I didn't think there were other Septimus Heap fans out there so anyway thanks
Yāall, I have ZERO CHILL about the Septimus Heap series.
ā Iām a sucker for found family, of course, and I donāt know that any other series has done it to quite the bonkers degree that Septimus Heap has.Ā
Sometimes family is your long-lost biological relations.Ā And sometimes family is two parents and seven siblings and a Young Army brat they accidentally kidnapped and their batty aunt and their batty auntās duck who was a cat and their momās other duck who was never a cat and an in-law with too many ribbons and their Young Army bratās BFF and a smelly dragon and the smelly dragonās boat-mom and the youngest siblingās biological dad and the youngest siblingās biological dadās wife (who is also the Young Army bratās second mom) and at least 1.5 trees.Ā And thatās before we get into the extended Heap family and start counting wolverines and witches and apprentices and Gringes and alchemists and Message Rats and scribes.
Like, somehow having a protagonist who (by default) has six older brothers and six uncles wasnāt enough family for Angie Sage, and she had to go and add a shitton more.Ā Which is amazing, because there are approximately twelve million characters in that series (six million of whom are Heaps) and I love every single one of them.
ā If you donāt ship 821, youāre reading a different series from me.
821 (409 + 412) is my first OTP and Iāll ship it till I die. It shows the best side of both boys when theyāre at their worst.Ā I love all the details that gradually emerge through the series about Boy 412 being the single most incompetent Young Army cadet in the history of the army (because of course Sepās a mega-nerd who hates the outdoors) and Boy 409 basically carrying him through the do-or-die exercises to overcompensate for the dumbassery of his best friend (because of course Marwick is a softie at heart and no one else will talk with him about spaceships).Ā Iām just sayin, itās a near-miracle that 412 made it six whole months without 409 before mostly-dying in a snowbank.
Plus, I love their weird messy dynamic as they become young adults together.Ā Syren especially hinges on how they effortlessly get each other, even when one or the other is behaving irrationally.Ā Thereās such great contrast in their utter confidence in each otherās love, in contrast to neither one knowing quite what to do with his biological family.
ā There is a trick to having screwball comedy and genuine, respectful, wrenching tragedy in the same work.Ā Angie Sage has it, K.A. Applegate has it, Louis Sachar has it, and few other authors do.
ā Marcia.Ā Fucking.Ā Overstrand.
I cannot ever, ever get enough of the mentee-mentorship between Marcia and Sep.Ā I love how theyāre both typically bad at getting along with other people ā Marciaās aloof and snobby, Sepās awkward and off-putting ā but then they meet each other and instantaneously start getting along because theyāre the only two people in the universe who care as much as they do about magic.Ā And so theyāre best friends in a matter of days, lifelong platonic soulmates in a matter of months.Ā To the point where they tend to forget to sleep because they want to do more magic.Ā To the point where itās more than a little awkward how much closer Sep is with his magic-mom than his actual parents.Ā And we get why they like each other so much, because the books do an amazing job of showing that.
Also, can we talk about how fucking good Marcia is at navigating around Sepās Odd Trauma Legacy Habits?Ā Itās her being quietly appalled but also willing to enable his insistence on wearing one specific brand of military boots.Ā Itās her refusal to accept āIām scaredā as an excuse but also making sure he knows how to feel safe while flying or using Darke.Ā Itās elaborate rituals around removing the bugs from the library instead of killing them.Ā Itās making sure the kid who hoards cabbage sandwiches can have an infinite supply of non-perishable food.Ā Itās supporting all the ways that heās weirdly nostalgic for his godawful childhood, with the Young Army stew supplies and firestarter kits.Ā Itās her dealing with Sepās āwhen in doubt, refuse to speak for months on endā default strategy through note-writing and journal-keeping.
ā God DAMN do I love that Jennaās journey as a character is all about her learning that the ādonāt treat me like a princess... unless I happen to need something from someoneā strategy is about her comfort, and that she canāt keep doing that if she ever wants to be a halfway responsible queen.Ā Way too often, stories imply that āādonāt call me āyour highnessāā is unironically a Good Thing in all situations at all times.
Anyway, Iāll stop screaming in joy now, because this is an Animorphs blog.
titsay
gracieabrams
kianamaiart
snowghoul
pixelskylines
