Minor Edits: A Queen’s Ambition

I originally wrote ‘A Queen's Ambition’ 5 or 6 years ago now for a creative writing class. In my mind, the story has two canon endings. I originally wrote it with the ending of the Queen causing a distraction for the Assassin to get away. While this did feel like a good ending, it didn't portray the ambition as well. After some editing, the current ending, where the Queen sells out the Assassin to tie up loose ends, came into being, giving a more ruthless portrayal of the Queen. Both feel like the proper ending to this story to me, even if the title matches the current ending a little better. 

A massive inspiration for the vibes of the setting was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, particularly the Jarl's hall in Whiterun. I remember first entering that space in the game and feeling the immensity of the room. I really wanted to present somewhere that would emulate the feeling, if exaggerating some bits and pieces. Having a clear image in my head made writing the story a much smoother process. This inspiration also helped to solidify the time period I wanted, as the medieval fantasy vibes fit the story I was going for. 

As the story wasn’t originally written for the process of publishing with OCM, there were some changes that came about. The main focus was cleaning up the discussions at the beginning, bringing in more exterior story and worldbuilding as well as better showcasing the characters and their motives. Fortunately, as A Queen’s Ambition is overall a shorter story, the edits were minor and left the heart of the story mostly the same, which I am very happy with.

One Year: A Retrospective on the Pilot of Hidden Anecdotes & Other Tales

The year is 2008. I’m a fourth grader going to a school thirty minutes away from my house. My brother, six years older than me and with a brand new driver’s license, is my primary source of media and pop culture. While early adopters of Netflix DVD, my parents use it primarily to watch old movies and tv series from their youth, and actively frown upon modern media, in particular fantasy and sci-fi as genres, and especially video games as a medium. Despite this, I have access to multiple game systems including a Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox 360. I’m playing Runescape on the house computer because I’ve been banned from playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion after my dad witnessed me hunting down and murdering Perennia Draconis for the Dark Brotherhood storyline. My brother comes into the computer room with a copy of Mistwalker’s Lost Odyssey and tells me he got the newest game made by the creator of Final Fantasy.

I still remember my first time experiencing that game. It introduced the concept of Mental Health to me as a child raised in an “it’s all in your head” household. The cast of characters, many of whom are a thousand years old during the game’s events, are all suffering different mental illnesses (mostly PTSD) born out of their differing experiences having lived for so long. It also made me interested in the concept of the short story. When the protagonist Kaim arrived at the Uhra Inn and the first story in the ‘Thousand Years of Dreaming’ triggered, I remember at first that I was slightly annoyed that a video game was going to force me to read a short story, but before long, I was ready to eat my words. The story had nothing to do with the game's plot, yet it captured me. Hanna’s Departure: The story of a girl Kaim once knew, sickly and destined for an early grave, who never let her ailments get the better of her outlook on life. The heart-breaking memory of Kaim’s last time returning to the Inn owned by the girl’s parents, and talking to the motionless body of the girl as her spirit slowly fades. 

It is to this day the moment in video games that makes me cry hardest. Kaim knowing that Hanna can hear him but is physically unable to open her eyes or move; her tears as he tells her a story but leaves out all of the sadness and violence because he wanted to spare her the ugliness of the world, and of humanity — it gets to me even now as I write about it. In many ways, Lost Odyssey was the beginning of my appreciation for Anthology Worldbuilding. Every story in those ‘Thousand Years of Dreaming’ tells you more about the world and more about the characters with which you are interacting, without there being a clear narrative or tie between them. They are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but they are beautiful nonetheless.

I created Hidden Anecdotes & Other Tales (HAOT) in 2021 while struggling with major mental health issues after graduating from Film School and staring down the barrel of three more years of university. I was revisiting Lost Odyssey while living with my roommate at the time; one of our producers, Reed. I was sitting at my desk, and got to Hanna’s Departure and insisted I read it to him while he played something on the Playstation. All I remember was struggling to keep myself from tearing up as I read it. When I finished, I remember hearing Reed say, “please tell me you were recording that…” I unfortunately had not, but it was a terrific compliment. I briefly considered reading through every story in the “Thousand Years of Dreaming,” and doing that as a Youtube series. Soon the idea had evolved into its own original concept with plenty of inspiration. I wanted to create an infinite universe of worldbuilding capability and use it as a platform for writers of all different styles and interests to come together and tell their stories in a contained, supportive environment. I started work on a basic prototype of the project in late 2021 using a few works I had written previously as individual short stories, and tying them together with a very basic premise. But, as anyone who has suffered undiagnosed ADHD accompanied by anxiety and depression will know, that particular cocktail turns one’s motivation into a mere concept. So while that prototype never went anywhere, it did get me thinking about the project a little bit harder, and more logistically. 

Fast forward to my final semester in Winter of 2024, and I have chosen to end my time at school with a more official, guided prototype — not just of the series, but of my future as a creative director. Working with a professor at my school, I planned my process, put together a full 90 minute demo of the Pilot using every tool provided to me by the school and delivered it as my “Final Project.” Despite having the demo ready to use as a pilot, I didn’t feel it was strong enough to be used as a legitimate release. So with the help of a team of people who were interested in contributing, I revised the script further, and set out to remake what I had just finished making a few months earlier.

We’re coming up on one year since we officially released the Pilot episode of HAOT, which is strange to say the least. I’ve said it before, but I’ve always struggled to put my creative work out there, which makes it very difficult to succeed as a creative of any kind. Part of this was meant to help give unknowns a platform to collaborate and feel supported, but it was also meant to hold me accountable for releasing my own work. It’s the curse of the perfectionist: when working alone, nothing will ever be finished. 

Looking back, there are many things I would change about the Pilot, but from the start I envisioned this as a stepping stone for creatives. It is a safety net for people of all different creative disciplines giving them a world of inspiration to fall back on if they are in a drought. It was never meant to be perfect, especially from the start. It was always meant to evolve with me, the team I work with, and those who join us as time goes on. I am incredibly grateful to have so many people who believe in the mission of this project and want to see it continue. I want to thank every single person on our wonderful team for trusting me, trusting the process, and putting themselves out there. I am very excited for the future of HAOT, and of OCM. 

Though we are taking a brief hiatus, we will be back on September 2nd with Another Tale by our very own Ava Bruintjes, followed by the next chapter of the Interstellar Saga on September 16th! Hope you tune in on our website, or anywhere you get your podcasts!

Late

Late. Missing. Straight up not turned in. These are the words that describe my academic career, from beginning to end. I was never a particularly good student. It wasn’t my fault, I had undiagnosed ADHD but was told that attention deficit problems didn’t exist. People understand better now, but even as recently as 10 years ago, teachers did not generally have a grasp on the ways in which their students were affected by the “Attention Parasite” as I’m going to refer to it going forward.

The Attention Parasite is not a literal parasite. It is not tangible— do not mistake me for some ridiculous conspiracy theorist clown like Alex Jones or Mr. Trump. The Attention Parasite is a sort of mental block that is put up by your brain preventing the body from being able to do anything. It’s the only way I can describe it. It was probably nothing more than the anxiety of doing something poorly and being over-judged, but there was something inside me that would do its best metaphorically to physically restrain me from completing tasks. The worst part was not the struggle to complete tasks, most importantly school work growing up, but the feeling that if it was late, it might as well not be turned in.

I blame that sentiment on stricter teachers who graded ‘Late’ and ‘Missing’ assignments as Zero’s, which felt like a clear indication that if they didn’t respect me, I didn’t need to respect them. Time is a complicated and mysterious concept, and to put strict due dates on learning for children is inherently cruel and a clear misuse of the spectacular wonder that is the human brain.

The biggest problem I had was the ambition I felt. Outside walking, in class learning about a concept, driving to and from school, they all were special times where my feelings toward accomplishing tasks became powerful, and seemingly unstoppable. I felt a deep desire to write, to create, to read, watch movies, and play games. I wanted to have time for everything, but the older I got, the faster time seemed to go, and I felt all the less capable of accomplishing something. I know I am not the only one who has struggled with this. Many I have spoken to over the years, either diagnosed before me, or those who remain undiagnosed have expressed sentiments similar to the ones I have tried to convey for all these years. While I might have the passion to do something, actually doing the thing can be a daunting endeavor.

That’s how I felt going into the creative world. In all the fields I have aspired for throughout my life, none of them have been remotely easy fields to get into. From writing Novels, to playing Jazz, to being a TV Showrunner, none of these professions are ones that you simply become; some do, but what was that phrase about exceptions and rules? I’ve always felt overwhelmed by ‘the ladder.’ I don’t understand ‘the ladder.’ I guess that’s not true. ‘The ladder’ is nothing more than capitalist bullshit. It’s popularity clubs, investment schemes, and insurance fraud. The ladder only exists because accountants and money obsessed lawyers of the entire entertainment industry— not necessarily just Hollywood— would rather spend $200,000,000 to make a movie with a big name director, and actors of celebrity status, than give $1,000,000 to 200 different up-and-coming filmmakers, or $100,000 to 2,000 lesser known filmmakers. Some of the greatest films were made on a shoestring budget. Wet Hot American Summer had a budget of about $1.8 million. Clerks was made with $27,000 spread out across something like 12 maxed out credit cards. Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi with about $7,000 that he earned by being a human guinea pig for medical research at a university in Texas. These three are the examples that spring to mind readily for a variety of reasons, but with a little extra research, one could dig up thousands of examples of filmmakers that with their limited budgets managed to produce either great works of art or inspiring attempts at visual spectacle that deserve applause, even the failed ones.

Art and entertainment should not be dictated by the profit they turn. Artists should not be expected to compromise their work for the sake of profit. I am not necessarily advocating artists not be filtered or edited. Even great artists sometimes have bad ideas and should be told so. Anyway, getting back on the track that was never there, I have struggled to complete things my entire life, even things I am very passionate about. But for the first time, I have managed to follow through and not only complete the task I set out for myself, but also have the next part ready to go early.

Hidden Anecdotes & Other Tales is either the reason you’re reading this, or you have somehow stumbled onto this without ever hearing of it, which would actually be a remarkable feat. HAOT as we call it internally— it is the an audio series I created as a way to give writers, and artists of all kinds to express themselves in a familiar environment. It’s an anthology taking place in an infinite universe to an Immortal who has been there since the beginning. I created it during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when the entertainment industry was struggling to grapple with the new “Remote World.” It premiered yesterday, September 3rd on Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and Apple Podcasts. But do not be fooled. It is not a podcast. It is an Audio Extravaganza. Do you wish your audiobooks were more lively? They can be a bit bland. Do you want an anthology series but also want to have a character to commit to and be invested in? Do you want to have guaranteed original short stories read aloud every other week— bite sized stories that can be enjoyed on a short commute, or a quick grocery run?

That’s what you’ll get with Hidden Anecdotes & Other Tales. It is an original series that pays homage to the great works that came before. Anyway, that’s my long way of saying I forgot to post a blog yesterday, Oops!

The Power of Writing & The Weakness of Resentment

Writing is a very important trait of humanity. It is our greatest strength, and our greatest weakness. We have the ability to catalogue history— albeit flawed, and biased as accounts can be— we have the ability to tell stories, construct poems, write jokes, and sway people’s opinions when we do it right. Writing is the tool of the strong to outlive the weak. Writing, and the art of building something out of nothing but language is not something to be resented or dismissed. As Aristotle taught us, everyone contains different virtues, and while some thrive when putting words to the page, others are gifted at putting paint to canvas, playing a musical instrument, or even solving difficult or unusual equations. Being bad at something is no reason to resent others for their talent in that field. If you resent a sculptor’s ability to craft a facsimile of a person or animal, there’s a small chance they resent your understanding of color theory, or your writing skills.

Resentment is never the answer. It can explain much of what happens in the world, and not only in recent times, but throughout history. People often resent others, even when they won’t admit it, or don’t realize it. Usually what people resent is other people's happiness. It is an issue that is relatable to all. You see someone having a good day when you’re having a bad day, you want to get angry because “what the fuck? What’s so fucking good?” It is a feeling I get when I am having a rough day; it is a feeling people experience naturally, because it is our natural tendency to compare ourselves to others. It’s the classic ‘you vs. me’ and ‘us vs. them’ situation as explained in The Good Place, episode 3.04. We have a survivalistic, evolutionary trait built into us to be distrustful of anyone who isn’t us, but the cruel irony is, again, our desire to compare ourselves to one another.

So, in a country where some people in positions of power– that they should not be holding– are trying very actively to remove books based solely on their personal feelings and/or religious beliefs, one has to first take an active step forward towards stopping these aggressors, but we must also take a look at these people’s motivations. People who try to ban books with even hints of LGBTQIA+ material are doing it because they resent the queer community; most of the time their resentment is tied up in the idea that they feel for whatever reason like they cannot express their own sexuality openly, so they wish to take their frustrations out against those loud and proud people who have the confidence to do so.

One could argue that everything happening in our country right now is because Trump resents that Obama was not only a beloved president by a large majority of both this country, and the rest of the world— maybe except Palestine, and most middle eastern countries— but that he was very charming, witty, and could be both funny and smart, while exposing the flaws in the economic system within which Trump was thriving despite being a complete loser when it came to anything related to money. Others have argued that everything happening in our country is because Reagan resented being accused of being a Stalinist, and made it his life’s mission to fuck over any and everyone involved— expressing a level of righteous indignation so excessive, you have to wonder if he actually was. Other’s, including myself, believe that the building blocks of this country have led us to our current situation simply by design. The United States was built out of a collective of people, all resentful of a country in Europe for not letting them practice something, whether that practice were a certain religion, or fucking owning other humans!! Seriously, it boggles my brain whenever I think about the fact that England’s parliament had like one discussion about potentially banning slavery (something they didn’t accomplish til 1820) in like 1705, and a bunch of the most depraved brits decided to move everything to the colonies so they could continue being garbage human beings.

So in my opinion, resentment is what has caused so much of what goes on nowadays. It is the reason I believe it is important for all creative writers with a story to tell and a message to convey to have a platform with which they may share their work. It is important for all creatives to be able to tell their truths, express themselves, and do it the way they feel works best for them. I always liked the art of using stories to bring ideas and perspectives to people who might not have seen or understood a certain way of thinking. If a perspective is valid and worthy of thought, then there is undoubtedly a way to express it analogously, telling not only the story, but incepting the minds of the audience. (This is for another time, but I will explain my use of the term ‘incepting’ at some point.)

Art does not need to say something, but it typically helps distinguish between those who create for the hell of it, and those who create because they feel they must.

Hidden Anecdotes & Other Tales Premiere’s one week from today, September 3rd on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever else you may listen to a podcast; I don’t know your life.

What is Outrageous Creations Media?

What is entertainment? It’s a subjective thing, really. People and creatures can be entertained by exceedingly monotonous things, and everyone has their own standards— their own bar for what will entertain them. These standards are very difficult to maintain, as there are countless factors that play into an individual's feelings towards a type of entertainment style. Some people love to watch people get hurt, so they watch Jack-Ass, and enjoy seeing real people suffer pain. There are people who do not enjoy seeing real pain and suffering, but when it is cartoonishly presented, like Homer getting his arm stuck in something stupid, or very obviously fake blood coming out in extreme amounts from an unrealistic place, they derive humor and enjoyment. Then there are people still who find all violence to be reprehensible, and find that even when obviously being faked for show it is unsettling, and are not entertained in any capacity.

I am entertained by a great many things. I have always been entertained by a great many things. It was perhaps born out of necessity, as I grew up on a large fruit orchard, one that was quite isolated from the town in which our address was listed. Because of this distance, we did not even see it as worth it to drive 15 minutes to our small town’s grocery stores, and preferred to drive 25 minutes to the bigger cities grocery stores. School was a 30 minute drive, and we were out of district, so from pre-school to junior year, school was never any less than 30 minutes away. This meant my entertainment was anything and everything. Music, video games, reading, movies and television— playing outside, playing inside, staring blankly at a wall, staring blankly at the outside from inside, staring blankly at the outside from outside, staring blankly at the outside through a window to the inside, to another window to the outside– I had to entertain myself some way or another!

Entertainment has always been important to me, because it was the only thing that kept me sane during the worst times in my life. Entertainment is what leads to community. Some of my best friends have been made through a shared love of all things media and entertainment. Media/entertainment is that happy medium that is both capable of triggering joy, but also in helping teach the little life lessons that people sometimes do not realize they need to know. Without a show like ‘The Good Place’ (2016-2020), I never would have become as interested in, and further pursued, the study of philosophy, nor would I have become so familiar with the world of comedy. It was through Mike Schur’s masterpiece that I began pursuing the careers of not only the main actors of ‘The Good Place',’ but I started noticing the network of up-and-comer/background comedic actors who fill in many of the great sitcoms of the 21st century. Today, I consider myself a minor expert on the comedy scene around the US, and although unpracticed, a student of improvisation. Entertainment has an important presence in shaping modern society’s interests and passions. Entertainment is supposed to be the great equalizer, a way to bring people together.

That is why I started Outrageous Creations Media. OCM is… well, this! It is a production company I started after graduating University in 2024. It is a collective of creatives, from every path, coming together to collaborate on projects that will bring fresh, innovative, and almost always Outrageous content to you, the audience.

As a Film School graduate, from the moment of classes beginning, I knew one thing to be true: Climbing the ladder of the film and entertainment industry is a terrible, miserable journey, and is more than likely going to kill the drive of many young creatives who just want to tell stories or make films. I rejected the “traditional” ladder climb from the start, swearing that would not be my life, daring to hope that with each minor job, I’d prove myself a little bit more. I didn’t have time for that. Writers are impatient people. Not only do we have an idea, we need to make the idea happen now, or we don’t know if it will be back. Writers and filmmakers have the itch to move, to create, to entertain others. Wasting time doing anything other than writing or creating is exactly that: a waste.

When I took my degree from Vancouver Film School and went to the University of the Fraser Valley, an idea sparked in my mind. That idea remained with me throughout my three years at the school, and when I was heading into my final semester, and needed a personal project to develop with my advisor, I decided to bring it from the caverns of my mind and put it to good use. I produced a proof of concept which earned me my Bachelors degree and proved to me that I was capable of producing such a thing virtually on my own. But I never planned on having the project be solo. This was always meant to be collaborative. Film school proved to me that one of the best ways to work as a creator is to collaborate with others and learn to bring multiple separate visions together cohesively.

So when I had graduated, and knew I wanted to do the project, I began my search for those around me who not only have the talent and drive to be involved, but the interest to be engaged. While still a small team,the people who have joined me are talented writers, storytellers, and creatives. Together they have helped me realize a project that has been brewing in the back of my mind for a very long time.

Our series is called Hidden Anecdotes & Other Tales. You will be able to listen to it bi-weekly on Spotify, Apple Music, our website, or really wherever you prefer to listen to podcasts. But do not be fooled, for it is not a podcast, but an audio extravaganza. It is a book of short stories. With the hard work and dedication of our team, we hope that someday it will grow into a library of hundreds of books of short stories. It is an infinite universe of possibilities in world-building— an exercise in storytelling inspired by the likes of The Twilight Zone, Animatrix, Lost Odyssey, & The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. It is an Outrageous Creation, a story that cannot and should not make sense, and yet the audience will find themselves invested nonetheless as they pursue the journey of our Nameless Protagonist searching for the key to unlocking his memories, lost to the ever-flowing tides of the Great Obsidian Sea.

If you want to know more, please follow us over at Instagram and Blue_Sky, and please remember to check back here for our weekly blog discussing all things Outrageous. We at OCM are excited to share our content with you, and hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy making it!