The Bookwyrm

Time for...

ANOTHER RANT THAT GOES ALL OVER THE PLACE!

Hooray!

First, music is awesome. Like, how does it do what it does? How do these simple tones arranged in these specific patterns evoke such emotion?

I know lots of you have recommended songs here, but I'm going to be perfectly honest here; I don't really listen to them. Music with words...it's not my taste. I know they can hold powerful messages and emotions, but there's something about a beautifully crafted song in which not a word is spoken, but something is still being said, that really speaks to me.

I have a playlist on Youtube Music that is now 375 songs long, and all of it is from movies and video games.

Because they have awesome music.

We've got lots of Hans Zimmer, because he's awesome, and music from Xenoblade, because Xenoblade music is awesome. And some other assorted music that's incredibly powerful.

Remind me sometime to share some of these songs, because I can assure you that they have just as much capacity to make you cry as some of the songs you've talked about if you're in the right mindset when you listen to them. Put your "weird video game music" stereotypes at the door. Those songs are incredible.

 The latest additions to said playlist are from the films Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke. Because I am now entering the Studio Ghibli fandom; or, more accurately, the Hayao Miyazaki fandom.

I'd seen a few of his films in my childhood, and honestly don't remember much of them, only that they were a far cry from what I was used to as a little kid, but also very charming and fun. That was years ago.

In my personal wanderings on the internet looking for stuff about writing and fantasy, I stumbled across mentions of the films Castle in the Sky and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. They intrigued me because of how the worldbuilding was conducted, and the messages that they sent. Before winter break, I found a copies of both at the local library, and decided to give them a go on a whim.

I was impressed. The style is definitely different than what I've ever been used to; the way the stories were structured, how the characters interacted, the humor, the art...but it was wonderful. They both told intriguing stories with real characters and powerful messages, and especially in the case of Nausicaä, I was blown away by the worldbuilding.

A few days ago I also watched Princess Mononoke, and that in some ways topped the other two. The world that it portrayed was rich and full of mystery and wonder, fantasy at it's finest in a way I'd never seen before.

When it comes to movies, I'll go to Nolan or Villeneuve for sci-fi, but for fantasy, I'll go to Miyazaki.

This has led me to a hankering for soft worldbuilding and a story set in a world similar to these films, so I started making a world with my siblings. It's filled to the brim with magic and spirits, and there are a few people who have learned how to ask the spirits for favors, in a way. Humans themselves can't do magic, but some can have the spirits do magic for them. Larger civilizations are unable to dwell in the spirit's lands, and thus live in isolated pockets, but many smaller tribes and cultures coexist with the spirits and live in harmony with them. My idea for a character is a young woman who appeals to the spirits by playing a bamboo flute, and travels from her town to surrounding ones to help them with their problems by asking the spirits to help.

So yeah.

Uh...was I going anywhere with this?

Apparently not.