Summer Camp 2025 Game Plan
Woooo Yeah Baby That's What I've Been Waiting For, Second Summer Camp Let's Goooo
So, Summer Camp is upon us once again. As of writing this it's been like 3 months since I even thought of anything worldbuilding related. I've been locked in on making this for a completely separate event for a completely separate hyperfixation. In fact, this is the first place I'm linking it publicly since I plan on keeping it unlisted until the event passes, so consider yourselves lucky.
To be completely real with you, I don't even know if my heart is even in it for Summer Camp this year. If I got the sauce. But that doesn't mean I won't at least give it an honest shot. So here we go again boys
Me when I cast 75 consecutive Arcane Missiles 
to fucking obliterate a level 1 Kobold who tried to rob me
(It was self-defense)
to fucking obliterate a level 1 Kobold who tried to rob me(It was self-defense)
Week 1: Nourishment
Goal
A year ago I would've told you that my goal for my second would be Silver, but unless my mindset goes through a biblical shift halfway through then that goal just wouldn't be feasible or smart. If I do go for it then I'm going for Copper again. Nice and simple, just trying to get back into the groove. But if I were to splash in some ambition, I'd like to write another one-shot I'm ngl.
Focus
Updates & Meta
When it comes to updates in my world it's rarely the content itself, since I'm usually pretty consistent in what I want in my world, only the writing and presentation. A LOT of the articles I have in mind only really need formatting updates, and the few that need writing updates I'm saving for much bigger projects.
I definitely have these updates on my to-do list, but whether or not they'll be done for Summer Camp prep is up in the air. It really just depends on how my motivation will fluctuate as the month goes on, but it IS in fact on the table.
This Meta ramble I went on last year will always apply"Okay you're gonna laugh. I don't really use the meta, personally it's kinda overwhelming and I just don't vibe with it, but at the same time the way I write anyway already functions as one. The language I use, the aloud boxes for commentary, the links to videos and music I include, most notably the author's notes; I'm very open about what inspires me and my world, I just opt to sprinkle bits and pieces in the relevant places rather than one big collection. Also I'm not very good at describing my world, it's all just vibes vfsbfdskjhvb."
Week 2: Roots
Early Oniran
I'm gonna tell you this in the absolute funniest way I possibly can. What we now know as Oniran originally came from a 6-part fantasy novel series I wanted to write all the way back in Middle School, specifically 7th to 8th grade and a little ways into high school, that was essentially a fantasy isekai with Loretm (I grew up watching Game Theory during the early FNAF era, I was cooked from the START) centered around a self-insert protagonist that was just me but cooler. I never got past chapter 3 of book 1 cause I kept rewriting them.
Now in my infinite wisdom I can recognize that it was barely veiled SAO fanfic. But it goes even deeper, cause THAT came from an entirely different but not really different fantasy short story I wrote for 6th grade English, in which I wrote about 10 pages front to back compared to my classmates' average of like 3. That story was ALSO a fantasy isekai centered around a self-insert protagonist that was just me but cooler.
You wouldn't believe it, but THAT was based on a completely different thing I had gotten into at the time. See, that short story I wrote was actually just me lovingly copying the plot of Sonic and the Black Knight beat for beat but putting in my own lore since 13 year old me had no idea what the fuck "Arthurian Legend" was.
And as you may have guessed SatBK is a fantasy isekai except Sonic (Who I, both young and old, would describe as "Just like me but cooler fr fr", goes to the world of Arthurian Legend to fight a corrupted King Arthur and eventually convince a godlike being terrified of their own mortality that death and the end of all things is something to cherish instead of fear. This is a VERY common theme among all my favorite stories.
Also my current favorite way to gush about SatBK is to tell people "Basically Sonic is isekai'd into Arthurian Legend and it escalates into him fighting Lord Gwyn to stop Dark Souls from happening, oh and also here's a cool post about it".
So now, over 10 years later and having finally moved on from isekai after seeing Konosuba fucking perfect it, we have Oniran. And the best part? I didn't change in the SLIGHTEST. My personality, my art, my writing, my world, it is all a beautiful mosaic crafted with shards of everything that brings me joy, and some of those shards still have the damn watermarks on them; I wouldn't have it any other way.
World Introduction
Yeah I'm still happy with my current Homepage and Intro, no notes here vhbsvkjhdfb.
Week 3: Metamorphosis
I'm gonna go out of my way to seek out 2 worlds/articles I've seen VERY little of for this and why I think they're great.
Fresh Perspectives
So I've been meaning to get into this for a MINUTE lemme tell ya. One of the biggest things holding me back from jumping into creating an entire adventure module is me not knowing where to start or how to go about it in the first place.
So needless to say discovering The Red Keep Adventure was BIG, for someone who writes like I do it really helps to be able to look at examples that are much more structured and thought out so I can get an idea of how I'd like to adapt it into my own style of adventure writing.
The organization here is a BIG one, as well as the depth of content, so if you see me drop an adventure module akin to the Dungeonomicon in the future then you can thank this article right here.
New Beginnings
I had JUST been introduced to this world like 2 days ago and the most recent available article is absolute gas.
I've made it clear how much I like exploring the mundane in worldbuilding and not only is this a perfect example, not only is it about playing cards and making me wonder how I can explore them further in my own world, but this shit is the most wiki-looking article I've seen in a MINUTE. Like my brother in christ it has cited sources.
Every day that passes I get closer and closer to finally making the Tarot card deck I've had in the back of my mind for the past 4-5 years. This IS related, Tarot cards were originally just playing cards.
Week 4: Tomorrow
Writer's Workshop & Planning Ahead
Lemme give it to ya straight brother I am ALWAYS in a place where I can lock the fuck in at a moment's notice to create peak (The issue is that I don't). My setup is actually super comfy, maybe even too comfy. As for planning ahead I can confirm that for the entire month I've been playing an unhealthy amount of Hollow Knight, Hades (Epic the Musical left me desperate for more greek mythology content), ZZZ, and, as of two or three days ago, a LOT of Slay the Princess. I could tell you that it was in preparation so I could gather ideas, and it wouldn't necessarily be a lie, but also it'd be a lie. My plan is simple...... uh, write I guess?
Community Connection
I am extremely lucky to still be part of a gang of fellow WA creators who support me to an almost irresponsible extent, and I'm sure they'll hold me accountable if I end up slacking fsbvkjhdf. In addition, at this point 4 weeks after the start of this homework I'm genuinely considering taking that leap and having Summer Camp be my reason to finally start streaming like I've always wanted to.
I just think it'd be super fun, maybe people would like to see how I do the funny art thing where I draw pictures and stuff, or how I go about writing, perhaps even feel confusion when I open up a video game mid-work because I'm doing "research". Can't guarantee it'll be great quality, my original plan was to wait until I eventually upgraded my PC, but honestly that's just procrastination masquerading as rationality.
If I wanted to do it, I would've done it already; I want to do it, so I'm gonna do it.
Themes
Nourishment
Nourishment is absolutely something my world dives into a LOT. On the surface you already have all the food related works I've written, like Bonfire Broth or The Knight of Cups, where I tend to use it as a vehicle for comfort or just fleshing out the day to day.
But the deeper you go the more you start to see it in basically everything, from the way I've adopted the classic "magic takes energy to use" style of system, to the way I define and describe the different magic systems and where its power is drawn from, to the more abstract like themes of relationship, identity, and the indomitable human spirit. It's just fuel and enrichment all the way down.
Roots
It's in this theme where I both struggle and thrive. I tend to not dive into the history that much, but believe me it's absolutely there and important. Like, there is in fact a clear, defined timeline in my drafts that's been there ever since the timeline update. There's no way I could've written the Ancestry lore if I didn't have all the info already, and it's a big reason why I've done such a good job (At least I hope) at intertwining their lore with the world in a way that makes it hard to separate the two.
To me the history fills the same space in my brain as maps, or at least the world map, where I feel a pressure to clearly define things and have them set in stone and written at a much higher level than I'm used to, but in doing so I make the world feel smaller and more rigid. On the flipside I also don't usually like making shit up on the fly (in vibes not actuality) if it feels like it might snowball into something with BIG implications for everything else, which is why articles like +1 Sword are some of my favorites whereas articles like Runestone Trebuchet kinda leave me unsatisfied at best and disappointed or even worried at worst.
In a more meta sense, this theme would be a good way to describe my world. I don't hide the fact that a LOT of what I like in fantasy are seen as cliche, and my go to when making lore is to gather as much relevant info and inspiration related to the topic as I can, so I'd make an argument that a lot of my world is tied to the "roots" of fantasy. Tradition with an extremely saturated coat of paint and glitter and at least 3 color dodge layers.
Metamorphosis
I'm gonna be abstract about this, since the early days of Oniran as we know it I often describe it as "A world where D&D campaigns are always happening". The idea that a party in one corner of the world could be stopping a world ending threat at the same time that a different party in a different corner of the world is stopping a different world ending threat. In a game sense, "Your character isn't special, but that doesn't mean they're uninteresting".
I think change would be constant in a world like that, even if it's not the kind of change you'd expect. While Oniran has its share of history altering events, I don't tend to write them pretty much at all, what I like to focus on more are moments of mundanity. Small progressions here, little setbacks there, miniscule developments and arbitrary bouts of all powerful wizards looking to rule the world.
When compared to the more grandiose, if those moments don't happen, if those wizards are then thwarted, does anything really change? Is it just my excuse to keep the world in medieval times and never progress further than that? The answer to both is yes. At the end of the day it's just a world that wants to shuffle pieces around to let stories play out.
Imma be real with you chief I completely lost the point I was trying to make, if there was even a point at all. So here's the literal: LOVE me the concept of evolution. Knights, Goblins & Trolls, Monster Hunter ecology lore, I write in this space a LOT. And I'm only gonna do it more and more. There that's it that's the theme.
Also if you like grappling with the concept of change I would highly recommend Slay the Princess you should totally play it like right now it's great you should play it I'm telling you you gotta play it right now you gotta like right now you should pla-
Tomorrow
Okay damn this is awkward since the entire first half of the metamorphosis theme might actually fit better here. But lemme lock in regardless.
Tomorrow is an interesting one when it comes to what I like to write. I think for me it ranges from completely literal ideas of time to completely abstract ideas of time with exactly one (1) in-between, you either get time stop spells, premonitions of future events, or Lichdom.
Other than that, I more often than not write in a space that's more "slice of life"; focusing on the present day, living in the moment, knowing where and what I want the world to be and keeping it there until I have a fundamentally world-altering idea that I can't resist.
In a way it keeps me grounded, I worry about the future more than I should and have a lot of trouble understanding how exactly to "live in the moment"; writing stories like The Knight of Cups fills that space, helps me learn more about myself, and puts me at peace.
I DO have stories that will alter the future of Oniran in some way, just like Tolkein had Middle Earth and then wrote LotR, but as of right now I'm happy with where everything is.
The Notepad from Last Time
When it comes to prompt-based challenges, my usual approach is to take ideas I already had and fanangle them into prompts that seem like a good fit. This is probably like the exact opposite of what I'm supposed to be doing with prompts. But as part of my preparation I'll list ideas for some small articles that pop into my head.
Only this time I'll copy paste the list, cross off things I've already done, and then put a new section for current ideas.
Good Luck Charm
All the art is made by me unless labled otherwise!
Love the little animation !! <3
Thank you!!!
While I would love to go on an adventure, writing them is enough for me.