"Job placement" microfiction

[Snark Knight]

So, looks like Irwin & Connie are going to be on the bench as local allies, and / or figure into the Maggie Jr. spinoffs...

[magnuskn]

Honestly? With the way things are going, I'm worried about their safety. That's perfect placement to get them to be part of the casualties of whatever is going to happen.

[Mira]

  The subject of being able to have children came up, echos the surprise about Justine getting pregnant.  In love but seemingly not burning at touch having something to do maybe with the fact that neither are fully human.

[Dina]

Yes, I found that interesting, Mira. And Magnus? I really hope they are going to be all right.

[g33k]

I don't recall... did we know before this that Connie is

(click to show/hide)

Lara's daughter?

That'd make her Thomas' niece, too...
 

[Yuillegan]

Is she G33k, where did it say that?

But yes, it seems these two lovebirds will be making an appearance in Peace Talks and/or Battle Grounds. As allies of Harry, but also possibly as extra bodies. More likely, they will be allies replacing those that die during the next two books. It's a common enough move in a series.

[Dina]

@Yuillegan So, the Alphas are going to die? (I think they are more or less on the same spot that those kids)

g33k, what?

[Yuillegan]

The ones that are still around, probably. Apparently according to a bizarre WOJ some of the Alphas just wrote of their experiences as drug induced delusions in college. Which to me sounds insane.

I suspect Will and Georgia might bite the dust. They are long-time characters with enough emotional value to be worth killing off, without being detrimental to Harry's future or messing up the series. Technically no character is safe but you can always work out who probably won't go. I don't think Andi will necessarily - unless Jim wants to make Butters' story darker.

Michael will probably die at some point in the series (likely in some incredibly selfless act of sacrifice). It would upset enough people reading it and makes for a good scene (the stuff Jim loves). I doubt any of his kids except Daniel or Molly will die, and almost certainly not Charity. Unless the series gets really dark - but Jim tends to balance things well enough. But we know of course that none of the Carpenters die in the next two books (confirmed from the Christmas short story).

Maggie is so safe she might as well be invulnerable. Which doesn't mean Mouse is but I think he'll be around for a while. Jim loves dogs and I doubt he would kill off Mouse just for the emotional pay off. Tbh it would upset me more than many of the characters.

But here is my list of those that are being circled by the Angel of Death:
- Thomas (Yeah...that's coming eventually)
- Murphy (almost certainly in the next two books, probably just after her and Harry finally sort their relationship out)
- Ebenezar (Death of the mentor is a pivotal moment in any book, for any number of reasons. I feel that it might happen somewhere in the next two books)
- Alphas (excluding Andi)
- Ramirez (Perhaps trying to keep up with Harry. Has awful luck. Maybe even fighting Harry's darker allies. Certainly things are being set up to have them at the opposite sides of the table)
- Luccio (For sure will die soon)
- The Merlin (probably doing the right thing, but too little too late)
- Ancient Mai, Listens-to-Wind, Gatekeeper
- Titania (but only in the BAT)
- Mab (almost certainly in the BAT)
- Vadderung (I mean, he is fated to die in Ragnarok)
- Mac (but only in the BAT)
- One of the Mothers
- Lea (I am mixed on this...she also makes a perfect Mab replacement)
- Gard (But not in the next two books)

Characters exist to serve the story. This story is getting increasingly violent and deadly and horrifying. The goofy PI Wizard novels are gone and are slowly being replaced with a Warrior-Wizard in the midst of a deadly conflict between the epic powers of the universe. Some will dislike that, some will love it. But that's how it was always going to go. Which means that a lot of the cast will get killed off eventually. It will break our hearts, develop the remaining characters and push the story along, and it will make room for new characters. Just the way of things.

[Maz]

I don't recall... did we know before this that Connie is

(click to show/hide)

Lara's daughter?

That'd make her Thomas' niece, too...
 

I think you're misreading that line.  She is referring to being in Lara's territory, not her Father's.  She isn't going to refer to her Father as "Count Barrrowill" or whatever.

[Mira]

Characters exist to serve the story. This story is getting increasingly violent and deadly and horrifying. The goofy PI Wizard novels are gone and are slowly being replaced with a Warrior-Wizard in the midst of a deadly conflict between the epic powers of the universe. Some will dislike that, some will love it. But that's how it was always going to go. Which means that a lot of the cast will get killed off eventually. It will break our hearts, develop the remaining characters and push the story along, and it will make room for new characters. Just the way of things.

Yeah, it was that off beat PI/Wizard story line that attracted me to Dresden in the first place.  I too lament that the direction it is headed seems to be the more standard fantasy route.. 

[Con]

I'm actually enjoying the more fantastical elements, supernatural nations and power becoming greater.

As for academic supernatural intellectualss I always thought that'd be the Alpha's role.

[AClone]

So, looks like Irwin & Connie are going to be on the bench as local allies, and / or figure into the Maggie Jr. spinoffs...

With school starting in August, I was thinking that it would be hurrying things for them to manage to be in Chicago by July, in time for Peace Talks/Battle Ground. This seems more like a convenient setup for the Maggie stories.

That St. Mark's is applying for Accorded Neutral Ground status was also interesting. Why wouldn't they already have it--unless Jim is "up to something"?

[Dina]

Yeah, it was that off beat PI/Wizard story line that attracted me to Dresden in the first place.  I too lament that the direction it is headed seems to be the more standard fantasy route..

Yes, same here.

@Yuillegan, the trailer makes me hope Mister will be safe.

[AClone]

The ones that are still around, probably. Apparently according to a bizarre WOJ some of the Alphas just wrote of their experiences as drug induced delusions in college. Which to me sounds insane.

I suspect Will and Georgia might bite the dust. They are long-time characters with enough emotional value to be worth killing off, without being detrimental to Harry's future or messing up the series. Technically no character is safe but you can always work out who probably won't go. I don't think Andi will necessarily - unless Jim wants to make Butters' story darker.

I’m not sure that you see characters the same way as Jim does. As far as long time characters being effectively disposable and readily replaced by newcomers, remember what Jim has repeatedly said about being “too lazy” to write up new characters. At this stage of the series, there isn’t really time to fully develop new characters.

Yes, in the Christmas Story short, Harry was clearly feeling the guilt of people he knew being dead. Just remember, he felt the same way when Kirby died—whom we had barely seen on page. That death toll could include people as peripheral as Rawlins—or Mrs. Spunkelcrief. Shoot, he’d probably feel guilty if people like Hendricks or even Rudolph died—because he knew them as real people.

And it would hardly be unlike Jim to include a redemptive arc for even someone like Rudolph in the middle of what Battle Ground appears to be. Making even a worm a sympathetic character.

As far as anyone being “safe” I’m not sure there is such a thing. It wouldn’t surprise me to find that Jim diced out the fates of all of the tertiary characters for a book like BG. I can just see him: “Crap, Andi! Why’d you have to go and roll an eighteen here! That’s a critical failure!”

Or a three, of course. Whatever scale he’s using.

I will say that there is one absence from the Christmas Story scene that seems ominous to me. And no, not just because the older Carpenter kids didn’t make it back from college or on leave for Christmas. But that’s for that thread, so I’ll leave that alone.

Oh, if you’re worried about the Wizard/gumshoe thing, Harry still has a few books left to get back to that gig. It’ll just be on a bigger scale. And part of me is wondering if Murphy will get her PI license. Guess we’ll see.

[Bad Alias]

In love but seemingly not burning at touch having something to do maybe with the fact that neither are fully human.

Jim has said that power differences in the relationship could cause that. I think he said that in relation to Irwin and Connie specifically, but I don't recall it well enough to say for sure.

Apparently according to a bizarre WOJ some of the Alphas just wrote of their experiences as drug induced delusions in college. Which to me sounds insane.

Unless they were stoned the whole time anyway. In that WoJ, he also said one of them ended up in a mental institution. That one was probably a little too honest and not at all insane.

And it would hardly be unlike Jim to include a redemptive arc for even someone like Rudolph in the middle of what Battle Ground appears to be. Making even a worm a sympathetic character.

Rudolph admitting the error of his ways would be a good way to show the masquerade breaking or slipping and could be used to redeem him enough to make some readers a little sympathetic if he died.

I get to be in Lara’s territory, not my father’s.

I think I found this to be the most interesting tidbit. We don't really know much about the structure of the White Court, but now we know that House Raith at least has territories. It may be that individuals in the Court have territories and it isn't limited to one house. I think that's likely, but we don't know that.