916
edits
Motes Played/cover ideas: Difference between revisions
→6: Added section with Michelle
m (→Requirements: Hello? Paste?) |
(→6: Added section with Michelle) |
||
| (8 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
''[[Motes Played]]'' is a novella coming out in August, written collaboratively by myself and my partner. It follows a little (both in the sense that she looks like a kid and also that she is an adult who engages with the world as a kid) skunk named [[Motes]] (natch) as she comes into conflict with those around her over her Identity. There is a synopsis [[Motes Played/synopsis|here]]. The setting is a place where people can make copies of themselves who can go on and live their own lives or merge back down to share their memories. [[What is Post-Self?|It's a bit more complex than that]], but that's the only relevant part. As such, most of the characters are all long diverged forks of the same personality. | ''[[Motes Played]]'' is a novella written in the style of a fairy tale/chapter book coming out in August, written collaboratively by myself and my partner. It follows a little (both in the sense that she looks like a kid and also that she is an adult who engages with the world as a kid) skunk named [[Motes]] (natch) as she comes into conflict with those around her over her Identity. There is a synopsis [[Motes Played/synopsis|here]], and you can read the draft [https://motes-played.post-self.ink/draft here]. | ||
The setting is a place where people can make copies of themselves who can go on and live their own lives or merge back down to share their memories. [[What is Post-Self?|It's a bit more complex than that]], but that's the only relevant part. As such, most of the characters are all long diverged forks of the same personality. | |||
== Some basics == | == Some basics == | ||
Motes is a skunk looking to be maybe in the 7-10 range most of the time. She tends to dress the part in overalls or corduroys with brightly colored T-shirts. As a painter (both of paintings and of theatre sets), she's almost always got paint splotches on her clothes, and occasionally her fur. She's a pudgy sort, despite her high energy and constant zipping around. Some references are available [https://art.makyo.io/posts/query=motes here] (though I will note that those thick-ass thighs are an artifact of the VR avatar and probably not canon :P ). | Motes is a skunk looking to be maybe in the 7-10 range most of the time. She tends to dress the part in overalls or corduroys with brightly colored T-shirts. As a painter (both of paintings and of theatre sets), she's almost always got paint splotches on her clothes, and occasionally her fur. She's a pudgy sort, despite her high energy and constant zipping around. Some references are available [https://art.makyo.io/posts/query=motes here] (though I will note that those thick-ass thighs are an artifact of the VR avatar and probably not canon :P ). | ||
One | One motif that is common for her to dream about is a giant ultrablack square or rectangle in the middle distance that seems to hungrily devour all light. It's so common an occurrence that it usually shows up in her otherwise prosaic landscape paintings. I don't know how well this would work as an element on the cover, but it's worth keeping in mind. | ||
Another common motif is dandelions in the flower state, rather than the puffball state. She and those around her are a bit obsessed with them. | Another common motif is dandelions in the flower state, rather than the puffball state. She and those around her are a bit obsessed with them. | ||
| Line 13: | Line 15: | ||
The dimensions of the covers are 5.625x8.75" including bleed, and the spine is 0.485", leading to a full spread of 11.735x8.75". The resolution required is 300dpi. There should be a spot free of interesting stuff on the bottom of the back cover 1.5x3" for a barcode, but no need to make a rectangle; the printer adds their own. | The dimensions of the covers are 5.625x8.75" including bleed, and the spine is 0.485", leading to a full spread of 11.735x8.75". The resolution required is 300dpi. There should be a spot free of interesting stuff on the bottom of the back cover 1.5x3" for a barcode, but no need to make a rectangle; the printer adds their own. | ||
I am happy to do the cover design once the art is done, but if you would like to do it, the full title is ''Motes Played'' and the authors are ''Madison | I am happy to do the cover design once the art is done, but if you would like to do it, the full title is ''Motes Played'' and the authors are ''Madison Rye Progress and Fireheart'' (''Progress / Fireheart'' for the spine). The internal fonts are [https://software.sil.org/gentium/ Gentium Book Plus] and [https://github.com/EkType/Gotu Gotu], but no need to stick with those. The back copy is:<blockquote>Motes played. | ||
She played because she ''was'' play. She played because that was her role in life, because that is just who she was. She played with color, played with life, played with death. | She played because she ''was'' play. She played because that was her role in life, because that is just who she was. She played with color, played with life, played with death. | ||
| Line 39: | Line 41: | ||
There are a few scenes in Motes's painting studio. One involves her sitting on a stool, painting something on an easel, and the other involves her crying after having received a nastygram in the middle of playing. The alert for such caused her to fall, leaving her scraped up with a bloody nose. Probably not quite the vibe for the cover, though. | There are a few scenes in Motes's painting studio. One involves her sitting on a stool, painting something on an easel, and the other involves her crying after having received a nastygram in the middle of playing. The alert for such caused her to fall, leaving her scraped up with a bloody nose. Probably not quite the vibe for the cover, though. | ||
=== Painting === | ==== Painting ==== | ||
<blockquote>She sat atop her stool, one of her feet perched up there with her so that she could rest her chin somewhere while she painted. A palette sat on an infinitely positionable nothing beside her. A canvas sat on an easel, rickety and well-loved, before her. A brush sat in her paw, and paint sat on the brush. A thin, black rectangle sat on that canvas, as did a mountainous landscape. Music sat in her ears, chirpy and glitchy to offset the serenity of the scene in a new way. | <blockquote>She sat atop her stool, one of her feet perched up there with her so that she could rest her chin somewhere while she painted. A palette sat on an infinitely positionable nothing beside her. A canvas sat on an easel, rickety and well-loved, before her. A brush sat in her paw, and paint sat on the brush. A thin, black rectangle sat on that canvas, as did a mountainous landscape. Music sat in her ears, chirpy and glitchy to offset the serenity of the scene in a new way. | ||
She hummed, her tail fwipped this way, flopped that, and she painted until the painting was finished — there was no guarantee of when that would be: the painting would be finished when it was finished, as it now was, and when it was finished, she stopped.</blockquote> | She hummed, her tail fwipped this way, flopped that, and she painted until the painting was finished — there was no guarantee of when that would be: the painting would be finished when it was finished, as it now was, and when it was finished, she stopped.</blockquote> | ||
=== Struggling === | ==== Struggling ==== | ||
<blockquote>Her muscles clenched and bunched and tensed and pulled her down into a ball so that her feet were flat on the ground and her butt hovered some inches above and her face was buried in her arms where they crossed over her knees and in her ears was the rushing of so much blood and her vision was black and red and full of phosphenes and all she felt was the pain of her skinned paws and bloodied nose echoed in repeating waves radiating throughout her body. | <blockquote>Her muscles clenched and bunched and tensed and pulled her down into a ball so that her feet were flat on the ground and her butt hovered some inches above and her face was buried in her arms where they crossed over her knees and in her ears was the rushing of so much blood and her vision was black and red and full of phosphenes and all she felt was the pain of her skinned paws and bloodied nose echoed in repeating waves radiating throughout her body. | ||
| Line 88: | Line 90: | ||
=== [https://motes-played.post-self.ink/draft/3 2] === | === [https://motes-played.post-self.ink/draft/3 2] === | ||
* Motes goes out to a rave in big-mode (looking rather like her human mom above but with a very flower-child vibe, complete with flower crown of | * Motes goes out to a rave in big-mode (looking rather like her human mom above but with a very flower-child vibe, complete with flower crown of marigolds) and gets taken home by an otter for the night. | ||
* Returning to the community theatre she works at sometimes, she meets up with another of her cocladists, Sasha, a [https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fab%2F03%2Fe0%2Fab03e0a66bffa3bc0700785b03cd72a2--striped-skunk--years.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=e2f9c0dd7c8063779033b8ea88b13b7e4a82756f5df9b6874a2e5538a890df7c&ipo=images mocha-colored] skunk, and returns to little-mode to talk. They sit on the stage while Sasha marks up script pages, but when Motes gets distraught, she lays down with her head in Sasha's lap. | * Returning to the community theatre she works at sometimes, she meets up with another of her cocladists, Sasha, a [https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fab%2F03%2Fe0%2Fab03e0a66bffa3bc0700785b03cd72a2--striped-skunk--years.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=e2f9c0dd7c8063779033b8ea88b13b7e4a82756f5df9b6874a2e5538a890df7c&ipo=images mocha-colored] skunk, and returns to little-mode to talk. They sit on the stage while Sasha marks up script pages, but when Motes gets distraught, she lays down with her head in Sasha's lap. | ||
| Line 117: | Line 119: | ||
In a dreamy haze, Motes remembers the process of leaning into little space through a series of vignettes mixed with memories of her childhood: | In a dreamy haze, Motes remembers the process of leaning into little space through a series of vignettes mixed with memories of her childhood: | ||
* When Michelle was a child in kindergarten, she sat in a patch of red paint and her teacher yelled at her until she cried. When her mom came to pick her up, she reassured her she loved her | * When [[Michelle Hadje/Sasha|Michelle]] was a child in kindergarten, she sat in a patch of red paint and her teacher yelled at her until she cried. When her mom came to pick her up, she reassured her she loved her | ||
* When she was a grown up and newly Motes, she sat in a patch of red paint while working on the stage and decided to lean into that memory, doodling on the stage itself. | * When she was a grown up and newly Motes, she sat in a patch of red paint while working on the stage and decided to lean into that memory, doodling on the stage itself. | ||
* After she leaned into the kid form, she picked up jump-roping with a friend, before eventually falling out with her after losing interest. | * After she leaned into the kid form, she picked up jump-roping with a friend, before eventually falling out with her after losing interest. | ||
* When her cocladists decide to protect her from weirdos and creeps, she finds herself having a hard time making friends when in Big Motes mode. She catches up with Slow Hours to talk about this. | * When her cocladists decide to protect her from weirdos and creeps, she finds herself having a hard time making friends when in Big Motes mode. She catches up with Slow Hours to talk about this. | ||
* Motes and Michelle used to spend time together at least once a year, making flower crowns or painting nails or finding shapes in clouds, just hanging out and talking. | |||
* Finally, she has one of her dreams, where she is sitting on a field speckled with dandelions, and the day is so nice she starts rolling around in the grass, but just in the distance is one of those hyper-black rectangles. | * Finally, she has one of her dreams, where she is sitting on a field speckled with dandelions, and the day is so nice she starts rolling around in the grass, but just in the distance is one of those hyper-black rectangles. | ||
| Line 146: | Line 149: | ||
=== [https://motes-played.post-self.ink/draft/11 10] === | === [https://motes-played.post-self.ink/draft/11 10] === | ||
* Motes, back in little-mode, plays with her friend Alexei (a boy about her age, 7-10, with sandy blond hair) on a playground called Rock Park, which includes a large mount of stacked flagstone, placed so that there are tunnels winding through it. They wind up sitting on top in the sun and talking about the problems with being little in a place that requires you to be at least 18 to join, yet which offers the freedom to do so. | * Motes, back in little-mode, plays with her friend Alexei (a boy about her age, 7-10, with sandy blond hair) on a playground called Rock Park, which includes a large mount of stacked flagstone, placed so that there are tunnels winding through it ([https://duckduckgo.com/?q=arapahoe+ridge+park+boulder&atb=v417-1&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images inspiration] from when I was growing up). They wind up sitting on top in the sun and talking about the problems with being little in a place that requires you to be at least 18 to join, yet which offers the freedom to do so. | ||
* After, she returns home to a picnic and cookout, plenty of grilling and everything. She runs around and pesters all the adults, getting hugs and play. | * After, she returns home to a picnic and cookout, plenty of grilling and everything. She runs around and pesters all the adults, getting hugs and play. | ||