Adeline Day

More of Yukari's childhood is revealed in the latest story:
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/256765393

Chapter 43 has been published:
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/270830133

My many study commitments have made it a lot harder to complete a chapter each week, so expect fortnightly updates for the time being.

After even further thought, a fantasy scenario that could work in Melbourne would be an obscure mythical creature trying to build up a fearsome reputation, only to be laughed at and disrespected at every turn by the locals, until it just gives up and chooses to either go home or live in obscurity.

I've got to thinking about the difficulty of using Australia as a fantasy setting, since even most Australian fantasy authors steer away from having their stories take place here. 
          
          Here are some factors that I think contribute to this:
          
          - We have some great natural landscapes, but they seem to lend themselves better to apocalyptic, horror, and sci-fi stories/media (such as Wolf Creek and the Mad Max franchise).
          - Our colonial history is really ugly, and the effects are still somewhat apparent today. Also, due to cultural copyright, one cannot simply adapt Aboriginal myths and legends without getting permission from and consulting with Elders. 
          - The types of books that achieve popularity and acclaim are more often than not centred around gritty realism and exposing the dark aspects of society. 
          - Some authors do introduce fantasy elements to their Australian setting, but it often ends up getting overshadowed by wacky comedy and other strange hijinks. Example: Paul Jennings, who is a prominent children’s author and one of the writers behind the classic TV series ‘Round the Twist.’
          - We're geographically isolated and kind of hard to reach, especially for those of us who live on the South Coast. And despite us being a lot more diverse these days, the predominant culture and national identity are still Anglocentric, which is a little at odds with our actual environment and place in the world. 
          - We aren’t and will probably never be as influential as the United States. There’s usually a pressure to tone down our ‘Australianness’ if we want to be understood and appreciated by a broader audience.

Thought I'd make another character theme song list for Stranded in the Future. I expanded the choices to include not just music from the 1980s, but also modern J-pop songs that happen to sound retro. 
          
          Kumiko: Plastic Love – Mariya Takeuchi (released 1984/1985)
          Ichiro: Expected Way – Yellow Magic Orchestra (released 1983)
          Yukari: Linda Linda – The Blue Hearts (released 1987)
          Futoshi: Tengokukaido/Paradise Road - Ryukku to Soine Gohan (released 2024)
          Hideo: Shinunoga E-Wa – Fujii Kaze (released 2020)
          Lady Misaki: Otonablue – Atarashii Gakko! (released 2020)
          Tsutomu: Glass no Palm Tree – S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe (released 1985)
          Akane: Suki Suki Daisuki – Jun Togawa (released 1985)

Ichiro gets assigned a shady task on his first night of employment:
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/270830133

I found a D&D quiz and used it to determine what my characters' alignments and stats would be. Keep in mind that a score of 10 or 11 is considered to be a normal human average.
          
          Kumiko: Lawful Neutral
          Strength - 18
          Dexterity - 17
          Constitution - 16
          Intelligence - 13
          Wisdom - 14
          Charisma - 15
          
          Ichiro: Lawful Neutral
          Strength - 12
          Dexterity - 13
          Constitution - 12
          Intelligence - 11
          Wisdom - 11
          Charisma - 14
          
          Yukari: Chaotic Neutral
          Strength - 13
          Dexterity - 17
          Constitution - 14
          Intelligence - 11
          Wisdom - 13
          Charisma - 12
          
          Futoshi: True Neutral
          Strength - 11
          Dexterity - 12
          Constitution - 14
          Intelligence - 15
          Wisdom - 11
          Charisma – 13

Here are the rest of the D&D quiz results for my characters, though they will definitely change with future chapters. 
          
          Tsutomu: Lawful Neutral
          Strength - 12
          Dexterity - 12
          Constitution - 13
          Intelligence - 14
          Wisdom - 12
          Charisma - 13
          
          Hideo: Lawful Neutral
          Strength - 15
          Dexterity - 18
          Constitution - 16
          Intelligence - 13
          Wisdom - 13
          Charisma - 12
          
          Misaki/Isa: Lawful Good
          Strength - 11
          Dexterity - 12
          Constitution - 12
          Intelligence - 13
          Wisdom - 14
          Charisma - 12
          
          Akane: Neutral Evil
          Strength - 14
          Dexterity - 16
          Constitution - 16
          Intelligence - 12
          Wisdom - 12
          Charisma - 14

I'm going to have to rewrite aspects of Yukari's past, since I'm still planning the sequel to Stranded in the Future and having second thoughts about the sort of role she'll play in that story.