There's nothing more intense than subverting the audience's expectations: The righteous character that always says the truth says a lie. The character that values all life ends up murdering someone. The bad sort, the punk that's always terrible ends up saving the day or doing something decent ...
Earning Your Twists
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Sept. 8, 2018Politics in Fiction
Banes at 12:00AM, July 19, 2018There was recently a Provincial Election in the part of Canada where I live, and there's a Federal Election coming up in about a year.
With the brouhaha going on in the world these days about politics and the divisions between many people that are resulting from it, I ...
Quackcast 369 - Propaganda and agendas
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, April 10, 2018 LISTEN!
This week's Quackcast was inspired by a newspost that Banes made about propaganda. We used that as a jumping off point to talk about political messages and social agendas in creative works- when it's deliberate and when it's not. Tantz Aerine made a great point that ...
Your Self-Insert is Everywhere
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Nov. 26, 2016
I came across a little blurb the other day about Mary Sues, and fanfiction, and how the writer of a fanfiction is basically writing a fantasy, inserting themselves as the character at the center of attention, immaculate, glittering and perfect. Basically everything you want to smack into a different galaxy ...
Characters based on Human Beings
HippieVan at 12:00AM, Nov. 25, 2016
In my newspost last week about the “No Hugging, No Learning” mantra, I mentioned that I was basing a throwaway character – a loveable misanthrope – on a real-life friend of mine. It’s something I’m tempted to do fairly frequently; I spend most of my time in an academic environment ...
The First Nineteen Minutes
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, Aug. 8, 2016
-art by Gunwallace
I enter the gym, change into my running shorts, running top, black socks, running shoes, and with towel and water bottle in hand, find the cleanest looking elliptical trainer and begin zoning out while listening to the fast paced music playing on the speaker. No matter how ...
Wish Fulfillment
HippieVan at 12:00AM, March 18, 2016
I've recently been watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries on Netflix. Phryne Fisher is undoubtedly a wish-fulfillment character – almost unapologetically so. She is sexy, bold, and intelligent. Whenever a new challenge is put before her, she reveals a previously-unmentioned skill that saves the day (see the above image where ...
Farewell to Two Film Villains from Childhood
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, Jan. 18, 2016
Last week marked the loss of two actors who brought my favorite fantasy villains from childhood films to life.
I was only a baby when Jim Henson's musical fantasy film, Labyrinth, was released in theaters. The fact that there were once home videos of me singing along to “(Dance ...