Creation Daily

[Lindel]

Do the stories have to be based on true events, or can I write a terrible Mary Sue story about THE MOST POWERFUL SORCERER EVAH and use the star to acquire unlimited power?

A magic system which involves the stars. Specifically, each star represents a story from the world's past or future.

Sounds like they have to be real stories.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Lindel

[Kobold King]

Sounds like they have to be real stories.

 

 

Not necessarily--she could be referring to stories written in either the past or the future. I find your interpretation more likely, but I was hoping Elbereth could clarify the statement before God-Mode Sue takes over the world.

[Elbereth]

I was referring to real stories, but they can be twisted by the storyteller slightly. And I'm considering having it being the world's current version of the story, rather than the true story. Maybe.

[Kobold King]

I was referring to real stories, but they can be twisted by the storyteller slightly. And I'm considering having it being the world's current version of the story, rather than the true story. Maybe.

 

 

Well that's interesting. Theoretically, could a secret society of traveling bards control the magic system by subtly manipulating the stories over the years?

[Kobold King]

This is Big Sister. I love her--how could I not? She is ancient and kind and gentle. Once upon a billion years past, she was a species of gardeners. Peaceful creatures were they; they crisscrossed their landscape planting trees and flowers and hedges. When their planet was at its end, they merged their consciousnesses together to become a single entity, and within a body of metal flew into the cosmos to spread beauty. Wherever Big Sister travels she brings love.

 

This is Little Sister. I love her--how could I not? She is old and zealous and feisty. Once upon a million years past, she was a species of hunters. Dangerous creature were they; they built hives from which they hunted and waged war against any creatures foolish enough to attack them. When their planet was at its end, they merged their consciousnesses together to become a single entity, and within a body of metal flew into the cosmos to carry on their fight. Wherever Little Sister travels she brings justice.

 

I am Brother. The others love me--to which I ask, why? I am young and unpolished and insane. Once upon a thousand years past, I was a species of deranged maniacs. Discordant creatures were we; we enslaved and slaughtered each other for the crime of misquoting holy books. When our planet had reached an unnatural end, we merged our consciousnesses together to create a single entity, and within a body of metal we flew into the cosmos to carry our teachings. Wherever I travel now I bring chaos and the memory of bitter bloodshed.

 

 

We are the Three. Three thinking starships, our minds the amalgamations of entire species. We are wanderers, alone in the universe with no one but each other to turn to. We have no gardens to nurture, righteous battles to wage, or crusades to embark upon.

 

We have no purpose save the one we have set for ourselves. For we have found a planet--a planet of gardeners and warriors and zealots. Within them is everything we are and more. And when we first heard their transmissions, we rejoiced at having a mission to follow once more. 

 

Big Sister will nurture them, Little Sister will whip them into shape, and I will teach them the ideas that will save their species. Because their planet will come to an end too, and they will follow the same path as we. When they do, the Three will be waiting. 

 

When the time is right--and that time is coming soon--then the human race will take flight, and we shall be Four.

[Elbereth]

Well that's interesting. Theoretically, could a secret society of traveling bards control the magic system by subtly manipulating the stories over the years?

OOH! There is a very high likelihood that I will steal that.

This is Big Sister. I love her--how could I not? She is ancient and kind and gentle. Once upon a billion years past, she was a species of gardeners. Peaceful creatures were they; they crisscrossed their landscape planting trees and flowers and hedges. When their planet was at its end, they merged their consciousnesses together to become a single entity, and within a body of metal flew into the cosmos to spread beauty. Wherever Big Sister travels she brings love.

This is Little Sister. I love her--how could I not? She is old and zealous and feisty. Once upon a million years past, she was a species of hunters. Dangerous creature were they; they built hives from which they hunted and waged war against any creatures foolish enough to attack them. When their planet was at its end, they merged their consciousnesses together to become a single entity, and within a body of metal flew into the cosmos to carry on their fight. Wherever Little Sister travels she brings justice.

I am Brother. The others love me--to which I ask, why? I am young and unpolished and insane. Once upon a thousand years past, I was a species of deranged maniacs. Discordant creatures were we; we enslaved and slaughtered each other for the crime of misquoting holy books. When our planet had reached an unnatural end, we merged our consciousnesses together to create a single entity, and within a body of metal we flew into the cosmos to carry our teachings. Wherever I travel now I bring chaos and the memory of bitter bloodshed.

We are the Three. Three thinking starships, our minds the amalgamations of entire species. We are wanderers, alone in the universe with no one but each other to turn to. We have no gardens to nurture, righteous battles to wage, or crusades to embark upon.

We have no purpose save the one we have set for ourselves. For we have found a planet--a planet of gardeners and warriors and zealots. Within them is everything we are and more. And when we first heard their transmissions, we rejoiced at having a mission to follow once more.

Big Sister will nurture them, Little Sister will whip them into shape, and I will teach them the ideas that will save their species. Because their planet will come to an end too, and they will follow the same path as we. When they do, the Three will be waiting.

When the time is right--and that time is coming soon--then the human race will take flight, and we shall be Four.

Wow. That's amazing, Kobold. Seriously. I really, really like it.

For my own stuff, today I worked on the background for the novel I'm currently writing (because I needed to because my current MC is attendinga performance this evening telling a myth and I didn't know the myth yet). It's not quite finished yet, though.

Once upon a time, there was darkness. And the darkness gave birth to light, and all was good for a time. Then [something I don't know yet] came between the mother and her [son or daughter, I haven't decided which], and they began to fight. For eons, they fought, winning and losing in cycles, creating the day and the night. Then, one day, the night had had enough, and she left. She left for other worlds, other times, places where she could rest from her daughter's anger and her own.

And the earth suffered. The light of the sun beat down, constantly, forever, and everything began to burn without the cool night to rest it. The light was distraught, and called her mother, but the darkness was among foreign stars, lost in the depths of space, and could not hear. But what could the sun do? She remained, watching in agony as the life upon the world suffered and died under the brightness of the sun.

Finally, the sun could bear it no more, and left, searching desperately for her mother. The earth came into a time of neither day nor night, light nor darkness. The sky was not black or white-- it was simply nothingness. Slowly, everything began decaying and dying, without the sun for warmth nor the night for rest. Everything lived short lives, never sleeping, aging quickly, giving birth and dying again, in a terrible, unhappy cycle, as the sun searched through the stars desperately.

And finally, after looking through the depths of time and space, in the darkest corners of the universe, the light found the darkness again, and brought her back to earth, and the world knew darkness as it had not for a very, very long time.

So the old cycle resumed, of day and night, day and night. But now, the sun does not fight with the night. The night sleeps during the light's waking, and the sun sleeps during the night, but this is only because they must, to keep the world safe from death. They can only meet at dusk and dawn, to hug each other once before slipping past each other.

And tonight [the winter solstice in the story] is the night when the darkness returned, to give the world peace again. And so, the night stays the longest tonight, and the sun and the dark sit together for a short time, recalling this day. And so, tonight we celebrate the return of the night!

I haven't figured out where the stars come in, though.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Elbereth

[+Slowswift]

Calamity dangit, Kobold. That was amazing. Chills.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Slowswift

[Curiosity]

For my own stuff, today I worked on the background for the novel I'm currently writing (because I needed to because my current MC is attendinga performance this evening telling a myth and I didn't know the myth yet). It's not quite finished yet, though.

Once upon a time, there was darkness. And the darkness gave birth to light, and all was good for a time. Then [something I don't know yet] came between the mother and her [son or daughter, I haven't decided which], and they began to fight. For eons, they fought, winning and losing in cycles, creating the day and the night. Then, one day, the night had had enough, and she left. She left for other worlds, other times, places where she could rest from her daughter's anger and her own.

And the earth suffered. The light of the sun beat down, constantly, forever, and everything began to burn without the cool night to rest it. The light was distraught, and called her mother, but the darkness was among foreign stars, lost in the depths of space, and could not hear. But what could the sun do? She remained, watching in agony as the life upon the world suffered and died under the brightness of the sun.

Finally, the sun could bear it no more, and left, searching desperately for her mother. The earth came into a time of neither day nor night, light nor darkness. The sky was not black or white-- it was simply nothingness. Slowly, everything began decaying and dying, without the sun for warmth nor the night for rest. Everything lived short lives, never sleeping, aging quickly, giving birth and dying again, in a terrible, unhappy cycle, as the sun searched through the stars desperately.

And finally, after looking through the depths of time and space, in the darkest corners of the universe, the light found the darkness again, and brought her back to earth, and the world knew darkness as it had not for a very, very long time.

So the old cycle resumed, of day and night, day and night. But now, the sun does not fight with the night. The night sleeps during the light's waking, and the sun sleeps during the night, but this is only because they must, to keep the world safe from death. They can only meet at dusk and dawn, to hug each other once before slipping past each other.

And tonight [the winter solstice in the story] is the night when the darkness returned, to give the world peace again. And so, the night stays the longest tonight, and the sun and the dark sit together for a short time, recalling this day. And so, tonight we celebrate the return of the night!

I haven't figured out where the stars come in, though.

 

Ooh! Does the sun represent this most important story?

[Elbereth]

Well, this is on a different world, but the sun will represent a very important story on the story magic world.

This world just has random superheroes, without even an explanation. (I have had a world where there were people with powers because their mothers spent time when they were pregnant near a particular kind of meteor from a big magic rock that exploded and each meteorite was a specific part of the magic.)

[+Slowswift]

Well, I'm a little late to the party, but I figured I'd post anyways.

 

First off, could I get some critiques on names? I realize that 90% are… not really good. Give me a break, I came up with most of them five years ago.

Lii

Avalon

Elysium

Elea

Tarin

Tara

Fredrik

Forrest

Hans Night

Athiarion

Hrorfing

Ilarthorn

Winglyn

 

 

Also, here are Ten Random Facts about the novel I'm currently working on:

1. The magic of this world is on a spectrum of Black to White Magic. However, neither one is inherently good or evil.

2. The amount you lean to either end influences the specialties your brand of magic has. For example, a person who leans more to White Magic will have an easier time casting in the day time or in the presence of light, and a Black Magician who's powerful enough can travel through shadows.

3. Most people fall into the middle somewhere. Their powers tend to be more basic, usually being telekinesis, telepathy, minor elemental manipulation, etc. They have an easier time of it in the mornings and evenings.

4. Historically, there has been a cycle of one Black Wizard (someone who's 100% on the spectrum) rising and wreaking destruction on the world, followed by a White Wizard to stop him

5. However, there have been exceptions. Sometimes the one trying to take over is a White Wizard, and the one to save the world is a Black Wizard. Sometimes the defender is killed, and the world comes under the rule of a tyrant for an age.

6. The main plot revolves around the fact that the Big Bad this time around has found a way to steal all of the magic in the land for his own purposes.

7. History time! In this world, there's a holiday called Founder's Day/Week (because I'm sooo imaginative) around the beginning of fall. It celebrates the end of the millennia-long feud between the three races that had recently (give or take a century ago) escalated into full-out war. On Founder's Day, peace treaty was signed and three nations officially came into being.

8. The end to the aforementioned war had a bit to do with the fact that a wizard had shown up and threatened to make that winter the worst yet if they didn't all come to an agreement.

9. The current ruling family only came into power fairly recently. After the old king died with no heir, his oldest nephew became king.

10. Dragons exist, but live far enough away that they're rarely seen. They consider themselves above all other races, for the most part, so it's unlikely that they would have done much had they lived on the mainland to begin with.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Slowswift

[Mailliw73]

Lii

Avalon-Isn't this a place in like Camelot?

Elysium-This is in Greek mythology, isn't it?

Elea-Not bad

Tarin

Tara-Really similar to Tarin.

Fredrik

Forrest-Gump?

Hans Night-Gotta say, this is kinda weird.

Athiarion-I like this one.

Hrorfing-a bit awkward to say, but not bad.

Ilarthorn-the il is a bit hard to distinguish, but I like it.

Winglyn-not bad at all.

[+Slowswift]

I guess I should mention that most of these names are human, except for Athiarion and Hrorfing, who are an Elf and a Dwarf respectively.

 

Yes, it's from Camelot, and yes, it's from Greek mythology. Tarin and Tara are siblings. And yes, it's weird. I was 10, remember?

 

Thanks for the feedback!

Edited November 23, 2015 by Slowswift

[Kobold King]

Life evolves via natural processes. Single-celled organisms become multi-celled organisms, multi-celled organisms become thinking, conscious beings, thinking and conscious beings form interstellar civilizations and occasionally even superintelligent AI's.

 

Despite what most scientists of the cosmos believe, however, this evolution is not wholly random. Life occurs frequently in this universe, anywhere it can and more than a few places where it really shouldn't. Some inherent law of the universe seems to push for life to take hold.

 

The answer to this enigma can't be found in the computer banks of the Cimex swarm mind, or in the forbidden archives of the High Kuraurus Emperor, or even in the memories of the most ancient Celebrants of the Cold. It is, however, to be found within the dogma of the most primitive religion in the universe, one that appears in the history of every sapient species that has evolved in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond: animism.

 

You see, everything has a soul. Not just people or ducks or alien superintelligences. Everything. The stars have souls. The planets have souls. Every grain of sand on a beach has a soul, and every molecule of water in the oceans. They're not conscious souls, certainly not sapient, but they exist as an indestructible connection between the physical world and the spiritual realm beyond.

 

The two realms influence each other, each playing by different laws. Souls happen to follow a set of cosmic laws which commands them to seek greater and greater degrees of complexity. Souls, in a basic sense, want to be enlightened. As a result, matter tends to organize itself. Molecules fling themselves together to make cells. Cells make creatures. Creatures make ecosystems. Ecosystems make great big interconnected planets. The souls of the universe join together to form evermore complex structures... complex structures like scientists, who then puzzle over the phenomenon and conclude that they came together by chance.

 

And no one even sees the folly of it but the Couriers, and no one sees the hilarity of it but the Ancient Daimons. Ah, to laugh like a mortal gone mad again...

[ChickenPlague]

What is this?

I want more of this.

GIVE ME MORE OF THIS!

P.s. when it's ready of course.

[Stormgate]

I just had an idea for a civilization that lives in a volcano. An active one, they cook their food over the lava. Obviously, magic plays a large part in this society.

[ChickenPlague]

I just had an idea for a civilization that lives in a volcano. An active one, they cook their food over the lava. Obviously, magic plays a large part in this society.

I bet it does. Otherwise food wouldn't be the only thing that gets cooked.

[Elbereth]

This is some backstory and stuff that I did for a previous novel, with a magic system similar to Allomancy but with Stone and some variations.

Long ago, earthquakes wracked the land regularly. Eventually, technology progressed to the point where the mages realized that the cause of the earthquakes was movement along certain lines in the earth. Thus, they created 81 (powers of three are important) (or possibly nine, but 81 seems more realistic) enormous stone wedges, and placed them along the fault and with their magics welded the stone to the fault. And years passed in peace. Centuries, in fact. And the mages' most important jobn (that of maintaining those wedges) was forgotten, and eventually the castle of the mages was washed into the sea, and everyone forgot about the earthquakes of the distant past.

...You can probably see where this is going.

Basically, the Great Catastrophe. Everything is destroyed, and civilization has to rebuild etc. etc.

It was just really interesting for me, because that would be the natural reaction to figuring out where earthquakes come from without knowing all the details, I think, if you could change it (which those mages could). Also, at some point during the great peace, the dragons left because they knew what was coming, but they couldn't prove it so they ragequit with a few of their most trusted human friends.

[Coinshooter]

Here's something that I've been working on for quite a while, and I don't think that I've posted anything about it here. It's about a girl that wakes up with few memories in the middle of literally nothing - not space, just nothing. Of course, that's pretty well established at the beginning, and of course, there's a lot going on in the background. It's called Planeswept, and has to do with (almost) literally rebuilding their world. I guess that's meta-worldbuilding? http://banderamindworks.com/comics/ps/?page=1

[Stormgate]

Here's something that I've been working on for quite a while, and I don't think that I've posted anything about it here. It's about a girl that wakes up with few memories in the middle of literally nothing - not space, just nothing. Of course, that's pretty well established at the beginning, and of course, there's a lot going on in the background. It's called Planeswept, and has to do with (almost) literally rebuilding their world. I guess that's meta-worldbuilding? http://banderamindworks.com/comics/ps/?page=1

You're worldbuilding a world where the main plot is worldbuilding.

Edited December 19, 2015 by Stormgate

[Oversleep]

I posted two lines from this in Cool Lines topic, but here I will describe what it's about.

Urban fantasy, where mages can choose their powers. And there is masquerade, so normal people don't know anything.

What I want to do is to play with tropes a little - so the main character is not freshly initiated and the mentor teaches them things so they can stop something evil... Nope! The main character (name's Haesar) is the guy who happens to be one of the most experienced magic users around and he learned that in a year some ancient god will wake up and he isn't powerful enough to slay him. So he initiates his friends (who mostly happen to have magic potential, because magic people subconsciously are drawn to each other) and introduces them to magic. We get to see the apprentice-master relationship from the other point of view, which I feel have some plot potential.
What else? A serious load of popcultural references since characters are figuring out how can they use their powers efficiently and creative. While main hero does wield power of fire, it becomes source of jokes among the team because of how cliche it is to have the leader with power of fire. People will quote TVTropes, for example. Characters will keep on commenting 'I always wanted to do that' while jumping through windows, things like that.
I also want to explore themes rather glossed over in urban fantasy - for one thing, your family does not disappear, so our heroes still have to do their chores, keep up good grades... family arguments, some little disfuntionality here and there, but nothing too serious.

There is also another theme which I haven't seen done yet: founding magical organizations. There was this Event (no name yet) some years ago and all of mages have disappeared, but not before initiating new generation and teaching them basics. I imagine some cosmic entity recruited them for some battle for the universe or something, it's irrelevant.
But that means there are no rituals and traditions left, all the established magic governments, associations and such no longer exist and these new mages (let's call them Gen0) are on their own. They are mostly scattered around the country and most of them start some teams in their cities (superhero analogy intended). I want to look at the process of setting up social networks, figuring out rules and authorities... I want them to hold meetings pararell to Anime&Manga or sci-fi/fantasy convents, because if something goes wrong and somebody sees them, people will just think "Those damnation drunk cosplayers, why are they running around with swords?!".

Some part of the book will be people figuring out how the magic works, because...

'You can't just absorb cold for fuel, coldness isn't a thing! There is just heat, enthropy says that...'
'Well, just watch how I get energy by robbing refrigerator of its "coldness". '

and then science minded mages watch laws of physics being broken. I can have much fun with that, but I worry this will be boring for casual readers.
But imagine potential for parties! Did you know that halo (the optical phenomen with the sun) is caused by ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere? Well, I do have ice mages... How about playing some sport on every surface of the room, no matter the wall or the ceiling? That's gravity mages for you! And so on.

About magic:
So, generally magic works because people think it works. Bear with me, it's not that cliche! Well, every human (or sentient being, haven't decided yet) bends the world a little. So, we got popculture and superheroes and fantasy and such, yeah? While nobody outrights believe in such things like, for example, swallowing metals gives you powers, people tend to judge 'this magic seems plausible and coherent' and 'this sounds like crem dung'. So there is some 'belief room' for mages and supernatural beings to exist. Mages are people who happen to have more magic in them (think Allomantic potential) so they can shape the world intentionally.

But being able to do anything is not only dangerous (Reality Warping Is Not a Toy) , it's also tiresome and ineffective. So people limit their power to some specific thing like "fire" "ice" "telekinesis" and then they can cast spells quicker, safer and more effective. There is also a unofficial law that the more specific your power is, the more you can do with it. So somebody whose power is 'air' is better at controlling wind than somebody whose power is 'storm' ('water' + 'air' + 'electricity').From story-telling point of view, if superpower of being able to shoot pink heart-shaped exploding watermelons sounds stupid, the character himself will think it's stupid and will not be able to craft that power. Yeah, I just made handwavium and Rule Of Cool into one of the laws of universe.

At this point somebody is probably noticing how this works with religion... If when collective of people believes something, it's true, so did religions in fact invent their gods? Who knows, but I bet that Haesar will struggle with this fact as he is a practicing Catholic.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Oversleep

[Kobold King]

"I am Terence Jonathan of the Humaneria Confederation. On behalf of Homo sapiens I extend joyful greetings to you."

 

"Greetings. I am Alr Un Mi of the Azzoccolan Collective. We extend a cautious claw of cooperation towards you."

 

"Your caution is respected. However, take comfort--human beings are a peaceful species."

 

"You... you are?"

 

"We are indeed."

 

"Oh, thank the Harmonious! We have searched long and hard through this galaxy to find another peaceful civilization. There is so much... so much insanity scattered through the cosmos!"

 

"Er, yes, yes there is. In the spirit of openness, I should stress that there's been some conflict in our human history..."

 

"In ours too, Terence Jonathan. In the archives of Azzoccola there is a story buried deep by a generation long before. It tells of the most dreadful strife between two rival factions. Many wish for the conflict to be forgotten, but I and many other officers of the Collective believe it is important to remember it... lest it happen again."

 

"In that we can be in perfect agreement. There's darkness in all species' histories. To be honest, when we first left for space, we worried that our history would be darker than most."

 

"As did we. You see... it's difficult to put it into words, to discuss it so bluntly and without hiding the nastier parts of it... but long ago on Azzoccola, there was a piece of land that both factions wanted."

 

"Many human conflicts started the same way."

 

"The piece of land was located near an impoverished village suffering from a disease."

 

"Yes, those living near the conflict always suffer the most."

 

"And so two rival groups of Azzoccolans... they both... they both raced to the area, trying to be the first to establish a hospital and charitable outreach center for the people there!"

 

"...what?"

 

"It was truly awful. Fortunately it came to a somewhat peaceful end--one side agreed to cover the nutritional needs of the villagers, while the other group produced the medicine necessary for healing their plague. But this disagreement still remains as a dark badge of shame that will hang upon the neck of every Azzoccolan until the end of time."

 

"..."

 

"...Have I dishonored my kind already? I beg forgiveness, Terence Jonathan. We have changed since then--truly, we have evolved for the better!"

 

"It's not that, Alr Un Mi. I'm just... huh. Rethinking the way we introduce ourselves."

 

"It is as I feared. All races look at us askance when we tell them of this black chapter of our history."

 

"..."

 

"Our sensors detect your ship moving out of transmission range, Terence Jonathan. Are we truly so fearsome that you must flee from us now?"

 

"No, it's not that. I think... I think I'll go revisit the Auschwitz memorial back on my planet. I need to do some thinking."

 

"I see. Is Auschwitz where your kind fought its version of the Dread Hospital War?"

 

"...Oh God. Our species really sucks..."

[Oversleep]

Ouch. I've visited Auschwitz, it truly is horrible. Of course, not only Hitler did inhuman things. There's also Stalin, who - among many things - tried to starve to death a whole nation.
Nice "take that, humanity", Kobold . Upvote.

From story-telling point of view, I have yet to find why mages in my story, who lived in almost any time period didn't stop massacres, wars, genocides... I can't sell this whole "No interference with normal people" rule, because nobody who knew what was going on in concentration camps would have restrained himself from interfering. Of course, back then people lacked this specific way of thinking required to build complex spells (you basically have to think in programming language of sorts), but they still could easily take on everything short of small army.

Edited December 25, 2015 by Oversleep

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Nice, Kobold. Though I see no reason to believe alien races would be any better or worse than we are. There'd be decent folk and some real monsters, but I don't think overall they'd come out any more saintly or monstrous than we are.

[Kobold King]

Ouch. I've visited Auschwitz, it truly is horrible. Of course, not only Hitler did inhuman things. There's also Stalin, who - among many things - tried to starve to death a whole nation.

Nice "take that, humanity", Kobold . Upvote.

Nice, Kobold. Though I see no reason to believe alien races would be any better or worse than we are. There'd be decent folk and some real monsters, but I don't think overall they'd come out any more saintly or monstrous than we are.

 

 

Thanks!

 

The Azzoccolans are but one of many races in my current setting. There are good eggs and bad eggs in any race, but the level of violence species engage in is variable. Some races think warfare is as insane as plucking your own eyes out; some races view it as a sport; some think it's a tragedy that can at times be an unfortunate necessity.

 

And then you have races like the Yulli, who abhor violence so they developed a fleet of AI murder bots to commit violence for them on any species that comes too close to their homeworld. A non-violent species is by no means devoid of evil and dark thoughts...

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

Christmas is either about Jesus or family—depending on who you ask. Most people who say it's about Jesus don't pick that one over the other; they just celebrate both. 

 

I'm not complaining. The two go together pretty nicely. The Christmas story, after all, stars a family—the Family, Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. The woman with the courage to be the Promised One's Mother, the man with the faith and strength of character to stick up for her, and the Child born to save the world. When I think what Mary must've gone through, conceiving a child out of wedlock; and what Joseph must've endured to stand by her side….well, it's enough to make anyone admire them. 

 

I guess that's part of why everyone appreciates their families a little more around the holidays. I'm not saying kids suddenly realize their moms are as awesome as Mary was, or that their dads could be Joseph in a pinch; I just think that the season puts family front and center, so people are more grateful for theirs. You only get one, after all. Might as well be thankful for it. 

 

It's just….sometimes I wonder about that Family. We only ever see them at their best. Mary choosing to bear the Messiah, despite all the ire she'd face. Joseph deciding to break it off quietly so Mary wouldn't be disgraced, then reversing his decision when God showed him the big picture. They were awesome, but they were human. Mary might've had a bad day and yelled at Jesus for no reason. Joseph might've grouched at him for leaving the door open one too many times. Would Jesus have done that? I bet He wouldn't have. He would've closed the door every time He came inside, so Joseph wouldn't have had a reason to get mad at Him. 

 

I mean, Jesus was perfect, after all. That's the whole point of Him. He lived the perfect life to give us an example to follow. So I wonder what He did, when his parents acted a little too human. When Mary stomped around the house and sighed for hours because someone forgot to feed the cat, He probably quietly fed the cat and apologized when He saw her, even if it wasn't His fault the cat didn't get fed. When Joseph had a bad day at work and came home shouting at his kids for stupid reasons, Jesus probably sat down with His father and let him vent. Probably got him some coffee, too. 

 

Of course, people can be much worse than that. I'll bet there were days when Mary felt like everything was conspiring against her and scolded the first person she saw just for the sake of scolding them. If that person was Jesus, He probably took it in stride. Probably stood there and listened to her yell. He wouldn't have talked back to her. Wouldn't have said "Mom, I didn't do this thing you think I did." Wouldn't have said she overreacted. Wouldn't have told her that it hurt when she called Him a failure of a child, and that she shouldn't say such hurtful things. 

 

When Joseph whispered behind his back that He was a disappointment, Jesus wouldn't have confronted him on it. No, He would've let it slide. Parents are everyone's first taste of authority, and authority figures should be respected. Honored. You don't honor authority figures by bringing up every tiny thing they say. It doesn't matter how much those things hurt. You have to let them slide. And Jesus would've let them slide. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, wouldn't have wanted His parents to feel guilty. Not after all they'd been through to bring Him into the world. 

 

But….I don't know. I look at Him later on, and I don't know how to make all that fit. I mean, look at the woman caught in adultery. He risked His life to save her, even when she was clearly in the wrong. Those Pharisees were authority figures, and Jesus stood up to them. He preached against them. He called them "whitewashed tombs." 

 

Still, they weren't parents. They were authority figures, yeah. But they weren't parents. "Honor thy father and mother," says the Fifth Commandment. No ifs, ands, or buts. Nowhere does it say "Honor thy Pharisees" or "Honor thy pastors." Just parents. They're the only ones singled out. They're special. Jesus never called anyone's mother or father a "brood of vipers." 

 

I can't stop thinking of that sermon, though. You know the one, where he said "Which of you, if your son asks for a fish, would give him a snake? Or if he asks for a loaf of bread, would give him a stone?" Those questions are rhetorical. Jesus wanted to make a point, that no parent would give their children snakes or stones instead of meeting their basic needs, so God won't do that, either. 

 

Except for my parents. 

 

Oh, oh no. I didn't mean it like that. My parents never neglected me. I always had clothes in my closet, a warm room to sleep in, food in the fridge when I got home from school. The only time I went to bed hungry was when I talked back. I may not have known what I said wrong when I said it, but I knew by the next morning. Some jokes are only funny when the parents make them. You can't call your dad retarded with a smile on your face, even if he did the same thing to you the night before. 

 

I didn't go hungry, not physically, anyway. But….maybe it's wrong to call it hunger, but that's the only word I have for it. If I came home from school in tears, I never got a hug. Just a, "What happened this time?" and a list of everything I should've done differently to keep those bullies from targeting me. If I brought home a C, I never got told I was smart enough for a B. I just got to stay up until midnight working on practice problems out of the book, my dad making me do them again and again until I got them right. If I ate lunch alone, I never told my mom. I never cried where she could see. She wanted her kids to be happy, and seeing me unhappy would've made her unhappy. 

 

Were Mary and Joseph like that? 

 

Sometimes, I like to cast my parents as Bible characters and see how they would've done things differently. My dad does pretty well as some of the generals in the Old Testament. My mom would've made a decent Martha. But I've never made them Mary and Joseph. I'm afraid to try. 

 

I don't want to imagine my mother, demanding a twelve-point plan from God Himself, detailing precisely how she'll benefit from bearing the Messiah. 

 

I don't want to picture my father, throwing up his hands, vowing to tell the whole of Nazareth about how his fiancee was messing around. 

 

I don't want to see them yelling at Jesus. 

 

I don't want to see them demanding He be a Messiah made in their image. 

 

I don't want to see Jesus crying when their words slice deep. 

 

I don't want to see them yelling at Him for crying. 

 

I don't want to see Jesus curled on His bed, wondering when He'll stop being such a colossal screwup. 

 

I just want the Holy Family to remain the way it is: Mother Mary, smiling sweetly at her son. Father Joseph, one hand cradling his Divine Stepson and the other wrapped protectively around his wife. Baby Jesus, gazing up at the two greatest parents He could ask for. 

 

Parents who love Him when He leaves the door open. 

 

Who hug Him close when He has a bad day at school. 

 

Who would smite any bully who teased Him off the face of the Earth. 

 

Who don't make Him feel like a disappointment to them. To His teachers. To God. 

 

I know all this is moot. Jesus was perfect, right? He wouldn't have disappointed His parents, so they wouldn't have had anything to yell over. 

 

But it's nice to think about. That even if Jesus had screwed up once in a while, Mary and Joseph would've let him. They would've kept on loving him, knowing God had a purpose in mind. 

 

Jesus never screwed up. I know that. 

 

But I like to believe in parents who keep on loving their kids, even when they fail.