Sunday, July 14, 2019

Movie Review: Coraline


Hello Adventurers.

I saw Coraline a little while ago and felt that I should make a review for it. This is not the movie I said I would review in this post, and I do hope to post a review for those two movies soon (because I did enjoy those two movies.)


Anyway I felt I needed to warn Coraline book fans that the movie is nothing like the book:

                                                   Coraline (2009) 

(image from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coraline_(film)#/media/File:Coraline_poster.jpg) 
      Rated: PG

Spoiler free review: 
Be Careful What You Wish For, since this movie is sadly disappointing. 

If you like the book Coraline, you may not like the movie Coraline. The movie does not follow the scenes in the book accurately, changed the pacing and puts events out of order. A lot was cut out and they even brought in a character that really wasn't needed at all, named Wyborn (nicknamed by Coraline "Why Were You Born?" and "Wybie" by his grandmother). I felt like he was an unnecessary part of the plot. The directors justified this character addition that created a back and forth dialogue rather internal monologue by saying that having Coraline talk to herself wouldn't have been as interesting.

I disagree, because in the book she doesn't always talk to herself, she talks to the cat and the neighbors. Plus I would have loved to see what the screen writers could come up with to create a vision of what was going on inside her head and see her internal monologue. Also, near the end of the movie, Wybie did something that Coraline was supposed to do, for some weird reason. To me it felt as if the directors were saying Coraline wasn't strong enough to do it on her own, which to me felt a little sexist.

By cutting a lot out of the book, unfortunately the movie became more like a folk tale as opposed to what I felt it had been before, which was more of a gothic story with little elements of horror in it. By explaining things that were left unexplained in the book, they remove the story from the gothic genre.

In addition Coraline's character felt a little off and not completely like herself to me, because the movie character was sarcastically bored and unimaginative. As for the other characters–Miss Spink, Miss Forcible, and Mr. Bobo (renamed Mr. Bobinsky in the movie)–they all felt a little off to me, sadly. They didn't seem as if they could be real people as they had been portrayed in the book. It felt as if the directors had made them cartoonish for the movie, which wasn't necessary. Also, in my opinion they made the character of the Other Mother too powerful.

Also If you are an sensitive parent or child. I should warn you that there is a nude scene, but the scene is portraying the two paintings The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli and Ulysses and The Sirens by Herbert James Draper. However, you could argue that the directors could have chosen paintings with no nudity in them. I was okay with it, because they were portraying paintings of scenes from Greek Mythology.

Even if you don't like the movie, the soundtrack is really good, and I would recommend listening to it.

My rating: 

The movie was not as scary as the book. The directors did not portray the book well. I also felt they didn't need to add in a boy character. I gave the movie two stars for the music and the animation, but in itself Coraline (the movie version) is a bad portrayal of a good story. I added 1/2  star for the Shakespearian and Greek Mythology elements of the movie.

Spoiler-full review: 

My thoughts on things that were edited out of the movie and things that were added in: 

Sadly, they cut the rats' song in Coraline's dream out of the movie.  I had been listening to the beautifully eerie end-credits music, I assumed that the rats' song would in the movie. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. Thankfully I did find the Coraline broadway musical recording, which had a version of the song in it, which sounded suitably eerie:

Song of the Rats 

You can also listen to it here

The movie also replaced the evil rats, which were running around Coraline's house in both worlds in the book, with cute mice. The mice later turned out to be rats in disguise, but this confuses the story. The rats in the book were the initial clue that something was off with the other world, since the Other Mother treated them like pets.


(Image from wiki, https://coraline.fandom.com/wiki/Wyborn_Lovat?file=Wybie_Lovat.png)

The addition of Wybie created problems, because he added information which introduced gaping plot holes into the movie. For example, he said that his grandmother didn't rent out the Pink Castle to couples with children. So then why did she allow Coraline and her parents to live there?
Also I was annoyed about the whole Wybie "stalker" plot, which wasn't even part of the original story. Unlike the addition of Tauriel in The Hobbit, I felt that Wybie's addition to the story was unnecessary and annoying since he, as opposed to Coraline, defeated the Other Mother in the end (even if Coraline helped a little). It felt like the directors were saying the lead female character couldn't defeat the Other Mother on her own and needed a male character's help to do so. In the book Coraline set up a doll tea party around the well, and caught the Other Mother's hand in the well. In the movie this scene was replaced with an action packed fight scene between Coraline, Wybie and the Other Mother's hand where Wybie does most of the work. Also, I did not like that the stalking narrative thread with Wybie was romanticizing stalking. In the movie Coraline said, "thank you for stalking me" after Wybie rescued her. This felt wrong to me for the directors to do that, since I don't want anyone to think stalking is a good thing, or that a stalker can rescue them from something dangerous, because a stalker is themselves dangerous.

(Image from Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/coraline#&gid=1&pid=h-32137) 

I was not particularly fond of Coraline's attitude in the movie or her blue hair. In the book she felt less like a rebelling teenager or troubled child, and more like a child who wanted her parents attention and was sad that she had lost it, because her parents were busy. The scene where Coraline walks around the new house is both in the book and the movie. I was annoyed and thought it could have portrayed  a little better in the movie, though I did like when she accidentally pressed a light switch that said "don't push."

The directors also modified the scene where the ghost children got there souls back. They called them "eyes" for some reason in the movie, which doesn't make sense because if they are eyes why is there only one of them?

(Image from wiki, https://coraline.fandom.com/wiki/Wyborn_Lovat?file=EE024AAC-E8AF-4AFD-934D-67A177DAC44E.jpeg)

Despite this change, all of the ghost children are shown to be wearing halos and wings, instead of the picnic scene in the book where Coraline is eating with them. The book does not tell where exactly the ghost children are going, however, in the movie they make it clear that it is Heaven. I believe the book left this purposefully ambiguous, but you are supposed to assume it is the Afterlife (without specifying a religion). The book version, I feel is nicer for readers in general.

Creating doll spies in the movie, I felt was really unnecessary. In the book and the movie the Other Mother had the rats to spy on Coraline, so why does she need dolls? The"evil dolls" were never a part of the original. This is a significant change, because in the book Coraline used dolls to defeat the Other Mother with her doll tea party.

(Image from Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/coraline#&gid=1&pid=h-25517)


In the movie Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are creepily flat. They felt like sweet old ladies in the book, and in the movie they didn't have much that was human about them. For example, adding the taxidermy dogs dressed in angel costumes was depressing and didn't have to happen in the movie. This change was taken a step further when one of the movie characters' still living dogs almost dies and they sew an angel costume for him in preparation. In the book the dog was simply injured by the Other Mother's hand and went to the vet for it. Miss Forcible and Miss Spink were worried about their dog, but were not saying "oh well, he might die" and planning to stuff him. To let readers and movie watchers know, the dogs in both versions survive.


(Image from Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/coraline#&gid=1&pid=h-30699) 

The movie also made "the old man upstairs" a little too cartoony in character. He was very flat and didn't feel as if he could be a real human. He was eccentric in the book, but in the movie they take it way too far, after all he was doing acrobats on the roof!  And I don't think his cartoonish feel had to do with the animation, an animated character can be realistic, even if they are hand-drawn or made out of clay.

In the book Coraline crosses into the other world despite the warnings. In the movie Coraline is given the warnings way too late, since she had already gone through the door. Why warn her about not going through the door when she already had?

The Other Mother was given way too much power in the movie, since she could shape-shift into Coraline's mother without button eyes. In the book she could only turn into Coraline's mother with button eyes or mimic her voice. Because of this flaw, it would be hard to tell if Coraline on her own could have defeated the Other Mother in the movie version. Where as in the book, it's easy to tell that Coraline defeated her and due to the Other Mother's weaknesses, we, as the reader, have hope that Coraline can do it.

The movie also made the challenge of finding her parents much more complicated.  Coraline's mantel (the real mantel, that is) in the book version did not have snow globes on it, only the Other Mother's house had a mantel with one single snow globe on it. By having many snow globes in the movie, it makes it less clear how Coraline would have been able to guess so easily where her parents were. And therefore, it adds to the difficulty for her to defeat the Other Mother on her own.

There's so much the movie got wrong, that it's really hard to include all of it in one single blog post. One significant detail that was changed, was the way in which Coraline's parents left the snow globe, which I think fundamentally changes the gothic feel of the story. In the book Coraline's parents suddenly reappear when she is asleep, there wasn't any snow on them and Coraline wakes up and begins to believe she had been dreaming. This leads the reader to suspect for a minute that Coraline's adventure could have all been a dream...but the Other Mother's hand showing up later in the book reveals that it was not. In the movie, her parents leave the snow globe immediately when Coraline is still awake, and she tells them there is still snow on them, which they don't seem to notice. This seemingly small plot change removes the mystery from the book.

My final comment on the movie's flaws, is about the ending "scene." It just didn't quite make sense. I thought at first the image was of the mice (aka rats) putting the Other Mother's hand back together implying that the directors would make a sequel or that the Other Mother was not fully defeated. As a reader of the book, who enjoyed the satisfying ending, that would make you feel rather depressed. But I wasn't really sure what the movie's intent was? Instead, I think it would have been nice to see the real mouse circus (that was in the book) as opposed to an ending scene that didn't make sense.

Things I liked: 

One thing I liked was the soundtrack it was really beautifully eerie. I had listened to it before I watched the movie, which had made my expectations for it rather high. I was hoping that the movie story would match up with the soundtrack...but unfortunately it didn't.

I liked the animation. I was looking forward to watching it, but unfortunately they didn't use it to convey an eerie feeling of the book or the soundtrack.

I especially liked the animation and characteristics of the dogs. I wished they had focused on the dog characters (both the other world and real world dogs) more, without the whole "is the dog going to die?" portion of the movie that they made even more stressful than it was in the book. I wish they had made Miss Spink and Miss Forcible walk their dogs like they had in the book, and had Coraline talk to the dogs in the theatre in the other world more, as she did in the book. But I did like that the dog kept the angel costume in the end and was alright, it was kind of cute!

Another thing I liked was that there were a few Shakespearian elements to the movie, such as Miss Spink's and Miss Forcible's posters on their walls of the past plays they had done. There were also posters and other references to the local Shakespeare festival in Coraline's town. Even the boy in the uniform store shouted "...my kingdom for a horse!" (Quoted from a scene from Richard the Third.)

I actually liked the scene where reviewers warned there was nudity. I know there have been complaints about this scene. (I researched a little before watching the movie, you see.) But the  reason I liked it was because they were mimicking two paintings the Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli and Ulysses and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper. The scenery they created for that scene reminded me a little of an opera in a way. However, I understand parents' concerns, since some parents don't want their children to see nude paintings or nude people.

I also liked the other world's garden scene actually. I felt that the animation in it was pretty cool (but perhaps a little too light hearted for the other world) and the fact that a portrait of Coraline showed up in the garden was pretty neat. And the real garden scene, where Coraline and her neighbors are planting flowers felt nice. It showed that her relationship changed with her parents and her neighbors. Coraline befriending her neighbors in the book happened in a more subtle way, but the movie's version was a good change.

And despite all the huge changes to the story, I felt as if the cat remained the same. Though some of the cat's lines were cut for some reason probably for time, I liked the cat's character.

*End of spoilers* 
I rate it: 

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Have you read the book Coraline, if so did you like the movie as well as the book? Do you think it portrayed the story well or not? 

-Quinley

P.S. Despite the fact that the fact that they didn't do Coraline accurately. There is one Neil Gaiman book that a different director did well:

(Screen shot taken from Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/good_omens/s01)


Thursday, July 4, 2019

Independence Day Drawings



Happy 4th of July (Or Independence Day) to everyone in America!

To celebrate, here are some drawings I drew. I decided to draw some of the historical figures from the American Revolutionary War. Considering that I only had paintings and engravings to work with, this was somewhat difficult. (But, I will be including links to the references that I used for the portraits)

This is actually the second drawing I drew, but I like the way it turned out.  I think I succeeded in making his facial expression somewhat serious. (The reference I used to draw it was this portrait of George Washington .) 


I decided that I would draw Deborah Sampson when she is in disguise. I used the same reference here as I did for the one at the very bottom of the drawings. 
In every book I've read, the Patriot uniform she is wearing, is shown as mainly blue, along with different colors, sometimes red, sometimes brown. This is of course referring to the uniform color, not the first Continental Army's clothes, where everyone just wore their normal clothes.
I used this reference to draw Phillis Wheatley,
I like how this turned out.  Even though she didn't fight in the war, I felt it was necessary to include her in this post.






This drawing isn't a drawing of any particular historical figure. It's a drawing of a modern girl wearing a Fourth of July themed outfit. I rather liked how it turned out, especially drawing the sparkler. 

This is the first drawing I drew of Deborah Sampson. This is The engraving that I used as a reference for my drawing. This isn't my favorite since I prefer the second drawing (above), since I think it turned out better. Plus I like that in the second she is in uniform as opposed to wearing women's clothes. 


But if you don't celebrate Fourth of July (because you live in Ireland, or China, or somewhere else),
here are some drawings that are unrelated to Fourth of July:
This is a drawing of my character, Riona "Fire." She can shape-shift back and forth between a phoenix and a human. I like how this drawing turned out, and I like her facial expression. 

I like the way this drawing turned out. 

This is a drawing of an elf character who I haven't fully figured out yet, 
but I like how it turned out because I tried to make it look as if she was lying down on the grass. 


This character doesn't have a name yet, but she is a sorceress. 

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Which drawing is your favorite? And do you have a favorite historical figure? 

-Quinley



Sunday, June 16, 2019

Introducing Some Characters: Fathers


Hello everyone and happy Father's Day,
It seems like in most fantasy stories both parents are either dead or are just never mentioned.
So, I thought for Father's Day I would make a post containing fathers of fictional characters, not necessarily the fathers of characters from my most recent projects, but father characters I came up for my other characters:


                                            Sycamore
He is the father of Elm, and is a dryad who possesses nature magic. 
Wherever he walks plants grow, and birds and other animals come out of hiding. 

He is a very calm person, and doesn't really fight, unless he has to. 
And when he does fight, he ties his enemies up in vines or has animals tackle them. 


Ferdinand

He is the father of Arnia.
He is a sorcerer who keeps the blue jewel safe. He was given this duty a long time ago 
and has persisted in it since.  Over the years people have tried to steal it, 
so they can figure out how to use the jewel's abilities. Only one knows how to use it 
but the one hasn't come yet...or so he thinks.  
Ardan
He is the father of Riona. 
He trains and breeds phoenixes for a living in the green hills of Ireland. 
His daughter went on a quest years ago, but hasn't returned. 
He isn't sure if something happened on the quest that caused her not to be able to return 
or whether she is still on the quest. 

----------------------------------------------------
Which character is your favorite? 

-Quinley 

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Stories I am working on This May



Hello everyone,
I wanted to give you an update on The Silver Key (which I might make a blog post about soon), I reached my goal of 12,000 words:
(Image downloaded from Camp NaNoWrimo's winner page.) 
Every month I rotate which novel I am writing (going back and forth between The Silver Key and The Mystery of the Body Thief), so I thought I would share what I am working on this May: 



The Mystery of the Body Thief: Annabelle's Return  
Just like Charles Dickens labels the parts in his stories, I am labeling mine, and calling it 
Annabelle's Return because... 
I finally got to the point in my story where Annabelle is awake!
She has lost her memory unfortunately, and she converted back to what she was like in book one. She is not willing to take risks, and sadly is acting like a "damsel in distress." However, that doesn't mean when she regains her memories she won't start taking risks and solving mysteries again.

New songs that remind me of the novel:

The Beauteous Maiden by Derek and Brandon Fiechter (with vocals) 

You can also listen to it here
This song I could imagine playing in the background when Annabelle wakes up. 


All Our Yesterdays by Blackmore's Night 

You can also listen to it here
                                  I think this is a perfect celebration song.

Nothin' New - Kalie Shorr

You can also listen to it here
I can't exactly say what part of the story this reminds me of, because of spoilers, 
but it does have to deal with something rather large that is going to happen in the romance portion of the plot. 



Blue and Gold (I don't know if this is the real title or not yet) 

The inspiration for this story was Gulliver's Travels, which I am still reading. It had a huge impact on this novella, though it doesn't follow the exact same plot. My characters are travelling by boat, but instead of having islands represent dystopias, there is a sort of hidden dystopia that will be revealed in my novella.

All I can say at the moment is that these songs remind me of my novella:

                                           Fight Like a Girl - Kalie Shorr 

You can also listen to it here
**warning slightly strong language: usage of the word d*** *** 
I can't say what part of the story this reminds me of because of possible spoilers, 
but it reminds me of (I can say this without spoiling it) something the protagonists might like. 
Hero by Heather Dale 


You can also listen to it here
This song really reminds me of the protagonist's motive. 

Fight Like a Girl written and performed by Kalie Shorr, Hailey Steele, and Lena Stone
 
You can listen to it here
**warning slightly strong language: usage of the word d*** *** 
I love that this song has many singers singing it, 
and I could imagine the protagonists singing this as a group. 

Plotting The Silver Key
Even though I am not currently writing The Silver Key I have been plotting it out and working on the world building (which includes working on the mythology for it) and character development which so far has been successful. 
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What stories/novels/novellas are you working on this May?
Do you have any songs that remind you of your stories? 

-Quinley 

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Mother's Day Drawings


Happy Mother's Day everyone! To celebrate I am posting some of my Mother's Day themed drawings:


Though Phoenix doesn't know who his mother is (and the readers don't know yet either), 
I thought I would include this drawing of her, so you could get an idea of what she is like 
(even if you don't know who she is exactly).

This is a drawing of Elm's mother. I like this one, because compared to the others, there is a background. 

This is Annabelle's mother. You may not know her yet, since she hasn't really shown up in the books to this point. But I enjoyed drawing her. 

Here are Tess and her mother (Gletta). I imagine that her mother would teach her the art of 
swordplay after her adventure. 
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Before I leave you a question for the comments section, I have one final thought to say, which is that I have been trying to find a way for my characters to continue going on adventures after they are married and have children (since I know they probably will get married at some point in the series). So... 
Which drawing is your favorite? 
And, have you seen any examples of married couples in fiction who still go on adventures or missions?  

-Quinley 



Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Announcing my April Project: The Silver Key (+ part two of my Plotting Progress)





Hi everyone, before you begin, I should say it's necessary to read part one of this post before continuing reading this one, because there are some things I said in the previous one that may not mentioned in this one.

Synopsis- 
(I figured out a little bit more of the plot than I did last post.)


At the age of twenty every young man and woman finds out what they were in a past incarnation.

Phoenix has reached that age and went to the record keeper's building, where he received his scroll, 
and a silver key. The key seems to have a mysterious feel to it, he just can't place it. 

At the same time, however, Princess Ashalena has to deal with a problem. A loyal servant of her parents' has been found turned completely to stone, and she doesn't know who or what did it. 
And most of all, why would they do it? 

The characters- 

                                           Phoenix
Phoenix is an orphan who writes poetry and short stories. 
He has a dislike for love poems and romance novels -- he just can't stand them. 



                           Princess Ashalena 


Despite the fact that she will rule a kingdom one day, Princess Ashalena passes her time drawing, since it helps her calm her nerves.


                                 Silverling  
Silverling is a fairy, who I can't say much about without accidentally spoiling the story.
She will show up in the Silver Key...sometime.

(My currently unnamed character)


Though I do not know her name yet, I have a feeling it will come out when I am writing the story.
She is a trained martial artist, and hopes she can use her skill to help people.

(My other currently unnamed character)
I also have a feeling I will find out his name later. 
In a way he is a comic relief character, 
because he hums theme songs that he makes up for the other characters. And he hums them at the worst possible times. 


The world- 


The world has grown since I last posted,
currently there are many creatures other than humans. However, I haven't figured out all of them yet...
                                                   Creatures: 
                                                                  Humanoids- 
                                                        Humans
                                                     Shape-shifters*

                                                     

                                                                       Fairies

(Fairies' real forms are unknown, and they are known to be seen
in multiple ways by many different mortals. The drawing above is one
of the many forms in which a mortal may see a fairy.)

                                                     Mermaids and Mermen

                                                                        Sirens

                                                                 Demigods
                                                                         Non-Humanoids- 
                                                             Phoenixes**

*As well as human shape-shifters there are also animal shape-shifters in this world. In a way all shape-shifters fit into both the humanoid and the non-humanoid category, but the shape-shifters that are born in human form fit into the humanoid category, because the human form is their true form.
** Phoenixes kind of had to exist in this world, because I had to explain why phoenix was Phoenix's name. Plus phoenixes are awesome so why not have them?


And as I said before there are 32 hours in a day which makes the world run a on 16 clock:
(The reason the numbers are moving is that this clock has entered the fairy realm.
Most of the clocks don't act that way unless that happens.) 

                                     The fairy realm 

(Unlike the rest of the fairy realm, the purple object in the distance never seems to change.
It remains the same for everyone who enters the realm and no one knows why.) 


The fairy realm is connected to the world, but very few people can reach it. Some are said to have accessed it through dreams.
If you do manage to get into it, you will find it is quite whimsical, and that the fairy realm will be different for each person.
No one exactly knows what fairies actually look like, all they know is what they have seen themselves.


Story soundtrack 

Last time I posted songs that were part of the story soundtrack, but I didn't post the playlist because I didn't feel like it was ready. Now I feel that it is ready, so enjoy:
The Silver Key (story soundtrack) 

                                                               You can also listen to it here 
**A warning for I Hate Love Songs: slightly strong language (usage of the word "H---"), so if you are uncomfortable with it you can skip that song** 






Since I decided that I would be combining two posts together, I'll get to the plotting progress part of it....

More of my character's Casting Choices  
With this novel, I feel as if casting is in the air, since my characters seem to be a little (over) obsessed with casting actors to play them, or at least to look like them, so...
here are some of my character's most recent casting choices...

                      Gates McFadden as Silverling 
(original un-cropped Image from Wiki, https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Beverly_Crusher?file=Crusher_and_Picard_imprisoned.jpg) 
So, despite Silverling being a relatively new character, she seems to have already made up her mind  about who looks like her and she immediately chose Gates McFadden.
(Gates McFadden has acted in Star Trek: Next Generation, and in several other films and movies. She also choreographed the dancing for Jim Henson's Labyrinth.)


                                      David Tristian Birkin as young Phoenix 
(images from wiki, https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/David_Tristan_Birkin?file=Jean-Luc_Picard%2C_age_12.jpg,
and https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Newton_Scamander?file=Newt_with_Grindelwald.jpg) 
No, Phoenix did not change actors on me! The actor Phoenix chose this time is no longer a child, so Phoenix is using that actor's younger self. As you can see from the picture both Eddie Redmayne and David Birkin look pretty similar, but I went along with it, since my characters seem to be controlling the story more than I am.

(David Tristian Birkin has guest starred in the Star Trek episode "Rascals" as a twelve year old Jean Luc Picard, and acted in a film adaptation of Les Misérables.)

More gods and goddesses- 
This is continued from my previous post, so I will not be including the same goddesses and gods again. I will be mentioning what inspired me from Norse, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology at the end of each of the descriptions of the gods and goddesses. However, I have not figured out the characters' god and goddess names yet, so I will be referring to them as the god or goddess of whatever they represent.



                                                             The god of comedy 
God of comedy in plays, literature, and songs, etc. 
Both the goddess of tragedy and the god of comedy were born at the same time. 
He rejoices in making mortals (and gods alike) laugh, and loves helping mortals craft their 
plays, songs, and stories.  
(He was inspired by Thaila the god of pastoral poetry and comedy from Greek mythology.) 


The goddess of music 

Goddess of songwriting and singing. 
The deity who is favored by singers and songwriters.

(Inspired by Apollo and the Nine Muses from Greek Mythology) 



                               The goddess of tragedy  

                               
Goddess of tragedies in plays, literature, 
songs, etc. 
She is the exact opposite of her twin brother in many ways, but is willing to join with him for a comedic tragedy, when one is needed.  
The words that she inspires are about tragedy, and she delights in seeing a mortal do a tragic ballad, story, or play. 

(Inspired by Melpomene the muse of Tragedy.) 



(I have not figured out what to call them yet...)



They are the four gods that decide how a mortal's life will play out. 
The first of them sculpts and creates the bodies of all animals and creatures. 
Two of them, a twin brother and sister, write out the lives of mortals, one of them writes the beginning the other writes the end. 
And the last one combines all of the things they did, and breathes the soul into the body, 
and sends them to the stage of life. 

(Inspired by the Fates (from Greek Mythology) and the Norns (from Norse Mythology) 
and inspired by the gods and goddesses from Hinduism or Buddhism) 


Other Gods and Goddesses
I also recently started working on another culture's mythology for my fictional world. 
It's for the race of shape-shifters, who are around nature enough that I thought they would see their gods and goddesses as half human/half animal (like the Egyptian gods from Egyptian mythology).
Here are the ones I have so far (they don't have names so I will be referring to them as the animal they look like): 

The white stag


Creator of the world, and the animals and creatures in it.

The first god to ever exist, and out of loneliness created the earth, 
the forests and the people and creatures in it.  

Also, while doing that she made the other gods as well. 


The Rabbit 
Goddess of love, marriage, and natural beauty

She is a very gentle goddess, who loves seeing people 
happily in love. She also loves seeing mortals with natural beauty, 
and not forced "beauty."

The Peacock 

Goddess of vanity, and narcissism and unnatural beauty.
She is sister to the goddess of love, but is the opposite kind of love or beauty. 
She represents narcissism, unnatural beauty, and the vanity that some people
are prone to show. 

The Butterfly 
Giver and creator of reincarnation 

She noticed while flying in butterfly form through the world, 
that mortals lives were so short and they never got to finish what they wanted to do. 
 So, with a little talking to the white stag, 
she was granted permission to find a way to fix it without making the mortals immortal. 

She came up with a solution which was reincarnation. It didn't make the mortals live forever, 
but allowed them to fix mistakes they had made before, and finish what they wanted to finish. 


And a question for Phoenix: 

And since I most recently got a comment from another blogger in the comments section for part 1, I thought I would allow Phoenix to answer it...since it was directed at him (I should mention that Phoenix thinks people from our realm are fairies.):

Phoenix: "The reason why I don't like food is-- "
Another character interrupts and causally takes food from Phoenix's plate. 
Phoenix: "Hey!" 
Other character: "You just said you didn't like food, so I thought it was alright 
to take the food from your plate--" 
Phoenix: "No, it is not!" 
Other character: "So you like food?" 
Phoenix: "No, of course not, anyway, stop eating my food, please." 
Other Character: "You said you didn't like food...but I'll stop." 
Phoenix: "Thank you, anyway as I was saying, I do not like food, but I like some foods, such as the ones you were eating! But, food is rather difficult to chew--" 
Other character: "I disagree." 
Phoenix: "For me, it is. Alright fine, if you aren't going to allow me to answer this question, I'll...go answer it somewhere else." 
Phoenix walks away from the table and leaves the room, and closes the door behind him. 
Phoenix: "Thank goodness, now I can answer this question in peace." 
Decides to read the question five different ways before answering again...
Phoenix: "As I was saying before, food is difficult for me...to chew. 
And the eating of food, is difficult and not enjoyable, unlike what other people think...
I still don't know why they enjoy eating it. But there really is a deeper reason to this..." (side note: the reason is not a spoiler but merely a fact about Phoenix) "I was sick when I was younger, from a disease of sorts, and no one knew what exactly it was, even I don't know, the disease only went away after a long while. It involved lots of vomiting, and a few other symptoms as well...but the vomiting made it difficult to eat food. Hence why....I don't like it. 
I hope that answers your question, fairy of the other realm." 

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Are you excited for April's Camp NaNoWrimo? 
Does one of your characters share the same distaste for food that Phoenix does?
Oh, and feel free to ask one of my characters a question in the comments. ;) 
-Quinley 


Sunday, March 17, 2019

Introducing Some Characters: Saint Patrick's Day Themed Characters




Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone! 
To celebrate I made some Irish characters, who I thought I would share with you today. 
Also feel free to listen to this while reading the post: 

The Fox hunter By Celtic Woman 

You can also listen to it here 

Let's begin: 

Bébinn

She is a warrior, who has managed to take over other clans' castles, and is feared and is known as "the red haired warrior" or "the fiery warrior." 
Despite her warrior ways, she does have a soft side, and would never harm any animal in a battle. 
She has in fact taken a fancy to having animals in her castle (and the castles she has taken over). 

Finnegan 

Finnegan is a shepherd. When he is not 
protecting the sheep from wolves, and other problems, 
he is playing his flute, which was given to him by a fairy. 
He hasn't exactly figured out what powers it possesses, 
but he has a feeling he may find out soon.  

In his free time, he writes ballads for his sheep to listen to, 
though he isn't exactly sure whether they like it or not. 

Nettle 

Despite her name, Nettle is actually a nice fairy. 
She was the fairy who gave Finnegan the flute, 
though he doesn't remember. He has a vague that a fairy was involved, but
not much else. She isn't willing to reveal what the flute's magic is, 
but she can say this, it might protect Finnegan in some way in the near future. 

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Which character is your favorite? And what's your favorite thing about Saint Patrick's Day? 

Love, 
Quinley