It is a particular person who writes in a dead genre. It is a particular person who recognizes that a genre is dead and yet pursues an abundance of writing in that genre. I’ve begun to feel the effects of that over the past few weeks as I am writing these few cyberpunk/magic related projects. Shadowrun exist(ed) at the intersection of magic and cyberpunk born out of 80’s pulp with a heavy handed nod to William Gibson. and Walter Jon Williams. Most people only know one of those two names. I myself only knew one of the names when I came into the genre. That, for all intents and purposes, makes me a bit of a poser. I’ve gotten sturdier in my knowledge and appreciation over the years, but as I did so I watched (and felt) the genre evolve beyond where the books and rpg wanted to go. So, we remain in a stasis position trying to hang on to something referential to what the modern audience does not even know or understand. So, instead of deepening our hold and understanding of the Cyberpunk, the game has fled to more magical shores.
I’m not with that.
Balance in all things, nes pas? I want to feel that ‘Constantine’ grit of magic in a world where the corporations treat us like lemmings they can push towards the ledge of their choosing. I want to feel like I’m writing a better version of the Matrix. I don’t though. Perhaps that ought to be a sign to get out, but I’m not that guy. No, I’m going to double down and go in a different direction and see how dark and dystopian I can make this thing before my time in the genre officially runs out.
Some Thoughts:
- Still dodging the KondoMari way… I set up everything to be sorted and reduced, but I am slow-footing the process hard. It is the tee shirts. I don’t want to deal with them.