#again this is not the be all end all of gaslamp just a very quick overview of what I know

[cassandratongue]

Hi! I absolutely live for your vibe and your blog. I'm not very familiar with fantasy sub genre's, could you tell me what gaslamp fantasy is?

Ahhhh saying my vibe is on point is such a compliment thank you 😍

Gaslamp Fantasy, to my understanding, has several core elements that set it apart from similar genres (such as Steampunk and Historic Fantasy). Namely, what makes a story Gaslamp Fantasy is the magic system, the inspired time period, and the subtle nod to its precursor genre, Gothic Horror.

For example, as the name implies, the novel is usually set in a world in which electricity has either not yet been utilised universally or is in its early stages of development, giving either a Regency/Victorian/Edwardian setting or Victorian+ style world . It must be noted that like a lot of Fantasy, a failing of Gaslamp is it's Eurocentrism. A facet of this movement away from the technology of known history, can be the exploration of magic as a means of supplementing society and life where electricity was beginning to be known. Furthermore, this use of magic and magic systems set Gaslamp Fantasy apart from Steampunk as the aspects that make it fantasy are rooted in the use of magic rather than the speculative inclusion of an alternate steampowered society. The Historical aspect again proves important in this distinction, as steampunk has been able to break into the Sci-Fi genre whereas Gaslamp remains fantasy. However, Historic Fantasy is again, a different genre. Historic Fantasy is set in a certain time that usually mirrors or is heavily inspired by a real period of his history, alongside the inclusion of fantastical elements whereas Gaslamp Fantasy is usually set in a Victorian+ or Victorian+ adjacent world and the magic is not just present it is essential to the story.

Finally, Gaslamp Fantasy's origin in Gothic Horror is important to the genres characteristics as many aspects of Gothic remain. The inclusion of the mythological or folkloric within the world, such as vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts, demons etc. is pulled from Gothic Horror. The genres differ in their treatments of the supernatural, Gothic Horror serves to alienate the otherness or intrusion of a supernatural being or event and ultimately remove it from the world in order to restore balance (think Carmilla, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, etc.) whereas the supernatural merges with the everyday in Gaslamp Fantasy and becomes part of the world building (think Infernal Devices, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel, A Marvellous Light).

Anyway, like any genre it is not set in stone, and I certainly missed something in my explanation but I hope that helped and I'm sorry I wrote an essay (I'm an English Major at Uni).

#gaslamp fantasy #gaslight fantasy #gothic horror #steampunk #fantasy #genre #again this is not the be all end all of gaslamp just a very quick overview of what I know #get to know me better #historic fantasy #lit #frankenstein #dracula #carmilla #tid #jonathan strange and mr norrell #a marvellous light #wip. an unhallowing of magicians #thanks for asking! #writing

[adelaides-blog]

Santa Barbara & San Diego

Liang and I went on vacation to Santa Barbara and San Diego in mid-January 2020

Overall

Very cold in mid-January, so would recommend for spring/summer/fall time

Temperatures are 50-70F, but lots of wind by the ocean, feels very cold, sometimes cloudy and only warm in sun 

Would not recommend driving between SB and SD again; not very picturesque driving roads, and often traffic between the two cities, especially around LA; quite tiring overall and wastes lots of precious daytime sunlight 

Overview

BWI --> SAN 

Rented a Camaro on Turo and drove 4 hours from SAN --> Santa Barbara

Stayed in an Airbnb in Santa Barbara for 2 nights 

Drove back 4 hours from SB --> SD

Stayed in an Airbnb in SD in Gaslamp neighborhood for 3 nights 

Santa Barbara

Best beaches 

Hendry’s beach 

Large stretch of sandy beach that is great for walking

Extends several miles long in length, and also several meters wide so great for walking even if tide is high

Has a large area for dogs to run around off-leash; saw lots of different types of dogs running around and playing 

Best beach for long walks and dog-watching 

Has really nice beach-front restaurant (Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach) that is great for brunch/lunch 

Has large parking lot; was full by 10am on Sunday 

Shoreline park

Long very picturesque stretch of coastline 

Can walk very long along the coast, but the sandy area is not very wide, so when tide is high, difficult at times to walk around some rocks with shoes on (if barefoot, no problem)

Many dogs running around off leash 

Has small parking lot, but usually parking available (high turnover)

Can walk to Leadbetter beach 

Leadbetter beach

Wide sandy beach that is walking distance from Shoreline park

Often see surfers in water 

Not many people here 

West and East beaches

Divided by a long wharf 

Long wide sandy beaches 

Restaurants we loved 

Sambo’s 

Great for brunch/lunch

Best corned beef hash according to Liang

Food is all made in house, cute place

Great view of beach, in front of East beach 

Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach 

Very nice place for brunch/lunch

Beautiful beach views 

Los Agaves

Didn’t try on this trip, but went last year on our Route 1 roadtrip

Great tacos, great pricing for discounted tacos on Taco Tuesdays

In-n-out 

Restaurants we didn’t try 

Mac n Cheese after dark 

Open only Thurs-Sat from 9pm-2am 

San Diego

Things to do 

Pacific beach

Pacific and Mission beach are technically the same beach; Pacific is on the northern end, Mission is southern end

Pacific is more lively, has more restaurants/bars

Mission is quieter, has a small themepark 

Pacific beach has a great boardwalk lined with lots of restaurants and bars, and also a wharf can walk out on 

Coronado beach

Located on Coronado Island, which is reachable via bridge or Ferry (leaves SD from Broadway Pier 990 N Harbor Dr, or SD Convention Center at 5th Ave, $5 each way/pp)

Large sandy beach

We went to Coronado Central beach, as well as the beach in front of Hotel Del Coronado 

Apparently Coronado North beach has area for dogs to run off-leash 

Not too much to do, no restaurants/bars lining the sidewalks

Very large beach great for walking, also sandy for laying down

Visited Hotel Del Coronado, which has restaurants, shops, and bikes to rent 

San Diego Zoo

$58/pp 

Really great zoo with active animals, guided 35-minute bus tour around the entire zoo, and also a hop-on-off shuttle around half of the zoo

Can feed giraffes or rhinos for a small fee ($15/3 biscuits?)

Best exhibits: giraffe, elephant, rhino, hippo, tiger, koala, red panda, gorilla, leopard

Definite must-do 

Took us 10am-5pm to explore all exhibits 

Restaurants we loved

Hub Market and Deli

Wandered in for a quick breakfast, left with the best sandwich I’ve ever had: Gio Supreme

The hot roast beef sandwich with honey mustard also really good

Any sandwich with their honey mustard is good 

Dog Haus

Great hot dogs, sausages, and burgers

Great fries and tater tots

Few TVs, we watched a football game here 

Friendly staff 

100s Seafood Grill Buffet

Seafood and sushi buffet 

Lunch is $18, weekend lunch/dinner is $27, and Thurs/Fri lobster dinner is $37

We went for lobster dinner-- they have cold lobster claws (best) and also hot lobster tails (only come out every 10-15 minutes, must wait in line, 1 tail allowed at a time)

Relatively large selection of sushi and fresh sashimi 

Also has crab legs (whole, not cut in half)

Other foods include: duck, prime rib, oysters, DIY poke bowl

Dirty Birds 

Great sports bar with lots of seats and TVs

Supposedly has amazing wings, but we did not try 

Kono’s Cafe

Very popular cafe for breakfast/brunch with very long line; there are lots of open seating inside always, but line to order is longest

Overall just OK; egg burrito is good but has a lot of egg, and breakfast platters are large but basic; potatoes are not good even though they look great