>> Now I’m searching my memory for any of my non-fantasy favorite characters who have had to learn a new language. Torture, grief, starvation, sure, but I can’t think of any of my faves that suffered trying to learn a new language. Haden Elgin may have been right, haha.<<
It's extremely rare in non-speculative fiction, though you see it as a theme in some ethnic literature canons (e.g. Hispanic Lit). It's uncommon in fantasy. Science fiction does a bit more with it in first contact situations. The Color of Distance is a gorgeous example, the alien language being not spoken but visual.
>> I just keep thinking of the orcs in sheer numbers (at least zombies are easy to trick/sneak around in TWD) <<
Well now, an army is a different kind of threat than one or a few individuals of anything. To fight that you need another army, or a weapon of mass destruction. However, subtle they ain't and they can't move as fast as one person, so evading them is often possible. Ordinary orcs and goblins are only a credible threat in large numbers. The Uruk-Hai are much more serious. But none of them are what I'd call careful or even methodical. They can be outsmarted. And let's not forget flammable. Bottle of oil, torch, kaboom!
>>and the size of the dinos. I’m just not outrunning them. Lmao Game over.<<
So play to your strengths. I couldn't outrun them. But they are big and they are damn heavy and I'm a lightfoot. I could cross bridges and other surfaces that would collapse under them. I can certainly fit inside things they won't.
Now that freerunning is a fad, people talk about "parkour vision" -- the ability to see your environment as a resource, as routes, as obstacles to block or attack your enemies. But it goes back to things like Jeet Kun Do. Use everything. Think in possibilities. You don't have to outrun what you can outmaneuver.
>> I’m not familiar with hopepunk. I’ll have to look into that. <<
Okay, the -punk suffix in literature indicates an aspect of twisting tropes and of rebellion against the mainstream. It started with cyberpunk, best described as "Science fiction is about how technology will solve all of humanity's problems. Cyberpunk is about how technology won't." So hopepunk is a kind of grungy optimism in genre settings that are usually written as very bleak.
Postapocalyptic hopepunk is therefore about a world in ruins, where people are working to rebuild something better. The main body of Daughters of the Apocalypse takes place 15 years After the End, although since then fans have prompted for End stories as well. 15 years is a really interesting time because a majority of the Before resources have run out or are in the process of breaking down. Frex, they're on the last legs of old tires and needing to find a new source or replacement. You see housetrucks, but you also see horses again. Community is hugely important. *chuckle* And I couldn't resist showing that, for Native Americans, it was often a trade up. One band of Cherokees hiked home to the eastern woodlands. Some of the Blackfeet went horsecatching.
>> Your dragon story sounds awesome. I think it’s fun to think about ‘the bad guys win’ scenarios, so that’s a cool idea! <<
Thanks. It was inspired in part by an essay about the impact of Smaug on Middle-Earth economies, and my knowledge of how rich hoarders can do similar damage. Then I did some hardcore worldbuilding, and there you have it.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2023-07-19 01:52 am (UTC)It's extremely rare in non-speculative fiction, though you see it as a theme in some ethnic literature canons (e.g. Hispanic Lit). It's uncommon in fantasy. Science fiction does a bit more with it in first contact situations. The Color of Distance is a gorgeous example, the alien language being not spoken but visual.
>> I just keep thinking of the orcs in sheer numbers (at least zombies are easy to trick/sneak around in TWD) <<
Well now, an army is a different kind of threat than one or a few individuals of anything. To fight that you need another army, or a weapon of mass destruction. However, subtle they ain't and they can't move as fast as one person, so evading them is often possible. Ordinary orcs and goblins are only a credible threat in large numbers. The Uruk-Hai are much more serious. But none of them are what I'd call careful or even methodical. They can be outsmarted. And let's not forget flammable. Bottle of oil, torch, kaboom!
>>and the size of the dinos. I’m just not outrunning them. Lmao Game over.<<
So play to your strengths. I couldn't outrun them. But they are big and they are damn heavy and I'm a lightfoot. I could cross bridges and other surfaces that would collapse under them. I can certainly fit inside things they won't.
Now that freerunning is a fad, people talk about "parkour vision" -- the ability to see your environment as a resource, as routes, as obstacles to block or attack your enemies. But it goes back to things like Jeet Kun Do. Use everything. Think in possibilities. You don't have to outrun what you can outmaneuver.
>> I’m not familiar with hopepunk. I’ll have to look into that. <<
Okay, the -punk suffix in literature indicates an aspect of twisting tropes and of rebellion against the mainstream. It started with cyberpunk, best described as "Science fiction is about how technology will solve all of humanity's problems. Cyberpunk is about how technology won't." So hopepunk is a kind of grungy optimism in genre settings that are usually written as very bleak.
Postapocalyptic hopepunk is therefore about a world in ruins, where people are working to rebuild something better. The main body of Daughters of the Apocalypse takes place 15 years After the End, although since then fans have prompted for End stories as well. 15 years is a really interesting time because a majority of the Before resources have run out or are in the process of breaking down. Frex, they're on the last legs of old tires and needing to find a new source or replacement. You see housetrucks, but you also see horses again. Community is hugely important. *chuckle* And I couldn't resist showing that, for Native Americans, it was often a trade up. One band of Cherokees hiked home to the eastern woodlands. Some of the Blackfeet went horsecatching.
>> Your dragon story sounds awesome. I think it’s fun to think about ‘the bad guys win’ scenarios, so that’s a cool idea! <<
Thanks. It was inspired in part by an essay about the impact of Smaug on Middle-Earth economies, and my knowledge of how rich hoarders can do similar damage. Then I did some hardcore worldbuilding, and there you have it.