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aboutzatanna · 2 years ago

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Meet Zachary Zatara! Zatanna’s Cousin

I’ve covered Zatanna’s mother, father and now to complete my series of posts on the pairing, lets look at Zachary Zatara.

Zachary is a magician just like Zatanna, making her one of the few female heroes with a male side kick. He was also a member of the Teen Titans during Geoff Johns run which the YJ show draws heavily from.

I’ve included a recommended reading guide for him at the very end of the post including some lesser known, obscure stories so do check that out if you’re interested in wanting to read more about him.

The inspiration for Zachary goes back to writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross Kingdom Come OGN. KC was seminal back in the day and had a huge influence on the DCU both positive and negative.

A big part of KC were the children of various superheroes and super villains whom Superman, freshly out of retirement, recruits into his new super powered army in order to fix a world ravaged by out of control anti heroes like Magog.

One of them was John Zatara, the son of Zatanna and Constantine (the latter of whom was walled off from the rest of the DCU at the time). It’s not known what happened to Zatanna and Constantine in the KC timeline, Zatara being their kid was only revealed in the back of the Absolute edition of Kingdom Come.

Zatara barely had a speaking role in the OGN, here is a couple of scenes where he shows up in:

He also showed up as a supporting character in ‘Kingdom Come: The Offspring’ one shot by Mark Waid and Frank Quietly which focused on Plastic Man’s son Earnie a.k..a ‘Offspring’ where it was mentioned that he was dating Avia, the daughter of Scott Free and Big Barda.

Also note that all of his dialogue was written backwards throughout the whole comic even during normal every day conversations:

He also appeared as a background character in The Kingdom Special as one of the many heroes trying to protect Superman and Wonder Woman’s kid from Magog.

Given these minor appearances it’s really hard to get a feel of Zatara’s personality here. One gets the impression that Avia is the assertive one in their relationship whilst Zatara is the passive one. And...this is just my speculation here, but I think KC Zatara might be autistic or at least, on the spectrum.

After KC’s monumental success, DC began incorporating elements from KC into it’s main universe, and just to give you an idea of how immense and influential KC is and continues to be:

(feel free to skip past these bullet points if you’re not interested in KC’s influence)

- Maxine Hunkel, Magog, Jai and Iris West first appeared in KC then later in the main DCU.

-The concept of a Blue Beetle who wore mecha armor ended up becoming Jaime Reyes.

-It also popularized the idea of Bruce and Talia having a son. The idea originated from ‘Son of the Demon’ where we first see their infant child given up for adoption. Then in KC we see him grown up and named ‘Ibn Al Xuffasch’ and later incorporated into the comics in the form of Damian Wayne. Xuffasch also had a romance with Nightstar (Dick and Kory’s kid) much to Dick’s chagrin.

-Alan Scott’s GL armor was introduced in KC that later appeared in the main universe.

-WW’s golden eagle armor which has appeared in both the main universe and in WW84, her being the one Trinity member being willing to kill in the series which also directly paved the way for Rucka’s Sacrifice arc in which she killed Maxwell Lord. Granted she killed once during Perez’s run but the context of how it happened in Sacrifice directly pertains to KC. This lead to the false perception of Diana being a blood thirsty warrior and her thus her characterization in early Nu52 era.

-KC Superman even showed up in the main universe and even talking to Diana about how the main universe was turning similar to his.

-The concept of Diana being exiled from Themyscira. In KC universe she was exiled because of her failure to change Man’s World. In JLU, 2017 Wonder Woman and Bloodlines DTV movie, her being exiled would be incorporated into her origin story instead (not for the better, if you ask me). In the Golden Age, Post Crisis and Rebirth versions, she left voluntarily with the blessings of her mother and sisters and was later able to reunite with them.

-Even the core concept of the Infinite Crisis event of older heroes trying to impose a nostalgic outdated view of heroism on a world they deemed too dark and cynical was clearly inspired by KC.

-JLU’s Cadmus arc and the paranoia about Superman turning the JL into a super powered army, the fight with Captain Marvel on the show, things turning out for the worst despite Superman’s best intentions and Batman disproving of Superman sentencing criminals to the Phantom Zone felt like they were directly drawn from KC.

-CW’s version of Crisis on Infinite Earths where Brandon Routh’s Superman had a costume similar to KC Superman and even has elements of his backstory like Lois, Perry and his co workers being killed by a gas attack from the Joker.

-Even CBR exists because of KC since the site started off as a fansite for Kingdom Come before turning into a forum and later a comic book news site. So yeah, good and bad influences on the DCU all round.

1/3 Zachary Meets Infinity Inc & Black Adam

Anyway, back to Zachary Zatara, he first debuted in Teen Titans Vol 3 #34 and was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniels. Although his first published appearance was in Teen Titans, his first chronological appearance would have been in 52; a weekly series which covered the gap year in which Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were inactive and other heroes were filling in for them.

Zachary showed up in 52 #21 as part of the Teen Titans team investigating the new Infinity Inc (a group of kids given super powers by Luthor).

Note that’s not Big Barda. That’s Little Barda. A New God who takes after Barda and clearly based off of Avia.

Zach gets off on the wrong foot with one of the Infinity Inc members:

Later, in the issue, one of the Infinity Inc members was killed in battle (thanks to Luthor’s machinations) and Zach and Little Barda are seen at the funeral:

Note that Zach is associated with Raven.

Later in 52 #32 Zachary is among the crowds of young heroes gathered to fight Black Adam (he’s right next to the Superboy statues palm):

Among them is also a young, costumed Eddie Bloomberg aka Kid Devil whom we will see will be an important character for Zachary:

In World War III #3 we get a small glimpse of Zachary fighting Black Adam as well as Raven reacting to him getting hurt (these two always had a connection):

And finally in the 52 #50 we see Zachary working with Zatanna and several other mages attempting to stop the rampaging Black Adam with the help of Billy Batson:

Zatanna and Zachary don’t share any dialogue with each other in the issue but it’s cool to see them working together as well as seeing Zatanna and Billy effectively leading the magical side of the DCU and I love that it’s Billy who figured out how to defeat Black Adam.

2/3 Zachary & Eddie + The Teen Titans

Zachary would make single panel appearances in Teen Titans #34-38, they were from bits and pieces from Cyborg’s recordings from when he was in a coma. The ‘present’ day of these issues were set the year after the events of 52 Zach complains about Raven’s powers affecting him and we also get hints of his personality:

So Raven has gone missing and in between fighting super villains, the Titans go on search for her which leads them to meet Zachary.

Zachary finally gets the spotlight in Teen Titans #39 in which we are also introduced to his assistant, Bunny and he and the Titans don’t really get along:

We also learn from Cyborg that his powers were only awakened recently after the events of Days of Vengeance (long story short; Spectre went crazy, Nabu died, magic died and was reborn):

Zachary is kind of snobbish, arrogant and rude but they are also a way for him to hide his insecurities and fears.

As you can see he also has history with Kid Devil/Eddie Bloomberg and we finally learn about their history and Zachary’s role in Eddie’s transformation from the kid in the suit you saw in 52 to the humanoid devil in present day in Teen Titans #42.

So, Eddie is a huge of Blue Devil aka Dan Cassidy and idolizes him much to the latter’s chagrin , this leads to him wanting to get powers just like BD. One day he gets a strange mystical candle from a stranger which he takes to Zachary for consultation:

So despite Zach’s warning, Eddie goes through with the deal and to no one’s surprise, his trust in Blue Devil is in fact broken, when Eddie learns that Blue Devil was indirectly responsible for his Aunt’s death. (Long story short: Neron promised him a way to return to being BD if Daniel blew up a power plant, the latter did but the feed back ended up killing Eddie’s aunt who was miles away. Dan Cassidy kept it a secret until Eddie confronted him about it).

So yeah, Eddie is pretty much damned now but Zach tries to console him the best way he can, in Teen Titans #56:

This era of Teen Titans was heavily dependent on making the Titans into a Junior Justice League. Along with Zachary, this run also introduced Miss Martian and reinvented Superboy/Connor from a fun loving Booster Gold style glory hound to the angsty black t-shirt wearing Superboy we know today and Cassie Sandsmark from the tomboyish fangirl to the cheerleader archetype. Instead of a stand alone squad the Titans were now tutored by older heroes, at least initially. Suffice to say, this run had a huge influence on the Young Justice show.

As for the run itself, I wasn’t a fan of how Robin, Wonder Girl and the Wonder Twins were written. Especially under Sean McKeever post Infinite Crisis (though tbf he faced a lot of editorial hurdles) but the Eddie/Zachary stuff was a highlight for me personally.

Side note, Teen Titans #52 also gave us a peek at a possible future version of Zachary, you can tell he is evil because he has a goatee:

Zach also showed up in Tim Drake’s Robin series (Robin vol 2 #166) to help him out with some bad guys:

There are so many dark haired caucasian costumed guys around, especially in Gotham that even the villains get confused.

There are some interesting parallels between Zachary and Donna Troy. They’re both the side kicks of female heroes, both of them debuted in a title that didn’t star said female hero and they operated independently for a while before actually getting to interacting with their female mentor.

Despite Zachary being a ‘part time’ Titan, he would show up in the 6 issue Terror Titans mini in which the Titans took on Clock King who was running a meta human fight ring. Zachary and the Titans were captured and mind controlled to participate in the tournament and somehow Zach lost to Terra in a straight up fight:

(I call bull shit, maybe he threw the fight)

Also Zach being emotional about Kid Devil is what got him caught in the first place:

Meanwhile, in the main Teen Titans Eddie has managed to beat his curse and returned to normal human form.

Then in the follow up in Teen Titans #69, he harshly turned down Wonder Girl’s offer for Zach and other teens held prisoner by the Clock King to train with the Titans.

His next appearance in the Titans would be part of a back up title called Coven of Three which ran from Teen Titans #84-87. The series starred Zachary Zatara, Traci 13 and Black Alice in which the Demon’s Three trapped them in a world that brought their deepest desires to life. All of it as part of a gambit to escape their imprisonment and threaten the world again.

The series begins by showing Zach in the least flattering light as possible:

Then drops this reveal on us when Zach’s dream world is shown:

Yes, he had a girlfriend with unborn twins who died untimely deaths. How old is this kid anyway? Was it a teen pregnancy? Does Zatanna know? This is one of the many plot threads that could have been addressed in the Zatanna ongoing were it not for it’s untimely cancellation and the 52 reboot.

Traci 13′s dream is a world where she is worshiped as a Goddess and Black Alice’s dream was a world where her parents were alive and they had a normal family unit. Of the three, she was the most reluctant to give up her wish. It made things more complicated because undoing the spell required the consent of all three individuals. Zachary and Traci have relatively normal, stable lives to return to, Alice doesn’t.

We also got this interesting scene showing the difference between a book worm mage and someone who has natural abilities but never studied actual theory:

Zach also brings up Eddie again and he gets a moment with Kate (his dead gf) before helping Traci undo the spell:

The three managed to undo the spell and even agree to become teammates:

But there is a twist at the end where we learn that oops, even though they ‘won’, it was all still a ruse on the Demon’s parts as they’re still playing right into the demon’s hands:

The ending also flips our view of the character. Zachary, whom in the beginning was kind of a jerk, ends up with the most sympathetic motivation of wanting to use magic to bring back his dead girlfriend and unborn child. Black Alice ends up more or less at the same spot she started in. Meanwhile, it looks like Traci 13 is on the path of actually bringing her dreams of being a goddess to reality as she keeps one of the magical items used to trap the Demons Three for herself.

On the YJ cartoon, I wasn’t a fan of Mary being the corrupted one for various reasons. But given Traci’s characterization here, I would have rather she had been the one corrupted by power.

It’s a neat twist and I’m disappointed that there hasn’t been any follow up to it. Especially the part about Zach’s dead girlfriend. Zatanna and Diana need to have a talk about their respective side kicks going through all sorts of trauma in stories without either of them getting involved.

NGL, I still find weird that the Young Justice show, which draws heavily from Geoff Johns era of Titans decided to deage Zatanna and put her on Dick’s team instead of using Zachary, who was already associated with the Titans. Plus it’s rare for a female hero to have a male side kick. But then, if Zatanna was with the adults on YJ, we’ll probably see even less of her.

2/3 Zachary & Superman: World of New Krypton Era

Sometime after his first appearance in Teen Titans, Zachary later showed up in Superman #680 in which Superman fought the mythological Atlas and was getting his ass beat. Supes realized that he needed help so he went to a magic show Zatanna was meant to headline but instead met Zachary there and the two got off to a rough start:

I’ve mentioned this story in another post but lets cut to the chase; Supes is a little abrasive here but lets cut him some slack, the Man of Steel was forced to leave his dog to fight his battles for him.

After getting a super charge from Zachary, Supes managed to beat Atlas but he wanted everyone to credit Krypto instead.

Zachary would have a minor role during the ‘World of New Krypton’ era of Superman comics. This was imo, the most interesting era of Superman comics which was kicked off when Superman rescued the shrunken bottled city of Kandor and restored it to full size on.......earth. So now the inhabitants on earth are neighbors with a thousands of Kryptonians and not all of them are as nice as Superman.

This event was like a tide for the Superman books and supporting cast, I can’t think of another era (besides maybe Death of Superman) that elevated supporting characters like Supergirl, Guardian, Dr Light/Kimiyo Hoshi, Captain Atom while also reviving Silver Age characters like Mon-El, Flamebird and Nightwing/Chris Kent (hey, remember him? he was the proto Jon Kent).

Zachary and Zatanna appeared in Action Comics #873 along with the ‘Sentinel of Magic’ where they cast a spell to ward off a group of hostile Kryptonians and we also get a peek of Zatanna mentoring Zachary:

The Zatara’s and the Marvel Family should team up more, imo. Plus it’s cool to see them doing combos and this is a great follow up from their appearance in 52. Their team work is better here and they’re doing combos now.

In Superman #690, Zachary is meeting one of his stage hands who has something important to tell him when they are suddenly interrupted by Parasite:

Mark Merlin is an old Golden Age character, the writer, James Robinson (who also wrote Starman) is a huge fan of Golden Age characters.

I’m normally not a fan of jerkass protagonists but Zachary is a little different. His arrogance and aloofness serves as a mask to hide his insecurities and cowardiance. Plus you know Zee would whoop his ass if he really crossed the line.

In a sudden twist though, we learn in Superman #692 that the man Zachary was talking to was not Mark Merlin, but Mirabai; a sorceress who agreed to become an ally for General Sam Lane in his anti-Kryptonian war in exchange for him loaning her a brainwashed Captain Atom so she can rule her realm (called the Sorcerers World) with an iron fist.

Zachary appeared in the Captain Atom back up series in Action Comics that ran from Action Comics #879-889. Zachary appeared in #887-889 as an unwitting slave to MIrabai. He doesn’t really get to do much here, the story is centered on Captain Atom who has managed to break out of the Mirabai’s mind control and joined the rebels to help them over throw Mirabai.

He succeeds only to find out that one of his ally’s was actually the wizard Mordru (I’ve mentioned him before in relation to Dr Fate) in disguise who quickly banished Zachary back to the mortal world:

But he is friendly with Captain Atom, telling him that the latter could come back to his realm at any time.

This issue also came with preview pages for Zatanna’s solo series by Paul Dini and Stephane Roux which is where we meet Zachary next:

Side note: Mirabai would make a good foe for Zachary and by extension Zatanna (’nobody enslaves my cousin!’).

3/3 Zachary & Zatanna

Finally, when Zatanna’s own ongoing was launched in 2010, we finally got to see what their relationship was like.

Zachary showed up in Zatanna #04-06 written by Paul Dini and we finally get a little backstory on them including this flashback showing a teenage Zatanna teaching a young Zachary:

Zatanna promises to show up for Zachary’ next show but fails because an evil casino owner who made a deal with a literal demon hypnotizes her to marry him so he can sell her soul in exchange for immortality.

Zachary is at first, pissed when Zatanna doesn’t show up...

but ends up helping her escape from the evil casino owner while also bickering like siblings:

The issue walks a fine line between not rendering Zatanna a damsel in distress, giving her agency in saving herself while also allowing Zachary to contribute to the story.

At the end, she finally does manage to make it to one of his performances:

He showed up next in Zatanna #14 written by Adam Beechen which starts out with Zatanna chewing him out for screwing up a joint performance:

Zach, predictably doesn’t listen and ends up getting into trouble which his cousin had to bail him out of:

Part of what makes the Zatanna/Zachary dynamic so fun is that both Zatanna and her father are often portrayed as heroic and selfless (even if they have some morally gray moments at times) but Zach is more self absorbed and arrogant which forces Zatanna to be more up front in dealing with her side kick. It also gives Zach a character arc; his hubris is a cover for his cowrdiance and insecruities thus his story arc is one about overcoming them to become a better person.

They also worked together during the Reign In Hell event which is set sometime before Zatanna’s series, I’m posting this here because I found Zach’s impudence here to be hilarious:

You know you done fucked up when even Jason Blood is horrified.

Post Nu52, Zachary disappeared but he did show up in Raven: Daughter of Darkenss, a 12 issue limited series by Marv Wolfman as part of the Nightforce:

I haven’t read it yet and it’s the kind of thing that deserves it’s own separate post anyway.

Finally, in 2021, a Suicide Squad book was among the titles in DC’s Round Roubin (basically, vote for whichever title you want to read the most otherwise it won’t see the light of day) with Zachary on the roster. The title never made it past the rounds and was never published but we did get some preview pages, Zach screwed up royally and has to work with the Squad to make up for it:

Thank god this was never published, all I can imagine is Zatanna downing a whole bottle of alcohol and screaming after hearing this.

That’s about it for his major appearances to this date. Now for some FAQ’s before wrapping this up and also check out the Recommended Reading List at the very bottom:

Who Are His Parents?

Zachary’s parents have never appeared on panel and has never been mentioned. Sure, in Earth-22 Kingdom Come universe, ‘John Zatara’ is the son of Zatanna and John Constantine but as you can see there are differences between ‘John Zatara’ and the ‘Zachary Zatara’ here.

Zatanna having an adult son either in the Pre Nu52 universe or the Rebirth timeline doesn’t make much sense timeline wise unless you go down the path of convoluted retcons involving aged up magical babies and false memories ala Pre Crisis Dinah Laurel Lance. You also have to consider the flashbacks showing teen Zatanna training kid Zachary, how they interact like cousins/siblings instead of mother/son and they refer to each other as cousins even when they are by themselves. .

That said, there is no indication in Giovanni’s backstory of him having any siblings either but not enough to completely rule out the possibility either. It’s possible that he had an estranged brother or Giovanni himself became distant from his own family or he had an uncle and Zachary is his cousin first removed.

Also, this is just my opinion, but I can’t really see Zatanna as a mom. Even with characters like I like seeing her dating (whether it’s Blue Devil, Joshua, Batman, sometimes Dick Grayson). I can see Wonder Woman, Mera, Big Barda and Catwoman being mothers but never got that vibe from Zee. Sure she’s great with kids but I never got the ‘mom’ vibe from her character. She always struck me as a Helen Mirren type who would remain childless but fulfilled even into her old age.

I have a few guesses as to who his parents could be in the pre Nu52 timeline:

-Fulcanelli. A minor character that appeared in Fate #10 (click here for more). Zatanna initially introduces him as a friend of her fathers. He’s an alchemist who is burdened with the cost of magic. At the climax of the issue, right before he is turned into a gold statue, Zatanna calls him uncle while in turn he calls her niece. Whether it was just an affectionate term, like she thought of him as an uncle despite not being related or if they were actually blood related was never clarified. Plus Zatanna has referred to people she isn’t blood related to as uncles or aunts, like the time she called Rose Psychic her Aunt during Reign In Hell.

But suppose Fulcanelli and Zatara’s were blood related, Zachary’s father being an alchemist could explain why his power doesn’t work on anything organic.

-Giovanni himself.

Which would make Zatanna and Zachary into siblings as well which also fits their banter in the comic books. My theory in this case is that they share the same father but different mothers. Giovanni has been associated with multiple women, both romantically and non romantically; Madame Xanadu, Charity from Starman and Tigress. He was smitten by Madame Xanadu and outright said he wanted to make babies with her but the latter turned him down since she was aware of his future. Their relationship never moved beyond friends with benefits but it would be interesting if she ever did take up on his offer after Sindella’s first death.

The other option would be Tigress; the classic enemy-to-lovers trope. Tigress was a thief and a normal human who was Zatara’s main nemesis and sometimes-ally during the Golden Age. There are no stories where their relationship turned romantic but imagine if it did at some point but for whatever reason it didn’t work out, they divorced and Tigress had custody of Zachary. The flashback of teen Zatanna training a young Zachary could have taken place during brief visitations. It also fits Zachary’s stated origin that his powers were only awakened after the events of Days of Vengeance, especially if one or both of his parents are human. It also explains Zatanna telling Flash that she doesn’t have a family in JLA: Crisis of Conscience, technically she wasn’t lying as this scenario involves Tigress separating herself from the Zataras. But then Zach got his powers and started following in his father’s footsteps and the two started to bond again. It also contextualizes Zachary’s ego; he is trying to reject his mother’s villainous roots and trying to embrace his father’s heroic side.

Still, this is just what my speculation.

Who knows what Johns, Robinson and Dini had actually planned though. Maybe they were intending for him to be Zatanna and Constantine’s son and had a convoluted explanation involving wizards and genies and time travel involved.

Is Zachary Queer?

Zach has never been confirmed to be queer but I noticed that he does have a queer fanbase and his close friendship with Kid Devil aka Eddie Bloomberg can be interpreted as such. They just have that vibe to them. He also does have a relationship with Bunny, his stage assistant but that could just mean he is either bi sexual or polysexual. Folks are free to interpret him however they like.

I’m supportive of the head canon that Zachary is queer and him being in a relationship with Eddie totally works.

I hope Zachary returns one day. He would be perfect for JLD and I love his dynamic with Zee and an appearance there is long over due.

Litnu txen emit!

Recommended Reading

-52: #21, #50 (also World War III #3)

-Teen Titans Vol 3: #34-38, #39, #42, #52, #69 (after Terror Titans)

-Terror Titans #1-6

-Robin Vol 2 #166

-Teen Titans #83-87. Coven of Three back up with Zachary, Traci 13 and Black Alice.

-Superman #680, #683 (which is followed up in Action Comics #873), #687

-Superman #690 followed by #692 and the rest of the story is picked up in Action Comics #887-889 Captain Atom back up.

-Zatanna #4-6 and #14.

-Raven: Daughter of Darkness #1-12

If there is anything you would like me to add or remove, let me know.

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greatsolution12 · 4 years ago

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withickmire · 7 years ago

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under the weight of a legacy

Fandom: Deltora Quest Characters: Anna II, Lief, Jasmine, Endon II, Jarred II, Josef II, mentions of others. Summary: Her parents were like blazing suns in the eyes of the people; bright and brilliant and beautiful. Anna lived in the shadows that they cast.

It was all Blayss’s fault. There was nothing that boy enjoyed more than getting the other children in trouble, and Anna was his favourite target. She had not been able to pay attention in school at all that day. The room was too hot, and she had not done her assigned work the night before, and so she did not understand the lesson. She had penned a quick note to Min, who sat a few rows away. When Master Petronne turned his back to the class, she had thrown it to her friend. Her aim had not been true, and she had hit Blayss’s head with the paper. Dread had been a heavy lump in her stomach as Blayss grinned and calmly raised his hand to tell Master Petronne. The schoolteacher had sighed and instructed Anna to stay after class.

Anna slumped over her little desk, idly filling in the answers to the mathematical problems on her sheet. She sighed. They were so simple; she could answer them correctly even in her annoyed state. It had been nearly an hour since the other students had left, surely she would be allowed to go home soon.

Attendance at a schoolhouse was mandatory for the children of Del from ages six to twelve, and optional until they were sixteen. In Anna’s family, however, attendance was firmly mandatory for all ten years, something Endon had once protested with foot-stomping and tears after a particularly difficult test.

Anna’s family was huge. Of course there were her parents and brothers and grandparents. But she also had two aunts and two uncles— only one of whom was at all related to her— and all of their many children. Then there was all of her parents’ friends, who buzzed in and out of their lives like bees.

“Blood is important,” her uncle Ranesh had once told her, “but the bonds you form with other people can be just as special, if not more.”

The schoolhouse was one of the largest in the city. Rather than group all of the students in one room, they were split into two classes by age. Master Petronne had gone to the schoolhouse’s other classroom to speak to the schoolmistress who taught the younger children, leaving her under the watch of his teaching assistant.

Anna sighed again, and Josef looked up from where he was correcting grammar exercises at the desk with a sympathetic smile. Although Josef had finished school a few years earlier, he had decided to become a teacher himself, and had taken to shadowing various schoolteachers across the city. Anna had been thrilled when he had eventually been assigned to her class, but despite growing up with many of the children who attended the schoolhouse, Josef took his work very seriously. This, of course, made him the target of much good-natured teasing in their extended family.

Anna reached the end of her worksheet and set her pencil down. She had finished both her unfinished work from the night before, and what Master Petronne had assigned for that evening. She slumped down in her chair, defeated by boredom.

The sound of chattering boys down the hall broke the silence. Josef looked up from his work and said, “that sounds like your brothers,” at the same time as Anna groaned.

She had hoped to slip home before anyone noticed she was too late, but of course Barda and Lindal’s older children would have told Endon and Jarred why she was not waiting for them in the schoolyard. And of course her brothers would tell their parents.

Footsteps followed the voices, and soon Jarred and Endon tumbled into the schoolroom, followed by Lief and Jasmine. Her parents were hand-in-hand, with their heads turned in towards each other as they spoke. Anna’s lips twitched in a reluctant smile. This was the way they had always been, often acting as though they were not two separate beings, but extensions of each other’s bodies. Wide-eyed Jarred was pressed against their father’s side, clearly impressed by the size of the classroom that the older children occupied.

Endon eagerly ran to Anna’s desk, clearly delighted by his sister’s small act of rebellion. “Brid told me you threw something at a boy, is it true?”

“No,” Anna snapped. but that did not impact Endon’s smile. “I just needed to ask Min—“ she broke off, realizing her mother was looking at them with an arched brow. “It was nothing,” she finished weakly.

Jarred broke away from Lief and approached the other side of the desk. His dark eyes were huge with worry. “Are you in trouble?”

Anna looked over at their parents, but they had gone to Josef’s desk, speaking with him in earnest. Jasmine had her hand on Josef’s shoulder and she smiled at something he said. She was very close with his parents, and had a deep fondness for all their children. Lief was listening intently. Neither of them looked angry, but that did not mean they were not. Jasmine’s temper was easy to trigger, and although Lief tended to be calmer, disappointing him was like being crushed by the weight of all the water in the nine seas.

“Why did they come?” Anna asked quietly instead. “If they knew where I was, why did they not just wait for me to come home?”

Endon shrugged. He picked up Anna’s forgotten abandoned pencil and began to draw on the desk. “I heard Father tell Mother that he wanted to speak to you.”

She grabbed the pencil out of his hand and did her best to smear the marks away with the side of her hand, giving Endon a half-hearted glare. Master Petronne returned, and seemed about to give Anna trouble for stopping her work, until he noticed the other occupants of the room.

“Your majesties, what a delightful surprise,” the schoolmaster’s voice dripped with honey, so unlike how he spoke to his students. Anna exchanged a look with Endon, and Jarred bent his head to hide his grin.

“Good afternoon, Master Petronne,” Lief gifted him with a diplomatic smile. “I hear there was a disruption in class today.”

Anna watched her father intently. He had yet to look towards her, and her heart fluttered nervously.

“That is unfortunately true,” Master Petronne said eagerly, clearly pleased to have the king on his side. “The princess did not complete yesterday’s work, and she was passing notes in class, which ended up deeply disturbing one of her classmates. I am sorry that this trouble brought you all the way here.”

Anna fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“That hardly seems worthy of a punishment,” Jasmine said, as if voicing her thoughts.

Master Petronne’s upper lip twitched. “I will consider your thoughts, your majesty, but I do need to establish order in my schoolroom.”

“Of course,” Lief said hastily. “But how much longer would you say this punishment will last?”

Master Petronne looked towards Anna, who straightened and clasped her hands in what she hoped was the perfect impression of an excellent student.

The schoolmaster ran his hand through his thinning red hair. “I suppose she may leave when she finishes her schoolwork from the past two days.”

“I have,” Anna said with a winning smile. “May I go home?”

—

“I do not like that man,” Jasmine announced as they walked through the schoolyard. Endon grinned, delighted to hear his mother speak ill of a teacher. “He speaks to us with such terrible flattery. It makes me wonder what he could possibly teach his students.”

“It is difficult to find schoolteachers,” Lief said grimly. “Many of the people who grew up under the Shadowlord cannot read or write, and most who can have no interest in the position.”

Anna noted that he had not disagreed, however.

The walk from the schoolhouse to the forge was not long, but walking anywhere with her parents always felt like a journey. Almost everyone the passed had something to say to the king and queen, and Lief and Jasmine stopped for all of them. They wanted to speak to their saviour-king, upon whom the land smiled, and their heroic queen with a past seemingly spun from a tragic fairy-tale.

Every person who approached them did so with shining eyes, especially as they looked upon her father. He was handsome enough, Anna supposed. But there was nothing particularly remarkable-looking about him, expect for some patchy scarring on his face, and of course, the magnificent Belt at his waist. It was for his deeds that the people flocked to him, and for his kindness. He had saved them many times over, and worked tirelessly to turn a city that had once been on the brink of death, into the bustling hub that Anna had always known it to be.

Endon and Jarred ran ahead, and Anna stayed a few paces behind her parents, clutching her schoolbooks to her chest. Watching the people interact with Lief and Jasmine made her feel as small as a mouse. They were like blazing suns in the eyes of Deltora; bright and brilliant and beautiful. Anna lived in the shadows that they cast.

After what seemed like ages, they made their way through the throng of people. Lief said something to Jasmine and she nodded and let go of his hand. She stopped and turned around, causing Anna to nearly bang into her side. Jasmine gave her a quick kiss on the side of her cheek. At thirteen, Anna was of the same height as her mother, and not done growing.

“You only have three more years of school left,” Jasmine said. “Be brave.” She turned and hurried after the boys, leaving Anna and Lief alone.

“This way,” her father cocked his head down a side street. Anna gave him a little smile; she knew this game. No one knew the winding streets and alleys of Del as Lief did. He felt it was his duty to be among the people, more importantly, he liked it. But on rare occasions, if he needed to move in peace or in haste, he would use that knowledge to his advantage.

Anna quickly followed him away from the noisy street, and behind rows of crowded houses. They reached an empty alley lined by the back exits of taverns and tiny shops, and slowed their paces.

“Am I in trouble?” Anna blurted out before she could stop herself.

He looked at her, half-amused. “Should you be?”

She shrugged moodily. It was unfair that she had been caught only because another child wanted to get her in trouble.

“What happened today?”

Anna flushed. “I did not finish my work last night, so I was not paying attention. I wanted to pass a note to Min, because Master Petronne will not let us sit near each other, I hit a boy with it instead and he got me in trouble.”

Lief sighed heavily. “Your grandmother worked very hard to educate me, but I never had the chance to go to a real school. Still, I was lucky; it was a chance that your mother— and many people in the city— did not have. You have a great privilege, Anna, it would serve you very well to take advantage of it.”

She looked away guiltily. She knew all of that, of course, but it had nothing to do with the way she felt.

“I like school sometimes, Father,” she insisted. “I do not like Master Petronne, but we have read some good books, and I can solve mathematical problems very quickly. The only reason I was in trouble was because Blayss— the boy who caught my note— does not like me. He tells the other children that I think that I am better than the rest of them because of who I am.”

Lief paused and looked at her thoughtfully. “Do you think so?”

“No!” Anna clenched her hands into fists. “And I have done nothing to them.”

“They are just jealous,” Min had told her once, boisterously bumping their shoulders together. “Pay them no mind.”

But what could they possibly be jealous of? They did not have the weight of her family’s legacy on their shoulders.

She took a deep breath, and leaned against a brick wall. The alley carried a bad smell, and the wall was undoubtably filthy, but Anna did not care. It suddenly felt necessary that he know the truth. “In school, the teachers and students all talk about you, Mother, Barda, and all of Deltora’s heroes. But the same children who tell stories about you will stop talking when I approach them,” she swiped at the angry tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. “It is far easier for me to keep the friendships with the children I grew up with, rather than make new ones. You want us to act like we are of the people, but what if the people do not want me?”

Lief joined her against the filthy wall.

Tears had spilled down her cheeks, but Anna ignored them. They kept coming, as did her words. “Everyone in the city— in the kingdom— would do anything for you. I am supposed to measure up to you one day, but how can I? It is far easier to not try at all!”

Lief was silent. Before Anna could move away, he leaned close and pulled her into his arms. “I did not know you thought that way,” he said quietly.

“It is true!” Anna’s words were muffled by his jacket.

“No, no,” he stepped back and put his hands on her shoulders. To her surprise, he was smiling. “Children can be cruel, but your classmates do not speak for the people of Deltora. And the people of Deltora do not speak for you.”

She rubbed her nose on her sleeve. “What do you mean?”

Lief began to walk again, placing an arm around her shoulder. He turned right, rather than continuing straight, the path that would take them home. “You are honest and clever and kind. I know you, Anna, and I know all of the good that is in your heart. This schoolyard foolishness will pass, I promise. And until it does, there are plenty of people who love you. Plenty more who do, even if they do not know you. Are you afraid to be queen; is that what you mean?”

Anna leaned against her father, suddenly feeling very tired, and very young. “I will not be like you.”

“No,” Lief agreed, and Anna felt sick. “You will be like you. I have learned many things over my life, and one of the most important lessons is that you cannot compare yourself to others. There are things you will do, that I cannot.”

Anna looked up at him. It seemed impossible that that could be true, but he looked upon her with confidence and pride. “Do you mean that?”

“I swear I do. But you must work hard, all of your life, and that begins at the schoolhouse.”

Anna scuffed her boot into the dusty road. Her anxieties for the future were still there, but the burden of it all felt a little lighter.

Lief guided her down another turn in the road. She frowned, now certain that they were nowhere near home. “It cannot be that all of your schoolmates think this way,” Lief said.

“Maybe not all of them,” Anna agreed begrudgingly.

“And you must tell me— what did the note say?”

Anna’s cheeks burned. It all seemed so silly. “I just wanted to ask Min if she wanted to play after school.”

“That was all?” Lief grinned and she covered her face with her hands. “I can assure you, the mischief I caused when I was your age was far worse.”

“I know. Barda has told me everything.”

“I am sure he has,” Lief grimaced. “It is funny that you should speak of him.”

Anna looked around, and realized that they were in the small road that stretched behind Barda and Lindal’s house. There was a fence and large yard between them and the house, but Anna could still hear a tangle of voices from inside.

“Do you not think Min is waiting for you?” Lief grinned.

Anna thew her arms around him. “Thank you!”

“Just be home for supper. There are enough children in that house as it is.”

“I will,” Anna nodded vigourously.

“But please,” her father looked serious again. “Think about what I said. We should talk about it again very soon. Please do not feel that you need to keep things from me. You can trust me.”

“I know,” Anna held him close again, overcome with fondness. “I love you.”

Lief’s arms tightened, and he said nothing for a long moment. “I love you, too. And I have so much faith in you, Anna. Go, now.”

She let him go, and burst through the gate. There would be time enough to think of duty. But for now she was happy to shake herself free from that weight, just for a little while.

#deltora quest #lief is a good king and dad #i started this months ago it feels good to finally finish #i knew as soon as i read about the schools in shadows of the master that i had to write something about anna #this is so wordy i'm sure there are errors but i have to go! so i'll comb through a bit more later #anna ii #lief #jasmine #jarred ii #endon ii #josef ii #my writing

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reneeacaseyfl · 5 years ago

Text

Ford Writes Off $181 Million of Pivotal Stock

In May, 2016, two months after former Steelcase CEO Jim Hackettleft the board of automaker Ford to become head of its “mobility services”unit, Ford invested $182 million in a Silicon Valley company called PivotalSoftware. “The investment is part of Ford’sexpansion to be both an auto and a mobility company,” Fordsaid at the time. The emphasis was theirs. Hackett subsequently became CEO ofFord and has staked his tenure on Ford’s mobility future.

It wasn’t altogether clear why Ford needed to own a stake in a cloud software company, which subsequently got on the wrong side of an open-source software push led by Google. (If you must know more about kubernetes and containers, you might start here.) As a result, Pivotal’s stock, which though public is controlled by computer maker Dell, has plunged. And on Thursday, Ford announced it had marked down the value of its stake by an amount equal to nearly its entire initial investment in the company (Ford says it still owns Pivotal shares worth $170 million). Ford’s shares fell 7% on Thursday on a weak earnings report, including the Pivotal write-down.

It’s yet another story not only ofhow fast technology moves—Pivotal was an IPO darling just last year—but alsohow difficult “digital transformation” is. Ford can use all the italics andbuzzwords it likes. It is right to play all the latest trends includingautonomous vehicles, bike rentals, shuttle bus services (like its now-shutteredChariot offering), and also to slap the word “mobility” on its efforts.

At the end of the day, though, Fordis really good at making sturdy pickup trucks and marketing them globally.Hackett’s mobility future has yet to arrive.

***

Some nice writing and a perfect summation of Facebook’ssituation, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal: “Facebook’sresults show the duality that currently defines the company: It is a punchingbag for critics, who pummel it for privacy missteps and misinformation on itsplatforms, but a darling of investors, who prize the earning power of itstargeted advertising.”

***

When Geoff Colvin wrote about the newAT&T in May he noted the company’s problematic and massive debt. Withasset sales and its cash flow the phone-company-turned-media-empire has been chippingaway at the net debt, down from more than $180 billion to about $150billion in the last quarter. Here’s what Geoff tells me: “The company still faces lots of bigissues: 1) What happens when its late-to-the-party, high-priced streamingservice really rolls out next year; 2) Effects of a combined Sprint-T-Mobile;3) How it fares in the eternal ground war against Verizon; 4) What happens ifthere’s a big slowdown or recession?

Adam Lashinsky

On Twitter: @adamlashinsky

Email: [email protected]

NEWSWORTHY

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. The great contest with millions of dollars of prize money at stake finished over the weekend and the winner was…16-year-old Kyle Giersdorf, aka “Bugha.” Yes, I’m talking about the Fortnite World Cup, the online battle for $30 million that drew some 40 million players and ended Sunday with the final 100 participants at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. In that other globally-watched contest, 22-year-old Egan Bernal became both the youngest-ever winner of the Tour de France and the first winner from Colombia.

A demon on wheels. Next year’s Apple iPhone models will all have 5G capability, plugged-in analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts. That’s good news for iPhone fans and the wireless industry, which is spending billions to build the super-fast new networks. But in less good news, BMW has started charging customers $80 per year for connecting their iPhones to Apple’s Carplay feature in its cars. And in even less good news, Apple contractors are listening to Siri recordings, some unintentional, that have included medical information, drug deals, and couples having sex, The Guardian newspaper reports. “A small portion of Siri requests are analyzed to improve Siri and dictation,” Apple explained.

I just want to stand on the podium. The mystery press conference was not much of a mystery. On Friday morning, the Justice Department finally gave its blessing to the Sprint-T-Mobile merger. The carriers agreed to spin off some airwave licenses and Sprint’s prepaid business to Dish Network, which–at least in theory–becomes the “new” fourth major carrier. But a lawsuit from 14 attorneys general is still pending. Speaking of giant telcos, in less that four years, startup Reliance Jio has become the largest carrier in India, with 331 million customers, edging ahead of Vodafone last month.

Breezing through. United Airlines invested an undisclosed amount in airport security service Clear, following a similar move by Delta. Top frequent fliers on United will be enrolled for free in the $179-a-year service that uses biometrics to speed passengers through security checkpoints in 31 airports and counting.

Getting the munchies. European food delivery service Takeaway.com is acquiring rival Just Eat in a merger valued at about $11 billion. Takeaway.com CEO Jitse Groen keeps his title, while Just Eat interim chief executive Peter Duffy is out.

Virtual doctoring. The Department of Health and Human Service’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, is investing $27 million in Spectral MD, a Texas-based startup creating an A.I. systems to help assess burns and other wounds. The money will fund a clinical trial for pediatric patients.

Pay me the money. The $5 billion Facebook settlement with the Federal Trade Commission did not please all of the people all of the time. Nonprofit advocacy group the Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, filed a lawsuit challenging the deal.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Why are companies switching to open floor plans and unassigned offices, aka hot desking? Research is pouring in on the trend–and it’s not good. Financial Times columnist Pilita Clark was invited to a talk about the benefits of the practice. She was not impressed:

Hot-desking apparently goes cold when workers try to cling on to a desk by sticking a family photo on it or draping a coat over a chair, moves she described as “signs of encampment.”

Rules had been brought in to stem such practices. Anyone away from their desk for more than a couple of hours was supposed to “clean and clear” it. When the coat problem had worsened in winter, “we had to have facilities going around with a gentle reminder.” Disciplinary action was also taken when workers grumbled about the loss of roomy personal cupboards or shelves to stash their stationery and work papers.