Bright Shadows 2: A Hinterlands Anthology

Mushy Stuff: Buoys, Ghouls, & Sax

Q: If a kiss can blow your mind,

then can it also remove excess earwax in the process?

*

Obnoxious Opinion Alert

In the early 21st Century America,

little boys can grow up to be . . . anything!!

EXCEPT

MEN

**

Macho Men:

10 feet tall and bulletproof!!

Men Made Of Velvet And Steel:

10 stories tall and earthquake resistant.

(THAT'S A LOT OF ROOM FOR A LOT OF VELVET)

***

Q: Why be made of steel

when you can be made of titanium?

~•~

SAX, PART 1

Let's talk dance partners. After all, the saxophone is oh so saxy. Obviously.

WHAAAAT?! (snicker, snicker)

Say, in a "modern" story arc:

1) Llolanda Consuela and Vesperia wouldn't be best enemies who are closer than many sisters.

2) Vincent von Drathen and Kali Neelam wouldn't be "simply??" boyfriend-girlfriend.

3) The Series-9s (and "Series-9.5s") would be unprintable...

In a magazine specializing in werewolfy vampire bananas.

##

• Bananas still happen.

Seriously, though, I'm neither modern nor old-school. Besides, my targeted "inclusion" isn't what's usually meant by that term nowadays.

Let me approach this sideways:

A mental health professional once told me that autism isn't a mental illness; the brain is simply wired differently. That's not a direct quote.

So...

Facetiously, the reason why I'm a freak is because I'm a freak. Pretty freaky, eh? Which is appropriate because this is a freaky anthology. That includes some teenaged characters.

• And teenagers are the original freaks.

See? It all makes perfect sense!

Or perfect nonsense.

• And I'm still a horrible person. Obviously.

~•~

Stereotypes: social short circuits in the wiring of humanoid brainpans.

Don't bother thinking when you can simply react. Yet some people don't fit into officially sanctioned stereotypes.

How rude.