8FOLD: Darkhorse # 6, "Colder Day By Day"

[Tom Russell]

On Monday, July 4, 2016 at 7:48:40 PM UTC-4, Drew Perron wrote:
> On 6/12/2016 10:12 AM, Tom Russell wrote:


> >    "Melody," says Medusa, "are you going to tell her? She should know
> > what's at stake. It's her life. Her body."
> >    At super-speed: "No, she'll just wig out. We don't need that drama
> > slowing us down."
> 
> YES SHE SHOULD. AGENCY >:I

Agreed! MEDUSA AND DREW KNOW BEST MELODY

Cal's lack of agency at this point in the story is very much on purpose (and very frustrating for her!). It's important to her that she gets to be who she wants to be (once she figures out who that is), and that she gets to make meaningful choices about her own life. And she feels that she's never really been allowed to. She's right to a point-- certainly recently, from her shrinking on, her agency has been quite literally diminished. But she also has the larger sense that from her childhood on she hasn't been allowed the same freedom that, say, Melody or Kate has. The rub of course is that, to one degree or another, Melody's agency and Kate's are compromised, for lack of a better word, by circumstances beyond their control-- Melody by her disease, and Kate by all the years of abuse, as well as the assumption of responsibility for her younger siblings. I think Melody and Kate are better able to exercise "freedom within the reigns" because they're both fairly sure about who they are and what they want, at least in reaction to those outside circumstances, while Cal's never been quite at home in her own skin. This is something that gets addressed more explicitly in number seven.

> >    "Just a concussion," repeats Dot. "Yeah, well, a concussion is
> > enough, believe you me. I don't need anything else on top of it. Oy.
> > Hi, Kate. Kate's brother."
> >    "Simon," says Simon.
> >    "Nah, I'm just going to call you Kate's brother, if that's okay."
> >    He shrugs.
> 
> Dooooot. XD Be nice.

I think if my characters would listen to you, they all would be much happier and healthier.

> 
> > Derek, I'm the right person for
> > this. Don't screw with me on this."
> >    "Alternatively," says Derek, "we send Rainshade.
> 
> DEREK >:| AGENCY

Well, yeah, but on the other hand-- he's kinda the boss, and so it's kinda his job to decide who goes after what. And it's not like his suggested course of action is a bad one, working from the facts he has available-- Kate's not in the best of shape, Rainshade has experience with magic, etc.
> 
> Drew "AGENCYYYYYYYYYYYY" Perron