Break that wheel

91. The Five Turns of the Wheel – Stephanie Ellis

Celebrating Mother Nature is sometimes not very fun. Tommy, Betty, and Fiddler make it not fun for the villages in this area on purpose because that’s the way it has to be for Hwoel, who is powerful and has no sense of humor or joy, apparently that goes when one becomes an ancient being, and the Mother, who seems voiceless for the most part, which isn’t very nice. The old rites have to be done, the super petty and personal process of choosing sacrifices is done, and everyone just has to live with it because they’re not allowed to leave. Folk horror often involves traditions of harvest and how it’s going to go and being thankful for the harvest and who we thank and it’s not ever a celebration of the scientific modifications of plants that made corn grow more abundant nibblets or the like because that’s just not very folksy. We didn’t have to bleed anyone out over a field to get more nibblets. Anyway, in this story the main thing that comes through is the weariness of fear from the villagers. “I’m the one who does this,” “This is where Tommy stays,” “My daughter’s been assigned to marry the giant, hairy mummer dude named Betty,” etc. It’s unpleasant and unending and very palpable, but still makes for a story that hums along like Fiddler’s song and makes it stop.

Snuffy is nibbling the abundance.