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Divided (Christmas Special 11/12/23)
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The team Reynold-Alistair-Roisin is a very peculiar one, good to see them motivated to get along with each other, and also Alistair actually teaching something to the others. The pictures of the Moon shield are beautiful too! I just hope the trip can continue on this tone, their magic seems to be based a lot on finding an equilibrium between blind anger vs control and I suspect that when things go wrong, they go very wrong...
I also wonder about Aine, deciding to stay alone for a while and go out a bit to find her way sounds like a good premise for whatever possible future event (either good or bad). I don't know what to expect, but I'm keeping an eye on her too...
EEK! I just remembered yesterday was the 1st year anniversary of me starting this story! i’ll try and do a group pic or something. EDIT: Never mind, all the group poses don't suit and I can't be bothered.
From start to finish, this is a beautifully done chapter. Not just the screenshots, but the character development, and the lore revelations surrounding the wolf and moon related beliefs and magic. Didn't feel like a lore "dump" to me at all because it all felt relevant in the story context at this moment. Rosin's curiosity and questions, and Alistair finally teaching Reynold about his own heritage and powers, made the perfect way to share the information.
And, of course, all those gorgeous snowy landscape shots.
And a wolf puppy!
Can we send Ida the dog to Annorin's place, just as a reminder of how bad what he did was?
All the wolves section of the chapter was just wow instead! The dream, helping the wolf with the trap, meeting the pack and helping them hunting, it all seemed like a strong acceptance of his wolf-nature for Reynold. Any witchfinder trying to hunt for Lunvinchenaînes in Lunvik sounds quite naive on their side (they didn't study enough!), but I admit to have been worried for them for about one picture (just before Alistair started throwing Moon magic full power at them, and Reynold arrived with a whole pack of wolves).
And this was also the first time Roisin saw her father in his "fluffy form", she actually seemed to have enjoyed the meeting quite a bit (as well as the puppies!) I'm not sure that Aine will be happy when hearing what happened during this trip, but the little one clearly learnt a lot about her nature during this journey.
The witchfinders I imagine often rely on incorrect or inaccurate information to learn about supernatural sources, and their bravado makes them believe that they can take on anything, which doesn't help. It's not covered in the chapter but they were laying down traps for the regular wolves as well, thinking them to also be transformed werewolves.
Roisin is comically curious and she wasn't scared of Reynold as a werewolf. If anything it was more of a 'Wow I'm going to be one of these when I'm an adult? Awesome!' Even though they didn't get a chance to teach her basic magic control she at least learned about, as you said, her nature and her history so there's at least a step forward. Oh yeah I've been thinking about that too, Aine won't be too chuffed... I don't think anyway.
Oskar's visit to his old home was interesting, both amusing and sad. For some reason, I love the screenshot of Liesel in the kitchen with the dagger.
Reynold's scene with the wolves was gripping, and gorgeous. I love the part where Roisin finally sees him as a werewolf.
Mostly just characters talking in this chapter, though there's plenty of drama...and something a bit more interesting than chatter.
Of course Reynold and Alistair had a bit to unpack after the last chapter, and of course Alister would have talked about it to his good old friend Oskar as well.
The second part of the chapter though definitely stuck more in my head. I didn't expect at all Gideon to try follow Daniel as a follow-up to his discovery of the son's involvement with the witchfinders, and even less I was expecting him to find out about Eli (and recognise him as Annorin's son). That was quite an rough meeting for them all, Eli definitively didn't deserve being lumped with Annorin, Gideon seemed very upset for not being really able to help his son, and for Dani it just seemed like a quite bad day. And it ended even worse, Oskar what have you done? 🙀
Gideon's overprotective fatheryness is kicking in, but the trouble is that, unlike headstrong Oskar who would have just dived in and gone straight for Volpe, Gideon realises that if he charges in and tries to get rid of Volpe, they'll not only kill him, but probably his sons as well. I'm not sure what Gideon's going to do about it all just yet, or what anyone is going to do about Volpe. But that'll probably be a next-act thing, possibly, if anything can be done about him at all.
Good to know your thoughts on the situation between Gideon and Eli. It's a bit of a controversial debate (but what's Divided if not slightly controversial? : P) - the prickly debate of: how responsible would someone like Eli be, someone who's nothing like his father but part of that lineage? Is he already responsible for benefitting from his father's wealth for some time and therefore benefitting from money raised on the death of the poor people of Henford? Or should such things be blamed on the people in said lineages that perpetuate such awfulness in these lineages instead of those who manage to get out as early as possible or don't perpetuate it? How far back, and how far forward, do you trace blame in a lineage like Eli's for someone's wrongdoings? It probably sounds more like a heated Twitter thread than a historical talking point, but the reason I include moreso modern talking points in a historical story is because every point in history has its people who have ideas that might be deemed out of place in their time.
It also shows that Gideon's outlook on Eli is fairly shallow in the sense that Eli is nothing like his father and never has been even as a teenager, and that since his teens all the money he's earned has been his own (well, partially Oskar's I guess since they share the commission. : P )
Aine and Roisin were very cute instead. Teaching Roisin that the world won't be kind to those like her can't be easy, but seeing her managing in some magic resembling more Aine's was also so nice!
As for the ending instead, Owen definitely needs some help if he wants to go on with that rhythm, that's for sure. Also somehow Oskar is trying (again) to drive one of Annorin's sons away from him... That doesn't sound bad at all, actually!
I left it ambiguous as to whether it was Oskar's illness weakening him, his humanity weakening him and making him slower than he would have been if he were a vampire, or whether he was holding back because it was Eli's partner and he didn't want to kill him. I think a mix of all three, actually. For Oskar to hold back is a rare thing, so Dan got pretty lucky there for the most part.
It was cute! Reynold can teach her all the technical aspects of lunar magic, but Aine can still teach her the basics like learning to control her magic. And Aine always gets excited teaching magic to others and was excited to finally get an opportunity to start teaching her daughter now that she's old enough.
Owen is a much more complex character than I initially intended him to be, and it's interesting to see his outlook on medicine compared to his father's. He can't do everything, though, and especially if he's going to try and get the ball rolling with his plan for some kind of free / discounted healthcare for poorer people in Henford, then he's going to need some help- but it also involves trying to find anyone who isn't terrified of the Annorin name wanting to work alongside him. It seems even Owen is getting wrapped up in Oskar's charismatic speeches. XD
I actually read Chapter 3:14 earlier when you first posted it, but found myself struggling to decide what to say at that time. Honestly was a bit of a shock when Oskar killed Micah right in front of Daniel.
Skipping on chapter 3:15. That fight between Oskar and Daniel was intense. I wonder how Eli will react if he finds out about all this.
I love the scene with Aine and Roisin. As if just trying to raise a kid to be a well-balanced adult wasn't hard enough... needing to also teach them how to control massive magic forces. Yikes! Roisin is so cute though, all proud of her ball of magic.
Okay. It's official. I really like Owen. The amount of effort he's putting into trying to find a cure for Oskar, and then not charging for whatever aid he is able to give him. He may be just trying to undo the horrors done by his father, but he also seems like a genuinely kindhearted person. Plus, he's ridiculously handsome. Maybe I'm biased.
I figured we needed a positive somewhere and little Raisin needed a break, so she gets to be happy and learn magic! Yay!
And time for ramble on Owen Annorin : P
Oh yeah, he wasn't intended to be such a complex character at first, but he's really starting to develop now and not even with intention but I can see him becoming a more major character in a future act or later on this act even. It's rough because he does genuinely see the error of his father's ways and wants to turn it around, but also understands (but is still annoyed by) the public' distrust of him. Though they don't distrust him nearly as much as his father, at least. He does genuinely feel bad for Oskar for what happened, and though it's not mentioned I think another big part of why Owen is so mad at his father is because Owen swore an oath to his father that he would never kill anyone (even if he did admittedly try to with that lightning bolt. XD) In a similar vein to the whole 'do no harm' medical thing, and I imagine Samuel did the same at one point unbelievably. So to him it's even worse because Samuel is a physician and an alchemist, he should be healing people, not harming people, that's how he sees it. Haha I'm glad you like his design. Seems he and Eli are quite popular with the readers XD I think this is the other fun part of Divided, almost every single major character is considered eye candy to at least one reader I know : P and I torture myself with all of these pretty women fokgklfklfklflg ;-;
He is genuinely trying to make it up to everyone- Henford in general, Kat, and to Oskar, and although he was blinded by his father's ways, he has always had his profession close to his heart. Nothing means more to him than furthering knowledge about medicine and such, but the only way he can try and build that legacy back up again is attracting practicioners and people interesting in getting into the field back to Henford- impossible whilst Samuel is around because he likely chased them all out.
The big part that does hurt him however, is how big a part magic plays in helping to heal others, and yet he can't share it or he risks his life being on the line. and I think that really weighs down on him. But I think that resonates with a lot of people, having something you wish you could be open about but can't in fear of being shunned or even hurt in some way. Even though he's in a major place of privilege over everyone else, there's still that one way which he isn't- he's got magic in his blood, hardly a privilege when you'll be burned if you're found out. And that's the interesting part of writing this story is the complexities in such things that tend to be considered easy and simple to break down.
The only (minimal) positive aspect is that this sentence implies that a cure is possible, and that it is accessible with the technology of that period...
Right now I'm mostly wondering who among Gideon and Oskar will start a fight first, and how/if either Daniel and/or Eli will manage to find a way to modify the course of events before it happens...