Medical Meccanica
Banned
So, I'm working on a story based on Japanese myth. (don't worry, it doesn't read like a manga. I'm not a total weeaboo). I have two questions for you writers out there.
1. When taking the artistic liscense, err, pen, to folklore, how much is too much? Sparkling vampires are definitly crossing the line, but don't worry, at least I'm not writing a self-insert mary-sue fic.
To get started, I did a ton of research on some subjects with not much information availible. Namely, two races from Japanese folklore - the Oni and Gaki.
I'll do a side-by-side comparison of the original creatures and how they appear in my story:
Oni (Folklore): Big ogres, basically. Steal women, destroy cities, wield giant clubs and wear loincloths. Pretty much everything you would expect from an ogre. Come in red and blue colors. Many stories exist on Oni, but a lot of them vary. Most are depicted as being evil. Some are lusty, greedy, etc.
Oni (My story): Oni are taller than humans, have small horns and age almost twice as fast. They are more muscular and able to lift large clubs and maces. The ones who battle (read: most of them) wear little clothing - the males often wear shorts, kilts, etc and no shirts, while the females wear tops that barely cover their breasts and shorts or skirts. Oni come most commonly in red and white. Blue Oni are considered to be bad luck. All Oni are expected to battle once they reach the age of 5 (10 in human years) with the exception of the Emperor/Empress and her advisors.
At the age of 5, young Oni are given an official name. Before that, they are given a name based on one of the child heroes of the Oni of the same gender. Oni children who are not related to the Emperor/Empress are trained for battle at a young age and given a weapon usually passed down from a grandfather/grandmother who is too old to fight.
The reason Oni have such a terrible reputation among the humans is because of their dark side - a nagging voice in the back of their head that tempts them to do bad things. Each Oni's dark side is tailored to their specific personality - an Oni who eats a lot, for example, would have a dark side that would tempt him to take the last piece of fish, or an Oni who loved battle might have a dark side that would tempt him to pick a fight. Of course, those are only small examples - a dark side can temp an Oni to murder, rape, steal, and worse.
If an Oni fully gives in to their dark side, they become a Gaki. Thus, the Gaki are an offshoot race of the Oni, though the Oni don't like to admit it.
Humans have developed a medicine to supress the Oni's dark sides, however the Oni have refused to buy it from them due to the two races' hatred for each other.
Oni are all ruled by the Emperor/Empress. There is a large army which most Oni are members of. Most fight on foot, though there are some that ride Gyuki, large oxen-like creatures.
Gaki (Folklore) - A Japanese Buddhist version of the Preta, it's name means 'hungry ghost'. They are reincarnated versions of people who have been bad in the past life. Gaki are always hungry, but usually find themselves unable to eat. They are thin, but most have distended stomachs. There are some Gaki called Jikininki that eat corpses.
Gaki (My story) - Gaki are thin, lanky, and blue. Many Gaki are transformed from Oni who gave in to their dark sides, though Gaki can also be born from two Gaki mating. Although Gaki are no longer plagued by their dark sides, each Gaki has an addiction that pretty much takes over their life. This addiction shows up at about age 8-9 (Gaki age the same as Oni). The addiction differs from Gaki to Gaki - for example, my two main Gaki characters have addictions to caffeine and corpse-eating.
The Gaki are headed by a group called the Jikininki, the richest and most powerful of the Gaki. Gaki can join the group by completing the Yama Trial, which requires going into Jigoku and getting a proof of bravery from Enma-daio (the ruler of the underworld and patron god of the Gaki). Many rich Gaki often buy their way into the group, making it somewhat corrupt.
Gaki try to avoid fighting, due to being weaker than both the Oni and the humans, and prefer to use trickery to get what they want from the other races. Gaki view Oni in a good light, though the feeling isn't mutual - the Oni see the Gaki as the worst of their race.
Second question: How can you avoid Deus Ex Machina when dealing with gods and characters in a tight spot? I'm nearing the end of my story and feel like my characters are stuck, and I don't know how to write them out of that corner. I know I want a goddess who gets mentioned in the story to appear at the end to seal away the villian, but I don't know how to get to that point/get the characters unstuck without pulling some divine strings.
Any answers would be appreciated.
1. When taking the artistic liscense, err, pen, to folklore, how much is too much? Sparkling vampires are definitly crossing the line, but don't worry, at least I'm not writing a self-insert mary-sue fic.
To get started, I did a ton of research on some subjects with not much information availible. Namely, two races from Japanese folklore - the Oni and Gaki.
I'll do a side-by-side comparison of the original creatures and how they appear in my story:
Oni (Folklore): Big ogres, basically. Steal women, destroy cities, wield giant clubs and wear loincloths. Pretty much everything you would expect from an ogre. Come in red and blue colors. Many stories exist on Oni, but a lot of them vary. Most are depicted as being evil. Some are lusty, greedy, etc.
Oni (My story): Oni are taller than humans, have small horns and age almost twice as fast. They are more muscular and able to lift large clubs and maces. The ones who battle (read: most of them) wear little clothing - the males often wear shorts, kilts, etc and no shirts, while the females wear tops that barely cover their breasts and shorts or skirts. Oni come most commonly in red and white. Blue Oni are considered to be bad luck. All Oni are expected to battle once they reach the age of 5 (10 in human years) with the exception of the Emperor/Empress and her advisors.
At the age of 5, young Oni are given an official name. Before that, they are given a name based on one of the child heroes of the Oni of the same gender. Oni children who are not related to the Emperor/Empress are trained for battle at a young age and given a weapon usually passed down from a grandfather/grandmother who is too old to fight.
The reason Oni have such a terrible reputation among the humans is because of their dark side - a nagging voice in the back of their head that tempts them to do bad things. Each Oni's dark side is tailored to their specific personality - an Oni who eats a lot, for example, would have a dark side that would tempt him to take the last piece of fish, or an Oni who loved battle might have a dark side that would tempt him to pick a fight. Of course, those are only small examples - a dark side can temp an Oni to murder, rape, steal, and worse.
If an Oni fully gives in to their dark side, they become a Gaki. Thus, the Gaki are an offshoot race of the Oni, though the Oni don't like to admit it.
Humans have developed a medicine to supress the Oni's dark sides, however the Oni have refused to buy it from them due to the two races' hatred for each other.
Oni are all ruled by the Emperor/Empress. There is a large army which most Oni are members of. Most fight on foot, though there are some that ride Gyuki, large oxen-like creatures.
Gaki (Folklore) - A Japanese Buddhist version of the Preta, it's name means 'hungry ghost'. They are reincarnated versions of people who have been bad in the past life. Gaki are always hungry, but usually find themselves unable to eat. They are thin, but most have distended stomachs. There are some Gaki called Jikininki that eat corpses.
Gaki (My story) - Gaki are thin, lanky, and blue. Many Gaki are transformed from Oni who gave in to their dark sides, though Gaki can also be born from two Gaki mating. Although Gaki are no longer plagued by their dark sides, each Gaki has an addiction that pretty much takes over their life. This addiction shows up at about age 8-9 (Gaki age the same as Oni). The addiction differs from Gaki to Gaki - for example, my two main Gaki characters have addictions to caffeine and corpse-eating.
The Gaki are headed by a group called the Jikininki, the richest and most powerful of the Gaki. Gaki can join the group by completing the Yama Trial, which requires going into Jigoku and getting a proof of bravery from Enma-daio (the ruler of the underworld and patron god of the Gaki). Many rich Gaki often buy their way into the group, making it somewhat corrupt.
Gaki try to avoid fighting, due to being weaker than both the Oni and the humans, and prefer to use trickery to get what they want from the other races. Gaki view Oni in a good light, though the feeling isn't mutual - the Oni see the Gaki as the worst of their race.
Second question: How can you avoid Deus Ex Machina when dealing with gods and characters in a tight spot? I'm nearing the end of my story and feel like my characters are stuck, and I don't know how to write them out of that corner. I know I want a goddess who gets mentioned in the story to appear at the end to seal away the villian, but I don't know how to get to that point/get the characters unstuck without pulling some divine strings.
Any answers would be appreciated.
