Four episodes I watched all at once after returning from our honeymoon, four thoughts.
There are terrible, bigoted things happening every day of the Trump presidency — and terrible, bigoted things that have been happening for a long time but only shamefully recently came to the attention of those of us they aren’t happening to. It seems right to feel angry and upset and…
I’ve been thinking lately about how many of the books I enjoyed as a kid are… pretty explicitly awful in the way they treat anyone who isn’t white, straight, able, upper/middle-class, Christian, cisgender, and male. Part of that is because a lot of my favourite children’s literature came from pre-1960s…
Top 10 lists are fun to write. It’s always fun to tell other people your opinions about stuff that doesn’t really matter, and top-anything lists mean that you get to review all the best experiences you had, compare happiness to happiness, and decide which was better. Remembering happiness is a…
I mean, everyone who likes epic, dark, steampunk-y fantasy should watch the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. But for a deeper understanding of writing better, white, Western writers in particular should watch it. Why? Because we often try to write characters from other cultures from a place of privilege, and many…
One of the things that limits me as a writer is how much I enjoy stasis as an audience member. Because many stories in the genres I read and write and watch thrive on epic-scale plots driven by set-piece actions, skilled writers in those genres have to be able to…
Sidekicks are an interesting fictional creature. They can inspire the same amount of love as the hero, but everyone understands that they’re somewhat more malleable. And nobody understands that better than John Watson. I mean, John Watson. I mean… All of these characters serve the same story purpose(s). But they…
The first three months of the year are always a rough time for me, what with work density, grey weather, and mood stuff. So I’m always glad to find activities and stuff like these that make my life better! Here are some new things that worked for me this quarter:
I really liked the Steven Universe mobile game, Attack the Light. It reminded me of a watered-down Super Mario RPG with bite-sized levels and touch controls appropriate for a smartphone. Naturally, I was pretty excited for its sequel, Steven Universe: Save the Light, a full console title available for Xbox…
*ding ding ding* Ladies and gents and other esteemed persons, do we have a show for you tonight! In this corner, the reigning champion, protagonist of the fastest-selling book in history, Harry F***ing Pot-teeeeeer and his world of wizards, magic, and blood purity wars. Our challenger: young, scrappy, one of…