitars could even be sent to prison... Most Likely to Never Hit Premium Last Year's Winner: KHGrl15, Ghost, Fearless Last Year's Runner-up: Zelda Ever chasing rainbows, only to find them always out of reach. Behind one more hill, perhaps? Just a little ways down the road? It's right there, but the closer we get, the farther away it seems. LadyAzura (KHGrl15) and Marushi probably aren't going to be catching their rainbows anytime soon, and Ghost doesn't even seem to be trying. Most Likely to be President Last Year's Winner: Boy Wonder Last Year's Runner-up: al215 There are those who are simply born leaders, who care deeply for their communities and long to do whatever they can to serve the people around them, and make the world a little bit better. For this, Plums has been voted most likely to be President, with Boy Wonder and Skyheart also on the ballots. Most Missed Last Year's Winner: Maka Albarn, Ars Nova Last Year's Runner-up: Shubooty Your absence leaves a hole in our collective hearts... You have made Nobodies of us all. Especially Boy Wonder, (even though as he himself pointed out, he's kind of back) and second place goes to Misty, Jayn, Hayabusa, and Fearless. (I feel so bad for Glen being the only person with a nom who didn't get mentioned lol so Glen, don't worry, I miss ya, you crazy Aussie you) <3 Most Nostalgic Last Year's Winner: Krowley Last year's Runner-up: Mish Ahh, the good old days... Or the bad ones. Either way, these members like to look back, to remember how things used to be, and reminisce about times gone by. Sigh... I remember the year I won most nostalgic... Good times, man. Goooood times. This year, the most likely member to take you on a trip down memory lane is Cat~. Sara likes to dream of the days of yore as well. Most Obscure Tastes Last Year's Winner: Amaury Last Year's Runner-up: Cstar, Beucefilous When it comes to Media, these members tend to have more, ah, distinct tastes. Sure, they can probably hold their own in a chat about Star Wars or Fairy Tail or something, but where their heart truly lies is in some random Indie band from like thirty years ago that has a tiny cult following but remains unheard of by most of the world. This year, it seems like Beucefilous has the weirdest tastes, with LadyAzura (KHGrl15) and Cstar's preferences raising a few eyebrows of their own. Most Overrated Last Year's Winner: Ars Nova Last Year's Runner-up: Makaze Everyone praises these people to the skies, everyone's always going on about how great and wonderful and awesome they are! They're like the freaking Golden Trio over here! You're TOTALLY way cooler than them, it's not FAIR, why do THEY always get the spotlight? Whatever. They are so overrated. Arch especially. Like whatever, Texas is dumb. Aelin's just as overrated, too, eh? Most Passionate Last Year's Winner: Maka Albarn Last Year's Runner-up: Mish These members seem to care a little too much sometimes, but it's refreshing to see someone with as much passion for the things they believe in. KHV's voted Heart <3 (Sam) as the Most Passionate this year, with LadyAzura (KHGrl15) right behind her. Most Proactive Last Year's Winner: Skyheart Last Year's Runner-up: Mish You're never going to realize your goals if you just sit around thinking about them instead of actually doing something about it. Because the thing about work? It's work. But sometimes you gotta roll up your sleeves and just get it done, or it just won't ever get done. Who does KHV think is most likely to get down to work and do stuff? Marushi comes in first place this year, with Aelin in second. Most Serious Last Year's Winner: Ghost Last Year's Runner-up: Zimmy You guys... you know it's okay to smile, right? But seriously (GEDDIT?!) These folks are the last people you'd expect to do something silly or goofy. They're just too gosh darn serious for that childish stuff... Apparently. XD This year, libregkd was voted Most Serious, with CrownMoksha taking second place. Most Shocking Moment Last Year's Winner: Toy Story being in KH3 Last Year's Runner-up: Ghost doesn't explain what she's talking about, despite nobody understanding Wait, whaaaa?! Sometimes the most bizarre and inexplicable things happen around this place, I swear. Like Arch joining the staff team? Like what? Only slightly less shocking was when Cat~ and Plums left Staff. Lots of turnover going on this past year. Weird. Most Underrated Last Year's Winner: KHGrl15 Last Year's Runner-up: Makaze Sometimes in life, people deserve more praise and attention than they get. They tend to be easily missed in a crowd, or relegated to the sidelines, not because they don't deserve the spotlight, but just because... they're underrated. This year, KHV has decided LadyAzura (KHGrl15) Oughta have a bit more recognition around here, as should Capt. Jack Sparrow (Roxam.) (Of course, this begs the question, if they won 'Most Underrated,' aren't the REAL Underrated folks the ones on the ballot who didn't win...?) XD Most Verbose Last Year's Winner: Cstar Last Year's Runner-up: Ghost Ohhhh my gooooosh do these people ever stop talking?! Whether they know the biggest words in the dictionary or they just tend to use the smaller ones WAY too much, or if, heaven forbid, BOTH, KHV's decided Krowley is the most talkative, with Deathspank 2.8 HD Remix (Luxord) talking almost as much. View attachment 49548 ~Ten Years worth of nominations!~ Most Changed Member: Ten years is a long time... It's funny how different things end up being after such a long time together, huh? In many ways, we've all grown up together. We're like a huge extended family, with all the drama to go with it. Who's changed the most in these past ten years? Well, KHV's decided that award goes to Cstar, with Makaze and LadyAzura (KHGrl15) also showing a lot of growth. Most Committed Member: The world is full of false promises and broken trust. But sometimes, amidst the flake-outs and no-shows, you get people who prove they're in it for the long haul, not just for a year, not just for a couple years, but for ten. And we've decided that Krowley is the Most Commited member of the decade, with Marushi in second place. Most Creative Member: You'd think after so many years, these people would have used up all their good ideas by now... But nope! These people are an endless supply of artistic thought and beauty, and they're not afraid to share these concepts with the world! The Most Creative member of the past ten years goes to Cat~, with Jayn and Dinny right behind her! Most Helpful Member: With a family as big as ours, we all have a lot of problems, whether it's something in our past or personal lives, drama with each other, or even struggles within ourselves. The good thing about having such a big family, though, is there's always someone around to help you through it. And the Most Helpful Member this decade goes to Marushi, with Plums also proving time and time again that he's always willing to help. Most Intelligent Member: They might not be rocket scientists... I mean, they might be, though, you never know. Either way, these members left a lasting impression on us as being super, super smart. What?, especially, was voted the Most Intelligent Member of the past ten years, with libregkd taking the silver. Most Intimidating Member: Remember what I said earlier about how some people are just like, scary? Well, Makaze's been in the business of scaring people for ten years, what with his early reputation as a debater to his current one as the scariest Mafioso on the forum, he won this award with ease, with second place going to libregkd. Most Inspiring Member: There's always one in every family, the big sis or big bro we all can look up to, who inspire us to live our lives to the fullest and go after our dreams. KHV's decided that Jayn is the most inspiring member of the decade, with Cat~ right behind her! Thanks, you guys, for leading us all towards our goals! Most Passionate Member: When it comes down to passion, there are few who can match the legend left behind by Misty, with one of the few being Mike. Their love and dedication to the things they cared about is definitely something to be celebrated, and we can all be thankful we got to be a part of their story! Most Shocking Moment: A lot of insane stuff has happened to us over the past ten years. We always manage to pull through together, but some moments seem to have scarred us emotionally. The Purge has left us all a bit jumpy to this day, though we're also all still a bit dazed from Misty retiring.
View attachment 49508 The World Ends With You The innovative and stylized game from Square Enix turns eleven years old next week on the 26th, and amidst all the hype surrounding the Final Mix, the promise of new content and scenarios, special editions, multiplayer options and etc, KHV is celebrating the anniversary in our own special way! Launching on the 26th, we're going to be running the first ever KHV Interactive-Video Adventure! Featuring: ~An original Three-Weeks + Another Day story! ~New Missions released every day! ~Munny Prizes! ~New Event Pins! ~Exclusive wallpaper prizes for desktop and mobile! And more! We've been putting a lot of hard work into this event, and although it's highly experimental as it's the first of its kind, I am so excited to be able to announce it, and I hope to see you all there on the 26th to help us celebrate the anniversary of this truly amazing game!
looks like two Goombas stacked on top of each other like in Super Mario Odyssey View attachment 49458
@Arch @Yozora Since someone else didn't do this. XD Happy birthday you guys, ily both! ^.^
So I'm getting kinda hungry, right? And I realize I haven't eaten in twelve hours, so I figure I should probably find something to eat. Well all I have in my fridge are condiments and tortillas, and money is tight so I can't swing a $14 pizza delivery. I decided to order some PIta Pit 'cause that's at least $10, but I guess the store here in town stopped delivering recently, so that was out of the question. Since delivery was off the table, I decided to brave the outside world. There's a pretty good place about a ten minute walk from here, cheap too, so I grabbed my stuff and left. Now, it's been a good year since I last rode my bike (I don't like busy traffic yet but it wasn't a problem for my destination this time) but the tires were dead flat and the whole thing was covered in rust, so I set off on foot. Reach the restaurant, and they're inexplicably closed for the day. At this point, I'm not about to turn back empty handed, and I'm like "whatever KFC is only ten more minutes away, I can get a full dinner for six bucks" so on I went. And there's a nice breeze, so it's not TOO hot, but it's still a good 80 degrees Fahrenheit, so I'm getting all sweaty and irritable. Finally get to KFC - just to find out they locked their doors forty minutes early and only drive through is open. I am not driving. So screw it, I duck across the street and settle for Subway. I get outside and start walking home - which is when the lightning started up in the distance, looming towards town, racing me to my house. I almost beat it home, but still got a solid two minutes of heavy rain before I made it inside. All in all I'd rate the Outside World about a 2 out of 10. Would not recommend.
View attachment 49413 The nominations for the 2018 KH-Vids User Awards are now open! Hey guys! For those who have never participated in the User Awards, or need a bit of a reminder, there are two phases: nominations and polls. A user will not appear in the final polls without first being nominated by their peers, so if you want to see someone in the poll, make sure you nominate them! Before we begin, make sure you’ve read the general info on the User Awards. If it has left your questions answered, shoot me a message or post in this thread before nominating! In addition, we're doing something special with the Awards this year, celebrating our tenth year of the Awards by opening up Decades Categories! These are going to be special categories in addition to the normal ones, and nominations can be made for anything within the past ten years! The Decades Categories are going to be separated from their normal counterparts, but will be filled out in the same setting as if they were just more nominations. And finally, I have one more announcement before we get down to nominating: This year, we're going to be giving out Munny for participating in the Awards! ~Users will get 5 Munny for every group of categories they submit nominations for, capping at 30 Munny if they send nominations for all six groups! ~Users will get 2 Munny for every category they're nominated for, whether they'll win or not! ~Runners Up will get 15 Munny for every second place win! ~Award Winners will get 30 Munny for every first place win! 2018 User Awards Categories Spoiler * New categories indicated by this pink color! Revised categories are indicated by this green color! And Decades categories are indicated by this blue color! General Nominations (24+2+9) Best Bromance Best Section Best Forum Game Best Username Biggest Fan Biggest Flirt Biggest Kingdom Hearts Fan Biggest Otaku Biggest Post Whore Cutest (Fake) Couple Cutest (Real) Couple Favorite Banned Member Favorite Event Favorite Pin Friendliest Member Funniest Member Goofiest Member Hammiest Member Hottest Members Manliest Man Master Debater Member You’d Like to Know More Nicest Member Snarkiest Member Strangest Member Whimsical Woman ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Bromance Best Username Best Year Cutest (Fake) Couple Cutest (Real) Couple Friendliest Member Funniest Member Nicest Member Worst Year Artistic Nominations (15+8) Best AMV Best Fanfiction Best Graphic Artist Best Musician Best Original Story Best Overall Writer Best Photographer Best Poem Best Poet Best Singer Best Traditional Artist Best Video Editor Most Improved Artist Most Improved Video Editor Most Improved Writer ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Graphic Artist Best Musician Best Overall Writer Best Photographer Best Poet Best Singer Best Traditional Artist Best Video Editor Thread/Group Nominations (3+3) Best Thread Weirdest Thread Worst Thread ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Thread Weirdest Thread Worst Thread Best/Worst Member Nominations (11+10) Best Administrator Best Members Best Newbie Best Contributor Member Best Normal Member Best Overall Member (any usergroup--Normies, Prems, Staff!) Best Overall Staff Member Best Premium Member Best Retired Staff Member Best Returning Member Worst Members ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Administrator Best Normal Member Best Overall Member (any usergroup--Normies, Prems, Staff!) Best Overall Staff Member Best Premium Member Best Reporter Best Returning Member Best Sectional Moderator Best Super Moderator Worst Members “Most” Nominations (36+9) Most Adorable Most Ambitious Most Changed Most Committed Most Creative Most Down to Earth Most Egotistical Most Helpful Most Heroic Most Hypocritical Most Insane Most Intelligent Most Interesting Most Intimidating Most Inspiring Member Most Knowledgeable about Kingdom Hearts Most Knowledgeable about Video Games Most likely to be a Bot Most likely to be Banned Most likely to be Famous Most likely to be on KH-Vids Forever Most likely to be on Staff Most likely to be President Most likely to End up in Prison Most likely to Never Hit Premium Most Missed Most Nostalgic Most Obscure Tastes Most Overrated Most Passionate Most Proactive Most Serious Most shocking Moment Most Underrated Most Verbose Most Villianous ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Most Changed Member Most Committed Member Most Creative Member Most Helpful Member Most Intelligent Member Most Intimidating Member Most Inspiring Member Most Passionate Member Most Shocking Moment Roleplaying Nominations (17+19) Best Roleplay Antagonist Best Roleplay Protagonist Best Roleplay Best Roleplay Concept/Story Best Roleplay Graphics Best Roleplayer Best New Roleplayer Best Use of Music in an RP Biggest Godmodder Most Dramatic Roleplay Most Improved Roleplayer Most Memorable Roleplay Moment Most Memorable Boss Battle Most Missed Roleplayer Most Likely to Join Every Roleplay Most Missed Roleplay Most Shocking Roleplay Moment ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Roleplay Antagonist Best Roleplay Protagonist Best Roleplay Best Roleplayer Biggest Godmodder Most Dramatic Roleplay Most Memorable Roleplay Moment Most Memorable Boss Battle Most Missed Roleplayer Most Shocking Roleplay Moment Best Unfinished Roleplay ~Bonus Decades Category~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Alias in Mafia Royale Best Role in Mafia Royale Biggest Liar in Mafia Favorite Overall Moment in Mafia Favorite Version of Mafia (Royale, Lovers, Vanilla, etc.) Most Likely to stab you in the back in Mafia Royale Most Likely to be Lynched in Every Game Most Shocking Moment in Mafia How do I nominate users? Nominations will be sent to a number of different staff members, who will then tally the results and deliver them to the admins. Categories, as you can see above, are organized into major groups; each staff member is given a group to handle. You will start a personal conversation with the applicable staff member, listing your nominations. Please take time in considering your nominations, because once they’re in, there’s no going back! Please try to utilize only the user’s current username. We will not hunt someone down if you put their past username or a nickname, and we reserve the right to ignore the nomination altogether if you neglect to follow this rule. You are allowed to nominate two users per category. For group categories, such as Cutest Couple, you can nominate up to two couples. The same goes for threads. You may not nominate yourself for anything except the Cutest Couple categories. However, you may nominate a couple you are in for either Cutest Couple (or any similar category). "Worst" categories are open nomination. If you are uncomfortable with possibly being nominated and want to be preemptively removed from the final poll, please PM me and I will note it down. When nominating threads and material for the Artistic Awards, please include a link if they are contained in a thread posted on the site or elsewhere! This makes it much easier for preparing the poll. You will include the entire category list in your message, even the categories you are not nominating for. Please do not nominate members who do not belong in the category; I realize it’s hilarious to vote Kendall Kardashian, a Premium member, for Best Overall Staff Member, but it spoils the awards for those who do deserve them. There may be exceptions. These nominations cover the time period from the previous User Awards (summer of 2017) to this year’s (summer of 2018). If a member held a position during that time period, they are allowed to be nominated for it. For example, if Hugh Jackman was a Sectional Moderator until February of 2017 but is now a Super Moderator, he is allowed to be nominated for both Best Sectional Moderator and Best Super Moderator. Only the categories specially marked as Decades Categories can have nominations outside the allotted time period. Who do I send my nominations to? General Nominations: @tamale Artistic Nominations: @Marushi Best/Worst Member Nominations: @Heart ❤ Thread/Group Nominations: @Heart ❤ “Most” Nominations: @tamale Roleplaying Nominations: @Aelin Formatted Lists General Nominations being sent to tamale Code: [b][size=5]General Nominations[/size] Best Bromance Best Section Best Forum Game Best Username Biggest Fan Biggest Flirt Biggest Kingdom Hearts Fan Biggest Otaku Biggest Post Whore Cutest (Fake) Couple Cutest (Real) Couple Favorite Banned Member Favorite Event Favorite Pin Friendliest Member Funniest Member Goofiest Member Hammiest Member Hottest Members Manliest Man Master Debater Member You’d Like to Know More Nicest Member Snarkiest Member Strangest Member Whimsical Woman ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Bromance Best Username Best Year Cutest (Fake) Couple Cutest (Real) Couple Friendliest Member Funniest Member Nicest Member Worst Year [/b] Artistic Nominations being sent to Marushi Code: [b][size=5]Writing, Video Editing, & Art Nominations[/size] Best AMV Best Fanfiction Best Graphic Artist Best Musician Best Original Story Best Overall Writer Best Photographer Best Poem Best Poet Best Singer Best Traditional Artist Best Video Editor Most Improved Artist Most Improved Video Editor Most Improved Writer ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Graphic Artist Best Musician Best Overall Writer Best Photographer Best Poet Best Singer Best Traditional Artists Best Video Editor [/b] Thread/Group Nominations being sent to Heart Code: [b][size=5]Thread/Group Nominations[/size] Best Thread: Weirdest Thread: Worst Thread: ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Thread: Weirdest Thread: Worst Thread: [/b] Best/Worst Member Nominations being sent to Heart Code: [b][size=5]Best/Worst Member Nominations[/size] Best Administrator Best Members Best Newbie Best Contributor Member Best Normal Member Best Overall Member (any usergroup--Normies, Prems, Staff!) Best Overall Staff Member Best Premium Member Best Retired Staff Member Best Returning Member Worst Members ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Administrator Best Normal Member Best Overall Member (any usergroup--Normies, Prems, Staff!) Best Overall Staff Member Best Premium Member Best Reporter Best Returning Member Best Sectional Moderator Best Super Moderator Worst Members [/b] "Most" Nominations being sent to tamale Code: [b][size=5]"Most" Nominations[/size] Most Adorable Most Ambitious Most Changed Most Committed Most Creative Most Down to Earth Most Egotistical Most Helpful Most Heroic Most Hypocritical Most Insane Most Intelligent Most Interesting Most Intimidating Most Inspiring Member Most Knowledgeable about Kingdom Hearts Most Knowledgeable about Video Games Most likely to be a Bot Most likely to be Banned Most likely to be Famous Most likely to be on KH-Vids Forever Most likely to be on Staff Most likely to be President Most likely to End up in Prison Most likely to Never Hit Premium Most Missed Most Nostalgic Most Obscure Tastes Most Overrated Most Passionate Most Proactive Most Serious Most shocking Moment Most Underrated Most Verbose Most Villianous ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Most Changed Member Most Committed Member Most Creative Member Most Helpful Member Most Intelligent Member Most Intimidating Member Most Inspiring Member Most Passionate Member Most Shocking Moment [/b] Roleplaying Nominations being sent to Aelin. Code: [b][size=5]Roleplaying Nominations[/size] Best Roleplay Antagonist Best Roleplay Protagonist Best Roleplay Best Roleplay Concept/Story Best Roleplay Graphics Best Roleplayer Best New Roleplayer Best Use of Music in an RP Biggest Godmodder Most Dramatic Roleplay Most Improved Roleplayer Most Memorable Roleplay Moment Most Memorable Boss Battle Most Missed Roleplayer Most Likely to Join Every Roleplay Most Missed Roleplay Most Shocking Roleplay Moment ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Roleplay Antagonist Best Roleplay Protagonist Best Roleplay Best Roleplayer Biggest Godmodder Most Dramatic Roleplay Most Memorable Roleplay Moment Most Memorable Boss Battle Most Missed Roleplayer Most Shocking Roleplay Moment Best Unfinished Roleplay ~Bonus Decades Category~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Alias in Mafia Royale Best Role in Mafia Royale Biggest Liar in Mafia Favorite Overall Moment in Mafia Favorite Version of Mafia (Royale, Lovers, Vanilla, etc.) Most Likely to stab you in the back in Mafia Royale Most Likely to be Lynched in Every Game Most Shocking Moment in Mafia [/b] I still have questions! Feel free to contact me or post in this thread. Nominations will close Wednesday, July 11th. No nominations will be accepted after that date!
[b][size=5]General Nominations[/size] Best Bromance Best Section Best Forum Game Best Username Biggest Fan Biggest Flirt Biggest Kingdom Hearts Fan Biggest Otaku Biggest Post Whore Cutest (Fake) Couple Cutest (Real) Couple Favorite Banned Member Favorite Event Favorite Pin Friendliest Member Funniest Member Goofiest Member Hammiest Member Hottest Members Manliest Man Master Debater Member You’d Like to Know More Nicest Member Snarkiest Member Strangest Member Whimsical Woman ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Bromance Best Username Best Year Cutest (Fake) Couple Cutest (Real) Couple Friendliest Member Funniest Member Nicest Member Worst Year [/b]
[b][size=5]Writing, Video Editing, & Art Nominations[/size] Best AMV Best Fanfiction Best Graphic Artist Best Musician Best Original Story Best Overall Writer Best Photographer Best Poem Best Poet Best Singer Best Traditional Artist Best Video Editor Most Improved Artist Most Improved Video Editor Most Improved Writer ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Graphic Artist Best Musician Best Overall Writer Best Photographer Best Poet Best Singer Best Traditional Artists Best Video Editor [/b]
[b][size=5]Thread/Group Nominations[/size] Best Thread: Weirdest Thread: Worst Thread: ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Thread: Weirdest Thread: Worst Thread: [/b]
[b][size=5]Best/Worst Member Nominations[/size] Best Administrator Best Members Best Newbie Best Contributor Member Best Normal Member Best Overall Member (any usergroup--Normies, Prems, Staff!) Best Overall Staff Member Best Premium Member Best Retired Staff Member Best Returning Member Worst Members ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Administrator Best Normal Member Best Overall Member (any usergroup--Normies, Prems, Staff!) Best Overall Staff Member Best Premium Member Best Reporter Best Returning Member Best Sectional Moderator Best Super Moderator Worst Members [/b]
[b][size=5]"Most" Nominations[/size] Most Adorable Most Ambitious Most Changed Most Committed Most Creative Most Down to Earth Most Egotistical Most Helpful Most Heroic Most Hypocritical Most Insane Most Intelligent Most Interesting Most Intimidating Most Inspiring Member Most Knowledgeable about Kingdom Hearts Most Knowledgeable about Video Games Most likely to be a Bot Most likely to be Banned Most likely to be Famous Most likely to be on KH-Vids Forever Most likely to be on Staff Most likely to be President Most likely to End up in Prison Most likely to Never Hit Premium Most Missed Most Nostalgic Most Obscure Tastes Most Overrated Most Passionate Most Proactive Most Serious Most shocking Moment Most Underrated Most Verbose Most Villianous ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Most Changed Member Most Committed Member Most Creative Member Most Helpful Member Most Intelligent Member Most Intimidating Member Most Inspiring Member Most Passionate Member Most Shocking Moment [/b]
[b][size=5]Roleplaying Nominations[/size] Best Roleplay Antagonist Best Roleplay Protagonist Best Roleplay Best Roleplay Concept/Story Best Roleplay Graphics Best Roleplayer Best New Roleplayer Best Use of Music in an RP Biggest Godmodder Most Dramatic Roleplay Most Improved Roleplayer Most Memorable Roleplay Moment Most Memorable Boss Battle Most Missed Roleplayer Most Likely to Join Every Roleplay Most Missed Roleplay Most Shocking Roleplay Moment ~Decades~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Roleplay Antagonist Best Roleplay Protagonist Best Roleplay Best Roleplayer Biggest Godmodder Most Dramatic Roleplay Most Memorable Roleplay Moment Most Memorable Boss Battle Most Missed Roleplayer Most Shocking Roleplay Moment Best Unfinished Roleplay ~Bonus Decades Category~ Anything within the past ten years can be nominated! Best Alias in Mafia Royale Best Role in Mafia Royale Biggest Liar in Mafia Favorite Overall Moment in Mafia Favorite Version of Mafia (Royale, Lovers, Vanilla, etc.) Most Likely to stab you in the back in Mafia Royale Most Likely to be Lynched in Every Game Most Shocking Moment in Mafia [/b]
Hey everybody! The new Shop Pins are available for purchase, and I thought I'd just post a quick announcement about it, and advertise the new pins! As for the rotating pins, we've got some good ones in there this month! For Commons, we're introducing "Hard as Rock," a counterpart for last month's "Cold as Ice" pin. We also have "Shrooms," featuring arguably some of the series' cutest Heartless, and finally, rounding out the Commons, we have "Engineering Duo," showcasing our favorite behind-the-scenes Chipmunks, Chip and Dale! Our two Uncommons this month are "Techies," a counterpart to last month's "Tron" pin, and then "Timeless Connections," which actually has its own counterpart pin to be released later this year! And then rounding it all up is this month's Rare, a beautiful pin I just love, called "Dandelion Dreams." Snatch this one up if you can, I personally think it's gorgeous! <3 And then for our themes, well, let's just say the TWEWY fans are taking over for the month, lol. XD The World Ends With You celebrates its eleventh Anniversary this month, and what better way to show our appreciation than making it the theme for July? For Commons, we have Shockwave, Cure Drink, and Pyrokenisis, all of them pins from the game. For Uncommons and the Rare, we've brought Righty Cat, Lefty Cat, and Brainy Cat out of retirement to be sold in the Shop for one month only! Snag 'em while you can, folks, these pins are pretty sweet! Also, credit to Cat~ for creating these TWEWY pins, left over from the days of yore when this long-awaited Pin Shop was only a dream on the horizon. I mean, I guess, credit to CAT too, lol, since these are based on actual pins from the game. Either way, a Cat is responsible, so yeah. XD Spoiler: Sneak Peek! View attachment 49411 All these pins are now available in the Pin Shop!
The Spam Zone has 75,111 threads in it, counting this one. Second place is Arts and Graphics with 8,334. I have no idea what to do with this knowledge, but there it is. Seventy-five thousand one hundred and eleven. XD Let's take a moment to honor all the beautiful things that have happened here over the years. XD
Hi guys, so this time, the requested topic for my Worldbuilding series was Religion and Mythology! There's a LOT to unpack here, so let's dive right into the gritty details, hmm? If you're creating a fantasy world from scratch, religion and mythology of the cultures inhabiting it are very important. Religion and Mythology can define art, politics, music, language, history, the understanding of science, cultural and racial diversity, and architecture, and can be defined by environment, magic-systems, politics, and again, history, cultural and racial diversity, and the understanding of science. Now, I'm going to try and keep this short, but since Religion and Mythology are so involved and pervasive into every corner of culture, don't be surprised if it runs a bit long, lol. To try and shorten it as much as possible, I'm going to just go into the process of creating one religion and its' affect on the world it's placed in, but bear in mind that the thing about religion and mythology is it's diverse. If you want a believable world, you have to have multiple systems of belief, and realistic relationships between the followers of each one. There should be no All-Encompassing one-world religion. Even in futuristic societies or dystopian works where science is well understood and people don't believe in gods, morality in general will always have multiple ways of interpretation and application, and will provide a central theme of conflict that you, as the writer, will need to clearly understand in order to represent your characters' motives and actions sufficiently. In getting into the creation of a religion or mythos, you're going to end up drawing heavily from the other aspects of your world. Starting with, and you're probably sick of hearing this but I'll say it again, the environment. XD The environment is crucial to religion and mythology, especially if your story is set in a time of little to no understanding of science. In fact, it might actually might be the single most important factor in the creation thereof. Most religions, after all, are an attempt at understanding and explaining the world around them. What is this thing called 'the sun,' and why does it rise and set every day? What is thunder? Why does it rain? Who built the mountains? Why are spiders a thing? Seriously though why are spiders a thing?? People who have no understanding of science still need to know why things happen the way they do: it's a fundamental part of human nature. And if there is no known answer, they'll find one. So the environment is a big part of things because without the need to understand thunder, there would be no such thing as Zeus. When you're creating a religion for your world, look at the environment you've created and ask yourself "If there were no such thing as 'science,' how would I think this worked?" And let your imagination supply you with the rest. This is especially fun if you've got a noticeable environmental factor that separates your world from earth, such as the two moons in my own fantasy novel. When I set out to build one of the polytheistic religions in my world, I looked at the two moons and just started writing as if they were actual people; what their backstory was, what their relationships were to the sun and the sea and the stars, why they 'behave' the way they do, etc. Turn the environment into your own cast of characters and write stories about them, and you have the foundations of a polytheistic religion already now in place. Now that the gods themselves are set, it's time to determine the relations they allegedly had with the people in the world. Are your gods benevolent? Malevolent? Ambivalent? Do they visit the earth frequently or infrequently? Where do they live? What 'gifts' would they have given the mortals in their care? What's their physical relationship with mortals? Are the mortals descended from the gods, or are they two separate races? Do the gods and mortals ever have romantic relationships? Are demigods a thing? How do the mortals show respect to the gods? Are the gods worshiped or feared? Do the gods require sacrifices? What sort of moral code do the gods have, and do they enforce this code on the mortals in their care? What happens to mortals who deny or abandon the teachings of their chosen god? Once you establish the way the gods interacted with people in their stories and mythology, you can start delving into the religion's impact on society. Are the religious or political leaders of your cultures determined by something like 'divine intervention' or 'godly birth?' Are the laws of your society based on the moral codes of one or more of the gods? Are the worshipers of one god at odds with the worshipers of another god due to a conflict in these moral codes? How do the followers of the religion treat outliers? If the gods require human sacrifice, how are the victims determined? Are there any festivals or fasts or periods of worship dedicated to important spiritual events or anniversaries? The next thing to consider when making a religion in a fantasy world is your Magic-System, and how it's interpreted to relate to this specific religion. It's important to note, when building a magical world, that every single religion within the world has to have some sort of sign that their religion is tied to the magic, and is in fact a far superior tie than any other religion in the world. You don't have to make it true, but they have to have a reason to believe in their religion over the other religions that also explain the way the world works. And if you want to, you can make their religion be 'the true one.' The beauty of adding magic to your world is it does allow for the divine to be possible. You could have your group of gods be real, physical beings that visit with your people throughout the course of the story. Perhaps your MC is a demigod, or even a real god that hasn't discovered their birthright yet, or they could be a mortal who's been given a divine task or gift to serve some purpose of the gods. But if you choose one religion to be real, you still have to give the other religions in your world a valid reason to believe they're real. Which, will be pretty tricky, considering multiple religions might depict the 'sun' as a different being, and unless your sun-god is playful and mischievous, they might not indulge the silly mortals by acting out a different role every time they visit a different part of the world. I mean, they might though, it really all depends on how you choose to portray said god. But that's the good thing about a magic system in fiction. It could really be whatever you want it to be, and as long as you're careful to make your magic system make sense in relation to itself and the fictional world, anything goes. Now that you've got the gods, the stories, the moral and political influences on society, and their place among magic, it's time to work this into the language of your world. Spiders are Arachnids because of Arachne. Narcissism is a term because of Narcissus. Thursday is Thursday because of Thor. I could go on, listing words, names, idioms, phrases, expletives, etc. that originated with religion and mythology. If your world is completely, 100% separate from ours and there is no concept of our religions within it, you need to purge your work of real-world religious terms and instead pepper it with your own expressions and words. Now, this isn't to say you should replace every 'hell' with 'my name for the underworld,' but rather, be mindful that the term 'hell' as an expletive would never have even come into being in the first place, and make your character express his current emotional state in a new way. I've heard common complaints from reviewers of popular books that "the author made it clear Christianity never existed in this world, why is everyone always saying 'oh my god' all the time?" Remember that, when writing fantasy, you're already requiring massive amounts of suspension of disbelief from your readers: Don't push it by breaking your own rules. And now we come to a topic already partially covered in my "Music, Architecture, and Art" guide, which is... well, music, architecture, and art. How are your gods depicted in their nations of worship? Are there massive temples dedicated to them? Are there sacrificial sites? Are there statues of the gods? Paintings or tapestries depicting some of the stories regarding them? Jewelry that's supposed to contain divine properties? Songs that are supposed to summon them, or even just songs that, again, depict things that supposedly happened regarding them? Songs of praises? People like pretty things, and people like faith. There's gonna be a lot of crossover there. Now, if you have a world that does have a good understanding of science and they know why volcanoes erupt, that doesn't mean you have no need for religion. Especially if there is still magic in your world as well as science. It is possible to blend a faith system with science, although extremely difficult. In order to do this, you'll first have to completely understand your magic system and how it interacts with nature and science, so once you have that figured out, you can create a believable world in which a god might be associated with the sun, but not be the sun itself - unless you literally make them the sun somehow, because, as I said, in fantasy fiction, anything goes as long as you set it up correctly. And... then you have a religion that permeates and defines a culture, and is in turn defined by it as well. Now just do that six or seven or a hundred more times, and you've got a diverse, believable, conflict-ridden world you can subsequently do your darnedest to destroy/save. XD Briefly, I'll go over other types of religions, though I won't be building any for you today, rather just noting their existence and some perks or drawbacks to some of them. Setting up a monotheistic religion is a bit different because in most cases, this god created nature as opposed to many polytheistic religions where the gods are nature. If you have a monotheistic religion in place, that can make it easier to explain the bridge between scientific and magical world elements, but isn't necessarily any better than making up a polytheistic religion - if anything just because it's more fun to write about why the sun and moon hate each other so much lol. XD But yeah, monotheistic religions deal more with tiers as opposed to relationships, so when creating monotheistic religions, your stories will usually include some form of angel vs. demon, both under the single god, as opposed to god vs. god on semi equal footing. These tiers could also include beings such as reapers, seraphs, cherubs, etc. Monotheistic religions are also traditionally more... intolerant, as in a polytheistic religion, serving a different god is not wrong, just different, while in monotheism, it's either the One god or it's evil. And then there's atheism, which is the rejection of a god of any sort, pantheism, which usually refers to the belief that a deity is the universe or alternatively, the universe itself is a deity, and therefore the universe itself is worshiped, henotheism or inclusive monotheism, which is the worship of one god while not denying the existence of multiple others, and deism or agnosticism, which are variations of the belief in a distant deity or deities that are responsible for creating the universe, but don't actually have any interaction or interest in it and are therefore an absent god. And then there are still other types of religion that don't deal with the concept of a deity at all, and life itself is treated as sacred. All in all, try and make your religions diverse, not just in characteristics of the gods themselves, but also in the kind of religion being practiced. And if you want to make one or more of your religions true to your world, you can - but you don't have to. If you've done your job well and have crafted multiple religions that are believable enough, in the end, it doesn't really matter which one is right: only which ones your characters believe to be right. Because religion is, in my opinion, a far greater force with which to drive your plot than simple greed, power, or lust. Yes, sometimes those vices can be a great source of conflict, but they're no match for a hero/villain who does what they do out of a sense of divine right or moral superiority. Belief is a stronger motivator than wealth, faith is a reason to fight when material or emotional factors might cease to be. Give your characters faith, and they have the strength to power through whatever comes their way in the name of all that is right or holy. Call their faith into question and watch them fall to pieces as they struggle to make sense of a suddenly-inexplicable world. Faith is an excellent plot device, and also incredibly relatable to most audiences. But, I'm starting to ramble. XD To try and wrap this up, religion and mythology are the core of the human experience, even if the end result is a denial of the whole thing. They shape history, write languages, inspire creativity, and provide either hope, peace, and security - or torment, fear, and uncertainty. If you don't have some good religions or mythology in your world, you're cutting yourself off from what might be your greatest asset as a writer, and it would be well worth it to reconsider the option of including some. As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below and I'll get back to you when I can, and if you want to follow me on twitter for more writerly thoughts as I have them, my handle's PlushChrome. Poll for the next topic is up! Happy writing! <3
Everyone, thank you for such a great reception to the Munny system and Pin Shop! We had a lot of fun putting it all together and we're just getting started! :D Due to the reception and feedback, we're doing two new things for the Pin Shop, to give you more goodies! And both revolve around User Submitted pin designs! First, a contest! We're going to create two new permanent Usergroup Exclusive pins, one for Contributors and one for Premiums, designed by one of you! There are Submission Threads in your respective sections, so go check it out to find out how to enter your designs! Second, not so much a contest as much as an indefinitely ongoing perk, again for Premiums and Contributors! Users in these groups will also find Submission threads to submit as many regular Shop Pin designs as they want. Every month, the staff will select one of these submissions, turn it into a pin, and put it for sale in the shop for 1 Munny! Yep, just 1 Munny to get a User Created, super limited edition Pin! :D The very first pin, designed by Cstar, is already up for sale, so check it out! It will never be for sale again so snatch it up while you can, it's just 1 Munny! :D Thank you all for your response to the Shop, I'm so happy you love it! <3
Following this new fun trend even though I don't roleplay and haven't had much of a chance at D&D, I'll be fielding Green questions for the Protagonist of my WIP, and Red questions for my Antagonist, answering them in character. XD And... go!
Just listen to Patrick
Alright, as requested, here's my guide on Language and Names in Worldbuilding! :D When you create a world, especially in fantasy, sci-fi, or some in dystopia, you're not just building environments and magics and governments. There are some things that have little to nothing to do with these things, and language is one of those things. Language, after all, might be the only category in my list that is not impacted by the Environment at all. XD At least, not the environment as far as weather and seasons. Social environment, yes. Language is the basis for all communication in any world, and yours is no exception. Even though you're going to write the book itself in whatever language you intend to publish it in, it's important to be aware that the characters' native tongues are as much a part of them as yours is a part of you. There are many ways to do this - to include language as a cultural heritage while still writing in a tongue considered foreign to the characters. Tolkien chose to explain the English in Middle Earth as a "common tongue" that most if not all races knew, even though they also knew their original tongues. This is a reflection of the Latin and Greek languages that spread and influenced throughout many cultures during the rise of the Roman Empire, and is also mirrored by the spread of the English language today. A "Common Tongue" language is very common among fantasy series' and for good reason. A Common Tongue is a useful way to write in a language the reader will understand without breaking the enchantment of a world in which this language would not normally be spoken. If you go with a Common Tongue approach, there are a few ways you can incorporate your created language (or other languages in general, in diverse earth-settings) without confusing the readers. 1. Have non-POV characters sometimes speak in their native tongue Say there's a situation that needs discussing, but that the character speaking doesn't want the POV character (or others around them) to hear. Consider in the movie version of Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers, when Legolas and Aragorn start talking about the upcoming battle at Helm's Deep, and they slip into Elvish so as not to scare the non-elvish-speaking humans around them. This scene is powerful because of the gravity of their conversation, and the fact that they're aware of what their words could do: that courage before a battle could be the deciding factor and that by speaking thoughtlessly, the mere fact they have no hope could bring about their own downfall. This act, this switch from English to Elvish, made an already serious situation even more powerful. Of course, books have no subtitles, so you'd be very hard pressed to use such a tactic in the written word if you wanted to include the POV character in the conversation. But if the POV character is the one the speakers are trying to protect, your scene would have two other characters deep in a tense conversation the reader can't understand, and this itself could be used to drive the emotion of the scene even deeper. Having important, serious information purposefully withheld from you is sometimes just as alarming and worrying as knowing the potentially damaging information. On the other side of the coin, native language shared by two characters a third can't understand could also open the scene up to options of humor or confusion during the lighthearted or casual moments in the work. Believe me, I have written scenes in other works where two characters speak a common language and everyone else (including the POV character) is clueless as to what they're saying, and they can be funny, adorable, and excellent ways to add to a character's depth. "So... When did you learn to speak Spanish?!" If you want to leave your characters in confusion, simply don't translate the remarks, but providing a translating character who relays what's being said to the rest of the group is a good way to go if you want the contents of these remarks known. As long as you don't get carried away with translations, you should be good. Spoiler: Translations... 2. Incorporate one or two words from other languages into the character dialogue without making it the focus of the scene This tactic will mainly involve foreign curses, so I hope you have a few on hand. XD Curses, expressions of surprise or pain, and heartfelt reactions to particularly emotional moments, are all largely reactionary, and as such, will rarely come out in a second language. It's different if you've lived in a different culture for a long while, spending most of your time speaking the second language and talking to native-speakers all day long. But for most people, your reactions will be in your native tongue rather than your second. An English Speaker will almost always say "ow" before they say "ita," even if they've learned fluent Japanese. The occasional word during moments of surprise will rarely need explanation or attention if you've set up the scene and your use of language properly. The reader should know, just from the context of the scene, that the character is calling down curses on whatever object tripped her. To have the POV character wonder what it means when So-n-So says those curses is only going to break the pacing of the scene and might even cause readers to feel slightly affronted that you thought they couldn't figure out it was a curse on their own. It's a hard balance - you want it to be clear that the character is being foul-mouthed in a new language, but you also don't want to get into over-explanation and risk breaking the enchantment or cause a negative reaction in the reader. 3. Use the created language as a call to arms or sign of rebellion, or as a beloved but dying piece of culture (or both) This is especially useful if you're crafting a work that features oppression of a race or culture, so will do well in dystopias, though it's not restricted to that genre by any means. This tactic features the language itself as something to be used and protected in situations where it's frowned upon, socially unacceptable, or even forbidden. A conquered nation, for example, that has been stripped of their right to their culture and is ordered to learn and speak only the language of the conquering kingdom might rebel against it by shouting out an emotionally charged line in their native tongue as a battle cry before leading the rallied troops into a fight. They might utter this battle cry as they spit on the shoes of the antagonistic enforcer that arrests them after they lose the fight. They might refuse to say anything else while the enforcer interrogates them for information about the other rebels. And they might call it out as their final farewell as they're executed for their crimes. Or, if you're not writing an oppression but rather a simple preservation of a dying culture, have some beloved phrases or words used in addition to the common tongue, that share a feeling of happiness, nostalgia, and realism with the reader, even if they're on the outside looking in. This is a tactic I'm intending to use in one of the nations in my story, where the old tongue is used interspersed with the 'common' one, and so certain terms are spoken in the old language even though the residents mostly speak the common tongue. If you're confused about what I mean by this, consider it sort of a reflection of the way English speakers say things like "carpe diem," "voila," or "c'est la vie." Oftentimes, cultures with more than one language will still use both, even if one is more common than the other or one is not even their language at all. If you have taken a Common Tongue approach, these are three ways you can incorporate language naturally and effectively, especially if you use all three tactics as appropriate for various situations. One of the biggest criticisms to a Common Tongue approach to language is the "common tongue" itself. Mainly, the existence of one language widely accepted and spoken by all in a world or known world. Yes, there are mirrors of this in real life, as I've mentioned, but not everyone in the world speaks two languages in real life. Even a widely accepted "common tongue" is not actually a common tongue at all, just a tongue spoken by significantly more groups of people. There will always be people who don't understand or speak it. If you wish to preserve this realistic element in your work, feature scenes or chapters with one or more characters who don't speak the common tongue, or better yet, place your party in a situation where they're the outlier and it's everyone else speaking a language the MC can't understand. Not only does this showcase the diversity of your world and add realism, it can also be used as a plot device for serious moments and humorous ones, with or without a translator (see point 1 above.) Now that I've talked about a way to incorporate language into your story, let's briefly talk about the language itself. If you're creating a whole new language from scratch, there are a few things to keep in mind. Sound profile, sentence structure, the written word, and cultural circumstance (idioms, honorifics, phrases unique to one language or culture, "lost in translation.") 1. Sound profile Languages are not particularly similar to each other. Some that share a common parent language might have similarities (i.e. the Romance languages that evolved from a form of Latin) but even they have differences, and sound nothing like some of the other languages in the world (such as Asian or Hispanic languages.) This is important to remember, especially if you're writing more than one language. They don't all have to sound like Tolkien's Elvish, some can sound like Doctor Who's Judoon. Spoiler: Moho To build a sound profile for your languages, consider things like harsher vs softer tones and consonants, long and short vowels, and frequency of sounds. Harsher languages will contain lots of H sounds, I find, in combination with consonants and vowels alike. It won't be uncommon for a harsh language to have lots of "ach," "sh," "hah," "arhk" sounds, whereas a softer language might have more "ss," "ahh," "el," or "ia" sounds. One thing to be aware of, when choosing a sound profile, is to try and avoid coding, which in this case is the accidental practice of giving stereotypical real-life racial attributes to a fantasy race that paints said real-life race in a negative light. Unless you're going for allegory, which is intentionally giving real-life attributes to a fantasy race to prove a point, it's best to try and avoid making a race too similar to something in real life. (And if you are going for allegory, I highly recommend hiring a sensitivity-proofreader for your work to make sure your allegory is accurate and inoffensive, but that's beside the point.) 2. Sentence structure One trap writers might fall into when writing a language is giving it a distinctive sound profile, but otherwise just copying English. The sentence structure as well as the sound should be unique: Not every language has to be structured according to English standards; and many real-life languages are not. If you're writing a language from scratch, throw all your English rules out the window. Subjects and Predicates, Prepositions, Conjunctions, toss 'em out. Try going for something new, or draw inspiration from a different language's sentence structure. If you want to write a language, try to study as many different languages as you can - even if you don't have enough time to learn them all fluently. 3. The Written Word There is a vast difference between the written and spoken word. Someone can speak a language fluently and with ease and yet when you place a book in their hands, they might be at a loss. Even some native-speakers have trouble reading their own language on paper. Written word is hard, especially if trying to bridge the gap between alphabetic and logographic writing systems. If you want to create a unique written word for your culture, remember that it's okay to stray away from your known alphabet. You can make new letters, new combinations of letters, remove letters. You can take some consonants away from your language completely, you can add new vowels that represent either the long or short form of one of ours. You can abandon alphabet completely and create a logograph where certain symbols represent words or forms of words. You can have as much creative freedom with a written word as you can with a spoken word. And, if your culture or race allows it, it is okay to have an entire people be illiterate, as long as this isn't offensive coding, and it's not just an excuse to not invent a written word. XD 4. Cultural Circumstance Language stems from many sources, and is a major part of cultural identity. As such, it draws from the culture that appropriates it, the two influencing each other in a way that makes language deeply personal and unique to its' people of origin. And while it might bleed over into other nations through trade and travel, there are some things that are specific only to that language, that can't be imitated or translated into other cultures. When you write a language for a race or culture, you must be aware of that culture's history, identity, and personality. Some aspects of language that are reliant on cultural circumstance can include (but aren't limited to) idioms, curses, slurs, religious terms, honorifics, greetings, formal speech, and the like. Idioms are basically ancient memes, lol. They stem from a certain parable or circumstance that caught on and became common in speech due to popularity. "The proof is in the pudding" actually stems from the phrase "The proof of the pudding is in the eating," which roughly means "You won't know if you'll get food poisoning from bad food 'til you eat it and get food poisoning, because we're in the lower class and don't have the money nor means to make sure our food isn't rotten." XD "The writing on the wall" means that the signs that warned of tragedy were obvious to see from the beginning, and is credited to a Bible story in which the hand of God appeared to a king, literally writing on the wall to warn him that his present course of action would lead to ruin. The word "okay," though harder to trace, has often been attributed to a jokey intentional misspelling of the words "all correct" to instead read "orl korrekt," first rising to popularity in the 1830's and then abbreviated to "O.K." and cemented in culture in 1840 when U.S. president Martin Van Buren, nicknamed "Old Kinderhook," ran the slogan "O.K. is O.K." during his re-election campaign. Honorifics, greetings, formal speech, all those can be reflections of a socially strict or conscientious culture, and the severity of these social behaviors are reflected in the terms used. All in all, be mindful of the culture you're writing for when creating a language to give them. The two are irrevocably connected, and must be handled with care. I've already been at this for several hours now and it's almost 11:30, so I'm going to just touch on names and then wrap this up. If you've built your language (or at least a linguistic type profile) for your nations, names will follow naturally. Especially if you've already set up religion and mythology, and history. Names oftentimes are given based on historical or religious meaning, and the importance of language doesn't even need mentioning. Pick names for your characters that are important to their parents and societies (unless they've chosen their own name, in which case pick names that are important to them) and try to make them reflective of their country of origin. Also, if you're making up your own names, please try to avoid making up a dumb sounding or overcomplicated name. XD If your MC is named Argathaniansorlot, you might have gone too far. I understand it's very hard to create brand new names in this day and age of seemingly endless media and an over-saturated market, but come on, have some standards. XD And there you have it! As a writer, you've chosen a path that will require you to be well-learned in many subjects. You need to be a scientist, architect, politician, detective, layman. You need to be beggar and king, hero and criminal mastermind. And above all else, you need to be a linguist. Even if you're not writing or incorporating other languages into your work, it's crucial you know as much as you can about language in general. You are, after all, a dealer in words. It's kind of crucial for you to be an expert therein. Poll for the next guide is up! As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to post and I'll try to get back to them as soon as I can, and if you want to follow me on twitter for more Writerly thoughts, the name's PlushChrome. Good luck with all your writing, I hope I gave some good advice, or at least inspired a couple fun ideas, lol. XD See you next time!
(Crap I was supposed to get this up like last night oops) XD KHV will be down tonight for a couple of hours, probably starting at around 12AM EST, though that's open to change as things happen. BUT CHECK IN TOMORROW because we're doing something truly amazing and I'm so excited to share it with you all! Like seriously I'm unfortunately gonna be at work almost all day tomorrow but WHEN I GET BACK, I just can't wait to see how you all like our new thing. XD (This is probably the least professional 'official' post I've made recently, lol, but whatever I'm just excited.) XD
View attachment 49034 @Heart ❤
This was totally a thing. Spoiler View attachment 49025
So there were three categories with tying votes on the last guide, so I just picked which one of the three I felt most like writing, lol. XD And that was, Politics! Whereas some of the other categories are more important to shaping the world itself (environment, races, magic-systems) politics is one of the more important categories to the people inhabiting your world, and more importantly, to the plot of your story itself. While throwing bad weather or cool monsters at your MC might make for an interesting obstacle, the politics of the world are ultimately what makes for an interesting story, and as such, it must be approached with mindfulness and understanding. Now, before we get started, I just want to clarify; by 'politics' I don't just mean governments, empires, and dictatorships, although they're a big part, but rather, the social establishments that affect how one person treats another, the beliefs (and conflicting beliefs) that turn your characters into individuals, the structure and the status quo that can cause conflict within the protagonist, the antagonist, the party, the kingdom, the world, the reader. In addition to 'governmental' politics and these 'worldview' politics, we're also going to discuss 'interpersonal' politics; the plots, schemes, and plans of the chessmasters among your characters (most likely the villains, lol) and how you can use them to craft an interesting story beyond the realm of action. The first thing you should ask yourself when plotting the politics of the world is what themes you are trying to explore with your story. Themes can vary, from the simple but treasured 'love conquers all' to the complex expression of social issues to the difficult questions regarding the self, or any other theme or combination of themes. Stories with several themes become multifaceted and deep, and the themes of the story are oftentimes more important even than the plot, so it's crucial to understand from the start what it is you're trying to say. And oftentimes, by establishing the correct social systems into your world, the politics become the single best way to showcase your themes. Soul Eater is surprisingly full of politics, especially in the manga. In the world of Soul Eater, Lord Death and the DWMA serve as the lawmakers, the judges, and the enforcers, with the Witch Order being the rebellious minority living in hiding, the sworn enemy of the DWMA. Through infiltration, observation, and skilled manipulation, one witch incites a war, playing both sides against each other to serve her own purposes, and the entire story from start to end is a thrilling read full of twists, intrigue, suspicion, betrayal, and suspense. The themes explored cover a wide spectrum as well, dealing with complex issues like challenging the established concepts of good and evil, giving into a deprived state of madness, dealing with severe physical and emotional abuse, overcoming your personal demons (for some, quite literally, lol) even simple-but-deeply-personal problems like overcoming social anxiety, dealing with strained familial relationships, or trying to find true love. And interwoven with all of it, the overarcing theme of hope, of the belief that even in the darkest hour, even when all seems lost, fighting for a better tomorrow is worth risking your all today. And that only covers half the themes found in Soul Eater, an excellent example of using politics to drive the themes of the story. So, how do you build a political setting that will adequately showcase your themes? We'll start with the government, the most visible and easily defined form that politics can take. Putting greater focus on the governments in your world can be especially beneficial to dystopian genre writers, as the government is often the antagonist in such a setup. The government must first be classified: Is it a democracy? A monarchy? A dictatorship? How does this government determine its' leaders? Second, you must determine the personality of the leader themselves. Are they cold and calculated? Hot-headed and temperamental? Rash and impetuous? Now that you've chosen your leader, surround them with officials and counselors who either compliment their weakness to bring combined strength to the system, or like-minded followers who increase the problems found in the leader and create terror on the hapless civilians your MC is working to liberate. It all depends on the story. Now expand out into the world and do the same for the other nations in the world, choosing their form of government, leader, and high-ranking officials. Remember that not every country in a world has to have the same type of government: although medieval stories favor monarchies, it does not have to be the case, and you can have a monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, and any other social structure all in the same world, struggling for power against each other. Once you've got the systems in place, give some thought to the kinds of laws and establishments these countries would enforce. This is where the 'Worldview' politics come into play, so think once again on your themes. If you are trying to present your ideals as the better option, try contrasting it by giving the government the opposing ideals and thus, giving your MC something substantial to fight in the name of their beliefs. Alternatively, you could give the government your ideals and provide contrast by placing them in a war either with a neighboring country with separate ideals or with an uprising or rebellion from among your people. Remember that a rebellion does not always have to be on the side of the right and a government does not always have to be on the side of the wrong. Play around with the themes of your story and decide which tropes work better for the plot. The rebel underdog resonates strongly with some themes, but in others, such as in The Lord of the Rings, it can be okay to have a hero be a king. Whatever the establishment, be sure to give both sides clear strengths and weaknesses. Make the plucky rebellion have to work hard for their cause by creating a strong and heavily-favored dictatorship above them - but give them a flaw that can be exploited and feasibly used against them, rather than giving your heroes an impossible task and then having to Deus Ex Machina your way out at the end. Some ways you can establish strengths and weakness are A. building a harsh environment or hitting a capital with a natural disaster, disadvantaging them in comparison to other world powers at play, B. Determining the size, strength, and organization of a military, C. creating a strategically placed spy or 'Wormtongue' to poison the mind of a leader, and many more. Touching more briefly on military involvement, there are many ways you can handle this. Some nations in your world could have highly-trained and efficient militia and police force, especially good for urban or dystopian works, while others could have more localized or sporadic forms of militia, such as in medieval works when the militant presence was individualized and groups of knights and soldiers were more loyal to a specific lord than they were to the nation as a whole. In other nations, you might establish a more mob-like source of militia, where instead of calling on an army or police force, the people gather their pitchforks and torches and deliver their 'justice' swiftly and without deliberation, or you could go for a 'Peacekeeping' approach, where the military are organized, but have a smaller role, more for a guard rather than an enforcer. Delving into the Worldview politics, you'll want to focus on things such as Religion and Mythology, Diversity, Races, Economy and Export, and History, so until you build those, this step is going to be only half-formed. This deals with the way people interact with each other, so you'll want to focus on things like prejudice, wealth, separation of class, inequality, etc. You'll be building the way a king treats his subjects, or the way your minority-character treats and is treated by a majority-character, or the way an elf treats a dwarf, so again, you must think on your themes and create a worldview or establishment that best exemplifies the theme you're trying to show in each plotline. This is the form of politics you'll be focusing on most if you're writing a genre outside the realm of action, such as in Pride and Prejudice, where the political focus is on the decline of the aristocracy and the divergent idea that marriage could be for love and not for money, that a woman didn't have to settle for one or the other, that a woman could refuse an offer of marriage, and that bloodlines, family, and connections could be forsaken and circles of privilege breached. And finally, we have what I'm calling Interpersonal Politics, which can be the most fun thing to write and plan if, like me, you love a good intrigue. XD This is where your characters will directly exploit and manipulate both the governmental politics (laws, leaders, world powers) and the worldview politics (beliefs, social structures, prejudices) to bring about a situation or outcome integral to their goals and desires. Although clearly tailor-made for any villain of worth, these kinds of politics don't have to be reserved for your favorite baddies. Heroes can take advantage of interpersonal politics to get out of tight situations or get into even tighter ones in search of a goal. For example, consider Elizabeth Swann invoking Parley to the pirates, or King Peter challenging King Miraz to a duel at Aslan's How, or Harry, Ron and Hermione posing as a Death Eater and sympathizer to break into the bank of Gringotts. Interpersonal politics can be a clever way to keep the reader in suspense and further the plot of your story without relying on action to keep everything moving. If every step on your hero's journey is a battle or chase scene, the audience is far more likely to get bored and become dissatisfied. This is one of my biggest complaints (I say one of because there are several) with the third installment of the Hobbit movies. It truly felt like I was watching a two hour action sequence, and that's boring. Yeah, there are some genres where this is mostly alright (like a gore film, for example) where the point is to cram as much violence and bloodshed as you can into as short an amount of time as possible, but even in the most actiony of action movies, there are quiet moments, there are plans and schemes, there are interpersonal politics. The greatest example I can think of for this is the Bourne Trilogy. Yes, you get lots of stabbings and shootings and car chases, but you also have trickery and misdirection and manipulation of circumstances to get Jason Bourne where he needs to go. Some of the most iconic moments in the series revolve around the surprising twist that Bourne was holding not a gun, but a recording device, or that he was looking directly at an opposing force and that he didn't pull the trigger. You'll be focusing more heavily on this form of politics if you're writing a mystery novel or crime drama, when the plot of the story will be about the finding of something rather than what it necessarily means. This last step... doesn't really belong in worldbuilding as much as it belongs in plot building and character building, lol, so just... consider it a bonus topic. XD And there you have it! My take on politics in worldbuilding and beyond. XD If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I'll respond when I can, and if you'd like to follow me on Twitter for more writerly thoughts or tips as I have them, look me up, the name's PlushChrome. XD The poll for the next topic in Worldbuilding is up, so if you're interested in one of the aspects mentioned here, cast your vote and I might cover it next! And if you'd like to see more about Worldbuilding and haven't already, be sure to check out my topic on Architecture, Music, and Art! Happy writing!
Alright everyone, for the first installment in Worldbuilding, you voted for Architecture, Music, and Art. There are many aspects to these categories, and many questions to ask yourself when creating your own fantasy (or sci-fi) world from scratch. So, let’s dive right in, starting with architecture! Architecture has been a fascinating and honestly enriching experience for me, and I’ve learned so much while doing research for it, let me tell you. XD There are so many things to be aware of and take into account, and even though you won't necessarily be rattling off random facts about architecture in the middle of your book, it’s amazing how much flavor and detail goes into your world just from a basic understanding of the architecture within it. Now, the first and most important thing to take into account when building architecture is the environment. Environment is critical when it comes to architecture; after all, the basic point in having a building is to protect against the elements. The buildings in your world have to make sense for the environment in which they're built. I already briefly touched on this in the Worldbuilding general guide, but I’ll go into it a bit more, using, as example, the work I’ve been doing on the architecture in my own world. The environment in my series is diverse, and so must the architecture be. In the majority of the world, they face harsh winters, some areas more so than others. So the buildings common in these areas must be able to withstand heavy snows, strong winds, severe cold, and water damage. In addition, the area is mountainous, and riddled with seismic activity, so the buildings have to be designed with things such as earthquakes and landslides in mind. Now, I’m not saying the buildings have to be able to withstand a 7.0 quake or anything, but strong foundations, good framework, adequate support, these are all things that a society faced with frequent earthquakes would work to overcome. The environment of the area also contributes to building materials, so pay attention to this. If you’ve got a village in the woods, odds are the majority of buildings will be made of wood. This is especially important if your world is set in an age where building materials were harder to transport over long distances, or if the owners of the buildings are in a lower class, unable to afford having materials delivered from other areas. Which brings me to my next point: Class separation. This step in the process is highly dependant on the work you’ve put into the class separation in your world, so it’s a good idea to have a clear vision of how you want your world to be divided. (We’ll talk more about class separation in the ‘Diversity’ course.) If the divide between upper and lower classes is a focal point in your work, architecture is an excellent way to show this divide. Make the buildings of the wealthy grand and impressive, with expensive materials, and aesthetically pleasing fads and designs, while the struggling lower class are living in cramped, simple houses made of cheap, readily-available materials gathered from nearby. If you’re having trouble visualizing some of these things, it might help to sketch it out so you can get a better idea of how the buildings might look. As an example, I’ve included a sketch of my own architecture, designed for the middle-class of a race of people living in a snowy, forested mountain area. Spoiler View attachment 48937 Now, obviously, not every house in this category will look like this, but I think it’s helpful to know what the basic elements are for the norm. When it comes to designing military strongholds, fortifications, or castles, it’s important to ask yourself these questions: 1. What is the size and strength of the military in this nation? 2. What sort of enemies are they trying to fortify themselves against? 3. What is the current level of technology and the understanding of construction in your world? 1. The size and strength of the military is going to be a determining factor when it comes to building the castles and fortifications in your world. Large militaries will need barracks, outposts, strongholds, bases, and more. If you’ve got a strong military presence in your world, try showing this by including watchtowers or heavily fortified structures in the populated areas your characters find themselves in. (We’ll talk more about military in the ‘Politics’ course.) 2. The kinds of enemies your nations are facing will determine the design of your castles and strongholds: after all, defending against enemies is kiiiiind of the whole point of a castle. XD In medieval history, castles were adorned with many fortifications we recognize today - though we might not have ever thought about why they were there. Crenels and merlons, hoardings, machicolations, murder holes, these are all common parts of a castle, and they’re all made for a very specific purpose: defending against attacking forces… from the ground. But when you’re making new worlds, especially in fantasy, you have to ask yourself “How would these people defend themselves against magic/dragons/other mystical forces?” In my own work, the kingdom has been at war with dragons for nearly a century. And so I’ve had to sit down and work out a new way of building battlements - because machicolations are worthless against a dragon, and ‘higher ground’ is not an advantage when your enemies can fly. 3. Construction advances with the understanding of science and technology. There were no steel skyscrapers in medieval times and nowadays, castles are built for fun and not for military. This is obvious. So when you set out to design your cities, it’s important to ask yourself what the current level of understanding is, and build (heh heh, geddit?) from there. Have your people discovered multi-level housing yet? Are they still in round, thatch-roofed huts? Or is this a futuristic society where your cities are suspended miles in the air or in a dome on the ocean floor? Choose your level of technology before you begin setting up your architecture, because consistency is key - even in a world of magic. (Coincidentally, this topic will be covered in one of two MORE topics I had forgotten to add to my original guide, so be on the lookout for ‘Science, Technology, and Medicine’ if you’re interested in this one.) XD If you’re writing about a medieval world and you need to research some of the things I’ve been talking about here, I highly recommend the Youtuber ‘Shadiversity,’ who provides fascinating, entertaining, and well-researched videos about castles - and armor and swords and anything else medieval really. XD Watching his videos have taught me so much about castles and medieval construction in general, and have really helped me a lot in my own worldbuilding and architecture design. Now, moving onto the next category in today’s topic: Music! The music in a world is going to be especially hard to translate into the written word… but I’m certainly trying my very best to get it right. I kind of have to… music and magic go hand-in-hand in my magic system. (I’ll talk more about this in the ‘Magic System’ course.) Since music plays such a strong role in my work, I’ve been giving some focus to the kinds of music commonly played in the cultures found in the world. I find that the easiest way to do this is to choose pre-existing, real world music styles to match each nation, and then listening to those styles while planning or writing sections set in said nations. One of my countries, for example, is influenced musically by Irish and Scottish folk music, while another is decidedly Balkan and Romanian, one is Norse, and yet another is influenced by Asian style music. By deciding from the start what kind of music is most common in each area and then listening to that music while writing, I’m creating a mood for the setting, and hopefully, when I start getting into the actual writing part of things, I’ll be able to translate it easily to the written word. In addition to choosing a sound for your worlds, consider making up some instruments. Now, it’s very important to try and maintain some realism if you’re going this route: your “not-Earth” fantasy world might never have made a piano, but you need to have a basic understanding of how real life instruments work if you want to make believable fictional instruments for your fake one. Fantasy works require enough suspension of disbelief as it is, you don’t want to push your luck and ask your readers to believe in Dr. Seuss Floofloovers and Tartookas. Sci-fi stories can sort of get away with this one, if you’ve got enough pseudo-science jargon on your side, but for the rest of us, at least try to stick to brass/string/wind based instruments that actually… make sense. XD Make something that someone could make in real life if they wanted to. XD Now for art! Again, this is something you’re not likely to talk much about in your novel, but it still helps to know about it as the author, in case you want to feature it along the line. When setting out the art style of your worlds, you should consider the following things: Religious influence, cultural influence, art as an expression of rebellion or counterculture, and famous painters of the age. Religious influence in art is mostly obvious: in the real world, many famous paintings feature symbols or figures from religion, angels, cherubs, etc. But it also has more subtle influences. For example, why so many infants are painted as creepy looking old man babies in medieval art. Seriously, look it up. XD In addition to religion, culture plays a major part of the art in the age, especially if your world is set in a time when art couldn’t be easily mass-produced. Possessing art can be a symbol of wealth or status, and people who wish to show off their wealth and status often buy art with the intention to impress, and so will set and follow certain trends and standards. Art as an expression of rebellion or counterculture can be an effective tool if writing dystopia or if your story is an allegory of troubled, restless times. Whether the art in question is anti-authority, has shock value, is illegal vandalism, or whatever else, you can use it to show the readers that trouble is brewing under the surface, right about to break. Now that I’ve officially tackled Architecture, Music, and Art, let’s throw in a bonus category: Sports and Fashion! Do your knights joust? Are there gladiator-style death matches in your futuristic dystopia? Are there actual gladiators fighting lions for the entertainment of the masses? How do the people in your world entertain themselves? Sports can be an amazing way to entrance your readers and really convince them that this magical world you’ve created is a magical world, and not simply ‘earth + magic,’ and can be a surprising and really fun way to frame your plot-points and introduce new mechanics into your magic systems. Consider the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The World Cup introduced us to Portkeys, Extension Charms, and the idea of magical institutions in other countries. It also set up the dark tone for the upcoming war, showed the Death Eaters as villains and terrorists rather than just telling us they were, and really introduced us to Barty Crouch Sr. and Winky. In addition to all this, the World Cup set up several subplots with minor characters, introduced a couple new magical races and creatures, and - my personal favorite - played around with the Statute of Secrecy. Seriously, I might just be like, weird or something, but I loved the parts of the book where Ministry workers were running around this muggle campsite trying to organize the biggest Wizarding event of the year, obliviating the poor muggle camp managers, begging the wizards to at least dress in actual pants instead of wizard-robes… I loved it. XD And speaking of wizard robes, fashion is a fun topic for any subject. How do the people in your world dress? Are there some styles that certain social groups would adopt that others might look down upon? What kind of accessories do people wear? The clothes people wear can say a lot about them, and can add flavor and realism to your world. You also have to be mindful of the same things you thought about regarding architecture: environment, class structure, and technology. The clothes people wear not only have to look good, but they also have to protect against the environment the characters habit. And some clothes will be more expensive or extravagant than others, so the wealthy or important will have better clothes than the lower classes, while obviously if you’re writing a fantasy world, denim and hair dye aren’t a thing. XD In conclusion, these categories are a really fun and truly fascinating part of world-building, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of working on mine! Just a note, though: Unless you’re writing a comic or graphic novel, most of what you come up with here won’t actually make it into your written work. It’s fine to set a scene when you enter a new area or introduce a character, but readers don’t appreciate large walls of descriptive text, and if you focus too much on the details, your work can turn out really… dry. I’ve read so many stories (both published and drafts) where the descriptions really do take over, and I swear, if I didn’t have to read the story as an editor or reviewer, I never ever finished. Architecture, Music, and Art can be a beautiful and creative way to take your readers on an adventure. But if you’re not careful, it can be your undoing. So… There! Part One of my Worldbuilding series completed! The poll is up for the next guide, and I also have a quick announcement. I’m going to be running a NaNoWriMo group for KHV this year, so in order to try and get the series finished by November, I’m going to (try to) write two guides a month until I’m done. XD So, feel free to vote for the next guide, and in two weeks, I’ll write about the topic you chose! If you have any questions about this course, or you want to talk about your own architecture, music, and art, go ahead and post, and I’ll see how I can help! ^.^ (Also I’ve recently rediscovered twitter and mostly I’m tweeting about writerly things lol, so if you’re interested in following me as I get serious about being a writer and try to pen my first novel, look me up! The name’s PlushChrome. XD If I get two more followers by the end of the day, I’ll have got a hundred followers within twenty days of sending my first tweet. And like, that’s not a BIG milestone, I think… I’m not entirely sure lol. But it makes me feel good, so yeah. XD I’m on twitter now.)
As some of you may or may not know, I'm currently in the process of writing my first book. Well, I say 'Writing,' but I don't have a single word on paper yet. Because right now, I'm having a blast building my world. You see, my story is a fantasy novel, and it takes place in a strange world of magic, under two moons, and let me tell you, this process of building the world is both exhausting and strangely exhilarating, and I'm loving every (frustrating) minute of it. XD There are so many things to think about when building a world, and they're all of them critical to the story, even if you wouldn't at first think of it. From the simple things, like tides, to the big things, like magic, it all plays into the narrative, and is, in fact, the cornerstone of any fantasy novel. Imagine Lord of the Rings without the Norse-like country of Rohan, or Harry Potter without the House Elves and Goblins. Even works outside of fantasy need good worldbuilding, like in sci-fi or dystopian genres. Star Trek without the honor of Klingons or the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition would just... be dull. XD Any work of fiction that either takes place outside of the modern or historical world - or that takes place in the real world but with an added element of magic or mysticism - needs some good worldbuilding in order to turn it into something special, rather than a carbon copy of the real world with elves and dwarves thrown in. Worldbuilding is so diverse and intensive that I barely know where to begin, and there are so many aspects to each category that I could fill several guides with it easily... In fact, I think I will. In this thread, I'll briefly touch on each category I'm working on in my own worldbuilding process, and then I'll put a poll in for which ones you want to hear about first, and I'll start working on those topics for my next several guides. And if you have any specific questions you want addressed in said guides, feel free to post them here, and I'll talk about them, 'kay? Sound fun? I think it sounds fun. XD So, onto the worldbuilding! 1. Environment The environment is something people don't tend to put much thought into - it's basically the equivalent of discussing the weather, after all - but it's an incredibly important aspect to the world, and will probably help to shape the cultures in ways you didn't think about. For instance, the world in my story has two moons. Which means that the climate is naturally much colder than on earth, and the tides are brutal. In addition, a moon-cycle calendar system would be vastly different than our calendar, so the concept of a year will be drastically different for my world than the concept of a year on earth. The arrival of the second moon is also relatively recent, which means the world went through some massive seismic activity within the past several thousand years, creating volcanoes and fault lines and other, real world stuff. All of this environmental knowledge will let me play around with inventing new animals, plants, and world cultures based on the cold/volcanic/seaside countries peopling my world, and gives variety to an otherwise one-toned world. 2. A Magic System (Can be synonymous to mystical forces or sci-fi pseudoscience) Hand in hand with the environment is the magic - after all, what is magic but an extension of the world itself? In Harry Potter, magic is something certain people are born with the ability to use, making it a sort of biological thing...? I guess? While in works such as Star Wars, magic (in this case, the Force) is a form of energy that flows through all things, and is able to be directed by those attuned to it. In the best worlds, magic directly affects the world in which it works, rather than just being "earth plus some people can levitate stuff." Consider Avatar, frequently held up as an example of excellent magic in worldbuilding. The ability to bend is a clear part of the culture, with certain jobs (like doing the freaking laundry, of all things) made different by the magic system of the world. If your work has a magic system in place, the magic should be a part of the world, instead of an afterthought. 3. Races Races go hand-in-hand with a fantasy novel, and let's face it, they've all been done before. Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, Giants, Fauns, Centaurs, talking mice, it's all been done. And unless you plan to invent a completely new humanoid life form called a Speezleblork with two heads, three eyes, and a language comprised of blowing and popping bubblegum, you're not going to escape from the precedence set by those like Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. That doesn't mean you can't make a race all your own, though. It's all about playing with preconceived concepts about the race, and changing things to match your world. This is especially easy if you already have an environment and magic system set in place. For example, one of the several races in my series is a race of Star-Elves. Now, to properly set this up: There is an all-encompassing magical force in my world referred to by the people as the Spirit of Magic, a semi-sentient, somewhat "Deus Ex Machina" energy force that likes to save people when disaster strikes. So, several thousand years ago, an asteroid crashes into the Western half of the elven lands, and nearly destroys thousands of people. The Spirit of Magic intervenes, and not only saves the Western elves from certain death, but changes their physiology, an unintended side-effect of the wild, untamed magic the Spirit of Magic possesses. Now, the Star-Elves are fundamentally different from their Eastern relatives, both in appearance and in their ability to survive in the new environment created by the fallen asteroid. They've adapted and evolved into a new race. 4. Religion and Mythology Part of building a new world is setting up new mythology and religions for your races to know and believe. Every culture in the world has these things, and our world is literally built on them. Our planets, our days of the week, our months, even our spiders are all named after gods and figures from mythologies such as Greek, Norse, and Roman. Our holidays hail from a variety of religions and customs; pagan, christian, social tradition, or often a mash-up of any combination. Our parables and idioms themselves often hail from religion and mythology: Everyone knows the warning story of Icarus, and the "writing on the wall" is a direct reference to a Bible story. Your world should mirror this; there should be stories that everyone knows, phrases that everyone uses, and things or places named for the gods the indigenous people serve or had served in the past. There should also be many religions in your world, with majorities and minorities and balances of power and a direct impact on the people of the lands. And this brings me to the next point... 5. Politics Politics are genuinely fascinating, even if they are scary in the real world. XD We're not talking about the real world, though, we're talking about YOUR world. But politics should exist there, too. And I'm not just talking about the governments you set up, although those are a branch of it. But when I say 'politics,' I mean the general way people interact with each other and the neighboring kingdoms. Do you have a religious majority? How does this majority affect the laws of the kingdom(s) in which it's based? How does it affect the way the people of said kingdom do business? Is religion a cause for war among some of your nations? Is a religion the cause for a civil war or secession? Or, moving away from religion, how do the races in your world view each other? Is there a "superiority" race that looks down on the others? Is there a race facing discrimination from many others? What kinds of 'slurs' will your races have to face? Which of your characters are likely to butt heads over bad blood between their ancestors? These are things to think about when building a world, as it will, again, make your world seem more real and less... invented. XD 6. Language and Names Now, if you're like me, you've gone all-out and are like "I'm gonna actually write brand new languages like Tolkien did, and all the names will be from that language!" But if you're really like me, you'll spend ten years telling yourself this and come out of it with only vague concepts of what they might sound like, because you don't even have the time or motivation to stick with your Duolingo Portuguese course, let alone create six new languages from scratch. XD But even if you don't go the Tolkien route and build brand new languages, it's still important to have a basic sound-profile for your races. Something to give their cultures distinction from each other. For example, I've got characters from one nation who have names like Khash, Sahndra, Sahr, and Mahlik. Harsh sounding words with lots of ah's, k's, and s's. I also have characters from another nation with names like Arta, Malera, and Ilia (have to put that in a new font because of I and l, lol) and I have characters from another nation with names like Doranian and Teralyn, and so on and so on. Giving the different races and cultures their own distinct sounding names will make your world diverse. 7. Diversity Speaking of diverse, another thing to keep in mind when building your world is diversity. Now, we've already got some of this settled, if you've built your races, religions, and politics correctly, but it never hurts to address it specifically. There's more than one kind of person in the world. There just is. And there should be more than one kind of person in your world as well. Your world should be built of many different kinds of cultures, beliefs, skin colors, political views, and sexual orientations. Otherwise, it isn't just bland, it's also playing into the problems our own world is facing regarding misrepresentation or no representation at all. And, to throw in some personal incentive, you'll reach a wider audience with your work if you actually, you know, aim to please more than one audience. XD You gotta be careful, though, when writing for real-world races or minorities you're not a part of, because if you try to include another person's problems and you do it wrong, you could cause more harm than good. Fortunately for us privileged folk, there is such a thing as a Sensitivity Editor, a person who you hire to read your work and tell you if something you say is offensive or problematic. But yeah, even in fantasy worlds where you make up your own races, you still need to include diversity. Don't make all the Speezleblorks pink, okay? Green Speezleblorks are people too. XD 8. Architecture, Music, and Art These things are much harder to incorporate into written works, when you'll have to describe everything with words and people don't usually appreciate heavily descriptive paragraphs informing you that the building the MC is entering is super cool. But they are still a part of the culture of the world, and you should have ideas for what these buildings will look like when you sit down to write that MC as he goes into said super cool building. Some things to keep in mind when approaching architecture, music, and art, are the other aspects you've already built: Religion, Environment, and Language. Remember that Architecture in the real world is built for two purposes: Looking nice, and surviving the weather. Your buildings should have a unique style distinct to the race that built them, but they should also be able to stand in the kinds of weather your world will throw at it. So, in a harsh winter setting, no flat roofs. Seriously, I hail from a part of the world with moderately heavy winters. Lots of snow + flat roofs = both the roof and the snow might end up in the living room. XD Music and Art, meanwhile, are likely to reflect the religion and mythology of the setting, though not always. Music and Art could be excellent ways to show your people as free-thinking individuals, creating random or abstract art that isn't directly referencing the Destruction of Sauron, or writing songs about the everyday lives they lead, like Treebeard's song of his love for the wilds. It is possible to create Architecture, Music, and Art in a written work, it'll just take a little more creativity to fit it in than some of these other things. And so, there you have it! A brief breakdown of what it takes to build a real, breathing world for your novels! Like I said in the beginning of this guide, I'll post a poll for you guys to choose my next topic from among Worldbuilding, and if you have anything specific you want me to address, go ahead and post it here and I'll keep it in mind when I go to write my next guide! Thanks for reading! <3
