J.B. Norman's Blog, page 360

Sharks of Realmgard: Bull Shark

Bull Sharks tend to be known for two things: being very aggressive (to the point of being responsible for more attacks on humans than any other species of shark; though not the highest number of fatal attacks) and their ability to swim upriver and survive in fresh water.

I apologise if that makes you reconsider your swimming habits.

Confusingly, there is a shark with “taurus” (Latin for “bull”) in its scientific name, but that shark is the Sand Tiger — this is apparently an ongoing source of taxonomic controversy. To add to the confusion, Sand Tiger Sharks are not closely related to Tiger Sharks (i.e. the species of Tiger Shark without an adjective). The scientific name for the Bull Shark is Carcharhinus leucas, which means something like “Pale Shark”.

Related to this, the Realmgardian name as depicted in the picture above isn’t mean to be a taxonomic name. It’s the direct translation of the common English/Gardian name into Latin/Elven.

Recommendation: Little Witch Academia

More information here, here, and here. Series wiki here.

Little Witch Academia: Studio Trigger and Netflix.

To paraphrase a certain famous Pro Wrestling commentator: Harry Potter is my second favourite series of books — all the rest are tied for first. It’s not even the best story out there about kids at a magic school.

Figure 1: Little witches in an academic setting.
Little Witch Academia: Studio Trigger and Netflix.

Little Witch Academia is everything Harry Potter is, only better when measured by any possible metric. Basically, Little Witch Academia is Harry Potter, but good.

Hey, that’s exactly the face I make whenever someone mentions Harry Potter.
Little Witch Academia: Studio Trigger and Netflix.

And that’s all the time I’m going to devote on dunking on Harry Potter.

Now, as a (Greatest Living) author, I’m aware that there are only so many ways to tell a story, but I feel like the whole “Chosen One” thing is overplayed, worn out and never used particularly interestingly, especially in kids’ stories.

And, yeah, Little Witch Academia does revolve around Akko, the main character, being the only one who can wield the legendary magic wand and restore the world’s fading magic. But that’s not because she’s some pre-destined hero. It’s because she’s the one character who most truly and sincerely believes in the wonder and splendour and value and the, uh … magic of magic.

She’s not going to save the world because destiny said so. She’s going to save the world because she cares about the world and she has the determination and perseverance to put in the work to be able to do it.

And “work hard for the sake of the things you believe in” is a more interesting, more meaningful, and more valuable thematic statement than “something, something Destiny”.

Reading that back, I think I’m making Little Witch Academia out to be a lot more serious and dour than I should be. Fundamentally, it’s very lighthearted, and you probably could categorise it as a comedy — though it does have its share of meaningful, insightful, and emotional scenes and plot points.

Even more than the whole “bring back the magic” thing, Little Witch Academia the story of Akko’s relationships with her multi-national gang of friends and rivals (who are basically also her friends; Akko’s non-confrontational), and the teachers who become her mentors.

Ultimately, the major crisis in Little Witch Academia does involve the fate of the whole world, or at least the whole magical world. Overall, though, most of the individual episodes are fairly personal and low-stakes. More than anything else, it’s the story of everyday life at a magic school, just delivered in a silly, very-rarely-servious, very anime-y way.

Plus, one of the Professors at the magic school is a fish wearing a wizard hat.

So, basically, Little Witch Academia is better than the things you like.
Little Witch Academia: Studio Trigger and Netflix.

Sharks of Realmgard: Tiger Shark

Real life Tiger Sharks are infamous for eating, well, basically anything. According to Wikipedia, Tiger Sharks have been recorded eating the following things: dolphins, turtles, dead whales, other sharks, horses, cats, rats, flying foxes (the largest species of bat in the world), licence plates, tires, and baseball.

Likely related to these feeding habits is the fact that Tiger Sharks are the species with the second-largest number of recorded fatal attacks on humans (surpassed only by the Great White).

Strictly speaking, I think I coloured this Tiger Shark wrong. While it is true that the name derives for the sharks being striped, the stripes are primarily visible in juvenile sharks and fade as the sharks mature. Oh well, this way lookers cooler.

Sharks of Realmgard: Turboshark

I’ve already talked about Turbosharks at length, so there’s no real reason to get into too many of the details here.

Funny story, though, I was trying to come up with a suitably Fantasy-y name for an animal. The general pattern I’ve noticed is [adjective or prefix] + [species] in the vein of “Dire Wolf” (which, incidentally, was a real animal) or “Thunder Hippo” or “Lavasaurus”.

[Note to self: add Thunder Hippos and Lavasauruses to Realmgard]

So, after playing around with prefixes and animals, I eventually ended up with “Turboshark”, which was such a stupidly awesome (or possibly awesomely stupid) name for a species that I just had to write it into my world. I wasn’t even paying too much attention to the etymology at first, I just thought it sounded cool.

Fortunately, just like how “turbo” is basically modern English for “fast” (vis-à-vis the fact that things powered by turbines go fast), it turns out it’s also a Latin word that can either be a noun meaning “whirlwind” or a verb being “stir up” or “agitate”. Which is, of course, a perfectly cromulent linguistic connection for a very fast shark.

Incidentally, while the Turboshark is the fastest shark on Terrace, the fastest shark on Earth is the Shortfin Mako, which I believe was also the kind of shark that ate Samuel L. Jackson in Deep Blue Sea.

Good(er) News At Last

Photo by Donald Tong on Pexels.com

I have begun the final (I hope) round of edits on the next Realmgard story, Forward, the Lyte Brigade.

I am still optimistic that I will have it submitted before Christmas, but I don’t think it will be available for purchase (and almost certainly not for delivery) before Christmas.

I’m planning to have a preview chapter chapter up once I’ve got a big enough section edited and finalised.

Sharks of Realmgard: Goblin Shark

In the interest of full scientific accuracy, it should be noted that it’s actually kind of implausible that Goblin Sharks would be known in Realmgard.

I just really wanted to draw one.

In real life, Goblin Sharks were first described in 1898 and I’ve always envisioned Terrace as being comparable to mid-1600s Earth. Being deep-sea sharks, Goblin Sharks are most commonly observed by humans as a result of being accidentally caught by deep-sea trawlers, which they definitely don’t have on Terrace.

But, hey, it’s a Fantasy world. Also, I absolutely nailed that drawing.

In real life, Goblin Sharks were first observed in Japan, where they are known as Tengu Sharks, named for a kind of folkloric creature known for its long nose. “Goblin” Shark isn’t a terrible translation into English, given that European Goblins and Japanese Tengu inhabit a similarly folkloric niche as meddlesome troublemakers. And, of course, Goblins are usually also depicted with long, sharp noses.

The Goblins of Realmgard are divided over the comparison to such a strange-looking fish.

Sharks of Realmgard: The Long Shark

“Squalus” means “shark”, “longus” means “long”. Hence, “Long Shark”.

While no such shark exists on Earth, certain sharks such as Frilled Shark do have similar long, serpentine bodies. The Frilled Shark, however, looks much less traditionally shark-like than the Long Shark of Terrace.

Generally less-impressive than the larger or more aggressive species, the uncommon Long Shark nevertheless remains memorable for its unusual body shape.

Due to their general elusiveness and small number of interactions with humans, Long Sharks are not usually considered a threat to humans.

Sharks of Realmgard: Great White Shark

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Likely what most people on Earth and on Terrace think of when they hear “shark”, the Great White Shark therefore probably needs no introduction.

Preceded by the fearsome reputation found in fictional portrayals, Great Whites are generally held to be remorseless maneaters. In truth, while Great White are responsible for the largest number of recorded attacks on humans, humans are not, in fact, suitable prey for Great Whites.

Unfortunately for us, the only way they can determine this is by biting.

On Earth, Great White Sharks fare poorly in captivity (and have a nasty habit of ramming the glass of their tanks) and no aquarium has ever housed one for more than 11 days. On Terrace, aquaria have yet to really take off. Or exist, for that matter…

Sharks of Realmgard: The Double Shark

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Not, in fact, a real shark on either Earth or on Terrace, the Double Shark is a popular heraldic device with noble family that associate themselves with the sea, either as maritime traders or as naval heroes. Not unlike a fishly equivalent of the real-life Double-Headed Eagle.

Sharks of Realmgard: Whale Shark

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The largest fish both on Earth and on Terrace until I decide otherwise, the Whale Shark is a gentle filter feeder that poses a threat only to plankton, krill, and small fish. It is known to inhabit warm, tropical waters.

“Squalus Cetus” is not the scientific name of the Whale Shark — that would be “Rhincodon Typus” in real life. It’s the translation of “Whale Shark” into Elven (which is to say, Latin).

It’s not a very helpful or specific translation, though, given that both “squalus” and “cetus” basically both mean “non-specific large fish or sea monster”. The specific meanings were only adopted later once taxonomic rigour and specificity became concerns for the people doing the taxonomising.

As a funny aside, the real-world Japanese name for Whale Sharks is “jinbei-zame” which more or less means “pyjama shark”, due to the pattern of the shark’s skin resembling the patterns on traditional Japanese clothes called jinbei, which are usually worn as summer nightwear.

As an aside to the funny aside, there is another species of shark known in English as the Pyjama Shark.