GUYS GUYS GUYS GUESS WHAT I MADE
ITS YELLOW!!!!!
Open to find out more on how I did this!!
Anonymous asked:
How do you write the grieving process of a close friend or family member? I am having difficulty trying to show that my character is grieving the lost of his brother without being either too distracting or too corny. Although a death of a brother is a major motivation for my character because he is trying to solve and avenge the death of his brother throughout the story.
Thank you for your question, love! I am a huge angst writer, so excuse me if this gets a bit rambly…
How (and How Not) to Write Grief
Grief is one of the most powerful emotions and narratives I’ve ever seen in fiction, so I understand your concern about it. There are a lot of ways to go about writing grief, especially since your character’s personality shouldn’t fit just any grieving arc. Everyone mourns differently, so you’ll have to look at who you’re writing and decide what suits them best.
That aside, I do have some general tips that should help.
Things to Consider:
- Shock is a valuable tool. Many people do not experience grief as soon as a loved one passes. Some people go through a brief or extended period of shock, which basically preserves them emotionally. Shock helps to push us through bad times until we find a better, safer time to grieve – while funeral preparations are being made, or work is being done. A person in shock may seem normal or cold in nature, and they may be more irritable or obsessive. Some people stave off grieving longer than is healthy, especially by throwing themselves into work or indulging in drugs or alcohol. But everyone faces grief at one point or another – and when this moment comes, it can serve as a climactic point in your character’s development.
- Grief comes in waves, not rivers. You don’t think about it once, and you don’t think about it all the time. You don’t think, “I miss them,” a few times a day until it passes. You see something they bought you for your birthday and you feel a rush of heaviness, and you try to remember if you thanked them enough. You listen to a song with headphones and you think you hear them calling you from another room, and you take off the headphones and shoot up in your seat, until you remember. Maybe you forget for a few days, as time passes, but someone sharing the weather on the radio will sound like their voice, or you’ll pass the place you used to get coffee together, or someone will tell a joke they used to tell, and it’ll ram you like a truck. Your character may find comfort or pain in these reminders. You lean into their memory or you throw out their things, or you stumble somewhere in between.
- With grief comes guilt. Whether or not your character was related to the death at all, guilt is usually a side effect of outliving a loved one. If your character was related to the death, they’ll replay it in their head a thousand times; they’ll wonder how they could have prevented it, or if they should have seen it coming. (There’s a great example of this in a short PC game called “The Last Day of June.) Your character may feel a twinge of guilt sometimes, when they laugh or have a good time with someone else; when they do something to remind them that they’re alive, and their loved one isn’t, for some reason. Maybe they feel bad for expressing sadness. Maybe they’re scared to take other people for granted. Maybe they feel selfish for taking any focus off the person who died. Think about this as you’re moving your character forward with their own life and their own goals.
- Grief affects the day-to-day. Losing someone takes it out of you; right away, even during shock, a grieving person’s general mood will take a hit. Nothing feels too good when you’ve just lost someone – not eating, drinking, sleeping, talking to loved ones, or indulging in hobbies. Slacking on these things can cause you to develop depression, anxiety, sleeping or eating disorders, and generally bad physical and mental health. This is especially worse if the passed loved one was a comforting or joyful figure for your character, or someone they typically lean on/confide in. Decreased health can lead to irritability, instability, and regression into bad habits or coping mechanisms.
- They have to move on. At some point, once the shock, the waves, the highs, the lows, and the day-to-day slump have come and gone, your character has to find a new normal. Grief never goes away 100% – but you do go from always thinking about it to sometimes thinking about it; crying every night to crying once a month, to crying on their birthday and maybe on holidays; to being able to talk about them without crying at all; to be able to pick apart the good and the bad of their passing. Once your character has reached acceptance, they’ve reached some sort of peace over the loss. Some people talk or pray to their loved ones; some people lock their things away and view them once a year. Some people believe in ghosts or heaven; some people believe in reincarnation or becoming part of the earth; some people don’t really believe in anything or don’t know what they believe. Decide what your character believes, and how it hurts them, and how it helps them. What is their final conclusion?
Things to Avoid:
- Melodrama. As much as it sells soap operas, it doesn’t work well for fiction – no one wants to sit through pages of characters screaming, sobbing, and falling to their knees. Strong emotional moments should be used sparingly, and with the proper buildup beforehand. Try not to overwhelm the reader. While a real person’s mind may be very scattered during such a time, try to make your character’s development realistic but linear. Forward and backward, not left to right – getting better or worse, not going through a tasting platter of emotional outbursts. If your character does something particularly dramatic (I’m talking committing a crime, not crying into a pillow), make sure it makes sense for their character and adds to the story.
- Drowning out the plot. In real life, grieving can become a full-time job; some people spend days in bed just thinking about it, or thinking about nothing, or crying, or compulsively playing a video game or binge-watching a show to distract themselves. But there’s no time for this in a novel. Try to incorporate grieving into your main plot (in your case, solving the brother’s murder). If you feel the need to dedicate a section to the dead character – e.g. a flashback, a funeral scene, a cemetery visit – tie it into the main plot’s progression. For example, while your character is experiencing the flashback/funeral/scene, let something in that moment become a clue to the murder case.
- Losing track of the arc. While you’re writing the rest of your plot, don’t forget about your character’s grieving. They shouldn’t always be actively mourning, as other things will preoccupy them from time to time; but keep track of their arc through the stages of grief, and try to keep their actions appropriate. If they’ve lost their loved one in the past week, they probably won’t be jumping for joy about anything. If it’s been years, they probably won’t sob at the mention of their name. This can all be affected by shock, of course, but you’ll know where your character is relatively.
I hope some of this helps you to write your story as accurately and engagingly as possible, for your character. If you have any further questions, feel free to send them in. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend :)
– Mod Joanna ♥️
Things on my grandpa's dirt road farm that was actually pretty creepy in hindsight
There was always a specific spot where anything mechanical would shut down. Cars would stall and a four wheeler would cut off
A graveyard that didn’t belong to our family sat beside the home. We don’t know the names on the gravestones
There was a skeleton in the forest. We don’t know who passed there
A home at the beginning of the road burned down but the chimney remained. I swear we could see smoke coming from it sometimes
There were figures in the wheat fields sometimes but they were too far away to see. Grandpa said they were neighbors and we should never talk to them
My great grandmas house sits next to my grandpa’s, abandoned, and we were told to never go in there
Sometimes at night when I couldn’t sleep, I could hear the sound of clacking coming down the road
Grandpa’s Farm Gothic
only americans know the true pain of hearing this
angel-baez
Imagine kid you watching your favorite kids’ network. It goes to commercial. Every single time it cuts to commercial this whole thing plays in its entirety. You’ve seen it so much you know every word, every piece of music, all the words and the exact entonation in which they say it
That’s hell. Having the Shirley temple little darling dvd collection commercial permanently ingrained in your brain.
misscokebottleglasses
it has been many years since i have seen this commercial, and i can recite it word for word. op, what have you done
The opposite of grimdark is hopepunk. Pass it on.
#this is a good post #also I need an example of hopepunk #bc the name #resonates with me #and I need it #please #if you don’t mind (via @lavender-starling)
So the essence of grimdark is that everyone’s inherently sort of a bad person and does bad things, and that’s awful and disheartening and cynical. It’s looking at human nature and going, “The glass is half empty.” Hopepunk says, “No, I don’t accept that. Go fuck yourself: The glass is half-full.” YEAH, we’re all a messy mix of good and bad, flaws and virtues. We’ve all been mean and petty and cruel, but (and here’s the important part) we’ve also been soft and forgiving and KIND. Hopepunk says that kindness and softness doesn’t equal weakness, and that in this world of brutal cynicism and nihilism, being kind is a political act. An act of rebellion.
Hopepunk says that genuinely and sincerely caring about something, anything, requires bravery and strength. Hopepunk isn’t ever about submission or acceptance: It’s about standing up and fighting for what you believe in. It’s about standing up for other people. It’s about DEMANDING a better, kinder world, and truly believing that we can get there if we care about each other as hard as we possibly can, with every drop of power in our little hearts.
Going to political protests is hopepunk. Calling your senators is hopepunk. But crying is also hopepunk, because crying means you still have feelings, and feelings are how you know you’re alive. The 1% doesn’t want you to have feelings, they just want you to feel resigned. Feeling resigned is not hopepunk.
Examples! THE HANDMAID’S TALE is arguably hopepunk. It’s scary and dark, and at first glance it looks like grimdark because it’s a dystopia… but goddammit she keeps fighting. That’s the key, right there. She fights every single day, because she won’t let them take away meaning from her life. She survives stubbornly in the hope that one day she can live again. “Don’t let the bastards grind you down,” is one of the core tenets of hopepunk, along with, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Jesus and Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Robin Hood and John Lennon were hopepunk. (Remember: Hopepunk isn’t about moral perfection. It’s not about being as pure and innocent as the new-fallen snow. You get grubby when you fight. You make mistakes. You’re sometimes a little bit of an asshole. Maybe you’re as much as 50% an asshole. But the glass is half full, not half empty. You get up, and you keep fighting, and caring, and trying to make the world a little better for the people around you. You get to make mistakes. It’s a process. You get to ask for and earn forgiveness. And you love, and love, and love.)
And THIS, this is hopepunk:
Here I am with more addendums to this post: Seems like a lot of people are saying the word “noblebright” at me, and I just want to be really clear about this: Noblebright is not hopepunk. Noblebright does not espouse the same ideals that hopepunk does. They are two distinct, separate, coexisting things.
Noblebright is Arthurian legends. The world is a good place, people are essentially good. The codes of chivalry are in full effect. People in positions of authority are there because they are wise, prudent, caring leaders. They rule because they deserve to rule. They protect the weak, they uphold their ideals, there’s people practicing chaste courtly love in every bower and garden. Things are fine, and people have adventures in which they triumph because (see: all of the above). Hopepunk is (as many wonderful people in the comments have pointed out) Discworld: The world is the world. It’s really good sometimes and it’s really bad sometimes, and it’s sort of humdrum a lot of the time. People are petty and mean and, y’know, PEOPLE. There are things that need to be fixed, and battles to be fought, and people to be protected, and we’ve gotta do all those things ourselves because we can’t sit around waiting for some knight in shining armor to ride past and deal with it for us. We’re just ordinary people trying to do our best because we give a shit about the world. Why? Because we’re some of the assholes that live there.
Examples of hopepunk media include:
Guardians of the Galaxy: “Why do I want to save the galaxy? Because I’m one of the idiots who lives there?”
Thor Ragnarok: “Asgard is not a place… It is a people.”
Leverage: “Right now, you’re suffering under an enormous weight. We provide… leverage.”
The Librarians: (“I have seen you all die so many times when it didn’t matter, I can’t let it happen now that it does.” “What do you need us to do?”)
Scorpion.: (”If you try to tell me about the greater good one more time, I will hit you.”)
Star Wars: (”There is good in him still.”)
Star Trek (the original universe): (honestly, there’s no one single quote, but like, the entire damn thing is solid hopepunk.)
Wonder Woman: (”It is not about deserve, it is about what you believe.” also “Who will sing for us, Charlie?”)
Also, Mad Max: Fury Road. Angharad is a hopepunk queen, and Furiosa and Max get pushed and pulled on to that path by the end of the movie through their connection to each other and the people they fight with.
moonymango
More HopePunk quotes, cause I think we all need them:
It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned my ideals; they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.— The Diary of Anne Frank
If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do. And because of that, I had billions of people on my side. Pretty cool, eh?— Andy Weir, The Martian
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”— Fred Rogers
I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime yet for every criminal there are ten thousand honest, decent, kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up. Business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news. It is buried in the obituaries, but it is a force stronger than crime. I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses and the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land.— Robert A. Heinlein
Sure, humans kill each other. We kill for passion, madness, rage, love, war, and lord knows other things. And yet, we’ve got six billion people running around the planet. Almost as if people who kill other people are the exception rather than the rule.— Linkara, Atop the Fourth Wall Marville #4 review
“But we were born of risen apes, not fallen angels, and the apes were armed killers besides. And so what shall we wonder at? Our murders and massacres and missiles, and our irreconcilable regiments? Or our treaties whatever they may be worth; our symphonies however seldom they may be played; our peaceful acres, however frequently they may be converted into battlefields; our dreams however rarely they may be accomplished. The miracle of man is not how far he has sunk but how magnificently he has risen. We are known among the stars by our poems, not our corpses.” - Robert Ardrey
Hopepunk, aka @thebibliosphere
Thank you, I try. And on the days where I can’t I have friends and good people in my life like @ariaste to remind me.
More fun facts about ancient Celtic marriage laws: There were no laws against interclass or interracial marriage, no laws against open homosexual relationships (although they weren’t considered ‘marriages’ since the definition of a marriage was ‘couple with child’), no requirement for women to take their husband’s names or give up their property, but comedians couldn’t get married
It’s Adam and Eve not Adam Sandler and Eve
I want to expound upon “comedians couldn’t get married” thing because it’s actually really interesting. Satire was respected in Ancient Ireland. It was thought to have great power, enough to physically maim the subject one was making jokes about. Satirists could bring down kings with a witty enough insult. That was actually their original function. When the king didn’t do right by his people, a bard was supposed to compose a poem so scathing it would raise welts on the king’s skin to oust him (it was illegal for a “blemished” king to rule.) Unwarranted satire was considered a form of assault. So what it boils down to is ancient Celts being like “These people are too dangerous to reproduce. DO NOT TRUST THEM WITH CHILDREN. EVER.”
whats a king to a bard
Thats literally a dnd skill
not-so-tall-gay-danny
Vicious mockery at sixth level
this is how i do sweat drops or just liquids in general
friend asked me to make one
Spell Ingedient Index: Myrrh
The above image is a combination of Frankincense and Myrrh.
Scientific Classification: Commiphora myrrha
Myrrh is used for a lot of the same reasons as Frankincense, and is another one of the incenses the Magi brought to Jesus after his birth.
Myrrh was used in ancient Egypt a lot as well. It was burned at noon to honour Ra, god of the sun, and was also burned in the temple of Isis.
Use in spells for:
- Protection
- Exorcism
- Healing
- Spirituality
- Myrrh is essentially the feminine energy to Frankincense, which is masculine. Burning both incites the protection of both God and Goddess, moon and sun.
Use in these spell types:
- Sachets
- Enchantments
- Burning spells
- As an incense
- Oils and perfumes
Other Magickal Uses:
- The incense of Myrrh can be used to consecrate, purify, and bless objects used in magick.
- Aids meditation, along with frankincense.
- Used in healing incense and sachets
awkwardsituationist
“world of averages” - composite images culled from thousands of individual portraits resulting in symmetrical average faces.
this was too cool not to reblog
I don’t care if I have reblogged this already, this is awesome for those “How do I draw someone who looks” questions.
I’m shook because my friend from Hungary looks EXACTLY like the average Hungarian in the pic omfg
red-valentine
Handy references!
a pharma rep came in and gave us this flyer that advertises heartburn medication via bondage dragon vore art.
The kinksters are finding their way into marketing jobs
majin-rai
…..slime creature…..
gymleadersi
Mine just said “bastard”
Scene radioactive cat demon
Scary accurate
90S GRUNGE SHADOW ENTITY, I GOT MY DREAM
“Hipster witch” I’m comin’ for your spot @orriculum !!!!
it hurts that you think part of my brand is hipster gil
lace-cherryblossom
Dorky alien clown……. Accurate
oliveastronaut
vaporwave possessed porcelain doll from the late 1800s
Iconic seafarer beards became a trend to scare away pesky mermaids.
Mermaid, seeing a bald pirate: Zero threat…! Mermaid, seeing a hairy, bearded pirate: If I get too close their face tentacles will eat me…!
Most mermaids only grow short beards as not to scare baby mermaids (longer beards look like the tentacled mouths of hungry squids and octopuses).
Pirates use this innate fear to their advantage to protect themselves from mermaids, hence the iconic beards and hat:
I like how this is presented as factual information
You say that as if it isn’t.
Today I found out that yarners think crocheting socks is subversive and controversial and I just…on one hand, why the fuck not, I guess yarners are allowed to have their controversies, but on the other, how much time do you have in your FUCKIN DAY??
My main concern is how they would feel but Maggie u know yarn fandom gotta think about something while knitting five miles of stockingnette for a sweater
Look, you can’t just leave it at that, why is it subversive and controversial? *gets popcorn*
kaitoukitty
I mean, I’m taking this on good faith, and I’m not saying this is my own personal belief. I believe in all crafts.
But…the structure of the stitches and the resulting fabric is pretty different between crochet and knitting. You get different effects between them, which lends themselves to different crafts. And none of the effects of (most) crochet stitches lend themselves naturally to socks. You’re (usually) going to end up with something either stiff and bulky, or full of holes that will Not Feel Good to walk on. Whereas knitted socks will just…BE elastic and comfortable.
Sure you CAN do it. And there are people and patterns that do it well!!
But MOST crochet socks are a bit like calling this a bicycle
I mean… Okay? But people are going to Talk.
But this is BABY controversy, this is nothing. You haven’t even touched on the good shit like RHSS or that time the Olympic Committee dissed us.
Iiiinteresting. So one of those “just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD” things.
Also I know very little about the yarn fandom except for that bit where a woman had to fake her death and had a nervous breakdown over selling homespun/dyed yarn so like, I already have big expectations.
kaitoukitty
Was that the one that “died” of leukemia or the one that “died” of lupus, or the one that overdosed?
From what I know of the narrative as it was described to me, I want to say the one that overdosed, but I am intrigued and vaguely concerned that there are multiple distinct individuals the above situation could apply to.
kimbergoat
hey umm, what the fuck
the fake deaths thing: indie yarn dyer gets popular, gets overwhelmed by orders, can’t refund money because of shitty bookkeeping, decides faking online death is the only way out.
i’m sure some of them are unintentional rather than premeditated scammers but they’re all still thieving assholes who shouldn’t be running businesses and need to give all the money back.
the olympics commitee: ravelry, well-known knitting (fiber arts in general) site, held a contest they called the ‘ravelympics’ to drum up olympic support then get a cease-and-desist letter for copyright infringement, and the letter said that calling it that ‘denigrates the true nature of the Olympic Games’ and was ‘disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes’
except, you know, ravelry had like 2 million users who all, by nature of ravelry being a website, have basic tech literacy. the social media backlash was so bad that the olympics board had to make 2 official apologies because the first wasn’t good enough.
RHSS: Red Heart Super Saver is cheap Walmart-level yarn. some people hate it because it used to be just really fucking awful and they haven’t bothered updating their opinions. some people hate it because they hate non-natural yarns. some people hate it because they’re yarn snobs(which, btw, comes in two flavors: the disdainful assholes and the people who just don’t see the point if you have the money and don’t indulge yourself). a lot of people defend it because it’s cheap and widely locally available and honestly not that bad after a wash and some fabric softener.
crocheted socks: exactly what kaitoukitty said. people who crochet socks tend to either be new crocheters who are not aware crochet is not the best medium for socks or experienced crocheters who are pushing the boundaries of the medium.
babies on fire: i can’t believe we’re talking about yarncraft controversies and no one mentioned babies on fire. that’s my favorite controversy.
so when deciding what material to make baby blankets out of, in addition to considerations like softness, ease of washing, and allergy concerns quite a lot of people like to consider what would happen to the baby if the blanket was set on fire. yes, really.
wool has the problem of hand-wash only blankets for a new mother (superwash wool exists but that’s a whole ‘nother paragraph), allergy concerns, and also real fucking expensive if you want quality not-itchy-on-baby-skin wool. but pro-wool-blanket people insist that because wool actually resists being set on fire pretty well and also can self-extinguish, it’s the only sensible choice.
acrylic on the other hand is cheap and you can throw it in the washing machine, and while bad quality acrylics might be stiff and plastic-y they’re not itchy, but if it gets set on fire it will melt onto the baby’s skin. pro-acrylic people insist that if your blanket is on fire, you probably have bigger problems than what the blanket is made of.
kimbergoat
wow I didn’t expect such a detailed response. thank you!
Fiber Arts Just Be Fucking Like That.
rip santa.
Working in Retail in under 3 minutes
deafonyourleft
i had to watch this like 5 times because of no captions but lmao if someone makes a transcript for this it would be bomb
tsunasty
transcript: “So we have these Santas at work, right, okay? We have black and we have white Santas. And they’re like creepy, five-foot tall, lifelike animatronic… like, Santas that hold plates of cookies and milk, and they kinda look like they could wake up and come to life and murder you in your sleep– and they don’t include batteries, but we have these Santas. Like nothing screams ‘festive holiday cheer’ like a big, hulking Santa. Um. Nothin’ will jingle your jangles more. So, um, this woman comes in and she’s like, “Do you have these?” and I’m like, “Oh my god, yeah!” So a couple weeks ago we sold out of our white Santas, and we are down to like, three black Santas. And so, I take her to the aisle, I show her the Santas, and the first thing out of her mouth is, “I’m not racist, but…” and I’m like, well, I can’t– I’m not in the position to decide if you are or not, but if like– if I could use context clues and infer, uh, I would say maybe that you might be. And three, we’re talking about Santa. Like– (stuttering) did we switch subjects? And so, um, I’m in like, I– the next thing that pops out of her mouth is like, “This is not right.” and I’m like, okay, I’m sorry, but this is what the picture was. And she’s like, “No. Santa is white.” And I’m like, oh no, okay. Okay. So I’m in– I’m about to tell her, I’m like, mid-sentence, like, “I’m sorry, do you want me to go call another store, do you need me to, like, write you a raincheck just in case we we get any more.” And she’s like, “This is wrong, I want them taken down.” She interrupts me, says that, and I’m like, (pause). I like, look around, and I’m like, is she talking to me? Is this, like, my own, like, personal hell? But like, of course it is. So, um, I’m like, “I can’t take these Santas down.” And she’s like, “Why not?!” And I’m like, “You either have to buy them, or take them down yourself.” And that was like, the stupidest thing I could have ever said, because– (sighs) she takes this bag, with like, Jesus’s face, like, slammed right in the middle as a design– it’s big– she takes it off her shoulder, and starts beating these black Santas! She starts beating these Santas down, they were like, falling down… and I’m like, oh my god! What– what is happening? So like, I step in the middle of her and these Santas and I’m like, “Ma’am, ma’am, you need to leave, you need to stop, or I’m going to have to call someone.” So she like, stops, and she’s like, beet red, and like, huffin’ and puffin’, and she like, looks at me and I can tell she’s just trying to get like, a one-liner in, and she’s like, “The Santa I know is white.” And then she walks away. And I’m like, well– I’m processing what’s happening, while also thinking, like, the Santa you know? Santa’s not real. So unless you’re using an ouija board to contact good old Kris Kringle, um, from like, B.C. or whenever, I’m like, that’s pretty impressive, but how ya doin’ that. And, um, I– the last thought that ran through my mind is that, I’m like, I would hate to be in the room with her when she finds out that Jesus is not white.”
‘I’m not racist but…’ Yes. Yes you are.
It’s thirty… foursixer and Slværtcast I guess
oh the weather outside is [REDACTED]
The “I probably shouldn’t have clowns” Starter Pack
Clowns are creatures that need to clown. They were not meant to be domesticated and profited from as pets. They are highly active creatures that will self harm from stress in such confined spaces. Circus Clowns are delightful to keep in groups, though they are fine on their own, but every 1 clown adds 30 square feet to the space needed. They need multiple props and performance areas in order to replicate their natural environment. These are examples of proper Circus Clown or other basic clown enclosures.
Candee Fluff is a horrible brand of cotton candy, I used to feed it to my clowns and they would just throw it back up. The sugar is all unprocessed, when clowns need highly refined white sugar, just because it’s cheaper. Which is something they don’t list on the packaging to fool clown owners. Ideally you should only feed your clown freshly whipped cotton candy. Large mixers may be expensive but a simple childrens make-your-own candy floss machine will suffice if your budget is tight.
Clowns shouldn’t be confined to a car. (Especially a childrens car..?) Clowns are curious creatures that need to jump, tumble, honk and play to be healthy. Keeping them locked in a car 24/7 as a toy for your kids will stress them out in much the same way as a hamster in a ball. Clowns do enjoy having access to a clown car, especially in groups, but their car should provide 1 square foot per clown and their enjoyment comes primarily from exiting the vehicle in large numbers. Keeping them locked inside can reduce their lifespan by up to 10 years. A small human-sized compact car may be suitable for larger groups of clowns.
I’m cringing at that rainbow collection of “my mommy got me a cute clown” balloon sticks. These are creatures that need to run around with helium balloons. They need to bounce and float away when released. Air-filled balloons on sticks are not a suitable replacement. This is the proper set up for a clown or more modern jesters.
Clowns get stressed from any foot confinement under size 16. Clown shoes are the worst item for being sold to kids as “accessories” in human foot sizes. When kept like that the clown will die a horribly stressed life within a year when they can live for 60 or more. They need colourful shoes or boots with plenty of toe-space and loud squeakers. Clowns are so intelligent that they actually play with you, and they need podiatric stimulation to live healthy. These are proper clown shoes.
Never change the natural markings of a clown. This should go without saying, but I see people buying halloween store ‘clown makeup’ and attempting to alter their clown’s faces. Clowns use their facial markings to identify one another, and altering it may cause stress, and even endager the clown if you keep several in the same tent.
Who the fuck would even feed an omnivorous clown pellet food…? Do they want a sick clown? If clown stores even bothered to care about the keeping of clowns, they would know that shit is bad for them. If you can’t feed fresh peanuts and hot dogs then you shouldn’t own a clown in the first place. Pellet food isn’t even real food, it’s chemically made with preservatives.
On the Fae
Okay, so I’ve noticed a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings about the Fae. What they are, what the Courts are, etc. I’m writing this out to provide some guidance based on my experience with them.
So, to start, I’ll give you my definition of what makes a Fae, well… Fae. So to me the Fae are defined as a non-human entity with human cunning that has never been human, but was not created with the purpose of serving a god (Otherkin are a whole other beast, which I don’t want to discuss in this post). Pretty general, no? That’s on purpose, and though it isn’t perfect, it’s the best definition I’ve come up with to date. It excludes things like vampires, which I would never consider Fae. However, it troublingly includes werecreatures, which with some exceptions I don’t consider Fae.
In my experience, Fae can include things like the Yōkai in Japanese mythology. This is based on meeting the definition stated above. However, this does not give me or any other person license to interact with beings that belong to closed cultures. Just because it meets the definition, does not mean people should run willy-nilly about, interacting or interfering with beings that generally tend to not wish to interact with those who are not a part of their culture.
Courts and Manners
Moving on to the Courts. Firstly, there are more than the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. There are Winter and Summer, Night and Day Courts, as well as numerous others. I’m sure you’ve noticed a trend. The Fae like to set themselves as opposites, and they tend to be quite territorial. I have noticed that the Fae tend not to only have one version of the Courts. There are small Courts scattered across territory, much like how human history had scattered kingdoms all through history. However, I should add that speaking about the Courts only includes trooping Fae. There are solitary Fae as well.
Good and evil. I’ve seen this one a lot on Tumblr, especially in regards to Seelie and Unseelie Fae. Unseelie are not evil. Seelie are not good. Morality is a bit of a grey zone among the Fae, and you must remember just because they do not have the same moral code as you, that does not make them evil. Interacting with any spirit under the assumption that they are going to be ‘good’ or ‘evil’ is extremely dangerous. The Courts tend to attract Fae of certain temperaments and behaviours.
Now, let’s talk about species and appearances. I’ve found it’s a pretty common misconception that the Court Fae, and Fae in general are tiny creatures no bigger than the palm of your hand. This is definitely not the case. Court Fae can vary in size from the size of my thumb to giant creatures. Usually these extremes in sizes tend not to be the rulers of the Court, but they do tend to be things like Knights. Most rulers of Courts that I’ve encountered tend to be approximately human size. However, this does not mean they look human. And I’m not saying ‘oh, they’re unearthly and beautiful.’ I’ve seen Fae that vary greatly; from the stunningly beautiful, to the strange, to the grotesque, to monstrous. They’re incredibly varied creatures, and though they fall under an umbrella term I think it would be a mistake to assume they’re homogenous.
Values
Because I mostly see questions regarding Unseelie and Seelie Court Fae, below is what I’ve seen in regards to what they value:
Unseelie tend to value bloodsport, sacrifice, chaos, and the like. Generally, they tend to be more welcoming of outsiders. I should add that Unseelie tends to refer to the fact that they dwell under the hills.
Seelie tend towards a rigid sense of honor and dishonor, superiority to humanity, and have a strong sense of justice. They are less welcoming of outsiders. They spend most of their time above ground.
It should be noted that both of these Courts have participated in Tithes, where a mortal is sacrificed to appease those more powerful than the Fae.
Offerings and Bargains
Speaking of which, let’s discuss offerings and what working with them is like. There’s a lot of things you can do to attract Fae. I recommend you tread carefully, especially if you are working in places like North America and are contacting European Fae or the like. Not that you cannot work with them, but you need to have a basic understanding of the land. In fact, I would say this goes for anywhere that experienced aggressive colonization. Make sure you make offerings or do things to appease the local spirits that have been there first. Try planting native things to your area, or offering them local foods. They can turn on you if you create an influx of invaders, and create extra chaos in your life. The Fae can be pretty open to interacting with mortals, but they’re very keen on bargaining. Be very specific on what you want out of a relationship and deal, and don’t immediately accept any offer they provide, otherwise you may end up getting the short end of the stick. They tend to expect you to work hard to please them, but they will always keep up their end of a deal. I also recommend erring on the side of extreme politeness, as no one wants to have an angry Faerie lurking around their house creating chaos. As for offerings and such, I would look to whatever was typically offered to them in the past, or to simply ask them once you’ve struck a bargain. As spiritual partners and companions, they can be extremely demanding, and want you to work hard and quickly. When you first begin working with them, they will treat it like a business transaction. Overtime, as they get to know you, they may choose to befriend you, and you will develop a relationship over time. Be patient, and remember although they aren’t human, you have to earn friendship the same way you would with a person.