Downtown Khazan: Ice Cold Utopia

[Sharpandpointies]

See, that's really cool.

And honestly might be a much needed breath of fresh air. I liked Creatures because of how odd and almost... mythological it was in its writing. Almost like you were reading a holy book, and not a fantasy about some dudes who muck about with the time stream to get into fist fights. But it was a holy book that didn't immediately offend all of my sensibilities.

You might also like Lord of Light, A Night in the Lonesome October, and sundry other Zelazny writings. He has a whole lot of stuff where he messes with Mythology. Just avoid stuff he writes with other people, those tend to be...meh.

His short stories are also...they range from artistic to mind-blowingly bizarre. He has compilations of them, out there. I normally don't go for Short Stories, but Roger Z's stuff hooked me a long time ago.

... and yet. This would be hilarious, and lore appropriate. Like, Imagine Feanor and sons, as written by Sharp.

Gaaah.

Contrary to presentation, I do have a LITTLE sympathy for that group, and even like some of them as characters.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Good stuff. Gardens, I will say, is the LEAST polished of his books, which says a lot.

Certainly does.

I'm sure I'll eventually go back and read it, I bought the book I'm sort of required to by law. Just... not sure when.

There's a lot in that series. First book is weird, as a chunk of it takes place with different characters in the past, just to set the stage.

Weirder the better, at this point.

Might as well buy the series at that point. The short stories can be found in a couple of his short story books. I can direct you in the proper direction for those.

I'll probably check around my local used bookstore first. It's where I got a hold of Creatures and Gardens of the Moon. I'm sure I can find half of what I'm looking for there, at the very least.

It's often sold in one book as the Morgaine Cycle, which covers the first three books. Years and years later she wrote Exile's Gate, the 'final' book, under a different publisher. That one is harder to find.

Sounds like a challenge. I like those.

By urban fantasy, I mean more 'it's in a city, it's fantasy'. But the city is in a fantasy world, not this one, and the central characters are part of the city guard.

Yes, it has some cheesiness, and dragons, and 'elves' (the Barrani), but the dragons and elves are presented VERY differently than in other stuff (I am so unbelievably sick of dragons and elves, and yet this series manages to make them fresh). There's politics, crime, big world-threatening stuff, occasional unfortunate cuteness, but it's mostly really good. Very character-driven, which I like.

So when it comes to Dragons... I kinda just want intelligent Dragons that aren't relegated to either the hunted, or mounts. It's weird cuz... as a concept I like them, big, scaled, fire-breathing cats. But most fantasy just treats them like dumb beasts/brutes.

But, this series does sound better than what I initially thought, so that does brighten my outlook on it quite a bit. And a new take on Elves is always appreciated.

Sadly, I have neither the experience, the money, nor the contacts to pull it off. ^_^

I'm sure with a bit of planning and magic anything is possible.

You might also like Lord of Light, A Night in the Lonesome October, and sundry other Zelazny writings. He has a whole lot of stuff where he messes with Mythology. Just avoid stuff he writes with other people, those tend to be...meh.

His short stories are also...they range from artistic to mind-blowingly bizarre. He has compilations of them, out there. I normally don't go for Short Stories, but Roger Z's stuff hooked me a long time ago.

Interesting takes on mythology are always welcome in Cthulhu's neck of the woods. As is "really really weird and abstract". If Creatures is one of his weaker works, seems like I'm in for a fun ride.

Gaaah.

Contrary to presentation, I do have a LITTLE sympathy for that group, and even like some of them as characters.

Yea but see... They're sorta like the rednecks of the 2nd age. Always getting into brawls and trying to out redneck each other. It's wonderful.

[Sharpandpointies]

I'll probably check around my local used bookstore first. It's where I got a hold of Creatures and Gardens of the Moon. I'm sure I can find half of what I'm looking for there, at the very least.

Smart idea. I always forget to do that, and I shouldn't.

[qutoe]So when it comes to Dragons... I kinda just want intelligent Dragons that aren't relegated to either the hunted, or mounts. It's weird cuz... as a concept I like them, big, scaled, fire-breathing cats. But most fantasy just treats them like dumb beasts/brutes.

But, this series does sound better than what I initially thought, so that does brighten my outlook on it quite a bit. And a new take on Elves is always appreciated. [/quote]

The dragons are neither mounts nor hunted. The concept of 'horde' is explored in detail. They are clearly immortal beings with all of the baggage that comes with such. Similarly the elves, who are some of the nastiest bastards around, and the reasons for such are explored in detail.

They're not normally what one gets for dragons and elves (Barrani, here).

Interesting takes on mythology are always welcome in Cthulhu's neck of the woods. As is "really really weird and abstract". If Creatures is one of his weaker works, seems like I'm in for a fun ride.

I actually find Creatures to be one of his better works, but he admits he did it as an experiment, nothing more. ^_^

Yea but see... They're sorta like the rednecks of the 2nd age. Always getting into brawls and trying to out redneck each other. It's wonderful.

Definitely an interesting take on them... O_o

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Smart idea. I always forget to do that, and I shouldn't.

Been going to this one since I was a tyke. Always been a wonderful lil' place. Trying my best to support it because COVID wasn't kind to a lot of places, and it'd be sad to see it go.

Though I might also attempt to find these on Audible. Am able to enjoy music/podcasts while at work, and I have a hefty stack of unused credits so... I've got a few avenues.

And I can only listen to language books, the Silmarillion, and Sandman so many times before I need to switch it up ^-^

The dragons are neither mounts nor hunted. The concept of 'horde' is explored in detail. They are clearly immortal beings with all of the baggage that comes with such.

Well now. This is something I like to see.

Handling the concept of immortality properly is... a hard thing to do. Especially limited as we are, as bags of meat and electricity (tried it myself recently with... admittedly middling results). Probably gonna bump this to the front of the queue, just to satiate the itch of curiosity at how they handle it here.

Similarly the elves, who are some of the nastiest bastards around, and the reasons for such are explored in detail.

They're not normally what one gets for dragons and elves (Barrani, here).

Oooh... we talking "Werewolf with a Silmaril in his gut" levels of nasty bastards?

And again, I like seeing this. Last time I was happy with a divergence of the norm for elves, came with Dragon Age: Origins... which was a long time ago.

I actually find Creatures to be one of his better works, but he admits he did it as an experiment, nothing more. ^_^

Mhm true, but... if he admits he was messing about for the heck of it, and it turned out that well? I can't imagine what he gets when trying.

Definitely an interesting take on them... O_o

Bit more miss than hit, admittedly, but fitting I think.

They were some angry fellas.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

... as an aside, I've just seen a quote from the Amazon LOTR showrunners that have described the ($1bn series) as, "literally the book Tolkien never wrote".

What glimmer of hope I had, might've just shriveled up.

[Len Ikari145]

Fire Force: spoilers:

So, Fire Force *is* officially the prequel of Soul Eater, though they don't exist on the same Earth. And Shinra being the "father" of Death is actually cool. Of course, by extension, he's Asura and Kid's grandfather of sorts. This also means that everything that will happen in Soul Eater is incidentally on Shinra. Whoops. Now I'm curious how everyone will adjust to the new status quo now that all Generations have lost their pyrokinetic abilities. Or what this will mean for Arthur.

end of spoilers

[Sharpandpointies]

Been going to this one since I was a tyke. Always been a wonderful lil' place. Trying my best to support it because COVID wasn't kind to a lot of places, and it'd be sad to see it go.

Though I might also attempt to find these on Audible. Am able to enjoy music/podcasts while at work, and I have a hefty stack of unused credits so... I've got a few avenues.

And I can only listen to language books, the Silmarillion, and Sandman so many times before I need to switch it up ^-^

Cool.

Well now. This is something I like to see.

Handling the concept of immortality properly is... a hard thing to do. Especially limited as we are, as bags of meat and electricity (tried it myself recently with... admittedly middling results). Probably gonna bump this to the front of the queue, just to satiate the itch of curiosity at how they handle it here.

It's tricky, and it's introduced and explained SLOWLY through the series. But one of the points that is made early in the series to the main character is that if she messes with a dragon's stuff, the dragon will kill her. And not really give shits. Why? As important as she is right now, she'll live maybe...what? 60 more years? Then die anyway.

She's literally nothing to them other than a curiosity in the CURRENT time (which is a tiny slice of their endlessly long lives). Their 'stuff' is more important than her. Their PRIDE is more important than her (because that'll be important long after she is dust). So while she may be important to the current situation, in the grand scheme of things she. Is. Nothing.

In one book, there's also an enormously long discussion of 'why etiquette IS important, not something you can just shrug off and say "But that's all just BS"' which I feel all player characters should read (and also has to do with 'we can't bring you in front of the Dragon Emperor now, he'll literally be forced to kill you.').

Oooh... we talking "Werewolf with a Silmaril in his gut" levels of nasty bastards?

And again, I like seeing this. Last time I was happy with a divergence of the norm for elves, came with Dragon Age: Origins... which was a long time ago.

More...Sons of Fëanor at their shittiest level of nasty bastards. I mean, they're all grossly superior to a human (the main character is careful to point out that as good a fighter as she is, her against a Barrani armed with a stick probably means she loses anyway, unless she REALLY lucky). They're all immortal. They're perfect, appallingly so, and know it, regarding nothing but dragons as peers. Many of them are mages. And, like dragons, if they feel a human is a problem, well.

There's more to the immortality than that - some REALLY interesting ideas - but the whole 'you're just a sliver of time, don't expect me to be broken up if you die and don't expect me to spare you if you honk me off enough' is surprisingly well-done.

Edit: First book is a little rough, but decent. There's some stuff in the series I'm not entirely fond of, but it's generally solid for me. Also, the dark, brooding romantic interest is a prick, and I don’t think we’re SUPPOSED to like him.

Mhm true, but... if he admits he was messing about for the heck of it, and it turned out that well? I can't imagine what he gets when trying.

If you like odd, well-done writing, his short story collections are normally worthwhile as well.

Bit more miss than hit, admittedly, but fitting I think.

... as an aside, I've just seen a quote from the Amazon LOTR showrunners that have described the ($1bn series) as, "literally the book Tolkien never wrote".

What glimmer of hope I had, might've just shriveled up.

Yeah, I read that. Nice ego on them, eh?

Seems more likely they should have said 'The book Tolkien would not have written.'

[Nik Hasta]

I know it's niche, since I'm pretty certain I'm the only one who's watched it on the board.

But, we're getting a second season of Fog Hill of Five Elements (Wu Shan Wu Xing) and the animation quality and ridiculous spectacle of the fight scenes looks to be on the same level as the first season. There's a small teaser on the link I just posted.

BRB, pouring the intro song into my ears again:

[Sharpandpointies]

Will see if it’s on Netflix…

[Nik Hasta]

Will see if it’s on Netflix…

it is not

i don't think it's technically been released in the west yet

[Nik Hasta]

had a pretty successful evening working on comic pages

if i keep up this pace then i should be done in like... a month or something?

man... lettering sucks ass.

[Tami]

had a pretty successful evening working on comic pages

if i keep up this pace then i should be done in like... a month or something?

man... lettering sucks ass.

Have you thought about using a lettering stencil? Or just scan the art and letter it using something like Photoshop.

[Nik Hasta]

Have you thought about using a lettering stencil? Or just scan the art and letter it using something like Photoshop.

All my comics work and like 70% of the art I do is all digital so I'm already in Photoshop.

Doesn't make lettering any less tedious or frustrating. It's just not a fun part of the job.

[Tami]

All my comics work and like 70% of the art I do is all digital so I'm already in Photoshop.

Doesn't make lettering any less tedious or frustrating. It's just not a fun part of the job.

I follow Adam Warren online and he also complains about lettering. So you're not alone.

[grampagen]

Huh. Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the convoy disruptions to national and cross-border supply chains.

This effectively gives the Federal government capacity to do things like freeze bank accounts to stop cash flow and supplement police powers. The latter I'm a little more wary of, given the lack of police action over the last few weeks when they could have done something at the start instead of shrugging and shaking hands as this whole rabble built up.

...of course being a rube who checks news on Twitter, I saw #Chinada is trending, and my sides left orbit. The brazen gall, really; if that were the case, there wouldn't be a tent city - sponsored by a mix of various companies, foreign interests, and grassroots donators, by the way - right now, nor would there have been nearly three weeks of unsanctioned assembly and noisy block parties broadcasted internationally.

How does one make 'FREEDOM' their maxim, yet be at a loss of how much they've squandered and taken for granted?

They have a right to protest, sure, but blocking common people off from supply chains and trade while yelling about how this is being done for them makes the gesture hollow, as if using their interests as a shield. There was a lot of tough talk about 'revolution' with this display, and...well, here's consequences.

Overall I feel this whole thing has been little more than performative and incoherent, but now things are probably going to get unnecessarily chaotic. But they finally got Trudeau to acknowledge them, I guess.