Myths and Legends

by on March 30, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

One of the more interesting things I do when studying what I want to do next with Jack is looking at old myths and legends. They are the great stories that have entranced us for thousands of years. They are the cultural myths we have tried to use to understand ourselves and the world around us. They are part of us. Stories like Star Trek and Star Wars have touched on these myths and legends enough to create millions of fans all over the world. People who don’t just enjoy it, but want to be it. People dress up as Starfleet officers, or wear Jedi robes. You can see it in other modern stories too, especially in those coming out of Japan, or in the sports heroes we idolize and dress up as. The football fan wearing horns and makeup is no less enamored by the spectacle than someone dressing up like their favorite Harry Potter character. The best stories have something that makes us want to be part of them. That is what I strive to harness with Jack of Harts.

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Japanese Kitsune

by on March 29, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The Kitsune of New Japan are a kind of a social club, if you consider the Masonic Lodges a social club. They have both youth and adult organizations, own businesses for both production and play, and even influence certain political parties in the New Japanese government. They are a serious enterprise in truth, devoted to the preservation of their Japanese traditions, while expanding it to include the American traditions they deem would improve it. Like the Scouts that they partner with, the Kitsune Youth is devoted to the practice of raising helpful and courteous children into trustworthy and brave adults. Most people only see the fox ears they wear, thinking they are something like the Disney Planet’s Mickey Mouse ears. They are to a point. Anyone can buy and wear them if they wish, but the ears and the right bow are akin to the Scouting Handshake when it comes to meeting a fellow Kitsune in public. Proof that they trained themselves at a young age to be physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. There are subtleties in the Japanese oaths that do not survive the filtering into American, but the standard Scouting Oath is a good approximation. It is one of the reasons the two organizations partner with each other so well.

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Niko Nakamura

by on March 28, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

Niko Nakamura was a fairly average girl growing up in Los Angeles. She’s got some subtle genetic mods. The eyes are most noticeable there. Outside that, she’s the fairly typical mixture of the Old Japanese and American genes that dominates Los Angeles and the surrounding lands. She joined the Kitsune Youth and did all the typical things kids do. Went scouting. Played laser tag. Learned to cook and clean, how to build a car, the basic care and use of a firearm. How to blow up small buildings with household cleaning chemicals. The little things that pretty much every kid should grow up knowing. She earned her tail, and still wears it on formal occasions to this day, but she’s not one who wears it out around town most days. Most chairs outside Los Angeles are not designed for people with tails you understand, and sitting on them is uncomfortable. Or so she tells me. I may have made certain all my chairs have nice, decorative holes in them after that. She may have smiled the first time she saw them. What can I say? The tail looks good on her.

High rez version available for free on Patreon

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Jack of Harts Research

by on March 27, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

One of the things I find interesting about writing Jack of Harts is just how much time I spend researching on the various subjects I write about. World War II is a repeat subject for a lot of reasons. One is that I write Jack of Harts like World War II in space. We started out as a land at peace, forced into War by a sneak attack. So there is a lot of scrambling. But one thing I like to do with my writing is having some realistic fleets. I look to World War II as an example. It is really our best example of a grand war, and the ship lists are truly amazing. Hundreds of names dot them, so when I’m looking to name a few dozen ships for a battlegroup, I just go to the World War II ship lists and see what catches my attention. Almost every name that has seen print in my stories was used in World War II. That is a sobering thing to think of. It is my way of remembering and honoring those who have and do serve our country. It is my way of making certain the names of our past are not forgotten.

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Epic

by on March 26, 2018 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I watched Epic over the weekend with family. Not the Epic Movie, but the movie Epic. Yes, there is a difference. Epic starts with the crazy idea of a crackpot scientist that there are tiny people the size of bugs in the forests fighting a battle of good and evil, and then shows us it is true.

One thing I liked about the movie is that the good guys are well trained, well drilled, courageous, and intelligent. When they have to fight, they do so as a well-oiled machine. There was never a time when I wanted to smack them upside the head for being idiots.

Another thing I liked is that the bag guys were well trained, well drilled, courageous in their own way, and intelligent. The bad guy had plans, and backup plans, and more backup plans. He never had a “curses, foiled again by my own stupid plan or henchmen or whatever” moment. And he didn’t want to destroy the world. He wanted to make it nicer for him. Which happened to destroy it for everybody else…but hey…they can’t have everything.

In short, I got to see intelligent people fighting for good and evil, I got to see the good guys fighting with honor and discipline and courage, and I enjoyed it all. It actually reminds me of Star Wars in a way. The original Star Wars, not Disney Star Wars. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad, and everybody is fighting to control the world as they know it with courage and conviction. I had fun. I enjoyed it. What more can I ask of a movie?

Two thumbs up, without reservation.

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