Water falls in lashes to carve furrows in thick soil. Gales strip trees down to logs. Veins of fire crash against the heavens, their booming voices felt in the bones of the earth below. No sound could penetrate the shrieks and howls and the pounding of the rain. Deep within the maelstrom, an unheard whisper … Continue reading A Song in a Storm
The Alchemist and the Seamstress
Her gown stole its color from the sea. Silken, its weave was so fine it caught the banquet’s torchlight. As she danced, bright streaks raced down the loose skirt in rivulets to the seafoam lace that rippled just above the floor. Her gloves were midnight, with buckles blinking like comets passing in the dark. Her … Continue reading The Alchemist and the Seamstress
The Automaton
They say the metal man carries two things. One of these is a sword. Its blade is not of iron or steel, but of stone. They say it was forged of sky-stone, a gift from the stars themselves. This sword it drags in its wake, leaving a deep furrow through all that lay behind. They … Continue reading The Automaton
Ritrovando
Francesca was surrounded by a hungry silence. It clung to the emptiness around her. It sat in the dust-shadows left behind by a sword, in the scratches worn into the floor by a table, in the rusted hinges that used to hold shutters. It seeped into the cracks in the wood and tugged at her … Continue reading Ritrovando
The Last of Us: Part II
Spoilers for both games. The Last of Us: Part 1 has two endings. Or, it has two contexts for the ending. This has been talked to death, but it’s important for what I have to say, so bear with me. The final sequence takes a classic video game scenario and flips it on its head. … Continue reading The Last of Us: Part II
The Moss Hag
Humans like to think that forests appear as miraculously as she does. One year there is an empty field, all grass and emptiness. The next there is a stand of trees, none wider around than I am now. Not so. She is needed: the Lady of the New Wood. She was like us once, a … Continue reading The Moss Hag
Compassion Versus Pity
The Night Circus is a novel by Erin Morganstern. It's about a lot of things, but mostly, it's about a magical circus. It's a combination of regency romance and modern fairy tale, and it blends these two ideas seamlessly. When I first put it down, the first thing I thought was, I could never write … Continue reading Compassion Versus Pity
Lost in the Dark
Even though it is years behind him, Ganax finds himself recalling the day he fell through the ice. The lake on their family’s property always froze over during winter, and usually stayed solid through the end of April. He and his sisters spent the cold months bundled and sweating, sliding across the glassy surface. They … Continue reading Lost in the Dark
A Word on Artistic Merit
I hear this argument a lot: "Well, if art is only about taste, than are you saying that Movie 43 has as much value as The Godfather?" And... yeah. Yeah, I'd say it does. Now, culturally, no. The Godfather has had a greater impact than Movie 43. That's not disputable. But to say one has … Continue reading A Word on Artistic Merit
Ideas are hard.
Well, for me they are. I feel like there are two types of writers: idea writers and excecution writers. This is probably self-explanatory, but I'll elaborate anyway. Idea writers are like Mel Brooks, Brandon Sanderson, Stephen King. They pump out ideas at a dozen a minute, just constantly churning out new stuff. The Excecution writers … Continue reading Ideas are hard.
Corey Laisure 