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Divided (Updated 26/11/23)
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I'm glad you're excited for Act 3! Excited and a little terrified at some things I have planned...
You should all thank Yimi for convincing me to do this recap by character, NOT by chapter, or you lot would have been reading this recap for hours, The Divided Act One and Act Two recap is here. It goes through most of the important events, some of the side characters, a link to the lore and character pages, and a short glossary. It's fairly vague so it doesn't cover absolutely everything, but should serve as a reminder. There's also some extended character profiles here.
As an added bonus, I can now show you all the pictures of a certain someone's newer dark form.
Not sure how I missed it before lol.
I like Oskar's dark form.
Thanks for the recap. I actually forgot some of those events. So that was helpful. I totally forgot that Aine became pregnant during the Beltane Festival.
Also some new screenshot pics on the gallery page!
Their house looks amazing with all the new woodworks and improvements! And dang, Eli sure grew out of awkward puberty, didn’t he? I believe him being popular with both sides of the fence.
That screenshot with Raisin in the sun makes it look like she’s radiating light herself. That vision of his is very concerning. I wonder who it was about – I wonder if my suspicions regarding who that was about are correct. Either way, it seems like something dark is looming on the horizon and it’s not Reynold’s shedded fur. Even kat seems to be getting bad omens. Oh dear.
Speaking of growing up well, Gideon’s sons are looking good too! I like how they’re pretty much polar opposites but still seem to get along well regardless. Awww poor Violeta, she had a whole art studio and now it’s gone 😆
[Who at once point was the main character… and is still meant to be…] bwahaha 😂 don’t worry Aine, you’ll get your chance. Everyone else is just really interesting in the meantime. There’s nothing wrong with taking a backseat and focusing on Raisin’ Raisin Right. With all the challenges that brings with it.
Yimi:
Haha I love all the comments on Eli growing out of his awkwardness XD The moment I made those pictures I was like 'This man is DEFINITELY BISEXUAL' so I rolled with it XD I'm sure Annorin would be 'excited' to know this... (sarcastic) Haha yeah I had fun looking for hairs for Daniel and Josiah. Yeah I like the idea of them getting along well but being complete opposites XD I'm glad you like their revamped house! Haha she'll get there eventually...She will...Become main character a- oh, sorry, one minute, : P
Seems like some interesting developments have happened in this time skip. Seeing the various kids and teens getting older is fun. I like the development of Eli particularly.
All those new houses and other builds look fantastic. I got lost in admiring all the gorgeous screenshots. I love Kat's new house! Too bad about not saving Violeta's studio. It looks really nice. Hopefully she'll get a new one later.
The ominous premonitions of Kat and Reynold have me wondering what is going to happen in this act. Especially since Oskar and Violeta seem to be keeping the witchfinders at bay at the moment.
I like how Oskar is able to be himself in this town now and many people seem accepting of it, or at least curious and not hostile. The inclusion of gender non-conforming people in both of the religious traditions in an interesting development in the story's lore. I like it.
In general it sounds like a lot of the main characters are doing fairly well right now.
But the overall subtle ominous tone of this chapter make me wonder how long the peace will last...
Indeed, it really makes you wonder what those premonitions are about...All seems well right now, but you've read my story for long enough to know nothing is ever well for very long. XD Indeed, things are going well for Oskar. Thankfully Finchwick and Henford are both fairly down to Earth and it's only the very rich that would have an issue with it. If anything most people find it fascinating, and I bet more than a few men have thought him attractive in a dress but are too afraid to say it. XD
OH! So the including GNC folk in the religious history is actually based on a tidbit I found out about IRL trans history and a particular religion that, in Medieval times, was actually apparently more open to such thing and to be GNC was considered a closeness to the main deity, as opposed to something to be shunned and something evil. Writing this historical story, and learning about history, it's...amazing (not in a good way) how in some ways we've actually gone backwards. It's worded nicely on Wikipedia as ' interpreted as expressions of the god's plan, rather than deviations from it.'
It's a pretty long chapter, but hopefully the effort I put into the screenshots for this one will make up for it.
The images in Annorin's nightmare are particularly striking. I almost feel sorry for him. And then he starts talking. And I don't anymore. Though he is starting to feel like a more interesting fleshed out character, which I do like. It's just my taste, but I prefer my villains complex and human, with understandable motives even if the conclusions and methods are terrible. Annorin used to just seem one dimensionally greedy and stuck up. Now he's got some layers starting to show, and a motive that feels like it comes from his own experiences and emotions. So that's a cool development.
I love how Eduardo is positioned against the wallpaper design when he's talking with Annorin. It makes him look like he has wings. But the wings aren't real. It suits his puffed up righteous impression of himself.
The distinction Eduardo makes between witches and magic bloodlines is interesting. I am curious about this bit of lore.
Maybe it's too early, but I'm already loving the friendship/possible love interest between Daniel and Ely. The interaction between them is wonderful and feels like, even in just that short scene, that they have chemistry as a pair of characters. I hope to see more.
Aaaand... Now the bad stuff is starting to happen.
A sweet moment between Reynold and Aine. Why does it feel so foreboding, I wonder?
Excellent chapter!
I'm glad you felt that way cuz that's why I did the Annorin section the way I did, to make you almost feel sorry for him until his double-whammy of -phobia against his own son and against Oskar, as if him directly telling Oskar his parents should've killed him because of his neurodivergence wasn't bad enough, it's another reason to hate him. XD The wallpaper positioning actually wasn't intentional, but fun that you picked that up! Oh yes, Dan and Eli... : P That'll be interesting. XD
Nothing is ever fine in Divided, Reynold! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE, REYNOLD, SHOULD KNOW THIS! Yup, there's a lot of drama that could come out of what's going to happen with Daniel.
So for every story reader reading this next bit, you might be interested in this lore. Glacier asked about Volpe making a distinction between bloodline magic and witch magic, so I'll further explain that below:
Bloodline casters tend to hide their magic publicly and don't speak out against the anti-witch rhetoric going on. They don't often lend a hand in their oppression, but they are careless to it, and they hide their magic to fit in with 'acceptable' human society. They are more or less the 'pick-me's of the magic world, who don't want to be lumped in with the oppressed group so they act like they're better. In a dark way, it's understandable why they might do this because they don't want to be burned with their families at the stake. (As in, you can see why they would it, not as in it's excusable.) In another way, it's absolutely horrible because they're throwing their ancestors under the bus and they'd rather please those without magic than help those WITH magic. Some are like this to protect their own families but there are plenty more who are like this just because they do not care.
Anyone who reads this who's marginalised has probably heard of the 'one of the good ones' bull. I used to get told this because I never spoke about being a lesbian and because I didn't 'pretend to be a man', in their words. I wasn't the big mean scary kind of lesbian apparently! That's practically the same as how Volpe feels about Annorin. So long as he's willing to not use his magic in a way that he deems wrong and as long as he doesn't show it publicly, he'll let it slide. So long as Annorin obeys, he won't try to put an end to him. Sound familiar?
All of this is a partial reason why a fair amount of witches hate bloodline families. Also some witches hate bloodline families for being 'impure' or 'weak', which is just plain awful. One thing I am also exploring in this story is how downtrodden people can and will trod on their own people sometimes. Also that infighting solves nothing, but that's not something explored much yet.
Volpe! Daniel should tell his family or at least tell someone immediately, IMO. He shouldn't suffer in silence, try to solve everything himself, or create communication problems. Just tell! Volpe cannot be trusted.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I can understand wanting to have a big family, but having a second child as a spare to replace the other if something happens doesn't sit well with me, especially since Reynold says they can't take care of a second child. I also don't think the premise works. Unless the child is supposed to fulfill a special role and the role is what's important, losing a child is devastating, even if you have another because a second can't really replace the first. The foreshadowing here is
I hope Oskar hasn't eaten the "cure". I think he needs to learn a little bit of caution and control before it's too late.
I wait in anticipation to see what will happen with Volpe and what will happen with Oskar and... there's more than I can list to look forward to.
Yeah, the historical context with that it makes more sense, but it seems a bit cold from a modern perspective to think 'but what if our kid dies and we don't have any more?' Hmm I wonder,if that witchfinder was the one Volpe specifically sent after him or not...
Sorry for such a short reply...a lot I have to keep hush on because of spoilers!
For the rest of the chapter, my funniest reaction was probably around Eli and Dani's sections, as I spent quite a while being like: "wait, Dani reminds me of someone... Is he one of Gideon's sons? Let me check the previous chapter summary again..." (and yes, I'm very bad at connecting names and faces :P ) I agree that this chapter makes it very easy to ship the two of them together as well, and also that the following encounter with Eduardo hit even harder because of this...
Yes, let Eli enjoy his time off! It seems Oskar has forgotten that everyone besides him and Violeta has a finite amount of time. Let Eli spend it how he wants to spend it – it’s not like they don’t have enough money to go around at this point.
Awwww, he doesn’t realise that he has a crush. That’s adorable. Interesting how Eli is over-emotional compared to Oskar and Violeta’s near-lack of them. Aw I really like those two together, and how much they’re gravitating towards each other despite their circumstances. Sleeping on the couch together n’awwww.
And then we have a lovely chat between Daniel and Volpe that involves blackmail and threats, of course! Poor kid. He hasn’t got the experience that his dad has in dealing with these types and he’s in completely over his head. And Volpe knows that. Gah, where are my exploding potatoes when I need them?
Aine being desperate for another kid because she’s scared of losing Raisin… really doesn’t sit well with me. Another baby will never be a replacement. Raisin is unique and Aine already thinking about what to do when they lose her is a bit disturbing 😅
Hmmm. Let’s hope that witchfinder Oskar killed was not the one they pumped full of anti-vampire. And if it was, that it didn’t work…
That wasn't actually something I thought about until haneul mentioned it, it was meant to be more of a generational difference but I realise Oskar being immortal definitely plays into that. Oh indeed, Oskar's so used to being 'unstoppable' in his words he might not be prepared to be a squishy human again. Not to mention he won't be able to keep up with his insane workload either. Let Eli have fun!
Eli is adorable, he's a ray of sunshine in a world full of understandably-depressed characters. XD And kind of like Kat, quite hopelessly romantic. XD Eli feels almost everything, he's a complete opposite to Oskar even if some of the mannerisms are the same. That sofa nap scene is so 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸 cute. ;-; Yup, Chapter 2 and Dan's already in deep doo-doo. Thanks Volpe! Hmm yes, let's hope it was just a random witchfinder...Who knows? Oskar certainly seems to think he's completely unstoppable.
I'm back to work tomorrow so chapters will go back to weekly.