I love Toys.
Not toys as in Legos, Barbies, or any of that – though I do absolutely love toys in general – but instead, I mean Toys the movie.
Not toys as in Legos, Barbies, or any of that – though I do absolutely love toys in general – but instead, I mean Toys the movie.
Did you ever watch it? I promise you, the trailer has not aged well. When I encourage watching this movie, more often than not, I will hear a disinterested “pff, no thanks” based solely off the trailer.
This is, in my opinion, the best of them:
This is, in my opinion, the best of them:
Did you also just go “no thanks”? It wouldn’t surprise me. I did too, when I first saw the trailers. It wasn’t until later that I tried the movie and fell in love with it. So many people miss out on the magic in this story -- and there is a lot of magic in it. Both blatantly-in-your-face, as well as subtly hidden in the corners, where you may be surprised by it.
Now…before I continue on, I must give you full disclosure: I am working only from my memories of this movie. It has been a long time since I watched it, and it may not have aged well either. But I am going to speak from that place in my mind, a place where everything is still a little shinier, still a little happier, still untouched by the dark and gritty stories and their dark and gritty heroes that the populace seems to favor these days. Because whether or not my memory is faulty, the messages and lessons that stuck with me are still important.
Behind the goofball trailers, behind the bright colors and charming inventions, behind Robin Williams doing what he did the best – ad libbing – there was a simple premise, and a simple theme: Good versus Evil.
Well, yeah, there are a lot more themes in there. Explorations of innocence and corruption, peace versus war, honesty versus lies, and how both relate to family and love. Passion and how business plays into it. Growth as an expression of choice. Innocence as an expression of growth!
Whoa, whoa, you may say. All of THAT, from the trailer you just showed me?
Ayuh. All of that. Let me help with a little perspective, not apparent in the trailers:
Zevo Toys is a manufacturer of simple, joyful toys: smiling alligators, cymbal-clapping monkeys, toddling dolls, and other fantastic wind-up inventions that will have most anyone my age or older with at least one wistful smile having sneakily crept up throughout the movie. It twangs that nostalgia string that will make you wonder, misty-eyed, where you placed your dad’s stuffed teddy, and if you could give it just one quick snuggle.
(It’s in a box with me, dad. I still have it.)
Even in their newer, more modern creations, Zevo Toys creates with joy and love, and, as stated in the movie, with “a tradition of whimsy”. Their employees are happy in their industry, and it is a bright, colorful, magical place in which to exist.
But when Kenneth Zevo, the owner, dies at the beginning of the movie (it’s not a spoiler, since the movie centers around the aftermath of his death), instead of handing the business over to his son Leslie (played by Robin Williams), he hands it over to Leslie’s uncle, Lt. General Leland. Despite sharing his father’s whimsical attitude and lifelong presence in the factory, Leslie is too immature, too childlike, and too unprepared to lead the company and its family of employees into the future.
So when the General takes over and starts to bring in war toys – something the company has never done – Leslie must make some important choices and try to find some balance between the whimsy that was part of his upbringing (and remains a part of himself) and growing up just enough to be able to stand up for himself.
But there is so much more to it than that. There are so many more layers! I do not personally enjoy spoilers, so I will leave the finer details and the rest of the movie for you to watch or not, as you like. One way or the other, I love that there is a real story there, set in front of you, complete with hidden complexity – and it can sneak up on you, having hidden so well beneath the colors, creativity, randomness, and whimsy.
And the music! Here a soft, lilting aria, there a tension-filled conflict swells from the ever-talented Hans Zimmer, over there a track from Enya…the music is as random as the movie itself is on the surface – and every song, just as every small bit of story, is needed, if you care to look beneath the colors and sounds, to the messages beneath.
While I love the soundtrack, I must make special mention of one song in particular: the Closing of the Year.
Yes, that is totally where I got the name for these year-end posts. This very beautiful song, sung by Wendy & Lisa, featuring Seal, bookends the movie, and its message is poignant and powerful, placed as carefully as it is. Much like the story itself, it leads you into the world with its sweet and charming simplicity, and at the end, after you have joined Leslie Zevo through his choices and his adventures, and are left to reflect on the story and all its brightly-hidden messages, it gains that extra meaning.
Now…before I continue on, I must give you full disclosure: I am working only from my memories of this movie. It has been a long time since I watched it, and it may not have aged well either. But I am going to speak from that place in my mind, a place where everything is still a little shinier, still a little happier, still untouched by the dark and gritty stories and their dark and gritty heroes that the populace seems to favor these days. Because whether or not my memory is faulty, the messages and lessons that stuck with me are still important.
Behind the goofball trailers, behind the bright colors and charming inventions, behind Robin Williams doing what he did the best – ad libbing – there was a simple premise, and a simple theme: Good versus Evil.
Well, yeah, there are a lot more themes in there. Explorations of innocence and corruption, peace versus war, honesty versus lies, and how both relate to family and love. Passion and how business plays into it. Growth as an expression of choice. Innocence as an expression of growth!
Whoa, whoa, you may say. All of THAT, from the trailer you just showed me?
Ayuh. All of that. Let me help with a little perspective, not apparent in the trailers:
Zevo Toys is a manufacturer of simple, joyful toys: smiling alligators, cymbal-clapping monkeys, toddling dolls, and other fantastic wind-up inventions that will have most anyone my age or older with at least one wistful smile having sneakily crept up throughout the movie. It twangs that nostalgia string that will make you wonder, misty-eyed, where you placed your dad’s stuffed teddy, and if you could give it just one quick snuggle.
(It’s in a box with me, dad. I still have it.)
Even in their newer, more modern creations, Zevo Toys creates with joy and love, and, as stated in the movie, with “a tradition of whimsy”. Their employees are happy in their industry, and it is a bright, colorful, magical place in which to exist.
But when Kenneth Zevo, the owner, dies at the beginning of the movie (it’s not a spoiler, since the movie centers around the aftermath of his death), instead of handing the business over to his son Leslie (played by Robin Williams), he hands it over to Leslie’s uncle, Lt. General Leland. Despite sharing his father’s whimsical attitude and lifelong presence in the factory, Leslie is too immature, too childlike, and too unprepared to lead the company and its family of employees into the future.
So when the General takes over and starts to bring in war toys – something the company has never done – Leslie must make some important choices and try to find some balance between the whimsy that was part of his upbringing (and remains a part of himself) and growing up just enough to be able to stand up for himself.
But there is so much more to it than that. There are so many more layers! I do not personally enjoy spoilers, so I will leave the finer details and the rest of the movie for you to watch or not, as you like. One way or the other, I love that there is a real story there, set in front of you, complete with hidden complexity – and it can sneak up on you, having hidden so well beneath the colors, creativity, randomness, and whimsy.
And the music! Here a soft, lilting aria, there a tension-filled conflict swells from the ever-talented Hans Zimmer, over there a track from Enya…the music is as random as the movie itself is on the surface – and every song, just as every small bit of story, is needed, if you care to look beneath the colors and sounds, to the messages beneath.
While I love the soundtrack, I must make special mention of one song in particular: the Closing of the Year.
Yes, that is totally where I got the name for these year-end posts. This very beautiful song, sung by Wendy & Lisa, featuring Seal, bookends the movie, and its message is poignant and powerful, placed as carefully as it is. Much like the story itself, it leads you into the world with its sweet and charming simplicity, and at the end, after you have joined Leslie Zevo through his choices and his adventures, and are left to reflect on the story and all its brightly-hidden messages, it gains that extra meaning.
“If I cannot bring you comfort, then at least I bring you hope,
For nothing is more precious than the time we have, and so
We all must learn from small misfortune, count the blessings that are real;
Let the bells ring out for Christmas and the Closing of the Year.
Let the bells ring out for Christmas and the Closing of the Year!”
For nothing is more precious than the time we have, and so
We all must learn from small misfortune, count the blessings that are real;
Let the bells ring out for Christmas and the Closing of the Year.
Let the bells ring out for Christmas and the Closing of the Year!”
Take a moment to enjoy the music video:
Also, it must be said: Seal’s Hat wins everything, always.
If I had that amazing hat, I would find a reason to wear it a MINIMUM of one time every year, out in public, shamelessly. And I’m no good with hats! I have only ever found a few that actually look good on me. I am hat-challenged. But I would find a way, for that hat. It deserves no less!
Anyway. I love Toys for its whimsy and its message and its hope. I love that I can watch it and laugh and cry at the same time and that’s an appropriate response to have. And I feel like that kind of strength-through-simplicity is really needed these days -- and will be needed even moreso in the days to come. For me, it’s a positive reminder that I don’t have to sacrifice who and what I am to be capable and strong for myself and everyone around me.
So…let’s talk 2016, close it out, and move forward together.
I’m not going to lie; much like many of you reading this, this has been the hardest year I’ve encountered, by any stretch of the imagination. It has been a year of pain, of fear, of deep depression, and of moments of hopelessness so keen and vast that I have been left staggered and stunned.
It has also been, very strangely...a good year.
Hear me out.
In 2015, I gave notice to my day job and left to pursue my dreams. I had a million different plans, and I wanted to not only discuss 2015 for myself, but I wanted to help people who felt as I did!
I wasn’t happy in 2015, and my health was suffering for it. So I changed it. You can read about my thought process in last year’s Closing of the Year post:
http://witchwaterwhimsy.tumblr.com/post/136284716944/the-closing-of-the-year
2016 was my leap of faith. It was me leaving the stress and depression and misery and trying to turn my writing and my art into a full-time job.
I leapt, and I was a sparkling, magical creature reaching for the stars, singing a song of dreams and hopes and positivity and pastel rainbows.
And then...I plummeted. Hard. I burned up in the atmosphere, and on the way down, I wondered if the ground would be friends with me.
If I had that amazing hat, I would find a reason to wear it a MINIMUM of one time every year, out in public, shamelessly. And I’m no good with hats! I have only ever found a few that actually look good on me. I am hat-challenged. But I would find a way, for that hat. It deserves no less!
Anyway. I love Toys for its whimsy and its message and its hope. I love that I can watch it and laugh and cry at the same time and that’s an appropriate response to have. And I feel like that kind of strength-through-simplicity is really needed these days -- and will be needed even moreso in the days to come. For me, it’s a positive reminder that I don’t have to sacrifice who and what I am to be capable and strong for myself and everyone around me.
So…let’s talk 2016, close it out, and move forward together.
I’m not going to lie; much like many of you reading this, this has been the hardest year I’ve encountered, by any stretch of the imagination. It has been a year of pain, of fear, of deep depression, and of moments of hopelessness so keen and vast that I have been left staggered and stunned.
It has also been, very strangely...a good year.
Hear me out.
In 2015, I gave notice to my day job and left to pursue my dreams. I had a million different plans, and I wanted to not only discuss 2015 for myself, but I wanted to help people who felt as I did!
I wasn’t happy in 2015, and my health was suffering for it. So I changed it. You can read about my thought process in last year’s Closing of the Year post:
http://witchwaterwhimsy.tumblr.com/post/136284716944/the-closing-of-the-year
2016 was my leap of faith. It was me leaving the stress and depression and misery and trying to turn my writing and my art into a full-time job.
I leapt, and I was a sparkling, magical creature reaching for the stars, singing a song of dreams and hopes and positivity and pastel rainbows.
And then...I plummeted. Hard. I burned up in the atmosphere, and on the way down, I wondered if the ground would be friends with me.
I never found out if it would. And here’s why:
I feel like 2016 was the long fall towards the ground.
The part I didn’t want to say during last year’s Closing – the part that I was made to feel AFRAID of saying - was that while I did (and still do) feel that everyone can and should follow their dreams, and while the act of leaving my past employers WAS all sparkles and sunshine, there was a darker aspect to it too. I wanted to leave my position in positivity instead of with anger and accusation...but there was more.
I was the victim of workplace abuse - of workplace gaslighting, to be specific. And between the shared losses and trials of 2016 that many of us have experienced, the aftermath of that workplace abuse, and crippling depression, severe anxiety, and lack of self confidence and self esteem that was exacerbated by it, nearly the entire year was spent just trying to heal and survive.
So there I was. “Living the Dream,” only without the dream and with obstacle after obstacle coming at me. Each time I tried to pick up my pieces, another obstacle was thrown at me, and I was scattered again. This was my plummet to the ground. My 2016.
But then, the most magical thing happened as I raced towards the earth:
I grew feathers.
Each time 2016 threw something new at me or took another important thing from me, I learned. I improvised. Project one can’t happen? Fine. We’ll address it later. Keep moving. Let’s try something new instead. Someone else beat me to the punch and did the exact idea I did? Fine. Keep moving, try something new.
I’m not going to pretend it was fun or nice to keep having those obstacles. I felt kinda like…
I feel like 2016 was the long fall towards the ground.
The part I didn’t want to say during last year’s Closing – the part that I was made to feel AFRAID of saying - was that while I did (and still do) feel that everyone can and should follow their dreams, and while the act of leaving my past employers WAS all sparkles and sunshine, there was a darker aspect to it too. I wanted to leave my position in positivity instead of with anger and accusation...but there was more.
I was the victim of workplace abuse - of workplace gaslighting, to be specific. And between the shared losses and trials of 2016 that many of us have experienced, the aftermath of that workplace abuse, and crippling depression, severe anxiety, and lack of self confidence and self esteem that was exacerbated by it, nearly the entire year was spent just trying to heal and survive.
So there I was. “Living the Dream,” only without the dream and with obstacle after obstacle coming at me. Each time I tried to pick up my pieces, another obstacle was thrown at me, and I was scattered again. This was my plummet to the ground. My 2016.
But then, the most magical thing happened as I raced towards the earth:
I grew feathers.
Each time 2016 threw something new at me or took another important thing from me, I learned. I improvised. Project one can’t happen? Fine. We’ll address it later. Keep moving. Let’s try something new instead. Someone else beat me to the punch and did the exact idea I did? Fine. Keep moving, try something new.
I’m not going to pretend it was fun or nice to keep having those obstacles. I felt kinda like…
…only nasty things just kept happening...
...and they just wouldn’t stop.
Yeah. Like that.
But with each obstacle, another small hope. Another cool thing. And in the end? I took my advice from last year.
A reminder of what that was:
But with each obstacle, another small hope. Another cool thing. And in the end? I took my advice from last year.
A reminder of what that was:
1) I wish you happiness, and ask that you share it with someone else. You can make SUCH a difference in a person’s life by taking one moment to make someone else smile.
2) I wish you the power to fix your life if you are unhappy. Reconnect with yourself. Go on a nature walk. Play with your old toys. Seek company. Seek help.
3) I wish you challenges, both to keep you on your toes and to remind you that you can do whatever you put your mind to.
4) I wish you laughter. Have fun. Be amazing.
2) I wish you the power to fix your life if you are unhappy. Reconnect with yourself. Go on a nature walk. Play with your old toys. Seek company. Seek help.
3) I wish you challenges, both to keep you on your toes and to remind you that you can do whatever you put your mind to.
4) I wish you laughter. Have fun. Be amazing.
I did all of that. I made random people smile – which is what I wanted to do, regardless of the year. I reconnected with myself. And my friends. I started seeing a therapist for my depression, anxiety, all that. I took each challenge in the year – from old-seated ones I’d never realized were still lingering with me to brand new ones born of this crazy year – and I worked through the problems. I showed myself that I can do whatever I put my mind to.
And I laughed. I laughed so hard. Kenneth Zevo would have been proud of me.
My plans from 2015 were not what I wanted them to be. And that is okay. Because of that, I followed what few plans I was able to from 2015, but more important, I did a lot of new things while I healed, and each one was another feather as I plummeted back towards the earth.
And when things got to be too much? There are so many of my friends and family who, through my trials of this year, have shown themselves to not only be sympathetic but empathetic as well, having survived some of the same trials. They are there for me, unflaggingly, unfalteringly, and with all their beautiful shades of love and understanding. And they are the final, fantastic plumage I needed to not crash and burn.
I’m not “flying” yet, per se. I’d like to think of this year more as an awesome Superhero Landing.
And I laughed. I laughed so hard. Kenneth Zevo would have been proud of me.
My plans from 2015 were not what I wanted them to be. And that is okay. Because of that, I followed what few plans I was able to from 2015, but more important, I did a lot of new things while I healed, and each one was another feather as I plummeted back towards the earth.
- I auditioned for – and received - a spot on an Actual Play game of Dragon Age, hosted on Youtube and run by Let’sPlayer AngelArts. Ploink! One new feather.
- I made some really fantastic new friends just by learning that it was okay for me to use the voice I’d held back for nearly all of my life. Ploink!
- I reconnected with my old friends and started to think less about how I failed myself and more about how I succeeded. Ploink!
- I tried my very first open-call voiceover. It was for Mass Effect. It doesn’t matter at all that I didn’t get it. I tried it. Ploink!
- I designed a pair of socks for a contest. Because why the hell not? Ploink!
- I learned new art skills: Wire wrapping. Reconstituting decades-old Sculpey. Ploink!
- I FINALLY STARTED MY VLOG. Ploink!
- I continued my work with Modiphius, and I still do so – and yes. I am absolutely for hire. And I’m good. Ploink!
And when things got to be too much? There are so many of my friends and family who, through my trials of this year, have shown themselves to not only be sympathetic but empathetic as well, having survived some of the same trials. They are there for me, unflaggingly, unfalteringly, and with all their beautiful shades of love and understanding. And they are the final, fantastic plumage I needed to not crash and burn.
I’m not “flying” yet, per se. I’d like to think of this year more as an awesome Superhero Landing.
(Which, by the way, if you haven’t already: go see Deadpool. He is the hero we need – and probably also the one we deserve – this year.)
Moving right along.
I feel very lucky to be where I am today, despite the trials of 2016. I love that I can say that I help create roleplaying games for a living.
I grew up surrounded by and loving games and stories. I connected with my mother through her writing. I connected with my father through computer games. And while my parents were always loving and supportive of any dreams I dared to dream, the rest of society was not.
Society told me that I’d never be hired to act because I was too fat. So I never tried.
Society told me that voiceover was too hard and there were so many people already so much better than I. So I never tried.
Society told me that girls don’t play computer games because it was a boy’s thing. Well…that, at least, I had been well-trained to laugh about. I played computer games like crazy. My very first “for-realsies” game review was published when I was 12 years old. (Questbusters magazine!)
Society told me that girls don’t play fantasy games at all, ever. No D&D, no chat-based gaming, nothing. Tell that to the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Tell that to these battle scars that somehow, inexplicably form the name “Rhy’Din” and change colors according to my mood. I dare you.
I basically spent my life loving games and stories but being warned by society that there would never be a comfortable place for me as a gaming professional, because I had the wrong genitals. It’s a battle still waged today – just look up “GamerGate” if you want a fairly recent example – but thanks to the good hearts and more open minds, it’s getting a little easier to find allies and friends in this struggle.
When I was working on my Big Dreams a long time ago, I noticed that there were no “live” Youtube channels – none I could easily find, anyway – that featured a female voice. When I looked up “Women in D&D” (and variations on that concept) on Youtube, the best I would find was Buzzfeed squeeing over “OMG we taught these 3 girls to play it was so WEIRD!” or male GMs talking about how to prepare your table for a girl player and the assumed associated drama. There was no real Youtube content by women gamers about their takes on anything.
So that’s what I’d wanted to do. One of many things, really. One of the most striking things I remember about my weekly gaming group (my Portland Penny Players!) was that, the first time I and the other newblood at the table were going to be introduced into a years-long Changeling: the Lost game, the Storyteller took a moment to talk to everyone before starting in. Some themes of the game were going to be uncomfortable topics, and he wanted to make sure that we understood that the gaming table was, at all times, a Safe Space.
And…you know how sometimes, you absolutely live by a particular creed or code, but it isn’t until someone else speaks the words that it resonates and just rings in your mind?
Yeah.
I’ve wanted to do my vlog for a while, well before I even introduced myself to AngelArts and that happy, positive crew. This has been something I’d wanted to do for SO long. Because everyone needs a safe space. More than that – everyone needs as many as they can find. And I was determined to be that and more; I wanted to encourage health through gaming, boosting independent creators, and safe, positive experiences. I wasn’t going to make a Big Deal out of being a Female GM – and I’m still not – but maybe next time someone looks around for a GM that just-so-happens to be a woman, they’ll find me instead of Buzzfeed.
I don’t want to get into the fine details of the vlog right here. That is information for the new year, and we are closing out this one for now. I will say this: I am changing my “hub” to Weebly for now. I feel it will be easier to manage things that way. Which means that any links you need – my Youtube channel, my store, my art pages, etc – will be here, at witchwater.weebly.com.
So. Let’s start to wrap this, huh? I can’t remember the last time I wrote such a long and rambling thing. It feels odd to take this much time (and these many words) for myself. It’s been nice! But I think it’s time to turn it back outward now.
2016 has been a hard year for almost everyone, and things may well get worse before they get better. If you are reading this post, then you have survived! Congratulations! And we are all the stronger for the adventures that we have had up to this point.
As I continue my work into the next year, I encourage you all to find a happy place. More than that, though: I would love to invite you all to join me as I participate in Monica Valentinelli’s “Make Art Not War 2017” challenge.
I encourage you to read her post at http://www.booksofm.com/category/make-art-not-war-2017 -- it will explain not only what the challenge is, but how you might want to modify it to better enable you to regularly participate.
For me, my Make Art Not War 2017 Challenge pledge is:
For me, my Make Art Not War 2017 Challenge pledge is:
I pledge to devote at least one hour a day to my personal art. This could be any of my creative passions - wires, painting, writing, drawing, programming, world-building, etc. But a minimum of one hour per day is for this.
If I don’t feel motivated, I pledge to write down the reasons why I wanted to take this challenge for fifteen minutes or one-to-three pages, whichever comes first.
I pledge to mark down on the calendar whenever I complete a day’s efforts.
I will touch base on Monica's website each Wednesday beginning on January 9th. #makeartnotwar2017 #manw2017
I pledge to lessen and keep aware of my non-business social media check-ins. I am still not sure how much time I will need at a go (thanks, 2016), but even before this challenge, I was realizing that I don't like being online so much.
I pledge to continue to #ShamelesslyArtInPublic -- and help boost the signals of honest, independent creatives.
#makeartnotwar2017 #manw2017
If I don’t feel motivated, I pledge to write down the reasons why I wanted to take this challenge for fifteen minutes or one-to-three pages, whichever comes first.
I pledge to mark down on the calendar whenever I complete a day’s efforts.
I will touch base on Monica's website each Wednesday beginning on January 9th. #makeartnotwar2017 #manw2017
I pledge to lessen and keep aware of my non-business social media check-ins. I am still not sure how much time I will need at a go (thanks, 2016), but even before this challenge, I was realizing that I don't like being online so much.
I pledge to continue to #ShamelesslyArtInPublic -- and help boost the signals of honest, independent creatives.
#makeartnotwar2017 #manw2017
Any and everyone is welcome to join in. Even (or perhaps especially) those of you who feel “I can’t even draw a straight line, I’m not artistic.” Let’s all share in good stories and lend our voices to the world. Speaking of lending our voices...
I feel I need to take a moment to (once again) express my deep gratitude to Monica Valentinelli and my teammates at Modiphius. I know I took some time to address Monica previously, on my Facebook, but I feel it’s worth repeating here.
Monica has been a voice for equality in the gaming industry – well, really, in any industry, but iconically so in the Science Fiction / Fantasy / Roleplaying industries. In her attempts to give more women – more minorities in general! – a better chance for industry representation and equality, I was one of the writers she selected to bring into the fold.
I still feel I can’t thank her enough. She is a warm and wonderful woman, and I feel a connection to her through her brave and open experiences growing up. And now I get to see for myself what it is to be a professional writer in one of the fields I adore.
And I really want to take a moment to also thank my team at Modiphius. The work I’ve been doing on Robert E Howard’s Conan: Adventures In an Age Undreamed Of has been a great experience. I feel that I’ve connected with and befriended a lot of fantastic and creative people. My people.
Right, we good? Let’s finish this, then.
For 2017, here is my wish for all of you:
1) Bring comfort and love to those around you. And if you can’t bring that, then at least bring hope. In your actions, in your words, in using your voice.
2) Spend time with those you love. Your life is important, even if it sometimes feels like it isn’t. Your time in this life is a beautiful and noteworthy thing.
3) Try new things. Reconnect with old things. Follow your dreams. Succeed. Fail. Learn. Each experience – no matter if it’s wonderful or horrible, happy or sad – will become another step on your journey, another layer of reinforcement on your shield, another feather in your wings.
4) Help yourself and help others. Do not neglect one for the other. Think before you react. Build longer tables, not higher walls. Make new friends. Reconnect with old friends. Find happiness in your journey, and remember that the sweetest of journeys are shared.
5) Never forget to laugh. Meet evil with good. Fight fire with marshmellows. Treat your friends like friends and your enemies like your enemies. Let joy and innocence prevail.
…but seriously, guys, watch Toys.
And have a good, safe New Year!
We’ll talk again soon.
I feel I need to take a moment to (once again) express my deep gratitude to Monica Valentinelli and my teammates at Modiphius. I know I took some time to address Monica previously, on my Facebook, but I feel it’s worth repeating here.
Monica has been a voice for equality in the gaming industry – well, really, in any industry, but iconically so in the Science Fiction / Fantasy / Roleplaying industries. In her attempts to give more women – more minorities in general! – a better chance for industry representation and equality, I was one of the writers she selected to bring into the fold.
I still feel I can’t thank her enough. She is a warm and wonderful woman, and I feel a connection to her through her brave and open experiences growing up. And now I get to see for myself what it is to be a professional writer in one of the fields I adore.
And I really want to take a moment to also thank my team at Modiphius. The work I’ve been doing on Robert E Howard’s Conan: Adventures In an Age Undreamed Of has been a great experience. I feel that I’ve connected with and befriended a lot of fantastic and creative people. My people.
Right, we good? Let’s finish this, then.
For 2017, here is my wish for all of you:
1) Bring comfort and love to those around you. And if you can’t bring that, then at least bring hope. In your actions, in your words, in using your voice.
2) Spend time with those you love. Your life is important, even if it sometimes feels like it isn’t. Your time in this life is a beautiful and noteworthy thing.
3) Try new things. Reconnect with old things. Follow your dreams. Succeed. Fail. Learn. Each experience – no matter if it’s wonderful or horrible, happy or sad – will become another step on your journey, another layer of reinforcement on your shield, another feather in your wings.
4) Help yourself and help others. Do not neglect one for the other. Think before you react. Build longer tables, not higher walls. Make new friends. Reconnect with old friends. Find happiness in your journey, and remember that the sweetest of journeys are shared.
5) Never forget to laugh. Meet evil with good. Fight fire with marshmellows. Treat your friends like friends and your enemies like your enemies. Let joy and innocence prevail.
…but seriously, guys, watch Toys.
And have a good, safe New Year!
We’ll talk again soon.