Tag: Fantasy
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Bayani Part 6
There was no homecoming ceremony for them. There was no time. Alejandro spared a moment to check in on the wounded men, but no more. Bayani caught Perla’s eye as the Maestro made his rounds. He met her wave with one of his own, but that was all. He was a man on a mission,…
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Bayani Part 5
None of his tribesmen were killed. But four were wounded, one severely so. That one had taken a deep slash across the leg, through skin and fat and muscle, exposing white bone. Two of the less-wounded were binding his wound with a white herb-impregnated cloth, rapidly soaked through with blood. Alejandro knelt next to the…
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Bayani Part 3
Hunts lasted three days and three nights. As the newest warrior, Bayani had the honor and the burden of guiding the hunting party. The older ones followed him, judging his skills and dispensing advice. It was another trial, less formal but no less important. Heading into the jungle, Bayani’s heart had swelled for all of…
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Bayani Part 2
Bayani may be a man now, but the world had not changed. His mother, Tula, still awoke him the way she normally did, prodding him with fingers and feet and a raised voice until he rolled off his bamboo mat with a groan. Getting to his feet, he tested his right arm. It was stiff.…
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Fantasy Without Fantasy
Modernity has ruined fantasy. At one end of the scale, there is the slice-of-life tale, with ordinary people doing ordinary things, just with some counterfactual elements. At the other end, there is a setting that appears totally foreign to our reality–and yet the people who dwell in it base their actions on values, issues and…
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Thoughts on Jirel of Joiry
Mention the words ‘Strong Female Character’ and immediately a visage of a tigress fills your head. She is powerful and fearless, unbeatable in combat, sexually alluring, takes no nonsense from anyone, and can best any man in any masculine pursuit. It’s a trope solidified over decades of repetition on the silver screen and the printed…