ObscuraJournal 12/12/25

Since my last entry I've:

Finished playing Ghost of Yōtei.

Finished reading Joe Hill's King Sorrow.

Started replaying Ghost of Tsushima.

Started looking deeper into contemporary fantasy.

All of these things are related.

As mentioned previously, I'm really trying to get into fantasy. I don't know why I have such a hard time reading some of that genre, especially the tales of yore with kings and queens and knights and maidens, and usually some form of magic, but I do. I think it's because I get confused with the typical cast of thousands that inhabit these worlds. The world-building stuff is cool, but when you have so many characters you need an appendix to list them all, that grates my nerves. I'm glad some writers do include lists of characters and who they are, because it helps, but there's always a part of me wondering why so many in the first place.

How are the Ghost games related to fantasy? The world of samurai is filled with honoring and respecting nature, deities, and legends. Playing Ghost of Yōtei showed me the importance of finding hidden shrines to honor, which in turn allowed my character to grow in spirit, mind, and body. Each charm applied to her weapons, each mask she wears, every color dye of her wardrobe, all enhance her and allow her to level up and become the fierce warrior she needs to be. If that's not the stuff of fantasy, I don't know what is.

I do like contemporary fantasy. This is the stuff that he-who-shall-not-be-named dabbled in, with his renditions of the American legends and all the deities with names that started with the letter 'D'. I started reading this book called The Magicians by Lev Grossman because someone said it was like Harry Potter with teeth. So far, so good ... we'll see.

Speaking of the Potter books, I missed them growing up. By the time they hit I was way beyond their grasp. Now, I feel like I'm missing something, though I'll never read them now considering how the writer of the series is just a nasty ass cunt. Same with any of those young adult fantasy series ... they happened when I was more interested in chasing girls and partying than reading.

Even saying I miss something I've never experienced is strange to me. How can that be? I grew up with the Brothers Grim and Hans Christian Andersen, and then later with Peter Straub and his fairytale horror novel Shadowland. Yes ... before there was Harry Potter, there was Tom Flanagan and Del Nightingale learning magick from Coleman Collins.

A fairytale, with teeth.

Perhaps a reread, again, is in order.

peace&love