#fictional setting

First Map

Central Oregon between Corvalis, Mt Hood, La Grande, Bly, and Medford.  Implied to be Bend, Oregon, home of the world’s last remaining Blockbuster Video (weird).  The Mystery Shack is based on the Oregon Vortex, located in Gold Hill, southwest Oregon

Second Map

Eastern Oregon, closer to Idaho, somewhere between Burns and Canyon City

Third Map

Northern Oregon, right on the Oregon-Washington border near Hermiston.  I think the dots on this map were randomly placed, but it would have been a nice easter egg if the strange phenomena corresponded to location from sci-fi and horror movies.  I notice a cluster in New Mexico, but it’s not centered on Roswell like I thought it would be (Roswell is further south)

No matter where it’s supposed to be, it comes with an unfortunate implication:

Every presidential election since 2000.

Gravity Falls is deep in Republican territory.

The USA guy?  He’s definitely MAGA.

Free Pizza Guy?  QAnon troll.

Gideon’s whole revival tent schtick reeks of the Southern Baptist Convention, with just a hint of Mormonism to give it that western flair.

.

(Name) walks in, ready to sit down and have an ice cream or something as a reward for a successful adventure- only to pause and stare at the familiar individual that seems to run this establishment... Lore(?).

Nothing seemed much different about him, aside from the new shirt... but he was holding an infant wrapped in a blanket in one arm and pouring drinks with the other.

(Name) grins and leans on the counter. "And when did you become a papa Lore?" He/She wonders, trying to see the child's face. Lore huffs and slides the drinks to the waiting customers. "(Name). I've adopted children before in my long life." He starts, then gestures to the child. "This little one is not one of them."

(Name) frowns in confusion. "Then... where's the parents?"

Lore shrugs and starts to get back to work, luckily today was a slow day. "Beats me, the mama shoved him into my arms and disappeared up stairs. Personally I don't understand how she just expects a stranger to watch the kid. My dad would've rather cut his good hand off than just... LEAVE me with somebody, though to be fair he was understandably cautious-" Lore shakes his head as (Name) eyes the stairs. "Anyway... your usual, young one?" Lore tilts his head.

(Name) hums in affirmation, finally sitting in one of the barstools. "They're gonna come back for the kid right?" he/she wonders out loud.

You have a couple options here. First, if you’re uncomfortable with the setting you’ve chosen, you can always change it. That’s perfectly fine. Because your setting is a fictional town in Maine, you have a bit more creative license than you would if the setting was Portland. You can set up the town how you want to, though I highly encourage you to find a map of Maine and pick a general spot in the state where the town is located; it will help establish the realism of the town, and if any other locations (especially in Maine) are mentioned, you will know approximately how far away the town is.

Research is ALWAYS good, and it sounds like you’ve started to research living in Maine, which is excellent. If you’re having trouble imagining life in Maine, try to find some blogs or vlogs about Maine or written/recorded by someone from Maine. Tour videos of tourist spots and beautiful locations often help me. Like in all seriousness, find someone’s blog or Youtube channel where they talk about their life in Maine; I think it will help you get a bit immersed in the feeling of the state.

Edit: Forgive me! I had Massachusetts on the mind and completely mixed up the two! I’ll remember to proofcheck myself next time! That being said, aside from my incorrect notes on Cape Cod, a lot of what I said still stands, mainly weatherwise (Warmer summers, fairly cold winters), and I still encourage you to research more :) Unless you actually move to Maine, you may feel that you don’t understand what it would be like to live there, which is fine, especially if your town is fictional. You have the power to write what the town is going to be like, where it will be located, etc. 

Hello Tumblr! My name is Raven and I’m a struggling college student. How can you help you may ask? No, it’s not money! It’s data. 

I’m currently conducting a questionnaire which takes place in the form of a step by step roleplay adventure. It’s pretty simple. You create a fictional character and go through a fantasy setting and then go through a modern adventure as yourself. 

I cannot stress how much I need data right now and I would greatly appreciate if you would help me, even if it’s just a reblog to send this on it’s merry way.  Any personal information given (i.e: name at the beginning for the consent form) is immediately discarded. I am only looking at the meat of the questionnaire. 

If you would like to help me, the link to my questionnaire is HERE! It’ll take you roughly five minutes max and it would be super helpful! If you would like to know my thesis or the results after the data is compiled either message me via my blog, or drop your email address in the waiver signature. 

From Wikipedia:

Slovotia (/sloʊˈvoʊʃə/, sloh-VOH-shə; Slovot: Slovotská [slɔˈʋɔːtskaː]) [10], officially the Second Republic of Slovotia (Slovot: Druja Republika Slovotská) is a landlocked country located in Central Europe [13][14]. It is bordered by Austria to the west, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, and Slovenia to the south. It’s territory covers 35,000 square kilometers (13,500 square miles) [citation needed] of mountainous terrain, and has a population of 3.8 million, consisting mostly of Slovots.  The capital and largest city is Grasda.  The official language is Slovot.

Capital (and largest city)

Grasda (47° 6' 36.6732" N, 15° 46' 51.3978" E)

Official language

Slovot

Ethnic groups

81.9% Slovots

4.4% Hungarians

3.7% Austrians

1.9% other

8.1% unspecified

Demonym

Slovot

Government

Unitary parliamentary republic

Legislature

Upper House: National Council

Lower House: National Assembly

Religion

76.9% Christianity

15.8% Irreligious

7.3% other

Population

2020 estimate: 3,776,894

2006 census:   3,689,057

GDP

Total: $97.5 billion

Per capita: $25,815

Establishment

Kingdom of Austria (1804 - 1867)

Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867 - 1918)

First Slovot Republic (1918 - 1939)

Nazi occupied Slovotia (1939 - 1945)

Soviet occupied Slovotia (Sep 1945 - Mar 1946)

People’s Democratic Republic of Slovotia (1946 - 1991)

Current constitution (1991 - present)

Joined the European Union (May 1, 2004)

Anthem

Ieden Liuda, Naš Slovotská (English: “One People, Our Slovotia”)

Generic European country for use in stories set in the 20th century, based primarily on Slovenia and Slovakia, but inspired by Yugoslavia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary.  Occupied by the Nazis during World War II and “liberated” by the Soviets in 1946, Slovotia is noteworthy as “the Seam of the Iron Curtain,” allowing travel from the Eastern Bloc into neutral Austria (in secret, of course).  The barrier between Austria and Slovotia is a stand in for the Berlin Wall.

Just a classic Ruritania, anything you need it to be.  Based on its location, it would exclusively use the Latin script, but feel free to throw in some Cyrillic to make it even more foreign to your English speaking audiences.