In the twelfth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Holiday<\/i>, the truth is told. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, this\u00c2\u00a0hurt<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Alaalu<\/b><\/p>\n
I suspected that the truth about Quelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world would be hard to hear. I could tell from how much Kit and Nita fretted over it that the best-case scenario would probably not happen. Yet the sheer awkwardness that just transpired was so much more brutal than I expected, especially since\u00c2\u00a0I totally understand why Quelt reacted this way<\/i>. Initially, though, I had not even considered what would turn Quelt against these two because it had been so long since she questioned them about Earth.<\/p>\n
As the two of them began to share the truth of what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d learned with Quelt, I read Quelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silence as a number of things: confusion. Resentment. Even anger! When I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m angry, I tend to get\u00c2\u00a0very<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0quiet first because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m trying to clamp down on my anger before I explode. But I thought maybe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d misread Quelt. Maybe she was just taking it all in! However, this part sealed the deal:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And you believe this?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Quelt said at last. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You believe these things It told you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the beginning of end, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? See, Quelt\u00c2\u00a0knew<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0these two couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lie, so she frames her concern in a fascinating way: did they\u00c2\u00a0believe<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0what they were told? Not only does this call into question their perception, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the formation of what she ultimately sensed of Nita and Kit: that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d had the wool pulled over their eyes and couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even see that it had happened.<\/p>\n The more Quelt spoke \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the angrier she got \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the more I felt that I should have seen this coming. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the same flaw here that Nita and Kit did: I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t anticipate what this would sound like coming from someone from\u00c2\u00a0Earth<\/i>. Sure, Nita and Kit are outsiders, so this would affect what they said, but Quelt makes in much more personal than that. In doing this, Duane offers up perhaps the most cynical view of our planet in this series. The\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0books have largely been full of hope, albeit a realistic approach, since they tell us that both big and small acts can slow down the entropy of the universe. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a touching thing to think about, you know?<\/p>\n Yet I felt\u00c2\u00a0personally<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0attacked by this, and I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good thing. I try not to think about the awfulness of our world too much because I can get overwhelmed so quickly. (THANKS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION.) But Quelt has an outsider\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perspective, and by contrast, Earth is a waking nightmare. I\u00c2\u00a0had<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to think about how terrible this world can be for people, how much of that terribleness I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been on the receiving end, how much of it I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spread myself. How would all of this look to someone who lives in a world where things like crime, murder, or plagues existed?<\/p>\n Kit and Nita seemed to have the sense not to defend themselves too much, and to be honest, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know what they could have said. Quelt was too raw. Too shocked. And from her perspective, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just been asked to sacrifice the tranquility of her world for the violent chaos of Earth. Why? Why would she ever make a decision like that based on the Lone One saying the Alaalids\u00c2\u00a0might<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0evolve into something better? Which one of us would take that sort of gamble?<\/p>\n I suspect that Druvah will provide some insight into this, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m at a loss, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. How will they\u00c2\u00a0ever<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0be able to convince her after\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i>?<\/p>\n Preparations<\/b><\/p>\n I was already quite vulnerable after this intensity, so it shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a surprise that the emotional devastation of Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation with her father was LITERALLY TOO MUCH for me. Part of the reason it was so heartfelt was that in it, you could see Dairine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growth. Her walls are coming down, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discarding her usual prickly self so she can be real with her father. In short? What she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to do scares the hell out of her. Even admitting that seemed hard for her, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a testament to the relationship she has with her dad that she can do this. Through the growth of her wizardry, her Ordeal, the many trials she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been through, and the loss of a loved one, Harry and Dairine have built the kind of loving, supportive relationship that anyone would love to have. Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just me, but I love seeing happy familial relationships like this.<\/p>\n Anyway, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S HERE. THEY ARE GOING TO THE SUN TO SAVE EARTH. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m genuinely frightened that Duane is gonna fuck me up, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. WHAT IF ONE OF THEM DOESN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T MAKE IT I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help it, I HAVE TO PROTECT MYSELF.<\/p>\n I am thrilled to confirm that I will be a Guest at CrossingsCon 2017! Badges are now available, so COME HANG OUT WITH ME THIS SUMMER<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n http:\/\/youtu.be\/0eQbDZ0_f0o?a<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b> In the twelfth chapter of\u00c2\u00a0Wizard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Holiday, the truth is told. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Young Wizards.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[525,510],"tags":[513,511],"class_list":["post-4140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wizards-holiday","category-young-wizards","tag-diane-duane","tag-mark-reads-young-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4140\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"