A Brief “Huh?” on Gabriel’s Ghost

Gabriel’s Ghost, by Linnea Sinclair. I’ve read a few other SF romances by this author, but this one tossed me out about page 142 with a “WTH?” ringing in my head. Basically, “this book has made a left turn completely out of plausible emotional reality”.

Current Events: Culture Wreckers

Tired, and a bit cranky, so keeping this short. You’ve probably heard of people having no-holds-barred beat-downs over what is and isn’t “cultural appropriation”, up to and including

Worldbuilding: Layers of Civilization

If someone excavated under your world’s capital city, what would they find?

The answer depends on your setting. A colony on a completely alien planet might have had no intelligent life before your people moved in,

Maiden Holmes – Five Elements and Five-Man Band

A little analysis of how characters in this show work, to make a better story. Overall story setup: woman disguised as male detective meets prince disguised as lower-ranking noble, Together They Fight Crime.

A Long Road Chapter 14 Ficbit – Jurisdictional Disputes

Checking around the salle before his first afternoon class arrived, brushing a spot off one of the mirrors, Alberich deliberately arched a brow so it would carry to the Herald-Captain along with Mindspeech. :A few, I have. Something there is of import that affects my class?:

Brief Note: Taxes Dude Not Funny

I did get some fic scribbled. I meant to also write a post for blog for today, but IRS happened.

A Long Road Chapter 13 Now Up on AO3

Chapter 13 of A Long Road, “Encircled Ground”, is now up on Archive of Our Own.

Worldbuilding: Holding Onto the Sunlight

In the Korean alternate history drama The Scholar who Walks the Night, there’s one completely unexplained artifact: the black robe passed down by the Guardian Hae-seo to Kim Sung-yeol as the (unwillingly recruited) new Guardian vampire.

A Long Road Chapter 13 Ficbit – Detail Work

“Just please tell us the rules aren’t carved on a giant rock wall,” Wei Wuxian sighed. “Or dictate how many bowls you’re allowed in a sitting, how many ornaments you’re allowed on your belt, and whether or not you should gossip when you know everybody does it.”

Daren felt his eyebrows climb. Well. That explained… quite a lot about Trainee Lan Wangji, actually.

“How many belt ornaments-?” Talia suddenly brightened. “Are there other clothing requirements? I was wondering why Lan Wangji was so uncomfortable with getting measured for court-formal uniforms….”

Wen Qionglin frowned, and looked at them. “Oh. That makes sense. Not enough layers.”

“I’m surprised you could even wrestle him into the Trainee uniform.” Wei Wuxian grinned, sudden and full of mischief. “I got him to cough up blood by stripping off my over-robe, once.”

Wen Qionglin’s eyes went wide. “Cousin Wei?”

“It was an emergency! We were trapped in with the Xuanwu and he needed to purge the congested qi. He was already wounded with a fever, he didn’t need a qi deviation on top of that. Otherwise I’d never have embarrassed him like that.” Wei Wuxian’s fingers gripped his sleeves; relaxed again, smile turned sad. “I hope no one here does. Lan Wangji’s really very shy.”

Wait, what? The not-quite-mage who took off on a sword and flew over the Palace grounds? Was shy?

“Yes, he is.” Talia smiled back. “You know, you’re one of the few people who’s noticed?”

“We got into a lot of trouble on the same fields in Sunshot,” Wei Wuxian shrugged. “Some things, you can’t miss.” A tilt of his head, and his eyebrows flicked a question at Wen Qionglin. “Wen-gongzi. Is there anything else we need so we can get along well as new neighbors?”

“Dictionaries,” the Wen heir said in a rush. “Laws… have formal language. We know your script now, but a dictionary would be good. And any legal tomes that support the law.” He swallowed, scarf dipping with the motion to briefly unveil an odd trace of black on pale skin. “Healer’s lexicons. Botanical guides. Herb samples. You want to learn our healing techniques. Surgery we can apprentice. And pressure points. But some treatments need combinations of herbs. They might not be the same. We need to translate medical cultivation.”

Daren felt Selenay relax, and nodded along with her. Once you had a Healer talking about specifics, whether or not they would treat a patient was generally a done deal.

Brief Note: Monarch Caterpillars Still Fine

Getting large now, actually. I expect three of them to slink off to pupate any day now, with the rest not far behind. It always amazes me how much they can eat