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

[Drew Perron]

On 9/10/2018 11:05 PM, Tom Russell wrote:
> 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.

Makes sense. <3

>>> 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

And now you have! :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.

Indeed!

>>> 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.

Interesting - I didn't interpret "frozen" as "reheated from frozen via microwave".

>>> 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.

Good to have that affirmed.

>>> "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.

Oh yes. And it's amazing that this person can affirm that opinion right after 
literally attempting to use fear and the threat of mass murder to intimidate 
people. The definition of terrorism, right there. (But then, they are not the 
first, nor the last, to cultivate that doublethink dichotomy...)

>>>      "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. :-)
> 

Of course! :D

 > 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.

Interesting. I don't disagree. :D

 > 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).

Interesting. That may actually be more worrisome, since an intimate relationship 
turning, er, not is a place where all kinds of super fucked up things can happen 
in the space of that intimacy.

 > 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. :-)

Perhaps so~ But I don't think your writing is gonna get any less intense. :>

>>>      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.

I look forward to experiencing it!

 > 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.

I enjoy it a lot. :D They're cute and it's a type of indulgence that makes my 
brain feel nice. I kind of want to steal the basic idea and write a variation on 
it, TBH. >#>

> Thanks as always for the comments, Drew.

Always! :D

Drew "love talking about stories" Perron