31 Day Challenge: The Legion, Day 1: When Did I Start The Legion?

I started writing what would eventually become The Legion when I was 15 or 16 after watching one of my favorite childhood movies, Disney's Sleeping Beauty. I had completely worn out my VHS copy and was delighted when my parents presented the DVD to me on Christmas morning, so once clean-up was finished, I rushed to pop it into the player, bouncing with anticipation as the lush, tapestry-like art displayed across the screen and the glorious, sweeping music filled the room.

Via Wikipedia

By the closing credits, however, my excitement had faded, and I was left thinking, "Why exactly did I like this movie?" I hadn't studied any feminist theory at this point in my life, and I was attending a Christian academy that was all about enforcing traditional gender norms, but I still felt something was off. Despite being ostensibly about Princess Aurora, she was a bit player in her own story; things just happened around and to her, and not once do we really hear her thoughts on any of it, save for her disappointment that she can't ever see the guy she fell in love with in like two minutes ever again. Sure, she looks sad as she walks down the hallway in her castle, but I don't think she has any lines after she pricks her finger (please correct me if I'm wrong here). In reality, this is Prince Phillip's film: he lets his father know he's going to marry Briar Rose (Aurora's fake name, in case you aren't familiar with the movie), he fights Maleficent*, he slashes his way through bramble to reach Aurora, and he breaks the sleeping spell on her and the kingdom by smooching the girl. I mean, the movie does technically pass the Bechdel-Wallace test, and at least Phillip doesn't rape her like the king does in the original tale, but I feel like that's reaching. Anyway, I was severely annoyed at how the men in the movie were making all the decisions - and stupid ones, at that - and the women were just kind of like, "Well, I guess that's okay." Aurora's mother, apparently named Queen Leah (never mentioned in the movie), has literally one line and then is just kind of weepy the rest of the time. The fairies are fun, and at least they try to do some good with the shit sandwich they'd been given, but despite being major players, they are still playing second fiddle to Phillip.

So I started wondering what would happen if Aurora woke up and just said, "Yeah, fuck this." Then she left to live in the woods or something so she could at least process everything: she's a princess, betrothed to the hot guy she met in the forest, was technically supposed to die, etc. That's a lot for a 16-year-old girl to handle all at once. The story I wrote as a similarly-aged teenager understandably wasn't the best, but it laid the groundwork for what I'm writing now. 

Ren was originally Lace, the daughter of a lecherous king who pissed off the wrong woman. I can't remember exactly what he did or to whom he did it (I think he promised to leave his wife for this woman's daughter but changed his mind because he was a dickweasel), but the woman cursed his daughter with a demon that would eventually kill her and take over her body. The king found a friendly sorceress who bound the demon in a sort of limbo until they could find a way to extract it, despite the common knowledge that this was just extending the child's life a bit longer. Anyway, in her dreams, Lace befriended the demon, a very powerful yet frightened spirit that was ripped from its own realm without any idea as to why. Things happened, and then through sheer will, Lace and the demon fused to become a completely new entity: Idun. Lace's love interest tries to wake her up with a kiss, but she feigns deep sleep/death, and after he leaves, she gets up and goes to explore the world as her new self. Obviously, I don't remember a lot of the details I hammered out over about a year, and I lost the handwritten novel eons ago in one of the many moves I've made. Even as it currently changes, the core of what I created in that time period has stuck with me, gradually morphing into what I am doing at the moment.

Eventually, though, I am going to have to get to a point where I just let it go as it is. I'm a perfectionist, so when I think of a way to improve, I just wanna scrap the whole thing and start over. I thought I had done that when I self-published the two original novellas, but I now realize that was the first draft. I've honed my craft (thanks, NaNoWriMo) and really can't wait to release The Legion into the world as it should be.

DAY TWO: FAVORITE CHARACTER >

BACK TO CHALLENGE

* I have a healthy love for Maleficent, even if she's essentially a petty witch, butthurt that she didn't get invited to a goddamn party, but she can turn into a dragon at will, so ... She is arguably the most interesting character in Sleeping Beauty and all of the action of the film happen because of what she does.