I’d like to see a classic urban fantasy battle not in a cramped and litter-strewn alley, but in an open, chilly, wind-tunnel of a suburban parking lot. Continue reading
writing
Worldbuilding: The Back of the Book
Okay, who else likes a good glossary with their fiction? Or even better, that and a bibliography? Continue reading
Worldbuilding: Shedding Light
How is your world lit? By sun, moon, stars and fire? Candles and lanterns? Neon electric, or oni balefire? Continue reading
Colors of Another Sky Ficbt – Schizo Tech
“Bandits don’t keep treasures where they ambush.” Ha-neul tossed down a rope. “Get up here, and let’s think.” Continue reading
Worldbuilding: To Zom, or Not To Zom, Be
Zpoc this, end of the world that… why can’t we just have a good old-fashioned Undead Horde arising, terrifying the living because it’s an army that can’t be normally killed, instead of an existential threat to Life As We Know It?
No, seriously, why not? Continue reading
On Characters: Building Mastery
So, your Hero has a tragic past, isolating him from others, and has achieved unheard-of pinnacles of skill that set him even more apart-!
This is actually more Truth in Television than most people realize. Continue reading
Worldbuilding: The Quest for Pizza
No matter where in time and space you are, foods that taste like home make life so much better. There are a lot of American comfort foods that might be replicable in 1600s Northeast Asia, if you knew what you were doing. Off the top of my head, some classics include: apple pie, mac and cheese, jambalaya, spaghetti, hamburgers and French fries, and pizza. Continue reading
A Few Stray Stabby Thoughts
The jianghu is considered a lawless place, and I have to say that makes sense. Just think about the headaches of the poor magistrate trying to decide whether or not to let any of these wandering heroes loose on society again. Anqi (hidden/concealed weapons, usually projectiles) make a lot of these guys walking hazards. Sure, they saved the town from the bandits this time, but…. Continue reading
Worldbuilding: People Like Us
I was watching an episode of Unfettered Shogun, many of whose episodes can be found here on Archive.org. And it struck me how many tropes we think of as modern were here in 1700s guise. Traveling entertainers who are actually seeking information on the whereabouts of someone who “mysteriously disappeared”. Said lost at sea guys actually being the kidnapped experts who created the Secret Formula! (How to make expensive white sugar from local brown sugar.) A dogged investigator tracking down details that indicate Foul Play has occurred. There was even a case of “impersonate the chauffeur”; a ninja knocked out a boatman and took over poling so he could listen in on the Evil Plotting. Continue reading
On Writing: Bits of Joy
Jason on finding out he’s back in a Little Ice Age: Everything is Not Okay, and we’re going to have to struggle to survive, and I am not looking forward to any of it.
Also Jason, on seeing Chae’s library: …I am camping here and never leaving. Continue reading