Masked, Unknown Characters

Fiction, certainly in the movie/TV/comics visual mediums, are full of characters whose identities are hidden by masks.

On The Mandalorian, the title character follows a strict creed that says he is not supposed to let another living being see his face, so he always wears ...

I’ve been getting back into reading epic fantasy novels. Grand worlds, exotic locations and, of course, an ever increasing cast of characters. As I am one to never stop taking notes, even when I’m trying to chill, here are some things I noticed about introducing new characters that ...

Retconning has a bad reputation.

Usually because it's done in big IPs and franchises when writers change and decide to drastically alter the development of a plotline, and do it by changing established canon about the characters or the history of the setting. Usually it's sloppily done, dealt ...

When constructing your world, be it in fantasy or within a realistic/historical/existing place, the names you pick are very important.

They are important for suspension of disbelief and immersion: how consistent the names are, how congruent with what reality the audience reasonably comes to expect within the framework ...

We live in a world of routine, predictability, and pedestrian problems. (2020 doesn't count. Much.)

Magic doesn't really seem to exist in our world.

Or does it?

Perhaps we live above a very thin surface, like floating on a tranquil lake, and just underneath it there are ghouls ...

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What is the worth of human life in your stories?
This isn't something people often consider, we just tend to have a fairly accurate guess based ...

I was surprised and saddened to learn just the other day that Rene Auberjonois passed away at the end of last year. Even before the upheaval of the pandemic hit us, I think life was busy and a bit chaotic, and I just missed it.

I'd been a fan ...

In an ancient, barbaric land, one man stands out as strong and good above the rest, Prince Ovun. Coming across the sight of a poor old man being harassed by brutal thieves, Ovun takes action and saves the old fellow, who then predicts Ovun will soon be king of his ...

We interpret things differently.

I'll give an example from the 2000's version of The Hills Have Eyes (spoilers ahead).

There's a scene early in that movie, when the family is stranded but they haven't realized how much trouble they're really in. The husband of the ...

Hi everyone! We’re interrupting your regular programming to talk about the upcoming Drunk Duck anthology!

Firstly: voting on the anthology theme is open to all Duck users. The admins have narrowed it down to five, and you can vote by following this link https://strawpoll.com/hqdh2g81c, and voting ...