Mental Health Day A4
Stuff I like: The resolution of the E-Merl plot, which makes pretty apt use of his character. The Seinfeldian way the various threads of this tale are starting to intersect, with Bandit and Rachel’s little project making Byron do a pratfall and the garden work, rescued from the ash, then getting ruined by Syr’Nj fleeing her own experiment. The decision to do Rachel and Bandit’s scene as an illustrated song.
Stuff I don’t: I was shooting for a sort of experimental approach to narrative with the burning ash in the garden, almost making fun of the whole idea of planting and payoff… and I don’t think the result worked for anyone, not least because the reader doesn’t care about the garden that much.
Also, Fr’Nj and Scipio aren’t really delivering on the promise of this story much. Everyone else is doing stuff we rarely or never get to see them do otherwise, but Fr’ipio? Yep, they’re still fuckin’! Just like they were in that other big scene of theirs and will be in another scene after this! There are a few more chores involved, but that’s not enough to constitute a radical departure or much of a conflict, low-stakes or otherwise. I should maybe have paired Fr’Nj off with Kur’Ik and done a little “what Scipio does when no one’s watching” joke.
It’s weird, considering how I always hoped for at least a one-night fling between Syr’Nj and Frigg. Now, considering how it almost actually happened, I’m glad I was denied.
So, that raises the question.
What DOES Scipio do when no one’s watching?
Scipio strikes me as a man who knows the value of naps.
He practices his tap-dancing routine.
His side-gig is a Scatman John cover act.
I can practically hear Syr’Nj’s cartoon running sound effects
I don’t mind Scipio and Fr’Nj honeymooning.
If Guilded Age’s elves are immortal as Tolkien’s elves, or even just long-lived like D&D elves, then Scipio will enjoy about 30 to 40 years of marital bliss with Fr’Nj before kicking the bucket, IF he’s lucky to live that long, and IF they manage to stay together despite how difficult their interspecies relationship is (plus, at one point they might require Syr’Nj’s chemical expertise to boost Scipio’s aging stogie in his golden years, while Fr’Nj remains young -or at least much younger than her human partner). So, it makes sense for them to make the most of Scipio’s short youth, in my opinion
I really didn’t catch the thing with Syr’Nj ruining the garden. Why would an elf running across the garden be a problem? Also, the thing with the burning ash kinda fizzled out. Frigg & Syr’Nj on the other hand: That works. Really well.