Divine By Mistake: Chapter 2

[zelda_queen]

ZeldaQueen: After our opening chapter of fucking nothing at all, we open with Shannon berating herself for being creeped out. So yeah, this chapter is just directly continuing from the first. I see PC Cast plays as fast and loose with chapter breaks as James Patterson does.

Comments

[queenie315]

I just checked an interview for this book, she legit says this book is "from her fantasy" XD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syfWyN0gS_U

But everything is so awkward? I was listening to the audiobook of chosen the other day and I was on the floor laughing.

[zelda_queen]

I can believe that. I'll be having a count later about how the land is perfect and has every convenience to make it the Ultimate Fantasy Land, to a ridiculous degree.

Edit: And I find it hilarious that she thinks that people should read across genres and not limit themselves to just one, considering that all her books are basically THE SAME FRIGGING THING.

[zelda_queen]

Sadly, The Morrigan is never brought up. Despite the fantasy land being a mishmash of several polytheistic mythologies, Epona is the only one mentioned as a deity.

(Muses are mentioned, but it mostly serves as a title.)

[akkakieron]

ZeldaQueen: Yes, this is the standard harlequin “all men are horrible except for the love interest” trope, but this is also the depressingly popular “all men from our world/human men are disgusting pigs, but not the men from this other world/nonhuman men (especially the love interest)”. I'm not even exaggerating that, incidentally. Shannon pretty much outright says it later.
Of course it is, and of course she does. I bet the only magical men who are evil are the ones that don't love Shannon. Every other guy will immediately love her, and be prettier than those ugly Earth men.

[zelda_queen]

"Every other guy will immediately love her, and be prettier than those ugly Earth men."

Ah ha ha ha... *cries* Yes, even the PEASANTS in the fantasy land are pretty and clean and have nice teeth. Expect ranting, when the time comes.

[legal_assasin]

Good lord, stop being such a judgmental ass! All it does is make you look bad and adds nothing else! Granted, if that was a flaw which Shannon would overcome as the story went on, I wouldn't be as mad. But considering the content so far, that's not what's going to happen.

Also, Cast? This may come as a shock to you, but most men are actually pretty decent. The slavering creeps you described up there makes up a small minority. And just because someone doesn't completely agree with you doesn't mean they're bad. Especially if they tell you "I'm not crazy about Shannon, because all she does is sneer and look down on people and she comes off as a snotty bitch. Maybe try toning it down or keep it as a flaw that people call her out on?"

[queenie315]

"Also, Cast? This may come as a shock to you, but most men are actually pretty decent. The slavering creeps you described up there makes up a small minority. "
Well, women who face street harassment on a daily basis on their way to work would disagree with that, but I get what you're saying in terms of the stereotypical and 1D characters she's spitting out.
I don't know what Cast's experience with harassment is like, but the whole issue is a lot more complicated than the stereotypes she puts out.

[zelda_queen]

Sadly, that's true. :/ The problem really isn't that PC's making up a problem but that she's grossly misinterpreting it by depicting people like that either (A) as slimy, annoying idiots who are pests to be shooed away or (B) insane rapists. There's really no middle ground. She also seems unaware of the notion that women can be just as bad in those areas.

[queenie315]

Yeah I feel a bit hesitant to criticize her on simplifying the issue like that because this is her fantasy. Like, if this is her personal fantasy and this part of the book is supposed to represent her real life, and she does receive harassment and this is her way of dealing with it (shooing it off) I can see why she would portray it like that.

But then you have House of Night where Zoey sees Aphro basically assaulting Erik and all Zoey does is call Aphro a slut instead of saving Erik...and it all just seems really irresponsible of her.

[eilonwya10]

For that vase to exist at all, stylistically it has to be from the 1875-1925 period -- an era also noted for romantic revivals of "ancient" traditions, which often involved inventing the tradition entirely.

Even in the 1875-1925 period, I can find the right glaze, and I can find the pose in paintings, but finding the pose on a pot isn't going well. Back-to-viewer generally isn't a pottery convention.

(I'm a long-time lurker around Das Sporking but rarely comment... however, having Shannon's fantasy triggered by an artifact that isn't even a reproduction, but is actually a revival piece, is so apt that I had to say something.)

[zelda_queen]

In that case, PC really done messed up. Because let me quote for you the background information given by the auctioneer on the pot:

"Now the last of our beautiful pottery pieces is Lot #25- Reproduction-Celtic vase, original stood over graves in an ancient Scottish cemetery-Scene in color represents supplications being made to High Priestess of the Horse Goddess Epona. It is interesting to note that Epona was the only Celtic deity adopted by the invading Romans, and she became their personal Goddess, protectress of their legendary legions."

So yeah, she seems to have intended for this pot to be based on one actually FROM ancient Celtic times.

Incidentally, I don't know if you can answer this or not, but how often were priestesses featured on their own in ancient artwork? I've tried to look up information on it, but mostly I just keep getting neopagan/Wiccan information on High Priestesses for their groups. It seems to me like artwork would tend to focus more on the priests in worship of the deities, not just them.

[eilonwya10]

Oh, she messed up big time! I had a very good time doing some digging (some of which probably replicates what you'd already done), and the entire cemetery is impossible

[zelda_queen]

Thanks for the information and the link! I'll certainly be making use of that, when I get to that part.

"At this remove, the way we usually know it's a deity or saint being depicted is that they're shown with their attributes, so I'd expect to see Epona with her horses, in a very conventional pose."

That's just it. Everything I've Googled about Epona shows her with horses. I don't think we know HOW her worship was conducted, let alone anything about priests or priestesses who worshiped her. In the magical world, I don't think there's any artwork in honor of Epona herself at all. Most of it's for the high priestess, who's treated like a sort of queen/avatar of Epona. Which...okay, alternate dimension and all, but this artwork is supposed to be from OUR world!