Thinking 'bout them Beans. (Not an Update + Thinking 'bout them Beans.) · 5:34pm Apr 10th, 2022
Just got to thinking about a concept I've been dreaming about for a looong time, which I kinda explored in my very old story 'Heart of the Land'. It's a concept weirdly born out of inspiration from both Minecraft and the Wildlings, from ASoIaF, where I explore the value of Freedom vs Safety. Represented by 'an army of kings', the protagonists are individuals who've settled a distant wilderness, unbound by society's laws and loyalties, they respect only their own strength and the fruit of their hard work. Opposite them comes the antagonist, representing the oppressive side of civilization, whose force comes from the subjugation of the individual for the strength of the collective.
Or something like that. If you get to know me you'll realize that I despise philosophy, even if a lot of my work is inevitably influenced by it. That's just the way we're hardwired, my dudes. Everything we do and think is inspired and influenced by the stuff that makes up the society where we were raised. Anyway.
The story would romanticize the strength of the individual over the collective, playing on the might and bravery of the pioneering free men and women, vs the enslaved and meek that have been subsumed into that collective. This is where the phrase 'an army of kings' comes into play. In the protagonists' forces every warrior is an individual, a master of his own destiny, joined together with the others not because he has to, but because he wills it. An army of kings, free, where every death is a tragedy. Opposite them we have a slave army, akin to the comparison drawn in the movie 300, where every individual death is glossed over and forgotten in the time it takes you to read the line. These men fight and die because another wills them to do so, so they are faceless and perish in anonymity.
I don't have much on the story itself, unless you count 'Heart of the Land' as it, which I don't 100%, but the concept is very firmly set in my mind. 'An army of kings'. I think this will have to be one of my next projects. I really love the idea, it's super romantic and moving.
Anyway, that's all the beans I have for you today. Bye!
