8FOLD: Mancers # 3, "Salt and Roses"

[Tom Russell]

On Monday, September 10, 2018 at 8:00:16 PM UTC-4, Drew Perron wrote:
> On 7/23/2018 12:47 PM, Tom Russell wrote:
> <snip>
> > AZABETH "BETH" COLLINS, age 36. Oneiromancer.
> > A member of the secret circle to whom Lieke reports her progress.
> > 
> > DAVID COLLINS, age 30. Mnemonomancer.
> > An agent of The Company. Unbeknownst to him, he is in actuality a
> > member of the secret circle working deep undercover, and the husband
> > of Beth Collins.
> 
> Interesting. These are clarifications that didn't come out in the story itself. 
> A bunch of these details are, actually. X3

This is probably cheating a bit on my part. But since the previous (now non-canonical) version of David was an agent of the circle working deep undercover, and was married to a Beth, I didn't think it made sense to hide that in the front matter. 

> > Jo was still in diapers when Lieke left,
> > but emailed her a few years ago, and the three of them have met once a
> > year ever since. Until this year, anyway. Until Jo disappeared.
> 
> Yay-- and oof. x.x

That reminds me, I need to send you an email to talk about Jo and her friends and that series you're supposed to write. :-D
 
> >     "I'm hungry more than anything." The other her flicks her eyes to
> > the rearview mirror. "Maile, you hungry?"
> >     "A little," says the monster. "I literally don't remember the last
> > time I ate."
> 
> Contrasting the joke with "the monster" is *tight*.

Thanks. The thing to remember about the Liekes' distrust of Maile is that bit from issue one where she mentions what Maile "did to Marcus". Now, we don't know who Marcus is yet, but I don't think he needs a "Dramatis Personae" entry to understand that he was someone the Liekes cared about in some way.

> >     The greasy spoon is almost quintessentially American and tacky.
> > There's way too many tables, each of which is too small and has too
> > many chairs crowded around it, with almost no room to move. Each table
> > has a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of mustard, tiny shakers of salt
> > and pepper, and of course there are little self-serve packets of jam,
> > butter, sugar, and cream. Lieke doesn't like to think of herself as a
> > snob, but she hasn't been to a restaurant in months, and she was
> > hoping it'd be some place a little fancier, where a side of vegetables
> > meant roasted parsnips and three colors of beets, not frozen carrots
> > and peas.
> 
> Yeah, actually, that's pretty snobby. X3 Lieke is kind of a prickly pear, ne?

I mean, sure, but at the same time, "not serving microwaved vegetables" is like bare minimum of what I would expect out of a restaurant.

> > Any relation to little Johanna van Rijn? You
> > have the same eyes. Yes, I can tell from the way the color just left
> > your pretty little cheeks that you are.
> 
> Oh my goodness don't be so creepy. Maile probably deserves better o3o

One hundred percent. Samson's a jerk.

> > "Keeping our
> > business secret is a priority for us, of course, just as it is for you
> > and your little band of half-baked mystical terrorists.
> 
> You calling them "terrorists" is *pretty bold, buddy*

It's an opinion that's Company-wide - the organization sees itself and its aims (however nihilistic) as "legitimate". It's also very much a bureaucracy - as we've seen last ish and will see later - with considerable resources, financial and otherwise. While the circle more closely resembles a cell - at least in the eyes of the Company. 

> >     "I'm not going to let you hurt anyone," says Maile.
> >     He smiles like he's indulging a child. "We'll have you back to your
> > old self in," but the rest of what he says is drowned out by the wind
> > and rain that crashes through the big picture window and right into
> > Samson. He is flung across the room, shards of glass lodging in his
> > chest and face. The mancer's mark on his chest glows, exposed.
> 
> AWESOME.
> 
> >     He starts to stagger up, and that's when a bolt of lightning
> > uncoils through the window like a snake and buries its fangs into his
> > chest.
> 
> DAMN! :D GOOD JOB MAILE I LOVE U

I'm also a fan. :-)
 
> >     "I didn't," says Claire. She pats Trini affectionately on the knee.
> > Trini doesn't remember walking over to the sofa, let alone sitting
> > down next to Claire.
> <snip>
> >     "Stop," says Claire. Suddenly her face is right next to Trini's,
> > her lips trembling next to her nose. "Smell." She exhales. Her breath
> > smells of incense. But not just any incense.
> >     "My mother," says Trini.
> 
> The intersection of power dynamics and intimacy in this series is *fascinating*, 
> and to be honest, trying to comment on it has been the biggest reason responding 
> has been taking so long. >#> It's uncomfortable and intense and I'm wowed.

Thanks. :-)

To a degree this is intentional - though I'm also trying to tie these sort of (mostly PG-13) erotic elements to the presence of magic. Magic should be disorienting and overwhelming, and should function on a primal, emotional level - all things that can also be associated with amorous impulses.

That said, I wouldn't read too much into the power dynamics and intimacy thing. The power dynamics between Claire and Lydia are sexy in # 2, but they're not later on in the arc (nor are they meant to be at that point).

I should mention that I think the erotic/intimacy elements figure more prominently in the first half of the arc than the second, so it might get easier for you to comment and such as time goes on. :-)

> >     Claire kisses Trini on the mouth, and she tastes of her father's
> > curry, which tasted like no one else's. Even when Trini followed the
> > recipe, it tasted nothing like her father's. He died back in
> > twenty-ten, and she thought she would never taste it again.
> >     Trini is not a sentimental woman, and so is as surprised as Claire
> > when she starts to cry.
> >     "You miss them?" It sounds like a genuine question.
> >     "Of course I do."
> >     Claire crinkles her nose. "I've never really understood people who
> > love their families. It just seems like a weakness that could be very
> > easily exploited.
> 
> In another story, this would seem like a very standard and very cliche villain 
> line. Here, the context makes it feel very different and much sadder.

That's what I was going for. I'm going to be very interested in hearing your thoughts on Claire as the series continues, and to see if your opinion of her as changed since before the series.

> >     Claire smiles. "Every morning at ten, Monday through Friday, you
> > will come here and sit in one of the stalls. Cup your hands over your
> > mouth, and whisper: I'll hear it, wherever I am. I need you to tell me
> > everything and anything that's going on with David."
> >     "David?" says Trini. Her stomach churns. "Is he in trouble?"
> >     "That depends on what you tell me," says Claire. "And you will tell
> > me everything, won't you? And, it goes without saying, you'll tell him
> > nothing of this."
> 
> It's fascinating that she felt the need for the family thing when this seems 
> like enough of a prod. But then, being caught in the intersection of those two 
> things makes it harder to slip out.

What I think Claire understands is that while fear can be a good motivator, rewarding/incentivizing someone works better - it makes one more likely to become willingly complicit and pliable.
 
> >     "How was it this time?"
> >     "Cold," says Lieke. "Dark. I missed me."
> >     She gets a smile in return. "I missed me too."
> 
> awwwwwww.

I think the Liekes are my favorite couple in this. Their relationship is weird - I mean, it's one that literally can't exist in the world that we know it, that's physically impossible. But it works for *them*. They bring out the best in each other, and together they comprise their own universe, with a population of two, completely cut off from anyone who isn't them. There's something to be said for that kind of closeness, but it's also not entirely healthy - it's the very definition of co-dependence.

And that's something that will be explored to a small degree in this arc, and something that will be explored in much greater detail in the future.

Thanks as always for the comments, Drew.

Best,

Tom