Okay but Jason Todd with glasses. You get a pair of blue light glasses, large framed and black. He teases you about trying to look like Clark Kent, tells you you’re still cuter though. He doesn’t quite get why you bother with them but you find them helpful and that’s all that matters. After a long night of looking at screens while working a frustratingly difficult case, the eye strain is getting aggravating. You’ve left your glasses on the coffee table, and he thinks why not. And yeah, the glasses do make a difference, he manages to crack the case before dawn and without the nagging eye pain. You find him in the morning, sprawled out on the couch, glasses askew but still perched on his nose. He wakes up to you giggling and snapping a photo. You tell him to keep them, that they look better on him anyway (because wow they really do make his eyes look so large, his lashes longer and darker). Some nights, when he’s working late, you get treated to the lovely sight of him in them. Your handsome reporter, you tease him back.

Ninjago Movie: The Story of Claire (Three Parts)

"There he is...." "Ugh, he looked at me!" "Why does he have to ride my bus..." Claire heard all the whispers and looked up from her book. Her eyes along with all the eyes on the bus fell on the blonde teenager slowly walking down the middle aisle. Nicole nudged her. "We're at his stop already." The infamous Lloyd Garmadon scanned the full bus of students before taking the empty seat right in front of Claire and Nicole. "C'mon," Nicole grumbled as she almost shoved Claire out of her seat and across the aisle. She was forced on top of Ricky and Jason and Nicole shoved her book bag into her side. "Hey, watch it." She snapped at Nicole. Claire strained her neck to look over her best friends body and view the boy sitting in the seat across and to the front of her. Just like every school morning, when Lloyd Garmadon entered the bus and took his seat, the whole bus would adjust to sit as far from him as possible. Nobody has sat on Lloyd's side of the bus in the history of him walking on the bus on his first day of school freshman year. It makes sense and all, for his father is the city's greatest enemy. But Claire had noticed something....odd. She tried to tell Nicole, but she was certain Lloyd was a spy for his Father. She would spread rumors about the blonde boy, all that Claire knew wasn't the full truth. The truth, which somehow only Claire noticed, was that Lloyd entered the school bus every day with a smile. He made eye contact with people and said "hey", and even when the school bus adjusted to escape him, he would just smile uncomfortably. "He's acting nice to get close to us," Nicole would presume. "I swear, his father is going to destroy us all-and Lloyd is his right hand man." Of course, everyone believed Lloyd was a villain, so nobody would listen to Claire's theory that Lloyd was just a nice guy. But something itched at her. If Lloyd was really a villain and in league with his father, then why is he so believable at being so nice? "Claire!" Nicole hissed at her, and Claire jolted out of her thoughts. "Stop staring at him like that!" Claire raised her eyebrows in shock. "Like what?" She rolled her eyes. "You were looking at him like you felt bad for him." Ricky and Jason gasped from under her. "You weren't. Not Lloyd!" Jason spat quietly. Claire choked on her breath. "Well, maybe he isn't that bad!" She murmured, but Nicole snorted. "Not bad! His father is the Worst Guy Ever. Naturally, that makes him even worse." "How?" Claire asked. "First generation prodigy." She grumbled. "It's in his blood to be bad." Claire rolled her eyes, then focused them again on the blonde headed boy. He glanced around one last time before his smile melted away. He reached up and pulled his hood up from his green jacket and turned to look out the window with his arms tucked in his pockets. Nicole may think that he has bad blood, but Claire just couldn't imagine it. (Later that day) The school bell rang, cueing the start of fifth period. Claire slid into her seat, second from the front and right next to the window. She pulled out her textbook, but her eyes slid upwards to watch Lloyd slip through the door as the bell shut off. "Late again, Lloyd." The professor didn't even look up from his paperwork by his desk. "Sir, I clearly made it as the bell was still ringing-" he debated. "And talking back, again." The teacher glanced at the blonde. "Detention." Kai raised his hand in the back, but didn't bother to wait to being called on. "Excuse me, sir-but Lloyd didn't do anything wrong." Lloyd glanced at the spiky haired student, but silently took his seat. The teacher didn't even glance at Kai as he slapped the pink slip on Lloyd's desk. "Another word from you, Kai, and you get the same punishment. Also, I should write you up for your hair, which is a few inches higher than I allow." A few people in the class giggled, and Kai sat back in his seat with a frown. Claire smiled a little, but looked back at Lloyd. He took out his book and slipped the detention slip inside the cover. The shy scarf wearer Jay sitting next to him gave him a nervous look. He whispered something to the blonde, but Lloyd shook his head. Nya, who sat next to Jay slammed her textbook on her desk and whispered furiously over Jay's desk. "Is there anything you wish to share, Nya?" The teacher droned as he was writing the lesson on the board. "No, sir." She said, but her tone was deadly. Claire raised an eyebrow. "I do though." The class turned in shock to see Zane, the cyborg, who had spoken. Claire, who sat just to the left of him, stared at him in shock. The teacher turned and peered at him from over his glasses. Zane was the top student in the class, and the top student in the school. He hasn't gotten anywhere near trouble in his history at all. "Yes Zane?" The teacher asked curiously. Lloyd was the only student in the class who wasn't looking at Zane. "The length of time the bell rings at the start of class is 5.347 seconds. Lloyd stepped inside of this classroom at second 4.983. According to my calculations Lloyd was .364 seconds early to the start of class." The teacher blinked. "That point aside, Lloyd did talk-" "According to the rules of this school, the appropriate punishment to a student talking back to a teacher is a warning." Zane continued. "And since Lloyd was clearly on time to class, and then tried to argue that point, I say the accurate jurisdiction is that Lloyd should get a warning, not a detention." The class was dead silent. The teacher paused, as if thinking his words over. Finally, he slowly approached Lloyd's desk. "Very well. You get a warning Lloyd." He extended his hand, and Lloyd opened his book and handed the slip back to the teacher. Nicole leaned back in her seat right in front of Claire. "I can't believe the robot just defended a Garmadon," she murmured. Claire didn't say anything, but she did see Zane flinch beside her. "Anyway," the teacher began as he crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it in the trash can, "Today's history lesson will focus on-" The ground suddenly shook, knocking a few books off of desks and pictures off of the wall. Claire grabbed her desk in shock. She looked around confused, but noticed Lloyd standing and looking out the window. Claire turned and looked through the blinds and out the window. Planes blanketed the sky and people dressed as sharks slid down ropes just outside the window and across the city. Claire knew exactly what was happening. "Garmadon is attacking!!!" Rose squealed from the back row. "Everyone down!" The teacher barked. Claire along with the rest of the class ducked under their desks as they were instructed to do during an attack, but then a chorus of students asked for a bathroom pass. She looked up from under her desk and watched Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Nya, Zane, and, oddly enough, Cole all rush up with their agendas. The teacher blindly signed them all and then disappeared under his own desk. The six students dashed to the door, and immediately after they left, she heard the roar of Nya's motorcycle. Claire furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but another quake from outside made her duck her head in fear. (After the attack of Meowthra, the reveal of the Green Ninja, and the sacrifice of Lord Garmadon) There was no way Claire could read on the bus today. Everyone was chatting excitedly, waiting for his stop. Nicole couldn't stop talking about how she knew that there was something weird with Lloyd and that he was acting like a villain to hide the fact that he was actually the Green Ninja. Claire stayed quite, but she had a small smile on her face, for she knew that she was the only one on the bus that had good faith in Lloyd. The bus finally reached the stop and the doors swung open. Everyone fell silent as they waited for student. Lloyd climbed onto the bus and smiled at the driver and then turned to the seats. All the students stared at him, but there was a strong positive energy surging through all of the kids. Lloyd lost his smile, which shocked Claire. Then Lloyd acted even more out of character. He turned and slid into the front right of the bus, pulled up his hood and slammed his book bag in the seat next to him, cutting off every student on the bus. "Huh," Nicole said next to Claire. "Looks like he rather be left alone." Claire nodded distractedly, wondering why he would do something so rash after all those years trying to be nice to everyone. As the bus arrived at school, it suddenly hit Claire. As the doors opened, Claire grabbed her bag and dashed down the aisle. "Claire, wait!" Nicole called out, but Claire didn't even look back. The hooded teenage ninja was already far off the bus, but Claire wasn't about to watch him suffer any further. She finally caught up to him by his locker. The whole school was watching him, but everyone that approached him with a huge grin he ignored. He pushed through the crowds of Green Ninja fans, but the person who finally tapped on his shoulder by his locker was not one of them. Lloyd glanced over his shoulder. "I'm not giving away autographs," he grumbled. "Please, just leave me alone." Claire felt every eye on her. "I'm not here for an autograph." Lloyd turned and looked at her. She sucked her breath in a little. She had never gotten this close to Lloyd, so just now she realized just how attractive he was behind his jacket hood and ninja hood. "Look," he snapped. "If you are just now being kind to me because I'm the Green Ninja, then I rather you leave me alone. I don't deserve any more kindness than I was given before you all found out who I really was." He slammed his locker shut and then pulled his hood on tighter. Claire blinked in shock. The words stung a little, but she couldn't help but notice pain behind his emerald green eyes. The hallway hushed a little, but Lloyd's little speech seemed to make everyone turn away from the Green Ninja and on to other things. Lloyd tightened his jaw and then turned to leave. "I'm sorry about your father." Lloyd paused. Now the students had no interest in either Lloyd or Claire as they all walked past them. Claire took a deep breath as Lloyd slowly turned back to the girl. "Are you really?" He asked, his voice tight with emotion. "I am, truly," she answered honestly. "I heard he sacrificed himself to save Ninjago. It must have been....hard for you." Lloyd hesitated before slowly pulling his hood down. "Yeah....it was." He murmured. "I wouldn't imagine anyone else feeling bad about him being gone." Claire smiled weakly. "Well, I guess you were mistaken." Lloyd nodded slowly. "Well, thank you." He slowly turned to leave. Claire paused to say something else, but decided against it. She also turned, but for some reason tears began to burn at her eyes. The blonde was about to cover his head up with his hood when Claire grabbed his arm. "It's not fair," she whispered. Lloyd looked at her with wide eyes. "You didn't deserve any of the hate you got for being a Garmadon." Lloyd just stared. "I know you may think I'm saying this because now I know you are the Green Ninja, but it's the opposite." "What do you mean?" He asked. Claire sighed and then stepped a little closer. "I wanted to tell you before, but I was...afraid to stand out. You have always been good, haven't you? You were different than your father." Claire new that now he had his full attention. ".....yeah. I hated him until up to a few days ago." "I knew it," Claire breathed. Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "You knew, yet stayed silent?" Lloyd whispered. Claire felt the tears burn again. "I'm sorry. I should've said something, but I was just so scared-" "No, I understand." Lloyd interrupted. "I would have been scared in your position too." Claire paused, then looked down at the floor. "I know you saved the world and all....but when you were just Lloyd to all of us, you just...let everyone hate you. You didn't deserve any of it, but you didn't hate them. You.....are the best person I know." Lloyd chuckled. "Well, saving Ninjago is one thing." He shrugged. "But....as far as I can tell right now, you are the best person at this school." Her heart stood still. "You don't mean that," she laughed nervously. "No, I do," he replied. "I really appreciate it, Claire." Her smile twitched. "You...know my name." Now he smiled nervously and leaned against the lockers. "Just because my hood was up doesn't mean I wasn't listening." "Oh," Claire giggled. "Then you probably heard my stupid question in third period a few weeks ago." Lloyd bust out a quick laugh. "You know, I had the same question." He confessed with a smile. She smiled back. "You're kidding. You're smarter than that!" He sucked in a breath and then lifted his hands in a shrug. "Sorry to disappoint." Taking a deep breath, she nervously clutched the shoulder straps of her book bag. "You haven't disappointed me at all, Lloyd." She replied with a smile. She rocked on her ankles as Lloyd just gawked at her. As the awkward silence grew between the two of them, Claire darted her eyes away. "Well, I should probably get to class," she finally began. Lloyd cleared his throat. "Do you....should I...escort, uh, walk you to class?" He stuttered nervously. Claire blushed and laughed before nodding. Lloyd stuck his hands in his pockets. "I guess it would be nice to have a black belt ninja to walk you to class for a change," he confessed. Claire joined his side as they began to walk down the hallway. She tilted her head some, taking that comment to thought. "I think 'just Lloyd' is good enough for me." She answered with a smile. The blonde headed teen blushed beside her. They shared a laugh, and then Lloyd turned to her dramatically. "Wait, what do you mean 'just Lloyd'?!" The two of them laughed at each other as they made their way to class, each of them slowly realizing that both of their school years had just gotten a whole lot better.

Through a Glass Darkly: The Trends of 2018 and 2019

With 2018 finally in the history books, and 2019 stretched out before us, it’s a perfect time to take a moment to examine just what happened to science fiction and fantasy in 2018, and, in science fiction’s tradition of extrapolating into the unknown, what readers might expect of the new year.

Let’s begin with 2018.

Independent writers embraced Pulp Speed. Simply put, in the new world of science fiction, “world production equals money.” At the time Dean Wesley Smith coined the term Pulp Speed to describe publishing a million words and more a year, many writers scoffed at the idea. Now it is becoming standard practice. Where a traditionally published writer might be able to publish a book or two a year, entire series can start and end in that interval. Now, it is customary for a writer to need to publish at least one book a quarter to stay in the public eye, often one book a month. And writers continue to experiment with release schedules. Some, like Galaxy’s Edge and the Four Horsemen Universe ensure that a monthly schedule is met, some will publish a fantasy pentalogy on a weekly basis. Perhaps the most ambitious release came from Isaac Hooke who twice in 2018 released an entire trilogy over the course of a weekend. And all these cases, the books average 400 pages or more. Strangely enough, Pulp Speed has yet to mean shorter books.

We readers are spoiled by this bounty. Just don’t blink, or you might miss a trilogy.

LitRPG, Light Novels, and Harem Hijinks dominated the 2018 SFF scene. With roots in Russian, Japanese, and cyberpunk fiction, LitRPGs, or literary RPGs, are gameworld fantasies, typically video game but sometimes tabletop, where the mechanical rules of the game are as important to the worldbuilding and action as the story. Inspired in part by Japanese light and video novels, harem stories are the romantic and sexual fantasies of one man sharing adventures and beds with many women, with the reverse harem being the fantasies of one women with many men. And if you were searching for fantasy and science fiction reads in 2018, half your results would be filled with examples of one or both of these subgenres. They’re as popular and ubiquitous as the military science fiction novel was in 2017, so much so that it takes a little effort to find other genres of fantasy.

But the real surprise came in October, when I noticed the latest volume of the somewhat misleadingly named light novel Is It Wrong to Pickup Girls in a Dungeon? held its ground on SFF bestseller lists alongside George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, John Scalzi, and Dungeons & Dragons art books. Keeping an eye on the lists since has revealed that other light novel titles enjoy the same success. These Japanese illustrated young adult fantasy serials have built on the popularity of anime, and with the rise of publishers such as Yen Press, J-Novel Club, and Vertical, over 200 such titles has flooded bookshelves in the past couple years. The result is that bookstores continue to sacrifice SFF floorspace to the manga/light novel aisle.

Critic Tom Simon offers an insight that might explain the dominance of these three subgenres:

The publishers never escaped their ‘Death by Newbery’ obsessions; they could not bring themselves to buy happy books. The dose they prefer is the Y.A. dystopia, sometimes dressed up as science fiction, sometimes as fantasy. Instead of the magical mini-world of Hogwarts, they have gone in for dumbed-down versions of 1984.

Simon is talking specifically about Young Adult publishers of the late 00s and early 10s, a time which set the stage for the ebook boom and several fan revolts, however many SFF publishers and authors were intertwined in this trend as they followed the money from Harry Potter’s success. With litRPGs, light novels, and harems, readers are searching for happier fantasies, not finding them in American media obsessed with dystopia, going to where the happy fantasies are, and bringing back what they enjoy.

Authors are leaving Kindle Unlimited. And it’s not just the recent announcement by Castalia House that Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service is taking a greater share of money from authors and publishers. 2018 saw repeated crackdowns on Kindle Unlimited fraud that, in the traditions of such crackdowns, spread too wide a net. As a result, science fiction bestseller Michael-Scott Earle was removed entirely from Amazon, as were many other science fiction, fantasy, and litRPG writers. While this incident, a contentious court case, and others deserve an article of their own, the uncertainty caused by these removals reverberated through readers and writers alike. As one redditor put it, “The biggest issue I have as a reader is that I never know when an author is banned – I just assume they aren’t publishing much any more.” And many writers, whether out of solidarity for those banned or out of fear of Amazon deleting a career in seconds, abandoned Kindle Unlimited and are searching for alternatives. Amazon continuing to alter the deal of Kindle Unlimited only makes it less appealing.

So what trends might make 2019?

Independent science fiction will continue to drive the audiobook market and audiobook innovation. Mark Coker of Smashwords points out that “audiobooks are now the fastest growing segment of the book market.” Recent events such as the release of Starship Pandora by B. V. Larson and the new Audible deal for Jason Anspach and Nick Cole’s Galaxy’s Edge series reveal the future of the audiobook: the full cast recording. In other words, audiobooks are reinventing themselves as radio plays.

Readers will continue their search for happy fantasies abroad and writers will continue to experiment with popular foreign genres and media. The translation, content, and art of Chinese xianxia fantasies has quickly grown in sophistication, as has that of native English light novels. And thanks to sites like RoyalRoad.com, the stage is now set for the web novels and web serial. Japanese and Chinese web novel sites helped fuel the light novel and xianxia booms, and with stories such as Everyone Loves Large Chests and Sentenced to Troll already making the leap from web novel to print books, the web novel pipeline is gathering steam. Writers such as John C. Wright are already experimenting with web series on their own sites. If a story such as Galaxy’s Edge: Takeover makes the jump to a RoyalRoad.com, it may be enough attention to cement the web novel’s place in publishing.

The rise of light novels, litRPGs, and web novels will fuel the rise of the gimmick novel. Isaac Asimov declared that there were three kinds of science fiction: gadget, adventure, and social. I’ll add a fourth kind, the gimmick, where the worldbuilding is in service to a specific joke or conceit–and not necessarily for parody’s service. While this can be more readily observed in light novel titles such as Is It Wrong to Pickup Girls in a Dungeon?; In Another World with My Smartphone; So I’m a Spider, So What?; and Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon, books such as Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, John Scalzi’s Redshirts, Orconomics, Everyone Loves Large Chests, and Sentenced to Troll reveal that the trend is native, too. And as the ebook market grows more cutthroat, a clever idea is a more reliable hook than clever writing for readers–as the consistent editorial heartburn over light novel quality reveals.

Finally, the stage is set for a Mecha boom. And while I must admit to rooting for the #AGundamForUs team of Brian Niemeier, Bradford Walker, and Rawle Nyanzi–all of whom are set to release their books within the next weeks and months–this trend has been gathering steam for awhile. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers popularized powered armor and mechanical soldiers, although it has evolved into different directions. While American milSF has ran with the space marine concept for decades, Japan turned the idea into the giant robots of Ultraman, Gundam, and Macross, all of which found international audiences. But while American fans still debate the practicality of mecha on the battlefield, Travis Taylor’s Tau Ceti Agenda, Isaac Hooke’s Mechs vs. Dinosaurs, Peter Tieryas’s United States of Japan, and the recent relaunch of Battletech show that there is indeed an American market for giant robot battlefields and taut political maneuverings–and it is growing.

Of course, these predictions depend much on economics and audience appeal. It is just as likely that some other trend that’s quietly building steam will capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of readers this year.

Through a Glass Darkly: The Trends of 2018 and 2019 published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames