Alexandra Quick and the Thorn Circle: Author's Notes (Chapter 21 — The Hodag)

[inverarity]

Artwork by bellanca.


Chapter 21 — The Hodag.



I don't know why some people thought I made up the Hodag. It's a genuine American legendary creature.

I kept going back and forth on whether it should be capitalized, though. Rowling capitalizes the names of her magical beasts, except when she doesn't. And she never followed any consistent rules. As the ever-helpful Potterwords puts it: "These aren’t obvious. The general rule is that better-known creatures are in lower case and odder ones are capitalised, but there are exceptions."

So I default to not capitalizing my magical beasts. The problem is I also try to be consistent with Rowling's rules, when I mention Rowling's creatures, and then it looks stupid to have capitalized and non-capitalized critters in the same sentence.

.

This is why I don't believe her when she says she had extensive notes. Well, I believe she had notes about her story and she scribbled down odd details now and then like the Black family tree. But she didn't have a series bible, or her own wiki, or anything like that to keep her shit straight.

I do, but I don't always keep it perfectly up to date (one reason I am doing this rereading).

So anyway, last chapter, Larry made a wager with Alex. (Gee, wonder if that will ever happen again?) In this chapter, Anna once again shows she is a loyal friend and not a doormat by threatening to tattle on Alex if she doesn't let her come along.

“I'm coming with you,” Anna repeated in a whisper. “It's too dangerous for you to go out into the woods at night by yourself and you know it, or you would know if you ever listened to anything –”

“I said I don't need a lecture!” Alexandra snapped.

“Fine. But I'm coming.”

“No, you're not.”

“Yes I am, or I'm telling.”

Alexandra's mouth dropped open. “What?”

Anna paused to sniffle and wipe her nose, and Alexandra thought she was about to cry, but then she looked up again. She met Alexandra's gaze and didn't look away.

“I mean it. If you go without me, I'll tell the Hall Supervisor,” she said, referring to the old warlock whose portrait hung above the entrance to Delta Delta Kappa Tau hall.

“You wouldn't!”

Anna looked determined. “Don't think I'm bluffing! You're not the only one who can be stubborn, Alex.”

I get why people (okay, tealterror0) say Anna is meek and submissive. She looks up to Alex, she doesn't like conflict, and given a choice, she would rather let others lead. So sure, she's meek and submissive until she thinks you're being a dumbass. Then she speaks up, and is not above using threats herself. She even does this with her father. Yeah, sometimes she lets people (Alex) boss her around when she shouldn't. But I'd argue that she also stands up to Alex more often than David or Constance and Forbearance do.

Anyway, Alexandra, before wandering out into the woods, comes across Mr. Journey and Mr. Thiel in the hallways and mentions her interest in hodags to Mr. Journey. (Dun dun dun!)

Then she and Anna go into the woods.

The snow was becoming heavier, and it was definitely getting colder. Alexandra's heart was beating a little faster, after that bizarre cry from the deep woods, but it was something else that made her swallow hard and say, almost in a whisper, “Let's go inside.”

Anna stared at her, her expression a mixture of desperate hope, relief, and trepidation. “Really? But... but... you'll lose the wager. You'll owe Larry a boon.” She looked down. “It's because of me, isn't it?” she murmured

Alexandra knelt next to Anna. “You're sick,” she said. “And it's getting colder.”

Anna sneezed, then looked up at her stubbornly. “I can make it until morning,” she said. “I know I'm not brave like you, Alex, but –”

Another long inhuman howl, like the groaning of something large and in pain (or hungry) set Jingwei and Charlie both to protesting overhead, and made Anna gulp. It sounded closer this time.

“Come on!” Alexandra said. She helped Anna stand and extract herself from her bedroll. Anna quickly stuffed it into the improbably small leather bag it came in, and extinguished the fire.

Alexandra is frequently a jerk who mistreats her friends and takes them for granted. Usually she realizes she's doing this, albeit a little late more often than not. But she can also be self-sacrificing. She's willing to concede victory to Larry for Anna's sake, just as three years later, she does something similar for Mary Dearborn.

Of course, Larry was planning to cheat, so he and his friends show up to ambush Alex and Anna. Which is when the hodag shows up. Or does it? Everyone runs inside without actually seeing the creature that's making eerie noises and knocking over trees.

“So you really did ... what's that Muggle term? Chicken?” Larry was grinning with delight. The sight made Alexandra's face burn with fury.

“You were going to cheat!” she yelled. “And you were trying to kill us!”

“Oh, stop whining, Troublesome.” He was almost chortling. “You lost the wager and you know it.”

Anna sneezed. Then a deep voice said, “What's this about a wager?”

They all turned. Mr. Journey had followed Alexandra and Anna from outside, through the still-open door.

“I thought I saw some kids running across the grounds, from the woods,” he said. “What in Merlin's name are you young'uns up to?”

Good old Mr. Journey, showing up in the nick of time...

At this point, I figured no one could say I hadn't left enough clues as to who the real villain was.

So what was out in the woods? I established that Mr. Journey was able to use magical beasts to do his dirty work (he was responsible for the redcaps and the kappa at Old Larkin Pond), so did he really summon a hodag to eat Alexandra? Or was it something else out there in the woods? Are hodags real? Maybe you'll find out in book five...

Yes, once again, I punted a bit plot-wise here. Mr. Journey was... up to something. In the woods. With some kind of critter. I never specified the exact mechanism or how exactly he was going to kill Alexandra or what really happened out there. It was another of his series of vague "Try to put something dangerous where Alexandra is and hope she bites it" schemes. Partly he was cowardly, partly he was trying to avoid the counter-curse of her "Circle of Protection," and partly he was just squeamish. Which made it easy for me to keep writing vague, not very effective murder attempts.

I don't think the writing style in this chapter was particularly good -- I could have improved the scenery and the dialog a lot more. But I think showing other sides of Alexandra and Anna both, as well as developing their friendship, was the most important part of this chapter. The ongoing rivalry with Larry was something that some readers seem to have gotten tired of quickly, but here it was just a means to an end.

Wizards are assholes

Other people have made this point more succinctly than virginia_fell in Harry Potter Wizards are Useless Assholes and I Hate Them, but interestingly it came up as a side note here in the reviews by one of my earlier betas. I wasn't even particularly thinking about the implications of Mrs. Murphy giving Anna a Pepper Up Potion, but as miles2go pointed out: hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of Muggles, die every year from the flu, and wizards have a cure handed out by school nurses.

I have thought about other implications of the wizarding world. Oh yes.

So yeah, wizards are kind of assholes.

Comments

[tealterror0.livejournal.com]

I get why people (okay, tealterror0) say Anna is meek and submissive. She looks up to Alex, she doesn't like conflict, and given a choice, she would rather let others lead. So sure, she's meek and submissive until she thinks you're being a dumbass. Then she speaks up, and is not above using threats herself. She even does this with her father. Yeah, sometimes she lets people (Alex) boss her around when she shouldn't. But I'd argue that she also stands up to Alex more often than David or Constance and Forbearance do.

So since this is explicitly addressed to me, I feel incumbent to respond...

First of all, I don't think Anna is meek and submissive simpliciter; I think she's meek and submissive to Alex. Of course since we see the entire world through Alex's eyes, for story purposes they're basically the same.

Anyway, to your main point. Yes, she occasionally stands up to Alex. I think she does it three or four times in Book 1 (she'll muscle her way into the registrar scroll plan later), and once in Book 4 with the Mary incident. And, of course, in Book 3 she (finally) blows up at Alex and then alerts the Feds to Abraham. And...that's about it, as far as I can recall.

My point is not that she never stands up to Alex, it's that she does it very rarely and never in a way that actually matters. Except for that one blow-up at Book 3, which was great but it was just once, all she really does is blackmail Alex into letting her tag along. And even that only happens, like, once a year on average. Sorry, but that's sidekick behavior, and it only even counts as "standing up" because Alex is such a pathological loner.

And while Anna is certainly the only one of Alex's friends to muscle her way into Alex's plans like this, that's because she's the only one who has the opportunity to do so (as Alex's roommate and closest friend), not because of any character quality.

Again, I should emphasize that I quite like Anna, and while character development is always nice I neither expect nor want her to become ultra-assertive. And she's obviously not a complete doormat. But the bottom line is, she never even tries to address Alex's crazy plans until the absolute last minute (she must have noticed things regarding the Mors Mortis Society and Alex's dealings with her brother in Book 2, for instance)--and at that last minute, all she does is tag along. So as I said, she only stands up to Alex rarely, and never does so in a way that actually matters.

This isn't a criticism of the story--actually it's probably a good thing, story-wise--just an analysis of Anna's character.

EDIT: I never actually thought of those as hints to Journey's villainous character until you pointed them out. And yes, wizards are indeed assholes.

[inverarity.livejournal.com]

I was only half-serious: you aren't the only one who's said Anna tends to be dominated by Alex.

Yes, Anna does tend to be a tag-alonger. A sidekick, maybe, but not a doormat.

[tealterror0.livejournal.com]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but most sidekicks are kind of doormats. See, for example, every Robin joke that's ever been made. (Needless to say, it was not particularly difficult to find those. See also this.)

[kith-koby.livejournal.com]

I'm kinda between you and tealterror on the subject of Anna - I agree she doesn't stand up to Alex enough, but I don't think she's a doormat. It's a matter of finding the balance. Like, in Stars Above, I felt she was starting to reach that point where she wasn't dependent on Alex for everything. And I certainly think that in the AQATWA, with Alex gone from Charbridge, Anna could learn to become truly independent. As Alex's closest friend, she's the de facto leader of their little gang, and without Alex there, I think she'll become more assertive and free thinking. That's actually the only thing I can really hope for from AQATWA.

Also, I don't know that Anna stands up to Alex more than C&F or David - she has the most opportunity for conflict with Alex, so obviously it seems that way. I personally think that if C&F or David were Alex's closest friend and roommate, they'd stand up to her more (at least C&F, David is a bit of a tool) - but then they wouldn't be her closest friends, because she wouldn't get along as well with them. That's what I value so much about the Alex/Anna relationship - their friendship has changed them, making Alex think more on the results of her actions and more focused, while Anna has become more independent and aware of her own worth.

[tealterror0.livejournal.com]

I agree, a major reason Alex is such close friends with Anna is that the latter doesn't really stand up to her. Alex hates it when anyone tries to control her, even (or especially) when she really does need to be controlled. Brian too, let us a recall, was basically a doormat pre-Book 1: always complaining, but always going along with whatever Alex wanted.

I do expect, and hope, that Anna will get some "leadership qualities" with Alex gone. And hey, maybe Alex will even learn some responsibility. (Hope springs eternal...)

I personally think that if C&F or David were Alex's closest friend and roommate, they'd stand up to her more (at least C&F, David is a bit of a tool)

David is kind of a tool, but if he was Alex's roommate he'd still stand up to her just out of stubbornness. ;)

Also, expect an email tonight.