Wish you were spending Thanksgiving with Loki instead? Here. Let me help you with that.
In full disclosure, the author, @jenniferrpovey, is a friend.
This thing is so good, however, I completely forget I know the author. I just get sucked in. I hear her characters, not her, and I just… I binged this faster than I get through most digital content. This story was actually one of the things I used to get my mind off of my cat being sick a lot this year. It’s been exceptionally meaningful to me, and may be to you as well.
Making Fate is an amazing story. I will say up front, the main character is extremely flawed, especially at the beginning. Please do Not mistake the thoughts and opinions of the character for those of the author, who is liberal, bi, and very supportive of her trans friends. Do NOT mistake a character’s ignorance for the authors.
This was a stumbling block for me, at first, and difficult to work through, especially during the first few days.
Also some of her characters lie. Especially two of them. Loki isn’t even one of the two biggest liars in this thing.
This is an important disclaimer to keep in mind as I discuss the rest of the story. Or some of it. Making Fate is still a WIP, and now that I’m almost caught up, I purposely stay at least a week behind so I don’t become a pest to the author. (You don’t need to, but I do, since she and I chat more days than not.) None of the characters have a particularly pleasant home or family life. The most picturesque moment here, so far, is a holiday celebration… involving Loki. It also turned out a ton calmer than when *I* invited Loki for Thanksgiving, so ymmv if you try this at home. (My exact reaction at the time I tried it was “Either NEVAR AGAIN or MUST DO EVERY YEAR” - and I was torn on which.) Making Fate also at times goes into taboo and difficult terrain. As an example, it explores the difficult and rarely-occurs-to-anyone issue of: if a deity or supernatural being somehow gains power over your literal soul, Is that devoted “belonging to” in some ways ownership, and in some way the same thing as slavery? What if the deity considered that and found it offensive to themselves? But what if someone was so devoted to said deity, the deity themselves couldn’t DO anything about it? Another topic, more often covered by vampire fiction than gods, relates to immortality vs mortality, and perceptions of “chronos vs kairos” in some ways, of temporal time that ticks away vs timelessness vs the scheduling of events on a cosmic scale and beyond. And are those timetables fair to mortals? Do we lose something focusing on one or the other? THAT SAID SO I CAN GET TO THE GOOD STUFF Seriously I have a ton of feels about this piece. A ton. I don’t want to reveal all of the best bits because that’s like getting all the “stuff” out of the Ben & Jerry’s first but…
Okay, she doesn’t make a big deal of it because she mostly does sci-fi, but the author is a Druid, and is involved with these topics religiously as well. Unlike other contemporary fiction with Norse deities, often very “off” from the myths, as characters - Marvel, American Gods, Etc - this one is written by someone we can chant “ONE OF US” ominously and happily at. Seriously, she’s an Odinsperson, and interacts with Loki, AND IT SHOWS. Their voices should be definitely recognizable as Them to many polytheists. Sometimes she nails it a little TOO WELL. Like, tumblr dashboard trolls level well.
Seriously if you don’t have a god phone and you want to know what it’s like for those who do, if I may be so bold to say it, read this. Not the big plot things. We don’t all go out with swords and make jokes about how Buffy didn’t quite capture reality, and certain weapons that show up in here (other than Mjolnir) don’t exist irl, and the OC’s obviously don’t, but… A lot of the subtle references do. It’s the little things that MAKE this story.
It’s also the interaction. We’re talking about a story that shows instead of tells how the spiritual world can be so complex as to include so many beings, just like ours is. Norse, Abrahamic, Kemetic, with references to Hellenics, Celtic deities, and others… Some closed cultures were included respectfully and indirectly. Muslims don’t get involved with magic as its against culture, but an Efreet shows up. Coyote and Anansi respectfully show up. Sidhe show up. Pixies show up. The indication and intention here appears as a nod and also an open armed offering, a yes, yes, just as our spiritual worlds reside side by side by side, so can we. We are valid, and we can respect.
Seriously if you ever wanted to see Valkyries and Angels and Ghosts and Corporeal Undead and Fairies and epic sword fights all in the same work, and wondered which would happen first, Armageddon or Ragnarok… Also serious props for a kick ass African American woman holding her own in fights side by side with actual supernatural Valkyries. This is some Valhalla worthy shit right here.
Plus, all of this is set in an urban and suburban environment (the Baltimore/DC/NoVA sprawl). You want urban Paganism? This has it! This is that story, crowded metro trains and all!
If I haven’t sold you on this by now I don’t know how I possibly could.
So please, GO FORTH AND READ THE THING:
http://makingfate.jenniferrpovey.com/?p=6
Which, yes, starts on an April 1st.
However!!! This is a three year project, the author is a professional writer, and she’s doing this unpaid. She would love to edit and publish it when it’s done as a three volume set. If you are interested in a kickstarter, primarily even for publication costs, let alone paying this awesome human for her time, if you would seriously support her, please like this secondary post.
http://norvicensiandoran.tumblr.com/post/134006474014/this-is-the-post-to-like-if-you-want-to-encourage
If you want to do something now, before you forget, here’s her Patreon page.
https://www.patreon.com/poveyjr?ty=h
Even just kicking $5 her way would mean a lot. I mean a lot. Especially if several people did this and you reblog and pass this on.
Otherwise she might need to end this earlier than she wanted to. And that would be truly sad. Please help bring this into being. We need this. I need this, especially on my off days when the gods seem distant.
(No pressure on her! XD)
