branchandroot

Sometimes a writer creates a universe so compelling that others feel the need to join and help flesh out that world with their own tribute fiction. And sometimes you make something crappy like Gossip Girl and loads of people want to write using those characters and that world anyway. Now Amazon is introducing a way to let writers profit from their fan fiction, via “Kindle Worlds.”

( The full text for the linkphobic )

Edit: John Scalzi has some instant thoughts on Kindle Worlds.

So, as I'm sure most of you has heard by now, Yahoo has acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion.

There's relatively little wank about it so far on my dashboard, but I hear there are a lot of mixed reactions. John Darnielle's post is one of the more sane and well-thought out.


Thoughts? Predictions? Betting pools, drinking games and popcorn?

Is it the 6A fiasco all over again? Are veterans of LJ coming out of the woodwork?

This BS again? COME ON. No. Just NO. Bad writer, no cookie. I can't even with this stuff anymore.

And I am one of the last hold-outs on the planet to not have a facebook* account so I can't sign in and tell the writer, but...

GUESS WHAT. Women like Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. They like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Dragonlance, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. They like The Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, Dragon Age, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Halo, and Gears of War. They like Stargate, and Doctor Who, and Firefly, and Farscape.

They also like NCIS and CSI and Castle and White Collar and The Walking Dead and Sex and the City and the Sopranos and American Idol and The Voice and Jeopardy and comic books and cooking and hockey and gymnastics and cats and dogs and...

Women just like STUFF. Okay? Women are half of the bloody population and they--WE--like a diverse range of interests and every now and then, because I do prefer Game of Thrones to Sex and the City, I feel like it's just this big hand-wavey "pfft, you DON'T EXIST".

Because seriously, if I don't exist, why do I have to pay taxes?

*I am honestly, truly, TRULY, getting really unhappy with all of these websites that only give you an option to sign in with your facebook account. My name on the internet is not "Real Name". It's ashinae. I know the internets aren't TRULY anonymous, but... I miss those days. Plus my real name is dumb.

Ace Attorney 5 is scheduled to appear in North America and Europe this autumn, now under the new legal name of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies.

Capcom says it's releasing the 3DS game in the west digitally (on the eShop).

Edit: Capcom's SVP Christian Svensson explains:

“Sorry guys, but a physical release is not in the cards.

Historically it’s been tough to attract long term retail support for Ace Attorney titles. With the release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies we wanted as many people as possible to be able to enjoy the game for as long as possible. With that in mind we have opted for a digital-only release via the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

I understand that this decision may upset fans who wanted to have a physical version of the title to add to their collection but we believe this direction is the best to take.

We will be confirming details on the price point in the not-so-distant future which I hope will also shed more light on the strategy at play here.”

Check out the first English-language trailer at that link, too.