Why There Are So Many Fighting Females

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

Action Girls combine sexual allure with violent action. Pictured here is Felicia, a fighting maid from the video game Fire Emblem Fates.

The Action Girl — a female hero or villain who physically fights — is a common and beloved trope throughout all of popular culture. However, it is also somewhat unrealistic, for the average man is stronger than the average woman. Yet it persists — but not for the reason you think.

Because this isn’t about ideology. This is about a love of attractive women and violent activity.

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The Kevyn Winkless Master Formula

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

NOTE: To see the formula image more clearly, open it in a new tab.

A social media buddy of mine named Kevyn Winkless had come up with a handy formula (pictured above) for writing flash fiction, a formula I’ve taken to calling the Kevyn Winkless Master Formula™. I decided to try the formula out and write a story with it — and the speed with which I wrote something satisfying and fast-paced stunned me.

I can think of a few reasons why the Winkless Formula worked so well.

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Reflecting on “Jitteh Dawn,” Ten Years Later

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

Click this title card to download the game (Windows).

I find it hard to believe it’s been ten years since I released this thing.

Jitteh Dawn (Windows, Mac, Linux), a visual novel I made on the Ren’Py engine, is a story about a history geek who seeks an answer to why a prominent family was disowned. Unlike my more recent creative output, it utterly lacks any sense of the supernatural or the science-fictional, situated in what is pretty much a mundane reality.

When I played through it again…it was like re-living ten years ago.

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Just Glue Some Things on It

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

Misha Burnett

Misha Burnett, an interesting member of the online book club I’m in, notes that readers of his story in Cirsova Vol. 5 quite enjoy it:

I’m rather surprised by how much good ink “In The Gloaming” is getting.  I wrote that story as a deliberate pastiche of the EC Horror comics that I grew up with (and the pre-code reprints that came out in the 80s). It’s probably the most derivative thing I’ve ever written, and certainly one of the easiest–I think it took me an afternoon, once I came up with basic idea.

But that’s not the only nugget of knowledge in that thread.

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I, the Incorporeal: The Soul in I, the One

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

WARNING: Spoilers for I, the One.

My social media buddy Dominika Lein’s short story I, the One has a very simple premise: a soul named Niman is commanded by an ethereal creature to train a younger soul named Meelik. Unlike most of the stories I’ve covered here so far, though, this one largely takes place in an incorporeal realm, divorced from physical existence.

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For Male and Female: A Gender Analysis of For Steam and Country

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Star Realms: Rescue Run and For Steam and Country; this post assumes you have read both books.

Recently, I finished reading my social media buddy Jon Del Arroz’s new book For Steam and Country. This story, featuring the daughter of a famed adventurer inheriting an airship and getting drawn into a massive war, was rather satisfying to read, and it is a welcome addition to any fantasy fan’s collection, and I hope Del Arroz continues the series. However, after I finished the book, I noticed something about the characterizations: the men are men and the women are women, quite unlike his previous novel, where he reversed the roles of male and female.

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GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There (review)

Posted on July 1, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

Click this poster to go straight to the first episode, hosted on Crunchyroll.

Itami Youji, First Lieutenant in the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and otaku extraordinaire, is heading to a special otaku event when a magical gateway appears in Ginza and a stream of medieval soldiers and inhuman monsters comes rushing out, slaying all in their path. Using the power of modern weaponry, the JSDF repels the invasion. After declaring the area beyond the gate to be a Japanese territory called the Special Region, Itami is deployed to that area with the mission of forcing the invaders from that other side to stand down for good.

Thus the JSDF fought there, in the lands beyond the gate.

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Castalia House Post: Deus Ex Magical Girl

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

Today on the Castalia House blog, I spotlight Deus Ex Magical Girl, an anime blog focused on the magical girl genre. That blog is worth looking at juse for the takedown of Cardcaptor Sakura, though it has other excellent content as well.

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Better than a Hiatus: Ending Distraction with Technology

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

Source: https://icebreakerideas.com/overcoming-procrastination/

A few days ago, I mentioned that I would go on a “social media hiatus” due to the amount of time it ate up. However, I’m sure you’ve seen me posting to social media since that time anyway, although not as frequently. Surely, this must be some lapse in discipline — just another tough talker on the internet not following through, right?

Wrong. It’s because I found a much better way to control my internet usage: anti-distraction apps.

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Social Media Hiatus

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Rawle Nyanzi

I’ve decided that social media is taking up too much of my time. As a result, I will stay off Twitter, Facebook, Gab, and Google+ until the end of July.

That being said, I will still answer e-mails and private messages, I will still go on any podcasts I’ve been invited to, and I will still write articles for the Castalia House blog. However, don’t expect me to join in whatever social media firestorm is working its way through the world wide web. If it’s important, just e-mail me or leave a comment.

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