A (side)blog of SF and fantasy. I follow back from Fuck Yeah, Nerdery. Visit Rayguns and Space Suits for more SF and Swords, Dragons, and Nerds for more fantasy.
Currently reading: Newton's Wake - Ken MacLeod.
Kris Longknife: Training Daze - Mike Shepherd.
Two great events coming up: Backlisted Live at Foyle's bookshop in London, where we'll be talking about Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower. Tickets here.
And the Science Fiction Foundation's next conference is on Women in the Black Fantastic: to be held online, 7-8 December. Schedule and link to tickets here.
I am very disappointed that Vecna somehow just completely left my my mind because I was just talking to a friend last week about how the newest adventure featuring him white-washed him.
Vecna's (fanasty race) being Flan (more specially Ur-Flan) a people who described as "Flan boast a bronze-colored complexion, varying from a light copper shade to a deep brown hue. Eyes are typically dark brown, black, brown, or amber. Their wavy or curly hair is usually black, brown-black, dark brown, or brown." [World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting, page 16/152, when viewed as a pdf]
But in the newst adventure he looks like this as human- the blond one.
He's originally from the Greyhawk setting (which I am mostly completely unfamiliar with).
Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987) Dir. By Shinji Aramaki Animated By: Hideaki Anno & Kōji Akimoto
Legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno was only in his mid to late 20s and Kōji Akimoto being only 14 when he helped designed and animated Metal Skin Panic a mecha cyberpunk anime film.
The real reason your sapient dragon character needs a "rider":
Dragons on the wing are vulnerable to being mobbed by smaller, more agile flyers, particularly in your large rear blind spot, like a bird of prey being mobbed by crows. Having a human armed with a long spear perched on your back helps to dissuade anyone from getting any funny ideas.
Breath weapons are impressive enough on the ground, but in flight they're really only good for strafing stationary targets; trying to use your breath weapon in an aerial dogfight is a good way to get fire up your nose. A real fight calls for sterner measures – and, concomitantly, a crew to aim and reload the cannons.
In today's competitive world, it's not enough to devour a flock of sheep and call it a day if you want to keep your edge. You're accompanied at all times by a qualified personal alchemist tasked with carefully regulating your internal furnace to ensure peak performance, and sometimes you even listen to them.
No dragon of any quality would be caught dead without their valet. It's not as though you can announce your numerous long-winded titles yourself when introductions are called for, can you? You suppose next you'll be expected to pick up the spoils of your conquests yourself, like a common brigand. Perish the thought!