Keni
roma★
JBB: An Artblog!
Three Goblin Art
Sade Olutola
taylor price
RMH
Sweet Seals For You, Always
occasionally subtle
pixel skylines
Kaledo Art
Cosmic Funnies
Peter Solarz
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
DEAR READER
$LAYYYTER
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
shark vs the universe
No title available
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
seen from Canada
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@flyinggoosestudios
An important message from Sen regarding what they witnessed in their country today, second-hand and in person
*inhales deeply*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
looking for voice actors!
Heres a link to my casting call club page, this project is a short oc animation, depicting the raid of one of my ocs villages. Im looking for a female voice for the main role of Nerith. This is an unpaid role because I am broke ❤️
https://www.castingcall.club/projects/oc-animation-va-needed
Hihihi. Question. Are Aurises like. Digital eyepieces? Do they also have earpieces to sllow audio or is it just sci fi tech stuff? Loving the pilot!!!
Hi, Jamie!
That's a great question. Aurises are actually digital earpieces ‒ hence the name (Latin for 'ear'). Think of them as really fancy Bluetooth headphones with an inbuilt AI that's connected to the mainframe of the entire colony. :)
Thanks for listening!
-Sen (she/they)
In case you guys are curious about other projects we've been doing, S and C both participated in @podcastjam this year!
Soup.
Soup.
Soup.
Soup.
Horror Podcast Open Call for a Black VA who can do the voice of an old woman / grandmother for some short lines. Jamaican and/or North American accent.
$50 CAD honorarium for a one time appearance! Reply with samples or through DM.
Deadline September 1 2024!
An audio drama podcast about the power of stories and storytelling, identity, hope and other people.
My next Audio Fiction I Love article is out!
@camlannpod by Ella Watts and @tincanaudio has been one of the most exciting shows to premiere in 2024, and I certainly hope we'll be getting more. It's a beautiful story with stellar acting and distinctive sound design and music that has made me weep and shout several times over.
Here's the description:
One day, every apocalypse happened at once. Follow three survivors and their dog as they try to understand what happened to the world, and build a home from the ashes. Camlann is a post-apocalyptic fantasy series about the necessity of hope for survival. Dai, Morgan, Perry and their noble wolfhound Gelert venture out into the Welsh countryside to escape the devastation that hordes of folkloric monsters have wrought among the cities. Not to mention the "Knights of the Round Table", a former university rugby team turned maniacal feudal lordship on the hunt for their Sir Peredur, and the witch Morgan Le Fay.
Read about it here.
You can also read my previous recommendations on my Medium.
I think one of the most fundamental plot failures I see across a lot of books is that the person chosen to solve a problem is not a person who it makes sense to choose to solve this problem.
This ends up being true for a lot of YA books where the teenager is the chosen solution to a problem because they need to be for plot reasons, but there is no actual logical reason why anyone would be relying on them to solve this problem (or often even letting them get close to this problem). No, this kid can't work for the FBI or the Secret Service. No, this twelve-year-old won't be a more accomplished soldier than a fully-trained servicemember. No, this kid isn't allowed to practice medicine.
And you can work around this by presenting a reason for them to be involved despite being less qualified--usually that they put themselves in a situation, despite the adults around them, but also that there is something else that makes them suited to a job/role despite their other lack of qualifications (we need someone who can blend in, etc.).
But it's also true for a lot of adult books. I'm reading a book where the ER doctor/medical professor First Gentleman is going to lead the response to a plane full of people who potentially have Marburg virus, and even ignoring the fact that he wouldn't be allowed within a thousand feet of that plane by the Secret Service, that also fundamentally just does not make sense with how U.S. pandemic and quarantine response work (or even how medicine works--an ER doctor is generally not an infecious disease specialist). It's waved away for plot reasons--but it also represents a failure of the plot as a whole.
Why is your character the one who is trying to solve this problem? Is it their job? If it's not their job, what does it mean for the story for them to be trying to solve a problem that they aren't qualified for, may not have access to, and/or aren't allowed to deal with?
If your only answer is "it works because it needs to work for plot reasons" then it doesn't work at all.
This is a huge problem in Middle Grade - I just read a lovely book that would not have a plot if any of the adults actually acted like adults - but you've gotta play a wiggle room game when it comes to writing fiction for young people. A 12-year-old kid shouldn't be the one to defeat the dragon, but sometimes kids need books where someone their age is defeating dragons.
That said, "every adult in the room has the plot-stupids" does frequently stop a good book from being great. A YA power fantasy is fine, but if you can dig down and really nail home why this particular main character is the only one who can save the day, you wind up with something way better than a paint-by-the-numbers plot.
One of the great things with YA and MG is that "kids are nosy and want to try to fix things" is often a great way around this. You also can have stories where the adults are the problem, or you can have stories where there is something they need a kid for (because they're small, because you have to be under 18 to access something, because they're The Chosen One, etc.).
Another option that you can consider is that you can write stories where the main character isn't necessarily the only one who can save the day--they're just the only one who is saving the day. When I think about Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce, one of the main things about Kel is that she is determined to fix things to the point of hurting her, and so other people could (and sometimes do) fix things, but she's often the one fixing things because she's the one who says "i'm going to fix this" and then works until she does.
And sometimes the answer is that the kid is a bandaid. It can be "we have no other options so we're stuck with this kid." It can be "we need five people and the fifth person is a half-trained twelve-year-old so here we go I guess." It can be "our previous option died so I guess we're stuck with their apprentice."
What works the least well is when people who would be a better option (or who have access to a better option) go with the unqualified main character not because of a believable reason (they want them to fail, they're a scapegoat, they're a sacrifice, nepotism) but simply because the plot demands it happens.
We are delving into the spectrum of realistic and fantastic, in service of entertainment.
My take: if the plot is thrilling, if the characters are compelling, if the premise is intriguing, if the whole thing is entertaining, the audience will suspend disbelief.
Realism may not make a good story. Neither does dragging the character from beat to beat.
#this is one thing the young wizards books tackle well#because there IS in fact an in-universe explanation for why these wizards are so young#yes these are young kids being sent out to battle satan/the inventor of Death#in order to slow down the inevitable heat death of the universe#but the thing is: kids haven't learned the idea that that should be impossible yet#they don't have that doubt that adults have and the 'rationality' that wants to make things into complexity and shades of grey#in a way that inevitably makes doing magic more difficult#they can handle the raw power without getting burnt out by it#they say: sign me the heck up#and it's very specific in saying that a wizard is called to being a wizard for a reason#that the Ordeal they undergo is because there was a problem out there in the world and the Powers that Be in charge of the universe thought#there was a good chance they were the solution to it#because when you're fighting the inevitable end of all creation then you don't give out power willy nilly#like yeah maybe you're handing a ten year old the magical power equivalent of ten nukes but it's the RIGHT ten year old#the kind of a ten year old child who you ask hey you just got given near unlimited power over creation and the ability to travel in space#what are you gonna do with it#straightens their shoulders looks you in the eye and says Find Darth Vader. Kick His Ass.#yw meta#young wizards#also shit i just thought of something#okay that's gotta be another meta
Can't exactly respond to this, "Oh good, message received, my work here is done," and put my feet up. But at least I can go get some tea. :)
...While adding only that the emphasis in all these books lies in the characters (one or another of them) being willing to step up: and the only thing that makes them Chosen Ones is their choice to get involved. It's no accident that all through the series, choice—lower case or Capital C—is such an issue.
And this is possibly yet another way that the Young Wizards books are the godchildren of the Middle Kingdoms series. The characters in that older universe know—because it's information that the Creatress of their world has explicitly shared with them—that they are, singly and (very) jointly, weapons forged / being forged to a purpose; and they've consented to this. The YW books shift this setup from a statement to a question. What happens when the standard operating practices for wizardry require similar consent, but (in terms of the characters' stories) much earlier? And how do the complexities of such a situation unfold?
Ten-books-going-on-eleven later, new answers to the question continue turning up. (grin) Just my cross to bear.
Five collaborators make a podcast about teens, heroes and destiny in an actual play beta test with audio drama elements all in one.
My next Audio Fiction I Love article has arrived!
Champions of the Earth is a lushly sound designed actual play podcast and recorded beta test of a game that lets you play out your fantasies of becoming a sentai hero. Here’s the show description:
Part audio drama, part tabletop gaming livestream, Champions of the Earth is a Parsec-nominated biweekly podcast that blends the epic unpredictable storytelling of tabletop RPG shows like The Adventure Zone and Critical Role with the thematics of the golden age of teenage magical warrior shows like Voltron, Sailor Moon, and Power Rangers into a fully produced, original cinematic audio experience. Set in the fictional town of Beach Bay, CA, the show follows five disaster teenagers accidentally chosen to inherit power suits, animal mechas, and the responsibility to defend the earth from sinister forces – and all while trying to sort out their messy teen drama. Giant robotic kaiju, re-animated animal corpses, black government vans, and the looming threat of homecoming share the stage with personal crises like coming out of the closet and disappointing parents.
Read the article here.
You can read my previous articles on my Medium.
hey harlan guthrie what the fuck
Huh? Huh???
Yeah what the fuck
hey harlan guthrie what the fuck
Huh? Huh???
Jess Berson
Buckle up friends, this one's gonna suck. I don't like having to do this, but we need to talk about a member of the audio fiction community who is a bad actor. TW: Stalking, abuse, self-harm and extortion. Let's talk about Jess Berson, creator of Regina Prime
In October of last year, my business partner had a very brief involvement with Jess. Their entire relationship began and ended in less than a month. Jess then started to behave erratically and abusively. Posts altered to not name victims.
The real troubling behavior began almost immediately. Jess started lashing out at Joseph with threats and images of self harm she'd perpetuated on herself. This is a textbook case of domestic abuse.
When Joseph didn't respond the way she wanted, she escalated her behavior. She began sending harassing messages attached to PayPal donations, all the while claiming she didn't have the money for copays for her mental health visits.
When these were refunded and failed to have the intended effect, Jess further escalated. She sent a package to Joseph's former home with a vague threat against another creator in the community.
All the while, an email thread purpose built to harass people Jess had felt wronged her raged on. Jess has emailed as often as 2 dozen times a day, adding and removing people seemingly at random. This has been sent directly to people's bosses at networks as well.
Included in this email chain were messages that Jess had exchanged with Joseph's ex after Jess's abuse spilled out into the real world. Joseph's mother also began receiving odd and harassing phone calls and fake process servers showing up at her house around this time.
I'm certain that Jess will respond to this in some format with her own twisted version of events. We don't expect the abuse to stop by making this post, in fact we're sure it will get worse. That's not the point. The point is to save other people from being victimized. Jess has been engaging in abuse of SEVERAL members of the audio fiction community for at least seven months now. Her behavior has everyone in fear of what the next escalation may be. This is only our account of that abuse. Others have similar stories, I'm certain. Be forewarned.
We are one of the shows affected by this prolonged campaign of harassment, abuse, and stalking. We’re finally speaking up because something needs to be said. Please read and be forewarned about any future interactions you may have with Jess Berson
We stand firmly by our friends in all affected shows and offer our support to everyone involved.
i am normal and can be trusted with podcasts
I am not normal and @sarosenna sent me the first draft of a script yesterday and I read it three times even though it was late at night and oh my god I am so not normal about this. It's really happening AHSKALSLSLS.
...I can be trusted with podcasts.
We're sure people can verify this.
Emergency casting call!!!! In order to get episode 6 out in time we need to recast a recurring character! The actor couldn’t participate in the project! It’s a male character however a masculine voice is not required! Please message me with your audition on discord my account is TheOfficialMoriarty we need 2 minutes of lines within the next 4 days after you are cast!!!!! Please have a relatively ok mic it doesn’t have to be amazing
Philippe Wolfers Art Nouveau peacock pendant
Casting Call Update
Hello, all!
Our apologies for intermittent posting. We're all very busy these days, trying to fulfil the demands of capitalism and/or academia. As per our motto, FGS truly is held together by gaffer tape, heart and the power of friendship.
It's for this reason we put our casting call so far into the future. That being said, past Sunday was the deadline of our casting call, and we are overwhelmed by the auditions people sent in. So overwhelmed by the incredible talent. Very overwhelmed by the number of people.
We're currently in the midst of collating the auditions and listening to all of them. We'll then have to make a decision, which is certainly going to take a while.
Please bear with us whilst this all goes on. Thank you all, so, so much for your interest.
My brain: You have so many tight deadlines. So many things on your weekly schedule. So many important jobs. You have to get important work done!!!
My hands:
@elodieunderglass saw this and thought of you!
Thank you so much for thinking of me!
