Fate, Free Will, And The Author

[RumplesGirl]

On a different note, if “Author” is technically a job title, is “Sorcerer” also a job, occupied by many different people at different times? If so, what’s the job description? And if not, then… who or what is it?

I think the Sorcerer is their God Insert (if Author is their Lucifer Pre-Fall insert–and Michael/Apprentice cast him into the pit of hell…or book…)

One quill rule them all. Not a fan of The Lord of the Rings, but I couldn’t help it.

LOL. But you might not be far off if we want to factor in Tolkien’s less popular Silmarillon into account here (which I’m sure A and E have read, nerds that they are). It’s very Genesis meets Jewish/Christian extra textual additions but the idea that there was once naught but Eru Iluvater (GOD) and he created…ok, you know what. Just watch this. What I’m getting at is that the Author is Melchor, the one who disrupts the Song

 

 

[RumplesGirl]

Actually…this brings me to another question: the Quill itself.

It seems that the Author is only truly the Author when he has the Quill. @Obisgirl joked about the One Ring, but I don’t think she’s far off here. The One Ring was created to be part of the Eye in the Sky. It corrupts anyone who is not The Eye in the Sky. Is the Quill searching for the “correct” Author—did the Quill reject this current Author for whatever reason, fester into his soul and force him to corrupt the stories in order to escape from him and go on to find another Author?

I know that sounds mental, but it’s actually a fairly big trope in fantasy literature. The hero and his magic sword/other object of power and the relationship between the two.

The Sword can only be pulled from the Stone by Arthur.

The One Ring must be with Sauron.

@Nevermore and I gave a quick reference to Michael Moorcock and his “Eternal Champion” stories in my “Temptation of Emma Swan” thread in which Elric and his sword Stormbringer have a (let’s just say) confusing and slightly parasitic relationship (much like Sauron and the Ring)

Hal Jordon and the Green Lantern Ring

“The Wand chooses the Wizard, Harry” from JKR’s series

So is the Quill just an object that only gains power when the Author has it, or does the Quill have some sort of understanding about its proper owner.

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[nevermore]

I think the Sorcerer is their God Insert (if Author is their Lucifer Pre-Fall insert–and Michael/Apprentice cast him into the pit of hell…or book…)

You’re likely right, but I wonder… For a good chunk of S4 we were operating under the assumption that the Author was good, and the Sorcerer was bad. Then this got reversed — we are now thinking the Author is bad, and the Sorcerer good (although, as @Slurpeez points out, the Apprentice is a bit of a shady operator). It seems like the next logical move is to say that in fact, they are neither (evil or good). This is where, from the narrative’s point of view, the rug is supposed to be pulled from under our feet, right?

Slurpeez wrote: Maybe the Apprentice simply took the title of Sorcerer from the previous sorcerer, but hasn’t let on yet.

In the dialogue with the Author (“You are ill suited for the job etc”) he says “You have deceived us.” So it seems that either he is talking about himself using the Royal We, or there really is a separate entity that is the Sorcerer. Although I wonder if they are not, in fact, the same person in the sense of inhabiting the same body. There have been precedents

There is definitely 1 artifact in the story that has a parasitic/symbiotic relationship with its host, as per @Rumplesgirl’s observation, namely the DO’s dagger. The hat, we know, seems separate from its “owner”. The dagger gives magic, at a price. The hat absorbs magic (at a price? Leaving what behind?). The quill apparently rewrites reality (or at least edits it). It’s interesting that it doesn’t have a “direct” relationship to magic, in this sense, even though, technically, it occupies a parallel place to the hat.

One last strange thing. While he was sending Mal’s baby through the green vortex of doom, the Apprentice kept repeating (twice, I think, but maybe more) that he’s sending her “where she (it? the baby) belongs.” Which seems like a harsh statement considering he just said she’s a blank slate (now presumably with Emma’s potential for darkness). But what if we took it as a statement of fate. As in, she literally belongs there, because she’s supposed to cause a chain of events to occur.

 

[obisgirl]

Actually…this brings me to another question: the Quill itself. It seems that the Author is only truly the Author when he has the Quill. @Obisgirl joked about the One Ring, but I don’t think she’s far off here.

Ok.

Is the Quill searching for the “correct” Author—did the Quill reject this current Author for whatever reason, fester into his soul and force him to corrupt the stories in order to escape from him and go on to find another Author? I know that sounds mental, but it’s actually a fairly big trope in fantasy literature. The hero and his magic sword/other object of power and the relationship between the two. The Sword can only be pulled from the Stone by Arthur. The One Ring must be with Sauron…So is the Quill just an object that only gains power when the Author has it, or does the Quill have some sort of understanding about its proper owner.

Quote

It would explain why there isn’t just one author.  But also, I don’t think the Author is immortal like Rumple.

I think it’s more like Buffy.  There was a long line of Slayers before we got to Buffy.  One slayer dies, another takes her place. I think that’s the more likely story with the author. Since he or she is not immortal, when one dies, another takes up the quill.

Which begs the question, what is the screening process like for that?  I had an interview for a part-time graphic design job a week ago and the HR guy sent me a two-part survey.  It was one of those personality surveys, to help weed out applicants.  Anyway, I’m wondering if the Sorcerer or the Apprentice had a similar method for trying to decide what makes this guy a better applicant to be the author rather than this other guy?

[RumplesGirl]

This is where, from the narrative’s point of view, the rug is supposed to be pulled from under our feet, right?

LOL they are both evil! Is there something above the Sorcerer? I mean what is the definitive power ranking here if we take into account The Sorcerer, The Apprentice, The Author, The Dark One, and The Blue Fairy?

The Author was chosen (by the Sorcerer? Are we sure about that…) and was able to deceive/manipulate the Apprentice and the Sorcerer but then the Apprentice was able to trap the Author. With all that in mind, the DO seems like a by product of all these things, perhaps the same with The Blue Fairy?

Sorcerer

Author

Apprentice (who derives his power from the Sorcerer)

Blue Fairy (if we follow that Good is better than Evil and the BF is good…which, no but let’s go with it)

The Dark One

One last strange thing. While he was sending Mal’s baby through the green vortex of doom, the Apprentice kept repeating (twice, I think, but maybe more) that he’s sending her “where she (it? the baby) belongs.”

No idea if this relates but your reminder of that piece of dialogue strongly reminds me of BF saying that the DO’s curse did not belong in the EF

think it’s more like Buffy. There was a long line of Slayers before we got to Buffy. One slayer dies, another takes her place. I think that’s the more likely story with the author. Since he or she is not immortal, when one dies, another takes up the quill.

Which might explain why there is no new Author yet…the old one hasn’t died yet

Also, another note: are we looking at a Macro/Micro parallel?

Author vs Sorcerer

Lily vs The Savior

As above so below?

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[obisgirl]

obisgirl wrote:

think it’s more like Buffy. There was a long line of Slayers before we got to Buffy. One slayer dies, another takes her place. I think that’s the more likely story with the author. Since he or she is not immortal, when one dies, another takes up the quill.

Which might explain why there is no new Author yet…the old one hasn’t died yet

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And given how these seasons are structured now, I think that this current author will either die or retire peacefully by the end of this season.  Season five, we get something else. But I think death is more likely.

[Sweets]

It seems like the next logical move is to say that in fact, they are neither (evil or good). This is where, from the narrative’s point of view, the rug is supposed to be pulled from under our feet, right?

To me this arc has been emphasizing that no one is evil or good. I keep coming back to the fact that the Sorcerer was able to be ‘manipulated’ by Ingrid. The Apprentice not only send her to The Land without Magic, but also gave her instructions on how to find Emma and how to get into StoryBrooke. Thats some way far out planning.

I put ‘manipulated’ in quotations because if the end goal is to somehow corrupt Emma, maybe it was planned all along.

Which would put more weight into the idea that nothing is truly free will. Everything is determined by ‘fate’.

[Sweets]

With all that in mind, the DO seems like a by product of all these things, perhaps the same with The Blue Fairy?

What if the Sorcerer is the Dark Fairy that has been mentioned previously?

[obisgirl]

I think it was established that the Sorcerer and the Apprentice are two different people but thus far, it seems like the Apprentice has more magic than the Sorcerer does; given how, we’ve actually see him do this.

I seriously have my doubts about who this this mysterious Sorcerer is.  I think it has to be the Apprentice. 

The Dark Fairy as far we’ve seen is a plot device.  Whoever she is, she’s rarely developed outside of that.

[nevermore]

And given how these seasons are structured now, I think that this current author will either die or retire peacefully by the end of this season.  Season five, we get something else. But I think death is more likely.

I have a suspicion this isn’t a job you retire from. The Apprentice mentions something like “you have failed at the sacred duty” blah blah. The language makes me think that August’s description of this as a “job” is a little bit misleading — you’re right, it’s more like Buffy and assorted Chosen One(s).

Which would put more weight into the idea that nothing is truly free will. Everything is determined by ‘fate’.

Interesting! It reminds me of how time travel fiction has dealt with divergent timelines. I’m oversimplifying, but at the two extremes, you have minor actions balloon into a proliferation of AUs; or, on the other end, no matter what you do, the elasticity of the timeline always snaps back into a single (and hence inevitable) sequence (so you can’t change history).

Also, another note: are we looking at a Macro/Micro parallel? Author vs Sorcerer Lily vs The Savior As above so below?

Hah! Well, that is presumably how all magic works, so it wouldn’t entirely surprise me. Though I wonder if they are, in fact, in opposition, I think your hierarchy question is exactly on point. So, the Sorcerer supposedly creates the Author’s job/sacred duty/what have you. Is that what we’ve been told so far? Or did the create the Quill (which looks like it acts as the show’s version of the Printing Press, historically speaking).

So the obvious question, and unless the Sorcerer’s planning to run for office and needs a track record of creating jobs, is why did he feel the need for an Author (but only if it’s an archivist, with not too much creative license). And if the Sorcerer is also a “job” held by many people, do we know if it’s this Sorcerer, whoever he/she is, that created the job of Author? Or his antecedent?

 

[Author]

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