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ball-of-butter · 5 months ago

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youre like the only account i look at on here for red queen content (specifically maven) so please go full psychological analysis on maven please. i love your posts they itch my brain perfectly

omygosh anon 🤭 tyyyy tyyyy

theres so much to say about maven and its kinda crazy considering he doesn’t get that much actual page time. so keep in mind that many people could have different interpretations of his character, since he is quite elusive. and i may or may notttt be biassed idk.

the first thing i believe: he's a character that, for all his supposed motivations, had no ambition or dream of his own. he was a complete vessel of his mother’s spite, so he makes for a pretty interesting paradox. mare was haunted by a ‘false’ maven that didn't exist (debatable). cal was haunted by an ‘erased’ maven that used to exist. what is maven haunted by? everything and everyone? he’s a ghost himself, he’s the one who usually did the haunting, but even when you get his POV in the books, there’s a tragedy in the negative space you find. there are clear holes in his psyche that he also subconsciously attempts to fill (his memories always fight to bubble to the surface, but they invoke feelings he can’t feel anymore) and never can. despite how pissed off he is at everyone and everything, he so very clearly yearns for love and approval, to the point where he is absolutely delusional about it. there he was, shocked that mare would reject him after he imprisoned and betrayed her and the scarlet guard. here’s him outraged that anabel lerolan would side with cal after he plotted her son’s murder.

elara basically sculpted a monster, and i don’t think that can be debated since its pretty clearly stated in text. even maven knew what she took from him and the extent of the abuse— but he didn't care because she gave him the love he craved. she couldn’t fill it all, if maven’s obsession with mare was anything to go by. i do think elara genuinely loved and adored him, but i don’t know if i would use the word ‘enabler’ for her because it seems too soft a word. maven is elara. elara dies and maven can’t survive on his own for long without her. he was her iron fist in a way, but neither had much interest in norta as a country like most scheming for the throne usually do– which i find so interesting. it wasn’t political, only personal.

now then there lies the debate of choice— some maven fans are completely comfortable heaping all of the blame onto elara and calling it a day. but i think even elara was failed in a similar way maven was. red queen is cool because it shows how evil is encouraged and nurtured in oppressive societies, how certain individuals even in privileged positions will be abused and neglected, how vices are taught to be hidden rather than treated and how violence is perpetuated as the surest, most permanent decree. every character is affected by this system in some way, and i could talk about it for years but i’ll save you the time. my point is that this would apply to maven, but that doesn’t make him void of choice. it’s sort of predictable that he would make the terrible choices he did in the series considering he never had the chance to escape what predestined narrative was already planned for him, but no one was physically forcing him to burn his initial into mare. no one was physically forcing him to try slaughter a whole race of people. no one physically forced him to blow up naercey, or taunt cal after forcing him to murder his dad, or psychologically torture mare when he kept her as prisoner. yes, there’s nuance but maven is also much too comfortable with being a terrible person, because thats what ultimately earns him love, respect and approval.

i don’t think maven could’ve been saved, not because 'the damage was too bad,' but because he had no desire to be saved, and no one but cal had wanted to put in the effort to save him. i always find it interesting how cal secretly resented mare for killing maven, even though it was such a longtime coming, and he would never voice it because considering all maven had done to her, she had more than the right. but i don’t want to yap so much about maven’s relationship with cal because i’ll be here forever. nor do i want to talk too much about his relationship with mare. i'll only say that when i was talking about his death scene i did mention how much of an impact both of them had on each other, how maven was so scary to mare because he was a viable twisted path that represented the worst of her. i think mare could’ve been (my biassed interpretation) a path for him too, but he was so far gone by the second book and especially after elara’s death that he never considered it (would’ve been too late for him then anyway). i have some thoughts on the chances of maven rehabilitating if he had the tools and will to. some thoughts. they won’t go here though.

lastly i just want to link this post which had super interesting additions by @lucy-the-cat that delves into maven from a psychological perspective. its sooooo well written and i still think about it to this day.

last thing i wanna do is glaze a bit so im just gonna 😭 its refreshing to see this sort of villain be portrayed as an mmc who isn’t attractively suave and super misunderstood and depressed and supremely intelligent for what he does– maven is intelligent and sad, but he's presented as a floundering, insecure, delusional brat that the fmc understands entirely. something so refreshing in how he can only either be hated, and at best, pitied.

#nothing gonna drag me back by the hair like an anon who is asking me to yap abt my fav character #i got flustered this is like a birthday gift tee hee #unfortunately i don't think any of my opinions on him are revolutionary in the slightest #i just want to bite him. not in a weird way but like how you would bite the head off a gingerbread man #red queen #maven calore #war storm #red queen series #glass sword #kings cage #rewriting #mare barrow #tiberias vii calore #elara merandus #ask #anon #we are soooo back

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elane-in-the-shadows · 14 days ago

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Red Queen Fan Fiction - To Break a Storm Chapter 1

February 2nd – Happy Birthday, Shade Barrow!

A/N: Coming together with the ten-year anniversary of Red Queen, I return to the beginning with a new fan fic series – To Break a Storm! Meet Shade before the start of Red Queen navigating the Corvium garrison and the trenches of the Choke as the aide to a silver general. How does one survive against superpowers and oppression? With guile, rebellion or the secret talents Shade only begins to dive in?

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Chapter 1

Today, she was to be called Lady Aude. The General Aude Eagrie discarded her uniforms and had her badges reattached to a sash while Shade had to provide her with gown and jewels – fortunately, only from storage, not making him buy them. Asking his general for money was a dare on its own, fulfilling her demands with pushing and insistence was enough of an ordeal. Getting her fancy attire from the storage in Rocasta 50 kilometres away from Corvium in a few hours was a sudden upheaval of plans that set her staff aflutter. Though, it infected all of the Corvium garrison, not just General Eagrie’s circle. The queen was visiting, and every silver wanted to kiss her – metaphorical – ass to win royal favour. It was merely especially pressing for the general as she already had a confirmed meeting with Queen Elara and planned to host a royal feast.

Shade, as her aide, found it easy enough to acquire the food and dishes, if only because the general’s silver aides had already won the game against the other silver officers to take charge of a common dinner. Shade had just to wave a paper around in the kitchen. Not that the paper meant all that much. Too many of the red staff, like most of those his parents’ age, couldn’t read well. That silvers deigned to improve red education was a boon Shade wasn’t sure to feel glad or ashamed about.

He loved to read and write, to find a well of words, knowledge and ideas on his own and use them. But as he trained his mind, it created a rumbling in him like distant thunder, when he couldn’t help asking, why only for me, and not before?

He could, no, was expected to give commands in the general’s name. He tried to stand and move evenly and firmly, clear his face of emotions as he did so. Give nothing away, not to reds resenting you for your safe and favoured position, not to silvers derailing you anyway. Be dignified, with the grace of hidden pride like the stylist Suzanne Ripley he’d called on to prepare the general for her royal dinner.

He managed it. He hated it.

Upon entering the general’s rooms, Suzanne curtseyed as effortlessly as in rehearsed motion and went to work. She was so perfectly at ease like she wasn’t daunted at all.

The general was already in her dress, a sleeveless white A-line with black printing and embroidery highlighted with clear gemstones. White and black were her Eagrie house colours, but her pattern were not pretty flowers or orderly stripes. The irregular and wild black shapes resembled clouds or smoke, a darkening sky before the storm. As severe as herself. The general was in her fifties and cared little for fashion beyond what her authority required. Her body was still athletic and fast, her brown arms leanly muscled.

Shade stood in the living room’s corner as Suzanne finished pinning up the general’s wavy black hair, using jewellery. The general wasted no time getting up as Suzanne stepped back, striding out and Shade followed. Of course. General Eagrie was an eye, foreseeing the immediate future. She knew what you’d do before you did. It made her the picture of grace as she treated you like air. That didn’t mean she thought you were air – she expected you to do your job anyway, often without words, as if everyone was as prescient as herself.

Sometimes, Shade could wing it by doing as she did, as the general knew best. That seemingly applied today as well. Moments after General Eagrie, Lady Aude, found her spot to greet the queen in the fortress’s great hall and nodded off the banquet preparations, Elara Merandus arrived.

In a uniform. With just one attendant instead of a whole retinue.

The silvers, at the table but rising for the queen, blinked around. Shade had learned to keep still.

“Lady Aude,” the queen said as the general curtseyed. “You have a feast planned?” the queen went on as if she didn’t know this was prepared for her. “Then let us finish this matter quickly in your office and you can return to your party.”

To her credit, the general didn’t look completely offended. But the whisper queen must be reading all her rage in her head anyway. With delight, probably.

Maybe she even read how this thought crossed Shade’s mind before he reminded himself to meditate on the tiles he stood on. Or a red like him was beneath her notice as the general marched off behind the queen.

Shade waited in the general’s living room after her lieutenant Selene Eagrie had called the diners to begin, if they hadn’t lost their appetites, or hoped for the queen to mingle for casual company. Cancelling it completely would be a sign of defeat and Aude Eagrie couldn’t have that. She would’ve liked to, though, as she threw her jewellery around the room as she arrived.

“Storm legion,” she cried to her second and right hand, Tayfun Iral, rushing in after her. “I wanted command of Corvium and what do I get? A no-name legion while letting go off the one I trained years to succeed.”

“We’ll have to establish what other orders Elara brought,” Iral said.

The general nodded, taking a seat before her vanity and sparing a glare at Shade. He’d already missed the moment. He glided to her and helped her remove her attire. Or rather she removed it and he put it away. He glanced at the spot where she threw her necklace, reminding himself to find a second to pick it up later. Just now, he was busy getting up and opening her making removal kit to hand her cotton pads.

“It’s all Charlotte’s fault,” the general complained. “My bloody sister-in-law pissed off the queen again and Elara gleefully takes it out on her relations.” The general dropped the cotton pad and fixed her gaze on her face in the mirror. Green eyes as brilliant as emeralds stared at themselves. What did they see, looking at themselves in stillness?

Nothing was a surprise to the general that happened directly in front of her but it only increased the terror of the unknown further afield, such as today’s.

A woman and soldier of her age should be able to deal with the results of her hubris.

The stillness must be her method to calm herself. “I could recruit Charlotte’s bastard girl again,” the general said quietly after a while.

“I’ll send for her,” Iral agreed, relieved about the general’s resolve. He saluted and Shade had just found the bloody necklace right when Iral called for him. “Barrow, you can serve in the hall and observe conversations,” Iral commanded.

He nodded and saluted, bowing to the general and dropping the necklace in a case. At least Tayfun Iral talked to him, aware of his usefulness, sometimes even explaining things. Shade could guess they wanted to know if the silvers gossiped with the queen about the general or if anyone else was promoted. Almost out of the door, Shade asked Iral, “could it really be about Charlotte?”

A hiss passed his ear before a pain burned in his cheek like a flash.

A dagger had hit the wall in front of him. “Barrow,” the general said, “a silver lady is not just ‘Charlotte’ to a red rat like you.” The corner of her mouth twitched. “Remember your station.”

Shade used the dark sleeve of his uniform to swipe the bleeding wound in his cheek. But it was too late, and not enough. His red blood was the reminder of who he was. “Apologies, madam,” he replied with a salute and left to his work.

Despite the implied demotion, Aude was determined to examine her new force the next two weeks. Shade did it for her. It was one of his tasks to collect data and present the summaries and results to Aude, whether by attending drills or going through the army records. He considered it one the perks of his positions, as it offered Shade to research Aude’s other issues and also to check on his brothers Bree and Tramy.

They weren’t in the Storm legion, had never had any connection to it. But as Shade looked up the legion’s deployments, numbers, successes, losses and fallen, he searched for his brothers as well. It assured him they were still alive not too injured or ill to be withdrawn. Yet it told him nothing about their experiences, how they felt, what they saw or endured on scales not impacting their fighting ability. Silvers didn’t keep records of red pain. As much as he reaped the advantages of his job, it ate him up as well as time and chances to visit his brothers, to talk to or hug them. He hated what kept them apart. He not so much yearned to escape but to step over the chasms between them.

Today a training was scheduled with the Storm legion. It was non-descript indeed. They were rarely sent to the hardest battles in the trenches of the Choke, and had little winnings to show either way. Yet with this miniscule activity, they presented a surprisingly high number of losses, whatever caused them.

One more matter consuming his attention were the Eagrie family ties he finally deemed unavoidable after the Lady Aude attacked him. Guessing wasn’t enough, but soldier records hardly included family trees and gossip provided few gems and partial knowledge that gave insecure help without the full story.

He gathered the papers for the drill; he was already running late. Aude’s expectations of timeliness applied to everyone although at least it was something to rely on. He dashed from the records office to the training yard, barely noticing his way until the glaring eye of Aude’s other lieutenant fell on him as he arrived. The lieutenant had a way of turning her head to him like an owl. No wonder, as she was also prescient. Selene Eagrie, his research said, was Aude’s twenty years younger half-sister. They looked nothing alike as Selene was pale with dirty blond hair, with a hint of red, and muddy hazel eyes. Their father was Lord Julius Eagrie, the head of the house, and married for the third time. Aude had six siblings who might all be married with children to whoever the fuck. He’d grunted as he realized the bottomless well this promised to be.

Aude’s main second and first lieutenant was Tayfun Iral, a maternal cousin. He shared Aude’s colouring with brown skin and black hair but not the brilliantly green eyes – those were special. “I have my father’s eyes,” Aude said once with meaning, although, as Shade had gleaned, the colour had little to with strength of ability. That was just a regularly treasured family heritage.

Now all three of them were seated on the elevated platform by the yard, to Shade’s surprise. The Eagrie sisters avoided the drills in most cases. He figured it bored them, already knowing what moves the soldiers would make, or who’d win in sparring. Therefore, usually an instructor lead the exercises as Shade watched and wrote down the gist of it while Aude, Tayfun and Selene sparred with one another, in matches more equal and unpredictable. Iral silks were so fast and hard to catch that foreseeing was a limited advantage and vice versa. Shade had seen them once and made it his matter to guard his face even better than usual. Aude was his parents’ age but despite her 50 years of honing her body for battle, she displayed perfect skill. Spry as a deer and fierce as a wildcat while the war had left Shade’s father so injured he lost a leg and half his lungs. Whereas Aude’s every bruise must be skinhealer-treated to let her remain this athletic.

Maybe Aude planned to make a show to her new soldiers to properly intimate them. For now, the center of her attention was a new instructor. A tall man in training slacks running the drill. Aude nodded it off as her focus stayed on the instructor. Shade followed suit in concentrating on the instructor as Aude’s thoughts stayed indecipherable. The man was leanly muscled and even taller than Shade’s brothers, over 1,9 meters. His spiky black hair cut a sharp silhouette against the white late winter sky. He stood straight yet playful, with an easiness to his demeanour.

“Do one on ones now, Roman,” Aude ordered then, later switching to group battles and varying the sizes of opposing teams. Instructor Roman would correct their moves or fight himself, against several soldiers.

His advice seemed earnest, but he took none of the battles seriously. It was all about the lessons, Shade reminded himself and made his notes, yet he itched to assess Roman’s strength. He was the new element to figure out. After a while, Aude had Shade take part in the drill and he hurried to fall into the exercise and team rhythm, watching his comrades, watching the officers, watching Roman, until it was his turn to fight the instructor.

As they faced off, Shade stood still and met Roman’s pitch-black eyes. With an incline of their heads, they began to move, circling each other before the attack. The instructor’s breathing had become heavier, due to the on-going drill, and his bare brown underarms showed he was cold from the weather, yet hot from the exertion.

Shade charged first, and Roman evaded as expected. Shade followed with another kick that took more time to avoid, but Roman jumped aside with no effort. As Shade had observed, Roman seldom attacked unless to uncover a glaring miss of defense, and Shade wouldn’t let this happen at all costs. He wanted to make Roman attack, though in another way, and so he tried a few dirty moves which only earned him a smirk.

Daring, he had to be daring, yet it might turn into showing a glaring miss of defense. No matter. He only had to be surprising enough. He went down to get Roman off his feet, but Roman cartwheeled away. Shade rolled aside and got up but now it was Roman’s time to retaliate. Already, Shade believed to feel the hit on his back when he’d spun around, in the perfect position to go for Roman’s neck. And so he did.

Roma caught his hand just after Shade touched his skin. He blinked, irritated by the defeat, and squeezed Shade’s hand, locking his gaze.

Shade didn’t think to pull away.

The corners of Roman’s mouth twitched and he moved their joined hands down and before Shade knew it, they had let go. “Well done,” Roman said, as several times today.

“Sir,” Shade nodded and, forcing his lingering eyes away, returned to his post.

Afterwards, they abided in the training yard. It was a different place, with just Shade and the instructor, and Shade intended to overpaint the changed atmosphere with task following task. He’d seen off several of the soldiers, tidied, finished his statistics, as Roman controlled the rack of arms they’d exercised with later on. Weapons were a limited resource, under the responsibility of higher-ups. Even Shade needed a permit from a commanding officer to touch arms.

The work enabled him to avoid Roman as either of them maintained nonchalance unless their gazes crossed. It startled Shade every time and he felt an odd satisfaction when Roman looked away first.

It was both of them and Shade wondered why. Could he be proud to have bested the instructor who was left needled by it? He kept trying to read Roman, even as his expression stayed blank and thinking as he did his counts.

Shade could curse himself. He delayed leaving for his dissatisfied curiosity yet he didn’t trust himself to hide it – as when asking the instructor directly.

If he wanted to remain inconspicuous, he would have to wait for the next chance, he decided, as Roman spoke.

“General Eagrie is as keyed up as ever,” he said. He rested with his back against a wall, legs stretched out. He fumbled for a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep inhale. And another. Roman’s eyes found his and Shade swallowed.

“You know her longer?” Shade asked. “Sir,” he added, to stay on the safe side.

Roman looked away as Shade approached. He leaned on the wall next to Roman, but only sideways with the shoulder, to be quickly and on the run again.

“All too well,” Roman answered and sighed. Shade could watch the smoke rising in swirls from the cigarette in his hand, a hand Roman lifted for another draw. “Aude wants to be the next house head, but she’s not first in line. So she burns to impress.”

Now that was the kind of information Shade had dug for. Roman was in possession of exclusive intelligence. Or was it just a guess? One more time, Shade looked him over and when the silence lasted oddly long, he noticed that Roman had called her Aude. Out loud. Shade suppressed a frown. What did that mean?

“The general doesn’t show a setback,” Shade said, neutrally. Apart from throwing jewels and cutting me.

Now Roman swirled his hand, causing spirals of smoke in a gesture for vaguely. “She does appear pinched,” he said, and, titling his head, focused on Shade. “You stare like that. Want to try?”

Shade did, indeed, stare at the cigarette. And the smoker. And his hands. He shrugged, hoping that was reason enough to seem nervous. “Cigarettes are hard to get for reds here.”

“I’m a bit of a rule-breaker,” Roman said lightly. All of him was so lightly, lofty, almost careless. Maybe you could only say things like that lightly.

Right here, right now, Shade wanted to be the same. Just for a moment. To relax.

“It’s a special blend. My brother’s girlfriend grows it,” Roman explained. His dark eyes fixed on Shade, like a dare to sink into them. “You might not know it.”

“Please,” Shade said, and reached out, expectant. It was a dare to figure him out. When their fingers met, Shade didn’t know if the cigarette or the touch would singe him deeper. But those weren’t light thoughts. What was he thinking? He quickly took a draw he barely tasted.

“All this for a family position,” Roman said. “Warring to be able to command relatives around and anticipating her father’s death.”

Exploring the new sensation on his lips, Shade needed a moment to get he was talking again about Aude. The stuff must be strong after all. “Sil – officers have their own guidelines,” Shade replied.

“Morbid ones,” Roman muttered. “House here, family there, rank everywhere.” He’d already lit another cigarette as Shade was finishing the other. That fast? But it was only a half.

Roman didn’t appear so airy anymore. Glaring in the distance, his throat bobbed, fast, while he took several more inhales. “I came here because I couldn’t let Aude bring my sister here again.”

Shade cackled. “As if that was so easy.” Now Roman turned to him, puzzled. “I wish I could keep my sister away from the army. At most I might look out for her, but … I hardly see my brothers here either.”

Roman still stared. “It might be little help,” he agreed. “The last time, my sister almost died. With 12. I found her just fast enough, and she’d only survived so long due to her ability.”

12? Ability?

Shade wanted to blame the cigarette for every second too much he needed to connect the dots, finally. As he grasped it, he felt immediately sober. He inclined his head, calculating if he could still obfuscate his ignorance. “That’s horrible, sir.” Was the “sir” too much, a giveaway? Probably, or it had been too late anyway.

Roman flashed him a weak, almost pardoning smile. “Yes,” he said softly. “But it might work out for us after all. As I’m the heir who stands in Aude’s way.”

Roman and his sister were silvers. And for a moment, Shade was terribly afraid Aude wanted them dead.

A/N 2: The first chapter is a bit longer to get you into the story before you’ll wait for the next chapter. Ahem. And yes, this is easter-egg fanservice for my veteran readers. Thanks for your loyalty and attention <3

@lucy-the-cat @elliemarchetti @lilyharvord @maudthebookeater @mareshmallow @nortaeventcouncil @averyboterham @justagirlwholovesstories @freaky-friday @eliimaii @nortaeventcouncil

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