makers
Most of the Istotas are Makers.
There are dozens of them, and they are full of contradictions. Makers are strong and opinionated personalities, and they're a bit self-centred. Don't try to make sense of their stories.
Simply allow them to play with you, move you and inspire. Perhaps you recognise their trails inside yourself.
Get to know them by their names.
Acce
Acce is a shapeshifter.
They spend their days as many things: a small insect, a gigantic mountain, a tiny pebble, a cup of tea. It's fun! They get to know lots of states of being, get to see the world from hundreds of perspectives. But nothing ever feels quite right. What's the point of being all these things, when they don't even know their true self? And who actually knows them, remembers them? One day a garden, the next a towering archway?
As Acce journeys through Istopia, they begin to notice how afraid everyone is of change. We cling to what's familiar, but want nothing more than to be our fullest selves. Acce understands this all too well.
One day, Acce comes upon a creature who is very hungry. Acce becomes a fruit tree so they can eat. Another time, someone is lost, and Acce becomes a guiding star to lead them home. Acce realises this is their true self, a shapeshifter who helps others. They accept themselves as everlasting change.
Ambi
Ambi is born in freefall.
Somersaulting down, down, down, their first ever act in Istopia comes when, realising their misfortune, Ambi braces their small body. This tensing-up pushes hundreds of tentacles out of them. It's glorious! Now Ambi can stop their fall, take a break, before moving on.
Ambi becomes very skilful at falling, and even learns to move upwards. Down and up, falling and rising, Ambi begins to realise their tentacles are useful for other things, too. Gathering food and building buildings. Helping others find their clouds, hugging those in pain. They start to experiment with these limbs, creating intricate drawings in the skies, constructing elaborate nests, signalling others in motioned patterns in the air.
The years pass, and Ambi never touches the ground. They don't even want to – they are happy in this in-between, and have grown confident and quick with their tentacles.
A master of the fall.
Anx
Anx. Poor Anx.
Born in fear, a constant discomfort. Every move they make fills them with trepidation. So they decide to stay still. But the fear only grows stronger. They stop sleeping, becoming a skinny shadow of a thin tree, wrapping themself tight in heavy blankets, making it even harder to move – even if they want to. When afraid, Anx turns blue and their eyes grow large, watching for danger. But what are they afraid of? Everything causes the dread to rise. Nothing and nowhere feel safe.
One day, Anx notices a small hole in their big toe with a little tail. Anx finds the courage to pull it, and a little lizard comes out. It starts to wiggle and scream, and another tail emerges from another part of Anx's body. They pull that one out, then another, and another! Soon, Anx is wiggling like a lizard too. Dozens of small, cute lizards under their skin, awake and squiggling. Anx pushes the blankets off and starts to run around with the lizards inside and the ones already out.
That day, Anx realises that the source of their fear is not outside, but the unfamiliar feeling under their skin. Once Anx meets those innocent creatures and gets to know them, they find their calm and start to enjoy the world.
Apro
Appro is born in a dimension of the world where everything can be measured with a matchbox. A tabletop equals 24 flips of the longer side of the matchbox, a cup equals 3 flips of the shortest side, a flower petal 1 flip of the longer side, a leaf 1 flip of the shorter side, the stem of a flower 5. It is the calmest place, with a simple, enduring truth: everything is shaped in matchbook measures.
From an early age, Appro learns how everything is built. They move through life, letting the lightness of certainty carry them. This makes it possible for Appro to be prepared for anything and predict what will occur. In this legible system, the measurement of the world turns to words, which Appro can use to keep the world intact.
In time, though, Appro starts to disappear. One morning, they look in the mirror and see their face blending with the wall. Later that day, their voice fades while talking to another Istota. A few days later, an Istota bumps into Appro, spilling a glass of juice on their clothes. Appro doesn’t understand what is happening, and looks for answers in the matchbox. They flip, twist, and turn it around, but nothing makes sense. Angry, Appro tears the small box apart.
What do they find there?
Con
Con is in a constant struggle.
Sometimes, they are on top of the world, light as a feather, spreading magic everywhere. Other times, they shrink like an afterparty balloon, barely holding together. These constant rollercoasters leave Con tired. They like the peaks when nothing can bring them down, but the doubt of the downsides contaminates everything.
It's as if there are two creatures inside them. Con grows to love both sides of themself, because they are connected to the world and aware of all its happenings and imaginings. One cannot exist without the other. But the constant swings between them are unbearable.
One day, Con meets a smart and witty creature who owns a field of the most beautiful flowers, always in bloom. Con admires the plants' stability and permanence, so different from their own life. Con gazes upon the field for hours, and starts to feel steady. The smart and witty creature picks one blossom and places it in Con's beard.
Now, every time Con feels the waves between strength and doubt, they touch the flower that is always there, unchanged, and beneath all those swings and waves, their feet can feel the solid ground.
Focu
Focu is born with a rare peculiarity – a bear inside their chest, peaceful and friendly while sleeping but less so when awake. Whenever Focu moves too quickly or is nervous and alert, the bear roars out in fear. Focu likes their bear very much, and they are good friends who support each other every day. They take good care of this fearful bear inside them.
But whenever Focu tries to rest, and nods off until sinking to the ground, the bear wakes up in terror. 'Focu, Focu! What's happening! Focu, I'm scared!' the bear screams. Focu tries a million ways to sleep without scaring their gentle giant inside. They seek out other Istotas for advice. But sleeping while standing still is no easy task to master, and years go by without an answer.
One day, Focu almost gives up. They put their hands on the bear's nose, and it feels so nice – cold and wet, with a gentle stream of air every once while. This centres them.
Since that day, when Focu wants to sleep, they just place their hands on the bear's nose.
Now, both Focu and the bear can rest.
Hop
Hop lives between the land and skies.
For Hop, there is neither up nor down. This makes them perfect for delivering and moving things across Istopia for the other Istotas, whose abilities to travel between the two layers of their world are not, one might say, optimal.
One day during a usual whoop into the sky for a delivery, Hop bumps into a creature stuck in a sticky, violet cloud, crying and crying out for help. Hop first tries to soothe the creature with words, kind words, riddles and nonsensical sounds like coos and blips, trying to tell the creature that things will be okay. But the grip of the cloud doesn't loosen, and the creature continues to cry.
Hop begins to panic, and starts to swirl rapidly around the cloud like a mad cup of tea. And sure enough, the cloud begins to swirl too, the violet shades spiralling into green. What a transfixing sight! Hop remembers their delivery, and pulls from their pocket a box of glitter meant for the higher skies, sprinkling it instead into the mad-tea cloud. The swirling greens grow brighter, and brighter, and neither cloud nor creature can believe their eyes – they burst into laughter, tickled by the sight and also the tingling sensations of glitter! After a few minutes, the cloud laughs so hard it lets the creature go!
And meantime, Hop finds their real power: their swirls can turn anything and everything around.
Ima
Ima is the most paradoxical Istota there is. They are always present, yet elusive. No one has ever seen them, but everyone knows them well. Whenever Ima is needed, they appear, and that's when the fun begins. Ima knows everything about fun, because they know no limits!
Ima's world is shaped by the world, so the more they see, the more they can do. They discover this at an early age – meeting another creature or reading a book transports them to that very story, or to a moment in that creature's life. It’s exhilarating to jump between experiences like that, often experiences Ima themself has never had.
The secret to this freedom lies in a magical potion Ima prepares each morning. The recipe came to them in a dream: the edge of the world, constantly moving away as Ima approached. In the dream, Ima held a glass in their hand. Inside was a secret. When they woke, they rushed to the kitchen to write it down. A little dash of thoughts, some memories, a few drops of doubt, a splash of aspiration, a pinch of excitement, and a cup of exaggeration – and voilà!
Limitless fun for all to enjoy!
Jo
Jo's favourite pastime is meandering about like a tumbleweed.
As they roll about from place to place, Jo collects laughter and smiles in this glittery balloon inside them. With each encounter, the balloon in Jo grows bigger and bigger, filled to the brim with happiness. Every so often, there's no more space for more, and happiness bursts from Jo's mouth, spreads across the streets and bounces between buildings. And everyone fortunate enough to be in its wake gets to laugh.
After this release, Jo becomes very still. They only hear the sound of their breathing. In. Out. In. Out. In. Depleted and without joy, Jo slowly starts to move around again. This is the secret Jo knows: movement is the remedy to all that empty.
So the cycle begins anew.
Jo gathers the happiness once again, fills to the brim, and…burst! O these enchanting moments. Istotas from everywhere love the joy Jo brings.
Celebrations and smiles, fireworks of laughter, fountains of those jokes that remind us that happiness is never too much!
Liv
Liv’s home is atop a mountain, high above the skies, where strong winds rule the rocks and streams.
Almost nothing lives there, except for some leafless trees and a few brave flowers. Occasionally, another Istota shows up to harvest the freshness, but they always leave again. Why would Liv make a home in such a cold, lonely place? Especially since they used to be cold all the time, could never get warm, would turn blue and move through Istopia like they were filled with ice?
In a time before, when Liv lives below where most Istotas live, and they are flying about to try to stay warm, Liv suddenly collides with a ball of heat out of nowhere. Like a lightning bolt, strong and energising. In the impact, swarms of blue dust fly off the heat's skin, and beautiful flowers start to grow in the trees all around. Liv realises that the ball of heat is actually a little bird with a big heart, too big for their tiny body. The bird has to flap its wings hard to keep up with all the blood its heart makes. This constant exercise overheats the bird and produces a magical blue dust that activates everything it lands upon.
When Liv realises the blue dust’s power, they decide to keep the bird and sprinkle the world, spreading alive-ness far and wide. Of course, Liv is happy to keep the bird close for another reason – what a gift to have this heater with you at all times! The mountaintop is warm for Liv and the bird, and a soft, quiet place to rest between their many, many adventures.
Sen
Sen feels everything.
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Sen, O Sen! What an Istota! The entire surface of their body is covered with small, sensory detectors, each able to experience the world in a different way. But with this constant flood of input, Sen rarely has a moment of rest. Feeling so much can be scary and overwhelming, and it takes years for Sen to learn how to take everything in.
It happened like this. One day, while walking on the beach feeling quite emotional, and overwhelmed to the point of literally overheating, Sen sees a jellyfish on the sand. A lightbulb goes off in Sen, and they put the jellyfish on their head to cool down. The refreshing cool is immediate. Sen begins to focus all their sensations into their head, and a soothing calm spreads through them. Sen takes the jellyfish off their head, thanks them, and walks on.
And this is what Sen learns to do: move their attention to a sensation, then to another. Now they can enjoy each and every one of them, any detection their body tracks, in every moment.
What richness, what beauty, to move within their sensations instead of moved by them!
Trus
Trus is known for their ability to manoeuvre with strength, speed, and precision.
While all Istotas can fly, some do it better than others – and some just fall, addicted to the swoops and swirls, with no thought of the ground. It's Trus's job to help them out.
Why, you ask? Because of a bouncy castle. When Trus is little, they practice flying and landing on a bouncy castle. They love taking off, the freefall, the soft landings, and the bounce back up. This safety brings them courage, and more courage, until they never think twice about a flight into the air. As Trus grows older, they notice that many Istotas get carried away in flight, and fall with no plan for their landing. ‘Wait a minute!” Trus thinks, ‘Every fall should have a landing soft and safe!’
So Trus sews huge inflatable wings and various kinds of pillows around their body to catch falling flyers just before they hit the ground. Thanks to Trus's excellent flying skills, they can catch any Istota in freefall at any time. Then Trus gently gets them on their feet, ready for another day, another flight, another adventure.
Flying in Istopia becomes less dangerous and scary thanks to Trus, and a lot more fun!