This Much Trauma Deserves Magic

And maybe even the odd bit of spice.

In recent months I have found my way back into reading, largely through the world of fantasy books. Now let me start with a few quick statements.

1. I am a life long avid reader and have never gone too long without a book of some type, but it has been a few years since I would lose myself entirely in a book or series and stay up all night reading.

2. I will not be mentioning the specific books that have brought me so squarely and intensely back to the world of fantasy… Mostly because I live in a world where the BookTok generation of readers are complaining about the “difficulty” of language in books while simultaneously admitting they only read the dialogue and skip the rest. That particular corner of the internet builds more rage than I have room for in my body, and the books I’ve fallen in love with are very much adjacent to that crowd’s joy. I choose peace. Or at least the illusion of it.

Now back to the fantasy worlds I am reading. I have found myself lost in these worlds with a sense of childish glee. I have quite honestly had laugh out loud, giggle behind the book and have little legs in the air running moments (I don’t honestly know how to describe these, if you know you know) but none the less my glee has been loud, and yes I have also cried like a heart broken teen seeing the beloved side characters meet less than pleasant ends. However there is one thing that I can’t seem to escape from.

These books that are capturing my heart again are reminding me of things that I fell in love with in all worlds I would lose myself in growing up. The ability to be able to read stories where people are willing to fight for a better world, sometimes it’s simply watching characters choose hope when the easier option would be to give up.

I think what gets me every single time is that these worlds never pretend everything is fine. They acknowledge the darkness. They don’t shy away from grief or loss or cruelty. But they still dare to imagine that ordinary people can make a difference, that love is worth protecting, and that rebuilding is possible. So yes tears are a fairly common occurrence too.

I guess what I am saying at the heart of it

Every time I turn on the news, every time I read an article, or catch up with my friends who work in vulnerable communities or on the front lines, I am reminded that there are horrors here in this world, right now, its not something we can hide from or escape and honestly for the amount that I am seeing and hearing about right now…

If we’re all going to live through this absolute nonsense, I would at least like a goddamn dragon to keep me company.

Because if we’re expected to navigate pandemics, wars, climate disasters, political chaos, cost-of-living crises, and the general dumpster fire that seems to be the human experience at the moment, the least the universe could do is let one of us stumble across a magical forest and discover we’re the long-lost heir to some ancient kingdom.

I’m not asking for much.

Just a dragon.

Perhaps a decent MMC who isnt a walking red flag?

Maybe a sword.

Definitely universal healthcare… hopefully with a couple of doctors who wont dismiss us all…?

But mostly the dragon.

xxx

A sadly Dragon-less

Chronically Bex