8FOLD/META: 2014 Year in Review

[Andrew Perron]

On 1/6/2015 10:14 PM, Tom Russell wrote:
> On Sunday, January 4, 2015 1:12:46 PM UTC-5, Andrew Perron wrote:
>> On 1/1/2015 1:50 PM, Tom Russell wrote:
<snip>
>>> "Open Letter" by Andrew Perron
>>> Debut of the Dyzen'thari. A lovely story, in some ways typical of
>>> Andrew's work-- full of thoughtful and big-hearted optimism.
>>
>> Awwwwwwwww <3 And I love what you've done with them, too - taking my hints and
>> expanding upon them.
>
> Shared universe!

SHARED UNIVERSE WOO

>>> "Terror of the Tribots!" by Tom Russell
>>> The first story starring the third Darkhorse (though not her first
>>> story).
>>
>> Actually, where'd she show up first? --ah, wait, it says Journey Into #15..
>> Let's see... Oh. Ohhhhhh. ^^; Poor Melody.
>
>I actually reread this story recently, and while it's not really her story,
 > I do love the moment where she says her predecessor owes her dinner for
 > breaking her ankle.

Indeed. <3 Said predecessor is a big jerk about it ofc

>>> Incidentally, I owe Saxon my thanks for his assistance in suggesting
>>> starter Pratchett books for Mary, who is on her way to becoming quite
>>> a fan (particularly of the Moist and Death books).
>>
>> Awesome! His stuff has been really influential on my own characterization and
>> use of wordplay. Saxon, by the way, is probably our most Pratchett-esque writer.
>
>Yes, I'd agree with that wholeheartedly now that I've actually read some
 > Pratchett. While as I said Mary quite enjoys Mr. Pratchett's work, I'm
 > actually not that big on him myself, and quite prefer Saxon's!

Interesting! Might I ask why? I've been rereading some Pratchett lately, and 
noting where his weaknesses fall.

>>> "Teneve" by Tom Russell
>>> Ress undergoes her Teneve, finding the first Martian ship. We discover
>>> that Ress had poisoned Jarissy, and is at least partially responsible
>>> for her death.
>>
>> Ress is a really good character, I think.
>
>Thanks! I'm a big fan myself, of course, and while I do agree with your
 > assessment that she needs a hug, I would never want to get close enough to
 > give her said hug. A dangerous lady! Or, as my Mary puts it: "Ress is mean."

I will put on my specialized hug armor just for the occasion!

>>> "This Man... This Rutabaga!" by Tom Russell
>>> The Human Zeppelin accidentally starts the Pulse War (or so everyone
>>> thinks). A goofy little farce, but I tried to make sure that goofiness
>>> came out of the characters, and I think I succeeded.
>>
>> Yeah! I think it's improved by later stories that clarify that, no, what he
>> did was just an excuse.
>
>I was initially going to hold back the reveal until quite late in the Pulse
 > War cycle, but thought it better to let the reader in on the secret in RED
 > HART.

Definitely a good choice, both for the character and for that story.

>>> It occurs to me that
>>> Eightfold has a lot of plucky young ladies kicking butt-- these two,
>>> Darkhorse III, Wazowie, even Van Morrison and Dr. Fay to a degree--
>>> but, look. I like plucky young ladies kicking butt.
>>
>> Yes! And frankly, the superhero genre needs more of them anyway - especially
>> ones of color, who are in abundance here.
>
>One advantage to starting a universe ten years ago rather than sixty or
 > seventy years ago is that you're not front-loaded with a bunch of WASPy
 > dudes.

This is something I've also been trying to push in my other universes, 
including LNH20.

>>> "The Forest Prince Returns" by Tom Russell
>>> The Red Hart gets a human host, and some proper superheroes get into the act.
>>
>> Derek must enjoy being referred to as a proper superhero.
>
> Ha! Well, I was referring to the Seven Wonders, but sure. :-)

Heeheehee

>>> "Original Characters" by Andrew Perron
>>> Andrew writes a story about the original Green Knight and the Acro-Bat
>>> taking on a very Mxyzptlkesque villain.
>>
>> This one was the product of some very odd online debates on "originality"..
>
> Could you summarize said debates? Just curious.

Basically, people taking the very shallow and obvious parts of a character or 
plot as proof that they were original or unoriginal, while ignoring the deeper 
and more complex things that were going on - in essence, the equivalent of 
treating the different Robins as shallow imitations of one another, while 
ignoring the ways early Batman was basically a ripoff of The Shadow.

>>> * Dyzen'thari
>>> * Kid Enthusiastic (8FOLD version)
>>> * About three dozen other characters Andrew created
>>
>> Bwahahaha
 >
>Creating minor characters-- I prefer to describe briefly-appearing
 > characters that are developed *just* enough to make them interesting as
 > "minor characters" these days instead of "throwaway characters", because
 > the latter has a negative connotation that is very much not intended-- is a
 > rare gift, and should be celebrated.

Why thank you! <3

>>> * Mighty Medley
>>
>> Incidentally, when's this month's issue coming out?
>
> Sorry, there was a little mix-up. It's up now, though!

Awesome!

Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, getting some ideas...