(This poem stems from a thought I always had. People are born with talents, but not everyone gets to either discover them or use them to their fullest. Society simply isn’t designed to let the majority reach their full potential. Always makes me wonder how many amazing people have been lost to history because they weren’t allowed to do anything other than survive from day to day.)
We are born
With a fiery ambition
The great desire
To leave our mark
And be remembered
Strongest in our youth
Think hard
Bend back the years
Did you build
Before you walked
We are born creators
Thirsty to build
Through imagination
And curiosity
Crushed as we move on
You are special
You are an individual
You are unique
We say these to children
But never go beyond
Taught the universal
No special treatment
Only facts
That ‘everyone’ should know
But few ever use
A handful survive
With ambition intact
Most fall
From mortal gods
To withered drones
What would our world become
If everyone was nurtured
To follow
Their instinct
And mark humanity
Some may say anarchy
But is it possible
That the curer of cancer
Or the greatest artist of our time
Is rotting
In a cubicle
War of Nytefall: Lost is the second volume of the series. It introduces a character that people on the blog seemed to enjoy. Come to think of it, everyone seems to like my whacky, crazy, random characters. Not much love for the villain who came with her, but I guess kooky nuts wins over malicious nuts. Either way, this book threw everything for a loop, which is impressive for a world that has yet to settle.
The big event here is the introduction of Lost. This teenager is a Dawn Fang with a stuffed bunny that can move around while she talks to it. She’s unique because she is the first of the womb-born Dawn Fangs. Her existence reveals that Dawn Fangs are capable of breeding through sex instead of using Clyde’s blood or biting others. This throws the whole vampire world off-kilter again, especially for the one who discovers she is Lost’s mother. Since Dawn Fang babies are born dead and need a few minutes before they get a heartbeat, Lost was assumed a stillbirth and abandoned. Rather dark, but the first vampire birth wasn’t going to be rosy.
Of course, Lost growing up as a Dawn Fang with only a pair of mortal gnomes to raise her means she doesn’t know the rules. So, she isn’t careful with her powers and identity, but doesn’t stay in one place long enough for people to figure things up. So, Clyde’s demand that the mortals not learn about Dawn Fangs existing is at risk. Doesn’t help that she swears Xavier Tempest, Clyde’s friend turned enemy, is her father, so she’s openly asking about him. The girl really does come with a ton of problems, including her old army of fellow womb-borns and a dangerous assassin she had brainwashed for years to be her bodyguard. This is why the story is a race to see who can be the first to get to Lost, get her to stay in one place, and undo all of the damage before the mortals notice.
Lost is the book where I realized the civil war concept wasn’t going to work as anything more than a backdrop. War of Nytefall was clearly going to be about the characters and their personal goals. My original plan of having each book be a key battle between the Old Worlds and Dawn Fangs was falling apart. Seemed really boring, especially when I had created multiple characters whose would shine brighter outside of stories involving mission and battles. It didn’t help that Xavier and Clyde were supposed to go from trusted allies to bitter enemies, but that was dwindling already. I made both of them fairly honorable on some level, which would bite me in the ass after this book.
Would I change anything? The main thing I would change is the character of Eighty. This is the one leading Lost’s old army. I didn’t expect him to turn up until I wrote the scene and realized the group needed someone in charge. He grew in leaps and bounds since he required a personality. Didn’t take the time to really flush him out, so he’s built entirely from pantsing my way through his scenes. I do like how he came out, but I feel like I could have done better if I prepared for him. Maybe it wouldn’t be better. Still, I keep looking looking back at him and wondering.
Some fun questions:
Do you think a story with plenty of action and comedy can broach a sensitive topic?
Are phobias interesting character quirks or overused?
Why do you think people like kooky crazy characters like Lost and Bob?
Welcome to our little soda shop where we have more flavors than you can imagine. We don’t both with the brands you’re used too. They may taste alright, but they aren’t special like our brews. Some would say there’s a little magic in the bubbles, but they would be wrong. The magic is actually in the syrup. Here is a list of our top sellers and seasonal specials. All effects last until the soda is fully processed by your body. Please don’t hesitate to ask if we have any other flavors in stock.
Root beer– Sharp and smooth at the same time. Grow bark on skin to function as armor.
Cola– Basic, but tasty. Can blend into the background.
Seltzer– Regardless of flavor, it heals minor wounds and illnesses.
Cherry– Sweet and syrupy. Gives you a temporary slime form that is impervious to damage.
Grape– A tastier version of cough syrup. Can fire sense-debilitating bubbles from fingertips.
Orange– Tangy and popular with older generations. Grants super speed, but only when one moves like they are skating.
Chocolate– Favorite among kids for obvious reasons. Control mud and dirt with your mind.
Peach– Sweet and fuzzy to the tongue. Transform into a furry mammal of your choice, but it is what you think of first.
Ginger Ale– Tart and helps with stomach issues. Enhances all 5 senses OR grants temporary ESP.
Mystery Citrus– Strong and tingling taste. Will cause you to glow in dark and sense radiation levels in area.
Birch Beer– Tastes similar to an herbal tea elixir. Communicate with plants and sense when they are ripe.
Celery– Tastes just bubbly celery. Can read and understand Hebrew as well as absorb high amounts of water.
Strawberry– Sweet as expected, which I guess is everything on the list. Revitalizes all body systems and purges all toxins, including diseases. 10% chance it will reduce cancer, but cannot eliminate.
Neapolitan– Layered soda with chocolate, cream, and strawberry. Transforms person into an Earth Dragon.
The koala is a little, leaf-eating marsupial from Australia, which many people recognize as quickly as the kangaroo. They are also called koala bears even though they are related to wombats more than bears. Part of this is because their faces are circular with round ears, big eyes, and fluffy ears like a teddy bear. I will say that I’ve seen the phrase used much less as an adult than I did as a child, so maybe it’s a kid thing.
Koalas was least as vulnerable until Australia listed them as endangered in 2022. Their population is between 100,000 and 500,000. Threats to the koala are the usual suspects due to humans living nearby. Many get hit by cars or killed by dogs. Habitat destruction is an issue since they can be very picky eaters even with eucalyptus species. Climate change is damaging the eucalyptus trees as well, so their only food source is not as plentiful. Finally, they have a major problem with chlamydia, which causes blindness and infertility. Populations being pushed into smaller territories makes this disease more likely to spread.
So, what are some fun koala facts?
They have 5 digits on each hand with the front ones have 2 digits opposed to help with climbing.
The hind paws have the 2nd and 3rd digits fused together to act as a grooming claw.
Koalas are nocturnal, but usually sleep 18-20 hours a day.
They sleep a lot because it takes a lot of energy for them to safely digest the toxic eucalyptus leaves, which give them very little nutrition in the first place.
Each koala has a collection of home trees to create their territory. They are the only ones to visit these trees for food and rest.
Females are fully mature by age 2 and males by age 3 or 4.
Koalas get all of their water from the leaves they eat, but they will drink during droughts or fires.
They have keen senses of smell, which allows them to pick out the best, most nutritious leaves on a tree.
Males have scent glands in the middle of their chests to mark their territory.
Males can live up to 12 years while females live up to 15.
Babies are called joeys and are born blind and without ears, so they find the pouch by touch and smell.
Babies stay in the pouch for 6 months before coming out to ride on their mother’s back.
Koalas can eat 0.5 to 1 kilogram of eucalyptus leaves per night.
I haven’t really had a good track of time this week. Without work and getting my son since Tuesday afternoon, I haven’t had my usual day markers. So, it took me this long to realize I didn’t make a goal post.
Honestly, this week hasn’t been a big activity one. Nothing that will shake the author side of my life to the core. I finished the hand-editing of Darwin & the Avenging Elf, but I haven’t started typing things in. No time with Pokemon Go, movies, and other activities with my son. We went with friends to see ‘Inside Out 2’ and took advantage of the good weather periods before it got really hot. Think I’m still fairly baked on the arms and back of the neck. Wish I had more to report on that front, but nothing.
Perhaps the only thing of interest is a new idea I’m tinkering with. This is in spite of a voice pointing out I never get to any of my other ideas. My idea is having two groups of thieves who work in the same guild, which is run by 5 leaders. One group is created by a thief who was betrayed by the leader of the other group. They unite a bunch of other members that have a grudge with the other group and are backed by on one of the 5, who doesn’t like the the ‘bad’ group is protected by their peers. I’m liking how the groups will be working under the same roof while feuding. Might pull from a failed idea and have the plot revolve around one group finding a lost treasure horde. The guild charter could be that whoever finds it becomes the new guild master, which is why some members of the 5 would want it to stay hidden. Leaning towards trilogy with first book being earning recognition as a group, second is the beginning of the hunt, and third is recovering from major setbacks. Might be what I tinker with in Oswego at the end of the summer.
Next week is going to be pretty chaotic. Camp starts for my son and summer school starts for me. The heat is going to be rough, but our 2 field trips are all indoors. I’ve heard the school we’re in has really good air conditioning too. So, at least I’ll be comfortable while handling what comes my way. First week is always the toughest for students and teachers because we have to get into the new groove. It’ll be fine. With any lucky, I’ll have energy to start typing in the edits and maybe even finish that by the end of next weekend. I won’t hold my breath though.
Adding to the mayhem will be an event called ‘Pokemon GoFest’. This is the big yearly event for the game my son and I play. They have special things going on 6-7 every weekday evening starting on Monday. Then, the big stuff happens next Saturday, which could require me being out in the park for at least 4.5 hours. Sunday won’t be as crazy, but a few things will carry over and needing to be finished for me to get all the stuff that is offered. My hope is that the weekday events are successful enough that I don’t have to worry too much about the Saturday/Sunday things. At least as far as the raiding goes, which means I only have to be outdoors for 4 hours. Starting to worry that the game is causing me to lose writing time, but it does get me outside and keeps me active. I’m able to balance it better when there isn’t a big event going on.
Beyond all of that, I really don’t have much else going on. Health is a little wonky for some reason. Even with a full night’s sleep, I’m waking up tired. I’m thinking it’s the heat and my body still getting me up around 5:30 AM. That should fix itself just in time for work to start and me to be waking up at 6 AM. Need to figure out lunches for next week as well since I have at least 3 days where I have to bring something. Leaning towards my usual tofu and pineapple rice bowl. Then again, I have leftover pineapple chicken tenders, which means 2 sandwiches. Why does adulthood have so many of these decisions and none of the fun stuff I was told about as a kid?
Goals of the week!
Summer school begins!
Get son to camp and pick him up.
Pokemon Gofest.
October blog posts if I don’t have a lot of time.
Type in hand edits of Darwin & the Avenging Elf if I have more time.
As stated, there is a trend to turn evil villains into more sympathetic and misunderstood characters. This has caused some people who like bad guys to come up with their own explanations for how they are misunderstood instead of being evil. Some explanations can work while others are highly stretched. So, what is the difference?
I think the big difference is the perception of others and the audience about the character. An evil villain is doing truly evil things without question. Their intentions revolve around power, pain, and doing harm with the knowledge they are bad. Characters understand this because it’s clear as day. A misunderstood villain is one that are acting because they think they are pleasing others or don’t realizing they’re committing harm. Those around them think they are evil, but the audience knows there is more to it. Eventually, other characters will learn it too.
The pictures above are good examples too. Maleficent is knowing doing evil things to cause pain and fear. There isn’t any real misunderstanding even with her rewritten background of being wronged. (More on that later.) Then, you have Draco Malfoy who is considered a villain, but is more brat than evil. People understand that he’s a child and trying to please his father or friends. This is clear when you realize how often he does things that aren’t evil, but closer to rivalry with Harry. Draco also has enough normal, humanizing actions and failures that you get a sense his heart hasn’t fallen completely to evil. The difference might be subtle, but it’s there.
Now, I know at least one person will bring up the Maleficent movie and say that makes her misunderstood. Yes, but look at what had to be done. When you want to shift an established evil villain into misunderstood, you need to redo their entire history or establish one that hadn’t existed before. Maleficent couldn’t just shift considering she was one of the greatest Disney villains for decades. She had to be changed, which included altering her ending. Now, you have this alternate version of this villains. It’s basically a revamp and doesn’t really build on the original story. Think of it as a multi-verse thing, which ends up causing division among fans.
To be honest, I don’t really understand this trend of turning evil villains into misunderstood ones. How does this make a story better, especially if you have to turn heroes into bad guys and rewrite the whole thing? I would prefer to see new villains who are misunderstood or evil instead of what I see now. Then again, new stuff is hard to sell and typically doesn’t get off the ground. Maybe the point of this trend is to get attention with existing creations and cause some friction. Hope not because that can’t go well for the character in the long run.
What do you think about misunderstood vs evil villains?
Legends of Windemere 