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Myths, Creatures, and Folklore

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:

Read More

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the things i would imagine running alongside the car when i was a kid

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For artists who have problems with perspective (furniture etc.) in indoor scenes like me - there’s an online programm called roomsketcher where you can design a house/roon and snap pictures of it using different perspectives.

It’s got an almost endless range of furniture, doors, windows, stairs etc and is easy to use. In addition to that, you don’t have to install anything and if you create an account (which is free) you can save and return to your houses.

Examples (all done by me):

Here’s an example for how you can use it

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Do’s and Don'ts of Designing for Accessibility

Anxiety

Autistic Spectrum

Dyslexia

Physical or Motor Disabilities

Low Vision

Screen Readers

Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Find the PDFs for Do’s and Don’ts of Designing for Accessibility here.

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Remember when the fucking Notre Dame burned down and everyone knew instantly and it was over every single news outlet?

Well there’s been a massacre going on in Sudan for DAYS and NOBODIES COVERING IT!

So there is currently a media blackout in Sudan to try and coverup the horrors taking place:

Stop what you’re doing and please reblog this. Innocent people are being murdered, people are trapped, have no internet access, and are being raped by the dozens on the streets of Sudan.

The death toll is estimated to be over 300 civilians. And the fact that not a single major news outlet is covering this is horrific and disgusting. Please help get the word out about Sudan!

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http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/03/1408341/-Psychologist-openly-admits-he-trains-police-officers-to-shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later S-I-G-N-A-L B-O-O-S-T

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Also: don’t stigmatize HIV+ individuals because they all have different circumstances and might’ve  gotten the virus from a variety of sources (sex, occupational, birth, blood transfusions in other countries). 

HIV-related stigma remains a huge barrier to preventing HIV, and is linked to a low level of people testing for HIV. 

The bad news is that Trump is cutting America’s spending on HIV year after year.  He has taken steps to weaken the Affordable Care Act since coming to power.

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Cheat Sheet for Writing Emotion

Anger:

Grinding teeth

Narrowing eyes

Yelling

A burning feeling in the chest

Heavy breathing

Unjustified or justified accusations towards other characters

Jerky movements

Glaring

Violence

Stomping

Face reddening

Snapping at people

Sadness:

Lack of motivation

Messy appearance

Quiet

Slow movements

Crying

Inability to sleep

Frowning

Red eyes

Isolating oneself

Fatigue

Not concentrating

Love:

Thinking about someone

Good communication

Not forcing a friend/lover into something

Smiling randomly

Making eye contact with loved one

Nervous behaviors (fiddling hands, biting lip)

Cuddling

Flirting

Inside jokes

Holding hands

Kissing

Offering gifts

Fluttering stomach

Racing heart

Losing track of time while with loved one

Daydreaming

Denial:

Disagreement with someone

Shaking head frantically

Backing away

Putting hand on one’s chest

Rapid speaking

Rationalization or justifying something

Dismissing someone or something

Embarrassment:

Blushing

Avoiding eye contact

Grimacing

Looking down

Changing the conversation

Rubbing back of neck

Shoulders slumping

A weak voice

Tightening chest

Panicked thoughts

Running away

Getting quiet

Concentrating on something else

Happiness

Smiling

Laughing

Squealing

Bouncing on toes

Warmth in chest

Fast pulse

A sense of contentment

Relaxed posture

Quick movements

Breathlessness

Desire to help

Fear:

Face going pale

Panicked thoughts

Jerky movements

Mind racing for a solution

Running

Freezing

Fighting

Fawning (doing what people tell you to do)

Side note: flight, fight, freeze, and fawn are all reactions to adrenaline. Aka the fight or flight response

Thinking of survival

Rapid breathing

A panicked feeling

Guilt:

Feeling horrible about oneself

Lying

Grimacing

Trying to redeem themselves

Asking for forgiveness

Anxious thoughts

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Do you think we truly exist outside of nighttime?

I think that we let the sunlight highlight our false identities, and we just let ourselves be in the dark.

Unwritten stories

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How To Write A Villain

-Give them a backstory. No character should begin at the first chapter, villain included. They should have had a life that is for the most part untold.

-The villain’s main antagonist is almost always the hero, but adding in more problems for them both slows them down for your hero to finish their tasks. The more unplanned your villain was, the more obstacles they’d be unprepared for. The more they’ve accomplished, the less difficult the problems.

-Give your villain a personality. Most of the time a villain is greedy, arrogant, angry. Traits humans can identify. If you really want to shake your reader, try to give them a trait the reader would find in themselves. Traits that people don’t think of as bad. Confidence, happiness, love. (Just remember, people loved Bonnie and Clyde right up until Bonnie shot a man on Christmas day.)

—

Ask yourself the following; 

-What does your villain want?

-Do they see themselves as evil, or do they think they’re doing the right thing?

-Are they obviously the villain, or are they hiding it? The more clever ones often hide it, the more angry ones tend to show it outright.

-Is your villain willing to kill to get what they want? Are they happy to kill to get what they want?

-Were they just born evil, or did they become it? Are they even really evil at all, or is there some other reason for them to be doing what they’re doing?

-Does your villain plan on getting away without repercussions? If so, they’d behave differently than someone who doesn’t care about the aftermath. They’d do more to hide their tracks.

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Signs you grew up lonely

- Chasing people who don’t want you

-Making up lots of stories and worlds

-Overtalking whenever there’s someone to talk to

-Excessive reading

-Daydreaming

-Clinging emotionally to others

-Being the ‘disposable’ friend in the group

-Excessive baths

-Talking to oneself

-Obsessive friendships

-Excessive helpfulness

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A short work

Nadya was incredibly tired. She’d trekked so far from home, not knowing if anywhere was safe, if anyone would help her, and the intensity of the situation was starting to set in on her. Nadya was stubborn, so she knew that she would figure out what happened to turn everyone against her, but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to figure it out fast enough. It was enough to almost be in the hands of the executioner, to have her head on the chopping block, and she could hardly breathe once she had escaped. How quickly the dust seemed to settle, but only for it all to be washed away in the storm that had become her life. Nadya sighed, raising her hand to her forehead to block the sun. At least it was a beautiful day. A beautiful, long, and bitter day.

She’d felt as if she’d walked the length of the castle courtyard multiple times over. The sun was beating down over Nadya, sapping her energy faster than she was able to motivate herself to continue. She came upon a small forest, one that hadn’t been explored by her father’s military, and seemed to be fairly isolated from the people who could be considered close to it. This was good. She was still inside the kingdom where all of the people hated her, but she was too far to be close to any danger. She walked among the trees, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the fresh air. She was free, as least, for the time being. It was hard to slow her racing heart as she thought about her escape from the kingdom. Panic increased, causing her breathing to go as fast as the thoroughbred horses owned by her family. Nadya stopped as she came to a larger tree, trying to calm herself down, but a rustle from above her made her tense. The girl looked slowly above her into the branches, shaking, and not at all ready to defend herself. Luckily, it was not someone who would do her harm. Above her was the face of a stranger hanging upside down, looking at her confused.

“Who are you?” His deep voice resonated in the surrounding area, while he looked suspiciously at the young fugitive.

Nadya let out a breath of relief, and she chuckled a bit. “Why do you need to know who I am, tree boy?”

“This forest has a charm over it,” he muttered, “You shouldn’t have even been able to see it. What are you?”

Nadya was taken aback. A charmed forest? An invisible forest? She thought that the boy must be trying to play some sort of trick on her because there was no way that any of that could be true. As far as she knew, it wasn’t possible to make an entire forest disappear. There was magic in this, strange magic. Maybe it was all an illusion, something that was seeping in from the bark of the trees, or just the dehydration from her long walk. It had to be anything but what the boy was saying. She thought back to her experience in the town. Maybe this was a trick to kill her. She looked up to realize, she’d been so lost in the wonderings that the boy had gotten down the tree and was now standing in front of her.

“What do you mean, what am I?” she finally asked.

Tree boy rolled his eyes and said, “You have to be some sort of witch, or a scholar maybe? You know about the magics, or am I completely wrong?”

Nadya shook her head, saying that she’d never heard of any of it. She knew that magic existed, but her father had supposedly banished it from the kingdom long before she was born. The boy from the tree looked confused. He knew that there was something more to this girl than what she was telling him. He thought back to what his mother had said, something about an intruder in the forest. He didn’t know where that was going, but at that point, his worry had increased. Was there a breach in the forest?

He pushed his thoughts aside and looked at the girl ahead of him. He held out his hand in a form of greeting. “Noe.”

Nadya crinkled her eyebrows, looking at his hand. She looked up at his face. “Noe?”

“It’s my name. The hand is form you to shake,” he responded.

Nadya’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh, apologies. I am Nadya.”

They shook hands, then Noe pulled her closer and squinted at her face. “You look awfully familiar Nadya. Have I ever met you before?” He inquired. Nadya pulled away from him.

“I doubt it. But I do see what you mean. You do look very familiar. I can’t put my finger on it though.” She looked at his his face. She shrugged it off.

No matter the slight connection shown between them, Noe knew that he had to get the stranger out of the forest, and get her back to where she came from. Noe guided her out of the forest, seeing through the enchantment to where she was from. Nadya hesitated as the town came into view, remembering her past experience. As soon as the two of them reached, Noe tried to leave, but an old woman had already seen him. She brought out a kitchen knife, and much to Noe’s surprise, not much to Nadya’s, she came running toward them. Nadya grabbed Noe’s hand and started running with him back toward the area of the forest.

“You need to go back!” she yelled to Noe from a few feet in front of him.

Noe still looked surprised as he ran behind the girl. “Why is she trying to kill us?”

Nadya rolled her eyes at him, looking back for a second. She glaced at the old lady, then to the tree boy. “Can we discuss this when we’re not about to die?”

“I suppose that would be fair,” he responded whilst looking back at the wily woman coming upon them. After that, they continued running until they reached the charmed forest. Nadya sighed in relief as best she could while still catching her breath. The two of them had disappeared from the old woman’s eyes, as she cried witchcraft, and then went back into town to call upon the castle guards to have the forest investigated.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Noe exclaimed. He was confused, and quite frankly angry that the strange girl had dragged him- literally- into her problems. His mother made it specifically so that the forest would be a safe place. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone that really knew about them in the first place.After magic had been made illegal by the king, Noe and his mother had been living in hiding, hoping that a day like this would ever come. It was all the fault of this stupid girl who had broken through the barrier. Nadya.

The girl in question sort of shrugged in response. SHe didn’t exactly know how to explain her predicament, especially not to a total stranger. As soon as he heard the story, Noe may have an epiphany and realize that he’s supposed to be attempting to commit murder. She’d rather stay quiet than turn the small tree boy into a murderer, but that was also just the small sense of self preservation speaking. Noe continued to look at her suspiciously, then his face entirely just went dark.

“Get out.”

Nadya looked him in the eye in response, and she spoke succinctly, “No.”

Noe was shocked at her behavior. Not only was she defying him, she was speaking to him as if she had the right to demand anything of him. She had invaded his forest, his home, and demanded that she stay? What kind of person with any sort of respect would do that. Noe didn’t seem to realize that Nadya was very different from anybody that he’d ever known, and that she obviously was almost just attacked. It was in her best interest that he stay, but being too concerned with his own life, Noe refused to listen.

“Get out! Get out of my forest! Get out of my home! I don’t know what you are, and I don’t know what you want from me, but you are compromising the entire point of this forest which is my safety!” He shouted at Nadya. He expected her to shrink back, at least the tiniest bit, but she didn’t. He took it even further. “Are you too dense to understand this little girl? I want you out. You are putting me in danger, and if you can’t get that through your thick little head, I will drag you out myself.”

“Drag me out yourself, you say?” she scoffed. “I doubt that even you have any sort of influence that could do that to me. If you haven’t realized, if I leave, I will be killed. They can’t get to me in here. If you had even the slightest shred of common decency, you’d understand that. But I suppose you’re just as thickheaded as you say I am. Strange how that works isn’t it?”

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i match my heartbeat with the beat of the universe. i am in harmony with the night and the sleep that will come with it. there is no separation now, only one heartbeat that beats slowly, peacefully.

night affirmation