Upside Down

by Jaym Gates

  BLIND PEOPLE ARE MAGIC

  Examined in: “Seeking Truth”

  Written by: Elsa Sjunneson-Henry

  Defined as: This trope reduces blind characters to rare, special protagonists or, in some cases, antagonists who have extraordinary gifts, either because they are blind or to “fix” the fact that they have no sight. In some stories, the blind character might bestow magical powers on the protagonist, while in others that character is a sage or mystic that is then killed for their abilities. To further underline this trope, The Blind Seer was also examined. This secondary trope often presents the idea that blind people are psychic because they can’t “see” anything in reality and goes hand-in-hand with Blind People are Magic.

  Author Quote: As a blind writer, I’ve always been frustrated with the magical fixes for blindness in SFF/H literature. I wanted to address that with a character who was not a psychic, but a person who was highly skilled.

  Author Bio: Elsa Sjunneson-Henry is a half-blind, half-deaf SFF/H writer who can be found somewhere near New York City. She’s been in Ghost in the Cogs from Broken Eye Books and numerous tabletop roleplaying game books including her own, Dead Scare, and is currently an assistant editor for Fireside Magazine. She is passionate about disability inclusion in both fiction and game products, and works as an advocate for disabled gamers. In her spare time she walks her hound dog on Revolutionary War battlefields. She can be found at feministsonar.com.

  CHAINMAILLE BIKINI

  Examined in: “Drafty as a Chain Mail Bikini”

  Written by: Kat Richardson

  Defined as: The stereotype of female warriors in fantasy (and sometimes other genre) stories wading into battle in nothing more than a couple of triangles of chain mail. Part of the trope is the implication that the woman is so tough she doesn’t NEED any other covering, but it’s not only impractical, impossible, dangerous, and uncomfortable, it’s clearly sexist and used for its titillation factor more than anything else.

  Author Quote: I’ve always found the idea of chain mail bikinis — ridiculous — and not only because they look silly and leave vital areas uncovered. I thought it would be fun to take the real problems of wearing such a useless item and run with them.

  Author Bio: Kat Richardson is the bestselling author of the Greywalker novels, as well as a small tantrum of short fantasy, science fiction, and mystery stories. She is an accomplished feeder of crows. Find her at katrichardson.com and greywalker.com.

  CITY PLANET

  Examined in: “Excess Light”

  Written by: Rahul Kanakia

  Defined as: Omnipresent in science fiction, the City Planet is a setting-based trope about a world that is covered with futuristic cities that have been built on top of one another, connected by transit systems, or separated by wastelands. The secondary trope examined in this story is the Cycle of Empires — the trope where society is trapped in an eternal rise and fall of imperial powers (in a manner that often bears a more than superficial resemblance to the Roman Empire).

  Author Quote: I’m generally bad at writing stories according to prompt, and in this case I needed to give the editors a commitment about my trope before beginning to write the story, so I didn’t want to box myself in. I decided to select an evocative image, something that was ripe to be satirized, but which could also support a good many stories.

  Author Bio: Rahul Kanakia’s first book, Enter Title Here (Disney-Hyperion), is a contemporary young adult novel. Additionally, his stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Clarkesworld, Apex Magazine, Lightspeed, The Indiana Review, and Nature. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins. Originally from Washington, D.C., Rahul now lives in San Francisco. If you want to know more about him, then please visit his blog at www.blotter-paper.com or follow him on Twitter at @rahkan.

  DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

  Examined in: “Her Curse, How Gently It Comes Undone”

  Written by: Haralambi Markov

  Defined as: The Damsel in Distress is a strong, cultural narrative that is concerned with gender-based attitudes towards women. Often, the Damsel in Distress is an incapable female character who cannot take care of herself and needs to be rescued. Alternatively, she is also a character who fails if she attempts to help the protagonist, either by offering advice or by lending a hand, and it is the male hero who must instruct her on how to save herself.

  Author Quote: I’m a feminist and want to do revisionist takes on gender politics ingrained in fairy tales.

  Author Bio: Haralambi Markov is a Bulgarian critic, editor, and writer of things weird and fantastic. A Clarion 2014 graduate, Markov enjoys fairy tales, obscure folkloric monsters, and inventing death rituals (for his stories, not his neighbors … usually). He blogs at The Alternative Typewriter and tweets at @HaralambiMarkov. His stories have appeared in Geek Love, Electric Velocipede, TOR.com, Stories for Chip, The Apex Book of World SF, and he is slated to appear in Genius Loci. He’s currently working on a novel.

  EPIC FANTASY

  Examined in: “Noun of Nouns: A Mini Epic”

  Written by: Alex Shvartsman

  Defined as: Epic fantasy genre is known for its extra-thick volumes filled with Important People doing World-Altering things and engaging in heroic quests. Combined, these tropes form a structure for Epic Fantasy, and the DNA for several of these tropes are examined in this story (hence, a mini Epic).

  Author Quote: As a humor writer, I often seek to parody popular tropes and elements of pop culture in my writing. I needed to take a break from writing my fantasy novel, so I amused myself (and, hopefully, the readers) by making fun of the very tropes I had to consider for my not-so-funny book.

  Author Bio: Alex Shvartsman is a writer, translator, and game designer from Brooklyn, NY. Over 90 of his short stories have appeared in Nature, Galaxy’s Edge, InterGalactic Medicine Show, and many other magazines and anthologies. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a finalist for the 2015 Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction. He is the editor of the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F. His collection Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were both published in 2015. His website is www.alexshvartsman.com.

  FIRST PERIOD PANIC

  Examined in: “First Blood”

  Written by: Delilah S. Dawson

  Defined as: First Period Panic is a trope that deals with an uninformed preteen, who gets very worried about the blood appearing in their underwear.

  Author Quote: My first period caused a horrible bleed-through in middle school, and I truly wished for Carrie-like powers to blow up everyone who saw the mess I made of my acid-washed jean shorts during English class. I wanted to write a character who not only knew exactly what menstruation was, but who was also able to use her “monthly shame” for public good. Throw in some nice Southern Gothic and Greek mythology, and you’ve got “First Blood.”

  Author Bio: Delilah S. Dawson is the award-winning author of Hit, Strike, Servants of the Storm, the Blud series, Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon, a variety of short stories and comics, and Wake of Vultures, written as Lila Bowen. She teaches writing classes online with LitReactor and lives in the north Georgia mountains with her family. Find her online at www.whimsydark.com.

  GENDERCIDE

  Examined in: “Real Women Are Dangerous”

  Written by: Rati Mehrotra

  Defined as: In this trope, half of the population is killed off — men or women — often with the intent to explore either a female ‘utopia’ or a male dystopia. The Sexbot trope, whereby a robot is designed as a sexual toy for human beings, is also addressed in this story to a lesser degree.

  Author Quote: My story is inspired by the 100 million ‘missing women’ of Asia. In India for instance, despite the laws, the abhorrent and continuing practices of female infanticide and sex selective abortion means that the gender ratio continues to skew in ‘favor’ of men until there a
re some places where there are only 7-8 women to 10 men. One would think that this would make girls and women more precious, but no, quite the opposite. Violent crime against women continues to rise. The average family continues to wish for sons. In some states, ‘procuring’ women for marriage from other states has become a local election issue. I wanted to explore this by taking it to a literal, unlikely extreme. What happens if all/most of the women are gone? How do men react/cope? Do stereotypes and expectations of women (especially in the Asian context) still persist in men’s attitudes? The Gendericide trope seemed well suited to exploring these issues. My story also refers to the presence of sexbots, but also features a subversion of this in the form of the character Devyani. One (Hindu) meaning of the name Devyani is “like a Goddess” and I leave it to the reader to decide who or what she really is.

  Author Bio: Rati Mehrotra is a Toronto-based speculative fiction writer whose short stories have appeared in AE – The Canadian Science Fiction Review, Apex Magazine, Urban Fantasy Magazine, and many more. Her debut novel Markswoman will be published in early 2018 by Harper Voyager. Find out more about her at http://ratiwrites.com or follow her @Rati_Mehrotra.

  GUYS SMASH, GIRLS SHOOT

  Examined in: “Burning Bright”

  Written by: Shanna Germain

  Defined as: In stories involving combative scenes, many protagonists take action according to their gender. Typically, male characters will be at the heart of a brawl using their fists or throwing chairs against their opponents. Female characters, on the other hand, tend to be off-screen, on a horse, or just out of sight. Often, they are represented as short-to-long range fighters who shoot from a distance to ensure their safety and soften their characters, as the women are perceived as incapable of doling out physical attacks.

  Author Quote: I wanted to choose a trope that had layers. This one let me subvert not just the main trope, but also lots of other ones: that women aren’t dangerous, that women are always the caregivers and healers, that all mothers and daughters act a certain way, that you can’t be both smart/sane and violent ...

  Author Bio: Shanna Germain claims the titles of writer, editor, leximaven, and Schrodinger’s brat. She is the co-owner and creative director of Monte Cook Games, the author of myriad books and short stories, and the lead designer of the family RPG, No Thank You, Evil! Her most recent works include Bound by Lust, The Lure of Dangerous Women, and As Kinky as You Wanna Be. Find her online at www.shannagermain.com.

  HOOKER WITH A HEART OF GOLD

  Examined in: “Red Light”

  Written by: Sara M. Harvey

  Defined as: This trope is similar to the Thief with a Heart of Gold. The reader is expected to think of the prostitute as an undesirable character, but they wind up feeling something for the prostitute because, on the inside, she’s “good” and “honorable.” To further play with the reader’s expectations, the secondary trope Femme Fatale was also used for this story.

  Author Quote: I have long been fascinated by the role of sex work in the overall role of sexuality and relationships.

  Author Bio: Sara M. Harvey lives and writes fantasy and horror in (and sometimes about) Nashville, TN. She is also a costume historian, theatrical costume designer, and art history teacher. She has three spoiled rotten dogs and one awesome daughter; her husband falls somewhere in-between. She tweets at @saraphina_marie, wastes too much time on facebook.com/saramharvey, and needs to update her website at saramharvey.com.

  LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

  Examined in: “The Tangled Web”

  Written by: Ferrett Steinmetz

  Defined as: Love at First Sight is a trope concerned with two characters falling in love instantly after their first meeting without cause or justification for it. Instant romance is present in almost every genre as both the center of a plot, as the couple gets ripped apart and must find their way back together, or as a subplot to quickly push two characters toward a relationship.

  Author Quote: Love is something we all too often confuse for chemistry. And chemistry is a necessary starting condition of love, but ... that biological imperative can lead you astray. I wanted to explore something where people had a wildly different imperative and outcome from sex, and it turned out that the emotions were pretty much the same in the end.

  Author Bio: Ferrett Steinmetz’s debut urban fantasy Flex (and its sequels, The Flux and The Fix) features a bureaucracy-obsessed magician who is in love with the DMV, a goth videogamemancer who tries not to go all Grand Theft Auto on people, and one of the weirder magic systems yet devised. He was nominated for the Nebula in 2012, for which he remains moderately stoked, and lives in Cleveland with his very clever wife, a small black dog of indeterminate origin, and a friendly ghost. He tweets at @ferretthimself, and blogs entirely too much about puns, politics, and polyamory at www.theferrett.com. (Or, if your work has blocked his site, try it mirrored at theferrett.livejournal.com.)

  MAGICAL NEGRO

  Examined in: “Super Duper Fly”

  Written by: Maurice Broaddus

  Defined as: The Magical Negro has several hallmarks. They have no history. They exist outside of any community of their own. Much like, if not fulfilling the role of, a fairy godmother, they arrive from somewhere that’s vague and otherworldly and return in some manner. At their introduction, The Magical Negro has either a threatening or benign aspect: 1) appearing with an initial sense of danger, such as a Big Black Man, drug dealer, thief, or prisoner, in which case they must be quickly identified as helpful and compassionate; or 2) showing up in some powerless capacity, like a janitor, homeless, or a musician, so that the hero can be approached or approach them without risk (or even demonstrate compassion by interacting with them). It doesn’t matter how great their wisdom or the extent of their magical powers, The Magical Negro’s sole purpose is to selflessly use their powers to help the white hero in their journey. Depicted as an agent of change/the one who makes amazing things happen, their role is meant to be an exalted position, though their role boils down to fitting a black person into a white person’s narrative.

  Author Quote: It’s easy to believe that this trope came from a good place or at least rose out of benign neglect. After all, a white writer is “writing what they know” or appealing to their target demographic, which is typically people like them, but they want a more diverse world. So the easy solution is to put an “other” at a critical place in their hero’s journey to help them along. The Magical Negro is one such other (see also: Magical Native American, Magical Asian, etc). Sometimes I’m grateful just to see a reflection of me included in the story. Other times I don’t think that my story is being respected and I get all stabby.

  Author Bio: Maurice Broaddus’s fiction has been published in numerous venues, including Asimov’s Science Fiction, Cemetery Dance, Apex Magazine, and Weird Tales Magazine. He co-edited Streets of Shadows (Alliteration Ink) and the Dark Faith anthology series (Apex Books). He authored the urban fantasy trilogy, Knights of Breton Court (Angry Robot Books). Learn more about him at www.MauriceBroaddus.com.

  MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL

  Examined in: “Requiem for a Manic Pixie Dream”

  Written by: Katy Harrad and Greg Stolze

  Defined as: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a type of supporting female character that appears so often in a story, she has become her own trope. Bubbly to a fault, her presence is to prod the brooding protagonist, who is typically male, to discover the true meaning of life and lighten up. Though The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is supportive and nurturing, she doesn’t have any agency in her own right, and her happiness takes a back seat as she encourages the hero to discover his — with or without her.

  Author Quote: Its ridiculousness begged for satire. BEGGED, I SAY.

  Author Bios: Greg Stolze has written novels about vampires (A Hunger Like Fire), supervillainy (Sinner), demons (Ashes and Angel Wings), and an amnesiac kung-fu detective (The Forgotten Monk). He is equally well known, however, for giving fiction away online at w
ww.gregstolze.com/fiction_library after getting paid for it. He’s aware that this seems paradoxical, but it’s actually one of those 21st Century business arrangements that we’re all still getting used to.