I don't know -- I really think the bicycle is a Shampoo thing -- whether
it's from Amazon wu shu (or whatever) or just from her native abilities, it
doesn't matter.  It's something she *does*.  Which is about the same as
Benten's hoverbike or Lum's saucer.

I agree with you wholeheartedly on the details, though -- having Soun pop
the top on a can of Coors would kill the story in as many words.  We do
expect *some* adherence to convention.

"Usagi carried in the plate of food."

Ok.  What's the deal here?

If it was, "Usagi shielded the plate of takoyaki with her arms -- she just
*knew* that one of the othersssss would try to get sssssome of the
preciousssss itemssss from her before she could indulge herssssself," *then*
I could believe it.  :)

--Steffan

Rann Aridorn wrote:

<snippage>

There's Shampoo's bicycle. I dunno that you'd call it normal since it
zooms through the air, but I think that has more to do with Shampoo than
the bike.

No, all of the bikes in Japan really do that. (Or a close appoximation.
It's very scary.)

I suppose in the end the reason for getting the details right is:
"Falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus."
If you tell a lie, the jury (or reader, in this court) can ignore the
rest of your case (story) as false.

Tendou Soun likes beer. If you write that it's a Sapporo, or a Kirin, or
a can of Yabisu, no one
will find fault in your story.  If he cracks open an Old Milwalkee or
Budwiser, or Miller Lite,
you've blown your credibility.

A corollary to this is theory is that you should provide enough accurate
(if made up) details to
convince the reader that you (the author) were there to see the action
you are describing. If you write
"Usagi carried in a plate of food," I wonde if you were really "there",
or if you were hearing this
second hand. (In which case, please point me to a story written by a
person who was "there".)

A second corollary is the mirror image: if you tell a "truth" the reader
will place more faith in the
rest of the story. Truth is easy to find. If it really happened to you,
it's truth.

J.

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