The Potion Master's Husband

The Potion Master’s Husband is a story written by green papaya. It originally ran in Issue 77 at http://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirror/the-potion-masters-husband/.

Summary

Klaus Xam wakes up expecting a peaceful summer day with his husband, Sylvester, only to receive a visit from a rude guest. Thankfully, his husband knows just how to apologize to him.

Author's Notes

This story, like "Tiger Prince, Thorn Witch," is part of a larger universe. Klaus and Sylvester are actually side characters in the world of Crystallia; the main characters are their daughters, Bee and Odette, and their friends. But that's another story for another day.

I was very excited for this issue's theme because I love writing about homey, everyday magic. My favorite parts to write were the ones about the garden (I'm very proud of coming up with its concept) and the food. To my surprise (because stories have a life of their own), I also got to talk a little bit about being an immigrant/the child of immigrants. That's important to me because you rarely ever see that in a fantasy setting, particularly secondary worlds. When you look at secondary world fantasies like Harry Potter or Game of Thrones, the characters of color are either visiting from another country or, if they're second generation or more, their experiences are never explored. So, too often, these secondary worlds are a white daydream in which only white people were responsible for founding, building, and contributing to the formation of a country--something which is absolutely not true. Of course, even the idea of a nation state itself is troubling, but that's a lot to unpack in one short story.

And yes, in case it wasn't clear: Klaus and Sylvester are Asian (the closest parallel to our world's ethnicity is Vietnamese).

External Links

This story is also available on Archive of Our Own (AO3).