Goblin Hitchhiker

Prompt: hitchhiker, goblin (10/26/20)

The trucker bobbed slightly alongside his music.  Hard rock to hit the spot—nothing else could keep him awake this late, after three miserly hours of sleep and more road construction than clear highway.

“One hundred forty-six miles left,” he reassured himself after a glance after a glance at the GPS.  “That’s hardly—what are you doing?”  With a sigh and a grumble, he eased the truck to a stop a dozen yards in front of the ped.  He didn’t bother pulling onto the shoulder, with no one else about.

The slight, hooded figure he’d spotted hurried forward.  A woman or a child, he figured, and prepared to jovially berate either one.  But when the hitchhiker clambered up, the trucker found himself looking at a wizened face, and a deformed one at that, with a tumescent nose, beady black eyes, and washboard chin.  Worse, he looked greenish under the cab lights.  Sick? the trucker guessed.  He’d better not be contagious!

“Hi, there,” the trucker said.  “Cold night for a walk.  Hope you don’t mind the music.  Driver’s choice.”

“You are much kind,” the fellow said, and the trucker mentally added "foreign" to his list of deformities. 

“Name’s Erik, by the way,” the trucker said, his foot reminding the accelerator who was boss.

“I am Fritch,” replied the ugly fellow with a movement like a seated bow.  “I saw much thanks to you.  Your truck,” he added earnestly, “is much pretty white.”

Erik laughed.  “Not my choice—company color.  I’d rather red and gold.”

“No, no,” Fritch said, shaking his head.  “White pretty.  White good.  Bad does not prefer white.”

“Is that so,” said Erik, and turned up the radio.

Fritch took the hint and did not speak again.  He sat and fidgeted and, after a time, took out a furry thing like a rabbit’s foot and rubbed it.  Erik thought he now and again mouthed a word, but that was foreign people for you.

One hundred forty-six miles came and passed, and Erik pulled into the parking lot of his cheap motel.  “End of the line,” he told his passenger.  Against his better judgement, he added, “You gonna be okay?”

“Many thanks,” the little fellow said, clambering down from the truck and giving Erik a proper bow.  “I remember this in my restore.  When you have much bad, I will make good.”

“Right, thanks,” Erik said with an awkward laugh.  He watched Fritch walk crookedly into town and then shook himself, laughed again, and went to check into his motel.

He forgot Fritch after that, except for when swapping tall tales of strange hitchhikers with his fellow truckers.  He didn’t recognize him a decade later, in the lobby of the hospital where his daughter lay on the edge of death, or think of him when the broken smoke alarm somehow came to life in the middle of the night, or in the heart-leaping moment when his truck hydroplaned on ice at the pinnacle of a bridge.  Why should he?

------------------

Author's Note: what is it about me lately, that my protagonists are kind of jerks?  (Erik isn't that bad, mind; I'm also referencing some stories I haven't posted, but which you'll see eventually.)  I don't know.  But though as an author I am sometimes snide about it in my narration, I'm also sort of enjoying it.  I used to play Apples to Apples in a nursing home every week, and after months of that, it was a great relief to play Cards Against Humanity . . . for about four hours, after which my brain rebelled and I took on the challenge of making everything I played as nice as possible.  So you may be getting some sweetheart protagonists after a while.  Not the overly sticky sort, though.

Trollhenge

So, NaNoWriMo is finished, and I did successfully meet my goal. :)  I also managed to write a couple of longer short stories with which I am immensely pleased and polishing up for varying purposes that I won't go into here yet.  But I thought I might sporadically post a few smaller ones.  They won't be polished but they should be fun.

11/11/20.  Prompts: The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer; Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher.

 

There is a henge on the edge of town.

            It sits atop the hill behind the churchyard, its stones crouched atop swaying grasses up to your hip.  Unlike other henges, the stones aren’t particularly oblong, and the wind (it is quite windy) hasn’t worn them smooth.

            There is a lot of local lore around those stones, and the local postcards show them against the sunset, but no one knows who built the henge or what it’s supposed to do.

            At fourteen, Catherine had played at the henge plenty of times and was nearly old enough to know better than to meet Jeremy Sea there after dark.

            “I’ve seen it by daylight, of course,” Jeremy had said cunningly—he was new to town and, though seventeen, had immediately picked out Catherine.  It possibly had to do with the way her long, long ash-blond hair flowed behind her when she walked.  “But I didn’t want to go alone at night.  I wanted to go with someone special.”

            So there Catherine was, just before eleven, shivering in her light summer jacket at the bottom of the hill.  The moon shone fatly above, casting the land in its ghostly light.

            Fifteen minutes past, then another thirty.  In tears, Catherine turned to trudge home alone—but as soon as she reached the road, she saw Jeremy’s car parked there, dark and abandoned and . . . oh, no!  She’d made a terrible mistake—or he had.  He must have been waiting on top of the hill rather than at the bottom! 

            Catherine ran back, eyes rolling with a different sort of tears.  She swiped them away, embarrassed and hoping the darkness would hide the evidence, and panted up the hill.

            She slowed to a walk three-quarters of the way up, heart pounding in her throat.  Why was she suddenly afraid?  It made no sense.  But afraid she was, and that fear stopped her from calling out Jeremy’s name or breaking the silence.

            She stopped fully a pace before cresting the hill.  Something is wrong, she thought, and didn’t know why she thought it.  Catherine tried to shake her uneasiness, but it wouldn’t budge, and she found herself slowly creeping around the top of the hill, looking inward for any person-shapes.  She saw no one, but the feeling of wrongness grew and grew until it finally burst upon her what caused it:

            The stones had changed.

            Some that had before crouched low stood straight and moved to the edges like sentries.  The rest had clustered near the center of the hilltop, as if bending over something.

            Catherine took a step back down the hill a step, then another.  She turned and ran, but her foot caught on a low stone, and she tumbled head over hills down the hill.

            The grass cushioned her fall, and she kept her breath.  She never even stopped moving, just rolled onto her feet and fled, not looking back, the half-mile home.

            The henge watched her go.

Short story + NaNoWriMo

 

“Honestly, Simon.  Sometimes I wonder whether the fairies switched you out at birth.  How else could we have such a perfect child?”

            Simon beamed up at their parents, all guileless blue eyes and soft golden curls.

            “You’ve got it wrong, Bet,” said their father.  “He’s the one the fairies tried to make away with but failed.”

            “Of course, dear—they’d never let him go if they’d had him.  Ha, ha!”

            “Ha, ha!”

            Jim clutched his fork and kept his head down.  He had tried, in the first few days after their mother had come home from the hospital with Simon, to privately ask his parents whether the boy wasn’t maturing too quickly.  But the more he pressed his point, the more his parents either patted him on the head or became angry and started accusing him of being a jealous ingrate. 

            In their calmest moments, the moments they were most like themselves, they explained, “We don’t love you any less or Simon any more because he’s our natural-born son.  We’ve never regretted letting you make your home with us, and we never will.”

            Jim believed them: they were that sort of people.  Loving, overly generous, and fair.  Under normal circumstances, circumstances in which they stayed in their right minds—

            He clutched his spoon and kept his eyes down.

            “Aren’t you going to try some, Brother?” Simon asked charmingly—Simon, who had been born a month before.  Simon, who had just served them the four-course meal he’d made himself.  Jim had been wondering when he’d make his move.

            “My stomach’s upset,” Jim said.  “Maybe later.”

            “Don’t be offended, Simon dear,” their mother said; “he’s never been a big eater.”

            “I understand,” Simon said, tears pricking his eyes.

            “Really, Jim, I’d think you could try some!” said their father.

            “Please,” said Jim, “may I go lie down?  I’m not well.”  He got up, deathly pale—but he’d always been pale; iron deficiency, the doctor said—and made his way to his low-ceiling attic bedroom.  He lay down on his bed and waited, certain Simon would come.

            He was right.  Simon came to his room just before midnight, perhaps thinking to wake him, and began poking around Jim’s belongings—the gifts lavished upon him by the people who let him call them Dad and Mom.  His family.

            “I wasn’t sure before,” Simon said—so perhaps he did know Jim was awake.  Adult flatness had replaced the sweetness of his voice.  “It isn’t unusual for human children to be jealous of us.  But you really can see through my glamour.  Can’t you.”

            “Earthworms and dirt water,” Jim said, sitting up.  “How dare you feed them that, how dare you treat them like that when they’ve taken you in and giving you their love!  Don’t your kind have laws about guests and hosts?”

            “There’s no virtue in their caring for me,” Simon said comfortably; “I didn’t give them a choice.  Besides, they think I’m their spawn.  They think I’m perfect.  I don’t notice them calling you that.”

            “Because I choose to honor the integrity of their minds!”

            “Because you aren’t good enough.”

            “They invited me into their home,” Jim shot back.  “You kidnapped their child and put yourself in his place.  What have you done with the real Simon?”

            Simon shrugged, picking up a picture of their parents.  There were no pictures with Jim—he didn’t photograph well—but the room was full of candid shots of friends and family.  “How should I know?” he asked.

            Fury flashed Jim’s vision red, and he flew across the room.  He caught Simon’s neck, fingernails drawing blood.  “Let’s try again,” he snarled.  “This is MY family, and I will rip out your throat and drink your blood before I let you abuse them.”

            Simon struggled and squeaked, but Jim’s grip was like iron.

            “Where.  Is.  The real.  Simon.”

            “I don’t know!” the boy gasped.  “I wasn’t in charge of that!”

            “Then you will help me find him.”

            “I won’t.”

            “You will,” Jim said, slowing down his words and forcing Simon to look deep into his eyes.  “You will help me find Simon and restore him to my family.  And then you will leave us alone until and unless I call for you.”

            “Yes,” Simon whispered, face slack, “master.”

 

----

 

What on Earth was that nonsense?  Let me explain . . .

 I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year.  For those of you who don’t know, November is NationalNovelWritingMonth.  Basically, writers around the world write 50,000 words in a month.  Doing NaNoWriMo “properly” means writing this as a new novel.  I have done it this way, but I’ve also used it for rewrites. 

 I mean, I’m an 11-time participant.  I’ve done it a lot of ways.  If you’d like to be my buddy on the site, I’m eversearchingtraveler.

 Anyway, this year I’m writing not a novel but a series of short stories.  I’m also counting total words written, not final words written.  So for example, this morning I wrote a short story in my notebook and they typed it up, rewriting and editing.  The handwritten version was 600 words; the typed version 700, so my total count was 1300. 

 The reason I’m writing short stories is I felt my brain getting clogged up and I was having trouble writing.  I needed to clear it out.  I work with prompts, but I have trouble finding prompts until they’re assigned to me.  So I am using a system.  It goes like this: my prompt for each story is the first two or three books by different authors that I own in each letter of the alphabet.  Like this:

 

A: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.  (from which I took “hitchhiker” and “goblin”)

 B: (I skipped this one, actually.  I’m rarely allowed to skip one and only one.  I wrote an unrelated 6,000-word story that I'm rather excited about)

 C: Keeper of Dreams by Orson Scott Card, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (omnibus) by Lewis Carroll, and The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (“dream keeper” “Lewis” “five languages”)

 D: Boy by Road Dahl, The Secret Country by Pamela Dean, and Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (“dahl/doll,” “Dean,” “Witch.”  I messed up here; Tigerheart by Peter David was misfiled).

 E: The Knight’s Castle by Edgar Eager and The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (“knight/castle,” “worm = dragon”; "eager",  "Edwards").

 F: The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer, Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher (“troll,” “henge,” dark tone)

 G: The Changeling War by Peter Garrison (a penname of Craig Shaw Gardner) and Prisoner of Vampires by Nancy Gardner (“changeling,” “prisoner,” “vampire”).

 

That’s the one I just wrote.  Some turn out better, some worse; some longer and some shorter, but never under 500 words.  Tomorrow is Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly + Scottish Myth’s and Legends by Judy Hamilton.

Night Fell

 Night fell.

He'd been falling since at least 5:27pm, and supposed he couldn't fall much further without being completely in the dark, since this hole had neither stars nor fireflies and had yet to invent electricity.  He therefore sighingly inflated his i into an o and fell onto the hole rather than into it.

Night oofed as he scrabbled along the glassy surface.  He gained his footing just as one of the screeching things that had been chasing him screeched past.  It flailed but, failing to correct its preposition in time, thudded to the bottom of the lightless hole, never to be seen again.

The thing's comrades screeched above, and Night caught enough of their language to know more were coming, things with wings and talons and beaks and eyes that cast light enough to see by.

Powered or Overpowered?

So, as those who’ve been following this blog know, I’ve been engaging with a lot of Japanese media lately, and especially anime and light novels (with a bit of manga thrown in).  As in, I’ve read over 100 Japanese novels in the past six months.  This is relevant because in the particular subgenre I read, I’ve noticed a trend.  It goes like this:

1. Protagonist is weak (or pretending to be weak)

2. Protagonist gets strong (or is revealed as strong)

3. Protagonist easily overcomes all struggles with his power and story is boring.

This usually happens after it's clear the author's original ideas have been used up, and now they just want to keep writing to make money / they can keep getting praise for how awesome their protagonist is.

(On which note, check out my post on Telling Your Reader Your Character Is Epic.)

But see, the thing is . . . super powerful does not equal overpowered.

Diana Wynne Jones’s Chrestomanci is literally not only the most powerful enchanter in the world but possibly in the multiverse, and he isn’t overpowered.  Why?  Because he can lose.  He can be outsmarted or teamed up on or caught off guard.  He doesn’t instantly know the answers to mysteries.  Other magic users may use magic with which he is unfamiliar or for which he is unprepared.  The stakes are real.  Regardless of power level, a character is overpowered when their power negates the stakes.  If the stakes are real, the character is not overpowered.

I’ll make three examples here of characters that look overpowered but aren’t.

1. Character seems super powerful but actually isn’t.  Glenn from Akashic Records of The Bastard Magic Instructor is introduced as a third-rate magician.  At first, I expected he’d be revealed to be super-powerful as a magic user, but NOPE.  What he has are such a good understanding of magic theory and so much cleverness that he can somewhat compensate for his lack of magical power.  But only somewhat.  He’s definitely the weakest person in most fights, and he can lose.

2. Character is super powerful, but the antagonist is his equal or slight superior.  Light from Death Note is possibly the smartest guy in the world, an expert at charm and trickery and deduction; furthermore, he has a supernatural power.  His antagonist, L, however . . . is barely his intellectual inferior, and has many more years of experience plus funding and support from the world’s police and a secret network.  This makes them equals or even gives L the edge.

3. Character is, in fact, the most powerful—but this doesn’t solve his problems.  My favorite example of this, because it’s so ridiculously extreme, is The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History's Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants. Anos Voldigord, demon king of old, reincarnates with all his memories and powers two thousand years later.  Everyone else seems to have forgotten powerful magic, whereas he is so powerful he can literally kill someone with the sound of his heartbeat (and then immediately revive them if he so wishes).  In any contest of strength, he instantly wins.  But see, the stakes revolve not around who is the strongest, but around whether he can convince people of who he is and solve a 2000-year-old mystery.  (Note: I’ve only read the first 2-2/3 novels; the rest haven’t been translated yet.)  So although ridiculously powerful, he isn't overpowered, because his power doesn't negate the stakes.

So, yeah, I’ve been having fun thinking about that. :)

The King Must Die

Another k-pop mix story.  Because I can . . .

The King Must Die – Part 1

Many years in the future (Intro), is what seems to be a city (City Lights) of tremendous wealthy and happiness (Beautiful), but which is in truth a rotten canker of injustice (District 9) run by the organization known as Magnolia (Magnolia).

Like everyone else, Purple Max tries to stay anonymous and out of trouble (Keep Your Head Down).  But then, one day his wife is taken from him by the organization (Palace).  Fearing for what might be happening to her (From Way Up There) he begs the authorities to release her (Baby Come Back Home)—and when they refuse, for them to kill him (Shoot Me).

One of his old friends drags him away (Calm Down), but his heart and mind are shattered (No More Dream).  He finally acknowledges what a hell he’s living in (Hellevator), and that he needs to take a stand himself (Can’t Avoid My Destiny) if he wants things to change (Make a Change).

Now fully against Magnolia (Bad Guy), Max turns to the infamous Dr. Bebe for help (Dr. Bebe), and together they plot for Max to break into the palace to assassinate Magnolia’s leaders (The King Must Die).

 

The King Must Die – Part 1

After training to become the perfect killer (Savage), Max infiltrates the palace (Ready or Not) to set things right (Reboot).  At first, he succeeds (Sweet Chaos), but he is brought up short by the sight of his wife (1004 (Angel)).  He barely recognizes her (Beautiful Stranger).  When he goes to rescue her (Electric Kiss), she attacks and nearly kills him (K.O.) and he has to kill her to survive (K.O.). 

Wondering in horror how many other members of Magnolia are brainwashed good guys (Guilty), Max fights on (Fighter).  Mindful of his wife, he offers each enemy a chance to become his ally (Callin’), swearing to save them all (Superhero).  With the many new skills he’s trained (Abracadabra), he kills every member of Magnolia who won’t surrender (Drop) and sets up the survivors for a new and better government (Victory Song).  He becomes the new ruler, bringing the country into an era of peace and justice (Catch Me).

PART 1

1.         Intro – VIXX
2.         City Lights – TVXQ!
3.         Beautiful – Monsta X
4.         District 9 – Stray Kids
5.         Magnolia – TOO
6.         Keep Your Head Down – TVXQ!
7.         Palace – D-CRUNCH
8.         From Way Up There – Leo
9.         Baby Come Back Home – Target
10.       Shoot Me – Day6
11.       Calm Down –  Monsta X
12.       No More Dream – BTS
13.       Hellevator – Stray Kids
14.       Can’t Avoid My Destiny – Ken
15.       Make a Change – TVXQ!
16.       Bad Guy – TOO
17.       Dr. Bebe – Pentagon
18.       The King Must Die – Purple Rain

PART 2
 
1.          Savage – A.C.E.
2.          Ready or Not – Monsta X
3.          Reboot – TVXQ!
4.          Sweet Chaos – Day6
5.          1004 (Angel) – B.A.P.
6.          Beautiful Stranger – TVXQ (Max Solo)
7.          Electric Kiss – EXO
8.          K.O. – SF9
9.          Guilty – TVXQ!
10.       Fighter – Monsta X
11.       Callin’ – A.C.E.
12.       Superhero – VIXX
13.       Abracadabra – TOO
14.       Drop – U-Know
15.       Victory Song – Stray Kids
16.       Catch Me – TVXQ!

 

Carnival of Lunacy

Ooh, I forgot to post the newest stories.  And I'm proud of this one, which uses some carnivalesque musical sounds.  Here we go!

Carnival of Lunacy – Part 1

Gene speeds into orbit above Pentagon, the resort asteroid (Asteroid).  Thinking he’s pretty hot stuff (Super Car), he hops out and demands to see the ringleader (Excuse Me), because he’s had a special invitation (Secret Letter).

The attendant leads Gene back to the ringleader (Guess Who)—Gene’s ex-girlfriend (It’s Hard to Face You).

Gene quickly rallies from his shock, and tries to charm her (I Think I), but she ignores this.  She’s brought him here for a very specific reason (Say Love): to discover what is really going on in the carnival, right under her nose (Jackpot).

Gene agrees (Mr. Secret), and explores, but things get very strange (Neverland).  Carnies begin to threaten him (Stone Heart), and they look unnatural, even creepy (Zombie).  Gene realizes in horror that he’s the only living person on the asteroid (Alive)—and that he’s been brought here to die (No Exit).

 

Carnival of Lunacy – Part 2

Trapped in this nightmare (Dystopia), Gene must escape (NalinA).  He mimics the carnies (Gesture) to sneak past them.  But his ex shows up (Stand Up).

The carnies converge, but he ducks through secret passageways so they can’t find him (Blind).  His only chance is to get back to his fancy spaceship (The Chance of Love).  If he can manage it before his ex kills him (Beautiful Killer).

Gene fights through the insane crowd (Nilili Mambo), only hiding when he’s collapsing with exhaustion (Tearful).  After a short rest, he risk running for it (Breath).  He escapes the zombies only to meet into his ex on the landing pad (Sahara).  She says she’ll zombify him (Rock Ur Body).

Gene distracts her (Chocolate), runs to his spaceship, and takes off.  He aims his ship at the asteroid and escapes in a pod to live another day (Today).  The ship, self-destruct initiated, plummets toward the asteroid (Ticky Tocky).

PART 1

1.             Asteroid – Pentagon

2.             Super Car – SuperM

3.             Excuse Me – B.A.P.

4.             Secret Letter – J-Min

5.             Guess Who – Taemin

6.             It’s Hard to Face You – Ravi

7.             I Think I – Super Junior

8.             Say Love – VIXX

9.             Jackpot – Block B

10.          Mr. Secret – Cross Gene

11.          Neverland – U-Kiss

12.          Stone Heart – Taemin

13.          Zombie – Ravi

14.          Alive – VIXX

15.          No Exit – Monsta X

 

PART 2

1.             Dystopia – B.A.P.

2.             NalinA – Block B

3.             Gesture – Leo

4.             Stand Up – J-Min

5.             Blind – History

6.             The Chance of Love – TVXQ!

7.             Beautiful Killer – VIXX

8.             Nilili Mambo – Block B

9.             Tearful – N

10.          Breath – Beast

11.          Sahara – Dreamcatcher

12.          Rock Ur Body -- VIXX

13.          Chocolate – Max

14.          Today – VIXX LR

15.          Ticky Tocky – Super Junior

 

 

Guess What Happened at Work Today?

Wires gouge deeply,

Connect us; imprison us

As we embrace them.

 

Freed from their power,

We wander—aimless, alone.

What else can there be?

 

Slaves seek out masters,

Extend their wrists for shackles,

Beg them for commands.

 

What’s this?  All rejoice!

Once more, the blue light doth reign!

Vanish, hopes and dreams.

Thinklings, Banking, Updates

So, it should surprise no one that Thinklings has undergone some changes over the last few months.  We've reorganized, and that's given us an opportunity to think about our priorities.  In short, we've temporarily paused taking new submissions so that we can focus on really boosting the books we have.

Since I'm in charge of things like acquisitions, copy-editing, legal documents, and finances (but not marketing), this means I can finish all my tasks for Thinklings in off-hours.  So what do I do during the day?

Finally, after years and years of wanting to, I got a job outside the home, one where I interact with Actual Human Beings in person.  Specifically, I decided to become a bank teller.  

And bank teller must tell tales of banking. :)

Recognizing Myself in My Protagonists

I am not an author with any interest in writing a self-insert main character.  (How boring would that be?  Very.)  However, of course, all my main characters have part of me in them.  So as an exercise in self-awareness and reflection, and in order of date written . . .


1.     Maeron from The Fifth Tunnel is my loneliness and uncertainty.

2.     Mort from Swallowgate is my trust, both rightly and wrongly given.

3.     Logan and Alissa from Logic’s Emporium of Stolen Memories are my immovability, both positive and negative.  Both, in different ways, put up with/don’t act in situations for far longer than they should; they cannot be moved.  But then when they hit a breaking point and finally do move, they resettle themselves against their adversaries – and their adversaries cannot move them.

4.     Stephen from The Monsters of Stephen Enchanter is my expectation of rejection and my drive to create.

5.     Acacia and Quietus from Wizard: Deceased are the sorts of people I like to make friends with.

6.     Mercedes from Bargaining Power is my aggression and strength.

7.     The clockwork man from The Land of the Purple Ring is my honesty, optimism, and naiveté.



I think it’s worth noting that these traits get far more positive as time goes on, although all of them are forever true of me.  And also that The Land of the Purple Ring was written right after a time of trauma and stress and betrayal.  When writing that book, I swore none of the ugliness done to me would infect my book.  And I am very proud of the fact that none of it did.  That is my victory.

(Mercedes would approve.)

I do find it interesting that none of these are my academic self.  The closest to that would be Mervyn from Wizard: Deceased and Chancellor Thomas from Bargaining Power.  Then again, that’s not what I love to see in a protagonist, so . . .

Recommendations: Anime, Manga, Light Novels, and Adaptations

==Japanese Media and Me: A History==

A year and a half ago, I didn’t like manga or anime.  There are three reasons for this: 1) I don’t natively do well with graphic novels, being very word-oriented.  I don’t naturally really examine pictures, so I miss a lot when I read them unless I consciously force myself.  2) I find a lot of animation ugly—including the style in popular anime like Naruto.  3) Not having any understanding of either Japanese culture or media, a lot of it simply didn’t make sense to me.  So I couldn’t follow it, couldn’t understand it, and found much of it visually repugnant—not a promising start.

Then a year and a half ago, Netflix gave me a free month, and I ended up watching the live action movie of Bleach.  And I adored it.  I dearly wanted more, but what more was there?  Just anime and manga.  But I was desperate, and I could tell by the loving and subtle details that the film was almost certainly a very good adaptation of the source material.  (Note: I was right.)  So I grit my teeth and started watching the anime.

It took me a little over 3.5 months to watch all 366 episodes and 4 movies.  But by the end, I’d gained enough understanding to enable me to read manga—and I proved it by reading Descendants of Darkness.  I also discovered that although I couldn’t bear the art styles of some anime, there were other styles I liked just fine.

But I still preferred live action.  I went about devouring live action adaptations (see list below), and I kept coming across Death Note.  Willing to give it a shot, I tried watching the live action TV show . . . and concluded that the story was no good.  So I tried the other live action TV show and it was also dreadful.  I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to watch the cowardly, shriveling, dull Light as a main character. 

But I kept coming across Death Note, and I’d become more comfortable with anime.  It wore me down.  So I decided maybe, maybe, I’d just try the anime.  So I sat down and began it.  It seemed to start in much the same way as the live action shows, but then—but then—!!!!

Then, the end of episode 2.  Then Light being what he should have been.  A powerful, decisive, brilliant, deadly, devious, horrible, wonderful main character.  And I was hooked.

Hooked on the story—not on anime or manga (oddly, I found to my surprise I actually possibly preferred the manga, though that is of all forms the most difficult for me to consume).  Still, it seemed to end there . . . until two months ago, when Netflix gave me another free month, and I discovered The Irregular at Magic High School and Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan.  And then I hurt my leg and I’ve had nothing to do but elevate it and watch anime and read the source material and . . .

Well. 

Here we go.

==Notes==

In all cases for anime and film, I’ve watched in Japanese with English subtitles.

I read all manga in physical book form (thank you, libraries!) but light novels as ebooks. 

My deepest gratitude to the fan translators out there.  Of the below, about half the films and light novels were fan translations, done simply for love of the source material.  I would never have gotten to read/watch these without you.  Thank you so much for all your hard work!

Within sections, I kept them in alphabetical order, not ranked.  Not rankable, frankly, due to the vast differences in length and genre.

I am relatively new to anime, so this is by no means a definitive list.  I may eventually post an update if it comes to that.

If any of you wants to track down one that is not commercially available (aka there are only fan translations), leave me a message and I’ll send you a link.

==Top Anime==

Criteria: I watched every episode and craved more, so I went on to find as much more of it as I could, including purchasing part or all of it and reading the source material.  These stories touched me on a deeper level; they spoke to me. 

BLEACH

A soul reaper gives Ichigo her powers so he can save his little sister . . . and then can’t get them back.  So he has to do her job and then some.  Action-adventure, light/dark mix; anime leans light but manga leans dark.

Why I love it: It has true heart.  I like almost all the many characters.  It has great action.  It managed to shock and devastate me (in a good way) with a brilliant twist.

Its flaws: um.  Some pacing issues: too slow for most of it and too fast near the end.  A few really annoying characters.

Other media: I’ve also read the first two arcs of the manga.  Due to the action-packed nature of the story, I prefer the anime.  Also, some of the fillers are quite good and one filler arc is excellent.  Though they do create a few pacing issues, the fillers do something very important: they let us get to know characters much better and make us care about them more and makes them care more about one another—so it makes more sense the lengths Ichigo goes for them.
See live action movies, below.  Of the four anime movies, they get better as they go along—with the third and fourth being the best.

(366 episodes + 4 animated movies.  More episodes coming next year!)

DEATH NOTE

Two geniuses battle to the death: one with supernatural powers, the other with greater experience and resources.  Cerebral thriller, dark.

Why I love it: Unlike so many stories about geniuses . . . Light and L actually act like it.  Aggressively.  There are moments of true brilliance.  And on top of that, they’re also deeply human and flawed. 

Its flaws: the second arc is bad.  Stick with the first one.

Other media: I’ve read the first arc of the manga.  I may slightly prefer it to the anime.  I do not recommend the live action TV shows, but see below in my live-action films section (no, not the Netflix film.  Don’t lynch me; I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to).

(37 episodes)

THE IRREGULAR AT MAGIC HIGH SCHOOL

A powerful sister and her seemingly useless brother enroll in magic high school—but the brother’s more than he seems, and strange things are afoot.  Action-school drama, fairly light.

Why I love it: it adores magic.  To a frankly ridiculous extent.  It treats magic like hard sci-fi treats technology.  It delves into it in detail that should be but isn’t dull.  And beyond that, it’s magic high school. Nuff said.

Its flaws: the real problems in the story don’t crop up until later in the light novel series, and those books haven’t yet been adapted.

Other media: I’ve read the first 16 light novels.  The first 15 have been officially translated, and 16–30 have fan translations of varying quality.  I decided not to read further.  The first 4 are very good, but it goes downhill from there as the series loses the high school element and OPs its characters too much and runs into/increases a few other issues.  So I’d stick with the first couple of arcs—which is what the anime currently is (but season 2 is coming soon).

(26 episodes)

NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN

Middle-schooler Rikou is 1/4 yokai (ghost/monster/bogeyman) and 3/4 human.  He’s also heir to the Nura yokai clan, and he’s going to need to power up both his human and yokai forms to defeat evil and protect monsters and humans alike.  Action-adventure, fairly light.

Why I love it: Rikou is a true leader in the best sense of the word.  Beyond that . . . um.  I love monsters?  And these have great designs.  This show is clever and has real heart and humor.  Of all the stories on the list, this is the one that makes me say, “I’d like to write something like that.”

Its flaws: only the first half of the manga was adapted.  I want more.

Other media: I’ve read the rest of the story in manga form and plan to read the earlier volumes also.  The manga is excellent.

(48 episodes)

==Honorable Mentions==

Criterion: I happily watched every episode.

AKASHIC RECORDS OF THE BASTARD MAGIC INSTRUCTOR

The new teacher at a magic high school is unmotivated and subpar and clearly wants to be anywhere else.  So why did the most powerful magician in the world recommend him?  And what will happen when baddies strike?  Awesomeness—but not OP, surprisingly enough.  Action-comedy, mostly light.

I’ve read light novels vol 1, 6,7, and 8, and am working on 2—the anime covers 1–5 faithfully.  Thank you, fan translators!  The LNs aren’t brilliant, but they’re quite decent.  This show is fun and occasionally clever.  I would watch more, and I’m reading further in the light novels to learn what happens next.  

(12 episodes)

ARIFURETA: FROM COMMONPLACE TO WORLD'S STRONGEST

Class of kids gets sucked into fantasy world a la video game with a labyrinth.  The deeper you go, the more dangerous.  Hajime’s powers are the weakest of anyone’s, and a bully makes him fall of the edge—far deeper into the labyrinth than he can possibly survive.  And yet he does survive. Action with elements of romance, starts dark but ends light.

So, this show is messy.  I ended up reading the first light novel because the show skipped over too much important information—but the light novel was pretty poor.  Also, it turns into a full-blown shameless harem anime.  But I watched all of it.  Why?  Because it has elements I love, and core potential that it doesn’t entirely squander.  (Finally, a protagonist who shoots rather than putting down his gun for the baddie!)  So while I wouldn’t watch more, I’m not unhappy I enjoyed this much.

(13 episodes)

SWORD ART ONLINE

10,000 players, including Kirito, enter a fully immersive virtual reality MMORPG . . . and discover can only leave if they win the game.  And that if they die in the game, they’ll die in real life, too. Action-adventure-romance-drama, light/dark mix leaning light.

The light novels for this are decent but really add nothing to the show.  Um.  This is fun.  There’s quite a bit of it, and some arcs are much better than others, but none are bad.

(86 episodes)
EDIT: Never mind, it eventually got bad.  But it took a long time.

THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME

After being knifed, a man reincarnates as a slime in a magical world.  He gains new powers by devouring monsters and becomes a powerful leader.  Adventure, light.

It’s deliciously fun and very, very well done.  It’s clever and funny and shows an example of frankly good leadership.  I would definitely watch more.  Also, this wins my “best title” award.

(26 episodes)
EDIT: Second season now out!  It is . . . of uneven quality.  It began and ended well, at least.

==Best Live Action Films==

Criterion: I enjoyed enough to watch these again.

AJIN: DEMI-HUMAN

Kei is ajin, which means he resets every time he dies.  It also means he’s stuck between government experimentation and psychopathic ajin.  Action, dark.

I watched a fan translation.  This is by the same action team and lead actor as Kenshin (below).  Lots of great action, though not a whole lot else.

ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM

A light-hearted, life-affirming movie about a teacher training his class to assassinate him.  Action-drama, light.

I’m not being sarcastic.  It really is light-hearted and life-affirming.  It’s not a brilliant movie, but it is very fun.  The sequel wasn’t great.  If I remember correctly, I watched a fan translation.

BLEACH

A faithful and loving adaptation. Action-adventure, fairly light.

With plenty of good characterization and action, and mostly good casting.

DEATH NOTE: THE MUSICAL (Kakizawa version)

Death Note . . . but a musical.  Stage production that’s been filmed.  Thriller, dark.

Um.  Kakizawa version is the best (aka the version in which Light has black hair.  There’s also a brown-haired version, but that actor plays him out of character).  This is possibly as good as its source material.  I love the music.  I have only very minor gripes.  It’s really good.  I watched an excellent fan translation.

RUROUNI KENSHIN

The world’s best swordsman-assassin has sworn never to kill again . . . but he will always protect people.  Action, light/dark mix.

Seriously impressive action.  Lead performs his own stunts. (3 films; 2 more out in 2021)

TOKYO GHOUL

When a date goes terrifyingly wrong, Ken turns into a ghoul with a clawing hunger for human flesh.  Horror-action, dark.

I didn’t watch this for a while, because it’s R for violence and gore . . . but actually, it didn’t quite pass my threshold (which is pretty low).  The lead actor deserves an award.  Beyond that—good action, deep themes.  Thought-provoking.

EDIT: And let's add in the live-action mini-series for Mob Psycho 100 to this list!

EDIT: NOVELS OF 4 OR 5 STARS

Classroom of the Elite (first 7 or so novels good)

Dungeon Defense (volume 1.  WN entirely different but equally good.  Both are fan translated)

Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich (fan translation, WN)

I Only Summon Slime (Fan translation)

The Irregular at Magic High School (at least the first couple of volumes.  The first 15 stayed decent)

I'm Really Not the Demon God's Lackey (fan translation, WN)

Is It Tough Being a Friend (fan translation)

The King of the Dead at Dark Palace

Kingdom's Bloodline (WN.  Fan translation)

My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World (first volume, but continues being fun for a while)

My Death Flags Show No Signs of Ending (amazing web novel.  Fan translation rocky, but this is so good it blows right through that obstacle)

My House of Horrors (WN, fan translation)

The Novel’s Extra (WN, fan translation)

So I'm a Spider, So What (novels 1-3)

The Sorcerer's Receptionist (it's a trilogy, but the third volume was much less good)

Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs (volume 1)

EDIT: SHOWS WORTH REWATCHING

Edit, 1/9/22: here is an updated list of recommendations, that I'll keep updating.  These are shows worth rewatching.  This recommendation list contains only Anime and Donghua, not novels or live action.

Anime (J)/ Donghua (C)

* means it never decreases in quality.  For all of them, at least the first season is well worth watching.  If it decreases in quality but is only one season long, I was usually disappointed in the last episode or two, but not enough to ruin the show.  

x means something about it was especially impactful to me

M/N means that, after watching it, I was inspired to read several of the manga or novels

Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor ¬– J*xNM

Another – J

Bleach – Jx

Carp Reborn – C*

Cells at Work! – J*

Classroom of the Elite – J*N

The Daily Life of the Immortal King – CN

Death Note – JxM

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K – J*M

Dororo (2019) J*x

Eudemon Quest – J*

Fairy Planting Manual / Demon Seed Planting Manual – C*xM

The Furious Yama – C*

Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East – J

I’m Standing on a Million Lives – J

The Irregular at Magic High School – J*N

Jade Dynasty – C*

Juni Taisen: Zodiac War – J

The Misfit of Demon King Academy – J*N

Mononoke – J*x

The Morose Mononokean – J

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – J*xM

Overlord – JN

Problem Children Are Coming from Another World – J*

The Royal Tutor – J

Saiki K – J*M

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle – J*

Soul Land – C*N

Spare Me, Great Lord – C*N

Sword Art Online – JN

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime – JN

TSUKIMICHI ~Moonlit Fantasy~ – J*M

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun – J*M

Fearful Power: Chapters 1 & 2

Finished Bargaining Power and want to know what happens next?  I have a gift for you. :)  Here are the first two chapters of Fearful Power (aka Power Trips book 2).  Enjoy!

Short Story: Key and the Monsters

Key stopped with one hand on the front doorknob, plastic grocery bag swinging on the opposite elbow.

The lights were out.  The inner lights were no big deal; his mother and stepfather always liked to get to bed early, and Sapp had school tomorrow.  (So did Key, but that had never stopped his wandering the night, and eventually, his parents had given up).  But his family had never neglected to leave the porch light on for him, however much he protested he didn’t need it. 

Even laying that aside, there was something wrong with the silence.  It should have been a sleeping house, not one holding its breath in anticipation.

Key turned the knob easily, because no door was truly locked to him after dark.  He scraped off his shoes and went to put the groceries away without turning on the light.

Interested eyes watched him, and interested feet followed him—some webbed, some clawed or slimed or bloody.  Their owners forgot to stay silent, but Key ignored them as first his parents’ and then Sapp’s bedroom doors sprang open at his touch.

Key put a hand on Sapphire’s empty pillow, slept on but cold.  “We had a deal,” he said.  “I won’t be seventeen for years yet.”

Someone cleared his throat, and then something like, but not very like, mist rose from the floor.  It went liquid and silvery and then solidified into a fine-featured man.  He was handsome, of indeterminate age, with blond hair and mustache down to his waist, and clad entirely in leather pockets.  In one hand, he held an old fashioned and extraordinarily heavy harpoon.

“Bridge,” Key said, not bothering to hide his irritation even before one of his father’s strongest generals.  “What has he done?”

“The king was not the one to abduct them,” Bridge said.  “Others came.”

“Then why didn’t you stop them?”

“They were powerful,” Bridge said, “and their appearance unexpected.  You were not here to lead us.”

Key’s fist clinched, but he couldn’t be angry.  Now that he looked, he could see the signs of recent combat not only on Bridge, but on the lesser monsters as well.  Anger steamed from his skin, and he didn’t suppress it.  “Noose is here too?” he asked.  “And Nix?”

“They are.”

Key’s lips peeled back, not in a smile.  His teeth had sharpened, and moonlight glinted in the whites of his eyes and along his talons.  “In that case,” he said, in a voice no human had, “it’s time to go hunting.”

Written 5/28/20

PUBLISHED! The Land of the Purple Ring

Here it is.  I personally recommend the paperback, because of the illustrations and formatting, but I also wanted to make you all a gift for my birthday -- so the ebook will be only $0.99 the 9th (my 32nd birthday) through July.

Please, enjoy it!  I wrote this to be fun, to be ridiculous, to play with language, and to bring joy.

The Land of the Purple Ring

https://www.amazon.com/Land-Purple-Ring-Deborah-Natelson/dp/1951471040/

Author Inteview for The Land of the Purple Ring

When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

The Writing Compulsion (genus: Inspiration) is one of the most insidious, inexplicable, inexorable, and intractable items in the construction site of Imaginarium.  Often mistaken for a jellyfish when isolated, the Writing Compulsion spreads out over its host’s brain, sending tendrils into every crack and crevice, merging with every lobe and electrical field, influencing every thought and integrating with every action so thoroughly that it soon can no longer be distinguished or extracted from its host.  Nor would many hosts wish to extract it, for though when ignored it causes agony, when its wholly unreasonable demands are fulfilled it exudes chemical satisfaction beyond any other accomplishment.



Where did you get the inspiration for The Land of the Purple Ring?

Give me a random word, please.  Now another. Oh, you want me to write about knitting and mountains?  Naturally, all mountains are knitted. There is an entire clan of oysters who do nothing all day but knit mountains.  That’s why mountains have so many trees on them: the yarn pills. The center of each mountain is, of course, a pearl—for pearls are formed by layers and layers of nacre.  The oysters who form mountains use a nacre-like substance, except that it extends from them like spider’s web . . .

You see?  Like that.



Who is your biggest writing inspiration?

​Walter Moers.  L. Frank Baum.  Norton Juster.  Roald Dahl.  Vivian Vander Velde.  James Thurber.  W.S. Gilbert.

But since this is supposed to be a singular answer, I’d say: the alphabet.

It just has it all.



Tell us one weird, interesting tidbit about yourself.

I have five fingers.

(on each hand)

(including the thumb)



What does your writing space look like?

It has no look; it has only sound.  The sound of my cackling laughter.



How long have you been writing this book?

Honestly?  I wrote the first draft in three months.  Then I rewrote it by the time six months had passed.  That was, oh, about a year and a half before publication, during which time I did some editing.

This book wanted to be written so desperately, it practically wrote itself.  Maybe it too had a parasitic brain jellyfish infection.



Which character do you identify the most with in your book?

The kheir, whose bones constantly pop in and out of alignment so that it terrorized chiropractors until they appealed to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe to put a stop to it.