Courageous Opinions

Mechwarrior? More like Blechwarrior.

Addendum

Or is that only true for me? I hope not.

Time Travel Plot

It may not be October where you are, but I came to warn you: Don't dress up as a mummy! That's a fetish thing now!

The Casual in the Mirror

Once upon a time, there was a young man we will call Lucas. If anyone was hardcore, it was Lucas. His gamerscore and trophies? Immaculate. His online win rates? Above 52% in all cases. Difficulty setting? The highest, without exception.
Lucas liked winning, loved a challenge, and hated casuals. "Keep those casuals away from me," he prayed. "I don't think we'll ever get along!" He knew he was hardcore and accepted that about himself.
One day, he saw in the mirror something he never expected. A casual! He raised his arm and the casual raised his. He hopped, and so did the casual. What was going on?
"Hey Evan, cut it out," he said. "I need to dip into Monk. I don't have time for this!"
"Fine," his little brother, whose name was not really Evan, replied and ran off.
Lucas went back to managing his kingdom and winning fights. He did a really good job.

Have a spooky October!
Finis

Worldbuilding Q&A

Q. Where should I put the deserts in my setting?
A. Wherever it's convenient.
Q. What about the mountain ranges?
A. Wherever it's convenient.
Q. Are you a person, or just a self-replicating text string?
A. Wherever it's convenient.

More News!

Tales of Luminaria is a something-or-other. Not really sure. Kinda hard to care about Tales of mobile games at this point.

Mobile Gaming News

Did Dragalia . . . win?
No, but you have to say that for legal reasons. Cosmic legality.

Worldbuilding Q&A

Q. Why would people build walls in a world with dragons?
A. The existence of dragons does not preclude the existence of things that are not dragons, such as other people.

The Latest Trends

The time is not yet right for them to change.

Time Really Is a Wheel

They fired an actor before the show aired? The modern world sure moves fast.

The Sideways Tower

When they sent me to serve in the Hospital of the Sideways Tower, they said I might hear some interesting stories. I don't think my brothers meant to deceive. They simply didn't realize that almost none of those concerned had any intention of talking about the problems that sent them there.
That was all referring to those who came for the peculiar feature, of course. The normal travelers and denizens of scattered villages came and went too. They made up most of our traffic. I was no more or less busy there than I would have been at any of our other hospitals. The stories I heard were no more or less common or interesting, either.
Indeed, the first sign of someone in need of the special service was usually a reluctance to talk at all. A typical supplicant, if I cast my mind back, picked his way past the usual crowd and the servants over to me, the obvious priest. "I, uh, heard . . . that is, I was given to understand . . ." That was what one particular man I remember mumbled, but most of them brought it up in a similar manner.
I inclined my head toward the side door and led the way. A few decided not to follow me, but the usual type didn't back down so easily. It might have saved a lot of trouble for them if their personalities had allowed them to. I walked over to the base, or rather the right, of the great non-tower and waited by the door with my keys out. When the supplicant caught up, I confirmed the situation.
"Do you desire to be comforted? The relief will be only for your heart. Nothing will change in your material circumstances." I don't recall a single person turning back there. I held up the tower ring and removed one of the two keys. "This is the external key. The other is the internal. Take that one and return it to me at the exit." I unlocked the door, prayed for the supplicant's success, and locked the door behind the entrant.
For me, the walk over to what should have been the top of the tower, would have been if the builders had realized their intentions, made for a pleasant evening stroll. What it meant for the supplicant, who knows? They didn't like to talk about it. I waited, took back the key, and led them back. They rarely seemed happy, but they usually stopped mumbling and looking at their feet. I suppose I could have felt superior to them because I had never failed a great enterprise, or inferior because I had never attempted one, but I had been called, and I was content.
Finis

Adaptation Corner

Every single fantasy book could be turned into a side-scrolling beat 'em up and both industries would be enriched. The science fiction ones too.

Emergency Plot Q&A

Q: I can't figure out what the bad guys are after in my scifi story!
A: Combat data
Q: Now I'm not sure what the good guys are after.
A: Combat data

Follow a New Path

The next time you write "alchemy," cross it out and write in "palchemy." Isn't that more pleasant for all of us? Erase the first three letters of "necromancy" also. Stop doing the same old thing, and do a slightly different old thing instead.

Addendum

Unfortunately Rangello Archman is only a 7/10, but that is not relevant to the example.

An Easy Way to Provide Character Descriptions

Instead of trying to come up with twenty different ways to say "blond" or "brunette," just give all your characters a ratings. For example: "Rangello Archman entered the room. He was an 8/10 easy, maybe a 9." This will save us all a lot of time we can use to watch edits of Simpsons jokes.

Q&A

Q. Why hasn't pumpkincore taken off yet?
A. The time is not yet right.

Terror in Space

"Administrator Hadley! Terrible news!"
The administrator eyed Secretary Anderson from behind a desk polished till it gleamed that then held the latest report on the space colony IX Tucker's outer shell integrity. "What's the matter, Anderson? Your transfer request was turned down?"
"Yes, but that's not it! There have been sightings in the Industrial District . . . of Ghost Tank!"
Donald Hadley shot out of his chair and slammed his hands on the desk. "Ghost Tank! Are you sure?"
"Can we afford to be sure?
"You're right. We have to act now. Seal off the entire sector and open the bulkheads. We'll shoot Ghost Tank," he said as he slammed his right fist into his open left hand, "straight into space."
"But Administrator, haven't you heard? Ghost Tank . . . RULES SPACE."
Hadley stumbled backward, fear written on his bloodless face. "Then we have no choice. We must evacuate." He opened a panel on his desk and pressed the button underneath. Alarms began to bleat throughout IX Tucker. "This station now belongs to Ghost Tank. Let's go, Anderson."
On their way to the hangar, the two men could speak of only one thing. "Your transfer request was turned down too, huh?"
"That's right, Anderson. That's right."
Finis

The New Genre

Get in on this while it's hot: Pumpkincore. Bats, dancing skeletons, bowls of spaghetti, the whole thing, but as a secondary world. Like Ravenloft but not at all.

Punchline Corner

"Necromancer? I barely know her!"

Mythology Corner

The dragon thing holds here, too.

History Corner

Did you know that people throughout history have thought dragons were totally sick?

The Notice to End All Notices

One day left to purchase Books One and Two of the Chronicles of Wycon series, First We Reroll and Then We Expand, at lowered prices! Don't miss out!

How Can You Surpass Robert Jordan?

Twintails.

Trials of the Discerning

"Captain! We're listing!"
"Captain! The waves are rising!"
"We have to make landfall! Captain! Captain!"
"If you knew the true nature of those islands as I do, you would think your lives cheap to avoid them. No ship I command will ever make for the Boardgame Islands."
The timbers creaked, groaned, and began to split, and even veteran sailors lost their footing on the ocean-washed deck. At last the captain of the Wise Salmon submitted to his crew's entreaties and ordered a course to seek salvation at the mysterious islands few had ever seen.

"Hey Captain, this place is great! There are boardgames scattered all over for us to play, and sandwiches and orange juice next to them for our convenience. What's the problem?"
"The problem, Mr. Winton, is that because of the eccentricities of the currents in this region, only badly designed games wash ashore here. Look at Mr. Sendsgate over there as he runs a rousing game of Moonbound. Mr. Vendale won that game twenty minutes ago, but it will continue for another twenty. If not more."
"Maybe so, Captain, but is that so bad?"
"They waste time! It will take those sailors days to learn the proper rules for Fire and Sand. And they steal attention from games with better balance and easier to understand rules. Truly, these islands are a trap and a punishment for the careless."
"I see. Well, I'm off to play, sir."
Captain Sternwright nodded and sent Mr. Winton on the way, while he maintained his vigil and thought of how much more fun he could be having in the parlors on the continent.
Finis

Restrictions Aren't Everything

Every single mech story is pegasus-adjacent fantasy. Not just B'tx. All of them.

Important Clarification

A griffin does not qualify a story as pegasus-adjacent fantasy unless, at some point in the narrative, a person rides it. This rule is unquestionably correct.

Missing Out on Trends

Unfortunately, Then We Expand is not pegasus-adjacent fantasy, but there is a griffin.

Chronicles of Wycon for You

Yes, it's ture that Then We Expand, the second and final Chronicles of Wycon book is available for a special launch week price. It is also true that you should buy it today or read it with Kindle Unlimited.

But there's more! The first book in the series, First We Reroll, is on sale for everyone who missed it for only $0.99. What a world.

Etymology Lesson

September is here! Did you know this month was named after Sept Ember, the Mesopotamian god of the fires from inside the Earth? Don't listen to those Latin boosters. They've had their way for too long.