Tag: Fantasy

Worldbuilding Wednesday 9/29/21: Bodacious Bs

I am not as fond of the letter B as I am of the letter A for fictional characters. Oh, sure, it has its uses for manly types, like Byron and Bradford — think the alliterative brawny, brash, beefy. But for female characters, it implies big bosoms, bellies, and behinds in matronly names like Bessie, …

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I Come from the Land of Esa

How do I unpack this Tibetan / Polynesian / Mexican lovely’s costume? Hydrangea flower earrings, yellow rubber gloves, solid gold flower-shaped pasties (with exaggerated nipples/stamens), a handkerchief for a top, and a towel for a bottom. Plus, a cow head on her forehead. Her companion with his white miniskirt gets off easy… but is that …

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The Wood Between the Worlds

He was standing by the edge of a small pool—not more than ten feet from side to side—in a wood. The trees grew close together and were so leafy that he could get no glimpse of the sky. All the light was green light that came through the leaves: but there must have been a …

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Asdis or Jadslan?

What if Aslan, instead of defeating the White Witch, usurped her position?

Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/21/21: Coriakin’s Magic Book (Narnia XXIII)

  It was written, not printed; written in a clear, even hand, with thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes, very large, easier than print, and so beautiful that Lucy stared at it for a whole minute and forgot about reading it. The paper was crisp and smooth and a nice smell came from it; and in …

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The Lady of the Green Kirtle (Part II)

Green Kirtle = green scales = reptile = poison = poisonous intent, poisonous sexuality, poisonous philosophy. The Green Witch is all about poison. Green-yellow is the color of pustulence, of unhealthy phlegm, pus, the eruptions of an infected wound; it’s the color of insects, snakes, lizards, certain larvae, caterpillars, and amphibians, and centipedes. Creepy-crawlies that …

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Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/14/21: Witches of the North (Narnia XXII)

  “Long, long ago, at the very beginning, a White Witch came out of the North and bound our land in snow and ice for a hundred years. And we think this may be one of the same crew.” This throwaway quote by an anonymous owl in The Silver Chair made me think. Its casual …

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Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/16/21: Gallic Chieftains (Narnia XVIII)

  Where did the name of Mr. Tumnus, the helpful faun of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, come from? Gallic chieftains, of course! Where -umnus and -umnos were frequent components, as in names Togodumnos and Dumnorix.  Of course, these were also latinised; the only way we know these names today is through Roman …

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