Friday, January 26, 2018

Topic Brainstorm: A Witch, A Trickster, And A Banshee All Walk Into A Dungeon...

Topic #1

My first idea for my project comes from the tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons combined with the story of Jumanji. In my story I would have the players participating in their regular D&D game suddenly be transported into the actual game. This would give me opportunities to explore multiple different mythologies and legends as creatures or tasks they must overcome. One creature I would have them fight, for example, in traditional D&D style is a dragon. I particularly like the legend revolving around the Bisterne Dragon, and I would incorporate that into my story. Other beings they might encounter would include one of my favorite Inuit goddesses, Sedna; where they might have to find some way to appease her to move forward.

(Gaming by James Bowe)

Topic #2

My second idea would be a storybook following a modern witch who is trying to find what she believes in. For this story, the different sections would be her researching and attempting to communicate with deities from different religions. Using the Wikipedia List of Deities I would choose gods and goddesses of multiple different cultures to include and explore many different options. I think this would be an interesting story to write because many people who identify as witches in today's time do a lot of searching about what sort of path they want religiously, if any at all. 

(Crow Vector Silhouette by Colleen O'Dell) 


Topic #3

My third story idea revolves around different mythologies involving tricksters. Tricksters are some of my favorite mythological characters because they always make things more interesting. For my story, I would have a trickster, perhaps Loki or someone else, create a place where they trap people and those trapped have to figure out how to get out. The trickster would very much just be doing this to cause mischief. The setting of the trap would be based around an artist I enjoy who creates 3-d renderings of, sometimes impossible, rooms. The artist, Abby Dougherty, creates these spaces in neon colors and impossible physics and calls the collection the Neon Saltwater Hotel. With proper credit, I'd love to write a story where the Neon Saltwater Hotel is what our "heroes" must escape. It would be a more modern telling because of the setting. For pictures for my story, I would reach out to the artist to ask permission to use images of their work with proper credit, or I would find visually similar images and still credit the idea of the setting to Neon Saltwater. 

(Beverages by Mediengestalter)

Topic #4

My last story idea comes from reading over Chapter 7 of True Irish Ghost Stories  by St. John D. Seymour and Harry L. Neligan, (1914). Chapter 7, entitled "Banshees, and Other Death-Warnings," talks about, well, banshees and other kinds of Irish death-warning legends. I would write a story about a family who has a sick relative living with them who start seeing things like banshees and headless coaches. To protect their loved one, they attempt to fight off these warnings in hopes that it will prolong the sick family member's life. The setting would be in Ireland, modern day, and mostly taking place at the house because that is where these sort of apparitions appear, normally. 

(Banshee on wikimedia commons)

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