MalakkiWrites

I don’t think I did this last year, so imma bring it back. To start off we are gonna do a bit of gospel since I didn’t go to church yesterday lol. Maranda Curtis is a gospel singer with a powerful voice. Her recent album Worship Restored (Live) was released April 25th, 2025, and I honestly sleep with this album on repeat some nights. Maranda’s voice is one you can fall asleep and wake up to. The Holy One is only one of my favorite songs off the album, so I’m going to share it with you all today.

This scene is from chapter 8 where Bree tracks Nick down in his Genetics 201 class. Their dynamic even this early on! I love it!

Like if academics have been having conversations about Heathcliff, his race and his ethnicity, for decades and have all come to the conclusion that the language used to describe him and just his character in general is in fact about a man of color then who are you to say otherwise? I’m 100% sure that if Emily Brontë, who’s family were abolitionists, was talking about a man who was Irish her language would have been completely different. Never mind the fact that Wuthering Heights came out a few years after slavery was abolished in Britain. Heathcliff is called a moor among other racially charged words that specifically were used against Indian people and POC. Liverpool where Heathcliff was found was a slave port! It was literally famous for that. There’s something in the text where it’s said that Heathcliff looks like his mother could be maybe Chinese but he has the dark skin of someone from India…

Me: okay cool

Legendborn: Merlins need to be Oathed to serve the Order and those that don’t are considered magical criminals (an Oath is magical, binding, and unbreakable, and it will kill you if you try to break it)

Me: hm

Legendborn: Selwyn, as the most powerful Merlin of his generation, was taken away from his parents as a young child and forced to swear an Oath to Nick, the Heir of King Arthur, to serve him and protect him and follow him and die for him if necessary. Everyone thinks this is kind of sad but necessary

Me: in a book that’s very thematically concerned with slavery, racism, and exploitation, why are we just glossing over this. Is it because it’s not racially-based slavery, it’s magic and that’s different?

Legendborn: Merlins get their magic powers because they are all descended from a demon. Their demon blood makes them not fully human and they need to be kept under control with Oaths or else they could get volatile and dangerous

No, actually you are picking up on parallels Tracey Deonn is drawing on between historical slavery and the Merlin's oaths.

bree's internal monologue about erebus during the first few chunks of the book was colored so Much by the fact the she was literally missing a chunk of her soul and thought he would make her stronger, because she thought she was FAILING everyone around her.

Rah Rah Nick doesn't have feelings for Sel this, Nick and Sel's relationship is too damaged that. Oh yeah? explain this...