Swedish Fish Sushi

Talking about candy no kid wants for Halloween, someone mentioned Swedish Fish, so this segued into a joke about “Swedish Fish sushi.” However, if Rule 34 teaches us nothing, it’s if you can think of it, someone on the internet has made it. Oi mekheye.

Yes, as the picture above indicates, there is a recipe for Swedish fish sushi, and I have to admit, it looks really good! Swedish Fish on top of Rice Krispies and wrapped by Fruit by the Foot. Although I’m not a big fan of the gummy candies in general, having it cut by the more appealing Rice Krispie treats sounds really worth trying.

Of course, that’s not why I brought this up – it’s the sheer absurdity of it that caught my attention. I could go in many directions from here, but let me think about the infinite creativity of man. It’s very easy to say that “there’s nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), or that there’s only ever four types of stories, but I’m pleased to see that there’s infinity diversity in infinite combinations. (Star Trek)

Sure, sushi and Swedish fish are not particularly new concepts, but combining them in a new way is really exciting. You shouldn’t get discouraged because your story is one of many military sci-fi space opera stories (which it is). What can you bring to the table? What about your voice makes the story exciting?

What I’ve discovered is that I enjoy combining sci-fi and humor. Since I enjoy universes where “things fall apart,” it seems natural that I like goofy situations to occur, because if it can go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment (Murphy’s Law). So my universes tend to be goofy places and I have a lot of fun with them.

Easy example: names. No matter how wacky the name you give a character, I can guarantee, someone has topped you. For example, in Defending Our Sacred Honor, I named a character Megalicious Jones – or Meg for short. Ridiculous? Sure. On the other hand, a hundred years ago in Iowa, there was someone legally named “Though I Walk Through the Valley of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil Smith.” I always wonder what his nickname was. Ship names are great, because non-Western navies have no compulsion after naming a ship “The 39th People’s Congress.” You can never go TOO far and pass reality.

What’s a wacky combination you can’t believe exists? What an unusual sub-sub-subgenre you find appealing (or disgusting)? Let me know in the comments below!