Dreams Are Cheap

Me, knowing fully well how much it sucks to have your passions invalidated and how cool it is to rant about something you love:

“The nonbinary pronoun ‘they’ has been added to the dictionary.” - x  

bullet points: the only thing you write is bullet point fic. or short fic. it’s good writing, it’s just never as long as you want it to be. you envy those who can write 50k epics at the drop of a hat. and they, in turn, envy you.

WIP Central: you last completed a fic in 2009. your folders are full of nameless fics crying out for attention. you cannot open them without a surge of guilt. in spite of this, you open another document, and begin another fic.

word counter broke: this one, you tell yourself, will be a measly 2k. it is not. you watch in creeping horror as the counter climbs first to 5k, then to 11k. you still have six major plot points left to go. the fic is expected to clock at 23k but knowing you, will reach 50k. you have a sequel planned. there is no end in sight.

The goddess blinked. In three thousand years, she had been so mortified before a hero only twice before… and then, one had cried and one had lost faith in her upon the moment. This one, new as she was, didn’t even seem troubled. “All the gods know,” she said slowly. “My last champion’s fall was… widely known.” 

“I see.” The young woman knelt and examined the floor. “I see three, perhaps four distinct footprints,” she said, sitting back on her heels and looking up at her goddess. “And it would have taken at least one large cart or two smaller ones to move it all. I think I can track them, but I’ll be outnumbered. I don’t suppose you have any *other* caches of magical weapons?” 

“No.” The goddess felt her throat tighten. “This was a collection that took millennia to build. All I have left is these.” She held out the knitting-needles she’d clutched, as the helpless old woman. “These are enchanted.” 

Dark brows rose. “Hm. To do what?” 

“They can knit anything.” It didn’t sound like enough of an explanation, and she gestured vaguely. “Well… anything that you can catch between them. The branches of a tree, the feathers of a bird, the hairs of a man’s head - even the dust of the roadside.”

“And what can one knit them into?” the young woman asked. 

“That depends on one’s own gifts,” the goddess answered, surprised again. She hadn’t expected this young woman, carrying the bow and knife of a forester, with her sun-darkened brown skin and sun-faded hair, to take much interest in magic knitting needles. “Your will… and your imagination.” 

“Oh, I have those.” The young woman held out her hand for the knitting needles, and she did hold them as if she knew how to use them. “Thank you, my goddess. I’ll bring your treasures back, if I’m able.”

Want to create a religion for your fictional world? Here are some references and resources!

General:

General Folklore

Various Folktales

Heroes

Weather Folklore

Trees in Mythology

Animals in Mythology

Birds in Mythology

Flowers in Mythology

Fruit in Mythology

Plants in Mythology

Folktales from Around the World

Africa:

Egyptian Mythology

African Mythology

More African Mythology

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

The Gods of Africa

Even More African Mythology

West African Mythology

All About African Mythology

African Mythical Creatures

Gods and Goddesses

The Americas:

Aztec Mythology

Haitian Mythology

Inca Mythology

Maya Mythology

Native American Mythology

More Inca Mythology

More Native American Mythology

South American Mythical Creatures

North American Mythical Creatures

Aztec Gods and Goddesses

Asia:

Chinese Mythology

Hindu Mythology

Japanese Mythology

Korean Mythology

More Japanese Mythology

Chinese and Japanese Mythical Creatures

Indian Mythical Creatures

Chinese Gods and Goddesses

Hindu Gods and Goddesses

Korean Gods and Goddesses

Europe:

Basque Mythology

Celtic Mythology

Etruscan Mythology

Greek Mythology

Latvian Mythology

Norse Mythology

Roman Mythology

Arthurian Legends

Bestiary

Celtic Gods and Goddesses

Gods and Goddesses of the Celtic Lands

Finnish Mythology

Celtic Mythical Creatures

Gods and Goddesses

Middle East:

Islamic Mythology

Judaic Mythology

Mesopotamian Mythology

Persian Mythology

Middle Eastern Mythical Creatures

Oceania:

Aboriginal Mythology

Polynesian Mythology

More Polynesian Mythology

Mythology of the Polynesian Islands

Melanesian Mythology

Massive Polynesian Mythology Post

Maori Mythical Creatures

Hawaiian Gods and Goddesses

Hawaiian Goddesses

Gods and Goddesses

Creating a Fantasy Religion:

Creating Part 1

Creating Part 2

Creating Part 3

Creating Part 4

Fantasy Religion Design Guide

Using Religion in Fantasy

Religion in Fantasy

Creating Fantasy Worlds

Beliefs in Fantasy

Some superstitions:

Africa:

Ancient Egypt: the Mythology

Egyptian Gods

Legendary Monsters of Africa

The Americas:

Aztec Mythology

Incan Mythology

Haitian Mythology

Mayan Mythology

Asia:

Chinese Mythology

Japanese Mythology

Korean Mythology

Hindu Mythology

Japanese Folklore and Mythology

Chinese Mythology

Europe:

Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology

The Olympians

Women in Greek Myths

Greek Mythology

More Greek Mythology

Even More Greek Mythology

Greek/Roman Mythology

Germanic Myths, Legends, and Sagas

Norse Mythology

The Muse

Creepy Irish Creatures

Irish Folklore

Norse Mythology

Arthurian Mythology

Celtic Mythology

Latvian Mythology

Norse Gods, Goddesses, and More

A Celtic Pantheon

Welsh Gods and Goddesses

Celtic Deities

Werewolf Legends from Germany

Welsh Deities

Celtic Gods and Goddesses

Oceanic:

Australian Mythology

Polynesian Mythology

General:

Ancient Myth and Magic

Massive List of Mythological Creatures

Mythical Creatures

Hairy Hominids

Cryptozoology

Mysterious Beings, Monsters, and Creatures

Amulets and Good Luck Charms A - Z

Modern Monsters

Myths and Legends

Folklore and Mythology (2)

More Links

Folklore, Myth, and Legend

Names of Gods and Goddesses

Basic Slavic Mythology from a Slavic website

12 cool Slavic Deities

Top 10 weird Slavic mythical creatures and a list of creatures from Slavic mythology

i remember my parents being really worried about me watching these sort of stuff but the characters aren’t demonic and evil as they seem? jack skellington is nice, just misguided, he never truly hurt anyone out of malice and sally is kind and a sweetheart, the addams are a very loving, happy family who’s just weird and love being creepy. but they never hurt anyone. they never set out to murder people, the outsiders are always out to get THEM arrested or something similar, while they just minded their own business and actually be? good neighbors?

06.01.2019

06.01.2019