The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

Episode Hosts: Kyle, Allison, and Emma. 

Today's Trope: What if pizza was never invented? (a.k.a. parallel worlds). When characters visit another world that is similar to ours, but slightly different in a variety of ways, we’ve entered the realm of alternate universes! Whether every character has an evil twin, pizza was never invented, or everyone’s favourite superhero is the red lantern, parallel worlds offer opportunities to explore what if questions, have beloved characters die (but not really), and explore alter-egos. 

Stories Covered: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fringe, Community. 

Produced by Mythos & Ink. 

Announcement Music: "Coffee Beats" by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Episode Hosts: Kyle, Allison, and Emma

Today's Trope: Everything is a Simulation (a.k.a. the awful truth about your world). In science fiction and fantasy, sometimes the truth about the world is hidden from the masses because it’s so horrible. You’re living in a simulation. We’re raising you to be fed to a multi-tentacled monster that demands sacrifices. Everyone is dead and this is actually hell. The mystery of this awful truth is built up throughout the story, so you want to know, even though you really don’t want to know.

Stories Covered: Sword Art Online, The Good Place, WandaVision

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: “Coffee Beats” by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Episode Hosts: Allison, Christiana, and Kyle.

Today's Trope: Who wants to live forever? (a.k.a. immortal magics and technology.) Some characters are driven to find a way to live forever, and go on a quest for eternal life. But, often, when they do snag that elixir of life, or that fountain of youth, or that tech that lets you upload your consciousness into a new body, they find immortality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We’re going to look at how some writers have played with this trope in interesting ways.

Stories Covered: Upload, Interview with a Vampire, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: “Coffee Beats” by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Episode Hosts: Allison, Christiana, and Kyle.

Today's Trope: Aliens are Weird. Sometimes, very weird. Their bodies often work in different ways than humans’ do, whether that means they have blue skin, multiple arms, can breathe underwater, have ten sexes, or only mate during a full moon. What makes an alien’s biology unique is entirely up to your imagination, though science and a basic understanding of anatomy might inspire you in the creation of alien species.

Stories Covered: Alien, Stargate: SG-1, Cycle of Fire by Hal Clement

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: “Coffee Beats” by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Episode Hosts: Emma, Kyla, and Christiana.

Today's Trope: Werewolves, Vampires. Wizards. Pixies. Leprechauns. Banshees. They’re there—just out of sight for your normal citizen. But for those in the know, magic is a real part of our world. How is it kept a secret from society at large?

Stories Covered: Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, Men in Black, A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: “Coffee Beats” by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Episode Hosts: Emma, Kyla, and Christiana.

Today's Trope: Fantasy fiction tends to make recurring use of specific races, species, or peoples and their societies. For example, elves live in forests and practice nature magic, dwarves live underground and are miners, and humans populate large cities and are concerned with technological advancement. Oh, and the above races are usually “good,” while orcs, goblins, and dark elves are “evil.” Today’s trope: “Elves Lives in Forests,” a.k.a. standard fantasy races and societies.

Stories Covered: Death Valley, Shadowhunter by Cassandra Clare

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: “Coffee Beats” by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Show Hosts: Kyle, Emma, and Allison.

Today's Trope: Characters need to get to another galaxy, because reasons! Often that reason is that the planet is dying. Either humans have destroyed it, a giant asteroid hit the surface, or some other cataclysmic event occurred. Earth can no longer sustain life, and its people must find another world, in another galaxy, to inhabit. But how do they get there? This depends on the science of space travel! Hyperdrives, jump drives, warp drives, wormholes, generation ships, and cryo-travel are common methods of transporting people long distances in science fiction.

Stories Covered: Lost in Space (cryosleep), Battlestar Galactica (jump drive), The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (wormholes)

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: “Coffee Beats” by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Show Hosts: Kyle, Emma, and Allison.

Welcome to SEASON TWO of the podcast!! We're so excited to be back.

Our theme for this season is sci-fi and fantasy tropes! Writers often think of tropes negatively, but they’re just commonly used themes or plot elements—symbols of the genre that keep readers coming back for more. Understanding tropes and using them effectively can deepen your worldbuilding!

Today’s trope: the legendary artifact of power. The thing that separates these artifacts from other magical items is rarity. There’s often only one, and the artifact is so powerful it may have the ability to end worlds (or, at least, cause a lot of destruction). This power usually makes the object one of desire and even myth.

Stories Covered: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda, Aladdin

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: “Coffee Beats” by Aaron Parsons (used with permission).

Back when this podcast only existed as a lightbulb hovering over our heads, we began brainstorming the format, content, and all those other pesky details. While doing so, we used trees as an example topic. “So, say we’re talking about trees, and then this is the part where we’d each pick a specific tree to talk about…” You get the idea. And ever after, trees became a running joke as we brainstormed episode topics. So, we figured, for our season finale, what better topic to discuss! We give you: trees from sci-fi and fantasy.

Notes

Recap of Books Mythos & Ink Published This Year:

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: Coffee Beats by Aaron Parsons (Used with permission).

We avoided talking about castles in our last episode about architecture, because castles get a whole episode to themselves! From Castle Dracula to Hogwarts, castles in the sky to Cair Paravel, these majestic fortresses can bring your settings to life, often as homes for your characters.

Notes

Produced by Mythos & Ink.

Announcement Music: Coffee Beats by Aaron Parsons (Used with permission).