The longer Ganhkran is in the story, the more I worry for them. After all, the arc title is "Random ACTS of Violence," and (ignoring a brick through a window) we've really had one (Although it was a rampage).
Someone asks about Holland as a viewpoint character and you delve into his head again. Gee, thanks. I don't know if this was intended, but, with the subtle reminder of Holland's sexual proclivities, I've decided part of his problem with koth is he can't have naughty/fun time with em.
Then, well... The koth's rampage really WAS "random." As random as a presumed adolescent radicalized by inflammatory rhetoric can be, I assume. Jumping to the US in 2023 for a moment, it's not Donny T and his pals like Roger S who are the long term problem - they're all pushing 80 and will likely die in the next decade. The long term problem are the incels and misfits, the isolated teens who were radicalized by tech-bro dreams, Nazi-sytle propaganda and Q-anon crap. During COVID a bunch of teens (and those adolescent years of hormones, maturing bodies, and changing brains have long been believed to be the most important in one's long term personality growth and development of values) sat at home for two years and got locked into some ugly beliefs... And they will be the ones trying to flex their growing power in 10 years.
Your insight into Holland is probably on point, which is grim.
Interesting observation on parallels with disaffected groups in the real world. This storyline originated in thoughts around all of that which you mention, and incidents here in the UK. Ganhkran's line about the simple random choice of where you sit in a restaurant deciding if you live or die comes back to my reading the awful news reports from such incidents.
Obviously I'm not going to have any answers or solutions to this stuff, but it's very much why this storyline is going down the misinformation route - and multiple layers of misinformation, which so often seems to be a key factor.
Yep, Holland continues to be icky. Ganhkran's POV turns from lovely (what a nice & kind being they are!) to... very sad. As a writer, I really love what you've been doing with perspective & viewpoint around these tricky topics lately! It feels real enough to cut.
Thanks! It's fun when a guest star comes into their own and registers with readers. I always think of characters like Ganhkran being guest roles on a TV show, perhaps played by a familiar character actor, coming on for a couple of episodes and then disappearing again. They often have to be drawn a bit more broadly than the regulars, but it's fun to have those differences.
I've just started with this storyline, although I do plan to catch up; I really like this world so far. I feel sorry for the parent koth, though. The way you convey their emotion is very well done.
Thanks for jumping on, Michael! I'm really intrigued as to whether ANY of this makes sense if you jump on at this point. 😁 I try to make each storyline roughly self-contained, but there's still a lot of core setup that could be pretty weird if you're coming in at this point.
Good to hear that you empathised with the parent. It's always tricky to make an impact with a guest character, especially one that is mostly silent and passive (though in this instance, that tells you a lot, I think).
If you do find the time to read from the start, I hope you enjoy it! :)
It makes sense so far, I think; I'm curious about Styles and who/where she is, and Lord Hutchinson, but you've got enough to follow the story even if one doesn't know everything, and actually that lends to the mystery. :)
Lola Styles was Clarke's partner before Holland. She's young, idealistic and a big part of why Clarke isn't more like Holland. Bruglia is a city in Pallanor, where she is currently on assignment as a liason officer.
Hutchinson... We haven't seen or heard much of him. He's largely a mystery. We just know he's a govt official aligned with what I shall call, "the baddies." His motivations, rationales, plans and possible superiors have yet to be revealed.
"Baddies," is, of course, reductive. More so in that there may be multiple groups working together, or on seperate goals which temporarily move in parallel.
I did wonder how that works (or doesn't work), when a subscriber is reading from the start to catchup, while also receiving new chapters. Must be a bit fiddly! (especially when you get tagged in a post!)
Am very much enjoying seeing you 'like' each chapter as you go along, though. 😁
The longer Ganhkran is in the story, the more I worry for them. After all, the arc title is "Random ACTS of Violence," and (ignoring a brick through a window) we've really had one (Although it was a rampage).
Someone asks about Holland as a viewpoint character and you delve into his head again. Gee, thanks. I don't know if this was intended, but, with the subtle reminder of Holland's sexual proclivities, I've decided part of his problem with koth is he can't have naughty/fun time with em.
Then, well... The koth's rampage really WAS "random." As random as a presumed adolescent radicalized by inflammatory rhetoric can be, I assume. Jumping to the US in 2023 for a moment, it's not Donny T and his pals like Roger S who are the long term problem - they're all pushing 80 and will likely die in the next decade. The long term problem are the incels and misfits, the isolated teens who were radicalized by tech-bro dreams, Nazi-sytle propaganda and Q-anon crap. During COVID a bunch of teens (and those adolescent years of hormones, maturing bodies, and changing brains have long been believed to be the most important in one's long term personality growth and development of values) sat at home for two years and got locked into some ugly beliefs... And they will be the ones trying to flex their growing power in 10 years.
Good takes!
Your insight into Holland is probably on point, which is grim.
Interesting observation on parallels with disaffected groups in the real world. This storyline originated in thoughts around all of that which you mention, and incidents here in the UK. Ganhkran's line about the simple random choice of where you sit in a restaurant deciding if you live or die comes back to my reading the awful news reports from such incidents.
Obviously I'm not going to have any answers or solutions to this stuff, but it's very much why this storyline is going down the misinformation route - and multiple layers of misinformation, which so often seems to be a key factor.
Speaking of accurate, yet grim assessments...
Yep, Holland continues to be icky. Ganhkran's POV turns from lovely (what a nice & kind being they are!) to... very sad. As a writer, I really love what you've been doing with perspective & viewpoint around these tricky topics lately! It feels real enough to cut.
Thanks! It's fun when a guest star comes into their own and registers with readers. I always think of characters like Ganhkran being guest roles on a TV show, perhaps played by a familiar character actor, coming on for a couple of episodes and then disappearing again. They often have to be drawn a bit more broadly than the regulars, but it's fun to have those differences.
I've just started with this storyline, although I do plan to catch up; I really like this world so far. I feel sorry for the parent koth, though. The way you convey their emotion is very well done.
Thanks for jumping on, Michael! I'm really intrigued as to whether ANY of this makes sense if you jump on at this point. 😁 I try to make each storyline roughly self-contained, but there's still a lot of core setup that could be pretty weird if you're coming in at this point.
Good to hear that you empathised with the parent. It's always tricky to make an impact with a guest character, especially one that is mostly silent and passive (though in this instance, that tells you a lot, I think).
If you do find the time to read from the start, I hope you enjoy it! :)
It makes sense so far, I think; I'm curious about Styles and who/where she is, and Lord Hutchinson, but you've got enough to follow the story even if one doesn't know everything, and actually that lends to the mystery. :)
Your basically non-spoilery "Styles primer."
Lola Styles was Clarke's partner before Holland. She's young, idealistic and a big part of why Clarke isn't more like Holland. Bruglia is a city in Pallanor, where she is currently on assignment as a liason officer.
Hutchinson... We haven't seen or heard much of him. He's largely a mystery. We just know he's a govt official aligned with what I shall call, "the baddies." His motivations, rationales, plans and possible superiors have yet to be revealed.
"Baddies," is, of course, reductive. More so in that there may be multiple groups working together, or on seperate goals which temporarily move in parallel.
Thanks Simon. But I had to skim through as I’ve not got this far in the story yet! 😁
Ha, watch out for spoilers! :D
I did wonder how that works (or doesn't work), when a subscriber is reading from the start to catchup, while also receiving new chapters. Must be a bit fiddly! (especially when you get tagged in a post!)
Am very much enjoying seeing you 'like' each chapter as you go along, though. 😁