Vagabonds Chapter 7

Chapter 7. Oh how I love and hate chapter 7.

Here’s when I introduce the background big bad. But let’s go over each character by nature of appearance, shall we?

First there is Amara Hutara, Mother of Merida, workaholic, and in the midst of a silent if ever present panic attack. I wanted her to big a power woman, the business woman one respects and fears. But I also wanted that to be a facade, something she puts on to keep things moving and squeaky clean. Her own daughter leaving is both a betrayal and a terrifying realization, because without Merida’s blood, she is much easier to replace. Does she love her daughter? Yes, but she wants her daughter to have a good life. Amara, however, mistakes safe for good. I’m not sure if I pulled her off properly if I’m being honest.

Dr. Guldrin, my attempt at a mad scientist that’s not laughing mad right away. This is sadly the only time he shows up in the book that I remember, but he was instrumental in the background details. He also doesn’t view Merida as a person, more as a source of power that could break the cosmos itself once he cracked it. Spoiler: Merida is basically half-celestial, hence why people are freaking out that their golden goose is gone.

Puck. Not much to say about Puck. I wanted a whimsy asshole, I got a whimsy asshole. I think I leaned too heavily into the swimming descriptions for cyberspace, but it is what it is.

Mr. Keus (Zeus with a K) is likely my favorite character in this chapter, and my attempt at a ‘philosophical’ villain. Someone once told me that all my villains are hypocrites, and Mr. Keus is no exception. Despite his utter disgust of body modification and transhumanism (partially mirroring my own views on how I’ll feel when people willingly cut their perfectly working arms off for a robot one), he relies on a formula made from Merida’s blood to live well past his expiration date. I also enjoyed describing his office, deciding to just go nuts with what a space fantasy rich guy with desires for power would have. What kind of power would you want when traveling the stars? Why not be a god?

What I don’t like about this chapter is that the writing feels…just bad to me. Like, repeated word bad. Hopefully my writing has improved over the years.