"Text-based roleplaying is a nice, relaxing hobby! No pressure!"
...cool theory, however, in the real world...
...to make my newest character, Atlas, I:
researched Eastern Orthodoxy (Atlas grew up Eastern Orthodox but is questioning Divine Providence in a very un-Orthodox way)
researched Eastern Orthodox baby naming rituals, came up with a naming ritual for a witch family, and then combined the two
emailed an Eastern Orthodox priest to ask about saints that might work for a trans man and be known in Finland (he named Saint Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg) (because Atlas carries a small religious icon with him at all times)
spent countless hours researching Karelian language (to name one sculpture that Atlas made five years ago)
researched where those evacuated from Ruskeala (in Ladoga Karelia) after Moscow Armistice (in 1944) were sent in Finland and how the process of being evacuated worked (to write one paragraph about the grandparents of Atlas)
went to my town's orthodox parish's käspaikka/rushnyk exhibition (because Atlas uses double running stitch in his jewelry art, and his aesthetic is a modernized version of käspaikka/rushnyk)
borrowed four books from the library: three about käspaikka/rushnyk, one about double running stitch (again, Atlas uses double running stitch in his jewelry art)
spent countless hours researching flax (Atlas has a tiny flax field on his yard, and he weaves it into a fabric himself)
spent countless hours researching the elättikäärme tradition of Finland (a wild snake that agrees to live in a house to bring luck, because Atlas has an elättikäärme)
I also made up new stuff about how elättikäärme might live and behave
researched the taste of raw human heart (because Atlas gained a skill after eating his uncle's heart)
wrote a business plan for his jewelry business (because of course)
researched pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) results of 2018 to be able to refer correctly to a game
And please don't ever allow me to talk about all the research I've done for Einar. He was born in the 13th century in Northern Norway, married a Saami woman, became a vampire, left his wife and son, moved all around Europe... and now we're in 2023. That's a shit-ton of research.
I can't allow myself to make mistakes in things that can be made factually correct with a bit of research.
Especially if the mistakes could end up reinforcing harmful stereotypes.
My night has been ruled by the pursuit of a fantastic idea for a text-based-roleplay by my good friend, Katrina. It's one of those flights of fancy that take you down interesting and exciting trains of thought. I've thought up three characters, each in an attempt to draw myself out of my element. A college-aged girl, a drug addicted felon, and a 50-something war vet that lives alone. It helps that the roleplay has started late at night at a popular club in the city.
I don't think there will ever be another time when I need to empathize with a college girl at a bar on a Friday night.
All in all, it's just what I need. After my "vacation", I've had a lot of trouble returning to the Script. And while I may feel a bit of guilt for not working on it, the main thing I need right now is to get my writing brain back on track. No better way to do that than with a change of scenery.
