This Is The May 2016 Open Thread For Merlinscribe

[merlinscribe]

Have random questions? Post them here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Spoilers contained within for those of you who haven't perhaps finished CROWN. I noticed that some sort of relationship between Gunedwaen and Harwing Lightbrother was mentioned twice in CROWN. First it is mentioned that Gunedwaen had found his heart-twin in Harwing, and later Gunedwaen makes Harwing his heir when Gunedwaen goes off to kill Ivrulion. What is the nature of their relationship? At first I thought it might be a bond, but then there would be no point in making Harwing Gunedwaen's heir if they would both die together? Perhaps the answer lies in some of the portions cut by Tor or maybe the two were simply close. Is there any definitive answer you may give?

[merlinscribe]

I can. And in fact, the relationship takes center stage in BLADE and SCOURGE, but it won't affect their readability if I answer this now.

Gunedwaen and Harwing were lovers.

Marriage in the Fortunate Lands (aka Jer-a-kaliel, or "Land of the Strong Hearted") is about making alliances and creating a line of succession. For the second reason, it's almost always between men and women, but other love relationships do exist, can be formalized, and are also legal contracts allowing for the transmission of property. For some reason, I cannot easily locate the name of Dendinirchiel Ulillon's Consort Prince, but something that never made it into even the first draft is that their marriage was purely a matter of alliances, and not her first by any means, and he occupied his time with a succession of [male] favorites.

Whether same-sex Soulbonds are possible is something I will not know until the information appears in a story, but I can state that they are unknown to the people of Vieliessar's time, for whatever that is worth.

Possibly more than you want to know...

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks, it was something that I hadn't really given thought to until my most recent reading of CROWN. In fact you answered a second question I had yet to ask. I had also been wondering about the validity and the acceptance of same sex relationships among the elves. Thank you very much for running these threads and answering all our many questions!

[merlinscribe]

It is my pleasure! Thank you for having questions!

[(Anonymous)]

Who's idea was it to include homosexuality? Your's, or Mercedes Lackey's?

[merlinscribe]

It was actually the story's idea. Sometimes the way things go is that you look back on what you've written and see something there that you didn't notice at the time. And so it was with Gunedwaen and Harwing; it was nothing planned in advance by either Ms. Lackey or me.

[(Anonymous)]

Please, do not include homosexuality in your novel. Homosexuality is proclaimed to be a form of self-expression that can be a very positive influence in an individual’s life. This is a lie. Same-sex attraction is like a drug. It gives you an initial spike and then it brings you low. It will give you another spike and then it brings you lower. It is a never ending cycle that only makes one feel worse, even if they may not recognize it. I tis like a bottomless cup that can never be filled. How do I know this? I am homosexual myself, and homosexuality has only ever brought me pain. At a hard point in my life, I acted on same-sex attractions, thinking they could make me better. They did the opposite. The world will proclaim this thing as good and wholesome, but in reality, it tears people apart. Families, relationships, even an individual’s own personality—all are destroyed by homosexuality. Please do not depict homosexuality in your books as something that makes people happy. It doesn’t make people happy. IT DESTROYS THEM. And the people around them.
I am saying this as a homosexual who knows the lies associated with same-sex attractions. Adding homosexuality will only make your perfect books a destructive, dangerous thing.
I know you can stand for more than this. I know you can rise above the lies of the world.
Do not ruin your perfect books by polluting them with lies and immorality.
Thank you.
From,
A Huge Fan of Your Work

[merlinscribe]

I am very sorry that you have had such terrible experiences in your life. It is very hard to be "othered" in Western Culture, whether it is by sexual preference, gender preference, gender performance, religion, body shape, or skin color. I know you are speaking honestly and out of your own pain, and I honor and value the courage it took for you to do this. And I am very sorry that something I wrote has caused you pain.

But your experiences are not mine. Nor are they those of many homosexuals. Yes, it can be painful to discover that you are homosexual, and yes, living as a homosexual can be a frightening and ugly experience. But I sincerely believe that the fear, the pain, and the ugliness come from bigotry, oppression, and injustice that homosexuals face, and not from the fact of homosexuality. I hope that you are able to find peace and happiness without having to conceal who you are or by forcing yourself to become someone you are not.

Writing--even the worst writing by the worst of writers--is about truth. Not the kind of truth that says "elves are real", but the kind of truth that says "this is the story I have created and I will be true to its shape and structure". Any writer, any kind of creator at all, who rejects their own truth for someone else's truth will find that their art suffers because of it. Even if I cut a scene from my book, or a character, they are still there in the story-world in my mind, the one that exists because of my truth and in service to it.

Please take care of yourself, and know that you are a good and a valuable person. And very brave--it takes courage to voice an honest opinion, especially to a stranger.